Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

100 ST. MATTHEW.
he that seeketh, findeth ;
it shall be opened."
and to him that kiiocketh,
Prayer is always heard after one manner or ano-
ther, when charity asks, seeks, and knocks. She
alone obtains all which she asks, because she alone
asks what she ought, and that in a right manner,
and for a good end. The way never to be refused,
is, never to desire any thing but the will of God.
** 9. Or what man is there of you, whom, if his
son ask bread, will he give him a stone ?"
We have no right to ask any thing of God, but
only, 1. Under the quality of children, and as mem-
bers of his Son. 2. With the heart of children, or
a filial love. 3. Necessaries, as bread. Thou art,
O my God, both the Father and the bread of our
souls. Give thyself to us, thee and thy Son Jesus
Christ, the bread of heaven. How many times,
Lord, have we asked of thee a stone, namely, the
good things of the earth, which would only have
formed in us ji heart of stone, and thou hast been
pleased to give us the bread of thy grace, of thy
word, and of thy Son !
" 10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a ser-
pent?"
Jesus Christ may be said to be hidden in the
Scriptures, as a fish is hidden in the water: faith
and charity find him there; curiosity and concu-
piscence, instead of him, find there sometimes the
serpent and his temptation. If he is an unnatural
father who gives his children things hurtful to the
life of the body, what then is that person who causes
them to lose the life both of soul and body to all
eternity, in poisoning them with the maxims of the