Roger Baxter

“ II. Consider Christ's goodness in going immediately to the ruler's house, although He might have cured her whilst he was at a distance. Besides, to teach us humility, He endeavors as much as He can to conceal the miracle by taking only three of His disciples with Him and by driving the musicians and the multitude out of the house. Learn to sequester yourself from the noise and rabble of worldly thoughts if you desire to live for Christ. "Wisdom, says the sea, is not in me." ”

“ This effect He chiefly produces in the Holy Eucharist, for in that sacrament, when worthily received, He gives the soul strength to overcome every fear and difficulty, and to undertake and succeed in every enterprise, however great when it has for its object the glory of God. Hence the Eucharist is called by the holy Fathers, " the bread of the strong, the food of the great, the bread that confirms and strengthens the heart of man." ”

“ Learn, hence, to prefer the spiritual good of your neighbor, to your own temporal concerns. Would to God, that your meat and drink, your delight and only pleasure, was to do the will of your Heavenly Father! ”

“ Those Christians, in a spiritual sense, labor under the disease of this woman, who spend their time in pursuing the vain and perishable things of this earth, and direct all their actions to them: they spend their substance in vain on physicians, who cannot cure them; for the deceitful pleasures and idle enjoyments of the world can never cure the ailments of an immortal soul, whose capacity nothing but God can fill. ”

“ In his search after salvation, though a man of authority, he disregarded the ridicule and scoffs of the rabble. Perhaps you are not able to see Christ and understand His divine mysteries, in consequence of the crowd of worldly thoughts which fill your mind. Retire therefore, from them by prayer and mortification, and like Zacheus ascend the tree. This tree is the cross, which is "a folly to the Gentiles," for, as St. Gregory writes, " those, who through humility choose that which is folly to the world, arise to a feeling contemplation of the wisdom of God Himself." ”

“ I have no man," that is, I have not the heart, nor the courage of a man to overcome myself. Christ our Lord is ready to raise you with His grace from the state of lethargy and spiritual languor, into which you have fallen, if you be willing on your part. You have also preachers, superiors and directors, to admonish and help you.
II. The efficacy of Christ's words cured the sick man. "Arise," said He, "take up thy bed and walk." Speak, O Lord, in the same manner to me; " Say to my soul, I am thy salvation." ”

“ Say with the enraptured prophet, "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and He is become salvation to me, He is my God and I will glorify Him." (Exod. xv. 2.)
III. Consider the perverse zeal of the ruler of the synagogue; " He was angry that Jesus had cured on the Sabbath," as if it were not lawful to do a good action, which was not servile, on the Sabbath day. Passions, and a desire of gratifying them are frequently mistaken for zeal. Do all your actions with a pure and sincere intention to please God, and you need not fear the judgments which men may pass on them. ”

“ Reflect how many thousands there are, whom God daily preserves and feeds, and who do not acknowledge the benefit. They eat their food, like irrational creatures, without raising their minds or hearts to heaven. ”

“ Never did mother love her infant, nor spouse his beloved, so affectionately as God loves man. He makes Himself man's companion, his food, his ransom, and his everlasting reward. Surely a Being so loving deserves to be loved " with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind."
II. To-day your Beloved will enter your heart in the Holy Eucharist, in order that you may enjoy His conversation and affectionate entertainment with more leisure. " If any one loves Me he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him." ”

“ II. Christ "with Whom, is the fountain of life" (Ps. xxxv. 10) , gives life to dead souls, by the Sacrament of Penance, and preserves and increases that life by the Holy Eucharist. " He that eateth Me," He says, " the same shall also live by Me," and, "he that eateth this bread shall live forever." (John vi. 58.) You ought, therefore, to expect with a longing desire, the sacred hour in which this fountain of life will visit you. Say with the Psalmist, "As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after Thee, O God, my soul hath thirsted after the strong living God." ”

“ It is one of the proper effects of spiritual health to praise God, and to give Him thanks for benefits received. Take care that you always magnify God, when you retire from the sacrament of Penance freed from the deadly palsy of sin, and say with royal David, " I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be always in my mouth." ”

“ So ought we to have recourse to every human means before we expect a miracle from God. The disciples were not permitted to cure this youth, probably to increase and preserve their humility. Cherish this virtue, and say with the pious David, " It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy justifications." ”

“ He often throws them into the fires of concupiscence, and extinguishes every kindling spark of virtue by throwing them into the watery gulfs of worldly pleasures. Follow the advice of the Apostle, and be one of those who " recover themselves from the snares of the Devil, by whom they are held captives at his will." ”

“ Bernard, "is a low plant, and an emblem of humility. Be, therefore, ready to prepare such food for your Guest, as you know He will gladly feed on." Seek, therefore, the virtue of humility in every action of your life.
III. This Guest of our souls is so liberal, that He brings gifts and presents with Him, for those who receive His visits worthily. In this spirit of liberality, He in a Pharisee's house cured a person laboring under the dropsy. If you examine yourself accurately, you will more than: probably discover, that you labor under some spiritual complaint which requires immediate relief. ”

“ Act therefore as a domestic of God and a son of light, for fear " the Lord strike thee with madness and blindness and fury of mind, and make thee grope at mid-day, as the blind is wont to grope in the dark, and not make straight thy ways." ”

“ His complaint was the palsy. The spiritual palsy of the soul, is a relaxation of its nerves and faculties, a want of spiritual vigor and life, and a decay of energy. Examine how long you have labored under this infirmity, and seek a remedy for it in the holy sacraments of the Church.
III. Jesus proposed His cure to the sick man, and said to him, " Wilt thou be made whole." God can render us just in His sight, by His own power alone, if He please, but He does not do it, without our consent. " He who made thee, without thy own concurrence," writes St. Augustine, "will not save thee without it." ”

“ The death of Lazarus proceeded from a languishing disease. So also does the death of the soul ensue from tepidity and decay of spirit, if they be not cured in time. " When concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, but sin, when it is completed, begetteth death." (James i. 15.) The infirmity of our nature is an incentive to sin, but injures no one but those who willingly yield to it. In regard to those who resist and fight manfully, this infirmity will increase their merit. ”

“ Observe the charity of the disciples in interceding for their neighbors, and the efficacy of their prayers; for the woman was immediately cured. All of us labor under some spiritual fever, caused by the heat of concupiscence or some unlawful passion. "Our fever is covetousness," says St. Ambrose, " our fever is lust, our fever is ambition." Examine under what spiritual ailment you labor, and have recourse to the Apostles as your intercessors. ”

“ We are all born blind, for we are. all born in sin, and involved in the darkness of ignorance, in consequence of the transgression of our first parents. Those characters, are in a special manner blind from their birth, who boast of their noble birth and their parentage; "virtue," writes a profane poet, " is the only true nobility." Examine your conscience on this subject.
II. " His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered; neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God be made manifest in him." ”

“ Perhaps your soul like this woman's daughter is afflicted with an evil spirit. He is afflicted with this spirit, who yields to troubles and temptations, but he who overcomes them is harassed to his greater merit. ”

“ This infirmity was caused in her by the devil, as Christ Himself tells us, either in punishment of her sins, as was the case with Giezi the leper, or by God's permission to try her virtue, as was the case with holy Job. In a mystical sense, our infernal enemy induces all those to labor under the same infirmity, who stoop to worldly things, and keep their minds and hearts continually fixed on them, in such a manner, that they cannot raise their thoughts to heaven. ”

“ O Lord, speak with the same efficacy to my soul. Observe how the Devil, crying out and greatly tearing him, went out of him. Whilst he possessed this young man, he behaved more mildly to him; but when he was forced to depart, he began " to tear him." The Devil is always most malicious when we abandon his service.
III. His disease was difficult of cure, because it was inveterate and had grown with him from his infancy. It is difficult to abandon vices to which you have been long accustomed. " A long sickness is troublesome to the physician." ”

“ He offered more than the centurion asked; to wit, to come in person; whilst the centurion only wished to hear a word from Him, which would operate, he believed, an effectual cure. " Let mankind be ashamed of their backwardness," writes St. Augustine, " for God is more ready to give than we to receive." On another occasion, Christ was requested to cure the son of a ruler, but refused to visit him in person, whilst on this occasion, without being requested, He offers His personal service to a servant. ”

“ Christ took advantage of every occasion to bring souls to His Father; hence, on the Sabbath-days He frequented the synagogue, in order that he might instruct the multitude, which on those occasions was collected together. He found in the synagogue a man, whose right hand was withered. " There are many," says an eminent spiritual writer, "who in the Church of God, have their left hands ready for any evil action, whilst their right hands are withered and incapable of performing any good action." " Their right hand, is the right hand of iniquity." ”

“ Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented." (Matt. viii. 6.) Observe the master's goodness and care for his servant, and ponder the efficacy of the prayers of such masters; remark, also, his strong faith, for he believed that Christ although absent, could effect the cure. Learn hence, to perform works of charity even to your inferiors. " If thou have a faithful servant," says the Wise Man, " let him be to thee as thy own soul, treat him as a brother," (Ecclus. xxxiii. 31.) ”

“ Admire the riches of God's goodness, patience, and longanimity in bringing you and others to penance. How often has He said to you, " now sin no more," and yet you have disobeyed Him. " A man, that fasteth for his sins, and doeth the same again, what doth his humbling himself profit him? Who will hear his prayer?" (Ecclus. xxxiv. 31.)
SATURDAY.
The Woman of Canaan.
I. A woman of Canaan, a Gentile, came to our Lord to obtain the cure of her daughter. Her prayer for this favor was most perfect; her faith was great; she confessed Christ to be the son of David. ”

“ Walk before God and be perfect.
III. After Christ had performed this miracle, " He went aside from the multitude" (John v. 13) , to give us an example of shunning the applause of men. " Afterward Jesus finding him in the temple, said to him, behold thou art made whole, sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee." Imagine the same words to be spoken to you, when you approach the sacrament of penance, " Go and sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee." ”

“ III. Some attempted to dissuade Christ from returning into Judea, to cure Lazarus, because the Jews had sought for him to stone him to death. "Then, Thomas said to his fellow disciples, let us also go, that we may die with him." Such ought to be the zeal and courage of apostolical men: they ought to contemn every danger, and even life itself, when the good of souls and the glory of God are in question. ”

“ Hold fast that, which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." (Apoc. iii. 11.)
III. The request of the centurion was granted; "Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee." The Psalmist says, "The Lord will do the will of them, that fear Him, and He will hear their prayer." (Ps. cxliv. 19.) Perhaps you possess a will, spiritually like the centurion's servant, that is, slothful and sluggish. Imitate, therefore, the fervor and humility of this centurion, and by means of your spiritual friends, that is, the angels and saints, beg that God would cure you. ”

“ Rejoice at your Saviour's being manifested to those men, and wish that the whole world may come to the knowledge of Him. Exert yourself to the utmost, in endeavoring to bring as many as you can to Him. ”