Part 11

It is not a matter of favor and arbitrary appointment; not even my Mother gains her glory in that way. She must comply with the terms on which my Father promises heaven to men, and therefore the Church applies to her words spoken of another Mary: "_Mary hath chosen the best part; therefore it shall not be taken away from her_." {211} Oh, blessed truth! Mary is one of us. Her destiny, high as it is, is a human destiny. And she reached it in a human fashion. She built that splendid throne of hers in heaven with care and labor while she was on the earth. She laid the foundation of it in her childhood, when her feet trod the Temple aisles. She reared its pillars, when with faith, purity and obedience unequalled, she received the message of the Archangel. And her daily life at Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth, her holy, loving ways with Joseph, and with Jesus, her perfect fulfilment of God's law, her interior fervent acts of prayer, covered it with gold and ivory. Then, when the blind world was going on its way of folly; while one King Herod was deluging villages in blood, and another steeping his soul in the guilt of incest, and of the blood of the Son of God; while the multitude were doubting, and Scribes and Pharisees disputing about Christ, the lowly Jewish maiden, with no other secret but love and prayer, was preparing for herself that bright mansion in Heaven wherein she now dwells, rejoicing eternally with her Son. {212} Oh happy news! One, at least, of our race has perfectly fulfilled her destiny. Here we can gain some idea of what God created us for. Here is the destiny that awaits man when original sin does not mar it; when co-operation with grace and unswerving perseverance secure it. The Jews were proud of Judith. They said: "_Thou art the glory of Jerusalem; thou art the joy of Israel; thou art the honor of our people_." So we may say of Mary: 'O Mary, thou art the pride of our race. In thee the design of God in our creation has been perfectly attained. In thee the redemption of Christ has had its perfect fruit. Mankind conceives new hopes from thy success. Christ, indeed, has entered into glory; but Christ was God. Mary is purely human, and Mary has succeeded. Why tarry we here in the bondage of Egypt? Mary has crossed the Red Sea, and has taken a timbrel in her hand and sings her thanksgiving unto God. True it is that she is fleet of foot, and we are halt and weak; but even she needed the grace of God, and the same grace is offered to us, that we may run and not faint. Listen to her song of triumph. {213} She does not set herself above us, but claims kindred with us, and bids us hope for the same grace which she has received. "_My soul doth magnify the Lord, for he hath exalted the humble, and hath filled the hungry with good things. And his mercy is from generation to generation to them that fear him_."

Another proof that the destiny of the Blessed Virgin is substantially the same with ours, is the fact that, in Scripture the same expressions are used to describe her glory and ours. Sometimes those who are not Catholics when they hear what high words we use of the Blessed Virgin, are scandalized; but we use almost no words of the Blessed Virgin that may not, in their measure, be applied to other Saints. It is true that the Blessed Virgin has some gifts and graces in which she stands alone--as her character of Mother of God, and her Immaculate Conception--but, as I said before, these are dignities and ornaments conferred on her, and are not the source of her essential happiness in Heaven. In other respects, her glory is shared by all the Saints. Thus, Mary is called "Queen of Heaven;" but are not all the blessed called in Holy Scripture, "_kings and priests unto God_?" [Footnote 94]

[Footnote 94: Apoc. i., 6.]

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Is she said to sit at the "King's right hand?" and are not we too promised a place at his right hand, and to "_sit on thrones?_" [Footnote 95]

[Footnote 95: Apoc. iii., 21.]

Is she called the "Morning Star?" and does not St. Paul, speaking of all the Saints, say, "_star differeth from star in glory_." [Footnote 96]

[Footnote 96: 1 Cor. xv., 41.]

Is she called a "Mediatrix of Prayer?" and is it not said of every just man, that his "_continual prayer availeth much?_" [Footnote 97]

[Footnote 97: St. James v., 16.]

Is she called "The Spouse of God?" and does not the Almighty, addressing every faithful soul, say, "_My love, my dove, my undefiled?_" [Footnote 98]

[Footnote 98: Can. v., 2.]

Is she called the "Daughter of the Most High?" and are not we too called the "_Sons of God?_" [Footnote 99]

[Footnote 99: 1 St. John iii., 2.]

The glory of the Blessed Virgin, then, differs from that of the other Saints in degree, but not in kind. She is not separated from them, but is one of them. She goes before them. She is the most perfect of them. But she is one of them. And for this reason, the glory of the Blessed Virgin gives us the best conception of the magnificence of our destiny. When a botanist wishes to describe a flower, he selects the most perfect specimen. {215} When an anatomist draws a model of the human frame, he makes it faultless. So we, to gain the truest idea of our destiny, must lift up our eyes to the Blessed Virgin on her heavenly throne, and say: Oh! my soul, see for what thou art created. Think of this my brethren, as often as you kneel before her image, or meditate on her greatness. You cannot be what she is, but you can be like her. She is a creature like you. She is a human being like you. She is a Christian like you. And her joy, her beauty, her glory, her wealth, her knowledge, her power--nay, even the mighty efficacy of her intercession--are only what, in their measure, God offers to you. "_Glory, honor and peace to_ EVERY ONE _that worketh good for there is no respect of persons with God_." [Footnote 100]

[Footnote 100: Rom. ii., 10.]

If these things be so, what greatness it gives to human life. Perhaps, if you had lived in the times of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you would never have noticed her; or if you had known her by sight, what would she have seemed to you but a good little Jewish girl, lowly and retiring in her manners and appearance? {216} or, later in life, a poor young woman thrust away, with her husband, from a crowded inn, or fleeing by night with an infant child? or, still later, the mother of a condemned malefactor, watching his sufferings in the crowd. Herod did not know her, and the nobles of Jerusalem were ignorant of her. She was not one of the friends of the Queen's dancing daughters. Even the rustics of the village of Bethlehem looked down on her. She carried no servants about with her, and had no palace to live in. But Faith tells us of angel visits, of union with God, of heavenly goodness, and an immortal crown. So, in like manner, how our life becomes grand and dignified when it is lighted up by faith! You know there are porcelain pictures, which in the hand are rough and unmeaning, but held up to the light reveal the most beautiful scenes and figures; so our common ordinary life, rough and unmeaning as it often seems, when enlightened by faith becomes all divine. There is a little girl who learns her lessons and obeys her parents, and tells the truth, and shuns every thing that is wicked; why, as that little girl kneels down to pray, I see a bright angel drawing near to her, and he smiles on her and says: "_Hail! Blessed art thou: the Lord is with thee._" {217} That young man who, by a sincere conversion, has thrown off the slavery of sin, and regained once more the grace of God--what is his heart but another cave of Bethlehem, in which Christ is born, and around which angels sing: "_Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace to men of good will_." That Christian family, where daily prayers are offered, and instruction and good example are given, and mutual fidelity is observed between the members--what is it but the Holy House of Nazareth?--the House of Jesus? Yes, good Christian, do not be cast down because you are poor, or because you suffer, or because your opportunities of doing good are limited; live the life of a Christian, and you are living Mary's life on earth. We have not, indeed, Mary's perfect sinlessness, but we have the graces of baptism, by which we may vanquish sin. We have not, as she had, the visible presence of our Lord, but we have Him invisibly in our hearts, and sacramentally in the Holy Communion. We are not "full of grace," as she was, but we have grace without limit promised to us in answer to prayer. {218} Let us assert the privileges of our birth-right. We belong to the new creation. Angels claim kindred with us. God is our father. Heaven is our home. We are the children of the Saints--yes, of her who is the greatest of the Saints. Let us follow her footsteps, that one day we may come to our Assumption, the glory of which surpassed even the power of St. John to utter. "_Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is_." [Footnote 101]

[Footnote 101: 1 John iii., 2.]

Every thing depends on our co-operating with grace. How did the Blessed Virgin arrive at such glory? By corresponding to every grace. See her at her Annunciation. The Angel comes and tells her of the grace God has prepared for her. If she had not believed, if she had not assented, what would have come of it? Why, she would have lost for all eternity the glory attached to that grace. But she did not refuse. She was ready for the grace when it was offered. {219} She said "_Fiat_," "_Be it done to me according to thy word_." Oh, how much hung on that _Fiat!_ an eternal glory in Heaven. So it is with us. There are moments in our lives big with the issues of our future. God's purposes concerning the soul have a certain order. He gives one grace; if we correspond to that He gives another; if we do not correspond we lose those that depended on it; some times, even, we lose our salvation altogether. This is the key of your destiny--fidelity to grace. You have an inspiration from God: He speaks to your soul. Oh, listen to Him, and obey Him! To one He says: Abandon, O, sinner, your evil life, and turn to Me with all your heart. "_Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation!_" To another, who is already in his grace, He sends inspirations to a more perfect life, a life of higher prayer and more uninterrupted recollection. Another, by the sweet attractions of his grace, He draws away from home and kindred to serve Him as a Sister of Charity by the bed of suffering; or as a nun, to live with Him in stillness and contemplation; or as a priest to win souls for heaven. Oh, speak the word that Mary spoke: "_Be it done to me according to thy word_." {220} Are you in sin? Convert without delay. Are you leading a tepid, imperfect life? Gird your loins to watchfulness and prayer. Do you feel in yourselves a vocation to a religious or sacerdotal life? Rise up and obey without delay. To-morrow may be too late. The grace may be forfeited forever. Why stand we all the day idle? Heaven is filling up. Each generation sends a new company to the heavenly host. Time is going. The great business of life remains unaccomplished. By our baptism we have been made children of God and heirs of heaven. Labor we, therefore, to enter into that rest. Mary, dear Mother, lift up thy voice for us in heaven, that we, following thy footsteps, may one day share thy glory, and with thee praise forever God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; Amen.

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Sermon XIV.

Mortal Sin Exemplified In The History Of Judas.

"Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man shall be betrayed." --Matt, xxvi., 24.

(A Sermon for Passion Week.)

There are some men whose crimes have made them objects of universal and eternal infamy and execration. One of these is Judas Iscariot, whose very name is a bye-word among men. Most persons seem to think that he was quite a different being from ordinary men, and was naturally a kind of evil monster, without any thing human in him. This is a mistaken opinion. There is not so great a difference between these extraordinary sinners and ordinary ones as is commonly supposed. {222} There are a great many who have an equal degree of malice, but who have no such opportunity to show it. There are others who would become equally bad under equal temptations, but whose evil tendencies are kept under by favorable circumstances, and the absence of great inducements to wickedness. It is not probable that Judas was much worse than the common run of wilful and malicious sinners, until, by a just judgment and a dreadful calamity, he fell into the occasion of committing a crime, the greatest which ever has been or can be committed by man.

In his case, the malice that is in mortal sin is only more perfectly exhibited than in others that are less heinous. The treason of Judas is an example, first, of the evil of mortal sin as an offence against God; and, second, as the ruin of the soul.

I.

The treason of Judas is an example of the evil of mortal sin, considered as an offence against God. The gist of the offence in mortal sin lies in the turning from God to the creature. {223} It is a renunciation of God's friendship, a desertion of his service, a discarding of his authority, for the sake of some created good which we cannot obtain without this complete desertion from God. No one ever did this, or had the chance to do it, so plainly and visibly as Judas. He was in personal and immediate attendance upon our Lord, who is God in human nature. He was the friend, the servant and the companion of the Lord in his visible and human life. He deserted and betrayed Him for a little money, for the favor of the Jewish rulers, for the sake of a more free and self-indulgent life, and to get rid of a cross he was tired of carrying. What can be a more perfect illustration of mortal sin? You have done the same, my friend, when you have denied your faith for the sake of a genteel marriage; when you have gone to a fashionable Protestant church for the sake of improving your business; when you have dropped confession for the sake of indulging with less restraint in worldly dissipation. You need not reproach Judas, for all you say against him rebounds upon yourself, and by your own mouth shall you be condemned, oh, wicked servant!

The offence of Judas was heightened by the lowness of his origin, compared with the dignity of Jesus Christ. {224} He was a poor young man, without family, rank, or other claim on the notice of our Lord. He chose him as one of his disciples, and destined him to be one of his twelve apostles, a sharer in the glory of St. Peter and St. Paul. For such an one to betray the Master who had raised him from a station so humble to a rank so exalted was a double crime. But it is just what every sinner does. We have fallen by the sin of Adam into a low condition. Destitute of the nobility of sanctifying grace, devoid of all supernatural merit, without any claim on heaven, we have been raised to the rank of children of God, as a boon of pure mercy, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, if we then sin against God, in what respect are we better than Judas?

There was not only a great indignity in his conduct toward our Lord, but an equally great ingratitude. He owed to our Lord not only respect and obedience on account of his character and authority, but personal affection and gratitude on account of his goodness and kindness to him. He betrayed a friend as well as deserted a master. {225} Oh, baseness without a parallel! But beware, lest in saying this you reproach yourself. Whenever you sin mortally you are guilty of the same ingratitude toward Jesus Christ. He has been good to you, too, and you owe Him love and gratitude. But you repay his favors with outrages and offences.

To crown all, Judas delivered up his Master to an ignominious death, and imbrued his hands in the blood not only of an innocent man, but of a friend, a benefactor, nay, more, in the blood of his Lord and Redeemer. This was a new and unheard of crime. Men had heard before of fratricide, of parricide, of regicide, but they had yet to learn of that which included all these and more, of Deicide. Strictly speaking, this crime of Deicide can never be repeated. The Son of God gave to wicked men the chance of putting Him to death, once, and only once. But every one who commits mortal sin, is guilty of a crime which partakes of the nature of the crime of Judas. Sin was the cause of the death of Jesus Christ. He died for every sinner and for every sin. Whoever commits sin, then, consents to that which caused the death of our Blessed Lord, makes common cause with his murderers, and thus becomes accessory to his death.

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II.

The treason of Judas is also an example of the way in which a sinner ruins himself.

It is probable that Judas was once a faithful disciple. He had a vocation from the Lord Himself, to leave the world and follow Him. God calls to his service only those who are well disposed and fit for it, and we may, therefore, believe that Judas was at least sincere and piously inclined, before the Lord called him. He believed in our Lord's teaching, when he heard Him preach; he followed Him with constancy for a length of time; and obeyed the inward grace and outward call by which He invited him to become his disciple. As a disciple he must have been faithful, and must have shown himself worthy of a higher grace. For the Lord, who knew his heart, and always chooses fit instruments for his purposes, gave him a vocation to become a Priest, and not only that, but a Bishop and an Apostle. With this vocation He gave him all the special gifts and graces necessary to prepare him for the apostolic ministry, to make him a worthy companion of St. Peter and St. John, and to enable him to win like them, the gratitude and veneration of the world, and a glorious crown in heaven. {227} He preached and wrought miracles like the others, and very likely was for a time not only without grievous sin, but really fervent and holy. Reason and experience teach us that he could not have changed all at once from a fervent apostle to a faithless apostate, ready to betray his Lord for money. He must have changed gradually. He relaxed by degrees in fervor, he neglected little things, and did not profit by the admonitions which the Lord gave him from time to time. Thus he went on from bad to worse, growing more indifferent and hardened every day, heaping up venial sins continually, and disposing himself for those that were more grievous. He became unkind and quarrelsome with his fellow disciples, dishonest in the use of the common purse which was intrusted to his care, harsh and repulsive toward the poor people who came to hear the preaching of his Master, and to recommend their wants to his mercy. {228} So he lost the grace of God, fell, we know not where or how, into mortal sin, and became an alien in heart from Jesus Christ, though still in name and appearance his disciple. By degrees he began to despise his Master, to sicken of his service, to disbelieve his words. He was already a slave of Satan, having lost sanctifying grace, and, it may be, faith also. When Satan suggested to him to abandon his Master, to betray him for money, and then to go away and live as he pleased, he dallied with the temptation, deliberated, and at length consented. The devil then took complete possession of him, drove him on, and wove a chain of circumstances around him that hurried him forward to the execution of his treacherous intentions. What follows we all know. Having put the seal on his own guilt and perdition by a sacrilegious communion, he delivered over the Lord to death. His crime being now consummated, the diabolical spell that had been around him was broken, despair seized on his soul, he hanged himself and went "to his own place," bequeathing the memory of his infamous treason to the execration of all future generations.

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This is the history of many a one, besides Judas. For instance, take this from the life of St. Francis of Assisi. [Footnote 102]

[Footnote 102: F. Challipe's Life, vol. i.. p. 91.]

"A sixth disciple, named John, and surnamed de Capella, began well, and finished ill. He was charged with distributing among his brethren the alms that had been contributed, and took on himself voluntarily the office of procuring all that was wanting for the community. But, by degrees, he became attached to temporal things, went abroad too much, and relaxed extremely in the observance of regular discipline. The holy Founder, after giving him a number of severe reprimands in vain, threatened him with a frightful malady and a miserable death, as the punishment of his indocility. In fact, this bad religious was smitten with a horrible leprosy, which he had not the patience to bear. He abandoned his companions, the poor of Jesus Christ, and giving himself up to despair, hanged himself, like Judas." This example is no doubt an unusual one, in this respect, that the penalty of this unhappy man's sinful life was more striking and visible than is commonly the case. {230} But it is essentially like thousands of examples everywhere, and in every-day life, in which the origin, progress and end of sin are really the same, though more secret and hidden. So the careless Christian begins his downward career, by a negligence which goes from bad to worse, from small things to those of greater and greater moment, until all fervor is lost, and his conscience falls into a deadly slumber. Then come grievous sins; singly at first, but afterward in quick succession. This stage of the disease lapses at last into the state of obduracy and final impenitence. Sacrilege is very commonly mixed up with it, more or less, as the religions, ecclesiastical or secular condition of the person, or his peculiar character and circumstances, may in a greater or lesser degree expose him to the occasion of profaning sacraments. He may be hurried along into an open, and perhaps, from his station and antecedents, a very scandalous apostacy from the faith, and thus become a declared traitor to his allegiance to Jesus Christ and the Church. He may fill up the measure of his wickedness in some other way; but it ends the same, in self-destruction: not by suicide, but by the gradual and sure destruction of conscience, and of moral and spiritual vitality, ending in a spiritual and eternal death which knows no resurrection forever. {231} So he goes "to his Own place," to the place he has prepared for himself, the place he has merited, the place that suits his moral condition, the place assigned to him as his eternal abode by the unerring justice of God.