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2nd Sunday of Advent - Jesus an Object of Scandal

12/9/2018

THE disciples of St. John came to ask of Jesus if He were the Messias so long promised to the . . . world. He answered them by working miracles, and added: "Blessed is he who shall not be scandalized in Me." What a sorrow it is to think that the amiable Son of God could be an object of scandal for any one! We will now consider how frequent is this scandal and how criminal it is.

First Point. — It is indeed strange that Jesus and His religion should be an object of scandal and contradiction among men; yet such was the prediction of the holy old man, Simeon: "Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many, and for a sign which shall be contradicted." Never has a prediction been verified with more constant precision. Jesus was an object of scandal for the Pharisees by the splendor of His virtues. These haughty hypocrites could not endure Him whose wisdom compelled them to blush. They wished Him to be considered as a Samaritan, a sinner, one possessed by the demon, and they put Him to death. His poverty and humiliations were a scandal to the Jewish people. These worldly people imagined the Messias to be a conquering king, who should reduce all other nations under His empire, and they refused to recognize the Messias in the humble Jesus. The Gentiles were scandalized at the Cross, which they regarded as a folly. He had been an object of scandal for the pagan emperors, who persecuted Him for three hundred years, in the person of His disciples. The bloody persecutions ceased, but the scandal still remains. Even in His Church Jesus is an object of contradiction. The incredulous are scandalized at the mysteries which their proud reason rejects, because they cannot comprehend His mysteries. The libertine is scandalized at the severity of His Christian morality, and which he pretends is above and beyond the strength of men. The heretics are scandalized at the undeniable authority of His Church, and raise against her the standard of revolt. And lax Christians, in still greater numbers, are scandalized at the abasement of His mercies; while slaves of a miserable human respect blush at His name and the duties which that name imposes. Such ingratitude is indeed revolting; but are you wholly exempt from it? Is it true that Jesus is not for you an object of scandal? You love riches and Jesus despised them; you seek after pleasures, and Jesus condemned them; you are fond of the world, Jesus rejected the world. How, then, can you say that you love Jesus, when you love nothing which He has commanded, but, on the contrary, love precisely what He has forbidden? In thus Jesus an living, you cannot deny that Jesus is for you an object of contradiction. While you do not despise His name, His doctrine and His love are a scandal for you! Yes, Jesus is a scandal for you, O vindictive man! because He has pardoned injuries; Jesus is a scandal for you, vain young woman, because He practiced humility; Jesus is a scandal for you, young man, because He has loved purity; and for you, who do not know how to obey or mortify yourselves, Jesus is also a scandal, because He has practiced obedience even to the death of the Cross.

O my Jesus, inspire in my heart a true love for Thee, that henceforth nothing shall be a scandal to me, in Thy doctrine. Thy life, or Thy humiliations. I shall strive to become like Thee by loving what Thou loved and by despising that which Thou despised, and by practicing the virtues of which Thou hast given an example.

Second Point. — To be scandalized at Jesus is a crime. What greater outrage can there be against God, than to be scandalized at His benefits, and to seek in His infinite goodness some reason for revolt against Him? In fact, what is it, says Bourdaloue, that scandalizes and disheartens us in the religion we profess? Precisely that in which God manifests His love for us. All those mysteries which shock our delicacy — those mysteries of a God made man, a God humiliated, a God persecuted, a God dying — are these anything else than the fulfillment of that grand word spoken to us by God Himself — ''God has so loved the world"... Pope St. Gregory signalizes and deplores this criminal conduct, when he exclaims: ''Man has taken as an object of scandal against his God the very things which should inviolably attach him to his God." In fact, it is evident, if anything were capable of uniting us closely to God, inspiring us with zeal for Him, and making us ready to sacrifice everything for His honor, it is certainly the thought that God has died for us and was annihilated for us. This thought has produced marvelous fruits in the saints — prodigies of virtue, heroic conversions, renunciation of the world, and dispositions generous enough for martyrdom. And what has done all that? The sight of the God-Man, and of a God sacrificed for the salvation of men. This it is which has gained their hearts and filled them with intensest love. It is also that which has been the occasion of scandal for certain Christians and induced them to lead an idle, impure, and disorderly life. At the sight of this disorder, Tertullian indignantly exclaims: ''Be scandalized, if you will, at everything, but at least spare the person of your Saviour; spare His cross, since it is the source of your life ; spare it, since it is the hope of the whole world.'' If it were the angels who were offended at it, or were scandalized, this would be in a measure tolerable, since Jesus has not suffered for them. But since it is for you that the Saviour has come, and for you He has wished to die, the scandal should recoil on you and upon all crea- tures." Learn, therefore, at the foot of your Saviour's cross, the sentiments with which the memories of His mercies should inspire you. See, in His voluntary abasement, not a motive for blushing, but a reason for loving Him. It is not necessary to be a Christian to reason in this way, but it is necessary thus to think to be a Christian. The more you enter into these sentiments, the more you will participate in the grace and spirit of Christianity; and in proportion as these sentiments shall grow less in you, so too will the spirit of Christianity decrease in you. Let the worldlings run after the world and its vanities, but as for you, strive to cling closely to the person of your lovable Redeemer. There is no salvation except through Him; love His teaching, love His example, and love His religion, and then you will not make a subject of scandal that which is the principle of your salvation and the foundation of your perfection.

O my Saviour, do not permit that I should ever be scandalized at what Thou hast done for me and the divine teachings Thou hast given me. Impress on my heart such a high esteem for Thy humiliations and sufferings, that Thy cross may be at once my strength, my guide, and my glory.

Source: Short Instructions for Every Sunday of the Year and the Principal Feasts, Imprimatur 1897

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Prayer to Obtain for the Children the Virtue of Chastity

12/8/2018

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O Most holy God! Who lovest purity and innocence, grant to my children the precious gift of purity. Woe to them should the vice of impurity take hold of their hearts! How miserable would they not be! O Lord, do Thou guard them! Keep with Thy powerful hand this monster far from them. Without Thy special help they cannot preserve the virtue of chastity. O God, grant them this help. By it let their hearts be like sanctuaries, unprofaned, undefiled by any impure thought or feeling; by it let their eyes be modest, bashful; their ears and mouth unapproachable, and closed to any impropriety in word and deed. By Thy grace fill them with hatred against whatever may be contrary to decency, and let them persevere, body and soul, in unimpaired purity, so that they may always stretch out to Thee pure hands, and that their bodies may continue to be hallowed temples of the Holy Ghost. O God, lover of pure souls, let my children belong to the number of Thy favorites; let the blessing and the happiness and prosperity which, according to Thy gracious dispositions, accompany holy purity come upon my children. Amen.

Holy Virgin Mary, most chaste mother and intercessor of pure souls; St. Joseph, most chaste spouse of the Holy Virgin; St. Aloysius, angel in the flesh; and all ye holy virgins and children, and all ye saints in heaven, assist me with your powerful intercession, so that the Lord, who has given you the grace of unimpaired innocence and chastity, may also bestow this same great gift upon my children. Amen.

Source: The Christian Mother, the Education of Her Children and Her Prayer, Imprimatur 1880

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More Precious Than Mountains of Gold and Silver

12/8/2018

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The most precious virtue we can have is that of purity and it isn't even thought of much anymore. Our society is saturated with impurity. One can't even go to the grocery store with out seeing immodesty. It is everywhere. It's a hard job teaching the precious little souls God puts in our care about this most important virtue.

AS I begin this talk there rises up before me a beautiful picture. I see the Blessed Virgin Mary as a little girl, sitting at the side of her mother, St. Anna, and listening attentively to her instructions. How well instructed Our Lady was! And when we think of her we think of all virtues, surely; but there is especially one that shines forth in her with unequalled splendor. Of this, the pearl of virtues, I am going to speak now.

A good child, as everybody knows, must be obedient, kind and gentle, devout and pious. And now I am going to tell you what else a good child must be-- something without which a child simply cannot be a model of obedience, gentleness, and piety. That something is the lily-like virtue of holy purity—a jewel among the virtues. Yes, a good child must be modest, chaste, and pure. Be sure of this, my little people, for you and for everyone else purity is the most important and most necessary virtue for happiness in this life and in the eternal life to come. Without it you will make no progress in goodness and will never amount to much of anything in any way. Words cannot tell how priceless this virtue is. It is more precious than mountains of gold and silver; all the diamonds and gems of the world are as nothing when compared with this pearl of great price-- holy purity.

We can best understand what purity is telling what impurity is. And what is impurity? You have seen lovely, snow-white lilies on the altar, haven't you? How beautiful, how fragrant they are! Now, take such a lily and throw it into the gutter, into the mud of the street, and trample on it. Then pick it up and look at it. That is a picture of impurity! How ugly! Rather than soil in the least the lily of holy purity you must avoid everything that would endanger it: companions, places, movies, books, pictures. As soon as you feel that a thing is not nice, have nothing to do with it. Be willing to lose everything, even life itself, rather than your pearl of great price. Remember that you are a temple of God and that the Holy Ghost dwells within you. Remember that your body is holy, that it was consecrated to God in Baptism, that it is sanctified in Holy Communion. You are like a church, like an altar. How dreadful it is to desecrate such holy places!

Now, if you would not keep certain parts of your body covered you would blush for shame; and others would cry, "Shame on you!" and turn their faces away. People cover such parts even when they go in bathing. And one who purposely and without necessity or for the sake of impure pleasure uncovers these parts on oneself or others or looks at them or touches them or lets others do this, commits a sin against holy purity. I t can quickly and easily become a big sin, too. Indeed, impurity is so hateful to God that it can even be a big sin only to think willingly and with pleasure of such forbidden things, or willingly to talk about or listen to such things when bad, wicked persons make fun of them or tell stories about them or sing immodest songs. Whenever you are tempted to do anything that is not modest, think of God and say, " I can't and I won't! God is watching me." You cannot go to any place where God and your Guardian Angel do not see you.

But suppose you have lost your pearl of great price already—then what? Ah, then you must not be discouraged and give up and let yourself go. No, never! You can get it back—the pearl of virtue regained. And while you are still young it is all the easier. The chains of bad habit are not yet so strong. You can break them now, with the help of Jesus and Mary. Just make a sincere and sorrowful confession. Your sins will be forgiven and he will help you, so that you never throw that lily into the gutter again.

But maybe you never soiled the lily yet. Maybe you can say—as so many can: "With God's grace I have always been chaste and modest and pure." Oh, how happy you are! You don't know how happy! You cannot imagine from how many sufferings and temptations you are free because of your purity. You have no idea of how lovingly the Lord of heaven and earth looks down upon you, and the Blessed Virgin, and all the angels and saints. Why, you could never even dream of the wonderful reward you'll get for your holy purity in heaven! But you will always have to be careful, always on your guard, especially in our day and country. The devil has traps set everywhere. He wants to catch souls in the net of impurity. So I'll tell you what to do in order to avoid his snares and those of his allies, the world and the flesh.

You must be watchful and keep strict guard over your senses and your imagination. In this you must be resolute and constant. You must carefully observe exterior modesty, especially when dressing or undressing, and also in toilet rooms. But remember that what is necessary for cleanliness or such like reasons is not sinful. Indeed, great cleanliness in this regard is a real help to holy purity. Fight at once all thoughts against this pearl of virtues by turning your mind away and having recourse to prayer; by saying little ejaculatory prayers for help; by pronouncing over and over again the powerful names of Jesus and Mary; by thinking especially of the eternal truths: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

And remember this well: it is no sin when these thoughts come, no sin to have them. They are temptations, and temptation is no sin, but an incentive to sin. As long as you do not really want them, as long as you do not entertain them, as long as your will does not consent to the temptation, you commit no sin. On the contrary, by bravely fighting the temptation you show your love for God in very deed and merit to receive from Him a hundredfold reward in heaven. If you happen to see or hear anything that is dangerous or immodest, turn away from it at once with disgust and refuse to think of it at all. Do not let yourself be led astray by curiosity. Do not keep thinking of such things. What you need to know will be told you in due time; and if there is something that you think you should know, ask it privately of a person who is able to inform you in a nice, helpful way—like Mother, for instance.

Never read a book that is not modest and that causes you temptations against the pearl of virtues; and do not even look at pictures in papers and magazines if they are not decent. Look out especially for bad companions, wicked and nasty persons, who show at once by their conduct and words that they are impure. If you see that they are a danger to others, report them at once to teacher or pastor or parents. Do not let yourself be fooled when children of the devil laugh at you or tell you with scorn that this or that is not a sin, and you know that it really is a shameful and immodest thing. Such persons are liars and deceivers!

Above all, pray every day for the grace of holy purity. Receive Holy Communion often. It is the very best means of remaining pure. And the next best means is devotion to Mary. It is a beautiful and well worthwhile practice to say the rosary every day just for the grace that your soul may ever be lily-like in its purity and your body ever be the unsullied temple of the Holy Ghost. If you cannot say the whole rosary each day you can at least practice the devotion of the three Hail Marys. Every morning, with your morning prayer, say three Hail Marys in honor of Mary's spotless virginity and for the grace of purity during the day. Then add the prayer: "O Mary, my good Mother, keep me this day from mortal sin." And every evening, with your evening prayer, say three Hail Marys for the same intention and add the words: "O Mary, my good Mother, keep me this night from mortal sin."

                                                                      Heart of Mary, bless the way,
                                                                       Keep us all by night and day.
                                                                        Heart of Mary, Mystic Rose,
                                                                          Send us all a sweet repose.
                                                                       Heart of Mary, Morning Star,
                                                                        Ward off danger near or far!
                                                                       Heart of Mary, by thy sorrow,
                                                             Keep us upright through the morrow.
                                                                         Heart of Mary, by thy grace,
                                                                      Give us with the saints a place.

Source: "Talks for Boys and Girls," imprimatur 1931

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1st Sunday of Advent - The Two Advents

12/2/2018

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First Point. - We are naturally led to consider the two comings of our blessed Saviour. The first, when He comes to save men; and the second, when He shall come to judge them. These two comings are attended by very different circumstances. In the first, it is a hidden God, who seems to fear manifesting Himself, and He veils His majesty under the charms of infancy. In the second, it shall be a terrible God, who will appear in splendor. His voice will resound as thunder, and will cause the powers of heaven to tremble. In the first coming the prophets represent Him to us as a gracious King, who comes in all kindness; but in the other coming, they show Him to us with thunderbolts in His hands and indignation in His face. At the first coming, the shepherds and wise men kiss His feet and contemplate Him with love, while the angels invite men to rejoice. ''Behold, I announce to you tidings of great joy." Angels also will come to announce Him at the end of time, but they will announce Him by a terrifying trumpet-sound, which shall awaken the dead in their tombs. At Bethlehem, everything calls for love and confidence, but at the end of the world everything will inspire fear and terror. At His first coming, the poor swaddling-clothes shall be the sign by which He will be recognized, but at His second coming, the sun eclipsed and the moon stained by blood shall be the signs of His advent. The first coming takes place in the silence of the night; the other, amid thunder and lightning. At Bethlehem, He is in a manger, in the stable; but then, He will be on a throne and will come in a brilliant cloud. What relations can these two comings have, so widely different in their circumstances and in their objects, that the Church, which does nothing except in profound wisdom, begins the holy season, when she prepares her children for the coming of Christ the Saviour, by the spectacle of Jesus as our Judge? She wishes that the remembrance of the one should serve as a preparation for the other. By fear of the judgments which Jesus shall render as sovereign Judge of the universe, she wishes to determine our rebellious hearts to profit by the mysteries of love which Jesus our Liberator will teach us. Fear smooths the way to love, and we shall understand better the benefit of redemption in all its extent when we shall be vividly impressed by the rigor of those judgments from which this benefit will preserve us. Let us, therefore, enter into the spirit of the Church, our mother, and by contemplating Jesus in the clouds which will serve as a tribunal, we shall dispose ourselves to adore Him in the manger which serves Him as a cradle.

Second Point. — Let us consider the signs which shall announce the second coming of the Son of God, and the principal circumstances which will accompany His coming. The sun will refuse its light to terrified men; the moon will appear as if stained by blood; the sea in frightful convulsions, threatening to overflow its barriers; densest darkness will cover the earth as with a thick veil of mourning; angels will come to announce that the end of time has arrived — the human race awaiting, in consternation, in frightful anxiety, the end which these sad signs foretell. However, the destruction of the universe is not the most appalling in the last scenes which will terminate all the scenes of the world. For what is it, after all, that the world should be effaced, when we know that it must perish? But on the ruins of the world, the Son of man, announced by so many prodigies, preceded by justice, surrounded by majesty, comes from heaven in all the pomp of His power, in the midst of the acclamations of the heavenly court, who attend Him! What a contrast between glory and destruction, between life and death! Behold the picture which the Prophet Daniel has made of it: "I beheld attentively, until the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days was seated. His throne was like flames of fire and its wheels of burning fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before Him. A million of angels ministered to Him and a thousand million stood before Him. The Judge is seated and the books were opened. I beheld one like the Son of man advance towards the Ancient of days; and they presented them before Him. And they gave Him honor, power, and kingdom, and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve Him. His power is an everlasting power which shall not be taken away from Him, and His Kingdom shall not be destroyed. My spirit trembled. I, Daniel, was affrighted at these things.'' And who shall not be terrified? O my God, behold me at Thy feet, seized with terror at the remembrance of Thy judgments! Have pity on me before the day of Thy vengeance arrives, for on that day there shall be no longer pity or pardon.

Third Point. — Let us consider the rigor with which Jesus shall deal towards impenitent sinners on the day of His justice. He will command His angels to separate the wicked from the elect, as if they were unclean animals. He will place before their eyes the iniquities which have stained their miserable lives; and when He shall have confounded them before the eyes of the whole world, He will turn on them the eyes of His majesty. But who could endure the weight of His avenging looks? How true it is to say that sinners shall implore the mountains to crush them and death to annihilate them! But no, this will not happen; they must endure the agony of His terrible gaze, they must live to render by their sufferings eternal homage to that justice which they have so shamefully outraged. To understand to what extent sinners are hideous in the eyes of God, it will suffice to meditate on the first word He will address them. It is a word of indignation and disgust: "Depart from Me," and His voice, like to thunder-sound, shall resound to the extremities of the earth. At this anathema hell rejoices at the victims which are given and the demons rush forth to receive their prey. A saint thought he heard a voice issue from the throne of God to plead the cause of the sinner, and the following dialogue ensued: "Lord, dost Thou not recognize the work of Thy hands, and Thy privileged creature? O my God, suspend Thy sentence and Thy vengeance. These whom Thou rejectest are the very ones for whom Thou didst die; they are Thy children, the heirs to Thy Kingdom." But He answers: "I do not know them! They have blasphemed My name, they have despised My love, they are ingrates. They have employed My very gifts against Me, and now I have cursed them. Depart from Me forever.'' " But, O my God, behold their tears, hear their lamentations. They form a large part of Thy children! Do not allow them to perish forever." But He answers: " Have they not outraged Me? Indeed they weep, but it is with rage, not in love. How often have I spoken to their hearts, how often have I tried to lead them back to Me, and they have closed their ears to My voice. Now I curse them, let them go far from My presence. Depart, ye cursed!"

O my God, I am not astonished, if the remembrance of Thy judgments has converted so many sinners, peopled the deserts with holy anchorites, and wrung tears from so many holy penitents. Is it possible to weep too bitterly for the faults which must be expiated in hell, unless they are expiated here on earth? My God, what shall be my misfortune, if, after having reflected on the terrors and the regrets which will follow Thy second coming, I shall not profit by the means of salvation which the first coming affords me ! Do not permit it, O my God, and grant that I may never abuse Thy love and Thy mercy.

Source: Short Instructions for Every Sunday of the Year and the Principal Feasts, Imprimatur 1897

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2nd Sunday of Advent - Jesus an Object of Scandal

Prayer to Obtain for the Children the Virtue of Chastity

More Precious Than Mountains of Gold and Silver

1st Sunday of Advent - The Two Advents

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