basely denied his divine Master thrice, and not only did he deny Him, but he even swore with fearful imprecations that he knew Him not. How came it that he fell so low, so deeply? It was because he neglected prayer.
At the Last Supper our divine Saviour foretold to His apostles that they would all abandon Him that night, saying: "You will all be scandalized in My regard to-night." "But Peter saith to Him: Although all shall be scandalized in Thee, yet not I. And Jesus saith to him: Amen I say to thee, to-day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. But Peter spoke the more vehemently: Although I should die together with Thee, I will not deny Thee" (Mark xiv. 27-31). St. Peter was very sincere in his resolution to die with Jesus rather than deny Him. But he was weak, very weak of himself; he was warned of this in the Garden of Olives, when, not having heeded the injunction of Jesus to watch and pray with Him, he was thus spoken to by the loving Saviour: "Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation [that is, that ye yield not to temptation]; the spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh weak" (Matt. xxvi. 41). St. Peter did not heed this warning; he failed to pray, and when the
