And when it was day, going out, he went into a desert place, and the multitude sought him, and came to him; and they stayed him that he should not depart from them. To whom he said: To other cities I must preach the kingdom of God; for therefore am I sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

egressus ibat in desertum locum, et turbæ requirebant eum, et venerunt usque ad ipsum: et detinebant illum ne discederet ab eis. Quibus ille ait: Quia et aliis civitatibus oportet me evangelizare regnum Dei, quia ideo missus sum; et erat prædicans in synagogis Galilææ.

Let us here admire the goodness of our Redeemer, who deigns to exercise his power for the cure of bodily infirmities. How much more ready will he not be to heal our spiritual ailments! Our fever is that of evil passions; Jesus alone can allay it. Let us imitate the eagerness of these people of Galilee, who brought all their sick to Jesus; let us beseech him to heal us. See with what patience he welcomes each poor sufferer! Let us also go to him. Let us implore of him not to depart from us, but abide with us for ever; he will accept our petition, and remain. Let us pray for sinners: the days of the great Fast are quickly passing away: we have reached the second half of Lent, and the Passover of our deliverance will soon be here. Look at the thousands that are unmoved, with their souls still blind to the light, and their hearts hardened against every appeal of God's mercy and justice; they seem resolved on making their eternal perdition less doubtful than ever, by neglecting both the Lent and the Easter of this year. Let us offer up our penances for them; and beg of Jesus, by the merits of his sacred Passion, to redouble his mercies towards them, and deliver from Satan these souls, for whose sakes he is about to shed his Blood.

Bow down your heads to God.

Humiliate capita vestra

Deo.

Subjectum tibi populum, quæsumus Domine, propitiatio cœlestis amplificet: et tuis semper faciat servire mandatis. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

May thy heavenly mercy, O Lord, always increase thy people, and make them ever obedient to thy commandments. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Mozarabic Liturgy offers us this beautiful exhortation. It will inspire us to persevere in our Lenten penances and duties.

MISSA.

(Missale Gothicum. Dominica IV. in Quadragesima.)

Exspectantes illam spem passionis ac resurrectionis Filii Dei, fratres charissimi: et manifestationem gloriæ beati et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, resumite virium fortitudinem et non quasi futuro terreamini de labore qui ad Paschalis Dominicæ cupitis anhelando pervenire celebritatem. Sacrata etenim Quadragesimæ tempore mediante, arripite de futuro labore fiduciam qui præteriti jejunii jam transegistis ærumnas. Dabit Jesus lassis fortitudinem: qui pro nobis dignatus est infirmari. Tribuet perfectionem futuri: qui initia donavit præteriti. Aderit in auxilio, filii: qui sue nos cupit præstolari gloriam passionis. Amen.

Looking forward, dearly beloved Brethren, to the hope of the Passion and Resurrection of the Son of God, as also to the manifestation of the glory of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: resume your strength and courage. Be not daunted by the labour you have to go through, but remember the solemnity of the holy Pasch, for which you are so ardently longing. One half of holy Lent is over; you have gone through the difficulties of the past, why should you not be courageous about the future Fast? Jesus, who deigned to suffer fatigue for our sakes, will give strength to them that are fatigued. He that granted us to begin the past, will enable us to complete the future. Children! He will be with you to assist us, who wishes us to hope for the glory of his Passion. Amen.

FRIDAY

OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT.

THE Station is at the Church of Saint Laurence in Lucina. In this venerable and celebrated Church is kept the Gridiron, on which the holy Archdeacon consummated his martyrdom.

Here we have one of the most expressive figures. of the Old Testament: it symbolises the Sacrament of Baptism, for which our Catechumens are now

preparing. A whole people asks for Water; if it be denied them, they must perish in the wilderness. St. Paul, the sublime interpreter of the types of the Old Testament, tells us that the Rock was Christ,1 from whom came forth the fountain of living Water, which quenches the thirst of our souls, and purifies them. The Holy Fathers observe, that the Rock yielded not its water until it had been struck with the Rod, which signifies the Passion of our Redeemer. The Rod itself, as we are told by some of the earliest commentators of the Scriptures, is the symbol of the Cross; and the two strokes, wherewith the Rock was struck, represent the two parts of which the Cross was formed. The paintings which the primitive Church has left us in the Catacombs of Rome, frequently represent Moses in the act of striking the Rock, from which flows a stream of Water; and a glass, found in the same Catacombs, bears an inscription, telling us that the first Christians considered Moses as the type of St. Peter, who, in the New Covenant, opened to God's people the fountain of grace, when he preached to them on the day of Pentecost; and gave also to the Gentiles to drink of this same Water, when he received Cornelius, the Centurion, into the Church. This symbol of Moses striking the Rock, and the figures of the Old Testament, which we have already come across, or shall still meet with, in the Lessons given by the Church to the Catechumens,—are not only found in the earliest frescoes of the Roman Catacombs, but we have numerous proofs that they were represented in all the Churches both of the East and West. Up to the thirteenth century, and even later, we find them in the windows of our Cathedrals, and in the traditional form or type which was given to them in the early times. It is to be regretted, that these Christian symbols, which were so dear to our Catholic fore

LENT.

1 II. Cor. x. 4.

X