"Well, James," said a kind-voiced mother, "you promised to tell Maggie
all about the Catechism you heard this afternoon at school."
"All right, mother," answered sprightly James, "anything at all to make
Maggie happy. Let's begin right away."
"Maggie, you said," continued James, "that you never could find out
_when_ the angels were created. Neither could our teacher tell me. And
I'm told St. Augustine could only make a guess when they were created.
"He thought the angels were created when God separated the light from
the darkness. But that's no matter, anyhow. We're sure there are angels;
that's the chief point."
"Are you quite certain?" asked Maggie.
"To be sure I am," said James. "If I met a man in the street I would
know he must have a father and a mother, although I had never heard when
he was born."
"That's so," chimed in the proud mother.
"Well, then, mother, many angels have been seen on earth, and they must
have been created some time. Let me tell you some of the places where it
is said in the Bible that angels have been seen, and where they spoke,
too."
"Now, James," said the father, "let Maggie see if _she_ can find out
some of those places herself. Here is the Bible."
With the help of mother and James, Maggie soon found the history of Adam
and Eve, where it is recorded that an angel with a flaming sword was
placed at the gate of Paradise.
"Poor Adam and Eve," said Maggie, "they must have felt very sad."
"Yes," answered Father Kennedy, who dropped in just then, and beheld his
young theologians with the holy Book before them. "They felt very sorry,
indeed, but they were consoled when told that a Savior would come to
redeem them."
"So you told us last Sunday," chimed in James. "Then you spoke about the
angels at Bethlehem who sang glory to God in the highest."
"And there was an angel in the desert when our Lord was tempted,"
proceeded the father.
"Oh! did you hear papa say the devil was an angel?" exclaimed James.
"Of course the devil is an angel," said Maggie, glad to trip up her big
brother, "but he is a bad one."
"I say yet that there were angels with our Lord after His forty days'
fast," insisted James.
"So I say, too," retorted Maggie; "but while only one _bad angel_
tempted our Lord, many good angels came to minister unto Him."
"Very well, indeed," said Father Kennedy. "But let's hurry over some
other points about the angels. Your turn; Master James, and give only
the place and person in each case."
"Well, let me see; there were Abraham and the three angels who went to
Sodom, and the angels who beat the man that wanted to steal money from
the temple, and the angel who took Tobias on a long journey."
"Please, Father Kennedy, wasn't it an _Archangel?_" inquired Maggie,
still determined to surpass her brother.
"Never mind that," said the priest. "Go on, James; 'twill be Maggie's
turn soon."
"Well, there was an angel in the Garden of Olives, and angels at the
Resurrection of our Lord, and angels at His Ascension."
Here Maggie exclaimed, "Please, Father Kennedy, may I have till next
Sunday to search out some angels? James has taken all mine."
"No," mildly said the delighted clergyman, "_your _angel is always with
you, and James has his, too."
"Father Kennedy, there's a man dying in the block behind the church,"
said the servant from the half-open parlor door. "Excuse my coming in
without knocking. They're in a great hurry."
"Good night, children," said the devoted priest, "till next Sunday. May
your angels watch over you in the meantime."
* * * * *
ARCHANGEL ([:a]rk [=a]n' j[)e]l), a chief angel.
ARCHBISHOP ([:a]rch bish' [)u]p), a chief bishop.
ARCH, as a prefix, means _chief_, and in nearly every case
the _ch_ is soft, as in archbishop. In archangel, architect, and in
one or two other words, the _ch = k._
ARCH, as a suffix, is pronounced _[:a]rk_, and means _ruler;
_ as monarch, a _sole ruler;_ one who _rules alone._
Make a list of all the words of the Lesson that are contractions. Write
after each what it is a contraction of.
EARTHWARD = earth + ward (w[~e]rd). _ward_ is here a suffix
meaning _course, direction to, motion towards._ Add this SUFFIX
to the end of each of the following words, and tell the meaning of
each new word formed:
up, sea, back, down, east, west, land, earth.
WHAT word is the opposite in meaning of each of these new words?
Memory Gem:
The generous heart
Should scorn a pleasure which gives others pain.
_Tennyson_.
* * * * *
_27_
ebb' ing
spon' sor
judg' ments
el' e ments
tu' te lage