This poignant question was addressed directly to Peter, yet it was intended for the listening disciples and the vast assembly of mankind in all ages, past, present, and future.
The universe of man in its progressive steps in divine things, halts, listens, and ponders this question of Jesus as directly as in the moment of its utterance, for it is the voice of God to His children, of all classes and conditions of men.
The Magdalen and the friendless tramp, veiled in the mists of earth, whom the world shuns as thorns and briers by the wayside, are His children. The fact that they exist in life classifies them as such. His love encircles, sustains, when human love is void. Somewhere in their pilgrimage, in dire extremity, as with all humanity, the voice of Love will be heard. Its accents will melt, purify, and reform, and, arising from their false consciousness, they will find freedom and hope in divine Love.
