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Alas! how easily Satan ensnares us in our words. How easily he induces us to utter words which dishonour God, injure our neighbour, and defile our own souls! Do we often and fervently pray with the Psalmist, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my lips? (Psalm cxl.). Our Lord's Body rests on our tongues at Holy Communion. He, at least, has the power to tame the restless tongue that no man can tame (St. James iii.).

STATION X.

OUR LORD'S QUESTION.

And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus answering said, teaching in the Temple: How do the Scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? For David himself saith by the Holy Ghost: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth Him Lord, and whence is He then his Son? And a great multitude heard Him gladly. And no man was able to answer Him a word. Neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions (St. Mark xii.; St. Matt. xxii.).

A. It is now our Lord's turn to ask questions. Contrast His Spirit with the malice of men. Oh, how good and sweet is Thy Spirit, O Lord, in all things! (Wisdom xii.). Their whole aim and object is to ensnare Him, for this they put forth all their talents and all their energy. His only retaliation is by trying to induce them to open their eyes and see the light. David, He argues, calls the Christ, Lord. Therefore the Christ, the Messias, must be something higher than a mere son of David. The argument is unanswerable. No man was able to answer a word. It went home to the hearts of many in the surrounding crowd. A great multitude heard Him gladly. But our Lord asks in sorrow by His Prophet, Who is blind but he that is sold? or who is blind but the servant of the Lord? (Isaias xlii.). These Priests and Rulers are sold as slaves to Satan, and are blind.

By the Levitical law the blind and the lame were forbidden to minister to the Lord in His Temple, but now the Priests in Jerusalem are blind with a blindness of the worst kind. Had any one else argued as clearly as our Saviour, the reasoning would have prevailed, but who is blind but My servant?

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, for to Thee only have I sinned. "Grant me grace, O Lord, to be always among those who hear Thee gladly, and never with those who, though silenced, are not won by Thy teachings."

B. And the Pharisees being gathered together.

From these words, and many others, we see that during the course of this day of final struggle, the Pharisees and Scribes and Priests were sometimes round our Lord listening, and then retired again to deliberate and see whether they could dare to seize Him. Their conclusion was that it would be dangerous, on account of the influence Jesus had among the people. They were not aware that the Eternal Providence of God had fixed the day and the hour when they were to have liberty to work their will against Him, and that till that hour is come they were powerless.

"Fix in our hearts, O Lord, this truth, that so long as Thou art pleased to protect us, harm cannot come near us."

SCENE XII.

OUR LORD'S LAST PUBLIC DISCOURSE. TUESDAY

AFTERNOON.

STATION I.

This has been a long day of struggle. Jesus, as we see in St. Luke xxi., used to come in early from Bethania to begin His teaching. And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the Temple to hear Him (v. 38).

The different sects of Jerusalem, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians, have all combined with the learned Scribes, the Priests, and the Ancients for a supreme effort. The day is

wearing on. It is now the afternoon. All His antagonists have been baffled and silenced, and the people are favourably disposed towards Jesus. As sometimes on former occasions He saw that it was the time to be silent and to hide Himself, so now, full of sorrow of heart and indignation at the scandal and havoc caused among the people by these wicked Rulers, He sees it is the time to speak aloud. There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak (Eccles. iii.). Now, therefore, He reveals His thoughts with marvellous fortitude and fearlessness in the face of these raging enemies.

STATION II.

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples (St. Matt. xxiii.).

In the hearing of all the people He said to His disciples (St. Luke xx.).

This is His last public discourse, His solemn and final warning. In the hearing then of all the people, after enduring all the forenoon the assaults of His enemies, He begins His terrible reply to them.

A. Observe how His practice at that hour teaches us that it is lawful to expose publicly the wickedness of men, if thereby we can lessen their influence and power of corrupting others.

B. But notice also how He takes care first to secure respect and reverence for the official character and position of those who are mercilessly persecuting Him.

STATION III.

The Scribes and Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do; but according to their works do ye not; for they say and do not (St. Matt. xxiii. 2, 3).

A. Mark how He chooses for this important lesson the moment when the wickedness of the Scribes and Pharisees is at its height. No matter how great the depravity of the delegates whom He has commissioned to teach in His Name, we must hear their teaching, even when we abhor

their evil life. He has nothing but anathemas for their private life; but insists on submission to their teaching. The reason of this distinction is clear. He guarantees their official teaching, but not their private life.

B. For they say and do not. Alas! how easy it is to speak fairly and act badly, to teach well and live wickedly, to counsel virtue and practise vice! "Blessed St. James, pray for us that we may, according to thy good teaching, be doers of the Word. If you know these things, our Saviour said to His Apostles, you shall be blessed if you do them (St. John xiii.). The more I know, the heavier my stripes will be if I do not act according to my knowledge.

"Compassionate Heart of Jesus, grant us grace to be so blessed as to be doers of Thy law."

STATION IV.

For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders, but with a finger of their own they will not move them (St. Matt. xxiii. 4).

A. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us according to Thy great mercy, and teach us to love our neighbours as ourselves, or rather, to love them as Thou hast loved us; taking their burdens on ourselves; but never, never laying on them burdens which we know we cannot ourselves bear.

STATION V.

And all their works they do for to be seen of men. And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues, and salutations in the market-place (vv. 5, 7).

A. "Attendite." O all you who go by the way, stay a little while to consider the pride and arrogance which Jesus humble of Heart abhors. We must not go away till from His Heart there passes into ours some share of His horror of worldly pride and ostentation.

1. They do all their works to be seen by men.
2. They love the first places at feasts.

3. The first chairs in the synagogues.
4. And salutations in the market-place.

STATION VI.

Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter (v. 13).

A. Listen to His words, St. Ignatius says, and watch with your eyes His sacred Person, the sorrow of heart which appears in His face for the scandal caused to His little ones by these proud and heartless leaders. We must attend to every word. Woe to you hypocrites! You shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men. For you yourselves do not inter in, and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.

B. How many points for self-examination are here! O Lord Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, give us grace to go over with Thee our bygone years, to find out how often and in how many ways we have been hypocrites and proud Pharisees.

C. How often we eagerly sought for the first places!

D. How many there are among the living or the dead whom we have hindered from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, or hindered from making progress in sanctity!

E. And we must bear in mind that we scandalise others sometimes by commission, by insulting or provoking them, by bad example, bad advice, bad teaching; sometimes by omission, by not teaching when bound to teach, by not giving good example, by not giving alms much needed, by neglecting vigilance when in office.

F. Observe too how wickedness is always aggressive, seeking to make proselytes. If we enter not the Kingdom of God, we do not like to see others enter. If we do not care to live fervently, we dislike fervour in others because

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