Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/688

 thee that  thy  faith  fail  not;  and  thou,  being  once  converted, confirm thy  brethren. All of  you  shall  be  scandalized in  Me  this night. For it  is  written:  ‘I  will  strike  the  shepherd,  and  the sheep of  the  flock  shall  be  dispersed.’”

The Omniscience  of  Jesus.  Our  Lord  exactly  foretold  both  that Judas would  betray  Him,  and  that,  in  the  same  night  before  the  second cockcrow, St.  Peter  would  deny  Him  three  times,  and  that  all  the  Apostles would desert  Him. Only the  omniscient  God  can  know  beforehand what man,  gifted  with  free-will,  will  do. St. Peter  himself  thought  it quite  impossible  that  he  could  deny  his  beloved  Master,  and  yet  our Lord foretold  in  detail  all  that  would  occur. This proves  that  our Blessed Lord  was  omniscient,  or,  in  other  words,  that  He  is  God.

St. Peter's  self-confidence.  We  have  repeatedly  had  occasion  to  admire St. Peter’s faith,  and  love  of  our  Lord. Even in  the  story  we  have  just read, the  chief  of  the  apostles  evinced  great  love  and  great  faith, declaring that  he  would  never  take  scandal  at  anything  that  Jesus  did, and was  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  His  sake. Peter seriously  and honestly meant  what  he  said,  but  he  trusted  too  much  in  himself,  overrated his own  strength  and,  forgetting  the  weakness  of  his  human  nature, believed himself  capable  of  remaining  faithful  to  his  Master  under  all circumstances, simply  because  he  wished  to  do  so. His will  was  good, but he  was  wanting  in  that  humility  which  comes  from  a knowledge  of one’s  own  frailty. He ought  to  have  thought  and  said: “With  Thy  help  I will  never  fail”; but,  instead  of  this,  he  put  himself  on  a different  level  from the other  apostles,  and  implied  that,  although  they  might  very  easily  go astray,  he  never  could! This high  opinion  of  himself,  and  his  undue  selfconfidence  led  him  to  the  fall  which  will  be  related  in  chapter  LXXII. We should  never  forget  that,  without  the  assistance  of  God’s  grace,  we can  neither  keep  the  commandments  nor  persevere  in  well-doing.

The Pope  is  the  Supreme  and  Infallible  Teacher  of  Faith.  Our  Lord foretold to  St.  Peter  that  he  would  deny  Him,  but  at  the  same  time