6. What is it to love our neighbor as ourselves?

It is to do as Jesus Christ has said : "All things, therefore, whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them." (Matt, vii., 12.) God has given us two precepts of charity, one to love him above all things, and the other, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Is not the first sufficient? It seems reasonable that, if we love God, we should also love those upon whom he has bestowed his gifts. Hence St. John says : "This commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, loveth also his brother." (1 John, iv., 21.)

But all men do not see how the love of God necessarily includes the love of our neighbor. Even in the natural sciences, a man may have correct principles, and yet be unable to draw correct conclusions. Hence God has given us a special and distinct command to love our neighbor : "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." God has made the love which we have for ourselves, the rule and measure of the love which we are to bear to our neighbor. To love, then, our neighbor properly, we must first love ourselves properly. Inordinate self-love is always bad. Every sin springs from inordinate self-love, that is, from a wilful, disorderly and obstinate attachment to one's self or to some other creature. This inordinate self-love built the ill-fated city of Babylon; its walls arose in contempt and hatred of God. We must love ourselves in God, and for God's sake.

This love of ourselves is either natural or supernatural. It is natural when its object is the goods of nature. In this sense St. Paul says : "No man ever hated his own flesh." (Eph., v., 29.) Such love, when properly directed, is not condemned by God; for God is the author of nature as well as of grace. Love of ourselves is supernatural when its object is the goods of grace and glory. As we are composed of body and soul, it is our duty to take care of both. The same commandment which obliges us to show charity to our neighbor in his temporal wants, obliges us also, as St. Augustine and St. Thomas teach, to show charity towards our own body.

Now, as Christians we love our body, because it comes from God, and is capable of contributing to his glory. "Present your members as instruments of justice unto God," says St. Paul. We also love and respect our body because it was consecrated in baptism and became a temple of the Holy Ghost. "Know you not" says St. Paul, "that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which you ar."  (1 Cor., iii., 16.) Again, we love our body because it is destined to rise bright and glorious on the last day, and to live reunited with the soul, and rejoice with it in heaven for all eternity. "The hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." (John, v., 28, 29.)

Finally, we love and respect our body, because it assists us in performing our duties towards God, towards our neighbor, and towards ourselves. We are, therefore, obliged to take proper care of our bodily health. In taking care of the health of the body, we may be guilty of two excesses: one in taking too much, and the other in taking too little care of the body. There are some who take as much care of the body as if the preservation of their health or rather the gratification of the senses were the sole or at least the principal object of our life on earth. Such love for the body is sinful and leads to the destruction of both soul and body. There are others, who take too little care of their health. They are indiscreet in the practice of corporal penances ; indiscreet in fasting, in night-watching, in excessive labor. These in discreet penitents commit four thefts, says St. Bernard: they rob the body of its strength and the mind of its vigor, and, thus, by degrees render both unfit for the practice of virtue.

Moreover, they rob their neighbor of the good example they owe him, and finally they rob God of his honor. Such indiscreet mortifications are, therefore, displeasing to God. Discretion must guide us in all our actions, affections, in all our conduct; it must assign to each virtue, its proper time, and its proper place ; without discretion virtue becomes really a vice. The care of our bodily health, then, should be moderate, and such care, says St. Alphonsus, is a virtue. "It is in the order of divine Providence," says St. Francis de Sales, "that we should treat our bodies according to their natural weakness, treating them as we treat poor people, with patience and charity, and this exercise is not one of the least meritorious, because it mortifies our pride. If, in the exercise of our duties, we contract a sickness, or shorten our life, we must bless the Lord for it, and suffer with a joyful heart. Love and respect for Divine Providence and charity towards ourselves oblige us to abstain from such practices of penance as would undermine our health for, as it would betray effeminacy on our part to have too much care for our health, so, on the other hand, it would be cruel pride to neglect such care altogether. As the soul cannot carry the body when fed too well, so, on the other hand, the body when fed too little cannot carry the soul. Let the body be treated like a child; let it be chastised, but not killed. It is related in the life of this saint that he used to abstain from such mortifications as were likely to endanger his health. Now, if it is our duty to take care of our body, it is far more our duty to take care of our soul. It is especially by caring for our soul that we show true love towards ourselves.

But what does it mean to take care of our soul ?
It is to use every means in our power to save and sanctify our soul. The usual means are prayer, meditation, the frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist, the mortification of the senses, exterior and interior recollection, the control of our passions, the performance of good works, especially of such as are prescribed by the commandments of God and his holy Church.

In laboring for our sanctification, our chief object should be to glorify God in this world and in the next. "For," says St. Thomas, " the ultimate and chief end for which God created heaven is that we may glorify God in heaven. The glory which we are to receive should be only the secondary object which we have in view in laboring for our salvation and sanctification. It is but the means to reach the principle end. No one can glorify God in heaven but he whom God glorifies. It is, therefore, self deception, and self-interest to labor for our salvation only for the sake of the glory which we are to receive." The object of our Saviour's life on earth was to glorify his heavenly Father, in order that the Father in turn, might glorify his Son. "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now glorify thou me, Father, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee." (John, xvii., 1, 4, 5.) If we in imitation of our dear Saviour, pass our life in glorifying God, that God may also glorify us, we have indeed true supernatural love of ourselves the love of hope which prompts us to love God as our supreme good and reward, and the love of charity which makes us love God and ourselves in him and for him, and causes us to refer all things to his glory. As the true love of ourselves consists in loving ourselves in God and for God, so the true love of our neighbor consists in loving him in God and for God. When we recommend a dear friend to any one we usually say: "The kindness you show him I will consider as a favor conferred on myself." In like manner, when our Saviour declared that "the second commandment is like to the first," he wished to give us to understand that the love which we bear him should induce us to love our neighbor also. "If thou lovest me" said Jesus to St. Peter, "feed my sheep" (John, xxi., 17) ; that is to say : If you really love me, you will show your love by taking good care of my sheep ? Our Saviour has substituted our neighbor for himself. He wishes us to bestow on our neighbor the charity and gratitude which we owe to God himself. He has transferred to our neighbor all the claims that he has on us and he desires us to pay to our neighbor all that we owe to himself. "As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt,, xxv., 40.)

Our dear Lord calls this precept of charity especially his own commandment. "This is my commandment, that you love one another." He calls it his commandment, to teach us that this precept of charity is the foundation of all his heavenly doctrines, the sole object of his coming into this world, the sole aim of all his labors and sufferings. "I have come," he says, " to cast fire upon the earth (the fire of charity), and what will I but that it be enkindled." (Luke, xii., 49.)

Not satisfied with calling the precept of charity his own commandment, our dear Saviour calls it also a new commandment. "I give you," he says, "a new commandment." (John, xiii., 34.) But how is it new ? Is not the precept of charity as old as the world ? True ; the precept of charity, in general, and in a certain sense, is as ancient as the world. The law of charity is a law of nature. It is a law engraven on the heart of every man, that he must act towards others as he would wish that they should act towards him. But this law of nature was more or less obscured by the passions of men. Hence Christian charity, or that kind of charity which Jesus Christ commands, is a new commandment. It is new as to the spirit and perfection with which it is to be observed. We are to love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." (John, xiii., 34.) I have given you my entire self, all that I am and all that I have. I am now going to sacrifice my life on the cross for you and all men. I wish you to follow my example and to love one another with true, with divine, that is with a universal, love. My love is not limited by sympathies and aversions, by natural inclinations and antipathies, by ingratitude and hatred. My heart embraces all mankind. As I am infinite goodness itself, it is my pleasure to do good to every man who is my image, my subject, my work, and my child. There is no one whom this love of mine does not overshadow ; there is no one to whom I have not given all that is necessary for his temporal welfare; no one whom I have not enlightened by my inspirations, assisted by my grace. I have given to every one an angel to watch over him. I desire the salvation of all. I have given to each one the means of salvation. I have given to each one the sacraments of my Church. I have created each one for heaven. I gave you an example of this charity in the parable of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan did not ask the wounded man what country he was from whether he was a Greek or a barbarian. He did not wait for others to perform the duties of charity towards the poor stranger. He did not say : "It is the duty of priests and Levites to take care of this man; I can do nothing for him.  "He did not offer his ignorance of medicine as an excuse for abandoning the wounded man. He did not excuse himself on account of the danger he would incur of falling into the hands of the robbers if he delayed. He did not spare his wine and oil. He placed the sick man on his horse, and walked himself. He took the wounded man to an inn and defrayed all his expenses there. It is thus you must love all men, without exception. You must exclude no one from your love. You must do good to the most wretched and forsaken. "If you love one another," says Jesus, "all men will know that you are my disciples, and that I was sent by my heavenly Father." (John, xiii., 35.) "And not for them (the apostles) alone do I pray, but for them also who, through their word, shall believe in me, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."; (John, xvii., 20, 21.)

When St. Pachomius was yet a heathen soldier and noticed the cheerfulness with which the inhabitants of a certain place assisted the soldiers in their distress, he asked who those persons were who so cheerfully assisted others. He was answered that they were Christians whose religion obliged them to assist every one to the best of their power. This answer made a deep impression upon Pachomius. He felt convinced that a religion which inspired so universal and so disinterested a charity, must be divine, and he immediately became a Christian.

If we wish, then, to comply with the precept of charitv, we must behold our neighbor in the heart of Jesus Christ. There we will find our neighbor, and Jesus loves him so much that he died for him. He, therefore, who fixes his eyes upon the heart of Jesus, cannot help loving his neighbor truly. He, on the contrary, who looks at his neighbor out of the heart of Jesus, runs the risk of loving him with neither pure nor constant love. If we love our neighbor in God, our love becomes only the more intense and more perfect. This motive ennobles our affections and transforms them from natural into supernatural, from human into divine, from temporal into eternal. Mere natural friendship does not last long, because its foundation is unsteady. At the first misunderstanding the mere natural cools and dies. But this does not happen in friendship which is founded in God, because its foundation is firm and solid. The bond of divine charity alone can keep our hearts united.

You will find men, void of divine charity, slaves of their passions, who affect, when it suits their purpose, great religious zeal and purity. They talk of "Philanthropy," and "Humanity," show great compassion for a lame horse, and give the cold shoulder to the houseless orphan. The hearts of such men are cold and insincere. They are often addicted to shameful secret crimes. By their bad example and their impious principles, they cause the ruin of thousands of souls.

See what secret societies do to entice unwary Catholics into the lodges. They promise them assistance in all their temporal necessities; they promise them work; promotion to government offices, lucrative employment, and so on but it is false, poisonous charity ; it is but a bait thrown out to ensnare them to rob them of their faith, of God, of heaven, and draw them into everlasting perdition : it is but a hellish malice under the cloak of charity. These secret societies are a device of satan who wishes to bring men to kneel down and worship him. "All these kingdoms and their glory will I give thee," said the devil to our Saviour, "if falling down thou wilt adore me." (Matt., iv., 8, 9.)

Now, though we are obliged to love all men as our selves, yet we are not bound to love our neighbor more than ourselves ; we are not obliged to prefer his welfare to our own. The only exception to this is when our neighbor is in extreme want and the good he possesses is of a higher order than ours. Now, the order of our spiritual and temporal goods is:

1. the spiritual life of the soul the life of grace;
2, the temporal life of the body;
3, our good name ;
4, our wealth and temporal possessions.

If our neighbor, then, is in extreme want, we are obliged to prefer our neighbor's spiritual salvation to our temporal life: his temporal life to our reputation, and his reputation to our wealth and temporal possessions.But we must bear in mind that we are thus bound only when our neighbor is in extreme want. If he is not in such necessity, we are not bound to prefer his welfare to our own, even though his good should be of a higher order than ours. Should my neighbor, for instance, unjustly attempt to take my life, it is no sin for me to kill him, if I have no other way of saving my life; for, in such a case, I am allowed to prefer my temporal life to the spiritual life of my neighbor, for he is not obliged to kill me.

To be continued . . . . . . .

For those of you who may have been reading the chapter book "Lisbeth" we have finally gotten around to putting on the next chapter.  I'm so sorry we haven't been regular in posting the chapters.  Hopefully we can add a chapter a week to finish the book.  You can find it here.

 The time was near at hand when the Saviour of the world was to suffer for mankind: when the occurrences took place which are related in the gospel of this day. Our Lord was  coming from Bethany and going to Jerusalem; He was to suffer the death of the cross for fallen man.

The news soon spread through the city that Jesus, the great prophet, was about to enter the town, and great was the stir that this news produced. The people came in crowds to the city gates; with palm branches in their hands they met Him, and cried out, "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." And wherever He passed they spread a carpet of trees, green leaves, and flowers; they even spread their garments on the ground that He might walk on them. Everything and everybody had put on a festive appearance, and great joy was manifested by all at this public entry into Jerusalem. But, wonderful to relate, Our Lord was not filled with joy at this triumphal entry. He was sad; tears fell from His eyes. Why was this? Because He saw that in a few days this very multitude of people would reject Him; now they believed in Him, but soon they would lose their faith and cry out for His crucifixion. He remembered the many miracles He had wrought, the many kindnesses and graces He had bestowed on them, and the black ingratitude they gave Him in return for all He had done; and this came so vividly to His mind that He wept over the city.

Just as Jesus wept over that ungrateful city of Jerusalem, is He pressed to weep over many Christians, and over the growing generation of young people. Can it be that there are people who make Jesus weep over them? Yes, indeed, and many even among us grown people; we are so easily led astray that the sufferings of Our Lord count as nothing to us. There are many who care nothing for His graces and favors, who disregard, outrage, and offend Him. Who is there that has
not committed sin? And if you have sinned you are the cause of the tears of Our Lord; and if you have sinned often, so often have you made Him say: "I have brought up children and exalted them, but they have despised Me." I have brought up children and given them so many manifestations of My goodness both in the spiritual and natural order, and now that they have grown up they refuse to serve Me; they are worse than the children of infidels. They are the children of the Church, fed by the Bread of angels, and yet they have all the vices of those that are totally ignorant of Me.

The old bishop, St. Polycarp, was accused at the tribunal of the proconsul of being a follower of Christ; and neither by prayers nor threats could his persecutors make him deny his faith. Finally the Proconsul proposed that if Polycarp would pretend to blaspheme the name of Jesus, he should not only be allowed to go back to his see, but there should also be heaped on him honors and riches. To this the old bishop answered: " Eighty-six years have I served the Lord, and during all that time He never did me any wrong; on the contrary He has shown me many favors. Is it reasonable that I should deny my Lord?" In the meantime the stake at which he was bound was set on fire, and Polycarp, full of joy, died a martyr's death. You ought to do the same thing; when the occasion of sin presents itself, you, too, ought to say, "God has never done me any injury; on the contrary He has heaped on me many benefits; how can I be so ungrateful as to disobey Him? "

Our Lord and Redeemer, with tears in His eyes, said of the Jews: "Jerusalem, if thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace, but now they are hidden from thy eyes!" Indeed the Jews did not know the graces which Our Lord had offered them. He offered them conversion, but by their own fault and malice they refused to listen to Him.

By miracles, by prophecies, and by His own words proved from the Old Testament, Our Lord demonstrated that He was the promised Redeemer; but the Jews did not want to know it and closed their eyes to all evidence. This made them unworthy of any extraordinary graces by which their eyes might be opened to the truth. The same thing happens to us when we obstinately refuse grace. "They have eyes and see not, ears and hear not." We abuse the graces given to us, and it is our own fault if we are abandoned to our obstinacy and self-will. When the sinner falls into this dreadful state by his own fault, he makes no effort to arouse himself from his fatal sleep. The ministers of God try to bring him to his senses by prayer, by preaching, by kind and loving threats of the eternal punishment, of the Last Judgment, but he remains obstinate; friends and parents will give advice, but all to no purpose. His heart is hardened. Salutary punishments come upon him in this life, sickness, troubles, mishaps of all kinds, but he will not see that they are meant as graces. Almighty God, seeing that all chastisements and blandishments are in vain, will say, "I have ordered your destruction because you have not profited by My visitation."  Thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.' From henceforth I abandon you, no more will you feel My kind reprimands, no more will light be sent to you, you will fall deeper and deeper; you will die in your obstinacy and come before My judgment-seat, when you will hear Me condemn you to everlasting torment."

Have a care, my dear young friends, not to deserve this severe sentence. Jerusalem was a city dear to Our Lord. What a fair city, a picture of the heavenly Jerusalem, would  she have been, prominent on the beautiful hills of Palestine, had she acknowledged the Lord! "What should I have done for My vineyard, and I have not done it?'' Yes, the greater the graces which God has bestowed on you, the greater should be your efforts to correspond to them. You have been like favorite children, who have received many kindnesses; but you disobeyed God and defiled your sacred bodies by abominable sins. Could not Our Lord say, "If youths less favored than you had done this, I should not wonder, but that you, after so much kindness, should do it, I will not overlook." When the sinner is thus abandoned by God, the same dreadful ruin will happen to him as was foretold of Jerusalem: "For the days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round: and straiten thee on every side: and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone."

Voices were heard in the Temple, shortly before its destruction, "Let us go away from here, let us leave this place." The angels shall fly; the devils will gather about in numbers; then will be terror and fear of what is to come. The sinner will cry out for mercy, but the Lord will no longer listen to his lamentation. His cries do not proceed from a penitent heart, but from the anguish of despair. Did not almighty God give you sufficient caution all your lifetime, did He not say that He would let you die in sin? The hour has now arrived. Hear Him say: "For a long time you did not think of Me, neither will I turn My thoughts on thee: I leave you now in the power of Satan, to whom you have given your body and soul, and whose bidding you were so anxious to do." If you are in the state of mortal sin, be converted, turn not a deaf ear on God. "Now is the time of your salvation. This may perhaps be your last chance. You have been deaf to God through your life, and God will be deaf to you at your death."

This was the salute which a saint gave to a great sinner whom he met; he had often tried to convert him, but all in vain, and these were the last words he spoke to him. When Our Lord came into Jerusalem on the day of His triumphal entry He went directly to the Temple to preach to those who had welcomed Him. When He reached there He found a great bustle going on; people were buying and selling in this place consecrated exclusively to the worship of God. Our Lord was angry and, making a scourge of ropes, He chased the wretches from the Temple, saying: "My house is the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."

Our Lord appeared severe to all who saw Him, but He wished to impress on their minds a very salutary lesson: scrupulous respect for the house of God. The good Jesus, who on all occasions was so mild and so meek, that He said of Himself, "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart" was indignant. The zeal of the Lord glowed in His soul and He arose in His might and chased the buyers and sellers from the sacred place. Should Our Lord come personally into our churches, what would be His conduct toward some of us, my dear young friends? He would there find His wrath rising within Him, and would chastise those whom He found there; or drive out of the house of God young people who, instead of praying, talk, laugh, and ridicule their neighbors. The house of God is the house of prayer, and should not be used in any other way. Remember what St. Paul says: "If any man violates the temple of God, him shall God destroy."

Let us learn, then, from this severe act of Our Lord how necessary is respect for the place of His habitation on earth. Enter with faith, keeping vividly before your mind that Christ is really present; that this is the great palace of the King of heaven and earth, and that if we would behave in a respectful manner in the palaces of the great of this world, we should also act, but with more seriousness, in the house of God. Enter it with fear and trembling, for God is there and naturally you should fall on your face in prayer and adoration; enter it as the angels would, who come before the face of Jesus with a fervent love for Him.

Another sermon for the children can be found here: http://www.crusaders-for-christ.com/sermons-for-children/category/9th%20sun%20after%20pentecost832e815b77

This was sent to me by a reader and I thought I would share it with all of you.  It gives much food for thought when it comes to society and our children.  I just found out that I'm going to be a grandma for the first time.  I'm so happy!  I want my grandchildren to grow up with memories like the first generation in the video.   May God bless all of you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30FQJJ3kHok&feature=youtu.be

The sermon for this 7th Sunday after Pentecost from, "Sermons for Children" can be found here.

 5. How many kinds of love of God are there ?
Two kinds:
1.  perfect love, which is to love God for his own sake  and
2.  imperfect love, which is to love God for the sake of his gifts.
The manner of doing a thing may be perfect or imperfect. It is perfect when the end proposed is fully attained; it is imperfect when, though we do not attain the end, we endeavor to do all in our power to succeed.

Now, the end and object of the precept of charity are to love God with all the powers of our soul and body, and to be united to him in such a manner as to find it impossible to wish, to seek, or to love any thing but him, so that God is all our joy, all our honor, all our wisdom, all our riches, all our happiness. Such perfect love, however, is found only in heaven.

The moment a soul enters heaven, God communicates and unites himself to it as far as it is capable, and according to its merits. He unites himself to the soul, not only by means of his gifts, his lights and his loving attractions, as he does in this life, but he also unites himself to the soul, by his own essence. As fire penetrates iron, and seems to transform it entirely into fire,so does God penetrate the soul, and fill it with himself, in such a manner that, though it does not lose its own essence, yet, it is so replenished by God and buried in the immense ocean of the divine essence, that it finds itself, as it were, absorbed and transformed into God.

This spiritual union with God causes the soul to languish with love. It remains immersed in the infinite goodness of God; it then forgets itself, and, being inebriated with divine love, thinks of nothing but God. (Ps. xxxv. 7 9.) As one who is intoxicated forgets himself, so does the soul in heaven think only of loving and pleasing God. It desires to possess him entirely, and it really possesses him without the fear of ever losing him ; it desires to give itself entirely to God ; it really does so, every moment and without reserve. God shows the soul his love, and will continue to do so for all eternity ; and the soul loves God infinitely more than it loves itself. Its heaven consists in
the knowledge that God is infinitely happy and that his happiness is eternal.

Here it may be objected that love united to the desire of reward is not the love of true friendship, but rather the love of self. "I answer,"  says St. Alphonsus, "that we must distinguish between temporal rewards promised by man, and the reward of heaven which God has promised to those that love him. The rewards of men are distinct from their own persons, for they never bestow themselves, but only their goods; whereas the chief recompense which God bestows upon the blessed is himself." (Gen. xv., 1.)

To desire heaven is to desire God who is our last end. St. Francis de Sales says that supposing there were an infinite goodness, that is, a God to whom we did not in any manner belong and with whom we could have no union, no communication, we would undoubtedly esteem such a God more than ourselves; we might have even the desire of loving him,  but we could not love him in reality because love looks to union with the object beloved. Our soul will never be entirely at peace until it is perfectly united to God in heaven. It is true that those who love God enjoy peace in conforming to the divine will; but they cannot enjoy perfect rest in this life, because such rest is obtained only in heaven where we will see God face to face, and where we shall be consumed with divine love. As long as the soul is not in full possession of God, it is restless, it sighs and mourns. (Isai.xxxviii., 17.) The good which I expect is so great, says St. Francis of Assisium, that every pain is to me pleasure.

These ardent sighs and desires to be united with God and possess him in heaven, are so many acts of perfect charity. St. Thomas teaches that true charity does not exclude the desire of those rewards which God has prepared for us in heaven; because the principle object of our desire is God, who constitutes the essential happiness of the blessed, for true friendship desires the full possession of the friend. Such is the reciprocal communication expressed by the Spouse in the Canticles. (Cant, ii., 16.) In heaven God bestows himself upon the soul, to the extent of its capacity and according to the measure of its merits. The soul, on the other hand, gives itself entirely to God, it acknowledges its own nothingness in comparison with the infinite loveliness of God. It sees that God deserves to be loved infinitely more than it can love God. Hence the soul is more desirous to please God than to please itself. It rejoices at the glory it receives from God; but rejoices because God is thereby glorified. At the sight of God the soul feels sweetly constrained to love him with all its strength. The soul loves God so much that, were it possible, it would rather suffer all the pains of hell, with the privilege of loving God, than enjoy all the delights of heaven without God's love. The soul knows that God is infinitely more deserving of love than itself, and therefore it has a much greater desire to love God than to be loved by him. Hence the desire of going to heaven to enjoy and to please God, by loving him is a pure and perfect love. The pleasure which the blessed experience in loving God, does not affect the purity of their love; for they are much more pleased with the love which they have for God, than with the satisfaction which they find in being loved.

In this life, such perfect love is impossible. We can only sigh and aspire after it. The cares, and wants, and trials of this life are an obstacle to such perfect charity; they prevent our hearts and souls from being lifted up to God in perfect love. In this world, says St. Thomas Aquinas, man cannot perfectly fulfill the precept of loving God. None but Jesus Christ, who was the Man-God, and Mary who was full of grace and free from original sin, observed this law perfectly. As for us, unhappy children of Adam, our love for God is always mingled with some imperfection. The love that God requires of us in this life consists in being determined to renounce health, wealth, honors, all the goods and pleasures of this world, and even life itself rather than forfeit even for an instant the friendship of God. This kind of love God requires of us when he says : "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole mind, with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength," and this command is binding under pain of mortal sin.

By this same commandment God also requires, at least under pain ot venial sin, that we should consecrate to him all our affection. He does indeed not command us to love nothing but him, but he does command us to love nothing apart from him, to have no affection for any thing except for his sake. It is in this manner that many just and holy persons love God. It was this divine love that urged the Apostles to go even to the extremities of the earth to announce the Gospel. "l am sure," exclaims St. Paul, "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities. . . . nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God." (Rom. viii., 38, 39.) It was this divine love that encouraged the holy confessors to enter the dungeons, and suffer there for their holy faith. It was this love that encouraged the martyrs to ascend the scaffold and shed their blood for Jesus Christ. It was this divine love that filled the deserts with anchorites; it induced kings and queens to renounce the crown and scepter and submit to the holy yoke of obedience in the monastery.

It was this love that induced thousands of tender virgins to give up all that this world holds dear in order to become the spouses of Jesus Christ, and they cheerfully endured every torment rather than to prove faithless to their heavenly Bridegroom.

There lived in the thirteenth century, in a certain town of Brabant, a pious maiden, named Mary. From her earliest infancy she consecrated her heart to God. Her good parents encouraged her in her virtuous life, and exhorted her to be very devoted to the Blessed Mother of God. When Mary grew older she renewed the vow of virginity which she had made in her childhood, and added the vow of poverty, in order to resemble more closely her divine spouse, who was so poor that he had not even where to lay his head. She renounced all claim to her lawful inheritance, and vowed to beg her bread from door to door. She even shared with the poor whatever alms she received. She thus led, for many years, a life of great hardships, a life of great virtue. At last God rewarded her, as he always rewards those whom he loves: he allowed great sufferings to come upon her.  

Mary was virtuous and modest ; she was beautiful and she was virtuous. It happens too often unhappily that great beauty leads to sin. Beauty and virtue do not always dwell together. Beauty is too cften; alas ! but the shining veil that hides a frail and simple heart. However this was not the case with the pious maiden. She was beautiful and she was virtuous. Mary was admired by all on account of her great virtue and her great beauty. There was especially one who not only a admired, but also loved her with passionate love. But his love was not pure, it was not from God. His love was base, animal passion. The demon of impurity took entire passion of his heart. This demon urged him on, and gave him no rest. One day this unhappy man met the pious maiden and disclosed to her the guilty passion that burned in his heart. He offered her gold and silver and costly garments; he offered her honors and wealth in abundance.

But Mary was not one of these frail creatures who sell their innocence for a gay dress, or a pretty ring. She shrank in horror from the guilty proposal. She told the wicked man that from her infancy, she had consecrated her heart to God, that she could never love any other bridegroom than Jesus. She exhorted him earnestly to think of death and to beware of the just vengeance of heaven. But the wretched man was blinded by passion ; he was deaf to every warning. The thought of gratifying his unholy desires alone occupied his mind. Day and night, waking and sleeping, this one thought, this one desire possessed him. He did not pray for strength ; he did not approach the sacraments. He gave himself up entirely to the power of the demon. In order to effect his guilty purpose, he hid one day a silver goblet in the sack of the pious maiden. He then went to her, boldly accused her of the theft, and threatened her with imprisonment and death, if she still continued to refuse him. Mary protested that she was innocent. She declared in a resolute tone that she would die the most cruel death rather than to offend God by mortal sin. Then the wicked man, in a rage, snatched the sack from her and drew forth the silver goblet which he himself had placed therein. Then, in malicious triumph, he cried out :

"Behold here the proof of your guilt. Now if you still continue to refuse me, you shall suffer imprisonment and death." The poor, helpless maiden grew pale ; she  trembled in every limb. She wept, and prayed to God for strength  and God, the comforter of the poor and the fatherless, strengthened her, and she answered boldly: "No, never will I consent to sin. I will rather die innocent than become the victim of your guilty passions." Wild with rage at seeing himself thus baffled, this wicked wretch swore that he would be revenged. His passionate love was now turned into deadly hate. This s always the case with sinful love. Sensual love turns sooner or later into deadly hatred. This we often see even in this life. This is especially the case with the damned in hell. Ah ! how those unhappy souls that once loved one another during life with sinful love, ah ! how they curse and hate one another in hell !

Holding the goblet in his hand, this wicked wretch ran in haste to the judge, accused the innocent maiden of theft, and, in proof of his accusation, he showed the goblet which he had taken from her sack. He accused her, moreover, of the fearful crime of witchcraft. He said that by her magic spells she inflamed the hearts of men with sinful love; that she had even bewitched himself, so that he could neither rest nor eat nor sleep. At first, the judge would not believe his words, knowing the unblemished reputation which Mary always enjoyed. He tried to defend her against the accusations of this wicked man. But this monster would not desist till Mary was taken prisoner.

One day, this pious maiden was at the house of her parents, praying and weeping in her great affliction. Suddenly the officers of justice entered, seized her, dragged her away with them and cast her into prison. In order to force her to confess the crimes of which she was accused, they put her to the torture. The innocent maiden was stretched on a rack, she was tormented in the most inhuman manner ; but she continued to protest her innocence. "It is true" she said "the goblet was found in my wallet, but I did not put it there, and I know not who did." "Do you not hear what she says," shrieked the accuser triumphantly;  "she acknowledges herself that the goblet was found in her sack. What more proof do you need?" "Yes,"  he cried in a rage, "she is a thief, she is a sorceress. Let her be put to death!"

Mary was poor, and the poor have but few friends on earth. She had no one to plead her cause, no one to defend her. Her accuser, on the contrary, was wealthy, and wealth has more power in this world than innocence and justice. Without further examination she was condemned to death. As she was being led to the place of execution, she passed a statue of our Lady that stood by the way-side. She begged permission to pray for a moment before our Lady s shrine. Her request was granted. And now she implored the Blessed Mother of God to assist her in her agony. She prayed for those who were the cause of her death, and begged God especially to forgive her accuser. She prayed, moreover, that all those who should visit her grave, might obtain relief in all their sorrows. She then arose from her knees and with a firm step walked on to the place of execution. All who saw her, wept. Even the heart of the executioner was touched. His hands trembled, his face grew pale, and the tears came unbidden to his eyes. "Holy maiden," he cried sobbing aloud," forgive me before I perform my sad task ; pray for me when you appear before your bridegroom, Jesus." "I forgive you from my heart," answered the innocent victim; "I forgive all those who have injured me, and pray that God may forgive them their sins."

Then Mary was bound hand and foot with heavy iron chains. A large deep grave was dug for her, and she like an innocent lamb was cast into the grave. The grave was then filled up with earth, and Mary was buried alive ! The executioner then took a long sharp stake, and, by means of a heavy sledge, he drove it with repeated blows through her tender body. O, what a frightful death ! This was, in those days, the punishment of all who were found guilty of witchcraft. The by-standers wept and trembled with horror, on witnessing the cruel death of the innocent maiden. Her accuser alone that wretched monster remained unmoved. Like an incarnate demon, he gloated in malicious triumph over her sufferings. But the justice of God overtook him. Scarcely had this wicked man left the place of execution, when, by God's permission, the devil entered into him and took full possession of him. He now began to rave and howl like a wild beast. He became so furious that he had to be chained to prevent him from doing harm. His hands and feet were bound fast with heavy iron chains and, as all were afraid of him, he was cast into a dark, deep dungeon. In this frightful state he remained for seven years. At last, his friends carried him to various shrines of our Blessed Lady, where many miracles had been wrought ; but the demon declared, in a rage, that he would never leave this wicked man till he had been brought to the grave of the murdered maiden.

Mary, the heroic martyr of virginity, was not long dead when God made her innocence known. Many miracles were wrought at her grave. The Blessed Virgin Mary herself was seen one night coming down from heaven, accompanied by a band of beautiful virgins. Thrice they went around her grave in solemn procession, and then disappeared. In consequence of this a chapel was built over Mary's grave and there many a sad heart came and found relief. Thither too this wicked man was brought by his friends, and instantly the devil departed from him. He was cured, and finally he repented of his enormous crimes.

To be continued . . . . . . . . .