him, was, says S. Gregory Nazianzen, a more acceptable offering to GOD than even his very martyred life!

The Prayer.

O LORD JESU CHRIST, Fountain of Goodness and Mercy, by Whom so many and so great sinners are cleansed, we pray Thee of Thine infinite loving-kindness to teach us to be kind, and gentle, merciful and forbearing, forgiving, and easy to be reconciled to others who may have offended us, even as we receive, and desire forgiveness at Thine Hands! Thou, O LORD, art not extreme to mark what is done amiss, teach us to overlook the faults and offences of others against us! Grant that however often our brother sin against us, we may ever be ready to forgive: grant that no rancour of spirit, or unkindly thoughts, or bitter brooding over injuries may dwell in our hearts, but that they may be filled with true love for all, even for our enemies, without which we can neither love Thee, nor hope to dwell with Thee for ever. Amen.

TWENTY-SECOND MONDAY AFTER

TRINITY.

CLVI.-On the necessity of Meditation on the Gospel (3).

Ps. cxix. 97.-" LORD, what love have I unto Thy Law: all the day long is my study in it."

THE Church would have all her children penetrate into the living depths of this Ocean of Truth. In these depths there are neither storms nor tempests. We shall find therein the precious Pearl of the peace of GOD; we shall find that very tranquil and very steady light which illuminates and strengthens the soul. The deeper one goes down into it, the more is one in safety. It is because the more one penetrates the Gospel, the more does one find therein JESUS CHRIST.

If, then, we aspire to union with JESUS, we must, without ceasing, contemplate the Divine Life which our only Saviour led in this mortal flesh, that so we may, with the least possible imperfection, approach to His Most Holy Innocence. "The actions of JESUS," said S. Catherine of Sienna, " are so fruitful in teaching,

that if we meditate upon them with care, each one of us would find in them the nourishment the best suited to his individual soul." This is a fresh instance of the resemblance of the Gospel to the Holy Eucharist. The True Bread from Heaven, the True Manna of the people of GOD, which, through the providence of our heavenly Father, each one finds in the Flesh of His well-Beloved Son, is the nourishment especially suited and exactly proportioned to each one's needs. So with the Gospel. Kings find in it their rule of life as well as the lowest of their servants, princes as well as peasants. It seems as if It were made expressly for each one for bishops as well as for soldiers; for ascetics as well as for people of the world; for the old as well as for young; for the rich as well as for the poor; for the great men of learning as well as for the poor and ignorant; for the saint in the height of contemplation, as well as for the poor sinner who has just been converted. What a mystery of love! and what a stamp of its Divinity!

the

These

It is related that our LORD, Who had so wonderfully shown to S. Angela the mystery of His very real and very holy Presence in her inmost soul, one day said to her, "My much-loved child, who art My temple and My delight, I tell thee in truth that there is no other straight way than that in which are seen My Foot-prints, and in this path, which is Mine, you cannot go astray." Foot-prints of JESUS, these saving Tracks are the Gospel Records. Why, O my GOD, are there so many Christians who neglect this study, which is the most sanctifying and the most beautiful of all? After Communion, there is perhaps no other more effectual means of approaching JESUS, of uniting ourselves to JESUS, of entering into, and dwelling in JESUS, than devout meditation on the Gospel. And how living do these pages become, when we remember that the Divine Master, Who did and said all that we therein read, is here, present, before us in the Blessed Sacrament, and in us, in our souls, by the adorable mystery of grace.

It is He, it is He in truth, with all His holiness, with His goodness, with His mercy, with His tender Love; it is the same JESUS Who was in the Cradle, the same Who was at Nazareth, the JESUS of Magdalene and Zaccheus, and the woman taken in adultery; it is He Who preached to the poor, Who anathematised the Pharisees and the worldly rich; it is He Who comforted all sorrows, and invited every soul to come to Him; He Who willed to suffer so much even from Bethlehem unto Calvary! He is here, always with us, living, bringing to us the mind to understand His mysteries, the grace of all His words, and of all His miracles, and the certain hope of a share in His glory. How holy a Christian really is who meditates earnestly upon the Gospel! JESUS in Him, JESUS before Him, JESUS everywhere and always.

And only let us think, there are Christians who never read the Gospel! They find time to read regularly the newspapers of each day, reviews, and even novels: and they have not time to