March 7 — Saint Thomas of Aquin, Doctoe of the Church

source of that corruption which now pervades every rank of society, and its own two sources are indifference, which chills the heart, and sensuality, which induces cowardice. Holy martyrs ! pray for us that we may profit by the example of your virtues, and that the thought of your heroic devotedness may urge us to be courageous in the sacrifices which God claims at our hands. Pray, too, for the Churches which are now being established on that very spot of Africa, which was the scene of your glorious martyrdom : bless them, and obtain for them, by your powerful intercession, firmness of faith and purity of morals.

March 7

SAINT THOMAS OF AQUIN, DOCTOE OF THE CHURCH

The saint we are to honour to-day is one of the sublimest and most lucid interpreters of divine truth. He rose up in the Church many centuries after the apostolic age, nay, long after the four great Latin doctors, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory. The Church, the ever young and joyful mother, is justly proud of her Thomas, and has honoured him with the splendid title of the angelical doctor, on account of the extraordinary gift of understanding wherewith God had blessed him ; just as his contemporary and friend, St. Bonaventure, has been called the seraphic doctor, on account of the wonderful unction which abounds in the writings of this worthy disciple of St. Francis. Thomas of Aquin is an honour to mankind, for perhaps there never existed a man whose intellect surpassed his. He is one of the brightest ornaments of the Church, for not one of her doctors has equalled him in the

21—2 clearness and precision wherewith he has explained her doctrines. He received the thanks of Christ Himself, for having well written of Him and His mysteries. How welcome ought this feast of such a saint to be to us during this season of the year, when our main study is our return and conversion to God ! What greater blessing could we have than to come to the knowledge of God? Has not our ignorance of God, of His claims, and of His perfections, been the greatest misery of our past lives ? Here we have a saint whose prayers are most efficacious in procuring for us that knowledge, which is unspotted, and converteth souls, and giveth wisdom to little ones, and gladdeneth the heart, and enlighteneth the eyes. 1 Happy we if this spiritual wisdom be granted us ! We shall then see the vanity of everything that is not eternal, the righteousness of the divine commandments, the malice of sin, and the infinite goodness wherewith God treats us when we repent.

Let us learn from the Church the claims of the angelical doctor to our admiration and confidence.

Prseclarum Christiani or- The distinguished ornament bis decus et Ecclesise lumen, of the Christian world and light beatissimus vir Thomas, of the Church, the most blessed

Landulpho Comite Aquinate man Thomas, was born of noble et Theodora Neapolitana, parents, his father being Land- nobilibus parentibus natus, ulph, Count of Aquino, and his futurse in Deiparam devo- mother a rich Neapolitan lady, tionis affectum adhuc infan- by name Theodora. While yet tulus ostendit. Nam char- an infant he gave proof of his tulam ab eo inventam, in future devotion towards the qua salutatio angelica scri- Mother of God; for having pta erat, frustra adnitente found a leaflet on which was nutrice, compressa manu written the angelical salutation, valide retinuit, et a matre he clenched it so fast that the per vim abreptam, ploratu nurse tried in vain to take it et gestu repetiit, ac mox from his hand. His mother, redditam deglutivit. Quin- however, having forced it from

1 Ps. xviii. 8, 9. by Google

MARCH 7. ST.

THOMAS OF AQUIN turn annum agens, monachis him, the child succeeded by sanctiBenedictiCassinatibus tears and signs, in recovering custodiendus traditur. Inde the paper, which he immedi-

Neapolim studiorum causa ately swallowed. When he missus, jam adolescens Fra- was five years old he was sent trum Prsedicatorum Ordi- to Monte Cassino, that he nem suscepit. Sed matre ac might receive from the Bene- fratribus id indigne ferenti- dictine monks his first training, bus, Lutetiam Parisiorum Thence he was sent to Naples, mittitur. Quern f ratres in where he went through a course itinere per vim raptum in of studies, and, young as he arcem castri Sancti Joannis was, joined the Order of Friars perducunt, ubi varie exagi- Preachers. This step caused tatus,ut sanctum propositum great displeasure to his mother mutaret, mulierem etiam, and brothers, and it was there- quae ad labefactandam ejus fore deemed advisable to send constantiam introducta fue- him to Paris. He was waylaid rat, titione fugavit. Mox by his brothers, who seized beatus juvenis, flexis geni- him, and imprisoned him in bus ante signum crucis the castle of Saint John. After orans, ibique somno corre- having made several unsuc- ptus, per quietem sentire cessful attempts to induce him visus est sibi ab angelis con- to abandon the holy life he stringi lumbos : quo ex tern- had chosen, they assailed his # pore omni postea libidinis purity, by sending to him a sensu caruit. Sororibus, wicked woman : but he drove quae, ut eum a pio consilio her from his chamber with a removerent, in castrum firebrand. The young saint venerant, persuasit ut, con- then threw himself on his temptis curis saecularibus, knees before a crucifix. Having ad exercitationem coelestis prayed some time, he fell

Emissus e castro per fe- It was contrived that he nestram, Neapolim reduci- should escape through a wintur: unde Eomam, postea dow of the castle, and return vitse se conferrent. asleep, and it seemed to him that two angels approached him, and tightly girded his loins. From that time forward, he never suffered the slightest feeling against purity. His sisters also had come to the castle, and tried to make him change his mind ; but he, on the contrary, persuaded them to despise the world, and devote themselves to the exercise of a holy life.

SEPTUAOESIMA

Parisium a fratre Joanne Theutonico, Ordinis Prsedicatorum generali magistro, ductus, Alberto Magno doctore, philosophise ac theologiae operam dedit. Viginti quinque annos natus, magister est appellatus, publiceque philosophos ac theologos summa cum laude est interpretatus. Nunquam se lectioni aut scriptioni dedit, nisi post orationem. In difficultatibus locorum sacrse Scripturse, ad orationem jejunium adhibebat. Quin etiam sodali suo fratri Beginaldo dicere solebat, quidquid sciret non tarn studio aut labore suo peperisse, quam divinitus traditum accepisse. Neapoli, cum ad imaginem Crucifixi vehementius oraret, hanc vocem audivit : Bene scripsisti de me, Thoma : quam ergo mercedem accipies ? Cui ille: Non aliam, Domine, nisi teipsum.

Collationes patrum assidue pervolutabat ; et nullum fuit scriptorum genus in quo non esset diligentissime versatus. Scripta ejus et multitudine, et varietate et facilitate explicandi res difficiles adeo excellunt, ut uberrima atque incorrupta illius doctrina, cum revelatis veritatibus mire consentiens, aptissima sit ad omnium temporum errores pervincendos. to Naples. He was thence taken by John the Teutonic, the General of the Dominican Order, first to Borne and then to Paris, in which latter city he was taught philosophy and theology by Albert the Great. At the age of twenty-five, he received the title of doctor, and explained in the public schools, and in a manner that made him the object of universal admiration, the writings of philosophers and theologians. He always applied himself to prayer, before reading or writing anything. When he met with any difficult passage in the sacred Scriptures, he both fasted and prayed. He used often to say to his companion, brother Beginald, that if he knew anything, it was more a gift from God, than the fruit of his own study and labour. One day, when at Naples, as he was praying with more than his usual fervour, before a crucifix, he heard these words : 4 Well hast thou written of me, Thomas I What reward wouldst thou have me give thee V He answered : 'None other, Lord, than thyself.'

His favourite spiritual book was the Conferences of the Fathers, and there was not a book which he had not most carefully read. His writings are so extraordinary, not only for their number and variety, but also for their clearness in explaining difficult points of doctrine, that his copious and sound teaching, so wonderfully consonant with revealed truth, is most apt for utterly refuting

A suinmo Pontifice Urbano quarto Eomam vocatus, ejus jussu ecclesiasticum lucubravit Omcium in Corporis Chrisibi solemnitate celebrandum; oblatos vero honores, et Neapolitanum archiepiscopatum etiam deferente Clemente quarto recusavit. A praedicatione divini verbi non desistebat; quod cum faceret per octavani Paschae in basilica sancti Petri, mulierem, quae ejus fimbriam tetigerat, a fluxu sanguinis Hberavit. Missus a beato Gregorio decimo ad Concilium Lugdunense, in monasterio Fossae Novae in morbum incidit, ubi aegrotus Cantica canticorum explanavit. Ibidem obiit, quinquagenarius, anno salutis millesimo ducentesimo septuagesimo quarto, Nonis Martii. Miraculis etiam mortuus claruit ; quibus probatis, a Joanne vigesimo secundo in sanctorum numerura relatus est, anno millesimo trecentesimo vigesimo tertio ; translato postea ejus corpore Tolosam, ex mandato beati Urbani quinti. Cum Sanctis angelicis spiritibus non minus innocentia quam ingenio comparatus, doctoris angelici nomen jure est adeptus, eidem auctoritate sancti Pii quinti confirmatum. Leo autem decimus tertius, libentissime excipienspostulationes et vota omnium pene sacrorum antistitum orbis Catholici, ad tot praecipue philosophicorum systema- the errors of all ages. Being called to Borne by Pope Urban IV., he composed, at his command, the ecclesiastical Office for the solemnity of Corpus Christi ; but he refused to accept any honours, as likewise the archbishopric of Naples offered to him by Pope Clement IV. He was most zealous in preaching the word of God. On one occasion, during Easter week, as he was preaching in the church of St. Peter, a woman touched the hem of his habit, and was cured of an issue of blood. He was sent by Gregory X. to the Council of Lyons; but having reached Fossa Nova, he fell sick, and was received as a guest in the monastery of that place, where he wrote a commentary on the Canticle of Canticles. There he died in the fiftieth year of his age, in the year of our Lord 1274 on the Nones of March (March 7). His sanctity was made manifest after his death, by miracles : which being proved, he was canonized by Pope John XXII. in the year 1323. His body was translated to Toulouse by command of blessed Urban V. Being comparable to the angels, no less by his innocence than by his genius, he has received the title of angelical doctor, confirmed to him by the authority of St. Pius V. Pope Leo XIII. joyfully acceding to the 'desires and petitions of the bishops of the Catholic world, by a decree of the sacred Congregation of rites and by letters apostolic, ordained and declared him the turn a veritate aberrantium luem propulsandam, ad incrementa scientiarum, et communem humani generis utilitatem, eum ex sacrorum rituum Congregationis consulto, per apostolicas lit- * teras coelestem patronum scholarum omnium Catholicarum declaravit et instituit. heavenly patron of all Catholic schools ; and this especially for the purpose of repelling the evil of so many philosophical systems abandoned to error, for the increase of knowledge, and for the common utility of mankind.

The Dominican Order, of which St. Thomas is one of the greatest ornaments, has inserted the three following hymns in its liturgy of his feast :

HYMN

Exsultet mentis jubilo Laudans turba fidelium, Errorum pulso nubilo Per novi solis radium.

Thomas in mundi vespere, Fudit thesauros gratiae : Donis plenus ex ©there Morum et sapientiae.

De cujus fonte luminis, Verbi coruscant faculae, Scripturae sacrae Numinis, Et veritatis regulae.

Fulgens doctrinae radiis, Clarus vitae munditia, Splendens miris prodigiis, Dat toti mundo gaudia.

Laus Patri sit, ac Genito Simulque sancto Flamini, Qui sancti Thomae merito Nos coeli jungat agmini.

Amen.

Let the assembly of the faithful exult in spiritual joy, and give praise to God, who has made a new sun to shine in our world, and disperse the clouds of error.

It was in the evening of the world that Thomas shed his treasures of heavenly light. Heaven had enriched him with gifts of virtue and wisdom :

From this fountain of light we have derived a brighter knowledge of the Word, the understanding of the divine Scriptures and the rules of truth.

The effulgent rays of his wisdom, the light of his spotless life, and the splendour of his miracles, have filled the universe with joy.

Praise, then, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen.

HYMN

Thomas insignia genere, Claram ducens originem, Subit aetatis tenerae Prsedicatorum Ordinem.

Typum gessit luciferi, Splendens in coetu nubium, Plusquam doctores caeteri Purgans dogma Gentilhim.

Profunda scrutans fluminum,

In lucem pandit abdita, Dum supra sensus hominum

Obscura facit cognita.

Fit paradisi fluvius, Quadripartite pervius : Fit Gedeonis gladius, Tuba, lagena, radius.

Laus Patri sit, ac Genito Simulque sancto Flamini, Qui sancti Thomas merito, Nos coeli jungat agmini. Amen.

Noble by birth and parentage, Thomas, while in the bloom of youth, embraced the Order of Preachers.

Like to the star of morn, brightly does he shine amidst the luminaries of earth, and, more than any doctor of the Church, refutes the doctrines of the Gentiles.

He explores the depth of mysteries, and brings to light the hidden gems of truth, for he teaches us what the mind of man had else never understood.

God gives him to the Church as a fountain of wisdom, like to that four-branched river of paradise. He made him to be her Gedeon's sword, her trumpet, her vase, her torch.

Praise, then, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen.

HYMN

Lauda, mater Ecclesia, Thomae felicem exitum, Qui pervenit ad gaudia Per Verbi vitae meritum.

Fossa Nova tunc suscipit Thecam thesauri gratiae, Cum Christus Thomam efficit

Haeredem regni gloriae.

Dear Church, our mother! the happy death of thy Thomas deserves a hymn of praise. By the merits of him that is the Word of life, he is now in endless joy.

It was at Fossa Nova that the rich treasury of grace was welcomed as a guest. It was there that he received from Christ the inheritance of eternal glory.

Manens doctrinae Veritas, Et funeris integritas, Mira fragrans suavitas, iEgris collata sanitas.

Monstrat hunc dignum laudibus Terr*e, ponto, et superis ; Nos juvet suis precibus, Deo commendet meritis.

Laus Patri sit ac Genito, Siraulque sancto Flamini, Qui sancti Thomse merito Nos cceli jungat agmini.

Ainen.

He has left us the fruits of truth ; he has left us his glorious relics which breathe forth a heavenly fragrance, and work cures for the suffering sick.

Eight well, then, is honour his due : earth, and sea, and heaven, all may give him praise. May his prayers and merits intercede for us with God.

Praise, then, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen.

How shall we worthily praise thee, most holy Doctor ! How shall we thank thee for what thou hast taught us? The rays of the divine Sun of justice beamed strongly upon thee, and thou hast reflected them upon us. When we picture thee contemplating truth, we think of those words of our Lord : ' Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.' 1 Thy victory over the concupiscence of the flesh merited for thee the highest spiritual delights ; and our Eedeemer chose thee, because of the purity of thy angelic soul, to compose for His Church the Office whereby she should celebrate the divine Sacrament of His love. Learning did not impair thy humility. Prayer was ever thy guide in thy search after truth ; and there was but one reward for which, after all thy labours, thou wast ambitious, the possession of God.

Thy life, alasfwas short. The very masterpiece of thy angelical writings was left unfinished. But thou hast not lost thy power of working for the Church. Aid her in her combats against error. She holds thy teachings in the highest estimation,

1 St. Matt. v. 8. because she feels that none of her saints has ever known so well as thou, the secrets and mysteries of her divine Spouse. Now, perhaps more than in any other age, truths are decayed among the children of men strengthen us in our faith, get us light. Check the conceit of those shallow self-constituted philosophers, who dare to sit in judgment on the actions and decisions of the Church, and to force their contemptible theories upon a generation that is too ill-instructed to detect their fallacies. The atmosphere around us is gloomy with ignorance; loose principles, and truths spoilt by cowardly compromise, are the fashion of our times ; pray for us ; bring us back to that bold and simple acceptance of truth, which gives life to the intellect and joy to the heart.

Pray, too, for the grand Order which loves thee so devoutly, and honours thee as one of the most illustrious of its many glorious children. Draw down upon the family of thy patriarch St. Dominic the choicest blessings, for it is one of the most powerful auxiliaries of God's Church.

We are on the eve of the holy season of Lent, preparing for the great work of earnest conversion of our lives. Thy prayers must gain for us the knowledge both of the God we have offended by our sins, and of the wretched state of a soul that is at enmity with its Maker. Knowing this, we shall hate our sins ; we shall desire to purify our souls in the Blood of the spotless Lamb; we shall generously atone for our faults by works of penance.

• Ps. xi. 2.

March 8

SAINT JOHN OF GOD, CONFESSOB

This day month we were keeping the feast of St. John of Matha, whose characteristic virtue was charity ; our saint of to-day was like him : love for his neighbour led him to devote himself to the service of them that most needed help. Both are examples to us of what is a principal duty of this present season : they are models of f raternai charity. They teach us this great lesson, that our love of God is false if our hearts are not disposed to show mercy to our neighbour, and help him in his necessities and troubles. It is the same lesson as that which the beloved disciple gives us, when he says : ' He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall put up his mercy from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him?' 1 But if there can be no love of God where there is none for our neighbour, the love of our neighbour itself is not genuine unless it be accompanied by a love of our Creator and Bedeemer. The charity which the world has set up, which it calls philanthropy, and which it exercises not in the name of God, but solely for the sake of man, is a mere delusion ; it is incapable of producing love between those who give and those who receive, and its results must necessarily be unsatisfactory. There is but one tie which can make men love one another : that tie is God, who created them all, and commands them all to be one in Him. To serve mankind for its own sake, is to make a god of it ; and even viewing the workings of the two systems in this single point of view — the relief they afford to temporal suffering — what comparison is there be-

1 1 St. John iii. 17 tween mere philanthropy, and that supernatural charity of the humble disciples of Christ, who make Him the very motive and end of all they do for their afflicted brethren ? The saint we honour to-day, was called John of God, because the name of God was ever on his lips. His heroic acts of charity had no other motive than that of pleasing God; God alone was the inspirer of the tender love he had for his suffering fellow-creatures. Let us imitate his example, for our Lord assures us that He considers as done to Himself whatsoever we do even for the least of His disciples.

The liturgy thus portrays the virtues of our saint:

Joannes de Deo, ex Catholicis piisque parentibus in oppido Montis- Maj oris, junioris regni Lusitaniae natus, quam sublimiter in sortem Domini fuerit electus, insuetus splendor super ejus domo refulgens, sonitusque aeris campani sua sponte einissus, ab ipso ejus nativitatis tempore non obscure praenuntiarunt. A laxioris vivendi ratione, divina operante virtute, revocatus, magnae sanctitatis exbibere specimen coepit, et ob auditam praedicationem verbi Dei sic ad meliora se excitatum sensit, ut jam ab ipso sanctions vitae rudimento consummatum aliquid, perfectumque visus sit attigisse. Bonis omnibus in pauperes carceribus inclusos erogatis, admirabilis poenitentiae, suique ipsius contemptus cuncto populo spectaculum factus, a plerisque ceu demens graviter ami-

John of God was born of Catholic and virtuous parents, in Portugal, in the town of Montemor. At his birth, a bright light shone upon the house, and the church bell was heard to ring of itself ; God thus evincing to what great things he destined this his servant. For some time he fell into a lax way of living ; but was reclaimed by God's grace, and led a very holy life. His conversion was effected by his hearing a sermon, and so fervently did he practise the exercises of a devout life, that, from the very first, he seemed to have attained the height of perfection. He gave whatsoever he possessed to the poor who were in prison. Extraordinary were the penances he inflicted on himself ; and the contempt he had for himself induced him to do certain things, which led some people to accuse him of madness, so that he was for some time confined in a madhouse. ctus, in carcerem amentibus destinatum conjicitur. At Joannes coelesti charitate magis incensus, gemino atque amplo valetudinario ex piorum eleemosynis in civitate Granatensi exstructo, jactoque novi Ordinis fundamento, Ecclesiam nova prole fcecundavit, Fratrum hospitalitatis, infirinis prseclaro animarum corporumque profectu inservientium, et longe lateque per orbem diffusorum.

Pauperibus segrotis, quos propriis quandoque humeris domum deferebat, nulla re ad animse corporisque salutem proficua deerat. Effusa quoque extra nosocomium charitate, indigentibus mulieribus viduis, et prsecipue virginibus periclitantibus, clam alimenta subministrabat, curamque indefessam adhibehat ut carnis concupiscentiam a proximis hujusmodi vitio inquinatis exterminaret. Cum autem maximum in regio Granatensi valetudinario excitatum fuisset incendium, Joannes impavidus prosiliit in ignem, hue illuc discurrens, quousque turn infirmos humeris exportatos, turn lectulos e fenestris project os ab igne vindicavit, ac per dimidiam horam inter flammas jam in immensum succrescentes versatus, exinde divinitus incolumis, universis civibus admirantibus, exivit, in schola charitatis edocens, segniorem in eum fuisse ignem qui foris us-

His charity only increased by such treatment. He collected alms sufficient to build two large hospitals in the city of Granada, where also he began the new Order, wherewith he enriched the Church. This Order was called the Institute of Friars Hospitallers. Its object was to assist the sick, both in their spiritual and corporal wants. Its success was very great, and it had houses in almost all parts of the world.

The saint often carried the sick poor on his own shoulders to the hospital, and there he provided them with everything they could want, whether for soul or body. His charity was not confined within the limits of his hospitals. He secretly provided food for indigent widows, and girls whose virtue was exposed to danger. N othing could exceed the zeal wherewith he laboured to reclaim such as had fallen into sins of impurity. On occasion of an immense fire breaking out in the royal hospital of Granada, John fearlessly threw himself into the midst of the flames. He went through the several wards, taking the sick upon his shoulders, and throwing the beds through the windows, so that all were saved. He remained half an hour amidst the flames, which raged with wildest fury in every part of the building. He was miraculously preserved from the slightest injury, and came forth to the astonishment of the whole city, teaching the people,

MARCH 8. ST. JOHN OF GOD serat, quam qui intus accen derat.

Multiplici asperitatum genere, demississima obedientia, extrema paupertate, orandi studio, rerum divinarum contemplatione, ac in beatam Virginem pietate mirifice excelluit, et' lacrymarum dono enituit. Denique gravi morbo correptus, omnibus Ecclesiae sacramentis rite sancteque refectus, viribus licet destitutus, propriis indutus vestibus e lectulo surgens, ac provolutus in genua, manu et corde Christum Dominum e cruce pendentem perstringens : octavo Idus Martii, anno millesimo quingentesimo quinquagesimo, obiit in osculo Domini : quern etiam mortuus tenuit nec dimisit, et in eadem corporis constitutione sex circiter horas, quousque inde dimotus fuisset, tota civitate inspectante, mirabiliter permansit, odorem mire fragrantem diffundens. Quern ante et post obitum plurimis miraculis clarum Alexander octavus, Pontifex maximus, in sanctorum numerum retulit; et Leo decimus tertius, ex sacrorum catholici orbis antistitum voto, ac rituum congregationis consulto, coelestem omnium ho8pitalium et infirmorum ubique degentium patronum declaravit, ipsiusque nomen in agonizantium litaniis invocari prsecepit. who had witnessed what had happened, that the disciples of charity have a fire within their hearts more active than any which could burn the body.

Among the virtues wherein he wonderfully excelled, may be mentioned his many practices of bodily mortification, profound obedience, extreme poverty, love of prayer, contemplation, and devotion to the blessed Virgin. He also possessed, in an extraordinary degree, the gift of tears. At length, falling seriously ill, he fervently received the last Sacraments. Though reduced to a state of utter weakness, he dressed himself, rose from his bed, fell on his knees, devoutly took the crucifix into his hands, pressed it to his heart, and kissing it, died on the eighth of the Ides of March (March 8) in the year 1550. He remained in this same attitude with the crucifix still in his hand, for about six hours after his death. The entire city came to see the holy corpse, which gave forth a heavenly fragrance. The body was then removed, in order that it might be buried. God honoured his servant by many miracles, both before and after his death, and he was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII. Leo XIII. , at the desire of the bishops of the Catholic world, and having consulted the sacred congregation of rites, declared him the heavenly patron of all hospitals and of the sick in all places, and ordered his name to be inserted in the litany for the dying.

What a glorious life was thine, 0 John of God ! It was one of charity, and of miracles wrought by charity. Like Vincent of Paul thou wast poor, and, in thy early life, a shepherd-boy like him ; but the charity which filled thy heart gave thee a power to do what worldly influence and riches never can. Thy name and memory are dear to the Church ; they deserve to be held in benediction by all mankind, for thou didst spend thy life in serving thy fellow-creatures, for God's sake. That motive gave thee a devotedness to the poor, which is an impossibility for those who befriend them from mere natural sympathy. Philanthropy may be generous, and its workings may be admirable for ingenuity and order; but it never can look upon the poor man as a sacred object, because it refuses to see God in him. Pray for the men of this generation, that they may at length desist from perverting charity into a mere mechanism of relief. The poor are the representatives of Christ, for He Himself has willed that they be such; and if the world refuse to accept them in this their exalted character, if it deny their resemblance to our Eedeemer, it may succeed in degrading the poor, but by this very degradation it will make them its enemies. Thy predilection, 0 John of God, was for the sick; have pity, therefore, on our times, which are ambitious to eliminate the supernatural, and exclude God from the world by what is called secularization of society. Pray for us, that we may see how evil a thing it is to have changed the Christian for the worldly spirit. Enkindle holy charity within our hearts, that during these days, when we are striving to draw down the mercy of God upon ourselves, we also may show mercy. May we, as thou didst, imitate the example of our blessed Eedeemer, who gave Himself to us His enemies, and deigned to adopt us as His brethren. Protect also the Order thou didst insti-