Category:

Fourth Sunday of Advent

12/15/2025

(From the Gospel.)
"And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Luke III: 6.)
We have now reached, my dear brethren, the fourth Sunday of Advent, and we may well say with the Church at this solemn season: "The Lord is nigh, come let us adore Him." But if we would adore Him in the proper spirit, we must approach Him in the proper spirit; with hearts purified from sin and attachment to sin; that our Lord, when He comes, may find nothing in us that can offend His infinite purity and holiness. This is why the Church, with her supernatural wisdom, has appointed a time of preparation, during which we may, by prayer and penitential works and self-examination, prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts in which He would fain set up His Kingdom. Accordingly, during the last three Sundays, the Church has read to us, from the Holy Gospels, the narrative of St. John, the Baptist's mission; how he was sent as an angel to preach the baptism of penance unto the remission of sins, and to prepare for the Lord a perfect people, who should be baptized, not with water only, but with fire and the Holy Ghost. Let us then go forth into the desert where John is preaching and baptizing; let us listen to his (preaching, and submit to his baptism of penance. (16.)

For, unless we do this, that is, go forth from the world into the desert, unless we make the service of the world subordinate to the service of God, so that it may be truly said of us, as of our blessed Lord, that in us the prince of this world hath not anything: (John XIV; 30) it is vain to hope that we shall listen to the preaching of the precursor; vain to hope that we shall bring forth worthy fruits of penance unto the remission of sins. Having then taken this first and all important step, let us consider, (for then alone are we fit to consider) the subject of the preaching which the precursor addresses to us. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight His paths.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight ; and the rough ways plain." Here, as in so many other passages of Holy Writ, the most important moral truths are conveyed to us in figurative language. But the figures used are so obvious and intelligible, that no one can fail to understand their application.

In that period of the world and amongst those nations, it was customary, when a prince was making a royal progress through his dominions, to dispatch forerunners before him, whose office it was literally to fill up the hollow places, and level the obstructions, and so prepare a road for him. Now this Prince is the Lord Jesus Christ; and He is about to make a royal progress through His dominions which are the hearts of His faithful servants. And, to this end, He would have us prepare the way before Him; that that desire of His may be fulfilled: "Behold, I stand at the gate and knock; if any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Apoc. lll; 20.) To enjoy this experience, all that is required is that we should remove those obstacles which hinder our Lord's entrance. Let us consider these obstacles.

I. 'Every valley must be filled.' By the valleys are signified the gaps and omissions in our daily lives. What is this life of man? It is not measured by hours and moments, but by his acts, the thoughts of his heart, and the works of his hands; these are the stuff of which life is made up ; these are the prices of eternity; with these we shall stand before our Judge; for these we shall have to answer. Now, of all our works some are good, some bad, and some indifferent. As to our bad actions, the wages of them is death; (Rom. VI; 23) whilst those that are good will obtain a recompense; and if performed in God's grace, and from a supernatural motive, will merit for us an eternal reward; and these alone are the works of which a Christian's life should be made up. For what other end can a Christian have in view, in all his actions, but the end for which alone he was created, the obtaining of his final happiness in God ? Setting aside, therefore, works which are positively sinful, and those which are supernaturally good, there remain all those works which are neither one nor the other. And let each one examine himself, whether his life is not almost wholly made up of such works ; whether he is not squandering the precious time which God gave him, upon indifferent ends. For, surely, it is squandering time to do anything whatsoever for any other end, but to glorify God and save our own souls. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God." (I Cor. X; 31.) How many are there who will barely devote a short time on Sunday, (and that not so much out of devotion as to avoid mortal sin), to the service of God, whilst all the rest of the week, from Sunday to Sunday, what is it but a huge valley, unbroken by a single supernatural act; a bottomless
abyss, whose depths are impenetrable to our eyes, but which God will one day light up and reveal with the light of His searching judgment.

II. 'Every mountain and hill shall be brought low.' Here we have to consider, besides our sins of omission, those great obstacles which pride creates in our hearts. Pride is the great enemy of God, and the great obstacle to sanctification. It is the fruitful source of all other sins, of all the infidelity, irreligion and immortality which make havoc amongst the souls of men. Pride is the first vice which we should attack in ourselves; it is the last which is ever vanquished. Other vices, such as impurity, intemperance, malice, can only live and thrive in the corrupt soil of actions, themselves shameful and corrupt. But pride can feed upon, nay, flourish upon our very best actions; and, therefore, it is a most insidious enemy, and much to be feared by all. Let us examine ourselves, therefore, also on this point : whether this odious vice displays itself in our thoughts, our feelings, our conduct towards others, or in the secret recesses of our own soul. For, if we allow this vice to take possession of us, and to rule our conduct, whether it be a mountain or a little hill, we shall not be fit to welcome our divine Lord. Indeed, there is a special feature in our Lord's coming at Christmas which shows us how utterly opposed is His Spirit to the spirit of pride. He comes as a little babe; the eternal Wisdom of God, by whom all things were made; He, who is Omnipotence itself, comes to us as a helpless infant, shut up in the limits of a human soul, and in the limbs of a weak child. He who spake and all things were made His utterances are the unmeaning babblings, the weak lispings, the plaintive cries of helpless infancy. What a spectacle for our pride! Why is earth and ashes proud? (Eccle. X: 9.) Surely, my brethren, did we but reflect on this, we should not want for motives of humbling ourselves. What can be more unreasonable than our own senseless, impious, blasphemous pride, whereby we deem ourselves to be something, whereas we are nothing. Away, then, with this huge mountain; and with every height that exalteth itself against God; and let us welcome our infant Saviour as infants infants in heart and mind, without guile or malice; for of such alone is the Kingdom of God.

III. 'And the crooked shall be made straight.' When the valleys have been filled up, and the hills laid low, we have yet to straighten the crooked ways. By this is meant the way of one who has not a pure intention in all his actions; of one whose eye is not single; who would like to appear just before men, but inwardly seeks himself and his own ends. (Math.VI: 22.) There are many such many who come to the Church and receive the Sacraments, and yet pursue a crooked path; who will not renounce this or that occasion of Sin; who love the danger, though they do not wish to perish in it; who try to make peace with their conscience, whereas there is no peace ; because their confusions have not been sincere, their repentance not genuine, their purpose of amendment weak or none at all. This is, then, another point on which we should examine ourselves. Let us search well the recesses of our conscience, and make straight their crooked ways. Let us serve God with simplicity
and singleness of purpose, and with purity of intention, and never allow ourselves to be turned aside from the path of rectitude by selfish, corrupt or human motives. Let our inward thoughts correspond to our outward actions; for "God searcheth the heart and the veins." (Ps. VII: 10.) He has said, "I hate arrogance and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue. (Prov. VIII: 13.) Again, "Woe to them that are of a double heart, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth two ways. Woe to them that have lost patience, and that have forsaken the right ways, and have gone aside into crooked ways." (Eccle. II: 14, 16.) Once more, let us imitate our infant Saviour in simplicity and candor; and become as little children; that we may prepare the way for our Lord to establish His Kingdom in our hearts.

IV. "And the rough ways plain." One more obstacle remains, the roughness of our ways. By which are meant the irregularities of our conduct, caused by giving way to every momentary caprice of humor, or impulse of passion. These are unworthy of a Christian, who ought to be able to say with the Psalmist: "My soul is continually in my hands." (Ps. CXVIII: 109.) We should cultivate that habitual self-control and recollection of spirit, which may enable us to check the impulse of passion ; and rule all our actions by the dictates of reason enlightened by divine grace. "Let thy eyes look straight on; and let thy eyelids go before thy steps." (Prov. IV: 25.)

Such, my brethren, is the work which every Christian must undertake, to prepare himself for the Kingdom of God. And such especially is our work at this time in order to prepare for our Lord's coming. Those only who courageously and perseveringly apply themselves to removing the obstacles in their hearts to divine grace can hope for a happy Christmas; where happiness shall consist in seeing the Salvation of God; that when our Lord comes, we may say with holy Simeon: "Now thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace; because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." (Luke II: 29, 30.)

Source: Sermons for the Christian Year, Vol I, Imprimatur 1910

0 Comments

4th Sunday of Advent - The Baptism of Penance

12/19/2021

0 Comments

GOSPEL. Luke iii. 1-6.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrareh of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina, under the high-priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of the Lord was made unto John the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

THE BAPTISM OF PENANCE
The day is close upon us on which the Messias, the Saviour of the world, the King of the people, the Prince of Peace, the Desired of nations, is to appear on the earth. Christmas is near. You, my children, must make every effort to prepare the way for the coming of Our Saviour.

When a great king is about to visit a city, what a commotion and bustle there is! Every one makes the most magnificent preparations in his power. Our duty is not to a monarch of this world, but to the King of kings, the omnipotent God of heaven and earth. You understand, then, that it is certainly necessary to make some preparation. St. John was sent to indicate what preparation is to be made, and you ought to think of his directions and follow them.

St. John the Baptist, by the inspiration of God, left the desert which he had inhabited for thirty years, and betook himself to the banks of the river Jordan. John, who in all that time had seldom spoken to any one, boldly began to preach penance, inviting the people who flocked to him to be baptized as a sign of the amendment of their lives.

"Do penance," he cried, "for the kingdom of God is at hand." Well fitted was he to preach that penance of which he had become master. His appearance indicated the mortified man; a girdle of leather bound his body; his shoulders were covered with camels hair; he lived in no house, but under the open sky, suffering cold and heat, winds and rain. His food was locusts and wild honey, water was his drink. Such a prodigy of self-denial from his very infancy, as if he came from another world, certainly drew the attention of the religiously inclined. Even soldiers and publicans came to him attracted by his austerity, and asked what they should do. Every condition of life was represented; every sex, every age; all were there, and repeated the same question. They confessed their sins and did penance. This is what you ought to do to prepare the way of the Lord.

I know indeed, my dear children, that while you have preserved your innocence it is not necessary that I should insist very particularly on penance; but what child is there that has not known what sin is, and therefore I am right in preaching penance even to you.

But I would certainly not ask you to do any of the heroic penances such as John the Baptist practiced. For great and older sinners great penances are necessary, and they have
practiced them, as you know from history. Mary Magdalen, St. Peter, St. Paul. The great act of penance which is required even of you is to make a humble confession at the feet of the servant of God in the confessional. But even this light mark of penance does not come easy to some young people who have already fallen into sin. After having committed the sins, they hide them in their breasts; shame closes their mouths to the confessor; when asked about them they deny having committed them. To such I will say: "It is either confession or damnation." The alternative is not hard to choose, but you will find many who would rather be damned than generously declare their sins.

The priest never thinks less of the penitent who makes a clear confession. A youth once went to confession to St. Francis de Sales. He had horrible sins to tell, but he confessed them sincerely and with sorrow. When the confession was over he said to the saint with a blush: "Father, what must you think of me when you hear of such enormous sins?'' "My son,'' answered the saint, embracing him," what do I think of you? I think you are a saint. A moment ago you were a real devil, but now God has pardoned you and you are a saint."

If this was the thought of a saint about his penitent, why should you blush 'to tell all your sins in confession? But should you still feel a repugnance when you go to confession address yourself to Mary, and she will obtain for you the grace of a sincere and open confession.

There was once a girl who had committed a fault and had not the courage to confess it. For eight years she carried that unhappy ulcer of sin about her on her conscience. Though she knew it was a mortal sin, still she went to confession and communion. Outwardly she was calm, but her heart was torn by unbearable remorse. She looked happy, but she was far from being so. At last on Annunciation day she knelt before the image of our mother Mary and cried most bitterly, begging her to gain her grace to tell this fault. She obtained the grace and lived a saintly life afterwards.

There are many who confess their sins indeed, but not with sorrow; it is only by word of mouth they detest them. What did you do when you committed that wicked deed? You offended a good God who has created you, preserved and redeemed you, and for no other reason than to satisfy the demands of a vile passion and degrading habit; and by so doing you deprived yourself of God's grace, you refused Him His honor and glory, you gave yourself over to the power of Satan. Can you find a youth who will take such a view of sin? Very seldom.

This is the kind of penance which St. John wants when he says, "Do penance. Bring forth fruits worthy of penance." And thus it is that the young man who has not a real sorrow for his faults continues to live in sin, and though ostensibly repenting of his sins commits them over and over. What kind of repentance is this ? True repentance demands a real sorrow for sin, and the resolution not to commit it again. What must be foremost in the penitent's mind is the hatred of sin, the abomination of that which is so evil, however pleasing it may be to our senses. What hatred is there for a sin that is committed again?

Let us suppose that a Jew is going to become a Christian. What great consolation such an event is to all. The day approaches when he is to be baptized. He goes to the church and there is a great feast made. But soon he returns to the belief of the Synagogue. What a disappointment, what a feeling of 'disgust, yes, even of hatred, at such 'a miserable wretch! If he believed in the faith of Jesus Christ, the true one, why did he leave it? If false, why did he become a Christian? But after a while he declares he believes again in Christ and yet, for a second time, he perverts and becomes a Jew. Would you say that he was ever a real Christian? No indeed; he pretended to be one, he was always a Jew, he never had the true faith.

Let us apply this to ourselves. Can you really call him penitent who today confesses his sins and says he repents of them, but who never, even for a moment, breaks off his attachment to sin, and to-morrow willfully commits the same sins again? Does he not clearly prove that he loves his sins? This is making a mockery of God. The Lord compares such repentance to the dog that returns to its vomit. St. Paul says that such people despise the kindness of God. Will those who thus continue to sin ever have the peace of God in their souls? Oh, no! The holy peace of a pardoned sinner God gives only to the just, to His friends, not to those who return again and again to their sins. Can they expect the blessing of God at the birth of the divine Infant? No, but they may be sure that maledictions will descend upon them.

My dear children, do all you can to prepare the way of Our Lord; with the Prophet Ezechiel I say to you, "Be converted and do penance for all your iniquities; cast away from you all your transgressions by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit."

With St. Augustine I call on you to prepare the way of the Lord by ornamenting your souls with the magnificent virtues of sobriety, chastity, and charity. You must make yourselves worthy to receive the loving caresses of the Child Jesus, not only by being sober in eating and drinking, but by being careful and sober in speaking, careful about the books you read. With sobriety practice purity, too. You know how highly Our Lord values that virtue, for He would have no other than an immaculate Mother and He Himself was called the immaculate Lamb. Your thoughts must be pure, also your looks, your words, your affections, and all your actions. By them show a pure and innocent heart. With all this you must not forget great love and charity, for what are all virtues without the love of God?

St. Augustine shows us in many places how we should love Our Lord. With this great doctor let us say, "I love Thee, Saviour, I desire to love Thee more. Thou art an infinite God and therefore Thou deservest to be loved with an infinite love. Sweet Infant Jesus, come to my heart, and do not delay any longer." Thus the saints loved, and the Child Jesus was so pleased with the tenderness of their love that He sometimes visited them and spoke to them words of love.

St. Gustave at the approach of Christmas felt such a love for the coming of Our Lord, that the Blessed Virgin herself came from heaven and placed the Infant Jesus in his arms on Christmas night.

St. Laurence Justinian, when he said Mass one Christmas, fell into an ecstasy at the consecration and stood there like one turned to stone. When the acolyte saw this, he went up to him and pushed him, so as to rouse him. The saint started as if wakened from a heavy slumber and said: "Why, yes, I will go on with the Mass, but what is to be done with
this beautiful child? ''

What a glorious thing would it not be to 'have such a love for Our Lord! We would then know how to prepare for the birth of the Child Jesus. We would hardly need any instructions, because love would tell us what to do. He would come and make His throne in our hearts. He would fulfill all our wishes, and give us great graces.

Source: Sermons for the Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

0 Comments

4th Sunday of Advent - The Dispositions for the Feast of Christmas

12/23/2018

0 Comments

WHEN a king wishes to go through his kingdom and visit his people, an armed herald .... precedes him and announces his arrival. Everything which might inconvenience his passage is removed; triumphal arches are erected in his honor, and flowers are strewn on the way which he shall pass. Well, the King Jesus is coming to visit us; already His herald has preceded Him, inviting you to do Him honor. St. John the Baptist asks of you, in the name of his Master, not indeed to cast flowers on His way or to erect triumphal arches, but he does require that you should fill the void which is in your heart and adorn it with virtues. "Every valley shall be filled." He indicates the virtues you must acquire; but there are two especially viz., humility, which shall bring down your pride, and a spirit of faith, which shall smooth your pathway. " Every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked ways shall be made straight."

First Point — The first disposition which the precursor demands in the name of his Master is humility. '' Every mountain and every hill shall be brought low." These two expressions seem to indicate two kinds of pride. The larger kind increases beyond measure, and seems to lift us up as a high mountain, the weight of which crushes everything else that is near it. This is the first pride of which we must divest ourselves. There is another, more delicate and hidden, represented by the hills, and seems rather to be self-complacency, that raises us above others. This pride, although less crim- inal, no less hinders the coming of the Saviour. If Jesus shall approach you, you must begin by hum- bling yourself in your own estimation. Pride, in all its shades, is the sworn enemy of the Saviour; it has occasioned the loss of the first man, and it is still the cause of all the disorders which disturb the world. Pride of independence is the source of revolts against superiors; pride of ambition is the source of the catastrophes which desolate society; pride of reason is the principle of incredulity which refuses the yoke of faith; pride of science is the cause of schisms which rend the bosom of the Church; pride of human respect makes us blush for our faith and abandon our Christian duties; pride of vanity begets love of the world, taste for dress, luxury, the ruin of families, and the loss of innocence. This must be sufficient to tell you the horror which pride inspires in Him who has come to destroy sin, which is, after all, the pride of our first father. Pride explains the humiliations of the crib, the thirty years of Jesus' life in the house of a poor artisan, the severity of a moral all abnegation and humility, the opprobrium and the humiliations of the cross; to oppose it not only are lessons and precepts necessary, but the force of example is required to remove every excuse and to confound forever all human vanity. Jesus might have been born in the palace of a king and in the midst of opulence. ''If He had wished it," says Bossuet, "what golden coronet could have encircled His head, and what royal purple could cover His shoulders!'' But He has not wished it. He has selected the other extremity, just precisely to teach us, by His example, loving humility. May you comprehend these great and exalted lessons, and, in the school of the divine Master, may you learn the practice of humility.

Second Point— The crooked ways shall be made straight. You find indicated here, under these symbolic expressions, one of those virtues which the world hardly suspects, but which the eye of God contemplates with pleasure; it is purity of intention or a spirit of faith. The man and the Christian, in their reflective acts, have always a motive which determines them. Man acts through self-love, through self-complacency, goodness of heart, or natural inclination; and these acts are wholly natural, without merit before God, because God rewards only what is done for Him. The Christian, on the contrary, finds in his faith the motives of his conduct. He acts for God. Having Him for the object, he wishes to please or glorify Him, and hence his acts are supernatural in virtue of this principle, that an action always participates in the nature of the motive which determines it; and his acts are meritorious before God, since they are performed for Him. When God depicts the just man, He defines him "a man who lives by faith." Jesus, the Just One by excellence, declares, that " His life is to do the will of His Father.'' This is also the life of a Christian who knows how to be faithful to his vocation; it is his glory, it is his true greatness. In fact, true exaltation presupposes continual ab- negation, and to impose silence on the passions; to put aside all interest or self-love, all inclinations and affections, and to seek in the very bosom of God the reason of our acts, of our judgments, and our affections. If this is not true greatness, then where shall it be found ? And precisely because this spirit of faith supposes higher exaltation, it is most rare among men. Not to speak of so many good, though worldly, men who multiply their good works through purely natural motives, how many are there, otherwise pious and regular, who are wanting in their conduct and even in their piety this right intention which seeks only God and His good pleasure? They are kind and good, but rather by their natural goodness of heart than by their charity; they are generous to certain persons, and yet without pity for others. They pray, it is true, but only to find consolation; they abridge or prolong their conversation with God, as they experience in it fervor or dryness; they are interested friends, to whom Jesus could well say, as to the multitude which followed Him: ''It is not for My sake that you follow Me, but in the hope that I shall again multiply the bread for you." It is true they confess and communicate, but it is through habit, or to do as others do, or to please a master or a friend; in a word, they act for others, rather than for God. These are the winding and the crooked ways which the holy precursor invites us to make straight. And so hitherto, perhaps, you have been charitable through caprice, goodness of heart, or through ostentation. Now be charitable to please God, who is charity itself, and to please Jesus, who is in the person of each one who suffers. Hitherto you have brought, perhaps, to the exercise of your zeal dispositions which are wholly human; good and anxious for some, but stormy and intolerant for others; you are ardent when successful, but discouraged when your efforts are sterile. Now seek the will of God, rather than success and the interests of self-love. Then you shall never be cast down. Hitherto you have sought in prayer, in confession, and in communion your consolations and your joys; and hence followed sadness, tears, and perhaps resistance, when your hopes were not realized. Rectify these views, which are wholly natural. Go to God with simplicity of heart, which always obeys when commanded, which submits when forbidden, and finds peace only in holy obedience; then you shall make straight the paths which shall conduct you to God.

Adorable Jesus, Thou didst come to this world only to enter my heart. Deign to enter there and take possession of it, and make it worthy to receive Thee. Enlighten me on everything which may render me displeasing in Thine eyes. Or rather, O good Jesus! create in me a new heart; fill up what is void, by adorning it with virtue; humble my pride, correct my perverse inclinations, that all the ways may be opened to Thee to come and reign in my heart and possess it forever.

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

0 Comments

4th Sunday of Advent

12/23/2012

0 Comments

ON this Sunday the Church redoubles her ardent sighs for the coming of the Redeemer, and, in the Introit, places the longing of the just of the Old Law upon the lips of the faithful, again exhorting them through the gospel of the day, to true penance as the best preparation for the worthy reception of the Saviour. Therefore at the Introit she prays: Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just. (Isai. xlv.) Let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Saviour. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. ( Ps. xviii. 2.)

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. Raise up, O Lord, we pray Thee, Thy power, and come, and with great might succor us: that, by the help of Thy grace, that which our sins impede may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Who livest, etc.

EPISTLE, (i Cor. iv. i 5.) BRETHREN, Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful. But to me, it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man's day: but neither do I judge my own self. For I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet am I not hereby justified : but he that
judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time, until the Lord come: who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise from God.

Why is this epistle read on this day?
The Church desires by this epistle to impress those who received Holy Orders on Ember Saturday with the dignity of their office, and exhorts them to fill it with becoming fidelity and sanctity, excelling the laity in piety and virtue, as well as in official dignity. She wishes again to remind the faithful of the terrible coming of Christ to judgment, urging them, by purifying their conscience through a contrite confession, to receive Christ at this holy Christmas time, as their Saviour, that they may not behold Him, at the Last Day, as their severe judge.

How should the faithful regard the priests and spiritual superiors?
They should esteem and obey them as servants, stewards, and vicars of Christ; as dispensers of the holy mysteries;
(i Cor. iv. i.) as ambassadors of the most High, (ii Cor.v. 20.) For this reason God earnestly commands honor to priests, (Ecclus. vii. 31.) and Christ says of the Apostles and their successors: (Luke x. 16.) Who despiseth you, despiseth me; and St. Paul writes: (i Tim. v., 17.) Let the priests that rule well be esteemed worthy of double honor: especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.

Can the priest dispense the sacraments according to his own will?
No, he must have power from the Church, and must exercise his office faithfully, in accordance with the orders of the Church, and act according to the will of Christ whose steward he is. The priest dare not give that which is holy to dogs, (Matt. vii. 6.) that is, he is not permitted to give absolution, and administer the sacraments to impenitent persons, under penalty of incurring eternal damnation.

Why does St. Paul consider the judgment of men a small matter?
Because it is usually false, deceptive, foolish, and is consequently not worth seeking or caring for. Man often counts as evil that which is in itself good and, on the contrary, esteems as good that which is evil. St. Paul says: If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Gal. i. 10.) Oh, how foolish, and what poor Christians, therefore, are they, who not to displease man, willingly adopt all silly customs, and fashions in dress, manners and appearance, making themselves contemptible to God, the angels, and saints. Recall the beautiful words of the Seraphic St. Francis: "We are, what we are in the sight of God, nothing more"; learn from them to fulfill your duties faithfully, and be indifferent to the judgment of the world and its praise.

Why does not St. Paul wish to judge himself?
Because no one, without a special revelation from heaven, can know if he be just in the sight of God or not, even though his conscience may accuse him of nothing, for "man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred." (Eccl. ix. i.) Thus St. Paul goes on to say, that though he was not conscious of any wrong, he did not judge himself to be justified, God only could decide that. Man should certainly examine himself as much as is in his power, to find if he has -anything within him displeasing to God; should he find nothing he must not judge himself more just than others, but consider that the eyes of his mind may be dimmed, and fail to see that which God sees and will reveal to others at the Judgment Day. The Pharisees saw no fault in themselves, and were saintly and perfect in their own estimation, yet our Lord cursed them.

ASPIRATION. O Lord, enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight no man living can be justified". (Ps. cxiii. 2.)

GOSPEL. (Luke iii. I 6.) In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius -Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina, under the high-priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of the Lord came to John the son of Zachary in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh
shall see the salvation of God.

Why is the time in which St. John commenced to preach so minutely described?
The Evangelist, contrary to his usual custom, describes the time minutely, and enumerates exactly, in their precise order, the religious and civil princes' in office, that, in the first place, it could not be denied that this was truly the time and the year in which the promised Messiah appeared in this world, whom John baptized, and the Heavenly Father declared to be His beloved Son. Furthermore, it shows the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Patriarch Jacob, (Gen. xlix. 10.) that when the sceptre would be taken away from Juda, that is, when the Jews would have no longer a king from their own tribes, the Saviour would come.

What is meant by: "The word of the Lord came to John?"
It means that John was commissioned by divine inspiration, or by an angel sent from God, to preach penance and announce to the world the coming of the Lord. He had prepared himself for this work by a penitential, secluded life, and intercourse with God. We learn from his example not to intrude ourselves into office, least of all into a spiritual office, but to await the call from God, preparing ourselves in solitude and quiet, by fervent prayer and by a holy life, for the necessary light.

What is meant by: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths?"
It means that we should prepare our hearts for the worthy reception of Christ, by penance, amendment, and the resolution to lead a pious life in future. To do this, every valley should be filled, that is, all faint-heartedness, sloth and cowardice, all wordly carnal sentiments should be elevated and directed to God, the highest Good, by firm confidence and ardent desire for heavenly virtues; the mountains and hills should be brought low, that is, pride, stubbornness, and ambition should be humbled, and the obstinate will be broken. The crooked shall be made straight, that is, ill-gotten goods should be restored, hypocrisy, malice, and double dealing be renounced, and our intentions turned to God and the performance of His holy will. And the rough ways shall be made plain, that is, anger, revenge, and impatience must leave the Heart, if the Lamb of God is to dwell therein. It may also signify that the Saviour put to shame the pride of the world, and its false wisdom, by building His Church upon the Apostles, who, by reason of their poverty and simplicity, may be considered the low valleys, while the way to heaven, formerly so rough and hard to tread, because of the want of grace, is now by His grace made smooth and easy.

ASPIRATION. O my Jesus! would that my heart were well prepared and smooth for Thee! Assist me! O my Saviour to do that which I cannot do by myself. Make me an humble valley, fill me with Thy grace; turn my crooked and perverted will to Thy pleasure; change my rough and angry disposition, throw away in me whatever impedes Thy way, that Thou mayst come to me without hindrance. Thou alone possess and rule me forever. Amen.

0 Comments

Fourth Sunday of Advent

4th Sunday of Advent - The Baptism of Penance

4th Sunday of Advent - The Dispositions for the Feast of Christmas

4th Sunday of Advent

A Saint for everyday and good reading at:

Archives

Categories