Lesson III.

REMEMBER what I suggested about the thirty-eight years of the impotent man's sickness. I wish to explain why thirty-eight is the number of sickness rather than of health. Therefore, as I was saying, Charity fulfilleth the law for the number forty pertaineth to the fulness of the love in all its works. But in charity two precepts are set before us. Thou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Well did that widow cast all her living, two mites into the offerings of GOD; well did the host take two pence by which the sick man, wounded by thieves, might be healed; well did JESUS abide two days among the Samaritans to confirm them in charity. The two-fold numbers, then, when any thing good is signified, chiefly setteth forth two-fold charity. If then the number forty hath the completeness of the Law, and the Law is not fulfilled except in the twin precept of charity; why shouldest thou marvel that he was sick who lacked two of the forty?

Ry. The time of fasting, p. cxxii.
SATURDAY.
Ember Day.

A

The Holy Gospel according to
S. Matthew.

which, inspired by the grace of God,

For

we shall readily attain unto, if we
refer in our consideration to the
things told us a little before.
the Saviour of mankind, JESUS CHRIST,
building up that faith which calleth
the ungodly to righteousness and the
dead to life again, so impressed His
disciples with the instructions of His
doctrine and the miracles of His
works, that that same CHRIST was
believed by them to be both the Only-
begotten Son of GOD and the Son of
Man. For one of these is of no use,
as regards salvation, withont the
other; and it is equally dangerous to
believe the LORD JESUS CHRIST to
be GOD alone and not Man, or
Man alone and not GOD: since both
must be equally confessed: because
even as the Very Humanity dwelt in
GOD, so Very Godhead dwelt in the
Man.

Ry. Rend your hearts. p. cxxiii.

Lesson II.

THEREFORE to confirm the most

healthful knowledge of this faith, the LORD asked His disciples what, among so many divers opinions of others, they themselves believed concerning Him, and what they thought? When Peter the Apostle, rising above corporeal things by the revelation of the FATHER Most High, and reaching beyond things human, beheld with the eyes of the mind the Son of the Living GOD, and confessed the glory of the Godhead (for He looked not alone at the substance of the Flesh and Blood,) so well pleasing did he become in this loftiness of faith, that he was rewarded with the bliss of being pronounced

Lesson I. S. Matt. xvii. T that time: JESUS taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured be-ness of a rock that cannot be moved.

fore them. And that which follows.

A Homily of S. Leo the Pope. The Gospel lesson which, entering through our bodily ears, knocketh for admission to the inner hearing of our minds, calleth us, most dearly beloved, to understand a great mystery:

blessed and received the sacred firm

Founded on this, the Church was to prevail against the gates of hell and the laws of death, and in all matters of binding or loosing, nothing would be decreed in heaven, other than what had been settled by the decision of Peter.

Ry. Deal thy bread. p. cxxiii.

Lesson III.

BUT, dearly beloved, the height of understanding so worthy of our praise, was instructed by the mystery of the inferior substances; lest the faith of the Apostles, raised aloft to the confession of the Godhead in CHRIST, might deem the taking upon Him of our weakness unworthy, and unbecoming in the impassible GOD; and thus might think that human nature was already glorified in CHRIST, so that it could neither suffer agony, nor be dissolved in death. And therefore, when the LORD said that He must needs go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and scribes, and chief priests, and be slain, and rise again the third day, then blessed Peter, who, illuminated with light from on high, was glowing with his most fervent confession of the Son of GOD, spurned with religious (as he deemed it) and with eager scorn the ignominy of the mockings, and the shame of the most cruel death; but he was graciously corrected by JESUS, and stirred up to an eager desire to share

with Him in His Passion.

Ry. Hide. p. cxxiv.

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. Inv. It is not vain.

more docti, as p. cxx.

FIRST NOCTURN.

Hymn. Ex

Of the Book of Genesis.

Lesson I. Chap. xxvii.

before I die. And Rebekah heard

And

when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father : and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

Ry. Take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and bring me venison, that I may eat: * and my soul shall bless thee. V. Take me some venison, and make me savoury meat that I may eat. And.

Lesson II.

AND Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: my father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made

AND it came to pass that when savoury meat, such as his father

Isaac was old, and his eyes were loved. And Rebekah took goodly raidim, so that he could not see, he ment of her eldest son Esau, which called Esau his eldest son, and said were with her in the house, and put unto him, My son and he said unto them upon Jacob her younger son: him, Behold, here am I. And he and she put the skins of the kids of said, Behold now, I am old, I know the goats upon his hands, and upon not the day of my death: now there- the smooth of his neck and she gave fore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, the savoury meat and the bread, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to which she had prepared, into the the field, and take me some venison: hand of her son Jacob. And he came and make me savoury meat, such as I unto his father, and said, My father: love, and bring it to me, that I may and he said, Here am I; who art eat; that my soul may bless thee thou, my son? And Jacob said unto

k

his father, am Esau thy firstborn; | heaven and of the fatness of the I have done according as thou_badest earth; let people and nations serve me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of thee: * be lord over thy brethren. my venison, that thy soul may bless. And let thy mother's sons bow And Isaac said unto his son, down to thee. Be. Glory. Be. How is it that thou hast found it so SECOND NOCTURN. quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to

me.

me.

Ry. See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed my GoD make thee as the sand of the sea, * and give thee blessing of the dew of heaven. And GOD ALMIGHTY bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee. And.

Lesson III.

Lesson IV.

From the Book of S. Augustine against lying.

THAT which Jacob did, at the ad

vice of his mother, so as to seem to deceive his father, if it be con.sidered diligently and faithfully, is not a lie, but a mystery. If we call it by the former name, then all the parables and types which are not to be taken as literally true, but in which

AND Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac

said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

one thing is to be understood by

the help of another, are falsehoods, thinks, must bring this false accusawhich GOD forbid. For he who thus tion against all figures of speech of every kind: so that even that figure, called metaphor, that is, a change in the application of words from their own proper sense, might thus be called falsehood.

Ry. When Jacob went forth from his country, he beheld the glory of GOD, and said: How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the House of GOD, and this is the gate of . Truly GOD was in this place, and I knew it not. This.

heaven.

Lesson V.

FOR the things which are signified, they are really spoken; but they are reckoned as lies, because people do not understand that the things which are really signified are the things said, but believe that false things are the things said. To make this plainer by examples, attend to this very thing that Jacob did. No doubt he covered himself with the skins of goats; if we seek the immediate cause, we shall account him to have lied; for he did this that he might be thought the man he was not: but if this deed be referred to that for the signifying of Ry. God give thee of the dew of which it was really done, by the skins

who covered himself therewith, He is Lesson of the Holy Gospel according signified who bare not His own sins, but those of others.

AND the disciples came and asked persecuting Him, these by desiring

Lesson of the Holy Gospel according a manner truly evil, to die in one's