pond, and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there that had been eightand-thirty years under his infirmity.

APPLICATION. Jesus Christ being the sovereign lawgiver, was not bound to observe the Jewish Pasch, but yet He did so. This should teach us how faithfully we ought to observe the laws, the rules, and the established customs of our community. In certain cases we might lawfully claim exemption from them; but let us rather keep them from love of regularity, and to give edification. And this will be very meritorious before God. Is this your habitual practice? Our Lord teaches us another lesson. When He arrived at Jerusalem He chose to remain among those that were afflicted, and singled out the most wretched of them all. Do you follow your Divine Master in this respect? Whom do you prefer among those committed to your care? Is it the most forsaken? Is it those who stand in need of especial care? Or is it not those rather by whose qualities or natural gifts you are attracted? Examine yourself. Be on your guard against yourself.

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. Jesus cures the Paralytic.

6

CONSIDERATION. Jesus, touched with compassion when He saw a man who had lost the use of his limbs for so many years, saith to him, Wilt thou be made whole?' The poor man thought the question was one of reproach, and answered, 'Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pond. For whilst I am coming, another goeth down before me.' Jesus saith to him, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk.'

APPLICATION. It is a great consolation to learn that it was the extremity of the paralytic's misery which drew the attention of our Lord to him in preference to BO many others. Far be, then, from us all thoughts of

discouragement or distrust at the sight of our miseries and our spiritual infirmities, however great or deeplyseated they may be. Let us go to Jesus, guided and supported by the hand of our spiritual director, that 'faithful friend' whom the paralytic stood in need of, and we shall obtain the cure of our spiritual diseases. But after we are cured, let us remember what our Lord said to the paralytic. Thou art made whole; sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee.' COLLOQUY.

JULY 2.

FEAST OF OUR LADY'S VISITATION.

1st Prel. Imagine you see our Blessed Lady entering the house of Zacharias to visit St. Elizabeth.

2d Prel. Beg for grace to pay all your visits in the same spirit in which our Lady paid hers.

POINT I. Motives of the Visit.

CONSIDERATION. St. Luke, after having related the history of the incarnation, in which the account of the miraculous conception of St John the Baptist occurs, immediately adds these words: And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill-country in haste, into a city of Juda (Hebron), and saluted Elizabeth. And Mary abode with her about three months.' Why did our Blessed Lady undertake this painful journey, which occupied four days? The Fathers tell us it was done1st, in obedience to inspiration; 2nd, from courtesy, that she might rejoice with Elizabeth, her near relative, in the great miracle wrought in her favour, and which the archangel Gabriel had revealed to her; 3rd, in charity, that she might be a help to Elizabeth in a time of difficulty, and coöperate in the sanctification of her child.

APPLICATION. Religious are sometimes obliged to pay visits and take journeys, and to many they have proved occasions of sin and of final ruin; and this be

cause they were too frequent and were undertaken from vanity, from a weariness of retirement, from a desire of pleasure. Be on your guard against these motives: let your visits be always regulated by obedience, by courtesy, or by charity, and they will be always useful to your neighbour and yourself. Have you acted always on these principles? Have you not sometimes concealed your real motives when you gave your reasons to your superior? Have you presumed permission to make these visits? Have you always tried to spread, as the Apostle says, the good odour of Christ?

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. The Fruit of this Visit.

CONSIDERATION. Mary brought joy and happiness with her into the house of Zacharias. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; the mystery of the Incarnation was revealed to her, and she prophesied; the child whom she carried in her womb was cleansed from original sin, confirmed in grace, endowed with the use of reason, and thus rendered capable of gaining merit. Mary was present at his birth, and she obtained for his father a restoration of his speech, and he began to pro phesy. There was a universal joy, shared in by alı their neighbours. Elizabeth had foretold it when she cried out, Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?'

APPLICATION. Blessed is the house and happy is the soul which the Mother of God deigns to visit. The Son delights to honour His Mother by pouring an abundance of graces on those who have an especial veneration for her, and who strive to propagate her devotion. It is the will of God that we should obtain everything by Mary. If you desire that she should often visit you, honour her, and draw others to honour her as much as you can. Examine whether on this point you can improve, and let your zeal be redoubled. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT III. The Virtue and Merit of this Visit. CONSIDERATION. If it be a truth that cur virtues increase in proportion to the acts of virtue that we practise, what great merit Elizabeth must have obtained by the visit of Mary to her! For in her all virtues were shining in their splendour. She possessed faith, obedience, mortification, fervour, modesty, generosity, and zeal, and especially humility and charity. She, the Mother of God, had come to congratulate Elizabeth, as if the latter were superior to her in grace and favour; then she waited on her for three months as a humble servant. She had heard herself called 'Blessed among women;' but she instantly attributed all that had been accomplished in her to God only. He that is mighty hath done great things to me.' The whole Magnificat breathes forth a perfume of wonderful virtue.

APPLICATION. Reflect upon these virtues in detail, and try to reproduce them in yourself; this is the best way to please our Lady. You will thus deserve her visits, and gain great merit.

COLLOQUY with our Blessed Lady.

JULY 3,

ON THE GREAT PREROGATIVES OF OUR BLESSED LADY. 1st Prel. Imagine that you see our Lady at the moment when, having been congratulated by Elizabeth, she says these words: 'He that is mighty hath done great things to me.' 2d Prel. Beg the grace of understanding the privileges which were given to Mary before, during, and after the Incarnation of the Word.

POINT I. Privileges given to Mary before the

Incarnation.

CONSIDERATION. Mary was destined for the greatest of dignities, and God, who, says St. Thomas, always proportions the gifts of His grace to the dignity to which

we are called, conferred upon her privileges which no one can ever share. Many of the Fathers point out twelve principal ones, represented by the twelve stars surrounding the marvellous woman spoken of in the Apocalypse. Four of them were given before the Incarnation of the Word. 1st, Preservation from original sin in her conception; a privilege which the Church has proclaimed as a dogma of faith under the title of the Immaculate Conception. 2nd, Plenitude of grace, with which she was invested from her entrance into life. 3rd, The use of reason given to her at the same time, that she might correspond with grace. 4th, Knowledge of the great value of virginity, to which Mary at the age of three years bound herself by vow at her presentation in the Temple.

APPLICATION. We should often unite in spirit with the angels, the Church, and all the servants of our Lady, to congratulate her on the wonderful prerogatives with which it has pleased the Almighty to endow her. This will be sure to please her, and dispose her heart more and more towards us! it will be a means of obtaining special graces, more particularly that of persevering in our vow of chastity, and of a continual increase in perfection before God and men, after her example.

AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS.

POINT II. Privileges given to Mary at the Incarnation.

CONSIDERATION. The first of these privileges, and the one dearest to the heart of Mary, was that, in becoming a mother, she still remained a virgin; she had the joys of maternity and the glory of virginity at one and the same time. The second was, that for nine whole months she entirely possessed the Son of God incarnate in her virginal womb. He lived by her and with her. The third, that while for nine months the Body of the Word made flesh grew within her, Mary, in the same proportion, received a continual increase of The fourth, that she became the channel of the

grace.