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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
least a show of respect for him? I don't care much for him, he
says, but after all he is my father; I must respect him. So with
sinners. Many a sinner will break every commandment of God and
the church except one or two, which he fancies he must observe in
order to keep up appearances; that is to say, show at least some
outward respect. The most atrocious scoundrel will not eat meat on
Friday, because that would be a sign of losing all respect for
religion. A wretch abandoned to every vice will say a Hail Mary or
make the sign of the cross sometimes in order to persuade at least
himself that he has not lost all respect for religion. He will not
despise the piety of his friends, but rather respect it. Respect for
holy things and holy practices is the last remnant of religion in the
sinner's soul.

Well, brethren, let us ask if Almighty God has not set up any
particular sign of reverence that we are to pay him? What is that,
among all religious practices, which he would have us do as a
token of inner and outer reverence? Of course you know what I
mean; you know that it is reverence for his holy name.

The name of God, and especially the name of Jesus, are set up as
the divine standard before which every man will prove his
reverence for God. Cursers and swearers and blasphemers forget
this. No sin is so common as profanity in its various forms. Yet it
shows a heart not only void of the fear of God, and of the love of
God, but also, and worst of all, void of even reverence for God. A
man who habitually curses is penetrated with defiance of the Divine
Majesty. Holy Scripture says that he has put on cursing like a
garment; that it has entered in unto his bones. In the old law a
blasphemer was stoned to death. And in our own times God often
anticipates the wrath to come by sending sudden death upon
profane men. I lately read in the papers that a man, standing at a
saloon-counter, cursed his own soul, and instantly sank down upon
the floor stone dead. Many of you have doubtless heard or even
seen such visitations of divine justice.
And it is in view of the sacred obligation of reverence to God in his
chosen symbol—which is his name and his Son's name—that,
although he had but ten commandments to give us, one of them
was set apart to secure respectful speech when dealing with God:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Brethren, you and I in [the] future will be particularly careful to

honor the sacred name of Jesus. Are you tempted? That name is a
resistless charm against assaults of flesh, world, or devil. Are you
tired out? The name of Jesus is a restful and soothing influence.
Are you sick? That holy name will strengthen you with supernatural
vigor. I hope that when you come to die your last breath may utter
that name of Jesus with deep confidence, and that our Lord will
answer your dying sigh with an affectionate welcome into his
heavenly court.
 Third Sunday after Epiphany.
Epistle.
Romans xii. 16-21.

Brethren:
Be not wise in your own conceits. Render to no man evil for
evil. Provide things good not only in the sight of God, but also
in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as is in you,
have peace with all men. Revenge not yourselves, my dearly
beloved; but give place to wrath, for it is written: "Revenge is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." But if thy enemy be hungry,
give him to eat; if he thirst, give him drink; for doing this thou
shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil,
but overcome evil by good.

Gospel.
St. Matthew viii. 1-13.

At that time:
When Jesus was come down from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him; and behold a leper coming, adored
him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And
Jesus, stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will; be
thou made clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And Jesus said to him: See thou tell no man; but go show
thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded
for a testimony to them. And when he had entered into
Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him
and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
and is grievously tormented. And Jesus said to him: I will come
and heal him. And the centurion, making answer, said: Lord, I
am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only
 say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a
man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to
this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he
cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And Jesus,
hearing this, wondered, and said to those that followed him:
Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.
And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the
west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in
the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall
be cast out into exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as
thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was
healed at the same hour.

Sermon XXIV.

Practical Faith.

Many shall come from the east and the west,

and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
in the kingdom of heaven;
but the children of the kingdom
shall be cast into the exterior darkness.
—Gospel of the Day.

These words, my dear brethren, were spoken by our Blessed Lord

to the Jews on the occasion of the cure of the servant of the
centurion. This centurion was an officer, like what we would call a
captain, in the Roman army; he was not a Jew, so he did not
belong to God's chosen people, his church of the old law. No, he
was a heathen by birth; he had been brought up in error, in
ignorance of the true religion; he had not the prophecies which the
Jews had to tell him clearly that a Saviour was to come into the
world. He was indeed in darkness compared with this favored
Hebrew people among whom his lot was cast; but he saw our Lord,
and that was enough for him. He saw the power of God, and he
believed. He knew that this Messias, whom the Pharisees were
rejecting, was the Master of life and death. "Lord," said he, "I am
not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof; but only say
the word, and my servant shall be healed." Immortal words these,
which the Catholic Church has treasured up, and puts on thousands
of lips every day, and which were rewarded by the divine
acknowledgment, "Amen I say to you, I have not found so great
faith in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east
and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be
cast into the exterior darkness."

Now, my brethren, what lesson have we to learn from this praise of

the heathen centurion, and this warning to God's own people,
coming to us from the mouth of God himself? Simply this: that our
salvation depends on the use which we make of the graces which
he gives us; that the least will suffice, if we will but avail ourselves
of them; but that the greatest will only serve for our eternal
condemnation and ruin if we slight them and pass them by.

A simple and evident truth this surely, and yet how apt we are to
forget and neglect it! We are Catholics from our infancy, we say;
we belong to families which have always kept the faith. We are
indeed the faithful, to whom the kingdom of heaven is promised.
And if we have not been always so, but have been brought from
darkness into light, then still more is the divine favor to us
manifest. Will He, then, who has done so much for us, not
complete his work? We believe his word, we are in his true church,
we receive his saving and life-giving sacraments; how, then, shall
we not be saved? Are we not indeed those of whom he said, "My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I
give them life everlasting, and they shall not perish for ever, and no
man shall pluck them out of my hand"?
Yes, my dear brethren, we think that we shall be saved because we
are Catholics. But the truth is, that our being Catholics only gives
us greater means of salvation; it is far from making our salvation
sure. We have greater means and helps to save our souls; but woe
be to us if we abuse them! And when we look around, and see
many good and earnest souls, similar, as far as we can see, to that
of the Roman centurion, deprived of the light that we have, not by
their own fault, but by that of their fathers; when we see them
trying to do their best with the little knowledge and the few helps
that they have, must we not fear that God will take away from us
the graces that we despise; that we, the children of the kingdom,
will be cast into the exterior darkness, while others shall come from
the east and the west and take the place which we have but do not
deserve?

Let us, then, each and every one, if we have been unfaithful to the
great graces which we have as Catholics—and which of us has not
been so?—rouse ourselves to our danger. Yes, having the faith and
the sacraments is a great privilege, but is one for which we must
give a most strict account when we stand before the throne of
God.

Sermon XXV.

Living Up To Our Faith.

Jesus, hearing this, marvelled;

and said to them that followed him:
Amen I say to you,
I have not found so great faith in Israel.
—Gospel of the Day.

The love and care of the heathen centurion for his servant should
certainly put to shame many Christian masters and mistresses of
to-day, who not only do not encourage their servants to approach
our Lord at Holy Mass and in the sacraments, but even put
obstacles in their way. However, the lesson to which I wish to direct
your thoughts this morning, and which it is the primary object of
the Gospel narrative to teach, is the immense importance of living
up to the grace and light which God has so bountifully given us.

A few weeks ago we kept the Feast of the Epiphany, the

manifestation, that is, of our Lord to the Gentiles, to those who had
not till then formed part of the church of God. The Jews alone, as
you are aware, were God's chosen people. To them had been given
the law and the prophets, the temple and the sacrifices, and—that
to which everything else led up—the promise of the Messias. And
all these privileges led them to think that they were individually
very excellent people, and to look down with contempt upon the
rest of the world and everybody in it. Now, here was a Roman,
born and brought up in heathenism, taught, doubtless, to say his
prayers to Jupiter and Venus and other vile creatures like them, a
man holding, too, high office, commanding a garrison of soldiers,
whose duty it was to keep down a conquered race. Well, this man,
notwithstanding his bad education, notwithstanding the pride
which, on account of his position, must naturally have been his,
had made greater progress than the self-conceited Pharisees, with
all their advantages, had ever made or were ever to make. While
they lived and died in unbelief, he had already recognized in Jesus
Christ the power of God; and, laying aside prejudice and pride of
place and birth, he sends humbly to our Lord to ask him to heal his
servant.

So clearly did he recognize our Lord's divine power that he did not
think it necessary for him to come to his house. Jairus, the ruler of
the synagogue, as you will remember, would not be satisfied unless
our Lord came down to his house; the centurion, on the contrary,
stopped our Lord while he was on the way, saying: "Lord, I am not
worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the
word and my servant will be healed." So that our Lord, on hearing
it, marvelled, and said: "Amen I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith in Israel."

Now, how does all this apply to us? What lesson can we learn from
these events? The answer to this question is easy and obvious. We
are by God's grace the members of the church of God, and, as
such, we are in possession of the means of grace—the sacraments,
the word of God, the intercession and prayers of the saints, and of
innumerable privileges and spiritual treasures. Above all, and as the
source and spring of all spiritual life, without which everything is
valueless and worthless, we have the gift of faith. Now, faith is
necessary; but faith is not sufficient. Without faith no one can be
saved. But we must have something more than faith. The
shipwrecked man clings for his life to anything within his reach; but
unless the plank, or whatever else he has got hold of, is washed
ashore, or a boat or some other means of help arrives, his plank
only prolongs his agony. So is it with us. Faith is our plank; but
unless this faith works by charity it will only add to our
condemnation. More than this, it will, if not acted upon, get weaker
and weaker, and be scarcely strong enough to move us to action.
What, then, must we do? Why, we must live as our faith teaches
us. First, we must learn our faith: learn the truths of our religion;
next, we must practise them. If we do not do so we shall, perhaps,
see what those Jews of old saw: the heathen and those who were
outside of the church entering and taking their places. What our
Lord said of them may, perhaps, be said of us: "I say unto you that
many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit
down with Abraham and Isaac in the kingdom of heaven; but the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Sermon XXVI.

The Sacrament Of Matrimony.

I think you are all persuaded, my brethren, of the wrong and the
danger of Catholics going to a Protestant minister for marriage; and
similar ones can be given why we should not go before a
magistrate for that purpose. It is plain that the authorities of the
State are not the right persons to assist officially at the sacraments
of the church. It would be just as proper to ask the mayor to
baptize your children as to go to him for marriage. To refer the
matter of your marriage to him, however fine a man he may be
personally, would be to acknowledge the right of the civil authority
to take charge of religious affairs; and such a right Catholics cannot
admit.

Besides, the magistrate labors under the same difficulty as a

Protestant minister in conducting a Catholic marriage, of not
knowing the laws of the church on the subject, and the
impediments which may make the marriage invalid; that is, which
may make it, though seemingly good, in reality no marriage at all.
You know, for instance—to speak of this a little more fully—that the
Catechism says that you should not marry within certain degrees of
kindred; very well, it is not only forbidden to marry within these
degrees, but a marriage within these degrees is not recognized by
the laws of the church as a real and true marriage, and the parties
have to be married over again, at least privately, if it is ever found
out. And there are some other impediments which have the same
effect. It is of no use to publish all these and try to explain them;
many mistakes would be made, and matters would only be come
worse. No, to be safe in all affairs of this kind you must go to those
who have made a special study of it; just as you find out the law of
the State from your lawyer, and not from a book. Go, then, to the
priest; he is the one who has made a special study of the law of
the church, and the only one.

In order to make sure that Catholic marriage shall be contracted

before the priest, a law has been made, and binds in some
countries, and in some parts even of this country, making it invalid,
or null and void, if contracted without the presence of the parish
priest of at least one of the parties. This does not, however, hold
just here. But there is a very special and urgent law in this diocese,
and in many others, forbidding the going to a Protestant minister
for marriage, and reserving the absolution for this to the bishop, or
some one authorized by him. Catholics, therefore, who are guilty of
such a rash act get themselves into a very unpleasant position; still,
they must, of course, try to get out of it sooner or later, and if any
one finds himself in this predicament the only sensible thing to do
is to come at once to the priest, who will help him as far as
possible. All sins can be forgiven, and all mistakes rectified, if one
has the right dispositions.

One word more on this most important subject. Some people seem
to imagine that the difficulty which may come, especially in a mixed
marriage, of avoiding the Protestant minister, may be got over by
going both to him and to the priest, and going through the form of
marriage twice. Now, let it be understood that this course cannot
be thought of for a moment; for by it not only is the law broken
which I have just mentioned, but a profanation of the sacrament
also is committed by endeavoring to make the contract to which it
is attached twice in the same case. It is as if one tried to be
confirmed twice. No, in this matter there can be no compromise; a
marriage in which a Catholic is a party must be put in charge of
the Catholic clergy, and of no one else, except as far as mere
settlements of money and the like are concerned.

Go, then, to the priest for marriage; do not think of doing anything
else. But do not go to him, as I have said some people do, for the
first time just at the moment you want the ceremony performed,
and expect him to marry you off-hand; for there are some very
important preliminaries to be settled first, and it may take some
time to settle them.
 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
Epistle.
Romans xiii. 8-10.

Brethren:
Owe no man anything, but that you love one another. For he
that loveth his neighbor, hath fulfilled the law. For "Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet." And if
there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word:
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The love of the
neighbor worketh no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the
law.

Gospel.
St. Matthew viii. 23-27.

At that time:
When Jesus entered into the ship, his disciples followed him;
and behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the ship
was covered with waves, but he was asleep. And his disciples
came to him, and waked him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish.
And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little
faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds and the sea,
and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying:
Who is this, for even the winds and the sea obey him?

Sermon XXVII.

The Ingratitude Of Children.

 Brethren: owe, no man anything.
—Epistle of the Day.

We are all debtors, brethren, for we all have some accounts to

settle up. There are debts we shall never be able to redeem, debts
that are just, pressing, and lasting as long as we are in this life.
Such, for instance, is the debt we owe to God.

The fact of his having created us, of having brought us out of

nothing, of having given us immortal souls imaged after himself,
would alone put us under the gravest obligations to him; but what
is that compared to the debt we owe God for having redeemed us
at a nameless price, by nothing less than the Precious Blood of his
own beloved Son; and, furthermore, what is all this in comparison
with the debt we owe God for our sanctification, for the priceless
gift of his Holy Spirit dwelling within us, breaking away the mist of
error and ignorance that clouds our intellect and hides from our
vision the eternal truth; that gift that endows us with strength and
fortitude, with the courage that comes from conviction, with the
power that makes us triumph over every weakness, every unruly
passion, every snare of our enemy the devil, over every thought,
word, and action that makes us unworthy of sonship with God,
brotherhood with Christ, and the heritage of an eternal crown?

This debt, dear brethren, is in general obvious enough; but, while

we recognize it, How often do we find in our experience that men
neglect, and shamefully neglect, debts that are dependent on and
derived from the debt they owe Almighty God; men who neglect
debts that are as grave and binding as those which are due to the
God from whom they are derived!

Now, brethren, if there is any injustice in this world more flagrant

than all others, more worthy of condemnation and detestation,
more certain of the visitation of God, it is this: the neglect of our
duty to our parents. "Owe no man anything." Do we owe them
nothing? Do we not owe them much? Is there a time in our lives
when that debt is not binding?

Ah! dear brethren, and what do we see in the world about us?
Ingratitude, the vice of monsters, forgetfulness of ties that are
nearest, dearest, and holiest. Young men, growing up into adult
age, who, in their vain seeking after pleasures, become so blinded
to duty, so debased in their appetites, so completely transformed
into the incarnation of selfishness, as not only to disregard the law
of God, but the very instincts of nature—sons who would rob and
starve their parents to satisfy their mean and low appetites.

The ingratitude of children to parents is a crying sin of our times.

Let us be alive to it. Let the young men and women of our day
remember that they are bound to satisfy these grave and serious
obligations; that they are not to heedlessly put themselves into any
state that will debar them from redeeming the debts they owe,
from recompensing for all the care, toil, and money expended upon
them.

"Owe no man anything." Take heed of this warning also, all you
who contract debts without the slightest hope of paying them; see
to it that the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the pleasures you
indulge in are paid for; see to it that they are not purchased by the
labor and money which belong to others. You who live in fine
houses, who keep yourselves in costly array, who deny yourselves
no pleasures, however extravagant, take heed! Whose money pays
for it? Can you stand up and with a clean heart proclaim that this is
honest? As you sit here to-day, do the words of the Apostle offer
no rebuke to you, do you not feel their sting?

O brethren! let us be sparing in our debts; let us owe no man

anything. The man without debts exalts himself in the eyes of his
fellow-men and secures for himself a good conscience.
 Sermon XXVIII.

Love Of Our Neighbor.

He that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.

—Epistle of the Day.

There can be no doubt, my brethren, that the saving of our souls

sometimes seems to be a very troublesome business. There are so
many laws and commandments binding on us, so many sins which
we are likely to commit; and if we break any of these laws in any
grievous way—if we are guilty, that is to say, of mortal sin our—
salvation is lost till such time as we repair our fault. Yet it may
seem that we are surrounded by so many rocks on our voyage
through life that it is almost useless to try to steer clear of them;
and, if we may judge by their actions, many Christians actually
come to the conclusion that there is no use in trying to keep their
ship off these rocks. They make up their minds that spiritual
shipwreck is unavoidable, and that the only way to reach the port
of heaven is to be towed in on a raft which can be made out of the
sacraments at the last moment.

But really our salvation is not such a complicated and intricate affair
if we would only look at it in the right way. The course which we
have to follow is not such a difficult one to bear in mind and to
keep. There are many commandments, it is true; but they all have
the same spirit, and if we have that spirit they will all come quite
easy.

What is the spirit? Our Lord has told us. It is the love of God, and
of our neighbor for God's sake. The love of God and of our
neighbor gives us a short cut to the kingdom of heaven; if we are
guided by it, we shall not come near the dangers that seem so
many and so threatening.
Let us see how this is; how is this love going to work to keep us in
the safe and sure track? It is not so hard to see. For what is it to
love any one; how do we act towards one whom we really and
truly love? Are we always trying to give him no more than we can
help, and keep as much as we can for ourselves? Do we try to
have our own way as much as possible, and never to step out of it
for his sake, unless compelled by force or threats?

No, of course not. We keep far away from what will offend him. We
always are trying to find out what will please him best. So if he is
not unreasonable, and if he knows our desire and intention, the
danger of offending him disappears.

Well, it is just so in the matter of serving God and keeping his law.
The continual mortal sins into which Christians fall, and which it
seems so hard to avoid, are due to their trying to run too near the
rocks. No wonder they so often get wrecked in these dangerous
waters. They are all the time striking on the commandments, and
the whole sea seems full of them because they try to sail as near
them as they can. If they would only give them a wide berth, and
keep out in the deep ocean of the love of God, sin and its
forgiveness would not cause so much anxiety and trouble.

If we would only ask ourselves what will please God best, and try
to give him all that he desires, as we should if we loved him as he
deserves to be loved, and as we do with others whom we really do
love—if we would do this instead of trying [to see] how far we can
have our own way and yet come out right in the end, the whole
matter of saving our souls would have a very different aspect. Now,
why not try to follow this line? It is no fanciful thing beyond our
power. Plenty of Christians have done it before us, and are doing it
all the time.

But if we do not feel prepared, or are a little afraid to commit

ourselves to this course just yet, at least we could endeavor to
have some love for our neighbor, and make some sacrifice for him.
We have St. Paul's word for it, you see, that even he who loves his
neighbor will be sure to fulfil the law. Yes, we may feel quite sure
if, by a generous love of our neighbor, we keep far off being
wrecked on the last part of the Ten Commandments, that we shall
run clear of the first part as well.
 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
Epistle.
Colossians iii. 12-17.

Brethren:
Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the
bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience, bearing
with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a
complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you,
so do you also. But above all these things have charity, which is
the bond of perfection: and let the peace of Christ rejoice in
your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body; and be ye
thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all
wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms,
hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to
God. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the
Father by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel.
St. Mathew xiii. 24-30.

At that time:
Jesus spoke this parable to the multitude, saying: The kingdom
of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field.
But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed
cockle among the wheat, and went his way. And when the
blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared
also the cockle. Then the servants of the master of the house
came and said to him: Master, didst thou not sow good seed in
thy field? whence then hath it cockle? And he said to them: An
enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou
 that we go and gather it up? And he said: No, lest while you
gather up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with
it. Let both grow until the harvest, and in the time of the
harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and
bind it into bundles to burn; but gather the wheat into my barn.

Sermon XXIX.

The Christian Family.

Bearing with one another.

—Epistle of the Day.

No doubt you have often read about the oasis in the desert: a
place of tall, shady trees, soft, green grass, and a great spring
pouring out sweet, cold water. There the hot and dusty caravan
stops, though it be miles out of the way; the heavy burdens are
thrown off, and men and animals rest and drink and rest again. For
one long, burning day they lie about on the grass and look off from
their shady refuge over the yellow, sandy desert. They sleep and
are rested; and as the cool dews of evening fall they take a last
drink and creep away on their journey, sighing to think of the long
and weary tramp to the next oasis.

Dear brethren, the oasis in the desert of this world is the Christian
family. The father of the family "shall be like a tree which is planted
near the running waters." It is indeed but a feeble word to say that
the influence of a good father is like the deep shade of a noble tree
in the heat of summer, His influence is like the grace of God.
Indeed, there is nothing in all this world so much like the presence
of God as the influence of a Christian father. When the instinct of
the Christian people would give a name to a good priest they called
him father. What is more edifying than the virtue of a good father?
In him are chiefly to be seen those manly virtues which are the
highest form of human excellence: hearty love, self-restraint, open
frankness joining heart, hand, and voice in one. In him you admire
that steadfast application to religious things, that regular use of
prayer and of the sacraments, that clear knowledge of doctrine and
ability to converse about it, that utter absence of frivolity, that
intelligent practice of good reading. He is contented with his lot,
and yet labors with steady, persistent industry. In prosperity he is
modest and frugal. In adversity he is cheerful, a strong wall for
others to lean against. He loves home and is fond of his wife.
Gladly will he tend the babes while the mother gets the Sunday
Mass, or of a Saturday evening while she goes to refresh her weary
soul with a good confession. The company of his children is to him
a foretaste of Paradise. He is not sour, nor is he brutal or harsh. He
is not above making the children laugh or joining in their play; to
make them happy and help them save their souls is his greatest
joy.

Then there is the mother of the family, whose life is one unbroken
round of acts of affection. The spirit of sacrifice, the craving to bear
others burdens, is her spirit. You know how a good mother watches
at the sick-bed the livelong night, passing back and forth through
the dark rooms, listening to every breathing, answering every sigh
with a comforting word, or a cool drink, or a soft caress. Only the
next world will reveal to us the loveliness of such devoted souls;
here we catch but a glimpse and an echo of it. The accents, the
tones of the voice, the very silence, the manners, the ways of a
good mother diffuse what Scripture calls the fragrance of ointments
around her household. You know, too, how she saves and pinches
to keep off debt, to dress the children neatly, to save a penny to
give them a holiday, to save a dollar for hard times or a spell of
sickness. And all this sacrifice is a matter of course with her. But
the truest glory of a mother is her patience. The patient mother is
the valiant woman of Scripture. She is the woman who smothers
her anger; who will suffer the impertinence of an unruly child in
silence; who forgets as well as forgives; whose admonition or
correction is the reluctant tribute of a tender heart to the child's
well-being. Do you want to know how she is able to do this? The
secret of it is that she finds time—in the heavy duty of being
everybody's servant—to attend to religion; to belong to the Rosary
Society and make her monthly Communion; to give alms to the
poor from her hard savings; to visit and watch with sick, or afflicted
neighbors. It is, in a word, because she ever gazes in spirit upon
that Holy Family where Mary was mother that she is able to be a
good Christian mother.

When I began I intended to say something of the good boys and

girls; while we have been engaged with father and mother the
children have passed by. Perhaps we shall overtake them next
Sunday.

Sermon XXX.

The Duty Of Good Example.

Use your endeavor to walk honestly towards them that

are without.
1 Thessalonians iv. 11.

The holiness of the church, my dear brethren, is for us who belong

to her a thing so evident and clear that we can no more think it
necessary to prove it than we can think it necessary to prove that
the sun shines in the heavens. The practical and imperative way in
which the church enforces holiness of life on each and every one of
us is something with which we are so familiar that no shadow of
doubt can enter into our minds as to its necessity. The means of
grace which she offers to us, and of which she even requires us to
make use, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord himself
which she gives us, the penances she imposes upon us by way of
fasting and abstinence, the warnings which she is ever giving us of
the condemnation which will fall upon impenitent sinners, these and
ten thousand other things make the sanctity of the church so well
known that it is not so much an article of faith as a thing which we
see with our own eyes and which falls under our own experience.

But there are those who are without these advantages. There are
many around us, our near neighbors and friends, who are outside
the church, not through their own fault, but by birth and education.
These are not in possession of those means of knowing the church
and her sanctity of which we are possessed; and in order to have
this knowledge they depend to a very large extent upon ourselves.
I wish this morning to call your attention to the responsibility which
rests upon us on this account, and to one or two practical ways in
which we are accountable to God for what that responsibility
involves.

Now, that we lie under this responsibility is a truth not very hard to
see. For, as I have said, those outside the church are ignorant of
the doctrine and practices of the church. From their earliest years
they have had utterly false and erroneous information given them
about the church, an information so false and erroneous that they
do not think it necessary or even right to make inquiries. How,
then, are they to have the truth brought home to them? What way
is there of spreading the light? Almost the only way, and certainly a
way so necessary that without it all others are futile and vain, is
that those who are called Catholics should lead such lives as the
church requires of them. Now, if we do not do this we are of
course responsible to God, as every man, be he Catholic or be he
Protestant, is responsible to God for his whole life and every action
in it. But more than that, a special responsibility in this time and in
this country lies at the door of every Catholic man and every
Catholic woman. Every Catholic man and woman who does not lead
a good life is a stumbling-block and a rock of offence standing in
the way and preventing many poor souls from seeing and
embracing that truth which is necessary for their salvation; and
those Catholics whose way of living forms such a stumbling-block
will have to give a strict account to God not merely for their own
sins and for themselves, but also for the souls of others whom they
have ruined.

Now, I am going on this account to ask you some questions which

I hope you will answer honestly and conscientiously. And they will
be questions about matters on which the world outside is
competent to judge; and, therefore, if we fail in this respect we
shall meet with its condemnation, and become hindrances to the
knowledge of the truth.

First: There is nothing of which the business world thinks so much

as truth, uprightness, integrity in business matters. To pay debts
promptly, to do work squarely, to execute contracts faithfully, these
are some of the marks of an honest man. Now, in view of what I
have said, ask yourselves, is this way of acting the mark of all
Catholics? Will a man who wants to get a house built, who is
looking for a trustworthy clerk or assistant, choose out Catholics in
preference to others, because he knows that they are worthy of
trust? If this is not the case, if the being a Catholic is no guarantee
of trustworthiness, you will have to answer to God for the bad
effect your dishonesty has upon those outside.

And now a question for women. You all know in what virtue
consists, the glory and honor of women. You all know what the
world expects of women. You know, too, how much the church
makes of modesty and chastity, in what honor she holds them, how
strict she is in inculcating their necessity. Now, one of the effects of
genuine modesty and chastity is to overawe and overpower the
approaches of the unclean and impure. There is a majesty in virtue
which lays low and keeps at its level vileness and impurity. Is
everyone who comes near a Catholic girl or woman conscious of
this influence? Is there something about every Catholic girl and
woman which makes it clear to every dirty fellow that he must go
elsewhere if he wishes to find a victim and a means of satisfying
his disgraceful passions? It ought to be so, for the soul of every
Catholic girl and woman, over and above the majesty of natural
virtue, is the abode and dwelling-place of the grace of God. And if
you are true children of the church such will be the effect your
presence will have.

Well, my brethren, ask yourselves these questions; answer them

honestly; and, if you find that you have done wrong, amend, not
merely for your own sake but for that of those outside.

Sermon XXXI.

Bearing One Another's Burdens.

Bearing with one another,

and forgiving one another
if any have a complaint against one another:
even as the Lord hath forgiven you,
so do you also.
—Epistle of the Day (Colossians iii. 13).

Perhaps you may think, my dear friends, that we have a good deal
to say about this matter of charity and forgiveness, and if you do
you are probably right; it was not long ago that we had occasion to
remind you of it in one of these little morning instructions. But why
should we not speak of it often? Is not the love of our neighbor the
second great commandment, like to and founded on the first? Does
not St. John also make it the test of our salvation? "We know," he
says, "that we have passed from death to life"; and why? Is it
because we fast, say long prayers, visit the church, or even
because we receive the sacraments often? No, it is "because we
love the brethren." And he continues: "He that loveth not, abideth
in death. … We ought," he goes on to say, "to lay down our lives
for the brethren."

In the latter years of the life of St. John, when he had become so
old and feeble that he had to be carried to the church, and was not
able to preach at any length to his beloved people, he would still
give them a little short sermon. It was very short; not even a five-
minute sermon; and it was not fresh every Sunday, but always the
same. It was just this: "Little children, love one another." But his
people, in spite of their great reverence and affection for him, were
something like people nowadays, and got rather tired of hearing
this same old story. They wanted something more novel and
startling, and one day they asked him: "Master, why do you never
tell us anything but this about loving one another?" He answered:
"Because it is the Lord's command, and if it is fulfilled it is
sufficient."

If St. John, then, preached about this matter of charity every

Sunday, certainly we may be allowed to speak of it several times in
the year. And you, my dear Christians, will not lose anything by
hearing about it pretty often. For the matter is one in which there
is always great room for improvement for us all. St. John said "little
children"; but he was not speaking to the Sunday-school, if, indeed,
he had one; no, it was to the children, big as well as little, children
all of God and of his holy church, that his words were addressed.

And these words are more needed now than they were then. Why,
in the early times Christians used to be known from other people
by their love and charity for each other. It was this that made
converts to the faith, more, perhaps, than preaching or miracles.
"See," said the world, "how these Christians love one another." But
now I am afraid it would be hard to pick out very many Christians
by this test. No; it is more likely that our infidel friends would say
of all the Christians that they happen to know: "See how these
Christians are all the time quarrelling with each other! They never
seem to be content unless they can show their pride by having at
least some one who is not supposed to be worthy of their
acquaintance. They go to church and say their prayers—oh! yes;
but perhaps there is some person, even in the next pew, that they
used to know, but have not spoken to for years, and have no
notion of ever speaking to, unless, perhaps, on their death-bed if
the priest should insist on it. Bearing with one another, indeed! Is it
possible that one of their Apostles told them to do that? Why, they
do not put up with half as much as a sensible man would who had
no faith at all. Let them suffer the least even fancied slight or
indignity, and there is an end of all their friendship. Forgiving one
another, as they say the Lord has forgiven them? Well, if the Lord
forgives as they do, his forgiveness does not seem to amount to
much."

My brethren, depend on it, those not of our faith feel often this
way, though they may not say it right out. And they are not far
wrong. The kind of bearing with others, the kind of forgiveness,
that is given them by those who have the name of Christians is too
often one that will not stand the test of God's judgment. I am
afraid that many pious people have found themselves in the wrong
place after death on account of it. Let those who still remain profit
by this lesson while they have time.
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