at which we aim in what we do. Otherwise, we have indeed that reward which we seek, namely, the praise of men; but the praise of God and eternal joys are lost to us for ever.

Thus, also, the command to pray in secret cannot possibly mean that we are always to pray in private; nor can the forbidding of much speaking in prayer mean that long prayers are unlawful or never desirable. It is the heathen's notion, that the mere repetition of a quantity of words will draw down the gifts of God, which our Lord condemns. Prayer is the asking God for certain blessings. It is an act of the heart and the will; and whether our desires are expressed in many words or few words,-whether we pray only for a few seconds, or (as our Saviour Himself did) continue all night in prayer,- -must depend upon our circumstances and our powers. Our Lord reminds us that the Almighty knows beforehand what we need, and that we are not to look upon prayer as the giving information to God of what we desire, or the explaining our wants to Him at full length, as we explain them to our fellowmen. A few brief sentences, like the prayer which Jesus here gives us as a model to follow; or even a few words, or a single motion of the heart towards God, is real prayer; and when circumstances make it impossible for us to say or think more, will bring down on us the fulness of the blessing of Him who knows infinitely better what we have need of than we know ourselves. And thus a cheerful countenance and a natural, unaffected manner, are the proper accompaniments of fasting ; and not that gloomy aspect and carelessness in dress, which the Jewish hypocrites assumed, in order to shew to other men how severely they were afflicting themselves with their austerities. For all such pure spiritual service God will reward us abundantly. And therefore our blessed Lord said: Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth; where the rust, and the moth consume, and where thieves dig through, and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither the rust nor the moth doth consume, and where

thieves do not dig through nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be simple, thy whole body will be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darkso me. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great will the darkness itself be! No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say to you: Be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body more than the raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you, by thinking, 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. And yet I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed as one of these. Now, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; 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 heathen 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. Be not, therefore, solicitous for to-morrow: for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

By a simple eye, Jesus meant that purity of intention, without which all our good deeds are worthless, as all is dark to a blind man. The eye is our guide in all our movements; it is, as it were, the light within us; and when it is destroyed, we are dark without hope of seeing. And still further, a mixture of intention, partly given to God, and partly to the good things of the

world, which our Saviour describes by the word "mammon," is impossible. If our whole heart is not given to God, He regards us as His enemies. And to those whose whole souls are consecrated to God, all things are given. They are in the hands of the Lord; and as the flowers of the field, which perish, and are seen no more, are yet clothed with unequalled loveliness by their Creator's wisdom, how much more shall we, who are immortal souls, made by God, redeemed by God, sanctified by God, and called to dwell for ever in the presence of God, be blest with all gifts that are truly for our eternal benefit! Worldly cares are unfit for those who are heirs of immortality. The evil of each day is to be endured in peace, when it comes. By dwelling upon it beforehand, we neither prevent its approach, nor gain strength to bear it when it has come; we rather tempt ourselves to sin against God by murmuring, and complaining, and distrusting His fatherly care and love. Cheerfulness is the best preservative of godliness.

CHAP. XIII. The Sermon on the Mount, concluded.

OUR Lord next enjoined the duty of a merciful judgment of one another's conduct. Judge not, He said, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. And why seest thou a mote in thy brother's eye, and seest not a beam in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold, a beam is in thy own eye Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. As we judge others, God will judge us. It is hateful in the sight of God to behold a sinner whose sins are so great that they may be likened to a beam of wood, forgetting his faults, and, uncalled for, reproving the defects of his fellow-creature, which, in

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comparison to his own, are perhaps a mere mote, or splinter.

We are further to abstain from communicating sacred things to those who value them not. Give not that which is holy to dogs: neither cast ye your pearls before swine; lest they trample them under their feet, and, turning upon you, tear you.

Then, lastly, Jesus gave still further instructions relative to prayer and the general course of a devout life. Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth : and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he reach him a serpent? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? All things, therefore, whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction; and many there are who enter by it. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way, which leadeth to life; and few there are who find it! Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree yieldeth good fruit, and the bad tree yieldeth bad fruit. A good tree cannot yield bad fruit; neither can a bad tree yield good fruit. Every tree that yieldeth not good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits you shall know them. Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name

cast out devils, and done many wonderful works in Thy name? And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever heareth these My words, and doeth them, shall be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these My words, and doeth them not, shall be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall thereof.

We are to pray with unbounded confidence in the goodness of God, who is indeed our Father, and can never turn a deaf ear to our cries; for even mortal and sinful fathers do not mock their children when they entreat them for any earthly gift.

CHAP. XIV. Christ heals the Leper, and works other Miracles. AND when He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him: and behold, a leper coming, adored Him, saying: Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, stretching forth His hand, touched him, saying: I will. Be thou made clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him: See thou tell no man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony to them. This command our blessed Lord enjoined upon the leper, because it had been ordered by the law of Moses, that whenever a leper was healed he was to go to the priest, and shew that he was cured, and offer certain offerings in thanksgiving for the mercy granted to him.

And when Jesus was entered into Capharnaum, there came to Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus said to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer,