save Me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said: An Angel spoke to Him. Jesus answered, and said: This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes."

In the beginning of His public ministry, our blessed Lord had enjoined His disciples to preach the gospel to the Jews, not to the heathens. Now, however, since the Jews rejected the salvation presented for their acceptance, the hour has come for the Gentiles to be admitted to Jesus, and for Him to be glorified by the heathens. True, the disciples had very mistaken notions about the manner in which their Master was to be glorified. When they saw these Gentiles seeking an interview with Him, they fondly hoped that now the time had come when their beloved Master would be recognized abroad, and honored and respected by the Gentiles. But Christ undeceived them, saying: "Yes, the time is at hand when the Son of God will be glorified; but, like the seed of the wheat, which must die in the soil before it can bring forth fruit, so must Christ die by the incredulity of the Jews, in order to grow, multiply, and produce fruit among the Gentiles." And in point of fact, what an abundant harvest has been gathered from the planting of this seed among the Gentiles! What are the thousands of martyrs, virgins, confessors, and saints, but the precious fruits produced from the crushed, broken, and buried seed, the crucified Saviour? In truth, the precious life laid down and sacrificed unto death by Christ for the salvation of the world, was revived, not only in His own personal resurrection, but it has been revived and multiplied a thousandfold in the pure and sanctified lives of all the saints. These have not foolishly loved their temporal life and its accidental goods, but have offered up all things for Christ's sake. Hence they have gained personal life for all eternity; whilst, moreover, from their sacrifice, a stream of life has flowed down upon the earth, as will be made manifest on judgment-day. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians."

To be sure, this self-sacrifice even unto death, is a thing that human nature recoils from with a shudder. Even this dread, this agonizing fear of death, our divine Master chose to feel and experience in His human nature, and more deeply and

keenly than man ever felt. "My soul is troubled: and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour." He used similar language in His agony in the garden of Olives: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass away." Here, as in the first place, He wished to show clearly, impressively, and with certainty, that He had taken to Himself human nature with all its weaknesses, sin alone excepted, and with all its capabilities of suffering; that He had become, in the truest and fullest sense of the word, our companion in suffering. Here, too, He teaches that man can rise above this dreadful shrinking of His nature. For when He exclaims in the garden, "Father, not My will, but Thine be done," He says, as it were, "I will submit Myself to all the horrors of the death-hour in order to glorify My Father's name, His holiness, and His justice; for this prupose I came into the world. Behold, Father, I am ready.' And now the Father shows in a solemn manner, by a miraculous voice from heaven, that He has accepted this honor, rendered by the hitherto continual self-denial of His Son, and that He will accept it till the completion of the sacrifice on Calvary. From this sacrifice, even unto death, flows a torrent of life to the world, that is, a glorious triumph over Satan the prince of this world, as well as the redemption of all those who incorporate themselves to Christ by faith and love. Hence the divine Master testifies further.

6. CHRIST, HAVING TAUGHT IN THE TEMPLE, GOES TO

BETHANIA

"Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself. (Now this He said, signifying what death He should die.) The multitude answered Him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest Thou: The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke: and He went away, and hid Himself from them. And whereas He had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in Him: that the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said:

Lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because Isaias said again: He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart: that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them: These things said Isaias when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him. However, many of the chief men also believed in Him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. But Jesus cried, and said: He that believeth in Me, doth not believe in Me, but in Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world: that whosoever believeth in Me, may not remain in darkness. And if any man hear My words, and keep them not, I do not judge him; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that despiseth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak, even as the Father said unto Me, so do I speak. And Jesus leaving them, having viewed all things round about, when now the eventide was come, went out of the city into Bethania with the twelve, and remained there."

Although Isaias had foretold of Christ's contemporaries, that the Lord should blind their eyes and harden their hearts, and although the evangelist adds, "therefore they could not believe," we must not forget that this most dreadful of all punishments, namely, blindness of the understanding and hardness of the heart, was visited upon the Jews because they deserved it. True, this punishment had been ordained in the immutable decrees of God, but only because He had foreseen from eternity the voluntary or free-will malice of the Jews. Christ did not come for the destruction, but for the saving of all men. Therefore, just because Jerusalem, in the persons of its chief people, rejected the message of salvation; because they persistently denied this saving word, confirmed and proved as it was by the most touching evidences of love and incontestable miracles of divine power, this very word became their judge and their punishment.

"

And yet, not all were so maliciously incredulous as to reject the saving word of the Redeemer. For the evangelist says plainly:

"However, many of the chief men also believed in Him but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God."

Alas for the cowardice of men! Miserable pusillanimity! thou art the gnawing, cancerous vice of our day. For fear of displeasing a fellow-mortal like himself, a man will deny, at least outwardly, the Son of the living God and give silent consent to all the persecutions and oppressions directed against His Church. In order not to appear "odd," in order to be considered "enlightened,' ," the craven creature will cease his attendance at church and give up all the old-fashioned pious practices and principles of his forefathers. Rather than be excluded from the society of so-called enlightened people, he relinquishes his companionship with God. To what will such conduct lead us? O Jesus, have pity on us! do not punish our generation as its cowardice and fear of mortals must richly deserve. O permit the old courage, the solid decision of character which our fathers possessed, to return again to our hearts: lest, as upon Jerusalem, so upon our land and race, the chastisements of heaven should come down,-chastisements well earned by the irreligion of our public men and by the pliant servility of our people. These "leaders of the people" have, in the name of liberty and progress, declared war against Thy Church, and we, alas! are silent. Millions tremble, and tremble in silence, before the threatening words of a few wicked men.

CHAPTER III

THE FRUITLESS FIG-TREE. THE BUYERS AND SELLERS IN THE TEMPLE

(MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK)

Matt. xxi. 12, 13, 18, 19; Mark xi. 12-17; Luke xix. 45-48

1. CHRIST CURSES THE BARREN FIG-TREE

UNDESERVING as were the Jewish people, our blessed Lord, in His mercy and love, made a final effort on Palm Sunday to soften their stony hearts. In deep humility, and overflow

ing with sympathy and love for man, He had come publicly into their city, had performed miracles before their eyes in the temple, curing the lame and the blind, had preached to them all day, and had Himself and His teachings confirmed by a miraculous voice from heaven. And what were the fruits of this day of miracles? Alas, how indescribably sad the result of His efforts! The scribes and the Pharisees were more hardened than ever in their incredulity, while the few who did believe were too cowardly to avow their belief openly. Amongst this vast assemblage of the great and wealthy of Jerusalem, not one was found to offer shelter or food to our Saviour when the day was over. He was therefore compelled to return to Bethania and seek hospitality with His friend. Lazarus and his devoted sisters.

"And in the morning of the next day, when they came out from Bethania, returning into the city, Jesus was hungry. And when He had seen afar off a fig-tree having leaves, He came, if, perhaps, He might find anything on it. And when He was come to it, He found nothing but leaves; for it was not the time for figs. And answering, He said to it: May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee; may no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And His disciples heard it. And immediately the fig-tree withered away and died."

In this remarkable incident of our Saviour's life, the Church-fathers discover not only a proof of His miraculous powers, but an example of His just chastisement, and a symbol of the dreadful sentence to be executed upon useless people. As the hungry man desires food, so had Christ an eager yearning for the salvation of His nation. Two thousand years had elapsed since the selection of this people in the person of their father Abraham. In order to prepare them for salvation, God had favored them with an unbroken series of miracles, a grand and deeply significant public worship, the undoubted words of divinely-commissioned prophets, promises, warnings, counsel, threats, and finally, the sending of His only begotten Son. And now where were the fruits of this extraordinary dispensation of a merciful God? As He drew near, He found only leaves, that is, only an external ceremonial devoid of spirit and of the fear of God; only outward works without inward holiness, only a silly national pride, a vain boasting of their forefather Abraham and of the promises given to him; yet the utmost disregard for the very life and soul of these promises, the real Messias, who now stood amongst them. The