Part 2

I am not asking too much, my brethren, am I? I am not forcing upon your notice a subject out of place at this joyous season, am I? When the absent one returns to the old homestead to spend the Christmas holidays, you who have been the kindest to him, the most lavish in your gifts--you who have been sending him time and again sweet tokens of __your__ remembrance--you do not look for him to think the last about __you__. Oh! no. You are tempted to hide yourself in sport before he has seen you, that you may enjoy listening to his anxious and hurried questions about __you__, and his wondering where __you__ are, and a thousand eager expressions, which show that he has been thinking about the pleasant meeting he would have with __you__ all the way home, and that his joy is not full till he can run into your embrace. Oh! his every question almost drags you out from your hiding-place. But suppose you listen in vain for the mention of your name; that in the midst of his joyous congratulations and happy wishes he does not ask where __you__ are, and evinces by no sign that in your absence anything is wanting to him. Oh! the ugly pain at your heart as you steal away to your chamber, unwilling now to be seen, hurt by his forgetfulness, and stung to the very quick by his silent ingratitude.

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Brethren, I am speaking for God; for the best Friend, who of all must be the nearest and dearest, and the first in your thoughts. Looking down from His throne in heaven, he watches, to see who have been making preparations to meet Him; who are renewing at this time their grateful remembrances of Him. Ah! there are some who remember, and they have already gathered about His holy Table, and feasted at His heavenly banquet. Though no earthly friends may have been kind or thoughtful enough to send them a holiday present, they have still had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's for all that. They have met the Friend of all friends with the kiss of peace and the embrace of welcome, and that has been more than enough.

But there are some who never said a word about Him, never thought of Him, never remembered all He had done for them. Nay, there are some who never came at all. Not that __He__ forgot to invite them, not that He neglected to prepare His Christmas feast. No. He is the Friend who never forgets. What shall I say? Does God not feel that heartless coldness and neglect of theirs? Oh! the sad, tender, complaining reproaches of Good Friday are heard in heaven at Christmas. "My people, what have I done unto thee, or in what have I grieved thee? Answer me." "Put me in remembrance," as he said to his people of old, "and let us plead together. Tell me if thou hast anything to justify thyself." {31} Yes, answer Him, you of whom He is speaking. Answer to that God who has never wearied of heaping blessing after blessing and mercy after mercy upon your head. Tell Him what He has done to you that you have forgotten Him. Too well you know, however, that in Him you shall find nothing to accuse.

So, then, let us rather turn to the exciting in our hearts a lively remembrance of His manifold mercies, and to make that memory to good purpose. Let us seek to know, if possible, why God has so blessed us; what object He had in view; what He expected of us; what promises we made when we received them, and now resolve that He shall be no longer disappointed in the fruits He looked for from them. It will help us to acquire that spirit of humble gratitude which so enlarges the heart, and helps us to do great and generous things for God. With the Psalmist, then, let us say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all that He hath done for thee. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and compassion." [Footnote 4] So shall the New Year begin with praise and thanksgiving, to end with blessings new and better than the last.

[Footnote 4: Ps. cii. 2-4.] [USCCB: Ps. ciii. 2-4.]

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Sermon II.

The Three Gifts Of The Magi.

(For The Feast of The Epiphany.)

St. Matthew ii. 11.

"__And going into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother: and falling down, they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh__."

These wise men, who are supposed by many to have been kings, were led by the appearance of the miraculous star in the heavens, and the secret inspirations of the Holy Ghost, to Bethlehem, in order to find out and adore the Child who was born king of the Jews. After a long search, they found Him, lying in a manger, and, in spite of the poverty and the straw, they recognized in Him the King of souls, the Creator of heaven and earth. With a deep faith they adored Him, and, opening their treasures, offered to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

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And we are all, in like manner, drawn to do the same thing. The light of faith directs us to the poor stable of Bethlehem, where we behold the Lord of Glory disguised in the form of an infant, and it becomes us also to offer Him our treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And, first, what is the pure gold which is acceptable to our God and Creator? By gold is understood charity or the love of our God. And by this charity is understood the pure intention of pleasing God by which we should be governed in all our works. The love of God does not essentially consist in a tender feeling of affection or in a sensible devotion of tears, which we are not always able to elicit, much as we might desire it, but in a good and pure intention. That this is so should be a great consolation and encouragement to us. We have no right to say, as many do, "I cannot love God," for this is an untruth. It lies in every one's power to love Him, if he only desires sincerely to do so. We might say with truth--My heart is cold, and I am grieved because I cannot experience that warm love of God which I desire so much; but I would reply to all such--Set your fears at rest; make a good intention to please and love God to the best of your ability, and you have, at once, the real, true, and solid love of Him which will bring you by the shortest route to the kingdom of heaven.

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It is related that one of the old heathen kings had an avarice so great that he desired that all he touched might be turned into gold. His request being granted, he perished of hunger. Avarice for spiritual treasures has no such evil effect. On the contrary, our Lord says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled." Now I wish that, in like manner, what ever you touch with your hearts--that is, what ever you long for or desire--might, by a good intention, be turned into the gold of the purest charity. Our Saviour has said, You cannot so much as give a cup of cold water in My Name--that is, with a good intention--without receiving a reward for it. The treasures of grace and merit lie in immense heaps all around us, and we can help ourselves. Whatever we do, then, let us do it in the name of the Lord, following out the injunction of St. Paul, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all things for the glory of God." [Footnote 5] I hope, then, you will all, on this blessed festival, determine to direct all your thoughts, words, and actions to the glory of God to the very best of your ability, and thus open your treasures, and offer to the Infant Jesus lying on the straw a great heap of pure, bright gold.

[Footnote 5: I Cor. x. 31.]

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The wise men of the East offered not gold only, but also frankincense. What does this signify? It means devotion. You have often seen incense put into the censer at High Mass or Vespers, and the smoke from it immediately arise straight upwards. It is a figure of the prayers and burning wishes of the soul ascending up to heaven. The Scripture says: "And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God: and the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God, from the hand of the angel." [Footnote 6]

[Footnote 6: Apoc. viii. 3, 4.] [USCCB: Revelation viii. 3, 4.]

The act of true prayer or adoration by which we acknowledge, with our whole heart the infinite mystery of God and His complete dominion over us, our own entire nothingness of ourselves without Him, and by which we declare and protest that we desire nothing else but that He should govern us and dispose of us and all our affairs as He pleases--this is the highest and noblest act of our own reason. For what could we do so real and true as this? How could we realize in a better way the simplest and at the same time the most sublime of all truths? Our prayers ought to go up from our hearts as from a censer which contains a fire that no created thing is able to put out. The smoke of it should continually arise, and all we do should be done in the way of a prayer and supplication to our Last End and Chief Good.

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Alas! we have incense enough to offer to idols. We swing the censer to wealth, honors, and pleasures; we bow the knee, and worship houses, and lands, and cattle, and fine clothes, and sumptuous fare, and sell our very souls for a few pieces of gold; but we have but little incense for God--no pure and sincere homage for Him, the eternal, uncreated Source of all our good.

And when you offer the incense of your adoration to God, offer pure and clear incense. Do not mix with the frankincense resin or other foul-smelling drugs. And what are they? Those desires of the heart by which you cling to the creatures of earth with a passionate eagerness. Clear your heart of such desires, so that you may say, "My God and my all." "My God, if I possess Thee and lack all else, I am rich in deed." "If I have the whole world, and all it contains, and have not Thee, I am poor, and blind, and miserable, and naked." Then will your prayer arise as a sweet odor from the golden altar before the throne of God, and in numerable blessings descend upon you, not only for eternity, but even in this present life.

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Offer frankincense, or you will have no gold to offer. When you open your treasures, if there is not plenty of incense--that is, prayer--you will find the chest, in which you thought there was much gold, to be empty. For without prayer there is no charity or love of God. Prayer is the food by which you nourish and keep charity alive and on the increase. Prayer is the capital in trade by which you are to make your fortune in the charity of God to enrich you for eternity.

And having offered your gold and frankincense, do not forget the myrrh. And what is signified by myrrh? It means self-denial, or, as it is more commonly called, mortification. I wish we all understood the value of self-denial better than we do, because nearly all the miseries which afflict the soul come from the fact that we do not deny ourselves as much as we ought. We give the reins to our natural desires and inclinations, and they run away with us. Just as if we were driving a span of spirited horses, and instead of putting a curb-bit upon them and holding them in, we should throw the reins down upon their necks and let them go without restraint. When they once begin to go fast, they break into a headlong race, and never stop until they have dashed everything in pieces. Thus we let our desires for amusement and pleasure run away with us, until we find our pious resolutions and the spirit of devotion entirely gone, and drowned in the sea of forgetfulness. {38} How can we love God if we be absorbed in a love of good eating and drinking? Can God come and take up His abode in a soul which occupies itself and is taken up with the satisfaction of sumptuous fare, rich meats, and choice wines or liquors. Such souls are vividly described in Holy Scripture: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things." [Footnote 7]

[Footnote 7: Philip., iii. 18, 19.]

How can God give Himself to the man who is absorbed in money-making and heaping up possessions? It is impossible for such a soul to enjoy the presence of God. Neither can He divide the empire of the soul with worldly honors, nor even with a passionate human love of wife or children. He is God, and they are creatures, the mere work of His hand. They shall pass away and be gone, and He shall remain. Such inordinate love is like disgusting vermin in the mansion of the soul, and all such vermin must be swept out. What ever we love must be loved on account of God, and in subordination to His love, or God will not come and take up His abode with us. This is the plain dictate of our reason.

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We must deny ourselves, and that not merely in forbidden things, but in those which are lawful. If we go to the limit of what is lawful in self-indulgence, depend upon it we shall soon pass the limit. We shall fall into sin, and very likely into mortal sin. Many a one has fallen in this way. He has said to himself, I can do this thing, for it is not forbidden. Again, I can do that; it is not certain it comes within the letter of the law. I can indulge myself in this respect, for, even if sinful, it is a matter of small consequence. Thus he goes on in a downhill progress, until he becomes utterly selfish, and virtue has died out in his soul. Our Saviour has laid down the rule for a Christian; "He that will be My disciple, let him deny him self daily, and take up his cross and follow Me." Again, "He that loveth father or mother, wife or child, houses or lands, more than Me, is not worthy to be My disciple."

We must deny ourselves, and, if we would be great friends of God, we must deny ourselves a great deal. The fact is, in order to become possessed of God, we must deny ourselves in all things, at all times, and in all places. We must repress and bring into subjection our desires, so that they may not occupy and fill our hearts. The Scripture says, "Think not for the morrow what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewith ye shall be clothed; but think of the kingdom of God and his justice." {40} Now, reflect on this: we cannot be thinking on both these things at the same time; one thought will crowd the other out; therefore you must drive out of your hearts those eager desires of the world, and temporal things, and anxiety about the future; you must deny yourselves these earthly desires, or you will never become spiritually-minded. Could we only banish all care and solicitude for these things, and discharge our duties and our business in life without anxiety, for God, and for the ends God has appointed them, we should be recompensed a thousandfold in this life, and we should be filled with gratitude to God for inspiring us with such sentiments. Offer myrrh, offer plenty of myrrh to God. Offer it with gold and frankincense--that is, with the intention of cleaning and sweeping out from your hearts all vain and useless love, that they may be ready and prepared for the Divine Love, and with many prayers and good wishes; and God will accept it. It will be most pleasing to Him. Without this, your self-denial will be in vain. Self-denial, without the right intention, is superstitious, and nourishes an empty pride; with it, the least act of self-denial renders you like to God, and more fit to receive the impressions of the Holy Ghost within your souls.

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Begin, then, to offer myrrh with the gold and frankincense. Deny your eyes what they like to look upon, that the eyes of your souls may look on God more steadily. Deny your ears what they like to hear; news and gossip, not to speak of detraction and evil talk, that you may more readily hear the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost gently speaking within your hearts. Deny your sense of smell; the gratifications of perfumes and sweet odors. Deny your palates delicate and luxurious food, that you may relish better the plain and solid meat of the Gospel. Deny yourselves all around, whenever you can bring yourselves to do it cheerfully, for the sake of God, for He loves not the unwilling, but the cheerful, giver.

This is what the saints did, and it is what made them saints. Impelled by the strong desire to love God more, I dare to say that self-denial was the sweetest pleasure to them in this life. Having food and raiment, and wherewith to be clothed, they were content therewith; the superfluous and the unnecessary they abominated, for they knew they would only lead them away from Jesus Christ.

Present these gifts not only now, but every day of your lives. God will give them to you, and then you must give them back faithfully to Him, and in a short time He will give you a present which excels anything you ever thought of. He will give you Himself, and inundate your happy soul in an ocean of inconceivable joy and unspeakable happiness, never to be lost for all the ages of eternity.

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Sermon III.

How To Pass A Good Lent.

(For Ash Wednesday.)

2 Cor. vi. 2.

"__Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation__."

This morning, my brethren, we knelt before this altar, and received from the Holy Church the ashes from which this day takes its name. Why did we do so? Was it merely because we had done so in past years? because it is a Catholic custom? because others did so, and we were expected to do the same? To receive them for such reasons would be better than not to receive them at all; but better still would it be to feel the meaning, and enter into the spirit of this sacred rite.

In the early ages of the Church, those whose sins were such as to require (in the severer judgment of those days) a public penance, received the ashes on this day from the bishop, and were then, after some other ceremonies, expelled from the Church, and not allowed to assist at Mass till Holy Thursday. {43} As they were being driven out, the words. __Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris__--"Remember, man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return"--which were repeated to each one of us as we received the ashes this morning, were said to them. Their exclusion from the Church, often during a much longer time than the few weeks of Lent, was by no means the only penance to which many of them were subjected, besides those which they voluntarily undertook; but it is enough to mention so much, that we may understand what are the feelings which we, who are to-day in the place of these public penitents, should have.

Receiving the ashes was for them a sign of the most profound humiliation and repentance. They were in disgrace, separated from the rest of the faithful as unworthy to partake with them in the sacred mysteries; and they expressed by their submission a firm purpose to amend their lives, and repair the scandal they had given. Now it is to us no disgrace to receive the ashes, but even the contrary; and we are not, perhaps, understood as expressing sorrow for our sins by the act, but humiliation and penance are really meant by it, and it is in this spirit that the Church wishes us to perform it.

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This meaning is also contained in the very ashes themselves. For what can more completely express humiliation than ashes, which are the mere remains of their former substance, without beauty, strength, or any of its qualities? And what can better represent repentance than the fine dust of which they are composed? For this reducing to dust or powder is the real meaning of contrition: the contrite heart is that which is not only broken, but even ground to dust with sorrow. The ashes, also, as we are reminded in receiving them, represent the dust of death to which we must sooner or later come, and in which all the distinctions upon which we pride ourselves so much now will be confounded, nothing being left of us in this world after a short time but a few handfuls of dust, and our souls having gone to another, where their claims to consideration will have been judged according to a very different standard from that which prevails in this life. The thought of death, then, which they suggest, ought to fill us with humiliation on account of the vanity of our worldly distinctions, and with repentance now while we have time, because after death repentance will be impossible.

But Ash Wednesday is not a day by itself. It is the beginning of a season in which the sentiments which it suggests are to be continued and even strengthened. It is of the right way of passing this penitential season of Lent that I wish to speak to you to-night. {45} And, in the first place, let us try to have a firm purpose to pass it in the right way. With a good resolution, the battle is half won. It is well worth our while to spend a good Lent; heaven is, as it were, nearer now, and grace is more abundant. "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." Yes, my brethren, the Church does not give us Lent merely as a penance, but to help us in saving our souls.

What, then, shall we do to spend Lent well?

The first thing to do is to cease from sin, and obey those commandments of God which are binding at all times as well as now. To one who will not resolve to quit mortal sin, nothing else that he can do will be of any use except so far as it helps him to make such a resolution. All who have lost grace know well enough what sins are ruining their souls; and these they must give up, or their Lent will have been of little or no use-- perhaps even worse than useless, being another of those graces of the good God which they have thrown away and trampled under foot, and which He will reproach them with at the last day. Though He is always entreating us to give up sin, yet it is now specially that He urges us, as we are about to commemorate the bitter sufferings which He endured to redeem us from its power. {46} And though we are always bound to give it up, yet are we specially now so bound, because everything reminds us so strongly how hateful it is to God. Leave off sin, then; that is the great thing. I do not say that nothing else must be done till this is; but this must be done sooner or later, and the sooner the better, for it is very dangerous to wait. This night, this very hour, may be the last that we shall have.

This naturally suggests a special precept that comes to us at this time. Whether we have sinned or not, we must make our Easter duty. At other times, our Lord invites us to come to Him; now, He commands us to come, under pain of a new and great sin if we refuse. Obey, then, this loving command as soon as possible; do not delay, especially if guilty of mortal sin; for, besides running a great risk, you will lose the merit of all you may do in this holy season as long as you remain unforgiven. It is not so hard as it seems; and the moment of absolution will be the happiest one of life.