"For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."

          You often hear people complaining that hit is hard to be a good Catholic. It is hard. Nobody ever said it was easy. Christ Himself did not say it was easy; He told us to take up our cross and follow Him, and it is not easy to carry a cross. But always remember this. It is hard to be a Catholic because it is a position of great honor. Farmer White was very proud of his farmyard. He had all kinds of animals in it-prize horses, fat pigs, beefy cows. He was proud of them all but was proudest of his white doves. He had a hundred of them. People used to look at them and say, "How white they are-just like angels." The doves lived very happily in their dovecot and were very proud of their whiteness. But one day they let themselves be talked into something. One dove, who has been sulking in the corner of the dovecot for months, hopped up onto the top of the cot and made a speech. "Fellow doves," he said, "I am starting a new society which is to be called the S. P.W.I.W.D.- the Society for the Prevention of Whiteness in White Doves. And why, fellow doves? Because we are white, we have to keep white and cannot have as much fun as the other animals in the farmyard do. Look at that fat sow snorting and rolling in the mud. How happy she is. Look at all the other little pigs rollicking in their pigsty. Look at the cows standing up to their knees in that muddy creek, and the horses rolling in the dust. So say, fellow doves, unite! No more whiteness in white doves. Follow me to the pigsty and roll in the mud." So all the doves joined the S.P.W.I.W.D. and went off and rolled in the mud of the pigsty. What fun they had until Farmer White came to see them and show them to some of his friends. That's the way it is when you hear people say it is hard to be a Catholic. It is hard to be a white dove-but is it worth it. Being a white dove is a position of honor. Anyone can be a pig and roll in the mud. But you are the chosen ones of Christ-and because you are children you are his very special chosen ones-and because you are white you should do your best to stay pure. Do not let anyone talk you into joining the S.P.W.I.W.D. This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote to the early Christians in Thessalonica and told them not to be like their pagan neighbors but to keep themselves unspotted from the world. "For God has called us not unto uncleanness, but unto holiness in Christ Jesus our Lord."
                                                                                                ~ Heirs of the Kingdom ~

                                             The Horse with the Green Spectacles
                                                                  Temptation

     What do movie stars do when they want to go somewhere without being recognized? I'd better tell you. They wear colored glasses. Sunglasses or goggles they are called.

         There was once a stingy, miserly man who had a horse. This horse used to eat a lot of grass. The man thought he would be very clever and save some money at the same time. He got a pair of green glasses and put them on the horse. Then he brought some wood shavings and put them in front of the poor animal. Through the glasses the shavings looked like grass. The hungry horse did not know any better. It was time for lunch so he ate all the shavings. They weren't as good as he thought they would be, but he ate them anyway.
     The man was so happy at saving the money on the horse's food, that he fed it shavings every day. The poor horse used to eat them. He began to get thinner and thinner until you could not see him from the front. Then one day he just rolled over and died.
      What are we reminded of in the things in this story. Here's a hint or two. The man reminds me of the devil. He deceives the horse. Who is the horse? You are. You are horses this morning. What are the glasses? They are temptation. The shavings? Sin. Now you have the whole picture.
      The second thing that will spoil our image of Christ is temptation. When the devil tempts you he puts green glasses on the eyes of your soul. Then he offers you some shavings and says, "Look how nice they are. How nice it would be," he goes on, "if you steal a nickle. Look at all the fun you'll have." So you steal the nickle. You don't have as much fun as you thought you were going to. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. Your conscience comes along and spoils all the fun. What a stupid old horse you have been.

     Don't let the Old Boy fool you with his colored glasses. Take them off and look at the thing very coldly and say, "Shavings, phooey." You can't live on shavings. Remember what happened to the poor old horse. One day he just rolled over and died.

Now let's see if we can link this up with the temptation of Christ by Satan. The tempter coming said to Him, "If Thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread." Isn't that pretty much the same as saying, "Pretend that these shavings are grass," as the man said to the horse. Again they took Him to the top of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said, "All these will I give Thee." Isn't that pretty much the same as saying, "How nice it would be if you steal a nickle. Look at all the fun you'll have." Christ's answer is very brief and to the point. "Begone Satan." That should be the answer which we should give to the tempter, when he puts the green glasses on the eyes of our souls. "Begone Satan."                                                               
                                                                                                             ~ Heavenwords ~

Who can tell me the name of the river that flows through the Holy Land? This hint may help you then. You aren’t very quick this morning. The river in which our Lord was baptized? Do I have to tell you? The River Jordan.

On the banks of the River Jordan there once lived a poor fisherman. The great dream of this man’s life was that one day he would be rich. After a hard day’s toil he was walking home in the cool evening toward his little cottage. With his eyes half closed he was dreaming of what he would do when he became rich. He kicked a small bag of pebbles and picked it up. It was like a little leather bag or pouch in which boys keep their marbles. Still mooning the man walked along and absent-mindedly threw the stones into the river. “When I get rich, I’ll have a large house,” he said, and threw away a stone. “I’ll have servants by the score,” and away went another stone plunk into the middle of the river. “I’ll have rich food and wine, books, jewels, and paintings,” and at each word a stone curved through the air and fell into the river with a gurgling splash. He went on until he had only one stone left in his hand. This he kept shaking and bouncing and juggling in his hand as he dreamed along. He came close to his home and the light from the cottage window fell on the stone and it sparkled. Yes, it was a precious stone. He had thrown away a bag of jewels. He had held riches in his hand while he dreamed of what he would do when he got rich. All he had left was this one little stone.

Quickly he ran back along the banks of the Jordan but not one stone could he find. The river had swallowed them up. Who can tell me the lesson hidden in this story? Look before you leap. That’s good. But who can give me a religious lesson. How’s this? Don’t throwaway chances to do good. The first thing that will spoil an image is neglect of opportunity.

Your little job for this week is to remember this story once. The girls are to remember it just once; when they are tempted to backbite or carry tales. Busy souls have no time to be busybodies. Before you speak a word you are master of it. After it is spoken it is master of you. If you backbite you are throwing away chances to do good. The boys; they are happy because they thought the girls were in for it this morning -The boys are to remember the story when they are tempted to complain or grumble.

If you complain you are throwing away spiritual jewels, just like the man on the banks of the River Jordan. We are given a number of chances to prove ourselves each day just as if we were given a bag of jewels. What a pity if we throw them all away!

~ “Heavenwords,” Imprimatur 1941 ~

                                                  “Behold, now is the acceptable time.”

It was the hottest day of summer during the African campaign of World War II. Two American airmen whose plane had been shot down over the desert walked through the hot sands under the blazing sun until they got back to their own lines. For fifteen days they wandered, with only one canteen of water between them. They kept themselves alive by rationing it, drinking only a thimbleful at a time, squeezing every drop of life out of the canteen.

On the same afternoon in a town in America it was also very hot. Some children ran in to their father and shouted, “Daddy, turn the hose on us.” They ran around the lawn in bathing suits while their father played the hose on them. All afternoon they squealed and laughed in the cool water.

For the two soldiers in the desert water was a matter of life and death. For the children it was something to play with. Time is like that too. Some people use it and get the most out of it. For others it is just something to play with.

If there is something you must do, you can settle the problem by saying to yourself, “I’ll begin it now.” Once you have begun, the rest is not too hard. If we are doing nothing, it is human nature to keep on doing nothing.

But once we have begun something we like to finish it. You say to yourself on Friday night, “Shall I do my homework tonight or let it slide until Sunday night?”

Do it now. “Will I study hard this term or wait until next term?” Do it now. “Will I make my Easter Duty in Lent or wait until the Saturday before Trinity Sunday?” Do it now. “Will I neglect my music practice all week and then make up for it by extra practice on Saturday afternoon?” Do it now.

You will find as you grow older that the people who have the most to do are the people who get the most done. Great people can do so much because they have learned that time is valuable. They know that procrastination (which is a big word that means “putting things off until tomorrow”) is the thief of time, and they do as much as they can today. Children think that they have lots of time. They forget that twenty years, just like twenty dollars, can be spent very quickly. Each day walks silently into our lives bringing with it the precious gift of time. If we do not use it, then the gift is taken just as silently away. One of these gifts will be our last. We say in the Hail Mary; “Now and at the hour of our death.” We forget that there will come a time when “now” is “the hour of our death.” Then time will be tremendously important.

Queen Elizabeth on her deathbed said, “I would give my kingdom for a moment more of time.” Do we make the most of time, as the soldiers in the desert make the most of their water supply? Or do we use it like the children on the lawn used the town water supply—as something to play with? Use time well while you can.

                                                                                    ~ “Heirs of the Kingdom,” Imprimatur 1949 ~

  "If I speak with the tongues of men and angels but do not have charity ... I am nothing.”

The King of Storyland once wanted to select the most beautiful flower in his kingdom to give to his daughter the princess on her birthday. The flower chosen was to be given the title, "Queen of Flowers." So the king sent messengers all through his realm and told them to bring back the most beautiful flowers they could find.

Well, when the messengers got back the throne room was filled with flowers - lilies from the marshes, violets from the leafy dell, bluebells from the hillsides. The king examined each one and chose two—the dahlia and the rose. A startlingly big blue dahlia and a strikingly red rose.

The king said, "I cannot make up my mind which is the more beautiful. The rose is lovely, but the dahlia is bigger and spreads itself and has no thorns." All the wise men in the land looked at the flowers with magnifying glasses and measured them with micrometers, but they were forced to say, "We cannot decide either."

Finally the king decided that the only thing to do was to ask the princess herself to choose the flower to be the "Queen of Flowers." She took the rose in one hand and the dahlia in the other and without a moment's hesitation chose the rose. So the rose was named "Queen of Flowers" and has been ever since. Afterward the king asked the princess how she could make up her mind when all the wise men in the kingdom could not. He said, "The dahlia has beauty. Why did you not choose it?" She answered, "It was easy, father, I did not choose the dahlia. It has beauty. But it has no fragrance."

The good actions which a person does when he is not in the state of grace, i.e.) when there is mortal sin on his soul, are called dead actions. If a person in mortal sin performs a good action, like an act of charity, that action does not profit his soul. Certain actions, like receiving the sacraments, can even add another sin of sacrilege. These actions are like the dahlia; they have beauty, but no fragrance.

The good actions which a person does when he is in the state of grace are called living actions. They do add grace to the soul. They have beauty as well as fragrance, like the rose.

That is why it is so important to remain always in the state of grace, because then our hearts can expand and blossom like the rose, giving off an odor of sweetness before God. Are our actions like the dahlia, having beauty but no fragrance? Or do they have beauty and fragrance, like the rose?

                                                                                    ~ “Heirs of the Kingdom,” Imprimatur 1949 ~

We are artists carving ourselves into images of Christ. A person who carves an image out of stone is called a sculptor. Who can tell me what is the most difficult part of a statue for a sculptor to carve? The face. What part of the face? The nose. Yes.

This morning’s story is about the nose of a statue. A Roman artist named Titus once carved a statue of the emperor. On the day of its unveiling the emperor was in the forum at Rome with all the people of the city. When the silk covering was pulled away, the’ people gasped in amazement. The statue looked perfect. It showed the emperor standing as at the head of his army, holding aloft a sword. Every muscle and especially every line of his face was copied in perfect mold. So pleased was the emperor that he gave Titus great rewards. The statue stood as good as new until a few months later the summer sun of Italy began to beat down upon it. Then something happened. The nose fell off. On inspection it was found that the statue was all marble except for the nose. This had not been cut out of stone but had been done in wax and stuck on. Titus’ trick was discovered and he was sent away from Rome in disgrace. A law was passed that all statues of the emperor were to be made without wax. From this law we get our English word “sincere.” Maybe some of the older children can tell me what the Latin words “sine cera” mean. They mean without wax or in English “sincere.”

Each thing in this story reminds us of something. We are like, as was said before, artists carving our souls into likenesses of our Emperor, Christ. What does the wax nose remind you of? What would be in our souls what the wax nose was to Titus’ statue? It was a defect in the statue. What would be a defect in our souls? Yes, sin or a bad habit, or a weakness of will. The nose of Titus’ statue would not withstand the heat. Some characters are like that. They have noses of wax. Noses that can’t stand the heat of temptation. Noses that fall off as soon as temptation comes and spoil all their statues. Get rid of all such weakness. This week pick out the one weak spot which would be like the wax nose on your statue. Each one of us has a weakness. Do what you can during the week to strengthen it. We do not want to insult Christ, our Emperor, by giving Him an image of Himself with a nose of wax. From now on we are going to learn more about making ourselves images of Christ. We have seen the things out of which we make an image. Now we will look at the things that destroy it. We are going to see what will spoil our image and try to avoid these things.

We must build up images of Christ which can bear the heat of temptation; strong images without any flaw or blemish; images which are true copies of Christ; which are without wax, sine cera - sincere.

                                                                                        ~ “Heavenwords,” Imprimatur 1941 ~

          “Caught up into paradise and heard secret words that man may not repeat.”

If you want to know what a place is like, the best thing is to ask someone who has been there. In the Epistle of today, St. Paul tells us that by special grace of God he was carried up into heaven. If St. Paul went there, there must be such a place.

Marco Polo was an explorer who lived in the thirteenth century. Marco spent most of his life traveling in the East. He traveled through Asia, India, Persia, Japan, and

China. He was the first white man ever to go to these countries. After many years he came home to Venice and wrote a book about all the wonders he had seen. He wrote about the riches of the East, about fabulous jewels, about strange weapons of war, about animals never heard of before, about lofty mountains and rare fruits. He wrote about so many wonderful things that many people did not believe him. When he was dying they came to him and asked him to say that the things he had written were not true. All he said to them was, “I have not told the half of what I saw.”

That was just about what St. Paul said. He had heard secret words that man may not repeat. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for those that love Him.”

“Eye hath not seen.” You have seen many beautiful sights. You have seen gorgeous sunsets, the crystals in a snowflake, red roses. You have seen your mother laughing happily. You have seen a good report card. The sights of heaven are far beyond anything you have ever seen.

“Ear hath not heard.” You have heard many sweet sounds, the song of birds in the springtime, stately organ music, the voice of the radio crooner who “sends” you. You have heard a mother singing a lullaby. You have been praised for your good actions. The sounds of heaven are far beyond all these.

“Nor hath it entered into the heart of man.” You can imagine all kinds of things - mountains of ice cream, learning without having to study, a school that you do not have to go to, a swimming pool full of lemonade. After you have imagined all these things you have not even begun to understand the things that God has waiting for you. And all of these things are enjoyed under the smile of God, the gentle hand of Christ, and the loving eye of Mary. Truly, “eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him.”

                                                                                    ~ “Heirs of the Kingdom,” Imprimatur 1949 ~

The great Spanish general, named Pizarro, was marching to conquer the city of Peru. Thus far he had beaten his foes. He had gained ground, he had left behind him a trail of victories, and he had conquered most of the country except its capital city. On this capital city he was now marching. One morning the signal to march was given and the men did not move. The general demanded to know why and a man came forward and said, “General, we have crossed the ocean with you in ships that were hardly safe, we have suffered fever, heat, and starvation, we are weighed down with our heavy arms, we are dying with thirst. We wish to quit the campaign and go back to our homes in Spain.” History hinges on the decision of Pizarro. He knew that if they went forward they would conquer and be wealthy for the rest of their lives, but that if they turned back they would be pursued by their enemies and killed before they reached home. He walked to the center of an open space and began to speak to the men. He took out his sword and held it high in the air. He told them of the victories that this sword had led them to. Then he drew a line in the sand at his feet and said, “On one side of this line is death, disease, sorrow, and defeat. On the other success, luxury, happiness, and victory. I call on you, my soldiers, to choose as becomes brave Castilians. That is to choose as becomes brave men. Stay on this side of the line and die in disgrace. Cross the line and either live in glory or die in glory.” He crossed the line and called on them all to follow him. First one man stepped over. Then a few more. Then the drummer boy. And finally the whole army was marching on Peru. The city fell like a tree under a woodman’s ax.

This goes to show that decisions demand only one thing; that they be made and made without recall. If you have been sincere so far in making yourself into an image of Christ, you will have learned how to make a choice. Many and many a time we stand like Pizarro’s men wondering what to do. We are faced with a choice and we do not know which to make. The answer is to behave as becomes good Christians. You may be faced with a choice to stay in bed on Sunday mornings instead of going to church, to eat breakfast or to go to Communion, to go to confession when you are sent or to go home and pretend that you went, to obey your parents, or to argue about it, to wash the dishes or to leave them for someone else, to pay attention in school or to daydream, to do your homework yourself or to copy someone else’s—In all these things you must choose either one or the other. You go forward or go backward. You follow Christ or the devil. Like Pizarro’s men you cross the line to victory or you stay back in defeat. To stay in bed on Sunday morning instead of going to Mass is the same as saying to the devil, “You win.” You have refused to cross the line. You did not choose as became a brave Christian. If a choice is to be made, see that you make the right one. On one side is defeat—that is the easy side, the devil’s side. On the other side is victory—that is Christ’s side.

                                                                                                    ~ “Heavenwords,” Imprimatur 1941 ~