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Advent to Christmas in a Catholic Home

11/27/2021

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Christmas is a liturgical season of great joy. It lasts forty days, from December 25 to February 2, during which the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, is celebrated as one continuous festival. The finale comes with His presentation in the temple. A season most dear to Christian hearts, Christmas is as distinct in the liturgy as Advent, Lent, Easter, or Pentecost.

Four weeks of Advent are scarcely enough to "prepare the way of the Lord" for His coming to us as King. However, if we have used that season as a preparation, we are ready now to receive the Redeemer who will deliver us from sin in answer to our requests. Christ's coming must be, not a lovely idyll or a pastoral scene, but a reality accomplished in our lives and our children's. Forty days of rejoicing are not too long a celebration for so great an event.

The early Church selected December 25, the date of the winter solstice when God the Creator gives the sun an increase of natural light in northern hemispheres, as the day on which to celebrate the birth of the Sun of Justice, Light of the world. Radiating from the Divine Child are a galaxy of wonderful saints whose lives afford a continuing interest in celebrating the feast of His birth. Micheas, who lived in the days of Isaias, prophesied the birthplace of the Messiah: "Thou, Bethlehem, art a little one among the thousands in Judah; out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be the Ruler of Israel; and His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity."

The name Bethlehem signifies House of Bread. To it at Christmas - comes the Savior, who is the Bread of Life. By our participation in this mystery the divine transformation takes place whereby He "reshapes the body of our lowliness after the body of His splendor." Our forbearers gave the name Christmas to the feast of our Lord's birth because they kept the "Christ Mass" as the heart of their celebrations. Following closely the liturgy of the Church, they centered their customs and wrote their hymns and carols on her practices of the season, adoration, love, joy, and gratitude. Those practices also increased their admiration for His Virgin Mother Mary, who gave Almighty God His human form. He had created heaven and earth by His Word, but His becoming Man depended on a creature's FIAT, Be it done unto me according to Thy Word. Mary consented. Our forebearers honored her in their great masterpieces because she is God's Mother. For the same reason the world in our day honors her as Queen of Heaven.

It is to our Lady that Christian families must look for help to reestablish Christmas as a season of festivities marking Christ's birth. Either we live the liturgical year with its varying seasons of joy and sorrow, work and rest, or we follow the pattern of the world. Nor is it an easy task to break with the world and the powerful influence of advertising. Their season of Christmas begins around Thanksgiving Day when stores display wares for holiday gift-giving. It lasts until December 24. Families, who would not dream of eating their Thanksgiving turkey a week in advance or of having their 4th of July picnic in June, give no thought to the fact that, when they awake on December 25, there is not a shred of Christmas left. Every present has been opened. Every carol has been sung. The tree has dried out Christmas is apt to be a dull day given to over-eating. There was no fast in Advent, so it follows that there can be no feast.

It is difficult to keep one's home dark in Advent penance; to keep a tree fresh outside the door; to refrain from singing carols until Christmas eve. We see their friends' trees shimmering with ornaments a week before Christmas. Their houses are bedecked with lights. Television and radio blare carols. Not only is it difficult to keep from celebrating beforehand, it is even more difficult to begin forty days of the Christmas season when all around people are concluding their festivities. How
then do families return to the spirit of the Church and begin the season of joy and grace on Christmas eve?

The simplest way is by keeping Advent. Advent is the beginning of the new liturgical year. It is a season of spiritual preparation, marked by eager longing for the coming of the Saviour through grace at Christmas, and for His second and final coming. It is also an ideal time to establish in our homes liturgical customs which will restore our children to Christ.
 
These age-old Advent practices help our children live closer to Christ and His Church during the pre-Christmas season. Time-tested and proven, the customs teach the doctrines of redemption and develop a generosity with God and a coordination of the family's spiritual efforts as effectively now as they did for our forebears. Their strong and living faith will be the heritage of our children if family religious practices, centered in the Liturgy, "The Normal School of Sanctity for the Laity," are established in our homes- Secularism has invaded our households. The Bishops of the United States have warned us that "The Christian must make his home holy - the Christian must realize the Christian ideal." Father Edgar Schmiedler, O.S.B., in his three excellent pamphlets, Your Home A Church in Miniature, says of family customs and blessings: "They are a relatively simple, but highly important, means of union between altar and home. They are a media for channeling from one great spiritual reservoir, given into then Church's keeping by Christ, the living and transforming waters of grace from the Saviour's fountain."

Children love to anticipate. When there are empty mangers to fill with straws of small sacrifices, when the Mary-Candle is a daily reminder on the dinner table, when Advent hymns are sung in the candlelight of a graceful Advent wreath, children are not anxious to celebrate Christmas before time. That would offend their sense of honor. Older children who make Nativity sets, cut Old Testament symbols to decorate a Jesse tree, or prepare costumes for a Christmas play will find Advent all too short a time to prepare for the coming of Christ the King.

Children, who love the beauty and simplicity of family religious practices, make the traditions easy to establish. As a rule it is best to begin with one or two customs and others in years to come. It is also highly desirable that families develop their own special customs, at least by adapting traditional ones to their personal circumstances. Once established, customs recall to older members of the family long forgotten practices of their own childhood. These have a special appeal because they belonged to our forefathers and link us to the wealth of national customs now fallen into disuse.

Celebrating Christmas in its season can be accomplished more easily when several families try it together. Frequently there are families who, if only for sentimental reasons, would like to keep the joy and surprise of Christmas for the eve. Christians of the Eastern rite wait until their particular feast of Christmas comes in January. We should likewise begin ours on its proper day. We also need time for our festivities. As difficult as it may be, we should decline invitations to celebrate Christmas
at the various parties sprinkled throughout the Advent season. The Church gives us a period of forty days for rejoicing. Instead invite friends and family to your own joyous celebration of Christ's birth during the many days following December 25th, when for others it is otherwise a disappointing and barren time.

If during Advent we open our souls fully, the Heavens will rain the Just One." St. Pius X, whose burning desire was to restore all things to Christ, might well become the patron of parents who wish to restore their children to Christ through these practices. Our Blessed Lady and St. Joseph too will send inspiration from the Holy Spirit, for theirs was a home where feast day cooking, family customs, family prayers and singing abounded, according to prescribed Jewish law. It is to them we must look for help in order to train our children "to live temperately, justly, reverently, in this world, awaiting the Advent of the glory of the great God."

May you all have a blessed and fruitful Advent Season!
                 Source:  Advent and Christmas in a Catholic Home, Imprimatur 1950
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Prayer for Advent

11/27/2021

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                                                A Prayer For Advent

Sweet Infant Jesus, I bring to Thee this day and all the days of Advent my heart, my love, my very life, together with those little acts of self-denial and sacrifice made in Thy honor, and which Thou alone knowest.

Let me, I beg Thee heap with gifts around Thy crib that they may on Christmas morning prove my love for Thee, and may my love and adoration serve to warm Thy poor stable and make bright and happy the day of Thy birth.

                                             Amen Sweet Jesus.

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"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

11/25/2021

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THERE is a whole school of thought that sniffs at the idea of encouraging Catholic customs in the home--or anywhere else, for that matter. Customs like the saying of the rosary together, the decorating of an altar in May seem to them too childish for consideration. For them the doctrines of the Church are sufficient, without these extras. And indeed the doctrines of the Church are enough for anyone. They are like straight, unwinding roads that lead into eternity; only on either side of these roads are hedges and ditches and meadows and all sorts of flowers. The ultra-catholic Catholic is not interested in these flowers or fields. Still, such things are to a road what Catholic customs are to the faith; they adorn it, enliven it, they help to keep one on the journey.
   
It is not strange that all sorts of devotional practices have sprung up around Catholicism, sometimes practices that may seem rather trifling until one realizes that customs cannot be worthless that have evolved from the faith of the people through many hundreds of years, sometimes through well over a thousand years. What family is there that does not use certain sayings and phrases that have significance only for those belonging to the circle? What family exists that has no peculiar customs, nicknames, rites, birthday ceremonies that outsiders cannot be expected to appreciate? Can anyone account for the curious rites they observed as children. Those rites are not necessary for family life, but they adorn it and enliven it. And since the Church is not an institution but a family that ranges from God and God's mother and thence to the saints and thence to the souls in purgatory and from them to ourselves, is it not astonishing then that spiritual family rites and customs have sprung up? It is surprising how few people think of this. But the parents who do enter into these spiritual family customs can give their children treasures, whose value they may not realize until eternity. 
   
There is nothing forced in this idea: why does the church in her liturgy allot the various days to the honor of her saints, or to events in the lives of Christ and of Mary, if she does not wish us to celebrate them in some way?
   
These feasts of the Church are fixed, but the way they can be celebrated can vary--and does vary tremendously from place to place. With the passing of time the festivities and the customs of the day have also changed, still the essence remains the same. At Christmas, for instance, Jesus is the center of the day, and everywhere in the world Christians will show their love to the new-born Child in their own way, whether this be with carol singing, erecting cribs, hanging Advent wreaths, placing lighted candles in the windows, leaving empty places at the table for the holy Family, or by making it a special festive day for children, their own or other people's. 
                                                                    ~ adapted from: "A Candle  is Lighted," Imprimatur 1945. ~

It is with these thoughts in mind I will share those traditions that we do to help bring our Faith to life.
   
ADVENT - Holy Mother Church's way of teaching Her children to prepare for the coming of Christ, both on His birthday and on Judgment Day.  To this family the Advent and Christmas season  is the most wonderful time of the year.  We have many traditions that help make the season penitential as well as joyous. 
   
My children as well as my husband and I are eagerly awaiting the first Sunday of Advent.  It is on this day that we start our traditions. Besides the Advent Wreath with it's prayers and songs, we have another tradition called "Christkindl" (Christ Child).  After our Mass prayers are said and our breakfast eaten I bring out a bowl which I pass around.  In it are pieces of paper each containing a different  name of  one of our family members. The papers are neatly rolled up, because the drawing has to be done in great secrecy.  Each person then draws a piece of paper from the bowl and looks at it in secret.  (This tradition is a little hard when all the children are small because the burden of keeping track of each person's Christkindl falls on the mother)  The person whose name one has drawn is now in one's special care. From this day until Christmas, one has to do as many little favors for him or her as one can. One has to provide at least one surprise every single day--but without ever being found out. This creates a wonderful atmosphere of joyful suspense, kindness, and thoughtfulness. Perhaps you will find that somebody has made your bed, done your chores or has informed you, in a disguised handwriting on a holy card, that "a rosary has been said for you today" or a number of sacrifices have been offered up.  (Note: I will type up on paper prayers like, 3 Hail Mary's or a decade of the Rosary, etc. and place them in the center of the Advent wreath for the children to use for each other.  When it has been found by the Christkindl it is then returned to the wreath to be used again.)    The beautiful thing about this particular custom is that the relationship is a reciprocal one. The person whose name I have drawn and who is under my care becomes for me the helpless little Christ Child in the manger; and as I am performing these many little acts of love and consideration for someone in the family I am really doing them for the Infant of Bethlehem, according to the word, "And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me." That is why this particular person turns into "my Christkindl." At the same time I am the "Christkindl" also for the one I am caring for because I want to imitate the Holy Child and render all those little services in the same spirit as He did in that small house of Nazareth, when as a child He served His Mother and His foster father with a similar love and devotion. Many times throughout these weeks can be heard such exclamations as, "I have a wonderful Christkindl this year!" or, "Goodness, I forgot to do something for my Christkindl and it is already suppertime!" It is a delightful custom, which creates much of the true Christmas spirit and ought to be spread far and wide.
   
We  have a large manger (just the Infant's bed)  that we set up on  our domestic altar.  It is empty and throughout the Advent season after our evening prayers are said, the children place pieces of hay into it for each good deed they have performed during the day. The more good they have done, the softer Baby Jesus' bed will be come Christmas morning.  (Note: We use straw colored yarn cut into pieces instead of the hay that can be reused year after year.)
   
There is still one very important thing to do for Advent.  Each member of the family writes a letter to the Baby Jesus mentioning his resolutions for the weeks of Advent and listing the wish for a gift.  This "Christkindl Brief" (letter to the Holy Child) is put under the manger on our domestic altar for the Guardian Angels to  take to the Christ Child.  (I have kept these over the years and love to read them over again.)
   
It cannot be said often enough that during these weeks before Christmas, songs and hymns of Advent should be sung. No Christmas carols! Consciously we should work toward restoring the true character of waiting and longing to these precious weeks before Christmas. Just before Midnight Mass, on December 24th, is the moment to sing for the first time "Silent Night, Holy Night," for this is the song for this very night. It may be repeated afterwards as many times as we please, but it should not be sung before that holy night.
    
This  year we will be adding yet another tradition or actually changing the way that we do one.  We used to at the beginning of the school year have each child pick a Saint that they have to research, make a costume for, and tell about come All Saints Day.  This year we are going to do things a little differently.
   
The following has been taken from: "Around the Year with the Trapp Family" and it is this tradition that we are going to adapt to our own.                 
    "One of the old customs is to choose a patron saint for the new year of the Church. The family meets on Saturday evening, and with the help of the missal and a book called "The Martyrology," which lists thousands of saints as they are celebrated throughout the year, they choose as many new saints as there are members of the household. We always choose them according to a special theme. One year, for instance, we had all the different Church Fathers; another year we chose only martyrs; then again, only saints of the new world....During the war we chose one saint of every country at war.
    The newly chosen names are handed over to the calligrapher of the family.  She writes the names of the saints in gothic lettering on little cards. Then she writes the name of every member of the household on an individual card and hands the two sets over to the mother
In the afternoon of the first Sunday of Advent,  the whole family meets in the living room. The Advent wreath hangs suspended from the ceiling on four red ribbons; the Advent candle stands in the middle of the table or on a little stand on the side. Solemnly the father lights one candle on the Advent wreath, and, for the first time, the big Advent candle. Then he reads the Gospel of the first Sunday of Advent. After this the special song of Advent is intoned for the first time, the ancient "Ye heavens, dew drop from above, and rain ye clouds the Just One...."
    After our first gathering around the Advent light, and the singing of the first Advent hymn, an air of expectancy spreads over the family group; now comes the moment when the mother goes around with a bowl in which are the little cards with the names of the new saints. Everybody draws a card and puts it in his missal. This saint will be invoked every morning after morning prayer. Everyone is supposed to look up and study the life story of his new friend, and some time during the coming year he will tell the family all about it. As there are so many of us, we come to know about different saints every year. Sometimes this calls for considerable research on the part of the unfortunate one who has drawn St. Eustachius, for instance, or St. Bibiana. But the custom has become very dear to us, and every year it seems as if the family circle were enlarged by all those new brothers and sisters entering in and becoming known and loved by all.

Start a tradition or two with your families this Advent season, your children will learn to love and cherish them and it will help bring your Faith to life. 

May you all have a very fruitful and blessed Advent! 

Below you will find a printable file with the Advent Wreath Prayers:
advent_prayers.pdf
File Size: 191 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
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24th Sunday after Pentecost - Prepare to Face the Judgment

11/10/2021

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My dear children: As our holy faith teaches us, Jesus Christ will come again at the end of the world to judge the living and the dead. All men that ever lived will rise out of their graves and be gathered together before the Lord of Heaven and earth. God wills all men to be saved, but to a great majority of mankind the sentence of condemnation will be pronounced, as men will not do what is necessary for obtaining salvation. Children, what must we do in order to obtain a favorable judgment? Listen and I shall tell you.

Make a good confession. Many nominal Catholics live for years in entire forgetfulness of God and add sin upon sin. In order to set things right they must make a confession of their past life. There are some who confess invalidly on account of their want of contrition and a firm purpose of amendment; some do not examine their conscience strictly enough, and on that account their confession is very imperfect. Even for those who are pious a rehearsal of their past confessions is at times advisable. In their examination of conscience they might find that one or the other of their past confessions was essentially faulty.

St. John Climacus relates the following consoling story: There lived in the East a young man who had from his youth given himself up to every kind of sin, and was remarkable even among those who were wicked for his evil deeds. But God spoke to the heart of this young man and inspired him with the resolution to return to his Heavenly Father. Going at once to a monastery in Alexandria, he fell down at the feet of the Abbot and besought him to admit him into the number of his religious. The holy man who had heard much about the bad life of this man was indeed glad to see him kneeling so humbly at his feet, but fearing that the present emotions would pass away, he said to him: 'My child, you will
never be able to practice the austerities which our monks practice; besides you would never be able to confess your sins publicly in Church, as is the custom amongst us.' 'Yes, my Father," he answered, "not only would I confess all my sins before the monks of your house, but I am willing to confess them in public before all the world, if necessary.' The abbot on hearing this admitted him.

On the following Sunday, when the monks were assembled in the church to the number of two hundred and thirty, the Abbot ordered the young man to be brought in. He entered clothed in sackcloth and covered with ashes. The Abbot then placed him in the middle of the Church and told him to begin his confession. He at once obeyed and recited his sins amid sobs and tears. During the time he was thus accusing himself one of the monks saw standing at his side a beautiful angel. He held a large open book and with a pen he effaced every sin that was confessed. God was pleased to make known in this way that He forgave that great sinner all that he had done wrong, because he was sorry for his sins, and confessed them.

The same thing happens to you, children, every time you make a good confession. God's angel effaces your sins from the book in which they were recorded, never to appear against you again. Oh, try then, always to make good confessions that your sins may be blotted out, and that your soul may become beautiful before God. If you find it difficult to tell some sin you may have committed, ask the most holy Mother of God to obtain for you the grace to confess it.

When we find that a general confession is necessary we must never delay it. No one knows whether he will be so situated as to make a good general confession. A Spanish nobleman came one day to a missionary, requesting him to hear his general confession. To the question why he wished to make one then he replied : "Ah, must I not die! But if I wait till that time the thought of wife and children, fear, the vehemence of the sickness, may prevent me from being calm and deliberate ; how great, therefore, would be my imprudence if I should put off this business to such an inopportune time and under so many difficulties." And he would not defer his general confession for a single day. Children, do not let a mission, or a jubilee, or a change of your state of life pass by without making a general confession.

Marie, spouse of Louis XV. of France, had a son whom she also trained in the fear of God up from his infancy. When he grew up to be a young man he had to leave his mother's house and live for a time among strangers. During his absence word was brought to his mother that he had to spend part of his time among those who would take a pleasure in corrupting his young heart. As soon as she was informed of this, she threw herself on her knees at the foot of the crucifix and recommended her beloved child to the protection of his Heavenly Father. "O my God," she prayed, "take my darling boy to Thyself, rather than permit him to offend Thee by sin, or to lose the treasure of his innocence."

God heard the prayer of that good mother and delivered him from the evil that threatened him. When he returned home, the first question his mother asked him was if he had much to endure from the companions he had to mingle with. "Yes, my mother," he replied, "great indeed were the dangers they put around me to ruin me; but, thanks be to God, and to your prayers, I have still kept my soul pure and stainless." Not long after this time the young Prince became suddenly very ill and died in sentiments of great piety. On the evening of the day of his death his mother sent for her other children, and, with tears in her eyes, said to them: "Your brother is dead; it is I, your mother, who asked God to take him to Himself. Sometime ago I heard that he was in danger of committing sin. I went on my knees and prayed fervently to God to take him out of this world rather than permit him to lose his innocence. God has heard me, and I thank Him for His goodness to me. Still I weep for him, for I loved him as dearly as any mother could love her child."

Children, you have just heard how prayer kept the son of the king pure and innocent, you can rest assured that his conscience was always in order. How calm and innocent he must have stood before the just Judge. In order to persevere in grace unto the end we need special help from God, for the enemies of our soul are very powerful. We must ask for this help and that is obtained first of all by prayer. Only those obtain salvation who pray, and those are lost who do not pray. All the saints have been saved because they prayed. Who then would not pray with fervor, since so much depends on prayer?

The Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist are another means to keep our conscience in order. As often as you make a humble and sincere confession you are cleansed from all your sins, both mortal and venial, and at the same time you also receive special graces by which you are strengthened against sin. Holy Communion affords us extraordinary power and strength to overcome all the assaults of the devil and to persevere in good. Besides these means there is another and that is devotion to the saints of God. By devotion to the saints we can obtain many graces, they are in great favor with God and are His friends. But we may promise to ourselves still greater graces from our devotion to Mary, because she is not only a servant of God, but also the Mother of God. The prayer of Mary, being the prayer of a mother, has the virtue almost of a command.

A young man who had many times fallen into mortal sins went to confession to a certain priest. The good priest in order to encourage his penitent to be good, said : "My child, I will tell you an easy means to overcome temptations. If you do what I tell you, you will never fall again." "Oh, my Father," he replied, "tell me what it is, for with all my heart I desire to overcome all my evil habits." "Say a 'Hail Mary' every morning and evening in honor of her immaculate purity, and whenever you are tempted to do evil, say to her at once, 'O Mary, help me, for I am thine.' " The young man followed this advice, and in a short time was entirely delivered from his bad habits. Now it happened a short time afterwards that he was relating this to some of his acquaintances whom he had formerly scandalized by his bad conduct. Amongst those who were listening to him was a young officer, who, like himself, had fallen into many sins, because he went willfully with bad companions. As soon as he had heard the young man's story he resolved to follow his example. He at once went to confession and continued to lead a pious life. "O Mary, help me, for I am thine," was his watchword whenever any temptation assailed him. Some months after his conversion he had the imprudence to go again to visit those companions who had formerly led him into sin; he wished to see if they had followed his example. But no sooner had he reached the place where they dwelt than a strange feeling of terror came over him, and he cried out : "O Mary, help me, for I am thine." That very instant he felt himself thrust back by an invisible hand and found himself at a distance from the house. He immediately saw the danger in which he had been and returned his most heartfelt thanks to God and His Holy Mother for having thus preserved him.

My dear boys and girls, you know what you must do that you may be prepared to face judgment. You must keep your conscience in order and therefore fervently practice prayer, read pious books, frequently receive the Sacraments and have a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Consider that your doom for all eternity will be decided before the judgment seat of God, and therefore let it be your only business to prepare yourselves well for the Day of Judgment.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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23rd Sunday after Pentecost - A Very Earnest Thought

10/30/2021

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My dear children: A day and an hour will come when we will cease to breathe, our eyes will close, our ears will no longer hear the wailings of our friends, our hands and feet will grow cold, our heart will cease to beat, and our body will lie there motionless, its soul departed, like a castaway garment whose owner will use it no longer. Death is certain to all. And that is why I am speaking of death to you, my dear boys and girls, although you are so young, just starting in to live. From the first breath you drew you have started your march on to death. Since death is certain to all, it is certainly reasonable to think frequently of death that we may prepare ourselves properly for the greatest event of our life.

When you rise in the morning you do not know whether you will be living in the evening. Thousands have risen in the best of health in the morning, and before sunset they were corpses. This was the fate of Abel. Heli, the high priest, and his two sons died suddenly the same day. On the fifteenth of August, 1842, Father Papillon was preaching a sermon in the presence of Prince Polignac and a vast audience in the chapel of the French Embassy in London.

He was in the midst of his sermon, and said: "How precious is time, for we never know at what moment the Almighty will summon us before His tribunal, there to give an account of all our actions." These were the last words he ever uttered. No sooner had he finished this sentence than those who were present noticed his color change; they ran up to the pulpit to help him, but it was too late, the vital spark had fled and the venerable priest was a lifeless corpse. Is it not possible that you may rise in the morning, but when the evening comes you will not lie down, because during the course of the day death will have overtaken you? Since you are not secure one moment against death, is it not right that every morning when you rise you should think of death ?

St. Rose of Lima took a firm resolution to love and to serve God to the end of her life. God sent her many crosses, but she accepted them all with loving resignation to the Divine Will and bore them with heroic patience. She had also much bodily pain to suffer, but this, too, she bore from the hand of God. One day she was suffering more than usual; so great was the pain that she thought it would be impossible for her to endure it much longer. As this thought was passing through her mind she heard a sweet voice which said these words: "My dear child, My Cross was still more painful." These words consoled her and she bore her sufferings patiently to the end. She is now in Heaven enjoying the crown of happiness they gained for her.

Death enters into cities and villages at night and snatches his prey, now here now there. It was in the darkness of the night that the destroying angel came into the houses of the Egyptians and snatched away the first born. It was in the darkness of the night that the heroic Judith cut off the head of the drunken Holofernes.

Experience teaches us that more people die in the night than in the day-time. It is at any rate possible that some of us this night must make that journey on which everything depends. Consider this and never go to bed without a serious thought of death. And when you awake during the night think of your grave and say a "Hail Mary" for a happy death. Think of death in all temptations. Our life upon earth is a continuous struggle, and scarcely a day passes when we are not tempted.

Examples from Holy Scripture can show us the terrible devastations wrought. Cain, who slew his own brother Abel ; David, who loaded his conscience with a double crime; Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his Lord and Master. Whence these crimes? From temptations which were not resisted.

St. Rose of Lima, when a little girl, had very beautiful hair which hung in ringlets over her shoulders. Although she already loved God very much she was not altogether free from vanity which so often enters the hearts even of little children. One day while she was playing with her brother, he accidentally threw a quantity of mud on her hair. At this the child looked at him with a vexed countenance and was on the point of getting angry with him for what he had done to her. When he saw this and knew what was taking place in her heart, he said : "My dear sister, do not be angry at what I have done ; I did not intend to do it. But keep in mind that the devil often makes use of fine curls like these to drag good girls down to hell." Rose at once put away the anger that Had risen in her heart, and from that moment, young as she was, she took the resolution never to allow her heart to be attached to any worldly thing, that she might always persevere in the service of God.

How can we preserve ourselves from sin in all temptations? By thinking of death. How would it be possible to sin if we but said to ourselves : I must die, and I know neither how, when, nor where. This thought had been a shield to thousands, they escaped many temptations. Blessed Thomas More, the Chancellor of England, was in prison; his death on the block was certain unless he would renounce his allegiance to the Catholic Church and accommodate himself to the will of the king. His wife visited him in prison and conjured him with many tears to obey the king. Thomas looked at his wife earnestly and said: "Tell me how long shall I live if I do the will of the king and offend God ?" "O surely twenty years," was the reply. "O foolish woman," he replied, "for the sake of twenty years to die miserably and plunge myself into hell ? No, no; I would rather die than displease God. I would rather die the temporal than the eternal death." Thus spoke the great and good man. Take an example from this heroic champion.

In a hospital for sick soldiers there was a young man lying in danger of death ; he was a Catholic. Several times during his illness the priest asked him to prepare to die well, as there was but little hope of his recovery. "Not yet," he always answered. "Not yet; I will think of it tomorrow." The next day he gave the same answer, but added : "I should like very much to make my confession, but it is impossible for me to do so." "What is there that can make it impossible for you to make your confession, my boy?" said the priest The only answer the dying man gave was : "Don't speak to me of this any more, I beseech you, for I tell you it is impossible." The priest tried to show him the happiness and peace that fill the soul of a sinner who has obtained God's pardon, and asked him for God's sake to make his peace with God. The soldier shook his head. "It is of no use, Father, for you to ask me to do this. Do you see those men there? What would they think or say?" The priest at once saw that it was human respect which made the young man so stubborn, so he went to the group of visiting soldiers and said to them : "Comrades, you are making that young man die an unhappy death." "How, sir, are we doing that?" "He says," answered the priest, "that you would call him a coward and a fool if he went to confession." The men rose up in a body and went over to their dying comrade. "Do you think that we are pagans?" they exclaimed. "Instead of even thinking of calling you a coward we were quite alarmed about your refusal." These words cured the young man. He called the priest and made his confession and died an hour afterwards with a peaceful smile upon his countenance.

Children, we all have to make a long journey and like every good traveler we ought to prepare ourselves for it. And how can we be so forgetful as not to think of this journey? All persons who had the salvation of their soul at heart often thought of death. The Emperor Maximilian had his coffin made years before his death. He kept it in his room, and when he traveled he brought it with him in order by the sight of it to be reminded of death.

You see a funeral procession ; what is more natural than to think: Soon I shall be carried to the grave. You see this one or that one taking sick and dying. Ought you not to think : my turn will soon come. When you hear the clock strike, will you not think of your dying hour and say: Perhaps I shall die at the same hour that has just struck and appear before God. These frequent thoughts of death will be the means for the preservation of a good conscience, and a good conscience is like a continual feast.

My dear boys and girls, walk in the fear of God that you may obtain the greatest, most desirable and necessary of all graces—the grace of a happy death.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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22nd Sunday after Pentecost - Venial Sin

10/23/2021

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My dear Children: God is infinitely holy, and therefore hates and detests every sin, even the least. Did He not want to destroy the entire human race when in the. days of Noe He saw His chosen people piling sin upon sin ? Holy Scripture says : "It repented Him that He had made man." Furthermore He sent His only begotten Son into the world, that He, as the Lamb of God, might take away the sins of the world. Even venial sin had caused the world to need a Redeemer. And should we hold venial sin, then, to be a small evil? The saints thought differently. St. Anselm and St. Thomas said that they would rather be burning in hell innocently than be in heaven with one venial sin on their conscience.

There was once a girl who worked in a factory. One day, her work was done, and it was time to go home. Seeing on her dress some white lint, she stooped down to brush it off, but as she bent over, the machinery caught her loose hair and drew her along with it. In a moment her head and body were drawn among the wheels and she was crushed to death. It was by a few hairs only that this poor girl was at first caught. You would think that it would have been easy to have broken them and so to escape. But no; while each hair is so very small of itself, together they are stronger than a rope. So it is with venial sin, my children. Keep away, therefore, from the slightest venial sin.

As there is nothing more precious in the world than the grace of God, whatever deprives of this should be considered a great evil. It is true venial sin does not separate us entirely from God, but it grieves Him and puts an obstacle to His grace. So it happens that persons who go on committing venial sins willfully, often fall into mortal sin. Not being strengthened by grace, they succumb to temptation and lose the friendship of God. Almighty God inflicts severe punishments on those who commit venial sins, both in this world and in the world to come. Now supposing that one of you were tempted to steal a penny, and you knew that, if you stole it, you would be thrown into prison or burnt in a slow fire, do you think that you would take it? Most assuredly you would not. And yet we know that if we die in the guilt of venial sin, we shall be sent into the prison and burnt in the fire of purgatory. Let us always remember, therefore, when we are tempted to commit venial sin, that God will be sure to punish it either in this life or in the next.

You know the story of Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt. She acted contrary to the command of God's angel and out of mere curiosity looked back at the burning city. Yet, see her punishment! Mary, the sister of Moses, was, on account of a little murmuring infected with a terrible leprosy, from which she could only be freed by the prayer of her brother. Moses, just for a moment doubted God's goodness when he was told to draw water from solid rock. For this small venial sin, he was deprived of entering the promised land.

St. Louis had the good fortune to have a most excellent mother. "Guard against sin !" was the constant warning of Queen Blanche to the child who was to be the future king of France. Often she would say to him : "I know that I love you, my dear son, With the greatest tenderness that a mother can have ; yet I would rather see you dead than guilty of sin." Such teachings made a deep impression on the prince, and he himself said later in life that he never forgot the instructions of his mother, but thought of them every day. Oh, that all children would take their mother's teachings thus to heart. After his father's death Louis became king of France, and as a ruler he fulfilled his duties most conscientiously. He honored the Catholic Church as her faithful son. He attended Mass every day and read many devout books. He visited hospitals and often nursed the sick, even lepers, with his own hands.

On his deathbed the holy king exhorted his son to be faithful to his duties, and said to him: "My dear son, the first thing that I commend to you is that you love God above all things. Live only for Him and be ready to endure sufferings and trials, rather than to commit a single sin." Dear children, it was the teaching of St. Louis' mother, the good Queen Blanche, that made this good king such an admirable ruler. Repeat it often in your hearts, especially when you are tempted, remembering that sin is the greatest evil
that can befall you.

For the forgiveness of venial sins God has given us many means. Sincere acts of contrition, act of love and works of penance will serve to cleanse our souls from these stains. If you have told lies, you must try not to tell such any more; if you have been angry, try to be gentle and kind; if disobedient, to be willing and docile.

When St. Macarius was a little boy, he was playing with some other children in a garden. At a little distance stood a fig tree, laden with ripe fruit. The boys said : "What beautiful figs ! Let us take some." So they plucked a few, and began to eat them. While Macarius was eating, his conscience seemed to be always saying to him: "You have done wrong! You have done wrong!" And he found no pleasure in eating the fig he had taken. Afterwards, when he grew up to manhood, his disciples would often see him weeping: "I am weeping," he would say, "for the sin I committed when I was a child, by stealing a fig." "But, dear Father, that was only a venial sin." "Ah, my brethren," he would answer "it was an offense against God, and that is enough."

My dear children, keep away from venial sin, since it is so terrible in the eyes of God. If you try every evening when you retire to think how you have failed in being good, and resolve to do better the next day, you will learn by experience how good God is to those who seek Him. There is no true happiness to be found on earth except in the love and service of so good a God.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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21st Sunday after Pentecost - The Blindness of Sinners

10/16/2021

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My dear Children : A Roman philosopher tells of an old woman who lived in his house but who on account of age had become blind. Yet she called continually upon her servants to take her to some other dwelling, as she could not see in the one she occupied, because, as she thought, all the windows were walled up. Sinners are like this poor woman. They are blind, but will not believe it. There are many who desire to be praised and honored; who are always right and will yield to no one. They are evidently proud, and the worst feature is that they cannot see it; though they go to confession they fail to accuse themselves of the sin of pride. There are others again whose heart is so set on getting money, that they will even deny themselves and others the necessities of life, just to accumulate money. These are misers, totally blind to the passion of avarice. Lastly there is a class of spiritually blind persons who live according to the spirit of the world, never mortifying themselves, but following a code of morals contrary to the spirit of Christianity. To which of these class do you belong? Be not blind, children; compare your actions with the Christian law, and with the example of Christ and the saints.

St. Dominic received from God the grace of converting most obstinate sinners into great saints. One of these was Don Pedro, a nobleman of Aragon. When the saint was preaching in that part of the country, this gentleman, hearing of the wonders he wrought, had a great desire to see him. So he set out one day,accompanied by servants, and entered the church where St. Dominic was going to preach. Not with the intention of changing his life did he go there, but only to satisfy his curiosity. The people who knew of the bad life he was leading were astonished to see him in church. When Don Pedro entered, St. Dominic was kneeling before the altar, and God was pleased to make known to this holy man the dreadful state of the sinner's soul. He seemed to behold entering the church a hideous monster, with eyes starting from his head, and hands like eagle's claws. At this sight the man of God was filled with terror. "O my God, I beseech Thee," he cried out, "change the heart of this great sinner and make him truly penitent." Then going into the pulpit, he preached a sermon upon the awful effects of mortal sin. But all his eloquence was lost on this stubborn sinner. Not many days afterwards the same nobleman returned once more to this church, and St. Dominic was preaching as he came in. Suddenly stopping his sermon, and turning towards the crucifix, he exclaimed: "O Jesus, full of mercy, O Jesus, all-powerful, let Thy people here see with their bodily eyes the sad state of the soul of him who has just entered Thy Holy House." This prayer was heard. In an instant the proud Don Pedro appeared before them as a hideous monster, surrounded by a multitude of evil spirits, who held him by a chain. Terror and fear came upon all the gathered multitude. Some began to scream; in short a great tumult arose in the house of God. Don Pedro was astonished at seeing the dismay his appearance had caused, nor could he understand whence it proceeded. Calling one of his servants who was trembling from head to foot, he asked what it all meant. "My Lord," answered the servant, "is it possible that you alone do not see the terrible change that has come over you? You are surrounded by evil spirits that hold you by a chain."Only then did the unfortunate man realize that God had manifested the state of his soul to those who were present. Thereupon St. Dominic exhorted the people to cease their cries and to pray instead. Calling one of his disciples he gave him his rosary beads, and said : "Give these to Don Pedro and tell him to ask mercy and pardon from God." No sooner had Don Pedro taken the beads into his hands than he assumed his usual appearance. Kneeling down before the altar of the Blessed Mother he was filled with compunction of heart, and amid a flood of tears confessed his sins to St. Dominic and asked pardon of all the people for the scandal he had given them. Ever afterwards his life was one of penance and piety and he died in the odor of sanctity.
 
Like a man asleep sinners have lost their hearing. Conscience, it is true, is ever awake and knocks at the sinner's heart, reproaching him bitterly for his sinful life, but he is perfectly deaf. He drowns the voice of conscience by worldly pleasures and refuses to heed the admonitions of his pastor and friends. There are many daughters who do not regard the warning words of their parents. They persevere in sin, as though this world were never to be destroyed,— as though they had here an eternal resting place ! Oh, that every sinner would be aroused from the sleep of sin!

A certain young man was filled with the deepest melancholy at the death of a young person with whom he had been sinning. Nothing could console him, and very soon his health began to give way. . One of his companions, observing this, and knowing well the cause of it, thought of a cure, severe indeed, but one which he hoped would prove effective; for being pious himself he desired to bring his friend back to the path of virtue. He asked him to accompany him to the cemetery, and going to the grave wherein the remains of the young person had been interred, he opened it, as also the coffin. The stench of the decaying corpse was so unbearable that the young man turned to run away. "Why do you run away?" said the other. "Of what are you afraid? Come and behold the countenance of your friend, the friend with whom you have broken God's commandments—one who weeps in the other life for the momentary pleasures of this wicked world. Come and learn what a sad and bitter thing it is to have forsaken the Lord Thy God."

This lesson, though severe, had the desired effect. The young man repented of his past sins, and lived and died as saints do. You have learned by experience, my children, how sleep deprives you of the use of your senses; in like manner the torpor of sin does not permit you to see the pernicious consequences of a godless life.

There is no greater misfortune than sin; by it you lose the grace of God; you relinquish your rights to the merits you have acquired for heaven; and are in imminent danger of being lost forever. Cooperate then with the grace of God all your life long for that will enable you to see clearly the way to heaven.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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20th Sunday after Pentecost - Parental Example

10/10/2021

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My dear Children: We know that example draws, be it for good or for evil. At the conclusion of today's Gospel we read that not only the ruler, but also his whole house, believed in Jesus. If the ruler had not believed in Christ, those of his household would not have believed in Him; his whole house, his wife, children, and servants believed in Him.

Children, if you are blessed with good parents who give you a good example there is no better means of training you to become good Catholic men and women. Good example is the best teacher of good morals.

The unbounded confidence which you have in your parents, makes you consider everything they do as right and good. If you see that your parents pray devoutly, diligently visit the church, and if their daily conduct shows that they have the fear of God before their eyes, it will make a salutary impression upon you ; that which is good will take root in the hearts of the children of such parents and will become almost a second nature. And when you, young folks, grow up, when severe and dangerous trials have to be endured, you will have become so confirmed in virtue, that sin will not overcome you. And even if you should fall, you will soon rise; your wounded conscience will give you no rest, but will  urge and impel you to reconcile yourselves with God as soon as possible.

The Prophet Ezechiel speaks of a wagon drawn by four living beings; as these moved along, the wheels of the wagon turned round and followed. By this wagon we can understand a family; the beings that draw the wagon are the parents ; but the wheels are the children. Now, just as the wheels turned around and went the same direction as the beings that drew the wagon, so children act according to the example of their parents. St. Chrysostom says : "The works of the parents are books from which the children learn. The tongue, the lips of the parents, are as so many books, from which children are taught."
 
There lived about the middle of the thirteenth century, in Brittany, a pious married couple. God blessed their union by giving them a son, whom they called Yves, and whom they resolved to bring up in piety and the knowledge of God's holy law. The mother especially watched over him, and ceased not to say to him, over and over again : "Yves, you must be a saint." The child, hearing these words so often, said to her one day: "Mother, what is a saint?" "A saint, my child, is one whom God has made to be forever with Him in heaven. A saint is one who loves God above all things, and His Son Jesus Christ : one who keeps all the commandments of God, that he may be with Jesus Christ in heaven." The child listened to these lessons of his mother with his hands joined, and his eyes fixed on hers, eager for every word she said, andwhen she had ended he would say to her : "My mother, I must be a saint; I will love God with all my heart, and all my lifetime I will try to please Him." His father then would say: "My child, your mother has taught you how to love God, I will teach you now how to love your neighbor for God's sake." And he took his little boy on errands of charity and showed him those outward deeds of virtue that mark the Christian among men, and make him glorify His Father who is in heaven. And thus the child grew up a saint.

We read in the Bible that Tobias led a blameless and holy life in the midst of a godless, vicious city. He did this because he was so fortunate as to have a father who not only instructed him in every virtue, but also gave him a most beautiful example. How was it that Timothy lived so piously that St. Paul states that he had found a disciple who was entirely of his own disposition, and who interested himself in the welfare of the faithful as zealously as himself?

The Apostle traces the source to the disciple's mother and grandmother. What kind of parents have as a rule good children? To whom belong those boys and girls who are distinguished for modesty, obedience, fervor in prayer, and fear of God ? Who are those young men and women, who by their reserve and modesty are models for the entire congregation? They are usually the children of good Catholic parents. Since those young people see and hear nothing at home but what is good, they themselves become good, and justify in their parents the hope that they will always remain so. Yes, the lessons and admonitions of parents sink deeply into the hearts of children. They resemble a gentle rain, which moistens ' the soil and causes a plentiful supply of fruit.

There was once a pious mother who had a son whom she taught to love God. From his earliest years he followed the holy counsels she gave him, and grew up a model to all the young men around him. He went frequently to the Sacraments, and there was every appearance that he would live and die a saint. Things went on in this hopeful way till he had reached his seventeenth year. All at once a change came over him. His piety seemed to melt slowly away, and he no longer went to the Sacraments as he used to do. This change in his conduct was soon observed by his good mother. For a long time she tried very hard to find out what was the cause of this change. He never went with bad companions, and she never saw him read bad books. One day when she was more sorrowful than ever she went to see him in his room. "My dear child," she said to him, "you must tell me what is the cause of the great change that I observe in you ; you are not the same pious boy that you used to be. You must tell me all about it." But the son did not speak. He hung his head, and his face grew crimson with shame. His mother became more and more alarmed, and she pressed him with the most endearing words. "My mother," he began, "since you have asked me in this way, I will not hide anything from you; I will tell you all. I loved my religion dearly and I found my greatest delight in the practice of it. But now I have grown up, and I have begun to reflect. Look at my father; see how the world honors and esteems him. Oh, how much I would like to resemble him ! Yet he does not practice his religion. Surely I cannot do wrong in acting as he does. Now, my dearest mother, I have told you all." The poor afflicted mother left her son, and flew at once to the room where her husband was. She sat down by his side, and in the midst of tears and sobs, told him all that her son had said to her. "Come with me," he said, "I have misled my boy, but I may yet save him." Saying these words he went down to his son's room. "My child," he said, "it is indeed a hard thing for a father to go on his knees to his own son, but I will do it. Yes, my child, I am guilty—guilty of a great sin. I have not lost my faith. It is that cursed human respect that kept me from professing my faith openly. Thanks be to God, it is not too late. Forgive me, my dear child, for the bad example. Who is your confessor, he shall also be mine."

The best person if he has bad example before him is in great danger to lose his good principles. This is very true of children who like to imitate what they see and hear, without knowing the consequences of sin. In their simplicity they think that everything done by their parents is good and lawful. As the youth, so the man. The result is that such children often live and die in sin and perish eternally. As long as David himself was pious, his children were the same. But when the father sinned grievously, the children also departed from the right path, and committed heinous crimes.

My dear boys and girls, thank God from the bottom of your heart if you have good Catholic parent? parents who give you a good example. Oh that every Christian mother would ever remember the great influence her example has upon her children for good or for evil, so that she may forever enforce her instruction by her own good example.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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19th Sunday after Pentecost -         Honor Due the Anointed of the Lord

10/3/2021

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My dear Children: We honor and revere ambassadors and representatives of kings and potentates of this earth; how much more should we not honor and revere the priest, the representative of the King of kings, namely God. When we consider the exalted office and the sublime power entrusted by Jesus Christ to His ministers upon earth, and especially to His priests and bishops, we are struck with amazement, and cannot fail to be penetrated with the deepest reverence for their sacred office. They are the representatives of Jesus Christ here below; in them He still lives among us, speaking to us through their lips the words of eternal life. Ah, my dear children, with what holy awe and profound reverence should we not regard the office of the priest! What respect, too, should we not show in our conduct towards him ! The lips of the priest have the power to call the Son of God down upon the altar, and to open the gates of heaven to the penitent sinner. His hands are daily sanctified by the touch of the most pure and spotless Body of Jesus, which he holds, and raises aloft, and carries in Communion to the faithful, having a privilege like to that of Mary herself, to whom it was given to carry the divine Infant in her arms.

St. Martin, the illustrious Bishop of Tours, being on a visit, upon an affair of business, at the court of Emperor Maximus, was invited, with the priest who accompanied him, to sit down to dinner at the emperor's table. During the repast a cup of wine was poured out and presented to Maximus, who, wishing to do honor to the bishop, ordered it to be first handed to St. Martin, expecting that, when he had tasted, he would return it to him again. To his surprise, however, and of that of the whole court, St. Martin, after he had drunk, passed the cup to his companion, the priest, as being after him the most exalted person in the assembly. So far from being displeased, Maximus applauded this action of the saint, acknowledging that, in the sight of God, who estimates persons at their true value, the imperial is far inferior to the priestly dignity.

The priest announces to us the messages of God, and interprets His divine commandments. He speaks to us, on the part of God, words of consolation, encouragement, counsel, direction, and also reproof, and he continually pleads for us at the throne of grace by the recital of the canonical hours. Truly the office of the priest is an angelic office, or rather is an office far higher than that of the angels, who are but the ministers of God to do His will ; whereas the priest is not only His minister, but His representative upon earth, and a mediator between Him and His people. Hence St. Francis of Assisi was wont to say : "Were I to meet in the street an angel and a priest, I would first bow in reverence to the priest and afterwards in reverence to the angel." And you also, my dear children, when you respectfully bow to salute the priest, or kneel to receive his blessing, show thereby that the same faith which animated the saints burns within your breasts. For you do so because you see with the eyes of your soul Jesus Christ Himself in the person of His priest, and know and feel that though he may be poor and lowly in the eyes of unbelieving men, his sacred character raises him in dignity and honor far above the kings and mighty of the world.

A certain traveler happened at nightfall to reach a large forest, through which he was obliged to pass to reach his destination. There was a shepherd with his flock, and of him he asked the necessary directions by which he might reach in safety the place to which he was going. "The way which leads to the town you wish to go to," he answered, "is long and dangerous, and it will be very difficult for me to point it out to you, for the forest is crossed by so many paths that it will be almost impossible for you to find the right one. There is, indeed, one high road which is broad and easy to walk on, but it leads to a terrible abyss, into which many incautious travelers have fallen and perished." "What is that terrible abyss of which you speak?" said the stranger. "It is a deep ravine, situated at the other end of this forest. There are many wild beasts, and one of them especially is most ferocious, so that we often find remains of unfortunate people whom it has devoured. I have stationed myself here at the entrance of the forest through charity to any who may happen to enter it from this side, that I may guide them. Follow me therefore if you wish to escape death." Then, carrying in one hand a lantern, he took with the other one his companion's hand and during the remainder of the night they walked together through the forest. When the morning dawned, they had reached without accident the farther end of the wood. It was only then the traveler came to realize the extent of the favor that his guide had conferred upon him.

Children, the traveler of whom I have spoken is yourself; the large forest is the world in which we live. The wild beasts are the enemies of our soul, and the terrible monster which destroyed so many people is Satan himself. The abyss which the stranger escaped is Hell, and the path by which he was led to the end of his journey is the one of piety, charity, justice, and purity. The charitable guide is not only your invisible guardian angel, but in a particular manner it is also the priest, whom God has given you to be your visible guide, to instruct you in the way you should go, and to direct your feet in the paths of His commandments, until you reach your home—the kingdom of God your Father. Listen, therefore, my dear boys and girls, to the words of the priest, who is the representative of Jesus Christ to you, that you may reach your, true home.

We must love our priests. It is they who ever encourage our best endeavors, continually exhort us to virtue and the fear of God, share our joys and woes, daily pray for us, and even long after our death continue to recommend us to the mercy of God in the sacrifice of the Mass and in prayer.

You must pray for your priests. The gratitude which you owe them for the benefits they bestow upon you demands this. The first Christians did this. When St. Peter was in prison, they prayed without intermission for him until God delivered him. We must with a good will give them what is due them. Good conscientious Catholics give their pastors what is due them, according to justice and usage, and all the more cheerfully because they know that they will employ their savings for charitable purposes.

Priests preach the truths of our holy Faith, for they are commissioned and empowered to teach Christian Doctrine in school and church. What they teach and preach is not their own word, but the Word of God, the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Good Catholics receive the teaching of their pastor with a believing heart, for they know that he teaches not his own doctrine, but the doctrine of the Church, which is the pillar and ground of truth.

Guard against violating your duties as Catholic children towards your priests and pastors of your souls. Honor them, because the sacred office they administer is one deserving honor, though as men they may have some faults and frailties. Love them, for they are your greatest benefactors, caring for your souls and conferring many graces on you for your salvation. Rest assured that it will be to you a sweet consolation on your death-bed if you can say to yourself that you have always honored and loved your priests.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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18th Sunday after Pentecost - The Sin of Blasphemy

9/25/2021

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 My dear Children: In your catechism you have learned under the Second Commandment what blasphemy means. By blasphemy we mean speaking injuriously of God, or His saints and angels, or sacred things. This is, indeed, a crime which we should expect to find only among the devils in hell. For can it be possible that man, the creature of God, redeemed by the Blood of the Son of God, receiving daily his existence and innumerable benefits from the hand of God, should be capable of speaking injuriously of God, or what immediately relates to Him. And yet, unhappily, it is so.

Many, indeed, blaspheme that which they know not; for example those who, not belonging to our holy religion, and misled by prejudice and false teachers, misrepresent Catholic Doctrine, mock at the ceremonies of the Church, or speak disrespectfully of our Blessed Lady, or the saints, or the holy Sacraments ; but there are others, alas ! Catholics in name, who blaspheme that which they do know, by murmuring against the Justice or Providence of God, jesting about holy things, or mocking at the ministers of the Church.

You can easily understand how heinous this crime is in the sight of God. In the Old Law the blasphemer was, by the command of God Himself, sentenced to death, and stoned in sight of all the people, and in the laws of many Christian nations we find the severest punishments enacted against this crime, as, for example, in the laws of St. Louis, king of France, who ordered the tongue of the blasphemer to be pierced with a red-hot iron. Many instances are likewise recorded, in which God took it upon Himself at once to avenge His own honor, and struck the blasphemer dead in the very act of insulting Him.

Some years ago the town of Nottingham was visited by a most awful thunderstorm, the effects of which were most disastrous. The lower part of the town was flooded, and the poorer classes, who inhabited cellars, as well as many shopkeepers, suffered severely. Among those who sought shelter from the pitiless storm in the Milton's Head public-house, was a young man, a lace-maker by trade. For some time he amused himself with ridiculing the fears of the people, but his language, which was from the first light and unbecoming, became at last impious and profane. He used the Holy Name of God in the most blasphemous manner, and, with bitter oaths, expressed a wish that a thunderbolt might come down and strike his companions blind. Then raising himself, he looked through the skylight over the room in which they were sitting and, with profane gestures, defied the lightning. At that moment a vivid flash entered the room, and in an instant he was lying speechless on the floor. He was taken up by the trembling bystanders, none of whom were injured, and laid upon a couch. The first words he uttered on recovering his speech were: "God forgive me!" He had become blind.

God is blasphemed when we wish Him evil, or when we curse creatures, in so far as they are God's works. He who wishes that there was no God, or that He had not the power to punish the wicked, is guilty of the most horrid blasphemy. He who curses men, cattle, or anything else, such as the weather, is guilty of blasphemy,' according to St. Thomas of Aquin, since these are creatures or works of God; for dishonoring that which God has made is in fact dishonoring God Himself. But God can be blasphemed not only with words, but also with signs and gestures; when a man, for instance, full of rage, raises his clenched hands towards heaven, gnashes his teeth, spits upon holy things, as the soldiers did when they spat upon Jesus,' bent their knees before Him and in derision saluted Him as their king.

Children, this sin can also be committed in thought, when we voluntarily think something of God or His saints which is to their dishonor. Persons who are troubled with involuntary blasphemous thoughts must not allow themselves to be disquieted in their devotion. They should often say "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."

A very holy man left his cell in the desert to visit a sick friend of his youth who dwelt in Alexandria, and who wished to see him before he died. Most of the inhabitants of that city were pagans, who hated the Christian religion. As soon, therefore, as he entered, they knew by his dress that he was a Christian hermit, and began to mock him. Some carried their hatred so far as to strike him, and to abuse him in other ways. But the good man passed on without uttering a word of complaint, and bore all patiently for the love of God. Some of them cried after him in mockery : "Did Jesus Christ ever work a miracle?"

A man who was passing and who was a Christian said: "Yes, Jesus Christ did work many miracles; but even if He had not wrought any, the conduct of this holy man is enough to prove the truth of the Christian religion. What greater miracle could you desire to see? You have insulted and abused the good man because he is a disciple of Jesus Christ, and yet he has borne it all without murmur." These words silenced the people : they were ashamed of what they had done. And some of them, touched by the meekness of the good monk, were led to believe in God and to renounce forever paganism.

Children, by blasphemy God is attacked personally, and His honor violated. One who offends a king personally, commits a greater crime than if he transgresses one of his laws, so the blasphemer commits a far greater sin than some sinner who sins not immediately against God, but only against His law. Now if a man dares to insult and blaspheme God, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim adore with the most profound veneration, must it not be a horrible sin? If a Catholic who is a member of the true Church of God, curses God despite of all graces and evidences of His love, instead of praising and glorifying Him, is it not the most atrocious crime? Very sad to say that even some children, who scarcely know how to make the Sign of the Cross, know how to give themselves to the devil ; they learn how to curse sooner than to pray. Oh, that parents would carefully guard against cursing and blaspheming, so as not to give scandal to their children.

My dear boys and girls, I beg of you avoid the company of blasphemers, they are living devils. Furthermore, consider what you would have to reveal before the throne of God, when you must give an account of every idle word. Let the divine praises be constantly on your lips : "Blessed be God, blessed be His Holy Name."

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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17th Sunday after Pentecost - Loving God Above All Things

9/19/2021

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My dear Children: We must love God. What does this mean? It means that we must love God not only exteriorly, but also interiorly. It not only the mere tribute of our words or external appearance in our prayer that He demands, but our words come must from the very bottom of our hearts. Who are those who love God only with their lips ? Those boys or girls who pray without thinking of what they say. Their heart is with their playmates or their toys. Such children offer an insult to God, and consequently cannot expect any result from their prayer.

Those who do not give their heart to God do not love Him. All those who are in mortal sin do not love God; they love their evil passions; they tell a direct lie to God as often as they say: "My God I love Thee" God is not satisfied with a divided heart; we must not divide our love between Him and His Creatures. To love with the whole heart means to love God alone, and everything besides God for God's sake and in such a manner as He wills.

St. Francs de Sales loved God with his whole heart, for he says of himself: "If I knew that there was in my heart a single fibre not for God, I would tear it out at once." If you have any inordinate love for any person of thing expel it from your heart, forr the heart man is a tabernacle in which God alone should dwell.

I heard a story the other day about a little boy who surely had the love of God in his heart. There is one thing he never forgot namely, to take his offering with him every Sunday to church. He had his envelope for his weekly offering just as his father had and he never would go to church unless he had it with him I happened one day that he had to go to church alone on a Sunday when his father and mother were absent. However, he did not go without his offering. He had it in his little white envelope which he carried in his pocket.  That morning a strange lady sat at the head of the seat in the same pew, and when the time came for the offering to be given she looked in her bag and found that she had no money with her. She didn't seem to be troubled about it, but the little boy was greatly troubled and wondered what she would do when the men would come with the plates to receive the offering and she had none to give. You see he had formed the habit of giving and he enjoyed it, and wondered how anybody could go to church without a gift. Well, he got more troubled and anxious the nearer the ushers came with the collection-plates, and when they came to the seat in front of the one where he was sitting he held out his little white envelope to the strange lady, and said to her: "Here, please, take this and put it in the plate, and I'll get under the seat. I'm small and they won't see me." That boy has formed a habit of giving, and when he grows to be a man it will be part of his life and part of his religion to offer his gifts unto the Lord. I think that every boy, no matter how small, ought to give some of his money—however little it may be—to God.

Charity requires that we always will what God wills, that we make a sacrifice of our will to God, and therefore accept cheerfully all crosses and afflictions from His hand. In this way all pious souls manifest their love of God. When St. Gertrude said the "Our Father," she used to repeat three times the words "Thy will be done." While praying thus one day, our blessed Lord appeared to her, having health in one hand and sickness in the other, and said to her: "Choose, daughter, between health and sickness." Which do you suppose the saint chose? Health, of course. No. Well, then sickness ? No. As she did not know what our Lord thought good to give her, she said : "Lord, not my will but Thine be done." Let us be satisfied with whatever God is pleased to send us, firmly convinced that He will send us what is good for us.

In the year 1623, at the beginning of Lent, the Venerable Agnes of Jesus became very ill. She was at that time only twenty-one years old. The physicians did not seem to understand the nature of the malady, and gave her medicine which, instead of making her better, only made her suffer the more. But Agnes never uttered one word of complaint, the only words she said were the following, which she repeated often every day: "O my God, mayest Thou be blessed a thousand times." When Easter Sunday came, God was pleased to reward the patience with which she had suffered the heavy crosses He had been pleased to send her, by permitting her guardian angel to appear to her. "My child," said the angel, "are you happy in your sufferings?" "Yes," she answered, "because it is the holy Will of God, whom I love with all my heart. My heart and my will are entirely united to Him : let Him dispose of me according to His divine Will." The angel answered: "Continue to love Jesus in this way, and be assured that He will never forsake you."

When we love some one sincerely we often think of him, for where our treasure is there also is our heart. If, therefore, we truly love God, we shall frequently think of Him and raise our heart to Him. St. Aloysius was always occupied with the thought of God and divine things, and, whether alone or in company, whether he worked or rested, he had no room in his heart for anything but God.

To spare his weakened health, his superiors ordered him to turn his thoughts sometimes from God and to divert himself. But it was impossible for him to do so. Hence it is not a good sign that so many of us have our thoughts everywhere except with God; that we rise in the morning and lie down in the evening without thinking of God, that we occupy ourselves the whole day entirely with temporal affairs, without even a passing thought of God, that even when in church we give way to distractions, and that in general we care as little about God as about a stranger. If we feel ourselves guilty we must admit that our love of God resembles a weak spark which is liable every moment to be extinguished.

A father and mother were living with their two children on a desert island in the ocean, on which they had been shipwrecked. Roots and vegetables served them for food; a spring was their drink; and a cavern in the rock their dwelling. Storms and tempests often raged fearfully on the island. The children knew nothing of the vast continent; bread, milk, fruit, and whatever other luxury is obtainable there, were things unknown to them.

There landed one day upon the island four Moors in a small boat. The parents were greatly delighted, and hoped now to be rescued from their sufferings. But the boat was too small to take them all over together to the adjoining land, so the father determined to risk the passage first. The mother and children wept, when he embarked in the frail wooden boat, and the four black men were to take him away. But he said : "Weep not, it is a better land : and you will all follow soon." When the little boat returned, and took away the mother, the children wept still more. But she also said: "Weep not! In the better land we shall all meet again." At last came the boat to take away the two children. It was with fear and trembling that they drew near the land. But how delighted were they when their parents appeared on the shore, offered them their hands, led them into the shade of lofty palm trees, and regaled them with milk and honey. "My dear children," said the father, "our voyage from the desert island to this beautiful country has a higher meaning. We are all destined to make a much longer journey, to a much more beautiful country. The whole earth upon which we dwell resembles an island ; this glorious land is an image for us, although only a faint one, of heaven ; the voyage hither over the stormy sea is death ; that little boat resembles the bier, upon which men in black apparel shall sooner or later carry us forth.

But when the hour strikes for us, for myself, your mother, or you! to leave this world, be not afraid. Death is for pious people, who have loved God, and have done His will, nothing else but a voyage to the Better Land."

Children, whatever you do, do all for the love of God, that you may become richer and richer in merits in this world, and hereafter receive in heaven the reward of all that love God.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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16th Sunday after Pentecost - The Sin of Pride

9/11/2021

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My dear Children: Pride is a sin with which almost all men are more or less infected ; even Christians who otherwise lead a good life, are not entirely free from it. It is also certain that no sin causes so much evil as pride, for it is the origin of all vices, and the ruin of all virtues. Girls and boys sometimes wish to appear more than what they really are. They wear fine clothes, they want everybody to see them, they try to make people believe that they are rich. They assume affected and haughty airs, and make others think that they are very smart. Some talk piously and pray devoutly just for the sake of appearing to be saints, and a stranger would expect them one day to be canonized. The likes of these appear to be better  than they really are; they exalt themselves, and sin by pride. There are many who are greatly displeased when others make no ado about them. They desire more honor than they deserve.

A farmer went out with his little boy, Tobias, into the cornfield, to see if his corn was nearly ripe. "Father," said the boy, "how is it that some stalks bend so low to the earth, but others hold their heads so upright? The latter must surely be very fine ones, and the others, which bow so low before them, must be very inferior." His father plucked a couple of ears : "Look," said he, "at this ear, which bends itself so modestly, it is full of the finest
grains; but this, which holds itself so proudly aloft, is quite barren and empty." A mincing air and haughty tread speak a weak heart and empty head.

The proud man refuses to give God the honor that is due Him. All natural and supernatural goods which we possess are gifts of God. If one ascribes to himself the good which he has, he is unjust towards God, and sins by pride. This kind of pride is very common. People ascribe everything to their own application, to their own skill, and deny to have received anything from God, so that they may not be obliged to give thanks to God. Thus the farmer says : "It is no wonder that I have good crops, I have prepared my ground well. There is no mystery in my prosperity."

The business man says : "I understand my business ; I am a shrewd business man and a good financier." These proud persons do not consider that with all their diligence they could not accomplish the least thing if God withheld His blessing. If any one on account of his good works seeks honor and praise from men, he does God a great injustice ; for God demands that men, whose chief end is to praise and glorify God, should occupy themselves in glorifying Him. Let us therefore guard against seeking our own glory in anything, but rather have God's glory in view in all our actions.

St. Rose of Lima was very beautiful in feature and form. But she looked upon beauty as a dangerous gift, because it easily leads to vanity, and she avoided everything that might attract notice. She even destroyed the delicate color of her skin by rubbing it with a sharp drug. Her beautiful hair she cut off. When misfortune suddenly befell her parents her devotion to them led her to try to think of a means to help out. She planted her garden with flowers, made bouquets, and sent a servant out to sell them on the market-place. The proceeds she gave to her mother. Rose permitted no pride to come to her mind. Therefore she did not hesitate to take service as a maid in the household of a man named Gonsalvus. She worked busily at her task, day and night, without, however, interrupting her communion with God. The poor and the sick of the city she visited diligently, but she scorned to make worldly calls merely for social pleasure. St. Rose had neither pride of mind nor of body. She did not think that she was better nor more virtuous than others; she was not vain of her physical beauty ; when her parents had become poor she did not hesitate to serve as a maid for their sake. And because she was not proud she was active in visiting the poor and the sick of the city. He who is proud does not do that, for with pride goes hardness of heart towards our fellow being. He who is proud makes life unbearable
for himself and for others, and at last comes to a fall.
 
Everything we have is loaned to us by God and we keep it only as long as God wills. God resists the proud. On account of pride Lucifer was cast out of heaven. Pride drove our first parents out of paradise, and plunged the whole human race into the misery of sin. Pride confused the tongues of the workers on the Tower of Babel. Pride brought the plague down on the legions of David.

A certain ruler in the East, whose name was Saladin, lay at the point of death. Seeing his end approaching, he commanded one of the courtiers to ride through the whole city, bearing on the point of his spear the winding-sheet which was being prepared for him, and in which he would soon be wrapped, and at the same time cry with loud voice, saying: "This is all that the great Saladin, the terror of his enemies, the mighty potentate of the East, can take with him to the grave, out of all the riches and treasures he possessed'."

My dear boys and girls, as we brought nothing into this world when we came into it, so also, when we depart out of it, we can take nothing with us. Why then should we be proud? Remember where you are, and sigh. Where is your soul? In a body which is subject to a thousand frailties. Where is your body? Upon an earth upon which the curse of God rests; in a valley of tears from which countless sighs and) groans daily ascend to heaven. How can we be proud ? What can dust be proud of ? Whither does our body go ? Into the grave, where it will moulder and return into its original dust.

The adorable Son of God chose for His mother a poor maiden of Galilee, for His foster-father a poor carpenter, for his palace a stable; He lived thirty years as the reputed son of a carpenter. He who was God became man to teach us that we are but men. The saints served God with fidelity, practiced all virtues, rendered great service to men—and yet they were little in their own eyes, and no vain thought found room in their hearts. Mary, the Mother of God, calls herself the handmaid of the Lord. St. John the Baptist deems himself unworthy to loose the latchet of the shoes of our Saviour. Looking at such examples, should we not banish all pride from our hearts ?

Frequently think of the awful consequences which pride draws after it; consider your lowly state, and keep the example of Jesus and His saints before you eyes, that you may learn of them to be meek and humble of heart.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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15th Sunday after Pentecost -        Constant Preparation for the Hour of Death

9/4/2021

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My dear Children: Must I speak to you about death; you who are so young, so hopeful for many years to come? It is, indeed, a sad thought, death. The event related in the gospel of this day is one that has been renewed numberless times, and will be renewed every day as long as there are men upon earth. Where is there a city, a village, or even a house, out of which no dead are carried?

Like the young man of Naim, we, too, shall one day be carried to the cemetery, the last resting place. Nothing is more certain than death; and yet nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death. The history of all times tells us that we do not know when death will come. The first family consisted of four persons, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. Who would have believed that Abel, the
youngest member of the family, would die first? The people in Noah's time were eating and drinking when the flood came and took them all away. The daily papers report sudden deaths. We read that some people were killed by burglars and robbers, that one man fell from a scaffold and broke his neck, that many persons drowned, others lost their lives by accidents on railroads or by explosions. Are not persons most dear to us snatched away from our side by sickness, or by accidents ?

What lesson should we draw from this? If you are in the state of grace, you must employ all means to persevere in it unto the end. If you depart from the path of virtue and enter upon the road of sin, death may come suddenly upon you in the midst of your sins.

There was one Stephen, a hermit, who, after he had lived a great part of his life in solitude, fasting, watching, and praying, at last fell sick; and when he was at the point of death, the devil set upon him, and suggested many things to him. Sometimes the hermit cried out: "So it is indeed, I confess I did it; but I have lasted and prayed so many years for it." Other times he cried out : "That is a lie, I did not do it," and again he said : "It is so indeed; but I have shed tears for it; yet notwithstanding," said he, "there is need for mercy."

This example, children, ought to make you wary in all your actions, and flee from sin, and all the occasions of sin, since even this holy man, who had lived nearly forty years a retired and holy life, was so hard pressed by the devil at the hour of his death.

We do not know when death will come; it is active everywhere and knows where to find its victims. It penetrates into all places; no wall, no lock, no bolt can keep it out. People generally die when they least expect it. At the invitation of his brother, the unsuspecting Abel goes out into the field, when Cain suddenly falls upon him and slays him. A man has gallows erected for Mardochai; and a few days afterwards he swings on that very gallows himself. Heli sits down in an armchair to rest himself ; he falls backwards over the chair, and breaks his neck.

Children, we must have God everywhere before our eyes and shun injustice and sin. Avoid all places dangerous to life. Do not commit any foolhardy trick: it is better to be living than dead.

A certain holy priest by the name of Father Arnold saw that his end was near and he received the Sacraments with edifying piety. He asked all those who surrounded his bed to pray for him that he might have a happy death. He had scarcely made this request, when a sudden fear came over him and cold sweat covered his face. "O my brethren," he cried out, "do you not see the evil spirits around me, wanting to carry me to hell ? O, ask Mary, my heavenly Mother, to help me." His friends at once recited the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. When they came to the words, "Holy Mary, pray for him," he cried out, "brethren, say those words again; I am standing at God's judgment-seat." It seemed as if he saw the wicked spirits standing there to accuse him, he seemed to hear accusations, for he said: "Yes, but I did penance for that." He constantly pressed the crucifix to his lips, and continued to whisper the holy name of Mary. On a sudden he exclaimed: "I come, my Lady, I come," and while saying these words he tried to raise himself in his bed, but in doing so he expired.
 
The infinite goodness of God, which sanctifies us on our entrance into the world by Baptism, strengthens and enlightens us by Confirmation, nourishes us with the Holy Eucharist, and heals our spiritual infirmities by Penance, has provided us also with a special Sacrament to assist us in our passage out of this life, and prepare us for a happy eternity. This Sacrament is called Extreme Unction, or the Last Anointing, because in it we are for the last time anointed with Holy Oil. I need not tell you, my dear children, that willfully to omit receiving the Sacrament of Extreme Unction in our last illness, a Sacrament which affords many and such powerful helps towards a good and holy death, would be a sinful neglect and a great ingratitude to God. It would also be wrong willfully to put off receiving this great Sacrament from day to day, when our state has once been declared dangerous ; for we should thereby expose ourselves to the risk of dying without it, or, at least, of receiving it at a time when our strength is so reduced, and our mind so enfeebled, that we could not receive this Sacrament with that spirit of recollection and devout affection which would enable us to reap the full fruit of it. Foolish and ignorant people often imagine that Extreme Unction is like a sentence of death, and that when one has received it, his state may well be despaired) of. On the contrary, there is far more reason to hope for his recovery; for one of the principal effects of this Sacrament is to bless and assist the natural means taken for our bodily cure, whenever God sees this is for our real good.

The virtuous son of Louis XII one day learned that an old servant of his house was in danger of death, and that he would not hear of regulating the affairs of his conscience. He was painfully affected, and thinking that he might do some good in behalf of a man who had spent his life in his service, he went to his house. "Well, my friend," said he, "I am coming to see you, to tell you how sorry I am on your account. I have not forgotten that you always served me with affection ; you would give me, for the first time in your life, the greatest of all sorrows if you did not employ the little while you have yet to live in preparing for death." The poor man was moved to tears by this step of his good master, prepared himself for the Sacraments, and received them with great  piety and devotion.

As for you, my dear children, when serious illness overtakes you, earnestly desire to be purified by the grace of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Do your best to secure the same blessing for your father and mother, your relations and friends, and all to whom you may happen to be near in their last moments. How wicked and cruel are those false friends and unnatural children who allow a sick person or parent to approach to the very gate of eternity without the knowledge of their danger, which would enable them to set their affairs in order, and to make their peace with God! By complying with this instruction you will have the happiness of knowing that you have acquitted yourselves of a duty imposed upon you by filial piety, or, at least, by fraternal charity.

As soon as the priest has fixed the day and hour for administering the last Sacraments, you should prepare beforehand a little altar, on which he may place the holy Eucharist and the consecrated oil. Cover a small table with a clean cloth and place thereon a crucifix, two wax candles, some holy water and some common water, and add a few flowers. Meet the priest at the door with a burning candle and escort him to the bedside of the sick person. Kneel down and pray earnestly to God to bless and pardon the sick person.

Be always prepared for death; keep your conscience undefiled; and if you should have the misfortune to fall into sin, make at once a sincere act of contrition and go as soon as you can to confession, in order to reinstate yourself in the state of grace. Pray every day to God for the blessing of a happy death.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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14th Sunday after Pentecost - God and Mammon

8/29/2021

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My dear Children: Our Lord tells us in the Gospel of this Sunday that we cannot serve two masters. God and Mammon are two masters always at war with each other. Mammon means nothing else than riches or avarice, the inordinate desire after the goods of this world, and a sinful desire to obtain them.

The avaricious man does not seek first the kingdom of God and His justice; what he seeks and desires is money and goods; he thinks only of them. He violates Christian charity and justice; he oppresses the poor, widows and orphans when there is a question of gratifying his avarice.

Children, understand me, to be rich and to be avaricious are not one and the same thing. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job and David were rich, but not avaricious. They were holy men. There are rich people who are not avaricious, and there are poor people who are very avaricious. Only those who inordinately seek and love money and other worldly goods are avaricious.

A merchant named William made a long journey into a distant country, acquired a large fortune by his industry and skill, and after many years returned to his native country. Just as the ship arrived, he heard that all his relations were assembled at a merry supper party in a near-by country house. He immediately hurried to it, and, in the joy of his heart, did not even take time to exchange for a better coat his traveling dress, which had grown rather shabby in the course of the voyage. The consequence was that, as he came into the brilliantly-lighted room, his fine cousins showed but little pleasure at seeing him back again, imagining from his shabby apparel that he had returned home poor. A young servant whom he had brought with him was indignant at the conduct of these relations. "What a heartless set!" said he, "who do not even give their friend a hearty welcome after so long an absence/' "Just wait a moment," said the merchant to him, in a low voice; "they will soon show a different countenance."

He then put a precious ring, which he carried with him, on his finger; and, lo! all their countenances brightened up, and each pressed towards "dear Cousin William." One took him by the hand, another embraced him, and all contended for the honor of receiving and entertaining him at their houses. "Can it then be," said the astonished servant, "that the ring has some hidden power to bewitch the people?" "Oh, no," said William, "it is only that they see by the sparkling ring, which is worth some thousand dollars, that I am rich; and riches rank above everything else in their eyes." "Oh! you blinded men!" cried the boy; "it is not, then, the ring, but your own avarice, that has bewitched you! Can it, indeed, be that men should prize a bit of yellow ore and a brilliant stone more highly than a man so noble as my master?" How many a silly fool worships wealth and is blind to virtue!

We must always be on our guard, dear children, against the hateful and contemptible vice of avarice, which is the fruitful source of so many evils, and we should be the more watchful because it is apt to grow upon people without their perceiving it, especially as they acquire wealth and advance in years. Your parents, dear children, should take every opportunity of promoting liberality in you, teaching you to be generous to your companions, and to love above all things Christ's poor ; otherwise your parents will see you grow up mean, selfish and miserly. You should always remember the words of our divine Lord that He has promised on His own divine word, that even a cup of water given in His name shall not lose its reward.

We have a terrible example of the fatal consequences of 'avarice in the traitor Judas, who, for the few paltry pieces of silver, betrayed His divine Master. On the other hand, it was the charity of Tobias which obtained for him the visit of the archangel Raphael and many blessings, both spiritual and temporal.

Again, it was the hospitality which the woman of Sunam showed to the prophet Eliseus that merited the restoration of her son to life.
 
A rich miser, who had never given a penny to a poor man, kept a monkey for his amusement; but this monkey he even hoped to sell again for more than he had cost. One day this hardhearted man had gone out. The ape got his paws upon the well-filled money chests, and threw whole handfuls of gold and silver out of the window into the street. The people who saw this ran to pick the money up; they scrambled and fought for it and gathered up as much as they could. At length, when the chests were almost empty, the miser came up the street and saw with horror what was going on. "Oh! you hideous, stupid brute!" he cried out, threatening the ape with his clenched fist. A neighbor, however, said to him in the midst of his fury : "Keep your temper. It is certainly stupid to throw money out of the window like this monkey; but, pray, is the man more reasonable who locks it up in chests and makes no use whatever of it ? See how God punished the avaricious man by the means of a stupid animal!

Children, there is a great difference between a proper and an inordinate love of money. He who properly loves money has not the money itself in mind, but the proper use of it; he would be quite indifferent to it if he could not make use of it. Money is to him what medicine is to a sick man. He loves medicine because thereby he hopes to gain a benefit. On the contrary, he who loves money for money's sake, has only the money and not the use of it in view; the possession of money gives him great pleasure.

Thus the rich merchant, of whom Caesarius relates that his friends were obliged to promise him that they would bind a purse of gold upon his heart and put it into the grave with him, certainly loved money. Thus the Emperor Caligula loved money; he often rolled himself on it with great satisfaction. Many Catholics have indeed no purse bound upon their heart, nor do they roll themselves upon their money, but their hearts and souls cling to it; their most pleasant hours are spent in counting their money. The rich man may lose all his wealth by misfortune, and be reduced to beggary during his lifetime; but death tears from man all he possesses. Suppose a man has boxes full of gold, death will not leave him a cent; suppose he owns houses and lands, nothing remains for him but the coffin, in which his body is laid, and a few feet of clay in which he moulders.

The Emperor Constantine one day demonstrated this truth to one of his officers, to cure him of his inordinate love of money. He marked out with his sword on the surface of the ground a space six feet long and two feet wide, and then said to him: "This is all that finally remains for us, my friend ; why should we labor so much to gather riches ?"

Children, often think of this story when you have a desire for the riches and pleasures of the world. 'That is all that will remain to me in death." Remember, man is made for heaven, his eyes look towards heaven. Give a horse a bundle of hay, and a dog a piece of meat, and they are satisfied and wish for no more. The heart of man is made for love and union with God and will never find rest in sensual enjoyments. In spite of his millions the heart of the avaricious man feels disquieted.

A miser had hidden with care a large sum of money in the hollow of a rock. A father of a family, in despair at the want of his children, betook himself to that spot, with the intention of hanging himself with a rope he carried for that purpose. Of a sudden he felt the ground yielding beneath him, and he fell into the hollow which the miser had dug out. After recovering from his fall, he found the treasure hidden there, and took it off as a present from heaven. Later on the miser came to contemplate his gold; finding it gone, he hanged himself with the rope the other had left behind him.

My dear boys and girls, as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, we must consider that when He came down from heaven upon earth that He would not possess any riches, which you so greedily desire; nay, He loved poverty so much that He chose to be born of a poor and lowly virgin, and not of a rich princess of the earth. When He came into the world He would not live in a magnificent palace, but in a miserable manger where rough straw touched His tender body. Moderate your desires for earthly goods which are vain and frail. Your divine Judge will ask you what you have done for heaven, not what you possessed of the goods of this world. Endeavor to be rich in virtues and good works; these are true treasures, far more precious than all the gold and silver of the world.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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13th Sunday after Pentecost - A Healing of Sinful Man

8/21/2021

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 My dear Children: If you see among your companions a boy or a girl afflicted with a bad eruption on the skin, you try to avoid them. The Gospel story we have just read, tells of lepers who were looked upon as unclean. The disease they had was called leprosy. Leprosy is a symbol of sin, for as this disease defiles the body, so sin contaminates the soul, deprives it of the life of grace, and plunges it into eternal death. If we wish to be freed of the leprosy of the soul, we must show ourselves to the priests, i. e., we must sincerely confess our sins to them, for they have the power, not only of pronouncing us clean, but of really cleansing us from sins.

We should confess frequently, because we often sin. If there were a man who never in his life committed even a venial sin, he could not and should not confess, for confession is only ordained for sinners. But there is no man or woman who does not some time or other commit sin during the course of life; even the greatest saints were not without some sin, and although they did not sin grievously, yet they were not free from lesser faults. As every man is a sinner, every man must confess, because Christ has ordained it so. Whether we commit mortal or venial sins, we should frequently go to confession.

A hermit having fallen through human frailty into several faults, went to Siloe, one of the great Fathers of the desert, to ask him what he should do. "My son," he answered, "you must rise again from your fall." "But, my Father, I have already done so, and I have fallen again." "Well, just rise again once more." "And how often must I thus rise again?" "As often as you fall," replied the Father. "Rise again always as long as you live, and when the hour of your death comes, it will find you either standing or lying down, and it will carry you in that position before the sovereign tribunal of God."

May God grant, my children, that, when that terrible messenger comes to you, he will find you standing, that is, in the grace of God, so that your sentence then may be that of the just. Though he who lives in the state of grievous sin may perform all kinds of good works, pray, fast, and give alms, yet he cannot expect the least reward for it hereafter. What an injury do not sinners inflict upon themselves who for a long time, often for years, neglect to confess! Even venial sins are a great evil; and if we view them as an offense against God we must look upon them as the greatest of temporal evils. Venial sins prevent our entrance into heaven, and unless forgiven here, they must be atoned for in purgatory. The greater the number of venial sins, the longer will be the punishment in purgatory. Should we not, then, confess frequently in order to free ourselves more and more from venial sins, and not be compelled to suffer long in purgatory? Those who disregard venial sins commit them without fear or scruple. He who does not confess often, easily falls into a state of lukewarmness, and runs the risk of finally falling into mortal sins, and of being ultimately rejected.

A young boy, who had made his First Communion only a few months previously, was sent by his parents as an apprentice to a trade they had chosen for him. On the day of his First Communion he had taken one great resolution, which at all hazards he was resolved to keep. It was this: "If by some great misfortune I should happen to fall into mortal sin, I will go to Confession before I retire to rest on that very same day." This misfortune did occur. It was on a Saturday, and the weather was exceedingly stormy; moreover, the priest lived at a considerable distance from the place where the boy dwelt. The tempter, who had been the occasion of his fall, suggested to him that he might easily delay his visit to the priest for a few days, considering he dwelt at such a distance and the weather was so bad. But suddenly recalling to mind his promise, the boy seemed to hear deep down in his soul a voice—perhaps it might have been that of his guardian angel—which urged him to go immediately: "Go to Confession at once; do as you promised."
 
For a moment he hesitated. Falling down on his knees, he said a "Hail Mary," to obtain the grace of knowing the will of God, and of following it. He rose from his knees and set out for the church. On his return he met his godmother, who inquired of him where he had been. He told her all, with joy on his countenance. "I could not go to sleep," he said, "until I had become reconciled to God." His mother was accustomed on Sunday mornings to allow her children a longer time for sleep than on other days. When it became rather late on this Sunday, she went to the door of the little room in which he slept to awake him. She knocked, but received no answer. She then opened the door, and found him still in bed, asleep, as she thought. "Rise quickly, you lazy boy," she said, as she approached the bed. Seeing that he heeded not, she took his hands; they were cold. With terror she looked more closely at him. This look told her all. The child was dead and his body cold. How fortunate for him that he had not delayed going to Confession. Children, learn from this example never to delay even for one instant the return to God when by misfortune a mortal sin has separated you from Him. Make immediately an act of contrition, and go to Confession as soon as possible.

Most persons immediately after Confession have an earnest desire to sin no more, to avoid all evil occasions, and to lead a new life. For some time everything goes well; they carefully
avoid everything that might cause them to fall, and diligently employ the means prescribed by the confessor. But their fervor gradually lessens; they cease to pray fervently, to not renew their resolutions so frequently; they incline again more to the world. Thus it goes on for some time. Gradually the impressions of grace begin to wane and the fear of God grows weaker and gradually they commit the old sins again. Why this relapse? Because they deferred confession too long; temptation got the upper hand of them.

Children, if you wish to be a good Catholic, and you want to be sure of heaven, you must confess not only once a year, but often. In general, I advise young people to go to Confession once a month. I am convinced that if you confess and communicate often you will preserve yourself from sin, make progress in virtue, and attain salvation.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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17th Sunday after Pentecost - Loving God Above all Things

8/15/2021

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My dear Children: We must love God. What does this mean?
It means that we must love God not only exteriorly, but also interiorly. It not only the mere tribute of our words or external appearance in our prayer that He demands, but our words come must from the very bottom of our hearts. Who are those who love God only with their lips ? Those boys or girls who pray without thinking of what they say. Their heart is with their playmates or their toys. Such children offer an insult to God, and consequently cannot expect any result from their prayer.   Those who do not give their heart to God do not love Him. All those who are in mortal sin do not love God; they love their evil passions; they tell a direct he to God as often as they say: "My God I love Thee." God is not satisfied with a divided heart; we must not divide our love between Him and His creatures. To love God with the whole heart means to love God alone, and everything besides God for God's sake and in such a manner as He wills.
St. Francs de Sales loved God with his whole heart, for he savs of himself: "If I knew that there was in my heart a single fibre not for God, I would tear it out at once." If you have any inordinate love for any person or thing expel it from your heart, for the heart man is a tabernacle in which God alone should dwell.

I heard a story the other day about a little boy who surely had the love of God in his heart. There is one thing he never forgot namely, to take his offering with him every Sunday to church. He had his envelope for his weekly offering just as his father had and he never would go to church unless he had it with him I happened one day that he had to go to church alone on a Sunday when his father and mother were absent. However, he did Z without his offering. He had it in his little white envelope which he carried in his pocket.  That morning a strange lady sat at the head of the seat m the same pew, and when the time came for the offering to be given she looked in her bag and found that she had no money with her. She didn't seem to be troubled about it, but the little boy was greatly troubled and wondered what she would do when the men would come with the plates to receive the offering and she had none to give. You see he had formed the habit of giving and he enjoyed it, and wondered how anybody could go to church without a gift. Well, he got more troubled and anxious the nearer the ushers came with the collection-plates, and
when they came to the seat in front of the one where he was sitting he held out his little white envelope to the strange lady, and said to her: "Here, please, take this and put it in the plate, and I'll get under the seat. I'm small and they won't see me." That boy has formed a habit of giving, and when he grows to be a man it will be part of his life and part of his religion to offer his gifts unto the Lord. I think that every boy, no matter how small, ought to give some of his money—however little it may be—to God.

Charity requires that we always will what God wills, that we make a sacrifice of our will to God, and therefore accept cheerfully all crosses and afflictions from His hand. In this way all pious souls manifest their love of God. When St. Gertrude said the "Our Father," she used to repeat three times the words "Thy will be done." While praying thus one day, our blessed Lord appeared to her, having health in one hand and sickness in the other, and said to her: "Choose, daughter, between health and sickness." Which do you suppose the saint chose? Health, of course. No. Well, then sickness ? No. As she did not know what our Lord thought good to give her, she said : "Lord, not my will but Thine be done." Let us be satisfied with whatever God is pleased to send us, firmly convinced that He will send us what is good for us.

In the year 1623, at the beginning of Lent, the Venerable Agnes of Jesus became very ill. She was at that time only twenty-one years old. The physicians did not seem to understand the nature of the malady, and gave her medicine which, instead of making her better, only made her suffer the more. But Agnes never uttered one word of complaint, the only words she said were the following, which she repeated often every day: "O my God, mayest Thou be blessed a thousand times." When Easter Sunday came, God was pleased to reward the patience with which she had suffered the heavy crosses He had been pleased to send her, by permitting her guardian angel to appear to her. "My child," said the angel, "are you happy in your sufferings?" "Yes," she answered, "because it is the holy Will of God, whom I love with all my heart. My heart and my will are entirely united to Him: let Him dispose of me according to His divine Will." The angel answered: "Continue to love Jesus in this way, and be assured that He will never forsake you."

When we love some one sincerely we often think of him, for where our treasure is there also is our heart. If, therefore, we truly love God, we shall frequently think of Him and raise our heart to Him. St. Aloysius was always occupied with the thought of God and divine things, and, whether alone or in company, whether he worked or rested, he had no room in his heart for anything but God.

To spare his weakened health, his superiors ordered him to turn his thoughts sometimes from God and to divert himself. But it was impossible for him to do so. Hence it is not a good sign that so many of us have our thoughts everywhere except with God; that we rise in the morning and lie down in the evening without thinking of God, that we occupy ourselves the whole day entirely with temporal affairs, without even a passing thought of God, that even when in church we give way to distractions, and that in general we care as little about God as about a stranger. If we feel ourselves guilty we must admit that our love of God resembles a weak spark which is liable every moment to be extinguished.

A father and mother were living with their two children on a desert island in the ocean, on which they had been shipwrecked. Roots and vegetables served them for food; a spring was their drink; and a cavern in the rock their dwelling. Storms and tempests often raged fearfully on the island. The children knew nothing of the vast continent; bread, milk, fruit, and whatever other luxury is obtainable there, were things unknown to them. There landed one day upon the island four Moors in a small boat. The parents were greatly delighted, and hoped now to be rescued from their sufferings. But the boat was too small to take them all over together to the adjoining land, so the father determined to risk the passage first. The mother and children wept, when he embarked in the frail wooden boat, and the four black men were to take him away. But he said : "Weep not, it is a better land : and you will all follow soon." When the little boat returned, and took away the mother, the children wept still more. But she also said: "Weep not! In the better land we shall all meet again." At last came the boat to take away the two children. It was with fear and trembling that they drew near the land. But how delighted were they when their parents appeared on the shore, offered them their hands, led them into the shade of lofty palm trees, and regaled them with milk and honey. "My dear children," said the father, "our voyage from the desert island to this beautiful country has a higher meaning. We are all destined to make a much longer journey, to a much more beautiful country. The whole earth upon which we dwell resembles an island ; this glorious land is an image for us, although only a faint one, of heaven ; the voyage hither over the stormy sea is death; that little boat resembles the bier, upon which men in black apparel shall sooner or later carry us forth. But when the hour strikes for us, for myself, your mother, or you! to leave this world, be not afraid. Death is for pious people, who have loved God, and have done His will, nothing else but a voyage to the Better Land."

Children, whatever you do, do all for the love of God, that you may become richer and richer in merits in this world, and hereafter receive in heaven the reward of all that love God.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

8/15/2021

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The Church  keeps no festival in honor of any event in the life of the Queen after the Purification, unless we consider that of the Seven Dolors as such.  The Sorrows of Mary are commemorated on two days - the Friday in Passion Week and the third Sunday of September.  I will tell you of both together when we come to the Queen's Sundays.

Now we will speak of the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven, which is kept, as you know, on the 15th of August, and is a Holy Day of Obligation that is, it is one of those days which the Church commands us to keep holy as we keep the Sundays, by hearing Mass and doing no unnecessary servile work. 

You know that the Gospels tell us very little about Our Lady during the public life of her Divine Son, and nothing at all of what she did or where she lived after His ascension into heaven. Even St. Luke, who loved to write about the holy Child and His Mother, and who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, tells us nothing at all of what we should so much like to know.  We can only suppose that the Queen in her humility desired both St. John and St. Luke to be silent as to all that concerned her.  She knew that "henceforth all generations should call her blessed," because "He that is mighty had done great things to her," and that was enough.

But the Apostles and the early Christians treasured many memories of what happened to their Mother  and ours; and these memories were handed down in the Church by tradition, even if they were not found in the written word of God.   We know that Out Lord when dying left His Blessed Mother to the care of St. John  and "That disciple took her to his own."

We learn from tradition that Mary went with her adopted son to Ephesus, and that after spending some years there she returned to Jerusalem in order to visit again the scenes of Our Lord's Passion and death before she herself went to rejoin Him in heaven.

About twelve years after He had ascended from the top of Mt. Olivet her call came, and Mary gave her soul into the hands of God.  Her body was buried by the Apostles, but it was not allowed to remain in the tomb.  As Our Lord had preserved her soul from the taint of Original Sin, so He preserved her most pure body from the corruption which is a part of sin's punishment.  On the third day Mary's soul and body were reunited by the power of God, and borne by angels triumphantly to heaven.  This is what is meant by the Assumption.

"Then it is just the same as the Ascension?"

No; it is not at all the same. To ascend is to go up by your own will and your own power; to take yourself up, in fact.  To be assumed is to be taken up by the will and power of another. Our Lord ascended went up entirely by His own power; the Queen was assumed or carried up by the will and power of God.

Two other persons have been assumed into heaven by the power of God: Enoch and Elias.  But they were not taken into the beatific vision, and they must return to earth some day to die.  The Blessed Mother's body, on the other hand, was reunited to her soul and passed into the presence of God, where she will be happy for all eternity.

If you look at a picture or a stained-glass window of the Assumption, you will probably see the Apostles represented as kneeling or standing around an open tomb which is filled with flowers - generally roses and lilies.  The story is this:

When the Queen was about to die, the Apostles, who had known and loved her, were scattered abroad, "teaching all nations and baptizing them," but they learned by revelation that Mary was leaving the earth, and they were carried by the power of God to Jerusalem that they might see her once more and say farewell.  Only poor Thomas did not reach the Holy City until after the burial of the Queen.  He was so sorry, and the others were sorry for him, that they determined to open the sepulcher so that Thomas might look upon the beautiful face once more.  But he was really too late this time.  "The stone was rolled back from the sepulcher," and they found nothing within but lilies and roses.  The body of the Blessed Mother had been taken to heaven.

The Assumption of Our Lady has never been declared and Article of Faith, but has always been believed by the faithful.  The Church has testified her  approval of the belief by establishing a festival in honor of this great privilege of Mary, and by making this festival a Holy Day of Obligation.  It is a Double with an Octave and has its own most beautiful Mass. 

The priest wears white vestments on the feast of the Assumption, as on all the festivals of the Queen.  Its eve or Vigil is a fasting day.

The feast of the Assumption has been kept from very early days, but before the invention of printing and telegraphy and such aids to quick learning, knowledge spread slowly.  In the fifth century after Our Lord, the Empress Pulcheria, who was learned lady and a saint besides, sent to the Patriarch of Jerusalem for relics of the Queen, wherewith to enrich a church built in her honor.  What the good Patriarch told Pulcheria about the Assumption was the first she had heart of it.  However, she took care to let the other people know, and very soon the festival of the Assumption was kept throughout the Church.

If ever you go to the Holy Land, you may visit the empty tomb of the Blessed Mother in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Source: The Queen's Festivals, Imprimatur 1907
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12th Sunday after Pentecost - Heroic Love

8/15/2021

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My dear Children: In His public life Jesus taught us to forgive our enemies. He is surrounded on all sides by enemies who envy, hate and persecute Him. They call His miracles the works of the devil, they misrepresent His doctrine, and say that He seduces the people; they pursue Him and strive to take His life. How does He conduct Himself towards them? Does He return evil for evil? No; He suffers and forgives.

In His Passion again Jesus taught us to forgive our enemies. He is apprehended and bound as a malefactor deserving death; He is dragged with contumely and abuse from judge to judge; He is scourged; the soldiers put a crown of thorns on His head and spit in His face; He is crucified between two thieves and is mocked and blasphemed even in the agony of death. He silently and patiently endures it all, and when dying opens His mouth, not to complain, but to pray for His enemies and murderers. After knowing this can we refuse to forgive our enemies ?

During the persecution of Maximinian, St. Sabinus, Bishop of Aris, was tortured at the command of the governor Venustianus. His two hand had been cut off, when the cruel governor was seized with a terrible pain in his eyes and suffered horribly. The holy martyr went over to him and began to pray over him. He had scarcely finished his prayer when the governor was released of his pain. Count Francis of Guise, who waged war against the Protestants, was told that one of them was in the camp seeking to kill him. He had him arrested. The Protestant admitted his purpose. The Count asked him: "Have I done you any harm?" "No," he replied, "but I intended to kill you because you are the greatest enemy of my faith." The Count said: "If you wish to kill me on account of your faith I will forgive you on account of mine," and he dismissed him without punishment, permitting him to pass unmolested out of the camp. To bear wrongs patiently and to forgive injuries, are part of the duty of every Christian. Indeed, it is the very spirit of the Christian religion to suffer patiently the injuries we receive from others, and to forgive our enemies from our hearts. "I say to you," said our Lord, "not to resist evil, but if a man strike thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." My dear boys and girls, by bearing patiently the evil which others do us, we prevent their further sin, inasmuch as we soothe their angry feeling, nay, often our very meekness will bring them to repentance; whereas, if we fly into a passion and reproach them, we increase their anger and are the cause of their offending God still more. "A mild word breaketh wrath," says the Wise Man, "but a harsh word stirreth up fury."

A certain official attached to the Court of the Emperor of China became afflicted with a loathsome disease. He was driven from the palace, and, having no friends, was on the point of perishing from exposure and want. Two poor Christians took compassion on him and received him into their cottage, dressed his sores, and waited on him with the greatest tenderness. At the end of three months they ventured to speak to him about the affairs of his soul. To their grief and astonishment he flew into a passion, loaded them with reproaches, and threatened to denounce them to the persecutors. In fact, he left their house and did not return for some time, leaving them for a whole month in fear and trembling. At the end of that time he again had recourse to them for assistance. Forgetting the ingratitude and ill-treatment they had received from him, they welcomed him with the
same charity, and waited on him with the same care, redoubling, in the meanwhile, their prayers for his conversion; whereupon the heart of the pagan was softened. "A religion," said he, "which inspires such conduct cannot but come from God. Teach me to know and love the God whom you serve, and to prepare myself for death which cannot be far distant." The Christians instructed him and had him baptized. Not long after, he expired, glorifying God and blessing his charitable benefactors.
 
It is a universally acknowledged truth: The more difficult the work the greater the reward. The love of friends causes no inconvenience; it is in our nature; but to love an enemy we must do violence to ourselves and overcome ourselves ; it demands some effort on our part. But does not heaven demand efforts? and does it not deserve every effort to gain it? Now, because the love of enemies demands greater efforts, hard struggles, and great self-denial, it has a claim to a great reward.

The great war has brought to light some very striking examples of heroic love. We were told by the daily papers that the Germans hate the English, that the English hate the Turks, and the Turks hate the Italians, and the Italians hate the Austrians, and the Austrians hate the Russians. Everybody hated the other one, for war teaches men to hate their enemies. Jesus, however, taught us to love our enemies. Jesus loved Judas. He prayed for the men who crucified Him. If people would only practice the teaching of Christ there would be no more war.

One of the New York dailies told the story of an Englishman and a German, who had both been severely wounded in one of the battles in Northern France. They lay very near together in the trench. One of them had some water in his canteen, and the other had none, so the one who had the water crawled over and shared it with the suffering enemy. And then they began to love each other, and when they loved each other they could not be enemies any longer.

If you had a little garden, what would you do with it? You would plant flower or vegetable seeds there, and raise something that would be pretty and useful. You would not plant in that garden the seeds of weeds and poisonous plants that would be useless and hurtful. In the same way Jesus tells us that in the garden of the heart we must be sure to plant only good seeds, seeds of love and kindness. We must not allow a single plant of hate to grow there, even hate for our enemies.

Children, if you live in enmity with any of your companions, give it up this very moment, forgive your enemy from your heart, and at the first opportunity extend to him the hand of reconciliation. Be at peace with every one. Forgive one another, that God may forgive you your sins and receive you as His children into the mansions of everlasting peace.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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11th Sunday after Pentecost - Unprofitable Speech

8/7/2021

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. My dear Children : There was one saint once who said : "I wish I had buttons on my lips, which I should have to unfasten before I could speak, for I should then gain more time to reflect and to consider my speech." And that saint is called Francis. He surely did not have need for such buttons, for he was prudent in all things, but we need them in order that that, what is said of the deaf and dumb man in the gospel of this day, may be applied to us: he spoke right. Many sins are committed with the eyes, ears, feet and hands, and with the other senses and members of the body in general; but most sins are committed with the tongue. On the day of judgment we shall see how great is the number of people who on account of sins of the tongue are cast into hell.

Among the Japanese there are certain men called story-tellers. They stand on street corners and a group of children are listening to what he has to say. It happened that one day a Jesuit missionary was passing and he stood and listened, and this is what he heard.
Once upon a time a little boy went to heaven, and the first thing he saw was a long shelf with very strange articles upon it. "What is that," he asked, "is that something to make soup of?" The Japanese are very fond of soup, and the boy thought that the strange things he saw might be used for that purpose. "No," was the reply, "these are the ears of little boys and girls who didn't pay any attention to what they heard, and when they died their ears came to heaven, but the rest of their bodies did not." The little boy saw another shelf with things that were strange and queer to him, and asked what it was. "Those things are tongues," he was told, "they belonged to boys and girls who were always talking and telling other people how to be good, but they themselves never did as they told others to do, and when they died their tongues came to heaven, but the rest of their bodies did not."

Now you know what that story means. It is just a fairy story but like all fairy stories it has a lesson. God gives us ears and tongues and hands and feet and eyes and hearts, to help us if
used rightly, and if we don't use them as God wants us to use them, they do us no good, but evil. Jesus said it would be better for us to be blind than to see only bad things, and that it would be better for us to be deaf than for us to hear only wicked things.

Among your companions you will find boys and girls who always want to speak of their knowledge and cleverness, and when they have done something good they cannot rest until they have published it everywhere. Such discourses are objectionable for two reasons: First, they offend against humility; secondly, they deprive our good works of all merit before God. "Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth; a stranger, and not thy own lips," so says Holy Writ.

During the cruel persecution of the Chinese Emperor, Hien Fong, A.D. 1850, a Christian convert named Yin came to settle down at the pagan town Lo, where he began to work at his trade, which was that of a tile-maker. He had not received much instruction, and, though fervent and pious, was by no means clever; accordingly he made no attempt to announce the gospel to his new neighbors. Being, however, a man of simple manner, and of a pure, innocent, and upright life, he preached much by his example.

He heard those around him cursing and swearing, but he never cursed. He saw them quarreling and fighting, but he was never seen in a passion or in enmity with his neighbors.

A course of life so different from that of his neighbors excited the curiosity of some gardeners who lived near him. To satisfy themselves they came to visit him. "How is it," they said, "that you do not live as we do? You are not like us; what sort of a man are you?" "I am a Christian," he replied, "and I do nothing but follow the teaching of my religion." "Your religion!" said they; "what is your religion and what is its teaching?" Explanations followed, and his religion was thought to be good because he himself was good. In a short time eighteen pagans became Christians.
 
Unprofitable speech is found in whispering and tale-bearing, which consists in telling a person the evil things another has said about him and thus sowing the seeds of dissension and discord. A tale-bearer frequently causes those who have loved one another and lived in peace to become bitter enemies. The tale-bearer pretends to be well-disposed towards his fellow men; he does not let it appear that he means any harm; by a friendly manner he endeavors to gain confidence; in the meantime, he lies in wait, like the sneak he is, watching all their movements and words, and then reports them, exaggerated and distorted, to the person or the persons whom he wishes to prejudice against them.

Children, tale-bearing is an abominable vice in the eyes of God; therefore the Sacred Scripture says: "Six things there are which the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, a deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren." Boys and girls, guard against this vice, and be faithful to secrets entrusted to you.

One day an English nobleman came to see John Wedgwood, the famous potter. You know a potter is a man who makes beautiful things out of clay. One of the employees, a lad of fifteen years, was delegated to show the nobleman around the factory. Now this nobleman was a man who didn't believe in God, and who, while he was learned, yet was very rough in his speech and used bad words and made light of sacred things. The boy was at first greatly shocked at the nobleman's wicked words, but after a while laughed at his smart remarks. Mr. Wedgwood, who followed them, heard much of the conversation and was very indignant at the way in which the nobleman spoke before the boy. When they came back to the office, Mr. Wedgwood picked out a very beautiful vase of the choicest pattern, and holding it in his hands, told the nobleman the long and careful way in which it had been prepared. The nobleman was greatly pleased with the explanation and was much charmed with the beautiful shape and color and design of the vase, and reached out his hand to take it.

Just as he touched it, however, the owner let it fall to the ground, and his visitor, uttering an angry word, said : "I wanted that one for myself, and now it is ruined by your carelessness." "My lord," said the old potter, "there are things more precious than any vase—things which when ruined can never be restored. I can make another vase like this for you, but you can never give back to the boy who has just left us the simple faith and the pure heart which you have destroyed by making light of sacred things and by using impure words in his presence." I have heard men say that they would give their right arm if they could forget some of the things they heard when they were boys.

Children, be prudent in your speech, and always reflect, before you open your mouth, whether what you are going to say is right and according to the will of God. Be moderate in speaking; the less you speak the less you sin, and the more easily you can give an account of your words. If you observe this one rule, you will not contaminate your conscience with any sinful word.

 Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921


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10th Sunday after Pentecost -          The Foundation Stone of Every Virtue

7/30/2021

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 My dear Children: A great contrast is seen in the picture the Gospel puts before our eyes today. There are two men, the one very proud and haughty, the other humble. Children, which of the two would you prefer? You will say, "I like the Publican, for he is humble." Our Divine Lord prefers him also. Humility is the foundation of all justice: without it no one can please God, though he may practice and possess all virtues. Why did the fallen angels become devils? Simply because they failed to be humble. As soon as they listened to the suggestions of pride, God withdrew His grace from them and they were expelled from happiness into eternal misery.

How low a man can fall when he leaves the narrow path of humility, we see in a certain Justin, a Franciscan friar and companion of St. John Capistran. He had received extraordinary graces by means of prayer, vigilance, mortification and other pious practices, so that far and near he was venerated as a pattern of Christian perfection and as a man highly favored by God. Even Pope Eugene IV., having received very favorable accounts of him, and being anxious to become personally acquainted with him, invited him to come to Rome. When he was introduced the Pope rose from his seat, went to meet him, embraced him and made the friar sit beside him. On Justin's return St. John Capistran looked at him sorrowfully, and said: "O brother Justin, you went away an angel; you come back a devil." Events confirmed only too plainly the truth of this harsh language. Justin seemed to grow prouder from day to day; for the most trivial reason he loudly complained that he was not treated with becoming respect; finally he forgot himself so far as to thrust a knife into the breast of one of the brothers, by whom, as he thought, he had been treated with contempt. After this murder he fled, and wandered about committing many other crimes. At last he was cast into prison at Naples, and, hardened in unbelief and malice, he put an end to his life. If he had remained humble he might now be a saint in heaven.

Among all the virtues of our Blessed Lord, there are three especially which we ought to strive continually to learn of Him, namely, Meekness, Humility, and Obedience. And why so? First, because He Himself points them out especially for our imitation, and, secondly, because they are all three opposed to the deadly sin of pride, which was the beginning of evil, and the cause of the fall of both the angels and our first parents. Pride, the mother of many other vices, shows itself especially in three ways, namely, by resenting injuries, attributing all good to itself, and setting itself up against lawful authority. Now the three virtues before mentioned are directly opposed to these three forms of pride.

Meekness enables us to bear injuries and affronts without resentment; Humility makes us acknowledge by deeds, as well as words, that whatever good we have comes from God; and Obedience makes us submit our will to that of our superiors for the love of God. Hence if we practice these three virtues, we shall heal three of the worst wounds inflicted on our souls by pride, and we shall have gone a great way towards making our souls conformable to the image of Jesus Christ.

General Howard was a great soldier of the Civil War, he was not only brave but just and kind, and every one who knew him loved him. During General Sherman's last campaign in the South he had been put at the head of a special division. A great parade was to take place in the city of Washington at the close of the war, and the officer whose place General Howard had taken insisted on riding at the head of the division, and his friends were so powerful that General Sherman could not refuse the request. He sent for General Howard, told him of the request and asked him if he would mind to let the other General ride at the head of the division. General Howard replied that the division was now his command and he had the right to ride at its head. "Of course, that is true" said General Sherman, "but, Howard, you are a Christian, and don't care so much about show, and your brilliant record can stand this disappointment.,, "Oh," said General Howard, "if that's what you mean, let him ride there and let him have the honor." "Very well," said General Sherman, "let him have the honor, but you will report to me before the start of the parade and ride by my side at the head of the whole army."

So you see that by giving up what he had a right to claim, this general gained a much greater honor. Jesus tells us a great many things about humility and about seeking the first place. And He tells us that the man who is last may be the first, and the man who is least may be greatest, and that the man who is willing to be a servant is, after all, a king.

Of Meekness and Humility, our Blessed Lord says to us in the Holy Gospel, "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart." These three are, therefore, the favorite virtues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and if you wish to know to what extent our Lord practiced them, you have only to read the history of His cruel Passion. There you will see Him betrayed, blasphemed, mocked, derided, blindfolded, struck on the face, spit upon, scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified, yet uttering not a word of complaint, on the contrary, praying for His executioners.

All the exercises of virtue and of good works are valueless before God without humility. This is strikingly shown in the following legend. A certain saint had a vision. He was placed at the judgment-seat of God, and saw how every moment souls, who had departed this life, arrived to be judged. Each had a sack over his shoulder ; in the front part were his good works, and in the part hanging behind were his sins. Both the good works and the sins, after their kind, were put up in packages. The sack in each case was opened and the packages with their good works and sins were laid upon the scales. The packages of the sins of most people by far outweighed the packages of good works, whereupon the divine Judge pronounced sentence of condemnation. Finally a woman came with a sack, the front part of which was full of good works while the other part contained only a few faults. The saint thought: "Thanks be to God, this woman will certainly go to heaven.' But when the good works were put into the scales they were as light as a feather and were overbalanced by the sins. Full of astonishment the saint asked an angel who was standing by : "How is it that this multitude of good works has so light a weight?" The angel replied: "Know that this woman has done a great deal of good, but since she was full of vanity and pride, her good works are without weight in the eyes of the all-seeing Judge, and she is lost forever."

My dear boys and girls, learn from what you have heard, how necessary a virtue humility is for our salvation. Without it, there is no forgiveness of sin, no good work meritorious for heaven, and no final perseverance.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921


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8th Sunday after Pentecost - Judgment

7/17/2021

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My dear Children : "Give an account of thy stewardship." With these words we shall be greeted when we leave this world and appear before Jesus Christ in the world to come. What will we have
to say when we have to stand before One who knows even our most
secret thoughts? No wonder that the saints lived so piously, no wonder that they mortified themselves continuously. Many saints, like Gregory the Great, Lidwina, Teresa, were afflicted with bodily
infirmities all their lives and they bore them patiently. St. Aloysius,
St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Agnes, St. Cecilia began already from an early age to prepare for the last hour of their lives.

Towards the middle of the fifteenth century a young man went to the gate of a Carthusian monastery not far from Gand, and asked to be admitted as a monk. His name was Peter of Dume. The superior received him with great kindness, and after the usual probation gave him the habit of the Order. He persevered in his vocation till his happy death, which took place in the year 1490.

During all the many years he spent in that monastery he was never seen to smile, and an unwonted earnestness accompanied every one of his actions. It was a long time before the superior discovered the cause of this; but, being commanded to make it known to him, the monk in virtue of obedience, related to him the reason of it in these words: "I was passing through that part of the country which is watered by the deep river Escaut, and in crossing over it I fell into the water, and sank to the bottom. I felt that I was drowning, and that in a few moments I should be in eternity. I at once was seized with great fear as I thought of the terrible judgment of God which  I was soon to undergo, especially as I was thus called out of life so suddenly without time to make any preparation. I thought of Mary my Mother in Heaven, and I prayed to her. 'O Mary, Our Lady of Good Help, come to my assistance,'" I said to her. My prayer was not in vain. At that same moment I felt myself lifted from the bottom of the river and laid upon the bank. I fell upon my knees to thank God. Then I took the resolution to spend the rest of my life in preparing myself for a happy death, and on that very day I came to this house, that I might immediately begin to fulfill my resolution. I also at the same time resolved to spend the remainder of my days in the service of Mary, to show my gratitude to her for her maternal protection, and for having saved me from certain death." The holy religious was little known by men, for it was his continual prayer that he should live unknown to the world.

Sometimes, children, you will hear the Church speak of the first and second coming of the Son of God. His first coming was when He came into the world as a little babe, and was born in the stable at Bethlehem. His coming then was in the midst of poverty, suffering and neglect. But His second coming which will be at the end of the world, to judge mankind, will be in power, majesty, and glory. Our Blessed Lord, therefore, will come to judge us all at the end of the world, but He will also judge each of us at the moment of our death. On the day of general judgment the justice of God will be made manifest to everyone. It often happens in this life that the good are poor, persecuted and despised, while the wicked are rich, prosperous, and held in honor and esteem by the world. Thus if we looked no further than the present life, it might seem to some, who do not bear in mind that the peace of a good conscience and the happiness of a virtuous life are far beyond all worldly advantages, as if the wicked rather than the good, are the favorites of Heaven. It will then be seen that the short sufferings of this life, borne with patience for the love of God, have secured for the good an eternity of happiness; while the false pleasures and sinful enjoyments of the wicked are the cause of their eternal damnation.

Aripart, King of the Lombards, when dissatisfaction broke out in his army, wished to flee into France. He could not bear the thought, however, to leave his treasures behind and therefore took as much gold as he could carry, and fled at night. He was obliged to swim the river Tessino, but the great quantity of gold which he carried frustrated all his exertions, the weight of the precious metal dragged him to the bottom, and he met his death in the water. Thus he who lets his heart cling to gold and the temporal goods in this world, is drawn into the abyss of hell.

My dear boys and girls, after your soul has left your body it must appear before Jesus Christ. Christ will be its judge, for to Him the Father has committed the judgment. Christ has been to the soul until its departure a God of love and mercy, and has bestowed on it countless graces. But now He stands before it in another character; now He is its judge, who regards not the person of man, who demands an account of every idle word, who has the power and the will to condemn the impenitent sinner. When Joseph in Egypt made himself known to his brothers and said: "I am Joseph whom you sold," his brothers could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear. I leave it to yourselves to judge what anguish and terror must seize the guilty soul when on a sudden it sees itself placed in the presence of an angry judge. "That moment," says St. Basil, "will be to it more painful than all the pains of hell."

Ask yourselves : Do I love God above all things, and do I show it by this, that I would rather suffer all evils, even death, than offend God by a mortal sin ? Do I raise my heart frequently to God ? Do I love to pray? Do I frequently receive the sacraments? Do I mean well by everybody? Do I rejoice at my neighbor's success; have I patience with his failings ; do I love to do him acts of kindness? These are the questions we ought to put to ourselves every day so that we might prepare to meet our Judge.

In the court-house of Lubeck is a famous painting, called the dance of death. There you see all classes of ages, children, youth, virgins, men and women, the aged, all dancing, rejoicing and exulting in full pleasure of life, and they do not perceive that the angel of death, with the scythe, walks behind them, to mow down one after the other, to lead them to his realm. Here drops as his victim a child, there an aged man, here a youth, and nevertheless the dance continues in mad enjoyment. Thus it is in the life of man. Daily we see the angel of death walking softly in our midst, demanding his victims, and we know not how, when or where he will call us. All we do know is, that he will not forget us, and behind him is the divine Judge and the momentous eternity, and nevertheless we live in blindness and frivolity, as if our stay here on earth were everlasting.

Let no day pass, children, without heartily repenting of your faults and endeavor to expiate them by various works of penance. If in such a way you judge yourselves, you will not be judged. Jesus will graciously receive you on the day of judgment and greet you as His dear child.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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7th Sunday after Pentecost - Bad Associations

7/10/2021

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 My dear Children: Whatever our company is, such are we. That is what our divine Lord wants to teach us today. Is it possible to associate every day with an outcast, without becoming accustomed to his faults, learning to love them by degrees and then firmly become a reprobate oneself ? Among a hundred sound apples place one that is decayed ; will this one again become fresh, or will it bring corruption to all the good ones? Place one diseased sheep among a flock of healthy ones, will the sick sheep become well, or will the whole flock become infected? See how nature teaches us by most impressive examples, what will be our portion in the spiritual life if we do not heed the words of Jesus Christ.

One Lucifer sufficed to transform millions of good and holy angels into devils, one immoral child is able to infect a whole school, and to poison the hearts of all the children.I cannot, my dear children, impress upon you too strongly the necessity of avoiding all evil companions. Alas, how many are now in hell who owe their eternal damnation to the bad advice or wicked example of some false friend, whom they now curse as the author of their ruin. Our Blessed Lord, to show us the absolute necessity of avoiding all bad company and, indeed, every occasion of sin, however near and dear it may be to us, says: "If thy hand or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire."

Learn from these words of our Lord to make any sacrifice, however much it may cost you, to keep out of bad company and the occasion of sin. If you have a friend or a companion, who is as dear to you as your eye, or your foot, or your hand, but who is, or who is likely to be, an occasion of sin to you, shun him as you would the devil himself. It is better for you to go without him to eternal life, than to be condemned along with him to everlasting torments.

My dear boys and girls, as you value your eternal salvation meditate on this example, for what happened to this young man might also happen to you. In a certain town in France there lived not long ago a young man who was an example and a model of piety to everyone. One day in the neighborhood there was held a public demonstration, on account of some local festival. This young man was anxious, like those of his age, to go and join the rejoicings. On ordinary occasions he was accompanied by a companion of his own age, pious and innocent as himself, but on this day this companion remained at home, probably on account of his fear of being led into occasions of sins. So the youth went thither alone.

On the way he was overtaken by another young man, who was notorious for his depravity. Our young man's duty was to avoid this new comrade, lest he might be led by him into temptation, but this he neglected to do. At first their conversation was about matters of little importance, but little by little his new companion began to utter unbecoming words, and to speak in contempt of religious things. The young man neglected to pray to God for
help, and to turn away from the path of evil, and in a short time lost the grace of God.

Not long afterwards he who had been so innocent and so pure was killed by an accident. Thus by a sudden and unprovided death, he was called before the dread tribunal of Jesus Christ, to be judged and condemned. The young man who had been the occasion of his fall was so overcome with this sudden end that he at once went to the neighboring monastery, and, casting himself at the feet of the Abbot, besought him to receive him, that he might do penance for his great sin.

"O my Father," he said, "I beseech thee to have pity on one who has just been the cause of casting into hell a soul created by God for heaven. Permit me to do penance under your guidance for the rest of my life." He became a fervent religious, but was thereafter never seen to smile; in his humility and sorrow he would cast himself on the ground before the religious as they entered the church.

Evil example is as catching as fever or small-pox; and a sin committed in the presence of others, especially of children and young people, is but too often the occasion of their falling into a like offense at some future temptation. Hence, it follows that the greater the number of those who hear or see us do wrong, the more grievous does our sin become, as by one sin we may be the cause of the ruin of many souls. For this reason, when we go to confession we ought to mention, as nearly as we can, the number of those to whom we have given bad example.

An Arab, living alone in his tent, one day was surprised to hear footsteps coming straight for the door of his tent. He was soon more surprised than ever to see the folds of the tent door open and the nose of a camel come through. "Out with you," said the Arab, but the camel didn't move, but said : "It's so cold out here. Please let me put only my nose through the door so that I may be warmed just a little." "Well, see that you come in no farther," said the Arab, and having said that he went about his work. When he turned to look again, the camel's entire head was in at the door, and it was looking all over the tent. "Didn't I tell you to come no farther?" said the Arab. "My head was cold," said the camel, "and I thought if you would let my nose in you would not mind about my head." "Well, see that you come no farther," said the Arab, and again went about his work. When he looked again, the camel had put its front foot and shoulder through the door and was reaching farther into the tent. The man turned quickly and was angry and told the camel to move back and go away, and was about to reach down and lift up a stick to strike it, when the camel walked boldly into the tent and drove the man forth from his own home.

I think you know now what it means when people say, "Beware of the camel's nose." There is only one way to keep the camel out, and that is not to let even its nose in, and there is only one way to keep evil out of our thoughts and minds and hearts and that is not to allow it to have the least entrance.

As to wicked company, I must again remind you that there is no danger against which we ought to be more constantly on our guard. There would be very few sins committed in this world, very few souls lost eternally, if it were not for the bad advice and evil example of wicked companions. The devil is not permitted to come to tempt you in visible form as he came to Adam and Eve, so he does what is far more likely to succeed, he sends bad companions to draw you into sin by means of their example.

Children, in choosing our friends we should select those from whom we can learn something good, and whose virtue and piety may be a bright example before our eyes to encourage us to overcome our faults, and advance daily in the way of perfection.
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6th Sunday after Pentecost - Intemperance

7/3/2021

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 My dear Children: Saint Matthew today tells us all about the big banquet, probably the greatest banquet ever given; four thousand men sat down to it including women and children. But great as the banquet was, and numerous as the guests were, there were none who ate more than sufficient to sustain life.

The sin of intemperance is an inordinate desire for food and drink. There are some people who never stop eating; they resemble a mill that never stops; their life is a continual round of eating. Those who eat outside of meal times eat merely for the gratification of the palate. Every one must conceive that such continual eating or drinking is sinful, especially for a Christian, who is to imitate the mortification of the Lord and Master in all things.

The glutton, or the drunkard, is like a beast of the field, a slave to his own appetites, for he is led by them rather than by reason, or the Law of God. The consequence is that his mind becomes darkened, his will corrupted, and his heart hardened against divine grace. Of the terrible fruit of drunkenness I need hardly speak.

Everywhere you see homes made desolate, wives and children starving and naked, the most horrible crimes committed, and sinners brought to a miserable and untimely end through this accursed sin.

Ah, my dear children, pray earnestly to God that you never be so unhappy as to become victims to this vice and, in order that you may be preserved from the danger of it, practice throughout life continual temperance, or moderation in your eating and drinking. Deny yourselves now in little things, and you will acquire that command over yourselves which, with God's grace, will enable you to stand firm in after life against greater temptations.

St. Monica, the mother of the great St. Augustine, was brought up under the care of a virtuous woman, who endeavored to train her in the habits of self-denial as well as other virtues. Thus, among other excellent practices, she would never allow the little Monica to drink between meals, saying to her, "Now you only want a drink of water; but when you grow up and are mistress of the cellar, you will not care for water, though the habit of drinking will still remain." The very danger which the prudent servant had foreseen actually befell her, for as she grew older her parents frequently entrusted her with the key of the cellar, and sent her to draw wine for the use of the family. When so doing she would sometimes, out of curiosity, take a little sip, but by degrees the quantity increased, and she acquired at length such a liking for wine that she would drink whole cupfuls with the greatest relish.

Thus did she sow the seeds of intemperance, and by indulgence expose herself to the danger of grievous excess. Almighty God saw her peril, and mercifully rescued her from the brink of the precipice in the following manner:

It happened one day that the young Monica had some angry words with one of the servants. Now this was the very maid who had been in the habit of accompanying her young mistress to the cellar, and who had frequently noticed her fondness for the wine cup. In her vexation she now reproached St. Monica with her failing, calling her a young wine-bibber. The expression made the deepest impression on her mistress, who, entering into herself, sincerely deplored her fault, and from the moment entirely corrected it. Thus did her humility in profiting by the rebuke of a servant lay the foundation of her future sanctity.

Intemperance is the source of many sins, the first is the neglect of religious duties. This is particularly true of drunkards. They omit private and family devotions; they neglect to hear Mass on Sundays and Holydays. They are deadly enemies of the word of God; they scarcely ever listen to a sermon, but ridicule it. They neglect to go to confession during the year; and they let many an Easter pass without complying with their Easter duty.

One morning Johnny went to town with his father, and stayed in his office until it was time to go to lunch. Johnny had never remained downtown so long, and he was very much interested in all the books and papers and drawers and desks in his father's great office. He and his father were chums, and when lunch-time came they went off together to eat at a near-by restaurant. The waiter knew the boy's father and when he received the order for lunch asked the boy what he would like to have to drink. The waiter did not ask his father, because he knew that it was the father's custom to have a bottle of wine each day. The boy replied as he had to the other questions: "I'll take what father takes." Then his father knew that something must be done, that it would never do for the waiter to bring a bottle of wine to the boy, and so he quietly called the waiter to his side and changed his order and asked for a glass of milk. And so when lunch was brought in, two glasses of milk were set down on the table, one for the boy and one for his father and the little lad was greatly pleased that both of them should be having the same lunch; but all that afternoon after the father had gone back to his office the words of Johnny kept ringing in his ears: "I'll take what father takes." He went home in the evening, and was happy for a little while in hearing Johnny tell his mother all about his day's fun in the city and how he had the same things for lunch as his father. But that night after the boy had gone to bed, the father still heard those same words over and over again; and he remembered his strong drink and all his bad habits. At last he could endure it no longer and knelt down and asked God to guide him, and from that night on he never tasted wine again. I think that the boys and girls who can do just what their parents do and are sure that they are doing what is right and true and good and kind, ought to be happy boys and girls.

Intemperance brings about quarrels, strife, contention and murder. It often happens that drunken men quarrel and abuse one another, sometimes coming to blows, which often result in murder.

We have an example in Alexander the Great, who, heated by wine, transfixed with a lance his friend Klitus, who had saved his life, and stretched him dead on the floor. Intemperance is one of the capital sins and is the source of many other sins. We should sometimes voluntarily deprive ourselves of a certain amount of food and drink in order to obtain control of our appetite.

Charles III., King of Sweden, in his youth often got drunk with wine. Once in his drunkenness he was guilty of very offensive words towards his mother. When one of his friends reminded him of his bad conduct, he was deeply moved and said: "Bring me a bottle of wine and a cup." It was done. He then went to his mother and said: "Mother, I offended you yesterday." Then filling the cup to the brim, he drank it in the presence of his mother, and said : "That is my last cup of wine." And he kept his word.

Children, imitate Jesus and the saints; be sober and temperate, and satisfied with plain food. Your food should be to do the will of God, that the words of Jesus may be verified in you : "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled."

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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5th Sunday after Pentecost - The Sin of Anger

6/26/2021

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My dear Children:—There is a certain part in today's gospel which we must take well to heart, and that is the part where our Lord says: "But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment...." There is scarcely any sin so prevalent as anger. There are quite a few men who do not sin by pride, envy, impurity and, in general, do nothing worthy of blame; but small indeed is the number of those who keep down every emotion of anger. An old philosopher called anger a fire, which passes by no age and spares none. Those who are guilty of anger will be called to a rigorous account some day.

A young man, who was subject to anger, was often ailing. The physician, who knew the cause of his illness, advised him to avoid the passion of anger. But in vain; he soon again fell into a dreadful rage. The doctor, who happened to be present, held a looking glass before his eyes. When he saw the deadly pallor of his face and the ferocity in his eyes, he trembled, but the physician said: "Do you see the effects of your passion? Frequent storms like this uproot the tree of life." The young man amended his life and removed the cause of his illness. I wish that those subject to anger would look at themselves in a mirror when they are in a fit of rage.

In their anger, people often lose their heads, and do not know what they are saying or doing. Anger is a burning fever; it darkens the understanding, so that a person does not know what he says or does. A pagan philosopher relates that as a boy he saw a man attempting to open a door with a key, but could not. He bit the key, kicked at the door with his feet, foamed with rage and broke out into dreadful oaths. At this spectacle the philosopher conceived such a horror of anger that he never in his life gave way to it.

Anger, my dear children, when it is not checked, is the fruitful source of innumerable crimes. Quarreling and fighting, cursing and swearing, revenge and hatred, bloodshed, even murder, are often the terrible consequences of this strong passion. Hence we cannot watch against it too carefully, nor fight against it too earnestly.

For anger is like a viper which, if we cherish it in our bosom, may at any time turn against us and inflict a mortal wound. So may our passion, if we are in the habit of indulging it, lead us, when we least think of it, into the most frightful crimes. Moreover, it is the cause of great misery and unhappiness, for the passionate man is a torment to himself and a torment to every one about him. He is not, indeed, fit for the company of men, for he is no longer a reasonable being, but is guided, like a brute beast, only by the blind impulse of his rage. Have you ever seen a child in a great fit of passion? His eyes start from their sockets, and glare like the eyes of an angry cat; his cheeks become pale and livid, his face ugly and frightful, so that you would hardly know him. He shouts at the top of his voice like a madman; he stamps on the ground; it is dangerous for any one to come near him, for he cares not what he strikes at.

In order to preserve yourselves from the fatal consequences of the sin of anger, you must fight against it while you are still young. Like every other bad passion, it grows stronger the older you get and the more you indulge it; while, on the contrary, if you earnestly strive against it, it grows weaker, and it gives you less trouble to overcome it. One of the Wise Men of Greece advised the Emperor Augustus to recite, whenever he felt angry, the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet before saying or doing anything. A nobleman once broke out into most offensive language against St. Francis of Sales; the saint looked at him calmly, and answered him not a word. The angry man considered this moderation as a sign of contempt, and redoubled his rage; but the saint kept his silence; at length the man departed. Another nobleman asked the saint how he managed to control himself so well. He replied : "I and my tongue have made an inviolable covenant, and have agreed that whenever I am excited, my tongue must be quiet, and that I must not speak until the inward fever is cooled down." Take an example from this saint, and treasure up the lesson he gives you. If anger arises in your heart close your mouth and do not speak a word.

Children, how are you to strive to avoid anger? In the first place you must earnestly ask God to help you in the combat, both when you say your daily prayers, hear Mass, or frequent the Sacraments, and also in the moment of danger, that is when you are beginning to feel vexed or impatient. Then you must join to the grace, which God will certainly give you, your own good efforts, keeping back the angry word which flies to your lips, and trying to speak gently and kindly to him who has injured you, or not to speak at all till your anger is gone. Finally you should keep before your eyes the example of our dear Lord, who bore with such infinite patience the greatest injuries from His own creatures, allowing Himself to be insulted, spit upon, scourged and nailed to the Cross, without so much as uttering a single word of reproach.

The holy Count Eleazar, although overwhelmed with business, was never seen to be angry or impatient. When his wife asked him one day how this was possible, he said: "When I feel a motion of anger, I represent to myself the ignominy and injury which my Redeemer suffered from me and others, and say to myself: If your servants were to pull out your hair and beard, kick and beat you and inflict other injuries on you, it is right that you should endure all this, for it is nothing in comparison with what Jesus suffered for you.' This is how I manage to suppress my anger."

My dear boys and girls, follow these rules, and you will soon obtain a glorious victory over the passion of anger, a victory which God will reward with many blessings here, and hereafter with the crown of eternal life.

Source: Story Sermonettes for the Children's Mass, Imprimatur 1921
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2021 - 2022 Catholic Student Planners

6/19/2021

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My Student planners for the school year 2021 - 2022 are now available to download and print.   You can view them below and find the printable files here. 

If you wish to purchase a printed and bound copy they can be found here. The printed copies are $20 each which include FREE Media mail shipping.  I am sorry that my price has increased, the cost of supplies as well as shipping have both increased.

Thank you and God bless you!  Julie
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