分类: Short Sermons For Every Sun

Sexagesima Sunday - The Word of God

2/24/2019

First Point.—Four kinds of hearers usually surround the Christian pulpit. The first are . . likened to the great highway on which a part of the seed falls, as is mentioned in the Gospel parable today; the birds gather it up, or the travelers trample it under their feet. There are some characters so flippant that nothing can make them fixed or resolute, and whose lively imagination runs from one object to another, touching lightly on everything, without going to the bottom of any. They are enemies of all reflection and of all serious thought; meditation kills them. They are emotional and seek to satisfy their desires in silly romances and sensational sheets. You may see them receive the most serious truths with a smile of indifference, while they are suffused with tears at the recital of some romantic adventure. There can be nothing done with minds of this character. They come, indeed, at certain epochs during the year to hear God's word, but this is nothing serious for them. For them it is a pastime, a matter of curiosity, a means of distraction, and this is all. Holy advice, inspirations of grace, remorse of conscience which alarms them, the remembrance of a past which causes them to blush, the terror of the future, the distaste for the world, the ordinary effect of the Gospel words, fall on their frivolous minds; but the different thoughts which pass and repass incessantly in them quickly efface even the least traces of the sacred word. They are the travelled and open highways; there the demon finds easy access, and before it can germinate away he takes the precious seed which is sown. This is the first obstacle to the development of the word of God dissipation of mind.

Second Point.-- Another part fell on the stony ground and, after springing up, was parched, because there was no moisture. " Two kinds of hearers are figured by this stony ground in which the good seed cannot take root. The first and the most pitiable are those who are voluntarily deaf- their hearts are hardened and have become as stone with regard to the word of God. We could scarcely believe it, if there was not the saddest experience to convince us. There are men who are determined to remain just as they are. They come to hear the word of God spoken with a fixed resolution of not profiting by it. Let them hear the most touching exhortations, let the most terrible truths be presented to them, even if the grace of a retreat or a mission is offered them, it is all useless. They hear nothing, they will profit by nothing; they are the minds of that character which the prophet indignantly depicts when he exclaims: "They have closed their ears, lest they should hear." What shall be the consequences of this studied and systematic resistance to the truth which is spoken exteriorly, and to the grace which urges and solicits interiorly? The very thought makes the heart grow cold. Our blessed Saviour exclaims: "Woe to you, Jerusalem, because if Tyre and Sidon had received the same graces as you have, they would have done penance in sackcloth and ashes. They shall be treated with less rigor than you." Yes, on the judgment day the infidel shall find an excuse in the misfortune of his birth, the heretic shall find an excuse in his ignorance, but you, reared in the bosom of the true Church, you, enlightened by so many lights and surrounded by so many graces,' what excuse shall you have ?

The second kind of hearers figured by the stony ground on which the precious seed falls is composed of all those Christians in whom certain passions have reached a state of habit. These form an almost insurmountable obstacle to the effects of the divine word. They hear it with pleasure, they admit the truth of all the reproaches hurled against them, and they would wish to be converted. Far from flying from the truth, they seek it. Should the preacher speak of the divine mercies, their hearts are touched; they make splendid promises-. Casting a glance on the disorders of their past life, their eyes are bathed in tears; but scarcely have they left the house of God than everything is forgotten. The old habits weigh them down, they succumb to the first flame of passion, the good germ is parched; the root is necessary if the good seed would develop. The second obstacle to the development of the word of God is a depraved will.

Third Point.—-The third obstacle to the effect of the sacred word comes from attachment to the things of the world, whatever may be the name by which you designate them. They are represented by the thorns in which the good seed falls. It grows there, it is true; the germ is developed, but it is stifled at its birth by the thorns which cover and clog the soil. This is the too common effect of pleasures and riches. Whoever possesses them finds much difficulty in extricating his heart from them, and the heart which is charmed by them affords very little access to the truths of salvation. It is true that the riches and pleasures of life are not criminal things in themselves, but the abuse which we make of them, and the affection we have for them, soon render them criminal.

Our divine Saviour compares the pleasures of the world to thorns, because they produce the same effect. If at first they spread on our pathway some agreeable flowers, soon they will embarrass us. Then they will make us feel their sharpened points, and in time they will wound us. See that young man, or that young woman, who has heard the divine word with docility and who has profited by it, who carefully cultivates the virtues which grace has germinated in her heart, but who, at the same time, cherishes a love for the world; because this love, which is moderate in the beginning, does not lead them into grave faults they imagine their virtue has received no wound; they think that in spite of the words of Christ they can serve two masters, and can continue to love the world without ceasing to love God. Fatal error; profane attachments grow and are strengthened, and in the same proportion religious inclinations are diminished and weakened. The evil is so great that it is not perceived. There is surely an increase on the one hand, and a decrease on the other. Because the same pious practices are continued, do we believe the same virtues are also continued? The exterior acts are the same, but the heart is already changed. After having lost the taste for pious exercises, there is no delay in losing the use of them also. We easily omit what has been done without inclination and by constraint; moreover, we are skilful to find pretexts for shortening certain practices and omitting others; this remissness insensibly leads to sloth, and the interval from sloth to sin is very short. See how worldly attachments lead us, little by little, when they are not early uprooted.

O my God, to what can I attribute the little fruit I have hitherto drawn from so many instructions, unless to my bad dispositions? Have pity on me, Lord; change my heart. Give me a new one, in which Thy word shall remain, take root, and produce those fruits of salvation which Thou hast a right to expect from me.

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

0 Comments

Septuagesima Sunday - The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

2/17/2019

0 Comments

First Point.—Under the figure of the father of the family who goes out early in the morning to engage laborers for his vineyard, it is easy to recognize God, the common Father of all men. By the agency of His ministers or by the secret promptings of grace He does not cease to call us to Himself, and entreats us to labor in His vineyard, that is to say, in the cultivation of our soul. If the vineyard in which the father of the family sends his workmen represents a figure of the soul, it is in accordance with the word of God itself. In fact, everywhere in Holy Scripture we find that God claims our souls as His domain. And this is, after all, only just, since we belong to Him by the most legitimate titles. Is it not He who has formed us with His own hands? Is it not from Him that we hold all that we have and all that we are ? And not content with having created our soul and enriched it with the most magnificent gifts, God has reconquered it from the demon by redeeming it with His blood; hence we belong to Him by the triple right of birth, conquest, and love. The soul thus redeemed God places in our keeping; it is a trust He has confided to us; it is the field which He commands us to cultivate and make fruitful for Him.

If the field of our soul remain sterile, this fault cannot be imputed to the Father of the family, since He has done for her all He could do. He has placed her in the bosom of the Church, where she receives the abundance of graces which God does not cease to pour out on this blessed soil; He surrounds her with the sacraments, and she participates in all the benefits which Jesus has merited by His death. She has been overwhelmed by every kind of grace and enriched by every blessing. Can she ask of God anything more? In confiding to us the culture of a land thus prepared, has He not the right to expect some fruit in return? Here reflect seriously on yourself; recall the graces you have hitherto received, all the means of sanctification which have been lavished on you, and ask yourself what return you have made ?

Second Point.—The different hours at which the father of the family sends the laborers to his vineyard
mark the different ages at which we give ourselves to the service of God: infancy, youth, mature years, and old age. At all times of our life, the Father of the human race, our first, our truest Father, comes to us to urge us to labor for our sanctification. He it is who always makes the first advances. He goes out to seek us in the public place, that is to say, in the midst of the dissipation's of life, in the tumult of business, in the pleasures of the world. Our very faults do not discourage Him; however great they may be, still His merciful goodness extends a pardon to us, and even urges us to merit it. He exhorts us to labor for our sanctification by the words which His ministers address by us the religious objects which He exposes to our view; by the examples of virtue of which He makes us witnesses; by the disgrace with which He afflicts us; by the sudden deaths with which He visits our imitators and, perhaps, the accomplices of our sins; in a word, by all the circumstances with which He does not cease to surround us He especially exhorts us by the different sentiments which He excites within us. Have no doubt about it: these pious promptings, which you experience, these holy thoughts which are suggested from time to time to your mind, this remorse which troubles you, the inquietude's, which disturb you at the remembrance of your sins—these are all so many inspirations which God sends you and so many exhortations which He addresses you If hitherto you have remained deaf to His invitations you have reason to fear lest He cease to call you and, as it were, pursue you. Do not persevere in a resistance which may be fatal to you; cease to offer your refusal to His tenderness, and have for your soul as much pity as He Himself has for it.

Third Point.-The evening at last had come, and the father of the family said to his steward. "Call the laborers and pay them their hire beginning from the last even to the first. " When the evening of life shall come-that solemn moment when our labors shall have terminated and the recompense shall begin—we shall appear before the Steward, before Jesus, who has been appointed by His Father the Judge of the living and the dead. The soul at her departure from the body, in which she has so long been enclosed, shall see herself suddenly transported to the foot of the supreme tribunal, and the state in which she is found at that moment shall fix her lot for eternity. She shall be for all eternity either adorned and brilliant by the virtues with which she is enriched, or she shall be stained, disfigured, and punished for the sins with which she is covered.

And, perhaps, you are surprised to see the Master of the vineyard giving to all the laborers the same recompense,—the same to those who have labored only an hour as to those who have borne the heat and the burdens of the day. This is a warning which Jesus gives us. He would teach us that God shall dispense His recompense, not according to the time engaged, but according to the fervor which has been brought to the work. He regards the quality rather than the quantity of the labor; He weighs the work instead of counting it. Oh, happy are they who from their early youth have borne the yoke of the Lord; they certainly have great advantages; but, at last, the time of labor can also be rewarded because of the devotion which has been given. The traveler who starts on his journey too late may, by hastening, reach and even pass him who started early in the morning and who walked slowly. And this also explains these other words of the Father of the family, viz.: " The first shall be last and the last shall be first. " Our divine Saviour does not wish us to understand that they who begin late in the service of God shall, therefore, precede those who shall have served Him early. Far from us this thought which is so injurious to divine justice and wisdom, and which should be calculated to encourage a delay of conversion so severely condemned. The sense of these words is, simply, that among those who are last in the order of their vocation very many shall become first in the order of glory that we shall see sinners converted, more penetrated by humility, more inflamed by charity than certain just men; and that they who shall have labored for their salvation but a short time, and more effectively, shall surpass those who shall have labored a longer time, but with less zeal and ardor. O my God, how long Thou hast already called me and I have always resisted the voice of Thy grace.

Today Thou callest me still, and I wish to profit by this new appeal to labor in Thy vineyard, that is to say, for my salvation, with promptitude, since I have lost so much time; with fidelity, since all my moments belong to Thee; with perseverance since the recompense is given only to those who labor until evening has come; with courage to repair the lost time; with fervor, since Thy recompense shall be measured, not by the time spent in Thy service, but by the ardor with which it shall be accomplished.
Source: Short Instructions for Every Sunday of the Year and the Principal Feasts, Imprimatur 1897

0 Comments

4th Sunday after Epiphany - The Tempest Appeased by Jesus

1/29/2019

0 Comments

First Point. THE sea on which the apostles embarked is the image of the world,—the sea strewn with. . . dangers and countless shipwrecks. The ship which carries them is the figure of your soul in its journey towards eternity. The tempest which threatens to submerge them represents the temptations of every kind, which embarrass us on our way to heaven. Every one experiences these temptations, the child and the young man, the full grown man, and the aged; the Trappist in his solitude, as well as the worldly man in the midst of his festivities. The most scrupulous and exact piety is not even a safeguard from their attacks. Did not temptations come to those who were in closest companionship with Christ? Be careful, therefore, lest you believe that your love for God, your fervor in His service, your fidelity in the fulfillment of your duties shall shield you from temptations. This would be a dangerous error. On the contrary, your piety and your innocence shall be the reason for the demon to make greater efforts to bring you under his dominion. There are hearts enough who deliver themselves up as a prey to their enemy. He is assured of these, but he is desirous of choice souls like yours; to make a conquest of them he redoubles his seductive snares. Still you must not be discouraged by temptations, but see in them the consolation that you are not as yet under his dominion. St. Francis de Sales has said that the dogs do not bark after the people who belong to the house, but only after strangers, so the demon leaves in a sad peace those whom he knows belong to him and wearies the others by his pursuits, and invents a thousand artifices to turn them away from the paths of virtue. Alas, he only succeeds too well ! Just cast a glance about you: where are so many souls that were hitherto so fervent? What have become of them ? They have become a prey to the demon and now they languish far from God and from virtue, in a shameful slavery! Weep for them, and conjure our good Lord to keep you far from such misfortunes.

Second Point. While the tempest raged and threatened to engulf the bark on which the apostles sailed, "Jesus slept.- This sleep of Jesus is the occasion of our great temptations and the principle of all our falling; it is the symbol of the languor which conducts a soul to those negligences which she permits, the distractions in which she allows herself to be drawn—certain affections which are wholly natural and which have over her too great sway and especially the facility to commit light faults! True, indeed, these faults do not deprive us of the presence of Jesus, but they diminish the effect of His presence; they do not destroy His grace, but they weaken and diminish it. Grave sins crucify Him in us, while light offenses cause Him to sink into a deep sleep. This sleep of Jesus in our soul is not always a crime, but it is always a misfortune. In fact, it is during His sleep that the storms arise, that the passions are awakened, that the enemy, who never sleeps, renews with greater activity all his dangerous attacks. He is too weak to conquer us when we are divinely assisted, but he awaits the moment to combat with us when we are not assisted by this heavenly aid. If, therefore, you perceive that Jesus sleeps in you, awaken Him immediately. That is to say, if you feel your fervor weakening or your heart growing cold towards God, your courage unequal to the fulfillment of your duties, promptly renew your ardor and take heart again. A soldier should not lay aside his arms when he perceives the approach of the enemy; on the contrary, then it is he should be animated by a new courage. However, be not presumptuous; and never forget that you can do nothing by yourself your strength comes from God; ask Him for His grace most earnestly. Even as the apostles, have recourse to the divine Master, and cry to Him with a profound feeling of your weakness: "Lord, save me, for without your aid I shall perish." Be assured, if you are faithful to invoke God in the moment of danger, if you invoke Him with confidence, the same prodigy which was wrought for the apostles shall be wrought for you ; Jesus shall again command the tempest to be appeased, and tranquillity and calm shall be restored to your soul.

Third Point.—But when the temptation shall have passed be assured your work is not over. Either you have successfully resisted, or you have yielded. If you have been fortunate enough to have resisted, do not claim for yourself the glory of this triumph. Be careful to refer all the honor of your victory to God. Gratitude for benefits received shall gain for you new blessings and attract new graces. Moses,after his victory over the Amalekites, erected an altar on the battlefield and there offered to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Bossuet praised the great Conde, the conqueror at Rocroy, for having intoned the Te Deum on the field of battle, thus recognizing that he was indebted to God for his first victory. Imitate these examples, for, since you are weak it is impossible to triumph over the enemy by your own unaided strength? It is to the protection of the Virgin Mother and the assistance which God
sends you by His angels that you are indebted for victory; why then take the glory as if it had come from yourself?
If you are obliged to admit defeat, then deplore it, but be not cast down or discouraged. Here there are two dangers to be feared: indifference and discouragement. Indifference, alas! is only too frequent. One commits sin and thinks of it no more; one is the enemy of God and remains tranquil. Should you see some loved one die you cannot restrain your tears; but your soul is dead in sin. Shall you be insensible to this spiritual death? Be on your guard against this guilty carelessness. You have offended your God? then cast yourself on your knees and ask for pardon. Your soul is stained by sin? then do not remain in sin, but hasten to wash it away in the sacred waters of penance. Also avoid discouragement. This would be nothing less than a new outrage against God. And let us ask, What can be the motive for discouragement? You have sinned; do you think you are impeccable ? - Are you stronger than Samson, holier than David, or wiser than Solomon? Whence come, therefore, your discouragement and anger? God opens His heart to you; have recourse to His mercy. Instead of being saddened or unduly discouraged, let the remembrance of your faults serve as a motive of greater humility, since you are so weak; more patience, since you have so much to expiate; more charity, since you have so much need of indulgence. Oh, then shall your fault be a happy one, and even as God you shall draw good from evil.

O my God, how good Thou. art! Thou experiencest more pity than anger at the sight of Thy children's faults. I wish hereafter to entertain for Thee a truly filial confidence. If I have the misfortune to offend Thee, I shall cast myself into Thy arms, feeling well assured that Thou wilt not reject Thy repentant child.

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

0 Comments

3rd Sunday after Epiphany - Jesus Heals the Leper

1/29/2019

0 Comments

THE leper, whose healing is recounted today in the Gospel narrative, is the image of a soul . . . whom sin, and especially the sin of impurity has stained. There is a striking resemblance between the consequences of leprosy and the consequences of the sin of impurity. Leprosy, as it is depicted in our sacred books, produced four effects on the unfortunate victim. First, it corrupted the blood and attacked the very sources of life; 2nd it disfigured the body, and made it an object of disgust; 3d, it condemned the leper to live far from the society of men; 4th, it made his society dangerous because of the contagion. You shall find these different effects in sin, and especially in the sin of impurity.

First Point.—As leprosy corrupts the blood, so the sin of impurity corrupts the heart and vitiates the very life of the soul. It not only attacks the surface, but it attacks the most intimate sources of spiritual life. Under its dominion the soul quickly loses its noblest faculties; memory is weakened intelligence enfeebled, and the noblest faculties 'are compelled to give way to ignoble instincts; there is no progress in science; application to study is impossible, no grand and elevated thoughts; the mind is narrowed, and genius becomes extinct.

In the heart the effects are still more deplorable. It perverts the most happy dispositions and develops
the most shameful desires; conscience is blunted and loses its first delicacy. The victim becomes indifferent to disorders the very thought of which was once revolting; a stupid carelessness succeeds to vivacity of faith and fervor and piety. The tastes, the inclinations, and the very character are changed. Sin has done in the soul what leprosy has done in the body; it has corrupted it at the foundation, it has vitiated the very sources of life.

Second Point.—As leprosy disfigures the body and makes it an object of horror and disgust, so sin disfigures our souls and makes them an object of disgust to the heart of God. You would understand this second effect of sin if you could understand the beauty of a soul in a state of grace, the splendor with which it shines, the glory which surrounds it, and the holy pleasure with which God regards it. This beauty, it is true, has nothing exterior, nothing sensible. The prophet tells us " that the glory of the daughter of Sion is within her." None of those splendid rays fall on our mortal eyes, but the splendor is no less real. It is that which gives a charm to infancy, it is that refreshing grace which exercises over our hearts an empire as sweet as it is irresistible. To know the price of a soul adorned by grace, we must consult the Holy Scriptures; for what is more reliable than the testimony of uncreated wisdom?

Hear, therefore, what the Holy Spirit says of a soul ornamented with grace and the esteem which He has for it: "I who am your God, I who can deceive none, nor can I be deceived, I declare to you that I only consider silver as dross when compared with a just soul." And is this enough? No; bring together
all the gold that is in the bowels of the earth: God considers all that as only a little grain of sand in comparison with a just soul. There are indeed many precious stones in the depths of the sea; they are so beautiful that they serve as ornaments for vanity, and heighten by their splendor the glory of a diadem; but when God compares them with a just soul He finds the soul a thousand times more precious. It is a grand thing to rule over an extensive kingdom, to be seated on a brilliant throne, but all that is nothing when compared with a soul adorned by grace. In a word, unite all glory, all beauty, all grandeur, yet all these cannot approach the beauty, the merit, the excellence of a soul which is clothed with grace and empurpled by the blood of the Son of God made man.

Sin, as a hideous leprosy, strips the soul of its beauty and makes it an object of disgust and horror in the eyes of God. It is with tears in their eyes that the prophets deplore the unhappy state of a soul stained and disfigured by sin. Jeremias exclaims: "How has the pure gold been changed into vile metal ! All the glory of the daughter of Sion has departed !" Unfortunate soul ! Who shall give to my eyes two sources of tears to weep for thy misfortune ?

Third Point.—The law required that every leper should be driven from the people and separated from his fellows as an unclean being. This is also the destiny of the sinner. As long as a man is in the state of grace, he is the child of God, the heir to heaven, the co-heir with Jesus. What a dignity! He enjoys all the rights of the children of the Church, he shares in all the goods she possesses, he participates in the prayers of the saints in heaven and of the just on earth: he has a right to the merits of the august sacrifice, to all the indulgences which the Church draws from her treasury. What riches! But by sinning he loses everything—he loses his titles of child of God and citizen of heaven, he is deprived of all the merits he has acquired, and even of the right to acquire new merits. True, indeed, he is not cut off from the bosom of the Church; he is always a member of it, but he is a dead member. He receives also certain graces, but they are weak graces, which his bad dispositions render sterile. In a word, he appears living in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of God he is dead. Oh, how horrible is this state, and how much you are to be pitied if you do not understand this misfortune!

Fourth Point.—There is a fourth effect common to sin and to leprosy: it is contagion. Leprosy is a malady to be feared so much because it is contagious. The leper communicated his malady to all who approached him, unless suitable precautions were taken. This explains the severity of the laws regarding it and the reason of its universal repulsion. Sin is also contagious, and is communicated and spread by bad words and by bad examples. A vicious friend shall lead you to vice; his corrupting discourse shall rob you of your faith, little by little; his undue confidences shall initiate you into the knowledge of evil ; his insidious words shall cause you to love him, and his conduct shall justify him in your eyes.

Fear, then, the influence of a friend who is not most virtuous; break away from his society; fly from him as you would fly from the sight of a serpent; this is the advice which the Holy Spirit gives you by the mouth of the wise man. In giving you this advice, he would teach you that a vicious friend contains within him a subtle poison, which escapes from his whole conduct, insinuates itself into the faculties of the soul, and carries with it ruin and death.

O my God, preserve my soul from the leprosy of sin; do not permit that, in becoming Thy enemy, I should lose that which in Thy eyes constitutes my true beauty, and that which can alone give me rights to heaven. Oh, may I never become for others the occasion of scandal or ruin ! But if I have had the misfortune to fall into sin, give me the strength to rise again, and to find in a generous confession both happiness and life, by obtaining Thy friendship again.

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

0 Comments

2nd Sunday after Epiphany - The Divinity of Christ Proved by His Miracles

1/20/2019

0 Comments

THE Evangelist, after having recounted the change of water into wine, at the wedding feast of Cana, remarks that, at the sight of this miracle, the disciples of Jesus believed in Him. It was impossible that this result should not follow, since miracles are so much the work of God that He only, or His delegate, could work them. If then the miracles recorded in the holy gospel are true, it is evident that Jesus is all that He claimed to be, viz.,the Son of God. Now the certitude of the evangelical miracles is demonstrated by their character and by the character of those who relate them, and by the monuments which give testimony of them; it is impossible, therefore, to question their authenticity.

First Point.—The character of these evangelical facts demonstrates their certitude. We observe at once they are important; they were extraordinary circumstances and calculated to arrest attention. At the birth of Jesus, the angels announced Him by a magnificent canticle ; a brilliant star announced Him to the people of the East; the Magi come to the palace of Herod to inquire for the newly born child. He is seen walking on the waters and commanding the tempest; in the middle of a repast He changes water into wine; with a few loaves He feeds many thousands of men; by a word He heals the sick and raises the dead to life. At His death the sun is obscured, the earth trembles, the veil of the temple is rent in twain. Facts so remarkable as these must necessarily attract public attention Moreover, these extraordinary facts must claim the liveliest attention, since their object was the abolition of the old worship and the foundation of the new one. The pagans on account of their attachment to idolatry, the Jews because of their respect for the Mosaic law, could not but take the most lively interest in these facts, which prepared destruction for their temples and synagogues.

The second character of the Gospel miracles is their publicity. They are not, as the false prodigies which some affect to compare with them, obscure or hidden facts, to which only a small number of competent witnesses testify. They are public facts, evident and easily verified. It was in all the cities of Palestine, in the public places, under the very eyes of the doctors of the law, that Jesus manifested His power. They on whom these miracles were performed are designated by name, by their dwelling, by their profession; they still reside, after their healing, in the same villages which witnessed their infirmities. The twofold fact of their malady and their healing is quickly known by their relatives and friends and fellow-citizens; their presence alone recalls to the whole country the prodigy to which they owe their health. Thus the very character of the evangelical facts destroys every suspicion of deceit and illusion, and alone should suffice to hinder us from questioning their truthfulness.

Second Point.—The certitude of the Gospel miracles comes from the character of the witnesses who attest them. And who are the witnesses who testify? They are, in the first place, the apostles and the disciples of the Saviour, and among them there are eight who present their testimony in writing. See, then, eight contemporary authors who recount facts of which they have been, almost all, witnesses or participators. And this is not enough; but beside these eight witnesses, whose writings we have, we know that, at the same time, the other apostles and all the disciples of Jesus, to the number of eighty at least, professed and proclaimed and attested the truth of the facts recorded. This important consequence must be admitted, that of all the most celebrated and unvarying facts of antiquity there are none so well attested as the miracles of Jesus. The history of Socrates, for example, is guaranteed by only two disciples, viz., Plato and Xenophon, still no one ever doubts concerning their narration. How does it happen, then, that any one could be found to deny the Gospel miracles ? What motive can the unbeliever allege to refuse the testimony of so many, who by their writings or their living words have transmitted to us the history of Jesus? Shall it be said they were deceived, or that they combined to deceive the world? These two suppositions cannot bear for a moment serious examination.

It is impossible for the apostles to have been deceived. Whatever idea may be formed of them, of their ignorance, of their credulity, we shall never persuade ourselves that during three entire years their Master could have been able to impose on them, and concerning daily facts so numerous and so visible. Ignorance and credulity do not go so far as that. There would remain a contradiction too shocking, between the idiotic character of the apostles, which must be admitted in this hypothesis, and their character which is evident from their writings, from their labors, and from their success. Therefore, the apostles have not been deceived.

It is equally impossible that the apostles wished to deceive. This impossibility is evident when we consider at what time, in what places, and before whom the apostles published the miracles of their Master. It was at the very moment when the facdts occurre; it was in the city of Jerusalem, the scene of the principal events; it was in the midst of a multitude of false witnesses, when the least deception would have sufficed to confound them. It must be admitted that the time, the place, and the persons were badly selected to propagate an imposition. In fine, these men, who are supposed to be cheats and impostors, preached the purest morality, practiced the sublimest virtues, astonished and confounded their persecutors by the simplicity, the ingenuity, and the noble assurance of their discourses. They converted the world by the sanctity of their lives, and at length died in the midst of torments. How could they do all this for the senseless pleasure of sustaining a falsehood? We cannot recognize in these traits of character either impostors or liars. But the apostles are not the only ones who give testimony to the truth of the Gospel miracles; they are recognized and admitted by the very enemies of Jesus. The Jews thought they would weaken their effect on the people by attributing them to the power of the demon, and hence they accused their Author of violating the tranquillity of the Sabbath. But these accusations were so many witnesses in favor of the Gospel facts, since to blame them was an affirmation of their existence.

Third Point—The miracles which Jesus wrought have existing monuments to give testimony for them. There is a monument, visible to every one and permanently abiding with us, which is constantly testifying to the truth of the miracles worked by our Lord and Saviour: it is the establishment of His Church in the world. It could not exist, in fact, except as a consequence and the result of miracles. Strive to form a just idea of the enterprise of the apostles. They labored to substitute an austere morality, all abnegation and penance, for a morality which was easy and convenient; they taught incomprehensible mysteries, instead of fanciful fables; they taught that He who had been crucified on an infamous cross must be adored; they must triumph over the repugnance of passions, the pride of reason, popular prejudices, and the power of the Roman emperors; and by what means shall all this be effected ? Here it is that the finger of God is most visible. Twelve poor fishermen, without credit, without eloquence, without wealth, without any human aid, undertake and execute the most extraordinary revolution which the annals of the human race have ever recorded. It is certainly most remarkable that under these unfavorable circumstances the apostles, sustained by the authority of miracles, should succeed; but that without miracles, and what is stranger still, with miracles reputed as false, they should succeed, this would be an inexplicable phenomenon, and a thousand times more incredible than all the miracles of Christianity. That the pagan world should abandon its false deities and embrace the religion of a crucified God, it must have had some reason for belief. But the apostles proclaimed nothing else except the miracles of Christ. The world has witnessed miracles, and miracles so certain that the sharpest and most discerning can discover not the slightest vestige of trickery or deceit. The establishment of the Christian religion is the most splendid proof of this, since it constantly testifies to the truth of the evangelical facts. Jesus Christ has, then, performed miracles; but God only can do this; therefore, Jesus is God.

Adorable Jesus, in the midst of blasphemies uttered by impiety, it is sweet for me to reflect on the titles Thou hast to my adorations as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. Thus my faith is enlivened; and may my love also become more ardent. Amen.

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

0 Comments

The Holy Name of Jesus

1/3/2016

0 Comments

OF all the names which have been given to the children of men, the most august and the most . . . lovable is the name of Jesus. It contains in itself all that the prophets announced as greatest, all that the patriarchs have dreamed of as most gracious; it recalls at once what is most amiable in virtue, what is most tender in love, and what is most august in religion. Besides, it is an angel that has brought this name from heaven to earth; and St. Bernard says that the name of Jesus is. at the same time a light, a nourishment, and a remedy.

First Point.—The name of Jesus is a light. It enlightens the mind of the priest when preaching to the people. It is by the name of Jesus that the universe has been converted; at this divine name the darkness of idolatry gave place to the light of the Gospel. St. Peter, at his first preaching, converted three thousand persons by the power of Jesus' name. St. Paul, on his way to Damascus, experienced its happy effects; he was struck, as if by a thunderbolt, while he was hastening to put the Christians to death. He heard a voice which said to him: "Why do you persecute Me?" "And who are you?" he answered. The voice replied: "I am Jesus." At the sound of this name an unknown light shone before his eyes, and he understood the meaning of it all. "Lord," says the persecutor, now become a vessel of election, "what wilt Thou have me to do? Speak, for I am ready." St. Paul, convinced by his own experience of the power of this holy name, made it his support in his apostolic journeys, and without other arms than this divine name he converted the world. Rome, Athens, and Corinth experienced, each in turn, the power of his word. He confounded the learned, astonished the Areopagus, and caused the proconsul to tremble in his tribunal; but it was not by his credit nor by his eloquence that he triumphed ; he admitted that he was not skillful in the art of speaking well, but he knew Jesus crucified, and it was to this sacred name he owed all his success.

The effects of the name of Jesus are still the same. What light it sheds on the soul ! Is it necessary to detach the hearts of the rich from their earthly goods? Reason fails against cupidity, but let the name of Jesus be pronounced and it shall recall Him who became poor through love, and soon love shall lead to a contempt for riches. Is it necessary to instil resignation in the heart of the poor man ? The name of Jesus shall remind him of the poor Infant in the manger, and will make his poverty precious. Do you strive to stifle vengeance in the depth of some outraged heart by reasoning? Then all your efforts shall be in vain ; but let the name of Jesus be mentioned, and the vindictive one shall remember the amiable Victim, who, although outraged and insulted, not only pardoned His executioners but excused them. His heart is open to mercy.

St. John Gualbert had resolved to avenge his brother, who had been cruelly assassinated. It was on Good Friday he met the murderer, and, "taking his sword in hand, he prepared to strike him, when the murderer fell at his feet and asked his life in the name of Jesus crucified. At once John felt the sword fall from his grasp; he lifted his enemy from the ground, embraced him, and pardoned him. In all your doubts, in all your temptations, pronounce the Holy Name of Jesus with faith, and the most precious lights shall dissipate your doubts, and shall show you the way you should walk to find your Saviour and your God.

Second Point.—The name of Jesus is a nourishment. There is in this blessed name some hidden virtue which goes to the very soul, penetrates it and warms it, and like some mysterious substance spreads throughout our whole being a certain strength and joy. Who has not experienced this wonderful effect? In the maladies of the soul, when temptations increase to violence, when the sources of holy consolations seem closed, when we feel ourselves growing weak, the heart without strength and the will without energy: everything in the service of God and in the practice of duty is tasteless, insipid, loathsome ; then let us come to the foot of the altar, or before a crucifix, and meditate on the name of Jesus. At once confidence shall be born in us again, and our forces shall revive.

What is the source of this fervor which is experienced at the foot of a crucifix or before an altar? The lover of Jesus is occupied in repeating His name or reflecting on its sweetness. He does not know how to formulate sublime prayers; he only knows how to repeat the name of Jesus, and he repeats it a thousand times without wearying at the repetition, and this adorable name, as some burning flame, warms his heart and consoles him. "I do not know," said St. Bernard, "if you understand the marvellous effects of the name of Jesus, but as for me, everything, without this divine name, is insipid and wearisome. I must tell you, a book has no attractions for me if I do not find the name of Jesus in it; a conference or instruction cannot please me if Jesus is not mentioned in it. Jesus is honey to my mouth, melody to my ears, and a joyful song to my heart." If you look for the secret of this unspeakable sweetness which the loving heart discovers in the Holy Name of Jesus, you shall find it is born of a mysterious perfume attached to everything which comes from heaven. But should it not come also from the memories which this name awakens in the heart ? See what sweet thoughts are grouped about this amiable name, as delicious fruits lie about the tree which produces them! The neglects and the adoration in the manger, the memory of virtues hidden during thirty years in the house of Joseph, the lessons and the blessings of a life which St. Peter sums up in two words, " He went about doing good;" the opprobrium and sorrows of Calvary—all this recalls the name of Jesus. How, then, shall we not feel stirred while meditating on it?

O Holy Name of Jesus, sacred and penetrating oil, whose unction has been poured out from the beginning, and only asks to be still poured out, pour Thyself with profusion in my heart, fill it with the infinite sweetness and the charms of Thy love, that, being purified by Thee, united to Thee, and satiated by the happiness of loving Thee, I may see verified in me these words of the Holy Spirit: "Thy name is as oil poured out, and it is why Thy servants have loved Thee exceedingly."

Third Point.—The name of Jesus is a remedy. It heals every malady. First, the maladies of the body. The innumerable cures wrought by the apostles are so many consequences of the power of Jesus' name. There is nothing which can resist this divine name. Jesus Himself has proclaimed this truth. "He that shall believe in Me, shall work miracles greater than mine. In My name he shall expel demons. He shall have nothing to fear, neither the serpent's bite nor the effect of poisons. He shall impose hands on the sick and they shall be healed."

The name of Jesus heals maladies of the heart. There are in life some cruel moments, when the
wearied soul implores death as the only resource. In this sadness the name of Jesus shall remind you of the sadness of the amiable Victim in the Garden of Olives, and it shall reanimate and strengthen you. If ever you are the victim of ingratitude or of the injustice of men, the name of Jesus shall console you, and strengthen you by recalling the treason of Judas, the abandonment by the apostles, and the unworthy preference given to Barabbas. If despair threatens to invade your soul, then recall the name of Jesus ; it is, says St. Ambrose, a name of hope, a name full of sweetness, a name which gives joy. The name of Jesus heals the maladies of the soul.

The great malady of the soul, that which must be especially feared, because it attacks the very sources of supernatural life, is sin. The name of Jesus is a sovereign remedy for it. And why? Because it makes us detest sin by recalling its malice ; because it makes us avoid sin by giving us strength in temptations; because it makes us weep for sin, by reminding us of the love of Him whom we offend. Learn then to pronounce this blessed name with respect—it is the name of your God ; with love—it is the name of your Benefactor; and with confidence-- it is the name of your Saviour.

O Name of Jesus, holy and adorable name, how much I love to speak and think of it! Be also honey for my lips, and melody for my heart. In dying, may my lips still murmur this name, and may I never cease to repeat it here on earth, until the moment when with the angels I may forever bless it.
Source: Short Instructions for Every Sunday of the Year and Principal Feasts, Imprimatur 1897

0 Comments

Sexagesima Sunday - The Word of God

Septuagesima Sunday - The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

4th Sunday after Epiphany - The Tempest Appeased by Jesus

3rd Sunday after Epiphany - Jesus Heals the Leper

2nd Sunday after Epiphany - The Divinity of Christ Proved by His Miracles

The Holy Name of Jesus

A Saint for everyday and good reading at:

Archives

Categories