Chapter IX: Part 9

I will tell you why it does not. And to do so I have only to turn to the first words of to-day's Mass: "He shall call on me, and I will hear him; I will deliver him and glorify him."

That is the whole story. If we want God to deliver us, we must ask him to do it. In other words, if we wish to persevere, we must pray. If we do not go to God to get the strength which we need, we must be without it.

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The sinner who repents, and does not pray often and fervently afterward to keep the grace he has, being especially careful of his morning prayers; who does not, above all, make often the best of all prayers--that of again coming to the sacraments--is a fool, and the devil's laughing-stock.

The great majority of those who have been leading a bad life, and who abandon it at a mission, or at any other time, will not persevere unless they are willing to take the trouble to make frequent and earnest prayers, and to come to confession again within a month. That is simple fact; it is the teaching of experience, not mere guess-work. Are you, my friends, willing to take that trouble for your soul's sake, or do you prefer to fall as you have fallen before?

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Sermon LXXVII.

Bearing Witness For Our Lord.

_And you shall give testimony,
because you are with me from the beginning._
--St. John xv. 27.

It might be asked, dear brethren, what need God has of _our_ testimony, or why the creature should act the part of witness for the Creator? Certainly Jesus Christ needed not the testimony of men, but in his infinite goodness and wisdom he has seen fit to commit to each one of us a sublime and holy mission, none other than that of giving testimony of him before the world, for the sake of our fellow-man. {262} "You are," says St. Peter, "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, that you may declare the virtues of him who hath called you out of darkness."

This, then, is our mission, to be witnesses for Jesus Christ; and to-day we are going to consider how we are fulfilling it. You know, brethren, with what a keen sense of criticism the world examines the testimony of those witnessing in behalf of others, and how it values their testimony in proportion to their uprightness and integrity. Well, so it is with regard to us and the testimony we are called upon to give of our Blessed Lord. We Christians are all on the witness-stand of this great world. To-day the unbelieving world is passing judgment upon our testimony, deciding whether it be for or against Jesus Christ; but, brethren, there will come a day when Christ himself will sit in judgment upon this same testimony and reward us accordingly.

Since, then, this our mission is so important, brethren, how are we to fulfil it? It seems to me in no better way than by leading truly Christian lives, and thus forcing the world to acknowledge that we are animated by the spirit of God. The early Christians brought the light of faith to thousands, not by preaching, but by the holiness of their lives; and so, when the pagans and infidels came in contact with them, they were forced to admire and exclaim, "Behold how these Christians love one another!" Would to God that the life and conduct of every Christian to-day could force a similar confession from the unbelievers of our time.

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Indeed, brethren, all Christians of our day have a great mission to fulfil in this regard; but _we_ especially, for the reason given by our Lord himself--"because you are with me from the beginning." You, beloved brethren, who have had the faith from the beginning--from your earliest childhood--have a special reason why your testimony for Jesus Christ should never be failing. Has it ever been so? Have your virtuous lives and edifying example brought home the truths and beauties of the Catholic faith to those outside the church? I fear, brethren, the conduct of bad and negligent Catholics has kept back many from inquiring into the true faith. Such Catholics, wearing the livery of Satan, have given false testimony of God, and will have to render an account for it.

We can all of us, brethren, give testimony of Jesus Christ by every action of our lives. Parents can and should render this testimony by the good example they give their families, and the Christian solicitude they have for their spiritual welfare. Young men and women should give this testimony by the profession and practice of God's law and the church's precepts. Let the consideration, dear brethren, of this our high mission, our being called to give testimony of God, be the means of animating us to renewed fervor in the service of Jesus Christ.

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Sermon LXXVIII.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

_Watch in prayers._
--1 St. Peter iv. 7.

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To-day is the Sunday of expectation, and it brings to our minds that upper chamber in Jerusalem, where the little band of the chosen disciples of the Lord were gathered together waiting for the coming of the Holy Ghost. There were the eleven Apostles and the faithful women, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and his brethren. "All these," says the sacred chronicler, "were persevering with one mind in prayer." Hence the Epistle of to-day urges us to imitate them, and begins with the exhortation: "Dearly beloved, watch in prayers."

We too must watch and wait for the coming of the Holy Ghost. He has, indeed, already come into our souls in Holy Baptism, cleansing them from original sin and making them his temples. He has come again in Confirmation, with all the fulness of his sevenfold gifts, to make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Christ.

Yet he comes to us continually every day, knocking at the door of our hearts and begging for admittance. Every impulse of what is known as actual grace is from the Holy Ghost, and such graces we are receiving all the time, every hour of the day. We must therefore prepare ourselves for his coming, and when he has entered into our souls we must strive to keep him there. The Holy Ghost is the life of our souls. It is his constant presence and indwelling which is the state of grace which makes us pleasing to God. To obtain and to preserve this abiding presence of the Holy Ghost we must imitate the Apostles in their watchfulness and prayer. We must watch lest the time of temptation should find us unprepared and off our guard; we must pray that the Holy Ghost may come into our hearts, bringing with him ever richer treasures of divine grace; that he may take possession of our souls and make them all his own; that he may guide our minds, and with the fire of his love inflame our hearts to do his holy will in all things.

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But we must first of all prepare for the Holy Ghost by cleansing our souls from sin. Where sin reigns the Holy Ghost can never dwell. The Apostles prepared for his corning by penance. To that upper chamber in Jerusalem came St. Peter, who had denied his Lord, St. Thomas, who had doubted his resurrection, and the others who had wavered in their faith, and, in the time of trial, had forsaken their Master and fled. But now they had been convinced of their error, and they came together with sorrow for their past unfaithfulness, and a full determination to lay down their lives, if need be, for him who had died for them. This is the spirit in which we should prepare for the Holy Ghost. If your hearts are defiled with mortal sin, delay not the time of penance. The Holy Ghost is ready to descend upon you. He only waits for you to do your part. Make ready, then, a place in your heart, that he may enter in and dwell there.

"O my dearly beloved brethren!" exclaims St. Gregory the Great, "think what a dignity it is to have God abiding as a guest in our heart! Surely, if some rich man or some powerful friend were to come into our house, we would hasten to have our whole house cleaned, lest, perchance, when he came in he should see anything to displease his eye. So let him that would make his mind an abode for God cleanse it from all the filth of works of iniquity."

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"And they were persevering with one mind in prayer." Our prayer must be persevering if we would gain that which we desire. This is what our Lord meant when he said that we ought always to pray and not to faint. Unless we persevere in prayer we shall without doubt faint by the way in the journey of life. And let us do as the Apostles did, join our prayers to those of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and we shall have a sure hope of obtaining what is most needful for us. Then, as the Holy Ghost once descended upon her, and wrought within her the Incarnation, so also will he come into our hearts, and make them the abode of the Holy Trinity. Then, if we listen to his blessed voice within us, we shall grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for the Holy Ghost will teach us all things, according to the promise.

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_Feast of Pentecost, or Whit-Sunday._

Epistle.
_Acts ii. _1-11.

When the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all
together in the same place: and suddenly there came a sound
from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them
cloven tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of
them, And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost
gave them to speak. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews,
devout men out of every nation under heaven. And when this
voice was made, the multitude came together, and were
confounded in mind, because that every one heard them speak in
his own tongue. And they were all amazed and wondered, saying:
Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how have we
every one heard our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians,
and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt
and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,
Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians; we have heard
them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

Gospel.
_St. John xiv._ 23-31.

At that time Jesus said to his disciples:
If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will
love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.
He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words. And the word which
you have heard is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
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These things have I spoken to you, remaining with you. But the
Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to
your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give to you: not as the world giveth do I
give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, nor let it be
afraid. You have heard that I have said to you: I go away, and
I come again to you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad,
because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it come to pass: that when it
shall come to pass, you may believe. Now I will not speak many
things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in me
he hath not anything. But that the world may know that I love
the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so I
do.

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Sermon LXXIX.

The Holy Ghost In The Church.

_The Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things,
and bring all things to your mind,
whatsoever I shall have said to you. _
--Gospel of the Day.

On the day which we now commemorate, my brethren, the Holy Ghost came down, as you know, on the little company of Christians assembled in the upper room at Jerusalem, to prepare them for the great combat in which they were about to engage against the devil for the conquest of the world. He came down upon them to make of them the church of God; to establish them in the truth, and to bring to their remembrance, as our Lord had promised, the faith which they had received from his lips. {269} He came to give them not only the knowledge but also the courage and strength which would be necessary for them to persevere, to resist and overcome all the attacks of the enemy, and to weather all the storms which heresy, infidelity, and worldliness were about to raise against the one true faith.

And he was to come, and has come, not only on them, but on those who have followed them as well, and for the same purpose. We have received him, and he abides in the Catholic Church to-day as he did in the times of the Apostles. The Holy Ghost is the life of the church; it is his presence which distinguishes her from the human institutions which have appeared in the world with her and have one by one sprung up and passed away. It is his abiding with her that makes her life perpetual, ever the same and ever new.

But how is the Holy Ghost in the Catholic Church? How is it that he is her life, and that he keeps now, as of old, in the one true body which all who will but clear the mists of prejudice from before their eyes can see is the one which Christ promised to form, and to which all his promises were made?

In the first place, the Holy Ghost is in the Catholic Church by the gift bestowed on the successors of the Apostles in the Apostolic See, of infallibility in teaching the faith. In this way the truth is sure to be kept in the world; it cannot fail to be taught, while the Vicar of Christ remains to teach it.

But it is not only in the Holy See that the Spirit of God abides. The bishops throughout the world also teach the faith by his help and guidance; and this help is also given to the clergy who assist them. {270} Nor does the work of the Holy Ghost stop here; he is also with the body of the faithful, enabling them also to recognize the truth when they hear it, and to distinguish it from error. "You have the unction from the Holy One, and know all things," says St. John; "I have not written to you as to them that know not the truth, but as to them that know it."

Yes, the Holy Ghost is throughout the church; he is her life, and is not only in her head, but also in her members. Were he not in the members, though the pope indeed should remain to teach the truth, the faithful would not have remained faithful or attentive to the truth which he would teach.

What a blessing, then, my brethren, is this light of the Holy Ghost, which is given in its measure to each one of us; which keeps us in the one fold, and which makes us, out of many, one body in Christ; which brings his words always to our minds, and which preserves us from the ever-changing doubt and confusion which is the lot of those who arc separated from the one true church in which he dwells! Let us, then, preserve this unspeakable gift; let us not quench the Spirit of God within us. And how is it quenched? How do we lose the light of faith which he gives?

By sin, and never except by sin. Though instruction be indeed good and salutary, it is not the simple and the unlearned who lose the faith, but such as give ear to their passions, specially those of pride and impurity. All the heresies which have torn multitudes from the church of Christ have had their roots not so much in ignorance as in sin. "Keep yourselves," then, my brethren, as St. John warns you, "from idols"; this is the only sure way to keep in yourselves the light of God.

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Sermon LXXX.

The Guidance Of The Holy Spirit.

_If any one love me he will keep my word,
and my father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our abode with him;
he that loveth me not, keepeth not my word._
--Gospel of the Day.

To-day, dear brethren, the church sends up her voice of praise for the coming of the Holy Spirit. On this day the Holy Ghost, the personal love of the Father and the Son, came upon the disciples in that upper chamber in Jerusalem, where they were gathered together in prayer awaiting the promise of the Father. He came upon weak and timid men, but when he had poured himself upon them behold we have the great Apostles, the teachers of the divine word, the fearless and untiring searchers after souls, the founders of the church.

Ah! what a change had been wrought in these timid followers of Jesus, who had fled from him in the hour of his need, and who, after his resurrection, lay hid with barred doors for fear of the Jews! Their fear and their weakness have disappeared, and the whole world is not large enough for the exercise of their zeal, nor less than the conversion of all nations the end of their noble ambition.

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But, dear brethren, the self-same Holy Ghost, who brought about this change in the Apostles, comes to us, nay, abides in us, if we fulfil the condition our Lord lays down--namely, that we love him. And he makes the test of our love the keeping of his word. If we love him the Father will love us, and the Father and the Son will come to us and make their abode with us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is our sanctifier. It is he to whom are ascribed the works of love. He dispenses the graces which the merits of Jesus Christ have won for us. He purifies from sin and unites our souls to God. He dwells in every one who is free from grievous sin, and by his light and strength he gives us help to overcome the temptations which assail us.

He is the Spirit of joy and sweetness, filling us with the fear of God, urging us on in the love of God, guarding us from the loss of God's friendship by the winning sweetness of his consolations. How greatly, then, should we love and adore the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Blessed Trinity! We should often call upon him and pray to him. We do not invoke the Holy Ghost enough. We pray to the Father and to the Son, and so indirectly honor God, the Holy Spirit; but we should pray more frequently to him directly. We should call upon him to give us, if we have it not, the grace of God, and to increase in us the fire of divine love that we may realize in ourselves the promise of the abiding of God in us by keeping his laws.

What folly it is for us to imagine that God can have a dwelling-place in our sin-stained soul! How can the Holy Spirit find pleasure in one who by mortal sin has made himself God's enemy; who has been guilty of a deliberate act of rebellion against his Maker and been unfaithful to or left unheeded his own sweet drawing? {273} Alas for us, if this Pentecost finds us in this awful state! Alas! if the voice of our conscience has been silenced; this day then brings no joy to us! The Holy Spirit has no abiding-place within our souls. We have not loved the Son because we have not kept his words: "He that loveth me not keepeth not my words." And because we have not loved him the Father and he will not come to us. The loving Holy Ghost is not master in our house; we have driven him out who was our best friend and thrown open the gate to our enemy. Will you remain thus, you who are in sin? Let not this day go by and to-morrow find you unrepentant. Grieve for your past offences, keep the law of God, and you shall have the fulness of the Holy Spirit.

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Sermon LXXXI.

The Easter Duty.

In this great feast and its octave, my dear brethren, we commemorate the last of all the wonderful events which brought the Christian religion into the world. To-day our Divine Saviour, having ascended into heaven, fulfilled his promise in the descent of the Holy Ghost upon his Apostles; to-day the Catholic Church was fully established, and given power to convert the world; to-day the order of things was begun which is to last to the end of time.

And with this octave closes, therefore, that especially holy part or season of the year which centres round the resurrection of our Lord, and which has, for most obvious reasons, been appointed as the time in which every Christian is bound, under pain of mortal sin, to receive Holy Communion, or make, as we say, his Easter duty. {274} Only one more week remains in which to attend to this most important of all the obligations of a Catholic, to fulfil this greatest precept of the positive Christian law.

Now, what is exactly this precept of the Easter duty? Strange to say, you will often find people who do not seem to have any clear idea about it at all, in spite of all that is said about it from the altar and in common catechisms and books of instruction. And yet it is very simple. It is just this: Every Catholic of sufficient age to receive Communion is bound to receive it on some day between the first Sunday of Lent and Trinity Sunday--that is, a week from to-day--inclusive; and it is very difficult for any one to have any excuse from complying with this law.

The Easter duty, then, is not merely an obligation to receive once a year. A person may receive a hundred times in the year, and yet not make his Easter duty; just as one may hear Mass every day in the week, and yet not fulfil the precept of hearing Mass if he stays away on Sunday. Now this seems quite easy to understand; but there are people, and plenty of them, too, who will make a mission shortly before Lent, and then say at this time: "Oh! I went to Communion not very long ago; there is no need to go so soon again." They might as well say on Sunday, if they had heard Mass on Saturday: "I need not go to church to-day; it was only yesterday that I was there." The law of hearing Mass is not to hear it once a week, but to hear it on Sundays and holydays of obligation; so the law of Communion is not to receive once or twice a year, but to receive at the time appointed. No other time will do.

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But some may say: "I have not committed any mortal sin since my last confession; I am just as good as these people who are running to church all the time." Very good, perhaps you are; though it may be that Almighty God does not have so high an opinion of you as you seem to have of yourself. But it is not the question whether you are good or not; the law is not to confess mortal sin at Easter; far from it, one ought to have no mortal sin to confess, then or at any other time. No, the law is to go to Communion. One should get leave to do so, of course; but if you have no sin on your conscience, what is easier than to say so to the priest? You ought to be glad to be able to say it.

Do not, then, make the foolish excuse either that you have been to Communion at Christmas or there about, or that you have nothing to confess now. Come this week; if you put your Communion off one day beyond next Sunday you are guilty of breaking this law. If you are in mortal sin, get out of it by making a good confession and Communion; if you are not, do not fall into it by refusing to obey this most peremptory and most urgent command. Any one who has not received since Lent began, and refuses to do so on or before next Sunday, may, indeed, call himself a Catholic, but is not worthy of the name.

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_Trinity Sunday._

Epistle.
_Romans xi._ 33-36.

O the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge
of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how
unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?
Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to
him, and recompense shall be made to him? For of him, and by
him, and in him, are all things. To him be glory for ever.
Amen.

Gospel.
_St. Matthew, xxviii._ 18-20.

At that time:
Jesus said to his disciples: All power is given to me in heaven
and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations:
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold I am with you all
days, even to the consummation of the world.

Last Gospel.
_St. Luke vi._ 36-42.

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and
you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be
condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it
shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down, and
shaken together and running over, shall they give into your
bosom. For with the same measure that you shall measure it
shall be measured to you again. And he spoke also to them a
similitude: Can the blind lead the blind? do they not both fall
into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master; but every
one shall be perfect, if he be as his master.
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And why seest thou the mote in thy brother's eye, but the beam
that is in thy own eye thou considerest not? or how canst thou
say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull the mote out of thy
eye, when thou thyself seest not the beam in thy own eye? Thou
hypocrite, cast first the beam out of thy own eye, and then
shalt thou see clearly to take out the mote from thy brother's
eye.

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Sermon LXXXII.

The Divine Majesty.

_For of him, and by him, and in him are all things;
to him be Glory for ever and ever. Amen._
--Epistle of the Day.

To-day, my dear brethren, the church, having completed the round of feasts and fasts which she began on Christmas, having brought to our remembrance our Lord's birth, his holy childhood, his ministry on earth, his Passion and death, his glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost as he had promised, finally brings us into the presence of the Being by whom all these wonderful works have been accomplished, and who is the sole object of our adoration, the ever Blessed Trinity, the three Divine Persons, the one God. She bids us contemplate, so far as it is possible for us, the great and ineffable mystery into the faith of which we have been baptized, and to join with the angels and saints in the canticles of heaven, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."

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"Of him, and by him, and in him are all things," says the Apostle, reminding us of this highest of all the teachings of the Christian faith. Of the Father is the Son, and by the Son is the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, and in whom is their life and mutual love. The distinction of the Divine Persons is thus intimated to us; but the Divine Nature is only one; of, by, and in that One are we and all things created.

We and all the world around us are of God; not part of him, nor born of him according to nature, nor proceeding from his substance, but still of him in that we owe our being entirely to him, who drew us from nothing by his almighty power. Nothing could ever have existed outside of God himself except through the wonderful, incomprehensible act of creation. From nothing, nothing of itself could come; all things are from and of God, who created them from nothing.

By his almighty power, then, we have been created, and by it now we are sustained. We could not live for a moment except by his continual support. It is only by his aid that we can draw a single breath, walk a single step, or perform the simplest act. The winds and the waters, and all the powers of nature, as we call them, are his powers, too, which he lends to us, and makes subservient to our use.

And in him we live and move and are. He is nearer to us than we to ourselves. It is not only that he makes us live; it is his life by which we live; our life comes from and belongs to his eternal life. The life of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is in himself; ours is in him.

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To him, then, the one and only true God, "be glory," as the Apostle says, "for ever and ever." How often we say these words, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," and how little do we think of what they mean! If all that we are and have is from God, by him and in him, how can we set ourselves apart from him, or claim anything for ourselves against him? How can we glory in ourselves, or desire glory from others, when all glory, praise, and honor belong of necessity to him from whom, by whom, and in whom all things are?

For this is what it means when we say, "Glory be to God." Not some glory or praise or recognition of his greatness from us, as a sort of tax or tribute which we must pay to keep the rest for ourselves. No, when we have given glory to God as we should, there will be nothing left for us to keep. This is the perfection of the creature, to prostrate itself at the foot of its Creator's throne, and to cast all the crowns it has received before him that sitteth thereon, and to say with the angels and saints in heaven, "Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, because thou hast created all things, and for thy will they were and have been created."

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Sermon LXXXIII.

The Mystery Of The Holy Trinity.

_Go ye, therefore, teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost._
--St. Matthew, xxviii. 19.

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It was the faith in the Most Holy Trinity that the Apostles were sent forth to teach throughout all the world to every creature. It is into this faith that every Christian is baptized by the invocation of the thrice-holy name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and because of this baptism he is bound to persevere all his life long in that steadfast faith in the Holy Trinity for which the church to-day teaches us to pray. Think it not strange that this doctrine should be so deep a mystery. We are surrounded on all sides by mysteries. There is scarcely a department of knowledge into which we can turn our minds where we are not met by things which we cannot understand. There is, therefore, nothing wonderful in the fact that God is the greatest mystery of all. We cannot solve the mysteries of nature and of life as we see them before us. How, then, can we expect to comprehend the nature and the inner life of God? It is not for us, with our poor, feeble minds, to ask the how or the why, but simply to bow down in humble adoration before the truth of God as he has revealed himself to us. Faith would not be the virtue that it is if everything were perfectly plain to us. The chief merit of faith is in accepting on God's authority that which is beyond our own reason. His revelation of himself to us is only partial. The full light that we are capable of receiving will not come until we are before his throne, and see him face to face, for it is only when that which is perfect shall come that that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see, as it were, through a glass, in an obscure manner, now we know but in part, but then we shall know even as we are known. Meanwhile our time of trial remains, and we must submit our minds as well as our hearts and wills to God.

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But he has not given us this partial revelation of himself in order to perplex and worry us. He has told us all that is good and needful for us to know in our present state. We should not, therefore, fix our minds upon that which he has chosen to hide from us, but upon that which he actually has revealed to us, and we shall find in this more than enough for our love and devotion. Each Person of the Blessed Trinity has some special relation to us, and there are, therefore, special acts of love and adoration which we can pay to each. He has revealed himself to us as the Father, not only as the Father of the Eternal Son, but as our Father as well; our Father, because he has adopted us as his children. Nothing that we know on earth of a father's love can compare with the tenderness with which the Eternal Father regards his children. We, therefore, must become as little children towards him, looking up to him with love, with reverence, with simple trust, striving to fulfil his holy will in perfect obedience, knowing that he wills only our good, here and hereafter.

God the Son has revealed himself to us as our Saviour and Redeemer, and because we are through him the children of God, as our Elder Brother, sharing in our human nature, having been tempted like us, and having suffered far more for our sake than we shall ever be called upon to suffer for him. Hence in all our trials, in all our temptations, in all our sufferings, we have his example to cheer us, knowing that we are but treading the steps that he trod and bearing our cross after him. His Precious Blood is still flowing through the sacraments to cleanse us from our sins, his grace is ever ready to help us in the hour of need.

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And God the Holy Ghost is revealed to us and given to us as the life of our souls, our helper, our comforter, our sanctifier, stirring up the flame of divine love in our hearts, urging us to good deeds, and giving us the strength to perform them. We, on our part, must listen to his voice and follow his guidance, that so we may abide in the love of the Father and of the Son.

Thus is the Blessed Trinity revealed to us, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Let us not question, but praise, adore, and love.

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Sermon LXXXIV.

The Divine Judgment.

_And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying:
"All power is given to me in heaven and in earth." _
--Matthew, xxviii. 18.

When these words were uttered by our Lord he had risen from the dead. On this occasion he had with him only the eleven Apostles, whom he had instructed to meet him by appointment at this time and in this place--a mountain in Galilee. A few words they are, but full of meaning. The Apostles saw our Lord in the flesh again; they heard his own human lips utter this truth: that all power is his in heaven and in earth.

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How did they understand him? They understood that the Man they saw, the human being who then stood before them, was endued with all power that God would exercise in heaven and in earth; that to rule this vast universe was his right; that to sit on the throne of heaven, to be worshipped and adored as God by every creature, to shape the destiny of this world, of its many nations, of its many families, of every single soul born and to be born in it; to open and shut the gates of hell at his own will, to judge all without exception, each separately at the moment after death, and all together in the great Judgment day of God, is his right and office as the Man, because he is Man in God and God in Man; the Man selected to be the One through whom the Divine Nature manifests himself in all the fulness of the Godhead in human nature.

But what, therefore, is the first thought that must enter our hearts? It is necessarily this: How will that Man receive us when we are called into his presence, one by one, as we leave this world? How will that countenance look to us at that moment? How will those ears listen to our reports of our own lives? How will those lips speak to us in that dread moment?

But why do we ask ourselves these questions? Because we know that we are to meet that Man in God, face to face, to give an exact account of all of our deeds in the body, and that he is the One to praise or blame us, reward or condemn us, receive us into eternal blessedness or cast us out into eternal, never-ending darkness, and deliver us over to the rule of those who shall be our masters in hell.

Can we tell what the result will be? Yes; and to a certainty! If our lives have been good, or if we die in his friendship, the Man Christ Jesus will give us a blessed and glorious welcome; but if our lives have been wicked, that Man will reject us for ever. He will not have us anywhere near him. He will not endure our presence a single moment, nor permit us to speak in his presence, nor ever again to mention his holy name, but will cast us into that region of creation where holy names are not permitted to be uttered.

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Do we truly hope that this sad fate will not be ours? Then we are truly good, leading good lives, are faithful to our duties as good Catholics. If we truly hope for his approval we can judge ourselves now and know we shall receive it.

How is this? If each one can say to-day, the last of the Easter-time, I have obeyed the commands of the church and made my Easter duty, then each soul is free from mortal sin and knows the judgment of our Lord will be in his favor. Let any such soul die at any moment now and the mercy of God is surely his, for he is now in the friendship of God, his soul is restored to its heavenly state, and every soul in this state is so acceptable to our Lord that he can not condemn it, but must welcome it to the society of those who are saved for ever.

O unfaithful, negligent Catholic! whose life heretofore has been a dishonor to God, a shame to your family, a scandal to your neighbor, and a disgrace to the church of Jesus Christ, have you turned from your sins and made your peace with God this Easter-time? Have you washed your past life clean from sin by this Easter duty? Then you, too, _know_ you will receive the welcome of our Lord, the Man Christ Jesus, your King and your God. Otherwise you are still his enemy, and have a right only to his eternal wrath. How can you sleep a moment or be at rest a single instant longer while knowing you are condemned already, because you have not made your Easter duty?

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_Second Sunday after Pentecost._

And Sunday Within The Octave Of Corpus Christi.

Epistle.
1 _St. John iii._ 13-18.

Dearly beloved:
Wonder not if the world hate you. We know that
we have passed from death to life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death. Whosoever
hateth his brother, is a murderer. And you know that no
murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself. In this we have
known the charity of God, because he hath laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He
that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his
brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him: how
doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let
us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Gospel.
_St. Luke xiv._ 16-24.

At that time
Jesus spoke to the Pharisees this parable:
A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he
sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were
invited that they should come, for now all things are ready.
And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to
him: I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it;
I pray thee, have me excused. And another said: I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them; I pray thee, have me
excused. And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore
I cannot come. And the servant returning, told these things to
his lord. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to
his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the
city, and bring in hither the poor and the feeble, and the
blind and the lame.
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And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded,
and yet there is room. And the lord said to the servant: Go out
into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that
my house maybe filled. But I say unto you that none of those
men that were called shall taste my supper.

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Sermon LXXXV.

Holy Communion.

_A certain man made a great supper
and invited many._
--St. Luke xiv. 16.

I suppose every Catholic here to-day, except some young children, has once or many times in his life been to the "Great Supper," and eaten the "Bread of Life" which is served at it; and those little ones of the Lord's Holy Catholic family are looking forward to the bright day, to be for ever afterwards the day of sweetest memory, when they too shall have that honor and happiness--the day of their First Communion.

If such be the case, what is the use of the church repeating to us every year the threat in the Gospel against those who made foolish and selfish excuses for staying away--"None of those men that were called shall taste of my supper"? We have been called. We have answered the invitation. We have been to the supper. Isn't that enough? The Gospel evidently does not apply to us. But wait a bit. I have two things for you to think about. In the first place, the calling to the Great Supper the Gospel speaks about is a standing invitation for life. By this I mean that the law of the Catholic Church obliges every one to receive Holy Communion annually--that is, during the Easter season. {287} It is then, first of all, an _annual_ invitation; and going one year is not answering the call for the next year. Every one who has learned his Catechism ought to know that. In the second place, what would you think of a near relative whom you had invited to be present at your marriage anniversary dinner, who should send for reply that he had already dined with you on the Fourth of July? This is like what people say who, when asked if they made their Easter duty, tell you, "Oh! no, I went at Christmas," or "I was at the mission." Now the _annual_ marriage supper which the King makes for his Son, and to which we are invited, is at Easter, and neither Christmas, mission time, the Forty Hours, nor the Fourth of July will do, unless, indeed, the mission or the Forty Hours took place in the Paschal season.

The second thing I want you to think about is that the invitation to partake of the "Great Supper" of Holy Communion, whether at Easter or at any other time, is a call to make what is known as a _worthy_ Communion; that is, you must be absolved from sin and thus be yourself worthy. That is requisite, and that is enough. There are some scrupulous people who fancy that they themselves have got to do beforehand all that the Communion is intended to do and will do. Who is it that prepares the Supper, they or the Lord? If they will do the little that is asked of them, they can safely leave to the Lord the responsibility of doing his part. A _worthy_ Communion should also be one that is worth something to the one receiving it, and should not be a worthless exterior performance, which has no interior act of communion in the heart to correspond to it. {288} And now this kind of worth of each and every Communion depends upon what the communicant chooses to make it. All is to be had that God can give. The means of getting the good from Communion is one and the same means for getting the good in receiving other sacraments--that is, prayer. Prayer beforehand, prayer daring it, prayer afterwards. The more you want and the more you ask of, the more worth will your Communion be. Suppose our Lord should suddenly quit the sacramental form of the host and ask a communicant at the altar-rail, "What do you wish for?" and he should answer, "I don't know; I never thought of asking for anything," you would reasonably conclude that he was not likely to receive very much. Now, I hope you who often come to the holy table are paying attention to this. If you come often, it is supposed, and justly supposed, that you want a good deal, and that you are deeply in earnest about obtaining what you desire. Much as, I am sure, your Communions are worth to you, I wish you would set about making them worth still more. In a word, you must think more about what you need. Get your requests ready. Have them, as it were, well by heart, so that if the Lord should ask you what you came for, your reply would come out quick and earnest enough. Of all privileges and honors, in this world, receiving Holy Communion is, indeed, something for us Catholics to boast of. How the "outsiders" envy us our faith and the comfort it brings to us!--the infidels of every name and kind, the Protestants and others, who either have no Communion, or at best a sham one. {289} How would you like to have yourself thrust aside and one of them called by the Lord to take your place at his table? Beware, then, how you treat his invitation; come as often and be as well prepared as the Spirit of Divine Love shall inspire you.

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Sermon LXXXVI.

The Sacred Heart Of Jesus.

The month of June has, as you know, my brethren, been set apart by general consent for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as that of May has in the same way been devoted to our Blessed Lady; and on next Friday, the day following the octave of Corpus Christi, the church solemnly celebrates the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This feast, formerly observed only in some places, has for about thirty years been kept everywhere.

As the devotion to the Sacred Heart has of late spread so widely in the church, and is so plainly pleasing to God and most salutary to us, it is well that we should understand it clearly, that we may enter into it more fully. In the first place, then, we will ask, What is the nature of the worship which we render to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? And, secondly, Why is it specially selected as the object of our devotion?

What, then, is the nature of our worship of the Sacred Heart? It is, of course, the same as that which we pay to our Lord himself--that is, the worship which is due to him as God the Son, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. {290} His human nature, united to the divine nature in one Person, is truly worthy of divine worship and honor. God, having become man, his human heart is the heart of God, and must be adored as such. Let us, then, remember this: the devotion to the Sacred Heart is one that is given to God himself, just as that is which we have for the Blessed Sacrament in which he resides on our altars.

But why do we select the Heart of our Lord, or rather why has he himself selected it, as a special object of our adoration? I say, why has he himself selected it? for this devotion to the Sacred Heart in modern times is due specially to a revelation made by our Lord to the Blessed Margaret Mary, a nun of the Visitation, two centuries ago.

In answer to this question we may say that our Lord's Heart is the fountain of his Precious Blood, which was shed for our salvation, and was pierced by the lance, like his hands and feet by the nails, on the cross; and it is in this way specially pointed out as the object of our gratitude and love. But even a more urgent reason is that the heart is a natural symbol of love, agreed on by universal consent at all times and in all parts of the world, and therefore that the Heart of Jesus most perfectly represents his love for us. In adoring the Sacred Heart, then, we adore in a particular manner the love of Christ for sinners; and it is for this reason that he has given us this devotion, knowing that it is only by the thought of the love of his Heart for us that our hearts can be won to the love of him.

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Yes, my brethren, God wishes our love; it was to obtain it that he became one of us and died for us on the cross; and it is to win it now that he asks us to remember and to adore his Sacred Heart. "Let us therefore," says St. John, "love God, because God first hath loved us." This is the spirit of this devotion: that we should not try to save our souls merely for the fear of hell, but that, seeing how much God has loved us, we should love him in return. And also that, seeing how much he has loved our brethren, the same fire of divine charity may be kindled in our hearts, and thus each one of us may do our share to carry on and to complete the work for which he shed his Precious Blood: the bringing of the world to the knowledge and love of him.

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Sermon LXXXVII.

Ingratitude.

_A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. ...
And they began all at once to make excuse._
--Gospel of the Day.