“REMEMBER ME” DAILY READINGS FOR LENT International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen Street Brooklyn, New York “REMEMBER ME” DAILY READINGS FOR LENT International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen Street Brooklyn, New York Contents Shrove Tuesday 5 Ash Wednesday 6 First Thursday in Lent 7 First Friday in Lent 9 First Sunday in Lent 10 Monday after the First Sunday in Lent 11 Tuesday after the First Sunday in Lent 12 Wednesday after the First Sunday in Lent 13 Thursday after the First Sunday in Lent 14 Friday after the First Sunday in Lent . ^ 15 Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent 16 The Second Sunday in Lent 17 Monday after the Second Sunday in Lent 18 Tuesday after the Second Sunday in Lent 19 Wednesday after the Second Sunday in Lent .... 20 Thursday after the Second Sunday in Lent 21 Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent 22 Saturday after the Second Sunday in Lent ..... 23 The Third Sunday in Lent 24 Monday after the Third Sunday in Lent 25 Tuesday after the Third Sunday in Lent 26 Wednesday after the Third Sunday in Lent 27 3 Thursday after the Third Sunday in Lent . 28 Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent . . 29 Saturday after the Third Sunday in Lent . 30 The Fourth Sunday in Lent .... . 31 Monday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . 32 Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . 33 Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . 34 Thursday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . 35 Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . . 36 Saturday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent . 37 The Fifth Sunday in* Lent . 38 Monday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . . 39 Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . 40 Wednesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . 41 Thursday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . 42 Friday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . . 43 Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent . 44 The Sixth Sunday in Lent . 45 Monday in Holy Week . 46 Tuesday in Holy Week . 47 Wednesday in Holy Week . 48 Maundy Thursday . 49 Good Friday . 50 Saturday in Holy Week . 51 4 REMEMBER ME PRELUDE. Shrove Tuesday A spiritual writer summarises man’s primary business — his duty towards his soul, the breath of his creator — in the words, ‘'Remember Me.” He reminds us of the longing desire of all men to be remembered by their friends on earth, and leads us up by this consideration to Christ’s command (since Christ is God as well as man), that we should remember Him. It is the substance of His culminating address, the one before His Passion, the one in which He gave the means to remember Him perfectly. Now as our reception of Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion is to the Masses we hear ; so, by analogy, is Lent — the time of our more complete recollection of His sufferings — to the rest of the year. It is a more perfect way. Let us then, accompany His servants who shall act as guides — pedagogues to lead us, as some member of a great man’s household led his children to school in old Roman days — let us walk daily to school this Lent, to learn more perfectly than we have hitherto done the sci- ence of remembrance. Let us hasten and do that now, which may be expedient for us for ever hereafter. St, Benedict. NOTE — The mottoes after some of the readings are designed to serve as a thought for use now and again during the day, as a reminder of the morning’s meditation. 6 Ash Wednesday The past three weeks have suggested reflection on the diseases of our souls, and tended towards a realization of the depths of the wounds sin has inflicted on us ; we should now be in some measure prepared for the penance the Church is oflfering us. For we know, better than we did, God’s justice and holiness, as well as the dangers to which an impenitent soul lies exposed; while to encour- age in our own a sincere and lasting amendment, we lay aside the unprofitable joys and idle amusements of the world. The ashes have been scattered on our heads, and we have been humiliated by the sentence of death pro- nounced over us. In the course of this trial of forty days, which our weakness only finds long, we shall not be deprived of our Savior’s presence. He has preceded and outpaced us on the royal road. He has tried it and accomplished its course before us, in order to answer, by His example, the excuses and arguments our self-indulgence or pride may urge. Let us accept the lesson fully, and so arrive at an understanding of the law of expiation. ‘‘Do pen- ance, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near.” Let us open our heart to this appeal, that the Savior may not be compelled to awake us from our lethargy by the terrible threat He employed on another occasion : “If you do not repent you shall all perish.” Dom Gueranger. If you forget your sins God will remember them, but if you remember them He on His side will forget. Pere Cestac. 7 First Thursday in Lent What is the meaning of the phrase, ^'Blessed are the poor in spirit?’’ There is one reading of it that I par- ticularly affect. St. Thomas quotes it as a thought of St. John Chrysostom’s; St. Francis de Sales too refers to it; and Cornelius a Lapide dwells on it with satisfaction. Here it is, put briefly : Happy are the poor (as the Greek text says, the beg- gars), in spirit; that is to say, happy those who realize, as St. Augustine reflects, that man is only a pauper be- fore one Supreme Possessor. Happy is he, who, filled with an infinite trust in a father’s goodness, looks upon himself as a son who is in want of all things, not having anything of his own, but possesses all through love, through the limitless tenderness of him who loves. Happy the Christian who has this selfsame feeling. He is a child who begs, it is true, but there is no disgrace in begging from a father, especially when that Father is God; he is a child who begs, but that is what love means, to feel of no account before him whom one loves. He is a child who begs ; all the better, for it is a quality of mendicancy that it can ask for anything, can beg, can knock, can re- turn and knock again, never taking a final refusal ; gain- ing sometimes by insistence what was at first refused. So the Gospel says, not that the kingdom of heaven will he his, but that it is his, who is poor in spirit. He possesses the charm that can procure him grace, and light, and strength, and the happiness that is a foretaste of celestial bliss — the dawn of its endless day. Mgr, Landriat. The joy of the just is from God, and in God, their rejoicing is of the truth. Thomas d Kempis. 8 First Friday in Lent Alas, for our dearest Lord ! up to this day what have we done for Him? You see what He has done for us, and the end of His doing it was to gain our love! We look upon a crucifix, and it hardly moves us. We hear of His bittter passion, but our eyes are dry and our hearts indifferent. We kneel down to pray, but we can hardly keep our thoughts fixed upon Him for a quarter of an hour together. We go into His own most holy presence, and we hardly bend the knee before the Tabernacle lest it should spoil our clothes. We see others sin, and what is it to us that Jesus is offended, so long as it is not we who are risking our souls by offending Him? These are strange signs of love! Surely Jesus cannot be much to us if this is the way we feel about Him. Yet so it is. We go our own way, and do our own will. The great thing is to please ourselves and to make things easy to us. Life must be taught to run smooth. As to penance, it must be kept at arm’s length. We must have our bodily com- forts and worldly conveniences and our spiritual life must be nothing but a sufficiency of those inward con- solations without which our souls give us pain, because they are not at rest. If we worship God it is for self, if we do good to others, it is self we are seeking, even in our charity. Poor Jesus Christ! as St. Alphonsus used to say — ^poor Jesus Christ! Who thinks of Him? Who weds his interest ? Father Faber. The secret of being always with God and of ensuring His continual presence in our hearts, is constant prayer. St, Isidore. 9 First Saturday in Lent These two things should be combined — a strong desire to carry out our religious duties exactly, our prayers as well as our practices, and the desire not to allow our- selves to be troubled, disquieted, or astonished if we find ourselves failing in either ; for the first point depends on our fidelity, which should always be complete and grow hourly, the second on our infirmity, which we can never get rid of in this life. When we fail we should at once examine our heart and learn from it if it is slackening in its firm resolution of serving God ; and I hope that it may reply, No, that it would suffer a thousand deaths rather than lose hold of this intention. One must then further ask, what then is the cause of your stumbling? Why are you acting so weakly? It may reply, I was taken un- awares; I do not know how, but my feet are so heavy just now. Alas! then we must pardon it. It is not failing through infidelity but by frailty. We must correct it gently, not scold it and add to its trouble, we must cry, Up in God's name, and onwards ! let us take more care, looking towards God, our help. We must have charity towards our own soul, not rate it for an offence that is not w:ilful. Observe, in this exercise we practise holy humility; what we do for our salvation is done in God's service ; for our Savior Himself only worked for our salvation while on earth. St, Francis de Sales. What harm can come to him who knows that God does all, and who loves, before it happens, all God does? Mme. Swetchine. 10 The First Sunday in Lent Christus, Behold a matter that is deeply displeasing to Me, namely, how few there are who recognize the value of time, the time that I lend to men for doing penance, for increasing the grace given them, for acquiring heav- enly glory. Lo, the acceptable yet irrevocable time, passes, and no one is considering it in his heart ; the days of sal- vation are slipping by, and no one makes the occasion of their flight a reason for using well what can never re- turn. But thou, as far as thou art able, flee the things of time, such as acquaintanceship, speech-making, and occu- pations of small profit, and because the days are evil, redeem the time that should be given rather to Me and to thy soul than to others. Is My proposition hard and difficult? Observe how much time is given up to the body for food and sleep, to conversation, banquets, and the rest, so that you cannot give ever so small a portion to God, to your soul, to eternity! Alas, how prodigal men are of time when it is a question of serving vanity, how sparing of it when it is a case of occupying them- selves with His business to whom all time is owed. F, M, Horst, Jesus, be Thou ever with me in the way; in every place and at every time be my good guide, that I go not astray in by-ways. Thomas a Kempis. 11 Monday after the First Sunday in Lent. The iris has a dark-blue flower, with leaves shaped like a sword. Therefore it is often called the sword-lily, and has been chosen as the emblem of warfare. If thou dost aspire to be a lily of purity thou must seize the sword. If you wouldst live chase and spotless thou must not fear the battle, but must stand armed and prepared to fight. After the fall of our first parents and their expulsion from the garden of Paradise, a cherub with a flaming sword was placed at the entrance of it in order to guard it. St. Michael also was armed with a sword, and with it drove Lucifer and his followers out of heaven. * * The flower of the sword-lily is of a dark-blue or pur- ple color, the emblem of sorrow and penance. In time of Advent, when we are sighing for the coming of Christ, and purify our sighs and yearnings by penance, or in Lent, when with sorrow and contrition we contemplate the bitter sufiferings and passion of our Savior, the Church assumes a purple coloring. Our hearts should be ever like the flower of the sword-lily, clad with the garment of sorrow and compassion — sorrow for our sins and compassion for the dead, who are always so grateful for our love and repay our remembrance of them a thou- sand fold. Louis Gemminger. We cannot take too many precautions when eternity is in question. St. Gregory. n Tuesday after the First Sunday in Lent The customary excuse alleged against the necessity of almsgiving is that one has hardly enough for oneself, that one has a position to keep up, children to start in life, creditors to pay, embarrassments to clear, a large family to maintain, a thousand civilities one is bound to return — how, on one’s moderate income, hardly sufficient to meet necessary expenses, can one spare anything for charity ? Now I know that things are not the same for all, that expenses are greater in proportion for some than for others, that they are increased according to rank, or birth, or official status ; but I do ask you, should avarice or should the Gospel regulate the proportionate expenditure of a Christian? Do you venture to assert that your in- come, by the ill-regulated use of which you exhaust your supplies, is an inseparable part of your position ; that what tends altogether to make life easy is absolutely your right; that what helps to flatter your pride, feed your ambition, corrupt your taste, is literally a necessity? Do you maintain that because you yourself have been raised above the level of the crowd, that you are justified in en- tirely forgetting the simpler life of your ancestors, and living on the same scale with those nobler or greater than you, maintaining the same establishment as they do, just because you can pay for it? If that is so, if emulation is to be the measure of your necessity, then indeed be self- indulgent, be proud, be wasteful and ambitious ; for then you have an excuse for refraining from charity to your brethren — and then only. Mgr. Massillon. 13 Wednesday after the First Sunday in Lent ''Dear Lord! It is just when I am in the world that I have most need of Thee, because Thou knowest it is full of snares that the devil has set for me. Thou must hold my hand, dear Lord, if Thou wilt not abandon me. A little of the world is not bad for me ; it is even good, for it teaches me how small it is, and I feel the greater hap- piness when I come back to Thee. But that I may surely do so, Thou must only loose Thy hold a little, that it may not try me too far, Thou must not entirely leave hold. Dost Thou see dear Lord ? I wish to clasp Thy hand — do not refuse me!'’ All that one says to the Savior is prayer, and when the mind cannot apply itself to the effort of true prayer, a few simple words to Him become one. It is needful always to think of Him, even if it is only by the thought that one is thinking less of Him — one must be always thinking of Him and then bit by bit He draws one back entirely to Him, He is so good! "As Thou wilt, my Lord ! I will all Thou dost will, because the only thing I do not will. Thou also dost not will it — that I shall cease to be Thy child." Eugene de Ferronays. I am Thine, I live for Thee, to Thee must I return — How high a destiny is mine ! Pere Cestac, 14 Thursday after the First Sunday in Lent '‘The fear of the Lord is holy, remaining for ever and ever/’ The fear of God is of three kinds, all three good, just, sanctifying and proceeding from the Holy Spirit, but not equal in beauty nor in moral yalue. The first is the fear of the chastisement God inflicts on the sinner, the second the fear of the sin that ofifends God, the third is no other than an enlightened, profound, and practical conviction of the infinite and divine Majesty, and of the inefifable reverence that is His due. The first fear diminishes as the second grows. The second in its progress closely follows that of love ; and as St. John teaches, where love is perfect it destroys the earlier fear, not perhaps in its essential elements, here below, but in its exercise. As to the third, it not only believes, as the second does, but in one sense is charity itself, for it sees and feels that its object surpasses it on every side, in every way, and that infinitely. It is in this sense that fear dwells in Paradise, and there only is perfected. Mgr. Gay, He need not fear anything, nor be ashamed of any- thing, who bears the sign of the cross on his brow. St, Augustine. 15 Friday after the First Sunday in Lent Learn the kindness of the Crucified. His enemies said, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.’^ Not so Christ, but supplicating the Father, He said : “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do/’ For if His blood had indeed fallen upon them and upon their children, the apostles would not have been made out of their children, neither three thousand nor five thousand would have believed on the spot. See how barbarous and cruel those were towards their descendants ! they ignored even nature itself, whilst God was more loving than all the fathers put together, and tenderer than any mother. He did not at once let the chasemeiit and penalty fall upon them, but He allowed forty years and more to pass after the cross. Our Lord Himself was crucified under Tiberius, and their city was destroyed under Vespasian and Titus. Now why did He allow so long a time to elapse after all these things? Because He wished to give them time for repentance, so that they might put off their impieties and be quit of their crimes. As, having a re- spite for conversion, they remained in their impenitence, He at last inflicted punishment upon them, and destroy- ing their city, sent them out wanderers over the, face of the earth. And this He did through love. He dispersed them that they might everywhere see that Christ whom they had crucified adored, and that seeing Him adored by all they might learn His power and acknowledge their own exceeding wickedness, and in acknowledging might come to the truth. St. John Chrysostom. 16 Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent What is fervor? It does not mean emotion. Fervor consists in these three things: regularity, punctuality, and exactness — that is doing our duty to God by rule ; doing it punctually at the right time ; and, exactly, that is, as perfectly as we can. But if we have been indulg- ing in venial sins, of any sort or kind, we begin to do our duty towards God in a slovenly way ; we neglect the right time : we do it irregularly, we put off God with imperfect service. Those venial sins are like the dust set- tling on a perfect machine. As the dust accumulates upon the timepiece, the motion of the timepiece becomes slower; and as it becomes sluggish it loses its perfection. So, mortal sin is the death of the soul, but venial sin is the disease of the soul. Those who willingly allow them- selves to fall into such infirmities and imperfections, which are not yet mortal are like men who are making bad blood, men in whom morbid humors are accumulat- ing a lingering malady upon them. More than this, venial sins have the effect of giving a perverse inclination to the will. The will once united with God, and converted to God, has begun gradually to avert itself from God. There is no such thing as an equilibrium between God and sin ; that cannot be ; and when the will loses its union with God, it immediately inclines itself towards sin. * * * Once more, such sins displease God ; and can any sin be small which displeases God? Cardinal Manning. 17 The Second Sunday in Lent Nothing is more useful or wholesome for one who would fain come to life everlasting, than to meditate con- tinually on the salvation of his soul. He that is more anxious for his soul’s good than for the increase of his fortune or comforts of his body is a merchant truly wise ; for he valueth the spiritual riches which perish not more than the perishable good things of earth. Blessed is that good servant who has been faithful over a little, who useth every moment of his life in a profit- able way ; who is not busied with what doth not concern him, and who, to please God, becometh like one that is deaf and dumb. He goeth through the bustle of the world in peace, having his soul always in his hand. Take therefore no thought of the behavior of thy neighbor, save and as far as the love of God and charity may require. Desire not the praises of men, seeing they are vain. Be not fearful of their reproach ; for instead of doing harm to thy soul, humiliations cleanse it, and ren- der it more meet to receive a brighter crown in heaven ; and none are worthy to be glorified in heaven who are unable to bear reproach on earth for the love of God. Thomas a Kempis. Bear the annoyances of your condition in a penitential spirit; these are the penances God assigns you and far more useful than what you may choose for yourself. Fenelon. 18 Monday after the Second Sunday in Lent When you think about making money, you do not for a moment consider those poorer than yourself, you aspire to level yourself with those richer. It is only in religious matters that yoy show a tendency to modesty and self- efifacement. It is only there that you meekly quote your inferiors. Why do you not rather imitate Zaccheus, who gave half his goods to the poor. One is reduced to wish- ing that the Christians of the present day would imitate the Pharisees, who gave the tenth of what they possessed. Jesus Christ has a kingdom. He has taxes, domains, treasures, a treasury in heaven ; that treasury is the purse of the poor, the common purse such as He had on earth with His disciples. Levy a tax on yourselves, a settled tax upon the annual income you receive from your pos- sessions, or your earnings — be your own Customs-officer. Now, will you make it a tenth ? I hope so, even though that’s not much, since that is what the Pharisees gave, and if your justice does not exceed that of the Pharisees you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. St. Augustine > The poor hold out their hands, but God receives what is given to them. Pere Chassay. 19 Tuesday after the Second Sunday in Lent Of the three kinds of Pride. There are three, one of thought, that is when any one thinks himself more highly than he ought to think; against which it is said, ''Be not high-minded, but rather fear,’’ and which he denies to exist in himself who say, "Lord I am not high-minded, my looks are not proud.” Another is of will, when any- one wants to be treated with more consideration than is his due; against which it is said, "How can ye be- lieve who are receiving honor one from another?” A third is in deed against which saith the Lord, "When thou art bidden to a feast sit not down in the highest place.” This, when a man treats himself better than he ought. Against each of these forms many sayings are found in Holy Scripture, if they are sought out. Against all it is said, "Whoso exalteth himself shall be humbled,” and "God resisteth the proud. And many other passages there are. Of these three, when each one is by itself that is the least which is in deed only, because it is done through ignorance alone, and yet since it is a fault it ought to be amended. Of the other two that which is in wilb alone is more to be condemned, because it errs knowingly. But that which is in thought is only the more foolish, since it does not manifest itself, and to itself appears quite just. * * * If your prudence will frequently reconsider this, you will undrestand it more fully than is here set down. St. An^selm, 20 Wednesday after the Second Sunday in Lent May you hope to receive temporal blessings from God? Yes, in the degree in which they are connected with your sanctification and salvation. It is plain that in themselves such gains cannot be the object of supernatural desires ; they may, however, become one in any way by which they are more or less directly connected with our end. That is why, when He engages solemnly to hear our prayers, our Lord makes no categorical reserve. He says, ‘'All that you ask shall be granted you, or, all that you desire you shall see accomplished.'' And indeed in the sublime and universal prayer He taught us Himself, and which ob- viously is the guide for our hopes, no less than four of the seven petitions composing it regard temporal or earthly gifts. The remark is St. Augustine's. But be care- ful to observe that these good things have never more than a relative value for Christians, and that to consider them inside this connection is to be the victim of an illu- sion. To desire and demand them for their own sake, is to set your foot on an insecure and perilous track; and even those who desire them in relation to a higher object, are bound invariably to keep in mind the character of superfluity attributed to earthly gifts by our Lord in the Gospel. They are thrown into the bargain, so to speak, when God grants them, and we should realize this as well as the fact that He gives them as necessary or useful ad- juncts only. So while we ask for them with humble sim- plicity, we at the same time leave ourselves entirely to Him in the matter, without any shadow of disquietude. Mgr, Gay, 21 Thursday after the Second Sunday in Lent My advice is to put confidence in prayer. I repeat it in prayer, whatever your state of mind. It is indeed a great, fatal delusion, to cease from prayer because a fault has been committed. Such discouragement is not in accordance with God's will, who well knows our piti- ableness and never asks our confidence more than when all seems lost. Indeed God adopts in relation to us, many titles directly encouraging in times of great distrust. He is a father, a physician, a good shepherd, the prodigal's father even, and we have these names to choose from among them that which best suits our actual condition. We ought, to give ourselves up to the feeling that cor- responds to the one chosen, as, gratitude, love, or per- haps confusion, grief, and regret, though these last should be filial and accompanied by a lively confidence in God's goodness. Such is His way founded on His will; anything else arises from self-love for the natural man, and can lead us to no good. For the rest we must never neglect vigi- lance. Our Lord Jesus Christ linked these two rules to- gether; watch and pray. Pere Cestac, Why should you suppose God is far off because you cannot perceive Him? He is always, you may be sure, near to those whose hearts are blank and sorrowful. Fenelon, Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent Let us try to enter into the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to infuse our hearts with the feelings that animated His when on earth — the glory of God by the cessation, or at least the diminuation of sin. Can our thoughts or desires find a more glorious object? One more worthy of our zeal? If to this is added the con- version of sinners, the thought alone excites the heart including as it does all those ills of human nature of which sin is the head and cause, the physical suflferings of sin- ners in time, the frightful eternity of infinite woe they cannot escape without repentance. If, again, from these general considerations, we pass to those which, among the mass of sinners enduring them, touch us more nearly, is it not impossible for us to help glowing with ardent desires of compassion and Christian charity? Following Christ's example, then, we must sanctify ourselves to obtain the conversion and sanctification of our brethren then will sinners indeed repent — each offer- ing of self will be a victory. Abhe Des Gennettes. If we wish to help our neighbors, we must reserve neither place, nor hour, nor season for ourselves. St. Philip Neri. 23 Saturday after the Second Sunday in Lent In this world we have to live by faith, for all that we suffer comes from God’s hand. It is either willed or permitted by God — and for our good. Some trials indeed come straight from Him. Such are the interior anguish of dereliction, of desolation, of dryness, and others of the same kind. Our Lady suffered such a trial in the loss of her Son after the Feast. Think of this grief by the light of the love she bore Him. Think too, of the answer given her at the moment of her ecstacy at meeting Him again ; of another trial of hers when at the mar- riage in Cana He seemed to repel her suggestion. Did either shake her faith or cause her to protest ? Consider her gentleness whom His reproof rendered still meeker, and compare it with the impulse of our souls when God sends us trials. Where is our faith? We fail to find recollectedness in prayer, and we leave it off : we lose our old fervor in the reception of the Sacraments, and we neglect them. In our spiritual desolation we turn to crea- tures for comfort and when God withdraws himself from us to prove our affection or to draw us to Him, we per- haps forsake Him. O hard and foolish hearts ! Ask rather for crosses and trials and labor : they lead, as they well may, to a closer likeness to Mary’s holy heart, to a closer union with that of her Divine Son. P, Manfredini. Jesus, sick of heart. His friends asleep, and His enemies vigilant, places Himself entirely in His Father’s hands. Pascal. 24 Third Sunday in Lent The further humanity progresses, the more striking does Christ's power become. As each new horizon opens out, as each fresh need arrives, this power responds to it by a new illumination, by a remedy hitherto unguessed. How many marvels for example are evident to us that the earliest Christians never dreamed of, but that we are compelled to confess always existed in His intention, and what marvels are there not that we cannot divine, but of which our children’s children will be constrained to say. He knew them of old, from before the ages. And whilst this power wears through time, renewed to meet the least advances of civilization, its strength is undiminished. It impresses souls at the end of twenty centuries as in their first days. Napoleon said : “A man’s heart glows at the recital of Alexander’s conquests, but here is a conqueror who makes the whole human race His own, and makes it like to Himself — a miracle indeed ! Mgr. Bougaud. Do you need such great knowledge to love God and deny yourself for His love? You already know a great deal more than you practise. Pension. 25 Monday after the Third Sunday in Lent. Whenever you do anything — that is, in general — do all things — that is, each thing in particular — in the name, not only to the name, of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and fur- ther give thanks to God through Him. (Col. iii. 17.) As everything should be offered to God, so everything should be given thanks for to Him; since whatever you offer Him is really His gift. You are a river, grateful to its origin, but only a river ; you have to bear back to the ocean what was given to you from it. Observe how the Church, directed in this matter by the Apostle Paul, has instituted two solemn prayers to be said one ^t the beginning and one at the end of every duty, to commend it to God and to thank Him for it. This thanksgiving is due to God Himself, to God as the Fountain of all good that flows to us, to God the Father and just as He gives us all through the medium of Jesus Christ, so He delights that we should thank Him for all by Jesus Christ. But somehow the greater part of mankind seems to pay its debts after the pattern of animals feeding greedily under an oak on the acorns that fall abundantly from it, and never thinking of looking up to admire the origin of the gifts. — So few are there among them who really give thanks. P. Segneri, S.F. All that Thou takest from me I give Thee ; and all that I have not given Thee I owe Thee. Madame Swetchine, 26 Tuesday after the Third Sunday in Lent. What is trial? A rendezvous which God appoints to His creatures that He may test their love. Trial alone, indeed, can provide the opportunity for the proof of man’s free choice between his own will and the will of God ; and the severer the trial the better we can show our love by our generosity in triumphing over it. When God destines a soul, says the Apostle, to the glory of the elect, He also destines it to reflect the image of His only Son. How can a soul reflect that image in itself? Through glory? Why, as to glory the Son of God was glorious on Thabor, but that glory lasted for an hour. Through strength? Hardly, for it is rare in- deed that God predestines a creature to miraculous deeds. Through holiness, then? Yes; and what is the most strik- ing element in the holiness of the Son of man? The resignation His love evinced in His sufferings. Ecce Homo! Behold the Man! Look at Him as Pilate shows Him to you, with His reed. His crown of thorns, His bruised and disfigured face, dimmed by shame. This is truly the Man of Sorrows, with His burning Heart and Hi's gentle glance. Look well at Him, for such is the model we must copy in its grief, if we are to reflect its rays when we enjoy its vision in the bosom of the Eternal glory. Pere Marchal. When God has chosen a soul which he predestines to become great He marks it with His seal, and God’s seal is a cross. Abbe Mounier, 27 Wednesday after the Third Sunday in Lent. Seek not to penetrate into futurity, neither encourage a habit of anticipating good or evil. Our trials do not always come from those occasions we may have fore- seen — God frequently takes us by surprise, and some- times in those objects on which we most fondly rest our hearts and in those moments when we think ourselves most secure. The evils which we have imagined for our- seLves often vanish before the eye of reason and it is not in our own power to choose where the blow shall fall. Let then, the obedience of every day be your daily bread: live upon the will of your God: He provides for you celestial manna. Be satisfied with it; it is not in your power to lay it up in store, or to say how much of it God shall give you. All that you have to do is to use it in such proportions as you receive it. Strive to live your life in peace, simplicity and resig- nation. Place your hopes of happiness in God, and not in His creatures, and you will then be secure. For on Him you may rely with full confidence. Fenelon. Do all things with holy simplicity, without regard to anything but to please God. Sciipoli. 28 Thursday after the Third Sunday in Lent Consider the mystery of the three resurrections wrought by the Savior of mankind, that of the Ruler's daughter, that of the young man of Naim, and that of Lazarus at Bethany. The young girl had only just died, and was not prepared for burial: she typifies the sinner who has fallen, but has not yet contracted the habit of sin and the indifiference consequent upon it. The young man is the sinner who has made no effort to rise after his fall, and whose will has lost its spring; they are car- rying him to the grave and if he did not meet our Lord on the way he would be laid among those who can never return. Lazarus is a still more terrible figure. He is already given over to corruption. A stone rolled over the tomb has condemned his body to a slow and inevitable decay. Is it possible for him to revive? Yes; if Jesus deigns to make him an object of His divine power. In these days the Church prays and fasts, and we with her, that these three forms of death may hear the voice of the Son of God and arise. The mystery of Christ’s resurrection is about to produce its wondrous result in each of these degrees. Let us unite ourselves to this design of the divine mercy, praying urgently night and day to the Redeemer. Then when a few days hence we see the dead restored to life, then shall we cry with the inhabitants of Naim: ‘‘A great prophet has arisen among us ; God has visited His people.” Dom. Genranger, A true conversion finds God always ready for it. St, Augustine, 29 Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent. Consider the marvel of Jesus' Heart as corresponding to an infirmity in the heart of man. Just because we love little we love few people; we shut ourselves up to love, we build ourselves a little nest wherein we place the beings most dear to us — a father, a mother, a wife, children, a few friends. What can we do? We have only a drop of love; we husband it, expending it on a few, for even while we give these few all we have, we are not sure of having given them enough. How different the Heart of Jesus! He loves all men and all with the same zeal. Small and great, rich and poor, the just and the sinner, the waifs and strays of the world. Is there any one He forgets ? Whom has He not loved, tenderly, ardently? What being has ever been found too foul for this most pure Heart, too common for this most noble Heart, too haughty for this humble Heart, too small for this sublime Heart? It seems even as if immensity did not suffice Him, and in His prayers. His words, one surprises bursts of affection in which He embraces all created beings and even worlds unknown to us. Mgr. Bougaud. What shall I give back to the Lord for all that He has given to me? Psalm cxv. 30 Saturday after the Third Sunday in Lent. . Love for our neighbor must be disinterested and gen- erous, but it must be pure, not the indulgence — even at some cost of physical effort — of mere good nature, or, what it is a tendency, if not a fault of the present gen- eration to make it, an outlet of energy, an object of busi- ness. Love for our neighbor must not be rash, but sage and discreet. We must render him the services due to him from us ; help to instruct ignorant brethren, to cor- rect them, or soothe them in spiritual or corporal need. But we must not injure our own eternal interests by love to our neighbor. An Ancient philosopher was once asked by a neighbor to do him some kindness at the expense of his honour, and on his refusal was asked sharply, ‘‘What is the good of your being my friend, if your friendship is useless to me?” To which the phil- osopher answered wisely, “What good is yours to me, if it does me harm?” Our test should be a similar one, and none of us have any right to go beyond the line thus marked. Abbee Puyol. Though thou art bound to set a good example, thou must never do it solely with this view ; else thou wilt lose all benefit to thyself. Scupoli. 31 The Fourth Sunday in Lent O dear brethren, anticipate the day of Judgment. Be beforehand with it. That day is coming as the rising of tomorrow's sun. The day is not far off when the Great White Throne will be set up, and we shall stand before Him ; and the eyes that are as a flame of fire, will search us through and through ; and not His eyes alone, but the eyes of all men will be upon us ! and the ears of men will hear that which the accuser will say against us in that day. There will be no secrecy there; no hiding of our sins, nothing concealed from God, or from that multitude which is around the Great White Throne. What does He require of you now? The Great White Throne is veiled in His mercy. In the holy Sacrament of Penance He sits as the Judge, not arrayed in the splendors which will daz- zle and blind us at the Last Day, but as the Good Shep- herd, and as the Good Physician, the Friend of Sinners, who is come not to call the just, but sinners, to repent- ance. There He sits in His mercy. Come to Him then, one by one. Be beforehand with the Diay of Judgment. That which you confess now will be blotted out and for- given in that day. That which you hide now will be in the book of God’s remembrance, laid up for a record in the day of the great assize. It is not much that He re- quires of us — ^to come and tell it in the ear of one man in His stead— If it be painful to you, if shame cover your face, offer up the pain and the shame as a part of the penance, as Mary Magdalene in the midst of that great banquet. It is precisely for this purpose that the salutary pain may be the medicine of our pride. Dear brethren, then, be beforehand with the Day of Judgment, while the day of grace lasts ; and come to Him as you are. Cardinal Manning. 32 Monday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Blessed is the soul which frequently considereth the last hour, when all must be ended in, this life — joys or sorrows, honors and reproaches. Happy the soul that is as a poor pilgrim traveling towards God — that despiseth all the pomp of the world, however great and enticing. For in that last hour all shall perish — cities, castles, vil- lages, vessels of gold and silver, all dainty meats and flowers, cups of smelling wine. Then shall be dumb the lyre, trumpet, pipe and harp. Then shall be no more sport nor mirth, no more dance nor loud applause, no more songs nor merry laughter, no more the sound of revelry in street or bower — for the hearts of all living shall fail, and the whole earth shall tremble at the pres- ence of God. O how wise is he that daily considereth these things ! Blessed is he that of his own desire keep- eth himself away from the many snares and dangers of the world. Blessed is he that watcheth day and night against temptation ; for so long as the soul is united to the body, and the body is nourished with the fruit of the earth, man cannot be exempt from sin nor free from temptation, nor assured that he may not fall. There is nothing that endureth, nothing that abideth on this earth, of which the body of Adam and his sons were formed. Then in all thy works, whatever they may be, wherever thou goest, to what place soever thou pro- ceedest, remember the end of life, and the last hour, which shall come at a time thou thinkest not. Thomas a Kempis, He who has made you what you are has the right to require that you should be wholly His. St. Augustine. 33 Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Among other things needful in the spiritual combat, one is the perseverance with which we must strive con- tinually to mortify our passions, which in this life never die, but on the contrary like evil weeds shoot up every hour. And this is a battle from which, as it ends only with life, there is no escape; and he who fights not in it is of necessity either taken captive or slain. Besides we have to deal with enemies who bear us an unceasing hatred, so that from them we can never hope either for peace or a truce, because they slay those most cruelly who strive most to make friends of them. Thou hast no cause however to fear either their power or their number ; for in the battle none can be a loser but he who wills it ; the whole strength of our enemies is in the hand of the Captain for whose honor we have to fight. And not only will He guard thee from all treach- ery, but He will even fight for thee, a being mightier than all these enemies. He will give the victory into thy hands, if only thou wilt fight manfully together with Him, and trust not in thyself, but in His power and goodness. And if the Lord give thee not so speedy a victory, be not dis- heartened, but be the more assured that all things which shall befall thee, those even which to thee may seem furthest from, yea most opposed to thy victory, all will He turn to thy good and profit, if thou wilt but bear thy- self as a faithful and generous warrior. Scupoli. The soldier's fidelity is proved in battle, and blessed is he who is faithful in adversity. St. Alphonsus Liguori. 34 Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Do not scrutinize too closely whether you are doing much or little, ill or well, so long as what you do is not sinful and that you are heartily seeking to do everything for God. Try, as far as you can to do everything well, but when it is done do not think about it ; try rather to think of what is to be done next. Go on simply in the Lord’s way and do not torment yourself. We ought to hate our faults, but with a calm hatred, not pettishly nor anxious- ly. We must learn to look patiently at them, and win through them the grace of self-abnegation and humility. For want of this, and through looking at your imper- fections in an unreal way they do but increase upon you. Niothing so causes our tares to thrive as disquietude and impetuousity in striving to uproot them. There is a great temptation to be disgusted at the world, when we are constrained to dwell in it ; but God’s providence is wiser than we are. We fancy that if we changed our- portion we should be better; possibly— if we changed our- selves. But I am a steadfast foe to all such useless, dan- gerous, evil desires ; even when what we wish for is good in itself, the desire is evil ; since God denies us that particular good thing, and chooses rather to prove us in some other way. He wills to speak to us as to Moses from a burning bush, and we would fain hear Him in a still small voice as when He^ spoke to the Prophet Elias. St. Francis de Sales. Blessed are they that follow in all things the will of God. Thomas d Kempis. 35 ^ Thursday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent There is a well known phrase of St. Augustine’s, '‘God does not command what is impossible except as com- manding us to do all that we can towards it and to ask that He will do, in our aid, the share of it that we can- not do.'’ Ah, if you should have to work, to strive, to suffer, to die, even to die upon a cross if God wills it, do not for a moment doubt that the power lies for you already in His hand, if he has not already placed it in yours — the grace to die, to suffer, to strive, to conquer. But I do not stop at asking you to expect only what is indispensable, from God. Have you ever found God stopping short at what is absolutely necessary? He cer- tainly might do so, and if He did would still do what is just, holy and adorable. But does He ever? Has He ever done it with you? Ah, if ever He has, I will tell you when it was — in the day and hour when your trust in Him failed. E>avid dares to say, “With the perverse Thou wilt be perverse;” that is, towards him who comes to Thee crookedly Thou wilt advance crookedly. How much the more then might one say, “with him who shuts his heart up from Thee, Thy heart will be shut up” and that every distrustful heart closes God's hand. Expect then, unwaveringly, from God an abundance of grace. Mgr. Gay. In union with the perfect confidence and hope that the holy and Blessed Virgin Mary placed in Thee, do I hope, O Lord. St. Pius V. 36 Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent. ''My kingdom is not of this world/' Jesus Christ does not deny that He is king of the world, but only that He reigns in it with the splendor and pomp of its visible princes. How then does He reign in it? By poverty, contempt, obedience, lowliness, by the cross; it is thus that He has brought the empire to His feet. Let me not, my Savior, be behindhand in recognizing my king, how- ever common, however displeasing to my taste, may be the externals of Thy royalty. I am content with Thy surroundings as much for love of Thee as for the sake of imitating Thee; no one can lower himself by growing more like Thee. "Thou art then a king?" Pilate asks again; and, "I am what thou sayest," Jesus replies. This is the same answer as before, for faith and truth cannot contradict themselves, I believe, again, O Lord, that Thou art the king of my soul, I confess Thee and adore; I will ever cry "Thou art King, my Savior and my God." I will appeal to Thy rights over me when passion claims me as a captive in defiance of my allegiance, sworn to Thee. Am I not in the world just to bear this testimony? I will be faithful, strengthen this resolution in me, ‘formed as it is under the inspiration of Thy grace ! Pere Arancin, SJ. O Lord Jesus Christ, I adore Thee hanging on the cross. Thy head crowned with thorns ! Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ! St. Gregory. 37 Saturday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent. St. Ignatius recommends us to dwell sometimes when we contemplate, on this thought, “This is all for me.'' We must try to believe more and more firmly this great truth which arms us well against all hopeless thoughts or en- kindles the fire of love. All this contrition is for me and for my sins. How far short, then, my contrition is of what it should be! Blessed Mother of Sorrows, pray for me now and at the hour of my death, that I may see clearly, while I look on the agony of thy Son, the truth of that word : “Know then and see that it was an evil and a bitter thing for thee to have left the Lord thy God." (Jerem. ii.) Alas, I knew not what I was doing. I knew not how evil and bitter a thing it was. I "sinned and said : “What harm hath befallen me?" I sinned, and how little have I as yet realized the force of those words far more applicable to me than to the Jews: “Is this the return that you makest to the Lord, O foolish and sense- . less people? Is not He thy Father that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?" (Deut. xxxii.) “According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, O Lord, blot out my sins. For I will declare my iniquity and I will think for my sins." (Psalm xxxvii.) All this contrition is for me, to be added to mine. Therefore, when I go to the sacred tribunal, I have some- thing better to rely upon than my own feeble act of con- trition. Jesus Christ, my surety, my Savior, is uniting all His great contrition with my most insufficient sorrow. Father Gallwey, SJ. 38 The Fifth Sunday in Lent. The Prophet Elias, persecuted by impious Jezabel, re- treats into the desert, and having made a day’s journey in it sinks at the foot of a tree with the prayer: 'Tt is enough ; let me die.’’ An angel descending from heaven, touching the prophet, said: '‘Rise and eat, for a long journey is before you.” Rising, he ate the food brought him by the angel, and in its strength journeyed forty days and forty nights until he reached the Mount of God. The Prophet Elias is the Christian soul traveling through the desert of life. Often wearied by the weight of existence the exile casts himself down despondently in the shadow of the first rock he meets, and cries, “Lord, I have lived long enough, release me from this world ; the source of life and strength is withered within me.” Soul of little faith! Lift your eyes, and see the Angel who is at your side. He holds in his hand food prepared in heaven. Take this strengthening manna and you will rise in full strength for the journey that lies before you. Take this Bread. It is Jesus Christ, and “Christ is life, and life is bread,” as Tertullian says. {De orat.) How many weak souls drag themselves wearily through the shades of mortal languor, because, though they have known the gift of God, they have forgotten to eat their bread, and their soul is enervated like the body of a man who for a long time has eaten no food. Mgr. Landriot. 39 Monday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent Meditate for a short space on God’s love as shown in the example Christ Himself gives us of the prodigal Son. He takes his whole fortune, leaves his home, gives him- self up to dissolute life, squandering his money, and, when reduced to beggary, sinks to the level of a swine- herd. Roused to reflection by his misery, he resolves to return home, and his father on seeing this wreck of humanity at once recognizes him, acknowledges him as his son, weeps over him, loving him as before, and re- stores him to his old costume and position. He is well dressed, feasted with delicacies, music soothes him, friends are invited to meet him, for ''I have got my son back again,” says the loving father; ^'the one who was lost.” This is no graceful parable but a truth ; it is thus a sinner really is, with regard to God his Father. Rouse yourself therefore, you who are grovelling in self-indul- gence ; what are you doing ? This is not a hard saying, but a merciful one. The way will be hard during the return journey to God, but what will be your reception? Love. And that, a love that gives you all its best. St. Alphonsus Liguori. Do not let us be ashamed of flight, for flight from the world is not a disgrace, but an honor. St. Ambrose. 40 Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent. It is a wise rule of life to work every day, within reasonable restrictions, towards limiting eternal needs. ‘^To need nothing,’’ Socrates said, ''is an attribute of divinity, to have need of little is an approach towards divine perfection.” Thus the heathen sage. How many things we might do without! The needs that we create, that we do not know where to check, that, on the con- trary we go on adding to indefinitely — all these become a legion of petty tyrants that form up and surround us. Let us be on our guard, for thus we are watched from every point. We claim to be rich; we are mistaken, we are poor, very poor, indeed, for the needs that we go on multiply- ing are a crowd of beggars that assault our home; each addition is a fresh charge upon us. We grow poorer as we add to our wants, for each fresh need, each desire for some new thing, increases the mob of supplicants. In appearance we may seem richer, but in fact we are tend- ing towards absolute beggary, for we in our turn come to be always asking — asking that we may supply the needs that have become our masters. Mgr. Landriot. The rich differ in nothing from beggars, but in being more miserable, for beggars have need of little, and the rich of much. Seneca. 41 Wednesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent. There is a danger of forming a false idea of holiness. To hear some people talk one would suppose it necessary to leave everything, to throw away all, to bury oneself in a desert and there devote oneself entirely to prayer and mortification. People then reply, that is impossible, so holiness must be left to the saints ; and then betake themselves to a myriad of faults, sins, infidelities towards God. That is to say, under the excuse of not being able to become saints, they make themselves quite easy about their state, and slip on swiftly to their own condemnation. This is an error, invented by the spirit of lies, accepted by the world, favored by the passions, which ask no bet- ter than to find a plausible pretext for satisfying the con- science. This is not sanctity. Sanctity consists in the accomplishment of the duties God lays upon us. In this way one who fulfills well the duties of his station, and, much more one who fulfills them well for God, will be- come a real saint — nothing more is needed. Pere Cestac. The secret of being always with God and of Assuring His continual presence in our hearts is constant prayer. St. Isidore. 42 Thursday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent. 'Xearn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart,” St. Bernards remarks, ''What pride is there which the humility of the divine Master cannot extinguish? Verily, it may be said that He alone in reality humbles and abases Himself, and that we, when we seem to hu- miliate ourselves,' do not lower ourselves at all, but simply take the place which belongs to us. For, being all crea- tures, guilty perhaps of a thousand misdeeds, we can lay claim to no other right than nothingness and punish- ment. But our Savior Jesus Christ lowered Himself infinitely beneath that lofty height which belongs to Him. He is the omnipotent God, the Infinite and Immortal, the supreme Arbiter of all things. And notwithstanding this, He became man, weak, mortal, subject to suffering, obedient even to death. He bore the lack of all temporal things. He, who in heaven, constituted the joy of the angels and of the saints, willed to become the Man of Sorrows and took upon Himself each and all of the mis- eries of humanity. The uncreated Wisdom, and of all wisdom the Prin- ciple, has borne the shame and mockery due to a fool. The Holy of Holies, and Sanctity in ^sence, suffered Himself to be reputed a villain and a malefactor. He whom the countless hosts of the blessed in heaven adore, willed to die a disgraceful death upon a cross. And lastly, He who by nature is the Sovereign Good, endured every kind of human misery. Then, after such an example of humility what ought we not to do — we who are dust and ashes ? And what humili- ation should ever appear hard to us, who are not only worms of earth but miserable sinners? Pope Leo XIII. 43 Friday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent. Devotion and prayers to the Blessed Virgin are admir- able and useful under every invocation and in whatever manner they are made, but I venture to assert that the most profitable form, as well as the one that redounds most to our credit, is that in which we appeal to her as Our Lady of Dolours. She stood immersed in sorrows at the foot of the cross, and our Lord Jesus Christ gave us all to her in the person of the beloved disciple, to re- place her dying Son, and He destined His most holy Mother to become ours. Hence, whenever we betake our- selves to Mary under her title of sorrow, we go to our mother; and go as children, as designed by her divine Son. What can be more glorious for us than that the Queen of Heaven and Earth has, under her title of Mother of Sorrows, also become our mother? This is certainly a glory that the Angels would envy us, if they were capable of envy, since the Blessed Virgin is their Queen, but not their Mother. And what can be more profitable to us than that the dispenser of grace and divine benefits recognizes us in our sorrow as her children, recommended to her by the same Jesus before He died? How must those loving words ever echo in her heart? How dear to her must be their memory, and what special acceptance she must grant to our prayers when we ap- proach her under this appellation. Happy are we, if, each time we invoke Our Lady of Dolours, we do it with a pure heart and a devout remembrance of so great a love ; happier still, if, after we have enjoyed her love through life, she shall at its close show us the fruit of her womb, Jesus, acknowledging us, in His place, as the children of His most glorious Mother. Marchese di Tito. 44 Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent, When, as often happens in this life, you see deeds done, words become law, in defiance of right, do not be scan- dalized nor doubt the power of God’s Sovereign Will. Full of consideration for our liberty He permits revolts because He wills only to receive genuine obedience; but all the time that prescriptive right is reserved and will rceive full recognition when the time of justice has come. Then will Jesus hold His court of assize, the insurgents summoned before Him will realize from the weight of His sentence that not for a moment did He cease to be their ruler. Bent beneath the burden of His judgment they will say a despairing farewell to the Kingdom of His Glory and retreat to the realm of woe. Alas ! for these eternal exiles for whom is no reprieve. But Christian souls convinced of the sovereign rights of their Lord, recognize both the sweetness and the honor of obeying him. The grievous spectacle of agitation that alike dishonors and disintegrates society, when human will claims to rule without any superior law to direct or restrain it, shows them clearly how necessary is Christ’s government to the existence of order and of peace. It is for that object I implore you to work, by prayer, by words, by example, by influence. You may not see the triumph on earth of your divine monarch, but it is certain you will see and enjoy in heaven the kingdom of His glory. Fere Monsabre, It is very important that we should help each other by prayers. St, Teresa. 45 The Sixth Sunday in Lent. '‘The master hath need of them/’ Observe the poverty of our Blessed Savior. In His days of modest triumph He has nothing but what men choose to lend, or to give Him. And now in our days He is quite as poor as then. Here on earth man is rich. God is poor. "The Heaven of Heavens is the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men.” It is as when a good father makes over a property to his eldest son. He has given it, and will not take it back. "The Lord has sworn and will not repent.” Therefore in this world man is master, and our Lord is poor and quite dependent. If He wants bread for His poor He comes for it. If He wants instruction for His little ones He comes to us. Even when He wants to offer the Ever- lasting Sacrifice, He cannot do it till we give Him the juice of the grape, and the wheaten bread, "and provide an altar, and the priest, and the vestments.” If He wants to soothe the soul of the dying. He cannot carry out His loving wish till we give Him as an alms the oil of peace and gladness. O how humble of heart our Blessed Lord is when He stoops so low as to tell me that He has need of me! We often say, "I do not choose to be under obligation to this man.” Our Lord and our God wishes most ardently to be under obligation to each of us, that thus He may have a plea for pouring out all His riches on us throughout eternity. Fr. Gallwey, SJ. 46 Monday in Holy Week. The bond of our union with God is the love of God above all things. ‘‘He that dwells in charity dwells in God and 'God in him” Here is the link of gold which joins the soul of God. Keep that link fast, and do not be afraid when the consciousness of your past sins and of your many temptations seem to come down upon you and overwhelm you as a flood. In those darkest times, be sure that if you love God you are still united with Him. It is not when we walk in the brightness of the noon- day only, that we are united with Him. The purest union with God is when we walk with Him in the darkness, without consolation and without joy, having no other guide ; our hand in His hand ; going on like children, not knowing whither, but obeying the inspirations of God to do or not to do as He wills : out in the bleak cold sky, with no joy in our prayers and no rest of heart, in con- stant inward fears, with temptations all around but al- ways faithful to the guidance of the Spirit of God. “Who- soever are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God” There are two axioms in the kingdom of God which never fail ; no penitent soul can perish, and no soul that loves God can be lost. Cardinal Manning Never depart from Jesus on earth if thou wouldst live and rejoice with Jesus in heaven. Thomas d Kempis. 47 Tuesday in Holy Week. We too often forget that maxim of the Saints which warns us to consider ourselves as each day recommencing our progress towards perfection. If we consider it fre- quently we shall not be surprised at the poverty of our spirit, nor how much we have to refuse ourselves. The work is never finished, we have continually to begin again and that courageously. What we have done so far is good, but what we are going to commence will be better, and when we have finished that, we shall begin some- thing else that will be better still, and then another — until we leave this world to begin a new life that will have no end because it is the best that can happen to us. • It is not then a case for tears that we have so much work to do for our souls, for we need great courage to go ever onwards (since we must never stop), and much resolution to restrain our desires. Observe carefully this precept that all the Saints have given to those who would emulate them: to speak little, or not at all, of yourself and your own interests. St, Francis de Sales, You will only love God in proportion as you learn to suffer silently and to prefer Him to every created thing. B, Margaret Mary, 48 Wednesday in Holy Week. Admire the silence with which Christ suffers His many injuries. Who would not have supposed that Divine Justice would have armed every spectator to revenge such terrible treatment? Or that, at least, Jesus would have defended His innocence with His own sublime elo- quence? It is otherwise: “J^^us was silent.’’ Ah, me — the innocent Jesus is accused of so many crimes, be- fore so many judges, in the sight of so many people; an ill-report is His, dangers surround Him, thorns, nails, the cross, await Him — and He is altogether silent. ‘‘J^^us was silent.” He would supply for your pride by His shame, and so He is silent. ‘‘But He held His tongue.” Learn to hate your impatient volubility, when you have* to suffer anything similar. ‘"Come hither my Jesus and teach me silence.” Compare your innocence with His, the accusations you incur with those of Jesus, the rea- sons for self defence you think you have with those of your Master. Set the sentence you have to fear side by side with that He incurred. “He was silent.” And you ? You can only blush for your querulous loquacity. Belle do. In times of agitation, be silent; when your spirit is calm speak. Pere Cestac. 49 Maundy Thursday. Our Lord’s temptation in the desert is typical of our assault by worldly desires, but the Son of God deigned also to experience the subtle temptations that attack the higher intelligences. There are souls above the assault of carnal vices, souls that pass by, untouched, the vain fancies and ambitions of their generation, and whose merit in disdaining the world’s deceit and injustice is slight; and yet these include with their greatness much that is pitiful and small. Such combatants as Satan can- not overcome by pleasure or the pride of life, he thinks to subdue by fear, or even by ennui. Lord, I am sick of this dreary life. I do not ask for excitement or delight, but to have ever in front an un- diminishing load of duty — I cannot bear it. Is there no relief? Day and night the thought of sacrifice is with me; it haunts my sleep, my waking hours are like a frightful dream. My heart is weary of the unchanging prospect. Fain would I be Thine, be with Thee, but con- form, I pray Thee, the requirements of Thy law to my weakness. Such is the temptation. Jesus, loving Lord, teach me to be faithful to my God. Thou too hast been overcome. Thou hast sweated blood. Thy soul has been sorrowful, even to death. Thy grief has been like a flood — Ah Jesus, Thou dost not answer ! Temp- tation oppresses Thee and Thou prayest. Since then Thy lips do not reply to me, I too will pray. P^re Chassay, 50 Good Friday. Sacrifice is one of life’s great laws, both in the material and in the moral order ; it is indeed a universal law. What can be achieved without sacrifice? The value of a thing is in proportion to the labor it has cost. The greater the object sought, the grander the renunciation in its attain- ment. Every state of life, every position, has its sacri- fices, a truth commonly referr^ to as ‘'the reverse of the medal.” And it is remarkable that we only really esteem and admire what represents difficulties overcome, and seek out such results only, to serve as the setting of our treasures. The works and the monuments that na- tions count as their greatest ornaments, have cost the architect, the student, the composer, untold labor. What application they represent, what efforts of thought and will, what sleepless nights, what depression and discour- agement overcome! And these sacrifices were made for the passing shadow of glory. We work so willingly for temporal gains ! The sacrifice of ourselves given to God renders us holy to ourselves. A life of sacrifice is a life drawn from a divine fountain, from the Life of Sacrifice Christ lived on earth, whence was drawn the salvation of the world. The Son of God became man to suffer and to end His earthly life by the supreme Sacrifice of the Cross. All phases of sacrifice are united in His ''Consumniatum est!' The sacrifice is perfect. Comtesse de T. Jesus Christ had nowhere to lay His head on earth except the tomb. Pascal. 51 Saturday in Holy Week. The Gk)spel in its directions towards holiness opens out to us the path of humility, bidding us walk in it. ‘T say to you that unless you become as little children you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’' Have not little children a mother? A mother who receives their earliest confidences, who follows their earliest intelli- gences, who accepts their first crosses and who is their advocate when they are in disgrace? This is what Mary is to the Christian; for every Christian, whether king or slave, rich or poor, old or young, has stepped down from the throne of his knowledge, the pinnacle of his wealth, the strength of his manhood, to become a child. Devotion to Mary, which would seem to promise only to soften our sentiments and feelings, also raises them, and in that perhaps includes all Christian teaching. The vir- tues that belong exclusively to Mary, the silence and gentleness, in no way exclude strength and energy. See if there was ever sorrow like to her sorrow. Her Son spares her nothing at the foot of the cross neither His agony nor his death, the tears that accompany it, nor the sight of His mangled and lifeless body. Her strength bears an exact proportion to her weakness. Jesus bore the weight of the sins of men, Mary the weight of their sorrows. Mme. Swetchine. The more entirely you give yourself to the Blessed Virgin, the more she will give herself to you. Your con- fidence will be the measure of her bounty. P^re Cestac. Congratulations and Blessings Received on the Silver Jubilee of the International Catholic Truth Society Rome, Italy, November Jf, 1924- Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. Y our Eminence: On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the International Catholic Truth Society the Holy Father congratulates its officers and members for the splendid work in favor of truth. Wishing the Society still greater success His Holiness imparts to them all his Apostolic Benediction. {Signed) Peter Cardinal Gasparri. Pamphlets on Devotional Subjects “How to Converse With God/’ By Rev. M. Bou- tauld, S.J. “Conformity With the Will of God.” By St. Alphonsus Liguori. “The Heroic Act of Charity.” By John Morris, S.J. “A Little >fanual for Hearing Mass Spiritually.” “Anima Christi.” A Paraphrase in Prayer. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Arranged in Prayers. “The Seven Last Words.” By Rev. D. W. Ma- turin. “Meditations on the Cross and Passion.” By St. Francis de Sales. “An Hour With My Crucifix.” “His Cross.” By Mother St. Paul. “The Lenten Gospels.” “Stations of the Cross, for Israel”, by G. A. De- Jonge, S.J. “A Short Way of the Cross, for Clergy and Laity,” by Rev. Charles L. Cunningham . “The Ceremonies of Holy Week Explained,” by Very Rev. Canon. “A Little Book for Holy Week.” By Richard P. Clarke, S.J. “The Sacred Heart.” By Richard P. Clarke, S.J. “The Precious Blood.” By Richard P. Clarke, S.J. Price five cents each — Special price by the hundred . . (Catalogue sent upon request.) FRANKUN PRINTINQ CO. BALTIMORe