Forty-third Sunday.

THE CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES.

FIRST READING.

"Behold the Lamb of God."—John 1:36.

NOW that John the Baptist knew that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God, whom he had been sent to proclaim, he began to point Him out, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." There were two poor fishermen, who had come out to listen to John, who heard, and who went to Jesus and asked, "Master, where dwellest Thou?" He said, "Come and see."

Their names were Andrew and another John. They stayed all one night with Him, and saw and felt that He was so great and holy that no one else could be the Christ who had been promised to come and save the world; and John was always the nearest and best loved of all to Him.

Andrew went and told his own brother Simon, whom our Lord named Peter, which means a rock; and they brought two more of their friends to see Him, whose names were Philip and Nathanael. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

Nathanael asked how He could know him. Our Lord answered, "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." Then Nathanael said, "Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel." For he had been alone under the fig tree, and nobody who was not God could have seen or known he was there; and our Lord said that because he believed, he should see greater things than these.

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD.—John 1:36.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who had been sent to proclaim our Lord? 2. What did John the Baptist say of Him? 3. Who were the two first who listened? 4. What was their trade? 5. Who was the best loved of all? 6. Whom did Andrew fetch? 7. What name was given to Simon? 8. What does Peter mean? 9. What friends did they tell of our Lord? 10. What did our Lord say of Nathanael? 11. What does "without guile" mean? 12. What did Nathanael ask? 13. Why was he surprised? 14. What did our Lord say? 15. What was his answer? 16. How did he know that Jesus was God? 17. Where can God see?

SECOND READING.

"Thou hast kept the good wine until now."—John 2:10.

PERSONS who loved to learn of a Master were called His disciples. So John and his brother James, Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and his friend Nathanael, were all called our Lord's disciples.

They were all invited to a wedding at Cana, the village in the hills where Nathanael lived; and the blessed Virgin Mary, our Lord's mother, was there too. But the bride and bridegroom were poor people, and in the midst of the feast it turned out that there was not wine enough. The blessed Virgin said, in a low voice, to her Son, "They have no wine."

JESUS CALLING HIS DISCIPLES.—John 1:51.

Now, there were six great jars standing by, and Jesus told the servants to fill them with water. So they filled them up to the brim; and then He told the servants to draw out some of what they had poured in, and carry it to the chief person there.

As soon as this man had tasted it, he found it was such good wine that he said to the bridegroom that most people began their feasts with their best wine, but that here the best had been kept for the last. This was the first wonderful thing our Lord did on earth, and it made His disciples know that He was God, for no one else could have done such a wonder.

THE MIRACLE IN CANA.—John 2:7, 8.

We call these wonders miracles. Our Lord worked many more while He was on earth, and most of them were cures to the blind, or the lame, or the sick. He made them well directly by His power and love.

QUESTIONS.

1. What are disciples? 2. Who were the first disciples? 3. What feast did they go to? 4. Where was the feast? 5. What was wanting at the feast? 6. What did our Lord's mother say? 7. What did He tell the servants to do? 8. How many waterpots were there? 9. What did the water become? 10. To whom was it carried? 11. What was said of it? 12. How came it to be wine? 13. What is such a wonder called? 14. Why could our Lord do miracles? 15. What did they show?

THIRD READING.

"I will make you fishers of men."—Matt. 4:19.

I TOLD you Andrew and Peter and John were fishermen. They used to go fishing at night in boats, on the blue lake of Galilee, shut in between the high mountains. One night, they had been out in two boats, trying hard to catch fish, but none would come to their nets.

In the morning, they saw Jesus standing on the bank, with a great crowd of people round Him, come to see and hear His teaching. He called to Simon Peter to come and take Him into his boat, so that He could teach the people from thence without being crowded.

JESUS TEACHES NICODEMUS.—John 3:2, 3.

When He had done speaking, He told Andrew and Peter to go out into the deeper water, and let down their nets. They said, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net." And instantly the net was so full of fishes, that Andrew and Peter could not draw it up without the help of John and his brother James, who was with him in his boat; and both boats were quite full of fish, and ready to sink with the weight.

JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA.—John 4:25, 26.

JESUS HEALS THE SICK OF THE PALSY.—Mark 2:4, 5.

Our Father who art in Heaven

He hath fulfilled his word ELIJAH'S SACRIFICE ON MOUNT CARMEL HALLOWED BE THY NAME

JOHN PREACHING IN THE WILDERNESS CHRIST AND NICODEMUS ST. PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIAN JAILOR THY KINGDOM COME

CHRIST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

CHRIST FEEDING THE MULTITUDE I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN STEPHEN FORGIVES HIS ENEMIES THE KING FORGIVES HIS BROTHER O LORD HAVE MERCY PAY ME WHAT THOU OWEST PUNISHMENT OF THE UNFORGIVING FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THEM THAT TRESPASS AGAINST US

THE TEMPTER IN EDEN THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST DRIVEN FROM EDEN PETER DENYING CHRIST THE REMORSE OF JUDAS LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

CHRIST STILLING THE STORM AT SEA THE ANGEL DELIVERING PETER FROM PRISON CHRIST PROCLAIMING DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES DELIVER US FROM EVIL

When the boats came to land, our Lord told the four disciples that they were to come with Him, for He would make them fishers of men, for they were to draw disciples to Him, instead of catching fish. They believed Him, and left all they had to follow Him, and they were always with Him—His dear friends who followed Him everywhere, and stored up His holy words in their hearts.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was the trade of the disciples? 2. Where did they fish? 3. How did they fish? 4. Who came to them? 5. What did he bid them do? 6. What had they been doing all night? 7. But what did they now let down? 8. What did they find in their nets? 9. What were filled? 10. How came the fish there? 11. What did our Lord call them to do? 12. What were they to be? 13. What did they leave? 14. Who were these four?