For it

our daily life, with all its duties, its trials, and its privileges, be but a preparation for the Holy Communion. Although our Lord be always with us, yet if we seek Him not there, we exclude ourselves from the consolation of His Presence. is there, in the words of our Prayer-book, that "we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His blood;" that "we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us;" that "we are one with Christ, and Christ with us." There it is that He makes His face to shine upon us, and gives us comfort in our sorrows, rest from our troubles, and pardon for our sins. We cannot, indeed, tell how He then manifests Himself to us, any more than we can tell the manner of His manifestation to the two disciples at Emmaus. We merely read that their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Let then our prayer be that the eyes of our understanding may in like manner be opened, and that we may feel in our Communions the presence of Christ. But

222 THE REMEDY FOR ANXIOUS THOUGHTS.

do not let us forget that we must first of all approach them, as they did, by the path of quiet obedience, with a remembrance of His death, trust in His promises, and hearts burning with His love. If we fail in this, we cannot wonder at the blessing being withheld from us which was vouchsafed to them. In the language of the text, we must strive to resemble them "in the things done in the way," or we have no reason to hope that our Lord will make Himself known to us "in the breaking of bread."

Easter Tuesday.

OUR LORD'S APPEARANCE TO ST. THOMAS. (ON THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.)

24-29.

"BUT Thomas, one of the twelve, called John xx. Didymus, was not with them when Jesus

came.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut,

224 OUR LORD'S APPEARANCE TO ST. THOMAS.

and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side and be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

LECTURE X.

COMFORT UNDER DESPONDENCY.

JOHN XX. 27, 28.

"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."

THERE was an interval of one week between the manifestation of our Lord to the disciples on their way to Emmaus and that to which the text refers. It must have been a period full of the brightest hopes and expectations to the rest of the Apostles; but St. Thomas had been un