Part 3

"_Lord, Thou deliveredst two talents to me, behold I have gained other two._" The Lord gives exactly the same answer, the same reward to each, showing clearly that what counts in the reckoning is not the _number_ of good works but the spirit and intention and motive with which they are done, be they many or few.

"_Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things._" The reward is not given to the most capable, nor to those who have the most or the greatest talents, but to those who have been _faithful_ over the few things entrusted to them. They have traded with their talents for God's glory and for the salvation of their own souls. They have realized that each thing entrusted to them was a "good," whether it was sickness or health, poverty or riches, prosperity or adversity, and they have said about each: This belongs to the Master, how can I best use it for Him? Now they find that the merit of each action done, each suffering borne for Him, has been carefully stored up.

"_Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord._" It is His joy, His interest, His glory that the faithful servant has studied on earth, now he shall share them for ever.

"_He that had received the one talent came and said: Lord, I know that Thou art a hard man_" expecting the impossible, "_and being afraid I went and hid Thy talent in the earth; behold here Thou hast that which is Thine._" He could have traded and made _cent per cent_ as the others had done and earned the "_Euge_" ("Well done!") He not only did not do this, but he put all the blame on his Master Who with such care had given him just the talent that was suited to his ability. He was _afraid_, he said, afraid of what? Of his Master because He was hard and unjust? No, this was only an excuse, he knew his Master and he knew it was not true. What he was afraid of was hard work, effort, ceaseless watching against temptation. It was far less irksome to bury the talent and live a life of ease, letting things just take their course, and hoping all would come out right in the end; but at the end things were not right, for he had nothing to give to his Master, the one talent _was_ the Master's, he knew that quite well: "Behold here Thou hast that which is Thine."

"_Wicked and slothful servant_"--wicked, because he had robbed God of His rights; slothful, because he would not raise a finger to serve his Master.

"_Take ye away therefore the talent from him and give it him that hath ten._" It is a solemn thought that a grace refused by one may be handed on to another who is more faithful.

"_To everyone that hath shall be given_" is a principle of the Kingdom. He ever giveth "grace for grace" (St. John I. 16). For every grace used He gives "more grace"--"he shall abound."

"_From him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away._" There is such a thing as a last grace, a last opportunity. God has nowhere pledged Himself to give the grace of repentance; grace is ever a free gift and He is not unjust if He withholds it. I can never say: I will sin and repent after! To sin is in my power, but to repent is not. Our Lord speaks of sinners filling up the measure of their iniquity (St. Matt. XXIII. 32). Had Herod reached the limit, filled up the measure? Is that why Our Lord refused to speak to him? We do not know, but we do know that it is possible for a sinner to sin to such an extent--not necessarily by gross sin, but by steadily refusing God's grace and the opportunities offered to him--that what he has, that is, his opportunities, will be taken from him.

"_The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness._" He ever shunned the light and now it will _never_ be his. He was _unprofitable_, that was his sin, he did nothing for his Master. All sins, however terrible, will be forgiven if the sinner turns to God and repents, because his repentance shows that he is "trading," though he may often fail in his business; but the unprofitable servant carries on no trade with God at all, he leaves Him out altogether. There is nothing for God to do but to leave him out in the "exterior darkness" which he has deliberately chosen.

_Colloquy_ with the Master, Who though He is a "long time" coming, is never far from those who are trading for Him.

_Resolution._ Never to leave the Master out of anything I do.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Well done good and faithful servant!"

STIR UP!

"I think it meet ... to stir you up by putting you in remembrance."

(2 Pet. I. 13).

_1st. Prelude._ Paul writing to Timothy: "Stir up the grace of God which is in thee" (2 Tim. I. 6).

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to stir myself up this Advent.

On the Sunday before Advent and nine times during the Advent Masses, the Church puts on the lips of her children this prayer: _Stir up, O Lord_. Let us try in this Meditation to catch her spirit which runs all through the Advent season and see what it is that she wants God to stir up.

POINT I. HIS OWN MIGHT.

We ask Him during Advent to stir up His might for four different reasons.

(1) _To protect and deliver us._ "Stir up Thy might, we beseech Thee O Lord and come: that by Thy protection we may deserve to be delivered from the threatening dangers of our sins and by Thy deliverance be saved." (The "Collect" for Advent Sunday.)

We ask Him to show His might by _protecting_ us from dangers and by _delivering_ us from sin. We want to spend a good Advent, we want to prepare well for His Coming, then there rise up before us the "threatening dangers of our sins"--those old temptations that are sure to come back again as soon as we begin to put forth fresh effort. Are we to be discouraged, to dread them, to say we are sure to fall again, and thus give the enemy a hold over us? No, but to believe that our God Who is coming will protect us in the day of battle, that though to humiliate and to strengthen us, He may still permit the temptations, yet He will Himself be our shield and buckler, and will deliver us if we trust in His strength and not in our own--"Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come to protect and deliver."

(2) _To free us from adversity._ "Stir up Thy power, we beseech Thee O Lord and come, that they who confide in Thy mercy may be more speedily freed from all adversity" (The "Collect" for Friday in Ember week).

The adversity from which the Church prays to be freed here is probably the same as she continually teaches us to pray for deliverance from in her Litanies: war, pestilence, famine, floods, earthquakes--all things which damage the peace of nations and the produce of the earth, great national disasters. From all such the world will never be free till the Advent of her Lord, till God stirs up His power and comes to save it. Meanwhile for our consolation we can remember that it is when God's judgments are in the earth that the nations learn justice (Isaias XXVI. 9). Adversity is a great teacher and trainer for Heaven, and as we advance in the spiritual life we see more and more that many things which are adversity to the body are prosperity to the soul. We should naturally like to be freed from the adversity of sickness, poverty, failure, loss of friends, of health and strength, but all these adversities have their work to do. "These are they who came out of great tribulation," and it is probable that but for the tribulation many would never "have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Apoc. VII. 14). Let us strive to be amongst those who _trust_ Him, who _confide_ in His mercy, who believe that He knows what is best for them, and who gladly let Him arrange all for them. He _will_ stir up His power and speedily free them one day, but it will not be till the flail of adversity has done its work and the corn is ready to be garnered in the heavenly barns.

(3) _To save us._ "Stir up Thy might O Lord and come to save us."

In the Masses for the third week, that is Ember week, the prayer occurs five times, twice in the Mass for the third Sunday and three times in that for Ember Saturday. The time of the birth of the Saviour is drawing nearer, and the Church is beginning to be importunate. Stir up Thy _might_; for though He is coming as a little helpless infant, He is God "mighty to save."

(4) _To accelerate His Coming._ "Stir up Thy might, we beseech Thee O Lord and come; and succour us with great power, that by the help of Thy grace, the indulgence of Thy mercy may accelerate what our sins impede." (The "Collect" for the 4th. Sunday of Advent).

We ask Him to stir up His might in _coming_. His Advents show His Omnipotence. Only a _God_ could come to this world to save it, only a _God_ could come to a soul and raise it to the supernatural state. These are miracles and we ask Him to stir up His might to come and work them. It is our sins that hold Him back and hinder His work both in our own souls and in the world. We want them to do so no more and so we ask for His succour and indulgence.

POINT II. OUR WILLS.

"Stir up the wills of Thy faithful, O Lord, we beseech Thee; that earnestly seeking after the fruit of good works, they may receive more abundant helps from Thy mercy." (The "Collect" for the Sunday before Advent).

Here we pray for something which it is far more difficult to "stir up"--our own wills. We are not sufficiently in earnest; the might and the mercy of God are there waiting to help us, but we have not the energy nor the desire to receive them. We weaken our wills by yielding to temptation, by deliberately going into occasions of sin, by allowing ourselves to be careless about rules and resolutions, by letting things drift and contenting ourselves with a low standard. Advent is a time to rectify all this, to pull ourselves up and make a fresh start, and if we are in earnest, we shall gladly join in the prayer: "Stir up the wills of Thy faithful, O Lord," stir up _my_ will. It is not a prayer to be said lightly for it means much--a will stirred up to "seek after the fruit of good works" means constant and continued effort; it means mortification, suffering, death to self; it means a determination to do or suffer _anything_ rather than run the _least_ risk of committing the _least_ sin; it means constant unremitting attention to little things--to the smallest duties, the least prickings of conscience; it means hard work. _Dare_ I say this prayer? If I am _really_ anxious for "the fruit of good works," I shall dare anything. Fruit is impossible without hard work either in the natural or the spiritual world.

"Who is sufficient for these things?" Certainly I am not, but the consolation is that the work is _co-operative_. As soon as I pray: Stir up my will, O God, because I want to bring forth fruit to Thy glory; He will be there giving me "_more abundant helps_" from His mercy. God does not expect me to work alone, nor to suffer alone, nor to make efforts alone. What He wants is a good will. He is coming "to men of good will," and nothing can prove that I am one of them, better than a fervent prayer that my will may be stirred up, cost what it may. The "abundant helps" will immediately be at my service; and when it seems sometimes as if, in spite of all my efforts, the day is going to be lost, I will hold on still, remembering that the help is "_more_ abundant" when the need is greater. The stores of His mercy are infinite and He ever gives _more_ to the generous soul.

POINT III. OUR HEARTS.

"Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thy only-begotten Son: that by His Coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds." (The "Collect" for the 2nd Sunday of Advent).

Here lies the secret; if our _hearts_ are stirred up there will be little difficulty about our _wills_. If I _love_, I shall gladly make efforts, no trouble will be too much, no work too exacting, no sacrifice too great, no mortification too hard. "_If you love Me, keep My commandments._" My will is to be stirred up to _seek_, but my heart is to be stirred up to _prepare_. It is my King Who is coming, He Who has a right to my heart, and He is quite sure to pass by my way, for to win my heart and make it all His own is one of the special reasons of His Coming. No pains, no cost shall be spared in my preparation; my heart shall be decorated with the flowers that I know He loves and hung with banners which shall speak of my gratitude for all He has done. This is the preparation of the heart--the preparation of _love_; and it will not stop at my own heart, for if I really love my King I shall take an interest in all the work that He is coming to do; I shall try to prepare His way for Him in the hearts of others; I shall let them know that JESUS of Nazareth is going to pass by. Perhaps I shall have no opportunity of speaking about His visit, but the careful preparations I am making will not go unnoticed--each thing that I do out of love to Him will in some way or another spread His Kingdom in the hearts of men.

_Colloquy._ With my King Who is coming.

_Resolution._ To do something _to-day_ in preparation.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Stir up!"

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. (1)

HIS PREPARATION.

"This is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my Angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee."

(St. Matt. XI. 10).

_1st. Prelude._ Picture of the Naming Day of St. John the Baptist who is on Our Lady's knee, while Elizabeth and the kinsfolk are discussing the name and Zachary is writing on a tablet; St. Joseph is looking on.

_2nd. Prelude._ The spirit of penance.

Often during Advent the Church directs our thoughts to the great Precursor of JESUS Christ, to him who was sent to prepare His ways. On four occasions she chooses for the "Gospel" in the Mass, passages which relate to St. John the Baptist and his work of preparation. If we would prepare well for the coming of our King, we cannot do better than meditate on St. John the Baptist and try in our small measure to prepare as he did.

POINT I. THE PREPARATION BEFORE HIS BIRTH.

(1) _A prophecy._ Four hundred years before the Precursor's birth, Malachias prophesied of him: "Behold I send My angel," that is My _messenger_; and Our Lord tells us expressly (His words are noted by three of the Evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke) that this messenger was John the Baptist, who was sent by God to prepare the ways of the Messias.

(2) _His miraculous conception_--for his parents were both "well advanced in years." Both his father and mother were "just before God walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame;" and they had their cross to bear--the "reproach" of having no son and therefore no hope of the Messias being born to them; but this did not prevent them from praying, as all fervent Israelites prayed, for the coming of the Messias. The answer to their prayer was nearer than they thought. One day as Zachary was performing the most solemn part of his priestly office--offering incense on the golden altar that stood "over against the veil" which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies--he saw an angel standing on the right side of the altar, who, after he had calmed his fear, told him that his prayer was heard, that the Messias was coming, and that his wife Elizabeth was to bear him a son who was to be His Precursor, "he shall go before Him." The angel then prophesied many things about this child, which all show how careful was God's preparation of His Precursor:

"Thou shall call his name John" (the Grace of God). Only those who had an important future before them were named by God Himself before their birth.

"Many shall rejoice in his nativity." Many--both angels and men.

"He shall be great before the Lord." Great in sanctity and great in office.

He "shall drink no wine nor strong drink." He shall be a Nazarite, one separated and consecrated to God by a vow.

"He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb"--that is, he shall be cleansed from the stain of original sin and put into the state of grace before his birth as was Jeremias (Jer. I. 5).

"He shall convert many" by preaching penance and telling of Him who takes away sin.

"He shall go before Him ... to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people." Zachary listened but he could not believe that what he heard was true, though Gabriel, who stands before God, had been sent expressly to him with the message of good tidings. He asked for a sign and He received one which not only proved to him that God can do what He wills as He wills, but also that He expects His children to trust Him.

When at length Zachary appeared from behind the curtain to the waiting and wondering people, instead of giving them the accustomed blessing (Num. VI. 24, 26), he made signs to them and remained dumb and they understood that he had seen a vision. God dealt severely with Zachary because he was so closely bound up with the Advent of the Messias. He had to be taught, and we through him, that the least venial sin may hinder God's work and designs, and that if we would be His instruments used by Him for the preparation of the Coming of His Son, we must be absolutely faithful about little things, full of confidence in God, setting no limit to His power and never doubting His dealings with us.

(3) _He was filled with the Holy Ghost._ Six months later, Elizabeth who had been waiting in solitude and silence for God to fulfil His designs, received a visit from the Mother of God, and the Precursor and the Messias Who was to come were brought into close contact. We cannot doubt that it was at that moment when, as Elizabeth said "the infant in my womb leaped for joy," that John was "filled with the Holy Ghost." Thus God cleansed His Precursor before his birth from the stain of original sin, again showing us that those who are to prepare for the Coming of His Son must be distinguished by their purity.

(4) _By the holiness of his mother and his home._ His mother taught by the Holy Spirit was the first to recognize Our Lady as the Mother of God; she was saluted by Our Lady and ministered to by her. She had the unspeakable privilege of having Our Lady with the blessed Fruit of her womb JESUS living under her roof for three months. A home where the Mother of God was welcomed and honoured--such was the home God chose for the Precursor of His Son.

POINT II. THE PREPARATION AFTER HIS BIRTH.

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came to bear witness of the Light, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people." (The "Gradual" for the Vigil of St. John the Baptist). The Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a Double of the First Class with an Octave, for Mary and her Son were present at his birth and he was "great before the Lord."

The eighth day was the day of circumcision and the naming day. Everybody naturally was calling him Zachary, but his mother who knew from her husband that the name was fixed, said: "Not so, but he shall be called John." They would not have it and appealed by signs to the deaf and dumb father, who wrote: "John _is_ his name," for "he was so named of the angel before he was conceived." At that moment Zachary's penance came to an end and "he _spoke_ blessing God." This fresh miracle was soon "noised abroad" and the people asked in fear: "What an one, think ye, shall this child be?" Zachary, "filled with the Holy Ghost," used his loosed tongue to sing his beautiful hymn of praise to God who had remembered His holy testament, and had allowed "the _Orient_ from on high" to visit them. And then addressing his little son, he said: "And thou child shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways."

He began to "prepare His ways" by a life of hardship, solitude and penance, having no fixed home, living on what he could find in the deserts--locusts and wild honey, and wearing as a garment camels' hair with a leathern girdle. Tradition tells us he began all this at a very early age and he continued it "until the day of his manifestation to Israel," that is, until the day he left his solitude and began to preach--nearly thirty years later. He had thirty years' preparation for his life's work, like Him whose way he was preparing, and he was preparing it no less as a solitary in the deserts than as the great preacher of penance by the Jordan.

What lessons can we learn for our own preparation for the Coming of Christ this Advent?

1. That because we are going to be amongst those who in some way or other "prepare His ways," God has occupied Himself with our preparation even before we were born. Either by surrounding us with good, or by bringing good out of evil or by some of His many ways which are not our ways, He has had a hand in all that concerns us. We have first firmly to believe this, and secondly to co-operate with all God's designs for us, as John did.

2. That if we would prepare the ways of Christ we must be familiar with His Mother, accustomed to receiving her salutations and to returning them. That we must have her to live with us and take an interest in all that concerns us. Who could better help us to prepare for the Coming of her Son than His own Mother?

3. That we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and never turn Him out of our hearts by sin. It would be useless to try to prepare the way for Christ if we had not the co-operation of the Holy Spirit.

4. That penance in one form or another must have a share in our preparation for the Coming of Christ. All we know of John from the time of his infancy till he began his mission is that "he was in the deserts." It was not that he preferred such a life, but he felt that it was the one most suited to his own preparation for the Messias, for during those long years in the deserts he was preparing the way of Christ in his own heart; during his mission he prepared it in the hearts of others. Solitude, fasting, lack of ease and comfort, coarse clothing--these were the allies which John chose to aid him in his preparation for the Coming of the King, for His "Kingdom is not of this world" and "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (2 Cor. X. 4). He was consecrated to God, and he separated himself from everything that might interfere with his entire consecration.

_Colloquy._

(1) With God the Father Who has chosen me to prepare the ways of His Son.

(2) With Him Who is coming.

(3) With God the Holy Ghost Who is co-operating with me.

(4) With Our Lady who is ready to let me do all my work by her side. (Ecclus. XXIV. 30).

(5) With St. John the Baptist who will obtain for me, if I ask him, the spirit of penance.

_Resolution._ To examine myself to-day as to the place penance is having in my Advent, and if it has none, to fix at least _one_ daily penitential act.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "He was in the deserts."

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. (2)

HIS MISSION.

"In those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea.... preaching the baptism of penance unto remission of sins."

(St. Matt. III. 1. and St. Mark I. 4).

_1st. Prelude._ John preaching and baptizing by the Jordan.

_2nd. Prelude._ Gratitude to the "Friend of the Bridegroom" for pointing Him out to the Bride.

POINT I. THE PROPHET.