thrive. You will understand what I mean from the following story.

THE SHOEMAKER AND THE MERCHANT.

At the beginning of this century there lived at Lyons a poor shoemaker named Berthier, who was to be seen working at his bench every Sunday morning. In the same street, and opposite to his house, dwelt a wealthy merchant, who, being a good Catholic, was grieved to see his poorer neighbour neglecting the duties of his religion, and determined if possible to reclaim him. Accordingly one day he spoke to him on the subject, and represented to him how much he offended God by working on Sunday. The shoemaker replied that it was necessity which compelled him to work. "You that are rich," added he, "can well afford to be idle one day in the week, but as for me, I could neither finish my work nor support my family if I did not labour on the Sunday." "My good friend," replied the merchant, "all I ask of you is to give my advice a fair trial. But I do not wish that you should be the loser by so doing. Promise me that you will do no work, and will attend Mass upon Sunday for the next six months, and I engage to make good all the losses you sustain by following my advice. Do you accept my offer?" "Willingly," replied Berthier. "It is much easier for me to rest than to work, so that, as I am not in any case to be the loser, it is a bargain."

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At the end of the six months the merchant paid another visit to the shoemaker. My friend," said he, "I have been delighted to see that you have kept your promise. Tell me, now, the amount of your losses, for I have engaged to make them good." "Ah, sir,” replied Berthier, "it is I that am in your debt, not you in mine, for I have been the gainer by our agreement." "In what way?" said the merchant. "I will tell you," replied the shoemaker. first I found a little inconvenience in not having my work completed, but as I was determined to keep up to my promise, I learned to push on matters during the week, and not to undertake more than I could accomplish. Soon I found that, by resting on the Sunday, I was so much refreshed and strengthened in body and mind as to be able to do as much work in the six days as I had before done in the seven. Meanwhile I attended church regularly with my family, and there heard many excellent instructions, which showed me the danger in which I had been of losing my soul for a paltry gain. Accordingly, I began to prepare for my confession, which I had long neglected. I made it to the best of my power, and received Holy Communion. I need not say that the peace and joy which I have felt since is far beyond any temporal gain; but indeed I have lost nothing, for, somehow or other, I am quite as well off as before." "I am delighted to hear it," said the merchant; "but tell me, how are matters going on now between yourself and your wife, for formerly, as every one knows, there was

not a day without a quarrel?" "It is too true," said Berthier, "and I used to think that my poor wife was always in fault; but when I became better instructed I began to see that she was not always wrong, neither was I always right; so when we went to confession we made it up to bear with each other and live peaceably for the time to come. Since then peace and happiness have reigned in our house, and we have now time to devote ourselves to the care of our children." "I congratulate you on your happiness," said the merchant," and I must acknowledge that I am not really in your debt, since you have derived profit rather than loss from my advice. But see, here is the money which I intended for you; take it as a mark of my friendship. I am only too happy in having been the means of showing you how true it is that no one ever loses by what he does for God."-Power's Catechism.

To neglect Mass, and to do servile work upon Sundays, are, as we have seen, the two principal sins which are forbidden by the third commandment, inasmuch as they are opposed to the two great duties which it enjoins. We must not forget, however, that there are many other ways of profaning the Lord's day. For example, those who spend Sunday in drinking, gambling, sinful amusements, or in riotous and disorderly conduct, profane this sacred day; so also do those who buy, sell, and trade as they would on a week day, unless they are excused by some good and sufficient reason. All who act in this manner are guilty of a sin against the third commandment, since, instead of making Sunday truly the Lord's day by devoting a considerable portion of it to his Divine worship, they make it a day of mere amusement and sinful indulgence, or else of worldly business and profit.

You will sometimes hear it said that Catholics are not sufficiently strict in this respect, and that they allow games and amusements upon Sunday, a thing which Protestants have a great horror of. It is true, my dear children, that the Church does allow innocent recreation upon Sunday, as long as we have fulfilled the duty we owe to God by giving a due proportion of the day to his Worship. For piety does not consist in a long face, but in a pure and loving heart; and our good God does not wish to be served in sadness and melancholy, but in joy and gladness. Moreover, God has expressly given us the Sabbath as a day of rest; that is, a day on which we may

relax the mind and refresh the body, to prepare ourselves to enter with renewed vigour on the work of the succeeding week. Hence there is no harm, after you have performed the religious duties of Sunday, in your enjoying an innocent game at play, or a pleasant walk in the country. But we should be careful to avoid any amusement which is unbecoming the holiness of a day consecrated to the worship of God, or which, owing to the habits and prejudices of those among whom we live, can reasonably become to them an occasion of offence or scandal.

To buy and sell, to barter and traffic upon Sunday is, as I have said, a profanation of that day which God has commanded to be kept holy and consequently free from the cares and anxieties of daily life. But there are certain cases in which such dealings are permitted on the ground of necessity or charity. For example, a druggist commits no sin by selling upon Sunday medicines required for the relief of the sick; and, again, those who keep houses of refreshment are permitted to supply the wants of the passing traveller. For the Church, like a tender mother, compassionates the wants of her children, and does not wish to lay upon them a yoke or burden which they are unable to bear. She remembers the words of our B. Redeemer, that God desireth mercy rather than sacrifice, and, again, that other saying of his, "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

NICANOR AND THE JEWS.

During the struggle which ensued between Judas Machabeus and the generals of Antiochus, it happened that Nicanor, one of the latter, was on the point of attacking Judas with an overwhelming army on the Sabbath-day. The Jews, whom he had forced to serve among his troops, begged of him to respect the Sabbath, and defer the attack till the morrow. Nicanor, in a mocking tone, asked them if he who had commanded the Sabbath to be kept was a God of great power, and, on receiving an answer in the affirmative, blasphemously replied, that as he himself was mighty upon earth, they must obey him and not God. But God avenged himself on the blasphemer; for, in the engagement which followed, the troops of Nicanor were defeated with great slaughter, and the General himself was numbered with the slain (2 Mach. xv.)

THE AVARICIOUS MILLER.

A certain miller who dwelt in a town in France, was in the habit, in order to increase his gains, of pursuing his trade upon every Sunday and festival. While all the villagers were attending the High Mass at the parish church, he might be seen at his mill, employed in his usual avocations, and his irreligious conduct had become notorious in the neighbourhood. One day he went out as usual to his work, but, seeing the people pass by on their way to church, hid himself behind the sails of his mill, which were at that time stationary through want of wind. He had not been there long before a breeze sprung up, and the sails, being suddenly put in motion, caught his body and flung him into the air. Alarmed at his prolonged absence, his wife, after some hours, came to seek him, and found his lifeless body extended on the ground. It presented a fearful spectacle, being pierced in many places with the sharp points of the mill sails, and bruised and shattered with the violence of his fall.-Instructions of Youth.

THE AVALANCHE.

In a small village situated on the slopes of the Alps there lived a man, who was notorious for his open and scandalous profanation of the Sunday. So far from attending Divine service in his parish church, it was his custom, as soon as the Sunday dawned, to set out with some companions, whom he had misled by his evil example, to hunt the chamois on the mountain side. In vain did his parish priest endeavour, by every means that zeal and charity could suggest, to reclaim him from so unbecoming a practice. It was all to no purpose, and at length seeing that the miserable man continued obstinate in his wickedness, the zealous pastor threatened him with the anger of God in case he did not desist from scandalising the neighbourhood by his public impiety.

Shortly after he set out as usual for the chase one Sunday morning, accompanied by two comrades. A heavy fall of snow had taken place during the night, but this gave the party little concern, as it served to render the traces of the game more visible, and to increase their prospect of a good day's sport. They had not proceeded far, when the two companions of the unhappy man, who were following in his track, perceived to their horror that, wherever he trod, his footsteps were marked with blood. Unable to account for the strange occurrence, and struck with a secret fear of the impending judgment of God, they both united in imploring him to discontinue the expedition for that day at least, informing him of what they had witnessed. He refused, however, telling them, with a laugh, that the blood on his track was an omen of a good day's sport. Whatever may have been the cause of this extraordinary occurrence-whether it proceeded from a natural cause, or was permitted by God as a mysterious warning-it exercised a whole

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some influence over his companions, who, touched by Divine grace, began to retrace their steps. They had not proceeded far when they heard a noise as it were of thunder behind their backs, and looking hastily round beheld the profaner of the Sabbath carried away by an avalanche, which came rolling down the side of the mountain. They ran with all speed to the village for assistance, and the inhabitants flocked out to search for the unhappy man. It was not, however, till some days after, that his body was discovered in a neighbouring ravine, buried many feet beneath the surface of the snow.*

Q. Why are we commanded to rest from servile works?

A. We are commanded to rest from servile works that we may have time and opportunity for prayer, for going to the Sacraments, hearing instructions, and reading good books.

From this answer you see that Almighty God, in ordering us to abstain from bodily labour upon Sunday, does not intend us to spend that day in idleness or pleasure. If we are commanded to rest from servile work, it is in order that we may have that time and opportunity, which we could not well secure on other days of the week, for prayer, going to the Sacraments, hearing instructions, and reading good books, in other words, for the service and worship of God. For Sunday is, as you know, the Lord's day, a day which he has especially reserved for himself, "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Let us now consider what those works of piety are, to which Sunday should be principally devoted.

In the first place, the catechism teaches us that Sunday should be especially a day of prayer. It is by prayer, my dear children, that we converse with God, acknowledge him for our Lord and Sovereign Master, thank him for his past blessings, implore his pardon for our offences, and beg of him all those graces which we stand in need of both for soul and body. No exercise can, therefore, be more suitable for Sunday than that of prayer. The most perfect form of prayer is, as I have told you, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which we are bound to assist at under pain of mortal sin; but a good Catholic will not be

*This occurrence was related to the writer by the curé of a small village, situated in the neighbourhood of that where the catastrophe had taken place.