resurrection, having joined the company of the two disciples on their road to Emmaus, "went in with them; and it came to pass," adds the Evangelist, "whilst he was at table with them, that he took bread and blessed and broke, and gave to them, and their eyes were opened, and they knew him." Such also, my friends, are the happy effects experienced by the devout Christian, when, seated at the table of his Lord, in the sacred mysteries, he receives into his soul the bread of life. His eyes, like those of the two disciples, are opened; and, like them, he knows Jesus. Yes, my friends, his eyes-the eyes, I mean, of his mind-are opened. They are opened to the contemplation of those divine objects which faith presents to his intellectual view. And from that faith, as from the surface of a highly polished mirror, he beholds reflected on his ravished sight the lovely form of the supreme object of his affection. He beholds and recognises his own dear Jesus. Yes; he knows him well. He is sensible that he cannot be mistaken. For he discovers distinctly, in every feature, all those amiable and endearing qualities which are the distinguishing characteristics of his sacred person. That same indulgent mercy, the same humility, the same meekness, the same ardent glow of charity, which were so prominent in him during his mortal life, are equally visible to the devout communicant, through the medium of faith, in the sacrament of the altar. He feels, moreover, the celestial influence of his Saviour. He hears his voice. He lis

F

tens with attention to his secret communications. And his heart, like that of each of the two disciples in their journey to Emmaus, is inflamed with the ardor of divine love. "And they said one to another, was not our heart burning within us, whilst he was speaking on the way, and opening to us the Scriptures?" Enlightened by those torrents of divine illumination which rush upon his mind from that inexhaustible source of heavenly wisdom which he has now within him, he beholds, with not less astonishment than rapture, all the glories of the eternal City bursting upon his sight! And whilst he is gazing, in transports of delight, on this ravishing spectacle of splendor and magnificence, he hears a voice within him announcing to him the exhilarating intelligence, that for him that scene of glories is designed for that that is the great and glorious inheritance purchased for him by the sufferings and death of the Redeemer of mankind. Deeply penetrated with a lively sense of that blissful state,to the enjoyment of which he is encouraged to aspire, and feelingly impressed with a conviction of the inexpressible and infinite obligations which he is under to him, who, by the price which he has paid for it, is the true founder of his exalted pretensions-the highest pleasure he can possibly enjoy is to pour forth to him the feelings of his heart, in all the tenderest, yet most respectful effusions of adoration, gratitude, and love. Such, my friends, is a faint and imperfect sketch of that delightful intercourse which passes between the soul of the

worthy receiver of that great Master of the feast, to whose mystic table he is invited in the holy sa

crament.

Come then, my friends, and with a lively faith, with sentiments of the most profound reverence, and with hearts overflowing with gratitude and love, receive into your souls the God of all consolation presenting himself to you in an ineffable manner in the holy sacrament; particularly during the present festival sacred to this great and incomprehensible mystery of unexampled love. Come, but be sure you banish from within you whatever may be offensive to his unsullied sanctity. Let no unworthy thought, no disorderly affection, no corrupt or sinful inclination disfigure those dwellings destined to be honoured with his august presence. Embellish them, on the contrary, with every virtue which he delights to contemplate, and which shone forth so conspicuously in his own conduct during his mortal life. Let meekness, humility, conformity to the divine will, the love of God and the love of man, be in the number of their most distinguished ornaments. Then will his entrance into your souls be infallibly productive of the most salutary effects. Then will he replenish them with a rich profusion of heavenly graces, which will be your support, strength, and consolation during your mortal pilgrimage, and bring you at length to the possession of the pure, boundless, and never-ending joys of a blissful immortality. For "he who eateth this bread shall live for ever."

SERMON V.

DELIVERED ON THE FESTIVAL OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL,

AT THE CONSECRATION OF THE RIGHT REV. JOHN BRIGGS, D.D., BISHOP OF TRACHIS, AND COADJUTOR TO THE RIGHT REV. THOMAS PENSWICK. D.D., BISHOP OF EUROPUM, AND VICAR APOSTOLIC OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT,

IN THE CHAPEL OF USHAW COLLEGE, A.D. 1833.

EXPOSITION AND APPLICATION OF A PLAIN, EASY, AND COMPENDIOUS MODE OF ASCERTAINING THE TRUE DOCTRINE OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST,

GOSPEL. Matthew, c. xvi. v. 13—19. And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and 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 to thee: That thou art 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 on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

THE Gospel which you have just heard contains an account of a short but interesting dialogue

which took place between Jesus and his disciples in the territory of Cesarea Philippi. "And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples saying: whom do men say that the son of man is?" To the question thus put to them respecting the opinions which others entertained of his sacred person, they all appear, from the words of the Gospel, to have promiscuously replied; and that, too, in a manner indicating an appearance of indifference upon the subject. "And they said: some say that thou art John the Baptist, and some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets." But no sooner did he call upon them for their own individual opinions concerning him, than, with that characteristic earnestness peculiar to him, Simon Peter immediately stepped forward and pronounced him, without hesitation, to be the promised Messiah-the eternal Son of the Most High. "Simon Peter answered and said, thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." So bold and energetic a declaration on the part of this great Apostle drew from the lips of his Divine Master, the following remarkable terms, in which he subsequently addressed 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 to thee, that thou art 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 hea