some one else suffers by it in his character or his goods, there
are, I hope, few who do not see what a sin they have committed,
and understand that they must make reparation by taking back what
they have said, if they wish to be good Christians. But, for all
that, how many injurious lies are told, even by those who think
themselves good Christians, and never properly retracted or even
thought of afterward by those who tell them! The most abominable
slanders pass from mouth to mouth; they are listened to and
repeated with the greatest interest and eagerness, without any
trouble being taken to ascertain whether what is said is true or
not. These people who are so free with their tongues never seem
to imagine for a moment that, even when circumstances would
justify them--and it is very seldom that they do--in telling a
fact bearing against their neighbor they are under an obligation
first to find out by careful examination whether it be indeed a
fact; otherwise the sin of an injurious lie will rest on their
souls.
There are, however, some, and indeed many, who abhor slander, and
who are really careful about telling injurious lies, and who
hasten to retract what they have said against others, if they
find out that, after all, the fact was not as they had good
ground to believe. But there are not by any means so many who are
careful about the truth for its own sake, and who do not scruple
to tell white lies, as they are sometimes called.
What are these white lies? They are of two kinds. The first are
those which are told for some end in itself good, to get some
advantage for one's self or for another, or to get one's self or
some other person out of a scrape; to conceal a fault, to avoid
embarrassment, or to save somebody's feelings. These are called
officious lies.
{446}
Then there are others, called, jocose, which do no good to any
one, but are told merely for fun; such as the little tricks on
others which are often indulged in, or boasts made about things
which one has never done. They may be taken back before long, and
only meant to deceive for a moment; still they are meant to
deceive, if only for a moment, and are, therefore, really lies.
Now officious lies are really forbidden by God's law as well as
injurious ones, though of course not so bad as those. And yet how
few act as if they really were sins at all! People will say, "I
told lies, perhaps three or four every day, but there was no harm
in them." No harm! No harm to other people; no, perhaps not,
except by bad example and the loss of confidence in your word and
that of others; though there is great harm even in that way. But
there is a greater harm than this: it is that which the liar does
to the sacredness of truth itself, and, as far as he can, to God
who is the eternal truth, who loves truth unspeakably, and
requires that we should love it for his sake. He will not allow
us to tell the most trivial falsehood, though by it we could save
the whole world from destruction, or bring all the souls which
have been damned out of hell and put them in heaven.
Remember this, then: there are lies which are not injurious, but
there are no lies which are not harmful and sinful; no lies for
which you will not have to give an account at the judgment of
God. Stop, therefore, I beg you at once, this mean, disgraceful,
and dishonorable habit of falsehood; it will never be forgiven in
confession unless you make a serious and solid purpose against
it. Put away lying then at once and for ever, and speak the truth
in simplicity; you may sometimes lose by it for the moment, but
you will profit by it in the end, both in this world and in the
world to come.
-------------------
{447}
Sermon CXXXVI.
Truthfulness.
_Wherefore, putting away lying,
speak ye the truth every man with his neighbor,
for we are members one of another._
--Ephesians iv. 25.
St. Paul here teaches us that truthfulness of speech should be a
mark of those who profess the true faith. He speaks of the
darkness of understanding, the ignorance, the blindness of heart
of those who are alienated from the life of God; "but you," he
says, "have not so learned Christ. You have been taught the truth
as it is in Jesus. You have been taught to put off the old man
who is corrupted according to the desires of error, and to put on
the new man, who, according to God, is created in justice and
holiness of truth: _wherefore_, putting away lying, speak ye
the truth every man with his neighbor, for we are members one of
another."
Yet, even without these supernatural reasons and motives, the
duty of truthfulness is plain to everyone by the light of natural
reason alone. The gift of speech which so strongly marks the
distinction between man and the lower animals enables us to
clearly communicate our thoughts to each other. If, then, we make
it a means of deceiving others, we plainly offend against the law
of nature, which is God's law. In every relation of life we are
obliged to depend upon the statements of other men; we have a
right to the truth from them, and it is therefore our duty to
tell the truth to others.
{448}
We can have no feeling of security if we cannot trust the word of
those with whom we are brought into daily contact. If lying is
common in any class or community, it creates a spirit of distrust
and uneasiness instead of that mutual confidence which should
prevail.
A high sense of honor in men of the world will often make them
strictly truthful. Such men despise a lie as something base and
mean and utterly beneath them. If, then, purely human motives, a
mere sense of worldly honor, will keep men from lying, how much
more should this fault be avoided by those who claim to be trying
to serve God, and who are constantly assisted by his grace. Our
Lord has told us that liars are the children of the devil, "for
he is a liar and the father thereof." But we are called to be the
children of God, who is the eternal truth; we have been given the
light of the true faith. We glory in the certain truth of our
religion; should we not then be zealous for the cause of truth in
all things, even in the least. Absolute, unswerving truthfulness
in speech should therefore mark the true disciple of Christ.
"But," some may say, "a lie is only a venial sin." Yes, it is
true that a lie which is not malicious, which does not, and is
not intended to, harm our neighbor in any way, is not a mortal
sin; but it is the meanest of venial sins, and we know that a
long and terrible purgatory awaits those who are guilty of
deliberate venial sin. Moreover, carelessness about the
commission of venial sin leads to mortal offences, and there is
nothing which will more readily lead a man into other and graver
faults as the habit of deliberate untruthfulness.
{449}
Cultivate, then, a love for truth, and seek to acquire the habit
of truthfulness even in the smallest matters. Every one despises
a deceitful person, and there is nothing a man resents so much as
being called a liar. If you do not like being called a liar, do
not be one.
-------------------
Sermon CXXXVII.
White Lies.
_Wherefore, putting away lying,
speak ye the truth every man with his neighbor._
--Epistle of the Day.
There is perhaps no sin, my brethren, for which people seem to
have so little real sorrow, or for which they so seldom make a
practical purpose of amendment, as this miserable one of
falsehood, of which the Apostle here speaks. You will hear it
said: "I told lies, but there was no harm in them; they were to
excuse myself, or to save trouble." They are matters to be
confessed, oh! yes; the liar will perhaps even run back to say
that he is a liar, if he (or quite likely she) has forgotten to
mention it at the time. But as for correcting the habit, that is
quite another matter. It would seem that the Sacrament of Penance
is expected to take effect on these sins by mere confession,
without contrition or purpose to avoid them for the future.
{450}
But the liar will say: "I am sorry; I have contrition for these
lies." Let me ask, however, what kind of sorrow have you? You are
sorry that things were so that you had to tell a lie; but if
things were so again to-morrow, would not you tell the lie again?
If you are sincere, I am afraid you will say: "Yes, I suppose I
should." Where, then, is the purpose of amendment? Without
purpose of amendment contrition is nothing but a sham.
Let us, then, my friends, look into our consciences about this
matter, and get them straightened out properly. I do not want to
be too harsh about it; for after all there are some expressions
which people call lies, which are not really so, because the one
to whom they are addressed is not expected to be deceived by
them, but merely to be prevented from asking further questions.
Some people, too, call it a lie when they do not tell the whole
truth, but we are not always required--though we often are--to
tell the whole truth; and when we are not, there is no lie, as
long as what we say is actually true as far as it goes. But it
would take too long to go into all the cases concerning what is
or is not a lie; and as a general rule one can by a little common
sense find them out for himself. Find them out, then; if you
cannot surely do so by yourselves, get advice; and when you are
certain that you are all right, do not call it a sin to act
according to your conscience and reason, and do not make a matter
of self-accusation out of it.
But when you cannot see any way to make out that what you say
really is not a lie, then do not fall back on the idea that, if
it does not injure anybody, there is no harm in it. You are false
to yourself in this; for you know there is harm in it, otherwise
you would not feel uneasy about it.
{451}
And what is the harm? The harm in a lie is simply that it is a
lie, and therefore an offence against God, who is the truth. This
is what St. Paul tells us in this very Epistle of to-day. "Put
on," he says, "the new man, who, _according to God_, is
created in justice and holiness of truth. Wherefore," he
continues, "putting away lying, speak ye the truth every man with
his neighbor."
Yes, my brethren, God is the truth, and he infinitely loves the
truth, in himself and in his creatures. He does not wish us to
sacrifice it in the slightest degree, even to save the whole
world from destruction. There is harm in a lie, then; harm, if I
may say so, to God himself and to his dearest interests. Do not
think, then, to save his interests, or any one else's, by lying.
Tell the truth and let him look out for the consequences. Tell
the truth for God's sake, because he loves it, and hates a lie;
tell the truth, and love the truth, for its own sake. We are, as
St. Paul says, "created according to God, in holiness of truth";
let us keep the pattern to which we have been made.
Stop, then, deliberate lying for a purpose, which is but too
common. But also be careful in what you say; try not even to fall
into falsehood thoughtlessly. Let it be your honest pride that
your word is as good as your oath.
-------------------
{452}
_Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost._
Epistle.
_Ephesians v._ 15-21.
See, brethren, how you walk circumspectly: not as unwise, but
as wise: redeeming the time, for the days are evil. Wherefore
become not unwise, but understanding what is the will of God.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury, but be ye filled
with the Holy Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and
hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in
your hearts to the Lord: giving thanks always for all things,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father:
being subject one to another in the fear of Christ.
Gospel.
_St. John iv._ 46-53.
At that time:
There was a certain ruler whose son was sick at Capharnaum. He
having heard that Jesus was come from Judea into Galilee, went
to him, and prayed him to come down and heal his son, for he
was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him: Unless you
see signs and wonders, you believe not. The ruler saith to him:
Sir, come down before that my son die. Jesus saith to him: Go
thy way, thy son liveth. The man believed the word which Jesus
said to him, and went his way. And as he was going down, his
servants met him: and they brought word, saying that his son
lived. He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew
better. And they said to him: Yesterday at the seventh hour the
fever left him. The father therefore knew that it was at the
same hour that Jesus said to him, Thy son liveth; and himself
believed, and his whole house.
-------------------
{453}
Sermon CXXXVIII.
Christian Marriage.
My dear brethren, we shall, on this occasion, occupy the short
time allotted to us with some remarks on a most important
subject, namely, that of Christian marriage. We ask for your
especial attention to what we have to say on this matter, on
account of the great bearing which it has on your happiness both
here and hereafter, and hope that you will endeavor to understand
thoroughly the teaching of the church regarding it, and that you
will resolve not only to obey the laws, but also to follow her
suggestions and be governed by her spirit in an affair in which
your welfare is so deeply concerned.
The great majority of Christians, as well as of the world in
general, are called in the providence of God to the state of
marriage; and their calling is as truly a divine vocation as that
of others to the religious life and to the priesthood. If, then,
the priest or the religious cannot expect to save his soul if he
neglects the virtues and the duties proper to his state, neither
can those who enter the state of matrimony, if they do not
appreciate and endeavor to fulfil the requirements and conditions
which God has attached to it; if they rush into it without
thought, and remain in it simply from convenience or necessity,
without realizing its responsibilities or feeling the burden
which it imposes on their consciences.
{454}
And yet this is what very many seem to do. Of course we take it
for granted that a Catholic, worthy the name, will not marry a
person of a different religion. But one should not marry a bad
Catholic. Many appear to be indifferent in this matter to their
eternal salvation and act as if conscience and religion had
nothing to do with it, but they disregard and fling to the winds
even the most common and obvious dictates of prudence as to their
comfort and peace in this world. What possible hope of happiness
in married life, for instance, can a young woman have who unites
her destiny with that of a man who is evidently falling, if,
indeed, he has not already fallen, into confirmed habits of
intemperance; whose past and present life gives no assurance of
advancement or worldly success, but, on the other hand, every
indication of the drunkard's failure, ruin, and degradation? What
can she be thinking of who, for a mere fancy or caprice, accepts
the offer of one to stand as her protector and support whose
selfish and beastly appetites are sure to make him soon trample
her under his feet, and treat her merely as a drudge to be
starved with her children in order that he may gratify his
passion for drink, and to be kicked and beaten if she so much as
implores him to reform? Or how can she dare to take for her
husband one whose sensual passion is certain soon to extinguish
every spark of true love he may have felt for her, and who will,
before long, be unfaithful to her for the very reason that made
him at first seem faithful?
It is painful to speak of these things; but, unfortunately, the
frequency of such cases obliges us to do so. Such miseries in
marriage cannot be considered, at least in cities like this, as
exceptional and extraordinary; no, they must be taken into
account, not as mere possibilities, but as actual realities. And,
of course, there are others which we have not time to enumerate;
the ones of which I have spoken will serve as examples.
{455}
It is, then, the part not only of Christian prudence but also of
worldly common sense, to make sure, as far as possible, to avoid
these dangers. It is far better to remain single than to make a
bad marriage; let every one, then, before taking this most
important of all steps in life, look carefully where it will
lead. Let every one, and certainly every Christian, before
selecting a companion for life, whose place no one else can take,
satisfy himself or herself that the one who is thus selected has
the qualities that are calculated to insure happiness to both
parties; that he or she has natural virtues and good habits, well
and solidly formed; at least industry, sobriety, and those
qualities in general which business-men, for example, try to
secure in those who are to be charged with matters of far less
consequence than the support and care of a family.
-------------------
Sermon CXXXIX.
Mortification Of Our Lower Nature.
_Now if we be dead with Christ
we believe that we shall live also together with Christ._
--From the Epistle of the Sunday.
The meaning of the Apostle, my brethren, is expressed in one
great Catholic word--mortification. The lower nature that is in
us must be put to death that the higher may live. The animal must
die that the man may live. And if literal death be not hereby
signified, yet so really destructive of mere appetite is the
Christian's union with Christ that mortification or putting to
death is one condition of obtaining it.
{456}
Human ease and pleasure are opposed to the soul's fulfilment of
its destiny. In itself no doubt the natural joy of this life is
not evil. But there is no joy of man simply "in itself." It all
flows from that root of bitterness which original sin planted in
our hearts, and which makes it necessary that we be not simply
obedient to God's law, but "born again"; "for," says the Apostle
in this same Sunday's Epistle, "we are buried together with
Christ by baptism into death, that as Christ is risen from the
dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness
of life." "Knowing this: that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin may be destroyed." "For he that is dead is
justified from sin."
These are very strong words, my brethren. They and the many other
such words in Holy Scripture have much to do with explaining our
religion--the cross on our churches, the crucifix over our
altars, the shamefaced confession, the constant self-denial; even
the plaintive tones of the church's voice in her chants, even the
touch of sadness in her most joyful offices. Indeed, the true joy
of a Christian is in the theological virtue of hope--is placed in
a paradise which for him is yet to begin. He is too hardly
pressed with the conflict of his higher and lower nature to be
quite happy, except in anticipation of a victory never fully
gained this side the grave. And it is only when the very taste
for ease and pleasure has become blunted that the consolations of
the Holy Spirit begin to be felt. The whole inner life of a
Christian is regulated by his power to deny himself, and to deny
himself, especially in outward things--in eating and drinking, in
working and resting, in seeing and hearing.
{457}
To noble spirits the very innocent care of the body is irksome;
and this from no sin of sloth, but because the soul, absorbed in
high spiritual things, is vexed by the mean things of our animal
nature. Hence the every-day business of a religious man is to
restrain the headlong folly of corrupt nature by the bit and
bridle of mortification. And this is every Christian's duty.
Though one may feel no call but to the ordinary Christian state,
yet is he plainly called to self-denial. Outside the church there
is little or nothing of the practical self-restraint of the
Gospel. And even among ourselves many are forgetful of this war
of the spirit against the flesh, except at the rare intervals of
infrequent confession or during such seasons as Lent and Advent.
The need of constant self-denial is one of those truths that the
ever-flowing waters of forgetfulness wash out of our memories the
quickest. Hence it is related of St. Philip Neri that he was
accustomed to say in the morning: "Lord, keep thy hand upon
Philip to day, or, Lord! Philip will betray thee."
So, my brethren, there is no grace you have more need to pray for
than the strength of will to practise some daily mortification.
Nay, pray for the grace to accept those that God sends every day
and it is enough. Oh! if we could bear patiently for the love of
God with his own visitations, with such things as sickness of
body and dulness of mind, with poverty and disappointment, with
the evil temper of other members of the family, their stupidity
and selfishness, we should soon be safe. Brethren, we are all
novices, and God is the universal novice-master, and these are
his daily mortifications. Others he gives us, too, through the
ministry of holy church. Not a week passes over but we must give
one day to God and to our better selves by abstinence from flesh
meat.
{458}
Not a season goes by but the three Ember days are set apart for
hunger and thirst. Holy Advent, the penitential season of Lent,
make a loud call--would it were better heeded--on our higher
nature to reduce the beast to subjection. Meantime, if one wants
more self-denial, let him advise with his father confessor, let
him consult spiritual writers, let him hearken to the spirit of
God within him, always bearing in mind that beyond such
mortifications as are of obligation it is not prudent to go,
except by advice of a prudent spiritual adviser.
-------------------
Sermon CXL.
The Value Of Time.
_Redeeming the time._
--Epistle of the Day.
There is a precious treasure, my dear brethren, which is always
partly, but only partly, in our possession. Now and then we wake
up to the conviction how valuable it is. There is something which
must be done, and there is only just time to do it in; we wish
there were more, but no, only just so much is allotted to us.
Then we realize how priceless time is. The sinner, suddenly
struck down by some terrible accident, and with only a few
minutes to live--what would he not give for a half-hour more;
for time to look into his confused and disturbed conscience; for
time to rouse himself to real contrition for his sins; for time,
at least, to send for a priest, and with his help make some sort
of preparation for eternity!
{459}
But it is not only at the end of our lives, or in moments of such
supreme importance, that we would pay for time with gold, or with
other things upon which we set great value here. Often we would
give much to be able to put ourselves back a day or even an hour
in our lives; what an advantage it would give us! We look back on
many hours and days in the past; there they were, once at our
service, but now squandered and gone for ever.
Time, then, is this precious treasure, which we shall never
wholly lose till we pass out of this world for ever. Its golden
sands are running rapidly away from us, but still some remain.
The uncertainty how much of it is still left should make us put
to the best use each instant as it passes. Who would not draw
prudently from a chest in which his whole fortune was locked up,
if its amount were unknown to him, if the next demand might
exhaust it; and who would not put to the best use each penny that
he drew?
This is the instruction, the warning that the Apostle gives us in
to-day's Epistle: "To walk circumspectly; not as unwise, but as
wise, redeeming the time." Saving it--that is to say, not letting
it slip by us idly and unprofitably; not only having it while it
lasts, but receiving also the precious fruits with which it is
laden.
How much this caution is needed! How careless we are about this
priceless possession which is ours from moment to moment! Some
part of it indeed we are generally obliged to employ, and
fortunate we are that it is so, in some occupation of profit to
ourselves or to others.
{460}
Yes, fortunate; for that man must earn his bread by the toil of
his body or mind is hardly after the fall a curse, but rather a
blessing. Place fallen human nature in the paradise of our first
parents, and its final loss could hardly be averted. But the
rest: how often do we see, when work is over, that the only
thought, even of Christians, is to get rid of this invaluable
gift, the precious time which God has given them! They seem to
have no thought but to lose themselves and it in some mere
sensual pleasure, to fritter it away in gossip or some foolish
and needless diversion, or to forget it and throw it away in
slothful and unnecessary sleep.