tion of the precise points upon which he should insist ; since it is evident that in the ordinary Homily he cannot dwell upon every circumstance, nor exhaust his subject in its every detail. And, thus studying, he will attend most especially to four points: the literal sense of the passage; its moral and spiritual meaning; the practical consequences which flow from it; and the exhortations which it is fitting he should make to his people on it. In order to explain the literal sense of the passage, he will attend to the time, the occasion, and the other circumstances, which throw a light upon the fact, or the maxim, which he is engaged in considering. He will explain those passages which are obscure, and, in order to do this more fully, he will, when occasion permits or requires it, show the bearing of the usages of the Old Law upon the matter in point. If he has taken one of the parables as the subject of his discourse, he will only develop the letter of it, in order to bring out more clearly its spirit, and he will dwell much more forcibly upon its design than upon those historical circumstances which are merely its accessories, and, as such, of minor importance. And, when necessary, he will deduce from the text those reflections, dogmatical or moral, which his own study, or the natural fecundity of his subject, suggests. In his explanation of the moral or spiritual meaning of which his subject is susceptible, he will select those considerations which are most simple and natural, most redolent of piety, and best adapted to the special necessities of his audience. He will avoid those forced interpretations, and those allegorical meanings, which we find in the Homilies of St. Augustine and of St. Gregory, of whom we may say, without irreverence, that, had they lived in our times, they would have employed a different style. The allegorical meaning and strained interpretations which we frequently meet with in the Homilies of these saints, were as much in accordance with the spirit of the age in which they wrote, as they are in opposition to the tastes and requirements of our time. In his diligent application of his practical conclusions to the special wants and necessities of his special audience, he will carefully bear in mind the general principles already laid down on this matter. 1 1 Finally, remembering that a sermon is, of its nature, a persuasive oration, and that the Homily in a special manner partakes of this character, he will exhort his hearers, with all the earnestness of which he is capable, to reduce to daily practice those lessons of piety and of virtue which he has deduced from his subject. If he bear these things in mind, the Homily of the zealous preacher will ever tend to appeal to the better feelings of his hearers; to move those who are in sin, to win them from vice, to excite them to the practice of virtue, to write upon the hearts of all impressions at once as strong as they are sweet, as consoling as they are terrible. Such is ever the special characteristic of the Homily considered in its true light. Whilst 1 Sacred Eloquence, p. 246, et seqq. 3rd Edit. 2 Dupanloup. Entretiens sur la Prédication populaire. it never loses sight of that leading idea, and of that practical conclusion, which are as essential to its perfect success as to that of every other form of discoursewhilst the Homily passes rapidly over the mere accessories which may culminate around this leading idea, in order to develop or bring it out more and more strongly-whilst it ever aspires to lay a solid foundation of explanation and instruction, and to deduce those practical conclusions and moral reflections which naturally flow from such instruction--it equally remembers that its principal end is to exhort, and, by such exhortation, to lead men to better and more holy lives. Avoiding empty speculations, and far-fetched ideas which are redolent, not of God and the things of God, but of the wit and ingenuity of their author, the true Homily addresses itself, directly and immediately, to the souls of men, and by the very simplicity of its style, and the burning zeal which is equally displayed in its composition and its delivery, it often wins its hearers more surely to the service of God, and to the fervent practice of every christian virtue, than the formal discourse and the laboured oration, which surpass the modest Homily as much in composition and in style, as they are inferior to it in those qualities which alone secure solid fruit and lasting success: viz., that earnestness of thought and of word, of desire and of act, which is inspired by true zeal for the glory of God, and the salvation of the souls for whom Christ. died. CHAPTER III. A COURSE OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. SECTION I. WHAT IS MEANT BY A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION - ITS UTILITY AND NECESSITY-CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT-MATTER OF SUCH A COURSE-SPECIAL CHARAC- મ NOTHER form which the familiar discourse will frequently take, is that which is known as a series, or, course of Religious Instruction; or, in other words, a series of methodi cal and strictly connected discourses, devoted to the explanation of some leading portion of Christian Belief or Christian Practice, as the Creed, the Commandments, or, it may be, the History of the Christian Religion. It is at once evident in what such a course of religious instruction differs from the Homily. The Homily is complete in itself, and independent of the discourse which may precede or follow it; whilst, in a course of religious instruction, each sermon has a strict connection with that which has gone before, and with that which is to follow. In such a course of instructions there is unity of view, not only as regards each sermon in particular, but also as regards the subject in general which may be under consideration; since each discourse is a necessary link in a chain which, without such link, will be imperfect, and, perhaps, useless. Thus, a preacher who, undertaking to give a course of instructions on the Commandments, should either transpose the order of them, or altogether omit any of them, would necessarily interfere, more or less essentially, with the success of his lectures. The utility and the absolute necessity of thus imparting to our people, from time to time, such a course of methodical and strictly connected instruction as we have described above, can scarcely be overrated. Without such a course of instruction as may embrace the whole circle of Christian teaching, it is almost impossible, for the great majority of the faithful, ever to acquire that clear, expedite, and sufficient knowledge of their religion which is essential to salvation. Whence arise the most disheartening difficulties which meet us in the sacred tribunal, and even at the beds of the dying? Is it not from their ignorance of essential truths, and from the great difficulty which we experience in imparting to them, at such times and in such trying circumstances, that amount of knowledge without which we dare not presume to administer God's holy sacraments to them, no matter how grievous their necessity may be? And yet, at least as regards many of these poor souls, how could it have been otherwise with them? It may be that, when they were young, they learned the letter of the catechism, most likely without ever fully, or even nearly fully, understanding its meaning. The only instruction which |