solemnities of Easter; and it was the practice, in the early ages
of the church, for those who had been baptized on Holy Saturday
to put off, on this day, the white garments which they then
assumed, and to resume again their accustomed occupation.
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The white garments were but an external sign of that internal
purity and cleanliness which the soul received in the waters of
Holy Baptism, and the soul, thus purified and strengthened by
God's grace, went boldly forth to the battle-field of life, to
meet again its three great and deadly enemies: the world, the
flesh, and the devil. So we, who, during the penitential season
just closed, have faithfully observed the laws of holy church,
and, by fasting, have brought the flesh under subjection to the
spirit; by foregoing our accustomed pleasures and amusements have
brought the world under our feet, and, by a good confession and
Communion, have again enlisted in the ranks of Christ, and thus
declared ourselves eternal enemies of sin and the devil, start
again to-day with renewed strength to follow our Leader, the
risen Christ, to certain victory.
St. Paul, in the Epistle from which the text is taken, reminds
the Christians at Colossa that, if they be risen with Christ,
their thoughts must now be turned to where Christ is--sitting at
the right hand of God. "Mind the things that are above," he
continues, "not the things that are upon the earth; for you are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
O brethren! would that Catholics did but realize this great
truth! Would that their thoughts and affections were directed
towards their eternal destiny! Absorbed, as they are, in the
sordid pursuits of this life, they cannot be too often reminded
that we are here only on trial. An almighty and merciful God has,
with a lavish hand, surrounded us with the means of gratifying
our reasonable desires and appetites. But, alas! the very gifts
of God serve not unfrequently to make us forget the Giver.
{221}
Look around you and see what is the object for which this noisy,
bustling world is striving; what the end for which most men seem
to exist. The fact is, brethren, that Mammon, the heathen god of
riches, has disputed Christ's sovereignty over the hearts of men,
and has actually erected his altar in those very hearts where the
grace of Christ once reigned. The only conception men seem to
have of this present life is this: that it is a place where we
are to strive to become wealthy in the shortest possible time,
without being over scrupulous as to the means, and then to retire
from active pursuits, the better to indulge our sensual
appetites. They thus invert the order of Divine Providence, and
make an end of that which was intended only as a means to enable
us to attain our eternal destiny.
Everything in this world, my dear brethren, was intended by God
for our happiness here and as a pledge of an eternal and
infinitely greater happiness hereafter. It is a great mistake to
suppose that Christianity requires us to ignore these wonderful
gifts of a kind Providence, and to forego all the pleasures of
this life. No, not at all! Indeed, we are absolutely obliged to
make use of many of them if we would maintain our very existence.
God acts towards us as a kind and affectionate father acts
towards his child. The father knows that his child loves him, and
he feels confident that the little presents he makes the child
from time to time will only serve to strengthen the fond
affection which nature has implanted between them.
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But what would you think if those gifts of the kind father served
only to estrange from him the heart of his child? You would,
undoubtedly, say that such a state of things was unnatural. Well,
so it is, my dear brethren, with us, who, after all, are only
children of an older growth. God, our Creator and Father, has
given us life and all the things in this beautiful universe to
enjoy. And all he asks in return is our love--our hearts. But,
remember, he is not satisfied with an imperfect and partial love.
He is a jealous God, and will allow no one to share our hearts
with him. So that when men fix their affections on the things of
this world without referring them to God, and use these gifts
without regard to the Giver, they too are acting in an unnatural
or, at least, in an irrational manner. Give your whole heart to
God, brethren, and then you will enjoy his gifts, and, as St.
Paul says, "When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then you
also shall appear with him in glory."
-------------------
Sermon LXV.
The Christian's Peace.
_Jesus came, and stood in the midst, and said to them:
Peace be to you. And when he had said this,
he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples, therefore,
were glad when they saw the Lord.
He said therefore to them again:
Peace be to you._
--Gospel of the Day.
He stood in their midst. To-day he stands in the midst of us and
utters the self-same words, "Peace be unto you." And he shows us
his hands and his side, and we are glad. And again he says,
"Peace be unto you."
{223}
To be at peace with the world is the aim of many men. But to have
one's life run smoothly on, to be hindered neither here nor
there, to be always in the sunshine and never in the shadow, may
bring us peace and gladness, but not the peace and gladness that
our Lord would impart. For after his words of gentle salutation
he showed them his hands and his side impressed with the
wound-prints of his Passion, as if to say: "The peace which I
wish you is that which comes after strife, conflict, and sorrow;
that peace which is the rest and the reward for labor and
endurance."
Yes, dear friends, ours is to strive, to contend with self, with
a nature that is fallen, with a proneness to evil, with desires
that are selfish and carnal. To contend with the world, to
disavow its principles, not to listen to its temptations; to
realize and to confess that pleasure, success, ease, money, fame,
are not the objects for which a noble soul must seek, but that
God is our true end, and that mortification and self-denial, the
cross, are the true means to arrive at that end, the way to come
to union with God.
To be at peace with the world; yes, I admit that it is a thing to
be desired, but only so that we are at peace with Almighty God,
too. And how is that peace gained? Only by the keeping of his
law. At peace with the world, because the world cannot disturb
one at peace with God; this is the Christian's life. But so great
a boon is not gained without a strife, as the joy of Easter is
not till the sorrow of the Passion has passed.
Our duty, then, dear brethren, is to strive, and to keep the law
of God, that first law written on our hearts, that law which he
has given to us both by his words and by his life on earth, and
which he still repeats to us through his holy church.
{224}
Foolish, indeed, are we above all others if our Easter joy is
only that of the worldling, and our peace that which the world
gives. This is not the peace that comes after looking at his
hands and his side; not the joy that the disciples felt as they
gazed on the risen Saviour, who stands to-day here in our midst,
as he did among those his first followers, and says to us, as he
said to them, "Peace be to you."
We may have that peace, my brethren, if we are willing to obtain
it and to deserve it as they did. We shall have it descend upon
us, if, while we gaze at his hands and his side, we are conscious
that we have indeed shared his Passion and cross. May indeed be
ours this peace of God, which shall keep our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus.
-------------------
Sermon LXVI.
True And Lasting Peace.
_Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them:
"Peace be to you."_
--From the Gospel of the Sunday.
Peace be to you! This is our Lord's Easter blessing, thrice
repeated in the Gospel of to-day; and a blessing which all his
faithful may obtain. And it is the one for which we are
continually seeking, each in his own way, but which we can find
nowhere but with him who to-day offers it to us.
{225}
What is this peace? Is it freedom from conflict? Is the Christian
to have no battle to fight, no enemy to overcome? No, surely our
Lord does not promise us such an easy road to heaven as this. "Do
not think," he says, "that I came to send peace upon earth; I
came not to send peace, but the sword." We must make up our
minds, for the sake of the Christian faith, to sustain not only
the assaults of the devil and of our own evil passions, but also
the opposition of those who should be our friends. "A man's
enemies," our Saviour goes on to say, "shall be they of his own
household."
In this sense, then, we cannot hope for peace in this world. No,
our lot must be, if we have really enlisted in Christ's army,
that of all soldiers: war, and its turmoil. As St. Paul says it
was for himself so must it be for us: "combats without, fears
within." Struggles for our temporal life; for God has said to
Adam our father, and in him to us his children: "In the sweat of
thy face shalt thou eat bread "; struggles far more terrible and
momentous for our spiritual life, against flesh and blood, also
"against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the
world of this darkness," in which a single slip may mean eternal
ruin, a single wound instant death.
Where, then, is our peace in this inevitable war, this contest
which demands all the energies of our body and soul? What peace
can we have while its issue is still uncertain, its events yet
unknown? Surely it seems a mockery for our Lord to say, "Peace be
to you," when he sends us not peace, but war and its alarms.
But it is not a mockery; he who cannot be deceived also cannot
deceive. His words are faithful and true. He has really peace to
give us--peace in the midst of combat, calm even in the storm.
{226}
When the storm arose on the sea of Galilee, and he was asleep in
the boat, his disciples came to him, saying: "Lord, save us, we
perish." But he answered: "Why are you fearful, O ye of little
faith?" Was there not reason for them to be fearful, to lose
their peace of mind, when death was staring them in the face, and
all their efforts to save themselves were vain? No, not if they
had faith to show that God was with them.
This, then, should have been their peace; this should be ours:
the possession of God. He has given himself entirely for us and
to us in the battle in which he has placed us. He fights on our
side. What, then, have we to fear if we will only keep close to
him? We are sure of the victory if we call him to our aid. As St.
Paul says, "If God be for us, who is against us? He that spared
not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath
he not also with him given us all things?"
Peace, then, we should have in our spiritual combat; but how in
the battle for our temporal life? Here we are not promised
success; no, it must be defeat, at least in the end. We must lose
at last by death all that we seek of the goods of this world. The
peace which the world gives is then a delusion; it lasts but for
an hour; the shadow of death is upon it. "O death!" says Holy
Scripture, "how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that
hath peace in his possessions!" Here again, therefore, our true
peace is in the possession of him who is eternal; this is the
peace which the world can neither give nor take away. All the
storms of this world will not shake or disturb him whose house is
built on this rock. "Who," again says St. Paul, "shall separate
us from the love of Christ; shall tribulation, or distress, or
famine, or nakedness, or danger, or persecution, or the sword?"
{227}
This, therefore, is the true peace of the Christian: confidence
in God, indifference to all that is not God. It is the peace of
our Lord himself. "My peace," he says, "I give unto you." Let us
ask him indeed to give it to us, now and for evermore.
-------------------
{228}
_Second Sunday after Easter._
Epistle.
1 _St. Peter ii._ 21-25.
Dearly beloved:
Christ has suffered for us, leaving you an example that you
should follow his steps. "Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth." Who, when he was reviled, did not revile:
when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to
him that judged him unjustly. Who his own self bore our sins in
his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should
live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed. For you were
as sheep going astray: but you are now converted to the pastor
and bishop of your souls.
Gospel.
_St. John x._ 11-16.
At that time:
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for
his sheep. But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd,
whose own sheep they are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth
the sheep, and flieth; and the wolf snatcheth and scattereth
the sheep: and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling:
and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd: and
I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I
know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other
sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must
bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one
fold and one shepherd.
-------------------
{229}
Sermon LXVII.
_The Good Shepherd_.
_For you were as sheep going astray;
but you are now converted
to the pastor and bishop of your souls._
--1 St. Peter ii. 25.
To-day is the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, and the church sings
in joyful strains: "The Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for
his sheep, yea, who was contented even to die for his flock, the
Good Shepherd is risen again--Alleluia!" It is in this tender,
loving, and, to us, most winning character that our Lord presents
himself in the Gospel of to-day--the Good Shepherd, who knoweth
his sheep, and acknowledges them as his own, whose tender care
for them is so great that he is willing even to lay down his life
for their sake, yet with the power to take it again for his own
glory and for their eternal good. We are those sheep for whom he
died, and for whom he rose again, for they are in the truest
sense his sheep who believe in his name, and are gathered into
his one fold, the holy Catholic Church.
But it is not enough to believe; we must also hear his voice. How
have we done this in the past? Have we hearkened to his voice as
he spake to us through the offices of the church, through the
words of our pastors, through the still, small voice of
conscience? Alas! we have been as sheep going astray. We have
been deaf to his voice, as it has so often spoken to us, bidding
us follow him. And, having strayed away from our Shepherd, we
have refused to listen to the loving tones of that same sweet
voice, calling us back to our place in the flock, but have
wandered still further away into the pleasant pastures of sin,
where all seemed delight for a time, but where the wolf, the
great enemy of our souls, was lurking, waiting for his chance to
seize us as his prey for ever.
{230}
Oh! into what danger have we run by thus wandering from the right
path! But now, during the holy season of Lent that is passed, the
church has been appealing to us through her solemn offices, and
through the earnest words spoken by her ministers, to forsake our
evil ways, to leave the deceitful pleasures of sin, and return to
where we can alone find pasture for our souls, to the sacraments
of the church, wherein the Good Shepherd gives himself to his
sheep. Many have hearkened to the call of the Saviour's voice,
many have come during this holy time to the green pastures and
the still waters, where the Good Shepherd feeds his flock, and,
with souls restored and renewed, are prepared and determined to
walk hereafter in the paths of righteousness, where he leads the
way. Even when at last they shall walk through the Valley of the
Shadow of Death they will fear no evil, for he will be with them,
his rod and his staff shall comfort them.
But there are also many, far too many, who have not listened to
the voice of Jesus, as he calls them in this blessed Easter-tide.
Poor, wayward sheep, they still wander in paths of their own
choosing, which can only lead them into danger and into death. O
foolish, wandering ones! take heed ere it is too late to the
gentle voice that calls you. Your souls are soiled and
sin-stained, and you have need to be washed in the stream which
flows from your Shepherd's side, his Precious Blood shed for you
when he laid down his life for your sake.
{231}
Come, wash and be made clean in the Sacrament of Penance which he
has ordained for your cleansing. You were as sheep going astray;
be now converted and return to Jesus, the pastor, the shepherd,
the bishop of your souls. You have been famishing for the food
you need for your spiritual sustenance. Come, then, to him who so
graciously and tenderly invites you to the table which he has
prepared for you. Draw nigh with joy to the heavenly banquet of
his Sacred Body and the goodly, overflowing cup of his Precious
Blood, that your souls may be fed and have life eternal. Then
will you be strong in the presence of your enemies, his mercy
will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in
the house of the Lord for ever, even in that house of many
mansions which he has prepared for those who love and follow him.
For he has said of those who hear his voice and follow him: "I
give them life everlasting, and they shall not perish for ever,
and no man shall snatch them out of my hand." And remember that
other promise of his: "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my
blood has everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last
day." Yes, poor, lost sheep though we have been, if we now turn
from our wayward paths to hear his voice and follow him, he will
raise us up at the last day, and place us among his favored sheep
upon his right hand, to be glad for ever in the light of his
countenance.
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{232}
Sermon LXVIII.
Dead Faith.
_That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts._
--Ephesians iii. 17.
Holy Writ teaches us in many places, my brethren, that God dwells
in our hearts by charity, and here we are taught that he dwells
by faith also. Of course, the meaning is the same. For an elect
soul to know Christ is to love him. And even for a reprobate soul
to know the truth of religion is that indescribable boon which
makes a possible salvation capable of becoming quickly real. How
terrible the misfortune of the Calvinist who believes that a bad
life necessarily means absence of faith! How consoling to know
that our sinful friends, if they have but the true faith, have a
seed of eternal life which may yet spring up into a fruitful
tree!
Yet it is terrible to think of how some men trifle with their
faith. Brethren, look at the end and judge the beginning by it.
The end of wicked men is damnation, hopeless and eternal. Now,
what is the faith in hell? Something that makes the Christian's
torment altogether peculiar. There the name of Christian, now so
noble, now entitling its bearer to pardon for every sin if but
breathed forth with an act of sorrow--there the name of Christian
will be a nickname. In one way he will have more faith then than
now; he will know more of revealed truth, have a clearer
knowledge of heavenly things. But then the hand wounded by the
nail, and which now is never out of reach, will be withdrawn
finally and for ever.
{233}
Imagine the agony of a soul in hell, whom each article of faith
will cause for ever to wail and weep only this one sentence: "It
is all my own fault." Brethren, you may complain that this sort
of preaching does not provoke to much mirth. But there are those
who should know that for them this ought to be a time of weeping
and not of being merry: persons who have faith in their hearts,
but not Christ. For see how men in Italy, holding fast to the
truth with one hand, have with the other set up the abomination
of desolation in the holy place. And see how, in France, men who
deem themselves insulted if called anything but Catholics, yet
deliberately rob the children of the people of the bread of life
by establishing paganism in the schools. And see how many there
are among us whose faith, instead of being a rule to live by, an
irresistible attraction towards our Lord in a true grief for sin
and strict union with him, sealed by frequent Communion, is but
something handed down from father to son, like name and color and
race--a traditional faith--and this proved by their vicious
lives.
But happy are they in whose hearts faith has prepared a dwelling
for our Saviour. Our Lord is surely present within us if we are
in the state of grace. Hear what he says: "If any one love me, he
will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come
to him, and will make an abode with him." He comes, indeed,
silently; he hushes the festive greetings of the angels who
escort him; he hides the dazzling glory of his ascended triumph,
for now it is faith and not sight. But there in the heart he none
the less dwells. We live with him. The Christian feels his
presence. He has an interior life whose very breath is that
presence.
{234}
He is stamped with our Lord's character. Such a soul is truly and
literally called _faithful_--faith-full. And once you are
intimately acquainted with him you perceive in his ways and
actions that our Lord lives with him. Better yet, he perceives it
himself. How different he is from one whose knowledge of religion
is mere persuasion of the mind and empty talk! With the true
Christian knowledge is power. To know the true faith is for him
to know how to live: better yet, to know how to suffer, how to
wait, how to love, how to die.
Brethren, this congregation is divided into two parts--those who
are to be saved and those who are not. Those of you who are to be
saved are those in whose hearts Jesus Christ actually dwells by
faith. Those who are to be lost are those whose faith means that
Christ has a claim against them, payment of which they will
postpone till it is too late.
-------------------
Sermon LXIX.
Suffering False Accusations.
_He delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly._
--Epistle of the Day.
I suppose, my dear brethren, that there is no grievance to which
we are subjected more common, and certainly there are few more
distressing, than that of being judged unfairly by others. As
Catholics we are all specially liable to this; we all know how
Protestants, even those who profess to be quite friendly to us
personally, and who sometimes will say a good word or two for our
religion, still calmly assume, as a matter of course, that we
believe and practise many things which we and all intelligent and
honest men detest and abhor.
{235}
They say, for instance, that we worship images; that we pay money
not only to have our sins forgiven, but even for permission in
advance to commit new ones; that we believe the pope to be
Almighty God; that we maintain that the end justifies the means;
and so on to any extent. It was only a few days ago that it was
unblushingly stated in an assembly of one of their sects that the
Catholic Church was more guilty in the matter of permitting
divorce than other denominations. There seems hardly to be a
falsehood about us so gross or so absurd that some of them will
not be found to believe and to assert it.
And we of the clergy are more exposed to these slanders than any
one else. They say, they take for granted, that we are hypocrites
and deceivers; that under a cloak of sanctity we practise all
kinds of vice; that we do not believe a word of what we teach;
that our only object in our profession is to exercise power or to
make money; these things and many others pass current in the
world about us, so we are looked upon by many as detestable
wretches not fit to live. In us, especially, are our Lord's words
fulfilled: "You shall be hated by all men for my name's sake."
But it is not only from outsiders, or in matters where religion
is concerned, that we have to put up with false charges and
unjust suspicions. In our own private character and actions we
all find ourselves liable to them; we find our neighbors and
acquaintances judging and even speaking unfairly about us.
{236}
Priests suffer in this way sometimes from their own parishioners;
the laity perhaps from the priest, and often certainly from each
other. How frequently we hear people complain of slander or
belying from those whom they supposed to be their friends; one
would think that it was not the exception, but the rule.