the tree. God's chosen people, the Jews, whom he had specially
watched over for so many years, whom he had often chastised and
corrected, and had brought back to his favor when they profited
by his visitations, they were no more to be thus dealt with. The
tree which had sprung from the seed of Abraham was not to be
allowed any longer to stand with merely some lopping and pruning;
no, now, if it still would not bring forth the good fruit of a
thorough and genuine penance, it was to be cut down and cast into
the fire. It was the supreme test which was approaching; if the
people whom he had chosen would stand it, they should still
retain their place; otherwise they should be rejected as a
nation, and only those among them who would truly turn to their
God should be saved.
My brethren, St. John is still preaching this doctrine of penance
to us. The Church of the New Law is not on her trial, as was that
of the Old; no, her Divine Founder has promised that she shall
endure to the end of the world. But we, each one of us, have to
take the words of his precursor to ourselves. We are called by
the name of Christ; yes, but that will not save us. St. John said
to the Jews: "Think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham
for our father." So we are not to think ourselves as belonging to
Christ, unless we have cast out from our hearts and souls what
puts a fatal obstacle to his entrance into them. His axe will be
laid to our root also, unless we on our part lay the axe to the
root of our sins.
{39}
What is this root of sin in us? It is just this desire of sensual
indulgence against which St. John in his life as well as in his
doctrine came to make the strongest of protests. If we wish not
to bring forth the fruits of sin, we must lay the axe to its
root. We must practise penance and mortification, not indeed
always to the degree in which he practised it, but at least so
far as it is necessary that we may keep the law of God. We must
not dally with those things which are dangerous to us, innocent
though they may be to others. Our Lord has told us that if even
our eyes and hands themselves are an occasion of sin we must
pluck them out or cut them off; if, then, there be anything we
enjoy, but can really do with out, we must not make a pretext of
the good use which we might make of it if it really is plain that
we will abuse it, but must resolutely cast it away. If we would
avoid the bitter fruit which will naturally grow we must lay the
axe to the root of the tree.
-------------------
{40}
_Fourth Sunday of Advent._
Epistle.
1 _Corinthians iv._ 1-5.
Brethren:
Let a man so look upon us as the ministers of Christ, and the
dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here now it is required
among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful. But as to
me it is a thing of the least account to be judged by you or by
human judgment: but neither do I judge my own self. For I am
not conscious to myself of anything, yet in this am I not
justified: but he that judgeth me, is the Lord. Therefore judge
not before the time; until the Lord come, who both will bring
to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest
the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have
praise from God.
Gospel.
_St. Luke iii._ 1-6.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar,
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea
and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
Abilina, under the high-priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of
the Lord came to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And
he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the
baptism of penance for the remission of sins: as it is written
in the book of the words of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one
crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled: and every
mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough ways plain And all flesh shall
see the salvation of God.
-------------------
{41}
Sermon X.
Fruits Of Penance.
_Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance._
--Matthew. iii. 8.
St. John Baptist in these words, my dear brethren, teaches us, as
he taught those who came to him, that penance, if it be true and
genuine, must bring forth its proper fruit. Every repentance, if
it be sincere, every confession, if it be really good, must be
followed by a good life. If any confession is not so followed, it
must needs be a delusion; though it should have been accompanied
by torrents of tears, and the sins exposed as perfectly as God
himself knows them.
And, moreover, the tree which brings forth the good fruit should
continue to bear it; it should not only for a few days or weeks
give this proof that it is what it should be, and then have him
who planted it come to seek fruit on it and find none.
Yet how often do we find sinners who come to confession with what
would seem to be the best dispositions very soon back just where
they were before! How discouraging it is to the priest to find
the fruits of a mission which seemed to be so promising reduced
down almost to nothing for so many who seemed to profit by it; to
spend long hours, to wear away his strength, instructing,
exhorting, and absolving, and to have so little return from his
labor for God and for souls!
{42}
What is the reason of all this failure of what began so well? Of
course it is partly that the tree planted by the grace of God in
the Sacrament of Penance was not tended afterwards. Its life was
not supplied to it, as it should have been, by the frequent
renewal of confession and reception of Holy Communion. But there
was a difficulty further back than that; a want of something at
the start, which, indeed, was the reason that the sacraments were
not regularly received. What was this difficulty? It was a want
of a thorough earnestness; of an understanding of the greatness
of the work that was undertaken, and of a real determination to
sacrifice everything in order to accomplish it.
It is a great undertaking which one commits one's self to in
coming to reconcile himself with God after a sinful life. The
task is not merely to examine his conscience, to tell his sins
plainly and without concealment, and to feel heartily sorry for
them; that is a great part of it, but by no means all. There is a
great deal left, and that is to leave them for good; to quit
company with them for ever. And this is not such an easy matter.
When, one has lived so that his whole pleasure has been in sin,
in drunkenness and debauchery, in filthy conversation, in bad
actions and bad thoughts, it will perhaps seem almost like giving
up life itself to part with them. The penitent sinner has not all
at once become an angel; his whole nature has been warped and
twisted out of place by sin, and, though the guilt of the sin has
gone, the effects are there; his soul, like a limb out of joint,
has much to suffer before it can get set right again.
A man must make up his mind, when he comes to serve God after
serving the devil, that he has got an uphill road to travel; if
he does not, he will not persevere. Labor and suffering,
self-denial and mortification, he has to face these manfully. His
consolation, his happiness, as well as his strength, have got to
come from God.
{43}
If one understands this he will seek that happiness and that
strength again where he first found it--in confession and
Communion. But if he does not, if he thinks that all will go
right now without any more trouble, his old nature and habits
will claim their dues, and he will soon be back in his sins
again.
Yes, we must cut right down to the root of sin if we wish to
bring forth the fruits of penance, and must make up our minds to
suffer the pain that this cutting will bring. Occasions of sin
must be avoided, appetites must be denied, contempt and ridicule
must be faced; we must pray, we must struggle, we must resist
even to blood; we must put our former life to death, that Christ
may live in us. For, as St. Paul tells us: "If we be dead with
him, we shall live also with him; if we suffer, we shall also
reign with him." There is no other way.
Let us not shrink from this pain and this conflict; that would be
the greatest mistake of all. But let us understand it, that when
the trial comes, as it surely will, it may not find us
unprepared.
-------------------
Sermon XI.
Preparation For Christmas.
_Prepare ye the way of the Lord._
--Matthew iii. 3
We are such unprofitable servants that we have much to do to
prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts. If we have done all
that is required of us we are, nevertheless, unprofitable
servants, and unless we believe this we are spiritually blind.
{44}
The better the opinion which we have of ourselves the worse is
our spiritual condition. The good opinion, than which nothing can
be more false, which we have of ourselves prepares the way for a
fall into sin.
The way of the Lord, the way of salvation, is found by humility,
which always leads to penance.
The holy Council of Trent says that "the whole Christian life
ought to be a perpetual penance." How few realize this, because
they think they are what they really are not! Now, if penance be
the life of the Christian in the state of grace, it must be a
crying necessity for one who is in the state of sin. What food is
to the starving man penance is to the soul in this unhappy state.
Penance is the preparation required of us for the coming feast of
Christmas. This is the lesson of Advent. For four weeks the
purple vestments, the prayers and ceremonies of the church, and
the fasts on Fridays have been appealing to our eyes and ears, if
not to our hearts, to prepare in this way. The wise man views the
obligation which he is under to do penance as very urgent. He
banishes timidity and cowardice and puts his hand to the plough
with courage and confidence.
The foolish man hates to hear of penance, because his passions
have got the mastery. When asked to keep the commandments and
fulfil the duties of his state, he says: "I cannot." To bridle
his passions and give up bad habits seem to him too hard a task.
{45}
Now, if you should consult any man who has done penance
faithfully, so as to persevere in God's grace for years, he would
say the foolish man's view of penance is a false one. God is more
merciful and lenient than we imagine. It is the devil who dresses
up penance as something repulsive.
In urging upon you to prepare for Christmas by penance my first
words are: "Take courage." "Taste and see how sweet the Lord is."
St. Leo says "the cause of the reparation which we make for our
sins is the mercy of God." It is our way of loving him who first
loved us. How well the prophet Isaias describes this penance when
he says: "The Lord says, I will lead the blind in the way in
which they have not known; in the ways which they have not known
I will make them walk. I will change their darkness into light,
their crooked ways into ways that are straight, I will accomplish
these words in them and will not abandon them. I am found," says
God, "by those not seeking me, and I have appeared openly to
those who have not asked for me."
We see by these words how much the grace of God assists us, and
how God mercifully forgets our past sins when we do penance
sincerely.
But our penance must be sincere. We must "bring forth fruit
worthy of penance," says St. John the Baptist, the precursor of
our Lord.
It matters not if we are "the offspring of vipers," as the holy
Baptist called the multitude who approached him for penance,
provided "we lay the axe to the root of the tree."
Now, the words of the prophet, instead of repelling sinners,
attracted them. The publicans who were farthest from God came and
asked: "Master, what shall we do?" And they received the gentle
...
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{48}
... which should be our chief one at Christmas, now that the days
of innocent childhood are past. We do not hate sin from our
hearts; we even cling to it; at best we make compromises with it.
Mortal sin, perhaps, we try to avoid, but venial faults do not
trouble us; this is the best that can be said for most of what
may be called good Christians. And how many there are who come
outwardly to worship before the manger of Bethlehem, but with
hearts entirely turned from their God, who lies there in cold and
poverty for their sakes, pleading with them for his sake to give
up their sinful habits! How many go on offending him at this holy
time, with out repentance, almost without remorse!
Hatred of sin; yes, that is what we want if we would be happy at
Christmas. And now is the time to learn to hate it. For surely
the love of God comes easier to us now, if we will only try to
obtain it, than at any other time, unless, perhaps, on Good
Friday, when we see the sacrifice now begun accomplished. And the
love of God is the hatred of sin, which is the only thing which
he hates, the one cause of all his pain.
Do not let this Christmas go by, then, my dear brethren, without
the joy which should come with it. Do not let this opportunity
pass of acquiring that love of our dear Lord which will make you
really hate and trample under foot all that offends him, and
which will make you rejoice beyond measure that he has put it in
your power to do so. Pray, now, at least that you may learn to
love him; that you may enter into the joy of knowing not merely
that he can save you, but that he has saved you from your sins.
-------------------
{49}
_Sunday within the Octave of Christmas._
Epistle.
_Galatians iv._ 1-7.
Brethren:
As long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a
servant, though he be lord of all: but is under tutors and
governors until the time appointed by the father: even so we,
when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of
the world. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: that he might
redeem those who were under the law; that we might receive the
adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God hath sent the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father.
Therefore now he is no more a servant, but a son. And if a son,
an heir also through God.
Gospel.
_St. Luke ii._ 33-40.
At that time:
Joseph, and Mary the mother of Jesus, were wondering at these
things, which were spoken concerning him. And Simeon blessed
them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for
the ruin, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a
sign which shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword
shall pierce, that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed.
And there was a prophetess, called Anna, the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was far advanced in years,
and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity.
And she was a widow until fourscore and four years; who
departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving
night and day.
{50}
Now she at the same hour coming in, gave praise to the Lord;
and spoke of him to all that looked for the redemption of
Israel. And after they had performed all things according to
the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own
city, Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong, full of
wisdom: and the grace of God was in him.
-------------------
Sermon XIII.
Christmas Joy.
_Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy._
--Luke ii. 10.
There is hardly any one, my brethren, who lives where this feast
of Christmas is kept who does not feel a special joy in it. Why
do we say that "Christmas comes but once a year," if not because
we feel that there is nothing else that can take its place? We
look forward to it months beforehand; when it comes, we keep it
as long as we can and let it go with regret. Why is it that it
has such a warm place in our hearts?
Is it merely that it is by common consent a great holiday; that
it is a breathing-place in the bustle and hurry of life, a time
for meeting our friends, for giving and receiving tokens of
affection and regard, a time of feasting and making merry? This
has some thing to do with it, but it is not all. For if this were
all it would be possible to make by law a holiday like this,
which no one has ever succeeded in doing. The early settlers of
this country, in a mistaken zeal against church festivals,
endeavored to make a substitute for Christmas; but the failure of
their attempt has driven their descendants back to the observance
of this feast, though not to the church which gives it to them.
{51}
Yes, we all feel that the joy of Christmas is a thing not made to
order. It comes from a source which lies in the very mystery
which we commemorate; and, even though we do not meditate or
reflect on it, the stream from this source diffuses itself
through our life and sweetens all the other joys which come at
this time. And they come because of it; we make merry outwardly
because we are, and have cause to be glad at heart.
And what is this cause and source of joy? Is it because Christ
our Lord has come to save us from sin and eternal ruin? No, it is
not simply that; for we celebrate our salvation, our redemption,
our ransom from the power of death and hell more specially at
Easter than now. That is the festival of our Lord's triumph and
our deliverance; it should and does open heaven to our souls, and
give them a promise and almost a foretaste of it. But still it
does not come home to our hearts as this beautiful time of
Christmas does.
And no wonder; for at Easter we cannot but feel that our Lord,
though triumphant and glorious, and promising us a share in his
triumph and glory, still is separated from us. He has passed the
portals of death, he has risen from the grave, he has put on
immortality. We cannot follow him where he has gone till we have
freed ourselves from all the stains of earth, till we have been
purified and washed by penance in his Precious Blood. He has
passed from mortal to immortal life, and it is the raising of the
mortal to the immortal, of earth to heaven, that Easter
celebrates.
{52}
And this, though indeed it is the object of all our hope, is so
high that we, sinners that we are, cannot fully make it our
present joy. But Christmas is heaven come down to earth. It is
the God of heaven condescending to us; taking our weakness upon
him, sympathizing with us, and asking us for sympathy and love.
He hides his majesty and glory; he veils the splendor of his
face; he puts aside all that could distinguish him from
ourselves. He invites us to come to him with out fear; he asks
only that, sinful though we be, we should try to love him as he
loves us. Christmas is the sight of the Creator begging for the
love of his creatures, and humbling himself that he may obtain
it; that is the reason why it goes to the heart of all who have
any heart to give.
Let us then, in this happy season, enter into this joy which is
the cause of all the rest which we have, which is so easy for us,
which has come to our doors, and only asks that it should be let
in. But let the love which goes with it be not a mere passing
feeling, to bear no fruit in our lives. Let it bring us indeed to
him who has come down to us; let our joy be crowned and perfected
by a real return of our hearts to him who has done so much to win
them; let us receive him in deed and in truth in his holy
sacraments, and never let him go again.
-------------------
Sermon XIV.
New Year's Eve.
_Be sober._
2 Timothy. iv. 5.
{53}
Brethren, those two little words of St. Paul in the epistle of
to-day contain excellent advice, especially to-day, on the eve of
the new year. How much woe it would hinder, how many families it
would save from ruin, how many souls from hell, could they be
made a common watchword in any large city in this country during
the year 1883!
But do you wish me to tell you the easiest way to be sober? It is
to take the total abstinence pledge. What does a man do when he
takes the pledge? Just what the farmer does who, seeing that his
fence is about high enough to keep the cattle out of the grain,
makes it just one rail higher; for he knows that there may be one
beast wilder than the rest who will leap over an ordinary fence.
So a prudent man, seeing the ravages of the vice of intemperance
among his friends, dreads some taint of it hidden in his own
nature; dreads some moment of weakness during the passing of the
convivial glass, or during some depression of spirits or foolish
mirth. So he puts all danger out of the question by the pledge.
For if there be danger from an inherited appetite or from a
convivial disposition, or from prosperity or adversity, there is
no mistake about this: the man who does not drink a single drop
cannot drink too much.
But again: what does a man do who takes the pledge? Just what the
kind mother does who wants to induce her sick child to take the
bitter medicine--she tastes it herself. The pledge is taken by a
man who may not need it for his own sake, but who loves another
who does need it. It is taken in order to give good example. It
is not only a preventive for one's self, but for those who may be
led by our influence. It is one great means that fathers and
mothers use in order to save their children from the demon of
drunkenness.
{54}
Oh! how pleasing to God are those parents who practise total
abstinence by way of good example! Oh! how blessed is the home
from which intoxicating drink has been utterly banished! How wise
are those parents who thus teach their children that intoxicating
drink, though it may be used with innocence, must always be used
with caution! Children reared in such a home know well enough how
to avoid treating, frequenting saloons, and convivial habits of
every sort. Such parents not only obey the Apostle's injunction,
"Be sober," but do the very best possible thing to induce those
whom they love to obey it also.
But once more: what does a man do who takes the pledge? He offers
something to God in atonement for the sin of drunkenness. And
herein is the best use of the pledge. It combines all the other
good purposes of it. It puts the top rail of double safety on the
fence that keeps the beast out of the garden of the soul; it sets
up the strong inducement of good example; but more than all it
consecrates everything to God by uniting it to our Lord's thirst
on the cross.
Brethren, why was it that, when our Lord suffered agony of soul,
he complained in such words as would be apt to move the drunkard
more than any other sinner: "O my Father! if it be possible, let
this _cup_ pass from me." "O my Father! if this _cup_
may not pass away from me except I _drink_ it, thy will be
done." Is there no special significance in his choice of those
words? And listen to the account St. John gives of our Lord's
physical agony: "Jesus, knowing that all things were accomplished
that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, saith, _I thirst!_
... And they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it to his
mouth.
{55}
When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar he said: It is
finished! And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost." Thirst
was the only bodily torment he complained of. Had he no special
purpose in this?
So the man who takes the pledge suffers thirst in union with
Christ and for the love of God to atone for sins of drunkenness.
That is why it does not settle the matter against taking the
pledge when one can say he does not need it. Our Lord had no need
to suffer thirst. He could say, I own all the cool fountains in
the world, and all the strengthening wine of the world is mine,
and I might drink and never need to thirst for my own sake; but I
love the poor drunkard, and for his sake I will die thirsting for
a cool drink and tasting only bitter vinegar. And the Catholic
total abstainer says: "O Lord! permit me to bear thee company in
thy bitter thirst."
-------------------
Sermon XV.
The Feast Of The Holy Innocents.
_And Herod sending killed all the men-children that were in
Bethlehem and in all the confines thereof from two years old
and younger._
--Matthew ii. 16
Who is not shocked by the recital of Herod's cruelty? Carried
away by pride and ambition, and the fear of losing what he had
usurped, this tyrant tried to put to death the King of Kings by
the murder of the holy innocents. Who in our day are like Herod?
Those who murder innocent children.
{56}
Fiendish mothers, desiring, perhaps, to cover their shame or to
escape the labor of bearing and bringing up children, take the
lives of their unborn infants. Those, too, who knowingly sell or
give or advise the use of drugs calculated to destroy the life of
the unborn--all such commit Herod's crime. Yet how often this
crime is nowadays committed!
Woe to these wretches! Woe to the Herod-like physicians who, for
any reason whatsoever, directly prescribe or use means to prevent
child-birth! Herod met his punishment in a bad death, and his
soul went into a hell of eternal torments. What must the
murderers of little children expect?