love of our neighbor worketh no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law.
How are we to understand those words of St. Paul, " He that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law"?
St. Augustine explains them as follows: " Our love towards our neighbor must have its origin in the love of God; for if we love our neighbor, we must love him for God's sake. Now he who loves God keeps the first four commandments, for he believes in God, hopes in Him, loves Him, and honors Him, while he also loves and honors his parents. But he who loves his neighbor keeps the rest of the commandments also, since that love prevents him from doing any injury to his neighbor, so that he will not kill, nor steal, nor calumniate, nor bear false witness; thus he fulfills the law, for " upon these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets " (Matt. xxii. 40).
GOSPEL. Matt. viii. 23-27.
At that time, when Jesus entered into the boat, His disciples followed Him: and behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awakened Him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them, Why am you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up He commanded the winds, and the sea; and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying, What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey Him?
Why did Jesus sleep while a great tempest arose in the sea?
1. He thereby tested the faith of His disciples, and confirmed it by the miracle of their escape. 2. He, by this occasion, taught the just and pious not to be scandalized or discouraged if God should visit them with affliction, such as sickness, poverty, or other miseries. 3. He teaches us also to seek refuge in Him, and encourages us to hope for help.
Why did Our Saviour reprove His disciples?
Because they showed a want of faith and confidence. Ever had they been then drowned, such a death would have been to them the entrance to eternal life. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, . . . but blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord " (Jer. xvii. 5, 7). Let us, therefore, in any adversity
