while, the whole of the mountain appeared involved in thick smoke, in the midst of which an incessant stream of flames arose as from a glowing furnace. The shrill and swelling clangour of a loud trumpet was heard at the same time; the people trembled, and kept within their tents. Summoned, however, at the command of God, to stand about the foot of the mountain, they trembled still more when they heard the voice of God declaring to them, as it were in tones of thunder, the ten commandments

"I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage.

1. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them.

2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labour and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.

4. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.

5. Thou shalt not kill.

6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

7. Thou shalt not steal.

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh

bour.

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife;

10. Nor his house, nor his field, nor his man servant,

nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his.

"And all the Israelites," says the Holy Scripture, "when they heard these words, and beheld the flames, and the Mount smoking, were exceedingly terrified, and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, Speak thou to us and we will hear, let not the Lord speak to us lest we die. And Moses said to the people, Fear not, for the Lord is come to prove you, and that the dread of him may be in you, and you may not sin" (Exod. xx. ; Deut. v.).

Such, my dear children, is the account handed down to us in the Sacred Writings of the giving of the ten commandments, from which we see how important and how sacred they are, since the Great God of heaven gave them in person to mankind, and gave them in a manner so solemn and so awful. Let us bear them ever in our hearts, and show them in our conduct. Let us, with the royal prophet, frequently reflect upon them, and set them before us as the rule by which we are to form our lives. We shall find them, as he tells us, a lamp to our feet and a light on our path" to heaven. Though hard in appearance they become sweet and easy in practice, and, what is the most consoling, they are the sure road to eternal life. Listen to what God himself said to the Jews about the care with which they should cherish and meditate upon the commandments

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"These words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart. And thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them, sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising. And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and they shall be and shall move between thy eyes. And thou shalt write them in the entry and on the doors of thy house" (Deut. vi. 7-9, and xi. 19, &c.).

But some one will perhaps say, that the commandments of God are hard and difficult to keep. I grant that they are hard; and yet our Lord says, "My yoke is sweet, and my burden light." What, then! is the yoke, that is the law of God, sweet and easy too? Yes, for our Lord says But how is it that the same commandments are hard

SO.

and difficult, and at the same time sweet and easy? I will tell you. They are hard to nature but easy to Divine grace. They are difficult, nay, impossible for man to keep if left to himself, but easy if assisted by Almighty God. But is God always ready to give his grace? Yes, to those who seek it. And how must we seek it? By prayer and the Sacraments. You see now why prayer and the Sacraments are so much spoken of in the catechism. They strengthen and enable us to walk in that road, which is the only one that leads to eternal life, viz., the way of the Divine commandments.

I am now going to relate to you the history of two travellers who set out together on a distant journey. You must try and find out the meaning of what I tell you.

STORY OF THE TWO TRAVELLERS.

Two travellers undertook a journey to a distant city. The way by which they had to travel was narrow and difficult. At one time it lay across a dreary and sandy plain, at another over desolate and rugged mountains. They had, however, the consolation of knowing that the road was a direct one, that it was perfectly safe from the attacks of robbers, and that as long as they followed the plain and easy directions with which they were furnished, they could not possibly go astray. They were, moreover, supplied with provisions and everything necessary for the journey.

Thus provided, they set out one fine Spring morning. The elder of the travellers, with staff in hand, walked steadily onwards, carrying his provisions in the wallet suspended over his back. The younger, on the contrary, stopped continually to look back or gaze about him, and, at times, cast a longing eye on a smiling tract of country which lay towards the left hand at a little distance from the road. At length he became weary of carrying his stock of provisions, and, in order to ease himself, opened his wallet and threw the contents first on one side and then on the other, until he had exhausted the whole. His companion reproved him for his folly, and warned him that he would soon stand in need of refreshment, for that the heat of the day was now approaching, and the most difficult part of the road still remained to be traversed. His young friend, however, paid no heed to his advice, and laughed at his friendly warning.

Mid-day had now arrived, and the travellers, oppressed with heat, sat down to rest and refresh themselves. The elder, who had prudently preserved his provisions, renewed his strength by a substantial meal, and was soon ready to resume his journey with fresh vigour. The younger, on the contrary, already wearied with the route, now felt faint and hungry from want of food. Having rested,

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His

however, for a while, and swallowed a few crumbs which he found in a corner of his wallet, he rose to his feet and endeavoured to drag himself along the road, which at length brought them to the foot of the mountain. The elder traveller began vigorously to surmount the steep ascent; while the younger, at the sight of it, became thoroughly disheartened, and sat down to look about him and divert his mind from the difficulties which remained to be encountered. His eye reverted to the smiling meadows which he had before observed, and which appeared still more charming now that they were lit up by the bright rays of the mid-day sun. While thus idly gazing, he perceived a path leading from the main road to the object of his admiration. Without allowing himself a moment for reflection, he immediately rose and began to follow it. companion, seeing him, turned and called after him: "My friend,” said he, "do you not know that the road which you are quitting is the only one which will lead us to our journey's end?" "I know it," replied the other; "but I prefer those charming meadows to this rough and difficult ascent. But," rejoined his companion, struck with amazement at his folly, "of what use will it be to you to wander through those pleasant fields, if, so far from helping you on your way, they only lead you farther from your destination?" 'I grant that it will not help me on my road," returned the other, "but I do not feel able to get up this steep hill. I would sooner walk along the broad and easy path that leads to yon meadows, where I see many beautiful flowers, and shall, no doubt, find sweet and delicious fruits." "Foolish man," replied his friend, "those fruits, as you well know, contain a deadly poison, and bring certain death to whoever tastes of them; while the path you speak of leads to a frightful abyss, situated in the midst of those verdant plains." The words of the prudent traveller were lost upon his companion. He followed the tempting path, eat of the poisonous fruits, and was seized with a fatal languor, under the influence of which he incautiously approached the brink of the abyss, and fell headlong into it. Meanwhile, his companion steadily pursued the rugged mountain path, and arrived safely, before night closed in, at the city to which he was journeying.

My dear children, do you understand the meaning of this history, which is what is called a Parable, that is, a story told to convey a useful lesson? You yourselves are the travellers who are journeying to a distant city, the heavenly Jerusalem. The road by which you are to arrive there-and it is the only one which leads to your journey's end-is the way of God's commandments. As long as you follow it, you are perfectly safe from all danger. The wicked spirits, who are ever watching to rob you of your treasure, the love and friendship of God, can never succeed

in doing so unless you turn aside either to the right hand or the left. Moreover, you are supplied with abundant food to support and strengthen you on the road. This food is the grace of God, which we can obtain at all times by Prayer and the Holy Sacraments. The foolish and thoughtless make little account of this food, nay, they trample it under foot by their neglect; and the consequence is, that they grow every day weaker and more languid in the service of God. They begin to cast a longing eye at the pleasures and vanities of the world, and at the first great difficulty which they meet with on their route, in spite of the voice of their own conscience, and the warnings of the ministers of God, they abandon the path of virtue, and follow the broad and easy road of their passions. Each step they take leads them further from God and nearer to the abyss of hell; but they heed it not amid the false joys and empty pleasures of a worldly life. Instead of the heavenly food of God's grace, they now nourish themselves with the forbidden fruit of sin, which produces in their souls a fatal languor and insensibility, overcome with which they at length sleep the sleep of death, and, by a just judgment of God, fall headlong into the abyss.

Meanwhile, the prudent Christian steadily pursues his path to heaven, without allowing his attention to be diverted to this side or that by the allurements of vice. Supported by the grace of God, with which he constantly nourishes his soul in prayer, and the Holy Sacraments, he surmounts all obstacles, and, persevering to the end of his life, happily arrives, when the night of death closes in, at the term of his labours, the eternal possession of God amid the joys of heaven.

TWENTY-THIRD INSTRUCTION.

The First Commandment-Introduction—What it commands-Faith, Hope, Charity, and Religion-- What it forbids.

Q. What is the first Commandment?

A. The first Commandment is "I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of