Water does not so easily wash away the spots off our clothes, says St. John Chrysostom, as alms wash off the spots of our souls and blot out the stains of our sins. They extinguish sin' as water extinguishes fire, says the Holy Scripture; they deli ver from death, purge away sin, and make a man find mercy and eternal life. In fine, alms deeds are more beneficial to the charitable giver than to the distressed receiver, which made the eloquent St. Cyprian formerly say to some poor objects, who returned him thanks for the alms he had given them, that it was rather incumbent on him to thank them for having exposed their wants, and afforded him a favourable opportunity to sow a few grains of seed, from which he hoped to reap an abundant harvest and to derive the most signal advantages. All other riches which men accumulate on earth, will quit them at the hour of death and devolve to others, who perhaps will soon forget them; but the alms which they hide in the bosom of the poor will precede, accompany and follow them to the other world, and stand their best friends at the bar of Divine Justice. Blessed, therefore, is the man who considers the necessities of the poor, and relieves them; the Lord will treat him mildly and sweetly in the evil day, as the Royal Prophet speaks, Ps. xl. For this reason our Saviour cautions us in the Gospel, not to set our hearts and affections on the perishable goods of this world, but to make for ourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity; that is, to gain over the poor on our side by plentiful alms, that when all other things fail us, the alms we have distributed may plead our cause on the day of need, and the poor objects we have relieved may intercede for us like so many powerful advocates before the throne of God, and may procure us admittance into the eternal tabernacles of glory. Since then, my brethren, works of mercy and deeds of charity are so acceptable and so meritorious in the sight of God; since they are productive of so many salutary effects and signal advantages, both to our spiritual and temporal concerns; since they are so strongly inculcated by the voice of nature, the feelings of humanity and the dictates of religion, it is hoped that ye will come forward with alacrity, and contribute according to your abilities to the support of the laudable charity of this day. If you have much, give abundance, say's Tobias; if a a little, take care to bestow willingly a little. And that you may partake of the blessed effects of your alms, give cheerfully, with a willing heart and a pleasant countenance; since, as St. Paul says, 2 Cor. ix. God loveth a cheerful giver. Give as to God, and not as to man; give with a pure intention for God's sake, to relieve Jesus Christ in the person of his little ones. Let the chief object of your compassion be your own immortal souls; for, as St. Augustine remarks, Christ requires from you, in the first place, the soul which he redeemed with his sacred blood, Hoc requirit, quod redemit. To make him an offering of your external goods, and to refuse him your souls,

is to imitate unhappy Cain, who presented the worst of his flock and reserved the best for himself. Christian charity embraces all mankind, and tenders its good offices to every one in real distress, notwithstanding the difference of his religion, country or profession, as our Divine Master teaches us in the parable of the merciful Samaritan. It does not exclude any real object from the acts of its universal benevolence. Prudence and discretion are indeed to be used in the choice of proper objects; but as St. John Chrysostom observes too anxious an inquiry and an over-great suspicion of imposture are to be avoided, as being contrary to Christian simplicity and fraternal charity.

The poor little children, whose cause I wish to plead with some degree of success, look up to you now with confidence ; they claim a right to your protection and deserve your particular attention; they are unquestionably real and proper objects, as they are either fatherless, motherless, friendless or helpless; they have neither the will nor the power to misapply or abuse your charitable donations, which are expended by their trustees with the strictest economy, for their sole use and real benefit. Since the first establishment of this charity, a great number of poor reduced room-keeper's children have been essentially relieved these several years past, both in their corporal and spiritual necessities; they have been rescued from the jaws of destruction, preserved from the corruption of the streets, instructed in their moral duties, educated in the fear and love of God, trained up to habits of virtue and apprenticed to proper trades, which now afford them a comfortable support without being a burden to the public. The flock of children who are your humble petitioners this day, expect by your charitable aid to partake of the like advantages, and to be enabled to become in process of time useful, industrious and edifying members of society; they have no other resource at present but your benevolence; they stand in need of a continuance of your annual contributions, in order to defray the heavy expenses that are incurred by providing them with clothing and other necessaries.

You cannot be insensible, my brethren, of the great advantages of giving children a Christian education, and impressing their tender minds with good principles and an early tincture of piety and religion; the honour and glory of God are thereby promoted, the loss and ruin of numberless souls are prevented, and the dreadful evils that usually spring from ignorance and idleness are in a great measure obviated and remedied; nay, whether we consider it in a religious or in a civil point of view, it is a matter of great importance to form youth to habits of virtue and honest industry, and to diffuse a spirit of religion among the lower ranks of people at an early period of life. This is a truth so obvious, that in every civilized nation the education of youth is looked upon as an object of the first magnitude, as it is one of the most effectual means, not

only to stem the torrent of iniquity and to reform the depraved morals of the age, but likewise to preserve peace and order in civil society, and to advance the welfare and the happiness of the community at large. May I not then conclude, my brethren, that nothing deserves more encouragement, nothing is more worthy of your patronage and protection, than those charitable societies and institutions which the piety of the faithful has established, for the purpose of giving a christian education to poor, helpless, destitute children, and providing them with necessary clothing and proper trades, which are to be their future support. The example of our separated brethren of every religious denomination, who on similar occasions seem to be actuated with uncommon zeal, should excite in you an holy emulation to exercise your humanity, and testify your charity to the little ones assembled here this day. Let me entreat you to open your eyes and see their wants, to open your ears and hearken to their petitions, to open your hearts and compassionate them, to open your hands and purses and extend your charity towards their support and education. Remember, that by clothing and aiding them in their respective necessities, you clothe and aid Jesus Christ, who says in the Gospel, that whatever you do to his little ones he will consider it as done to himself in person. I shall therefore conclude with the advice of St. Augustine: Give some share of your worldly substance to Jesus Christ, to whom you owe you have and possess ; reckon him among your children count one more in your family; reserve a child's portion for him; clothe, feed and relieve him this day in the persons of his poor, little, innocent members; and in return they will be bound to raise their hearts and voices to Heaven in your behalf, and supplicate the Giver of all good gifts to shower down the treasures of his grace and mercy on all their benefactors in this life, and to grant that on the last day, they may be ranked in the thrice happy number of those who are to be invited by Jesus Christ to the inheritance of his heavenly kingdom, with these comfortable words, Come ye blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, Mat. c. xxv. v. 34. Which is the blessing I wish you all, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CORPUS CHRISTI, AND THE SECOND AFTER PENTECOST.

On the transcendent dignity and excellency of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and the veneration due to it.

Homo quidam fecit cœnam magnam, et vocavit multos.-Luc. c. xiv. v. 16.

A certain man made a great supper, and invited many to it.—Luk, c. xiv. v. 16. IT is related in the first chapter of the Book of Esther, that Assuerus, King of Persia, being desirous to display his power and grandeur, made a most sumptuous and elegant feast, to which he invited the nobility and gentry of his kingdom for the space of one hundred and eighty days successively. Nothing that could be purchased or acquired, though ever so costly or exquisite, was deficient, but every thing abounded that could contribute to aggrandize this royal banquet; however, it was but a shadow of the delicious and heavenly banquet alluded to in the words of my text, and called by St. Paul the Lord's Supper, because it was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ at his last supper, or the last time he eat the legal supper of the Paschal Lamb with his disciples in the city of Jerusalem. The supper which our Lord provided then is the blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, a supper fitter for Angels than for men, and suitable in every respect to his infinite goodness and boundless liberality. It may truly and justly be called a Great Supper, not only on account of the incomparable grandeur of him who instituted and prepared it, and the numberless multitude of guests who are invited to partake of it, but also for the intrinsic value of the food that is offered thereat. The food which we are here presented with, is not terrene or corruptible, but divine and incorruptible, and instituted for the nourishment of the spiritual life of our souls. We all partake of it, and still it is not diminished; we all eat of it, and still it remains whole and entire. One eats of it, and a thousand eat of it, and this one receives Christ entire, and a thousand do no more. This banquet is to continue, not for half a year only, like that of King Assuerus, but every day unto the consummation of ages and the end of the world.

There is no set number of guests invited to it; all mankind in general are welcome to the table of Jesus, provided they come clothed with the nuptial garment. The poor have as free access as the rich; the feeble, the blind, the lame, have the honour to be invited; nay, not only to be invited, but even to be pressed and importuned to come under pain of incurring his displeasure, and of being liable to be treated like the guests mentioned in the Gospsl, who were excluded from the banquet of eternal glory because they refused to accept of the affectionate invitation which had been given them.

The blessed Eucharist is so called from a Greek word that signifies thanksgiving, because at its first institution Christ rendered thanks to his heavenly Father, and because it is to be received by us with thanksgiving, and is daily offered to God in thanksgiving for all his gracious favours and blessings, it being both a Sacrament and a Sacrifice, as it is not only given to us, but likewise given and offered for us. It is a Sacrament in the Holy Communion and a Sacrifice in the Mass, and in both respects it surpasses by many degrees all the sacraments and sacrifices of the old Testament, which have therefore been abolished in order to make way for it. In memory of, and in thanksgiving for so valuable a treasure, and so signal a favour, the Church has instituted the grand festival and solemn octave of Corpus Christi, during which she calls on all her children all over the world to honour Jesus Christ in the blessed Eucharist, with a kind of triumph, and to praise and magnify him for the love and mercy he has been pleased to testify in the institution of this most holy sacrament and sacrifice of the new Law. To inspire you with the like pious sentiments, I will, in the first place, endeavour to lay before you the transcendent dignity and excellency of this Sacrament of the Eucharist; and in the second place, I will shew you that it is most worthy of your profound respect and veneration. Let us previously implore the divine assistance, through the intercession of the blessed Virgin, greeting her for this end with the words of the Angel. Ave Maria.

As the sun is the most noble of the seven planets, and gold the most precious of all metals, the blessed Eucharist is the most holy of the seven sacraments of the new Law, and surpasses all the sacraments, figures, and types of the old Law, by as many degrees as Jesus Christ himself, in person and dignity, excels all the victims and oblations that were formerly immolated and offered by the people of God. It was prefigured by the tree of life that was planted in the middle of the earthly Paradise; it was prefigured by the bread and wine that were offered in sacrifice by the High Priest Melchisedech, and by the bread that the Prophet Elias was nourished with in the wilderness, and by the holy loaves of proposition that were placed on a table before the inward sanctuary in the Jewish Temple: it was prefigured by the manna from Heaven with