is ■Q> ) 7 1 E THE LIFE AND SUFFERINGS OF OUR BLESSED LORD AND. SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST ' >\ Frontispiece VIRGIN ANI) CHILD / ~71 7T* QG^Cix h • ^ V f^oo^mjTruj^ , /f76 THE LIFE AND SUFFERINGS OF OUR BLESSED LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST t AS RECORDED BY THE FOUR EVANGELISTS BY /V'C" THE REV. HENRY RUTTER *1 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE VERY REV, F, C, HU SEN BETH, D.D., V.G, pRuyosaj of Northampton *cJ§f ^5 JS#, L-. CUfe 1*1 DURtt g MAN - Gt ONDON PQRTMAN OTR ' fifeT! mO MAO-WALKER 187 fi BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HiIX, MASS. n srr I ———I ' % ’ '* ! %,hU.r?I.T.$ h. P'76 INTRODUCTION. It is the study and knowledge of Jesus Christ that distin¬ guishes us from Pagans and Infidels. It is not the bare knowledge of God ; for that is common to us with Heathens and Mahometans. It is the knowledge also of our own misery and corruption, and of our absolute need of a Redeemer and Mediator to reconcile us to God, and enable us to approach to him. Jesus Christ is the central point of our religion, and without him we could neither worship God in a worthy manner, nor render him acceptable homage. And yet men fatally neglect this most important of all sciences, the knowledge of Jesus Christ. St. Paul judged himself to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Cor. ii. 2) ; he undervalued every other science, but the knowledge of his crucified Master. But among men this knowledge is in great measure disregarded. Men pursue every other science with ardour and indefatigable applica¬ tion. They study a thousand things that are vain, if not pernicious; languages, fables, romances, the world and its laws and fictions, its vanities and pleasures. The merchant is absorbed in his commerce, the capitalist in his specula¬ tions. The mechanic gives all his time to his trade and machinery, the man of science is busied with endless re¬ searches in Geology, Chemistry, Physiology, and other branches of knowledge. But the only science directly avail¬ able to salvation is too little esteemed, and too generally neglected. VI INTR OD UCTION. Eternal life, however, must depend upon the knowledge of Jesus Christ, no less than upon the knowledge of God. And what science after all can be more interesting or attrac¬ tive ? What study can be more pleasing than the life and maxims of a God-man ? There is perhaps no study so generally preferred as biography. We love to read the lives of great men in every profession, and we read with increased interest the lives of good men. More especially are we delighted to pore over lives which enlighten and animate us in our own particular profession. How much then should the Life of Christ be valued ! In him we have God made Man, the Word made Flesh, dwelling among us, and walk¬ ing before us. We have his sublime maxims to instruct us, and his holy example to edify and encourage us. He who is the ivay, invites us to walk after him : he who is the truth, calls upon us to hear him : he who is the life, encourages us to live after his model. I have given you an example, that as 1 have done to you, so you do also (St. John xiii. 15.) We are in darkness, and stand in need of a light and a guide. But here is One whom we may safely follow, and who will quickly enlighten us : for he expressly says: 1 am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life (St. Johnviii. 12). All his. words and actions, his doctrine, his miracles, his labours and his sufferings,—all his life is not only admirable, but ' one in which every Christian should feel a vivid interest. Care must be taken, however, to pursue this study in a proper manner. For there are those who read the Life of Christ, and yet do not seek to know him, nor desire to learn of him. The main object of many is to feed their curiosity, to gratify their vanity, pedantry, ambition, or interest. Thus they chiefly attend to curious and unprofitable questions, matters of chronology and philology, and points of Biblical criticism. But this is not the study of Christ Jesus, nor the way to reap solid spiritual advantage and knowledge from his holy life. You have not so learned Christ, says the INTR OD UCTION. vil Apostle, if so be that you have heard him, and have been taught in him (Eph. iv. 20, 21). The remedy is to read his life with suitable dispositions, with simplicity of mind, ■docility, uprightness of heart, humility, and a sincere desire to learn of him, by whom alone we have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. ii. 18). If we thus attend to the Life of Christ, and if these things be with us and abound; they iv ill make us to be neither empty , nor unfruitful, in the know¬ ledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 St. Peter i. 8). To acquire this important and essential knowledge, the Life of Christ drawn out as in the following work will afford the reader valuable assistance. It was the result of long and laborious study of the four Gospels ; and presents in a con¬ nected form all that the holy Evangelists have recorded under divine inspiration. It furnishes an easy and connected narrative of the whole life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of our divine Redeemer, reconciling apparent dis¬ crepancies in the sacred text, elucidating obscure expressions or passages, and by judicious paraphrase, or comment, open¬ ing the way to a ready understanding of difficult portions of the Gospel. The Rev. Henry Rutter was a -learned divine and judicious critic, and had devoted his life to the careful study of the Holy Scriptures. He was the author of several valuable works analogous to the present. These were his Explanation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, by an Ana¬ lysis, a Paraphrase, and a Commentary, which he published in 1813, and which may be considered as supplementary to his Life of Christ: his Catholic Epistle of St. Jude, with a Paraphrase and Notes, and his very valuable work, the Key to the Old Testament.. Again, his Summary View of the Apoca¬ lypse., being a supplement to the preceding* as also to his Life of Christ; —and his Summary View and Explanation of the Ancient Prophets. This was his last work, his death having occurred on the 17th of September, 1838. He died at Podding Green, in the county of Westmoreland, at the - advanced age of eighty-five years, having been one of the via INTRODUCTION. last survivors of the Catholic clergy educated at Douay College. This Life of Christ has always maintained a high cha¬ racter, and been warmly approved and recommended by ecclesiastical authority. It cannot fail to benefit the pious and assiduous reader. It will present him the adorable model of a God made Man, a record of his admirable life and conversation upon earth, a detailed history of his stupendous, miracles and sublime discourses, a connected narrative of his bitter sufferings and ignominious death for our redemption, and of his glorious resurrection and ascension for our justifi¬ cation and sanctification. Reading it with proper disposi¬ tions cannot fail to make us grow in grace, and in the know¬ ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him he glory both now and unto the dag of eternity. Amen. (2 St. Peter iii. 18.) F. C. HUSENBETH, D.D. Y.G., Provost of Northampton . CONTENTS PART I. CHAP. PAGE Preface from St. Luke.1 I.—The Divinity and Incarnation of Jesus Christ . 2 II.—The Annunciation and Conception of John the Baptist ..5 III. —The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ . . 4 CONTAINING THE ACTIONS AND DISCOURSES OF CHRIST, FROM THE FOURTH PASSOVER TO HIS TRIUMPHANT ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN. CXXY. —The Paschal Supper. 423 CXXVI. —Jesus washes the Feet of his Apostles . . 426 CXXVII. —Christ institutes the Holy Eucharist . . 430 CXXVIII. —Jesus points out the Traitor Judas, who with¬ draws himself . 434 XVI CONTENTS. CHAP. CXXIX.—The second Altercation oe the Apostles CONCERNING PRIMACY.—Peter’s DENIAL IS POKETOLD ....... CXXX.—Christ’s Discourse after the Last Supper— He comforts his Apostles—Professes him¬ self the Way, the Truth, and the Life— Requires Love and Obedience—Promises the Holy Ghost the Comforter. CXXXI.—Continuation of our Saviour’s Discourse after his Last Supper .... CXXXII.—A second Continuation of Christ’s Discourse CXXXIII.—The Prayer of Jesus Christ before his Pas- SION ••••••••• CXXXIY.—The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ CXXXV.—Jesus is examined and judged by Caiphas . CXXXYI.—Peter’s Denial and Repentance . CXXXYII.—Jesus is delivered up to Pilate.—The Death of Judas . CXXXVIII.—Jesus is accused before Pilate, who sends him to Herod ...... CXXXIX.—The Jews prefer Barabbas to Jesus; he is SCOURGED AT THE PlLLAR .... CXL.—The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus . CXLI.—The Side of Jesus is opened with a Spear. —He is laid in the Sepulchre . CXLII.—The History of Christ’s Resurrection CXLIII.— The third and fourth Apparition of Jesus CXLIV.—The fifth and sixth Afparition of Jesus to the Eleven. CXLY.—The seventh Apparition of Jesus, viz. by the Sea-side. CXLYI.—The eighth, ninth, and tenth Apparitions of Jesus. CXLVII.—The Ascension ' of Jesus into Heaven . CXL VIII.— T he Glorious Life of Jesus Christ in Heaven.. PACK 437 441 446 451 455 460 467 473 475 477 482 489 497 502 508 512 514 518 521 523 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Virgin and Child. Frontispiece Christ’s Presentation in the Temple. 32 The Marriage at Cana. 61 The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter . . . . 108 Jesus blessing little Children. 312 Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem .... 365 The Crucifixion. 491 The Ascension .. 522 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. ■ - PART I. Preface from St. Luke i. 1 — 4. “ Whereas many have endeavoured to set forth in order a narration of the things which have been accomplished among us,” and the truth of which is confirmed by the fullest evidence, “ as they have delivered them to us, who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word; it hath seemed good also to me, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee, in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mayest know the truth of those things wherein thou hast been instructed,” and mayest distinguish them from those inaccurate accounts, which either have been already, or may hereafter, be pub¬ lished on this subject. St. Luke does not here specify the names of those from whom he received this narrative ; yet it cannot be doubted that the B. V. Mary communicated to him what he has com¬ mitted to writing in the two first chapters, besides other par¬ ticulars, since his authors were eye-witnesses, as he expressly testifies. It is highly probable that he derived some infor¬ mation from St. Paul, whose disciple he was, and who received and learned the gospel (Gal. i. 11, 12), which he preached, from the revelation of Jesus Christ, though he was B THE LIFE OF OUR LORD not himself an eye-witness.—That Theophilus, to whom St. Luke addresses his gospel, was a real, and not a fictitious person, is the most probable opinion, as appears from the title of most Excellent , which was only applied to persons of distinguished rank; nevertheless, as the word Theophilus signifies a Lover of God, it is, in this sense, applicable to every true Christian, who may consider this gospel as ad¬ dressed to himself, and as containing the good tidings of eternal life. CHAPTER I. The Divinity and Incarnation of Jesus Christ. John i. 1 — 14. Before we proceed to the temporal birth and life of the Son of God, it may not be improper to give some account of his divine and eternal generation. To Jesus Christ belong two genealogies and two births, because he has two natures. He is both God and man, and in one only person, unites the nature of God and the nature of man. As man, he descends from a long series of men, being of the tribe of Juda, and of the family of David: as God, he has only God for his Father, being born of him before all ages, and perfectly equal to him. As man, he is born in time ; as God, he is born, and exists from all eternity. “ The begin¬ ning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ” (Mark i. 1), according to St. John, thus describes his divine and eternal nativity, and the reasons for which he was made man. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In these words St. John describes the Son of God by three characters expressive of his divinity. The first is his eternal existence: “In the beginning,” i. e. before all time, “was the Word,” the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 3 eternal Word, the increated wisdom, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. The second character is his being dis¬ tinct from God the Father, which evidently points at a dis¬ tinction of persons ; for a person is really distinct from him with whom he is. Now “ the Word was with God ” the Father from all eternity, and therefore was distinct from his person. But, lest this distinction of persons might convey an idea of a diversity of nature or essence, and lest under the words two persons, we might understand two Gods, the third character is his consubstantiality with the Father, “and the Word was God; ” consequently the same God as the Father, for there cannot be more Gods than one.—The Evangelist makes a short recapitulation of these three cha¬ racters, by repeating that “ this Word was in the beginning with God.” He then represents him as an active cause or principle; 1. In the order of nature : “All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made.” Hence it clearly follows, that he is not a creature ; because all things having been made by him, if he himself were made too, he must have been made by himself, and, consequently, he would have had a being before he was made or created, as we conceive a workman to exist before his work. 2. He represents the Word as the principle of life and light in the order of grace, acting upon sin and dark¬ ness in order to give light and life to our souls. This occa¬ sions the Evangelist to pass forward to the incarnate state of the Word: “In him was life,” that essential life which consists in living wisdom, in eternal truth, and in sovereign justice; the knowledge and love of which constitute the true life of man. This divine life assuming a visible body became a light to communicate itself to mankind, by imparting to it the knowledge of truth, and the love of justice or sanctity. This is “ the light that shineth in darkness,” enlightening the eyes of men blinded by their passions, and plunged in the dark night of error and sin. Christ diffused on all sides the rays of his light, by the purity of his doctrine, by the 4 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD example of his holiness, and by miracles of the most bene¬ ficent kind. “And” yet “the darkness” which sin had spread over the hearts of men “ did not comprehend it.” It was to prevent this abuse of the divine goodness, that “there was a man sent from God, whose name was John ” the Baptist. “ This man came for a witness to give testi¬ mony of the light, that all men might believe through him ” in this light. “ He was not the light ” himself, “ but was to give testimony of the light,” by erecting the standard of the Messias, and placing himself at the head of such as should receive him. “That” person to whom he bore witness, “was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world,” in different degree and mea¬ sure, yet superabundantly where no obstacle is set against it. Although this mission of John had all the success which God, who cannot fail in the execution of his designs, had foreseen ; yet it met not with that reception which might naturally have been expected. The Word incarnate, not¬ withstanding this testimony of John, was rejected by the synagogue, whilst a very small number of its children ac¬ knowledged him for the Messiah. This criminal indifference of the former is thus recorded by the Evangelist, and con¬ trasted with the glorious reward of the latter. “ He was in the world, and the world was made by him,” and yet “ the world knew him not; he came into his own” inheritance, viz. the Jews, whom he had made his chosen people, “ and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the” adoptive “ sons of God to them that believe in his name. Who are born,” by a new spiritual birth in the sacrament of baptism, “ not of blood,” by circumcision, as children of the seed of Abraham ; “ nor of the will of the flesh,” by carnal descent from their parents; “nor of the will of man,” by human adoption; “but of God,” by faith and divine grace; who receives us for his children through faith in Christ Jesus, and as such sanctifies us by his Spirit; for as many as are led by the Spirit of AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 5 God, they are the sons of God (Rom. viii. 14). “ And ” it was with the view of elevating man to this dignity, that “the Word was made flesh,” becoming man by a true and real union of the divine and human nature in one person, which is the person of God the Son, “ and he dwelt amongst us,” in all meekness and humility. “And we saw his glory,” being eye-witnesses to his miracles, and to the various wonderful actions of his life, which truly displayed “ the glory as of the only-begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”—What a subject of consolation to the faithful Christian, that Christ has brought us both truth and grace: truth to teach us our duty, and grace to enable us to practise it. Moreover, as he alone could procure for us the pardon of sin, and that interior justification which the law of Moses could not give, in this sense, he may truly be said to have possessed the fulness of truth , having completely ful¬ filled all former types and shadows of spiritual blessings, giving us an inheritance in the celestial Canaan, and an entrance into the true tabernacle of heaven (see Heb. x. 1, 19). CHAPTER II. The Annunciation and Conception of John the Baptist. Luke i. 1—25. As the life of Jesus Christ and that of his precursor St. John are interwoven together, the natural order requires that we should begin with the history of the latter, as being introductory to that of the former. This consideration makes St. Luke relate, in the first place, the wonders that signalized the conception of the holy Precursor. “ In the days of Herod ” the Great, “ the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zachary, of the rank of Abia,” the eighth of the twenty-four families, which, accord¬ ing to the regulation of David, were to serve by turns in the 6 THE LIFE OE OUR LORD temple : “ and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth. And they were both just,” not only in the sight of men, but also “ in the sight of God, walking blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.” This however does not imply that they were exempt from all lesser failings, such as are called venial; but only from those greater sins which would have made them forfeit the grace and favour of God. “ And they had not a son, because Elisabeth was barren, and they were both ad¬ vanced in years. Now it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his rank before God, according to the custom of the priestly office, it fell to his lot to offer up incense, when he entered into the temple of the Lord ” (for the priests drew lots for the different func¬ tions to be weekly performed by them). “ And all the mul¬ titude of the people was praying without,” in that part of the temple called the court of the Israelites : “ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of incense,” which would be to the left hand of the officiating priest; “and Zachary seeing him was troubled, and fear seized him: ” perhaps the more so, as it was a common opinion amongst the Jews that death would be the consequence of seeing an angel. “ But the angel said to him : Fear not, Zachary, for thy petition is heard ” respect¬ ing the coming of the Messias; “ and thy wife Elisabeth shall bring forth to thee a son,” who shall be his precursor; “ and thou shalt call his name John,” which signifies Grace, as a happy presage that the reign of grace is at hand. “And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth; for he shall he great,” not only in the estimation of men, who are easily deceived, but also “ in the sight of the Lord : and he shall neither drink wine nor strong drink, and shall he replenished with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,” by bringing them to the knowledge of Christ. “ He shall also go before him in the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, 7 spirit and power of Elias,” labouring with the same zeal and • fervour as did that holy prophet, “ that he may turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,” i. e, may recal back “ the incredulous ” Jews of these later times, “ to the pru¬ dence ” and faith “ of the ” ancient “ just; ” and may thus “ prepare unto the Lord a perfect people,” and properly dis¬ posed to receive him. “And Zachary,” doubting the truth of this promise, “ said to the angel: Whereby shall I know this ? for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answering said : to him: I am Gabriel,” one of the chief angels, “ who stand before God, and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. And behold thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day when these things come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words which shall be fulfilled in their time. Now the people were waiting for Zachary, and wondered that he staid so long in the temple : and coming out he could not speak to them,” either to bless them, or to give a reason of his delay. “ And they perceived,” from his agitation and trouble, “ that he had had a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained ” not only “ dumb,” but deaf also, as appears from the Greek text, and from the 62nd verse below, where we find that instead of speaking they rather made signs to him. “And it came to pass as soon as the days of his office were expired, he departed to his house” on the mountains of Judea. “ And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived and kept herself private five months,” in the uninterrupted exercises of piety and devotion, “ saying : It is thus the Lord hath done to me in the days wherein he hath had regard to take away my reproach among men,” on account of barrenness: behold he has made me fruitful, at an age when fecundity generally becomes a subject of confusion. 8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER III. The Annunciation op the Blessed Virgin, and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Luke i. 26—38. St. John was conceived after the fast of the Expiation, which fell on the 10th of the 7th month, called Tisri, and which corresponds pretty nearly to the end of September and the beginning of October: because from the 24th of September till the 24th of June, the day of St. John’s nativity, there are precisely nine months. It was six months after his conception that God sent the same angel Gabriel to negotiate with the Blessed Virgin concerning the great mystery of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It is thus related by St. Luke. “ In the 6th month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the name of the virgin was Mary: And the angel,” in a visible, corporeal form, “ entering in ” respectfully “ said to her : Hail full of grace, our Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women. Which words when she had heard, she was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what kind of salutation this should be,” that is, whether it was a favour from God, or a snare of the devil. We may admire her guarded conduct on this occasion, which shows that she possessed a degree of wisdom and strength of mind far superior to that of her sex. “And the angel,” seeing her uneasiness, “said to her: Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God,” and art blessed beyond any other woman, having the honour of being raised to the highest dignity which God could confer upon his creatures. “ Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 9 father [his maternal ancestor], and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever,” that is, over the Church of God composed of Jews and Gentiles : “ and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Such are the characters of Christ’s greatness here foretold by the angel. He shall he great: 1. In his descent or origin, being truly the eternal Son of God. 2. In his dignity, being the great King that was to reign over the throne of his father David. But his kingdom is not of this world; it is only of a spiritual nature : he reigns over the minds of men by faith, over their hearts by charity, and lastly he will reign over all mankind for ever hereafter either in a state of happiness or misery, according to each one’s respective merits. 3. His kingdom extends not only over a part of the twelve tribes, but over the whole house of Jacob, i. e. the whole Church of God, composed of the children of Jacob according to the flesh, and of the children of Jacob according to the spirit; who see God by faith, and who live in hopes of seeing him face to face hereafter in glory. The 4th character of Christ’s kingdom is its duration; for it is not to be interrupted by captivities, nor diminished by length of time, but, after continuing through ages, will endure to all eternity. But, “ Mary,” attentive to the preservation of her vir¬ ginity, which she had promised to God by a vow, “ said to the angel: how shall this be done, because I know not manfor she could form to herself no idea of any mode of conception but such as is in the ordinary course of nature, which was incompatible with her vow. Her request there¬ fore to the angel did not proceed from any disbelief, nor from any vain curiosity, but from a commendable prudence, being desirous of knowing how she might comply with the will of God without prejudice to her former engagement. “ And the angel answering said to her,” that she had nothing to fear with regard to her virginity; because her conception was to be the work of the Holy Ghost: “ The Holy Ghost,” 10 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD said he, “ shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy” Fruit “ which shall be born of thee, shall he called the Son of God. And,” as a proof of what I say, “ behold thy cousin Elisabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her, who is called barren; because nothing shall be impossible to God.” Wherefore as he has enabled thy cousin to conceive, notwithstanding her old age and barrenness, so will he render thee fruitful without any detriment to thy virginal integrity. “And Mary,” in submission to God’s will, without any farther inquiries, expressed her full consent in these humble but powerful words: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word:” showing hereby that the mystery of the incarnation was a work that depended on the omnipotency of God, as did the first creation of the world. “ And the angel departed from her,” full of astonish¬ ment at the wonderful mystery which was now accomplished. Thus did the Blessed Virgin, by her happy assent to the angel’s proposal, repair that unhappy assent by the first woman to the devil’s suggestion. For in the moment she expressed her consent, she immediately conceived by the Holy Ghost; who by his almighty power formed a body out of her purest blood, and created an immortal soul for that body : and this body and soul were at the same instant assumed, and united to the Eternal Word, the Son of God, the second Person of the adorable Trinity. Thus was accomplished the great mystery of the incarnation, that mystery of love and mercy which had been promised to mankind 4000 years before, which had been foretold by so many prophets, and desired by so many saints. God was made man, and man, in the Divine Person, was made God, and the Virgin Mary was made Mother of God. It is an ancient tradition, as St. Austin observes, that this mystery was completed on the 25th of March, which is therefore kept as a feast of obligation. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. i r CHAPTER IY. The Yisitation. Luke i. 39—56. Now in those days, soon after the above-mentioned embassy, “ Mary rising up,” without considering her new dignity, or the inconveniences of the journey, “ went with speed into the mountainous country, to a city of Juda,” which St. Luke does not name, but which was probably Hebron, situated in the hilly country of Juda, and which with the neighbouring villages has been allotted by Josue for the habitation of the priests (Josue xxi. 9). This place was at the distance of about four or five days’ journey from Nazareth. As the feast of the Passover was now approaching, it is most likely that Joseph accompanied the Blessed Yirgin as far as Jerusalem; and that, after the feast, he returned home to Nazareth, whilst his spouse continued her journey alone to Hebron. It is clear from the suspicions subse¬ quently entertained by him, that he was not present at the first interview between Mary and Elisabeth. We remark, on fhis occasion, the words of Elisabeth, how expressive they are of her great respect and veneration for Mary, whilst the answer of the Blessed Yirgin breathes nothing on her part but the most profound humility. The Blessed Yirgin “ entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant,” animated by the Holy Ghost, by a preternatural motion, “ leaped in her womb,” showing thereby the early knowledge he had of the presence of his Redeemer; “ and Elisabeth ” herself “ was ” likewise “ filled with the Holy Ghost, and,” in terms of admiration and thanksgiving, “ cried out with a loud voice, and said ” to her kinswoman Mary, “ Blessed art thou amongst women, and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And 12 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD whence is this ” favour “ to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy,” giving me thereby to understand, that thou barest in thy womb the Son of God, whose precursor he is to be. “ And blessed art thou that,” without any hesita¬ tion, “ hast believed, because those things shall be accom¬ plished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.” “And Mary said,” referring to God alone the whole glory of her exalted privilege : “ My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, because he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaid,” in choosing me to be the mother of his Son; “For behold from hence¬ forth all generations shall call me blessed: Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me, and holy is his name, and his mercy is from generation unto generation to them that fear him. He hath showed might in his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and those of an humble condition he hath exalted. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath favoured his servant Israel, being mindful of his mercy. As he spoke to our forefathers Abraham and his seed for ever,” when he formed with them that alliance described in the 17th and 22nd chapter of Genesis. “ Now Mary staid with her cousin Elisabeth about three months, and then re¬ turned to her own home,” whether after or before St. Elisa¬ beth was delivered of St John is uncertain. The above canticle, which is called the Magnificat, is the first recorded in the New Testament, and both in dignity of sentiment and majesty of style, equals if not surpasses all those of the ancient prophets. It is daily recited by the ministers of God’s church, as the most perfect model of thanksgiving and praise for the incarnation of the Son of God, and therefore cannot be too often repeated by every grateful Christian. In this Canticle the B. Virgin admirably AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 13 displays the humble sentiments which penetrated her soul even in her highest exaltation. Elisabeth had by her praises extolled her above all others of her sex, but Mary refers the whole glory to God alone ; and in an ecstasy of joy, breaks forth into praises of her bountiful Saviour, who, notwith¬ standing her meanness and unworthiness, had made choice of her to co-operate in so great a work as the redemption of man: she confidently asserts that on this account her happi¬ ness would be proclaimed by all the nations of the earth. With a grateful heart she admires the astonishing wonders which God has wrought in her in this mystery, 1. By unit¬ ing man to God in the same person; a work incomprehen¬ sible to the human mind : 2. By rendering the conception of his divine Son, both in his and her regard, perfectly holy, and exempt from all that corruption which is incident to the origin of man : and lastly, by displaying his mercy from age to age in favour of those that fear him ; the incarnation being a mystery of mercy, which opens to them the gate of Heaven, hitherto shut against all mankind. Elisabeth had congratu¬ lated the Blessed Virgin on the firmness of her faith as the meritorious cause of her great exaltation; Mary tacitly refuses such congratulation from a sentiment of humility, by reminding her that God had chosen her on this occasion for this greatest of his works, because she was the meanest of his servants; as he had on former occasions displayed the strength of his arm by crushing the proud, and showing favour to the humble, by raising up to the throne those who were in a low station of life, and by filling the poor with good things, whilst the rich he sent empty away. Thus had he likewise acted in her regard, by choosing on this occa¬ sion for his mother a poor, unknown maid, preferably to all the illustrious persons, however distinguished by their riches and personal accomplishments. Lastly, Mary had received from her cousin the most hearty thanks for the honour of her visit; but she answers that these are due to God alone, who at length had been mindful of his mercy, and visited his THE LIFE OF OUR LORD H people to deliver them from the oppression of their enemies, by sending his Son according to the promise which he had made to Abraham and his posterity for ever. CHAPTER V. Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Luke i. 57 — 80. Now Elisabeth’s full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son,” whose birth was attended with many wonderful circumstances. “And her neighbours and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her,” thus fulfilling in part what the angel had foretold. “ And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father’s name Zachary. And his mother,” who knew by revelation what the angel had said to her husband, “ answering, said: Not so, but he shall be called John (which signifies grace, pity, mercy). And they said to her : there is no one of thy kindred that is called by this name : ” but finding her determined on this point, “ they made signs to his father,” because he was deaf as well as dumb, to signify “ how he would have him called. And de¬ manding a writing-table he wrote, saying: John is his name. And they all wondered,” that the parents, apparently with¬ out any previous agreement, should thus both assign the same name, which was totally foreign to their kindred, thence concluding it must be the effect of the divine interposition. “ And immediately ” Zachary’s “ mouth was opened, and he recovered his speech, and he spoke blessing God,” for his great goodness both to himself and to all mankind, in visit¬ ing them in the most tender bowels of his mercy. “ And a” prodigious “ fear came upon all their neighbours ; and all these things were noised abroad over all the mountainous country of Judea; ” viz. the apparition of the angel to AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. *5 Zachary, his foretelling to him the birth of the child, the father’s incredulity and immediate punishment, and lastly, the instantaneous recovery both of his voice and hearing; an event which had been witnessed by numbers. 44 And all who heard ” these things 44 laid them up in their hearts, say¬ ing : what a child, think you, will this be ? for the hand of the Lord hath been with him. And his father Zachary was replenished with the Holy Ghost: and he prophesied saying: “ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people : and he hath raised up to us a powerful salvation in the family of David his servant. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who were from the beginning, that he would save us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us : to show his mercy towards our fathers, and to be mindful of his holy testament,” or covenant made with them respecting the Mes- sias, “ according to the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant us ; that being delivered from the hand of our” spiritual 44 enemies ” Satan and sin, “ we may serve him ” with a free, generous love, 411 without fear, in holiness and justice before him, all our days.” Then addressing the young child whom God had given him, he said : 44 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways ” in the minds and hearts of mankind, 44 to give the knowledge of salvation \i. e. of the Messiah] to his people, for the remission of their sins, through the bowels of the mercy of our God, by which the Rising Light hath visited us from on high : to enlighten them that sit in the darkness ” of error and ignorance, 44 and in the shades of the death ” of sin, 44 to direct our feet in the ways of” true and everlasting 44 peace.” This canticle of Zachary, which the Church daily recites at Lauds, may be divided into two parts. The first contains a thanksgiving for the inestimable benefit of the incarnation : i6 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the second is a prophecy which regards St. John Baptist, who was to prepare the world for that great event. 1. Zachary blesses the Lord, the God of the true Israel, for having vouchsafed to visit his people, not as formerly by means of his prophets, but by sending his own divine Son, whom he clothed with our human nature. 2. He glori¬ fies him for having redeemed them from the slavery of sin, of the devil, of concupiscence, and of death. 3. For having erected the standard of salvation, and established an everlasting kingdom in the house of his servant David, i. e. in his holy Catholic Church, in spite of all the opposition from the devil, the world, and the flesh. He further speci¬ fies the particulars of the infinite blessing thus conferred upon man, which implied our deliverance from all evils, and our enjoyment of all good things. God had by his prophets promised us salvation from all our enemies, both visible and invisible: these are the world and the flesh, the devil, sin, and concupiscence. This promise he now begins to fulfil; that we may serve our God without fear, in holiness and justice all our days. It may be remarked that Zachary here expresses himself as if speaking of what had already passed: this he does, not only to show, after the manner of the pro¬ phets, his certainty of what was to come, but also that the great work of our redemption was now begun by the mystery of the incarnation, and therefore, that the other parts belong¬ ing to it would follow, of course, in order to its perfect accomplishment. “ And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit,” as he advanced in age; “ and he was in the desert till the day of his manifestation to Israel,” when he publicly announced the coming of the Messiah in the manner hereafter related. The immediate reason of his retiring into the desert, was probably the persecution of Herod; at least such is the reason assigned by Peter of Alexandria in the 6th general council. As the son of Zachary was at that time only about seven months old, his miraculous conception and birth might AND SA VIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 17 afford grounds of suspicion to that tyrant, and therefore he might easily have been involved in the bloody decree of extermination; especially as the hills of Judea were not very far distant from Bethlehem. It has been piously believed that he was conducted into the desert by his mother, and there fed by angels, after her death. St. John lived in the desert till the age of - p/ \ and there exhibited a specimen 01 me eremetical life which was afterwards embraced by so many holy men. He had neither scrip nor servant, says Origen (Horn. 25 in Matt.), nor so much as a cottage to shelter himself from the inclemency of the weather: he devoted his whole time to the exercises of holy prayer and contemplation, leading a most austere, penitential life, and disdaining, as St. Jerome says, to behold worldly vanities with eyes which coveted only to see Christ. CHAPTER VI. The Genealogy of Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew. Matt. i. 1 — 17. St. Matthew intending in his Gospel to represent Jesus Christ as the promised Messias, foretold by the prophets and prefigured in the Old Testament, begins by ascertaining his dignity from his royal descent and miraculous birth. “ The book of the generation,” or of the genealogy “ of Jesus Christ,” who was avowedly to be “ the son of David the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar, and Phares begot Esron^ and Esron begot 'Aram; and Aram begot Abinadab, and Abinadab begot Naasson, and Naasson begot Salmon : and Salmon begot Booz of Rahab, and Booz begot Obed of Ruth, and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Salomon of her that had been” tho 0 i8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD wife “ of Urias; and Salomon begot Roboam, and Roboam begot Abias, Abias begot Asa ; and Asa begot Josaphat, and Josapkat begot Joram, and Joram begot Osias,” not imme¬ diately ; for three generations are omitted, as we find 2 Paralip. xxii. There it is said that Joram begot Ochosias, and Ochosias begot Joas, and Joas begot Amasias, and Amasias begot Osias. This omission was not material to St. Matthew’s design of showing the Jews that Jesns their Messias was of the family of David ; he being equally the son or descendant of David, whether these three generations be omitted or not. “And Osias begot Joatham, and Joatham begot Achaz, and Achaz begot Ezechias; and Ezechias begot Manasses, and Manasses begot Amon, and Amon begot Josias; and Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration to Babylon.” This Jechonias is the same who is elsewhere called Eliachim and Joachim, whom Necao king of Egypt placed on the throne of Juda. This prince had a son called Joachim, surnamed by the prophet Jechonias, and he is the person who was the father of Salathiel men¬ tioned in the following verse. “ And after the transmigration to Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel, and Salathiel begot Zorobabel,” who obtained leave of Darius the king of Persia to return back from Babylon into Judea. “ And Zorobabel begot Abiud, and Abiud begot Eliacim, and Eliacim begot Azor; and Azor begot Sadoc, and Sadoc begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud; and Eliud begot Eleazar, and Eleazar begot Mathan, and Mathan begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ, i. e. the Anointed , so often and so solemnly promised by God to his people. “ So all the generations from Abraham to David” are “fourteen generations, and from David to the transmigration of Babylon fourteen gene¬ rations, and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ” there “are” also “fourteen generations.” The first class of fourteen begins with Abraham, and ends with David. The second class begins with Salomon, and ends with AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. r 9 Jechonias. The third class is supposed to begin with Salathiel, and to end, says St. Jerome, with our Saviour Christ. But thus we .shall only find in the third class thirteen generations, and in all only forty-one instead of forty-two persons. Not to mention other interpretations, the conjecture of St. Epiphanius seems the most probable, that we are to understand as mentioned above two Jechoniases, the father and son, who had the same name: so that the 4r true reading should be Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren, and Jechonias begot Jechonias, and Jechonias begot Salathiel. Thus Jechonias named in the 12th verse is not the same, but the son of him that was named in the 11th verse ; and from Jechonias the son begins the third class, and so Christ will be the last or fourteenth person in that last series or class. There are several difficulties in reconciling this genealogy in St. Matthew with that which St. Luke gives chap. iii. ; but without insisting on all the particulars, suffice it to say, that no one can reasonably doubt but that both the Evange¬ lists copied from the genealogical tables, as they were then extant and carefully preserved by the Jews, and especially by those families that were of the tribe of Juda and of the family of David. For if the Evangelists had either falsified, or made any mistake as to these genealogies, the Jews would undoubtedly have objected this against the Gospels, which they never did. The reason of this difference was at that time public, and known to every one, and so was not men¬ tioned. It seems most probable that St. Matthew gives'the natural, and St. Luke the legal line of St. Joseph, the term used by the former being genuit, begot, which is mere expres¬ sive of the natural genealogy than that made use of by St. Luke. 20 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER VII. Joseph is admonished, by an Angel, of the Conception of Chkist. Matt. i. 18—26. The blessed Virgin returned home to Nazareth after a stay of about three months with her cousin Elisabeth in the hilly country of Judea. Her pr^nqncy now became very perceptible to St. Joseph. But St. Matthew not having recorded each circumstance which attended the conception of Jesus Christ, takes care to guard the minds of his readers against all false ideas they might otherwise form concerning it; and after remarking that Mary was become pregnant before she and her husband Joseph came together, adds, that this was effected by the operation of the Holy Ghost. “Now the generation of Christ was thus. When Mary his mother was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child” by the operation “of the Holy Ghost,” without ceasing to be a virgin. “ And Joseph her husband,” knowing her strict virtue, was sur¬ prised at this her pregnancy, but “ being a just man, and not willing to expose her to public shame,” by denouncing her to the judges as an adultress, or giving her a bill of divorce, “he had a mind to dismiss her privately,” commit¬ ting the whole cause to God. Let us learn from hence to be ever tender in all that regards the reputation of our neighbour, and to have that true charity and simplicity whereof St. Joseph here sets us so eminent an example. “But whilst he was thinking of these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying : Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary thy wife ; for that which is conceived in her is” the work “ of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus [which means a Saviour ] ; for he shall save his people from their sins. And all this was done that it might be fulfilled what the Lord spoke by the prophet (Isa. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, 21 vii. 14), saying : Behold a virgin shall he with child, and shall bring forth a Son : and they shall call his name Emma¬ nuel , which being interpreted, is, God with us,” because he shall be both God and man. “And Joseph rising up from sleep did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife. And he knew her not, till she brought forth her first born,” without any detriment to her virginity r “ and called his name Jesus.” St. Jerome assures us, that St. Joseph always preserved his virgin chastity ; and it is of faith that nothing contrary thereto ever took place with his chaste spouse the Blessed Yirgin Mary. He was given her by heaven to be the pro¬ tector of her chastity, to secure her from calumnies in the birth of the Son of God, and to assist her in his education, and in her journeys, fatigues and persecutions. We cannot sufficiently admire their silence on this occasion. Mary, although conscious of the anxiety which preyed upon her husband’s mind, yet ventured not to explain to him the mystery of her pregnancy. She deemed herself not war¬ ranted to attribute to her own person so distinguishing and extraordinary a mark of the divine favour, as was that of having.conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost. The holy Joseph was unwilling on his part to hint to her the cause of his anxiety, lest the mention of it might occasion trouble and uneasiness to her delicate mind. But God, by thus recording the disposition of St. Joseph, and the strict silence observed by both parties, has furnished us with an uncontrovertible proof of the spotless purity of the Blessed Yirgin, and of the divine origin of her Son. For who will not give credit to the testimony of a husband concerning the fidelity of his spouse, when after doubting it, and being on the point of separating from her, he is on a sudden perfectly convinced of the purity of her conduct, and by the most affectionate behaviour evinces that all his doubts are entirely removed ? 22 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER VIII. The Nativity of Jesus Christ. Luke ii. 1—20.—His Circumcision. Luke ii. 21. In the detail of the birth of Jesus given us by St. Luke, we may consider, 1. The preparations preceding it: 2. The humiliating circumstances attending it: 3. The wonders which followed it. “ Now it came to pass in those days, that an edict came out from ” the emperor Octavius, here denominated “ Caesar Augustus, that the whole world,” i. e. the whole Roman empire, “ should be enrolled,” with the view of ascertaining its riches and strength. “ This first enrolment was made by Cyrinus,” otherwise Publius Sulpicius Quirinus, after¬ wards “ president of Syria.” But though on the part of the emperor this regulation originated from vain and political views, on the part of God it proceeded from an overruling order of his divine providence, that by this most authentic public act, it might be manifest to the whole world, that Christ was descended from the house of David and tribe of Juda. “For all went to be enrolled, every one to his own city,” from whence he originally sprung. “ And Joseph also went up out of Galilee from the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was of the family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, now big with child. And it came to pass, when they were there, her time of being delivered was accomplished; and she brought forth her first ” and only “born son ” Jesus Christ; and this she did without the pains of delivery, remaining both in and after his conception and birth a pure virgin. She stood in need of no assistance usual to those of her sex on such occasions ; she herself “ wrapped him up in swaddling clothes,” such as her poverty had allowed her to prepare; “and,” for want of a cradle, “laid him in a manger ” upon straw. The stable to which they had AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 2 3 resorted for shelter, was a cave made on the side of a rock, and according to St. Jerome, lay on the south side of the city. It is a common tradition, that an ox and an ass were in it at that time ; though this circumstance is not mentioned in holy scripture. Joseph and Mary were reduced to the necessity of taking up with this poor stable, “ because there was no room for them in the inn,” either on account of the great concourse of people there assembled, or by reason of their extreme poverty, which might prejudice the inn¬ keepers against them. Certain it is, that our Blessed Redeemer chose willingly to be born in this manner; and this he did in order to give us an example of humility, poverty, and self-denial, in opposition to that triple concu¬ piscence of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John ii. 16), which reigns in the world, and which is the source of all our spiritual maladies. God was pleased that his Son, though born on earth with so much secresy, and in a state of the most astonishing humiliation, should yet be acknowledged by men, and receive the first fruits of their homage and devotion upon his appear¬ ance among them. But who are they that are favoured with the honour of this heavenly call ? These happy persons were not the great ones of the world, but certain “ shep¬ herds ” who “ were in the same country, watching and keep¬ ing the night watches over their flock ” against robbers and wolves. “ And behold,” whilst the sensual and the proud were reposing on beds of down, or employed in pursuits of voluptuousness, vanity and ambition, “ an angel of the Lord stood by” these humble, poor men, “ and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them : Fear not, for behold I bring you tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the City of David.” He is born, “ and this shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the infant wrapped in swad¬ dling clothes, and laid in a manger.” This is that child who 2 4 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD is the son of David, and the Messias (that is the anointed ), so long expected by your fathers, who is to reign over you, and to deliver you from all your enemies. We may observe how the angel pointed out to the shepherds by what marks they might know Jesus from all others, exactly specifying both the place wherein they would find him and the manner of his being lodged ; and this was a caution against the doubts they might otherwise have entertained on finding him in so poor and humiliating a situation. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God ” for this transcendent display of his goodness to sinful man, “ and saying : Glory to God ” who dwelleth “ in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will i. e. glory and praise are given to God in the highest heavens by all the celestial host to whom all those upon earth join in their echoes of praise and glory. The subject of this praise and glory is, that God has blessecj. the earth with a complete and everlasting peace, in sending his only Son to he horn amongst us, in order to effect our pardon and recon¬ ciliation, by that eternal alliance which he contracted with our human nature. “ And it came to pass after the angels departed from them into heaven,” singing the praises of God, and thereby establishing the reality and credibility of the embassy they w r ere charged with, “ the shepherds said one to another : Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that has come to pass, which the Lord hath shown us. And they came with haste : and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing ” him in this low state, “ they understood the word which was spoken to them of this child,” and published it abroad. “ And all that heard wondered: and at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But,” amidst these occurrences, “ Mary ” was silent and “ kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.” In effect, the great things which God works in his servants naturally produce in them silence, astonishment, and something divine, which excludes AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 2 5 all expression : and so, in the present instance, Mary, unable to express what she inwardly felt in her heart, is fixed in silent thought on her divine Son, catching attentively the words that were spoken of him, and laying them up carefully in her heart. “ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard, and seen, as it was told unto them.” We may justly admire their conduct on this occasion, which shows their ready submission, their confidence in God, their zeal, their faith and gratitude, in the most amiable light. 1. They showed their prompt obedience, by imme¬ diately following the voice which called them to the crib of Jesus. 2. They testified their confidence in God’s provi¬ dence, by leaving their flocks under his care and protection during their absence, and in so dangerous a time as the darkest part of the night. 8. By making all possible haste, they showed their great zeal and devotion : and their faith was equally manifested, both by assenting to whatever the angel told them, however contrary to all human appearance and to the evidence of sense, as well as by making an out¬ ward profession of this belief, and by imparting to all their neighbours the knowledge of this divine Infant, as the Lord and promised Messias. Lastly, their gratitude appears by their praising and blessing God for allowing them to be the witnesses of such wonders. Let Christians, in contemplating this mystery, enter into the same sentiments : let them exult with holy joy in God their Redeemer, and pay to him the just homages of their adoration, praise, and love. “ And after eight days were accomplished that the child was to be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, as he was named by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb ” of his mother. Circumcision was a sacrament of the old law, and the first legal observance required by Almighty God of his chosen people the Jews ; and this on two several accounts : 1. As a distinguishing mark between them and the rest of mankind. 26 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 2. As a seal to the covenant made betwen God and their patriarch Abraham. This law of circumcision continued in force till the death of Christ, and he himself was pleased to submit to it, though without any obligation on his part. This he did for the following reasons: 1. To put an end in an honourable manner to a divine though temporary institu¬ tion ; for it became him , who came to teach mankind obedi¬ ence to the laws of God, to fulfil all justice , and therefore to be made under the law , i. e. to be circumcised, that he might redeem them that were under the law , by freeing them from the servitude of it. 2. To prove the reality of his human body; which, however evident from this and so many other actions and sufferings of his life, was denied by several ancient heretics. 8. To prove himself not only the Son of man, but of that man in particular of whose seed the Messiah was promised ; thus precluding any future objection that might be raised by the Jews against his divine mission in quality of Messiah, under the pretence of his being an alien. 4. Christ here gives us an early pledge of his love for us, of his compassion for our miseries, and of his utter detestation of sin. With infinite zeal for his Father’s honour, and charity for us sinners, with infinite patience and the most profound humility, he now offered himself most cheerfully to his Father, to undergo whatever he was pleased to enjoin him. 5. By this ceremony he humbled himself to satisfy for our pride, and to teach us the sincere spirit of humility. What greater humiliation can be imagined, than for him, who is the eternal Son of God, in all things equal to his Father, to conceal these glorious titles under the appearance of a sinner ? 6. By beginning the great work of our salvation in the manner he was one day to finish it; suffering in his own person the punishment of sin, to deliver us from both sin and its punishment, he confounds the impenitence of those who will suffer nothing for their own sins; and he inculcates the necessity of a spiritual circumcision, whereof the external was but the type and figure, as the apostle puts us in mind, * * ttObi'ON COLLEGE LIB RAW CHESTNUT HILL MASS. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 27 Romans ii. 29. Let us therefore now circumcise ourselves by works of penance, mortification, and self-denial, by alms- deeds and charity to the poor. In doing this we shall truly honour Jesus Christ in his circumcision, and shall experience him to be truly the Saviour of our souls. On the day our Lord was circumcised, he received the adorable name of Jesus, a name the most glorious and most expressive of his saving power; for he came “ to save his people from their sins ” (Matt. i. 21). This he effected by the greatest sufferings and humiliations, having “ humbled * himself,” as St. Paul says (Phil. ii. 8), “ not only unto death, but even to the death of the cross : for which cause God hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is * above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow:” agreeably to what Christ says of himself, “ all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth ” (Matt, xxviii. 18). The devotion towards this sacred name of Jesus began with the Church itself. This saving name ought never to be pronounced but with respect. For in calling upon Jesus, our Saviour God, we publicly declare, that through him alone, and not from ourselves, the grace of salvation comes. The name was brought from heaven by an angel, as we have seen above ; the Father himself gave it to the divine Infant, even before he was conceived in the Virgin’s womb. It therefore is our duty not to rob him of the glory which he has thus received : we should be careful not to hinder him from being a Saviour to us : with profound humility let us lay open the wounds of our souls before him, that the merits of his life and death may heal and save us. 28 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER IX. The Epiphany, or Adoration of the Wise Men. Matt. ii. 1 — 12 . Scarce had the birth of Jesus been announced to the Jews by an angel, when the unusual appearance of a star mani¬ fested it also to the Gentiles. The shepherds, as the first fruits of the Jews, prefigured the indifference of that people, by the little noise they made on that occasion; whilst the wise men, who were the first fruits of the Gentiles, showed forth the happy effects which the coming of Christ would produce in the pagan world. St. Matthew, who has omitted to detail the circumstances attending the birth of Jesus Christ, has recorded at length this great event of the adoration paid to him by the wise men, which he places under the reign of Herod, who was doubly a stranger to the Jewish people, being a Philistine by birth, and an Idumean by origin. These Magi, who are generally called the three kings, though the scripture is silent as to their quality and number, were probably from Aram or Mesopotamia, or perhaps from Arabia Felix, all situated to the east of Jerusalem; and as they were much given to astrology, Almighty God, by a wonderful condescension, was pleased to instruct them by a new star, probably of an extraor¬ dinary splendour and brightness. It could not have been a real star, i. e. one of the fixed, the least or nearest of which is, for distance, too remote, and for bulk too enormous, to point out any particular house or city like Bethlehem. It appears to have been a miraculous shining meteor resem¬ bling a star, but placed in the lower region of our atmo¬ sphere ; its motion, contrary to the ordinary course of the stars, performing the part of a guide to these travellers, (as did the pillar of fire to the Israelites in the desert,) accom¬ modating itself to their necessities, disappearing or returning as they could best dispense with its guidance. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 29 In the very night on which Jesus was born, these magi, we may imagine, were busied, perhaps separately, in viewing the heavens, when suddenly they perceived this extraordinary phenomenon appearing upon the confines of Judea. Becall- ing to mind the prophecy of Balaam, a celebrated prophet of those parts, they judged that so singular an appearance must be the token of the birth of that king who, coming out of Judea, was to conquer all the adjoining countries. The pro¬ phecy was as follows : “ A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel, and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth. And he shall possess Idumea : the inheritance of Seir shall come to their enemies” (Numb. xxiv. 17). These countries were on the confines of Arabia, and as the magi had always understood this prophecy in a literal sense (which however more properly signified the spiritual conquests of the Messias, and the conversion of all nations to the faith), hence they reasonably concluded that they ought to make haste to pay their homage to a king, to whom was promised from above the empire of the earth, hoping thus to secure his alliance and friendship. But God afterwards enlightened their minds concerning the true sense of the above-mentioned prophecy. By communicating to each other their respective discoveries, they agreed to set out together on their journey into Judea, which they possibly might reach upon camels in the space of five or six days. “ When Jesus was born in Bethlehem,” a town of Juda, “in the days of King Herod” the Great, “behold there came” these “wise men from the east to Jerusalem, say¬ ing : Where is he that is born king of the Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east,” which announced his birth, “ and are come to adore him. And king Herod,” who had usurped the kingdom, and was apprehensive of being deposed, “ hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And assembling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be 30 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD born. But they said to him : In Bethlehem of Jnda. For so it is written by the prophet ” Micheas (cap. v. 2): “ And thon Bethlehem, the land of Juda, art not the least of the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come forth the Captain, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod privately calling the wise men, learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them. And sending them to Bethlehem, said: Go, and diligently inquire after the child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore him.” This bore the appearance of an invitation to return again to Jerusalem, which at the moment they probably meant to accept. It was undoubtedly owing to the Divine Providence, that this artful prince did not accompany the wise men, and no less so, that he omitted sending some confidential messenger in their company. The reason of this his short-sighted policy might perhaps be his apprehension, lest the success of the search might be defeated, were he to attend it in person, as he was conscious of the hatred and awe which the people bore towards him; and the very report of his journey into those parts might have been the occasion of the Infant’s being removed into some safer situation. The wise men “ having heard the king, went their way, and behold the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house ” pointed out to them by this miraculous guide, “ they found the child, with Mary his Mother: and falling down they adored him,” not only as a man of supereminent dignity, but also as their God. Their faith was no wise shaken at the sight of his poverty and humble appearance ; for they had been taught from above to consider in a Spiritual and not in an earthly light the quality of this new-born King, and that of the kingdom which he was to establish. So far therefore from being shocked at his unkingly appearance, their faith rises and gathers strength on the sight of obstacles which. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 3 f humanly speaking, should extinguish it, “ And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts,” in token of their homage: “ gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Mysterious gifts! which on the one hand referred to the properties belonging to the infant, and on the other were expressive of the disposition of their own hearts in his regard. In the gold they presented a voluntary tribute as to the great king, in the incense they offered to him a sacrifice of praise as to the true God, and in myrrh they acknowledged his having a true human body like ours. They likewise may be con¬ sidered as offering to him, with the gold, the affection of their hearts ; with the incense, all the respect and adoration their minds were capable of: and with the myrrh, all their actions and sufferings as men. It is with the like disposi¬ tions we ought frequently to draw near in spirit to him, making him an affectionate tender of our hearts, but first cleansed by tears of sincere repentance. The holy kings being about to return home, God, who saw the hypocrisy and malicious designs of Herod, by a particular intimation, diverted them from their purpose of carrying back word to Jerusalem where the child was to be found. So, “ having received an answer in their sleep that they should not return to Herod,” leaving their affections with their Infant-Saviour, “ they went back another way into their own country.” Herod, though equally suspicious as violent in his temper, yet seems not to have been alarmed at their not returning back to him. He was perhaps willing to believe that they had not been successful in their search, and therefore that they would be ashamed to pass again through Jerusalem, where they might naturally expect the scoffs and railleries of his courtiers and of the people: and we may well conceive the tyrant happy at the moment, under the idea of having escaped the censures of the public, by his not having openly joined in the fruitless search. , THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 3- CHAPTER X. The Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple, and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Luke ii. 21—38. It appears from Abel’s offering.tbe firstling of bis flock (Gen. iv. 4), that Almighty God, from the beginning, ’T.qnired the fLot born of every creature to be offered to him, as to the Creator and Proprietor of all things. Men, more especially, were to be consecrated to God’s service ; clean beasts were to be sacrificed, the fat burnt, and the flesh given to the priests : but the unclean animals were to be redeemed for a certain price, which was given to the priests : and the first fruits of the earth and trees were to be pre¬ sented to the Lord, heaved or waved on the altar, and then to be given to the priests. If this regulation did not take place at the very beginning of the world, as is highly pro¬ bable, it became at least a strict law, upon the Lord’s delivering all the first born of man and beast among the Israelites from the hand of the destroying angel, in the night when he slew all those of the Egyptians. Thus, till tho time of Moses and the written law, the priesthood belonged to the first born, except where some special election was made of another, as in the case of Jacob. Then it was God chose in their stead the tribe of Levi (Numb. iii. 12), as a reward for their not joining in the worship of the molten calf, and exempted the first born of the other tribes from a compliance with this injunction, on condition of their acknow¬ ledging their former obligation to it. This they did by being presented in the temple, and redeemed by a sum of money, which appears to have been five shekels, or about 15s. sterling. There was another law which regarded the Blessed Virgin, ordaining that a woman after a child-birth should continue for a certain time in a state called by that law unclean; dur¬ ing which she was not to appear in public, nor presume to Christ’s presentation in the temple AND SAVIOUR yESUS CHRIST. 33 touch anything consecrated to God. This term was of forty days upon the birth of a son, the time was double for a daughter ; on the expiration whereof the mother was to offer two animals in the temple, one for a holocaust or burnt- offering in lieu of her son, who by the letter of the law was devoted, and as it were confiscated to the Almighty; the other was for a sin-offering, and to be the price of her being cleansed from those impurities which both she and her infant contracted in her child-bearing. A young pigeon or turtle¬ dove, by way of sin-offering, was required of all, whether rich or poor; and if the party were competently rich, she offered a lamb for the holocaust, but if poor, she had the option to offer either two young pigeons or two turtle-doves, as it suited her convenience. As our Saviour had been conceived by the Holy Ghost, and his Blessed Mother always remained a spotless Virgin, it is evident that they were not subject to the law in ques¬ tion. Yet they complied exactly with all the ordinances of it: 1. To prevent the scandal which others might have taken who were ignorant of their high privileges. 2. To set before us an example of obedience, and to induce us willingly to submit to all the laws of God and his Church. Wherefore, “ after ” the wise men were departed, and “ the ” forty “ days of ” Mary’s “ purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried ” Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord; as it is written in the law of the Lord: “ Every male opening the womb shall be called holy,” i.e. shall be consecrated “ to the Lord : and to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons,” suitable to their mean condition. But the Lamb by which all other oblations were rendered acceptable, the Blessed Virgin carried in her arms, namely, her own divine Son, who now renewed, in a solemn and public manner, the oblation of himself to his Father, which he had already made privately in the first moment of his incarnation. Every sacrifice comprises two D 34 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD essential and distinct parts, the oblation and the immolation. The immolation was reserved for Mount Calvary; the obla¬ tion is now made in the temple. Between the presentation and the crucifixion there exists a close connection: there is the same victim, the same priest, the same God, the same sacrifice : it begins to-day ; it will then be consummated. “ And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him.” Whether he was a priest or not does not appear from the Gospel, nor from the Fathers. “ And he had a revelation from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord: and he came ” moved “ by the spirit into the temple ; and when his parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he also,” with great devotion and humility, “ took him into his arms,” as the object of all hi^ affections, “and blessed God and said,” being now perfectly satisfied, and desiring no longer to see the light of this world, nor any creatures on earth : “ Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, 0 Lord, according to thy word, in peace. Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,” and not for the Jews alone; “ a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” This canticle has two parts. In the first, Simeon blesses God for this signal favour in his regard. He expresses himself sensible that God had prolonged his existence until he should see the Messias ; and adds, that having now wit¬ nessed with his eyes this Saviour whom God had sent, and for whose coming he had so long sighed, no further wish remained to him, and therefore that he should now die con¬ tented. Accordingly, after reminding God of the promise formerly made to him, he acknowledges its being fulfilled, and expresses his hopes of quickly departing this life in peace. In the remaining part of the canticle, Simeon declares the reason of the great joy and satisfaction he has AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 35 in leaving the world, viz., not merely this transient view of the Messias, but (speaking in the language of the prophets, of future times as if already passed), the certainty he is under, that God has presented this his Bon to the view of all nations, to be the object of their faith and worship. To the - Gentiles he comes as a light to enlighten them by the true faith, and to the Jews he is a subject they may glory in, before all other nations, as being the favoured nation, from which the Saviour of the world originated, and from which all others shall derive the author of their eternal salvation. To this first testimony in favour of Jesus, the holy Simeon adds another extremely afflicting to his Blessed Mother. For when “ his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him, Simeon,” as an old man if not as a priest, “ blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel,” according to the good or bad use they make of his graces; “ and for a sign which shall be contradicted ” by the wicked, who oppose his doctrine and the establishment of his kingdom. “ And thy own soul a sword shall pierce,” when on Mount Calvary thou shalt wit¬ ness the sorrows of thy beloved Son, together with the reproaches and blasphemies that shall be uttered against him: “ that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed,” and disclosed, when some shall believe, and others remain hardened in their obstinacy. “And,” besides Simeon, “there was one Anna a pro¬ phetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser,” who likewise bore testimony in favour of Jesus. “ She was far advanced in years, and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,” i. e. only seven years in the married state; “ and she was a widow until ” about “ four¬ score and four years : who departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day.” The redemp¬ tion of the world by the promised Messias, then much spoken 36 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD of and expected, was probably the chief subject of her devo¬ tions, as well as of Holy Simeon’s; and St. Austin is of opinion that she would not marry again, because it was no longer the time to contribute to this mystery by the married state, but to serve God in a more holy manner by purity and continency. “ Now she, at the same hour, coming in, con¬ fessed to the Lord, and spoke of him to all ” of Jerusalem “ that looked for the redemption of Israel.” It was on this occasion that the prophecy of Aggeus and Malachy (Agg. ii. 7, 9; Mai. iii. 1) was fulfilled, when speaking of the second temple, they declare that however inferior it might be to the first, it shall be more honoured by the presence of the Desired of all nations. “ The desired of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.Great shall be the glory of this last house more than the first, saith the Lord of Hosts : and in this place I will give peace, Saith the Lord of Hosts.” CHAPTER XI. The Flight op Jesus into Egypt. Matt. ii. 13—23. “After” Mary and Joseph “had” thus “performed all things according to the law of the Lord, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.” This sudden and unexpected flight must have exposed this holy family to many inconveniences and sufferings in so long a journey, as the greater part of the way lay through deserts, and among strangers; yet St. Joseph alleges no excuses, nor inquires when they were to return, resigning himself to all the dispen¬ sations of Providence. St. Chrysostom observes, that God treats thus all his servants, sending them frequently trials, to AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 37 clear their hearts from the rust of self-love; but, at the same time, intermixing seasons of consolation. “Joseph, says he (Horn. viii. in Matt.), is anxious on seeing the Virgin with child: an angel removes that fear ; he rejoices at the child’s birth, but a great fear succeeds; the furious king seeks to destroy the child, and the whole city is in an uproar to take away his life. This is followed by another joy, the adora¬ tion of the magi; a new sorrow then arises, he is ordered to flee into a foreign, unknown country, without help or acquaintance.” Accordingly he “ arose and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt; and he was there ” about a year, i. e. “ until the death of Herod. That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the pro¬ phet” Osee (chap. xi. 1), “ saying : Out of Egypt have I called my Son.” It is the opinion of the holy fathers, that upon their entering Egypt, at the presence of the child Jesus, all the oracles of that superstitious country were struck dumb, and the statues of their gods trembled, and in some places fell to the ground, according to Isaiah xix.: “ And the statues of the Egyptians shall be shaken in his presence.” It is believed that the holy family took up their habitation in the town of Hermopolis, and to this day is shown a place called Matara, between Cairus and Heliopolis, where is a fountain in which the holy Virgin is said to have washed the linen of the infant Jesus, and which is held in great venera¬ tion throughout the whole country. “ Then Herod,” who had informed himself of the birth of the king of the Jews only with a view to destroy him, “ per¬ ceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry, and sending killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men,” conceiving that this new-born king would be in the number of the slain. But what does human prudence avail when counteracted by the wisdom of God ?—It is probable that this most barbarous and inhuman 38 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD order was not executed by a sudden irruption or promiscuous massacre, as is usually supposed, and as painters choose to represent it, but with some show of a judiciary process. The soldiers, led on by their officers, went from house to house with the most recent and exact list of the inhabitants, forcing them to produce such children as came within the description of the bloody edict, and these they massacred in the sight of the disconsolate parents. “ Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet (chap. xxi. 15) saying: A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning : Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted because they were not.” Rama is a village not far from this town, and the sepulchre of Rachel was in a field belonging to it. The slaughter also was probably extended into the neighbouring tribe of Ben¬ jamin, which descended from Rachel. The prophet, by an excellent prosopopeia, attributes to Rachel the cries and moanings of the women of Bethlehem, because her sepulchre was near to that city on the road to Jerusalem. These innocent victims were the flowers and the first fruits of the martyrs, and it was their peculiar glory, not only to die for the sake of Christ, but also in the place of Christ, or in his stead. “ But when Herod was dead,” which, according to some chronologers, happened that same year in December, but more probably at the end of March or the beginning of April in the following year, “ behold an angel of the Lord,” most * likely Gabriel as before, “ appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead who sought the life of the child. Who arose and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus,” a cruel and jealous prince, “reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither : and being warned in sleep, retired into the quarters of Gali¬ lee,” then under the dominion of his brother Herod Antipas; AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 39 “ and coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth,” where the wonderful occurrences attending our Lord’s birth were not generally known. “ That it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophets, that lie shall be called a Nazarite Such in fact was our blessed Saviour both as to the name and mean¬ ing of it; for the word Nazarite, or Nazarene, signifies one separated from the world and consecrated to God. Where¬ fore Christ was deservedly called so, as well for taking up his residence at Nazareth, as for fulfilling the signification of this name by a total separation from all earthly impurities, and by a perfect consecration of himself to God. CHAPTER XII. Jesus is found in the Temple in the midst of the Doctors. Luke ii. 40—52. “ And the child ” Jesus “ grew, and was strengthened full of wisdom, and the grace of God was in him.” Not that there was any real increase in those supereminent gifts which from the first moment he possessed in the fullest mea¬ sure ; but they were manifested outwardly more and more as the increase of his age and new circumstances seemed to call for their exertion. Of this St. Luke has left us a memo¬ rable example in the following account. “ And his parents,” according to the injunction of the law, ‘‘went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the passover,” to adore God in his temple, and make their offer¬ ing. “ And when he was twelve years old, they going up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast,” took him with them, probably for the first time; for he could not per¬ haps, at an earlier age, have performed so long a journey, it being above eighty miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem. “The days being now ended, when they were returning, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and his parents knew it not. 4 o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD And thinking that he was in the company, they came a day’s journey, and ” at night “ sought him among their kindred and acquaintance ; and not finding him as they expected, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him ” with heavy hearts, as being uncertain what accident might have befallen him. Not that their feelings on this occasion argued any disbelief of his divinity ; but as they knew that during the whole time of his infancy, he had been pleased to submit to all the infirmities of that tender age, so they were carried away by a natural tenderness on this occasion, being unable to conceive for what possible reason he should thus absent himself from them. “ And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers : and seeing him, they wondered ” to find him thus placed in so honourable a station among the doctors of the law. “ And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us ? Behold thy Father and I, with grief, were seeking thee. And he said to them : How is it that you sought me ? did you not know, that I must be about my Father’s business ? ” insinuating that not St. Joseph, but only God, was his Father. These are the first words which the Evangelists specify to have been spoken by Jesus, and they contain an important lesson for our instruction, which is that of being ever employed about the business of our heavenly Father. “ And they understood not his word that he spoke unto them,” i. e. as to the time when, or the manner how, he intended to manifest himself to the world. However, such was their profound reverence and respect for him, that they asked no further explanation. And having thus esta¬ blished his independence in what related to his sacred minis¬ try, “ he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them,” paying them all filial attention, deference, and submission. Astonishing example of humility and obedience, which is justly proposed to the imitation of AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 4 1 youth, and of all Christians. “Who,” says St. Bernard, “ was subject ? God: to whom ? to men. He whom the powers of heaven obey, was subject to Mary : learn there¬ fore, men to obey, learn, 0 earth, to be subject, and thou, 0 dust, learn to submit.” “ And his mother laid up all these things in her heart,” that she might nourish her piety by an uninterrupted meditation of them, might regulate her life conformably to them, and afterwards be enabled to commu¬ nicate them to others, when in due time they were to be announced throughout the world, by the tongues of the Apostles and the pens of the Evangelists. “ And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and man,” although, in fact, he were, from the first moment of his con¬ ception, equally replenished with wisdom and grace in the sublimest degree, and in the most permanent manner; as the sun, though always equally luminous in itself, diffuses more and more the rays of its brightness in proportion as it advances in its midday course.—Such ought also to be our spiritual course : as w 7 e advance in age, we should advance in virtue ; and though we cannot attain to the summit of perfection, we should at least aspire to it, since the measure of our recompense in the next life will be proportioned to that degree of merit which we shall have obtained in this. This is all that is to be found in scripture concerning Jesus Christ, from the time of his returning out of Egypt till his baptism, when he was about thirty years of age. In addition to which it may be affirmed, that he did not apply himself to letters; and as his father and mother were obliged by their poverty to continual labour, for the sake of gaining a sub¬ sistence, we cannot doubt but that Jesus worked along with them in testimony of his humble obedience and subjection. The business which he and his reputed father followed, was that of a carpenter, since the Jews called him by this name ; and he probably wrought both in iron and wood, agreeably to what St. Justin says of him, “that he made ploughs and yokes for oxen.” Certain it is that the holy family, Jesus, 42 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Mary, and Joseph, living in their poor cottage, exhibit to us the most perfect model of heavenly conversation upon earth. How great must have been the happiness of Mary and Joseph in thus enjoying the presence of Jesus ; always burn¬ ing with the most ardent love for him ; inviolably attached to his sacred person, and always employed in his service ! CHAPTER XIII. John the Baptist in the Desert. Matt. m. 1 — 12. Mark i. 1—8. Luke hi. 1—8. “Now,” when Jesus was leading an obscure life at Nazareth, “in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea” for the Romans, “and Herod” Antipas “ being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea and the cohntry of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina. Under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord was made unto John the Son of Zachary in the desert,” where he had retired. Wherefore we may here date “ the beginning of the Gospel,’’ or good news, “ of Jesus Christ the Son of God, as it is written in Isaias the prophet: Behold I send my angel before thy face,” i. e. before thou enter upon thy public ministry, “ who shall prepare the way before thee.” The detail of the actions of the holy Precursor may be reduced to five different heads : 1. His employment, viz. his preaching and baptising. 2. The austerity of his life. 3. The effect or fruits produced by his preaching. 4. The particular advice given by him to each state and condition of life. 5. The tes¬ timony borne by him repeatedly in favour of Jesus Christ. “ In those days came John Baptist into all the country about Jordan, in the desert of Judea, baptising and preaching the baptism of penance unto the remission of sins. And saying: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 43 This baptism of John represented the manner in which the souls of men must be cleansed from all sin and vicious habits, to be made partakers of Christ’s spiritual kingdom, and it was an emblem of the interior effects of sincere repentance. The Jews practised several religious washings of the body as legal purifications, but none of these had so great and so mystical a signification as the baptism of John. It differed however entirely from the great sacrament of baptism, which Christ soon after instituted, to which it was much inferior in virtue and efficacy, and of which it was a kind of type. Whence this baptism of John is called by the Fathers a kind of partition between the law and the gospel; it prepared men to become Christians, but it did not make them so. It was not even conferred in the name of Christ, or in that of the Holy Ghost, who had not been as yet given (John vii. 39). By the means of St. John’s preaching penance, God pre¬ pares the Jews for the kingdom of heaven, which was now approaching; not an earthly kingdom, such as they had figured to themselves on the coming of the Messias, but that inward and spiritual reign, which begins here on earth by faith showing itself by charity and good works, and which will attain its utmost completion in heaven by the perfection of charity. The character of a preacher is properly appli¬ cable to St. John Baptist, as the Evangelist shows: “for this is he,” says St. Matthew, “ who was spoken of in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet, a voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths that is, correct every vicious disposition of your hearts that may disqualify you for the coming of Christ. Many of the Jews were in a desponding way, and had given up all thoughts of his coming; others presuming upon their good works were puffed up with pride and vanity, whilst the generality were guilty of hypocrisy, and under the cloak of an exterior piety, concealed the greatest corruption of heart: lastly, some who were in the right way, were not without 44 / THE LIFE OF OUR LORD vicious attachments, which retarded their progress and advancement in virtue. But the prophet foretells by the mouth of St. John Baptist, that “ every valley shall be filled ; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” That is, by the coming of the Saviour sent by God, these valleys of despondency and despair shall be filled up; these mountains of pride and hills of vanity shall be levelled ; these crooked ways of hypocrisy shall, by a rectitude of intention, be rendered straight; and lastly, these thorns shall be plucked up, and these clods of earth broken, viz. these anxious cares and solicitudes for earthly goods shall yield to better employ¬ ments, such as truly deserve our attention. It may be remarked, that these are the four great obstacles by which Christian piety is, to this day, retarded in its progress; and from these Jesus Christ delivers those \by his grace, who seek him in a proper manner. The austerity of the life of the holy Precursor added weight to his preaching: for “John had his garment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins : and his food was ” no other than what he found in the desert, viz., “ locusts,” a kind of large grasshoppers, “ and wild honey,” such as abounded in Judea, and was to be met with in hollow trees and in the cavities of rocks, a species of food equally poor and insipid, and such as was then the sustenance of the most indigent classes of mankind. This rigid mode of life was consonant with the designs of Providence, and every way suitable to the calling of St. John. 1. He who preaches penance, ought to set the example of it to his hearers, thus to convince them of its necessity; whereas the Pharisees were ever ready to load sinners with the heaviest burthens, whilst they themselves refused to bear the smallest share. 2. It was necessary that he who was to declare himself openly in favour of Jesus Christ, and to gain him many disciples, should render his testimony perfectly unex- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 45 ceptionable: by bis sanctity, by his disinterestedness, and by a love of solitude. The fame of John’s mission was no sooner spread abroad, than <£ there went out to him all the country of Jndea, and all they of Jerusalem, and all the country about the Jordan, and were baptised by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” The advice which he gave varied according to the different principles of his hearers, and was suited to their several states and conditions of life. There were amongst the Jews, long before the birth of Jesus Christ, three distinct sects. 1. The Essenians, whose faith and morals were of all the most irreproachable. 2. The Pharisees, whose insti¬ tution was in its commencement laudable, but which had degenerated into an uniform system of hypocrisy. They were noted dissemblers, avaricious, full of ambition, jealous of rank and precedence, seekers of honour and esteem almost to a degree of idolatry; and whilst they distinguished them¬ selves by an exterior sanctity, calculated to deceive the vulgar, they were defiled with all kinds of secret crimes. 8. The Sadducees, who, as some think, derived this name from Sadock, who lived 800 years before Christ, were pro¬ fessed unbelievers with respect to spiritual beings, such as the angels and devils, and likewise with regard to the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body; and their morals were undoubtedly conformable to so profane a creed. “And” St. John “seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them : Brood of vipers, who hath shown you to flee from the wrath that is to come ? Bring forth therefore worthy fruits of penance. And say not within yourselves : we have Abraham for our father; for I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham,” in order to the accomplish¬ ment of the promises he made to this patriarch ; and there¬ fore you are not to imagine that, on this account, he will be prevented from punishing you. “ For now the axe is laid to 46 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that doth not yield good fruit,” by true faith and repentance, “ shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.” And the people, moved with his preaching, “ asked him, saying : What then shall we do ? He answering said to them :” that they were to give alms out of their superfluity: “ thus,” says he, “he that hath two coats, let him give to him who hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner ” i. e. impart a share thereof to those in want. Under these acts of mercy, all other similar ones are of course comprised. “ And the publicans,” who were the collectors of taxes, “ also came to be baptised, and said to him : Master, what shall we do ” to be saved ? “ But he said to them, exact nothing more than that which is appointed you” by public authority. “And the soldiers also asked him, saying: and what shall we do ? And he said to them : do violence to no man, neither calumniate any man, and be content with your pay.” “And as the people was of opinion, and all were thinking in their hearts of John that perhaps he might be the Christ,” who was then expected by all the nations of the East, “ he answered,” by candidly stating his own great inferiority, and that of his baptism, compared with the future baptism of the Messias, “ saying unto all: I indeed baptise you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry,” nor “ to stoop down and loose,” i. e. to do for him the meanest office. “ He shall baptise you in the Holy Ghost and the fire ” of his divine love, in order to purify you from your sins. St. John then describes the Messias as the sovereign Judge of all mankind, under the figure or similitude of a labourer, “ whose fan,” says he, “ is in his hand, and he will tho¬ roughly cleanse his floor, and gather his wheat into his barn ; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” The winnowing fan which separates the corn from the chaff', represents to us the last judgment, when the elect will be AND SAVIOUR JDS US CHRIST. 47 separated from the reprobate, though in this life they be indiscriminately mingled together. The barn floor is the Church of God, the granary is heaven, where the elect will be stored up as excellent grain: the unquenchable fire is the fire of hell, into which the reprobate as chaff will be precipi¬ tated, there to burn in eternal flames. These important subjects St. John urgently inculcated to his hearers, “ and many other things exhorting did he preach,” which the Evangelists have not recorded. CHAPTER XIV. The Baptism of Jesus Christ, and his Genealogy ac¬ cording to St. Luke. Matt. hi. 13—17 ; Mark i. 9 — 11 ; Luke hi. 21—38. “And it came to pass in those days,” i. e. towards the close of St. John’s mission, “ when all the people was baptised, then Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, to the Jordan unto John, to be ” also “ baptised by him.” His design herein was, 1. To sanction the baptism of the holy Precursor by his own example, and to give his appro¬ bation to the practice of others who had received it. 2. Not to lose this occasion of humbling himself, by placing himself among sinners, as if he had been one of their number, and stood in need of the baptism of penance for the remission of sins. 3. It was to sanctify the waters, says St. Ambrose, i. e. to give them the virtue to cleanse away the sins of men in the laver of baptism. St. Austin and St. Thomas think that he instituted then the holy sacrament of baptism, which he soon after administered by his apostles, whom doubtless he had first baptised himself. “ But John,” who knew Jesus by a divine revelation, and was full of awe and respect for his sacred person, “was for hindering him, saying : I ought to be baptised by thee ” who 4 8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD art holiness itself, “and comest thou to me ” a sinful man. “ And Jesus answering, said to him, suffer it to be so now. For so it becometh us to fulfil all justice,” i. e. to exercise and give examples of all virtues, amongst which humility is the foundation which sustains all the rest. “ Then he per¬ mitted him, and” so Jesus “ was baptised by John in the Jordan,” on - the 6th of January, according to the received testimony of the ancient fathers. “ And being baptised forthwith he came out of the water, praying, and lo I the heavens were opened to him; and he saw the spirit of God descending in a bodily shape as a dove upon him, and remain¬ ing on him; and there came a voice from heaven saying: Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased .” According to St. Matthew the following words were likewise addressed to St. John and to all present: “ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” By this audible declaration, and by the whole of this awful scene, God acknowledged Jesus Christ for his own Son, in order thus to afford a public sanction to his sacred ministry. Investing him with the high office of Lord and Master of mankind, he thus gave a solemn approbation of all the doctrine which he was about to teach. Moreover, God thus pointed out, in a visible manner, the invisible effects of the baptism which Jesus Christ was about to insti¬ tute. These were, that he adopted for his children such as were baptised; that the Holy Ghost descended into their souls, and that heaven was opened to them. Lastly, this wonderful scene afforded a clear demonstration of the truth of what Jesus was going to announce to mankind, viz. that from the time of John’s mission, the gates of heaven, which had been hitherto shut, were now opened to them, and that the time was come when the possession of heaven was to be the reward of those who should employ violence to obtahrit. “And Jesus began” (Luke iii. 23), his sacred ministry “ about the age of thirty years (being as it is supposed) the son of Joseph, who was of Heli, who was of Mathat, who AND SAVIOUR J'ESUS CHRIST. 49 was of Levi, who was of Melchi, who was of Janne, who was of Joseph, who was of Mathathias, who was of Amos, who was of Nahum, who was of Hesli, who was of Nagge, who was of Mahath, who was of Mathathias, who was of Semei, who was of Joseph, who was of Juda, who was of Joanna, who was of Resa, who was of Zorobabel, who was of Salathiel, who was of Neri, who was of Melchi, who was of Addi, who was of Cosan, who was of Elmadan, who was of Her, who was of Jesu, who was of Eliezer, who was of Joram, who was of Mathat, who was of Levi, who was of Simeon, who was of Juda, who was of Joseph, who was of Jona, who was of Eliakim, who was of Melea, who was of Menna, who was of Mathatha, who was of Nathan, who was of David, who was of Jesse, who was of Obed, who was of Booz, who was of Salmon, who was of Naasson, who was of Aminadab, who was of Aram, who was of Esron, who was of Phares, who was of Juda, who was of Jacob, who was of Isaac, who was of Abraham, who was of Thare, who was of Nachor, who was of Sarug, who was of Ragau, who was of Phaleg, who was of Heber, who was of Sale, who was of Cainan, who was of Arphaxad, who was of Sem, who was of Noe, who was of Lamech, who was of Mathusale, who was of Henoch, who was of Jared, who was of Malaleel, who was of Cainan, who was of Henos, who was of Seth, who was of Adam, who was of God.” I shall not enter into all the difficulties of this genealogy, which is very different from that given us by St. Matthew, chap. i. St. Matthew, who wrote his gospel for the Jews, commences his genealogy of Jesus Christ with Abraham, and traces it through forty-two generations ; on the contrary, St. Luke, who wrote it for the Gentiles, began by Jesus Christ himself, and ascending up to Adam, continues it through seventy-five generations. But whereas St. Matthew has given us the genealogy of St. Joseph, St. Luke seems to havo written that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hence Joseph is styled the son of Heli, by reason of Mary his wife. For E So THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Heli by an abbreviation is put for Heliachim, which with the Hebrews is the same name as Joachim, the father of Mary; whereas Joseph’s father, according to St. Matthew, was called Jacob.—Others solve the difficulty in a different manner, and affirm that both the Evangelists trace the genealogy of Joseph, with this difference, that St. Matthew makes him descend from David by Salomon, and St. Luke by Nathan, another son whom he had by the same Bethsabee. Accord¬ ing to them Matthew gives his natural, and St. Luke his legal pedigree. For Mathan, who descended from David by Salomon, had for his wife Estha, who was afterwards married to Melchi or Mathat descended from David by Nathan. Mathan had by her Jacob, Melchi had Heli; wherefore Jacob and Heli were uterine brothers, i. e. had the same mother. Heli dying without children, Jacob, according to the law, espoused his widow, in order to raise up seed to his brother, and had by her Joseph, who was by nature his son, as St. Matthew relates; but accord¬ ing to the law he was the son of Heli, as mentioned by St. Luke. This explanation is given us by Julius Afri- canus, who flourished in the beginning of the third cen¬ tury, in his epistles to Aristides, as may be seen in Eusebius, L. 1. of his Eccles. Hist. c. 7, which explanation was adopted by St. Jerome, and most of the ancient Fathers, as Baronius observes. The former opinion, however, viz. that St. Luke gives us the pedigree of the Blessed Virgin, is more generally received by modern commentators ; and as to what St. Jerome tells us, that it was not customary with the Jews to write the genealogies of women, it may be answered, that on this very account, St. Matthew, who wrote in Hebrew, and chiefly for the Jews, had reason to conform himself to their custom, whereas St. Luke, writing in Greek to the converted Gen¬ tiles, had a special reason for writing the pedigree of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus being truly her son, and not the son of Joseph. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 5i CHAPTER XV. The Fastings and Temptations of Jesus Christ. Matt, iv. 1 — 11. Mark i. 12, 13. Luke iv. 1 — 13. “ And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and immediately the ” divine “ Spirit drove him into the desert,” between the Black Sea and Jericho, “ to be tempted by the devil; and he was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan, and he was with” wild “ beasts.” The first motive for this total separation from the world, was in order to prepare himself for the great work which he was about to undertake, viz. that of preach¬ ing the kingdom of heaven, of establishing his Church, and of redeeming mankind. By this he teaches all those whom he was to call afterwards to the same ministry, that they should previously retire into solitude in order to converse with God in prayer, and draw down the blessing of heaven upon themselves and their undertaking. A second motive was, in some sort, to sanctify the desert, which, in future times, was to be the refuge of so many saints against the dangers of the world.—A third motive, according to St. Ambrose, was to afford an opportunity to the devil of attack¬ ing him by his temptations in consequence of his forlorn and abandoned state. “ And he eat nothing in those ” forty “ days,” watching, praying, and fasting continually in this hideous wilderness, in order to atone for the intemperance of our first parents in Paradise. It is thus he instructs his followers, that fasting which weakens us, and prayer which elevates us to God, are the best arms which we can make use of against the temptations of the devil. From the exam¬ ple which Christ sets us of fasting, St. Jerome and St. Aus¬ tin derive the institution of the solemn fast of Lent: and it is strange that Protestants should condemn an observance which is so agreeable to scripture, and to the practice of all 52 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD ages. “ And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry,” ;hereby evincing the reality of his human nature, which after being miraculously supported during so long a time, as Moses and Elias had been, was now permitted to feel hunger and thirst. The weak and reduced state to which Jesus was brought by fasting, encouraged the devil to make his approaches and to tempt him three different ways; by which we are taught that the enemy of mankind attacks us only through our wants and weaknesses; or, in other words, through our natural or our inordinate inclinations. “ And the tempter,” i. e. the devil, probably in some bodily shape, “coming, said to him: if thou art the Son of God,” according to the recent testimony given thee at thy baptism, “command that these stones be made bread” for thy nourishment. This was a temptation of sensuality, and the devil was likewise desirous to know in what sense he had been called the Son of God by a voice from heaven. “ And Jesus made ” this “ answer,” full of humility and confidence in God, “it is written : Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God,” i. e . he is supported by any other thing, or in any other manner, as it pleaseth God, and therefore it is not necessary to have recourse to the means here proposed. Christ teaches us, by his example, how to overcome those temptations that are founded on temporal necessities, viz. by putting our con¬ fidence and trust in divine providence. “ Then the devil took him up into the holy city of Jeru¬ salem, and set him on the pinnacle ” or balustrade “ of the temple, and said to him : if thou be the Son of God,” and hast so much confidence in his word, “cast thyself down ; for it is written” (Psalm xc. 11), “ that he hath given his angels charge of thee, that they preserve thee, and that they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone.” This verse of the Psalter assures the just man of the protection of God in all such AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. S3 dangers as are above the reach of human assistance, and when the hand of Providence alone can rescue him: but it by no means promises this protection in such dangers as are voluntarily brought upon us from an unjustifiable presump¬ tion. This is the crime which the scriptures call tempting God, and which they severely condemn. Accordingly, in opposition to this temptation of vain glory and pride, “Jesus said to him : It is written : thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God ” (Deut. vi. 16). As if Christ had said: I must not work miracles out of vanity or presumption, and since I may go from hence by the stairs, I have no reason to tempt God, nor to cast myself down headlong. Baffled in his second assault, “ again the devil tempted Jesus, and took him up into a very high mountain, and showed him,” as in a landscape, “all the kingdoms of the world, in a moment of time, and their glory, and said to him : all these I will give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me.” To thee will I give all this power and the glory of them, for they are delivered to me, and I give them to whom I will. If therefore thou wilt adore me, they shall be all thine.” This was the third temptation proposed to our Lord, which is that of cupidity, as it regards riches, honours, or any worldly goods. “Then Jesus saith to him: begone Satan,” and no longer tempt me with the allurement of riches, dignities, or honours. “For it is written: the Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve.” And every temptation being ended, “ the devil de¬ parted from him for a time,” viz. until the period of his passion, when by the hatred of the Pharisees and by the avarice and treachery of Judas, he found means to compass the death of him whom his artifices could not corrupt. Then it was that the ministers of Satan tempted him almost in the same way : “ If thou be the Son of God,” said they, “ come down from the cross.” “ And behold the angels,” who had been spectators of the combat and of the victories of Jesus, “came ” now, “ and ministered to him,” bringing 54 THE LIFE OF, OUR LORD him snch refreshments as were suitable to the exhausted state of his body. The temptations which Jesus Christ was pleased to undergo in the wilderness, have been considered by his followers as a subject both of consolation and instruction. By example he has taught them how to fight against their spiritual enemies, and to conquer too. The struggle may be painful while it lasts,, but heavenly comforts soon succeed. “ Let us love retirement,” say the holy fathers, “ let us fast, and pray, and the devil cannot hurt us.” With a lively faith let us meditate on the word of God, and it will furnish us with an impenetrable shield against the fiery darts of our enemy. Let us put our trust in Jesus Christ, the van¬ quisher of his enemies, and temptations will but serve to strengthen our virtues and increase our crown. CHAPTER XYI. The Subsequent Testimonies of St. John in Favour of Jesus Christ. John i. 15—34. On his return from the wilderness, Jesus passed some days upon the banks of the Jordan, thus affording to his holy precursor an opportunity of bearing testimony to him on several occasions. We have already seen one instance of it, and three others here present themselves. The second was uttered aloud, so as to be heard at a distance, and probably before a numerous audience. For “ John beareth witness of him, and crieth out, saying : this was he of whom I spake : he that shall come after me, is preferred before me, because he was before me,” being from all eternity the Son of God, though born after me in time. “And” as he is the source and principle of all gifts and graces, therefore “ of his fulness we have all received, and grace for grace,” i. e. in lieu of the exterior graces of the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 55 old law, be has given ns abundance of graces in the new law, to some one grace, to some another. “ For the law was given by Moses,” a mere man: “ but grace and truth,” signified by that law, “ were brought by Jesus Christ,” who is God and man. “No man hath seen God at any time,” and therefore Moses did not see him as he is in himself, nor could make him known so perfectly as “ the only begotten Son ” of God, “ who is,” from all eternity, “ in the bosom of the Father: lie ” it is who “ hath declared him” to us. “ Now this is the third testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem, priest and Levites to him, to ask and examine him ” juridically concerning his person, his employ¬ ment, and his ministry. They had come to the resolution of instituting this inquiry, in consequence of the various and wonderful circumstances which, to their astonishment, were related concerning this holy personage. The holy precursor received them with the respect due to their rank, acknow¬ ledging in them the authority of those by whom they were commissioned. This prudent conduct tended to gain still greater sanction to his mission. They proposed to him four questions, three of which concerned him personally, the fourth regarded his ministry. As the Jews lived in the expectation of the coming of the Messias, and of Elias his precursor, they asked him which of these two he was: “Who art thou?” said they. It does not appear that by this question they sought to ensnare him, or obtain a pretext for aspersing his character. Jesus Christ, speaking of this deputation (John v. 38), gives no unfavourable idea of the purity of their intentions. This question clearly tended to discover whether or not he were the Messias. John therefore left them not a moment in suspense, “ and he confessed ” in the most express terms, “ and did not deny; and he confessed: I am not the Christ.” True humility cannot bear the very mention of undue honour. In this sentiment St. John made the above declaration, and lest they might not have perfectly understood him, he 56 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD repeated it both affirmatively, by stating that he was a distinct person from the Messias, and negatively, by saying absolutely that he was not the Messias. “ And they asked him : what then ? art thou Elias ? and he said, I am not. Art thou a prophet ? and he answered no.” He was indeed Elias in spirit, being the harbinger of the Son of God, and in this sense he is called so by our Saviour (Matt. xi. 14). He was likewise a prophet eminently, and more than a prophet, it being his office not to foretel Christ at a distance, like other prophets, but to point him out now present among men. But because he was not Elias in 'person, nor a prophet in the strict sense of the word, as implying one who foretels things to come, hence he rejects these titles, and seems to forget his dignity in every other respect, except in that of discharging the obligations it lays upon him, and of humbling himself under the almighty and merciful hand of him who had chosen and exalted him by his grace. The deputies of the Jews finding that they could hence gather nothing positive or satisfactory to report to the San¬ hedrim, urged him to declare in clear terms who he really was. “They said therefore unto him : who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us ? What sayest thou of thyself?” Being thus pressed to give an account of himself, “ he said,” in a true spirit of humility : “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaias said.” How admi¬ rable is the humility here displayed by the Baptist ! He will not have men entertain the least regard for him; but turn their attention entirely from himself, as unworthy to be named or thought of, and only bids them listen to the sum¬ mons which God sent them by his mouth. A voice is no more than an empty sound: it is a mere nothing. “ And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him : why then dost thou bap¬ tise, if thou be not the Christ, nor Elias, nor a prophet ? AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 57 John answered them, saying: I baptise in water,” in order to induce men to repentance ; “ but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. He it is that is come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose.” Having heard these words, they returned to Jerusalem to report to the great council the result of their inquiries. “ These things were done in Bethania,” otherwise called Bethabara, “ beyond the Jordan where John was baptising.” “ The next day John saw Jesus coming to him,” probably about the time when the lamb was sacrificed in the temple, “ and he said” to those near him: “behold the” true “ Lamb of God: behold him who taketh away the sin of the world; ” behold the only Victim that purify men from their sins, and reconcile them to God! “ This is he of whom I said : after me there cometh a man who is preferred before me, because he was before me. And I knew him not ” by his outward appearance, “ but ” only by revelation when he came to me to be baptised in the Jordan, and “ that he might be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptising in water,” and preparing all to receive him. “And John gave testimony, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down as a dove from heaven, and he remained upon him. And I knew him not: but he who sent me to baptise in water, said to me : he upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that baptiseth with the Holy Ghost. I saw then ” that he descended upon Jesus, “ and ” accordingly “I gave testimony that he is the Son of God,” because no other than the Son of God can administer the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 53 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTEB XVII. The First Calling of the Disciples of Jesus Christ. John i. 35—51. The fifth testimony given by St. John in favour of Jesus Christ was on the following day, and in the presence of two of his own disciples ; one of whom was Andrew the brother of Simon, who was afterwards named Peter. These various testimonies of the holy precursor were a first necessary to procure disciples for Jesus, who was yet unknown among the people. “ The next day John was standing again there ” at the time of the evening sacrifice, “ and two of his disciples ; and beholding Jesus walking, he saith,” pointing to him: “ behold the Lamb of God,” behold him who alone is worthy of being immolated, who alone is capable of satisfying the divine justice for the sins of mankind. “ And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus,” being desirous of a further acquaintance with a personage of whom their master had said such wonderful things. “And Jesus turning and seeing them following him, saith to them : what seek you ? who said to him: Kabbi (which being inter¬ preted is, Master), where dwellest thou ? He saith to them: come and see. They came and saw where he abode, and they staid with him that day: now it was about the tenth hour,” or four o’clock in the afternoon. It is the opinion of several Fathers, though not founded on the sacred text, that they spent with Christ the whole night following. “ 0 how happy a day, how happy a night did they pass ! ” cries out St. Austin ; “ who will tell us what things they then learned from the mouth of their Saviour ? Let us build a dwelling for him in our hearts, to which he may come, and where he may converse with us.” The joy and comfort, which these two felt in that conversation, are not to he expressed by words : by it they clearly learned that Jesus was the Messias AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 59 and the Redeemer of the world, and they resolved from that moment to follow him. “ And Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the \ two who had heard John ” concerning Christ, “ and who had followed him.” Hence he was the first of his disciples, and is styled by the Greeks the protoclet or first called. Desirous of imparting to others the infinite treasure which he had discovered, “ he findeth, first his brother Simon, and saith to him : we have found the Messias (which being interpreted is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him,” before either of the brothers had uttered a word, “ said ” to him : “ Thou art Simon the Son of Jona,” or John; “ thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter,” i. e. a rock. Christ now begins to form his Church, and points out the foundation of it. “ Thou shalt be called Peter,” i. e. thou shalt be the immov¬ able rock, on which I will build my church (Matt. xvi. 18). The Evangelist keeps an exact journal of the various transactions during the seven or eight days after the return of Jesus from the banks of the Jordan, until the time when he wrought his first miracle. This he does, that we may see the prompt and manifest progress of the work of God, and the fruit of St. John Baptist’s preparations. “ On the following day he would go forth into Galilee,” as far as Cana, a town situated at the distance of about ninety miles from Bethabara, where he then was. On his way thither, “ he findeth Philip : and Jesus saith to him : follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter; ” which the Evangelist remarks, to insinuate to us that they were acquainted with one another, and communicated to each other their mutual happiness. In like manner “ Philip findeth Nathanael,” who was of Cana of Galilee, “ and saith to him: we have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth.’’ Philip here spoke of the birth of Jesus, according to the common opinion, and it is more than probable that at this 6o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD time he knew no otherwise. It is most likely, as before observed, that St. Joseph was deceased previous to the commencement of the ministry of Jesus. For as in his discourses he would frequently speak of his Father as of a person then in existence, the Jews would naturally have referred to Joseph, if living, what was meant by Jesus to be referred to his eternal Father; and this ambiguity would continually have taken place in discourses with the Jews, to their no small perplexity and embarrassment. In reality, the evangelical history makes no mention of Joseph during any part of our Saviour’s mission. “ And Nathanael,” who was well versed in the scriptures, “ said to Philip : can there be any good from Nazareth ? ” not thinking it consistent with the predictions of the prophets that the Messiah, who was to be the son of David, and to be born at Bethlehem, should come from Nazareth. “ Philip answered him : come and see,” not doubting but, upon his personal acquaintance with the Son of God, he would be as much convinced of the truth as he was himself. Nathanael complied ; and when “ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he saith of him,” in his hearing : “ behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. Nathanael saith to him: whence knowest thou me?” To convince Nathanael that he had received no knowledge of him through the means of Philip, “ Jesus answered, and said to him: before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. Nathanael,” persuaded that God only, and no other, could have beheld him in this place, “ answered him and said : Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of Israel.” Philip had described Jesus unto him as the son of Joseph, and at that period the Trinity of Persons in God had not yet been revealed to the generality of the Jews : it appears therefore that Nathanael meant only to describe Jesus as the adopted Son of God, and by an adoption of a superexcellent kind, and such as was suitable to the dignity of the Messias. The acknowledgment of the divine and natural filiation of Jesus J THE MARRIAGE AT CANA AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 61 was reserved for St. Peter (Matt. xvi. 16), “ Jesus,” con¬ gratulating with Nathanael for thus believing in him, “ an¬ swered and said to him : because I said to thee I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou believest: greater things than these thou shalt see,” and more convincing proofs of his being the Messiah. “ And he saith to him : amen, amen I say to you: you shall see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” It does not appear from the Gospel at what time this pro¬ mise was accomplished : St. Chrysostom thinks at Christ’s ascension ; others refer it to the day of judgment, or to some other occasion. If none of these be dehmed satisfac¬ tory, it is sufficient to observe, that each particular circum¬ stance of our Saviour’s life and actions has not been com¬ mitted to writing by the sacred Evangelists. CHAPTER XVIII. Christ assists at the Marriage-Feast of Cana. John ii. 1 — 11. “ And the third day ” after the calling of Philip and Nathanael, “there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited and his disciples to the marriage.” These disciples might he Philip and Nathanael, Peter and Andrew, and perhaps St. Matthias, Joseph Barsahas, and some few others who had followed our Lord from the time of his baptism by John (Acts i, 21). Our Blessed Saviour was pleased to assist at this marriage-feast, in order to sanctify, by his pre¬ sence, the marriage state, of which he is the author and institutor, and on which depends the propagation of man¬ kind. 2. To teach the guests by his example, and, per¬ haps, by his words, to rejoice with them that rejoiced, with a holy and modest joy in the Lord. “ And the wine failing,” 62 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD most probably in consequence of the unexpected arrival of Jesus with his disciples, “ the mother of Jesus saith to him ; they have no wine.” This was a modest suggestion to him on her part, that his known benevolence might remedy an inconvenience arising solely from the arrival of him and his company. As this request, coming from a mother, seemed to lay a command upon the son to grant what was here asked, an immediate compliance with it would perhaps have had too much the appearance of an earthly or human motive for the miracle which he was about to perform, “and,” therefore, “ Jesus saith to her : Woman, what is ” that “ to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come:” perhaps, says St. Chrysostom, because they were not yet sufficiently sensible that wfine was wanting. Certain it is, that Jesus designed not this as any personal rebuke to his blameless mother, but merely as a lesson to his disciples, that in the functions of their ministry they ought to pay no regard to flesh and blood. “His mother ” was far from considering the answer she received as a refusal; but full of confidence in his benevolence, “ saith to the waiters ; whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. Now there were six water-pots of stone, according to the manner of purification among the Jews, containing each two or three measures.” The measure was nearly thirteen quarts, and thus the contents of the whole might be between twenty-five and thirty gallons. “ Jesus saith to them; fill the water-pots with water, and they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them, draw out now and carry to the chief steward of the feast, and they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was (but the waiters knew who had drawn the waters), the chief steward called the bridegroom, and saith to him : every man at first setteth forth good wdne: and when they have well drunk, then that which is worse : but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This was the beginning of the ” public “ miracles of Jesus which he did in Cana of Galilee: and hereby he AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 63 manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him,” i. e. their faith hitherto, perhaps, weak, and founded chiefly on the testimony of St. John, was now augmented and con¬ firmed by seeing this divine miracle. We may consider the above miraculous change made by our Lord of water into wine (which was his first miracle) as a prelude to another still more miraculous change, which he made at his last supper, and which he will continue to make by his ministers to the end of the world ; I mean the change of bread and wine into his own body and blood. With this wonderful miracle he daily honours the wedding-feast of his own espousals with our souls, in order to communicate him¬ self to us, and to unite us to himself. By the means of this communication he operates in us another no less wonderful change, by which he transforms us in a manner into himself. The corporal food we take is, by the means of our natural heat, daily changed into our flesh and blood; but this spiritual food, like the fire which changes all things into itself, is not changed into our substance, but changes and transforms our souls, as it were, into its own nature, to make them one with this bread of life: here by grace, here¬ after by glory. Happy those Christians who prepare their hearts for Jesus their heavenly spouse, that he may come and dwell in them to effect this miraculous change, this blessed conversion. 6 4 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD PAET II. CHAPTER XIX. Jesus drives the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple. The Temple of his Body to be destroyed and raised up again. John ii. 13—22. After this he went down to Capharnanm, he and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples ; and they remained there not many days. And the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went np to Jerusalem,” where he was to commence the functions of his high ministry by a great number of miracles. This time was the more suitable for the purpose, as a large concourse of Jews usually assembled there upon this occasion, who would not fail, on their return, to spread far and near the news of the discovery of the Messias. Jesus being arrived at Jerusalem, began his mission by two different kinds of miracles, each of which afforded the strongest proofs of his divinity. The first of these was the effect of his great zeal for the glory of his heavenly Father, and was levelled against the profaners of the house of Gfod; the second was owing to his tender com¬ passion to the infirmities of mankind. On his arrival at Jerusalem, he went straight to the holy place, and he found in the first court of “ the temple them that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves,” for the sacrifices, “and the changers of money sitting” at their desks, in order to facilitate the payments made between the various Jews coming from distant parts. It is extremely probable, that the priests allowed the traders to bring their several commodities into this court, in order to dispose of them to such persons as wished to offer sacrifice, and that by such AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 65 connivance they reaped no small pecuniary advantage. The zeal of Jesus was inflamed at the sight of this profanation, “ and when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple : the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew.” This was a miracle truly divine, and effected by the majestic display of the divinity shining in his countenance. “ And to them that sold doves he said: take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a. house of traffic. And his disciples remembered that it was written,” Ps x . lxvii. “the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. The Jews therefore,” greatly irritated at this conduct, “ answered and said to him: what sign dost thou show unto us, seeing thou dost these things ? Jesus answered and said to them: Destroy this temple,” and I will do a miracle which will show by what authority I have acted, for “ in three days I will raise it up again. The Jews then said : six and forty years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days ? But he spoke of the temple of his body,” the true temple of the Divinity, which was to be raised up by a glorious resurrec¬ tion ; a greater miracle than would have been the rebuilding of the material temple in three days. “ When therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples,” who were now equally in the dark as to this mysterious rebuilding of the temple, “remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had said: ” being thoroughly convinced that his rising from the dead on the third day was the accomplishment of the prophecy ; and that both his resurrection and the prediction of it were confirmed by the scriptures. The preceding history exhibits a signal proof of the zeal of Jesus for the glory of his Father, and is the first circum¬ stance attending the commencement of his mission at Jeru¬ salem. This was succeeded by numerous miracles which he wrought out of compassion for those who were sick. Of F 66 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD these miracles neither St. John nor the other Evangelists have given ns the detail. “ Now when he was at Jerusalem at the passover, upon the festival day, many believed in his name, seeing the miracles which he wrought. But Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men,” and saw clearly the inconstancy of their faith, and the evil dis¬ position of their hearts, “ and because he needed not that any should give testimony of man, for he knew what was in man.” This penetrating knowledge he had of men’s hearts and dispositions, did not allow him, on this occasion, to trust either his secrets or his person to them, nor to prolong his stay at Jerusalem, the time not being yet come when he was to die for the redemption of the world. CHAPTER XX. \ The Discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus. John iii. 1 — 21. “ And there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night.” The principal reason of this cautious conduct was the appre¬ hension of drawing upon himself the resentment of the Priests and Pharisees, who had conceived the bitterest hatred against Jesus for expelling the buyers and sellers out of the temple, though authorised by them in the illicit use of that sacred place. A further reason was the desire of saving his own reputation in the eyes of the public. He sought from Jesus an explanation of such points of doctrine as he had not perfectly understood : now, to be seen asking ques¬ tions, and receiving explanations from so young a master, would have been too humiliating a trial for a person of his rank, and therefore he chose a time when no one could be privy to the consultation. The subject of this interview between Jesus and Nicode- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 67 mus relates to the first elements of the Christian religion, which the latter wished to learn. He introduced the dis¬ course, and addressing Jesus, “ said to him : Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God : for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him.” Tell me therefore, I beseech thee, what I must do to be saved. “Jesus answered,” by showing to Nicodemus the necessity of a second birth, “ and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith to him : how can a man be born again when he is old ? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again ? Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee; unless a man be born again” by the baptism “ of water and ” by the grace of “the Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Our first birth, by which our bodies are produced, is all carnal: for “ that which is born of the flesh is flesh : ” on the contrary, the second birth of man is all spiritual, “ that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” since every production partakes of the qualities of that by which it is produced. “ Wonder not that I said to thee, you must be born again.” This is to be understood of that spiritual birth which alone can fit us for the kingdom of heaven. As to the manner of this spiritual birth, it is as hidden as the other operatiops of the Spirit of God. “ The Spirit breatheth where he will, and thou hearest his voice ” from the mouth of his ministers ; “ but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Tho effects produced in him by the holy Spirit plainly show a great change in him, and he himself perceives it; but these operations of the Spirit are not perceptible to others : they see not the inward principle that makes him act, nor the end to which he tends, nor the goods which are the object, of his hope. “Nicodemus answered and said to him: how can these things be done ? Jesus answered and said to him: art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things,” so clearly 68 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD signified by the law ; the perfection of which consists in the interior renewing of the soul by the grace of the Holy Ghost? Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testi¬ mony. If I have spoken to you earthly things” by having recourse to corporeal images, “and you believe not; how will you believe if I speak to you heavenly things,” and in a language suited to their sublime and celestial nature ? In other words, if you understand not when I speak of baptism given by water in a visible manner, how will you compre¬ hend greater mysteries, such as my descent from heaven, and my abode still there ? And yet no other person can inform you of these heavenly things; for “no man hath ascended into heaven,” to learn them, “ but he that descended from heaven,” i.e. “the Son of man, who” being likewise the Son of God, “is” always “in heaven. And” yet as great as the Son of Man is, he must die for the sins of men; for, “ as Moses lifted up the ” brazen “ serpent in the desert,” that they who were bitten by the fiery serpents might behold it, and so be cured, “ so must the Son of Man be lifted up,” and fastened to the cross, “ that whosoever believeth in him,” by a faith working by charity, “ may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son ” to be immolated on the cross, “that whoever believeth in him,” as the victim of propitiation for sin, “may not perish, but may have life •everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge” and condemn “ the world, but that the world may be saved by him. He that believeth in him ” with a lively, active faith, “is not judged ; but he that doth not believe, is already judged ” and condemned, by being obstinate in his incredulity, and retrenching himself from the society of Christ and his church. “ And this is the judgment,” or cause of his condemnation, “ because the light is come into the world” to teach the ways of justice and salvation, “and” yet “men loved darkness rather than light; for AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 69 their works were evil.” They were necessarily to make their choice between the pursuit of their former corrupt ways and the light which condemned them; but, being attached both by affection and habit to sin, they had not the resolu¬ tion to break their chains, and to follow the light thus held out to them ; and by thus giving the preference to their state of darkness, they have become even more obdurate in evil than before, with a more determined hatred of that truth which censured their conduct. “ For every one that doth evil, hateth the light” which exposes his crimes, “and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.” Nothing is therefore more equitable than this judgment of the Almighty against mankind; they may avoid it by the means placed within their power; which, if they refuse, they can in reason blame none but themselves. “ But,” on the con¬ trary, “he that doth truth,” i. e. what truth and justice prescribe, “ cometh to the light; ” and so far from flying it, he examines daily all his actions by the bright light of the Christian faith, “ because they are. done in God,” and are ever conformable to his holy law. It appears from this text, that among the many Jews who heard the several discourses of Jesus Christ, those only in general believed in him who were persons of good morals, such as Nicodemus in the present instance : I say, generally speaking, because there were, doubtless, many exceptions. Nicodemus was sincere in his search after truth ; he found it, and embraced it. A fear of what the world would say made him ashamed at first of appearing in the company of Jesus Christ by day; he came therefore to consult him by night. However, he had the courage afterwards not only to declare himself publicly, but also to plead for his divine Master before the council, and to express his disapprobation of the bloody sentence which condemned him to the cross. Nor did he relent either in his courage or in his love for Jesus after the ignominy of his passion ; he assisted Joseph of Arimathea in taking down the sacred body from the 70 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD cross ; he helped to embalm and lay it in the sepulchre. From these progressive steps, which Nicodemus made in the way of virtue, the holy Fathers take occasion to say, that we are not immediately to despair of those timid souls who dare not at first to declare themselves in favour of the truth. Great allowances must be made for human weakness ; we must know how to counsel the doubtful, and commiserate the feeble. Reflection, perchance, may dissipate their fears, and give them courage : in secret silence they may consider the eternal truths, the grace of God may at the same time work within their souls and inspire them with fortitude, so that they no longer fear or blush to show themselves in the cause of Jesus Christ. CHAPTER XXI. The Sixth Testimony of John the Baptist in Favour of Jesus Christ. John hi. 22 — 36 . “ After these things” were done at Jerusalem, “ Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea,” not far from the place where John was staying, “ and there he abode with them; and” by them “baptised” all such as resorted to him for that purpose. It is extremely uncertain under what form of words he and his disciples conferred baptism, at a time when the mystery of the Trinity was not expressly revealed. “ And John also was baptising in Ennon near Salem, because there was much water there,” which shows that he baptised by immersion ; “ and they came and were baptised. For John was not as yet cast into prison.” The Evangelist makes this remark, because, as the other three Evangelists had omitted in their Gospels to mention the particular actions of Jesus, between the time of his fasting in the desert and the imprisonment of his precursor, St. John’s recital of the many transactions of Jesus in Judea AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 71 % during that interval might otherwise have appeared contra¬ dictory to their narrative. This imprisonment of the holy precursor was the conclusion of his mission. Until that event he had continued without interruption to baptise, although Jesus was likewise baptising : but his object was solely that of gaining to his divine Master, not only those who had hitherto ranked amongst his own disciples, but also such others as might be induced to listen to his ex¬ hortations. “ And there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews” who followed Jesus, “concerning the purification” or baptism of Christ,'and that of St. John, which of the two was the better. The Jews gave the pre¬ ference to the baptism of Jesus, and the disciples of John to that of their master. “ And they came to John, and said to him: Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, behold he baptiseth, and all men come to him.” This statement plainly implied a wish on their part that John would declare his sentiments; and although they did not openly express this, he so far understood their mean¬ ing as to see clearly that they sought to extort from him a condemnation of the baptism of Jesus, with a censure as well of the person conferring it, as of those who received it at his hands. Almighty God permitted this dispute and this kind of jealousy in the disciples of St. John, in order to give him an occasion of delivering the following excellent instruc¬ tion. Wherefore “ John answered, and said : A man cannot receive anything unless it be given him from heaven,” and therefore you may presume that it is God alone who gives him this great number of disciples. The death of self-love and of our own exaltation is implied in this admirable rule which he here lays down as the foundation of what he had to observe. “ You yourselves do bear witness, that I said : I am not the Christ; but that I am sent before him ” to dispose men in his favour : I ought therefore to rejoice that all go to 72 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD him. For “he that hath the bride is the bridegroom ; but the friend of the bridegroom who standeth near and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled,” by the glory of his miracles, the splendour of his name, and the wonderful things reported of him. St. John here describes Jesus Christ under a new character, the most tender and affec¬ tionate of all, viz. that of the Bridegroom. In effect, by his incarnation he espoused our human nature, which was totally foreign to him, and has made it one with himself:— he has espoused his holy Church, as an immortal Spouse that has neither spot nor wrinkle :—he has espoused to him¬ self holy souls, whom he loads with gifts in the enjoyment of chaste delights : and prepares for them hereafter an union incomparably greater and more divine. Such is the charac¬ ter of Jesus Christ given us by St. John; he is a Bridegroom ever tender and affectionate, who shows his love by unheard- of effects. Aud what is the character of John ? He is the friend of the Bridegroom who hears his voice with joy; i. e . not merely his words, but also his wide-spreading fame, the account of his many miracles and preaching, and the uni¬ versal astonishment of all who had heard of his extraordinary actions. Such ought to be the joy of every Christian in hearing the voice of Jesus; for this voice we may still hear in his gospel; and interiorly at the bottom of our heart by those graces and inspirations which he communicates to our souls. But let us listen to St. John, who thus continued his dis¬ course in favour of this beloved Bridegroom : “He must increase,” and rise more and more in eminence, not as to his person, for he is as great and eminent as he ever can be; but by the glory of his miracles, by the concourse of his disciples, by the extent of his fame, by the conversion of nations to his faith, and by the display of that omnipotence which heaven and earth obey : “ but I,” on the contrary, “must decrease,” and return into the obscurity of my AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. *7 ^ /a nothingness. “He that cometh from above is above all,” and consequently infinitely above me. “He that is of the, earth” as I am, “of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh,” i. e. he is earthly in his nature, in his various qualities, in his habits of thinking, in his mode of reasoning and expressing himself. “ He that cometh from heaven,” as does Jesus Christ, he “is above all. And what he hath seen and heard” in heaven “that he testifieth, and” yet “no man,” comparatively speaking, “ receiveth his testi¬ mony. He that hath received his testimony hath attested by his seal that God is true,” and hath executed his pro¬ mises concerning the Messias. “For he whom God hath sent” upon earth in the person of Jesus, “ speaketh the words of God: for God doth not give” to him “ the spirit by measure,” as formerly to the prophets ; but he commu¬ nicates to him the whole fulness thereof as to his own Son: for “ the Father loveth the Son ” with an infinite love. “ And he hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth in the Son hath life everlasting” in hope, though not in pos¬ session ; but he that believeth not the Son, and is incredu¬ lous to his doctrine, or disobedient to his precepts, “ shall not see life everlasting, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” This is the last of the several testimonies which John gave in favour of Jesus Christ, subsequent to which we place his imprisonment, an event which caused Jesus to quit Judea, and to retire into Galilee. CHAPTER XXII. The Imprisonment of St. John the Baptist. Matt. xiv. 3 — 5 . Mark vi. 16 — 29 . Luke iii. 19 , 20 . John the Baptist had filled all Judea with admiration at the holiness of his life and doctrine : but “ Herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by him on account of” his living in 74 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the state of adultery with “ Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and of all the evil things which Herod did, also added this to all the rest, that he sent and apprehended John and bound him, and put him into prison” in the fortress of Macherus, two leagues beyond the lake Asphaltites upon the borders of Arabia Petrea, as Josephus informs us. Herod thus persecuted the servants of God, not merely on his own account, but chiefly for “ the sake of Herodias.” But “ John,” with an intrepid zeal, “ said to Herod: it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife ” (Levit. xvi. 18). “ And when he would have put him to death, he feared the people, because they esteemed him as a prophet. Now Herodias laid snares for him : and was ” very “ desirous to put him to death, and could not” at this time succeed in her sanguinary purpose. “ For Herod,” though exasperated at his censures, yet “ feared John, knowing him to be a just and a holy man: and he kept him” out of respect, “and having heard him, did many things ” by his advice “ and gave ear to him willingly.” We are therefore to consider the tyrant as agitated by sentiments of the most opposite nature; sometimes respecting John as a saint, at other times hating him as a censor : so that he found a violent struggle in his own breast, between his veneration for the sanctity of the prophet and the reproaches of his own conduct; to which must be added the clamours and artifices of Herodias, who left nothing unattempted to take away the life of him who dared to impeach her conduct, and disturb her criminal pleasures and ambition. It is by this easy interpretation that the apparent contra¬ diction of St. Matthew and St. Mark, respecting the different dispositions of Herod, may be easily reconciled. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 75 CHAPTER XXIII. Jesus leaves Judea. —His Conversation with the Samaritan Woman. John iv. 1—42. “ When Jesus therefore understood that John was delivered up ” by the command of Herod, he determined to enter more publicly on his sacred mission: for what he had occasionally hitherto done in Judea seems to have been rather a prelude to prepare the minds of men to receive him, when he should formally undertake the great office of the promised Messias. Wherefore being about to occupy the place of his forerunner St. John, he chose Galilee for the first scene of his mission, that being the place assigned him by the ancient prophets. A second reason mentioned by St. John for his retiring into Galilee, was a motive of consummate prudence ; for he was well aware of the jealousy of the Pharisees, who “ had heard that Jesus maketh more disciples, and baptiseth more than John (though Jesus himself did not baptise, but his disciples,” whom he commissioned to perform that sacred rite, whilst he himself was entirely employed in preaching), wherefore “he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.” In order to remove from the eyes of the jealous Pharisees a sight so disagreeable to their feelings, as was that of the rapid progress of his doctrine, and the increasing number of his followers; a sight which, in the ordinary course of things, would otherwise have brought down upon him their steady vengeance, before the time ordained by Providence for the final period of his mission. “And” in his way to Galilee, “he was of necessity to pass through Samaria. He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria which is called Sichar, near the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph,” at the distance of thirty-six miles from Jerusalem, and the same place as Sichem, mentioned in Genesis xxxiv. “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his 76 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD journey, sat just by the well. It was about the sixth hour,” which answers to mid-day. “ There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her : Give me to drink (for his disciples were gone into the city to buy food ”). But in making this request, his true motive was to introduce the following conversation with her, which he designed for the good of her soul. “ Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew, ask me to drink who am a Samaritan woman ? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her: If thou didst know the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” By this gift of living water we are to understand the Holy Ghost, who quenches in our souls the thirst of sensual pleasure and of perishable goods, extinguishes the burnings of con¬ cupiscence, waters the dryness of the heart by sentiments of piety, and renders the soul fruitful in all kind of good works. This is truly a living water, both in itself and its effects, since the Holy Ghost being life, gives life to all such souls as are so happy as to receive him. “The woman,” under¬ standing him literally of the water that was in the well, “ saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water ? Art thou greater than our Father Jacob who gave us the well, and he drank thereof himself, and his children and his cattle. Jesus answered, and said to her,” that the water he spoke of differed from other waters, and was infinitely more excellent: “Whosoever drinketh of this” common “ water,” says he, “ shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I shall give him, shall not thirst for ever. But the water which I shall give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting.” Thus it is with all the goods of this world, of which the waters we drink are an emblem or figure. They more pro¬ perly excite in us fresh desires, which are the thirst of the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 77 soul, than satiate us, since the satisfaction they bring us is only momentary. On the contrary, he who drinks of the water which Jesus offers, will never more suffer thirst. For the effusion of the Holy Ghost, in which consists the justice of this life, is the commencement of that justice and perfec¬ tion which in heaven will diffuse glory on the blessed, and abundantly satisfy all their desires. And thus the water which Jesus is willing to bestow is of that nature, as to become in him who drinks of it a fountain or spring of living water which will never cease to flow, and which according to the nature of all water, rising up to the level of its source, will spring up to eternal life, whence it draws its origin. Now how can they be thirsty who carry in their bosom a never-ceasing spring of living water ? “ The woman,” beginning now to understand that Jesus was speaking of a water far more excellent than such as we are accustomed to, “ saith to him : Give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus,” judging it unnecessary to add any further explanation upon the subject she was not yet capable of understanding, “saith to her: Go, call thy husband and come hither.” And this he said with the view of rebuking her for her wicked course of life, and of bringing her to repentance, which was a necessary condition for her receiving that divine water of grace of which he had been speaking. “ The woman answered and said: I have no husband,” which was truly said: for the man who had her was either the husband of another woman or lived with her in concubinage, though vulgarly reputed to be her husband. Hence Jesus replied: “thou hast said well: I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband : this thou hast said truly. The woman said to him: Sir, I perceive thou art a prophet,” for he had discovered to her such circumstances of her past and present life as a stranger must naturally have been ignorant of. However without taking offence at what Jesus had told her, she wished to profit of 78 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the present opportunity, and proposed to him as a prophet a question which at that time was a subject of great dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans. It regarded the right place of offering sacrifice. “ Our fathers,” said she, “ adored on this mountain : but you say, that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore.” She speaks of offering sacrifice; for simple or mere adoration was never restrained to any particular place : her arguments tended to show that, as Abraham, Jacob, and the ancient Patriarchs adored God on mount Garizim, which she pointed to, near Sichar, and upon which the Samaritans had recently rebuilt the temple formerly erected by Manasses, and lately destroyed by John Hyrcanus, so it was unreasonable and unjustifiable in the Jews to pretend, contrary to the example and authority of their forefathers, that the only place where sacrifice was to be offered was within the walls of Jerusalem. It was agreed upon by each party, that sacrifice should only be offered up in that place which the Lord had chosen, as prescribed in Deut. xii. 14, 16. But the difficulty con¬ sisted in ascertaining which of the two temples, viz. of Jerusalem or of Garizim, had been the object of God’s choice. It is however incontestably true, that he had chosen the temple of Jerusalem, 8 Kings ix. 3 ; 2 Paralip. xvii. 12. But the Samaritans admitted not this authority, having rejected all the books of the Scripture except the Penta¬ teuch of Moses. “ Jesus ” condescended to rectify what the woman had erroneously inferred, and “ saith to her : Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem ” only “ adore the Father.” In the meantime, “ you,” Samaritans, “ adore that which you know not,” having by your superstitions corrupted the true worship of God; but “ we Jews adore that which we know,” viz. the'only true God, and in such a manner as he himself prescribed by his servant Moses. “For salvation is of the Jews,” the true Messias being promised to them. “ But the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers,” i. e. Chris- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 79 tians, “ shall adore the Father in spirit and truth; for such doth the Father seek to adore him. God is a spirit, and they who adore him must adore in spirit and in truth,” without being confined to any one temple or place; and chiefly in spirit, without such a multitude of sacrifices and ceremonies as the Jews practised. This adoration in spirit may be understood as referring to that spiritual adoration which, both in its object and con¬ comitant circumstances, is peculiar to the new law, in oppo¬ sition to the old law of Moses, which was carnal in its sacrifices, its ceremonies, its precepts, and its promises. We may likewise consider it as put equally in opposition to those shadows and figures, which constituted the essential part of the old law, as well as to the superstitious errors which pre¬ vailed in the worship of the Samaritans. Or, perhaps, this adoration in spirit and truth, may be considered as merely signifying that sincerity wherewith a soul adores her God with all her heart, without hypocrisy and disguise. “ The ” Samaritan “ woman,” not understanding this sublime theological discourse of Jesus, “ saith to him,” sus- pecing him perhaps to be the Messias: “I know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ), therefore when he is come he will tell us all things ” necessary to be known by mankind. “Jesus saith to her: I am he who am speaking with thee: and presently his disciples came ” with such provisions as they had procured, “ and they wondered that he talked with the woman” contrary to his usual practice, “ yet no one said what seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her ? The woman therefore,” now fully convinced of his being the Messias, “ left her water-pots,” with all haste, “ and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there : Come and see a man who hath told me all things that ever I did. Is not he the Christ; They went therefore out of the city, and were coming to him. In the meantime,” as Jesus did not seem disposed to partake in the provisions brought him, “the disciples prayed him, saying: Rabbi, 8o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD eat. But he saith to them: I have food to eat, which yon know not,” alluding to the conversion of the Samaritans, which he hungered and thirsted after more than his corporal food. “ The disciples therefore,” understanding him in a literal sense, “ said one to another: hath any one brought him to eat ? Jesus saith to them : my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work which was to procure the salvation of souls by such means as his Father had pointed out, and principally by his preaching and doctrine. He further exhorted his disciples to the same function, by stating to them, that a large field was now open to their zeal, and that therefore they were not to say, as was usual with the sluggish people, that there were four months between the seed time and the harvest. “Do you not say,” said he, “there are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh. Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are quite ready for the harvest,” and at the same time he probably pointed at the adjacent country which was ready for the sickle, and an emblem or figure of the spiritual harvest of the numberless souls who were prepared to receive the faith; a specimen of whom they now beheld in the crowd of persons flocking to them out of Sichar. He urged them to work earnestly in this harvest, by exhibiting to their view the recompense which they had to expect. For as the reaper is entitled to his wages, so would the reaper of souls be undoubtedly entitled to receive the reward of eternal life ; to which should be added, the further recompense arising from the joy and satisfaction of gaining to God so many souls as would be converted by means of their preaching and apostolic labours. “And he that reapeth,” says he, “ receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true : that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth : I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labour: AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 81 others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours.” He alludes to the ancient patriarchs and prophets, who had laboured with great earnestness to instil into man¬ kind the first principles of faith, the knowledge of the true God, and the hope of the Messias, who was to come, whilst his disciples, whom he now sent to baptise, did no more than reap, as it were, the crop of that land which had neither been tilled nor sown by them. “ Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: that he told me whatsoever I have done. So when the Samaritans were come to him, they desired him that he would stay there; and he abode there two days,” preaching the gospel himself, whilst his disciples administered baptism. “ And many more believed in him, because of his words. And they said to the woman : we now believe not for thy saying,” but for personal conviction; for we ourselves have heard him, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. CHAPTER XXIY. The Arrival of Jesus in Galilee, where he begins to Preach. Matt. iv. 13, 17. Mark i. 14. Luke iv. 14,15. John iv. 43—45. “Now after two days’” stay in Sichar, “he departed thence,” and leaving the holy city Nazareth, where he had lived so many years, he made Capharnaum the chief place of his residence. “For Jesus himself gave testimony, that a. prophet has no honour in his own country,” because the people who knew his birth and education, are generally prone ta envy him any superiority over them. Wherefore “Jesus, came, and returned in the power of the spirit into Galilee ” i. e. he made it appear by many evident and miraculous, proofs, that the power and virtue of the Holy Ghost was. G 82 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD with him, and that he was the promised Messiah; for hitherto he had been, as it were, concealed, and had not manifested that plenitude of power of which he was pos¬ sessed. “ And when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him ” with great honour and joy, “ having seen all the things he had done at Jerusalem on the festival day, for they also went to the festival day,” as appointed by the law. “ From that time Jesus began to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and to say,” as John his precursor had already done: “ the time is accomplished and the kingdom of God is at hand : do penance and believe the Gospel, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And the fame of him went out through the whole country; and he taught in their synagogues, and was magnified by all.” We are now to consider Jesus Christ as beginning to exercise the office of a divine instructor. And we may observe he did not, like other men, prepare himself before¬ hand for this office of teaching, nor would he learn anything from man, either by instruction or even by conversation and experience. For which reason he employed himself, till the age of thirty, in the humble capacity of a carpenter, in the obscure village of Nazareth. Hence men had reason to be amazed that he could speak so knowingly of what he had never learned. However, the Son of Man, destitute as he was of all instructions from men, immediately proposed to them what had never been proposed by any other man. He taught them a doctrine infinitely more elevated, more reason¬ able, and more coherent, than all that the philosophers had produced to the world. He spoke to them in a language so divine, so holy, so void of human passions, that it infinitely surpassed the ideas of men. He took the only way proper to make a reasonable impression on the multitude, which was to instruct them with authority, instead of persuading them by long abstruse reasonings; but this authority he derived from certain and visible miracles. His moral lessons, therefore, are not supported by argumentation nor systema- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 83 tically arranged, but are positive commands, comprised in a narrow compass, and suited to the capacity of mankind in general, and were delivered by him with a majesty becoming a heavenly messenger : wherefore considering the method he adopted for the conveyance of religious instruction to the world, we are forced to confess, that of all miracles which Jesus Christ performed in preaching the gospel, the gospel itself is the greatest, there being nothing more divine, more worthy of God, or more inimitable by men, than the sublimity, the holiness, and the simplicity of the gospel. The words of men proceeding from their limited understanding, are generally addressed to those only to whom they speak : but it is quite otherwise with regard to the words of Jesus Christ. He knew distinctly all those that would read them in after ages : he had them present in his mind. He addressed his words to them in the precise time wherein he foresaw that they would read and under¬ stand them : and thus he truly spoke to them. To hear Jesus Christ preach is still in our power : for when we read the gospel, he therein speaks to us, and addresses his words to us in a particular manner. How is it possible then that men should pay so little regard to what Jesus Christ hath spoken for them ? We listen with respect to what kings say, and think ourselves highly honoured when they vouch¬ safe to speak to us in particular. No one refuses to hearken to them, and yet we neglect to attend to Jesus Christ, when he speaks to us and instructs us in the words of his gospel. CHAPTER XXY. Jesus heals the Rulek’s Son who lay Sick at Caphak- naum. John iv. 46—54. Jesus “ came again therefore,” after his return from Judea, “ into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine,” the remembrance of which miracle was undoubtedly still fresh 8 4 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD in the minds of the people. He now wrought another miracle no less wonderful in behalf of one who was above fifty miles distant from him. The circumstances of this miracle, as related to us by St. John, point out in Regulus the different and imperfect degrees of his faith ; this, how¬ ever weak and wavering at first, became afterwards perfect and entire. “ And there was a certain Ruler” (literally Regulus), or person of distinction, “whose son was sick at Capharnaum. He having heard that Jesus was come from Judea into Gali¬ lee,” and that he had wrought some extraordinary miracles, “ went to him and prayed him to come down and heal his son : for he was at the point of death.” It appears that this Ruler had already some faith in Jesus, or he had not made application to him in this emergency; yet it extended no further than to consider him as a holy personage possessing the power of healing in desperate cases, by the imposition of his hands and by his prayers. Wherefore he deemed it necessary for him to be actually present to relieve the sick, and that if they died, his power in their regard was then at an end. “ Jesus therefore said to him,” rebuking him for the weak¬ ness of his faith : “unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not;” thus contrasting, as it were, the conduct of the incredulous Jews with that of the Samaritans, who had lately believed in him, without having witnessed any of his extra¬ ordinary miracles. We may observe how upon all occasions, our Lord directs his first care and attention to the interior , before he proceeds to display the external effects of his power. “ The Ruler ” considered this reproof of Jesus as a kind of refusal, at least as a delay; and fearful lest his son should die in the interval, “ saith to him,” with still more earnestness : “ Lord, come down before that my son die,” being fully prepossessed with the idea, that were he actually dead before the arrival of Jesus, there would then be no further hope. “ Jesus saith to him : Go thy way, thy son AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 85 liveth. The man believed the word which Jesus said to him” as the word of a prophet, “ and went his way;” and in this respect his faith was somewhat improved. Satisfied as to the fact, he however still continued in doubt as to the cause of his son’s recovery, and to be convinced whether Jesus had himself performed the cure, or only announced to him what he saw in spirit to have been done, he refrained from forming a decided judgment until he should know the precise moment of his son’s recovery. He therefore returned to Capharnaum, “ and as he was going down, his servants met him, and they brought him word, saying, that his son lived. He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew better, and they said to him : yesterday at the seventh hour [i. e. one o’clock in the afternoon] the fever left him. The father therefore knew that it was at the same hour that Jesus said to him: thy son liveth.” Conceiving that neither accident nor the common course of nature could have pro¬ duced so exact a coincidence between two such very opposite •circumstances, as the termination of a most violent fever, and the words pronounced by Jesus, who assured him of it, though at a distance of more than fifty miles; he reasonably concluded that the word of Jesus must have been the sole and immediate cause of his son’s cure; his faith at once became perfect; “and he himself believed and his whole family.” Hence he no longer considered Jesus merely as a holy person, or as a great prophet, but as the Messias, who had been for so many ages expected by the Jews, and who now, invested with the power of God, performed, at the greatest distance, such wonderful prodigies even by a single word. “ This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he came out of Judea into Galilee.” 86 TEE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTEB XXYI. Jesus enters Capharnaum, and calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Matt. iv. 13—22. Mark i. 16—21. Luke iv. 81, and v. 1—11. “ And Jesus,” taking his departure from Cana, “ went down, and came and dwelt in Capharnaum, on the sea-coast, a city of Galilee, in the borders of Zahulon and Nephthali,” of very considerable extent, and much renowned for its wide exten¬ sive commerce, and for the affluence of its inhabitants. Jesus chose this city for his usual place of residence, as being the metropolis of Galilee, “that it might be fulfilled which was said by Isaias the prophet: the land of Zabulon and the land of Nepthalim, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness hath seen great light: and a light is risen to them who sat in the region of the shadow of death.” In effect, the people of this country, hitherto involved in the dark mist of error and ignorance, and sitting as it were in the dark regions of sin and eternal death, now beheld a great light break forth among them, a God made man, who came purposely to enlighten them with the doctrine of eternal life. The disciples whom Jesus had first called to the faith upon the banks of the Jordan, had likewise followed him into Galilee, and, without doubt, as far as Capharnaum: yet they were not wholly attached to him, and therefore returned again to their usual course of living, which was that of fish¬ ing. Jesus chose now to engage them entirely to his service, and in the recital given us by the Evangelists, we may observe, 1. Their vocation, not to the faith which they had already received, but to the apostolic school of Jesus. 2. An emblem or figure of the employment to which they were called. 3. The reasons they had to rely upon the providen¬ tial care of Jesus in their behalf. “Now Jesus, walking near the sea of Galilee, saw two AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 87 brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they-were fishers). And going from thence a little further, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father mending their nets. And it came to pass, when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth, and saw ” the said “two ships standing by the lake : but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And going into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, he desired him to put off a little from the land: and sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship. “Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering, said to him : Master, we have laboured all the night,” which is the most favourable time for fishing, “ and ” yet “ have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net was breaking. And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying,” with the most profound humility and reverence, “ depart from me, for I am a sinful man. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. And Jesus saith to Simon : Fear not; from hence¬ forth thou shalt catch men,” not in order to their destruc¬ tion, but that they may enjoy eternal life : “ and he said ” to Andrew, conjointly with his brother Simon, “ follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men ; and presently leav¬ ing their nets they followed him.” And forthwith he called the other two brothers James and John, “ and they presently leaving their nets and their father in the ship with the hired 88 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD servants, and having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him,” and became ever afterwards his constant attendants. The pious reader may make different reflections on the foregoing narration. 1. He may consider the zeal and fer¬ vour of the pious multitude, who went in crowds to hear the word of God, and, by their example, may animate himself to the same holy practice. 2. From Christ’s entering into Peter’s ship preferably to the other, he may learn where he is to hear God’s holy word and receive his faith and doctrine, viz. from Peter’s chair, signified by the ship. 8. By this miraculous draught of fishes Christ gave his Apostles a type of their wonderful success in the new employment to which he called them, of being fishers of men. But we may ob¬ serve, that previously to this wonderful success, they had laboured all night and caught nothing. In like manner Christians often labour much and to little purpose, because they labour by night, i. e. without the light of God’s grace, being benighted by sin ; or because they depend more on their own industry than on the divine help; or, lastly, because they labour for things which deserve not their care, which are not permanent, but vanish away like a shadow. This world may very fitly he com¬ pared to a sea, in which sinners and worldlings toil and labour all the night of their mortal lives and catch nothing. Their life is truly a dark tempestuous night; and when that is over, and the day of eternity begins to appear, then they will see that all their toils and labours have been fruitless; that they have laboured in vain, because they have not laboured for eternal goods. 4. We may likewise add, that this wonderful draught of fishes was a lesson to the disciples to place their confidence in Jesus, as to the relief of their temporal wants. By this specimen of his omnipotence, he would convince them that they might securely rely upon him or the care of their subsistence, whilst they dedicated them¬ selves entirely to the preaching of the gospel: as they could t AND SAVIOUR JES&S CHRIST\ 89 not fail of being abundantly provided for by him who, with a single word, could do whatever he pleased. A similar confi¬ dence should be our chief support amidst the difficulties and disappointments of this life : let us cast all our care on the Lord, from a firm conviction that he hath a care of us; and that if we seek above all things his kingdom and his justice, he will not fail to bless our endeavours, and to provide for us whatever shall be necessary in this our present state of probation and improvement. CHAPTER XXVII. Jesus preaches to the People, and delivers a Man pos¬ sessed with an Impure Spirit. Matt. iv. 18 — 17. Mark i. 21—27. Luke iv. 31—36. “ And forthwith,” after this miraculous draught of fishes, we behold Jesus “ upon the Sabbath days, going into the syna¬ gogues ” of Capharnaum with his disciples to perform the functions of his ministry. £< Wherefore, the people being assembled as usual, he taught them ” the words of eternal life : “ and they were astonished at his doctrine, for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the Scribes. And ” now an occasion presented itself to Jesus for proving the truth of his doctrine not merely by words : “ there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,” who having remained peaceable during the instructions given by Jesus, began, toward the conclusion of them, to disturb the auditory with a hideous yell, “ And he cried out with a loud voice, saying: let us alone, what have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth ? Art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” The devil did not make this public confession through compulsion, and much less through flattery, but on the contrary, to chagrin 9 o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Jesus, who instead of outwardly proclaiming his divinity, chose it should be, for the present, concealed. This he did, lest the belief of his divinity being generally known, might prove an obstacle to his future sufferings and death. He would have the Jews to be convinced of his divinity chiefly by a natural consequence, which they might draw from his heavenly doctrine and his numerous miracles. And there¬ fore “ Jesus rebuked ” the evil spirit on this occasion, “ and threatened him, saying : Speak no more, and go out of the man : and the unclean spirit ” used his utmost endeavours to maintain his hold, “ tearing him, and crying out with a loud voice. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he w T ent out of him, and hurt him not at all. And there came fear upon all;” for “ they were struck with astonishment, so that they asked one another, saying : What meaneth this ? what new doctrine is this ? For with authority” and power, “ he lays his commands on the unclean spirits, and they obey him, and ” immediately “they go out ” however reluctantly. “ And the fame of him was spread forthwith over all the country of G-alilee.” We may observe on this and other occasions, that one of the many striking circumstances in the history of Jesus, was the great authority that he assumed, and the dignified manner with which" he uniformly spoke and acted, exceeding that of any prophet that had preceded him. Moreover, he invariably spoke in the tone of a lawgiver, who does not merely publish the will of others, but makes laws himself to regulate the whole duty of man. He expressed himself with a degree of majesty which commanded the veneration of all persons, with a grace which gained their affections, and with a force and efficacy which almost ensured their obedience. Moreover, he supported the truth of his doctrine by the most perfect propriety of conduct in every particular, and by the most wonderful miracles. The Jewish teachers were evidently inferior to him in all these respects : mere interpreters of the law of Moses, they went no further than AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 9i to explain its meaning by traditions of human invention, destitute of every merit, of elegance, of solidity, of perspi¬ cuity, and of religious unction. CHAPTER XXVIII. The Cube of Petee’s Motheb-in-Law. Matt. viii. 14, 15. Maek 1. 29—31. Luke iv. 38, 39. as Jesus commenced the first day of his public ministry by a display of his miraculous powers, so he was pleased to close it with similar proofs of his divinity. The Evangelists have entered into a minute detail of one of these miracles; the others they have related only in general terms. “ And immediately going out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.” From this verse it appears that these two brothers, although natives of Bethsaida, had settled at Capharnaum; probably for the greater convenience of exercising their trade of fishing, which was more productive there than at Bethsaida, and because Peter had married a person of that place. “ And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick,” for she was “ seized with a great fever, and forthwith they tell him of her, and entreated him in favour of her: and coming to her he lifted her up, taking her by the hand ; and standing over her he commanded the fever to leave her, and immediately the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them for no length of time was necessary for the recovery of her strength, as is usual after a severe illness, and particularly with persons advanced in years. “ And when it was evening, after sun-set, they brought to him many that were possessed with the devil,” and “ all they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to him. And all the city was assembled together at the door,” to 92 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD witness so extraordinary a sight. “ But he laying his hands on every one of them, healed them ; and he cast out many devils with his word, and all that were sick he healed. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying: he took our infirmities, and bore our diseases. And the devils went out from many, crying and saying : thou art the son of God ; and rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, for they knew that he was Christ.” The Pharisees afterwards attributed the expulsion of devils to a collusion between them and Jesus : but this calumny is here amply refuted beforehand, by the compulsory manner in which Jesus obliges them to give up the hold which they possessed, and to be silent concerning him. However, the accomplishment of the prophecies respecting Christ, and the plain and explicit testimony of the devils his enemies, were incontestable proofs that he was the Messiah promised in the law. CHAPTER XXIX. Jesus retires into the Desert, and afterwards preaches in Galilee. Matt. iv. 28—25. Mark i. 85—39. Luke iv. 42—44. Jesus here affords us an example, 1. Of prudence, teaching us to foresee such obstacles and impediments as we may have to encounter in the way of salvation. 2. Of a proper firmness in not allowing ourselves to be diverted from our religious purposes by any pretext whatever. 3. Of an un¬ remitting application to all those duties which God requires of us in our respective situations in life. On the following day, Jesus foreseeing that those who had been witnesses to his miracles would use every effort to detain him among them, thought proper to avoid their importunity; “ and rising very early, went forth into a AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 93 desert place, and there he prayed,” not on his own account, but to teach us what we ought to do, and to engage us, by his own practice, to a strict observance of our morning exercise. “ And Simon and they that were with him fol¬ lowed after him; and when they had found him, they said to him: All seek thee; and he saith to them : Let us go into the neighbouring towns and cities, that I may preach there also, for to this purpose am I come ” from Caphar- naum. “ And the multitude sought him, and came unto him ; and they stayed him that he should not depart from them,” either out of apprehension that he intended to fix his residence elsewhere, or from their being struck with admira¬ tion of him, as not willingly to be separated from him, even for the shortest period of time. “ To whom he said; to other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God; for to this end am I sent. And Jesus went about all Galilee,” teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity among the people, and casting out devils. And his fame went throughout all Syria; and they presented to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and such as were possessed by devils, and lunatics, and those that had the palsy, and he cured them.” Although the power of Jesus equally extended to all supernatural works, yet we may observe, that he gave a decided preference to such miracles as tended to relieve mankind from pain and sickness ; omitting others which would merely have occasioned fear or excited curiosity in the spectators. Both these kinds of miracles indeed would have equally testified the truth of his doctrine, and have vouched for his omnipotence : but the former species of miracles more completely answered to his name of Jesus, which means the Saviour of mankind. 2. As the object of Christ’s mission was to deliver souls from the tyranny of the devil, from the disorders of their passions, and from the death of their sins, so he acted more conformably with this 94 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD office, by expelling the devil from the bodies of them that were possessed, by healing such as were sick, and by raising the dead to life : for all these are expressive emblems or figures of the various diseased states of the soul of man. 3. The design of Christ’s coming was to impart his graces to men at present, with a promise of their future glory and happiness : now the healing of their bodies was an earnest of the effect of grace in healing their souls; the temporal benefits which he bestowed were pledges of eternal goods ; and this humane and beneficent line of conduct was better adapted to win the love and confidence of mankind than the most unheard-of prodigies. CHAPTER XXX. Three Men are reproved by Jesus. Matt. vni. 19—22. Luke ix. 57—62. When Jesus had ended his circuit about Galilee, he found himself near to the sea which takes its name from that country. “ And seeing the great multitudes about him, he gave orders” to his disciples “to pass over the water,” in order to disengage himself from their importunity. He had likewise in view the deliverance of two possessed persons, whom the devil tormented in an extraordinary manner. “ And it came to pass as they walked in the way, a certain Scribe came and said to him: Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go.” One of the disciples of Jesus made a similar offer of his service : and to these we add a third, in order that, in one view, may be seen the various rebukes given by Jesus to different persons, according to their respective and different dispositions. Of these persons the first here mentioned was the Scribe who had his mind filled with the ideas of the temporal kingdom of the Messiah: he therefore made a tender of his service, merely with a view to AND SAVIOUR JDS US CHRIST. 95 his own aggrandizement in the world. But Jesus discovers his interested views, “ and saith to him : the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head; ” hereby signifying the terms upon which he might be admitted among his followers, and the treatment he was to expect in his society. Upon this, the Doctor of the Law, as may be easily conjectured, retired * immediately from his company, not a little disap¬ pointed in the expectations which he had conceived of improving his worldly fortune. The second of these, according to St. Clement of Alexan¬ dria, was St. Philip, who was already in the number of Christ’s disciples. Jesus willing to attach him still more to his service, “ said to him : follow me. But he replied: Lord, let me first go and bury my father,” just now dead. “But Jesus said to him : follow ” thou “ me, and let the dead bury their dead,” i. e. let men of the world who are spiritually dead in sin, bury those who are dead both corporally and spiritually. By this answer we are taught that of two incompatible duties, we should always prefer that which is most essentially necessary,—and that which regards the glory of God and the salvation of souls, before that which is merely of a temporal nature. Moreover, it is but reasonable to lay aside such duties as can be performed by others, when we are called to the performance of duties which individually belong to us, and to our state and calling. “And another,” viz. the third person, “said: I will follow thee, Lord, but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house,” and dispose of my effects. “ Jesus said to him : no man putting his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” If then you desire to gain admittance there, let not worldly cares engross your attention. 9 6 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER XXXI. Christ appeases a violent Storm. Matt. vm. 23—27. Mark iv. 85—41. Luke vm. 22—25. “ On a certain day, when evening was come, he went into the boat, and his disciples followed him, and he said to them ; let us go over to the other side of the lake. And sending away the multitude,” they launched forth into the deep, “ and there were other ships,” which accompanied and served to transport part of the crowd that had followed him. In this passage across the sea of Galilee, we behold, first, in regard to the apostles, the weakness and timidity of human nature ; and secondly, the commanding power that Jesus exerted over the elements. “ And when they were sailing,” he slept, being extremely fatigued by his journey, and by continually preaching to the people. “ And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, and there came down a” prodigious.“ storm of wind upon the lake, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the boat was covered” with them, “ and was filled with water, and they were in ” immediate “ danger ” of sinking, “ and he was in the hinder part of the ship, sleeping upon a pillow. And they came to him, and awaked him, saying: master, doth it not concern thee, that we perish. Lord save us, we perish.” Their minds were in the present moment, it seems, no less agitated by fear than the sea was agitated by the winds. “ And Jesus saith to them : Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little faith. Then rising up, he rebuked the wind and the rage of the water, and said to the sea : Peace, be still, and the wind ceased, and there was made a great calm. And ” again rebuking them for them want of confidence in his protection, he said to them : Why are you fearful ? Have you not faith ? Where is ” now “ your faith,” that faith which you flattered yourself was proof against all trials and difficulties ? “ And the men” in the ship “ wondered, and feared exceedingly; and AND SAVIOUR yESUS CHRIST. 97 they said one to another : Who is this that commandeth the winds and the sea ? for they obey him ” as their Lord and master. The holy Fathers explain this historical narration in an allegorical sense, and contemplate herein this busy agitated world under the figure of the sea ; under the figure of the vessel they view the Church, always tossed about and sub¬ ject to severe trials permitted by the Almighty; the sudden storm they consider as the figure of the persecutions of tyrants and wicked men; in the sleep of Jesus, they view the patience and forbearance of God for a certain time; in the cries of the alarmed disciples, the earnest prayers of the faithful; in the awakening of Jesus, the succour afforded by him to his suffering Church; and in the ensuing calm, the never-ending peace of a happy eternity. CHAPTER XXXII. Jesus expels a Legion of Devils, and permits a Herd of Swine to be precipitated into the Sea. Matt, viii. 28—84. Mark v. 1—18. Luke viii. 26—89. When the storm was now quelled, Jesus and his disciples having passed the night upon the sea “came” the next morning “ over the strait of the sea into the country of the Gerasens,” which is situated in the tribe of Manasses, “ and which is over against Galilee.” A remarkable instance was here displayed, 1. Of the implacable enmity which the devils bear to mankind. 2. Of the merciful protection of Jesus against their malicious efforts. 3. Of the black ingrati¬ tude of mankind towards Jesus.—The fury of the devils had expelled two men from all civil society; the mercy of Jesus expelled these wicked spirits from this unjust possession; and the ingratitude of the Gadarians expelled Jesus from their territories. H 9 8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD “ And as lie went out of the ship and came to land, there met him two ” men “ that were possessed with devils, coming out of the sepulchres, exceeding fierce, so that none could pass that way. And behold,” one of them in par¬ ticular, “ a man with an unclean spirit, who was possessed now for a long time,” was to all a frightful object, “ and he wore no clothes, neither did he abide in a house, but had his dwelling in the tombs,” which being out of the city, and built in the form of vaulted caverns, were a fit habitation for the unclean spirits that possessed him. “ And no man could bind him, not even with chains : for having been often bound with fetters and chains, he had burst the chains and broken the fetters in pieces, and no one could tame him. And he was always day and night in the monuments and in the mountains, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” Thus there was never perhaps seen a more horrid object, nor one more deserving pity. He truly exhibited a lively representation of the cruel tyranny which the devils are per¬ mitted to exercise in this life over sinners, and of that which they will for ever exercise over them in the next world. “ And seeing Jesus afar off, he ran and fell down before him, and adored him,” acknowledging by this mark of respect the superior power of Jesus, against which he and his number¬ less associates could make no resistance. “ And crying out with a loud voice, he said: what have I to do with thee, Jesus, Bon of the most High God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ? I adjure thee, by God, that thou torment me not. But he commanded the unclean spirit to go out of the man, and asked him, saying; What is thy name ? But he said to him: my name is Legion, for we are many, because,” in effect, “ many devils had entered into him. And he besought him much, that he would not drive him away out of the country, and command him to go into the abyss ” of hell. It is to be remarked that the city of Gadara was yet immersed in idolatry, as appears from Josephus, and therefore the odour of its sacri- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 99 fices offered to devils could not fail of being highly grateful to them. “ And there was not far from them, near the mountain, a great herd of swine feeding : and all the spirits besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them ; saying, if thou cast us out hence, send us [i. e. permit us to go] into the herd of swine ” there grazing, “ that we may enter into them a most humiliating petition this on the part of those sublime spirits, who had heretofore aspired to the throne of God. “ And Jesus immediately gave them leave,” that by abandoning these swine to the fury of the devils, he might show men the great favour he did them, in delivering them from the tyranny of these evil spirits. “ And he said to them, go ; and the unclean spirits going out entered into the swine, and the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, being about two thousand, and were stifled, and ” thus “ they perished in the waters. Which when they that fed them saw done, they fled” in great haste, “ and carried the news into the city, and into the fields and villages. And they told everything” in order to their own vindication, “ as also concerning those who had been possessed with devils,” how their deliverance had been the true cause of the catastrophe. “ And many went forth to see what was done, and they came to Jesus ; and found the man, out of whom the devils had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And they, who had seen” it, “ told them how it had been done to him that had the devil,” and “ how he had been delivered from the legion,” and also “ concerning the swine. And behold the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him,” very ungrateful for the favour he had done to their distressed countrymen, they “ besought him that he would depart from their coast, for they were taken with great fear;” apprehensive perhaps of yet further disasters either in their goods or in their persons. “ And he going into a ship, returned back again,” having thus executed what had IOO THE LIFE OF OUR LORD _ been the object of his journey: “and when he went into the ship, he that had been troubled with the devil began to beseech him that he might remain with him. “ And Jesus,” considering his late condition as a kind of irregularity, “ admitted him not ” into the number of his disciples ; “ but said to him : Go into thy house to thy friends, and tell them, how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and ” how he hath had compassion on thee. And he,” full of gratitude, “ went through the whole city, and began to publish in Decapolis, how great things Jesus had done for him, and all persons admired ” his wonderful narrative. CHAPTER XXXIII. Jesus cures a Sick Man of the Palsy. Matt. ix. 1—8. Mark ii. 1 — 12. Luke v. 18 — 26. “ And when Jesus had repassed the water in the ship, a great multitude assembled together unto him, and received him” with joy, “for they were all waiting for him. And he again entered Capharnaum,” which St. Matthew styles his own country, because he had chosen it for his more ordinary place of residence. “ And it came to pass on a certain day, it being heard that he was in the house, many came together, so that there was no room, not even at the door, as he sat teaching ; and the Pharisees and Doctors of the law were ” also “ sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and from Jerusalem,” to hear and judge of his doctrine. “ And he spoke to them the word of God, and the power of the Lord was for healing them ” in the neighbour¬ hood, who applied to him under their several maladies. On this occasion, the faith of a man afflicted with the palsy claims particularly our attention ; for in recompense of this faith he received the forgiveness of his sins, as well as the perfect cure of his disorder. “ And behold some men brought a man who was ill of the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. IOI palsy, lying in a bed, carried by four, and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him : and when they could not find by what way they might bring him, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof,” which, as usual in the East, was almost flat, and surrounded by a balustrade ; “ and they uncovered the roof where he was, and opening it, through the tiles they let down the bed wherein the man sick of the palsy lay, into the midst before Jesus, who having seen their faith, said to” him: “ be of good courage, son, thy sins are forgiven thee. And there were some of the Scribes sitting there and Pharisees ” who “ began to think in their hearts, saying within themselves : Why doth this man speak thus ? Who is this, who speaketh blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins, but God alone ? He blasphemeth. Which Jesus presently knowing in his spirit, that they so thought within themselves, he saith to them : Why think you these things in your hearts ? Why think you evil in your hearts ? Which is easier to say to the sick of the palsy: thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, arise, take up thy bed and walk.” Although these two efforts of power, in point of difficulty, be nearly equal, yet there is this difference between them, that the cure of the palsy is a thing which strikes the senses, and in which no one can be imposed upon : whereas in the former case, the object, which is the remission of sins, is not visible to the human eye, and therefore deception is more easy. But the person w r ho can perform the second, which is obvious to the senses, ought to be implicitly credited, when he attributes to himself the former power, viz. that of forgiving sins, which is in itself invisible. Wherefore, to convince them, that he being the Son of Man, had a real and effectual power of forgiving sins, he undertakes to cure the sick man in their presence. “ But that you may know,” says he, “ that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy : I say to thee, arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.” The paralytic obeyed the command of Jesus, “ and i'V2 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD immediately rising up before them, be took up the bed in which he lay, and went away in the sight of all. And the multitude seeing it, feared, and all were astonished, and they glorified God,” that gave such power to men. “ And they were filled with fear, saying : we have seen wonderful things to day,” and “ never before saw the like ” to them. We may observe in the above-mentioned cure, that Jesus enjoined the paralytic three things, which were naturally impossible to him in his debilitated state. The first was that of standing upright; the second was to take his bed upon his back ; and lest this might be considered as a pass¬ ing effort of nature, the third was to walk away thus loaded to his own home. These three circumstances or gradations rising one above the other, I mean health, strength, and labour, rendered his cure indisputable, and were consequently an evi¬ dent demonstration of the remission of his sins, which being inward was not to be perceived by the eye. In like manner we may remark, that these three circumstances which served as proofs both of the corporal and spiritual cure of this paralytic, are still, in our regard, the most unerring marks of our sins being forgiven. A spiritual palsy is a habit of vice ; the soul is cured of this malady by a renewal of the love of God ; this renewed strength is shown in the sinner’s subduing his passions, and applying himself to the practice of good works. CHAPTER XXXIY. Jesus calls Matthew, eats with Publicans and Sinners, AND VINDICATES HIS DlSCIPLES IN NOT FASTING. MATT. ix. 9—17. Mark ii. 14—22. Luke v. 27 — 89. The gospel here places before us Jesus, 1. Calling a publican to the apostleship ; 2. Justifying his own conduct against such as censured it; 8. Justifying his disciples against the misrepresentations of those who envied their happiness. We AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 103 shall view him never losing sight of the mercy and compas¬ sion so congenial to his character, either whilst he confers the highest dignity in the Church upon a person who by merit had no claim to it, or whilst he shuts the mouth of calumny, and condescends to justify his own personal con¬ duct against the attacks of envy and ignorance. “ And after these things, he went forth again to the sea side,” not so much to take the air after his fatigue, as to perform a work of mercy which he had in view. “ And all the multitude came to him, and he taught them ” as usual the way of salvation. “ And as he was passing by” the quay “ he saw Levi the son of Alpheus, a publican,” or tax- gatherer by profession. He was likewise “ called Matthew,” and was “ sitting at the custom-house ; and” Jesus “ saith to him : Follow me. And having left all, he rose up and followed him.” Without doubt he had often before heard Jesus preach, and had been charmed with his doctrine ; and St. Jerome is of opinion, that a certain amiable brightness and air of majesty which shone in the countenance of our divine Redeemer, pierced his soul on this occasion, and strongly attracted him to his service. “ And Levi,” con¬ sidering himself highly honoured in being called to be one of Christ’s disciples, “ made him a great feast in his house,” to testify his gratitude and joy. “ And it came to pass as he was at table in the house, behold many publicans and sinners came and were at table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many that followed him.” Of these some were probably Matthew’s friends, whom he invited with the hope that, by our Saviour’s divine conversation, they might also be con¬ verted. “ And the Scribes and Pharisees seeing that he ate with publicans and sinners, murmured, saying to his dis¬ ciples : Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners ? and why doth your master ” likewise “ eat and drink ” with them ? “ Jesus hearing this, answering said to them : They who are in health need not a physician, but they who are ill. Go and learn what means this saying ’ ’ of holy scrip- 104 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD ture (Osee vi. 6), “I will have mercy and not sacrifice,” and then yon will know why I eat with publicans, and that in this I only do the will of my Father who sent me principally for them : “ for I came not to call the just, hut sinners to repentance.” Commerce with idolaters was forbidden the Jews, for fear of the contagion of vice by evil company. This law the proud Pharisees extended not only beyond its bounds, but even against the essential laws of charity, the first among the divine precepts. They scorned to converse with sinners even for the sake of reclaiming them, which the law, however, so far from forbidding, required as the first and most excellent of its precepts. Christ came from heaven, and clothed himself with our mortality, through the most tender compassion for sinners : he burned continually with the most ardent thirst for their salvation; and it was his greatest delight to converse with those that were sunk in the deepest abyss, in order to bring them to repentance and salvation. Our Blessed Saviour having proved to the Pharisees how irreproachable his conduct was with regard to this inter¬ course with sinners, they made a second attack upon him, by laying to his charge the good cheer of his disciples, which they contrasted with his saying that he was come to call sinners to repentance ; thus endeavouring to show that his actions did not correspond with his words. On the former occasion they had addressed themselves to his dis¬ ciples and not to Jesus; here they do not appear as the chief accusing parties, hut bring forward in their stead the disciples of John the Baptist, with whom they made a com¬ mon cause, and who seemed to have taken umbrage at the feast given by a Publican. This accounts for St. Matthew attributing the attack in question to the disciples of John, whilst St. Luke considers the Pharisees as the authors of it, and St. Mark places it to both parties, it being evident that the disciples of John acted chiefly at the instigation of the Pharisees. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. “ Then came to him the disciples of John,” viz. at his departure out of Matthew’s house, “and likewise the Pha¬ risees w r ho used to fast, saying : Why do the disciples of John fast frequently, and practice praying, and likewise those of the Pharisees : but thine eat and drink, and fast not ? Jesus answered them : Can you make the children of the bridegroom fast ? Can the companions of the bride¬ groom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them ? ” No, certainly: “as long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fastso long as I am with my disciples, they cannot fast and weep. “But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them ” by death, “ and then they shall fast in those days.” Jesus became the bride¬ groom of the Church by the conversion of the Jews, her nuptials continued during the three years of his mission, and in heaven they will be consummated for all eternity. “And he proposed to them” also this “similitude. No man putteth a piece,” taken, “ from a new coat into an old coat; for so he both breaketh the new, and the patch from the new suiteth not with the old : for it taketh awajr the fulness thereof from the garment, and there is made a greater rent.” This comparison of the old garment repre¬ sents the disciples of Jesus as yet accustomed to the life of the old man. The piece of new cloth represents the fasts and austerities of the new law. The holes in the garment, which would be rendered wider, represent the bad effects which would have ensued to his disciples from imposing new rigours on them in their present weak state, tending more to discourage than to increase their fervour. Jesus next draws a comparison from the conduct observed by those persons who manage the vintages. “ No one,” says he, “ putteth new wine into old casks,” made of leather or skin, “for so the new wine ” fermenting “ breaketh the casks, and it will be spilled, and the casks lost,” which might otherwise have served for old wine. Thus it was with the disciples of Jesus in respect to the austerities of the io6 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD new law: they were, at that period, no more suited to undergo rigours than old and half-worn vessels were calcu¬ lated for the holding of wine, which from its newness was in a state of fermentation. As wine in this state would inevitably burst asunder these old vessels, so austerities and fasts, to any great excess, would have caused the disciples in their actual feeble state to abandon their new undertaking. “ But new wine,” says Christ, “is to be put into new casks, and both will be preserved : ” so in like manner let my disciples be first renewed by the Holy Ghost, and then they will be enabled to undergo the greatest rigours of penance. “ And no one that drinketh old wine, hath presently a mind to new: for he says; the old is better.” This last com¬ parison is drawn from the medical science, and from that care which each man takes of his own health. They who are in the habit of using aged wine for their beverage, do not willingly change it for new, the former being deemed more wholesome from its being riper and less heady. This aged wine represents to us the Old Testament, which was proportioned to the weak state of the Jews, who were chiefly influenced by servile principles: but the new wine is the spirit of the gospel, inebriating the heart with a love which despises death, which pays no regard to the ties of blood or of friendship in opposition to the glory of God, and which undertakes things impossible to mere human nature. The disciples, habituated to the wine of the old law, were not yet sufficiently strong to bear the new wine of the gospel. i AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 107 CHAPTER XXXY. Jairus comes to Jesus.— A Woman is cured of an invete¬ rate Issue of Blood.—The Daughter of Jairus is raised to Life. Matt. ix. 18—25. Mark v. 22—42. Luke vtii. 41—56. The scene which is the subject of the preceding chapter took place upon the borders of the Lake Tiberias : and “ as he was speaking these things to them, nigh unto the sea, behold there came a man whose name was Jairus; and he was a ruler of the synagogue ” at Capharnaum: “ he came up ” to Jesus, “ and seeing him, falleth down at his feet, and adored him, beseeching him that he would come into his house, for he had an only daughter almost twelve years old, and she was dying : and he besought him much saying: my daughter is at the point of death; but come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live. And Jesus rising up went with him, and a great multitude fol¬ lowed him, with his disciples: and it happened as he went, that he was thronged by the multitude : and behold a woman, who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered much from many physicians, and had bestowed all her substance on ” them “ and could not be healed by any, so that she was nothing better but rather worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within her¬ self ; If I shall touch only his garment I shall be healed ; and forthwith the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil. And immediately Jesus knowing in himself the virtue that had proceeded from him, turning to the multitude, said: who has touched my garments ? who is it that touched me ? And all denying, Peter and they that were with him, said : Master, the multitudes throng and press thee, and dost thou say, who touched me ? And Jesus said: somebody hath to8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD touched me, for I know that virtue is gone out from me; and he looked about to see her who had done this, and the woman seeing that she was not hid, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before his feet, and told him all the truth, and declared before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was immediately healed. But Jesus seeing her, said : be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole : go in peace, and be thou healed of this disease; and the woman was made whole from that hour.” We may justly admire the profound humility of this woman in not daring to speak to Christ; whilst at the same time we should learn to imitate her great faith and confidence in thus believing that the bare touching of Christ’s garment would restore her to perfect health. “ As he was yet speaking, there cometh one to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him; thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the master any further ? But Jesus having heard the word that was spoken, saith to the ruler of the synagogue,” who was the father of the maid ; “ fear not, believe only, and she shall be safe. And he admitted not any man to follow him, but Peter, and James, and John the brother of James,” his beloved disciples. “ And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout,” as was usual on such occasions, “ and the people weeping and wailing much, he said to them : why do you make this ado, and weep ? Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth,” meaning that she was not to remain dead, but was presently to return to life, as if she had only been asleep. “ And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead : but he having put them all out, suffered not any man to go in with him, but Peter, and James, and John, and the father and mother of the maiden, and entereth in where the damsel was lying,” and “ taking her by the hand, cried out saying: Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, damsel, I say to thee arise ; and her spirit AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 109 returned, and she rose immediately, and he bid them give her to eat, and she walked,” for “ she was twelve years old : and they, her parents, were astonished with a great astonish¬ ment, and he charged them strictly that no man should know it, and the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.” CHAPTER XXXYI. Jesus giveth Sight to two Blind Men, and heals a Dumb Man possessed by a Devil. Matt. ix. 27—34. “ And as Jesus passed from thence ” to his own habitation, “ there followed him two blind men, crying out and saying; have mercy on us, 0 Son of David.” This was no other than a public confession of his being the Messiah, to whom the voice of the people had ever exclusively consecrated the title of Son of David. However, Jesus not choosing to cure them in public, he continued to go forward, without making any reply ; and they, not considering this as a refusal, found means to follow him to his dwelling. This short trial of their faith evinced its firmness and constancy. “ And when he was come to the house, the blind men came in to him; and Jesus,” moved with compassion, “ saith to them: Do you believe that I can do this unto you ? They say to him : yea Lord,” thus acknowledging his sovereign power. “ Then he touched their eyes, saying: according to your faith, be it done unto you. And their eyes were” instantly “ opened, and Jesus strictly charged them, saying : see that no man know this. But they going out,” and following the impulse of their gratitude, “ spread his fame abroad in all that country.” It is sufficiently obvious that this injunction of silence which Jesus laid on those whom he cured of their several infirmities, was no wise obligatory before God, as Calvin supposes ; because the parties did not consider it as no THE LIFE OF OUR LORD an absolute prohibition, but ascribed it merely to bis modesty and extreme humility. In this respect bis conduct is a lesson to all bis followers to beware of vain glory ; for though Jesus himself was utterly incapable of this vice, be knew it was our most dangerous enemy. “ And when they were gone out ” of the bouse, “ behold they brought him a dumb man, possessed with a devil; and after the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke, and the multitude wondered, saying : never was the like seen in Israel.” Whereby they meant to say that God bad never yet sent to them a prophet who cured all sorts of diseases with so great a display of power, or with such facility, or who bad driven out all sorts of devils with an authority so absolute, as Jesus bad done in their presence. These were the sentiments entertained by those who viewed the miracles of Jesus in a proper light, and as highly conductive to God’s glory and to the common benefit of mankind. “ But the Pharisees,” imagining that bis miracles derogated from their credit and reputation amongst the people, spoke of them in a very different manner, and “ said, by the prince of devils be castetb out devils.” This their idea originated from a principle that is admitted by theologians, viz. that there exists a subordination among the infernal spirits; and that under one supreme chief, who exercies a general sway, there continues to be the same gradation of authority which sub¬ sisted amongst them before their fall. Thus, the Pharisees maintained that Jesus expelled the devils from the bodies of possessed persons, not by a divine power, but by the art of magic, because they supposed that by making a compact with the prince of the devils he had obtained a supreme power over all the inferior departments. Of this their blasphemous calumny, Jesus takes no notice at present, because they pro¬ bably threw it out in a slight manner, and so as to make little or no impression upon the minds of the people; but when at a subsequent period they repeat it to him in the face of the public, then it will be seen with what force and perspicuity he will expose the futility of so ill-grounded an objection. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. hi PAET III. -o- CHAPTER XXXVII. Cueist cures a Man who had been Infirm for Thirty- eight Years, and by several Arguments justifies this Miracle and his Mission in general. John v. 1 — 47. “ After these things, there was a festival day of the Jews,” viz. the Passover, “ and Jesns went up to Jerusalem ” with his disciples to celebrate it, agreeably to what the law com¬ manded, Deut. xvi. “Now there is at Jerusalem,” near to the sheep gate (so called because the sheep destined for the victims were brought that way), “ a pond called Probatica,” where the entrails of sheep and beasts offered in sacrifice were washed, which in “Hebrew,” or Syriac, “is called Bethsaida,” or rather Bethesda, which means a house of mercy, from the cures performed there; “ having five porches ” or galleries for the convenience of the sick who flocked thither from all parts as to a great hospital. “ In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered,” impatiently “ waiting for the motion of the water: for an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond, and the water was moved: and he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under.” The circum¬ stance of only one person’s being cured out of so numerous a concourse of such objects usually attending there, is a clear proof that so extraordinary an effect was not natural, but produced by some supernatural cause; since a medical quality in the water, of whatever nature it might be, could not rationally be supposed limited to a single object, but would of course have benefited a greater number. It is therefore to be deemed no other than a supernatural virtue imparted to this water by the Almighty, the effect thereof 112 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD being of momentaneous duration, and precisely attached to the very instant that the water was put in motion by the angel. It being a matter of absolute uncertainty at what particular time the angel would produce this effect by the motion of the water, the diseased necessarily kept their stations with great anxiety under the adjoining galleries. Yet, under this general state of uncertainty, it was usual, we may suppose, for the angel to descend repeatedly during the course of the year, and perhaps frequently in every month, lest otherwise the patience of these distressed objects should be put to too severe a trial. Had they previously known the precise moment, no further attendance would have been requisite, except at the stated periods : but it was the will of God that they should purchase the regaining of their health by a com¬ pliance with conditions which were attended with some degree of tediousness, and with no small trial of their patience. “And,” amongst other diseased and crippled objects, “ there was a certain man there that had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity. Him, when Jesus saw lying and knew that he had been now a long time, he saith to him,” to excite his faith and hope: “ Wilt thou be made whole ? The infirm man,” conceiving that by this question Jesus meant no more than to express his pity and surprise at his miserable condition, when so near to this health¬ giving pond, “ answered him : Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pond. For w r hilst I am coming, another goeth down before me. Jesus saith to him : arise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and he took up his bed and walked,” thus exhibiting a substantial proof of his being per¬ fectly cured: “and it was the Sabbath-day. The Jews therefore said to him that was healed: it is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed. [Ex. xx. 10. Jer xvii. 24.] He answered them: he that made me whole AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 113 said to me: take up thy bed and walkand surely he that could heal me with a word must be a prophet, and therefore must have authority to bid me do this. “ They asked him therefore: who is that man who said to thee, take up thy bed and walk ? But he who was healed, knew not who he was; for Jesus went aside from the multitude standing in the place,” to shun their applause, and lest he should add fresh fuel to the jealousy of the Pharisees. “ Afterwards Jesus findeth him in the temple,” giving thanks to God, “ and saith to him : Behold thou art made whole, sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee,” for thy insensibility and contempt of this mercy. “ This man,” actuated by a sentiment of gratitude towards his benefactor, “ went his way, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole. Thereupon the Jews,” instead of being touched with respect for the author of so great a miracle, “ perse¬ cuted Jesus,” and endeavoured to put him to death, “ because he did these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ” and justified his conduct by various arguments: first by the example of his heavenly Father : “ My Father,” says he, from the beginning of the world, “ worketh until now,” and the rest he entered upon after the creation, and which he was pleased to honour by that of the Sabbath, is no hinderance to the operations of power in the preservation of his works, nor to the operations of his grace in the sanctifi¬ cation of souls, “ and I work also ” with him, being one and the same in nature and substance with him: nay, even as man I do nothing but what is conformable to his will, and therefore I do not violate the Sabbath. “ For this reason, then, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the Sabbath, but also said God was his. father, making himself equal to God ” in one undivided nature. “ Then Jesus answered and said to them,” con¬ firming still further the indivisible unity of action subsisting between him and his heavenly Father : “ Amen, amen, I say unto you; the Son cannot do anything of himself, but what 1 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 114 lie sees his Father doing: for what things soever he doth, these the Son also does in like manner: for the Father loveth the Son” with an infinite love, “and” therefore showeth him all things which himself doth, communicating to him with his divine nature his wisdom and power : “ and greater works than these will he show, that you may wonder,” and admire the power which he hath given him. “ For as the Father raiseth up the dead and giveth life : so the Son also giveth life to whom he will,” as well the life of the body to such as are dead, as the life of the soul to those who have lost it by sin. And this power the Father hath given him, because he hath made him judge over all men. “ For neither doth the Father judge any man ” in a visible manner : “ but hath given all judgment to the Son,” who at the end of the world will return in his human body as the ostensible judge of all mankind : and this he hath done, “ that all men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father: he who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father who hath sent him;” and therefore it is in vain that you pretend to honour God, whilst you dishonour me his Son whom he hath sent to you, in order to bring you to eternal life. Jesus now proceeds to particularise those stupendous works which the Father will give him to perform with regard to the raising of the dead to life. These he reduces under three heads. The first is the spiritual resurrection, whereby a soul rises from the death of sin to the life of grace; and this he attests with the solemn asseveration of an oath. “ Amen, amen, I say unto you, that he who heareth my word and believeth him that sent me, hath ” a title to “ life everlasting, and he falleth not into ” that condemnation which awaits sinners, but is “ passed from the death of sin ” to “ the life ” of grace, and will one day pass from the corrup¬ tion of a grave to incorruptible and eternal glory. The second of these works is the raising of the dead to life corporally, which he distinguishes into two parts; viz. the resurrection of individuals, and that of mankind in AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. IT S general (Acts xvii. 31). He begins by the resurrection of individuals. “ Amen, amen, I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” This was shortly after realised in the persons of the young man of Naim and of Lazarus. “ For as the Father hath life in himself,” proceeding from no other person, “so he hath given to the Son also to have life in himself,” because the Son in the same eternity always proceeded and proceeds from him so as to be equal in all perfections, and has life within himself, in such sort as to be a source or fountain of life to others. “And he hath given him power to execute judg¬ ment, because he is the Son of man,” and as such is appointed judge of the world. But the third work, viz. that of the general resurrection and judgment, is still more stupendous, and therefore Christ says : “ Wonder not at this, which I have just mentioned ; for the hour cometh wherein ” not these few only, but “ all that are in the graves, shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life: but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” Jesus here concludes this wonderful justification of his conduct against the cavils of the Jews, who taxed him with a violation of the Sabbath ; and from the principles he has here established, he draws this conclusion: that both in this instance and in every other action he can do nothing of him¬ self, because he forms no judgment, nor executes any design but according as he hears, viz. according to the injunctions of his heavenly Father, which he fails not to observe. “], cannot of myself,” says he, “ do any thing. As I hear, so I judge: and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of him that sent me,” who is sovereign wisdom and justice. These last-mentioned words concerning his Father who sent him, lead him now to a justification of his mission, ii6 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD which forms the second part of this discourse, and is the chief subject of this dispute with the Jews. For if the certainty of his mission from God be once clearly established, nothing ought then to have prevented his being acknowledged as the expected Messiah. In order, therefore, to establish it, he produces various testimonies, viz. the testimony of John the Baptist, that of the voice of his Father, that of the Scriptures in general, and lastly the testimony of Moses in particular. Jesus lays no stress upon the testimony he bears to him¬ self. Hence he says : “If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is not ” such as to be admitted by you as “true,” that is, as legal, or admissible in a court of judi¬ cature. “ There is another that giveth testimony concerning me,” to wit, “ John the Baptist, and I know that the testi¬ mony which he giveth of me is true ” and authentic. In effect, “you sent to John” yourselves, to know from his own mouth whether or not he were the Messias, hereby evincing your readiness to receive him in that character, had he chosen to attribute it to himself: “ and he gave testimony to the truth ” of my being the Messiah. “ But I receive not testimony from man,” as if necessary for my- justification : “ but I say these things that you ” by believing his testi¬ mony, “ may be satisfied,” by that faith which he exhorted you to have in me as the promised Messiah. “ He was a lamp burning ” with zeal for the glory of God, and “ shining ” to the edification of men by the doctrine he preached and by the example he held forth to all of a penitential life. “ And you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light,” acknow¬ ledging him as a prophet and a just man, and therefore I may reasonably allege his testimony in my favour. “ But I have a greater testimony than that of John. For the works which my Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works themselves which I do ” by the sovereign power which he hath communicated to me, “ give testimony of me, that the ” eternal “ Father hath sent me. And the Father I AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. himself who hath sent me, hath given testimony of me,” on the banks of the Jordan, by a voice from heaven, saying : this is my beloved Son; but “ neither have you heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape: and even his ” written “ word you have not remaining in you, because you believe not him whom he hath sent.” This subject he pro¬ ceeds to explain more fully. “ Search (or you search) the Scriptures, for in them you think to have life everlasting, and the same are they that give testimony concerning me,” as being that life and the way that leads to it. “ And ” having a veil over your eyes which blinds you, “you will not come to me,” so clearly pointed out by the Scriptures; “ that you may have life ” promised to those who believe in me. By his insight into the hearts of the Jews, Jesus per¬ ceived that these several testimonies in his favour only caused them to conclude him to be a person ambitious of honour, and one who sought to pass for the Messias. He anticipates this their objection, by declaring that whatever he has hitherto said in his own favour was by no means said with a view to gain their esteem, but purely for the honour of God. “I receive not glory from men,” says he, “but” this I cannot say of you : for “ I know ” with sorrow, “ that you have not the love of God in you.” He here gives the reasons why they do not receive him and his doctrine; because they are “ void of the love of God, full of self-love, envy, pride, desirous of praise and glory from one another.” Hence he says : “I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name,” without any evidence of divine authority, such as Barcho- chebas or even Antichrist himself, “ bim you will receive. But how can you believe ” me and my doctrine, so humi¬ liating to human pride, you, “ who are eager only to “ receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from God alone,” and which truly merits your care, you “ do not ii8 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD seek.” However, “ think not I will accuse you to the Father.” I shall not need to do it. “ There is one that accuseth you,” even “Moses in whom you” now vainly “put your trust;” because you do not believe in what he told you. “ For if you did believe Moses, you would also indeed believe me : for he hath written concerning me ” that celebrated prophecy of Deut. viii. 15. “ The Lord will raise up to thee a prophet of thy nation and of thy brethren like unto me : him thou shalt hear.” But if you do not believe his writings,” for whom you profess so great respect, “ how will you believe my words,” whom you so much contemn as a person without authority, and a violator of the law ? But still this testimony, however clear it may seem, is not suffi¬ cient for the unbelieving Jews, any more than the preceding ones ; and hence may he drawn a proof of their subsequent reprobation. They pay no regard to Jesus himself, nor to John the Baptist, nor to the evidence of miracles, nor to the voice of God, nor to the Scriptures, nor even to Moses him¬ self : their case therefore is desperate, and they are not to be converted. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Jesus vindicates his Disciples for plucking Ears of Corn on the Sabbath-day. Matt. xii. 1 — 8. Mark ii. 28— 28. Luke vi. 1—5. “ At that time Jesus,” in his return from Jerusalem to Galilee, “ went through the corn-fields on the Sabbath-day (called the second-first Sabbath); and his disciples being hungry, began, as they went along, to pluck the ears of corn and to eat, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees seeing them, said to him: behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath-day.” The crime here alleged against them was not the gathering and rubbing of a few ears of corn (this being allowed, Deut. xxiii. 25), AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 119 but the doing it on a Sabbath-day, when the law forbade even the preparing of victuals ; much more this plucking ears of corn, which was considered as a kind of reaping, according to Maimonides. <£ And Jesus answering them, said, in defence of his disciples : “have you never read what David did, when he was under a necessity, and was hungry him¬ self, and they that were with him ? How he went into the house of God,” which was then at Nobe, under Abiathar the high priest, and “ eat the bread of proposition, and gave it to them that were with him, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only.” The second argument employed by Christ to justify his disciples is taken from the work performed by the priests in preparing and offering the sacrifices of the temple. “ Or have you not read in the law,” said he, “ that on the Sab¬ bath-days, the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are without blame ? But I tell you that there is here a greater than the temple,” viz. the Lord and God who is there adored, and therefore that may be done for him with¬ out crime which is done for the temple without the smallest difficulty. The third reason is taken from the preference which is due to an action of charity and of natural right before outward observances of religion, which are only of positive law. “ And if you kne^,” said he, “ what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice ” (Osee vi. 6), you would never have condemned the innocent, but suspended your rash judgments respecting my disciples, and would have pre¬ ferred tenderness and condescension in their regard to a multiplicity of sacrifices offered in the temple. “ And,” as a fourth reason, he said to them : “ the Sab¬ bath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Since, therefore, in the concurrence of two incompatible precepts, we must give the preference to that which is the end and object of the other, in the present instance we 120 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD must prefer the preservation of life to the observation of the Sabbath. The fifth and last argument is drawn from the authority of Jesus himself, who being the institutor and master of the Sabbath, had on this occasion dispensed his disciples from the strict observance of it. “ Therefore,” says he, “ the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath,” and in cases which concern the welfare of mankind, has power to mitigate the exact observance required by the law. CHAPTER XXXIX. Jesus heals the Withered Hand on the Sabbath-day.— The Designs of the Pharisees and Herodians against him.—H is Miracles and Mildness. Matt. xn. 10—21. Mark hi. 1 — 6. Luke vi. 1 — 11. To this complaint concerning the violation of the Sabbath the Evangelist adds another which had relation to the same subject. “ When ” our Lord “ had passed from thence,” he pursued his journey till he reached Galilee. “ And it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered the synagogue ” at Capharnaum, “ and taught ” the people according to his custom. “ And there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched if he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find a ” fresh “ accusation against him. And they asked him, saying : Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day ?” This question they proposed merely “ that they might accuse him.” For they thought within themselves, if he should answer in the nega¬ tive, that it was not lawful, he would then be considered as rigid and unfeeling for the necessities of others ; but if, on the contrary, he should assert it to be lawful, that he would then pass for a violator of the Sabbath. “ But he knew their” secret “thoughts; and said to the man who had AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 121 the withered hand : Arise and stand forth in the midst; and rising he stood forth” that all present might be wit¬ nesses to the cure which Jesus was going to perform in his behalf. “ Then Jesus said to them : I ask you, if it be law¬ ful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it ? ” For there is no medium between good and evil when our neighbour is under any pressing necessity ; it being sinful not to relieve him, if it be in our power. “ But they held their peace,” being unable to make any reply but such as would pronounce their own condemnation. Had they answered, that it was unlawful on the Sabbath to do a good action, or to save the life of our neighbour, they would have deservedly incurred the censure even of the whole synagogue ; if, on the contrary, they admitted the lawfulness of doing good on the Sabbath-day, their question required no further answer, since to heal a sick person was mani¬ festly a good work. But to bring conviction still more to their minds, “ Jesus said to them : What man shall there be among you that hath one sheep, and if the same fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not take hold of it and lift it up ? How much better is a man than a sheep ? There¬ fore it is lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath-days. And looking round about at them with anger, being grieved for the blindness of their hearts, he said to the man : Stretch forth thy hand : and he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored to health, even as the other: and they were filled with madness.” And the Pharisees going out immediately made a consultation with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. And Jesus knowing it, retired from thence with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude fol¬ lowed him from Gallilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude hearing the things which he did, came to him. And he spoke to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him, because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he healed many, so that they 122 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD pressed upon him to touch him, as many as had distempers: and he healed them all; and he charged them that they should not make him known, in order to give us a lesson of humility, and to spare the Pharisees the additional vexation and ran¬ cour which each of his cures would have caused in their minds. “ And the unclean spirits when they saw him fell down before him; and they cried, saying: thou art the son of God: ” and he strictly charged them that they should not make him known, in order to avoid the further irritation of his implacable enemies. All these things happened, “ that it might he fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,” (chap. xlii. v. 1.) concerning the election, the employment, and the behaviour of the Blessed Jesus, “ saying : behold my servant whom I have chosen ” among all others, “ my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased ; I will put my spirit upon him, and he will show judgment to the Gen¬ tiles.” In effect, Jesus published the divine ordinances, that is, the new law, not only for the Jewish people as Moses did, but for all the nations of the earth: and this office of legis¬ lator he performed not only by his own preaching, but by that of his apostles : he will likewise sit as judge at the last day, and exercise justice and judgment over all mankind. To fit him for this high employment, God poured forth upon him the full plenitude of his spirit, and his whole comportment bespoke an invariable meekness and condescension, accord¬ ing to that of the same prophet: “he shall not contend ” with his enemies, “nor cry out” as they who quarrel, “ neither shall any man hear his voice ” aloud in the streets : “ the bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not extinguish,” but shall treat infirm souls with incre¬ dible tenderness and meekness, supporting those who are under temptation and on the point of falling, and cherishing in others that small spark of divine love which yet remains after their fall, and which discovers itself outwardly by sighs, in some degree analogous to the faint smoke which is emitted after the flame is extinguished. These weak desires of con- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 123 version, these small remains of warmth, he will nourish in them, till he lights up again in their souls the flame of justice and divine love. In this exercise of inexhaustible goodness he will persevere to the end of time, even, “ till He send forth judgment unto victory,” by making his gospel triumph over all his enemies. And in the meantime, “ in his name the ” converted “ Gentiles shall hope,” looking up to him as the author of their salvation and happiness. CHAPTER XL. The Election of the Twelve Apostles. Matt. rv. 25, and v. 1. Mark hi. 13—19. Luke vi. 12—19. “And it came to pass in those days that ” Jesus went out, and much people followed him from Galilee, and from Deca- polis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan; and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain,” which is generally supposed to be Mount Thabor, about five or six leagues to the north of Capharnaum. De¬ signing now to make a solemn election of his twelve Apostles, and to give them an abstract or summary of the doctrine which they were to preach to the world, he previously retired “ To pray, and passed the whole night in prayer to God” teaching us hereby how assiduous all ought to be in prayer before any important undertaking, and leaving to bishops in particular an example what they are to do in the great and momentous affair of ordaining and appointing persons to the ministry of the Gospel. “And when day was come, he called him whom he would himself” of his own disciples. “ And they came to him, and he chose twelve of them,” with an audible and distinct voice, “and made that” these “ twelve,” according to the number of these patriarchs, “ should be with him ” as his constant attendants, in order that he might train them up to the high ministry, for which 124 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD they were destined ; “ whom he also named Apostles, that he might send them ” in due time, “ to preach ” after having 'been first witnesses of his words and actions. “And he gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils,” in order thus to prove by the authority of miracles the truth of the doctrine they taught. “ And to Simon he gave the name Peter," which means a rock (this was the second time he had done it): “And,” he called “James the Son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, and he named them Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder,” to express their future zeal in preaching the Gospel: “And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James of Alpheus, and Simon who is called Zelotes, per¬ haps for his singular zeal in the cause of God and religion. “ And Jude the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot,” called so from a village near Samaria, “ who was the traitor.” This, according to St. Mark, is the order wherein the Apostles were called by Jesus. St. Luke differs only in two particulars. He joins Andrew with Peter his brother, and places Judas Thaddeus immediately before Judas Iscariot. It is to be observed that the Apostles were not now actually sent, but only chosen and appointed in order to be sent hereafter. Their mission is described in Chapter 56. It is, however, probable that they received on this occasion a power of healing the sick, which was full and complete of itself, though it was not till afterwards that they were com¬ missioned to exercise this power. “ And Jesus coming down with them stood in a plain place,” which formed a part of the descent; and the com¬ pany of his disciples, “ and a very great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast both of Tyre and Sidon were come to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases. And they that were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And the multitude sought to touch him, for virtue went out from him and healed all.” By these miracles a full sanction was given to the doctrine which he was about AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST . 125 to preach. He then sat down on the edge of the mount, so as to be seen and heard at a distance, “ and lifting up his eyes on his disciples, and opening his mouth, he taught them,” ranged in a circle around him, but so as to he heard by the people in the adjoining plain. He now began that divine discourse usually styled the Sermon on the Mount, which is justly considered as an abstract of all Christian morality. CHAPTER XLI. Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Matt. v. 3. Luke vi. This admirable sermon may be divided into three parts, viz. the exordium, the body of the discourse, and the conclusion. Since all men aim at happiness, but for the most part unfor¬ tunately deceive themselves in the means by which it is to be attained, Jesus begins this discourse by showing both in what true happiness consists, and by what means it is to be acquired. He describes the happiness of eternity as the object of all others the most deserving our attention, and makes the happiness of this life to consist in the general means that may lead us to it; for certainly, the only real and solid happiness of mankind here is that of being in the direct road to a happy eternity hereafter. The eight beati¬ tudes contained in the exordium we proceed to explain in the order observed by the Evangelists. 1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” In this beatitude are comprised all those who, for the sake of Jesus Christ, voluntarily abandon their worldly possessions; —likewise all who, being born to a state of poverty, or reduced to it by accident, humbly submit to their lot without envying a more affluent state. Lastly, all those who, though abounding in worldly goods, yet place not therein their confidence or affection, but are ever ready to part with them, when the will of God calls for this sacrifice at their 126 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD hands. The former, who are really poor, as well as the latter, who are only so in spirit, enjoy happiness even in this life, because though they be here in indigence, or willing to be reduced to it if God so decree, yet as the kingdom of heaven with all its riches belongs to them, their well-founded claim is deservedly considered as the source of solid happi¬ ness. 2. “ Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land.” Jesus here declares all those to be happy who are meek, i. e. who, far from offending their neighbour, or doing him any harm, bend to the oppression of others, without even resisting such as are manifestly unjust. These are happy : because if their meekness exposes them to be ill- treated and driven from their possessions by the ambition and rapacity of others, heaven, upon that title, becomes their due as their own land and inheritance. 3. “ Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be com¬ forted.” He declares those to be happy who are sorrowful according to God, who shed tears in his sight for their own transgressions and for those of others ; or who lament the spiritual miseries and dangers of this life; or who bewail before God the public calamities which take place in the world, or the particular evils, whether temporal or spiritual, to wdiich individuals of all ranks are subject. Persons of this description are deservedly declared happy, because heaven is their assured reward, which is here pointed out under the title of comfort in their afflictions. 4. “ Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice ; for they shall be filled.” He declares all those to be happy who hunger and thirst after justice, i. e. who earnestly desire and pray that justice and order may reign both in them¬ selves and others. These are happy in the assurance they have, that their virtuous wishes will one day be completely satisfied, when sin being destroyed even in its very source, which is concupiscence, God alone shall reign all in all, and fill them with a torrent of spiritual delights. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 127 5. “ Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” He declares all those to he happy who are merciful, viz. they who show a compassionate tenderness towards the miseries and wants of them neighbours, and who, if his miseries be corporal, readily afford him such helps as are proportioned to his wants and their own means ; or, if of a spiritual nature, they endeavour to reform him by their instructions, or at least by their example give proofs of their merciful disposition, by forgiving injuries, or by fulfilling other duties of charity. These are happy, because a promise is here made to them, that heaven will one day be bestowed upon them as their crown and reward, and as a wonderful instance of God’s gratuitous mercy. 6. “ Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God.” He declares those to be happy whose hearts are clean, and disengaged from all inordinate love of creatures : this cleanness extends itself from the heart to the whole man ; it shows itself in the body by a chastity of manners, in the soul by a general mortification of the passions, in the will by simplicity and an upright intention, and in the mind by a rejection of all sinful thoughts. Persons of this descrip¬ tion are happy because, being divested of all inordinate affections to creatures, which like clouds obstruct their sight, they shall one day see God face to face in his glory. 7. “ Blessed are the peace-makers : for they shall be called the children of God.” He declares peace-makers happy, i.e. all such as love peace, and procure it both to themselves and others; who are ever ready, by making the first advances, to seek a reconciliation with others, and to grant forgive¬ ness to those who solicit for it by readily consenting to an oblivion of past.differences. These are happy, because even in this life they are the children of God, who is the God of peace, and they will be infinitely more so hereafter in heaven, which is the kingdom of eternal peace. 8. “ Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He declares THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 128 those happy who suffer persecution, not like the wicked, in punishment of their crimes, but for justice and truth, i. e. for their faith and virtue ; who suffer, in a good cause, the loss of their country and friends, by banishment; the loss of their honour, by marks of infamy; the loss of their goods, by forfeiture ; of their liberty, by imprisonment; of their health, by torments of their bodies or members by mutilation ; finally, who suffer the loss of their lives, by martyrdom. Happy are these, because after having fought in the cause of truth, heaven is justly their due ;—their acquired kingdom, the subject of their triumph and of their glory. The last beatitude being the most important, Jesus enters into a more minute explanation of it, and thus encourages his disciples and followers when suffering in his cause. “ Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, when they shall separate you from your friends,” “ and country, by banishment and imprisonment, and shall reproach you ” for being Christians and Catholics, “ and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake; and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly for my sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice: for behold your reward is great in heaven. For according to these things did their fathers persecute the prophets that were before you,” and the part you have in their sufferings will entitle you to share likewise in their glory. To display this doctrine in yet a stronger light, Jesus contrasts the persons thus declared happy under four of these beatitudes, with four other descriptions of men, to whom he denounces eternal misery (Luke vi. 24). “But wo to you,” says he, “that are rich” in your hearts, whether really possessed of riches or only so in desire; “ because you have your consolation,” such as it is, here in this world. “Wo to you that are filled,” and make good cheer the sole object of your pursuit: “ for you shall hunger ” eternally hereafter. “ Wo to you that now laugh,” and pass your time in vain pleasure and amusements: “ for you shall AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, 129 mourn and weep,” hereafter without ceasing. “ Wo to you,” ministers, “ when men shall bless ” and applaud you “ for preaching to them erroneous doctrines; for according to these things did their fathers to the false prophets,” who pleased them with easy and novel doctrines, such as were no less pernicious to the souls of men than they were flattering to their passions. This discourse, as hinted above, is chiefly addressed to the Apostles, in order to instil into them, and all succeeding pastors of the Church, a right sense of the great duties belonging to their ministry ; and, in the second place, it refers to all the faithful in general. Jesus first considers the Apostles and pastors of his Church as possessing the qualities suitable to the employment for which they were destined, as instructors of mankind. They are to instruct others by word and example. “You are the salt of the earth,” says he, “intended to preserve men from the corruption of sin, and to make them relish the truths of salvation. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted ? It is good for nothing any more, but to be cast out and to be trodden on by man.” So it will be with you, if you let your faith and charity grow cold, in which is all your force ; you will fall into contempt, and be deservedly rejected by God, and trampled upon by the w 7 orld. “ You are the light of the world by your doc¬ trine and example, and, as a city seated on a mountain* cannot be hid,” so neither can you in this eminent station in which you are placed. What Christ here says of his; Apostles is said likewise of his Church, which they repre¬ sented. No object indeed ought to be more visible than that society which was to erect the standard of faith as a„ signal for all nations to resort to ; otherwise, how could they, who, in this exile, sincerely seek the road to their heavenly country, distinguish the true teachers and guides, who are appointed to direct them in that road, and point out the numberless errors that surround it. “ Neither do men K THE LIFE OF OUR LORD *30 light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candle¬ stick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So,” in like manner,” to answer the design of God in your regard, “ let your light,” the light of virtue and piety, “ shine before men, that they may see your good works, and ” hence “ glorify your father who is in heaven. This precept is by no means contrary to that which he afterwards enjoins, of hiding our good works. He is here principally forming pastors for his church, who, being persons in public office, must consequently be exposed to the view of all; whereas in the place referred to, he instructs the faithful in their private capacities, whose duties in this respect are of a different nature. Or, rather, we may say with St. Gregory, that both pastors and people are here commanded to let their light shine before men by good works, hut below they are cautioned not to seek in the performance of them human applause, but solely the glory of God. (St. Greg. horn. ii. in Evang.) Jesus next answered the objections which might be urged against the preceding doctrine. “ Do not imagine,” says he, “that,” in giving these new instructions, “ I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, hut to fulfil them.” For as to the moral precepts of the law, these I elucidate by pointing out their extent, by adding what is wanting to their perfection, and by bestowing the graces necessary for their observance. As to the ceremonial precepts of the law, I bring the truth and reality, of which they were but figures ; and thus, instead of annulling, I rather fulfil them. “ For, amen, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass ” away, “ one jot or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled ” which it contains, both in the complete verification of its figures, as well as by a perfect compliance with all its pre¬ cepts. This shows that all the figures of the old law, i. e. of the Old Testament, began to be accomplished only at the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the end and object of the law. From this necessary fulfilment of the law he draws AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. *3 r two conclusions. The first is against those who annul thf* letter of the law. “ He, therefore, that shall break one ol these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven,” from which he shall he for ever excluded. “ But they that do and teach” all that the law ordains, “ shall be called great in the king¬ dom of heaven.” The second conclusion he draws against those who, observing the letter of the law, destroyed the spirit of it, which was the case of the Scribes and Pharisees : but Christ assures us that this their practice will be no excuse for us, if we imitate them. “For I tell you,” says he, “unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” This last conclusion opens to Jesus a wide field, and he thence takes occasion to enter into a more circumstantial detail of such precepts as he judges proper to add to the express letter of the law, and to point out such parts as were defective, both in the doctrine and prac¬ tice of the Pharisees, especially with relation to murder, adultery, perjury, revenge, and what regards the love of our neighbour. 1st. In regard to murder, Christ says to his hearers : “ You have heard, that it was said to them of old ; thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, that not only he who murders, but whosoever is angry with his brother,” without cause, “ shall be in danger of the judgment ” appointed for lesser offences. “ And whosoever shall say to his brother, raca,” or any other injurious word, “ shall be in danger of the council,” or sanhedrim, which consisted of seventy-two persons, where the highest causes were tried. “ And whosoever shall say, thou fool,” with contempt, spite, or malice, “ shall be in danger of hell fire. If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar (and the same is to be said of a Christian about to receive the sacred body of Christ), and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first 132 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift. And when thou goest with thy adversary to the ruler, make an agreement speedily, whilst thou art in the way ” of this life, “ and endeavour to be delivered from him, lest perhaps he draw thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison,” either of purgatory or hell. “I say to thee thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last mite.” We may consider the present life as a way in which we are travelling towards eternity. Our adversary is an evil con¬ science, which reproaches us with our guilt, or it may be the divine justice which demands vengeance of it. God himself is the Judge. If therefore we do not satisfy our adversary, by true repentance, during this life, while we are in the way, when we come to die, and are presented before the judge, we shall be condemned to the prison of purgatory or of hell, where we must remain till by our sufferings we have fully satisfied the divine justice for the debt we owe, even to the last farthing. Jesus now passes to the sixth command¬ ment, which the Pharisees restrained to the outward action itself. “ You have heard,” says he, “that it was said to them of old : thou shalt not commit adultery : but I say to you,” that this extends likewise to sinful desires, and “ that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Under the sense of seeing Christ comprises all the steps and incite¬ ments which lead to sin : and under the word adultery, all other sins of impurity. “ And if thy right eye scandalize thee,” and become an occasion of sin, “pluck it out and cast it from thee : for it is expedient for thee, that one of thy members should perish, rather than the whole body be cast into hell: and if thy right hand scandalize thee,” and cause thee to sin, “ cut it off and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that the whole body go into hell.” Here, by the hand and the eye, the dearest and most necessary parts of AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 133 the body, Christ understands all those persons, even the nearest and dearest of our connections, who are the occasion of sin ; and he commands us to break off all communication with such as these without delay or demur. “ It hath also been said : whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce,” or a writing by which he declares that he repudiates her, and gives her full liberty of taking another husband. “ But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery : and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.” This sentence has two parts, in reference to the law of divorce, as explained by the Pharisees. 1. Christ allows a separation from bed and board, but only in the case of adultery, whereas the Pharisees extended the lawfulness of it to many capricious and fanciful cases. 2. After admitting the lawfulness of a divorce in the above-mentioned case, the bond of marriage still remains undissolved ; for what God has joined no man can separate; whereas the Jews, after having repudiated their wives, scrupled not to marry again, allowing likewise to their former wives a similar liberty. Hence the Church of God has never understood the above exception as imply¬ ing a dissolution of the bond of marriage, or as in any respect allowing the innocent party to marry again, but, on the contrary, has condemned, in the strongest terms, those who teach a different doctrine. Jesus now proceeds to the subject of oaths, and condemns the rash, hasty use which the Jews made of them. “ Again you have heard that it was said to them of old: thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord. But I say to you not to swear at all,” except in an important and necessary case, “neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King,” the seat of his empire and religious worship. “Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one 134 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD hair white or black: ” and so of other creatures, we are forbid to swear by them, because of the near connection which exists between them and their Creator. “ But let your speech,” says Christ, “ be yes, yes ; no, no ; and that which is over and above these proceedeth from evil,” i. e. from the bad dispositions of men’s hearts, of whom some are mistrustful and incredulous, others are liars and dissemblers. He condemns not oaths in themselves, nor says they are evil; but only that they spring from an evil principle. This suffices to render them' unlawful when unnecessary, and to justify them where necessity calls for them. For there are some things, the origin of which may be vicious, and the use nevertheless innocent and harmless. Our Blessed Lord having enforced the reverence which we ought to bear towards God, and also towards his creatures, in the use of oaths, and having likewise recommended simplicity and moderation in our conversation, proceeds to some other pre¬ cepts regarding our carriage to our neighbour, such as were also misinterpreted by the Pharisees, and transgressed in common practice. He says to them : “ You have heard it has been said : an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ” (Ex. xxi. 24 ; Lev. xxxiv. 20); from whence your doctors have inferred, that revenge is allowable in proportion to the injury received. “ But I say to you not to resist evil,” by revenging yourself of him who hath done evil to you ; “but if one strikes thee on the right cheek, turn to him also the other. And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him,” rather than enter into litigation, “ because the greatest loss is that of peace and mutual charity.” But we must not conclude from hence, that it is unlawful for the injured party to have recourse to the laws when he cannot otherwisi have justice done him ; for if this were the case, the public good of society, as well as of private individuals, would be materially effected. What our Lord therefore designed to inculcate in the present instance, was a general lesson of AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. *35 meekness and patience under injuries, in opposition to a revengeful disposition and rigorous retaliation of every wrong. He thus proceeds: “And whosoever will force thee one mile,” to help him on his journey, “ go with him other two,” rather than lose thy patience and be wanting in charity. “ Give to every one that asketh thee,” when in real necessity, “and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away. And of him that taketh away thy goods, demand them not again,” in the courts of justice, with the view of inflicting punishment on him. “ And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner.” After having thus discoursed concerning revenge, Jesus is led by the affinity of the subject to treat of the necessity of suppressing all hatred. “ You have heard,” says he, “thatit hath been said : thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy (Lev. xxx. 18). But” this latter part is only a false gloss which the doctors have added to the law: “ I say to you, love your enemies,” bless them that curse you, “ do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that perse¬ cute and calumniate you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.” It is only by thus imitating his goodness that you can hope one day to partake of his glory. “ For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have ; do not even the Publicans the same ? Even sinners love those that love them, and “ if ye do good to them who do good to you r what thanks” are due “to you? for sinners also do this r and if you lend to them, of whom you hope to receive, what thanks ” or reward, “are” due “to you? for sinners also lend to sinners, that they may receive an equivalent. And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more ? do not also the heathens the same ? But love ye your enemies, do good and lend” to the necessitous, “hoping for nothing thereby; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be 136 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the sons of the Most High: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Be you perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect,” that is, be always tending to perfection ; and this will appear in your meekness, in your goodness and charity; and above all, in a profound humility, which alone can ensure to you the merit of your good works.—These sublime lessons of our Lord, though not strictly obligatory in all cases, are equally conducive to our happiness as to our perfection. If we follow them in the practice of our lives, w'e shall, by a little suffering, always preserve a firm peace and tranquillity of mind, whilst resistance and contention terminate only in hatred and desires of revenge. Beside, we shall frequently, by our forbearance and condescension, gain over our brother, and thus receive voluntarily from him that recompense and compensation which violent measures could never obtain : at least, this we are sure of, that our heavenly Father will one day abundantly recompense us for all those sufferings which we now submit to for his sake, and with the intention of preserving mutual peace and con¬ cord. Lastly, these heroic practices of humility and patience, as they show a contempt of earthly things, as not worth contending for, so they evince a desire of suffering in con¬ formity to our crucified Lord, and will therefore, by a perfect Christian, be considered rather as favours to be embraced, than as evils to be avoided. CHAPTER XLII. Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount.— Of Alms- deeds, Prayer, and Fasting, &c. Matt. vi. Our Lord, having thus expounded the true extent of several precepts, proceeds further to instruct his Apostles, and all his followers, in the right manner of performing their good AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 137 works in general, especially those three great Christian duties of prayer, alms-deeds, and fasting. The Pharisees, it seems, vitiated all their good works by doing them from human motives, and merely out of vanity and ostentation. Our Blessed Saviour therefore cautions his Apostles and followers against this defective and mercenary intention, lest by it they lose the fruit of all their good actions. “ Take heed,” says he, “ that you do not your justice ; ” that is, your good works, “ before men, to he seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven ; ” for he recompenses only in the next life what is done for his sake in this. Therefore when thou dost an alms-deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the syna¬ gogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou givest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; ” that is, observe an inviolable secrecy in regard to others, and even, if it were possible, with regard to thyself. “That thy alms may be in private, and thy Father who seeth in private, will repay thee ” before men and angels at the last day. Having thus described the right method of giving alms- deeds, Jesus next proceeds to the subject of prayer, and corrects two abuses ; the first of which was common to the Pharisees, and the other to the heathens. “ And when ye pray,” said he, “ you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men : Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee ” before all. Jesus here finds fault with that depraved intention in praying, which originates from a desire of attracting the notice and admiration of men, but by no means does he blame public prayers, such as are offered up to God in places set apart for the divine worship. i3« THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Our Lord then proceeds in the following manner: “And when thou art praying, speak not much as the heathens, for they think they are heard by reason of their speaking much. Be not therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you before you ask him.” This admonition relates to the Pagans, who, in an infinite multiplicity of words and flowing language, displayed their miseries and wants, and reasoned with the Divinity upon the subject of their requests, painting them in the most lively colours, as if they would instruct God respecting their necessities, and obtain redress by the display of their eloquence. In lieu of this erroneous practice, he substitutes a perfect model of prayers, which in few words comprises all that we should ask of God, and places each thing to be asked for in its proper rank. “ You shall pray therefore in this manner,” says he : “ Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread : and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen.” This prayer, which is called by Tertullian a summary of the whole Gospel, and by St. Cyprian, a Compendium of hea¬ venly Doctrines, is truly the prayer of the children of God, and may be divided into a preface and a recital of our several wants and petitions. In the preface we mention the two foundations upon which the success of our petitions is grounded : the first is the goodness and mercy of God which we suppliantly acknowledge, by styling him Our Father: the second is his infinite power, which we profess by adding, that he dwells in heaven; and these two attributes of God, viz. his goodness and his power, we consider as necessary for obtaining the effect of our prayers; for what could we expect from the goodness of God, unless it were omnipotent, or from his power, unless it were accompanied with mercy ? Of the seven petitions of the Lord’s prayer, the three first refer to the glory of God, the four others to our own wants. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 139 1. We petitition for the increase of God’s glory, when we ask that his name may be hallowed ; that is, that he may be known, feared, loved, and adored by us, and by all the nations of the earth; not merely by words of praise and homage, but chiefly by a purity and holiness of life, which give glory to his holy name. 2. We petition for the increase of God’s glory, when we beg that his kingdom may come to be established throughout the world. This kingdom is begun at present in our souls by grace, and will be perfected hereafter in glory, when Christ shall have vanquished all his enemies, and shall reign triumphant over his elect for all eternity. 3. We petition for the increase of God’s glory, when we ask of him, that his will, which is declared to us in his commandments, in his counsels and prohibitions, may be as perfectly obeyed upon earth by us and by all mankind, as it is by the angels in heaven; a petition which pre¬ supposes the necessity of God’s grace, to enable us to perform whatever is pleasing to him. 4. As to our several wants and necessities, we first petition for our corporal food, but we ask for nothing beyond what is necessary for our sustenance. As to our souls, we ask for the bread of truth, of grace, and of the word of God, and both for our bodies and our souls we ask for the bread of the holy Eucha¬ rist, that is, the sacred body of Jesus Christ. 5. In the fifth petition, we beg that our debts, that is, our sins and offences, may be remitted to us, that we may be reinstated in God’s grace, which either totally or in part we have lost by sin; and in order to prevail with God to grant our request, we profess our readiness to comply with the con¬ dition he requires of us, which is that of previously granting a full forgiveness to all such as have trespassed against us. 6. After praying to be delivered from past, we next beg to be preserved from future sins, and to be victorious over all the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh. 7. Lastly, we pray to be delivered from all those evils which are the just punishment of sin, whether they regard body or 140 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD soul, this world or the next. Hence, as to this life, we beg of God to grant us mercy of those scourges which we have reason to apprehend from his justly provoked anger; as to the next life, we pray that he would not give us up to those evil spirits, who are the ministers and executioners of his justice. Jesus then repeats the condition on which we may hope to receive forgiveness of our sins, thereby to confirm more forcibly what he had asserted above. “For if you forgive others their offences,” says he, “ your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins. But if you will not pardon men, neither will your Father pardon you your sins.” Jesus next proceeds to the subject of fasting, and he directs his dis¬ ciples to lay aside that appearance of grief and sadness which the Pharisees affected on their fasting days. “ And when you fast,” says he, “be not as the hypocrites sad ; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,” as on other days, “ that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret. And thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee,” in the face of the whole world. Jesus having thus given us rules for the most perfect per¬ formance of the three good works of prayer, alms-deeds, and fasting, by directing us to seek in them God’s glory instead of human applause, next proceeds to rectify the erroneous sentiments and principles of mankind, respecting riches, the motives of our actions, worldly solicitude, and rash judgments. As to riches he says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth : where the rust and moths consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But” by distributing your wealth to the poor and employing it in good works “ lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven ; where neither the rust nor the moth doth consume ; and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” This pre- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 141 cept of Jesus is grounded on the principle that mankind ought to lay up eternal treasures, on which they may sub¬ sist for ever, and that it is the height of imprudence in immortal beings to provide no otherwise for their eternal subsistence than by treasuring up goods of the most perish¬ able nature.—A second reason is drawn from the danger of attaching our hearts to earthly pursuits. “ For where thy treasure is,” says Christ, “ there is thy heart also.” In effect, experience shows that they who hoard up earthly treasures, think of nothing but of the earth, and with diffi¬ culty raise up their minds to objects more deserving their esteem ; whilst on the contrary, such as lay up treasures in heaven, form no wishes but for heaven, where all that is dear and precious to them is kept in the manner of a sacred deposit for their eternal benefit. Jesus, then, desirous to make us understand how important it is to act with a pure intention, makes use of this comparison : “ the light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be” pure and “single, thy whole body shall be lightsome; but if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darksome.” In this figure, the eye, which enlightens us, is the intention which we form, and which is either good or bad ; if it be good, and direct us to the end by lawful means, then the whole body of the action and our whole lives become holy and pleasing in the sight of God. On the con¬ trary, if the end and intention be evil, in vain do we employ such means as are lawful: the whole body of the action will be vicious in the sight of God, because the evil which it contains corrupts that part which would otherwise have been good, and the good part does not rectify what is vicious in its nature.—Hence he proceeds to show how corrupt and vitiated that action must be which is bad in itself, and which moreover proceeds from a bad motive and intention. “ If then the light that is in thee be darkness ;” says he, “ the darkness itself how great shall it be ? ” In other words, how extremely vitiated must that action be, which, in its own nature, is vicious, and which likewise originates from a I 4 2 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD depraved motive or intention ? “ Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. “If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness; the whole shall be lightsome, and as a bright lamp that en¬ lightens thee.” That is, take heed lest that which you take for light, viz. for the principle of your conduct, be not dark¬ ness itself, and the result of false maxims. But, on the contrary, if your whole body, if all that you are, your mind, your will, your senses, and your prevailing inclination, be so enlightened by the beams of justice and of rectitude, that concupiscence mingles nothing of its darkness and corrup¬ tion, then all which shows itself outwardly, will be light¬ some : the thoughts, the desires, intentions, words, and actions will all partake of that same light of justice, and this single eye will enlighten you in a manner as clear as if a burning lamp shone before all your steps. Jesus now proposes another argument against the inordi¬ nate love of riches. “No man can serve two” opposite “masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other : or he will sustain the one and despise the other.” Thus, “you cannot serve God and Mammon:” for their commands are diametrically opposite. God enjoins us not to hoard up riches, but to make good use of them, whilst on the contrary, avarice leads us to disobey and despise God for the sake of filling our coffers. It is evident that two ex¬ tremes so opposite to each other cannot both be complied with. Hence he concludes that we must not be solicitous even for the wants of this present life, which are the usual pretexts by which men cover their avarice. “ Therefore I say to you : be not solicitous for your life what you shall cat, nor for the body what you shall put on. Is not your life more than your meat, and your body more than your raiment.” Wherefore he who has given you life, will not refuse you meat, and he who has given you a body, will not deny you raiment. “ Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. T 43 and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you” his children “ of much more value than they ? ” Wherefore fear not lest he should abandon you. “ And ” moreover what will this fear avail you ? For “ which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit c ! and for raiment, why are you solicitous ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they labour not, neither do they spin : But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory, was arrayed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe : how much more you, 0 ye of little faith ? Be ye not solicitous therefore, saying : What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed ? For after all these things do the heathens seek,” as having no faith or knowledge of divine providence. But do you banish such anxiety and disquietude: “for the Father knoweth that you have need of all these things,” and his paternal goodness will not suffer you to be in want of them. “ Seek therefore first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you. Be not therefore soli¬ citous for to-morrow, for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof; ” and hence you must not, by vain disquietudes, torment yourselves with the apprehension of future evils, which you suffer not at present, and which perhaps you will never have to suffer. In this instruction Christ condemns not a reasonable fore¬ sight as to the wants and necessaries of life, but only forbids that anxious and restless solicitude which takes the alarm at everything, which trusts not in providence, but in all things relies solely upon its own ever watchful endeavours. As there is a natural propensity in man to censure and condemn the actions of others, Jesus cautions us against this uncharitable disposition ; contrasting it with the virtue of charity, which, by a commendable gradation, begins with carefully avoiding all possible injury to our neighbour, and ends with doing him all the good in our power. “ Judge M4 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD not,” says Christ, *• and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you shall be forgiven. For with what judgment you have judged, you shall be judged ; and with what measure you have mea¬ sured, it shall be measured to you again.” This rule, which God will most certainly follow, ought surely to restrain that liberty which w T e so often take of rashly judging and con¬ demning others. On the contrary, be liberal to your neigh¬ bours ; freely give to the necessitous, “ and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall they give into your bosom. And he spoke also to them a similitude,” to show the arro¬ gant presumption of the Pharisees, and of those ignorant persons who set themselves for teachers of mankind, and delude the people by their false maxims. “ Can the blind lead the blind? Do not they both fall into the ditch?” And he confirmed this by another proverb no less common than the preceding one, viz. “ The disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect if he be as his master ;” showing that those who followed the Scribes and Pharisees as their teachers, were not likely to have better sentiments and principles than they had. “ And why seest thou the mote in thy brother’s eye,” i. e. a small defect in his morals : “ but the beam that is in thine own eye,” a great enormous crime in thy own interior, “thou considerest not. Or how canst thou say to thy brother : Brother, let me pull the mote out of thy eye, when thou thyself seest not the beam in thine own eye ? Hypocrite, cast first the beam out of thy own eye: and then shalt thou see clearly to take out the mote from thy brother’s eye.” Correct first thy.own greater faults, and then think of censuring the less failings of others ; cure thyself of that insatiate avarice, of that lurking pride, of that base jealousy, of those secret unclean practices, and thou wilt more clearly see and be better quali¬ fied to direct thy brother, and point out to him his smaller faults and transgressions. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. >45 CHAPTER XLIII. Further Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Matt. vii. Luke yi. and vii. The conclusion of this divine discourse consists of an exhor¬ tation to a life of piety, and contains several advices, some of which chiefly regard pastors, others indiscriminately all the faithful in general. First, Jesus cautions all pastors, and such as preach the Gospel, not to subject the holy mysteries of religion to the scoffs and derisions of the impious, nor by that means expose their own persons to danger of being contemned and perse- euted by them. “ Give not that which is holy to the dogs,” says he; “ neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.” Jesus next gives various instructions to the rest of the faithful, relative to the working out their salvation, and they are such as naturally result from the doctrine which he has hitherto set forth. Of these some regard the means of salva¬ tion, others treat concerning the obstacles to it. The first means is prayer, of which he says: “Ask and it shall be given you: seek and you shall find : knock and it shall be opened to you,” expressing hereby the great success to be expected from earnest and fervent prayer. “ For every one that asketh,” says he, “ receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone ? Or if he shall ask a fish, will he reach him a serpent ? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him,” in a proper manner. The second means of salvation is a strict equity and uprightness in regard to our neighbour, arising from a happy 146 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD mixture of charity and justice, in which consists the very essence of the Evangelical doctrine. “All things therefore,” says he, “ whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” He however supposes, as a necessary condition, that the intention as well as the action itself be virtuous, and proceed from a motive of divine love. The third means of salvation is to enter by the narrow gate and to walk in the narrow way, in opposition to the easy broad way of the world. “ Enter ye in at the narrow gate : for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go thereat.” We must here remark, that in the scripture style, to walk, means to live ; the way wherein we walk, is the life we lead ; the gate through which we enter, is the first commencement of our lives. Jesus styles the way which he directs us to follow, the narroiv way, and it is rendered such by the narrow and confined limits of the divine law: for, as on the one hand, this law is uniform and inflexible in its decisions, so, on the other, the constant observance of them is extremely difficult, owing to the bent of our natural corruption, which draws us with great violence to a life free from constraint. It is this extreme difficulty which causes Jesus to cry out, as it were, in astonishment: “How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it! ” On the contrary, by the broad road and the wide gate, is meant that liberty which mankind allow them¬ selves of following all the corrupt inclinations of nature, as well in those instances where they are implicitly followed without a thought or a scruple, as in others where, in order to avoid the appearance of sin, a fallacious casuistry is invented, purposely calculated to flatter such consciences as are not unwilling to be deceived. Hence the fourth means of salvation is, carefully to avoid false prophets or teachers, who by their erroneous doctrines lead their followers into the broad road of perdition. Jesus AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 147 describes briefly the danger there is of being deceived by the outward show of piety, and, at the same time, gives marks whereby they are to be known. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep,” i. e. putting on the outward garb of truth and virtue, such as a great zeal for the scriptures, a meekness of speech, abundance of con¬ soling words, and assurances of salvation, together with a recommendation of good works: “but,” notwithstanding this outward show, “ inwardly they are ravenous wolves,” having no other view but to devour the flock of Jesus Christ, by enticing the sheep out of the fold, i. e. out of the bosom of the Catholic Church. He now gives to his disciples a certain mark whereby to discern these wolves. This is, to examine them not merely by the doctrine they outwardly announce, since the truth of this very doctrine is the subject in question, nor yet by their individual actions, however apparently virtuous; but by the fruits and effects of their doctrine, which are ever false and leading to damnation. Hence our Blessed Saviour says: “By their fruits you shall know them : for there is no good tree that bringeth forth evil fruit, nor an evil tree that bringeth forth good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor from a bramble bush do they gather the grape. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruit you shall know them. A good man out of the treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The fifth means of salvation is, to unite a sound faith with good works; and Jesus here describes the different lot of those who have faith alone without good works, and of such 148 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD as unite them both together. To the former he says : “And why do you call me Lord, Lord: and do not the things which I say ? Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he” only “ that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me you that work iniquity : ” words which ought to make all those pastors tremble with a salutary fear, who having cast out devils, either from the souls of the faithful by the sacrament of baptism and penance, or from their bodies by exorcism, yet neglect to labour sincerely in the sanctification of their own souls. * But the lot of those persons who support their faith by good works is very different from that of the former; and Jesus paints their prudent conduct and constancy by a com¬ parison with which he closes this long discourse. “ Every one that cometh to me and heareth my words, and doth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like to a wise man, who building a house, digged deep, and laid the foundation upon a rock ; and an inundation coming, the torrent beat against that house, but could not shake it. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.” In this parable, the foundation of the building is a true faith in Jesus Christ; to erect a building upon this foundation is to do as well as to believe; it is to join the performance of good works to a sound faith. The winds which blow are those trials which we undergo from the defamatory or abusive language of our adversaries, from unjust laws, unlawful commands, threats, promises, or verdicts affecting our reputation. The rains are the begin¬ ning of persecutions : torrents and floods represent popular tumults and persecutions venting themselves with great vio- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. H9 lence upon the innocent in a variety of torments, even unto death. The trial of the last day will consist in that tire which will consume and purify the world in lieu of the winds, storms, and floods. In vain will all these fall upon that man whose faith shall be firmly established by good works. He then views unmoved and unhurt the violence of the storm directed against him. Jesus now contrasts the happiness of such a Christian with the miserable condition of one who listens indeed to his words but reduces them not to practice. “ And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, with¬ out a foundation, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof: ” because the faith of this man, being destitute of good works, had nothing to defend it from the temptations and trials assaulting it, it conse¬ quently cannot stand the trying fire of the last judgment: and hence, notwithstanding his faith, such a one must eternally perish. “ And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these discourses in the hearing of the people, the} r were struck with admiration at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as their Scribes and Pharisees,” who depended upon the art of reasoning and human literature. CHAPTER XLIY. Chrtst cleanses a Leper and retires into the Wilderness to Pray. Matt. viii. 1 — 4. Mark i. 40—45. Luke v. 12—15. “ And when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him ; and it came to pass, when he was in a certain city,” named Capharnaum, “ behold a man full of leprosy came, and falling on his face adored him, beseech- THE LIFE OF OUR LORD r 5° ing him ; and kneeling down he said to him : Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” This prayer, though short, admirably expresses the sentiments which ought to animate us when we address ourselves to the Almighty: it is humble and modest, as appears by the leper’s suppliant posture. It proceeds from a strong faith, which acknow¬ ledges the omnipotence of Jesus in the cure of all diseases. Lastly, his request is not peremptory but conditional; he makes the success thereof to depend, not upon the merit of his own faith, nor on the urgency of his prayer, but entirely on the will of Jesus: If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. The success which attended this petition is an encourage¬ ment for us to pray with the like dispositions. “ And Jesus having compassion on him, stretched forth his hand, and touching him” without fear of uncleanness, “said: I will, be thou made clean. And when he had spoken, imme¬ diately the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean : and, threatening him, he forthwith sent him away,” lest his longer stay might attract the notice of the by¬ standers : and to caution us still more against vanity and ostentation, “ he charged him,” saying : “ See thou tell no one, but go show thyself to the high-priest, as the law pre¬ scribes, and offer,” in acknowledgment, “ for thy cleansing, the things that Moses commanded, for a testimony” to con¬ vince “ them,” that all power is given to me from God as the promised Messiah, and that I make use of this power for the accomplishment of the law. “ And he being gone out,” no longer thought himself bound to the secrecy which his benefactor had recommended, but from motives of gratitude began to publish and blaze abroad the word; and his fame was the more spread about, so that he could not openly go into the city, but was without in desert places, and they flocked to him from all sides, to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities ; and he retired farther “ into the desert and prayed” (Luke v. 16). While we admire, on this occasion, the goodness and power of Jesus exerted in AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 151 favour of an unfortunate leper, let us remember that he is equally ready to heal the leprosy of the soul, as he was formerly to heal that of the body. The leprosy of the soul is sin; and if we desire to be cured of it, we must apply to Jesus with faith, with confidence, and with an humble and contrite heart. CHAPTER XLY. Jesus restores to Health the Centurion’s Servant. Matt. viii. 5—13. Luke vii. 1—10. He raiseth the Widow’s Son at Naim. Luke vii. 11—16. “And when he had entered Capharnaum, the servant of a centurion, who was dear to him, was ready to die ; and when he had heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the ancients of the Jews, desiring him to come and heal his servant, saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying to him: he is worthy that thou shouldst do this for him ; for he loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue. And Jesus saith: I will come and heal him. And Jesus went with them : and when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent his friends to him, saying : Lord give not thyself this trouble ; for I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. For which reason neither did I esteem myself worthy to come to thee: but command with a word only, and my servant will be healed : for I,” though “a man subject to authority,” yet “ having under me soldiers, I say to one, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it.” If I, therefore, though merely a subaltern officer, am so readily obeyed both by soldiers and servants, how much more will obedience be paid to your commands, who art the Lord of all things ! “ Which Jesus hearing, wondered ; and turning about to 152 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the multitude that followed him, he said: Amen, I say to you, I have not found so great a faith in Israel.” Then taking occasion, from this circumstance, of a stranger and a Gentile becoming one of his believers, Jesus announced to his hearers two future events infinitely more astonishing: these were, first, the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith, and second, the reprobation of the Jews. “And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the king¬ dom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom,” that is, the Jews to whom belonged the heavenly kingdom, on account of their descent from the patriarchs, their vocation and the divine promises, “shall be cast out into exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion,” by his deputies ; “ go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee: and the ser¬ vant was healed at the same hour. And they who were sent, being returned to the house, found the servant whole who had been sick.” The words of the centurion, by which he owned himself not worthy of a visit from Jesus Christ, have been adopted by the Church, as expressive of the humble and devout sentiments which ought to animate us, when about to receive a visit from Jesus Christ in the holy communion. For many ages they have been consecrated to this solemn purpose, and ought, by every communicant, to be repeated together with the priest. Happy those who, like the centurion, repeat them with sentiments of most lively faith, of the most pro¬ found humility, and of the firmest confidence in the power and goodness of Jesus. “ And it came to pass afterwards, that he went into a city that is called Naim,” from its pleasantness, situated upon the edge of the torrent at Cison, not far from Nazareth and Mount Thabor; “ and there went with him his disciples, and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out ” to be AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 153 buried (for in those times they usually buried without the walls of towns, in order to avoid the legal uneleanness, as well as the unwholesomeness of the contrary practice). He had been snatched away in the flower of his youth, was “ the only son of his mother : and she was a widow, and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen,” overwhelmed with grief, and bathed in tears, “ being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her, weep not. And he came near and touched the bier: and they that carried it, stood still, and he said : Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. And there came a ” religious “ fear on them all, and they glorified God, saying ; a great prophet is risen amongst us, and God has visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the country round about.” CHAPTER XLYI. Jesus gives Testimony in Favour of John the Baptist. Matt. xi. 7—23. Luke vii. 24—35. The fame of Christ’s miracles was spread abroad, and had reached even the prison of Macheron, where John the Baptist was under confinement. “For his disciples told him of all these things ” which Jesus had done, and not without visible marks of jealousy and emulation. “ Now when John had heard these” wonderful “works of Christ, sending two of his disciples, he said to him: art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?” The design of John on this occasion was to cure his disciples of their prepossessions against Jesus, and to convince them that he was the Messiah whom they expected. He was the more desirous of this, as he foresaw that his own death was now at hand. “ And when the men were come unto him, they said : John the *54 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Baptist hath sent ns to thee, saying: art thou he that art to come, or look we for another ?” Instead of giving a direct answer, Jesus referred them to the plain evidence of his actions and miracles. For “ in that same hour, he cured many of their diseases, and hurts, and evil spirits; and to many that were blind he gave sight. And ” then “ answer¬ ing ” the disciples of John, “ he said to them : go and relate to John what you have heard and seen : the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached,” and even with more success than to the rich. As a particular rebuke to these deputies who, out of jealousy, censured many of his actions, and indeed the whole tenor of his conduct, Jesus added: “and blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me.” The whole of what Jesus said on this occasion, was not only an answer to the question proposed, whether he were the promised Messiah ; it was also a decisive proof of it, since, by establishing the certainty of his miracles, it unanswer¬ ably applied to him the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Messiah. (Isa. xxxv. 45.) It was, in fact, equivalent to an answer couched in the following terms : go and relate to your master, John the Baptist, that with your own eyes you have seen fulfilled by me all those wonderful things foretold by the prophets concerning the Messiah. “ And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak to the multitudes concerning John:” this he did in the highest terms of commendation, lest the present deputation sent by John might weaken in their minds the testimony which he had formerly given in his favour. Jesus therefore pro¬ nounced a public eulogium of his precursor, both on account of his own eminent virtues and the high quality of his employment. His virtues were, first, an unshaken firmness of mind, which did not dispose him to retract the high testi¬ monies he had borne in his favour ; and, secondly, a won¬ derful austerity of life. As to the first, Jesus asked his hearers: “ What went you out into the desert to see ? a AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 155 reed shaken with the wind?” In other words, was he a person of a fickle, irresolute temper, one who varied his opinion with the times ? The contrary was clearly established by the actual situation of John at the moment when Jesus was speaking. The unshaken firmness of his mind had brought upon him the persecution which he now suffered from the tyranny of Herod, whose incestuous marriage he could not be induced to approve. Jesus goes on thus to inquire of them: “ But what went you out to see ? a man clothed in soft garments ? Behold, they that are in costly apparel, and live delicately, are ” not like John in the wilder¬ ness, but “in the houses of kings.” Jesus next proceeds to consider the high office of St. John as his precursor. “ But what went you out to see ? a prophet ? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. Amen, I say to you, there has not risen among them that are born of woman a greater than John the Baptist.” This comparison, as appears from St. Luke, is solely made betwixt him and the ancient pro¬ phets, and signifies that John, as the immediate precursor of the Messiah, was equal, if not superior, to any of them. But Jesus adds, speaking of himself in the third person: “ Yet he that is lesser” than John, and as it were his junior, “ in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he.” This is what John himself had acknowledged at two different times. He that shall come after me, is preferred before me. [John i. 15.] Jesus then proceeds as follows: “ From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and those that use violence bear it away.” Whereas, before his time, and during the whole period of the prophets, heaven was shut, now it is open, and since the time of John’s preaching repentance, it is offered to all men who will do violence to themselves by the mortification of their passions. Now, therefore, is the time appointed for the accomplishment of the prophecies. “For all the pro- THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 156 phets and the law only prophesied until John ; ” that is, they only promised at a distance the good things which were to come : but since John’s mission, these prophetic promises begin to be fulfilled : he has announced the kingdom of heaven to be at hand, and has pointed out Jesus, who is the King and Lord of it. “ And if you will receive it,” and will attentively consider the rigour of John’s penance, the fervour of his zeal, the force of his preaching, and all the other cir¬ cumstances of his life, “ you will acknowledge that he is Elias that is to come,” in order to announce the first coming of the Messiah, and to prepare mankind for his reception. And as the quality here ascribed to St. John is merely alle¬ gorical, inasmuch as he is the figure or image of the real Elias, whose coming at the end of the world is foretold by Malachi, Jesus adds : “he that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” and understand this mystical language. “And all the people ” in general, “ and the Publicans hearing, praised the justice of God, being baptised with John’s baptism;” that is, they admired the wonderful conduct of the Almighty in appointing a precursor or forerunner before the first, as well as before the last coming of the Messiah, purposely to prepare mankind for those great events, and to render them more fit to receive him by means of a sincere repentance. “ But the Pharisees and the doctors of the law despised the designs of God toward themselves, not being baptised by him. And the Lord said : whereunto shall I liken the men of this generation ? and to whom are they like ? They are like to children sitting in the market-place, who calling out to their companions ” that were averse to join with them in their various games and pastimes, taxed them with ill-nature, saying : “we have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have lamented, and you have not mourned.” This appears to have been a proverb among children at that time, and to have been taken from them; and nothing can be more apposite than the application of it by Christ in the present instance. “For John the Baptist,” says he, “ came AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 157 neither eating bread nor drinking wine : and you say he hath a devil. The son of man is come eating and drinking,” as others; “ and you say: behold a man that is a glutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. And” yet, in this severity of John’s manners, and in this humane condescension of Jesus Christ, the “wisdom” of God “ is justified ” or approved and acknowledged to be equitable “ by all her children,” that is by all those who are truly wise and disposed to see and receive truth ; while others remain obstinate in their blindness, and refuse to believe in Christ. To the truly wise it will appear the effect of an all¬ wise Providence, that the forerunner of Jesus should openly profess the practice of an extraordinary austerity, in order to give a greater sanction to that testimony he was to bear, and to render it perfectly unexceptionable. It will equally appear to be a wise appointment of the same Providence, that Jesus should lead a life by no means extraordinarily rigid, in order thereby to attract mankind to his service. “ Then,” taking occasion, from this impenitence of the Pharisees, “he began to reproach the cities” of Galilee, “in which a great many of his miracles were wrought, because they had not done penance,” but were shamefully ungrateful for all his favours. To Corozain, Bethsaida, and Capharnaum, he in particular denounced the greatest of woes in the following terms. “ Wo to thee Corozain, wo to thee Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that had been wrought in you,” though Pagan cities, “they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And thou Capharnaum, shalt thou,” by thy riches and luxury, “ be exalted up to the very sky ? ” No, “ thou shalt go down even unto hell; for if the miracles had been done in Sodom that have been wrought in thee,” however infamous for its abominations, “ it might have remained ” entire “ even until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 158 tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.” From hence we may learn how dangerous it is to resist the divine graces, and to abuse those favourable opportu¬ nities which Providence affords us of improving ourselves in virtue and of securing our eternal salvation. CHAPTEK XLVII. Mary Magdalen anoints the Feet of Jesus. Luke vii. 36—50. Whilst Jesus was yet in Galilee, and probably at Naim, where he lately had raised to life the widow’s son, he was invited to dinner by a certain Pharisee called Simon, who seems to have lived in the same town, or some neighbouring city, as Calmet shows. Our Lord was pleased to accept this invitation to confound the pride of the Pharisees, and chiefly that he might manifest the power of his grace in the wonderful conversion of an abandoned woman, who has ever since been considered as a most encouraging example and model of true penitence to all succeeding generations. St. Luke gives us the following account of this illustrious penitent. “A certain Pharisee desired Jesus that he would eat with him ; and being entered into the Pharisee’s house, he was at table. And behold a woman who was in the city, a sinner, as soon as she knew that he was at table in the Phari¬ see’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stand¬ ing behind at his feet, she began to wash his feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and anointed them with ointment.” Behold here, in the conduct of Magdalen, the perfect model of a true penitent. From her heart she detested the past irregularities of her life; she was penetrated with shame and confusion for them, and placing herself behind Jesus, prostrate on the ground at his feet, she judged herself AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. x 59 unworthy of appearing before him. She expressed her sorrow for her past crimes, and made a kind of public con¬ fession of them, by shedding abundance of tears, which flowed from a contrite heart. She does the utmost to satisfy for them, and now defaces or consecrates to penance what¬ ever had formerly been an instrument of sin: her eyes, which had been full of dangerous charms, are now converted into fountains of tears to cleanse the stains of her soul. Her hair, once dressed in tresses and curls to ensnare souls, now hangs loose and dishevelled, and serves for a towel to wipe our Lord’s feet. She kisses his feet as a public declaration of that chaste and holy love which now burned within her, as likewise to draw down upon her the grace of reconciliation, which the Scripture calls the kiss of peace. Lastly, she pours out upon the feet of Jesus the vessel of sweet perfumes, the odour of which quickly spread through the whole room, inti¬ mating hereby her firm intention of being as careful for the future to spread abroad the sweet odour of her virtues, as she had hitherto been intent upon the destruction of souls by her scandalous life. Moreover, by thus affectionately pouring out her perfumes, formerly the incentives of vice, she makes an offering as it were of her worldly goods, and showed the future use she meant to apply them to, viz. the relief of the poor, here represented by the feet of Jesus. Let us now see the reception which this humble penitent met with from our Redeemer. He had himself inspired her with these just dispositions, and was come to the Pharisee’s banquet, exulting with holy joy, from the fore¬ knowledge he had of her conversion: for the main spring of all he did . and suffered on earth was an insatiable thirst for the salvation of sinners. But “ the Pharisee, who had invited him, seeing it, said within himself: this man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner,” and conse¬ quently he would not allow her to approach him in this manner. It was pride that betrayed the Pharisee on this i6o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD occasion into rash judgment, and made him condemn as a grievous sinner one who was truly penitent. The same unhappy pride made him likewise blasphemously censure the goodness and mercy of our Redeemer. “ And Jesus,” in his own defence, meekly spoke the following parable; and “ said to him : Simon, I have something to say to thee : he replied ; speak, Master. There were two debtors to a certain creditor; the one owed him 500 Roman pence,” about 9 pounds, “the other 50,” or about 19 shillings, “ and they having not wherewith to pay, he forgave both of them : which of them loved him more ? Simon answered and said : I presume, he to whom he forgave more. And he said to him: thou hast judged rightly.” Then Jesus showed that under the title of the usurer he had represented himself; because he in fact places out to each individual those graces and talents which he expects should be improved, and made to fructify, that he may receive the produce with usury. Under the names of the two debtors therefore he described the Pharisee and the woman in question, each under the pro¬ portional share of a debt for which they stood bound to his justice, and consequently as she, from the sins of her past life, laboured under a load of debt, ten times greater than he did, so her gratitude in loving God was so much the greater in proportion as more was forgiven her. “ And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon : dost thou see this woman,” all bathed in tears ? “I came into thy house, thou didst not give me water for my feet; but she hath watered my feet with tears, and with her hair hath wiped them. Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. Thou hast not anointed my head with oil; but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say to thee: many sins are forgiven her, be¬ cause she hath loved much : but that person to whom less is forgiven, loveth less. And he said to her: thy sins are forgiven thee.” And they who were at the table together, began to say within themselves: w r ho is this that even AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. I6t forgiveth sins ? And he said to the woman : thy faith hath saved thee : go in peace.” Mercy is the property and the favourite attribute of our divine Redeemer. Hence he assures this humble sinner that her oflences were cancelled, and that her lively faith, animated by ardent charity, which drew from her eyes tears of repentance, had saved her, and ensured to her that solid and happy peace which is the fruit of true repentance. The same motive of gratitude by which Magdalen was actuated for the grace of her con¬ version, ought to have no less weight with those whq, by God’s singular grace have always preserved their inno¬ cence. For whether God shows mercy by pardoning sins or by preventing them in us, we are totally indebted to him for the grace which we receive. CHAPTER XLVIII. Jesus heals a Possessed Person who was Blind and Dumb. Matt. xii. 22 — 45. Mark in. 20—30. Luke xi. 14— 26. “And Jesus and his disciples came to a house,” which was probably Peter’s, at Capharnaum, “ and the multitude cometh together again ” to hear the word of salvation, “ so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his own people,” who probably were his cousins or citizens from Nazareth who did not believe in him, “ had heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him : for they said; he is gone mad.” It is not however certain who said this, whether his friends or enemies; if the latter, perhaps the Scribes and Pharisees might call him a madman, because he blamed their vices, and preached with such extraordinary zeal: if it be referred to his friends, they might endeavour to lay hold on him, to extricate him from the troublesome importunity of the crowd, not as if Jesus had lost his reason, but as if M 162 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD in danger of fainting for want of food, and the close suffo¬ cating air that was occasioned by the great concourse of people. “ Then was offered to him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb; and he cast out the devil and healed him, so that he spoke and saw. And all the multitude were amazed and said: is not this the Son of David,” and the Messias who is to be born of his race ? “ But the Pharisees hearing it said : this man casteth not out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And the Scribes who were come down from Jerusalem said: he hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. And others tempting asked him a sign from heaven. But he seeing their thoughts, after he had called them together, he said to them in parables ” refuting these their blasphemous calumnies, “ Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. How then can Satan cast out Satan ? And if Satan cast out Satan” by my ministry, as you pretend, “he is divided against himself; and if Satan be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand ?” Since “ if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. If Satan then be risen up against himself, he is divided and cannot stand, but is brought to an end. How then shall his kingdom stand ? Because you say that through Beelzebub I cast out devils. Now if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out ? ” You will un¬ doubtedly answer by the spirit of God. “Therefore they shall be your judges,” and condemn you for attributing to the devil in my regard, what in them you acknowledge to come from the spirit of God. “ Now if I by the finger of God,” that is, “ by the spirit of God, cast out devils,” as you would allow, were you but impartial, “ then is the king¬ dom of God ” announced and “ come upon you;” since it is for the establishing this truth that I have performed all these miracles, whereof you have been witnesses. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 163 The Pharisees urged against Jesus, that the devils drove out each other when he gave the word of command; and this they pretended was done by a sort of collusion amongst themselves, in order, by this artful manoeuvre, to ensure to him esteem and credit amongst mankind. But our Lord shows clearly, that the idea of such a collusion is in the present instance futile in the extreme, by the high tone of authority whereby he enforces their obedience to his com¬ mands. They disputed, if one may be allowed the expres¬ sion, every inch of ground with him, unwilling to quit their hold without absolute and irresistible compulsion. Jesus explains this by the comparison of an armed man who con¬ tinues in possession of his stronghold, till he be overcome by another of superior force. “And how can any one enter into the house of a strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man ? and then he shall plunder his house.” For “ when, a strong man,” and “ armed, guardeth his court, the things of which he is pos¬ sessed are safe. But if a stronger than he come upon him and overcome him, he will take away all his armour wherein he trusted, and distribute his spoils.” Under this figure is represented the war which Jesus continually wages with his enemy the devil, here denominated the strong man. The hold or fortress possessed by the devil is each soul that is enslaved to him by sin: over every such soul he enjoys a peaceable and undisturbed possession, so long as no resistance is made against him. The spoils and trophies which he has acquired over these unhappy victims refer to the victories which he had gained over their wills by their inordinate self-love, over their minds by the illusion of error, over their hearts by all the passions of concupiscence, and over their senses by the attractions of pleasure. The other armed man stronger than the former, and by whom he is overthrown, is Jesus Christ. Jesus throws his enemy to the ground and disarms him, by banishing or defeating all his temptations, by changing in the sinner a 164 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD taste for pleasures and diversions into a salutary fear of God and a sorrow for the past sins, and by breaking asunder the bonds of long contracted habits of vice. Lastly, be divides bis spoils by reducing once more to order the several powers and senses of man; for be brings him to submit bis mind to God by faith, bis will to the influence of divine grace, bis heart to the guidance of the superior will, bis passions to reason, and each power to that particular virtue by which it ought to be directed. But bow is all this to be effected, unless be enters into the bouse of the strong one, viz. into the soul of him who is a slave to the devils, in order thus to bind him fast in chains ? Now this be performs before their eyes, w T hen be expels the devil from the bodies and souls of possessed persons, since be delivers none of these corporally, without at the same time spiritually converting them to God. Jesus Christ next proceeds to inform bis followers, that in this warfare with the devil no neutrality is allowed, but that each one must either espouse bis party or that of bis adversary. “ He that is not with me,” says Christ, “ is against me : and be that gathereth not with me scattereth.” But the Pharisees be accuses not only of refusing to labour with him, but even of blaspheming against the Holy Ghost, by their attributing to the devil those miracles which he evidently wrought by the Spirit of God. This is impugning the known truth, which certainly was the greatest of crimes, as Christ shows in the following words. “Therefore I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme : but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come. But he shall be guilty of an everlasting sin,” and this “ because they said: he hath an unclean spirit.” In this blasphemy of the Pharisees, who affirmed that Christ was actuated by an impure spirit, and AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 165 by that means worked miracles, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost were both equally concerned. It seems, however, that Jesus was willing to forgive that share of the crime which regarded himself, because it seemed more excusable in them to entertain these unjust sentiments in regard to a man whom they often saw conversing with sinners ; but that part of the crime which is directed against the Holy Ghost, and which can only be the effect of a voluntary blindness and a consummate malice, he represents as irremissible, and beyond the reach of pardon. This is one of the most obscure pas¬ sages in the scripture, meaning either, according to St. Chrysostom, that the sin spoken of shall scarce or seldom be forgiven, or, according to St. Austin, that it is the sin of final impenitence. The Pharisees, through the inveteracy of their rancour against Jesus, condemned his person whilst they were forced to approve his beneficent works which were done in favour of the sick and infirm. He wishes them therefore not to make a separate cause between the tree and the fruit, but to own the tree to be good, since they avow the fruit to be so; or otherwise to say the fruit is evil, if they will maintain the tree is bad. “ Either make the tree good,” says he, “ and its fruit good; or make the tree evil, and its fruit evil. For by the fruit the tree is known.” But why be surprised at your ill-founded censures and blasphemies; “ 0 generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil ? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” In effect, “ a good man out of a good treasure bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of an evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment:” and how much more shall you for your calumnies and blasphemies against me ? “ For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Then some of the Scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying : Master, we i66 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD would see a sign from thee,” and some extraordinary miracle which may ascertain that thou art sent by God and actest by his spirit. “And as the multitude flocked together, he said to them: This generation is a wicked generation: an evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights,” and then come forth full of life. >“For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of man also he to this generation.” In effect, there never was wrought a miracle either more divine or more inimitable, than the resurrection of Jesus Christ; and this was notified to the Jews in a manner neither to be suspeeted nor objected to : and yet it made no greater impression on this infidel nation than the other miracles he had already performed in their presence. Hence he says : “ The men of Nineve shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas,” a person foreign to them; who without working miracles in their sight, came to announce an event equally unwelcome and improbable, viz. the entire ruin and destruc¬ tion of their city; yet they listened to his admonition and did penance for their sins : “ And behold a greater than Jonas is here,” and they will not hearken to him. “ The Queen of the South shall rise in judgment with this genera¬ tion and shall condemn it, because she,” though invested with the government of an extensive empire, “ came from the ends of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon is here,” and yet they despise his words. Jesus now denounces against the Pharisees the dreadful judgment that actually hangs over their heads in punishment of their ingratitude and unbelief; and this he does under the figure of the possessed person whom he had recently delivered. “ When,” by means of baptism, or the sacrament of penance, “ an unclean spirit is gone out of a AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 167 man,” to make room for the grace of God, “he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and he findeth none,” because he maketh it to consist in the ruin of souls dear to God. “ Then saith he: I will return into my house from whence I came out: and coming he findeth it empty” and void of those passions he had excited there; “ swept ” and cleansed from its former filth of sin ; “ and garnished ” with the graces of the Holy Ghost. “ Then,” finding himself not sufficiently strong to enter into a place so well fortified, “ he goeth and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state of that man is made worse than the first,” both by the greater number of spirits that get possession, and by their particular care to maintain their hold. Now so shall it be to this most wicked race of people, and to obdurate and impenitent sinners, who, after receiving innumerable graces from God, and most ungratefully abusing them, shall be delivered up to the devil, to be eternally possessed by him. CHAPTER XLIX. The Exclamation of a Woman concerning Jesus —His Mother and Brethren desire to see Him. Matt. xii. 46—50. Mark hi. 81—85. Luke xi. 27, and viii. 19—21. * This chapter contains, 1. The praises to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with reference to her divine Son. 2. Her tender care for his health. 3. The communication of her maternity to the faithful. “ And it came to pass as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice,” in raptures of admiration at his doctrine, and regardless of the dis¬ pleasures of the Pharisees, “ said to him: blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breast that gave thee suck ” 168 7HE LIFE OF OUR LORD (Luke xi. 27). This was a high encomium publicly bestowed upon the mother of Jesus, and which chiefly redounded upon him who was the subject and occasion of it; for it is not probable she could have in view the mystery of the incarna¬ tion, which was at that period unknown even to the Apostles themselves. Jesus, pleased with this instance of fortitude in a woman, who alone seemed to side with him against the Pharisees, ensured to her in return a share of that happiness which she apparently envied in his mother. Since she would un¬ doubtedly have esteemed herself most happy to have been the mother of such a son as he was, he now assured her she might become still more happy than if he were her son, because those above all others are to be deemed happy who, like her, heard the word of God and religiously observed it. “But he said: yea, rather blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.” This sen¬ tence by no means derogates from that inestimable happi¬ ness which the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoys as the mother of God, and which, as she herself foretold, is acknowledged by all the nations of the earth. Still less does it imply that the Blessed Virgin did not carefully observe and fulfil the word of God. It precisely compares the happiness of her maternity to a different kind of happiness, still more important, which was then proposed to mankind, and which Mary likewise possessed more fully than any other creature. “As he was yet speaking to the multitudes ” on this sub¬ ject, “ behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And they could not come at him for the crowd: and, standing without, they sent in to call him, and the multitudes sat about him, and it was told him : behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee,” and “ desiring to see thee. And, answering them, he said: who is my mother and my brethren ? And looking round on those that sat about him, and stretching out his hand towards his disciples, he said: behold my AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 169 mother and my brethren : for whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother: My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of God and comply with it.” It may be pre¬ sumed, though not mentioned by the Evangelists, that after this speech Jesus followed his holy mother and his brethren, according to their desire. By the words here spoken, Jesus meant not to disown or to express any disregard towards his mother and his brethren, as if they had given him any cause of displeasure, by appear¬ ing in their poor and humble state before so numerous a meeting; neither does he complain of being unseasonably interrupted. He is far from checking them as having brought themselves forward to the public view, in the light of persons connected with so great a man : nor does he give any sharp answer to him who had mentioned their being at the door. In the common language of the world, the mother of Jesus is she who conceived and bore him in her womb, and in this sense he has no brothers. But in a spiritual and divine sense, the mother of Jesus is that soul which conceives him by hearing the word of God, and which brings him forth by the practice of all manner of good works. In this sense he has as many brothers and sisters as there are individuals of the faithful who partake of that same spirit, whereof he pos¬ sesses the fulness, and who are to share with him the same heavenly inheritance. Thus, when Jesus Christ asks who is his mother, and who are his brethren, he speaks not as the Son of man, but as the Son of God, and as the word of his eternal Father. i ;o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER L. Different Parables are proposed by Our Lord. Matt, xiii. 1 — 52. Mark iv. 1—34. Luke viii. 1 — 18, and xiii. 18—21. “ And when the same day,” in the afternoon at Capharnaum, “ a very great multitude was gathered together, and hastened out of the cities unto him, Jesus going out of the house,” where he had been taking some refreshment, “ sat by the sea side. And again he began to teach, and great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a boat,” in order to be more easily heard by them, “ and there sat,” whilst “ all the people was about the sea side, on the land. And he taught them many things,” concerning the kingdom of heaven, “in parables.” All the eight following parables were spoken by Jesus on the same day, but the five first were addressed only to the people assembled on the sea-shore; the other three were added by him when alone with the apostles in the house, and are in some measure explanations of the preceding ones. “ Wherefore Jesus said unto them in his doctrine,” as fol¬ lows : “ Hear ye; behold the sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the road side, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the air came and eat it up; and other some fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth ; and when the sun was risen, it was scorched, because it had no moisture,” and hence “ it withered away; and other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it choked it, and it yielded no fruit: and some fell upon good ground, and brought forth fruit, that grew up and increased ” to maturity, “ and yielded one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred ” fold. “ Saying these things, he cried out: he that hath ears to hear, let him hear that is, he who has received from God a spirit of under¬ standing and docility, let him profit of what is here said. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. ill This parable shows the various obstacles which render fruit¬ less the word of God in those that hear it, and the happy effect it produces in others, according to their various dis¬ positions. “ Another parable he proposed to them,” to explain how heresies spring up from a corruption of the true faith, “ saying : the kingdom of heaven,” that is, the Church of Christ, “ is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field ; but while men were asleep, his enemy came and over¬ sowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming, said to him : Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field ? Whence then hath it cockle ? And he said to them : an enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him : wilt thou that we go and gather it up ? And he said: no, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into the barn.” Jesus added a third parable, to represent to his hearers, that the word of God fails not to fructify, independently of the preacher, and that its progress is certain, although imperceptible to the outward eye. “ And he said : so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, and should sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, whilst he knoweth not how. For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear. And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” The fourth parable represents the astonishing progress of the evangelical doctrine, which in a short space of time spread throughout the whole globe, in spite of all the powers of earth and hell combined against it. “ Another parable he proposed to them, saying: to what shall we liken the king- 172 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD dom of God ? or to what parable shall we compare it ? The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which is the least indeed of all seeds that are in the earth; and when it has been sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than all the herbs, and becometh a tree, and shooteth out great branches; so that the birds of the air come and dwell in the branches thereof. Another parable,” being the fifth, “ he spoke to them,” as a further representation of the same wonderful fruitfulness of the Gospel: “ The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes,” and the subjects of them he drew from various things most familiar to their usual habits of life. “ And with many such parables he spoke to them the word ” of God, “ according as they were able to hear; and without parables he did not speak unto them. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, (Ps. lxxviii. 2) saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter all things hidden from the foundation of the world.” But, apart, he explained all things to his disciples,” as we shall see in the sequel. CHAPTER LI. The Parables of the Sower and of the Tares explained. Matt. xiii. 10—48. Mark iv. 10—26. Luke vin. 9— 15 .—Other Parables are proposed. Matt. xiii. 44 —52. “ Then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house; and when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him: why speakest thou to them in parables ? Who answered and said to them : because to you,” who believe in me, “it is given to know the mysteries of the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 173 kingdom of heaven, but to them ” who are incredulous, and who harden their hearts, this favour “ is not given. For he that hath ” already, “ to him shall be given ” more, “ and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath. Therefore do I speak to them in parables : because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand,” as they might and ought; but shut their eyes against the lights that are offered them. Wherefore, “to you,” my disciples, “it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God ;” that is, the secret doctrines relating to the Gospel-kingdom, “ but to the rest, that are without, all things are done in parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand : lest at any time they should be converted and their sins should be forgiven them.” (Isa. vi. 9). By these words it clearly appears that the Jews were the cause of their own blindness, and had, by their obstinacy, rendered themselves unworthy of particular lights from God. “ But ” in respect to the Apostles, the case was very different, and Jesus felicitates them on their singular happiness of being his disciples : “ blessed are your eyes,” says he, “because they see” my actions, my miracles, and my whole life, “and your ears, because they hear” my heavenly doctrine. “For amen, I say to you: many pro¬ phets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them. And his disciples ” further “asked him what this parable might be. And he said to them,” with apparent surprise : “ are you ignorant of this parable ? and how shall you know all ” the other “ parables,” which are still more difficult ? “ Hear you, therefore, the parable of the sower. The seed is the word of God. The sower is he that soweth the word,” by preaching and instruc¬ tion ; and this seed falleth upon four different kinds of soil, which represent four different sorts of persons. The first are such as continue obdurate in vice : the second are such 174 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD as are unsteady and inconstant in their good resolutions: the third such as are absorbed in the cares and pleasures of this life : the fourth such as have every proper disposition for receiving the word of God with fruit. Christ now proceeds to describe the characters of these four different sorts of persons in relation to the subject in question. Of the first, he says: “These are they by the way side, where the word of the kingdom is sown, and as soon as they have heard” it, “immediately cometh the wicked one, Satan, and catcheth, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts, lest believing they should be saved.” Wherefore they here are represented by the high¬ way, whose heart, by long habits of vice, is hardened like a beaten path, without being broken and ploughed up, as it were, by remorse or repentance for their sins. When souls of this description hear the divine word, the evil spirit, like a bird of prey, presently makes his attack upon them, and drawing their attention to the former objects of their passions, robs them of the words of life which had been sown in their hearts, lest by ruminating upon them, and giving them time to make a due impression, they should think seriously of a change, and break loose from the fetters of their vicious habits. Christ next tells his disciples, who are represented by the rocky or stony ground. “And these likewise are they,” says he, “that are sown on the stony ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy,” and, as a proof of their earnestness, form a thousand good resolu¬ tions, and even perform some good works, which are analogous of the first appearance of the growing corn. But unfortu¬ nately, “ they have no root in themselves, and when tribula¬ tion and persecution arise on the account of the word, they are presently scandalised. For they believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away.” This temptation or persecution is to them as a scorching sun, which parches up and consumes all the moisture of their sprouting virtue; AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. i/S their courage and resolution fail them in the time of diffi¬ culty ; their devotion is at an end, and they no longer choose, at this price, to follow the maxims of their divine Master. “ And others there are,” says Christ, speaking of the third sort, “ who are sown among thorns: these are they that hear the word” with a heart tolerably prepared ; “ but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the plea¬ sures of this life, and the lust after other things, entering in, choke the word,” as so many thorns and briars ; “ and” thus “it is made fruitless; for the soul divided among so many vain or trifling objects, becomes unable to attend seriously to Christian duties, and so forfeits that fruitfulness of virtue with which she w~ould otherwise have been blessed. Thus all the obstacles which destroy the fruit of God’s word in the soul of man may be reduced to hardness of heart, an incon¬ stancy of mind, and a dissipation of the soul, incompatible with a virtuous life. But let us now see who are represented by the good soil, which produces fruit even to a hundred¬ fold : for this is an emblem of what we should all endeavour to be. “ These are they,” says Christ, “ who are sown upon good ground, who, in a good and very good heart,” that is, in a heart softened by grace, ploughed up and harrowed by penance, cleansed from the noxious weeds of irregular pas¬ sions and idle amusements, “ hearing the word, receive it, keep it,” by allowing it to sink deep in their hearts, “ and bring forth fruit in patience,” some in greater, some in smaller quantity, according to their respective progress in virtue; “the one an hundred-fold, and another sixty, and another thirty.” “ His disciples” having been thus fully instructed as to the meaning of the parable of the sower, “ came to him, saying : Expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field. Who made answer and said to them: He that soweth the good seed, is the Son of man,” i. e. Jesus Christ himself, who during the course of his mortal life, preached the doctrine of truth, which is the seed of eternal life : “ and the field is the world: THE LIFE OF t)UR LORD i;6 and the good seed are the children of the kingdom ” of heaven, because the doctrine of truth reduced to practice, is what makes saints : “ and the cockle are the children of the wicked one; and the enemy that sowed them is the devil,” who, whilst pastors are lulled asleep, spread the tares of error and sin amongst a great number of Christians. These falling from the state of grace, or becoming heretics, are yet mingled with the rest of the faithful in the same outward profession of Christianity, in like manner as the good corn and the cockle are mingled together in the same field. As therefore the good seed is the true doctrine of the gospel, the cockle seems to represent more properly the errors of heretics than the vices of wicked Christians. But the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels, who ask per¬ mission to extirpate the wicked even in this life: but since this extermination was not to he effected by supernatural scourges, but by natural and general means of destruction, which affect the good indiscriminately with the wicked, there¬ fore Jesus withholds his consent to this severe but merited punishment, lest the virtuous should be involved in the same evil with the wicked. On the contrary, he thinks fit to allow the good corn and the weeds to grow up together, viz. the faithful and heretics, the good and the bad, to live together until the harvest time, which will be at the general resurrec¬ tion ; and this he does in order to exercise the patience of the faithful, and to give the wicked full leisure to repent. At that period the angels, here represented by the reapers, will make a due separation. “ Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandal and them that work iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” and be convinced that there is nothing which he ought not willingly to do in order to avoid those AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 177 eternal flames, and to obtain this heavenly kingdom. Our blessed Saviour does not seem to have explained the third, fourth, and fifth parables in a similar manner as the two former. It is probable that the three ensuing parables were spoken by Christ to his apostles in the house, immediately after his having explained the parable of the cockle weed. For St. Matthew and St. Mark seem to have concluded the parables addressed to the multitude by those words, “ and without parables he did not speak to them." The sixth and seventh parables represent the inestimable value of the doctrine of the gospel, under the figure of a treasure hidden in a field, and of a pearl of great worth hidden at the bottom of the sea. X( The kingdom of heaven,” said Christ, “ is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found, hid it” again in a secure place, “and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth the field.” In like manner he who, by the doctrine of the gospel, has found out the kingdom of heaven, ought to be willing to sell all his temporal goods, and to give even his very life, rather than let slip this fortunate purchase which is to secure to him eternal joys hereafter. For “again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Wherefore do you buy in like manner, even at the expense of all that you possess, that eternal kingdom which faith discovers to you, but which you cannot obtain without the practice of good works. “ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together all kinds of fishes. Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the- bad they cast forth.” The eighth parable represents to us this important truth, that it suffices not to salvation to profess the true faith and the doctrine of the gospel, unless we regulate our lives by its N 178 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD precepts. The sea represents the world, the fishing is the preaching of the gospel, the net is the Church, the fish of all sorts caught in the net are good and bad men of all nations, who enter into the Church. When the net is full, it is drawn upon the shore, where its contents are examined: “So shall it be” with the Church “at the end of the world. The angels shall go out and shall separate the wicked from amongst the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have ye understood all these things ? ” said Jesus to them. “ They say to him, yes. He said unto them,” intimating that these his instructions were not meant solely for themselves, but for the good of others, “ therefore every Scribe instructed in the ” laws of the “ kingdom of heaven, is like to a man who is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old,” and distributes them to his children accord¬ ing to their several wants : so also a pastor of souls, well versed in the heavenly science of salvation, unfolds to his flock the spiritual treasures of faith, according to their capa¬ city ; throwing light upon the mysteries of the New Testa¬ ment by the figures of the Old, and displaying the novel truths of grace, by pointing out their analogy with the ordinary works of nature. CHAPTEK LII. * Jesus Pkeaches at Nazaketh. Matt. xiii. 53—59. Make vi. 1 — 5. Luke iv. 16—30. “ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these para¬ bles, he passed from thence; ” that is, from Capharnaum and the adjoining places, “and came to Nazareth, his own country, where^e was brought up ; and his disciples followed him.” He had delayed his journey purposely to allow the fame he had acquired by so many miracles to reach that AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. *79 place before him, in order to ensure to his doctrine a more favourable reception amongst his countrymen. “ And he went into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath-day, and he rose up (Isa. lxii.) to read,” as was usual with those who had anything to impart to the audience. “ And the book of Isaias the prophet was delivered unto him: and as he unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written ” concerning his own divine mission and em¬ ployment. “ The spirit of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me” by the unction of the Holy Ghost “ as by a holy balsam: he hath sent me to preach the Gospel to the poor,” rather than to the rich, who are generally less disposed to receive it, being too much attached to earthly objects, and “to heal the contrite of heart” of their deep and deadly wounds occasioned by sin : “ to preach deliver¬ ance to the captives,” groaning under the slavery of the devil, “ and sight to the blind,” hitherto plunged in the darkness of ignorance and error; “ to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord,” as a general jubilee, wherein God is pleased, out of his pure mercy, to remit to mankind their debts, and to release them from the slavery of sin, by reinstating them in their former liberty of the children of God ; “ and the day of retribution,” when God shall render to every one according to his works, and be revenged of all his enemies. “And when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister and sat down; and the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed upon him,” eagerly expecting he would explain these words. “ And he began to teach” and “to say to them: this day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears,” alluding not merely to the action he was engaged in, but to everything he had done since the commencement of his ministry. “And many hearing him were” at first “in admiration at his doctrine, and all gave testimony to him, and wondered at the word of grace that proceeded from his mouth.” But these flattering testimonies, which the force of truth drew from their mouths, were quickly i8o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD succeeded by a spirit of envy which yet lurked within their breasts. Hence murmuring to each other, “ they said : how came this man by this wisdom and miracles ? how came this man by all these things ? and what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands ? ” They then began to sum up every particular cir¬ cumstance of his life which might any ways tend to lessen him in the esteem of the public. “Is not this,” said they, “the carpenter? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not this the son of Joseph ? Is not his mother called Mary ? and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude; and his sisters,” that is, his cousins, “ are they not all with us ? Whence therefore hath he all these things ? And they were scandalised in his regard,” the meanness of his tem¬ poral birth preventing them from acknowledging his divine greatness. Hence they wished him, for the clearing up of their doubts, to perform in their presence some of those wonderful works which public report stated him to have per¬ formed at Capharnaum. “But Jesus said to them,” antici¬ pating the request they were about to make : “ Doubtless you will say to me this similitude: Physician heal thyself: as great things as we have heard done in Capharnaum, do also here in thy own country.” But he declined giving them this satisfaction: “and he said: Amen, I say to you, that no prophet is accepted of in his own country. A prophet is not without honour but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.” Wherefore, as miracles are to be wrought with a view to the conversion of souls, a prophet will be less inclined to work them in his native place, where they are less attended to, than in distant parts, where there is a better prospect of success. A second reason assigned by Christ for this his refusal is drawn from the usual conduct of Providence. A prophet sent by God for the benefit of mankind follows not, in the exer¬ cise of his high employment, the bent of his own inclinations or views : he seeks not to draw from the talent intrusted to i AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 181 him a subject of applause or any return of gratitude to him¬ self: he goes whithersoever God sends him, even into the most distant regions, and his scene of action is precisely where Providence marks it out to him. In proof of these Jesus quotes two instances in the Old Testament, the one of Elias, the other of Eliseus. “ In truth, I say to you, there were many ” indigent “ widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth (3 Kings xvii. 9); and to none of them was Elias sent but to Sarepta,” a small village in the country “ of Sidon, to a widow woman,” that he might bestow on this stranger, in preference to his own countrymen, the necessary succours of which she stood in need. “ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian,” and a Gentile. From these two examples he left them to infer, that if in the distribution of miracles the Almighty had here given the preference to such persons as were strangers and Gentiles, rather than to his own people, they should not wonder that he had fixed his residence at Capharnaum, a city indeed with which he had no previous connection, but to which God had directed him rather than to Nazareth, although the latter were more properly his own country. “And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things,” and knowing he meant by these examples to reproach them with their incredulity, “ were filled with anger. And they rose up and thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to the top of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he,” compassionating their blindness, prevented so horrid a deed, and “ passing through the midst of them, went his way,” either by making himself invisible, or by striking them with a stupor, which affected their senses to such a degree, that they no longer knew what they did. “And he could not” be induced to “ do any miracles there, only that he cured a few that were 182 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD sick, laying his hands upon them : and he wondered because of their unbelief.” CHAPTER LIH. The Death of St. John the Baptist. Matt. xiv. 6—12. Mark yi. 21—29. St. John had been now imprisoned at Macheron about a year, at the solicitation of Herodias, and would probably before this have fallen a sacrifice to her vindictive cruelty, had it not been for the personal respect which Herod enter¬ tained for him, and the great holiness of his life. These in some measure counterbalanced, in the mind of that prince, the efforts of this wicked woman, who insatiably thirsted after his blood. At length, however, an opportunity offered itself which completely answered her wishes. This was the festivity of Herod’s birthday, which gave occasion for the death of St. John, as related by the Evangelists, in the following manner. “ And when a convenient day was come,” for the design of Herodias, to wit, “ Herod’s birth¬ day, Herod made a supper for the princes and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee.” Herein he conformed to a custom established by the Pagans, who not extending their hopes beyond this life (where they placed all their happiness), usually celebrated the anniversary of their entrance into the world with the greatest profusion and conviviality. “And when ” Salome, “ the daughter of the same Herodias,” and Philip, “had come in” to the banqueting room, “ and had danced, and pleased Herod and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it to thee. And he swore to her: whatso¬ ever thou shalt ask, I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. Who,” judging herself unequal, through her age, to give a proper answer to so unlimited an offer, ran in haste, and “when she was gone out, said to her mother, AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 183 what shall I ask? But she,” glad of so favourable an opportunity of compassing the death of him whom she had so long viewed as her greatest enemy, “said” to her daughter, without the least hesitation; ask for “the head of John the Baptist. Who when she was returned immediately with haste to the king,” in order not to lose the present moment of her favour with him, “ she asked, saying: I will that forthwith thou give me in a dish the head of John the Baptist. And the king was struck sad ” at so extraordinary a request, and, it seems, even hesitated for a short time what to do; “yet, because of his ” inconsiderate “oath, and because of them that were with him at table,” who espoused her cause, “he would not displease her. But sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison,” without allowing him so much as the formality of a trial: “ and brought his head in a dish, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother,” who, as St. Jerome relates, made it her pastime to pierce the sacred tongue with a bodkin, as Fulvia did Cicero’s. Thus the birthday festival of Herod Antipas was stained with the blood of him, than whom, according to truth itself, a greater had not risen among those born of women ; and his head was made the reward of a young girl’s ability in dancing : but to John himself this scene was the festival of his birth to a happy eternity, and the loss of his life was rewarded by an eternal crown of glory. This happened about two years and three months after his entrance upon his public ministry, about the time of the paschal solemnity, a year before the death of our Blessed Redeemer, “ which his disciples hearing, came, and. took his body, and laid it in a tomb, and came and told;Jesus ” the melancholy event. 184 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER LIY. The Second Journey of Jesus into Galilee.— His Com¬ mission and Charge to the Twelve Apostles. Matt. x. Mark vi. 7—13. Luke ix. 1—6. The Evangelists relate two distinct missions for the propa¬ gation of the gospel: the first was performed by Jesus in person ; the second by his twelve Apostles. “ And it came to pass,” after the decollation of John the Baptist, that “ Jesus went about all the cities and towns ” of Galilee, “ teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity ” (Matt. ix. 35), thus to establish the truth of his doctrines. It is probable that he embraced the opportunity of St. John’s martyrdom to add to the number of his own dis¬ ciples all such as had been attached to the Precursor, as these were now, by their master’s death, left without a teacher. “And (Luke viii. 1 —3) the twelve were with him,” in order that he might thus insure them by his example to the arduous duties of the apostleship, and teach them in what manner they were successfully to labour for the con¬ version of souls. “ And certain women ” likewise accom¬ panied him, “ who had been healed of evil spirits and infir¬ mities ; ” among whom were “Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth. And Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward, and Susanna and many others, who ministered unto him of their substance,” and defrayed the expenses unavoidable in his several journeys. Jesus was also followed by great crowds of people ; “ and seeing the multitudes ” were eager to follow and listen to him, “ he had compassion on them, because they were dis¬ tressed and lying ” along the road sides, “ like sheep that have no shepherd. Then he saith to his disciples ; the harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore to the Lord of the harvest that he send forth AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 185 labourers into'bis harvest” (Matt. ix. 36—38). Then calling together the twelve Apostles,” he gave them the necessary documents for their entering upon this harvest: 1. By investing them with fresh powers for that purpose. 2. By giving them proper directions for their making a due use thereof. 1. He invested them with a double power, viz. “ he gave them power and authority over all devils ; and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities.” These miraculous powers were in some measure necessary for the success of their mission, in order to supply the deficiency of eloquence, riches, talents, and all other human means which were wanting to them. “ And he began to send them two and two,” arranged in proper order. “ And the names of the twelve Apostles are these : the first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent ” into the different parts of the country “ to preach the king¬ dom of God and to heal the sick.” But in sending his Apostles as his ambassadors, Jesus delivered to them various instructions, such as were proper for their conduct not only in this instance, but in all their future missions; and which might serve likewise, in some degree, for all succeeding apostolic missionaries throughout the world. These instruc¬ tions consist principally in precautions. ]. Against such obstacles as might impede the success of their preaching, 2. Against all anxiety respecting their future wants. 3. Against the persecutions which their preaching would draw down upon them. The first obstacle to be guarded against was not to preju¬ dice the Jews against the gospel, by preaching it to Gentiles and Samaritans. Wherefore Jesus sent the twelve, giving them these commands : “Go ye not into the way of the 186 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Gentiles, and into the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The second obstacle of which they were to beware was avarice. Hence Christ enforces the contrary spirit of dis¬ interestedness to so great an extent, as absolutely to debar his Apostles from every species of profit and indulgence which has the appearance of personal ease and convenience. “ And he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, but a staff only,” to walk with, “no scrip” for their provisions, “ no bread, nor money in their purse. But to be shod with sandals” only, such as they then wore, “ and that they should not put on two coats. And he said to them: Do not possess gold nor silver, nor money in your purses : nor scrip for your journeys, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff” to defend yourselves. In lieu of those conveniences place your trust in Providence. Receive no kind of acknow¬ ledgment for your labours. “And going preach, saying: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils.” By these miracles, give proof that your mission is founded upon truth, and that your doctrine is from God. But, above all, as “ you have received gratis, give gratis,” because this divine power being the pure gift of God’s grace, it is not to be acquired by any earthly bribe or human consideration, and it is no less than the highest indignity to act herein as in a temporal concern, or worldly transaction. 2. Jesus in the next place cautions his Apostles against all anxiety about their own wants and necessities. This advice was the more necessary, since, after an injunction of so perfect a disinterestedness, they might naturally ask how they were to subsist during their evangelical labours. This demand he anticipates by saying that they were entitled to a maintenance from those who reaped the benefit of their labours. “For the workman,” said he, “is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy ” to lodge you, lest otherwise the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 1:87 sacredness of your character be any ways lessened in the eyes of the world by the unworthiness of the persons with whom you take up your abode. “ And whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there, and depart not from thence” without good reason, lest you incur the imputation of fickle¬ ness or of a blameable nicety. “And when you come into, the house salute it, saying: peace be to this house. And if that house be worthy, your peace shall come upon it; but if it be not worthy, your peace shall return to you,” and you will have this comfort, that you have discharged your duty. “ And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words; going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet, for a testimony against them.” Jesus adds, with a solemn asseveration : “Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. This declaration is grounded : 1. Upon the insult they offered to God by refusing to receive those whom he sends : 2. Upon the remorse and anguish they shall experience for having thus rejected the proffered means of salvation : 8. Upon the contempt with which they treated miracles, which are the voice of God and proofs of his doctrine; for these are the aggravations of guilt which the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stand not charged with. 8. Jesus forewarned his Apostles of the persecutions which they had to expect, and against which they were to arm themselves by meekness, prudence, simplicity, fortitude, and resignation. “ Behold,” says he, “ I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye therefore wise as serpents, and simple as doves.” Jesus then proceeded to point out various occasions in which the practice of these virtues will be called for. 1. Prudence will be highly necessary to them in the various dangers to which they will be exposed from their necessary intercourse with mankind; wherefore he advises them to be ever upon their guard in the exercise of their functions. “ But beware of men,” says he, who are them¬ selves those wolves into the midst of which I send you: 188 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD “ For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues : and you shall be brought before governors and before kings for my sake,” in order to be “for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles” of the care I have taken to announce to them the doctrine of salva¬ tion, and of the obstinacy with which they have rejected it. “ But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak : for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. For” on these occasions, when my honour is at stake, and you are supporting my interests, “ it is not ” pro¬ perly “you that speak, but” rather “the spirit of your Father that speaketh in you,” enlightening your minds and suggesting such words as are suitable to the occasion. But these are not the only trials you will have to undergo; for “ the brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death.” Thus you will see your nearest relations become your greatest enemies. “And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake; but” amidst all these persecutions lose not courage, remem¬ bering the inestimable value of that eternal salvation which is to be gained by patient suffering, and that “he” only “ that shall persevere to the end, shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another.” This conduct, which is directed by a principle of self-preser¬ vation, has indeed many advantages evident. Nor were they to fear lest places of refuge should be wanting to them. “ Amen, I say to you, you shall not finish preaching through all the cities of Israel till the Son of man come ” to execute vengeance on your persecutors. 2. With regard to the virtue of simplicity, Jesus shows how extremely useful this will be to his Apostles, in order to their readily submitting to the will of Providence, which permits these persecutions to befal them. Amongst the various reasons alleged for this purpose, the first is drawn from his own example. “ The disciple is not above tho I AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 189 master, nor the servant above the Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the good man of the house Beel¬ zebub,” the prince of devils, “ how much more them of his household? Therefore fear them not:” all the evils they can make you sutler will only serve to render you more conformable to your divine Master, and more glorious before men ; “for nothing is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not he known,” and therefore the justice of your cause, the innocence of your life, and the truth of your words, shall one day be made manifest in the sight of heaven and earth, and your adversaries be covered with confusion. “ That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light, and that which you hear in your ear, preach ye upon the house top,” in order to convince mankind that it is the pure truth alone which you announce, and therefore it is in vain to calumniate the Christian religion as a mystery of darkness and abomination. “And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Wherefore, under the absolute necessity of espousing the cause of God or that of the world, at open war with each other, we cannot hesitate what choice to make, seeing there is this essential or rather infinite difference between them, that the world can only kill the body, which is otherwise mortal and soon to die, whilst on the other hand God can punish both body and soul in eternal flames. Moreover, if you suffer anything for the sake of God, think not that your sufferings are unknown to him, or that they will go unre¬ warded. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father. But,” as to you, “the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, better are you than many sparrows,” and your heavenly Father will be far more atten¬ tive to all that concerns you. I will engage him myself to recompense you abundantly for all that you may do for me. igo THE LIFE OF OUR LORD “Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.” As to the rest, “ think not that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace,” such as carnal men desire, “ but the sword,” and therefore this warfare in which my disciples will be engaged is no way contrary to the design I had in coming into the world. “ I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He ” therefore, “ that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me,” either to bear my name, to be a member of my mystical body, or to partake of my rewards; “ and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.” Who but a God could utter this sublime language, such as had never been used before by any prophet or apostle ? I say more, “ he that taketh not up his cross and followeth me,” in my sufferings and death, “ is not worthy of me.” This condition may appear hard to such as love this present life ; but let them know, that “ he that findeth his life ” in this world at the expense of his faith, “shall lose it” for ever in the next: “and he that shall lose his life ” in this world, “ shall find it ” again hereafter in a much greater degree of happiness and perfection for all eternity. But not only the Apostles are to be rewarded, but likewise all those who by their influence and concurrence shall contribute to the establishment of the gospel. Christ insinuates to his disciples that there shall always be found charitable persons who will afford them harbour and protec¬ tion, and as an encouragement to such he declares that what is done to them is done to himself. “ He that receiveth you,” says he, “ receiveth me, and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of a prophet; AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. igi and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name ” and quality “of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” It is in vain therefore, says St. Jerome, for any one to dispense himself from giving alms, by alleging his poverty, since Christ here promises that the smallest benefaction or assistance bestowed on the indigent with a proper intention shall not go unre¬ warded. “ And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of giving these precepts to his twelve disciples,” they departed agreeably to his orders, to announce the gospel, whilst “ he himself passed from thence to teach and preach in their cities (Matt. xi. 1). And going out they went about through the ” lesser “ towns preaching the gospel, and heal¬ ing everywhere. And they preached that men should do penance. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them,” by this particular circumstance showing that they were inferior to their divine Master, who cured the infirm with a single word, or simply by his touch. CHAPTER LY. The increasing Reputation of Jesus, his Retreat into the Desert, and his Multiplication of Five Loaves. Matt. xiv. 1 , 2 , 13 — 21 . Mark vi. 14 — 16 , 32 — 52 . Luke ix. 7 — 17 . John vi. 5 — 14 . “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus,” and “ of all things that were done by him ; for his name was made manifest.” That this prince had not sooner heard of Jesus, is to be attributed either to the usual indif¬ ference with which princes frequently listen to anything concerning religion and piety, or else to the unavoidable 192 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD occupations which engrossed his whole attention during the war he was then engaged in against Aretas his father-in-law. “ And” Herod “ was in a doubt ” concerning this new pro¬ phet, who was now so much the subject of discourse in Galilee ; and the more so, because his courtiers were divided into different opinions. For “ it was said by some,” pro¬ bably of the Pharisees : “ John the Baptist is risen again from the dead, and therefore mighty works show forth therm selves in him. By other some, that Elias hath appeared, and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again: but others” believed Jesus to be a new prophet, and “said: he is a prophet like one of the ” ancient “ prophets. Which Herod hearing, said : John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” And as tyrants easily believe that to be real which they are in dread of, he rather leaned to the opinion of those who judged the person in question to be John the Baptist risen again from the dead; especially as his conscience charged him with having put him to death unjustly. On this account he was not without apprehension lest God might now have invested him with sufficient powers to take full revenge for his cruelty against him : “ and he therefore sought to see him,” in order to ascertain by his features whether he were really the person. “ And,” in this state of uncertainty, “ he said to his ser¬ vants, this is John the Baptist whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works show forth themselves in him. Which” apprehension of Herod, “ when Jesus had heard, he retired from thence; not with the view of flying from him, since he returned even the following day to Capharnaum, but purposely that the news of his retreat might lessen the tyrant’s fears, and at the same time afford to his disciples, now returned from their mission, a short respite from their labours, as insinuated by St. Mark and St. Luke. “ And the apostles coming together unto Jesus, related to him all things that they had done and taught. And he said to them : come apart into a desert place, and AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 193 rest a little : for there were many coming and going, and they had not so much as time to eat. And taking them, and going up into a ship, they went into a desert place apart, which belongeth to Bethsaida: over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias : and they saw them going away, and many knew it: and they ran flocking thither on foot from all the cities, and were there before them. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. He therefore went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near at hand,” being the third since the commencement of our Saviour’s public ministry. “ And Jesus going out saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he received them” with kindness, “and began to teach them many things of the kingdom of God, and healed their sick, and them who were in need of healing. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him, saying: this is a desert place, and the hour is now past, send them away, that going into the next villages and towns, they may buy themselves meat to eat. But Jesus said to them : they have no need to go: give you them to eat. And they said to him,” ironically: “let us go and buy bread for 200 pence,” or about forty shillings, “ and we will give them to eat : ” this was probably said by Judas Iscariot. However, “when Jesus had lifted up his eyes, and seen that a very great multitude cometh to him, he said to Philip,” a good, kind, and compassionate man, “ whence shall we buy bread that they may eat; and this he said to try him,” whether in this emergency he would recur to his omnipotent Providence ; “ for he himself knew what he would do. Philip,” however, had no such thought, but instantly “ answered him: two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. But he saith to them : how many loaves have you ? Go and see : and when they knew, one o 1 94 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, saith to him : there is a hoy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes ; but what are these amongst so many ? unless perhaps we should go and buy food for all this multitude. Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, bring them hither to me; and he commanded them that they should make them all sit down by companies upon the green grass.” For “ there was much grass in the place; and they did so ; and he made them all sit down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties,” that the number might he more easily ascertained, and the people more regularly served. “ The men therefore sat down in number about five thousand. And ” Jesus “ taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and when he had given thanks, blessed them and broke the loaves, and distributed to his disciples to set before the multitude. And the dis¬ ciples ” gave “to the multitudes that were sat down. In like manner also of the fishes, he divided among them all, as much as they would ; and they did all eat and were filled.” It is in the breast of him alone who was the cause of this multiplication to say how it was effected; but it appears, from the context, that Christ did not on this occasion form new loaves, or neiv fishes, in the hands of the Apostles, as they were distributing them, because it is here affirmed that the two fishes he divided amongst them all, as he did the five barley loaves, which would be false if he had either formed new fishes or loaves, or the angels supplied others invisibly. To render the miracle still more conspicuous, Jesus was pleased to make it appear to the eyes of all that he had not only supplied their present wants, but that a considerable overplus was remaining. “And when they were filled, he said to his disciples : Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost,” hereby insinuating that charity is perfectly consistent with frugality. “ They gathered up therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 195 eaten, and of the fishes;” which was in fact a much larger quantity than was at first set before our Lord to divide. “ And the number of those that did eat was five thousand men, besides women and children,” who might possibly amount to an equal number. “Now those men when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: this is the prophet indeed ” like unto Moses, “ that is to come into the world” as foretold by him : for as the people of God were miraculously fed by Moses in the desert, so likewise had Jesus, in this instance, fed them in a manner no less won¬ derful and miraculous. 196 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD PART IY. CHAPTER LVI. Jesus retires again to the Mountain. He walks upon THE Sea -AND HEALS ALL THAT ARE SlCK. MATT. XIV. 22—36. Mark yi. 45—56. John vi. 15. “ Jesus therefore, when he perceived that they would come to take him by force, and make him king,” prevented the execution of their design, and thereby spared both the Romans and Herod Antipater those jealous fears of a rival in empire, which they would otherwise have experienced. By so doing, he effectually refuted beforehand the false accusations which were afterwards brought against him before Pilate, of raising a sedition among the people in his favour. Where¬ fore “ he immediately obliged his disciples to go into the ship, that they might go before him over the water to the city of Bethsaida, whilst he dismissed the people ; and when evening was come, his disciples went down to the sea, and when they had gone up into a ship, they went over the sea to Capharnaum. And” Jesus “having dismissed the multi¬ tude, fled again into the mountain himself alone, to pray; and it was now dark, and Jesus was not come unto ” his disciples: “ but the boat, in the midst of the sea, was tossed with waves, and himself alone ” remained “ on the land. And the sea arose, by reason of a great wind that blew.” This extraordinary agitation of the waters was purposely caused by Jesus, with a view of trying their faith and confi¬ dence in him during his absence. At length, “ seeing them labouring in rowing, for the wind was” much “against them, about the fourth watch of the night,” or three o’clock in the morning, “he cometh to them, walking upon the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 197 sea. When they had rowed therefore twenty-five or thirty furlongs,” not much above three miles, “they see Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing nigh to the ship; and he would have passed by them. But they seeing him walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition,” and, according to the mistaken notion of seafaring persons, con¬ sidering this as ominous of their approaching shipwreck, “were troubled ; and they cried out for fear, saying: it is an apparition. For they all saw him,” the moon being then at the full, but without affording sufficient light to distinguish him by his features. “And immediately Jesus spoke to them, and said : have a good heart, it is I, fear not.” On hearing his voice, they instantly knew him, and regained their former tranquillity of mind. “ And Peter,” full of faith and love, “ making answer, said : Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters. And he said: come. And Peter coming down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong” which probably changed suddenly, and drove the waves against him, “he was afraid : and when he began to sink, cried out, saying : Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus, stretching forth his hand, took hold of him, and said to him : 0 thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt ? They were willing therefore to take Jesus into the ship, and he went up to them into the ship. And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased ; and they were far more astonished within themselves : for they understood not con¬ cerning the loaves ; for their heart was blinded,” otherwise they would not have been so surprised on this occasion, if they had reflected on the greatness of that miracle. “ And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: indeed thou art the Son of God. And presently the ship,” by a new miracle, “was at the land to which they were going. And when they had passed over they came into the land of Genesareth,” about 12 miles from Bethsaida, “ and set to the shore. And when they were gone out of the ship, 198 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD the men of that place immediately knew him: and running through that whole country, they began to carry about on beds those who were ill, where they heard he was; and they brought to him all that were diseased, and whithersoever he entered, into towns, or into villages, or cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment; and as many as touched him were healed.” CHAPTER LVII. The Discourse of Jesus concerning the Heavenly Bread. John vi. 22—72. “ The next day,” after the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes, “ the multitude that stood on' the other side of the sea saw that there was no other ship there but ” that “ one ” wherein the disciples crossed the sea, “ and that Jesus had not entered into the ship with ” them, “ but that his disciples were gone away alone. But other ships came in from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they had eaten the bread, the Lord giving thanks. When therefore the multi¬ tude,” after waiting some time, “ saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they took shipping” in the said vessels, “ and came to Capharnaum seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him, on the other side of the sea, they said to him: Rabbi, when earnest thou hither ? Jesus,” without paying any regard to this question, “ answered them and said : Amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles,” and are thereby induced to believe in me; “ but you seek me” merely “ because you did eat of the loaves and were filled,” and hence you are led to expect a continuance of supernatural refreshment. “ La¬ bour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you; for him hath God the Father sealed,” and hath sanctioned, as it were by letters patent attested by as many AND SAVIOUR yESUS CHRIST. 199 seals as he has wrought miracles in your presence. “ They said therefore unto him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God,” and obtain of him eternal life ? “ Jesus answered and said to them : this is the work of God,” which he requires of you, “ that you believe in him whom he hath sent,” to be your Master, your Lawgiver, the Mediator of your salvation, the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world. They readily understood that, in saying this, he spoke concerning himself. “ They said therefore to him: what sign therefore dost thou show, that we may see and believe thee ” to be the Son of God and the Messiah ? And foreseeing that he might with great pro¬ priety allege the recent miracle of feeding five thousand persons with five loaves, they anticipate this obvious answer, by contrasting it with what Moses performed in the desert. It is true, say they, that you have once fed five thousand persons with five loaves : but “our fathers,” to the number of 600,000, “ did eat,” not for once, but during forty years, “manna in the desert;” a species of food this, infinitely superior to barley bread, “as it is written: he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them : Amen, amen I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven; ” the manna only came from the clouds, and was called the bread from heaven, because it was a figure of it: “but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world; ” that is, a life of immortality and eternal happiness to all who worthily receive it. From these words the Jews fancied to themselves a kind of real bread more delicious than the manna, which they were to enjoy during the whole course of their lives. “They said therefore unto him : Lord, give us always this bread. And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.” At the moment when Jesus styled himself the bread of 200 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD heaven, the Jews, it seems, gave evident marks, by their countenances, that they did not believe in him. He there¬ fore added: “ But I said unto you ” already, “ that you also have seen me,” and witnessed my miracles, “ and you believe not.” But, in order to pique their jealousy upon this occa¬ sion, he declares to them, that there will always be persons who will believe in him, and who, by a persevering faith, will find in him their eternal salvation. This his meaning he ex¬ presses in a more circumscribed manner, by saying that he will not expel them from his house. If 3 ^ou do not believe in me, it is because you are not of the number of those whom my Father hath given me, for “ all that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, and him that cometh to me,” by an humble and sincere faith, “ I will not cast out. Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. Now this is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all that he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again in the last day,” to live eternally with me. “ And this is the will of my Father that sent me, that every one who seeth the Son ” with the eyes of faith, “ and believeth in him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day,” to enter into a glorious and incor¬ ruptible life. “ The Jews therefore,” instead of believing in Jesus Christ, in order to be of the happy number of those whom his Father had given him, “ murmured at him, because he had said : I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And they said,” refuting as it were this his asser¬ tion : “ Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? how then saith he, I came down from heaven ? Jesus therefore answered and said to them: mur¬ mur not among yourselves ; no man can come to me, except the Father who hath sent me draw him,” by his special grace, “ and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets ” concerning those who should believe in me, “ and they shall all be taught of God. Every one ” therefore “ that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned ” AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 201 of him who I am, “ cometh to me ” by faith and obedience. “Not that any man hath seen the Father, but he who is” horn “ of God : he ” indeed “ hath seen the Father.” As to others, when the Scripture says they are taught of God, this is to be understood of an interior spiritual instruction, which takes place in the soul, and does not fall under the senses; but which is not the less real on that account, because it is the heart which hears the voice of this invisible teacher. “ Amen, amen I say unto you ” again, “he that believeth in me hath everlasting life.” After having thus stated the necessity of divine faith in those who wish to partake of this heavenly bread, Jesus proceeds to the second part of his discourse, in which he fully explains what that bread of life is, which he is about to impart to mankind in the mystery of the holy eucharist. He therefore again declares, first, that he himself is the bread of eternal life, and mentions the several properties peculiar to it: secondly, he applies to his own person and to his own flesh the idea of this bread, such as he has defined it. Beginning with the former of these, he says: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead;” but “ this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that if any man eat of it,” with a lively and active faith, “ he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” to give life to the world. “ If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give ” at my last supper, is “ my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews already greatly scandalised at Jesus for his having styled himself the living bread which came down from heaven, were now much more so, on hearing these last words, which conveyed to their minds, in their plain obvious sense, that Jesus would really give to them his ow T n flesh to eat; but with regard to the manner in which he was to give it, they falsely represented to themselves that he was to cut his body in pieces and distribute it amongst them in a bloody 202 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD state, the very idea of which struck them with horror and disgust. “ The Jews therefore strove amongst themselves, saying: how can this man give us his flesh to eat ? Then Jesus said to them,” in order to confirm the notion they had formed of a real eating of his body, and to remove all meta¬ phorical interpretation of his words : “ Amen, amen I say unto you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” But “ he that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlast¬ ing life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him,” as food abideth in him who takes it. “ As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father,” a divine life, always proceeding from him, “ so he that eateth me,” first, by faith, by believing in me, and secondly, by a real manducation of my body and blood in the holy commu¬ nion, “ the same also shall live by me. This is ” truly “ the bread that came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead : he that eateth this bread shall live for everfor his soul shall live here by a life of justice, and hereafter by a life of glory; and his body likewise shall be raised up to a blessed immortality in the day of general resurrection. “ These things he said teaching in the syna¬ gogue in Capharnaum,” in the midst of a very numerous assembly, whereof a part consisted of those whom he had recently fed in the desert. “ Many therefore of his disciples hearing it, said: this saying is hard, and who can hear it ? But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them : doth this scandalise you,” and appear unworthy of your belief in the present state of things, whilst I am with you? “If then you shall see the Son of man ascending up ” into heaven, “ where he was before,” how will you then believe that he can give you his flesh, when become glorious and immortal, and elevated to the right hand of God ? For it is much easier to conceive that a AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 203 thing present may be eaten, than to conceive the same of a thing absent and invisible to all our senses. Christ next rebukes them for presuming to judge of his words by the testimony of their senses, and by their carnal and gross imagination. On the contrary, “ it is the spirit,” said he, that “ quickeneth : the flesh profiteth nothing for it cannot penetrate these sublime mysteries. “ The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life,” and therefore, to understand them, you must be animated with the spirit of God, and live the life of faith. “ But there are some of you that ” have not this spirit, and live not this life, and so “ be¬ lieve not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who he was that would betray him. And he said: therefore did I say to you, that no man can come to me,” by an humble and firm faith, “ unless it be given him by my Father. After this many of his disciples went back: and walked no more with him.” Our Saviour, who saw them thus abandon him, and most feelingly resented their eternal loss, did not offer to call them back again : and yet this he would most certainly have done, if they had been under a mistake only in regard to his meaning. If this had been the case, he had only to tell them that he had meant no more by all his discourse, than that they should believe in him. But no, this was not all: these disciples had heard his whole discourse, and were well assured, from the plain and obvious meaning of his words, that he promised to give them his real flesh to be their food; and not being able to understand how this could be, they were scandalised at it, and followed the example of the other unbelieving Jews. What a striking likeness is observable between Protestants and these incredulous Jews, who said, on this occasion, how can he give us his flesh to eat? Their answers and objections are reducible to this, when they tell us that the real presence contradicts their senses, their reason, and that they know it to be false. But let us now see how differently the apostles acted on this occasion. 204 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD When the apostate disciples had now withdrawn themselves, “ then Jesus said to the twelve : will you also go away ? ” Here again we have another clear proof of the real presence. The twelve had heard all that passed; they had seen the Jews strive amongst themselves, and the disciples murmur and leave their Master; they understood what he said in the same literal sense the others had done ; it could indeed bear no other meaning; but when Jesus put the above ques¬ tion to them, leaving them to their free choice, whether to follow him or withdraw themselves, “ Simon Peter answered him : Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that thou art Christ the Son of” the living “ God,” and there¬ fore able to make good thy words, however hard and difficult they may appear to others. Admire here the noble simpli¬ city of their faith; they believe the words of their Master without the least hesitation; they believe them in that very meaning in which the others had refused to believe them; they believe them as containing a promise of giving them his real flesh to eat, and his real blood to drink; and they believe with a most firm and sincere faith, for this plain but noble reason, because he is Christ the Son of God, who is absolutely incapable of deceiving his creatures, and whose almighty power is perfectly able to fulfil his word, and to perform the promise which he here made them. Judas, however, it would seem, did not acquiesce in the above public avowal made by Peter, and yet he resigned not his apostleship, nor did he withdraw from the company of Jesus, as some of the disciples had done. He found his advantage in carrying the common purse, and in being the bearer of the alms bestowed upon his brethren. Knowing perfectly this his inward disposition, “Jesus answered them,” with some restriction to the public profession which Peter had just made in the name of his brethren ; and excepting Judas, yet without naming him, he said : “ Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil,” through AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 205 avarice and incredulity? “Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, lor he it was that was to betray him, being one of the twelve.” CHAPTER LYIII. The Pharisees complain that the Disciples eat with Unwashed Hands: Chkist, in his tukn, eeproaches THEM WITH VIOLATING THE Law OF God, ON ACCOUNT OF their Human Traditions, and shows that true Purity IS NOT MERELY EXTERNAL, BUT SEATED IN THE HEART. Matt. xv. 1—20. Mark vii. 1—23. John vh. It has been remarked by St. John, c. vi. ver. 4, that when Jesus withdrew into the desert of Bethsaida, the passover was near at hand. We are therefore naturally led to expect that, after the discourse concerning the eucharist, this evan¬ gelist would relate, as usual, his journey to Jerusalem, there to keep the paschal festival. But he rather gives us to understand that he did not ascend thither on this occasion, on account of the imminent danger which would have threatened his life. “After these things” (John vii. 1) “Jesus walked through Galilee; for he would not walk through Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. And the Pharisees,” seeing he did not make his appearance during the festival, “ assemble unto him,” in Galilee, “ and some of the Scribes coming from Jerusalem,” join them. They had not, it seems, any intention at present of seizing on his per¬ son, but only of examining more narrowly into his doctrine and actions, that they might be better prepared to criminate him on some future occasion. On meeting with Jesus there¬ fore, they enter into an altercation with him, on the frivolous subject of his disciples eating with unwashed hands; whilst he, in his turn, justly reproaches them with guilt in a matter of the highest concern, and justifies both himself and his 206 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD disciples, as to the pretended crime laid to their charge. “ And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients: and when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups, and pots, and of brazen vessels, and of beds,” or couches, on which they reclined at meals, according to the custom of those times. These traditions were glosses or explanations of the law made by their forefathers, and were called the oral law , because they came by tradition, not being given in writing, as was the law of Moses. “ And the Pharisees and Scribes,” under this false notion of the obliga¬ tion of such traditionary practices, coming to see Jesus, “ asked him, saying: why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients ? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answering, said to them,” by way of just retortion: “ why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition ? For God said : honour thy father and thy mother; and he that shall curse father or mother, let him be punished with death. But you say: whosoever shall say to his father or mother,” when applying for relief under the pressure of want, “whatsoever corban (which is a gift) proceedeth from me, shall profit thee ;” in other words : I have consecrated to God all that share of my goods which I could otherwise have imparted to you, and I am in duty bound to give the preference to God in the disposal of my property, whilst you will not fail to reap a spiritual advantage equally with me in all such offer¬ ings to the Deity. Whoever, therefore, said the Pharisees, shall thus address his indigent parents, he is no longer bound to attend to their wants, “ and he shall not ” be obliged to “ honour his father and mother,” by relieving them. “ And further, you suffer him not to do anything” more “for his AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 207 father or mother, making void the word of God, and the commandment of God, by your own tradition which you have given forth.” Jesus reproached them likewise with many other similar traditions, equally founded upon injustice, which are not particularised by the Evangelists. “ And many other things,” says he, “ you do like to these.” Considering then the Pharisees and the doctors of the law as living in the constant habit of hypocrisy, or rather of an insatiable avarice, disguised under the false cloak of religion, Jesus applied to them the prophecy of Isaias : “ Hypocrites,” said he to them, “ well hath Isaias prophesied of you, “ say¬ ing : this people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching ” not the law of God, but “ the doctrines and precepts of men: for leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these,” equally vain and insignificant. “ And he said to them,” condemning in a vein of irony these their ill-regulated practices of religion ; “ finely done, you make void the commandment of God, that you may keep your own traditions ” with the greater punctuality, as if they were more perfect than the laws of the decalogue. “ And again, calling the people, he said to them : hear me all of you and understand. There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him : but the things which pro¬ ceed from a man, those are they that defile a man. If any man hath ears to hear let him hear.” He entered not into any further explication of this subject before the Pharisees, because they were undeserving of it, and thus the obscurity of his words afforded them an ample field for their censures. “ Then came his disciples, and said to him : dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scan¬ dalised.” They hereby insinuated, that on his part it might not be improper to soften what to them appeared harsh in his decision, in order thereby to appease the minds of the Pharisees, apparently much irritated, especially as by their 208 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD weight and authority they might become very formidable enemies to him. “ But he answering ” to this suggestion, which was grounded on human policy, “ said,” that nothing was to be apprehended from the power and malice of the Pharisees, because their sect would be extremely short-lived if compared with the religion which he was come to establish. This is the meaning of the figurative expression employed by him, when he said : “ every plant,” that is, every doctrine, which my Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” He further answered, that they need not be anxious con¬ cerning the Pharisees, nor their ill-founded scruples: “Let them alone,” said he: “they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit.” By this answer we are taught that we are not to be troubled at the scandal which some persons lightly take at our conduct, and even at our good works, whilst the real cause of scandal is solely in themselves. “And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. And Peter,” in the name of the rest, “ said : expound to us this parable. But he said,” surprised as it were at their stupidity, “ are you also yet without understand¬ ing,” and “ so void of knowledge ?” Then he condescended to explain the subject to them as follows : “ understand you not that everything from without, entering into a man, can¬ not defile him, because it entereth not into his heart,” nor into the blood, which by circulation passes through the heart, “but goeth into the belly,” whence it is separated from the other parts of the food, “ and goeth out ” by the usual way, “ into the privy, purging all meats.” Jesus had not here an idea of alluding to what might vitiate or infect the blood, but only to that which might defile the soul in the eyes of God; yet as the Apostles, who understood him in a gross and material sense, erroneously confounded these two meanings, it be¬ came necessary to instance this process of nature, in order to make it understood by the Apostles, that our food cannot possibly defile the soul. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 209 “And,” therefore, to rectify still more their ideas, “he told them the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart; and those things,” says he, defile a man: for within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, false tes¬ timonies, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within,” and “ these are the things that defile a man : but to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man.” CHAPTER LIX. The Canaanean Woman. Matt. xv. 21—28. Mark. vii. 24—80. “And Jesus went from thence,” i.e. from Galilee, “and retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon; and entering into a house, he would that no man should know it, and he could not be hid. For a woman of Canaan, who came out of those coasts,” and “ whose daughter had an unclean spirit, as soon as she heard of him,” came, and “ crying out, said to him” as he was entering the house: “have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou Son of David : my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil. Jesus answered her not a word; and his disciples came and besought him ” in her favour, “ say¬ ing : send her away, for she crieth after us. And he answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel,” and not to the Gentiles whose conversion to the faith is reserved for a future period. “ But she,” not discouraged, “came in and fell down at his feet, [for the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician born] and adored him, saying : Lord help me : and she besought him,” in this posture of profound adoration, that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. “ Who answering said to her : Suffer first the children to be filled: for it is not 210 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD good to take the bread of the children, and cast it to the dogs,” i. e. to the Gentiles, who are frequently in Scripture called dogs, on account of their barefaced impiety in publicly prostituting themselves to the worship of idols. “ But she,” notwithstanding this refusal, did not despair of success, and preserving both her temper and her hopes, at length obtained the object of her request by means of an answer equally acute and humble, which our Lord himself suggested to her: for allowing the justice of Christ’s observation, “ she answered and said,” taking advantage of it: “ Yea, Lord, for the whelps also eat, under the table, of the crumbs of the children that fall from the table of their masters.” May it therefore be granted to us Gentiles to gather a small part of this abundance of graces which you diffuse among the Jews. “ Then Jesus,” overcome as ic were by her pious importunity, “ answering, said to her : 0 woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt. For this ” thy “ saying,” so full of faith and humility, “ go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And” accordingly “her daughter was cured from that hour. And when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed, and that the devil was gone out.” CHAPTER LX. Christ cures a Deaf and Dumb Person, as also many other Sick People. Matt. xv. 29—31. Mark vii. 31—37. “ And when Jesus had passed away from thence, going out of the coasts of Tyre, he came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coast of Decapolis.” This district was so called, because it comprised ten cities, some of which were situated on the east, and others on the west of the river Jordan. The first and principal city was Scythopolis, AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 211 and the rest, according to Pliny, were Philadelphia, Raphana, Gadara, Hippos, Dion, Pella, Gerasa, Canatha, and Damas¬ cus, although others reckon them differently. “ And they bring to Jesus one deaf and dumb,” or, as it is in the Greek, one who had an impediment in his speech; “ and they besought him that he would lay his hand upon him,” in order to his cure. In healing this man Jesus made use of various exterior ceremonies, and in so doing he has fully authorised the use which the Catholic Church makes of cere¬ monies in the administration of the holy sacraments. “ And having taken him aside from the crowd, he put his fingers in his ears, and spitting he touched his tongue : and looking up to heaven he groaned, and he said to him Ephpheta, which is ” in the Syriac language, “be thou opened. And imme¬ diately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right. And he charged them that they should tell no man : but the more he charged them against it, so much the more did they publish it. And so much the more did they wonder, saying, he hath done all things well; he hath made the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” It is to be observed that all these actions, as performed by Jesus, were mysterious, and represented to succeeding ages the difficulty there is in restoring sight to such minds as are spiritually blind, or hearing to such as are become deaf to the voice of God: it is with a view to this mysterious sense that the Church has, in imitation of Christ, adopted these as part of her ceremonies in the admi¬ nistration of the sacrament of baptism. Now when Jesus had wrought the above-mentioned cure, “ going up into a mountain he sat there. And there came to him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others : and they cast them down at his feet, and he healed them. So that the multitude marvelled, seeing the dumb speak, the lame walk, the blind see : and they glorified the God of Israel.” 212 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER LXI. Jesus feeds Four Thousand and upwards with Seven Loaves and a few small Fishes. Matt. xv. 32—39. Mark viii. 1 — 10. This multitude of people continued with Jesus three whole days, being still eager to hear his instructions, and attracted likewise by the greatness of his miracles. Seeing their attach¬ ment to him, he displayed in their behalf, first, his fatherly care of them, and secondly, his divine power. By the former, he gave proofs of his being the Saviour of man, and by the latter, of his possessing a sovereign control over the works of the creation. “And Jesus in those days again, when there was a great multitude ” with him “ and had nothing to eat, having called his disciples together, said to them: I have compassion on the multitude; for behold they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way: for some of them are come from afar off.” He thus gave his disciples a sufficient insight into his intention, by show¬ ing the necessity of working a miracle upon this occasion. “ And his disciples,” as if not remembering what Jesus had done before on a similar emergency, “ answered him: from whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilder¬ ness ? Whence then can we get so many loaves in the desert as to fill so great a multitude ? And Jesus said to them : how many loaves have you ? But they said seven, Hnd a few little fishes. And he commanded the people to place themselves on the ground. And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks to his heavenly Father,” for that pro¬ vidential care with which he supplies our wants, even in a miraculous manner when necessary for us, “ he broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them, and they set them before the people. And they had a few little fishes ; and he blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 213 And they all ate and were filled : and they took up seven baskets of what remained of the fragments,” to intimate that God recompenses with a liberal hand the alms that are given for his sake. “And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides children and women,” who probably amounted to as many more. “ And he sent them away, and imme¬ diately going up into a ship with his disciples,” in order to prevent their following him, “he came into the parts of Dalmanutha, into the territories of Magedan,” on the east coast of the sea of Galilee, between Gerasa and Corozain. The miracle here wrought by Christ in feeding so great a multitude, was unquestionably a wonderful effect of his power; yet, as St. Austin observes, it was not a greater work than what he continually performed for the subsistence and nourishment of the whole human race. Whether God at once multiplies in his own hands a few loaves, and makes them capable of satisfying four thousand persons, or, by the general laws of nature which he has established, multiplies the seed in the earth for the food of mankind, the miracle, says this holy Father, is the same, and an effect of the same Almighty power. However, though both these works are equally the effects of Omnipotence, we are nevertheless very differently affected by them. The extraordinary works which God is pleased occasionally to display, never fail to make a lively impression on us, because we there discover his imme¬ diate power exerting itself in an unusual manner; whilst the constant and daily operations of the same power in the ordinary productions of nature pass unnoticed, because we refer them merely to secondary causes; not reflecting on the primary cause which first established these laws, and which continually preserves them in their course. Reason and faith should correct this mistake, and convince us that God is equally great, equally deserving of our praise and adoration, whether he gives laws to nature for our subsistence, or sus¬ pends those laws for our instruction. We are no less indebted to the bounty of his Providence for the helps which we receive / 214 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD by the ordinary course of secondary causes, than if they were immediately conferred upon us by the miraculous exertions of Omnipotence. CHAPTER LXH. Jesus reproves the Pharisees for requiring a Sign in the Heavens, and cautions his Disciples against Hypo¬ crisy. Matt. xvi. 1—12. Mark viii. 11—21. Luke xii. 54—57.— He gives Sight to the Blind Man of Bethsaida. Mark vm. 22—26. “ And there came to him the Pharisees and Sadducees,” persons widely different from each other in their religious sentiments, but united in their design of persecuting Jesus. “ And they began to question with him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” This they did byway of “ tempt¬ ing him.” They mistrusted, it seems, all such miracles as Jesus had hitherto wrought, by touching the parties whom he healed; and they grounded their incredulity upon the false notion, that miracles of this kind might be merely the effect of some occult quality. But they considered other miracles less suspicious and objectionable, which were effected by a single word upon distant objects, exposed to public view in the heavens or the clouds. Jesus so far conde¬ scended to them as to propose two signs excellently well adapted to the nature of their religious tenets, and to prove his divine mission. But to both he absolutely refused to give any present sign, such as was the object of their unbelieving curiosity. He began by referring the Pharisees to the signs already discernible of the time of the Messiah’s coming into the world, and he took advantage of their known or pretended abilities in prognosticating natural events, to reproach them for their ignorance with regard to that most happy period AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 2*5 which the Scriptures so clearly described and pointed out. “ But he answered and said to them: When it is evening you say : it will be fair weather, for the sky is red : And in the morning, to-day there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering. When you see a cloud rising from the west, presently you say: a shower is coming, and so it happeneth: And when you see the south wind blow, you say: there will be heat; and it cometh to pass. You hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the heaven and of the earth,” from the different signs in the clouds, “ and can you not know the signs of the times,” and of the coming of the Messiah, pointed out by the prophets, whereof many are already ful¬ filled, and others on the point of being so ? These signs were: 1. The translation of the sovereignty or sceptre of Juda to foreign princes. 2. The accomplishment of the seventy weeks of years prophesied by Daniel, amounting in the whole to four hundred and ninety years, the end of which was now drawing nigh. 8. The miraculous powers attributed to the Messiah by the prophets, and which Jesus had so frequently exerted in their presence. “And why, even of yourselves,” said he, “ do you not judge that which is just,” and instead of fruitlessly requesting fresh signs, why do you not make a proper use of your sagacity, so successful in natural things, to form a more equitable judgment in my regard? “ And sighing deeply in spirit,” at their unaccount¬ able conduct, “he saith : why doth this generation ask a sign ? Amen, amen I say to you, a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign : and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” The meaning of this is, that his future resurrection from the dead, which would take place three days after his death, was prefigured by the resurrection of Jonas, who was buried during three days in a whale’s belly; and the accomplishment of this miraculous prodigy would prove to them the divine origin of his person and of his mission, and ought to have particular weight with the Sadducees, who admitted neither the resur- 216 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD rection of the body, nor the immortality of the sonl. “ And he left them and went away. And leaving them he went up again into the ship, and passed to the other side of the water. And when his disciples were come over the water, they had forgotten to take bread; and they had but one loaf with them in the ship. And he ” taking every occasion to instruct them, “ charged them, saying : take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and of the leaven of Herod. But they ” no sooner heard him say this, than they recol¬ lected their having omitted to make provision for their pas¬ sage, and they “thought within themselves, saying: because we have taken no bread,” therefore he gives us this caution. “ Which” secret thoughts “Jesus knowing, saith to them: why do you think within yourselves, 0 ye of little faith, for that you have no bread ? do you not yet know nor under¬ stand ? Have you still your heart blinded ? Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not?” Having thus rebuked them for their want of knowledge and penetra¬ tion, he further upbraids them with their want of faith and confidence in him. “ Neither do you remember,” said he, “ when I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? They said to him twelve. When also the seven loaves among four thou¬ sand, how many baskets of fragments took ye up ? And they said to him seven. And he said to them : how, do you not yet understand that it was not concerning bread I said to you: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” He, however, explained no further what he had said here, but left them to guess at his meaning. “ Then,” at length, “ they understood that he said not that they should beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees; ” because the nature of it was to cause in the mind the same effects as leaven in the dough; that is, sourness and fermentation ; in other words, anger, ambition, pride, and hypocrisy. Such indeed were the effects ensuing AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 21 7 from their pharisaical traditions, some of which were empty and vain, whilst others, so far from promoting true piety, were directly contrary to the law of God. As to the doc¬ trines of the Sadducees or Herodians, they tended, like those of modern freethinkers, to subvert all religion, by cutting off all hopes oi happiness in a future state. “ And,” on their landing, “ they came to Bethsaida, and they bring to him a blind man, and they besought him that he would touch him. And taking the blind man by the hand, he led him out of the town,” which appears from the Evangelists to have been a small place, and not surrounded with walls: “and spitting upon his eyes, laying his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything; and looking up, he said: I see men as it were trees walking. After that again he laid his hands upon his eyes, and he began to see, and was restored, so that he saw all things clearly. And he sent him into his house, saying: go into thy house, and if thou enter into the town, tell nobody.” In this blind man we may behold a figure of the spiritual blindness which is caused by sin, and particularly by the vice of infidelity. The first grace of conversion which we should solicit for a soul in this state is, that she may know her miserable situation, and be inspired with an ardent desire of her deliverance from it. Let us often beseech Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, to enlighten those who are thus sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, that they may direct their feet into the way of peace. The conversion of such a sinner is a great work: to change a corrupt heart, not less power is necessary than to change the order of nature. The cure of spiritual disorders is a prodigy of grace, in like manner as the sudden cure of corporal infirmities is an effect of Omnipotence. 218 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD \ CHAPTER LXIII. St. Peter’s Public Confession of Jesus Christ —His Primacy— He is rebuked by our Lord, who, for the First Time, foretells his Death, and teaches the Necessity of carrying our Cross. Matt. xvi. 13 — 28 . Mark viii. 27 — 38 . Luke ix. 18 — 27 . / “And Jesus,” departing from Bethsaida, “came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi,” a city so named to distinguish it from another Caesarea, situated on the Mediterranean; “and it came to pass, that he sought a retired place for prayer, and was alone praying (his disciples were also with him). “And ” after this “ Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi; ” but it does not appear that he entered into Caesarea itself. In all this country infidelity almost universally prevailed, and Christ foresaw he should have few or no followers. Wherefore it was on this occasion when he was now no longer embarrassed by the surrounding multitudes, that he chose to impart to Peter his design of raising him to the first and most exalted dignity of his Church. To prepare him for this communication, he first required of him, by an act of faith, an avowal or confession of his divinity, and of his being the Son of God. After this he imparted to his Apostles for the first time the intelligence of his approaching death : and lastly, he declared to them, and to all his followers, the necessity which each of them would be under of sharing in his sufferings and death, by carrying their respective crosses, and leading a mortified life. When therefore Jesus had ended his prayer, they pursued their journey ; “ and in the way he asked his disciples, say¬ ing to them : whom do men say that the Son of man is ? But they said : some John the Baptist,” risen again to life, “ and other some Elias, and others Jeremias (from his great AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 2ig zeal and courage in reproving the vices of the Pharisees), and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again. Then he saith to them: but whom do you say that I am ? Simon Peter,” full of faith and zeal above the rest of the apostles, “answered,” both for himself and them, “and said: thou art Christ, the Son of the living God,” not by an adoptive filiation (which had already been ascribed to him by those who had hitherto styled him the Son of God), but by a real and natural filiation. “And Jesus answering, said to him: blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona ; because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee ; but my Father who is in heaven,” and who hath imparted to thee this important secret, by means of a supernatural light. “ And I say to thee : that thou art Peter (or rock), and upon this rock I will build my Church : and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.” Thus did Jesus reward the public confession of St. Peter. 1. As the latter had openly named him the Christ or the Messiah, so he now confirmed to him the new name of Peter, which he had already given him, assuring him that thence¬ forth he should be a firm stone or rock (which the name of Peter imports), and that upon this rock, as a solid foundation, he would build his Church. Moreover, as the Church of Christ was to be a permanent edifice, and to last to the end of time, this privilege of being the foundation stone was attached to all the successors of St. Peter. 2. He rewarded the confession of St. Peter by promising to this his Church a duration equal to that of the world, in spite of all the efforts of its enemies : these enemies are principally the authors of schisms and heresies; and they may fitly be styled the gates of hell, because to this place they lead all those who blindly and obstinately take them for their guides. And though these gates of hell shall wage 220 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD an uninterrupted war against the Church until the end of time, yet Christ here solemnly declares, that they shall never prevail against it, so far as to destroy or annihilate it, but that it shall continue unmoved through all ages. 3. He added, as a farther reward, the promise of bestowing upon Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, assuring him, that whatever he should bind upon earth, should be bound also in heaven, and that whatever he should loose upon earth, should also be loosed in heaven. This promise extends not merely to the power of remitting or retaining sins, which was common to the other Apostles, but likewise to the sove¬ reign power and authority of governing the Church, with a view to the spiritual good of souls, and to their acquiring eternal happiness. Moreover, as St. Peter was not to be immortal, and as the same spiritual wants which existed during his life would subsist after its termination, it is clear to every impartial person that this high privilege was not merely personal, but was to be handed down to all future successors of St. Peter. “ Then ” Jesus, not choosing that this confession of faith pronounced by St. Peter should at that period be divulged, “ he commanded his disciples, and he strictly charged them that they should not tell any man of him, that he was Jesus the Christ.” The reason why he withheld from the public this article of our creed, the belief of which the Apostles after¬ wards strictly required from those on whom they conferred baptism, was lest it might prove a hindrance to his death; for as the Jews believed their Messiah to be immortal, those who might have placed their belief in Jesus as such would never have acquiesced in his being condemned to death; or if they could not have prevented it they would instantly have renounced him as their Messiah. Hence they whose conjectures the Apostles reported concerning his person, believed him to be either John the Baptist, Elias, or Jere- mias, or some other of the ancient prophets : but it does not appear that any of them had formed the idea of his being the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 221 Christy which is a certain proof that Jesus had not yet been announced to them under that quality. “ From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples,” thus prepared for the unwelcome intelligence, “ that the Son of man must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients, and by the high-priests, and the Scribes, and be killed : and after three days rise again. And he spoke the word openly,” and without any of those figurative ways of speech not unusual in his other discourses. “And Peter,” glowing with zeal and affection towards Jesus, and feeling an additional confidence from the dignity recently conferred on him, “ taking him” aside, “began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee; this shall not be unto thee. Who turning about” again, “ and seeing the disciples, threatened Peter, saying: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal to me, because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.” He styles him Satan , which word signifies an enemy, because he, however unknowingly or innocently, raised an opposition against the will of God, against the glory of Jesus, against the redemp¬ tion of mankind, and against the destruction of the devil’s kingdom; for all these things were to be effected by the sufferings and death of Jesus. These severe heads of accusation against Peter are all comprised in this one, that he had no savour or relish for the things of God, but only for the things of this world : and that in consequence of such a relish, he was led to avoid ignominy, sufferings, and death, which yet are the means made use of by the Almighty for the salvation of mankind. “ Then Jesus, calling the multitude together with his disciples, said to all: if any man will come after me,” and be my disciple, “ let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Here are three conditions which Christ requires of all his followers: 1. They must deny themselves; that is, renounce their own will in everything which is contrary to the will of God : they must be willing to part with their 222 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD goods, their honour, their reputation, and even life itself, when God’s service is concerned. 2. They must daily carry their cross, which alludes to the species of death which Jesus underwent for us; that is, they must bear with patience and resignation all such afflictions and sufferings as God shall please to send them, but particularly those which the world shall inflict upon them for his holy name, or for adhering to his holy law. 3. Each one must follow Jesus, carrying his cross, and must walk in his footsteps by an imitation of his virtues ; that is, we must live up to the faith we profess, and have Jesus and his sacred passion ever before our eyes. He further assigns two reasons for our complying with the above-mentioned conditions. The first is, that when the defence or the practice of our religion is in question, then an attachment to life is fatal to our eternal salvation. “ For whosoever,” says he, “ will save his ” temporal “ life, shall lose it” for eternity. The second reason is drawn from that infinite happiness which will most assuredly be the reward of a death suffered for the sake of Jesus. “ And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel,” a life of itself frail and perishable, and of a most uncertain tenure, “ shall save it ” in the next world in an immortal and infinitely more perfect state. He then explains the first of these reasons, and adds greatly to its force, by allowing, in the manner of a supposition, that a man, by renouncing his belief in him, may not only save his life, but even gain thereby the dominion and possession of the whole world. Yet he declares such a person to be not the less miserable and unhappy: “ For what will it profit a man,” says he, “if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his ” immortal “ soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the- holy angels. For AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 223 the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then will he render to every man according to his works. And he said to them: Amen I say to you, that there are some of them that stand here, who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God coming in power,” and “ till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” As these last words cannot be understood of the last coming of Jesus, some understand them of the glory which he received by his resurrection, others of the glorious establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ throughout the world, by the preaching of the gospel. But others, with greater probability, refer them to his transfiguration, an account of which is immediately subjoined by the Evangelists. This promise of a transitory view of his glory, he was induced to make, first, to prove what he had just asserted, viz. that he should one day come, in all the glory of his Father, to judge each man according to his works; secondly, to afford by this glorious scene some consolation to his Apostles, who had heard, not without the greatest emotions of grief, the prediction of his approaching death, and the necessity they were under of following him. CHAPTER LXIY. The Transfiguration of Christ. Matt. xvii. 1—18. Mark ix. 2 — 18 . Luke ix. 28 — 36 . Jesus delayed not long the execution of the promise which he had made of manifesting his glory. After a very short interval, during which nothing remarkable is mentioned, his transfiguration took place in the following manner, as related by three of the Evangelists : “ And it came to pass about eight days after these words, that he took unto him Peter, and James, and John his brother ; and he led them up into a high mountain apart.” This, by tradition, is thought to 224 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD be Mount Thabor, which is exceedingly high and beautiful rising something like a sugar-loaf, in a vast plain, and was anciently covered with green trees and shrubs. It is situated in the midst of the lower Galilee, according to St. Jerome, almost at an equal distance from the Mediterranean and the sea of Tiberias, and about sixty miles from Caesarea, where the promise of his transfiguration bad been made. Where¬ fore “he went up” with these three favourite disciples “ into ” this “ mountain to pray : and whilst he prayed, the shape of his countenance was altered not by a change of his features, but by the shining light and majesty of his glory. “ And he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments,” being penetrated with those brilliant rays of light, “ became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can make ” equally “ white.” He thus appeared entirely transfigured by a miracle, which was itself but the interruption of a still greater miracle. For this effulgent glory with which Jesus was clothed for a few moments, was only the natural effect of the union of the Divinity with his human nature. It had been suspended, not without a degree of violence, from the first moment of his incarnation, and this suspension was in fact a much greater prodigy than that eclipse of the sun which happened at his death, and which continued three whole hours. On the present occasion, therefore, Jesus allowed a few of the rays of his glory to appear outwardly, which at other times he suppressed under the veil of his humility. The end or object proposed by Jesus in the exhibition of this mystery was that of giving testimony to two funda¬ mental truths of religion. First, to his being the Son of God, which Peter had, in the presence of all his brethren, lately confessed. Second, to the certainty of his approach¬ ing passion and death, which he had recently imparted to them, but which Peter, actuated by a zeal for his Master, had opposed to the utmost of his power. A third motive AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 225 was to fortify the minds of his Apostles against the fear of persecutions, by giving them here a glimpse of that glory they might expect hereafter. The first witness to vouch for the truth of the divine filia¬ tion of Jesus was Jesus himself, clothed by his heavenly Father with that effulgence of glory which was due to the only Son of God. The two witnesses who vouched for the certainty of his approaching death were the two most cele¬ brated prophets of the old law. For “ behold two men were talking with him, and they were Moses and Elias, appearing in majesty. And they spoke of his ” painful “ decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem,” this being the end of the law, and the accomplishment of all the ancient pro¬ phecies. “ But Peter, and they that were with him, were,” at first, “ heavy with sleep,” it being night, “ and waking,” in consequence of the shining rays of light which struck their eyes, “ they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him : and they were talking with Jesus.” These they distinguished to be Moses and Elias, either by a divine inspiration, or by some part of their discourse, which dis¬ covered who they were. The reason of this apparition was doubtless to reconcile the minds of these disciples to that event which had so greatly scandalized them. I mean the death of Jesus, by giving it all the weight and sanction of the law and of the prophets, here represented by Moses and Elias. “ And it came to pass, that as they were departing from him, Peter,” in raptures of admiration and joy at the grandeur of the scene, “ saith to Jesus : Lord, it is good for us to be here : if thou wilt, let us make here three taber¬ nacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias : for he knew not what he said otherwise he would never have desired that for the present time of trial on earth which is reserved only for heaven: neither would he have contented himself with beholding only the glorified humanity of Christ, since this transient sight can bear no proportion to the beatific vision and contemplation of the Divinity itself. Q 226 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD “ And as he was yet speaking, behold k bright cloud over¬ shadowed them,” apparently in the Shape of a tent or pavilion. The Almighty, it seems, was pleased thus to fulfil the wish of Peter, thereby to show that he himself is the tent or pavilion, under the shade of which the blessed shall dwell for ever; for at the same moment the two prophets ascended in the air, and darting into this cloud, vanished from the sight of the three Apostles; “and they were afraid, when they entered into the cloud. And lo! a voice out of the cloud saying : this is my be¬ loved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.” This was no other than the eternal Father, who thus acknowledged Jesus for his only begotten Son, and sanc¬ tioned the confession which Peter had made concerning him, authorising likewise his whole doctrine, and com¬ manding us to listen to it with all docility and respect. “And whilst the voice was uttered, Jesus was found alone,” so that no doubt could arise as to which of the three this sublime testimony referred. “ And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus,” observing their confusion, “ came and touched them, and said to them : Arise, and fear not. And they, lifting up their eyes, and immediately looking about, saw no man any more, but Jesus only with them,” in his usual form. “ And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell any man what things they had seen, till the Son of man shall be risen again from the dead.” The probable motive of this injunction was, that so wonderful an event might not be exposed to the incredulity and rash censures of the Pha¬ risees, who hated Jesus, and were ever disposed to calum¬ niate and misrepresent even his most evident miracles. “ And they kept the word to themselves, inquiring one of another what this should mean,” which Jesus had said on this occasion, “when he shall be risen from, the dead." They, however, ventured not to ask him any further explanation, under the apprehension of hearing what might prove AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 227 extremely unpleasant to the affectionate feelings which they entertained for their divine Master. After having here seen Elias, the three Apostles could not but recall to mind what they had always heard respecting that prophet, and which now appeared not easily reconcile- ahle with what they had just witnessed; for instead of per¬ forming the office of precursor to the Messiah, and walking before him, as they had been taught to expect, they had now seen him withdraw himself with Moses ; “ and ” there¬ fore “his disciples,” in order to clear up this difficulty, “ asked ” Jesus, “ saying : Why then do the Pharisees and Scribes say that Elias must come first ? But he answering ” to their request, entered into an explanation of that text of the prophet Malachy, by distinguishing his two comings. In regard to the second, which would be at the end of the world, he confirmed the opinion of the Pharisees with respect to Elias, and “ said to them : Elias indeed shall come” before the last judgment; and “ when he shall come first, he shall restore all things,” by causing the Jews to enter into the bosom of the Church, in the same manner as Enoc will cause the strayed Gentiles to return to it; and thus will be formed, by a happy coalition, one only people : “ and as it is written of the Bon of man that he must suffer many things and be despised,” so Elias will have to undergo the same sufferings and indignities. But since the Pharisees were so resolved to make the non- appearance of Elias the criterion of their belief in him, as if each time of his coming was to be preceded by an Elias, Jesus declared to them, that even in this supposition they were without excuse, since Elias was come, and had already fulfilled the office of forerunner to his first coming. “ But I say to you,” added Christ, “ that Elias is already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they had a mind. So also the Son of man shall suffer from them. Then the disciples understood that he spake to them of John the Baptist,” who came possessing the spirit as well as the 228 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD power of Elias ; that is, with an ardent zeal of stirring np mankind to repentance, though, in fact, he was a very dif¬ ferent person. This mysterious transfiguration of our Lord was one of the means which he made use of to confirm the faith of his Apostles, and to convince them, in a manner the most sensible, of his Divinity; and, in effect, St. Peter has mentioned it in one of his Epistles, as a convincing evidence of that eternal truth (2 Peter i. 16—18.) CHAPTER LXY. Jesus cures a Person both Lunatic and Dumb. Matt. xvii. 14 — 21. Mark ix. 14 — 29. Luke ix. 87—45. “ And it came to pass the day following, when they came down from the mountain, there met him a great multitude; and when he was come to his disciples, he saw a great crowd about them, and the Scribes disputing with them. And presently all the people, seeing Jesus, was astonished and struck with fear,” probably at the appearance of majesty which yet remained visible in his countenance after his recent transfiguration ; “ and running to him, they saluted him. And he asked them: What do you dispute about among yourselves ? ” He seems here to have arrived at a seasonable moment, to rescue his disciples from the confusion they were under at the ill-success they had met with in exorcising a possessed person. “ And behold there came to him a man, one of the multitude,” who, “ falling down on his knees before him, said: Master, I have brought my son, having a dumb spirit, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water; and a spirit seizeth him, who, wheresoever he taketh him, dasheth him, and he suddenly crieth out, and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away, and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him: and I brought him to AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 229 thy disciples, and desired, and spoke to ” them “ to cast him out, and they could not cure him.” Wherefore, “ I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one yes, “ Lord, have pity on my son. Then Jesus answered and said: 0 unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ? Bring him hither to me. And they brought him, and as he was coming to him, when he had seen him, immediately the spirit troubled him,” and “ threw him down and tore him; and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming. And” Jesus, to convince the bystanders of the violence of the disorder, as well as of the difficulty of the cure, “ asked his father, How long is it since this has happened unto him ? But he said, From his infancy ; and oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him; but if thou canst do anything, help us, tak¬ ing pity on us. Jesus,” who had healed many sick persons, independently of their faith, chose, in this instance, to insist on it as a previous condition, before he complied with his request. Wherefore he “ saith to him : If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And imme¬ diately the father of the boy crying out, with tears, said : I do believe, Lord ; help my unbelief,” and supply the defi¬ ciency of my faith. “And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him : Deaf and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him: and enter not any more into him ; and crying out, and greatly tearing him, he went out of him ; and he became as dead, so that many said, he is dead ; but Jesus taking him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose, and the child was cured from that hour ; and he restored him to his father, and all were astonished at the mighty power of God. And when he was come into the house, then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and,” apprehensive lest they might have forfeited the gift of working miracles through their own misconduct, “asked him: Why could we not cast him out? Jesus 230 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD said to them: Because of your unbelief. The Apostles said to the Lord : Increase our faith. And the Lord said : If you had faith like to a grain of mustard-seed, you might say to this mulberry-tree, he thou rooted up, and be thou transplanted into the sea ; and it would obey you. Amen I say to you” again, “if you have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, you shall say,” even “to this mountain” before you (pointing to Mount Thabor), “remove from hence thither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you,” which the glory of God and the salva¬ tion of souls shall call for at your hands. Besides a want of faith, Christ assigned a second cause of their ill-success, and that was their neglecting to fast and pray. “ But this kind,” said he, “ is not to be cast out but by prayer and fasting.” CHAPTER LXYI. Jesus, a second Time, foretells his Death, and pays the Tribute of Two Drachmas. Matt. xvii. 22—27. Mark ix. 30—32. Luke ix. 44, 45. “ And departing from thence,” that is, from the small town which is situated at the foot of Mount Thabor, and which by some is called Cheseleth-Thabor, Jesus turned his whole thoughts to Mount Calvary, which was to be the scene of a transfiguration very different from the preceding one. His mind being now intent upon going, without loss of time, into Judea, there to complete the end and design of his mission, “ they passed through Galilee, and he would not that any man should know it,” and directed his route principally through such places as he had not before visited. “ And when they were conversing together in Galilee, and every one wondered at all the things he did, he said to his dis¬ ciples : Lay you up in your hearts these words, that the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 231 shall kill him, and after that he is killed, he shall rise again the third day.” This unwelcome intelligence he imparted to them, whilst yet in Galilee, where every one was in the greatest admira¬ tion at the wonders he had wrought, in order thus to prevent the objection which his enemies might have alleged, of his having foretold his death only upon his arrival in Judea, when he could not but perceive the marked antipathy of the Jews against his person. “ But the Apostles understood not this word, and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not.” Their firm belief that he was the Messiah, and con¬ sequently immortal, as they imagined, rendered his death, in their eyes, a mystery of the greatest obscurity, which they could not fathom; “ and they were afraid to ask him con¬ cerning this word : and they were troubled exceedingly ” at- this declaration, which seemed to forebode something very unpleasant to their feelings and unfortunate to their divine- Master. “And when they were come to Capharnaum,” which place Jesus now visited for the last time, and probably for the purpose of finally settling his affairs,) “ they that received the didrachmas ” for the repairs of the temple “came to Peter, and said to him: Doth not your Master pay the didrachma, or tribute money ? he said : Yes.” This seems to imply, that the payment of this tribute was omitted or evaded by many. “ And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon ? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom ? of their own children or of strangers ? And he said, of strangers. Jesus said to him : Then the children are free.” The argument here made use of by our divine Master is as follows : the money collected for the use of the temple is, properly speaking, a tribute which God imposes for the reparation of his own house, and which, as such, is to be collected after the manner of other tributes. Now the kings of the earth exact no tribute from their own children or near 232 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD connections, but only from their subjects and those that are not of their household. Therefore, in the present instance, God will not exact this tribute from his only Son, but will exempt him from it, together with his disciples. “ But that we may not scandalize them,” added Jesus, “ go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater : take that, and give it to them for me and thee.” This tribute was collected per head throughout Judea for the repairs of the temple, and amounted for each person that was twenty years old to a piece of silver of the weight ot two drachmas, about fifteen-pence English. A stater, or shekel, was equivalent to two di-drachmas, or four drachmas, and was the tribute to be paid for two persons, being about two shillings and sixpence of our money. We may learn from this example of Christ our Lord to forego occasionally our strict rights, so far as to suffer some temporal loss, in order thereby to prevent or do away any ill-founded scandal which weak persons might otherwise take, even from our most innocent actions. CHAPTER LXVII. The first Dispute among the Apostles concerning Primacy —Scandal to be Avoided. Matt, xviii. 1 — 14. Mark ix. 33 — 49. Luke ix. 46—48. Whilst they were upon their road into Judea, an altercation took place among the Apostles, which afforded Jesus an opportunity of giving them, and all succeeding Christians, several important lessons, such as might regulate their con¬ duct, both with regard to themselves and to their neighbours. No part of the foregoing prediction of Jesus concerning what was to befall him seems to have struck the Apostles more AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 233 forcibly than that of his future resurrection. This they failed not to interpret of his entering into the full possession of his temporal kingdom. “ And” hence “ there entered a thought into them which of them should be greater ” in this new and glorious state which they figured to themselves. Each one, it seems, aimed at the possession of the first dignities, and urged with earnestness the superiority of his respective claim. They were thus deeply engaged in conversation upon this topic amongst themselves : “ But Jesus,” though “ see¬ ing the thoughts of their hearts, did not interrupt them until they reached Capharnaum, whither they were going. And when they were in the house, he asked them : What did you treat of in the way ? But they ” were ashamed at the recollection of what had passed, and “ held their peace; for in the way they had disputed among themselves which of them should be the greatest. And sitting down,” as it were, to decide their differences by his authority, “ he called the twelve.” Wherefore, “ at that hour the disciples,” who had been silent before, and were now compelled to speak, “ came to Jesus,” and interrogated him only in general, instead of enforcing each their personal pretensions, “ saying: Who, thinkest thou, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven ? He saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the minister of all. And calling to him a little child,” perhaps three or four years old, “ he set him in the midst of them, by him, whom when he had embraced, he saith to them,” proposing him as a model of humility to those who were disputing concerning the first rank in the kingdom: “ Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heavenfor it is destined only for those who resemble these little ones in innocence and humility. “ Who¬ soever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is greater in the kingdom of heaven,” because more con¬ formable to me here on earth. In effect, these humble souls who are little in their own eyes, are so closely united to me, 234 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD that “ whosoever shall receive one such child as this, in my name, receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. For he that is the lesser amongst you,” by humility, “he is the greater” in my heavenly kingdom. “And John answering, said : Master,” if thou receivest thus all whatever is done in thy name, we have been guilty of a fault: for “'we saw a certain man casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us, and is not of the number of thy disciples. And Jesus,” repressing his indiscreet zeal, “said to him : Do not forbid him : for there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me ;” on the contrary, he cannot fail to confess that power by virtue of which he worketh miracles. Wherefore no longer oppose those who act L in my name, although they are not with you. “For he that is not against you is for you;” and with greater reason, he who labours with you in destroying the power of the devil is to be considered as favourable to you : and shall accordingly receive the reward of his labour, how¬ ever small it may be. “For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” He leaves them therefore to infer that this exorcist, whom they had reprimanded, was rather to be rewarded, since by driving out the devils in the name of Jesus, he had promoted his honour and advanced his interest. Jesus now proceeds to treat of the sin of scandal, which consists in giving occasion to another’s sin, by bad example, evil advice, or any other means. In few words, he shows the enormity of this sin, the almost unavoidable necessity of its being committed, considering the weakness and wicked¬ ness of the world; the eternal punishment due to it; and lastly, he points out proper remedies against it. “ And who¬ soever,” says he, describing the enormity of this crime, “ shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me,” either by evil example, advice, or encouragement, “it were AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 235 better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones. (Luke xvii. 1, 2). Take heed,” there¬ fore, “ to yourselves.” So dreadful a menace most certainly calls for all our care -and attention, lest by our words or actions we become a stumbling-block to others, by drawing them into sin. “ And he said to his disciples : Woe to the world because of scandals. It is impossible,” indeed, “that scandals should not come,” so great is the corruption of the world and the frailty of those who live in it. Wherefore it must needs be that scandals come. “But nevertheless,” says Christ, “wo to that man by whom the scandal cometh : ” and then he proceeds to describe the punishments he may expect in another life, in the follow¬ ing terms: “ And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than, hav¬ ing two hands, to go into hell into unquenchable tire, where their worm,” or remorse of conscience, “ dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy foot scandalize thee,” by carrying thee into bad company, and to forbidden plea¬ sures, “ cut it off: it is better for thee to enter lame into everlasting life, than, having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of Grod, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not ex¬ tinguished. For every one of” them “ shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be salted with salt.” In these last words he represents the damned as victims burning to the glory of Grod’s justice, and as such they must be pre¬ pared with the same ceremonies as were all other victims. Now every victim the law commanded to be salted (Lev. ii. 13). And thus, in a manner peculiar to their situation, the damned must likewise be salted ; and it is this singular quality or property of hell-fire, which, by constantly renew- THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 236 ing the substance it devours, constitutes the eternity of their punishment. Jesus now offers to them a resource against this dreadful evil of scandal, and he finds it again in the nature of salt, which is an emblem of true wisdom, which should render them incorruptible in their morals, as that of hell renders the damned incorruptible in their torments. In this sense he declares that “ salt is good,” because, as it rendered the victims agreeable to God, so true wisdom, represented by it, preserves our souls from the corruption of sin, and makes them pleasing in the divine sight: “ but if the salt,” says he, “becomes unsavoury, wherewith will you season it?” As nothing will restore it, when corrupted, to its original efficacy, so if they, who by their calling are designed to counteract the natural tendency of mankind to corruption, become themselves equally corrupt, through a vain emulation for grandeur and preferment, with what other salt can these be restored to their sound state ? Wherefore “ have salt in you ” which is good; labour for that true wisdom of which it is the emblem ; and “have peace among you,” by means of this divine wisdom, and by avoiding carefully these empty disputes concerning pre-eminence, which can only serve to create mischief and dissension. As to the authors of scandal, the remedy for them is to entertain a great esteem and religious respect even for the least of those who believe in Jesus ; for the ruin caused by scandals is owing to the little esteem and regard men have for souls, as if their eternal loss were not chargeable on those who occasion it by their bad example. Wherefore to inspire the respect for the souls of others, Christ says : “ See that you despise not one of these little ones. For I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus leaves us infer, that since the angels are thus deeply interested in the preservation of the souls confided to their care, they w T ill certainly not allow the authors of their damnation to go unpunished, but will AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 2 37 loudly call for vengeance upon them at the tribunal of God. A second reason for esteeming these souls is that, after their being lost by sin, Jesus came down purposely to seek them, and to withdraw them from their errors. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” Since the object of his incarnation and death was the salvation of souls, how can it be supposed that he will not take vengeance on those who frustrate the fruits of his sufferings, by causing the damnation of those for whom he died. Jesus explains this infinite love which he bears to the souls of mankind by the example of a shepherd. “ What think you,” says he, “ if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray ? And if it happen that he find it : amen I say to you, he re- joiceth the more for that than for the ninety-nine that went not astray ; ” because in its regard he has a particular subject of joy, which the others afford not, viz. that of having found it again when lost and gone astray. The application of this allegory is obvious. Jesus is the shepherd, who, leaving his flock behind him in heaven, that is, innumerable armies of angels, came down upon earth purposely to seek after one lost sheep, viz. our human nature, gone astray, and lost by the sin of our first parents; and it is from this redemption or reparation of mankind, effected by himself, at the dear price of his owm sufferings and death, that he feels a greater degree of joy than from the faithful perseverance of the angels in heaven. “In like manner,” says Christ, we may infer that “ it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish : ” since, to effect their salvation, he sent down even his only Son into the world ; and consequently he will not fail to take just ven¬ geance upon all those who, by their bad example, contribute to frustrate his most gracious designs. 238 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER LXYIII. Fraternal Correction—The Keys promised—Injuries to be FORGIVEN- We ARE TO CONSIDER OURSELVES AS USEFUL Servants. Matt, xviii. 15—35. Luke xvn. 3—10. After having treated of the sin of scandal as an offence which regards the spiritual goods of grace and salvation, the connection of Christ’s discourse seemed to require that he should next treat of injuries which we receive either in our reputation or in our corporal goods, whether such injuries originate from inconsiderateness, frailty, or malice. These are what he touches upon in the sequel. After supposing the necessity of reparation on the part of the aggressor, Jesus establishes the obligation of forgiving the injury on the part of the person aggrieved in the following terms. “ Look well to yourselves : if thy brother sin against thee,” go and “rebuke him; and if he do penance, forgive him ” the injury he has committed. “ And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying : I repent: forgive him.” If on the contrary, he repent not of his fault, but continue obstinate in his malice, he then stands in need of the correction of a third person, in order to extricate him from his criminal state. For we may observe that there are three degrees of correction, all of them equally proceeding from a spirit of charity and zeal for the offending party, and divested of all rancour and revenge; yet each of them distinguished by a different degree of severity. The first degree is mentioned above, which is that the injured party must speak to his aggressor 'privately , and remind him of the injury received. “ Go,” says Christ, “ and rebuke him between thee and him alone.” This first step is the most pacific and conciliating; for whilst it tends to the correction of the fault, it spares the confusion which a more public reprimand would cause to the aggressor, and thus affords no AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 239 plea for his obstinately justifying a bad action, which perhaps the presence of others might urge him to do. “If he shall hear thee,’’ and attend to this mild correction, “ thou shalt gain thy brother ” to God, to thyself, and to himself, who would otherwise have been lost in all these several respects. The second degree is, that, “if he will not hear thee,” through a spirit of rancour and obstinacy, thou give him a second correction : and in this case “ take with thee one or two more ” persons of respectability, “ that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.” These are not called in to prove his fault, w T hich may perhaps have been a secret, or at least not known to them, in which case they could bear no testimony against him. They are there¬ fore appealed to, not as witnesses to prove the injury com¬ mitted, but as friends to give a sanction to the plaintiff’s cause by the weight of their authority, and to effect a reconciliation by their persuasive arguments; or otherwise, to bear witness in the face of the Church, that everything has been done which charity required ; and that if all this prove ineffectual, it now belongs to the Church to take up the cause. The third degree of correction, therefore, becomes neces¬ sary when the offender refuses to listen to you, or to the witnesses called in: for, “if he will not hear them,” says Christ, “tell the Church,” or that prelate who in your regard is the representative of the Church, and who, by canonical admonitions, must urge him to give you due satisfaction. “And if he will not hear the Church,” speak¬ ing to him through the voice of its pastor, “ let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican ; ” that is, as a person with whom, after such solemn denunciation, all religious communication and intimacy must cease ; that so this mark of infamy may tend to heal this disordered sheep, or at least preserve the rest of the flock from the contagion of his example. But lest public and obstinate sinners might treat the sentence of their pastors with contempt, Jesus here most 240 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD solemnly engages to ratify whatever they shall decree. “ Amen I say to yon, whatever yon shall bind upon earth,” either in the tribunal of penance, or in the outward court of ecclesiastical polity, “ it shall be bound also in heaven : and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth,” by the sentence of absolution, “ shall be loosed also in heaven.” These two important branches of ecclesiastical power are justly to be considered as powerful means of bringing sinners to repent¬ ance ; the former, by intimidating them under the dread of being for ever cut off from the body of Jesus Christ, on account of obstinacy, and the latter, by attracting them to their duty, through a desire and well-grounded hope of being thus reinstated in grace, and of recovering their former rank in the Church. What Christ adds is a confirmation of the preceding promise. For to show more forcibly that the sentences thus pronounced upon earth will be ratified in heaven, he assures them that, even exclusive of their judicial decisions in council, he will comply likewise with the vows and prayers of two or three individuals. “ Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name , there I am in the midst of them : ” and Peter was forcibly struck with what Jesus had decided concerning our treatment of an offending brother, which was to pardon him upon his repentance, though he should offend us seven times a day. A condescension of this extent appeared to him somewhat unreasonable, and beyond all bounds. “ Then Peter came to him, and said : Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him ? till seven times ? Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee till seven times, but till seventy times seven times ; ” which shows that we must forgive the offences of our brethren to an unlimited extent. To point out more clearly the truth and equity of this AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 241 decision, Jesus spoke to his disciples the following parable. “ Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents,’’ that is, an immense sum: “ and as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that,” according to the custom of those times, “ he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But the man,” convinced of the justice of the sentence, and knowing he had nothing to hope for but from the mercy and clemency of his lord, “ falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go, and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him ” the trifling debt of “ a hundred pence, and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow-servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison till he paid the debt. Now his fellow-servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their master all that was done. Then his lord called him, and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt because thou besoughtest me; shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow-servant, even as I had com¬ passion on thee ? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturer until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.” The foregoing parable represents to us the severity with which God will scrutinize our conduct towards our neighbour. Divesting it of the metaphorical imagery of farmers, debtors, and sales, we may here consider a vindictive person under four various circumstances : 1. Under the weight of innu' merable sins committed against Almighty God. 2. As hav B 242 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD ing been gratuitously admitted to a reconciliation with his offended majesty. 3. As guilty of the blackest ingratitude. 4. As suffering the just and rigorous chastisement of his crimes. The followers of Jesus might perchance flatter themselves that, after so great an effort of virtue as that of pardoning injuries, nothing more would be required of them. Jesus, however (Luke xvii. 7), undeceives us in this respect, by an example drawn from our own conduct in the ordinary occur¬ rences of life. “ But which of you having a servant plough¬ ing or feeding cattle, will say to him when he is come from the field : immediately go, sit down to meat. And will not rather say to him: Make ready my supper, and gird thyself, and serve me, whilst I eat and drink; and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink ? Doth he thank that servant for doing the things which he commanded him ? I think not. Bo you also,” when you have forgiven injuries from your hearts, and returned good for evil, which I may compare to tilling the soil and feeding the cattle, yet must you not expect that God will be satisfied with your conduct if you omit other essential duties. No, you must follow the example of this servant, who, after having worked during the day, had yet to prepare and attend at his master’s table; in like manner you must continue to do good works, which are, as it were, a meat highly pleasing to God, who is your heavenly Master; and therefore “ when you shall have done all things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which we ought to do.” I say unprofitable ser¬ vants, not in your own regard, but in respect of God, who stands not in need of your services, and who can easily have that performed by others which he is pleased to require at your hands. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 243 CHAPTER LXIX. N Jesus Christ departs from Galilee. Matt. xix. 1. Mark x. 1. John vii. 1 — 11. Jesus delivered the discourse of the preceding chapter to his Apostles at Capharnaum, and probably in the house of Peter’s mother-in-law. He had now constantly resided in Galilee, and had only shown himself at Jerusalem during veTy short periods of time, viz. on his being summoned thither by the stated solemn festivals. His relations and family connections were displeased at his not showing himself more in Judea, where, according to their ideas, he would have gained more credit to himself, and reflected more honour upon them, than in a distant province. As therefore the feast of the Tents was now approaching, which was one of the three festivals when the Jews were obliged by the law to appear before the Lord at Jerusalem, they embraced that opportunity to press ♦ Jesus, by various reasons, to quit his obscure residence in Galilee and exchange it for Judea. “ And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these words, the feast of the Jews called the Tabernacles was at hand. And his brethren,” that is, his kindred, “ said to him : Pass from hence and go into Judea ; that thy disciples also may see thy ” wonderful “ works which thou dost: for there is no man that doth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If” then “thou do these” wonderful “things,, manifest thyself to the world,” by doing them at Jerusalem, where the Jews, assembled from all parts, will be witnesses of them, and will not fail to spread the report thereof throughout the whole world. Under the cloak of these plausible reasons, they concealed the strong desire they had of raising their own names from obscurity by the fame of his miracles. “For” these “his brethren did not believe in him ” in a proper manner, so as to relish his maxims of humility and modesty; and as they 244 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD were not persuaded of his being the Son of God, they con¬ cluded that he was not insensible to the esteem of men. “ Then Jesus said to them: My time is not yet come ” for going to Jerusalem. For, at the present moment, it behoved Christ to absent himself from that city on account of the many enemies whom he had raised against himself by his preaching. Since in his doctrines he uniformly condemned the practices of the world, as leading to damnation, he was become the object of its hatred; and therefore it became necessary that he should take certain precautions respecting his journey to Jerusalem. “ But your time,” said Christ to his relations, “is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go you up to this festival, but I go not up to this festival day ” as yet: “ because my time is not yet accomplished.” These words afforded his rela¬ tions sufficient reason to conclude that his going thither would be attended with great danger to his person ; and we may hence conjecture that the Jews had formed some design against him as soon as he should appear in Jerusalem. “ When he had said these things, he himself staid” behind “ in Galilee,” for a few days, in order that thereby his entry into Jerusalem might not take place until about the midst of the festival, which lasted during eight days. “ But after his brethren were gone up, then he also departed from Galilee, and went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret,” that he might not provoke the malice of his enemies. Thus we see that Christ was pleased to avoid persecution, not by interposing his power, but by withdrawing himself till God’s appointed time was come ; to teach us to wait for that time also which he shall ordain, and not rashly to expose ourselves to dangers. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 245 CHAPTER LXX. Christ heals ten Lepers. Luke xvii. 11—19. “And it came to pass as he was going to Jerusalem, he went through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain town ” on the borders of these two provinces, “there met him ten men that were lepers.” Of these nine were Jews and one a Samaritan; and notwith¬ standing their natural antipathy and difference as to points of religion, they were travelling together, being all afflicted with a similar grievous disorder, and all equally in search of relief. “Who,” therefore, seeing Jesus passing by, “stood afar off,” out of respect, and lest they should communicate their contagious uncleanness to others. “ And they lifted up their voice, saying,” in a suppliant manner: “Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us. Whom, when he saw, he said: Go show yourselves to the priests;” for these were authorised by the law to judge of the leprosy, and to restore such as were cured to their former rank in society, after various expiations and sacrifices. Jesus, by thus sending them to the priests previously to their being healed, would try their faith and submission. “And it came to pass as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back with a loud voice, glorifying God. And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks ; and this was a Samaritan.” The other nine persons pursued their journey without returning to their benefactor. “ And Jesus answering, said: Were not ten made clean ? There is no one found to return and give thanks to God but this stranger,” of whom it was less to be expected than of the Jews, who were the children of Abra¬ ham and of the patriarchs. In these few words he displays their ingratitude: 1. By stating the benefit received in an equal degree by all the ten lepers, who consequently ought to have showed an equal 246 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD gratitude towards their common benefactor. 2. By remark¬ ing the different condition of their persons; for as these nine were Jews, they ought, as such, to have been more enlightened, more religious, and more sensible of the favours received from God than a Samaritan, who however surpassed them in these several qualities. “And” Jesus “said to him: Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole.” These words were applied more to the healing of his soul, hitherto infected with the leprosy of schism and of sins, than to that of his body, which had been already healed. In the person of this Samaritan we behold a model of gratitude worthy of our imitation. The moment he is delivered from his misfortune, he is actuated by the most lively sense of the benefit conferred on him. In returning thanks to his benefactor, the Evangelist remarks, he also glorified God, whom he acknowledged to be the author of his cure. When man confers on us a benefit, let us remem¬ ber that it was God who inspired him with the thought, who gave him the will, and who furnished him with the means of relieving us. As God is our principal benefactor, to him our thanks are principally due ; our gratitude ought to com¬ mence with him and terminate in him. In the order of nature, of fortune, and of grace, what is there which we have not received from him ? But if gratitude be a general obligation incumbent upon all, it is particularly required of those who, by the Divine goodness, have been delivered from the state of sin, and re-established in the state of grace; who of enemies of God are become his friends, and who, after being covered with the hideous leprosy of sin, have been happily cleansed from it by repentance. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 247 PAET Y. CHAPTER LXXI. The Feast of the Tabernacles. John vii. 11—58. The feast of the Tabernacles or Tents, which was one of the three great annual festivals, was celebrated upon the fifteenth day of the seventh month Tizri, that is, at the full moon of the said month, in commemoration of the Israelites sojourning in the wilderness, and living in tents for the space of forty years. Our Saviour assisted at this festival, and remained in Judea or its vicinity the six following months, until the ensuing Passover, when he was to suffer death; and he seems not to have returned any more into Galilee until after his resurrection. The various miraculous cures which he performed upon diseased persons on the Sabbath day, particularly that of the paralytic at the fish-pond, which happened eighteen months before ; his conversing with publicans and sinners ; and other supposed crimes of a similar nature, had alienated from him the minds of the principal persons in Jerusalem, who had a greater degree of pride and stiffness than the Galileans. “ The Jews, therefore,” of this description, “ sought him on the festival day, and said, Where is he ? And there was much murmuring among the multitude con¬ cerning him. For some said: He is a good man. And others said: No ; but he seduceth the people. Yet no man spoke openly of him ” to defend his cause, “ for fear of the Jews.” By his not appearing in public, he allowed this first ferment to subside. “Now about the midst of the feast,” which lasted eight days, “ Jesus went into the temple, and taught: and ” he did this in so masterly a manner, that “ the 248 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters,” that is, the Holy Scriptures, “ having never learned ” them ? The priests thus expressed their astonishment at his having acquired so profound a knowledge in the scriptures, and the mysteries contained in them, since they had never witnessed him amongst the number of their disciples, and since in no other part of Judea was the scriptural science publicly taught. Jesus, although he might not have heard what they said amongst themselves upon this subject, yet gave a suffi¬ cient answer to their objection. The truth of his doctrine he established upon the strength of the three following reasons : 1. The authority of his heavenly Father. 2. The personal experience and conviction of his hearers, to which he appealed. 8. His own disinterested¬ ness. Wherefore, on this occasion, “ Jesus answered them and said: My doctrine is not mine,” that is, the invention of my own fancy, “ but his that sent me. If any man will do the will of him, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself: ” for he shall find in it so much light and equity, he shall taste so much comfort and sweetness in his soul, that he shall no longer entertain the least doubt as to God’s being the sole author of it. “He that speakethof himself,” and uttereth his own devices with¬ out being sent by God, “ seeketh his own glory,” and is to be esteemed an impostor : “ but he that seeketh ” only “the glory of him that sent him, he is true; and there is no in¬ justice” or deceit “ in him.” He now proceeds to justify the miraculous cures which he had wrought on the Sabbath, especially that which he had performed at the fish-pond; and which had so irritated the Scribes and Pharisees, that they formed the design of putting him to death as a violator of the law. Upon this subject be brings an unanswerable argument in his favour from their own individual conduct. “Did not Moses,” said he to them, “ give you the law” of the Sabbath ? “ and yet none of you keepeth ” the letter of “ the law;” for you make no scruple of giving circumcision AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 249 on the Sabbath-day, and of healing the person who has re¬ ceived it. “ Why seek you ” then “ to kill me,” because I have healed a man on the Sabbath-day ? “ The multitude,” far from entertaining so bad a design against Jesus, were hurt at this reproach; to which they “ answered and said : Thou hast a devil” that suggests such a thought, “who seeketh to kill thee ? Jesus answered and said to them : One w T ork I have done” on the Sabbath, “and you all wonder ” at it to this day, as if I had been guilty of a crime. “ Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers,) and on the Sabbath-day you circumcise a man,” in obedience to this law. “If,” therefore, “a man receive circumcision on the Sabbath-day,” and they labour to heal the wound inflicted by this rite, yet “ so that the law of Moses be not broken, are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath-day ? Judge not according to the appearance ” and according to your pre¬ judices, “but ” with equity and candour “ give a just judg¬ ment.” Nothing could be alleged in reply to the preceding argu¬ ment, and consequently all remained silent. “ Some there¬ fore of Jerusalem,” well aware of the rancorous disposition of the principal Jews against the person of Jesus, “said: Is not this he whom they seek to kill? And behold he speaketh openly ” in the temple itself, “ and they say nothing to him: are our chief men convinced indeed that he is the Christ? But” others, who pretended to a more profound knowledge of the law, declared that he could not be the Messiah. “ We know this man,” said they, “ whence he is; but when the Christ cometh no man knoweth whence he is.” He will appear on a sudden before the eyes of mankind, as if he had dropped from the heavens, and in so secret a manner, that no man shall know either his parents or his family con¬ nections. “Jesus, therefore,” knowing what they said of him, and judging the objection to be of some consequence, “ cried out in the temple teaching and saying : ” What, “ you 250 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD both know me,” you say, “and you know whence I am? and ” yet “ I am not come of myself,” nor do I derive my origin from that person whom you suppose my father: “ but he that sent me is true,” just, and faithful, “ whom you know not,” otherwise you might naturally conclude that the person sent by him is so likewise. “ I know him because I am from him,” being born of him from all eternity, “ and he hath sent me ” to you, to accomplish the promises made to your fathers. Hence he left them to infer, that even accord¬ ing to the principles which they themselves had established, he had that distinguishing mark of the Messiah which con¬ sisted in being descended from an unknown origin. The Pharisees were still more irritated at these words, and “ they sought therefore to apprehend him ; and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. But of the people many believed in him, and said: When the Christ cometh, shall he do more miracles than these which this man doth ? ” why then should we refuse to acknowledge him as the Messiah ? “ The Pharisees heard the people mutter¬ ing these things concerning them: and the rulers and Phari¬ sees,” fearful lest their example should be followed by others, “ sent ministers to apprehend him. Jesus therefore said to them : Yet a little while I am with you: and then I go to him that sent me. You shall seek me, and shall not find me : and where I am, thither you cannot come. The Jews there¬ fore said among themselves: Whither will he go that we shall not find him ? will he go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles ? What is the meaning of what he said: You shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am you cannot come ? And on the last and great day of the festival, Jesus stood ” in the midst of the temple, “ and cried out, saying : If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink,” that is, let him come to me with a sincere faith, and he shall not fail to drink so as to have all his desires and longings after truth completely satisfied. “ He that believeth in me, as the Scripture saith (Joel ii. 28; AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 251 Ezech. xxxvi. 15), rivers of living water shall flow from out of him,” and shall thus be imparted to others. In other words, he shall pour forth torrents of the words of salvation, which shall be diffused in copious streams over the minds of his hearers, so as to produce in them a similar faith and a similar attachment to the truth. “Now this he said of the ” holy “ Spirit which they should receive who believed in him: for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified ” by his ascension into heaven. “ Of this mul¬ titude, therefore, when they heard these words of his, some said : This is the prophet indeed. Others said : This is the Christ: but some said : Doth the Christ come out of Galilee ? Doth not the scripture say: That Christ cometh out of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, where David was horn ? So there arose a dissension among the people because of him ; and some of them would have apprehended him : but no man laid hands on him. The ministers therefore,” who had been sent to arrest him, “ came to the chief Priests and the Pharisees. And they said to them : Why have you not brought him ? The ministers answered: Never did man speak like this man,” with so much grace, strength, and authority. “ The Pharisees, therefore, answered them: Are you also seduced ? Hath any one of the rulers believed in him, or of the Pharisees ?” which they said, thus contrast¬ ing the example of persons both grave and learned in the law with the ignorant people. “ But this multitude,” said they, “that knoweth not the law, are accursed,” and utterly in¬ competent to judge in a case of such nicety. “ Nicodemus (he that came to Jesus by night), who was one of them,” not a little nettled at this reproach of ignorance, “ said to them : Doth our law judge any man, unless it first hear him and know what he doth ? ” He thus, with great force of argu¬ ment, and with perfect safety to himself, defended the cause of Jesus, by alleging in his favour merely the claims of natural equity, such as an accused person has a right to expect even from his inveterate enemies, and much more THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 252 from his judges. They however refused to listen to so fair a plea, but answered and said : “ Art thou also a Galilean ? Search the scriptures, and see that out of Galilee a prophet riseth not.” The meeting after this was shortly broken up, “ and every man returned to his own house.” CHAPTER LXXII. The Adulteress is Suffered to go Uncondemned. John viii. 1—11. “ And Jesus going out of the temple, went unto Mount Olivet,” so called from the olives wherewith it abounded, and there passed the night with his disciples. As this place was at the distance of about a mile and a half from Jeru¬ salem, and consequently not farther off than it was lawful to travel on the Sabbath-day, he chose it for his ordinary place of resort, and it was here that Judas betrayed him. “ And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and sitting down he taught them ” the way of salvation. Whilst thus employed he was inter¬ rupted by a criminal suit that was brought before him; and such was his admirable decision on the occasion, that the accusers, though supported by the law, were yet confounded by truth itself, whilst the guilty party, though condemned by law, was nevertheless set at liberty by her own accusers. “ And the Scribes and Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery,” who had probably been cited by her injured husband before their tribunal; “ and they set her in the midst ” of the assembly: “ and said to him, Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou ? And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him.” For if he condemned this woman to death, they flattered themselves that he would forfeit that AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 253 popularity which his mild and humane conduct had hitherto gained him ; if, on the contrary, he should absolve her from the guilt as well as the punishment of her crime, which was what they wished and expected from his known mild and compassionate character, in this case they would have the fairest handle to convict him of a violation of the law of Moses, and this violation would ever afterwards serve as an unanswerable argument against those persons who supported his cause. “ But Jesus, bowing himself down,” as it were declining to decide in so odious a cause, “ wrote with his linger upon the ground ” certain characters, the purport of which is unknown. “ When therefore they continued ask¬ ing him, he raised himself up, and said to them,” with a circumspection which showed he was aware of their mali¬ cious designs : “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground,” as it were to give them an oppor¬ tunity of retiring, and of thus avoiding the confusion which they deserved. This wonderful sentence pronounced by Jesus, whilst it preserved to the law of Moses its due authority, formed a happy union of the most impartial justice with the most unbounded mercy; it found out the means of saving this guilty woman in the very crimes of her accusers; it overwhelmed them with shame, whilst, in the main, it was a decision in their favour; and lastly, whilst it allowed them to inflict the punishment appointed for adul¬ tery, it yet tied up their hands from inflicting it, since, in case of her suffering death, they who deserved a similar punish¬ ment, were certainly excluded from being her executioners. “ But they, hearing this ” unexpected answer, and fearing lest Jesus might now proceed to give such further detail of their own sinful lives as might fill them with confusion, “ went out one by one, beginning at the eldest,” whose vicious habits in this respect would have met with the least indul¬ gence at the tribunal of the public : “ and Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst ” of the 254 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD people, her accusers being gone out. “Jesus then raising himself up, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee ? hath no one condemned thee ? (i. e. judi¬ cially). Who replied: No one, Lord. And Jesus said : Neither will I condemn thee.” Thus he forgave her the punishment she had deserved ; hut to show that in pardon¬ ing her guilt he meant not to give a sanction to her crime, he added, “ Go, and now sin no more.” By this example, our blessed Saviour teaches us to look into ourselves, and to examine our own conduct, rather than censure that of our neighbour. With respect to others, men oftentimes have a horror of those gross sins that strike their senses, and take no notice of their own internal sins, which are perhaps more heinous in the eyes of a pure spirit. Instead of harshly condemning the faults of others, let us humble our souls before God, by whose mercy we have hitherto been pre¬ served from falling into sins still more enormous. If we expect to be treated with lenity in our misfortunes, we should not forget to show that lenity to others. Lenity is one of the most effectual methods to make the delinquent sensible of his fault. The lenity that Jesus Christ showed on this occasion had, without doubt, a more salutary effect upon the adulteress’s mind than all the severity of the Mosaic law. It is the spirit of lenity and charity which the Church, in imitation of her Spouse, has adopted with regard to her children. She turns her back upon none, however grievous their sins may be ; she beholds them with the eye of a tender mother, she invites them to their Christian duties ; she stands with open arms to receive the penitent, and absolves them from their guilt the moment she is assured of the sincerity of their repentance. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 255 CHAPTER LXXIII. Jesus preaches again in the Temple, and justifies his Doctrine against the Pharisees. John yiii. 12—59. The scene just recited had interrupted the discourse which Jesus was making to the people : he now, therefore, resumed it. “Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, say¬ ing : I am the light of the world,” by my doctrine and the example of my life, in order to conduct those souls to life who before were involved in darkness : “he,” therefore, “that followeth me,” by believing my words, and by imitating my actions, “ walketh not in ” the “ darkness ” of error and vice, “ but shall have the light of life ; ” that is, he shall be truly enlightened, and safely conducted to a life of eternal happiness, by means of that life of true justice which now causes him truly to live in the eyes of God. “The Pharisees therefore said to him: Thou givest testi¬ mony of thyself: thy testimony is not true,” and ought not to be admitted as such. In -answer to this plausible objec¬ tion, Jesus gives them to understand that, after so many proofs of his divinity, by the wonderful miracles which he had wrought, the testimony he bears in his own behalf is perfectly admissible, because the maxim, that a man is a suspected witness in his own case, is out of the question in his regard, since he, as God, was incapable of deceit. “Jesus ” therefore “answered and said to them : Although I give testimony of myself, my testimony is true : for I know whence I came,” and that my origin is from God, by an eternal generation, “ and whither I go,” viz. that I am, after the end or termination of this my mission, to return again to the bosom of God, to sit at his right-hand, to enjoy his glory, and to draw thither all such persons as shall be obedient to him: “but you know not whence I come, or whither I go,” the light of your senses not reaching to such sublime mysteries ; and hence you receive not my testimony. 2 5 6 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD “ You judge ” of me “ according to the flesh,” and merely by outward appearances; “I judge not any man” in this manner. “ And if I judge ” of myself, “ my judgment is true; because I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me :” it is he who authorises, by his testimony, that which I bear of myself; “ and in your law it is written, that the testimony of two men is true (Deut. xvii. 6). And” since “ I am one that give testimony of myself, and the Father that sent me giveth testimony of me ” likewise, therefore our testimony is true according to the law, and you are obliged to admit it as such. If, in the present instance, Jesus were merely a common man, these two witnesses could be con¬ sidered in no other light than as one ; and, on that supposi¬ tion, the argument here adduced would be inconclusive, since, in the testimony which he bears to himself, he who gives evidence, and who is the object of that evidence, would be precisely one and the same person ; which would render the testimony of no avail by that rule which Jesus himself had acknowledged. But there being in Jesus two natures perfectly distinct, he here as God gives testimony to himself as man, viz. that he is in this quality the visible light of the world, without indicating thereby a diversity of persons. The Jews feigned a desire of seeing his Father, under the pretext that, being already acquainted with one of the witnesses, viz. himself, they now required only to see the other witness, in order to have a full and entire conviction. “They said therefore to him : Where is thy Father,” that we may receive his testimony?' “Jesus,” well aware of their duplicity, “ answered: Neither me do you know nor my Father : if you did know me” to be his Son, proceeding from him by an eternal generation, “ perhaps you would know my Father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple,” and surrounded by a great multitude of his enemies; “and” yet “no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come,” when he was to be delivered into their custody. “Jesus then,” find- AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 257 mg that his instructions were little attended to, proceeded to utter terrible menaces against the Jews, and he “ again said to them : I go” from you [alluding to his approaching death, of which they were to be the authors and perpe¬ trators], “and you shall seek me” without being able to find me, “and” thus “you shall die in your sins.” For “ whither I go you cannot come,” viz. to the eternal mansions above. “The Jews therefore said: Will he kill himself, because he said, Whither I go you cannot come?” hereby implying that they would be loth to follow him in so rash an action. “ And he said to them : You are from be¬ neath,” and have no other ideas or inclinations but such as are earthly : “ I am from above : you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you Ahall die in your sins,” since you can only be delivered from them by a true faith in me. “ They said therefore to him,” on hearing this menace : “ Who art thou ? Jesus said to them :” I am “ the beginning,” the cause and author of all things, who am now become man, and who also speak unto you; and this is what I said at the beginning, that you are to believe in me in order to be delivered from your sins. “ Many things I have to speak and to judge of you, but ” I shall at present content myself with saying : “ He that sent me is true ” and just in his judgments : “ and ” that “the things I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world;” so that in resisting my words you resist truth itself. “ And they understood not that he called God his Father. Jesus therefore,” coming to the question they had proposed to him, viz. who he was, “ said to them : When you shall have lifted up the Son of man ” on the cross, and he shall be risen again, “ then shall you know that I am lie, and that I do” and say “nothing of myself; but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak. And he that sent me is with me, and he hath not left me alone : for I do always the things that please him.” Hence he plainly s 258 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD showed that their ideas of him were erroneous, since they represented him to their imagination as an enemy of God, and as a possessed person, who spoke and acted under the immediate impulse and direction of the devil. “ When he spake these things many believed in him.” And “then Jesus,” to encourage them to persevere in this faith, “ said to those Jews who believed in him : If you continue ” firm “in my word, you shall he my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth” more and more, in proportion as you shall act conformably to its injunctions; “ and the truth,” thus revealed to you, “ shall make you free.” They amongst his hearers who yet remained incredulous, were particularly offended at these last words of Jesus, which implied that they were in a state of slavery, and “ they answered him : We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou, you shall be free ?” They here appear to have forgotten that their ancestors, who were equally of the race of Abraham, had long been slaves in Egypt and Assyria. “ Jesus answered them,” and con¬ firmed what he had insinuated as to their slavery : “ Amen, amen I say unto you, that whosoever committeth sin is a slave to sin; ” as therefore you fall into sins of various kinds, according to your depraved inclinations, hence it follows that you are slaves to your respective sinful habits. “Now he that is a slave, abideth not in the house ” of his master “ for ever;” for he is either driven from it, as was Agar with her son, or is transferred over to other masters (insinuating hereby that they would one day be driven from the kingdom of God); “ but the Son” of the family “ abideth for ever” under his paternal roof. “ If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed; ” not by enjoying a mere civil liberty which you boast of, but a liberty of the soul, which consists not in serving either concupiscence, which reigns in you, or the devil, who adds fuel to it, but in serving God alone, your heavenly Father, who will render you for ever happy in the mansions of eternal bliss. “I AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 259 know,” as well as you, “that you are the children of Abraham: but” I know likewise that you are the slaves of sin, since “you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.” In announcing to you the truth, “ I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and you,” in being desirous of putting me to death, “ do the things that you have seen with your father. They answered,” in a fierce and peremptory manner, “ and said to him : Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do ye the works of Abraham; ” imitate his faith and holy life. “But now you seek to kill me, a man who hath spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God : this Abraham did not,” and therefore you are by no means the true children of Abraham. “You do the works of your father,” who is of a very different description from Abraham. They now understood that Jesus spoke not of a filiation according to the flesh, but rather of a spiritual generation, such as showed itself by a similarity of manners ; and as the crime of idolatry is, in the language of Scripture, a spiritual adultery, which the unfaithful soul is guilty of against God, her lawful Spouse, they declared in few words that they were not the fruit of a sacrilegious union of this description, and had not been trained up to idolatry either by the words or by the example of their fathers. “ They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me ; for from God I proceeded and came ; for I came not of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not know my speech?” it being only natural that one brother should know another by his accent and tone of voice, as well as by his features. The reason is, “because you cannot hear my word” with patience, on account of your hatred of me, though I speak truly the word of God. Therefore “ you are of your father the devil,” both in mind and in the resemblance of your actions; “and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer 26 o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD from the beginning,” by drawing our first parents into sin, and so occasioning their death, and that of all their posterity ; and you are so, in my regard, by seeking to take away my life : “ and,” moreover, “ he stood not in the truth.” This is manifest, because, since his fall, truth is not in him, but totally discarded from his mind. “ When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own ; for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But” you are his children; for “ if I say the truth” to you, “ you believe me not,” and only conceive a horror for my sacred doctrines. But “ which of you shall convince me of sin,” or of any falsehood ? “ If,” therefore, “ I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me ? ” Is it not because you are the children of the devil, and as such hate the truth that is announced to you ? “ He that is ” the child “of God, heareth the words of God,” not only with his corporal ears, but with those of his heart, consider¬ ing them as the food and sustenance of his spiritual life. “ Therefore you hear them not, because you are not” the children of God. “ The Jews therefore,” touched to the quick by these reproaches, “ answered and said to him : Do not we say well, that thou art a Samaritan,” that is, an enemy of God’s people, “ and hast a devil” that inspires thee with these sentiments ? “ Jesus answered,” with great mildness : “I have not a devil: but I honour my Father,” by referring all the glory of my actions to him as to their principal cause and author: “and you have dishonoured me,” and have made my work the subject of derision and animosity against me. “But I seek not my own glory: there is one to seek it and judge ” all your shameful out¬ rages. Having thus replied to the several objections which they had urged against him, Jesus resumes his discourse in favour of those who should remain steadfast in his doctrine; and having already promised them true spiritual liberty, he adds what they may further expect from such fidelity in his ser¬ vice. “ Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 261 word, he shall not see death for ever; ” that is, the death of the soul, but shall escape that eternal misery prepared for the incredulous. “ The Jews therefore,” understanding it of the death of the body, “said: Now we know that thou hast a ” familiar “ devil,” which causes thee to hold out so delusive a promise. “ Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Art thou greater than our father Abra¬ ham, who is dead ? and the prophets ” too “ are ” long since “dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? Jesus answered: If I glorify myself” as man, “my glory is no¬ thing,” and you would have reason to reject it. But “ it is my Father that glorifieth me,” by communicating to me his power, “ of whom you say that he is your God. And ” yet “ you have not known him : but I know him ; and if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar : but I do know him, and do keep his word,” and observe his commandments with the greatest punctuality. As to what you ask me, whether I am greater than Abraham, I shall only say, that “Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day,” the day of my coming upon earth, as likewise the day of my glory, when I shall sit as judge of the living and the dead; “ and he saw it and was glad. The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham ? Jesus said to them : Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am,” for as God I existed from all eternity. “ They took up stones therefore to cast at him : but Jesus,” before they could execute their cruel design, “hid himself” in the crowd, “and went out of the temple,” thus to escape their fury. In all probability he went, according to custom, to pass the night on Mount Olivet. 262 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD CHAPTER LXXIV. Jesus gives Sight to a Man born Blind. John ix. 1—41. “ And Jesus passing by” the next day, gave a fresh proof of his divine power, by curing a man who had been blind from his very birth. In performing this miracle, he employed such means as in the common course of nature ought rather to have caused than removed blindness. The doctors of the law and the Pharisees, instead of being enlightened, were still more blinded by this miracle. The blind man, after recovering his sight, was able to confound, though not to cure, their strange blindness. Wherefore Jesus returning to the city the day following, “ saw a man who was blind from his birth. And his dis¬ ciples asked him : Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind ? ” This question, according to St. Cyril and Origen, may possibly have origi¬ nated from the absurd opinion taught by some of the Phari¬ sees, that the souls of virtuous persons, on their decease, pass into other bodies, and appear again in the world by a second birth, and under a new name; in this sense the above question implied that this blind man might, previous to his birth, have been guilty of some actual sin, whilst his soul animated a body distinct from that which now appeared before them in a state of blindness. With regard to the parents of the blind man, the question here addressed to Jesus was grounded upon that text of Exodus (xx. 5) which describes the Almighty as revenging the sins of parents upon their children to the third and fourth generation. It is to be remarked that original sin was here entirely out of the question, though in fact all our evils originate from it. “Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents ; but that the works ” and power “ of God should be made manifest in him.” For “I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day : the night ” of death “ cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 263 world, I am the light of the world,” and therefore it behoves me to give light to this blind man, as a lively representation that I give spiritual light to the souls of men blinded by sin. “When he had said these words, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay upon his eyes, and said to him: Go wash in the pool of Siloe, which is interpreted, sent. He went, therefore, and washed, and he came seeing. The neighbours, therefore, and they who had seen him before, being a beggar, said: Is not this he that sat and begged ? Some said: This is he. But others said: No, but he is like him. But he said : I am he. They said therefore to him: How were thy eyes opened ? He answered,” with great candour and simplicity, for as yet he did not know his benefactor to be God: “ That man who is called Jesus, made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloe, and wash: and I went, I washed, and I see. And they said to him: Where is he ? He saith : I know not. They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees asked him : How he had received his sight ? But he said to them : He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” It is somewhat pleasant to observe the emotions caused by this palpable miracle in the minds of the Phari¬ sees, who now were at a loss to find a plausible pretext for condemning it. They were divided into a variety of opinions on the subject. “ Some therefore of the Pharisees said: This man is not of God, who keepeth not the Sabbath. But others said: How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles ? They say therefore to the blind man again,” feigning to refer the decision to him: “ What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes ? ” They flattered themselves that his answer might afford them some grounds for invali¬ dating the truth of the miracle, if he did not express a due esteem for his miraculous cure, or if, overawed by the great number of the enemies of Jesus in the council before which 264 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD he stood, he should not dare to make an express declaration in his favour. “ He,” however, “ replied,” without fear or hesitation: “He is a prophet. The Jews then,” suspecting a collusion between them, “ did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that now saw, and asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind ? How then doth he now see ? His parents answered them and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. Ask himself, he is of age ; let him speak for himself. These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews ; for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be ” excommunicated and “ put out of the synagogue; therefore did his parents say : He is of age, ask him.” After the evidence thus given by the parents of the man, the council had sufficient reason to be satisfied as to the certainty of the fact: they however gave not the point up without a further investigation. “They therefore called the man again that had been blind, and said to him: Give glory to God,” who is here present, and in whose sight thou speakest. But they waited not for his answer, and suggested to him that he ought now to avow his having obtained his eyesight by some other means, and to confess to the world that Jesus had prevailed upon him, by unlawful means, to declare him the author of the cure. “ We know,” said they, “ that this man is a sinner,” and consequently he cannot have performed a miraculous cure. The man, who saw not the depth of their malicious artifice, only confirmed what he had before asserted: “ He said therefore to them : If he be a sinner I know not; one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see ; ” and there¬ fore am bound, by every tie of gratitude, to give glory to God, by thus openly confessing the truth. As this honest bluntness of the man disconcerted all their AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 265 schemes, they had recourse to another expedient. They began to cross-examine him, hoping thereby to lead him into some contradiction, and of course to invalidate his testimony. “ They said therefore to him: What did he to thee ? how did he open thy eyes ? He answered them : I have told you already, and you have heard: why would you hear it again ? ” Thus, instead of giving them a direct answer to their ques¬ tion, lest they should twist his words to a wrong sense, he reproached them for their want of understanding, and of attention to what he had so plainly related. He even went so far as to turn them to ridicule. “ Will you also,” said he to them, “ become his disciples,” that you are so desirous of having a repetition of what you have already heard ? No¬ thing in nature could have been more cutting to the proud and haughty Pharisees than the very shadow of such a suspicion. “ They reviled him, therefore, and said: Be thou his disciple ; but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses : but as to this man, we know not whence he is,” nor who sent him, nor from whence he derives his doctrines, or that authority which he arrogates to himself in teaching. “ The man answered,” with a wonderful presence of mind, “ and said to them: Why, herein is a wonderful thing, that you,” with all your learning, “ know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners,” so as to grant them this power of working miracles in confirmation of error: “ but if a man be a worshipper of God and perform his will, him he heareth. From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. Unless this man were of God, he could not do any¬ thing” of this wonderful nature. As no satisfactory answer could be found to this reasoning, “ they answered ” it with abusive language, “and said: Thou wast wholly born in sin,” as appears by the blindness in which thou wast born, “ and dost thou teach us ? And they ” instantly “ cast him out,” thinking thus to have given a sufficient answer to his 266 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD argument. “ Jesus heard that they had ” thus “ cast him out of the synagogue, and when he had found him, he said: Dost thou believe in the Son of God ? He answered and said: Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him ? And Jesus said to him : Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said : I believe, Lord : and falling down he adored him,” with that sort of adoration which is due to God alone. “ And Jesus said,” with a happy allusion to his late blindness, and to that clear light which he now enjoyed : “I am come unto judgment into this world, that they who see not, may see : and they who see, may become blind ; ” in other words, that humble and simple persons, such as honestly avow their ignorance, may become enlightened by the light of the true faith, whilst they who flatter themselves with the idea of being the most enlightened and above instruction, become blind by their own darkness. “ And some of the Pharisees who were with him heard ” these words, and rightly judging that they were levelled at them, “ they said unto him : Are we also blind ? Jesus said to them: If you were blind,” and sufficiently humble to acknowledge your ignorance, “ you would not be liable to sin,” because you would then seek the truth with sincerity, and the truth would not fail to enlighten you : “ but now that you say, we see,” and boast of your know¬ ledge and wisdom, “ your sin remaineth,” because this pre¬ sumption hinders you from seeking after the light which is necessary for you; falsely imagining that you have no need of it. Thrice happy, say the holy fathers, was the man who through his corporal blindness discovered the true light which enlightens every man who cometh into this world. He became not the adorer only, but also the defender of Jesus Christ against his enemies ; unshaken by their threats, he boldly declared the truth, and silenced their captious arguments against it. The Jews cast him out of their syna¬ gogue ; but Jesus received him into his communion, and made his heart the living temple of the Iioly Ghost. AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 267 CHAPTER LXXY. Christ declares Himself to be the True Shepherd. John x. 1—21. In the following discourse Jesus pointed out the several essential differences between a thief and a true shepherd, and then showed his just claim to the character of the latter. The first difference is in the manner of election to the office of guarding the sheep. “ Amen, amen I say to you ; he that entereth not by the door,” that is, by a canonical election or promotion, “ into the sheepfold, but climbeth up by another way,” by a window, or through a breach in the wall, viz. by means of injustice, or fraudulent and simoniacal practices, such as favour or partiality, or by making presents, all which are manifest infringements of the established rules, “ the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door ” of a regular appointment, “ is the shepherd of the sheep.” The second difference is, that “ to him the porter openeth,” viz. the Holy Ghost opens the door to the true shepherd, and allows him access into the sheepfold, as being called thereto by God, who holds the door open to him in all his enterprises, and facilitates the execution of them by his divine assistance. He leaves it to be inferred, that neither God, nor a call from God, opens the door to the thief and the robber: the thief enters in only by fraud and imposition, and the robber enters in by high birth, riches, or influence. The third difference is, that the true shepherd is known by his sheep, “and the sheep hear his voice,” which they readily distinguish from all other voices; because a soul enlightened from above, and imbued with a relish for the truth, easily knows its pastor by the conformity of his doctrine with that which she has already received. He thus hints to the Pharisees that they must not wonder if many of the Jews, after the example of the blind man, 268 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD should refuse to listen to them as to their masters, and should rather attach themselves to him, and become hearers of his word : the reason of which preference is, that they distinguish his voice, and are attracted by the truth, which they find not in the discourses of the Pharisees. The fourth difference is, that the true shepherd knows, “and calleth his own sheep by name,” to see, as it were, that none be wanting. He applies himself to the wants of all in general, and of each in particular, evincing an equal care of all. It is far otherwise with the thief, who, as the sheep know him not, so likewise he knows not them, cares not for their wants, nor diseases, and so thinks not of apply¬ ing the remedies suited to them; in short, he allows them to perish, and is indifferent to their loss. The fifth difference is, that the true shepherd “ leadeth them out” into wholesome pastures; that is, nourishes them with sound and orthodox doctrines, and causes them to drink of the pure waters of truth; whilst, on the contrary, the thief leads the sheep to be butchered, or if perhaps he leads them to the pasture, he pays no attention whether they feed upon poisonous herbs or quench their thirst with in¬ fected waters. The sixth difference is, that the true shepherd, “ when he hath led out his own sheep, goeth before them ” as their guide. He is the first to comply with all God’s command¬ ments or counsels, thus proposing himself as a pattern for their imitation; nor does he point out anything to be done by them, but what he is the first to perform himself. “ And the sheep,” therefore, “follow him, because they know his voice,” which is the voice of truth. “But a stranger they follow not, but flee from him, because they know not the voice of strangers,” which is ever the voice of error and deceit. “ This proverb Jesus spoke to them,” in order to show that he was the true Pastor of God’s sheep, the Guide and Conductor of his people: “but they understood not what he spoke to tflem.” He now condescends to make AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 269 the application of it, both with regard to himself and to the false teachers who had gone before him ; classing among the latter all such false prophets as had intruded themselves into the office of conducting the people of God. In this number he includes the Pharisees of that time, who, - although the lawful successors of Moses, had now become false shepherds, by refusing to acknowledge that Messiah whom Moses had foretold. “ Jesus therefore said to them again,” and with the solemn asseveration of an oath: “ Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep,” by which men may enter into the sheepfold of the Church, by faith in my name. But “ all others, as many as have come” without a legal mission and authority, “are thieves and robbers, and the sheep hear them not. I am the door ” of salvation: “by me, if any one enter in” to the Church, either as one of the sheep by faith, or as a shepherd by a lawful vocation, “ he shall be saved : and he shall go in and out, and shall find pastures” of wholesome food. “ The thief cometh for no other end but to steal, to kill, and to destroy,” by the poison of false doctrines : “ I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” now under the gospel than under the law. Jesus then proceeded to apply to his own person the several peculiar marks of the good shepherd contained in this parable, pointing out the two characteristics which in a particular manner distinguish him from the hireling. “ I am the good shepherd,” says he. “ The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep,” if necessary, to defend them against wolves, that is, against false teachers, who preach up heresy and schism. “ But the hireling,” or mercenary pastor, “ and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth : and the wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep. And the hireling fleeth because he is a hireling; and he hath no care for the sheep :” but feeds them with a view only to his own profit, without any principle of affection 270 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD towards his master, or any desire or zeal for the good of the flock. “ I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me, as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and” as this mutual knowledge produces in us an infinite love, so this affectionate knowledge which I have for my sheep, inspires me with so great a love for them, that “ I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have,” distinct from this little flock in Judea, and scattered amongst the Gentiles : “ them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice” calling them to the true faith; “ and there shall be one fold and one shepherd,” for the Jewish people and the Gentile world shall coalesce together, and form but one common church. “Therefore doth the Father love me: because I lay down my life” for the sheep; and this I do only for a short time, “ that I may take it up again” by a glorious resurrection. And I lay it down freely and of my own accord; “for no man taketh it away from me” by force: “ but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.” Thus am I equally free both in suffering death and in rising again to life; and “ this commandment,” or commission, “ have 1 received of my Father. A dissension rose again among the Jews by reason of these words, and many of them said : He hath a devil, and is mad, why do you hear him ? Others said : These are not the words of one that hath a devil. Can the devil open the eyes of the blind ? ” CHAPTER LXXYI. Christ sends the Seventy-two Disciples to work Miracles and to Preach. Luke x. 1—24. Matt, xi. 25—80. It was but reasonable that the faith should be preached to Judea, as well as to Galilee, and therefore, “ after these AND SAVIOUR yESUS CHRIST. T things, the Lord appointed also other seventy-two: and he sent them two and two,” that one might be a help and com¬ fort to the other, and their testimony of greater force. They were sent “ before him,” in order to prepare the way, “ into every city and place” of Judea, “ whither he himself was to come each division having a determinate district allotted it. Before their departure he addressed to them a discourse, wherein he first points out the proper disposition of mind which they ought to possess with regard to their future employment, viz. that they should be animated with a burn¬ ing zeal for the salvation of souls, and should consequently beseech the master or lord of the harvest to provide labourers for so great a work. “ And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest. Go : behold I send you as lambs among wolves,” that is, unarmed, defenceless, and unprepared to resist the numerous enemies you will have to encounter. He then gives them various instructions proper for their intended mission, and which are nearly similar to those which he before gave to his Apostles. “ Carry,” says he, “neither purse” for money, nor “scrip” for superfluous clothing, “nor shoes,” besides those on your feet, “and salute no man by the way : ” because your mission is not an affair of worldly business, and therefore nothing temporal should stop you from announcing the kingdom of God. “ Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house; and if a son of peace be there,” that is, a person well-disposed, and worthy of peace and benediction, “your peace shall rest upon him ; but if not, it shall return to you,” to be given to some more worthy person. “And make your abode in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they have : for the labourer is worthy of his hire,” and your subsistence is the least thing you can receive from those to whom you announce the Gospel. “ Remove not from 272 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD house to house,” lest you deservedly incur the imputation of a blamable delicacy, and of an impatient temper. “ And into whatsoever city you shall enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you,” without making any further demands. “ And,” in return for such hospitality, “ heal the sick that are therein, and say to them,” by way of consolation: “ The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you,” for faith is the foundation of salvation. “ But into whatsoever city you enter, and they receive you not, going forth into the streets thereof, say : Even the very dust of your city that cleaveth to us, we wipe off against you,” to show that we will have no communication with you. “Yet know this, that the kingdom of God is at hand,” and his truth is announced to you, and therefore you cannot allege the plea of ignorance in extenuation of your guilt, “I say to you, it shall be more tolerable at that day,” when God shall render to every one according to his works, “ for Sodom, than for that city. Wo unto thee, Corazin, wo unto thee, Bethsaida; for if the miracles had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been wrought in you, they had long since done penance in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capharnaum, exalted even to heaven,” by thy pride and ambition, “ shalt be plunged even into hell,” because it is God himself thou hast rejected, in rejecting those whom he has sent to thee. For “he that heareth you, heareth me: and he that despiseth you, despiseth me : and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.” This is an aggravation of guilt not laid to the charge either of Sodom or Gomorrah. “ And the seventy- two disciples,” after the term of their mission was expired, “returned with joy” at the happy success of their labours, “ saying: Lord, the devils also are subject to us,” when we speak to them “in thy name. And he said to them: I saw,” at the beginning of the world, “ Satan, like lightning, falling from heaven,” in punishment of his vain complacency AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 273 in the gifts with which God had enriched him. Be therefore on your guard: “ Behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions,” whereby are represented the devil and his agents, “ and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. But yet” be not vain of this advantage, and “ rejoice not in this, that spirits are subject unto you : but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven,” and in the book of life. “ In the same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Ghost, and said: I confess to thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them ” to the humble and “ to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight.” These expressions sufficiently pointed out to his disciples that they ought not to attribute to their own merits the new power with which they had been invested. But this justice, by which the proud are left in their blindness, and this mercy, by which the humble are enlightened to salvation, are equally to be ascribed to the Son as well as to the Father. Hence Christ adds: “ All things are delivered to me by my Father,” the great as well as the little, the wise as well as the unwise : “ and no one knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son shall reveal him. And, turning to his disciples, he said,” congratulating with them for the happiness which they enjoyed: “ Blessed are your eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them ; and to hear the things you hear, and have not heard them.” Then he addressed the following sweet invitation to those who stood round him, and in general to mankind: “ Come to me all you that labour” under the miseries of this life, “ and are burdened” with the weight of your sins, and of your passions, “ and I will refresh you.” For this purpose, “"take up my yoke upon you,” which consists in the love oi God and in the love of the cross ; “ and learn of me, because T THE LIFE OF OUR LORD 274 I am meek and humble of heart, and” thus only “ you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet, and my burden light ” to them who love me ; and they who fervently practise my law shall find therein a hidden manna superior to all earthly gratifications. CHAPTER LXXVII. The Good Samaritan. Luke x. 25—87. In the two questions which are the subject of this chapter, Jesus first teaches us, that the love of God and our neigh¬ bour is a necessary condition for the attaining of eternal life: and, secondly, that our neighbours are all mankind who enjoy one common nature with ourselves. “ And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying. What shall I do to possess eternal life ? But he said to him : What is written in the law ? how readest thou ? He answering said : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind : and thy neighbour as thyself (Deut. vi. 5). And he said to him : Thou hast answered right: this do and thou shalt live” eternally. “ But he, willing to justify himself,” as if he had a sincere desire of being instructed in the precepts of the law, in order to observe them, “ said to Jesus : And who is my neigh¬ bour?” This was, at that time, a subject of great con¬ troversy among the Jews, because that law which merely said : tliou shalt love thy friend as thyself (Lev. xix. 18), had afforded a plea to the Pharisees for superadding as a neces¬ sary consequence: therefore it is lawful to hate an enemy . Hence it remained to be determined by Jesus what was the import of the word neighbour, and whether it equally com¬ prised relations and others that were not so, strangers equally with our countrymen, our enemies as well as our AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 275 friends. “And Jesus answering” the lawyer, related to him a parable, which, from its being so circumstantial both as to places and persons, has greatly the appearance of a real historic fact. In confirmation of this it may be observed, that the road which leads from Jerusalem to Jericho was much infested by robbers, and that there was in particular a certain valley named Adomin, noted for the frequent murders committed there upon passengers. “ A certain man,” said Jesus, “ went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,” about seven leagues distant, “ and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away leaving him half dead. And it chanced that a certain priest went down the same way, and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place, and saw him, passed by.” Thus these two ministers of the temple carried their inhumanity so far as to turn their back upon a person of their own country, of their own city and religion, even when languishing under the greatest distress. “ But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion,” and dismounting from his horse, “ and going up to him,” he immediately began to afford him every assistance in his power : “ he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.” For, according to the custom of these times, a traveller carried with him such articles of food as these for the con¬ venience of his journey, and this mixture of wine and oil was an application highly proper for the poor man’s wounds, in order both to cleanse them from all corruption, or the clotted blood, by the acidity of the wine, and likewise to foment and soften them by the healing sweetness of the oil. “And setting him upon his own beast,” in the best manner he was able, “ he brought him to an inn, and took care of him,” by procuring for him, at his own cost, every proper medical assistance. “And,” to leave nothing short, he extended his charity to the providing even for his future wants; for being obliged to pursue his journey, “the next 276 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD day,” when he departed, “he took out two pieces, and gave to the host, and said : Take care of him, and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I at my return will repay thee.” After this recital Jesus, addressing the lawyer, asked him: “ Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among robbers ? But he said : He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him : Go, and do thou in like manner.” That is, learn from the example of this Samaritan, who in the person of a Jew assisted a stranger, a declared enemy of his religion, but in a state of extreme dis¬ tress, learn, I say, not to limit the quality of neighbour to your own kindred, connections, friends, country, or even religion, but to consider as your neighbour all mankind, of whatever country or religion, when in a state of present or impending want and distress. CHAPTER LXXYIII. Jesus commends Mary’s Attention to his Doctrine in Preference to Martha’s busy Care to entertain Him. Luke x. 38—42. “Now it came to pass as they went” towards Jerusalem, “ that he entered into a certain town called Bethania,” which was only about two miles from that city, “ and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a” younger “sister called Mary.” Upon this occasion, Jesus gave a decision of no small importance con¬ cerning the respective merit of an active and of a contem¬ plative life, here represented by these two sisters. Whilst Martha was extremely busy in preparing all things necessary for the reception of her distinguished visitor and his holy company, which probably consisted of his twelve Apostles, Jesus, in order to profit of this interval of time, began, as usual, to discourse with them concerning the kingdom AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. ■j / of God. To listen to his heavenly doctrine was the chie! delight not only of them but of Mary, “ who sitting” there¬ fore “ at the Lord’s feet, heard his words ” with the most religious attention. “But Martha was busy about much serving,” and considered it as a hardship to be thus left alone. “Who” therefore “ stood, and said,” sweetly com¬ plaining : “ Lord, hast thou no concern that my sister has left me alone to serve ? Speak to her, therefore, that she ” rise up and “ help me. And the Lord,” though well pleased with the affectionate solicitude of Martha, yet acting here the part of a disinterested judge, became the advocate of Mary, and “answering, said to her” sister: “Martha, Martha, thou art solicitous and art troubled about many things,” and in preparing many superfluous dishes: one is sufficient; and in reality “ but one thing is necessary,” and that is to love and serve God, and to labour for eternity. “ Mary,” in keeping herself near to me, in order to nourish her soul with my heavenly doctrine, “ hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her; ” for pious contem¬ plation is the novitiate of heaven, where it shall for ever continue the sweet and uninterrupted occupation of the blessed.—We must not however infer, that it is lawful to abandon the functions of active life, or neglect the duties of our state, in order to give ourselves up entirely to prayer and contemplation. The most perfect life is that which unites action and contemplation together; and every good Christian, with respect to that state of life in which Providence has placed him, must endeavour to combine both, so that while the necessary duties of his station are not neglected, he may find time to raise up his soul to God, and unite him¬ self to him by prayer and meditation. We must ever reflect that the salvation of our souls is the one thing necessary, and whatever draws our attention from this necessary business should be either carefully avoided or made subordinate to it. By a pure intention we must sanctify the exterior actions of our calling; we must join the two sisters together; the 278 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD activity of Martha and the prayer of Mary should be our alternate exercise. Thus we shall always keep the essential point in view; thus only shall we happily succeed in that one, that important, and that necessary affair for which we were created. CHAPTER LXXIX. Christ teaches his Disciples how to Pray. Luke xi. 1—13. “ And it came to pass, that as Jesus was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples,”, who had re¬ frained through respect from interrupting him, “said to him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his dis¬ ciples.” Jesus had already delivered to his hearers a form of prayer, in his sermon upon the mountain, but he here repeats it in behalf of several of his disciples, who probably had not been then present, and, according to the original Greek text, he repeats it nearly in the same terms, and pre¬ cisely in the same number of petitions : though in the vulgate the third petition is wanting. At the request of the above-mentioned disciple, Jesus pointed out to his followers : 1. The things which in general we must ask of Almighty God. 2. The essential condition of perseverance to render prayer efficacious. 8. The nature of our particular request. “And he said to them: When you pray, say : Father,” who art in heaven: “hallowed be thy name : thy kingdom come: ” thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven: “ give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is in¬ debted to us; and lead us not into temptation,” but deliver us from evil. As already observed, what we may pray for may be classed under two general heads, viz., the glory of God and the necessities of mankind: we begin with the former of these AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 279 as justly claiming the first place, and in the first three peti¬ tions express our ardent wishes for whatever may promote the glory of the kingdom of God, and the accomplishment of his divine will. In the remaining petitions we pray for our own wants, for the forgiveness of sins, for the avoiding of dangers, and the deliverance from all evils, whether temporal or eternal. As these petitions, however, have been noticed in detail in a former chapter, it is not necessary to give any further explanation of them here. After prescribing the form of prayer, and of several things to he asked for in prayer, Jesus proceeds to point out the necessary condition for rendering it efficacious. This is per¬ severance, the necessity and efficacy of which he shows by a parable or apposite comparison. “ And he said to them : Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and shall say to him : Friend, lend me three loaves : because a friend of mine is come off his.journey to me, and I have not what to set before him. And he from within should answer and say: Trouble me not, the door is now shut,” and cannot be opened at so unseasonable an hour, “ and my children are ” asleep “ with me in bed. I cannot rise and give thee. Yet if he shall continue knocking, I sajr to you, although he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.” Our divine Saviour now proceeds to make the application as follows : God is infinitely more liberal and merciful than mankind ; “ and ” therefore “ I say to you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh ” with humility, “receiveth; and he that seeketh ” with fervour, findeth; and to him that knocketh ” with perseverance, “ it shall be opened.” As to our particular requests, Jesus points out the nature of them indirectly, by specifying such things as he never 28 o THE LIFE OF OUR LORD grants to his children, as well as other things which he never refuses to them. What they ask for must neither be useless nor indifferent, as stones, nor dangerous, as serpents, nor fatal to their lives, as scorpions. All these things are instanced as improper subjects of our prayers. The things to be asked for ought, on the contrary, to be either neces¬ sary to us, as bread, useful, as fish, or wholesome and ser¬ viceable to us, as eggs ; all which several articles are granted accordingly “ And which of you,” said he, “if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone, or if a fish, will he, instead of a fish, give him a serpent ? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion. If then you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him.” Hence it appears that this holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, is that one thing truly advantageous, wholesome, and necessary, which it behoves all Christians to ask incessantly of Almighty God, because he brings with him all other gifts. CHAPTER LXXX. Jesus pronounces several Woes against the Scribes and Pharisees. Matt, xxiii. 18—85. Luke xr. 37—54. “And” on a certain day, “as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee prayed him that he would dine with him.” Several of the same sect, and also of the Scribes, were in like manner invited. Being desirous of a favourable opportunity of announcing to them several truths which he did not judge proper to be spoken in public, Jesus readily accepted the invitation, “ and going in, sat down to eat,” without observ¬ ing the previous ceremony of washing his hands. “And the Pharisee” marvelled, and “began to say, thinking within himself, why he was not washed before dinner.” Jesus, who AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 28r read his thoughts, began a discourse, which he directed both to the Scribes and Pharisees, in which he condemns, in vehement language, their principal vices. First, he begins by stating their usual practice of washing repeatedly, during their meals, the cups and platters when brought to them, under the apprehension lest these might, by the hands of some unclean attendants, have contracted a legal uncleanness, which would be communicated to them. Thence he takes occasion, in a pleasant manner, to compare them to these very utensils, and reproaches the Pharisees for their scrupulous care in cleansing the outside of their cups and dishes, viz. their body, by frequent washings, and for affecting, in the eyes of the world, a great appearance of sanctity, whilst they were careless as to the inside, that is, the bottom of their heart and conscience, which they left in a most filthy state, and highly unworthy of being presented to God. “ And the Lord said, Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inside is full of rapine and iniquity : ” yes, “ inwardly you are full of extortion,” excess, “ and uncleanness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make also that which is within ? Thou blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside ” also “may become clean : ” and the more so, because God, who created both, considers the soul as his greatest work, and her acts of religion as the most acceptable part of the wor¬ ship offered to him. For as the impurity of the body defiles the soul, so also does the purity of the soul communicate itself to the body, to render it truly pure and undefiled. “ But of what you have give alms,” in proportion to your substance : “ and behold all things are clean to you.” Christ here prescribes the means whereby they may cleanse their souls from the stain of sin, which is, after making restitution of their ill-acquired goods, to give alms according to their abilities. Not that alms are of themselves sufficient to effect this purity in the wicked, such as the Pharisees were ; but 282 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD they obtain of God, through the prayers of the poor, that true faith and repentance by which the soul is purified from her guilt- The second vice which Jesus condemns in the Pharisees, and for which he threatens them with everlasting woe, is their false devotion, which vitiated even their most religious practices. On the one hand, they were foolishly scrupulous in trifles, whilst, on the other, they followed the most relaxed casuistry in matters of the greatest importance. “But woe to you Pharisees,” said Christ, “ because you tithe mint and rue, and anise, and cummin, and every herb, and have left the weightier things of the law,” wherein its very spirit and soul consists. These are “judgment,” or that strict justice which each one owes to his neighbour, “ and mercy,” or that assistance which is due to him, and which is afforded him by good counsel, and by real and effective helps when in our power, “ and faith,” or honesty in our dealings with him, and fidelity in our promises; “and,” lastly, “the charity ” or love “ of God,” for whose sake we must perform all our actions, which likewise comprises faith, or a belief in his words, and a firm hope in his promises. “ Now these things,” said Jesus, “ you ought to have done,” as being the very foundation on which all religion is built, and without which it cannot subsist, “and,” at the same time, “not to leave undone the other less considerable duties. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel; ” for whilst you are scrupulously attached to the most unimport¬ ant works of supererogation, you violate, without difficulty, the most essential precepts of God’s law. Thirdly, he reproaches them for their ambition, in vainly contesting for the first rank, and in eagerly grasping at the empty satisfaction of being respectfully addressed in public places. “ Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the upper¬ most seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market¬ place.” Fourthly, he reproaches them for their avaricious conduct towards widows. “ Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypo- t AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 283 crites, because you devour the bouses of widows, praying long prayers; for this you shall receive the greater judg¬ ment.” It being usual, from the most remote antiquity, to pray in the synagogues for the souls of the deceased, as appears from the second book of Machab. xii., hence widows failed not to recommend their departed husbands to the prayers of the Pharisees, who, on that account, exacted such exorbitant sums, that the circumstances of these poor per¬ sons were thereby greatly impaired. Moreover, the long prayers used by them on these occasions, were no other than a specious pretext to satisfy their avarice, by taking- advantage of the piety and the weakness of these women, in order to enrich themselves. In this their hypocrisy was notorious, and Jesus declares that their condemnation shall be the more severe, because they have abused so holy a thing as prayer, and have changed a charitable institution into a pecuniary contract. Fifthly, he rebukes their false zeal and fruitless labours for the propagation of the Jewish religion. “ Woe to you,” says he, “ Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you compass sea and land to make one proselyte,” that is, to induce a Pagan to become a Jew, “ and when he is become one, you make him the child of hell doubly more than your¬ selves ; ” because ye are so far from giving the true meaning and design of religion, and leading him to true piety, that ye corrupt, by false notions, his natural notions of good and evil, and persuade him that the greatest crimes are expiated by mere external purifications. This their zeal was in itself laudable, nor is it here blamed: but they are reproached because the conversions wrought by them had no other effect than to render the persons converted more wicked than before, or, as it is more strongly expressed, more deserving of hell-fire than the Pharisees themselves, even in the pro¬ portion of two to one. Sixthly, he taxes them with a consummate ignorance in their casuistical decisions ; describing them as guides labour- I 284 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD ing under an inveterate blindness. The oath most frequently adopted by the Jews, was that of swearing by the temple and by the altar, both of which being consecrated to God by the constant performance of religious rites, the Almighty was thereby called upon* to witness the truth of the thing sworn to, and consequently the violation of such oath was looked upon as so much the more criminal. However, the Phari¬ sees, when consulted as to the criminality of a breach of this nature* failed not to answer, that whosoever swore only by the temple was under no obligation of performing his promise; but that the contrary was the case if he had sworn by the gold of the temple. It is to be observed, that a good part of what was offered on the altar, and given to the treasury of the temple, fell to the share of the Jewish priests, and therefore it not being their interest to have such promises or oaths dispensed with, hence they gave the above ridiculous decision, which Christ here rejects, as replete with folly and blindness. “Woe to you blind guides,” said he, “ that say, whosoever shall swear by the temple it is nothing: but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple is a debtor. Foolish and blind as you are : for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold ; and whosoever shall swear by the altar it is nothing,” you say : “ but who¬ soever shall swear by the gift that is upon it becomes a debtor. Blind as you are : for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift ? He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it and by all things that are upon it. And whosoever shall sw T ear by the temple, sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth in it. And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God and by him that sitteth thereon.” This mode of reasoning made use of by Jesus, clearly shows that God is concerned, not only when we mention his sacred and adorable name in express terms, but likewise when we do it implicitly, that is, when we swear by any part of the creation, either because it is the work of his hands, or particularly consecrated to his service. AND SAVIOUR IDS US CHRIST. 285 Lastly, Christ again condemns their hypocrisy, in hiding a criminal soul under the outward show of virtue, by justly comparing them to sepulchral monuments. “ Woe to you,” says he, “because you are as sepulchres which appear not,” and over which men walking perceive them not, as being covered with grass. “ Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you are like to whitened sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones, and of all filthiness. So you also outwardly appear to men just; but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” These reproaches and woes were addressed to the Phari¬ sees : but “ one of the lawyers,” feeling that some of these were applicable to himself and his brethren, “ answering, saith to him : Master, in saying these things thou reproachest us also.” He thus brought upon himself, and upon all his brethren, the anathemas pronounced against them in this second part of the discourse. In the first place, Jesus cen¬ sures their indiscreet severity towards the people, and the unbounded licentiousness in which they indulged themselves; two extremes directly opposite to the character of good pastors of souls. “ But he said : Woe to you lawyers also, » because you load men with burdens,” that is, with a variety of difficult and perplexing precepts, “ which they cannot bear ; and you yourselves touch not those burdens with one of your fingers.” Secondly, Jesus condemns the malicious and sanguinary spirit with which they persecuted all those who announced the truth to them. Of this guilt he convicts them from their own deeds, and foretells, in the following words, the dreadful effects which will ensue. “ Woe to you who build up the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the just,” and who make it appear by your actions that “your fathers killed them. And you say : If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Truly you bear witness that you consent to the deeds of 286 TILE LIFE OF OUR LORD your fathers : for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchres,” not to repair the injury done to them, but to hide the evil disposition of your heart: for you are ani¬ mated with the same spirit as your fathers. “Fill ye up then the measure of” the crimes of “your fathers,” by putting to death him whom the prophets have announced, as this is what you are resolved upon in your hearts. “You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the condemnation of hell,” you who so well imitate the malice of your fathers, who are already ingulfed in that place of woe ? “ For this cause the wisdom of God said,” speaking of you : “ Behold, I send to you prophets, and apostles, and wise men, and Scribes,” as I sent to your fathers, “ and some of them you will put to death, and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth,” and that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel the just, even to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen I say to you, it shall be required of this generation : ” yes, “ all these things shall come upon this ” very “ generation,” in ven¬ geance of past crimes. This is an express and clear prophecy of the ensuing siege of Jerusalem, and of the consequent desolation of all Judea, which began thirty-three years after this period, a space of time which does not exceed the duration of one generation. It is not to be imagined that the Jews to whom Christ spoke would be punished for crimes which they themselves did not commit, nor be more severely punished than they deserved : but he speaks of the Jewish people, which, by putting to death their Messiah, should shortly fill up the number of their sins, so that God would destroy their whole nation, as if the blood of Abel and of the prophets came upon them at once. The Zacharias here mentioned is, according to many AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 287 of the ancients, the father of St. John the Baptist. Others, with more probability, think it was Zachary, the son of Joiada, who, preaching to the people, was stoned to death in the very place where Christ was speaking (see 2 Chron. xxiv. 20). It is supposed that Joiada had the name also of Barachias ; and St. Jerome tells us, that in an ancient copy of St. Matthew, called the Gospel of the Nazarenes, he found this Zacharias called the son of Joiadas. Many of the moderns suppose Jesus Christ here foretells the death of Zacharias, the son of Barach, or Barachias, who was put to death in the temple by the faction of zealots, a little before the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. Lastly, Jesus condemns the abuse they made of their authority to the ruin of souls. “ Woe to you lawyers,” said he, “for you have taken away the key of knowledge,” of salvation, and instead of opening, “ you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, by your words and example : for you yourselves do not enter in,” since you refuse to believe in him who is the way, “ and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter,” by preventing the well-disposed from believing in me. “ And as he was saying these things to them, the Pharisees and lawyers began vehemently to urge him, and to stop his mouth with many questions, lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch something from his words, that they might accuse him.” CHAPTER LXXXI. Christ teaches his Disciples to avoid Hypocrisy, and TO PUBLISH HIS DOCTRINE WITHOUT FeAR. LuKE XII. 1 — 12 . When Jesus remained in Judea, he was followed by the people in like manner as he had been in Galilee. * “ And when ” on a certain day very “ great multitudes stood about 288 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples,” and to caution them against the two vices of hypocrisy and timidity ; each of which insensibly leads into the other. For it is usual with persons under the load of persecution to dissemble, by pretending a conformity to the opinions and manners of others: whilst, on the contrary, whoever is above this criminal condescension, must expect to draw upon himself the persecution of those who hold different principles. Christ therefore said to his disciples : “ Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; ” for this, like a poison, taints all their actions. This advice he grounds upon the vanity and emptiness of such worldly prudence, since, although for a time it may conceal a habit of vice under the cloak of apparent piety, yet this disguise shall one day be torn off. “For there is nothing covered,” says he, “ that shall not be revealed : nor hidden that shall not be known. For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear in closets, shall be preached on the house-tops.” This is what will happen par¬ ticularly at the day of judgment, when the records of our actions, which are shut up during this life, shall be opened, and the most secret recesses of our consciences shall be exposed to the eyes of all mankind. Jesus chose to caution his disciples against hypocrisy, in the hearing of this great multitude, purposely to root out of their minds the high opinion they had conceived of the sanctity of the Pharisees, which was no small hinderance to their believing in him. He now arms his disciples against a dread of persecution, against all anxiety and solicitude as to their future lot, and against the difficulty they may find in confessing his name before men. He points out to them, what they are to de¬ spise, and what they are to fear. “ And I say to you, my friends,” detain not in captivity the truth which I have con¬ fided to you, but announce it with intrepidity; “be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 289 more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear : fear ye him who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell” for all eternity. “Yes, I say to you, fear him.” This precept concerning the contempt of death might raise in the minds of his disciples some degree of anxiety as to their future state. For, after all, there is nothing more dear to us than life. To remove all disquietude on this subject, Jesus engages, that whatsoever they shall lose for his sake, shall be faithfully restored to them, and that the very hairs of their head are numbered, to the end that not one of them may be lost to them. He gives a further proof why they should rely with confidence on the providence of God, by instancing the tender care which he has over even the smallest parts of the creation. “ Are not five sparrows,” says he, “ sold for two farthings, and not one of them is for¬ gotten before God ? ” Yes, “ the very hairs of your head are all numbered : fear not, therefore,” lest God should for¬ get you: “ you are of more value than many sparrows. And I say to you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. But he that shall deny me before men,” in word or deed, “ shall be denied before the angels of God.” There¬ fore the confidence of being so gloriously acknowledged by your divine Master, and the apprehension of experiencing so dreadful a confusion on the other hand, ought to strengthen you to undergo death for my sake. This denying or renouncing of Jesus consists either in speaking erroneously against the Son of man, by considering him as a mere man, and in this case it is a pardonable crime, because such a person may be better instructed and prevailed on to embrace the truth: or it consists in blaspheming against the Holy Ghost, that is, when a person renounces his faith against the conviction of his own conscience, and perseveres to the end in impugning the known truth, in which case his sin will not be forgiven. Therefore, says u 290 THE LIFE OF OUR LORD Christ, “ Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man,” and refuses to acknowledge him as the Son of God, because he sees him acting merely as a man, “it shall he forgiven him,” inasmuch as he is deluded by his senses : “but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost,” by ascribing the miracles of the Son of man to an evil spirit, “it shall not be forgiven,” because this can only be the effect of a voluntary blindness, which leads to final impenitence. Lastly, Jesus considers the probable embarrassment of his disciples, destitute as they were of learning and ability, when called upon to make a public confession of him, to answer interrogatories, and justify their conduct. He therefore relieves them from all anxiety on this head, by- assuring them that the Holy Ghost would not fail to suggest to them whatever might be suitable on those trying occasions. “ And when they shall bring you,” said he, “ into the syna¬ gogues, and to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say. For the Holy Ghost shall teach you, in the same hour, what you must say,” for my honour anj t gjfifry. and in vindication of your sacred character. v.:-- .. / - cbTk >!• • - .. - w .'Yf '/' . ‘ Os vs :"