who through their preaching would be brought into the Church. "That holy night passed by our Lord in prayer and watching is the Vigil of the Founding of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. On that mysterious night the soul of our Saviour must have been full of the deepest contemplation of His unfathomable work of love, of its results and destiny, as well as of thanksgiving to His Eternal Father for this great and beautiful new creation. He spent the night in prayer, wrestling with God for its welfare and final victory" (Reischl).

The common office of the Apostles. Picture to yourselves the little company of the twelve apostles-twelve plain, unlearned men! Let us see for what object our Lord singled them out. He intended that, when He Himself had ascended into heaven, they should go forth into the world to preach the Gospel. They were to conquer the world for Him, and carry on His work of Redemption by delivering His truth and grace to mankind. What a gigantic task! Therefore, to make them more fit for this great office, our Lord chose them Himself, kept them constantly with Him, prayed for them, and made them His chief care. The whole Church is founded on the apostles, and is therefore called the Apostolic Church.

The miraculous preservation and extension of the Church. The question is, why did our Lord Jesus Christ choose for this stupendous office twelve ignorant men, of a low station in life, and of no importance in the eyes of the world? It was to show to the whole world that the maintenance and spread of the Church and her doctrine were not due to human wisdom and learning, but solely to His grace and protection. "The foolish things of the world hath God chosen that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen that He may confound the strong; and the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen; and things that are not, that He might bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His sight" (1 Cor. 1, 27. 28. 29).

The Primacy of Peter. A list of the apostles is given four times, viz. in the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke, and in the Acts of the Apostles. In each, St. Peter's name is put first; and St. Matthew expressly calls him "the first" (Matth. 10, 2). In what way was St. Peter the first of the apostles? He was the third, not the first, to be called (chapter XIII), but all the same he was the first in rank, being ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ to be the chief of the apostles. We have already come across several passages in the New Testament which point to his primacy. When our Lord first called him, He gave him the name of Peter. His mother-in-law was the first of many sick whom Jesus healed. It was Peter's boat from which He chose to preach; and it was to Peter especially that the miraculous draught of fishes was given, as also the promise that henceforth he should be a fisher of men.

The Necessity of Prayer. As Jesus prayed perseveringly and fervently, before He chose His apostles, so ought we to begin every important undertaking by prayer, so as to ensure God's help and blessing.

The Number of the Apostles. Our Lord chose twelve apostles, this number having been fore-ordained, and pre-figured in the Old Testament by the twelve patriarchs. The kingdom of the Messias sprang from Israel, the chosen people of God; and even as Israel was descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (or Israel), so does the spiritual Israel or New Covenant of grace, the Church, proceed from the twelve spiritual sons of the true Israel (or Wrestler), Jesus Christ. Whoever was descended from Jacob's twelve sons, belonged to the Old Covenant, and had a share in its promises. In like manner, whoever wishes to belong to the New Covenant, and enjoy its treasures of grace, must be spiritually descended from the twelve apostles, the patriarchs of the Church, or, in other words, must be a member of the One Apostolic Church.

Proofs of our Lord's Divinity. We have already seen with awe the miraculous power of Jesus, by which He showed Himself to be Lord over all creation, even over death and hell, and we saw that this miraculous power was in Himself, and was the result of His Divine Omnipotence. The chapter we have just read makes this even more clear; for we see Him hand over the power of working miracles to His apostles, sending them forth in His name to work miracles, to heal the sick, and cast out devils. How could Jesus have imparted this power to others, if He were not Almighty--if He were not God?

The fear of man and the fear of God. Our Lord told His apostles to fear God more than men, because these last could, at the worst, only deprive them of their mortal life, but that God could cast both their souls and bodies into hell. Christians ought never to do anything, or leave anything undone out of human respect. Daniel, Susanna, the seven Machabees, and the apostles before the council, are splendid examples of how the fear of man is overcome by the fear of God. Confidence in Divine Providence. Our Lord said to His apostles, when He sent them out: "Not one sparrow shall fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear not, therefore: better are you than many sparrows."

Necessity and merit of good works. St. Chrysostom writes thus: "So that none might plead poverty as an excuse for not ministering to Christ in the person of His disciples, Jesus cites a cup of cold water as a gift which, though it costs nothing, is a proof of love."

The anointing of the sick with oil. We are told (Mark 6, 13) that the apostles whom our Lord sent out "anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them". This was not the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, but it was a type of, and a preparation for it. The anointing here mentioned worked visibly and cured the body: Extreme Unction works invisibly, and primarily heals and strengthens the soul.

The high dignity of the Apostles, and their successors and assistants, consists in this, that they are the true representatives of Christ. He who receives them, receives our Lord; he who listens to them, listens to Him; he who ministers to them, ministers to Him.

APPLICATION. Have you ever told lies? or neglected your prayers out of human respect? You ask far too often what such and such people will think, and too little what Almighty God will think. Let your thoughts dwell on hell; and pray for the gift of holy fear.

Pray often, and especially at Mass, for the successors of the Apostles, the Pope and the bishops.

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CHAPTER XXXII.

JOHN THE BAPTIST IS PUT TO DEATH.

[Mat. 14, 1-12. Mark 6, 14-29. Luke 9, 7-9.]

ERODIAS was filled with hatred of John the Baptist, and sought to destroy him. But Herod esteemed John, and for a time obeyed him in many things. Moreover Herod was still afraid of the people, who considered John a great prophet.

Now Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet to the princes 3 and nobles of his kingdom. And the daughter of Herodias, by her former husband, coming in, danced before the guests, and Herod was pleased; whereupon he promised, with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him, even if it were the half of his kingdom.

But she, being instructed beforehand by her mother, said: "Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist." The

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With hatred. The evangelist St. Mark (6, 20) says that Herod heard John willingly, and asked his advice and followed it. This made Herodias fear that, if John preached to him any more, the weak king might end by putting her away from him. She, therefore, knew no rest as long as John was alive.

? A banquet. In the castle of Machærus, where John was imprisoned.
3 Princes.
The chief men about the court of Galilee, who, however, were

all Jews.

Was pleased. Not only Herod, but also his guests (Mark 6, 21) were pleased by the unseemly dancing and bewitching appearance of the girl, who but too closely resembled her wicked mother.

In a dish. The heartless creature, far from being horrified at her mother's request, hastened, without even hesitating, to ask for what she wanted. She demanded that the holy prophet's head should be given to her "forthwith", because

king was grieved on hearing these words, but thinking himself bound to keep the oath which he had sworn before his guests, he sent word to the gaoler, who beheaded. John and presented his head on a dish to the wicked daughter of a still more wicked mother. Then the disciples of the holy Baptist took the body of their master, and buried it; and they came to tell Jesus what had happened.

COMMENTARY.

Growth in sin. When Herod persuaded his brother Philip's wife to leave her lawful husband for him, both he and Herodias committed a grievous sin. This sin led them on to commit other sins. Herod threw John into prison, though he "knew him to be a just and holy man". He thus sinned against justice. Herodias hated the holy Baptist, persuaded her daughter to sin, and thus caused the Saint's death.

Oaths. Herod sinned by taking an oath thoughtlessly and without necessity. Now, ought he to have kept his oath when the sinful request for John's head was made to him? No; for an oath to do something sinful is, in itself, invalid. A man sins if he takes such an oath, and he sins again if he keeps it.

Human respect made Herod grant the girl's cruel request. He was ashamed in the presence of his guests to break a promise which obviously could not apply to a gift such as was asked of him. He did not fear to offend God by committing a very grievous sin, but he shrank from the false judgment of men, and thus gave the cruel and murderous order on his birthday-the very day when those in power were accustomed to perform acts of mercy.

Sharing in the guilt of others. Even the guests were not innocent of John's death. They ought to have remonstrated with Herod, and not have passed by his sin in silence.

Virtue alone is beautiful. We all detest the daughter of Herodias. She was beautiful, she wore fine clothes, she danced very cleverly, but she had a vicious heart.

St. John died a martyr to his calling. Having been called by God to be a preacher of penance, he represented Herod's sin to him, and reminded him of the law of God. On this account he died a violent death at the age of thirty-two. To him applies the eighth beatitude: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution, for justice' sake." His soul passed directly into Limbo, where he, like St. Joseph, awaited the

she feared that, as soon as he was sober, Herod would refuse her request. Tradition says that Herodias treated the Saint's head with contumely, and pierced his tongue with needles.

arrival of the Messias, and the speedy accomplishment of the work of Redemption. When our Lord ascended into heaven, he was taken up with Him into everlasting happiness. The Church honours him as a great Saint, and on the 24th of June celebrates his nativity, because he was born without original sin.

Dancing is often the occasion of sin, and unseemly dancing is forbidden by the Sixth Commandment.

Intemperance (or gluttony) is a capital sin. Herod would not have. been carried away by the sight of the girl's dancing to make a rash and frivolous oath, unless he had been excited by too much wine.

Comparisons to be drawn between St. John and Elias, Herod and Achab, Herodias and Jezabel.

The end of Herod. Later on, Herod was deposed by the Roman emperor and banished to Lyons. Both he and his wife died in misery. The daughter of Herodias perished during a pleasure-party on the ice. The ice broke, she fell into the water, and her head was severed from her body by a piece of broken ice.

APPLICATION. Do you ever swear without necessity, or use the name of God irreverently in your conversation?

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES AND THE WALKING ON THE WATER.

T

[Mat. 14, 13-21. Mark 6, 30-44- Luke 9, 10-17. John 6, 1-13.]

HE Feast of the Passover being at hand, the apostles returned to their Divine Master, and gave Him an account of all they had done. But He said to them: "Come ye apart into a desert place, and rest a little." For there were so many coming and going that they had no time to eat. So they sailed across the lake and went into a retired spot1. But even there the people followed them in large numbers 2.

Jesus, seeing this great multitude, had compassion on them, and, without giving Himself any rest, went up into a mountain. There He sat with His apostles and disciples, and began to teach

1 Retired spot. In an uninhabited neighbourhood.

2 Large numbers. Travelling on foot round the northern side of the Lake (Mark 6, 33).