he will find its judicious and accurate exposition much facilitated by the reflection, that the Redeemer himself commanded this petition, although united to the others, to be also offered separately, in order that we may seek with the greatest earnestness the object of our prayer: " Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be given you besides." [1]
And, indeed, so great is the abundance of heavenly gifts contained in this petition, that it embodies all things necessary for the security of soul and body. The king, who pays no attention to those things on which depends the safety of his kingdom, we should deem unworthy of the name. What then must be the solicitude, what the providential care, with which the King of kings guards the life and safety of man? When, therefore, we say, " Thy kingdom come," we compress within the small compass of this petition all that we stand in need of in our present pilgrimage or rather exile, and all this God graciously promises to grant us: He immediately subjoins: " All these things shall be given you besides;" thus unequivocally declaring, that he is that king who, with bountiful hand, bestows upon man an abundance of all things; in the contemplation of whose in finite goodness David was enraptured when he poured out these words of inspired song: "The Lord ruleth me, and I shall want nothing." [2]
Not enough, however, that we utter an earnest petition for the kingdom of God; we must also make use of all those means, by which it is sought and found. The five foolish virgins uttered the same earnest petition in these words: " Lord, Lord, open to us;" [3] but they used not the means necessary to secure its attainment, and were, therefore, excluded: " Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." [4]
The priest, therefore, who is charged with the care of souls, will draw from the exhaustless fountain of inspiration those powerful motives, which are calculated to excite the faithful to the desire and pursuit of the kingdom of heaven; which portray in vivid colouring our deplorable condition; and which should make so sensible an impression upon them, that entering into themselves they may call to mind that supreme felicity and those unspeakable joys with which the eternal abode of God our Father abounds. In this nether world we are exiles, inhabitants of a land, in which, also, dwell those demons who wage against us an interminable warfare; who are the determined and implacable foes of mankind. What shall we say of those intestine conflicts and domestic battles in which the soul and the body, the flesh and the spirit, are continually engaged against each other? [5] in which we have always to apprehend defeat; nay, in which instant defeat becomes inevitable, unless we be defended by the protecting hand of God. Feeling this weight
