in commemoration of this event.  That night God sent an angel through all the land, and he killed the firstborn of man and beast in all the houses of the Egyptians.  That is, he killed the eldest son in the house; and if the father was the firstborn in his father’s family, he was killed also; and the same for the beasts.  This was a terrible punishment.  In the house of every Egyptian there were some dead but not one in the houses of the Israelites; for when the angel saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, he passed over and did not enter into their houses, so that this event, called Passover or Pasch, was kept always as a great feast by God’s people.  This paschal lamb was a figure of our blessed Lord, for as its blood saved the Israelites from death, so Our Lord’s blood saved and still saves us from eternal death in Hell.

After that dreadful night Pharao allowed the people to depart with Moses; but when they had gone as far as the Red Sea, he was sorry he let them go, and set out with a great army to bring them back.  There the people stood, with the sea before them and Pharao and his army coming behind them; but God provided for them a means of escape.  At God’s command, Moses stretched his rod over the sea, and the waters divided and stood like great walls on either side and all the people passed through the opening in the waters, on the dry bed of the sea. (Ex. 14).

Pharao attempted to follow them, but when he and his army were on the dry bed of the sea, between the two walls of water, God allowed the waters to close over them, and they were all drowned.  Then the Israelites began the great journey through the desert, in which they travelled for forty years.  During all that time God fed them with manna.  He Himself, as a guide, went with them in a cloud, that shaded them from the heat of the sun during the day and was a light for them at night.  But you will ask:  Was the desert so large that it took forty years to cross it?  No, but these people, notwithstanding all God had done for them, sinned against Him in the desert; so He permitted them to wander about through it till a new generation of people grew up, who were to be led into the promised land by Josue, the successor of Moses.  From this we may learn a lesson for ourselves:  God will always punish those who deserve it, even though He loves them and may often have done great things to save them; but He will wait for His own time to punish.

The Israelites then, as I have said, went from every part of the land up to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch each year.  It was during one of these celebrations that Our Lord was put to death, and during another feast that St. Peter preached to the people after Our Lord’s death.  He spoke only in one language, and yet all his hearers understood, for each heard his own language spoken. (Acts 2:6).  This was called the gift of tongues, and was given to the Apostles when the Holy Ghost came upon them.  For example, if each of you came from a different country and understood the language only of the country from which you came, and I gave the instructions only in English, then if everyone thought I was speaking his language—­German, French, Spanish, Italian, etc.—­and understood me, I would have what is called the gift of tongues, and it would be a great miracle, as it was when bestowed upon the Apostles.