once the hand of God punishing him for his sins, and resigned himself entirely to the accomplishment of the Divine Will. The few followers who remained faithful to him, accompanied him in his flight with tears in their eyes, and uttering loud lamentations. Among them was Sadoc the High Priest, who, attended by the Levites, bore with him the Ark of the Lord, that David might be consoled in his affliction by the presence of so sacred an object. But the holy king, deeming himself unworthy of so great a favour, bade him return with it to the city. Carry back," said he, "the ark into the city. If I shall find grace in the sight of the Lord, he will bring me again, and he will shew me it and his tabernacle. But if he shall say, thou pleasest me not, I am ready; let him do that which is good before him."

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Having crossed the brook of Cedron, he was met by a man named Semei, of the family of Saul, who cursed him as he went along, and loaded him with insults and reproaches. Not content with offering him these outrages, he had the insolence even to throw stones at David and his followers. The latter begged the king to allow them to avenge the insult; and one of them, Abisai, said, "I will go and cut off his head." But David said, "Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bid him curse David; and who is he that shall dare say, Why hath he done so?"-II. Kings, xv. xvi.

TWENTY-THIRD INSTRUCTION.

The Lord's Prayer-Continued.

Fourth, Fifth,

Sixth, and Seventh Petitions.

Q. What do we pray for, when we say, Give us this day our daily bread ?

A. We pray that God may give us daily all that is necessary for our souls and bodies.

We come now to the fourth petition of the Our Father, in which we beg of God that he will give us

daily all that is necessary for our souls and bodies. For the word bread means, in this place, both the spiritual bread or food of our souls, which is the grace of God, and the Holy Communion; and also the food, clothing, and other necessaries of life which we require for the support of our bodies. But notice, that we do not ask for anything more than God sees to be necessary or good for us; wherefore our Blessed Lord makes use of the word bread, bread being of all things the most necessary for our existence. And notice, too, that he bids us ask only what we require for the present day, "Give us this day our daily bread," to shew our daily dependance on his Divine Goodness, and teach us to avoid too great care and anxiety. For, as he tells us himself in one of his beautiful instructions, we have a Heavenly Father ever watching over us, who knows well the wants of his children, and is always ready to provide for those wants, if we daily have recourse to him by fervent prayers. Thus, you remember, when God fed the Jews with manna in the desert, he bade them collect only as much each morning as would be sufficient for the want of the day; and if any of them tried to hoard up a quantity to keep himself and family during the week, and save himself the trouble of going every day to collect it, he was surprised to find that he had lost his labour, for what he had gathered was all corrupted and spoilt by the following morning.

Do not however imagine that because God is good, and willing to supply your wants, you are excused after you have once prayed, from making any further effort on your own part, and that you are to sit down in idleness, expecting everything from his Bounty. No; this would be presumption, and not a wellfounded hope in the Divine Goodness. God, as they say, helps those who help themselves, that is by their

own efforts. It is necessary therefore, that while we ask of God to give us his grace, we should make use also of all the means which he has given us to obtain it, for example, by hearing Mass devoutly, and going to the Sacraments. In the same way, while we beg relief in our corporal wants, we must do our best by our own honest industry and labour to provide for them. At the same time, in making these efforts we must never forget that all depends on the blessing and assistance of God, which we therefore ask continually in this petition of the Our Father, Give us this day our daily bread.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

"Be not solicitous," says our Blessed Lord, "for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat and the body more than the raiment ?

"Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? "And which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?

"And for raiment, why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.

"And if the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe, how much more you, O ye of little faith?

"Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.

"Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you."-Matt. vi.

THE POWER OF PRAYER.

Many years ago, in times of persecution, a Catholic Bishop, while travelling in the Highlands of Scotland, for the purpose of visiting the scattered members of his flock, was benighted

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one dark and stormy night, in the midst of a lonely and desolate tract of country. After wandering about for some time in the greatest uncertainty, he was directed at length by the glimmering of a light to a lonely cabin, at the door of which he knocked, and begged for a night's lodging. The woman of the house received him with frank hospitality, bade him welcome to the warm fireside, and apologised for not being able to offer him a bed. "The only one that we have," said she, is now occupied by my husband, who is lying at present at the point of death." I am truly sorry to hear of your affliction," said the Bishop, "but I trust he is well prepared for so great a change." "Alas," said the woman, wiping her eyes, "he will not be persuaded that his end is so near. Though he is above eighty, and though the doctor says that his hours are numbered, yet he persists in saying that his time is not yet come." "Will you allow me to speak to him?" said the Bishop; "perhaps the opinion of a stranger may have greater weight, and he may be persuaded to prepare for his approaching departure." Willingly," said the woman; and with that she led the way into the inner room.

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Having approached the bedside, the Bishop saw that there was little time to be lost; every thing betokened the near approach of death. This he did not conceal from the old man, and he exhorted him to make good use of the few hours which remained to him upon earth; but his words seemed to produce but little impression. "Sir," said the old man, "I know that my age is great. I know that my strength is almost gone. I even grant that if I saw another in the state in which I am, I would say he was at the point of death; but, for all that, I know that my time is not yet come."

My dear friend," said the Bishop, "do not deceive yourself. Why should not death come to you as well as to the rest of men ? What can have put so extraordinary a delusion

into your head ?"

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"I will tell you then, sir," said the old man, raising himself up in bed. Why should I fear now what man can do to me? I am a Catholic. I have remained faithful to my God, in spite of every danger and every difficulty, though in this wild place I have not seen a priest but twice in thirty years. But every day during these thirty years have I prayed to God, that I might not die without the consolations of religion. He will not refuse this prayer-I know he will not; and, when I have a Catholic priest at my bedside to give me the last Sacraments, then I shall believe I am going to die, but not till then."

"My son," said the Bishop, "prepare yourself for death; I am a Catholic priest."

The holy rites were administered; the faithful soul slept in peace, and the good Bishop went on his way rejoicing, and praising God for his wonderful works towards the children of men.-The Little Flower Garden.

THE THUNDERING LEGION.

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, was engaged in a disastrous war with the Quadi, a brave and warlike people living on the north of the Danube. His army had been hemmed in by the enemy within a narrow defile, and was, moreover, on the point of perishing for the want of a supply of water. Among his troops were a large number of Christian soldiers, who, seeing the danger which threatened them, resolved to have recourse for help to the God of heaven. Kneeling on the ground, they poured out earnest entreaties to God to rescue the army and their emperor from destruction, by sending them a supply of water and enabling them to escape from their dangerous position. The enemy, and even their fellow-soldiers, stood amazed at this unexpected sight, but they were far more astonished at the speedy answer which God gave to their prayers. They had not been long on their knees, when suddenly the sky became dark, the wind howled through the forests, vivid flashes of lightning shot across the heavens, and torrents of rain began to descend. Roman soldiers first received the refreshing drops in their mouths, being ready to die with thirst; they then caught them in their helmets; but while they were so engaged, the enemy, wishing to overpower them in the storm, began the attack. The violence of the tempest was now turned upon the forces of the enemy. Blinded with wind and rain, they were unable to follow up the attack, and soon fled in disorder. The Romans, refreshed and strengthened, pursued them with great vigour, and gained a complete and decisive victory.

The

The pagan emperor justly attributed this victory to the prayers of his Christian soldiers, and they were from that time known by the name of the Thundering Legion. In the city of Rome there may still be seen a column or pillar on which is carved a representation of this victory. The Romans are represented as fighting bravely with the enemy, and in the midst of the battle refreshing themselves with draughts of the falling rain. The enemy, on the contrary, are flying from the field of battle, where many lie stretched on the ground from the violence of the storm.-Alban Butler.