Others  have  so  given  up  public  or  even  private  prayer,  first
falling  into  careless  ways  about  it,  or  using  some  reserve  in
their  prayers,  and  not  honestly  giving  their  whole  hearts  to
God,  and  then,  because  God  does  not  thus  answer  their
prayers,  or  give  them  any  fervour,  they  shorten  prayer,  or
make  it  a  weary  service,  or  even  abandon  it. Others  have
been  tempted  to  look  on  all  Faith  as  a  dream,  or  deny  what
God  has  said  to  be  true. In  such  cases,  people,  because
they  do  not  see  the  Promises  of  God  fulfilled,  doubt  whether
they  can  or  will  be  fulfilled  to  them. They  cannot  but  see
that  God  does  promise,  in  His  Word,  that  He  will  hear
prayer,  bless  fasting,  enrich  those  who  give  alms ;  that
by  Baptism  we  are  clothed  with  Christ,  in  the  Holy  Eu-
charist are  made  one  with  Him,  that  the  Church  is  the
appointed  channel  of  His  Gifts  and  of  Salvation. But  men
come  short  of  God's  Gracious  Will  for  them ;  and  so  they
are  tempted  to  doubt  of  His  Promises  altogether. Just  so
the  disciples  of  Emmaus. They  had  believed  that  Jesus
was  "He  Who  should  redeem  Israel."  But  He  redeemed  it
not  in  the  way  they  looked  for. He  had  foretold  that  He
should  arise  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day;  "  to-day,"
they  say,  "is  the  third  day  since  these  things  were  done;"
and  He  had  not  appeared. Had  they,  upon  this,  gone
away,  He  never  would  have  appeared  unto  them. They
were  saddened,  perplexed,  yet  still  they  mused  on  Jesus  and
His  Promises. And  so,  as  and  when  they  looked  not,  relief
came. "  Jesus  drew  near  and  went  with  them,"  while  they
knew  not,  hoped  not,  that  it  was  He. And  so  in  the  like


How  to  Detain  Jesus  in  the  Soul. 273

cases  now,  doubts  will  have  no  real  hold  upon  us  while  we
hold  fast  to  Jesus,  Let  us  commune  with  Him  and  of
Him,  dwell  on  His  Holy  Words  ;  in  due  time  we  shall
either  see  the  Truth,  or>  which  is  as  blessed,  see  that
what  we  see  not  is  part  of  the  Unsearchable  Wisdom  of
God ;  and  believing  what  He  has  said,  we  shall  have  far
more  than  sight,  or  sense,  or  knowledge  of  our  own ;  for  we
shall  have  the  knowledge  of  God. 