THE Pulpit Orator CONTAINING SEVEN ELABORATE SKELETON SERMONS, OR, HOMILETIC, DOGMATICAL, LITURGICAL, SYMBOLICAL, AND MORAL SKETCHES, FOR EVERY SUNDAY OF THE YEAR. ALSO ELABORATE SKELETON SERMONS FOR THE CHIEF FESTIVALS AND OTHER OCCASIONS. BY THE REV. JOHN EVANGELIST ZOLLNER. TRANSLA TED FROM THE GERMAN, WITH PERMISSION OF THE A UTHOR, AND ADAPTED BY THE REV. AUGUSTINE WIRTH, O. S. B. WITH PREFACE BY THE REV. A. A. LAMBING. Fifteenth Revised Edition VOL. IV. From the Fifth to the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. jFrebericfc $u8tet & <£o., Printers to the Holy Apostolic See and the Sacred Concretration of Ritee RATISBON ROME NEW YORK CINCINNATI CONTENTS. Page M FIFTH SUNDAY AFT 1. Homiletic Sketch.—St. Peter gives Christians certain salutary Lessons..................................................................................................... · · 7 2. Homiletic Sketch.—False and true Justice................................................ 14 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Infallibility of the Pope................................ 21 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Precious Blood.............................. 27 5. Symbolical Sketch.—Anger, a burning Fever.......................................... 32 6. Moral Sketch.—We must forgive those who offend us ... . 39 7. Moral Sketch.—The Justice of the Scribes and Pharisees ... 45 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. L Homiletic Sketch.—Admonition to Penance.......................................... 51 2. Homiletic Sketch.—The Miraculous Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes.............................................................................................................58 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Goodnessof God............................................ 64 4. Liturgical Sketch.—Holy Water...............................................................70 5. Symbolical Sketch.—The seven Loaves of Bread symbolize the Seven Sacraments........................................................ 75 6. Moral Sketch.—Intemperance.................................................................... 82 7. Moral Sketch.—Prudent Economy............ 88 Of SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch.—Sin and Justice......................... 95 2. Homiletic Sketch.—What we must avoid, and what we must do, in order to enter into Heaven................................................................... 102 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—We must and can keep the Commandments 109 4. Liturgical Sketch.—Feasts of the B. Virgin, viz., Our Lady, Help of Christians, the Visitation, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel 115 5. Symbolical Sketch.—Man a Tree............................................................. 121 6. Moral Sketch.—Without Prayer no one can be saved .... 127 7. Moral Sketch.—Hypocrisy is an abominable Vice.............................. 133 EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch.—Why we must mortify the deeds of the Flesh 140 2. Homiletic Sketch.—The Parable of the unjust Steward .... 146 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Particular Judgment....................................153 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Feasts of St. Mary Magdalen, St. James the Greater, St Anne.................... 159 a CONTENTS. Pag·. GHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.—Continued. 5. Symbolical Sketch.—The Sinner resembles the nnjust Steward 6. Moral Sketch.—Wealth not a great Advantage nor Poverty a great 172 Misfortune....................... ................................ 7. Moral Sketch.—Restitution and Indemnification ...... 177 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch.—St Paul warns us against the Sins of the Isra­ elites in the Desert, and inculcates Circumspection and Confidence in God................................................................................................. 2. Homiletic Sketch.—Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, foretells its De­ struction, and punishes those who profane the Temple .... 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Justice of God........................................ 4. Liturgical Sketch.—Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 6. Symbolical Sketch.—Jerusalem a Figure of the impenitent Sinner 6. Moral Sketch.—The Sinner’s Death............................................ . 7. Moral Sketch.—Fraternal Correction .··.····.·. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. L Homiletic Sketch.—Spiritual Gifts .................................................. 2. Homiletic Sketch.—The Prayer of the Pharisee and the Publican 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Justification of the Sinner.................... s" 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—Explanation of the first principal Part, the Oblation ................... ............ 6. Symbolical Sketch.—On praying well............................................. 6. Moral Sketch.—Humility is a Virtue absolutely necessary for Sal­ vation ........................................................................................ T. Moral Sketch.—Humility is a rare Virtue........................................ ■ ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch—The Apostle proves the Resurrection of Christ and his Apparitions.......................................................................... 2. Homiletic Sketch.—Jesus heals a Man that was deaf and dumb. Ofi 8. Dogmatical Sketch.—The Effects of Sacramentals......................... 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—Explanation of the second principal Part, the Consecration.............................. 5. Symbolical Sketch.—The Tongue itself teaches us that we should speak right........................................................................................ 6. Moral Sketch.—The Portiuncula Indulgence . .............................. 7. Moral Sketch.—Sinful Discourses...................................................... 01 PENTECOST. TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER 1. Homiletic Sketch.—Why the Apostle demands the Acknowledg­ ment of his Ministry............................................ 2. Homiletic Sketch.—The Good Samaritan teaches what Qualities the Love of our Neighbor must have...................................................... 3. Dogmatical Sketch.—Christ’s Descent into Hell.............................. 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—Explanation of the third Principal Part, the CommuDson .··»···· 183 191 199 205 213 221 227 233 240 247 253 260 266 272 278 285 292 299 305 312 317 326 337 CONTENTS Page. TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.—Costtimued. 5. Symbolical Sketch.—The Man fallen among Robbers a Figure of the Sinner . ............................................................................................ 6. Morat. Sketch.—Why we must love our Neighbor.............................. 357 7. Moral Sketch.—The Love of our Enemies.............................. 369 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch.—Explanation of the Epistle, together with wholesome Lessons...................................................................................... 870 2. Homiletic Sketch.—The Healing of the ten Lepers......................... 377 3. Dogmatical Sketch —Confession not invented by Man, but insti­ tuted by God Himself................................................................................. 386 4. Liturgical Sketch.—Mary's Heart all Love towards God and Man 394 6. Symbolical Sketch.—The ten Lepers—An instructive Example for us, before, at, and after Confession....................................................... 40U 6. Moral Sketch.—Frequent Confession ........................................................40^ 7. Moral Sketch.—General Confession ........... 414 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1. Homiletic Sketch.—The Works of the Flesh and the Fruits of the Spirit. ...·..■......................................... .... 421 2. Homiletic Sketch.—On serving two Masters; on Solicitude tor tem­ poral Goods; on striving for the Kingdom of God......................... 429 3. Dogmatical Sketch.—Divine Providence.................................................. 436 4. Liturgical Sketch.—The Guardian Angels ........ 442 5. Symbolical Sketch.—Lessons from the Flowers ....... 449 6. Moral Sketch.—Avarice........................................................ 456 7. Moral Sketch.—The Service of God an easy Service . . , . · 462 GENERAL INDEX. Volume VI., Page 473 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Z Peter 3:8-15. Dearly beloved: Be ye all of one H ind, 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 upon 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. Epistle. 1. HOMILETIC SKETCH. ST. PETER GIVES CHRISTIANS CERTAIN SALUTARY LESSONS, St. Peter in the third chapter of his first epistle, from which the lesson of this Sunday is taken, first speaks of the particular duties of married people. He admonishes the women to be subject to their husbands, to let their light shine before them by modesty and the fear of G-od, and to try to please them more by a quiet and meek spirit than by outward ornaments. As models he places before them the holy women of the past, especially Sara, and exhorts them to follow their example. Then he turns to the men, and admonishes them to treat their wives rationally, to have patience with their frailties and infirmities, and to honor them because, like the men, they are also called to salvation. In the eight following verses he gives instructions to all Christians, and shows them— Z Horn they are to behave to one another; IL How they can enjoy a happy life even here below. 8 Fifth Sunday After Pentecost. Part I. i. Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one ofanother, being lovers ef the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble. The Apostle exhorts us to practise these six virtues, which are especially necessary in social life. (a.) The first of these virtues is concord, which consists in this, that we have all one mind, aim at the same end, and live in peace and union with one another. This concord is one of the most indispensable virtues in social life. How happy are communities of people and families in which concord reigns ! When all the members of a community live peaceably together and work together for the removal of scandals and vices, for the erection of useful institutions, for the relief of the poor, how much evil is averted, how much good done ! How different in other communities in which the spirit of discord has a foothold! Nothing good is accomplished, because there is no cooperation; one makes life disagreeable to the other; there is nothing but hatred and enmity, quarrels, lawsuits, strife, discon­ tent. The same may be said of families. When parents and children pray together and fulfil their religious duties, exhort one another to do good, work peaceably together, share joy and sorrow with one another, God and every well-minded man have pleasure in them, and blessing and prosperity find with them a lasting abode. But how is it in families in which the husband complains of the wife, and the wife of the husband, in which brothers and sisters quarrel with one another, and each one goes his own way? Ah, there is neither blessing nor prosperity; everything goes wrong; there they have already a foretaste of hell. What an important virtue is concord, and how much you should endeavor to preserve it among yourselves! Control your passions, especially pride, self-will, stubbornnes, covetousness, and envy, for these are the sources of all discord and disunion. On the contrary, be humble, patient with the faults of others, yield to the will of others, and treat every one kindly; then you will be able to live in peace with all that are not of an entirely corrupt and perverse heart. fb.) The second virtue is compassion. We must take a lively interest in the sufferings of our neighbor, have compassion on him, console aud assist him to the best of our ability. This compassion is a very necessary virtue in social life, for even the most wretched man feels himself raised up and consoled by it, and carries his cross more easily. Nothing, on the contrary, is more painful to him than to find no sympathy; the coldness with which he is treated grieves him more, and gives him greater i. Homiletic Sketch. 9 pain, than his sufferings. Compassion is inborn in man. When we see a person in misery and wretchedness, the feeling of mercy is awakened. This natural feeling is a proof that God wills us to be merciful, and the Apostle expressly imposes it upon us as a duty, when he says: “Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.”—Rom. 12:15. (i.) The third virtue is fraternity. We are all brothers and sisters; for we all have one God, one Creator and Father in heaven, wherefore God commands us to pray daily in these words: ”Our Father, who art in heaven.” Much more are all Catholics our brothers and sisters, because they have the same faith, the same sacraments, the same spiritual father, the Pope, the same mother, the Catholic Church, and because we and they belong to the com­ munion of saints. As good brothers and sisters live together in harmony, so we must live together, must look upon every one, especially on every Catholic, as our brother or sister. It is cer­ tainly not becoming for brothers and sisters to live in discord, to quarrel and fight. Every one censures such conduct. But it is equally as unbecoming to live in strife with our neighbor, to wish him evil, and to be full of hatred and aversion towards him. This cannot be called acting as brothers and sisters, but as enemies; it is to be wicked, degenerate children of our heavenly Father, and grievously to offend him; it is to be in direct oppo­ sition to the commandment of Christ, for he says : “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” — John 15:12. (.) Jesus says: If I send them away fasting ta their home, they willfaint in the way. How solicitous Christ is for the people! He knows that they need his assistance, therefore he helps them. Be convinced that God thinks of you with the same solicitude and love; put all your confidence in him, and in every situation of life he will bind up your wounds and heal all your infirmities. If your position in life exposes you to various dangers and diffi­ culties, console yourselves with the thought that God, who has placed you in this position, will not forsake you but will assist you with his grace, so that you may do his holy will. If you are assailed by violent temptations, reflect that God is faithful, he will not suffer you to be tempted above your strength, but will also make with temptation issue that you may be able to bear it. —I Cor. io: 13. If you suffer temporal want, say to yourselves: he who fed the hungry multitude in the desert will also take care of us. If you put your whole confidence in God and do what is right, you may always be of good cheer, for he who is power and goodness itself can and will help you in every situation of life. 2. His disciples answered him: From whence can any one fih them here with bread in the wilderness ? And he asked them : How many loaves have ye ? who said: Seven. fa.) The answer which the Apostles here made is little to their credit. Christ not long before had fed five thousand men in a miraculous manner. They should have remembered that miracle and thought : Our Master is powerful enough to again feed by a miracle a hungry multitude. But they do not think so ; they talk as if Christ never had performed a miracle; they think it abso­ lutely impossible to procure bread enough for so many people. 2. Homiletic Sketch 6i Let us not, however, find fault with the Apostles, but let us think with shame of our own cowardliness and faint-heartedness, of which we have often been guilty towards God. Every beggar knocks with confidence at the door of him who has frequently received and assisted him. How different are we! How many benefits has God already bestowed on us! From how many dangers has he rescued us, how many accidents and evils has he averted from us ! And yet in hard times, in sickness and distress, we become at once disheartened and discouraged, as if there were no God who could and would help us. St. James expressly says that a man who does not pray with faith, but wavers, must not believe that he will receive anything of the Lord. — i : 6, 7. Let us therefore put all our confidence in God, for if we lead a good Christian life, and avail ourselves of the means for obtaining corporal and spiritual goods, he will always take us under his protection and give us what is good and wholesome. “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will do the will of them that fear him, and he will hear their prayer and save them.”—Ps. 144: 18, 19. To the question of Christ how many loaves of bread they had, they answered: Seven. The disciples here deserve all praise. They arehungry themselves,and to appease their hunger they have only seven loaves, nevertheless they are prepared to give to the hungry people the little they have. They could have said: We have indeed seven loaves, but they are scarcely enough for our selves, we can spare none of them. But no, they are prepared to give the last morsel to the people. Let us also be merciful and charitable; let us show mercy to the poor and needy and help them in their misery and distress, following the rule which Tobias gave to his son: “According to thy ability be merciful. If thou have much, give abundantly: if thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little.”—Tob. 4: 8, 9. Part II. Jesus being about to feed the people, commands them to sit down. They were to receive the miraculously multiplied bread and fishes in a sitting posture, that all disorder might be prevented. We are thereby taught not to be greedy. I. Jesus taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they set them before the people. And they had a few little fishes, and he blessed them, and commanded them to be set before them. 62 Sixth Sunday After. Pentecost. (a.) TZtwj took the seven loaves. Only after he had taken and blessed them, did they become abundant, so that more than four thousand men were filled. Everything depends on the blessing of God. In vain do men labor and fatigue themselves if God does not accompany their labors and pains with his blessing: “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.”— Ps. 126: i, 2. But that God may be with us and bless all our undertakings, we must pray devoutly and live piously. “The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor, he shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour.”—Ps. 23: 4, 5. (£.) Jesus gave thanks. Let us also be thankful to God for all good gifts which we receive from his merciful bounty, and let us manifest our gratitude by making a good use of all the gifts of nature and of grace. Let us always say a prayer before and after meals. We are all beggars before God, for of ourselves we have as little and even less than the poorest beggar. Now, if beggars ask charity and return thanks for it, we ought to do the same towards God, and this the more so because we receive from him so many and so great benefits, and Christ expressly puts the petition in our mouth: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Should we not sink below the level of the beast that has no understanding and knows nothing of the giver of all good, if we neglected our grace at meals? (cl) Jesus broke the bread. God is not accustomed to give us his benefits in heaps, as it were, but in small portions, because super­ fluity often causes man’s ruin. At the same time he teaches us that we should have no inordinate desire for earthly goods, but that we should content ourselves with the little we possess, con­ sidering well the words of Jesus: “What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own souk”— Matt. 16: 26. Let us be satisfied with little, and not desire super­ fluity, and not envy those who possess more than we. “For we brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out; but having food and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content.”—I. Tim. 6: 7, 8. (d) Jesus gave the loaves to his disciples to set before them. He hereby wished to indicate that he would impart the fruits of redemption to men through his Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests. Through them he would at all times preach his doctrines to men and administer the holy sacraments. There­ fore the Apostle says: “Let a man so account of us as the 2. Homiletic Sketch. 63 ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.” —I. Cor. 4:1. As the people took the bread joyfully and thank­ fully from the hands of the disciples of Christ, so you must receive the graces which he bestows upon you through his priests with a grateful heart and the greatest readiness, and employ them for your salvation. (£.) The disciples set them before the people. Thus we also must set before others some of the goods and gifts which we receive from God. Employ corporal and spiritual benefits for the welfare of your fellow-men, and be particularly zealous in the performance of the duties of your state of life. 2. 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. (a.) And they did eat and were filled. The people did not receive dainties and luxuries, but common, substantial food, bread and fish; still they were satisfied, and it was as pleasant to their taste as if they had been at a royal table. Let us also be satisfied with common food and not be governed by the palate. Christ and his Apostles, and most of the saints, lived in poverty ; why should we want to feast sumptuously every day ? The grand suppers and dinners were of no use to the rich man in the other world ; he asked in vain for a drop of water. Poor Lazarus, on the contrary, who was not allowed to appease his hunger with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, because no one did give him, is resting now in Abraham’s bosom, and is filled with heavenly delight. fbi) The Evangelist remarks that the fragments were taken care of. This ought to be a lesson to us to esteem even a little thing as a gift of God and not to waste it, for what we do not need may be welcome to others; also to save when times are pros­ perous, that in the day of need we may not be in want or become a burden to others. Save in time, and you will have something when in need thereof. Seven baskets were filled with the fragments that remained. More was left than there had been at the beginning. Here we plainly see how liberal God is in distributing the gifts of mercy and of love. St. Leo says: “Believe not that thy worldly sub­ stance will be diminished by alms; on the contrary, it is increased in the distribution, like the loaves of bread which Christ blessed and caused to be distributed, and after four thousand men were filled, seven baskets of fragments were left.” St. Bonaventure says : “If you prune a tree, it will grow the more ; in like manner the wealthy become wealthier if they prune their riches, i. e., r 64 Sixth Sunday After Pentecost. give alms to the poor.” If we wish God to bless us here and make us prosperous, we must be charitable to the poor and needy and love to give alms. (zr.) And he sent them away. The gospel does not mention that any of the assembled had left before he had finished his instruc­ tion. If they had done so they would have deprived themselves of the grace of being witnesses of the great n iracle wrought by Christ and of being fed by him. Many Christians cannot wait for the end of mass, the priest has scarcely said, Domine nan sum dignus, when they turn their backs to the altar and leave the church. Such Christians give us only too plainly to understand that they are lukewarm and not solicitous for the salvation of their soul; they also disturb others in their devotions and give scandal. Do not leave the church till the priest leaves the altar. PERORATION. In the gospel of this day we again see plainly how right St. Paul was when he said: “Godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”—I Tim. 4: 8. The people in the desert were pious and solicitous for the welfare of their souls, therefore Jesus, for the space of three days, announced to them his divine word, and performed a miracle in order to assist them in their distress and appease their hunger. If you serve God fervently and faithfully, he will always impart to you what you need for your temporal life, and, what is infinitely more, call you to the everlasting happiness of heaven. Amen. SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 1 DOGMATICIL SKETCH. THE GOODNESS OF GOD. They did eat, and were filled.—Mark 8: 8. We find our Lord to-day in the desert on the other side of the Sea of Galilee on a mountain; a great multitude of people have been with him three days and do not grow tired of listening to the holy doctrines which he preaches to them. Here it is that he 3. Dogmatical Sketch. *5 performs a great miracle. He multiplies seven loaves of bread and a few little fishes by his omnipotence so that they suffice not only for four thousand men, but seven baskets were filled with the fragments. In this miracle the goodness of God towards men reveals itself, which David had already described in these words: “The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord, and thou givest them meat in due season. Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature.”—Ps. 144: 15, 16. I shall speak to you to-day of the goodness of God and explain to you— I. Wherein it consists; IL To what it obliges us. Part L The goodness of God consists in this — i. That he desires the welfare of all human beings. evident — This is (#·) From the fact that he is our Father. Jesus Christ himself has many times assured us that God is our Father, and has taught us expressly to say : “Our Father, who art in heaven.” God is not like many earthly fathers, who care little for their children’s welfare and do not sympathise in their sorrows; he is the best of fathers. Now it follows from this that he desires our welfare. (b.) From all his works. Why has he made heaven and earth? For his own use and benefit? Certainly not; he is in himself per­ fect hapiness, and nothing created can add anything to it. The reason why he created heaven and earth and all that is in them, is because he is a most loving Father, and it is his pleasure and delight to shower benefits on his creatures and to make them happy. He was not content, so to speak, to be happy alone ; his love urged him to create angels and men, that they might be sharers in his happiness. Thus all creatures proclaim the infinite goodness of God and are proofs of his infinite goodness. • _ (cl) From the work of Redemption. Why did God send his onlybegotten Son into the world to reedem us from sin and eternal damnation ? Had he his own advantage in view ? If all men had perished in sin, would his happiness in the least have been diminished? Who could believe it? God is, and ever will be, the most perfectly happy being, no matter whether one man or all men enter into heaven. The work of Redemption has its cause in the love of God. Therefore Christ says: “God so loved the IV 1 66 Sixth Sunday After Pentecost. world, as to give his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” — John 3- 16. (d.) From many other facts. Why does God keep the earth and all the other planets, in their own orbits ? Why does he people the earth with so many millions of men ? Why does he commission even his angels to guard and protect us during life ? Why does he earnestly command parents to provide for the temporal and eternal welfare of their children ? Why does he appoint authori­ ties and oblige them to promote the welfare of their subjects ? Why does he protect his Church against all her enemies, and preserve her to the end of the world? He does all this for no other reason than because he desires the welfare of man, and that all men should be saved. Thus, all that God has done from the beginning, that he now does, and will do to the end of time, is the strongest proof that he loves us, that he wills only our happiness, and consequently that he is infinitely good. 2. That he continually bestows numberless benefits an us. Fro him we have — II {a.) All temporal goods, such as life, health, food and raiment. What a great blessing is life! Each moment is, in a certain sense, as valuable as eternity, for it enables us to work out our salvation and merit the everlasting joys of heaven. What a precious benefit is our body, its senses and members! What a treasure is health! Antiochus would have given the Jews their liberty and all the treasures stolen from them; he would himself have become a Jew and as a missionary have made known to men the law of God, if he could have recovered his health. And how great is the loving-kindness of God in giving food to us and to all crea­ tures! There are countless cities, towns, villages; people live every­ where, and their number amounts to about a thousand million. The number of animals in the air, in the water, upon the earth, and in the earth, is greater still; upon the whole earth there is no place, even as large as a hand, where there is no animal life; in fact a single drop of water frequently contains thousands of living animalcules, as you can see by means of a good micro­ scope. Thus, God provides daily for all living creatures and gives them what they need for their nourishment. Even to the plants he imparts what they need for their preservation and growth. “Consider,” says Christ himself, “the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they labor not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed as one of these.”—Matt. 6: 28, 29. 3. Dogmatical Sketch. 67 (b.) All spiritual Roods. We have reason, in order that we mayknow God and that which is good ; understanding, to distinguish the true from the false, to discover useful things, to learn arts and sciences and to ameliorate our condition; we have a memory, to remember the past, and what we have heard or experienced ; a will, to shun evil and to good ; and finally, a conscience, which in every case tells us what is right or otherwise, urges us to do good and to avoid evil. These spiritual goods are far more valuable than the temporal ones, for they elevate us above all the crea­ tures of the earth and even make us like to God. (c.) An immortal soul. God not only desired for us a happy earthly life, as he did for the animals, but he gave us a higher destiny—he desired to make us happy for ever. For this reason he gave us an immortal soul. What a precious good is our soul I Her value in a certain sense is infinite, because her destiny is infinite, that is, eternal. She is more valuable than the whole world with all its goods and treasures, wherefore Christ says: “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ? Or, what exchange shall a man give for his soul?’'—Matt. 16: 26 (d.) All graces and means of salvation. We need a supernatural light in order to know what is true and good; and God enlightens us by his holy doctrine, and in various other ways. We need super­ natural inspiration and strength to do good, and God assists us with his grace to enable us to do what is required for our sal­ vation. We need different means of grace in order to be cleansed from our sins, to be made children of God and to be sanctified. For this end we have the holy sacraments by which we receive the forgiveness of sins, and sanctifying grace. We need a means by which we are made partakers of all benefits and graces for this life and the life to come. And this means, as easy as it is effectual, is prayer: “Ask and it shall be given you.”—Luke 11:9. ( because they violate the seventh commandment ff God; foolishly, for whilst they wish to benefit themselves by their in­ justices they injure themselves. “Treasures ot wickedness shall profit nothing·.”—Prov. io: 2. "Woe to him that gathereth together an evil covetousness to his house, that his nest may be on high, and thinketh he may be delivered out of the hand of evil. Thou hast devised confusion to thy house.”—Hab. 2 : g, 10. Examples: King Achab by violence appropriated to himself the vineyard of Naboth, because he could not get it otherwise. But this vineyard cost him dear. The punishments wich Elias had announced to him by the command of God came upon him and upon his house. He was severely wounded in battle, died in the evening, and the dogs licked up his blood. His impious wife Jezebel, by whose advice he had committed the robbery, was cast out of a window of the palace, and dashed to pieces, whilst all the descendants of Achab, seventy-two in number, were beheaded in one day. So terribly did God avenge the robbery committed by Achab. Henry VHI., king of England, who had torn himself and his kingdom from the Catholic Church, confis­ cated all ecclesiastical property, robbed churches and monasteries of their treasures and income, appropriated to himself all the tithes, and by this means obtained an income, the tenth part of which would have been more than sufficient for all the expenses of the court. But unjust goods do not profit their possessor ; after three or four years all his riches had vanished, and Henry became poorer than any of his predecessors. In order to provide for the pressing need, he imposed the heaviest burdens upon the people, coined base money and heaped one injustice upon the other. But all In vain ; he was, and remained poor. When he was on his death-bed he summoned some of his friends to his side and exclaimed, full of bitterness and despair: “Friends, we have lost everything.” PERORATION. I have now explained to you who economizes too little and who too much. As in everything else, so also in economy, both extremes are wrong. In medio stat virtus. If you are extravagant, you act against the will of God, who makes economy a duty, and you sin also against Christian self-love and the love of our neighbor, because you prepare for yourself misery and need and become a burden to your fellow-men. If you are too saving, it is a sign that you inordinately love money and property, and you may easily become hard-hearted towards the poor and needy, or appropriate to yourselves what does not belong to you. But ultimately the extreme one way or the other draws the same consequences after Sixth Sunday After Pentecost. it: poverty, misery, and perdition. In your economy adopt the middle course; keep what you honestly acquire by your labor and industry, and avoid unnecessary expenses; at the same time be charitable towards the poor and do not make yourselves guilty of the least injustice in your dealings with your fellowmen. In the solicitude for temporal goods do not neglect the business of your salvation, but so pass through this world that you may not lose that which is eternal. Amen. i. Homiletic Sketch. 95 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Epistle. Rom. 6: 19-23. Brethren:! speak a human thing, because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto 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 ever­ lasting. For the wages of sin is death: but the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord. L HOMILETIC SKETCH. SIN AND JUSTICE. St. Paul begins the lesson of this day, which is an extract from his epistle to the Romans, in these words: Brethren, I speak a human thing, because of the infirmity ofyour flesh. What does the Apostle mean to say in these words ? That it is no exaggerated demand when he requires Christians to rid themselves now and for evermore of the servitude of sin and serve God, because the service of God does not impose upon them a heavier burden than the service of sin. St. Paul encourages the Christians at Rome, who had only lately abandoned Paganism with its ex­ cesses and vices to stand firm in the service of God and not to be deterred from it by imaginary difficulties. We will consider a little more closely the points touched upon by St. Paul, viz.— I. The service ofjustice and sin; II. The fruits of sin; III The fruits ofjustice. q6 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost Part L As you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and ini' quity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice unie sanctification. I. The Gentiles, especially in the time of Christ and his Apostles, were given to all vices. The Apostle describes them as men filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, covetousness, wicked­ ness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, and says of them that they were detractors hateful to God, contume­ lious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, with­ out mercy.—Rom. i: 24-31. The Christians at Rome had once been such pagans, more or less sunk in vice. Having become Christians they indeed renounced the pagan abominations, and resolved to serve God in justice and holiness. But as from youth they had been accustomed to the vicious life of the Gentiles, and were only recently converted, it can easily be imagined that it gave them much trouble to eradicate their bad habits and vices and to lead a holy Christian life. Therefore the Apostle tells them in earnest but affectionate words, that now, having become Christians, they should yield no longer to the service of sin, but serve God in justice. Consider, he means to say, that as pagans you have defiled yourselves with many sins and vices, but you must now, being Christians, lead a blameless, pure and holy life, serving God at least with as much devotion and fervor as you formerly served your idols, endeavoring to repair your former viciousness by virtue and piety. This admonition concerns us too. We have not grown up in Paganism, but in Christianity, we have obliged ourselves in the first hours of our life, when we received holy baptism, to renounce for ever the devil and all his works and pomps, and to dedicate ourselves to the service of God; but I do not hesitate to say there are very few among us who have been faithful to their duty ; the majority will be obliged to confess, that from their childhood to this hour they have sinned often and grievously in thought, word and deed and by the omission of many good works. Probably there are many among us who have lived not only for weeks and months but for years in sin and vice. Yes, and many of us even now live in a state of sin and, if God should call us into eternity this moment, we should be condemned to hell. How necessary then is it for all who formerly were sinners, or are still sinners, to make a firm resolution from this very hour to serve God, and to bring forth fruits worthy of penance. i. Homiletic Sketch. 97 2. The Apostle speaks of a yielding to serve iniquity unto in­ iquity, and of a yielding to serve justice unto sanctification.. What does yielding to serve iniquity unto iniquity mean? It means that the state of man becomes worse the oftener he sins and the longer he remains in the state of sin. The reason is because he becomes more thoughtless ; the fear of God decreases in him more and more, sin is implanted more firmly in his heart and becomes a habit which is seldom or never forsaken, and, finally, because by the accumulation of sins and the delay of repentance he becomes more guilty before God and sinks deeper into vice, so that his conversion can hardly be hoped for. Should not a sinner seriously consider this, at once do penance and serve God with fidelity? We may say the same of virtue; it is confirmed and brought to greater perfection by diligent and constant practice. If, for instance, we diligently practice the virtues of humility, meek­ ness, purity, obedience, charity, we shall obtain greater facility in so doing, and they will to a certain extent become habits with us, so that we can more easily overcome the obstacles and diffi­ culties connected with them. Therefore Christ says that his yoke is sweet and his burden light.—Matt. 11: 30. The more zealously we do good, the more perfect we shall become, and the greater will be our reward in heaven, for he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings.—II. Cor. 9: 6. Part II. J St. Paul also speaks of the fruits of sin, when he writes: 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 ashamedÎ For the end of them is death. According to these words of the Apostle, the service of sin — I. Frees from justice. What does this mean? Man who yields himself to sin disregards God and his holy law, he renounces God and his justice, and becomes the slave of sin and of the devil. Blessed are those Christians who remain united with God and walk in the way of justice. God loves them as his children and is pleased with them ; they possess sanctifying grace, that treasure which is more valuable than the world with all its treas­ ures, because it is the price of the precious blood of Christ; all their good works and even the indifferent actions which they perform with a good intention are meritorious before God and eternal beatitude awaits them in heaven. Those who renounce God and his justice and serve sin forfeit all these graces. They deprive themselves of the love and friendship of God, lose sanctifying grace, and with it all merits previously acquired by IV 7 g8 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. good works, according to the prophet: "If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity ... all his justices which he had done shall not be remembered.”—Ezech. 18; 24. Neither are they able to do anything meritorious for eternal life. They will perish eternally, unless they do penance and return to God. 2. Brings shame and disgrace. (a.) Every man, even the most abandoned, feels that sin is something abominable ; therefore, he takes good care not to do evil in public : he does it in secret and keeps it out of the sight of men as much as possible. Sin is something so base that many Christians cannot even resolve sincerely to accuse themselves of it in the confessional. They know that no forgiveness of sins is possible if they conceal a mortal sin; they know that they commit a sacrilege and render themselves guilty of eternal damnation; they know that God according to his infinite mercy will forgive them all sins, even the greatest, if they confess them sincerely and with a contrite heart, and yet they remain silent and dumb—such a base thing is sin in their eyes. And have you never heard or read that people whose secret crimes and misdemeanors were brought to light, took away their own life in order, as they thought, to escape shame before the world ? (b.) Sin is also something disgraceful in the eyes of human society. When a wicked deed becomes known, even abandoned people confess that such an act is disgraceful. Thus, the thief, the cheat, the liar and slanderer, the drunkard, the fornicator and adulterer are everywhere in disgrace. And because world­ lings and sinners know that sin is disgraceful they try to cover it, as it were, with a mantle, that its heinousness may not be seen. Thus they call pride self-respect ; avarice, prudent economy ; impurity, a necessity of human nature ; injustices and frauds in business, good management. In such a way they seek to avert shame and disgrace from themselves and to appear as upright men before the world. (cJ Zealous penitents particularly recognize and feel that sin is something disgraceful. They never think of their sins but with detestation and sorrow : they are ashamed of them, and say within themselves : Ah, my God, what a wicked sinner I was ; how disgraceful was my conduct ? Thinking of their vices and criminal excesses, they would like to hide themselves, so deep is the sense of shame with which they are penetrated. This sense of shame, however, is something very useful, for it makes i. Homiletic Sketch. 99 us humble, preserves us from relapse into sin, animates our zeal for penance, and urges us to repair to the best of our ability the evil we have done by exercises of penance. Therefore it is right and profitable to keep the detestation of our sins always alive. 3. It draws death after it, that is, eternal death. It is an article of the faith that all who die in mortal sin will be damned for ever, and that one mortal sin is enough to damn us for ever. Christ expressly assures us that the bad shall go into everlasting punishment, and in the Apocalypse we read : “the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremong­ ers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone.”—21: 8. The greatest punishment that the temporal authority can inflict upon man is death. This punishment infuses fear even into the great­ est malefactors and deters him from crimes. But what is tem­ poral death compared with eternal? This robs man not only of the temporal but also of the eternal life, the everlasting felicity of heaven ; it prepares for him not only a transient terror and pain, but an eternal torment and despair in the abyss of hell. Oh, who could seriously think of this death and consent to any temp­ tation to sin? Who could think of death and live in sin? “Let us therefore frequently descend in thought into hell whilst we live, that we may not be compelled to descend into it when we die.” —St. Bernard. II Finally, the Apostle comes to speak of the fruits ofjustice, when he says : But now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life ever­ lasting. i. St. Paul calls holiness the first fruits of justice. This holiness consists— (λ.) In freeing ourselves more and more from small faults. The lowest degree of holiness excludes all mortal sins; it is consistent with venial sins. But he that makes progress in sanctity abstains as much as possible also from venial sins, and never commits one with premeditation. Herein all the saints go before us with their example. St. Anselm and St. Thomas of Aquin repeatedly stated that they would rather burn in hell innocently, than, de­ filed with a venial sin, triumph in heaven. (Æ.) In mortifying ourselves interiorly and exteriorly, not only in unlawful, but sometimes also in lawfill things, for without such 100 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. mortifications holiness can neither be preserved nor increased. Thus we read in the following of Christ: “You will advance in good in proportion as you do violence to yourself,” that is, as you mortify yourself. St. Francis Borgia was accustomed to measure holiness by the degree of mortification. When he heard anyone praised for his piety, he used to say: “ If he is a mortified man, he is a saint; if he is a very mortified man, he is a great saint.” (c. ) In availing ourselves of Ihe opportunities of doing good. Negli­ gence in doing good is a sign that true holiness is either want­ ing altogether, or that it is very imperfect and in danger of being lost altogether. Truly pious, zealous Christians hunger and thirst after justice and embrace every opportunity that offers itself for exercises of virtue and good works. They love to pray ; they go to mass as often as they can ; they frequently receive the sacraments, and do their fellow-men acts of kindness with a cheerful heart. (d.) In doing all good works as perfectly as Possible. Zealous Christians who aspire to holiness do not pray in a lukewarm and distracted manner, but they endeavor to say their prayers with recollection and devotion ; they listen to the word of God with attention, and resolve to regulate their life accordingly; they al­ ways prepare themselves well for the reception of the sacra­ ments, sanctify all their actions by a good intention, and do everything quietly, patiently and for the love of God. {e.} Finally in dying to the world and living to God. Pious Christians live indeed in the world, but they do not love the world; they are solicitous for earthly things, but set not their hearts and affections on them ; they use the world as if they used it not; they seek the things that are above and say with the Apostle (Gal. 6: 14) : “ God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.” Behold herein consists holiness; this is the fruit of justice. What a precious fruit ! How ardently should we wish for it, especially since it already renders us happy here below, for “much peace have they that love thy law.”—Ps. 118: 165. 2. The last fruit of justice is everlasting life. God does not make us serve him for nothing. He rewards writh everlasting life all who walk in the way of justice. Thus Christ himself declares: “ He that doth the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”—Matt. 7: 21. And again : “If any man minister to me, let him follow me, and where I am, KBS·· i. Homiletic Sketch. 101 there also shall ray minister be.”—Joint 12: 26. In what does this everlasting life consist, which awaits the just? It consists— (a.) In freedom front all sufferings. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.—Apoc. 21: 4. (£.) In an inexpressible joy and felicity. This joy, this felicity is so great that nothing on earth can be compared with it : nay, in comparison with it all earthly joys dwindle to nothing. David says of the blessed : ‘ ‘ They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.”—Ps. 35: 9. And the Apostle says: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.”—I. Cor. 2: 9. “ The happiness of heaven,” says St. Augustine, “can be acquired, but not estimated; it can be merited, but not de­ scribed.” (c. ) In everlasting joy and happiness. Thus we read in the Book of Wisdom (5: 16) : “ The just shall live for ever more, and their reward is with the Lord, and the care of them with the Most High.” And Christ himself says of the elect, that they shall enter “ into life everlasting.”—Matt. 25 : 46. Thousands and millions of years may pass away, the happiness which the saints enjoy in heaven will never have an end ; like the saints themselves it will be eternal. Oh, what joy, what delight for the saints in heaven when they can say to themselves: We are now in everlasting se­ curity; the happiness which we enjoy will last for ever and ever. PERORATION. At the conclusion of the lesson for this day the Apostle re­ peats what will be the fruit of sin and of justice, in these words: The wages of sin is death, but the grace of God (that is, justice) life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Tord. Here the Apostle briefly utters the truth that sin leads to death, i. e., to damnation, and justice is rewarded with everlasting happiness through the merits of Jesus Christ. Oh, let us frequently make this important truth the subject of our meditation, and serve the Lord with unchange­ able fidelity in justice and holiness, that we may be found worthy to be admitted into everlasting life. Amen. 102 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Gospel. Matt. 8: 15-21. At that time: Jesus said to his dis­ ciples, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the cloth­ ing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their Do men gather grapes of thorns, or fruits you shall know the 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 to me: Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. •I 2. HOMILETIC SKETCH. WHAT WE MUST AVOID, AND WHAT WE MUST DO, IN ORDER TO ENTER INTO HEAVEN. The gospel which I have just read for you is a small portion of Christ’s sermon upon the Mount. Toward the end of this sermon our Lord admonishes his hearers to enter in at the narrow gate, “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to de­ struction and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life ; and few there are that find it.”—Matt. 7: 13, 14. By these words we are taught that the way to heaven is a laborious one, and that the number of those who perish is far greater than that of those who are saved. Immediately after this our Lord gives the reason why so few are saved and so many damned, and shows at the same time what we must avoid, and what we must do, in order to enter into heaven. The gospel of this day treats— I. Offalse prophets ; II Of good and bad trees ; III. Of the kingdom of heaven. Part L Our Lord warns us, first, against false prophets, saying : Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but in­ wardly they are ravening wolves. 2. Homiletic Sketch. 103 By false prophets we understand first of all the Scribes and Pharisees. Christ had good reason for warning his hearers against them, for they were very dangerous men. They appeared to be most zealous servants of God; it was understood that their endeavor was to lead men into the way of truth and virtue, but in reality they were hypocrites and seducers of the people; for they placed their own ordinances above the law of God, and interpreted it to suit their own passions; they were men full of pride and self-conceit, and fostered a deadly hatred against Christ, who unveiled their hypocrisy. 2. There have always been false prophets, and there are such now. These false prophets are— (a.) Within us, namely, evil concupiscence, inordinate inclina­ tions, passions, and self-love, which spare no pains to delude and seduce us. {b.) Without us, men void of conscience and lost to virtue, who seek to spread unbelief, errors, sins and vices by word and ex­ ample, as well as by their writings. 3. The false prophets come to us in the clothing of sheep. If they showed themselves in their true form, that is, if they would reveal their unbelief, their bad maxims, their base desires, pas­ sions and malice, and say what they really desire, they would gain no adherents, they would be rejected with contempt. Know­ ing this, they clothe themselves in the garb of sheep ; they dis­ guise themselves and seek to appear as if they were very honest and pious, and had the interests of all men at heart. (λ.) In the same way the inordinate inclinations, passions and self-love. They seem to be very harmless, but are full of cunning, endeavoring to represent as good and lawful that which is evil. Wherever it is possible they either totally set aside the command­ ments of God and of the Church, or they explain away all that restrains sensuality ; they seek to weaken zeal for virtue, calling it exaggeration; they persuade usto leave off the exercisesof morti­ fication andself-denial, because it is eccentric, injures the health and embitters all the joys of life. Thus pretending to offer us sweet honey, they give us deadly poison. How much must we beware of these false prophets that they may not ensnare us in their meshes 1 (3.) Satan. He feigned benevolence to Eve and showed her in a tempting way, that the eating of the forbidden fruit would draw no evil consequences after it; on the contrary, it would be to her greatest advantage and make Adam and herself equal to 104 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. God. Thus also he comes to us, in the form of an angel of light, in order to win our confidence; he makes us believe that this or that sin does not signify much ; that we can go to confession again; that God is infinitely merciful and always ready to for­ give; that there is still time to do penance; that even the thief on the cross obtained pardon. Oh, how often does this crafty enemy succeed in deluding men and plunging them into per­ dition 1 (f.) Bad men. Among these are reckoned— First, false teachers who seek to spread unbelief and irréligion. They pretend that they are friends of religion, that they fight only against superstition and abuses, and that they will help all to the truth, enlighten and make them happy. Secondly, authors and sellers of bad books and writings. Nowa­ days many books, pamphlets and especially newspapers are cal­ culated to destroy faith and good morals in town and in country, and to spread irréligion and immorality. In these publications the mysteries and doctrines of religion are misrepresented, and the clergy and the institutions of the Church are calumniated, in order to render them ridiculous and odious. Unbelief, hatred of religion, and vices of all kinds, have their origin in bad books and papers. Woe to those who spread and recommend these fabrications of hell; they are responsible to God for the mischief which they cause I Thirdly,seducers. Such are men who in every possible way flatter females, make them presents, promise to marry them and make a good living for them, merely with a view to carry out their vile purpose. Such are females who paint and adorn themselves in order to attract men, who do them favors on every occasion, who even pretend to modesty, bashfulness and innocence, in order the more easily to win the hearts of the thoughtless and unwary. These in particular are the false prophets against whom Christ warns us when he says: Beware offalse prophets. Yes, let us be­ ware of these false prophets within us, and without us, lest they seduce us and render us miserable for time and eternity. 4. Christ says of the false prophets that inwardly they are ra­ vening wolves. They are indeed. As wolves take advantage of a moment when shepherds and flocks are not watching, or when a sheep strays from the flock, so false prophets attack persons when they are off their guard and do not avoid occasions of sin. Again, as wolves are not deterred from their ravages by 2. Homiletic Sketch. 105 unsuccessful attempts, in fact become more ferocious the more resistance they meet with, so false prophets do not desist from their wicked projects when they see them frustrated ; on the con­ trary, they redouble their efforts, and furiously attack those who prevent them from carrying out their plans. Hence infidels and enemies of our holy religion turn their hatred particularly against the clergy, because they are well aware that these obstruct their efforts to otherthrow Christianity. Lastly, as the wolves seize their victims by the throat so that they cannot cry for help, so the false prophets endeavor to induce those who fall into their hands to keep silence, carefully to conceal their aberrations from their parents and superiors, to say nothing about the sins of others, and even in the confessional to shut their mouth and there to find death and perdition, where they should receive life and salvation. Part Π. Our Lord now speaks of good and evil trees, saying: Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. i. I need hardly remark that by good and evil trees we under­ stand good and evil people ; and by good and evil fruits, good and evil works. It is proper to a good tree to bring forth good fruit ; but to an evil tree to bring forth evil fruit. So it is with man ; his works are good or evil according as he himself is either good or evil. A good man has good thoughts ; he takes pleasure in that which is good ; hates and detests that which is evil ; he is occupied interiorly with God and divine things; he humbles him­ self before God and thanks him for all graces and benefits; he recommends himself to his protection ; repents of his faults, and when a bad thought or sinful desire arises in his heart he fights against it and suppresses it; he also means well by his fellow­ men and loves and esteems all. A good man speaks well', he guards himself against all the sins of the tongue, against all vulgar and impure expressions, against slander, detraction, calumny, lies, cursing, swearing and blaspheming; what he says is neces­ sary and useful, for the honor of God and the good of men. A good man does well; he guards against every false step, practises the Christian virtues and conscientiously fulfils the duties of his religion and state of life. These are the threefold fruits, the fruits of the heart, of the mouth, and of the hand, which a good man brings forth. 2. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. From this some heretics conclude that ïo6 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. the just man can do only what is good, and the sinner only what is bad; or, that whatever the just man does, is good, and whatever the sinner does, is bad. But this is entirely erroneous. Not all that the just man does is necessarily good, and not all that the sinner does is necessarily bad. A just man can get inordinately angry, or tell a lie, and that is bad; he may even commit mortal sins and cease to be just. On the contrary, a sinner can pray, give alms or bear crosses and afflictions patiently, and that is good. The words of Christ: A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit, are thus to be understood : as long as a man is good he brings forth good w orks, but he may become bad, and then that which does is no longer good and meritorious; a bad man, so long as he is bad and has not the grace of God, can do no good, meritorious works, but he may become good, as St. Paul did, and, like him and all true pe­ nitents, may perform good and meritorious works. How badly off then are Christians who live in a state of sin ! The good they do is not bad and punishable, but it is without any merit for heaven. If you should be so unfortunate as to fall into a griev­ ous sin, make at once a good confession that by obtaining sancti­ fying grace you may become capable of acquiring merits for heaven by means of good works. 3. Lastly, our Lord says of the evil trees : Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. According to this divine utterance, not only those who do evil, but those also who do no good, shall be rejected. The Christian justice required for salvation comprises two things, the avoidance of evil and the practice of good. It would be a great error to believe that only those are excluded from heaven who do evil, e. g., fornicators, adulterers, thieves, robbers, drunkards ; no, heaven is likewise not for those who neglect the good which they could and should do. We are taught this in the parable of the unprofitable servant who did not waste his talent but only buried it (Matt. 25 : 30) ; in the parable of the foolish virgins who were excluded from the nuptial feast only because they had no oil in their lamps (because they were destitute of good works); and especially by the sentence of the divine Judge on the last day according to which those shall be condemned to everlasting fire who during their lifetime neglected the works of mercy.—Matt. 25: 41, etc. Heaven is the reward of good works; he who neglects them does not obtain it. If, then, O Christian, you are luke­ warm in doing good, if you will not hear of prayer, of the word of God, of the reception of the holy sacraments and of spiritual reading; if you do not perform the works of mercy and fulfil the duties of your state of life, you have reason to fear that you will share the fate of the trees that bring forth no good fruit; they 2. Homiletic Sketch. 107 are cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore “labor the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and elec­ tion.”—IL Pet. 1: 10 Part Π. Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. In these words Christ plainly teaches that only a living faith, not a dead one, will save man. 1* The words: Lord, Lord, apply— (λ.) To those who believe all that the Catholic Church teaches, but do not live according to the rule of faith. The words of St. James refer to them : “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath no works ? Shall faith be able to save him?”—St. James 2:14. If a Catholic does not live according to his faith, instead of saving him it will be the cause of his con­ demnation. (bi} To those who know how to talk much and beautifully on religion and virtue, but trouble themselves little about the ser­ vice of God and a truly Christian life, who profess one thing and practice another, for the Apostle says: “If I should have pro­ phecy, and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”—I. Cor. 3: 2. (?.) To those who perform various exercises of devotion, be­ long to many societies and confraternities, frequently go to con­ fession and communion; who exert themselves in order to be pre­ sent at every devotion that is going on in the church, who load themselves with scapulars, rosaries and indulgences, but do not labor to put off the old man, to extirpate their passions and to fulfil their duties. All these religious exercises are useful and even necessary, but of themselves alone are not sufficient for salvation. You must do the one and not neglect the other. (dl) To those who frequently make good resolutions, and never carry them out, but always relapse into their former sins ; who promise everything, and keep nothing. They who do this tell a lie in the face of God and mock him. How could he be pleased with them ? St. Augustine says : “He is a scoffer and not a peni­ tent who does again that of which he has repented.” .- 108 . .* ·. j ·c* A*·* .* Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. (λ) Finally, to those who have zeal for good only at certain I I times, and then yield themselves again to spiritual sloth. Let them remember the words of Christ: “No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” —Luke 9: 62. t I 2. Only he will be saved who does the will of God. What is ne­ cessary for that? It is necessary— I (λ.) That we keep the commandments of God and of his Churchy for they contain the clearly expressed will of God: “ If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”—Watt. 19: 17. “ If he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.”—Matt. 18: 17. (Æ.) That we listen to the voice of conscience, for through the conscience God speaks to us and reveals his holy will. “ In every word of thine regard thy soul in faith, for this is the keeping of the commandments.”—Ecclus. 32: 27. (r.) That we obey our superiors, especially our spiritual superi­ ors and pastors of souls. To them refer the words of Christ : ‘ ‘ He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me.”—LukelQ’. 16. (<7.) That we conscientiously fulfil the duties of our state of life. “ Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called.” —I. Cor. 7: 20. He who neglects the duties of his state of life cannot be saved, though he may otherwise lead a pious life. Example: Heli. PERORATION. Examine yourselves closely and earnestly and see whether you have never played the part of a false prophet; whether you have given scandal to others and induced them to sin ; whether heretofore you were evil or good trees, walking in the way of virtue or vice; lastly, whether and how you have done the will of God. If in this self-examination you find yourselves more or iess guilty, humble yourselves before God, ask his pardon, and resolve from henceforth to amend your life and to repair by true penance all the injury you have caused by sin. Dedicate to God the remainder of your life, serve him with fervor and fidelity, and he will give you the crown of life. Amen. | •j | ; \ I I ... Λ ' - 3· Dogmatical Sketch. 109 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 3. DOGMATICAL SKETCH WE MUST AND CAN KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king dom of heaven ; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.—Matt. 7:21. The first requisite for salvation is faith; for “without faith,” says the Apostle, “it is impossible to please God.”—Heb. 11:6. And Christ emphatically declares : “He that believeth not, shall be condemned.”—Mark 16: 16. It is contradicting the Apostle and Christ himself to say that it matters not what a man believes, and that if he only acts rightly he can be saved. It is also cer­ tain that one cannot be saved by faith alone. Christ teaches this at the end of the gospel of this day, in these words: Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Here Christ proclaims the truth that we must do the will of God, or, what amounts to the same, that we must keep the commandments, in order to be saved. . This shall be the subject of my discourse to-day. I will show you that it is not impossible to keep the commandments of God : I. We II. We keep the commandments of God; keep the commandments of God. MUST can Part I. I. We must keep the commandments of God. (a.) Christ declares that wre must. A young man one day came to him and said : Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting? And Jesus answered: “ If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Here and in many other passages he expressly declares that in order to be saved we must keep the commandments. (Æ.) The Apostles teach the same. Thus St. James says : What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works. Shall faith be able to save him? As the body with- no Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. out the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead,”— 2: 14, 26. Protestants, in order to defend their doctrine that faith alone saves, appeal to St. Paul, who writes: uWe account a man to be justified by faith without the works of the law.”—Rom. 3: 28. But St. Paul does not speak here of the works that follow faith and proceed from it, but only of such as precede it, that is, such as are done by the law of nature, or that of Moses, antece­ dent to faith in Christ; he speaks of the Jews and Gentiles who had not as yet the Christian faith. If the Jews and Gentiles did not submit themselves to the faith of Jesus Christ, their works could avail them nothing, because faith is the first requisite for salvation. That this Apostle recognizes the observance of the commandments as necessary to salvation is evident from the fact that in all his epistles he insists on a holy life, and absolute­ ly declares that “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adul­ terers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor exortioners, shall pos­ sess the kingdom of God.”—Z. Cor. 6: 9, 10. (4.) So do the Fathers. St. Augustine says: “Faith linked with love (observance of the commandments) is the faith of Christians ; faith without love is the faith of the devil.” St. Gregory the Great says: “It is true faith when that which is professed with words is not contradicted in works.” St. Bernard says : “The separation of love is the death of faith; if you believe in Christ, do the works of Christ, that your faith may live.” 2. We must keep all the commandments. (λ.) Moses required the people of Israel to keep all the com­ mandments: “What I command thee, that only do thou to the Lord, neither add anything nor diminish.”—Deut. 12: 32. Jesus Christ also imposes upon us the obligation of keeping the com­ mandments in these words: Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.—Matt. 28: 19. St. James writes: “Who­ soever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is be­ come guilty of all. For he that said: Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, thou shalt not kill. Now, if thou do not com­ mit adultery, but shalt kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (2: 10, 11); that is, he becomes a transgressor of the law in such a manner that the observance of all the other points will not avail him to salvation ; for he despises the lawgiver, and breaks through the great and general commandment of charity even by one mortal sin. For all the precepts are to be considered as one entire law, and, as it were, a chain of precepts, by break­ ing one link of which the whole chain, or the integrity of the 3· Dogmatical Sketch. Ill law, consisting of a collection of precepts, is broken. A sinner therefore by a grievous offense against any one precept incurs eternal punishment; yet the punishments of hell will be greater for those who have been greater sinners, just as there will be a greater reward for those in heaven who have lived with greater sanctity and perfection. (Æ.) Those Christians deceive themselves egregiously who ima­ gine that God will be lenient with them because they do not break all the commandments, but only one or the other. Look down in spirit into hell, and tell me who are burning there. Perhaps such as have violated all the commandments? No; of these there are but few ; most of them are damned because they have trans­ gressed only this or that commandment. Why is Cain damned ? Because he violated the fifth commandment. Why is Absalom damned? Because he broke the fourth commandment. Why are the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha damned? Because they transgressed the sixth commandment. Let each one examine himself and ask himself the question: How is it with me? Do I keep all the commandments ? Do I transgress none, at least in an important matter? 3. We must keep every commandment to its full extent. Each commandment includes various things which we must do or, avoid. Thus the first commandment of God, “Thou shalt believe in one Godf commands us not only to believe in one God, but also to pay him homage interiorly and exteriorly ; interiorly, by believing in him, hoping in him and loving him, by adoring him, thanking him for his benefits, being zealous for his honor, by obeying him, and by resignation to his holy will; exteriorly, by manifesting outwardly our interior homage, e. g.> by diligent participation in public worship; by modest behavior in church. The Scribes and Pharisees erred in observing only the letter of the law, without penetrating into its spirit, and therefore believed they were keeping the law perfectly because they did what the letter prescribed. They held that the fifth commandment forbids only wilful murder, but not contumelies, hatred and anger. Many Christians, like the Scribes and Pharisees, do not ob­ serve the commandments of God entirely, but only partially. Many do not know what each commandment comprises, and therefore commit many sins through ignorance. It is the duty of these to procure for themselves a better insight into religion. They must hear sermons and read books on religion, especially the Catechism. If they do not do so they sin as often as they violate a commandment from ignorance, because their ignorance is preventable and therefore culpable. There are others who do not wholly keep some commandments, not so much from ignorance I 12 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. as from malice. They view as obligatory only what suits them, but what is contrary to their passions, or not according to their wishes, they reject or explain away so that they may not be bound by something repugnant to them. Do you think that God will accomodate himself to our notions? Shall he abolish his com­ mandments in regard to those things which are opposed to human passions? Let no one be deceived; what God has commanded re­ mains in force whether it pleases man or not, and he that trans­ gresses a commandment in one point will not escape punish­ ment. When a commandment is to be explained, let not your passions speak, but your conscience and reveal your doubts to your pastor, in or out of the confessional; he will give you the necessary information. Part IL It is an article of the faith that of ourselves, with our own strength, without the help of the divine grace, we can do noth­ ing towards our salvation. “Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”—II. Cor. 3; 5. Christ says: “Without me (without my grace) you can do nothing.”—John 15:5. Depending on our own strength alone, we cannot keep the commandments. But assisted by grace, which God refuses to none, we can keep them. i. The Sacred Scripture convinces us of this truth of the faith. “The commandment that I command thee this day, is not above thee, nor far off from thee.”—Deut. 30: 11. Christ says: “My yoke is sweet, and my burden light.”—Matt. 11: 30. And St. John writes; “This is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments ; and his commandments are not heavy.”—I. John 5: 3. These words of Christ and of his beloved disciple would have no mean­ ing if it were impossible to keep the commandments of God. Protestants appeal to some passages of the Sacred Scripture to prove that it is impossible to keep the commandments. “Why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear ?”— Acts 15: 10. Peter in this passage does not speak of the ten com­ mandments, but only of the Jewish ceremonial law, which con­ tained such a multitude of ordinances that with the greatest con­ scientiousness they could not be fulfilled, and these he declared were abrogated and not obligatory on Christians. “For I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good. For to will is present with me, but to accomplish that which is good, I find not. For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do.”—Rom. 7 : 18, 19. As remarked above, of ourselves, as of ourselves, we are not able 3. Dogmatical Sketch. 113 to keep the law; but God assists us with his grace, especially if we ask him, and the grace of God gives us strength to overcome concupiscence and to keep the law. Therefore the Apostle, after speaking of the power of concupiscence, says that we are deli vered from this power by the grace of God.—Ibid. 25. 2. The Holy Fathers. St. Basil says : “It betrays malice to say that it is impossible to keep the commandments of God.” St. Chrysostom: “By no means accuse the Lord; he commands no impossibility. Many do keep the commandments.” St. Augustine enlarges on this subject. He does not deny, indeed, that the ob­ servance of the commandments has its difficulties, but he refers us to prayer, by which we obtain the grace that will enable us to do all things which God has commanded. “God,” he says, “commands no impossibility when he commands anything; he exhorts you to do what you are able, and to ask for that which you are not able ; whereupon he helps you, in order that you may become able.” 3. The lives of the Saints. The Sacred Scriptures mention many who kept the law. Thus they testify of Noe, that he was a just and perfect man and walked with God (Gen. 6: 9); of Job, that he feared God and avoided evil (Job 1: 1); of Josue that he left not one thing undone of all the commandments of God (Jos. 11: 15); of Samuel, that he was faithful in his words, because he saw the God of light (Ecclus. 46: 18); of Zachary and Elizabeth, that they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord.—Luke 1:6. And how many saints does the Catholic Church number who kept all the commandments of God with the most scrupulous fidelity, and led a life so morally pure that they seemed to be more like angels than men 1 I will mention only a St. Bernard, a St. Aloysius, a St. Teresa, a St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, of whom we know that during their whole life they hardly committed any venial, much less mortal, sins. These and all other saints prove that we can keep the law of God if we will. They had the same nature that we have, they had the same temptations, and perhaps far greater ones than we have, and most of them did not receive greater graces than wa If they could serve God and keep his law, why cannot we? 4. Finally, reason. A sin, as we know, is a voluntary transgres­ sion of the divine law. If it were not possible to keep the law of God, neither could we sin, because we should transgress the law, not voluntarily, but from necessity. Or we could say that God is the author of sin, because he gave commandments which with the best will cannot we kept. Who would dare to utter such a blasphemy ? IV 8 114 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. (3.) If it were not possible to keep the law of God, he would have no right io condemn any one. Suppose a king gave his subjects a law compelling them to fly, under the penalty of death. Would not that king be the greatest tyrant if he punished his subjects with death because they did not fly? Certainly; for his subjects could not obey that law. What should we say of God if, on ac­ count of the transgression of commandments, the observance of which would be impossible, he should punish with eternal dam­ nation I In that supposition, where would be his goodness and justice ? (r.) As history and experience prove, men can do what God commands, for we find numberless Christians who have followed the evangelical counsels, and have done many things which they were not obliged to do under pain of sin. They watched whole nights in prayer, lived for years on bread and water, practised many other austere mortifications, distributed their whole sub­ stance to the poor, nursed the sick, and labored indefatigably for the conversion of souls, and attained such perfection in the Christian virtues as to be the admiration of the world. Now if people can do more than is commanded, would it not be madness to assert that they cannot do what is commanded? Cannot he who is wealthy enough to pay a thousand dollars pay a hundred ? peroration. We can keep the law of God, if we only have an earnest will to do so. and we must keep it because God commands it, and be­ cause our salvation depends on it. God does not lay too heavy a load upon us. With the assistance of his grace we can do what he requires, and that too without much difficulty t Resolve, then, to walk in the way of the commandments with persevering zeal. Let not your courage sink when you are obliged to fight hard and to overcome many difficulties. The life of man is a warfare. “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.”—I. Cor. io: 13. Keep therefore, and do the things which the Lord God hath commanded you ; go neither to the right hand, nor to the left, that you may live, and that it may be well with you; that your days may be long here [Deut. 5: 32, 33), and that hereafter you may enter into the joy, of the Lord. Amen. 4· Liturgical Sketch. 115 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 4. LITURGICAL SKETCH. FEASTS OF THE B. VIRGIN, VIZ., OUR LADY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS; THE VISITATION, AND OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.—Matt. All the saints resemble such good trees; their humility, meek­ ness, patience, purity, love of God and charity towards men, in short, all the virtues, wh’ch they practised with such praiseworthy fervor were the good fruits which they brought forth. But the Queen of all saints is Mary, the Blessed Virgin. She had never contaminated her soul with the least stain : being without spot or wrinkle, she practised all virtues and attained in each of them the highest and most eminent degree of perfection, and the world has never seen a being who served God with such fide­ lity ; wherefore with justice we salute her in the Litany of Lo­ retto as the Mirror of Justice. We will turn our eyes to Mary to-day, and consider at greater length the feasts which are celebrated in the first part of the Pentecost cycle. These feasts are : 1. Our Lady, Help of Christians ; II. The Visitation ; III. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Part L Our Lady, Help of Christians. i. Origin of the feast. After the glorious victory which the Christians, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, had gained over the Turks at Lepanto in 1571, Pope Pius V. ordained that the Queen of Heaven should be invoked in the Litany of Loretto as Help of Christians. Pope Pius VII. was deprived of his see and held a captive in Savona for over five years, but on the 24th day of May, 1814, obtained his liberty, contrary to all expectation, and returned to Rome amidst the universal exulta­ tion of the people. A second time, in consequence of a sedition, he was again obliged to flee from Rome and to repair to Genoa. This storm also subsided and Pius again took possession of his see in Rome. In thanksgiving for the graces which he and all ii6 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost Christendom had received through the intercession of the Bles sed Virgin, the Pope ordained that annually, on the 24th day of May, the day of his return to Rome, a feast should be celebrated by the name of Our Lady, Help of Christians. This feast has ever since been celebrated on May 24th throughout the whole Chris­ tian world. 2. We have every reason to celebrate this feast, for Mary is in truth the Help of Christians. We enjoy her help— (a.) In corporal necessities. A proof of this solacing truth we have in the gospel. Mary had scarcely noticed at the marriage feast that the wine was failing when she induced her Son to work his first miracle. St. Bernard remarks : “If Mary was so compas­ sionate towards those by whom she was invited, that they might not be put to shame, how much more sympathy will she have with us when we devoutly invoke her in our necessities ? If Mary does so much unasked, what will she not do when asked ?” (Æ.) In spiritual necessities. First of all, she obtains for sinners the grace of conversion. \ Theophilus, a Mary of Egypt, and num­ berless other sinners, have experienced that Mary is a mother of mercy and a refuge of sinners, for they have been rescued through her from perdition and saved. She assists us in temptations. What power Mary possesses over Satan the first lines of the Sacred Scriptures prove, for there God says: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head.”—Gen. 3: 15. If we invoke Mary in any temptation whatever she will preserve us from sin. She strengthens us in good. We cannot prepare for her a greater joy than when we ask her to obtain of Jesus the grace to do good. The holy Fathers compare her to the sun. For, as the sun spreads light and warmth everywhere and causes every­ thing to grow and ripen, so Mary obtains for us grace upon grace, that we may increase in good and persevere to the end. She protects us, finally, in the hour of death, defends us against the attacks of Satan, and obtains for us a happy death. A very holy person relates that while assisting a dying man one day he heard him say these words: “Oh, how glad I now am that I served Mary so faithfully during life. Death has no ter­ rors for me; I do not fear it, because the Queen of Heaven helps and assists me.” Put great confidence in Mary, invoke her aid and protection in all corporal and spiritual necessities and walk in the fear of God; then you will experience in life and death that she is the “Help of Christians.” 4. Liturgical Sketch. 117 Part II. The Visitation. 1. History of the feast. This feast was celebrated as early as the thirteenth century by the Franciscans, and towards the end of the fourteenth century was extended to the whole Church by Popes Urban VI. and Boniface IX. It is, as it were, the feast of the peace of Mary, for its introduction had the object of restoring peace to the Church, which in a great measure had departed. Our holy Father, Pius IX., on May 31st, 1850, raised it to a higher rank, as he says, “for a perpetual memorial of gratitude towards the glorious Virgin, who so miraculously came to his and the Christian people’s help, so that he could return to Rome, being freed from the yoke of his enemies.” The Visitation of Mary is celebrated on July 2nd, probably because it stands in close rela­ tion with the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the celebration of which takes place on June 24th. 2. Object of this feast. (a.) The Evangelist says : 'CMary, rising up in those days, went into the mountainous country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth.”— Ltcke 1:39, 40. The distance from Nazareth, where Mary lived, to Hebron, the domicile of St. Elizabeth, was about one hundred and twenty miles; the way thither was difficult, for it was over high mountains. Notwithstanding, Mary undertook this long and laborious journey, in order to do an act of kindness to her cousin Elizabeth. Herein she gives us a beautiful example, showing how we should do acts of kindness to our fellow-men, though there may be some difficulties in the way, for that which costs us no­ thing at all can scarcely be called a charitable act. (/5.) Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”—Luke 1: 42. In these words Elizabeth glorifies Mary as the happiest of her race, because she has been raised to the eminent dignity of Mother of God, our Lord and Redeemer. Mary is the Mother of God; this is a dignity and prerogative pos­ sessed by no other creature in heaven or on earth. St. Bonaven­ ture says: “God could have created a greater heaven and a greater earth, but he could not create a greater mother than the Mother of God.” Mary is mother and virgin ; this again is a dig­ nity and grace which Mary alone enjoys. Mary as Mother of God has brought salvation to the world. She is that woman pro­ mised to our first parents, who has crushed the serpent’s head. Therefore the Fathers place Eve and Mary in juxta position and 118 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. designate Eve as the mother of death, and Mary as the mother of life. St. Augustine says: “ One woman reached the poison, one woman the remedy. Man fell through a woman, and through a woman he was raised up again; through a woman came death, and through a woman life.” “ And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” Elizabeth gives here the reason why Mary is the happiest of her race; she is elevated so high above all angels and men because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the fruit of her womb; all the honor, therefore, which we show to Mary, ultimately refers to Jesus Christ, for through him only she is what she is, the Mother of God. (£.) John felt in his mother’s womb the proximity of Jesus whose precursor he was to become; for this reason he leaped for joy. It was at this solemn moment that John was cleansed from the stain of original sin and sanctified, as the angel had foretold Zachary in these words: “He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb.”—Luke i : 15. The grace which John received in his mother’s womb is imparted to us in holy baptism. Oh, that we would preserve it as faithfully and safely as John! (ά) Mary replies to the salutation of her cousin Elizabeth with the glorious hymn of praise, which we call the “Magnificat.” In this hymn she praises God on account of the graces which she received from him, und expresses her joy that the Lord favored her so highly, and prophesies that all generations shall call her blessed. She attributes all that has been done to her to the grace of God, who has regarded the humility of his handmaid, and has done great things to her. The wonderful dignity to which God elevated her cannot make her vain in the least ; the more she sees herself favored, the more she humbles herself. Let us often say, especially when vanity or the desire to please arises in us : Not to me, O Lord, not to me, but to thy name, give glory.— Ps. 113: i. Part HL Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I. Names of this feast. It is called— (a.) Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel. It has this name from Mount Carmel, in Palestine, where some hermits lived, who after­ wards formed themselves into an Order, and were called the brothers of Mount Carmel, or the Carmelites. As this feast was first celebrated by the Carmelites, and was afterwards spread 4. Liturgical Sketch. 119 through them over the whole Church, it is called, “The Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel.” (ό.) Feast of the Scapular. It has this name from the Scapular which the Carmelites and the members of the Confraternity of the Scapular wear in honor of the blessed Virgin Mother of God. The feast was approved of in the year 1587 by Sixtus V., for the Carmelites, and extended in the year 1726, by Benedict XIII., to the universal Church. 2. Origin of the Scapular. At a time when the Carmelite Order was undergoing severe persecution at the hands of the Turks, there lived in England a pious man, of noble extraction, by the name of Simon Stock. When only twelve years of age, he retired into solitude, where a hollow tree served him for a dwelling; from this he was called Simon Stock. When the Carmelites came to England he entered their community, and in his old age became General of the Order. The Order at that time being apparently near its dissolution, he had recourse to prayer in order to save it. On the evening of the 16th day of July, 1251, the Blessed Virgin, whilst he was fervently praying, appeared to him, and in answer to his prayer to avert the tribulations of the Order, assured him of her protection, at the same time handing him a Scapular, with the words : “Receive, dear son, the scapular of thy Order, as a prerogative for thyself and for all the children of Carmel, as a particular sign of my confraternity, as a pledge of an eternal peace, which I contract with you. This is the sign of salvation, a protection and bulwark in dangers; he who, in­ vested with this habit, piously dies, will not be cast into ever­ lasting fire.” Pope Honorius confirmed the Scapular and gave Simon a letter to all the bishops, in which he co mu anded them to protect and propagate the Order of the Carmelites and the Sca­ pular. Immediately monasteries were built everywhere, and the confraternity of the Scapular was established. Those who did not join the Order of the Carmelites had their names enrolled in the confraternity of the Scapular. Numberless people wore the habit of Mary ; popes, cardinals, emperors and kings lived and died in it. 3. Power and efficacy of the Scapular. (al) In corporal necessities and dangers. A certain man, named Beauregard, received at the siege of Montpellier two balls in his breast; he reeled, but did not fall. They hastened to undress him, in order to find the two balls, and, behold! they were found flat­ tened on a Scapular. A person named Montigny was travelling by water to Toulouse ; a violent storm arose, the ship sank, but he held himself above the water, for the Scapular which he ito Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. wore did not permit him to sink. It frequently happened that at conflagrations a Scapular was thrown into the fire, where­ upon the flames were quenched. A miracle of this kind was officially confirmed by the bishop of Metz, January 12th, 1420. Many other miracles were wrought by the devout use of the Scapular. (3.) In spiritual necessities. For the sake of brevity I shall men­ tion only one example. Whilst Simon Stock was still living, a certain nobleman, named Walter, who had led a very dissolute life, was wounded in a duel and was about to die in despair. Hearing this, the zealous General of the Order hastened to him, and found him gnashing his teeth with rage, with despair in his heart, blasphemies in his mouth, and near death. He prayed for him and laid the Scapular upon him ; the sick man immediately returned to his senses, bewailed his sins, and died in peace after having received the sacraments with great devotion. PERORATION. God gives many graces to those who put confidence in the Scapular and wear it with pious sentiments. But in order to pre­ vent all misunderstanding I must observe that the efficacy of the Scapular and other blessed things depends on the will of God and the good use we make of these things. It would be an error to suppose that the Scapular protects from all corporal dangers: it is for God to decide whether he will allow the Scapular to be effectual in temporal evils and dangers or not. It would be a still greater error to expect from the Scapular that no one who wears it could die unhappily. Neither the Scapular nor any other sacred thing is a security against an unhappy death, but only a pious, penitential life. It is, however, certain that Christians who wear the Scapular in a devout frame of mind will be protected by the Blessed Virgin in a particular manner, and that they will receive through her intercession many graces in life and death. Keep therefore the Scapular and other holy things in honor, and endeavor to be devout children of Mary, that you may always enjoy her protection, and have the happiness hereafter of salut­ ing her as your mother in heaven. Amen. 5. Symbolical Sketch. 121 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 5. SYMBOLICAL SKETCH. MAN, A TREE. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.—Matt. 7: 17. In the gospel of this day Christ speaks of good and of evil trees, and says that the good tree brings forth good fruit, but the evil tree evil fruit, and that trees which bring forth no good fruit shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. By evil trees we must here understand false prophets, that is, men who, not content with being impious themselves, labor also for the destruc­ tion of their fellow-men, and endeavor to make them as wicked as they themselves are. The fate of the unfruitful trees finally awaits them ; when their time is come God will call them into eternity and deliver them over to the fire of hell, in order to chastise them for their wickedness and all the mischief they have done in the world. But by the good and evil trees we may also understand all men, for a great similarity exists between a man and a tree. In the latter sense we will consider to-day the par­ able of the trees. I say therefore : Man is a tree— I. In his birth; II. In his education ; III. In his works. PART L When a fruit-tree comes forth from the earth it is of the ordi­ nary wild kind, though the seed may have been of the best, from the most improved sort of fruit. If you let it alone it will grow up wild, and yield only poor fruit. It must be grafted to enable it to yield good fruit. i. Like the tree, every human being comes into the world in a wild state, if I may be allowed thus to express myself, that is, in a state of sin. It is a doctrine of the faith, with which the Jews and even many Gentile nations agree, that every man is in­ fected with original sin in the moment of his conception and is born therein; hence the Apostle writes: “As by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed T22 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. upon all men, in whom all have sinned.”—Renn. 5: 12. David says: “Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me.”—Ps. 50: 7. As already remarked, you may plant the kernels of improved or unimproved fruit-trees; only wild trees come forth. The same must be said of children. It matters not whether their parents are Christians or non-Christians, just or unjust, original sin ad­ heres to them in every case; for the sanctification of the parents is, as St. Augustine observes, a personal grace and favor, which belongs only to them, and is not transferable to the children. Therefore, all men, whether they descend from Gentiles, Jews, or Christians, are conceived and born in original sin—with the exception of the Blessed Virgin, who by a special grace of God was excepted from the universal curse of mankind, and was con­ ceived and born without the stain of original sin. 2. By inserting a shoot of an improved tree into the wild tree, the whole nature of the tree is changed ; the wild tree becomes a good tree, which no longer yields bad and sour, but good and sweet, fruit. A similar improvement takes place in man when he receives holy baptism. He is spiritually regenerated, where­ fore baptism is called the laver of regeneration, according to the words of Christ: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”—John 3 : 5. By virtue of this spiritual regeneration the baptized person is transformed and renewed; from a sinner he becomes just; from a slave of Satan, a child of God and heir of heaven. Leo the Great says : “Whilst the outward man is washed off, he is trans­ formed interiorly, and the old creature is made new ; the vessels of wrath become vessels of mercy, and the flesh of sin is changed into a body of Christ; the unjust become just, the captives free, and the children of men children of God.” As the tree by grafting is made to produce good fruit, so baptism enables man to bring forth good fruit. Since the un­ baptized man still languishes in the slavery of sin and of Satan, and is destitute of the spiritual life, which is sanctifying grace, he can do nothing meritorious for eternity. Thus all good works which the Jews and Gentiles perform are without any merit be­ fore God, and have no claim to any reward. But it is quite dif­ ferent with the works of a Christian who is sanctified by bap­ tism. The good he does is meritorious before God, and bears fruit for eternity. When he works, prays, performs a spiritual or corporal work of mercy, or practices a virtue, having at the same time a good intention, he will receive a reward for it here­ after. 5. Symbolical Sketch. 123 Part Π. It is not enough to plant and graft the tree; it must also be trained, if it is to bear fruit. All know this and therefore books have been written on fruit culture as on the education of children. 1. First of all a stake is driven into the ground in order that the young tree, which has a weak stem, may be fastened to it, thus protecting it from the danger of being injured or broken off by the winds and storms, or of growing up crooked. Such a stake man also needs in his youth, and God provides all chil­ dren with such stakes, and these are their parents. Oh, that all parents were to their children strong, protecting, and supporting stakes, for then children would be better off, and entitled to entertain the best hopes. The well known adage is perfectly true: “As the tree, so the fruit.” If the children are so fortunate as to have God-fearing parents, it may be expected that they will become good, upright Christians: but if they have the mis­ fortune of having a father and a mother who are irreligious and do not fear God, there is good reason to apprehend that they will turn out badly. The descendants of Seth, the third son of our first parents, remained faithful to God for centuries and walked in the way of his commandments : but the descendants of Cain were always wicked, and became guilty of the greatest crimes. Whence this great disparity between the descendants of Seth and Cain ? Because the former had pious ancestors reaching back to Seth, and the latter had wicked ancestors reaching back to Cain, the fratricide, who was cursed by God. And do we not see with our own eyes that good parents almost always have good children, whilst parents who are bad Christians generally have children who lead a dissolute life ? There are indeed ex­ ceptions, but not very many. You, Christian fathers and mothers, have a double reason for walking in the fear of God : for your own sake and for your children’s sake. If you are good Chris­ tians you may hope that God will receive you and your children into heaven ; but if you are bad Christians, you have reason to fear that you will be damned with your children. Christian pa­ rents, should not this thought be to you a powerful incentive to lerve God with fervor all the days of your life? 2. If trees are to thrive and yield fruit, they need careful culture. (a.) They must often be watered, especially when they are small and during a long drought, because otherwise they would stop growing and wither for the want of moisture. What water is to small trees, religious instruction is to children. Parents who let their children grow up without religious instruction and 124 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. prayer, grievously sin against their duty and expose their chil­ dren to the danger of being demoralized, and of rendering fruit­ less all efforts to make good Christians of them In their tender years children are most susceptible of good ; the salutary lessons which they receive imprint themselves deeply on thuir memory and frequently are to them in after-life beacon lights on the journey through life. Again, the prayers which are learnt and re­ cited at the parent’s knee are generally said even in old age; all have a kind of predilection for them, because the sweet remem­ brance of childhood’s happy days is connected with them. Follow, therefore, Christian parents, the admonition of the Holy Ghost: “Hastthou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their childhood.”—Ecclus. 7: 25. (Æ.) Everything injurious must be kept away from them. A great many things can injure trees and cause them to perish, e. g., severe frost, as long as they are young and tender; rabbits gnaw at them during the winter; and caterpillars in spring eat the leaves and destroy the blossoms. For children also there are many things which may cause injury and ruin, and these are occasions oi sin. If people of mature age are in danger of forget­ ting God and sinning grievously on certain occasions, for in­ stance, in the society of wicked people, or of persons of the op­ posite sex, how much more is this to be feared with children and young people, who, having no experience, are naturally thought­ less, and do not know the dangers that threaten them, and cannot estimate the consequences of sin 1 The principal reason why the young people of our days are so corrupt must be attributed to dangerous occasions. They associate with immoral, irreligious people ; they visit houses in which no religion is followed, main­ tain a sinful familiarity with persons of the opposite sex, and participate in frivolous amusements; what wonder, then, that they lose all modesty and fear of God, and give themselves to excesses and dissipations. If you, Christian parents, care for the innocence and virtue of your children, keep them from the occa­ sions of sin. Allow them no familiarity with persons of the op­ posite sex under any circumstances; such familiarity is most dangerous to chastity; never allow them to visit a house in which the inmates care nothing for religion, nor to participate in amuse­ ments where everything they see and hear allures to sin. It is said of the shepherd Argus that he had a hundred eyes, and when he slept he kept some of them open, wherewith to watch his flock. I wish you parents also had a hundred eyes, and wo ild always keep some open, in order to watch over your children. Watch them in the house and out of the house, for their blood will be demanded at your hands, and their destruction will be at your door if any of them perish. 5. Symbolical Sketch. 125 Part ΠΙ. 1. Fruit-trees are intended to yield good fruit. With this inten­ tion they are planted, grafted and raised with great care. Man also must bring forth good fruit. He must faithfully serve God all the days of his life, diligently practice the Christian vir­ tues, and conscientiously fulfil the duties which appertain to his sphere of life. For this end he is sanctified in baptism and in­ corporated with Christ and the Church; for this end God has given him parents and teachers and obliged them to encourage him in the practice of all virtues. 2. Fruit-trees are not lost sight of even when full-grown and capable of yielding fruit, but everything is done to them that is considered necessary and useful. (a.) The soil around them is loosened and a fertilizer is put round about the trunk, to convey nourishment to their roots so that they may be more productive. Our good God does the same with us men ; he bestows graces upon graces upon us, so that we may become fruitful in good works. Such graces in a wider sense are all the powers and fa­ culties of soul and body, health, and other temporal benefits, which, from a sense of gratitude, we ought to employ for good purposes. Such graces in a narrower sense are all inspirations and impulses to do good and are all divine operations upon our soul, by which we are strengthened to overcome temptations, to fulfil the duties of our religion and state of life, and to persevere in holiness. These supernatural operations of God upon our soul are countless and are repeated as the pulsations of our heart. On the last day we shall see all that God has done for us, and ex­ claim with astonishment: Oh, how mercifully did God deal with me ; how many graces has he given me for the salvation of my soul! And how numerous are the means of grace and salvation which we receive in the Catholic Church! We have the word of God, which teaches us everything, urges us on and exhorts us to do all that is right, so that we obtain salvation. We have the sacrifice of the mass by which the fruits of Redemption and graces of all kinds are continually conveyed to us. We have the seven sacraments, through which, as through so many channels, God’s graces flow to us for our purification and sanctification. Consider what solace it is for us to have the Sacrament of Pe­ nance, and how miserable we should be if we had not this Sacra­ ment; moreover, what a grace and blessing it is that in the Blessed Sacrament we have Jesus Christ always present, so that we can visit, adore and even receive him at all times. We have a most edifying and elevating public worship, full of beauty, and I 26 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. sacramentels by which various corporal and spiritual benefits are communicated to us. Truly, we Catholics are trees which God has planted in the most beautiful and glorious garden, and which he nurses carefully so that they may yield fruit for eternal life. (3.) Trees are often pruned, so that the superfluous branches may not deprive them of the sap or vital juice necessary for the fruit. Such prunings God also performs on men when he sees that their productiveness will be increased thereby. He cuts off from some their wealth, diminishes their temporal goods, reduces them to poverty, because they used money and goods to serve pride and other sins: he clips off the health and sends them sick­ ness and other human frailties, to compel them, as it were, to dis­ continue their criminal excesses and to do penance; in short, he takes away from them what is obstructing their progress in virtue and holiness and visits them with crosses and afflictions, for he knows that it is necessary and expedient for their amendment, perfection and sanctification. If man takes this pruning, as a tree, and subjects himself in all patience and humility to the will of God, he will, like the pruned tree, become so much the more fruitful in virtues and good works. 3. There are trees which, in spite of culture and care, remain unproductive and resemble that fig tree from which the owner expected fruit for three years, but in vain {Luke 13:6-10). What is at length done with such an unproductive tree? Christ tells us in the gospel of this day : It shall be cut down, and shall be cast into thefire. That in the end will also be the fate of the Christian who remains unfruitful in good works. Think seriously about this, and remember, not only those who do evil, but those who neglect the good which they should do, will be condemned to hell-fire. There are sins of commission as well as of omission ; both exclude from heaven and lead to hell, if they are mortal. Heli did nothing bad, but he omitted the good which he should have done, and therefore God punished him with sudden death and perhaps with eternal damnation. Therefore say not: I do not steal, I slander no one, I do nothing against chastity, I do nothing bad; for this is not sufficient to enable you to escape hell and to gain heaven. It is required for this that we diligently practice the Christian virtues and do good works; and it is especially necessary that we perform scrupulously the duties of our state of life. PERORATION. Endeavor to resemble the trees, of which the prophet says that they grow on the banks of the torrent, that no leaf falls off 6. Moral Sketch. and that their fruit fails not. — Ezech. 47: 12. God has done and continues to do everything that can be done for you so that you may bear fruit. He sanctified you in baptism ; he gave you pa­ rents and teachers who were your guides in all that is good from your childhood; he planted you in the garden of his Church, where you receive graces upon graces for your sanctification. Show yourself thankful to God for all these graces and forget not that much will be asked of him to whom much has been given. Be fervent in the practice of virtue, and bring forth many fruits of justice, that the words of the Psalmist may be applicable to {rou : “They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall floursh in the courts of the house of our God.”—Ps. 91: 14. Amen SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 6. MORAL SKETCH WITHOUT PRAYER NO ONE CAN BE SAVED. Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king­ dom of heaven ; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.—Matt, 7 : 21. Our divine Saviour frequently designated prayer as a means by which we can obtain whatsoever we wish. Thus he says : “All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”—Matt. 21: 22. And again: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”—Matt, 7: 7. He even confirms these promises with a solemn oath : “Amen, Amen, I say to you, whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he shall give it to you.” The final sentence in the gospel of this day, however, seems to con­ tradict the promises according to which we can obtain all things whatsoever we shall ask, for he says: Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Here Christ emphatically declares that not all who say, Lord, Lord, that is, not all who pray will enter heaven. St. Chrysostom solves this apparent contradiction when he says that prayer is absolutely necessary for salvation, and that no one who wishes to be saved must neglect prayer; but that with prayer alone no one can enter into heaven, for we must also fulfil our duties. I say then — Z Without prayer no one gains heaven; IL With prayer alone no one gains heaven. 4 ia8 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. Part I. Without prayer no one can gain heaven; for he who does not pray, neglects— I. His duties towards God, We are bound — (a.) To adore, love and praise God. He is our Lord, we are his servants: he is our Father, we his children. If it is the duty of a servant to honor his master, and the duty of a child to love his father, how can we refuse God our veneration and homage, when he is our supreme Lord and our most loving Father? We read in the Sacred Scriptures that the angels and saints adore God in heaven. “The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever.”—Apoc. 4: 10. Again: “I saw a great multitude......... standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.”—Apoc. 7:9. 10 What the angels and saints do in heaven, we must do on earth ; like them we must adore God with the most profound veneration, we must love and praise him. Therefore he who does not pray refuses to render the homage due to God, and acts as shanefully as the wicked spirits who would not adore God, and on that account were cast out of heaven. (£.) To thank God. Everything we have is a gift of God. We have from him our body, our life and all temporal goods; from him we have our immortal soul, endowed with free will, under­ standing and memory; from him we have the only saving faith and all the means of salvation. “Every best gift, and every per­ fect gift, is from above, coming down from the father of lights.” — James ix 17. Now, if we have everything from God, should we not be thankful to him for his benefits? God is offended by nothing so much as by ingratitude; therefore, Christ complained that of the ten lepers whom he had healed only one returned to him and thanked him for the benefit: “Were there not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to re­ turn and give glory to God but this stranger.”—Luke 17: 17, 18. (r.) To petition God. Of ourselves we have nothing and are nothing. “What hast thou that thou hast not received ; and if thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?” In our temporal and spiritual necessities we must rely on the grace of God; without him we can do nothing. Does not our impotence, insufficiency, and total dependence on him require 6. Moral Sketch. 129 that we thank him for his gifts and benefits ? Would it not betray intense pride to refuse to humble ourselves before God and con­ fess our misery and poverty, and to ask him for his gifts ? We feel offended when a man who cannot help himself, and who owes to us his means of subsistence, acts as if he did not need our assistance, and who never condescends to ask us for any­ thing. And should not God be offended when we men, who cannot draw a breath without him, are too proud to ask him for his benefits and graces? (di) To believe in God, hope in him, and love him. We must be­ lieve in God, “for he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him.”—Heb. 11:6. And Christ says: “He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be condemned.”—Mark 16: 16. We must hope in God, for our hope is based on faith, as the Apostle says: “Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for.” —Heb ii : i. He who hopes not in God lacks faith, rejects or doubts the omnipotence, goodness and fidelity of God, imagining that God would not, could not, give what he promised. We must love God, for Christ declares the love of God to be the first, the greatest and most necessary of all the commandments (Matt. 22: 36-38); and St. Paul assures us, that without charity the gift of tongues, all wisdom and knowledge, miraculous power, alms and martyrdom profit nothing.—I. Cor. 13: 1-3. Prayer, then, presupposes faith, hope and charity, for we pray only because we believe in God and his revelations; we pray because we hope in him and his promises; and we pray because we love him, or have at least the desire to love him. A person who does not pray does not believe in God, hope in him and love him, but is quite indifferent towards him, cares nothing about him, nourishes ill-will and hatred towards him; consequently, he who does not pray is a bad, wicked person, and cannot be saved. 2. He neglects vohat is requiredfor salvation. What must we do to be saved? (a.) We must do penance vohen voe have sinned. We must truly repent of our sins and be firmly resolved never more to offend God. He who has not this will, has not true contrition, without which no forgiveness is possible. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.”—Luke 13 : 3. True repentance has its difficulties: you must be completely changed; you must hate what you formerly loved and love what you formerly hated; you must eradicate bad, deeply rooted habits, shun the occasions of sins to which you feel an attachment, break with the world and its vanities, and reveal every sin, no matter how abominable, in IV 9 ’ j i ••.7J /30 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. confession. Many other difficult things connected with repen* tance far surpass our strength, and we need a special grace to assist us in our insufficiency and to render us capable of bringing forth fruits worthy of penance. This grace depends on prayer. Although God gives sinners the first grace for conversion with­ out prayer, he will not give them the further graces for the accomplishment thereof unless they fervently pray for them. He who does not pray is certain to remain in sin. As long as the sinner does not pray he remains impenitent, and will be lost unless he begins again to pray. (£.) We must keep the commandments of God. This is self-evident, for God has given us his commandments for no other reason than that we should keep them. Moreover, Christ expressly says: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”— Mad. 19: 17. The question is, can we of ourselves keep the commandments, as is required for salvation ? We cannot, for we are not able of ourselves to do anything for our salvation. “Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of our­ selves, but our sufficiency is from God.”—IL Cor. 3: 5. God must assist us with his grace, but in order to obtain it, we must ask him for it. “Ask, and you shall receive.” He who does not pray has reason to fear that his measure of graces will be diminished and that he will transgress the commandments, especially in great temptations, and so lose his soul. (?.) We must persevere in good to the end, as Christ repeatedly says: “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.” Matt. 10: 22. To him who serves God only for a time and again forsakes him the words of Christ apply : “No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”—Luke 9: 62. But the grace of perseverance according to the doctrine of the Church is a gift which cannot be merited, but can be obtained only by continuous prayer. However, prayer alone is not sufficient. Part IT We must also do the will of God, as Christ says: He that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall e liter into the king­ dom of heaven. What is the will of the Father? i. That we fulfil the duties of our respective states of life. Every one lives in a certain state of life, in certain circumstances, and therefore has certain duties corresponding to his state and circum­ stances. Thus married and single people, parents and children, asters and serv?nts, rich and poor, the sick and the healthy—all 1« 6. Moral Sketch. U1 have particular duties. He who desires to gain heaven must fulfil the duties of his state. The Apostle sets a high value on prayer, and exhorts us to practice it on every occasion. He says : “I will that men pray in every place.”—I. Tim. 2: 8. He even requires us to pray without ceasing (7. These. 5: 17); but he likewise insists upon every one doing his duty, saying: “As the Lord hath distributed to every one, as God hath called every one, so let him walk.”—I. Cor. y: 17. And again he says: “Walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called.”—Ephes. 4:1. In his epistles he enlarges on the duties of our state of life, and requires each one to fulfil them. Thus he commands husbands to love their wives, to support, to nourish and to cherish them {Ephes. 5: 26, et seq.)·, women to be subject to their husbands in all things {Ephes. 5: 22); to use no authority over the man and to be in silence {I. Tim. 2 : 12); parents, not to provoke their children to anger, but to bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord {Ephes. 6:4); children, to obey their parents in the Lord {Ephes. 6:1); masters, to do to their servants that which is just and equal {Col. 4: 1), and not to treat them harshly {Ephes. 6·. g); servants, to “obey in all things their masters, not serving to the eye, as pleasing men, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God . . . knowing that they shall receive of the Lord the reward of in­ heritance.”— Col. 3: 22-24. From this and many similar admonitions of St. Paul, as from many other passages of the Sacred Sciptures which might be adduced, it is evident that the fulfilling of the duties of one’s state of life is a very important affair, and that no one can be a good Christian who leaves them unfulfilled. How strictly St. Paul en­ joins us to perform the duties of our state is evident from his well known utterance : “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.”—I. Tim. 5:8. It is certainly a great sin to deny the faith and to become an iinfidel ; but just as grievously and still more grievously do those fathers and mothers sin who neglect to take care of the temporal and spiritual wel­ fare of their own, or, in other words, neglect the duties of their state of life. If you, Christian parents, go regularly to church, but neglect the discipline of your children; if you, sons and daughters, say your morning and evening prayers regularly, but treat your parents rudely and grieve them by your stubbornness, you will not please God with your prayers and devotions, and will not be saved. Do not forget this. There are those who grieve that they cannot go to church and devote as much time to prayer as they would like because their business or circum­ stances of life do not permit it. I can tell them for their conso­ lation that they need not fear for their salvation on that account. If they fulfil the duties of their state of life patiently and for the 132 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. love of God, they acquire as great and probably greater merit than if they assisted daily at mass and performed long devo­ tions. Serve God always in the way you can serve him, and pray as much as you can pray, then all things are in proper order and God will be satisfied with you. 2. That we fulfil the duties of religion. Among these duties I reckon the commandments of God and of his Church, the virtues and good works which Jesus has prescribed by his word and example. It has already been remarked that we must keep the commandments of God, and the precepts of the Church ; he wha does not keep them, or breaks only one in an important matter, sins grievously and renders himself worthy of eternal damnation. Therefore, it will profit you nothing to pray if you violate the commandments; your prayer cannot save you from perdition. There are millions in hell who have prayed more, visited the church more frequently, and participated in more devotions than you; but because they violated one or the other command­ ment—for instance, because they have cursed, blasphemed, com­ mitted sins against chastity, slandered their neighbor, they are rejected in spite of their prayers The same must be said of the Christian virtues, such as humility, meeknees, patience, temperance, fraternal charity. Every Christian must diligently practise these virtues whenever the opportunity presents itself. Not to practise them is to act against the will of Christ, who has frequently and expressly recommended them to us ; it is to refuse to follow him who gave us an example; it is to shut heaven against ourselves, for we can enter it only by following Christ. Suppose a farmer were to sow the best wheat in his field, and at the same time as many weeds, could he expect a good crop of wheat? Certainly not. Thus the holy masses you hear, the rosaries you say, the devotions you practise, are excellent seed, which should bring forth fruit a hundred fold, but what can be expected of this seed when you sow cockle among it? What will it avail you if in the morning you assist at mass but in the afternoon give yourselves up to drinking, gambling and impurity? What will it avail you to hear two or more masses every day, if you get into a passion with your neighbor, curse, swear and blaspheme ? What will it avail you to say a rosary every day if you slander and detract your neighbor ? Truly, the sins which you commit, and never earnestly endeavor to omit, destroy all the good seed of your prayer, and make all your devotions worthless before God. : 7. Moral Sketch. 133 PERORATION. Be not deceived, imagining that God, as it were, connives at Christians who pray much, and opens to them the gate of heaven in spite of their sins ; for I repeat, with prayer alone you will never be admitted into heaven. Although prayer is absolutely necessary for your salvation, and although all who do not pray go straight to hell, it is just as necessary to do the will of God, that is, to fulfil the duties of our religion and state, if we wish to be saved. The two things go together, diligent grayer, and dili­ gent performance of the will of God. Pray therefore and work. If in both these respects we do our duty, we are walking in the right way that leads to heaven. Amen. SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 7. MORAL SKETCH. HYPOCRISY IS AN ABOMINABLE VICE. Beware offalse prophets> who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly are ravening wolves.—Matt. 7:15. By false prophets, against whom our Saviour warns us in the gospel of this day, we are to understand, first of all, the Scribes and Pharisees. They gave themselves the appearance of being the most zealous servants of God and paragons of virtue and sanctity; they prayed much, were not content with the fasts commanded, but imposed voluntary ones on themselves; they gave alms liberally; in a word, they conducted themselves in such a manner that those who were not well acquainted with them would almost venerate them as saints ; but in reality they were very corrupt men, full of cunning and malice, full of ambition and envy, and bore an irreconcilable hatred against Christ. All false prophets are seducers ; they so conduct them­ selves externally that one is tempted to believe them good, upright and well-meaning people, whilst they have a very per­ verse heart, and bring upon all those who permit themselves to be deluded by them unspeakable mischief and ruin ; they are, indeed, wolves in the clothing of sheep. The hypocrites who appear very pious and holy, but who in secret indulge their passions and commit the greatest sins, are also false prophets. I have selected hypocrisy as the subject of our meditation to-day ■ »34 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost and I shall attempt to prove to you that hypocrisy is a very abo< inable vice — II I. In itself; II. In its causes ; III. In its cansequences. Part I. Hypocrisy in itself is an abominable vice. This will become plain to us when we consider that hypocrisy is the mother of two very ugly and hateful daughters, fraud, andfalsehood. I. Fraud. Who is a hypocrite? He who tries to hide his sins from the eyes of the world is not yet a hypocrite. Every man feels that sin is hateful and detestable; it is therefore very natural for man to hide his sins and vices. For this reason our divine Saviour says: “Every one that doth evil, hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.” — John 3 : 20. It is better, too, generally speaking, that the sinner should endeavor to hide his bad actions ; for if they remain secret there will be at least no scandal, with its evil consequences. Neither is he a hypocrite who does good in order to be praised by men ; such a one sins only by ambition, and if he has not a good intention loses only the merit of his good works. He only is a hypocrite who carefully conceals his bad disposition, his dissi­ pations and vices, and always exhibits a pleasing exterior, in order to lead men into error and to make them believe that he is really what the seems to be, an honest and good Christian. The hypocrite does not want to be good, but to appear so. His heart is corrupt, he is full of ambition, self-interest, cunning and fraud. He resem­ bles, as Christ says, a whited sepulchre, which inwardly is full of dead men’s bones and of all filthiness.—Matt. 23: 27. But as graves are covered and adorned to conceal their contents from the eyes of men, so the hypocrite veils and covers his sins and true intentions lest they should become known to any one. In secret he gives full scope to his passions, for there is no fear of God within him ; but publicly he does nothing wrong ; he avoids even the shadow of sin, if he has reason to fear that others might hear of it. Before men he shows himself pious, full of zeal for God, and of hatred against sin; he also does good, diligently assists at mass, frequently receives the sacraments, gives alms, but not because he finds pleasure in the exercises of religion and virtue, but only in order to be considered good and pious. Thus the hypocrite is in reality a cheat and an impostor. “ There is something unnatural in hypocrisy, in having the outward ap­ pearance of a dove, and the heart of a dog; in being a sheep in -w. 7. Moral Sketch. *35 words and a wolf in purpose; in being a Nero inwardly, and a Cato outwardly. Thus it can be said of a hypocrite that he is a new monster composed of opposite and different natures/’— St. Augustine. 2. Falsehood. The hypocrite is also a liar: for as he who tells an untruth, in order to deceive his neighbor, is a liar in words, so he who gives himself the appearance of being pious and virtuous without really being so, is a liar indeed. St. Thomas of Aquin says : “It is part of the virtue of truth that man should make known by outward signs what he is. These outward signs, however, are not only words but actions. At it is contrary to truth for one to signify by outward signs something different from that which one has in one’s mind, so it is also against truth for one to express by outward actions something which contra­ dicts one’s thoughts.” But there is scarcely a sin spoken of in the Sacred Scriptures so abominable and hateful as lying, a Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.”—Prov. 12: 22. “A lie is a foul blot in a man, and yet it will be continually in the mouth of men without discipline. A thief is better than a man that is always lying ; but both of them shall inherit destruction. The manners of lying men are without honor, and their confusion is with them without ceasing.”—Ecclus. 20: 26-28. What else, then, is hypocrisy but a very hateful, abominable vice, for according to its whole nature it is untruth and falsehood? Part H. Hypocrisy is very abominable in its causes, which are — i. Vanity and pride. Virtue is honored everywhere; even the vicious man cannot refuse it his approbation. But to be truly virtuous is not so very easy a matter ; it costs much labor and pain and numerous sacrifices. Now there are many who would obtain the applause and honor due to virtue in an easier way; they therefore have recourse to hypocrisy and pretend to be virtuous without really being so. Thus the Scribes and Phari­ sees, whose principal vices were ambition and pride. They distributed their alms at the corners of the streets, prayed in public places, and went about when they fasted, unwashed and with a sad countenance. Besides this they did many other strange and conspicuous things. Some of them walked as if they had no feet, so slightly did they lift them up, with a view to give themselves the appearance of being buried in deep meditation and wholly dead to all earthly things: they were called “the mutilated.“ Others went about with their eyes closed that they might not look upon a woman, and knocked themselves against Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. the corners of the streets and houses. Some exclaimed continually during- the day: What shall I do? in order to manifest their zeal for virtue. Others again wore large hats, which obstructed the view, so that they could only look on the ground, and thus avoid distraction. To mortify themsleves some loved to sleep on narrow boards and to fall from them, in order to make a noise, that others might be edified by their penitential fervor. Lastly, they wore little tablets on their body written all over with texts of Holy Scripture, to show that they were continually meditating on the word of God. But they did all these things, not for the love of God and their own salvation, but solely from ambition, to be looked upon by men as great servants of God. Ask your­ selves whether you have not sometimes pretended to piety and rendered yourselves guilty of hypocrisy. 2. Avarice, Owing to this poor people often become hypocrites. They think perhaps -with the Apostle that piety is profitable for all things and therefore also for making people well disposed towards them, and willing to give them alms ; hence, they dili­ gently go to church, pray devoutly, feign sickness sometimes, and send for the priest to give them the last sacraments. Even children and servants often play the hypocrite with a view to win the favor of parents and of masters and mistresses, and to obtain presents from them. Tradespeople and mechanics do the same. In the presence of priests and zealous Catholics they pretend to be very religious in order to gain their confidence, whilst in their hearts they are not so. 3. Various vices, as theft, fraud, usury, impurity. To hide these vices as much as possible, and to give themselves up to them with less restraint, some pretend to be pious and virtuous Chris­ tians ; they are zealous for religion, have their names enrolled in pious associationsand confraternities; they even go frequently to confession and communion. St. Clement of Alexandria com­ pares such hypocrites to dunghills covered with snow ; and Christ compares them to whited sepulchres, which are full of dead men’s bones and of all filthiness. 4. Finally, corruption. The devil knows how to assume the ap­ pearance of an angel of light, when he goes about to ensnare men in his nets. Corrupters do the same. Knowing that every one would detest them if they showed themselves in their true colors, they surround themselves with the halo of a saint, in order to accomplish their satanic work. All heretics and founders of sects were hypocrites. They gave themselves the appearance of zealous servants of God and boasted even of extraordinary graces and revelations ; they thus succeeded in deluding others and in- η. Moral Sketch. 137 fecting them with their errors. Corrupt men, whose aim is to se­ duce innocent females, also have no more appropriate means for the obtaining of their base purposes than hypocrisy. They know and understand how to captivate by acts of kindness those per­ sons whom they have chosen as victims of their unchaste desires; at the beginning of their visits they hold conversations on quite harmless, and even on spiritual subjects, and pretend to such piety that they seem to be the best people in the world, almost saints; by little and little they gain confidence and attain their end. To this class belong also women who, by pretending to great innocence, bashfulness and modesty, attract many of the unwary and allure them into the trap. Part HL Hypocrisy is most detestable in its consequences. 1. It deprives good works of all supernatural merit. Remain for hours on your knees, and pray with extended arms, fast every Friday on bread and water, give large alms to the poor, practise the virtue of meekness, patience, obedience, and chastity; do this and a thousand other good works, all is in vain, and you will not be entitled to any reward if these things are done, not for the honor of God, but from hypocrisy. Our Lord assures us of this in plain words, when he says : “Take heed that you do not your justice before men, that you may be seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost an alms-deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have re ceived their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth . . . And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites that love to pray standing in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.” —Matt. 6: 1-5. How deluded therefore is the hypocrite, who tor­ ments himself so much in doing good and all in vain. Does he not resemble a laborer who casts his hard-earned wages into the sea? 2. It robs man of divine grace. The hypocrite does not seek the honor of God, but himself, and this is just the reason why God deprives him of his grace, for “God resisteth the proud, and to the humble he giveth grace.”—I. Peter 5: 5. The hypocrite is full of deceit and cunning, therefore God is displeased with him and closes the source of his graces against him. “A perverse heart is abominable to the Lord, and his will is in them that walk 138 Seventh Sunday Apter Pentecost. sincerely.”—Prov. 11: 20. Lastly, because the hypocrite is often a corrupter, and labors for the destruction of souls, he can not hope for mercy from God; that woe will come upon him which Christ has pronounced upon corrupters, and those who give scan­ dal. Our Lord was full of compassion and love towards the greatest sinners ; Mary Magdalen, the Samaritan woman, Zacheus, the thief on the cross, all found grace with him. But he dealt differently with the Scribes and the Pharisees; he frequently cried out woe to them and announced their eternal perdition. From this it is evident that hypocrisy earns for man the displeasure of God in a degree unequaled by any other vice. 3. It makes man impenitent. For conversion self-knowledge is necessary, because as long as man does not know his misery he will not amend his life. But the hypocrite is entirely blinded and does not see the abyss of his malice ; therefore he rejects all at­ tempts of amendment and remains in sin. For repentance humi­ lity is required : but the hypocrite shuns and detests no virtue so much true humility; therefore he remains in sin. For repen­ tance contrition is required ; but the hypocrite knows no contri­ tion ; his heart is utterly perverse and corrupt ; therefore he re­ mains in sin. We need not wonder, then, that the Scribes and Pharisees always persevered in impenitence; they were hypo­ crites, and hypocrites remain hypocrites and do not wish to be converted. Christians who are hypocrites carry the brand of damnation on their forehead. 4. They catise a great deal of mischief among men. As remarked above, many become hypocrites for the purpose of leading others astray, and only too often they accomplish their satanic work. One seeks his victim in an honorable family; knowing that they value religion and piety he pretends to be religious, frequents the churches and conducts himself properly. Thus he gains con­ fidence, which he rewards by getting the daughter of the house into trouble, or if he marries her, he destroys the happiness of her life. Another endeavors to spread false maxims. How does he do it? He gives himself the appearance of a warm friend of religion; only now and then does he let a word drop about super­ stition, human ordinances and the like. But by little and little, when he has gained confidence and a sure footing, he goes far. ther, he praises his pernicious doctrines as excellent truths, and finally causes many to assent to them and suffer shipwreck of faith and virtue. In still another way hypocrisy works pernici­ ously and destructively. It is often found out, and the consequence is that the good cause often suffers the greatest injury, for people are only too apt to confound the cause with the person and to declare the fo mer bad, because the latter is bad. If, for instance, 7. Moral Sketch. >39 the hypocrite showed great fervor in prayer, or belonged to se­ veral confraternities and often received the sacraments, many are so foolish and malicious as to declaim against prayer, confes­ sion and communion and to decry them as useless, even declar­ ing that persons who say their prayers and go to confession and communion are nothing but hypocrites. Through such conver­ sation and criticims many Christians are deterred from doing good so that the may not be considered hypocrites. PERORATION. Thus then hypocrisy is a most detestable vice in itself\ in its causes, and its conseqztences. “Beware ye,” therefore, as Christ ex­ horts, “of the leaven and of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” —Luke 12:1. Be not content with the appearance of piety, but be truly pious. What does it profit you, if you gain the applause of the world, but displease God; if you deceive man, when you cannot deceive God ? That you may not fall into the vice of hypocrisy, endeavor to be humble and to live in the fear of God, for these two virtues are incompatible with hypocrisy. Do good for the love of God and do nothing bad even in secret; mean well by all men and aspire to true justice, that you may be able to stand before the tribunal of God, who is theM“ searcher of hearts and reins.”—Ps.l'. 10. Amen. 3 140 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Epistle. Rom. 8: 12-17. Brethren: We are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you shall die. But if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For whosoever are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear : but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba (Father). For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also : heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ. 1. HOJIILETIC SKETCH. WHY WE MUST MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE FLESH. St. Paul says in the eighth chapter of his epistle to the Romans, ïrom which the lesson for this day is taken, that all who do not belong to the Church of Christ, Jews and Gentiles, still languish in the fetters of sin, and in this miserable state cannot work out their salvation. He teaches that those who are incorporated with Christ and his Church by faith in baptism are delivered from sin and eternal damnation and have the consoling hope, after a glori­ ous resurrection, of enjoying the everlasting happiness of heaven. In the Epistle of this day the Apostle exhorts us to live no longer according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, and he gives us two reasons why we must mortify all the deeds of the flesh, viz. : I. Because our eternal salvation depends thereon ; II. Because ive are children and heirs of God, and co heirs of Christ. Part I. I. Brethren, voe are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. By “flesh” we understand the inordinate and sinful i. Homiletic Sketch. 141 lusts of the body, the motions of our nature corrupted by ori­ ginal sin, the evil desires and passions. “To live according to the flesh1' means to do whatsoever pleases the flesh and flatters sensuality, to obey the inordinate inclinations and passions, to prefer our will, our honor, our pleasures and lusts to God and his holy law, to seek only ourselves, not God ; only what is tem­ poral, not what is eternal. “We are debtors not to the flesh” means, we have no obligation to yield ourselves to the lusts of the flesh and to gratify our inordinate desires; on the contrary, we are strictly obliged to suppress and stifle sensual motions and lusts. Therefore the Apostle says: “They who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences.”— Gal. 5 : 24. If we live according to the concupiscence of the flesh we shall have no part in Christ, and shall be lost. We are debtors to the flesh in so far as we are obliged to pro­ vide our body with what is necessary for the preservation of life, health and strength. When therefore we supply the body with food, raiment and shelter, employ proper means for its recovery when overtaken by sickness, and do not expose is to danger without necessity, we pay it what we owe. But if we provide our body with too much nourishment or of too choice a descrip­ tion, dress and adorn it vainly, indulge it in idleness, and gratify its inordinate desires, we violate our duties towards it, and sin. St. Paul cautions us against this, saying: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its concu­ piscences.”—Rom. 13: 14. 2. For ifyou live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. In these words the Apostle points out the consequences when the flesh is mortified and when not. (a.) Ifyou live according to theflesh, you shall die. St. Paul here speaks not of the death of the body, for this comes to all men sooner or later, no matter whether they live according to the flesh or according to the spirit, and is the consequence of ori­ ginal sin in -which they are conceived and born. History and experience indeed prove that people who live according to the flesh, e.g., drunkards and the unchaste, often destroy their health, contract various diseases and sink into an early grave ; on the contrary, those who lead a mortified life are spared many sickness­ es, and as a general rule reach a good old age. Thus we know of hermits in the desert who, in spite of their rigorous fasts and many mortifications, lived to be eighty, ninety, even a hundred years of age. St. Paul, however, does not speak of the temporal, but of the spiritual death. He who lives according to the flesh dies the death of the soul in this world and in the world to come: i4« Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. in this world, because he loses sanctifying grace, in which the supernatural life of the soul consists; in the next world, because his soul is condemned to eternal death. He who lives according to the flesh dies also spiritually according to the body ; he will come forth out of the grave on the last day with the hideous body of the damned, and together with this body will be deli­ vered to the fire of hell, which is the other death. Oh, how blind are Christians who, by giving themselves to short, fleeting plea­ sures, purchase for themselves a miserable death and eternal damnation I What does it profit Dives now to have feasted sump­ tuously every day, and to have been clothed in the finest and softest clothes, and to have led a life of pleasure? He is burning in hell-fire without help or consolation, and has not a drop of water to cool his parched tongue. Think of the dreadful conse­ quences which a life according to the flesh draws after it, and beware of indulging your sinful lusts and passions. If evil con­ cupiscence entices you to pride, avarice, impurity, represent to yourselves at once the evil which the gratification of the sinful desire brings in its train and say to yourselves: “No, no, at such a price I will not sin.” Let him who unfortunately has long been a victim to sin shake off his bonds and do penance so that he may escape eternal damnation. (3.) The Apostle next speaks of the reward which is given us if we mortify the flesh. If try the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh,you shall live. Works of the flesh are: “Fornication, un­ cleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchrafts, enmities, con­ tentions, emulations, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, sects, envy, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.”—Gal. 5 : 19 et seq. Now he who detests and shuns these vices, and courageously mortifies all sinful lusts and desires, shall live. Such a Christian will have the supernatural life, that is, sanctifying grace, a trea­ sure more valuable than all earthly goods; he will rise on the last day with a glorified body ; he will receive with body and soul the eternal, inexpressibly happy life in heaven. Oh, what glorious fruits we shall obtain if we mortify the deeds of the flesh! St. Peter of Alcantara slept for forty years only an hour and a half every day, in a sitting posture, with his head resting on a piece of wood; be lived in a cell only four and a half feet long; he never covered his head, whether in sunshine, rain, or cold ; winter and summer he went barefooted ; he had a very poor habit, and over it a short mantle of coarse cloth. When it was very cold he opened the window and the door of his cell, in order to torture his body with frost; once every three days he ate bread and unboiled herbs. He so mortified his eyes that he knew his brethren only by their voice, and in speaking he was so sparing that no idle word ever passed his lips. After i. Homiletic Sketch. 143 his departure he appeared in great glory to St. Teresa, whose adviser he had been during life, saying: {tO happy penance, which has merited me such happiness !” Did not this saint speak a very different language from that of Dives? Yes, but he led a different life. Whose lot do you wish to share? that of Dives, or of St. Peter of Alcantara? Certainly that of the latter. Well then, imitate him ; and like him mortify the deeds of the flesh. Part Π. 1. St. Paul first speaks of sons of God, and tells us— («.) Who the. sons of God are, in these words : Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. To be led by the Spirit of God means to follow his inspirations. The Holy Ghost operates in men in divers ways, in order to keep them in the way of justice and to lead them to their final end, after having sanctified them in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance. He enlightens them interiorly that they may know the will of God; he encourages them to good and strengthens them in the prac­ tice of it; he assists them in temptations that they may be able to resist them and persevere in grace. He also employs many exterior means and graces to preserve them in the love of God. Such means and graces are instruction in Christian doctrine, sermons, mass, etc., the holy seasons and feasts, various joyful and sorrowful occurrences in life, and especially the holy sacraments, for the reception of which there is always an opportunity. Now all who follow the interior inspirations and motions of the Holy Ghost and diligently avail themselves of the means and graces which he offers them for their salvation, are children of God. Now examine yourselves and ask: How do matters stand with me ? Do I allow myself to be led by the Holy Ghost: Do I listen to his inspirations and obey them? Do I shun the evil he warns me against? Do I accomplish the good to which he urges me? Do I make use of the means of grace which are given me for my salvation ? Do I love to pray ? Do I listen to the word of God with pleasure? Do I read spiritual books? Do I receive the sacra­ ments often and am I well prepared? Blessed are you if you can answer these and similar questions in the affirmative; it is well with you and you are children of God. But if you are obliged to answer in the negative, matters would not be well with you ; you would not be children of God, but children of the world, slaves of Satan, and you could expect nothing but eternal dam­ nation, unless you change your lives. (Λ.) He tells us what grace our sonship contains, saying: “ You have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear, but you have received 144 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, FatherV Under the Old Law, the work of Redemption not being yet accomplished, God did not manifest himself so much as a God of love as a God of power ; he gave his law to the Israelites, amidst terrify­ ing signs, amidst thunder and lightning, and imposed severe penalties on the violators thereof. The Jews therefore were accustomed to call God their Lord, not their Father; and them­ selves his servants. How much more intimate and gracious is the relation in which we stand to God ! The goodness and kind­ ness of God appeared to us personally in Jesus Christ (Tit. 3: 4); and gave us power to be made the sons of God (John 1 : 12); and we are allowed to say, “Abba Father.” What dignity to be sons of God! As a child of God the poorest beggar child stands higher than the son of the mightiest ruler, who is only a poor mortal man. And what consolation for us to be children of God I With what confidence can we approach God, who is our Father? What may we not expect from a Father, who is God! Therefore never forget “what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God” (I. John 3: 1) ; and fulfil your duties as children towards God your Father in heaven; honor and love him above all, and obey him willingly and cheerfully. (ci) He tells us how we know that we are children of God. 11 The spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons ot GodP It is the Holy Ghost himself who makes known to us that we are children of God and possess his holy grace. As Denis the Carthusian remarks, he makes this known to us either by interior inspiration or by exterior revelation. The revelation is made either by himself or by an angel; and man to whom such a revelation is made knows with certainty that he is in a state of grace and a child of God. Only a few saints have been favored with such a revelation. The interior inspiration is made by the infusion of a consoling confidence, by virtue of which, man, solicitous for his salvation, is fortified and consoled, so that he can judge, although not with certainty, yet with good reason, that he is a child of God and in a state of grace. The Holy Ghost gives us this testimony in general if we have a tender con­ science, hate and detest sin, and endeavor to do the will of God in great as well as in little things. Therefore St. John (I. 3:21) says: “If our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards God.” But since without a special revelation of God we have no full certainty whether we are children of God and in a state of grace, and since so long as we are in our mortal flesh we are in danger of losing this relationship and grace, we must walk in humility and work out our salvation with fear and trembling.—Phil. 2: 12. i. Homiletic Sketch 145 2. The Apostle infers from our sonship that we are also heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, for he says: And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ. (λ.) Children are the natural and lawful heirs of their parents. Whatever they posses of temporal goods, be it much or little, falls to the children as a lawful inheritance. God having vouch­ safed to adopt us as children we are also his heirs; we participate in the felicity which he enjoys himself. The richer a father is, the greater is the inheritance of the children. Now we are not the heirs of a rich man, a millionaire, but the heirs of God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Who can estimate the greatness of our inheritance? How vain, how insignificant must every earthly inheritance appear, compared with this! When St. Francis of Assisi, on account of his liberality, was disinherited by his father, he joyfully exclaimed: Now I have more right to say daily: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven.” What a consolation for Christians who have to spend all their life in lowliness and poverty if they can say to themselves: Though I am abandoned by men, poor and miserable, I am far from being unhappy, for God is my Father, and as his child I shall inherit all his goods, nay, himself, for the words which he spoke to Abraham apply also to me: “Fear not, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great/* — Gen. 15 : 1. (£.) As children of God we are brothers of Christ, and conse­ quently joint heirs with him; we share in the goods which Jesus Christ has merited as man. He is risen with a glorified body; we shall also rise with one, wherefore the Apostle writes : “He will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory.”—Phil. 3:21; Jesus sits at the right hand of God, and as man participates in the power and glory of the divine majesty. In this also, if we are so fortunate as to get to heaven, we shall be made conformable to him, our brother ; for in heaven the last or the least of the saints possesses greater power, glory and felicity than all the great ones in this world. PERORATION. Considering that we are children and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, should we not feel ourselves bound to conduct ourselves in a manner suitable to our dignity and destiny ? Shall we give ourselves up to the despicable enjoyments of the flesh, when, as heirs of God we have the joys of heaven in prospect? No; mindful of our dignity and destiny, we must not attach our heart to any temporal and perishable good, we must mortify the IV 10 146 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. deeds of the flesh, and always behave as becomes children of God, that we may have the happiness of being heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Amen. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Gospel. Luke 16: 1-9. At that time: Jesus spoke to his dis­ ciples this parable: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer. And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed. I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. Therefore calling together every one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord ? But he said : A hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then he said to another : And how much dost thou owe? Who said: A hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill and write eighty. And the lord commended the unjust steward, for as much as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. And Isay to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. 2. HOMILETIC SKETCH. THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD. What I have just read for you in the gospel of this day is not a true history or a real occurence, but only a parable, that is, a discourse in the form of a history, containing important lessons for our daily life. Our Lord teaches us in this parable that we must look upon temporal goods, not as our property which we may deal with as we please, but only as goods entrusted to us by God, to be employed according to his will. Now in order to make use of our temporal goods according to the will of God, 2. Homiletic Sketch. 147 we must assist the poor and needy so far as our circumstances permit, for God is particularly pleased with works of mercy, and rewards them here and hereafter. Let us make the contents of the gospel of this day the subject of our meditation, and consider the three following points: I. A rich man calls his steward to account; II. The u njust steward knows how to act in his perplexity ; III. The rich man praises the unjust stewardfor his prudence. Part I. i. The gospel of this day begins with the words: There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. {al) The rich man is God. God is immensely rich in himself, for he possesses all perfections in an infinite degree—he is the sum of all that is good. All things outside of him are also his; heaven and earth and all that they contain are his property. “Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth.”—Ps. 88: 12. Every one likes to serve a rich master, especially if he is liberal, because he expects good wages. Now, should we not serve God with great joy because he is an infinitely rich and generous Master who rewards our service here and hereafter most munificently? And yet there are so many Christians who serve the enemies of God, the world, the flesh and the devil, from whom they receive tem­ poral and eternal perdition as their reward. What a delusion! {b.) The steward of the rich man is man. All men, whoever they may be, are stewards of God, because they are in his service, depend entirely upon him, and must make use of all that they possess according to his will. No man, however exalted, is his own master. None can say: “Nobody can command me, I can do what I will.” Every one, the king and the beggar, must acknow^dge God as his Lord, and obey him. Woe to those who will not submit to the authority of God ; they will share the fate of Pharaoh in Egypt, who in his haughtiness said: “Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice? ... I know not the Lord.”— Exodus 5: 2. The Red Sea swallowed up this blasphemer and scoffer with his whole army. Let us humbly subject ourselves to the dominion of the Lord, and say with the devout Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”—I. Kings 3:10. % {ci) By goods we understand all things whatsoever we have ; the goods of the body, such as beauty, strength, health, the five senses; the goods of the world, such as honor, respect, property; 148 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. the goods of the soul, such as understanding, memory, will; finally the supernatural gifts, such as the Catholic faith, the holy sacraments, and all the graces and means of salvation. We owe all these goods to God, and they are his gifts in the strictest sense of the word. “What hast thou, that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”—Z. Cor. 4: 7. Far be it from you to be proud of what you are or have, on that account thinking yourselves better than others and even looking down upon them with con­ tempt. This would be a very foolish and sinful pride, because whatever you possess is a gift of God. If you have any advantage over your fellow-men, it should be to you a motive to humble yourselves the more before God, and to be more grateful to him, (d?J Is is said of the steward that he was accused unto his lord. People of the house, or extems, who were aware of the steward’s bad administration, accused him to his master and brought his wrong-doing to light. The sinner, that unfaithful steward of God, will also have his accusers ; the angels, especially his guar­ dian angel, of whom it is said: “He will not forgive when thou hast sinned.”—Exodus 23:21 ; the devils, who, as we read in the Apocalypse, accuse men before God day and night ; the people, the poor, the wido.vs and orphans, who are oppressed, the scan­ dalized and seduced ; conscience, which is our accuser as often as we offend God ; and finally sin itself, which, on account of its magnitude, cries to heaven for vengeance. Let us always walk in the fear of God, and do penance for our sins, that we may not fear those accusers on the day of judgment. ( a. Let us now consider how the steward extricates himself out of his embarrasment. He says within himself: I know what 1 will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. He now calls together his lord's debtors and asks them how much they owe his lord; then he reduces each one’s debt. As we perceive, this steward acted very prudently, for he chose a very appropriate means of help­ ing himself out of his difficulty. There can be no doubt that the debtors whom he favored so much showed themselves grateful/ and when he was turned out of office received him and provided for his support ; for one favor deserves another. Let us gather from this the following lessons: {ai) This steward thought at once of his safety, and employed the appropriate means. If we abstract from his injustice, he ought to serve us a pattern in the affair of our salvation. If you are in danger of suffering the loss of your souls, do without delay what is necessary for your salvation. You have perhaps fallen into a grievous sin, and therefore are in great danger of losing your soul. Make a good confession, with a view to restore your­ selves to the state of grace. You are in the proximate occasion of sin, and have already sinned in consequence. Avoid the occasion, give up that person, that house, that company, for this is required for the salvation of your soul. You have the bad habit of swearing, blaspheming, committing impurities: try to get rid of these habits; employ conscientiously the means pre­ scribed by your father confessor. {bi) In the unjust steward we see how one sin begets another, The vice of prodigality caused the steward to defraud his lord and to induce others to defraud him. Envy caused Cain to commit fratricide; avarice caused Judas to betray his Master; ambition induced the high priests and Scribes to bring about the crucifixion of our Lord. Beware of the first sin, for it rarely remains alone, but draws others and greater ones after it, and ultimately impenitence and eternal damnation. {ci) The steward indeed sinned grievously because he induced the debtors of his lord to commit an injustice; but they were by no means free from sin, for it was their duty to reject the sinful offer with scorn and instead of listening to him, to report him to his master. Do not make yourself accessory to the sins of others; fear God and do not permit yourself to be enticed to sin by any one. Do what you can to keep others from sin, especially those under your charge. 152 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. Part III. I. And the lord commended the unjust steward, for as much as he had done wisely. It may seem strange to some that the lord praised the unjust steward. For how can a man who commits such a wicked deed as this steward be praised? But you must know that the lord did not praise the steward because of his injustice, but because of his prudence; therefore, the gospel does not say: “The lord praised the unjust steward, because he had done unjustly,” but for as much as he had done wisely. Injustice is and always will be injustice and sinful; but prudence deserves praise, for it is a virtue and most necessary for those who wish to lead a pious life and to please God. It is prudence that in every case makes us know what is pleasing to God, it preserves us from self-delusion, and prevents us from allowing ourselves to be led into evil. Therefore, Christ exhorts us to be wise as serpents (Matt. 10: 16), and to imitate the five virgins, who were admitted to the marriage feast on account of their prudence.—Matt. 25. To obtain this necessary virtue of prudence, you must man­ fully control your inordinate inclinations and passions, and in important affairs ask the advice of conscientious and enlightened Christians, according to the words of the wise man : “My son, do thou nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when thou hast done” (Ecclus. 32: 24), and finally, diligently pray for this virtue, as St. James admonishes (1: 5): “If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him.” 2. Christ adds: The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. (a.) The children of this world are those whose whole mind is set on earthly goods, and who do not trouble themselves about God and his holy law, or about their soul’s salvation. The children of light are the true Christians, who aspire to eternal goods, and make themselves worthy of them by a pious life. Let each one of you ask himself whether he is a child of the world or a child of light. If you share the sentiments of worldly people, if you care nothing for the Catholic faith, if you indulge your passions and neglect the duties of religion, you are children of the world and walk in the broad road that leads to perdition ; but if you value and love the Catholic faith above all things and regulate your life according to its precepts, you are children of light and walk in the road that leads to life. (/5.) Christ says that the children of the world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. That is, the 3. Dogmatical Sketch. 153 children of the world are more concerned about their advan­ tages, make more sacrifices, and take more trouble about temporal things than the children of light, who are so zealous and solicitous for the eternal and heavenly goods. It is certain that if we did for God what the children of the world do for temporal things and for the gratification of their passions, we should attain a high degree of perfection, and be rewarded with a high place among the saints in heaven. What senselessness and infatuation it is to take so much trouble for things which are transitory and worthless, and to do absolutely nothing for heaven 1 What folly to make greater sacrifices for hell than for heaven! PERORATION. Christ concludes the parable in these words: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity} that inhen you shallfail they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. Our Lord calls riches mammon because they are not really ours, but the property of Another which we have to administer, and because they are fre­ quently acquired unjustly, and moreover, they frequently lead to injustice, sins and vices. We make friends of riches, if we assist the poor and contribute to charitable purposes out of the means we lawfully possess. In this way we acquire great merit before God, and the poor at our departure from this world will meet us, as it were, as friends, and receive us into everlasting dwellings. De charitable, love to give alms, for works of mercy to the poor parge from sins, rejoice the heart of God, promote our temporal welfare, and procure for us a happy death and the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, 3. DOGMATICAL SKETCH. THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT. hve an account of thy stewardship.—Luke 16: 1. These <;e the words which the divine Judge will address to »ach ont >f us : Give an account of thy stewardship. Sooner or 154 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. later the Lord of life and death will call us from the theatre of this world and summon us before his judgment seat, in order that we may give an account of our whole earthly life. He will do this immediately after our death, at the secret or particular judgment. It is called secret. because it is not held publicly, as the final judgment on the last day, but privately with the departed soul. It is called the Particular judgment, because every man is judged in it particularly, separately, and individually, in contra­ distinction to the general judgment, in which all men will be judged together. I need scarcely remark that in both judgments the sentence upon each individual will be the same, and will be either heaven or hell. At the last judgment no one wdll be con­ demned to purgatory, because it will cease at the end of the world, and there will be but two everlasting abodes, heaven and hell. I shall speak to-day of the particular judgment, and answer the three following questions : I. When and where will the particular judgment be held? II. How will it be held ? III. How are we to prepare ourselves lor it ? Part I. The particular judgment will be held immediately alter the death of each person. We find this doctrine of the faith in many passages of the Sacred Scriptures. “It is easy before God in the day of death to reward every one according to his ways.” — Ecclus. 11: 28. According to this passage, every one, as soon as he is dead, receives his reward or punishment. Reward and punishment necessarily presuppose a judgment ; it therefore follows that every man will be judged immediately after death. The Apostle says: “ I have a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ.”—Phil. 1: 23. St. Paul could not reign with Christ in heaven before he was judged. Now having a desire to die in order to be with Christ, he thereby indicates that there will be a judgment after death. More emphatically still does the Apostle say : “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.”—//^. 29: 7. This has always been the doctrine of the Church. St. Gregory the Great says: “ After death is the judgment.” And St. Augustine: “It is rightly believed that the soul when separated from the body will be judged before she appears at the last judgment after reunion with the body.” Even the Gentiles believed that each man will be judged immediately after death. According to them there were three judges in the other world, Rhadamanthus, Minos and Æacus, who summoned each man immediately aftei 3. Dogmatical Sketch. 155 death before their tribunal and either rewarded or punished him. As soon as the soul leaves the body she is judged and her fate decided for all eternity. 2. Regarding the place of the particular judgment, it is the opinion of theologians that it takes place where the person dies; for as God is everywhere, he has his tribunal everywhere. The soul need not make a long journey to arrive at the judgment seat. On the very spot whence she departs from the body she will be judged, be it in or out of bed, at home or abroad, on land or on water. It may happen then that a person is judged in the very place where he has done good or evil. Most people die in bed, and therefore the bed will be the place where most people will be judged. Think of this, all of you, whether single or married, and do not devote the bed to sin. It would be awful if you should be judged where you have offended God with abominable vices. The devil would take your soul from the bed and go down with her into hell. Because death may overtake you anywhere, do evil nowhere, but live in all places in such a manner that you need not fear the coming of the divine Judge. Part H. The particular judgment will be held in the following manner: i. The soul must appear before the divine Judge alone and unattended. She is separated — (a.) From her body. How terrible it must appear to her to see herself all at once without a body, the companion with which she was most intimately united for many years; what horror will seize her when she sees how this body rots and is to all an object of disgust I (Æ.) From all earthly goods. She must leave behind all property, honors and dignities. Death falls upon her as a robber, strips her of all that she possesses, and leaves her nothing but her bare life. (cl) From all men upon earth. She may have had many relations and friends, but not one goes with her before the judgment-seat of God. It was this abandonment that King Ezechias felt so much on his death-bed, and full of sadness he said: “I shall behold man no more.”—Is. 38: 11. How foolishly then does man act when he pampers his body, which will be dust before long, when he attaches his heart to things which at his death will vanish like smoke, and when he I5& Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. offends God to please men who at the moment of his death will forsake him. 2. The soul must appear before Jesus Christ. Christ will be her judge, for to him the Father has committed the judgment. Christ had been to the soul until her departure a God of love and mercy, and had bestowed on her countless graces. But now he stands before her in another character, now he is her judge who regards not the person of man, who demands an account of every idle word, who has the power and the will to condemn the impeni­ tent sinner. When Joseph in Egypt made himself known to his brothers and said: “I am Joseph, whom you sold,” his brothers could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear. —Gen. 45: 3. I leave it to yourselves to judge what anguish and terror must seize the guilty soul when on a sudden she sees her­ self placed in the presence of an angry judge. “That moment,” says St. Basil, “will be to her more painful than all the pains of helk” 3. As soon as the soul in separated from the body the investi­ gation begins. This investigation will extend itself not only to thoughts, words, actions, and omissions, but also to the use of the proffered graces and means of salvation, to the duties of our religion and state of life, to the circumstances and intentions of our actions, and the manner in which we performed them. Christ will bring everything to light, and present it before the soul, even though she has forgotten it long ago, or not recognized it as sinful. “It shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps.”—Soph. 1: 12. Ah, how will the sinful soul tremble at the revelation of all her crimes ; with what shame, confusion and anguish will she be overwhelmed! But how different it will be for the soul of the just man before the tribunal of Jesus! She did the will of God conscientiously, and if from human frailty she sometimes made a false step, she did penance for it immediately. Christ will manifest all her mortifications and exercises of penance; to her joyful astonishment she will see much good which she remembered no more, or to which she attributed no value. She will be greatly rejoiced over it, and a thousand times bless her life, which was always dedicated to the service of God. 4. The judge pronounces the sentence. This judgment can be threefold, according to the state in which the soul is found, (a.) If she is in a state of grace, without stain or spot, she will be admitted immediately into heaven. The divine Judge will say to her: “Come, thou blessed of my father, possess thou the king* 3. DogxMatical Sketch, 157 djm prepared for thee from the foundation of the world.”—Matt, 25:34· Oh, how will the soul rejoice when she hears this sentence from the mouth of Jesus! Her day’s work is done; all conflicts, dangers and sufferings are over; she can now for ever more be with her Jesus, the only object of her desire and love, for ever dwell in the house of God in the company of all the angels and saints. Oh, who does not wish from the bottom of his heart to share the lot of this supremely·happy soul? (3.) If the soul departs this life in a state of grace, but defiled with venial sins, or if in this life she has not made all the satis­ faction God’s law requires, the judge will send her to purgatory, with the assurance that she shall not go out from thence till she has paid the last farthing.—Matt. 5: 26. Hearing this sentence, she will be overwhelmed with sadness, deeply regretting that she did not more carefully avoid venial sins, and that from want of zeal she did not perfectly satisfy for the temporal punishment. (é.) If the soul departs this life in a state of mortal sin, she will go down to hell. Full of wrath, our Lord will say to her: “Depart from me, thou cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels.”—Matt 25: 41. Who shall describe the terror which will seize the soul when she hears that sentence ? How will she now curse her criminal excesses and vices? How will she lament when she contemplates heaven, which she could easily have obtained, but which is now lost for ever! And how will she tremble and shudder when the pool of fire is opened, into which she will sink for ever! How shall we fare? Will God admit us into heaven, or condemn us to hell? This as yet depends on ourselves. Therefore no question is more important than this: How are we to prepare ourselves for the judgment? Part III. “ If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”— I. Cor. 11 : 31. In these words the Apostle teaches us how we are to prepare ourselves for the judgment, so that it may be favorable for us. We must judge ourselves, that is, we must examine, rectify and amend— i. Our past life. It is only too certain that we have not spent our past life as we ought; we have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, and by the omission of many good works which we should have done. Perhaps we have not yet atoned for these sins: there are still items of our former sinful life which must be blotted out. It is als > possible that some of our confessions are invalid, and that up to this hour we have sins on our conscience, ï58 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. committed perhaps years ago. All this must be set in order Therefore review your past life and ask yourself: How do matters stand with me? Am I free from all my sins and from the bad habits of my former life ? Have I always made good confessions ? Can I assure myself that in each of them I had true contrition and a firm purpose of amendment, and that I never concealed anything of which I should have accused myself? Have I repaired all injuries to the best of my ability ? Have I restored ill-gotten goods, and indemnified others for the loss they suffered ? If you do not find everything satisfactory, delay not to set your house in order, for you know not when our Lord will call you to judg­ ment. If you have not yet made a general confession, do so as soon as possible. No one should die without making a general confession; for many Christians it is very necessary in order to ensure a happy death. Omit not to inflict voluntary penances upon yourselves for the sins of your past lives, that you may fully satisfy the justice of God and obtain more abundant graces for a truly penitent life and perseverance in virtue. 2. Our present life. We must see whether our present life is such that we can give a good account of ourselves. We must examine ourselves— I I I I I I I I (a.) With regard to the duties of religion. Ask yourselves: Do I love God above all things, and do I show it by this, that I would rather suffer all evils, even death, than offend God by a mortal sin? Have I an inordinate affection for anything earthly? Do I raise my heart frequently to God? Do I love to pray ? Do I sanc­ tify Sundays and holidays? Do 1 frequently receive the sacra­ ments? Do I read spiritual books ? Do I love my mother, the Catholic Church; do I follow her ordinances, keep her precepts? How do I treat my neighbor? Do I mean well by every one? Do I re­ joice at his success; have I patience with his failings; do I love to do him acts of kindness? (If With regard to the duties of our state of life. If you are married, see whether in your married state nothing occurs that violates your conscience. If you are fathers and mothers, see whether you keep your children under good discipline and pre­ vent everything wrong to the best of your ability. See whether you envy others, take advantage of them in business transactions, or oppress them. If you are wealthy, see whether you willingly give alms and make a good use of your temporal substance ; if you are poor, whether you are content with your state of life, whether you envy the rich, and whether you work industriously, in order to make an honest living. If, after such an examination, you find some items that deserve censure, you must make resolutions of amendment. 4. Liturgical Sketch. ’59 PERORATION. Thus, likeDavid, think upon the days of old (Ps. 76: 6), examin­ ing your past life and rectifying all errors and mistakes without delay. Make a general confession, unless you have already made one. Let no day pass without heartily repenting of your faults and endeavor to expiate them by various works of pe­ nance. Avoid not only mortal, but also venial sins ; practise the Christian virtues and spend every day as if it were the last of your life- If in such a way you judge yourselves, you will not be judged. Jesus will graciously receive you on the day of judgment and admit you with his elect into the mansions of bliss. Amen. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 4. LITURGICAL SKETCH. THE FEASTS OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN, ST. JAMES THE GREATER, ST. ANNE. Tiie Lord commended the unjust steward, tor as much as he had done wisely.—Luke 16:8. There is a twofold prudence, a false and a true. False pru­ dence, which is possessed by the children of the world, consists in being bent upon temporal advantages, in the gratification of low passions, and in discovering means, good or bad, to attain the desired end. Such a worldly prudent man was the steward. When his lord called him to account becaase he had wasted his goods, and discharged him, he was at first in great perplexity, but being prudent he knew how to get out of the difficulty. He made the debtors of his lord reduce their bills, hoping that in gratitude for this favor they would receive him into their houses and sup­ port him for the rest of his life. The true prudence proper to the children of God consists in this, that we know what is pleas­ ing to God, and that we make use of the means requisite for our salvation. All the saints possessed this prudence ; they knew that all earthly things are vain, and therefore they aspired to the things above. *o Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. With a view to convince you of this prudence of the saints I will give you brief accounts of saints whose feasts occur about this time of the year, viz. : — Z 5/. Mary Magdalen ; II. St. James the Greater; Ill. St. Anne. Part L I. History of St. Mary Magdalen. Mary Magdalen, whose feast the Church celebrates on July 22nd, was born in Galilee. In­ fatuated and ensnared by the vanities and lusts of the world, she strayed from the path of virtue and sank so deeply that she was known as a public sinner. But she did not always remain a sin­ ner. Obedient to a powerful inspiration of grace, she went to Jesus, and full of contrition, bewailed her sins before him, and had the happiness to hear from him the consoling words: “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” Henceforth she was a most faithful ad­ herent of Christ; her love rendered her so strong that she fol­ lowed him on the way of the cross, and with Mary the Mother of Jesus, and St. John, she stood under the cross. She shed bitter tears when she did not find the body of Christ in the sepulchre; but he rewarded her love, appeared to her first of all, and comissioned her to announce his Resurrection to the Apostles. Of the rest of her life we have no authentic account. According to some she is said to have accompanied the Blessed Virgin and St. John to Ephesus after the Ascension, and to have died there. Others say that she came with her brother Lazarus and her sister Martha and other Christians to Marseilles, in France, where for thirty years, until her death, she lived in a cave, practicing the most severe penance. H 2. Lessons. (a.) Mary did timely penance. She had scarcely heard that Christ was in the house of Simon when she hastened to him in order to obtain of him the forgiveness of her sins. She did not say: This is not the proper time to go to him -when so many guests are assembled around him ; nor, I am young yet, I shall do penance after a while: on the contrary, she attends without delay to the business of her salvation and is converted. And she did well, for if she had not embraced this opportunity, perhaps she would never have been converted. There are not many sinners who wish to live and die in sin ; almost all intend some time or other to repent. But while they content themselves with this thought, one time of grace passe» 4. Liturgical Sketch i6i after another without their doing penance, till finally death ap­ proaches and overtakes them in sin. Ah, hell is full of those who intended to do penance, but never did. Therefore, those who are in a state of sin should not delay; for we are all sinful, and may die at any moment. Consider again that the longer you delay your conversion the more difficult it will become, because remorse of conscience becomes weaker, sin casts deeper roots and becomes a habit, and God diminishes the measure of his graces. If you have the misfortune to sin grievously make a good confession on the first opportunity; only a speedy repentance secures your salvation. (Æ.) She did penance thoroughly. Her mind and conduct were totally changed after her conversion. Her heart no longer be­ longed to the world and its lusts, but to God alone. Her interior transformation manifested itself also in her life. She no longer held intercourse with the world, but sought the society of Jesus and of his disciples; she no longer vainly adorned herself, but dressed plainly and decently and gave every one a most beauti­ ful example of holy zeal and modesty, and renouncing all worldly amusements she occupied herself with God and with works of piety. Our repentance must have these qualities, if it is to be true. If you merely confess your sins and perform the penance imposed on you, yet do not change your perverse heart, you are sham penitents, and your confessions, far from being for your salvation, are for your damnation. Think well of this, and at each confession devote great diligence to making acts of con­ trition and a firm purpose of amendment, for contrition and good resolutions are most necessary for a good confession and the for­ giveness of sins. (£.) She did penance perseveringly. Having found grace with Jesus she returned no more to a life of sin, but persevered con­ stantly in penance till she died. Your repentance must be such; your confessions must be followed by a lasting amendment. No­ thing is more dangerous than to relapse into the old sins, for from this frequently originate blindness and obduracy, final im­ penitence and everlasting ruin. St. Peter therefore says: “If, flying from the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and are overcome, their latter state is become unto them worse than the former. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment, which was delivered to them.”—II Peter 2: 20, 21. Guard against nothing so care­ fully as a relapse. Renew daily, but particularly at the moment of temptation, your resolution rather to die than to sin again ; shun IV 11 <02 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. the proximate occasions of sin, and avail yourselves of the means of amendment—prayer and the sacraments. Part IL 1. History of Si. James. This Saint, called St. James the Greater, to distinguish him from St. James the Less, a near relation of our Lord, whose feast is celebrated on July 25th, was a son of the fisherman Zebedee, and a brother of the Apostle and Evangelist St. John. When Christ at the Lake of Genesareth said to them; “Follow me,” they immediately left parents, house and business and walked with our Lord. Jesus particularly favored them and made them with St. Peter witnesses of his Transfiguration on Mount Thabor, and of his agony in the garden of Olives. When the Apostles left Jerusalem to teach nations St. James is said to have preached to the scattered tribes of the Jews. A tradition of the Church in Spain, based upon the authority of SS. Theo­ dore and Jerome, says that he preached the gospel in that country. In the year 41 he returned to Jerusalem where, three years later, Herod Agrippa caused him to be beheaded, for he had in­ curred the hatred of the Jews owing to his zeal in preaching the Christian faith. His body was interred at Jerusalem, but was afterwards translated to Spain, where at Compostella it is visited and venerated to this day, not only by the Spaniards, but by pil­ grims from all countries. 2. Lessons. The gospel mentions two events in the life of SS. James and John, which are very instructive. (a.) Our Lord intended on one occasion, on his journey to Jeru­ salem, to stop in a town of the Samaritans, but they received him not. SS. James and John were so incensed at this conduct, that they said to him: “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them ? And turning, he rebuked them, saying: You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came not to destroy souls, but to save.”—Luke 9: 51-56. You must take care that in your zeal you do not over­ step the bounds of moderation and charity. When you perceive that so many people not only lead bad lives themselves, but also seek to corrupt their fellow-men, it is not against Christian charity to become angry ; but permit no hatred or desire of revenge to arise in you, and do not wish that God would punish and destroy them, for that would be against Christian charity; on the con­ trary, wish that God would bring about their conversion. This is the way of the Church, for she pravs for infidels, heretics and sinners. 4· Liturgical Sketch. 163 (Â) One day SS. James and John, with their mother, came to Christ and asked him that he would place one on his right hand and the other on his left, in his kingdom. He said to them : “You know not what you ask. Can you drink of the chalice that I drink of or be baptized with the baptism wherewith I am bap­ tized? But they said to him: We can.”—Mark 10; 35-40. By these words they declared themselves ready to follow their di­ vine Master on the way of the cross. From this we learn that we are not to seek honors, riches, pleasures ; for nothing but humility, self-denial and patient en­ durance of sufferings and persecutions are imposed as a duty on the subjects of Christ. The disciple is to be treated no better than the master. When Christ entered into his glory by sufferings, nothing remains for us, if we wish to be his disciples, but to follow him on the way of the cross. Therefore he says : “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”—Luke 9: 23. Part HL 1. Traditions concerning St. Anne. St. Anne always enjoyed in the Church the highest veneration. Justinian I. built a magni­ ficent church at Constantinople in her honor in the year 550; and Justinian II. added another. The Christians, in very early times, celebrated her feast annually; Pope Gregory ΧΙΠ. sanc­ tioned it in the year 1584 and prescribed it for the whole Church. Neither the Sacred Scriptures nor ancient Church historians mention St. Anne ; we depend entirely on traditions referred to by several of the Fathers. According to these, Anne and her hus­ band Joachim were descended from the royal house of David, and led a humble life at Nazareth. Their marriage was for many years childless, but at length God blessed them with a daughter, to whom they gave the name of Mary. When the child was three years old, they brought her to Jerusalem and presented her to the high priest, that she might be brought up in the temple for the service of God. How long they lived afterwards cannot be ascertained ; it is, however, certain that they died before the Incarnation of Christ because the Evangelists make no mention of them. It is a venerable tradition that the Blessed Virgin was the only child of St. Anne, and when the Bible speaks of sisters of Mary, we are to understand near relations, for among the Jews cousins were frequently called brothers and sisters. 2. Lessons. (a.} Pious parents have always venerated St. Anne, in order to obtain through her intercession with God grace for the 104 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. education of their children. You also must do this, Christian parents; recommend yourselves and your children to St. Anne that you may bring them up well, and derive consolation and joy from them. (6.) St. Anne brought her child Mary in her tender years to Jerusalem that she might be educated in the temple in all virtue and piety. You may not be so situated and circumstanced as to be able to separate your children from the world and have the educated in boarding schools or convents ; but it is in your power to keep them away from irreligious and immoral people, and to plant in their hearts from their childhood love of a retired life. This is absolutely necessary if they are to be preserved fro danger. How many children have been led astray early in life because their parents did not keep a watchful eye over them, and allowed them to frequent bad company 1 Do not permit your children to keep company with people who have no religion, or to participate in amusements which may result in the loss of their innocence. II II (c.) The Blessed Virgin was a child given to her parents in answer to prayer; for only after long and fervent prayers did God bless St. Anne with a child. There can be no doubt that she daily prayed to God to shield her child from all dangers of body and soul, and to preserve her in innocence and holiness. You also, Christian parents, must pray for your children, that God may bless your efforts for their proper education. You will not see your efforts crowned with success unless God assists you with his grace, for, “neither he that planted is anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.”—I. Cor. 3 : 7. But the means to obtain the grace of God for every good work is prayer. Therefore pray for your children, for the good and obedient ones, and for the bad and untractable ones; for the former that they may remain good and innocent: for the latter, that they may repent and become good. (ά) St. Anne gave her child the best example. Mary had in her mother a most beautiful pattern of all virtues ; what she saw in her breathed piety and childlike fear of God; no wonder that the child in her earliest years turned to God, and loved him with all her heart. Oh, how happy are children who have good pa­ rents who daily pray with fervent devotion, assist regularly on Sundays and holidays at mass, frequently go to confession and communion, always live in peace and harmony, and in their whole conduct manifest Christian sentiments. The conduct of children is a faithful copy of that of their parents. Virtue being deeply rooted in their heart gradually becomes to them a second ■ J. • Λ 5. Symbolical Sketch. 165 nature. If it should come to pass that they fall, they will soon rise again ; the remembrance of the piety of their parents will be to them a powerful incentive to amend their lives. If the ad­ monition of our Lord concerns any one, it surely concerns pa­ rents : “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven.”— Matt. 5: 16. PERORATION. Take to heart what I have briefly told you of the three saints whose festivals we celebrate about this time. These saints acted according to the rules of Christian prudence, for they did not suffer themselves to be ensnared and deluded by the spirit of the times, but gave themselves to God with unwavering firmness and made provision for the salvation of their souls. Act prudently, too, and shun nothing so much as sin ; for it is sin that renders man miserable for time and eternity. Detach yourselves from every­ thing that hinders you in the business of your salvation, and serve God faithfully all the days of your life. This is the true prudence which entitles you to God’s love and grace here, and to a blessed felicity hereafter. Amen. EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 5. SYMBOLICAL SKETCH. THE SINNER RESEMBLES THE UNJUST STEWARD. There was a certain rich man, who had a steward.—Luke 16:1. The rich man is God. He who possesses much money and property is called rich. God certainly can be called rich, because heaven and earth and all that is in them, are his property. Com­ pared with him, the millionaires of our day are mere beggars. The steward of the rich man is each individual. All men, of whatever state or condition they may be are, like the steward, in the service of God, and the goods which they possess, be they many or few, are not their property, but God’s; they cannot do with them as they please, but must use them according to God’s will. Woe to those who abuse God’s gifts and benefits by sinning; i66 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. they will certainly share the fate of the unjust steward whom his lord called to an account, found guilty, and discharged. Finally, by the unjust steward we must understand the sinner, for what­ ever is said of the steward in the gospel is applicable to the sinner. On this we will meditate to-day. I say, the sinner resem­ bles the steward in the gospel of this day — I. In his iniquities; Π In the fate that awaits him. Part L The steward in the parable is represented to us — I. As a squanderer, for it is said of him, that he was accused to his lord of having wasted his goods. There is no doubt that this evil repute was well grounded, and that the wastefulness could not be denied, otherwise the steward, who was so prudent, would certainly have found means to defend himself and to prove his innocence. At any rate he was a squanderer. The gospel does not say how he wasted the goods of his lord. Perhaps he acted as the prodigal son who in a short time wasted his patrimony in debauchery, or like Dives, whose sumptuous living and fine clothes would have made him a bankrupt if he had not been very rich. The sinner is a squanderer, for he squanders — (a.) The goods of nature, such as life, health, property, honor and good name, the faculties and senses of the body, and the powers of the soul. To abuse these goods in any way is what we call to squander or waste them. The man who commits any sin whatever does this. Consider the proud man ; Does he not abuse money, beauty, knowledge, for the gratification of his vanity and ambition ? Are there not persons who spend large sums on dress ? Consider the avaricious man ; instead of giving alms of his abundance, as is his strict duty, he hoards it up; he grudges everything for himself and others; instead of directing his thoughts to God and to eternal things, he is occupied with earthly things and neglects the salvation of his soul. Consider the licentious man; does he not resemble the prodigal son, who by his debaucheries lost his patrimony, honor and good name, and brought a great deal of sorrow on his father? Consider drunkards and gamblers; are there not many among them who have lost house and home, and reduced their wives and children to beggary ? It is therefore only too certain that every sinner abuses the gifts of nature and appears as a squanderer before God. 5. Symbolical Sketch. 167 (6.) The goods of grace, such as the interior illuminations and incentives to good, the voice of conscience, the word of God, the holy mass, the holy sacraments, the holy seasons and feasts. In every sinner, when he is about to do evil, conscience is aroused more or less, and places the wickedness of what he is about to do before his mind, and endeavors to keep him from it. There are graces by which God endeavours to prevent evil, but how often does man slight these graces, follow his inordinate desire, and commit sin ? Every sinner, even the greatest, has intervals, in which he plainly sees his misery and the danger of losing his soul, and feels himself urged to begin a new life. But how many sinners reject the graces of God again and again, and remain impenitent 1 The word of God is often preached, but how many sinners either hear it not at all, or without a good will, so that it affords not the least advantagel Every Sunday and holi­ day opportunity is given for the reception of the sacraments, and they could reconcile themselves with God and recover his lost grace: but many sinners allow years to pass without confession and communion; or they receive them unworthily, and thus receive death and damnation from the fountain of grace. Each Ecclesiastical Year has so many holy seasons and feasts which should be an incentive and invitation to put our conscience in order and make provision for eternity, but how small is the number of sinners who avail themselves of these holy seasons and feasts! Thus again the sinner appears as a squanderer because he makes no good use of the graces bestowed on him for his salvation. 2. As a defrauder. When the steward had wasted the goods of his lord he had recourse to fraud, with a view to help himself out of his difficulty. He called the debtors of his lord together, in­ quired of them the amount of their debt, and made them take bills and write therein less than the real amounts. Thus, one who owed a hundred barrels of oil was told to write down only fifty; another, whose debt was a hundred quarters of wheat, was told to reduce his debt to eighty quarters. In like manner he dealt with the other debtors. To every one he granted a consi­ derable abatement, and thus defrauded his lord of a large amount. The sinner too is a defrauder; for like the steward, he is the cause of others not giving to God what they owe him. He does this — (λ.) By giving scandal, of which he makes himself guilty when he gives others an occasion or inducement to sin. Who can count all the sins that are committed by scandal? How much scandal is given by sinful words, e. g., by scoffing at faith, by calumnies against the Church, her institutions and her priests, 168 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. by immodest words and songs, and by cursing, swearing and blaspheming! How much scandal is given by sinful actions, by vain or improper dress, by encouraging objectionable dances, especially the so-called “round dances” and other amusements, or by participating in such amusements; for this is the cause of others participating in them who cannot be kept away from them by their parents and superiors. How much scandal is given by omissions! Whence does it come that so many Catholics do not hear the word of God on Sundays and holidays? From this, that others, perhaps even such as are looked upon as authorities, never go to hear a sermon. How does it happen that many go so sel­ dom, perhaps scarcely once a year, to confession and communion, whilst formerly they went often ? Because they see others ne­ glect confession and communion. Whence does it come that so many sons and daughters are wicked, and contaminate the most beautiful years of their life with debaucheries? Because they are so unfortunate as to have parents who entirely neglect the duty of their state, the education of their children. Thus scandal-givers defraud God, because they rob him of many souls, which are his property. (b ) By corrupting, which means inducing others to sin. One would hardly believe it possible that there are people so bad as deliberately to make a practice of corrupting their fellow-men, and making them miserable here and hereafter. But there are such, and they are not a few. To this class belong, to mention only a few examples, those wicked men who write or circulate bad books and newspapers, with a view to undermine the faith and to spread irreligious maxims ; those impudent women who adorn themselves in every possible wray so as to ensnare unwary young men; those miscreants who bring all their artifices into play in order to poison innocence; those abominable people who on every occasion speak impure words with a view to inoculate others with the poison of lust—nay, who corrupt innocent per­ sons and even children, in body and soul. Such corrupters are devils in human form, and a curse will come upon them. Thus you see that the sinner in his iniquities bears a true resemblance to the steward in the gospel; for like him, he is a squanderer and defrauder. But he is also like him in the fate that awaits him. Part H. What did the lord do with his steward? i. He called him, and reproached him, saying: Hoia is it that 1 hear this of thee ? The lord upbraided him for his neglect of duty, 5. Symbolical Sketch. i 6g and rebuked him in good earnest for his mal-administration. In like manner God treats the sinner. He calls him and reproaches him — (a.) By the voice of conscience. As soon as a man has sinned his conscience is aroused, and holds up to his view the evil done and its consequences, and tortures him with disquietude, sadness, anguish and terror. And he can never get rid of this torment so long as he remains in sin. Example: The thief mentioned in the Life of Medardus. (3.) By his holy word, which is preached to him every Sunday and holiday. Thus he announced to the Ninevites the destruction of their city, whereupon they did penance in sackcloth and ashes and averted the destruction. Peter preached so forcibly to the assembled Jews that full of fear and contrition they said to him and to the other Apostles : “What shall we do, men and bre­ thren?” and three thousand of them were converted to Chris­ tianity—Acts 2: 37-41. Our priests preach the word of God to­ day ; they frequently announce the terrifying truths of our holy religion, by hearing which many a sinner is seized with a wholesome dread and does penance. (c.) By various events in life, such as escapes from great danger, sickness, accidents, the death of near and dear relations, etc. Such events very often make a strong impression even upon the most careless and thoughtless sinners, awaken in them whole­ some thoughts, preach to them very forcibly the nothingness of all earthly things, and cause them to make resolutions of amend­ ment. How often did the Israelites turn from God, and commit sin? But when God scourged them with war, famine and pesti­ lence, they sought him and did penance. 2. He took from him the stewardship, saying to him; Now thou canst be steward no longer. God also acts in the same way with the sinner — (0.) Frequently, even in this life. Examples: God deprived Heli and his sons of the priesthood, and caused them to die suddenly on account of their sins. He took the crown from Saul and also his life because of his disobedience. He drove the Jewish nation from their own country and scattered them all over the world on account of their unbelief, ingratitude and obduracy. He deals similarly with sinners now. He punishes spendthrifts with poverty; the impure with shame, reproach, sickness, and an early death ; disobedient children with misery and various tribulations. Sins and vices are the cause of many families, cities, kingdoms and î7o Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. empires decaying and perishing. Just think of the overthrow of Achab and of his whole family ; of the ruin of the Jewish king­ dom. God frequently withdraws his graces and means of grace from individuals and nations if they continue to abuse them. Thus he deprived King Saul, Judas, and the inhabitants of Jeru­ salem of his grace, and abandoned them to destruction. In like manner he took away from many nations of Asia, Africa and Europe, the Catholic faith, because they knew not how to appre­ ciate it, and led a very unchristian life. (â.) But always after death. There is then no more time for penance. The sinner who here had half a century or more to work out his salvation will not there have a minute to reconcile himself with God. Every grace even the least is denied him, therefore repentance is absolutely impossible. In eternity there are no longer any sacraments, in vain he will seek for a priest to hear his confession and absolve him from his sins. There the sinner may call upon God with copious tears for grace and mercy, but in vain ; for God’s mercy has ceased for him and he has fallen a victim to his justice; there will be no intercessor for him; Mary the Mother of Mercy, his guardian angel and his patron saint, will no longer interest themselves for him. The heavenly host is silent, and leaves the sinner in the hands of the divine Judge; in a word, hereafter there is no seed-time, but only harvest-time ; “the sinner that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption.”— Gal. 6: 8. Oh, how foolish and blind is the sinner, who in his earthly life rejects the graces offered him by God for the salvation of his soul, and perseveres in impenitence ! What despair will seize him when he sees the fountain of grace closed against him for all eternity 1 3. He called him to an account, saying to him: Give an account of thy stewardship. God will also call the sinner to an account. He must give an account — (a.) Of all the evil he has done, from the first moment of his awakened reason to the last breath of his life. God will be very exact and rigorous in this account, as Jesus indicates in these words: ‘T say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judg­ ment.”—Matt. 12:36. The divine Judge will examine the sinner, and go through all the commandments of God and of the Church, the duties of his religion and state of life, and all the different kinds of sin, the seven deadly sins, the six sins against the Holy Ghost, the four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance, the sins by which we become accessory to the sins of others and the sins committed in thought, word and deed. Ah, how many sins will 5. Symbolical Sketch. 171 then come before the man who always lived in forgetfulness of salvation ! And among these what a number of mortal sins, of which one alone would be sufficient for eternal damnation! (Æ.) Of all the good he could and should have done, but neglected God is not content that we do no evil; we must also zealously do good. We know that the servant who, instead of making use of his talent, buried it, was rebuked by his master and rejected. —Matt. 25. We must zealously practise the Christian virtues, such as humility, meekness, patience, the love of our neighbor; also good works, especially prayer, fasting and alms-deeds, con­ scientiously performing the duties of our religion and state of life ; otherwise we cannot be saved. What, then, will become of the sinner who never troubles himself about the Christian virtues and good works, and who ridicules those who practise them ? And suppose that he does some good, what reward will he have when he always lives in a state of sin, in which no good work is meritorious for eternity ? The sinner will no more be able to face the judgment than the unjust steward; the divine Judge will pronounce upon him the sentence of condemnation. PERORATION. Thus then the sinner bears a sad resemblance to the steward. As he wasted the goods of his lord, and even committed injustice and fraud against him, so the sinner wastes the gifts and benefits of God by making bad use of them; and he defrauds God by leading his fellow-men astray and thus preventing them from giving to God what is due to him. Therefore the same fate awaits him that befell the steward ; God summons him before his judgment-seat, calls him to an account, and rejects him. Consider this miserable end of the sinner, and imitate the unjust steward in his prudence. Do as he did, make provision for your rescue; renounce sin, do penance, and endeavor by good works, especi­ ally by works of mercy to the poor, to make to yourselves friends who may receive you into everlasting dwellings. Amen. 172 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 6. MORAL SKETCH. WEALTH NOT A GREAT ADVANTAGE, NOR POVERTY A GREAT MISFORTUNE. What shall I da? ... To dig lam not able, to beg 1 am ashamed. Luke it>: 3. There is a great inequality among men: some live in affluence, others in poverty. Some have whatever their heart desires, others suffer the greatest privations ; in view of such inequality one would be tempted to deny a just Providence, if one did not know that persons often bring about their misfortunes, like the steward who on account of his wastefulnes was discharged, and if one were not to consider the matter from a higher point of view. God is the Lord and Master of all that we possess. We are his stewards and agents and he distributes his property in various ways: to one he gives five talents, to another two, and to an­ other but one, in order that they may make good use of them and thereby gain the eternal goods of heaven. It would indeed be presumption on our part, being only stewards of temporal goods, to murmur against the Lord and desire him to make us equal to others. Cannot a proprietor do with his sub­ stance as he pleases? Does he wrong you when he gives you less than your neighbor ? To whom will you appeal against him, the Supreme Lord, above whom there is no other? He has given us life without any merit of ours, and if he preserves this life in this or that way, in poverty or riches, what more can we ask ? Besides, what great advantage is it to live in affluence ? Is it a great disadvantage to live in poverty ? It is true, only those who have plenty of money are esteemed happy by worldlings, poverty being looked upon as great misery. But as in many other things, so also in this, the judgments of men are wrong, for if we look upon riches and poverty in the light ot the gospel we find that— I. Wealth is not a great advantage ; IL Nor -poverty a great misfortune. Part L Wealth is attended with many cares. The opulent may appear to live free from all care as regards food and raiment, but experi­ i. ο. Moral Sketch. 173 ence teaches that such is not the case. Generally speaking· the rich have more anxiety in regard to temporal goods than the poor; anxiety about investments; anxiety as to losing money, anxiety to gain more and so on. Do you not hear the rich com­ plain more bitterly of hard times than the poor ? How does this happen ? If the heart be not carefully watched wealth begets covetousness, which is insatiable, and because it is insatiable, the rich are tossed to and fro by disquieting cares, wishes and de­ sires. Seas have their coasts, rivers their banks, winds cease at times, the earth has its boundaries, but covetousness has no limits ; it never rests. The more it has, the more it wants ; and those who desire to become rich fall into the snares of the devil, who goes about seeking whom he may devour. 2. It is attended with many dangers for the soul. Wealth begets covetousness, and covetousness is the source of countless sins and of every kind of injustice. In proportion as riches increase the judg­ ments of God, which await the rich in the other world, are multi­ plied. Burdened with injustices, possessing goods earned by the sweat of the laborer, the tear of the widow and the orphan, when he appears before the judgment-seat of God what can the rich man expect? The covetous will not restore ill-gotten goods; nothing is more common than fraud and theft, and nothing more rare than restitution. “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the king­ dom of heaven.”—Matt. 19; 23, 24. 3. It leads to dissipation and sin. Very few men behave well in prosperity ; they easily become overbearing, forget God and their eternal destiny, grow dissipated, gratify the passions of the flesh, and thus riches cause the ruin both of their body and soul. What made the princes of Israel, in fact, I may say most nations, so overbearing that they cared neither for God or man? What blinded Solomon, the wisest of kings, but the glitter of good fortune? 4. It increases our accountability before God. The goods of this world must be made use of according to the will of God ; we must one day give an account of our stewardship, and the more we have received, the more will be required of us. Woe to the rich on the last day if they have not profited by their temporal goods, that is to say, if they have not acquired the eternal goods of heaven. How many are there who cover the walls of their rooms with rich paper, pictures, etc., but neglect to cover the nakedness of their poor neighbor; how many who adorn their horses with silver and gold-mounted harness, but allow their poor neighbor 174 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. to go in rags; how many who feed their dogs with choice meat, while the poor are suffering hunger; how many who bury their money in the earth, but care nothing about the poor on the earth! Woe to such! Hear what St. James says: "Go to, now, ye rich men ; weep and howl for your miseries which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are motheaten; your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have feasted upon earth, and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter.”—James 5·· 1*5Part IL I. Wealth is not a great advantage, and consequently poverty can­ not be a great misfortune. At first sight the lot of the poor man is not enviable. Despised by the greater number, he seems destined to spend his life in obscurity. His food is coarse and poor, his raiment scanty, his house small and dilapidated, he groans continually under the yoke of severe labor, and after all his fatigues has but a hard bed on which to rest his wearied limbs. He is obliged to undergo many trials and fatigues, and most of the time must content himself with very meagre diet. Much worse is the lot of those who are without house or home ; of those who are afflicted with various infirmities, and so are unable to earn their bread, but, like Lazarus, seek a few crumbs at the doors and windows of the rich. They see the affluence and the luxury in which the rich wallow, experience many a harsh word, many a bitter reproach. Moreover, they are continually in danger of murmuring against the dispensations of Providence and of supplying their wants by unjust or even criminal means, thus incurring the punishment of God and of man. Therefore pray with the wise man: "Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the necessaries of life ; lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.”—Prov. 30: 7-9. 2. It frees man from numerous cares. The poor are happier than the rich and opulent. No worm gnaws, no rust consumes, their goods; no thief tries to break into their houses. Intrepidly and fearlessly the poor man wanders with empty pockets through unsafe regions and dark forests where highwaymen roam; he I ■ 6. Moral Sketch. 175 sleeps quietly at night with open doors ; he is unconcerned when away from home he remembers that he forgot to lock his door. St. Chrysostom said one day in a sermon : “A hundred men to­ gether, and one poor man alone, cannot be robbed ; the former cannot, because they are too strong; nor can the latter, because he is protected by invincible armor—poverty.” But everything can injure the rich, not only men, but also rust and worms. 3. It makes him resemble Jesus. The poor have great advan­ tages over the rich: they closely resemble Jesus Christ, who says: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.”—Matt. 8: 20. He was born in poverty—in a stable; his life was poor, and poorer still his death ; stripped of all his garments, he was hung naked on the cross. He chose his Apostles and disciples, not from among the rich, but from the poor. He raised poor fisher­ men to the highest dignity in his kingdom, and commissioned them to preach the gospel. 4. It preserves him from many sins. Poverty precludes the possi­ bility ot indulging some of our passions. The poor have not the means and opportunities to sin that the rich have. Not possess­ ing temporal goods on which to fix their hearts and affections they are, as it were, compelled to cling closer to God and to seek what is imperishable. And how much happier is the poor man who possesses God than the rich man who has lost God 1 What has the rich man, if he has not God: and what is wanting to the poor man, if he has Godl 5. It facilitates the attainment of life everlasting. The poor are less impeded in seeking the things that are above than the rich: tor riches and possessions are, as it were, heavy baggage, which encumbers man on his journey to heaven, and prevents him from entering in at the narrow gate that leads to life. As it is easier to travel without baggage, so it is easier to be virtu­ ous wnen in a state of poverty. Hence at all times countless Christians have renounced their worldly substance and embraced voluntary poverty ; partly to free themselves from the many and great dangers of riches, and partly to be in a position to serve God better, and to acquire the eternal goods of heaven more easily. Has not God chosen the poor of this world, the rich in faith, to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven which he has promised to them that love him ? It is hard for the rich to die and to give up all their possessions, pleasures, honors and riches; but it is easy for the poor to die, for they have nothing to lose, nothing to fear, but everything to hope for; their poverty, if they have borne it with resignation to the will of God, and steadfastly walked in 176 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. faith and charity, will be changed into riches, for “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”—Matt. 5··3. You, whom God has blessed with the temporal goods of this world, must not fix your hearts and affections upon them, but you must regard them as goods entrusted to your care, and make good use of them for the glory of God, your own salvation, and that of others. Whatever you give in charity is really your own that is, it is laid up for eternity, when our Lord will repay you with interest; but what you hoard up avariciously is not yours, for sooner or later you will be obliged to lose it for ever, and you yourselves will be lost with it Hear the friendly admonitions of your Saviour : “Lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Make friends unto you of the mam­ mon of iniquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.” And you poor, whom God seems to have forgotten in the distribution of worldly substance, be satis­ fied with your lot; God vrills it thus. Jesus, your God, was poor; thank him for your poverty, which, if you bear it patiently, will bring you to heaven. Think and believe firmly: It is much better to acquire a piece of bread in the sweat of my brow here below, or even to beg it with Lazarus, and to rest hereafter with Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom, than to wallow in affluence here below with Dives, and hereafter to ask with him in vain for a drop of cold water to quench an everlasting thirst in the flames of hell-fire. PERORATION. Hence wealth is not so great an advantage as it generally appears to be in the eyes of the world; for it does not free us from anxious cares, but increases them ; it is attended with many dangers for the soul, since it begets covetousness and entices to all kinds of injustice, to dissipation and sin, and increases our accountability before the judgment-seat of God. Poverty, on the contrary, is not so great a misfortune as it is generally considered to be by worldlings, since it frees man from many cares, makes him resemble Jesus, preserves him from many sins, and facili­ tates the attainment of life everlasting. Amen. 7. Moral Sketch «77 EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 7. MORAL SKETCH. RESTITUTION AND INDEMNIFICATION. What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the steward­ ship ?—Luke 16:3. When the unjust steward saw that he would be discharged on account of his wrong-doing, he asked himself the question: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the steward­ ship ? Why does he ask the question ? Does he perhaps repent of his deeds and desire to undo them to the best of his ability? Ah, no ; such a thought does not enter his mind ; he thinks rather of some means of extricating himself from his predicament. In­ stead of making reparation for his injustices he commits new ones ; he makes considerable abatements in the bills due from his lord’s debtors, hoping that they will be grateful to him for so doing and provide for his support. Many people act like this unjust steward ; they take the pro­ perty of others in various ways and cheat in business but hardly ever think of making restitution for loss or damage. Hence, it will not be superfluous for me to speak to you to-day of restitu­ tion and indemnification. I. The necessity, II. The circumstances, III. The motives. PART I. Restitution and indemnification are necessary— i. Because they rest on the natural law. The natural law, which God has inscribed in the heart of every one, tells us: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” If some one has taken anything from us, or done us some damage, we certainly wish him to give back what was taken away and to indemnify us. According to this principle we must also deal with our neigh­ bor; we must restore to him what we have taken away from him unjustly and indemnify him. He who does not do this sins against the natural law, which even the Gentiles observed, therefore IV 12 ΐ7θ Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. they held theft to be a dishonorable vice and obliged thieves to make restitution. 2. Because God expressly commands it. fTf any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for one ox: and four sheep for one sheep.”—Exodus 22: 1. As we see here, the law of Moses required not only a simple restitution, but according to circumstances a four and five-fold. In regard to indemnification we read in the law of Moses: “If any man hurt a field or a vineyard ... he shall restore the best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard, according to the estimation of the damage.”—Exodus 22:5. 3. Because without it no forgiveness of sins is possible. St. An­ tonius says: “He who is in possession of the property of another, and can restore it, but does not do so, can obtain no forgiveness, though he may perform all possible works of penance. Let him pray, fast, or give alms, it profits him nothing.” No priest, no bishop, not even the Pope, has power to absolve him from his sins as long as he does not restore the property of another, or repair the damage, if otherwise he is able. The duty of restitu­ tion and indemnification never falls under the law of limitation. If it be twenty, thirty, forty years and longer since you have stolen, cheated or done damage, you are just as rigorously bound to restore and indemnify as if you had committed the injustice yesterday or to-day. Only the impossibility frees from the obligation of restitution, which must not be a fancied, but a true and real impossibility, or remission, when the injured party voluntarily relinquishes his claim. Part Π. We must here consider the circumstances: i. Who must restore or indemnify? fa.) In the first place he who possesses the property of others, or has injured others. He is the author of the injustice, therefore he is obliged to repair it. If he dies without having satisfied his obligation, it passes over to his heirs. Therefore if parents com­ mit injustice, their children as heirs must repair these injustices. If they omit the duty of restitution, they are just as accountable before God as their parents are, and like them will perish if the damage to be repaired is of consequence. How foolish, then, are parents who for the love of their children commit injustices I 7. Moral Sketch. 179 (b.) If he who has committed an injustice does not make resti­ tution, the duty pusses over to those who hove co-operated in the in­ justice or not hindered it, although they could and were obliged to hinder it. Those who co-operate are the cause of the injustice done to the neighbor, and must make restitution themselves, if the principal author does not. The same is to be said of those who did not prevent an injustice, although they could, and by virtue of their office or state of life were obliged to, hinder it. Thus parents must repair the injustices of their children, if they know about them and did not prevent them. 2. To whom must the property of others be restored or the damage be repaired ? The answer is : to the owner, or if he is no longer living, to his heirs, because they enter into the rights of the testator. Some imagine that they can rid themselves from the duty of restitution or indemnification by giving alms, making pious foundations, or having masses said. But this is a great error; you have not robbed or cheated the poor, but this or that man, and to him you are obliged to make restitution. St. Chrysostom says : “If you have stolen one penny and give a hundred pounds of gold in alms, by that means you have not yet restored the penny.” Only in two cases can restitution be made to the poor, or for pious purposes; first, when there is a question only of a very in­ significant amount, and restitution to the owner would be con­ nected with great difficulties ; and secondly, when the owner is unknown, or when it is impossible to restore to him. 3. How much must be restored? We must distinguish here whe­ ther somebody has appropriated to himself and possesses the property of another willingly and knowingly, or unwillingly and unknowingly. (<2.) He who, with knowledge and will, appropriates or posses­ ses the property of another, must indemnify the owner; that is, he must place him in the same position in which he would be if no injustice had been done to him. He is obliged, therefore, first, to restore the goods of another, or if he no longer possesses them, their full value ; secondly, to compensate the proprietor for all the gain of which he has deprived him, and thirdly, to repair all the damage which he has caused him. He is allowed to deduct only those expenses which the owner himself could not have possibly avoided if he had remained in the quiet possession of his property. (£.) He who, without knowledge and will, therefore entirely guiltlessly appropriates or possesses the goods of another, is obliged as soon as he finds out that it belongs to another, to restore ι8ο Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. what he still possesses of it, and as much as he has gained oy it. Suppose a certain man had made you a present of fifty dol­ lars, you would be obliged, as soon as you find out that the money was not his, to restore it to the right owner, and if you had lent it out and received interest, you would be bound to restore also the interest. But if by some calamity you should lose the money, e. g., by fire, by theft, wholly or partially, you would be obliged to restore nothing, or only as much as you still possess of it. 4. When must we make restitution or indemnification? It must be done as soon as possible. He who does not restore ill-gotten goods when he can, has not an earnest will to make restitution, for what we will earnestly we do as soon as we can. Moreover, restitution becomes more difficult by delay, because one becomes attached to the property, and the damage or loss which accrues to the neighbor becomes greater. Finally, no one should put ofi restitution and indemnification because he may be overtaken by death without having fulfilled his duty. If we cannot make restitution at once, we must have the sincere will to do so as soon as possible ; if we cannot restore it all at once, we must do so by little and little, and continue until we have restored the whole ; if we cannot restore all, we must at least partially restore as far as possible. We come now to the motives of restitution and indemnification. Part HL 1. Death "mill take the unjust goods from us. When Saladin, the famous Sultan of Egypt, was lying on his death-bed, he ordered the sheet in which his body was to be wrapped up, to be hung upon a pole, and in the face of the whole army the following to be proclaimed : “Behold, this is all that Saladin, the conqueror of the F'st, takes with him.” Every dying person must say the same as Saladin, for though he may possess all the riches of the whole world he cannot take a cent with him to the other world; “only the grave remaineth for him.”— Job 17:1. How infatuated, therefore, is the man who attaches his heart so much to money and property that he renders himself guilty of many injustices, and cannot resolve on restitution ! He cannot keep his money long ; death does not delay ; unexpectedly we stand at the gate of eter­ nity. How long will he live to enjoy his unjust riches ? Perhaps ten, twenty years, perhaps only one year, one month. How quickly will the time pass? And on account of the property which we can possess only for so short a time, should we burden our conscience with sins and rush into everlasting perdition? And when death does come, into whose handswill the property fall? Perhaps into the hands of ungrateful heirs, who impatiently await 7· Moral Sketch, i8i your death, who will dissipate and waste your painfully acquired property, and perhaps will not say an “Our Father” for the repose of your soul. And for the love of such people should you damn your immortal soul? 2. Unjust goods bring no luck or blessing, but mischief and ruin. (a.) The Sacred Scriptures teach us this : “He that soweth ini­ quity shall reap evils.”—Prov. 22:8. This truth is corroborated by many examples from Bible history. King Achab, at the in­ stance of his wife, had possessed himself by force of the vineyard of Naboth. He paid dearly for this injustice. He himself was wounded in battle and died, and the dogs licked up his blood. His impious wife Jezebel was cast out of a window of the palace, so that she was dashed to pieces, and all the descendants of Achab (seventy-two) were beheaded in one day. So awfully did God avenge the robbery; his curse penetrated into Achab’s house and remained there till it was totally destroyed. (£.) Experience teaches it. Many understood how to enrich them­ selves by unjust means; they built magnificent houses, bought large properties and established a lucrative business. It appeared as if they had founded their fortune for thousands of years. But it was not so. Their lucky star soon set. God withdrew his blessing from them because of their injustices and made different calamities come upon them, so that by degrees they lost their acquired property. And though it sometimes happens that the unjust possessor is spared the punishment of God, so much the surer will his children and descendants suffer for it: “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.”—Jer. 31: 29 Unjustly acquired property hardly ever passes over to the third heir. 3. Nothing is more absurd than for the sake of a perishable good to lose heaven and to plunge one's self into eternal damnation. A certain rich man, who had acquired a great deal of his property unjustly, became dangerously ill. He knew that inflammation had already set in, and that he could not live, and yet he could not be prevailed upon to make restitution. His answer to all entrea­ ties always was: “What will become of my children?” The priest, who had been called to administer to him the rites of the Church, devised a stratagem. He said to him: “There is one means of saving your life. All that is necessary is to rub your wounds with the fat of a sound man. If any one can be found who will let his hand burn a few minutes sufficient fat will be obtained.” “Ah,” said the sick man “no one can be found who will do that.” “ Do not despair,” replied the priest, “ you do not know how devoted children are to a father who leaves the H so much wealth. Call your three sons; at least one of them will make the desired sacrifice.” The three sons were called but each one rejected the proposal. “Our father,” they said, “ought not to think of such a thing,” and they went away. The priest, turning to the sick man, said with earnestness : “I cannot imagine how you can be willing to lose body and soul and be tortured for ever in the fire of hell for the sake of children who, even to save your life, refuse to let their hand burn for a few minutes.” These earnest words made the desired impression upon him; regardless of his children he made restitution, received the last sacraments, and soon after died a happy death. PERORATION. If your conscience upbraids you with any injustice, do speedily what this rich man did on his death-bed, restore what you un­ justly possess, and repair any loss or damage. Either restore, or be damned for ever more; there is no alternative. But how could you be so senseless as to rob yourselves of heaven and plunge your­ selves into the fire of hell for the sake of things which death will shortly take away from you, and which will not make you happy even on earth? Reflect seriously to-day whether you have done any injury to the property of others, and if you find yourselves guilty in any way, delay not to make restitution and indemnification. For the future do not cheat in business, but rather use the goods which God gives you for works of mercy, and make unto your­ selves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. Amen. 1. Homiletic Sketch. 183 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Epistle. I. Cor. io: 6-13. Brethren: Let us not covet evil things, as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them: as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure; and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will ake also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. II 1. HOMILETIC SKETCH. ST. PAUL WARNS US AGAINST THE SINS OF THE ISRAELITES IN THE DESERT, AND INCULCATES CIRCUMSPECTION AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD. God is charily.—I. John 4: 16. This is a truth which must fill us weak, frail, sinful men with consolation and joy, but it is also a truth which many Christians abuse to their perdition. God is charity, says the sinner, there­ fore I need not have any fear on account of my sins, for where is there a father who would reject his beloved child on account of a few faults? God is charity ; I may therefore continue to sin, for God is infinitely merciful and patient ; he will receive me at all times, even on my death-bed. Thus many sinners speak, and lull their conscience to sleep with a false security and peace, and »84 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. will not awake till the flames of the divine judgments glare in their faces. The epistle of this day is calculated to teach us a different lesson. St. Paul presents m it a series of examples which prove that God, although he is all love and freely forgives, inflicts heavy punishments on sinners and that he rejects them when the measure of their sins is full. We will now consider this epistle a little more closely for our mutual instruction and edification. It con­ tains— I. A warning against the sins of the Israelites in the desert ; II. An exhortation to circumspection and confidence in God. Part I. The Israelites had often and grievously sinned in the desert, and each time had been punished with severity for their sins. The Apostle points to these sins of the Israelites, and warns the Christians at Corinth against them, that they may not fall victims to the judgments of God. I. Let us not covet evil things, as they also coveted. The Apostle speaks here of the desire which the Israelites had for the fleshpots of Egypt. They acted as spoiled children, who cry and weep when they do not get at once what they desire, and full of dis­ pleasure they said: “Who shall give us flesh to eat? Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna.”—Numb. 11: 4-6. Now God did their will and gave them flesh to eat. Taking quails up beyond the sea he brought them and cast them into the camp for the space of one day's journey, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground. The people gathered the quails all that day and night and the next day. Now they had flesh for a whole month, they had their fill, but this flesh cost them dearly, for the intemperate use of it was the cause that thousands of them fell sick and died. The place where they were buried was called ‘‘The graves of lust.” Who does not here recall to his mind the words of the Apostle St. James (1: 15); “When concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; but sin, when it is completed, begetteth death.” How many people, like the lustful Israelites, lose not only the spiritual, but also the temporal life by serving their lust, so that their graves would also deserve the name of graves of lust! To such belong those who by intemperance in eating and drinking, and by sexual excesses, become sickly and miserable, and in their best years sink into the grave. It is a truth, corroborated by history and experience, that sinful desires and passions, if they are not bridled, cause man a great deal of misery even in this i. Homiletic Sketch. 185 world, and frequently result in an early death. “Who is the man that desireth life ; who loveth to see good days? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Turn away from evil and do good.”—Ps. 33 : 13-15. 2. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them; as it is written : The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose uf to play. While Moses was with God upon Mount Sinai, the Israelites made to themselves a golden calf and said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Then they built an altar, offered holocausts and peace-victims to the calf, and sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play, that is, they had dances and plays after the fashion of the heathens and prac­ tised abominable idolatry. On account of this enormous sin God would have destroyed them, if Moses had not interceded and ob­ tained pardon for them.—Exodus 32. Not less sinfully and culpably do those Christians act who al­ though they do not fall down before idols and adore them, never­ theless make honor, money, lust, and other sinful and earthly things their idols, and sacrifice to these idols their soul and sal­ vation. And how great is the number of Christians who are guilty of this detestable idolatry. Reflect and see whether you love anything in this world more than God, or whether for the love of a certain person or other reason you do not offend God by grievous sins. If this be the case, you are truly idolaters and more guilty before God than the blind pagans who adore wood and stone. Take to heart the words of St. Augustine; “Not only does he who adores false gods do wrong, but he also who obeys his passions and inclinations more than God.” 3. Neither let us commitfornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. The Moabites had, by the advice of the wicked prophet Balaam, invited the Israelites to the sacrifices at which a great deal of impurity was committed. The Israelites accepted the invitation, took part in their sacrificial banquets, adored their gods and committed the most abominable impurities. For this crime the wrath of the Lord came upon them, and in one day twenty-three thousand Israelites died suddenly, and several thousand more were stoned to death and hung upon gibbets.—Numb. 25. How often do the words of the Apostle resound from the pul­ pit: “Let us not commit fornication”; but alas! how often in vain. For instead of the vice of impurity (a vice that should not be named among Christians, as becometh saints) diminishing, it spreads in every direction, and is prevalent among the young and the old, the married and the unmarried, and even children are infected with it. Ah, what times we shall live to see, if this 186 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. vice is not prevented! AVas it not impurity that brought the deluge upon mankind, and destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha with fire and brimstone? Does not the word of God assure us: “He that joineth himself to harlots will be wicked? Rottenness and worms shall inherit him and he shall be lifted up for a greater example, and his soul shall be taken away out of the number?”—Ecclus. 19:3. Detest and shun impurity above all things, walk honestly and decently, as becomes Christians whom God “hath not called unto uncleanness, but unto sanctifi­ cation, ll(I Thess. 4: 7): and do not forget that only “the clean of heart shall see God.”—Matt. 5: 8. 4. Neither let us tempt Christ; as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. The Israelites began to be tired of the long and laborious journey in the desert. “Speaking against God and Moses, they said. Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food.” Thus they tempted God, or, as the Apostle says, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who protected the children of Israel in a particular manner and from whom he would descend as man, because they no longer put confidence in him and, as it were, tried him to see whether he could and would help them. In punishment God sent fiery ser­ pents among them which bit them and killed many. Then they came to Moses and said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee; pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to him : Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign ; whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live. Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign which, when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.”— Numb. 21. This brazen serpent was a type of Jesus, our crucified Redeemer.—John 3: 14. Beware of tempting God, and never without necessity expose yourselves to any danger of body or soul, hoping that God will preserve you from harm. Avoid especially the proximate occa­ sions of sin, e. g., intimate intercourse with irreligious, dissipated people, and with persons of the opposite sex, doubtful societies and amusements; for to expose yourselves to such occasions and not to be willing to sin, would be to tempt God. “He that loveth danger, shall perish in it.”—Ecclus. 3 : 27. 5. Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. The Israelites frequently murmured against God, especially on the return of those whom Moses had sent to Chanaan to view the land, some of whom decried that country. “Would God,” they said, “that we had died in Egypt, i. Homiletic Sketch. 187 and would God that we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?” And they were already about to elect a captain and to return into Egypt ; they would even have stoned Josue and Caleb, who remonstrated with them against their doings. They were punished severely for this murmuring. Many of them died suddenly, especially those whom Moses had sent to view the land, and who on their return had made the whole multitude murmur against him, speaking ill of the land. But all who numbered twenty years and upwards were excluded from the land of Chanaan, and died in the desert.— Numb. 14. There are Christians who, like the Israelites, sin against God by murmuring. When they meet with something disagreeable they become impatient, break out into complaints, and almost call God to an account, and reproach him with treating them un­ justly, with being too hard on them. Such Christians grievously sin against the duty of subjecting themselves entirely to God in every situation of life. Forget not that you daily pray: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” and always submit yourselves to the guidance of God; have a firm conviction that “to them that love God, all things work together unto good.”— Rom. 8: 28. The Apostle concludes his warnings with these words: Now all these things happened to them in figure, and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. That is : God permitted these aberrations of his chosen people and punish­ ed them severely that we may see that we, who live under the New Law, must expect greater punishments if we become guilty of the same errors and sins. We being Christians must show greater fidelity lest something worse may befall us as a punish­ ment for our sins. The Apostle now gives an admonition to circumspection and confidence in God. Part Π. 1. He that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. These words, with which St. Paul exhorts us to caution, are very important — (λ.) For those who are still in a state of innocence, that is, for those who have never in their life committed a mortal sin, and consequently still possess their baptismal innocence. When you have lost an earthly benefit such as health, the favor of an exalted personage, honor and reputation, a house or a farm, it is possible Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. ι88 for you to repair the loss by renewed energy and industry and by correcting former errors and avoiding former mistakes ; but if you have lost innocence, by no possibility can you recover it again. He who by a mortal sin has lost innocence may by true penance again recover sanctifying grace; he can save his soul from perdition, and go to heaven, but innocence remains lost for ever. Innocence once lost is lost for ever. Adam and Eve are in heaven, Peter and Paul are in heaven; Mary Magdalen and Mary of Egypt are in heaven; but they are not among the Innocents, but among the Penitents ; how much penance soever they may have done for their sins, they could never recover innocence. Now if you take the greatest care of your eyes because you know that if you lose them you could never recover them, should you not pay even greater attention to your innocence so that you may not lose it ? Should you not shun with the greatest care those places, amusements, and persons that are dangerous to your innocence? Parents, ought you not to use all possible dili­ gence in order to preserve the innocence of your children? When innocence is lost by mortal sin, it is to be feared that the first sin will draw many other sins after it, and that the end of it all will be final impenitence and eternal perdition. Think of Judas the traitor. He was a thief, as the gospel says. Was he so before he became an Apostle? No, certainly not, but the donations of the pious which passed through his hands excited his avarice and made him a thief. And, behold 1 with the first theft his fate was decided ; he stole as often as he could, and finally his avarice made him sell his Lord and Master for thirty pieces of silver; and then despairing, he hanged himself. If Judas had not com: itted the first sin he would have been saved : but having committed it,hefell deeper and deeper, and his end was eternalper­ dition. How wrong then are those frivolous people who say : “Once does not make a custom.” What! once does not make a custom, though one mortal sin deprives man of his innocence for ever and is frequently the first link of an interminable chain of sins leading to eternal damnation I II (b.) For penitents. The penitent is exposed to still greater dangers to salvation than the innocent man. The devil pursues him with particular envy, and endeavors to bring him again into his power; hence we read in the gospel that he takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, in order to make the penitent who has become lukewarm relapse, and to take possession of his heart. The world allures him and uses stratagem, flattery, promises, ridicule and even violence, with a view to win him back, as, e. g., in the case of St. Paul, whom the Jews hated most bitterly, because he had left them and embraced the Christian religion, and thereft re they calumniated and persecuted i. Homiletic Sketch. 18g him in every possible way. His own evil concupiscence prepares for the penitent many hard struggles, for it resembles a spoiled child that cries and makes a noise because it cannot get its own way, and can only with great difficulty be pacified. (i.) For those, finally, who have already served God a long time and have made great progress in virtue. No man, though he may have attained the highest degree of sanctity is proof against a fall : he may sin, sin grievously and perish. Solomon was the wisest king, and not only served God faithfully himself, but his solicitude was such that his people adhered to God and walked in the way of his commandments. But, behold, this pious and enlightened king in his old age became faithless to God, and defiled himself with all the abominations of idolatry. James, surnamed the Penitent, who lived in the sixth century of the Christian era, had led so holy a life in the desert for forty years that God glorified him with miracles. But he came in contact with a woman, not with a bad intention, but to be a guide to her on the way of salvation. What happened ? By little and little a sinful desire began to burn in him, and because he did not imme­ diately avoid the occasion, he sinned grievously with her, and in order to conceal his crime he killed her. Despair took hold of him after the commission of these two crimes, and he was about to leave the desert, with a view to plunge himself into vice, to die and perish eternally. But he who wills not the death of the sinner but that he be converted and live, had compassion on him ; he was met by a hermit who raised his fallen spirits and induced him to return to the desert. There he did penance for ten years, up to his death, and thus saved his soul from ever­ lasting ruin. (28 Jan.) Whoever you may be, innocent, penitent, or even great saints, be on your guard and remember the words of the Apostle: He that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. 2. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. With the words : Let no temptation take hold on you, bid such as is human, the Apostle means to say, that if we are tempted, we should notallow ourselves to be captivated by the temptation so as to sin, that the temptation may remain human, for says St. Anselm : “It is angelic to have no temptation at all; but human to have temptations and overcome them.” The temptation is human if it is overcome. We can overcome every temptation, be it ever so lasting and vehement, for God is faith­ ful, he will keep his word, and as he has promised, will assist us with his grace, so that if we have a good will and do what is 190 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. required on our part for the overcoming of the temptation, we can persevere in good. (a.) That God gives to all men the grace necessary to overcome temptations is evident from this, that he wills all men to be saved. Now since no one of himself could overcome all temptations, especially the more vehement ones, and consequently could not work out his salvation, it is evident that God gives the grace necessary for overcoming temptations. St. Paul had violent temptations to encounter ; he therefore asked the Lord to deliver him from them. But the Lord replied: “ My grace is sufficient for thee.”—/Z. Cor. 12: 7-9. The Apostle, full of courage and confi­ dence, elsewhere says: “ I can do all things in him who strength­ ened! me.” He also exhorts us to this confidence, in these words: “Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace, that w’e may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.”—Heb. 4: 16. Hence it is blasphemy for any one to say : I could not help it ; I could not resist the temptation. I was obliged to sin, for the necessary grace was wanting to me. (Æ) But that the grace of God may prove effectual we must make good use of it, and do what is required on our part for overcoming all temptations; we must especially watch and pray, according to the words of Jesus: “ Watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”—Matt. 26: 41. We must watch; that is, w’e must pay attention to that which takes place in our heart, and fight against and suppress all sinful thoughts and desires at their first motion: we must watch over our senses, subdue and mortify them, especially our eyes; we must pay attention to what takes place about us, to the people with whom we have intercourse, to the places in which we are or into which we come, and to the pleasures we enjoy, and must carefully shun what is to us a proximate occasion of sin. We must pray; for though God gives us the first grace without prayer, all subsequent graces necessary for salvation depend on prayer. Without fervent and persevering prayer we shall not be able to overcome all temptations. “Which of the just,” says St. Chrysostom, “has ever fought wuthout prayer? Moses prays, and overcomes; he ceases to pray and is overcome.” Let a Chris­ tian learn that prayer is a duty, let him learn w’hence his victory and defeat come in the spiritual combat. Yes, let him know that he must pray more frequently than Moses, because the enemy with whom he must wrestle is far more dangerous, and because he fights for himself, and not for others. 2. Homiletic Sketch. 191 PERORATION. Follow the advice which the Apostle gives you in the epistle of this day. Take warning from the Israelites in the desert, whom God each time visited with punishments when they sinned against him, and guard against injustice and sin. Shun levity and haughty self-confidence, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for so long as you are in this mortal body you will be surrounded by various dangers to salvation ; you may sin any moment and lose God’s grace. Be always humble of heart, for humility alone gives security and if ever any man may hope with joyful confidence that God will protect him and guide him to salvation, it is the Christian who is profoundly humble. Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation, for watchfulness and prayer are the only weapons which will enable you to gain the victory over all the enemies of your salvation, and thus to take heaven by violence. Amen. NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Gospel.—Luke 19:41-47. At that time: When Jesus drew neat Jerusalem, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. And entering into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them: It is written: My house is the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves. And he was teaching daily in the temple. 2. HOMILETIC SKETCH. JESUS WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM, FORETELLS ITS DESTRUCTION, AND PUNISHES THOSE WHO PROFANE THE TEMPLE. Seeing the city, he inept over it.—Luke 19: 41. Jesus is returning from Jericho to Jerusalem. It is to be his last visit to that unhappy city, for the day of his crucifixion is 192 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. now close at hand. He sends two of his disciples to make prepa­ rations for his solemn entry. Great crowds gather around him, and they seem to increase as he draws nearer to Jerusalem ; they spread their garments and boughs of trees in the way, and begin with joy and in a loud voice to praise God on account of the miracles of which they have been witnesses, crying: “ Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory on high.”—Luke 19: 3S. Having reached the summit of Mt. Olivet, Jerusalem comes in sight and, seeing it, Jesus weeps over it. Here he remains and, taking up his position like Jeremias of old, sings his lamentations over unhappy Jerusalem, and foretells the punishments of God which await her in the near future. The event recorded in this day’s gospel being very instructive and suggestive of caution to us, let us consider its three points: I. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem; II. He foretells its destruction; III. He Punishes those who profane the temple. Part I. When Jesus drew near Jerusalem y seeing the city, he wept over it. I. Jesus wept. How could Jesus weep? Is not weeping a sign of weakness unworthy of a man? Some philosophers among the ancient pagans, especially the Stoics, thought so, and taught that man should wholly control his feelings, and even in the worst circumstances show himself insensible. But such an insen­ sibility contradicts human nature altogether, for it is natural to manifest feelings both of joy and sorrow, and as Jesus was man, not only in appearance but in reality, he had the feelings of a man, and well might he express feelings of sorrow by tears. It is not therefore wrong for us to yield to nature and to be sorrowful and weep over what is painful. We must, however, moderate our sorrow, especially when it has its cause in temporal evils, and be solicitous not to lose confidence in God and resig­ nation to his holy will. Many are sorrowful because they cannot gratify their passions, and because their sinful designs and pro­ jects do not succeed. Thus Aman was extremely sad because he was compelled to honor Mardochai and he wished to have him hanged upon a gibbet; thus Antiochus was grieved to death because he could not take revenge on his enemies. Thus women and children frequently weep because they cannot gratify their own will, and many young people almost die of grief because they are compelled to give up the persons with whom they are in love. Such sorrow and weeping is sinful, because evil causes 2. 193 Homiletic Sketch. lie at the bottom of it, and the words of the Apostle are appli­ cable thereto. “The sorrow of the world worketh death.”—11. Cor. 7: 10. 2. Jesus ioept over Jerusalem. Jesus had more reason to weep over himself than over Jerusalem ; for being omniscient his bitter passion and death were before his mind. But for himself he had no tears ; he had not come to shed tears, but to shed his precious blood; yet he wept over Jerusalem and its favored but ungrateful inhabitants. Therefore he said to the women of Jerusalem who followed him on his way to Calvary and wept over him : “Daugh­ ters of Jerusalem weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”—Luke 23: 28. He wept over the insensibi­ lity, impenitence and ingratitude of Jerusalem, where he had been so constantly teaching and laboring, and where he found no faith ; he wept over the destruction of Jerusalem, which was to come upon that city and its inhabitants, because they persevered in unbelief and sin; he wept over the perdition of so many Jews, who, because of their obstinacy, lost not only their own country, but also heaven, and perished eternally. 3. As regards ourselves we ought to be sorry and weep— (a.) Over our own sins, defects and imperfections. We have good reason for so doing, because from our childhood we have so often and so grievously offended God, and because even now we offend in many things, and scarcely a day passes that we have not to accuse ourselves of a fault. Examples of such a sa­ lutary penitential sorrow we have in David, who, as he himself says, every night watered his couch with his tears” (Ps. 6:7); in Mary Magdalen, who at the feet of Jesus shed a torrent of tears; in Peter, who went out and wept bitterly. The saints bewailed even their smallest faults and persevered in penitential sorrow as long as they lived. St. Jerome relates of St. Paula that she bewailed her venial sins so sorrowfully that one would have thought that she was guilty of the greatest crimes. How do matters stand with you? Do you bewail your sins, if not with external, at least with internal, tears? (3.) Over the sins of others, over the loss of many souls, over the unbelief and the scandals of the world, over the sufferings and persecretions of the Church and of the just. Thus St. Paul wept over the obstinacy of the Jews, saying: “I have great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I wished myself to be an ana­ thema from Christ, for my brethren.”—Rom. 9: 2, 3. St. Francis of Assisi bewailed the ingratiude of men for the infinite love of the crucified Redeemer with such continual and bitter tears that at IV 13 194 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. last he became almost blind. It is not well with him who can re­ main indifferent to the sins and the loss of so many souls, for the fundamental virtue of Christianity, Charity, the love of God and of our neighbor, is wanting to him. And yet there are Christians who rejoice and laugh when they see or hear that another com­ mits a grievous sin and even when they themselves lead others into sin. Ah, what kind of Christians are they ? Part Π. Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. i. If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace ; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. In these words our Lord designates the causes of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. (a.) The first cause was that she did not know the things that were to her peace, i. e., the things that would save her from tem­ poral and eternal ruin. She did not recognize Christ as one di­ vinely sent; she did not know that he was the Son of God, and the promised Messias, and therefore believed not in him. But this refusal to recognize him, this ignorance, deserved no ex­ cuse, for Jesus had given the Jews in Jerusalem and in the neigh­ boring towns and villages incontrovertible proofs of his divinity by his teaching, by his life, and especially by his miracles. This was the motive of them and it was of them that he said: “The works themselves, which I do, give testimony of me.”—John 5: 36. The high-priests and the Pharisees were perfectly con­ vinced of the miracles of Christ, for they said: “What do we? for this man doth many miracles.”—John 11: 47. And whole crowds were influenced, at least for a time, by what they saw, since after one of his miracles they cried out with admiration: “A great prophet is risen up among us, and God hath visited his people.”—Luke 7: 16. And Nicodemus expressed what many a disciple must have felt, when he said: “We know that thou art come a teacher from God, for no man can do these signs which thou dost unless God be with him.” But the nation remained impeni­ tent. The priests and princes of the people, instead of believing in him, decreed his death. The Jews knew not Jesus because they would not know him ; they were perverse, and malicious, and therefore did not believe in him. How great in our days is the number of men who closely re­ semble these Jews! The Holy Catholic Church has so many and such clear marks of her divine origin and the truth of her doc­ trines that she can easily be recognized as the Church estab­ lished by Christ. But many people lack good will ; they do not 2. Homiletic Sketch. 195 come to the knowledge of the truth, because they love darkness rather than light. They purposely misrepresent many Catholic doctrines, e, g., the doctrine of the •veneration of the saints and their images and pictures, calling it adoration; the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope, which they explain in the sense of impeccability, or, as if we were bound to receive everything that the Pope says as a divine truth. They deny the miracles which occur in the Catholic Church in our time, e. g., the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in many places, and the miraculous cures of many sick persons: they invent various lies and calumnies in regard to the ordinances of the Church, monasteries, convents and priests; they insult all who adhere with zeal and fidelity to the Catholic Church and its head, calling them ultramontanes and enemies of their country. People of this description lack good will, and therefore they do not come to the knowledge of those things that are for their salvation. Faith is more the busi­ ness of the heart than of the understanding; he who is of a per­ verse mind remains like the Jews in infidelity and error, and a thousand miracles could not induce him to give testimony to the truth and to submit to it. Another reason why in her day Jerusalem did not know the things that were for her peace was, that she let the time of grace pass away unprofitably. Our divine Lord had given the Jews both time and grace for the knowledge of truth and for their salvation ; at his birth, through the angels, who announced his arrival ; through the sages from the East, who inquired after the new-born king of the Jews; as a boy of twelve years in the temple, where he manifested the first rays of divine wisdom and what we may call signs of his future vocation, having been found after those three anxious days in the midst of the doctors, hear­ ing them and asking them questions ; in his public life, by the holi­ ness of his conduct and doctrine, and by numerous miracles, of which Jerusalem was most frequently the scene. His solemn entry into Jerusalem, where the people received him with loud hosannas as the Messias, was again a great grace by which they could and should have been awed into an acknowledgment of his Divinity. But all in vain, they obstinately rejected the proferred grace, persevered in unbelief and sin till the measure of their iniquity was full, and the wrath of God came upon them. As with Jerusalem, so with every individual Christian soul, there are decisive moments and favorable circumstances when she can quit sin, strive after perfection and persevere therein. Each Christian soul closely resembles Jerusalem, and is visited by God. It has become what Jerusalem was, a privileged abode of God’s power and grace and within each of them have been manifested signs of the most gracious love. But alas! the part 196 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. of Jerusalem is being acted over again, and love is responded to by disobedience and ingratitude. AVe have not appreciated what has been done for us. We have not known the manner of our visitation. We condemn Jerusalem and pretend to sympa­ thize with our Lord and join in his tears, but do we not ourselves give Jesus cause to weep over us? What more could he do for us than he has done? Did he ever do more for a single soul in Jerusalem than he has done for us? Where is our obedience and gratitude ? What a motive for us not to resist the grace of God any longer, but to avail ourselves of it for our correction and amendment 2. for the days shall come upon thee; and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and campass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. (a.) This prophecy was fulfilled to the very letter. The days of which our Lord speaks came upon Jerusalem thirty-seven years afterwards. The siege of the city under Titus began at Easter, A. D. 70, and lasted till September. The city at the time was full of pilgrims who had come in for the festival of the Pasch. Many of the Christians escaped by following the warning given by our Lord to flee to the mountains. The assailants literally verified the prophecy. In three days they cast a trench about the city, whereby they cut off all communication, and straitened her on every side. The number of inhabitants massacred seems to be exaggerated, although the truth is certified by the concur­ rent testimony of Jewish and pagan historians, who calculate the deaths as amounting to one million, one hundred thousand persons. The victors, in order to force the inhabitants to sur­ render, crucified five hundred prisoners every day, until no more wood could be found for making crosses. A terrible famine en­ sued so that the prophecy of Jeremias was literally fulfilled, and mothers ate their own offspring. Finally, the Romans took the city by storm ; whoever fell into their hands was cut down ; they spared neither women nor children, nor aged persons ; the blood of the murdered flowed in torrents through the streets ; all the palaces and houses, and even the magnificent temple, were utterly burnt down and the whole city was levelled to the ground. Thus again the words of Christ were fulfilled : They shall beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. The words of Jesus were also verified at a later period, when at the instance of Julian the Apostate the Jews coming together from all quarters of the globe undertook i. Homiletic Sketch. 197 to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. Red-hot balls issued from the foundations, rendering- them inaccessible to the scorched workmen, and owing to repeated earthquakes, whatever was cleared away during the day was thrown back the next night into the trenches, so that they were reluctantly obliged to dis­ continue the work altogether. (3.) The judgments of God, which we~e inflicted on the inhabi­ tants of Jerusalem and the Jewish people, have come and will come upon all, nations as well as individuals that do not know the time of their visitation. Think of the great empires of the ancient world, of the Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Greeks and Romans ; they perished when they sank into sins and vices. Think of individuals who obstinately persevered in evil; think of Cain, Pharaoh, Ophni and Phinees, Saul, Absalom and Judas, what a miserable end they had I The words of the Lord ever re­ main true: “He shall destroy the wicked and the sinners to­ gether and they that have forsaken the Lord shall be consumed.” —Is. i : 28. Therefore, fear God and do not persevere in sin. The longanimity of God has its limits, and when the time which in his eternal wisdom he has appointed to man for his repentance and salvation is passed, without mercy he rejects the sinner. I therefore announce to you the serious warning of the Holy Ghost; “Add not sin upon sin, and say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath quickly come forth from him; and his wrath looketh upon sinners.”—Ecclus. 5 : 5-7. PART m. Jesus punishes those who profane the temple, And entering into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought. i. What the Evangelist here relates occurred in the atrium of the temple. There were people there who bought and sold animals, such as oxen, sheep and doves. There were also money-changers, who changed Roman money for Jewish, because the animals were to be paid for with Jewish money. This market was, in­ deed, necessary, but it should have been held at some other place, not in the temple. But what made our Lord so severe on this occasion was probably the fact that those who sold were making an unjust profit out of those who bought ; for the things which they were selling were such as were to be offered by the people in the temple. As we may easily imagine, at these markets every­ thing occurred as usuel in markets ; great noise, the lowing of ig8 Ninth Sunday After. Pentecost. cattle, lies, cheating·, and every kind of injustice. This certainly was a great profanation of the temple, and we need not wonder that on account of it Christ yielded to a holy anger, and cast out them that sold therein and them that bought. 2. Saying to them : It is written : Afy house is the house ofprayer■> but you have made it a den of thieves. (λ.) God has already said by the prophet Isaias : My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations.” Our Lord refers to this passage and teaches that the temple of Jerusalem, as every other house of God, is a place for prayer and exercises of devo­ tion, and that on this account everything should be kept away that is contrary to this end. Christ in telling them that they made it a den of thieves, refers to the cheating and injustice practised by those who sold and changed money. It is remarkable that our Lord, who usually was so mild and gentle, became so in­ censed on this occasion as to use force, and to make the buy­ ers and sellers leave the house of God. He was so mild towards Zacheus, so gentle towards the adulteress, and preserved the greatest tranquillity of mind when the greatest injuries and in­ dignities were offered to his own person. This is evidently a proof that nothing displeases him as much as the profanation of holy places. This is particularly true of our churches, which are holier than the temple of Jerusalem was; for whereas in the temple there was only a type of the divinity, the ark, Jesus Christ the true Son of God is in our churches present in the Blessed Sacrament. You ought to know what our churches are; they are a place for prayer. It is the place to think of God, and to speak to him. It is not the place for laughing and talking: it is not the place to gaze about or to see what is going on, except at the altar. Formerly in some places notices were put on the doors of church­ es to remind persons of the evil effects of talking in church. The wording of these notices was something like this:— 1. It robs God, the angels and saints of joy, the souls in pur­ gatory of consolation. 2. It deprives the soul of devotion and of spiritual advantages, and prevents her prayer from being heard. 3. It is disedifying to our neighbor, and disturbs him in his de­ votions. 4. It is a venial sin which will be severely punished in purga­ tory. Let parents see that their children behave well in church. 3. Dogmatical Sketch. 199 PERORATION. Our gospel concludes with these words, And he was teaching daily in the temple. Christ had only a few days more to live, for the event recorded in this day’s gospel occurred on Palm Sunday, and on the following Friday he died on the cross. One would have thought that he would have retired for those few remain­ ing days and lived in perfect repose, and this all the more be­ cause he had labored three years for the salvation of men ; but no, he was daily teaching in the temple ; he taught till Holy Thursday evening and then went to Mount Olivet, where he was taken. So solicitous was he to do the will of his Father, who had sent him for the Redemption of mankind. Let us not seek rest upon earth, but let us be active in our vocation, for we are in this world, not to rest, but to labor. Let us do our duty, our whole duty, and labor with persevering zeal for our perfection and sanctification, and, as much as we can for the welfare of our fellow-men, that God as a reward of our labor may grant us eternal happiness in the kingdom of heaven. Amen. NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 3. DOGMATICAL SKETCH. THE JUSTICE OF GOD. They shall beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee ; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone ; because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.—Luke 19: 44. In the destruction of Jerusalem, which our Lord foretells in the gospel of this day, three attributes of God are very clearly exhibited; first, his goodness. Jesus wept over the city, and ex­ pressed his deep sorrow that she had not known the time of her visitation, and had obstinately, rejected the graces offered her for her salvation; secondly, his omnipotence, because neither the multitude of people, whose number at the time of the siege amounted to two millions, nor the fortifications of the city, which seemed to bid defiance to every enemy, nor the holiness of the temple, on account of which the Jews considered themselves in­ vincible, could avert the calamity of her destruction ; thirdly, his 200 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. justice, which overtook Jerusalem and the Jews when the measure of their sins was full and their time of grace had expired. Of the last attribute of God, his justice, I shall speak to you to-day, and answer the two following questions: I. In what does the justice of God consist? II. IVhat does the justice of God teach us ? Part L The justice of God consists in this: 1. That he rewards good and punishes evil. God voluntarily decreed the reward of whatever is good. No one can claim this reward as a right, for God is under no obligation to reward good works which we cannot do without his grace, and least of all was he obliged to give us heaven as our reward ; but since he has de­ creed that he will reward every good action, he cannot and will not annul his decree; only in this sense does his justice require that he should reward us for every good action. Therefore the Apostle says: “Knowing that whatsoever good things any man shall do, the same shall he receive from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”—Eph. 6: 8. In like manner God has decreed the punishment of evil. God cannot and will not act contrary to this decree. He therefore who sins incurs the punishment of God, and it is impossible for him to escape it unless he expiates his sin by true repentance. Hence St. Paul writes: “He that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption.”—Gal. 6: 8. 2. That he rewards what is good and punishes what is evil, be it ever so insigni ficant. God is not like men who frequently do not notice little things, and therefore neither reward nor punish them. But God rewards us for the least good we do, as Christ expressly assures us: “Whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”—Matt, io: 42. But if, on the contrary, we commit the least fault, we are punished for it, as Christ again assures us : “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment.”—Matt. 12 : 36. 3. That he measures and apportions rewards and punishments, (a) According to the degree or amount of good or evil that one has done. If ws do a great deal of good, we shall receive a large re­ ward; if we do but a small amount of good, then our reward j. Dogmatical Sketch. «οι will be small. “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly; and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings.”—II. Cor. 9:6. In like manner God punishes people more or less according as they have sinnei more or less. There fore Christ says that the Jews were more accountable than Pilate, since the latter delivered him to death out of weakness, but the former out of malice. (£.) According to the measure of graces received. God punishes those who receive many graces, but make no use of them, more severely than those to whom he gives fewer graces. ‘TJnto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required; and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.”—Luke 12: 48. Therefore if Catholics lead a bad life, God will judge and punish them more severely by far than pagans and heretics, because the latter have not so many graces as we have in the Church. To the bad Catholic the words of Christ apply: “Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida, for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sack­ cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Trye and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.”—Matt. 11: 21, 22. 4. That he acts with perfect impartiality, and rewards or pun­ ishes every one as he deserves. He does not ask whether one is rich or poor, learned or unlearned, of high or low degree, but simply what he has done, good or bad. With him there is no respect of persons; he has one scale for all; he chastises the mightiest potentate who does wrong as severely as the poorest beggar. “God will not accept any man’s person neither will he stand in awe of any man’s greatness, for he made the little and the great.”— Wis. 6: 8. This strict impartiality God has revealed from the beginning. He did not spare the great, and treated kings, such as Pharaoh, Saul and Antiochus, very severely, whilst he evinced his love of David, Mary, Joseph and the Apostles. 5. That in rewarding and punishing he looks not to the exterior, the appearance, but to the interior, the heart. Men usually judge from appearances, for they cannot look into the heart and in­ vestigate its thoughts and sentiments. And yet everything depends on the interior, the intention. One may do good works, one may pray, fast, give alms, as the Pharisees did, and yet be a great sinner, because one’s heart may be full of pride, avarice, hatred and envy. On the other hand, one may appear to be worthless, and yet one may not be so in reality. We have examples in Joseph and Susanna, on whom every one was ready to pronounce 202 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. sentence of death owing to circumstantial evidence, and yet they were both innocent. God judges otherwise: he searches the heart, regards the intention of every action, investigates the secret motives, and is therefore able to pass an infallible and perfectly just sentence, and to render to every one according to his works. 6. Finally, that here upon earth he rewards the good and punishes the wicked, not always exteriorly, but interiorly. (λ.) Exteriorly the justice of God does not always appear in this life; it often happens that the wicked prosper, while the good eat the bread of affliction. John the Baptist, Jesus and the Apostles led a life of poverty, persecution and sufferings, while Herod, Pilate, the high-priests and the Scribes and Pharisees possessed everything that in the eyes of the world makes men happy. It is the same to-day. The pious Christian has frequently a hard lot; he is poor and must earn his bread painfully; severe sickness comes upon him, he fails in his undertakings, he dies in the prime of life, be he ever so necessary' for his poor family. A man who cares nothing for God is perhaps in the happiest circumstances, he always enjoys good health, has plenty of money and reaches old age. Many Christians cannot understand this; they are scandalized and say: How can God permit this? But know that here below is not the place where his justice always manifests itself; he allows the wheat and the cockle to grow together; he even permits the bad to rule over the good, to tor­ ment and oppress them in every possible way: but, hereafter all will be changed, he will separate the wheat from the cockle, burn the cockle and gather the wheat into his barn. Example Dives and Lazarus. (b.) But even in this world the wicked man is not truly happy. Suppose he has everything that his heart can desire, that he has all that is counted indispensable for a happy life on earth, money, honor and respect, social position, ability, pleasure—he lacks one thing—interior peace, a good conscience. He cannot kill the worm that gnaws in the midst of his luxurious life, fear and anguish torment him, and the thought of the last things embitters his happiness. The words of the Apostle are verified in sinners: “Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil.”—Rom. 2: 9. How different it is with the just man! If he is obliged to encounter hard trials and sufferings, he does not despond, his good conscience consoles him, and he hopes that whatever he suffers here will be made up to him a hundred-fold hereafter. To these are added the interior consolations which God sends to his faithful servants—consolations which so richly 203 recompense them for all privations and sufferings that they would not exchange them for all the pleasures of the world. Thus God manifests, even upon earth, his justice in the hearts of the sinner and of the just man, and every one must confess with the Psalmist: “Thou art just, O Lord; and thy judgment is right.” —Ps. 118: 137. Part IL What does the justice of God teach us? It teaches us that we mzist not complain of God when we see that the sinner fares well and the just man ill. The lot of the sinner is anything but enviable, though he may wear a crown and enjoy the pleasures and joys of this world abundantly. His happiness is mixed with much bitterness, and moreover, is very fleeting and perishable. He resembles cattle that are being fat­ tened ; they are well kept because they are soon to be slaugh­ tered. God bears for a time with his enemies; as soon as the measure of their sins is full they become victims of his justice and exchange their transitory earthly pleasures for the ever­ lasting torments of hell. Who would grudge sinners their good days? Who would envy their happiness? Who would not rather wish with Jesus and his saints to pursue the way of the cross, since it is not only short, but also full of divine consolation con­ ducting us to the heavenly Jerusalem where we shall receive “above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.”—II. Cor. 4: 17. 1. 2. That we ought carefully to shun every sin. If the fear of human justice deters men from evil, how much more should the fear of Divine justice have this effect ? The punishment which the earthly judge can inflict on man is only transitory, but the punishment with which God chastises his enemies is eternal. One may suc­ ceed in withdrawing one’s self from the punishment of an earthly judge by concealing the wicked deed, by denial, by flight, but how is this possible with the divine Judge whose eye beholds and scrutinizes all the secrets of the heart, and whose arm reaches further than heaven ? Oh, how blind is man who is bold enough to do evil in sight of God ; how deluded when he does not “fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matt. 10: 28), rendering him miserable for a never-ending eternity! Frequently, especially in the moment of temptation, call to mind the justice of God, and vividly represent to yourselves the punishments which come upon the sinner, so that a holy fear may fill your heart and deter you from every evil. Should you be so unfortunate as to sin grievously, do not delay your con­ Ian <1n 3- Dogmatical Sketch. 204 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. version. Consider that the sword of divine vengeance hangs threateningly over the head of the sinner and can destroy him at any moment. Employ the time of grace, for “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”—Heb. io: 31. Do not commit even a venial sin with premeditation, because before God no sin is insignificant. How severely were Moses, Oza, and David punished on account of small faults ? Guard as much as possible against venial sins, and endeavor to repair by peniten­ tial exercises and good works those into which you may fall owing to human weakness. 3. That™ ought to be zealous in doing good. God is a faithful rewarder of all that is good; no practice of virtue, no corporal or spiritual work of mercy, no prayer, no mortification goes un­ rewarded. All the pains we take in his service, everything we do for his honor and glory, will be rewarded hereafter. The more good we do, the greater will be our reward. If the hope of a temporal reward which is perishable induces men to sacri­ fice their repose and convenience, and to take upon themselves hardships and inconveniences, how much more should the hope of the precious rewards which await us in heaven animate our zeal for virtue? PERORATION. Let the meditation on the justice of God be a powerful incen­ tive to the fear of God, piety, and zeal in virtue. Shun nothing so much as injustice and sin; guard yourselves against the smallest faults, and ask God daily to keep you in his love and grace. Be zealous in doing good, and aspire to perfection and sanctification. What glorious prospects you have if in view of the justice of God you endeavor to lead a pious, godly life I Here after you will be numbered with those of whom we read in the Book of Wisdom (3: 7,8): “The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds; they shall judge nations and rule over people, and their Lord shall reign forever." Amen. 4. Liturgical Sketch. 205 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 4. LITURGICAL SKETCH. EXPLANATION OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. And entering into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought.—Luke i g : 45. How zealous our Lord is for the honor of his house. Entering into the temple he finds money-changers stationed in the front court and persons selling animals to be immolated in the sacri­ fices. Thus did they desecrate the house of God by this worldly business, which was often connected with avarice and injustice. Full of holy indignation, he drives these profaners out of the temple, saying: My house is the house of prayer, but you have made it a den ofthieves. From this you may infer that God strictly requires you to behave reverently and devoutly in his house. Our church­ es are far more holy and venerable than the temple of Jerusa­ lem. Animals were offered there, but in our churches it is Jesus Christ ,vho offers himself though his priest. What a holy and admirable sacrifice therefore is the holy mass, and how holy our churches in which this sacrifice is daily offered I To-day, and on the three following Sundays, I shall speak of the holy sacrifice of the mass, and explain the prayers and cere­ monies which are employed. I shall begin by describing the pre­ paration, or catechumens’ Mass, to which belong— * I. The prayers at the foot of the Altar: II The Introit; III. The Epistle and Gospel. Part I. The holy mass begins with prayers at the foot of the Altar and these may be divided into three parts— i. The forty-second psalm, which is preceded by the sign of the cross and the Antiphon, and followed by Glory be to the Father, etc. (λ.) The priest, standing at the foot of the altar, and bowing down before it, signs himself with the sign of the cross, saying at the same time: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 206 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. of the Holy Ghost, because, as Tertullian says, according· to apos­ tolic tradition the Christians began all their works with this sign, and because the sign of the cross reminds us that the holy mass is the unbloody renewal of the bloody sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; and we are under the obligation, as Christians, of being crucified to the world, and of devoting ourselves to Jesus Christ with undivided love. The invocation of the Three Divine Persons indicates that the highest end of the holy mass is the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. (ύ.) Immediately after the sign of the cross follows the Anti­ phon, which originally was alternately sung by two choirs. Now, the Antiphon is a verse of a psalm, which runs this: I will go unto the altar of God ; to God who giveth joy to my youth. By altar we here understand, in the first place, the altar on which the sacri­ fice is offered; secondly, the altar in heaven on which Jesus offers himself continually to his eternal Father as a sacrifice, in order to obtain for us all graces. The words : To God, who giveth joy to my youth, signify the effect of the holy mass ; that is to say, by this sacrifice the whole human race, as well as the individual— nay, the whole creation, is endowed with new life, and, as it were brought back to its youth and plenitude of strength. (c.) The priest now says alternately with the people (the clerk or server represents the people) the 42d psalm. David composed this psalm when in great affliction; it pained him especially that, being absent from Jerusalem, he could not enter into the holy tabernacle and there adore God. But the thought that God was his protector from his youth and would again succour him, raised his drooping spirits and filled him with the hope of re­ turning to Jerusalem, there to adore the Lord and offer sacrifice to him in the holy tabernacle. Similar feelings are experienced when the priest is about to celebrate the holy sacrifice. We love to participate in the holy sacrifice, but we know that we are de­ filed with many sins, assailed by different passions and sorely pressed by the enemies of our salvation. This knowledge makes us sad, but a glance at Jesus, who, full of love cries out to us: “Come to me all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will re­ fresh you” (Matt. 11: 28), fills us with hope and joy, so that we venture to approach the altar. (tf.) After the psalm the priest says: Glory be to the Father, etc. With this doxology all psalms are concluded, because the glory of the Holy Trinity is the final end of all our devotions and espe­ cially of the holy mass. Whilst saying it the priest inclines his head and offers to the Father his thoughts, to the Son his words, and to the Holy Ghost his works. This triple offering you must also 4· Liturgical Sketch. 207 make to the Triune God, especially at holy mass, in profound veneration and grateful love. 2. The Confiteor with the Absolution. (#.) The Confiteor, or the confession of sins, is divided into two parts ; in the first we confess to God, to all the saints and to the faithful present, that we have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed ; in the second we ask their intercession with God. We plead guilty, not only before God, but also before the saints and all those that are present, because by sin we not only offend God but also grieve the saints in heaven and give scan­ dal to the faithful upon earth. The priest and the people say the Confiteor and pray for mutual intercession, according to the admonition of St. James: “Confess your sins one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved.”—5; 16. The inclining posture and the striking of the breast, by which the Confiteor is accompanied are signs of penance. Thus the publican in the temple dared not lift up his eyes towards heaven, but struck his breast. Of the striking of the breast Innocent III. very appropriately says: “Three things are united in the striking of the breast, the striking, the sound, and the touch. By this the three things necessary for penance are signified, contrition of the heart, confession by the mouth, and satisfaction by the deed.” {bi} The Confiteor is naturally followed by the Absolution. This absolution is not an absolution from sins, as in the Sacrament of Penance, but only a prayer which priests and people address to God for one another, that he may have mercy on them and for­ give them their sins. The absolution which the priest says, runs thus: May Almighty God be merciful unto you, and, forgiving y oil your sins, bring y oil to life everlasting. R. Amen. May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us -pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins. R. Amen. In the last part the priest prays for the three­ fold grace necessary to salvation, for indulgence (indulgentiam}, that is, time for penance, for loosing (absolutionem), that is, de­ tachment of the heart from sin, and lastly, for remission {remis­ sionem), that is, for the real forgiveness of sins. The words of the absolution, the Almighty and merciful Lord, signify the founda­ tion on which the hope of our salvation rests. 3. The prayer for mercy, consisting of short versicles, which the priest standing at the foot of the altar, and in an inclined posture, says with the clerk. Then the priest, going up to the altar, says: Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech thee, O Lord, that we may be 2o 8 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. worthy to enter with pure minds into the Holy of Holies. By the Holy of Holies, we understand the altar, and the holy sacrifice of the mass, which is offered upon the altar. The altar, indeed, is the holiest thing, because Jesus, the Son of God, who is holiness itself, and the author of all holiness, reposes upon it; the same is to be said of the holy mass, because in the mass Jesus offers and is offered. What purity is necessary in order to approach the altar and to offer sacrifice worthily ! Having ascended the altar, bowing down, the priest says: We beseech thee, O Lord, by the merits of thy saints whose relics are here, and of all the saints, that thou wouldst vouchsafe to forgive me all my sins. When the priest says, whose relics are here, he kisses the altar. The primitive Christians used to celebrate the mysteries on the tombs of the martyrs. In the course of time churches were erected over these tombs, or the relics of the saints were translated to churches built in other places, where they were deposited under the altar. Afterwards the Church ordained that every altar on which the sacrifice of the mass was to be offered must contain relics of saints. The kiss with which the altar is honored symbolizes the intimate communion of the Church militant with the Church triumphant, and in the prayer we beseech God, for the sake of the merits of the saints, to grant us that purity of soul which is required for the worthy celebration of the holy sacrifice of the mass. Part II. 1. The Introit. This is divided into four parts: the Antiphon, verse of a psalm, Doxology, and repetition of the Antiphon. Formerly it was a whole psalm, which clergy and people chanted when they con­ ducted the bishop from his house to the church for the celebration of mass. The Introit adapts itself to the feasts that occur, or to the ecclesiastical season, and expresses either joy or sorrow, humble petition, hope or desire, and contains each time the principal thought of the festival celebrated, and is to it what a text is to a sermon. From the Introit, that is, from the first words of the Antiphon, some masses, and even some Sundays, have their names. Thus the masses offered for the repose of the dead are called Requiem Masses ; during Advent, Rorate [locally] because the Introits of these Masses begin with the words Requiem and Rorate respectively. The first Sunday after Easter is called Quasimodo Sunday, the sixth Sunday after Easter is named Exaudi Sunday, because the first words of the Introit on these Sundays respectively are Quasimodo and Exaudi. 2. The Kyrie which the priest says at the middle of the altar, with hands joined, alternately with the clerk. 4· Liturgical Sketch. 209 (a.) Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy on us, Christ have mercy on us, Lord have mercy on us. These are Greek words. How does it come that the Church here uses Greek words whilst everything else is Latin ? She signifies thereby that the Greek and Latin Church constitute only one Church. For a long time the Greek Church was united with the Latin ; it was not till the ninth century that the Greek Church separated from us, and this separation or schism exists to this day. (Æ.) The Kyrie is repeated nine times ; three times in honor of the Father, three times in honor of the Son, and three times in honor of the Holy Ghost. Why three times in honor of each person? Because in each of the three persons the entire Trinity is contained, for though the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are distinct from one another as persons, they are one in their essence, The Father and the Holy Ghost are invoked by the same name, Kyrie, Lord, because they are of one nature ; but the Son is invoked by the name Christe, because, although he is of the same nature with the Father and the Holy Ghost, he has another nature, namely, the human, having in time become man. 3. The Gloria, or the hymn of the angels, which is composed of the song of the angels at the birth of Christ, and some additions made to it by the Church. (a.) The Gloria very significantly stands at the beginning of the mass ; for by it we are taught why we offer this holy sacri­ fice. We offer the sacrifice of the mass to God as a sacrifice of praise, of thanksgiving, of propitiation, and of petition. This fourfold purpose of the sacrifice is presented before our mind’s eye by the Gloria. The sacrifice of the mass appears to us in it as a sacrifice of praise, because we say : Glory be to God on high, we praise thee, we bless thee, we adore thee ; as a sacrifice of thanks­ giving, because we say : We give thee thanks for thy great glory ; as a sacrifice of propitiation and of petition, because we say: O Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, who takest away the sins of the world, receive our frayers. (<5.) As the Gloria is a song of jubilee, an expression of the greatest joy and exultation, it is omitted on all penitential days, on the Sundays in Advent and Lent, and in Requiem masses. (ci) When the priest begins the Gloria he raises both his hands, to express by this motion his own joy and that of the people for aio Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. thegraceof Redemption which came from heaven, but continuing to say it. he keeps his hands joined, holding fast, as it were, his interior joy ; at the end he signs himself with the sign of the cross, to manifest that the cross is the source of all consolation and joy. 4. The Collect. Collect is a Latin word, and signifies a collection, namely, a collection of prayers for the necessities of the people The priest collects, at it were, the necessities of the faithful, in order to present them to God, like the angel in the Apocalypse (8: 3), who lays the prayers of all saints upon a golden altar, which is before the throne of God. (λ.) Before the priest reads the Collect he kisses the altar, to indicate that he is in communion with Christ, who is represented by the altar, and with the saints whose relics are in the altar, and that through the merits of Jesus and of the saints he hopes to obtain what he asks of God in the Collect. Then turning towards the people, he salutes them saying, The Lord be 101th you, so that you may pray well and in a salutary manner ; the people respond to the salutation in the words, Andivith thy spirit, expressing the wish that God may also give him the grace to perform this holy service in a worthy and salutary manner. (3.) The Collect always contains a petition which refers to the particular celebration ; it varies according to the feasts, seasons and occasions. The ground upon which we base our petition is the mystery or feast which is celebrated. The Collects, as well as all the prayers of the Church, invariably conclude with these or similar words, Through Jesus Christ. The reason why we use this conclusion is because Jesus said: “If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you.”—John 16: 23. Part III. The Collect is followed by the Epistle and Gospel. 1. The Epistle, meaning a ‘‘letter,” is a selection from the Old or the New Testament; it is also called a lesson, a reading. (a.) It was a custom with the Jews at their assemblies for divine worship to read something from the writings of Moses or of the Prophets.—Luke 4: 16. It was also the custom in the first Chris­ tian congregations to read portions of the Old Testament, and in the course of time also of the New Testament; it had not, however, been definitely determined what or how much was to be read. This was left to the judgment of superiors. In order to obtain uniformity in this, Pope Damasus ordered St. Jerome to arrauge 4. Liturgical Sketch. 211 a book containing the gospels and epistles to be read during pub­ lic worship. This book of epistles and gospels, as arranged by St. Jerome, was introduced into the whole Catholic Church and is still in use, with the exception of a few alterations. (Æ.) The Epistle at holy mass always has reference to the ecclesiastical season or feast of the day, and its object is to put us into the frame of mind corresponding with the feast. It is read before the gospel, because it is to prepare the way for the under­ standing thereof. It therefore sometimes contains a prophecy of the event which is narrated in the gospel, sometimes a fact which explains the contents of the gospel, sometimes a moral which we must gather from the gospel. (r.) The priest, reading the Epistle, lays his hands on the book partly to intimate that the Sacred Scriptures are the property of the Church and that God has committed their interpretation to her, partly to express his full consent to the doctrines and truths contained therein. The Epistle being read, the clerk says, Thanks be to God, that is, for having made known to us his will in writing and shown us the way of salvation. After the Epistle follow short prayers and ejaculations, for it is right that we should gratefully address God who has vouchsafed to come down on this earth and preach to us his holy word. 2. The Gospel. («.) Having read the Epistle and whatever belongs to it, he goes to the middle of the altar and prepares himself for reading the gospel by saying: Cleanse my heart and my lips, O Almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias with a burning coal, and vouchsafe, through thy gracious mercy, so to purify me that I may worthily proclaim thy holy gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (b.) After this preparation the priest goes to the right side of the altar and reads or sings the Gospel. It is read at the right side of the altar, because Christ, the author of it, is more than the writers of the Old Testament and the Apostles, whose inspired words are read for us in the Epistle, also to intimate that the doctrine of the gospel, rejected by the Jews, passed over to the Gentiles. The custom of reading or singing the Gospel at the right side has also historical significance. In the early ages of the Church the faithful brought their offerings to mass and before the offertory laid them on the epistle side of the altar. To make room for them the Missal was removed to the right side. After Communion the offerings were no longer on the altar, hence the book was carried back to the left side. 212 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. (