I 
 
 t 
 
 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Drawn from tbe ©ospel for JEacb 
 Dag of Xent 
 
 THE RIGHT REV. F. K. AMHERST 
 
 Bishop of Northampton 
 
 i 
 
 FOURTH EDITION 
 
 hqsTON ALLEGE 
 CHKSTNU'l HILL MASS* 
 
 R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD. 
 i, 2 & 4, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 BENZIGER BROTHERS 
 NEW YORK, CINCINNATI & CHICAGO 
 1906 
 
3>Ui fa. 
 > i\f 
 
 Ntf)tl ofcstat. 
 
 RICARDUS A. O’GORMAN, O.S.A., 
 Censor Deputatus. 
 
 Emprtmt potest. 
 
 GULIELMUS PROPOSITUS JOHNSON, 
 
 Vicarius Generalis. 
 
 Westmonasterii, 
 
 Die 20 Feb ., 1906. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I have often heard a wish expressed that 
 there existed some small book which might 
 supply matter for meditation during Lent, 
 and a further desire that such matter might 
 be drawn from the portions of the Gospels 
 which occur in the Mass during that season. 
 I have endeavoured, however inadequately, 
 to supply the want of such a book. I do 
 not pretend to have written anything new or 
 complete, and my endeavour has simply been 
 to bring together such thoughts as naturally 
 arise from the contemplation of the subjects, 
 and which may be rather suggestive than 
 exhaustive. 
 
 The little book has been written chiefly for 
 the use of those who require some aid to 
 meditation, and who find it difficult, with- 
 out some such help, to concentrate their 
 thoughts upon a spiritual subject. It does 
 
IV 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 not pretend to be a regular course of medita- 
 tions, but, as will be seen, it is of a desultory 
 nature, containing some repetition, and per- 
 haps even what may appear redundant. Such 
 as it is, and with whatever defects it may 
 have, I give it to the public, with the hope 
 and prayer that it may help some souls to 
 love Jesus Christ more, and for His sake to 
 endeavour to sanctify themselves. 
 
 ►J* Francis Kerril Amherst. 
 
LENTEN THOUGTHS 
 
 MEDITATION. 
 
 ^ak en from the ©espei for JUh- 
 SMebnesiaj). 
 
 St. Matt. vi. 16-21. 
 
 Picture to yourself our blessed Lord sitting 
 upon the Mount ; His disciples near Him, 
 listening eagerly to Him, and directing the 
 attention of others to Him. See also the 
 multitude of people who had followed Him 
 from various parts, earnestly drinking in His 
 heavenly teaching; and listen to His words 
 in spirit, trying to feel as if you were there. 
 ‘When you fast, be not as the hypocrites, 
 sad ? (St. Matt. vi. 16). 
 
 1. 
 
 How sweet it is to hear our dear Lord 
 encouraging us to cheerfulness, even in the 
 performance of a penitential act ! We may 
 be quite sure that He does not recommend 
 
6 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 a worldly gaiety ; for let us look upon His 
 dear face, and there we shall see no signs of 
 it ; but in the place of it a sweet heavenly 
 serenity, captivating even to the senses, and 
 how much more so to the pure heart that 
 enters, or tries to enter, into His feelings. 
 
 ii. 
 
 May we never be sad? We may, but not 
 on account of the performance of any act of 
 religion. True Christian sadness proceeds 
 only from the contemplation of our sins, and 
 is to be distinguished from that grief which 
 arises from wounded affections, or from sym- 
 pathy with others. Jesus wept when Lazarus 
 died ; but He was truly sad in the Garden of 
 Gethsemane, when the sins of the whole world 
 came like spectres before His sight, and were 
 heaped upon His sacred and pure soul, and 
 seemed as if they were His own. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Sadness in religion is opposed to the Spirit 
 of God. ‘ Serve ye the Lord with joy.’ 
 ‘ Come in before His presence with exceed- 
 ing great joy.’ 
 
 It is equally opposed to the spirit of the 
 Catholic Church, and is detestable when 
 united with hypocrisy. The Saints were 
 cheerful and serene. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 7 
 
 Do we accept the command to fast with- 
 out sadness ? Do we not grumble and com- 
 plain of its hardness ? Are we truly sad at 
 the sight and thought of our sins ? And do 
 we not let all sorts of little miseries make us 
 sad, even so much so as to prevent us from 
 doing our duty properly ? If we find any 
 fault in these respects in ourselves, let us 
 now resolve to amend, and to spend this 
 Lent as we would do if we were in the 
 visible company of our Lord. Jesus, aid me 
 by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^hursbag before Jfiret .Suitbag of gCent 
 
 St. Matt. viii. 5-13. 
 
 Follow in spirit our blessed Lord in His 
 descent from the Mount, and enter among 
 the crowd that surrounds Him. Keep in 
 His company from place to place. Look at 
 Him ; listen to Him ; and see His reception 
 of the centurion who comes to beg for the 
 restoration of his servant to health. 
 
 1. 
 
 No sooner does the centurion make his 
 petition than Jesus answers, ‘I will come and 
 heal him/ How sweet is this readiness of our 
 dear Lord ! And to show the greatness of 
 His charity, He proposes to do more than 
 
8 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 is required, namely, to go to the centurion’s 
 house, when a word, or mere act of His will 
 might accomplish the cure. In fact, He 
 anticipates the petition, for the centurion had 
 simply stated the grievous affliction which had 
 fallen upon his servant, when Jesus says, ‘ I 
 will go.’ Oh ! dear Jesus ! how kind, how 
 loving Thou art ! 
 
 11. 
 
 The centurion was very humble . ‘ Lord,’ 
 
 he said, ‘I am not worthy that Thou shouldst 
 enter under my roof ; but only say the word, 
 and my servant shall be healed.’ He thought 
 it too great an honour for a sinner that Jesus, 
 so good, so holy, should cross his threshold. 
 
 hi. 
 
 He had great charity , as we see by his 
 eagerness to secure a great benefit for his 
 servant ; for we find (St, Luke vii.) that he 
 had already sent two messages to our Lord, 
 Who was approaching his house, before he 
 himself made his request. And he had great 
 faith in the power and goodness of Jesus, Who 
 said to him, ‘ Go, and as thou hast believed, 
 so be it done to thee’; and He had already 
 said that He had ‘not found so great faith 
 in Israel.’ 
 
 Faith ; Charity ; Humility. Have we such 
 faith that we always habitually turn to God 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 9 
 
 in all our distresses ? Do we not rather, as 
 a custom, turn to worldly sources of consola- 
 tion? Let us amend this. „ 
 
 Have we great eagerness in our charity to 
 our neighbour? In the centurion it almost 
 amounted to impatience. When are we im- 
 patient? When our neighbour requires aid, 
 does every lost moment appear to us of 
 immense importance? Are we not rather im- 
 patient that his trials should trouble us? And 
 how impatient we are under our own trials ! 
 
 Do we, like Jesus, act at once, when charity 
 calls us? Or again, are we inclined, like Him, 
 to do more than is absolutely asked of us ? 
 Dear Jesus, increase our charity. 
 
 Do we reflect sufficiently on the immeasur- 
 able distance in worthiness that there is be- 
 tween us and God ? Or do we not rather 
 accept all His gifts and graces as if they were 
 our due? We have enough to make us humble 
 if we would but think of all our natural and 
 spiritual defects. Let us pray for an increase 
 of Faith, Charity, and Humility. Jesus, aid 
 me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jfribat) before Jfir0t <Sunbat) of gent* 
 
 St. Matt. v. 43-48 ; vi. 1-4. 
 
 Our blessed Lord is preaching on the 
 Mount, as described in the Gospel of this 
 
10 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 day ; represent Him then to yourself as 
 preaching to you, and think that you are 
 hearing His voice, while you contemplate 
 His perfections as God and Man, and while 
 He tells you to be 4 perfect as also your 
 heavenly Father is perfect.’ 
 
 i. 
 
 We have been chosen by Almighty God to 
 be members of His Church, and therefore to 
 be His faithful followers, His friends, His 
 children, and His heirs. It is His great 
 mercy and love for us that have brought us 
 to this position, the most noble that we can 
 conceive on earth. We therefore ought to 
 endeavour to imitate the holiness and per- 
 fection of our heavenly Father. Jesus espe- 
 cially draws our attention to one way in 
 which we ought to strive to attain perfection, 
 namely, by loving our enemies, and in this 
 to distinguish ourselves from the heathens. 
 4 1 say to you, love your enemies ; do good 
 to them that hate you ; and pray for them 
 that persecute and calumniate you.’ 
 
 ii. 
 
 Although He alludes particularly to one 
 way of being perfect, nevertheless His words 
 are of general application, and we must seek 
 after perfection in all virtues, otherwise we 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 i 
 
 shall not be perfect as our heavenly Father 
 is perfect. Perfection is both of command 
 and of counsel ; that is, there is a perfection 
 which we are obliged to seek after, and a 
 perfection which we are advised to endeavour 
 to attain. We are all obliged to seek after 
 perfection in Christianity, and in the state in 
 which we are placed, and to love our enemies, 
 and observe perfectly all the other commands 
 of God. We are advised to aim at perfection 
 by the adoption of the evangelical counsels of 
 voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity, and re- 
 ligious obedience. Happy those souls who 
 receive a direct call from God to the religious 
 state ! 
 
 iii. 
 
 An excellent and most efficacious means of 
 arriving at perfection is to examine carefully 
 and impartially into the state of our soul, 
 and to discover the predominant passion, the 
 principal vice from which our other vices pro- 
 ceed, and to endeavour, with all our power, 
 to root it out. Think what is your chief vice, 
 what is the one that leads you into so much 
 mischief, and induces you to commit so 
 many sins. Is it pride? Vanity? Laziness? 
 Falsehood? Disobedience? Love of pleasure? 
 Impurity? Neglect of duty? Neglect of the 
 Sacraments? Human respect? Or is it any 
 
12 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 other vice ? Find it out, and resolve to 
 avoid it. 
 
 Do I love my enemies for God’s sake as I 
 love my friends ? Is my love extended to 
 all ? or only to those whom my natural in- 
 clinations lead me to love, or perhaps from 
 whom I expect something ? Do I try to do 
 all my actions, to speak my words, and enter- 
 tain my thoughts with a view to perfection ? 
 
 Let me remember in my choice of a state 
 of life that it is my dear Divine Saviour 
 Who advises me to observe the evangelical 
 counsels. Can I have a better adviser ? 
 Will the world advise me so well ? Will my 
 own bad inclinations advise so well as He 
 does ? 
 
 Have I ever properly set to work in real 
 earnest to discover the source of my evil 
 actions ; and to endeavour, day by day, to 
 weaken my chief vice by falling into the 
 sins to which it leads me, less and less often ? 
 I will begin now from this moment. Jesus, 
 aid me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 before Jfivst <Sunbag oi |Eent. 
 
 Si. Mark vi. 47-56. • 
 
 Picture to yourself the Apostles rowing in 
 their boat across the Lake of Gennesareth. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 13 
 
 The wind is against them ; the boat labours 
 in the heavy sea, when Jesus walks forth 
 from the shore upon the waters, and seems 
 as if He would pass them by. They think it 
 is a spectre, and cry out with fear, when His 
 voice comes to them over the raging waves, 
 bidding them have courage, for it is He. 
 
 1. 
 
 The space of our life is like a sea which 
 we must pass over in order to reach the 
 happy shores of heaven. We have many 
 obstacles to contend against in our voyage, 
 which may be summed up in the words, 
 the World, the Devil, and the Flesh. The 
 opinions and prejudices of men ; their ridi- 
 cule, their persecution, their unkindness, their 
 very praises oppose us. Human respect sin- 
 gularly impedes us, we care so much about 
 what men think and say. The devil raises 
 storms against our salvation by his evil sug- 
 gestions and temptations, and the flesh by 
 the rebellion of our corrupt nature. If we 
 truly wish and try to serve God we are sure 
 to meet with these storms, we must expect 
 them, and resolve to overcome them ; if we 
 do not care about His service, all may seem 
 to go on smoothly for a time, but in a moment 
 we shall be lost for ever. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 14 
 
 II. 
 
 In the storms and trials of life, that is in 
 our afflictions, in our temptations, in our 
 sins even, Jesus comes towards us to save us, 
 very often in such ways that, like the dis- 
 ciples, we do not recognise Him. Our hearts 
 are blinded, and so we do not receive into 
 them the inspirations of His grace. We do 
 not see the use of mortification, of patience 
 under trials, of bearing injuries and insults 
 calmly, of submitting to all the wise and 
 useful discipline provided for us by the 
 Church. This is our own fault, and we must 
 correct it. 
 
 hi. 
 
 What sweet encouragement is in those 
 words, ‘ It is I, fear ye not.' But we must 
 deserve that they should be addressed to us 
 by making use of the means at our disposal 
 for drawing Jesus to our side. Those means 
 are prayer, and the worthy reception of the 
 Sacraments, combined with an exact obser- 
 vance of the commandments, and of the laws 
 of the Church. 
 
 Do I ever neglect a duty, or commit a 
 wrong action out of fear of the blame, or 
 ridicule, or impertinent conduct of my fellow- 
 creatures ? Am I ever ashamed of my re- 
 ligion, or of any religious practices, because 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 15 
 
 they are contrary to the notions of those that 
 I may meet, or who are about me ? Do I ever 
 do good actions in order to acquire praise ? 
 Do I, in fact, put the praise or blame of men 
 above the praise or blame of God ? 
 
 Do I ever mortify myself voluntarily? Do 
 I receive involuntary mortifications in the 
 spirit of penance ? And do I comply will- 
 ingly with all that the Church enjoins for 
 the proper discipline of my soul? Am I 
 fasting and abstaining during this Lent in a 
 true Catholic spirit ? At all events, I will do 
 so now, and I will correct all the faults that 
 have come to my mind during this medita- 
 tion. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 4 fit 0 t ot gent 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt . iv. 1-11. 
 
 Our dear Lord has just come forth from 
 the waters of Jordan, where He had been 
 baptized by St. John the Baptist ; the heavens 
 had been opened to Him ; He had seen the 
 Spirit of God descending as a dove, and^ 
 coming upon Him, and had heard a voice* 
 from heaven, saying : ‘ This is My Beloved 
 Son, in Whom I am well pleased ’ (St. Matt, 
 iii. 16, 17). And at once He is led by the 
 
6 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the 
 devil. See Him urged by the Spirit, and 
 hastening to the desert, and follow Him with 
 your heart in this momentous journey. 
 
 i. 
 
 It was not the evil spirit,, which afterwards 
 tempted Him, that led Jesus into the desert, 
 but the Spirit of God, the Spirit of holiness 
 and truth, with which He was filled. Not a 
 moment was lost after His baptism, but He 
 must begin at once His career as an example 
 to men. He is driven on by the burning 
 ardour which the Holy Ghost enkindled in 
 His heart, and hastens to the awful humilia- 
 tion of a personal interview with the devil. 
 Consider Him alone upon the side of that 
 distant and barren mountain to which He 
 fled, and in His deep solitariness fasting for 
 forty days and forty nights. See His atti- 
 tude expressive of sublime resignation to 
 His Father’s will. Hear His sighs and 
 prayers for the men whom He had come to 
 save. Try to enter into the unspeakable 
 beauty of the thoughts that fill His Sacred 
 Heart, as He contemplates the infinite glory 
 of His Eternal Father. Praying, watching, 
 and fasting, for forty days and nights, He is 
 alone in sublime solitude. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 17 
 
 % 
 
 II. 
 
 But, suddenly, He is no more alone. There 
 stands another in visible presence before 
 Him. All wickedness is confronted with all 
 holiness, all hatred with the ineffable love of 
 God made man, the hideous monstrosity of 
 sin with the calm beauty of the embodiment 
 of heavenly virtue. Oh ! daring crime of 
 Satan ! Oh ! wondrous humiliation of Jesus ! 
 He does not fly, and so escape the torture of 
 that odious presence. He stays, and meets 
 the tempter face to face. Contemplate the 
 calm, majestic dignity with which He answers 
 Satan, striking and scathing him with the 
 simple Word of God, until the conquered 
 tempter leaves Him. 
 
 hi. 
 
 But He is not now alone. See how from 
 heaven come streaming down bright lines of 
 Angels. See how they cluster about Him ; 
 how in attitudes of adoration they minister 
 to Him as their Creator and their Lord. 
 Join with those angelic bands in sentiments 
 of congratulation, love, and adoration. 
 
 Oh ! how I love Thee, my Jesus, for the 
 humiliation of this temptation undergone for 
 my sake ! How I admire Thee ! Yet how 
 ofteri do I not forget the example Thou hast 
 
 2 
 
18 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 shown me ! Do I never listen, with only a 
 half- will of resisting, to the tempter ? Let 
 me think only of yesterday. Had I any 
 temptations? What did I do when they 
 came to me ? I am ashamed when I think 
 of my conduct, and contrast it with Thine. 
 
 Again, so far from imitating my Lord, have 
 I never rather followed the example of the 
 devil, and dared to remain in the presence of 
 God when my soul has been hideous to Him 
 through mortal sin ? 1 cannot fly from His 
 
 presence, but I can cleanse my soul if I will, 
 and make it pleasing in His sight by a good 
 confession. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jftonimg in the Jirst ®eek oi gCent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt. xxv. 31-46. 
 
 Let us represent to ourselves the Son of 
 Man, as our dear Lord loves to call Himself, 
 coming in His Majesty, and all the Angels 
 with Him, and seating Himself upon His 
 throne of judgment. Then let us see all the 
 nations of the earth — men who have been 
 dead for thousands of years, and those who 
 have only just been consigned to the tomb — 
 trooping in countless multitudes towards the 
 judgment-seat. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 19 
 
 I. 
 
 We must look upon this scene as if we 
 were mere spectators at a distance. We 
 shall most certainly be among those who 
 shall awaken at the sound of the trumpet of 
 the Archangel. Our bodies will once more 
 be united to our souls — those very bodies 
 and souls which we now possess ; and we 
 shall arise from our graves, from the sea, 
 from places where our bones may have been 
 scattered, and shall be urged by an irresis- 
 tible force to go before the face of the Judge. 
 It will be in vain to try to hide ourselves, 
 and so escape the terrible scrutiny and ex- 
 posure of that day. We shall be no longer 
 our own masters. The exercise of free-will 
 will be at an end ; and whether we will or 
 not, we must be judged. 
 
 11. 
 
 See how our Lord divides the good from 
 the bad, even as a shepherd separates the 
 sheep from the goats on the hillside. On 
 which side am I ? On which side do I 
 now deserve to be ? On the right with the 
 good, or on the left with those who are 
 hurled to everlasting torments, and the loss 
 of God and all good ? Let me think seriously 
 on the state of my soul as it is now, and 
 
 2 — 2 
 
20 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 consider with what face I could appear 
 before the all-seeing scrutiny of the eyes of 
 Jesus. I may die in a moment, as so many 
 thousands have done who thought their 
 chances of life as good as I now think mine. 
 And if I die in mortal sin, I must be. judged 
 in mortal sin. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Consider the law of love as the foundation 
 of the judgment. How wondrous it is to see 
 God’s judgment and His love brought into 
 such close contact, and seem to have been 
 made one! And love for the least of human 
 kind ! ‘ Amen I say to you, as long as you 
 
 did it to one of these My least brethren, you 
 did it to Me.’ How sweetly He identifies 
 Himself with His creatures ! And in what 
 alluring colours is not the judgment depicted 
 to us, when, without this, its terrors would 
 have been increased in an almost infinite 
 degree. It is Love that judges upon that 
 throne of Majesty. 
 
 I am confounded when I look into the 
 state of my soul, and see how unfit I am to 
 pass this great judgment of love. As I am, 
 I dare not brave ‘ the wrath of the Lamb.’ 
 O Jesus! I will ‘sweep my soul/ as holy 
 David says; I will be charitable; I will let 
 Thy love be supreme in my heart : and, for 
 Thy sake, I will love my neighbour as my- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 21 
 
 self. In all my transactions with men, I 
 will consider that I am dealing with Thee. 
 Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, 
 Gloria. 
 
 ‘Uuesbag in the Jirst SIteek of gCent. 
 
 Gospel . — St Matt. xxi. 10-17. 
 
 See our dear Lord passing through the 
 inquiring crowds who hastened about Him 
 in the streets of Jerusalem, all in commo- 
 tion, asking one another, ‘Who is this?’ 
 Regardless of their clamour, and of their 
 questions and answers concerning Him, He 
 goes straight on to the Temple, and, entering 
 it, finds men there who bought and sold, and 
 thus desecrated the holy precincts. In His 
 zeal for His Father’s glory, He cast them 
 out, overturning their tables and benches, 
 and bitterly reproaching them. 
 
 1. 
 
 The zeal which Jesus had for His Father’s 
 honour and glory was proportioned to the 
 intimate knowledge which He had of what 
 that honour demanded, and of how it was 
 assailed by the unworthy conduct of these 
 men. Since that knowledge was perfect 
 and most exact, we can form some distant 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 22 
 
 idea of how great His indignation was, and 
 how His Sacred Heart was pained when He 
 saw that men forgot the holiness of His 
 Father’s house, and turned that sacred 
 Temple into a common market-place. His 
 indignation is a holy indignation, without 
 one particle of fault in it. Contemplate it, 
 and consider how detestable to Him is any 
 profanation of holy things. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The Temple of Jerusalem was the type of 
 the Christian soul, which by Baptism is made 
 the temple of the Holy Ghost, and by the 
 Holy Communion becomes the dwelling- 
 place of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If 
 the anger of Jesus was so great when He saw 
 the material Temple profaned, what must be 
 the pain of His Sacred Heart when He be- 
 holds an immortal soul in mortal sin ? — 
 when He is forced, as it were, to enter into 
 such a soul, a defiled temple, when He is 
 unworthily received in the Communion ? 
 Such a soul is to Him a den of thieves ; nay, 
 worse, a den of devils. Into what fearful 
 company the unworthy receiver forces the 
 pure Lamb of God ! How terrible is the 
 wrath of that Lamb, and the punishment 
 which awaits such a soul ! 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 23 
 
 III. 
 
 The anger of Jesus did not take posses- 
 sion of Him so far as to make Him forget 
 His mission of love and mercy, for we find 
 that, while still in the Temple, the blind and 
 the lame came clustering about Him, and He 
 cured them. Contemplate our Lord in these 
 acts of goodness, and imagine you hear Him 
 speaking kind and encouraging words to 
 these poor people, and see Him restoring to 
 them their lost faculties. The hard-hearted 
 and profane He casts away ; but the poor, 
 the helpless, and afflicted, He gathers to His 
 Sacred Heart. 
 
 Am I ever indignant ? Yes, truly, very 
 frequently. Is it because God is offended, 
 and out of pure zeal for His honour? No; 
 it is because / am offended. It is when I 
 am insulted ; when men undervalue me ; 
 when they prefer others to me ; when they 
 question or deny my claims to their con- 
 sideration. Let me amend this. 
 
 Have I such great claims to the esteem 
 of men when I have so often forfeited that 
 of God by my sins ? Perhaps even I have 
 gone the length of profaning the Sacraments, 
 of making a bad confession and Communion. 
 I will examine my conscience upon these 
 points, and I will apply a remedy if I find 
 anything wrong. 
 
24 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Again : I know that, as a Catholic, I have 
 sometimes been indignant at words and acts 
 which insulted the religion I profess. Has 
 it been simply an indignation on account of 
 God ? And has it ever made me forget the 
 duty of charity? Has it ever so far upset 
 my mind that I have been distracted through 
 it, and allowed myself to be led by it into 
 any fault ? I will search into this, and 
 correct myself. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 (Smber SEUimeebaj). 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt. xii. 38- 50. 
 
 Imagine our blessed Lord surrounded by 
 Scribes and Pharisees who try to tease and 
 annoy Him by asking Him to perform a 
 miracle for them. Admire His patience, and 
 at the same time the outspoken and unflinch- 
 ing way in which He tells them that their 
 generation is an evil one, and in which He 
 proclaims His superiority to Jonas and to 
 Solomon. 
 
 1. 
 
 Patience and truth were most conspicuous 
 in the conduct of Jesus. And, after His 
 example, they have been very observable in 
 the lives of all His Saints. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 25 
 
 Patience means suffering, or waiting with 
 calmness and resignation; and what Jesus 
 had to suffer in the scene here recorded, was 
 the importunate impertinence of malicious 
 and hypocritical men. How trying this 
 must have been to one Who saw into the 
 depths of their hearts, and Who knew the 
 motives which urged them to make their 
 request ! 
 
 11. 
 
 Notwithstanding that He knew and 
 measured their malice and hypocrisy, He 
 does not disdain to give them instruction, 
 but speaks out the truth plainly to them, 
 telling them that the men of Ninive and the 
 Queen of the South should rise up in judg- 
 ment against them. 
 
 hi. 
 
 The men of Ninive did penance on the 
 preaching of Jonas, and the Queen of the 
 South came from very distant lands to hear 
 the wisdom of Solomon ; and, although they 
 were Pagans, our dear Lord speaks in praise 
 of them for what they had done well. It was 
 their correspondence with a supernatural 
 inspiration that called forth His praises. He 
 is continually calling us to penance by the 
 voice of His Church, and especially at this 
 time of Lent ; and He would ever have us 
 
26 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 seek after the wisdom of Himself, Who is 
 greater than Solomon, the wisdom of seeking 
 after His love and His law before all things 
 on earth, and our eternal salvation in the 
 next life. What is all worldly wisdom when 
 compared with that which the Saints sought 
 and found in the study of His Sacred Heart ? 
 
 Am I patient habitually in all my dealings 
 with God, and with my fellow-men ? If I 
 desire to love God above all things, am I not 
 impatient when 1 find that I do not succeed 
 at once ? And does not this impatience 
 show itself by a sort of petulant despair, so 
 that I am tempted to give up trying to be 
 virtuous or perfect ? Have I ever yielded to 
 this ? 
 
 But if I am so imperfect as not even to 
 have arrived at the sincere wish to serve 
 God perfectly, how many things excite my 
 impatience ! I cannot stand the slightest 
 impertinence. I cannot bear that men should 
 expect me to give any proofs of my truth, etc. 
 And the insolence of men very often, per- 
 haps, even deters me from announcing to 
 them the truth, and makes me silent when in 
 duty I ought to speak. 
 
 Let me take heed lest the very Pagans, and 
 those who are not Catholics, who have done 
 their duty as far as they know how, rise up 
 in judgment against me, who have had so 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 27 
 
 many graces, so many opportunities and 
 chances of doing good. O Jesus ! I will do 
 prance in time, and I will accept this Lent 
 as coming from Thee, through Thy Church, 
 for the due correction of my soul. Jesus, aid 
 me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^hurshai) in the Jjirst Wink of gCent 
 Gospel. — St. Matt . xv. 21-28. 
 
 Imagine in your mind Jesus walking with 
 His disciples along the sea-coast of Phoenicia, 
 near those ancient towns of Tyre and Sidon, 
 and see the Canaanean woman, who comes, 
 full of faith in His miraculous powers, to in- 
 voke His aid for the cure of her daughter. 
 
 1. 
 
 Jesus did not answer a word to her first 
 supplication ; He seemed to turn a deaf ear 
 to her entreaty. In my case, would not this 
 be enough to repel me altogether ? Should 
 I not feel that my pride was wounded, and 
 that I was made of no consideration ? How 
 often has it not happened to me that I have 
 prayed for favours, and have been discouraged, 
 or even disgusted at their not being granted 
 at once ? I will look upon the dear face of 
 Jesus, and study His Sacred Heart, and I 
 
28 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 shall find that, all the while, He is full ot 
 sweetness and mercy, that His Heart is yearn- 
 ing for me, that if there be any fault, it is all 
 my own, and that the only thing to disgust 
 me should be my own pride and impatience. 
 
 ii. 
 
 When the disciples asked Jesus to send her 
 away because she was crying after them, His 
 reply was that He was only sent to the lost 
 sheep of the house of Israel. This answer, as 
 excluding the Canaanean from His mission, 
 would seem to be a terrible rebuff ; but it 
 appears only to have induced her to approach 
 nearer, to adore Him, and to beseech Him 
 piteously, 1 0 Lord, help me/ Admire the 
 strength of her desire that her petition should 
 be complied with; and also the hidden motive 
 of our dear Lord, Who wished to make a trial 
 of, and to manifest publicly, her perseverance 
 and her faith. 
 
 hi. 
 
 The second answer of Jesus would be still 
 more repelling to a soul of less humility, for 
 He said to her : ‘ It is not good to take the 
 bread of the children and cast it to dogs/ 
 How would it be with me in such a case ? 
 But with her, humility and earnestness gained 
 the day. She said, ‘Yea, Lord ; for even the 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 29 
 
 whelps eat of the crumbs that fall from the 
 table of their masters.’ And she deserved to 
 hear that other answer, which crowned her 
 happiness, and sent her away rejoicing : ‘O 
 woman, great is thy faith ; be it done unto 
 thee as thou wishest.’ 
 
 The petition of this woman had all the con- 
 ditions of supplicatory prayer. It was earnest ; 
 for her whole conduct shows how her heart 
 was absorbed in the wish for its accomplish- 
 ment. It was devout ; for she adored Jesus. 
 It was humble ; for she did not hesitate 
 under what we might consider to be rude 
 repulses ; nor did she shrink from likening 
 herself to the dumb creatures which are con- 
 tent to pick up the crumbs beneath the table. 
 It was persevering ; for she would not desist 
 in spite of all. It was full of faith ; for she 
 must have firmly believed in His power, not 
 only to have persevered, but to deserve from 
 Him those words, ‘great is thy faith.’ 
 
 I will imitate this woman in my prayer. 
 I will endeavour to give my prayers all the 
 conditions which can make them good. Many 
 times I have been tempted to think that God 
 forgot me, that He would take no heed of 
 me, because all did not turn out at once as I 
 wished and prayed. But now I know that 
 all His conduct to me has been for my greater 
 and more lasting good. I will never doubt 
 
30 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Thee, 0 my Jesus ! My heart shall rest in 
 Thee ; and I will always be sure that what- 
 ever Thou dost to me, or for me, is the best 
 that could befall me. Jesus, aid me by Thy 
 grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 (Ember Jfribztj). 
 
 Gospel. — St. John v. 1-15. 
 
 Picture to your mind the pool of Bethsaida, 
 a small pond just within one of the gates of 
 Jerusalem, and see the multitude of sick per- 
 sons lying in the porches which gave entrance 
 to it. See our Blessed Lord passing by, and 
 attracted by the sight of one severely afflicted, 
 and make vivid to yourself the whole scene 
 related in the Gospel. 
 
 1. 
 
 The Venerable Bede says that the blind 
 represent those who have not the light of 
 sacred knowledge ; the lame, those who have 
 not moral strength to carry out what they see 
 and know to be right ; the withered, those 
 who have not the unction of Divine love. 
 
 Now let me consider if I have taken pains 
 to acquire the knowledge of sacred things, of 
 my religion, of its doctrines and practices. 
 I certainly have had opportunities enough ; 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 3i 
 
 have I taken advantage of those opportunities? 
 Or have I not rather felt weariness and dis- 
 gust when I have heard the Word of God 
 preached : and have I not preferred any light 
 and amusing reading to giving up even a small 
 portion of my time each day to studying the 
 science of the Saints, and how to be perfect ? 
 
 11. 
 
 Supposing that I have tried to illuminate 
 my mind with sacred knowledge, and par- 
 ticularly with the knowledge of what God 
 requires of me especially and individually, 
 what use have I made of that knowledge when 
 it has been made manifest to me, either by 
 the inspirations of Divine grace, or by the 
 ordinary, practical way of gaining it, namely, 
 by the advice and direction of my confessor? 
 Have I consulted my director when I have 
 been in uncertainty about God’s will in my 
 regard ? And if he has told me what I 
 ought to do, and so given me knowledge on 
 the point, have I complied with his direc- 
 tions ? This consideration is of the highest 
 importance in the choice of a state of life, 
 which does not mean what profession or 
 mode of living in the world we shall pursue, 
 but what is our vocation. Does God call us 
 to serve Him in the priesthood, or in religion ; 
 or does He will that we should save our souls 
 
32 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 by marrying and settling in the world ? Have 
 I ever allowed any earthly consideration to 
 interfere with what I have learnt to be, or 
 what I have solid grounds to believe to be 
 my vocation ? If I have, I have taken an 
 awful responsibility on myself — namely, that 
 of choosing for myself in opposition to God’s 
 will. 
 
 hi. 
 
 My whole soul, and all that I do, will be 
 withered and dry if I have not the unction 
 of Divine love. I must endeavour to obtain 
 it, then, by observing the commandments in 
 every particular ; by prayer, and a frequent 
 approach to the Sacraments of penance and 
 the Holy Eucharist. Particular devotions 
 also will help me to progress in Divine love ; 
 not only such as are expressive of love to 
 God and His Saints, and which give us a 
 sensible satisfaction, but also those which 
 cost us a greater exercise of charity, such as 
 praying for the dead, and devoutly perform- 
 ing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. 
 Let me examine myself on these points, and 
 see if I have made the acquisition of Divine 
 love the great object of my life. 
 
 O my dear Lord Jesus, how often hast 
 Thou said to me interiorly, ‘ Wilt thou be 
 made whole?’ And have I not neglected 
 Thy most gracious mercy ? Have I not pre- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 33 
 
 ferred to remain spiritually blind, and lame, 
 and withered ? I see my misery, and I will 
 no longer refuse Thy aid. Help me, dear 
 Jesus; help me, that I may know Thy will in 
 my regard, that I may accomplish it perfectly, 
 and that I may acquire the perfection of 
 Divine love. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 (Ember <Saturimm 
 Gospel. — St . Matt. xvii. 1-9. 
 
 Imagine, as far as you are able, the glorious 
 vision which was shown to the eyes of the 
 disciples, Peter, James, and John. See our 
 dear Lord on the summit of Mount Thabor 
 suddenly transfigured, His face shining as 
 the sun, and His garments becoming white 
 as snow. Look upon the beautiful face of 
 Jesus all lighted up by the brightness of His 
 Divinity, which glowed through the veil of 
 His Humanity, and be content, with Peter, 
 to remain there gazing upon His beauty. 
 
 1. 
 
 ‘ It is good for us to be here/ These are 
 the words of St. Peter, who would have 
 remained for ever in the presence of Jesus, 
 contemplating His beauty in silent adoration. 
 It is always good to be with Jesus. Others 
 talk of being with Him, and of going to Him, 
 ♦ 3 
 
34 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 but none can point out the way to Him, nor 
 tell us how to remain with Him, but the 
 Catholic Church. How can I ever love my 
 Church too much which teaches me so much ? 
 I know what she teaches me in order that I 
 may be with Him. Do I always make use 
 of the means which she places within my 
 reach ? Am I as fond as I ought to be of 
 being with Him in the most Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, by receiving Him into my heart, or by 
 visiting Him in the tabernacle ? 
 
 ii. 
 
 In the Blessed Sacrament, when I visit it, 
 I can contemplate Jesus in whatever aspect 
 I may choose. I can look upon Him as the 
 little Child of Bethlehem, weeping and wail- 
 ing, and speaking to His Blessed and Im- 
 maculate Mother, that language of babes 
 which has no words, but which mothers can 
 so well understand. I can look upon Him 
 as transfigured with all the wondrous beauty 
 of Thabor ; or as the outcast in the Garden of 
 Gethsemane, and in all the unspeakable woe 
 of His most bitter dying. It is good for me 
 thus to visit and contemplate Him, for I 
 cannot do so without feeling my heart warm 
 to Him more and more, and without increas- 
 ing my love for Him. And this, after all, is 
 what I most wish for on earth. Why am I, 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 35 
 
 then, so cold and so negligent with respect to 
 the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 St. Peter was content to remain there, and 
 was perfectly unselfish in his satisfaction. 
 He said : ‘ Let us make here three taber- 
 nacles : one for Thee, and one for Moses, and 
 one for Elias.’ He did not think of himself 
 further than that he wished for the con- 
 tinuous sight of the bright vision then before 
 him. He would have remained there, far 
 from his home and his friends, without care 
 for his food or his raiment ; without shelter 
 from the cold dews of that mountain-top by 
 night, and the terrible heat of the Syrian sun 
 by day. He only thought of his Lord, and 
 after Him, of those friends of His who ac- 
 companied Him during the Transfiguration. 
 What a contrast my conduct presents to 
 that of St. Peter ! How many trifling causes 
 prevent me from going to Jesus, and being 
 with Him in the Blessed Sacrament ! How 
 many distractions I have when there ! 
 Worldly cares, and all sorts of little incon- 
 veniences, come to disturb my thoughts, and 
 to take them away from the contemplation 
 of my Lord. 
 
 My Jesus, it shall no longer be so. I will 
 look upon the possession of Thee and Thy 
 
 3—2 
 
36 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 grace as my greatest treasure, to which no 
 earthly treasure can be for one moment com- 
 pared. I will seek Thee in all things ; and 
 especially will I seek Thee by a worthy and 
 devout reception of Thee in the Blessed 
 Eucharist, and by cultivating in my soul a 
 more intense love of Thee in that Holy 
 Sacrament. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 §>tcoxtb cSunhaj) of gCent 
 
 Gospel. — Same as Yesterday. 
 
 Imagine yourself on Thabor, and gazing 
 with the Apostles on the glorious vision of 
 Christ transfigured. What thoughts would 
 fill your mind if you were there, and beheld 
 Jesus in His Sacred Humanity before you? 
 
 i. 
 
 The sight of Jesus in such glory would 
 raise in your soul thoughts of profound 
 adoration. You would fall down before 
 Him, overcome with the splendour of eternal 
 light which shone around Him for the time. 
 He is still, and for ever, the same Jesus ; 
 and He beholds you, although you do not 
 see Him. His Sacred Humanity in heaven 
 is resplendent with an infinitely more glorious 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 37 
 
 light than that which shone on Thabor. You 
 know this by faith. Behold Him, then, with 
 the eyes of faith, and let all the powers of 
 your soul bow before Him in supreme adora- 
 tion. Offer to Him the homage of your whole 
 being, and promise Him that you will never, 
 with the help of His grace, do anything un- 
 worthy of His Divine presence. 
 
 ii. 
 
 During the Transfiguration a bright cloud 
 overshadowed Him and the Apostles, and 
 a voice was heard from the cloud, saying, 
 4 This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am 
 well pleased ; hear ye Him.’ And the 
 Apostles were afraid. You would have been 
 afraid also at this manifestation of God. 
 And now that your mind is absorbed in the 
 contemplation of Him, are you not afraid 
 when you think of your unworthiness ? When 
 you reflect that if it were not for His mercy, 
 you would have died when you were in your 
 first mortal sin ; in your second ; your third ; 
 your hundredth ? Are you in mortal sin at 
 this moment ? Promise Him that you will 
 make yourself fit for His presence by a good 
 confession, and that you will do so at the 
 first opportunity, without any putting off. 
 Make an act of contrition now. You would 
 do so if suddenly you were to see Him before 
 
38 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 you, or if you were to hear, with your mortal 
 ears, the awful voice of God. You know 
 that God is present here and now as much 
 as if you saw Him. 
 
 in. 
 
 Again, were you on Thabor and beheld 
 the face of Jesus, how your heart would be 
 inflamed with love of Him ! with the desire 
 of being with Him, and never being sepa- 
 rated from Him for all eternity ! You would 
 tell Him how much you loved Him, or at 
 least how truly you desired and longed to 
 love Him, that you might gain His love. 
 Do so now; and excite your heart to a great, 
 burning desire of the love of God. Think 
 how little anything but what is God, or in 
 God, and for God, is worthy of the love of 
 an immortal soul. 
 
 Do I give Thee, O Jesus ! all the adora- 
 tion and love of which I am capable ? I 
 know the answer which Thou must give me. 
 I can adore Thee and love Thee more than 
 I do now. I can reflect more upon Thy 
 Divinity and Thy Humanity than I do. Oh ! 
 help me with Thy grace. Increase my faith 
 in Thy adorable presence, and let me never 
 forget it. Prostrate in adoration and love at 
 Thy dear feet, I hide my face and grieve 
 from my heart that I have ever offended 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 39 
 
 Thy awful but loving Majesty. Jesus, aid 
 me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jttonhaj) in the §tco\xb Week erf |Cent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John viii. 21-29. 
 
 Jesus was probably in the Temple when 
 He delivered the sermon contained in the 
 words of this day’s Gospel ; imagine Him, 
 then, there, surrounded by Scribes, Pharisees, 
 and a number of other Jews. See with what 
 calm dignity Jesus bears Himself in the 
 midst of His captious and cunning enemies, 
 and how, in spite of their hostility, He pro- 
 claims the Truth. 
 
 1. 
 
 Jesus does not fear opposition, nor even 
 malice. He knows that what He has to say 
 is true, and though the whole world were 
 ranged against Him in enmity or ridicule, 
 He would still proclaim the Truth. Has a 
 false fear of the world any influence over 
 me ? Do I fear, or care for what men may 
 say of me on account of my maintaining 
 Catholic truth ? Have I ever shrunk from 
 an open profession of my faith, when God’s 
 honour and my neighbour’s good may have 
 required it, on account of any fear of the 
 world ? Have I ever felt ashamed of any 
 
40 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Catholic doctrine or practice ; or of taking 
 decidedly the side of truth and of virtue in 
 the face of the injuries or sneers of others ? 
 What a noble figure Jesus makes when He, 
 encounters hostility, compromising nothing, 
 yielding in nothing, but keeping the straight- 
 forward line of duty in spite of all. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Jesus not merely announced to the Jews 
 the eternal truths, but He said many hard 
 things of them when occasion required. He 
 did not conceal, nor attempt to conceal, their 
 faults from them, but told them of their 
 obstinate resistance to God’s grace, and to 
 what this world would lead them — viz., that 
 they should die in their sins. It is the part 
 of a true friend to tell another, in all charity, 
 of his faults and errors, and to what they will 
 lead if they are not corrected. Jesus is our 
 true friend, and by His Word, by His Church, 
 and by the voice of our own consciences, 
 He is always telling us of our transgressions. 
 And if the Church sometimes tells us hard 
 truths about ourselves, or demands from us 
 some slight denial to our natural inclinations, 
 shall we refuse to acknowledge the friendly 
 character of all this ? When the Church 
 speaks, let us hear Jesus speaking by her 
 mouth, and let us listen to Him with all 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 4i 
 
 meekness and docility, so that we may not 
 incur the punishment of the Jews. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Let us reflect that Jesus knew, all the 
 while, that the men to whom He was speak- 
 ing would seek His life for His plain, out- 
 spoken condemnation of their conduct. By 
 His Divine knowledge, He knew not only 
 every thought that was there and then pass- 
 ing through their minds, but he also foresaw 
 all that would come of it : how they would 
 hate Him, thirst for His blood, and hunt 
 Him to death. Let us adore the patience 
 and the inflexible holiness of our Lord, and 
 let us try to warm up our hearts to a true 
 and most sincere sympathy with Him. 
 
 When I examine myself, have I not reason 
 to be ashamed that my conduct so little 
 resembles that of Jesus ? If there are any 
 whom I love with a worldly love, am I not 
 too ready to cover up their faults even from 
 their own eyes ? And if, on the other hand, 
 I have an ill-feeling towards anyone, I am 
 too apt to exaggerate their failings. Truth, 
 without diminution or exaggeration, is what 
 I ought to learn from Jesus. O my dear 
 J.ord, let me never shrink from the truth, 
 however disagreeable it may be to me, or to 
 those to whom I speak. With Thy grace, I 
 
42 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 resolve that I never will. Hear my resolu- 
 tion, and bless it. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^tte0hag in the <Se<;onb Wittk of |Cent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt . xxiii. 1-12. 
 
 See our dear Lord still surrounded by 
 Scribes, Pharisees, and multitudes of persons 
 besides His disciples ; look upon His face ; 
 and hear His words as if they were addressed 
 to you. 
 
 1. 
 
 How wonderfully painful and repulsive it 
 must have been to Jesus to see the malice 
 and hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
 to know it all most perfectly, and to appre- 
 ciate with a most full understanding all the 
 wickedness which reigned in their hearts. He 
 could not bear the presence of sin in any way, 
 or in any shape, and yet out of His love for 
 man, and a desire to spread His Father’s 
 truth, He submitted to be constantly in the 
 midst of sin and of sinners. Learn to love 
 Jesus for this sign of His love for you indi- 
 vidually, and consider your own conduct with 
 regard to Him. Have you, like Him, an in- 
 tense hatred of sin, and yet a great patience 
 with sinners ? Do you willingly submit to be 
 placed in awkward or unpleasant situations 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 43 
 
 for His sake ? Nothing can, by any possi- 
 bility, be so repulsive to us as sin was to 
 Him, Who was all purity and holiness, and 
 yet we are very fastidious about any circum- 
 stances that are not quite agreeable to us, 
 particularly when the performance of our 
 duty brings us into contact with them. Is 
 it generally sin that excites our disgust ? Let 
 us amend our conduct. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The disgust which filled the Sacred Heart 
 of Jesus at the sight of the wickedness of the 
 Pharisees was very much heightened by their 
 hypocrisy. He knew the utter hollowness 
 of their pretensions to virtue, while He, in 
 common with others, saw their sanctimonious 
 ostentation of good works, and the arrogance 
 with which they asserted their spiritual supe- 
 riority. How infinitely repulsive this must 
 have been to Him Whose whole conduct was 
 so noble and upright, and in Whom there 
 could be nothing mean or pretentious ! What 
 dost Thou see in me, my Jesus? Are my 
 outward acts always indications of what 
 really exists in my heart? Do I always speak 
 simply that which I feel ? Art Thou never 
 shocked by observing in me talk and show 
 of great, noble, and virtuous feelings which 
 really have no root in my soul ? Do I never 
 
44 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 try to appear to men to be better than what 
 I know I must be to Thy all-seeing eye ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 The horror of Jesus was heightened not 
 alone by the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but 
 also by their want of charity and considera- 
 tion for others. They bound, as He said, 
 ‘heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay 
 them on men’s shoulders ; but with a finger 
 of their own they will not move them.’ Pre- 
 tension with regard to virtue is sure to be 
 accompanied by uncharitableness. If we 
 make great outward professions of virtue, we 
 are certain to look down upon our neighbours, 
 and to demand more from them than we are 
 willing to do ourselves. Let us examine our- 
 selves upon this head, and see if we are not 
 often censorious about our neighbour’s con- 
 duct with regard to the very things in which 
 we are signally deficient. We think our 
 neighbour vain, conceited, haughty, negli- 
 gent, given to unkind conversation, or what 
 not ; or perhaps accuse him in our own minds 
 of greater crimes, while, if we looked at our- 
 selves, what should we find ? Is there any- 
 thing in us to warrant our being so exacting 
 with respect to our neighbour ? 
 
 Dear Lord Jesus, I will, with Thy grace, be 
 patient with others ; I will try to know my- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 45 
 
 self thoroughly. How many graces Thou 
 hast given me ! How long Thou hast borne 
 with me ! And shall I, sinner as I am, be 
 supercilious to my neighbour, or think myself 
 in any way better than he is ? I will hate 
 hypocrisy in my own conduct, because it is 
 most detestable in itself, and most offensive 
 to Thee. I will examine as to my past, and 
 do all in my power to amend. Jesus, aid me 
 by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ffitebnegbaj) in the <Sejconb ®eek of |Eent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt . xx. 17-28. 
 
 Picture to yourself Jesus on His way to 
 Jerusalem, surrounded by a number of dis- 
 ciples, and other persons attracted towards 
 Him by various motives. See Him take His 
 twelve chosen Apostles aside, and hear Him 
 communicate to them the solemn history of 
 what was to befall Him. Listen to His words ; 
 take them into your heart, andponderon them. 
 
 Consider how Jesus delights to call Him- 
 self the Son of man in His humility. There 
 was a singular appropriateness in His doing 
 so on this occasion, because as simply the 
 Son of God, begotten of the Father from all 
 
4 6 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 eternity, He was incapable of suffering. But 
 to redeem us, and out of pure love to us, He 
 chose to become man, and to be born of the 
 Immaculate Virgin Mary, that so He might 
 be able to suffer for us. No man, nay, not all 
 the pure Angels who ever adore before the 
 throne of God, could have thought of such a 
 means for man’s redemption. It was only 
 the eternal and infinite love of God that 
 could have conceived the thought, that God 
 should become man, for this very purpose, 
 that He might be able to suffer. Oh ! what 
 love God has had for us from the very begin- 
 ning ! What love for us burned in the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus ! 
 
 ir. 
 
 He goes on to tell those wonder-stricken 
 Apostles that He shall be betrayed. It was 
 not enough for the love of Jesus towards us 
 that His enemies should obtain possession of 
 Him by any means. Treachery was to do 
 the work. We have heard of princes being 
 betrayed by those whom they had loaded 
 with favours, of friends being betrayed by 
 those whom they had trusted with entire con- 
 fidence, and our hearts have burned with a 
 most natural and honest indignation. 
 
 We hate the name of traitor or betrayer. 
 We would rather be called almost anything 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 47 
 
 than traitor ; there is such an instinctive 
 horror of treachery implanted in the human 
 breast. What, then, must have been the 
 sense of horror which Jesus, the Son of God, 
 and the Son of man, had in His Sacred Heart 
 of the dastardly crime by which He was to 
 be betrayed ! He had all the hatred of God 
 for sin, and all the detestation of man for this 
 peculiar one of betrayal. And He knew and 
 felt that treachery was hanging over Him like 
 a dark cloud : and, worst of all ! that this 
 treachery was to come from a friend, from 
 one of His chosen Apostles, from one whom 
 He had loaded with favours, and taken into 
 His most intimate confidence. Oh ! fearful 
 weight of woe and sadness that oppressed 
 His dear Sacred Heart ! 
 
 in. 
 
 Consider how Jesus calmly narrated to His 
 Apostles the details of His coming sufferings; 
 that He should be betrayed to the priests 
 and the Scribes, men whose very position 
 should have ranged them on His side ; that 
 they should condemn Him, the Lord of life, 
 to death ; that they should deliver Him to 
 pagans to be mocked, and scourged, and 
 crucified. Look upon His face while He 
 tells these things, and try to enter into the 
 feelings of His Sacred Heart at the prospect 
 
48 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 of all that is to come upon Him. The fact 
 of His being God intensifies it all to Him ! 
 for He sees it all most exactly and most 
 perfectly. Moreover, His Divine will chose 
 that He should suffer. He therefore chose 
 suffering with an intensity of which we can 
 form no conception, and the prospect of His 
 agony was in proportion to the actual severity 
 of it when it really came upon Him. And 
 yet He speaks of it all so calmly that when 
 the mother of the sons of Zebedee comes to 
 Him He is ready to listen to her, and to 
 enter into conversation with her. Admire 
 the quiet dignity of Jesus, and urge your 
 heart to love Him more and more. 
 
 O Jesus ! I resolve to love Thee more and 
 more, and to make Thee a suitable return by 
 never doing anything to offend Thee, and by 
 doing all that I know Thou wouldst wish me 
 to do. Do Thou aid me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^hursbag in the Second SBeek of gent 
 
 Gospel. — St . Luke xvi. 19-31. 
 
 Sit at the feet of our dear Lord, and drink 
 in His words as a draught of heavenly 
 wisdom. Do not think of the Pharisees, nor 
 of anyone but of Jesus and thyself. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 49 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus, in the parable of Lazarus and the 
 rich man, wishes to impress upon us the 
 vanity of all earthly good things ; that is, their 
 emptiness and uselessness for the acquire- 
 ment of eternal happiness, unless they be 
 employed as God wishes us to employ them. 
 All the temporal goods which we possess are 
 given to us by Almighty God in trust. We 
 are the trustees and dispensers of them, and 
 shall have to give an account to Him of the 
 use we have made of them. The use to 
 which He wills that we should put them is 
 to make them conduce to the everlasting 
 salvation of our souls. This is the case 
 with everything that we have. All that God 
 gives us is good in itself, and if we come 
 to harm through it, it is all our own doing. 
 Lawfully acquired riches are good in them- 
 selves, but they become mere vanities if we 
 simply use them for our own gratification — 
 things that will pass away when the breath 
 leaves our bodies, and leave behind only 
 remorse and suffering. 
 
 ii. 
 
 We may make a good use of riches and 
 other temporal things, and thus lay up trea- 
 sures in heaven, where no rust will consume 
 
 4 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 So 
 
 them, and no thieves will break in and steal. 
 The use which Jesus inculcates in the Gospel 
 of to-day is that by which we alleviate the 
 sufferings and poverty of our needy brethren. 
 Do we reflect sufficiently upon this duty of 
 Christian charity ? We may say that we 
 have very little for ourselves, and, conse- 
 quently, cannot spare anything for others ; 
 but would it not be better for us to deprive 
 ourselves sometimes of some little extra 
 pleasure, some little delicacy, some trifling 
 piece of finery, in order that we may have 
 something to bestow in alms ? The alms of the 
 poor, which involve a real sacrifice, are very 
 pleasing to God, and very dear to the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus. It will be a good exercise 
 during Lent to see what we can lay by for 
 the poor, and to bestow it for the love of 
 Him Who so greatly loves the poor. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Jesus Christ chose for Himself a life of 
 poverty. He more nearly resembled Lazarus 
 than the rich man. Yet He could, as the 
 Lord and Master of all things, to Whom 
 belonged the earth and the fulness thereof, 
 have surrounded Himself with prosperity, 
 affluence, and every luxury, if He had so 
 willed. He Who could command legions of 
 Angels could have summoned all the riches 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 51 
 
 of the world to His feet; yet He chose 
 poverty, to teach us how we should be de- 
 tached from the things of the world, and to 
 manifest His love for the poor, who are 
 emphatically called by the Church the poor 
 of Christ. Poverty is no disgrace under the 
 Christian dispensation. It has been dignified 
 by the life and the practice of Jesus, and, 
 in imitation of Plim, by the practice of His 
 Saints. 
 
 Let me consider what I have done with 
 what God has given me. Supposing me to 
 be rich : have I remembered that my riches 
 were only given to me in trust ? And have 
 I, out of my abundance, been ready to assist 
 those who need my aid to the utmost of my 
 ability ? Supposing that I have but moderate 
 means, or that I am in actual poverty, have 
 I still had no way in which I could show 
 that I am a true Catholic, by making some 
 little sacrifice for the benefit, however appa- 
 rently slight, of those still poorer than my- 
 self ? I will seriously think of these things, 
 and for Thy sake, O loving Jesus, I will 
 amend my conduct, lest I share in the con- 
 demnation of the rich man. Rather let me 
 be poor as Lazarus and enjoy heaven than 
 be abounding in worldly affluence and lost 
 for ever. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 4—2 
 
52 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Jfrtbaj) in the <Sermtb SBeek of gDent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Matt xxi. 33-46. 
 
 Imagine yourself standing with the crowd 
 around Jesus ; look upon Him, and hear His 
 words. 
 
 1. 
 
 The vineyard spoken of by Jesus to the 
 Jews signifies the synagogue; and Jesus tells 
 them how the vineyard shall be taken from 
 them — that is, how the Gentiles shall be 
 brought together to be the possessors of the 
 covenant, the Church, and how they shall be 
 deprived of their inheritance on account of 
 their ill-treatment of the prophets, and of 
 their awful crime in putting to death the 
 only Son of God, the Master of the vineyard. 
 In a spiritual sense, the words of Jesus may 
 apply to the grace which God gives to each 
 Christian soul, which is the vineyard in- 
 trusted to each one’s care. This grace has 
 to be cultivated with extreme assiduity and 
 watchfulness, and the Master of the vineyard 
 will expect a return in proportion to the 
 amount of grace given How many graces 
 have I not received from God ! I cannot 
 count them. Have I put them to the best 
 advantage, and cultivated them so as to make 
 a suitable and proportionate return to my 
 Master ? 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 53 
 
 II. 
 
 On the contrary, have I not terribly neg- 
 lected the grace which He has given me? 
 Have I not, by my sins and my spiritual 
 sloth, turned His gifts to nought, nay, even 
 against the very Giver of them, so as, if it 
 were possible, to make Him a loser by His 
 generosity? Again, I feel that I have shut 
 the ears of my heart to the admonitions of 
 my conscience, to the teaching of the Church 
 by her pastors, to the counsels of my director, 
 to the advice or commands of my parents or 
 other superiors, and to the warnings of my 
 truest friends. And thus I have ill-treated 
 and driven away the messengers sent to me 
 by my Master. Nay, I have spurned His only 
 Son, and, as far as lay in my power, I have 
 put Him to death again, by making His death 
 and His merits of no use to me. I have 
 despised Him, and have preferred to take 
 my own way to following Him Who is ‘the 
 Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ The vine- 
 yard of my soul has thus, by my fault, been 
 laid desolate, the wild beast of sin has de- 
 voured it, and in place of the fruits of virtue, 
 I have nothing to show but the briars and 
 thorns of vice. Is this really my case, or 
 can I conscientiously say that it is not ? 
 
 If it be my case, what am I to expect if I 
 
54 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 do not instantly set to work in earnest to re- 
 pair the past, and to make good the future ? 
 I can only look for the judgment pronounced 
 against those wicked husbandmen in the 
 Gospel. God’s grace will be withdrawn from 
 me altogether, and given to others who will 
 cultivate it well. Perhaps I feel that I am 
 not so fervent as I once was ; that I do not 
 relish spiritual things as I once did ; that my 
 soul is becoming lukewarm and negligent, 
 and is not all this a sign of the withdrawal 
 of God’s grace? It is a terrible thing to 
 find, as we are advancing in age, that we are 
 not so good as we used to be. God grant 
 that this may not be my case. Let me care- 
 fully examine whether it be so or not, and if 
 I find that it is, I will seek for the cause, 
 and root it out as a noxious weed that im- 
 pedes the growth of God’s grace in my soul, 
 and will bring me to destruction. 
 
 O Jesus ! Thou knowest what I am, and 
 what I am worth in Thy sight. I cannot 
 conceal my real state from Thee, however 
 much I may veil my baseness from others by 
 hypocrisy, and from myself by a wilful blind- 
 ness. I will really examine my conscience ; 
 I will make a good confession, and with Thy 
 helping grace try to make my soul worthy 
 of a visit from Thee. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 55 
 
 (Saturtmg in the <Seconh 5Seek of 
 Sent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Luke xv. 11-32. 
 
 Imagine Jesus Christ as a father whom 
 you have offended, and whose home you 
 have left ; and then think of yourself as an 
 outcast, miserable, poor, and forlorn, with 
 the thoughts of the old home just rising in 
 your heart. 
 
 1. 
 
 Consider the miserable state of the prodigal 
 son, far away from his own home, and that 
 by his own fault. All his means are squan- 
 dered in debauchery and excess ; he has not 
 a friend now that he is no longer rich ; he is 
 very hungry, and is sent to feed swine, and 
 would fain satisfy himself with husks, but 
 there is no one who will give him any. What 
 a picture of desolation this presents to us ! 
 He who had been so delicately nurtured has 
 fallen into such utter woe ! See him starving, 
 with death staring from his hollow eyes, and 
 envying the very hogs. Sad as this picture 
 is, it is but a faint likeness of a soul that has 
 quitted its Father’s house through sin. It 
 has wandered away from God, and has sought 
 to satisfy itself with forbidden delights, but 
 has found them empty and hollow. Nothing 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 56 
 
 can make up for the loss of the quiet and 
 holy joys of its Father’s house. All that was 
 worth having is gone. It is weary, desolate, 
 hungry, almost despairing. O my soul ! art 
 thou in this state? If thou art not, it is 
 only by the mercy of God ; and let the 
 thought of such desolation keep thee ever in 
 thy Father’s home — that is, in God’s grace. 
 
 11. 
 
 At last the thought of home came to the 
 poor prodigal’s heart. He thought of the 
 old days of innocence and peace. Thought 
 how, even now, the hired servants at home 
 were abounding in bread, while he was starv- 
 ing. He makes no delay, but says at once he 
 will go home to his father and confess his 
 fault. Far from urging any claim, he will 
 tell his father that he is not worthy to be 
 called his son. What a beautiful picture of 
 a repenting soul ! First there is regret for 
 the good that is lost, and a sense of the 
 present actual misery of sin ; then the deter- 
 mination to return to God, with love for Him 
 and confidence in Him, a deep sense of un- 
 worthiness, and a sincere sorrow for the past, 
 combined with a resolution, such as we may 
 be sure existed in the prodigal’s heart, of 
 never again offending. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 57 
 
 III. 
 
 How ready the father was to forgive and 
 receive his penitent child ! Doubtless he 
 was watching eagerly for his return, for he 
 sees him from afar, ‘ a long way off,’ and run- 
 ning to him falls upon his neck, and kisses 
 him. Not content with this, he clothes him 
 with the best robe, puts a ring on his finger 
 and shoes on his feet, and makes a great 
 banquet to celebrate his return. If such be 
 the love and goodness of an earthly parent, 
 what is the love of the great loving heart of 
 Jesus to a repentant soul ! We cannot 
 fathom or measure it, it is so immense and so 
 intense. What an encouragement this ought 
 to be to us to arise at once from our misery, 
 and to return to Him ! He is watching for 
 us, and will come to meet us. What does 
 this mean ? It means that He has estab- 
 lished a holy Sacrament to which His Church 
 is ever calling us, the Sacrament of Penance, 
 where He sits looking for us and expecting 
 us. The wish and intention of reconciling 
 ourselves with Him by its means will draw 
 Him towards us by His grace, and will bring 
 grace to us. Then with contrition, confes- 
 sion, and satisfaction joined with the holy 
 absolution, we shall be embraced to His 
 heart, clothed with grace, and loaded with 
 Divine favours. 
 
5 ^ 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Oh ! how can I ever deliberately and in- 
 tentionally neglect to reconcile myself with 
 God ! The state of my soul in sin is a con- 
 dition of utter misery, which is only a pre- 
 lude to the eternal woe, if I do not repent 
 I will do so, O my Jesus ! I will go home. 
 I will seek again the ways of innocence and 
 peace, and with Thy grace I will never, 
 never more desert them and Thee. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^hirb <SunDa|) of |Eent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Luke xi. 14-28. 
 
 Imagine you see Jesus exercising all the 
 majesty of His power over the evil spirit, 
 and expelling him perhaps by a word, a 
 touch, a gesture, a glance, or a mere effort of 
 His will, but without any display or ostenta- 
 tion. 
 
 1. 
 
 St. Matthew tells us (xii. 22) that this 
 possessed person was blind as well as dumb ; 
 and his condition well represents the state 
 of a soul in mortal and obstinate sin. A 
 soul in mortal sin is in the possession of the 
 devil, for the grace of God is not there ; the 
 devil can see in it a counterpart of himself, 
 and if the person were to die in that state, 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 59 
 
 the soul would be the property of the devil, 
 and would share his damnation for all eternity. 
 It is also in the devil’s possession, because in 
 wilfully falling into mortal sin, or deliberately 
 remaining in that state, the soul makes itself 
 a slave of the devil ; it does the devil’s will 
 instead of God’s will. For a free man to be 
 made by force a slave to an earthly master 
 is considered rightly to be one of the greatest 
 misfortunes that could possibly befall him. 
 What, then, must it be to be a slave of the 
 devil ! For a man willingly to enslave him- 
 self bodily to another, unless through some 
 motive of Divine charity, would be thought 
 an inconceivable degradation ; and if a man 
 so gives up his freedom of spirit to another, 
 that he will perform at his bidding the basest 
 and most dishonourable actions, he is justly 
 looked upon as one of the lowest of mankind. 
 And yet this is just what the soul does when 
 it falls into or remains in mortal sin. The 
 only difference is that it surrenders itself to 
 the devil instead of to a man. 
 
 ii. 
 
 , When thus in the devil’s possession, it be- 
 comes blind, like the man in the Gospel ; 
 blind to the goodness of God and the beauty 
 of virtue; blind to the frightful state in which 
 it is, as well as to the terrible consequences 
 
6o 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 of being in that state. It is blind also as to 
 the enormity of sin, and the horrible havoc 
 which sin creates in it ; blind to its utter 
 deformity ; blind to all its true interests ; 
 blind to the attractions of God’s grace. And 
 there is danger of this blindness deepening 
 and darkening, so that the soul may be 
 utterly shut out from the influence of God’s 
 grace, and go forth to eternity in final im- 
 penitence. Let me examine my soul in time 
 to cure it of spiritual blindness, if such exist 
 in it. 
 
 hi. 
 
 It is also dumb. It cannot pray; prayer 
 has become distasteful and wearisome, and 
 all the faithful, and confiding, and affectionate 
 expressions it once made use of towards 
 Almighty God have died away from its lips. 
 And the longer it remains in mortal sin, the 
 more will it forget prayer. It is dumb also 
 for asking advice from those competent to 
 afford it on spiritual matters. It takes its 
 own way, without asking whether it be the 
 right way or not, and indeed without caring. 
 It is dumb with regard to confession, either 
 not approaching the Sacrament of Penance, 
 or, worse still, making bad, sacrilegious con- 
 fessions. It is dumb with respect to giving 
 good advice to others, or speaking for the 
 honour and glory of God and for the salvation 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 6 1 
 
 of souls. What a state for a man to reduce 
 himself to willingly ! It would seem, at first 
 sight, to be as hopeless as the case of one 
 corporally blind and dumb ; but as in the 
 latter case there was a means of cure, so 
 in the former we may find one if we listen in 
 time to the voice of our conscience, and yield 
 to the urging of God’s grace. 
 
 O my God, preserve me from ever falling 
 into mortal sin, or, if I should unhappily fall, 
 give me grace to rise again. But what am I 
 saying ? perhaps I am now in that dreadful 
 state. I will examine my heart and my 
 conscience, dear Jesus; I will lose no time, 
 and I will seek to be delivered from my 
 slavery, by hastening to make a good con- 
 fession. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 JHonbag in the ^hirb ®eek oi ^ent* 
 
 Gospel. — St. Luke iv. 23-30. 
 
 Imagine you see Jesus taken to the brow 
 of the hill to be cast down headlong, and so 
 killed ; but mysteriously passing through the 
 crowd, He goes His way. 
 
 1. 
 
 Reflect, by way of contemplation, on the 
 anger and hatred of the Pharisees against our 
 
62 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 dear Lord, and unite your heart in sympathy 
 with His Sacred Heart. The Pharisees were 
 like fierce wolves around the Lamb of God, 
 Who, all meekness and gentleness, stood so 
 calmly in the midst of them. If you observe 
 Him well, you will see no resentment in 
 Him, no disturbance of spirit, no eager haste 
 to escape their fury, no fear, no gestures 
 indicative of impatience, terror, or revenge. 
 What a noble yet sweet object of contempla- 
 tion is Jesus, so calm in the midst of the 
 tempest of anger that is raging around Him ! 
 Not one angry word escapes him, not a prayer 
 to those men that they will not wreak their 
 vengeance upon Him. Look into His Sacred 
 Heart, and you will find it all on fire with 
 the love of those very men. 
 
 ii. 
 
 See what a contrast there is between Him 
 and the Pharisees and others who fill the 
 synagogue. They are all enraged, and filled 
 with anger and hatred. Hear the confused 
 sound of their voices filling the synagogue, 
 some clamouring for His death, others 
 mocking and deriding Him ; and not one 
 word of kindness, sympathy, or comfort 
 addressed to Him. Truly all His sorrows 
 and pains of heart and mind w r ere not in His 
 Passion alone. This scene was, in some 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 63 
 
 measure, a foretaste of that most bitter 
 suffering to come. See their frantic gestures, 
 their menacing hands, their attitudes of threat 
 or of derision. And all this continues till 
 they actually seize upon Him, and thrust Him 
 out of His own city of Nazareth with rudeness 
 and with insult. They take Him to the brow 
 of the hill whereon their city was built, and 
 in a tumultuous crowd hurry around Him 
 with the murderous intention of casting Him 
 headlong from the height. If you were in 
 that synagogue, and amid that crowd, would 
 you side with the Pharisees, or with Jesus? 
 You say unhesitatingly, with Jesus. Your 
 heart is struck with horror at the idea of 
 taking part with those ferocious beings, rather 
 wild beasts than men ; and yet, in your 
 ordinary dealings with Jesus, how do you 
 behave ? When it comes to actually taking 
 sides — your passions on one hand, and Jesus 
 on the other — do you always, invariably join 
 with Him ? Do you never, for fear or love of 
 anything or anyone else, go against Him by 
 committing sin ? 
 
 111. 
 
 Consider the simple but most expressive 
 words of the Evangelist, who says that ‘ He, 
 passing through the midst of them, went His 
 way.’ There are few passages of Holy Scrip- 
 ture more striking than this description of 
 
64 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Jesus passing through the midst of that in- 
 furiated Jewish crowd He is in the midst 
 of them, and suddenly He is gone. Behold 
 their stupefaction at seeing Him no more 
 there ! They cannot tell how He has gone, 
 nor whither. They look at each other in 
 utter astonishment. Hear their hesitating 
 inquiries, and perhaps their expressions of 
 baffled rage. His time was not yet come, 
 and He knew how to elude them by the 
 exercise of His Divine power. The con- 
 templation of this scene should be to us a 
 source of great encouragement, especially in 
 these times, when the powers of the world 
 are exercising their unholy strength against 
 the Church of Christ. While so many voices 
 are clamouring for its destruction, so many 
 minds are set upon its ruin, let us at least 
 resolve to remain faithful, and thank God for 
 His providence over it. 
 
 O Jesus ! I compassionate Thee in Thy 
 sufferings, and I desire to unite my heart 
 with Thine. Never will I take part with 
 Thy enemies ; never will I listen to the 
 suggestions of evil, or choose sin in preference 
 to Thy law. Though the whole world besides 
 should be against Thee and Thy Church, I 
 wish to proclaim my loyalty, and to maintain 
 it to my last breath. Give me grace and 
 strength to do so. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 65 
 
 iEtteebajj in the ^hirb SSUeek of gCettt 
 Gospel. — St. Matt, xviii. 15-22. 
 
 Imagine Jesus to be visibly before you and 
 instructing you. How would you act in such 
 a case ? You would listen with all possible 
 reverence, attention and devotion. He speaks 
 to you by His written word; so listen to Him, 
 and gather fruit to yourself. 
 
 1. 
 
 ‘ If two of you shall consent upon earth 
 concerning anything whatsoever they shall 
 ask, it shall be done to them by My Father 
 Who is in heaven.’ These words were ad- 
 dressed by our dear Lord to the Apostles, 
 but in their person they were spoken to all 
 the faithful. How wonderfully consoling 
 they are ! Take in their full meaning. ‘ If 
 two of you shall consent.’ This shows to us 
 how beautiful and efficacious in the sight of 
 God, is the concord of Christians. He loves 
 order and unity. Disorder and discord are 
 diametrically opposed to the religion of Christ, 
 Who loves to see a union of Catholic hearts, 
 because we are all His brethren ; we have 
 the same faith, the same hopes, and the same 
 object of love. We have similar trials and 
 temptations, and we look forward to the same 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 eternal enjoyment of Him. He would that 
 we were one, even as He and the Father are 
 one. What charity then He wishes to see 
 amongst us ! And where it exists, how 
 pleasing it must be in His sight, since He 
 promises so great a reward to our concord ! 
 Let us examine ourselves upon our feelings 
 towards others, and if we have any ill-will or 
 uncharitableness, let us be reconciled, and 
 banish all rancour, that we may obtain the 
 objects of our prayers. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Consider the efficaciousness of true Chris- 
 tian concord, as shown to us by the unlimited 
 comprehensiveness of Christ’s promise. He 
 says, { Whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be 
 done to them.’ Of course this means what- 
 ever good and lawful thing they shall ask ; 
 for God will never grant prayers for things 
 that are unlawful. Again, our prayer must 
 necessarily have the conditions of good 
 prayer ; that is, we must pray with faith, 
 with hope, with humility, with earnestness, 
 and with perseverance. We must also pray 
 with all deference to the will of God, and to 
 His infinitely superior wisdom ; for our own 
 will is liable to be wrong, and we may often- 
 times be mistaken as to what is best for us 
 under any given circumstances. This is par- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 67 
 
 ticularly the case with regard to temporal 
 goods, for with respect to spiritual ones in 
 general , we can scarcely go astray in our 
 judgment, though we may be mistaken in 
 asking for particular spiritual goods, since 
 what we pray for may possibly be not the 
 best for us under the circumstances. Let us 
 then resolve not only to be in concord and 
 charity with others when we pray, but also 
 to ask for everything on condition that it is 
 according to the will of God. 
 
 hi. 
 
 The special necessity for this consideration 
 will appear when we reflect how often it 
 happens that God does not seem to hear our 
 petitions, and that the immediate object of 
 our prayers is not granted to us. It is not 
 that God does not hear us, or that He refuses 
 to grant our prayers, but that He sees that 
 we do not ask for what is best for us. He 
 hears our prayers most graciously, and has 
 regard to our sincerity, and so gives us some- 
 thing that we may not have asked for or 
 expected ; something that may even seem 
 repugnant to our wishes, but still what He 
 sees and knows to be better for us, and more 
 beneficial to us than what we have prayed for. 
 How beautiful is entire submission to the 
 will of God ; perfect conformity of our own 
 
 s— 2 
 
68 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 will with His ! This makes us very like our 
 Divine Model, and renders us very pleasing 
 in the eyes of God. 
 
 O my God ! give me perfect charity. 
 Give me grace to pluck out from my heart 
 every ill feeling towards any of my brethren. 
 Grant me also grace to conform my will with 
 Thine, that I may deserve to obtain the 
 immense reward which Thou hast promised, 
 even on earth, to those who pray well. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 in the ^hirh §Mcek oi Sent* 
 Gospel. — St. Matt. xv. 1-20. 
 
 Picture to your mind our blessed Lord 
 near the Lake of Genesareth, and see the 
 Scribes and Pharisees coming to Him from 
 Jerusalem, to question Him about the practices 
 of His disciples. 
 
 1. 
 
 Contrast the malice and falseness of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees with the simplicity and 
 truth of Jesus. Look into His face, and into 
 theirs ; see their captiousness, and eagerness 
 to entrap Him ; and see how meekly He 
 listens to them, and with how few simple, 
 but telling words, He silences them. The 
 Scribes claimed for themselves the criticism 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 69 
 
 of new doctrines, and new teachers ; while 
 the Pharisees made a profession of extra- 
 ordinary sanctity, and most exact observance 
 of the Law. The former were arrogant 
 impostors, and the latter were hypocritical 
 and exacting. They sent spies to listen to 
 the teaching of Jesus, and to watch the 
 practice of His disciples. Then they followed, 
 and in their envy of our dear Lord, put 
 questions to Him, and took exception to His 
 doctrine. Listen to the talk of these busy 
 men, who pretended to know so much, and 
 to be so very holy, and by contrasting them 
 with Him, learn to love and admire Him 
 more and more. 
 
 11. 
 
 How painful it must have been to Jesus to 
 be so frequently beset by these men ! He 
 saw into their very hearts and consciences, 
 as He sees into mine at this moment. He 
 knew precisely what they were worth, what 
 they knew, and the exact value of their pre- 
 tended holiness. He saw all the hollowness 
 of their pretensions, their real wickedness, 
 their uncharitableness, their ambition ; and, 
 moreover, He knew how all their malice and 
 envy were brought to bear upon Himself; 
 how He was the chief object of their hatred, 
 and how they were seeking for a pretext to 
 
70 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 ruin Him. It is a part of His mission of 
 suffering that He is to be troubled and tor- 
 mented by them ; and so He does not shrink 
 from meeting them. He suffers the torture 
 of their presence and of their impertinence, 
 sparing Himself no mental pain for the sake 
 of us poor creatures. How painful and 
 annoying it would be to me to have about 
 me men whom I knew I could not trust, men 
 whose falseness I had proved. And to be 
 questioned by them, and to have my conduct 
 contrasted with theirs, while I knew that they 
 had no right to trouble me ! The pain of 
 Jesus was infinitely greater than any that I 
 can feel, not only on account of His infinite 
 knowledge of men’s hearts, and of His infinite 
 hatred of sin and hypocrisy, but also on 
 account of the intensity of His will to suffer. 
 
 0 Jesus ! what hast Thou not gone through 
 for me ! And how very little in comparison 
 
 1 endure for Thy sweet sake. 
 
 iii. 
 
 The Scribes and Pharisees accused the 
 disciples of the breach of a mere ceremonial 
 observance, while, as Jesus showed them, 
 they were guilty of a breach of one of the 
 commandments, setting it at nought for a 
 tradition of their own. Similar conduct is 
 characteristic of those who are fond of 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 7 1 
 
 finding fault with their neighbours. Let us 
 examine ourselves upon this point, and see 
 what our conduct is. Are we much given to 
 talking about our neighbours, and to criticising 
 their words and actions ? If so, is what we 
 say or think generally to their advantage, and 
 in their favour ? Or is it usually against 
 them ? In this sort of talk, have we not a 
 lurking wish to contrast their conduct with 
 ours, in a sense favourable to ourselves, and 
 to impress our hearers with an idea of our 
 superiority either in knowledge or in good- 
 ness ? And if we were to pursue this 
 examination further, and sincerely search 
 into our own souls, should we not often, even 
 generally, find that we have failings ourselves 
 which are greater than those we blame ? 
 Nay, that we are worse than our neighbour 
 in the very vices or defects which we 
 reprobate in him ? Let us learn a lesson of 
 charity from observing its opposite in the 
 conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees as 
 related in the Gospel. 
 
 I compassionate Thee, my Jesus, in endur- 
 ing the torment of having sinners and hypo- 
 crites about Thee, and still more in the pain 
 that I have given Thy Loving Heart by all my 
 proud, pretentious, and uncharitable con- 
 versation. I humble myself before Thee, 
 and pray with all the fervour of which I am 
 
7 2 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 capable, that I may take Thee for my pattern, 
 that I may be cautious in my language, and 
 never offend Thy Sacred Heart by my un- 
 charitableness. I resolve, with Thy grace, 
 to amend. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 in the SEtok of HJent 4 
 
 Gospel. — St . Luke iv. 38-44. 
 
 Look upon Jesus Christ as the heavenly 
 physician who comes to cure your soul of 
 its infirmities, and imagine that you are 
 presenting yourself to Him as a sick person 
 who wishes to be healed. 
 
 1. 
 
 Jesus Christ, as God, has entire power 
 over everything ; not only over the tangible 
 things of His creation, but over the con- 
 ditions under which those things exist. In 
 His hands, and subject to His power, are 
 distress and prosperity, sickness and health, 
 and all the other states of being. In the 
 examples placed before us in the Gospel of 
 this day, we see Him exercising His right 
 over all things as one having power. Picture 
 Him to your mind as being besought by 
 St. Peter’s friends that He would cure his 
 mother-in-law of the great fever which 
 oppressed her; and then standing over her 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 73 
 
 with unspeakable meekness, and, making no 
 display of His majestic power, commanding 
 the fever as if it were a reasoning being, and 
 an obedient subject of His authority. ‘ He 
 commanded the fever, and it left her/ 
 Short, and simple, and to the purpose, are 
 these wonderful words. There is a mere 
 command, accompanied by a touch of the 
 hand, as St. Matthew tells us (viii. 15) ; and 
 the fever is gone. So instantaneously is the 
 cure effected, that 4 immediately rising, she 
 ministered to them.’ Admire the power of 
 our dear Lord, and endeavour to arouse in 
 your heart a higher appreciation of Him. 
 Admire also His loving kindness which 
 listened at once to the request for this cure ; 
 and the comprehensiveness of His love, 
 which did not stop here, but went on to heal 
 ‘ every one ’ of those brought to Him, sick of 
 divers diseases. 
 
 11. 
 
 Jesus was not only the heavenly physician 
 of those who had the privilege of beholding 
 Him on earth ; He is also our physician, and 
 His especial province is to cure the diseases 
 of our souls. God knows under how many 
 diseases they suffer ; and it becomes our 
 duty, if we would have our souls cured, 
 to examine into their state, and find out 
 
74 LENTHN THOUGHTS 
 
 their maladies. Our passions are a true 
 fever of the soul. They torture and torment 
 us, and allow us no rest. We desire to love 
 and serve God, we even try to do so ; but 
 our life is a warfare with our passions, which 
 are always upon us, agitating our souls, 
 causing distress of mind, scruples, and what 
 not. As the fever of the body is often 
 caused by cold, so the fever of the soul 
 frequently springs from slackness and negli- 
 gence in the service of God. Relaxation of 
 duty, and neglect of prayer, good works, and 
 the Sacraments, give strength to the passions, 
 and make it more and more difficult for us 
 to overcome them. We should not willingly 
 do anything that we apprehended would give 
 us a fever; and ordinarily we omit no pre- 
 caution to ward off from us so great a 
 calamity. And yet we are so careless about 
 our soul’s health ! We do so many things 
 calculated to give strength and vigour to our 
 passions, and are so little cautious about 
 guarding against their influence ! Let us 
 examine ourselves as to our conduct. 
 
 in. 
 
 Jesus is ever ready to cure us if we will 
 but apply to Him. He can give us a remedy 
 to counteract the unwholesome influence of 
 our passions. He places this remedy within 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 75 
 
 our reach, and with all the tenderness of His 
 love invites and urges us to make use of it. 
 By the voice of His Church He is ever 
 calling us to it. This remedy is nothing less 
 than Himself ; His own most precious Body 
 and Blood in the adorable Sacrament of the 
 Altar. He Himself is a virgin, and the Son 
 of a virgin; and His virginal flesh will subdue 
 the burning of concupiscence. For His dear 
 sake, let us hasten to apply this blessed 
 remedy; and let us now, at this moment, 
 resolve to approach the holy table as often 
 as we can, and our director may think fit 
 for us. 
 
 O my Jesus ! while I admire Thy good- 
 ness and Thy might, I am confused at the 
 sight of my own soul which responds so little 
 to Thy mercy, and makes so little use of Thy 
 power. By Thy grace this shall be so no 
 longer. I know how many passions beset 
 me, and will ruin me eternally, if I do not 
 take the remedy which Thou offerest for the 
 subduing of them. I will make use of this 
 remedy. I will not neglect my duties of 
 prayer, good works, and especially of receiving 
 Thee in the most Blessed Sacrament. Jesus, 
 aid me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
76 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Jfriimp in the ^hirb (SBeck of |Cent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John iv. 5-41. 
 
 Behold Jesus seated at the well; listen to 
 His conversation with the Samaritan woman, 
 and see what you can draw from His conduct 
 to induce you to love Him more. 
 
 1. 
 
 How touching are those words about our 
 dear Lord that tell us that Jesus was 4 wearied 
 with His journey.' Imagine some true- 
 hearted friend of yours, or perhaps some dear 
 and near relative whose affectionate heart 
 loves you very dearly, and think of such a 
 one far from home, wandering through the 
 country on foot, bearing the cold and the 
 heat, hunger and thirst ; footsore and weary 
 he sits by a roadside fountain, and begs a drop 
 of water, for pity's sake, from the first comer. 
 His journey is undertaken as an errand of 
 kindness, and goodness, and charity, and no 
 labour or fatigue is too great for his love. If 
 you were to think of this your heart would 
 be moved, and you would probably shed tears 
 of sympathy and affection. But how much 
 greater would your admiration be, when you 
 came to know that he was undergoing all 
 this painful journey and suffering for persons 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 77 
 
 whom he knew would insult and reject him, 
 and would even put him to death ? But there 
 is yet another degree of pitying love at which 
 you would arrive, when you thought that all 
 this laborious travelling and painful endur- 
 ance was for you ; and then, that you have 
 so often forgotten it all, and have treated him 
 as some one quite indifferent to you, as one 
 who did not care for you, and for whom you 
 had no concern. In a moment of better 
 thoughts, would not your heaving heart send 
 up the bitter tears of remorse to your eyes ? 
 And if you could see that friend, would you 
 not clasp him to your heart, and pour out 
 protestations of gratitude and of undying 
 love ? Would you not wish that you could 
 make some great sacrifice in order to express 
 the intensity of your feelings ? Shall it be 
 otherwise with Jesus ? 
 
 ii. 
 
 Jesus did and suffered all this for you. 
 You who read this page, and I who write it, 
 were in His mind and in His Heart all the 
 while, clearly and distinctly ; and He did all 
 for each one of us, just as much as if each 
 one existed alone in the world. Is it possible 
 that the Son of God should be wearied and 
 wayworn for my sake? That for me He 
 should have to beg for a draught of water ? 
 
78 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Yes, He is the faithful Friend Who never 
 spared Himself for my sake ; Who loves me 
 with an eternal love ; Who on that particular 
 journey, and during that particular weariness, 
 thought of me, not as mixed up with the mass 
 of mankind, and forming but an atom in the 
 multitude, but of me individually and per- 
 sonally. O my Jesus ! I have no friend like 
 Thee. Oh that I could be as faithful to Thee 
 as Thou hast been to me ! 
 
 ‘ Quserens me sedisti lassus, 
 
 Redemisti crucem passus ; 
 
 Tantus labor non sit cassus !’ 
 
 ‘ Thou hast sat weary seeking me, 
 Redeemed me dying on the Tree ; 
 
 Let not such labour fruitless be.’ 
 
 III. 
 
 Consider the kindness and condescension 
 of Jesus. He knew that the woman who came 
 to the well was a Samaritan, and, as such, 
 that she would not speak to Him, a Jew. 
 And therefore He, breaking through the cus- 
 tom and prejudice of His nation, spoke to 
 her first. He also knew that she was a sinner, 
 living even then in a sinful state ; and yet, in 
 His desire for her conversion, He did not dis- 
 dain to converse with her. His gentleness 
 won her to God. She confessed her sin, and 
 believed in Him, and induced others to go to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 79 
 
 Him who afterwards believed also. See the 
 good effects of gentleness and kindness for 
 poor sinners. Those who sincerely desire to 
 convert others to the truth or to virtue, will 
 imitate our dear Lord, and will remember 
 that every unkind or bitter word is but 
 putting another obstacle in the way of their 
 coming to God. 
 
 The more I think of Thee, and study Thee, 
 O Jesus ! the more I feel my heart impelled 
 to love Thee. I really and truly desire to 
 love Thee with my whole heart and soul ; do 
 Thou give me grace that so my desire may 
 be crowned. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 in the c ®hiri) ®eek of ^ent* 
 
 Gospel. — St, John viii. i-ii. 
 
 Picture to yourself Jesus in the Temple, 
 and the poor sinning woman placed before 
 Him covered with shame and confusion. 
 See how gently He deals with the helpless 
 sinner, and turns the accusation upon the 
 hypocritical accusers. 
 
 i. 
 
 There is much in the scene here represented 
 to us to make us love our dear Lord very 
 much. It comes home very nearly to us ; 
 for although we may not have been guilty of 
 
8o 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 the very crime of which the poor woman 
 was accused, still, when we stand before our 
 Lord, that is when we pray to Him, or when 
 we recall His sacred presence, we must feel 
 that we are before Him as poor, miserable 
 sinners. We know more of Him than the 
 woman did. We know that He is the spot- 
 less Lamb of God, the very essence of purity 
 and holiness, in Whose sight the very heavens 
 are not clean. And if we look into our 
 souls, shall we dare to say that we are fit to 
 be before Him ? The very thought of our 
 unworthiness would be enough to keep us 
 from Him, were we not reassured by the 
 study of His character, and by such instances 
 of merciful regard for poor sinners as the 
 one recorded in this day’s Gospel. He has 
 not a word of reproach for the softened 
 sinner. He even stoops down, and writes 
 with His finger on the pavement, lest by 
 looking at her He might embarrass and con- 
 found her. O sweet compassion of Jesus, 
 Who came, not to judge and condemn, but 
 to heal and to save ! 
 
 ii. 
 
 Consider now, instead of reproaching the 
 accused woman, Jesus looks at her accusers, 
 and utters those words that must have 
 burned into their very consciences : ‘ He 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 81 
 
 that is without sin among you, let him cast 
 the first stone at her.’ What a lesson is 
 here for ourselves ! Let us imagine Jesus 
 saying to us, ‘ Do not be hard upon others, 
 unless you can lay your hand upon your 
 heart, and declare before God, the Angels and 
 men, that you are without sin.’ This is 
 practically His language to us, and this is 
 what He would wish to teach us by what 
 He said to the Scribes and Pharisees. Do 
 we attend to His teaching ? Are we not, on 
 the contrary, only too ready to accuse, to 
 blame, and condemn others; and to- take 
 pleasure in hearing their failings exposed, in 
 listening to tales and scandals, either true 
 or false, against our neighbour, without a 
 moment’s reflection on our own guiltiness? 
 Many persons think that they may talk as 
 uncharitably as they please of another, pro- 
 vided that what they talk about is true. But 
 that is the sin of detraction, and it is totally 
 inconsistent with the charity of Christ. Oh 
 that we, who profess to be His followers, 
 were more like Him ! How many sinners 
 we might convert to Him by a little kind 
 consideration ! And how much good is pre- 
 vented by untimely harshness and cruelty ! 
 If we had a true sense of our own unworthi- 
 ness, our own sins and weakness, we should 
 not blame others with bitterness ; and if we 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 had occasion to reprove them, it would be 
 done with charity and gentleness, and souls 
 would be gained to God. 
 
 in. 
 
 When Jesus had uttered those words to 
 the Scribes and Pharisees, He again averted 
 His face, and wrote upon the ground. 
 They, conscience-stricken and confounded, 
 went away one by one, until ‘Jesus alone 
 remained, and the woman standing in the 
 midst.’ It was then that He lifted Him- 
 self up, and looking at her, spoke to her, 
 assuring her of His forgiveness ; for unless 
 He had forgiven her, He must have con- 
 demned her. He, doubtless, infused con- 
 trition into her heart, for, without that, He 
 could not have forgiven her. It is when the 
 soul is alone with God that good thoughts 
 arise in it, the enormity of sin becomes ap- 
 parent, and sorrow finds its place in the 
 heart. What is it to be alone with God ? It 
 is ever keeping His presence before the eyes 
 of the soul. It is a sense of individual 
 responsibility to God as if we were the only 
 creature in existence. It is the habit of 
 examination of conscience, of prayer, and of 
 meditation. It is the banishing the con- 
 sideration of all inferior things and motives, 
 and giving ourselves up undistractedly to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 83 
 
 God. It is then that God speaks to the 
 heart, and sends into it His holy inspirations. 
 It is then that we can really gather spiritual 
 fruit from our communion with God, that we 
 can learn to repent of our sins, and to make 
 good resolutions for the future, and so deserve 
 to hear from Him the words, £ Go, and now 
 sin no more.’ 
 
 How sweet and amiable Thou art, dear 
 Jesus, to poor sinners, trying to allure them 
 to virtue by Thy gentle compassion and 
 tenderness ! What regard Thou hast for the 
 weakness of humanity ! Let me learn a 
 lesson of humility as regards myself, and of 
 charitable consideration for my neighbour. 
 Who am I that I should presume to cast a 
 stone ? Do Thou hide me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jfourth cSutthaj) of ^Dent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John v i. 1-15. 
 
 Picture to yourself our blessed Lord flying 
 from the popularity which He had acquired, 
 and hastening all alone to the mountain. 
 
 1. 
 
 Our dear Lord had performed the wonder- 
 ful miracle of feeding five thousand men, 
 
 6 — 2 
 
84 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 besides women and children, as St. Matthew 
 tells us, with five loaves and two fishes. And, 
 even after they were satisfied, there remained 
 fragments sufficient to fill twelve baskets. 
 The stupendous nature of this miracle so 
 worked upon the minds of the people, that 
 acknowledging His Divine power, they ex- 
 claimed : ‘ This is of a truth the prophet that 
 is to come into the world.’ And they would 
 have proclaimed Him King. They wished 
 to take Him by force and make Him their 
 Sovereign. Jesus Christ performs a greater 
 wonder in our regard, when He feeds, not five 
 thousand, but all the Faithful who will, with 
 His most sacred Body and Blood in the 
 Holy Sacrament of the Altar. And that not 
 once, but as often as we choose to approach 
 Him ; nor in the desert (St. Matt, xiv.), but 
 amid the busy haunts of men, in a half-hour 
 that we can snatch away from our ordinary 
 pursuits of business or pleasure, if we will. 
 And yet how little do we think of this 
 wondrous food which He keeps ready for us ! 
 How little of the immensity of the love which 
 urges Him to dwell under the Eucharistic 
 form in our churches, that He may be 
 always there for those who come, and that 
 He may be carried thence to feed and cheer 
 the sick and dying, and give them this 
 pledge of everlasting glory ! Surely He 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 85 
 
 deserves to be our King ; to be proclaimed 
 by us the Lord and Sovereign of our souls ; 
 not with our mind and our lips alone, but 
 with all the true allegiance of our hearts, and 
 all the deep fidelity of our affection. He is 
 our King and Lord in reality, we cannot 
 prevent that; but let us confess it, and let 
 us act as if we believed that He has a right 
 to our loyalty. 
 
 ii. 
 
 When Jesus knew that they would come 
 and make Him King, He fled away from 
 them. He sought no worldly honour and 
 distinction. He Who was and is for ever 
 the King of heaven and earth, sought in 
 this world no other crown than one of 
 thorns, no other sceptre than a reed, no 
 royal robe but the purple cloak cast upon 
 Him in derision, no kingly title but that 
 which should be written above His head on 
 Calvary. He shunned distinction as men 
 shrink from insult or misfortune, and fled 
 from it as a man will fly from his enemies. 
 Let us contrast the conduct of Jesus with 
 our own, ever remembering that all that 
 He did was for our instruction. Do we 
 shun honours and distinctions, in imitation 
 of our Divine Master ? Do we despise a 
 fleeting popularity? Are we not, on the 
 
86 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 contrary, Yain of any elevation above our 
 fellow-men ? This vanity will lead us into 
 many serious disorders if we are not very 
 careful to check it. If we were to give it 
 full liberty, it would lead us to be proud, 
 and haughty, and contemptuous towards 
 others. It would lead us to ambition fatal 
 to charity, and even to justice. How many 
 men have risen in worldly honour at the 
 expense of others’ happiness ! It may, per- 
 haps be our case not to be in such a posi- 
 tion as to give us hopes of rising high in the 
 world’s esteem ; still, are there not many 
 trifles which cause us to be vain ? Let each 
 one look into his own heart, and examine 
 his own conduct. This is very necessary, 
 for our vanity is so great, that we are always 
 apt to consider and criticise what our neigh- 
 bour does, and to think our own conduct 
 perfection ; or if not perfection, at least some- 
 thing that deserves considerable appreciation. 
 How many vexations should we save our- 
 selves if we could learn not to be vain, 
 besides imitating and pleasing the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus ! 
 
 in. 
 
 There is something singularly touching in 
 the sight of our dear Lord fleeing from the 
 face of men, plunging into the mountain 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 87 
 
 recesses, and hiding Himself alone ; and 
 then casting Himself upon His sacred knees, 
 and praying to His Eternal Father. What 
 thoughts passed through His Sacred Heart ! 
 Thoughts of burning love, and of longing 
 desire for the accomplishment of the Divine 
 Will, as He knelt there in solitude. We can 
 imagine the’ wild animals peering at Him 
 round the rocks, and among the leaves ; and 
 perhaps the birds of the air, fearless of Him, 
 singing their joyous hymns around Him. 
 There He remained till the fourth watch of 
 the night, when His love urged Him to seek 
 His disciples, and He went to them walking 
 on the sea. Solitude is very advantageous to 
 the soul that would unite itself to God by 
 prayer ; and all the true servants of God, the 
 Saints whose lives are set before us as ex- 
 amples, have loved solitude. Some have fled, 
 like our Lord, to the desert ; some have 
 sought the cell of the monastery ; while 
 others, whose apportioned lot has been to 
 mix with the busy world, have found their 
 moments for solitary prayer and contempla- 
 tion in the retirement of their chamber, or in 
 visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Let us seek 
 for such quiet moments now and then, when 
 we may speak to God, and think of God, 
 and when He will speak to us. 
 
 O my J esus ! Thou shalt be my king, in- 
 
88 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 deed. Thy will shall be my law. I will prize 
 Thy will above all things. Rather let me 
 die than forget or forfeit my allegiance to 
 Thee. I will, with Thy help, check and keep 
 down my vanity, and I will seek Thee from 
 time to time in silence and in solitude, so 
 that nothing may distract my thoughts from 
 Thee. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 JEmvbag in thz Jfourth SEeek ot gDent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John , ii. 13-25. 
 
 Place yourself in spirit at the feet of Jesus 
 Christ ; look up to Him as your teacher in 
 the spiritual life, and endeavour to take all 
 advantage of the lessons He gives you. 
 
 1. 
 
 We have already considered a similar scene 
 to that narrated in the Gospel for this day, 
 when we meditated upon the passage taken 
 from the twenty-first chapter of St. Matthew; 
 and we then compared the Temple of Jeru- 
 salem to the Christian soul, in which God 
 loves to dwell by His grace. Let us now 
 consider the supereminent sanctity of a 
 Christian church, and how far its holiness is 
 superior to that of the Jewish Temple. To 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 89 
 
 hearts that love Jesus Christ that superiority 
 is at once apparent, when they remember the 
 real and adorable Presence in the Blessed 
 Sacrament. Jesus Christ makes the church 
 His home; it is His own house, His dwelling- 
 place, that we visit when we visit a Catholic 
 church. He receives us under His own roof, 
 where He has prepared for us a banquet such 
 as Angels have never partaken of, in which 
 our souls are fed with His most sacred Body 
 and Blood. Take away the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment from a Catholic church ; the house re- 
 mains, it is true, but the Master is gone, and 
 a sense of desolation seems to reign through- 
 out ; a desolation which is almost felt, even 
 though we may not see that the tabernacle is 
 open, and the light extinguished. There is 
 no longer any centre around which the minor 
 sanctities of the church may group them- 
 selves; no longer that loadstone which was 
 wont to draw to itself the homage and affec- 
 tion of faithful souls. But the Blessed 
 Sacrament there, the poorest hovel becomes 
 a heaven upon earth. Oh ! let us love the 
 church, the material church, if it be only for 
 this. 
 
 11. 
 
 But, besides this, it is in the church that 
 so many Sacraments are conferred. There 
 we are made children of God, Christians and 
 
90 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 heirs of heaven by Holy Baptism ; there is 
 actual sin washed away in the sacrament of 
 Penance, and Matrimony is sanctified. In 
 the church are the images of the blessed 
 Mother of God, and of the Saints, the friends 
 of Jesus. There we hear the words of eternal 
 life, and assist at the tremendous mysteries. 
 Moreover, the church is the palace of Christ’s 
 poor, from which no one can exclude them, 
 and where they can kneel side by side with 
 the noble and the rich at the altar, and where 
 one considers one’s self honoured by the 
 proximity of the lowly and the humble. If 
 the zeal of our dear Lord was so much aroused 
 by seeing the profanation of the Temple of 
 Jerusalem, what must be His anger at the 
 desecration of a Catholic church ! Let us 
 learn, then, to reverence and to love our 
 church, and to banish from us every act and 
 thought unworthy of His presence, and of 
 the holiness of the place. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Consider the concluding words of this 
 day’s Gospel : ‘ He knew what was in man.’ 
 Jesus, by His own knowledge, which was 
 Divine, knew, and knows the hearts of all 
 men. Whatever may be our outward appear- 
 ance, our external acts, our words, He knows 
 exactly what we are worth before God. We 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 91 
 
 can cloak and conceal nothing from Him, 
 however much we may impose upon men ; 
 and it is a tremendous thought that the eyes 
 of an all-seeing Judge are ever fixed upon us, 
 taking measure of us in every respect. And 
 yet we are given to think much more of our 
 neighbours’ conduct than of our own. We 
 can only judge of others by appearances, 
 than which nothing is more deceptive ; and 
 while we are criticising, and perhaps con- 
 demning, our fellow -creature in our own 
 mind, we forget that there is One watching 
 us Who does not judge by appearances, but 
 Who knows us most intimately, and Who 
 cannot by any means whatever be deceived in 
 us. I will examine myself upon this head, 
 and see what my conduct is with regard to 
 rash judgment of others, and also what it is 
 in the eyes of God. 
 
 O my God ! I will reverence and love the 
 church, ‘the place where Thy glory dwelleth.’ 
 And do Thou give me grace to carry out 
 the resolution, which I now make in Thy 
 presence, of so carefully guarding my con- 
 duct that Thou mayest see nothing in it 
 displeasing to Thee, and of resisting the 
 temptation to form unjust and rash judg- 
 ments with regard to my neighbour. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
92 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 in th c fourth SBeek of gD ent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John vii. 14-31. 
 
 Let us represent to ourselves Jesus teach- 
 ing in the Temple ; and let us see the dignity 
 and holiness of His manner, and try if we 
 can gather any lesson for ourselves. 
 
 1. 
 
 Admire the magnanimity of Jesus. He 
 knew that the Jews sought to kill Him, as 
 we learn from the first verse of the chapter 
 from which this day’s Gospel is taken, and 
 as we may gather from other passages in the 
 same. Yet, though He had remained for a 
 time, on this account, in Galilee to teach us 
 a lesson of prudence, about the middle of 
 the feast He showed Himself publicly in the 
 Temple, and began to teach. He had set out 
 on His mission of teaching, and no sense of 
 fear interposed to prevent Him from accom- 
 plishing His Father’s will. The service of 
 God will always require from us a certain 
 degree of fortitude. The early Church was 
 watered with the blood of martyrs. Three 
 hundred years ago our fathers in the Faith 
 in this country had to be ready to undergo 
 death rather than sacrifice their Faith ; and 
 much more recently they were subjected to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 93 
 
 grievous persecutions and penalties for the 
 sake of their religion. Death is not now 
 offered to us as the price of our fidelity, but, 
 living as we do in the midst of bitter enemies 
 to our Faith, we have numberless annoyances 
 to put up with, insults to endure, misrepre- 
 sentations to encounter ; and, what is worse 
 than all, we have to hear so many blas- 
 phemies against all that we hold most holy. 
 How do we bear ourselves in the midst of 
 all this? How do I endure insult, ridicule, 
 and injury on account of my religion ? Do 
 I imitate the steady, quiet fortitude of Jesus? 
 Or do I not lose my temper sometimes, and 
 feel uncharitably towards my tormentors? 
 Do I ever allow the fear of what others may 
 say to hinder me from letting them know 
 that I am a Catholic when God’s honour 
 calls for a profession of my faith ? Do I 
 ever shrink from any practice enjoined by 
 the Church because of what may be said or 
 thought of me ? If I do, I do not come up 
 to the standard of my model, Jesus Christ. 
 
 ii. 
 
 There were two causes which, in this par- 
 ticular instance, gave our Lord such admir- 
 able magnanimity: (i) He was ready to die 
 at any moment, even though His death 
 should be violent and painful ; (2) He knew 
 
94 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 that the time appointed by His Father had 
 not yet come. Do I feel that, even if I were 
 assured that it was God’s will that I should 
 die now, I could lie down and expire without 
 fear, and without regret for anything that I 
 should leave behind me ? Am I ready to 
 appear before my Judge? Let me reflect 
 upon this, and amend whatever may want 
 correction. We should all be in such a dis- 
 position that we would do our duty, even 
 with danger of losing our lives, and with per- 
 fect confidence that God, if He sees fit and 
 best for us, will rescue us from the danger. 
 
 in. 
 
 It is an instinct with us to admire mag- 
 nanimity and fortitude when we see them 
 exhibited in the conduct of others. Of all 
 the qualities of man, perhaps this is the one 
 which calls forth the greatest expression of 
 admiration. No one looks with favour upon 
 cowardice and weakness of spirit. When a 
 man yields to pusillanimity, he becomes an 
 object of contempt, and to none more so than 
 to those who have extorted it from him. 
 Whereas, on the other hand, courage and 
 high-mindedness receive their reward of 
 praise even from the bitterest enemies. We 
 shall gain nothing with either God or man by 
 yielding to a cowardly fear. If even physical 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 95 
 
 courage receives its reward of applause, how 
 much more deserving of admiration is the 
 moral courage which enables us to overcome, 
 and make nothing of human respect? But 
 besides this, we require moral courage to 
 enable us to carry out our duty in spite of 
 ourselves . We must despise the opinions and 
 prejudices of the world, but we must attack 
 our own evil inclinations with a vigorous and 
 unsparing hand. This demands a high de- 
 gree of moral courage. We become cowards 
 in the face of our natural sloth in regard of 
 spiritual things, or when our duty demands a 
 sacrifice of a little ease or pleasure, when we 
 have to curb the strength of our passions, or 
 to give up anything or anyone who is in the 
 way of our salvation. How dignified is that 
 soul which goes calmly on in the path of 
 strict duty, no matter what obstacles lie in 
 the way ! It becomes very like its divine 
 Model, Jesus Christ. 
 
 O my Lord and Saviour ! give me courage 
 in the performance of my duty. I will never 
 be ashamed of Thee, nor of Thy religion. I 
 will never fear anything that the world can 
 bring against me. I would rather die ten 
 thousand times than commit one mortal sin. 
 Give me grace to persevere in my good reso- 
 lutions. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
96 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 ©cimesiag in the Jfourth SEeek ef |£ent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John ix. 1-38. 
 
 Imagine that you are among the witnesses 
 of the wonderful miracle related in this day’s 
 Gospel ; that you see our dear Lord, hear 
 His words, and behold His actions. 
 
 1. 
 
 It was just after Jesus had passed out of 
 the Temple, as narrated in the last verse of 
 the preceding chapter, that He saw the man 
 who had been blind from his birth. This 
 man was not only blind, but, no doubt in 
 consequence of his blindness was also a 
 beggar. How little could he have anticipated 
 that the day would come when the Son of 
 God, become man, should give him the 
 faculty of seeing, which he had never pos- 
 sessed, and thus confer upon him the means 
 of raising himself from his state of beggary. 
 By original sin, vre are all born blind ; the 
 whole human race, by Adam’s fall, were 
 reduced to a state far worse than corporal 
 blindness and beggary ; and the only be- 
 gotten Son of God, seeing our condition, 
 took pity on us. He became like one of us, 
 thus passing by our way, in order that He 
 might rescue us. Which of us could, by 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 the greatest effort of imagination, have de- 
 vised the way by which we were to be cured 
 and saved ? Not all the wisdom of philoso- 
 phers and sages, not even the insight into 
 God’s ways possessed by Saints, could have 
 dared to anticipate so wondrous a means as 
 the Incarnation. Not the luminous sagacity 
 of the Angels, who are enlightened by the 
 very light of God’s throne, could have con- 
 trived such a plan of salvation for man as 
 that the Son of God should become man, 
 and suffer and die to compass it. God has 
 greater depths of love than man or angel 
 could have thought of. Let us wonder at 
 the abyss of His love, and excite our souls to 
 make Him the return which He desires, 
 namely, the return of our love. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Notwithstanding the clearness of the evi- 
 dence, and the simplicity of the proofs of this 
 striking miracle, the Jews would not believe 
 either it, or the truth of Jesus Christ. On 
 the contrary, with insulting words they told 
 the man that he might be the disciple of 
 Jesus, but that they were the disciples of 
 Moses. Were they wilfully blind ? Or was 
 their blindness judicial, that is, a punishment 
 for their sins ? Whichever it was in their 
 case, let us be careful that we never shut our 
 
 7 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 eyes to the light of God’s grace, and thus 
 become wilfully blind. Have we ever shunned 
 the knowledge of God’s will in our regard? 
 Have we ever felt that we would rather not 
 know what God wished us to do or to be, 
 lest His will should be contrary to our in- 
 clinations ? Have we ever put away from us 
 the consideration of God’s will as a trouble- 
 some thought, because the following of it 
 would involve some sacrifice, or even some 
 slight inconvenience ? Let us examine into 
 this ; and let us be very cautious lest resist- 
 ance to God’s will on our part should draw 
 down upon us the punishment of spiritual 
 blindness, which, unless in most exceptional 
 cases, will lead to final impenitence. 
 
 in. 
 
 Consider those words of Jesus : ‘ I must 
 work the works of Him that sent Me, whilst 
 it is day ; the night cometh when no man can 
 work.’ The time of our lives is the day, in 
 which we must work, and merit the glory 
 which endures for ever. Our death is the 
 night, when we can no longer do anything 
 towards our salvation. Jesus did the works 
 of Him that sent Him, and so, all that we do 
 during our lives should be in accordance with 
 the will of God. Our works should be His 
 works. Should we dare to call everything 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 99 
 
 that we do God’s work ? Can we conscien- 
 tiously say that, even in a general way, we 
 intend to do nothing but what God wishes us 
 to do, and in the manner in which He wishes 
 us to do it? Could we bear that Jesus 
 should visibly pass by, and see us, and be 
 seen by us, in all our actions ? Yet He does 
 see us always, and under every possible cir- 
 cumstance. If there be anything to correct, 
 let us set about it at once ; for the night 
 cometh. Our death will soon be upon us. 
 Dear Lord Jesus ! so merciful and so good ! 
 I will never close my eyes to Thy grace. I 
 will always try to find out Thy will by a 
 rigorous examination of myself, and by con- 
 sulting and following the advice of my 
 director. I grieve for having so often acted 
 against Thy will ; and I will begin now, with 
 Thy grace, to do Thy will, that when the 
 night comes for me I may be found ready. 
 Do Thou aid me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, 
 Gloria. 
 
 ^hurstmg in the Jfourth SEeek of ICent 
 
 Gospel. — St. Luke vii. n-16. 
 
 Imagine yourself to be among the crowd 
 near the gate of the city of Naim, and that 
 you see the meeting between Jesus and the 
 
 7—2 
 
100 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 sorrowing widow, and all that takes place on 
 this wonderful occasion. 
 
 i. 
 
 This was a meeting of life and death. Jesus, 
 the true Life, accompanied by His disciples 
 and a great multitude, encounters the dead 
 body of a young man, followed by his weeping 
 mother, who was a widow, and many people of 
 the city, who went with her out of sympathy 
 and consideration. The moment that Jesus 
 sees her He shows His compassion for her. 
 His Heart was so full of love for man that 
 the first sight of distress called forth a mani- 
 festation of sympathy from Him. Hear His 
 kind and gentle voice as He says to her, 
 
 ‘ Weep not.’ And see Him touch the bier, 
 and command the dead body to rise again to 
 life. See how the eyes open, and look around. 
 See how the blood once more circulates, and 
 colours the cheeks, and how he that was dead 
 sits up and begins to speak. But Jesus has 
 not yet done all for that poor widow, He 
 gives her once more the son whom she had 
 lost. Oh ! what joy for that widowed mother’s 
 heart ! Enter into the feelings that would be 
 excited in you, if you actually beheld this 
 scene. How your heart would warm with love 
 towards Jesus, so that if you had not been 
 with Him before, you would join Him now. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 IOI 
 
 II. 
 
 The dead man was a young man, like any 
 other young man. He had been full of life, 
 of energy, of spirit. He had had his com- 
 panions and his friends, his admirers, and 
 perhaps his enemies. Doubtless, like other 
 young persons, he had looked forward to 
 many years of life, and to much enjoyment. 
 On the other hand, his mother had loved 
 him dearly. He was her only son ; and had 
 considered him as her hope and stay, the 
 support and the joy of her age. Probably 
 neither of them had anticipated an early 
 death for him. Yet death came in the midst 
 of his youth, and carried him away. What- 
 ever had been their thoughts, neither of them 
 could ever have imagined that when death 
 had once come, the Lord of life and death 
 would restore him to life and to his mother. 
 
 How vain are all the promises I have 
 made to myself of the enjoyment of life ! I 
 may be young and thoughtless, with regard 
 to serious matters, looking forward to many 
 years in the world, yet God alone knows if 
 I shall be alive this time next year, this day 
 next week, this hour to-morrow. Certain it 
 is that when my death does come, the years 
 that have passed will appear very, very short. 
 My death must come soon ; for what are a 
 
102 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 few years of time compared to the endless 
 ages of eternity ; and it will be by the 
 standard of eternity that I shall measure 
 and judge of things when I come to die. 
 Another thing certain is — that I cannot 
 expect a stupendous miracle to be wrought 
 that shall raise me to life again ; and even 
 so, as in the case of the young man in the 
 Gospel, I could only look for a few years of 
 renewed life. Death would come at last and 
 finally. Do I think enough of death, of the 
 certainty and the speed of its coming, and of 
 the utter uncertainty of the time, place, or 
 manner of my death ? 
 
 in. 
 
 A soul that has lost the grace of God, that 
 is, a soul in mortal sin, may be compared to 
 a dead body that is being carried out to be 
 buried. The Church weeps and laments. 
 Jesus meets it, and approaches it by in- 
 spiring it with remorse. He touches the bier 
 by the numberless means which, through the 
 ministry of His Church, He places before it 
 for its resurrection from the death of sin. 
 He says to it, ‘Arise.’ And yet, notwith- 
 standing the dear compassion of Jesus, how 
 many souls deliberately choose to remain 
 dead, that is, remain wilfully in sin, and 
 reject the means of the Sacraments, etc., 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 103 
 
 which Jesus and His Church offer. What 
 must be the consequence? They will be 
 carried to the grave, that is, they will be 
 buried in hell. And all through their own 
 fault ; for there is nothing wanting on the 
 part of our Lord. He has done all that He 
 can. Oh ! what a sad frustration of the 
 loving efforts of Jesus and His Church ! 
 What irreparable, never-ending loss ! 
 
 I love Thy dear compassionate Heart, O 
 my Jesus ! And I will do all in my power 
 to correspond with Thine infinite goodness, 
 which, by Thy Church, gives me such effi- 
 cacious means of rising from the death of 
 sin. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater, 
 Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jfnhaj) in tHe Jfanrth Wink of gCent. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John xi. 1-45. 
 
 Realize to yourself the wonderful scene of 
 Jesus going with tears and groans, accom- 
 panied by the weeping sisters, by His dis- 
 ciples, and a crowd of people, to the grave 
 in which the dead body of Lazarus was laid ; 
 and hear Him pronounce, with a loud voice, 
 the words, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ Then see 
 the dead man arise, and come forth, still 
 bound in the grave-clothes. 
 
104 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus weeping, the tears coursing down His 
 sacred cheeks, is a moving spectacle. Even 
 the Jews, who did not believe in Him, said, 
 ‘ Behold how He loved him.’ And can we, 
 who know with a certain faith Who and what 
 He was, look on unmoved? Jesus wept with 
 grief, with affection, with sympathy, and with 
 earnestness. Contemplate Him in His afflic- 
 tion, and try to enter into the sentiments 
 which filled His dear Sacred Heart. Yester- 
 day we saw how He restored an only son to 
 his mother; to-day we behold Him giving joy 
 to the affectionate hearts of the two sisters, by 
 the restoration of their brother. Ever kind, 
 ever compassionate Jesus! If Jesus wept out 
 of love for His friend, and out of sympathy 
 with the afflicted sisters ; if He grieved over 
 mere temporal distress and loss, how much 
 more must His pure Heart have sorrowed 
 over sin, the occasion of eternal loss and 
 woe ! Have I ever given Jesus occasion to 
 grieve over me? Have I ever been dead and 
 buried in sin by losing the grace of God, and 
 giving myself up to utter forgetfulness of 
 Him ? Let me reflect upon my conduct, 
 and grieve from my heart for all the pain 
 which Jesus has suffered on my account. It 
 will be a wholesome grief if I can mingle my 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 105 
 
 tears with those of Jesus, for it will make me 
 love Him more. 
 
 11. 
 
 Hear how our dear Lord gives thanks to 
 His Eternal Father for having heard Him: 
 ‘ Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast 
 heard Me/ This is a great lesson for us who 
 think so little of the prayer of thanksgiving. 
 We are ready enough to ask for favours, and 
 are even tempted to murmur if our requests 
 are not at once heard or answered. When a 
 favour is granted, we are very apt to take it 
 as if it were our due, and to forget the giver. 
 When our prayers are heard, we rejoice in- 
 deed, but too often neglect to thank the good 
 God Who has heard them. And how many 
 good things, both spiritual and temporal, do 
 we not receive without having had even the 
 slight trouble of asking for them ! God, out 
 of the abounding fountain of His love, has 
 deluged us with favours. He gave us life, 
 brought us into His Church by baptism, pre- 
 served us through many dangers to soul and 
 body. Health, ease, happiness, and a thousand 
 other blessings have been conferred upon us 
 by Him. All that we have of good is from 
 His hand. We know this ; and yet if we ask 
 ourselves how often we think of returning 
 Him thanks, we shall find very much reason 
 
106 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 to be ashamed of our thoughtlessness and in- 
 gratitude. Let us make it a rule to thank 
 God daily, not only for ourselves, but for 
 His goodness to all the world. It is a good 
 practice to have the custom of very frequently 
 saying from our hearts, 4 Thank God !* 
 
 hi. 
 
 Consider how Jesus goes on to say that 
 He gave thanks thus publicly on account of 
 the people standing about, that they might 
 believe that the Father had sent Him. Here 
 we see how Jesus seems to forget Himself, 
 and the favour which His Father was about 
 to confer upon Him, in His all-absorbing 
 desire for His Father’s glory, and for the 
 salvation of mankind. It was no new thing 
 for Jesus to be heard by His Father: ‘Thou 
 hearest Me always.’ Neither was it a new 
 thing for Him to make the prayer of thanks- 
 giving. But now that the miracle of raising 
 one from the grave was about to be performed, 
 He knew that many would believe that the 
 Father had sent Him, and thus would give 
 honour and glory to the Father, and save 
 their souls, and He lifts up His sacred eyes 
 to heaven, and thanks Him. 
 
 Is our first and dominant thought one of 
 desire for the honour of God, and our own 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 107 
 
 and our neighbours* salvation? Do we always 
 offer up our actions to God ? Do we think 
 sufficiently that we came into this world for 
 no other purpose than to love and serve God 
 here, that we may reign with Him for ever 
 hereafter ? 
 
 O God of all goodness ! how often have my 
 sins afflicted the Sacred Heart of Jesus ! How 
 great has been my ingratitude! By Thy grace 
 it shall be so no more. I thank Thee from 
 my heart for all that Thou hast done for me. 
 I thank Thee for the trials and crosses Thou 
 hast sent me, because Thou knowest that they 
 are good for me. I thank Thee for all the 
 world. May all my thoughts, words, and 
 actions tend to Thy glory, and to the salva- 
 tion of myself and others. Do Thou aid me 
 by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 cSahttiag in the Jfouvth ffitcek of | Cent* 
 
 Gospel. — St. John viii. 12-20. 
 
 It was after absolving the woman taken in 
 adultery that Jesus continued His teaching 
 in the Temple. Consider Him sitting there 
 surrounded by crowds of Jews, and atten- 
 tively hear the words of heavenly wisdom 
 that proceed from His Sacred Lips. 
 
io8 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I. 
 
 ‘ I am the light of the world.’ These are 
 the words of Jesus Christ to the Jews, who 
 hated Him, and who pretended to see in 
 His doctrine nothing but falsehood and dark- 
 ness. They were not addressed to the Jews 
 alone, but to us also. Let us learn from 
 them what we may. Jesus is our Light. 
 What does this mean ? It is He who through 
 His Church teaches us the way of eternal life, 
 and is thus the light of our journey through 
 this world. They who know not the Church 
 are in darkness. They seek for the light of 
 Christ, but they cannot find it, for they have 
 no guide. They have proclaimed the Holy 
 Scriptures to be their guide ; but who shall 
 explain the Holy Scriptures to them ? Each 
 one takes his own interpretation, and thus 
 they fall away from one another, and go on 
 by different paths. Scarcely two of them 
 agree even with regard to fundamental truths. 
 Some even, by their private study of the 
 Holy Scriptures, fall into utter disbelief. Out 
 of the Church all is discord with regard to 
 matters of Faith ; but, as w T e know by our 
 own experience, we may go where we will, 
 and we shall find all members of the Catholic 
 Church agreeing in one Faith. How ad- 
 mirable is this union in doctrine, which 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 109 
 
 brings to bear on our souls the true light of 
 Jesus Christ ! Let us learn from this con- 
 trast to love the Church most devotedly, and 
 to thank God that, through no merit of our 
 own, and out of His most infinite love and 
 mercy, He has brought us within her pale. 
 
 11. 
 
 Jesus is not only our light by His doctrine, 
 but He is our light by His consolations. 
 When times are darkest with us ; when we 
 are in the deepest affliction, we know that 
 we can seek and find comfort in the arms of 
 our loving Lord. And how is this done ? By 
 offering to Him our trials and crosses in union 
 with His bitter pains of soul and body, and 
 by accepting them as a punishment for our 
 past sins, and as a corrective for the future. 
 It is also a great source of consolation to know 
 that God chastises those whom He loves, and 
 that therefore the darkness of the hour of 
 trial is a pledge of His regard, and a prelude 
 to the dawn of His light upon our souls. We 
 also know how to find comfort in tribulation 
 by a devout approach to Him in prayer and 
 meditation. The thought of the darkness of 
 His Passion will bring to us the light of His 
 sympathy ; for He has known suffering, and 
 feels intensely for those that suffer. The 
 humble practice of the Christian virtues for 
 
IIO 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 His dear sake brings the light of His con- 
 solation to us ; not through that sensible 
 satisfaction that we may be tempted to find in 
 it, but through the grace which we drawdown 
 upon ourselves by an imitation of Him as far 
 as lies in our power. Above all, the devout 
 approach to the Sacrament of Penance, and 
 the reception of His most blessed Body 
 and Blood in the Holy Eucharist, where we 
 feed our souls upon Him, and absorb the 
 delights of His grace and love, enlighten 
 our sorrowing hearts ; and the ‘ pledge of 
 future glory ’ assuages the pain of present 
 distress. Do we thus seek our consolation ? 
 If we do not, or have not, up to this time, we 
 will begin now. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Consider the condition on which Jesus pro- 
 mises us His light, namely, that we follow 
 Him. What has been our custom ? Have we 
 not very often indeed followed everything but 
 Jesus? The vanities and frivolities of the 
 world, the enjoyments of every day, the 
 guilty pleasures of life, thoughtless or wicked 
 company, laziness and sensual indulgence, all 
 call upon us to follow them. They constantly 
 say, ‘ Follow me and they promise us happi- 
 ness, but they never can give it. The true 
 Catholic heart will soon find out their hollow- 
 ness — will feel the bitter remorse which they 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 hi 
 
 leave, and will find nothing but darkness 
 where all appeared to be light. Let us listen 
 only to the voice of Jesus, who is still saying, 
 * Follow Me/ Let us hasten to His side, if it 
 be only out of compassion for Him crying so 
 often in vain, ‘ Follow Me/ To follow Him 
 is to keep His commandments, to live in 
 purity and holiness of life, to correspond 
 with all the suggestions of His grace, to avoid 
 all evil, and to do all the good we can. I 
 profess to be a follower of Jesus ; am I so in 
 reality ? I will examine my conscience now. 
 
 O Jesus ! I thank Thee from my heart 
 for having in Thy goodness brought me into 
 Thy Church ; give me grace, I beseech Thee, 
 to be a worthy member of that Church, and 
 a true follower of Thee, as I now resolve to 
 be, that so I may deserve to obtain the light 
 of eternal life. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 :Pa00t on <Sttnba}L 
 Gospel. — St. John viii. 46-59. 
 
 Listen to Jesus speaking the words of eternal 
 truth to the Jews, and see them, instead of 
 accepting His gracious call, reviling Him, 
 accusing Him of being possessed by the 
 devil, and taking up stones to cast at Him. 
 
1 12 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I. 
 
 How Jesus loved the Jewish people, to 
 whom He was sent by His Eternal Father ! 
 This is only one out of so many instances 
 during His life in which He spoke to them 
 of the truth, and they would not hear a word. 
 It was like speaking to rocks or trees, or to 
 dumb, unreasoning animals. Still, ever intent 
 upon His sacred mission, He preached with- 
 out ceasing, as though He would not lose one 
 chance of working upon their stony hearts. 
 Their threats did not deter Him ; their abuse 
 had not any more effect on Him than their 
 scorn and ridicule. How admirable is this 
 perseverance of our Divine Lord ! How 
 worthy of our homage and love is this zeal 
 for His Father’s glory, and for the salvation of 
 the souls of men ! Let me reflect upon it, 
 and see if my conduct is like His. Do I not 
 grow faint-hearted at the least opposition to 
 my spiritual progress ? and do I not too often 
 give way when the people about me are in- 
 clined to abuse me for my religion, and my 
 religious observance, or when they bring 
 scorn and ridicule to bear upon me ? 
 
 Jesus not only bore it all, but was most 
 calm under it. Do I not frequently lose 
 patience, and become ill - tempered and 
 angry, when men speak abusively or jeer- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 JI 3 
 
 ingly of what I hold to be most holy ? I 
 thus lose many a chance of gaining souls to 
 God. The vulgar insolence of the Jews is 
 very often repeated by those who blindly 
 hate our Faith. When such occurs to me 
 I will think how Jesus conducted Himself 
 in similar circumstances, and I will behave 
 as He would have done. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The Jews accused Jesus of having a devil, 
 that is, of being possessed. How grievous 
 it must have been to the Author of all 
 good to be accused of being possessed by 
 the Spirit of evil ! What a blasphemy this 
 was against Him Who could fearlessly ask, 
 ‘ Which of you shall convict Me of sin ?’ 
 Think of Jesus, the pure, innocent Son of 
 the Eternal Father, accused of being under 
 the influence of the devil, and of teaching 
 diabolical doctrine. I, unlike Him, have 
 committed many sins v Can I count my 
 sins ? And yet, when I am accused of a 
 fault, my pride immediately rises up, and 
 my indignation is roused against my accuser. 
 I cannot bear to have the least fault laid to 
 my charge, nay, I cannot endure that even 
 my judgment should be questioned. When 
 I am accused of faults that I have not com- 
 mitted, let me reflect that, if I am guiltless 
 
 8 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 1 14 
 
 of them, still I am guilty in many, many 
 ways, and that, if men knew me as God 
 knows me, I should deserve universal repro- 
 bation and scorn. And, after all, it is very 
 seldom that I shall be accused as deeply as 
 my dear Lord was. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Think of Jesus in His holiness, His meek- 
 ness, His wonderful, unfailing charity. 
 Think of His sacred Person ; look upon 
 His countenance so unruffled; gaze into His 
 eyes which beam forth the purity of His 
 soul, and the burning ardour of His charity. 
 And then see the countenances of those 
 wretched men who in their hatred and 
 malice take up stones to cast at Him. What 
 a contrast there is between those perverse 
 and wicked people, and the innocent Lamb of 
 God ! If you were to see a dear friend whom 
 you prized for his love to you, and for his 
 own goodness, thus chased away, and obliged 
 to hide himself, threatened by the coarse 
 voices and violent gestures of an angry and 
 unreasoning mob, what would be your 
 thoughts? If you could rescue him, you 
 would. If not, your very heart would burst 
 for the sake of your friend. Shall it be 
 otherwise with Jesus, the truest friend you 
 ever had or can have? Recollect that He 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 US 
 
 suffers this, not only being your friend, but 
 precisely because He is your friend. And 
 can you refuse Him the least service you 
 can render Him, namely, the consolation of 
 your sympathy ? Oh my Jesus! I will go 
 no farther; I will not give Thee a barren 
 sympathy alone, but I will so love Thee, 
 and I will so sincerely repent of my past 
 sins, that I will take away, as far as I can, 
 the additional bitterness which they gave to 
 all Thy sufferings. 
 
 Oh Thou Lamb of God ! Thou that takest 
 away the sins of the world ! Give me grace 
 and strength to bear all things for Thy dear 
 sake. I never can, in this world, suffer all 
 that my manifold sins deserve. I love Thee 
 so much that I offer myself to Thee to suffer 
 for Thy Name’s sake, and in order to prove 
 to Thee how truly I love Thee. Jesus, aid 
 me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jttxmim 32 in passion SBeefe. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John , vii. 32-39. 
 
 Imagine you see our blessed Lord stand- 
 ing before the ministers of the chiefs of the 
 people, and the Pharisees, who were sent to 
 seize His sacred Person, as if He were a 
 malefactor. Contemplate Him, and the 
 
1 16 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Divine serenity of His presence, and learn 
 what lessons you may from His conduct and 
 His words. 
 
 i. 
 
 Consider how the chiefs and the Pharisees, 
 in their malice against Jesus, determined to 
 put an end to His teaching ; and with this 
 view, sent their servants to apprehend Him. 
 His conduct and His doctrine were a reproach 
 to them, besides being contrary to what they 
 were teaching the people. They felt them- 
 selves rebuked by the purity and consistency 
 of His life, for He enjoined nothing that He 
 did not practise ; and all His teaching was 
 of the highest morality, and the most sublime 
 truth ; whereas they enforced the most exact 
 obedience to the law in others, while their 
 own hearts were filled with pride and un- 
 charitableness. They could not help seeing 
 how this consistency on the part of our dear 
 Lord was calculated to draw many to His 
 side, and to force upon the minds of men 
 a contrast between Him and them. Whilst 
 we admire our Lord, and conceive a detesta- 
 tion for the conduct of the Pharisees, let us 
 examine and see whether our own conduct 
 resembles most that of Jesus or of His ene- 
 mies. Jesus is our model, and if we would 
 be saved, we must endeavour to be like Him. 
 And besides this, we must remember that 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 ii 7 
 
 uncharitableness towards our neighbour is 
 really uncharitableness towards Jesus Christ ; 
 for He has said that what we do to our 
 neighbour we do to Him. When, therefore, 
 we blame our neighbour, let us be careful 
 that we ourselves are blameless. What 
 thoughts this reflection calls up in our minds ! 
 It forces us to think of our own failings, and to 
 resolve to correct them before we presume to 
 throw blame on those whose outward actions 
 we behold, but whose hearts we have no right 
 to judge. 
 
 ii. 
 
 This restriction with regard to our judg- 
 ment of others is a maxim of the Christian 
 religion —‘Judge not, and you shall not be 
 judged.’ It was little understood by the 
 Pharisees, who, because of their envy of 
 Jesus, very quickly passed a judgment upon 
 Him. We must not wonder, then, if people 
 judge us, and place a construction upon what 
 we do which is very far from being the true 
 interpretation of our conduct. If this happen 
 to us, we are only placed in the same position 
 as Jesus Christ was. Our religion is vilified, 
 calumniated, and misunderstood ; so was His. 
 Our words are wrongly interpreted ; so were 
 His. Our conduct is misrepresented ; His 
 conduct was represented as that of a seditious 
 blasphemer. It ought to be a great consola- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 1 1 8 
 
 tion to us to think that we are permitted to 
 suffer, in however slight a degree, what He 
 endured, and that we are made more like Him 
 by having trials of a similar nature to His 
 thrust upon our souls. But, in general, these 
 things disturb us very much ; they make us 
 uneasy ; they distract us in our duties and 
 our prayers ; and too often we allow them to 
 excite in us uncharitable and vindictive feel- 
 ings. This is because we do not at once 
 reflect upon our dear Lord, and the bright 
 example that He has shown us. Moreover, 
 we have not the humility to acknowledge, 
 even to ourselves, that the adverse judgments 
 of men about us are very frequently correct, 
 and nothing more than we deserve. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Consider the words of Jesus Christ, ‘ If 
 any man thirst, let him come to Me and 
 drink,’ which were spoken by Him on the 
 last and great day of the festival, as we are 
 told in this day’s Gospel. It is said that He 
 cried them out, that is, uttered them with a 
 loud and piercing voice, so that great numbers 
 of the people might hear them. He wished 
 to give them this last chance, as they were 
 departing from the feast, of turning their 
 attention to Him. Jesus is ever crying out 
 to our hearts by the voice of His Church, by 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 119 
 
 our consciences, and by His direct inspira- 
 tions, in order to attract us to Him. We 
 know not when the cry of our Lord may 
 reach us for the last time. We are always 
 uncertain whether or not the chance which 
 we have of repenting, or of advancing in 
 virtue now, at this moment, is the last that 
 we shall ever have. Let us reflect in time. 
 Jesus knows how we are thirsting and longing 
 for happiness ; and He tells us where alone 
 our thirst can be slaked, namely, in Him. All 
 happiness that is not sanctified by coming from 
 Him, or by having Him for its object, is vain 
 and false. Nothing but true religion can ever 
 give us lasting happiness even in this world. 
 
 Oh ! my Jesus, I am humbled when I think 
 how often I pass severe judgments on others, 
 and how very lenient I am to myself. I 
 resolve, by Thy grace, to think more of my 
 own failings, and to check myself when I am 
 tempted to think or speak harshly of others. 
 Give me grace also to seek, from this moment, 
 all my happiness in Thee. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 % ueshag in passion 
 
 Gospel. — St. John vii. 1-13. 
 
 See our Divine Lord wandering in Galilee 
 because the Jews sought to kill Him, and try to 
 enter into the feelings of His Sacred Heart. 
 
20 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus avoided the Jews. He would not go 
 into Judea because they wished to kill Him ; 
 and even when He went up to the feast of 
 tabernacles, He would not go openly, ‘ but as 
 it were in secret.’ This was not because He 
 dared not face His enemies, or because He 
 feared suffering or shrank from death, but 
 because the time appointed by His Heavenly 
 Father had not yet come. See your loving 
 Jesus, Jesus whom you at least profess to 
 love, wandering like an outcast and a fugitive, 
 with the knowledge that bloodthirsty men 
 were anxious to seize Him and put Him 
 to death. You individually were in His 
 thoughts at that time. Is it possible, dear 
 Lord, that Thou didst think of me , when 
 cruel men were thirsting for Thy blood ? 
 When Thou wert an exile from the land of 
 Thy birth ? Ah ! yes ! the love of Jesus is so 
 great that He has never forgotten me. I 
 never could doubt for a moment that He 
 could forget me, and yet how seldom, and 
 how little have I realized this wonderful fact ! 
 If I realized it to myself as I ought, I should 
 never cease to think of Him. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The sensation of being sought for to be put 
 to death is one of the most painful positions 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 121 
 
 in which a man can be placed. Let us 
 imagine ourselves in such a position, flying 
 from justice, and fearful lest every step that 
 we hear approaching us should be that of 
 one who seeks us. Such terror would take 
 possession of us that life would be a burden. 
 Jesus was not flying from justice. His soul 
 was spotless, and those who sought His life 
 were the very men whom He came to save. 
 How must the thought of the blind ingratitude 
 of men have aggravated the pain of the know- 
 ledge that His life was sought ! How He 
 loved those who wished to kill Him. This 
 knowledge was to Him a foretaste of His 
 Passion. It was the dark shadow of death 
 hanging over Him ; and how acutely He felt 
 it can never be known by mortal man, 
 because man cannot plunge into the depths 
 of the soul of God-made man. Yet we may, 
 to some extent, enter into His feelings, by 
 imagining what our own would be in similar 
 circumstances, and then trying to form some 
 distant idea of the intensity of His feelings 
 arising from the strength of His Divine will to 
 suffer, and from the infinite sensitiveness to 
 suffering with which He had voluntarily 
 clothed Himsdf. How much didst Thou 
 suffer, dearest J?sus, for my sake, and how 
 little I endure foi Thee ! 
 
122 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 III. 
 
 The suffering of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 
 was infinitely increased by His most perfect 
 and intimate knowledge of the grievousness 
 of sin, in general, and of the particular sin of 
 the Jewish people in rejecting Him, and 
 seeking to destroy Him. He knew how 
 terrible this crime was in the eyes of His 
 Eternal Father, and moreover, what a fearful 
 chastisement it would bring upon the souls of 
 His creatures, both in this world and the next. 
 So His dear soul was filled with the bitterness 
 of sorrow on account of men, and on account 
 of the outrage offered to Eternal Goodness 
 With these thoughts filling His heart, He 
 walks in Galilee, and with the same thoughts, 
 He sends His brethren to the feast, and then 
 goes secretly Himself. Contemplate Him in 
 all these passages of His life, and draw from 
 the contemplation the reflections to which 
 they naturally give rise. Do not let Him be 
 alone and disconsolate. Be with Him in 
 spirit and affection ; and resolve never to do 
 anything which may separate you from Him. 
 Especially resolve to correct some particular 
 fault which keeps you at a distance from your 
 loving Saviour. 
 
 My Lord ! Thou knowest that I desire to 
 love Thee, and to make abends to Thee, as 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 123 
 
 far as I am able, not only for the crime of 
 the Jews, but still more for all the share 
 that I had in the sufferings of Thy Sacred 
 Heart. Oh ! give me grace to love Thee 
 perfectly. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ®eime0hap itt Wink. 
 
 Gospel. — St.John x. 22-38. 
 
 Consider Jesus in the character of the 
 Good Shepherd speaking about His sheep, 
 and remember that you are 6ne of His flock. 
 
 1. 
 
 ‘ My sheep hear My voice,’ says our blessed 
 Lord as He walks in Solomon’s porch, while 
 the Jews crowd round about Him and ques- 
 tion Him in their captious way. He had 
 just told them that they did not believe in 
 Him because they were not of His sheep, 
 and now He says that His sheep hear His 
 voice — that is, believe in Him, and accept 
 all that He tells them. It is then a charac- 
 teristic of the true sheep of Christ that they 
 hear His voice and obey His word. How 
 sweet and gentle is the voice of Jesus speak- 
 ing to His sheep ! And what a contrast there 
 too often is between the heavenly Shepherd 
 and those who profess to be His sheep ! 
 
124 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Sheep, if left to themselves, will wander 
 away, and will go in search of new pastures, 
 and at last lose themselves. So it is with us, 
 if we are not true sheep of Christ, and do 
 not obey His voice. Unless we hold fast 
 all that Jesus has taught by His Word, and 
 by His Church, we shall soon lose ourselves, 
 and find our poor souls like sheep without 
 a shepherd. This not only concerns matters 
 of faith, but also the observance of the whole 
 of the Christian law. Have I hitherto listened 
 attentively to the voice of the Good Shepherd ? 
 Have I always done that which my conscience 
 has told me I ought to do ; and avoided that 
 which the same conscience has proclaimed 
 to be wrong ? I know that I belong to the 
 fold of Jesus by being a member of His 
 One Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic 
 Church ; still, I shall be lost if I follow the 
 dictates of my will and my passions, and do 
 not act according to that conscience which 
 God has given me. 
 
 ii. 
 
 4 I know them, and they follow Me,’ He 
 goes on to say. What a thing this is that 
 Jesus should know us, not vaguely, generally, 
 and in a mass, but individually and per- 
 sonally ! Then Jesus knows me, intimately 
 and perfectly. I can conceal nothing from 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 125 
 
 Him. He knows what special care has been 
 bestowed upon me; what graces I have re- 
 ceived, and how I have corresponded with 
 them. He knows how much good there may 
 be in me, and how very much evil. What a 
 consolation it is to the soul that is striving to 
 love God to feel that Jesus the Good Shepherd 
 is ever watching over it, knows all its trials 
 and temptations, and all its struggles in the 
 contest with the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil ! If Jesus knows me so well, ought I 
 not to endeavour to know Him as far as I may 
 in this place of exile ? I will ever remember 
 the knowledge that Jesus has of me, and of 
 all that I think, and say, and do, and of all 
 my ways, and every circumstance of my life ; 
 and I will try to arrive at a true knowledge 
 of Him by daily meditation. 
 
 hi. 
 
 The great inestimable reward that Jesus 
 promises to His true and faithful sheep is 
 the recompense of eternal life. Nothing less 
 than this is in store for them. On the other 
 hand, if eternal life is the reward of the good 
 sheep, what but everlasting death is the 
 punishment of those disobedient ones of the 
 flock, who follow the devices of their own 
 hearts, and desert the true Shepherd ? Oh ! 
 what inexpressible woe it is to be separated 
 
126 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 for ever from Jesus, to be banished from the 
 happy fields of Heaven to the arid, burnt-up 
 desert of hell ! On the other hand, what 
 unutterable joy to feed for ever in the pastures 
 of eternal life by the side of the Good Shepherd 
 whose voice we have heard, and whose steps 
 we have followed in this vale of our pilgrimage ! 
 Jesus, I love Thee as I see Thee talking to 
 the Jews who do not believe Thee, and speak- 
 ing also to my heart. But what is this ? They 
 take up stones to cast at Thee ! I am not 
 one of those, dear Lord ! I fly to Thy side 
 to shield Thee from their rage, or to suffer 
 with Thee. 
 
 Oh ! Thou Good Shepherd ! I wish to be 
 one of the most obedient, gentle, and loving 
 of Thy Flock. The world may think me a 
 fool for remaining at Thy side, but I care 
 not, so long as Thou regardest me with love 
 and approval. Give me grace ever to remain 
 faithful to Thee. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^httrsiia}} in §Eeek. 
 
 Gospel. — St. Luke vii. 36-50. 
 
 Imagine the scene related in the Gospel 
 of to-day ; and represent vividly to your 
 mind the persons, the actions, and the 
 words. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 127 
 
 I. 
 
 Consider our dear Lord’s kindness in 
 accepting the invitation of a man who, by 
 his profession, was among the enemies of 
 Jesus. Look upon our Lord as He reclines 
 at the table, and study His goodness. What 
 gentleness and charity appear in His sacred 
 countenance ! What unassuming dignity in 
 every gesture ! In Him there is nothing 
 which could give offence. The purity of 
 holiness surrounds Him. What is my con- 
 duct when I am among my friends, especially 
 on convivial occasions ? Can I look back 
 upon such scenes, and say that I never did, 
 or said, or thought anything which I should 
 wish to recall ? That I never gave offence, 
 bad example, or scandal ? Consider also 
 Magdalen full of love and veneration for 
 our Divine Redeemer now, though she had 
 been a sinner. She had probably heard the 
 Divine admonitions of Jesus ; at all events, 
 her heart was moved with repentance for her 
 misdeeds, and she comes to Him for forgive- 
 ness. It is touching to see the wandering 
 sheep thus come to seek her shepherd. 
 What sorrow there is in her poor wounded 
 heart ! What love for Him Who alone can 
 heal her soul ! Compare the two, Magdalen 
 and Jesus ; perfect repentance and perfect 
 
128 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 innocence. How near they come together, 
 innocence and repentance ! How sweetly 
 the Divine innocence of Jesus takes the 
 repentant sinner to its love ! Let us be very 
 tender and gentle with sinners, that we may 
 bring them to repentance. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Magdalen came into the house of the 
 Pharisee while they were at meat. The 
 ardour of her desire for forgiveness made 
 her break through the strict conventionalities 
 of life; she could not wait. Before all the 
 guests she washed His feet with her tears, 
 and wiped them with her hair ; she kissed 
 His feet, and anointed them with ointment. 
 Her desire for pardon was equalled by her 
 wish to make public reparation for her public 
 sins ; and so she does not seek for reconcilia- 
 tion in concealment, but allows the over- 
 flowing grief and love of her heart to gush 
 forth in the presence of all the company. 
 She stood behind, and at His feet ; ashamed, 
 confused, and humbled at the thought of her 
 sinful state, she shrank from looking on His 
 face, and found at His sacred feet the proper 
 place for her repentance. When conscience 
 speaks to us, or remorse moves our hearts, 
 do we seek at once to be reconciled to our 
 Lord by the Sacrament of Penance ? Do we 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 129 
 
 thus go to Him for pardon the moment that 
 we find that we have done wrong ? Do we 
 even make an act of contrition ? I will 
 amend, dear Jesus. Again ; if we have given 
 scandal or bad example, do we remember to 
 make all the reparation that is in our power ? 
 Am I truly confused, and ashamed, and 
 humbled, when I think of my many offences 
 against God ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 Think of the words of Jesus, so full of 
 kindness and tenderness towards the repent- 
 ant Magdalen. There is not one reproach. 
 Not one word to cause a painful feeling. 
 On the contrary, Jesus enumerates her good 
 actions, and expresses a most generous appre- 
 ciation of each. He might have recounted 
 her sins one by one to show the extent of 
 His goodness in forgiving her ; but this 
 would not have been in accordance with His 
 loving ways towards repenting sinners. He 
 leaves out the balance of sin, and only 
 reckons up the sum of repentant acts. How 
 sweetly the character of our Lord comes out 
 in all this touching scene ! Sinners have 
 here a great encouragement. Weak, foolish, 
 wicked as we may be, Jesus is ever ready to 
 forgive, the moment that we repent. His 
 Church is like Him in this ; and all true 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Christian hearts will welcome and cherish 
 the poor soul that has gone astray, but now 
 returns to God’s grace by sincere repentance. 
 Let me learn to love Jesus more and more 
 for His goodness. Let me also resolve to 
 endeavour more and more to have zeal for 
 the salvation of souls, and in all my dealings 
 with persons who have committed faults, to 
 imitate the conduct of my dear Lord. 
 
 Oh, Jesus ! model of innocence ! Give 
 me the grace of sincere repentance. Let no 
 consideration of human respect, or any other 
 feeling, cause me to delay when I know that 
 I have sinned. I resolve, O Lord, by Thy 
 grace, to repent at once, and to confess my 
 sins with love, humility, and sorrow. Give 
 me also the great grace which shall teach me 
 how to deal with those who have done wrong. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jfriiiai) in passion Witzk. 
 
 Gospel. — St. John xi. 47-54. 
 
 Imagine you see Jesus avoiding the Jews, 
 and going with His disciples to Ephrem 
 because they sought to kill Him. 
 
 1. 
 
 Consider the wickedness of the chief priests 
 and Pharisees, who assembled together in 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I 3 I 
 
 council against Jesus. To us it sounds 
 terrible to say against Jesus, and yet, how 
 much is done every day against Him ! And 
 by persons who call themselves Christians ! 
 All that is done against the law of God, and 
 against His will, is against Jesus. Every 
 time that we break a commandment ; every 
 time that we commit a sin, we conspire with 
 the devil against Jesus. All the uncharitable- 
 ness or injustice that we exhibit towards our 
 neighbour is against Jesus. Whenever we 
 scandalize anyone, and lead another into sin, 
 it is all against Jesus. The neglect of parents 
 with regard to their children, of superiors 
 with respect to those placed under them, is 
 against Him. The omission or disregard of 
 the special duties of our state of life ; the 
 taking advantage of any position to oppress 
 or injure others, is against Him. The making 
 use of our talents to the injury of the faith or 
 morals of others, by speaking, by writing, by 
 the press, or by any other means, is all 
 against Him. If those who are comparatively 
 rich despise or neglect the poor, it is being 
 against Jesus. The refusal to observe, or the 
 wilful omission to obey, the commandments 
 of the Church, is against Him. All the wild 
 clamour of the world against the Church of 
 Christ, and against His Vicar, is against 
 Him. All the attacks made upon the 
 
 9—2 
 
132 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 Catholic Faith are against Him. How 
 much has His dear Sacred Heart to bear ! 
 Let me examine, and see how much of all 
 this can be laid to my charge. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The chief priests of the Jews and the 
 Pharisees conspired against our Lord for a 
 temporal consideration. They said, ‘ If we 
 let Him alone so, all men will believe in 
 Him, and the Romans will come and take 
 away our place and nation.’ Their opposition 
 to Jesus in this instance arose from a mere 
 worldly policy. They cared not if His 
 doctrine were true or not ; all they thought 
 of was the stability of their nation ; and 
 because they were in dread of the power of 
 Rome, they determined to seek the destruc- 
 tion of Him Who came to preach the truth to 
 the world. Has this no analogy in the 
 public history of our own times ? Has it no 
 counterpart in the private history of our own 
 souls ? For what are we ready to go against 
 Jesus? Is it for some higher good? No; 
 for we know that there is nothing higher or 
 better ; but we sacrifice Him and His interest 
 to the lowest and most miserable considera- 
 tions. We give Him up ; we commit sin for 
 the sake of the world and its pride, and 
 vanity, and empty glory. We commit sin to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 133 
 
 gratify the whim of a moment, or to satisfy 
 the ambition of a life. We commit sin for 
 a momentary delight, or for a hateful passion. 
 Let me consider the wretched inducements 
 that have led me to commit sin of whatever 
 nature it may be, and see what part I have 
 had in the mental sufferings of our Lord, 
 when He went to the borders of the desert 
 on account of His cruel persecution by the 
 Jews. 
 
 hi. 
 
 It was the goodness and the power of 
 Jesus which raised up such bitter enemies 
 against Him- ‘ This man doth many miracles/ 
 they exclaim. What were the miracles of 
 Jesus? Curing the sick, the lame, and the 
 blind ; raising the dead to life ; changing 
 water into wine, lest the friendly conviviality 
 of a marriage feast should be spoiled ; all 
 indicative of His intense goodness and 
 charity. Does this apply at all to me ? Am 
 I ever against Him on account of His good- 
 ness and power? Ah ! yes ; for were it not 
 for that infinite goodness of His, I should not 
 have the chance of sinning twice. If I had 
 my deserts, I should have died after my first 
 sin. It is precisely because I know His 
 goodness and have had experience of His 
 power in preserving my life that I have ever 
 dared to sin. In another way I may have 
 
134 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 gone against Him for His goodness, if I have 
 ever been jealous or envious of the spiritual 
 or temporal good of others ; if I have ever 
 felt a certain rancour against others who 
 were better than myself, and if, in conse- 
 quence of their good acts or pious practices, 
 I have had a sort of malicious pleasure in 
 running them down or in ridiculing them. 
 Such things are not uncommon, however 
 much they may seem to be against our moral 
 sense ; let me therefore examine myself on 
 these points, and correct whatever may be 
 amiss. 
 
 Oh ! Jesus, I compassionate Thee in all 
 the sufferings of Thy Sacred Heart and 
 Mind, particularly those which have the 
 peculiar malice of being inflicted for Thy 
 goodness. I have sinned, as Thou knowest, 
 my dear and loving Lord, but, by Thy grace, 
 I will do better in future. Pater, Ave, 
 Gloria. 
 
 (Safuriiaj) in passion Wittk . 
 
 Gospel. — St. John x ii. 10-36. 
 
 See our blessed Lord brought in triumph 
 to Jerusalem ; look upon Him, and learn the 
 feelings of His Heart; study them and the 
 other lessons to be derived from the Gospel 
 of to-day. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 135 
 
 I. 
 
 The envy of the chief priests of the Jews 
 was so great that they sought to kill not 
 only our dear Lord, but also Lazarus His 
 friend, whom He had raised from the dead. 
 What a different sentiment was excited in 
 the multitude ! For the Evangelist tells us 
 that it was on account of the fame of this 
 miracle that the people went forth to meet 
 Jesus. We, as members of the true Church 
 of Christ, profess to be His friends. He has 
 certainly chosen us to be so, as much as He 
 chose Lazarus, and if we are not His friends 
 it is our own fault. Since we profess to be 
 the especial friends of Jesus, we must not be 
 surprised or downcast if the world ill-treat 
 us on account of our religion. This very 
 ill-treatment should be a source of consola- 
 tion to us, since, among others, it is one proof 
 of the truth of our faith, and it moreover 
 makes us more like our Divine Master. We 
 can better sympathize with His sufferings 
 when we have to suffer something for His 
 sake. Again, it should console us to know 
 that the very things which are seized upon 
 as pretexts for the world to hate us, are a 
 source of attraction to the Faith to many 
 others, just as the resurrection of Lazarus 
 acted in opposite ways with the Jews. It 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 136 
 
 made some desire to kill Lazarus as well as 
 Jesus, while it led others to meet Jesus and 
 to sing, 4 Hosanna ! Blessed is He that 
 cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King 
 of Israel.’ 
 
 11. 
 
 Consider our dear Lord arriving at the 
 descent of Mount Olivet, and see how mul- 
 titudes of the people meet Him ; they tear 
 branches from the palm trees, and wave 
 them in triumph before Him, while some 
 cast their garments in the way, that the feet 
 of the ass on which He rides may pass over 
 them. Hear how they shout with joyful 
 acclamation, ‘ Hosanna to the son of David. 
 Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of 
 the Lord ’ (St. Matt. xxi. 9). Join in this 
 triumph with all your heart ; unite with 
 that multitude, and proclaim the glory of 
 the son of David, the King of your heart. 
 But how does Jesus act in this triumphant 
 scene ? Is He elated with joy and gratifica- 
 tion? No ; He weeps, as St. Luke tells us, 
 not for Himself, but for the coming destruc- 
 tion of His beloved Jerusalem, and for 
 the sins of the people, which would draw 
 upon them that destruction. Truly this is 
 a moving scene ; the people showing every 
 demonstration of joy, and Jesus, the object 
 of their acclamations, weeping. Cherish 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 137 
 
 those sacred tears, and learn how much love 
 there is in that dear Heart which suffered 
 such intense sorrow on account of men, 
 when they were in the height of exultation 
 on account of Him. 
 
 hi. 
 
 Hear how those joyful sounds are re- 
 echoed by the walls of Jerusalem, which in 
 so short a time were to return to Mount 
 Olivet the fearful cry of * Crucify Him.’ 
 How short lived is popularity ! The idol of 
 the people to-day, is to-morrow the object 
 of their scorn and deadly hatred. The 
 whole city is at the feet of Jesus on Mount 
 Olivet, and in a very little while He will 
 not have one friend near Him. Those who 
 labour for popular favour will soon discover 
 how fleeting and changeable it is. It can 
 never confer true and lasting happiness, be- 
 cause it is so liable to fluctuations. If the 
 public feeling changed so entirely and so 
 rapidly with regard to Jesus, we may be 
 quite sure that the slightest accident will 
 turn all the favour that we may enjoy into 
 the bitterness of hatred. Nothing merely 
 human can give solid joy to any true 
 Christian. It is God alone and the things 
 of God which can give it. In what have I 
 sought my happiness ? Is it in the praise 
 
38 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 of men’s lips ? It will vanish like smoke, 
 and leave me desolate. If I have worked 
 only to please men, or chiefly, or even partly 
 for this end, my happiness cannot last even 
 in this world. And, as for the next ! what 
 will be my thoughts of mere human applause 
 when I come to die ? 
 
 O dear Lord Jesus ! give me a true love of 
 Thee, so that I may be really Thy friend. 
 Let me share in Thy sorrows that I may be 
 more like Thee. I resolve for Thy sake to 
 despise the favour of the world, and to seek 
 only for Thy approbation. Do Thou aid me 
 by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 |)alm 
 
 Gospel. — The Passion of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ , according to St. Matthew xxvi. 
 and xxvii. 
 
 Behold our blessed Lord in the garden of 
 Gethsemani, overwhelmed with sorrow ; and 
 imagine yourself to be near, so that you can 
 see Him and hear Him. 
 
 i. 
 
 Contemplate our dear Lord after the Last 
 Supper, during which He had foretold that 
 Judas would betray Him, and had instituted 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 139 
 
 that legacy of His most infinite love, the Holy 
 Eucharist, descending with His disciples the 
 hill-side from the gate of Jerusalem to the 
 little garden of Gethsemani. He was accus- 
 tomed to pray in this garden, and now He 
 goes to it for the last time, knowing full well 
 what awaits Him there. Yet He does not 
 shrink as yet from the thought of all His 
 coming sufferings, but with unutterable calm- 
 ness pursues His way towards the accomplish- 
 ment of His Father’s will, and the Redemp- 
 tion of man. See how, after telling the rest 
 of the disciples to remain at some distance, 
 He takes Peter, and James, and John, the 
 three who had beheld His Transfiguration, 
 to be near Him, and watch with Him. Hear 
 what He says to them : ‘ My Soul is sorrow- 
 ful even unto death . 5 Surely such sad words 
 were never uttered in this world before or 
 since. His sorrow is so great, His pain of 
 soul is so intense, that the least addition to 
 it would kill Him. It brought Him to the 
 very gates of death. He suffered in His 
 sacred Soul all the deep agony of dying per- 
 sons. It seemed as if His very soul would 
 die, if such were possible. See Him as He 
 tells this so sadly to the three disciples ; look 
 on His face so expressive of the woe of His 
 dear Soul. 
 
140 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 II. 
 
 Then, going a little farther, He falls upon 
 His face, with all the weight of His sorrow 
 upon Him, and prays to His Eternal Father. 
 What is His prayer ? 4 Father, if it be pos- 
 
 sible, let this chalice pass from Me. Never- 
 theless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’ 
 What a lesson for me ! I cannot bear the 
 smallest pains and inconveniences without 
 murmuring — I who deserve so much for my 
 sins ! But Jesus suffers for me with an ex- 
 pression of deepest submission to His Father’s 
 will. Pain and trouble often prevent me 
 from praying or turning my heart to God at 
 all ; but suffering only makes Jesus pray the 
 more — ‘and being in an agony, He prayed 
 the longer * (St. Luke xxii. 43). How the 
 agony of His Soul affects His Body ! See 
 how the blood is pressed from every pore ! 
 He writhes upon the ground like a crushed 
 worm. Can this be Jesus? Can this be the 
 innocent Lamb of God ? Can this be He 
 Who, true God and true Man, loves me with 
 an eternal love ? Oh, it is true ! But I fly 
 to Thee, my Jesus, my Lord, Thou love of 
 my heart, and I will console Thee by never 
 sinning more. There never was sorrow like 
 unto His sorrow, for it was the sorrow of a 
 whole world, and of all the ages of the world, 
 that pressed upon Him. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 14 
 
 III. 
 
 Jesus willed, with the whole intensity of 
 His will of God, to suffer, and this made His 
 sufferings infinite. But the cause of His 
 suffering in the garden ? It was, in part, the 
 sight which He had of all the other suffer- 
 ings which were to come upon Him both in 
 body and mind ; but, still more, it was the 
 close proximity to which He was brought 
 with sin. He hated sin. He instinctively 
 shrank from sin with such a sense of positive 
 pain as when the most delicate nerves of our 
 bodies are wounded ; and yet, in His derelic- 
 tion in Gethsemani, it seemed to Him as if 
 He alone were guilty of all the sins that have 
 been, or will be, committed in the world, 
 from the sin of our first parents to the last 
 sin of the last man. They were piled in one 
 vast and nauseous heap upon Him. They 
 clung to Him, and seemed to burn into His 
 very soul, and to be made His and His alone. 
 They formed a dark cloud about Him, 
 shutting out the very heavens. His eyes 
 saw nothing but .sin, His ears were dinned 
 with horrid cries of sin, He felt but the 
 loathsome touch of sin, He breathed the 
 odious, noisome atmosphere of sin. And He 
 so innocent that heaven has nothing purer ! 
 My God ! what terrible woe was all this to 
 the Sacred Heart of Jesus ! What part had 
 
142 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 I in this? Let me try to pluck out from 
 that heap my own sins. I begin ; but sin 
 after sin develops itself, and the more I 
 search the more I find, till the task seems 
 almost hopeless. Still, I will go on. 1 will 
 examine my conscience, I will confess my 
 sins, I will be sorry for them, and I will re- 
 solve never to commit them again. O my 
 dear Jesus ! as Thou liest upon Thy face in 
 the garden, Thou dost think of me as much 
 as if I were the only creature of Thy hands 
 upon the earth. Thou dost feel my sins 
 individually pressing upon Thee, and hurt- 
 ing Thy dear soul with unspeakable wounds. 
 I will never offend Thee again. Jesus, aid 
 me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 Jttmiiiaj) in g)olg SEUek ♦ 
 
 Gospel. — St. JoJm xii. 1-9. 
 
 Imagine Jesus in the house of Simon the 
 leper at Bethania. See Lazarus and his 
 sisters; the disciples with Judas among 
 them ; study the whole scene, and endeavour 
 to draw some good out of it for yourself. 
 
 1. 
 
 It is the most commonly received opinion 
 that the woman, Mary, who is described to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 143 
 
 have anointed the feet of our dear Lord, is 
 the same Mary Magdalen who is related by 
 St. Luke, chap, vii., to have performed a 
 similar action at an earlier period. Thus 
 this is the second time that she comes with 
 a public manifestation of her great love for 
 Jesus, and it is worthy of remark that 
 St. Matthew, chap, xxvi., tells us that she 
 anointed His head. The first time it was 
 only His feet, as most fitting to Mary when 
 repenting; now His head also, as the effect 
 of the love of Mary sanctified. Thus love 
 and humility are very conspicuous in the 
 conduct of Mary ; and, indeed, they may be 
 said to contain the sum and substance of 
 our duty to our dear Lord. We cannot love 
 Him as we ought without having faith and 
 hope in Him, and without keeping His 
 commandments ; and we cannot have true 
 humility without a sense of our own help- 
 lessness without Him, and sincere sorrow 
 for our offences. Is the love that I have for 
 Jesus solidly grounded upon true charity and 
 humility? Let me be careful that my devo- 
 tion is not merely sentimental or emotional, 
 and that it has a true foundation. In order 
 to discover this, let me examine and see if I 
 am good only by fits and starts ; if I am 
 pious and virtuous only when piety and 
 virtue happen to fall in with my own humour ; 
 
144 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 or if I am steadily and perseveringly good 
 and religious in spite of dryness of spirit, 
 disinclination of mind, or outward distrac- 
 tions and temptations. If I find that my 
 examination is against me, I will set to work 
 at once to correct my fault. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Consider how, in the midst of the consola- 
 tion which Jesus derived from the pious act 
 of Mary Magdalen, His blessed soul was 
 pained by hearing one of His own Apostles 
 blaming the manifestation of her piety. How 
 harshly the rude objection of Judas must 
 have jarred against His tender Heart ! How 
 chillingly the cold calculation must have 
 fallen upon the ears of so many who loved 
 Him ! It is the fate of the truly pious to be 
 misunderstood, and to meet with rude shocks 
 to their feelings of devotion. Let us not be 
 discouraged if the worldly-minded, or even 
 persons whom we esteem as good, do not 
 appreciate all that we do for God in the 
 candid sincerity of our hearts. If we are 
 truly good, we shall have no great idea of 
 our own good acts ; and we shall moreover 
 remember that no amount of the world’s dis- 
 approval will diminish what merit we may 
 have in the sight of God. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 145 
 
 III. 
 
 Judas blamed the conduct of Mary in 
 pouring ointment upon the head and feet of 
 Jesus, on the ground that it might have been 
 sold, and the price given to the poor. The 
 Gospel goes on to say : ‘ Now he said this, 
 not because he cared for the poor, but be- 
 cause he was a thief.’ How infinitely painful 
 it must have been to the Sacred Heart of 
 Jesus to hear this declaration of pretended 
 solicitude for the poor, when He knew every 
 thought that passed through the mind of the 
 traitor Judas, and every motive that influ- 
 enced His conduct ! It was His intimate 
 knowledge of hearts and of motives, His 
 clear perception of every human thought, 
 that added so much to the pain of Jesus 
 Christ both before and during His Passion. 
 Or rather, it was this that gave to all His 
 sufferings one of those distinctive character- 
 istics which set them apart from the ordinary 
 sufferings of men. It was not only words 
 that were said, and actions that were done, 
 that afflicted Jesus. It was not merely that 
 He perceived, as any man might perceive, that 
 He was treacherously sold and delivered up, 
 that He was falsely accused, that He was 
 struck, and spit upon, and scourged, and 
 crowned with thorns, and crucified ; but He 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 had a clear and distinct view of the hearts, 
 and minds, and souls, and consciences, and 
 thoughts, not only of the men who did these 
 deeds upon His sacred Body, but of all men 
 from the beginning to the end of time. 
 What a hideous picture to be presented 
 to the Lord of holiness ! I know what 
 He saw in the heart of Judas; what did 
 He see then, and what does He see now, 
 in my heart ? 
 
 O my God ! give me true love towards 
 Thee, and true humility. Let me see myself 
 as Thou seest me ; and give me grace never 
 to try to cover my real badness with a veil of 
 hypocrisy. Dearest Lord, I resolve to en- 
 deavour to make amends to Thee for all the 
 bitter pain Thou didst endure for me, by 
 loving Thee as much as I can, and by en- 
 deavouring, by a good example, to lead 
 others to love Thee. Do Thou aid me by 
 Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 c aEue0baj) in 
 
 Gospel. — The Passion of our Lord Jesus 
 
 Christ , accordmg to St. Mark xiv. and xv. 
 
 Picture to yourself Jesus carried by the 
 rude men who had taken Him prisoner, to 
 the high priest, and placed like a criminal 
 before him. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 147 
 
 I. 
 
 Consider Jesus in the hands of a cruel 
 and remorseless mob of soldiers and other 
 persons, entirely surrounded by enemies. 
 Like ravenous wolves, they thirst for His 
 blood. See the dark satisfaction of the chief 
 priests, and the Scribes and Pharisees ; tlie 
 rudeness of the soldiers, the wild spirit of 
 persecution of the lawless ruffians who drag 
 Him along. Hear their loud cries, and the 
 injurious words and insults that are heaped 
 upon this innocent Lamb of God. It is our 
 Father, our Brother, our most faithful and 
 loving Friend, Who is thus hurried before the 
 judgment-seat, with such a terrible array of 
 enemies around Him. It is the Eternal 
 Word made flesh Who is thus treated as the 
 vilest malefactor. It is the Everlasting Son 
 of God Who came down from heaven to 
 bleed and to die, in order to save the very 
 men who clamour for His punishment and 
 death. Before the high priest He, true God 
 as well as true Man, is accused of blasphemy ! 
 Witness after witness is brought against Him, 
 and there is not one to speak in His favour, 
 though the witnesses were false, and their 
 testimony did not agree. His disciples had 
 fled. But Peter and another disciple followed 
 Him, not daring to be with Him and known 
 
 10 — 2 
 
1 4 8 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 as His, but appearing as if drawn by curiosity, 
 and indifferent to His fate. Think of Him 
 in such terrible desertion, and unite your 
 heart with His. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Jesus, so solitary and friendless, calls for 
 all our compassion ; for what mental pain 
 can be greater than that of suddenly finding 
 one’s self without a single friend, and sur- 
 rounded by all the enmity that envy and 
 malice can bring ? But this is not all. 
 When the high priest exclaimed that He 
 had blasphemed, they began to spit upon 
 Him ; they covered His eyes, and struck 
 Him, and in irony bade Him tell who it was 
 that had done the infamous deed. Who can 
 tell what consolation it would have afforded 
 Jesus if some friendly voice had whispered a 
 word of comfort to His poor wounded Heart? 
 If He could have seen some well-known face 
 looking upon Him with a kindly and affec- 
 tionate glance ? Is there not one to give 
 Him a reassuring pressure of the hand ? 
 Not one ! But hark ! There is at last the 
 voice of one whom He knows and loves full 
 well — one who has said that though he should 
 die with Him, he never would deny Him. 
 May we not hope for some comfort for Him 
 now ? Vain hope ! Peter denies Him ; 
 nay, curses and swears that he does not know 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 149 
 
 Him. Can it be possible, my Jesus ! that it 
 has come to this ? Is this all that Thou 
 hearest from Thy chosen Apostle ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 When Jesus heard Peter deny Him, and 
 even curse and swear that he knew Him not, 
 He did not reproach the Apostle, but St. Luke 
 tells us, in a few moving words, that ‘ the 
 Lord, turning, looked on Peter/ This was 
 sufficient to strike remorse into Peter’s heart; 
 he remembered what Jesus had said to him 
 before, and ‘ going out, wept bitterly.’ 
 Imagine that look of Jesus, so full of plaintive 
 tenderness and love. How the sight of that 
 sad, pale, bruised, and disfigured face affected 
 the poor Apostle ! Let me reflect on all the 
 share I had in this painful scene by my sins, 
 which were present to the mind of Jesus by 
 His foreknowledge. Let me also think how I 
 may show my sympathy with Him, and ob- 
 tain grace for myself, by making use of oppor- 
 tunities of imitating Him. It is very painful 
 to me when I know that people are ashamed 
 of being acquainted with me ; when I know 
 that they have spoken slightingly or insolently 
 about me ; when anyone whom I love, and 
 have favoured, and have looked upon as a 
 friend, talks against me behind my back. It 
 is a terrible shock to find suddenly that one 
 
150 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 whom I have trusted acts in such a way as to 
 forfeit my confidence, because he finds that 
 others are against me. It is perhaps still 
 harder when I accidentally overhear my 
 trusted friend speaking ill of me with words 
 of contempt or insult, when he ought to 
 defend me. My heart and feelings are deeply 
 wounded ; yet perhaps I really deserve it. 
 Jesus did not deserve it ; yet He was patient 
 and kind. Have I been so under such cir- 
 cumstances ? Have I thought of offering 
 up such injuries to Him in reparation for my 
 share in His sufferings, and in affectionate 
 sympathy with Him ? 
 
 O my dear Lord Jesus ! I unite my heart 
 with Thine in Thy most bitter desertion by 
 Thy friends ; I will try to comfort Thee by 
 my faithful attachment to Thee. Oh, give 
 me grace to bear all injuries, especially those 
 which come from such as ought to be my 
 friends, with charity and with resignation. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ®eiine0iiajj in 
 
 The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ , 
 accordmg to St. Luke xxii. and xxiii. 
 
 See our dear Lord Jesus, loaded with a 
 heavy cross, toiling along the pathway towards 
 Calvary. He meets a number of people and 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 151 
 
 of women, who bewail His fate. Look upon 
 Him and hear His words. 
 
 1. 
 
 I imagine myself near the walls of Jeru- 
 salem: my heart loves Jesus; I know partially 
 what is going on in the city ; I hear horrible 
 cries which are echoed through the streets, 
 and are re-echoed by the height of Calvary, 
 I listen, and I hear the fearful words, ‘ Crucify 
 Him ! crucify Him !’ Is it Jesus whom they 
 would crucify ? No ; it must be Barabbas, the 
 rebel and the murderer. I hear his name : 
 Barabbas ! Barabbas ! Surely they are lead- 
 ing him to execution, and the sweet, pure, 
 innocent Lamb of God, so guiltless and so 
 patient, is released ! The procession leaves 
 the city walls, and what do I see ? Sur- 
 rounded by soldiers, by rough and cruel men 
 who strike Him and urge Him onward, 
 carrying upon His poor bruised shoulders a 
 rude heavy cross, well-nigh sinking beneath 
 the burden, is my Brother, my Friend, my 
 Father, my Saviour, my God ! A crown of 
 thorns is upon His brow, and the blood 
 streams down His sacred cheeks, mixed with 
 tears. Was ever sight more piteous ? Who 
 has done this, O Jesus ? I, I have done it by 
 my sins ! Oh ! woe is me, that ever I should 
 have sinned ! 
 
152 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 But who are these who meet Him on the 
 way to Calvary ? ‘ A great multitude of 
 
 people, and of women who bewailed and 
 lamented Him.’ I hear their sobs and woful 
 sighs. God bless those faithful hearts. I 
 hear their cries, and feel how all their 
 lamentation goes straight to the Sacred Heart 
 of Jesus. This sad sorrowing is even a 
 cheerful sound amid the curses and blas- 
 phemies, and injuries of every kind that are 
 heaped upon Him ! Oh ! good, kind hearts! 
 weep on for Jesus. I would that my hard 
 and dry heart could weep with yours ! Why 
 do I not shed tears of blood for Him, my 
 love, my only good ? He speaks ! The 
 sweet victim led to the slaughter speaks ! 
 ‘ Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me.’ 
 O dear words ! O loving Heart of Jesus ! 
 Thou hast annihilated Thyself, and Thou 
 seemest to forget Thyself. ‘Not for Me.’ 
 ‘ Let Me suffer all. I am willing. I came 
 into the world to suffer. Do not weep for 
 Me .’ O Jesus ! Thou wilt break my heart 
 if Thou speakest thus. Why should I not 
 weep for Thee ? Why may I not lament Thy 
 bitter pains ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 ‘ Weep not for Me, but for yourselves and 
 for your children.’ Ah ! here is the key to 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 153 
 
 all. It is Thy love for us which makes Thee 
 forget Thyself. ‘ Weep for yourselves.’ Oh ! 
 the unselfish Heart of Jesus, which in the 
 midst of its pains thinks only of the children 
 of men, and of the punishments which will 
 fall upon them ! How unlike Jesus I am, 
 while I profess to follow Him, and to have 
 Him for my only Guide. Whatever I suffer, 
 I suffer justly, because I deserve it, and be- 
 cause it is God’s will. And yet, although I 
 know this, I murmur, and want all men to 
 sympathize with me. I do not think of suffer- 
 ing for Jesus’ sake ; still less of enduring 
 anything for other men. Yet Jesus bore ail 
 for us, and would not have those good women 
 to weep for Him. He thought of them and 
 of their children, and forgot Himself. 
 
 O Jesus my Lord, the love of my heart, I 
 sympathize with Thee and love Thee. And 
 I resolve that, by Thy grace, I will bear 
 patiently all crosses and trials for Thy sweet 
 sake, and that for the love of Thee I will 
 think more of my neighbour’s sufferings and 
 misfortunes than of my own. Give me grace 
 to be unselfish. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 ^humbajn 
 
 Gospel. — St.John xiii. 1-15. 
 
 Picture to yourself Jesus Christ, with sweet 
 humility, passing from Apostle to Apostle 
 
154 
 
 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 after the Last Supper, and washing their 
 feet. 
 
 i. 
 
 Consider the words of the Gospel which 
 tell us that ‘ Jesus knowing that His hour was 
 come, that He should pass out of this world 
 to the Father; having loved His own who were 
 in the world, He loved them even to the end.’ 
 Jesus knew perfectly that the time of His 
 sufferings and death was at hand. The whole 
 future was distinctly before His mind ; all the 
 pains and insults He was to endure in soul 
 and body ; all the terrible crimes that in the 
 next few hours would be committed against 
 the eternal Majesty of Heaven, He not only 
 knew that He was to die upon the cross, but 
 also that He would rise again triumphantly 
 from the dead, and that, by a glorious Ascen- 
 sion, He would go up to heaven, and sit at 
 the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 
 Knowing that He was thus drawing towards 
 the time of His departure from the world, He 
 wished to give to His Apostles a lesson on 
 the preparation for their own departure, and, 
 through His Apostles, an example to all 
 Christians. And so He makes a manifesta- 
 tion of the two great virtues of Charity and 
 Humility ; of highest Charity in the estab- 
 lishment of the Holy Eucharist, and of 
 Humility in washing the feet of the Apostles. 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 155 
 
 As we advance in life, and inevitably draw 
 nearer to the time of our departure from the 
 world, do we increase in these sublime virtues? 
 Let me examine and see if my love of God 
 and of my neighbour in God and for God is 
 greater now than formerly. Do I constantly 
 keep before my eyes the great fact that I am 
 to die soon ; and in contemplation of this 
 certain fact, am I careful to keep my soul in 
 such a condition that it is fit to go to the 
 Father, to pass clearly through the awful 
 judgment, and to enjoy the love of God and 
 the happiness of heaven for ever ? Is it my 
 constant occupation to enrich my soul with 
 the virtues of Charity and Humility? 
 
 11. 
 
 4 Having loved His own . . . He loved 
 them to the end.’ There is no cessation of 
 His love. He went on ever loving them. 
 No thought of Himself ever put the love of 
 them out of His Heart. All the persecutions 
 He had to endure during His mission never 
 caused Him for one instant to pause or grow 
 cool in His deep love. Through all the 
 melancholy stages of His sacred Passion, His 
 love for them burned most ardently in His 
 soul. It was this very love of His creatures 
 that caused Him to pass through such a sea 
 of suffering, and which pursued Him and 
 
\$6 LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 surrounded Him even to the end, when He 
 hung upon the Cross, and looked forth from 
 that tree of death upon the upturned faces 
 of that fearful crowd. If we could see the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus, we should behold it 
 beating to the end with the love of us ; if 
 we could feel it, we should find it all aglow 
 with love. Is my conduct like that of Jesus? 
 And yet He tells me in this Gospel that His 
 acts are my example. How often has it not 
 happened to me that trials infinitely less than 
 those of Jesus, crosses far less heavy than 
 His, have caused me to grow slack in the 
 love of God and my neighbour ? Have I 
 never neglected my duty to God or man, 
 urging as an excuse for my neglect that my 
 mind was disturbed or in suffering ? Is this 
 loving God to the end? Is this imitating 
 Jesus ? 
 
 hi. 
 
 If Jesus loved us to the end, that is even 
 unto death, so that He died for the love of 
 us, He also loved us to the end of love; 
 that is, He could not love us more than He 
 did. He loved us to the perfection of love. 
 His love is so great that there can be no 
 greater love. There is nothing wanting to 
 His love ; it cannot go farther ; it cannot by 
 any possibility be added to, because it is 
 infinite. It has no bounds, and fills up all 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 »57 
 
 God's immeasurable power of loving. Then, 
 besides loving us as God, He loves us with 
 all the immense love of His entirely perfect 
 and pure human nature. What a return of 
 love does this demand from me ! 
 
 Jesus, my loving Lord and Saviour, who 
 hast told us that men should know that we 
 are Thy disciples if we love one another, 
 give me grace to increase hourly in the love 
 of Thee above all things, and of my neigh- 
 bour as myself. Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 (Serai Jfribm 
 
 7 he Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 according to St. John xviii. and xix. 
 
 Throw yourself in spirit at the foot of the 
 Cross on Mount Calvary, and contemplate 
 Jesus dying for the love of you. 
 
 1. 
 
 The foot of the Cross is the fitting place 
 for a Christian soul, for where its love is, 
 there it ought to be. And the truth of love 
 is tested when the object of it is in suffering 
 or disgrace. What should I have done, and 
 where should I have been, if I were one of 
 the friends of Jesus at that terrible time? 
 Should I have had. the courage to face the 
 obloquy which attended Him, and which was 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 158 
 
 reflected upon His friends ? Should I have 
 dared, when so many fled away, to have re- 
 mained with Him, and to have expressed my 
 sympathy and my undying affection for Him ? 
 If I consider my conduct, I can scarcely con- 
 clude that I should have been more courageous 
 than the disciples. I am so often deterred 
 from my duty by what the world says, and 
 I think so much of the opinion of others, 
 especially of those whom my cool reason 
 tells me are unworthy of being considered. 
 Do I not dread to go against the indifferent 
 and the bad, more than I respect the opinions 
 and follow the advice of the good and virtuous? 
 Let me conceive a just indignation against my- 
 self for my cowardice and want of principle. 
 I will ever keep the sight of Jesus crucified 
 before my eyes, that I may never be ashamed 
 of the Cross. 
 
 11. 
 
 If I look upon my crucified Saviour, what 
 do I see ? That dear head, erewhile so comely 
 and so full of heavenly beauty, now hanging 
 forward, now thrown back in racking agony. 
 The brow is pierced by long, cruel thorns; the 
 fair hair matted with blood. Those eyes 
 whose glance was love, and purity, and bless- 
 ing, are heavy with fever pains, blinded with 
 streams of blood, glazed with coming death. 
 Those lips that have spoken words of salva- 
 
LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 159 
 
 tion, and truth, and healing of soul and body, 
 are parched and cracked with unbearable 
 thirst. Those hands whose touch had cured 
 the blind, and raised the dead to life, are 
 nailed outstretched upon the Cross. Those 
 blessed feet which sanctified the earth they 
 trod upon, which had borne Him in His 
 journeys through the land when He went 
 about doing good, transfixed with horrid nails, 
 are fastened to the Cross. The whole of that 
 weary, wounded body hangs heavily by those 
 hands and feet ; and all the while His sacred, 
 priceless Blood falls drop by drop upon the 
 ground. What pangs shoot through the tender 
 flesh of the most perfect and sensitive body 
 that ever was created ! What a death-bed is 
 this for Jesus, the Son of God, the love of 
 my heart ! 
 
 hi. 
 
 There was a tenderness in the Heart of 
 Jesus, which all His pains could not sup- 
 press, and in the midst of His most bitter 
 agony and dying, a manifestation of it was 
 called forth by the sight of His Mother and 
 the disciple ‘ whom He loved.’ Whether hei 
 face was turned towards Him in bitter grief, 
 or hidden in speechless woe, the sight of her, 
 to whom He was such a perfect Son, and the 
 knowledge of her intense suffering, was a most 
 bitter drop in the chalice of His affliction. 
 
i6o LENTEN THOUGHTS 
 
 How those two hearts must have spoken to 
 each other in that moment ! What thoughts 
 must have flown from the Cross to Mary, and 
 from Mary to the Cross 1 Mother and Son 
 thus silently communing at such a death- 
 bed ! But Jesus speaks; and He gives her 
 to St. John, and St. John to her, to be as 
 Mother and Son to one another. Spiritual 
 writers tell us that by this act He gave her to 
 us all, and all of us to her. We are the legacy 
 that He left to her at this supreme moment. 
 She will never forget it. Let us remember it, 
 and endeavour to requite this tenderness of 
 the Sacred Heart, by loving her whom He 
 gave to us, and through devotion to her, by 
 being brought nearer to Him, even though 
 we have to go with her to the very foot of 
 the Cross. 
 
 O my Lord Jesus Christ, who hast re- 
 deemed me by Thy precious Blood, give me 
 grace ever to adhere to Thee, and to Thy 
 law, and to Thy love, whatever pains of soul 
 or body I may have to endure. Give me a 
 great love of Thy sacred Passion, a longing 
 desire ever to be with Thee ; and as a means 
 to this let me always cherish a deep love and 
 devotion to Thy blessed Mother and mine. 
 Pater, Ave, Gloria. 
 
 R. AND T. WASHBOURNE. LTD., PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 

 
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