He appears to you. Say with the spouse; " Show me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where Thou liest in the mid-day." (Cant. i. 6.)
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Christ the Comforter of your Soul.
" The Lord, therefore, will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof, and He will make her desert, as a place of pleasure. " (Is. ii. 3.)
I. Christ says in the gospel of to-day, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you." (John xvi. 22.) Reflect how numerous are "the afflictions of the just," (Ps. xxxiii. 20.) from within and without; how vain and empty are all the pleasures of the world; and that no solid comfort can be found, except in God, and in the pursuit of heavenly things. Hence our Lord is pronounced by St. Paul, to be " the God of all consolation, who comforteth us in all our tribulations." (2. Cor. i. 3.)
II. In the Eucharist, Christ is properly the comforter of the afflicted. Therefore David sings, "Thou hast prepared a table before me, against them that afflict me; and my chalice, which inebriateth me, how goodly it is!" (Ps. xxii. 5.). The Eucharist is an ocean overflowing with spiritual delight, inebriating the mind with ineffable sweetness. "Thou hast visited the earth and hast plentifully watered it, Thou hast many ways enriched it.'" (Ps. lxiv. 10.) If it do not enrich you the reason must be because you do not bring with you proper dispositions.
III. The necessary dispositions to enjoy the delights of this spiritual banquet are, 1. A sincere grief for your past sins; for " according to the multitude of my sorrows
