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"Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."-St. Mark xiii. 12, 13.

Exposition.-Stier says: "There is here a threefold gradation: first, the brother hates the brother even to death; then, parents their children; and finally, which most contradicts natural ordinances, even children their parents. The martyrologies of the first ages of the Church's history give the fulfilment."

And Swete: "The note already struck in verses 9-11, is taken up again. The thought of treachery on the part of friends must have. been uppermost in the Lord's mind; He was speaking in the presence of a traitor who had been a friend. What had befallen Himself must befall His followers. He who is finally

victorious, who perseveres in his confession till death puts an end to the conflict, shall save his soul's life. The teaching strikes the note of patient endurance of which, from this forth, all Christian teaching is full."

Isaac Williams comments as follows: "This hatred of the world is ever spoken of as the essential accompaniment of every true disciple of Christ, inseparable as the shadow in the sunshine. Therefore it has become an axiom in morals, that all they who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and the more faithful the Christian is, the greater will be this hatred, as is implied by that saying, If they have hated me, they will also hate you. 'By how much more he advances forward,' says Origen, 'in the manifestation and vision of the Word, by so much the more, since Christ is more perfectly found within him, will he be hated by all who hate Christ. For the very manifestation which is implanted in him of all those properties that peculiarly belong to Christ, and on account of which he is called a Christian, causes him to be hated by all who have the spirit of the world, as he presses forward still more and more unto the perfection of Christ. But he who shall be able, seeing all these things, to abide in the first purpose of Apostolical tradition, and ecclesiastical induc

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tion, he shall be saved.' It may be observed how stress is laid upon patient continuance unto the end. The second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in which St. Paul treats of this subject, may be characterized by this expression as its sum and substance, may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and patient abiding for Christ. This expression of patient abiding seems to indicate that God's protection will be most found in that position in which He has placed each; as is also signified in the injunction, go not after them, and the like; and is especially opposed to that restlessness of mind which characterizes those who take the lead, or are the first to follow, in great religious changes, and is opposed to the humility and peace of true faith."

Lange says: "This strong expression, ye shall be hated by all, indicates the generality of the hatred towards Christ. It will spread over the world like an infectious fever, or a pestilence, and furnish the material with which, on any given occasion, the fire of persecution may be lit up. It is to be for my name's sake, that is, purely on account of their Christian profession, and not on account of the personal blemishes and errors which may mingle with it."

St. Chrysostom says: "He said, He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. That

is, because the more part are wont at the beginning indeed to be vehement, but afterwards to faint; therefore, saith He, I require the end. For what is the use of seeds, flourishing indeed at first, but a little after fading away? Therefore it is continued patience that He requires of them. I mean, lest any say, He wrought the whole Himself, and it was no wonder that they should prove such, suffering as they did nothing intolerable; therefore He saith unto them, There is need also of patience on your part. For though I should rescue you from the first dangers, I am reserving you for others more grievous, and after these again others will succeed; and ye shall not cease to have snares laid for you, so long as ye have breath. For this He intimated in saying, But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved."

And Sadler: "What means this saved? It can only mean saved in soul at the last; for in the great catastrophe of the destruction of Jerusalem the Christians saved their lives by fleeing to Pella. It seems to be recorded for all times and all ages; and teaches that in times of persecution, as well as in times of more dangerous peace and prosperity, those who follow Christ have to maintain a lifelong struggle either against outward opposition or inward temptation."

And St. Jerome reminds us that, "there is no true affection between those whose faith is different."

First Thought.-It is sometimes said that in these easy-going, self-indulgent days, Christians have become so enervated that they cannot hate well. In the old days of controversy men felt so strongly the obligations of their faith that they were roused to a fury against any who gainsaid it, so that even natural affection was lost sight of in the persecutions which ensued. Men now generally do not care for their religion enough to fight for it, but perhaps just because the world has such hold on them in our time, they are the more unsparing in their efforts to draw the true servants of God from their earnestness of devotion to Him. Young people brought up devoutly in Catholic practices are lured away from their faith by their fellows, sometimes even brothers and sisters, and so are betrayed to spiritual death; for one cannot give up the ways of the Catholic religion at the call of earthly affection, and not sin mortally. Not infrequently parents, who do not believe certain of the things their children have been taught by zealous pastors and teachers, seek to draw them from their interest in such things by arguing against them, ridicul