y, _Deo gratias_, for
this am I called that I should endure injustice; for what should I
complain of when my master did not complain?

And here St. Peter has quoted some words from the prophet
Isaiah,--namely, these, Chap. liii.: "Who did no sin, neither was
deceit found in His mouth," also, "by whose stripes ye are healed."
Christ was so pure that not an evil word was ever on His tongue. He
deserved that all should fall at His feet, and bear Him in their
hands. Although He had power and the right to avenge Himself, he yet
permitted Himself to be derided, insulted, reviled, and besides all,
put to death, and never opened His mouth. Why then should you not
endure it also, when you are nothing but sin? You ought to praise and
thank God that you are counted worthy of this,--that you should be
like Christ; and not murmur nor be impatient though you be made to
suffer, since the Master did not revile nor threaten in return, but
even prayed for his enemies.

But perhaps you say, "How? Am I then to give that which is due to
those who treat me unjustly, and say of them, they have done well?"
Answer. No! but this is what you are to say: I will from my heart
cheerfully suffer it, although I have not deserved it, and you do me
injustice for my Master's sake, who also has endured injustice for
me. You are to commit it to God, who is a righteous judge, and will
richly reward it, just as Christ committed it to His Heavenly Father.
_He who has borne our sins in His own body_ (says St. Peter); that
is, he has not suffered for himself, but for our welfare. We who have
crucified him by our sins, are far from that condition ourselves.
Wherefore, if you are a pious Christian, you are to follow after your
Master, and mourn for those who make you suffer, and even pray for
them, that God will not punish them; for they do far more injury to
their own souls than to your body. If you lay this to heart, you
shall easily forget your suffering, and suffer cheerfully. For we are
to consider that we were once in such a Christless state as those,
but have now, through Christ, been converted, as St. Peter concludes
and says:

V. 25. _Ye were like sheep going astray, but ye are now returned to
the Shepherd and Bishop of your Souls._ This, however, is a passage
from the prophet Isaiah, who speaks after this manner: "We have all
gone astray like sheep, and every one has gone in his own way." But
now have we obtained a Shepherd, says St. Peter. The So