PRAYER. (In Dominica iii. Quadragesima.) Having now passed the fourteenth day of this Season, which forms the tithe of our year, we lift up our eyes to thee, O Lord, who dwellest in heaven. Show mercy to the miserable, and heal them that are wounded. Grant that the journey we have begun, may be prosperous. Direct our hearts in the way of thy commandments. Through thee may we find the way of light; through thee, may we be inflamed with the bright burning of thy love. Grant rest to our labours, and a home to us that labour; that having gained thy good-pleasure by our observance of these days, we may deserve to be partakers of thy glory. Quarti nunc et decimi diei de nostrorum dierum decimis curriculo jam peracto, ad te levamus oculos nostros, Domine, qui habitas in cœlis; impende jam et misericordiam miseris, et medelam porrige vulneratis; tu nobis adgressum iter placidum effice: tu cor nostrum in mandatorum tuorum semitis dirige per te lucis inveniamus viam : per te luminosa amoris tui capiamus incendia; tu laboribus requiem, tu laborantibus tribue mansionem ; ut horum dierum observatione tibi placentes, gloriæ tuæ mereamur esse participes. MONDAY, THIRD WEEK OF LENT. The Station is in the Church of Saint Mark, which was built in the fourth century, in honour of the Evangelist, by the holy Pope Mark, whose relics are kept there. waited upon Naaman's wife. And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the prophet that is in Samaria; he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath. Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him, saying: Thus and thus saith the girl, that came from the land of Ísrael. And the king of Syria said to him: Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment, and brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman my servant, that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy. And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and to give life, that this man hath sent to me, to heal a man of his leprosy? Mark, and see how he seeketh occasions against me. And when Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments? Let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus; and Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash LENT. quio uxoris Naaman. Quæ ait ad dominam suam: Utinam fuisset dominus meus ad Prophetam, qui est in Samaria: profecto curasset eum a lepra quam habet. Ingressus est itaque Naaman ad dominum suum, et nuntiavit ei, dicens: Sic et sic locuta est puella de terra Israël. Dixitque ei rex Syriæ: Vade, et mittam litteras ad regem Israël. Qui cum profectus esset, et tulisset secum decem talenta argenti, et sex millia aureos. et decem mutatoria vestimentorum, detulit litteras ad regem Israël, in hæc verba: Cum acceperis epistolam hanc, scito quod miserim ad te Naaman servum meum, ut cures eum a lepra sua. Cumque legisset rex Israël litteras, scidit vestimenta sua, et ait: Numquid Deus ego sum, ut occidere possim et vivificare, quia iste misit ad me, ut curem hominem a lepra sua? Animadvertite et videte quod occasiones quærat adversum me. Quod cum audisset Eliseus vir Dei, scidisse videlicet regem Israël vestimenta sua, misit ad eum dicens : Quare scidisti vestimenta tua? Veniat ad me, et sciat esse Prophetam in Israël. Venit ergo Naaman cum equis et curribus, et stetit ad ostium domus Elisæi: misitque ad eum Elisæus nuntium, dicens: Vade, et lavare septies in Jordane, et recipiet sanitatem caro tua, atque mundaberis. Iratus Naa T man recedebat, dicens: Putabam quod egrederetur ad me, et stans invocaret nomen Domini Dei sui, et tangeret manu sua locum lepræ et curaret me. Numquid non meliores sunt Abana et Pharphar, fluvii Damasi, omnibus aquis Israël, ut laver in eis et munder? Cum ergo vertisset se, et abiret indignans, accesserunt ad eum servi sui, et locuti sunt ei: Pater, et si rem grandem dixisset tibi Propheta, certe facere debueras quanto magis quia nunc dixit tibi: Lavare, et mundaberis? Descendit, et lavit in Jordane septies juxta sermonem viri Dei, et restituta est caro ejus, sicut caro pueri parvuli, et mundatus est. Reversusque ad virum Dei cum universo comitatu suo, venit, et stetit coram eo, et ait: Vere scio quod non sit alius Deus in universa terra, nisi tantum in Israël. seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt be clean. Naaman was angry, and went away, saying: I thought he would have come out to me, and standing, would have invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me. Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation, his servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it; how much rather what he now hath said to thee, "Wash, and thou shalt be clean ?" Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and was made clean. And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came and stood before him, and said: In truth I know there is no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel. Yesterday, the Church made known to our Catechumens, that the day of their Baptism was at hand; to-day she reads them a passage from the Old Testament, which relates a history that admirably symbolises the saving Font prepared for them by divine Mercy. Naaman's leprosy is a figure of sin. There is but one cure for the loathsome malady of the Syrian officer: he must go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and he shall be made clean. The Gentile, the infidel, the infant, with its stain of original sin, all may be made just and holy; but this can only be effected by water and the invocation of the Blessed Trinity. Naaman objects to the remedy, as being too simple; he cannot believe that one so insignificant can be efficacious; he refuses to try it; he expected something more in accordance with reason, -for instance, a miracle that would have done honour both to himself and the Prophet. This was the reasoning of many a Gentile, when the Apostles went about preaching the Gospel; but they that believed, with simple-hearted faith, in the power of Water sanctified by Christ, received Regeneration; and the Baptismal Font created a new people, composed of all nations of the earth. Naaman, who represents the Gentiles, was at length induced to believe; and his faith was rewarded by a complete cure. His flesh was restored like that of a little child, which has never suffered taint or disease. Let us give glory to God, who has endowed Water with the heavenly power it now possesses; let us praise him for the wonderful workings of his grace, which produces in docile hearts that Faith, whose recompense is so magnificent. GOSPEL. Sequel of the Holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. IV. At that time: Jesus said to the Pharisees: Doubtless you will say to me this similitude: Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we have heard done in Capharnaum, do also here in thy own country. And he said: Amen, I say to you, that no prophet is accepted in Sequentia sancti Evangelii In illo tempore: Dixit Jesus Pharisæis: Utique dicetis mihi hanc similitudinem: Medice, cura teipsum: quanta audivimus facta in Capharnaum, fac et hic in patria tua. Ait autem: Amen dico vobis, quia nemo propheta acceptus est in patria |