REFELECTIONS FOR EVERYDAY IN LENT

[Dawn Marie]

Friday After the First Sunday in Lent:

THE ordeal of Gethsemani now over, our Blessed Lord walks with sort of a triumph toward His sleeping Apostles.  Three times He had counseled them to pray, three times He had asked them to watch with Him and three times the Apostles had failed Him.

Just anger had surged through Christ when He took a rope and drove the money-changers from the temple, because they dishonored His Father’s house.  His closest friends who, a few short hours earlier, had received their first Holy Communion, had failed Him, and failed Him badly in His hour of need – surly He would have been justified had He upbraided them.  But no.  The gentle Christ walked over to where they took  their rest, and simply said:  “Rise, let us go”  (Mk. 14:42).  Oh, the hope springs up from those words!

The disciples  had failed sadly in one great duty – they had slept when the Master wanted them to watch with Him.  They slept at their post.  He had just told them that they might as well sleep on, sofar as that service was concerned, for the time to render it was gone forever.  Yet there were other duties before them, and Jesus calls them to arise and meet these.  Because they had failed in one hour’s responsibility they must not sink down in despair.  They must arose themselves to meet the responsibilities that lay ahead of them.

What a consoling lesson for all of us.  Because we have failed in one duty, or many duties, we must not give up in despair.  Because a young man or woman has wasted youth, he or she must not therefore lose heart and think the loss of youth is irreparable.  The golden years can never be recalled – the innocence, the beauty, the power may have slipped through our fingers – but why should we squander all because we squandered some?  Because the morning has been thrown away, why should all the day be lost?

The lesson Christ taught at the end of His agony in Gethsemani is for all who have failed in any way.  Christ ever calls to hope.  He bids us rise again from the worst defeats.  With Christ there is always margin enough to start again and build a noble life.  Right down to the doorway of death there is time.  Paul persecuted the church, but died for it.  The door of opportunity opened to the penitent thief on the cross in his dying hour.  So it is always.  In this world, blessed by divine love and grace, there is never the need to despair.  The call after every defeat or failure still is, and always will be, “Rise, let us go.”

Strive every day to make acts of faith, hope, and charity.  Today let us beg for an increase of the virtue of hope.

[Dawn Marie]

Saturday After the First Sunday in Lent:

WHEN our Lord was saying to His Apostles: “Rise, let us go,” He added these painful words: ”He who will betray me is at hand” (Mk. 14:43). St. John gives us a few more details for he writes:  “Now Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place, since Jesus had often met there together with his disciples, Judas, then, taking his cohort, and the attendants from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, and torches, and weapons” (Jn. 18: 2-4).

The story of Judas is perhaps the saddest in all of the Bible.  The Evangelists seem fascinated with that name Judas and when they have occasion to pen it, they call him either “Judas, one of the twelve” or “the traitor” or as we have seen St. John do, in the quote above, “Judas, who betrayed Him.”  The thought that one of their number could stoop to such a villainous act inflicts them with a personal shame.

Any way you look at it, the story of the betrayal shows new evil each time you read it.  Going out from the supper table, Judas had hastened to the priests and was quickly on his way with a band of soldiers.  He probably hurried back to the upper room, where he had left Jesus: not finding Him there, he knew well with the Master had gone, and hastened to the sacred place of prayer – Gethsemani – where Jesus had often retired for prayer.

Then in the manner in which he left the officers know which of the company was Jesus shows the deepest blackness of all.  Under the guise of close friendship – Judas kissed Christ – with feigned warmth and affection.

It would be salutary for each of us to remember always how the treason in the heart of Judas grew.  In the beginning, it was greed and money, then followed theft and falseness of life, ending at last, in the blackest crime this world has ever seen.  The fact that such a fall as that of Judas began with small infidelities which grew and grew into a heinous crime should teach us the danger of committing venial sins.  The Holy Ghost warns us that “he that contemneth little things, shall fall by little and little” (Eccles. 19:1).

A picture in the royal gallery of Brussels represents Judas wandering about in the night after the betrayal.  He comes by chance upon the workmen who have been making the cross upon which Christ shall be crucified the next day.  A fire nearby throws its full light on the faces of the workmen, who are sleeping peacefully, while resting from their labors.  Judas’ face is somewhat in the shade, but it is wonderfully expressive of awful remorse and agony as he catches sight of the cross and the tools used to make it – the cross which his treachery made possible.  Judas did not fall into one great sin, he began with lesser sins, and they paved the way to his great disaster.

St. John Chrysostom said this of venial sins: ”I maintain that the small sins require to be avoided with more care then the more grievous ones, for the grievous ones of their very nature stir up our attention against them; whereas, the lesser sins from the fact of their being insignificant in comparison, are not noticed.”  The devil is so cunning.  He knows he could not induce a virtuous person to fall onto great sin because of the horror it inspires.  What does he do?  He proposes a venial offense:  now one, now another until he gets the soul into an evil habit, for he knows the end result.  Satan knows Scripture too, and can prove it from what he has been able to accomplish by making persons desire at first, venially sinful things.  Scripture says: “He that is unjust in that which is little will be unjust in that which is great” (Eccles. 19:1).

Pray earnestly today for grace to avoid venial sins.  Examine your conscience daily on your commission of venial sins and resolve to do your earnest to avoid them.

[Dawn Marie]

Monday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

THE kiss of Judas will ever remain the ultimate in base treachery.  The name Judas has such a special odium that no one in his right mind would give that name to an infant.  It is reserved for the foulest deed one can perform against a friend, a family, a nation, or a society.  The act of kissing performed by Judas on the greatest Friend mankind ever had, beggars man’s power of description.  Oh, horrible perfidy!

It is related in Holy Scripture that one of the general in David’s army named Joab perpetrated a foul deed, in that upon meeting Anasa, who also commanded an army, he stooped forward to kiss him and at that very moment thrust a dagger into his side and killed him.  Solomon, David’s famous son, when he succeeded to the throne, had Joab slain for his treachery.
Note how much more evil was Judas’ act of treachery than was Joab’s. Joab with a treacherous kiss murdered a fellow man; Judas by his kiss paved the way for the death of the Son of God.  Joab on the other hand dispatched his victim in one quick thrust; Judas by his awful deed set the stage for the torture and painful death of his Lord and God.

It is related that when the assassins of Julius Caesar fell upon him with their daggers, the great conqueror of men and nations stood motionless, displaying not the slightest sign of emotion or fear.  When Brutus, whom Caesar loved with the affection of a father, also approached and drew his dagger to strike his great benefactor, that blow caused Caesar more pain then all the other wounds, and he could not refrain from uttering the now famous words: “Thou too, Brutus, my son!”  If Caesar was pained by the baneful treachery of his friend Brutus, how must the Son of God felt when one of His own disciples betrayed Him to His enemies by a kiss.  Might the Master not have said: “You too, Judas, My son! Is this what I have merited for My kindness to you?  Did I not choose you to be My follower, disciple, and apostles?  Did I not wash your feet?  Did I not give you My Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity as a food?  Oh thankless, heartless Judas!”

Look into your heart today and see if you have even betrayed your Master by mortal sin.  Each time you prefer creatures to Christ you betray Him.. Each time you choose sin to Christ’s law, you betray Him.  Spend some time today quietly thinking over the picture of Judas pressing his lips to those of the sinless Christ.  If you identify yourself in Judas, throw yourself quickly into the arms of your God and beg His pardon.

[Cathleen]

Thank you for posting these.  Very sobering and edifying.

Where are they from?

[Dawn Marie]

Tuesday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

WE NOTED in our last consideration that daggers were used to murder Julius Caesar.  The effect was just as tragic as if the murders had used swords.  The smallness of the instrument did not lessen the effects.  In like manner, it must be said of Judas that he did not lay violent hands on Christ when he met Him in the Garden of Olives.  No, he did not seize or strike the Sacred Redeemer – he simply kissed Him, but that kiss was more tragic than if he had thrust a sword into the Sacred Heart of Christ.

Christ had been kissed before, but my, how different were the circumstances and results!  First, there were the kisses of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.  Who can number the fond caresses that Mary must have showered on the Infant Jesus as she nurtured and fondled Him in her pure maternal arms?  How often must not St. Joseph have covered the Infant Countenance with tender paternal affection?

Second, may we not conjecture that the Magi embraced the tiny Infant as Mary formally presented the Infant God to the first of the Gentiles who came to pay Him homage?  Certainly, the act would be normal if not imperative.

Third, it can hardly be imagined that the Holy Simeon and Anna present at the presentation in the temple, could have held the adorable Child of promise in their arms and not pressed their holy lips to the pink little hands of the long-sought Messias.

Fourth, we are certain from the text of Holy Scripture itself that the public sinner Mary Magdalen imprinted the kiss of contrite sorrow on the sacred feet of Christ, and arose from the encounter holier and greater then when she stooped to embrace her God.

Fifth, we are told that the great St. John the beloved disciple rested his youthful head on the breast of the Master at the Last Supper.  There is a Persian fable of piece clay made fragrant by lying on a rose:  the perfume of the rose passed into the clay.  So it was with John.  He crept unto the bosom of the Master and his Master’s spirit of love and gentleness passed into his life and transformed it.

 Last, we have the awful picture of Judas pressing his lips to those of the Son of God, feigning friendship.

The lesson here is powerful.  Those who approached Christ in love and veneration, in true penance and firm resolve, left His embrace renewed and strengthened.  Those like Judas, whose hearts are turned toward evil, may be may be very near Christ and not be holy in character.  Judas was three years with Christ, heard His words, lived in the atmosphere of His love and remained unchanged.  An empty bottle, hermetically sealed, may lie long in the ocean and continue to be dry within.  A heart sealed to Christ’s love may rest on His bosom for years and not be blessed.  Only when pure or contrite heart is opened to receive His grace, does closeness to Him sanctify. 

[Dawn Marie]

Dear Cathleen,

Catherine found these the other day and shared them with me.  They are:

Reflections on the Passion
by Father Doyle
October 12, 1956

NIHIL OBSTAT:
JOANNES A. SCHULIEN, S.T.D.
Censor liborium
IMPRIMATOR:
+ ALBERTUS G.MEYER
Archiepiscopus Milwauchiensis

[Cathleen]

Thank you!  :-)

[Dawn Marie]

Wednesday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

ST. JOHN strikes an unusual note in his gospel relative to the incidents leading to Christ’s arrest.  The inspired writer put these words down for all posterity to read: “Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place since Jesus “had often met there together with His disciples.”  These words give us but a glimpse of our Lord’s habit of prayer.  The deep quiet of the Garden of Olives was His oratory.  Here the Son of God had been wont to pray.  And there were other places, too, which were sacred resorts to Him.  There were mountain tops, where He often spent whole nights in communion with His Father.

Our Lord’s example of prayer teaches us that we should spend much time in prayer.  Those people who are too busy to pray soon find their spiritual life on the wane.  Not feeding their souls, they grow very lean.  There can be no beautiful, strong, helpful Christian life without prayer.

Every tree has a root which people cannot see, but which in the secret, in the darkness, performs service for that tree without which the tree cannot live or bear fruit.  What the root is to the tree, prayer is to the Christian.  Prayer is the mighty weapon wherewith we can combat and put flight to our spiritual foes:  the golden key wherewith we may unlock the inexhaustible treasury of the divine Heart and draw from It the graces we need for life’s pilgrimage.  It is, moreover, the link which connects heaven with earth, which binds us to God:  the mystical ladder Jacob saw, whereby our supplications ascend to Paradise and bring back to us its richest fruits.  Prayer has a power, which, if we may so speak, forces the hand of God, an omnipotence which prevails even with the Most High.

Our Lord’s example also teaches us the importance of regular habits of prayer.  It was Christ Himself who said that without Him, left to ourselves, we are incapable of taking a single step in the way of salvation:  “Without me you can do nothing” ( Jn.15:5). St. Paul tells us that without the assistance of grace we cannot so much as think a thought that is good.  And the doctors of the Church teach us that, in the ordinary dealings of Providence, God does not give grace to those who do not ask for it.  “Ask,” He says, “and you shall receive.”  This is equivalent to saying:  “I am always ready to bestow my grace upon you, on condition that you ask Me for it.”  Christ prayed for forty days and nights on one occasion; He prayed before working His greatest miracles; He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemani; He prayed on Calvary.  What does He do in the tabernacle but plead with His Father for us, to avert the chastisement due the Father, Christ still makes intercession for us, He still is our great Advocate and Mediator.

How much time do you give to prayer?  How well do you pray?  Ask yourself these questions today and then make a firm resolve to do better.  If Christ prayed – you must also pray and you have reason to pray more frequently and more fervently.

[Dawn Marie]

Thursday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

IN St. JOHN’S GOSPEL we read of a most striking incident in the initial steps of the arrest of Christ in the Garden of Gethesemani.  Here are the exact words as the inspired writer penned them:  “Jesus therefore knowing all that was about to come upon him, went forth and said to them:  ‘Whom do you seek?’  They answered him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am he.’ Now Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them:  ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (Jn.18:5).

Christ had such a short time before been prostrated by the intense mental and physical pain and he had prayed and prayed and prayed, and He was strengthened by an Angel, but now we see Him composed and confident as He stands before the armed soldiers.  There is no weakness now.  There was superb control.  He simply said three words, “I am He,” and the stalwart soldiers fell to the ground.  Those who were so strong and arrogant lay prone, feeble, and impotent at Christ’s feet.
The great St. Augustine does a masterly job of applying this scene to our individual lives.  He says that if Christ acted in this manner when he was about to be arrested and judged by ungodly men, what will He be like when He is the judge?  If He displays such a power at the moment He was about to be sentenced to death, what will His power be like when he stands in all His power and glory to judge each one of us?

If the simple words “I am He,” spoken by the Redeemer of the world had power enough in them to topple His enemies like tenpins or toy soldiers, imagine the effect of His voice when it is used to call us to account for our sins.  St. Jerome asserts that when our Lord said to the soldiers: “I am He,” a gleam of such fiery brightness flashed out of His eyes that the soldiers fell to the earth as if struck by lightening.  In the anticipation of that dread day of judgment let us cast ourselves down at the feet of our Redeemer as a sign of sincere contrition and repentance for our sins.

You will note that St. John says that “Judas, who betrayed Him, was also standing with them” (the soldiers) and presumably, he too was cast to the ground.  The effect of this great miracle on Judas was nil.  The habit of sin and impenitence had hardened the betrayer’s heart and blinded Him to the Divinity of the Master.

St. Paul once felt the power of the voice of God.  He was thrown from his horse at Damascus and he arose from the ground a new man.  Judas was thrown from to the ground in Gethsemani but arose unchanged.  What has this holy season of Lent done for you?  Will you be closer to God, love Him more, and serve Him better because of your having done some voluntary penances, said more and better prayers, resolved to avoid the occasions of sin in persons, places,  or things, or will you, like the betrayer, be unchanged, undisciplined, and unrepentant?  Make your answer before you close this book today.

[Dawn Marie]

Friday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

THE miracle that was worked to cast the enemies of Christ to the ground as  He said “I am He,” was done to prove that while the Son of God would not thwart the purposes of His sworn enemies who thirsted for His blood, the Master was resolved to do enough to render them inexcusable in putting Him to death.  If they proceeded to arrest, torture, and crucify Christ, they would do it with the knowledge that they were acting against One who had divine power.  The miracle was done to convince the enemies of Christ, led by the traitor Judas, that their imminent act was wrong, and if they proceeded to culminate it, they would be held accountable for it.  The miracle went as far as to make those miserable who had laid hands on the Son of God but not so far as to frustrate their impious design.

It is scarcely ever happens that we commit any great sin without experiencing great resistance.  This is particularly true of the first great sins in our life.  The remorse, the degradation and the disillusionment is nearly enough to throw us to the ground, and the warning voice of conscience is like thunder in our soul.  It is nearly a verity that after the first or the thousandth grace sin – but after one of them – there is a turning point in our life.  We must not look to be kept prostrate on the ground for the mastery of conviction will release its strong hold, and we will gradually feel at liberty to arise – and then what shall we do?  Paul was thrown to the ground but he arose saying to Jesus – “Lord, what will Thou have me do?”  Judas was struck to the ground but he arose only to renew his traitorous attack, to make fresh quest after Jesus whom he was determined to betray.

After any grave sin we must follow the example of Paul or that of Judas.  If we rise from the serious sin determined to take another and another step towards sin, the likelihood is that path will be smooth and we will be suffered to proceed without much protestation by our conscience, or by remorse.  One thing we ought to fear, and that is to be left to sin undisturbed.  The longer we remain in that state the worse the chances are for spiritual recovery.

When Christ’s enemies laid hands upon His sacred Person, Peter drew his sword and lopped off the ear of Malcus, the servant of the High Priest. Christ told Peter to put away his sword and Scripture adds these words:  “Bear with them thus.’  And he touched his ear and healed him” (Lk. 22:51).

Judas and the Roman soldiers, the Pharisees, Scribes, and Elders experienced two striking miracles in rapid succession - the strange power which hurled them to the ground, and the miraculous healing of the ear of the servant of the High Priest - but what was the effect upon Judas and the others who came to seize Christ?  Nothing.  They experienced miracles and remained adamant.  Oh, the sad plight of those who betray Christ and those who crucify Him.  St. Paul says that when men sin they crucify again to themselves the Son of God and make Him a mockery (Heb. 6:6).

Never let a day pass without saying your three Hail Marys morning and night, adding this ejaculation:  “Oh Mary, my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin this day (this night).

[Dawn Marie]

Saturday After the Second Sunday in Lent:

WHEN St. Peter drew the sword and made a thrust at the servant of the High Priest, Malcus, he no doubt, meant to inflict a more telling wound than the mere severing of an ear.  An instant before Peter’s display of poor marksmanship, the Apostle had asked our Lord this question:  “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?  (Lk. 22:49), but our Lord replied:  “Put back thy sword into its place; for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or dost thou suppose that I cannot entreat my Father, and he will even now furnish me with more than twelve legions of Angels?  How then are the Scriptures to be fulfilled, that thou it must happen? (Mt. 26:52-54).  Before Christ had finished the above reply, Peter had already cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant.

Cornelius a Lapide, the famous commentator on Holy Scripture, asserts that Peter meant well in going to the defense of his Master, but that the Saint acted unwisely in that he did not permit himself to be guided by faith, rather he allowed himself to be carried away by his natural impetuosity.  Therefore, Peter committed two faults:  (1) against the will of Christ, inasmuch as he did not wait for Christ’s answer and (2) his use of the sword was in revenge rather then an act of defense.  Besides this, Peter’s act was one of great imprudence, for by it he surely could not expect to free Christ from the hands of so formidable an enemy.  In fact, his act merely served to arouse the anger of the soldiery against the Savior, and thus, exposed himself to the likelihood of a similar death.

Had Peter exercised his faith, he would have realized that, had Christ so desired it, He could have struck down His enemies, or hidden Himself as He had done before; in other words that, as the Son of God, He stood in no need of human defense.  No doubt Christ wanted to teach the head of His Church on earth in particular, and all His followers in general, that they should meet malicious persons with meekness, patience, and charity.  The general idea in all such matters is to show yourself meek, patient, and forbearing so that by such means, your enemies will find their anger softened.

We must follow this rule in daily life.  St. Paul was wont to teach his followers this great lesson:  “If it be possible, as far as in you lies, be at peace with all men … “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:18, 21).  We are encouraged to practice the virtue of forbearance by the prospect of a double gain for ourselves, in as far as, thereby, we become more Christlike and perform a meritorious act of self-denial, and an act of love for our enemies.  Such conduct is profitable, too, for our neighbor who, at the sight of such virtue, is moved to reflect and is led into the way of salvation.

One sword we must take care not to use to destroy or harm others is our tongue.  Examine yourself today on just how you act when unjustly accused or attacked.

[Dawn Marie]

 Monday After the Third Sunday in Lent:

WHEN the Apostles had asked our Lord whether they should draw their swords to defend Him from those who came to the entrance of the Garden of Olives to arrest Him, our Divine Savior posed a question of His own.  He said:  “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (Jn. 18:11), or in other words, “Must I not do the will of my Father?”
Those words must have struck the Apostles with a particular force, for had they not heard this same Christ but a few short moments before ask His Father three separate times to let this same cup of agony pass from Him.  If they heard our Lord ask that the chalice pass from Him, they also herd His humble submission:  “Not My will but Thine be done.”

The first Adam went wrong from the moment he refused to identify himself with God’s design for him.  both Adam and Eve were called upon to accept God as the ruler of their hearts and actions and were given a test of their obedience and loyalty.  They were asked, as we are all asked, to accept His law with their whole hearts and souls and by an act of the free will.

Both Adam and Eve rejected God as their law giver and by their act of rebellion decided to be law unto themselves – to do what they themselves chose and not what God chose for them.  Our First Parents each in turn said:  “My will, not Thine be done,” and in so doing, turned Paradise into a desert.  The words of Christ spoken in the olive grove:  “Thy will, not mine be done” turned the desert into Paradise, and made Gethsemani the gate to Heaven.

The Son of God, according to the Fathers, descended from heaven and clothed Himself with our flesh for three reasons:  the one to redeem us by His Blood, the others to teach us by His doctrine the way to heaven, and finally to instruct us by His example.
Among many other instructions Christ has given us, one of the chief is that we should live in entire conformation to the will of God.  This is a doctrine He taught us not only in words, when He bid us say to His eternal Father, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10), but what He has confirmed by His own example, because He Himself tells us, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn. 6:38).

It is the testimony of millions who have tried to find peace of mind and happiness in this life by shunning the will of God, that they have tasted nothing but the bitter and persistent feelings of disillusionment, and agonizing sense of incompleteness, and a painful sense of frustration.  These symptoms are seldom isolated, but usually hang together, one or the other predominating.  Blessed is the person who can recognize the symptoms and straightway start to return to God’s plan for them.

Christ accepted the bitter cup offered by His Father and in doing so did the will of God.  We must have the same trust in God.  If God offers us a bitter chalice to drink to the dregs, let us do so with courage and faith.  If God gives us a cup, it must be the very best that the wisest love can provide for us.

Pray – one our Father and Hail Mary today that you may always have faith enough to accept any type of cup God offers you.  Say to God:

If there should be some other thing
Better than all the rest
That I have failed to ask, I pray
Give Thou the very best
Of every gift Thou dost deem
Better than ought I hope or dream.

[Dawn Marie]

Tuesday After the Third Sunday in Lent:

NO SOONER had Christ offered to drink the cup from His Father offered Him than the soldiers laid hand their hands upon the gentle Savior and the arrest was completed.  At the very moment when Christ could have used the moral support of His disciple, Scripture records these sad words:  “Then all the disciples left Him and fled” (Mt. 26:56).

If we ever needed proof of the weakness of the apostles, we need look no further than to the story of their desertion of Christ at the moment of His arrest.  We can determine several reasons for the flight, a general one resulting from the inherent inconstancy of man, and the other resulting from the adoption of false notions.  The Apostles may have become infected with the notion that Christ’s kingdom would be a material one and that if it was to be established on this earth, they themselves would be in the best position to be leaders.  Had they not given proof on occasion of the very false notion of the Kingdom of God, by disputing among themselves about leadership?  You know, there was a good deal of pride in the group of ignorant fishermen from the most insignificant provinces of the civilized world who allowed themselves to gloat over the possibility of their being autocratic leaders in the new kingdom.

It is quite possible too that Christ permitted the desertion without protest (1) to aggravate His sufferings, and (2) to prove His love.

Keep before you in mind, in studying the whole story of the Passion, that Christ accepted the chalice offered Him by His Father – a chalice filled to the brim with the sins of the world.  It is possible that the desertion of the Apostles was permitted that he might taste of every ingredient of bitterness which is mingled in man’s cup of woe, and there are few things more bitter than being forsaken by friends in the hour of need.

I am more inclined to believe that the desertion was permitted to prove Christ’s love for man.  Who can ever say that his sins are too great to be forgiven, or his heart too depraved to be renewed?  Only trust Him.  His grace is sufficient for you.  Such a scene as the desertion of the Apostles and yet His continued love for them, must encourage the worst of the backsliders to return to Him.  Christ did not disown His disciple, though they deserted Him in His distress, but after His resurrection, He sent to them the faithful women, messages of tenderness and love, “Go”, said He to Mary Magdalen, “go to my brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn. 20:17).  And to the other women Christ said: “Go, take word to my brethren that they set out for Galilee;  there they shall see me” (Mt. 28:10).  Go to our Lord in the tabernacle today and console Him for the number of times you have deserted Him.  Tell Him how much you appreciate His efforts to make you realize the greatness of His love for, and mercy toward you.  Pray especially today for the grace of final perseverance.