Page:Meditations For Every Day In The Year.djvu/219



" I  will  wait  for  the  Lord,  who  hath  hidden  His  face  from  the  house of  Jacob,  and  I  will  look  for  Him.    (Is.  viii.  17.)

I. Christ  hid  Himself  from  the  Jews;  for  they  wished to stone  Him  to  death. (John viii.  59.)  In  memory  of this  the  crosses  are  this  day  covered  in  our  churches. Christ Himself  is  termed  by  Isaias  a  hidden  God. " Verily Thou  art  a  hidden  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  the  Saviour." (Is. xlv.  15.)  Speaking  of  Him  in  His  passion,  the same prophet  observes,  "  His  look  was  as  it  were  hidden and  despised." (Is. liii.  3.)  He  concealed  His  divinity under the  disguise  of  flesh  and  blood,  His  glory  under the ignominy  of  His  passion,  and  both  His  human  and  divine natures  under  the  appearances  of  bread  and  wine. Hence the  Royal  Prophet  with  propriety  exclaims,  "  O how  great  is  the  multitude  of  Thy  sweetness,  O  Lord, which  Thou  hast  hidden  for  those  who  fear  Thee!" (Ps. xxx.  20.)

II. Not only  is  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ  hidden  from our senses  in  the  holy  Eucharist,  but  for  the  greater merit of  our  faith,  the  virtue  and  efficacy  of  this  sacrament are  often  concealed. Hence, not  all  those  who  approach it  taste  of  its  sweetness. It is  nothing  less  than " death  to  the  bad,  as  it  is  life  to  the  good." Even among the  good,  its  effects  are  not  always  similar: Hence by  the  mouth  of  St.  John,  God  says,  "To  him that  overcometh,  I  will  give  the  hidden  manna,  and  will give  him  a  white  stone,  a  new  name  written,  which  no man  knoweth  but  he  that  receiveth  it." (Apoc. ii.  17.)

III. If you  desire  to  discover  the  sweetness  of  this  hidden manna,  you  must  master  your  inclinations  and  pas-