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.
---------------------------
{440}
Sermon CXXXII.
_Sir, come down before that my son die._
--St. John iv. 49.
There are many useful lessons to be learnt from the ruler in
to-day's Gospel. We can admire his confidence in Jesus Christ,
his perseverance in prayer, his ready and speedy conversion to
the faith. There is, however, another lesson to be learnt from
him which is contained in the above words: "Lord, come down
before that my son die." Now, disease, sickness, fever, etc., is,
as you know, dear friends, the symbol of sin, while death is the
symbol of mortal sin and eternal perdition. Now, you will notice
that the ruler did not wait till his son was dead before coming
to Christ: he came when his child was at the point of death, or
when (according to the exact meaning of the Latin text) "he began
to die." The ruler, then, is a model for parents. He teaches you
what care you ought to take of your children's souls. Many of
your children, dear brethren, are sick. They are sinful,
disobedient, careless, and so forth. Now, do you correct them
_in the beginning?_ Ah! I know a great many of you do not.
You let them go on till the fever of sin rises higher and higher
and burns fiercer and fiercer. You let them go on till they die
and are buried in habits of mortal sin, and not till then do you
call upon God and his church.
Brethren, of all things you should watch your children when they
are young. A husbandman does not try to force the well-grown wood
to grow as he wishes; he trains the young and tender shoots. How
often we see in the streets of our city a tribe of swaggering
boys and wanton, frivolous girls, who have upon their faces the
very mark of premature age and sinful precocity!
{441}
We see young boys and girls at beer-gardens, at variety theatres,
in billiard-saloons; and, alas! if they are there, there is every
reason to fear that the grace of God does not adorn their souls.
These poor children are spiritually dead. Ah! but there must have
been a time when they "began to die." There must have been a
moment when they first took to these scandalous habits. Then why
did you not see that they went to confession, to Mass, to Holy
Communion? Why did you not insist upon their morning and evening
prayers being said? Why did you not keep them at home after dark?
Brethren, soon we shall come to this pass: that none will be
considered a child after five years of age. Our children of this
age and country are "at the point of death." They are growing up
with ideas of false independence, false liberality, and false
religious principles. You parents, then, must call upon Christ.
Jesus is represented on earth by his church and his priests. You
must go, then, to church and priest, if you want your children to
be saved before they die the death of sin. You must cut them off
from the beginning of evil as soon as you see the least sign of
the fever of sin upon them. Go yourself to Jesus Christ. Kneel
down and pray for them. Lift up your voices and cry: "Lord, come
down before that my child shall die." Send them to the
sacraments; send them to Sunday-school; send them to Vespers and
Benediction. Above all, interest yourself in your children. Go to
Jesus, as the ruler did. Pray for your children every time you go
to Mass and Communion, and every night and morning.
{442}
Do not let them form evil companions and low associates. Insist
upon their obeying the parental authority, and above all, teach
them that boys and girls of fifteen or sixteen are not men and
women. Lastly, let us all, priests and people, lift up our hands
and cry to Jesus: "Lord, come down before that these children
die; come down with thy lessons of obedience; come down in Holy
Communion; come down with thy grace and with thy quickening
Spirit." Then, if we do these things--if we attend to our solemn
duties as parents and pastors--we may each expect to hear from
our dear Master's lips: "Go thy way, thy son liveth."
Rev. Algernon A. Brown.
--------------------
Sermon CXXXIII.
_Giving thanks always for all things._
--Ephesians v. 20.
If we stop a moment, my dear brethren, to consider the meaning of
these words, which we find in the Epistle of to-day, they will, I
think, seem to us rather surprising; and if we did not believe in
the inspiration of their author we should be inclined to say that
he rather exaggerated the truth, and that we cannot be expected
to take the lesson which he here teaches us quite literally.
"Surely," we might say, "St. Paul must have meant that we should
give thanks for all things which are really fit subjects for
thanksgiving; that we should not neglect our duty of gratitude to
God for his benefits. And when he tells us to give thanks for all
things it was a little slip of his pen; we muse understand not
all things, but all good things."
{443}
We might talk in this way, I say, if we did not know that St.
Paul was inspired; but knowing that, we must drop the idea that
there can be any mistake or exaggeration. It must really be that
we ought to give thanks for all things that happen to us, without
exception. If our plans succeed we must give thanks; but we must
do the same if they fail. Whether our wishes are gratified or
not, we must give thanks. If we have riches, good health, plenty
of friends, or if, on the other hand, we are poor, sick, and
without a friend in the world, we must thank God, in adversity
the same as in prosperity.
"Well," you may say, "it must be so, since we have the word of
the Holy Ghost for it; but, for my part, I cannot see how it can
be. I should be very willing to thank God for all these bad
things, but I do not see what there is in them to thank him for.
I acknowledge that I deserve punishment for my sins, and I will
try to take it with as good a grace as I can; but as to giving
thanks for it, that is a little too much for me. It seems to me
that I should only be a hypocrite if I should pretend to do so."
Some of you, I am pretty sure, feel like talking in this way, at
least at times when trouble has come upon you. Let us see if we
cannot find the reason that your faith is so much tried.
It seems to me that it is because it seems to you that you are
required to believe that evil is really good; and of course that
is as hard to believe as that black is really white. You think
that our Lord means evil to you; that he is acting with you as
the authorities of the state might act. If any one breaks the
laws he is shut up in prison or has to pay a fine. Well, that may
do him good, but it is not meant for that. It is meant to do harm
to him, that others may profit by his example and that the good
order of society may be maintained.
{444}
So a criminal cannot personally thank the judge, if he sentences
him to hard labor for five years. It would not be reasonable for
him to do so, and the judge does not want him to do it, for he
does not mean to give him a favor.
So you think, when our Lord punishes you in any way, that he
really means to do you harm, for some wise end in his providence,
to be sure, but still really harm as far as you yourself are
concerned. You regard it simply as the satisfaction of his
justice on you, or perhaps for some good purpose in which you are
not concerned; and so it is as hard for you personally to thank
him for it as to say that black is white.
But this is just where you are mistaken; for there is a great
difference between the punishments of God and those of man. If
our Lord sends you any misfortune or cross it is principally for
your own good. He always has that in view; he is not like a human
judge. He would not allow a hair of your head to be touched, were
it not really for your good; for he loves you more dearly than
your best friend in the world can possibly do.
This, then, my dear brethren, is the right exercise for our
faith: not to believe that evil is good, but to believe that God
is good and does not mean evil to us, and that when he gives what
seems to be evil it is really a blessing in disguise. Though it
is plain that it must be so, instead of being contrary to reason,
still it is an exercise of faith for all that; but an easy one,
if we will only try it.
{445}
Try it, then, when you are tempted to murmur against God's
providence, and you will be able to give thanks for all things,
whether they seem to be bad or good; and you will see that after
all it is only good things which you are told to thank him for,
because all things which he sends you really are good.
----------------
{446}
_Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost._
Epistle.
_Ephesians vi._ 10-17.
Brethren:
Be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power. Put
you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against
the snares of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh
and blood: but against principalities and powers, against the
rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of
wickedness in the high places. Wherefore take unto you the
armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day,
and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of justice: and your feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith,
wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of
the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation;
and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
Gospel.
_St. Matthew xviii._ 23-35.
At that time:
Jesus spoke to his disciples this parable: The kingdom of
heaven is likened to a king, who would take an account of his
servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was
brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he
had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should
be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and
payment to be made. But that servant, falling down, besought
him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And the lord of that servant being moved with compassion, let
him go, and forgave him the debt.
{447}
But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his
fellow-servants that owed him a hundred pence; and laying hold
of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his
fellow-servant, falling down, besought him saying: Have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not:
but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Now his fellow-servants, seeing what was done, were very much
grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.
Then his lord called him, and said to him: Thou wicked servant!
I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:
shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy
fellow-servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord
being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he should pay
all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if
you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
------------------------
Sermon CXXXIV.
_Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood:
but against principalities and powers._
--Ephesians vi. 12.
It is a most important truth, my brethren, and a very practical
one for all of us, which is contained in these words of St. Paul;
and it is the subject of the whole Epistle of this Sunday, from
which this passage is taken.
This truth is that we have a host of enemies to contend with in
the battle which we must fight to win the kingdom of heaven, who
are much more powerful than flesh and blood--that is, than any
human foes; much more formidable than any others which attack us,
from within or from without.
{448}
Who are these enemies? They are Satan and all his army of fallen
angels. That these are what the apostle means by "principalities
and powers" is plain from these very words, which are the names,
as you know, of two of the nine angelic choirs. It is plain also,
from what he says immediately before, that we should put on the
armor of God, in order to be able to stand against the deceits of
the devil.
Who can doubt that these lost spirits are terrible enemies to our
salvation? They desire nothing more earnestly than our eternal
ruin, and labor most persistently to bring it about. They have a
malicious hatred and envy for us, and spare no effort to induce
us to sin, as that is the greatest evil which can happen to us.
As there is joy before the angels of God upon one sinner who
repents, so there is exultation among these fallen angels over
every one who does not, and especially over every one who repents
of his repentance and turns to sin again.
And besides the will which they have to injure us, they have an
immense power to do so. They are superior to us in the order of
creation; they have much more intelligence, knowledge, and
strength than we. If they were permitted they could easily make
us all subject to them, and reign over us with a more cruel
tyranny than the world has ever seen.
"Well, father," you may say to me, "of course this must be true;
but then they are not permitted to trample on us in this way. God
holds them in check, so that they cannot do us the harm which
they wish, and would otherwise be able to accomplish."
I grant you this. They certainly are not allowed to do us all the
harm they might do and would like to do; but they are allowed to
do a great part of it--so much that, without the help of God on
our side, they would, even as it is, destroy us, soul and body.
{449}
By our own strength we cannot possibly escape these terrible and
merciless enemies, but only by the power of God. Without that we
should be as helpless before them as a child among lions and
tigers. If we would escape them it can only be, then, by calling
upon God, and getting from him the strength and protection which
he alone can give.
This is what St. Paul tells us in this Epistle, "Put on the armor
of God," he says; and again, "Take unto you the armor of God." If
you do not you will fall. Our Lord has allowed the devils to have
the power which they still have to injure us, that we may learn
in our dire extremity to have recourse to him.
And yet so far are we from realizing our danger, and seeking the
only protection which can save us, that many Christians seem
almost to doubt, like infidels, the very existence of the devil
and his angels. There is nothing which Satan likes better than
this, or which puts us more completely in his power. He does not
care that we should know. Just now at least, who does us the
harm, so long as the harm is done; and he knows that if we do not
believe in him we shall not look out for him, and that if we do
not look out for him we shall certainly fall into his snares.
Rouse yourselves, then, my brethren, from this indifference to
your greatest peril. Believe, with a real and practical belief,
in the existence and the tremendous power of these enemies who
are hunting down your souls. Know that you cannot resist them of
your own strength, and act on that knowledge. Pray to God to
protect you, to keep them from you, and you from them. Ask Our
Blessed Lady, who is their terror, to drive them away, and your
guardian angel to keep them from your side. Avoid the occasions
of sin which they prepare for you.
{450}
Flee from them if you can; if not, resist them, and they will
flee from you; but when you resist them, let it be in the name of
Him who has conquered them, or they will conquer you.
-----------------------
{451}
_Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost._
Epistle.
_Philippians i._ 6-11.
Brethren:
We are confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a
good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.
As it is meet for me to think this for you all: because I have
you in my heart; and that in my bonds, and in the defence, and
confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of my joy.
For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the bowels
of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your charity may more
and more abound in knowledge, and in all understanding: that
you may approve the better things, that you may be sincere and
without offence unto the day of Christ. Replenished with the
fruit of justice through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and
praise of God.
Gospel.
_St. Matthew xxii._ 15-21.
At that time:
The Pharisees going away, consulted among themselves how to
ensnare Jesus in his speech. And they sent to him their
disciples with the Herodians, saying: Master, we know that thou
art a true speaker, and teachest the way of God in truth,
neither carest thou for any man; for thou dost not regard the
person of men. Tell us, therefore, what dost thou think. Is it
lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? But Jesus, knowing
their wickedness, said: Why do you tempt me, ye hypocrites?
Show me the coin of the tribute. And they offered him a penny.
And Jesus saith to them: Whose image and inscription is this?
They say unto him: Cæsar's. Then he saith to them: Render,
therefore, to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God
the things that are God's.
-----------------------
{452}
Sermon CXXXV.
_The Pharisees going away,
consulted among themselves
how to ensnare him in his speech._
--St. Matthew xxii. 15.
It is needless to say, brethren, that they waited in vain. Our
dear Lord never uttered anything but words of wisdom, justice,
and piety. Is it so with us? We have enemies, strong and
powerful, who have consulted among themselves how to ensnare us
in our speech. Satan and his demons, evil companions, enemies of
the holy faith--all these are watching to see if they cannot
destroy us by means of our tongue. What, then, must we do to
control _it_, of which St. James says: "The tongue is a
fire, a world of iniquity; the tongue is placed among our members
which defileth the whole body, being set on fire by hell"? We
must watch it carefully, watch it jealously, watch it constantly.
Some of the older writers have said that nature herself has
taught us how careful we ought to be of our tongue. First,
because we have only one. We have two eyes, two ears, two hands,
two feet, but only one tongue.
Again, the tongue is placed in the centre of the head, to show
(as they say) that it ought to be under the absolute control of
our reason; again, because nature places it behind two barriers,
the lips and teeth, so as to keep it prisoner; and, lastly (says
an old writer in his quaint way), because it is chained in the
mouth.
But there are other more solid reasons than these for watching
our tongue.
{453}
There is nothing so poisonous as a bitter word, an uncharitable
remark, an offensive observation. Words such as these have ruined
families, have caused murders, have damned souls. How often has a
bitter word rankled so deeply in our neighbor's mind and heart
that he curses us, refuses to speak to us, and thus is driven by
us into mortal sin! What then? The devil, who is on the watch,
has ensnared us in our speech; he has got one more sin recorded
against us. Had we watched our tongues he would not have caught
us; we should not have sinned; our neighbor would not have been
scandalized. How common it is for us to hear God's name taken in
vain and spoken lightly; how frequently, alas! do we hear the
sweet name of Jesus used for a curse; how often that holy name,
"which is above every name," is bandied about as though it were
as the name of the lowest of creatures! Blasphemer! reviler of
the Holy One! Satan has ensnared you in your speech. You have
cursed, blasphemed, _sinned!_ Had you watched your tongue
you had not done so.
And what horrible mutterings are these that we hear coming up
from dark corners, from workshops, from factories, from
lodging-houses, from streets? What whisperings are these, hot and
burning with the fire of hell? They are words of impurity and bad
conversations. They are accents that slay living souls, that
pollute both the lips of the speaker and the ears of the
listener; and, alas! the tongue, the unguarded, unwatched tongue,
is the offender again. Ah! you are ensnared once more in your
speech. Watch your tongue, then, lest you die the death of mortal
sin. There is an every-day expression, brethren, which contains,
I think, the best advice that can be given you; and that is,
"Hold your tongue." Yes, _hold_ it under control of reason;
chain it by prayer and the sacraments.
{454}
If it wants to run into bitter words and unkind speeches, hold it
back. If it wants to blaspheme, hold it; hold it, or you are
lost! If it wants to utter words contrary to Christian modesty,
hold it for Christ's sake, or you are undone. Take care lest
Satan ensnare you in your speech; if he does he will condemn you
to a cruel death in hell. Speech is silver and silence is gold.
Few, if any, have been saved by much speaking; many have been
lost by it. Oh! then, watch your tongue lest it destroy you.
Rev. Algernon A. Brown.
------------------------
Sermon CXXXVI.
_Render, therefore, to Cæsar
the things that are Cæsar's,
and to God the things that are God's._
--St. Matthew xxii. 21.
What does our Lord mean by this, my brethren? He seems to say
that there are some things which do not belong to God, but to
some one else; that God has only a partial right in this world
which he has created. It would appear to belong partly to Cæsar;
and who can this Cæsar be, who shares the earth with its Creator?
Cæsar was the name of the Roman emperor, and our Lord means by
Cæsar the temporal authority of the state. Now, it must seem
absurd to any Catholic, and indeed to any one who believes in God
at all, to say that this authority has any right in the world
other than that which God has lent to it; so we cannot imagine
that our Lord meant anything like that. Nevertheless, there are
plenty of people, who do not profess to be atheists, who really
maintain not only that the state has rights against him, but even
that its right always prevails over his. They say that we must
render everything to Cæsar, whether God wants it or not; that the
law of the state must be obeyed, even against the law of God as
shown to us by conscience.
{455}
These people are really atheists, whether they profess to be or
not. The only true God, in whom we believe, will not and cannot
resign his right to our obedience or give up his eternal laws.
Nay, more, he will and must reserve to himself the right of
making new laws if he pleases, and annulling laws of the state
which are contrary to them. Besides all this, he has also only
given to the state a limited sphere in which it can work, and in
which only its laws can have any force--that is, he will only
allow it to make laws providing for the temporal well-being of
its subjects.
This, then, is what belongs to Cæsar--that is, to the state. It
has the right to claim and enforce our obedience to laws intended
for the temporal welfare of its subjects, and to these only as
far as they are not contrary to the eternal law of God, or to
others which he may choose to make. And that is all.
When it does not exceed its rights we must give our obedience to
it; and we must presume that it does not exceed them unless it is
clear that it does. This is what we must render to Cæsar.
But how shall we tell that it does exceed its rights? First, by
the voice of conscience, when that voice is clear and certain;
secondly, by our knowledge of the laws which God himself has
made; lastly, by the voice of that other authority which he has
put in the world to provide for our spiritual welfare--that is,
the Catholic Church. When God speaks to us in either of these
ways we must obey him whether it interferes with Cæsar or not;
this is what we must render to him.
{456}
If the state makes a law commanding us to blaspheme, deny our
faith, or commit impurity, we will not obey. Conscience annuls
such a law. If the state commands us to do servile work on Sunday
its law has no force. We know that God's law is against it. And,
lastly, if the state goes outside its sphere, and makes laws
regarding things not belonging to its jurisdiction, as the
sacraments, we are not bound by such laws. It has no power, for
instance, to declare marriage among Christians valid or invalid.
The church has told us this plainly. It is here specially where
the state goes out of its province, that it is subject to
correction by the church; though it may be in other matters also.