Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/468

 Our Lord,  "  for  they  shall  be  comforted." If a  particular portion  of  the  human  body  is  wounded,  the blood quickly  rushes  thither,  and  the  whole  man  is soon  so  concerned  about  that  particular  member  as  to seem  to  have  forgotten  about  the  others. So, too,  you recollect how,  long  ago,  when  your  brother  or  sister was taken  ill,  your  father  and  mother  and  the  entire household danced  attendance  on  him  or  her  until,  possibly, your  little  breast  was  filled  with  envy  and  you said to  yourself,  "  What  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  be sick! 99  Now,  each  of  us  is  a  member  of  Christ's  mystical body,  and  He  loves  each  so  intensely  that,  without Him,  not  even  a  hair  of  our  head  can  fall  to  the ground.  Hence,  I  say,  He  is  with  us  in  tribulation, and  the  greater  the  tribulation  the  more  evident  His presence.  The  world  dearly  loves  the  rich  and  the happy,  while  the  poor  and  wretched  vainly  cry  to  it for  justice,  but  God  is  the  Father  of  the  orphan  and the  Judge  of  the  widow,  and  the  only  source  of  true consolation.  Brethren,  were  there  no  other  lesson than  this  in  all  the  Bible,  it  would  still  preserve  its  full claim  to  our  attention  as  a  masterpiece  of  wisdom. For  happiness  here  or  hereafter  is  essentially  every man's  pursuit,  and  here  in  this  lesson  we  have  the secret of  true  happiness. St. Andrew  rejoicing  at  the sight of  his  cross;  St. Stephen praying  for  his  murderers; St.  Lawrence  smiling  at  his  tormentors  from amid the  flames;  St.  Theodore  complaining  only when his  torturers  desisted;  all  these  and  thousands of such  like  raises  are  inexplicable  to  one  who  has  not studied the  Scriptures  and  mastered  their  prevailing