Our divine Lord went about, continually doing good to all; He instructed the ignorant, healed the sick, brought the dead to life, and freed those possessed of the devil. All these benefits ought to have made Him beloved by all; many did love the good Jesus, but there were others who hated Him, and were constantly persecuting Him. So far did their hatred go, that long before the time appointed by Providence for His death they sought to apprehend Him, and once indeed they even took up stones to put Him to death, but He made Himself invisible to them and walked away unmolested. His goodness was a stumbling-block to them. The same thing will be found among Christians; it is hard to believe, but there are Pharisees among us; there are people who hate those who are doing good. They do not wish to be good themselves, and they can not bear that others should be.

As soon as they hear that some one has distinguished himself by good works, they try to detract from his work; they talk against it, and blacken his character as well as the act itself.
This is so abominable and ignominious a disposition that you cannot find worse it is something of the nature of the sin of Cain. Abel, the good and pious husbandman had given to the Lord as a sacrifice the wheat of the field, and for this the fire of God's love descended on the offering and consumed it. So angry did Cain become, that he could no longer bear his brother, and conceived the terrible idea of murdering him. He invited him to go with him to a field, with the ostensible purpose of looking at something in which both were interested. There he took a club and killed Abel. What a horrible thing was this first murder, the result of envy. Could not Cain have been as good as Abel? One was better
than the other, and consequently God loved him more. Envy is the devil's principal vice, and one reason why he wishes to do so much injury to human kind. We manifest this same murderous disposition when we practice envy for any reason  whatever, but especially when we feel envious of others who are better than we are. It is a most disagreeable trait of character not to like the good qualities of our neighbor.

There are many young people who by jokes and ridicule lead others astray, and make themselves willing and effective tools of Satan. They diminish the number of saints in heaven and rob many of the society of Our Lord, and by destroying their chance of going to heaven make His sacred blood ineffectual in their case. Of such as these I would ask, do you not fear, do you not tremble, to heap up against yourself the anger of almighty God? Think of this seriously, cease your envy against your brethren who wish to serve God, guard against the ruin of souls by scandal, seek to encourage others to practice virtue, to bring many over to the following of Christ, and your reward will be exceeding great.

While the Pharisees were closely watching Our Lord, there was a man among the audience sick of the dropsy. Turning to the Pharisees Jesus asked them, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day?" Our Lord had often healed on this day of rest, but they had taken offence at it, and made it a cause of accusation. But now they did not answer. Then Our Lord took the sick man by the hand, healed him and sent him away. And turning to the Pharisees He said: "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit and will not immediately draw him out on the Sabbath-day?" And they could not answer Him. Our Lord could but pity the blindness of these men.

The Jews were such exact observers of the laws of the Sabbath-day that they even abstained from doing works of charity. Our Lord on this occasion wished to teach them that it was not wrong to do a good action on this day; in fact that it was the day on which such things should be done. Let me make a few reflections on the manner of sanctifying the feasts of the Church. The Catechism of the Council of Trent tells us that we sanctify the day by hearing Mass, receiving communion, and hearing the word of God. But what do our young people do on feast days? How few there are who give ear to the command of the Church to hear Mass; they would rather go and enjoy themselves, drinking and carousing: if they assist at Mass they are there only in body; their mind is engaged on subjects totally foreign to what is going on; their eyes wander here and there, they talk and laugh, even at the most sacred parts of the Mass, or when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed; month after month passes, even year after year, and they do not approach the sacred tribunal of penance or go to holy communion. They ought to hear the word of God, but do they perform this duty?

And even should they be present at a sermon, do they remember any of the salutary lessons given by the preacher? The sanctification of the feasts of God's Church is a positive
and clear command. We read in the Scriptures, that "the rest of the Sabbath is sanctified to the Lord." Are they not very wicked who do as they please on holy days or who commit sin on these days? What have they to expect from the judgments of God?

Once when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, preparatory to the time when they were to be admitted into the Promised Land, a man was discovered gathering kindling wood on the Sabbath-day; he was brought to Moses and Aaron and the assembled tribes of Israel. The decision was that he should be kept securely in prison until they had received word from God what was to be done. God's order was that he should be taken outside the camp and stoned to death.

This world was not made by almighty God simply for our pleasure, nor were the days given us for the same purpose; in short God has reserved to Himself certain days, which we should consecrate to Him. These occasions are like days of mercy and grace, on which, for a while, at least, we withdraw from the things of this world, in order to raise our eyes and our hearts to God. Sanctify, then, these days; do not desecrate them by unlawful work, by dissipation or by sin. I know that those who are advanced in years ought to  give you a good example in this regard. We often find avaricious old men and women, working at their trades or spending hours in playing cards, or in games. But be not infected by their wickedness. Even should unscrupulous employers or your parents command you to work on Sunday or a holy day, say openly and frankly, "I will not work ^I
will obey God rather than man.' '' Do not content yourself by doing only a little of God's will on these days; do all that is required for their sanctification. Hear Mass with great devotion and listen to the word of God preached by His ministers. See how our forefathers, even in times of persecution, observed the feasts of the Church! They descended into the catacombs of Rome, heard Mass, and went to communion; there they remained engaged in holy discourse, exhorting one another to give up life and liberty for Jesus Christ. The mother would point out to her children the tomb of a father, brother or daughter, who had given up life for Christ, and inspire them with courage to remain faithful to the end. Remember we are the children of the saints, and should live and die as they lived and died.

Our Lord wishes also on this occasion to give to the Pharisees a lesson of humility. It was their custom, on account of their rank and their pretended piety, to look for the places of honor at the table. The very humiliation which sometimes befell them ought to have taught them better. For often when one of them had taken the first place at the table the master of the house would be obliged to say to him, "There is a great friend of mine here who must sit at my side, so you will have to go down lower and make room for him." They should have understood that they ought to take the last place, and then, if they merited a better one, the master of the house would certainly ask them to go up higher; then they would be honored before all the guests. For "whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." Be humble, therefore; do not place yourself above others, nor try to make them stepping-stones for your own greatness.

No one can ever follow out these rules of the Gospel without prayer. By means of this powerful weapon, you will obtain humility and you will lead a happy life, for the more humble you are the more will you be exalted and freed from ambitious desires that rob you of your peace of mind. Remember that the more you shall be humbled and despised in this world the greater will be your reward in heaven.

Source: Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

       CHRIST RAISES THE WIDOW S SON TO LIFE
Behold here a bright, joyous and lively youth, snatched from the enjoyment of life by death. He is being carried out of the town to be buried, and he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Friends were walking after the bier, the disconsolate mother resting on the arm of a friend. The widow had suffered a great loss, for this son was her sole support, her help, her consolation; her sorrow affected the whole community, and all went forth to show their sympathy. It is absolutely true, and it seems foolish to state such a truism, that every man must at some time die.

"It is appointed unto men once to die." Death does not respect time, place, person or age; it comes at the appointed hour. Death will grasp those who are to be its victims in any place, on land or on sea, in the house, in the church, wherever he finds them, he cuts the thread of life and the end has come. In the midst of pleasure, many deaths are known to have occurred, even in the mad whirl of the dance.

Death does not wait for an opportune time; when you are ready, or when you have gained the object of your ambition, or finished a certain work which you were to do, day or night, it is all alike to him; old age, of course, has to go; youth is so frequently called that he cannot promise himself any time; the average life of man is twenty-two years, and even during this time you may be called upon at any moment. Neither is death restricted in the mode of his execution. He needs no fever, no convulsions, no consumption, in short no particular sickness; he cuts off the thread of life just because your race is over. Look at the fish still struggling in the water to gpt away from the angler; it is soon drawn to the shore, palpitating and jumping, and a few moments will seal its doom, soon all ,will be over. The net is perhaps enveloping as, too; we are as lively as ever and think little of death, but the net will be drawn to the shore and the end has come.

Many are called out of this world without the least warning. One drops on the road, another drowns, one is struck by lightning, another is cut down by the hand of an assassin; all these never dreamed that death was so near, and thought they had many more years to live.

Our Lord tells us the hour of death is very uncertain, for  He says: "Watch ye, therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour. ... Be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come." He even tells us that He steals secretly upon us.

"The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night.'^ Death may come to you in your sleep, or when you are at play. Cannot death as easily cut your life short when you are committing sin? And if death should come upon you without giving you time to prepare for the dread future, not even by a single good thought, what would become of your soul?  Might it not be possible that you would find yourself in hell? When this is possible is it not presumption and temerity to remain one day in mortal sin? Who of us, even for a short time, would like to lie alongside a corpse, and yet we go to bed without hesitation when our soul is dead in sin. Do we not know that mortal sin hastens death; for we read that " the sting of death is sin." It is not fasting, abstinence or mortification that shortens life, but the sins, the vices, the passions we are subject to. Those bad communions, those sacrilegious confessions, our cold ingratitude shorten our lives. "The years of the wicked shall be shortened," and again we read: He "was wicked in the sight of the Lord and was slain by Him." Of one who committed a heinous crime it is said "for that the Lord struck him, because he had done a detestable thing."

Once when Anastasius in his dreams was plotting great cruelties against the people, he saw before him a man of horrible appearance who had a book in which was written his sins: "See," he said, "I shall take fourteen years from the number of your days." Anastasius woke up, but was not certain whether he ought to treat the dream as a warning or as a foolish delusion. A few days afterwards thunder and lightning came down from a clear sky. Anastasius was terror-stricken, for an interior voice seemed to say to him that this terrible demonstration, was intended for him; thereupon he hid himself in a closet, but a stroke of lightning came down and killed him in his hiding-place.

Do not these texts of the Bible and these simple anecdotes prove to us that God has sometimes shortened the lives of sinners? We can conclude, therefore, that all sins, not perhaps so markedly, but as surely, bring about the same consequences.

And this ought to be a lesson to you, my dear young friends, for would you not call a halt to your sins if you knew positively that you were shortening your days by exciting the wrath of the Almighty, to say nothing of the sickness that indulgence in vice brings about?
The thought of the nearness of death is a salutary means to curb our passions. Look at the flower; no sooner is its beauty fully developed than its decay is at hand. Look at the waters of the fountain; for a while they sparkle in the basin in which they are born, but they soon run away and are seen no more. Look from your window at the glorious sun shining brilliantly in the zenith, and then setting behind the horizon for the night; remember that all this is a figure of death. Holy Job kept the memory of death in his mind, comparing it sometimes to the rapid passage of a runner, to the leaf blown along by the wind, to the flower, to the passing storm. But what conclusion does light-hearted youth draw from the short-lived pleasures of this world? On them there is produced no serious impression. If our life disappears like a speck of dust, let us enjoy it while we may. even though in doing so we sin. Ah, my dear young friends, this is all wrong; you should work as though this were the last day of your life; pray as though it were for the last time; go to confession and communion as if they were the last you were to make. This is the way to make your life profitable, and then the Judge will be a welcome visitor, because you are prepared for Him, and you have not been taken unawares.

"Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing." Wake up, my good young people, and do something for eternity; give up those vices and sins which will be your eternal damnation; bewail the crimes which have so far led you astray, and God will take you by the hand, raise you from death, and give you eternal life.

Source: Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

No man can serve two masters, especially if they give contrary orders, and are enemies, for we love the one and hate the other. In pagan times men used to adore Mammon as the god of riches in order that he would procure money for his worshippers. Mammon and God are enemies and are opposed to each other, therefore they cannot be served by the same person at the same time. You are, then, my dear young friends, this day to choose which of these two masters you will love and obey. The masters that lay claim to your souls are God and the devil. The world and the devil wish you to serve^ them! The devil seeks by promises of a happy, contented life, to gain yon to his side. Let me at the very outset tell you that these promises are false; while they appear to be good gifts they are in reality misfortunes. When the devil in paradise tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit he held out great inducements to them. " You shall be as gods" he said. But none of that happiness was ever realized; our first parents were cursed by almighty God, the sign of condemnation was set upon their foreheads, they were driven out of paradise and had to gain their bread by the sweat of their brows. Still the world will say, "Come, let us enjoy all the good things of this earth; crown yourselves with roses and enjoy the happiness and joyousness of your youth; I will make you contented and give you honors and riches." Great and brilliant are the promises held out to us by the world, and who knows but we will yield to them?

In that event our case will be like that of the prodigal son, who put himself under the mastership of the world' and the devil; away from his father's house he thought he could enjoy himself without interruption, but there came a time when, despised by all, he became a swineherd, poor, without clothing, and suffering from hunger, with not even the husks that were fed to the swine to eat.

Supposing that for some years you should enjoy life to its full extent, lawlessly and without restraint, what would your feelings be at the hour of death? You would then experience the most bitter remorse. A great man when on his death-bed had his young son brought to him. "My son," he said, "do not believe in the promises of the world as I have believed; let me impress two things on your mind that are absolutely true: one is, that you will have but little pleasure in this world, and the second, that you will have much sorrow if you have enjoyed those pleasures unlawfully.'' If the devil is your master in life he will certainly be your master in eternity; he will be your companion, and not a peaceful one, or one that you will enjoy, but he will torment you in every way that his cruel ingenuity can suggest. Looking at this master in this light, do you really want to serve him? And yet you do serve him when you imitate him in his wickedness.

Your other and your real master is God. He, too , is anxious that you should serve Him. He is yearning after your soul. He is a beggar of souls. How different is He from that miserable creature, the devil! how good and loving God is!  It is true He places a burden on you, but it is sweet and light. He desires that you take the cross on your shoulders and follow Him, and not only in the end, but even during your labors and trials, you will possess peace and consolation. You will understand that the serving of God is a calling so high 'and so noble that it is equal to a royal dignity. And when this life is at an end He will share with you His own glory in heaven.

What does it mean to have God not only on earth by grace, but to possess Him in heaven in all His glory? We cannot realize this while we are in the flesh; we see it only as it were in a glass. In heaven all your faculties will be full of life, your memory will be a life of universal recollection of the past; your intellect will understand the mystery of God's infinite goodness; your eyes will see heavenly and agreeable sights; your ears hear the most beautiful music. Is it not, then, really sad that we have to prove the necessity of the love of God, in order to induce us to do some-good; is it not awful that we should leave God and cling to that impious tyrant, Satan? There are so many people in this world who give Tip the service of God to associate with the prince of darkness, people who revel in wickedness and hate virtue.

You ruthlessly drive God out of your soul when you have a bad thought, or when you do a wicked action, and you set the devil up in your heart as its master and dictator. Say with determination to the devil, "Get behind me, Satan; never will I have anything to do with you;" but to God cry out, "Thou art the God of my heart and my portion for all eternity." Our divine Redeemer, after having told us that no one can serve two masters, that God must be served alone, gives us some clear and beautiful instructions which need no explanation. He says, "I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on God provides with munificence for the birds of the air, gives them what they need and keeps them alive. How beautifully He decks the field with flowers then how much more will He provide for us! Do not always think of earthly advantages, for the Gentiles, the pagans, and the worldlings look for these things. Still, notwithstanding all these promises of a good father, what anxiety do we not feel about the
comforts of life, our health; what fear we have of death. This is to a certain extent a want of faith and trust. "God, who giveth to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon Him,'' will not desert us, though sometimes the prospect looks dark and discouraging. Ah, I hear somebody say, God does not provide for me; I work for myself; but in things over which I have no power, in sickness or poverty, where is His arm? Let this be my answer: If you would remove all misery and poverty from this world, first remove sin, and there will not be so much suffering. Who are those that are poor? They are the lazy loafers who do nothing, the frequenters of drinking-places, who earn no money or spend their earnings in the saloon. Perhaps God strikes them with poverty to show them that they ought to act differently. The crimes of the human race are often the cause of its sufferings.

We read in Leviticus the threats that God made to the people of Israel, unless they remained faithful to Him: "I will quickly visit you with poverty and burning heat, which shall waste your eyes and consume your lives; you shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies." "Trust in the Lord and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches." If you have this confidence in God, He will be specially kind to you, and you shall want for nothing.

The saints have always had this trust in God, and even when  they gave away all they had, did they starve, or were they in want? They put their trust in Providence and were never disappointed. Let your greatest and first solicitude be to look for the kingdom of God and His justice, and all things else will be given you in due time.

Therefore look first for the kingdom of God. But, my dear young people, do we do this? Oh, there are so many who have their eyes constantly fixed on the earth and never raise them from it to look up to heaven. They think of nothing but this life, as if they were to remain here forever; as if the day would never come when they would be called out of the world; they are entirely occupied with the enjoyment of life; they have nothing before them but the goods and honors of this world. And thus they renounce their right to heaven; they seek not the kingdom of God and His justice. Poor, deluded beings! They are attracted by the false promises of the devil, which will never be realized, for these promises are further and further from fulfillment and the sinners pass their lives in a vain hope. My dear young people, be not deceived nor follow the example of the wicked; have your eyes fixed on God in all your work. "I am thy protector and thy reward exceeding great." The pilgrim pays little attention to the beauty of the scenery and the great possessions of the rich; his aim is to get to his fatherland as soon as possible; and we, following his example, should study the shortest paths to our celestial home. "Seek ye, therefore, first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you."
                                                        Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

We have posted a sermon for children under Catholic Reading then Sermons for Children. It's beautiful, gives much food for thought.