love and charity to his enemies, by praying for them, and excusing them to his eternal Father: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Oh! let us learn from our dying Redeemer this necessary lesson, to love and pray for those that hate and persecute us: and instead of aggravating their crime, to excuse it and impute it to their ignorance. Oh! how true is it of every sinner, he knows not what he is doing, otherwise he would never dare to fly in the face of infinite majesty: he would never be so mad as to renounce heaven for a trifle, and cast himself down the precipice that leads to hell. 2dly, learn the efficacy of a sincere conversion, and an humble confession of sins, in the plenary indulgence given by our dying Saviour to the good thief: Amen, I say unto thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. 3dly, learn a filial devotion to the Virgin Mother, recommended to us all by her Son, in the person of St. John: Behold thy mother. 4thly, learn the greatness of the interior anguish of thy Saviour's soul, from these words: My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? Alas! it was for no other reason, but that poor sinful man might not be forsaken. 5thly, from that word of thy crucified Jesus, I thirst: take notice of two violent thirsts which thy Saviour endured upon the cross; the one corporal, proceeding from his having fasted so long, passed through so many torments, and shed so much blood: the other spiritual, in his soul, by the vehement desire of our good and salvation. But, Oh! cruel wretches, who would give him nothing but vinegar to quench his corporal thirst! More cruel sinners, who instead of satisfying his spiritual thirst by gratitude and devotion, give him nothing but the gall and vinegar of sin and wickedness! 6thly, from these words of our dying Saviour, It is consummated,
