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7. And the napkin that had been about His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapt up into one place.

8. Then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre; and he saw and believed."

xxi. 1.-"After this Jesus shewed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And He showed Himself after this manner.*

2. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas who is called Didymus, and Nathanael who was of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples.

3. Simon Peter saith to them: I go a fishing. They say to him: We also come with thee. And they went forth and entered into the ship: and that night they caught nothing.

4. But when the morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5. Jesus therefore said to them: Children, have you any meat? They answered Him: No.

6. He saith to them: Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter: It is the Lord. Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girt his coat about him, (for he was naked,) and cast himself into the sea.' 10. "Jesus saith to them: Bring hither of the fishes which you have now caught.

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* St. Paul's account of Christ's appearances after His Resurrection is as follows. "For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. And that He was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven. Then was He seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, He was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time."-I. Cor. XV. 3-8.

11. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land. 12. Jesus saith to them: Come and dine."

15. "When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith to Him: Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith to him: Feed (Bóoke) My lambs. 16. He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me? He saith to Him: Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith to him: Feed (Toiμaive) My lambs.

17. He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me? Peter was grieved, because He had said to him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said to Him: Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee. He said to him: Feed (Bóoke) My sheep. 18. Amen, amen, I say to thee; when thou wast younger, thou didst gird thyself, and didst walk where thou wouldst. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not.

19. And this He said, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had said this, He saith to him: Follow Me.

20. Peter turning about saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, Lord, who is he that shall betray Thee? 21. Him therefore when Peter had seen, he saith to Jesus: Lord, and what shall this man do?

22. Jesus saith to him: So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee ? follow thou Me."*

See

1. There are two different words, Bóoke and Toíμaive, in the original text, which, however, are both represented, in the English translation, by the same word Feed. The former seems especially to signify to provide food for the flock. Ezech. xxxiv. 1-4, 8, 10, 13, 14. The latter, moíuawei, has a far wider signification and power; as may be seen from the following parallel passages, in all which the same word ποίμαινειν is found.

II. Kings v. 2.-" Moreover, yesterday also, and the day before, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that

Acts of the Apostles.

It may be well, before proceeding to give a brief analysis of the action of the apostles, now that Christ has left them, to consider the position in which the apostles, as a body, had been placed by

did lead out and bring in Israel. And the Lord said to thee Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel."-Cf. Ib. vii. 7; I. Paralip. xi. 2; Ib. xvii. 6.

Ps. ii. 7.—“ The Lord hath said to me: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.

8. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession.

9. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

lxxvii. 70.-" And He chose His servant David, and took him from the flocks of sheep; He brought him from following the ewes great with young,

71. To feed Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance. 72. And he fed them in the innocence of his heart and conducted them by the skilfulness of his hands."

Is. xl. 9.-" Say to the cities of Judah: Behold your God. 10. Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and His arm shall rule: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him.

11. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and shall take them up in His bosom, and He Himself shall carry them that are with young."-Cf. Jerem. xxiii. 1-4; Ezechiel xxxiv. 23, 24, 31.

St. Matthew ii. 5.-"But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet: 6. And thou Bethlehem, the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule My people Israel." -See Mich. v. 2; vii. 14.

Acts xx. 28.-"Take heed to yourselves and to the whole.

our Saviour. Out of His disciples, He had chosen, as we have seen, twelve as His apostles, to whom also He had given the power of performing miracles. These also He had commissioned to go and teach all

flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own Blood."

I. Peter v. 2.-" Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint, but willingly according to God: not for filthy lucre's sake, but voluntarily :

3. Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart.

4. And when the Prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory."

Apoc. ii. 27.-" And He shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of the potter they shall be broken."-Cf. Ib. xix. 15,

2. Here, then, again, from amongst the apostles present, our Saviour singles out Peter, and gives to him alone or individually the preeminent powers conveyed by His words. His own work is consummated; He has fulfilled His part, prophesied of long before; and has been the founder and lawgiver of a heavenly kingdom. He is about to leave them; to remain no longer on the earth, to guide, instruct, and rule, or to look in person after that flock of which He had said: "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His life for His sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know Me: as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father: and I lay down My life for My sheep. And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd." (John x. 11-16.) It seems to the Fathers that the import of these words, which when spoken seemed so harsh and obscure, was now made plain and reduced to a practical form. Peter, according to them, is thrice asked whether he loved Him, loved Him more than these, in allusion to his triple denial; and his greater love was the cause of the greater reward and honour given him.

To him then He committeth His lambs and sheep: His

nations, promising to be with them all days, even to the consummation of the world. On them He had bestowed authority to bind and loose; had breathed on them and given them the Holy Ghost, with authority to forgive and retain sins; with a farther promise that, when taken from them, He would send them the Paraclete, or Holy Ghost, to abide with them for ever, to teach them all truth, and to bring all things to their remembrance. They had also been commissioned to administer His sacraments; to baptize, and to do what He had done at His last supper.

Each, therefore, was a divinely appointed teacher, and a divinely appointed dispenser, or steward, of His mysteries, with assured guidance, or inspiration, for the work of the ministry, and miraculous powers for

whole fold without exception or limitation; and so in this it will be found that the Fathers see the appointment and investiture of Peter as the Shepherd of Christ's flock in His stead. Thus he becomes the Vicar of Christ. But as all the apostles were shepherds or pastors, one supreme shepherd is appointed that "a head being constituted, the Church may be seen to be one, and occasion of schism done away with. And so Peter is also the Centre of Unity.

3. The commission is to feed and rule the sheep and lambs; that he should be not only the rock and foundation of the whole Church; bear the keys of the Church; bind and loose in heaven and on earth; and have special powers-in the sense that those powers are conveyed to him first, and singly and universally, but also take the place, on earth, of the Shepherd and pastor of men's souls: and thus this commission connects itself with that prayer of Christ that Peter's faith may not fail, and that he converted should confirm the brethren.

Either these words imply this, or they seem deprived of meaning and object; for Peter had already received the commission and powers which had been delegated to the other apostles, constituting them Christ's ministers, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.

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