order to allay our fears: "Behold, whom hast thou for thy judge! God has committed ail judgment to His Son. Can He therefore condemn thee, who has ransomed thee from death?"
5. Contemplate therefore the merits of Jesus Christ, and when you meditate upon them never let go your hope. If you have already fallen into mortal sin, or if you should ever be grievously wounded by the shafts of sin, hope on; never despair of the mercy and saving grace of the Lord. For if priests and levites, namely, your fellow-creatures in general, pass you by and abandon you, never will your Redeemer act in this way, never will He give you up for lost. No; your sad plight, your pitiable weakness, and the wounds of your soul will draw Him from afar to your aid, and will touch His sacred heart with compassion. He will act the part of a good Samaritan toward you. He has only oil and wine to bestow upon you, only mercy and loving kindness, if you go to Him with a contrite and humble heart — and a piece of gold, that is to say, Himself in the Most Blessed Sacrament, in order to pay all your debts. Hope in the Lord; He is your protection, your salvation.
Himself to man our God doth give, Our hope, the Lord most High; In this hope must the Christian live, In this hope he must die.
Apropos of these considerations, some reflections on the number of the saved and lost are not out of order.
As we read in the Gospel of St. Luke (xiii. 23), a certain man said to our blessed Saviour :
"Lord, are they few that are saved?" Jesus
