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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
 Posted - 05/17/2009 : 13:04:06
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FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER (LOW SUNDAY)
The Church compares the Neophytes (the newly baptized) to newborn babes, and the milk she gives them to drink is the faith in Christ which will enable them to overcome with Him the world. St John says in the Epistle that this faith has for its foundation the testimony of the Father, Who at the baptism of Christ (water) declared Him to be His Son; the testimony of the Son, Who on the Cross (blood) showed Himself the Son of God; and that of the Holy Ghost, descending on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, according to our Lord's promise, confirmed what Christ had said about His Resurrection and His Divinity, dogmas which the Catholic Church, guided by The Holy Ghost, never ceases to proclaim (Gospel).
Our Faith rests also on the testimony angels who announced our Lord's Resurrection from the dead, but it is based chiefly on His appearances to His apostles. The Gospel tells us how Christ, Who twice appeared in the Cenacle, dispelled the doubts of the Apostle - not present in the upper room on Easter night - Saint Thomas and praised those who, without having seen Him, yet believed in Him.
Let us proclaim our faith in the risen Christ, and in the Divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist (Real Presence), let us repeat with Thomas that cry of faith and humility, "My Lord and my God". By our steadfast faith and blameless conduct, let us bare witness to our Lord Jesus Christ, before an indifferent world.
EPISTLE: 1 John 5: 4-10
A reading from the Epistle of the blessed Apostle John. Dearly beloved: Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit which testifieth that Christ is the truth. And there are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood: and these three are one. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater: for this is the testimony of God, which is greater, because He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth in the Son of God hath the testimony of God in himself.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: John 20: 19-31
At that time, when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came, and stood in the midst and said to them: "Peace be to you." And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: "Peace be to you: as the Father hath sent Me, I also send you." When He had said this, He breathed on them, and He said to them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: "Peace be to you." Then He saith to Thomas: "Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into My side; and be not faithless, but believing." Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God. Jesus saith to him: "Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed." Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that, believing, you may have life in His name.
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON AVOIDING THE OCCASIONS OF SIN
By St. Aphonsus M. Liguori
"When the doors were shut, where His disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst." (John 20. 19)
WE find in this day’s gospel that after His resurrection Jesus Christ entered, though the doors were closed, into the house in which the apostles were assembled, and stood in the midst of them. St. Thomas says, that the mystic meaning of this miracle is, that the Lord does not enter into our souls unless we keep the door of the senses shut. If, then, we wish Jesus Christ to dwell within us, we must keep the doors of our senses closed against dangerous occasions, otherwise the devil will make us his slaves. I will show today the great danger of perdition to which they who do not avoid the occasions of sin expose themselves.
1. We read in the Scriptures that Christ and Lazarus arose from the dead. Christ rose to die no more "Christ rising from the dead, dieth no more” (Rom. vi. 9); but Lazarus arose and died again. The Abbot Guerric remarks that Christ arose free and unbound; "but Lazarus came forth bound feet and hands." (John xi. 44.) Miserable the man, adds this author, who rises from sin bound by any dangerous occasion: he will die again by losing the divine grace. He, then, who wishes to save his soul, must not only abandon sin, but also the occasions of sin: that is, he must renounce such an intimacy, such a house; he must renounce those wicked companions, and all similar occasions that incite him to sin.
2. In consequence of original sin, we all have an inclination to do what is forbidden. Hence St. Paul complained that he experienced in himself a law opposed to reason: "But I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin." (Rom. vii. 23.) Now, when a dangerous occasion is present, it violently excites our corrupt desires, so that it is then very difficult to resist them: because God withholds efficacious helps from those who voluntarily expose themselves to the occasion of sin. "He that loveth danger shall perish in it." (Eccl. iii. 27) "When," says St. Thomas, in his comment on this passage, "we expose ourselves to danger, God abandons us in it." St. Bernardine of Sienna teaches that the counsel of avoiding the occasions of sin is the best of all counsel, and as it were the foundation of religion.
3. St. Peter says that "the devil goeth about seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. v. 8.) He is constantly going about our souls, endeavoring to enter and take possession of them. Hence, he seeks to place before us the occasions of sin, by which he enters the soul. When the soul, says St. Cyprian, yields to the suggestions of the devil, and exposes herself to the occasions of sin, the devil easily enters and devours her. The ruin of our first parents arose from their not flying from the occasions of sin. God had prohibited them not only to eat, but even to touch the forbidden apple. In answer to the serpent tempting her, Eve said: "God hath commanded us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it." (Gen. iii. 3.) But ”she saw, took, and ate” the forbidden fruit: she first looked at it, she then took it into her hands, and afterward ate it. This is what ordinarily happens to all who expose themselves to the occasions of sin. Hence, being once compelled by exorcisms to tell the sermon which displeased him most, the devil confessed that it was the sermon on avoiding the occasions of sin. As long as we expose ourselves to the occasions of sin, the devil laughs at all our good purposes and promises made to God. The greatest care of the enemy is to induce us not to avoid evil occasions; for these occasions, like a veil placed before the eyes, prevent us from seeing either the lights received from God, or the eternal truths, or the resolutions we have made: in a word, they make us forget all, and as it were force us into sin.
4. ”Know it to be a communication with death; for thou art going in the midst of snares." (Eccl. ix. 20.) Everyone born in this world enters into the midst of snares. Hence, the Wise Man advises those who wish to be secure to guard themselves against the snares of the world, and to withdraw from them. "He that is aware of the snares shall be secure." (Prov. xi. 15.) But if, instead of withdrawing from them, a Christian approaches to them, how can he avoid being caught by them? Hence, after having with so much loss learned the danger of exposing himself to the danger of sin, David said that, to continue faithful to God, he kept at a distance from every occasion which could lead him to relapse. "I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep thy words." (Ps. cxviii. 101.) He does not say from every sin, but from every evil way which conducts to sin. The devil is careful to find pretexts to make us believe that certain occasions to which we expose ourselves are not voluntary, but necessary. When the occasion in which we are placed is really necessary, the Lord always helps us to avoid sin; but we sometimes imagine certain necessities which are not sufficient to excuse us. "A treasure is never safe” says St. Cyprian, "as long as a robber is harbored within; nor is a lamb secure while it dwells in the same den with a wolf." (Lib. de Sing. Cler.) The saint speaks against those who do not wish to remove the occasions of sin, and still say: "I am not afraid that I shall fall." As no one can be secure of his treasure if he keeps a thief in his house, and as a lamb cannot be sure of its life if it remain in the den of a wolf, so likewise no one can be secure of the treasure of divine grace if he is resolved to continue in the occasion of sin. St. James teaches that every man has within himself a powerful enemy, that is, his own evil inclinations, which tempt him to sin. "Every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away, and allured." (St. James i. 14.)
If, then, we do not fly from the external occasions, how can we resist temptation and avoid sin? Let us, therefore, place before our eyes the general remedy which Jesus has prescribed for conquering temptations and saving our souls. ”If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee." (Matt. v. 29.) If you find that your right eye is to you a cause of damnation, you must pull it out and cast it far from you; that is, when there is danger of losing your soul, you must fly from all evil occasions. St. Francis of Assisi used to say, as I have stated in another sermon, that the devil does not seek, in the beginning, to bind timorous souls with the chain of mortal sin; because they would be alarmed at the thought of committing mortal sin, and would fly from it with horror: he endeavors to bind them by a single hair, which does not excite much fear. By this means he will succeed more easily in strengthening their bonds, till he makes them his slaves. Hence he who wishes to be free from the danger of being the slave of hell must break all the hairs by which the enemy attempts to bind him; that is, he must avoid all occasions of sin, such as certain salutations, billets, little presents, and words of affection. With regard to those who have had a habit of impurity, it will not be sufficient to avoid proximate occasions; if they do not fly from remote occasions, they will very easily relapse into their former sins.
5. Impurity, says St. Augustine, is a vice which makes war on all, and which few conquer. "The fight is common, but the victory rare." How many miserable souls have entered the contest with this vice, and have been defeated! But to induce you to expose yourselves to occasions of this sin, the devil will tell you not to be afraid of being overcome by the temptation. "I do not wish," says St. Jerome, "to fight with the hope of victory, lest I should sometimes lose the victory." I will not expose myself to the combat with the hope of conquering; because, by voluntarily engaging in the fight, I shall lose my soul and my God. To escape defeat in this struggle, a great grace of God is necessary; and to render ourselves worthy of this grace, we must, on our part, avoid the occasions of sin. To practice the virtue of chastity, it is necessary to recommend ourselves continually to God: we have not strength to preserve it; that strength must be the gift of God. "And as I knew," says the Wise Man, ”that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, ... I went to the Lord, and besought him." (Wis. viii. 21.) But if we expose ourselves to the occasions of sin, we ourselves shall provide our rebellious flesh with arms to make war against the soul. "Neither, yield ye your members as instruments of sin unto iniquity." (Rom. vi. 13.) In explaining this passage, St. Cyril of Alexandria says: "You stimulate the flesh; you arm it, and make it powerful against the spirit." St. Philip Neri used to say, that in the war against the vice of impurity, the victory is gained by cowards that is, by those who fly from the occasions of this sin. But the man who exposes himself to it, arms his flesh, and renders it so powerful, that it will be morally impossible for him to resist its attacks.
6. "Cry," says the Lord to Isaias, "all flesh is grass." (Isa. xl. 6.) Now, says St. John Chrysostom, if all flesh is grass, it is as foolish for a man who exposes himself to the occasion of sin to hope to preserve the virtue of purity, as to expect that hay, into which a torch has been thrown, will not take fire. ”Put a torch into hay, and then dare to deny that the hay will burn." No, says St. Cyprian; it is impossible to stand in the midst of flames, and not to burn.
"Can a man," says the Holy Ghost, "hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn? or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt ?" (Prov. vi. 27, 28.) Not to be burnt in such circumstances would be a miracle. St. Bernard teaches, that to preserve chastity, and, at the same time, to expose oneself to the proximate occasion of sin, ”is a greater miracle than to raise a dead man to life."
7. In explaining the fifth Psalm, St. Augustine says, that "he who is unwilling to fly from danger, wishes to perish in it." Hence, in another place, he exhorts those who wish to conquer, and not to perish, to avoid dangerous occasions. "In the occasion of falling into sin, take flight, if you desire to gain the victory." Some foolishly trust in their own strength, and do not see that their strength is like that of tow placed in the fire. "And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow." (Isa. i. 31 .) Others, trusting in the change which has taken place in their life, in their confessions, and in the promises they have made to God, say: Through the grace of the Lord, I have now no bad motive in seeking the company of such a person; her presence is not even an occasion of temptations: Listen, all you who speak in this manner. In Mauritania there are bears that go in quest of the apes, to feed upon them: as soon as a bear appears, the apes run up the trees, and thus save themselves. But what does the bear do? He stretches himself on the ground as if dead, and waits till the apes descend from the trees. The moment he sees that they have descended, he springs up, seizes them, and devours them. It is thus the devil acts: he makes the temptation appear to be dead; but when a soul descends, and exposes herself to the occasion of sin, he stirs up temptation, and devours her. Oh! how many miserable souls, devoted to spiritual things, to mental prayer, to frequent communion, and to a life of holiness, have, by exposing themselves to the occasion of sin, become the slaves of the devil! We find in ecclesiastical history that a holy woman, who employed herself in the pious office of burying the martyrs, once found among them one who was not as yet dead. She brought him into her own house, and procured a physician and medicine for him, till he recovered. But, what happened? These two saints (as they might be called one of them on the point of being a martyr, the other devoting her time to works of mercy with so much risk of being persecuted by the tyrants) first fell into sin and lost the grace of God, and, becoming weaker by sin, afterward denied the faith. St. Macarius relates a similar fact regarding an old man who suffered to be half-burned in defense of the faith. But, being brought back into prison, he, unfortunately for himself, formed an intimacy with a devout woman who served the martyrs, and fell into sin.
8. The Holy Ghost tells us, that we must fly from sin as from a serpent. "Flee from sin as from, the face of a serpent." (Eccl. xxi. 2.) Hence, as we not only avoid the bite of a serpent, but are careful neither to touch nor approach it, so we must fly not only from sin, but also from the occasion of sin that is, from the house, the conversation, the person that would lead us to sin. St. Isidore says, that he who wishes to remain near a serpent, will not remain long unhurt. Hence, if any person is likely to prove an occasion of your ruin, the admonition of the Wise Man is, "Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house." (Prov. v. 8.) He not only tells you not to enter the house which has been to you a road to hell. "Her house is the way to hell." (Prov. vii. 27), but he also cautions you not to approach it, and even to keep at a distance from it. "Remove thy way far from her." But, you will say, if I abandon that house, my temporal affairs shall suffer. It is better that you should suffer a temporal loss, than that you should lose your soul and your God. You must be persuaded that, in whatever regards chastity, there cannot be too great caution.
If we wish to save our souls from sin and hell, we must always fear and tremble. "With fear and trembling work out your salvation." (Phil. ii. 12.) He who is not fearful, but exposes himself to occasions of sin, shall scarcely be saved. Hence, in our prayers we ought to say every day, and several times in the day, that petition of the OUR FATHER "and lead us not into temptation." Lord, do not permit me to be attacked by those temptations which would deprive me of your grace. We cannot merit the grace of perseverance; but, according to St. Augustine, God grants it to every one that asks it, because he has promised to hear all who pray to him. Hence, the holy doctor says, that the Lord, "by his promises has made himself a debtor."
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2009 : 14:34:47
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SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER (Good Shepherd Sunday)
This Sunday is called "Good Shepherd Sunday" because in the epistle, St Peter himself, made by the risen Lord head and chief Pastor of His Church, tells us that Christ is the shepherd of our souls, which were like wondering sheep. They are gathered around Him Who came to give His life for them. The gospel relates the touching parable of the good shepherd who defends his sheep against the wolf, and protects them from death. This parable was spoken by our Lord in the third year of His ministry, after He had cured the man blind from birth, during the feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem. When the Jews drove the man from the synagogue, our Lord offered him a place of refuge in His Church and compared the Pharisees to false shepherds who forsake their sheep. Christ foretells that the heathen will come to join the Jews of the Old Law and form with them one only Church and flock under one shepherd.
These our Lord recognizes as His sheep and like the disciples at Emmaus, whose eyes were opened at the breaking of the bread, at the alter when the priest consecrated the Host which is a memorial of our Lord's passion, they acknowledge that Christ is the "Good Shepherd Who gives His life that He may feed His sheep with His body and Blood".
"It was in those days," says St Leo, "that the Holy Ghost was bestowed upon all the apostles by our Lord's breathing upon them, and that the blessed apostle Peter, raised above the rest, having already received the keys of the kingdom, saw the care of the Lord's flock committed to his charge". This was the first step in the founding of the one and only true Church. Christ founded the papal primacy on the unshakable faith and intense love of Peter; and he, following in his Savior's steps, did not hesitate to give his life for the flock entrusted to him.
Let us press round the divine Shepherd of our souls, hidden in the Eucharist and whose visible representative is the Pope, Pastor of the Church.
EPISTLE: 1 Peter 2: 21-25
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle. Dearly beloved, Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. Who when He was reviled, did not revile: when He suffered, He threatened not, but delivered Himself to him that judged Him unjustly: who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live in justice; by whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going stray: but you are now converted to the shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: John 10: 11-16
At that time Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep: and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling, and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd: and I know Mine, and Mine know Me, as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father: and I lay down My life for My sheep. And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON SCANDAL
By St Alphonsus Liguori
THE wolves that catch and scatter the sheep of Jesus Christ are the authors of scandal, who, not content with their own destruction, labor to destroy others. But the Lord says: ”Woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh." (Matt, xviii. 7.) Woe to him who gives scandal, and causes others to lose the grace of God. Origen says, that “a person who impels another to sin, sins more grievously than the other." If, brethren, there be any among you who has given scandal, I will endeavor this day to convince him of the evil he has done, that he may bewail it and guard against it for the future. I will show, in the first point, the great displeasure which the sin of scandal gives to God; and, in the second, the great punishment which God threatens to inflict on the authors of scandal.
First Point. On the great displeasure which the sin of scandal gives to God.
1. It is, in the first place, necessary to explain what is meant by scandal. Behold how St. Thomas defines it: “Scandal is a word or act which gives occasion to the ruin of one‟s neighbor." (2 ii., q. 45, art. 1.) Scandal, then, is a word or act by which you are to your neighbor the cause or occasion of losing his soul. It may be direct or indirect. It is direct, when you directly tempt or induce another to commit sin. It is indirect, when, although you foresee that sinful words or actions will be the cause of sin to another, you do not abstain from them. But, scandal, whether it be direct or indirect, if it be in a matter of great moment, is always a mortal sin.
2. Let us now see the great displeasure which the destruction of a neighbor's soul gives to God. To understand it, we must consider how dear every soul is to God. He has created the souls of all men to his own image. "Let us make man to our image and likeness." (Gen. i. 26.) Other creatures God has made by a fiat by an act of his will; but the soul of man he has created by his own breath. "And the Lord breathed into his face the breath of life." (Gen. ii. 7.) The soul of your neighbor God has loved for eternity. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." (Jer. xxxi. 3.) He has, moreover, created every soul to be a queen in Paradise, and to be a partner in his glory. "That by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter i. 4). In heaven he will make the souls of the saints partakers of his own joy. "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matt. xxv. 21. To them he shall give himself as their reward. "I am thy reward exceeding great." (Gen. xv. 1.)
3. But nothing can show the value which God sets on the souls of men more clearly than what the Incarnate Word has done for their redemption from sin and hell. St. Eucharius says: "If you do not believe your Creator, ask your Redeemer, how precious you are." Speaking of the care which we ought to have of our brethren, St. Ambrose says: "The great value of the salvation of a brother is known from the death of Christ." We judge of the value of everything by the price paid for it by an intelligent purchaser. Now, Jesus Christ has, according to the Apostle, purchased the souls of men with his own blood. "You are bought with a great price." (1 Cor. vi. 20). We can, then, say, that the soul is of as much value as the blood of a God. Such, indeed, is the language of St. Hilary "Tam copioso munere redemptio agitur, ut homo Deum valere videatur." Hence, the Savior tells us, that whatsoever good or evil we do to the least of his brethren, we do to himself. "So long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt. xxv. 40.)
4. From all this we may infer how great is the displeasure given to God by scandalizing a brother, and destroying his soul. It is enough to say, that they who give scandal rob God of a child, and murder a soul, for whose salvation he has spent his blood and his life. Hence, St. Leo calls the authors of scandals murderers. "Quisquis scandalizat, mortem infert animæ proximi." They are the most impious of murderers; because they kill not the body, but the soul of a brother, and rob Jesus Christ of all his tears, of his sorrows, and of all that he has done and suffered to gain that soul. Hence the Apostle says: "Now, when you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." (1 Cor. viii. 12). They who scandalize a brother, sin against Christ because, as St. Ambrose says, they deprive him of a soul for which he has spent so many years, and submitted to so many toils and labors. It is related, that B. Albertus Magnus spent thirty years in making a head, which resembled the human head, and uttered words: and that St. Thomas, fearing that it was done by the agency of the devil, took the head and broke it. B. Albertus complained of the act of St. Thomas, saying: "You have broken on me the work of thirty years." I do not assert that this is true; but it is certain that, when Jesus Christ sees a soul destroyed by scandal, he can reprove the author of it, and say to him: Wicked wretch, what have you done? You have deprived me of this soul, for which I have labored thirty-three years.
5. We read in the Scriptures, that the sons of Jacob, after having sold their brother Joseph to certain merchants, told his father that wild beasts had devoured him (Gen. xxxvii. 20.). To convince their father of the truth of what they said, they dipped the coat of Joseph in the blood of a goat, and presented it to him, saying: "See whether this be thy son's coat or not" (v. 32). In reply, the afflicted father said with tears: "It is my son's coat: an evil wild beast hath eaten him" (v. 33). Thus, we may imagine that, when a soul is brought into sin by scandal, the devils present to God the garment of that soul dipped in the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, Jesus Christ that is, the grace lost by that scandalized soul, which Jesus Christ had purchased with his blood and that they say to the Lord: "See whether this be thy son‟s coat or not." If God were capable of shedding tears, he would weep more bitterly than Jacob did, at the sight of that lost soul his murdered child and would say: "It is my son‟s coat: an evil wild beast hath eaten him." The Lord will go in search of this wild beast, saying: "Where is the beast? where is the beast that has devoured my child ?" When he finds the wild beast, what shall he do with him?
6. "I will," says the Lord by his prophet Osee, "meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps." (Osee xiii. 8.) When the bear comes to her den, and finds not her whelps, she goes about the wood in search of the person who took them away. When she discovers the person, oh! with what fury does she rush upon him! It is thus the Lord shall rush upon the authors of scandal, who have robbed him of his children. Those who have given scandal, will say: My neighbor is already damned; how can I repair the evil that has been done? The Lord shall answer: Since you have been the cause of his perdition, you must pay me for the loss of his soul. "I will require his blood at thy hands." (Ezec. iii. 20.) It is written in Deuteronomy, "Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life" (xix. 21). You have destroyed a soul; you must suffer the loss of your own. Let us pass to the second point.
Second Point. The great punishment which God threatens to those who give scandal.
7. "Woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh." (Matt, xviii. 7.) If the displeasure given to God by scandal be great, the chastisement which awaits the authors of it must be frightful. Behold how Jesus Christ speaks of this chastisement: "But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a mill-stone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matt, xviii. 6.) If a malefactor dies on the scaffold, he excites the compassion of the spectators, who, at least, pray for him, if they cannot deliver him from death. But, were he cast into the depths of the sea, there should be no one present to pity his fate. A certain author says, that Jesus Christ threatens the person who scandalizes a brother with this sort of punishment, to signify that he is so hateful to the angels and saints, that they do not wish to recommend to God the man who has brought a soul to perdition. "He is declared unworthy not only to be assisted, but even to be seen." (Mansi. cap. iii. num. 4.)
8. St. John Chrysostom says, that scandal is so abominable in the eyes of God, that though he overlooks very grievous sins, he cannot allow the sin of scandal to pass without condign punishment. God himself says the same by the prophet Ezechiel: "Every man of the house of Israel, if he ... set up the stumbling block of his iniquity ... I will make him an example and a proverb, and will cut him off from the midst of my people." (Ezec. xiv. 7, 8.) And, in reality, scandal is one of the sins which we find in the sacred Scriptures punished by God with the greatest rigor. Of Heli, because he did not correct his sons, who gave scandal by stealing the flesh offered in sacrifice (parents give scandal, not only by giving bad example, but also by not correcting their children as they ought), the Lord said: "Behold, I do a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle." (1 Kings, iii. 11.) And speaking of the scandal given by the sons of Heli, the inspired writer says: "Wherefore the sin of the young men was exceeding great before the Lord." (Ibid. ii. 17.) What was this sin exceeding great? It was, says St. Gregory, in explaining this passage, drawing others to sin. "Quia ad pecandum alios pertrahebant." Why was Jeroboam chastised? Because he scandalized the people: he "hath sinned, and made Israel sin." (3 Kings, xiv. 16.) In the family of Achab, all the members of which were the enemies of God, Jezabel was the most severely chastised. She was thrown down from a window, and devoured by dogs, so that nothing remained but her "skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands." And why was she so severely punished? Because "she set Achab on to every evil."
9. For the sin of scandal hell was created. "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." (Gen. i.1.) But, when did he create hell? It was then Lucifer began to seduce the angels into rebellion against God. Lest he should continue to pervert those who remained faithful to God, he was banished from heaven immediately after his sin. Hence Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees, who, by their bad example, scandalized the people, that they were children of the devil, who was from the beginning, a murderer of souls. "You are of your father, the devil: he was a murderer from the beginning." (John viii. 44.) And when St. Peter gave scandal to Jesus Christ, by suggesting to him not to allow his life to be taken away by the Jews, and thus endeavoring to prevent the accomplishment of redemption, the Redeemer called him a devil. "Go behind me, Satan; thou art a scandal to me." (Matt. xvi. 23.) And, in reality, what other office do the authors of scandal perform, than that of a minister of the devil? If he were not assisted by such impious ministers, he certainly would not succeed in gaining so many souls. A scandalous companion does more injury than a hundred devils.
10. On the words of Ezechias, "Behold, in peace is my bitterness most bitter" (Isa. xxxviii. 17), St. Bernard, in the name of the Church, says: "Peace from pagans, peace from heretics, but no peace from children." At present the Church is not persecuted by idolaters, or by heretics, but she is persecuted by scandalous Christians, who are her own children. In catching birds, we employ decoys, that is, certain birds that are blinded, and tied in such manner that they cannot fly away. It is thus the devil acts. "When," says St. Ephrem, "a soul has been taken, she becomes a snare to deceive others." After having made a young man fall into sin, the enemy first blinds him as his own slave, and then makes him his decoy to deceive others; and to draw them into the net of sin, he not only impels, but even forces him to deceive others. "The enemy," says St. Leo, "has many whom he compels to deceive others." (Serm. de Nativ.)
11. Miserable wretches! the authors of scandal must suffer in hell the punishment of all the sins they have made others commit. Cesarius relates (1. 2, c. vi.) that, after the death of a certain person who had given scandal, a holy man witnessed his judgment and condemnation, and saw that, at his arrival at the gate of hell, all the souls whom he had scandalized came to meet him, and said to him: Come, accursed wretch, and atone for all the sins which you have made us commit. They then rushed in upon him, and like so many wild beasts, began to tear him in pieces. St. Bernard says, that, in speaking of other sinners, the Scriptures hold out hopes of amendment and pardon; but they speak of those who give scandal as persons separated from God, of whose salvation there is very little hope.
12. Behold, then, the miserable state of those who give scandal by their bad example, who utter immodest words before their companions, in the presence of young females, and even of innocent children, who, in consequence of hearing those words, commit a thousand sins. Considering how the angel-guardians of those little ones weep at seeing them in the state of sin, and how they call for vengeance from God against the sacrilegious tongues that have scandalized them. A great chastisement awaits all who ridicule those who practice virtue. For many, through fear of the contempt and ridicule of others, abandon virtue, and give themselves up to a wicked life. What shall be the punishment of those who bring messages to induce others to sin? or of those who boast of their own wicked actions? God! instead of weeping and repenting for having offended the Lord, they rejoice and glory in their iniquities! Some advise others to commit sin. Others induce them to it. Some, worse than the devils, teach others how to sin. What shall we say of fathers and mothers, who, though it is in their power to prevent the sins of their children, allow them to associate with bad companions, or to frequent certain dangerous houses, and permit their daughters to hold conversations with young men? Oh! with what scourges shall we see such persons chastised on the day of judgment!
13. Perhaps some father of a family among you will say: Then, I am lost because I have given scandal? Is there no hope of salvation for me? No: I will not say that you are past hope the mercy of God is great. He has promised pardon to all who repent. But, if you wish to save your soul, you must repair the scandal you have given. "Let him," says Eusebius Emmissenus, "who has destroyed himself by the destruction of many, redeem himself by the edification of many." (Hom. x. ad Mon.) You have lost your soul, and have destroyed the souls of many by your scandals. You are now bound to repair the evil. As you have hitherto drawn others to sin, so you are bound to draw them to virtue by words of edification, by good example, by avoiding sinful occasions, by frequenting the sacraments, by going often to the church to pray, and by attending sermons. And from this day forward avoid, as you would death, every act and word which could scandalize others. "Let their own ruin," says St. Cyprian, "suffice for those who have fallen." (Lib. 1, epis. iii.) And St. Thomas of Villanova says: "Let your own sins be sufficient for you." What evil has Jesus Christ done to you that it is not enough for you to have offended him yourselves, but you wish to make others offend him? This is an excess of cruelty.
14. Be careful, then, never again to give the smallest scandal. And if you wish to save your soul, avoid as much as possible those who give scandal. These incarnate devils shall be damned. But, if you do not avoid them, you will bring yourself to perdition. "Woe to the world because of scandals," says the Lord (Matt. xviii. 7), that is, many are lost because they do not fly from occasions of scandal. But you may say: Such a person is my friend; I am under obligations to him; I expect many favors from him. But Jesus Christ says: "If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. It is better for thee, having one eye, to enter into life, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire." (Matt, xviii. 9.) Although a certain person was your right eye, you must withdraw for ever from her; it is better for you to lose an eye and save your soul, than to preserve it and be cast into hell.
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 07:28:46
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THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
The Church rejoices because Christ is risen and has delivered us; so she sends up cries of joy, and sings the praises of God.
"A little while and now you shall not see Me," said our Lord in the Cenacle... and you shall lament and weep";... and "again a little while and you shall see Me... and your heart shall rejoice." When the apostles beheld our Lord again, they experienced this joy. And just as Easter is a type of the external Pasch, so this is the same joy which will be felt by the Church when, having with sorrow begotten souls to God, she sees her Lord once more, triumphant in Heaven, at the end of time; but a short season compared with eternity. He will change our sorrow into joy which no man shall take from us.
This holy joy begins here below, for our Lord has not left us orphans, but comes to us by the Holy Ghost, whose grace feels us with the hope of future bliss. As strangers and pilgrims journeying to heaven in the train of our risen Lord, we shall not cling to the vain pleasures of this world but rather as St. Peter tells us, we should follow the precepts, positive and negative, of the Gospel, that professing ourselves Christians, we may "reject those things which are contrary to that name, and follow such things as are agreeable to the same." So may we come to the heavenly kingdom whose joy and glory are described for us by St. John. "One of the seven angels said to me: Come and I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And I saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Alleluia. How beautiful is she become, this bride from Lebanon."
EPISTLE: 1 Peter 2: 11-19
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle. Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires, which war against the soul, having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of the good: for so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honor all men: love the brotherhood: fear God: honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy before God: in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Commentary: Our true country is not here below, so let us be total strangers to the world and its pleasures. Made free in Christ let us obey those in authority; for that is God's will and to obey God is to be free. This Christian obedience and charity are pleasing to God.
GOSPEL: John 16: 16-22
At that time. Jesus said to His disciples: "A little while, and now you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father." Then some of His disciples said one to another: what is this that He saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father? They said therefore: What is this that He saith, A little while? We know not what He speaketh. And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask Him. And He said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Aman, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow: but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice: and your joy no man shall take from you.
Praise be to Christ
St. Augustine comments: "When He said: A little while and now you shall not see me, our Lord is speaking to those who at that moment saw Him bodily present, and He spoke in this way because He had to go to His Father, and because after His ascension, His disciples would see Him no more as a mortal man, such as they saw Him to be while He was saying these things to them. This "little time" seems long to us because it is still going on; but when it is finished we shall realize how short it was. Therefore, let not our joy be like the world's. While the desire of eternity is being born within us, let not our sadness be without joy. In the words of the apostle let us show ourselves "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"
SERMON FOR THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON THE VALUE OF TIME
By St Alphonsus Liguori
“A little while, and now you shall not see me." John xvi. 16.
THERE is nothing shorter than time, but there is nothing more valuable. There is nothing shorter than time; because the past is no more, the future is uncertain, and the present is but a moment. This is what Jesus Christ meant when he said: "A little while, and now you shall not see me.” We may say the same of our life, which, according to St. James is but a vapor, which is soon scattered for ever. ”For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while." (James iv. 14.) But the time of this life is as precious as it is short. For, in every moment, if we spend it well, we can acquire treasures of merits for heaven. But, if we squander time, we may in each moment commit sin, and merit hell. I mean this day to show you how precious is every moment of the time which God gives us, not to lose it, and much less to commit sin, but to perform good works and to save our souls.
1. "Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee." (Isa. xlix. 8.) St. Paul explains this passage, and says, that the acceptable time is the time in which God has determined to confer his favors upon us. He then adds: ”Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. vi. 2.) The Apostle exhorts us not to spend unprofitably the present time, which he calls the day of salvation; because, perhaps, after this day of salvation, there shall be no salvation for us. “The time," says the same Apostle, "is short; it remaineth that, they that weep be as though they wept not; that they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as if they used it not." (1 Cor. vii. 29, 30, 31.)
Since, then, the time which we have to remain on this earth is short, the Apostle tells those who weep, that they ought not to weep, because their sorrows shall soon pass away; and those who rejoice, not to fix their affections on their enjoyments, because they shall soon have an end. Hence he concludes, that we should use this world, not to enjoy its transitory goods, but to merit eternal life.
2. ”Son," says the Holy Ghost, ”observe the time." (Eccl. iv. 2 3.) Son, learn to preserve time, which is the most precious and the greatest gift that God can bestow upon you. St. Bernardino of Sienna teaches that time is of as much value as God; because in every moment of time well spent the possession of God is merited. He adds that in every instant of this life a man may obtain the pardon of his sins, the grace of God, and the glory of Paradise. Hence St. Bonaventure says that “no loss is of greater moment than the loss of time."
3. But, in another place, St. Bernardino says that, though there is nothing more precious than time, there is nothing less valuable in the estimation of men. You will see some persons spending four or five hours in play. If you ask them why they lose so much time, they answer: To amuse ourselves. Others remain half the day standing in the street, or looking out from a window. If you ask them what they are doing, they shall say in reply, that they are passing the time. And why says the same saint, do you lose this time? Why should you lose even a single hour, which the mercy of God gives you to weep for your sins, and to acquire the divine grace?
4. O time, despised by men during life, how much shall you be desired at the hour of death, and particularly in the other world! Time is a blessing which we enjoy only in this life. It is not enjoyed in the next; it is not found in heaven nor in hell. In hell, the damned exclaim with tears: "Oh! that an hour were given to us." They would pay any price for an hour or for a minute, in which they might repair their eternal ruin. But this hour or minute they never shall have. In heaven there is no weeping. But, were the saints capable of sorrow, all their wailing should arise from the thought of having lost in this life the time in which they could have acquired greater glory, and from the conviction that this time shall never more be given to them. A deceased Benedictine nun appeared in glory to a certain person, and said that she was in heaven, and in the enjoyment of perfect happiness, but that, if she could desire anything, it would be to return to life, and to suffer affliction, in order to merit an increase of glory. And she added that, to acquire the glory which corresponded to a single Ave Maria, she would be content to suffer till the day of judgment the long and painful sickness which brought on her death. Hence, St. Francis Borgia was careful to employ every moment time for God. When others spoke of useless things, he conversed with God by holy affections; and so recollected was he that, when asked his opinion on the subject of conversation, he knew not what answer to make. Being corrected for this, he said: I am content to be considered stupid, rather than lose my time in vanities.
5. Some of you will say: What evil am I doing ? Is it not, I ask, an evil to spend your time in plays, in conversations, and useless occupations, which are unprofitable to the soul? Does God give you this time to lose it? “Let not," says the Holy Ghost, ”the part of a good gift overpass thee." (Eccl. xiv. 14.) The work men of whom St. Matthew speaks did no evil; they only lost time by remaining idle in the streets. But they were rebuked by the father of the family, saying “Why stand you here all the day idle ?" (Matt. xx. 6.) On the day of judgment Jesus Christ shall demand an account, not only of every month and day that has been lost, but even of every idle word. ”Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgment." (Matt. xii. 36.) He shall likewise demand an account of every moment of the time which you shall lose. According to St. Bernard, all time which is not spent for God is lost time. "Omne tempus quo de Deo non cogitasti, cogita te perdisse." (Coll. 1, cap. viii.) Hence the Holy Ghost says: “Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for neither work nor reason.....shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening." (Eccl. ix. 10.) What you can do Today defer not till to-morrow; for on tomorrow you may be dead, and may be gone into another world, where you shall have no more time to do good, and where you shall only enjoy the reward of your virtues, or suffer the punishment due to your sins. “Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Ps. xciv. 8.) God calls you to confess your sins, to restore ill-gotten goods, to be reconciled with your enemies. Obey his call to-day. For it may happen that tomorrow may be no more for you, or that God will call you no more. All our salvation depends on corresponding with the divine calls, and at the time that God calls us.
6. But some of you will perhaps say: I am young; after some time I will give myself to God. But, remember that the gospel tells us, that Jesus Christ cursed the fig tree which he found without fruit, although the season for figs had not yet arrived. “It was not the time for figs." (Mark xi. 13.) By this the Savior wished to signify, that man at all times, even in youth, should produce fruits of good works. And that otherwise, like the fig tree, he shall be cursed, and shall produce no fruit for the future. “May no man here after eat any more fruit of thee for ever." (Ibid., v. 14.) ”Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day; for his wrath shall come on a sudden." (Eccl. v. 8, 9.) If you find your soul in the state of sin, delay not your repentance nor your confession. Do not put them off even till to-morrow, for, if you do not obey the voice of God calling you Today to confess your sins, death may this day overtake you in sin, and tomorrow there may be no hope of salvation for you. The devil regards the whole of our life as very short, and therefore he loses not a moment of time, but tempts us day and night. ”The devil is come down unto you having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time." (Apoc. xii. 12.) The enemy, then, never loses time in seeking to bring us to hell: and shall we squander the time which God has given us to save our souls?
7. You say: "I will hereafter give myself to God." But “why” answers St. Bernard, "do you, a miserable, sinner, presume on the future, as if the Father placed time in your power ?". Why do you presume that you will hereafter give yourself to God, as if he had given to you the time and opportunity of returning to him whenever you wish? Job said with trembling, that he knew not whether another moment of his life remained: "For I know not how long I shall continue, and whether after a while my Maker may take me away." (xxxii. 22.) And you say: I will not go to confession to-day; I will think of it tomorrow. “Diem tenes," says St. Augustine, “qui horam non tenes." How can you promise yourself another day, when you know not whether you shall live another hour? ”If," says St. Teresa, ”you are not prepared to die today, tremble, lest you die an unhappy death."
8. St. Bernardino weeps over the blindness of those negligent Christians who squander the days of salvation, and never consider that a day once lost shall never return. “Trans**** dies, salutis et nemo recogitat sibi perire diem ut nunquam rediturum." (Serm. ad Scholar.) At the hour of death they shall wish for another year, or for another day, but they shall not have it: they shall then be told that "time shall be no more." What price would they not then give for another week, for a day, or even for an hour, to prepare the account which they must then render to God? St. Lawrence Justinian says, that for a single hour they would give all their property, all their honours, and all their delights. “Erogaret opes, honores delicias, pro una horula." (Vit. Solit., cap. x.) But this hour shall not be granted to them. The priest who attends them shall say: Depart, depart immediately from this earth; for your time is no more. ”Go forth, Christian soul, from this world."
9. What will it profit the sinner who has led an irregular life, to exclaim at death: O! that I had led a life of sanctity! 0! that I had spent my years in loving God! How great is the anguish of a traveler, who, when the night has fallen, perceives that he has missed the way, and that there is no more time to correct his mistake! Such shall be the anguish at death of those who have lived many years in the world, but have not spent them for God. "The night cometh when no man can work." (John ix. 4.) Hence the Redeemer says to all: “Walk whilst you have light, that the darkness overtake you not." (John xii. 35.) Walk in the way of salvation, now that you have the light, before you are surprised by the darkness of death, in which you can do nothing. You can then only weep over the time which you have lost.
10. “He hath called against me the time." (Lamentations Of Jeremias i. 15.) At the hour of death, conscience will remind us of all the time which we have had to become saints, and which we have employed in multiplying our debts to God. It will remind us of all the calls and of all the graces which he has given us to make us love him, and which we have abused. At that awful moment we shall also see that the way of salvation is closed for ever. In the midst of remorse, and of the torturing darkness of death, the dying sinner shall say: O fool that I have been! life misspent! lost years, in which I could have gained treasures of merits, and have become a saint! but I have neglected both, and now the time of saving my soul is gone for ever. But of what use shall these wailings and lamentations be, when the scene of this world is about to close, the lamp is on the point of being extinguished, and when the dying Christian has arrived at that great moment on which eternity depends?
11. "Be you then also ready; for, at what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come." (Luke xii. 40.) The Lord says: ”Be prepared." He does not tell us to prepare ourselves when death approaches, but to be ready for his coming. Because when we think least of death, the Son of Man shall come and demand an account of our whole life. In the confusion of death, it will be most difficult to adjust our accounts, so as to appear guiltless before the tribunal of Jesus Christ. Perhaps death may not come upon us for twenty or thirty years, but it may also come very soon, perhaps in a year or in a month. If any one had reason to fear that a trial should take place, on which his life depended, he certainly would not wait for the day of the trial, but would as soon as possible employ an advocate to plead his cause. And what do we do? We know for certain that we must one day be judged, and that on the result of that judgment our eternal, not our temporal, life depends. We also know that that day may be very near at hand. Yet, we lose our time, and, instead of adjusting our accounts, we go on daily multiplying the crimes which will merit for us the sentence of eternal death.
12. If, then, we have hitherto employed our time in offending God, let us henceforth endeavor to bewail our misfortune for the remainder of our life, and say continually with the penitent King Ezechias: "I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul." (Isa. 38. 15.) The Lord gives us the remaining days of life, that we may compensate the time that has been badly spent. "Whilst we have time, let us work good." (Gal. vi. 10.) Let us not provoke the Lord to punish us by an unhappy death. And if, during the years that are passed, we have been foolish, and have offended him, let us now attend to the Apostle exhorting us to be wise for the future, and to redeem the time we have lost. "See, therefore, brethren, now you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil,... understanding what is the will of God." (Eph. v. 15, 16, 17.) "The days are evil." According to St. Anselm, the meaning of these words is, that the days of this life are evil, because in them we are exposed to a thousand temptations and dangers of eternal misery, and therefore, to escape perdition, all possible care is necessary. "What," says St. Augustine, "is meant by redeeming the time, unless, when necessary, to submit to temporal loss in order to gain eternal goods ?" (de Hom. 50, Hom, i.) We should live only to fulfill with all diligence the divine will. And, should it be necessary, it is better to suffer in temporal things, than to neglect our eternal interests. Oh! how well did St. Paul redeem the time which he had lost! St. Jerome says, that though the last of the apostles, he was, on account of his great labors, the first in merits. "Paul, the last in order, but the first in merits, because he labored more than all." Let us consider that, in each moment, we may lay up greater treasures of eternal goods. If the possession of all the land round which you could walk, or of all the money which you could count in a day, were promised you, would you lose time? or would you not instantly begin to walk over the ground, or to reckon the money? You now have it in your power to acquire, in each moment, eternal treasures; and will you, notwithstanding, misspend your time? Do not say, that what you can do Today you can also do to-morrow; because this day shall be then lost to you, and shall never return. You have this day; but perhaps tomorrow will not be given you. |
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 09:52:14
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FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
On this Fourth Sunday After Easter, the Church exalts the justice of God, which is made manifest in the triumph of Christ and in that of His Mystical Bride - the Catholic Church.
"The right hand of the Lord hath made manifest its power by raising Christ from the dead" (Alleluia) and by taking Him up into Heaven on the day of His Ascension. It is expedient to us that Jesus should leave the earth, for from Heaven He will send to His Church the Spirit of truth, that excellent gift which comes down from the Father.
The Holy Ghost will unite all hearts, will teach them all truth and will convince Satan and the World of the sin they have committed in delivering Jesus to death and in continuing to persecute Him through His Church. And since, according to St. James, "the trying" of our faith worketh patience which drives away inconstancy and makes perfect our good deeds, so "let us imitate the patience of our God and Father" in whom "there is no change or shadow of alteration", and then our hearts will be set where true joys are to be found."
Let us hearken to the words of truth, which will save our souls and let us practice truth, that our hearts may be always set there where is true joy.
EPISTLE: James 1: 17-21
It is by patience that, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, almighty God's gift to us, we shall carry out the teaching of the Gospel in our lives. "it is patience," writes St. Cyprian, "which makes us pleasing to God and keeps us in His service; which calms our anger, checks our tongue, rules our mind, keeps the peace, controls discipline, breaks the onslaught of passion, represses the outburst of pride, extinguishes hatred and strife. She teaches us to forgive those who injure us. She triumphs over temptations readily, endures persecutions and crowns martyrdom"
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle. Dearly beloved, Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration; begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of His creatures. You know, my dearest brethren: And let every man be swift to hear but slow to speak and slow to anger. For the anger of a man worketh not the justice of God. Wherefore, casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: John 16: 5-14
Firstly, the sin of the world, and especially of the Jewish world, is its unbelief. The Jews have closed their eyes to the light, but the wonders worked in the world of souls by the Holy Ghost whom Jesus sent through the Church, make it impossible for them to excuse their lack of faith.
Secondly, the Jews put our Lord to death as a criminal but God rescued Him from their hands by raising Him from the dead and causing Him to enter heaven. The sending of the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, is proof that Jesus is with His Father, who has rewarded Him by setting Him at His right hand. Justice is done and Christ is justified in the eyes of men.
Thirdly, the decent of the Holy Ghost is also proof that the prince of darkness, conquered by Christ is finally judged and condemned. Thus souls, snatched from the devil, are restored to God.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: "I go to Him that sent Me: and none of you asketh Me: Whither goest Thou? But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart. But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He is come, He will convince the world of sin, and of justice and of judgment. Of sin, because they believed not of Me: and of justice, of sin, because they believed not of Me: and of justice, because I go to the Father, and you shall see Me no longer: and of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged. I have yet many things to say to you; but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will teach you all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself: but what things soever He shall hear He shall speak, and the things that are to come, He shall show you. He shall glorify Me: because He shall receive of Mine and shall show it to you."
Praise be to Christ
How ironic when false prophets are trying to justify the Jews in their sin, that we have this wonderful Gospel of St. John the Evangelist on the truth. Our Lord foretold many times that the Jews would be a stubborn lot and indeed that has proven true for still today they brag about rejecting Him and expect faithful Catholics to tow their line rather than God's. More proof they answer to the prince of the world and not to the Son of God Who alone provides eternal happiness, re-emphasized so many times, especially in today's Gospel where Jesus promises He will always be with His children.
SERMON FOR FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON OBEDIENCE
By St Alphonsus Liguori
"Whither goest thou ?" JOHN xiii. 16.
To gain heaven we must walk in the path that leads to Paradise. Many Christians, who have faith, but not works, live in sin, intent only on the pleasures and goods of this world. If you say to one of them: you are a Christian; you believe that there is an eternity, a heaven, and a hell: tell me, do you wish to save your soul? If you do, I will ask you, in the words of this day’s gospel, "whither goest thou?" He will answer: I do not know, but I hope to be saved.
You know not whither you are going. How can you hope for salvation from God, if you live in a state of perdition? How can you expect heaven, if you walk in the way that leads to hell? It is necessary, then, to change the road. And for this purpose you must put yourself in the hands of a good confessor, who will point out to you the way to heaven, and you must obey him punctually. "My sheep," said Jesus Christ, “hear my voice." (John x. 27.) We have not Jesus Christ on earth to make us sensibly hear his voice. But, in his stead, he has left us his priests, and has told us, that he who hears them hears him, and he who despises them despises him. "He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me." (Luke x. 16.) Happy they who are obedient to their spiritual father: unhappy they who do not obey him; for, by their disobedience, they give a proof that they are not among the sheep of Jesus Christ. I intend this day to show, in the first point, how secure of salvation are all who obey their confessor. And, in the second point, how great the danger of perdition to which they who do not obey him are exposed.
First Point. How secure of salvation are they who obey their confessor.
1. In leaving us spiritual fathers to guide us in the way of salvation Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us a great benefit. To obtain salvation we must follow the will of God in all things. What, I ask, is necessary in order to save our souls and to become saints? Some imagine that sanctity consists in performing many works of penance; but were a sick man to perform mortifications which would expose him to the proximate danger of death, he would, instead of becoming a saint, be guilty of a very grievous sin. Others think that perfection consists in long and frequent prayers; but should the father of a family neglect the education of his children and go into the desert to pray, he, too, would commit sin; because, although prayer is good, a parent is bound to take care of his children, and he can fulfill the precept of prayer and attention to their instruction without going into the desert. Others believe that holiness consists in frequent communion; but if, in spite of a just command of her husband, and to the injury of her family, a married woman wished to communicate every morning, she would act improperly, and would have to render an account of her conduct to God. In what, then, does sanctity consist? It consists in the perfect fulfillment of the will of God. All the sins which brings souls to hell proceed from self-will. Let us, then, says St. Bernard, cease to do our own will. Let us follow the will of God, and for us there shall be no hell. ”Cesset propria voluntas, et infernus non erit." (St. Bernard, serm. iii., de Resur.)
2. But some of you will ask: How shall we know what God wills us to do? This is a matter which, according to David, is involved in great doubts and obscurity. “Of the business that walketh about in the dark." (Ps. xc. 6.) Many deceive themselves; for passion often makes them believe that they do the will of God, when, in reality, they do their own will. Let us thank without ceasing the goodness of Jesus Christ, who has taught us the secure means of ascertaining the will of God in our regard, by telling us that, if we obey our confessor, we obey himself. “He that heareth you, heareth me." In the book of the foundations, chapter 10., St. Teresa says: "Let a soul take a confessor with a determination to think no more of herself, but to trust in the words of our Lord: “He that heareth you, heareth me." She adds, that this is the secure way of finding the will of God. Hence the saint acknowledged that it was by obedience to the voice of her director that she attained to the knowledge and love of God. Hence, speaking of obedience to one’s confessor, St. Francis de Sales adopts the words of Father M. Avila. How much soever you seek, you shall never find the will of God so securely, as by this way of humble obedience so much recommended and practiced by the ancient saints. (Introd., etc., cap. iv.)
3. He that acts according to the advice of his confessor, always pleases God when, through obedience, he either practices or omits prayer, mortification, or communions. He even merits a reward before God when, to obey his confessor, he takes recreation, when he eats or drinks, because he does the will of God. Hence the Scripture says that "much better is obedience than the victories of fools." (Eccl. iv. 17.) Obedience is more pleasing to God than all the sacrifices of penitential works, or of alms-deeds, which we can offer to him, he that sacrifices to God his property by alms-deeds, his honor by bearing insults, or his body by mortification, by fasts and penitential rigors, offers to him a part of himself and of what belongs to him; but he that sacrifices to God his will, by obedience, gives to him all that he has, and can say: Lord, having given you my will, I have nothing more to give you.
4. Thus, obedience to a confessor is the most acceptable offering which we can make to God, and the most secure way of doing the divine will. Blessed Henry Suson says, that God does not demand an account of what we do through obedience. Obey, says the Apostle, your spiritual fathers; and fear not anything which you do through obedience. For they, and not you, shall have to render an account of your conduct. ”Obey your prelates, and be subject to them; for they watch, as being to render an account of your souls; that they may do this with joy and not with grief." (Heb. xiii. 17.) Mark the last words: they signify, that penitents should obey without reply, and without causing pain and sorrow to their confessor. Oh! what grief do confessors feel when penitents endeavor, by certain pretexts and unjust complaints, to excuse themselves from obedience! Let us, then, obey our spiritual father without reply, and let us fear not that we shall have to account for any act which we do through obedience. "They," says St. Philip Neri, ”who desire to advance in the way of God, should place themselves under a learned confessor, whom they will obey in the place of God. They who do so may be assured that they shall not have to render to God an account of their actions." Hence, if you practice obedience, and if Jesus Christ should ask you on the day of judgment why you have chosen such a state of life? why you have communicated so frequently? why you have omitted certain works of penance? you will answer: Lord, I have done all in obedience to my confessor: and Jesus Christ cannot but approve of what you have done.
5. Father Marchese relates, that St. Dominic once felt a scruple in obeying his confessor, and that our Lord said to him: “Why do you hesitate to obey your director? All that he directs will be useful to you." Hence St. Bernard says, that "whatever a man, holding the place of God commands, provided it be not certainly sinful, should be received as if the command came from God himself" (de Prćcep. et Discep., cap. xi.). Gerson relates, that the same St. Bernard ordered one of his disciples, who, through scruples, was afraid to say Mass, to go, and trusting in his advice, to offer the holy sacrifices. The disciple obeyed, and was cured of scruples. Some, adds Gerson, will say: ”Would to God that I had a St. Bernard for my director: my confessor is not a St. Bernard." Whosoever you are that speak in this manner, you err; for you have not put yourself under the care of man because he is learned, but because he is placed over you. Obey him, then, not as a man, but as God. (Tract, de Prsop. ad Miss.) You have entrusted the care of your soul to a confessor, not because he is a man of learning, but because God has given him to you as a guide; and, therefore, you ought to obey him, not as a man, but as God.
6. "An obedient man shall speak of victory." (Prov. xxi. 28.) Justly, says St. Gregory, has the Wise Man asserted, that they who are obedient shall overcome the temptations of hell: because, as by their obedience, they subject their own will to men, so they make themselves superior to the devils, who fell through disobedience. "The obedient are conquerors; because, whilst they subject their will to others, they rule over the angels that have fallen through disobedience" (in lib. Beg., cap. x.) Cassian teaches, that he who mortifies self-will beats down all vices; because all vices proceed from self-will. “By the mortification of the will all vices are dried up." He who obeys his confessor, overcomes all the illusions of the devil, who sometimes makes us expose ourselves to dangerous occasions under pretext of doing good, and makes us engage in certain undertakings which appear holy, but which may prove very injurious to us. Thus, for example, the enemy induces certain devout persons to practice immoderate austerities, which impair their health; they then give up all mortification, and return to their former irregularities. This happens to those who direct themselves. But they who are guided by their confessor are not in danger of falling into such an illusion.
Second Point. How great is the danger of perdition to which they who do not obey their confessor are exposed.
7. Jesus Christ has said, that he who hears his priest, hears him; and that he who despises them, despises him (Luc. x. 15.) "When the Prophet Eliseus complained of the contempt which he had received from the people, after God had charged him with the direction of them, the Lord said to him: ”They have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them." (1 Kings viii. 7.) They, then, who despise the advice of their confessors, despise God himself, who has made confessors his own representatives.
8. To every one that comes into this world the Holy Ghost says: "Thou art going in the midst of snares." (Eccl. ix. 20.) We all, on this earth, walk in the midst of a thousand snares. That is, in the midst of the temptations of the devil, dangerous occasions, bad companions, and our own passions, which frequently deceive us. Who shall be saved in the midst of so many dangers? The Wise Man says: “He that is aware of the snares shall be secure." (Prov. xi. 15.) They only who avoid these snares shall be saved. How shall we avoid them? If you had to pass by night through a wood full of precipices, without a guide to give you light, and to point out to you the dangerous passages, you would certainly run a great risk of losing your life. You wish to direct yourself: "Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness." (Luke xi. 45.) The light which you think you possess will be your ruin; it will lead you into a pit.
9. God wills that, in the way of salvation, we all submit to the guidance of our director. Such has been the practice of even the most learned among the saints. In spiritual things the Lord wishes us to humble ourselves, and to put ourselves under a confessor, who will be our guide. Gerson teaches, that he who neglects the advice of his director, and directs himself, does not require a devil to tempt him: he becomes a devil to himself. And when God sees that he will not obey his minister, he allows him to follow his own caprice. “So I let them go according to the desires of their own hearts." (Ps. lxxx. 13.)
10. ”It is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey." (1 Kings xv. 23.) In explaining this text, St. Gregory says, that the sin of idolatry consists in abandoning God and adoring an idol. This a penitent does when he disobeys his confessor to do his own will: he refuses to do the will of God, who has spoken to him by means of his minister. He adores the idol of self-will, and does what he pleases. Hence St. John of the Cross says that, "not to follow the advice of our confessor is pride and a want of faith." (Tratt. delle spine, tom, iii., col. 4, 2, n. 8) For it appears to proceed from a want of faith in the Gospel, in which Jesus Christ has said: "He that heareth you, heareth me."
11. If, then, you wish to save your souls, obey your confessor punctually. Be careful to have a fixed confessor, to whom you will ordinarily make your confession; and avoid going about from one confessor to another. Make choice of a learned priest; and, in the beginning, make to him a general confession, which, as we know by experience, is a great help to a true change of life. After having made choice of a confessor, you should not leave him without a just and manifest cause. ”Every time," says St. Teresa, ”That I resolved to leave my confessor, I felt within me a reproof more painful than that which I received from him."
Coming next.... FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER and SERMON ON THE CONDITIONS OF PRAYER.
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2009 : 14:43:10
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FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
Delivered from sin by the efficacy of His blood, we are bound to hearken and practise the perfect law of liberty contained in His Gospel. To this end, let us ask of God, from Whom all good things come, that by the merits of the Redeemer we may be given the grace to participate in the new life opened up for us by Jesus and freely given by the Heavenly Father.
EPISTLE: James 1: 22-27
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle. Dearly beloved, Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves, For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass: for he beheld himself and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was. But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein. not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed, And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: John 16: 23-30
At that time Jesus saith to His disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in My Name, He will give it to you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name: Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but I will show you plainly of the Father. In that day you shall ask in My Name; and I say not to you that I will ask the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world; again I leave the world and I go to the Father." His disciples say to Him: Behold, now Thou speakest plainly and speakest no proverb. Now we know that Thou knowest all things and Thou needest not that any man should ask of Thee: by this we believe that Thou camest forth from God.
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON THE CONDITIONS OF PRAYER.
"Ask, and ye shall receive." JOHN xvi. 24.
IN this sermon, I shall show the strict necessity of prayer, and its infallible efficacy to obtain for us all the graces which can be conducive to our eternal salvation. ”Prayer," says St. Cyprian, ”is omnipotent; it is one; it can do all things." We read in Ecclesiasticus that God has never refused to hear any one who invoked his aid. ”Who hath called upon him, and he hath despised him?" (Eccl. ii. 12.) This he never can do. For he has promised to hear all who pray to him. ”Ask, and ye shall receive." But this promise extends only to prayer which has the necessary conditions. Many pray but because they pray negligently, they do not obtain the graces they deserve. ”You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss." (St. James iv. 3.) To pray as we ought, we must pray, first, with humility; secondly, with confidence; and thirdly, with perseverance.
First Point. We must pray with humility
1. St. James tells us, that God rejects the prayers of the proud: "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (iv. 6). He cannot bear the proud. He rejects their petitions, and refuses to hear them. Let those proud Christians who trust in their own strength, and think themselves better than others, attend to this, and let them remember that their prayers shall be rejected by the Lord.
2. But He always hears the prayers of the humble: "The prayer of him that humbleth himself pierceth the clouds; and he will not depart till the Most High behold." (Eccl. xxxv. 21.) David says, that "The Lord hath had regard to the prayer of the humble." (Ps. ci. 18.) The cry of the humble man penetrates the heavens, and he will not depart till God hears his prayer. "You humble yourself," says St. Augustine, ”and God comes to you; you exalt yourself, and he flies from you." If you humble yourself, God himself comes, of his own accord, to embrace you. But, if you exalt yourself, and boast of your wisdom and of your actions, he withdraws from you, and abandons you to your own nothingness.
3. The Lord cannot despise even the most obdurate sinners, when they repent from their hearts, and humble themselves before him, acknowledging that they are unworthy to receive any favor from him. ”A contrite and humble heart, God, thou wilt not despise." (Ps. l, 19.) Let us pass to the other points, in which there is a great deal to be said.
Second Point. We must pray with confidence.
4. “No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded." (Eccl. ii. 11.) Oh! how encouraging to sinners are these words! Though they may have committed the most enormous crimes, they are told by the Holy Ghost, that "no man hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded." No man hath ever placed his trust in God, and has been abandoned. He that prays with confidence obtains whatever he asks. “All things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you." (Mark xi. 24.) When we pray for spiritual favors, let us have a secure confidence of receiving them, and we shall infallibly obtain them. Hence the Savior has taught us to call God, in our petitions for his graces, by no other name than that of Father (Our Father), that we may have recourse to him with the confidence with which a child seeks assistance from an affectionate parent.
5. Who, says St. Augustine, can fear that Jesus Christ, who is truth itself, can violate his promise to all who pray to him? "Who shall fear deception when truth promises?" Is God like men, who promise, and do not afterwards fulfill their promise, either because in making it they intend to deceive, or because, after having made it, they change their intention? “God is not as a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he told, then, and will he not do?" (Num. xxiii. 19.) Our God cannot tell a lie because he is truth itself. He is not liable to change because all his arrangements are just and holy.
6. And because he ardently desires our welfare, he earnestly exhausts and commands us to ask the graces we stand in need of. ”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you." (Matt. vii. 7.) Why, says St. Augustine, should the Lord exhort us so strongly to ask his graces, if he did not wish to give them to us? He has even bound himself by his promise to hear our prayers, and to bestow upon us all the graces which we ask with a confidence of obtaining them. “By his promises he has made himself a debtor." (St. Augus., ibid., ser. ii.)
7. But some will say: I have but little confidence in God, because I am a sinner. I have been too ungrateful to him, and therefore I see that I do not deserve to be heard. But St. Thomas tells us, that the efficacy of our prayers in obtaining graces from God, does not depend on our merits, but on the divine mercy. As often as we ask with confidence favors which are conducive to our eternal salvation, God hears our prayer. I have said, “favors conducive to our salvation ;" for, if what we seek be injurious to the soul, God does not, and cannot hear us. For example: if a person asked help from God to be revenged of an enemy, or to accomplish what would be offensive to God, the Lord will not hear his prayers; because, says St. Chrysostom, such a person offends God in the very act of prayer. He does not pray, but, in a certain manner mocks God (Hom, xi., in Matt, vi.)
8. Moreover, if you wish to receive from God the aid which you ask, you must remove every obstacle which may render you unworthy of being heard. For example: if you ask of God strength to preserve you from relapsing into a certain sin, but will not avoid the occasions of the sin, nor keep at a distance from the house, from the object, or the bad company, which led to your fall, God will not hear your prayer. And why? Because "thou hast set a cloud before thee, that prayer may not pass through. " (Lamentations 3:44) Should you relapse, do not complain of God, nor say: I have besought the Lord to preserve me from falling into sin, but he has not heard me. Do you not see that, by not taking away the occasions of sin, you have interposed a thick cloud, which has prevented your prayers from passing to the throne of divine mercy.
9. It is also necessary to remark that the promise of Jesus Christ to hear those who pray to him does not extend to all the temporal favors which we ask such as a plentiful harvest, a victory in a law-suit, or a deliverance from sickness, or from certain persecutions. These favors God grants to those who pray for them, but only when they are conducive to their spiritual welfare. Otherwise he refuses them. And he refuses them because he loves us, and because he knows that they would be injurious to our souls. "A physician," says St. Augustine, "knows better than his patient what is useful for him" (tom. 3, cap. ccxii). The saint adds that God refuses to some, through mercy, what he grants to others as a chastisement. Hence St. John Damascene says that sometimes, when we do not obtain the graces which we ask, we receive, by not receiving them; because it is better for us not to receive than to receive them We often ask poison which would cause our death. How many are there who, had they died in the sickness or poverty with which they had been afflicted, should be saved? But because they recovered their health, or because they were raised to wealth and honors, they became proud and forgot God, and thus have been damned. Hence St. Chrysostom exhorts us to ask in our prayers what he knows to be expedient for us (Hom. xv. in Matt.) We should, then, always ask from God temporal favors on the condition that they will be useful to the soul.
10. But spiritual favors, such as the pardon of our sins, perseverance in virtue, the gift of divine love, and resignation to the divine will, ought to be asked of God absolutely, and with a firm confidence of obtaining them. "If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke xi. 13.) If you, says Jesus Christ, who are so much attached to earthly goods, cannot refuse your children the blessings which you have received from God, how much more will your Heavenly Father (who is in himself infinitely good, and who desires to give you his graces more ardently than you desire to receive them) give the good spirit that is, a sincere contrition for their sins, the gift of divine love, and resignation to the will of God to those who ask them? How can God refuse graces conducive to salvation to those who seek them, when he exhorts even those who do not pray to ask them?
11. Nor does God inquire whether the person who prays to him is a just man or a sinner; for he has declared that "every one that asketh, receiveth." (Luke xi. 10.) ”Every one," says the author of the Imperfect Work, "whether he be a just man or a sinner." (Hom, xviii.) And, to encourage us to pray and to ask with confidence for spiritual favors, he has said: ”Amen, amen, I say to you: If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you." (John xvi. 23.) As if he said: Sinners, though you do not deserve to receive the divine graces, I have merited them for you from my Father: ask, then, in my name that is, through my merits and I promise that you shall obtain whatsoever you demand.
Third Point. "We must pray with perseverance.
12. It is, above all, necessary to persevere in prayer till death, and never to cease to pray. This is what is inculcated by the following passages of Scripture: “We ought always to pray." (Luke xviii. 1.) "Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times” (xxi. 36). "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. v. 17.) Hence the Holy Ghost says: "Let nothing hinder thee from praying always." (Eccl. xviii. 22.) These words imply, not only that we should pray always, but also that we should endeavor to remove every occasion which may prevent us from praying. For, if we cease to pray, we shall be deprived of the divine aid, and shall be overcome by temptations. Perseverance in grace is a gratuitous gift, which, as the Council of Trent has declared, we cannot merit (Ses. 6, cap. xiii.). But St. Augustine says, that we may obtain it by prayer (de Dono. Per., cap. vi.) Hence Cardinal Bellarmine teaches that “we must ask it daily, in order to obtain it everyday." If we neglect to ask it on any day, we may fall into sin on that day.
13. If, then, we wish to persevere and to be saved for no one can be saved without perseverance we must pray continually. Our perseverance depends, not on one grace, but on a thousand helps which we hope to obtain from God during our whole lives, that we may be preserved in his grace. Now, to this chain of graces a chain of prayers on our part must correspond; without these prayers, God ordinarily does not grant his graces. If we neglect to pray, and thus break the chain of prayers, the chain of graces shall also be broken, and we shall lose the grace of perseverance. If, says Jesus Christ to his disciples, one of you go during the night to a friend, and say to him: Lend me three loaves; an acquaintance has come to my house, and I have no refreshment for him. The friend will answer: I am in bed; the door is locked. I cannot get up. But, if the other continue to knock at the door, and will not depart, the friend will rise, and give him as many loaves as he wishes, not through friendship, but to be freed from his importunity. “Although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise, and give him as many as he needeth." (Luke xi. 8.) Now, if a man will give his loaves to a friend because of his importunity, ”how much more," says St. Augustine, “will God give, who exhorts us to ask, and is displeased if we do not ask ?" How much more will the Lord bestow on us his graces, if we persevere in praying for them, when he exhorts us to ask them, and is offended if we do not ask them?
14. Men feel annoyed at being frequently and importunately asked for a favor. But God exhorts us to pray frequently and, instead of being dissatisfied, he is pleased with those who repeatedly ask his graces. Cornelius ŕ Lapide says, that “God wishes us to persevere in prayer, even to importunity." (on Luke xi). St. Jerome says: "This importunity with the Lord is seasonable." (on Luke. xi.) That God is pleased with frequent and persevering prayer, may be inferred from the words of Jesus Christ: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you." (Luke xi. 9.) It was not enough to have said ask but he added, seek, knock; in order to show, that, during our whole lives, we should be as importunate in supplicating the divine graces as beggars are in asking alms. Though they should be refused, they do not cease to cry out, or to knock at the door; they persist in asking relief till they obtain it.
15. If, then, we wish to obtain from God the gift of perseverance, we must ask it from him continually and with importunity. We must ask it when we rise in the morning, in our meditations, in hearing Mass, in our visits to the blessed sacrament, in going to bed at night, and particularly when we are tempted by the devil to commit any sin. Thus, we must always have our mouths open praying to God, and saying: Lord, assist me; give me light; give me strength; keep thy hand upon me, and do not abandon me. We must do violence to the Lord. "Such violence," says Tertullian, ”is agreeable to God." The violence which we offer to God by repeated prayers does not offend him: on the contrary, it is pleasing and acceptable in his sight. "Prayer," according to St. John Climacus, "piously offers violence to God." Our supplications compel him, but in a manner grateful to him. He takes great complacency in seeing his mother honored, and therefore wishes, as St. Bernard says, that all the graces we receive should pass through her hands. Hence the holy doctor exhorts us "to seek grace, and to seek it through Mary, because she is a mother, and her prayer cannot be fruitless." (de Aqućd.) When we ask her to obtain any grace for us, she graciously hears our petitions and prays for us: and the prayers of Mary are never rejected.
Coming next... SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION - ON HUMAN RESPECT
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2009 : 14:21:59
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SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER, OR THE SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION
This Sunday is a preparation for Pentecost. Before ascending into Heaven, Jesus promised at the Last Supper not to leave us all alone, but that He would send us the Paraclete, so that We might honor God in all things through Jesus Christ.
"To-day," says St. Augustine, "we shall keep the Ascension of our Lord in a fitting manner, with devotion, sanctity and piety, if we ascend with Him and keep our hearts on high. Let our thought be there, where He is, and here on earth there will be peace. Let us ascend with Him now, with our hearts, and when His promised day comes, we shall follow Him also with our bodies. But we should know that neither pride, nor avarice, nor lust ascend with Christ. If we wish to follow our Healer in His Ascension, we must put off the burden of our vices and sins."
Like the Apostles gathered together in the Cenacle, awaiting in prayer and meditation the descent of the Holy Ghost, let us prepare in prayer and charity for the holy day of Pentecost, when Christ, who is "our Advocate with the Father", will obtain for us from Him the Holy Ghost.
EPISTLE: 1 Peter 4: 7-11
Lesson from the Epistle of blessed Peter the Apostle.Dearly beloved, be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covereth a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one toward another without murmuring. As every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another; as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the power which God administereth; that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Thanks be to God
GOSPEL: John 15: 26-27; 16: 1-4
At that time Jesus said to His disciples, "When the Paraclete cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me: and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you, that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER - ON HUMAN RESPECT
By St Alphonsus Liguori
“Whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth a service to God." JOHN xvi. 2.
IN exhorting his disciples to be faithful to him under the persecution which they were to endure, the Saviour said: “Yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth a service to God." Thus, the enemies of the faith believed that in putting Christians to death they did a service to God. It is thus that many Christians of the present day act. They kill their own souls by losing the grace of God through human respect and to please worldly friends. Oh! how many souls has human respect that great enemy of our salvation sent to hell! I shall speak on this subject today, that, if you wish to serve God and save your souls, you may guard as much as possible against human respect. In the first point, I will show the importance of not being influenced by human respect; and in the second, I will point out the means by which this vice may be overcome.
First Point On the importance of not being influenced by human respect.
1. "Woe to the world because of scandals." (Matt, xviii. 7.) Jesus Christ has said, that through the scandals of the wicked, many souls fall into hell. But how is it possible to live in the midst of the world, and not to take scandal? This is impossible. To avoid taking scandal, St. Paul says, we should leave this world. "Otherwise you must needs go out of this world." ( I Cor. v. 10.) But it is in our power to avoid familiarity with scandalous sinners. Hence the Apostle adds: "But now I have written to you not to keep company .... with such an one, not as much as to eat." (Ibid. v. 11.) We should beware of contracting intimacy with such sinners. For, should we be united with them in the bonds of friendship, we shall feel an unwillingness to oppose their bad practices and bad counsels. Thus, through human respect and the fear of contradicting them, we will imitate their example, and lose the friendship of God.
2. Such lovers of the world not only glory in their own iniquities. "They rejoice in most wicked things." (Prov. ii. 14); but, what is worse, they wish to have companions, and ridicule all who endeavor to live like true Christians and to avoid the dangers of offending God. This is a sin which is very displeasing to God, and which he forbids in a particular manner. "Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him therewith." (Eccl. viii. 6.) Despise not those who keep at a distance from sin, and seek not to draw them to evil by your reproaches and irregularities. The Lord declares, that, for those who throw ridicule on the virtuous, chastisements are prepared in this and in the next life. "Judgments are prepared for scorners, and striking hammers for the bodies of fools." (Prov. xix. 29.) They mock the servants of God, and he shall mock them for all eternity. "But the Lord shall laugh them to scorn. And they shall fall after this without honor, and be a reproach among the dead forever." (Wis. iv. 18.) They endeavor to make the saints contemptible in the eyes of the world, and God shall make them die without honor, and shall send them to hell to suffer eternal ignominy among the damned.
3. Not only to offend God, but also to endeavour to make others offend him, is truly an enormous excess of wickedness. This execrable intention arises from a conviction that there are many weak and pusillanimous souls, who, to escape derision and contempt, abandon the practice of virtue, and give themselves up to a life of sin. After his conversion to God, St. Augustine wept for having associated with those ministers of Lucifer, and confessed, that he felt ashamed not to be as wicked and as shameless as they were. How many, to avoid the scoffs of wicked friends, have been induced to imitate their wickedness! ”Behold the saint” these impious scoffers will say; ”get me a piece of his garment; I will preserve it as a relic. Why does he not become a monk ?" How many also when they receive an insult, resolve to take revenge, not so much through passion, as to escape the reputation of being cowards! How many are there who, after having inadvertently given expression to a scandalous maxim, neglect to retract it (as they are bound to do), through fear of losing the esteem of others! How many, because they are afraid of forfeiting the favor of a friend, sell their souls to the devil! They imitate the conduct of Pilate, who, through the apprehension of losing the friendship of Caesar, condemned Jesus Christ to death.
4. Be attentive. Brethren, if we wish to save our souls, we must overcome human respect, and bear the little confusion which may arise from the scoffs of the enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. "For there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory and grace." (Eccl. iv. 25.) If we do not suffer this confusion with patience, it will lead us into the pit of sin. But if we submit to it for God’s sake, it will obtain for us the divine grace here, and great glory hereafter. "As," says St. Gregory, ”bashfulness is laudable in evil, so it is reprehensible in good." (Hom. x. in Ezech.)
5. But some of you will say: I attend to my own affairs; I wish to save my soul; why then should I be persecuted? But there is no remedy; it is impossible to serve God, and not be persecuted. “The wicked loathe them that are in the right way." (Prov. xxix. 27.) Sinners cannot bear the sight of the man who lives according to the Gospel, because his life is a continual censure on their disorderly conduct; and therefore they say: "Let us lie in wait for the just; because he is not for our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraideth us with transgressions of the law. ”(Wis. ii. 12.) The proud man, who seeks revenge for every insult which he receives, would wish that all should avenge the offenses that may be offered to him. The avaricious, who grow rich by injustice, wish that all should imitate their fraudulent practices. The drunkard wishes to see others indulge like himself in intoxication. The immoral, who boast of their impurities, and can scarcely utter a word which does not savor of obscenity, desire that all should act and speak as they do. And those who do not imitate their conduct, they regard as mean, clownish, and intractable as men without honour and education. "They are of the world, therefore of the world they speak.”(1 John iv. 5.) Worldlings can speak no other language than that of the world. Oh! how great is their poverty and blindness! She has blinded them, and therefore they speak so profanely. “These things they thought, and were deceived; for their own malice blinded them." (Wis. ii. 21.)
6. But I say again, that there is no remedy. All, as St. Paul says, who wish to live in union with Jesus Christ must be persecuted by the world. "And all that will live godly in Christ, shall suffer persecution." (2 Tim. iii. 12.) All the saints have been persecuted. You say: I do not injure any one; why then am I not left in peace? What evil have the saints, and particularly the martyrs, done? They were full of charity; they loved all, and labored to do good to all. How have they been treated by the world? They have been flayed alive; they have been tortured with red-hot plates of iron; and have been put to death in the most cruel manner. And whom has Jesus Christ the saint of saints injured? He consoled all; he healed all. “Virtue went out from him, and healed all." (Luke vi. 19.) And how has the world treated him? It has persecuted him, so as to make him die through pain on the infamous gibbet of the cross.
7. This happens because the maxims of the world are diametrically opposed to the maxims of Jesus Christ. What the world esteems, Jesus Christ regards as folly. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." (1 Cor. iii. 19.) And what is foolish in the eyes of the world that is, crosses, sickness, contempt, and ignominies Jesus Christ holds in great estimation. "For the Word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness." (1 Cor. i. 18.) How, says St. Cyprian, can a man think himself to be a Christian, when he is afraid to be a Christian? (Ser. v. de Lapsis.) If we are Christians, let us show that we are Christians in name and in truth. For, if we are ashamed of Jesus Christ, he will be ashamed of us, and cannot give us a place on his right hand on the last day. “For he that shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man shall be ashamed when he shall come in his majesty." (Luke ix. 26.) On the day of judgment he shall say: You have been ashamed of me on earth: I am now ashamed to see you with me in Paradise. Begone, accursed souls. Go into hell to meet your companions, who have been ashamed of me. But mark the words “he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words." St. Augustine says, that some are ashamed to deny Jesus Christ, but do not blush to deny the maxims of Jesus Christ (Serm. xlviii.) But you may tell me, that, if you say you cannot do such an act, because it is contrary to the Gospel, your friends will turn you into ridicule, and will call you a hypocrite. Then, says St. John Chrysostom, you will not suffer to be treated with derision by a companion, and you are content to be hated by God! (Hom. xci. in Act. xix.)
8. The Apostle, who gloried in being a follower of Christ, said: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. vi. 14.) As I am a person crucified to the world an object of its scoffs and injustice, so the world is to me an object of contempt and abomination. It is necessary to be convinced, that if we do not trample on the world, the world will trample on our souls. But what is the world and all its goods? “All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life." (1 John ii. 16.) To what are all the goods of this earth reduced? To riches, which are but dung; to honors, which are only smoke; and to carnal pleasures. But what shall all these profit us, if we lose our souls? “What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul ?" (Matt. xvi. 26.)
9. He that loves God and wishes to save his soul must despise the world and all human respect. To do this, everyone must offer violence to himself. St. Mary Magdalene had to do great violence to herself, in order to overcome human respect and the murmurings and scoffs of the world, when, in the presence of so many persons, she cast herself at the feet of Jesus Christ, to wash them with her tears, and dry them with her hair. But she thus became a saint, and merited from Jesus Christ pardon of her sins, and praise for her great love. ”Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much." (Luke vii. 47.) One day, as St. Francis Borgia carried to certain prisoners a vessel of broth under his cloak, he met his son mounted on a fine horse, and accompanied by certain noblemen. The saint felt ashamed to show what he carried under his cloak. But what did he do in order to conquer human respect? He took the vessel of broth, placed it on his head, and thus showed his contempt for the world. Jesus Christ, our Head and Master, when nailed to the cross, was mocked by the soldiers. ”If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." (Matt, xxvii. 40.) He was mocked by the priests, saying: ”He saved others; himself he cannot save." (Ibid., v. 42.) But he remained firm on the cross; he cheerfully died upon it, and thus conquered the world.
10. ”I give thanks to God," says St. Jerome, "that I am worthy to be hated by the world." (Epis. ad Asellam.) The saint returns thanks to God for having made him worthy of the hatred of the world. Jesus Christ pronounced his disciples blessed when they should be hated by men. ”Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you." (Luke vi. 22.) Christians, let us rejoice; for, if worldlings curse and upbraid us, God at the same time praises and blesses us. "They will curse, and thou wilt bless." (Ps. cviii. 28.) Is it not enough for us to be praised by God, to be praised by the queen of heaven, by all the angels, by all the saints, and by all just men? Let worldlings say what they wish. But let us continue to please God, who will give us, in the next life, a reward proportioned to the violence we shall have done to ourselves in despising the contradictions of men. Each of you should figure to himself, that there is no one in the world but himself and God. When the wicked treat us with contempt, let us recommend to God these blind and miserable men, who run in the road to perdition. Let us thank the Lord for giving to us the light which he refuses to them. Let us continue in our own way: to obtain all, it is necessary to conquer all.
Second Point. On the means of overcoming human respect.
11. To overcome human respect, it is necessary to fix in our hearts the holy resolution of preferring the grace of God to all the goods and favors of this world, and to say with St. Paul: "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, ....nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." (Rom. viii. 38, 39.) Jesus Christ exhorts us not to be afraid of those who can take away the life of the body; but to fear him only who can condemn the soul and body to hell. “And fear you not them that kill the body; but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body into hell." (Matt, x. 28.) We wish either to follow God or the world; if we wish to follow God we must give up the world. "how long do you halt between two sides ?" said Elias to the people. ”If the Lord be God, follow him." (3 Kings xviii. 21.) You cannot serve God and the world. He that seeks to please men cannot please God. ”If," says the Apostle, "I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal. i. 10.)
12. The true servants of God rejoice to see themselves despised and maltreated for the sake of Jesus Christ. The holy apostles “went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." (Acts v. 41.) Moses could have prevented the anger of Pharaoh by not contradicting the current report that he was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. But he denied that he was her son, preferring, as St. Paul says, the opprobrium of Christ to all the riches of the world. “Choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God;....esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of the Egyptians." (Heb. xi. 25, 26.)
13. Wicked friends come to you and say: What extravagances are those in which you indulge? Why do you not act like others? Say to them in answer: My conduct is not opposed to that of all men; there are others who lead a holy life. They are indeed few; but I will follow their example. For the Gospel says: "Many are called, but few are chosen." (Matt. xx. 16.) "If," says St. John Climacus, “you wish to be saved with the few, live like the few." But, they will add, do you not see that all murmur against you, and condemn your manner of living? Let your answer be: It is enough for me that God does not censure my conduct. Is it not better to obey God than to obey men? Such was the answer of St. Peter and St. John to the Jewish priests: “If it be just in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye." (Acts iv. 19.) If they ask you how can you bear an insult? or how, after submitting to it, can you appear among your equals? answer them by saying that you are a Christian, and that it is enough for you to appear well in the eyes of God. Such should be your answer to all those satellites of Satan: you must despise all their maxims and reproaches. And when it is necessary to reprove those who make little of God’s law, you must take courage and correct them publicly. “Them that sin, reprove before all." (1 Tim. v. 20.) And when there is question of the divine honor, we should not be frightened by the dignity of the man who offends God. Let us say to him openly: This is sinful; it cannot be done. Let us imitate the Baptist, who reproved King Herod for living with his brothers wife, and said to him: "It is not lawful for thee to have her." (Matt. xiv. 4.) Men indeed shall regard us as fools, and turn us into derision. But, on the day of judgment they shall acknowledge that they have been foolish, and we shall have the glory of being numbered among the saints. They shall say: “These are they whom we had sometime in derision.....We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints." (Wis. v. 3, 4, 5.)
Coming next.... PENTECOST SUNDAY - ON CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD. |
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2009 : 12:18:52
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PENTECOST SUNDAY
"The gift of Wisdom is an illumination of the Holy Ghost, thanks to which our intellect is able to look at revealed truths in their more sublime light, to the greater joy of our souls." (Rev. M. Meschler, S. J.: The Gift of Pentecost: Meditations On The Holy Ghost)
Our Lord laid the foundations of His one and only true Church during His public life, and after His resurrection He gave it the powers necessary for its mission. It was by The Holy Ghost that the apostles were to be trained and endued with strength from on High. At Pentecost we celebrate the first manifestation of the Holy Ghost among our Lord's Disciples and the foundation of the Church itself.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, being seated on the right hand of the Father, sent, as He had promised, the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, who, after His Ascension, continued in prayer at Jerusalem, in company with the Blessed Virgin, awaiting the performance of His promise. Let us pray in like manner with the Church: "Come,O Holy Sprit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love."
Peter Is the leader around whom gathers the little flock of Sion on this first Christian Pentecost, and he inaugurates today his pontifical primacy when he announces for the first time the Gospel message to the representatives of the various nations, without distinction of race or nationality, of country or State. On this day Christ, risen from the grave and seated at the right hand of the Father, communicates His own divine life to the members of His Mystical Body through the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. So the Church having attained its full development, now first appears before the world.
The Holy Ghost descends in power to vindicate the innocence of Jesus by filling the Church with such surpassing sanctity that it becomes, as it were, a fire prefiguring the final judgment on the enemies of God. The faithful kneel at the Invocation of the Holy Spirit, Who at the last day requires the restoration of the Christian soul to the body which has been His mystical temple.
EPISTLE: Acts 2: 1-11
Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles. When the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven, And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue. And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans? And how have we heard every one of our own tongues wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews also, and Proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: John 14: 23-31
At that time Jesus said to His disciples, If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and will make Our abode in him: he that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words. And the word which you have heard is not Mine: but the Father's who sent Me. These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved Me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told yon' before it come to pass: that when i shall come to pass you may believe. I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not any thing. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given Me commandment so do I." Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR PENTECOST SUNDAY - ON CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
"As the Father hath given me commandment, so do I." JOHN xiv. 31.
JESUS CHRIST was given to us, by God, as a Saviour and as the Master, and Teacher of Mankind. Hence he came on earth principally to teach us, not only by his words but also by his own example, how we are to love God our supreme good: hence, as we read in this days Gospel, he said to his disciples: "That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do."
To show the world the love I bear to the Father, I will execute all his commands. In another place he said: ”I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John vi. 38.) Devout souls, if you love God and desire to become saints, you must seek his will, and wish what he wishes. St. Paul tells us, that the divine love is poured into our souls by means of the Holy Ghost. “The charity of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us." (Hom. v. 5.) If, then, we wish for the gift of divine love, we must constantly beseech the Holy Ghost to make us know and do the will of God. Let us continually implore his light to know, and his strength to fulfill the divine will. Many wish to love God, but they, at the same time, wish to follow their own, and not his will. Hence I shall show today, in the first point, that uur sanctification consists entirely in conformity to the will of God; and in the second, I shall show how, and in what, we should in practice conform ourselves to the divine will.
First Point Our sanctification consists entirely in conformity to the will of God
1. It is certain that our salvation consists in loving God. A soul that does not love God is not living, but dead. "He that loveth not, abideth in death." (1 John iii. 14.) The perfection of love consists in conforming our will to the will of God. "And life in his good will." (Ps. xxix. 6.) ”Have charity, which is the bond of perfection." (Col. iii. 14.) According to the Areopagite, the principal effect of love is to unite the wills of lovers, so that they may have but one heart and one will. Hence all our works, communions, prayers, penances, and alms, please God in proportion to their conformity to the divine will; and if they be contrary to the will of God, they are no longer acts of virtue, but defects deserving chastisement.
2. Whilst preaching one day, Jesus Christ was told that his mother and brethren were waiting for him; in answer he said: "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. xii. 50.) By these words he gave us to understand that he acknowledged as friends and relatives those only who fulfill the will of his Father.
3. The saints in heaven love God perfectly. In what, I ask, does the perfection of their love consist? It consists in an entire conformity to the divine will. Hence Jesus Christ has taught us to pray for grace to do the will of God on earth, as the saints do it in heaven. ”Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." (Matt. vi. 10.) Hence St. Teresa says, that "they who practice prayer, should seek in all things to conform their will to the will of God." In this, she adds, consists the highest perfection. He that practices it in the most perfect manner, shall receive from God the greatest gifts, and shall make the greatest progress in interior life. The accomplishment of the divine will has been the sole end of the saints in the practice of all virtues. Blessed Henry Suson used to say: "I would rather be the vilest man on earth with the will of God, than be a seraph with my own will."
4. A perfect act of conformity is sufficient to make a person a saint. Behold, Jesus Christ appeared to St. Paul while he was persecuting the Church, and converted him. What did the saint do? He did nothing more than offer to God his will, that he might dispose of it as he pleased. "Lord," he exclaimed, "what wilt thou have me to do?"(Acts ix. 6.) And instantly the Lord declared to Ananias, that Saul was a vessel of election, and apostle of the Gentiles. "This man is a vessel of election to carry my name before the Gentiles." (Acts ix. 15.)
He that gives his will to God, gives him all he has. He that mortifies himself by fasts and penitential austerities, or that gives alms to the poor for God’s sake, gives to God a part of himself and of his goods; but he that gives his will to God, gives him all, and can say: Lord, having given thee my will, I have nothing more to give thee I have given thee all. It is our heart that is, our will that God asks of us. “My son, give me thy heart." (Prov. xxiii. 26.) Since, then, says the holy Abbot Nilus, our will is so acceptable to God, we ought, in our prayers, to ask of him the grace, not that we may do what he will, but that we may do all that he wishes us to do. Every one knows this truth, that our sanctification consists in doing the will of God; but there is some difficulty in reducing it to practice. Let us, then, come to the second point, in which I have to say many things of great practical utility.
Second Point How, and in what, we ought to practise conformity to the will of God
5. That we may feel a facility of doing on all occasions the divine will, we must beforehand offer ourselves continually to embrace in peace whatever God ordains or wills. Such was the practice of holy David. "My heart," he used to say, "is ready; God! my heart is ready." (Ps. cvii. 2.) And he continually besought the Lord to teach him to do his divine will. "Teach me to do thy will." (Ps. cxlii. 1 0.) He thus deserved to be called a man according to God’s own heart. "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills." (Acts xiii. 2 2.) And why? Because the holy king was always ready to do whatever God wished him to do.
6. St. Teresa offered herself to God fifty times in the day, that he might dispose of her as he pleased, and declared her readiness to embrace either prosperity or adversity. The perfection of our oblation consists in our offering ourselves to God without reserve. All are prepared to unite themselves to the divine will in prosperity; but perfection consists in conforming to it, even in adversity. To thank God in all things that are agreeable to us, is acceptable to him; but to accept with cheerfulness what is repugnant to our inclinations, is still more pleasing to him. Father M. Avila used to say, that "a single blessed be God, in adversity, is better than six thousand thanksgivings in prosperity."
7. We should conform to the divine will, not only in misfortunes which come directly from God such as sickness, loss of property, privation of friends and relatives but also in crosses which come to us from men, but indirectly from God such as acts of injustice, defamation, calumnies, injuries, and all other sorts of persecutions. But, you may ask, does God will that others commit sin, by injuring us in our property or in our reputation? No; God wills not their sin; but he wishes us to bear with such a loss and with such a humiliation; and he wishes us to conform, on all such occasions, to his divine will.
8. "Good things and evil... are from God." (Eccl. xi. 14.) All blessings such as riches and honors and all misfortunes such as sickness and persecutions come from God. But mark that the Scripture calls them evils, only because we, through the want of conformity to the will of God, regard them as evils and misfortunes. But, in reality, if we accepted them from the hands of God with Christian resignation, they should be blessings and not evils. The jewels which give the greatest splendor to the crown of the saints in heaven, are the tribulations which they bore with patience, as coming from the hands of the Lord. On hearing that the Sabeans had taken away all his oxen and asses, holy Job said: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." (Job i. 21.) He did not say that the Lord gave, and that the Sabeans had taken away; but that the Lord gave, and that the Lord had taken away: and therefore he blessed the Lord, believing that all had happened through the divine will. "As it has pleased the Lord, so it is done: blessed be the name of the Lord." (Ibid.) Being tormented with iron hooks and burning torches, the holy martyrs Epictetus and Atone said: "Lord, thy will be done in us." And their last words were: "Be blessed, eternal God, for having given us the grace to accomplish thy will."
9. "Whatsoever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad." (Prov. xii. 21.) A soul that loves God is not disturbed by any misfortune that may happen to her. Cesarius relates (lib. x., c. vi.), that a certain monk who did not perform greater austerities than his companions, wrought many miracles. Being astonished at this, the abbot asked him one day what were the works of piety which he practiced. He answered, that he was more imperfect than the other monks; but that his sole concern was to conform himself to the divine will. Were you displeased, said the abbot, with the person who injured us so grievously a few days ago? No, father, replied the monk; I, on the contrary, thanked God for it; because I know that he does or permits all things for our good. From this answer the abbot perceived the sanctity of the good religious. We should act in a similar manner under all the crosses that come upon us. Let us always say: "Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight." (Matt. xi. 26.) Lord, this is pleasing to thee, let it be done.
10. He that acts in this manner enjoys that peace which the angels announced at the birth of Jesus Christ to men of good will that is, to those whose wills are united to the will of God. These, as the Apostle says, enjoy that peace which exceeds all sensual delights. "The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding." (Phil. iv. 7.) A great and solid peace, which is not liable to change. "A holy man continueth in wisdom like the sun; but a fool is changing like the moon." (Eccl. xxvii 12.) Fools that is, sinners are changed like the moon, which increases today, and grows less on tomorrow. Today they are seen to laugh through folly, and to-morrow, to weep through despair. Today they are humble and meek, tomorrow, proud and furious. In a word, sinners change with prosperity and adversity, but the just are like the sun, always the same, always serene in whatever happens to them. In the inferior part of the soul they cannot but feel some pain at the misfortunes which befall them, but, as long as the will remains united to the will of God, nothing can deprive them of that spiritual joy which is not subject to the vicissitudes of this life. "Your joy no man shall take from you." (John xvi. 22.)
11. He that reposes in the divine will, is like a man placed above the clouds: he sees the lightning, and hears the claps of thunder, and the raging of the tempest below, but he is not injured or disturbed by them. And how can he be ever disturbed, when whatever he desires always happens? He that desires only what pleases God, always obtains whatsoever he wishes, because all that happens to him, happens through the will of God. Salvian says, that Christians who are resigned, if they be in a low condition of life, wish to be in that state. If they be poor, they desire poverty, because they wish whatever God wills, and therefore they are always content. If cold, or heat, or rain, or wind come on, he that is united to the will of God says: I wish for this cold, this heat, this rain, and this wind, because God wills them. If loss of property, persecution, sickness, or even death come upon him, he says: I wish for this loss, this persecution, this sickness; I even wish for death, when it comes, because God wills it. And how can a person who seeks to please God, enjoy greater happiness than that which arises from cheerfully embracing the cross which God sends him, and from the conviction that, in embracing it, he pleases God in the highest degree? So great was the joy which St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to feel at the bare mention of the will of God, that she would fall into an ecstasy.
12. But, how great is the folly of those who resist the divine will, and, instead of receiving tribulations with patience, get into a rage, and accuse God of treating them with injustice and cruelty! Perhaps they expect that, in consequence of their opposition, what God wills shall not happen? "Who resisteth his will ?" (Rom. ix. 19.) Miserable men! instead of lightening the cross which God sends them, they make it more heavy and painful. "Who hath resisted him, and hath peace ?" (Job ix. 4.) Let us be resigned to the divine will, and we shall thus render our crosses light, and shall gain great treasures of merits for eternal life. In sending us tribulations, God intends to make us saints. "This is the will of God, your sanctification." (1 Thess. iv. 3.) He sends us crosses, not because he wishes evil to us, but because he desires our welfare, and because he knows that they are conducive to our salvation. "All things work together unto good." (Rom. viii. 28.) Even the chastisements which come from the Lord are not for our destruction, but for our good and for the correction of our faults. "Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord....have happened for our amendment, and not for our destruction." (Jude viii. 27.) God loves us so tenderly, that he not only desires, but is solicitous about our welfare. "The Lord," says David, "is careful for me." (Ps. xxxix. 18.)
13. Let us, then, always throw ourselves into the hands of God, who so ardently desires and so anxiously watches over our eternal salvation. "Casting all your care upon him; for he hath care of you." (1 Peter v. 7.) He who, during life, casts himself into the hands of God, shall lead a happy life and shall die a holy death. He who dies resigned to the divine will, dies a saint. But they who shall not have been united to the divine will during life, shall not conform to it at death, and shall not be saved. The accomplishment of the divine will should be the sole object of all our thoughts during the remainder of our days. To this end we should direct all our devotions, our meditations, communions, visits to the blessed sacrament, and all our prayers. We should constantly beg of God to teach and help us to do his will. "Teach me to do thy will." (Ps. cxlii. 10.) Let us, at the same time, offer ourselves to accept without reserve whatever he ordains, saying, with the Apostle: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" (Acts ix. 6.) Lord, tell me what thou dost wish me to do I desire to do thy will. And in all things, whether they be pleasing or painful, let us always have in our mouths that petition of the PATER NOSTER - "Thy will be done" Let us frequently repeat it in the day, with all the affection of our hearts. Happy we, if we live and die saying: "Thy will be done "Thy will be done!"
Coming next... TRINITY SUNDAY. - ON THE LOVE OF THE THREE DIVINE PERSONS FOR MAN |
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2009 : 12:40:51
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TRINITY SUNDAY
The fundamental Truth on which everything in the Christian religion rests, is the dogma of the Holy Trinity from whom all comes, and to whom all baptized in His name must return. In the course of the cycle, having called to our minds in order, God the Father, Author of creation, God the Son, Author of redemption, and God the Holy Ghost, Author of our sanctification, the Church to-day, before all else, recapitulates the great mystery by which we acknowledge and adore the Unity of Nature and Trinity of Persons in Almighty God.
EPISTLE: Romans 11: 33-36
Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans. O the depths of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and recompense shall be made Him? For of Him, and by Him, and in Him, are all things: to Him be glory for ever. Amen.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Matthew 28: 18-20
At that time Jesus said to His disciples, "All power is given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Going therefore , teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. "
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR TRINITY SUNDAY - ON THE LOVE OF THE THREE DIVINE PERSONS FOR MAN.
"Going, therefore teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matt. xxviii. 19)
ST. LEO has said, that the nature of God is by its essence, goodness itself. ”Deus cujus natura bonitas” Now, goodness naturally diffuses itself. ”Bonum est sui diffusivum." And by experience we know that men of a good heart are full of love for all, and desire to share with all the goods which they enjoy God being infinite goodness, is all love towards us his creatures. Hence St. John calls him pure love pure charity. "God is charity." (1 John iv. 8.) And therefore he ardently desires to make us partakers of his own happiness. Faith teaches us how much the Three Divine Persons have done through love to man, and to enrich him with heavenly gifts. In saying to his apostles ”Teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, ” Jesus Christ wished that they should not only instruct the Gentiles in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity but that they should also teach them the love which the adorable Trinity bears to man. I intend to propose this day for your consideration the love shown to us by the Father in our creation; secondly, the love of the Son in our redemption; and thirdly, the love of the Holy Ghost, in our sanctification.
First Point The love shown to us by the Father in our creation.
1. ”I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee." (Jer. xxxi. 3.) My son, says the Lord, I have loved you for eternity, and, through love for you, I have shown mercy to you by drawing you out of nothing. Hence, beloved Christians, of all those who love you, God has been your first lover. Your parents have been the first to love you on this earth. But they have loved you only after they had known you. But, before you had a being, God loved you. Before your father or mother was born, God loved you. Yes, even before the creation of the world, he loved you. And how long before creation has God loved you? Perhaps for a thousand years, or for a thousand ages. It is needless to count years or ages. God loved you from eternity. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." As long as he has been God, he has loved you: as long as he has loved himself, he has loved you. The thought of this love made St. Agnes the Virgin exclaim: "I am prevented by another lover." When creatures asked her heart, she answered: "No: I cannot prefer you to my God. He has been the first to love me; it is then but just that he should hold the first place in my affections. "
2. Thus, brethren, God has loved you from eternity, and through pure love, he has selected you from among so many men whom he could have created in place of you; but he has left them in their nothingness, and has brought you into existence, and placed you in the world. For the love of you he has made so many other beautiful creatures, that they might serve you, and that they might remind you of the love which he has borne to you, and of the gratitude which you owe to him. "Heaven and Earth," says St. Augustine, ”and all things tell me to love thee. ” When the saint beheld the sun, the stars, the mountains, the sea, the rains, they all appeared to him to speak, and to say: Augustine, love God; for he has created us that you might love him. When the Abbe de Ranee, the founder of La Trappe, looked at the hills, the fountains, or flowers, he said that all these creatures reminded him of the love which God had borne him. St. Teresa used to say, that these creatures reproached her with her ingratitude to God.
Whilst she held a flower or fruit in her hand, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to feel her heart wounded with divine love, and would say within herself: Then, my God has thought from eternity of creating this flower and this fruit that I might love him.
3. Moreover, seeing us condemned to hell, in punishment of our sins, the Eternal Father, through love for us, has sent his Son on the earth to die on the cross, in order to redeem us from hell, and to bring us with himself into Paradise. “God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son” (John iii. 16), love, which the apostle calls an excess of love. "For his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, has quickened us together in Christ." (Eph. ii. 4, 5.)
4. See also the special love which God has shown you in bringing you into life in a Christian country, and in the bosom of the Catholic or true Church. How many are born among the pagans, among the Jews, among the Mohammedans and heretics, and all are lost. Consider that, compared with these, only a few not even the tenth part of the human race have the happiness of being born in a country where the true faith reigns. And, among that small number, he has chosen you. Oh! what an invaluable benefit is the gift of faith! How many millions of souls, among infidels and heretics, are deprived of the sacraments, of sermons, of good example, and of the other helps to salvation which we possess in the true Church. And the Lord resolved to bestow on us all these great graces, without any merit on our part, and even with the foreknowledge of our demerits. For when he thought of creating us and of conferring these favors upon us, he foresaw our sins, and the injuries we would commit against him.
Second Point. The love which the Son of God has shown to us in our redemption.
5. Adam, our first father, sins by eating the forbidden apple, and is condemned to eternal death, along with all his posterity. Seeing the whole human race doomed to perdition, God resolved to send a redeemer to save mankind. Who shall come to accomplish their redemption? Perhaps an angel or a seraph. No; the Son of God, the supreme and true God, equal to the Father, offers himself to come on earth, and there to take human flesh, and to die for the salvation of men. O prodigy of Divine love! Man, says St. Fulgentius, despises God, and separates himself from God, and through love for him, God comes on earth to seek after rebellious man (Serm. in Nativ. Christ.) Since, says St. Augustine, we could not go to the Redeemer, he has deigned to come to us. And why has Jesus Christ resolved to come to us? According to the same holy doctor, it is to convince us of his great love for us. ”Christ came, that man might know how much God loves him."
6. Hence the Apostle writes: "The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared." (Tit. iii. 5.) In the Greek text, the words are: ”Singularis Dei erga homines apparuit amor:" "The singular love of God towards men appeared." In explaining this passage, St. Bernard says, that before God appeared on earth in human flesh, men could not arrive at a knowledge of the divine goodness. Therefore the Eternal Word took human nature, that, appearing in the form of man, men might know the goodness of God. (Serm. i., in Eph.) And what greater love and goodness could the Son of God show to us, than to become man and to become a worm like us, in order to save us from, perdition? What astonishment would we not feel, if we saw a prince become a worm to save the worms of his kingdom! And what shall we say at the sight of a God made man like us, to deliver us from eternal death? "The word was made flesh." (John i. 14.) A God made flesh! if faith did not assure us of it, who could ever believe it? Behold then, as St. Paul says, a God as it were annihilated. ”He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant and in habit found as a man." (Phil. ii. 7.) By these words the Apostle gives us to understand, that the Son of God, who was filled with the divine majesty and power, humbled himself so as to assume the lowly and impotent condition of human nature, taking the form or nature of a servant, and becoming like men in his external appearance, although, as St. Chrysostom observes, he was not a mere man, but man and God. Hearing a deacon singing the words of St. John, "and the Word was made flesh," St. Peter of Alcantara fell into ecstasy, and flew through the air to the altar of the most holy sacrament.
7. But this God of love, the Incarnate Word, was not content with becoming flesh for the love of man. But, according to Isaias, He wished to live among us, as the last and lowest, and most afflicted of men. ”There is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows." (Isa. iii. 2, 3.) He was a man of sorrows. Yes; for the life of Jesus Christ was full of sorrows. He was a man made on purpose to be tormented with sorrows. From his birth till his death, the life of our Redeemer was all full of sorrows.
8. And because he came on earth to gain our love, as he declared when he said “I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled ?" (Luke xii. 49), he wished at the close of his life to give us the strongest marks and proofs of the love which he bears to us. "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (John xiii. 1.) Hence he not only humbled himself to death for us, but he also chose to die the most painful and opprobrious of all deaths. "He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even unto the death of the cross." (Phil. ii. 8.) They who were crucified among the Jews, were objects of malediction and reproach to all. “He is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree." (Deut. xxi. 23.) Our Redeemer wished to die the shameful death of the cross, in the midst of a tempest of ignominies and sorrows. “I am come into the depths of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me." (Ps. lxviii. 3.)
9. ”In this” says St. John, "we have known the charity of God, because he hath laid down his life for us." (1 John iii. 16.) And how could God give us a greater proof of his love than by laying down his life for us? Or, how is it possible for us to behold a God dead on the cross for our sake, and not love him? "For the charity of Christ presseth us." (2 Cor. v. 14.) By these words St. Paul tells us, that it is not so much what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for our salvation, as the love which he has shown in suffering and dying for us, that obliges and compels us to love him. He has, as the same Apostle adds, died for all, that each of us may live no longer for himself, but only for that God who has given his life for the love of us. “Christ died for all, that they also who live, may not live to themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again." (2 Cor. v. 15.) And, to captivate our love, he has, after having given his life for us, left himself for the food of our souls. “Take ye and eat: this is my body." (Matt. xxvi. 26.) Had not faith taught that he left himself for our food, who could ever believe it? But of the prodigy of divine love manifested in the holy sacrament, I shall speak on the second Sunday after Pentecost Let us pass to a brief consideration of the third point.
Third Point. On the love shown to us by the Holy Ghost in our sanctification.
10. The Eternal Father was not content with giving us his Son Jesus Christ, that he might save us by his death; he has also given us the Holy Ghost, that he may dwell in our souls, and that he may keep them always inflamed with holy love. In spite of all the injuries which he received on earth from men, Jesus Christ, forgetful of their ingratitude, after having ascended into heaven, sent us the Holy Ghost, that, by his holy flames, this divine spirit might kindle in our hearts the fire of divine charity, and sanctify our souls. Hence, when he descended on the apostles, he appeared in the form of tongues of fire. "And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire." (Acts ii. 3.) Hence the Church prescribes the following prayer: ”We beseech thee, O Lord, that the Spirit may inflame us with that fire which the Lord Jesus Christ sent on the earth, and vehemently wished to be enkindled." This is the holy fire which inflamed the saints with the desire of doing great things for God, which enabled them to love their most cruel enemies, to seek after contempt, to renounce all the riches and honors of the world, and even to embrace with joy torments and death.
11. The Holy Ghost is that divine bond which unites the Father with the Son. It is he that unites our souls, through love, with God. For, as St. Augustine says, an union with God is the effect of love. "Charity is a virtue which unites us with God." The chains of the world are chains of death, but the bonds of the Holy Ghost are bonds of eternal life, because they bind us to God, who is our true and only life.
12. Let us also remember that all the lights, inspirations, divine calls, all the good acts which we have performed during our life, all our acts of contrition, of confidence in the divine mercy, of love, of resignation, have been the gifts of the Holy Ghost. ”Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings." (Rom. viii. 26.) Thus, it is the Holy Ghost that prays for us; for we know not what we ought to ask, but the Holy Spirit teaches us what we should pray for.
13. In a word, the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity have endeavored to show the love which God has borne us, that we may love him through gratitude. "When," says St. Bernard, "God loves, he wishes only to be loved.” It is, then, but just that we love that God who has been the first to love us, and to put us under so many obligations by so many proofs of tender love. "Let us, therefore, love God, because God first hath loved us." (1 John iv. 19.) Oh! what a treasure is charity! it is an infinite treasure, because it makes us partakers of the friendship of God. "She is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God." (Wis. vii. 14.) But, to acquire this treasure, it is necessary to detach the heart from earthly things. "Detach the heart from creatures," says St. Teresa, "and you shall find God." In a heart filled with earthly affections, there is no room for divine love. Let us therefore continually implore the Lord in our prayers, communions, and visits to the blessed sacrament, to give us his holy love; for this love will expel from our souls all affections for the things of this earth. "When," says St. Francis de Sales, "a house is on fire, all that is within is thrown out through the windows." By these words the saint meant, that when a soul is inflamed with divine love, she easily detaches herself from creatures: and Father Paul Segneri, the younger, used to say, that divine love is a thief that robs us of all earthly affections, and makes us exclaim: "What, O my Lord, but thee alone, do I desire ?"
14. "Love is strong as death." (Cant. viii. 6.) As no creature can resist death when the hour of dissolution arrives, so there is no difficulty which love, in a soul that loves God, does not overcome. When there is question of pleasing her beloved, love conquers all things: it conquers pains, losses, ignominies. This love made the martyrs, in the midst of torments, racks, and burning gridirons, rejoice, and thank God for enabling them to suffer for him: it made the other saints, when there was no tyrant to torment them, become, as it were, their own executioners, by fasts, disciplines, and penitential austerities. St. Augustine says, that in doing what one loves there is no labor, and if there be, the labor itself is loved.
Coming next...FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON CHARITY TO OUR NEIGHBOR
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 08/23/2009 : 07:42:10
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FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
EPISTLE: 1 John 4: 8-21
Lesson from the Epistle of blessed John the Apostle. Dearly beloved, God is charity. By this hath the charity of God appeared toward us, because God hath sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him. In this is charity; not as though we had loved God, but because He hath first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. My dearest, if God hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us and His charity is perfected in us. In this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us; because He hath given us of His spirit. And we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent His Son to be the Saviour of the World. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in Him, and he in God. And we have known, and have believed the charity which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him. In this is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because: as He is, we also are in the world. Fear is not in charity, but perfect charity casteth out fear: because fear hath Pain: and he that feareth is not perfected in charity. Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God, Whom he seeth not? And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God love also his neighbor.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Luke 6: 36-42
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: "Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shalt not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, and pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. And He spoke also to them a similitude: can the blind lead the blind? do they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect if he be as his master. and why seest thou the mote in thy brothers eye: but the beam that is in thine own eye thou considerest not? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye: and then thou shalt see clearly to pull out the mote from thy brothers eye."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON CHARITY TO OUR NEIGHBOUR.
"For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." - LUKE vi. 38.
IN this day’s gospel we find that Jesus Christ once said to his disciples: "Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (Luke vi. 36.) As your heavenly Father is merciful towards you, so must you be merciful to others. He then proceeds to explain how, and in what, we should practice holy charity to our neighbour. "Judge not," he adds, "and you shall not be judged" (v. 37). Here he speaks against those who do not abstain from judging rashly of their neighbours. "For give, and you shall be forgiven" (ibid). He tells us that we cannot obtain pardon of the offenses we have offered to God, unless we pardon those who have offended us. "Give, and it shall be given to you" (v. 38). By these words he condemns those who wish that God should grant whatsoever they desire, and are at the same time niggardly and avaricious towards the poor. In conclusion he declares, that the measure of charity which we use to our neighbour shall be the same that God will use towards us. Let us, then, see how we should practice charity to our neighbour: we ought to practice it, first, in our thoughts. Secondly, in words. Thirdly, by works.
First Point. How we should practice charity to our neighbour in our thoughts.
1. "And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, love also his brother." (1 John iv. 21.) The same precept, then, which obliges us to love God, commands us to love our neighbour. St. Catherine of Genoa said one day to the Lord: "My God, thou dost wish me to love my neighbour; but I can love no one but thee." The Lord said to her in answer: "My child, he that loves me loves whatsoever I love." Hence St. John says: ”If any man say: I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." (1 John iv. 20.) And Jesus Christ has declared that he will receive, as done to himself, the charity which we practice towards the least of his brethren.
2. Hence we must, in the first place, practice fraternal charity in our thoughts, by never judging evil of any one without certain foundation. ”Judge not, and you shall not be judged." He who judges without certain grounds that another has committed a mortal sin, is guilty of a grievous fault. If he only rashly suspects another of a mortal sin, he commits at least a venial offense. But, to judge or suspect evil of another is not sinful when we have certain grounds for the judgment or suspicion.
However, he that has true charity thinks well of all, and banishes from his mind both judgments and suspicions. "Charity thinketh no evil." (1 Cor. xiii. 5.) The heads of families are obliged to suspect the evil which may be done by those who are under their care. Certain fathers and foolish mothers knowingly allow their sons to frequent bad company and houses in which there are young females, and permit their daughters to be alone with men. They endeavor to justify the neglect of their children by saying: "I do not wish to entertain bad thoughts of others." O folly of parents! They are in such cases bound to suspect the evil which may happen. And, in order to prevent it, they should correct their children. But they that are not entrusted with the care of others, ought to abstain carefully from inquiring after the defects and conduct of others.
3. When sickness, loss of property, or any misfortune happens to a neighbour, charity requires that we regret, at least with the superior part of the soul, the evil that has befallen him. I say, "with the superior part of the soul," for, when we hear of the misfortunes of an enemy, our inferior appetite appears to feel delight. But, as long as we do not consent to that delight, we are not guilty of sin. However, it is sometimes lawful to desire, or to be pleased at, the temporal evil of another, when we expect that it will be productive of spiritual good to himself or to others. For example: it is lawful, according to St. Gregory, to rejoice at the sickness or misfortune of an obstinate and scandalous sinner, and even to desire that he may fall into sickness or poverty, in order that he may cease to lead a wicked life, or at least to scandalize others. But, except in such cases, it is unlawful to rejoice at the loss of a neighbour. It is also contrary to charity to feel regret at a neighbour’s prosperity merely because it is useful to him. This is precisely the sin of envy. The envious are, according to the Wise Man, on the side of the devil, who, because he could not bear to see men in heaven, from which he had been banished, tempted Adam to rebel against God. "But by the envy of the devil death came into the world; and they follow him that are of his side." (Wisdom. ii. 25.) Let us pass to the next point.
Second Point. On the charity which we ought to practice towards our neighbour in words.
4. With regard to the practice of fraternal charity in words, we ought, in the first place, and above all, to abstain from all detraction. "The tale-bearer shall defile his own soul, and shall be hated by all." (Eccl. xxi. 31.) As they who always speak well of others are loved by all, so he who detracts his neighbour is hateful to all to God and to men, who, although they take delight in listening to detraction, hate the detractor, and are on their guard against him. St. Bernard says that the tongue of a detractor is a three-edged sword. ”Gladius equidem anceps, immo triplex est lingua detractoris" (in Ps. Ivi). With one of these edges it destroys the reputation of a neighbour. With the second it wounds the souls of those who listen to the detraction. And with the third it kills the soul of the detractor by depriving him of the divine grace. You will say: "I have spoken of my neighbour only in secret to my friends, and have made them promise not to mention to others what I told them." This excuse will not stand: no; you are, as the Lord says, the serpent that bites in silence. "If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly." (Eccl. x. 11.) Your secret defamation bites and destroys the character of a neighbour. They who indulge in the vice of detraction are chastised not only in the next, but also in. this life, because their uncharitable tongues are the cause of a thousand sins, by creating discord in whole families and entire villages.
Thomas Cantaprensis (Apum, etc., cap. xxxvii.) relates, that he knew a certain detractor, who at the end of life became raging mad, and died lacerating his tongue with his teeth. The tongue of another detractor, who was going to speak ill of St. Malachy, instantly swelled and was filled with worms. And, after seven days, the unhappy man died miserably.
5. Detraction is committed not only when we take away a neighbours character, by imputing to him a sin which he has not committed, or exaggerating his guilt, but also when we make known to others any of his secret sins. Some persons, when they know anything injurious to a neighbour, appear to suffer, as it were, the pains of childbirth, until they tell it toothers. When the sin of a neighbour is secret and grievous, it is a mortal sin to mention it to others without a just cause. I say, "without a just cause" for, to make known to a parent the fault of a child, that he may correct him and prevent a repetition of the fault, is not sinful, but is an act of virtue; for according to St. Thomas (2, 2, qu. 2, art. 73), to let others know the sins of a neighbour is unlawful, when it is done to destroy his reputation, but not when it is done for his good, or for the good of others.
6. They who listen to detraction, and afterwards go and tell what was said to the person whose character had been injured, have to render a great account to. These are called talebearers. Oh! how great is the evil produced by these tale bearing tongues that are thus employed in sowing discord. They are objects of God’s hatred. "The Lord hateth him that soweth discord among brethren." (Prov. vi. 16, 19.) Should the person who has been defamed speak of his defamer, the injury which he has received may, perhaps, give him some claim to compassion. But why should you relate what you have heard? Is it to create ill-will and hatred that shall be the cause of a thousand sins? If, from this day forward, you ever hear anything injurious to a neighbour, follow the advice of the Holy Ghost. "Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour? let it die with thee." (Eccl. xix. 10.) You should not only keep it shut up in your heart, but you must let it die within you. He that is only shut up may escape and be seen. But he that is dead cannot leave the grave. When, then, you know anything injurious to your neighbour, you ought to be careful not to give any intimation of it to others by words, by motions of the head, or by any other sign. Sometimes greater injury is done to others by certain singular signs and broken words than by a full statement of their guilt because these hints make persons suspect that the evil is greater than it really is.
7. In your conversations be careful not to give pain to any companion, either present or absent, by turning him into ridicule. You may say: "I do it through jest" but such jests are contrary to charity. "All things, therefore," says Jesus Christ, "that you will that men should do to you, do you also unto them." (Matt. vii. 12.) Would you like to be treated with derision before others? Give up, then, the practice of ridiculing your neighbours. Abstain also from contending about useless trifles. Some times, certain contests about mere trifles grow so hot that they end in quarrels and injurious words. Some persons are so full of the spirit of contradiction, that they controvert what others say, without any necessity, and solely for the sake of contention, and thus violate charity. "Strive not," says the Holy Ghost, "in matters which do not concern thee." (Eccl. xi. 9.) But they will say: "I only defend reason; I cannot bear these assertions which are contrary to reason." In answer to these defenders of reason, Cardinal Bellarmine says, that an ounce of charity is better than a hundred loads of reason. In conversation, particularly when the subject of it is unimportant, state your opinion, if you wish to take part in the discourse, and then keep yourself in peace, and be on your guard against obstinacy in defending your own opinion. In such contests it is always better to yield. Blessed. Egidius used to say, that he who gives up conquers because he is superior in virtue, and preserves peace, which is far more valuable than a victory in such contests. St. Joseph Calasanctius was accustomed to say, that "he who loves peace never contradicts any one."
8. Thus, dearly beloved brethren, if you wish to be loved by God and by men, endeavor always to speak well of all. And, should you happen to hear a person speak ill of a neighbour, be careful not to encourage his uncharitableness, nor to show any curiosity to hear the faults of others. If you do, you will be guilty of the same sin which the detractor commits. "Hedge in thy ears with thorns," says Ecclesiasticus, "and hear not a wicked tongue." (Eccl. xxviii. 28.) When you hear any one taking away the character of another, place around your ears a hedge of thorns, that detraction may not enter. For this purpose it is necessary, at least, to show that the discourse is not pleasing to you. This may be done by remaining silent, by putting on a sorrowful countenance, by casting down the eyes, or turning your face in another direction. In a word, act, says St. Jerome, in such a way that the detractor, seeing your unwillingness to listen to him, may learn to be more guarded for the future against the sin of detraction. And when it is in your power to do it, it will be a great act of charity to defend the character of the persons who have been defamed. The Divine Spouse wishes that the words of his beloved be a veil of scarlet. "Thy lips are as a scarlet lace." (Cant. iv. 3.) That is, as Theodoret explains this passage, her words should be dictated by charity (a scarlet lace), that they may cover, as much as possible, the defects of others, at least by excusing their intentions, when their acts cannot be excused. "If," says St. Bernard, ”you cannot excuse the act, excuse the intention. ” (Serm. xl. in Cant.) It was a proverb among the nuns of the convent of St. Teresa, that, in the presence of their holy mother, their reputation was secure, because they knew she would take the part of those of whom any fault might be mentioned.
9. Charity also requires that we be meek to all, and particularly to those who are opposed to us. When a person is angry with you, and uses injurious language, remember that "a mild answer breaketh wrath." (Prov. xv. 1.) Reply to him with meekness, and you shall find that his anger will be instantly appeased. But, if you resent the injury, and use harsh language, you will increase the same. The feeling of revenge will grow more violent, and you will expose yourself to the danger of losing your soul by yielding to an act of hatred, or by breaking out into expressions grievously injurious to your neighbour. Whenever you feel the soul agitated by passion, it is better to force yourself to remain silent, and to make no reply; for, as St. Bernard says, an eye clouded with anger cannot distinguish between right and wrong. ”Turbatus prć ira oculus rectum non videt." (Lib. 2 de Consid., cap. xi.) Should it happen that in a fit of passion you have insulted a neighbour, charity requires that you use every means to allay his wounded feelings, and to remove from his heart all sentiments of rancour towards you. The best means of making reparation for the violation of charity is to humble yourself to the person whom you have offended. With regard to the meekness which we should practice towards others, I shall speak on that subject in the thirty-fourth Sermon, or the Sermon for the fifth Sunday after Pentecost.
10. It is also an act of charity to correct sinners. Do not say that you are not a superior. Were you a superior, you should be obliged by your office to correct all those who might be under your care. But, although you are not placed over others, you are, as a Christian, obliged to fulfill the duty of fraternal correction. ”He gave to every one of them commandment concerning his neighbour." (Eccl. xvii. 12.) Would it not be great cruelty to see a blind man walking on the brink of a precipice, and not admonish him of his danger, in order to preserve him from temporal death? It would be far greater cruelty to neglect, for the sake of avoiding a little trouble, to deliver a brother from eternal death.
Third Point. On the charity we ought to practise towards our neighbour by works.
11. Some say that they love all, but will not put themselves to any inconvenience in order to relieve the wants of a neighbour. "My little children," says St. John, "let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and truth." (1 John iii. 18 ) The Scripture tells us that alms deliver men from death, cleanse them from sin, and obtain for them the divine mercy and eternal life. "Alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting." (Job xii. 9.) God will relieve you in the same manner in which, you give relief to your neighbour. "With what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again. ”(Matt. vii. 2.) Hence St. Chrysostom says, that the exercise of charity to others is the means of acquiring great gain with God. "Alms is, of all acts, the most lucrative." And St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to say, that she felt more happy in relieving her neighbour than when she was wrapt up in contemplation. "Because," she would add, "when I am in contemplation God assists me; but in giving relief to a neighbour I assist God ;" for, every act of charity which we exercise towards our neighbour, God accepts as if it were done to himself. But, on the other hand, how, as St. John says, can he who does not assist a brother in want, be said to love God? ”He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him ?" (1 John iii. 17.) By alms is understood, not only the distribution of money or other goods, but every succour that is given to a neighbour in order to relieve his wants.
12. If charity obliges us to assist all, it commands us still more strictly to relieve those who are in to greatest need, such as the souls in Purgatory. St Thomas teaches, that charity extends not only to the living, but also to the dead. Hence, as we ought to assist our neighbours who are in this life, so we are bound to give relief to those holy prisoners who are so severely tormented by fire, and who are incapable of relieving themselves. A deceased monk of the Cistercian order appeared to the sacristan of his monastery, and said to him: "Brother, assist me by your prayers; for I can do nothing for myself." (Cron. Cist.) Let us, then, assist, to the utmost of our power, these beloved spouses of Jesus Christ, by recommending them every day to God, and by sometimes getting Mass offered for their repose. There is nothing which gives so much relief to those holy souls as the sacrifice of the altar. They certainly will not be ungrateful. They will in return pray for you, and will obtain for you still greater graces, when they shall have entered into the kingdom of God.
13. To exercise a special charity towards the sick, is also very pleasing to God. They are afflicted by pains, by melancholy, by the fear of death, and are sometimes abandoned by others. Be careful to relieve them by alms, or by little presents, and to serve them as well as you can, at least by endeavoring to console them by your words, and by exhortations to practice resignation to the will of God, and to offer to him all their sufferings.
14. Above all, be careful to practice charity to those who are opposed to you. Some say: I am grateful to all who treat me with kindness; but I cannot exercise charity towards those who persecute me. Jesus Christ says that even pagans know how to be grateful to those who do them a service. "Do not also the heathens this ?" (Matt. v. 47.) Christian charity consists in wishing well, and in doing good to those who hate and injure us. "But I say to you: Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you." (Matt. v. 44.) Some seek to injure you, but you must love them. Some have done evil to you, but you must return good for evil. Such the vengeance of the saints. This is the heavenly revenge which St. Paulinus exhorts us to inflict on our enemies. "To repay good for evil is heavenly revenge."(Epis. xvi.)
St. Chrysostom teaches, says that: "Nothing makes men so like to God as to spare enemies." (Hom, xxvii. in Gen.) Such has been the practice of the saints. For example, St. Catherine of Genoa continued for a long time to relieve a woman who had endeavored to destroy the saints reputation. On an assassin, who had made an attempt on his life, St. Ambrose settled a sum for his support. Venustanus, governor of Tuscany, ordered the hands of St. Sabinus to be cut off, because the holy bishop confessed the true faith. The tyrant, feeling a violent pain in his eyes, entreated the saint to assist him. The saint prayed for him, and raised his arm, from which the blood still continued to flow, blessed him, and obtained for him the cure of his eyes and of his soul. The tyrant became a convert to the catholic faith. Father Segneri relates, that the son of a certain lady in Bologna was murdered by an assassin, who by accident took refuge in her house. (Christ. Instr., part 1, disc. 20, n. 20.) What did she do? She first concealed him from the ministers of justice, and afterwards said to him: Since I have lost my son, you shall henceforth be my son and my heir. Take, for the present, this sum of money, and provide for your safety elsewhere, for here you are not secure.
It is thus the saints resent injuries. With what face, says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, can he that does not pardon the affronts which he receives from his enemies, say to God: Lord, pardon me the many insults which I have offered to thee? (Catech. ii.) But he that forgives his enemies is sure of the pardon of the Lord, who says: "Forgive, and you shall be forgiven." (Luke vi. 37.) And when you cannot serve them in any other way, recommend to God those who persecute and calumniate you. "Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you." This is the admonition of Jesus Christ, who is able to reward those who treat their enemies in this manner.
Coming next ... SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON HOLY COMMUNION.
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2009 : 08:53:31
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SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
The Eucharist, as a sacrifice, is the continual manifestation of God's love for us, since it reminds us that Jesus gave His life to save us (Epistle). Our attendance at Mass, the living memorial of Christ's passion must dispose us to sacrifice ourselves in order to provide for our neighbor's wants. The Eucharist, as a Sacrament, also shows how much God loves us, since He invites us to His table. On a spotless table cloth and in golden dishes, He gives us His body to eat. It is the prelude of the Celestial banquet of which the Patriarchs, Prophets and Gospel often speak to us.
The Jews on account of their pride, avarice or lust have been put aside and God has chosen us in their stead (Gospel). "He has established us solidly in His love" and "never ceasing to guide us," He "continues to operate our salvation by means of the frequent reception of the Eucharistic mystery"
EPISTLE: 1 John 3: 13-18
Dearly beloved, Wonder not if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself. In this we have known the charity of God, because He hath laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brethren in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Luke 14: 16-24
At that time Jesus spoke to the Pharisees this parable: "A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant, at the hour of the supper, to say them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things were ready. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: I have bought a farm, and must needs go out, and see it: I pray thee hold me excused. And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them; I pray thee hold me excused And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. And the servant returning, told these things to his lord. Then the master of the house being angry, said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame. And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said to the servant: Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. But I say unto you, that none of these men that were invited shall taste of my supper."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON HOLY COMMUNION.
"A certain man made a great supper." LUKE xiv. 16.
IN the gospel of this day we read that a rich man prepared a great supper. He then ordered one of his servants to invite to it all those whom he should find in the highways, even though they were poor, blind, and lame, and to compel those who should refuse, to come to the supper. "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (v. 20). And he added, that of all those who had been invited and had not come, not one should ever partake of his supper. "But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited shall taste of my supper" (v. 24).
This supper is the holy communion. It is a great supper, at which all the faithful are invited to eat the sacred flesh of Jesus Christ in the most holy sacrament of the altar. "Take ye and eat: this is my body." (Matt. xxiv. 26.) Let us then consider today, in the first point, the great love which Jesus Christ has shown us in giving us himself in this sacrament; and, in the second point, how we ought to receive him in order to draw great fruit from the holy communion.
First Point. On the great love which Jesus Christ has shown us in giving us himself in this sacrament.
1. ”Jesus, knowing that his hour was come that he should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. ”(John xiii. 1.) Knowing that the hour of his death had arrived, Jesus Christ wished, before his departure from this world, to leave us the greatest proof which he could give of his love, by leaving us himself in the holy eucharist. ”He loved them to the end." That is, according to St. Chrysostom, ”with an extreme love." St. Bernardino of Sienna says that the tokens of love which are given at death make a more lasting impression on the mind, and are more highly esteemed. ”Quć in fine in signum amicitić celebrantur, firmius memorić imprimuntur et cariora tenentur." But, whilst others leave a ring, or a piece of money, as a mark of their affection, Jesus has left us Himself entirely in this sacrament of love.
2. And when did Jesus Christ institute this sacrament? He instituted it, as the Apostle has remarked, on the night before his passion . "The Lord Jesus, the same night on which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: 'Take ye and eat: this is my body.'" (1 Cor. xi. 23, 24.) Thus, at the very time that men were preparing to put him to death, our loving Redeemer resolved to bestow upon us this gift. Jesus Christ, then, was not content with giving his life for us on a cross: he wished also, before his death, to pour out, as the Council of Trent says, all the riches of his love, by leaving himself for our food in the holy communion. "He, as it were, poured out the riches of his love towards man." (Sess. 13, cap. ii.) If faith had not taught it, who could ever imagine that a God would become man, and afterwards become the food of his own creatures? When Jesus Christ revealed to his followers this sacrament which he intended to leave us, St. John says, that they could not bring themselves to believe it, and departed from him saying: ”How can this man give us his flesh to eat ?...This saying is hard, and who can hear it?” (St. John vi. 53, 61.) But what men could not imagine, the real love of Jesus Christ has invented and effected. ”Take ye and eat: this is my body." These words he addressed to his apostles on the night before he suffered, and he now, after his death, addresses them to us.
3. “How highly honoured, ” says St. Francis de Sales, “would that man fed to whom the king sent from his table a portion of what he had on his own plate? But how should he feel if that portion were a part of the king's arm?” In the holy communion Jesus gives us, not a part of his arm, but his entire body in the sacrament of the altar. "He gave you all," says St. Chrysostom, reproving our ingratitude, ”he left nothing for Himself.” And St. Thomas teaches, that in the Eucharist God has given us all that he is and all that he has. "Deus in eucharistia totum quod est et habet, dedit nobis." (Opusc. 63, c. ii.) Justly then has the same saint called the eucharist ”a sacrament of love; a pledge of love.” “Sacramentum charitatis pignus charitatis." It is a sacrament of love, because it was pure love that induced Jesus Christ to give us this gift and pledge of love: for he wished that, should a doubt of his having loved us ever enter into our minds, we should have in this sacrament a pledge of his love. St. Bernard calls this sacrament "love of loves." "Amor amorum." By his incarnation, the Lord has given himself to all men in general. But, in this sacrament, he has given, himself to each of us in particular, to make us understand the special love which he entertains for each of us.
4. Oh! how ardently does Jesus Christ desire to come to our souls in the holy communion! This vehement desire he expressed at the time of the institution of this sacrament, when he said to the apostles: ”With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you." (Luke xxii. 15.) St. Laurence Justinian says that these words proceeded from the enamoured heart of Jesus Christ, who, by such tender expressions, wished to show us the ardent love with which he loved us. ”This is the voice of the most burning charity." And, to induce us to receive him frequently in the holy communion, he promises eternal life that is, the kingdom of heaven to those who eat his flesh. ”He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." (John vi. 59.) On the other hand, it threatens to deprive us of his grace and of Paradise, if we neglect communion. ”Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you." (John vi. 54.) These promises and these threats all sprung from a burning desire to come to us in this sacrament.
5. And why does Jesus Christ so vehemently desire that we receive him in the holy communion? It is because he takes delight in being united with each of us. By the communion, Jesus is really united to our soul and to our body, and we are united to Jesus. "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me and I in him." (John vi. 57.) Thus, after communion, we are, says St. Chrysostom, one body and one flesh with Jesus Christ. Hence St. Laurence Justinian exclaims: "Oh! how wonderful is thy love, O Lord Jesus, who hast wished to incorporate us in such a manner with thy body, that we should have one heart and one soul inseparably united with thee." Thus, to every soul that receives the Eucharist, the Lord says what he once said to his beloved servant Margaret of Ipres ”Behold, my daughter, the close union made between me and thee; love me, then, and let us remain for ever united in love: let us never more be separated." This union between us and Jesus Christ is, according to St. Chrysostom, the effect of the love which Jesus Christ bears us. But, Lord, such intimate union with man is not suited to thy divine majesty. But love seeks not reason. It goes not where it ought to go, but where it is drawn. St. Bernardino of Sienna says that, in giving himself for our food, Jesus Christ loved us to the last degree. Because he united himself entirely to us, as food is united to those who eat it. The same doctrine has been beautifully expressed by St. Francis de Sales. ”No action of the Saviour can be more loving or more tender than the institution of the holy Eucharist, in which he, as it were, annihilates himself, and takes the form of food, to unite himself to the souls and bodies of his faithful servants."
6. Hence, there is nothing from which we can draw so much fruit as from the holy communion. St. Denis teaches, that the most holy sacrament has greater efficacy to sanctify souls than all other spiritual means. St. Vincent Ferrer says, that a soul derives more profit from one communion than from fasting a week on bread and water. The Eucharist is, according to the holy Council of Trent, a medicine which delivers us from venial, and preserves us from mortal sins. Jesus himself has said, that they who eat him, who is the fountain of life, shall receive permanently the life of grace. "He that eateth me, the same shall also live by me." (John vi. 58.) Pope Innocent III teaches, that by the passion Jesus Christ delivers us from the sins we have committed, and by the Eucharist from the sins we may commit. According to St. Chrysostom, the holy communion inflames us with the fire of divine love, and makes us objects of terror to the devil. ”The Eucharist is a fire which inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar, being made terrible to the devil." (Hom. lxi. ad Pop. Ant.)
7. Some will say: ”I do not communicate often; because I am cold in divine love." In answer to them Gerson asks, Will you then, because you feel cold, remove from the fire? When you are tepid you should more frequently approach this sacrament. St. Bonaventure says: ”Trusting in the mercy of God, though you feel tepid, approach: let him who thinks himself unworthy reflect, that the more infirm he feels himself the more he requires a physician" (de Prof. Rel., cap. lxxviii). And, in ”The Devout Life," chapter 20., St. Francis de Sales writes: "Two sorts of persons ought to communicate often: the perfect, to preserve perfection; and the imperfect, to arrive at perfection." It cannot be doubted, that he who wishes to communicate should prepare himself with great diligence, that he may communicate well. Let us pass to the second point.
Second Point. On the preparation we ought to make in order to derive great fruit from the holy communion.
8. Two things are necessary in order to draw great fruit from communion: preparation for, and thanksgiving after communion. As to the preparation, it is certain that the saints derived great profit from their communions, only because they were careful to prepare themselves well for receiving the holy Eucharist. It is easy then to understand why so many souls remain subject to the same imperfections, after all their communions. Cardinal Bona says, that the defect is not in the food, but in the want of preparation for it. ”Defectus non in bibo est, sed in edentis dispositione." For frequent communion two principal dispositions are necessary. The first is detachment from creatures, and disengagement of the heart from everything that is not God. The more the heart is occupied with earthly concerns, the less room there is in it for divine love. Hence, to give full possession of the whole heart to God, it is necessary to purify it from worldly attachments. This is the preparation which Jesus himself recommends to St. Gertrude. "I ask nothing more of thee," said He to her, "than that thou come to receive me with a heart divested of thyself." Let us, then, withdraw our affections from creatures, and our hearts shall belong entirely to the Creator.
9. The second disposition necessary to draw great fruit from communion, is a desire of receiving Jesus Christ in order to advance in his love. "He," says St. Francis de Sales, "who gives himself through pure love, ought to be received only through love." Thus, the principal end of our communions must be to advance in the love of Jesus Christ. He once said to St. Matilda: "When you communicate, desire all the love that any soul has ever had for me, and I will accept your love in proportion to the fervor with which you wished for it."
10. Thanksgiving after communion is also necessary. The prayer we make after communion is the most acceptable to God, and the most profitable to us. After communion the soul should be employed in affections and petitions. The affections ought to consist not only in acts of thanksgiving, but also in acts of humility, of love, and of oblation of ourselves to God. Let us then humble ourselves as much as possible at the sight of a God made our food after we had offended him. A learned author says that, for a soul after communion, the most appropriate sentiment is one of astonishment at the thought of receiving a God. She should exclaim: "What! a God to me! a God to me!" Let us also make many acts of the love of Jesus Christ. He has come into our souls in order to be loved. Hence, he is greatly pleased with those who, after communion, say to him: "My Jesus, I love thee; I desire nothing but thee." Let us also offer ourselves and all that we have to Jesus Christ, that he may dispose of all as he pleases: and let us frequently say: "My Jesus, thou art all mine; thou hast given thyself entirely to me; I give myself entirely to thee."
11. After communion; we should not only make these affections, but we ought also to present to God with great confidence many petitions for his graces. The time after communion is a time in which we can gain treasures of divine graces. St. Teresa says, that at that time Jesus Christ remains in the soul as on a throne, saying to her what he said to the blind man: ”What wilt thou that I should do to thee ?" (Mark x. 51.) As if he said: ”But me you have not always." (John xii. 8.) Now that you possess me within you, ask me for graces: I have come down from heaven on purpose to dispense them to you. Ask whatever you wish, and you shall obtain it. Oh! what great graces are lost by those who spend but little time in prayer after communion. Let us also turn to the Eternal Father, and, bearing in mind the promise of Jesus Christ "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you" (John xvi. 23) let us say to him: My God, for the love of this thy Son, whom I have within my heart, give me thy love; make me all thine. And if we offer this prayer with confidence, the Lord will certainly hear us. He who acts thus may become a saint by a single communion.
Coming Next... THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST- ON THE MERCY OF GOD TOWARDS SINNERS. |
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2009 : 11:26:52
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THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.
The liturgy celebrates today the mercy of God towards us, poor sinners. Jesus has come not to call the just but sinners, and the Holy Ghost comes to establish the reign of God in our sinful, unclean hearts.
The Sanctifier continues in our hearts the action of Christ, coming to establish the reign of God in sinful souls. He therefore proclaims by the mouth of Peter, the Head of the Church, our weakness before the devil, who, like roaring lion, seeks to devour us (Epistle). The human race has fallen into sin. It is represented by the lost sheep which the divine Shepherd bore on His shoulders, and by the lost drachma struck with the effigy of the King of Heaven and which the Church found again (Gospel).
"Without God, nothing is strong, nothing is holy." He alone can give us, in the midst of temptation "an unshakable stability". Therefore on Him we must "throw all our thoughts and cares."
EPISTLE: I Peter 5: 6-11
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle. Dearly Beloved, Be you humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you. Be sober and, watch, because, your adversary the, devil, as, a roaring lion, goeth about seekinq whom he may devour, Whom resist ye, strong in faith knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto the eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To Him be glory and empire for ever and ever, Amen.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Luke 15: 1-10
At that time, the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him: and the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. And He spoke to them this parable, saying: "What man is there of you that hath a hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing and coming home, call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them; Rejoice with me because I have found my sheep that was lost? I say to you that even so there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need no penance. Or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat doth not light a candle and sweep the house,and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me because I have found the groat which I had lost? So I say to you, there shall be joy before the Angels of God upon one sinner doing penance."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST- ON THE MERCY OF GOD TOWARDS SINNERS.
" There shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than ninety-nine just, who need not penance." LUKE xv. 7
In this day’s gospel it is related that the Pharisees murmured against Jesus Christ, because he received sinners and eat with them. ”This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them" (v. 2). In answer to their murmurings our Lord said: If any of you had a hundred sheep, and lost one of them, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go in search of the lost sheep? would he not continue his search until he found it? and having found it, would he not carry it on his shoulders, and, rejoicing, say to his friends and neighbours: ”Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost ?" (v. 6.) In conclusion, the Son of God said: ”I say to you, there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than, upon ninety-nine just, that need not penance." There is more joy in heaven upon one sinner who returns to God, than upon many just who preserve the grace of God. Let us, then, speak Today on the mercy which God shows to sinners, first, in calling them to repentance; secondly, in receiving them when they return
First Point, Mercy of God in calling sinners to repentance.
1. After having sinned by eating the forbidden apple, Adam fled from the face of the Lord through shame of the sin he had committed. What must have been the astonishment of the angels when they saw God seeking after him, and calling him as it were with tears, saying: ”Adam, where art thou ?" (Gen. iii. 9.) My beloved Adam, where art thou? These words, says Father Pereyra, in his commentary on this passage, ”are the words of a father in search of his lost son." Towards you, brethren, the Lord acts in a similar manner. You fled from him and he has so often invited you to repentance by means of confessors and preachers. Who was it that spoke to you when they exhorted you to penance? It was the Lord. Preachers are, as St. Paul says, his ambassadors. ”For Christ, therefore, we are ambassadors; God, as it were, exhorting by us." (2 Cor. v. 20.) Hence he writes to the sinners of Corinth: ”For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God." (Ibid.) In explaining these words St. Chrysostom says: Jesus Christ himself entreats you, sinners: and what does he entreat you to do? To make peace with God. The saint adds: It is not God that acts like an enemy, but you. That is, God does not refuse to make peace with sinners, but they are unwilling to be reconciled with him."
2. But notwithstanding the refusal of sinners to return to God, he does not cease to continue to call them by so many interior inspirations, remorse of conscience, and terrors of chastisements. Thus, beloved Christians, God has spoken to you, and, seeing that you disregarded his words, he has had recourse to scourges. He has called you to repentance by such a persecution, by temporal losses, by the death of a relative, by sickness which has brought you to the brink of the grave. He has, according to holy David, placed before your eyes the bow of your damnation, not that you might be condemned to eternal misery, but that you might be delivered from hell, which you deserved. "Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee, that they may flee from before the bow, that thy beloved may be delivered." (Ps. lix. 6). You regarded certain afflictions as misfortunes. But they were mercies from God; they were the voices of God calling on you to renounce sin, that you might escape perdition. ”My jaws are become hoarse." (Ps. lxviii. 4.) My son, says the Lord, I have almost lost my voice in calling you to repentance. ”I am weary of entreating thee." ( Jer. xv. (5.) I have become weary in imploring you to offend me no more.
3. By your ingratitude you deserved that he should call you no more. But he has continued to invite you to return to him. And who is it that has called you? It is a God of infinite majesty, who is to be one day your judge, and on whom your eternal happiness or misery depends. And what are you but miserable worms deserving hell? Why has he called you? To restore to you the life of grace which you have lost. "Return ye and live." (Ezec. xviii. 32.) To acquire the grace of God, it would be but little to spend a hundred years in a desert in fasting and penitential austerities. But God offered it to you for a single act of sorrow. You refused that act, and after your refusal he has not abandoned you, but has sought after you, saying: "And why will you die, house of Israel?" (Ez. xviii. 31.) Like a father weeping and following his son, who has voluntarily thrown himself into the sea, God has sought after you, saying, through compassion to each of you: My son, why dost thou bring thyself to eternal misery? ”Why will you die, house of Israel ?"
4. As a pigeon that seeks to take shelter in a tower, seeing the entrance closed on every side, continues to fly round till she finds an opening through which she enters, so, says St. Augustine, did the divine mercy act towards me when I was in enmity with God. Circuibat super me fidelis a longe misericordia tua." The Lord treated you, brethren, in a similar manner. As often as you sinned you banished him from your souls. The wicked have said to God: "Depart from us." (Job xxi. 14.) And, instead of abandoning you, what has the Lord done? He has placed himself at the door of your ungrateful hearts, and, by his knocking, has made you feel that he was outside, and seeking for admission. ”Behold I stand at the gate and knock." (Apoc. iii. 20.) He, as it were, entreated you to have compassion on him, and to allow him to enter. "Open to me, my sister." (Cant. v. 2.) Open to me; I will deliver you from perdition; I will forget all the insults you have offered to me if you give up sin. Perhaps you are unwilling to open to me through fear of becoming poor by restoring ill-gotten goods, or by separating from a person who provided for you? Am I not, says the Lord, able to provide for you? Perhaps you think that, if you renounce a certain friendship which separates you from me, you shall lead a life of misery? Am I not able to content your soul and to make your life happy? Ask those who love me with their whole hearts, and they will tell you that my grace makes them content, and that they would not exchange their condition, though poor and humble, for all the delights and riches of the monarchs of the earth.
Second Point. Mercy of God in waiting for sinners to return to him.
5. We have considered the divine mercy in calling sinners to repentance: let us now consider his patience in waiting for their return. That great servant of God, D. Sancia Carillo, a penitent of Fr John D’Avila, used to say, that the consideration of God's patience with sinners made her desire to build a church, and entitle it "The Patience of God." Ah, sinners! who could ever bear with what God has borne from you? If the offenses which you have committed against God had been offered to your best friends, or even to your parents, they surely would have sought revenge. When you insulted the Lord he was able to chastise you. You repeated the insult, and he did not punish your guilt, but preserved your life, and provided you with sustenance. Lie, as it were, pretended not to see the injuries you offered to him, that you might enter into yourselves, and cease to offend him. "Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance." (Wisdom. xi. 24.) But how, Lord, does it happen, that thou canst not behold a single sin, and that thou dost bear in silence with so many? "Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and thou canst not look on iniquity. Why lookest thou upon them that do unjust things, and boldest thy peace ?" (Habacuc. i. 13.) Thou seest the vindictive prefer their own before thy honour; thou beholdest the unjust, instead of restoring what they have stolen, continuing to commit theft; the unchaste, instead of being ashamed of their impurities, boasting of them before others; the scandalous, not content with the sins which they themselves commit, but seeking to draw others into rebellion against thee; thou seest all this, and holdest thy peace, and dost not inflict vengeance.
6. “Omnis creatura," says St. Thomas, "tibi factor! deserviens excandescit adversus injustos." All creatures of the earth, fire, air, water because they all obey God, would, by a natural instinct, wish to punish the sinner, and to avenge the injuries which he does to the Creator. But God, through his mercy, restrains them. But, Lord, thou waitest for the wicked that they may enter into themselves; and dost thou not see that they abuse thy mercy to offer new insults to thy majesty? "Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified ?" (Isa. xxvi. 15.) Thou hast waited so long for sinners; thou hast abstained from inflicting punishment. But what glory have you reaped from thy forbearance? They have become more wicked. Why so much patience with such ungrateful souls? Why dost thou continue to wait for their repentance? Why dost thou not chastise their wickedness? The same Prophet answers: " The Lord waiteth that he may have mercy on you." (Isa. xxx. 18.) God waits for sinners that they may one day repent, and that after their repentance, he may pardon and save them. "As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezech. xxxiii. 11.) St. Augustine goes so far as to say that the Lord, if he were not God, should be unjust on account of his excessive patience towards sinners. By waiting for those who abuse his patience to multiply their sins, God appears to do an injustice to the divine honor. "We," continues the saint, "sin; we adhere to sin (some of us become familiar and intimate with sin, and sleep for months and years in this miserable state); we rejoice at sin (some of us go so far as to boast of our wickedness); and thou art appeased! We provoke thee to anger thou dost invite us to mercy." We and God appear to be, as it were, engaged in a contest, in which we labor to provoke him to chastise our guilt, and he invites us to pardon.
7. Lord, exclaimed holy Job, what is man, that thou dost entertain so great an esteem for him? Why dost thou love him so tenderly? "What is man that thou shouldst magnify him? or why dost thou set thy heart upon him ?" (Job. vii. ] 7.)
St. Denis the Areopagite says, that God seeks after sinners like a despised lover, entreating them not to destroy themselves. Why, ungrateful souls, do you fly from me? I love you and desire nothing but your welfare. Ah, sinners! says St. Teresa, remember that he who now calls and seeks after you, is that God who shall one day be your judge. If you are lost, the great mercies which he now shows you, shall be the greatest torments which, you shall suffer in hell.
Third Point. Mercy of God in receiving penitent sinners.
8. Should a subject who has rebelled against an earthly monarch go into the presence of his sovereign to ask pardon, the prince instantly banishes the rebel from his sight, and does not condescend even to look at him. But God does not treat us in this manner, when we go with humility before him to implore mercy and forgiveness. "The Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away his face from you if you return to him." (2 Par. xxx. 9.) God cannot turn away his face from those who cast themselves at his feet with an humble and contrite heart. Jesus himself has protested that he will not reject any one who returns to him. "And him that cometh to me, I will not cast out." (John vi. 37.) But how can he reject those whom he himself invites to return, and promises to embrace? "Return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee." (Jer. iii. 1.) In another place he says: Sinners, I ought to turn my back on you, because you first turned your back on me; but be converted to me, and I will be converted to you. "Turn to me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts." (Zach. i. 3.)
9. Oh! with what tenderness does God embrace a sinner that returns to him! This tenderness Jesus Christ wished to declare to us when he said that he is the good pastor, who, as soon as he finds the lost sheep, embraces it and places it on his own shoulders. "And when he hath found it, doth he not lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing?" (Luke xv. 5.) This tenderness also appears in the parable of the prodigal son, in which Jesus Christ tells us that he is the good father, who, when his lost son returns, goes to meet him, embraces and kisses him, and, as it were, swoons away through joy in receiving him. "And running to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him." (Luke xv. 20.)
10. God protests that when sinners repent of their iniquities, he will forget all their sins, as if they had never offended him. "But, if the wicked do penance for all the sins which he hath committed...living, he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done." (Ezech. xviii. 21,22.) By the Prophet Isaias, the Lord goes so far as to say: "Come and accuse me, saith the Lord. If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow." (Isa. i. 18.) Mark the words, Come and accuse me. As if the Lord said: Sinners, come to me, and if I do not pardon and embrace you, reprove me, upbraid me with violating my promise. But no! God cannot despise an humble and contrite heart. "A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Ps. l. 19.)
11. To show mercy and grant pardon to sinners, God regards as redounding to his own glory. "And therefore shall he be exalted sparing you." (Isa. xxx. 18.) The holy Catholic Church says, that God displays his omnipotence in granting pardon and mercy to sinners. "O God, who manifested thy omnipotence in sparing and showing mercy." Do not imagine, dearly beloved sinners, that God requires of you to labor for a long time before he grants you pardon: as soon as you wish for forgiveness, he is ready to give it. Behold what the Scripture says: "Weeping, thou shalt not weep, he will surely have pity on thee." (Isa. xxx. 19.) You shall not have to weep for a long time: as soon as you shall have shed the first tear through sorrow for your sins, God will have mercy on you. "At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee." (Ibid.) The moment he shall hear you say: Forgive me, my God, forgive me, he will instantly answer and grant your pardon.
Coming next... FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE CERTAINITY AND UNCERTAINITY OF DEATH
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 12:13:01
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FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOSTIt was from Peter's boat that our Lord choose to preach; It was Simon Peter that He told to launch out in the deep, and it was he who, at the Master's word of command, laid down the nets which became so full that they broke. Finally, it was Peter, who overcome with fear and astonishment, adored his Master and was chosen by Him as a fisher of men.
"St. Matthew," says St. Ambrose, "describes this boat as tossed by waves, while St. Luke describes it as full of fish. Here, we have a picture of the Church's vicissitudes in her early days and of her wonderful prosperity later on. The vessel which carries divine Wisdom and which is wafted by the wind of Faith runs no danger. What indeed can it fear when for its pilot it has Him who is the very strength of the Church? Peril is encountered when Faith is rare. But here there is safety since love is perfect"
Commenting on a Gospel which is very similar to this, in which St. John records a miraculous draught of fishes which took place after our Lord's resurrection, St. Gregory writes: "What does the sea represent of not the present age in which the changes and chances of this mortal life are like waves which unceasingly dash and break against each other? Or what is the firm ground of the shore a figure if not the permanence of rest? Because the disciples were still surrounded by the waves of this mortal life, they toiled on the sea. And as our Redeemer had put off the corruptibility of the flesh after His resurrection, He stood on the shore."
Again in St. Matthew, our Lord compares the kingdom of heaven to "a net cast into the sea and gathering together all kinds of fishes. Which when it was filled they drew out. And sitting by the shore, they chose out the good fishes but the bad they ast forth."
In the same way Baptism was represented in the Catacombs by a fisher drawing a fish out of the water. Here the, is the function of the Church whose head is Peter, "to fish for men," to free souls from the dangers they encounter in the world represented by the sea.
In St. Peter's bark, tossed by the angry waves and the storms of this world,let us all put our trust in Christ. Through his one and only true Church, He will save us from the attacks of "the strong man armed," who is the devil.
EPISTLE: Romans 8: 18-23
Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans. Brethren, I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to come, that shall be revealed to us. For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God, for the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject in hope; because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth, and travaileth in pain, even till now and not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Luke 12: 1-8
At that time, when the multitude pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Genesareth. And He saw two ships standing by the lake but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets; and going up into one of the ships that was Simon's, He desired him to draw back a little from the land: and sitting He taught the multitudes out of the ship. Now when He had ceased to speak, He said to Simon: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." And Simon, answering, said to Him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing, but at Thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes and their net broke: and they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken: and so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: "Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed Him.
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - DEATH IS CERTAIN AND UNCERTAINLet down your nets for a draught - LUKE v. 4.
IN this day’s gospel we find that, having gone up into one of the ships, and having heard from St. Peter, that he and his companions had labored all the night and had taken nothing, Jesus Christ said: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." They obeyed; and having cast out their nets into the sea, they took such a multitude of fishes, that the nets were nearly broken. Brethren, God has placed us in the midst of the sea of this life, and has commanded us to cast out our nets, that we may catch fishes. That is, that we may perform good works, by which we can acquire merits for eternal life. Happy we, if we attain this end and save our souls! Unhappy we, if, instead of laying up treasures for heaven, we by our sins merit hell, and bring our souls to damnation! Our happiness or misery for eternity depends on the moment of our death, which is certain and uncertain. The Lord assures us that death is certain, that we may prepare for it; but, on the other hand, he leaves us uncertain as to the time of our death, that we may be always prepared for it, two points of the utmost importance.
It is certain that we shall die. But it is uncertain when we shall die.
First Point: It is certain that we shall die. 1. "It is appointed unto men once to die." (Heb. ix. 27.) The decree has been passed for each of us: we must all die. St. Cyprian says, that we are all born with the halter on the neck: hence, every step we make brings us nearer to the gibbet. For each of us the gibbet shall be the last sickness, which will end in death. As then, brethren, your name has been inserted in the registry of baptism, so it shall be one day written in the record of the dead. As, in speaking of your ancestors, you say: God be merciful to my father, to my uncle, or to my brother; so others shall say the same of you when you shall be in the other world; and as you have often heard the death-bell toll for many, so others shall hear it toll for you.
2. All things future, which regard men now living, are uncertain, but death is certain. "All other goods and evils," says St. Augustine, "are uncertain; death only is certain." It is uncertain whether such an infant shall be rich or poor, whether he shall enjoy good or ill health, whether he shall die at an early or at an advanced age. But it is certain that he shall die, though he be son of a peer or of a monarch. And, when the hour arrives, no one can resist the stroke of death. The same St. Augustine says: "Fires, waters, and the sword are resisted; kings are resisted: death comes; who resists it ?" (in Ps. xii.) We may resist conflagrations, inundations, the sword of enemies, and the power of princes; but who can resist death? A certain king of France, as Belluacensis relates, said in his last moments: "Behold, with all my power, I cannot make death wait for a single hour." No; when the term of life has arrived, death does not wait even a moment. "Thou hast appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed." (Job. xiv. 5.)
3. We must all die. This truth we not only believe, but see with our eyes. In every age houses, streets, and cities are filled with new inhabitants: their former possessors are shut up in the grave. And, as for them the days of life are over, so a time shall come when not one of all who are now alive shall be among the living. "Days shall be formed, and no one in them." (Ps. cxxxviii. 10.) "Who is the man that shall live, and shall not see death ?" (Ps. lxxxviii. 49 ) Should any one flatter himself that he will not die, he would not only be a disbeliever for it is of faith that we shall all die but he would be regarded as a madman. We know that all men, even potentates and princes and emperors, have, at a certain time, fallen victims to death. And where are they now? "Tell me," says St. Bernard, "where are the lovers of the world? Nothing has remained of them but ashes and worms." Of so many great men of the world, though buried in marble mausoleums, nothing has remained but a little dust and a few withered bones. We know that our ancestors are no longer among the living: of their death we are constantly reminded by their pictures, their memorandum books, their beds, and by the clothes which they have left us. And can we entertain a hope or a doubt that we shall not die? Of all who lived in this town a hundred years ago how many are now alive? They are all in eternity in an eternal day of delights, or in an eternal night of torments. Either the one or the other shall be our lot also.
4. But, God! we all know that we shall die: the misfortune is, that we imagine death as distant as if it were never to come, and therefore we lose sight of it. But, sooner or later, whether we think or think not of death, it is certain, and of faith that we shall die, and that we are drawing nearer to it every day. "For we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come." (Heb. xiii. 14.) This is not our country: here we are pilgrims on a journey. "While we are in the body we are absent from the Lord." (2 Cor. v. 6.) Our country is Paradise, if we know how to acquire it by the grace of God and by our own good works. Our house is not that in which we live; we dwell in it only in passing; our dwelling is in eternity. "Man shall go into the house of his eternity." (Eccl. xii. 5.) How great would be the folly of the man, who, in passing through a strange country, should lay out all his property in the purchase of houses and possessions in a foreign land, and reduce himself to the necessity of living miserably for the remainder of his days in his own country! And is not he, too, a fool, who seeks after happiness in this world, from which he must soon depart, and by his sins, exposes himself to the danger of misery in the next, where he must live for eternity?
5. Tell me, beloved brethren, if, instead of preparing for his approaching death, a person condemned to die were, on his way to the place of execution, to employ the few remaining moments of his life in admiring the beauty of the houses as he passed along, in thinking of balls and comedies, in uttering immodest words, and detracting his neighbors, would you not say that the unhappy man had either lost his reason, or that he was abandoned by God? And are not you on the way to death? Why then do you seek only the gratification of the senses? Why do you not think of preparing the accounts which you shall one day, and perhaps very soon, have to render at the tribunal of Jesus Christ? Souls that have faith, leave to the fools of this world the care of realizing a fortune on this earth; seek you to make a fortune for the next life, which shall be eternal. The present life must end, and end very soon. must soon depart; and, by his sins, exposes himself to the danger of misery in the next, where he must live for eternity?
6. Go to the grave in which your relatives and friends are buried. Look at their dead bodies: each of them says to you: "Yesterday for me; Today for thee." (Eccl. xxxviii. 23.) What has happened to me must one day happen to thee. Thou shalt become dust and ashes, as I am. And where shall thy soul be found, if, before death, thou hast not settled thy accounts with God? Ah, brethren! if you wish to live well, and to to have you accounts ready for that great day, on which your doom to eternal life or to eternal death must be decided, endeavor, during the remaining days of life, to live with death before your eyes. "death, thy sentence is welcome." (Eccl. xli. 3.) Oh! how correct are the judgments, how well directed the actions, of those who form their judgments, and perform their actions, with death before their view! The remembrance of death destroys all attachment to the goods of this earth. "Let the end of life be considered, " says St. Lawrence Justinian, "and there will be nothing in this world to be loved." (de Ligno Vitć, cap. v.) Yes; all the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world are easily despised by him who considers that he must soon leave them forever, and that he shall be thrown into the grave to be the food of worms.
7. Some banish the thought of death, as if, by avoiding to think of death, they could escape it. But death cannot be avoided. And they who banish the thought of it, expose themselves to great danger of an unhappy death. By keeping death before their eyes, the saints have despised all the goods of this earth. Hence St. Charles Borromeo kept on his table a death’s head, that he might have it continually in view. Cardinal Baronius had the words, "Memento mori" - "Remember death" - inscribed on his ring. The venerable P. Juvenal Anzia, Bishop of Saluzo, had before him a skull, on which was written, "As I am, so thou shalt be." In retiring to deserts and caves the holy solitaries brought with them the head of a dead man. And for what purpose? To prepare themselves for death. Thus a certain hermit being asked at death, why he was so cheerful, answered: I have kept death always before my eyes; and therefore, now that it has arrived, I feel no terror. But, oh! how full of terror is death, when it comes to those who have thought of it but seldom.
Second Point: It is uncertain when we shall die.8. "Nothing," says the Idiota, "is more certain than death, but nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death." It is certain that we shall die. God has already determined the year, the month, the day, the hour, the moment, in which each of us shall leave this earth, and enter into eternity. But this moment he has resolved not to make known to us. And justly, says St. Augustine, has the Lord concealed it. For, had he manifested to all the day fixed for their death, many should be induced to continue in the habit of sin by the certainty of not dying before the appointed day. "Si statuisset viam omnibus, faceret abundare peccata de securitate"(in Ps. cxliv). Hence the holy doctor teaches that God has concealed from us the day of our death, that we may spend all our days well. "Latet ultimus dies, ut observentur omnes dies." (Hom. xii. inter 50.) Hence Jesus Christ says: "Be you also ready; for at what hour you think not the Son of Man will come." (Luke xii. 40.) That we may be always prepared to die, he wishes us to be persuaded that death will come when we least expect it. "Of death," says St. Gregory, "we are uncertain, that we may be found always prepared for death." St. Paul likewise admonishes us that the day of the Lord that is, the day on which the Lord shall judge us shall come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, "The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night." (1 Thess. v. 2.) Since, then, says St. Bernard, death may assail you and take away your life in every place and at every time, you should, if you wish to die well and to save your soul, be at all times and places in expectation of death. St. Augustine says: The Lord conceals from us the last day of our life, that we may always have ready the account which we must render to God after death (Hom, xii.)
9. Many Christians are lost, because many, even among the old, who feel the approach of death, flatter themselves that it is at a distance, and that it will not come without giving them time to prepare for it. Death, even when it is felt, is believed to be far off, says St. Gregory. O brethren, are these your sentiments? How do you know that your death is near or distant? What reason have you to suppose that death will give you time to prepare for it? How many do we know who have died suddenly? Some have died walking; some sitting; and some during sleep. Did any one of these ever imagine that he should die in such a manner? But they have died in this way; and if they were in enmity with God, what has been the lot of their unhappy souls? Miserable the man who meets with an unprovided death! And I assert, that all who ordinarily neglect to unburden their conscience, die without preparation, even though they should have seven or eight days to prepare for a good death; for as I shall show in the forty-fourth sermon, it is very difficult, during these days of confusion and terror, to settle accounts with God, and to return to him with sincerity. But I repeat that death may come upon you in such a manner, that you shall not have time even to receive the sacraments. And who knows whether, in another hour, you shall be among the living or the dead? The uncertainty of the time of his death made Job tremble. "For I knew not how long I shall continue, or whether, after a while, my Maker may take me away." (Job xxxii. 22.) Hence St. Basil exhorts us in going to bed at night, not to trust that we shall see the next day.
10. Whenever, then, the devil tempts you to sin, by holding out the hope that you will go to confession and repair the evil you have done, say to him in answer: How do I know that this shall not be the last day of my life? And should death overtake me in sin, and not give me time to make my confession, what shall become of me for all eternity? Alas! how many poor sinners have been struck dead in the very act of indulging in some sinful pleasure, and have been sent to hell! "As fishes are taken by the hook, and as birds are caught with the snare, so men are taken in the evil time." (Eccl. ix. 12.) Fishes are taken with the hook while they eat the bait that conceals the hook, which is the instrument of their death. The evil time is precisely that in which sinners are actually offending God. In the act of sin, they calm their conscience by a security of afterwards making a good confession, and reversing the sentence of their damnation. But death comes suddenly upon them, and does not leave them time for repentance. "For, when they shall say peace and security, then shall sudden destruction come upon them." (1 Thess. v. 3.)
11. If a person lend a sum of money he is careful instantly to get a written acknowledgment, and to take all the other means necessary to secure the repayment of it. Who, he says, can know what shall happen? Death may come, and I may lose my money. And how does it happen that there are so many who neglect to use the same caution for the salvation of their souls, which is of far greater importance than all temporal interests? Why do they not also say: Who knows what may happen? death may come, and I may lose my soul? If you lose a sum of money, all is not lost; if you lose it one way you may recover the loss in another; but he that dies and loses his soul, loses all, and has no hope of ever recovering it. If we could die twice, we might, if we lost our soul the first time, save it the second. But we cannot die twice. "It is appointed unto men once to die," (Heb. ix. 27) Mark the word once: death happens to each of us but once: he who has erred the first time has erred for ever. Hence, to bring the soul to hell is an irreparable error. "Periisse semel ćternum est."
12. The venerable Father John Avila was a man of great sanctity, and apostle of Spain. What was the answer of this great servant of God, who had led a holy life from his childhood, when he was told that his death was at hand, and that he had but a short time to live? "Oh!" replied the holy man with trembling, "that I had a little more time to prepare for death!" St. Agatho, abbot, after spending so many years in penance, trembled at the hour of death, and said: "What shall become of me? who can know the judgments of God ?" And, O brethren, what will you say when the approach of death shall be announced to you, and when, from the priest who attends you, you shall hear these words: "Go forth, Christian soul, from this world ?" You will, perhaps, say: Wait a little; allow me to prepare better. No; depart immediately; death does not wait. You should therefore prepare yourselves now. "With fear and trembling work out your salvation." (Phil. ii. 12.) St. Paul admonishes us that, if we wish to save our souls, we must live in fear and trembling, lest death may find us in sin. Be attentive, brethren: there is question of eternity. "If a tree fall to the south or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall there shall it be." (Eccl. xi. 3.) If, when the tree of your life is cut down, you fall to the south that is, if you obtain eternal life how great shall be your joy at being able to say: I shall be saved; I have secured all; I can never lose God; I shall be happy for ever. But, if you fall to the north that is, into eternal damnation how great shall be your despair! Alas! you shall say, I have erred, and my error is irremediable! Arise, then, from your tepidity, and, after this sermon, make a resolution to give yourselves sincerely to God. This resolution will insure you a good death, and will make you happy for eternity.
Coming Next...FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE SIN OF ANGER
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2009 : 15:59:10
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FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
The liturgy presents to us today a great lesson in Christian charity. We must live in union with one another. We are the children of God, and we must love Him in our neighbor, who participates as we do in the divine nature.
The Mass as presented to us by the Church on this day contains a great lesson in Christian Charity. We must live in union. Having entered the Church - the Kingdom of the Father - we are the children of God, and we must love Him in our neighbor who participates as we do in the divine nature.
Indeed the Epistle and Gospel show us that our prayer is of value only if we are all of one heart in unison with God's will, not man's. If not, it is vain, and we must ask God to grant us His love, as it is our love for God which is the motive of our love for our neighbor.
EPISTLE: 1 Peter 3: 8-16
Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle. Dearly beloved Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble, not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this you are called, that you may inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him decline from evil and do good let him seek after peace, and pursue it because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers, but the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things, And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good? But if also you suffer anything for justice' sake, blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled: but sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Matthew 5: 20-24
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: "Except your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother: Raca, shall be in danger of the council and whosoever shall say: Thou fool, shalt be in danger of hell fire. If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE SIN OF ANGER"Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." - MATT. v. 2.
ANGER resembles fire. Hence, as fire is vehement in its action, and, by the smoke which it produces, obstructs the view, so anger makes men rush into a thousand excesses, and prevents them from seeing the sinfulness of their conduct, and thus exposes them to the danger of the judgment of eternal death. “Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." Anger is so pernicious to man that it even disfigures his countenance. No matter how comely and gentle he may be, he shall, as often as he yields to the passion of anger, appear to be a monster and a wild beast full of terror, says St. Basil (Hom, xxi.) But, if anger disfigures us before men, how much more deformed will it render us in the eyes of God! In this discourse I will show, in the first point, the destruction which anger unrestrained brings on the soul; and, in the second, how we ought to restrain anger in all occasions of provocation which may occur to us.
First Point. The ruin which anger unrestrained brings on the soul
1. St. Jerome says that anger is the door by which all vices enter the soul. ”Omnium vitiorum jantia est iracundia." (Inc. xxix. Prov.) Anger precipitates men into resentments, blasphemies, acts of injustice, detractions, scandals, and other iniquities; for the passion of anger darkens the understanding, and makes a man act like a beast and a madman. My eye has lost its sight through indignation (Job xvii. 7.). David said: ”My eye is troubled with wrath." (Ps. xxx. 10.) Hence, according to St. Bonaventure, an angry man is incapable of distinguishing between what is just and unjust. In a word, St. Jerome says that anger deprives a man of prudence, reason, and understanding. Hence St. James says: ”The anger of man worketh not the justice of God." (St. James i. 20.) The acts of a man under the influence of anger cannot be conformable to the divine justice, and consequently cannot be faultless.
2. A man who does not restrain the impulse of anger, easily falls into hatred towards the person who has been the occasion of his passion. According to St. Augustine, hatred is nothing else than persevering anger. “Odium est ira diuturno tempore perseverans." Hence St. Thomas says that ”anger is sudden, but hatred is lasting. ” (Opusc. v.) It appears, then, that in him in whom anger perseveres hatred also reigns. But some will say: I am the head of the house; I must correct my children and servants, and, when necessary, I must raise my voice against the disorders which I witness. I say in answer: It is one thing to be angry against a brother, and another to be displeased at the sin of a brother. To be angry against sin is not anger, but zeal; and therefore it is not only lawful, but is sometimes a duty. But our anger must be accompanied with prudence, and must appear to be directed against sin, but not against the sinner. For, if the person whom we correct perceive that we speak through passion and hatred towards him, the correction will be unprofitable and even mischievous. To be angry, then, against a brother’s sin is certainly lawful. "He," says St. Augustine, "is not angry with a brother who is angry against a brother's sin." It is thus, as David said, we may be angry without sin. "Be ye angry, and sin not." (Ps. iv. 5.) But, to be angry against a brother on account of the sin which he has committed is not lawful; because, according to St. Augustine, we are not allowed to hate others for their vices.
3. Hatred brings with it a desire of revenge. For, according to St. Thomas, anger, when fully voluntary, is accompanied with a desire of revenge. But you will perhaps say: If I resent such an injury, God will have pity on me, because I have just grounds of resentment Who, I ask, has told you that you have just grounds for seeking revenge? It is you, whose understanding is clouded by passions, that say so. I have already said that anger obscures the mind, and takes away our reason and understanding. As long as the passion of auger lasts, you will consider your neighbor conduct very unjust and intolerable. But, when your anger shall have passed away, you shall see that his act was not so bad as it appeared to you. But, though the injury be grievous, or even more grievous, God will not have compassion, on you if you seek revenge. No, he says: vengeance for sins belongs not to you, but to me. And when the time shall come I will chastise them as they deserve. "Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time." (Deut. xxxii. 35.) If you resent an injury done to you by a neighbor, God will justly inflict vengeance on you for all the injuries you have offered to him, and particularly for taking revenge on a brother whom he commands you to pardon. ”He that seeketh to revenge himself, shall find vengeance from the Lord .... Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God? .... He that is but flesh nourisheth anger; and doth he ask forgiveness of God? Who shall obtain pardon for his sins ?" (Eccl. xxviii. 1, 3, 5.) Man, a worm of flesh, reserves anger, and takes revenge on a brother: does he afterwards dare to ask mercy of God? And who, adds the sacred writer, can obtain pardon for the iniquities of so daring a sinner? "How," says St. Augustine, "can he who will not obey the command of God to pardon his neighbour, expect to obtain from God the forgiveness of his own sins?"
4. Let us implore the Lord to preserve us from yielding to any strong passion, and particularly to anger. "Give me not over to a shameful and foolish mind." (Eccl. xxiii. 6.) For, he that submits to such a passion is exposed to great danger of falling into a grievous sin against God or his neighbor. How many, in consequence of not restraining anger, break out into horrible blasphemies against God or his saints! But, at the very time we are in a flame of indignation, God is armed with scourges. The Lord said one day to the Prophet Jeremias: "What seest thou, Jeremias? And I said: I see a rod watching." (Jer. i. 11.) Lord, I behold a rod watching to inflict punishment. "The Lord asked him again: "What seest thou? And I said: I see a boiling cauldron." (Ibid., v. 13.). The boiling cauldron is the figure of a man inflamed with wrath, and threatened with a rod, that is, with the vengeance of God. Behold, then, the ruin which anger unrestrained brings on man. It deprives him, first, of the grace of God, and afterwards of corporal life. "Envy and anger shortens a man's days." (Eccl. xxx. 26.) Job says: "Anger indeed killeth the foolish." (Job v. 2.) All the days of their life, persons addicted to anger are unhappy, because they are always in a tempest. But let us pass to the second point, in which I have to say many things which will assist you to overcome this vice.
Second Point. How we ought to restrain anger in the occasions of provocation which occur to us
5. In the first place it is necessary to know that it is not possible for human weakness, in the midst of so many occasions, to be altogether free from every motion of anger. "No one," as Seneca says, "can be entirely exempt from this passion." (I. 3, c. xii). All our efforts must be directed to the moderation of the feelings of anger which spring up in the soul. How are they to be moderated? By meekness. This is called the virtue of the lamb that is, the beloved virtue of Jesus Christ. Because, like a lamb, without anger or even complaint, he bore the sorrows of his passion and crucifixion. "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth." (Isa. liii. 7.) Hence he has taught us to learn of him meekness and humility of heart. "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart." (Matt. xi. 29)
6. Oh! how pleasing in the sight of God are the meek, who submit in peace to all crosses, misfortunes, persecutions, and injuries! To the meek is promised the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land." (Matt. v. 4.) They are called the children of God. "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." (Ibid., v. 9.) Some boast of their meekness, but without any grounds. For they are meek only towards those who praise and confer favors upon them: but to those who injure or censure them they are all fury and vengeance. The virtue of meekness consists in being meek and peaceful towards those who hate and maltreat us. "With them, that hated peace I was peaceful." (Ps. cxix. 7.)
7. We must, as St. Paul says, put on the bowels of mercy towards all men, and bear one with another. "Put on ye the bowels of mercy, humility, modesty, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another." (Col iii. 12, 13.) You wish others to bear with your defects, and to pardon your faults. You should act in the same manner towards them. Whenever, then, you receive an insult from a person enraged against you , remember that a "mild answer breaketh wrath," (Prov. xv. 1.) A certain monk once passed through a cornfield: the owner of the field ran out, and spoke to him in very offensive and injurious language. The monk humbly replied: Brother, you are right; I have done wrong; pardon me. By this answer the husbandman was so much appeased that he instantly became calm, and even wished to follow the monk, and to enter into religion. The proud make use of the humiliations they receive to increase their pride; but the humble and the meek turn the contempt and insults offered to them into an occasion of advancing in humility. "He," says St. Bernard, ”is humble who converts humiliation into humility." (Ser. xxiv. in Can.)
8. "A man of meekness," says St. Chrysostom, "is useful to himself and to others." The meek are useful to themselves, because, according to F. Alvares, the time of humiliation and contempt is for them the time of merit. Hence, Jesus Christ calls his disciples happy when they shall be reviled and persecuted. "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you and persecute you." (Matt. v. 11.) Hence, the saints have always desired to be despised as Jesus Christ has been despised. The meek are useful to others; because, as the same St. Chrysostom says, there is nothing better calculated to draw others to God, than to see a Christian meek and cheerful when he receives an injury or an, insult. The reason is, because virtue is known by being tried; and, as gold is tried by fire, so the meekness of men is proved by humiliation. "Gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation." (Eccl. ii. 5.) "My spikenard," says the spouse in the Canticles, "sent forth the odour thereof" (i. 11.) The spikenard is an odoriferous plant, but diffuses its odours only when, it is torn and bruised. In this passage the inspired writer gives us to understand, that a man cannot be said to be meek unless he is known to send forth the odour of his meekness by bearing injuries and insults in peace and without anger. God wishes us to be meek even towards ourselves. When a person commits a fault, God certainly wishes him to humble himself, to be sorry for his sin, and to purpose never to fall into it again but he does not wish him to be indignant with himself, and give way to trouble and agitation of mind. For, while the soul is agitated, a man is incapable of doing good. "My heart is troubled; my strength hath left me." (Ps. xxx vii. 11.)
9. Thus, when we receive an insult, we must do violence to ourselves in order to restrain anger. Let us either answer with meekness, as recommended above, or let us remain silent; and thus, as St. Isidore says, we shall conquer. But, if you answer through passion, you shall do harm to yourselves and others. It would be still worse to give an angry answer to a person who corrects you, says St. Bernard (Ser. vi. de Nativ.) Some are not angry, though they ought to be indignant with those who wound their souls by flattery; and are filled with indignation against the person who censures them in order to heal their irregularities. Against the man who abhors correction, the sentence of perdition has, according to the Wise Man, been pronounced. "Because they have despised all my reproofs,...the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." (Prov. i. 30, etc.) Fools regard as prosperity to be free from correction, or to despise the admonitions which they receive. But such prosperity is the cause of their ruin. When you meet with an occasion of anger, you must, in the first place, be on your guard not to allow anger to enter your heart. "Be not quickly angry" (Eccles. vii. 10.) Some persons change color, and get into a passion, at every contradiction: and when anger has got admission, God knows to what it shall lead them. Hence, it is necessary to foresee these occasions in our meditations and prayers; for, unless we are prepared for them, it will be as difficult to restrain anger as to put a bridle on a horse while running away.
10. Whenever we have the misfortune to permit anger to enter the soul, let us be careful not to allow it to remain. Jesus Christ tells all who remember that a brother is offended with them, not to offer the gift which they bring to the altar without being first reconciled to their neighbour. "Go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift." (Matt. v. 24.) And he who has received any offense, should endeavor to root out of his heart not only all anger, but also every feeling of bitterness towards the persons who have offended him. "Let all bitterness," says St. Paul, "and anger and indignation be put away from you." (Eph. iv. 31.) As long as anger continues, follow the advice of Seneca "When you shall be angry do nothing, say nothing, which may be dictated by anger." Like David, be silent, and do not speak, when you feel that you are disturbed. "I was troubled, and I spoke not." (Ps. Ixxvi. 5.) How many when inflamed with anger, say and do what they afterwards, in their cooler moments, regret, and excuse themselves by saying that they were in a passion? As long, then, as anger lasts we must be silent, and abstain from doing or resolving to do anything; for, what is done in the heat of passion will, according to the maxim of St. James, be unjust. ”The anger of man worketh not the justice of God." (i. 20.) It is also necessary to abstain altogether from consulting those who might foment our indignation. "Blessed," says David, "is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly." (Ps. i. 1.) To him who is asked for advice, Ecclesiasticus says. "If thou blow the spark, it shall burn as a fire; and if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched." (Eccl. xxviii. 14.) When a person is indignant at some injury which he has received, you may, by exhorting him to patience, extinguish the fire. But, if you encourage revenge, you may kindle a great flame. Let him, then, who feels himself in any way inflamed with anger, be on his guard against false friends, who, by an imprudent word, may be the cause of his perdition.
11. Let us follow the advice of the apostle: "Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good." (Hom, xii. 21.) "Be not overcome by evil:" do not allow yourself to be conquered by sin. If, through anger, you seek revenge or utter blasphemies, you are overcome by sin. But you will say: "I am naturally of a warm temper." By the grace of God, and by doing violence to yourself, you will be able to conquer your natural disposition. Do not consent to anger, and you shall subdue the warmth of your temper. But you say: ”I cannot bear with unjust treatment." In answer I tell you, first, to remember that anger obscures reason, and prevents us from seeing things as they are. "Fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun." (Ps. lvii. 9.) Secondly, if you return evil for evil, your enemy shall gain a victory over you. "If," said David, "I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies." (Ps. vii. 5.) If I render evil for evil, I shall be defeated by my enemies. Overcome evil by good. Render every foe good for evil. "Do good," says Jesus Christ, "to them that hate you." (Matt. v. 44.) This is the revenge of the saints, and is called by St. Paulinus, Heavenly revenge. It is by such revenge that you shall gain the victory. And should any of those, of whom the Prophet says, ”The venom, of asps is under their lips" (Ps. cxxxix. 4), ask how you can submit to such an injury, let your answer be: "The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John xviii. 11.) And then turning to God you shall say: ”I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it" (Ps. xxxviii. 10), for it is certain that every cross which befalls you comes from the Lord. "Good things and evil are from God." (Eccl xi. 14.) Should any one take away your property, recover it if you can; but if you cannot, say with Job: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away" (i. 21.) A certain philosopher, who lost some of his goods in a storm, said: "If I have lost my goods I will not lose my peace." And, do you say: If I have lost my property, I will not lose my soul.
12. In fine, when we meet with crosses, persecutions, and injuries, let us turn to God, who commands us to bear them with patience; and thus we shall always avoid anger. "Remember the fear of God, and be not angry with thy neighbour." (Eccl. xxviii. 8.) Let us give a look at the will of God, which disposes things in this manner for our merit, and anger shall cease. Let us give a look at Jesus crucified, and we shall not have courage to complain. St. Eleazar being asked by his spouse how he bore so many injuries without yielding to anger, answered: I turn to Jesus Christ, and thus I preserve my peace. Finally, let us give a glance at our sins, for which we have deserved far greater contempt and chastisement, and we shall calmly submit to all evils. St. Augustine says, that though we are sometimes innocent of the crime for which we are persecuted, we are, nevertheless, guilty of other sins which merit greater punishment than that which we endure. "Esto non habemus peccatum, quod objicitur: habemus tamen, quod digne in nobis flagelletur." (in Ps. Ixviii.)
Coming Next... SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE VANITY OF THE WORLD
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2009 : 15:47:36
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SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOSTHoly Mother Church reminds us today of the effects of the two great Sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist, which she has conferred at Easter and Whitsunday.
Her mind being still occupied with the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, which she has administered at Easter and at Pentecost, the Church reminds us today of the effects of these two great Sacraments.
Dead through sin, we have been plunged and, as it were, buried with Jesus in the baptismal water. "All we who have been baptized," says St. Paul, "it is in His death that we have been baptized" (Epistle). By dying on the Cross He atoned for our sins, and "our evil nature was crucified with Him" (Epistle): we must therefore die to sin and no longer commit sin. "If we have died with Christ," continued the Apostle, "we believe that we shall live with Him." "Christ having risen from the dead, we must also walk in a new life."
The Eucharist is the food of this divine life. The multiplication of loaves, related by St. Mark in today's Gospel, figured and announced this great Sacrament by which faithful souls are nourished. Jesus has compassion on the multitude and gives food to four thousand men, who without this sustenance "would have fainted on the way." "He took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to His disciples to distribute, and they distributed them among the people" (Gospel). This miracle expressly relates to the promise of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament. Wherefore, when Jesus fulfilled it at the Last Supper, St. Paul writes that "He took bread and giving thanks He broke, it and said: "Receive and eat : this is My Body." And in adding : "Do this in memory of Me," He ordered the Apostles and their successors to consecrate in the same way the supernatural broad which is to sustain our souls and to distribute it throughout the world and to the end of time.
EPISTLE: Romans 6: 3-11
Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans. Brethren, All we who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in His death. For we are buried together with Him by baptism unto death that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in the newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, and that we may serve sin no longer. For he that is dead is justified from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ. Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over Him. For in that He died to sin, He died once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. So do you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Mark 8: 1-9
At that time, when there was a great multitude with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat, calling His disciples together, He saith to them: "I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat and if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way: for some of them came from afar off." And His disciples answered Him: "From whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilderness?" And he asked them: "How many loaves have ye?" Who said: "Seven." And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground. And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke and gave to His disciples to set before the people, And they had a few little fishes, and He blessed them, and commanded them to be set before' them. And they did eat, and were filled: and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets: and they that had eaten, were about four thousand: and He sent them away.
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE VANITY OF THE WORLD"And have nothing to eat." MARK viii. 2.
1. SUCH were the attractions of our Divine Savior, and such the sweetness with which he received all, that he drew after him thousands of the people. Ho one day saw himself surrounded by a great multitude of men, who followed him and remained with him three days, without eating anything. Touched with pity for them, Jesus Christ said to his disciples: "I have compassion on the multitude; for behold they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat." (Mark viii. 2.) He, on this occasion, wrought the miracle of the multiplication of the seven loaves and a few fishes, so as to satisfy the whole multitude. This is the literal sense; but the mystic sense is, that in this world there is no food which can fill the desire of our souls. All the goods of this earth riches, honors, and pleasures delight the sense of the body, but cannot satiate the soul, which has been created for God, and which God alone can content. I will, therefore speak Today on the vanity of the world, and will show how great is the illusion of the lovers of the world, who lead an unhappy life on this earth, and expose themselves to the imminent danger of a still more unhappy life in eternity.
2. "O ye sons of men," exclaims the Royal Prophet, against worldlings, "how long will you be dull at heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lying ?" (Ps. iv. 3.) O men, fools, how long will you fix the affections of your hearts on this earth? why do you love the goods of this world, which are all vanity and lies? Do you imagine that you shall find peace by the acquisition of these goods? But how can you expect to find peace, while you walk in the ways of affliction, and misery? Behold how David describes the condition of worldlings. "Destruction and unhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known." (Ps. xiii. 3.) You hope to obtain peace from the world. But how can the world give you that peace which you seek, when St. John says, "that the whole world is seated in wickedness ?" (1 John v. 19.) The world is full of iniquities; hence worldlings live under the despotism of the wicked one that is, the Devil. The Lord has declared that there is no peace for the wicked who live without his grace. ”There is no peace to the wicked." (Isa. xlviii. 22.)
3. The goods of the world are but apparent goods, which cannot satisfy the heart of man. "You have eaten," says the Prophet Aggeus, ”and have not had enough." (Ag. i. 6) Instead of satisfying our hunger they increase it. "These," says St. Bernard, "provoke rather than extinguish hunger." If the goods of this work! made men content, the rich and powerful should enjoy complete happiness. But experience shows the contrary. We see every day that they are the most unhappy of men; they appear always oppressed by fears, by jealousies and sadness. Listen to King Solomon, who abounded in these goods: "And behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Eccl. i. 14.) He tells us, that all things in this world are vanity, lies, and illusion. They are not only vanity, but also affliction of spirit. They torture the poor soul, which finds in them a continual source, not of happiness, but of affliction and bitterness. This is a just punishment on those who instead of serving their God with joy, wish to serve their enemy the world which makes them endure the want of every good. "Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joy and gladness of heart thou shaft serve thy enemy in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things."(Deut. xxviii. 47, 48.) Man expects to content his heart with the goods of this earth; but, howsoever abundantly he may possess them, he is never satisfied. Hence, he always seeks after more of them, and is always unhappy. Oh! happy he who wishes for nothing but God; for God will satisfy all the desires of his heart. "Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart." (Ps. xxxvi. 4.) Hence St. Augustine asks: "What, miserable man, dost thou seek in seeking after goods? Seek one good, in which are all goods." And, having dearly learned that the goods of this world do not content, but rather afflict the heart of man, the saint, turning to the Lord, said: "All things are hard, and thou alone repose." Hence in saying, "My God and my all," the seraphic St. Francis, though divested of all worldly goods, enjoyed greater riches and happiness than an the worldlings on this earth. Yes; for the peace which fills the soul that desires nothing but God, surpasses all the delights which creatures can give. They can only delight the senses, but cannot content the heart of man. "The peace of God which surpasseth all understanding." (Phil. iv. 7.) According to St. Thomas, the difference between God, the sovereign good, and the goods of the earth, consists in this, that the more perfectly we possess God, the more ardently we love him, because the more perfectly we possess him, the better we comprehend his infinite greatness, and therefore the more we despise other things. But, when we possess temporal goods, we despise them, because we see their emptiness, and desire other things, which may make us content.(S. Thom, i. 2, qu. 2, art. 1, ad. 3.)
4. The Prophet Osee tells us that the world holds in its hand a deceitful balance. "He is like Chanaan" (that is the world); "there is a deceitful balance in his hand." (Osee xii. 7.) We must, then, weigh things in the balance of God, and not in that of the world, which makes them appear different from what they are. What are the goods of this life? "My days," said Job, "have been swifter than a post: they have passed by as ships carrying fruits." (Job ix. 25, 26.) The ships signify the lives of men, which soon pass away, and run speedily to death. And if men have labored only to provide themselves with earthly goods, these fruits decay at the hour of death: we can bring none of them with us to the other world. We, says St. Ambrose, falsely call these things our property, which we cannot bring with us to eternity, where we must live for ever, and where virtue alone will accompany us. You, says St. Augustine, attend only to what a rich man possessed. but tell me, which of his possessions shall he, now that he is on the point of death, be able to take with him? (Serm. xiii. de Adv. Dom.) The rich bring with them a miserable garment, which shall rot with them in the grave. And should they, during life, have acquired a great name, they shall be soon forgotten. "Their memory hath perished with a noise." (Ps. ix. 7.)
5. Oh! that men would keep before their eyes that great maxim of Jesus Christ ”What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ?" (Matt. xvi. 26.) If they did, they should certainly cease to love the world. What shall it profit them at the hour of death to have acquired all the goods of this world, if their souls must go into hell to be in torments for all eternity? How many has this maxim, sent into the cloister and into the desert? How many martyrs has it encouraged to embrace torments and death! In the history of England, we read of thirty kings and queens, who left the world and became religious, in order to secure a happy death. The consideration of the vanity of earthly goods made St. Francis Borgia retire from the world. At the sight of the Empress Isabella, who had died in the flower of youth, he came to the resolution of serving God alone. "Is such, then," he said, "the end of all the grandeur and crowns of this world? Henceforth I will serve a master who can never die." The day of death is called "the day of destruction" ("The day of destruction is at hand"(Deut. xxxii. 35), because on that day we shall lose and give up all the goods of the world all its riches, honors, and pleasures. The shade of death obscures all the treasures and grandeurs of this earth. It obscures even the purple and the crown. Sister Margaret of St. Anne, a Discalced Carmelite, and daughter of the Emperor Rodolph the Second, used to say: "What do kingdoms profit us at the hour of death ?" "The affliction of an hour maketh one forget great delights." (Eccl. xi. 29.) The melancholy hour of death puts an end to all the delights and pomp of this life. St. Gregory says, that all goods which cannot remain with us, or which are incapable of taking away our miseries, are deceitful. Behold a sinner whom the riches and honors which he had acquired made an object of envy to others. Death came upon him when he was at the summit of his glory, and he is no longer what he was. "I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus; and I passed by, and lo! he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found." (Ps. xxxvi. 35, 38.)
6. These truths the unhappy damned fruitlessly confess in hell, where they exclaim with tears: "What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow." (Wisdom. v. 8, 9.) What, they say, have our pomps and riches profited us, now that they are all passed away like a shadow, and for us nothing remains but eternal torments and despair? Dearly beloved Christians, let us open our eyes, and now that we have it in our power, let us attend to the salvation of our souls. For, if we lose them, we shall not be able to save them in the next life. Aristippus, the philosopher, was once shipwrecked, and lost all his goods. But such was the esteem which the people entertained for him on account of his learning, that, as soon as he reached the shore, they presented him with an equivalent for all that he had lost. He then wrote to his friends, and exhorted them to attend to the acquisition of goods which cannot be lost by shipwreck. Our relatives and friends who have passed into eternity exhort us, from the other world, to labor in this life for the attainment of goods which are not lost at death. If at that awful moment we shall be found to have attended only to the accumulation of earthly goods, we shall be called fools, and shall receive the reproach addressed to the rich man in the gospel, who, after having reaped an abundant crop from his fields, said to himself: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer. But, God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ?" (Luke xii. 19,20.) He said, "they require thy soul of thee," because to everyman his soul is given, not with full power to dispose of it as he pleases, but it is given to him in trust, that he may preserve and return it to God in a state of innocence, when it shall be presented at the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge. The Redeemer concludes this parable by saying: "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God" (v. 21). This is what happens to those who seek to enrich themselves with the goods of this life, and not with the love of God. Hence St. Augustine asks: "What has the rich man if he has not charity? If the poor man has charity, what is there that he has not ?" He that possesses all the treasures of this world, and has not charity, is the poorest of men; but the poor who have God possess all things, though they should be bereft of all earthly goods.
7. "The children of this world," says Jesus Christ, "are wiser in their generation than the children of light." (Luke xvi. 8.) how wise in earthly affairs are worldlings, who live in the midst of the darkness of the world! "Behold," says St. Augustine, "how much men suffer for things for which they entertain a vicious love." What fatigue do they endure for the acquisition of property, or of a situation of emolument! With what care do they endeavor to preserve their bodily health! They consult the best physician, and procure the best medicine. And Christians, who are the children of light, will take no pains, will suffer nothing, to secure the salvation of their souls! God! at the light of the candle which lights them to death, at that hour, at that time, which is called the time of truth, worldlings shall see and confess their folly. Then each of them shall exclaim: that I had led the life of a saint! At the hour of death, Philip the Second, King of Spain, called in his son, and having shown him his breast devoured with worms, said to him: Son, behold how we die; behold the end of all worldly greatness. He then ordered a wooden cross to be fastened to his neck; and, having made arrangements for his death, he turned again to his son, and said: My son, I wished you to be present at this scene, that you might understand how the world in the end treats even monarchs. He died saying: Oh, that I had been a lay brother in some religious order, and that I had not been a king! Such is the language at the hour of death, even of the princes of the earth, whom worldlings regard as the most fortunate of men. But these desires and sights of regret serve only to increase the anguish and remorse of the lovers of the world at the hour of death, when the scene is about to close.
8. And what is the present life but a scene, which soon passes away for ever? It may end when we least expect it. Cassimir, King of Poland, while he sat at table with his grandees, died in the act of raising a cup to take a draught. Thus the scene ended for him. The Emperor Celsus was put to death in seven days after his election; and the scene closed for him. Ladislaus, King of Bohemia, in his eighteenth year, while he was preparing for the reception of his spouse, the daughter of the King of France, was suddenly seized with a violent pain, which took away his life. Couriers were instantly dispatched to announce to her that the scene was over for Ladislaus, that she might return to France. "The world," says Cornelius Ă Lapide, in his comment upon this passage, "is like a stage. One generation passes away, and a new generation comes. The king does not take with him the purple. Tell me, villa, O house, how many masters had you ?" In every age the inhabitants of this earth are changed. Cities and kingdoms are filled with new people. The first generation passes to the other world, a second comes on, and this is followed by another. He who, in the scene of this world, has acted the part of a king is no longer a king. The master of such a villa or palace is no longer its master. Hence the Apostle gives us the following advice: "The time is short; it remaineth that... they that use this world be as if they used it not; for the fashion of this world passeth away." (1 Cor. vii. 29, 30.) Since the time of our dwelling on this earth is short, and since all must end with our death, let us make use of this world to despise it, as if it did not exist for us; and let us labor to acquire the eternal treasures of Paradise, where, as the Gospel says, there are no moths to consume, nor thieves to steal them. "But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor the moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." (Matt. vi. 20.) St. Teresa used to say: "We should not set value on what ends with life; the true life consists in living in such a manner as not to be afraid of death." Death shall have no terror for him who, during life, is detached from the vanities of this world, and is careful to provide himself only with goods which shall accompany him to eternity, and make him happy for ever.
Coming Next...SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit." - Matt. vii. 18.
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spaxx
Junior Member
205 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 09:59:25
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SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Sins, both of the flesh and of the spirit, have shame as their wages and end in eternal death. Acts of virtue have holiness as their reward and lead to eternal life (Epistle).
Every man is like a tree in the moral order, yielding a certain kind of fruit. If we wish to form a judgement about him, it is enough to wait for and examine his fruits, that is his conduct, deeds and words which will betray his inmost nature. We judge of the cause by its effects. "What our Lord wishes to make clear," says St John Chrysostom, "is that faith cannot save without virtue." (Gospel)
EPISTLE: Romans 6: 19-23
Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans, Brethren, I speak a human thing, because of the infirmity of your flesh for as you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity for iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice unto sanctification. For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from justice. What fruit therefore had you then in those things, of which you are now ashamed? For the end of them is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life everlasting. For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 15-21
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth; good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not every one that saith of Me: Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven but he that doeth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven."
Praise be to Christ
SERMON FOR SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit." - MATT. vii. 18.
THEN the gospel of this day tells us, that a good plant cannot produce bad fruit, and that a bad one cannot produce good fruit. Learn from this, brethren, that a good father brings up good children. But, if parents be wicked, how can the children be virtuous? Have you ever, says the Redeemer, in the same gospel, seen grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? “Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles ?" (v. 16.) And, in like manner, it is impossible, or rather very difficult, to find children virtuous, who are brought up by immoral parents. Fathers and mothers, be attentive to this sermon, which is of great importance to the eternal salvation of yourselves and of your children. Be attentive, young men and young women, who have not as yet chosen a state of life. If you wish to marry, learn this day the obligations which you can contract with regard to the education of your children. And learn also that, if you do not fulfil them, you shall bring yourselves and all your children to damnation. I shall divide this sermon into two points. In the first, I shall show how important it is to bring up children in habits of virtue; and in the second, I shall show with what care and diligence a parent ought to labour to bring them up well.
First Point. How very important it is to bring up children in habits of virtue1. A father owes two obligations to his children; he is bound to provide for their corporal wants, and to educate them in habits of virtue. It is not necessary at present to say more on the first obligation, than that there are some fathers more cruel than the most ferocious of wild beasts. For these do not forget to nourish their offspring. But certain parents squander away in eating and drinking, and gaming, all their property, or all the fruits of their industry, and allow their children to die of hunger. But let us come to the education, which is the subject of my discourse.
2. It is certain that a child’s future good or ill conduct depends on his being brought up well or ill. Nature itself teaches every parent to attend to the education of his offspring. He who has given them being ought to endeavour to make life useful to them. God gives children to parents, not that they may assist the family, but that they may be brought up in the fear of God, and be directed in the way of eternal salvation. ”We have," says St. Chrysostom, ”a great deposit in children; let us attend to them with great care." (Hom, ix., in 1 ad Tit.)
Children have not been given to parents as a present, which they may dispose of as they please, but as a trust, for which, if lost through their negligence, they must render an account to God.
Scripture tells us, that when a father observes the divine law, both he and his children shall prosper. "That it may be well with thee and thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is pleasing in the sight of God." (Deut. xii. 25.) The good or ill conduct of a parent may be known, by those who have not witnessed it, from the life which his children lead. "For by the fruit the tree is known. ” (Matt. xii. 33.) "A father, " says Ecclcsiasticus, "who leaves a family, when he departs this life, is as if he had not died; because his sons remain, and exhibit his habits and character. His father is dead, and he is as if he were not dead; for he hath left one behind him that is like himself." (Eccl. xxx. 4.) When we find a son addicted to blasphemies, to obscenities, and to theft, we have reason to suspect that such too was the character of the father. "For a man is known by his children." (Eccl. xi. 30.)
3. Hence Origen says, that on the day of judgment parents shall have to render an account for all the sins of their children. (Grig., Lib. 2, in Job.) Hence, he who teaches his son to live well, shall die a happy and tranquil death. ”He that teacheth his son ...when he died he was not sorrowful, neither was he confounded." (Eccl. xxx. 3, 5.) And he shall save his soul by means of his children; that is, by the virtuous education which he has given them. ”She shall be saved through child-bearing." (1 Tim. ii. 15.) But, on the other hand, a very uneasy and unhappy death shall be the lot of those who have laboured only to increase the possessions, or to multiply the honours of their family; or who have sought only to lead a life of ease and pleasure, but have not watched over the morals of their children. St. Paul says, that such parents are worse than infidels. "But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." (1 Tim. v. 8.) "Were fathers or mothers to lead a life of piety and continual prayer, and to communicate every day, they should be damned if they neglected the care of their children. " Would to God that certain parents paid as much attention to their children as they do to their horses! How careful are they to see that their horses are fed and well trained! And they take no pains to make their children attend at catechism, hear mass, or go to confession. "We take more care" says St. Chrysostom, "of our asses and horses, than of the children. "(Hom, x., in Matt.)
4. If all fathers fulfilled their duty of watching over the education of their children, we should have but few crimes and few executions. By the bad education which parents give to their offspring, they cause their children, says St. Chrysostom, to rush into many grievous vices; and thus they deliver them up to the hands of the executioner. Hence, in Lacedemon, a parent, as being the cause of all the irregularities of his children, was justly punished for their crimes with greater severity than the children themselves. Great indeed is the misfortune of the child that has vicious parents, who are incapable of bringing up their children in the fear of God, and who, when they see their children engaged in dangerous friendships and in quarrels, instead of correcting and chastising them, rather take compassion on them, and say: "What can be done? They are young; they must take their course." Oh! what wicked maxims! what a cruel education! Do you hope that when your children grow up they shall become saints? Listen to what Solomon says: "A young man, according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Prov. xxii. 6.) A young man who has contracted a habit of sin will not abandon it even in his old age. "His bones," says Job, "shall be filled with the vices of his youth, and they shall sleep with him in the dust." (Job xx. 11.)
When a young person has lived in evil habits, his bones shall be filled with the vices of his youth, so that he will carry them with him to death; and the impurities, blasphemies, and hatred to which he was accustomed in his youth, shall accompany him to the grave, and shall sleep with him after his bones shall be reduced to dust and ashes. It is very easy, when they are small, to train up children to habits of virtue. But, when they have come to manhood, it is equally difficult to correct them, if they have learned habits of vice (The baganda tribe of Uganda have a similar saying: "akakyaama amamera....").
But, let us come to the second point that is, to the means of bringing up children in the practice of virtue. I entreat you, fathers and mothers, to remember what I now say to you. For on it depends the eternal salvation of your own souls, and of the souls of your children.
Second Point. On the care and diligence with which parents ought to endeavour to bring up their children in habits of virtue5. St. Paul teaches sufficiently, in a few words, in what the proper education of children consists. He says that it consists in discipline and correction. "And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord." (Ephes. vi. 4 ) Discipline, which is the same as the religious regulation of the morals of children, implies an obligation of educating them in habits of virtue by word and example. First, by words: a good father should often assemble his children, and instil into them the holy fear of God. It was in this manner that Tobias brought up his little son. The father taught him from his childhood to fear the Lord and to fly from sin. "And from his infancy he taught him to fear God and to abstain from sin." (Tob. i. 10.) The Wise Man says that a well educated son is the support and consolation of his father. "Instruct thy son, and he shall refresh thee, and shall give delight to thy soul." (Prov. xxix. 17.) But, as a well instructed son is the delight of his father’s soul, so an ignorant child is a source of sorrow to a father’s heart. For the ignorance of his obligations as a Christian is always accompanied with a bad life.
Cantipratensis relates (lib. 1, cap. 20) that, in the year 1248, an ignorant priest was commanded, in a certain synod, to make a discourse. But while he was greatly agitated by the command, the devil appeared to him, and instructed him to say: "The rectors of infernal darkness salute the rectors of parishes, and thank them for their negligence in instructing the people; because from ignorance proceed the misconduct and the damnation of many." The same is true of negligent parents. In the first place, a parent ought to instruct his children in the truths of faith, and particularly in the four principal mysteries. First, that there is but one God, the Creator, and Lord of all things. Secondly, that this God is a remunerator, who, in the next life, shall reward the good with the eternal glory of Paradise, and shall punish the wicked with the everlasting torments of hell. Thirdly, the mystery of the holy Trinity that is, that in God there are Three Persons, who are only one God, because they have but one essence. Fourthly, the mystery of the incarnation of the Divine Word the Son of God, and true God, who became man in the womb of Mary, and suffered and died for our salvation.
Should a father or a mother say: I myself do not know these mysteries, can such an excuse be admitted? that is, can one sin excuse another? If you are ignorant of these mysteries you are obliged to learn them, and afterwards teach them to your children. At least, send your children to the catechism. Oh! what a misery to see so many fathers and mothers who are unable to instruct their children in the most necessary truths of faith, and who, instead of sending their sons and daughters to the Christian doctrine on festivals, employ them in messages, or other occupations of little moment; and when grown up they know not what is meant by mortal sin, by hell, or eternity. They do not even know the Creed, the Pater Noster, or the Hail Mary, which every Christian is bound to learn under pain of mortal sin.
6. Religious parents not only instruct their children in these things, which are the most important, but they also teach them the acts which ought to be made every morning after rising. They teach them, first, to thank God for having preserved their life during the night; secondly, to offer to God all the good actions which they will perform, and all the pains which they shall suffer during the day; thirdly, to implore of Jesus Christ and most holy Mary to preserve them from all sin during the day. They teach them to make every evening an examen of conscience and an act of contrition. They also teach them to make every day the acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity, to recite the Rosary, and to visit the Blessed Sacrament. Some good fathers of families are careful to get a book of meditations read, and to have mental prayer in common for half an hour every day. This is what the Holy Ghost exhorts you to practise. "Hast thou children? Instruct them and bow down their neck from their childhood." (Eccl. vii. 25.) Endeavour to train them from their infancy to these religious hahits, and when they grow up they shall persevere in them. Accustom them also to go to confession and communion every week. Be careful to make them go to confession when they arrive at the age of seven, and to communion at the age of ten. This is the advice of St. Charles Borromeo. As soon as they attain the use of reason make them receive the sacrament of confirmation.
7. It is also very useful to infuse good maxims into the infant minds of children. Oh! what ruin is brought upon his children by the father who teaches them worldly maxims! "You must," some people say to their children, "seek the esteem and applause of the world. God is merciful; he takes compassion on certain sins." Miserable the young man who sins in obedience to such maxims. Good parents teach very different maxims to their children. Queen Blanche, the mother of St. Louis, King of France, used to say to him: "My son, I would rather see you dead in my arms than in the state of sin."
Oh! brethren, let it be your practice also to infuse into your children certain maxims of salvation, such as, "What will it profit us to gain the whole world, if we lose our own souls? Every thing on this earth has an end; but eternity never ends. Let all be lost, provided God is not lost." One of these maxims well impressed on the mind of a young person will preserve him always in the grace of God.
8. But parents are obliged to instruct their children in the practice of virtue, not only by words, but still more by example. If you give your children bad example, how can you expect that they will lead a good life? When a dissolute young man is corrected for a fault, he answers: Why do you censure me, when my father does worse. "The children will complain of an ungodly father, because for his sake they are in reproach."(Eccl. xli. 10.) How is it possible for a son to be moral and religious, when he has had the example of a father who was accustomed to utter blasphemies and obscenities; who spent the entire day in the tavern, in gaming and drunkenness; who was in the habit of frequenting houses of bad fame, and of defrauding his neighbour? Do you expect that your son will go frequently to confession, when you yourself approach the tribunal of penance scarcely once a year? Children are like apes; they do what they see their parents do. It is related in the fables, that a crab-fish one day rebuked its young for walking crookedly. They replied: Father, let us see you walk. The father walked before them more crookedly than they did. This is what happens to the parent who gives bad example. Hence, he has not even courage to correct his children for the sins which he himself commits.
9. But though he should correct them, by words, of what use is his correction when he sets them a bad ex ample by his acts? It has been said in the council of Bishops, that "men believe the eyes rather than the ears." And St. Ambrose says: "The eyes convince me of what they see more quickly than the ear can insinuate what is past." (Serm. xxiii., de S. S.) According to St. Thomas, scandalous parents compel, in a certain manner, their children to lead a bad life. (in Ps. xvi). They are not, says St. Bernard, fathers, but murderers. They kill, not the bodies, but the souls of their children. It is useless for them to say: "My children have been born with bad dispositions." This is not true; for, as Seneca says, "you err, if you think that vices are born with us; they have been engrafted." (Ep. xciv.) Vices are not born with your children, but have been communicated to them by the bad example of the parents. If you had given good example to your sons, they should not be so vicious as they are. O brethren, frequent the sacraments, assist at sermons, recite the Rosary every day, abstain from all obscene language, from, detraction, and from quarrels; and you shall see that your sons will go often to confession, will assist at sermons, will say the Rosary, will speak modestly, and will fly from detraction and disputes. It is particularly necessary to train up children to virtue in their infancy: "Bow down their neck from their childhood" For when they have grown up and contracted bad habits, it will be very difficult for you to produce, by words, any amendment in their lives.
10. To bring up children in the discipline of the Lord, it is also necessary to take away from them the occasion of doing evil. Hence a father must, in the first place, forbid his children to go out at night, or to go to a house in which their virtue might be exposed to danger, or to keep bad company. "Cast out," said Sarah to Abraham, "this bondwoman and her son." (Gen. xxi. 10.) She wished to have Ishmael, the son of Agar the bondwoman, banished from her house, that her son Isaac might not learn his vicious habits. Bad companions are the ruin of young persons. A father should not only remove the evil which he witnesses, but he is also bound to inquire after the conduct of his children, and to seek information from domestics and from externs regarding the places which his sons frequent when they leave home, regarding their occupations and companions.
Secondly, he should take from them every musical instrument which is to them an occasion of going out at night, and all forbidden weapons which may lead them into quarrels or disputes. Thirdly, he should dismiss all immoral servants. And, if his sons be grown up, he should not keep in his house any young female servant. Some parents pay little attention to this; and when the evil happens they complain of their children, as if they expected that tow thrown into the fire should not burn. Fourthly, a father ought to forbid his children ever to bring into his house stolen goods such as fowl, fruit, and the like. When Tobias heard the bleating of a goat in his house, he said: "Take heed, lest perhaps it be stolen; restore ye it to its owners." (Tob. li. 21.) How often does it happen that, when a child steals something, the mother says to him: Bring it to me, my son. Parents should prohibit to their children all games which bring destruction on their families and on their own souls, and also masks, scandalous comedies, and certain, dangerous conversations and parties of pleasure. Fifthly, a father should remove from his house romances, which pervert young persons, and all bad books which contain pernicious maxims, tales of obscenity, or of profane love."
Sixthly, he ought not to allow his children to sleep in his own bed, nor the males and females to sleep together. Seventhly, he should not permit his daughters to be alone with men, whether young or old. But some will say: "Such a man teaches my daughters to read and write, etc.; he is a saint." The saints are in heaven. But the saints that are on earth are flesh, and by proximate occasions they may become devils. Eighthly, if he has daughters, he should not permit young men to frequent his house. To get their daughters married, some mothers invite young men to their houses. They are anxious to see their daughters married; but they do not care to see them in sin. These are the mothers who, as David says, immolate their daughters to the devil. "They sacrifice their sons and their daughters to devils." (Ps. cv. 37.) And to excuse themselves they will say: Father, there is no harm in what I do. There is no harm! Oh! how many mothers shall we see condemned on the day of judgment on account of their daughters! The conduct of such mothers is at least a subject of conversation among their neighbours and equals; and, for all, the parents must render an account to God. O fathers and mothers! confess all the sins you have committed in this respect, before the day on which you shall be judged arrives.
11. Another obligation of parents is, to correct the faults of the family. "Bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord." There are fathers and mothers who witness faults in the family, and remain silent. A certain mother was in the habit of acting in this manner. Her husband one day took a stick and began to beat her severely. She cried out, and said: "I am doing nothing. Why do you beat me ?" "I beat you," replied the husband, "because you see, and do not correct, the faults of the children because you do nothing." Through fear of displeasing their children some fathers neglect to correct them. But, if you saw your son falling into a pool of water, and in danger of being drowned, would it not be savage cruelty not to catch him by the hair and save his life? "He that spareth the rod hateth his son." (Prov. xiii. 24.) If you love your sons correct them, and, while they are growing up chastise them, even with the rod, as often as it may be necessary. I say, "with the rod," but not with the stick. For you must correct them like a father, and not like a galley sergeant. You must be careful not to beat them when you are in a passion; for, you shall then be in danger of beating them with too much severity, and the correction will be without fruit. For they then believe that the chastisement is the effect of anger, and not of a desire on your part to see them amend their lives. I have also said that you should correct them "while they are growing up." For, when they arrive at manhood, your correction will be of little use. You must then abstain from correcting them with the hand; otherwise, they shall hecome more perverse, and shall lose their respect for you. But of what use is it to correct children by so many injurious words and by so many imprecations? Deprive them of some part of their meals, of certain articles of dress, or shut them up in a room. But I have said enough. Dearly beloved brethren, draw from the discourse which you have heard the conclusion, that he who has brought up his children badly shall be severely punished; and that he who has trained them to habits of virtue shall receive a great reward.
Coming next...EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - ON THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT
"Give an account of thy stewardship." LUKE xvi. 2.
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SERMONS FOR ALL SUNDAYS OF THE YEAR
