Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/47

 crowded  round  the  crib  of  Jesus,  land  your  praises,  like theirs, are  caught  up  by  the  angel  choir  and  wafted to the  ears  of  God. You follow  Him  with  Mary  and the pious  women  of  Jerusalem,  to  wipe  His  agonized face like  Veronica,  or  like  Simon,  to  help  Him  carry His cross. Your faithfulness  and  perseverance,  I predict,  will  gain  for  you  the  privilege  of  being among the  first  to  meet  Him  at  the  general  resurrection: among  the  first  to  reenter  with  Jesus  and  Mary into the  kingdom  of  heaven.

''" Amen,  I  say  to  you,  there  hath  not  arisen  among  them that  are  born  of  woman,  a  greater  than  John  the  Baptist." — Matt xi. ii.

I. 1. Prophet and subject of prophecy. 2. Hidden and public life. 3. His  temptation  and  victory.

II. 1. Words  and  deeds. 2. Sinful  world,  and  process  of  regeneration. 3. John's  last  duty  and  death.

III. 1. John's  message  to  Christ. 2. Its  meaning. 3. Christ's reply.

Per. : The  messenger  of  Death,  and  our  answer.

Such was  John's  eulogy,  pronounced  by  Truth incarnate. Higher praise  was  never  given  to  mortal man. In dignity,  in  sanctity,  he  was  less  than  Christ or Christ's  Mother,  but  in  the  catalogue  of  the  saints