glory due Him was great, how great, too, was this gift of peace! Even now it cools our fevered brows with the very breath of Eden. Oh, how long have we sought for it! Sophistries have sometimes dulled us into a brief security, then again we thought we had found it in forgetfulness. But in the end, with sad hearts, we realize the same awful conclusion: "We looked for peace and no good came; for a time of healing, and behold fear" (Jer. viii, 15).

As the blessing of the Nativity was, above all, glory to God and peace to men, so we find it again in the Divine Mysteries of the altar. When Mary in the grotto first lifted up her Divine Son, a tribute of glory ascended before the Father that atoned for ages of neglect. So now, when the priest lifts up the sacred Host before God, a like tribute of glory that carries with it every holy thought, every good word and meritorious deed, ascends as the perfume of a sweet savor to Him. Indeed, never once do we in sincerity renew our faith and with true contrition confirm our resolutions of amendment before that Divine Presence, that the courts of heaven do not ring with joy, because there is one found to return and give glory to God (St. Luke xvii, 18).

In

So, too, with the gift of peace. the serene quiet of His Presence all the hard questionings and troubled unrest that mar our life here fall away, and we are those that abide "in a place of rivers, very broad and spacious streams" (Isa. xxxiii, 21). "We sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence" (Ib. xxxii, 18). Confidenceaye, that is what we crave: to feel and know that our peace is His peace that can never be broken or pass away, save as we ourselves abandon it.

Second Consideration-The Preparation for the Nativity: To meditate fruitfully upon this mystery, it is helpful to consider the preliminary steps preparatory to it. Chief among these were the

enormous difficulties that confronted St. Joseph. Questionings arose in his mind that made him loath to undertake the journey to Bethlehem. It was a numbering of the people, and David's attempt to do so had called down the Divine anger upon them (1 Par. xxi, i, 7). It was ordered by a pagan conqueror to gratify his vain-glory: "It was," says Tacitus, the Roman historian, "a pictorial reflection of the imperial acquisitions." Worse still, his agent was the Idumean usurper Herod. Joseph's poverty and enforced obscurity were a sufficient humiliation, without a further degradation of his royal ancestry as a son of David, at the call of a heathen potentate issued by his creature, a usurper born of an outcast people; his whole sense of patriotism revolted within him.

Even submitting to the decree, as he must, other present and very practical difficulties arose on every hand. Before all else was the critical condition of Mary; that of itself made the journey well-nigh impossible, for in accordance with Jewish custom he must be at hand when her hour came. The dangers, too, of such a trip were great; apart from passing through hostile Samaria, predatory bands of robbers lay in wait in every narrow, rocky pass, and these would be all the bolder, now that an increase of travellers promised more plunder. Then, the item of expense was a very serious one to a poor man such as he. The necessary outfit for the journey must be provided, and the cost of entertainment at the caravanserais would be greater than under ordinary circumstances - if, indeed, they could always secure such entertainment. Beyond that was the expense of a probably prolonged stay in Bethlehem. Even if these difficulties could be met, the loss of time would prove serious to him as a working-man. There were at least ten days to be counted upon as spent upon the road thither

and return, if, indeed, they were not delayed by the inclement winter season; then, a week or more must be allowed for the details and delays in the enrollment. If Mary were to give birth to her Son during this time, as seemed altogether likely, it would mean a stay of some months there. He could not leave her and her divinely conceived Child amongst strangers, while he returned to Nazareth until such time as she could be brought home again. Meanwhile his slender supply of gold would run very low, if it were not entirely exhausted. True, he might secure work in Bethlehem or its neighborhood, but, though of the house of David, he was a stranger in the city of David. Altogether, it was almost disastrous that this journey to the south should be necessary at this particular time. Why could not the enrollment have been made in the home towns, allowing each to specify his ancestry, rather than requiring long and costly journeys, which, however agreeable to the rich, must be a hardship to the poor?

Meanwhile the Holy Virgin, as her time drew near to fulfillment, became more deeply absorbed in thought, and, day by day, withheld herself farther and farther from the things of earth. Her face, always beautiful, now became, as it were, luminous, and her eyes shone. with an unearthly light. Even while busied about her daily duties. there was that in her every word and action that commanded a feeling of overwhelming awe in the heart of her Carefully and methodically she made her preparations for the journey, at the same time increasing rather than diminishing her devotions. Never once had she questioned its wisdom. nor considered its discomforts, for, thoroughly versed in the law and the prophets and under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, she knew that her Son. Who was to rule as the Messiah and the

spouse.

Saviour of the world, must be born in Bethlehem, the City of David (Mic. v,2).

So it was that, little by little, whether by the words of Mary, or by the dream from God, all doubts and questionings were banished from the mind of Joseph. and his faith triumphed. Chief among the saints, the foster-father of God, he corresponded with the grace bestowed upon him. As he had not hesitated to at once assume the guardianship of Mary, as the precious treasure of God, when he received the message of the angel (St. Matt. i, 24), so now he hastens to make the hitherto dreaded journey. Weary and footsore though he was, and baffled on every hand in his search for shelter, never once did his faith fail him. When the eyes of the Divine Child Jesus rested upon him in heavenly benediction, we may well believe that he was the first to bend an adoring knee, while words of rapturous devotion sprang to his lips.

If the joy of the Incarnation, as beheld in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, greets us again in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, it must at once be apparent to us that, as the Blessed Mother of God and St. Joseph must make due preparation for the Nativity, and in doing so encounter grave difficulties, so it behooves us to prepare ourselves for His advent in the Mass, knowing that we will meet like difficulties. Did Joseph question the necessity for the winter journey? So the spirit of evil puts his questions to us: "Why hath God commanded you?" (Gen. iii, 1). "How can these things be done?" (St. John iii, 9). Was he repelled by the thought of conforming to the decree of a heathen conqueror when he was a member of the true royal line of his country? In like manner the question puts itself to us: can the face of my God be veiled from me beneath the mean appearance of bread? Did Mary and Joseph have to betake themselves to far-away Bethlehem? Why, in

like manner, must I journey to the altars of holy Church, however far removed from them, if I would seek His Presence, when I could find Him so much more easily in the privacy of my closet?

Then, too, there are the more immediate difficulties to be overcome. It was a costly undertaking for St. Joseph; so, too, it is costly to us, for we must lay bare in penance the wounds of our souls that hitherto we have nursed in secret, and meet the cost with due contrition and satisfaction. Were there dangers that threatened them by the way? Well, like dangers lie in wait for us when the world and our own passions dash down upon us and seek to turn us aside or wound us to make us helpless. If it meant a grave loss of time to Joseph, so it will, in all probability, mean a loss of influence on our part amongst the worldlings who, like Gallio, "care for none of these things" (Acts xviii, 17). Even at the supreme moment of the consecration, when God reigns in His Sacrament, trials beyond measure may befall us to distract us and lure us away. There is but one way left to us, and that is to pray with the holy Apostles: "Increase our faith!" (St. Luke, xvii, 5); with the father of the demoniac boy: "Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief" (St. Mark, ix, 23). Ah! join ourselves to the company of Mary and Joseph, with them take our way to Bethlehem, the House of Bread; and behold! the glad fruition of our faith will be ours-our faith in the Presence of Emmanuel, God with us.

Colloquies: First-O God, Thou art infinitely great, and the splendors of Thy majesty, no mortal eye may look upon and live. To Thy love there are no bounds and its unresting surge laves the shore of heaven and earth. In the miserable darkness of our blindness, when all life was as a wretched night, full of uncertain perils and questionings,

Thou didst still watch over us and "rejoice over us with gladness." (Soph. iii, 17.) When came the breaking of the day in the Incarnation and Nativity, Thou didst send Thy Son to claim Thine own again. Thou dost reveal Thyself to us not only as our Creator, but also as our Father, because that by Him Thou hast regenerated us unto a lively hope. (I Pet. i, 3.) O Holy Father! kindle in this poor heart of mine such a fire of love as will respond to the everlasting love wherewith Thou hast loved us. Show me Thy glory, O Lord! grant me Thy peace!

Second-O Jesus, Sun of Justice! shine upon my soul and dispel the gloom.

What though it be not mine to visit Thee in the city of David, where Thou didst spread forth baby hands in blessing over a waiting world, yet let me still find Thee in Thy House of Bread here, even in Thy holy Church in this vale of tears and temptations, where Thou dost wait for us to give us the blessing of peace. I know, O my Lord, that the best I can make ready for Thee is all too mean-yea, meaner than the rude grotto of Thy nativity, for while the "ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib," I have forgotten Thee and would not understand. Now, when I fain would seek Thee, the contrition I offer is so imperfect, the confessions so halting, the satisfaction so meagre, that they are but little better than a mockery. Still, because Thou art my Saviour, I will deal confidently and will not fear; I will draw near, for Thou bidst me come "without money and without any price." Thy tender infant body veiled Thy Eternal Godhead then; even so, now, Thy most Holy Sacrament conceals Thy glory from us. Though I may not put my fingers into Thy wounded hands nor thrust my hand into Thy side, yet I know that on Thine

Senator Stone and the Literacy Test The Hon. William J. Stone (a Protestant), senior United States Senator from Missouri, is a true guardian of liberty-the liberty guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution of the United States, irrespective of his religious belief. In this he is a grand contrast to the dotard General Miles and men of his kidney who would ostracize Catholics from public life for the heinous offence of worshipping God according to the dictates of their conscience. In a spirited speech in the United States Senate, the Senator protested vigorously against the literacy test in the Dillingham Immigration Bill, now tabled and relegated to the limbo of innocuous desuetude. His speech gave but cold comfort to the "Guardians of Liberty" and other fanatics who would revive the intolerance of old Knownothing days. Said Senator Stone:

"I wish to say that this literacy test in this bill smacks too much of Knownothingism and A. P. Aism to command my support. All of you are familiar with the old Know-nothing propaganda, and you are also familiar with the more recent revival of that propaganda under the name of the American Protective Association. Both of these movements were intended to lay drastic and most intolerant proscription upon foreign-born people and upon the membership of the Catholic Church.

"The era of Know-nothingism was before my day, but I know as a matter of history that the Democratic party fought the movement tooth and nail and destroyed it. When A. P. Aism was projected and raised a threatening hand against the equality of American citizenship because of the accident of birth and because of religious conviction, I happened at that time to have

the honor of being the Governor of Missouri. Without a moment of hesitation I put myself in opposition to the movement. At the meeting of the Democratic State Convention in 1894, I wrote a resolution denouncing A. P. Aism, and was successful in having it incorporated in the party platform then adopted.

"The Democratic party as an organization followed a similar course throughout the country, and A. P. Aism, like Know-nothingism, disappeared as an active force in public affairs. Still there can be no doubt that the intolerant spirit of these movements remains. It lurks quiescent, but it is still in the minds and hearts of many men. I will not say, for I would be most unwilling to believe, that any Senator supporting that educational test approves the intolerant spirit and un-American doctrines of Know-nothingism or A. P. Aism; nevertheless, this educational test is but one form of giving new life and vigor to that spirit and those doctrines. I cannot support a proposition so strongly marked with intolerance as this one."

Distinguished Dominican Scholar

The Very Rev. Francis Gabriel Horn, O. P., S. T. M., a distinguished Dominican from Rome, is just now on a visit to the United States.

Father Horn was born in Peru, Indiana, in 1873, and when in his eighth year moved with his family to Brooklyn, N. Y. After graduating from St. James' College, in New York, he entered the employ of P. F. Collier, the publisher, as private secretary. Later he resigned this position to enter the novitiate of the Dominican Fathers at Springfield, Ky. His studies were continued at Somerset, Ohio, after which his superiors sent him to Rome for his