The last member of Satan's crew — and we are glad to see the last one of them — is Doctor Dodgeit. He stands for sloth, or laziness. Perhaps this morning we can give you a cure for sloth."

The woodsmen in a certain forest when they were finished with their day's work, used to leave their axes in a little woodshed. The next morning they would choose an ax and go off into the forest again. One morning all the axes were taken except one poor fellow that was left in the corner. He began to feel sorry for himself. "Woe is me! None of the woodsmen ever chooses me to chop trees with. I 'm not sharp enough. I 'm all rusty. There is nothing left for me to do but go into the garden and eat worms." A voice came from the opposite corner of the woodshed. "I couldn't help overhearing, but don't worry, Old Man, I'll fix you up as good as new again." The ax looked around and saw that it was the grindstone. The ax began to squeal. "Stop. You're hurting me." The grindstone didn't give him any sympathy. He just said, "This hurts me as much as i t does you." Round and round went  the wheel. The ax began to squeal louder and louder. He shouted at the grindstone. "It's all your fault. If it weren't for you I'd still be asleep in the corner." The grindstone replied, "You want to be sharp and bright, don't you?" The ax replied, "Yes, but isn't there an easier way?" The grindstone replied, "No, the only way to sharpen an ax is to grind it . " The wheel kept going round and round; the ax got angrier and angrier. He was so mad he wouldn't even speak to the grindstone. Finally the man took the sharpened ax and went off to the forest with it . He picked out the largest tree in the wood. Blow and blow he laid at the foot of it . The ax began to sing with joy. He was as good as new again. Down came the oak and all the woodsmen cheered. How proud the ax was then. That night as he lay in the corner of the woodshed he said to the grindstone, "I 'm sorry about this afternoon, Grindstone, Old Boy, I 'm strong now and I owe i t all to you."

Doctors will tell you that there is just one cure for laziness. It does not come in bottles or pills or powders.  It is called hard work. There is no other cure. There is only one way to grind an ax and that is to grind it , and grind it hard. As long as it lies lazily in the corner it will be rusty and useless. If you go to a doctor and complain that you are lazy, you will get this answer — work hard. Every doctor in the world will  tell you that. That is every doctor in the world except our friend Doctor Dodgeit. He will tell you that the cure for laziness is to be lazy. To lie in the corner and get rusty. But we know all about Doctor Dodgeit. He is one of Satan's crew on the Badsoul and he stands for sloth or laziness. The one we should
go to for advice is Doctor Doit from Christ's ship the Goodsoul. He will tell us that if we are lazy the only cure is hard work. If we say we are afraid to do something because it is hard, he has a prescription for that.  He just sits down and writes his name.  He hands you the card.  You read it and it just says, "Doit."
                                                                            Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941

                                   "From Him, through Him, and unto Him are all things."

As you know, rivers can wear away rock. There is a river in Canada which has cut a deep ravine between two rocks. For thousands of years the river has been winding and eating its way through the stone. Now it flows through a deep and dark chasm and on either side two rocks send their towering peaks into the sky. The pious Canadians who live there have given names to these two rocks, names which remind them of the two greatest truths in life.

They call the rocks Trinity and Eternity.

There are two great truths in our lives which we cannot escape — Trinity and Eternity. There are three Persons in one God and they have made us to live with them for all eternity. You learned these things from the first page of your first catechism. Do not forget them until you close the book of life.

On this day which is sacred to the Trinity, we should recall what we owe the three Divine Persons. We owe them adoration. We should adore the great God who made us out of nothing and yet is willing to dwell within our puny hearts. Praise the Trinity. Begin and end your every action by carefully and reverently making the sign of the cross.

We owe them love. God is an all-loving Father and we are His children. He says to us, "Son, give me your heart." Give Him your hearts because He loves the hearts of children best of all.

We owe them imitation. Christ told us, "Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" We are the children of the King and we should act like the children of the King.

Now let us look at the other twin peak, Eternity. God has made us to know Him, love Him, and be happy with Him for all eternity. Have you any idea of how long eternity is? You have probably all heard the old example of the bird trying to empty the seashore by taking a grain of sand in his beak once every thousand years. That will give you some idea of how slowly things move in eternity.

Let us take another example which is based on how quickly things move. Light travels 186,000 miles per second. We think 60 miles an hour in a car is fast. Just think of light going 186,000 miles in one second. A little problem in arithmetic which you can do when you go home is to try to figure out how far light will travel in a year. Multiply 186,000 by 60 to find its speed per minute, then by 60 for its speed per hour, by 24 for its speed per day, and by 365 for its speed per year. Then remember that while light has traveled all that way, eternity has not yet begun to begin. And this eternity we are to spend with God, from Whom and through Whom and unto Whom are all things.
                                                           Source: Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949

The next gentleman we meet from Satan's ship, the Badsoul, is the coxswain. He stands for envy or jealousy. Do you remember the name we gave him. Coxswain Greeneye. You have often heard jealousy referred to as a green-eyed monster. That is why when people are jealous or envious we say they have green eyes. This morning I am going to try to give you a cure for jealousy.

A little girl was once very jealous of another little girl because the other girl was so much prettier than she was. In other words, this girl had green eyes. She was Coxswain
Greeneye's girl friend. Her mother noticed this and sought a way to cure her of her envy. This is how she went about it. She prepared a package, wrapped it neatly and mailed it to her daughter. The daughter received the package and opened it in a hurry. She was a little bit surprised at what was in it. The first thing she found was a letter, which read like this:

Dear Daughter,
In this package you will find three smaller packages. You will see that each one has a label on it. The first says, "This is what you both look like." The second says, "This is what you both ought to look like." The third says, "This is what you are both going to look like."

The little girl opened the first parcel and found in it two photographs — one of herself and one of the other girl. "This is what you both look like." In the second package — "This is what you both ought to look like" — she found a picture of our Lady. In the third parcel she got her biggest surprise. "This is what you are both going to look like," she found a picture of a skull.

Of course, she was not pleased with the present she had received from her mother. Neither would you be. At the bottom of the box she found another note. It read:

"So daughter, you see you may be jealous of someone else because you do not look quite the same, but remember this, what you ought to look like — our Lady — is exactly the same for both of you. And what you will look like is also the same. Will you be worrying when you are dead whether your skull is prettier than hers?
                                                                                                               With love, Mother."
                                                                            - Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941 -

                                                "Filled with the Holy Spirit."

WHEN Queen Victoria was celebrating her fiftieth year as queen of England, everyone wanted to do her honor. All kinds of gifts were given to her from the people of her realm. Among these gifts was one that she admired very much. It was a gift from the papermakers of London — a box of very fine writing paper for the queen's letters. She liked the gift so well because she was told that this fine paper had been made from dirty rags that had been picked up in the gutters of London. When she was told this the queen said, "Only a master workman could have changed such lowly rags into such fine paper."

Something like that happens to our souls when they are filled with the Holy Spirit. Look at the change in the Apostles. He came upon them as parted tongues of fire and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were cowards, hiding behind locked doors before He came. After He came they rushed out to proclaim to everyone the wonderful works of God.

While the three Persons in one God are equal, yet each has His special work. The special work of the Father is creation; of the Son redemption. The special work of the Holy Ghost is to make us holy. He fills our souls with His grace and they become wonderful, just as the master workman was able to take rags from the London gutters and make them into beautiful paper for the queen to write upon. Our souls, so selfish, so proud, so fickle, He can take them, fill them with His grace, and make them new and bright and precious.

We should always have the greatest reverence and love for the Holy Ghost. Just because He is mentioned third in the Trinity does not mean that He should be neglected. We are His special care. He broods over our souls as the hen does over her chickens. He calls us back with His gentle inspirations when we have wandered too far away. His whisperings are like the song of the nightingale which pierces our ears, even though the bird itself remains unseen. From the beginning to the end of our spiritual life, He is beside us watching and guiding. | Dedicate your studies to Him. Pray to Him for light for your mind. Dedicate your hearts to Him. Dedicate! your whole lives to Him, so that He can take the rags of your life, and make them pure and white, ready for the finger of God to write upon.
                                                                - Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949 -
 

                                                                           GLUTTONY
The next officer on Satan's ship is Ensign Eatoomuch. He stands for gluttony — the fifth deadly sin. Gluttony means eating too much and drinking too much. A drunkard is a glutton as much as the one who overeats.

Napoleon during his Egyptian wars was riding beside his troops. Suddenly he stopped and stared, and he had good reason to stare. From a soldier's bayonet there hung a fat French sausage. "Why do you hang a sausage to your bayonet?" asked the emperor, not knowing whether to smile or scowl. The soldier answered, "That, sire, is for Philippe, the soldier behind me." At this there stepped from the ranks the fattest soldier in the army, a man easily the size of any three. He began his story, "Sire, I am Philippe. This being the holy season of Lent, I have sworn not to eat any meat until Easter. I have this sausage hung in front of my nose all day long to test my will power." Napoleon replied — and I want you to remember these words, "It is dangerous to test our will power. Under trial we usually find out how little we have." At the end of the campaign Napoleon sent for Philippe. "Did you keep your promise not to eat meat in Lent," he asked. The soldier humbly answered, "Sire, for a long time, for most of Lent in fact, I withstood the odor of that tempting French sausage hanging from the bayonet of the soldier in front of me. But one hot day I could hold off no longer and I ate it nibble by nibble as I marched along." "What day was that?" he was asked. Philippe blushed as he replied, "Sire, it was Good Friday."

In the matter of gluttony children do not have to worry too much. Children have to eat a lot to grow. But you should avoid extremes. The opposite to Ensign Eatoomuch is not Eatoolittle but Ensign Eatenuff. There are, however, one or two cases in which you may be tempted to gluttony. For example: eating meat on Friday. The Church has made it a law not to eat meat on Friday because our Lord died on Friday. She wants us to do penance on that day by not eating meat. Knowing this, if you eat meat on Friday, you are just as gluttonous as Philippe, the fat soldier. Remember, though, that if you forget it is Friday and think about it after you have eaten meat, that is no sin at all. There is another case in which you may be tempted to greediness in regard to food. We will say that there are four of you in the house. You look into the cupboard and see that there are only three pieces of cake. You know that if you grab your piece first your little brother will not get any. You look quickly over your shoulder. Nobody is coming. Swish, gulp, and grunt. The cake is gone. You had your piece of cake and little brother gets the crumbs. If you do that you are a glutton. If someone has to go without something how about letting it be you once in awhile. Greediness is not the thing for one who is trying to carve his soul into the image of his Emperor — Christ. 
                                                                   Source:  Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941

                                           "Be prudent therefore and watchful in prayers."

ST. PAUL gives us this warning because he knows that it is very easy for us to become careless about our prayers. We say them so often that they can become mere routine. Every now and then we have to stop and ask ourselves, Am I really trying to pray well?"

That is just what happened to Johnny. He used to say his night prayers every night, but he became careless. Every night he raced through his prayers just a little faster. Then one night he knelt down by the bed and set a new speed record for night prayers. He was the fastest night-prayer-sayer in the world. He hopped into bed and was just beginning to dream when a storm broke. First came the rain and the wind. Then came flashes of lightning like golden arrows through the dark. After each flash came the angry grumbling of the thunder. That was enough for Johnny. He was afraid of lightning. He jumped out of bed and said to himself, "I'll say my prayers all over again, but I had better say them more carefully this time."

We can prevent carelessness if we keep in mind how important prayer is. It is the raising up of the heart and mind to God. In other words we are talking with God, face to face and heart to heart. We talk with Him as with a trusted friend and there should be no carelessness. Prayer brings us before the throne of God Almighty, Who made us out of nothing and keeps us from falling back into nothingness by His power. Prayer brings us into the presence of the King who holds the world in the palm of His hand the way a boy would hold a bird's egg. In the presence of the King, carelessness would be impolite. Pray always, then, and pray without ceasing. God is always ready to listen to us anytime we are willing to talk with Him. A sailor was once shipwrecked off the coast of South America. He drifted for days on a raft. When his water supply ran out he suffered dreadfully from thirst in the tropical heat. Finally, he was rescued. The captain of the ship which saved him said, "You did not know it but you were on fresh water, not salt water, all the time. We are in the mouth of the Amazon river, which is such a large river that it makes the ocean fresh  for hundreds of miles as it empties into it. All you had! to do was cast your bucket where you were and drink to your heart's content." Make that our motto in prayer.

"Cast the bucket where you are."
Pray always and pray without ceasing. There are about; (three hundred) children here in this church this morning. I can tell you exactly how many of you will get to heaven — those of you who say your prayers regularly and; carefully.
                                                                Source: Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949

                                                                               ANGER

Do you think it possible to have perfect happiness here on earth? Yes.... Where? In the movies? That isn't perfect because it has an end. The answer is no. You cannot have perfect happiness here on earth. This is a vale of tears. "We have not here a lasting dwelling place." Captain Crabby is next in line. He is the one in Satan's crew who stands for anger. You all know what anger is. It means grumbling and losing your temper and the like.

I have in my hand a small rose. Can you all see it? I am going to tell you a story about its grandfather. Grandfather Rose was a King Edward Tea Rose, and a real beauty he was too. But when he was very young, just a little shoot, he was dropped into the ground. He didn't like it one bit. He kept shouting, "Let me out. I'm being buried alive. Help me." But no one came to help him. Instead they came and poured water over him. "Woe is me!" he cried, "Will trouble never cease? Now they are trying to drown me." Still no one came to help him and he was left underground to grumble all by himself. Autumn came and the leaves fell to earth, "Go away. Do you want to smother me?" said Grandfather Rose. Then came the winter and the snow and ice. Said Grandfather Rose, "Ah, me! I'll never get out of this dungeon alive. What have I done to deserve this?" The spring came and the snow melted. The melted snow began to seep into the ground and the Grandfather Rose had to drink it. "Now they are poisoning me. What a life." Soon after that the skin on the stem began to break open. "Now look what they've done. I'm dead for sure this time." He began to grow up and up until his head was above the ground. "You get me out of here," he said to the gardener. But the gardener came along with a pair of scissors and cut off one or two leaves. I won't tell, you what Grandfather Rose said that time. But he kept growing and growing until last year he won a prize in a flower show.

Now tell me the lesson hidden in that parable. Don't grumble. Yes. You are all little roses planted in the soil of this life, destined to climb up through the mud to heaven. The pains of this life are the price we pay for the joy of the next. So when you are told to go to bed early don't be a surly old plant and murmur, "They're trying to make a sissy out of me," or when you are told to do your homework, don't say, "They take all the fun out of life." You are being trained just as Grandfather Rose Was. You can suggest your own little task for this week. Do your homework. That is a good idea. And remember that the rose which gets the most care wins the prize at the flower show. So there is not much sense in being Captain Crabby around the house. How much nicer to be the opposite to him. Who is the opposite to Captain Crabby, do you remember? He is the one you are to be like around the house. His name is Captain Cheerful.

                                                                                                  - Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941 -

 "If  anyone thinks himself to be religious, not restraining his tongue but deceiving his own heart, that man's religion is vain."

Snappo was a snapping turtle who lived in a muddy pond. Baldy was an eagle who came down to the pond to catch fish. Snappo was sitting in the mud one day when his friend Baldy came down for lunch. He would not eat Snappo because his shell was too hard. Snappo said to Baldy, "Aren't you the lucky one to be able to fly wherever you wish! I have to stay here stuck in the mud. What is it like above the clouds?" Baldy felt sorry for his poor
friend Snappo and said, "If you really want to see what it is like above the clouds, I can take you up there. But on one condition. You must not say a word for the whole trip."

"I'll do anything you say," said Snappo, "because I want to see what it is like above the clouds."

Baldy went off and flew back with a branch from a tree from which he had plucked off all the leaves with his claws. He told Snappo, "You snap onto this with your strong jaws and I will hold the other end with my strong claws and carry you above the clouds." Snap went Snappo. Grab went Baldy. And off they went flying high in the air. It was wonderful. Snappo could look down on the pond with all the mud in it and all the other turtles watching him from the mud. Then he said, "What dopes they are, to stay in the mud." As soon as he opened his mouth to say this, he lost his grip on the stick and began to fall. Baldy was flying along with a stick with no turtle on the end of it. Snappo landed with a plop right in the middle of the mud. When he got his breath back, he looked up to where Baldy was flying and said, "I'd still be up there if I had kept my mouth shut."

St. James in this morning's Epistle gives us a warning. "If anyone thinking himself to be religious, not restraining his tongue but deceiving his own heart, that man's religion is vain."
The tongue can be the source of great evil. That is why God has placed two gates in front of it. A red gate and a white one. The lips and the teeth. Both of these gates have to be opened before the tongue can speak.

Think twice, then, before you open these gates and let any word of yours harm someone's good name. Think twice before you open the gates and let the tongue tell a falsehood. Think twice before you open the gates and let the tongue take the sacred Name of Jesus in vain. Why fall into the mud from above the clouds as Snappo did and have to say, as he did, "I'd still be up there if I had kept my mouth shut"?
                                                          - "Heirs to the Kingdom," Imprimatur 1949 -