THE CREATION OF THE WORLD [Genesis 1, 1 to 2, 3] IN the beginning¹ God created heaven and earth². The earth was void³ and empty⁴: darkness was on the face of the deep⁵, and the Spirit of God⁶ moved over the waters. And God said⁷: "Be light made!" and light was made. This was the first day⁸. ¹ In the beginning of time. ² Heaven and earth. i. e. both the visible and invisible worlds. This sentence relates to the whole of creation generally; what follows, to the creation of the earth in particular. ³ Void. Which means that it was an unformed mass, all confusion and chaos. ⁴ Empty. Without life in it, or without any plants, animals, or men on it. ⁵ Deep. i. e. on the unformed mass of primeval matter. This mass was wrapped in gloom and darkness; and, being soft and fluid, is styled "the waters". ⁶ Spirit of God. i. e. God, who is a pure Spirit in opposition to the unformed and lifeless mass of mere matter, breathed upon it in order to give life, movement and form to it, and to prepare it for a dwelling-place of men and beasts. ⁷ Said. i. e. commanded. ⁸ First day. The sacred writer divides the whole work of Creation, as we now see it before our eyes, into six days followed by the Sabbath or day of rest, in order to impress upon his readers that man should follow the example of God, and work six days and rest in God on the seventh. He consequently apportions a work to each day. By "day" he means exactly the same as we mean, namely, a space of time consisting of twelve hours of work and twelve of rest. God Himself does not work in time, but He can be likened to a man who works six days and finishes all 1* --- 1. CREATION OF THE WORLD. On the second day God said: "Let there be a firmament¹ made amidst the waters; and let it divide² the waters from the waters." And it was so³. God called the firmament heaven⁴. On the third day God said: "Let the waters that are under the heaven⁵ be gathered into one place⁶; and let the dry land⁷ appear." And it was so done. God called the dry land earth; and the gathered waters, seas. He also said "Let the earth⁸ bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind." And it was so done⁹. The fourth day God said: "Let there be lights¹⁰ made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and his work in one week. As to the real space of time which the formation of the world required and about which Geologists inquire, the sacred writer says nothing at all. His dramatic narrative is quite independent of it. ¹ Firmament. In other words, the atmosphere which surrounds our earth to the height of about 45 miles, and looks to our eyes like a blue dome. ² Divide. The firmament was to divide one part of the waters from the other part in this way. God made a considerable body of water to ascend, in the form of moisture (clouds), into the atmosphere, thus separating it from the water which remains and flows on the earth. ³ It was so. i. e. it was as God had commanded. ⁴ Heaven. This is not the heaven where the angels and saints dwell, and contemplate God. A distinction must be made between that heaven, and the visible, natural heaven, i. e. the firmament. ⁵ Under the heaven. i. e. below the atmosphere, or, in other words, the waters that are on the earth. ⁶ One place. This one place is the great ocean, out of the midst of which the five parts of the earth rise. ⁷ Dry land. God made the water to gather itself together into rivers, lakes, and seas, and the dry land to appear. How this happened is described in Psalms 103, 6 and 8: "Above the mountains shall the waters stand... The mountains ascend, and the plains descend into the place which Thou hast founded for them." The whole earth was covered with water. Then at the command of God, certain parts of the earth's surface raised themselves up. These became dry, because the water ran off them; and the lower parts of the earth's surface, towards which the water flowed, became the sea. About a quarter of the surface of the globe (accurately 27 per cent) is dry land, and nearly three quarters (accurately 73 per cent), water. ⁸ Earth. Which was now dry. ⁹ So done. God made plants of every kind to grow out of the dry ground, and gave them the power of producing their own seed. From these seeds there sprang new plants, and thus the world of plants never died out. ¹⁰ Lights. God made the sun, the moon, and the stars, to give light and warmth to the earth. The heavenly bodies were to serve also as measures of time. The rising of the sun brings day to the earth, and its setting, night. According to the relative position of the sun and moon to the earth, time is divided into years, and seasons, and months. --- L. CREATION OF THE WORLD. let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." And it was so done. God made the sun, moon, and countless stars, and set them in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and the night. The fifth day God said: "Let the waters bring forth the creeping creatures having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven." And God created fish and birds of every kind, and He blessed them saying: "Increase and multiply."¹ On the sixth day God said: "Let the earth bring forth the living creature² in its kind: cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so done. At last God created man, and gave him dominion over all the rest. And God saw all the works that He had made, and they were very good³. The seventh day God rested⁴, and He blessed⁵ that day and made it holy. COMMENTARY. The beautiful Order of Creation. The very manner and order in which the sacred writer relates the creation, serves to bring out the order and mutual relation of things created. God had already created light on the first day, but this light was not the light of the sun. It was on the fourth day that God made the sun, to be the giver of light to the earth. God made light first, because without light and without warmth, which is connected with it, there could be no growth, no life, no order in nature. ¹ Multiply. They were to multiply of themselves, ever increasing in number. As plants propagate themselves by means of their seeds, so birds and fishes can, by the blessing of God, lay eggs, which in their turn become birds and fishes. ² Living creature. i. e. God created the mammals which are the highest race of beasts. God first created the lower and then the higher classes of animals; and, last of all, He created man, the highest of all visible creatures. How God created man, will be told in the third chapter. ³ Very good. Everything was as God's goodness and wisdom desired it to be; everything fulfilled the end for which He had created it. He disposed everything in such a way that nothing could be better or more exactly adapted to its purpose than it was. ⁴ Rested. Man requires rest after he has worked hard, because he is tired. Can God then be tired? No, God could create thousands of worlds, without being tired. The words, 'He rested', mean this: that after the sixth day, after the creation of man, God created no new kind of being. ⁵ Blessed. He ordained that this day should bring a blessing both to soul and body on those who keep it holy. --- I. CREATION OF THE WORLD. God made the atmosphere on the second day, because neither plants, nor animals, nor men can live without air. Sound also is impossible without air, so that without it there could have been neither speech nor hearing. On the third day God made the earth to be dry, and plants to grow on it. But plants, to live and thrive, require something besides light and air. Therefore it was that God had already on the second day caused part of the water to remain in the air, to supply the plants with moisture from above, either by means of dew or rain. The works of the first three days, and those of the last three, are thus related to each other as the general to the particular, or as the place and its furniture. 1st day. The light. 2nd day. The atmosphere which divided the waters. 3rd day. The dry land. 4th day. The bodies of light. 5th day. The inhabitants of the air and water: the birds and fishes. 6th day. The inhabitants of the dry land: the beasts and man. Time began with the world. Once nothing existed but the Eternal God alone. "Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed, from eternity and to eternity Thou art, God" (Ps. 89, 2). Why does not the Psalmist say, 'Thou wast, God', instead of 'Thou art, God?' Because God is Eternal. He is not subject to the changes of time, for with God there is no past, no future, nothing but an everlasting present. "I am who am", God said to Moses (Exod. 3, 14). God exists of and by Himself. Everything else is made by God. God is Almighty. God created the whole world, visible and invisible, material and spiritual, out of nothing by His almighty will. His almighty power is manifested to us in creation. By His word, that is, by His will, He called into existence the earth, moon, and the whole, to us immeasurable universe, with its millions and millions of heavenly bodies. "God spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created" (Ps. 32, 9). God works unceasingly. What then do the words, 'He rested on the seventh day', mean? They mean that God rested from this particular work, i. e. from creating, because the universe was finished and complete; but God does not cease from the work of conservation and of natural and supernatural providence. Our Lord says: "My Father works till now and I work" (New Test. XXVI). God is continually working for the good of His creatures, for only He who called the world into existence can sustain and govern it. If Almighty God were to withdraw His hand from the world, at that moment it would collapse and fall into ruin. Every day, every hour of life is a gift of Almighty God. --- I. CREATION OF THE WORLD. The Sabbath. With the creation of man, God's plan of creation was completed, and the great work of His creative love was crowned; for man is the most perfect of visible creatures. Then God rested, and appointed the seventh day for man's rest in Him. On the Sabbath, man was to contemplate the wonders of creation, and the preservation and government of the world, and to praise and thank God. On this account the seventh day is also called "the Lord's day", i. e. the day set apart for the service and worship of God. On this day we ought to put aside all worldly business, and think only of our souls and their welfare, for in God alone can our souls find peace and rest. The commandment to keep holy the Sabbath is the oldest commandment that there is. Ever since the world has stood as it is, this commandment has stood with it. The very fact that the sacred writer represents God as working a week, makes Him our pattern and example, and implies a commandment for us to do the same. The law was thus given by God at the creation of the world, and hence it is that among all, even heathen, nations we find one day of rest observed in the week. It is a great impiety to desecrate God's day. The Nature of God. God is described as a Spirit, existing from all eternity, having life in Himself and being the cause of all created life; an omnipotent Spirit who by the sole act of His will gives existence and life to His creatures. God the Creator of heaven and earth is one God, not two or three. In the Old Testament it was above all necessary to inculcate this unity of God. The people of Israel were not yet ripe to learn the full truth of one God in three persons. But, all the same, in several passages of the Old Testament it is, as it were, hinted that there are more persons than one in God, e. g. in the first part of the history of the creation: "The Spirit of God moved over the waters." The Wisdom of God. Holy Scripture, or, in other words, the Holy Ghost, says explicitly that all that God made was very good. Short-sighted man should not, therefore, be audacious enough to criticise God's work. Almighty God made everything to fulfil the end for which He destined it. The whole of creation testifies to the wisdom of God, but I will call your attention only to one or two instances. Rivers and streams, many of which are of considerable breadth, are ceaselessly flowing into the sea, carrying into it, even in one single day, a tremendous volume of water. This goes on all the year round, and has been going on for thousands of years, and yet the sea does not overflow! How is this? God has so made it that as much water is incessantly rising into the air from the sea as is being poured into it. But how is it, then, that the streams and rivers do not dry up? Whence comes that volume of water which they are continuously pouring into the sea? The mists and clouds which rise from the sea are driven over the land by the wind, and fall back on the earth in the form of either dew, fog, rain or snow. This moisture collects in the ground and forms --- I. CREATION OF THE WORLD. springs. These springs feed the streams and rivers which carry the water back again to the sea. It is owing to this continuous circulation of water that the sea does not overflow, or the rivers dry up. Moreover, those damp exhalations supply the air with that moisture which is necessary to the life of men and beasts, and to the growth of plants. One thing more. You know that water turns foul when it remains for some time without being stirred. How is it that though it is shut in one place, the water of the sea never turns foul? The goodness of God has provided against this by the constant motion of the sea. Twice every day the water flows from the centre of the sea towards the shore, and back again. Besides this, from time to time God sends winds and storms which stir the sea to its very depths. Such phenomena as these show us the wonderful wisdom manifested in the creation and preservation of the world. In like manner all other creatures bear witness to the wisdom of God. Bees, ants, ears of corn, leaves of the trees—in a word, all things teach us to admire His wisdom. Whether we contemplate nature in its greater or lesser aspects, we must exclaim with David: "How great are Thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom. The earth is filled with Thy riches" (Ps. 103, 24)¹. The infinite Greatness and Majesty of God are also revealed to us by creation. Think how enormous this earth is! It Isaiah 24,899 miles in circumference; the total area of its surface covers 197,000,000 of square miles, the corresponding volume Isaiah 260,000 millions of cubic miles. Enormous as this seems, the sun Isaiah 1,400,000 times as large as the earth, though it is not so dense. The number of stars, most of which can be seen only through a telescope, amounts to millions, though their number cannot be accurately fixed by man. The nearest fixed star is about twenty billions of miles away from us. If, then, the universe is so great, how much greater must He be who called all these spheres into existence, and who keeps and sustains them in space, pointing out its path to each one! He "telieth the number of the stars, and calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and great is His power, and of His wisdom there is no number" (Ps. 146, 4. 5). Full of awe and reverence we ought to pray in some such words as these: "Great God, we praise Thee! We praise Thy power, O Lord! The earth bows down before Thee in wonder at Thy works! Even as Thou wast in all time, so wilt Thou be to all eternity. Heaven and earth, sky and sea are full of Thy glory. All things are Thine!" APPLICATION. God being so infinitely great and wise, we ought to be filled with the deepest reverence for His divine majesty. He is, indeed, the Eternal, the Most High, the Creator ¹ This theme is well treated in the so-called Bridgewater Treatises. --- II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS. and Lord of the whole universe. And yet how little reverence you have borne Him hitherto! Have you not often prayed to Him carelessly? Have you never dishonoured His holy name? Have you not often transgressed His commandments? Firmly resolve, then, that you will for the future honour the Lord your God more, and serve Him more zealously. We pay honour to God by often thinking about Him and by adoring Him with reverence and devotion. St Patrick used to worship God on his knees three hundred times every day. Think more about your Lord and Creator, both to-day and for the future, and pray to Him devoutly and from your heart. Let everything you look at impel you to say thus to yourself: "I praise Thee, O great God, and worship Thy power and wisdom. As many stars as there are in the heavens, as many flowers as grow in the field, as many leaves as there are on the trees, as many drops as there are in the ocean, so many times may God be praised and magnified!" God made the earth to be the dwelling-place of man, and has adorned it for him with divine prodigality. He has given us much more than is necessary for our existence. Are the numberless flowers which grow, necessary for life? Could we not live without the many sorts of fruit that there are? Take to heart, then, how good and generous God is towards us. Thank Him heartily for His gifts, and resolve that you will from this day forward say your grace before and after meals very devoutly. PART I [Genesis 1, 1-1] THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. Of all the animals that God had placed upon the earth, none was more cunning than the serpent¹. Hence the devil, who was envious of the happiness of our first parents, made use of him in order to seduce them. Eve, prompted by curiosity, approaching the forbidden tree, saw a serpent near it. He began to speak², and said to her: "Why³ has God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree⁴ of paradise?" Eve answered: "Of the fruit of the trees of paradise we do eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God has commanded us that we should not eat, and that we should not ¹ Serpent. The devil, full of envy at the happiness possessed by Adam and Eve, and made more envious still by the thought that they were intended to attain to the everlasting happiness which he himself had forfeited, made use of the serpent by entering into it and speaking by its mouth. God allowed him no other tool, and, indeed, the cunning serpent was admirably suited for his spiteful and evil purpose. ² To speak. The serpent into which the devil had entered spoke. ³ Why. Satan did not betray his intention by saying at once: "Eat of the fruit", but he began by cautiously asking: "Why &c." In order that Eve might be induced to hesitate and question whether the prohibition to eat of the tree of knowledge were a legitimate one, and whether God had really meant it. Eve knew that an ordinary snake can neither reason nor speak; so she must have known that it was some spirit who spoke through the serpent. She ought to have at once perceived that it was no good spirit who thus spoke, for an angel would not have questioned God's will, being quite certain that whatever He had commanded was for the best. Now, what ought Eve to have done? She ought either to have made no answer and fled, or she ought to have said: "God has willed it so. I do not ask why, because God knows best what is good for us." Instead of this, Eve let herself be drawn into conversation with the devil, and thereby he had already gained half his object. ⁴ Of every tree. By these words the devil sought to make the woman feel the burden of the restriction and its arbitrariness on the part of God. 2* --- IV. THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. touch it¹, lest, perhaps², we die." The serpent said to the woman: "No, surely, you shall not die³ if you eat of the fruit of the tree; but, rather⁴, your eyes⁵ shall be opened, and you shall be as gods⁶, knowing good and evil." Hearing this, Eve gave way to pride, and she saw that the fruit was good and pleasant to behold. She took and ate of the fruit, and gave to her husband, and he also ate. Thus was the first sin committed. By this first sin they lost sanctifying grace, which was the life of their soul; they lost the immortality of their body; their eyes were opened⁷, and they saw with shame that they were naked. In their shame and confusion they began to sew fig-leaves together, in order to cover their nakedness. But soon they heard the voice of God calling them, and they hid themselves⁸ among ¹ Not touch it Why this command? So that they might keep away from even the occasion of sin. ² Lest, perhaps. In this sentence there occur two remarkable words: "lest, perhaps": for God had not said: "Perhaps you may die", and we can see by this answer of Eve that she already half doubted whether God's threat had been meant seriously. ³ Shall not die Now the devil becomes more bold, and directly contradicts what God had said, making the Lord God to be a liar. ⁴ Rather. i. e. on the contrary. ⁵ Your eyes. The eyes of their spirit. How had their eyes been closed hitherto? They possessed great knowledge, but all the same they knew nothing about sin; and therein lay their happiness. By holding out to Eve the prospect of attaining to a further knowledge, Satan wished to excite in her a sinful curiosity. ⁶ As gods Not only like to God, but as God. By this he the devil wished to make Adam and Eve proud. He represented Almighty God as a deceiver, who withheld this knowledge from them, not out of love, but out of a jealous fear lest they should become like to Him. He wished to destroy Eve's faith in the love and truth of God, and arouse in her instead a mistrust of Him, pride, and sinful curiosity. Alas, he succeeded in his purpose. Instead of being indignant at Satan's blasphemous speech, Eve took pleasure in the prospect held out to her. She allowed a presumptuous desire and sinful curiosity to take possession of her heart; and because it promised so much to her, she now saw that the fruit of the tree was good and pleasant to behold. She longed for it now, and taking some, she ate, and then she persuaded Adam to eat of it also. Revelation has given us no explanation of how Adam was induced to eat of the forbidden fruit. It is left to our conjecture. ⁷ Opened. But not in the way they had intended. They knew evil, but this knowledge brought them no happiness, only restlessness, fear and misery. They now knew that they had been deceived, that they had sinned grievously, and had deserved punishment. Having lost their innocence, they were ashamed of being naked, and covered their bodies with fig-leaves. ⁸ They hid themselves. It was formerly their greatest happiness when God condescended to speak with them. Now they trembled when they heard His voice and --- IV. THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. the trees. And God said: "Adam, where art thou?"$^(1)$ And Adam answered: "I heard Thy voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked$^(2)$, and I hid myself." And God said: "Who has told$^(3)$ thee that thou art naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?" Adam replied: "The woman whom Thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the fruit, and I did eat." And the Lord said to the woman: "Why hast thou done this?" She replied: "The serpent deceived me$^(4)$, and I did eat.' COMMENTARY. Sin. Adam and Eve transgressed the law of God. It is true that they were persuaded to do so, but still the devil did not force Eve to eat of the forbidden tree, nor did Eve oblige Adam to do so. It was of their own free-will that they sinned. The manifold sin of Eve, its origin and process. She first sinned by thought, in a twofold way: she doubted of God's love, "why has He forbidden us" without any apparent reason? and next she doubted of His veracity, "lest perhaps" we shall die. Then she sinned by desire, a desire of pride wishing to be like God, and a desire of the flesh wishing to eat of the fruit, because it looked tempting. Lastly she sinned by deed. Eating of the fruit she boldly and proudly disobeyed God's commandment, and then inveigled Adam into the same grave sin of disobedience. Was their sin a grievous sin? Our first parents undoubtedly transgressed the law of God in an important matter, for the prohibition to eat of the fruit was the only positive law which God had given them. tried to hide themselves. We cannot hide ourselves from God; therefore, it was folly on their part to try to do so. From whence did this folly come? From sin. Sin blinds man and makes his understanding dull, so that he can no longer rightly understand the most elementary religious truths. $^(1)$ Where art thou? This meant not only. In what place art thou? but also. In what condition art thou? What has happened to thee? Where is thine innocence? Where is thy good conscience? $^(2)$ Naked. It was not only their bodies which were naked, but also their souls, which had lost their robe of innocence and sanctifying grace. $^(3)$ Who has told? Why did God ask this? Did He not already know what had taken place? Yes, but He wished Adam to confess his guilt. Adam did so; he acknowledged and did not deny his sin, but at the same time he excused himself and tried to lay the blame on Eve. She, in turn, laid the blame on the serpent. $^(4)$ Deceived me. Eve knew now that she had been deceived. The serpent had pretended that they would be much greater and happier through their disobedience, instead of which they already felt abased and miserable! --- IV. THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. Moreover, on its observance depended their own happiness and that of their descendants, for Almighty God had threatened them with death if they disobeyed Him. They also transgressed the command wilfully, as explained above. Their sin was, therefore, a mortal sin, and a very grievous one. It was not only one sin, but many. It was a sin of proud revolt, of unbelief, of lust, of disobedience, and of ingratitude. God had shown them so much love and had given them so much that they owed Him the greatest gratitude; instead of which they repaid Him with the grossest ingratitude. Moreover, the command was one which they could easily have kept; for they were possessed of greater knowledge than we are, and knew God's infinite love, holiness, and justice much better than we do. The consequences of their sin were very grave. Satan had pretended that by their disobedience they would be raised, and become as God; but the very opposite took place. They were now cast down from their former high position, and were less like God than they had been, because they had lost sanctifying grace and all other supernatural gifts. Having renounced God by their sin, they were no longer His children and heirs of heaven, but had become children of the devil and heirs of hell! They still retained the natural gifts which made them like to God, but even these gifts were marred. Their reason was obscured, so that they could no longer recognize the truth as they had done, as was proved by the foolish way in which they tried to hide themselves from God. Their hearts and wills were now infected by evil; sinful inclinations were kindled in their hearts, of which they felt ashamed, and which made them hide themselves. Their happiness was gone. They were still in paradise, and paradise was as beautiful as ever, but they felt miserable, because their consciences were guilty and their hearts were full of fear and unrest. "Tribulation and anguish is on every soul of man that worketh evil" (Rom. 2, 9). Those only are happy who have a good conscience, and the peace of God in their hearts. All the possessions in the world cannot make a man happy if he has not got inward peace. But there is no peace for the wicked. Original sin. The sin of our first parents injured not only themselves but also all their posterity. Their supernatural gifts were given to them not for themselves alone, but for all those who were to come after them. If Adam and Eve had preserved these gifts, their children would have inherited them, and would have come into the world in a state of grace. But our first parents having sinned, and being no longer in a state of grace, their sinfulness has passed down to their children, so that men are now born into the world in a state of sin. The loss of grace with all its supernatural gifts in the children born of Adam is a matter of great displeasure and wrath to God, because contrary to His divine will and institution. Thus they are children of wrath. --- IV. THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. APPLICATION. The devil induced Adam and Eve to sin by means of lies. Therefore our Lord says: "The devil is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8, 44). He is the father, i. e. the origin of lies. Have you never imitated him? Hate lies, for they come from the devil! Have nothing to do with them, or you will be a child of the devil. God is truth, and desires and loves only what is true. Stick to the truth if you wish to be a child of God. Perhaps you think that, if you had been in Eve's place, you would not have allowed yourself to be overcome by temptation. Have you never then taken anything which you have been forbidden to take, such as sugar, fruit &c.? Has not God forbidden you to pilfer or to be greedy, quite as much as He forbade Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge? Further, did not God give you sanctifying grace in holy Baptism? Has He not placed you in the paradise of His holy Church, in order that you may live a holy life, and attain to the heavenly paradise? Have you not by means of your religious instruction acquired great knowledge, so that you know perfectly well what is right and what is wrong? Therefore, when you offend against the law of God, you have quite as little excuse as Eve. Guard against sin, and firmly resolve never again to offend God wilfully. Eve's first temptation came from without. We too, as long as we live, shall have to encounter various temptations. They come partly from without, such as those arising from bad companions or other external occasions of sin, and partly from within, from our own bad inclinations, such as anger, sloth, self-will &c. They can also come from the direct suggestions of the evil one. Eve's fall should be a warning to us not to allow ourselves to be seduced by temptations to sin. Had Eve kept away from the forbidden tree, she would not have fallen. Keep away, therefore, from all occasions of sin, or else you are meeting sin half-way. If a bad thought occurs to you, do not dwell on it, but drive it from you, or bad desires will follow bad thoughts. If the Tempter or your own passions whisper to you; "Such and such a thing would not be a great sin! God would not treat it severely!" turn your thoughts at once to the just and holy God who would be outraged by that sin, and remind yourself that sin is the greatest of all evils! Above all things, beware of sinful curiosity. He who wishes to see and hear everything, and who does not shut his eyes and ears when he sees or hears anything evil, will soon have his heart corrupted, and will lose his innocence. Say often and devoutly: "Lead us not into temptation. Defend me, my God, against temptations to evil. Give me the grace to resist them steadfastly!" --- 24 IV. GOD'S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—PROMISE OF A REDEEMER. CREATION OF THE FIRST MAN.—PARADISE.—THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.—CREATION OF EVE [Genesis 2] WHEN God created man, He said: "Let Us$^(1)$ make man to Our image$^(2)$ and likeness, and give him dominion$^(3)$ over all animals and over the whole earth." He then formed$^(4)$ a human body of the slime of the earth, breathed into his face the breath of life$^(5)$, and man became a living soul$^(6)$. At the same moment God added to the nature of man many favours, and, especially, sanctifying grace, whereby He raised man to a higher likeness of Himself. Thus was made the first man, who was named Adam, that is to say, man taken from the earth. By his nature, man was the image of God: by grace, he was the likeness of God. $^(1)$ Let Us i. e. We will make. When God called into existence the rest of the visible world, He simply said "Let it be!" But in making man, He took, as it were, counsel with Himself, and said: "Let Us make &c." Why did He speak in that way before creating man? It was in order to prove that man was to be superior to other visible creatures, the first among them all. $^(2)$ Our image, i. e. let him be a picture or image of Us, and like unto Us. $^(3)$ Dominion, i. e. and let him be lord over all the earth. $^(4)$ Formed To form means to make something skilfully. God Himself made the human body most perfectly out of the earth. $^(5)$ Breath of life. The soul, therefore, is not made from the earth, but is a breath of God. $^(6)$ Living soul By what means did man become a living being? God breathed a soul into the human body. The soul is the cause of the body's life; without it the body cannot live. When the soul is separated from the body, the body dies. --- III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE. By a special effect of His goodness the Lord God created expressly for man a garden of pleasure, called Paradise¹. There were in it all sorts of beautiful trees, covered with delicious fruit; and in the middle of the garden stood the Tree of Life², and the Tree of Knowledge³ of good and evil. A river, divided into four branches, watered the whole garden. It was in this garden of delights that God placed man, that he might cultivate it for his own pleasure and occupation⁴. God then commanded⁵ man, 1 Paradise This Paradise was on earth (in Asia), for which reason it is called the earthly paradise. Heaven, the place of eternal happiness, is also called paradise, but it is the supernatural and heavenly paradise. Tree of Life (Fig. 1). The tree was thus named, because its fruit had life-giving power, preserving the body of man in health and vigour. Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. So called from the fact that God had forbidden man to eat of this tree, and that, if he transgressed the commandment, he would learn by a sad and terrible experience the difference between good and evil. Occupation. In Paradise man worked for his own pleasure, and devoted his strength to the care of the beautiful garden of delights. Commanded Almighty God imposed a command on man, in order to prove whether he were thankful and obedient. This command was very easy to obey, because there was an abundance of every kind of fruit in the garden. --- III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE. saying: "Of every tree of Paradise thou shalt eat, but of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat; for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death." ¹ Adam was still alone on the earth. Hence God said: "It is not good² for man to be alone; let Us make him a help like unto himself." Then, God caused all the animals to come before Adam, that he might give to each its name. But for Adam there was not found a help like to himself; therefore, casting a deep sleep³ upon Adam, God took one of his ribs and formed of it a woman. When Adam awoke, God brought to him his wife; and Adam rejoiced to see another being like himself. He called her Eve, that is, the mother of the living⁴. COMMENTARY. God is good. To know this, you have only to count up the benefits and graces which He conferred upon Adam and Eve. The twofold likeness of God. Man is the first among all God's creatures on earth, because he was created to the image of God, and is, therefore, like unto Him. This likeness is, however, a twofold one, a natural and a supernatural one, for which reason the two words, image and likeness, are used. For something to be the image of a person or of some other thing, it must be, to a certain degree, like that person or thing; but "likeness" signifies a still closer degree of resemblance. If one person is almost the same as another, we say they are alike. ¹ Die the death i. e. become mortal, or subject to death. God added this threat to ensure the keeping of the command. By the threatened penalty of death it was easy for man to perceive how great his sin would be, if he ate the forbidden fruit. ² It is not good. This is the only time that God said of His work: "It is not good", because the work was still incomplete. The human race required not only a father, but also a mother. The two form the head and centre of the family. Hence it was not good for Adam to be alone. Furthermore no social life was possible for Adam without a companion like himself. He could not converse with the beasts of the earth that are devoid of reason and language. But why did God call all the animals before Adam? (1) In order that Adam might exercise his dominion over them by giving to each one a name suitable to its character; (2) to prove to him that none of the animals were like himself, and that his nature was far higher than theirs; (3) that Adam, by finding himself lonely in the midst of all the beasts, might feel the want of a companion like himself, and might be the more grateful to God for creating Eve. ³ A deep sleep. It was a sleep of ecstasy, during which he was aware of the significance of God's action, both to himself and to all future generations. ⁴ Living. i. e. of all men. Adam is the father, and Eve the mother of all men, because all men are descended from them. --- III. ADAM AND EYE IN PARADISE. Thus the word "image" applies to the natural, and "likeness" to the supernatural resemblance of man to God. The natural likeness of man to God consists in this, that man has a spiritual soul, which not only makes his body live, but is also immortal, reasonable, and gifted with free-will. By these three qualities, it is, in a measure, like unto God, who is eternal, whose intelligence is supreme, and whose will is infinitely free. These gifts are called natural gifts, because they belong to the nature of the human soul, and cannot be lost by it, though they can be marred and disfigured. The first man's supernatural likeness to God consisted in those gifts which do not belong to the nature of man, but soar far above it, for which reason they are called supernatural gifts. The chief among these gifts was sanctifying grace, whereby the Holy Ghost dwelt in the soul of the first man, and made him a child of God and an heir of the kingdom of heaven. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost carried with it many other gifts, such as the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, as well as the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost; the gifts also of freedom from ignorance, sorrow, and concupiscence or evil desires and inclinations. The body also of the first man possessed supernatural gifts. The natural body is frail and subject to sickness and death, because it is made from the earth, and, like every other earthly thing, is perishable. But so long as the first man remained in a state of grace, his body was immortal, and free from all sickness and need of labour. If our first parents had remained in a state of grace, they would not have died, but would have been translated, body and soul, from the earthly to the heavenly paradise. The body of man, indeed, bears no likeness to God, for God has no body; but all the same it has high prerogatives. It is the dwelling-place and instrument of an immortal soul. It is more delicate and beautiful, more complete and better adapted to every kind of work than the bodies of any of the beasts. It stands erect, and raises its eyes to the heaven for which man was created. It is the masterpiece of the visible creation. Man should, therefore, hold his body in honour and not pollute it by sin. "Glorify and bear God in your body" (1 Cor. 6, 20). Man is made to rule over the beasts and over the whole earth. The earth belongs to God. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein" (Ps. 23, 1). But He has made it over to man that he may use its good things according to God's will. The rivers and mountains, the fields and woods, the plants and beasts, were made for the use of man, to preserve and gladden his life. We must therefore use the good things of this earth such as gold, silver, meat, drink etc., for a good end, and not abuse them. We should rule over the things of this world, and not make ourselves their slaves, like, for instance, the miser, who is not master of his possessions, but is their slave. Our thoughts and aspirations should --- III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE. soar beyond this world towards those things which are supernatural and eternal. We must make such use of earthly treasures, as not by their abuse to lose everlasting treasures. It is, moreover, God's will that man should have dominion over the beasts, but it is not God's will that he should be cruel to them. "The just regardeth the lives of his beasts, but the bowels of the wicked are cruel" (Prov. 12, 10). Therefore, be on your guard against cruelty to animals! Twofold death. By the words: "What day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death", Almighty God threatened man with a twofold death, the death of the soul and the death of the body. This last did not take place immediately after the sin was committed, for Adam lived on earth till he was 930 years old; but all the same, from the moment he sinned, his body became liable to death. The death of the soul, on the contrary, took place the very instant the sin was committed. A distinction must, of course, be made between the natural and the supernatural life of the soul. It cannot lose its natural life, because it is an immortal spirit; but it loses its supernatural life, founded on sanctifying grace and friendship with God, the moment it commits a grievous sin. The loss of grace is the soul's spiritual death, and leads to its eternal death, on which account grievous sins are called mortal or deadly sins. The Blessed Trinity. The words: "Let Us make &c.", imply that there are more persons than one in God. The unity of the human race. Why did God form Eve out of one of Adam's ribs? Firstly, because all mankind, even Eve, was to proceed from Adam. Secondly, because husband and wife ought to belong to one another, and to be but one heart and soul by their love and unity. The happiness of Heaven. The life of our first parents in the earthly paradise was a type of the life of the blessed in heaven. They were perfectly happy in paradise. Peace reigned within and around them, because they were at peace with God. They had abundance of everything; they knew no pain, no want, no vexation, and lived in undisturbed joy and friendship with God and with each other. So also the life of the blessed in heaven is one of supreme happiness: there is no complaint nor sorrow there, nothing but peace, joy and glory. In the earthly paradise God held intercourse with our first parents, as a father does with his children. In heaven the blessed gaze on God face to face, and are united to Him by the closest love. But now comes the difference: the happiness of the earthly paradise could be lost, but the happiness of the blessed in heaven must be theirs for ever. The probation of man. Man, like the angels, was gifted with free will, and like them he had to undergo a probation. God gave him a command, by means of which he could freely choose either to side with Him or KNECHT, Commentary, 1. c. ed --- III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE. against Him. Adam being the representative and father of the human race, there rested on his decision not only his own fate, but the fate of all his posterity. An illustration of this we see in the case of a father who by gambling away his fortune makes his children losers as well as himself. Marriage. When God gave Eve to Adam to be his companion, and pronounced His blessing on both, He instituted marriage. Being instituted by God, it is in any case a holy state, but Jesus Christ sanctified it still more and raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament. God Himself joins together man and wife. "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder" (Mat. 19, 6). Marriage, therefore, is indissoluble, i. e. a man and his wife must remain joined together till death. Divorce is a crime. The man is the head of the family. God Himself named Adam, but it was Adam who gave Eve her name. Why did God ordain this so? Because the husband is the head of the wife, and the wife is to obey her husband. The Tree of Knowledge a type of the Cross of Christ. As by the Tree of Knowledge it was to be decided whether man would choose good or evil, so is Christ the Crucified "set for the fall and for the resurrection of many" (Luke 2, 34). They who believe in Him crucified, and follow Him, will obtain eternal life; but those who will not believe in the crucified Saviour, and will not follow Him, will be eternally lost. The devil conquered by means of the Tree of Knowledge; but by the Cross he was conquered. With the one, sin began; with the other, redemption and salvation. The Tree of Life a type of the Blessed Sacrament. Even as the life of the body was preserved by this tree, so by the Blessed Sacrament grace, the supernatural life of the soul, is increased and preserved in it, and the soul made worthy of everlasting life. "If any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever", said our Lord (New Test. XXXIV). (About the Tree of Life in the paradise of heaven, see Chapter XCIX. New Testament.) APPLICATION. God's goodness to man is infinitely great. Just think how He has raised and elevated him! He created him to His own image, and gave him the whole earth for his use. He gave him an immortal soul and sanctifying grace, placed him in the beautiful garden of paradise, and in addition to this gave him the promise of eternal happiness in heaven; for man was intended to occupy those thrones in heaven which the fallen angels had lost. And all this was destined not only for the first man, but for all his posterity. Just think, then, how loving were God's intentions towards man! "Praise the Lord, for He --- IV. THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. is good, for his mercy endureth for ever!" (Ps. 117, 1.) "Let us, therefore, love God, because God first hath loved us" (1 John 4, 19). Whatever you may be doing to-day, say: "I do it for love of Thee, O my God!" BIRTH OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE [Genesis 2:] SARA gave birth to a son, as the Lord had promised. He was named Isaac, and circumcised on the eighth day. Abraham loved this son very tenderly, and the Lord wished to see whether he loved his son more than God. When the boy had grown up¹, the Lord said to Abraham: "Take thy only-begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision, and there thou shalt offer him² for a holocaust³ upon one of the mountains which I will show thee." Abraham instantly⁴ arose, and by night saddled his ass, taking with him two young men, and Isaac, his son. And when he had cut the wood for the holocaust, he went to the place which God had shown him. On the third day he came in sight of Mount Moria, where he was to sacrifice his son; and he said to the servants: "Stay you here with the ass; I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and, after we have worshipped⁵, will return to you." Then he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon the shoulders of Isaac. He himself carried in his hands fire⁶ and a sword. As they went along, Isaac said: "My father." And Abraham ¹ Grown up. He was perhaps about twenty or twenty-five years old. ² Offer him. Almighty God wished to prove whether his faith were firm and living, and if he really loved Him above all things. ³ Holocaust. In that kind of sacrifice the victim had to be first killed, and then wholly burnt. ⁴ Instantly. Abraham obeyed immediately, although the required sacrifice tore his heart. Since the destruction of Sodom he had lived at Bersabee which lay to the south of Hebron. From Bersabee to Mount Moria, which was near Salem, was about twenty-five miles. It was on this mountain that, in after years, king Solomon built his splendid Temple. ⁵ Worshipped. i. e. when they had offered their sacrifice in worship of God. ⁶ Fire. i. e. red-hot coals in a vessel. 5\* --- XIII. BIRTH OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE. answered: "What wilt thou, son?" "Behold", said the son, "fire and wood: where is the victim¹ for the holocaust?" Abraham replied: "God will provide Himself a victim for the holocaust, my son." So they went on together. When they reached the top of the mountain, Abraham erected an altar, placed the wood upon it, bound his son, and laid him on the altar. Then he put forth his hand and took the sword to sacrifice his son. And behold! an angel from heaven cried out to him, saying: "Abraham, Abraham!" And he answered: "Here I am." And the angel said: "Lay not thy hand on the boy, neither do thou anything to him! Now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for My sake." Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw behind him a ram², sticking fast by his horns in the bushes: him he took and offered, instead of his son. The angel of the Lord spoke again unto Abraham, saying: "By My own self³ have I sworn, saith the Lord; because thou hast done this thing⁴, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for My sake, I will bless thee, and will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea-shore. And in thy seed⁵ shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed⁶ My voice." And Abraham returned home with his son. COMMENTARY. Strength of faith. Abraham's faith was put to a most severe test. Almighty God had promised him a numerous posterity, and that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; and yet now He ¹ Where is the victim? How the father's heart must have bled at these questions of his son! And what must Isaac have felt, when his father told him that he himself was to be the victim! He was so young, and now he was to die by the hand of his own father! Nevertheless, he submitted to God's will, when he learnt that it was He who had commanded it. ² Ram. i. e. a male sheep. Abraham saw that it was by the will of God that the ram was on that spot; so he took him and sacrificed him, instead of his son. ³ By My own self. God, being the Most High, can swear by nothing higher than Himself. ⁴ This thing. i. e. because thou hast obeyed the command of God, and wert willing to offer up thy son. ⁵ In thy seed. i. e. in Jesus Christ, who is the son of Abraham (Matthew 1, 1). ⁶ Because thou hast obeyed. As a reward for his obedience God now solemnly repeats the same promise which He had made when He first called Abraham, that is, the promise of a numerous posterity, and that the Saviour should be born of his family. --- XIII. BIRTH OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE. commands him to sacrifice that son through whom alone he could have any descendants! Was not this an apparent contradiction? Nevertheless, Abraham's faith in the word of the Lord was unshaken, and he doubted neither the goodness nor the faithfulness of God. He did not murmur and say: "How can God ask of me such a hard and unnatural sacrifice? How can His promises possibly be fulfilled, if my only son is slain?" No, on the contrary, he said to himself: "God is good, faithful and true: His promise will surely be fulfilled, though how, or in what way, I know not! God is almighty: He is able to raise up Isaac even from the dead" (Hebr. 11, 19). Abraham believed so firmly that he is called a man of faith, and the father of the faithful. His example ought to lead us to believe firmly in God's word, and trust in His goodness and faithfulness, whatever our temptations and trials may be. The love of God above all things. Abraham had a living faith, that is, he lived up to his faith, and consequently loved God above all things. His love of God had to stand a very severe test. He dearly loved the son whom God had given him, and the command which Almighty God gave him to sacrifice this son, was given to prove whether he loved God more than his son. Abraham, however, did not hesitate for an instant. He got up at once in the middle of the night, and made his preparations for the required sacrifice. He had interceded for the wicked cities, but he had no word to say for his son. He travelled along with the boy for three long days, and his heart must have sorely ached, as he looked upon Isaac and said to himself: "Very soon you will no longer be among the living, for you will have died by the hand of your own father!" However, his resolution never failed. He lifted up his heart to God and said: "Thou, O God, didst give me this son. Thou hast bidden me sacrifice him to Thee. So be it! Thy holy will be done! For love of Thee I will sacrifice him, however hard it be to me!" -- Thus, during those three days' journey he offered up his son a thousand times on the altar of his heart, before he actually bound him and laid him as a victim upon the wood, and raised his hand to slay him. What great, what mighty love! Isaac was dearer to him than anything on earth, and on him he had set all his hopes; but he loved God more than he loved Isaac, and for love of Him he offered up his son. He proved that he loved God above all things. The object of trials. Why did God try Abraham? Was this trial necessary to show Him Abraham's dispositions? Did He not know beforehand that Abraham's faith was firm, and that he was quite ready to sacrifice his son for love of Him? Yes; God knew all this, because He is omniscient, and for Him, therefore, the test was not necessary: He need never prove men in order to discover their faith, obedience &c. Almighty God did not prove Abraham for His own sake but for Abraham's, in order to give him the opportunity of practising his virtues of faith, love &c., and of thus increasing his merits, and drawing down --- XIII. BIRTH OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE. on himself fresh graces and blessings. This is why Almighty God so often tries us with all sorts of sufferings and adversities, these tests being of great benefit to ourselves. The third promise of the Messias. The words: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed", contain a renewed promise of the Redeemer. Isaac, the fifth type of Jesus Christ. (We have already studied the first four types: Adam, Abel, Noe and Melchisedech.) In what way was Isaac a type of our Blessed Lord? The birth of Isaac was promised repeatedly: so was the coming of Jesus Christ. Isaac was the only and dearly beloved son of his father: Jesus Christ is the only begotten and beloved Son of God, in whom His Father is well pleased. Isaac was obedient to his father, and was willing, out of obedience, to give up his life, letting himself be bound, and waiting patiently for his death-stroke: Jesus Christ was obedient to His Heavenly Father, unto death, even unto the death of the Cross. "As a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb without a voice before his shearer, so opened He not His mouth." Isaac himself carried up the mountain the wood on which he was to be slaughtered: Jesus Christ carried up to Calvary the Cross on which He was to die. Isaac was saved from death by the wonderful intervention of an angel: Jesus Christ was brought back to life by the greatest of all miracles, His resurrection. You see in how many ways Isaac was a most plain type of our Redeemer, of His death and of His resurrection; but the sacrifice of Isaac, all the same, is not a perfect type of the Sacrifice of our Lord, for no figure can perfectly show forth the infinite love of God in giving His Son to die for us. In one main point Isaac's sacrifice was very different from the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Abraham was quite ready, out of love for God, to offer up his beloved son; but Almighty God would not permit the sacrifice to be completed, because sinful man could not be redeemed by a human sacrifice; and therefore the angel of God cried out to him, just as he was going to slay his son: "Hold thy hand!" God spared the son of Abraham, but He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him over to a painful death for our sakes. When, on Calvary, the executioners raised their hammers to nail to the Cross the Hands and Feet of God made Man, no angel cried out: "Hold thy hand!" The Sacrifice was completed, and the Son of God died for us on the Cross in unutterable agony of Soul and Body. "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3, 16). The Vicarious Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The ram whose head was caught in the thorns, which was sacrificed instead of Isaac, is a type of Jesus Christ, who was crowned with thorns, and offered Himself for us on the Cross. --- XIV. ISAAC MARRIES REBECCA. APPLICATION. Abraham obeyed without any questioning, when God demanded of him the hardest of sacrifices. God asks nothing very hard of you, and yet you are often disobedient, and transgress those commandments which, by the help of His grace, you might very easily keep. When you disobey your parents, you disobey God, for it is His will that you should obey your parents and superiors. Abraham practised the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity in a most perfect way. Try to kindle them in your own heart. Let us conclude this lesson by making acts of faith, hope and charity. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS [Genesis 3, 1 to 5, 24. Apoc. 20 1-2. Jude. 5 ff] BESIDES the visible world, God also created an invisible world, namely, innumerable spirits, called angels. They all came forth from the hand of God good¹ and holy, being endowed with excellent gifts² of nature and grace, whereby they might persevere in that state and thus obtain everlasting happiness in union with God. But they did not all continue in that state, for, being possessed of free will, a great many of them abused it, lost the grace of God, and became wicked. They rebelled against God—Lucifer, their leader, saying: "We shall be like unto ¹ Good. They loved and wished for only what was good, and pleased God. ² Gifts. God has endowed them with such pre-eminent gifts that they are superior to all other created beings. Their chief gifts are sublime understanding, great strength, and, above all, sanctifying grace. --- II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS. the Most High; we will place our throne above the stars." Then there was a great strife in heaven. Michael¹ and the other angels who had remained faithful to God, fought against the bad and rebellious spirits, whose chief is now called Satan, or the devil. The bad angels were conquered, and cast from heaven down to hell. The angels who remained faithful² were rewarded with everlasting happiness³. They ever see the face of God in heaven. COMMENTARY. The angelic nature, and the infinite perfections of God. The angels are spirits; God is also a Spirit, but there is an infinite difference between Almighty God and the highest angel. The angels have a sublime understanding, great wisdom, and much knowledge, but their understanding, wisdom, and knowledge are finite. Their wills are holy, and are much more powerful than ours, but they are not infinitely holy, nor are the angels almighty. They have received all their great qualities from God. He alone has His perfections of Himself, and from all eternity: the angels were created by God in the beginning of time, and received everything from Him. The angels are, indeed, wondrously perfect, but they are not infinitely perfect. Their perfections have a limit, a measure, a number. God's perfections, on the other hand, are infinitely great, without limit, measure, or number. The office of the Angels. Like everything else the angels were created for the honour and glory of God. They love and praise God, and fulfil His holy will without ceasing. Hence the meaning of the words in the Our Father: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The name of angel signifies messenger or envoy; this name is given to the good spirits, because God sends them to take care of men and make known to them His will. The angels, being pure spirits, cannot be seen with our bodily eyes, but if it is God's will that men should see and hear them, when they are sent as messengers from Him, they are able to assume a human form. Take, for example, the holy archangel Gabriel who appeared to Zachary and to our Lady. Pictures of Angels. You have often seen pictures of the holy angels. They are often represented as boys with wings and playing ¹ Michael. An archangel, and the leader of the good angels. ² Faithful. i. e. to the Lord God. ³ Everlasting happiness. The angels had been happy from the beginning, but their happiness was not yet final and complete, because it could be lost. As we have seen, it was lost by the bad angels. But after the good angels had proved steadfast, and had overthrown the bad angels, they received as a reward the supernatural and eternal happiness of heaven, which they could never again lose. --- II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS. on harps; or again, the holy archangel Gabriel is represented as a youth with wings, holding a lily in his hand, and with a glory round his head. Why should they be drawn like that? They are represented as boys or youths, because they never grow old, but are everlastingly young, and are immortal. The wings signify that the angels are swift as thought, and fulfil God's commands quickly and willingly. The harps are to remind us that the angels ceaselessly sing God's praises. The lily signifies their purity, and the glory, their heavenly splendour. Very often angels are pictured as children's heads without bodies, to signify that they have understanding and free-will, but that they are spirits without bodies. God is good. Of His love God created the angels, and loaded them with natural and supernatural gifts. God is just. God's justice is manifested by the punishment of the bad angels and the reward of the good. How did God punish the bad angels? For how long must they remain in hell? For ever and ever! They must suffer everlasting torments! They are rejected by God and are banished from Him for ever and ever! They hardened themselves against Him, therefore repentance was impossible. "God spared not the angels that sinned: but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments to be reserved unto judgment" (2 Pet. 2, 4). The evil of mortal sin. God punishes us according to our deserts: He never punishes us too severely. If, therefore, He condemned the fallen angels to the eternal torments of hell, we can see what a terrible evil sin is in His sight. One single mortal sin deserves everlasting punishment. The consequences of sin. Just think what befell the angels through sin! Before their fall they were the friends and beloved of God, most beautiful, most holy, full of the love of what is good, and rich in their happiness and glory. But since their fall they have been enemies of God, horrible, hideous, and eternally miserable devils! Who, after contemplating this ruin caused by sin, could possibly think that sin, and especially mortal sin, is a trifle which God will not deal with severely? No! mortal sin, far from being a trifle, is the greatest of all evils. It changed angels into devils, and cast them into hell! Pride. What was the cause of the fallen angels' disobedience? Instead of giving glory to God, from whom they had received all things, they became proud of their great gifts, and, with their leader, said: "We will ascend above the heights of the clouds, we will be like the Most High" (Is. 14, 14). Therefore, Holy Scripture says: "Pride is the beginning of all sin" (Ecclus. 10, 15). Happiness of the Angels. Almighty God richly rewarded those angels who remained faithful. They gaze upon Him face to face, they --- II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS. rejoice unceasingly in His infinite beauty and majesty, and are thereby made inexpressibly happy. They have lived in this state of rapture for thousands of years, and will do so for all eternity. It is thus that God rewards those who are faithful to Him, and overcome evil. The number of the Angels created by God is inconceivably great. The prophet Daniel saw them in spirit, and wrote thus: "Thousands of thousands ministered to Him (i. e. to God), and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him" (Dan. 7, 10). The prophet means by these words that the angels cannot be counted. And as the stars in heaven vary in size and splendour, so are there differences of degree among the holy angels. They are divided into nine choirs, according to each one's degree of wisdom, power and glory. These are, beginning with the lowest: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim. Probation of the Angels. The angels are by their nature like to God, being highly gifted and pure spirits. To these natural gifts God added the supernatural gift of sanctifying grace, by means of which they became sons of God, thoroughly holy, and wonderfully beautiful. Their state was, even at first, one of great happiness; but by faithfulness in the service of God they were capable of winning for themselves an eternal happiness in the beatific vision of God. God will not have any forced service; so He gave to the angels the gift of free-will, by which they were at liberty to choose between good and evil, and could freely side either with God or against Him. When the decisive moment came, a portion of the angels made a bad use of their freedom, rebelled against God, lost sanctifying grace, and were cast into hell, their wills having become perverted and bad. But the good angels, who stood the test, were admitted into the immediate presence of God, and were confirmed for ever in supernatural happiness. APPLICATION. God is just and punishes sin. How is it, then, that you think so little of sinning and offending God? You are still young, but you have committed many sins, and have deserved punishment at God's hands. Repent, therefore, of your sins, ask pardon of God, and never say again to yourself: "It is only a trifle!" It never could be a trifle to intentionally offend the great, holy and just God! Resolve, then, most firmly never again to sin wilfully. If you are ever tempted to commit a mortal sin, think of the fallen angels and their eternal torment. Die rather than commit a mortal sin! Fear the just God, and keep His commandments faithfully. The fall of the bad angels should be a warning to you, and the faithfulness of the good angels should be an encouragement to you. If you are disobedient to God, and do not observe His laws, and if you think lightly of sin, you will some day join the --- III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE. lost spirits in hell. But if you are faithful in the service of God, and guard against sin as much as you can, you will some day join the angels in their everlasting happiness. Which of the two have you imitated hitherto, the good or the bad angels? Above all things guard against pride; it is, as Holy Scripture says, hateful before God and men (Ecclus. 10, 7). Do not be conceited or vain about your clothes, or your appearance, or your knowledge, or your parents' position, but give glory to God in all things; for you have received everything from Him. The more God has given you, the more you should thank Him. Drive away all vain thoughts, and say very often: "Every good gift comes from Thee, O God; I thank Thee for all that I am and for all that I have!" PART II [Genesis 3, 14—24] GOD'S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—PROMISE OF A REDEEMER. THEN God said to the serpent$^(1)$: Because thou hast done this thing$^(2)$, thou art cursed$^(3)$ among all the beasts of the earth. Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities$^(4)$ between thee and $^(1)$ To the serpent. Adam had laid the blame on Eve; and she had excused herself by pleading the deception of the serpent. As a matter of fact, all three were guilty, and on that account God pronounced sentence on each of them. He began, it is true, by the serpent who had beguiled the woman; He then proceeded to the woman who had led Adam into sin; and finished with Adam himself. The devil had received his supreme punishment when he was cast down into hell with the other fallen angels; but, because he had deceived man and cheated him out of his happiness, God cursed him anew and with him cursed the serpent which had been his instrument. $^(2)$ This thing. i. e. because you seduced Eve by your lies and deceit. $^(3)$ Cursed. The language of the divine sentence applies immediately to the actual serpent which was the devil's tool. Being cursed by God, it is hated by man on account of its creeping, cunning, and poisonous ways. But in reality the words apply principally to the devil, and signify that he and his followers would be degraded below all other creatures, and would crawl in the filth of sin and base passions, these being, as it were, the very breath of their life. $^(4)$ Put enmities. These clauses are directed only against the invisible and infernal serpent, the devil. Satan had hoped that once he had succeeded in separating man from God, man would make friends with him, serve him, and remain in his power. But, instead of this, God announced that his very punishment would lie in being overcome by the woman. The seed of the devil are all those who are born in sin and give themselves over to sin. The seed of the woman is the divine Saviour who as Man was descended from her. She, therefore, would tread on the head of Satan, would trample him under foot and overcome him, taking away from him his power over man. But the serpent, i. e. the devil, would resist, and seek to injure the woman. He would not, however, materially injure her, but would lie in wait for her heel, in other words, he would prepare sufferings for her, but would not overcome her. — Mary has overcome the devil through her Son, our divine Redeemer, who has saved first of all her from original sin [Immaculate Conception], and next the whole world from original and actual sins and from the power of Satan. But how, then, has the infernal serpent wounded her heel? The devil caused our Lord much suffering. He it was who prompted Judas to betray his Master. He it was who incited the Jewish priests and Pharisees to cry out: Crucify Him, crucify Him! The devil did this, and yet it is by our Lord's very death on the Cross that the devil has been overcome and the world redeemed! --- IV. GOD'S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—PROMISE OF A REDEEMER. 25 the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." To Eve¹ He said: "In sorrow and pain shalt thou bring forth thy children. Thou shalt be subject² to thy husband, and he shall have dominion³ over thee." And to Adam⁴ He said: "Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth⁵ in thy work, with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. In the sweat⁶ of thy face thou shalt eat bread, till thou shalt return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken; for dust⁷ thou art, and into dust thou shalt return." Then "the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them. . . . And He cast Adam out of the ¹ To Eve. The sentence of punishment which Almighty God pronounced on Eve did not apply only to her, but to all women after her. ² Subject. Eve was subject to Adam before the fall, as a wife must always be to her husband. But this subjection only implied good order, not any hardship or any abuse on the part of man. It was different after the fall. Subjection became servitude and liable to all sorts of abuses. ³ Dominion. Among pagans women were and still are very degraded, and cruelly treated. It is only since the Incarnation and the rise of Christianity that the treatment of women has improved. ⁴ To Adam. The sentence that now follows was pronounced on Adam and all men after him. ⁵ Cursed is the earth. Adam, the lord of the earth, having sinned, the curse upon him extended to all nature. As a consequence of the curse, the beasts which, before the fall, were attached to man, have become either shy and intractable, or positively ferocious towards him. Even the elements and forces of nature are very often hostile to him and destroy the work of his hands. Moreover, the devil has obtained a certain dominion over them, and can injure man through them. ⁶ In the sweat, i. e. it will be only by the most severe toil that you will be able to obtain bread, or, in other words, what is necessary for the life of yourself and your family. Thorns, thistles, and all kinds of weeds grow naturally from the earth, but corn, which is the chief staple of man's food, can only be made to grow by means of the cultivation bestowed by man on the ground; and this cultivation requires very severe toil. ⁷ Dust. Man's body is made of the earth. The name Adam means "made of earth". He lost the gift of the immortality of the body when he lost sanctifying grace. From henceforth his body was to be subject to death and to the diseases which are the precursors of death. When he dies, his body turns to dust, mingling itself with the earth. --- 26 IV. GOD'S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE. - PROMISE OF A REDEEMER. paradise of pleasure and placed before it Cherubim$^(1)$ and a flaming sword, turning every way to keep the way of the tree of life". COMMENTARY. God is the very Truth. He had threatened Adam and Eve with death if they ate of the forbidden fruit, and what He threatened was brought to pass. Of His mercy, Almighty God did not make our first parents die immediately, for they were not hardened in sin, and were capable of amendment; but, all the same, from that moment their bodies lost the supernatural gift of immortality, and their souls lost that grace which was their life. The Justice of God. The punishment of Adam and Eve reveals to us the infinite justice of God. Their sin is the sin of the whole human race; therefore, the evil consequences of their sin have passed down to all mankind. We are by birth "children of wrath" (Eph. 2, 3). The image of God is defaced in each one of us. Our reason is obscured, our will is weakened, and the lusts of the flesh refuse to obey the spirit. We are all subject to suffering and death, and no one could attain to heaven, if our divine Redeemer had not died for us. - Think of the many passions which hold sway over man! Think of the countless diseases to which he is prone; the countless tears which are shed by him! Think of the bitter pangs of the dying; and of the terrible disasters by fire, water and earthquake! All this is the consequence of sin. How terrible, then, is the justice of Almighty God! Sin is the greatest of all evils, for all other evils came into the world by sin. Pride comes before the fall. Adam and Eve having sinned through pride, were humbled by the degrading sentence: "Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return." The first promise of the Messias. Before Almighty God drove our first parents out of paradise into the misery of the outside world, He gave them the promise of a Redeemer. The thought that by their sin they had condemned themselves to misery in this world and eternal ruin in the next, would have driven them to despair, had not God awakened in their hearts the hope of a coming Saviour. The curse pronounced on the infernal serpent contained a consolation for fallen man. The words: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman &c.", told Adam and Eve that sin and the devil would be overcome $^(1)$ Cherubim. Angels of one of the higher degrees, who were to prevent Adam and Eve from attempting to return to fetch of the fruit of the tree of life. If they had partaken of this means of immortality in a state of sin, it could only have brought them damnation. --- IV. GOD'S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—FROMISE OF A REDEEMER. 27 some day, and that the gates of the heavenly paradise would be thrown open to them. We can see by this how merciful God was even to fallen man. "The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy" (Ps. 144, 8). God punishes man in mercy, and imposes temporal punishments on him, so as to save his soul and make him eternally happy. The penalties of sin are also its remedies. Work, whether mental or physical, keeps evil desires and passions at bay. If men were not obliged to work, they would live more in accordance with their bad passions, and evil would be rampant. "Idleness hath taught much evil" (Eccles. 33, 29). Furthermore, if there were no pain or death, men would sink into mere sensuality, would not trouble themselves about eternity, and would quite forget their higher destiny. Sickness and death are always preaching thus to us: "All earthly things pass away; take heed for the affairs of your soul!" On Ash-Wednesday the Church reminds us in an especial manner that we are but dust and ashes, and that we shall surely die. Adam, a type of Jesus Christ (Rom. 5, 14). Adam is the father of all men according to the flesh; Jesus Christ is the spiritual Father of the faithful, for through Him alone do they receive life. Through Adam sin and death came to all men; through Jesus Christ we have received grace and eternal life. Sin and misery came into the world by Adam's disobedience; but our redemption has been wrought by Jesus Christ, who became obedient even unto the death of the Cross. Eve, a type of our Lady. Eve consented to sin; Mary consented to redemption, by consenting to become the mother of the Redeemer. Eve, by her sin, brought misery on mankind; Mary, through her Son, has brought salvation. Eve was, in a natural sense, the mother of the living. Mary is so in a supernatural sense. The Immaculate Conception. Mary trampled under foot the infernal serpent, not only by giving birth to the divine Saviour, but also by this, that she was always free from the stain of sin, even of original sin. Had she, like the rest of mankind, come into the world with the stain of original sin on her, she would have been, for a time, under the dominion of Satan, and her victory over him would not have been complete. Therefore God, by a special grace, and in view of the merits of her divine Son, preserved her whom He had chosen to be that Son's mother from the taint of original sin. Why did not God cast Adam and Eve straight into hell, as he did the fallen angels? Because, firstly, their sin, grievous as it was, was not so great as that of the rebellious angels, the angels being richer in grace and knowledge than were Adam and Eve; and moreover, the fact of the fall of these last having been caused by the deception of Satan, was in some measure an excuse for them. Secondly, our --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. first parents were not hardened in sin, but confessed their guilt and repented of it. Adam and Eve not eternally lost. They received pardon on account of their belief in the future Saviour; and, on account of their repentance and long life of expiation, were delivered from Limbo by our Lord, and taken by Him to heaven. In the Book of Wisdom (10, 2) it is expressly said that the divine wisdom "drew him (Adam) out of sin" The curse which, as a consequence of sin, rests on irrational creatures, is removed by the blessing which the Church, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, bestows on natural objects. Unworthy Communion. Adam and Eve, being in a state of sin, did not dare to eat of the fruit of the tree of life; for, had they done so, they would have been eternally damned. He who receives the Blessed Sacrament (which is prefigured by the tree of life) in a state of sin, draws damnation on himself. APPLICATION. Sin is the greatest of all evils, and the source of all other evils. You are afraid of lesser evils, such as sickness, danger, or death; why are you so little afraid of the greatest of all evils? Guard against sin, for it leads to sorrow and misery. If you do right, you will have a joyful spirit, a good conscience, and peace and happiness in your innocent heart. But if you do wrong, your heart will be unhappy and uneasy, and the pains of remorse and fear will pursue you, as they pursued Adam and Eve after the fall. Therefore, set enmity between yourself and sin; detest it and flee from it. And often pray devoutly thus: "Deliver us from evil, from the greatest of all evils, sin!" CAIN AND ABEL [Genesis 4, 1-16] ADAM and Eve had many children; the first two were Cain and Abel. Cain was a husbandman, or tiller of the earth; Abel was a shepherd. Abel was just¹, but the works of Cain were evil. Now it happened one day that they offered a sacrifice² to God in gratitude for the benefits He had bestowed upon them. ¹ Just. He feared and loved God, and believed in the future Saviour ² Sacrifice. i. e. visible gifts for the purpose of thanking God for the benefits already received, and of imploring further blessings from Him. --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. Abel offered the firstlings¹ of his flock, and Cain, fruits of the earth. The Lord regarded Abel and his gifts with favour, but for Cain and his offerings He had no regard². Seeing this, Cain was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell³. And the Lord said to Cain: "Why⁴ art thou angry, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall not sin forthwith be present at the door?⁵ But the lust thereof shall be under thee⁶, and thou shalt have dominion over it." But Cain did not heed⁷ the Lord. One day he said to his brother: "Let us go forth abroad." Abel, suspecting no evil, went out with him; and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him. Then the Lord said to Cain: "Where⁸ is thy brother Abel?" Cain replied in an insolent manner: "I know not; am I my ¹ Firstlings. i. e. the first born and best and finest of his flock. ² No regard. We are not told how Almighty God manifested His pleasure and displeasure. Probably, as at the sacrifice of Elias (Old Test, LXIII), He sent down fire from heaven, which consumed Abel's offering, whereas Cain's, notwithstanding every effort on his part, remained unconsumed. ³ His countenance fell. i. e. it became dark and pale with anger. Envy was the cause of his anger. He envied his brother for being in God's favour, and feared that he would receive greater benefits than himself. Instead of winning God's approval by contrition and amendment, he was seized with rage against his innocent brother, although God lovingly warned him in time. ⁴ Why. By these questions God wished to bring Cain to self-knowledge, and a realization of the terrible condition of his soul. ⁵ At the door. i. e. it will swiftly overtake you. ⁶ Under thee. i. e. you must not let these evil passions of envy and anger master you, but subdue them at once and rule over them. ⁷ Did not heed. He did not take God's warning to heart. He did not subdue his anger, and therefore it gained more and more mastery over him, till it grew into the fiercest hatred. He could no longer endure the sight of his brother, and at last resolved to kill him. His evil passions quite blinded him. He did not think of the grief which his act would cause his parents, nor did he remember the threats of Almighty God. He enticed his brother into the field, and turning on him struck him dead. What must Adam and Eve have felt when they saw their dear Abel lying dead in his blood, slain by his own brother's hand? Perhaps, blinded by bitter tears, they exclaimed: "Alas, that we must survive this, our son's crime! Woe to us that we ever sinned! Cain has got his bad passions from us; this terrible deed is the consequence of our sin!" ⁸ Where. By asking this question God wanted to give Cain the opportunity of honestly and contritely confessing his crime. Had he done so, God would have forgiven him and lessened his punishment. But instead of doing this, Cain made an insolent and defiant reply. --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. brother's keeper?"$^(1)$ And the Lord said to him: "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me$^(2)$ from the earth. Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth$^(3)$ and received the blood of thy brother from thy hand. When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its fruit. A fugitive$^(4)$ and a vagabond$^(5)$ shalt thou be upon the earth." And Cain, in despair, said to the Lord: "My iniquity is greater$^(6)$ than that I may deserve pardon. Behold! Thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the earth. Everyone, therefore, who findeth me, will kill me." The Lord said to him: "No, it shall not be so; but whosoever shall kill Cain shall be punished sevenfold."$^(7)$ And He set a mark$^(8)$ upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him. And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive$^(9)$ on the earth. $^(1)$ Keeper. This was as much as to say: "Why dost thou ask me? I am not his keeper!" Being blinded by his passions, Cain believed that he could hide his crime from God, and defiantly lied to Him. After that, God reproached him for what he had done, and pronounced sentence on him. $^(2)$ Crieth to me. Can blood cry out? Almighty God meant this. "Your evil deed is such that it demands punishment from heaven; in other words, it cries out to heaven for punishment and vengeance. $^(3)$ Mouth. i. e. thou hast with thine own hand shed thy brother's blood which, flowing on to the ground, has been sucked up by it. $^(4)$ Fugitive. i. e. without a home. $^(5)$ Vagabond. i. e. thou shalt never find rest, but shalt always wander to and fro on the earth. $^(6)$ Greater. Cain's defiance changed to despair. He believed that he could not obtain forgiveness, and despaired of God's mercy. He would have liked to hide himself from God. Why did Cain wish to hide himself from God? Because he no longer regarded Him as a loving father, but only as a severe judge, and now the thought of the presence of that God whom he had so offended was torture and terror to him. Having no longer any hope of attaining to eternal life, he clung the more anxiously to this earthly life, and was filled with dread, lest others should kill him, as he had killed Abel. As the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise had taken place about 120 years before, there were probably a great number of people on the earth by this time. $^(7)$ Sevenfold. It was God's will to preserve the life of this murderer, in order that he might serve as a warning to other men. $^(8)$ Mark. This mark was a sign on his face or brow, by which everyone might know who Cain was, that he was a man punished by the hand of God, and on account of his sins condemned to wander about on the earth, and that, being punished by God, he might not be killed by any man. $^(9)$ Dwelt as a fugitive. Weighed down by the curse of God, and tormented by his evil conscience, the fratricide thenceforward led a most miserable life. Day and night the image of his murdered brother was before his eyes, and he wandered --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. COMMENTARY. God is omniscient. God knew the minds of both Cain and Abel. He saw Cain's envy and bloodthirstiness, and knew what crime he had committed, even though Cain would not acknowledge it. God is holy. Therefore the offering of the righteous Abel was well pleasing to Him, but He took no pleasure in the offering of the evil-minded Cain. God is just. In what way did God show His justice in this story? First by the words: "If thou do well, shalt thou not receive?" and those other words: "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me." Secondly by the fact that He punished the murderer most terribly. Envy is a capital sin, because, as we have seen in the case of Cain, it leads to many other sins. Cain began by being envious of his brother, and then, because he did not check this feeling, there grew up in his heart a fierce anger against Abel. He did not resist this anger, but rather cherished it, so that it turned into bitter hatred, and kindled in his heart the terrible desire to kill his brother. Then, as he did not resist this thirst for blood, it grew, until at last it led him to commit the horrible crime of fratricide. Murder. The deadly blow which Cain dealt Abel was intentional and premeditated; and such an action is called murder. Cain was not only a murderer, but also a fratricide, i. e. the murderer of his brother. The sins which cry to heaven for vengeance. We can see by this story of Cain and Abel, whence comes the expression of sins crying to heaven for vengeance. Willful murder is counted among them, because of the words of God: "The blood of thy brother crieth &c." The forgiveness of sins. Is it true that Cain might have obtained forgiveness if he had done penance? His sin was indeed great, but God's mercy is infinitely greater; and the murderer would have been forgiven by God if he had but repented and confessed his terrible sin. Our faith teaches us explicitly that all sins can be remitted if only they are confessed with the proper dispositions. It was Cain's own fault that he did not obtain forgiveness. He would not confess his sin, though God Himself questioned him. We cannot get our sins forgiven to and fro on the earth, without comfort and without joy. The punishment of Cain was threefold. In the selfishness of his envy he had believed that, if Abel were dead, he would, firstly, receive more blessings from God, secondly, that the earth would produce more under his cultivation, and, thirdly, that he himself would be happier. The exact opposite took place. Firstly, God cursed him; secondly, the earth was barren under his touch; thirdly, he was a prey to constant fear and unrest, and never knew another happy moment. --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. unless we confess them. Moreover, Cain had no true contrition, and all hope of pardon depends on that. He, however, had given up hope, and despaired of God's mercy. Free-will. There are those who yield to their evil passions, and then say that they could not help it. Is it true that they could not have helped it? Could not Cain have acted differently from what he did? God Himself had said to him: "Keep your lust under." We are not obliged to follow our evil inclinations, for we have free-will, and can overcome our passions if we choose. The necessity of grace. Grace is, however, necessary to enable the free-will of man to choose what is right. Cain had received sufficient grace, and if he had corresponded with it, he would have been quite able to overcome his envy and hatred, and would never have become a murderer. Even after his sin he would have been able to obtain pardon, if he had not resisted the grace of God which urged him to repent. The wonderful working of divine grace for the good of man is shown to us very plainly in this story of Cain. Think how much God did both to keep him from sinning, and to bring him to repentance, after he had sinned, so that his soul might be saved. First, He drew Cain's attention to his ruling passions of envy and anger, in order to bring him to a knowledge of himself. Then He promised him a reward and blessing if he would correct himself, and threatened him with speedy punishment if he let himself be led on to do an evil deed. Lastly, He stirred him up, and exhorted him not to be led away by his evil desires, but to have dominion over them. Even after the terrible deed was done, Almighty God did not at once reject the murderer, and even while reproaching him for his crime, tried to move his heart. He wished Cain to recognise the horror of his deed, to abhor it, and repent of it. He even asked him where his brother was, in order to make the confession of his guilt easier to him. It was only when Cain proved to be hard-hearted and impenitent that God pronounced judgment on him. Even then, the sentence was not an eternal one; it was only temporal ("cursed be thou on the earth"), and might have led him to repentance and amendment. God protected the life of this wretch by a special mark, in order to give him more time for repentance. How good and merciful is God who, as it were, pursues the sinner so indefatigably, and tries in so many ways to move his heart, so as to save him from eternal damnation! Resistance of grace. Sins against the Holy Ghost. Man, having free-will, is able to resist grace which, much as it may move him and incline him towards what is good, does not force him. Cain's terrible example shows us to what resistance of grace can lead. He would not listen to God's loving exhortation to overcome his envy and anger, but cherished them in his heart, till his anger waxed fiercer and turned --- V. CAIN AND ABEL. to hatred, and, finally, led him to murder his own brother. Once again, after his crime, Cain resisted the promptings of God's grace. He hardened his heart and sinned directly against God by his lies, defiance and impenitence. It was only after God had pronounced sentence on him, and he already felt its effects, that he acknowledged his guilt. He did not, however, implore for pardon contritely and confidently, but despaired of God's mercy. Which of the sins against the Holy Ghost did he commit? First, he envied his brother on account of the grace God had given him; secondly, he hardened his heart against God's admonitions; and, finally, he despaired of God's mercy. A right intention is the chief thing. St Paul says (Hebr. 11, 4): "By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of Cain." What was wanting in Cain's sacrifice? His faith in God and in the promised Saviour was not firm and living, and therefore his worship of God was wanting in reverence and thankfulness. He worshipped Him outwardly, but not inwardly. The gifts which he offered were good, but the intention with which he offered them was not good. Let us learn from this that God does not look merely on our outward works and gifts, but that He looks especially to our intention. "The Lord seeth the heart." The worship of God by sacrifice. Cain and Abel both brought gifts to God. What did they offer? Fruits and beasts. How did they offer these visible gifts? They burnt them, i. e. destroyed them by fire. They wished to express by this that they kept back nothing of these gifts for themselves, that they desired to offer them wholly to God, from whom all good things come, and to whom all things belong. From whom had Cain and Abel learnt how to offer sacrifice to God? Obviously, from their parents, Adam and Eve. We see, therefore, that men offered sacrifice to God from the very first: that so long as there have been men to worship Him, there have been sacrifices. Sacrifice is the highest and most perfect form of worship, and is essential to religion. The Catholic religion, being the most holy and perfect of all religions, must possess the most holy and perfect of sacrifices. What is this holiest sacrifice, most pleasing to God? It is Jesus Christ Himself, who once sacrificed Himself on the Cross in a bloody manner, and who continually offers Himself for us in the holy Mass in an unbloody manner. Abel is the second type of Jesus Christ. Abel was just; a shepherd; envied by his brother; slain by him; and his blood cried for vengeance. Jesus Christ is the Most Just, and the Good Shepherd of mankind. Out of envy He was persecuted and slain by His brethren, the Jews. His Blood cries continually for grace and pardon for sinful man. The homeless, wandering Cain is a type of the Jewish people who resisted God's grace, and who, since they slew their God, have been homeless and scattered over the whole earth. KNECHT, Commentary. 1. 3. ed. --- VI. THE DELUGE. Eve, weeping over the body of her beloved son, slain by the hand of his brother, is a type of the sorrowful Mother of God who stood, sorrowing, at the foot of the Cross on which hung her divine Son, slain by His brethren, the Jews. APPLICATION. Envy is very easily aroused in our hearts. Have you never felt envious when others have been praised or rewarded? Detest envy, and overcome all temptations to it, for it is a hateful sin, and the source of many other sins. "Through the envy of the devil death came into the world, and they follow him who are of his side" (Wisd. 2, 24). If you let envy get possession of you, you are imitating the devil, and are his child. Do you wish to be a child of the devil? If not, be not envious and jealous of others, but rather rejoice when good befalls them. Drive away envy, for from envy came the first murder. The divine admonition to overcome the desire to sin applies to everybody. If God required of Cain that he should master his evil desires, how much more does He require it of us Christians, to whom so many graces have been given? Examine yourself and see what sin you are most inclined to, whether it be lying, or greediness, or laziness, or disobedience, or anger, or sinful curiosity, and resolve never to give way to it, but to overcome it at once. Resist the beginnings of sin. If Cain had stifled his envy in the beginning, he would not have become a fratricide! God warns you through your conscience, in the same way that He warned Cain. Do not resist these warnings, or you will grow up hard-hearted. If you have sinned through thoughtlessness or weakness, go at once and confess your sin to the priest, who is the representative of God, and God will forgive you. He who does not make a good confession, is hard-hearted, like Cain. NOE'S OFFERING. HIS CHILDREN [Genesis 5—10] NOW God remembered¹ Noe and all that was in the ark, and He sent a wind upon the earth. This moved the waters, and after a hundred and fifty days they began to abate. At length, the ark rested upon a mountain in Armenia, called Mount ¹ Remembered, i. e. God saw that now was the time to bring about a change in the condition of Noe. --- VII. NOE'S OFFERING.—HIS CHILDREN. Ararat ¹, and the tops of the hills began to appear. Noe perceived this with great joy, for he had been now three hundred and fifty days shut up in the ark. Noe in the Ark with the returning dove. Early Christian painting. Catacomb of S. Domitila, Rome. In order to see whether the waters had subsided on the earth, he opened the window and sent forth a raven² which did not return. He next sent forth a dove, but she, not finding a spot whereon to rest her foot, returned to the ark. After seven days he again sent forth the dove. She came back to him, in the evening, carrying in her mouth a bough of an olive-tree³ with green leaves (Fig. 3). Noe, therefore, understood that the waters had abated from off the face of the earth. He stayed in the ark yet other seven days, and he sent forth the dove again, which did not return⁴ to him. God then said to Noe: "Go out of the ark." So Noe went out of the ark with his wife, his sons and their wives, together with all the living creatures which he had placed in it. Filled with gratitude⁵ towards the Lord who had so wonderfully pre- ¹ Ararat. This was a chain of mountains in Asia, south of the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The highest mountain in the chain Isaiah 17,230 feet high, and is called Ararat, which, in Persian, means the "mountain of Noe", because it was on it that the ark of Noe rested. Naturally, the waters sank slowly. When the tops of the mountains were uncovered, Noe had been 220 days in the ark, and it was a very long time after that, before the level parts of the earth were dry. ² Raven. It found quite enough food among the dead bodies floating about, and was able to settle on the mountain-tops. It had, therefore, no wish to return to the confinement of the ark. ³ Olive-tree. i. e. a branch of an olive-tree, from the fruit of which sweet oil is made. Noe perceived by this that the earth, or at any rate the slopes of Mount Ararat, on which olive-trees grow, were dry. ⁴ Did not return. She did not return, because by this time the plains were dry. Noe, however, did not leave the ark of his own accord, but waited for the command of God to whose guidance he had entirely abandoned himself. ⁵ With gratitude. Noe was more than a year in the ark (cp. Genesis 7, 2 and 8, 14). What must he have felt when he once more trod on the earth? Whichever way he turned, there was desolation and death: no living creature to be seen, no house nor human habitation! Scattered about were the bones of those who had been drowned: the whole earth was one vast graveyard! Sorrow filled his heart --- VII. NOE'S OFFERING.—HIS CHILDREN served him, he built an altar¹ to the Lord and offered on it a sacrifice² of clean animals. The sacrifice of Noe was pleasing to the Lord. He blessed Noe and his sons, and said to them: "Increase³ and multiply, and fill the earth." God made a covenant⁴ with Noe that He would never again destroy the earth with water. The rainbow, which we see in the clouds, is the sign of this covenant between God and the earth. The sons of Noe were Sem, Cham and Japhet⁵. Now Noe began to cultivate the earth. He planted a vineyard, and, drinking of the wine, he fell asleep⁶, and was uncovered in his tent⁷. Cham, seeing his father thus exposed⁸, spoke of it in a jesting way to his brothers. They, however, filled with a chaste and holy fear, put a cloak upon their shoulders, and, going backwards⁹ so as not to look upon him where he lay, covered their father's nakedness. And Noe, awaking and hearing what had happened, said: "Cursed be Chanaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." But he blessed Sem and Japhet. when he thought of the terrible end of those who had perished; but thankfulness, inexpressible thankfulness, rose up within his soul, as he said to himself. "What would have become of me and mine, if God had not so mercifully taken care of me?" 1 Altar. Of stones. 2 Sacrifice. Of those species of animals of which seven pair had been taken into the ark. 3 Increase. Almighty God had said these same words when He blessed Adam and Eve. Noe being the second parent of the human race. God gave him and his sons the same blessing, and in the same words. 4 Covenant. The covenant was a covenant of friendship. Almighty God promised to be gracious to man, and never more to send a Deluge on the earth, or let the succession of seasons, interrupted by the Flood, be again upset. The rainbow was to be a sign of this covenant, and to remind us of God's mercy and promises. 5 Sem, Cham and Japhet. From these three all mankind descended. The children of Sem spread principally through Asia, those of Cham through Africa, and those of Japhet through Europe. 6 Fell asleep. Sufficiently intoxicated to sleep an uneasy sleep. During his restless movements, the covering fell from his body. But how came holy Noe to be drunk? For drunkenness is a sin! He did not drink too much wine intentionally, but through ignorance, not knowing its potency. 7 Tent. He had no house, only a tent which could be easily taken down and carried away. 8 Thus exposed. Cham gazed without shame on his father's uncovered body, and went and told his brothers mockingly what had happened, so that they too might go and mock their father. 9 Going backwards. So that they might have their faces turned, not towards Noe's couch, but towards the entrance of the tent. --- VII. NOE'S OFFERING. -HIS CHILDREN. COMMENTARY. The Goodness of God. Almighty God, in His loving mercy, remembered not only Noe, but the beasts in the ark; for He hateth nothing that He hath made. We, too, should be merciful, and carefully avoid cruelty to animals. He who wantonly ill-treats dumb beasts, proves that he has a hard, cruel heart. God's Faithfulness. Just as the punishment with which God threatened sinful man, was brought to pass in the most terrible way, so the promise which He made after the Deluge, never again to destroy the world by water, has been kept for more than four thousand years. Confidence in God. In Noe we have a glorious example of this virtue. Full of a living faith in God's presence, wisdom and power, he gave himself over entirely to the direction of divine Providence. Full of confidence in God, and in complete submission to His will, he built the ark and shut himself up in it; nor did he leave it, till God Himself told him to do so. Fear might very well have seized him, and he might very well have asked himself how the animals would fare in the ark, and so forth; and when the ark was driven about hither and thither, the anxious thought of how long it would be able to resist the beating of the waves, might very well have occurred to him. But he allowed no such fears to take possession of him, and confided himself entirely to the Lord God and His holy word. Belief in the wisdom and power of the ever present God ought to fill us also with courage and comfort in time of tribulation, and make us trust in God, and be content with whatever He wills. "Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it" (Ps. 36, 5). He who puts his trust in God, builds on a sure foundation. Gratitude to God. Why was God well pleased with Noe's sacrifice? Firstly, because it was offered with faith in the future Saviour; and, secondly, because it was offered in thanksgiving. You may imagine and picture to yourself how Noe and his family knelt round the altar, praying with fervour and devotion, thanking God from the bottom of their hearts, and promising Him that they would serve Him all the days of their life, and avoid those sins which had called down such a terrible punishment. Gratitude to God is a holy and essential part of our worship of Him. The reward of gratitude. Noe's thankfulness pleased the Lord God, so that He gave him still greater blessings. When we thank God for benefits we have received, we prepare the way for new ones. The olive-branch, brought back to the ark by the dove, showed those who were inside that the destruction on the earth had ceased, and that the time of their liberation was at hand. On this account, the olive-branch has ever since been a token of peace and joy. --- VII. NOE'S OFFERING.—HIS CHILDREN. Intemperance. Noe's drunkenness was excusable, because he was ignorant of the strength of wine. This is now known to everybody, so that it is a great sin to drink enough to obscure the senses and reason. Drunkenness leads to many other sins, such as quarrelling, fighting, swearing &c., and is, therefore, one of the capital sins. Man may drink wine &c. in moderation, for the purpose of refreshing and strengthening himself. But children should never drink wine, still less, spirits. Such drink is unwholesome for children, and those who indulge in it are pale and sickly, and often stupid and stunted in their growth. But milk and bread make rosy cheeks! Cham's sin. What Commandments did Cham sin against? Firstly, against the sixth Commandment, by his immodesty. Secondly, against the fourth Commandment. Cham scoffed at, and failed in respect to his father, and spoke evil of him, by needlessly repeating to his brothers what he had seen. What ought Cham to have done when he accidentally found his father in that state? He ought to have turned away his eyes, covered up his father, and not told any one about it. The blessing and curse of parents. When Noe learnt about Cham's conduct, he pronounced a curse on him and his descendants, and promised a blessing to Sem and Japhet. He foresaw, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Cham's descendants would, like those of Cain, turn away from God, and be punished by Him. The African negroes are descended from him, and they are to this day sunk in the lowest state of superstition, governed by cruel tyrants, treated as slaves, and often bought and sold as such. Their way of living is very barbarous, and they are very hard to convert to Christianity. The blessing on Sem and Japhet and their children has been fulfilled as completely as has been the curse on Cham. Sem was the heir of the divine promise, for the chosen people of God sprang from him, and of his race was born the Messias. The children of Japhet formed great and powerful nations, and were early converted to Christianity, some of them even in the time of the apostles. You can see by this story that children who are wanting in respect to their parents, are punished by God, but that those who love and honour them, are blessed and rewarded by Him. Detraction. Just as Sem and Japhet covered their father's nakedness with a cloak, so ought we to cover the faults of our fellow-men with the mantle of charity, and never reveal them except in case of necessity. You commit the sin of detraction, if you reveal the sins of others without necessity. Noe, the third type of Jesus Christ. Noe was the only just man in a sinful world: Jesus Christ is alone, and of and by Himself, most just, most holy. Noe built the ark for the saving of the human race: Jesus Christ founded the Church in order that in her men might find salvation. Noe preached penance and foretold the Deluge: our Lord --- VIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL. preached penance and foretold the Last Judgment. Noe offered a sacrifice to God, which was so well-pleasing to Him that He made a covenant with him and his posterity: our Lord, by His death on the Cross, offered the most perfect sacrifice, and obtained for all men pardon, grace and everlasting peace. Noe saved the human race by the ark: Jesus Christ saves men by His Church. APPLICATION. Say a hearty "Deo gratias" (thanks be to God) whenever you have escaped a danger or received a blessing or succeeded in some undertaking. As Noe's first act on leaving the ark was one of thanksgiving, so let your first act, when you wake in the morning, be one of thanksgiving. Noe was saved in the ark on account of his justice. What have you done to deserve being received into the one ark of salvation, the Church, almost as soon as you were born? Thank God very often for having made you a member of the one true Church. There is, says St Augustine, no greater treasure than the Catholic faith. Cham's conduct was very wrong. Would it not be wrong of you to look at anything indecent? Be on your guard, therefore, against curious looks, and be modest in dressing and undressing. Honour your father and your mother. Do not despise them even if they have faults. "The eye that mocketh at his father or that despiseth his mother, let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it" (Prov. 30, 17). THE TOWER OF BABEL [Genesis 11, 1. 1] THE descendants of Noe soon multiplied¹, and again became as wicked as men had been before the Deluge. Now they were unable² to live together any longer, and they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower³, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous, before we be scattered abroad in all lands." But God frustrated their foolish design. He ¹ Multiplied. They had left the mountains of Armenia, and dwelt in the large, fruitful plain between the Euphrates and the Tigris. ² Unable. To live together, because of their number. ³ Tower. They wished to found an united kingdom, the centre and fortress of which should be this city with its high tower. --- VIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL. said: "Let Us confound their tongue¹ that they may not understand one another's speech." Till then there had been but one language spoken amongst men. So the Lord scattered them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city. Therefore, the city was called Babel², which signifies confusion, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded. The children of Sem remained in Asia, and from them descended the Israelites, the chosen people of God. Most of the descendants of Cham settled in Africa, while those of Japhet took up their abode in Europe. Thus were different nations founded. The more men multiplied on the earth, the more wicked they ¹ Confound their tongue. God introduced various languages among them. Hitherto they had all spoken one language, because they were all the children, first, of Adam, then, of Noe. In the course of time, with the extension of the human race and the development of nationalities, this one original language would naturally have split itself into divers dialects, just as the mental and physical development of the race would have differed according to the different localities in which they were placed. But in order to punish their presumption and compel them to disperse, God brought the change about in a sudden and wonderful manner, while they were still all together, and at work building their tower. They could no longer understand each other, and had to give up their undertaking and separate into different bodies. ² Babel Or Babylon. Among the ruins of this once great city the stupendous foundations of a tower are still to be seen, which are considered to be the remains of the Tower of Confusion (Fig. 4). --- VIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL. became. Their sins darkened their heart and mind, and thus they lost the true knowledge of God, and fell into idolatry. They began to adore a multitude of false gods¹. Some worshipped the sun, moon and stars, others worshipped men and beasts, and even the works of their own hands. To these false divinities even human victims were offered, and sometimes innocent children, who were made to endure the most cruel torments. God left them to go their own way². COMMENTARY. Idolatry is a grievous sin against the first Commandment. It is, moreover, unreasonable and foolish, and is a sad proof of the evil effects on man of original sin. Necessity of grace. God gave the idolaters over to their own evil desires and inclinations. As evil inclinations are rife in man, in consequence of original sin, it is only by God's grace that he is able to keep the commandments. As God withdrew His grace from these men who had rejected Him, they gave themselves over to the desires of their hearts, and were led by their unbridled passions into the most horrible sins. Pride. This story shows us how man's apostasy from God began by pride. At the time that Noe's descendants built the Tower of Babel, they had increased to some millions in number. They began to build in defiance of God, relying on their own strength and numbers. They did not give glory to God, by acknowledging that they had received all things from Him, and could do nothing without Him. On the contrary, they intended to build a tower which would reach to heaven and make their name famous in all ages. Thus it was pride that prompted this sinful undertaking. ¹ False gods. Because men gave themselves over to their bad passions and were further and further removed from God by their sins, they at last lost the knowledge of Him and began to worship the creature instead of the Creator. This worship of false gods is called idolatry, and the people who so worship are called idolaters. ² Their own way. Their sin grew and grew, because God gave them over to the desires of their hearts. When Cain began to yield to the passions of envy and hatred, God did not give him over to these passions unwarned. When the children of Cain, the "sons of men", turned away from the true God, He, in His goodness, urged them to penance and conversion through holy Henoch. And immediately before the Deluge, He made the just Noe stand forth and proclaim the punishment which was hanging over mankind. Each of these times God warned sinners and manifested Himself to them; but now when, after the building of the Tower of Babel, men fell away from Him, though He neither destroyed nor punished them, He no longer revealed Himself to them, but gave them over to the desires of their hearts. Because they forsook God, He forsook them; and they had to learn by experience to what they would come when left by God to themselves. --- VIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL. God's Blessing the one thing necessary. This story of the Tower of Babel shows us the truth of the Psalmist's words: "Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Ps. 126, 1). Necessity of supernatural or revealed religion. The majority of men fell into idolatry about 2000 years after the creation. However, there were always a few just men who, with their families, preserved the faith in the true God, and His revelation; such, for instance, were Abram, Melchisedech, Job &c. But the true faith would have been lost even in those families, unless God had revealed Himself anew, as you will learn He did in the stories which follow. Divine revelation was necessary, or else even man's natural knowledge of God would have been lost. The men of the time of the Tower of Babel possessed a revealed religion, for Nor had faithfully delivered to his descendants the revelation of God handed down by Adam. But as men followed their evil inclinations more and more, their faith became weak. They believed, indeed, but their faith was not living: they lived as if there were no God, until at last they lost the supernatural gift of faith. But, you will say, they could still know God by the light of their natural reason: "for the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made: His eternal power also and divinity, so that they (i. e. the heathens) are inexcusable" (Rom. 1, 20). But they lost even the natural knowledge of God, because their hearts and wills were so corrupt that they were no longer capable of knowing Him. They spoke thus, as it were, to God: "Depart from us: we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways" (Job 21, 14). When they turned their hearts from God, their reason became more and more blinded by their evil passions, and they fell into the utmost spiritual ignorance, and into the most foolish idolatry. Pride and vice still lead many men to unbelief. The punishment of dispersion was at the same time a benefit to mankind. If all men had remained together much longer, they would have destroyed each other by civil war and fighting among themselves. (See the strife between the shepherds of Abram and Lot. Old Test. X.) The reunion of mankind in the Church. People of all tongues are gathered together in unity of faith in the Catholic Church; for all Catholics over the whole face of the earth are joined together in one faith, one hope, one love. This unity of spirit is expressed by the unity of faith and partly also by the unity of language (Latin), used by the Church. In the Catholic Church, therefore, which is governed by the Holy Ghost, the very opposite has taken place to that which took place in the City of Confusion. There, the speech of men was confounded, and they were scattered: in the Church, men of every land and every tongue are gathered together, in unity of faith and speech, by the Holy Ghost whom Jesus Christ sent on Whitsunday. On that day there were collected together many men of different countries, and yet they all understood KNIGHT, Commentary L. 1 ed. --- VIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL. the speech of the apostles, and 3000 of them became Christians. On that day was built a city which rests upon earth and reaches to heaven; in which men speak one tongue, and have one faith, and with which God is well pleased. That city is the Holy Catholic Church. APPLICATION. There are still on this earth 800,000,000 heathens who do not know God and His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Pray earnestly for the conversion of the heathens. Your forefathers, too, were heathens, and were converted by missionaries sent by the Holy See. Thank God for your holy faith, and confess it by word and deed. Pray fervently to the Holy Ghost to keep you and yours firm in the light of the faith. --- HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL¹. I. EPOCH: THE TIME OF THE PATRIARCHS. (About 2100—1500 B. C.) THE CALL OF ABRAM [Genesis 12, 2. 9] AMONGST the wicked there was one just and upright man. He was called Abram². The Lord chose him in order that through him and his posterity the true faith³ and hope in the promised Redeemer might be preserved and propagated on the earth. He said to him: "Go forth out of thy country and from ¹ People of Israel. Hitherto we have been engaged in a brief study of the primitive history of man. In the last chapter we were told that the larger portion of mankind fell away from God into the grossest idolatry. Of those heathen nations whom God "gave up to the desires of their heart", we hear no more in Sacred History, with the exception of chance accounts of those with whom the people of Israel came in contact. Henceforth Scripture relates only the history of the people of Israel, to whom God revealed Himself again and again. This history is divided into six sections: 1. The time of the patriarchs, 2. the age of Moses, 3. Josue and the judges, 4. the kings, 5. the Babylonian captivity, 6. the time after the Babylonian captivity. The first section, therefore, treats of the patriarchs, or first parents of the children of Israel, and covers a period of 600 years, namely from 2100 to 1500 B. C. It begins with the narrative of the call of Abram which contains the account of how God chose him to be the father of the whole Israelite people (and of the Divine Redeemer). ² Abram. Living in the midst of idolaters, he had remained faithful to God. It was on account of his faithfulness that God favoured him, by revealing Himself to him, and by choosing him to be the father of the faithful. ³ True faith. i. e. the faith in the true God which had been handed down ever since the days of Adam. 4* --- IX. THE CALL OF ABRAM. thy kindred, and out of thy father's house¹, and come into the land which I will show thee, and I will make of thee² a great nation. I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed, and in thee shall all the nations of the world be blessed."³ The father of Abram had gone from Ur in Chaldea, and taken up his abode in Haran⁴, with his relatives; but as idolatry had at last made its way even into that family, the Lord called Abram forth from amongst his kindred. Abram believed the word of the Lord, and instantly set out for Chanaan, taking with him Sarai, his wife, and Lot⁵, his nephew, and his servants and his herds of cattle. After a long journey, he arrived in the land of Chanaan, and came to Sichem (Fig. 5). He was then seventy-five years old. Chanaan, on account of its beauty and fertility, was called a land flowing with milk and honey. There the Lord appeared again to Abram and said to him: "To thy seed will I give this land." Henceforth⁶ Chanaan was also called the Promised Land⁷. Abram, wishing to show his gratitude, raised in that place an altar to the Lord. ¹ Thy father's house. God commanded Abram to do this, because idolatry prevailed in his own country, and even among his own kindred. He wished moreover to test Abram's obedience and trust in Him. ² Make of thee. i. e. thy descendants shall be a great nation. ³ Blessed. From Abram was to descend the Redeemer who would bring grace and blessing to all mankind. ⁴ Haran. On the upper Euphrates. See Gen. 11, 31-32. ⁵ Lot. i. e. his brother's son. Lot's father was dead. ⁶ Henceforth. i. e. from the time God promised it to Abram's descendants. ⁷ Promised Land. We Christians call it the Holy Land, because it was there that our Lord lived, laboured and suffered. In geography it is called Palestine. This important country is situated at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea, and occupies a very small space in the eastern hemisphere. It is only about 140 miles long from north to south, and 40 miles broad, and is about as large as Wales. It is bounded on the north by the mountains of Lebanon; on the south by the deserts of Arabia, on the west by the Mediterranean; and on the east by the Syrian deserts. God, in His wisdom, appointed this land to be the abode of His chosen people, because it was so well suited to their peculiar vocation. The land of Chanaan is pretty well shut in on all sides by mountains, sea and deserts, and this seclusion made it more easy for the people of God to keep themselves aloof from heathen nations, and preserve intact the true faith. On the other hand Chanaan was situated in the centre of the then known world, so that it was easy to spread among all nations, first, the promise of the Redeemer, and later on, the preaching of the Gospel. --- IX. THE CALL OF ABRAM. COMMENTARY. The second promise of the Messias. The words: "In thee shall all the kindred of the world be blessed", contain the second promise of the Messias. The second promise is more explicit than the first, for it says that the Divine Redeemer shall be born of the seed of Abram. Necessity of faith. With good reason we are told so explicitly that Abram believed God, for faith is the first and most necessary of virtues. Faith brought Abram into the Promised Land; and it is only through faith that we can attain to the promised land of heaven. Grounds of faith. Abram believed in God, and in His word, because God is the very truth. The characteristics of faith. The faith of Abram had all the characteristics of true faith, being entire, firm, steadfast, and living. His faith was entire, because he believed all that God told him. It was firm, because he doubted nothing, but believed unreservedly in the words of the Lord. It would have been quite natural for him to ask how it was possible for a great nation to spring from him who yet had no child; but he gave ear to no such thought, and simply stood firm by the word of God. His faith was steadfast, because he did not allow it to be shaken either by the ridicule and arguments of his unbelieving relations, or by the difficulties and dangers of the journey before him. Finally, his faith was living, because he acted up to it, and did all that God required of him. Obedience to God. Abram's cheerful obedience to God was a fruit of his living faith. God's command to leave his home was not an easy one to obey, for the natural love of home and kindred is a very strong one. Moreover, God did not tell him whither He was going to lead him. He was commanded to go into an unknown country, among strange people, and was entirely ignorant as to his future fate. Nevertheless, he obeyed God's command promptly and cheerfully. "By faith Abram obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and he went out not knowing whither he went" (Hebr. 11, 8). He has given us a grand example of obedience, which we ought to imitate. "He that believeth God, taketh heed to the commandments" (Ecclus. 32, 28). APPLICATION. God has not asked of you anything so hard as He asked of Abram; and yet how often you disobey Him! Whenever you tell lies, or fly into a passion, or neglect your prayers, or do not do as your parents tell you, you are disobeying God. Be sorry for your disobedience, and when you say your morning prayers, make a resolution to obey promptly and cheerfully those who are set over you. --- X. ABRAM, LOT, AND MELCHISEDECH. Having a firm faith, Abram trusted himself cheerfully to the guidance of divine Providence. A childlike confidence in the Providence of our Heavenly Father is a great support and comfort to us in all the circumstances of our lives. Unhappy he who has not got this confidence! We do not know what will happen to us in the future; but we do know that our Father in heaven cares for us, and that not a sparrow can fall to the ground without His knowledge and consent. So whatever happens to you, say: "Whatever God does, is well done, even though I cannot understandit." Say constantly: "God's will be done!" "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" ABRAM'S LOVE OF PEACE.—HIS VICTORY OVER THE FOUR KINGS.—THE BLESSING OF MELCHISEDECH [Genesis 14, 1-24] GOD blessed Abram and increased his herds¹ and those of Lot in such a manner that the pasture in that country was not sufficient for them. On this account a strife arose between the herdsmen of Abram and those of Lot. And Abram said to Lot: "Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren². Behold, the whole land is before thee³: depart from me, I beseech thee. If thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right; if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left." Lot chose the fertile country about the Jordan⁴, and dwelt in Sodom. Abram dwelt in Hebron, and built there an altar to the Lord. ¹ His herds. He had become very rich. A little further on it is mentioned that he had three hundred and eighteen menservants whom he employed as soldiers. He had camels, asses, sheep and oxen. The camels are used as beasts of burden in the East (Fig. 6, p. 56). There, a good camel costs a great deal of money. The ass is also a valuable beast in those parts, being much larger and stronger than our asses. They do the work of horses, yield very good milk, and their flesh is eatable. ² Brethren. Lot was Abram's brother's son, not his brother; but among the Israelites all near relations were called brothers and sisters. Thus, in the New Testament, the relatives of our Lord were called His brethren, though He had no brother. ³ Before thee. i. e. you may go into any part of the country you choose. Thus Abram left the choice to Lot. ⁴ Jordan. The Jordan is the principal river of the Promised Land. It takes its rise in Mount Lebanon, flows through Canaan from north to south, and runs into the Dead Sea. The country about the Jordan which Lot chose was not the --- X. ABRAM, LOT, AND MELCHISEDECH. Some time after this, strange kings, having come into the land, began to rob and plunder the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, took Lot captive, and seized all his substance¹. As soon as Abram heard² that Lot had been taken captive, he, with three hundred and eighteen well-armed men, his servants, pursued the kings, overtook them, rescued Lot from their hands, and brought him back with all his possessions. As Abram returned victorious, Melchisedech, king of Salem³, and the king of Sodom went out to meet him. Melchisedech, being a priest of the Most High, offered to the Lord a sacrifice of bread and wine, as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for Abram and his servants. He blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, by valley north of the Dead Sea, but what is now the southern part of the Dead Sea itself, south of the peninsula. This part was not sea then, but a beautiful valley, watered by springs, in which lay the towns of Sodom and Gomorrha. It is only since the destruction of those cities that the beautiful plain has become a part of the Dead Sea. ¹ All his substance i. e. all that he possessed. ² Heard. From one of Lot's people, who had fled from Sodom to Abram at Hebron. Abram immediately collected together those of his servants who were strong and able to fight, pursued the kings, who had retreated towards the north, surprised them in the night, defeated them, and set free Lot and the other prisoners. ³ Salem. This was later called Jerusalem. Melchisedech believed in the true God, and was at the same time king and priest. As priest, he blessed Abram, and returned thanks to God for his victory over an enemy, who was so much stronger than himself. His sacrifice was, therefore, a thank-offering. --- N. ABRAM, LOT, AND MELCHISEDECH. whose protection the enemies are in thy hands."¹ Abram gave him the tithes² of the booty. The king of Sodom then said to Abram: "Give me the persons, and the rest take to thyself." But Abram would accept of no reward³. COMMENTARY. Peacemaking. Abram was a lover of peace. He was older than Lot and, moreover, the head of the family; yet he withdrew in his favour, and gave him the choice of the best pasturage, rather than that there should be any further strife. We ought to love peace in the same way, and prevent quarrelling and fighting, as far as we can. We ought to give up an advantage, and suffer some loss, rather than begin a quarrel; for we are all brethren in Jesus Christ. "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." Abram's disinterestedness was shown by his conduct on two occasions; first, towards Lot, and next, towards the king of Sodom. When Abram found it necessary to separate from Lot, he did not consult his own interests by keeping the best part of the country for himself, though it was to him and not to Lot that God had promised the whole land; but he gave Lot his free choice of the best pasturage. Then, when the king of Sodom offered him all his booty as a reward, he refused to keep anything for himself. He had undertaken the dangerous war out of pure love, without any thought of his own profit or advantage. His love was, therefore, quite disinterested. This noble disposition of Abram puts to shame those Christians who are always seeking their own advantage, and who will not even show a kindness to anyone, without hope of reward. But did Abram, then, receive no reward? Yes, he received the reward of a good conscience. The consciousness that he had done a good work, and had deserved a reward of God, filled his heart with very great joy. We, too, ought to value the approbation of our own consciences and of Almighty God, far more than the praise and rewards of this world. Real love of our neighbour. When Abram learnt the misfortune which had overtaken his nephew, he decided at once to go to his help. He remembered no more Lot's selfish and ungrateful conduct, but only remembered his present necessity and misfortune. He sincerely loved Lot, and wished to help him, even at the risk of great danger; for, after all, these powerful kings might easily have defeated him, and killed or taken him prisoner. ¹ In thy hands. i. e. in thy power. ² Tithes. i. e. the tenth part of everything that he had taken from the enemy. He gave him this, because he was a priest. ³ No reward. Abram would not keep anything for himself, but he asked that the men, who had fought with him and risked their lives, should have their due share of the booty. --- N. ABRAM, LOT, AND MELCHISEDECH. Inordinate self-love. Lot did not behave well to Abram. Firstly, he ought never to have accepted Abram's generous offer, and ought rather to have given the preference to his uncle. His love of himself was inordinate, therefore he became selfish. Lot believed he had chosen the best portion, and yet his very choice soon brought misfortune upon him. Secondly, he ought not to have gone so far away from his loving uncle and protector. Thirdly, he ought not to have gone to live in Sodom, full as it was of impious and vicious men. There was great danger there both to himself and his family, who might be led away by the bad example around them. We ought not to throw ourselves into the company of the wicked, and we ought to avoid all occasions of sin. We ought to care more for our souls and their eternal interests, than for our bodies and their temporal interests. Lot, therefore, did wrong in going to Sodom, and putting his soul into danger, for the sake of mere temporal advantages. And God punished him for this by letting the strange kings rob him and take him prisoner. Melchisedech, the fourth type of Jesus Christ. Melchisedech's name signifies the king of justice, and he was king of Salem, which name means peace: Jesus Christ is in a far higher sense King of justice, and the Prince of peace who bought for us everlasting peace. Melchisedech was not only a king, but also a priest: Jesus Christ is our sovereign king and priest. Melchisedech offered bread and wine to God as an unbloody sacrifice: Jesus Christ offered Himself to His Eternal Father at the Last Supper, under the form of bread and wine, and continues to do so in the holy mass. Melchisedech, after the sacrifice, blessed Abram and his servants: Jesus Christ, by the hand of His priest, blesses the faithful at the end of mass. This will make you understand the meaning of the words which God spoke to the Divine Redeemer by the mouth of the prophet David: "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech" (Ps. 109, 4 and Hebr. 7, 1 -28). You have now learnt four types of our Lord, namely, Adam, Abel, Noe, and Melchisedech. These types show that our Divine Redeemer is, firstly, our Head; secondly, the Just One who suffered and was slain; thirdly, our Saviour from the destruction of sin and hell; and fourthly, an eternal King and Priest who, like Melchisedech, offers an unbloody sacrifice. APPLICATION. Do you love peace as Abram did? What is the principal reason why you quarrel with other children? Try to be more unselfish. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" (Ps. 132, 1). If you have hitherto been quarrelsome, check that evil habit as soon as possible. Abram gave tithes of his spoils to Melchisedech, because he was a priest. Reverence the priesthood. Priests are the messengers of God. --- XI. ABRAM REWARDED AND VISITED BY ANGELS. ABRAM'S FAITH AND ELECTION. COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION.—VISIT OF THREE ANGELS [Genesis 17, 18] AFTER these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying: "Fear not¹, I am thy protector², and thy reward exceeding great."³ On a certain night, Abram was called by a voice from heaven which said: "Look up to the heaven and number the stars, if thou canst. So shall thy seed be." Abram believed, and his faith justified him before God. Again, in the 99th year of his age, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him: "I am the Almighty God. Walk before Me⁴ and be perfect⁵. Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram 'a high father', but Abraham 'father of a multitude', because I have made thee a father of many nations. I will establish my covenant between thee and Me. And this is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you and thy seed after thee: All the male kind of you shall be circumcised.⁶ Sarai 'my princess', thy wife, shall be called Sara 'princess', and she shall bear thee a son whose name thou shalt call Isaac." Again when Abraham was one day, about noon, sitting at the door of his tent in the vale of Mambre, he saw three men ap- ¹ Fear not. Abram feared that the kings whom he had defeated would revenge themselves on him. ² Protector. I will take care of thee under all circumstances. ³ Exceeding great. I will give Myself to thee by the eternal vision, as a reward. God promised Himself to be Abram's reward, because he had refused to take any earthly one for what he had done. The possession and contemplation of God is the highest of all rewards. ⁴ Walk before me. Have Me always before thine eyes, and remember that I am always with thee. ⁵ Perfect. i. e. do only that which is right in My sight: lead a holy life in My presence. ⁶ Circumcised. All male infants of eight days old among their own children, as well as all servants bought for household service (Gen. 17, 12) had to be circumcised. The covenant of God was to be (marked) in the flesh, and the soul of the male not so marked was to be destroyed out of his people. Circumcision, then, was instituted by God as a religious rite and as a sacred sign (Sacrament) of admission among the people of God. According to its deeper meaning, it pointed backward to our fallen nature and vitiated origin of life, and forward to the spiritual circumcision of the heart and the new birth through Jesus Christ. --- XI. ABRAM REWARDED AND VISITED BY ANGELS. proaching. He ran to meet them, bowed down before them, and invited them$^(1)$ to rest in his tent and partake of some refreshment. Calling Sara, his wife, he told her to make some cakes of the finest flour. He caused the best calf of his herds to be killed for the entertainment of the unknown visitors. Butter, milk and honey were also placed before them, Abraham himself waiting upon his guests. After the meal, when they were about to depart, one of the strangers said to Abraham that after a year he would return, and that Sara, his wife, would have a son. Then Abraham understood that the Lord God Himself$^(2)$, accompanied by angels, was his guest. COMMENTARY. Faith. At the time that Almighty God told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, he and his wife Sara had no children, and both of them were growing very old. Therefore it seemed almost impossible that Abraham and Sara should have a son. Nevertheless, Abraham believed firmly in God's promise that He would give him a son, that his descendants would become a great nation, and that of his family would be born the Redeemer. On account of his faith in God's word, and especially in the promise of the future Saviour, Abraham was justified, i. e. he received sanctifying grace. Without faith no man can be justified, for "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebr. 11, 6). "The just man liveth by faith" (Rom. 1, 17). Hope. With firm confidence Abraham waited for everything that God had promised him, and gave himself over calmly to His guidance. "By faith he abode in the (strange) land", says St Paul, "dwelling in tents, for he looked for a city that hath foundations (i. e. the heavenly Jerusalem), whose builder and maker is God" (Hebr. 11, 9, 10). He therefore regarded himself as a stranger and a pilgrim, and looked forward to his heavenly home and the eternal possession and vision of God. Charity. Abraham's faith was living, and active through love. He loved God above all things, as he proved in the story you will hear in Chapt. XIII. In the last chapter we saw how he loved his neighbour, and he again proved this by his behaviour to the three $^(1)$ Invited them. He begged the strangers, as a favour to himself, to come and be entertained by him. He also brought water for them to wash their feet. In the East, in those days, people did not wear shoes or boots as we do, but only soles or sandals, bound to their feet by straps. The feet, being bare, became covered with dust, and had to be washed very often. To wash the feet of another was a service of love. $^(2)$ God himself. He knew this, because the stranger revealed things to him which only God could have known. --- XI. ABRAM REWARDED AND VISITED BY ANGELS. strangers. Abraham, the rich shepherd-prince, to whom Almighty God had made such great promises, ran to meet the three strangers, bowed down before them, and begged them to stay with him. He washed their feet and served them, while they were eating, though he had servants in abundance. Did not this show a great love of his neighbour, and great humility? As a reward of his virtue, God promised him that in a year he should have a son. Walking in the presence of God. Thinking constantly of God's presence is a powerful motive for the practice of what is good, and the avoidance of what is evil. Wherever we are, there is God with us, seeing everything we think and do! We ought, therefore, to live with Him, to meditate on His universal presence, and lift up our hearts to Him. By doing this we shall avoid sin and grow in virtue. The Old Covenant. Almighty God made His covenant first with Abraham, as being the father of His chosen people. Later (on Mount Sinai) He confirmed and renewed it with all the people of Israel. He instituted the rite of circumcision as an outward and visible sign of this covenant, that it might be, as it were, cut into the flesh of His chosen people, so that it could not be forgotten. This sign was to speak to the soul of every man of Israel, saying: "You are a member of the chosen people. You belong to God, and are to serve Him only!" Circumcision a type of holy Baptism. By circumcision man belonged to the Old Covenant: by Baptism he belongs to the New. By the first he pledged himself to observe the Old Law: in Baptism we pledge ourselves faithfully to observe the Christian Law. Circumcision impressed an indelible mark on the body; Baptism does the same to the soul. The difference lies in this, that circumcision could not, like Baptism, cleanse man from sin, and make him pure and holy of heart. Heaven. God gives Himself to the blessed as their reward exceeding great. They gaze for ever on His infinite majesty, and are eternally united to Him in love and happiness. Oh, what joy to possess God Himself, who is infinite goodness, beauty and holiness. Could God give us more than Himself? APPLICATION. Almighty God is near each one of us, and yet how little we think about Him! Do not ever again be so forgetful of God, but put yourself in His presence several times each day. Whenever any one whose opinion you respect is looking at you, you gather yourself together, and are careful to do nothing wrong. Should you not have much more respect for God's presence? You were put into this world to love and serve God. How have you served Him hitherto? Could you not serve Him better? Renew your baptismal vows to be faithful to Him unto death. --- XII. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA [Genesis 19] ABRAHAM went¹ part of the way with the strangers, who were going to Sodom. As they journeyed along together, the Lord² said to Abraham: "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin³ is become exceedingly grievous." He told him that He would destroy the two cities. Abraham was struck with fear; for, although the men amongst whom he lived were wicked, he loved them as neighbours. At last, drawing near to the Lord, he said: "Wilt Thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt Thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?" The Lord replied: "If I find in Sodom fifty just men within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." And Abraham said: "Seeing I have once begun, I will speak again to my Lord, whereas I am but dust and ashes⁴. If there be five less than fifty just persons in the city, wilt Thou destroy it?" And the Lord said to Abraham: "I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty." Abraham continued to plead in this manner, till at last the Lord said to him: "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." Then the Lord disappeared, and Abraham returned to his tent. The ten just men were not found in Sodom, and the two angels were sent to destroy it. They reached Sodom in the evening, and found Lot sitting at the gate of the city. Lot invited them into his house, and the angels said to him: "Arise, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy it. Lot went that night to two young men who were to marry his daughters, and told them to arise and go forth, for the Lord would destroy the city. But they thought that he spoke in jest. At the first ¹ Went. A sign that he not only waited on the three strangers, but also accompanied them on their way. ² Lord. One of the three Angels bore the name of God in him, and is addressed as such by Abraham. ³ Sin. Their sins were many; but those of unnatural impurity were the chief. ⁴ Dust and ashes. i. e. though I, a sinful, mortal man, am not worthy to speak to the Lord my God. --- XII. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA. dawn of day the angels pressed Lot to depart, saying: "Take thy wife and thy two daughters, lest you also perish in the wicked city." And, as Lot still lingered¹, they took him by the hand, and, as it were against his will, led him and his family out of the city, warning them all not to look back, under pain of death. Lot's wife, however, looked back, and was instantly changed into a pillar of salt. The sun had just risen, when Lot entered the neighbouring city of Segor. Then the Lord rained down from heaven fire and brimstone, and utterly destroyed² those two wicked cities, with all their inhabitants. COMMENTARY. God's Holiness and Justice are most plainly shown to us by the terrible fate of the wicked cities. The attack made on them by the strange kings was a visitation, permitted by God for the conversion of their wicked inhabitants. But they remained impenitent, and were quite as wicked after, as they were before that visitation. Lot's good example might also have been to them a means of conversion, but they paid no heed to it. Then Almighty God could no longer endure their shameful state of vice, for sin is infinitely abhorrent to the Most ¹ Lingered. Hesitating, and unable to make up his mind. ² Utterly destroyed Picture to yourself this terrible judgment which overtook the wicked cities. As the sun rose in the east, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha woke from sleep, thick clouds gathered over them, out of which fire fell which kindled every part of the town. The whole air was full of smoke and sulphur, the flames roared and licked up everything. The people, full of fear, rushed from their houses, hoping to escape from the city, but it was impossible to get out. The very air was aglow, and the earth itself, full of pitch and petroleum, was on fire. Their clothes caught fire, and they died a terrible death, shrieking in agony. The whole country round was burnt up, and remains unfruitful to the present day. The earth sank, and the waters of the Dead Sea rushed in, and covered the place where the wicked cities once stood, and formed what has since then been the southern part of the Dead Sea. Lot's wife, who, against the angel's express command, looked back, was suffocated and seized by the fire, covered with the molten bitumen, so that her corpse stood up as a pillar of salt. The Dead Sea, the southern portion of which covers the ancient sites of Sodom and Gomorrha, is a peculiar and most ghastly lake (Fig. 7, p. 63). It lies very low, 900 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and its water is so thick and bitter that no fish or creeping thing can live in it. If the Jordan, which flows into it, carries to it any fish, they die at once and come up to the surface. Therefore, the lake is called the Dead Sea. Objects thrown into it are covered at once with a salt-crust, and the stones on its shores are covered with bitumen. On the surface of the water, and on the shores, great flakes of bitumen are often found. The northern part of the lake Isaiah 1300 feet deep, but the southern part, where the wicked cities once stood, is only thirteen feet deep. This Dead Sea, which covers the once beautiful site of Sodom and Gomorrha, is a terrible monument of divine justice. --- XII. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA. Holy God. He utterly destroyed the wicked cities from off the face of the earth, and made the whole neighbourhood desolate so that all men might know and fear His terrible justice. "Reducing the cities of the Sodomites and Gomorrhites to ashes, God condemned them to be overthrown", says Saint Peter, "making them an example to those that should after act wickedly" (2 Pet. 2, 6). The punishment of Sodom and Gomorrha is, therefore, always held up as an example of the divine justice. God's hatred of impurity. This sin having been the chief cause of the destruction of the cities, you can see how hateful it is in the eyes of God, and how severely He punishes it. Impurity is the most shameful of all sins, and an abomination before God. It leads to many other sins, and easily results in impenitence and impiety, as was the case with the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha. Almighty God does not always punish it in this world, but He will certainly do so in the next world. "Do not err; neither fornicators nor adulterers shall possess the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6, 9). The duty of intercessory prayer. Intercession for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. Love prompted Abraham to pray for the wicked Sodomites: love should prompt you to pray for others, for your parents, brothers and sisters, and for your spiritual and temporal superiors; but especially for sinners, that they may have the grace of conversion, and may not be eternally lost. "Pray for one another that you may be saved" (James 5, 16). The characteristics of prayer. Abraham prayed with fervour, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance, making his petition six times. The power of prayer. Abraham's prayer was not made in vain, for Almighty God granted it, in so far that, had there been ten just men in Sodom, the whole city would have been spared. "The continual prayer of a just man availeth much" (James 5, 16). Lot's steadfastness is worthy of our admiration. He lived for twenty years in the wicked city, and did not let himself be led away into sin, but remained firm in what was right, and brought up his children in the holy fear of God. Therefore, Holy Scripture, in allusion to him, says: "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation" (2 Pet. 2, 9); because they pray and co-operate with grace. Sorrow on account of sin. Lot's fellow-citizens in Sodom "vexed his just soul with unjust works" (2 Pet. 2, 8). The sins and crimes which he was obliged to witness hurt his holy soul, because God was offended by them, and many souls were eternally lost. We, far from jesting about the sins of others, should mourn over them. We shall know by our conduct in such cases, whether or no we have a true love for God and our neighbour. "Blessed are they who mourn." KNECOT, Commentary 1 3 ed. --- XII. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRHA. Guardian angels. Holy angels protected Lot and his family. Lot's wife did not take heed to their warning; therefore, she perished. The torments of hell. The burning of the wicked cities gives us a faint idea of that hell into which the impenitent Sodomites were cast for ever. The torments of the burning inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha were very terrible; but the torments of the lost souls in hell are far more terrible. The fire of Sodom was kindled from heaven; the fire of hell is kindled by the anger of God. The shrieks of the burning Sodomites were very terrible, but the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the damned are far worse. The bodies of the Sodomites were burnt and the fire was extinguished; but the damned burn and are never consumed, nor is the fire ever quenched. Intercession. This story shows us how dear the just are in the sight of God. Because Abraham was just, Almighty God heard his prayer, and would have spared the cities for the sake of ten just men. Holy people living in any town or country bring a blessing on the sinners among whom they live, even though they may be scorned and persecuted by them. For their sake, many a temporal punishment is averted. Monasteries and religious houses bring a blessing on the places where they exist. Inordinate love of temporal possessions. Lot's wife was punished by the death of her body, because, being too much attached to her possessions which she had been obliged to leave behind her in Sodom, she paid no heed to the angel's injunctions, but stopped and looked behind her. Was it not foolish of this woman to weigh the very best of earthly gifts, life, in the balance against her paltry household goods? But those act with still greater madness who, from an inordinate love of honours, riches, pleasures &c., forget the salvation of their souls, and lose the possessions and joys which are eternal. Temporal punishment. God rewarded the virtue of Lot by saving him from the destruction of Sodom. But he lost all his possessions which were destroyed with the city, and he was thus punished for his selfish conduct towards his uncle. By this punishment of Lot and his wife, we see that God punishes the venial sins and imperfections even of the just. Temporal punishment must be suffered either in this world or in the next, i. e. in purgatory. The sin of Sodom. The Sodomites committed horrible and unnatural sins of impurity which called down the judgment of God. They are, therefore, counted among the sins which cry to heaven for vengeance. APPLICATION. How can you imitate Lot's steadfastness? A just man is wounded by the sins of his fellow-men. He laments their wickedness, and prays for their conversion. How have you behaved hitherto in this respect? How will you behave --- XIII. BIRTH OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE. in future? At the end of this lesson we will say three Our Fathers for the conversion of sinners. Detest and fear sin, especially sins of impurity. Set hell before your eyes, think of its horrible torments, and carefully avoid all temptations to such sins. Say thus: "What will the whole world profit me, if I follow my own inclinations, and suffer eternally in hell!" JOSEPH IN PRISON [Genesis 19, 21-40] JOSEPH was now pining in prison, among criminals. But even here God did not abandon him, and caused him to find favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison, who gave him charge of all the prisoners. Amongst these were the chief butler¹ and the chief baker² of Pharao, accused of treason against their king. After some time, they both, on the same night, had a dream which perplexed them and made them sad. Joseph, perceiving their sadness, asked them³, saying: "Why is your countenance sadder to-day than usual?" They answered: "We have dreamed a dream, and there is nobody to interpret it to us." Joseph said to them: "Doth not interpretation belong to God?⁴ Tell me what you have dreamed." The chief butler first told his dream: "I saw before me a vine on which were three branches which by little and little sent out buds; and afterwards the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes. And the cup of Pharao was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave the cup to Pharao." Joseph answered: "This is the interpretation of the dream: The three branches are yet three days, after which Pharao will restore thee to thy former place, and thou shalt present him the cup as before. Only remember me, when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness, to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this prison!" ¹ Chief butler. This was the name given to that officer in the king's court whose duty it was to examine and pour out the wine which the king drank. ² Chief baker. The duty of the chief baker was to bake the bread for the king, and, above all, to examine it, before the king ate it. ³ Asked them. Full of sympathy for their trouble. ⁴ Belong to God. By this Joseph meant: "Only those dreams which are sent by God have any special meaning, and God alone can interpret such dreams." KNIGHT. Commentary 1. 3 ed --- XX. JOSEPH IN PRISON. Then the chief baker, seeing that Joseph had so wisely interpreted the dream, said: "I, also, dreamed a dream that I had three baskets of meal upon my head; and that in one basket which was uppermost I carried all kinds of pastry, and that the birds ate out of it." Joseph said to him: "This is the interpretation of the dream: The three baskets are yet three days, after which Pharao will take thy head from thee and hang thee¹ on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh." The third day after this was the birthday of Pharao. At the banquet² he remembered the chief butler and chief baker. The former he restored to his place; the latter³ he caused to be hanged on a gibbet. The chief butler rejoiced in his good fortune, but he thought no more of Joseph. COMMENTARY Ancient Egyptian wall paintings. The object of suffering. Joseph really had a great deal to endure. At home, after being derided by his brethren, he was sold to be a slave in a strange land. Then, though innocent, he was thrown into prison and bound with chains, as if he were the worst of criminals. ¹ Hang thee. In olden times a criminal was first beheaded, and then his body was hung on a gibbet, as a warning to others. ² Banquet. At the least, given by Pharao on this occasion. ³ The latter. Apparently, the chief butler's offence was not so great as that of the chief baker, and therefore the king pardoned him on his birthday. --- XX. JOSEPH IN PRISON. He had, apparently, lost everything now, home, freedom and honour, but he still kept what was best of all, his innocence and his confidence in God. Every kind of external misfortune had befallen him, but he still had a good conscience, and the peace of God in his heart, so that, in spite of everything, he was still inwardly happy. But we ask: "Why did Almighty God allow this holy, innocent man to be burdened by so many troubles?" The answer is: "He allowed it in order that Joseph might be confirmed in virtue, and prepared by these humiliations for his future exalted position. All the sufferings which God allows to befall the just are for this same end; only their exaltation does not always take place in this world, but generally in the next." God does not forsake his servants. God was with Joseph, that is, He comforted and upheld him in his sufferings and enabled the jailer to recognise his innocence and usefulness, and thus to lighten his captivity. We learn by this story of Joseph that Almighty God does not forsake those who are His, and that we ought always to trust in Him, have recourse to Him, and submit ourselves to His will. You can see now why the Church (by the mouth of her priests) says "Dominus vobiscum" to us so often; for these words express her wish that God may always be with us by His grace. The response: "And with thy spirit", equally expresses the wish that God may, by His grace, dwell in the soul of the priest. Compassion. When he was set over the other prisoners, Joseph was not rough and harsh with them, but, on the contrary, sympathised with them, and comforted those who were in trouble. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Humility. Joseph at once gave it to be understood that the interpretation of the dreams must come from God, and that of himself he could give none. He thus gave the glory to God. Ingratitude. The chief butler behaved most ungratefully towards Joseph by forgetting him in the time of his own prosperity. Was not that horrible? But to whom is it that we owe most gratitude? Is it not to God? Thanksgiving is a necessary part of the worship of God. We should not thank Him by words only, but also by deed, and by doing His holy will. He who offends God grievously proves that he is thoroughly ungrateful. APPLICATION. You have often been ungrateful to God, and also to your parents and superiors, by vexing and grieving them. Think of all the benefits both to soul and body which you have received from God! Say your morning and night prayers, and your grace at meal-times devoutly. The chief butler forgot Joseph who, all the time, was lingering in prison. Christians are very apt to forget their departed 7\* --- XXI. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION. friends and benefactors who are suffering in the prison of purgatory. Has it been so with you? Pray every day for the holy souls, and especially for your relations and benefactors. ISAAC MARRIES REBECCA [Genesis 21] NOW Abraham was advanced¹ in years, and the Lord had blessed him in all things. He, however, wished, before his death, to see his son wedded to a virtuous wife. But as the daughters of the land² were wicked, he said to his old servant Eliezer: "Go to my own country³ and kindred, and take a wife thence for my son Isaac, but beware lest thou take one of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell." The servant promised faithfully all that Abraham had commanded him. He then took ten camels of his master's herd, loaded them with rich presents, and set out for Haran, where Nachor, the brother of Abraham, dwelt. Arriving there, he let his camels rest near a well outside the city. It was in the evening, the time when the young women were wont to come out to draw water from the well. Then he prayed fervently within himself that heaven might prosper his undertaking: "O Lord, I beseech Thee, show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I stand nigh the spring, and the daughters of the inhabitants of the city will come out to draw water. Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: 'Let down thy pitcher that I may drink', and she shall answer: 'Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also', let it be ¹ Advanced. Abraham was now 140 years old, and Isaac 40. ² The daughters of the land. The inhabitants of Chanaan did not believe in the true God, but worshipped idols. ³ My own country. Before Abraham lived in Chanaan he had lived with his father in Haran of Mesopotamia. Haran was several hundred miles from Bersabee. --- XIV. ISAAC MARRIES REBECCA. the same whom Thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac; and by this I shall understand that Thou hast shown kindness to my master." He had not yet ended his prayer when Rebecca, a beautiful and modest maiden, came out, carrying a pitcher. She went down¹ to the well, filled the pitcher, and was returning, when Eliezer ran to meet her and said: "Give me a little water to drink out of thy pitcher." She answered him kindly: "Drink, my lord." And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him to drink. And when he had drunk, she said: "I will draw water for thy camels also till they all drink." Then, pouring water² into the troughs, she let the camels drink. After they had drunk, the servant presented her with golden ear-rings and bracelets, saying to her: "Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?" She answered: "I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor. We have a good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in." Then Eliezer bowed down and adored the Lord, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Abraham, who hath not taken away His mercy and truth from him, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother!" He was then invited to the house, and bread was set before him, but he refused to eat, until he had delivered his message. When he had stated the object of his coming, Laban, the brother of Rebecca, and Bathuel, her father, answered: "The word hath proceeded from the Lord³: we cannot speak any other thing but His pleasure. Behold! Rebecca is before thee: take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken." Then the servant bowed down to the ground, adored the Lord and, bringing forth vessels of gold and silver, with garments of the finest texture, presented them to Rebecca. He also presented rich gifts to her brother and mother. Then, full of joy, he partook of the refreshments offered to him. Next morning, after Rebecca had received the blessing of her parents ¹ Down. The place for drawing water from wells was generally below the surface of the ground and reached by steps leading down to it. But the drinking trough for cattle was above ground. ² Pouring water. This was hard work, for there were ten camels, each of which drank a great quantity of water, which had to be carried up to the trough. ³ From the Lord. God has so ordained it. --- XIV. ISAAC MARRIES REBECCA. and brother, she set out with her maidens for her destined home, and on arriving there became the wife of Isaac. Abraham lived many years after Isaac's marriage. He died, aged one hundred and seventy-five years, and was buried by his son at Hebron¹, where Sara, his wife, had been buried before. COMMENTARY. Unity of faith the chief thing in married life. Almighty God chose Abraham in order that through him and his descendants the true faith might be preserved and spread. Therefore Abraham was very particular to choose for his son Isaac a wife who believed in and served the true God. He was resolved that Isaac should not marry any of the daughters of the heathen Chanaanites, however beautiful or rich they might be, for fear that either he or his children should become weak and wavering in their faith. His first care was that his son's wife should hold the true faith. It should likewise be the first thought of all Catholics, for unity of faith is, above all things, necessary to a happy marriage. Married people who look on religion as a secondary consideration are on the high road to indifference about their faith, and even to the loss of it altogether. Eliezer the model of a faithful servant. Eliezer fulfilled his master's commission not only with prudence, but also with zeal, for he would not even eat until he had delivered his message, and wished to return to his master as soon as possible after having done so. He, like Abraham, was remarkable for his piety and confidence in God. He prayed fervently for guidance in making a good choice, and thanked God for the gracious guidance vouchsafed to him. The virtues displayed by Rebecca. She was kind and hospitable to Eliezer, and compassionate towards the thirsty camels. She voluntarily offered to draw water for the beasts, without waiting for Eliezer to ask her to do so. He knew by this action that she had a kind heart, as well as that she was the bride destined by God for Isaac. God looks to the heart and not to the outward appearance, and chose Rebecca, on account of her virtues, to be the wife of the patriarch Isaac, from whom the Divine Redeemer was to descend. A summary of Abraham's virtues. Faith and hope, love of God and his neighbour, hospitality, obedience, love of peace, disinterestedness and final perseverance. ¹ Hebron. Hebron (Fig. 8, p. 73) was twenty-five miles to the south of Jerusalem. Near this town was a double cave which Abraham had bought for a family burial-place. This cave was the only possession which Abraham had in the Promised Land. Sara, who had died three years before Isaac's marriage, was buried there. --- XV. ESAU AND JACOB. Limbo. Where did Abraham's soul go after death? "He was gathered to his people" (Gen. 25, 8), i. e. he joined the souls of the just (such as Adam, Abel, Seth, Henoch, Noe &c.), in Limbo. There they rested in the blessed hope and expectation of the coming Redeemer who would deliver them from that prison and take them with Him into the eternal joy of the beatific vision of God. APPLICATION. Begin and end each day, or any important undertaking, with a prayer for God's blessing. Begin with God and end with God; that is the best rule of life. Are you obliging to your friends, and to strangers, as Rebecca was? Think in what way you can help others, whether brothers, companions, friends, or strangers, and resolve to make use of your opportunities. God will reward each little service you perform. ESAU AND JACOB [Genesis 25, 20 to 27, 41] ISAAC and Rebecca remained twenty years without children. At length God heard their prayer¹, and gave them two sons. The first-born, Esau, was red and hairy, and of a rough, harsh temper. Jacob, the second, was smooth in appearance and gentle in his bearing. Esau became a skilful hunter and husbandman. Jacob was a plain man, and dwelt in tents. Isaac loved Esau, and ate with pleasure the game that he had killed. Rebecca, on the other hand, loved the mild and gentle Jacob. She loved him the more, because she knew by God's revelation (Gen. XXV, 23) that he, instead of Esau, had found favour with God². One day Jacob was cooking a mess of pottage³, when Esau, coming home from the field, faint with hunger, said to his brother: "Give me of this pottage, for I am hungry." Jacob said to him: "Sell me thy first birthright." Esau replied: „Lo, I die⁴ of hunger: what ¹ Their prayer. They had prayed for many years that they might have a son who would be heir of the promises made to Abraham his father. ² Favour with God. i. e. that it was God's will that he should have precedency over Esau; that he was to be the heir of the promises, the forefather of the chosen people and of the Divine Redeemer. ³ Pottage. A soup of lentils. ⁴ I die. This was evidently an exaggeration. He might have appeased his hunger with other food; but he had set his heart on this particular mess of lentils, and would have nothing else. --- XV. ESAU AND JACOB. will the first birthright avail me?" Jacob answered: "Swear, therefore, to me." Esau swore¹ and sold his birthright. And taking bread and the mess of pottage, he ate and drank and went away, making little account of having sold his birthright. Now Isaac was old² and had lost his eyesight. One day he called Esau, his son, and said to him: "My son, thou seest I am old, and I know not the day of my death. Take thy arms, thy quiver³ and bow, and go abroad⁴; and when thou hast taken something by hunting, make me savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it that I may eat, and my soul may bless thee before I die." Esau promptly obeyed the command of his father, and went to the fields to hunt. Rebecca had overheard the words of Isaac, and fearing that, contrary to the will of God, Esau might be preferred to Jacob, she said to him: "Now, my son, follow my counsel. Go to the flock and bring me two of the best kids, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth; so that, after having eaten it, he may bless thee before he die." Jacob hastened to the flock and brought two kids. Rebecca prepared them as though they were game, and then clothed Jacob in Esau's best garments, and covered his neck and hands with the skin of the kids⁵, and sent him to his father with the meats she had prepared. Isaac asked: "Who art thou, my son?" Jacob answered. "I am Esau, thy first-born; I have done as thou hast commanded; arise, sit, and eat of my venison that thy soul may bless me." Isaac said again: ¹ Swear. He swore to give over to Jacob his birthright, or his right of eldest son. The first born son received a double portion of his father's inheritance, and after his father's death he became the head and priest of the family. In the time of the patriarchs, it entailed not only these temporal advantages, but spiritual advantages also, for by his father's blessing the first born was made the heir of the divine promises. Hence in those old and venerable patriarchal days children esteemed their father's blessing very highly. It was to them the most valuable part of the paternal inheritance, and was like a sacrament, by means of which God conveyed to them the blessing which He had imparted to their forefathers, and made them the heirs of the promises (Dupandeup, De l'Éducation). It was, therefore, most foolish and frivolous of Esau to sell these important rights for a mere mess of pottage! ² Old. He was 137 years old and quite blind. ³ Quiver. A sheath in which arrows are placed, something like the sheath into which a soldier puts his sword. ⁴ Abroad. Out hunting. ⁵ Skin of the kids. The skins of the Angora-goat, the hair of which is very soft. --- XV. ESAU AND JACOB. "Come hither that I may feel thee¹, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau or no." Jacob then drew near to his father, and Isaac touching him said: "The voice, indeed, is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."² And he gave him his blessing. Scarcely had Jacob gone out when Esau came with the game he had taken and cooked for his father. "Arise, my father, and eat," said he. Isaac, in surprise, asked him: "Who art thou?" and he answered: "I am thy first-born son Esau." And Isaac saw that Jacob had deceived him. Then Esau roared out with a great cry, saying: "He hath already taken from me³ my birthright, and now he hath robbed me of my father's blessing."⁴ Then he said to his father: "Hast thou kept no blessing for me?" And as he continued to cry out and lament, Isaac, moved with compassion, said to him: "In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above, shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword, and shalt serve thy brother⁵; but the time shall come when thou shalt shake off and loose his yoke from thy neck." From this time Esau hated his brother. COMMENTARY. Jacob's selfishness. Jacob did not behave either nicely or rightly when he turned his brother's desire for the pottage to his own advantage, and asked such a high price for it. He behaved very selfishly, and not at all like his unselfish grandfather, Abraham. Lies and dissimulation. Jacob sinfully deceived his father in a twofold way. To begin with, he told a direct lie; but he also lied to his father in another way, by dissimulating, putting on Esau's clothes which smelt of the field, and covering his hands with the hairy skins. It is quite possible to lie without speaking a word. When you dissimulate, ¹ Feel thee. That I may know by the touch. ² Hands of Esau. They are as hairy as the hands of Esau. ³ Taken from me. Was that true? No, for he himself had sold it to Jacob. Now, in his anger, he laid all the blame on his brother. ⁴ My father's blessing. i. e. the blessing to which I, as the eldest son, have the right. But he no longer had a right to it, having sold his birthright, and sworn with an oath that he gave up all claim to it. He ought to have told his father this, when Isaac announced his intention of giving him his blessing. ⁵ Serve thy brother. Isaac fully understood and realised that it was by God's special providence that Jacob received the blessing of the first-born, and that this could not be altered. --- XV. ESAU AND JACOB. and lie by your actions, you sin against the eighth Commandment quite as much as if you told a lie in so many words. Sharing the guilt of another's sin. The fact that his mother induced him to deceive his father, was a partial excuse for Jacob. Jacob, indeed, carried out the deception, but Rebecca instigated him, so that she shared in his sin. But Jacob was not compelled to obey his mother when she told him to act thus deceitfully. The end does not justify the means. Rebecca and Jacob's intention in deceiving Isaac was good. They knew that Almighty God had chosen Jacob to be the heir of the promises, and they feared that His will would not be accomplished if Esau succeeded in obtaining the blessing of the first-born. True; but ought they to have committed a sin to attain this end? No! sin remains sin even if you have the best of intentions in committing it, and the noblest of ends to attain. Rebecca and Jacob ought, like Abraham, to have had confidence in God, and said: "The Almighty and All-wise God will carry out His own will even if we cannot see how." Instead of this, they took divine providence into their own hands and committed a sin. Thus, want of faith and confidence in God was the real cause of their sin¹. Temporal punishment. Esau's indifference was punished by the loss of the rights of the first-born, not only to himself, but to all his descendants, the Edomites. Rebecca and Jacob were also punished in this world. Jacob confessed and repented of his sin, therefore God forgave him, but he did penance for it during many a long year. As you will read in the following chapters, he had to flee from his brother, and serve for twenty years in a strange land. Later in his life he was caused much grief by his own sons, who deceived him even more cruelly than he deceived Isaac, making out that a wild beast had devoured his dear son Joseph. Thus severely had he to expute his one sin! Rebecca, who had sinned through love of Jacob, was punished by having to part with him, and she never saw him again in this life. In all this the divine justice is most clearly seen. The Wisdom of God, which makes good come out of evil, can be learnt from this story. Almighty God had from the beginning, or rather from all eternity, chosen Jacob to be the heir of His promises. The faults of men (such as Isaac's preference for Esau, Jacob's deceit, and Esau's hatred) could not alter what He had ordained: on the contrary, they served, under the divine guidance, for the accomplishment ¹ It is but fair to mention that so great an interpreter of Scripture as St Augustine hesitated to condemn the conduct of Rebecca and Jacob. "It is a mystery", he said, "and not a lie", meaning that the whole transaction was a kind of drama wherein a divine truth was acted in a human scene in which the actors were but dramatis personae. Anyhow their moral guilt is not so evident as the author might lead us to suppose. Another interpretation is possible. Indeed the author shifts the sin to something else. (E. E.) --- XV. ESAU AND JACOB. of it. Jacob, especially, was strengthened in confidence in God, and purified by the very consequences of his deceit, his long exile and servitude. He was by them confirmed in humility and piety, and trained to be a holy man of God, and the worthy heir of the promises. The frivolity and greediness of Esau. The elder brother sinned by longing too greedily for the mess of pottage, and by selling, in order to gratify a desire of the moment, his birthright, to which were attached such great privileges. He ought not to have given up his right to be the heir of the promises, and the forefather of the Divine Redeemer, for any price which the world could offer him. By giving way to a momentary and sensual desire, he proved how little he valued the good things of a higher kind which were held out to him. St Paul, therefore, calls him "a profane person" (Hebr. 12, 16). Esau should have overcome his inordinate appetite. In order to attain to the virtue of temperance we must carefully deny ourselves. Sinful oaths. Esau also sinned by lightly taking an oath which was not necessary. Anger is a capital sin. Even as Esau was outwardly rough and hairy, so also was his character harsh and ungovernable. He conceived a great anger towards his brother; his anger turned to hatred; and hatred induced him to form the wicked project of killing his brother. In his blind passion he quite forgot how the murderer Cain had been punished, and gave no thought to the grief which his hatred was causing his parents (compare Commentary on the envy of Cain. Chapter V). The prophecy of Isaac. While blessing Jacob he said: "And let peoples serve thee and tribes worship thee; be thou lord of thy brethren and let thy mother's children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee, and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings." This promise has found its most complete fulfilment in our Divine Saviour who, by His human nature, was descended from Jacob. To Him all Christian nations bow down as to their supreme Lord. The folly of sinners. Many men, alas, imitate foolish, frivolous Esau, who sold such great treasures for a mere mess of pottage. Every Christian who commits a mortal sin acts more foolishly than Esau; for he barters away treasures which are priceless and eternal for a passing, sinful desire. He renounces the grace of God, inward peace and joy, and all his merits; and draws down on himself the curse of God and eternal damnation. Therefore St Paul says: "Look diligently, lest any man be wanting in the grace of God, lest there be any profane person like Esau who for one mess sold his birthright" (Hebr. 12, 15 &c.). Esau wept loudly for the loss of his father's blessing; but how will the children of this world mourn and wail on the great Day of Judgment? Stupefied by their passions, they bartered away their claim to heaven and all the imperishable treasures of the children of God, for the --- XVI. JACOB'S FLIGHT, VISION, AND EXILE. passing pleasures of sin; and on that day they will find themselves, in very deed, shut out from heaven and condemned to everlasting torments. APPLICATION. Esau sinned through his greedy desire for the pottage. Have you never sinned by gluttony? Try for the future to overcome your greedy desires. Bear hunger and thirst for a short time with cheerfulness; and be not dainty about your food. He who does not tame his appetites, and deny himself, cannot be virtuous or happy. Jacob ought to have given the mess willingly to his hungry brother. Have you never been selfish towards your brothers and sisters, and wished to keep everything for yourself, or chosen the best or largest portion for yourself? Do you ever tell lies? Some day you must make satisfaction for every lie. God hates lies, because He is the very truth. If you wish to be a child of God, always tell the truth. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 12, 22). JACOB RETURNS HOME, AND IS RECONCILED WITH HIS BROTHER [Genesis 31-35] WHEN Laban saw that Jacob had become very rich, he began to envy him, and ceased to regard him with favour. Then God said to Jacob: "Return into the land of thy fathers¹. I will be with thee."² Jacob rose up without delay, and set out with his family and all he possessed. He had reached the banks of the river Jordan when he began to fear on account of his brother. He sent messengers before him to say to Esau: "Let me find favour³ in thy sight!" The messengers returned, saying to Jacob: "Esau cometh with speed to meet thee, with four hundred men." Then Jacob was sore afraid⁴, and he thus prayed: ¹ Thy fathers. To the land of Chanaan where his grandfather Abraham had lived, and where his father Isaac still lived. ² Be with thee. I will protect thee. God said this, because Jacob was still in fear of the fury of Esau. ³ Find favour. Act not as an enemy to me, but forgive me the wrong I did you. ⁴ Sore afraid. Jacob had every reason to be afraid that Esau was coming at the head of four hundred men to take him prisoner, or kill him. --- 86 XVII. JACOB RETURNS HOME AND IS RECONCILED TO ESAU. "God of my fathers, O Lord, who saidst to me, 'Return to thy land', I am not worthy of the least of all Thy mercies, and of Thy truth which Thou hast fulfilled to Thy servant. With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I return with two companies. Deliver me from the hand of my brother!" During the night¹ an angel appeared to Jacob with whom he wrestled² till morning. And Jacob said to the angel: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.'³ The angel said to him: "Henceforth thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel (i. e. strength of God), for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?" He then divided his children, his servants, and his flocks into companies, and putting himself at the head of one of them, he advanced to meet his brother, bowing⁴ seven times to the ground ¹ Night. Jacob had made all those with him go forward, while he himself remained alone behind, so as to begin this most eventful day by fervent prayer. ² Wrestled. Wrestling is that kind of combat in which, without the giving of any blows, one man tries to throw the other to the ground. The angel could easily have overthrown Jacob, if he wished it, for "he touched the sinew of Jacob's thigh, and forthwith it shrivelled up, and Jacob, from that time forward, limped on one foot, because the sinew of his thigh was shrunken". This lameness was to be to him a constant reminder of his strife, and a warning to be humble. Jacob was aware that he had to do with a supernatural being, on which account he asked for his blessing. ³ Bless me. The mysterious being who appeared to Jacob while he was praying, and wrestled with him, was the "Angel of the Covenant", i. e. the Son of God, who, assuming a human form, allowed Himself to be apparently overcome by Jacob, as an encouragement to him, and a proof that he need fear nothing from Esau. Therefore the angel said: "If thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men" (Gen. 32, 28). The following explanation may help you to a deeper understanding of this mysterious event. A very important and decisive day lay before Jacob, and he might well ask: Would he reach the Promised Land in safety; and would God's promises, so all important for the salvation of the world, be fulfilled? These questions did not only affect himself, but the whole of mankind, to the remotest future. At that moment Almighty God condescended to his chosen servant. The struggle to which he was subjected was a trial, similar to that mortal struggle which Abraham had to go through, when commanded to sacrifice his only son — a struggle for life and death, such as our Lord, the great Wrestler with God, had to endure in His Agony in the Garden. Jacob overcame, because his faith was invincible, and he came out of the struggle, strengthened and encouraged to live for his own and our salvation. ⁴ Bowing. He humbled himself before his brother in order to awaken kindly feelings in Esau. --- XVII. JACOB RETURNS HOME AND IS RECONCILED TO ESAU. before him. But Esau, rejoicing to see his brother Jacob, ran to meet him and embraced him with many tears. Then, perceiving the children, he asked: "Whose are those?" Jacob replied: "They are the children which God hath given me." And, making a sign to them, they all advanced, and bowed down before Esau Jacob then presented Esau with several flocks. But Esau refused them, saying: "I have plenty, my brother; keep what is thine for thyself!" Jacob insisted, and said: "I beseech thee, take the blessing which God hath given me!" Then Esau yielded to his prayer, and Jacob, full of gratitude for the protection of God, continued his journey, and arrived in the land of Chanaan. He came to Salem, a city of the Sichemites, where he bought a field; and then, mindful of his vow, he repaired to Bethel to offer sacrifice to the Lord. Thence he went south to Hebron, where his aged father lived. On the way (near Bethlehem) his wife Rachel, died after having given birth to Jacob's youngest son Benoni or Benjamin (Fig. 10). 1 Yielded. By this acceptance of gifts, the reconciliation was finally sealed. --- 88 XVII. JACOB RETURNS HOME AND IS RECONCILED TO ESAU. Isaac was happy that his son had returned, and lived after this about twenty years. Finally, enfeebled by age, he died, one hundred and eighty years old. Esau and Jacob buried him at Hebron$^(1)$. COMMENTARY. All things come from God. When Jacob offered several flocks to his brother, he uttered these beautiful words: "Take of the blessing which God hath given me." He confessed thereby that it was God who had given, preserved, and increased his flocks. Faithfulness of God. This story shows how God fulfilled His promise: "I will be thy keeper, and will bring thee back into this land." Keeping vows. Jacob, too, was faithful, and kept his vow. After he had parted from Esau, he went to Bethel, and made there an altar. Picture to yourself how he knelt down before the altar, with all his household, and thanked Almighty God from the bottom of his heart. Necessity makes people pray. In his great fear Jacob had recourse to God. We, too, ought to turn to God for help, comfort and strength in times of trial, fear and need. "Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth" (Ps. 123, 8). The holy apostle James says: "Is any of you sad? Let him pray" (James 5, 13). Prayer does not dispense us from helping ourselves. Jacob did not only pray to God, but he did all that lay in his own power to propitiate his brother. He sent messengers to beg his favour; he sent him presents, and humbled himself, bowing down seven times before him. We should act as he did, in our times of need or trouble. We should, indeed, pray, but we should not sit with our arms folded, but should use every lawful means to help ourselves. Prayer must be persevering. The holy patriarch, wrestling with God, is a figure of persevering prayer. As Jacob wrestled and cried out: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me"; so ought we never to give up praying, until we have been heard. Almighty God wills that we should, as it were, wrestle with Him in prayer, do violence to Him, and storm Him with our petitions. By doing so, we become more worthy to obtain what we ask. See the parable of the importunate friend (New Test. XLIX). The power of prayer. We can see by Esau's conduct how powerful and effective Jacob's prayer was. For Esau still bore his brother a grudge, and came with four hundred men to seize him. But, on account of Jacob's prayer, God changed Esau's hard heart, and he became friendly towards his brother, and fell on his neck and kissed him, weeping with emotion. See in what manner God can change the hearts $^(1)$ At Hebron. In the cave where Abraham and Rebecca were already buried. --- XVIII. JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. of men! "As the division of waters, so the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord: whithersoever He will he shall turn it" (Prov. 21, 1). Hatefulness of envy. Not only was Jacob blessed by God, but, for his sake, God prospered Laban as well. And yet Laban envied his son-in-law, and was unfriendly to him. We can see by Laban's conduct what a foolish, hateful, and unjust vice envy is. It is noble to forgive. What is the feeling of your heart, as you picture to yourself those two brothers weeping, and embracing one another? Is it not a moving sight? Is not Esau, forgiving and weeping, a thousand times better than Esau, angry and vindictive? Is it not, therefore, a beautiful and noble thing to forgive those who have injured us? "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Parents are the representatives of God to their children. Jacob said, speaking of his children: "They are the children which God hath given to me." God gives children to their parents to bring them up for Him, to love and serve Him. On this account, parents are to their children the representatives of God, and children ought to honour them as such. Jesus Christ, the Author of all grace. The blessing which Jacob wrung from God is a figure of the great gift of grace which Jesus Christ, the true Israel, wrung from heaven for us by His sufferings and death. APPLICATION. Do you ever refuse to make friends with your brothers and sisters, or any other children who have injured you? Do you not nurse a feeling of resentment? Are you not ill-natured to them? Do you not wish them evil? Do you ask pardon of others (as, for example, your parents) when you have done wrong, and grieved them? Do you easily begin a quarrel? Forgive everyone from your heart! Be at peace with everybody, and especially with your brothers and sisters! Do not aggravate or strike anyone! It is far better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. Say to-day an "Our Father" for all those who have done you any injury! JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN [Genesis 37] JACOB had twelve sons, and he loved Joseph¹ above all the others, because he was young and very good. And Jacob made him a coat² of divers colours. One day, when the brothers ¹ He loved Joseph. Jacob's preference for Joseph was justifiable, because the boy was so innocent and pious, but his father ought to have had the good sense not to prefer him to his brothers so openly. ² Coat. A coat of many-coloured and rich materials. --- XVIII. JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. were all tending their flocks, some of them committed a most wicked crime. Joseph, being shocked and angry, told his father, on his return home, what he had seen. From that time forward, his brothers hated Joseph, and could not speak to him kindly. Joseph had once a remarkable dream¹ which he thus related to his brothers: "Hear my dream: I thought we were binding sheaves in the field, and my sheaf arose, as it were, and stood, and your sheaves, standing about, bowed down before my sheaf." His brothers replied: "Shalt thou be our king? Or shall we be subject to thy dominion?" And they hated him² more than ever. Joseph also dreamed that the sun, the moon and eleven stars worshipped him. His father rebuked³ him, saying: "What meaneth this dream? Shall I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, worship thee upon the earth?" But Jacob⁴ thought within himself that perhaps God had destined Joseph for great things. One day, when the sons of Jacob had gone with their flocks to Sichem⁵, Jacob said to Joseph: "Go and see if all things be well with thy brethren and the cattle!" He obeyed, and went in search of them. When they saw him afar off, they said: "Behold, the dreamer cometh. Let us kill him and cast him into some old pit, and we will say some evil beast hath devoured him; and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him." Reuben, the eldest of the brothers, hearing this, sought to deliver Joseph out of their hands, and said to them: "Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood, but cast him into this pit."⁶ This he said, because he wished to restore the boy to his father. ¹ Dream. This was a supernatural dream, not an ordinary one. ² They hated him. His brothers envied him, first, for the preference shown him by their father, as exemplified by the gift of the beautiful coat: secondly, they hated him for having revealed their misdeeds to Jacob; and, lastly, their hatred of him was increased by the fact that Joseph's dreams seemed to foreshadow that he would one day rule over them. ³ Rebuked. Jacob scolded him for repeating his dreams to his brothers, and tried to remove the idea from his mind that these dreams meant anything. ⁴ Jacob. He pondered over the meaning of Joseph's dreams. He suspected that they had been sent by God, and that God destined Joseph for something great. But he did not reveal his thoughts to Joseph, for fear of making him vainglorious. ⁵ Sichem. Jacob, as we have seen, had property at Sichem. From Hebron to Sichem was a distance of fifty-five miles. ⁶ Pit. A deep pit walled in, in which rain-water was collected, and which was then covered over with a stone. At the time that Reuben made his proposal, it was dry. --- XVIII. JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. When Joseph drew near to his brothers, they forthwith stripped him of his coat of divers colours, and cast him into the pit¹, in which, happily, there was no water. Then they sat down to eat bread, and saw some foreign merchants passing by, with camels, carrying spices, balm and myrrh into Egypt. Juda then said to his brothers: "What will it profit us to kill our brother? It is better that he be sold, and that our hands be not defiled, for he is our brother." The others agreed, and, the merchants having come up, they drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him for twenty pieces of silver². Joseph wept and besought them to have pity upon him, but in vain. The merchants took him away with them into Egypt³. Reuben, being absent at the moment, knew nothing of this wicked bargain. On going to the pit into which Joseph had been cast, and not finding him there, he rent his garments in despair, saying: "The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go?" The other brothers remained quite unconcerned. Having killed a kid, they dipped Joseph's coat in it, and sent it to their father, saying: "This we have found; see, if it be thy son's coat, or no." The father, knowing the coat, said: "It is my son's coat; a wild beast hath devoured Joseph." Then he rent his garments, and putting on sackcloth, mourned his son a long time. His children gathered around and strove to soothe his grief, but he would not be comforted, saying: "I will go down⁴ to my son into the grave⁵, mourning." ¹ Cast him into the pit. Imagine to yourself how Joseph must have wept, and prayed for mercy: "Ah, spare me, my brothers! Am I to die of hunger and thirst in that pit! Think of our old father, how he will mourn, if I do not return to him! Think of the justice of God, and how He will punish you as He punished Cain! What have I done to harm you?" But his brothers had no compassion, and cast him without mercy into the pit; and then sat down to eat, just as if nothing had happened. ² Twenty pieces of silver. This was the usual price of a young slave. His brothers sold him as a slave, out of covetousness. As a slave, his owner could do as he pleased with him, and he was no more thought of than a beast, or any other piece of merchandise which could be had for money. ³ Egypt. This country lies to the N.E. of Africa, and was inhabited by pagans. ⁴ I will go down. i. e. I care no more to live. I wish to die, so that I may join my beloved Joseph. Jacob thus expressed his belief in the immortality of the soul ⁵ Grave. To Limbo, where the souls of the just were detained. --- XVIII. JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. COMMENTARY. Innocent youth. It is impossible not to love the innocent and obedient Joseph, who did not follow his brothers' evil example, and who was such a joy to his father! Nothing is more beautiful than a holy, untarnished youth. God's blessing rests on him as it did on Joseph; for it was on account of Joseph's holy and innocent youth that God chose him for such high things. He who passes his youth in innocence, and is a joy to his parents, will look back to his young days with pleasure, even when he is an old man. On the contrary, if a man stains his beautiful youth with sins and vices, and is a grief to his parents, the memory of his early days will be as a gnawing worm to him for the rest of his life. Revealing the faults of others. Now, was it nice or right of Joseph to tell his father about his brothers' sin? One says 'Yes', and another says 'No'; and both are apparently right. If Joseph had taken pleasure in revealing his brothers' sin, and had hoped to bring punishment on them by doing so, he would have acted very wrongly. He would also have sinned, had he revealed the wrong done to anyone but his father; for that would have been a sin of detraction. Joseph, however, had no bad intention, when he told his father what he knew, but acted out of true love both for God and his brothers, in order that his father might warn them and exercise supervision over them, and that thus his brothers might mend their ways, and not offend God any more. The revelation being necessary, it was Joseph's duty to make it. If he had kept silence about his brothers' sin, he would have shared the guilt of it. Had he not told his father, he would have been to blame, if his brothers had sinned again in the same way. You can learn an important rule from Joseph's conduct on this occasion: Never reveal the faults of others without necessity; but you must (and more especially, if you are asked) reveal them to those who have the right to know, such as your parents, masters &c.; and this, in order that the wrong-doing may be stopped. Dreams. Joseph's dreams are called supernatural, because they were sent by God, and had a prophetic meaning. God has often shown men His will by means of dreams. Take, for example, the three kings whom God commanded in a dream not to return to Herod (New Test. VIII). Such dreams are supernatural, because they have a hidden meaning, and God reveals His will through them. It might happen, even now, that God should make known something to some holy person by means of a dream; but in a general way, dreams mean nothing, and are quite ordinary and natural. We possess the teaching of Jesus Christ, by which to know the will of God; and we must pay no attention to dreams and omens, or we shall sin by superstition. The power of passion. The example of Joseph's brethren shows us, once more, to how many sins one passion can lead. The beginning of these men's sin was envy. Hatred, abusive language, and thirst for --- XVIII. JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. blood grew from it. They were heartless and cruel, turned a deaf ear to Joseph's lamentation, and sold him into the miseries of slavery. They lied to their father ("We have found this coat &c."), embittered his life, and counterfeited compassion for his grief. What a multitude of sins; and they all sprang from envy! Therefore, envy is a capital sin. The evil consequences of one venial sin. This story teaches us that small causes (such as little faults and venial sins) produce great effects, and have very evil consequences. It was weak-minded and foolish of Jacob to parade his preference for Joseph; but this, in itself, was not a great sin. However, it roused the envy of his other sons, and brought much suffering and sorrow both upon Jacob and Joseph. So let us be on our guard against even the smallest faults. Omission of what we ought to do. Reuben and Juda were the two brothers who sinned less than the others. Juda, at least, saved Joseph's life; and, as for Reuben—well, it might be said that he had no share in his brothers' sin, because he wished to save Joseph, and took no part in selling him. Nevertheless, he cannot be exonerated from blame. He ought to have openly and decidedly opposed his brothers' blood thirsty plan, and boldly protected Joseph. Then, after he learnt that Joseph had been sold, he ought to have told the truth to his sorrowing father, who would have sent to Egypt, to seek and ransom Joseph. Reuben, therefore, sinned by omitting to do what he ought to have done. God can make good come out of evil. Joseph's brethren said to themselves: "If we sell Joseph to be a slave in Egypt, his dreams will come to nothing, and he will never rule over us." But God's wisdom decreed that it was in Egypt that Joseph was to be exalted, and his brethren humbled before him. Immortality of the soul. Jacob knew and believed that he would, one day, rejoin Joseph, even though he were dead. He knew that everything does not finish with death, but that there is an eternal life to come after this passing one. APPLICATION. Take great pains to deserve the love of your parents by your conduct. Do you wish for smart clothes? Do you wish to be distinguished from other children by your finery? God does not look to the clothes, but to the heart adorned with many virtues. Perhaps you have often published abroad the faults of others without any necessity. On the other hand, you may have concealed what you know, from those set over you, who have a right to know. By doing so you have shared in the guilt of others. You see in Jacob's case how very strong is the love which parents have for their children. Should not children be very --- XIX. JOSEPH IN THE HOUSE OF PUTIPHAR. grateful for the love and care shown them by their parents, and try to be a joy to them? Ask yourself if you have ever vexed, irritated, or grieved your parents, and resolve that, for the future, you will be a joy to them by your obedience and diligence. And do not forget to pray every day for them. Joseph's brethren scoffed at him as a dreamer. Do you not often tease your brothers and sisters or companions, and give them abusive names? You must not let this bad habit take possession of you, for you do not like others to give you such names. Do unto others as you would they should do to you! JOSEPH IN THE HOUSE OF PUTIPHAR [Genesis 39, 1-20. Ps. 101, 17-22] ON arriving in Egypt, the merchants sold Joseph to Putiphar, the captain of the royal guard¹. And the Lord was with Joseph, blessing him in all he did; wherefore he found favour with his master, who gave him charge of all his household². And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian, for Joseph's sake, and multiplied his riches. But, after some time, Joseph was severely tried in his new home. The wife of Putiphar urged him to commit a most grievous sin. But Joseph would not consent, and said: "Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me. How, then, can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?" But even this decided refusal did not prevent the wicked woman from renewing her attacks on Joseph's virtue, and every day she importuned him³ anew. But Joseph would not listen to her. Now, it so happened that Joseph was, one day, alone in the house, attending to some business, when the woman took hold of the skirt of his cloak, and renewed her shameful proposal. But Joseph fled, leaving his cloak in her hands. The woman, seeing herself thus slighted, began to hate Joseph and to falsely denounce him to all the household and to her husband on his return saying: "The Hebrew servant whom thou hast brought, came to me to ¹ Royal guard. The soldiers whose duty it was to defend the king's life, and see to his safety. ² Charge of household. He made Joseph the overseer or steward of his house. ³ Importuned him. Day after day, she tried to persuade him to sin; and this was wearisome and hateful to him. --- XIX. JOSEPH IN THE HOUSE OF PUTIPHAR. abuse me, and when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I held, and fled out." Putiphar, believing his wife too easily¹, was very angry and caused the innocent young man to be cast into prison². COMMENTARY. Piety. The fate of Joseph was a hard one, being thus torn away from his home and father, and taken to the market, to be sold as a slave. But Joseph did not despond. No doubt, the wrong he had suffered made his heart ache; but he trusted in God, prayed diligently, and submitted himself to God's will. He was a true worshipper of God. The end proved that his trust in Him was justified. By Almighty God's providence, Joseph was bought by Putiphar, who began to love him on account of his virtues, and placed him, the least among his slaves, in a position of trust over his whole household. Therefore, St Paul says: "Godliness is profitable to all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Tim. 4. 8). Performance of the duty of our state in life. Because Joseph feared God, he served his master so faithfully and zealously that Putiphar loved and praised him, and made him his steward over everything. He who wishes to serve God must, before all things, fulfil the duties of his state of life, faithfully and conscientiously. Holy fear of God. A deep fear of God, and a hatred of sin were the fruits of Joseph's piety. When tempted to sin, he cried out, full of horror: "How can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God!" He said to himself: "Mortal sin is the greatest of all evils. How could I offend the Lord my God who has so graciously created, preserved and protected me!" The fear of God is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. The blessing attending piety. In the same way that God blessed Laban, for Jacob's sake, so did He bless Putiphar, for the sake of the God-fearing Joseph. Holy servants and holy children are sure to bring a blessing on a house. Scandal. Putiphar's wife tried to induce Joseph to sin against the Sixth Commandment. Had he listened to this bad woman, he would have lost the grace and friendship of God. She wished to do him a spiritual injury, and thereby sinned also against the Fifth Commandment. Calumny. Putiphar's wife calumniated Joseph, and accused him falsely to her husband, so as to revenge herself on him for having ¹ Too easily. Without examining the case, or hearing Joseph's version of the story. ² Into prison. In the state-prison. There Joseph, who was then twenty-six years old, was loaded with fetters (Ps. 104, 18). --- XIX. JOSEPH IN THE HOUSE OF PUTIPHAR. resisted her evil suggestions. By this, she was the guilty cause of the innocent Joseph being deprived of his liberty, and cast into prison. Rash judgment. Putiphar sinned by condemning Joseph, without careful investigation of the accusation brought against him. Such a sin is called rash judgment. Means of preserving chastity. The sin which Putiphar's wicked wife wished to induce Joseph to commit was one against chastity. This temptation was a severe one to Joseph, considering her position and her shameless importunity. She was the mistress of the house, and he was but a poor slave. She would argue that the sin would not be a very great one; that no one need know about it, and so forth. She, furthermore, would flatter him and promise him riches, if he would consent, and threaten to do him great injury if he refused. Nevertheless, Joseph remained firm, and would not yield to the temptation. He loved the virtue of purity. He knew that impurity is the most shameful of all sins, and he carefully guarded himself against it. To do so, he used the following means: 1. He kept as much as he could out of this woman's way. He would not have been in her house that day, had not business called him there; and when she tried to detain him, he fled. 2. Before going into the house, he armed himself against the temptation by praying to God for strength. 3. Each time this wicked woman tempted him, he thought of God who sees everything, and who has a special hatred of sins against chastity. If you wish to preserve your innocence, dear children, you must do as Joseph did. You must avoid the occasions of sin, bad companions, and all unclean thoughts. You must appeal for help to God and His holy Mother; and you must think of God's presence, of death, and hell. You have far more powerful means of preserving your innocence than Joseph had in Egypt, for you have the holy Sacraments of Penance and of the Altar. If you receive these often and worthily, you will be able to resist all temptations. Joseph remained chaste, though he did not possess these mighty means of grace. Your sin will be far greater than his would have been, if you lose your innocence in spite of them. APPLICATION. Joseph's temptation was a severe one, and yet he stood firm. Have you not let yourself be led into sin by far lesser temptations? Joseph paid no heed to the threats of this wicked woman, but feared God more than her. He preferred to suffer anything, even death, rather than offend God. Repent of your sins, and say often to God: "I will die rather than offend Thee." Do you love purity as dearly as Joseph loved it? Would you preserve your innocence at any cost? Your innocence should be dearer to you than anything in the world, for it is the most priceless treasure you possess. Avoid, therefore, all occasions of --- XX. JOSEPH IN PRISON. sin, bad companions, and impure things. "My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to them! If they shall say, 'Come with us', walk not thou with them!" (Prov. 1, 10 &c.) Say every day a Hail Mary for the preservation of your innocence. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION [Genesis 41, 1-52] AFTER two years, Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river Nile¹ out of which came seven cows, very beautiful and fat; and they fed in marshy places. After them came also seven others that were lean and ill-favoured, and they devoured the fat ones. Then the king awoke. He slept again and dreamed another dream in which he saw seven ears of corn growing upon one stalk; and the ears were full and fair. After these came up seven other ears, thin and blighted, devouring all the beauty of the former. Pharao awoke the second time and, morning having come, he sent for all the soothsayers² and wise men of Egypt, and related to them his dreams. But no one was found who could interpret them. Then the chief butler remembered Joseph, and was sorry³ that he had so long forgotten him. He told the king that there was in the prison a Hebrew⁴ youth who had interpreted dreams for him and the chief baker, and that all had come to pass just as he said. The king's curiosity being excited, he ordered the youth to be brought before him. Then he addressed him, saying: "I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them. ¹ Nile. This is the only river in Egypt, and the lower part of it is divided into many branches and channels. It is to this river that Egypt owes its fertility. In the summer (from August to October) the Nile overflows its banks, and inundates the whole plain with its slimy waters (Fig. 14). This water provides the sandy plain with necessary moisture, and the slime, left behind by the inundation, acts as a powerful manure. The crops are sown after the annual overflow, and the ground produces corn in abundance, each stalk bearing from three to seven ears. When the Nile does not overflow, nothing grows, and there is a famine. ² Soothsayers. The men who gave themselves out as capable of interpreting dreams and foretelling the future. ³ Was sorry. The duty of gratitude ought to have made him think of Joseph as soon as ever he had received his pardon. ⁴ Hebrew. He called Joseph a Hebrew, because the descendants of Abraham were known by that name. --- XXI. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION. Now, I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them." Joseph answered: "God alone can give Pharao a prosperous answer." Pharao then related what he had seen. Having heard the dreams, Joseph said: "God hath shown$^(1)$ to Pharao what He is about to do. The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty; the seven lean and thin kine, and the seven blasted ears, are seven years of famine. There shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt, after which shall follow seven other years of so great a scarcity that all the abundance before shall be forgotten; for the famine shall consume all the land, and the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty. $^(1)$ Hath shown. i. e. these dreams have been sent to you by God in order to show you what is, by His divine Providence, to happen in the future. --- XXI. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION. Now, therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man$^(1)$ and make him ruler over the land of Egypt that he may appoint overseers over all the countries, and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits during the seven fruitful years that shall now presently ensue, and let all the corn be laid up under Pharao's hands and be reserved in the cities.' This counsel was pleasing to Pharao, and he said to his courtiers: "Can we find such another man that is full of the Spirit of God?"$^(2)$ Then the king said to Joseph: "Can I find one wiser and like unto thee? Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey. Only in the kingly throne$^(3)$ will I be above thee.' Then the king, having made Joseph ruler over all the land of Egypt, took his ring$^(4)$ from his own hand, and placed it on that of Joseph. He also put on him a robe of silk, and a chain of gold around his neck, and caused him to be seated in a triumphal chariot next to his own, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee$^(5)$ before him and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt (Fig. 15). He also changed his name, and called him saviour$^(6)$ of the world. Joseph was thirty years$^(7)$ old when he was made ruler of Egypt. COMMENTARY. Humility. When Pharao said to Joseph: "I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting dreams", Joseph replied that it was God alone who could give the interpretation. This was as much as to say: $^(1)$ Industrious man. A prudent, active man who would be capable of carrying out such a great work. $^(2)$ Spirit of God. From the wonderful gift of interpreting the dream, Pharao knew that the Spirit of God was with Joseph. $^(3)$ Kingly throne. Kings sit on a throne, and a throne, therefore, is the type of kingly power. The king meant: I will remain king, but next to me yours shall be the highest authority in Egypt, and you shall govern the country in my name. Joseph was, in fact, made the Viceroy or Prime Minister of the king. $^(4)$ His ring. Pharao gave Joseph his signet ring, as a sign that Joseph was empowered to give orders in the king's name, and to seal them with the king's seal. $^(5)$ Bow their knee. Pharao commanded that all men should bow the knee to Joseph, as a test whether they were ready to obey and honour him. $^(6)$ Saviour. Because he had saved Egypt and the neighbouring countries from the horrors of famine. $^(7)$ Thirty years. Joseph was now thirty years old. He was sixteen when his brothers sold him; therefore, he had been a slave for fourteen years, three or four of which had been passed in prison. --- XXI. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION. "Of myself I can do nothing: I can only interpret dreams by the inspiration of God." Thus he was humble, and gave the glory to God. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory" (Ps. 113, 9). The reward of virtue. Joseph had suffered for a long time, but his troubles came to an end at last, his patience and trust in God were richly rewarded, and he was fully compensated for all his past sufferings. Once his brothers tore his clothes from his back: now he is clad in a robe of silk. Once he was degraded to a state of slavery: now he is raised to the highest dignity. Once he was loaded with chains in prison: now he is distinguished by a chain of gold round his neck. Once he was dragged off to prison like the worst of criminals: now he is led through the streets in the king's chariot, and all men bow before him. "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord" (Ps. 127, 4). The Wisdom of Divine Providence is clearly to be seen in this story of Joseph's abasement and exaltation. What were Almighty God's intentions about Joseph? He had signified by the dreams which Joseph had dreamt as a boy, that he would one day be a great lord, and that his brethren would bow down before him. Man did everything possible to hinder this exaltation. His brothers sold him as a slave on account of those very dreams. The merchants took him far away; Putiphar had him cast into prison like a criminal; the chief butler, who was deeply indebted to him, forgot all about him. Humanly speaking, there was no prospect of either his freedom or his honour being restored to him; much less of his becoming a great Lord. But God made everything which was apparently a misfortune and humiliation conduce step by step to his future exaltation. By being sold, he was taken to the very land where he was to be exalted. By --- XXI. JOSEPH'S EXALTATION. being put into prison, he became known to the chief butler who, later on, introduced him to the king. Even the chief butler's ingratitude, which must have deeply wounded Joseph, led, under God's providence, towards the desired end; for if the chief butler had remembered him sooner, and got him taken out of prison at once, Joseph would not have remained in Egypt, but would have returned to Chanaan, to his sorrowful old father. Thus all these misfortunes led, under divine providence, to the future exaltation of Joseph. Moreover, by his troubles he was confirmed in prayer, confidence, humility, and love of his neighbour, and was thus prepared for the important post for which God had destined him. When we think of all this, we can only exclaim with St. Paul: "How incomprehensible are God's judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!" (Rom. 11, 33.) Joseph, the sixth type of Jesus Christ. Joseph, the beloved, obedient, and innocent son of his father, was envied by his brethren, ill-treated by them, sold, and given over to the Gentiles: so also Jesus. Joseph was repeatedly tempted, and yet did not sin: so also Jesus. Joseph was falsely accused and unjustly condemned. Jesus suffered patiently and resignedly between two malefactors, to one of whom he foretold pardon: Jesus, crucified between two thieves, said to the one on His right hand: "This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." Joseph was set free from prison, and made ruler over the whole land: Jesus was raised from the prison of the tomb, and sitteth at the right hand of His Father. Joseph was called the saviour of the world, because he saved the Egyptians from famine; Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the world, because He has redeemed the whole world from sin and hell. The Egyptians bowed the knee before Joseph to testify the homage they owed him. "In the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2, 10, 11). (Repeat the first five types.) Joseph's exaltation is a type of the glory of the just in heaven. God does not always reward the just in this world; for we were created, not for a temporal, but for an eternal happiness. But we may be sure that He will reward them in the next world by an "eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4, 17). The just have to pass through many trials on earth. They may, like Joseph, be persecuted and ridiculed for their faith, piety, or conscientiousness, but some day they will be exalted, and rewarded with everlasting happiness. The more good a man has done on earth, and the more he has suffered for the love of God, the greater will be his reward in heaven. "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly, for My sake. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven" (Mat. 5, 10—12). "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for, when he hath been proved, --- XXII. THE SONS OF JACOB GO INTO EGYPT. he shall receive the crown of life" (James 1, 12). "The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come" (Rom. 8, 18). APPLICATION. Men often take that to be a misfortune which is really the contrary. Never complain of the ways of God, but always, and in all things, submit to His holy will. Have you ever complained? Are you not cowardly and desponding under suffering? Say to yourself: "God knows what is best for me. Not my will, but Thine be done!" THE SONS OF JACOB GO INTO EGYPT [Genesis 41, 43 to 47] THE seven years of plenty came, as Joseph had foretold. There was great abundance everywhere. And Joseph gathered the surplus of the grain¹ every year, and stored it up in the granaries. But, after the years of plenty, the seven years of scarcity set in, and a famine prevailed in all the countries. The people of Egypt cried to the king for bread, but he answered them: "Go to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you." Joseph opened all the granaries and sold to the Egyptians. Likewise the people from other countries came to Egypt to buy corn. At last the famine reached Chanaan, and Jacob, having heard that there was wheat in Egypt for sale, sent ten of his sons with money to buy food. But Benjamin, the youngest, he kept at home, fearing lest some evil might befall him on the way. The ten sons of Jacob arrived safely in Egypt, and seeing Joseph, they bowed down before him, not knowing² that he was their brother. But he at once recognized them, and remembered ¹ Grain. Corn, wheat &c. (Fig. 16). ² Not knowing. Joseph was a boy of sixteen, when they sold him, and was now thirty-eight years old. He would have changed a great deal in appearance in twenty-two years. Besides that, they could never have dreamt that their young slave-brother could have become this great ruler. --- XXII. THE SONS OF JACOB GO INTO EGYPT. the dreams¹ he had dreamed. He wished to know whether they were now sorry² for their sin; so he spoke to them, as if they were strangers to him, and said: "You are spies.'³ They answered: "It is not so, my lord, but we have come to buy food. We, thy servants, are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan. The youngest is with our father; the other⁴ is not living. Joseph then cast them into prison⁵ for three days. On the third day, he brought them out and said: "If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison, and go ye your ways, and carry the corn, that you have bought into your houses; and bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die." Then they said one to another: "We deserve⁶ to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this affliction come upon us." They thought that Joseph did not understand them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter⁷. But he understood all that they said, and his heart was moved with pity, so that, turning aside from them, he wept⁸. But in order to see if their repentance was sincere, he returned to them and ordered Simeon⁹ to be bound before their ¹ Dreams. The first of which was then fulfilled. ² Sorry. And if they had improved. Above all things, he wished to find out if they treated his younger brother Benjamin as harshly and unlovingly as they had treated him. This was why he forced them to bring Benjamin back with them, so that he might be convinced with his own eyes that he was still alive. ³ Spies. i. e. you are foreign informers, and wish to find out how this country could be most easily invaded and conquered. ⁴ The other. The brothers might well have hesitated and wondered what to say about Joseph. ⁵ Into prison. He did this, so that they might have time to enter into themselves, and confess the sin which they had committed against him. ⁶ We deserve. We can see by these words that they had entered into themselves in prison, and now confessed their guilt towards Joseph. ⁷ Interpreter. A man who understood and translated both the Hebrew and Egyptian languages. In order not to betray himself to his brethren, he spoke to them in Egyptian, and the interpreter translated what he said to his brethren. ⁸ He wept. He was moved by the penitent dispositions of his brothers. We can see by Joseph's tears that his harshness to his brothers arose from no desire of revenge, but from the very best intentions. ⁹ Simeon. Simeon was the brother next in age to Reuben. Joseph would not have Reuben bound, because he had wished to save him; therefore he kept --- XXII. THE SONS OF JACOB GO INTO EGYPT. eyes. Then he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and put each man's money$^(1)$ secretly in his sack, and give them, besides, provisions for their journey. This being done, they loaded their asses with the corn, and returned home. They related to their father all that had happened, and, on opening their sacks, every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack. Seeing this, they were troubled and afraid$^(2)$. And Jacob said to them: "You have made me childless. Joseph is not living. Simeon is kept in bonds, and Benjamin ye will take away. My son shall not go down with you, for, if any evil befall him, you will bring my grey hairs in sorrow to the grave." COMMENTARY. Admonishing sinners. Joseph treated his brethren severely, not out of revenge, but out of love. He wished to bring them to self-examination, repentance and amendment of life. To admonish sinners, so as to convert them and lead them to see their sins and repent of them, is a duty of brotherly love and one of the spiritual works of mercy. St. James says (5, 20): "He who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins." The object of sufferings. God, in His love, inflicts temporal sufferings on sinners, so that they may thereby be saved from the eternal sufferings of hell. These sufferings, such as sicknesses, misfortunes &c., ought to have the effect of turning the sinner's thoughts to God, death, judgment and eternity, of teaching him to see the vanity of earthly things, and of leading him to repent of his sins, do penance, and care for the things of his soul. Such troubles are called visitations, for it is in this way that God visits His wandering children, and seeks to bring them back to the right way. "For, whom the Lord loveth, He chastiseth" (Hebr. 12, 6). Millions of the blessed would not now be in heaven, if God had not visited them with tribulations in this world. The strictness of parents. Parents must punish their children sometimes, so as to keep them from evil. They do so, and must do so, out of love. Parents who indulge their children in everything have no true love for them, because they spoil them. Happy the child, the next eldest as a hostage. Very likely Simeon had been the chief instigator of Joseph's ill-treatment, and therefore a longer captivity was necessary to bring him to repentance. $^(1)$ Each man's money. He would not take money for the bread, which was to feed his own family. $^(2)$ Afraid. They feared that the great Egyptian governor would take them for thieves, and would be more severe than ever with them. --- XXII. THE SONS OF JACOB GO INTO EGYPT. whose parents are strict. "He that spareth the rod, hateth his son, but he that loveth him, correcteth him betimes" (Prov. 13, 24). Economy. Joseph practised economy in the time of plenty, in order to be able to help others in the time of need. The wise son of Sirach says: "Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities of poverty in the day of riches" (Ecclus. 18, 25). Feeding the hungry. On one hand, we should guard against extravagance, on the other, against the detestable vice of avarice. Joseph fed the hungry Egyptians with bread: we too ought to be willing to help those in need. A bad conscience. It was really from kindness that Joseph secretly returned their money to his brothers, and gave them provisions for their journey. But his generosity caused them no joy, only anxiety and fear, because their consciences were guilty. They feared that God meant to punish them for the crime they had committed against Joseph, and had brought it about that their money should be left in their sacks, so that they might be regarded and punished as thieves. An evil conscience spoils every joy. It fills the sinner with fear, and follows him about wherever he goes. The treasury of Christ's merits. Even as Pharao said to the hungry Egyptians: "Go to Joseph", so does the Heavenly King say to all those who are laden with sin and misery: "Go to Jesus, and do all that He tells you", even as He said at the Transfiguration: "This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him." If we obey this command, we shall be saved from death. Jesus Christ bequeathed to His Church a treasury of His superabundant merits and graces, from which, by means of the seven Sacraments, we can draw for all our needs. St. Joseph. The Church applies those words: "Go to Joseph", to the holy foster-father of our Lord, to whom the Joseph of Egypt bore much resemblance. St. Joseph was holy, chaste, and innocent, received revelations from God, was put in charge of the Holy Family, and is now in heaven, the true guardian and protector of every child of Jesus. His powerful intercession opens to us the treasury of divine grace. He is the special patron of Holy Church. We ought to venerate St. Joseph very much, follow his virtuous example, and implore his intercession. APPLICATION. If you have any pain to bear, such as toothache &c., offer it to God, and resolve to lead a better life for the future. If you are punished by your parents, say to yourself: "It is what I deserve." Have you not often been extravagant? Do not waste anything, and do not spend money unnecessarily, for instance, on sweets. Do not purposely spoil your clothes, books &c.; and willingly give of your savings to the poor. --- XXIII. BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY TO EGYPT. JOSEPH'S SILVER CUP [Genesis 44] THEN Joseph commanded the steward to fill their sacks with corn, and to put each one's money in the top of his sack; but to place in the mouth of Benjamin's sack Joseph's own silver cup. This was done, and the brothers set out on their journey. But they had scarcely gone forward a little way, when Joseph sent his steward after them, who, overtaking them, accused them of stealing his master's cup. He said: "Why have ye returned evil for good?"$^(1)$ Struck with terror, and angry at being suspected of theft, the brothers replied: "With whomsoever the cup shall $^(1)$ Evil for good. Why have you thus repaid the hospitality of my master? --- XXIV. JOSEPH'S SILVER CUP. be found, let him die¹, and we will be the bondsmen of my lord." The steward replied: "Be it according to your words." They immediately took down their sacks and opened them, and when the steward had searched them all, beginning with that of the eldest, he found the cup in Benjamin's sack. The brothers, rending² their garments, loaded their asses again and returned to the city³. And falling down⁴ before Joseph, they said: "Behold, we are all bondsmen⁵ to my lord." But Joseph answered: "God forbid! He that stole the cup, he shall be my bondsman, and go you away free to your father." Then Juda told Joseph how much it had cost their father to part with Benjamin. They would rather die, all of them, he said, than return to their aged father without his youngest son. Juda⁶, moreover, offered to remain, and be the governor's slave till death, if he would allow Benjamin to go back safe to his father. COMMENTARY. Sin is an ingratitude to God. Almighty God might well say to us, what the steward said to Joseph's brethren: "Why have you returned evil for good? I have done good to you; I have given you life and health and grace, and you have repaid my bounties with ingratitude. You have done a very evil thing each time you have sinned." Mortal sin, especially, is a base act of ingratitude towards God, our Father. Love for our parents, brothers and sisters. Juda had evidently a very sincere love both for his father and for his brother Benjamin. ¹ Let him die. This they said, each feeling quite certain that no one of the others was capable of such an act. ² Rending. With grief. ³ To the city. i. e. the city where Joseph dwelt. With what feelings of fear, grief and repentance must they have returned! ⁴ Falling down. When, on other occasions, they had come into Joseph's presence, they had bowed down to the ground before him, but this time, they prostrated themselves, for they felt that everything depended on propitiating this great man. ⁵ Bondsmen. When first accused, they had said, "With whomsoever the cup shall be found, let him die." But Juda makes no mention of this now. Once it is a question of Benjamin, they would all prefer being slaves, rather than that he should perish. ⁶ Juda. Juda's conduct was very noble. He was quite ready to give himself to be a slave, in Benjamin's stead, so as to spare his father sorrow for the boy's loss. It was no longer possible for Joseph to doubt the change in his brothers' dispositions. --- XXV. JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. Children should show their love for their parents by never annoying or grieving them, and by helping them in their necessities. And, in the same way, brothers and sisters ought to love one another. APPLICATION. In order to spare his old father grief, Juda offered to be a slave, instead of Benjamin, for the rest of his life. Have you ever caused sorrow to your parents? Repent of this, and take every pains to be a joy to them by your obedience, diligence &c. "Son, grieve not thy father" (Ecclus. 3, 14). Juda protected Benjamin. You ought to take up the cause of your younger brothers and sisters, and help them to pray and learn to keep from evil and love what is good. But are you not, on the contrary, cross with them, and do you not, sometimes, encourage them to do wrong? BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY TO EGYPT [Genesis 45] But after some months the corn which the sons of Jacob had brought from Egypt was consumed, and the famine still continued. Therefore Jacob said to his sons: "Go again into Egypt and bring us a little food." Juda told his father that the governor had forbidden them to come back to Egypt, unless they brought Benjamin with them. And Juda added: "Send the boy with me that we may set forward, lest both we and our children perish. I take the boy upon me; require him at my hand.'¹ So Jacob consented to let Benjamin go. And he told his sons to take some of the best fruits of the country as presents to the governor of Egypt, and also to return the money, which they had found in their sacks, lest perhaps it was done by mistake. Then he prayed that God might prosper their journey, and make the governor of Egypt favourable² to them, and send them back with Simeon and Benjamin. Then they went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw them, and Benjamin in their midst, he commanded his steward to conduct them to his house, and prepare a banquet³. The steward obeyed. But the brothers, on finding themselves in the governor's house, were seized with fear, and said one to another: "Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we are brought in that he may bring upon us a false accusation, and by violence make slaves of us." Therefore, they went to the steward at the door, and said: "We cannot tell who put that money in our bags." But he said to them: "Peace be to you; fear not." And he brought Simeon out to them. Joseph having now entered the house, they bowed down before him and offered their gifts. He kindly saluted them in return, and asked if their aged father⁴ was still living. ¹ At my hand. I will be surety for him. I myself will stay in Egypt rather than that Benjamin should not return to you. ² Favourable. Favourably inclined, or kindly disposed towards them. ³ Banquet. As soon as Joseph had convinced himself that Benjamin was alive, he resolved to receive his brothers cordially, and have a feast prepared. ⁴ Their aged father. How beautiful and touching it is that Joseph's first thought should be to ask after his father. --- XXIII. BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY TO EGYPT. They told him that their father lived, and was in good health. Then Joseph, seeing Benjamin, inquired if that was their youngest brother. They answered: "He is our youngest brother." Then Joseph said: "God be gracious to thee, my son"; and, going out, he wept, for his heart was deeply touched¹ at the sight of his younger brother. Having dried his tears and washed his face², he returned to his brethren and ordered food to be placed before them. Then they were ordered to sit before him, and he placed them according to their age, the first-born first, and the youngest last. All received gifts, but Benjamin received five times more³ than the rest. And they wondered⁴ much. COMMENTARY. God rules over everything, even the hearts of men. For this reason Jacob said when he sent his sons back to Egypt: "May Almighty God make the man favourable to you." God governs the hearts of men by His grace. "As the division of the waters, so is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord. Whithersoever He will, He shall turn it" (Prov. 21, 1). Love for parents. The first thing Joseph did was to ask after his father. While he was at home, Joseph had loved, honoured and obeyed him, and been a joy to him; and now, though he had become so distinguished, rich and powerful, he still loved his father dearly, and was most anxious for news of his welfare. He thus observed the Fourth Commandment. Love for brothers and sisters. Joseph sincerely loved his brothers. He meant well by them, and was severe to them only for the purpose of doing them good. As soon as he was sure that Benjamin had suffered no harm from them, he was kind to them. He did not return evil for evil, but rather good for evil. They had sold him for money, and he, in return, gave them plenty of corn. They had thrown him into a pit and nearly starved him; he took them into his house, and feasted them royally. They had treated him as a rogue and a slave; he had them waited on like princes. They remained unmoved, when he prayed for ¹ Touched. Benjamin had been quite a little child when Joseph was sold. ² Washed his face. So that they might not see that he had been weeping. ³ Five times more. By doing this, Joseph not only wished to distinguish and favour his younger brother, but he also wished to see if his brothers envied Benjamin, as they had envied him. ⁴ They wondered. They could not understand how this Egyptian governor could know which was eldest &c. With the exception of Benjamin, they were all grown men of over forty, and, at that time of life, it is not easy to judge the difference of age. --- XXIV. JOSEPH'S SILVER CUP. mercy: he was so moved by the sight of them and their anxieties that he could not restrain his tears. Is he not a noble and beautiful character? Would that all brothers and sisters loved each other like that! Restitution. Jacob bade his sons take back with them the money which they had found in their sacks; the reason which he gave being that it might have been put there by mistake. Jacob was, we can see by this, upright and conscientious, and wished to restore what he had found to its owner. "If", said he to himself, "this Egyptian governor refuses to take money for the corn, and has had the money returned in the sacks on purpose, then we can keep it with a clear conscience; but if it has been given back by mistake, I will, anyhow, return it, and then my conscience cannot reproach me." APPLICATION. How do you behave to your brothers and sisters? Do you provoke or strike them? And are you angry and revengeful when they have injured you? Do you often quarrel with them? Where, then, is your love for them? You ought to love all your neighbours; and surely your brothers and sisters are nearer to you than any one else, and you ought to love them more than any one else. Do you really love your parents? Do you ever vex or grieve them? You will have neither happiness nor blessing in life, if you do not honour your parents. Have you kept anything which does not belong to you? Have you always restored anything you have found to its owner, or returned the money when too much change has been given to you &c.? JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN [Genesis 45] JOSEPH could no longer restrain himself, and, therefore, he commanded his officers and servants to retire¹. Then, with tears² and sobs, he said: "I am Joseph. Is my father³ yet living?" His brothers could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear⁴. But Joseph said mildly to them: "Come nearer to me. I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Fear nothing, for God sent me⁵ before you into Egypt for your preservation." Then he said: "Make haste, and go ye up to my father, and say to him: 'Thus saith thy son Joseph: Come down to me; linger not; and thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen; and thou ¹ Retire. They were all Egyptians. He wished to talk undisturbed with his brothers, and also not to make known their guilt to others. ² Tears. His heart was so moved that he had to weep, before he could utter a word. ³ My father. How he loved his father! He asked repeatedly after him, in order to hear over and over again the glad news that he was still alive. ⁴ Great fear. Their guilty consciences made them fear that Joseph would now revenge himself on them. ⁵ God sent me. He meant: It was by God's Providence that I came here, and became governor over Egypt, in order to save you and the Egyptians from starvation. He wished to comfort them and find excuses for them, and thus give them courage. KNECHT, Commentary, 1. 3. ed. --- 114 XXV. JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. shalt be near me, thou and thy sons.” Then, falling upon the neck of Benjamin, he wept, and Benjamin wept also in like manner. Then he embraced all his brethren, and wept over them, after which they were emboldened to speak to him. The news went abroad in the king’s court: The brethren of Joseph are come. And Pharao, with all his family, was glad. He told Joseph to invite his father and his brethren to come to Egypt. Joseph gave his brothers chariots and provisions for the way. He ordered two robes to be given to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave five robes of the best, with three hundred pieces of silver. Besides, he gave them rich presents for their father, and warned them not to be angry¹ on the way COMMENTARY. Providence. “Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God”, said Joseph to his brothers. He understood that it was by God’s permission that he was sold by them. It was, indeed, a great crime which the brothers committed. It was not by God’s will that the evil was done, because He, being holy, can will no evil; but He permitted it, and so guided matters that good came out of evil. The good that came out of it was threefold. Firstly, Joseph’s virtue was tried and strengthened, and subsequently rewarded by his exaltation. Secondly, his own relatives and all the Egyptians were saved from starvation. Thirdly, his brothers were converted. Forgiveness of others. Just think how cruelly his brothers had behaved to the innocent Joseph. Being the powerful governor of Egypt, he could easily have had them cast into prison or killed, or he could have kept them as his slaves. Instead of this he freely forgave them. He did not even reproach them, but, on the contrary, made excuses for them, and loaded them with presents. Was not that beautiful and magnanimous? Joseph as a type of Jesus Christ. We saw in chapt. XXI in how many ways Joseph is a type of our Blessed Lord. In this present chapter we can see a still further resemblance in him to the Divine Saviour. As Joseph forgave and excused his brethren, so did our Lord, hanging on the Cross, forgive His enemies, and pray for them: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” The terror of sinners at the Last Judgment. When Joseph said to his brethren: “I am Joseph!” they were so full of fear that they could ¹ Not to be angry. He feared that they might begin to reproach one another, and each one make out that the others had had the greater share in the cruelty actised on Joseph. On this account, he admonished them to keep the peace. --- XXVI. JACOB GOES INTO EGYPT. not speak. How much greater will be the fear of sinners at the Last Judgment, when Jesus appears in power and majesty, and says: "I am Jesus, whom you have persecuted, and injured and crucified by your sins!" APPLICATION. Joseph's example teaches us that we should from our hearts forgive those who have injured us, and return good for the evil they have done to us. The love of our enemies is, therefore, a beautiful and great virtue, which we Christians are bound to practise. Brothers and sisters ought to love one another. Joseph's exhortation to his brethren: "Be not angry in the way", applies especially to them. JACOB GOES INTO EGYPT [Genesis 45, 25 to 46] WHEN Joseph's brethren returned to their father, they told him: "Joseph, thy son, is living, and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt." But Jacob did not believe them, till they showed him the chariots and all the presents that Joseph had sent. Then he awoke, as it were, from a deep sleep¹; his spirit revived², and he said: "It is enough for me, if Joseph, my son, be yet living³. I will go and see him, before I die." And he set out for Egypt, with his whole family⁴ and all his possessions. When he had reached the confines of Chanaan, he offered a sacrifice⁵ to God, who spoke to him in a vision of ¹ Sleep. When a person dreams something terrible and alarming, and then wakes up and finds that there is no real cause for fear, he feels relieved and consoled. Jacob had hitherto mourned for his son Joseph, as for one dead — and now he heard that he was alive! His former grief was like a terrible dream of the past, and it was as if a heavy load were removed from his heart. However, it seemed so wonderful that Joseph, whose blood-stained coat he had seen with his own eyes, should be alive, and a great ruler in Egypt, that he could not believe it to be true, until he saw the waggons and costly gifts he had sent. ² Revived. His spirit, crushed by grief, recovered itself, and he felt happy. ³ Yet living. It is quite enough for me to know that my son is alive. That he is rich and powerful is but a secondary consideration. I do not want anything in this world except to see him once more. ⁴ His whole family. Jacob's sons were nearly all married, and had children. In all, Jacob's family, without counting the wives, amounted to seventy persons. ⁵ Sacrifice. Jacob found himself on the point of again leaving the land which God had promised to give to him and his descendants, and of going with S* --- XXVI. JACOB GOES INTO EGYPT. the night, saying: "Fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there, and will bring thee back again from thence." Consoled by the vision, Jacob continued his journey, and arrived in Egypt. Juda went on in advance to apprise Joseph of his father's approach. Joseph immediately made ready his chariot, and went out to meet his father. As soon as he saw him coming, he descended from his chariot and embraced him, weeping. And Jacob said to Joseph: "Now I shall die with joy, because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive." Joseph presented his father to Pharao, who asked him: "How many are the years of thy life?" Jacob answered: "The days of my pilgrimage¹ are a hundred and thirty years, few² and evil³, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers." Then Jacob, having blessed the king, retired. And Joseph gave his father and his brothers possessions in the land of Gessen⁴, the most beautiful and fertile part of Egypt. COMMENTARY. The love of parents for their children. You can see by the example of Jacob, how very strong is the love which parents have for their children. He had mourned for Joseph for twenty-three long years, and the moment he heard that he was alive, full of fatherly love, he cried out that he asked for nothing more on earth than to see his son Joseph once more. Then, too, how troubled he was about the prisoner Simeon, and how anxious about Benjamin! He proved his love for Joseph by his actions, for out of love for him he left his home, notwithstanding his infirmities, and undertook a long and difficult journey. Parents are only too willing to do all they can for their children. all his family into a strange country. Very likely the doubt arose in his mind, whether he were doing right. He desired that Almighty God would make known His will to him, and he wished, in case he were acting rightly, to ask the Lord's gracious protection for his journey. God heard Jacob's prayer, and gave him a threefold assurance: firstly, that he might without fear proceed on his way; secondly, that his descendants would become a great people in Egypt; and thirdly, that God would bring his people back to Chanaan. ¹ My pilgrimage. i. e. my life. ² Few. In comparison with those of his fathers, Abraham lived to be 175, Isaac 180, and Noe 950 years old. ³ Evil. He called his days evil, because he had had so much trouble in his life. ⁴ Gessen. The north-eastern part of Egypt. --- XXVI. JACOB GOES INTO EGYPT. Love and respect for parents. This story shows us the love and respect which Joseph had for his father. Joseph acted as he did, although his father was a shepherd, and shepherds were despised in Egypt. Moreover, by reason of the famine, Jacob had become poor. Joseph, however, was not ashamed of the humble and poor condition of his father, but showed him every open mark of respect that he could. Respect for old age. King Pharao paid respect to Jacob, not only because he was Joseph's father, but because of his old age. We should always respect old age. "Rise up before the hoary head, and honour the person of the aged man" (Lev. 19, 32). Prayer for light. Jacob prayed and offered up a sacrifice, in order to learn God's will. If we are in doubt, we should seek counsel not only from our parents, confessor &c., but we should pray to the Holy Ghost for light. Consolation in suffering. Once both Jacob and Joseph wept for sorrow; now they wept for joy. After the rain comes sunshine, and after sorrow comes joy, often in this world, but most certainly in the next, if the sufferings are borne with patience and resignation. "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning nor crying" (Apoc. 21, 4). Life is a pilgrimage. God's servants know that they are stranger, and pilgrims on earth. "The years of my pilgrimage have been few and evil", said old Jacob. His life had, indeed, been one of unrest, pain, and danger. He had had to leave his home, when he was quite young, and live for many years in exile and servitude. After his return home, there fell on him the heavy blow of Joseph's loss. Then came the great famine; and now, towards the end of his life, he found himself once more in a strange country, far from the Promised Land. He looked back sadly on his years of pilgrimage, and told the king that they had been evil. But, at the same time, he looked onward to that better and imperishable home, which is the aim and end of our earthly pilgrimage. Comparing his life in this world with that which is eternal, he said that his long years of pilgrimage had been few. "For we have not here a lasting city" (Hebr. 13, 14); we are but pilgrims on the road to eternity. Heaven is our home. We should not, therefore, cling to the things of this earth, but should, above all things, seek the kingdom of God. St. Peter writes: "I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires" (1 Pet. 2, 11). God's Wisdom, shown by His guidance of the Israelites. Why did Almighty God's wise Providence send Jacob and his family into Egypt? In order that Jacob's descendants, His chosen people, should not be led into idolatry. The danger of this would have been very great in Chanaan, where they lived surrounded by idolaters. Esau had already made himself one with the children of Heth. Had Jacob's descendants --- 118 XXVII. THE PROPHECY AND DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH. remained in Chanaan, they would either have got scattered among the heathen, or they would have died out. They could not have developed into an independent nation. In Egypt it was different. The Israelites lived in a district of their own, cut off from and despised by the Egyptians, on account of their being shepherds: thus the danger of falling away from the true God was less. Besides this, God knew that His chosen people would be purified by their long course of servitude and suffering, and would be, as it were, forced by want and persecution, to place all their confidence in God and look to Him as their only Helper and Saviour. Lastly, Jacob's descendants would learn much that was valuable from the Egyptians, these being far ahead of the Chanaanites in agriculture, the arts, and all social laws and institutions. By this means, the Israelites would be educated for their high vocation. APPLICATION. Say the first words of the Our Father: "Our Father who art in heaven", with great devotion. Excite in yourself a longing for heaven, and say: "Thy kingdom come." To win heaven is the most important business of our lives. THE PROPHECY AND DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH [Genesis 47-50] JACOB lived seventeen years in Gessen. When the day of his end approached, Joseph, with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasses¹, went to visit him. Jacob kissed the boys, blessed them, and prayed that the angel, who had delivered him from evil during life, might protect the sons of Joseph. To Joseph he said: "Behold, I die, and God will be with you, and bring you back into the land of your fathers." Then, his children and grandchildren having assembled round his couch, he blessed them all. To Juda² he gave a special ¹ Ephraim and Manasses. "Thy two sons shall be mine", Jacob said to Joseph, "and shall inherit with mine." What should they inherit? Joseph was much richer than his father, and neither he nor his sons required that which Jacob possessed in Gessen. The inheritance which he meant, was that which God had promised to his descendants, namely, the Promised Land. Of this land the two sons of Joseph were to have equal shares with the eleven brothers of their father, and thus Joseph was to have a double portion. In chapter XLV you will learn how precisely these last wishes of Jacob were carried out. ² Juda. Who, after Joseph, was the noblest of his sons. --- XXVII. THE PROPHECY AND DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH. 119 blessing. "Juda", said he, "thy hand shall be on the neck of thy enemies. The sons of thy father shall bow¹ down to thee, and the sceptre² shall not be taken away from Juda, till He come³ that is to be sent, and He shall be the expectation⁴ of nations." Then, having told them to bury him with his fathers in the land of Chanaan, he died. When Joseph saw this, he fell upon his father's face, weeping and kissing him. He then ordered the body to be embalmed⁵. And Pharao commanded that all Egypt should mourn Jacob for seventy days. When the time of mourning was passed, Joseph, accompanied by all the elders of the house of Pharao, set out for the land of Chanaan, and buried the remains of his father at Hebron⁶. Now, Jacob being dead, the brothers feared that Joseph would remember the wrong they had done him, and therefore they came to him and begged forgiveness. Joseph received them kindly, saying: "You thought⁷ evil against me, but God turned it into good." Joseph lived one hundred and ten years, and saw his children's children to the third generation. When his end drew near, Egyptian painted coffin for depositing the embalmed body ¹ Shall bow. Thy brothers will be subject to thee, i. e. the tribe of Juda will be the dominant tribe of the twelve. ² Sceptre. The sceptre, next to the crown, is the sign of royalty. ³ Till He come. i. e. the royal dignity will last in Juda, until the Redeemer comes. Reuben, by an evil deed, had made himself unworthy of his birthright; hence, the double portion went to Joseph, and the rulership to Juda. ⁴ Expectation. Expected with longing by all the people of the earth. As they were the heirs of the promises, God inspired the patriarchs, Noe, Isaac and Jacob, in the making of their last testaments, and they foretold the will of God, as if it were their own. The blessings they gave, and the arrangements they made, were in reality prophecies about the future destiny of the people of God. ⁵ Embalmed. This was a custom among the Egyptians. Balm and sweet smelling drugs were introduced into the body, and the limbs tightly bandaged up. By this means the body was preserved from corruption (Fig. 17). ⁶ At Hebron. In the double cave, where Abraham, Sara, Isaac and Rebecca were already buried. ⁷ You thought. Your intention was to do evil. --- XXVII. THE PROPHECY AND DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH. he said¹ to his brethren: "God will visit you² after my death, and will make you go up out of this land, to the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Carry my bones³ with you out of this place." He then died, and they embalmed him and laid him in a coffin (Fig. 18). COMMENTARY. The fifth promise of the Messias. Jacob's dying prophecy treated, firstly, of Juda's precedence over his brethren, and secondly, of the coming of the Redeemer. Both prophecies have been fulfilled. Even in the time of Moses, the tribe of Juda was the most numerous of the twelve. To this tribe belonged the royal race of David; and with it remained the capital, Jerusalem, with the Temple and the High-Priest. After the Babylonian captivity, this tribe gave its name to the whole nation, all its people being thenceforward known by the name of Jews. Finally, from the tribe of Juda sprang the Messias (Hebr. 7, 14), to whom the second part of Jacob's prophecy refers. In this wonderful prophecy, uttered 1000 years B. C., the very time of our Lord's coming was foretold, namely that in which the dominion of Juda should cease. This came to pass exactly as foretold, for, at the time of our Lord's birth, the foreigner, Herod, placed as king over the subjected people, ruled in Judaea. Jacob also prophesied that the Redeemer would be expected by all nations, i. e. that not only the children of Abraham, but all the nations would be looking for Him. This also came to pass. ¹ He said. Filled with a prophecical spirit. ² Visit you. First with servitude, sufferings and persecutions, then with deliverance. ³ My bones. The splendour of Egypt had not made Joseph forget the Promised Land. He always looked on that as his country, and wished to have his body buried there. --- XXVII. THE PROPHECY AND DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH. 121 Conduct towards aged parents. Joseph had always been a good son, and he honoured and loved his father as long as he was alive, and faithfully carried out his last wishes. His example shows us that we ought to support our parents in their old age; to visit and comfort them when they are sick; to be by their side at the hour of death; to faithfully carry out their last wishes; to pray diligently for the repose of their souls, and always have a grateful remembrance of them. "Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in thy life" (Ecclus. 3, 14). The reward of virtue. Almighty God often visibly rewards virtue, and especially that which is shown by children to their parents. We can see this in the case both of Joseph and of Juda. a) Joseph loved and honoured his father; therefore, he was blessed by God even in this world. He lived fifty-four years after his father's death, rejoiced in his children and grandchildren, was protected and enlightened by God, and died a happy death. b) Next to Joseph, Juda was the best of Jacob's sons. He saved Joseph from death, saying: "It is better he be sold than that our hands be defiled, for he is our brother." He made himself surety for Benjamin, and when Joseph wished to keep the latter as a slave, he said: "I will stay, instead of the boy; for, if he is not with us, we shall bring our father's grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." Juda was rewarded for this generous conduct; for his tribe was the dominant one, and of it was born the Saviour. "Honour thy father in work and word and all patience. The father's blessing establisheth the houses of children: but the mother's curse rooteth up the foundation" (Ecclus. 3, 9-11). Happy death. Is not Jacob's death striking and beautiful? Surrounded by his children, he gives his blessing to each one, foretelling God's will concerning them. Dying in a strange land, he fixes his mind on the divine promises, and leaves this world calm and joyous, solemnly proclaiming his belief in the coming Redeemer. Joseph, too, died a holy and happy death, mourned by his brothers, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He died firm in the hope that his people would possess the Promised Land, and that, some day, the Redeemer would come. Both Jacob and Joseph had led holy, God-fearing lives; therefore they both died happy, peaceful deaths, firm in the hope of the future Saviour. As they lived, so they died. "With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter end, and in the day of his death he shall be blessed" (Ecclus. 1, 13). The words of Jacob to his son Juda refer to the Saviour, who was expected by the nations, and who was descended from Juda. The patriarch Joseph is a figure of St. Joseph, the foster-father of Christ. The one was ruler in Egypt; the other is the protector of the Catholic Church. The twelve sons of Jacob were a type of the twelve Apostles. As from Jacob's twelve sons sprang the whole chosen people, even so, in --- XXVIII. JOB'S PATIENCE. a spiritual way, have the chosen people of the New Testament, the faithful, sprung from the twelve Apostles, who converted both Jews and Gentiles, receiving them into the Church of Christ. APPLICATION. If you wish to die a happy death, you must fear God from your youth upward, and pray diligently for the grace of final perseverance, because this most important of all graces can only be obtained by prayer. Only the foolish and cowardly hope for a sudden death. The Church teaches us to pray: "From sudden and unprovided death, Lord, deliver us." It is a great blessing not to die suddenly, but to watch death approaching as Jacob did, and be able to prepare ourselves for it. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death." Some day you will stand by the death-bed of your father or mother. How you will then grieve, if you have caused them sorrow or suffering in their life-time!