classes: 1st, Those who, having been converted by the resurrection of Lazarus, had recognised Jesus as the Messiah, and flocked to Bethany to pay Him homage; 2nd, Those who had been drawn thither by curiosity; 3rd, The largest number, the wholly indifferent, who remained at home, disdaining to make inquiry concerning the reported miracle; 4th, The bitter enemies of our Lord, the chief priests, and who, as St. John says, thought to kill Lazarus also, because many of the Jews by reason of him went away and believed in Jesus.'

APPLICATION. We may learn from this that the triumphs of the Church are ever followed by the same effects the conversion of the well-disposed, and the consolation of the faithful; an increase of hatred in the declared enemies of Christ, and the indifference of the greatest number, who are entirely absorbed in pleasure. and in mere material interests. Let us derive as fruit from it an increase of zeal for the glory of our Lord and for the conversion of sinners.

COLLOQUY.

NOVEMBER 18.

OUR LORD'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.

1st Prel. Imagine our Lord seated on the foal of an ass, approaching the town in triumph, surrounded by an admiring crowd. 2d Prel. Ask that the love of Jesus may triumph over your heart, and over the hearts of all mankind.

POINT I. Preparations for our Lord's Entry.

CONSIDERATION. And on the next day (after the feast at the house of Simon), He went before, going up to Jerusalem. . . . And when He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which

you shall find the colt of an ass tied, on which no man ever hath sitten; loose him, and bring him hither; and if any man shall ask you why do you loose him, you shall say thus unto him, Because the Lord hath need of his service.' Here we know not what to admire most -the foreknowledge of our Lord, which nothing escapes, and the free domain He possesses over the goods of His creatures, the prompt obedience of His disciples in executing an order which must have seemed to them rash and dangerous; or the eagerness with which the inhabitants of Bethany complied with the request of the messengers of Jesus.

APPLICATION. Let us learn, 1st, To abandon ourselves to the providence of God, who watches over each one of us, knowing all that happens to us, and turning it in His love to our profit. 2nd, To offer Him unreservedly health, talents, learning, &c. 3rd, Not to hesitate when obedience imposes on us duties apparently difficult. If we act in a spirit of faith like the disciples, all difficulties will speedily disappear.

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. Glories of our Lord's Triumph.

CONSIDERATION. What sweetness and majesty united in our Lord, what enthusiasm in the people on the occasion of His entry! They took,' says the Gospel, 'branches of palm in their hands, and spread their garments in the way, and cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest !'

APPLICATION. If you should happen to be praised for your zeal or charity, to become the object of reverence, perhaps even to be regarded as a saint, repress all emotion of vanity, refer all your success to God alone, and remember that only five days after the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, the very same streets reechoed with the cry of Crucify Him, crucify Him!' AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT III. The Envy of the Pharisees. CONSIDERATION. Though the Scribes and Pharisees could not but see the accomplishment of the prophecy of Zachary in the triumphal entry of our Lord, pride and jealousy prevented their admitting it. They said among themselves, 'Do you see that we prevail nothing? Behold, the whole world is gone after Him.' Some even went so far as to say to our Lord,' Master, rebuke Thy disciples;' to whom He said, 'I say unto you, If these should hold their peace, the stones will cry out.' How wonderfully were these words of our Lord fulfilled on the day of His Passion! for when the terrified disciples stood silent on Calvary, the rending of the rocks bore testimony to the divinity of their Master.

APPLICATION. If you feel vexed at the success of any of your colleagues, do not give way to the jealousy of the Pharisees. Thank God that good is done, whoever may be the instrument. COLLOQUY with our Lord.

NOVEMBER 19.

CONTINUATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT.

1st Prel. Behold our Lord weeping over Jerusalem. 2d Prel. Ask that you may never cause Him such grief as He experienced at the sight of that faithless city.

POINT I. The Infidelity of Jerusalem: the first Motive of our Lord's Tears.

CONSIDERATION. The acclamations of the crowd increased as the procession approached the town; but our Lord, in the words of St. Luke, seeing the city, wept over it—not at the thought of the cruel death awaiting Him there (that He had long desired and expected: a year before He had said, 'I have a baptism wherewith

I am to be baptized; how am I straitened until it be accomplished!'), but at the thought of the blindness of the inhabitants of that devoted city, who would for the most part persist in rejecting Him, and who were to be so fearfully chastised in consequence. It was the thought of their eternal reprobation that drew from His lips those touching words, 'If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace, but now they are hidden from thy eyes.'

APPLICATION. Let us learn from these tears of our Divine Lord, 1st, To be less taken up with our own petty miseries, and more concerned at the sight of so many blind and hardened sinners, and to use prayers, tears, penances, and mortifications for their conversion; 2ndly, To keep alive within ourselves a spirit of compunction, which, alas, perhaps we only know by name; 3rdly, To fear above all things, as the Saints did, not to coöperate sufficiently with the grace of God. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. The Destruction of Jerusalem: the second Motive of our Lord's Tears.

CONSIDERATION. Our Lord loved Jerusalem tenderly. His Heavenly Father had made it the home of His chosen people, and the abiding-place of His Temple, and called it the Holy City, the City of God. How the thought of its total destruction must have grieved His sacred Heart when He uttered the fearful prophecy, 'For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation'! Our Lord still hoped by this terrible warning to convert the unbelieving Jews; and the prophecy was not fulfilled for thirty-eight years, when the Romans, the instruments of God's vengeance, laid siege to Jerusa

lem, and, after reducing it by famine, raid it waste exactly as our Lord had described.

APPLICATION. The destruction of Jerusalem is a figure of the desolation caused by mortal sin in the faithless soul, which loses all its beauty in the sight of God, and becomes a hideous ruin, deprived of all the rights bestowed on holy baptism, of sanctifying grace, peace, and happiness, of all acquired merits, and finally, the reward of heaven. Oh mercy of God, if this desola tion be not ours! Let this thought increase our zeal and fervour.

COLLOQUY with our compassionate Lord.

NOVEMBER 20.

PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF PALM SUNDAY.

1st Prel. Behold our Lord teaching in the Temple. 2d Prel. Ask for grace to follow His example.

POINT I. Our Lord sought by the Gentiles.

CONSIDERATION. The great event of this day is the triumphal entry of our Lord into the holy city. The gospel continues: 'He entered Jerusalem, and into the Temple,' where, according to St. John, there were certain Gentiles who came up to adore on the festival-day; these therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again, Andrew and Philip told Jesus.'

APPLICATION. Let us, after the example of our Lord, hasten into His sanctuary to thank Him for any success we may have obtained; and, if obedience sends us into any town or village, let us first of all, if possible, visit the church to adore our Lord, and ask His blessing on our labours. Does not our indifference and lukewarm