We lose Jesus through our own fault when we separate ourselves from Him by mortal sin. This is the greatest of all misfortunes, for he who has lost Jesus, has lost all, and can never be happy without Him. He to whom this misfortune has happened must seek Jesus with sorrow and tears of penance, and he will find Him again in the Temple (His Church), if he will reconcile himself to God by a good and contrite confession.
Application. Do you like going to the house of God? Have you never, of your own fault, neglected the services of God? And how do you behave in church when you are there, and how do you listen to the sermon?
As a Christian child you ought to follow the example of Jesus Christ. But how can you be a follower of Him, if you are not obedient to your parents and superiors? Obedience is for you the first and most necessary virtue; and if you will not obey those who stand to you in the place of God, you are not worthy of the name of Christian. How has it been with you hitherto in this respect? Have you always obeyed your parents and superiors both exactly and promptly? If on any future occasion you are told to do something which is distasteful to you, say to yourself: “Jesus, I will do this for love of Thee.”
Chapter XI.
JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE PRECURSOR OF CHRIST.
[Mat. 3, 1 — 12. Mark 1, 1 — 8. Luke 3, 1 — 18. John 1, 19 — 27 ]
THE time was approaching when Jesus would show Himself publicly as the Redeemer of the world. Wherefore the word of the Lord [1] came to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. Obedient to the divine will, John repaired to the country about the Jordan[2]. He was clothed in camel’s hair[3], with a leathern girdle round his loins, and his food was wild honey [4] and locusts [5].
- ↑ The word of the Lord. God commanded John, who, as you know, lived the life of a hermit in the desert, to leave his solitude, and enter upon his office of Precursor.
- ↑ About the Jordan. That is, at the southern end of the Jordan, in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea, about twenty-five miles from Jerusalem.
- ↑ Camel's hair. A dark brown garment shaped like a sack, made of a rough material woven from camel’s hair. Instead of sleeves there were two holes for the arms, and the garment was kept together by a leather band round the loins.
- ↑ Wild honey. The honey made by the wild bees which make their hives in the hollows of trees, or in holes in the rocks.
- ↑ Locusts. Which (like crayfish) are either boiled or roasted.
