concealment.

Tell the vision to no man (St. Matt. xvii.).

But

See thou tell no man what was done (St. Luke viii.). there is a time for concealment and a time for publicity. The hour of the great death-struggle is come. The time for secrecy is gone by. There is around the grave to-day a large gathering from Galilee and Judea ripe for grace.

J. Loose him, and let him go. In a special manner this Divine commission is given to priests. But, thanks to the great charity of our Lord, every one is allowed to share in the Divine work of loosing the poor sinner and enabling him to walk well up the mountain of God. To all of us, without exception, our Saviour says by His Prophet: Loose the bands of wickedness; undo the bundles that oppress; let them that are broken go free; and break asunder every burden. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am (Isaias lviii.).

Reflect upon yourself: Am I using my working-day diligently? Am I helping Catholics and Protestants to rise from the grave, and to get rid of their grave-clothes?

My time is short. Have I reason to fear that at my death my Saviour may be obliged to say to me, in sorrow unspeakable: The weak you have not strengthened, and that which was sick you have not healed: that which is broken you have not bound up, and that which was driven away you have not brought back; neither have you sought that which was lost? (Ezechiel xxxiv.).

STATION V.

Many, therefore, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in Him (v. 45). A. How good a thing it is to be the friend, or kinsman, of the holy who are friends of Jesus Christ!

Mark how many are brought to Jesus through these two sisters and their holy brother. What an unspeakable joy it is to Mary and Martha and Lazarus to see so many of their friends and companions beginning to believe in their Divine Master!

Do those act wisely who by mixed marriages and by courting companionship with the worldly, become partners with them, and throw in their lot with those who are not at all dear to our Lord?

B. As they go home from the grave, how different all is from that hour when they came to bury Lazarus: Going they went and wept. But coming they shall come with joyfulness. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (St. Matt. v.). How joyful the hour when Jesus calls from grief and desolation to peace and gladness! Still more when He calls the Holy Soul from the prison of Purgatory to his home in Heaven. But most of all when with a loud voice He calls the sinful soul out of death to heavenly life. Then there is great joy in Heaven.

SCENE III.

THE HOUSE OF CAIPHAS AND THE ROAD TO IT.

But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done (St. John xi. 46).

The house of Caiphas, Joseph Caiphas as he is called by the historian Josephus, stood at the south-west corner of Jerusalem, within the walls, and very near the Conaculum, or Supper-Chamber, where our Blessed Saviour celebrated the Last Supper. The house probably formed one wing of the Palace of the Priests; and was connected by long galleries and halls with the other wing, in which stood the house of Annas.

The High Priest in Jerusalem formerly held his office for life; but the Romans, though they respected Jewish laws and customs to a certain extent, yet, when it suited their convenience, treated the Jews and their religion with contempt. They had made their despotic power felt by frequently deposing the High Priests, and substituting others in place of the deposed. Annas was the last of those who had held office legitimately. The Romans had deposed him; but he was still looked upon by many as the High Priest de jure. He was considered to be one well versed in the Law; and he was the prime mover in all the machinations against our Lord. His son-in-law, Joseph Caiphas, had been raised by the Romans to the office of High Priest, and was entirely under the influence of Annas.

STATION I.

Some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done (v. 46).

A. Note how the prophecy of Holy Simeon has its fulfilment This child is set for the fall and the resurrection of many (St. Luke ii.). By the raising of Lazarus many are converted and drawn to Christ; but there are men, on the contrary, who take occasion by this miracle of mercy to work mischief and ruin. Alas! what was true then of our Lord, is equally true of Him now in His Eucharistic state. Mors est malis; vita bonis. To those who have grace, He is life; to those whose souls are poisoned by sin, the Bread of Life is death.

B. Mark the haste of these evil-minded men, as they hurry to the top of Mount Olivet and down to Gethsemani, and then, by what was afterwards called the road of captivity, along the south side of the city to the palace of Caiphas. Their throat is an open sepulchre (Psalm xiii.). For as an open grave gives out infection, so does the mouth of tale-bearers spread iniquity. The poison of asps is under their lips. Such whisperers speak fair at times, and seem to be righteous; but the poison of asps is hidden under their plausible words. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In hot haste they are speeding to inflame the mad passions of the Rulers already thirsting for the Blood of Jesus. What wonder, then, that the Holy Spirit tells us that the whisperer and the double-tongued is accursed, for he hath troubled many that were at peace. The tongue of a third person hath disquieted many (Ecclus. xv.).

C. Observe that it is the tongue of the third person that disquiets you. If an enemy speaks ill of you behind your back, he undoubtedly wrongs you; but it is the tongue of the third person, who comes to report to you what your enemy has said, that really harms you; for he causes you to sin and to hate. Hence the Psalmist, after asking the question: Lord, who shall rest in Thy holy hill? that is, who

shall spend his eternity with Thee in Heaven? sets down this requisite among others: It is the man who hath not taken up a reproach against his neighbour; in his sight the malignant is brought to nothing (Psalm xiv.). That is to say, the man who will not listen to detractors and talebearers, so that the malignant whisperer, who comes to befoul the absent, finds himself not at all welcome, but strongly rebuked and brought to nothing.

Especially necessary is this unwillingness to listen to tale-bearing for all those who hold authority and wish. to save their souls. The officious young Amalecite who came to David with the great news that his enemy, Saul, would trouble him no more, never returned again with such a message. (See 2 Kings i.) Neither will the slanderer come back if properly rebuked.

D. There is another milder way in which we at times imitate these tale-bearers. Some, without perceiving it, become gradually nothing but news-carriers. If a tragical death occurs, or an appalling accident, or, worse still, a frightful scandal, their impulse is at once to spread the news; to go in haste from door to door to tell the sad tidings. They only stay long enough to say with a sigh: "Very sad, is it not?" and then speed on to be the first at some other door.

But surely if there has been a death, the dead want prayers. If there has been a great sin, the poor sinner wants some one to win grace for him. Why not stay at home and do this holy work?

E. Jesus, Who when beyond Jordan saw Lazarus dying in Bethania, now sees these messengers on their way, and knows perfectly how they will rouse the jealous malice of the Rulers. He hears every word that they utter. With an act of His will, He could render them motionless, or dumb. But He has given to man a free-will, and for wise reasons does not repent, nor take that free-will away. His Heart is ready to endure what man's free-will designs against Him.

F. Contrast for a while the excited, feverish enemies of Christ with Lazarus just come back to life. Observe how he fixes his eyes on the Author of his life, and how he loves the Giver much more than the gift; and how tranquil and how gentle he is, and how little excited now by the things of this poor world to which he is called back. When our souls are raised from death to life, and, with the Prodigal, are welcomed home and clothed once more with the white robe, and fed with the Sacred Body of our Lord, shall all this wonderful and most unexpected forgiveness have no subduing effect on us? Shall it produce no heavenly meekness and tranquillity within us? Shall we at once relapse into giddy frivolity or impatience?

SCENE IV.

THE HILL OF EVIL COUNSEL.

STATION I.

The Chief Priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a Council, and said: What do we? For this Man doth many miracles. If we let Him alone so, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come, and will take away our place and nation. But one of them, named Caiphas, being the High Priest of that year, said to them: You know nothing. Neither do you consider that it is expedient that one Man should die for the people; and that the whole nation perish not. And this he spoke not of himself, but, being the High Priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not only for the nation, but to gather together into one the children of God that were dispersed (St. John xi. 47, seq.).

On the south-east of Jerusalem there is a hill still called the Hill. or Mount, of Evil Counsel. Tradition says that the country villa of the Priests stood there, and that it was in this villa that the Priests and Rulers met to meditate vain things, and plot against the Lord and against His Christ (St. John xi.).

A. Take your place in spirit in this Council-Chamber.