STATION II.

And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it on the side-posts and on the upper door-posts of the houses wherein they shall eat it (Exodus xii. 7).

And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be; and I shall see the blood and shall pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you (Exodus xii. 13).

Let us watch the faithful observance of this prescribed ceremony; and, as we look upon the figure, think how the Heart of our Blessed Lord is thanking His Eternal Father for permitting Him to shed His Blood for us; and dwelling with exceeding consolation on the triumphs of His Sacred Blood in His future Church; how it will scare away the destroyer, and cleanse a multitude of sinful souls. How much more will the Blood of Christ cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews ix.).

"Save Thy people, O Lord, whom Thou hast redeemed. by Thy Precious Blood."

STATION III.

And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire (v. 8).

Him on the

A. Contemplate our Lord as He looks on attentively while the lamb is being flayed and roasted. For He has vividly before His mind what is to be done to morrow, when His woollen garment, which His Mother wove for Him, shall be dragged out of His wounds, and His Body shall be like the roasted flesh of the lamb, from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, wounds, and bruises and swelling sores (Isaias i.): and all this because He loved me and delivered Himself up for me (Galat. ii. 20).

"Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas, cordi meo valide-Do this for me, Holy Mother, fix the wounds of Thy Crucified Son firmly in my heart."

311

PART II.

THE WATCHES OF THE SACRED PASSION.

CHAPTER I.

THE FIRST NIGHT WATCH, FROM SIX TILL NINE p.m.

SCENE I.

THE GUEST ROOM. THE PASCH.

STATION I.

When it was evening He sat down with His twelve disciples (St. Matt. xxvi. 20).

He sat down and the twelve Apostles with Him (St. Luke

xxii. 14).

We may take it for granted that none but the Twelve were present with our Lord at the Last Supper. Our Blessed Lady and the devout women were, no doubt, in some other chamber under the same roof, and it is said that the seventy-two disciples, the future helpmates of the Apostles, were elsewhere in the building, eating the Pasch. But the text of the Evangelists seems to make it clear that none but the chosen Twelve were at table with Jesus. He had words to say to them that were not for others. He wished to prepare them with special care for their holy ordination to the priesthood of the New Covenant, and to make His last effort to win back the traitor Judas.

When it was evening.

The sun had set, and with the setting began the feast of the Passover; and within the four Watches of the night and the four Watches of the next day, the Passion of our Lord, His Death and His Burial, are to be completed, and all is to be consummated. "Ordinatione tua perseverat dies" (Psalm cxviii.). By Thy ordinance, O God, this night and this day shall go on. Through these night watches, and from the rising of the sun to its going down, praiseworthy is the Name of the Lord (Psalm cxii.).

He sat down.

The Latin word discubuit would imply literally that He reclined on a couch; but in this instance it may fairly be understood to mean that He and His Apostles took their places. Ordinarily, those at table reclined or sat; and the word is retained here, though they did not recline or sit during the Paschal supper, but eat standing. In consequence of the use of this word, some commentators have thought that the custom of standing had become obsolete. They go so far as to say that the ceremonies revealed to Moses were only for the first Pasch in Egypt, but this opinion cannot well be reconciled with Exodus xii. 24, 25: Thou shalt keep this thing for a law for thee and thy children for ever. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe these ceremonies. And when your children shall say to you, What is the meaning of this service? you shall say to them, It is the victim of the passage of the Lord.

Just as the Holy Mass, then, is to show forth the Death of the Lord till He come (1 Cor. xi.), so the Pasch was to be a scenic observance that would bring to mind the night when the Lord struck the Egyptians and delivered His people. We may therefore assume that our Lord and His Apostles faithfully observed all the rites prescribed in Exodus xii. It is not indeed there mentioned explicitly that they were to stand, but this seems to be implied in some of the other ceremonies enjoined which we shall contemplate.

STATION II.

Thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste.-And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.-You shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. Neither shall there remain anything of it till morning (Exodus xii.).

After making the usual preparatory prayer, and, in the first prelude, recalling shortly the portion of the story we have selected for our contemplation, in the second prelude we picture, as well as we can, the scene, the special table prepared in the large Guest-chamber for the eating of the Pasch; our Blessed Lord and the Twelve standing round in the prescribed pilgrim's dress, and with staves in their hands; on the table the roasted lamb, the unleavened bread, the wine, and the wine-cups; the dish of bitter herbs.

Then we are permitted to place ourselves in spirit at a little distance, and to watch and to listen,