different from that of the infidel. A Christian does know what is
coming after this life; he knows that this short life is only a
preparation for the next, which is eternal; he knows that
pursuing the pleasure of this world, after the infidel fashion,
will endanger his salvation; and if he values his salvation--that
is to say, if he has common sense--he looks out for the life of
his soul rather than that of his body, so that he may always be
ready for death when it shall come. And he has a fear of
pleasure, rather than a desire of it, on account of its danger;
he crucifies the flesh, with its vices and concupiscences, as St.
Paul says in the conclusion of the Epistle of last Sunday, that
it may be subject to the soul, instead of subjecting the soul to
itself.
He makes up his mind, in short, to live in the spirit instead of
the flesh; and in that, as I have said, he shows his common
sense. But when he has got as far as that his common sense seems
too often to fail him. He ought then to come back to the maxim of
the infidel; for it is a very sensible one in itself, the only
trouble with it being that the infidel has the wrong idea of
life. It would be all right for the Christian.
The Christian ought to say--you and I, my dear brethren, ought to
say: "_Dum vivimus, vivamus_." Or, in the words of St. Paul
in the beginning of today's Epistle, which immediately follows
that of last Sunday, we ought to say: "If we live in the spirit,
let us also walk in the spirit."
{408}
That is, if we are going to live in the spirit rather than in the
flesh, let us make the most of our spiritual life. Let us enjoy
it, advance in it, and get all out of it that we can. We have,
indeed, much more reason to say so than the man of the world; for
not only shall we have more of it in the next world for all that
we get out of it now, but there is much more to be got out of it
even here than out of the life of the body.
And yet many, perhaps most, good Christians content themselves
with simply keeping in the state of grace and avoiding sin. They
just keep themselves spiritually alive, and that is all. They are
like misers, who starve in the midst of their gold. There are
pleasures for them, even in this world, far above what it can
itself give, and they do little or nothing to obtain them.
Something has to be done to obtain them, of course. It is the
same, however, with bodily pleasure, and those who seek it know
that. Many a man has made a slave of himself all his life to get
a few years of ease and comfort at the end of it. Why should not
we do the same for the comfort of our souls?
Something has to be done, but not so much after all. A little
more earnestness in prayer; a little more fidelity in meditation
and spiritual reading; a little more care to uproot our evil
habits; a little more charity and spirit of sacrifice for our
brethren; and, last but not least, a little mortification beyond
what is forced on us, or what is necessary to avoid sin, and the
reward would soon come. Temptations would be lighter; the
struggle would be easier; God would come nearer to us; and that
dawn would rise in our hearts which is brighter than the lights
which earthly hands can kindle, and which is the sure fore-runner
of the eternal day.
----------------------
{409}
Sermon CXXIII.
_Let us not become desirous of vainglory._
--Galatians v. 26.
These words, my dear brethren, are from the Epistle of the Mass
of this Sunday. I feel quite sure that the advice which St. Paul
gives us in them is a very sensible one, and one which we all
need to take very much to heart.
What is this vainglory of which he speaks? It is the vain and
false glory which comes from the admiration of others. It is
what, in the more important matters of life, the world calls
glory, and does not call vain. It is what many great geniuses
have spent their lives to acquire, and have even been admired for
doing so. But it is what in smaller matters the world calls it
vanity to seek; and the world generally laughs, at least in its
sleeve, at those who do so.
The girl whose great desire it is to have her hat acknowledged to
be the prettiest one in church is called vain and made fun of,
perhaps, even by her rivals, who wish in their hearts that they
had a nicer one, if it was only to take the conceit out of her;
but the man whose ambition it is to have the brain that his hat
covers acknowledged to be the smartest one in the country is not
laughed at, but very much respected, if the brain be really a
fine one. And yet the desire is really all the same thing in both
of them.
{410}
Now, my brethren, we are all more or less vain or desirous of
this vainglory; rather more, in fact, than less. It will not do
for us to laugh very hard at each other for it, for we are all in
the same boat. It is a passion which is almost universal. Some
people who are quite proud may fancy that they do not care a
straw for what others think of them; but I fancy that they do,
though perhaps the reason may be that the praise of others will
help them to admire themselves.
So you see that I was right in saying that St. Paul's advice was
one which we all need to take very much to heart--all of us, not
only girls with the new styles of hats, but young men at college
or in business, eminent merchants and professional men, including
those whom God has called to serve him at the altar. We have all
got to look out for this snare of vainglory.
And how? By despising it? Yes, in a certain way, but not in the
way of pride. By resolving to value nothing according to the
opinion that men have of it, but according to that which Almighty
God has of it.
He values nothing much but what is, like himself, eternal. He
does not care so very much more for your cleverness than for your
beauty. He could spoil either one of them in an instant, if he
chose. But what he does care for, and what he himself cannot
spoil, though of course he could not wish to, are the merits
which he has given you this life to acquire and to bring before
the throne of his judgment, to be transformed into your immortal
crown. Those are the only things which are worth your caring for,
because they are the only things which he cares for. And they are
what all can have, however low in worldly station they may be.
{411}
Yes, my dear Christians, that is the glory for us to seek--the
glory of God; that which comes from him. Try to have him think
well of you. It is not vain to wish to be praised and admired,
only let him be the one whom you want to have praise and admire
you. He will do it, if you want him to and will give him a
chance. He, your Creator, desires to honor and glorify you for
ever. When you think of this can you care for other praise?
-------------------
{412}
_Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost._
Epistle.
_Ephesians iii._ 13-31.
Brethren:
I beseech you not to be disheartened at my tribulations for
you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees to the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in
heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according
to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by
his Spirit unto the inward man. That Christ may dwell by faith
in your hearts: that being rooted and founded in charity, you
may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the
breadth, and length, and height, and depth. To know also the
charity of Christ, which surpasseth knowledge, that you may be
filled unto all the fulness of God. Now to him who is able to
do all things more abundantly than we ask or understand,
according to the power which worketh in us: to him be glory in
the church, and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations,
world without end. Amen.
Gospel.
_St. Luke xiv._ 1-11.
At that time:
When Jesus went into the house of a certain prince of the
Pharisees, on the Sabbath day, to eat bread, and they were
watching him. And behold, there was a certain man before him
that had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers
and Pharisees, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
But they held their peace. But he, taking him, healed him, and
sent him away. And answering them, he said: Which of you whose
ass or his ox shall fall into a pit, and will not immediately
draw him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer him
to these things.
{413}
And he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking
how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them:
When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the highest
place, lest perhaps one more honorable than thou be invited by
him: and he who invited thee and him, come and say to thee:
Give place to this man; and then thou begin with blushing to
take the lowest place. But when thou art invited, go, sit down
in the lowest place: that when he who invited thee cometh, he
may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have
glory before them that sit at table with thee. Because every
one that exalteth himself shall be humbled: and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.
-------------------
Sermon CXXIV.
_They were watching him._
--St. Luke xiv. 1.
How condescending and kind, brethren, was the spirit of our Lord
when he entered into the house of the Pharisee to eat bread; how
base and ungracious, on the other hand, the conduct of the latter
and his friends, who, as the Gospel says, "were watching him"!
They watched him that they might catch him breaking the laws of
the Sabbath.
They envied him because his reputation was great with the people.
They watched him because "he had a daily beauty in his life which
made theirs ugly," and tried to find something to carp at,
something to find fault with.
He was their guest; they were bound to treat him with respect and
kindness; yet they violated the rules of hospitality, deceitfully
making the banquet a cover for their plan to catch him.
{414}
He was their Saviour and the benefactor of their people; one who,
as they well knew, had healed the sick, given speech to the dumb,
and made the blind to see. The knowledge of his goodness and
power only moved them to envy. He was greater than they, and so
they watched him that they might find something in his conduct
which would lessen his reputation and good name.
Are there not found some in our own day who imitate the conduct
of the Pharisee and his friends?
Jesus is often near you; you often meet him in your every-day
life, often have him in your house in the person of one of his
pious servants--I mean any one of your neighbors whose life is
better than your own.
There are many who watch such an one with the spirit of envy and
criticism, and they try to find out worldly motives for their
neighbor's piety. Such persons say, as Satan did of old, "Does
Job serve God for naught?" Often they exclaim, "I see my neighbor
frequently at Communion, but she only goes for show; I should
like to see some change in her life"; or "What does she run to
church so much for? It would be a great deal better for her if
she stayed at home and minded her family."
Again, many watch the prosperity of their neighbor with an
envious eye; they hate to see their neighbor in a better house
than their own, don't like him to have more money than
themselves, and so forth. All this is watching Jesus as the
Pharisee did.
There are many, too, whose consciences must accuse them of
watching Jesus in the persons of his priests, who envy the
priest's position, envy his authority over them, and such like.
{415}
These people try to pick a hole in the priest's ways, to pass
their opinion on his manner, his judgments, his actions. They
watch him in his words, at table in their own houses, to see if
perchance they can find something to make a dish of scandal out
of. Yes, brethren, there are many such watchers as these, and
Pharisees are they all.
Envy, which prompts this horrible spirit of unchristian
criticism, is one of the worst offences against the great and
fundamental virtue of charity.
Envy has inspired the hearts of men with the most wicked crimes.
Envy delivered the innocent Lamb of God to a cruel death. Envy,
therefore, is a grievous sin.
Envy and the spirit of criticism spring from pride. Envy makes us
watch others, and such watching is from pride.
Watch yourselves rather than your neighbor and your superiors.
"Brethren," says St. Paul, "if a man be overtaken in any fault,
you, who are spiritual, instruct such an one, in the spirit of
meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted."
Walk and pray lest ye enter into temptation. Watch Jesus and his
servants, if you will, but do so to be edified, do so to learn
something good. Watch Jesus, who is meek and humble of heart,
that you may learn the lesson which he tried to teach the proud
and envious Pharisees: "Every one that exalteth himself shall be
humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Rev. Algernon A. Brown.
----------------------
{416}
Sermon CXXV.
_Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled._
--St. Luke xiv. 11.
That was an unlucky guest who sat down in the first place and was
sent to take the lowest. No wonder he was covered with shame;
served him right. To be humbled in the very act of exalting
ourselves is indeed hard punishment, sharp and painful as a pang
in a tenderly sore spot. It is like being caught in a theft or a
lie. For, truly, pride is theft. We have no right to be proud,
because we own as our property nothing that we may be proud of.
All that we have that is good is God's; to pride ourselves on
that is to rob God of his due, and appropriate what does not
belong to us. And pride is a lie, a deceit; "for if thou hast
received," says St. Paul, "why dost thou glory as if thou hadst
not received?" A vain boast is simply lying.
To lie and to steal are very mean things to do. To be caught
lying and stealing makes us feel very mean in the eyes of others;
and that is what comes to us when our pride is evident and is
found out by our fellow-men, and then we are humbled as was the
poor guest spoken of in the Gospel. Truth is the badge of honor
among men. Humility is truth, because humility is to know our
place and keep it; in this is truthfulness and comfort also. We
feel at ease when we are where we ought to be. A bone dislocated
is a torture; anything out of place is an offence and a nuisance,
whether it be a misshapen limb or a stove-pipe that doesn't fit
and smokes. You remember in the fable the fate of the foolish
frog who wanted to be as big as the ox--he blew until he burst
and collapsed.
{417}
Now, is there not a great deal of that kind of work among us--I
mean getting too big, reaching above us, exalting ourselves--in a
word, not knowing our place? Let me instance: The poor will pass
for rich: fine dress and flashy jewels in broad daylight on the
street; at home, dirt, wretchedness, almost starvation. The
ignorant will know more than they have learned, and so stretch
themselves all out of shape, and wed in the most repulsive manner
pretentious speech to gross ignorance. Not only is one man as
good as another, but a great deal better. The layman will teach
theology and canon law to the priest. The ward politician, who
buys votes at five cents a glass, and trades them off for street
contracts or other valuable consideration, can run the world, the
Holy See not excepted. Our American boy of twelve thinks the old
folks not a circumstance to him, and shows it in his behavior.
The school girl who can do a sum and thump an "easy exercise" on
the piano scorns domestic work, leaves the kitchen to "ma," and
cultivates the fine arts in the parlor. Our talk, our press even,
is fall of unreality, inflated bombast and buncombe. We have no
degrees of comparison but the superlative. God help us for a
vain, boastful set! What is it all but untruthfulness, want of
humility, strutting up to the head of the table in one way or
another? Our conversations are full of ourselves; we threaten
horrors or we promise wonders; and it all issues, like the
mountain in travail, in ridiculous failures. Let us know our
place, or humiliation will teach it us.
{418}
Adam and Eve were well off, and might have been till this day had
they known their place and been satisfied; but they wanted to go
up, to become as God--and they came down to all the miseries of
fallen nature. Simon the Magician started, with the help of the
devil, to ascend into heaven like our Saviour; but God brought
him down before he got very far. "He that exalteth himself shall
be humbled." Moreover, pride finds its punishment in the very
ridiculousness of itself. The fool imagines himself to be other
than he is; the insane insists on taking to himself a character
which is not his. Well, brethren, the mock-king and queen of the
asylum are not more foolish and insane, because not more
untruthful, than the proud man.
The lesson, then, is this: Keep to the place God has given you,
don't put yourself forward in conversation, acknowledge your
nothingness before your Creator, be true and real to your
fellow-men; thus you will escape shameful humiliation and deserve
to be exalted in the esteem of others and in the kingdom of
heaven.
-----------------
{419}
_Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost._
Epistle.
_Ephesians iv._ 1-6.
Brethren:
As a prisoner in the Lord, I beseech you that you walk worthy
of the vocation in which you are called, with all humility and
mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity,
careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your
vocation. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all, who
is blessed for ever and ever.
Gospel.
_St. Matthew xxii._ 35-46.
At that time:
the Pharisees came nigh to Jesus: and one of them, a doctor of
the law, asked him, tempting him: Master, which is the great
commandment in the law! Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and
with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first
commandment. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth
the whole law and the prophets. And the Pharisees being
gathered together, Jesus asked them saying: What think you of
Christ? Whose son is he? They say to him: David's. He saith to
them: How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying: "The
Lord said to my Lord: Sit on my right hand, until I make thy
enemies thy footstool"? If David then call him Lord, how is he
his son? And no man was able to answer him a word: neither
durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
{420}
Sermon CXXVI.
_Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself._
--St. Matthew xxii. 39.
Nothing can be plainer than the fact that we must love God, and
it is equally plain that we must love our neighbor. Our Lord
declares that on these two precepts depend the whole law and the
prophets. Yet we see people who make very little of them both.
The precept to love our neighbor is perhaps the least regarded.
Let us, therefore, reflect upon this commandment to-day. In the
first place, there is no doubt about the obligation. Jesus says
plainly, and with authority: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor"; and
again, in another place, he says: "A new _commandment_ I
give unto you, that you love one another. By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another."
So, then, if you want to keep the commandment of Jesus Christ, if
you want to be known as his disciples, you _must_ love your
neighbors. The obligation is clear and plain.
But our Lord not only gives a _commandment_, but also
explains the _method_ of fulfilling it. He not only says,
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor," but also adds "as thyself." He
does not say as much as thyself, because, of course, the orders
of nature and charity both require that we should love ourselves
better than our neighbor. We must save our own soul first. We
must not peril our own salvation in order to benefit our
neighbor. Our Lord says "as thyself"--that is, in the _same
manner_, not in the _same degree_. We must love our
neighbor for his own sake, just as we love ourselves for our own
sake.
{421}
If we only love our neighbor on account of the use he can be to
us, the pleasure he can give us, or the positions he can obtain
for us, then that is really no love at all. That is nothing more
or less than loving ourselves. We must love him as Jesus Christ
has loved us--with a supernatural love, with a love which is
founded on a desire to save our neighbor's soul.
And now in every-day life how must we treat our neighbor in order
to fulfil the command of Jesus Christ, "Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself"? First, do your neighbor no wrong, either by
thought, word, or deed. You don't like any one to think evil of
you. Very well, don't think evil of your neighbor. You don't like
any one to speak ill of yourself; you don't like to be insulted;
can't bear to be abused. Ah! then be careful that you don't visit
such things upon your neighbor.
You don't like to be defrauded or cheated; you don't like to have
your property or your reputation injured, or to be wronged in any
way. Why? Because you love yourself. Very well, then, "love thy
neighbor _as_ thyself," and don't do to him what you are
unwilling should be done to you.
Again, not only refrain from doing your neighbor wrong, but wish
him well and do him good. Try to have his name on your lips when
you are at prayer. Say: "O God! prosper my neighbor, even as thou
hast prospered me." Endeavor to show your fellow-Christian that
you are interested in his well-being, and heartily glad when he
succeeds in life. Have that spirit in your heart which makes you
as glad to hear that your neighbor has gained five hundred
dollars as if you had made the sum yourself.
{422}
Then, when you can do your friend a good turn, do it with a
hearty good-will; give him a helping hand; try to encourage him
in his business. Don't say, "Every man for himself and God for us
all, and the devil take the hindermost"; but say, "Do unto others
as you would they should do unto you."
And, lastly, you want God to forgive your sins? You want men to
condone your offences and look over your shortcomings and
defects? Then love your neighbor as yourself. If he has injured
you, pardon him; if he has done wrong, overlook it; if he has got
defects, bear with them. "All things," says one of the saints,
"are easy to him who loves." So, then, love God, love your
neighbor, and all things will be easy to _you_. This life
will pass away all the more pleasantly, and the life to come will
be all the more bright and its reward all the more precious, if
you will only remember and act upon this great commandment: "Thou
shalt _love_ thy neighbor _as thyself_."
Rev. Algernon A. Brown.
----------------------
Sermon CXXVII.
_With patience, supporting one another in charity._
--_Ephesians iv._ 2.
We hear a great deal nowadays, my dear brethren, about
toleration. It is a thing which the nineteenth century takes a
special pride in. It seems to imagine that it is really a great
deal more charitable and patient than any previous one, and that,
in fact, the apostles themselves might learn a lesson of
Christian virtue from it, if they could come back to the earth.
{423}
I wish that such were actually the case; but if we examine this
pretended toleration and charity we shall have to confess that it
is simply a sham, having nothing whatever in it to make it
deserve the name it takes. You would not say of any man that he
was of a tolerant and patient disposition because he was quite
willing that some stranger should be interfered with, provided he
himself was let alone. Well, that is precisely the tolerance of
the nineteenth century. The world is now tolerant about all
things in which the rights of Almighty God are concerned, because
it has made him a stranger to itself; but it resents interference
with itself, and insists on being let alone in its own enjoyments
as much as, or more than, ever.