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masters. Then Jesus, answering, said to her: O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was cured from that hour.

On His way back to Galilee, passing through Decapolis, a deaf and dumb man was brought to Him to be healed. And taking him aside from the multitude, He put His fingers into his ears; and spitting, He touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, that is, Be opened. And immediately his ears were opened; and the string of his tongue was loosed; and he spoke right. And He charged them that they should tell no man. But the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well; He hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

CHAP. XXI. The second miracle of the loaves. Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ.

IN those days again, when there was a great multitude, and had nothing to eat; calling His disciples together, He saith to them: I have compassion on the multitude: for, behold, they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint in the way: for some of them came from afar off. And His disciples answered Him: From whence can any one satisfy them here with bread in the wilderness? And He asked them: How many loaves have ye? and they said: Seven. And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples to set before them; and they sat them before the people. And they had a few little fishes and He blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. And they did eat, and were filled: and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and He sent them away.

And they came to Bethsaida: and they bring to Him a blind man: and they besought Him to touch him. And taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the town: and spitting upon his eyes, laying His hands on him, He asked him if he saw any thing. And looking up, he said: I see men as trees, walking. After that He laid His hands again upon his eyes; and he began to see, and was restored, so that he saw all things clearly. And He sent him to his house, saying: Go into thy house; and if thou enter into the town, tell no man.

Journeying onwards, Jesus reached Cæsarea Philippi; and He asked His disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? And they said: Some say that Thou art John the Baptist, and others Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering, said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father who is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art a Rock (or, in the English tongue, "Peter"), and upon this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. Then He charged His disciples, that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

From this time Jesus began to unfold to His disciples the mystery of His death and passion. Until now they scarcely understood that He was not to be a worldly monarch, but was to conquer sin by His own sufferings and death. But the hour was drawing near, when He would go to Jerusalem, to meet the death which there awaited Him. And when He foretold His death and resurrection, Peter was amazed and angry, and said, Lord, be it far from Thee; this shall not be unto Thee. And Jesus turned to him, and bade him

cease his words; for he was acting the part of an adversary, tempting Him to fly from that death which He had come into the world to endure.

Then He said to His disciples: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His

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angels and then will He render to every man according to his works.

CHAP. XXII. The Transfiguration. The lunatic healed.
Jesus pays tribute.

THE hour was now come when God was about to display the hidden glory which lay concealed beneath the humble form of Jesus before His chosen disciples. Peter, James, and John, were ever the three who, both at this time and others, were favoured with a more intimate knowledge of the mysteries of redemption than was as yet granted to any others. Peter was to be the Rock on which the Church of Christ was to be built, James was to be its first martyr, John was the disciple whom Jesus most loved; and these three were now taken up into a high mountain by their Master, and they beheld Him for awhile glorified with more than earthly brightness. He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun and His garments became white as snow. And, behold, there appeared to them Moses, and Elias talking with Him. Then Peter, answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And, behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am

well pleased hear ye Him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came, and touched them; and said to them: Arise, and be not afraid. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, but only Jesus, And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.

Then they asked Him how His triumph could be so near, when Elias, who was to come again upon earth, according to the prophecies, had not appeared. And Jesus said that Elias had indeed come, and been put to death. And they understood that John Baptist was the Elias spoken of by the prophet.

And when He was come down from the mountain, He found a multitude gathered together with the rest of His disciples, and a lunatic whom the disciples had tried in vain to cure. And Jesus told them that it was because of their want of faith in the divine power He had granted them, which they must seek by prayer and fasting, that they had been unable to cast out the devil. Then He rebuked the devil, and the child was healed.

Coming then to Capharnaum, the tribute-gatherers asked for the tribute which the government exacted from all the people. And Jesus shewed to His disciples that He, being no true servant of the kings of the earth, was bound to pay no tribute to them. Nevertheless, that He might not prejudice the people against His doctrine, He bade Peter go to the sea, and cast in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish he caught, and with a piece of money which he there would find, pay the tribute that was demanded.

CHAP. XXIII. Jesus teaches humility, and to beware of giving scandal, and to forgive offences.

ABOUT this time the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who, thinkest Thou, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus calling unto Him a little child, set

him in the midst of them, and said: Amen I say unto you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in My name, receiveth Me.

Then He warned them against putting scandals or temptations in the way of these little ones, or of any man whatsoever. He bade them cast away the dearest blessings they possessed, even though they loved them as their own eyes, or hands, or feet, rather than suffer these things to lead them to sin, and thus to plunge them into hell fire. See that you despise not, He said, one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their Angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. What think you? If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray; doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it be so that he find it, amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that than for the ninety-nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Then again He gave authority to His disciples to forgive sins, and to refuse forgiveness to the impenitent; and with a parable taught Peter that we are to forgive one another all our offences. Peter came to Him, and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him,' saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

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