going they entered into a city of the Samaritans to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? And turning, He rebuked them, saying: You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save. And they went into another town.

The inhabitants of the Samaritan town refused to admit Jesus, not through personal hatred, but owing to a national prejudice which they entertained against the Jewish race in general. It was blindness, and not stubbornness as with the Pharisees.

2. How To FOLLOW JESUS

"And it came to pass as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to Him: I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. But He said to another: Follow Me; and he said: Lord, suffer me first to go, and to bury my father. And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another said: I will follow Thee, Lord, but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house. Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

3. THE MISSION OF THE SEVENTY-TWO DISCIPLES

"And after these things the Lord appointed also other seventy-two: and He sent them two and two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself was to come. And He said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He send laborers into His harvest. Go: behold I send you as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes, and salute no man by the way. Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house: And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him: but if not, it shall return to you. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they have: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Remove not from house to house. And into what city soever you enter, and they receive you, eat

such things as are set before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say to them: The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 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: yet know this that the kingdom of God is at hand. I say to you, it shall be more tolerable at that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to thee Corozain, woe to thee Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the mighty works that have been wrought in you, they would have done penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou Capharnaum which art exalted unto heaven, thou shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you, heareth Me: and he that despiseth you despiseth Me. And he that despiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me."

Christ here delivers to His seventy-two disciples their commission and rule of conduct, as He had previously given theirs to the Apostles. In a very similar manner had Moses, centuries before, selected the twelve princes of Israel and seventytwo judges, six out of each of the twelve tribes, as his aids and representatives. The number of the Apostles corresponds to the twelve progenitors of Israel; the number of the disciples to the seventy-two nations into which, according to Jewish tradition and the opinion of the fathers, the human race was divided at the time of the dispersion from the tower of Babel.

4. THEIR RETURN

"And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying: Lord, the devils also are subject to us in Thy name. And He said to them: I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven. Behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents, and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall hurt you. But yet rejoice not in this that spirits are subject unto you: but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven."

Christ in spirit foresaw how Satan, whom the misguided heathens had honored and worshiped as God, would be cast down from his throne by the death on the cross, and all his power, over those who followed Christ, rendered abortive.

"In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Ghost, and

said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea Father: for so it hath seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knoweth who the Son is but the Father: and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal Him. And turning to His disciples, He said: Blessed are the 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 that you hear and have not heard them."

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE GOOD SAMARITAN. MARTHA AND MARY

Luke x. 25-42

AND behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting Him, and saying: Master, what must 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 neighbor as thyself. And He said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 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. But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two pence, 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. Which of these three in thy opinion was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers? But he said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.

In this parable, the teachers of the Church have discovered not only a lesson of Christian love of neighbor, but also the history of the fall of man and his restoration. "The traveler,' says Origen, "is the human race; Jericho is the world; Jerusalem, paradise. The robbers are the three chief enemies of the human family, namely, temptations from without, evil passions from within, and the devil from below. The robbery is the loss of original innocence and supernatural grace. The wounding is the weakened state of the soul in consequence of sin. The priest and the levite are the legislators of the old law. The good Samaritan is Christ. The wine is His redeeming blood; the oil, God's grace. The inn is the Church. The host is the Christian priesthood. The two pieces of money are the holy sacraments, consisting in the twofold quality of outward sign and inward grace. The return of the Samaritan is the second coming of Christ.

"Now it came to pass as they went, that He entered into a certain town: and certain woman named Martha, received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord's feet, heard His word. But Martha was busy about much serving: who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? speak to her therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Martha represented the active, Magdalen the contemplative life. The first is good, the second is better, but the two united are the best mode of life. Who has ever united within himself these two kinds of life as perfectly as the Blessed Virgin Mary? How many active duties had she to perform in bringing up the child Jesus in Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth! How great must have been her care and anxiety concerning her Son in His cruel passion and death! Yet, in the midst of all this outward activity, her soul was buried in contemplation; for she sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His words, and kept all these words in her heart, till at last, on the day of her Assumption, she was relieved of "Martha's part," to devote herself to Mary's portion for all eternity.

PRAYER

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 said to Him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And He said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'

Here we perceive from the Saviour's repetition of this divine prayer already taught and prescribed to the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, how much importance He attached to it, and how ardently He wishes us to present it daily and hourly before the throne of God. With this powerful prayer, we, as it were, do violence to heaven, so that God can not withstand our petition. But we must remember that

not the word but the spirit quickeneth; the spirit of unbounded confidence in God and of childlike submission to the will of Him who alone knows what is truly useful and salutary to our condition.

"And Jesus 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 my children are with me in bed, I can not rise and give thee. Yet, if he shall continue knocking, I say 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. And 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, receiveth and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. And which of you, if he ask his father for bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish, give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you, then, 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?"