'I 
 
BERKELEY 
 
 Qt iii[ 
 
ORIGINAL, 
 
 SHORT AND PRACTICAL 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 FOR 
 
 EVERY FEAST OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR. 
 
 THREE SERMONS FOR EVERY FEAST, 
 
 BY 
 
 F. X. WENINGER, S. J. 
 
 Doctor of Theology. 
 
 \ ^^STICij^ 
 
 SECOND EDITION. W.'^a. ^ 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 C. J. H. LOWEN, 
 
 208 Sycamore Street. 
 
UOAN STACK 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by 
 
 REV. F. X. WENINGER, D. D., 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED AT 
 
 FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, 
 
 CINCINNATI. 
 
MftriN 
 
 WITH 
 
 EPISCOPAL APPROBATION. 
 
 SSSrici 
 
 ^n>.. 
 
 
 I 028 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 To keep the promise, which I made, I have also 
 given to the Press a series of Festival Sermons. 
 
 As this volume is intended for circulation in Europe 
 as well as in America, it contains Sermons appropri- 
 ate not only for the Feasts kept here, but likewise 
 for those which, in greater numbers, are observed in 
 Europe and in other trans-Atlantic countries. 
 
 I hope, nevertheless, that all these Festival Sermons 
 will prove acceptable to the Reverend Clergy of Amer- 
 ica. For the Feasts which occur during the week, and 
 are not of obligation, are ofteil made the subject- 
 matter of the Sunday within the Octave. 
 
 At times, too, such Feasts fall on Sundays ; as, for 
 instance. Candlemas-day, the Feasts of the Annunci- 
 ation, of St. Joseph, SS. Peter and Paul, the Guardian 
 Angels, and others. 
 
 The Sermons set down for Easter Monday and Pen- 
 tecost Monday may also be preached on Easter and 
 Pentecost Sunday, and thus we obtain six Sermons 
 instead of three for each of these two Solemnities. 
 
 Since the Festival Sermons and Sunday Sermons 
 form a series, they appear under one and the same 
 
 title, and their contents will make good that they are 
 
 (iii) 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 original in treatment — short and practical — three for 
 every Festival. 
 
 The present volume, however, is nearly as large as 
 that of the Sunday Sermons, for the reason that, as 
 was mentioned above, it contains Sermons for the 
 Festivals observed in Europe and elsewhere. 
 
 Besides, they are treated more fully and are of 
 greater length. For since on Feast days the people 
 are disposed to assist longer at divine service than on 
 ordinary Sundays, the Sermons, too, may be more 
 protracted. 
 
 May Mary, as the Mother of the Incarnate Word, 
 bless these Sermons. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE 
 CONCEPTION. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee! "—Cant. 4. 
 
 AS Christ, in a figurative manner, is compared to 
 the sun, whose rise imparts strength, consolation, 
 and growth to our spiritual life ; so, in the same figur- 
 ative manner, do we behold in Mary, the mother of 
 Jesus, the rosy dawn which appeared before the day 
 of salvation. This explains why we, as children of 
 God, should also, at the beginning of Advent, in a 
 special manner, renew our devotion to Mary, the 
 mother of God, and offer her our homage and our 
 petitions. 
 
 The feast which the Church celebrates to-day makes 
 manifest to us how desirous the Church is, that, during 
 the holy time of Advent, we should earnestly and with 
 particular ^rdor recommend ourselves to the protection 
 and intercession of Mary. 
 
 The Church celebrates to-day the Feast of the Im- 
 maculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Making abstraction of the solemn declaration of 
 Pope Pius IX., let us to-day reflect upon the reasons 
 which prove to our mind enlightened by faith — 
 
2 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 That Mary is the one, and the only 07ie, among the 
 children of men who came into existefice free from every 
 stain of sin. 
 
 Mary, we pray Thee, obtain for us the grace to 
 Hve, as thy children, free from sin! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 Beloved in Christ : I have said, that by my sermon 
 of to-day in honor of the Blessed Virgin, I wish to re- 
 mind you of the reasons which prove that Mary came 
 into existence free from every stain of original sin. I 
 wish to do it, because this is one of those articles of 
 faith which are so frequently misunderstood, attacked, 
 and denied by the enemies of our holy religion. 
 
 What an advantage it would be if all the children 
 of the Church were so thoroughly instructed, not only 
 in this article of faith, but as regards all the doctrines 
 of the Church, that they might be enabled to state 
 definitely and correctly the articles of their faith, and 
 show forth evidence that these articles are revealed 
 truths, and have been held by the Church at all times ! 
 
 The opponents of the Church misinterpret her 
 teachings. The same may be said, alas! but too fre- 
 quently of Catholics themselves who have not been 
 thoroughly instructed in their religion, — those who are 
 mere nominal Catholics, and who live as such, clearly 
 manifesting, by their actions, that they do not live of 
 the root of faith. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 3 
 
 In the case of non-Catholics this apparent igno- 
 rance is often but a deliberate perversion of language. 
 How important, therefore, is it, that every well-in- 
 structed Catholic should clearly show the opponents 
 of religion their ignorance and their willful malice, and 
 prove to them that all their insinuations and accusa- 
 tions against the Church and its doctrines are utterly 
 base, and really merit naught but contempt. 
 
 Thus, for instance, we are accused of adoring the 
 saints and their images ; of purchasing indulgences 
 in order to sin more freely; of adoring the Blessed 
 Virgin, and of placing greater confidence in her as- 
 sistance than in that of Christ Himself. 
 
 The doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception is 
 especially misrepresented. Our enemies accuse us of 
 believing that Mary was not born as other mortals, — 
 that she, like Christ, was conceived by the power of 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 What pitiable and disgraceful ignorance, or inten- 
 tional malice, which can invent such fables. 
 
 Go and say to such scoffers : Friend, let me disa- 
 buse you of your error. Mary was a human being ; St. 
 Ann was her mother, and St. Joachim her father; but 
 the omnipotence of God prevented her being deprived 
 of sanctifying grace and being born in disfavor of God, 
 in the state of original sin, — a state in which all other 
 children of Adam are born, in consequence of the sin 
 of our first parents. 
 
 This privilege was a particular favor granted to her 
 by God. This preference was due to her as the one 
 
4 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 chosen to be the mother of the Redeemer. The 
 learned Duns Scotus has justly remarked: ''God 
 could effect this — it was proper that He should do 
 so — hence He did so." He preserved Mary free from 
 the stain of original sin. 
 
 God could Ao it; He is omnipotent! It was proper 
 that He should, for the sake of Christ, who was to be 
 born of Mary. 
 
 Should Jesus, the heavenly Adam, have taken His 
 flesh and blood from a soil that had once borne the 
 curse of sin ? This would not have been fitting. The 
 body of the primitive Adam was taken from an unpol- 
 luted soil; therefore it would not have been suitable 
 that the body of Christ, the ''heavenly Adam," as the 
 Apostle calls him, should be taken from a soil stained 
 by sin. He who triumphed over death and hell could 
 certainly not allow His mother to have been at any 
 time under the control of Satan. The disgrace of the 
 mother taints the honor of the son. 
 
 When we take into consideration the dignity of the 
 Blessed Virgin, and her rank in the kingdom of God, 
 we undoubtedly will acknowledge that it was but just 
 she should be endowed with this purity. As mother 
 of the Son of God made man, she was to be enthroned 
 at the right hand of her divine Son as queen of heaven 
 and earth. 
 
 The world was without blemish when it came forth 
 from the hand of its Creator. The angels, both vic- 
 torious and fallen, came into existence untarnished. 
 Should she who was chosen to crush the serpent's 
 
FIRST SERMON. 5 
 
 head — she who was to be the queen of angels — ever 
 have been a slave of Satan ? 
 
 This doctrine is confirmed by Sacred Scripture and 
 the teachings of the holy Fathers. As regards Holy 
 Scripture, the words of the Lord addressed to Satan 
 in paradise, already point to this prerogative: ''She 
 shall crush thy head." This assurance was given him 
 immediately after the fall of man, and with the first 
 promise of redemption. 
 
 Had Mary been born in the state of original sin, 
 then Satan would have crushed her head, and not she 
 the head of Satan. This crushing points to a total de- 
 struction of the power of Satan. 
 
 Furthermore, the Sacred Scriptures speak of Mary, 
 the future mother of the Redeemer, as: "The one 
 chosen one ; the stainless, all-pure one ; the lily among 
 thorns; the sealed-up fountain; the invincible tower." 
 
 The angel who declared unto Mary that she was to 
 be the mother of God, called her: ''Full of grace." 
 But she could not have been full of grace had she 
 been devoid of the first and most precious of all 
 graces — freedom from sin — at the first moment of her 
 existence. 
 
 The prerogative of the Blessed Virgin is also con- 
 firmed by tradition. The Apostle St. Andrew de- 
 clares, in his speech delivered in the presence of the 
 pro-consul of Patras: "Just as Adam was formed of 
 a soil on which the curse of sin had never rested, so 
 also was the body of the heavenly Adam formed of a 
 sinless virgin." St. Ambrose calls Mary "free from 
 
6 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 every Stain of sin." St. Augustine says: ''When sin 
 is spoken of let no mention be made of Mary, be- 
 cause of the honor of the Lord." 
 
 In Hke manner do all the Fathers of the Church ex- 
 press themselves, and, with St. Chrysostom, they call 
 Mary purer than all the choirs of angels. 
 
 The devotion of the faithful, in regard to this pre- 
 rogative of the Blessed Virgin rose to such a degree 
 that Pope Pius IX. thought it opportune to proclaim 
 this dogma an article of faith, in contradiction to the 
 growing infidelity with which the world regards all 
 revelation. He did so, in the fullest conviction that 
 the glory which would accrue to Mary by this decla- 
 ration would, at the same time, increase and strengthen 
 devotion to her in the hearts of all the faithful. Sur- 
 rounded by two hundred bishops of the Catholic 
 Church, he pronounced the Immaculate Conception 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary an article of faith. 
 
 Let us be thankful to God therefor. Let us strive 
 to be worthy children of such a mother, and, by a pure 
 and sinless life, give a pleasing and meritorious evidence 
 of our joy at beholding Mary thus glorified! Amen! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, 
 and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." — 
 Apoc. 12. 
 
 AMONG the various privileges of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin, the one which the Church recalls to us by the 
 feast of to-day strikes us as being altogether peculiar 
 in character. 
 
 In regard to all the other prerogatives of Mary, 
 they are in themselves an incitement for us, who are 
 her children, to derive from them some benefit for 
 ourselves, and to sanctify our lives by the imitation of 
 her virtues. 
 
 But this privilege which was granted to none but 
 Mary, seems, exceptionally, to bear no practical ref- 
 erence whatever to our life of virtue. 
 
 And yet from the consideration of this mystery can 
 be drawn much that has reference to our lives as 
 children of God. I admit : We certainly had not the 
 happiness of entering this world free from the stain 
 of sin ; still the Sacrament of Baptism which, perhaps 
 we were so fortunate as to receive on the very day, 
 or even in the hour of our birth, cleansed our soul 
 entirely from the guilt of Adam. Alas ! how few 
 preserve their baptismal innocence! How soon is it 
 lost ! And why is this ? 
 
 A glance at the image of the Immaculate Conception 
 zvill give you the answer to this question. 
 
8 . FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 Mary, whose child I became at baptism, beg for 
 me the grace never to lose my baptismal innocence ; 
 or, if unfortunately I have lost it, obtain that I may 
 again cleanse my soul from every stain of sin, by the 
 baptism of penance ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 What a precious boon baptismal innocence is, what 
 an extraordinary grace, what a singular privilege ! In 
 the past five thousand years countless persons have 
 lived who never had the happiness of receiving bap- 
 tism. 
 
 Although Mary was the only being among all the 
 children of men who enjoyed the happiness and the 
 singular grace of coming into existence, free from all 
 stain of original sin, yet we also, who have been born 
 of Catholic parents, have received, without any merit 
 of our own, a most wondrous grace, in being so soon 
 cleansed by baptism from original sin, and thereby 
 becoming pleasing to God. 
 
 If we had died the moment after receiving baptism 
 we would have immediately entered heaven, there to 
 enjoy the beatific vision. If this fact furnishes such a 
 potent reason for being grateful to God, must we not 
 be filled with sadness when we reflect that so few of 
 those baptized retain their innocence unto the close 
 of their lives ? 
 
 Ask of yourself: How is it with me? Have I never 
 in my life committed one mortal sin ? — If not, oh ! then 
 
SECOND SERMON. 
 
 thank God and rejoice. But, alas ! the number of 
 those who are conscious of this privilege is very small. 
 
 As regards baptism, there are millions and hun- 
 dreds of millions who share this happiness with us. 
 But how few of these, if they die as adults, bear their 
 baptismal innocence beyond the grave ! And how few 
 of these millions, who reach manhood or old age, have 
 never in their life sinned mortally! I may say the 
 large majority lose the precious grace of innocence 
 in their youth. 
 
 And, you may ask, what is the cause of this ? I 
 said: That one glance at the image of the Blessed 
 Virgin, which we are accustomed to call that of the 
 Immaculate Conception, will give you the answer. 
 
 As is well known, we are wont to represent the Im- 
 maculate Conception in this manner: Mary is repre- 
 sented as a virgin, with eyes cast down, and hands 
 folded as if in prayer. She places one foot upon the 
 moon, whilst with the other she crushes the head of 
 the serpent that lies upon the ground, bearing an ap- 
 ple in its mouth. 
 
 Behold, in this image the reasons why so many per- 
 sons so soon lose the grace of baptism ; behold also 
 the virtues, on the diligent practice of which depends 
 the preservation of baptismal innocence! 
 
 Mary has one foot upon the earth. This teaches 
 us, that if we wish to retain our innocence we must 
 sever our hearts from all inordinate desire for those 
 things which the world offers — earthly possessions, 
 worldly honor, worldly enjoyments. 
 
lO FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 We must fully understand, that whatever the world 
 may offer with the promise of rendering us happy 
 here below, is naught but dross and disappointment, 
 that can never satisfy the cravings of our hearts, which 
 were created solely for God and for heaven. But this 
 conviction must be so entire, that we not only do not 
 prefer the goods and pleasures of this world to those 
 spiritual ones which our faith and the intercourse 
 with God grant us even in this world ; but that we, 
 moreover, regard them in the same light as did St. 
 Paul when he said : I regard all that is not Christ, as 
 the filth of the street. You must cherish the same 
 sentiments if you wish to preserve your baptismal 
 innocence. 
 
 But, alas! this is not the case with the great ma- 
 jority of the children of the Church. They overrate 
 earthly goods and enjoyments; and even in their 
 early youth they long for them with such eagerness, 
 that very soon this craving proves their downfall and 
 the occasion for mortal sin. 
 
 Mary has, at the same time, the moon under her 
 feet. What meaning is hidden in this ? The moon is 
 a symbol of mutability. Man but too often forms 
 good resolutions, but as often fails to keep them ; he 
 breaks them as readily as if he had never made them. 
 If all Christians were to adhere to the resolutions 
 which they formed in early youth, then would they 
 also preserve their innocence. But here lies the fault. 
 
 Circumstances change: one leaves his home and 
 enters with others on the every-day duties of life. He 
 
SECOND SERMON. I I 
 
 fails in the resolutions he made of saying his prayers, 
 of frequently receiving the Sacraments, of attending 
 divine service, of reading spiritual books, and thus he 
 becomes careless, yields to temptations, and commits 
 grievous sins. 
 
 Mary stands wrapt m pious meditation. 
 
 If you wish to preserve your innocence untarnished, 
 walk in the presence of God with recollection of 
 spirit, and pray with fervor. The holy Fathers have 
 justly remarked, that no one has ever lost his inno- 
 cence who did not, in the first place, grow careless in 
 saying his* prayers, or neglect them altogether. 
 
 And to what does the serpent, in the ii;nage of the 
 Immaculate Conception, point? I answer: It points to 
 the dangers of society and bad company ; to the se- 
 ducing power of bad example, and encouragement to 
 evil on the part of others. This is the means which 
 Satan employs most frequently in bringing souls to 
 ruin. It is intercourse with, and the encouragement of 
 persons who have already become habitual sinners, 
 which exercise the most potent influence over innocent 
 souls. These are in danger of gradually ceasing to 
 regard sin as a dreadful thing ; and, being led away by 
 the persuasive language of the seducer, they depart 
 from the narrow path, and tread the broad road which 
 leads to perdition. Young boys and girls who have 
 had the advantage of a religious education at home, 
 are but too often led away in this manner, so that a 
 few months after their first communion they are totally 
 changed. Intercourse with and the encouragement of 
 
12 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 Others have instilled the poison into their hearts, and 
 entangled them in numerous occasions of sin. 
 
 Mary crushes the head of the serpent that holds in 
 its mouth the apple of temptation. What does this 
 signify ? I answer : The reason why so many persons 
 lose their baptismal innocence is this: They do not 
 resist temptation at the outset, and crush its first be- 
 ginnings. 
 
 If you wish to retain your innocence you must fol- 
 low the advice of Christ: ''If thy eye, hand, or foot 
 tempt thee, cut it off — cast it away ; " meaning thereby, 
 that we should avoid all occasions of sin, no matter 
 at what cost. If you have lost your innocence, it was 
 because you did not follow this advice. 
 
 The image represents the Virgin with eyes cast 
 down. What does this imply? I say, if you wish to 
 preserve your innocence, you must walk in the pres- 
 ence of the Lord in humility of spirit, knowing full 
 well how weak you are of yourself in the face of 
 temptation. This trait in the image of the Blessed 
 Virgin says to you: Humble thyself! 
 
 May the invocation of Mary Immaculate obtain for 
 us grace, that by the practice of virtue our lives may 
 be conformable to hers, and that we, in this world 
 of sin, may always walk pure and spotless in the pres- 
 ence of God ! Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 3 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 '•Thou art terrible as an army set in array." — Cant. vi. 
 
 THE Holy Ghost assures us that the life of man is a 
 warfare. It began at the fall of our first parents, 
 and rested upon all of Adam's descendants, excepting 
 her, whose Immaculate Conception we celebrate to-day. 
 
 Yes, it is a severe struggle which we have to main- 
 tain against the powers of darkness ; against Lucifer 
 and his allies, the fallen angels ; against the world and 
 the flesh, which, enrolled under the standard of the 
 fallen prince of angels, and swayed by his influence and 
 direction, oppose us as the enemies of our salvation. 
 
 The name of the Church upon earth, whose chil- 
 dren we are, reminds us of this. We call it the 
 "Church militant," and this it really is. But for this 
 very reason is she destined to be for all eternity the 
 *' Church triumphant." If one day we desire to join 
 her in the cry of victory, then must we also, like faith- 
 ful children, combat and triumph with her. 
 
 It is certain that we have a powerful enemy in Lu- 
 cifer and his allies ; still we have no reason to be dis- 
 couraged on this account, since Christ, the victor over 
 death and hell, has provided us with so many weap- 
 ons with which, assisted by His grace, we can ably 
 defend ourselves. He appointed His own mother, 
 Mary, to be, in particular, the guardian of His Church 
 and of His children. 
 
14 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 Let US draw near to her. Assisted by her^ we will 
 most assuredly conquer. 
 
 I say Mary is the terror of hell, the well-ordered 
 army arrayed against the enemies of our salvation. 
 Why? To this I will give the answer to-day. 
 
 Mary, we unite our prayers with those of the 
 Church on this day, and fly to thee for aid and protec- 
 tion. Defended by thee, no temptation can harm us! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 I called Mary the terror of hell. In her conception 
 she crushed the head of Satan. Protected by her we 
 will be stronger than all the powers of Satan. 
 
 The promise which was given in paradise by the 
 Redeemer, points to Mary, the mother of the Saviour, 
 as the strong woman who was to crush the head of 
 Satan. And the same is verified by the various types 
 which Scripture presents to us in the heroines of the 
 Old Testament. Deborah and Judith were types or 
 figures of the Blessed Virgin ; and the Church refers 
 the words of the Canticle, which speaks of a well-or- 
 dered army and the Ark of the Covenant, to Mary. 
 
 At the foot of the cross we behold Mary, the strong 
 tower before which hung the armor of the mighty. I, 
 therefore, justly call Mary the terror of hell. 
 
 We will better understand these types by consid- 
 ering the reasons which cause a general to fear his 
 adversary. 
 
THIRD SERMON. I 5 
 
 The first is the very person of an opponent, who, 
 by his dignity, his character, and his talents, exercises 
 an unbounded influence over the army intrusted to 
 his command, so that his subjects, urged on by the 
 consciousness of victory, obey his every word without 
 hesitation. 
 
 How terrible is Mary in this respect, as opposed to 
 Satan. It is true, Lucifer and all the fallen angels were 
 gifted with incomparably higher talents than we ; but 
 this, their former natural glory, disappears when we 
 remember the grandeur of Mary. She is the mother of 
 the Jesus, whom the eternal Father has so exalted that 
 in His name, and in acknowledgment of His power, 
 every knee in heaven and on earth shall bend. 
 
 Next to Christ, seated on a throne of glory, is His 
 mother Mary, who reigns as queen of heaven and 
 earth, surrounded with such glory and magnificence 
 as to cause all the former splendor of Satan to vanish. 
 
 In connection with this honor and glory, Mary, as 
 mother of Jesus, also enjoys a power which gives her 
 the right to say with Christ: **To me is given all 
 power in heaven and on earth," — a power which 
 likewise justifies her in saying with her Son : '' No one 
 is able to wrest my sheep from me," as long as they 
 have recourse to me, their mother and queen. Jesus, 
 my Son, 'has shared His power with me. I can oppose 
 hell with His words. And if I would ask Him to 
 send me even a legion of angels to fight against thee, 
 Lucifer, and thy hosts. He would grant my request at 
 once. 
 
1 6 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 Not only is Mary in herself a power so terrible to 
 hell, but how many other powers are prepared, await- 
 ing only her command to fight against hell ! 
 
 A general and his soldiers are filled with still 
 greater dismay when they perceive the approaching 
 commander to be at the head of a mighty army, val- 
 iant, experienced in warfare, and in every respect su- 
 perior to their own. Mary is the queen of angels, of 
 whom each one has baffled and triumphed over Lu- 
 cifer. 
 
 Let us call to mind the arrogance of Sennacherib 
 who, relying on the strength of his armies, contemned 
 God, and, as it were, challenged Him to combat. The 
 following day 185,000 corpses were strewn around 
 Jerusalem. In one night they were slain by one 
 single angel whom God had sent, and Jerusalem was 
 delivered. I make the application and say : All the 
 angels look up to Mary as their queen, and they are 
 prepared to fight against hell at any moment, when 
 there is question of the salvation of a soul who im- 
 plores the protection of the mother of God. 
 
 Thus it occurred at one time that a number of evil 
 spirits besieged the death-bed of a woman who, in her 
 agony, called upon Mary. Mary summoned Michael, 
 the archangel. He, accompanied by numerous angels, 
 advanced towards the dying person, and the evil 
 spirits fled in dismay. 
 
 So also St. Francis Jerome, dying, cast a glance on 
 an image of the Blessed Virgin, and sighed: ** O Mary, 
 thou who hast ever been my refuge, protect me in 
 
THIRD SERMON. I 7 
 
 this hour!" And lo ! his countenance became radi- 
 ant, and, bowing to the image of the Virgin, he said 
 joyfully: ''Now all is right — Magnificat" — and his 
 spirit was released. 
 
 Just as a person is terrified and draws back when a 
 flash of lightning has struck something near him, so 
 also Satan retreats, when, in temptation, we call upon 
 Mary. This is affirmed by Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 A general is filled with dread if he is aware that the 
 commander who opposes him possesses more strategic 
 talents than he, and is thereby better fitted to com- 
 mand. Lucifer knows full well that he has such an 
 opponent in Mary, the queen of the cherubim, the 
 seat of heavenly wisdom, the wisest of virgins. 
 
 And when a general knows that his opponent has 
 often fought, and has always been victorious, this 
 knowledge especially strikes terror into his soul. But 
 count the victories of Mary. 
 
 St. Bernard could in truth address the Blessed 
 Virgin thus : "O Mary, it is unheard of, that any one 
 has fled to thy protection or sought thy mediation 
 without obtaining relief." And does not the Church 
 refer these words also to Mary: ** Whoever seeks me 
 will find life, and obtain salvation from the Lord?'* 
 And the holy Fathers unanimously declare that the 
 veneration of the Blessed Virgin is a sure pledge of 
 perseverance in the hour of death. It is indeed a 
 highly consoling thought expressed by the spiritual 
 writers, that no one for whom Mary has once offered 
 her prayers to God will be lost. Mary obtains for 
 
1 8 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 those souls the grace of conversion and of persever- 
 ance to the end ; that is, if we earnestly desire to do 
 all that Mary requires of us. And what these require- 
 ments are, can be inferred from the words she ad- 
 dressed to the waiters in the dining-hall at Canaan: 
 "Do all that He bids you to do; " that is to say, if 
 we have but the sincere good-will to follow Christ in 
 the manner in which the Church teaches us, then we 
 may expect every thing from the Blessed Virgin, even 
 if the bringing about of our conversion required a 
 miracle. 
 
 It is especially the devotion to Mary in her Immac- 
 ulate Conception, which proves a powerful weapon in 
 our strife against hell. If you are severely tempted, 
 say one Ave every night and morning, in honor of the 
 Immaculate Conception. Call on the Blessed Virgin 
 in the hour of temptation, and you will be victorious. 
 
 When confidence fills the warrior's breast, then may 
 it be said that victory is assured. And we certainly 
 will not lack this feeling of confidence if we place 
 ourselves under the victorious banner of Mary, for 
 she is the mother of the children of God, and the 
 mother of sweet hope. 
 
 May the Blessed Virgin so dispose our hearts in 
 fighting for God, and for the salvation of our immortal 
 souls, that with her we may conquer and be crowned ! 
 Amen! 
 
FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 ** And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, 
 praising God and saying : Glory to God in the highest ! " — Luke 2. 
 
 " PRAISE be to God on high! " This was the ju- 
 
 1 bilant cry of myriads of angels at the annunci- 
 ation of the birth of the divine Child, — the promised 
 Saviour of the world. 
 
 Who is there among us that would not be glad to 
 have listened with the watching shepherds to the hymn 
 of the heavenly host, and heard the joyous tidings that 
 his Redeemer was come? 
 
 We have by far more reason to rejoice at the eter- 
 nal decree which sent to our fallen race a Redeemer, 
 a Saviour — far more than the angels who had never 
 forfeited their supernatural destiny, nor the gifts and 
 graces of their primitive righteousness. 
 
 For, as St. Paul tells us, it was not the fallen 
 angels, but the race of Adam that the arm of God's 
 infinite mercy had seized. 
 
 Le^ us therefore, to-day, consider the special graces 
 
 which we have received through Christ, and for which 
 
 our Gloria of thanksgiving should ascend to heaven. 
 
 (19) 
 
20 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Mary, queen of angels, mother of Jesus, offer 
 our homage to thy divine Son, and obtain for us that 
 our hves may be a token of that gratitude which a 
 creature owes to his God and Redeemer ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 '"And when He bringeth in the first begotten into 
 the world, all the angels of God will adore Him." Thus 
 wrote St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews. And 
 so indeed it was. Christ comes into the world in the 
 stillness of night, and behold ! an angel of God, illum- 
 ined with the brightness of heavenly splendor, an- 
 nounces to the shepherds the birth of the Saviour; 
 and a host of the heavenly spirits hover near him, and 
 with him entone the Gloria : '' Glory be to God in the 
 highest ! " The entire space between earth and the 
 highest heaven is thronged with angels innumerable. 
 Blessed Michael, the archangel, and the other heav- 
 enly chiefs surround the manger, and unite with all 
 the choirs in rendering homage to the divine Child, as 
 to their God and King. 
 
 The first motive which caused their spirits to be 
 filled with joy at the sight of the divine Infant, was 
 His Personality as regarded in itself. 
 
 As is testified by the book of Job, the angels re- 
 joiced when God called the visible world into exist- 
 ence ; and with good reason, for the whole exterior 
 world is a reflection of the divine power, wisdom, 
 grandeur, goodness, and majesty. If the view of the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 21 
 
 earth and of the starry heavens fills even us with ad- 
 miration, and causes our spirits to be lost in amazement 
 at the power and wisdom of God, must not the angels 
 have wondered still more ? For the various forces of 
 nature, with which we become acquainted only by de- 
 grees, were no mystery at all to them ; all things were 
 distinctly visible to the eyes of the angel world. 
 
 But In what an infinitely higher degree must not 
 the view of the divine Infant have disposed them to 
 offer praise to God. They beheld in the child lying in 
 the manger before them, the Creator of the world, 
 wonderfully uniting the divine and human nature, In 
 the person of the Son of God. They beheld, reflected 
 In this divine Child, all those infinite perfections of 
 God, the contemplation of which has been to them a 
 source of happiness since the day of their creation. 
 Although He appears to men but a feeble Child, they 
 beheld in Him, at the same time, the omnipotence of 
 God : although He seemed not possessed of knowledge, 
 yet they saw in Him the Infinite wisdom of God. In 
 this Infant scarcely born they already beheld infinite 
 holiness; in this poor Infant, the majesty, glory, and 
 magnificence of the King of heaven and earth ; in this 
 suffering Child they beheld effused the divine happi- 
 ness and delight. They beheld in Jesus their King, 
 wliose prerogatives outshine the splendor of all the 
 angelic choirs. They had reason to rejoice, and to 
 give honor to God for this the greatest of all His 
 miracles. 
 
 It is true, it is not granted to us here on earth to 
 
2 2 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 view the prerogatives of the Infant Jesus in this same 
 clear light ; and yet I say we have greater cause than 
 had the angels to rejoice at the sight of the olivine 
 Child. For this Infant is no angel, but a human be- 
 ing ; this Child did not assume the nature of an angel, 
 but that of man ; He is true man as He is true God. 
 Notwithstanding all the glory of the angels they are 
 only allowed to call Jesus their king, but not their 
 brother. We, on the contrary, through Christ, were 
 not only made children of God, but also His brothers. 
 What a pledge of our glorification among the angels, 
 if one day we be permitted to be in communion with 
 them in heaven! If the angels, as it were, form the 
 body of the heavenly crown, we, the sons of men, 
 will be the precious stones adorning it. 
 
 There is another reason why our joy should exceed 
 that of the angels. Though man may mourn the loss 
 of a valuable gift, still, if that gift be restored to him 
 augmented in value, and with the assurance that he is 
 to keep it for the remainder of his life, his joy is 
 redoubled. 
 
 The angels were in possession of heaven and re- 
 tained it. We, on the contrary, through the fall of 
 Adam, lost sanctifying graee and heaven at the same 
 time, and from being children of God, we became the 
 slaves of Satan. What a loss, and how sad the con- 
 dition of our souls ! 
 
 But through Christ we have regained sanctifying 
 grace, and have obtained the privilege of again being 
 children of God and heirs to the kingdom of heaven, 
 
FIRST SERMON. 23 
 
 a heaven where now a still greater glorification awaits 
 us, than if we had never lost it. What a motive for 
 joy beyond the joy of the angels ! 
 
 Through the fall of Adam, and the loss of sanctify- 
 ing grace, the natural powers of our souls were 
 weakened. This was never the case with the holy 
 angels. The tinder standing of man was dimmed in 
 matters pertaining to his salvation ; his will weakened, 
 his heart bowed down with grief and care. 
 
 But cast a glance at the divine Infant. Through 
 Christ, as children of the Church, our understanding 
 is enlightened by the light of divine revelation. 
 
 Our will was weakened. But glance at the divine 
 Child. Through Christ we are permitted to say with 
 St. Paul: *'I can do all things in Him who strength- 
 ens me." Verily, by His grace man is strong enough 
 and enabled to lead the life of angels even in this 
 world by the practice of the evangelical counsels. 
 
 After one victory the angels had no opportunity of 
 gaining new triumphs, and thereby attaining a higher 
 degree of glory. We have this opportunity in the 
 struggle with passion and temptation ; we can ever 
 gain new merits for heaven, and increase our glory 
 by the practice of virtue. What an inducement for us 
 to sing songs of gladness, more joyous than the 
 angels' Gloria! 
 
 The fall of Adam deprived us of paradise, and trans- 
 formed this earth Into a vale of tears and sorrows. 
 A similar loss the angels never experienced, there- 
 fore they never had an opportunity of suffering. But 
 
24 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 to endure sorrow and tribulation for God's sake, 
 is a means of proving our faithful and constant love 
 to God, in a manner in which the angels never could 
 manifest it. It is exactly the endurance of these suf- 
 ferings, which will one day prove the heaviest weight 
 in the balance of our celestial joys. What a motive 
 to rejoice even more than did the angels at the birth 
 of Christ! 
 
 Finally, the sin of Adam brought on death; its ter- 
 rors were never known to the angels, and yet, if in 
 the hour of death we unite our will to that of divine 
 Providence, we may one day be permitted to exclaim 
 exultingly: ''Death! where is thy sting? It was lost 
 in the victory of Him Who has risen gloriously." Our 
 entrance into the joys of eternal life has therefore be- 
 come more meritorious for us. And for this reason, 
 children of the Church, let us go to the manger and 
 entone the Gloria of the angels with fullest joy ; and 
 let us petition the Infant Jesus to grant us this one 
 grace, namely : that in us may also be accomplished 
 the words of the angel: '* On earth peace to men of 
 good will." 
 
 We are of good will, Infant Jesus ! Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 25 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "And the shepherds said one to another : Let us go over to Bethlehem, 
 and let us see this word that has come to pass, which the Lord hath showed 
 to us." — Luke 2. 
 
 THE joyous feast of Christmas once more fills with 
 gladness the hearts of the children of the Church. 
 It is the feast which bears the significant name of the 
 gracious nativity of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus 
 Christ. For, in truth, the incarnation and birth of the 
 Son of God are the source of all the graces which we 
 have received through His life here on earth, and 
 through His death. 
 
 But that these graces may really serve unto our 
 salvation, depends upon the care with which we dis- 
 pose ourselves to receive them, and upon the earnest- 
 ness of our co-operation. 
 
 To understand the nature of that co-operation, 
 which may prove meritorious, we need only glance 
 at the shepherds, and consider their mode of acting 
 when the angel addressed to them the words impart- 
 ing the glad tidings of the birth of the world's Re- 
 deemer : To-day is born for you the Redeemer of the 
 world — go to Bethlehem, and you will find the Infant 
 lying in the manger. ''Yes, let us go to Bethlehem," 
 said they; and they hastened thither and found the 
 child with Mary and Joseph. 
 
 A study of the conduct of the shephej^ds will show us 
 how we may derive permanejit profit frofn the holy feast 
 
26 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 of Christmas, and what dispositions we should have ta 
 receive with fruit the inspirations of grace. 
 
 Mary, look down upon us with that condescen- 
 sion with which thou didst regard the shepherds the 
 first among the faithful, who paid homage to thy di- 
 vine Child ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 In the first place, they were watchfid shepherds. 
 The inhabitants of Bethlehem were asleep ; the shep- 
 herds were watching. This circumstance points to 
 the first condition necessary to really perceive the call 
 of grace, namely : we must walk in the presence of 
 God in recollection of spirit. 
 
 Why is it we feel so few inspirations of grace ? Be- 
 cause we are not watchful. 
 
 Christ says : Blessed are the servants whom the 
 Lord finds watching. Even those who call themselves 
 children of the Church, generally lead a life of care- 
 lessness ; they are men of habit, they fulfill the duties 
 of their state as Christians, but only superficially, and 
 are mainly engaged in devising plans for the increase 
 of their worldly profits. But how little attention at 
 prayer and in the performance of their other religious 
 duties! How often they fail to recognize and receive 
 the inspirations of the Holy Ghost ! This indolence 
 and sleepiness in the service of God also prevents us 
 from clearly seeing those faults which, through care- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 27 
 
 lessness, precipitation, or impatience, find their way 
 into our ordinary actions. 
 
 Such lukewarm, sleepy souls also lose many oppor- 
 tunities of performing works of charity, and do not 
 interest themselves in the least about the spiritual or 
 temporal welfare of their neighbor. 
 
 The shepherds of that Christmas night were reso- 
 lute men, resolute servants of the Lord. They did not 
 say : Oh, It is night, and we had better wait till day- 
 break ! No ; but when they heard the words of the 
 angel, they resolved to carry out at once the instruc- 
 tions given. 
 
 Why is it, that in so many cases the inspirations 
 of the Holy Ghost remain fruitless? I reply: Strong 
 will is wanting, a strong will to accomplish not only 
 in part but wholly all that we know to be the will of 
 God, without wavering or excuse. This want of de- 
 termination is an obstacle to the efficacy of grace, and 
 prevents its bearing fruit. 
 
 This weakness of will and want of resolution comes 
 from an excessive care for temporal things, from an 
 undue fear of mortal man ; and finally from the diffi- 
 culties connected with the accomplishment of a good 
 work. 
 
 When the angel announced the glad tidings to the 
 shepherds, they were tending their sheep ; and yet 
 they did not hesitate to leave their flocks and hasten 
 to Bethlehem to seek the divine Child. 
 
 How different the conduct of the majority of men 
 when there is question of some worldly gain! They 
 
28 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 are all anxiety. They listen with eagerness to every 
 advice, to every word regarding the advancement of 
 their temporal affairs ; but they are, so to say, blind 
 and deaf, when the question of attending to their spir- 
 itual interests is urged upon them. 
 
 The shepherds determined upon going, and did not 
 stop to consider what the inhabitants of Bethlehem 
 might say when they came there to make inquiries 
 for the Child, — to salute an Infant born in a rude stable, 
 and to adore Him as the promised Messiah, the heir 
 of the family of David. 
 
 The fear of man is, alas ! the reason why so many 
 fail in their courage to follow the inspirations of 
 grace. 
 
 What will people say ? is the discouraging impedi- 
 ment opposing them on all sides. They have an idea 
 that if they walk fearlessly in the way of salvation the 
 children of the world will regard them as ignorant, as 
 slaves of the priests. And yet what little cause have 
 we to fear the children of this world, who, in spirit- 
 ual matters, are so ignorant and so short-sighted. If 
 God is with us, who can be against us, or who can 
 harm us? 
 
 The shepherds continued to listen to the echo of the 
 Gloria which the angels sang, and thus assured them- 
 selves that God was with them. 
 
 It was not a very pleasant task to wander through 
 Ithe streets of Bethlehem at night, to awaken the in- 
 habitants from their slumbers, and make inquiries con- 
 cerning the newly-born Child. But they disregarded 
 
SECOND SERMON. 29 
 
 these difficulties and obstacles, and hastened onward 
 without delay. 
 
 What so frequently renders the inspirations of 
 grace fruitless, is our deficiency in self-denial ; our 
 love of ease is the great obstacle. It is true, we make 
 good resolutions at times, but we postpone the fulfill- 
 ment of them, and thus never accomplish them. 
 
 The shepherds found the Infant and adored Him, 
 and offered Him their hearts ; and, as tradition teaches, 
 they also presented Him with such gifts as their pov- 
 erty would allow. 
 
 That which gives efficacy to the inspirations of 
 grace, is the spirit of prayer and of devotion in our 
 spiritual, intercourse with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. 
 But it is especially the intercourse we hold with Jesus 
 in the Blessed Sacrament. Yes, here is Bethlehem, 
 the city of bread, where Jesus lies in the tabernacle 
 as in a crib, shrouded in the white raiments of the 
 sacramental species. What a fountain of grace here 
 discloses itself to our view ! Would that we but prof- 
 ited by it as we might ! 
 
 We really have no cause to envy the shepherds 
 their happiness, in being allowed to behold the Infant 
 Jesus once, and to adore Him. We are permitted to 
 visit the same Infant Jesus every day, and even to re- 
 ceive Him into our hearts. Thus our hearts become, 
 as it were, the crib, and we are enabled through 
 Christ, as children of God, to taste of heaven's joys, 
 even while yet living on this earth. 
 
30 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 The shepherds praised and thanked God for the 
 favor they had received. 
 
 Not without reason does the Church call the 
 Blessed Sacrament the Sacrament of thanksgiving. 
 
 O Infant Jesus, filled with these sentiments we 
 prostrate ourselves before Thee with the shepherds, 
 and with them we worship Thee! Bless us, as Thou 
 hast blessed them, and save us through the power and 
 the graces of Thy coming into this world ! Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 3 1 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "There was no room for them in the inn." — Luke 2. 
 
 THE joyous feast of the nativity of Jesus Christ re- 
 minds us of the greatest of divine deeds ; namely, 
 The entrance of the Creator into the world which He 
 created, which He wished to reconcile to Himself 
 by the incarnation of the Son of God, and thus at 
 the same time redeem the fallen race of man, and 
 rescue it from the abyss of eternal destruction. 
 
 But to prepare for His entrance into this world, a 
 series of wonderful events occurred in accordance 
 with the divine decree, such as : The preservation of 
 Noah in the ark ; the election of Abraham ; the send- 
 ing of Moses, the lawgiver of the Old Testament; 
 the deliverance of the people of Israel, by signs and 
 miracles the most astonishing ; the imparting of the 
 law on Mt. Sinai amid thunder and lightning ; the 
 manna from heaven which served the people as nour- 
 ishment for forty years ; the sending of the prophets 
 with the intimation that the time was drawing nigh in 
 which the Saviour was to come. '' Drop down dew, 
 ye heavens, and ye clouds rain down the Just." Thus 
 they sighed and united their petition with that of the 
 whole human race, longing to be released from the 
 bonds of sin and its consequences. 
 
 Four thousand years were consumed in this prep- 
 aration, and still when He, whom Jacob had desig- 
 nated *'the desire of the eternal hills," really came. 
 
32 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 the world did not receive its Redeemer and Deliverer. 
 *' He came into His own, and His own received Him 
 not." 
 
 And even as regards the children of the Churchy how 
 many of them might be reproached with these same 
 wo7^ds of the evangelist: ''He came into His own, and 
 His own received Him not!'' And why? To this I 
 will reply to-day. 
 
 Mary, queen of prophets, who with such ardent 
 desire hast of the Holy Ghost conceived thy Lord 
 and Redeemer, and to whom thou hast so entirely un- 
 closed thy heart, when He rested underneath it, ob- 
 tain for us the grace that Christ may also enter our 
 hearts, and make them His home forever! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 ** He came into His own, and His own received Him 
 not," said the evangelist. Alas ! it was so, it is so at 
 present, and will probably remain so till the consum- 
 mation of ages. 
 
 Christ enters this world, and Bethlehem bars its 
 gates. Three kingly sages adore Him, and Herod al- 
 ready seeks to destroy His life. Christ enters upon 
 His public career, and the wrath of the Pharisees, 
 priests, and scribes is enkindled. More than once 
 they sought to take away His life, and finally went so 
 far as to crucify Him! 
 
 In the same manner the heathens opposed the an- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 33 
 
 nouncement of the Gospel. Instead of joyfully greet- 
 ing and joining the Church, they brandished the 
 sword of persecution against it, and during three 
 hundred years they hunted down every confessor of 
 the holy faith. The blood of millions flowed, until 
 finally the cross adorned the crown of the Roman em- 
 perors. ' 
 
 For nineteen hundred years the Pagans have per- 
 sistently opposed the spread of the Holy Church. 
 To this hour they wage a persecution of blood against 
 those who profess the name of Jesus and worship 
 Him as the Redeemer of the world. 
 
 But those especially deserve our pity, who, calling 
 themselves children of the Church, and exteriorly 
 professing their faith, yet banish Jesus, their Saviour, 
 from their hearts. To these the words of the evan- 
 gelist point, where he says : ''There was no room for 
 them at the inn." 
 
 The human heart can but too well be compared to 
 an inn which is filled with a number of guests, and 
 from the interior of which resound the words which 
 refuse our Lord admittance: There is no room here 
 for you ! Pass on ! 
 
 The door of an inn is constantly open. There is a 
 continual coming and going, and the character of the 
 guests is not inquired into. It is no place' for prayer, 
 or the fulfillment of one's religious duties; on the 
 contrary, we find there only tumult and continual 
 restlessness. 
 
 Thus it is with the heart of him who leads a life in 
 
34 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 compliance with the spirit of the world. Such a heart 
 is open to all that passes ; all sorts of inordinate de- 
 sires find their way into it, so that there is no room 
 for Jesus to find therein a permanent abode. 
 
 But certainly this does not hinder the Infant Jesus 
 from again knocking, and attempting still to find a 
 place for Himself in the deluded heart of man. By 
 His inspirations He knocks repeatedly at the door of 
 the heart, and exclaims : Open your heart ! — Who are 
 you, and what do you wish? is the question from 
 within. The Infant Jesus replies : Look at me, lying 
 in a poor manger in a stable. I have come to disen- 
 gage your heart from love of riches, to teach you the 
 love and practice of the virtue of poverty. The 
 worldling answers : Go, there is no room here for you. 
 Could a different answer be expected ? The world- 
 ling's love is centered on his money, his attention on 
 the increase of his temporal possessions. What a 
 multitude of thoughts, desires, plans, and projects 
 keep him busy ! There is no vacant spot for the poor 
 Infant Jesus. 
 
 Jesus knocks at the heart of the worldling. — What 
 do you wish ? — Open thy heart, that I may make 
 my home with thee. I would like to teach you to love 
 and practise the virtue of humility. But the worldling 
 wishes to hear nothing of humility ; his heart is filled 
 with a longing for esteem and glory, with self-praise, 
 self-will, and self-love. 
 
 What a tumult reigns in such a heart ! Innumer- 
 able thoughts of vain desires, of vain ambition come 
 
THIRD SERMON. 35 
 
 and go. No room for you, says the deluded worldling ; 
 pass on ! 
 
 Jesus knocks at the door of the heart. — What do 
 you wish? — Open ; let me in. I will teach you to de- 
 spise all sensual, worldly pleasures, and to practise 
 the spirit of self-denial; to mortify yourself, and to 
 bear with patience all your trials and tribulations. 
 I wish to replenish your heart with a true love of 
 the cross. — "Depart as quickly as possible," says the 
 terrified worldling from behind the door of his heart ; 
 " no room for you ! " Oh, not to suffer, not to renounce, 
 but to enjoy myself, — this is his watch-word! He 
 burns with the desire of spending his entire life in 
 the enjoyment of earthly delights and pleasures. Suf- 
 fering Child, pass on ; no room here for you ! 
 
 The Infant Jesus again knocks. — Open your heart. — 
 What do you desire ? — Allow me to enter. I will teach 
 you to love retirement, to practise prayer, and thus to 
 live on earth as if you were already in heaven, eter- 
 nally united with Me. — No room for you ; begone! re- 
 sounds from the inn of the human heart. It is only 
 fond of intercourse with men ; it is full of human re- 
 spect, full of the fear of man. 
 
 Finally, the Infant Jesus raps at the door of the 
 heart. — Open — What do you wish ? — I desire you to 
 assist Me in spreading My kingdom on earth ; to con- 
 vert sinners ; to £'am souls. — Pass on, is the answer 
 from the inner heart. Why should I trouble myself 
 about others ? I am no priest. It makes very little 
 difference to the lukewarm Christian whether others 
 
36 FEAST OF CHRISTMAS. 
 
 are treading the path of salvation ; he may even go so 
 far as to say all religions are alike ; let each one be- 
 lieve what he chooses. Poor heart! Certainly, Jesus 
 will leave you. But no, Infant Jesus, do not depart ! 
 See, we open to Thee our hearts ; enter, and take up 
 Thy abode therein, until the gates of heaven open for 
 us, and we make our home with Thee amid the rejoic- 
 ings of the blessed for ever and for ever ! Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN, 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 **I am Jesus standing on the right hand of God." — Acts of the Apos. 7. 
 
 THE Church celebrates to-day the feast of St. 
 Stephen, the proto-martyr, as he is designated, 
 because he had the happiness to be the first one among 
 all the disciples and apostles of Christ to seal his 
 faith with his blood. Therefore St. Stephen is one of 
 those privileged saints for whom every Catholic cher- 
 ishes a particular devotion. 
 
 Yes, holy martyr St. Stephen, we need but to men- 
 tion thy name, and every Christian feels encouraged 
 to profess his faith with thee, even at the cost of his 
 blood. 
 
 Though all may not have the happiness to shed 
 their blood for their faith, still we must all undergo a 
 certain martyrdom in its defense ; and one, in many 
 cases, even more painful than the martyrdom of blood. 
 '' All who desire to live devoutly in Christ will suffer 
 persecution; " thus St. Paul addressed all Christians, 
 without exception. 
 
 St, Stephen, in the midst of torments cried out: **/ 
 
 see Jesus f' Let us to-day, before the crib of our Lord, 
 
 consider these words, 
 
 (37) 
 
^S FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 Mary, queen of martyrs, thou who hast through 
 thy unbloody martyrdom gained the royal crown of 
 the martyrs, obtain for us the grace that, with St. 
 Stephen, we may be victorious in our combat for 
 Christ! 
 
 I speak in the holy name 'of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 ** If they have persecuted me, they will also perse- 
 cute you;" "The disciple is no better than the mas- 
 ter." Thus Christ Himself assures us. " I am the way, 
 and he who follows Me will have life eternal." There 
 is no other path to heaven, but the one which Christ 
 hath trodden before us. 
 
 But Christ has entered heaven by His cross and 
 sufferings ; so for us there is no way to gain heaven, 
 save that of self-denial, of mortification, and of the 
 cross. 
 
 This path Christ began to tread even at His birth ; 
 He continued on it throughout His whole life ; until 
 at length, weighed down by the cross. He reaches 
 Golgotha, there to be stretched on the cross, and 
 bleeding from innumerable wounds to breathe his 
 last. 
 
 Even if Christ had not said any thing in regard to 
 the manner in which we should follow Him, His exam- 
 ple alone would show us that there is no other way 
 to heaven but the way of the cross patiently borne. 
 
 Every one who meditates on the model of His Re- 
 deemer, must feel what St. Bernard felt when he 
 
FIRST SERMON. 39 
 
 said : ** I would be ashamed to be a sensual member 
 under a head crowned with thorns." 
 
 St. Bernard and all the saints were sensible of the 
 meaning of these words of Christ: "Whoever wishes 
 to imitate Me, must take up his cross daily and follow 
 Me." Mark well, He says daily. His Providence 
 provides daily crosses for all men, for prince and for 
 peasant. 
 
 And to convince ourselves that our daily domestic 
 trials and crosses, when borne for love of Christ, may 
 assume the character of martyrdom, and that they 
 may at times prove even more painful than the martyr- 
 dom of blood, we need only examine the circumstan- 
 ces of real life as it exists about us. 
 
 And, first of all, I would call your attention to the 
 state of poverty, of anxiety for daily bread, which 
 presses upon the large majority of mankind. 
 
 Many of you have, perhaps, experienced this your- 
 selves. Uncertainty and anxiety about the food and 
 clothing of the morrow have induced millions of per- 
 sons to leave Europe, amid the greatest sacrifices of 
 the heart, and to people America. 
 
 And what were these sacrifices ? Separation from 
 loved ones; the hardships of the journey; privations 
 on landing on a foreign soil ; want of employment ; 
 no opportunity even offered you of providing for your- 
 self and your family. Oh, cruel martyrdom ! 
 
 But hearken to St. Stephen as he raises his eyes to 
 heaven, and, filled with consolation and joy, exclaims: 
 *' I behold Jesus standing at the right hand of God." 
 
40 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 Glance at the Infant Jesus at the right hand of His 
 mother, wrapt in swaddHng clothes, and say to your- 
 self: Poor Infant Jesus, although Thou art the Son 
 of God, yet Thou art lying in a poor manger. I unite 
 my poverty with Thine. God will provide for me and 
 mine for Thy sake, because I belong to Thee. Do 
 this, look upon Jesus, and you will be comforted. 
 
 Another situation very trying to our patience, and 
 one which may make of our life an unbloody martyr- 
 dom, are the torments which our intercourse with 
 others inflict upon us. It sometimes happens that 
 they who are nearest to us, who live under the same 
 roof with us, to whom we have shown kindness, are 
 the very ones who reward our love and charity towards 
 them, by injuring and offending us in every possible 
 manner. This is a cross often harder to bear than 
 solicitude for a livelihood. How many a wife, how 
 many a mother, how many a husband, how many a 
 father is, perhaps, here among us who could testify 
 to this ! 
 
 Woman, what is it grieves you more, what pains 
 you even more than the sufferings of poverty? It is 
 the conduct of your godless husband, and of your dis- 
 obedient children. How cheerfully and willingly would 
 you live on scanty bread and water, if you possessed 
 but a good. God-fearing, sympathizing husband, and 
 kind, dutiful children. But remember St. Stephen and 
 his words: ''I see Jesus at the right hand of the 
 Father." Cast your eyes on the Infant Jesus in the 
 manger. He came into this world, and with what in- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 4 1 
 
 difference and Ingratitude did the world receive Him ! 
 He is scornfully called the transgressor of the law — 
 a breaker of the Sabbath ; He is denominated the 
 friend of sinners, He who came into this world to de- 
 stroy the kingdom of sin; He is called an instigator 
 and seducer of the people. He calls Himself the out- 
 cast, the last among the children of men. One of His 
 disciples betrays Him, and He is sold for an ignomin- 
 ious price, and finally He is crucified between two 
 murderers, by the same people who, but a few days 
 before had greeted Him with the cry of Hosannah ! 
 Meditate upon all this,^ you who are wounded by in- 
 gratitude ; look at Jesus, and you will be comforted. 
 
 What, in the last place, constitutes our unbloody 
 martyrdom, is sickness, and finally death itself. In 
 comparison with painful and protracted disease the 
 tortures of martyrdom are, as it were, trivial and in- 
 significant. The martyrdom of blood very frequently 
 occupies but a few moments, whereas the unbloody 
 martyrdom often lasts for years and years. 
 
 As far as death is concerned, it is true that all who 
 die a martyr's death, enter heaven immediately. On 
 the contrary, the majority of those who die in con- 
 sequence of sickness, will, with very few exceptions, 
 have to suffer in purgatory. Nevertheless, if in, our 
 last hour, we unite ourselves wholly to the will of 
 God, and desire to suffer and die because God wills 
 it, such a union with the holy will of God could prob- 
 ably save us from purgatory, and procure our imme- 
 diate entrance into heaven. 
 
42 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 For this reason St. John represented to himself all 
 the elect bearing palms in their hands as a symbol of 
 martyrdom. And in truth all the blessed in heaven 
 gave evidence of their faith in Christ by the sufferings 
 they endured for His sake. 
 
 St. Stephen, obtain for us from God your love of 
 Jesus, so that, imitating Him by a life of sacrifice, we 
 may one day gain the palm of victory ! Amen ! 
 
s 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 43 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "Stephen was a man full of faith, and of tlie Holy Ghost." — Acts 6. 
 
 T. STEPHEN was chosen in accordance with the 
 
 wish of the Apostles, that, as deacon, he might as- 
 sist them in the administration of their sacred charge. 
 The people did not find themselves mistaken in their 
 choice, for Holy Scripture, gives St. Stephen this tes- 
 timony : " Stephen was a man full of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Beloved in Christ, last year I called your attention 
 to the fact, that it is the duty of every Christian to be 
 a martyr for his faith in Christ. It is true, not every 
 one meets with an opportunity of sealing his faith 
 with his blood ; but, as I have explained to you, there 
 is a twofold martyrdom — a bloody and an unbloody 
 martyrdom — and the latter is often a better proof than 
 the former, of our virtue, of our love for God and for 
 our neighbor; of our patience, self-denial, and also of 
 the complete union of our will with that of the holy 
 will of God. 
 
 But what enables us thus to suffer, to combat, and 
 to be victorious, is the grace of the Holy Ghost com- 
 ing to us through those channels which we call the 
 seven gifts. And the sun which darts these seven 
 rays into our souls is our holy faith. 
 
 But this, our faith, must not be merely a nominal 
 faith, a mere acknowledgment of the lips, but a faith 
 which is proven by actions ; for the just man, says St. 
 Paul, lives by faith. 
 
44 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 This was the case with St. Stephen ; his was a lively 
 faith, an active, sacrificing, a constant, and conquering 
 faith. Our faith should be the same, 
 
 Mary, queen of martyrs, whom Elizabeth called 
 Blessed, because thou didst believe, obtain for us the 
 grace, that during our lives we may evince the same 
 strong faith as did St. Stephen ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 St. Stephen sealed his faith with his blood ; and in 
 this he should serve us as a model, if God were ever 
 to demand the same testimony of us. But, besides, he 
 evinced his active faith during his whole life, and in 
 this we should especially follow him. But, alas ! what 
 a number of those who call themselves Christians 
 might be reproached with the words of our Lord: 
 *' Thou hast the name that thou livest, but thou art 
 dead in spirit!" 
 
 Let not the faith you profess be a nominal faith, one 
 which exercises little or no influence on your life. 
 
 How many there are who, though they hear Mass 
 on Sunday, pass the rest of the week in gross vice 
 and in giving scandal ! 
 
 To how many non-Catholics has the wickedness of 
 their lives given occasion to turn away from the 
 Church. The Church, of course, deplores and censures 
 the conduct of her degenerate children, but the non- 
 Catholic often does not take time to consider this. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 45 
 
 The faith of St. Stephen was a lively faith. This is 
 seen in the sanctity of his Hfe. 
 
 When the Apostles desired the people to choose 
 some men who might be ordained as co-laborers in 
 their holy charge, the prominent virtues of St. Stephen 
 determined them to place his n^me before the Apos- 
 tles; and he was the first one chosen. ''He was a 
 man full of the Holy Spirit," as Holy Scripture tes- 
 tifies. 
 
 He was, in the first place, full of the fear of the 
 Lord — devoid of the fear of man ; his only fear was 
 to offend God. He proved this by the manner in 
 which he, like the Apostles, intrepidly stood before 
 the council of the Jews. 
 
 He was a man of piety, of wisdom, of counsel, of 
 strength ; full of the knowledge of his faith, and full 
 of that divine wisdom which shone forth in his sincere 
 love for God and for his neighbor. 
 
 How completely his soul was replenished with these 
 graces, is proven by one miracle in particular, by 
 which the Lord glorified His servant in the face of 
 his enemies. When his enemies and judges were un- 
 able to withstand the power of his argument in favor 
 of the truth of his holy faith, his countenance became 
 radiant, as Scripture tells us, and shone like that of an 
 angel. 
 
 It was an intimation from above that Stephen, even 
 while on this earth, lived wholly in, the spirit of the 
 prayer which Christ has taught us : *' Lord, Thy will 
 be done on earth as it is in heaven.'* Yes, St. Ste- 
 
46 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 phen's was a lively faith, because it exercised a holy 
 influence on his life. 
 
 But it was also an active faith ; that is, a faith which 
 actuated him to procure for others, also, the blessing 
 of faith, — a duty which is imposed upon every true 
 child of the Churctf by this commandment: *' Love 
 thy neighbor as thyself." 
 
 If, therefore, it is our duty to assist our neighbor in 
 his temporal wants and distresses with the same ea- 
 gerness with which we desire to help ourselves, how 
 much more urgent is this duty as regards his spiritual 
 wants, his eternal salvation ! 
 
 What would it avail, even if we had rescued our 
 neighbor from temporal misery ; if we had procured 
 for him all the treasures, all the honors and crowns of 
 this world ; if we had delivered him from a painful ill- 
 ness; yes, if when blind, deaf, dumb, and lame, we 
 had restored his sight, hearing, speech, and the use 
 of his limbs, — what would all this amount to if we had 
 not assisted him in matters pertaining to his salvation ? 
 
 As deacon, St. Stephen appeared to live only for 
 the bodily welfare of the poor, to care for all with 
 universal love, without regard to nationality or to re- 
 lationship ; but he was also especially active, both day 
 and night, in preaching, defending, and spreading the 
 faith. 
 
 His zeal was so great that it attracted the attention 
 of the enemies of Christ, and inflamed their wrath 
 against him, so that he was the first one whom they 
 persecuted, and whose blood they caused to flow. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 47 
 
 Reflecting upon the example of St. Stephen, upon 
 his ardent zeal in the propagation of the Church, and 
 in saving souls, many a child of the Church has cause 
 to blush. Many imagine they are very good, and act 
 wisely, if they assist their neighbor in his temporal ne- 
 cessities, without troubling themselves in the least 
 whether others are treading the path to heaven, or 
 are on the broad road which leads to eternal perdi- 
 tion. 
 
 To spread the faith, to convert heretics and infidels, — 
 this is something which they regard as out of their 
 sphere, as something that belongs to priests only. 
 
 But this is not the active faith which animated St. 
 Stephen and the primitive Christians. 
 
 And if we inquire into the cause why so many lead 
 a life of such carelessness in regard to the spiritual 
 welfare of others, we will find it to be their want of 
 self-denial and sacrifice, their unwillingness to take 
 upon themselves the difficulties and cares incumbent 
 upon a Hfe of zeal. 
 
 St. Stephen was self-sacrificing. He did not shun 
 any labor or exertion in assisting his neighbor, and 
 propagating the faith. He despised the threats that 
 were directed against him ; yes, scorned even death 
 itself. 
 
 Courage is wanting to so many Christians of the 
 present day. They live on, and let others do the 
 same, even if it be the cause of the eternal ruin of 
 some souls. 
 
 We forget but too often that, as faithful Christians, 
 
48 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 we are children of the Church militant ; that this life 
 is a continual strife, and that only he, who has fought 
 and conquered, will one day be a member of the 
 Church triumphant. 
 
 *' I will give the victor the crown," says Christ. 
 
 How many there are who justly reproach Protest- 
 ants for maintaining the pernicious and false doctrine, 
 that faith alone is necessary to salvation; and yet im- 
 agine their salvation assured, because they believe the 
 Catholic doctrine, even if, in other respects, they lead 
 the lives of the greatest sinners. 
 
 St. Stephen, who by thy holy life hast proven thy- 
 self so glorious a model for the children of the Apos- 
 tolic Church, to encourage them to give testimony of 
 their faith, pray for us and all the children of the 
 Church, especially at the present time, that we may 
 prize the gift of our holy faith more than all the treas- 
 ures of the world, and that we may also prove our 
 faith by a holy and zealous life, so that with thee we 
 may one day be crowned in heaven ! Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 49 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 I 
 "And the saying was liked by all the multitude, and they chose Stephen." 
 
 — Acts 6. 
 
 IT is apparent from several allusions in Holy Script- 
 ure, that the names which Providence has assigned 
 to various persons, frequently have a reference to 
 their lives and vocations. Thus the name of Adam 
 and Eve were significant, and still more so the names 
 of Abraham, John, and, above all, the holy name of 
 Jesus. 
 
 And as regards the name of the saint whose mem- 
 ory the Church celebrates to-day, we see to our com- 
 fort and encouragement the reference which it bears 
 to his life in the kingdom of God. It is a Greek name, 
 and signifies the crown. 
 
 His name God chose to be at the head of the sev- 
 enteen millions of martyrs of the first three centuries ; — 
 yes, of all the millions who, during these nineteen 
 hundred. years, have shed their blood for Christ and 
 His Church. 
 
 And that we may to-day more clearly conceive what 
 a glorious crown now adorns St. Stephen amo7ig the 
 hosts of the saints, let us reflect upon the twelve stars 
 which, during his life, ornamented his crown of virtue, 
 and which shone with brilliancy, especially in the mar- 
 tyr s death. 
 
 O Mary, Queen of Martyrs, who desirest nothing so 
 
50 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 much as that thy children of the Church militant, may, 
 after a virtuous life, be crowned in heaven with thee, 
 obtain for us the grace to battle and conquer with St. 
 Stephen ; and so to live and die, that our crown of 
 recompense may also one day shine in brightest splen- 
 dor in the kingdom of the saints ! 
 
 I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God. 
 
 *' I saw a woman in heaven, crowned with twelve 
 stars, and the dragon at her feet." Thus St. John the 
 Evangelist beholds Mary, the patroness of the Church, 
 the queen of all the saints, and especially of martyrs. 
 
 So in the crown of glory which now adorns St. 
 Stephen in heaven, we have twelve stars of virtue 
 which shone even during the life of the saint, but 
 which, as I have said, shone in fullest splendor in his 
 martyrdom. 
 
 The first of these stars of virtue, was the star of holy 
 faith. St. Stephen was a man full of faith ; this honor- 
 able mention is made of him even in Scripture, and of 
 this, the choice that was made of him as deacon of the 
 Holy Church, gave glorious testimony. He preached 
 the word of God with such apostolic vigor, with such 
 energy and erudition, that, as we read in the Acts of 
 the Apostles, the enemies of the faith could not with- 
 stand the force of his speech. The star of faith sparkled 
 with peculiar brilliancy in his martyrdom. Holy Scrip- 
 ture affirms, that the members of the council stopped 
 their ears, so as not to hear the speech of Stephen, 
 
THIRD SERMON. 5 1 
 
 fearing lest they would be converted, and compelled 
 to acknowledge Jesus to be the promised Messiah. 
 
 The second star which sparkled in the glorious 
 crown of St. Stephen, was the star of holy hope. 
 
 This star shone through his whole life ; and yet St. 
 Stephen had no advantages or joys to expect in 
 this world. On the contrary, his vocation brought 
 with it naught but trouble, labor, persecution, and 
 suffering. 
 
 And how much more brilliantly shone the light of 
 this star in his crown of martyrdom! ''I see," he 
 exclaimed—'' I see the heavens open, and Jesus at the 
 right hand of God." 
 
 The third star which adorned the crown of St. 
 Stephen in this life, was his love of God. It is said 
 of this love: " Love is strong as death, and many wa- 
 ters can not extinguish it. And should man sacrifice 
 his all for love, he would consider this is naught." 
 St. Stephen proved to the letter this strength of true 
 love. In order to labor for the kingdom of God, and 
 to' follow his vocation, he was obliged to renounce 
 many things, and place many a sacrifice on the altar 
 of God. But he proved his love of God especially by 
 his death, by which he offered hirnself as a holocaust 
 to his Lord. 
 
 The fourth star which glistened in the crowp of St. 
 Stephen, which shone gloriously in his death, and will 
 shine for all eternity In his heavenly crown, was the star 
 of his ardent and faithful love of Jesus. 
 
 St. Stephen devoted himself entirely to following 
 
52 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 Christ, to glorifying His holy name, and to spreading 
 His kingdom on earth. He seemed to work and care 
 for nothing else ; he thought of nothing else. Jesus 
 was his thought, his desire, his care, his consolation, 
 and his hope. And with what splendor did this star 
 of love for Jesus shine forth in the martyr's agony! 
 **I see Jesus," was his joyful cry. "Oh! I die will- 
 ingly; I long to be dissolved, and be with Christ." 
 Happy St. Stephen ! 
 
 The fifth star which embellished his crown, was his 
 zeal in the practice of all the virtues of his state. 
 
 God himself gave testimony of his servant's holi- 
 ness, when St. Stephen, surrounded by those who had 
 pronounced the sentence of death against him was 
 wrapt in ecstasy, and his countenance shone with the 
 beauty of an angel. 
 
 The sixth star of virtue which adorned the crown of 
 St. Stephen during his life, and one which shone with 
 such luster In his martyrdom, was heroic love for his 
 neighbor. St. Stephen could, if he wished, have aban- 
 doned the dangerous burden of his apostolic duties dur- 
 ing those days of persecution. But he remained bravely 
 at his post. His love of Christ and his neighbor would 
 not allow him to leave it. He was willing to endure 
 all manner of persecution for love of others; yes, to 
 offer life Itself for them.' 
 
 And this he did. 
 
 The seventh star which glitters In the crown of St. 
 Stephen, is his fidelity in the performance of the du- 
 ties of his vocation. He was sensitive of the opposi- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 53 
 
 tlon of his enemies ; he perceived their growing ha- 
 tred; and still he went on bravely, and without the 
 least fear of man ; he preached Jesus Crucified, ready 
 to bear the rigors of persecution. 
 
 Glorious star ! Singular star of virtue ! And yet it 
 is the one which should shine with exceptional brill- 
 iancy in the life of all who are chosen to preach the 
 word of God, and to teach the way of salvation to the 
 children of men. 
 
 The eighth star sparkling in the crown of St. 
 Stephen's virtues, is the love of his enemies. How 
 willing he was to pardon his enemies and persecu- 
 tors, all the wrongs which malice and hatred of Chris- 
 tianity had inflicted upon him, is proven by the pray- 
 ers which he uttered for his enemies — "Lord," he 
 cried, *'do not account it to them as sin." 
 
 The ninth star which illumined the crown of St. 
 Stephen, was his tranquillity of soul, his meekness, his 
 humility. How gloriously these virtues shone through 
 all his sufferings and his martyrdom! His enemies, 
 surrounding him, rage and gnash their teeth ; but he 
 remains unmoved in his submission to the holy will of 
 God. He knows full well that his enemies, however 
 furious, are unable to injure one hair of his head with- 
 out the will of God. 
 
 The tenth star which sparkles in the crown of St. 
 Stephen's virtues, and which shone radiantly in his 
 martyrdom, is his union with God in prayer. Although 
 the storm of persecution raged about him, yet his 
 spirit remained calm and wrapt in devotion. He 
 
54 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 prostrated himself, and prayed to God ; he prayed for 
 the salvation of his enemies. 
 
 The eleventh star which adds its luster to the crown 
 of St. Stephen, is his intrepidity in the face of his ene- 
 mies, judges, and murderers. No trace of cowardice, 
 of the fear of man, is discernible in the life and death 
 of St. Stephen. 
 
 The twelfth star, is his fidelity to the last. 
 *.He sacrifices his life in testimony to his faith. 
 
 Thus closed the career of St. Stephen ; and every 
 Christian heart, whilst reflecting upon his glorious mar- 
 tyrdom, will feel comforted and strengthened in the 
 resolution, to follow his example by the practice of 
 all those virtues whose merit shine so brilliantly in his 
 crown of victory. 
 
 Let us strive during our whole life to practise these 
 virtues with the same zeal as did St. Stephen, and 
 they will glow as bright stars in the crown of recom- 
 pense, with which our Lord will one day reward us in 
 heaven ! Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Peter saw the disciple whom Jesus loved." — John 21. 
 
 THE saints exercise a various influence on the 
 hearts of the faithful, according to their various 
 character, and the various vocations to which the Lord 
 hath called them. There are saints, whose lives ex- 
 cite our amazement and admiration ; as, for instance, 
 St. Simon the Stylite, who, for a number of years, re- 
 mained in a standing position on a pillar ; or St. Peter 
 of Alcantara, whose extreme penance filled even St. 
 Teresa with astonishment. In the case of the saint 
 whose memory the Church celebrates to-day, we feel 
 our hearts drawn towards him. It is he of whom It is 
 written, that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, 
 and who ranks high among the elect on account of his 
 great love for his neighbor, — St. John the Evangelist. 
 
 I will take advantage of this hour tp consider with 
 you, why St. John called himself the disciple whom 
 Jesus loved. 
 
 If we understand this, we will honor St. John by a 
 still greater devotion, and we will follow his virtuous 
 example zuith still greater fidelity. 
 
 O Mary, thou who hast so frequently blest thy 
 
 (55) 
 
56 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 foster-son St. John, and who hast guided him in his 
 sublime destiny with maternal tenderness and care, 
 show thyself also a mother to us ! 
 
 I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 In order to judge of the intensity of a person's 
 love, we must consider the favors which he confers 
 upon the person loved. Thus, in order to understand 
 how ardently Jesus loved His mother, we need but 
 consider with what prerogatives He has gifted her in 
 preference to the angels and saints, and all other 
 creatures. So with St. John. 
 
 Which are the prerogatives and privileges by which 
 Christ has distinguished St. John from all other men, 
 even the Apostles, and which serve as proofs of the 
 particular love of our Lord for His disciple ? 
 
 First, in respect to the person of St. John, he was 
 fortunate in sharing with the Apostles and other dis- 
 ciples of our Lord the greatest favors, in preference 
 to so many others. 
 
 St. John belonged to the chosen people, and ac- 
 cording to the flesh, was descended from the family 
 of Abraham, the father of the faithful. He enjoyed 
 the happiness of living in the same country, and at 
 the same time in which Christ was born. He had the 
 supreme pleasure of seeing Him face to face. But 
 he was to receive still greater privileges. He was one 
 of the twelve whom Jesus chose from among the 
 multitude of men to live in His immediate vicinity ; to 
 
FIRST SERMON. 57 
 
 be His companion. Thus he enjoyed the advantage 
 of having the example of Christ daily before him, of 
 listening to every word He preached ; of witnessing 
 all the miracles which He wrought. What a privi- 
 lege ! What a grace ! It is true, the other Apostles 
 shared these favors, and therefore Jesus called them 
 all blessed. But St. John was yet to receive still 
 greater favous, and more especial graces. 
 
 It is a pious saying, that St. John, whilst yet a 
 child, was so fortunate as to have been an associate 
 of the Infant Jesus, a favor which no other Apostle 
 ever enjoyed. St. John was one of the three to whom 
 our Lord revealed Himself at His transfiguration on 
 Mt. Thabor. The other two were St. Peter and St. 
 James. These three, among all the Apostles, were 
 nearest to our Lord, and He spoke more frequently 
 and more confidingly to them than to the other disci- 
 ples and Apostles. Still, St. John enjoyed the most 
 marked distinctions in preference to them, and these, 
 without doubt, will be resplendent in heaven for all 
 eternity. 
 
 The Gospel mentions three particular favors which 
 were conferred upon him at the time when Jesus ac- 
 complished the work of our redemption ; namely, at 
 the last Supper, on Calvary, and after his ascension 
 in the island of Patmos. 
 
 At the last Supper Christ instituted the Blessed 
 Sacrament, — the sacrifice of the New Testament. 
 Christ, surrounded by His Apostles, celebrated the 
 first Holy Mass! 
 
58 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 Here Jesus is seated, and on his bosom rests St. 
 John. Who can form an idea of the many graces 
 which poured into the soul of St. John on that even- 
 ing ? What an influence must not the recollection of 
 this privilege have exercised on the entire life of 
 the Apostle ! Peter and the other Apostles became 
 alarmed, and in a terrified manner put the question to 
 Jesus: "Is it I?" But St. John, all imbued with the 
 love of Christ, and confident that he was innocent of 
 the guilt of treason, simply asked : Who is it ? 
 
 What devotion must have filled his soul, when aft- 
 erwards, as Apostle and Priest of the Lord, he of- 
 fered the sacrifice of Mass, and thought of his prox- 
 imity to Jesus at the last Supper! Who can conceive 
 with what tender feelings of gratitude and affection, 
 St. John must, in his after life, have received Jesus in 
 the Holy Communion ? 
 
 What soul, that really loves Jesus, does not envy 
 St. John the privilege which our Saviour bestowed 
 upon him? 
 
 The second place in which we behold St. John dis- 
 tinguished as the disciple whom Jesus loved, is on 
 Calvary, 
 
 Who among us does not wish to have enjoyed the 
 privilege of seeing Jesus on the cross, to have been 
 near Him when He accomplished the work of re- 
 demption? 
 
 Of all the Apostles, St. John was the only one who 
 had this unspeakable happiness. 
 
 But the greatest favor which Jesus granted St. 
 
FIRST SERMON. ' 59 
 
 John, as a token of His love towards him, was His 
 word spoken from the cross: "Woman, behold thy 
 son! Son, behold thy mother!" Jesus committed St. 
 John to His mother's care, and charged her to extend 
 to him a mother's love. Oh, happy St. John! What 
 a fountain of grace and merit opens itself to you by 
 this testament of Christ on the cross ! 
 
 It is accepted as an established principle, that if 
 God grant a person a vocation. He will also give him 
 the graces corresponding to this vocation. The ex- 
 tent of the love which Jesus cherished for His mother, 
 is the measure of grace which He imparted to St. 
 John, that he might perform the duties of a child 
 towards such a mother. 
 
 If one person intrust another with some very im- 
 portant business, to which he himself can not attend, 
 he pays him well, and he would rather give him a lit- 
 tle more than less, so that he may feel as;sured that the 
 work is done. 
 
 And, moreover, what a pledge did Jesus give the 
 disciple of His love ! He was to have the example of 
 the Blessed Virgin constantly before him ; she, who 
 is the mirror of justice, and whose duty, as mother, 
 was to see that St. John, her foster-son, fulfilled the 
 duties of his vocation as perfectly as possible. 
 
 Where Is there a pious mother who does not feel 
 this obligation ? Maternal love prompts her to take 
 all possible care that her children be not lost. 
 
 Now, if it Is a pious belief that no one, for whose 
 salvation Mary has once offered her prayers, will be 
 
6o FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 lost, must not St. John have been assured of his sal- 
 vation, since Mary, as his mother, was obliged to pray 
 for him, to save him. St. Paul may well exclaim : " I 
 chastise my body, so that after having preached to 
 others, I may not myself be lost." St. John, as foster- 
 son of Mary, was infallibly certain of his salvation. 
 
 Even after His ascension, Christ still continued 
 His intercourse with St. John by divine revelations, 
 and disclosed to him the mysteries of heaven. 
 
 Verily, St. John, thou art the disciple whom Jesus 
 loved. But Jesus loves us also. Hence we may look 
 for great graces, and should prepare ourselves to re- 
 ceive them with fruit ! Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 6 1 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "This is the disciple who leaned on Christ's breast at Supper. "^John 21. 
 
 EVERY child, that has received some instruction, 
 will immediately answer to the question: ''Who 
 is the disciple of whom it is written : This is th6 dis- 
 ciple whom Jesus loved?" It is St. John the Evan- 
 gelist. He is deserving of this name, as is proven by 
 the numerous favors by which Christ distinguished 
 him from all the Apostles. 
 
 Last year we saw that we, too, as children of the 
 Church, enjoy so many and such marked graces — 
 which divine Providence through Christ has conferred 
 upon us in preference to so many others — that it may 
 well be said of us, that Jesus loves us. 
 
 But when we meditate upon the life of St. John, we 
 may justly exclaim: Behold the disciple who loved 
 Jesus ; his whole life g*ave testimony of his love. And 
 for us it will be of the greatest importance to imitate 
 him in this respect. For, what would it have availed 
 St. John, if Christ had granted him such great privi- 
 leges, and treated him with such marked preference, 
 if he had not reciprocated his Saviour's love, and had 
 not co-operated with the graces received, and thereby 
 sanctified his life ! 
 
 Judas, tooj received marvelous and numerous graces, 
 in preference to so many others ; but on this account 
 his downfall was the more hideous, nay terrible, his 
 ruin more sad. 
 
62 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 Judas wasted the graces which Christ effused into 
 his heart ; John made use oj them. 
 
 Let us to-day reflect upon this, and let it serve as a 
 warning and encouragement for us. 
 
 Mary, who hast loved St. John with a mother's 
 love; obtain for us the true love of Jesus, and the grace 
 to prove our love towards Him, by a reciprocation of 
 His sacred love! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 Behold the disciple who loved Jesus! I say John 
 was worthy of this encomium. And why? We shall 
 find our answer in considering the characteristic marks 
 by which true love manifests itself. 
 
 Love is an emotion of the heart, which, like all other 
 sensations, can not be described. If a person has not 
 experienced this feeling, no one will be able to explain 
 it to him ; and if he has experienced it, he will need 
 no further explanation. 
 
 Every child has affection for its mother, and the 
 feelings which an affectionate child entertains, it will 
 manifest by its exterior demeanor, although it can not, 
 as yet, give utterance to it. 
 
 Do you love Jesus? Ask of your heart when you 
 mention His holy name. We are told that St. Au- 
 gustine was wont to say: "I relish nothing in this 
 world that does not come in connection with the holy 
 name of Jesus." And St. Bernard, after pronouncing 
 
SECOND SERMON. 6^ 
 
 this holy name, felt as if honey had touched his lips. 
 If this be true of the saints, in consideration of what 
 Christ had done for them, and in remembrance of the 
 tokens of love which they had received from Him, 
 what must have been the emotions of St. John, the 
 disciple of love, when remembering Jesus with whom 
 he had associated, on whose bosom he reclined at the 
 institution of the sacrament of love ! He was so in- 
 timate with Jesus, and received such numerous proofs 
 of Christ's love for him. 
 
 Child of the Church, what does your heart feel 
 when you pronounce the sweet name of Jesus — when 
 you think of Him? By this, judge of the sincerity of 
 your love towards Him. 
 
 The second mark of sincere love, is the care with 
 which we strive not to offe^id the one beloved. How 
 far removed from every stain of sin was St. John ! 
 
 There is no communion between Belial and Christ, 
 between sin and Christ. 
 
 Of course, even holy souls are not certain of never 
 committing an imperfection. But we might piously 
 believe that, after St. John was called by Christ, no 
 stain of sin defiled his soul. 
 
 O man ! redeemed by Christ, does your con- 
 science testify that you never defile it by any venial 
 sin? . 
 
 Which is the third characteristic of true love ? 
 
 It is the desire to do what we know will be agree- 
 able to the loved one, and what will be a source of 
 pleasure to him. Hence the great desire of St. Te- 
 
64 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 resa to accomplish all things in the most perfect man- 
 ner possible, thereby to render herself more pleasing 
 to Jesus. " But this," says St. Paul, ''this is the holy 
 will of God — your sanctification ; " and to attain it we 
 must follow the example of Christ, and imitate Him, 
 in accordance with the assurance of St. Paul: ''For 
 whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be 
 made conformable to the image of His Son " 
 
 "Learn of me." This exhortation of the Sacred 
 Heart is addressed to all, who, as children of the 
 Church, know Jesus, and call upon His holy name, 
 and profess their belief in Him. " Be my followers, as 
 I have been a follower of Christ," thus St. Paul might 
 well affirm ; and with equal justice might St. John 
 have thus expressed himself, — he who beheld Jesus 
 with his cKvn eyes, and who had His divine example 
 constantly before him, and for a still longer period 
 beheld the reflection of the same in the virtuous life 
 of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 How like His divine Master must St. John have 
 become, and how gloriously he testified his love for 
 Christ during his whole life ! 
 
 Redeemed mortal, what does your conscience say 
 to this ? Is this your desire, to sanctify your lif^ for 
 the love of Jesus ? Is this the earnest wish of your 
 heart? Question your life. If so, then indeed your 
 love for Christ is sincere. 
 
 How is true love proven? I reply: By the care we 
 take not only to please the one loved, to agree to all 
 his wishes, to assist him, to protect his goods and 
 
SECOND SERMON. 65 
 
 property, and aid not only him, but also those who are 
 related to him by ties of love, friendship, or kindred. 
 
 I make the application and say : If our love for 
 Jesus is genuine, it must manifest itself by the care 
 we take to extend His kingdom on earth, and by the 
 interest we take in the spiritual and temporal welfare 
 of those, for whom Christ came into this world, and 
 for whom He offered His life. 
 
 It is the fire of holy zeal which must burn within us, 
 an eagerness to spread the faith all over the world, 
 to practise the corporal and spiritual works of mercy 
 in behalf of our neighbor. 
 
 John was an Apostle, and how zealously and faith- 
 fully he fulfilled the duties of his vocation ! 
 
 We are told that, when well nigh one hundred 
 years of age he continued to address the people, and 
 continually exhorted them to mutual love. 
 
 But the fervor and fidelity of our love proves itself 
 best by our willingness to make any sacrifice, even 
 that of life itself, for the one loved. It was in this 
 manner that St. John proved his love for Christ ; for, 
 during the reign of the tyrant Domitian, he was cast 
 into a caldron of seething oil, and he would have 
 thus sacrificed his life, if he had not been preserved 
 by a miracle. . 
 
 Although we have not the opportunity of testifying 
 our love for Christ by a bloody martyrdom, still we 
 have suf^cient occasion to manifest this love for our 
 Redeemer by patience and resignation to the will of 
 God. 
 
66 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 The caldron filled with seething oil, admonishes 
 us not to let pass those precious opportunities that 
 are offered us, of suffering with St. John an unbloody 
 martyrdom, and thus showing our love for Jesus. This 
 caldron of seething oil can be for you poverty, ca- 
 lumny, and the injuries which are heaped upon you, 
 the diseases which you may have to bear. By per- 
 severing and conquering, your love for Jesus will be 
 manifest. 
 
 But the surest pledge of our love for Christ, will be 
 the supreme veneration we pay to Him in the Blessed 
 Sacrament; here He is really present as God and 
 man. 
 
 Who will have felt this more than St. John ? What 
 recollections fraught with heavenly consolation must 
 have filled his soul during his whole life, and with 
 what ardor was he inflamed when he offered the Holy 
 Sacrifice of Mass, or when he bowed down before the 
 Blessed Sacrament ! 
 
 Devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is 
 the best means of ascertaining the degree of our love 
 for Jesus. Let us herein follow the example of St. 
 John, — of the disciple who loved Jesus ! Amen! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 67 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, 
 and in truth." — i John iii, i8. 
 
 ST. JOHN, the disciple whom Jesus loved ; St. John, 
 the disciple who loved Jesus. In both relations 
 St. John is to us an object of admiration, and, at the 
 same time, our model for imitation. But there is a 
 third trait in his character which shines with peculiar 
 brilliancy : St. John is also the Apostle of brotherly- 
 love. 
 
 Read his letters, and compare them with those of 
 the other Apostles, and you will be convinced that St. 
 John merited the honorable name : Disciple of love. 
 These epistles are an outpouring of love towards his 
 neighbor, consequent upon his great love of God. 
 They are replete with a longing to call forth and 
 strengthen a similar love in the hearts of all the 
 faithful. : 
 
 If we inquire still further into the motives which, 
 in the heart of St. John, produced, strengthened and 
 animated this wonderful love, we will perceive that 
 the cause is this: 
 
 SL John regarded his neighbor in the light of faith. 
 Let us do likewise, and we will feel encouraged to love 
 our neighbor as ourselves, and our lives will prove that 
 we are well disposed towards all. 
 
 O Mary, thou Eve of the New Testament, obtain 
 
68 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 for US that love of our neighbor which inflamed the 
 heart of St. John, that we may mutually edify and 
 sanctify each other ! 
 
 I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 *' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." This is 
 the second commandment, and it is like to the first: 
 **Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole 
 heart, with thy whole strength, and with thy whole 
 soul." Verily, these are forcible words, and how few 
 really understand and reflect upon their full significa- 
 tion ; and still smaller is the number of those who are 
 governed by these two precepts as was St. John the 
 Evangelist. 
 
 This Apostle, who entertained such love for Jesus, 
 fulfilled this great commandment of love of God and 
 of his neighbor in a most perfect manner; because, 
 in the person of Christ, he loved both God and man 
 with unbounded love, and because, as I have said, he 
 regarded every man in the light of faith. 
 
 Why do we not practise this love of our neighbor 
 in as perfect a manner? I reply: We are deficient 
 in that liveliness of faith and that love for Jesus which 
 animated St. John. 
 
 How indifferently a person will treat his neighbor 
 as long as he regards him in a mere natural light ! 
 What do we hear more frequently than the remark: 
 What have I to do with that person ? We speak thus, 
 because man, simply as a fellow-being, seems to have 
 
THIRD SERMON. 69 
 
 no particular claim to our sympathy. He is a human 
 being, but still — what is he to me? Oh ! a great deal. 
 Regard your neighbor with the eyes of faith, and then 
 how venerable, how attractive, and how worthy of your 
 sympathy will he appear to you ! Then you will feel, 
 how St. Chrysostom had reason to exclaim in aston- 
 ishment: *'How, you say: What is that man to me? 
 Why, he is a man, is not this sufficient to rouse your 
 interest in him ?" 
 
 I will give a practical illustration : You come to a 
 railroad depot. Behold ! a poor family just arrived, 
 with a sick infant but a few months old ; it is placed 
 on the hard wooden floor ! Poor mortal, how wretched, 
 how miserable you are ! you will say, if you regard it 
 simply with the eyes of your body. 
 
 But open the eyes of your spirit to the light of faith, 
 and you will say : O child, in this body covered with 
 disease lives a soul created after the image of the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! God has thought of 
 you from all eternity, and has given you a being im- 
 measurably more glorious than all the shining worlds 
 of the firmament ; yes, more glorious than all that may 
 be beyond this world of stars, with the exception of 
 the angel worlds ! 
 
 You are a human being. The Son of God has 
 adopted your nature, and has exalted it above all the 
 choirs of angels, and you are soon to share His glory 
 for all eternity. 
 
 If already baptized, you are in a state of sanctify- 
 ing grace, which transforms you into a child of God, 
 
70 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 and makes it possible for you to gain merits for life 
 eternal. A throne is awaiting you in the heavenly 
 kingdom ; and how many gems of merit you can secure 
 for your celestial crown, if on earth you accomplish 
 the holy will of God, and for love of Him faithfully 
 discharge the duties of your vocation ! When once 
 you are admitted to the communion of saints, you 
 may address all the angels as your associates ; all 
 the saints as your brothers and sisters ; Mary as 
 your mother; and Jesus, the Son of God, as your 
 brother. Christian, do you perceive what powerful 
 motives urge us to assist every person with active 
 works of charity ? 
 
 What, in the next place, incites us to assist others 
 to practise works of mercy, is the merit of such 
 works in the sight of God. '' Blessed are the merciful ; 
 for they shall obtain mercy," Christ says ; and, again : 
 ''What ye do to the least of mine, ye have done to 
 me." 
 
 And if this holds good in regard to the corporal 
 works of mercy, how much more so in respect to the 
 spiritual, which benefit the sovd, and of which St. 
 Chrysostom justly remarks: "A single work of this 
 kind is worth more in the sight of God than all 
 the corporal works taken together, even if we should 
 provide for all the sick and needy of the whole 
 world." 
 
 Thus thought St. John ; and if with him, we regard 
 all that we can do for the welfare of our neighbor, in 
 the light of faith, we will strive to make use of every 
 
THIRD SERMON. 7 1 
 
 Opportunity that presents itself, to perform works of 
 mercy, and we will, moreover, seek opportunities of 
 doing good. 
 
 But what enhances the merit of these works of 
 charity, is the assurance of Christ, with which you are 
 all familiar: "Whatever ye do to the least of mine, 
 you have done to me." 
 
 Man, alas ! looks upon his neighbor merely with 
 the eyes of his body; he regards only his social posi- 
 tion; and therefore we find so great want of zeal for 
 the performance of charitable tleeds. And, further- 
 more, we are but too apt to forget that, by assisting 
 others, we are doing more for ourselves than for our 
 neighbor. 
 
 A fervent soul, like St. John's, that truly loves Jesus, 
 is desirous of becoming more conformable to Him, and 
 is anxious to increase its measure of grace, and to 
 become more holy and more pleasing to Him. But it 
 is exactly these services which we render our neigh- 
 bor for the love of Jesus, who has shed His precious 
 blood for each and every one of us, which will induce 
 Him, the more readily and liberally to impart those 
 graces with which He favored the saints. What an in- 
 ducement for a soul, imbued with a sincere love of 
 Jesus, to zealously perform active works of mercy ! 
 
 The Blessed Virgin, too, will willingly ask graces 
 for us from Christ if we assist her children. In like 
 manner, also, will those parents, relatives and friends 
 who are already in heaven, make intercession for us, 
 in order that we may receive the graces necessary for 
 
72 FEAST OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 the sanctification of our lives, if we endeavor to assist 
 those who are near and dear to them. 
 
 To this we may add the intercession of those very 
 persons whom we have saved, and who may already 
 have entered upon eternity. 
 
 This love of our neighbor is a pledge of our own 
 salvatiofi, in consequence of the assurance of the Holy 
 Ghost, through St. James. 
 
 Let us often reflect upon these motives with the 
 liveliness of faith which animated St. John, and en- 
 deavor to imitate him in his love for God and for his 
 neighbor ! — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "But Herod sending, killed all the male children, from two years old and 
 under."— Matt. 2. 
 
 WHENEVER we celebrate the feast of the Holy 
 Innocents, our hearts are filled with compas- 
 sion, but, at the same time, also with joy and consola- 
 tion. 
 
 We have compassion for these innocent children, 
 who shed their blood to satisfy the cruelty, vanity, 
 and pride of a tyrant ; — but taking into consideration 
 that they had not the remotest idea of the death they 
 were to suffer, that, without any struggle, or troubles 
 of conscience, they were torn from the arms of their 
 mothers, to hasten to the arms of God, where a par- 
 ticular degree of glory awaited them, — in considera- 
 tion of this, we feel comforted and happy, and can not 
 but congratulate these little innocents, the first of the 
 martyrs for Christ's sake. 
 
 The remembrance of the Holy Innocents, has a 
 most practical influence on the lives of parents espe- 
 cially, admonishing them to strive earnestly, that, even 
 if their children have not the happiness of sealing the 
 
 truth of their faith with the effusion of their blood, 
 
 (73) 
 
74 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 they may, nevertheless, give testimony of it by the 
 innocence of their Hves. 
 
 Parents, I will point out to you, to-day, what you, 
 071 your part, are obliged to do, in order that your 
 children may preserve their innocence. 
 
 O Mary, thou model for all dutiful mothers, obtain 
 for those parents here present the grace, to know and 
 fulfill their duties in this respect ! 
 
 , I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 What renders the sight of newly-baptized children 
 attractive, is their innocence. 
 
 Happy child ! every Christian will exclaim, when he 
 beholds an infant just baptized. You are now entirely 
 pure, free from every stain of sin, and an object of 
 God's divine pleasure. It is especially the mother of 
 the child who will feel this ; and if she is a pious mother, 
 she will express the wish: Oh, if you would but al- 
 ways remain so ! 
 
 But, alas ! how seldom is this wish realized ! Alas ! 
 many, yes, I may say, most children lose their inno- 
 cence at a very early age, and become victims of sin. 
 To them the words of St. Augustine may be applied : 
 " So small a boy — so small a girl, — and already so 
 great a sinner !" 
 
 Though it may happen that, notwithstanding the 
 most careful training, some children go astray, still 
 this does not relieve parents from the obligation 
 
FIRST SERMON. 75 
 
 of taking such care and precautions as aid their chil- 
 dren to pass their youth in innocence. 
 
 I will point out to you particularly in what this care 
 consists. 
 
 In the first place, a mother, as soon as she is aware 
 that a child is given her, should often raise her heart 
 devoutly to God during the day, and pray for the 
 welfare of her child. We read in the lives of the 
 saints, that, at times, God, in a most wonderful man- 
 ner, would make known to mothers the particular 
 degree of sanctity to which their children were chosen. 
 Think of St. Anna, the mother of Samuel ; of St. 
 Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist ; of the 
 mother of St. Dominic; the mother of St. 'Stanislaus! 
 
 When the child is born, and grows up, the mother's 
 care should be directed to accustoming it to raise 
 its heart to God, as soon as it is able ; and this can 
 be done at a much earlier age than many a mother 
 imagines. 
 
 Parents should faithfully discharge their religious 
 duties ; say their morning and night prayers with their 
 children, who will thus, at an early age, acquire a love 
 for prayer. 
 
 If children are not induced in their early youth, by 
 the good example and exhortations of parents, to say 
 their prayers ; if they are not instructed to begin and 
 end the day with devotional exercises, they will most 
 assuredly be exposed to the danger of neglecting 
 prayer altogether, and to commit numerous sins in 
 consequence. 
 
 6 
 
^6 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 As soon as the child advances in years, it should be 
 thoroughly instructed in matters of faith, and its heart 
 must be disposed to think, above all things, of the one 
 important -affair of salvation. It should be reminded 
 that all the things of this world are but vanity in 
 themselves, if they are not employed as means to 
 serve God. 
 
 Parents, teach your children to say, when allured 
 by the world, to say with St. Aloysius : What will this 
 avail me for eternity ? 
 
 There is no doubt that the inordinate desire to have, 
 to possess, and to enjoy the goods and pleasures of 
 this world, is the cause of the carelessness of youth 
 in matters of their salvation ; to this it is owing that 
 they so freely indulge their sensual desires, — sin, — and 
 ' go to ruin. 
 
 Parents are entirely too anxious to increase their 
 temporal possessions. No wonder, then, that they do 
 not instill into the hearts of their children a disdain 
 for the world, and do not sufficiently cultivate and 
 nourish in them a desire for heavenly things. The 
 spirit of the world takes possession of their children's 
 hearts, and but too often draws them into the abyss 
 of sin. , 
 
 And' as parents should be thus intent upon direct- 
 ing the children's attention to approaching eternity, 
 in like manner should they strive to impress them 
 with a horror for sin. 
 
 Would to God that all mothers would imitate the 
 example of St. Blanche, who was wont thus to ad- 
 
FIRST SERMON. "]*] 
 
 dress her son Louis : "Dear child, I would a thousand 
 times rather behold you dead at my feet, than in a 
 state of mortal sin !" 
 
 But to guard their children from mortal sin, mothers 
 should teach them to walk in the presence of God, to 
 honor the Blessed Virgin and their guardian angels ; 
 and, moreover, take precautions that other children do 
 not lead theirs into temptation and cause them to 
 lose their innocence. Therefore, even as regards 
 sisters and brothers, parents should use the utmost 
 care that they may not prove an occasion of sin to 
 each other. 
 
 And still more destructive is the bad example of 
 parents. If parents desire that their children retain 
 purity of heart, then their owfi life must be a mirror 
 and a model, so that even after their death the re- 
 membrance of the virtuous example of the father and 
 the mother, will cause their children to tremble at the 
 very thought of committing a sin. 
 
 Therefore, parents should make it a point to be 
 faithful in reciting their morning and night prayers, to 
 attend divine service regularly, to frequently receive 
 Holy Communion, thereby setting a good example, 
 which the children will feel encouraged to imitate. 
 
 As long as children love to pray, to attend divine 
 service, and to receive Holy Communion frequently, 
 parents may hope for the best. But woe to those 
 parents who begin and end the day without prayer, 
 who do not fulfill their religious duties, and neglect 
 to receive the Holy Sacraments! Children of such 
 
yS FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 parents are in great danger of losing their innocence ; 
 they are scandalized by the conduct of their own par- 
 ents. It is especially on Sundays and holy days that 
 they should give their children this example of piety. 
 
 When children, following the example of their par- 
 ents, neglect the service of the Lord, and take delight 
 in worldly enjoyments, all hope for the preservation 
 of innocence may be abandoned. 
 
 A most dangerous rock, arising but too often in the 
 turbulent stream of life, is the perusing of worldly 
 books and trashy novels, and the society of worldly- 
 minded people. 
 
 If parents really wish that their children may serve 
 God with a pure conscience, they must take care 
 that their children never remain alone with persons 
 of the opposite sex, nor frequent nightly amusements, 
 and thus voluntarily remain in the proximate occasion 
 of sin. If this precaution is not taken, children will 
 lose their innocence, and the responsibility will rest 
 heavily on the conscience of the parents. 
 
 Parents, you who are listening to me, examine your- 
 selves carefully in regard to each of these points, and 
 make a firm resolution to act in the future as I have 
 advised you. If you do so your children will not only 
 be a source of joy to you in this life, but they will also 
 be eternally grateful to you in heaven ! — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. • 79 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 " But Herod was exceedingly angry, and killed all male-children that were 
 in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof." — Matt. 2. 
 
 WHEREVER the Gospel is preached to-day, the 
 world is astounded, and abominates the cruelty 
 of Herod, and deplores the crime of infanticide, of 
 which he was guilty. 
 
 Taking this in a moral sense, we find that there are 
 child-murderers not only in Bethlehem and its vicin- 
 ity, but they can be found in all places. And the 
 worst of it is that children themselves are but too fre- 
 quently the cause of their own ruin, and become mar- 
 tyrs of Satan, whose image we see reflected in Herod. 
 
 The death of the Holy Innocents was unmerited, 
 but is salutary for them. On the other hand, how 
 many children cause the death of their soul by com- 
 mitting sins, and, in many cases, are themselves re- 
 sponsible for their perdition. 
 
 Christ said at one time: '' Suffer little children to 
 come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of God." 
 How few there are who keep unsullied the innocence 
 of early childhood ! 
 
 Let us, therefore^ consider to-day which are the 
 sins most frequently committed by the youth of our 
 day, and which are hurryifig them into the abyss of 
 ruin. 
 
 These reflections may, at the same time, serve as a 
 warning to parents and educators, who may learn, to 
 
8o FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 do what they must be especially attentive to, that the 
 rising generation may not suffer shipwreck in regard 
 to salvation. 
 
 Mary, mother of all children whom thou desirest 
 to save, show thyself a mother especially to the chil- 
 dren of this congregation ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 It is a well-established principle, founded on ex- 
 perience, that he who secures the youth, will secure 
 the future for the accomplishment of his designs. 
 
 The enemies of our Church and religion, on their 
 part, feel this but too well, and therefore their endeav- 
 ors to attract the youth to themselves, and to infuse 
 into their hearts the poison of their pernicious views 
 and principles ; causing them to become unmindful of 
 God and His Holy Church, of heaven and approach- 
 ing eternity ; to live only for this world, to strivQ to ac- 
 cumulate as much wealth as possible, and to enjoy 
 life to its utmost. 
 
 Alas ! when we examine the conduct of the youth 
 of the present day, we can not but notice that the 
 world is becoming more and more indifferent in mat- 
 ters of religion, and, therefore, our enemies have but 
 too much reason to hope for the success of their proj- 
 ects. 
 
 Let us consider some classes of children. 
 
 In the first place we have indevout children. They 
 
SECOND SERMON. 8 1 
 
 do not say their morning and evening prayers, nor 
 grace before and after meals ; they do not hear Mass 
 devoutly, nor prepare themselves well for the recep- 
 tion of the Holy Sacraments. In short, they are 
 neither too willing nor' faithful in the performance of 
 the various devotional exercises of the Church. 
 
 Such children, in most cases, grow up without ever 
 praying. They tell you, father and mother do not say 
 their morning and night prayers; how then can you 
 expect us to do so? They are often ignorant of the 
 most ordinary prayers ; they absent themselves from 
 divine service on Sundays and holy days; and either 
 run in the streets or frequent ale-houses, instead of 
 going to Church. And how do they conduct them- 
 selves when they do enter a Church? They stand as 
 if they were in some public place, do not fold their 
 hands in prayer, do not kneel at the elevation or ben- 
 ediction ; they converse with others, and sometimes 
 leave the church in the midst of service. 
 
 These children do not attend Vespers nor evening 
 devotions, but profane the Sunday by visits to saloons, 
 or by boisterous entertainments, which they prolong 
 far into the night. And if you inquire : What do par- 
 ents say to all this ? you will often receive the answer. 
 Nothing ! 
 
 Such negligent parents do not care to watch over 
 the conduct of their children ; they say that their 
 children are already grown up, and that nothing can 
 be done in the matter. Somethincr could be done, if 
 parents had maintained their authority, and caused 
 
I 
 
 82 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 their children to respect the same from their early 
 youth, — if the tree had been bent whilst it was young. 
 
 Again, we have the class of the uninstructed, which 
 comprises the large majority of children. St. Paul 
 says: ''The just man liveth by faith." It is incredi- 
 ble what little religious instruction our youth receive ; 
 they are not at all competent to justify themselves when 
 scoffers of religion: attack any article of their faith. 
 Take, for example, the dogma of the Infallibility of the 
 Pope. I ask : Is there any young person in this con- 
 gregation, who is able to give the real meaning of 
 this dogma, and to prove its truth by Holy Scripture 
 and tradition as far as necessary, and who is able to 
 refute the most ordinary objections of Infidels and 
 Protestants ? And yet, every Christian should be able 
 to do this ; and not only as regards this dogma, but 
 for the doctrines of the Church. If he had but once 
 thoroughly studied a hand-book of Catholic doctrine, 
 he would be qualified to defend his faith. 
 
 But parents are content if their children receive 
 sufficient instruction to enable them to make their first 
 Communion, and nothing more. And what is the con- 
 sequence? Children leave home, come in contact 
 with all sorts of people, listen to their railleries against 
 the doctrines of the Catholic Church, begin to waver, 
 and finally their faith suffers shipwreck. 
 
 The following class Is that of the disobedient : 
 
 What a great lack of obedience do we find every- 
 where ! In this is sown the seed of many sins. Par- 
 ents warn, but the child hears not ; they punish, and 
 
SECOND SERMON. 83 
 
 Still the child does not obey ; he is away from home 
 all day, and his father and mother are ignorant of his 
 whereabouts. As he advances in years, his obstinacy 
 and disobedience gather strength. Children should 
 remember that their parents are the representatives 
 of God, and that disobedience to their parents may 
 lead to a general neglect of their duties to God. 
 
 We have finally a class of children, who are already 
 habitual sinners. My God ! how numerous are the 
 vices to which children are addicted even in their 
 early youth ! What a multitude of children from 
 twelve to fourteen years of age, are already aged in 
 sin ! How many of these in later life lose their faith, 
 and become obstinate in sin, so that all the entreaties 
 and exhortations of parents then prove fruitless ! 
 
 Would that all parents and educators reflected se- 
 riously upon what I have said to-day ! Let them bend 
 the tree while it is young; that it may not grow up to 
 be a tree of evil, which may endanger even their own 
 salvation ! Amen ! 
 
84 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 " He arose, and took the child and His mother, and retired into Egypt." — 
 Matt. 2. 
 
 ST. JOSEPH, being admonished In sleep by an an- 
 gel, took the child and His mother, and retired 
 with them Into Egypt. He provided for the temporal 
 welfare of the Infant Jesus, and the divine Infant took 
 charge of the spiritual welfare of St. Joseph. St. Jo- 
 seph had but to regard the Divine Child, in order to 
 learn how to serve God perfectly. 
 
 The most important duty of parents is, not so much 
 to labor for the bodily and temporal welfare of the 
 children whom God has given them — nature will 
 prompt them to do this ; for are they not of their flesh 
 and blood ? — but their chief care must bp to bring up 
 their children for heaven. 
 
 It is their duty to try to bring up their children 
 practical Catholics. 
 
 Pious parents generally cherlsK the hope of living 
 to see their children walk in the way of God, but how 
 many and how bitter are their disappointments ! 
 
 It may happen at times, that notwithstanding the 
 best training, children will deviate from the path of 
 virtue, and go to ruin ; but when children degenerate 
 it is very often owing to defective instruction. 
 
 Therefore, I will to-day, at the crib of fesus, direct 
 the attention of parents to the leading principles that 
 should guide them in the education of their childrefi. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 85 
 
 Mary, thou who art so anxious for the salvation 
 of all men, obtain for all the parents of this congre- 
 gation such knowledge, that the education of their 
 children may bear fruits for life eternal ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God. 
 
 Parents, I said I would point out to you to-day, at 
 the crib of Christ, what true education demands. 
 
 He who desires to bring up children for God, must, 
 in the first place, be himself a man full of the fear of 
 the Lord. Thus only will he be enabled to teach the 
 child the doctrines of faith in an effective manner. 
 
 He must be full of the knowledge of God, and con- 
 stantly bear in mind, and perfectly understand, what 
 an important affair man's salvation is, taking to heart 
 the warning of Christ : ''What will it profit a man to 
 gain the whole world, if he suffers loss of his own 
 soul?" 
 
 The instructor must be thoroughly imbued with this 
 consciousness of faith, which must manifest itself in all 
 his actions, so ^hat the child will at once perceive that 
 his father and mother are anxious to be pious, faith- 
 ful Christians, and that they are solicitous about their 
 own eternal welfare. 
 
 But with so many parents this is unfortunately not 
 the case ; they profess the Catholic faith with their 
 lips, but are themselves full of worldly-mindedness. 
 The result is, that the child grows up, and is a great 
 
86 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 deal more anxious about worldly matters than about 
 heaven and approaching eternity. 
 
 It is necessary that faith and the promises of salva- 
 tion be implanted as early as possible in the hearts of 
 children, and be constantly nourished and reanimated ; 
 this is the first principle of success in the education 
 of children. 
 
 It is a matter of course, that where faith is held in 
 such high esteem, great care will also be taken that 
 the children avail themselves of the sources of grace 
 which God has imparted to His Church, in order to 
 lead a fervent life in accordance with the principles of 
 faith. These means of grace are: prayer, spiritual 
 reading, instruction in the truths of religion, the use 
 of the Holy Sacraments. 
 
 A knowledge of human nature is also an important 
 means of bringing an education to a prosperous is- 
 sue. Great care must be taken to discover in the 
 heart of the child those perverse tendencies which 
 might prevent the seed of faith from bearing good 
 fruit. 
 
 These inordinate tendencies are, as a rule, those 
 which oppose the virtues which Christ, at His birth, 
 as man, taught and recommended to the children of 
 men. 
 
 The Infant Jesus humbled himself, lying in the 
 lowly manger. The basis of evil in the human heart 
 is pride — the beginning of all sin, as Holy Scripture 
 affirms. The germ of pride is hidden within the heart 
 of the child, and manifests itself at first by obstinacy 
 
THIRD SERMON. Sy 
 
 and disobedience. Parents must, therefore, above all 
 things, be determined not to allow the child to indulge 
 in or yield to obstinacy. 
 
 It must be conquered by punishment, and by mak- 
 ing use of the rod whilst the child is quite young, 
 that he may learn to obey, and to do exactly what is 
 required of him. But for this very reason, parents 
 should demand only that which is just, so as not to 
 give the child occasion to think that the parents are 
 requiring something unjust or impossible, and that 
 they will finally be compelled to yield to his wishes. 
 
 The sister virtue of humility is obedience. The In- 
 fant Jesus rests within the crib, just as the Blessed 
 Virgin has placed Him therein ; and during thirty years 
 of His sojourn at Nazareth, He was submissive to 
 His blessed mother, and to his foster-father St. Jo- 
 seph. What a powerful inducement for parents to 
 insist upon humble submission on the part of their 
 children, so that their training may be a truly Chris- 
 tian one. 
 
 It is owing to their deficiency in this respect, that 
 parents lose control over their children. 
 
 Furthermore, the Infant Jesus is wrapped in poor 
 swaddling clothes. Pride and vanity delight in gor- 
 geous dress. Parents must take care that the demon 
 of vanity and love of dress, do not find secret access 
 to the heart of the child. They should endeavor, how- 
 ever, to accustom their children to viodesty and clean- 
 liness of dress. 
 
 Another evil propensity, whose germ is concealed in 
 
88 FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 
 
 the child's heart, Is the desire to have, to retain, and 
 to enjoy. 
 
 Little children want every thing they see ; they ex- 
 tend their tiny hand to grasp the object, and bring it 
 to their mouth to taste and enjoy it. In course of 
 time, this desire degenerates into covetousness ; into 
 love of money, and the goods of this world ; into ava- 
 rice, and a craving for all sensual enjoyment possible. 
 
 Parents should therefore begin early to teach their 
 children to be satisfied with what is given them ; not 
 to envy other children ; to share willingly with others, 
 especially with their own sisters and brothers. They 
 should also see that their children do not eat to ex- 
 cess, nor indulge too freely in sweetmeats, and that, 
 they be satisfied with the ordinary household fare. 
 
 The Divine Child lies in the manger, a lonely Infant. 
 The care taken for the proper education of children 
 often bears little fruit, because of bad companions, 
 Hence, parents should extend their care and attention 
 beyond the mere hours when their children are united 
 with them in the family circle. They must teach 
 their children to govern that longing for certain 
 amusements, which bring them into the company of 
 corrupt associates. 
 
 We behold the Infant Jesus as man, in the person 
 of the Son of God, lying in the crib, in a state of un- 
 interrupted prayer. 
 
 To make the child's education productive of good 
 fruit, he must be taught to gather strength for the ac- 
 complishment of his duties, from the sources of grace, 
 
THIRD SERMON. 89 
 
 of which the chief one is prayer. How zealously, 
 therefore, should parents labor to instill a love for 
 prayer into the hearts of their little ones, so that they 
 may love to say their prayers without being forced ; 
 to hear Mass regularly, and to receive Holy Commun- 
 ion frequently. 
 
 In our days parents must be careful to keep within 
 due bounds a passion for reading, which their children 
 may manifest. Is it not singular, that even very young 
 children find such great pleasure in reading? 
 
 And as the reading of good books can do an 
 amount of good, so also the reading of bad, worldly 
 books, can cause a great deal of harm. How very 
 anxious, therefore, should parents be to furnish their 
 children with good reading matter. 
 
 Christ lies in the manger as the Redeemer of the 
 world, to reconcile men with God, and with one 
 another. Impatience, anger, and hatred sever the 
 bond of love. Children usually sin by anger, quarrel- 
 ing, and striking each other. 
 
 In this respect parents must instruct their children 
 more by their example than by words ; by practising 
 patience and meekness ; by avoiding violence and a 
 certain unchristian harshness, even when punishing 
 their children. 
 
 Parents, educate your children in this manner, and 
 pray for them always, and they will not only be a joy 
 to you, but you will lay up most precious merits for 
 yourselves in the eternal kingdom! Amen! 
 
FEAST OF NEW YEAR'S EVE. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Son, observe the time." — Eccl. 4. 
 
 A FEW hours more, and the year i8 — will have 
 passed into eternity. 
 
 The main thought which should occupy us at the 
 close of the parting year is the answer to the ques- 
 tion : Has this year proved to be a meritorious one 
 for me, in a Christian point of view ? and what bene- 
 fits for the coming year can I derive from the expe- 
 riences of this year? 
 
 I will reply to these questions in a general way this 
 evening, and each one will be able to answer any point 
 which may touch him personally. 
 
 The leading thoughts to which I link my remarks 
 are the few hours that yet remain of the parting year. 
 The stroke of midnight will soon proclaim its de- 
 parture, and the year i8 — will be numbered with the 
 things of the past. 
 
 / compare these few hours to the characteristic 
 periods zvhich form the general outline of our lives. 
 They are : The hour of work, the hour of suffering, 
 the hour of joy, the hour -of prayer, the hour of temp- 
 tation. 
 
 (90) 
 
FIRST SERMON. , 9 1 
 
 The manner in which our hearts have been disposed, 
 the conduct we have manifested in these periods, will 
 decide whether the parting year has been for us one 
 of gain or loss for approaching eternity. 
 
 I beg of you to meditate seriously on what 1 am 
 going to say. 
 
 Mary, mother, bless thy children, and the words 
 addressed to them to-night ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 The hour of work. — Adam sinned, and the judg- 
 ment of condemnation was pronounced against him 
 and all mankind: ''In the sweat of thy brow, thou 
 shalt eat thy bread." Rich or poor, king or beggar, 
 high or low, every child of man must succumb to this 
 divine decree. 
 
 Woe to him who fancies that, because ample pro- 
 vision is' made for his maintenance, he can pass his 
 life in indolence ! He is in the greatest danger of 
 perishing ; for an old proverb says : *' Idleness is the 
 source of all vice," and it is confirmed by experi- 
 ence. 
 
 So, then, we must work! Those, especially, are 
 aware of this fact who are obliged to labor inces- 
 santly to provide for themselves and their family. 
 
 You have worked hard during this year. Have you 
 labored hard to fulfill the duties of your state ? Have 
 you worked for love of God, to accomplish His holy 
 
92 < FEAST OF NEW YEAR'S EVE, 
 
 V 
 
 will, not so much in consideration of a temporal re- 
 muneration as for the greater honor of God? 
 
 Have you in your work united your intention with 
 that of the Sacred Heart ? Rejoice, if you have done 
 so; the parting year will gather these works, as good 
 wheat, into the storehouse of heaven ; and you have 
 become richer for eternity. Return thanks to God to- 
 day, and make the resolution to renew this good in- 
 tention daily and hourly, and with still greater ardor 
 during the course of the coming year. 
 
 If, on the other hand, you have been more busily 
 engaged this year than ever before, if you have re- 
 ceived a better salary than in former years, if you 
 have gathered gold and diamonds, — and still have 
 neglected your religious duties, and thought but of 
 the world and temporal gain ; — then you have become 
 poorer for eternity. If you have, perhaps, had the mis- 
 fortune, by neglecting prayer and the Holy Sacraments, 
 of committing a mortal sin, — then treasures have you 
 lost for heaven during this year ! Repent, form better 
 resolutions for the coming year, and thank God that 
 He still gives you life. 
 
 Secondly, I wish to direct your attention to the 
 hour of suffering. This is, as it were, linked to the 
 first. For us mortals, suffering as well as toil is a 
 consequence of the sin of our first parents. Job ex- 
 claims: ''Man born of a woman, living for a short 
 time, is filled with many miseries." 
 
 Were you obliged to bear heavy burdens during 
 the past year? were you afflicted with sufferings. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 93 
 
 caused by sickness or the malevolence of men ? Be 
 not surprised. For us fallen mortals there is no other 
 way to heaven, save the path which our Lord and 
 Redeemer has trodden before us, namely : The way 
 of the holy cross ! 
 
 We have, therefore, no reason to be dejected; for 
 we have the promise of Christ, given by the mouth 
 of the Apostle: " If we have suffered with Him, we 
 shall also be glorified with Him." 
 
 The question is not whether you have had a heavy 
 cross to bear, but whether you have borne it in the 
 right spirit for the love of Christ. All depends on this. 
 We must not look upon sufferings in the light in which 
 the heathens regarded them, but in the light of faith ; 
 we must not consider them a misfortune, but accept 
 them as a means of proving the greatness of our love 
 and fidelity to God. 
 
 Secondly, whatever suffering Almighty God sends 
 us, we must accept as coming from Him, and not from 
 the hand of man, and we must bear our cross in union 
 with the intention and bufferings of our Saviour. 
 
 If you have done so in the past year, I heartily con- 
 gratulate you ; for the departing year carries brilliant 
 gems into eternity, to adorn your heavenly crown. 
 Rejoice, and be grateful to God. 
 
 But if you have regarded the tribulations with which 
 you have been visited, with feelings of aversion ; if 
 you have not once thought of God who permitted 
 these thing's, but only looked to the persons who may 
 have caused you the trouble ; if you have harbored 
 
94 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S EVfi. 
 
 feelings of hatred, and, perchance, even murmured 
 against God, oh repent ! for you have borne the cross 
 with the thief on the left hand of Christ, without hav- 
 ing gained the least merit for life eternal ; yes, you 
 have perhaps by desire for revenge or by blasphemy 
 run the risk of eternal damnation ! But now form bet- 
 ter resolutions for the coming year, and, resigning 
 yourself to the holy will of God, welcome the trials and 
 sufferings that may be your portion for the coming 
 year. 
 
 The third hour to which I refer is that oi joy. Even 
 in this vale of tears, man has hours of joy which he 
 can make meritorious for the kingdom of eternal joy. 
 But this requires several conditions. 
 
 What have been your joys during the past year ? 
 Have they been lawful or unlawful ? The Apostle him- 
 self tells us to rejoice, but he says that we must re- 
 joice in the Lord. Go through the year and see how 
 much of your pleasure was such as the Apostle would 
 have it How many of your evenings after a day of 
 work did you spend in pleasure that was without sin ? 
 How many of your evening pleasure parties can you 
 look back to as wholly free from sin, — from grievous 
 sin ? 
 
 Great dangers arise from an inordinate love of en- 
 joyment. 
 
 Alas ! thou parting year ! Who knows how many 
 a young girl has during thy course lost her innocence 
 at doubtful entertainments ! How many a young man, 
 by committing mortal sin, has this year entered upon 
 
FIRST SERMON. 95 
 
 the broad path which leads to perdition, and which, 
 perhaps, he will never again forsake ! For such it 
 has indeed been an unfortunate year. 
 
 How many have yielded to intemperance, and be- 
 came drunkards in the course of this year ! Still, 
 thank God that you have not been carried off in your 
 sin. Make up your minds for the coming year; and 
 if you rejoice, let it be with a joy that will not bring 
 a stain upon your soul ! 
 
 Sanctify the enjoyments of the family circle. But, 
 above all, try to render yourselves worthy of the de- 
 light to be experienced by union with God in prayer, 
 and by the regular practice of your religious duties. 
 Has God particularly favored you during the past 
 year with heavenly consolations — such as He granted 
 to the saints? Oh, how ^fortunate you have been! 
 But if the favors you received were not as great as 
 those conferred upon the saints, still you will have 
 tasted the spiritual joy and consolation which Christ 
 promises to every child of the Church who lives ac- 
 cording to her spirit! 
 
 The fourth hour to which I call your attention 
 is that . of prayer. In order that we may work 
 meritoriously for heaven, to suffer and to enjoy, it is 
 necessary that we co operate with the grace of God 
 within us, and thus make ourselves worthy of greater 
 graces. One principal means of doing this is prayer. 
 Have you been more fervent this year in saying your 
 prayers ? Have you said your morning and night 
 prayers faithfully ? Have you received the Holy Sac- 
 
96 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's EVE. 
 
 raments worthily and frequently? If so, this has been 
 a happy year for you. 
 
 But if, unfortunately, your conscience upbraids you, 
 because you have been less fervent in your prayers, 
 or have not approached the Holy Sacraments as well 
 as formerly, now is the time for you to resolve to do 
 better in future. 
 
 Finally there is a time of temptation. '* Satan goes 
 about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may de- 
 vour," says St. Peter. 
 
 Have you been harassed by numerous temptations ? 
 have you perhaps sought the occasion, and sinned ? 
 For the love of Christ, avoid all occasions of sin, cost 
 what it may; remembering the warning of Christ: 
 ''If thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out; if thy foot 
 scandalize thee, cut it off." When you are assailed by 
 temptations resist at once; pray for assistance, and 
 you will conquer. 
 
 Finally, let me call your attention to the hour which 
 will toll for each and every one of us — the hour of 
 death ! 
 
 If you wish the hour of your death to be a consol- 
 ing one, you must prepare for it, by making good use 
 of your life. The year 1 8 — may close the life of some 
 one here present. Begin, then, at once to live as in the 
 solemn hour of death you will wish to have lived. 
 
 I am indeed greatly pleased to* see that you are 
 closing this year in the real Catholic spirit of the 
 Church. On the other hand I pity those, who, al- 
 though they call themselves Catholics, instead of as- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 97 
 
 sembling here to-night to thank God for the bene- 
 fits received during the previous year, and to join in 
 the Te Deum, are passing the last hours in reveling 
 and in sensual enjoyments. How they will repent of 
 having carried the burden of the unbelieving, heret- 
 ical, and faithless children of the world, when the 
 cold sweat of death covers their brow and trickles 
 down their pallid face. 
 
 Thank God, that Satan has not allured you away 
 to-night ! 
 
 Make good use of the eight thousand seven hun- 
 dred and sixty hours of the coming year, so that the 
 New Year's eve which follows your death, may find 
 you in heaven. This is my sincere wish to you all at 
 the close of the year i8 — ! Amen ! 
 
98 FEAST OF NEW YEAr's EVE. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "Redeem the time." — Coloss. 4. 
 
 ANOTHER year is passing into eternity, and inas- 
 much as the hearts, that see it pass, have shared 
 in its happiness or its woe, its sorrows or its joys, its 
 gains or its losses, insomuch their emotions are varied 
 and opposed. 
 
 There is one thing in particular which doubtless fills 
 the heart of the worldling with pleasure at the close of 
 the year. This source of gratification is the possibility 
 of saying to himself with truth : I have been poor, now 
 I am rich ; I have cleared all my debts, and these were 
 not insignificant ; I have, moreover, entered upon a very 
 lucrative business, in which failure is out of the ques- 
 tion, provided I be watchful ; and, my wealth increasing 
 daily, a happy future, free from cares and anxiety, must 
 be mine. 
 
 But who can tell what the New Year brings for him ? 
 Unforeseen events — wars, storms, fire — very frequently 
 crush all such blissful expectations. Sickness may be- 
 fall him, or death himself lay his icy hand upon him. 
 With what significance, then, these words of Christ are 
 recalled to our minds to-day: ''Lay up to yourselves 
 treasures in heaven; where neither the rust nor moth 
 doth consume, and where thieves do not break through 
 nor steal ! " Have you gathered such treasures for your- 
 self during the past year? Will you do so in future? 
 It will entirely depend upon one condition, of which 
 
SECOND SERMON. 99 
 
 the parting year so solemnly reminds us : To estimate 
 time at its worth, and, in consequence, draw the great- 
 est profit from its use. To do this effectually, we imcst 
 all redeem the lost time, employ well the fleetiiig houry 
 sec20'e the future, and thus gain riches for eternity, 
 
 Mary, thou who didst offer to God the first pul- 
 sation of thy heart ; who didst spend every moment of 
 thy life in glorifying Him ; who didst gather treasures 
 far exceeding those of the angels and saints, obtain 
 for us the grace that we, too, may employ our time in 
 laboring for our salvation ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God ! 
 
 A dying father once said to his son: *' If you wish 
 to become rich, you must, in the first place, pay your 
 debts, and, secondly, not contract new ones." The 
 advice was certainly good. 
 
 Many a person, entering upon business, borrows 
 money, and begins on such a grand scale that he is 
 obliged to contract very heavy debts. Now^ instead 
 of determining to pay these debts, he imprudently en- 
 ters Into new speculations; falls, and, in the end, is 
 poorer than he was when he began. 
 
 The same may be said with regard to the affair of 
 our salvation. It Is necessary first to pay our debts. 
 What these debts are, is shown by the words of the 
 Lord's prayer: ** Forgive us our trespasses." They 
 are our sins and imperfections. 
 
lOO FEAST OF NEW YEAR's EVE. 
 
 What a solemn admonition, if we are earnestly striv- 
 ing to become rich for heaven ! And why ? Because 
 mortal sin deprives us of all the merit we have gained 
 for heaven by our good thoughts, words, desires and 
 actions. For all the treasures which you might have 
 gathered for heaven, by countless good thoughts, 
 words and works, — by prayer, confession, communion 
 and alms-deeds, during thirty or even seventy years 
 of life, — all would be lost, if in the course of this year 
 you have committed one mortal sin, and, as our Lord 
 assures us by Ezechiel, all your merits would thence- 
 forth be canceled. 
 
 And still more terrible is the thought, that all the 
 good works performed in a state of mortal sin, — be 
 they what they will — even the building of hospitals 
 and churches throughout the world, — are not merito- 
 rious of eternal life. 
 
 Ascetic writers justly compare such works to the 
 apples growing on the shore of the Dead Sea, which, 
 to the eye, seem rosy and ripe, but to the tongue 
 yield only dust and ashes. 
 
 To what expressions should we give utterance, and 
 how bitterly bewail the fact, that so many commit mor- 
 tal sins even in their youth, and continue for years to 
 sin and confess, to confess and sin, to lose one grace 
 after the other, and, as it were, from day to day to 
 increase their guilt in the sight of God ! 
 
 Sinner, here present, what does you conscience say 
 to this? With what reason, perhaps, you will have to 
 exclaim: What must I do to pay these debts? I an- 
 
SECOND SERMON. lOI 
 
 swer you : Go to confession, make known your guilt 
 to the representative of Christ, repent, and redeem 
 the lost time by works of penance. 
 
 This, however, is not meant for mortal sins only ; 
 the little concern with which we commit venial sins 
 make us heedless of time, deprives us of its benefits, 
 and endangers our salvation. 
 
 Venial sin certainly does not, like mortal sin, deprive 
 us of the merit which we have acquired by the perform- 
 ance of good works ; but it tarnishes the soul. These 
 deliberate venial sins, besides, do not only hinder the 
 flow of God's graces ; but also lessen in us the desire 
 of profiting by those we receive, and thus they will 
 gradually lead us into that state of indifference of 
 which Christ speaks in this threatening manner: '' But 
 because thou art lukewarm, ... I will begin to 
 vomit thee out of my mouth." 
 
 Therefore examine yourself also in this respect at 
 the close of the year. Although you may not have 
 offended God by mortal sin, still think how many 
 venial sins you may have committed! of how many 
 imperfections you stand accused! To you, also, the 
 warning cry is directed: Redeem the lost time by 
 confession and entire reconciliation with God. Begin 
 a new life, examine your conscience with still greater 
 care, and make good use of your time. 
 
 Your fidelity in this resolution may serve to in- 
 demnify you for the loss of the precious gems won 
 by your good works, by giving you the jewels of 
 a sincere repentance. The meaning of thi§ is ex- 
 
102 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S EVE. 
 
 plained by a particular instance in the life of St. Ger- 
 trude. 
 
 Gertrude was once favored with a vision. A soul 
 appeared to her, arrayed in a splendid garment. In 
 numerous places this garment had been torn from top 
 to bottom, but the rents were bordered with the most 
 precious pearls. Gertrude inquired of the soul the 
 meaning of these countless rents and their peculiar 
 embroidery. The soul replied: Gertrude, the many 
 rents you behold in this garment, are the mortal sins 
 which I committed during my life, and with which I 
 thus marred the beauty of my baptismal robe. The 
 many pearls which you see, are the tears shed for 
 them In sincere repentance. 
 
 O sinner, profit by this reply ; redeem the lost time 
 by works of penance ! Yea, more ; redeem it, as the 
 saints have done, by showing the greatest solicitude 
 in the use of the present time still your own. 
 
 And in what did the zeal of the saints for the ad- 
 vantageous employment of their time consist? The 
 saints fully understood the great value of time in its 
 relations to eternity ; they knew that the proper use 
 of time was the only means of acquiring new merit, 
 and of increasing the merit already gained. Time Is 
 a gift which the saints, even in their blessedness, do, 
 as it were, begrudge us. To gain one minute's time 
 every saint would leave heaven ; as St. Teresa, ap- 
 pearing in a vision, once said to one of her spiritual 
 daughters : If you but knew the value of time ! I 
 would gladly leave heaven for the short time neces- 
 
SECOND SERMON. IO3 
 
 sary to say one Hail Mary, and would then be willing 
 to remain in purgatory till the end of the world, thereby 
 to increase my eternal glory. 
 
 Thoroughly understanding the value of time, you 
 must count the minutes to save the hours ; and not 
 be so foolish as to spend time frivolously, to lose it, 
 or to waste it in idleness. No eagle soars so swiftly, 
 no storm sweeps along so rapidly, as time speeds on, 
 never more to return. 
 
 It is therefore necessary to guard your tongue, and 
 so to regulate your intercourse with others as to leave 
 sufficient time for prayer and the practice of good 
 works, constantly striving to follow the example of the 
 saints. 
 
 The saints made use of their time, also, by heark- 
 ening to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, in order 
 to profit by them, and to gain merit especially by the 
 faithful accomplishment of the duties of their state, in 
 accordance with the rules of a well-regulated life. If 
 you have the duties of every-day carefully marked 
 out, and perform them faithfully, you will not suffer 
 any loss of time. Endeavor to do this in the coming 
 year. 
 
 But the saints turned time to account, especially by 
 their earnestness in embracing every opportunity of 
 practising virtue, and performing good works, and by 
 their zeal in seeking such opportunities. This caused 
 them to become so rich in merits. Follow their exam- 
 ple in the coming year, and it will prove a year of the 
 greatest merit. 
 
I04 FEAST OF NEW YEARS EVE. 
 
 By these means secure the future time, as the saints 
 have done, reflecting upon death and eternity. What 
 can better prove the value of time, or confirm your 
 resolution of employing it well, than the thought of 
 the last breath we shall draw when stretched on the 
 bed of death ? What will be your last wish ? Certainly 
 no other than this : Had I but employed my time as 
 profitably as the saints have done ! 
 
 Consider frequently what our feelings will be in 
 eternity, when we look back upon the time that was 
 given us on earth in which to gain merits; and what 
 sufferings the reprobates of hell would willingly en- 
 dure for half an eternity, if they could but redeem 
 one minute's time to make an act of perfect contri- 
 tion. But then it will be too late; now we still have 
 time. 
 
 Therefore I exhort you again : Redeem the lost 
 time, make good use of the present, and secure the 
 future ; atid this New Year's Eve will be succeeded 
 by the dawn of a new life for you — a life of virtue. — 
 Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. IO5 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "The former things have passed away." — Apoc, 21. 
 
 THE last evening of the year ! What an important, 
 solemn evening in its relation to the affair of 
 our salvation, which knows no evening, but endures 
 
 through eternal years! 
 
 If this end of our creation, our eternal happiness, 
 has been attained, all is well, all is saved; but if this 
 is not reached, all is confusion, all is lost. 
 
 How solemnly the close of the year recalls this 
 truth, forcibly telling us of the swift flight of the time 
 in which we are to secure our salvation. Now or 
 never ; and this now is so brief, so uncertain, so fleet- 
 ing ! 
 
 How quickly a year glides by, and how few years 
 we count in a life-time ! 
 
 At the same time the departing year strongly re- 
 minds us of the disposition of our hearts necessary in 
 order that we may work effectually with regard to our 
 salvation ; it points out to us those truths, those 
 thoughts and convictions which aid us most powerfully 
 in strengthening in us the desire to accomplish the 
 holy will of God in all things ; finally, it tells us to 
 make use of all that God has created, or that may be- 
 fall us, as a means to prove our love towards God. 
 
 The parting year loudly proclaims that all that 
 which is earthly, shall pass aivay, — that 07ily what is 
 eternal, is of value. 
 
I06 FEAST OF NEW YEAr'>S EVE. 
 
 Mary, whom the Church calls the wisest of vir- 
 gins, whose life was spent in laboring for a blissful 
 eternity, obtain for us, as the fruit of this hour's de- 
 votion, thy great earnestness, that we may begin to 
 work seriously for our salvation, and continue in this 
 zeal until the close of our mortal career! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 honor of God! 
 
 ** All is well that ends well," an old proverb tells us, 
 and facts grove the truth of the saying. The question 
 is not, whether we have gained or lost this year, or, 
 if there have been gains, whether these were large or 
 small, but the whole inquiry is about the present state 
 of our fortune. In other words, our temporal pros- 
 perity does not so much depend on the happy begin- 
 ning of the year as on its successful close. 
 
 Perchance, you were in needy circumstances at the 
 beginning of the year, and during it you have inher- 
 ited an amount of property, so that to-night, at its 
 close, you have an abundance of wealth. It has 
 proved a successful year for you. 
 
 At the commencement of the year you were with- 
 out employment ; but you have obtained a position 
 which will enable you to provide for yourself and your 
 family for life. It has been a happy year for you. 
 
 You were in poor health -when the year began, but 
 you met with an able physician, and recovered en- 
 tirely. You are in better health now than ever before. 
 
THIRD ^SERMON. \OJ 
 
 This year has been a fortunate one in regard to your 
 temporal welfare. 
 
 Viewed from the opposite side, this truth still re- 
 mains : For what will it avail you, if you began the 
 year in opulence, and if you are now in reduced cir- 
 cumstances, if various misfortunes have deprived you 
 of your possessions ? You held a lucrative position, 
 but are at present without employment. You were 
 in excellent health, and in the course of the year a 
 chronic disease made its presence in you known. And, 
 therefore, as far as your well being on earth is con- 
 cerned, this year has not been a happy one. 
 
 This consideration, and the conclusion we have 
 drawn, will be of immeasurably greater importance 
 when we reflect upon the end and aim of man, his re- 
 lation to God and to eternity ; and when we think of 
 the great and only necessary affair of our salvation. 
 If, then, at the ' close of the year I were to put this 
 question to you : What are your feelings with regard 
 to this truth ? Does it impress you more deeply to- 
 night than at the beginning of the year ? And does it 
 exert a greater influence upon your life of virtue ? 
 
 Man is in this world that he may know, love, and 
 serve God, and thereby render himself happy forever. 
 
 The proof we have that this truth is not only not 
 beyond the grasp of our understanding, but that it 
 moreover pervades and influences our whole being, is 
 made manifest according to a remark of St. Ignatius 
 in his spiritual exercises, by a four-fold disposition of 
 our will. For it is owing to the state of the will that 
 
I08 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's EVE. 
 
 man has the power sincerely to acknowledge that 
 riches or poverty, honor or contempt, health or sick- 
 ness, a short life or a long one, are no longer a mat- 
 ter of desire, provided he can serve God, know His 
 will, and accomplish it as perfectly as possible. 
 
 And what thought, what motive is it that determines 
 ?ind strengthens us in our resolutions to serve God, 
 and to overcome every obstacle that opposes us 
 herein ? It is the constant meditation upon that great 
 truth, of which the parting year so forcibly reminds 
 us, namely: All that is earthly will pass away, and 
 nothing is of real value except the treasures which 
 we lay up for heaven, and which endure for all eternity. 
 
 No doubt our salvation absolutely requires that 
 disposition of heart and will which enables man to 
 will and desire nothing but the accomplishment of the 
 holy will of God and His glorification, no matter 
 whether it be in riches or poverty, in honor or con- 
 tempt, in health or sickness, in long life or in short 
 life. 
 
 Satan, the world, and the flesh act in direct opposi- 
 tion to this, and seek to destroy this equanimity by 
 an inordinate longing to become rich and honored, 
 and to live as long as possible in the enjoyment of 
 earthly pleasure. 
 
 There are numerous reasons which may serve to 
 convince man that the possession of earthly goods is 
 insufficient to satisfy the human heart, formed and 
 fashioned for God. 
 
 But there is one particular circumstance which 
 
THIRD SERMON. IO9 
 
 points out to US the folly and vanity of seeking con- 
 tentment in the enjoyment of temporal goods ; and 
 this is the recollection which the present evening 
 awakens within us, that all things earthly pass away, 
 and pass, oh, how quickly ! 
 
 Can you deny it? 
 
 How many have died during the course of this 
 year ! They were rich, exceedingly rich — ten times, 
 a hundred times richer than you. They labored suc- 
 cessfully for increase of wealth, and, perhaps, risked 
 their health, and even their lives, in its acquirement; 
 and now they are gone into eternity. 
 
 They have not taken a single farthing to the other 
 world. What must their feelings have been in the 
 hour of death? They surely thought: O mammon! 
 you are not deserving of the care and the hard labor 
 I had on your account. I shortened my life for you ; 
 but I must leave all. There is nothing that I can take 
 with me, save the good works which I have performed 
 for the love of God ; these only will accompany me, 
 and endure forever. Oh that I had been more anx- 
 ious during my life to gather treasures for heaven by 
 deeds of virtue ! 
 
 Honored or despised, we should say, when there is 
 question of serving our Lord, it is immaterial to me, 
 if I but glorify God. Many reasons there are which 
 go to prove how insignificant and defective all the 
 honor is which may be conferred upon man, but noth- 
 ing proves this more clearly or more forcibly than the 
 parting year. Past and gone! 
 
I lO FEAST OF NEW YEAR S EVE. 
 
 Kings may have been deprived of their thrones dur- 
 ing the year, and others who were honored are now 
 disgraced and ignored. 
 
 There will be a time when all earthly distinction and 
 renown will vanish like smoke. Gone ! Honor, no 
 you are not worth my seeking; for what would it 
 avail me to have reached the height of fame, if in 
 eternity I would be compelled to suffer the ignominy 
 of the reprobate ? 
 
 Health or infirmity, a long or a short life, I am in- 
 different to all provided I be saved. Such should be 
 our sentiments. 
 
 There are many motives to urge us thus to dispose 
 our hearts, but perhaps the most powerful of them all 
 is the one of which the dying year reminds us. The 
 time will come for your final illness ; and the time of 
 death will come, and perhaps very soon, to put an 
 end to all things earthly. 
 
 Hearken in spirit to the words of the angel of time, 
 as they resound this evening among the tombs of the 
 dead: Gone — -fo7^ever.gone ! 
 
 God grant that not only this last evening of the 
 year but every evening may bring to our minds what 
 I have just said, and no doubt our will to serve God 
 will then be strengthened, and during the course of 
 the coming year, and all successive years, we will live 
 in such a manner as constantly to increase our mer- 
 its for eternal life. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF NEW YEAR'S DAY. 
 
 I 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 " Behold, I make all things new." — Apoc. 
 
 N the Book of Time another leaf has been turned, 
 
 and a new page Hes open before us. Who is there 
 that would not desire this year to become for him a 
 happy and a blessed one, not only in temporal mat- 
 ters, but also in the weightier affairs of the soul ? In- 
 deed, so universal is this wish, and so deeply implanted 
 in the human heart, that it has given rise to the beau- 
 tiful custom of friends wishing one another peace and 
 happiness during the year which is just dawning upon 
 the world. The general mode of greeting at this fes- 
 tive season runs something like this : 
 
 *'/ wish you a happy new yem^, — health, prosperity, 
 long life, and all that your heart desires.'' 
 
 I am not, in general, my friends, opposed to these 
 expressions of good will ; l^ut I regret that they mani- 
 festly relate only to the temporal welfare of our neigh- 
 bor. We may, and even should, wish his temporal 
 affairs to prosper, in so far as the possession of this 
 world's goods can serve as a means of pleasing God; 
 but how much more earnestly should true fraternal 
 charity urge and dispose us to express our heartfelt 
 wishes for the welfare of his soul, for his rapid prog- 
 
 cm) 
 
T 1 2 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. , 
 
 ress in the great affair of salvation, and his advance 
 in the way of Christian perfection ? 
 
 To bring it more forcibly home to us, and to place 
 before our eyes in the clearest manner the nature of 
 what our New Year's wishes should be, we need only 
 apply the same words of congratulation to the spirit- 
 ual life, and hence I say : Upon this joyous festive 
 day, which ushers in the dawning of another year, I 
 wish to one and all spiritual health and welfare, a rich 
 store of good, meritorious actions, length of days, and 
 every thing that your hearts can wish for, or rather 
 what I would desire for myself in the order of progress 
 on the way of salvation. 
 
 Mary, may my wish be accomplished, during the 
 course of the present year, in every one assembled 
 here ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 "A happy New Year, and may you enjoy good 
 health till its close." There is every reason to ex- 
 press this wish, for health is a most precious boon ; 
 and is more necessary to the enjoyment of life, from 
 a worldly point of view, than any other temporal bless- 
 ing. What avail riches or honors if health be wanting 
 to their possessor; for, though all the dignities and 
 honors that man can acquire were placed at one's 
 disposal, they could afford the recipient no pleasure 
 if he were obliged to be weary and ill on a bed of 
 
FIRST SERMON. I 1 3 
 
 pain. In a still greater degree does the tradesman, 
 upon whose daily toil depends his daily bread, feel the 
 importance of health ; for, were he to fall ill, he must 
 see his wife and little ones want for food. 
 
 But if this be so in regard to our corporal health, so 
 much the more forcibly does it apply to the welfare of 
 our souls — to our spiritual health. And this depends 
 on the state of sanctifying grace, and on the efficacy 
 of actual grace, for he who is not in the state of sanc- 
 tifying grace is spiritually dead ; in the sight of God 
 he is a corpse. 
 
 O Christians, how many walk the earth, even those 
 who have received the gift of faith, and yet their souls 
 are dead within them ! This is especially so in large 
 cities, which, in many instances, might well be called 
 spiritual grave-yards. And among those assembled 
 here to-day, are there not many whose souls are laden 
 with the heavy weight of mortal sin, who suffer from 
 hour to hour the gnawing pain of the worm which 
 never dies — remorse — who, before God, are spiritu- 
 ally dead ? To such, my New Year's wish may easily 
 be divined. 
 
 Sinners, I wish you, from my inmost heart, a sincere 
 return to God, perfect reconciliation with him in the 
 sacrament of penance, and the grace of perseverance. 
 To you I will not wish temporal prosperity, for it 
 would bring no blessing, but rather afford new oppor- 
 tunities for you to go on in your sinful career, to offend 
 your Creator so deeply until the curse of the damned 
 would most certainly fall upon your miserable souls; 
 
I 1 4 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 for, according to St. Augustine: ''There is no surer 
 sign of eternal reprobation than the temporal pros- 
 perity of the sinner." 
 
 But if you are in the state of grace, and striving to 
 walk in the way of the Lord, then, beloved in Christ, 
 I wish you perfect spiritual health. The maladies to 
 which our souls are subjected are produced by the in- 
 ward tumult of the various passions to which we yield, 
 for sin creates the keenest sufferings. St. Ambrose 
 knew this well when he exclaimed: ''Man, thy fever 
 is pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, 
 sloth ; and although we may not be deprived of the 
 life of the soul — sanctifying grace — having committed 
 no mortal sin, nevertheless it will be very much weak- 
 ened by the venial sins and imperfections which we 
 commit." They injure the health of the soul, and a 
 spiritual languor is the inevitable result. 
 
 Some among you, in the course of the departed 
 year, may have given way to vanity and pride. It 
 has colored almost all your words and deeds, and 
 self-love has kept your interior in a constant state 
 of tumult and agitation ; therefore my New Year's 
 wish for you is an entire recovery, namely, the acqui- 
 sition of a very humble heart. 
 
 You have been, during the year now passed away, 
 suffering from spiritual indisposition. Avarice — the 
 greed of gold — has affected your souls, and money 
 seems to be the object of all your love. I wish you, 
 for the New Year, a speedy recovery from this dan- 
 gerous malady^hearts entirely free from all disor- 
 
FIRST SERMON. II5 
 
 derly desires after the possessions and treasures of 
 this world. 
 
 You have, within the past year, suffered from some 
 spiritual malady which, it may be, was an undue irri- 
 tability and sensitiveness, which produced a constant 
 fever of anger and impatience. I wish you, for the 
 New Year, a perfect recovery, and the grace of an 
 unalterably forbearing disposition of heart. May you 
 strive to become like Jesus-^ — "qieek and lowly of 
 heart." 
 
 You have been weak and ill in the past year, — 
 weak and troubled in spirit; for the fever of envy 
 burned in your veins, and took possession of your 
 hearts. My wish to you, O envious souls, is that 
 you may fully recover from your malady, and that a 
 new heart may be given to each of you — an affec- 
 tionate, a loving, a generous heart. 
 
 Many among you may have, perhaps, welcomed the 
 coming, and witnessed the departing, of many years, 
 during all of which you have been miserable victims 
 to the ills of drunkenness and gluttony, which have 
 tormented your soul and body. My wish to you Is, 
 that you give up these degrading vices, and rejoice In 
 the renewal of spiritual health. 
 
 And you, sinners, whose favorite passion Is impurity, 
 It may be that until now you have suffered constantly 
 from this dreadful spiritual malady. You — but I for- 
 get — this malady, this fearful vice, not only weakens, 
 but it kills the life of the soul. Yes, every time you 
 consent — in thought, desire, word, or deed — to this 
 
Il6 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's DAY. 
 
 sin, you inflict a mortal wolind on your poor soul, until 
 finally you carry it dead within you. Most earnestly 
 do I wish you, therefore, an abiding, an utter abhor- 
 rence for this vice — a wish which is most especially 
 addressed to the youth assembled here. Young men 
 and young women, would you, during the coming year, 
 enjoy perfect spiritual health, and live for God? Oh, 
 then, resolve nevermore to be alone with persons of 
 the other sex. 
 
 Say not: *' I commit no sin." To remain volunta- 
 rily in the occasion bf sin is a great sin in itself; and 
 even though you feel no temptation yourself, you know 
 not how it is with your companion of the hour. 
 
 You may have been, throughout the year, tepid in 
 prayer, wanting in devotion, negligent in attending 
 church, in reading spiritual books, in practising the 
 spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and all this 
 has brought on the dreadful malady of sloth. My 
 earnest wish to all who are thus afflicted is, may you 
 recover entirely from that slow but dangerous fever 
 which has enervated all your faculties, and arise to a 
 new life, which will be marked by the ardent zeal of 
 the saint whose name you bear. 
 
 And even as our corporal health is not only con- 
 nected with the interior, but also with every sense of 
 the body, so does my congratulatory wish to-day re- 
 fer spiritually to them. For instance, I wish you per- 
 fect sight. There are numberless Christians who, in 
 a spiritual sense, possess defective vision. They are 
 short-sighted ; or, looking askance at the duties with 
 
FIRST SERMON. II7 
 
 which they are bound to comply, pass them by. There 
 are even those who are bHnd, because they do not wish 
 to see. May God preserve you all from this affliction, 
 and keep you from deliberate blindness in matters of 
 salvation. May He, by His holy grace, enable you to 
 see, "with vision bright and clear," the vanity of the 
 world, the frightful malice of sin, the beauty of virtue, 
 the value of time, and all that God wishes and requires 
 of you. May you be delivered from the short-sighted- 
 ness of the children of this world in matters of salva- 
 tion. And in regard to the eyes of the body, may God 
 preserve you all from undue curiosity of the eyes, for 
 they are the gates through which the tempter enters ; 
 therefore guard them well. 
 
 I wish you all perfect hearing. In previous years, 
 you may have opened your ears to listen to worldly and 
 sinful conversation which went on around you. Try 
 to undo the error now, and close them fast against 
 the suggestions and temptations of the world. On 
 the other hand, I wish you acute spiritual hearing, 
 that you may clearly and at once perceive the most 
 delicate inspirations of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 At the same time, I wish the most acute spiritual 
 sense of smell to you all, that the faintest breath of 
 sin may prove so offensive to you that you will be far 
 removed from the danger of falling into any grievous 
 offense. Also may the sweet odor of virtue attract 
 you so irresistibly that nothing will seem sweet or 
 refreshing to you except what is pleasing to Jesus. 
 
 I wish you, in fine, a good and discerning spiritual 
 
I 1 8 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's DAY. 
 
 taste, and spiritual health in perfection, that you may- 
 be able to bear, with heroic patience and conformity to 
 the will of God, all injuries, adversities, and sufferings. 
 
 How few there are, even among Christians, who re- 
 main cheerful and happy when God favors them with 
 troubles and afflictions. Try, then, beloved in Christ, 
 to be among those blessed souls who accepjt every 
 thing as coming from the hand of God. 
 
 The usual wish, at the beginning of the year, goes 
 on thus: ''Happiness, length of days, and all that 
 your heart can wish." As to happiness, it depends 
 upon the fulfillment and avoidance of what I have 
 spoken to you to-day; but, in regard to length of 
 days, that depends on the manner in which we em- 
 ploy each moment of time, and embrace each oppor- 
 tunity of doing good. Holy Scripture says: ''True 
 virtue confers an age venerable with years." I wish 
 you a year filled with merits for life eternal, so that 
 not even one minute of it will be lost. Oh, what an 
 enviable, happy year would not that be ! 
 
 The conclusion of the greeting is : "And all that 
 your heart can wish." What that, is I know not, but 
 I will speak for myself, and say: " What /wish for 
 I know, and I include you all in it. It is nothing less 
 than, here below, the life of a saint; and, there above, 
 communion with the blessed forever." This, beloved 
 in the Lord Jesus, is my wish and greeting for New 
 Year, in the unction and power of that most sweet 
 name, Jesus. Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. II9 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "We are absent from the Lord." — 2 Cor. v, 6. 
 
 THE swiftly flying hours have come and gone, and 
 another year has forever vanished into the dim 
 and shadowy past, while with faltering steps we enter 
 upon a period of time which will bring for us — we know 
 not what. 
 
 Yes, the years come and pass; and not only that, 
 but we pass with them ; for we have not been created 
 for this world. ''We have not here a lasting city," 
 but our destination is a happy abode in heaven. In 
 other words, we are not at home, but on our way 
 thereto, and our life is a pilgrimage, of which the 
 words of the Apostle, which I have chosen for my text 
 to-day, can not fail to remind us. 
 
 Every thing depends solely on this : whether we are 
 truly on the way to salvation, and perform our parts 
 in every way to insure a happy termination of this pil- 
 grimage to eternity. 
 
 In order to understand clearly the individual condi- 
 tions with which we have to comply, to bring about 
 the above so-much-to-be-desired result, we need only 
 think what preparations a traveler makes before ven- 
 turing upon a long and dangerous journey. 
 
 hi this regard, generally speaking, to i?isiire a pros- 
 perous journey tJiere are tJiree essentials, tJie first of 
 which is stability of purpose. Whoever i7i tends setting 
 out upon a journey must begin with decision^ go vigor- 
 
1 20 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 ously forward, and remove all obstacles which starid in 
 the way of his desired aim. 
 
 Mary, unto thy patronage we fly ; bless us, thy 
 children, especially to-day at the beginning of the 
 year, that, with unwavering zeal, we may tread the path 
 of virtue pointed out to us by thy example, O queen 
 of heaven ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 In order to arrive safely at the termination of the 
 pilgrimage of life, and reach the goal for which we* 
 strive — the joy of heaven — we must imitate the course 
 of the careful traveler who, when about to set out on 
 an earthly pilgrimage, leaves nothing undone that he 
 may arrive securely where he wishes to go. The req- 
 uisite precautions are in general three : first, he must 
 be thoroughly in earnest. This disposition is the more 
 necessary the more dangerous the journey is found 
 to be, and the greater length of time it is expected to 
 last. How essential, therefore, is it not in our pilgrim- 
 age to the eternal shore ! How much depends upon 
 its possession! 
 
 It implies a firm resolution to follow Christ, and to 
 secure a place on the road by which he went before 
 us. In other words, it is that firm will, which angelic 
 spirits wished to men of good will at the birth of our 
 Redeemer : ** Peace on earth to men of good will." 
 
 The journey is long, for it lasts until the very latest 
 
SECOND SERMON. 12 1 
 
 breath we draw. It is wearisome, and every step is 
 fraught with perils ; therefore the urgent necessity 
 for firmness and a determination to resist every temp- 
 tation to loiter along the broad and pleasant path 
 which will take us far from our eternal destination. 
 But, alas ! such dispositions are to be found among the 
 smallest number, even of those who are of '' the house- 
 hold of the faith," and all are not generous enough to 
 say, and to act upon the declaration: "Cost what it 
 may, I will save my soul." How many there are, 
 even of those whose silvery locks and faltering steps 
 show that their end is nigh, who could not with truth 
 point to one year in their lives which they have en- 
 tered upon with a resolution to amend, so firm, that 
 they have never once faltered therein ! who have 
 said, and fulfilled the promise: "I will strive to do' 
 better during the coming year ; to come daily and 
 hourly nearer heaven ; to increase my store of merits 
 for that glorious place. I will therefore make constant 
 use of all those means which God has left with His 
 Church ; I will lead a life for Him, even though it cost 
 me my dearest earthly joys." 
 
 The careful traveler is, above all, mindful to learn 
 every particular in regard to the road which he pro- 
 poses to take, so that he may more speedily and more 
 safely arrive at his journey's end. 
 
 Let us thank God that we are children of His holy 
 Church, which, in the most explicit manner, tells us all 
 we wish to know. Yes ; she informs us by her holy 
 faith, which brilliantly illuminates the way to heaven, 
 
122 FEAST OF NEW YEARS DAY. 
 
 that none can fail to find the path, or to remain in 
 ignorance of what is essential to know, in order to 
 fulfill the holy will of God. 
 
 The traveler is always concerned as to the enjoy- 
 ment and happiness which will be his when his desti- 
 nation has been happily reached, and gives frequent 
 thought to the trouble he would experience should he 
 fail to reach it at all. This shows how essential it is 
 that the pilgrim, who aims at heaven, should, at the 
 recurrence of every year, consider with deep atten- 
 tion how he can live on earth so as to increase his 
 bliss in heaven, and dwell forever amid its celestial joys. 
 
 How the generality of Christians can give so little 
 thought to this, is indeed a mystery. They think more 
 of the worldly goods, honors, and pleasures which they 
 may gain in the course of the year than of heaven, one 
 joy of which by far outweighs them all. 
 
 Thus they are but too often not in earnest in their 
 resolution to begin a life which would lead them nearer 
 to heaven, but are content to live as every-day Chris- 
 tians, advancing no further in the fervent love of God. 
 
 The second condition necessary for arriving safely 
 at a desired destination is health ; therefore, whoever 
 intends setting out on a journey must take ^11 possi- 
 ble care not to fall ill. This indicates an essential req- 
 uisite for a happy pilgrimage to isternity ; which is, 
 that he who is traveling thither must preserve his soul 
 in the state of sanctifying grace — the principle of the 
 supernatural life of the soul. 
 
 Every mortal sin which man is so unfortunate as to 
 
SECOND SERMON. I 23 
 
 commit withdraws this principle of spiritual life from 
 him ; therefore, beloved in the Lord Jesus, if this day 
 finds you in the state of mortal sin, cleanse your souls 
 therefrom by a good, a sincere, and contrite confes- 
 sion, that, with the beginning of the year, the grace of 
 God may enable you to do all things. But merely to 
 live is not enough for the happy ending of a long and 
 perilous journey, especially if it be made on foot, which, 
 indeed, is the most fitting way for the pilgrim, and typ- 
 ifies the course of the wanderer whose goal is heaven, 
 and who must proceed step by step alone, depends on 
 health. 
 
 Health being essential for a safe and pleasant earthly 
 journey, theapplicatk)n, in a spiritual sense, is this: we 
 must not, and dare not, feel spiritually weak and ill, but 
 strong and resolute, courageous and hopeful, and in 
 these dispositions grasp firmly the staff of the path of 
 salvation, never looking back, but, with unshaken 
 determination, striving to advance daily in the way 
 marked out by Christ. 
 
 It is also necessary to provide, in time, for all that 
 will be needed on a journey, to guard, by this means, 
 against any delay on the road. And this also has its 
 application in a spiritual sense. At the beginning of 
 the year, therefore, it is well to make firm resolutions 
 to employ its every moment in promoting the great 
 affair of our salvation, not losing any precious time. 
 That we may be able to do this : 
 
 Let us examine ourselves with the utmost diligence 
 as to what may have caused us to fritter away so many 
 
1 24 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 golden moments In the past. Was it by undue anxi- 
 ety as to temporal affairs? by unprofitable or even in- 
 jurious companionship? by idleness or some other 
 cause equally hurtful to spirituality? Oh, what a 
 bright era in our heavenward way might not this new 
 year become, if, as its days roll on and pass away, 
 we would not, through any fault of ours, lose one single 
 moment of its precious time! To aid us in this, we 
 should, at the beginning of every day, make an inten- 
 tion to do every thing for the love of God, and fre- 
 quently renew our resolution to fail in nothing which 
 He requires of us, fulfilling in the most perfect manner 
 possible all the duties of our state. 
 
 Yet, beloved in Christ, we must not be content with 
 this, for, whoever wishes to reach the loftier heights 
 of virtue will zealously use every opportunity, and 
 even search for such, to practise acts of Christian he- 
 roism in working for the salvation of souls. We must 
 be fervent in prayer, in hearing Mass, in the practice 
 of spiritual reading, and the frequent reception of the 
 Sacraments. The more use we make of these means 
 of grace during the present year, the more rapidly we 
 shall proceed on our heavenward way, and the sweet- 
 er joy will constantly animate our hearts. 
 
 Happy he who thus proceeds on his pilgrimage to 
 heaven. He feels no weariness of spirit, but, on the 
 contrary, may cry out with holy David: "I have run 
 in the way of thy commandments when thou didst en- 
 large my heart." 
 
 The third condition necessary for a successful jour- 
 
SECOND SERMON. I 25 
 
 ney is final pe7^severance, which is the reward of cour- 
 age and fidelity in the resolution to conquer all diffi- 
 culties, impediments, and dangers. 
 
 In regard to the way of salvation, there is but one 
 impediment, and that is sin ; for, whatever others may 
 exist, true love of the cross will not only overcome 
 them all, but transform them into means by which the 
 goal is more speedily reached. All sin, even the 
 slightest, is, and will ever be, an impediment, and is 
 so conducive to everlasting destruction that, by listen- 
 ing but once to the tempter's voice, we often entirely 
 deviate from the way to heaven, or at least retrograde 
 sadly thereon. 
 
 The cautious traveler looks not only before, but all 
 around him, in every direction to avoid falling into any 
 danger which may lurk unseen ; and the Christian must, 
 in a spiritual point of view, do the same, that he may 
 guard against all those temptations which lie in wait 
 to wreck his soul. 
 
 Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, as pilgrims jour- 
 neying to a heavenly land, make good use of these rules 
 which I have laid before you, during the year of which 
 you have been permitted to see the beginning, and 
 apply them also during each succeeding year that God 
 in his mercy permits you to behold. Do so with ever- 
 increasing zeal, with aspirations constantly directed 
 towards heaven ; then you shall undoubtedly, through 
 the assistance of the Most High, arrive at the longed- 
 for termination of your pilgrimage, the true home of 
 the just — heaven ! Amen ! 
 
126 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's DAY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **I am the Light of the world." — John viii, 12. 
 
 BEHOLD the first day which the sun, this year, illu- 
 minates! How noble and sublime is this mag- 
 nificent wonder of nature ! What untold blessings it 
 diffuses as it pursues its daily course, by which v^e 
 compute the days, weeks, months, and years of our 
 life! Sending its rays forth over the visible world — 
 the firmament and the earth on which we live — the 
 sun imparts growth, fruitfulness, and color to all upon 
 which they fall. Can we imagine what would become 
 of us were the sun to rise no more ? What lamenta- 
 tions would be heard on every side at the overwhelm- 
 ing magnitude of the calamity; what wretchedness, 
 what despair would seize upon mankind at the entire 
 overthrow of all terrestrial prosperity! 
 
 What the sun is for our earthly life, for its constant 
 welfare, that is Christ for the life of the Christian, in the 
 creation of grace. He diffuses light, life, consolation, 
 and blessings. Without Him all is darkness and de- 
 cay; there is corruption and disease of the soul, hard- 
 ness of heart, and, at last, spiritual death. The Church 
 calls Christ the *'Sun of justice ; " He styles himself 
 the " Light of the world ; " and this will decide to-day 
 the subject of my meditation on the feast, and indicate 
 at the same time my heartfelt congratulations to you 
 all for New Year's day. I would also request your 
 
THIRD SERMON. I 27 
 
 particular attention to this sermon, because it is the 
 first one of the year. 
 
 May Christ, throughout its course, as the Sun of 
 justice, diffuse for every oiu of us i7i a spiritual relation 
 all the blessings which the sun in the order of fiature 
 will produce on eanth ; then the new year will be for 
 all a source of grace, and each of its days will bring 
 us nearer heaven, 
 
 Mary, Aurora of that day whose sun is Christ, 
 Mother of Him who is called the Light of the world, 
 obtain for us the grace to lay up rich treasures of merit 
 for heaven during the year which we have just entered 
 upon ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God ! 
 
 The sun distributes light. This is his essential char- 
 acter. He is the star of the day — he it is who causes 
 day to be day. By his light, which so radiantly beams 
 forth, we behold the things around us, know them, esti- 
 mate them at their true value, and apply them for our 
 own use and benefit. The light of the sun is particu- 
 larly necessary during a journey, to point out and en- 
 lighten the way, that we may safely walk therein. It 
 is precisely the same for us in the kingdom of truth, 
 in regard to the work of salvation, with Christ, the Sun 
 of the spiritual world, through whom beams forth the 
 true knowledge of God, and our relation to Him as our 
 last aim and end. 
 
128 FEAST OF NEW YEAR's DAY. 
 
 Without Christ there can be no true knowledge of 
 God, of ourselves, or of the road we must take if we 
 desire to serve God, if we are resolved to do His holy 
 will, and to become forever blessed. Without Christ 
 we could possess no knowledge of what will one day 
 come when, after death, we shall, have entered upon 
 the mystery of eternity. The proof of this is to be 
 found in that gross and blinded heathenism which ex- 
 isted both before and after the birth of the Redeemer ; 
 but still more in that night of gloom which weighs upon 
 the spirits of those faithless Catholics who, false to Christ 
 and His Church, turn away entirely from His vivifying 
 light. A darkness so black and impenetrable enshrouds 
 the spirits of those enemies of God that they go far to- 
 wards denying His existence ; for instead of rejoicing 
 at the glory to which, through Christ, they have been 
 called — that of being a child of God — they degrade 
 themselves to such a depth as not to hesitate to pro- 
 claim their belief that their remote ancestors sprang 
 from a breed of chattering apes. 
 
 And this darkness they call light ! Oh, what blind- 
 ness of spirit exists where Christ is not! On the other 
 hand, what spiritual light and knowledge are through 
 Christ shed over each faithful soul, from the untutored 
 savage in the African or Australian desert to the most 
 highly educated scholar on earth. In consideration of 
 this, St. Peter spoke with perfect justice when, in a 
 spirit of congratulation, he cried out to us: ** You are 
 called into a wonderful light." 
 
 Through his word Christ lifts the vail which is cast 
 
THIRD SERMON. I 29 
 
 over the abyss of eternity of the divine essence and 
 nature, and we confess the triune God in all His glory 
 and majesty. He lifts the vail which hangs over the 
 creation itself, and we are enabled to give an account 
 from the very moment when the world first sprang into 
 existence, called by an almighty power from chaos dark 
 and drear ; we can tell of the creation and fall of man, 
 of his redemption, and of the way of salvation which 
 He has vouchsafed to us. 
 
 He lifts the vail which conceals futurity, and we 
 gaze, in the light of faith with St. John, through the 
 " massy gates " of heaven, in anticipation of that which 
 shall one day come, and we see it, as St. Paul remarks, 
 even now as '' in a dark manner through a glass." For 
 this it is essential that we confess the truths of faith 
 not with the lips only, but ponder on them in spirit, 
 and try to live in accordance with them. 
 
 In this year upon which we have just entered, there- 
 fore, may thorough instruction in the truths of our 
 holy faith, frequent meditation thereon, and loving in- 
 tercourse with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, shed 
 over our souls this light of knowledge which is the gift 
 of holy faith, and cause it to grow daily more and more 
 brilliant in them. 
 
 God said, "Let there be light, and there was light.'* 
 May the word of the Creator also as Redeemer be 
 accomplished in us this year, in order that the all- 
 important affair of our salvation in its own eternal 
 greatness may place itself permanently before our 
 spiritual eyes. 
 
130 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 The sun imparts to objects their natural color, and 
 we all know that things frequently assume quite a dif- 
 ferent hue if they are illuminated by artificial means ; 
 but let them be subjected to the light of the sun, and 
 the delusion will pass away, while the true color will 
 be visible once more. 
 
 It is thus that with dazzled eyes many look upon 
 the things of this world in quite a different light. En- 
 tirely given up to the spirit of the world, it represents 
 every thing to them in the most fascinating light, and 
 invests its joys with magnificent colors, which in real- 
 ity they do not possess; yet such is their power to 
 charm, that even a Solomon might easily be deceived. 
 
 The light of the sun of faith through Christ will 
 banish all delusion ; and, vivified by its warm and 
 genial rays, the Christian will behold in its true light 
 the nothingness of the joys of earth, and will be ready 
 to cry out from the depths of his heart, ''Vanity of 
 vanities!" 
 
 The sun distributes through his light, also, life, 
 growth, and prosperity. If the glorious orb of day 
 would suddenly cease to rise, what would be the con- 
 sequence ? Intense cold, impenetrable darkness, and 
 universal desolation. All thought of seed-time and 
 harvest would be at an end ; there would be no stor- 
 ing up of food ; nor, indeed, would life exist, for death 
 would come upon the world. 
 
 By the vivifying course of the sun the face of the 
 earth is renewed each year. Each germ, each blos- 
 som^ of the coming fruit, as well as its gradual growth 
 
THIRD SERMON. I3I 
 
 and final perfection, owes its existence to the genial 
 heat which the sun pours over the earth. Through it 
 the air is filled with strong and vigorous life for every 
 creature which breathes therein. The light of the sun 
 insures, therefore, in the kingdom of nature, life, fruc- 
 tification, and increase ; and as the sun in the creation 
 of grace, Christ exercises the same influence upon our 
 spiritual nature. "In Him was the Hfe," St. John tes- 
 tifies, ''and the life was the light of man." He it is, 
 as the same St. John again testifies, "who enlightens 
 every man that cometh into the world." 
 
 The fall into sin had weakened within us the life in 
 God in its supernatural relation, but Christ invested 
 us anew with the right to become children of God at 
 the very moment when through Him the life of sanc- 
 tifying grace entered into our souls. He it is also who 
 permits that we in our different states of life comport 
 ourselves as children of God, bear fruit for life eternal, 
 and grow up in His imitation to that standard of vir- 
 tue for which we were sent into the world. 
 
 Christ himself places clearly before our eyes the in- 
 fluence which He would exercise upon our lives in and 
 for God, by the words: "I am the vine, you are the 
 branches ; without me you can do nothing." Do you 
 hear, beloved in Christ ? Nothing, absolutely nothing 
 meritorious for eternal life. But, strengthened in Christ, 
 united with Him, we are all permitted to say with St. 
 Paul, " I can do all through Him who strengthens me." 
 
 This is shown in a most wonderfully clear manner 
 by the lives of the saints, those true children of light. 
 
132 FEAST OF NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 Let US therefore, encouraged by their bright example, 
 endeavor to walk like them in the imitation of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with the new year, and 
 thus arrive at such an intimate union with Him that it 
 will one day be our privilege to exclaim with St. Paul, 
 *' I live, but not myself. ... In me lives Christ." 
 
 The sun affords comfort and solace to man, and as 
 soon as it has sunk behind the western hills the shad- 
 ows of night gather over the earth and envelop it in 
 a garb of somber hue. Trouble which befalls us dur- 
 ing the night, always assumes an additional shade of 
 gloom ; but when morning dawns and the sun sends 
 forth its genial rays, the sorrowing heart is, almost un- 
 consciously, cheered and consoled. 
 
 In a far greater degree is this true of Christ, the 
 Light of the spiritual world, for without Him there 
 can be no solace in the obscure night of the soul, no 
 mitigation of pain in this valley of tears ; but, refreshed 
 through Him, enlightened through His word as to the 
 value of sufferings patiently borne through pure love 
 of God, we are permitted to sigh with St. Paul, in ev- 
 ery affliction, " I overflow with joy in the midst of sor- 
 row." The assertions of the saints in this regard most 
 unequivocally prove this, and the experience of every 
 one who knows and loves Jesus, and is resolved to 
 walk, after Him, the royal way of the cross to heaven, 
 confirms it also. 
 
 And when the sun shall be darkened, and finally dis- 
 appear, what woe and desolation will break forth over 
 the whole world ! Then, however, Christ, the Sun of 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 33 
 
 justice, will shine in the full splendor of His glory, for 
 the everlasting joy and happiness of all those who fol- 
 lowed Him on earth and walked in his celestial light. 
 But can we picture to ourselves the reverse, and view 
 in spirit the gloom, the woe, the utter desolation of 
 those who turned away the eyes of the soul from this 
 Sun ? The eternal Judge will direct to them these ter- 
 rible words : " Depart from me ! " Everlasting dark- 
 ness will cover them as they sink into the abode of 
 never-ending torments, where untold misery and hor- 
 ror dwell. 
 
 May Christ, in this year and in all the years that are 
 to come for us, so illumine the pathway of life that we 
 may follow His guiding light, and at last behold Him 
 as the Sun of justice in the kingdom of His glory! — 
 Amen! 
 
VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 
 
 Note. — My reason for adding a sermon for this vigil can be thus ex- 
 plained : Every seventh year it falls upon a Sunday, upon which the gospel 
 of the vigil is read. However, I give, for this exceptional case, but one 
 sermon, since it very seldom occurs; and this one will treat of a theme re- 
 garding which every pastor, after the lapse of six years, should speak to his 
 congregation. It is a very important and practical one. 
 
 *'And he arose, and took the child and its mother, and came into the land 
 of Israel." — Matt. 2. 
 
 THREE times, as the Gospel narrates, an angel 
 appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, and spoke to 
 him ; and every time he immediately complied with 
 the injunctions which he received — afid was silent. 
 
 The angel spoke to Joseph, but not he to the an- 
 gel, although, as St. Chrysostom, in the spirit of 
 wisdom, remarks : There would have been reason 
 enough for some words, for surely the dear saint 
 must have had certain questions to ask. Even Mary 
 spoke with the angel. Joseph remained silent ; and 
 we have no record in Holy Scripture of a single word 
 that he uttered. 
 
 Mary, together with St. Joseph, sought the child 
 Jesus, sorrowing, and found him in the temple. The 
 loving mother exclaimed: ''Why hast Thou done this 
 to us.?" but his foster-father remained silent; and it 
 
 (134) 
 
VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY 1 35 
 
 would seem that, by this silence, a deep mystery of 
 faith is implied, in perfect accord with the calling of 
 him who was chosen to be the earthly father of the 
 Saviour, and the representative of his heavenly Father. 
 The eternal Father never spoke to the human race, 
 since, as St. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Hebrews: 
 "So God spoke in the beginning always by his angels 
 with men." 
 
 So He did on Mount Sinai, when the law was an- 
 nounced to the chosen people of God ; and to Moses 
 in the burning bush, as St. Paul also says ; and, lastly, 
 through his only-begotten Son. 
 
 Certainly, in this regard, the silence of St. Joseph 
 can not serve as a model for us, but, in other cases, 
 which very often occur in life, it can. All of them are 
 contained in the principle : 
 
 Never to murmMr against divine Providence, but to 
 bear all sufferings — whatsoever that God sees jit to send 
 us — with patience for love of Him. 
 
 Mary, mother of sorrows, who stood beneath the 
 cross without a murmur, obtain for us the resignation 
 of thy chaste spouse, St. Joseph ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor of God ! 
 
 An angel appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, and 
 bade him fly with Mary and the child into Egypt ; and, 
 without one single question, he immediately arose and 
 departed that very night. And the same spirit of obe- 
 
136 VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 
 
 dience continued to influence him ; for we read of his 
 return to Palestine as soon as his angelic visitant again 
 appeared in a dream and bade him retrace his steps. 
 
 If we give proper attention to this rare virtue — 
 silence — which characterized the saint whom we de- 
 light to honor to-day, we will be inspired to accept 
 lovingly all the trials which the Lord pleases to send, 
 and bear them without a murmur. That St. Joseph 
 was a just man, the Scripture gives unequivocal tes- 
 timony ; and, after his immaculate spouse, he may be 
 considered the greatest among the saints — a distinc- 
 tion which he merits from his relations to Jesus and 
 Mary. But the pure gold of his virtue was destined 
 to be tested in the crucible of the weary toils, labors, 
 and troubles of life ; and his silence, in every phase, 
 is a most eloquent proof of the perfection of his union 
 with the most holy will of God. 
 
 As it was for Mary, so also was it for him the favorite 
 maxim in life: ''I am a servant of the Lord; may it 
 be done to me according to His word." 
 
 St. Joseph was silent. This silence, at the command 
 of the angel to undertake the long and toilsome jour- 
 ney, proves that his was a living faith in the disposition 
 of Divine Providence, and the wisdom of the Lord in or- 
 daining all things. He neither asked nor thought why 
 he should set off in such haste to Egypt ; nor whether 
 there could not be found a place in Israel where he might 
 conceal himself with Mary and the little Infant with- 
 out traversing the desert's burning sands. He neither 
 asked nor wondered why the flight was even necessary 
 
VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 1 37 
 
 for the Incarnate Son of God ; why, since He was God 
 as well as Man, He could not conceal or protect Him- 
 self; or, by a sudden death, take Herod from this world, 
 that all might be well. Nothing of all this found a place 
 in the heart of the great St. Joseph. No ; he let God 
 order all things for him, and thought of the hidden 
 counsels of the Lord ; for, as St. Paul most justly 
 asks : *' Who was his Counsellor ? " 
 
 He obeyed and was silent, making no inquiries as to 
 how he would provide for the holy family in Egypt — 
 a land where all to him was new and strange. He 
 trusted in God, and hoped, with Abraham, the father 
 of the faithful, against hope. This holy silence points, 
 at the same time, to his deep humility and self-denial. 
 He neither asked nor thought why the angels might 
 not come to transport him, with the mother and child, 
 from Palestine to Egypt through the air, as they did 
 with Elias — who was conveyed in a fiery chariot to 
 heaven — and as was done with the prophet Habacuc. 
 
 The Blessed Virgin was to ride to Egypt on a beast 
 of burden, while St. Joseph was to walk by her side, 
 which he did with an alacrity and pleasure all the 
 greater that he had thereby an opportunity of prov- 
 ing his love for Jesus and Mary, for whose comfort on 
 the journey he evinced the utmost solicitude. He was 
 silent, but his heart conversed with God in those unut- 
 terable sighs of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul expresses 
 himself in speaking of the hidden life in God through 
 the practice of prayer. 
 
 The silence of St. Joseph points to his interior con- 
 
138 VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 
 
 templative life. Prayer is the source of all grace; 
 speaking of which St. Paul again says: "I can do all 
 in Him who strengthens me." So St. Joseph traveled 
 in silence to Egypt with the mother and child, and in 
 silence he returned. What a lesson for us ! What an 
 example to imitate ! Too often, however, it presents 
 a striking contrast to the general conduct of Chris- 
 tians. How few, even among the children of the 
 Church, submit, in silence and with resignation, in the 
 trials of life, to the most holy will of God ! and how 
 often we hear the most unreasonable complaints from 
 those who can not resolve to " kiss the hand that smites 
 them!" 
 
 And, worse than all, the wicked murmuring against 
 God, into which these complaints degenerate, fills the 
 heart with despondency, gives scandal, and deprives 
 the offender of those sufferings which, had they been 
 patiently borne, would have one day changed into bright 
 gems to adorn a heavenly crown. This rebellion is the 
 cause of our frequently committing grievous faults ; 
 and whence comes it, then, beloved in Christ, that man 
 encourages such dispositions, that he complains and 
 mourns as one without hope ? Because he does not 
 possess the virtues of St. Joseph, of which I have 
 spoken to you. His faith in the all-disposing provi- 
 dence of God is not sufficient. ''No evil in the city 
 which is not made by the Lord," as we read in the 
 Old Testament; by which we are to understand that 
 whatever happens by the divine permission is for our 
 salvation, — we must see in it His divine hand, and bow 
 
VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 1 39 
 
 to the most holy will of God. We are too prone to 
 look upon the occurrences in this world, in the light 
 of the present, as they place themselves before our 
 eyes, never considering that the Lord has ordained 
 them, in a most wonderful manner, for some wise end, 
 hidden from us at the time, but fully revealed at a later 
 period in life. Thus what we suffered so keenly from, 
 and what we at the moment considered a great evil, 
 may have been, in reality, sent to promote our eternal 
 salvation ; but, beguiled and deceived by. self-love and 
 self-will, we venture to challenge our Creator, as it 
 were, to give an account of what He permits to befall 
 us. This is because we are deficient in the humility 
 and self-denial of St. Joseph. He was just; he was, 
 through his relation to Jesus and Mary, by his royal 
 blood and freedom from all personal sins, elevated to 
 the highest rank in heaven above all the other saints. 
 
 We suffer and murmur, yet we have, perhaps, com- 
 mitted sins, and, it may be, deserved hell. Happy for 
 us if the Lord changes the eternal punishment incur- 
 red and merited by our mortal sins into a temporal 
 penalty after the guilt has been forgiven. 
 
 And although we had even already blotted out this 
 punishment through penance and indulgences, does 
 not God give us, through sufferings, particularly when 
 they are unmerited, the most precious opportunity to 
 lay up the richest store of merits, and to cast the great- 
 est weight upon the scale of heavenly joys ? Think of 
 Mary, herself, who stood as Queen of Martyrs be- 
 neath the cross. 
 
140 VIGIL OF THE FEASr OF EPIPHANY. 
 
 Who could think of her and murmur? Who could 
 behold that loving mother enduring her sorrow in 
 silence, and not accept their trouble as coming, not 
 from man, but from God? The devout and humble 
 Christian will, with St. Joseph, thank and praise the 
 Lord; for the more patiently we carry our cross in 
 His imitation, the more like unto Him we shall be- 
 come — the more precious shall we be in His sight. 
 Yes, the nearer we follow Him in life, the nearer we 
 shall be to Him in His empire of glory. 
 
 Joseph remained silent, — we murmur and complain. 
 Why ? We are wanting in that spirit of zeal in prayer 
 which should enkindle and increase in us the fire of 
 divine love, and strengthen us to suffer even with joy. 
 We are also wanting in that ardent love toward Jesus 
 and Mary, which ever reminds us that they walked 
 first in the royal road of the holy cross. Let us, then, 
 suffer, without a murmur, all that Christ is pleased to 
 send us; for He often rewards us, even here below, 
 with the benediction of His divine love. Child of the 
 Church, do you hear this ? Oh, what a day of grace for 
 you will not that be upon which you resolve firmly 
 never more to murmur at the will of God! Oh, may it 
 be to-day ! What should particularly encourage you 
 is, that there are but few who suffer with patience, and 
 you should delight in being the one to give an edify- 
 ing example. 
 
 Consider, finally, how quickly and with what deter- 
 mination St. Joseph obeyed the command of the an- 
 gel. The Gospel says: "Immediately he arose from 
 
VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. I4I 
 
 sleep and set out upon his journey." Might he not 
 have remained sleeping until morning? This feature 
 in his character stands in strong contrast to one which 
 is often prominent in the life of the every-day Chris- 
 tian. I allude to a fatal delay in putting in practice 
 the resolution to do good — to lead a better life. Men 
 make resolutions for the sanctification of their lives, 
 but there is no earnestness of purpose. They neg- 
 lect to fulfill them until at last they entirely abandon 
 the idea of leading a better life; and, instead of ad- 
 vancing in the way of Christian perfection, they re- 
 trograde. Beloved in Christ, resolve, from this very 
 moment, that it shall be otherwise with you. 
 
 The Feast of the Epiphany, whose vigil we cele- 
 brate to-day, most beautifully confirms all that I have 
 said by the example of the holy three kings. They 
 also, as soon as they beheld the star, arose and set 
 out on their journey. They were rewarded, for they 
 found the Infant God. 
 
 Their first question was: '* Where is He?" and, as 
 soon as they received the answer, their generous and 
 loving hearts gave little thought to what Jerusalem 
 might think or say. The opinion of the world troubled 
 them not; but, firm in their resolve to find Him, they 
 followed the star. Happy for you, beloved in Christ, 
 if you, with the dispositions of the Magi, prostrate 
 yourself before the Infant Jesus; and, as they offered 
 their gifts to Him, do you, from the depths of your 
 hearts, make this solemn promise : 
 
 '' O Divine Child, from this very moment I resolve 
 
142 VIGIL OF THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. 
 
 to accept whatever sufferings Thou dost please to send, 
 without a murmur ; and henceforth to fulfill my resolu- 
 tion without delay." 
 
 This will be an offering more precious than gold, 
 frankincense, or myrrh ; for it is a holocaust of your 
 love to Jesus and Mary, for the greater honor and 
 glory of God, for your own salvation, and the salva- 
 tion of others. Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 •* We have seen His star, and are come to adore Him." — Matt, ii, 2. 
 
 THE festival of the Epiphany, also called the Feast 
 of the Holy Three Kings, is one of the most an- 
 cient feasts of the Church of God ; and from the very 
 earliest ages was celebrated with special rejoicing by 
 the children of the Catholic Church. We find the 
 cause for this in the fact that this feast is associated 
 with the remembrance of the greatest graces in which 
 the faithful in every nation of the earth rejoice, — namely, 
 their call to the only saving faith, the holy Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 We learn from sacred history, that in the early days 
 of Christianity this feast was celebrated with greater 
 solemnity even than Christmas, the birthday of our 
 Lord himself; for as the Church exclaims in her joy 
 on Holy Saturday : '* Of what use would it be for us to 
 be born if we had not been made partakers of the ben- 
 efits of redemption ? " 
 
 So might we cry out : '' Of what use to us would it 
 
 be to possess all the goods and pleasures of the 
 
 world, if the grace of being called to the true faith had 
 
 not been granted to us through the mercy of God?" 
 
 (143) 
 
144 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 The three kings with their attendants, prostrate at 
 the feet of the Infant Jesus, were the firstlings of the 
 heathens who acknowledged Jesus, and entered His 
 Church. As we reflect upon the great happiness 
 vouchsafed to them, the question forces itself upon us: 
 *' Why do not all nations likewise enjoy a participation 
 in their happiness?" My answer is: 
 
 ''Because they do not look tipward with the same love 
 of truth to the star of the Magi;'' and this, as I un- 
 derstand it^ I will explain to-day. 
 
 Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, Mother of the 
 King of kings, obtain for us, from your divine Son, 
 hearts deeply penetrated with the love of truth ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God! 
 
 Christ, before whom the three Magi knelt, calls him- 
 self the King of Truth. He calls His kingdom, the 
 Church, a kingdom of truth ; consequently, whosoever 
 will enter His kingdom, and find therein salvation 
 must love truth and seek it ; then he will find it, follow 
 it, and through its influence attain salvation. 
 
 It was thus that the hearts of the Magi were dis- 
 posed ; therefore they learned to know Jesus and the 
 truth contained in His Church, to live in her spirit, 
 propagate the kingdom of Christ, and at last to enter 
 the realm of His glory. 
 
 They saw the star, knew its signification, and fol- 
 lowed it. Why ? They loved tj'uth. Had not this been 
 
FIRST SERMON. 1 45 
 
 the case, the annunciation of the birth of our Saviour 
 through the star would not have excited so much in- 
 terest in them. 
 
 Had they not loved truth more than the goods and 
 pleasures of this world, which, as crowned heads, they 
 possessed in abundance, they would not have under- 
 taken, at the cost of so much self-sacrifice, to seek for 
 Christ. 
 
 But they were more interested in obtaining the truth 
 of salvation, in beholding the coming Teacher of na- 
 tions, in learning to honor and adore Him, than in all 
 the treasures of the world. Their resolution to search 
 for Him was sublimely heroic. 
 
 If their eagerness for knowledge of heavenly things 
 had not existed to so great a degree in their hearts, 
 they might have thought within themselves: 'Tt is 
 well that He is born ; He will surely arrange to come 
 to us to teach us, or He will send some one else in 
 His place. Besides, He is still a child, and can not 
 converse with us, wherefore, then, should we under- 
 take a journey connected with so many difficulties, 
 and, perhaps, expose ourselves to the derision and 
 mockery of the people of Jerusalem, to whom, it may 
 be, the star did not appear?" 
 
 All these circumstances, however, were of no weight 
 with the three Magi, in whom eager desire and ar- 
 dent love overpowered all other considerations, and 
 they entered upon their journey. 
 
 The three sages searched for truth with assiduity 
 and fearlessness. " Where is He who is to be born 
 
146 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 the King of the Jews? " Thus they inquired, full of 
 confidence that their search would be rewarded, let 
 the population of Jerusalem think what they would ; 
 let them mock and ridicule; did they but know the 
 name of the place where the Messiah was to be born, 
 according to the declaration of the prophets, they 
 would find the way thereto, even if they could gain 
 no companions for the journey, which it would seem 
 was eventually the case, as they left Jerusalem alone. 
 The star again appeared, and remained over the place 
 wherein Mary abode with the child They fall down 
 before the divine Infant, and oh! with what joyful sen- 
 timents of adoration, love, and gratitude do they offer 
 Him their homage! But, on the other hand, how gra- 
 ciously did the new-born babe bless them, and replen- 
 ish their hearts with the power and unction of His 
 grace ; how did it strengthen them in their resolu- 
 tion to follow His Inspirations, to live and die for Him, 
 and to spread His kingdom among their people all 
 over the earth ! 
 
 The three Magi searched for the truth, found it, 
 and returned, obedient to the admonition of an angel, 
 by another road to their respective homes, thus to 
 escape the snares of Herod, and to fulfill the will of 
 God. 
 
 It was thus, that these first fruits of faith in coun- 
 tries over which the dark cloud of heathenism still 
 rested, gave the example unto all the children of men, 
 how to know Christ and to enter heaven. And what 
 is the reason that, up to this time, this was not done 
 
FIRST SERMON. 1 47 
 
 in such a manner as the mercy of God intended, for 
 the evils of all mankind ? 
 
 I answer by the assertion that love for truth is, in 
 general, rare among men. They love darkness better 
 than light, — delusion, which flatters them, more than the 
 truth, which points to the exercise of duty, which 
 teaches the spirit of Christian self-denial, which in- 
 spires contempt of human consideration, united with 
 that fidelity which assures for us perseverance unto 
 the end. 
 
 The gospel for to-day affirms that Herod, and v/ith 
 him all Jerusalem, was terrified at the message of the 
 three Magi, that the Saviour, the King and Deliverer 
 of the human race, was born. Herod was afraid, and 
 trembled lest he should lose his throne. The scribes 
 and Pharisees also, those whitened sepulchers of evil, 
 as Christ called them, instead of rejoicing, were filled 
 with alarm ; for they felt, and truly, that the promised 
 Messiah would penetrate their interior, and censure 
 their hypocrisy and malice. 
 
 The people principally ^imitate those who have the 
 power to govern or command them, and generally 
 yield to the stronger will of men whose knowledge is 
 superior to their own. They also felt disappointed, 
 because they expected an earthly Messiah, who would 
 elevate them to be the mightiest nation in the world, 
 and endow them with all temporal advantages, riches, 
 and pleasures. Yet now they hear He has entered 
 this world without His advent being perceived, and, 
 whilst the scribes remain in entire ignorance of His 
 
14^ FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 birth, men in the East are said to have seen His star, 
 which nevertheless was not beheld by a single person 
 in Jerusalem. 
 
 Love for truth was lacking in those who thus ex- 
 pressed themselves, and, therefore, they remained in- 
 credulous and indifferent, and did not even trouble 
 themselves so far as to guide or direct the Magi to the 
 vicinity of Bethlehem; nay, they probably regarded 
 them as visionaries and dreamers. Behold here, as in 
 a mirror, the character of the infidel, especially of those 
 who, with premeditation, become infidels, — who, al- 
 though born of Catholic parents, and brought up in 
 the Church of God, later on, play the infidel, and pre- 
 tend to waver in faith. 
 
 Such do not love truth, but the desire of their 
 hearts is to find out what might make them rich and 
 happy in this world. As regards their duties towards 
 God — that is, with respect to religion — the generality 
 of men are satisfied to live and die in that belief in 
 which they were born, and do not inquire whether 
 their religion is really the true religion. 
 
 Yes, a great portion, particularly of the so-called 
 learned men, are afraid to recognize the truth, that 
 they may not feel urged to confess and live according 
 to its precepts. And, since they know that the word 
 of truth condemns their sinful actions, and threatens 
 them with terrible chastisements from God, they hate 
 it, and wish that they could totally extirpate the king- 
 dom of Christ on earth. If they, at times, arrive at 
 the conviction that all their endeavors in this regard 
 
FIRST SERMON. I49 
 
 are fruitless, — and if, at certain times, the voice of con- 
 science whispers loudly that the threatenings of the 
 Lord might one day be verified in them on account of 
 their infidelity, then, in secret, like Herod, they trem- 
 ble, and a fear, which for the time can not be stilled, 
 fastens upon their souls. 
 
 Certainly they endeavor to appear, with all this, en- 
 tirely different from what they are, and, therefore, be- 
 come hypocrites, as Herod was. They assume the ap- 
 pearance of respecting God and His commands, 
 Christ and His doctrines, but their actions do not cor- 
 respond with their demeanor, for they persecute the 
 Church with the direct intention to destroy her. 
 Thereat they are filled with the suspicion which 
 terrified the heart of Herod, that the Church would 
 be dangerous to their plans. This is especially the 
 case with rulers of the present day and with infidel 
 politicians, although the experiences of the nineteenth 
 century should long ago have opened their eyes^ and 
 forced them to see that the Holy Church not alone in 
 spiritual, but in temporal affairs, exercises a most ben- 
 eficial influence upon the state. 
 
 They think to conquer by their cunning, just as 
 Herod thought, but God's providence brings them to 
 disgrace. I point especially to one propensity in the 
 character of Herod, a fit type of this worthy class. He 
 became a tyrant, and committed infanticide. 
 
 This also resembles, especially in our days, the con- 
 duct of the enemies of the truths of faith. Such men, 
 if they succeed in grasping the reins of government, 
 
150 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 proceed to persecution, and as they are endowed with 
 an evil prudence, they recognize that nothing can pro- 
 mote their ideas better than to pervert the Catholic 
 youth to their dangerous ideas, and seek to destroy 
 in their hearts the life of holy faith. 
 
 Therefore their solicitude to impede the influence 
 of the Church in the education of youth, with which 
 that infanticide, of which Herod was guilty, is not to 
 be compared. 
 
 Herod benefited the souls of the Holy Innocents 
 against their will, whilst the Herods in our days cor- 
 rupt the youth and destroy their souls. What crime ! 
 Therefore, children of the Church, thank God for your 
 call to the only true Church — to the holy faith ! Like 
 the Magi, love the truth with all sincerity of heart. This 
 disposition of heart is a pledge of victory over Luci- 
 fer, the *' liar from the beginning." Hold every-where 
 and always to this maxim of life : *' Defend truth, and it 
 will defend you and save you through Jesus Christ, the 
 incarnate truth." — Amen! 
 
SECOND SERMON. I5I 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 " Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" — Matt, ii, 2. 
 
 IT was desired that the promised Messiah should be 
 an heir of the throne of David, as the Lord declared 
 by the mouth of his prophets. This promise was also 
 well known to the scribes, for when Herod called them 
 together and inquired of them where Christ was to be 
 born, they answered without hesitation so it is writ- 
 ten by the prophet: **Thou, Bethlehem, in the land 
 of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda ; 
 for out of thee shall come forth the Prince who shall 
 rule my people Israel." 
 
 Even though Herod already reigned as king, and 
 an heir was born to him, nevertheless the sages did 
 not hesitate to ask where the King of the Jews was 
 born. Thus they addressed him, and they would have 
 inquired of him in the same way even if Herod had 
 not been a dependent of Rome, but the most pow- 
 erful monarch upon earth, and the Roman emperor 
 himself. 
 
 For what are all the princes, kings, and emperors 
 on earth, in comparison with Christ, the heir to the 
 throne of David, the King of angels, to whom all power 
 is given in heaven and on earth? And furthermore, 
 what are all the kingdoms on earth in comparison with 
 that kingdom ruled by Christ, which extends over the 
 entire creation^ and whose glory has no end ? 
 
152 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 The subject of my c outsider ation to-day will be the 
 royal crown of Christy and the character of his eternal 
 kingdom. 
 
 Mary, royal Mother and co-regent in the king- 
 dom of your divine Son, protect us, that we may be 
 made worthy of the promises of Christ, and deserve 
 to reign one day with Him. 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 glory of God ! 
 
 ** And I saw Him ; He was clothed in a white gar- 
 ment, His head decked with many diadems, and on His 
 thigh were written the words : ' King of kings, Lord 
 of lords.' " Thus St. John describes Christ, whom he 
 beheld in His royal dignity in heaven. 
 
 Christ, as God-man, is King, as He himself testified 
 when, in presence of Pilate, the question was put to 
 Him — ''Art thou the King of the Jews?" — and He 
 answered, "Thou sayest it." He is not only King, as 
 the heir of the royal family of David, with all the pre- 
 rogatives enjoyed by other monarchs, but, as Jesus, 
 He is the King of kings. To Him belongs this dig- 
 nity and honor because He possesses all the proper- 
 ties of a king perfectly, if we consider either His per- 
 son or the nature of His eternal kingdom. How happy 
 should we therefore feel to be subjects of such a King, 
 citizens of such a kingdom 1 
 
 First, in regard to the personal perfections of this 
 King : where in this world is there a ruler who can be 
 
SECOND SERMON. 1 53 
 
 compared to Jesus ! As the Son of God, He is infinite 
 Majesty, the Creator and Arbiter of the universe. As 
 man. He is the noblest creature which the omnipo- 
 tence of God ever called into existence ; distinguished 
 by every quality which can adorn a ruler. 
 
 If a ruler be distinguished by talents and knowl- 
 edge, he stands before his people as the most learned 
 and wisest man in the whole kingdom ; pre-eminent 
 not only by his personal dignity, but by his virtues and 
 exemplary life ; just, benevolent, magnanimous, be- 
 nign, merciful, and full of sympathy for the welfare of 
 his people. I need only mention these qualities, and 
 every one who believes in Christ, who knows and con- 
 fesses His name, will immediately recognize how in- 
 comparably great and divine He is even as man, sur- 
 passing in perfection all earthly sovereigns. 
 
 Yes, even as man, through His personal union with 
 God, He is the omniscient Son. Before Him all things 
 are manifest, for He is the One who testifies of him- 
 self: "All power is given to me in heaven and upon 
 earth." 
 
 As man. He is the One of whom St. Paul testifies: 
 ''God hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name 
 which is above every other name, that in the name of 
 Jesus every knee shall bend in heaven, on earth, and 
 in hell." 
 
 "And I saw Him adorned with many diadems," writes 
 St. John. These are the diadems of His glory, dignity, 
 and power as King of Angels and Archangels, of Princi- 
 palities, heavenly Powers and Dominations, of Thrones, 
 
154 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 Cherubim and Seraphim, and King of all saints, ac- 
 cording to their different choirs. 
 
 He is, besides, the incarnate benignity of God, as 
 St. Paul calls Him; and also the Judge who is to come 
 one day to judge the world, and who will be ready to 
 share with all upon whom He has been able to pass 
 a favorable decision before His tribunal, the eternal 
 joys of heaven. Nay more, who is prepared to share 
 with each true child of the Church His own power and 
 dignity. His own beatitude, in virtue of that assurance 
 which we read in the Apocalypse of St. John : ''The 
 vanquisher I let sit with me upon my throne." He it 
 is who, when we enter into His kingdom, will confer 
 upon us also the dignity of royalty, to rule with Him 
 for all eternity, as we read in the Apocalypse. 
 
 And we, the ransomed souls of men, the children of 
 the Church, and citizens of His kingdom, are permit- 
 ted to call the King of glory our Father, our friend, and 
 the spouse of our souls. Oh, what happiness, what 
 honor, what glory, for time and eternity ! 
 
 Not only do the striking features of the personality 
 glorify Christ as the King of kings, and arouse in us the 
 desire to live, to fight, to conquer, and to die, under 
 His rule, but His kingdom likewise stands forth as 
 the most glorious among the kingdoms of earth. 
 
 A kingdom is the more distinguished the more ex- 
 tensive it is — the more countries it comprises, the more 
 productive its sources are, to support, to enrich its in- 
 habitants, and to insure their temporal prosperity ; the 
 more beautiful its situation, the more attractive are its 
 
SECOND SERMON. I55 
 
 landscapes, its meadows, its suburbs, and all its nat- 
 ural advantages. Greater dignity and importance are 
 attached to a kingdom in proportion as its inhabitants 
 are distinguished by their accomplishments ; and ac- 
 cording to their strength, stature, and civilization, they 
 appear more powerful in respect of other countries. 
 
 Such is the kingdom of Christ. It extends over all 
 the earth and throughout the entire heavens. It com- 
 prises the whole world, with all the beauties and glo- 
 ries with which God has enriched and adorned it. To 
 the number of its citizens belong all the choirs of holy 
 angels — those innumerable radiant spirits and glori- 
 ous princes of heaven who, filled with delight, adore 
 their King. There, too, are all the blessed saints, ac- 
 cording to their various ranks. In this kingdom is to 
 be found superabundant provision for every means of 
 grace, by which we are enabled to accomplish all for 
 God ; and, furnished with them, we are invincible, and 
 enabled to increase each moment our future treasures 
 in the kingdom of recompense. Who should not feel 
 happy to be a citizen of this kingdom, and endeavor 
 to spread it, in order that all the souls redeemed by 
 Christ may one day enjoy this happiness ! 
 
 This desire becomes more ardent on account of the 
 following circumstances : The kingdom of Christ is a 
 kingdom of truth and of light, existing to make man 
 happy for time and eternity. 
 
 In opposition to this stands the kingdom of dark- 
 ness, the kingdom of evil, the kingdom which inevita- 
 bly drags down to eternal woe and misery the wretched 
 
156 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 creatures who rally round Its infernal king. To this 
 kingdom Herod belonged, and with him all who per- 
 secuted Christ and nailed Him to the cross. 
 
 If we do not belong to the kingdom of Christ, then 
 we are subjects of that kingdom which acknowledges 
 Lucifer as its leader and prince. 
 
 Christ said : '' He who is not with me, is against 
 me ; " and the consideration of this truth should exer- 
 cise the greatest influence upon our lives and strengthen 
 the desire to belong on earth to the kingdom of Christ, 
 that we may one day share in heaven in the kingdom 
 of His eternal transfiguration. 
 
 The condition for obtaining this is that He who 
 reigns in heaven has His throne in our hearts, and 
 that He directs and governs them according to His 
 own good pleasure. 
 
 Beloved Christians, that this may be the case, our 
 hearts must be so adorned as to be a habitation wor- 
 thy of the King of kings ; that is, we must be in the 
 state of grace, or else we cease to be zealous children 
 of His Church, for not He, but Satan will erect his 
 throne in our hearts. Albeit that, to all appearances, 
 man be a child of the Church, still Christ does not 
 abide in his heart until he consecrates all the powers 
 of his soul and body to the service of the Lord. 
 
 Christ rules still more royally in our hearts when 
 He governs our understanding through holy faith, so 
 that not the least shadow of infidelity nor heterodoxy 
 can lead it astray. 
 
 Christ reigns royally in our will when He directs it 
 
^ SECOND SERMON. 1 57 
 
 according to His own good pleasure, and we do not 
 oppose Him by placing any obstacle in the way, but 
 render to Him wholly and entirely the free offering 
 of our will. 
 
 He reigns as King in our hearts if we are inflamed 
 with ardent love for Him, and are ready for any sac- 
 rifice which we may be called upon to make in His 
 holy service. 
 
 The more the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom 
 of evil, nowadays endeavors to combat the kingdom 
 of Christ and to promote that of Antichrist, the more 
 ardent and resolute should we be to defend and prop- 
 agate it. All depends, as we are forcibly reminded by 
 St. Ignatius in his meditation on the " Two Standards," 
 under which leader we enlist. The one is the standard 
 of Christ, the other the banner of Lucifer ; and whoso- 
 ever does not fight under the one, enlists and combats 
 under the other. Upon this depends where we shall 
 one day stand at the judgment-seat of Christ — at the 
 right or at the left. Happy, indeed, for us, beloved in 
 Christ, if He now reigns royally in our hearts ; then, 
 indeed, after the battle of life is ended, if we have 
 lived upon earth as victorious children of the militant 
 Church, we shall be gloriously crowned amid all the 
 celestial inhabitants of the triumphant Church, where 
 for ever and ever Christ will reign as King of a glory 
 which we shall share with Him. — Amen ! 
 
158 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "They offered Him gifts : gold, frankincense, and myrrh." — Matt, ii, 11. 
 
 AFTER the three Magi had first knelt in adoration 
 and paid their homage to the new-born King of 
 kings, they opened their treasures; and, according to 
 Holy Writ, offered Him the gifts of gold, frankincense, 
 and myrrh. 
 
 At the annual recurrence of this feast, beloved in 
 Christ, the meditation upon its mystery points to three 
 circumstances which principally and powerfully attract 
 our attention, namely: the star, the Infant (to whom 
 it led), the three Magi, and the nature of their offer- 
 ing. Each of these three circumstances has its deep 
 significance ; and this year we shall especially consider 
 the gifts of the three Magi, and the nature of their 
 offering. 
 
 This consideration, beyond doubt, deserves a par- 
 ticular place, since the feast itself signifies the call of 
 all nations to the Church of Christ. 
 
 This call, which is most intimately connected with 
 the salvation of our souls, pre-supposes that we have 
 not only the happiness of being exteriorly called to 
 the true Church of Christ, but that we also, as her 
 faithful children, live truly in the spirit which ani- 
 mates her. But that our lives, as Catholics, may be 
 indeed modeled according to the Church, the character 
 of the gifts must be expressed in our Christian con- 
 duct. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 159 
 
 / will prove this to-day, and that through the gifts 
 of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which symbolize the 
 virtues which we must practise, 
 
 Mary, you who, with the warmest feeHngs of 
 thanks, accepted the gifts which the three Magi of- 
 fered to your Divine Child, look graciously upon that 
 which we are resolved to offer to Him. 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 The general signification of the feast which we cele- 
 brate to-day is well known to us, as also its importance 
 for the salvation of our souls, because of our call to 
 the true faith. 
 
 Let us, therefore, from the depths of our grateful 
 hearts, pour forth our ardent thanks for this price- 
 less benefit, which has been granted to us in prefer- 
 ence to millions and millions ; yes, we have been 
 called to the only true and saving faith before those 
 nations whose people, during the long course of cen- 
 turies, have lived and died in the darkness of error. 
 But let us not forget the warning of the Lord* 
 *' From him to whom much has been given much will 
 be required." 
 
 And do not let us forget, beloved in Christ, that 
 St. James cries out to us: "You believe: the devil 
 believes, too; but show your faith by your works." 
 Christ assures us : " That the children of the house 
 shall be cast out into extreme darkness." 
 
l6o FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 From this it is evident that we must not only be- 
 lieve, but also live according to the faith ; and such 
 a life, I will not conceal from you, must bear the char- 
 acter of sacrifice, as every thing in the whole order 
 of salvation clearly proves. 
 
 It was decreed, by the eternal God, that man was 
 to be redeemed and saved ; and this by the bitter sac- 
 rifice which Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, offered. 
 His whole life bore the character of sacrifice, and He 
 terminated it by the sacrificial death of the cross. 
 
 He offered it already on the eve of His passion, at 
 the Last Supper, in an unbloody manner, to His heav- 
 enly Father ; and so instituted the Sacrifice of the New 
 Law, which characterizes and includes the entire di- 
 vine service of Holy Church. 
 
 Sacrifice, considered in general, is the highest act 
 of divine worship, as is shown by its usage even 
 among the heathens. So much the more necessary, 
 then, is it, that, in the New Law, divine worship must 
 leave its impress and character in the life of every 
 child of God, in imitation of our Lord and Redeemer, 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Those whom God has predestined to glory. He has 
 also chosen to become like unto our Lord and Sav- 
 iour, as we are most expressly assured by the Apostle 
 of the Gentiles. 
 
 The character of the life of Jesus was essentially 
 one of sacrifice. 
 
 He cries out to all mankind : " He who will follow 
 Me, let him take up his cross and deny himself," 
 
THIRD SERMON. l6l 
 
 which signifies that our whole Hfe must be one of 
 self-denial, and, therefore, of constant sacrifice. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that we 
 be thoroughly penetrated by this truth. The spirit of 
 the Gospel is arrayed in opposition to that of the 
 world ; and the character of the life of a worldling 
 to that of a true Christian. 
 
 The character of the worldling is to enjoy himself 
 in the fullest sense of the word ; to plunge recklessly 
 into pleasures' giddy maze ; to satisfy every desire ; 
 to accomplish all his projects. This is the creed of 
 the child of the world; while St. Paul, on the con- 
 trary, cries out to us, in a far different spirit: ''Those 
 who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with 
 its evil desires." 
 
 They are living burnt-offerings of the Lord, and 
 their rule of life may be summed up in the following 
 words: ''Lord, I am Thine, with all that I am and I 
 have ; all is dedicated and offered for Thy greater 
 glory." 
 
 It must be so, and can not be otherwise ; for we 
 can serve God only in the spirit of self-denial and 
 self-immolation, since, by the fall of our first parents, 
 the law of the flesh and concupiscence have been 
 firmly implanted in our members in opposition to the 
 law of the Spirit. 
 
 Therefore, since all who desire to belong to Christ 
 have to live in this spirit of sacrifice, St. Peter calls 
 the Christians, "A priestly people " ; and those who 
 finish their lives in this spirit will one day rejoice in 
 
l62 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 heaven; for St. John declares: ''Thou hast made of 
 us kings and priests." 
 
 But if, in the second place, you inquire what are 
 really the most proper and special gifts which, as 
 children of the Church we are bound to offer, they 
 are symbolized by the gifts of the three holy kings. 
 
 They offered to the Infant Jesus : gold, frankin- 
 cense, and myrrh. 
 
 I apply these gifts to our understanding, will, and 
 heart, which are dedicated to God, and offered through 
 our faith, as children of the Church, through our hope 
 and our love. 
 
 This oblation of the life of a true Christian pos- 
 sesses, indeed, and that in the highest degree, the 
 qualities which characterize a sacrifice in the service 
 of God as an oblation of praise, thanksgiving, and 
 expiation. 
 
 I prove this through the following remarks: Man 
 is, according to his nature, intellect, will, and heart. 
 
 The intellect is the power of the soul, by which we 
 know the reality of things, and the relation which they 
 bear toward one another. This faculty of the soul 
 man offers to his God and Creator through holy faith ; 
 for holy faith places before him the truths which are 
 above his comprehension. He believes them to be 
 true only in consideration of the infallible truth, which 
 is God Himself speaking to us by the mouth of the 
 infallible Church. 
 
 He believes these revealed truths, although they 
 contradict the senses, and man should, by force of 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 63 
 
 intellect, be utterly unable to penetrate them, or to 
 prove them. 
 
 This act, therefore, is an oblation of the intellect, 
 and a magnificent and precious oblation it is. It is by 
 faith, among other acts, that we honor God — the gen- 
 uine coin or test-metal between true and false currency. 
 
 The will of man is, according to its nature, free. 
 Naturally its desires tend toward the possession and 
 enjoyment of that which is earthly ; but the power of 
 holy hope imparts to it the wish to aim after *'the 
 things which are above." It draws man gently on to 
 the resolution to yield his will to nothing whatsoever 
 which is of *'the earth, earthly"; but only to fulfill 
 the will of God, who will reward our obedience and 
 our fidelity with eternal bliss. 
 
 This oblation is symbolized by the frankincense, 
 whose sweet odor ascends toward heaven. 
 
 Our hearts feel and love, and naturally incline, to- 
 ward creatures — toward other hearts. 
 
 The power of love toward God effects that man 
 loves God above all things, — every thing else he loves 
 only in God and for God ; and, that he may one day 
 rejoice in the eternal possession of God, he joyfully 
 resolves, in the fervor of his love, to sacrifice every 
 thing in this world to overcome all difficulties which 
 are an obstacle to the love of God. Yes, in the heat 
 of this love, he desires even to sever the closest and 
 tenderest bonds of friendship and nature. 
 
 This oblation is symbolized by myrrh, for no one is 
 able to lead such a life without feeling, in regard to 
 
164 FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 earthly things, and in the combat of the interior, the 
 bitterness of self-sacrifice. 
 
 In this disposition, the faithful, hoping, and loving 
 soul praises and thanks God unceasingly by her life, 
 which is dedicated and immolated to the Lord. 
 
 Well may we rejoice if we in truth have a right to 
 declare before Christ, with St. Ignatius : 
 
 ''Take, O Lord, all my liberty, my intellect, my 
 memory, and my entire will. All that I am and that I 
 have, I have from Thee. I give and offer it all to 
 Thee again. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace, 
 and I am rich enough." 
 
 Such is the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh 
 of our dedication and oblation to Him, the Triune 
 God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 
 
FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF 
 JESUS. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 Thoushalt call His name Jesus." — Matt. i. 
 
 HOLY Church, as we well know, reminds the faith- 
 ful of the institution of the most holy Sacrament 
 on Holy Thursday, but, nevertheless, she celebrates a 
 separate feast in its honor, the Feast of Corpus Chrlsti. 
 For she wishes that her children, with undivided affec- 
 tion, look at the most august Sacrament, to pour out 
 their hearts entirely before Christ in adoration, praise, 
 and thanksgiving. This could not be done so per- 
 fectly in Holy Week, when the Church, for the most 
 part, is absorbed in the contemplation of the passion 
 of Jesus Christ and His death upon the cross. 
 
 The same is true of the feast of to-day. 
 
 The reason of It is this : The feast of circumcision, 
 by which we are reminded of the glorious name of 
 Jesus, given on this day to the Infant Saviour, accord- 
 ing to divine design and command, is at the same time 
 the festival of New Year's day. Now Holy Church has 
 great reason to fear that, on account of the usual New 
 Year's wishes, visits, and amusements, her children 
 would be too much distracted to devote any attention 
 
 to the signification of the most holy Name of Jesus, and 
 
 (165) 
 
1 66 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 of its relation to our spiritual and temporal welfare for 
 time and eternity. Therefore, after New Year she cel- 
 ebrates a special feast in honor of the most holy Name 
 of Jesus. 
 
 To-day let us consider the answer to the question : 
 What has the most holy Name of Jesus, in its full 
 signification, to say for our life as children of Godf 
 
 Mary, thou who with thy intensest maternal love 
 didst hear and didst pronounce the name of thy divine 
 Child, obtain for us the grace to receive the sanctify- 
 ing power of this most holy Name upon our lives ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 To understand the full signification of the most holy 
 Name of Jesus, in its practical relation upon our man- 
 ner of life as children of God, we need only reflect 
 upon the different names by which Isaias salutes in the 
 spirit of prophecy, the promised Child, the Saviour of 
 the world. He says: '* For a Child is born to us, and 
 a Son is given to us ; and His name shall be called 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, God, the Mighty, the Father 
 of the world to come, the Prince of peace." 
 
 Let us separately consider the relations of these 
 different names to the most holy Name of Jesus ; they 
 are as so many rays which most brilliantly encircle it, 
 that we may be enabled to fathom its full significance. 
 
 First, Isaias designates the coming Saviour of the 
 world by the name : " Wonderful." 
 
FIRST SERMON. l6j 
 
 This name, beyond doubt, is due to the divine Child 
 Jesus, for it points to the wonder of wonders; namely, 
 the incarnation of the Son of God, and it is precisely 
 in this that w^e find, above all, the practical bearing of 
 the holy Name of Jesus upon our lives. This name 
 requires of us to think of the affair of our salvation, 
 and to live so that we may happily accomplish it, and 
 be saved through Christ, once to triumph with Him, 
 and through Him forever in heaven. . 
 
 But that our desire and efforts in this regard may 
 attain a happy result, it is absolutely necessary to 
 struggle and to bear with the trials by which God 
 tries the sincerity of our will in His service. 
 
 Again, His name is '* .Counsellor," as Isaias tells us. 
 This is the second practical relation which the most 
 holy Name of Jesus bears to our lives, and it implies 
 that we -must seek counsel of Him in reference to the 
 state of life we are to choose and the manner in which 
 we are to live in it, in imitation of our Lord and Sav- 
 iour Jesus Christ. 
 
 If we would become blessed through Jesus Christ, 
 it can be in no other way than through constant efforts 
 to model our lives entirely after His pattern. And as 
 to the particular virtues which we must thoroughly 
 practise in imitation of Christ, in order to follow Jesus, 
 they are pointed out to us in the clearest manner by 
 the circumstances in which the divine Child entered 
 into this world, when the most holy Name ''Jesus" 
 was given to Him. 
 
1 68 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 Humbled to the form of a sinful child of man, the 
 Son of God lies in the manger. 
 
 He has annihilated himself and taken the form of 
 a servant, says St. Paul. 
 
 If we desire that the Name of Jesus should exercise 
 an influence upon our lives, we must, above all, go to 
 Him for^good counsel, and humble ourselves before 
 Him as He lies in the manger ; for as God resists the 
 proud, we must root out every fiber of arrogance from 
 our hearts, and endeavor to be among the humble to 
 whom He gives His grace. 
 
 Jesus lies in the crib, poor, without possessions, 
 wrapped in swaddling clothes, warmed by the breath 
 of two beasts of burden ! 
 
 If we wish that the most holy Name of Jesus should 
 -exercise an influence upon our lives, then must we seek 
 counsel from the Child in the manger, and learn how 
 to disengage the heart from the love of property and 
 possession. 
 
 " Ye can not serve two masters ; " thus has the di- 
 vine Child already admonished us through the example 
 of the manner of its nativity. 
 
 You can not, at the same time, serve God and mam- 
 mon. 
 
 The divine Child lies lonely in the crib, whilst Beth- 
 lehem overflows with the strangers who had assembled 
 there. 
 
 If the most holy Name of Jesus is to exercise an in- 
 fluence upon the sanctification of our lives and upon 
 the salvation of our souls, then we must seek counsel 
 
FIRST SERMON. 1 69 
 
 from that divine Child, who will tell us that we must 
 avoid that unnecessary, and often dangerous, inter- 
 course with men, who are, for the most part, not filled 
 with the Spirit of God, but filled with the spirit of the 
 world, caring little for their salvation, for eternity, and 
 thinking only of how to live here on earth as happily 
 as possible. Their example and encouragement are 
 often so pernicious that, instead of following Christ in 
 life we allow ourselves to be carried away, and fet- 
 tered by the yoke of the children of the world, forget- 
 ting entirely the obligation of living a holy Catholic 
 life. 
 
 In addition to this there are many temptations and 
 dangers into which human respect and the fear of nian 
 plunges the Christian, causing frequently that he fears 
 more the displeasure of man than of God. 
 
 The Infant Jesus lies in the manger, shivering with 
 the winter's cold upbn a bed of straw; and in receiv- 
 ing His holy Name He, for the first time, sheds His 
 precious blood. If we would that this most holy Name 
 should exercise an influence upon our Hves, then must 
 we seek counsel of Him, and fully awake to the knowl- 
 edge that it is impossible, without the spirit of self- 
 denial and self-abnegation, to follow Jesus ; for St. Paul 
 declares that all who wish to belong to Christ have 
 crucified their flesh with its lusts; and, '* Whosoever 
 would follow Me, let him deny himself, and take upon 
 himself his daily cross," are the words of Christ. This 
 means that we must apply the pruning-knife in ear- 
 nest, cut off the disorderly desires of our hearts, and 
 
170 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 in all our actions go for counsel to Jesus, and imitate 
 His example. 
 
 His Name is God. Shall the most holy Name of 
 Jesus exercise an influence upon our lives ? Then this 
 life must essentially be one united to God by our 
 walking ever in His presence. It must be a life of in- 
 tercourse with God in prayer, likewise of intercourse 
 with Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament, that we may 
 in spirit and in truth enter into an abiding union with 
 God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 His name is ''Mighty." But if this life is, indeed, 
 to lead us to our happy destiny and end, we must per- 
 severe. 
 
 '' Whosoever perseveres to the end will be saved." 
 
 It is particularly the most holy Name of Jesus which 
 will instill into our hearts this strength through the 
 power it exercises against every species of temptation. 
 
 As long as the heart and the mouth call upon this 
 most holy Name, no power of the world, of the flesh, 
 or of hell can prevail against us. 
 
 His Name is : " The Father of the world to come." 
 
 Do we desire the most holy Name of Jesus to in- 
 fluence our lives, then must we be careful to *' seek 
 the things which are above, where Christ abides." 
 Your conduct be like those in heaven, as St. Paul 
 admonishes us. *' Sursum Corda." " Lift up your 
 hearts," is the daily admonition of our Holy Church 
 to her children by the lips of the priests at the altar ; 
 and can we doubt that a mind fixed on heavenly things 
 is a mark of the children of God ? 
 
FIRST SERMON. I.7I 
 
 The child of the world seeks only what is below, and 
 longs for the possession and enjoyment of earthly 
 things. 
 
 The child of God is solicitous for that which is to 
 come, for the bliss to be found where dwelleth Jesus, 
 who went before to prepare for us a place in the king- 
 dom of eternal joys. 
 
 And how could one lovingly name Jesus, without 
 thinking of that heaven which He has already entered, 
 and where He is awaiting us — He, the Prince of peace, 
 who conquered in the battle, and gained the victory ? 
 There is only one impediment in the way of salva- 
 tion, and that is sin, — for its characteristic is rebellion 
 against God. 
 
 Beloved in Christ, whenever this sets in, then de- 
 parts that peace which the angels announced to men, 
 at the birth of Christ ! 
 
 Peace with God, peace with ourselves and with all 
 men, through the peace of a conscience free of sin. 
 Behold, then, the full signification of the most holy 
 Name of Jesus, and its practical influence upon our 
 lives as the name of salvation, the only Name under 
 heaven through which we can be saved ! — Amen ! 
 
172 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "He gave Him a name which is above every name." — Phil, ii, 9. 
 
 BY the very fact that the Church has instituted a 
 festival devoted to the special honor and glorifi- 
 cation of the most holy Name of Jesus, she expressly 
 gives us to understand that she sees a particular means 
 of grace for the sanctification of her children in the ven- 
 eration of this most holy Name. 
 
 This Name is heard daily, and that not once only, 
 but again and again, in our intercourse with God, and 
 is so essentially the Name of salvation that St. Peter, 
 in his first sermon, cried out to his hearers, ''There is 
 no other Name given to man in which to be saved than 
 the most holy Name of Jesus." 
 
 And again, when speaking of the Redeemer Christ, 
 St. Paul assures us : *' And He, the Father, has given 
 Him a Name which is above all names, so that in the 
 Name of Jesus every knee shall bend in heaven, on 
 earth, and under the earth ; " and ** every tongue shall 
 confess that Christ has entered into the glory of the 
 Father." 
 
 No doubt, the greater the reverence and devotion 
 we bear towards the most holy Name of Jesus, the 
 m^ore abundant will be our share of all the graces and 
 blessings which are connected with this holy Name. 
 The more brightly the light of faith burns within our 
 hearts, the stronger we shall feel in the service of God, 
 and the greater will be the degree of courage and con- 
 
SECOND SERMON. I 75 
 
 solation, which fills us as children of God, to accom- 
 plish in the strength of this most holy Name the great 
 affair of salvation. 
 
 Mary, Mother of grace, grant that we may ever 
 call upon the most holy Name of thy divine Son in 
 union with the affections of thy heart. 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 glory of God ! 
 
 *' He gave Him a Name which is exalted above every 
 name," as St. Paul assures us, and we know full well 
 that it is true. Consider the circumstances which serve 
 to make a name honorable and glorious, and then ap- 
 ply them to the most holy Name of Jesus. The name 
 is the designation of the bearer, and is therefore the 
 reflection of his dignity, rights, qualities, and deeds ; 
 and it is for this reason that Holy Scripture values so 
 highly the names of different persons who stand in an 
 especial relation to the kingdom of God. 
 
 "What is thy name?" thus asked Moses of the 
 Lord, who spoke to him from out the burning bush, 
 and the answer he received runs thus : ** I am — who 
 am." This is my Name. The one who is the first be- 
 ing, to whom all other beings owe their existence ; 
 that one am I. Jehovah is the Name by which the 
 children of Israel are to call Me ; hence also the pre- 
 cept : Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy 
 God in vain, but think who it is, — what a being you 
 name, when your lips pronounce the Name of God. 
 
174 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 The same is true of men whom God has sent espe- 
 cially for the propagation of His kingdom on earth. 
 God Himself gave to Adam and Eve, our first parents, 
 their names. He called Abraham *' Father of the faith- 
 ful." An angel declared by what name the precursor 
 of Christ should be called, and of Christ Himself the 
 angel asserts: "Thou shalt call his Name Jesus, a 
 Name which is named sooner in heaven than on earth." 
 
 So much by way of preface. Let us now consider 
 the various circumstances of the persons who are ele- 
 vated and made worthy of respect by their names. 
 
 The first circumstance which distinguishes a name 
 is that it is an indication of the dignity of the person 
 who bears it. To prove this we need only look around 
 us in every-day life. 
 
 Among men there are families distinguished by the 
 rank which belongs to them in the order of society. 
 Such are: count, duke, prince, emperor or king. To 
 the question, What is their name ? the answer is indic- 
 ative of much ; and if it be the name of an illustrious 
 noble family, how greatly does it contribute that all the 
 members of that family receive the most deferential 
 and distinguished treatment. What reverence should 
 then penetrate our hearts when we pronounce the 
 most holy Name of Jesus ! For who is He that is des- 
 ignated by this name ? What is the rank of Him who 
 bears it, in the order of the creatures which God called 
 into existence ? I say in answer that the Name of Jesus 
 is the Name of the Incarnate Son of God. Tt is there- 
 fore the Name of the infinite majesty of the Incarnate 
 
SECOND SERMON. I 75 
 
 Son considered as God, before whom the Seraphim 
 of heaven intone with unceasing adoration the cry, 
 -Holy, holy, holy!" 
 
 But it is at the same time the Name of one who, as 
 man, declares: "All power is given to me in heaven 
 and on earth." It is the Name of the one who says : 
 ** Through me rule the rulers." It is the Name of the 
 one whom St. John beheld adorned with many diadems, 
 and the loins girded with the inscription: '* A King of 
 kings, a Ruler of rulers." 
 
 It is at the same time the Name of the King of all the 
 choirs of holy angels, in whose glory we view the prerog- 
 atives of those choirs royally glorified. It is the Name 
 of the King of all saints according to their choirs, whose 
 pre-eminence we also behold royally glorified in Him. 
 
 I repeat, what reverence, therefore, should fill our 
 hearts when we pronounce this most holy Name ! 
 
 Besides descent or origin, the name indicates pos- 
 session and power. The greater and more ancient a 
 kingdom is, the more subjects it numbers, the richer 
 and the more fruitful it is, the more majestical and 
 glorious sounds the name of the ruler who governs 
 it as king. 
 
 How different is the respect paid to the name which 
 merely indicates the ruler of some petty princedom, 
 from the homage elicited by the name of an emperor 
 over whose dominions the sun neither rises nor sets 
 at once, because it extends over the entire earth, as 
 /was the case with the Emperor Charles V. But, nev- 
 ertheless, how insignificant appear all the empires of 
 
176 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 this world in comparison with the kingdom of Christ, 
 which began with the probation of the angels, and 
 comprises heaven and earth, the visible and invisible 
 world. 
 
 And what shall we say of the multitude of subjects 
 which it contains? On earth all the nations which, 
 by their faith and their hope in Christ, have entered 
 His Church, in heaven all the myriads of angels ac- 
 cording to their choirs, acknowledge its sway. 
 
 In regard to the power of His kingdom, it is sure 
 of victory and immovable through Him who confesses 
 of Himself: "The power given to me by my Father is 
 greater than all I have conquered." 
 
 What invests a name with splendor, are the talents, 
 the noble deeds, the battles, the conquests of the one 
 who bears it ; wherefore the names of great and learned 
 men, artists, authors, heroes, and conquerors are still 
 illustrious even after the lapse of many centuries. 
 
 Let us apply all this to the magnificence of the most 
 holy Name of Jesus. It is the Name of Him who said 
 of Himself: ''Here is more than Solomon." It is the 
 Name of Him whom Holy Scripture calls the Lord of 
 science ; and how many and what great things has this 
 Name already effected on earth ! 
 
 What would be our life on this earth if the most 
 sweet Name of Jesus had remained obscure and un- 
 known to us? It would be a life of darkness and ieno- 
 ranee in matters of salvation ; a life of moral debility ; 
 a life of slavery to our predominant passion ; a life of \ 
 disgrace, fettered by the chains of sin ; a life without 
 
SECOND SERMON. l^] 
 
 consolation In sufferings, and full of despair for all 
 eternity. 
 
 But now there is for all who are of good will and 
 call upon and confess this Name, light, strength, cour- 
 age, and consolation in the Lord ; and as yet, all has 
 not been revealed of the kingdom of glory, the power 
 and unQtion into which this most holy Name will lead 
 us. All these are rays of glory, which exalt this sweet 
 and consoling, this holy and sanctifying Nam^. 
 
 Thirdly, what glorifies a name, are the virtues which 
 adorn the character of the one it designates. 
 
 Oh, what a holy Name is the name of Jesus ! It is 
 the Name of the Incarnate sanctity. It is the Name 
 of the Redeemer of humanity, and the fruits of the 
 Redemption, the holy Sacraments, every prayer we 
 utter, and the merits of every good work we perform, 
 are all imparted to man through the power and unc- 
 tion of this Name. 
 
 *' Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my Name, 
 He will give to you." So we are assured by Jesus him- 
 self. This Name is the seal which renders our works 
 meritorious for heaven, if we perform them in imita- 
 tion of the Lord, according to His most holy will and 
 with the assistance of His grace. 
 
 Whatsoever has in this regard been performed of 
 good and meritorious works for heaven or for the glo- 
 rification of God, throughout all ages, and will yet be 
 done to the end of the world in the kingdom of grace, 
 are rays of the glory which surrounds the most holy 
 Name of Jesus. 
 
178 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 But, more than all, what rays of consolation does 
 this Name send into our hearts when God visits us 
 with trials and proves us by sufferings ! Therefore 
 when, on the day of Judgment, the. cross shall shine in 
 all its solemn grandeur in the firmament, how great 
 will then be the glory which will irradiate the most 
 holy Name of Jesus when all heaven will give honor 
 to the Triune God as Creator and Redeemer, in the 
 Name of Jesus, in adoration and thankfulness, for ever 
 and ever! — Amen! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 79 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "Thy name is like oil poured out." — Cant. I. 
 
 ''PHE Church celebrates a special festival for the 
 JL glorification of the sacred Name of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. This is salutary and right, for 
 it is the Name of the Redeemer of the world ; and, 
 therefore, with regard to its relation to Him who 
 bears it, and to the work He accomplished, it is a 
 most solemn, mighty, holy, sanctifying, sweet and 
 consoling Name. But the most important point in 
 its consideration is that it exercises a powerful influ- 
 ence upon our lives as children of God and His Holy 
 Church. 
 
 But, to denote more clearly the person of the Re- 
 deemer, and what He accomplished by the institution 
 of His Church, we add, according to the direction of 
 Holy Scripture, to this Name still another, namely, 
 Christ. We should frequently think of the significa- 
 tion of this Name and its relation to us; for after it 
 we are called, in imitation of Christ, and as members 
 of His Church, Christians. It can be said of this 
 holy Name, as well as of the name Jesus, that it is 
 a most holy, solemn, mighty, sanctifying, and consol- 
 ing Name, admirably qualified to exercise an influence 
 upon our lives, that we may not only call ourselves 
 disciples of Jesus and of His Church, but also live 
 as sucL 
 
 / will, therefore, speak to-day of the dignity of the 
 
l8o FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 Name to be called a Christian ^ and of the influence 
 which that Name should exercise upon our lives, 
 
 Mary, help of Christians, protectress of the Catho- 
 Hc Church, assist us, that we may not merely be called 
 Christians, but may also live as such ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 As we read the acts of the martyrs, we see that, 
 at the time of the persecution of Diocletian, Chris- 
 tians, in the bright light of day, walked in the public 
 streets having plates on their foreheads, on which 
 were inscribed the words : ''I am a Christian." 
 
 This confession was to remind the persecutors of 
 the Church how useless it was to induce the faith- 
 ful — -who knew what the name Christian signified, 
 and what relation it bore to the name of Christ Him- 
 self — to apostatize from the true faith. 
 
 To understand this more clearly, we need only first 
 think of the glorification which is due to the Name of 
 Jesus ; and consider how all the circumstances, which 
 elevate it to such a dignity, and surround it with the 
 light of glory, refer also in manner and degree to the 
 name "Christian," which we bear as children of His 
 Church. 
 
 I say, first, the Name of Jesus is a most solemn 
 Name, which, as the angel said to St. Joseph, was 
 sooner named in heaven than on earth. It is the 
 Name of the Incarnate Son of God. 
 
THIRD SERMON. l8l 
 
 The name Christian is also a name which was 
 sooner named in heaven than it was bestowed upon 
 man on earth. There was indeed no necessity that we 
 should receive the happiness of being children of the 
 true Church of Christ. For this great privilege we 
 are indebted to the decree of the love and mercy of 
 God, who, from all eternity, ordained that we should 
 be born of Catholic parents ; or else, enlightened and 
 encouraged by the assistance of God, receive grace to 
 become children of the Holy Church. We shall the 
 better estimate this happiness, if we think of the mul- 
 titude of men throughout the world who lived before 
 Christ, are now living, and will yet live in the future, 
 without ever attaining it. 
 
 Yes, a precious, a glorious and gracious name is the 
 name of Christian. 
 
 The name Jesus is the Name of the Son of God, 
 who became Man for us, and the name Christian is 
 that of the children of God ; it was imparted to us 
 at baptism, through which we were regenerated, as 
 children of the Church, and, at the same time, as 
 children of our Father in heaven. 
 
 The name of Jesus is glorious, through the prop- 
 erties of the person and dignity of Christ and His 
 kingdom. All these circumstances are so many rays 
 which glorify the name of *' Christian " before the face 
 of heaven and earth. 
 
 The name Christian indicates an extremely high and 
 glorious position, which we maintain among the creat- 
 ures of God ; for, as Christians, we are changed from 
 
1 82 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 children and slaves of Satan into children of God, — 
 citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, — fellow-citizens of 
 the angels, and brothers and sisters of the saints. We 
 are permitted to call Mary, the Queen of heaven, our 
 Mother; and Jesus, who sits at the right hand of His 
 Father, our Brother. Through baptism, by which the 
 name *' Christian " is imparted to us, we enter into the 
 visible kingdom of Christ upon earth ; enjoy, with Holy 
 Church, her victories and triumphs, and attain to the 
 possession of the infinite merits of our Lord and Re- 
 deemer Jesus Christ, who deposits them in the treas- 
 ury of the Church, — yes, we even attain to the per- 
 sonal possession of Christ Himself, in the most august 
 Sacrament of the Altar. 
 
 The happiness of being a Christian gives us, at the 
 same time, the right to become heirs of heaven, and 
 one day to enter into it, body and soul, to dwell for- 
 ever there. Not only this ; but this Name, if we live 
 accordingly, gives us power to elevate our thrones in 
 heaven always higher and higher, by the good works 
 which we perform on earth in the state of grace, and 
 to gather always more and more treasures, and so be- 
 come richer and richer for eternity. 
 
 What a great happiness to be a Christian ! 
 
 But, in order to reign one day royally with Christ in 
 the strength of His Name, we must certainly do some- 
 thing on our part. We must lawfully combat against 
 the powers of darkness, which endeavor to seduce us 
 to deviate from the narrow path of salvation, and walk 
 on the broad and pleasant road of eternal perdition. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 83 
 
 In this regard, we must be zealous in overcoming- 
 temptation ; we must avoid sin, and, with the zeal of 
 the saints, perform good works. 
 
 But the name Christian reminds us, furthermore, 
 of a series of motives which, if we consider them prop- 
 erly, will inspire us with courage and strength to con- 
 quer in this manner victoriously, and to crush the head 
 of the serpent of temptation, thus coming nearer and 
 nearer each day to that perfection at which we all must 
 aim. 
 
 I am a Christian, how could I, by sinning, sacrifice 
 the dignity of having been created in the image of 
 God, and every right and title to the triumphant king- 
 dom of Christ in heaven? Never! ah, never! I am 
 a Christian ; and as long as I possess within my heart 
 the power to feel, I will utter the triumphant cry: 
 " Depart from me ! " and endeavor, by my progress in 
 the path of perfection, to remain close to Christ, and 
 to become always more like unto Him, that He may 
 not be ashamed to call me His brother before all the 
 radiant angels of His heavenly realm. 
 
 The Name of Jesus is a holy and sanctifying Name, 
 so also is the name'^f Christian. It was imparted to 
 us in baptism, whose saving waters cleanse every stain 
 of sin from the soul, and infuse into it the priceless 
 boon of sanctifying grace. 
 
 As true Christians we shine, as St. Paul assures us, 
 like bright and sparkling torches amid the darkness, 
 which, through idolatry, sins, and crimes of every kind, 
 bury and enchain the nations of the earth. 
 
154 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 '* Let your light shine, that men may see your good 
 works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 
 These are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. How earnestly, therefore, should not the con- 
 sciousness — *' I am a Christian" — urge us to the imi- 
 tation of Christ, and to the utmost solicitude in the 
 momentous affair of our salvation. A martyr of Christ 
 who, in the early ages of Christianity, was dragged 
 before the judge because he was a Christian, gave to 
 all the questions of the pagan judge the unvarying 
 answer: "I am a Christian." What is your name? 
 *' I am a Christian." What is your occupation ? '' To 
 be a Christian." 
 
 If I can thus reply with truth, then indeed my sal- 
 vation is secured ; if not, then indeed I am in danger. 
 Ah, yes! a Christian I am, and will ever be! The 
 Name of Jesus is a Name which is full of the sweet- 
 est consolation and celestial benediction ; so also is 
 the name Christian. It whispers to us to look into 
 the mystery of the Redemption of the world, — the 
 passion and death of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Instructed by Christ's word, encouraged by His ex- 
 ample to bear the cross, all troubles lose the appear- 
 ance of evil, and shine with a lovely light along the 
 way to heaven to increase our joy in the kingdom of 
 eternal reward, if we, with Him, for Him, and through 
 Him, have victoriously endured the trials which He 
 has sent us here on earth. 
 
 It was this that amazed the heathens, and was so 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 85 
 
 often the means of winning them to confess the truth 
 of our holy faith. What admiration filled them when 
 they beheld how Christians, in the midst of torments, 
 praised and thanked God that He deemed them worthy 
 to testify in this manner their love to Him, and their 
 fidelity to the faith He came to teach. *' I am a Chris- 
 tian." This one thought is a blessed source of con- 
 solation. Oh, what joy in the remembrance that we 
 are in possession of a dignity the very name of which 
 is a pledge of security for us for time and eternity ! 
 
 Well Is it for us if, through constant meditation on 
 the above, a true appreciation of this dignity pene- 
 trates us. Thus we shall, after a joyfully happy and 
 meritorious life, receive, upon our dying bed, that 
 consolation which St. Teresa experienced when she 
 yielded her pure soul into the hands of the Lord: "I 
 die as a child of the Holy Catholic Church." Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, in peace!" — Luke 2. 
 
 THESE were the words of holy Simeon as he re- 
 ceived the divine Child from the arms of its 
 mother ; who would not congratulate him that the Lord 
 fulfilled his ardent longing, and that, too, in so perfect 
 a manner, by look upon the Infant God? 
 
 To behold the promised Redeemer, and then de- 
 part from this world to his eternal home, had been 
 the suppliant prayer of Simeon from the days of his 
 youth to his venerable old age ; and this silent but in- 
 tense desire of his heart was gratified on the Feast of 
 the Purification, which we celebrate to-day. 
 
 Mary, with the divine Child in her arms, entered the 
 temple with Joseph, her virginal spouse. Simeon 
 looked upon the Child and, the Holy Spirit illumin- 
 ating his soul, recognized in Him the Saviour of the 
 world ; and not only that, but he glanced with pro- 
 phetic vision into the future, and God permitted him 
 to behold the consequences of His advent into the 
 world, — the Church so gloriously founded by Him. 
 He thanked God for the happiness and grace when 
 be saw himself among the number of those for whom 
 
FIRST SERMON. 1 87 
 
 Christ was to become a sign of resurrection and glo- 
 rification for eternal life. 
 
 The Lord granted his ardent desire, and surely in 
 a more perfect manner than he anticipated, from which 
 arose his prayer: " Now, O Lord, dismiss Thy serv- 
 ant in peace ! " 
 
 The example of Simeon indicates, in the most ex- 
 plicit m^anner, what is required that we may also bid 
 adieu to life, consoled and strengthened i7i the Lord. 
 
 Mary, sweet consoler of the dying, obtain for us 
 the grace of a happy death ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor of God ! 
 
 Simeon longed to depart from this world. Unlike 
 so many, even among those who have received the 
 light of faith, death held nothing terrible for him. 
 Why is it, beloved in Christ, that the approach of 
 death is generally regarded with such apprehension, 
 and even terror? 
 
 Because the human heart is entirely too much en- 
 grossed by the things of this world — its goods and 
 treasures. Men toil on as lonof as their enerofies will 
 permit, to acquire what they deem a sufficient com- 
 petency to enable them to spend their declining years 
 in comfort, ease, or luxury ; and when the grim mon- 
 arch of the tomb bids them leave it all, their whole 
 interior undergoes a fearful struggle. Men pass their 
 lives in enjoyment, they are happy in the love and af- 
 
1 88 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 fection of the family circle, or their days pass on in 
 dissipation and forbidden amusements, when suddenly 
 death appears and bids them go. Ah! then what 
 trouble, what misery, what resistance on the part of 
 those whose prayer is not: '* Now, O Lord, dismiss 
 Thy servant in peace;" but a very different one: 
 "■ Now, O Lord, let Thy creature enjoy the goods of 
 earth, and grant unto me still many days with my fam- 
 ily, relations, and friends. Ah! let me taste still 
 longer the joys of earth." 
 
 Simeon longed for death ; not so the child of the 
 world. Simeon held the Child Jesus in his arms, and 
 pressed Him to his heart, hoping ere long to embrace 
 Him in the kingdom of His eternal love ; which circum- 
 stance refers to another fact, from which we learn 
 the reason why every Christian does not long to be 
 dissolved, and to be with Christ. 
 
 Man, indeed, believes in Christ, adores Him, and is 
 resolved to live as a child of His Holy Church, but 
 by all this he does not attain to the personal knowl- 
 edge of the Lord, whom he loves, so to say only In 
 name.' Hence the weakness of his love, and desire, 
 and longing for God. 
 
 We are satisfied to live in His grace, but Jesus is 
 not the principal thought, the principal wish, the prin- 
 cipal desire of our hearts. Man lives near Him, but 
 in spirit he is more engrossed with other men and ob- 
 jects than with God, and all that concerns His em- 
 pire. 
 
 Therefore, he does not feel the ardent longing to 
 
FIRST SERMON, 1 89 
 
 leave this world, to haste to his Creator, and to abide 
 with Him in the full possession of His superabundant 
 love, and to sigh with St. Paul: *'I desire to be dis- 
 solved, and to be with Christ.'* 
 
 How very different would this be did we but follow 
 the admonition contained in the example of the ven- 
 erable Simeon, holding in his arms the Infant Saviour. 
 This should remind us of the presence of Christ in the 
 Most Holy Sacrament, and of the happiness of being 
 permitted to have intercourse with Him therein. It 
 should remind us of the great privilege we enjoy of 
 speaking to Him, of laying before Him each wish of 
 our hearts, and even of receiving His precious Body 
 and Blood, — a happiness which was not granted to 
 Simeon. 
 
 Indeed, generally speaking, what Christ was to do 
 for us, was not so well known to him as to us. While 
 Christ has already lived and accomplished the work of 
 redemption in us, Simeon enjoyed but for a few mo- 
 ments the opportunity of remaining with Him in per- 
 son ; for Mary and Joseph left the temple, and took 
 the little Infant away. But now, Christ abides among 
 us in the tabernacle, and never for a moment ceases 
 to invite and entreat us to come to Him. Oh, that 
 we might fully comprehend how to appreciate and 
 make use of this immeasurably great gift ! — this gift 
 of the perpetual presence of the Lord in the Blessed 
 Sacrament! Only through the perfect application of 
 this precious gift will the meaning of all the rela- 
 tions of Christ become clear to us. When we call Him 
 
190 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 our Father — Brother — Friend — the Spouse of our 
 souls, we begin to anticipate what our hearts will feel 
 for Him when we behold Him unveiled — freed from 
 the sacramental forms — when we look upon His 
 glory in heaven, and embrace Him there. 
 
 In the measure that the personal love and knowl- 
 edge of Jesus Christ increases in us by our intercourse 
 with Him, in the same degree the desire grows ever- 
 more intense to fly to Him from this world of sin to a 
 home of eternal bliss. For what would be the posses- 
 sion of the whole earth, with its riches and its pleas- 
 ures, compared to that possession into which we enter, 
 if we depart this life in the grace of God, and hear 
 from His divine lips the blessed words: ''Enter into 
 the joys, the glory, and the delights of thy Lord." 
 *' The conqueror I let sit with Me on My throne." 
 Oh, what are all the fleeting honors of this world com- 
 pared with the brilliant luster of the crown which 
 Christ will put upon our heads, when we shall have 
 reached the refuge of His love in heaven ! and what 
 are earthly joys compared to those which He has pre- 
 pared for His own, beyond the skies! 
 
 We may, it is true, enjoy the delights of the happy 
 family circle — our parents, children, friends — and it 
 will be a bitter pang to part with them by death; but 
 the pain of that separation will be repaid a thousand 
 fold by the bliss which a union with Christ in heaven 
 will bring to us. Through Him we enter into the 
 communion and beatitude of the saints, of His blessed 
 mother, St. Joseph, and all the celestial host. Ah! 
 
FIRST SERMON. I9I 
 
 then, may we not indeed, with the holy Simeon, and 
 the venerable Apostle of nations, desire to be dis- 
 solved and to be with Christ? 
 
 One circumstance which intensifies that desire is 
 this : What a joy it will be to leave the world, and with 
 it the many, the innumerable offenses by which in ev- 
 ery hour of the day and night Jesus Christ is insulted 
 and crucified anew, even by those who call themselves 
 children of His Church ! 
 
 And we, ourselves, alas ! are not free from reproach 
 in this regard ; for we offend Him, if not by mortal 
 sins, at least by innumerable venial faults and imper- 
 fections, from which we can not keep ourselves free 
 without a special grace of God. What a motive to 
 desire heaven, and to sigh from the deepest depths 
 of the heart: '* I long to be dissolved, and to be with 
 Christ; " where I will be confirmed in grace, and for- 
 ever free from the fear of displeasing my Lord and 
 God ; where I will be purified from every stain of sin, 
 and will become an object of His pleasure and love 
 for all eternity. 
 
 The holy Simeon was endowed with the spirit of 
 prophecy. He penetrated the secrets of the ages yet 
 hidden in the mystic veil of futurity; and the destinies 
 of the Church were revealed to him. He beheld the 
 combat which the Church of Christ would have to 
 enter upon, and the different manner in which the 
 children of men would apply or reject the priceless 
 gift of redemption. 
 
 When Simeon held the Infant Jesus in his arms, the 
 
192 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 massive gates of heaven were yet closed, and his 
 soul must descend to Limbo, and wait until Christ 
 would enter His kingdom of glory, and take with Him 
 the souls saved through His passion and death. 
 
 Look in spirit upon your own dying bed. How dif- 
 ferent will it be! Christ has entered His kincrdom, 
 and there awaits the just soul with a heavenly crown. 
 Now, if during life, our whole desire was to be with 
 Him, a desire which displayed itself by our aspiration 
 after the perfection and fidelity of the saints in imitat- 
 ing Him, then we will, after death, fly immediately 
 to Him, and enter into His beatitude and love. God 
 grant to us all, beloved in the Lord Jesus, through the 
 intercession of the blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, and St. 
 Anna, the grace of a happy death, full of an ardent 
 longing after Christ, our dearest Saviour ! — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 1 93 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "A light to the revelation of the Gentiles." — Luke 2. 
 
 THE feast which Holy Church celebrates to-day in 
 honor of the Blessed Virgin has a twofold name. 
 It is called the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed 
 Virgin. This name relates to the historical event, 
 which took place when Mary presented herself in the 
 temple, with the divine Child, that she might there 
 fulfill the precept of a law which, properly speaking, 
 did not regard her in the least. 
 
 The name ''Candlemas Day" refers to the rite of 
 blessing the candles to be used by the faithful, which is 
 observed with proper solemnity by the Church. In 
 regard to these blessed candles, there are three spe- 
 cial periods of life when the Church places those 
 candles, enriched by her benediction, in the hands of 
 her children, and these are : First, at their entrance 
 into this world — when they receive the sacrament of 
 baptism; secondly, when, for the first time, they ap- 
 proach the altar, and from the hands of God's minis- 
 ter receive the Body and Blood of Christ; and, 
 thirdly, when, at the close of life, the soul is about 
 to go forth and meet the Judge of the living and the 
 dead. 
 
 Let tis consider to-day what relation the lighted 
 blessed candle bears to our conduct as children of God 
 in imitating Christ, at the baptismal font, at first holy 
 communion, and at the bed of death. 
 
194 FEAST OF THE PURIFCATION. 
 
 Mary, who becamest, through Christ, a light to 
 guide mankind, obtain for us the Hght of grace clearly 
 to discern our vocation as children of God, and to walk 
 therein with unfaltering steps ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Our Holy Mother Church places a lighted blessed 
 candle in the hands of each one of her children, 
 first, when they enter this world, — or, to speak with 
 more exactness, on their entrance into the visible 
 kingdom of Jesus Christ by the sacrament of bap- 
 tism. Her intention in doing this is shown by the 
 words which the priest, in her name, directs to the 
 newly baptized infant: "Receive this burning light, 
 and keep thy baptism so as to be without blame. 
 Observe the commandments of God, that when our 
 Lord shall come to His nuptials, thou mayest meet 
 Him, together with all the saints, in the heavenly 
 court, and mayest have life everlasting, and live for- 
 ever and ever. — Arnen ! '* 
 
 What an admonition is contained in these words! 
 Preserve pure and unspotted your baptismal robe; 
 preserve the remembrance of the promises made by 
 you ; forget not your baptismal vows ; observe all that 
 you have so solemnly taken upon yourselves before 
 the Lord. As Christians, you have renounced the 
 devil with all his works and pomps ; try, then, ever 
 to live as true servants of Christ. And what is 
 meant by a truly Christian life? Beloved in Christ, 
 
SECOND SERMON. 195 
 
 one glance at Him, who is the Light of the world, will 
 teach us this. 
 
 Man, left to himself, knows but little of all- that re- 
 gards his ultimate destiny and' last end; he can not 
 realize the malice and fiorror of sin, for his spirit is 
 shrouded in dark night, and he dwelleth in the shadow 
 of death. 
 
 But let him become well instructed in the truths of 
 faith ; let him look at Christ, the Light of the world, 
 and consider what He, — through His word and exam- 
 ple, from the moment of His advent into the world, 
 through His life and death upon the cross, — teaches 
 us by His Church. 
 
 Christ, the Son of God, assumes our flesh to free 
 us from the evil of sin, which quenches in us the light 
 of grace. 
 
 Besides this, we learn from the lips of the proph- 
 ets — from Christ Himself, through the teachings of 
 the Apostles and their successors — that all are saved 
 who here in the state of grace participate in the fruits 
 of the Redemption. 
 
 We are clearly instructed in all that is calculated to 
 fill our hearts with hatred and horror of sin ; we are 
 told what we must do in order to be cleansed from it, 
 if, after baptism, we have had the misfortune to offend 
 God thereby, and fall once more into the power of 
 Satan. 
 
 The Christian who, in this regard, permits himself 
 to be thoroughly illuminated by the light of faith 
 which Christ brought into this world, will become also 
 
196 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 thoroughly in earnest in his resolution to amend his 
 life. ''No more sin!'' Such a one avoids the occa- 
 sion of -sin ; yes, in the first moment of temptation, 
 he cries out against Satan, in the most holy name of 
 Jesus, ''Depart," and thus conquers the tempter, 
 which, through his knowledge of Christ, and the study 
 of His divine example and doctrines, but, above all, 
 through his ardent love, he can easily accomplish. 
 
 If this be so, what then is the reason that so very 
 few retain their baptismal innocence, and that by far 
 the greater number lose it so soon ? I answer by say- 
 ing that it is because we forget to glance at Christ, Who, 
 through sin, was crucified for us. 
 
 The second occasion on which the Church presents 
 her children with a blessed candle, is on the occasion 
 of their first communion. She admonishes them by 
 this not to be satisfied merely to avoid sin, but with 
 unwavering footsteps to walk after Christ in the way 
 of Christian perfection. He is the brilliant Light 
 which makes of this darksome earth a glorious way to 
 heaven. 
 
 In our lives as true children of the Church we must 
 strive ever to know, in as distinct a manner as possi- 
 ble, the most holy will of God, and pray always for 
 the strength and will to fulfill it perfectly. And what 
 is, in general, the will of God in our regard? To 
 this question St. Paul replies: **This is the will of 
 God: your sanctification." Through what? This ques- 
 tion also the great Apostle of nations answers with 
 equal certainty: ** Those also whom He has elected, 
 
SECOND SERMON. ^ 197 
 
 He has predestined to become conformable to Him- 
 self; " and he says of himself: "Be ye my imitators, 
 as I am an imitator of Christ," and each true Chris- 
 tian should be enabled to say the same to the rest of 
 mankind. But, alas, what darkness envelops that por- 
 tion of the human race who know nothing of Christ; 
 while the halo, as it were, of a brilliant sunlight en- 
 circles those who look at His bright example and 
 obey His admonition: ''Learn of Me;" and again: 
 *' Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice." 
 
 To what heights of perfection can those Christians 
 attain who glance at Christ and imitate His example ! 
 This we may learn by the lives of the saints ; and, as 
 this symbolical light sparkles in our hand at Holy Com- 
 munion, Mother Church points at the same time to the 
 source of all grace by which we are enabled to live in 
 the imitation of Christ after the manner of the saints. 
 
 This, beloved in the Lord Jesus, is our intercourse 
 with Christ in the most Holy Sacrament, which is the 
 only way to attain, to His personal knowledge, to the 
 perfect love of Jesus Christ, and to follow His exam- 
 ple until we attain to the highest degree of virtue. 
 
 If the illuminative light — as it shines through Christ 
 into the hearts of the innocent ones, who are united 
 with Him for the first time through a worthy commun- 
 ion — is never permitted to burn dimly; but, by fre- 
 quent reception of the Holy Eucharist, is always en- 
 livened anew, then indeed there is an unequivocal 
 assurance that the fervor which characterized their 
 first Holy Communion remains ever the same, and 
 
198 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 that their endeavors after Christian perfection in fol- 
 lowing the Lord will be crowned with success. 
 
 The third period of life when the Church places the 
 blessed candle in the hands of her children, is at the 
 moment when the soul is about to leave the body, 
 and its flickering beams cast their uncertain light on 
 the pallid countenance and fading eyes of the dying 
 Christian. 
 
 If we would that our zeal should grow constantly 
 greater, and our fervor increase as children of light, 
 let us keep ever in view the remembrance of the pow- 
 erful word — Eternity — united with the abiding thought 
 of the certainty of death and its approach, which comes 
 nearer each moment. It is, as the Apostle styles it, 
 the answer of death within us. 
 
 Happy for us, my dearest Christians, if this three- 
 fold relation of the blessed candle burns with ever- 
 increasing brightness around our spirits, for then in- 
 deed Christ will surely remain for us the Light to 
 guide our steps to the empire of His glory! Amen! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 1 99 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 ** And after the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were 
 accomplished, they carried Him to Jerusalem." — Luke ii, 22. 
 
 '^ TJE has regarded the humility of His handmaid." 
 1 1 The Blessed Virgin declares this of herself, 
 and the feast we celebrate to-day is a most glorious 
 proof of this disposition of her heart. 
 
 The law of Moses, to comply with which Mary came 
 to the temple to present her offerings, surely related 
 only to mothers who, after the fall of our first mother, 
 Eve, conceived and brought forth a male child in the 
 natural way. It was not thus that Mary conceived her 
 divine Child, but by the power of the Holy Ghost, and 
 she remained a pure virgin before, in, and after His 
 birth. Therefore, although the law of Moses was not 
 binding upon her in regard to this point, nevertheless 
 she fulfilled it, and placed herself by her own free will 
 upon an equality with all the mothers of her race. 
 
 This trait in the holy Virgin's character contains a 
 most important lesson for all the children of the Church, 
 reminding us of the zeal, magnanimity, and fidelity with 
 which we should observe the precepts which she has 
 enjoined upon us, and of the spirit of self-sacrifice with 
 which we should be ready to support them at every 
 cost, and thus show before God and the world that we 
 are really His faithful children. If to remind the faith- 
 ful of this duty was always appropriate and important, 
 it is particularly so nowadays when the Church is in 
 
300 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 SO remarkable a manner an object of hate to the ene- 
 mies of Christ, and an object of indifference to so many 
 who call themselves members of her fold. 
 
 / call out to all, therefore, to-day : Show yourselves 
 children of God by zealously fulfilliiig yotir duties to- 
 wards His Church, your Mother in Christ. 
 
 Mary, Protectress of the Church, whom we call 
 our Mother, intercede for us that we may ever live 
 according to her commands ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 "By this it will be known that you are my own," 
 says Christ, **if you love one another." This is the 
 characteristic mark by which true Catholics are known 
 — this spirit of love, which knows nothing of envy or 
 malice, nothing of hatred or enmity, but which disposes 
 our hearts to fulfill literally the counsel of the Lord: 
 ** As you would that men should do unto you, do you 
 also to them in like manner." 
 
 None but a true Christian is able to live as he is 
 bound to do by the precept of fraternal love; and we 
 might with equal justice assert that by this it will be 
 known that you are not Catholics in name alone, if 
 you try ever to act in accordance with it. 
 
 If you love the Church in proportion to her merits, 
 appreciate her and contribute to her support accord- 
 ing to your means. 
 
 Let us briefly consider the many and powerful rea- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 20I 
 
 sons which place themselves before our eyes in proof 
 of the correctness of the above. 
 
 I said — first, ''Honor the Church, whose protectress 
 is, Mary, as your mother." 
 
 Alas ! there are many Catholics who perhaps during 
 the whole course of their lives have scarcely given a 
 thought to the great happiness and honor it is for 
 them to call the Catholic Church their mother. They 
 consider not those rare privileges through which the 
 Lord placed her on the lofty mount, that she may be 
 to all who are interested in the salvation of their souls 
 a beacon light. 
 
 In regard to those other sects whose members pro- 
 fess to belong to the Church of Christ, they are only 
 the work of men, and the foundation upon which they 
 rest is falsehood and deceit. They teach not the way 
 of truth, but of error. What a contrast to all this is 
 presented by the Church of Christ — the Church of the 
 Triune God, the kingdom of His Incarnate Son! As 
 soon as we enter her fold we are no longer slaves of 
 Satan ; we are free ; we are God's own children, enti- 
 tled to call Him Father, Jesus our Brother, Mary our 
 Mother, the angels and saints our brothers and sisters 
 in Christ. She is the Church with whom Christ depos- 
 ited the source of every grace, to whom He bequeathed 
 His precious Body and Blood — Himself — in the Most 
 Holy Sacrament. She it is who extends her protect- 
 ing hand during the whole course of our lives, and 
 who, furthermore, watches over us at the hour of our 
 death. It is her assistance which follows us even when 
 
202 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 we have crossed over to the " eternal shore ; " and it is 
 she who continually sends her children to heaven, there 
 to increase the glory of the saints. 
 
 Although persecuted for centuries, she still stands 
 firm and victorious here on earth, as the immutable 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 Her well-instructed children, therefore, filled with 
 holy enthusiasm, should esteem it the greatest honor 
 to be members of this glorious Church, and never for 
 one moment give way to a feeling of shame on pro- 
 fessing their faith before the world. 
 
 This disposition of the heart must particularly prove 
 itself not only by our observance of the commands of 
 God, and the precepts of the Church, but by endeav- 
 oring to induce others to do the same, to obey these 
 commands. 
 
 Alas! that we so often hear the excuse even from 
 Catholics — " Oh ! that is only a precept of the Church." 
 Foolish and sinful words ! Is there not sufficient rea- 
 son for obedience in the very fact that it is a precept 
 of that Church of which Christ says : '' Whatsoever you 
 bind upon earth is bound also in heaven ; " and again: 
 '' He that does not hear the Church, let him be to thee 
 as the heathen." Some, indeed, may even think that 
 obedience to this or that precept is not of so much 
 weight or importance because we are citizens of this 
 great and free republic. What utter folly ! How can 
 the country excuse the violation of the precepts of the 
 Church of God? Or, think you that for America there 
 is another church, another heaven, another God? 
 
THIRD SERMON. 203 
 
 Besides this, the Church wishes, when she issues 
 her precepts to her children, to afford them occasion 
 to practise the two principal virtues — obedience and 
 self-denial — confirm themselves in them, and give 
 them at the same time occasion to acquire the merit 
 of thus confessing their faith openly before God and 
 man. 
 
 We may also apply to the Church what Christ de- 
 clares of Himself as Judge of the living and the dead : 
 "Whosoever confesses Me before men, the Son of 
 man will also confess him before His Father, who is 
 in heaven." In like manner can the Church cry out to 
 her children, — ''Whosoever confesses Me on earth as 
 his Church and Mother, him will I also acknowledge 
 on the day of judgment." 
 
 What tends to confirm us still more in this resolu- 
 tion to impress on our lives this seal of election for 
 the kingdom of God, is the consideration of how no- 
 ble, how salutary, and how admirable is all that the 
 Church requires of her members in these precepts, 
 the observance of two among which, characterize us 
 as faithful Catholics. For instance, we are commanded 
 to abstain from flesh meat on Fridays, and to keep 
 holy Sundays and holy days of obligation. By the 
 former we are reminded of the bitter and agonizing 
 death which the Redeemer of the world suffered for 
 us in the flesh on Good Friday. By the latter we 
 are bound to hear Mass on certain special days ; 
 although, indeed, even without a precept, good Cath- 
 olics should and will always avail themselves of the 
 14 
 
204 FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION. 
 
 happiness to be derived from devoutly assisting at the 
 sacrifice of the New Law. 
 
 Through this twofold precept the Church proves 
 herself a Mother over the entire world, and reminds 
 us that all men are alike before God. The rich man 
 and the beggar, the serf and the king — we are all 
 children of the one great family of the Lord. 
 
 The family roof and the general table are character- 
 istics of the family tie. The one common table which 
 the Church offers to her children on Fridays, and the 
 roof of God's temple, which is always ready to offer 
 them shelter, most appropriately suggest the idea that 
 they are all united in the family of God on earth. 
 
 But some one may object and say: "Why refrain 
 from eating meat? Why not, just as well, select some 
 other food?'' I reply, the Church commands us to 
 abstain ixovameat; she might have obliged us all to 
 eat meat on certain days ; and in either case it would 
 be to test our obedience, and our compliance would 
 be equally meritorious. 
 
 And since those whom it has pleased God to place 
 among His beloved poor are often without the means 
 of procuring meat, it is well for the rich to sit, as it 
 were, at the table of the poor — yes, even the king 
 or emperor — for at least one day of the week. Oh, 
 how replete with wisdom is this admirable precept ! 
 
 The observance of the festivals, too, reminds us of 
 the vast and important difference between Christians, 
 as we in reality are, and those who are contented with 
 the name! There is no doubt that Protestants pray 
 
THIRD SERMON. 2O5 
 
 on Sundays ; but on festivals, especially those in honor 
 of the saints, they work as heathens; for they have 
 no saints to produce, and, like the Jews, they are sat- 
 isfied with their Sabbath rest. Nay, they evince even 
 less gratitude to God for the principal events in the 
 life of our Saviour than do the Jews in remembrance 
 of the graces they received from the providence of 
 God in olden times. 
 
 In regard to the precept of confession and Holy 
 Communion, all who are deeply penetrated with the 
 spirit of obedience to the Church, will feel the benefit 
 of them without a special law to force them to comply 
 with their duty in these respects. If we truly love our 
 Holy Church, that love will in itself be an impulse 
 which will lead us to support her according to our 
 ability, not only in our own homes, but over the world, 
 with generosity and liberality; working in all possible 
 ways that every human soul may confess the one God, 
 the Father in heaven, and, on earth, the one Mother, 
 the one Holy Roman Catholic Church. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 ** There was not found the like to Him." — Eccl. 44. 
 
 /^UT of many hearts thoughts shall be revealed," 
 \J thus spoke Simeon in the temple to Mary, the 
 mother of the divine Child. 
 
 Nineteen centuries have passed away since that 
 hour, and how wonderfully have the predictions of 
 Simeon and that of Mary herself, which she so sol- 
 emnly made from Jerusalem's height, been verified. 
 " Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." 
 Every Catholic heart feels, in the love and devotion 
 of a child of God, the most tender veneration to Mary, 
 and a confidence which has never yet been disap- 
 pointed ; and the same is true of the holy father St. 
 Joseph, who, with Mary, the mother of the divine 
 Child, presented himself before Simeon. To Joseph, 
 also, Simeon could direct those words: *'But on you, 
 also, the hearts of men shall be revealed." 
 
 It is true that the faithful experience, in regard to 
 the different saints, different sentiments of love and 
 devotion, and have for this or that saint a greater ven- 
 eration, or a greater confidence in his power. 
 
 There is, however, one saint, of whom it can be as- 
 
 (206) 
 
FIRST SERMON. 207 
 
 serted, that the entire body of the faithful unite in en- 
 tertaining a particular veneration for him, and that 
 saint is the great St. Joseph. 
 
 To prove the truth of this, you may ask your own 
 hearts : "Do you not feel a special reverence for St. 
 Joseph ? and do you not cherish the utmost confidence 
 ^in his intercession?" There can be but one answer, 
 and that is, yes ; but still I doubt whether you have 
 considered and reflected upon the justice of the rea- 
 sons which prove that St. Joseph is not only a great 
 and mighty saint, but that his intercession is, after that 
 of Mary, the most powerful in heaven. 
 
 Let me place clearly before your eyes to-day that 
 this is the case. 
 
 St. Joseph, after Mary, the greatest of all the saints, 
 raised highest in Heaven, Jiext to Mary, will be the 
 theme of my sermon for his feast to-day. 
 
 Mary, bless the words which issue from my lips 
 for the glorification of your virginal spouse, the great 
 St. Joseph! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 I say : Honor St. Joseph more than any one of the 
 other saints ; for he is not only a great saint, but he 
 is also, next to Mary, the holiest of them all, and, there- 
 fore, his intercession is the most powerful. 
 
 Certainly it is not becoming for us, as St. Alphon- 
 sus Liguori, with other doctors of the Church, admon- 
 
208 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 ishes us, to attempt to estimate the greatness of the 
 saints, according to our own pleasure and predilec- 
 tion, and in this way maintain a preference for one 
 above the other. There can be saints, who, beyond a 
 doubt, exteriorly accomplished many more astonish- 
 ing and glorious deeds ; but God sees the heart of 
 His unknown servants, and what they accomplished A 
 before Him will not be known by the world till the 
 day of judgment, which will reveal it all. 
 
 However, as the same St. Alphonsus and other 
 equally unquestionable authorities teach, we may, in 
 regard to the holy Apostles, assert without hesitation 
 that they are elevated in heaven above all the choirs 
 of saints, nearest to Christ. 
 
 The reason of this assertion lies in the position 
 which they held upon earth in the kingdom of God. 
 
 For what determines the degree of our future glo- 
 rification in heaven ? First, the degree of election, 
 which was bestowed upon us on earth in the kingdom 
 of God ; secondly, the measure of grace, correspond- 
 ing to this calling; thirdly, the zeal and fidelity with 
 which we made use of them. 
 
 Let us apply what I have said to St. Joseph. 
 
 Christ spent an entire night in prayer, and selected 
 twelve from among the whole human race to be with 
 Him. These twelve formed His Apostolic Coiirt. 
 And as Christ departed this world, He directed to 
 them these words : ** As My Father has sent Me, I 
 also send you. Whosoever hears you, hears Me. 
 Whosoever honors you, honors Me. Go forth into 
 
FIRST SERMON. 209 
 
 the whole world, and preach the gospel to all nations. 
 Whatsoever you bind on earth, shall be bound in 
 heaven ; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, 
 shall be loosed in heaven. I have elected you." By 
 these words Christ refers to the most glorious calling 
 of the Apostles in the kingdom of Christ upon earth, 
 —a calling which elevated the Apostles above all the 
 rest of the human race, and by which undoubtedly 
 they will be forever distinguished in heaven by the 
 most resplendent glory. 
 
 ''You will sit with Me on twelve thrones;" thus 
 Christ Himself assures us. 
 
 But however glorious was the calling of the Apos- 
 tles in comparison to that of other men, how immeas- 
 urably higher still was that of St. Joseph ! 
 
 Joseph, by the side of Christ here on earth, was to 
 represent the place of the heavenly Father, as the 
 foster-father of Jesus, the virginal spouse and husband 
 of the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Queen of heaven 
 and earth. 
 
 He stood in this relation already at the manger, 
 when Jesus entered' into the world, and remained not 
 only three years, as the Apostles did, by His side, but 
 during nearly thirty years. 
 
 The Apostles walked with Christ, surrounded by a 
 multitude of people ; Jesus seldom spoke to any one 
 of them. Joseph abode with Jesus alone, and con- 
 versed with Him at pleasure at any time, as his foster- 
 father was entitled to do. 
 
 Christ confided to the Apostles the establishment of 
 
2IO FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 His Church. To St. Joseph was assigned the care of 
 Him who is the Founder of that Church. 
 
 In this position, as the foster-father of Christ, it was 
 fitting that St. Joseph should lead so holy a life that, 
 according to the common family life, it might, could 
 such a thing have been possible, have served as a 
 model even for the Child Jesus Himself. 
 
 St. Joseph had to lead such a life of perfection that 
 Christ, as the foster-Son, could not but feel obliged 
 to honor it with child-like reverence. 
 
 Such was not the case with the Apostles. They 
 were frail men, whom Christ found it sometimes nec- 
 essary to reprove ; where, as any thing like this, can 
 never be thought of in regard of St. Joseph. 
 
 Therefore, St. Joseph must surely have so lived 
 that no shadow of imperfection ever fell upon him ; 
 yes, so as to leave not the slightest reason for us to 
 think that Jesus could ever have evinced the least de- 
 sire to say: **This or that man would have been 
 more worthy than you to be My foster-father." No; 
 the testimony which Holy Scripture gave to St. Jo- 
 seph, " He was a just man," literally proves itself. 
 He was holy, and no other saint ever attained to as 
 great a degree of sanctity. 
 
 The same is consequently true of his relations with 
 Mary. The man is the head of the family, and should, 
 therefore, in his situation, live, so as to be a pattern to 
 his wife. 
 
 But it was fitting that Mary also should honor St. 
 Joseph, and that he should live so that, could such a 
 
FIRST SERMON. 211 
 
 thing again have been possible, Mary, who is the mir- 
 ror of justice, might have taken example from him, 
 and had reason to admire the sanctity of her earthly 
 spouse. 
 
 What a saint, therefore, was St. Joseph among the 
 saints ! I remarked secondly : The degree of glory in 
 heaven, depends on the measure of graces which are 
 imparted to the Christian here on earth, on account 
 of his state in life ; therefore, a fuller rneasure of 
 grace was meted out to the Apostles than to other 
 saints ; since Christ elected them for an office which 
 was above that of all others. They were to become 
 the heralds of faith, the foundation and pillars of glory, 
 surrounding the throne of Jesus Christ in heaven. 
 
 If this be so, how great must not have been that 
 measure of grace which was imparted to St. Joseph, 
 whose office far surpassed that of the Apostles, as we 
 have just now considered ! 
 
 The means to increase grace in our hearts is, above 
 all, prayer; therefore, even the Apostles admonish the 
 faithful to pray for it. 
 
 How effective, therefore, must the prayer of St. Jo- 
 seph have been, of him who lived in the closest prox- 
 imity to Jesus and Mary ; prayed with them, and to 
 whom they surely never refused a petition. Not only 
 that; but it was he for whom Jesus, as his foster-Son, 
 and Mary, as his virginal spouse, were obliged to pray. 
 
 O Joseph, thrice happy saint! St. Bernardine of Si- 
 enna is right, when he draws from this single reason 
 the conclusion that Joseph was the greatest of all the 
 
212 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 saints on earth, and is now abiding nearest to Mary 
 in heaven, and, after her, nearest the throne of the 
 Source of all graces ! 
 
 Finally, the degree of glory in heaven depends on 
 the fidelity with which a soul uses the graces imparted 
 to her for her blessed end. Such was the case with 
 the Apostles. They lived so that they all with per- 
 fect justice could cry out to the faithful, with St. Paul : 
 **Be ye my imitators, as I am an imitator of Christ." 
 
 Still, how much more does this hold good of our holy 
 father St. Josesh, who had the example and pattern 
 of Christ, during thirty years before his eyes, and, 
 therefore, the opportunity of earning daily, yes, hourly, 
 merits of the highest degree of recompense in heaven. 
 
 The Apostles cared for the salvation of souls, which 
 were once slaves of the devil. St. Joseph had to pro- 
 vide for Jesus and Mary!! 
 
 What is done for a dearly beloved child, a father 
 will reward more richly than he will benefits conferred 
 upon a number of others. How precious in the eyes 
 of God, therefore, were the works of St. Joseph, for 
 they all related to Jesus and Mary, for whom he 
 worked and lived. Yes, next to Mary, we dare and 
 must call out to St. Joseph : /' Others have gathered 
 riches, but thou dost surpass them all." Thus St. Jo- 
 seph lived up to his latest breath. At the thought of 
 God the Judge, St. Peter and Paul, and with them all 
 the saints, seemed to tremble, but such was not the 
 case with St. Joseph. Even without a particular rev- 
 elation he could entertain no doubt of his salvation. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 213 
 
 Jesus and Mary were in duty bound, on account of 
 his relation to them, to pray for him, and St. Joseph 
 expired in their arms. 
 
 Besides this, a tradition exists in the Church which 
 asserts that St. Joseph is already united with His glo- 
 rified body in heaven ; and would it not be most ap- 
 propriate that he, as the third person of the holy fam- 
 ily, should, like Jesus and Mary, be thus glorified 
 above all the choirs of saints ? And it is an incontro- 
 vertible fact that no relics of the great saint have ever 
 been found. 
 
 Honor, therefore, St. Joseph as the greatest of 
 saints, above all the other celestial inhabitants of 
 heaven. Christ, indeed, speaks of St. John as the 
 greatest of all born of a woman ; but as it is evident 
 that he and his blessed Mother are exceptions to this, 
 we may believe that St. Joseph, for the reason above 
 mentioned, is likewise not included. His place in 
 heaven, as it was on earth, is by the side of Jesus the 
 King of all saints, and by Mary their Queen, and his 
 glory therefore outshines that of the most glorious. 
 Therefore, children of the Church, honor him as the 
 greatest, the dearest, the most powerful of the saints, 
 and recommend yourselves to his protection now and 
 at the hour of your death. Amen ! 
 
214 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 «' Go to Joseph."— Gen. xli. 
 
 WHEN our thoughts dwell upon the saints in 
 heaven, the feeling which predominates in our • 
 hearts is admiration of their sanctity and glory. Our 
 first duty, therefore, is to show them the veneration 
 due to them, as the glorified children and servants of 
 God ; and among them all, who is so justly entitled to 
 every honor from us as St. Joseph? If every saint 
 has a claim upon our veneration, how much more is 
 this true of him, the holiest of all the saints, whom 
 we have already contemplated, body and soul, by the 
 side of Jesus and Mary on his heavenly throne? 
 
 We are, however, accustomed to manifest the sen- 
 timents of our veneration toward the saints by offering 
 prayers in their honor, by singing hymns in praise of 
 their virtues, and by saying special litanies to .them. 
 But more than all do we show our reverence and es- 
 teem by seeking refuge in their intercession in all our 
 needs. 
 
 In this regard, each one can follow the impulse of 
 his own devotion, and seek the protection of whatever 
 saint in whose intercession he has the most confidence. 
 
 But how great soever may be our esteem for the 
 ability of the differe7it saints to aid us, it is, above 
 all, St. foseph, in whom we may, with the greatest as- 
 surance of being heard, confde and hope. 
 
 Beloved in Christ, listen to my reasons for saying 
 
SECOND SERMON. 215 
 
 this, and reflect upon them during the course of your 
 whole lives. 
 
 Mary, grant that we may ever confide in the 
 power of the great St. Joseph to hear and help us! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 If I wish to-day to animate your courage and my 
 own so that it may never falter — to fly to St. Joseph 
 in all our needs — nothing can serve so well for this as 
 the declaration of a saint who is held in the highest 
 esteem in the Church of God. 
 
 St. Teresa says : *' I do not remember to have asked 
 St. Joseph for any thing which he did not grant me." 
 This is a very powerful proof, coming as it does from 
 a saint who certainly never was guilty of exaggera- 
 tion. What St. Teresa contributed on her part that 
 caused St. Joseph always to grant her petitions, was, 
 no doubt, the unbounded confidence with which she 
 never failed to approach him ; and also that her re- 
 quests were always made in view of her wonderful 
 vow, viz: ** Ever to do what was most perfect." Let 
 us imitate her example ; and, filled with gratitude, we 
 shall give that honor to St. Joseph which is justly due. 
 As to the confidence which St Teresa placed in him, 
 I am not astonished at its extent; but rather inclined 
 to wonder that it is not shared to a greater degree by 
 all the faithful. In view of this, I deem it advisable to 
 consider briefly with you the reasons wherefore she 
 
2l6 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 entertained It, for her motiyes for doing so exist for 
 all the children of the Catholic Church. 
 
 We employ, with hope and trust, the interces- 
 sion of the saints, because they are already with 
 Christ, behold God face to face, and are intimately 
 united with Him. Our confidence increases in pro- 
 portion to the reasons we have for believing that they 
 are exalted above all other saints, and particularly 
 glorified before God according to their calling in His 
 kingdom here on earth. 
 
 Secondly, the greater the merit through which they, 
 while on earth, attained greater holiness by God's grace, 
 the more firm will be our confidence in them, especially 
 when they are saints whom our Lord, in different coun- 
 tries and in some special time of need, has appointed 
 intercessors for the children of the Church. 
 
 In regard to the degree of glory to which St. Joseph 
 is elevated in heaven, we behold him by the side of 
 Jesus, in company with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This 
 exaltation points, at the same time, to the degree of 
 his union with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost in the Most Holy Trinity. How indeed could 
 God the Father refuse to hear the prayer of him whom 
 He appointed to be His representative here on earth? 
 In like manner how could God the Son deny him a re- 
 quest, since He was subject to him on earth as his 
 foster-Son ? And how could God the Holy Ghost re- 
 main deaf to any prayer of his, since He made him 
 protector and spouse of her whom we have the right 
 to designate as spouse of that Divine Spirit ? Besides, 
 
SECOND SERMON. ■ 217 
 
 St. Joseph stands at the side of Jesus, who is at the 
 same time Man, with Mary, His mother. Let him but 
 give the faintest sign, and Mary surely will not refuse 
 to unite her prayer with his that Jesus will grant the 
 petition ; for Jesus is almighty, and, through this un- 
 ion with the Saviour and His mother, St. Joseph be- 
 comes, so to say, almighty himself. 
 
 As I said before, our confidence in the intercession 
 of the saints is increased in proportion to the number 
 of merits they gathered in the service of God, who 
 deigns to glance at them, as we are assured in the 
 Holy Scripture itself by the example of Moses, Job, 
 and Jeremias the prophet. 
 
 But, in regard to St. Joseph, the merits of all the 
 other saints are not to be compared to his, for his en- 
 tire life was spent in the most tender solicitude for 
 Jesus and Mary themselves; and, therefore, each of 
 his works, toils, labors, and affections were of immeas- 
 urable value. 
 
 Certainly we know of no achievement, individually, 
 which the saints performed, and therefore we are not 
 allowed to exalt one above the other; but, in the case 
 of St. Joseph, ke stands pre-eminent above the rest, 
 for the Scripture calls him perfect, just. He was, like 
 Mary, a true mirror of perfection — without a blemish. 
 How great, therefore, must be the pleasure with which 
 the Most Holy Trinity contemplates him and grants 
 all that he asks ! 
 
 I repeat, that our assurance of being heard by the 
 saints is more certain in regard to those who have 
 
2l8 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 performed wonderful things for God, In particular 
 places, and whom He has glorified in times of need 
 as special intercessors. 
 
 In regard to the calling of St. Joseph, it was most 
 high and holy, and should be appreciated by all the 
 faithful ; for he fostered and protected the Lord and 
 Creator of the world, to whom nothing is impos- 
 sible. 
 
 Very justly, therefore, the holy fathers behold, in 
 the person of the Egyptian Joseph, a figure of St. 
 Joseph. The former was called, by the king, savior, 
 helper. He watched over the granaries and store- 
 houses in which the grain was preserved for the daily 
 bread ; but St. Joseph of the New Law cared for the 
 bread which was one day to serve as a nourishment 
 for the nations of the whole universe. 
 
 Pharaoh said to the people: '' If you want help, go 
 to Joseph;" and our heavenly Father, the King of 
 kings, says: "■ If you need help, go to Joseph ; I will 
 hear his prayers for you." What God once said to 
 the three friends of Job — " Go ye to Job, he will pray 
 for you, and I will hear his prayers " — is most true in 
 regard to St. Joseph, — in all necessiMes of soul and 
 body there is no exception. Child of the Church, 
 when the dark clouds of grief overshadow your soul, 
 go to Joseph;. he is, through Jesus Christ, the con- 
 soler of the afflicted: When you are tempted, go to 
 Joseph; call upon him, and the temptations will van- 
 ish, or you will victoriously conquer. And if you 
 should yield to the tempter's voice, and fall into sin, 
 
SECOND SERMON. 219 
 
 Still go to Joseph ; he will obtain for you the grace of 
 true repentance and conversion. 
 
 Are you in good dispositions, but weak and tepid ? 
 Look up to Joseph, think of the glorious example of 
 his sanctity, and he will obtain for you the grace of 
 zeal. Are you afflicted with sickness? Go to Joseph, 
 for he, too, is the health of the sick. If a St. Francis 
 Xavier appeared to the suffering Marcellus, during 
 his sickness, and said, ''Invoke me, for you must 
 know that I have influence in heaven," still more 
 forcibly can the great saint, whom we devoutly, honor 
 to-day, declare the same. 
 
 Yes, even in your temporal necessities call upon 
 him with confidence, but with the reservation that 
 what you petition for will surely tend to your spiritual 
 benefit; and through his powerful intercession your 
 prayer will not fail to obtain a hearing. 
 
 And, more than all, since the Head of the Church 
 Himself has most solemnly dedicated St. Joseph as 
 the patron of the '' universal Church," we should, with 
 the utmost faith, seek his gracious assistance. If we 
 have done so during life, then he will surely assist us 
 at the hour of death. Then let us pray daily for this 
 grace, that we, like St. Joseph, may yield up our spir- 
 its in the arms of Jesus and Mary ; and that, behold- 
 ing him in heaven, we may eternally thank him for the 
 L^races which, through his intercession, we obtained on 
 earth. Amen ! 
 
 15 
 
220 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 ** Whose name was Joseph, of the house of David." — Luke i, 27. 
 
 WHO could even think of the glorious St. Joseph, 
 and not feel his heart instantly filled with the 
 deepest veneration and admiration for him, and with- 
 out being at once impelled to have recourse, with the 
 greatest confidence, to his gracious intercession ? Di- 
 vine Providence has distinguished him in so wonder- 
 ful a manner above all the other saints, even above 
 the whole celestial choir of angels, by elevating him 
 to the dignity of foster-father of Christ, the Incarnate 
 Son of God, and virginal spouse of the Queen of all 
 saints, that his mediation with the Source of all grace 
 can not fail to be most powerful. 
 
 The exceptional graces which have been conferred 
 upon him show us in a moment that the glory and 
 power which surround St. Joseph in heaven, must be, 
 indeed, great beyond conception. But, beloved in 
 Christ, it is not sufficient to ad7nire the heroic lives 
 of the saints, nor even to feel that their intercession 
 is most powerful, for there is one point in the vener- 
 ation of the saints of much greater importance, and 
 that is, that we are zealous in imitating their virtues. 
 It is this disposition and determination of mind which 
 tend to develop and directly test the greater part of 
 the veneration which we profess to cherish for the 
 saints, and it is particularly in this regard that our 
 confidence will show itself most pleasing to God, as 
 
THIRD SERMON. 221 
 
 well as to the dear foster-father of the little infant 
 Jesus. 
 
 The very name of this great saint contains a lesson 
 in itself as to the manner in which our endeavors to 
 imitate him should proceed, for the signification of 
 Joseph is **The Increasing." And truly, from his won- 
 derful virtue, he is fully entitled to it, for the light of 
 his sanctity grew more and more brilliant, until at last 
 it merged into the glory of the eternal day. This mean- 
 ing will intimate to us the importance of striving ever 
 to advance in our journey along the way of perfection, 
 that we may resemble the more closely our patron, 
 St. Joseph, who is also the patron of the universal 
 Church. 
 
 What our progress in virtue partictilarly depends 
 upon shall be made plain to you to-day by a careful 
 consideration of the virtues which distinguished St. 
 Joseph, a7id which in the course of my sermon I will 
 place before your eyes. 
 
 Mary, obtain for us the grace to go on in the way 
 of perfection with a zeal similar to that of him who was 
 appointed by God to assist thee in the guardianship of 
 thy divine Son. 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God ! 
 
 ** Walk before Me, and be perfect." Thus runs the 
 word of the Lord to Abraham, the father of the faith- 
 ful. *' Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is per- 
 
222 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 feet," is the injunction of Christ to all the children of 
 men. 
 
 These words of the Lord indicate at the same time 
 the condition in which we must be to satisfy this com- 
 mand, or, as it may be called, this challenge to the 
 human race. We must strive in every action of our 
 lives to do always the most holy and divine will, even 
 in matters which. appear to us of trifling import; and 
 not only must we avoid evil, but practise with contin- 
 ually increasing zeal the duties of our state of life, 
 never for a moment losing sight of the goal we wish 
 to reach — perfection. 
 
 It is of his own endeavors that St. Paul speaks when 
 he says: '* Brethren, I do not count myself to have ap- 
 prehended; but one diing I do, forgetting the things 
 that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those 
 that are before, I pursue towards the mark." 
 
 In a greater or less degree every child of the Church 
 is interested in becoming better and better, after a true 
 Catholic knowledge has so penetrated his heart that 
 he appreciates the duty which rests upon him to ad- 
 vance as far as he can in the path of virtue. 
 
 To-day I have not in view those every-day Christians 
 who are satisfied with fulfilling the most general obli- 
 gations which devolve upon them in daily life. I speak 
 to souls who complain that, with all their care to be- 
 come more pleasing to God, they remain always the 
 same, and, to their utter discouragement, make no 
 progress whatever; who have, indeed, reason to say 
 of themselves : "Instead of advanciiig, we go back — 
 
THIRD SERMON. 2 23 
 
 we know It too well, and, alas! others remark it also, 
 especially those who are constantly with us. How can 
 we help it?" In answer I will call your attention to 
 those virtues which appeared most conspicuously in the 
 life of St. Joseph, which shine forth with the greatest 
 splendor, and are to be called his characteristic virtues. 
 
 In the first place, St. Joseph had a most profound 
 esteem for the dignity of his calling. Like St. John 
 the Baptist, he was most deeply impressed with the 
 holiness of the office, which enabled him to walk wor- 
 thily by the side of Jesus and Mary, and the great- 
 ness of the obligation which rested upon him to fulfill 
 its duties in a fitting manner. 
 
 The great point wherein so many Christians are de- 
 ficient, is a want of appreciation of the fact that God 
 has created us for His kingdom ; and that where Christ 
 is, there is His kingdom ; therefore all upon earth that 
 prevents us from following Him is naught but vanity 
 of vanities, and never sufficient to satisfy our hearts. 
 
 The generality of Christians seem to place worldly 
 happiness above all; their principal care is but to 
 possess and to enjoy for as many years as they can. 
 Hence their carelessness in all that relates to their 
 eternal salvation, on the one hand, and, on the other, 
 their excessive care for the things of earth. 
 
 Show me a Christian with a will full of sincerity in 
 the service of God, perfectly satisfied to embrace the 
 state of life which God has marked out for him, and 
 he will surely walk before the Lord, and make rapid 
 progress in perfection. 
 
224 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 St. Joseph lived in retirement and silence — a hidden 
 life. He lived in the deepest recollection of spirit, 
 keeping God ever in view. And here we perceive 
 one of the principal obstacles which stands in, the path 
 of so many who fain would think that they are seek- 
 ing the most rapid way to perfection. 
 
 The constant turmoil in which they live is not con- 
 ducive to a holy life. They shrink from that solitude 
 wherein the Holy Ghost would speak to their hearts. 
 They are given to much conversing, and that, where 
 neither duty nor Christian charity demands it, is a great 
 source of tepidity and lukewarmness. It sets a most 
 pernicious example, which in many instances destroys 
 whatever efforts are made for the sanctification of souls. 
 
 To this is added an excessive fondness for pleasure. 
 What was at once the solace, the joy, and the recrea- 
 tion of St. Joseph, was his intercourse with Jesus and 
 Mary ; and this will impart to us a very important les- 
 son. Christ our Lord is the model of all perfection, 
 and after Him ranks Mary as the most faithful imita- 
 tor of the splendor of those virtues which adorned her 
 Son. For thirty years St. Joseph had this immaculate 
 Mother and her divine Son daily before his eyes. He 
 lived with Jesus and Mary, which circumstance gave 
 him occasion to regulate his life in accordance with 
 their example ; and this he did with an assiduity and 
 a fidelity proportionate to his knowledge of and love 
 for them, and the ardor of his desire to resemble them 
 daily more and more. 
 
 But, alas! how far removed are men in general 
 
THIRD SERMON. 225 
 
 from thus knowing and loving Christ and His blessed 
 Mother! Happy the Christian whose heart is inflamed 
 with intense fervor for this dear Mother who was so 
 tenderly cherished by our Saviour ; he will continually 
 contemplate the example of her virtues, and fly to her 
 refuge in every spiritual necessity. Such a one leads, 
 indeed, a holy and zealous life ; for love for Mary can 
 not exist where there is no love for Christ. 
 
 Then, by frequent reception of and intimate union 
 with Him in the Most Holy Sacrament, he will acquire 
 a love of prayer, and a deeper knowledge of Jesus and 
 the Hfe which is hidden with Christ in God. This will 
 open for him an inexhaustible source of grace for the 
 sanctification of his life, and replenish his heart with 
 an ardent love of the cross, and with perfect resigna- 
 tion to the most holy will of God. 
 
 In the holy life of the great St. Joseph these dispo- 
 sitions shine most brilliantly forth. God tries His elect 
 by adversity and tribulations, and the dear saint whose 
 festival we celebrate to-day was no exception to the 
 universal decree. Trials fell to the lot of St. Joseph, 
 and he bowed in submission to the divine will ; he 
 remained silent, speaking not even to the angel who 
 spoke to him. 
 
 What a heavenly model of silence for all who are 
 really in earnest in their wish to advance in virtue ! 
 What resignation, what love of the cross, distinguished 
 this great saint! I declare to you, most beloved in 
 Christ, that the spirit of shrinking from the cross, from 
 self-denial, which we find in so many Christians, is one 
 
2 26 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 of the principal causes of the little progress they make 
 in virtue. Oh, what joy it is to meet one who has a ten- 
 der devotion to the cross through the love of Christ, 
 who finds therein a balm for every ill, and who, when 
 the hand of the Lord is heavy upon him, is willing to 
 give himself to God without reserve ! 
 
 Therefore, O St. Joseph! we pray thee obtain for 
 us grace and strength to imitate those virtues which 
 shone with such brilliant luster in thy life, and we 
 shall, no doubt, if consistent, reach the height of 
 Christian perfection. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION, 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "And the angel Gabriel was sent by God into a city of Galilee called 
 Nazareth, and the name of the virgin was Mary." — Luke i. 
 
 ATHWART the somber season of Lent, the deep- 
 ening shadows of which grow darker still until 
 the bright dawn of the resurrection morn dispels 
 their gloom, there flashes the glory of a divine fact 
 which gives to this festival of the Annunciation of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary a rank equal to that of the great- 
 est feast of the Church. This divine fact may well 
 inspire our hearts with the most tender, the most ex- 
 quisite, the most joyful, affections of thanksgiving, for 
 to its existence we are indebted for the inestimable 
 grace of Redemption. 
 
 It was upon this day, beloved in Christ, that the 
 angel Gabriel — to whom God had given in charge the 
 precious soul of her whom He had from all eternity 
 chosen to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate — bore 
 to the tender Virgin, whose purity had never been 
 tarnished by the slighest breath of evil, the joyful 
 tidings that she was, while preserving the pearl of 
 virginity, to becom.e the Mother of God. 
 
 It was upon this day, then, that the Son of God 
 
 assumed our human nature for the redemption and 
 
 (227) 
 
228 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 salvation of fallen man ; and yet there is, in general, 
 but too little attention devoted to the consideration 
 of the mystery we commemorate thereon; for, by the 
 greater number of Christians, it is regarded and 
 celebrated simply as a feast in honor of Mary. But, 
 in fact, it is the very corner-stone upon which rest 
 all the other feasts, — commemorating, as it does, an 
 event which can not fail to fill the human heart with 
 adoration, gratitude, and the most intense consola- 
 tion. 
 
 Every thing depended upon the decree of God 
 whether, in His infinite mercy, He would be pleased 
 to stretch forth His arm and rescue the human race 
 from the abyss of a wretchedness too profound almost 
 to be conceived. But, since ''the angel of the Lord 
 declared unto Mary" the message of salvation, and 
 the Son of God assumed on that very day her fiesh, 
 every thing was changed ; and from the Feast of the 
 Annunciation came forth Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, 
 and the eternal triumph of the Church. 
 
 Let us consider to-day the message of the angel to 
 Mary in its divine sublimity, as well as in the impor- 
 tance with which it is invested for the children of men, 
 
 Mary, who was already full of grace when the 
 angel saluted thee, and elected thee not only to be- 
 come the Mother of God, but also Mother of all the 
 children of God, accept us to-day as thy children! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
FIRST SERMON. 2 29 
 
 If, my beloved Christians, the words of the holy gos- 
 pels — whenever we open the pages of the inspired vol- 
 ume, but especially when we hear them from the lips 
 of the priest on the occasion of the celebration of the 
 feasts of the Church — tend ever to inspire us with joy, 
 and to elevate our hearts to God, this is especially true 
 of the gospel which is set apart for this joyous day. 
 
 *'At that time the angel Gabriel was sent to a town 
 named Nazareth, to a Virgin called Mary." Blessed 
 words! for, as often as we hear them, the happy event 
 which we commemorate to-day arises immediately 
 before our eyes, clear and distinct, as if we had been 
 present when the glory of the angel irradiated the 
 humble little room at Nazareth. In spirit, we behold 
 the Immaculate Virgin, united with her God in fervent 
 prayer, oblivious of all but Him, when, lo! an angel of 
 the Lord appeared before her. We can almost hear 
 his voice, in the tones of which still linger the sweet- 
 ness of that celestial music to which it were bliss to list. 
 
 We have every reason to learn and to ponder deeply 
 upon the signification of this angelic message, which 
 was a most holy, a most solemn, a most momentous, 
 a most consoling, and joyful message, both for the 
 Blessed Virgin and for her devoted children. 
 
 In every message the importance is increased or 
 lessened according to the dignity of the sender. A 
 message is brought to us by a relative, acquaintance, 
 or inferior, and produces but little effect upon us ; we 
 may not even delay the messenger long enough to 
 hear what he has to say. 
 
230 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 But suppose a person of high rank has something 
 to say to us, — a Prince, a King, an Emperor, the Presi- 
 dent, the Pope ! With what consideration we treat the 
 messenger ! How very attentively we Hsten, that we 
 may know precisely what he has to Impart ! Imagine, 
 then, how important, and, at the same time, how holy, 
 was the message of the angel ! It came from the 
 Most Holy Trinity — God the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost ! It was the message of the Infinite Majesty, the 
 most merciful sanctity of God to Mary, and, through 
 her, to the entire human race ! 
 
 It was a most solemn message. What Invests a 
 message with significance, is the form and manner In 
 which it Is transmitted. Here we behold an archan- 
 gel — one of the seven princes of heaven — declaring 
 the will of the Most High; and who can conceive 
 what myriads of angels attended Gabriel when he 
 presented himself before Mary, Queen of angels! 
 Who can picture the profound respect with which he 
 saluted her, in whom he already beheld the Mother 
 of the Son of God made man ! With what deep ven- 
 eration he addressed her, the chosen one of all the 
 daughters of Eve, — destined from all eternity to be 
 exalted as mistress above the whole celestial choir! 
 
 It was a most momentous message, for the subject 
 of a message is what constitutes its importance. It 
 made known to the world, to the human race, that 
 the • possessions lost through Adam would be re- 
 stored; it heralded a great victory gained over the 
 enemy of souls ; it announced that the foe, from 
 
FIRST SERMON. 23 1 
 
 whom death and destruction would surely come, was 
 shorn of his terrible strength. Let us suppose that,' 
 being under sentence of death, we had been granted 
 a reprieve, or rather that the sentence had been en- 
 tirely revoked, and that we had come into the pos- 
 session of a great fortune, by which our happiness is 
 forever secured : would we not consider the message 
 which brought us the news glad tidings of great joy ? 
 
 Apply not one but all of these circumstances to the 
 message conveyed to Mary by the angel, and we shall 
 realize in some degree its stupendous character. Adam 
 listened to the voice of the seducer, and his fall de- 
 prived his hapless posterity of their promised happi- 
 ness, — that of being one day permitted to behold God 
 face to face, in the possession and enjoyment of His 
 beatitude and all the exquisite joys of heaven. 
 
 All this was lost. However, amid the gloom which, 
 for four thousand years, hung over a world groveling 
 in darkness and in sin, there glimmered one ray of 
 light in the promise of a coming Redeemer; but the 
 time set apart for the expected and desired event was 
 yet unknown. 
 
 Then, when the fullness of time was accomplished, 
 Gabriel appeared and announced unto Mary that she 
 had been appointed or chosen to become the Mother 
 of the Messiah, — of that child whose birth was her- 
 alded to the watching shepherds by strains of angelic 
 music, as the celestial choir adored the Infant God. 
 Humanly speaking, mankind had indeed reason to be 
 alarmed ; for, although the promise of a Redeemer had 
 
232 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 already been made in paradise to our first parents, 
 ' yet the wickedness which prevailed over the whole 
 earth was so terrible, that man might well tremble 
 lest the Lord should declare it to be forfeited entirely. 
 He might well apprehend that it was a conditional 
 promise ; the more so since four thousand years had 
 already rolled down the stream of time, and the Re- 
 deemer did not appear, while man, through his own 
 fault, sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of sin! 
 The word of the angel to Mary relieved the faithful 
 few from this harrowing anxiety. 
 
 ''The Saviour cometh!" We are rescued from sin 
 and hell ! From this day the heart of the Redeemer will 
 throb beneath the loving heart of the Virgin Mother, 
 who will present His first petition for the salvation of 
 mankind to the eternal Father. 
 
 Joyful message, which brought such happy tidings 
 to us! To regain, through Christ, the precious gift of 
 heavenly grace ; to become again, through Him, chil- 
 dren of God ; to behold the gates of heaven open for 
 us, and to have it in our power to enjoy the delights of 
 that celestial paradise for an eternity which will never, 
 never end, — Mary for our Mother, and the Lord for 
 our portion forever! 
 
 It is true that our individual sins had opened still 
 wider the infernal gates, and made deeper far the 
 yawning pit of hell ; but, through the merits of Christ, 
 the hope of a blessed pardon was held out to all ''men 
 of good will." 
 
 The terrestrial paradise was lost, it is true ; but in 
 
FIRST SERMON. 233 
 
 its place the kingdom of God on earth — the Church — 
 would henceforth become for man a garden of delights. 
 The sorrow, the pain, the angu'ch of earthly trouble 
 must still encompass us, no longer, however, as pun- 
 ishments for sin, but to serve as occasions of merit for 
 the increase of our eternal joy and happiness. 
 
 The concupiscence of the flesh, indeed, should still 
 remain a constant cause of warfare ; but, as a com- 
 pensation, the measure of grace would be so multi- 
 plied as to enable the Christian to valiantly combat 
 and bear away the victor's crown, and exalt his glory 
 in heaven. 
 
 The penalty of death had been pronounced upon 
 man ; but, through that dread decree, he can attain 
 to the possession of a glory and delight which would 
 never have been his had not Adam sinned in paradise. 
 
 In a word, infinitely more was conferred upon man 
 through Christ, the Son of Mary, the heavenly Adam, 
 than he lost through Adam, our first parent. We not 
 only became again children of God, and gained once 
 more the right to call Him Father ; but we were per- 
 mitted to call His Incarnate Son our Brother. For, 
 since the Son of God assumed our flesh and blood 
 from Mary, He is, therefore, true Man, even as from 
 all eternity, in His own divine Person, He was and is 
 God. Oh, what an important, what a welcome and 
 consoling message ! 
 
 All that can bring to the human heart the sweetest 
 joy and solace is comprised in this message of the 
 angel to Mary, as we will see if we take to heart all 
 
234 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 that has been said, — not merely hearing and believing 
 it with a dead or dying faith, but also considering and 
 applying it to ourselves. 
 
 In this, unfortunately, we are often wanting. Too 
 many Christians are prone to celebrate the mysteries 
 commemorated by the festivals of the Church only in 
 their general relation, and not by reflecting what in- 
 fluence those articles of faith and divine truths should 
 individually effect for us. 
 
 Yes, beloved in Christ, be ye who ye may, the mes- 
 sage of salvation directed by Gabriel to Mary bears 
 an individual relation to every one of you, even as if 
 there had been but the one soul on earth for whose 
 salvation the Saviour came. 
 
 You were sunk deep in the abyss of woe, not only 
 through the disobedience of Adam, but through innu- 
 merable personal sins, which threatened you with de- 
 struction for time and eternity. But the Saviour was 
 conceived in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, and 
 the lovely dawn of a blessed hope brightened the dark- 
 ened world. This hope has a more secure foundation 
 for you, since, without any merit of your own, you have 
 been called to be members of the true Church. 
 
 Try, therefore, before you leave this holy place, to 
 excite in your hearts all those affections which ani- 
 mated the heart of Mary on receiving the message of 
 the angel. First, adore and thank God for having cre- 
 ated you to His own image and likeness, and for hav- 
 ing spared you when you were yet in a state of sin ; 
 but, above all, for havine sent His onlv-beeotten Son 
 
FIRST SERMON. 235 
 
 to redeem and save you. Renew your resolution to live 
 as true children of God, as if Christ had been received 
 into your hearts also as the pledge of a better life. 
 
 Thus you will become strong; and, although you 
 may not have the happiness enjoyed by the Immacu- 
 late Virgin and Mother — of walking by the side of 
 the Incarnate Son of God — you may, while living as 
 her faithful children, enter one day into the communi- 
 cation of her glory and beatitude as children of God, 
 also rescued through the incarnation of His eternal 
 Son. — Amen ! 
 
 16 
 
236 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 *'Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me accord- 
 ing to Thy word." — Luke i, 38. 
 
 THE glorious festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
 from one point of view, refers expressly and sol- 
 emnly to the message of the angel to Mary ; for that 
 message contains precisely what, properly speaking, 
 renders life valuable for us. As the Church entones in 
 the Easter preface on Holy Saturday: " Of what use 
 would it be to haX^e been born, had we not had the 
 happiness to be redeemed?" 
 
 The work of the redemption and delivery of man 
 was destined to be accomplished through the incarna- 
 tion of the Son of God. This divine truth, the per- 
 sonal union of our human nature with the second per- 
 son of the Blessed Trinity, is the most stupendous 
 fact which the omnipotence of God ever effected or 
 could effect. Though He might call into existence 
 myriads of worlds, the splendor of which would far sur- 
 pass this globe of ours, such a proof of His power 
 would never appear so incomprehensible to us, as, 
 that God, in the might of His immutable and eternal 
 nature, united Himself, in the course of time, with a 
 creature — a created nature — and entered this world in 
 suffering, and all for us! 
 
 This article of faith also points to the great mystery 
 of the freedom of the will, which, however, without the 
 concurrence of God, can do nothing, entirely nothing, 
 
SECOND SERMON. 237 
 
 absolutely nothing in the order of salvation ; and this 
 <:o-operation is required by God to enable us to par- 
 ticipate in the fruits of the redemption. This will be 
 understood when I say that the will remains perfectly 
 free in spite of its total dependence upon God ; and, 
 therefore, man must, of his own voluntary choice, em- 
 brace the service of God. 
 
 Even from the Blessed Virgin Mary God required 
 consent before the incarnation of His divine Son took 
 place; therefore, 
 
 If we wish to participate in the fruits of incarnation y 
 we must, with the dispositio7is of her most obedient 
 heart, confess before God: ''Behold the servant of the 
 Lord; be it done to me according to His word!'' 
 
 Mary, obtain for us to-day from Jesus, the blessed 
 fruit of thy womb, the grace of perfect submission to 
 the will of God ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 Christ was, upon one occasion, in company with 
 Mary His mother, and other relatives according to the 
 flesh, when His benign gaze rested suddenly upon 
 them, and He gave utterance to the following words : 
 *' Whosoever doeth the will of my Father who is in 
 heaven is my mother, my brother." By these words 
 Christ instructs us that there is a spiritual union re- 
 garding the effects of nature and grace, and that it 
 depends on the co-operation of our free will as to how 
 
238 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 far we victoriously complete the great affair of our 
 salvation, and, according to this measure, obtain a 
 higher or lower degree of glory in heaven. I apply 
 this truth to the event we celebrate to-day, and say : 
 ** As the Lord sent an angel to Mary with the message 
 of salvation, so God sends to every human soul that 
 same message, through a call to the Holy Catholic 
 Church, through the interior encouragement of grace, 
 and through exterior circumstances ; and, as He looked 
 for the consent of Mary from the angel, so does He 
 require our consent to follow the call of grace by a 
 free decision of will." In this way, beloved in Christ, 
 we shall spiritually receive Christ, as if He had been 
 indeed born therein, and, by the continued co-opera- 
 tion of our will, He will grow in our hearts to the per- 
 fection of the life of grace. In this regard. every thing 
 depends on the sincerity, firmness, and fidelity of the 
 will. 
 
 When the angel addressed Mary desiring her con- 
 sent to become the mother of God — of the Son of 
 God made man — it was not alone honor and glory 
 which he offered her; for when that radiant being 
 stood before her, she saw in spirit all the sacrifices, 
 renunciations, mortifications, sufferings the most in- 
 tense, and anguish the most bitter, which she would 
 have to undergo in the days of her earthly pilgrimage, 
 by becoming the mother of Jesus. She beheld the eve 
 of the first Christmas, when she and her holy spouse, 
 St. Joseph, two homeless wanderers, sought refuge in 
 the stable at Bethlehem, because there was no room 
 
SECOND SERMON. 239 
 
 for them In the inn. The flight into Egypt, the weary, 
 toilsome life which she, with her dear ones, led both 
 there and at Nazareth, arose before her. And the 
 vail of futurity was withdrawn that she might see the 
 terror and orrief which would overwhelm her soul when, 
 later on, she would accompany her Son on His apos- 
 tolic journeys through the land. All that the malice, 
 obstinacy, and falsehood of His persecutors would 
 caus6 that divine Son to suffer, she saw; and more 
 than all, her spirit well nigh fainted within her when, 
 in anticipation, her maternal heart was rent with the 
 anguish of that dread day on which her Son would die. 
 Ah ! then indeed she felt the sharpness of that sword 
 of grief which, according to holy Simeon, was to 
 pierce her heart when she would receive the lacer- 
 ated body of her beloved Son after He had expired 
 upon the cross : and thus would be Mary the Queen 
 of martyrs, the mother of Jesus, who is the King of 
 martyrs ! 
 
 The sacrifice which God required of her rose up in 
 its might on that Feast of the Annunciation — in ages 
 past and gone — and yet she hesitated not one mo- 
 ment in her submissive acceptance, but gave an im- 
 mediate and decided consent, in those words which 
 millions of devout Christians, her loving children, re- 
 peat whenever the Angelus bell peals forth at morn- 
 ing, noon, and eve: ''Behold the handmaid of the 
 Lord ; be it done unto me according to Thy word." 
 
 Let me make the application, and say that invita- 
 tions are given to every human soul to enter into the 
 
240 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 bonds of fraternal relationship with Christ ; but we 
 must take special care to know how we can fulfill the 
 holy will of God in the most perfect manner, that we 
 may act ever as His own true children, and derive the 
 richest fruits from the mystery we commemorate to- 
 day. We must keep ever in view the important 
 truth that if we would belong to Christ, imitate Him 
 and secure our eternal salvation, we must live in a 
 manner wholly different from the children of* this 
 world. We have not been placed upon earth to care 
 for its perishable treasures, empty honors, and transi- 
 tory joys. The watchword of our efforts to attain eter- 
 nal life, whether we be wealthy or poor, blessed with 
 health or afflicted with sickness, whether God in His 
 goodness grants us " length of days," or early calls. 
 us to Himself, should be: " Thy will be done." '' Be- 
 hold the handmaid of the Lord ; may it be done to me 
 according to Thy word." Beloved Christians, if, in 
 accordance with this declaration the most holy will of 
 God should please to deprive you of worldly wealth, 
 or of what is more precious still, your honor, that fair 
 fame which is so justly dear to your hearts ; if you 
 should even be covered with ignominy, and treated as 
 the last of your kind, your unfaltering reply, when the 
 bitter cup is held to your quivering lips, should be : 
 '' Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it done to me 
 according to Thy word." 
 
 Finally, if God should demand that in the perform- 
 ance of your daily duties your health and strength 
 give way, and that you languish a helpless sufferer 
 
SECOND SERMON. 24I 
 
 for years ; nay, if He require the sacrifice of life itself, 
 and that under the most painful circumstances, you 
 should be ready to say with willing heart: '' Father, 
 Thy will be done." ''I am Thy servant. Thy hand- 
 maid ; be it done to me according to Thy word." 
 
 O happy, thrice happy the Christian whose heart 
 is thus disposed ; for the Saviour has indeed chosen 
 it for his abiding-place, and Jesus will lead him on to 
 the perfection of spiritual life ! But take care lest Sa- 
 tan assume the garb of an angel of light, and deceive 
 you, as he so often does, with those over whom he 
 fears he has lost his power, and whom he tries to de- 
 lude by such diabolical arts. 
 
 Mary, the most prudent Virgin, as she is styled by 
 the Church, evinced, indeed, an eminent degree of 
 prudence by her manner of testing the truth of the 
 angelic message. " How can this be? " she said, '' for 
 I know not man ; " and not until the satisfactory reply 
 of the celestial guide was given did she utter the words 
 which saved us from sin and hell. She had every 
 reason to believe that it was an angel from heaven 
 who appeared before her, and yet she was alarmed, 
 and distrusted his address. What an example for us ! 
 
 Those by whom we are surrounded, to whom we go 
 for counsel, are men, frail and sinful men, liable to 
 err, — wearing an appearance of zeal; but perhaps in- 
 wardly, they are devouring wolves. Prudence ! Oh, 
 how essential it is to the fulfillment, not of our own 
 will but of the most holy will of God. Tr2ie prudence 
 we need ; for there is no greater bar to our sanctifi- 
 
242 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 cation, and to the salvation of the Church in general, 
 than its counterfeit which prevails to such an extent ; 
 that worldly prudence which, in all that concerns the 
 salvation of our souls, means ruin. To one who has 
 only earthly motives in view many things will seem 
 but folly, and yet they are the very acme of prudence. 
 Many Christians, through human respect, or a fear 
 lest others should be unwilling to assist them, refrain 
 from soliciting their aid in some w^ork for the honor 
 of God ; for example, the propagation of His kingdom 
 on earth, the Holy Church. The angel who delivered 
 the message to Mary, might well teach us a lesson 
 of faith ; for the miracle which he announced to the 
 holy Virgin shows us that nothing is impossible with 
 God. O children of the Holy Catholic Church! in 
 this, our nineteenth century, millions of wonders ef- 
 fected by God are placed before our spiritual vision ; 
 if, then, we are convinced that this or that is truly the 
 holy will of God, our own weakness should never for 
 a moment be a cause of dejection or discouragement. 
 The more unworthy we are in ourselves, the more re- 
 splendent will be the glorification of God, if, in spite 
 of all impediments, the work is accomplished by us, 
 and accomplished well. Therefore, in every event of 
 
 life our watchword should be those words of the 
 » 
 
 Blessed Virgin Mary, so touching in their humility, so 
 admirable in their submission to the divine will: " Be- 
 hold the handmaid of the Lord ; may it be done unto 
 me according to Thy divine will ! " — Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 243 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 " And the angel said to her : Hail full of grace : the Lord is with thee." — 
 Luke i, 28. 
 
 THE beautiful festival which we celebrate to-day is 
 called the Feast of the Annunciation ; yet it might 
 as fittingly be known as that of the Redemption of the 
 World. 
 
 The angel salutes Mary as the chosen Mother of the 
 promised Messiah, who is now about to accomplish vis- 
 ibly on earth the work of the most merciful love of God 
 for mankind, "in the fullness of time," as the prophets 
 of old predicted it centuries before. 
 
 To understand clearly the signification of this feast 
 we must earnestly consider the aim and end of the 
 whole creation, and what relation the grace of redemp- 
 tion bears to the fallen human race. The aim and end 
 of the creation, my dearest Christians, is the exterior 
 glorification of God. The various relations of His in- 
 finite perfections toward creatures should serve as re- 
 flections of the different attributes of these infinite 
 perfections. 
 
 We behold in the angelic world of heaven the in- 
 finite sanctity of God, while those fallen spirits who 
 suffer in the abyss of hell reflect the infinite justice 
 of their Sovereign Lord. The whole exterior visible 
 world proclaims with many tongues His omnipotence, 
 wisdom, benignity, and solicitude for the vast universe, 
 and for every individual creature therein ; but man was 
 
244 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 marked out as the object on which the infinite mercy 
 of God was to celebrate His triumph. And this, indeed, 
 was accompHshed through Christ by His entrance into 
 the world, by the welcome message which Gabriel on this 
 blessed day brought to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. 
 
 This sublime truth affords a subject for the most 
 consoling meditation if we but realize it in all its per- 
 fections. This, however, Is the case with so few that I 
 may venture to doubt whether one single child of the 
 Church, among the many who listen to my words to- 
 day, has ever considered, in its deepest meaning, the 
 divine assurance and blessed hope with which this 
 message is replete. 
 
 Oh, how sweetly it whispers to our hearts that, by the 
 redemption of the hmna^i race, the triumph of God's 
 infnite mercy has been achieved ! 
 
 Mary, Mother of mercy, pray for us that the tri- 
 umph of this loveliest of God's attributes may be cel- 
 ebrated in our hearts also ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 Is God merciful ? Does He grant to the sinner a 
 gracious pardon ? To this none of us can give a final 
 answer. Certainly He Is, in the abstract. Infinite Mercy ; 
 and from the dark and drear abyss of chaos he has called 
 the world into existence, and wishes to confer happi- 
 ness upon those who will dwell therein. But should 
 rational creatures, upon whom He has bestowed the pre- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 245 
 
 cious gift of faith, dare to oppose His will and venture to 
 transgress His divine commands, they have no right to 
 expect forgiveness from an offended Majesty Who is 
 under no obligation to evince His mercy to them. God 
 is free. Of all the radiant angels who defied His wrath 
 in heaven not one received forgiveness ; nay, not one 
 grace, which might have led them back, was vouch- 
 safed to those rebel spirits — not 'one moment in which 
 to repent and return to God; but when that daring 
 thought of pride, which would fain have disturbed the 
 peace of heaven, was consented to, the doom was 
 sealed ; the fiery sword of the sovereign justice flashed 
 over the defiant host, and from the bliss of heaven 
 they were hurled into the fathomless depths of hell. 
 Therefore I say that, in regard to those sins which 
 stain the hearts of the human race, we naturally ask 
 the question: ''Does God forgive our sins?" God 
 alone can answer, and He has answered, and that 
 more explicitly than is the case with any of His other 
 divine attributes. Open the pages of the inspired vol- 
 ume, and read the assertions of Moses and the proph- 
 ets, — those of the psalmist in the Old, and of Christ 
 and His Apostles in the New Testament. In proof 
 of this, I need only mention some of these solemn dec- 
 larations of the Lord : *' In that same hour when the 
 sinner returns to Me his injustice shall no longer be 
 remembered." So says the Lord through the prophet 
 Ezekiel. And again : "Though your sins be red as scar- 
 let, they shall become whiter than snow." So has the 
 Lord spoken by the prophet Isaias : ''The wise man 
 
246 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 shall not glory in his wisdom." So we read in 
 another place: **Nor the strong one in his strength, 
 only that he acknowledge Me, who am merciful and 
 forgiving towards the sinner." *' As sure as I live," 
 says God the Lord, " I will not the death of the sin- 
 ner, but that he be converted and live." '* Praise the 
 Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endureth for- 
 ever." This we read in the one hundred and thirty-fifth 
 psalrn, and, indeed, throughout all the psalms we trace 
 similar eulogies of the mercy of God ; while in regard 
 to the other divine attributes no such frequent praise 
 ascends on high. And surely every Christian, espe- 
 cially every child of the Church, has had ample reason, 
 in the course of his life, to be reminded of this bound- 
 less mercy ; chiefly, however, when he intended to seek 
 reconciliation with God in the Sacrament of Penance. 
 But how few have ever realized and considered in 
 their hearts that the message of the angel declared 
 the triumph of the infinite mercy of God in the re- 
 demption of man ! To understand this clearly we must 
 think well on the following questions, and consider 
 the answers in every light. The first question is, 
 '' Who pardons ? " The second, *' Who is pardoned ? " 
 The third, ''What is pardoned?" and the fourth, 
 ''Horn IS it pardoned?" To assign to the principal 
 thought the most prominent place, I will say, that God 
 wished to confer the gracious boon of pardon, but 
 man seemed only anxious to thrust back the munifi- 
 cent bounty of the divine hand. Nevertheless, infinite 
 mercy triumphed, and changed the poisonous stream 
 
THIRD SERMON. 247 
 
 of sin to a health-giving fountain, wherein the sinner 
 may find balm for the most deadly wounds of the 
 soul. Deny me not your closest attention to every 
 word I may utter. Even as the sun, in his onward 
 course, shines ever with more resplendent brilliancy 
 until he has reached the zenith of his glory, so will 
 you, if you follow the course of my remarks, obtain at 
 their close a clear and luminous insight into what I 
 wish to prove. 
 
 Now, then, the first question: ''Who pardons?" 
 God, the offended One; God, the infinite Majesty, 
 Who has no need of us, whom He called into exist- 
 ence from nothing. 
 
 Second Question : "Whom does he pardon?" Man, 
 the lowest of all the rational creatures, who offends 
 again and again. From each of the nine celestial choirs 
 some angels fell ; yes, even Cherubim and Seraphim, 
 and Lucifer himself, the brightest of all, was buried in 
 darkness and despair. Not one of them found mercy, 
 and yet they sinned but once, and that in thought. 
 
 Third Question : What does God pardon ? Every 
 sin, no matter how great ; to every sinner who re- 
 sponds to the call of grace, and returning with heart- 
 felt sorrow to the path of right, fulfills the conditions 
 necessary for reconciliation with Him. Christians, 
 consider for a moment all that is implied in the 
 words : Every sin. There have lived on earth men 
 who have outraged Christ in His own divine person, 
 and this not upon Good Friday only, but over and 
 over again in the long period of nineteen centuries. 
 
248 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 There have been wretches, so lost to every feeling of 
 good, that they threw the Most Holy Sacrament on the 
 ground, and trampling upon it with their unholy feet, 
 outraged this precious legacy of Christ. Yet had they 
 turned to God with truly repentant hearts, they would 
 have found a loving welcome from Him Whom they had 
 so deeply offended. No matter, then, how grievous or 
 how numerous the sins, it is an article of faith that God 
 is always ready to forgive the contrite sinner who has 
 recourse to the Sacrament of Penance ; for has He not 
 said: '* Whose sins you shall forgive, they are for- 
 given ? " '' What sins ? " says St. Bernard. " No mat- 
 ter what ! And what sinners ? " The Lord makes 
 no exceptions. But even that does not yet prove the 
 triumph of the infinite mercy of God. 
 
 Listen to the fourth question and its answer : " How 
 does God pardon? " God longed to forgive, but man 
 arrayed himself against that infinite goodness, so that 
 the offended One must make the advances, since, of him- 
 self, the offender can do nothing meritorious for eternal 
 life. Infinite praise to infinite mercy ! So full of love and 
 compassion was the Lord that He took the first step 
 towards rescuing us from everlasting woe. " When 
 we were His enemies He loved us, and drew us mer- 
 cifully to Himself," as St. John assures us. But man 
 did not respond. Bethlehem rejects Him, the symbol- 
 ical meaning of which is this : In consequence of orig- 
 inal sin every human being, from the moment of 
 its conception, bears a heart fast closed against the 
 Lord. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 249 
 
 But, my dearest Christians, man's ingratitude did 
 not stop there ; for St. Paul says : " We seized Him, 
 dragged Him out of the city, and nailed Him to the 
 cross," that is, by our sins ; for He, the Lamb of God, 
 took upon Himself all the sins of the world ; and the 
 avenging arm of the justice of His heavenly Father 
 was stayed. He sweats blood, He is scourged, 
 crowned with thorns, spit upon, and treated in the most 
 insulting manner ; His sacred shoulders shrink from 
 the weight of the cross, as amid the jeers and cries of 
 the cruel mob His faltering steps go on to Calvary; 
 He bepds beneath the heavy load — He falls ; a sec- 
 ond, yes, even a third time. He sinks to the ground, 
 and the avenging justice of His eternal Father is 
 stayed; He is trampled under foot, they lay violent 
 hands upon Him, and nail Him to the cross and as 
 it is raised aloft, new torture is inflicted on the suffer- 
 ing Lamb of God. His wounds are opened afresh, 
 until all that is human in Him can scarcely bear the 
 pain. The angelic hosts are hovering near, and look 
 with the tenderest compassion on the Son of God 
 made man. They contemplate with deepest pity the 
 awful sufferings by which the redemption of the hu- 
 man race is won. " O children of Adam ! " they fain 
 would cry — '' for the sinful thought of a single moment 
 the justice of God refused to spare our companions, 
 and hurled them to the black abyss of a hell enkin- 
 dled by the avenging breath of an outraged Deity ; 
 what then will become of you ? " 
 
 Lucifer, surrounded by the infernal hosts, is at the 
 
250 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 foot of the cross. In their diabolical joy, what may- 
 have been their thoughts ? Probably these : 
 
 " If we, for one single offense, were cast out of 
 heaven, and doomed to burn forever in hell ; if, for a 
 rebellious thought, we have been punished by never- 
 ending torments, what will be the torture of that hell 
 prepared for you, O recreant children of men ? " An- 
 gels and devils look upon Jesus and are silent, await- 
 ing the punishment which will surely be adjudged to 
 the human race, and at last the livid lips of the Cru- 
 cified One part to speak. Then do angels and demons 
 expect to hear the words : " Father, I came to save, 
 not only the just, but sinners, yet they rejected my 
 bounty ; they would not be saved, and now I give them 
 over to you — to your infinite justice — punish them as 
 you will " But, no ! such feelings had no place in the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus. He prays for His enemies. 
 He cries aloud: "Father, forgive!" Ah, then, what 
 a grand triumphant cry breaks forth from the whole 
 celestial choir, as the vail which had until now con- 
 cealed the greatness of God's mercy was removed, 
 and they beheld it in all its infinity ! When God cre- 
 ated the visible world, holy Job tells us that the an- 
 gels rejoiced at the result of His goodness, power, 
 wisdom, and benignity ; joyous was also the '' Gloria " 
 which floated over the midnight air Avhen Christ was 
 born ; but beyond all these was the hymn of praise 
 which the angels entoned in gratitude for God's en- 
 during mercy. 
 
 But Lucifer, and his fallen band retreat, and, frantic 
 
THIRD SERMON. 25 I 
 
 with rage and despair, bury themselves in' the lowest 
 depths of hell. 
 
 Then Jesus prays: "My God! my God! why hast 
 thou forsaken Me ? " He, as it were, suffers the never- 
 ending pain which should be endured by every sinner, 
 instead of by Him, the innocent Lamb of God. '' 1 
 thirst." Jesus offers Himself for the salvaj:ion of every 
 soul that has been, or ever will be born, until the end 
 of time. He longs for it. He thirsts for it upon the 
 gibbet of the cross. ''It is consummated ! Father, 
 into thy hands I commend My spirit." The soul is 
 about to leave that sacred body, the face assumes the 
 livid hue of death ; a soldier rushes up the mountain 
 side and thrusts his spear into the Sacred Heart of 
 Jesus ; it opens, and, under the symbol of blood and 
 water, rises from this precious wound the Holy Cath- 
 olic Church. Even as from the side of the sleeping 
 Adam, Eve came forth, so, from the heart of the heav- 
 enly Adam, as he fell asleep in death, there came forth 
 this one true Church. 
 
 St. Peter compares her to the saving Ark. The very 
 
 summits of the loftiest mountains were hidden beneath 
 
 the surging waters of the deluge ; from which we are 
 
 to understand that, while God is willing to pardon man, 
 
 He permits him to fall into an abyss of sin, such as 
 
 no devil was ever guilty of. Lucifer, in his arrogant 
 
 pride, said: "I will make myself like unto the Most 
 
 High ; " but St. Peter says in his first discourse on 
 
 Pentecost: '* But the Author of Hfe you killed." De- 
 
 icide — attempted Deicide — is the crime of the human 
 17 
 
252 FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 race against God. Oh, what a terrible crime ! Yet, 
 children of Adam, you still may hope. St. Paul says 
 that Christ, in dying upon the cross, has destroyed sin 
 through sin; which means that this atrocious crime, 
 deicide, parricide, and fratricide combined, of which all 
 sinners have been guilty — became for us, through 
 God's infinite mercy, the very source oi Pardon! This 
 is the infinite Triumph of the Divine Mercy. 
 
 '' But Thou, O Lord, what dost Thou require from 
 us that we may participate in the fruits of redemption ? 
 Is it not meet that we should suffer even as you have 
 suffered ; for '' if such things be done in the green wood, 
 what shall be done in the dry ? " Listen to the sweet 
 and loving reply from the Sacred Heart of Jesus : 
 '' Nothing ! " — '' Gratis redempti estis ! " "■ Nothing — 
 you are redeemed." So it is. And if one of the mur- 
 derers of our Lord had fallen at the feet of St. Peter 
 on Pentecost and asked the prince of the Apostles : 
 " What penalty must I suffer for that horrible crime ? " 
 the answer would have been: ''No penalty! Offer 
 to your crucified Lord the sorrow of a truly contrite 
 heart." '' I baptize thee ; ego te baptizo ; " and in the 
 same moment the soul of that sinner would have been 
 pure and bright as the fairest angel of heaven, through 
 the merits of Christ the Saviour. And even if, later 
 on, that ungrateful man should crucify anew, in his for- 
 getful heart, the Son of God, even then I say he need 
 not despair. 
 
 And upon what conditions may the baptized sinner 
 hope for pardon? The very same which earthly justice 
 
THIRD SERMON. 253 
 
 demands and requires to have a criminal delivered up 
 to the law, — Confessio7i. This self-accusation, joined 
 to an act of sincere contrition, before the priest, as the 
 representative of God, can rescue even the most aban- 
 doned sinner. This, beloved in Christ, is the triumph 
 of the infinite mercy of God. The message which the 
 Angel, on this auspicious day, brought to the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, reminds us of this glorious triumph, and 
 three times a day does the Church recall it to our 
 minds, with the wish that this threefold remembrance 
 at morn, at noon, at eventide, should instill into our 
 hearts a tender reverence and devotion for the great 
 mystery which is commemorated by the feast we cele- 
 brate to-day. And with this devotion will spring up 
 a feehng of the most intense gratitude to the /Triune 
 God, the Father who created us, the Son who redeemed 
 us, and the Holy Ghost who sanctified us. Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 " It were better for him if that man had not been born." — Matt, xxvi, 24. 
 
 THE Church observes the fast of Lent with the 
 intention of preparing her children, in as perfect 
 a manner as possible, for the glorious Easter-tide, that 
 they may arise from a sinful, tepid, and imperfect state 
 to a pure, holy, and even saintly life — a life most pre- 
 cious in the sight of the Lord. It is, therefore, the 
 earnest wish of this most tender mother, that each of 
 her children be penetrated with the greatest horror of 
 sin, and, that every Christian, as he arises from the 
 death of sin, shall also make fast the sepulcher of 
 tepidity in which his soul has been for years, perhaps, 
 buried. To this wish, and to the manner in which its 
 realization can be accomplished, I will direct the atten- 
 tion of all whom I address during these three days of 
 grace, asking them to consider with me the lives of 
 three persons of whom Holy Scripture makes special 
 mention in the history of the passion. 
 
 The first of the three is Judas, as he sat with the 
 Lord at the Last Supper. Let us follow him until we 
 behold him commit the dreadful crime which sealed 
 
 his eternal ruin. 
 
 (254) 
 
FIRST SERMON. 255 
 
 That the infinite merits of Christ may be effectually 
 bestowed upon us, the first and most essential condi- 
 tion is, that we renounce sin entirely and forever, and 
 thus, with hearts perfectly cleansed from the dust 
 thereof, render ourselves worthy of the Table of the 
 Lord, and thus, at this holy Easter-time, receive His 
 precious Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. A glance 
 at Judas, the traitorous Apostle, will promote this con- 
 dition of heart. 
 
 He is a mirror in which we may behold sin in all its 
 depravity ; in which every sinner^ especially if he be a 
 m^ember of our Holy Church, may see reflected his own 
 image, disfigured and distorted by the malignity of the 
 crimes he has committed. 
 
 This will be made clear to you to-day, — the day, 
 upon which, in ages long gone by, our loving Saviour 
 bequeathed to us His sacred Body and Blood. 
 
 Mary, refuge of sinners, obtain for us a perfect 
 knowledge of our sins and the grace of true repent- 
 ance, that we may make a sincere confession of all 
 our offenses against the law of God ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 Several circumstances conspired to render the sin 
 of Judas so enormous, the first one of which was his 
 exalted position. He had been selected from among 
 the millions of men who had lived up to that period 
 on earth, and who would live until the end of time, 
 
256 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 to be constantly in the society of Jesus. Oh, what an 
 honor! In proportion to it, therefore, his fall was im- 
 measurably great. 
 
 Another serious aggravation of his crime was his 
 abuse of the graces bestowed upon him to fit him for 
 his vocation as one of the twelve Apostles, — one of 
 the favored few who, for three years and a half, en- 
 joyed the privilege of walking with the Saviour of 
 mankind. He had, therefore, before him the most per- 
 fect example of virtue ; he heard all His admirable 
 discourses ; witnessed His many miracles ; beheld even 
 the body of Lazarus, already touched with the blight 
 of decay, arise at the word of the Lord, and yet all 
 this was without effect ! 
 
 Oh, what emptiness of heart ! what an abuse of 
 grace ! For his sin there was no excuse ! 
 
 The next aggravating circumstance was the terrible 
 indifference of Judas. Christ, in order to watch over 
 and rescue the soul of this ungrateful sinner, endeav- 
 ored to win his love and awaken his interest by select- 
 ing him from the twelve Apostles as the one to whom 
 He entrusted the care of His own temporal affairs and 
 those of the other Apostles. As a mark of confidence. 
 He gave into his charge the alms they received to pro- 
 cure the necessities of life. This gave him occasion to 
 speak often with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who fol- 
 lowed Jesus, with other holy women, to minister to 
 the wants of the little band. And yet Judas remained 
 cold and indifferent to all these proofs of the search- 
 ing love of Christ for him. Unhappy wretch ! 
 
FIRST SERMON. - 257 
 
 Thirdly, the sin of Judas was enormously aggravated 
 by his astonishing obduracy. Even, though already 
 guilty of the basest treason, he dared to place himself, 
 with the rest of the Apostles, at the table of the Lord — 
 the Last Supper ! There Christ, elevating His voice, 
 pronounced those awful words : *' One of you is about 
 to betray Me ! " Awe-stricken, the disciples asked, in 
 trembling tones: *' Is it I, Lord?" Judas remained 
 obdurate. And again the Son of God broke the deep 
 silence^ saying: '' The Son of man indeed goeth, as it 
 is written of Him : but woe to that man by whom He 
 shall be betrayed ; it were better for him if he had not 
 been born." Terrible sentence ! Mighty enough to 
 move the mountains to their very foundations, and to 
 penetrate to the inmost recesses of the ocean caves ! 
 And still that obdurate heart remained untouched; 
 nay, he even dared to ask: *Ts it I?" Then the di- 
 vine eyes of the dear Saviour rested with loving pity 
 upon him, as He replied: ''Thou hast said it!" Ob- 
 durate still, his heart closed to the softening influence 
 of grace ; he received the Body and Blood of Christ 
 unworthily; and thus, for the first time, was the sacri- 
 lege of an unworthy communion committed, and in that 
 moment Satan took possession of his heart! 
 
 Fourthly, the crime of Judas was enormously aggra- 
 vated by the incredible baseness of the treason. To 
 betray his Lord and Master — his Saviour, who had 
 given him such testimonials of His love — for thirty 
 pieces of silver, the price demanded for slaughtering 
 a head of cattle ! — Can more unprecedented baseness 
 
258 • FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 be imagined? The enemies of Christ would gladly 
 have paid hin^ ten, fifty, a hundred times more for 
 his most abominable treason had he but asked it. 
 And with what bold assurance did he perpetrate the 
 crime! He kissed the Saviour — the token of friend- 
 ship to become the signal of treason ! What greater 
 hypocrisy can be imagined ! 
 
 The last and most terrible characteristic of the crime 
 of Judas was that hardness of heart which, culminat- 
 ing in despair, condemned him on the very day of re- 
 demption, when Christ gave Himself a willing sacrifice 
 to die that he and all sinners might enter eternal life. 
 This miserable being, unable to bear the weight of his 
 crime, perished by his own vile hand ! 
 
 Oh, horrible sin ! Oh, incomprehensible atrocity ! 
 Yes, well might Christ declare that it were better for 
 that man had he never been born. 
 
 O sinner, you who, while listening to my voice, 
 endure the gnawings of that worm which never dies — 
 the reproaches of a guilty conscience — do you not 
 shudder at the picture of that monster who, chosen 
 of Christ to be one of His dearest friends, betrayed 
 his Lord, and then put an end to his own wretched 
 life ? He longed to escape from the night of despair 
 which darkened his wretched life; but the refuge he 
 found was the deepest, blackest pit in the abyss of 
 hell ! Oh, that the tree upon which the despairing sui- 
 cide ended his days, and the halter which deprived 
 him of his life, were here before you, that you might 
 witness the agony and pain of the faithless Apostle 
 
FIRST SERMON. 259 
 
 who betrayed the innocent Jesus ! What a mirror of 
 sin in all its blackest deformity ! What a hideous re- 
 flection is therein presented ! Sinner, do you not rec- 
 ognize it as your own ? Do you not find it a perfect rep- 
 resentation of your iniquitous soul ? And O ! may the 
 grace of God so touch your hearts to-night that you re- 
 pent, and tears entirely blot out that hideous image! 
 
 Many of you have, perhaps, heard an anecdote con- 
 nected with a celebrated painting of the "Last Sup- 
 per." One who had been a dear friend of the painter 
 happened to offend him so deeply that the painter, in 
 order to make him feel his wrath, in depicting the traitor 
 Judas upon the canvass, gave to him the face of the 
 friend whom he had loved so well. When the king, 
 who had ordered the picture and was well aware of 
 the recent enmity, first saw and examined it, he smiled, 
 and, turning toward the knight, said: ** Excellent, my 
 lord ; you are drawn to the very life ! " — Yes, sinner, 
 look at the picture of Judas ; you, too, are drawn to 
 the very life ! 
 
 What increased the malignity of the sin of this trai- 
 torous Apostle was the stiblimity of his election. Sin- 
 ner, Christ has also chosen you from among the mul- 
 titude of nations who have lived and are living still 
 in the darkness of infidelity and heresy ! You are a 
 Catholic ! Glorious dignity to which you have been 
 elevated through the infinite mercy of God ; and yet, 
 through your own choice, by the commission of mortal 
 sin, you became a child of Satan. Oh, what a deep 
 and damning fall! 
 
260 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 What also aggravated the guilt of Judas was his 
 wanton abuse of the graces granted him by the Sav- 
 iour, that he might live and die as became a worthy 
 Apostle of the Lord. 
 
 What a multitude of graces, O sinner, has not God 
 bestowed upon you through your call to the true 
 Church? With what frequent instructions and en- 
 couragement have you been favored ! how many con- 
 fessions and holy communions have been vouchsafed 
 to you ! how many holy masses have you heard ! 
 and yet these graces have yielded no fruit ! Oh, fatal 
 instability of the human heart ! 
 
 The treachery of Judas was aggravated by the man- 
 ner in which he abused the grace of God. Imitate him 
 not ; but pause before it is too late ! 
 
 Judas was coldly indifferent to that love which im- 
 pelled the Son of God to go in search of him, that He 
 might win a return of love. Sinner, you know how 
 mercifully Divine Providence has followed you! how 
 lovingly the Saviour has gone in quest of you ! Take 
 courage from the very fact of your having come hither 
 to-night. It is an effect of the endearing love of the 
 Good Shepherd, who longs to bring you once more to 
 the protecting shelter of His fold. Oh, hide no longer ; 
 but meet that loving Guardian, and let Him guide you 
 home. 
 
 What rendered the sin of Judas so terrible in its 
 enormity was his shocking obduracy of heart. You, 
 also, are guilty in this regard ; for, although you have 
 received all the graces with which he was favored, you 
 
FIRST SERMON. 26 1 
 
 have also been endowed with many which were never 
 bestowed on him. Judge, therefore, whether his ob- 
 duracy was greater than yours. 
 
 Furthermore, Judas never had an opportunity of 
 approaching the Sacrament of Penance. You enjoy 
 that privilege ; yet, perhaps, for years you have looked 
 upon it with cold indifference, if not contempt. It may 
 be that you have allowed years to pass without mak- 
 ing a confession ; or that, when you have attempted 
 to blot out the sins of your life, you have but added 
 to the long list of your crimes the damning guilt of 
 sacrilege. And why, O sinner, is this? Because your 
 heart refuses to give up its darling passions, and you 
 continue to commit the same offenses as of yore. 
 Judas did not, of himself, petition for the Holy Com- 
 munion ; while you have presumed to challenge the 
 priest to open the tabernacle and place the Sacred 
 Host upon your guilty tongue, that you may drag the 
 Body of our Lord into the mire of your heart. .When 
 the agony of despair drove Judas to hang himself, he 
 knew not of the prayer that went up that day from 
 the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the cross: ''Father, 
 forgive ! " Neither had he the example of the millions 
 who, for nineteen centuries, have been guilty of griev- 
 ous sin, yet repented and found grace, as you have 
 ever before your eyes, O faithless child of the Church ! 
 
 Judas betrayed his Lord but once, and upon that 
 very day the grace of God forsook him and he per- 
 ished miserably, while for you Christ has waited for 
 years; and oh, for His dear sake — for the love of 
 
262 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 Him who, for three and thirty years, suffered cold and 
 hunger, contempt and derision, and, at last, a painful 
 death on the cross — let Him not wait in vain ! 
 
 The crime of Judas was increased by the unprece- 
 dented baseness of his selling his Divine Master for 
 thirty pieces of silver ; but is there not some sinner 
 in this very Church whose darling passion is impurity? 
 who would betray his Saviour for the gratification of 
 the most shameful desires ? Is there no drunkard list- 
 ening to my words who, to gratify his depraved and 
 vicious appetite for drink, would give, if not his own 
 existence, why, then, the lives of his wife and little 
 children ? Yes, I say the lives of those whom he is 
 bound to love and cherish, for he is slowly murdering 
 them by his neglect! You, then, O drunkard, betray 
 your Master for a price even more base than thirty 
 pieces of silver! Yes, sinners, by your crimes — be 
 they what they may — you have all betrayed Him over 
 and over again for the basest considerations ! 
 
 Judas betrayed the Son of man with a kiss — the 
 token of friendship and love ; and the faithless Catho- 
 lic would fain pretend to be a friend — an adorer of 
 Christ — while he crucifies Him by his interior life. 
 
 Judas yielded to despair and hanged himself; but, 
 for the love of God and His blessed mother, I be- 
 seech you, poor sinners, let the resemblance between 
 you and the wretched suicide stop before you yield to 
 the temptation of despair! He forgot Mary! Had 
 he hastened to her, and implored her to intercede 
 with Jesus for him, she would, doubtless, have done 
 
FIRST SERMON. 263 
 
 SO, and Judas would have been saved. Do not imitate 
 him in this forgetfulness of Mary. Fly to her ; throw 
 yourselves at the feet of the Mother of Mercy and 
 refuge of sinners. Judas did not hear the words of 
 Christ upon the cross: '* Woman, behold thy Son; thy 
 Child." You, beloved Christians, who have yielded to 
 the tempter's voice, may listen to them in spirit and 
 in faith. 
 
 O Mary, Mother of Mercy, grant to my fervent 
 prayer a gracious answer, and obtain to-night for 
 every Christian present here, who, listening to the 
 tempter, has betrayed thy Son, the grace of sincere 
 conversion, that in these days of grace he may be rec- 
 onciled to God, and no longer be deaf to the voice of 
 grace. Pray for him, O dearest Mother, that, when 
 appalled at the weight of his sins, the demon of de- 
 spair draws nigh, he may remember the dreadful fate 
 of Judas, and fly for refuge to thy maternal love — the 
 surest haven for all repentant souls. Amen ! 
 
264 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 ''Now, there was leaning on Jesus's bosom one of His disciples, whom 
 Jesus loved." — ^John xiii, 23. 
 
 WE all know the four divisions of the day — mid- 
 night, day-break, noon, and eventide ; and each 
 of them is marked by a special divine fact which 
 speaks in the most emphatic manner to the heart. At 
 midnight Christ entered the world; He was born in a 
 poor stable at Bethlehem; and in the birth of this 
 little Infant we behold the coming of Him Who was 
 the Expected and Desired of nations. At midday was 
 raised aloft the cross by which He redeemed the world. 
 At earliest dawn the Saviour, bursting the trammels of 
 the grave, arose to life once more, and gave to the 
 world a splendid proof of His divine power. But there 
 remains an eventide, glorified indeed through the di- 
 vine love of the Saviour, which led Him thereon to 
 leave us the most precious, the most sweet, the most 
 consolatory legacy that a God could bestow. It is the 
 evening of Holy Thursday, when the Sacrifice of the 
 New Law was instituted to bless the children of men. 
 Where is the Christian who can speak or even think 
 of this evening without the most holy sentiments of 
 love arising in his heart as the scene of the Holy Pas- 
 chal Table, round which Jesus and His disciples were 
 seated, rises up before his spiritual view ? What mighty 
 love was that which impelled the Son of God to insti- 
 tute this Most Holy Sacrament, that He might remain 
 
SECOND SERMON. 265 
 
 with us even to the consummation of the world ! What 
 a pledge of this faithful love ! And, of all the Apostles, 
 none more fully realized this than St. John, the disci- 
 ple whom Jesus loved ; and who, on that evening, en- 
 joyed the privilege and happiness of being nearest the 
 Lord at the Last Supper, and of leaning his head on 
 the bosom of Jesus. In the whole course of his life St. 
 John never forgot that evening. He styles himself the 
 disciple whom Jesus loved, and to whom this great grace 
 was granted ; but gives us to understand that we also 
 are permitted to participate therein in its plenitude, for 
 he says expressly : *' Those whom Jesus loved, He has 
 loved until the end of time." 
 
 Yes, we may all, through the grace of Holy Commun- 
 ion, not only rest on the bosom of our Lord, but receive 
 Him into our hearts. 
 
 That we may do so with the purity of soul afid fer- 
 vor of love which distinguished the communion of the 
 beloved disciple^ let us glance at him as he sat at the 
 Paschal Table on this happy eve. 
 
 Mary, obtain for us some portion of that ardent 
 love which inflamed the heart of the beloved disciple 
 toward thy divine Son! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 To receive the Blessed Eucharist in as perfect a man- 
 ner as St. John, depends, first, upon the preparation we 
 make to approach the Table of the Lord ; and, secondly, 
 
266 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 on the manner in which we make use of His presence 
 in our hearts, rendering to Him our gratitude after the 
 example of St. John. 
 
 But, alas ! with too many Christians, the first requi- 
 site is wanting. Even in the time of St. Paul, as the 
 Epistle for to-day asserts, many of the faithful did not 
 make due preparation, so that there were frequently 
 communions which, if not unworthy, yielded but lit- 
 tle spiritual fruit. St. Paul writes: ''Therefore many 
 among us sleep, because they do not judge themselves, 
 before they approach the Table of the Lord, whether 
 they are worthy to receive His Body and Blood ; " from 
 which we are to understand that, even if they were not 
 in a state of sin, the coldness of their hearts, and the 
 little degree of fervor they evinced, prevented them from 
 deriving the benefits and graces which were poured forth 
 upon St. John after his fervent reception of the Body 
 and Blood of Christ. I said : '' Even if they were not in 
 a state of sin ; " but, of course, if the sin were mortal, 
 such a communion would not only be ineffectual, but 
 a fearful sacrilege. 
 
 That our reception of the Holy Communion, there- 
 fore, may be indeed like that of the beloved disciple, 
 it suffices not that we are free from the guilt of mortal 
 sin ; but we must leave nothing undone to cleanse our 
 souls from the dust of venial sins and deliberate im- 
 perfections. ^ 
 
 The ceremonies attendant upon the institution of 
 the Most Holy Sacrament, as described by St. John, 
 are a proof of this. Jesus washes the feet of all His 
 
SECOND SERMON. 267 
 
 disciples; and our Lord's answer to St. Peter shows 
 that this act is emblematic of the removal of ever^- de- 
 fect and imperfection from the soul. Therefore, did St. 
 Peter exclaim: " Lord, not only my feet, but also my 
 hands and my head." But even yet this is not the per- 
 fect preparation for Holy Communion. St. John was 
 next to Jesus. This illustrates the ardor and fidelity 
 with which he followed the Lord from the very moment 
 he was called by Him. He was one of those three 
 highly-favored Apostles who were permitted to be in 
 the closest proximity to Jesus, and who enjoyed the 
 privilege of beholding Jesus in His transfiguration on 
 Mt. Tabor; and, even among those three, he was the 
 only one who followed Him to Calvary, and beheld 
 Him on the cross. 
 
 This feature in the life of St. John — " the disciple 
 whom Jesus loved" — should awaken in us the desire 
 and resolution to make the most earnest efforts to 
 please God, and so become more and more like that 
 Divine Model, and, like St. John, to be faithful unto 
 death. 
 
 But the generality of Christians care not to follow 
 
 the admonition of Christ: "Be ye perfect, as your 
 
 heavenly Father is perfect ; " and here we can find 
 
 the cause of so many tepid and fruitless communions. 
 
 Should any one ask why we feel so little fear of venial 
 
 sins and trifiing imperfections, I would say : As the 
 
 fervent love of St. John is wanting, so also are the 
 
 hunger and thirst of his heart after sanctity, lacking in 
 
 the hearts of many who go forward to receive the Body 
 18 
 
268 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 and Blood of Christ. Whosoever loveth truly, my dear 
 brethren, avoids every thing, great or little, that might 
 grieve or offend the beloved object; and the more 
 ardent the love, the more earnest the effort to please. 
 St. Paul tells us, in the most explicit manner, that there 
 is no communication between light and darkness, be- 
 tween Christ and Satan, between heaven and hell. 
 
 The very ceremonies made use of in the adminis- 
 tration of Holy Communion show how essential to its 
 worthy reception is a repentant heart; for the Church 
 has prescribed that the *' Confiteor '* be recited aloud, 
 so that every communicant may make another act of 
 sorrow for the most venial imperfection which rests 
 upon his soul before he opens his lips to welcome 
 the Lord of heaven and earth into his heart. But what 
 urges us on and strengthens us to emulate the saints 
 in their zealous imitation of Jesus is love. ''The love, 
 of Christ urges us," cries out the Apostle. 
 
 But many Christians are wanting in this divine vir- 
 tue; and thus it became necessary to proclaim that 
 precept, the very existence of which should be con- 
 sidered a reproach by the lukewarm children of the 
 Church : "■ Thou shalt receive the Blessed Eucharist 
 at least once a year.** 
 
 O dearest Christians ! the soul of a St. John, burn- 
 ing with ardent love for God, required no such com- 
 mand. He hungered and thirsted after that divine 
 food as the heart panteth after the fountains of water. 
 St. Catherine of Sienna, frequently said to her con- 
 fessor: '* Father, I am hungry.'* 
 
SECOND SERMON. 269 
 
 When this love consumes our hearts, the second 
 condition necessary to receive all those graces and 
 blessings, conferred by a worthy reception of Holy 
 Communion, will not be wanting — thanksgiving. 
 
 But if it be a sad truth that many approach the Table 
 of the Lord without due preparation, it is equally to be 
 lamented that a still greater number receive the Body 
 of Christ and turn away without a word. 
 
 This was not the case with St. John. Judas received 
 Holy Communion, and his soul was instantly enshroud- 
 ed in the deepest gloom of a night wherein there glim- 
 mered not the faintest ray of hope ; and, after having 
 received it from the hands of the Lord Himself, he 
 arose, and rested not until the purchase-money, for 
 which he had betrayed the loving Redeemer, was 
 clutched fast in his avaricious hand ! What a con- 
 trast! St. John, absorbed in love and joy, can find no 
 words to express his gratitude. 
 
 Yes, Judas is also a type of those who receive Holy 
 Communion without a sigh of thanksgiving. With the 
 cold hand of despair clutching his treacherous heart, 
 he leaves the abode of love and peace, and rushes away 
 to satisfy his greed for gold ! Behold these models of 
 a worthy and an unworthy .communion, and consider 
 well which one shall be your choice ! 
 
 Yet Judas is not to serve merely as a warning to the 
 unworthy communicant ; but also to those who, after 
 receiving, plunge directly into the stir of worldly affairs 
 and schemes to increase their wealth. Alas, that tem- 
 poral interests should so soon draw them away from 
 
270 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 Jesus ! We may well be astonished, and exclaim, with 
 St. John Chrysostom : ''How can it be possible that 
 Christ becomes so soon indifferent to you, that you 
 can devote but a few brief moments to render to Him 
 acts of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving for a grace 
 so infinitely great, for a happiness so exquisite as to 
 render man an object of envy even to the angels, and 
 for which a lifetime of thanksgiving would not be suf- 
 ficient! " 
 
 And if, my brethren, you again ask whence arises 
 this neglect, I would again reply : From a want of that 
 love which burned in the heart of St. John. Those who 
 love, long to be with the object of their love. When 
 blessed Armella, whose dearest joy it was to spend 
 hours and hours before the Blessed Sacrament, even 
 when she had not the happiness of receiving Holy 
 Communion, was asked why she did so, replied: '' Be- 
 cause I love." And, beloved in Christ Jesus, by fre- 
 quently visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament we 
 will grow ever in the love and knowledge of Him. 
 
 St. John knew and loved Him in a greater degree 
 than the other Apostles, because he was always near- 
 est Him ; and, at the Last Supper, his resting-place was 
 the Sacred Heart. 
 
 Obtain for us, therefore, we beseech thee, St. John, 
 some faint reflection of the ardent fire of thy love, that 
 we may, by lives modeled upon thy own, show our grati- 
 tude and love to God ; and, when we approach the Table 
 of the Lorld, may we taste the happiness which filled 
 thy heart when thou didst receive the Body and Blood 
 
SECOND SERMON. 27 I 
 
 of Christ. Then will we, while still on earth, already 
 taste, the bliss of heaven, to which celestial joy the 
 Church refers when she prays : " Lord, grant that we 
 may forever rejoice in the delight of Thy Divine Maj- 
 esty, which a worthy reception of Thy Body and Blood 
 will afford us even here below." — Amen! 
 
272 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "My soul is sorrowful even unto death." — Mark xiv, 34. 
 
 HOLY THURSDAY evening places before our eyes 
 in an especial manner two circumstances in the 
 life and sufferings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 The one picture portrays Christ at the Last Supper 
 with His disciples, where, by the institution of the Most 
 Holy Sacrament, He gave Himself unto us for all time, 
 even to the consummation of the world. What a won- 
 derfully sublime spectacle was that presented by our 
 Lord and Saviour when, for the first time. He changed 
 bread and wine into His Body and Blood ! He raised 
 His eyes to heaven and established the Sacrifice of the 
 New Law, then administered Holy Communion to the 
 assembled apostles. 
 
 ^ Holy Church teaches us through her prayers in honor 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, that Christ instituted it as a 
 perpetual commemoration of His precious passion and 
 death; the sufferings preceding which began more im- 
 mediately in the garden of Gethsemane when, at the 
 very thought of the bitter anguish He was in a few 
 short hours to endure, and the certainty that, in spite 
 of it all, millions and millions would be lost, a bloody 
 sweat burst forth from every pore and bathed the 
 ground whereon He knelt. 
 
 The passion and death of Christ have consummated 
 for us the work of Redemption, but if we wish to de- 
 rive the benefits which arise therefrom in all their plen- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 273 
 
 itude, we must, as Christ so often and so solemnly 
 assured His disciples, be willing to bear and suffer 
 patiently whatever sorrows He pleases to send us to 
 try our faith and love in this world, and to intensify 
 the glory of our triumph with Christ in heaven. And 
 that we may be enabled to do this, let us glance at 
 Him, ''the Light of the world," *Vtreading the wine- 
 press" alone on this mournful night of grief and pain. 
 Let us glance at Christ, the Sun of consolation, in 
 the gloomy night of earthly suffering — of death, and 
 filially the Sun triumphantly reigning in the kingdom 
 of eternal bliss in the joyotis feast of Easter. 
 
 Mary, Mother of mercy, Mother of sorrows, who 
 stood beneath the* cross, the Queen of martyrs, obtain 
 from thy divine Son for us the grace to suffer patiently 
 for His dear sake ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 " Man born of a woman, liveth for a short time, and 
 is filled with many miseries," says holy Job, and expe- 
 rience teaches us the truth of this; Holy Scripture 
 confirms it ; so that it were folly indeed to doubt. Of 
 the millions who have lived and died since the creation 
 of the world, not one has been exempt from trouble. 
 Scarce has the little child, be he prince or peasant, 
 looked out upon a world both new and strange, than 
 a feeble wail betokens pain or dread. And life goes 
 on ; the child becomes a man, and at last the hour of 
 
2 74 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 death comes — that hour in which even the mightiest 
 potentate, before whose will his trembling subjects 
 bowed in dread, must bend to the will of a Sovereign 
 mightier far. He must leave the world, and the death 
 struggle will be full of pain, for this is a valley of tears. 
 
 Many circumstances conspire to this. Care for the 
 preservation of our lives, care to provide for those 
 whom God has given to us, — and this, as many among 
 you, my dearest Christians, know full well, is often a 
 difficult task, for the means of doing so are wanting, 
 and employment can not be had. 
 
 Bodily pain and severe illness often render life mis- 
 erable. Slights and insults, whether real or fancied, 
 deserved or unmerited, have the same effect. But 
 what can I say of those pangs inflicted by a guilty 
 conscience — that worm which never dies ? When the 
 fiercest temptations attack the soul, and man beholds 
 his salvation exposed to the greatest danger; when 
 he stands all alone, with no one to whisper words of 
 trust in God, then, indeed, this earth seems like a 
 valley of tears. Yet let us thank our Lord that we pos- 
 sess the light of faith, which is brilliant enough to pen- 
 etrate the most impenetrable gloom. Let us ascend 
 the Mount of Olives and see what an agonizing God 
 can bear ; and behold, amid all the grief and woe and 
 sorrow which well-nigh crushed that loving heart, the 
 glory of a divinity which rose so far above the pain 
 that the wailing cry, '• Father, if it be possible, let this 
 chalice pass from me," was at once followed by the 
 submissive cry, ''Yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.'' 
 
THIRD SERMON. 275 
 
 Among the many rays which emanate from the Sun 
 of justice on Mount Olivet there are five of an espe- 
 cial luster, which will lighten the sorrows of life and 
 strengthen us to unite our sorrows with those of 
 Christ. 
 
 We have reached the summit of the Mount ; now 
 let us glance devoutly at our suffering Lord. The 
 first ray upon our hearts is full of consolation. The 
 thought, the assurance of faith, the certainty that af- 
 fliction is 710 misfortune, but, on the contrary, that to 
 suffer in union with the most holy will of God is a 
 happiness for which the angels might indeed envy us, 
 should teach us to say, " Thy will be done." Suffering 
 thus endured is a most precious opportunity to show 
 the extent, fidelity, and sincerity of our love to God. 
 If He shower blessings upon us and enrich us with, 
 temporal favors, we can indeed say: ''My God, I love 
 Thee — I thank Thee." But if His divine hand press 
 heavily upon us, and we bow in humble submission to 
 His will, then may we know that our love is real and 
 true, and we can justly say: "My God, I love Thee. 
 I suffer willingly for Thee. I thank Thee with all my 
 heart." 
 
 The angels never had this sublime opportunity of 
 proving their love for God, and they envy us, for they 
 fain would suffer for Him Who of His own free will 
 took upon Himself sufferings which far exceeded the 
 most intense pain that had been or would be borne by 
 man to the end of time, as we know from the bloody 
 sweat which burst from the Saviour's veins. 
 
276 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 Jesus chose to suffer. He could certainly have re- 
 deemed us by a single petition of His Sacred Heart, 
 but it pleased the heavenly Father and His eternal 
 Son to bestow, through suffering, the benefits of Re- 
 demption ; ''for," says a Christian thinker of modern 
 times, "had there been a more glorious way than to 
 suffer innocently through pure love, the Father would 
 have manifested it to His Son rather than that He 
 should endure such anguish." The words of Holy 
 Scripture verify it: "O all ye that pass by the way, 
 attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto My 
 sorrow." Therefore Jesus longed with such an intense 
 longing for this suffering that He sighed forth : "I 
 must be baptized with a baptism of blood." Oh, how 
 He yearned for the consummation of His passion! O 
 Christian, when the waves of affliction sweep over 
 your soul, think of all this and be consoled, for Jesus 
 loves you. 
 
 The second ray which lightens the sorrowful heart, 
 as it glances at the agonizing Saviour on Mount Oli- 
 vet, proceeds from the thought: "This trouble which 
 rends my very soul is not from the hand of man, but 
 of God. No angel sent it to me, no devil brought it 
 nigh." "Shall I not drink," says Christ, speaking of 
 His passion, "the cup which my Father presents to 
 me?" And again: "Not a hair falls from your head 
 /vithout the will of your Father who is in heaven." 
 What a consolation ! God, my Creator — He, the in- 
 finite goodness, wisdom, and love — ordains or permits 
 me to suffer, that I may show the sincerity of my love 
 
THIRD SERMON. ?77 
 
 and prove its depth ! Think of this, and the ray of 
 consolation will so penetrate your hearts that you will 
 embrace the cross with loving zeal. 
 
 As we glance for the third time at the Saviour pros- 
 trated in agony and bathed in His own sacred blood, 
 a third ray of light shines forth and brightens with 
 celestial hope the troubled night of the soul. Are you 
 more innocent than He, the Lamb of God, Who taketh 
 away the sins of the world ? Had you but committed 
 one sin in the course of your whole life, all the suf- 
 ferings on earth would not be sufficient reparation for 
 it ; and do you not feel that you have been guilty of 
 many, perhaps, mortal and most grievous sins, for 
 which you fully deserved to be cast into the flames of 
 hell ? And even if you have not the stain of mortal 
 sin upon your souls, think of Purgatory ! Suffer pa- 
 tiently, for thus you will lessen the pains you might 
 have to endure in that fiery prison, and shorten the 
 duration of the punishment which may await you there. 
 
 By the royal road of the cross Christ your Saviour 
 entered heaven. His blessed Mother and all the saints 
 walked in the steps His sacred feet marked with His 
 precious blood. Look up to that glorious army. You 
 do not suffer alone, for, as St. Paul tells us, through 
 sorrow and tribulation do we enter the kingdom of 
 heaven. And you, beloved in Christ Jesus, would you 
 wish to enter there by any other than the royal road 
 of suffering? You may say that the path is too nar- 
 row, the thorns too sharp, and sigh after the broad 
 and pleasant road fragrant with lovely flowers and 
 
278 FEAST OF HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 cooled by fountains whose waters dance and sparkle 
 in the sun ; but, for the love of God, resist the wish to 
 walk therein, for the roses have piercing thorns, and / 
 from the sparkling waters, as you stop to quench your 
 thirst, spring deadly serpents whose venomous sting 
 brinofs death. 
 
 And then, my friends, if you were told that, by pass- 
 ing through a narrow and dangerous road, you would 
 find a princely fortune, would you not persevere until 
 the end? Oh, persevere in the narrow road which 
 leads to eternal life, where a bliss which can not be 
 conceived is in store for you — where a happiness be- 
 yond comparison awaits the faithful soul ! 
 
 The fourth ray which falls upon the troubled and 
 dejected heart, from the Sun of justice, and gilds with 
 celestial hope the night of the soul, is the thought : 
 *'The more we endure for God, through pure love of 
 Him, the more exquisite will be our bliss in heaven." 
 There God will reward us for faithfully practising those 
 virtues so repugnant to human nature ; for the Holy 
 Ghost, speaking through St. James, says that patience 
 hath a perfect work. Wherefore ? We may easily per- 
 ceive the reason. All theological and moral virtues 
 are contained in the exercise of this admirable virtue. 
 Truly, an act of patience is the most glorious manner 
 of practising faith, hope, and charity, and every moral 
 virtue ; for trials borne with patience rigidly test the 
 strength of our liumility, self-denial, and the four car- 
 dinal virtues — Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and 
 Fortitude — without which there is no true virtue. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 279 
 
 Since, then, the only object for which we have been 
 placed on earth is to gain merits for heaven, what 
 comfort must we not find in the thought that trials 
 and troubles come from God, and that every affliction 
 patiently endured will turn to a brilliant gem to adorn 
 our heavenly crown. 
 
 In conclusion, the fifth ray of brilliant light which 
 comes from the Sun of justice, and cheers our fainting 
 spirits is the thought that the longest suffering here 
 on earth is but brief. The passion of Christ was brief. 
 It lasted but from one evening until the next, and soon 
 He entered the joy of the Lord, the eternal bliss of 
 heaven. The longest life is short compared to eternity. 
 Could man, through one breath of affliction, merit joys 
 for his whole life, and if that life could last a thousand 
 years, nevertheless one breath would be infinitely longer 
 in comparison to a thousand years than would a life of 
 a thousand years be in regard to eternity. 
 
 But a little while, O sorrowful hearts! St. Peter says, 
 the afflicted shall rejoice in joy inexpressible. Do you 
 hear these blessed words ? In your deep desolation 
 and abandonment of soul go to Mount Olivet and pros- 
 trate yourselves near your suffering Saviour, and the 
 lovely radiance of those five celestial rays will cast their 
 consoling light upon your grief and cheer your dark- 
 ened lives. Then, through Christ, the Sun of justice, 
 the Risen Lord, will your night of sorrow be merged 
 in the brightness of spiritual joy, through which you 
 will reach the eternal day. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Now there stood by the cross, Mary His mother." — John xix, 25. 
 
 YESTERDAY, beloved in Christ, the example of 
 Judas the traitor was held up to us as a terrible 
 warning upon which every sinner might meditate, and, 
 perhaps, realize the consequences of such total atrocity 
 and utter hardness of heart. That warning might be, 
 for many, the very last grace vouchsafed by God ! Oh, 
 may it not be in vain ! What reason has not the sin- 
 ner to strike his breast, and cry out : " O God, be 
 merciful to me, for my sins have been as great, per- 
 haps, as those of Judas, and more frequent ! '•' Yes, 
 sinners, it is even so ; for Judas, wretch though he 
 was, did not try to pervert his fellow-laborers, the 
 Apostles; while you, how many innocent souls have 
 you not led astray, both by word and example? How 
 many souls, most dear and precious to the Heart of 
 Jesus, have you not turned away from Him? '' Woe to 
 him by whom scandals come. It were better for that 
 man that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and 
 that he were drowned in the depths of the sea." And 
 yet, my brethren, if, among my hearers there are any 
 
 who have been guilty of grievous sin, I would say to 
 
 (280) 
 
FIRST SERMON. 28 1 
 
 them, do not despair. Even though each passing year 
 has witnessed the commission of crimes, each one 
 more terrible than the last; nay, even if you have 
 lived as an incarnate devil, do not despair. Look upon 
 Mary beneath the cross. Call upon her ; she will take 
 you under her maternal protection ; lead you to her 
 divine Son, who can refuse her nothing ; and obtain for 
 you the grace of a true conversion ; for is she not the 
 one chosen by God, and destined to be the Mother of 
 mercy, the refuge of sinners ? 
 
 As the subject of our present meditation, my dear 
 brethren, — 
 
 Let us consider the wonderful power contained in the 
 words uttered by Jesus on the cross, those seven last 
 words which inspired the sweet heart of the Virgin 
 Mother with an ardent wish to save and rescue sinners. 
 
 Mary, Mother of mercy, show thyself a merciful 
 mother, especially towards those erring children, who 
 have come here to-night, their hearts heavy with the 
 burden of sin ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God! 
 
 As it seemed good to the Lord to place a help- 
 mate by the side of the earthly Adam, so we behold 
 at the side of Jesus, the heavenly Adam, Mary, the 
 Eve of the New Law ; that, as by the fall of the first 
 Adam and Eve the whole human race was plunged 
 into an abyss of woe, so through the second — Jesus 
 
282 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 and Mary — rescued man was led to hope for heaven. 
 It is true that, in the abstract, it was the merits of 
 Christ alone which effected our redemption, yet, that 
 its fruits might be imparted to man individually, Jesus 
 was pleased to place by his side a mother — Mary — 
 for the consolation and assistance of the human race. 
 
 ]^sus me7Hted ; yidivy distributes thos^m^r its. There- 
 fore, God filled her heart with the most fervent affec- 
 tion for us, who have been born in sin, ensnared by 
 numberless temptations, walking in the path to 
 heaven, it may be, but in constant danger of going 
 astray, and persecuted by the enemies of our salvation 
 who rejoice when we make but one false step, hoping 
 thereby that we will become their prey forever. Mary's 
 heart is filled with the most unspeakable compassion 
 for us ; and no mother, of her own natural inclination, 
 so fondly loves a child, so tenderly cares for its wel- 
 fare, so untiringly watches over it in every danger, as 
 does Mary in regard to the children of men ; espe- 
 cially if they have had the happiness of receiving bap- 
 tism as members of the Holy Catholic Church. " Come 
 ye all tome, and be filled with my fruits." Thus does 
 Holy Church cry out to those who zealously walk 
 under her protection and patronage in the way of per- 
 fection, the path which leads to the joys of heaven. 
 
 But with far more earnestness and devotion does 
 this exclamation come forth from the mother of love 
 and mercy to every soul that has fallen into sin. 
 ''Come back," this tender mother cries: ''forsake 
 your sinful lives, and live for God." The jreason 'why 
 
FIRST SERMON. 283 
 
 the Saviour placed His mother beneath the cross is 
 given by St. Bonaventure, in the following touching 
 words : '' Divine mercy was pleased to place beneath 
 the world's redeeming wood, a creature who would 
 be wholly merciful, and her name is Mary." Jesus did 
 so that no sinner need ever despair, that no soul need 
 be lost. St. Bernard says: *' You dare not go to 
 Christ because you have crucified Him, and, besides, 
 He will one day be your Judge; but look at Mary, 
 hasten to her ; she is all mercy. In her, so tender, 
 kind, and loving, there is nothing at which you could 
 take alarm. She is a mother who will lead you to her 
 Son; who will reconcile you through that precious 
 blood He shed upon the cro^s, to His eternal Father.'* 
 Mary herself gave the same assurance to St. Bridget 
 in a vision: "There is no sinner so great," she said, 
 **who, when he calls upon me and comes to me, will 
 be cast off, and refused forgiveness." During the 
 earthly life of the Blessed Virgin, her heart burned 
 with the desire to lead souls to Christ. 
 
 Oh, with what joy did she behold them return to the 
 path of virtue after they had strayed therefrom, and 
 to a life of sanctity after they had abandoned their 
 evil ways ! But, beloved in Christ, how immeasurably 
 was this desire increased when she stood so near her 
 dying Son, and heard the words uttered by His* 
 parched and livid lips : 
 
 *' Father, forgive them; they know not what they 
 
 do," were the first precious words which welled up 
 
 from the agonizing heart. The mother listened, and 
 19 
 
284 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 resolved to make it her dearest care to lead the sin- 
 ner back to God, that the blood of Jesus might not be 
 shed in vain. "O my Jesus!" was the prayer she 
 put forth to her crucified Son, " I know well that for 
 love of souls Thou didst choose this painfnl death, to 
 deliver them from the curse of sin ; therefore, I unite 
 my petition to Thine, and cry with Thee : Heavenly 
 Father, forgive ! Receive my only-begotten Son ; I 
 offer Him to Thee with all His merits, together with 
 my own, which I have gained by Thy divine grace, 
 or may merit until the end of my life. Have mercy, 
 I beseech Thee, upon the sinful children of men!" 
 
 ''Amen I say unto thee; this day shalt thou be 
 with Me in Paradise." 
 
 Mary listened, and still her desire for the salvation 
 of souls increased ; for her compassionate heart shud- 
 dered at the terrible torments into which those who 
 were lost would be plunged. And in proportion to 
 the number saved by the life, death, and passion of 
 Christ, will the glory and beatitude of the Sacred 
 Heart be increased in heaven. 
 
 '' Woman, behold thy son ; son, behold thy mother." 
 
 How precious are the words which fall from the dy- 
 ing lips of a beloved friend ! 
 
 How much dearer are they when it is an only son. 
 Mary listened, and the wish of her heart grew still more 
 intense, as the Saviour spoke, to save every soul. By 
 these words He solemnly declared before heaven and 
 earth that to Mary He bequeathed the children of 
 Adam, that she might, through her intercession, aid 
 
FIRST SERMON. 285 
 
 in their salvation with the love, tenderness, and mag- 
 nanimity which has marked her love for Him. And 
 can we doubt that the sorrowful mother promised to 
 do so? And the blood, which gushed from the five 
 sacred wounds, fell upon her there, thus sealing the 
 solemn promise she made to Christ. 
 
 '' My God ! my God ! why hast thou forsaken Me ? '' 
 
 Mary understood the meaning of this complaint. 
 Christ suffered, as it were, the punishment of separa- 
 tion from God, incurred on account of sin ; but what 
 more than all afflicted His heart, was the knowledge, 
 that in spite of that blood He so freely shed for man 
 amid temptations, trials, afflictions, and intense pain, 
 for so many it would be shed in vain. 
 
 ** I thirst! " It was not sufficient for the Saviour to 
 deliver us from the curse of sin, but He would fain 
 induce us to imitate His example, though life itself 
 might be the penalty. Mary heard and understood 
 the plaintive cry, and her wish grew stronger still to 
 win souls for heaven, and console the Sacred Heart. 
 
 " It is consummated ! " The work of redemption is 
 finished, and Jesus leaves this world with the words: 
 " Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." *' Be- 
 hold the completion of the work for which Thou didst 
 send me here." 
 
 This perseverance unto the end is the perfect ful- 
 fillment of the divine will ; but it is a grace which, in 
 reality, not one of the saints in heaven who reached 
 that happy home thereby merited of himself; but as 
 Holy Scripture tells us, and the holy fathers unani- 
 
\ 
 
 286 FEAST OP^ (iOOI) FRIDAY. 
 
 mously assert, a solid and tender devotion to Mary is 
 a certain sign of election. •' Whosoever finds Me 
 finds life, and draws salvation from the Lord," says the 
 Holy Ghost, through the Church, in reference to the 
 ever blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 " Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit." 
 With the most implicit confidence may her devoted 
 clients, as this world recedes from their dying eyes, 
 breathe forth the prayer which the Saviour uttered on 
 the cross. 
 
 When St. John of God was dying, suddenly there 
 appeared to him the pure and loving Mother of Jesus 
 at the very moment that he had ceased to hope for 
 that favor. But Mary, who had promised to be there, 
 sweetly said to this faithful servant : " My dear son I 
 never forsake my children in this solemn hour." O 
 sinners, do not lose courage, hasten to Mary, call upon 
 her, seek her assistance, and she will help you to make 
 a good confession ! Draw from her bleeding heart 
 those seven swords of grief which your sins have 
 thrust therein, — the sword of delay in conversion, of 
 impenitence, of scandal, of indifference in matters of 
 religion, of disdain towards the Church and her min- 
 isters. 
 
 Judas forgot to call upon her. O sinners, for 
 Christ's dear sake forget not so sure a refuge, who is 
 ready to help, who longs to save your souls ! 
 
 O Mary, with St. John we sink down at thy feet, 
 even as if, with Him, thy adopted Son, we were now 
 on Calvary, and cry out from the very depths of our 
 
FIRST SERMON. 287 
 
 contrite hearts: ''O Mother of mercy, be merciful 
 unto us, by the memory of those sorrows which thou 
 didst endure upon the sacred mount. Obtain for us 
 the grace of true contrition of heart, a Hfe free from 
 sin, and a happy death through Jesus Christ, our cru- 
 cified Lord and Redeemer. — Amen ! 
 
288 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "And when Jesus saw His Mother and the disciple whom He loved, He 
 said: Behold thy Mother," — St. John xix, 26. 
 
 YESTERDAY we considered St. John, the disciple 
 of love ; and his beautiful example pointed out to 
 us, in the clearest manner, the conditions necessary for 
 approaching the Table of the Lord, so as to partake of 
 the heavenly food in a worthy manner ; and, after its 
 reception, to unite ourselves so intimately with Christ 
 that our reception of the Holy Communion may be in- 
 deed like that of St. John, and produce in our souls 
 the same effects of sanctifying love. To-day the scene 
 is changed. 
 
 Let us glance at him as he stands beneath the cross, 
 beside Mary, the Mother of fair love, and learn no less 
 expressly the conditions upon which we, ransomed sons 
 of men, through the passion and death of Christ, may 
 reap the fruits of the Redemption in their fullness for 
 time and eternity. 
 
 To-day also his characteristic feature, as disciple of 
 love, exemplifies these conditions. And why? 
 
 Because the more sincere our love for Jesus ^ the more 
 perfectly will our hearts be prepared to appropriate 
 these fruits ; and, from the wounds of our crucified 
 Saviour to receive, without intermission, new distribu- 
 tions of grace. 
 
 O Mary, who, under the cross, didst adopt St. John 
 as thy son, adopt us to-day in like manner as thy chil- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 289 
 
 dren, and obtain for us that love for Jesus which filled 
 his fervent heart ! 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 If yesterday we beheld in spirit St. John at the 
 Holy Table resting upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
 we learned also how fully he merited, above all the 
 other Apostles, the title, '' disciple of love." And, on 
 this day, so sad, so full of mournful memories, and yet 
 replete with consolation too, we perceive that again 
 he is favored, above all the other Apostles, in being 
 allowed to stand by the Mother of Jesus beneath the 
 cross. Oh, that we all would avail ourselves of the priv- 
 ilege of being near Jesus — present in the Blessed Sac- 
 rament — by visiting and receiving the Son of God ! 
 
 The fervent love which inflamed the heart of St. 
 John shows us at once what will render our inter- 
 course with Jesus like unto his. And now the love, 
 which burned so brightly amid the spiritual joys of 
 that holy eventide, retains its ardor toward the cruci- 
 fied One in all the desolation of this bitter hour. It 
 glowed in the faithful heart of St. John on Calvary, 
 and exercised a sublime influence upon the holiness 
 of his after life. 
 
 To understand better what kind of affections they 
 were which rendered St. John so dear and precious 
 to his suffering Saviour, let us glance first at Mary — 
 the Mother of Sorrows, the Queen of Martyrs, and 
 the type of all that is holy and beautiful in love — and 
 
290 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 think of the sentiments which filled her maternal heart 
 as she endured each separate pain inflicted on her 
 beloved Son, for it found its echo there. And these 
 affections were mirrored in the dear disciple's faithful 
 heart, causing Jesus to give, before He left this world, 
 His loving Mother an affectionate son. And what were 
 the feelings of this blessed Mother in that solemn hour, 
 when she beheld the consummation of what had begun 
 some three and thirty years before ? Compassion, ado- 
 ration, thanksgiving, and perfect resignation to the most 
 holy will of God. 
 
 Ah, yes ! compassion. The sight of a poor body 
 covered with wounds, bruised, and bleeding, always 
 awakens it, especially if the sufferer be the innocent 
 victim of malice ; and this feeling is intensified if he 
 be connected with us by the ties of love or blood. Im- 
 agine, then, the feelings of a loving mother when her 
 darling child lies wounded or dying in her arms ! 
 
 During one of my missions the following painful 
 illustration of this came under my personal observa- 
 tion : Two children — two innocent little children — 
 were at play in the yard near by their dwelling, where 
 an elder brother was splitting wood. Unfortunately, 
 the stroke of the axe fell on the hand of the little 
 golden-haired boy of five — the youngest of the three. 
 The hand was almost completely severed from the 
 wrist, and was kept thereon only by a slender piece 
 of skin. Horrified, the brothers carried the little one 
 to his mother, who gave one look and fell fainting 
 on the floor. Judge, then, of the grief of the Blessed 
 
SECOND SERMON. 29I 
 
 Virgin, who possessed the feeHngs of a loving mother 
 in .the highest degree. 
 
 And yet, with the sharp sword of sorrow piercing 
 her heart, she stood calmly by, and thought of the 
 priceless value of those sufferings which Jesus under- 
 went. She, who bore so large a part in the redemp- 
 tion of man — Queen of Apostles, and seat of divine 
 wisdom — adored the decree of God, which was com- 
 pleted through the passion and death of Christ, that 
 through the sufferings of a God mankind should be 
 redeemed. 
 
 Mary's heart was full of adoration combined with 
 gratitude for her own election as Mother of the Re- 
 deemer. Gratitude that she was permitted to stand 
 by the cross and nearest to Him. She thanked God 
 that she was permitted to unite her sufferings with 
 those of her divine Son ; and that unto her was given 
 to be mediatrix between Him and the human race. 
 She bowed in meek submission, saying, as first she 
 did in Nazareth : '' Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; 
 be it done unto me according to Thy word." Thus 
 prayed the Mother of God, even while the shadow of 
 the cross was darkening her future life, and the sword 
 of grief, which Simeon promised, pierced through her 
 very heart. 
 
 And in all this St. John, the beloved disciple, was 
 her counterpart. He felt the most tender pity when 
 looking up at the dying Saviour, now truly the Man 
 of Sorrows. What a change in Him since the even- 
 ing of the Last Supper, that Holy Repast, the intense 
 
292 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 joy of which could never be forgotten, and which 
 proved the sweetest solace in the anguish of the 
 present hour! There the Son of God appeared the 
 most beautiful among the children of men ; now, the 
 glory was dimmed, and there was no comeliness in 
 Him. St. John was also deeply grateful for having 
 been chosen by Christ to walk by His side through 
 life, to stand by Him in death. He, too, made the 
 sacrifice of his own will, as the Blessed Mother did. 
 Compassion, adoration, gratitude, and submission! 
 
 We, too, can participate in these affections ; and we 
 must do so, if we would share to the full extent in the 
 merits of Jesus's death. 
 
 But will it suffice to stop at mere feeling? So far 
 from it, that to think so would be one of the greatest 
 illusions, and must be severely guarded against; for 
 St. John tells us that we must love, not in words alone, 
 but in deeds. That our love for the crucified One may 
 prove itself as true, sacrificing, and faithful as that of 
 St. John, let us keep ever in view the words spoken 
 by Him upon the cross, which, falling upon the ear of 
 affection strained to catch even the faintest whisper 
 of his beloved Lord, illumined the soul of St. John for 
 the rest of his life, and guided him in the way of sal- 
 vation with their beautiful light. 
 
 Let us apply them to ourselves, and imagine that 
 Jesus addresses us thus : 
 
 *' Souls redeemed by Me at the cost of such bitter 
 anguish, if you love Me, sin no more ; but profit by 
 these my sufferings, and aim for the joys of heaven." 
 
SECOND SERMON. 293 
 
 Ah, yes ! my dearest brethren ! when pleasure's se- 
 ducing cup is held to your Hps, and you can not quaff 
 therefrom without committing sin, pause then, and 
 think of the weary years of pain which Jesus spent on 
 earth ! Think of that Hfe of toil and trial crowned in 
 the latter years by suffering and anguish such as the 
 mind could never conceive, and an ignominious death, 
 and all for you ! Think of this, friends, and dash the 
 poisoned cup away ! 
 
 Yes, it was sin which crucified your Saviour ; and St. 
 John grieved over the slightest shadow of evil which 
 might have fallen on his soul ; but we may well be- 
 lieve that, after he listened to the words : " Father, for- 
 give," his beautiful soul was never stained with the 
 smallest fault. 
 
 **Amen, I say to thee; this day thou shalt be with 
 Me in paradise." To St. John was granted the won- 
 derful privilege of beholding the glories of heaven 
 while yet on earth. Detach your hearts from the 
 empty treasures of this world ; for, if you would 
 arise with Christ, seek, first the things which are of 
 Christ. 
 
 '' Woman, behold thy son." '' Son, behold thy Moth- 
 er." St. John heard the words ; he glanced at Mary, 
 drew nearer, and threw himself at her feet beneath 
 the cross. Then he embraced his adopted Mother 
 with all the fervor of filial love. My dear brethren, 
 show your love to Jesus by a tender devotion and 
 love to Mary. Love her with a truly filial love ; for 
 Christ, according to St. Bridget and other spiritual 
 
294 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 writers, has given, in the person of St. John, the en- 
 tire human race to Mary as her children. 
 
 *' My God! my God ! why hast thou forsaken Me?" 
 Man's Hfe is a warfare ; and, at times, it seems indeed 
 as if we were entirely forsaken. Let us, then, like St. 
 John, be ready to suffer every thing, and to give up 
 our very lives rather than commit one single venial 
 sin. 
 
 Look, with the beloved disciple, at Jesus, the cruci- 
 fied One, and you will conquer and overcome. 
 
 " I thirst." St. John listened. Jesus thirsts after 
 souls, and this favored Aposde understood the mourn- 
 ful cry. And do you not think that he promised the 
 Lord, as a true disciple, to spread His kingdom, and 
 to labor for the salvation of souls, the value of which 
 he saw more clearly in that solemn hour when he wit- 
 nessed the incalculable cost of their redemption? 
 
 Try, beloved in Christ Jesus, to imitate him in his 
 zeal for the rescue of human souls. 
 
 *'Jt is consummated." Fidelity to the very end is 
 the most convincing proof of true love, which "many 
 waters can not quench," as Holy Scripture affirms. 
 Be faithful, then, O Christians, whose salvation has 
 been purchased at such a price ; and, for love of Him 
 whose sufferings we commemorate to-night, falter not, 
 but persevere until the last. And then when that awful 
 day will dawn, which hath for you no night, or that 
 evening twilight fall, of which you will never see the 
 morn, with perfect hope you can sigh : '* Come, my 
 Jesus, come," and yield up your spirit in the affections 
 
SECOND SERMON. 295 
 
 of your faithful love to Him with the longing desire 
 of St. John, and the holy confidence of St. Francis 
 Xavier. Ah, yes ! then you may well cry out : '* I have 
 loved and trusted in Thee, O my God, and will there- 
 fore never be confounded. I die in Thy blessed arms, 
 O Jesus, my Crucified Love." — Amen! 
 
296 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **0 death, where is thy sting?" — i Cor. xv, 55. 
 
 IF I, dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, have meditated 
 with you upon the manifold miseries which drape 
 our lives with the sable hue of gloom, I have also re- 
 minded you how Christ, the luminous Sun of justice, 
 shines even amid this mournful night and brightens it 
 with the most consoling rays of hope. There is, how- 
 ever, a still greater likeness between a dark and star- 
 less night and the condition of the departing soul. 
 Oh, how terrible is the darkness which overshadows 
 it at the approach of that moment which is to witness 
 the separation of the soul from that body to which it 
 has been so long and so intimately united — when it 
 must depart alone, and, uncheered by the companion- 
 ship of even one earthly friend, enter on a path all 
 new and strange, '' the house of its eternity ! " The sight 
 leaves the dim and fading eyes, and night comes for 
 that dying man, although the sun's bright glow may 
 fill the room. But, alas ! the shadows fall deeper still 
 when despair sets in, and envelop the departing soul 
 in a night of desolation and woe. 
 
 Yes, even to God's saints has it been given to walk 
 through the dark valley of bitter agony before they 
 could enter the joys of heaven. The great St. Hilary 
 trembled when his death hour approached, thinking 
 of the words of St. Paul: "It is terrible to fall into the 
 hands of the living God ; " but, taking courage, he ex- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 297 
 
 claimed: ''What! You have served God for seventy 
 years, and now are afraid to appear before Him. Fear 
 not, my soul, but go forth to meet your God ; " and so 
 he departed, full of holy hope. 
 
 Would you also, my brethren, be blessed with the 
 sweet confidence of St. Hilary at the hour of death ? 
 It is in your power — 
 
 Fo7' what animates the dying Christian zvho has faith- 
 fully served his Lord, is a glance at the crucifix which 
 is placed in his hands ; for Christ is the Sun which bright- 
 ens the dark hour of death. 
 
 Mary, Mother of a happy passage, as the twilight 
 of life gathers over our souls, assist us by thy prayers, 
 that our eyes may unclose upon the eternal day ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 As we read in the lives of the holy fathers in the 
 desert, who lived in their little cells in Egypt, it came 
 to pass that an Abbot of great renown lay on his dying 
 bed. His spiritual children, who loved and revered him 
 for his wonderful sanctity, gathered from far and near 
 to witness that edifying death and pray for the depart- 
 ing soul. The face of the dying man was illumined 
 with divine love as he uttered distinctly the words : 
 '' Behold, the choir of patriarchs approaches to meet 
 me." The hermits, in awe, remained silent, and vent- 
 ured not to speak ; when, after a short pause, there fell 
 upon the listening group an exultant cry: '' Behold, the 
 
298 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 venerable prophets are coming to meet me." — After a 
 brief silence his countenance became still more brill- 
 iant as, lifting up his voice, he exclaimed: '' The apos- 
 tles of Christ are here, and wish to bear me away to 
 heaven." — Another interval of silence ; the lips of the 
 venerable servant of God moved again ; and on being 
 asked with whom he was conversing, he replied : '' The 
 angels are here, and wish me to go with them, that 
 they may introduce me to the joys of heaven ; but I 
 ask them to leave me here still longer, that I may 
 perform more penance for my sins." One of the fa- 
 rthers then said: "Venerable Abbot, you do not need 
 to do longer penance." — And behold, his face shone 
 as if he were in an ecstasy of delight, and he cried: 
 " Jesus my Saviour cometh ! " and with these words the 
 lovely dawn of a happy eternity broke upon his soul, 
 as it, went forth to dwell forever with God. 
 
 My dearest Christians, a similar halo of consolation 
 may one day irradiate your dying bed, if you be but 
 faithful, when Christ the Lord, not only in vision, but 
 with body and soul, divinity and humanity, comes to 
 your hearts. The priest will administer to you the 
 Sacred Host as viaticum before you go to receive the 
 reward of a well-spent life. 
 
 This blessed assurance which I give you, however, 
 from this holy place, can not be offered to every dying 
 person, but only to such as have believed and hoped 
 and loved during life, and who have observed all the 
 commandments of God and of His Church. Even they, 
 as I said before, may in their last agony, by the per- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 299 
 
 mission of God, feel a great interior desolation for their 
 greater purification, that they may enter at once into 
 everlasting bliss. 
 
 We have considered the trials which, from the cra- 
 dle to the grave, are the lot of man, in my discourse 
 of yesterday, and beheld the five rays which come 
 from the sorrowful heart of the agonizing Jesus, to 
 encourage us amid these trials and troubles, and also 
 in the many and violent temptations which will en- 
 compass the soul. 
 
 In the terrors of death's dark night, my dear breth- 
 ren, there will be seven consoling rays in the seven 
 words which Jesus spoke upon the cross, and of those 
 I will speak to-night. 
 
 "Father, forgive." This is the first ray which illu- 
 mines the night of death for the faithful child of the 
 Church. It is a most sweet solace for those who have 
 never offended God by mortal sin — who have ever 
 cherished unspotted the white robe of their baptismal 
 innocence. Alas ! they are but few. We know that the 
 angelic youth St. Aloysius received the tidings of his 
 approaching death with the greatest joy, for he imme- 
 diately entoned the Te Deum. 
 
 But few who pass the morning of life, not to speak 
 of those who have borne the burdens of years, leave 
 this world with their baptismal innocence unstained. 
 I look around this sacred edifice and see before me a 
 goodly multitude who have come hither to commemo- 
 rate the Saviour's death, and perhaps — alas ! I fear 't is 
 more than a perhaps — many of them have so deeply 
 
300 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 offended the crucified Saviour that conscience tor- 
 ments them and gives them no rest ; and they say : 
 '' What will become of us if, in our dying moments, 
 Satan holds up the long list of our offenses in all their 
 enormity?" Do not despair: confess those sins with 
 fervent sorrow ; the blood of Jesus will wash the guilt 
 away; else, why did He cry to the eternal God : ''Fa- 
 ther, forgive"? 
 
 It may be that, although you have sinned, you have 
 already repented and sought reconciliation with God 
 by a good confession. If so, how sweet those words 
 for you : '' Father, forgive " ! And Who uttered them? 
 The same Christ Who said to His Apostles and their 
 successors in the holy ministry to the end of time : 
 ''Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven 
 them; and whose sins- you shall retain, they are re- 
 tained;" — the same Jesus Who, to strengthen you at 
 the hour of death, instituted the sacrament of Extreme 
 Unction, which washes away the least trace and stain 
 of sin from the soul, and even the relics of sin. It is 
 the same Saviour Who will forgive your sins at any 
 time while the breath still lingers in your body, even 
 at the very final moment, through the infinite merits 
 of His passion and death. Yes, my brethren, He will 
 do this if you but turn your dying eyes upon Him 
 with a confiding and repentant heart ; for a single 
 drop of His precious blood, of which the value is infi- 
 nite, would be sufficient to redeem a thousand worlds. 
 
 Why, then, O Christians — why should you despond ? 
 Christ is praying for you to the Father. He, the Lamb 
 
THIRD SERMON. 3OI 
 
 of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world, has 
 He forgotten you ? Detach your hearts from earthly 
 goods and pleasures, for, believe me, what darkens 
 the dying moments of so many Christians is an undue 
 attachment to them. If a person, during the course of a 
 long life, has set his heart upon the riches of this world 
 and labored to amass its treasures, how grieved will 
 he not be, at the hour of death, to feel that they are 
 slowly but surely slipping from his grasp ! 
 
 Oh, then, "die daily" to the world ! Seek first the 
 Kingdom of heaven, and you may indeed cry out: " O 
 death, where is thy sting ? '* 
 
 *' This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.*' These 
 consoling words were spoken by Christ upon the cross. 
 Oh, what a flood of light they pour upon the obscure 
 night of the departing soul ! The thought — '' I leave the 
 delights and treasures of the world ; but what are they 
 in comparison to those which await me in heaven?" — 
 inspires the heart with the wish to possess the goods 
 of the Lord in the country of the living, and to enjoy 
 that bliss of which St. Paul affirms: ''Eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered the heart 
 of man what God has prepared for those who love 
 Him." 
 
 What throws a shadow of gloom over the dying 
 hour is the grief the sufferer feels at leaving behind 
 the friends he sees weeping around his bed. This is 
 a feeling from which even pious souls are not exempt. 
 But, Christians, be consoled ; Jesus from the cross 
 cried out: "Woman, behold thy son! Son, behold 
 
302 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 thy Mother ! " If you have honored Mary, like a good 
 child, and followed her holy example, then will she 
 assist you in your last moments, even though father, 
 mother, sisters, and brothers should forsake you. 
 
 Oh, what a luminous ray of celestial light is con- 
 tained in the thought : '' The Holy Virgin will be with 
 me ; St. Joseph, the Archangel St. Michael, and all 
 the saints whom I have begged to obtain for me a 
 happy death, will surround me ; my guardian angel 
 will defend me from the spirits of evil, and strengthen 
 me to resist their attacks." 
 
 It is true that I must leave those who are dear to 
 me, but I will be welcomed by those of my friends 
 who await me in heaven. Oh, what joy to be forever 
 united with them in a home where neither death nor 
 sorrow can enter! 
 
 '* My God ! my God ! why hast thou forsaken me ? '* 
 Thus did Christ pray in accordance with the psalm 
 which predicted His sufferings. The pious child of 
 the Church need never complain that God has for- 
 saken him. Christ comes to him in the viaticum, to 
 strengthen his soul in the supreme moment of his last 
 agony. 
 
 My friends, it is hard to die. Death is a punishment 
 of original sin. But how encouraging the thought : 
 "It is the act, the most precious act, by which I give 
 back my life to Him Who bestowed it, if I so overcome 
 myself that I resign myself willingly to His divine de- 
 cree and unite my will so entirely to His as to desire 
 this very death, in this very place, and in this very 
 
THIRD SERMON. 303 
 
 manner, and all because my loving Saviour wished 
 it so." 
 
 If, beloved in Christ, you can meet death with such 
 entire resignation, the flames of Purgatory will be ex- 
 tinguished for you, and your Lord and Judge will bid 
 you enter at once into the joys of His heavenly home. 
 
 *'I thirst!" This plaintive cry deeply affected the 
 Blessed Virgin and St. John. Happy the Christian 
 who has lived only for Jesus. At the hour of death 
 his heart will be filled with the desire of the Apostle 
 .*' who longed to be dissolved and to be with Christ ; " 
 and this the more because death takes from us the 
 possibility of ever again committing sin. 
 
 *'It is consummated." What a sweet assurance of 
 rest and peace is contained herein ! The burning love 
 from the heart of the dying Saviour illumines the words 
 with the brightest rays of consolation and hope. "It 
 is consummated." The life of toil and sacrifice of three 
 and thirty years is over ; the cruel scourging, the sharp 
 pain of the, stinging thorns, the anguish of the cruci- 
 fixion, are over : *' Father, into Thy hands I commend 
 my spirit." O blessed eve which heralds the dawn of 
 eternal glory! What a consoling ray of divine hope, 
 not only for the Saviour, but for the Christian about to 
 leave this world, if he too has been faithful unto death I 
 How trifling will then be all the labors, toils, and mor- 
 tifications he endured for the love of God, and how 
 sweet the thought of the consequent bliss which awaits 
 his soul! 
 
 Let us so regulate our lives that we may taste this 
 
304 FEAST OF GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 sweetness not only at the close of life, but at the close 
 of the day when we sink into sleep, '*the image of 
 death." " It is consummated." *' Father, into Thy 
 hands I commend my spirit." One glance at the cru- 
 cified Jesus is sufficient to inspire the heart with the 
 certain hope that sustained St. Francis Xavier in his 
 last moments, as he pressed His image to his lips : 
 ''O my crucified Love, I have trusted in Thee and 
 will never be confounded." 
 
 Dearest Jesus, so dispose our hearts in life that at 
 the last dread hour You may appear to us as the glo- 
 rious Sun of justice, to brighten with these sevenfold 
 rays the gathering gloom which fain would darken our 
 passage into eternity. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "And on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early, when 
 it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher." — ^John xx, i. 
 
 ALLELUIA! Once more we greet the joyous 
 Easter-day, the glorious festival, the feast of 
 feasts ! 
 
 Alleluia ! the lofty note of triumph resounds through- 
 out high heaven to salute the Lamb of God, the mighty 
 Conqueror, while earth takes up the glad refrain, and 
 Alleluia wakes happy, holy thoughts in Christian souls, 
 absorbed in fervent homage in many a temple wherein 
 is celebrated this great festival with all the splendor 
 of our Holy Church. 
 
 And yet, alas ! to how many it brings no real heart- 
 felt joy ! 
 
 How many, who call themselves Christians, unite in 
 a merely external manner in the celebration of to-day ! 
 To outward seeming they rejoice ; but only a super- 
 ficial joy is theirs. 
 
 To them the spiritual delight, the real happiness — in 
 
 a word, the Alleluia of the Paschal time — brings no 
 
 deep meaning ; while to those who have, from spiritual 
 
 death, risen to the life of grace, and then, with zealous 
 
 earnestness, continue their efforts to attain perfection, 
 
 (305) 
 
306 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 this feast will prove a happy day indeed. The joy of 
 Easter will penetrate the very marrow of the soul. 
 
 So it was with Mary Magdalen, and so, too, it will 
 be with every Christian who, like that great saint, and 
 also like Mary the Immaculate Mother of Christ, is sin- 
 cerely disposed for a proper participation in the joy of 
 Easter. 
 
 Afid to-day, my brethren, I will explain to you in 
 what this special preparation for it consists ; so that to 
 each and, every one of you it may be given to feel the 
 delight of Mary Magdalen, when she beheld her risen 
 Lord. 
 
 Mary, thrice happy Mother of Jesus, may we par- 
 ticipate in the joy felt by Magdalen on that Easter- 
 morn ! May a faint reflex of your sentiments, as you 
 embraced your beloved Son and Lord, arisen from the 
 dead, fall upon our hearts to-day ! 
 
 1 speak in the name of the newly-risen Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Dear brethren, let us dwell for a few moments upon 
 the scene ! 
 
 The Redeemer, Master of life and death, had scarce- 
 ly burst the bonds of His prison-house, when count- 
 less souls, ransomed by His infinite mercy from Limbo, 
 hovered over His sepulcher. Myriads of angels too 
 were there, bowing in homage before their King. The 
 rosy dawn dispelled the lingering shades of night 
 which had hung like a pall over Jerusalem, and re- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 3O7 
 
 vealed the uncertain steps of one whose attitude of 
 deep dejection betrayed her grief. It was Mary 
 Magdalen, 
 
 She approaches the tomb. It is empty, and now 
 a new anxiety weighs upon her ; when suddenly Christ 
 stands before her, not as she had known Him in hfe, 
 but in the dress of a gardener. Not recognizing Him 
 she asks : '* If thou hast taken Him hence, tell me 
 where thou hast laid Him and I will take Him away." 
 Now the Lord calls her by name: ''Mary'' and she 
 feels that it is the voice of Jesus, the voice which ut- 
 tered the consoling words: '*Thy sins are forgiven 
 thee." It was a voice she could not fail-to know. She 
 looks up at Him; she recognizes Him; she falls pros- 
 trate at His feet. "Jesus, Master, you live! Alle- 
 luia ! " Heavenly joy thrills her heart as she hastens 
 to the disciples with the glad tidings that Jesus lived, 
 and had appeared to her. 
 
 Each child of the Church should share the joy of 
 Magdalen, the penitent and forgiven. And if in it he 
 has no part, where can be found the cause ? I answer : 
 Something is wanting in the preparation of the heart. 
 Look at Mary Magdalen, and learn from her. She re- 
 joiced, because her's was a soul purified by sorrow 
 and tears of repentance. In her we behold the Mag- 
 dalen, who, sinking beneath the burden of her contri- 
 tion, gave vent to her feelings at the feet of Jesus. 
 
 Christian ! if you feel not the joyous influence of the 
 Paschal time, is it not that you are, as yet, unrecon- 
 ciled with your risen Lord ? that your soul is marred 
 
308 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 with the disfiguring stain of mortal sin ? For others 
 the Easter jubilee ; for you the mournful memories of 
 Good Friday ! For, alas ! you have crucified your 
 Saviour in your heart. Let me beg that you will not 
 refuse to unite with those fervent souls whose Alle- 
 luia resounds throughout the earth, but that, by fer- 
 vent prayer, you will obtain the grace of contrition, 
 and, having '* arisen with Christ," by a worthy con- 
 fession you may rejoice with His faithful followers. 
 
 And you, lukewarm and indifferent Christian, what 
 sentiments does this glorious day awaken within your 
 heart ? Alas ! it is cold ; the Alleluia finds no respon- 
 sive echo there. And what wonder? You may not 
 indeed have crucified your Saviour by mortal sin ; but 
 the many venial faults which sully the purity of your 
 soul, drive Him from you, and sorrowfully He stands 
 afar off. 
 
 Mary Magdalen knelt at His feet. It was her dear- 
 est joy to be near her Lord, but that privilege was 
 never hers, until by tears of sorrow she had cleansed 
 her soul from the slightest stain of sin. She was a 
 penitent soul. Imitate her example, purify your soul 
 from its sins and faults, and then, with the illustrious 
 penitent, can you truly welcome your risen Lord. 
 
 Secondly. — Mary Magdalen had disposed her heart 
 for the celebration of Easter by meditation. She was 
 a contemplative soul. Absorbed in adoration at the 
 feet of Jesus, she listened to the words of divine wis- 
 dom which issued from His lips, and, according to 
 Christ Himself, she ** chose the better part.'* 
 
FIRST SERMON. 3O9 
 
 But how many Christians, celebrating Easter exteri- 
 orly, do not meditate, and hence a cold and lifeless 
 faith is theirs, causing them to listen with indifference 
 when the most sublime truths of religion are pre- 
 sented for their instruction. Nay, even the good and 
 pious are not free from censure in this regard. They 
 believe, they pray, but they do not meditate ; and 
 even by them the solemn mysteries of our redemp- 
 tion are not celebrated according to the spirit of our 
 Holy Mother Church. Her wish and desire is that we 
 may endeavor to bring the truths of holy faith before 
 our mental vision, in as vivid a manner as though we 
 had lived at the time those wonderful scenes in the 
 great work of our redemption took place, and had 
 witnessed them in the very order in which they trans- 
 pired. Then we will begin to realize the reward 
 which in an eternity of bliss awaits the purified soul 
 and feel the sweetness of its Alleluia on earth. 
 
 Thirdly. — Mary Magdalen's heart was prepared by 
 works of self-denial . She was a mortified soul, and 
 how could it have been otherwise with her ? Was she 
 not the same to whom was given the grace to behold, 
 with her own eyes, the dreadful spectacle of a lacer- 
 ated, scourged, nay, even of a crucified and dying 
 Saviour? Was she not the same devoted lover of 
 Jesus upon whom, as she knelt beneath the cross. His 
 tears and blood fell down ? And her entire subsequent 
 life, when she dwelt in solitude in the little hermitage 
 in Gaul, was spent in acts of penance, although, from 
 
3IO FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 the Redeemer Himself, she had heard the blessed 
 words: '' Thy sins are forgiven thee ! " 
 
 And you, Christians, if your hearts are not enton- 
 ing the Alleluia to-day with her exultation, why is it? 
 Because you do not love the cross, and strive to es- 
 cape from the observance of the holy season, which 
 this day terminates. Immediately preceding the fes- 
 tivity of Easter, the Church, during the days set apart 
 for penance, strives to instill into the hearts of her 
 children that penitential spirit, which will impel them 
 to take up the cross and follow their suffering Re- 
 deemer to Calvary. Have you spent the holy season 
 according to that spirit? Then, indeed, you may re- 
 joice with Mary Magdalen to-day. But, if not, al- 
 though the grandeur of the ceremonies which are dis- 
 played before you can not fail to produce an impres- 
 sion and excite some joy, it will be but a transitory 
 impression and a superficial joy, in which the Alle- 
 luia has no part. 
 
 Fourthly.^ — Mary Magdalen, in her longing after the 
 divine word gave up every thing, and followed her 
 Saviour in His apostolic missions. Trampling under 
 foot the opinion of the world, and casting aside the 
 promptings of human respect, in the presence of Him 
 she found her greatest happiness. Such sentiments 
 animated her, when, at the banquet given by the 
 haughty Pharisee, she knelt publicly at the feet of 
 Jesus. With such feelings she sought Him on Good Fri- 
 day, prostrating herself before Him ; and so also on the 
 Easter-morn did she seek for, and find her risen Lord. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 3II 
 
 Child of the one true Church, do you wish to rejoice 
 with Mary Magdalen? Then with her resolve to fol- 
 low your Lord, and for this end seek Him with never- 
 flagging earnestness ; and, having found Him, contem- 
 plate in Him the adorable model, by imitating which 
 you will one day behold Him face to face. 
 
 Souls who are satisfied to lead an ordinary Chris- 
 tian life, who do not hunger and thirst after perfection, 
 who lead not an interior life, do not participate in the 
 joy of this great penitent, and alas! they will never 
 understand it. 
 
 In conclusion, the soul of Mary Magdalen was a 
 grateful and loving soul towards Jesus. She recog- 
 nized Him on that Easter-morn by His voice; and as 
 He spoke her name, ''Mary/'' the thought of the 
 countless favors she had received at His sacred hands 
 rushed swiftly over her. Her heart overflowed with its 
 burden of gratitude ; and oh ! she felt how sweet it 
 would be to cancel that debt by the perfect love with 
 which she would regard h^r Saviour during an eter- 
 nity of purest bliss. Then, indeed, could she worthily 
 celebrate the feast of feasts ! — the glorious Easter jub- 
 ilee in heaven ! 
 
 Mary's love was sincere, magnanimous, self-sacrific- 
 ing, and constant. Of this Christ Himself has given 
 testimony: ** Ske hath loved much ^ This mighty love 
 not only gained for her an unconditional pardon of her 
 former sins, but it became the source of numberless 
 graces for her future life. 
 
 And the same is promised to every member of the 
 
312 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 one true Church, whose love for Jesus is sincere, mag- 
 nanimous, self-sacrificing, and constant, like that of 
 Mary Magdalen. 
 
 The recurrence of Easter, my brethren, should in- 
 crease every year our confidence in divine Providence, 
 and remind us of the unwearied solicitude with which 
 God has, from our very infancy up to the present mo- 
 ment, watched over us, guided our footsteps through 
 the dangers which encompass us, and through His 
 Holy Spirit is ever whispering to us to renounce our 
 sins, to '' love much," that He may *' forgive us much." 
 If we listen to that whisper we will indeed *' arise with 
 Christ; " we will participate to the utmost in the true 
 spiritual jubilee of this blessed day. 
 
 Thus, my brethren, let your preparation for Easter 
 be according to the disposition of St. Magdalen ; and 
 you will celebrate with Magdalen, in the spirit of the 
 Church, Easter on earth, and soon, with Magdalen also, 
 Easter in heaven forever. — Amen! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 313 
 
 SECOND SERMON 
 
 "And the disciple whom Jesus loved came to the sepulcher." — John xx. 
 
 AS often as the Church, in commemoration of the 
 glorious Resurrection, celebrates the yearly re- 
 currence of the Paschal time, and entones the joyous 
 Alleluia with her children, so often do we recall to 
 mind those privileged souls who, the Gospel tells us, 
 had the happiness of hearing the glad tidings : '' Jesus, 
 lives; He has arisen," of listening to, of beholding 
 the risen Jesus. This privilege was not limited to one 
 or two ; but was enjoyed by a number of the disciples, 
 who believed and hoped in the Lord. Often, too, we 
 go in spirit to the sepulcher with the holy women who 
 went thither bearing ointments, and think of that bliss 
 which filled their hearts when, from the angel of the 
 Lord, they heard the welcome words : " He is arisen." 
 We think of Mary Magdalen, whose joy found utter- 
 ance in the single word, as she knelt before her Lord, 
 ''Rabboniy 
 
 We behold the wondering Apostles, when, on the 
 evening of the same day, as they were assembled 
 together "with closed doors," their Master stood be- 
 fore them and pronounced the blessed words: ''Pax 
 vobis'' — " Peace be unto you." 
 
 But there is one Apostle, St. John, upon whom our 
 attention should be particularly centered, that we may 
 attain a better understanding of the state in which the 
 Christian must be before the real joy of Easter can 
 
314 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. . 
 
 illumine his soul. We have seen him at the Last Sup- 
 per ; we have beheld him at the foot of the cross, and 
 let us hope that we may have shared, to some extent, 
 in the love which filled his heart at those solemn times. 
 Let me, brethren, to-day present, for your contempla- 
 tion, St. John, the disciple of love. Let us glance at him 
 as he stands by the sepulcher of the Risen One, and en- 
 deavor to picture the joy which overflowed his heart as 
 he beheld the Lord, 
 
 Mary, Mother most joyful, infuse into our hearts 
 that bliss which filled your own upon that first happy 
 Easter-morn, that we, like St. John, may experience 
 its most wonderful effects for the salvation of our 
 souls ! 
 
 1 speak in the name of the newly-risen Jesus, for 
 the greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 "He is risen ; we have heard it even from the an- 
 gels ! *' said the holy women, as they returned from 
 the sepulcher. And as the Apostles heard the won- 
 drous tale, two of their number immediately arose and 
 hastened away; but the '* dearly beloved Apostle," 
 St. John, in the fervor of his love, left St. Peter far 
 behind, and, arriving first at the sepulcher, found the 
 stone rolled away. St. Peter, however, was the first 
 to enter the empty tomb. In him, therefore, is illus- 
 trated the Apostle oi faith, while St. John typifies the 
 disciple of love. In the divine economy, every thing 
 is full of a deep, mysterious meaning, and herein we 
 
SECOND SERMON. 315 
 
 learn that faith must first penetrate the soul before 
 the flame of divine love is enkindled in the heart. 
 John followed Peter, and, as he placed his hand upon 
 the winding-sheet, which, but the evening before he 
 had wrapped about the sacred body of his Lord, a 
 flood of joy rushed over his soul, and filled his heart 
 with happiness, as he felt that Jesus had indeed arisen, 
 that Jesus lived. 
 
 We will to-day consider the character of his holy 
 Easter joy, and endeavor to understand how mighty 
 and sanctifying it was rendered by the excessive ardor 
 of his love for Christ. To clearly realize the intense 
 joy of this saintly disciple, we must recall the feelings 
 which agitated his heart while, for love of the crucified 
 One, he stood beneath the cross, and think of those 
 words of Holy Scripture : ''According to the greatness 
 of my sorrows your consolations gladdened my soul." 
 St. John stood at the foot of the cross wholly absorbed 
 in compassion, adoration, gratitude, and resolution, ac- 
 cording to the will of God, to follow Jesus unto death, 
 through love ; and, therefore, the Alleluia of the Easter 
 joy, in which his heart rejoiced at the tomb of the 
 arisen Jesus, was a participation in the sentiments of 
 adoration, thanksgiving, and determination to be faith- 
 ful to his calling as Apostle in proportion to his love 
 for Christ. 
 
 The one who loves, so rejoices at the happiness of 
 the beloved object that it would seem as if he were 
 happier to see the joy of his friend than to feel his own. 
 For example, what joy is experienced by a mother 
 
3l6 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 whose child has met with some great good or benefit, 
 or has been unexpectedly saved from some impending 
 danger! But of true friendship Holy Writ testifies 
 that it is stronger than all other love — witness that of 
 David and Jonathan. 
 
 But incomparably more tender was the friendship 
 of St. John for his Saviour, and in the same measure 
 his heart rejoiced at the certainty that He had burst 
 the bonds of the grave and lived once more. This joy 
 must have stirred his heart to its very depths, and 
 moved him, in a much greater degree, than it affected 
 St. Peter and the other Apostles, because he had 
 beheld his Saviour in agony upon the cross, in suffer- 
 ing and in death. His loving heart was more sensitive 
 than theirs. 
 
 The Alleluia of his Easter joy was the outburts of 
 his overflowing friendship. It was, at the same time, 
 one of adoration and thanksgiving for the consum- 
 mation of the Redemption. Until that time the life 
 and labors of the Lord had been, as it were, veiled in 
 the obscurity of a mystical darkness ; but by the Alle- 
 luia which came forth from the heart of Jesus as He 
 rose from the tomb, all radiant with celestial light, this 
 vail was rent, and that Easter morn forever dispersed 
 the gloom. St. John, as he stood by the grave of the 
 risen Jesus, realized more clearly than ever the whole 
 order of salvation; and what an ''Exultet" arose in 
 his heart as he entoned it, in the same sense in which 
 it is sung by the Church on Holy Saturday, to an- 
 nounce the joyful truth that Christ had risen. As often 
 
SECOND SERMON. 317 
 
 as we hear it, our souls are filled with the joy of this 
 holy Easter day. St. John entoned it at the sepulcher, 
 in the name of the whole human family. Even as the 
 Church sends forth her most joyful chants,, so sang 
 his heart, overflowing with the joy of that Easter day : 
 '* O Ineffable Miracle of Grace ! to forgive Thy servant 
 his sins, Thou hast delivered up Thy Son. ! '* 
 
 '' Of what avail had it been for us to be born into the 
 world had we not received the grace of redemption? 
 
 happy fault which gave us such a Deliverer!" 
 
 St. John also thanked God, as he had never done be- 
 fore, for the grace of the election which, in the kingdom 
 of Christ, became his portion, recognizing more clearly 
 than ever the privileges which he enjoyed before all 
 men, even the Apostles, especially that one which gave 
 him the care of Mary, the Immaculate Virgin, the 
 Queen of heaven, the Mother of his Lord. How he 
 rejoiced that he would have her example and her 
 prayers! for it would be her duty to care for her 
 adopted son as became a tender and loving mother. 
 Well may St. Paul exclaim : *' I chastise my body that 
 
 1 may not become a castaway." No marvel was it 
 that St. Peter trembled when he thought upon the 
 judgment which would come after death ; but St. John, 
 the adopted son of Mary, was, through her, assured 
 of his eternal salvation. And in relation to the du- 
 ties of his apostleship in general, as he stood by the 
 Saviour's tomb, how greatly encouraged he felt! — how 
 firmly he resolved to be a fruitful branch in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord ! 
 
3l8 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 What invigorates the soul in its apostolic calling is 
 the strengthening power of faith, hope, and charity, 
 united with an earnest love of our neio^hbor. 
 
 These were precisely the sentiments which prevailed 
 in the heart of St. John as he burst forth in that glo- 
 rious Alleluia by the grave of Christ. 
 
 The certainty of the Resurrection, as St. Paul 
 affirms, is a pledge of the whole treasure oi faith. '' If 
 Christ had not risen again, as He said," writes the 
 Apostle of the nations, "we would have been miser- 
 ably deceived and disappointed and left without a 
 name." But He did arise, and we possess our holy faith 
 with its promises for time and eternity. We also shall 
 arise and live with Him forever. But St. Paul was not 
 at the sepulcher ; he did not touch the sacred body of 
 Christ, but the beloved disciple did. With what strong 
 testimony for the truth of the Resurrection, therefore, 
 could John announce the Gospel with the assertion 
 that he had lived with the Redeemer on the most in- 
 timate terms of holy union ; that he beheld Him when 
 He breathed forth His last sigh upon the cross; and 
 looked upon Him after He had risen from the dead. 
 The sentiments of his heart were that of triumphant 
 faith. 
 
 What invigorates a soul in the exercise of its apos- 
 tolic calling is victorious hope. *' The Lord, who calls 
 me to this office, is also my strength, and will, at some 
 future day, be my reward." Who experienced this in 
 a higher degree than St. John? To whom was more 
 fully and more bountifully given the vivifying power 
 
SECOND SERMON. 319 
 
 of Christian hope than to him who was permitted, while 
 still on earth, to pierce the golden vista of the celestial 
 vault, and gaze upon the mysteries of heaven ? 
 
 Finally, what urges the true Apostle on in his holy 
 mission more than any other thing is love — the love of 
 God and man. In these respects, St. John was, as you 
 know, eminently called the disciple of love. His very 
 Epistles, contained in Holy Writ, stand, and will re- 
 main forever, undying testimonials of this his apostolic 
 love. 
 
 This, dearly beloved in Christ, is the character of 
 the Easter-day of St. John and of his Easter Alleluia; 
 and these the conditions, to feel it re-echoed in our 
 own hearts. — Amen! 
 
320 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **In Thy light we shall see light." — Ps. xxxv. 
 
 THE glorious orb of day was still invisible to the 
 expectant world in the early Easter-morn, when 
 the earth trembled as if moved by some terrible con- 
 vulsion of nature and an angel of the choir of the 
 Powers, radiant and beaiitiful, hovered above the sep- 
 ulcher wherein lay the Body of Christ, and de- 
 scending rolled the stone away. Instantaneously the 
 glorified soul approached, the Sacred Body was trans- 
 figured, and the Lord arose, body and soul, more 
 brilliant than the sun, which now burst forth in all its 
 splendor to pay fitting tribute to Him Who gave it 
 light — Who came forth the Victor of all the powers of 
 evil, the Conqueror of death and hell. Then were seen 
 the millions of holy souls who, for four thousand years, 
 had languished in the gloomy prison of Limbo, full of 
 trust in the Lord, and waited until *' patience had her 
 perfect work." 
 
 Adam and Eve, the venerable patriarchs and proph- 
 ets, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, with legions of 
 holy angels, surround the Redeemer, the Sun of jus- 
 tice, the Lord Who had risen in all the grandeur of 
 His Majesty. Yet a little while and He will ascend 
 from the Mount of Olives, penetrate the heavens, and 
 take His place at the right hand of the Father, clothed 
 with the glory which flows from His divinity to His 
 humanity, and send throughout high heaven celestial 
 
THIRD SERMON. 32 1 
 
 light to intensify the bliss of the angels and saints 
 therein. In other words, all that which causes heaven 
 to be heaven, will be imparted in its full extent by 
 Christ to all the blessed therein. 
 
 Let us to-day, therefore, look up to Him as the Sun 
 in the kingdom of eternal beatitude. Let us picture to 
 ourselves the heavens opening to our wondering view, 
 while strains of sweetest music fall on our raptured 
 ear. It is the angels entoning their Easter hymn. 
 
 Mary, Queen of heaven, enthroned at the side 
 of thy divine Son, pray for us that we may one day 
 see Him in His glory and share in His beatification 
 forever ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, Who arose from 
 the dead, to the greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 What causes heaven to be heaven is, first, its exter- 
 nal magnificence. 
 
 When God created the visible world, the angels burst 
 forth in praise, as Holy Scripture says in the Book of 
 Job, on beholding such a stream of divine power and 
 wisdom and goodness. Even after the sin of our first 
 parents it still presented a scene of beauty and grand- 
 eur, and it does so still. 
 
 What a wonderfully majestic spectacle is afforded by 
 the **deep and dark blue ocean" as it seems blended 
 with the brilliant skies which it reflects in its depths ! 
 What a glorious radiance is cast upon the changing 
 waters by the setting sun as he sinks to rest — as he gilds 
 
322 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 the ever-tossing waves with tints of the most gorgeous 
 hue. The world of stars which sparkle in the dark- 
 ness of the night, form a most enchanting sight ; how 
 then would it be, were we permitted to contemplate 
 those wonders of creation through that lofty arch of 
 the heavens, so far above the stars, and view the es- 
 sence of those objects of which we now only behold 
 the exterior appearance ? 
 
 But as a diamond, encircled by precious stones, 
 emits rays of dazzling light from the center of a dia- 
 dem, so does the glorified humanity of Christ shine 
 forth amid the angels and saints, as the mystical Sun, 
 compared to which, our sun is naught but a waning 
 light. In this glorious radiance of the humanity of 
 Christ, the Blessed eternally contemplate the crown 
 of the creation, especially if we consider its transfig- 
 uration at the end of time. 
 
 As God the Father created the world by the Son, 
 so do we contemplate in the light which is Christ, the 
 ideal of the creation as it was conceived by the eter- 
 nal Father, and consider it so in all its relations to the 
 creation of grace through the same Jesus Christ. 
 
 No one can so well explain the beauty of a work as 
 the author thereof. Contemplative soul, look up to 
 Christ, Who has arisen, — and rejoice ; soon shalt thou 
 see Him in His glory. 
 
 What adds to the happiness of heaven is, secondly, 
 the sight of the glorified world of spirits. The angels 
 are the blossoms of the creation. The doctors of the 
 Church with St. Bernardine of Sienna affirm that God 
 
THIRD SERMON. 323 
 
 created more angels than visible corporeal beings be- 
 cause He was Himself a Spirit. Those beautiful spir- 
 its are divided into nine choirs, each one higher than 
 the other, as we are taught to believe by our holy- 
 faith, viz : Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Thrones, 
 Dominations, Powers, Virtues, Cherubim, and Sera- 
 phim. Each choir is higher, and therefore more beau- 
 tiful than the other. We will one day behold in heaven 
 the reason of this, but some of it we are already per- 
 mitted to know. 
 
 For all their beatitude and glory, the 'angels are 
 mediately indebted to Jesus. The holy Fathers assert 
 that it was the confession and adoration of the Son 
 of God, Who was to become man, into which mystery 
 God permitted them to glance, which confirmed them 
 forever in grace. And after Christ ascended into heaven 
 the angels beheld, according to their ranks, the increase 
 of glory which they were to receive from the glorified 
 King of that celestial realm. This increase of glory, 
 conferred separately on every choir, like rays of light, 
 is centered in the brilliant humanity of Christ, the King 
 of ever)' choir of them. 
 
 It is somewhat similar to the choirs of the Saints, 
 which are different too, glorified by their individual 
 graces. 
 
 In heaven we will one day, through the grace of 
 God, behold Adam and Eve, the Patriarchs, the Proph- 
 ets, the Holy Innocents, the Virgins, the Confessors, 
 the Bishops, the Martyrs, and the Apostles of Christ. 
 Each of these choirs is distinguished by a partic- 
 
324 FEAST OF EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 ular degree of glory. By whatever degrees of glory 
 these choirs are distinguished, transfigured, and beati- 
 fied, their different glories, with those of Mary herself, 
 the Queen of the Saints, are as so many rays which 
 are concentrated in Christ as the Sun. 
 
 What adds to the individual bliss enjoyed by the 
 saints of God in heaven, is the fact that it is a reward 
 conferred upon them for the holy lives which, in imi- 
 tation of Christ, they led upon earth. But, as the 
 Church at the Council of Trent taught, God crowns 
 only the gifts of His grace whose Creator is Christ. 
 The rays of all the merits of the saints unite therefore 
 in Him, the author of grace. 
 
 What causes heaven to be heaven Is the united en- 
 joyment of all its joys through Christ our Lord. In 
 that blissful home all will be united in love with Christ 
 and with one another, as He is one with the Father 
 and the Holy Ghost. Heaven is mine ; all is mine 
 through Jesus Christ! Such will one day be the out- 
 burst of joy of every sanctified soul. 
 
 What causes heaven to be heaven Is the thought 
 that It was already lost to us, and that Christ, the Re- 
 deemer, regained and re-opened It for all. Alleluia ! 
 
 What enhances Its bKss since Christ ascended 
 thither, is the character it possesses as the kingdom of 
 triumph. Here, too, we have no reason to envy the 
 angels, for upon one occasion only had they an oppor- 
 tunity of acquiring merit through Christ, when they 
 confessed and adored the Son of God made man, and 
 were thereby confirmed in grace. Although they are. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 325 
 
 as St. Paul calls them, ministering spirits, they but ful- 
 fill the will of God without increasing their happiness 
 or merit. This is not the case with us children of 
 men. Every breath, every thought, every desire, ev- 
 ery work, through divine grace, may be an occasion 
 of merit for us to increase our glory in heaven, which 
 is, therefore, for us also the kingdom of triumph. Life 
 is, as Holy Writ testifies, a warfare against the ene- 
 mies of salvation ; but Christ conquered them, and we 
 can do likewise through Him. We know not what 
 joys of heaven would have awaited us if we had never 
 sinned ; but this much is certain, it would never have be- 
 come what it is now, the kingdom oi triumph, which char- 
 acter elevates its joy in an immeasurably great degree. 
 In conclusion, beloved in Christ, " what is heaven ? *' 
 Listen! // is God, ''I myself'' says the Lord. '*I 
 am your infinite reward." Yes! It Is the beatific vis- 
 ion of God, an Intimate union with Him who is all de- 
 light, beatitude, and love. All this we shall possess 
 through Christ. The end and aim of the creation is God 
 Himself, the glorification of His perfections in their 
 exterior relations. We distinguish, in this regard. His 
 omniscience, omnipotence, wisdom, mercy, longanim- 
 ity, justice, truth, majesty, — His beauty, beatitude, and 
 love. But all these divine attributes concentrate their 
 most brilliant radiance In the work of Redemption, 
 consummated by Christ. So, then, it Is Christ through 
 Whom we are permitted to contemplate God in the 
 triumph of His perfections In heaven, and be there 
 inseparably united with Him. 
 
326 FEAST OP^ EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 That is proved by His prayer as High Priest : 
 '' Father, I pray Thee, let them be one with Us, as We 
 are one ; " and again : *' No one knoweth the Father 
 save the Son, and those to whom the Son will reveal 
 Him." This is verified by Christ the Sun, in the king- 
 dom of light, as it is written: " In Thy light we will 
 see light." 
 
 The various ways in which God so wonderfully con- 
 ducts us to our destiny, in conjunction with the fate 
 of all, will then decidedly prove that it is Christ to 
 whom we are indebted for the possession of heaven. 
 Therefore, one day, the tribute of praise will resound 
 before His throne in heaven: '* Worthy is the Lamb 
 to receive divinity, adoration, gratitude : Who has re- 
 deemed us with His blood, and has made us as kings 
 in His celestial realm." St. John asserts: ''The city 
 of God needs no light, for Christ is her light." He, 
 the glorious Sun of Redemption and Salvation. — 
 Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 '* What are these discourses that you hold one with another as yon walk, 
 and are sad ? " — Luke xxiv. 
 
 SAD and sorrowful, as the Gospel of to-day tells us, 
 the disciples went to Emmaus. Their converse 
 turned upon what had happened to Jesus — His suffer- 
 ings and death upon the cross. They spoke of their 
 grief, although some of the Saviour's friends declared 
 that He had risen and was alive, and, in short, they 
 deserved the reproach which fell from the divine lips : 
 *' O foolish and slow of belief! why are you so sad ?'* 
 Confide in your Redeemer, who said that on the third 
 day He would arise from death to life. 
 
 In a short time they recognized Him at the break- 
 ing of the bread, and knew that He had indeed arisen ; 
 and their hearts were, for the first time, filled with the 
 plenitude of Easter joy. Then they hastened to Jeru- 
 salem, to tell the assembled disciples ; and, behold, 
 
 Note. — This sermon was originally written in German, and sent to Berlin. 
 It appeared in pamphlet form, under the title : ** The Pharisees of Our Times." 
 We here give but an abridgment of it. Nevertheless, as an exception, it ex- 
 ceeds the usual brevity of the other sermons contained in this volume, and 
 may serve as a lecture on this topic. 
 
 (337) 
 
328 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 suddenly Christ Himself stood in their midst with 
 the blessed words : " Peace be with you." 
 
 Now, the last trace of sadness disappears from their 
 hearts, and glad rejoicing takes its place. Their be- 
 loved Master — their Saviour and Friend, the Lord of 
 heaven and earth — has triumphed over death and hell, 
 burst the bonds of His prison-house, and come to dw*ell 
 with them again. 
 
 What a contrast to the feelings of the deicides, when 
 the guards of the sepulcher returned with the message : 
 *' Jesus has arisen!" 
 
 Dearly beloved, in the daily walks of life, we meet 
 with those faint-hearted children of the Church who 
 falter and well nigh lose courage when they hear of, 
 and even see, the violence suffered by the Bride of 
 Christ in our day. 
 
 But to all such I would say : '* Be of good heart ; 
 Jesus is alive and protects His Church. But let her 
 persecutors tremble ! ' ' 
 
 Mary, by that joy which filled your heart on that 
 Easter-morn, when you again beheld your beloved Son, 
 pray for us, that we may have courage for the combat 
 and gain the victory ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 After the last spark of life had fled, the sacred body 
 of Christ was pierced with a lance, and a gaping wound 
 appeared ; and from His heart came blood and water — 
 
FIRST SERMON. 329 
 
 a proof that He was indeed dead. The scribes and 
 Pharisees, and all the enemies of the Saviour, rejoiced 
 with a joy exceedingly great at the sight as they stood 
 near by. 
 
 It is true that the unprecedented phenomena suc- 
 ceeding His death gave rise to apprehension and con- 
 sternation. The darkening of the sun ; the trembling of 
 the earth beneath their feet ; the fearful spectacle which 
 the streets of Jerusalem presented as the dead arose 
 and walked the streets to reproach the inhabitants with 
 the crime of deicide ; and the rending, by an unseen 
 power, of the heavily-wrought vail of the temple from 
 the top to the very bottom, certainly made an impression 
 on the enemies of Christ; but they derived consolation 
 from the thought that He was dead and could trouble 
 them no more. Yet, recalling His declaration, that in 
 three days He would rise again, they hastened to 
 Pilate; and, for greater security, demanded that a 
 guard should be placed round the sepulcher. True, 
 they affected to disbelieve the assertion of the Impos- 
 tor, as they dared to style Him, but shuddered at the 
 mere possibility of such an event being promulgated 
 among the people, lest, hearing, they might believe, 
 '* and the last state would be worse than the first." 
 And so a guard was placed round the holy grave; 
 and, what was the effect ? The unwelcome tidings 
 were announced, by the very soldiers of that guard, 
 which served only to strengthen the belief of all who 
 heard them. 
 
 The hush of midnight had fallen upon the world 
 
330 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 when, from the Choir of the Powers, a radiant angel 
 swiftly descended and' removed the stone from the 
 Saviour's grave. The earth trembled ; and Christ, en- 
 compassed by heavenly light, arose from death to life. 
 
 In terror most abject the guards beheld the won- 
 drous sight, and then in wild affright they fled to tell 
 that Jesus lived! ''He lives! He lives!" ''Who?" 
 "Jesus, whom you crucified, has risen from the dead! '' 
 " You dream ; you rave ; this is but the wild fancy of 
 cL fevered brain!" cried out the Pharisees, pale with 
 alarm. 
 
 We may well believe that they made every attempt 
 to silence the guards ; or, tempting them with glitter- 
 ing gold, induced them to tell some garbled story. 
 The scribes and Pharisees scarcely believed it them- 
 selves; thinking that, if it were true, Jesus would have 
 at once manifested Himself to the people ; for, foolish 
 and blind as they were, they could not know that 
 God's ways were not the ways of man. Yet, to be 
 perfectly sure, they bribed the guards. 
 
 They paysed not to consider that the manner in 
 which Christ arose was a splendid testimony in favor 
 of the divinity of the Church ; nor to reflect how that 
 divinity would be more firmly established in the eyes 
 of the people if the Gospel were announced, not by 
 Christ, but by poor and humble men who would act 
 under His direction, so that the faith which was 
 founded upon the cross would be promulgated by 
 them, from the rising of the sun to the going down 
 of the same, in such a manner that it would not be 
 
FIRST SERMON. 33 I 
 
 forced on man, but would be meritorious for all who 
 would embrace it with sincerity of heart. For, as St. 
 Paul observes, this would afford to all an occasion to 
 share in the merits of the Redeemer of the world. 
 Of all this, the Pharisees never thought ; but deceived 
 themselves with the hope that if Christ appeared not 
 in public," the report of His resurrection would finally 
 die away. In this, however, they were doomed to dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 But fifty days elapsed, and the power of the Holy 
 Ghost effused itself upon the disciples ; and St. Peter, 
 filled with that divine power, stood firm before the 
 assembled multitude that came to hear his inspired 
 words. And what was the subject of his discourse ? 
 **This Jesus, who was put to death, is alive ; we have 
 witnessed the miracle. Do penance, and save your- 
 selves ; for there is no other name under heaven given 
 to man by which he can be saved than the name of 
 the newly-risen Jesus." 
 
 And thousands believed — priests and people — and 
 were baptized on the same day, becoming members of 
 the one true Church. They could not resist the power 
 of miracles, which the Apostles worked before their 
 very eyes. And what mattered it to the two disciples 
 of faith and love — St. Peter and St. John — that the 
 rays of the setting sun fell upon the gloomy prison 
 walls wherein they were thrown for confessing Christ ? 
 They were taken before the Sanhedrim, the highest 
 tribunal of the Jews. All that was required of them 
 was silence. *' Be ye silent; say nothing of the Resur- 
 
 22 
 
332 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 rection." But, for reply, they uttered the words which, 
 during the long course of nineteen centuries, have been 
 the watchword of those who have combatted for Christ 
 and for His holy faith : ** Judge yourselves whether it 
 were better to obey God or man." 
 
 This reply, beloved in Christ Jesus, finds a ready 
 echo in our own day, especially throughout all Ger- 
 many, with the most sublime power of faith. ''Judge 
 yourselves whether it were better to obey God or 
 man." No earthly power can still the cry; persecu- 
 tion is powerless; Jesus lives! 
 
 Thus rang the cry of triumph throughout the holy 
 city, and the heroic Apostles went forth to the confines 
 of the earth: '' He is risen, He is alive." All peoples 
 and nations shall hear it. This, as St. Paul remarks, 
 places the seal upon our holy faith. Had Christ not 
 arisen we would have been deceived, the Gospel a 
 gross illusion, and we who preach it, what would we 
 have been? Into what folly would we not have been 
 betrayed had we not possessed a firm assurance of 
 the Resurrection ! For what other fruit would have 
 sprung from our labors but want, misery, deprivation, 
 persecution, and death? But Jesus did arise. Conse- 
 quently faith, with all its promises, is true. 
 
 " Thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my 
 church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 her." And again: ** Behold, I send you as lambs 
 among wolves." ''As they have persecuted me, so 
 they will persecute you ; " but " fear not ; I have over- 
 come the world." " Blessed are you if they persecute 
 
FIRST SERMON. 333 
 
 you for my sake. If they persecute and speak deceit- 
 fully of you, rejoice and be glad ; for great, exceeding 
 great, will be your reward in heaven." Yes, Jesus lives. 
 This firmly-grounded and lively faith is the pulse 
 which stirs the heart of the Church, and inspires her 
 with courage to conquer, though tempests may lower 
 and storms may rage. Also in this year of grace, 
 1 8 — , the joyous Alleluia resounds throughout all 
 Christendom, and ascends on high to the throne of 
 the living God from the four ends of the globe. 
 
 The enemies of the Church do not regard her 
 trials, no matter how nobly borne, as triumphs, but 
 look upon them with disdainful eye. Let them not 
 boast too soon. They can never destroy the Bride of 
 Christ. It is true that the strongest military force is 
 arrayed against her, so that if she had been founded 
 by military power — and if Christ had entrusted His 
 Church to the protection and favor of the great ones of 
 the earth, and had not promised to them His protection 
 and assistance until the consummation of the world — 
 far different would be the result. Then, indeed, would 
 she have now cause to tremble, since she would be 
 totally foKsaken by her own crowned children, and 
 might well cry out with Christ: **I looked around, 
 but there was no one to help ; and I trod the wine- 
 press alone." The Church, as the mystical body of 
 Christ, knows that there is no other way to triumph 
 with Him, than that which began on Calvary; and 
 that to rise from the grave on the last dread day, as 
 the Church triumphant, to celebrate an Easter-day 
 
334 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 with her divine Spouse in heaven, she must parti- 
 cipate in the agonizing sorrow of His sacred Pas- 
 sion. 
 
 Her confidence,, therefore, is not placed in the 
 powerful arm of the mighty. Never has she trusted 
 in them, for her general experience of them has been, 
 as the Holy Ghost, through the psalmist, declared 
 centuries ago: "The powerful and the princes of the 
 earth have joined together against the Lord and His 
 anointed ; but the Lord laughs at them." Think of 
 Sennacherib, who dared to send a derisive letter to 
 Jerusalem — to the temple, and lo! the morrow's sun 
 arose upon a vast army of soldiers, struck dead 
 around the city, in one single night, by an angel of 
 .the Lord. 
 
 Jesus, the King of angels, needs not to exalt Him- 
 self. In His Passion He says: '' If I were to ask My 
 Father, He would send Me more than twelve legions 
 of angels to protect Me." Twelve legions! And one 
 would have been a more than sufficient force against 
 all the soldiers in the world. And the Church has 
 the protection not only of angels, but of the Lord 
 Himself. Therefore she appeals not to her enemies 
 for pity, neither does she fear their hate. Most true 
 it is that she enjoys not to-day the protection of a 
 Constantine, a Charlemagne, a Louis, or a Ferdinand, 
 who are gone, but One mightier than they remains 
 with her. Jesus lwes\ The, influence of His presence 
 may be felt from the tabernacle of the loftiest temple 
 in Rome and Cologne to the poorest resting-place of 
 
FIRST SERMON. 335 
 
 our Lord in the humble little chapel of some Ameri- 
 can forest. The Church trusts in Him who liveth and 
 has declared: '*A11 power is given to Me in heaven 
 and on earth." He, the King of kings, the Lord of 
 hosts, defends her. 
 
 Whence, then, O ye persecutors of the faith f comes 
 your certainty of triumph which you expect ? It is from 
 your arrogant confidence in your own perfidious pru- 
 dence and diplomacy, from the plans so admirably 
 devised by the members of your secret societies, and, 
 more than all, from the assurance you feel that you are 
 collecting all your energies for the crushing blow which 
 will ruin the devoted members of the Holy Catholic 
 Church, even as the terrible avalanche which, as it rolls 
 down the mountain side, destroys all who come in its 
 way. O folly ! 
 
 Yes, my brethren, had the Church been established 
 and introduced into the world by human prudence, 
 and her government founded upon the darkness and 
 deceit of diplomatic combinations ; if her duration and 
 welfare were made to depend on such circumstances, 
 then, you could hope to see her crushed ; then would 
 the Church have cause to dread the prospect of to- 
 day. But this is so far from being true that St. Paul 
 assures us that the children of the world look upon 
 the Gospel as folly. Had its divine Founder pro- 
 ceeded in His great work according to human pru- 
 dence, for the propagation of His Church, he would 
 not have selected twelve ignorant fishermen, but His 
 choice would have fallen upon men learned and skilled 
 
^2,6 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 in diplomatic lore, or upon the great and rich ones of 
 the earth. 
 
 The Church has ceased to look for aid and comfort 
 now. Her confidence of victory is the consciousness 
 of faith. ''Jesus lives!" Hear this, ye enemies of 
 this holy faith, and tremble ! You may hide your 
 schemes from man, even from the vicar of Christ, but 
 I/ey the Lord, the Protector of His people, looks down 
 and reads them all. Go on with your evil devices ; 
 surround them, as is most fitting, with the gloom and 
 silence of the midnight hour ; bury them deep beneath 
 the weight of your secret oaths ; the eye of the Lord is 
 upon you, — that all-seeing eye which discerned the 
 deeds of the Egyptians, and defeated their plans when 
 they were so sure of victory. And Holy Scripture says, 
 that as they beheld this terrible eye in the clouds, 
 terror-stricken, they cried out: ''The Lord fighteth 
 for Israel, let us abandon the conflict." But it was 
 too late. The horses sprang forward, the wheels fell 
 from the chariots, the turbid waters of the Red Sea 
 rushed over them, and horsemen and chariots "were 
 sunk in the wave." Yes, the eye of the Lord is upon 
 you! Cease persecuting His Church while there is 
 still time. Can you not hear the angry roar of the 
 raging waters which threaten to engulf you in their 
 depths? Do not rejoice in an ill-founded confidence 
 of victory, trusting in the power of the law — in the 
 protection of the State, which, in your eyes, is omnip- 
 otent With your unjust laws you wish to bind the 
 Church, through her ministers, in fetters, which can 
 
FIRST SERMON. 337 
 
 not be loosed ; and apparently you may succeed, for 
 with you might is right ; and while no one is able to 
 resist, you trample upon the weak and the poor. But 
 hearken, O ye enemies of Christ! rivets if you will, the 
 strongest chains around His ministers ; force His 
 vicar to dwell a captive within his prison home ; you 
 can never fetter the Church! The mystical Bride of 
 Christ, free and unchained, smiles at your futile efforts ; 
 for Christ is her Head, her Defender, her Spouse ; and 
 He is free. '' He has risen ; He lives; '* and will one 
 day judge you according to His law. 
 
 *' From thence He shall come to judge the living 
 and the dead." One day, and God knows how soon — 
 it may be that the time is near at hand — the avenging 
 arm of His justice will be stretched over you, and the 
 sun of your power will set. Read old Lactantius, and 
 see therein that not one crowned persecutor of the 
 Church escaped a woeful punishment. The history 
 of the present time will tell the same. Witness 
 Cavour, the third Napoleon, and others who have 
 been already swept away by death and brought be- 
 fore the stern judgment-seat of an angry God. And 
 what would they tell you now? 
 
 Whence comes this confidence of victory in your 
 warfare against the Church? You trust to public 
 opinion, which you win to the side of wrong by fraud 
 and falsehood. Yet beware, lest you stretch the line 
 too far, and delude only the blind and unthinking 
 populace — not men who love and try to see the 
 truth. O Pharisees of modern times ! you leave naught 
 
338 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 untried to make the world believe that you would be 
 its greatest benefactors, and that only the Church 
 stands in the way of the wealth and greatness which 
 would pour in upon man, could that ''vile dominion" 
 of the priests be overthrown. But your works and the 
 fruits thereof savor too much of the " sounding brass " 
 and the "tinkling cymbal" to influence reflecting 
 men. 
 
 What! the Church an enemy of culture and prog- 
 ress? The history of the world, and especially of 
 Germany, cries out "'tis false." What would almost 
 all Europe be to-day if the Catholic Church had not 
 educated barbarians up to the standard of civilized 
 men? Most probably yet a wilderness. You glory 
 in the idea that you have drawn the sword in the con- 
 flict of culture, and pretend to unsheathe it for liberty 
 in opposition to the ultramontane clergy "in their 
 vile oppression," while, in truth, you have unsheathed 
 it but in the annihilation of their noble efforts for the 
 welfare of mankind: You profess to create the hap- 
 piness of nations, forgetting that it is "good to live 
 under the crozier." Ask Rome herself! Had her 
 citizens more weighty burdens under Pius IX. or 
 Victor Emanuel? You, who fain would rule the 
 Church, educate her ministers, and judge of their 
 every actions, still dare to speak of usurpations on 
 the part of that holy, that divine Church! We ask, 
 when did Pius IX. or his successor Leo XIII. ever 
 think of examining your officers of the state, or 
 attempt to control your treasury? You slander the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 339 
 
 Church and her ministers when you accuse them of 
 believing that "the end justifies the means," for that is 
 the very maxim which guides your course, as your 
 deeds show but too well. You speak of the usurpa- 
 tions of the Church against the state, yet when did 
 she take from you one little foot of soil? while you 
 have robbed the Holy Father of the heritage which came 
 and belong to Him by right, and styled it ''annexa- 
 tion." You have unblushingly stolen the property of 
 the Church ; you make, and annul contracts at your 
 own good pleasure ; but God is faithful and true. 
 Jesus lives, and will keep his word: "I am with you 
 all days, even to the consummation of the world." 
 ''The gates of hell shall not prevail against her." 
 
 Certainly the successors of St. Peter die, but He 
 Whom they represent, Jesus, dies no more. Therefore, 
 my dearest children of Holy Church, rejoice and 
 exult with your mother in this happy Easter-time; 
 forget your fears ; the Lord is nigh. 
 
 A few words before I close as to the resemblance 
 between the Pharisees and all the enemies of Christ 
 at Jerusalem, and the modern Pharisees and his ene- 
 mies of the present day. We might well imagine that 
 the gulf of nineteen centuries was bridged over, so 
 wonderful is the resemblance between them. I look 
 in spirit to that mount, so precious by its sacred mem- 
 ories, and see the crucified, dying Redeemer, the Sol- 
 diers, the Scribes and Pharisees ; then turning to that 
 Calvary, whereon the Church is daily crucified, I look 
 on Soldiers, Pharisees, and Scribes, — Soldiers arrayed 
 
340 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 against her, men full of pretended righteousness — 
 learned men who have so far forgotten their early les- 
 sons as to abandon the Church. 
 
 The enemies of Christ shouted in derision: "Let 
 Him come down from the cross, and we will believe 
 in Him," but they were not sincere. Had the Sav- 
 iour done so, they would have seized and bound Him 
 to the cross once more. In like manner the enemies 
 of Jesus act to-day, when they scornfully bid His vicar 
 free himself from the Sardinian power ; and when they 
 haste to the assistance of that power, bid him secure 
 their weapons, and they will then believe in his infalH- 
 bility. But he can not do this ! 
 
 The Pharisees appealed to the law to excuse their 
 crime of deicide, and now the secret societies try to 
 win over the officers of the state. They enact laws, 
 and to what do they amount? Away with her! Cru- 
 cify her! Let the very name of the Catholic Church 
 be erased from the face of the earth. 
 
 The Pharisees gloried in their loyalty, and would 
 acknowledge no other authority than that of the em- 
 peror. Jesus calls Himself the Son of God, but they 
 place Him below the Caesar. So, too, did they act as 
 diplomats, asserting that Jesus was an enemy of the 
 state, and that He seduced the people. The most ef- 
 fective weapon they directed against Pilate to force 
 him to condemn the Saviour, was this : '' If thou re- 
 lease this man, thou art not the friend of the Caesar." 
 xA^nd in our day, beloved in Christ, Catholics, be their sta- 
 tion in life what it may, are called dangerous to the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 34 1 
 
 country which shelters and protects them. But we loud- 
 ly protest that we are no more what they represent us 
 to be, than was Christ an enemy of the Romans and 
 dangerous to the state. 
 
 Say ! were Christ to appear once more in the flesh 
 on earth, would you permit Him to travel through 
 your country, and preach the gospel unmolested ? You 
 would not, indeed. '*Away with Him! away with 
 Him! Cast Him into the deepest dungeon, or force 
 Him to leave at once," would be your verdict. 
 
 And yet, forsooth, you call a government which does 
 behave in this way, a Christian one ? Herod and Pilate 
 were reconciled over the crucifixion of Jesus. History 
 repeats itself, my brethren, and we see persons ^the 
 most opposite opinions and characters join hands 
 against the Church. Ministers and potentates, inim- 
 ical to each other in every other respect, — Dollenger 
 and Reinkens, old Catholics and Jansenists, Apostate 
 Catholics and Protestants of the most divers sects, 
 Spaniards and Brazilians, Russians and Prussians, So- 
 cialists and Capitalists, Republicans and Royalists, — 
 unite in perfect syrripathy against the Church. 
 
 From the guards themselves the Pharisees heard 
 of the Resurrection, and yet they made no inquiries into 
 it. They simply thought: '*We will not believe it," 
 and remained indifferent ; or rather, so obstinately were 
 they disposed, that if they could have beheld the Sav- 
 iour crucified a second, a third time— yea, a thousand 
 times — rising again and again from the dead, they would 
 not have believed in Him. And so it is with our modern 
 
342 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 Pharisees. They sentence to banishment those whom 
 they are pleased to style dangerous to the state, be- 
 fore searching into a single case. They can not en- 
 dure their presence, because they give glorious testi- 
 mony to the truth of the Church. They do not want 
 the Church, and so condemn her, and those who sup- 
 port her cause, always with the same injustice. The 
 Pharisees bribed the soldiers to conceal the truth, and 
 even to*^ utter falsehoods the most direct and base ; 
 and those of our .day seek to bribe the guards of the 
 public press to conceal or distort the truth. The 
 guards, in those bye-gone days, said that while they 
 were asleep '* the disciples stole the body." Most 
 justly has St. Augustine ridiculed the absurdity of 
 these lying hypocrites : " So, then, the disciples did it 
 while you were asleep?" How could you, guards, 
 have seen them if you were asleep ? So you bring 
 sleeping witnesses ? O malice ! we might almost think 
 you slept yourselves, not to recognize such fraud and 
 contradiction. And to our modern Pharisees we may 
 say: "Have you passed your whole lives in sleep, 
 dreaming the hours away, that you have never heard 
 of, or read the glorious career of the Church, her com- 
 bats and her victories? " 
 
 The enemies of St. Peter and the faith, in the early 
 days of Christianity, could even then take to heart the 
 admonition of Gamaliel in regard to the infant Church : 
 *' If this work is of God, you can not destroy it " 
 And now over eighteen centuries have passed, during 
 which the Church has suffered constant attacks, but 
 
FIRST SERMON. 343 
 
 from every one she has arisen more glorious and beau- 
 tiful. How can you deny her divine character? 
 
 Look at those three hundred years during which 
 the Roman emperors, with scarce a single exception, 
 unsheathed their swords against the Church, and sub- 
 jected her faithful children, among whom were many 
 of the sovereign pontiffs, to the most cruel torments. 
 Many of them, indeed, gave up their lives rather 
 than be unfaithful to Him Whose vicars they were. 
 
 Think of Arianism which crept into the Church di- 
 rectly after, when numbers of the bishops embraced 
 the heresy; while now, among those who are false to 
 the one true faith, there can not be found one single 
 bishop. Think of the conflicts of the Middle Ages ; 
 the long and weary contest of the Hohenstauffens, — 
 their outrages ; the great schism ; the Reformation. 
 Consider the French Revolution and its terrible re- 
 sults, — the Church persecuted, her ministers taken cap- 
 tive, and yet she issued victorious from all this. 
 
 In our own day the '' Infallibility " of the successors 
 of Peter has been defined, and the Church is as firmly 
 grounded as in her earliest days upon this immovable 
 rock. To so many proofs can our enemies be blind and 
 deaf? If so, such stupidity richly merits the ridicule 
 found in the caricature that was placed upon every cor- 
 ner of the streets in Berlin, representing an attempt to 
 force the rock of Peter from its foundation, and hurl it 
 over a precipice, together with the Church which is built 
 upon it. The devil appears on the scene. *' Go on," 
 he says, ''and see how you will succeed. For more 
 
344 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 than eighteen hundred years it has been my constant 
 aim to accomplish that feat, and I am no nearer to it 
 than when I began." 
 
 Therefore, Catholics, courage ! Even now when the 
 clouds of persecution lower so darkly over the religious 
 horizon, fail not to rejoice, and to entone, also this 
 year, the Alleluia of happy Easter. Victory is certain. 
 Persecution can only increase our merits in heaven, 
 when, after a stormy combat here below, we celebrate 
 with Christ a glorious Easter there, — the jubilee of 
 the Church triumphant after the final downfall of her 
 enemies ! Oh, what thunders of a glad and joyous 
 Alleluia will then eternally resound throughout that 
 celestial dome, before the throne of Him Who con- 
 quered death and hell ! Amen ! 
 
 ': TE^^D 
 
 
SECOND SERMON. 345 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "Those belonging to Christ shall rise first." — i Thess. iv, 15. 
 "I believe in the resurrection of the body. / 
 
 SO do we, children of the Holy Catholic Church, 
 declare our belief as we find it in the Apostles' 
 Creed. This article of faith, Christ, in speaking of 
 the end of the world, announced Himself in the most 
 solemn manner. And St. Paul, in his Epistle to the 
 Corinthians, expounds the same belief, for he ex- 
 pressly speaks of a twofold Resurrection, viz : Either 
 to glory or dishonor, — for the good, to glory ; for the 
 wicked, to dishonor. But that it will surely tend to 
 our glory, a spiritual resurrection must have already 
 taken place in our lives, if we have been so unhappy 
 as to have lived in a state of sin or tepidity, which is so 
 hateful in the sight of God. 
 
 Lent, therefore, has been instituted by the Church 
 as a preparation for the glorious Feast of Easter ; and 
 she invites her children to spend it in such a manner 
 that they may be ready for this happy day — be ani- 
 mated with new zeal, and arise from the grave of sin 
 or tepidity to a holy life in imitation of Christ. 
 
 But this is not the case with all who apparently cele- 
 brate Easter with the Church. The Christian may, it 
 is true, according to that precept which commands him 
 to do so, have made his confession ; but, alas ! it was 
 illusion, for there was no amendment of life, and, con- 
 sequently, no true spiritual resurrection. 
 
34^ FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 To prove the truth of this assertion, my dearest breth- 
 ren, will be the object of my discourse to-day. 
 
 ^ O Mary, who hast already risen from death, bless, 
 I beseech thee, the words which I here direct to the 
 hearts of thy children! 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of the risen Jesus, 
 for the greater glory of God ! 
 
 Good Friday — that day so memorable for the hu- 
 man race ; that day whose every hour was laden with 
 the deepest sorrow the heart can bear; that day so 
 sad and yet so consoling for the children of Adam — 
 has passed, and Christ lies dead in the sepulcher. A 
 heavy stone bars the entrance to the sacred tomb; 
 and herein do we find the picture of the sinner who 
 lies buried deep in the grave of sin. 
 
 Sin deprives our souls of the life of grace. The 
 habit of sin is the grave which incloses the sinner; 
 and in the stone which seals it so fast we behold an 
 emblem of the difficulties which lie in the way of his 
 conversion. These are : the power of habit, the fasci- 
 nation of evil desires, temporal gain or loss which a 
 return to God may entail ; and, more than all, human 
 respect, or a servile fear of man. 
 
 Read the confessions of St. Augustine, that great 
 saint who, in his own case, experienced what a degree 
 of self-command is required to enable poor sinners 
 to rise from the grave of sin to a true spiritual resur- 
 rection. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 347 
 
 Midnight passes to give place to the coming dawn. 
 The earth trembles. What is signified by this, in 
 relation to the different times in which the sinner 
 has arisen from spiritual death, we will clearly per- 
 ceive when we consider what the Church, through the 
 Council of Trent, teaches for the justification of the 
 sinner. 
 
 In that twilight of faith which still lingers over his 
 soul, the sinner begins to feel and lament his misera- 
 ble condition. He shudders at the thought of the ter- 
 rible judgment of God, especially when he reflects on 
 the fate which awaits him, when, on the day of final 
 doom, the archangel sounds his trumpet calling upon 
 the dead to arise and come to judgment. Then, in- 
 deed, is it that he realizes his weakness ; and the first 
 faint gleam of hope dawns upon his soul that it may 
 be possible for him to give up his evil habits, and be 
 once more a child of God. And the hope becomes 
 brighter when he remembers the infinite mercy of his 
 Creator, and the means which God, in His infinite 
 love, has left to His Church for the forgiveness of 
 sins — the Sacrament of Penance. 
 
 His guardian-angel prays for him; and, by the om- 
 nipotence of grace, the stone is rolled away. Tempo 
 ral considerations, which were the guard around the 
 grave of sin, take flight; and the sinner arises from 
 that tomb in which, perhaps, he has been lying for 
 years. Well for him if it prove to be a permanent 
 resurrection for eternal life; but, my dear brethren, 
 
 this is only the case when, in his exterior, as well as 
 23 
 
348 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 in his Interior, life and soul, there shine forth, with 
 steady light, those properties through which our Di- 
 vine Model, Christ, raised Himself from the grave. 
 
 These are, especially, the following: 
 
 The bodies of the just, as they arise on the last 
 day, will be luminous — that is, spiritually transfigured, 
 agile; that is, having power to soar aloft, filled with 
 eternal bliss and immortal life. 
 
 In the spiritual sense, these same properties signify 
 the true Resurrection from the death of the soul to a 
 new spiritual life. The bodies of the blessed, as they 
 arise from the dead, will no longer be characterized 
 by that cumbersome weight which seemed, in life, to 
 draw them to earth ; but, as St. Paul teaches, the 
 arisen saints simultaneously soar up in the air to meet 
 the Redeemer, even as His sacred body soared in- 
 stantaneously in triumph above the tomb. 
 
 And now, what relation does this condition of body 
 bear to the condition of the soul of that sinner who has 
 truly repented and arisen to a better life ? 
 
 First, dearly beloved, he no longer feels the annoy- 
 ance and pain which formerly pressed like a heavy 
 weight upon his soul and bore him down, making it 
 difficult and even impossible for him to walk in the 
 path of virtue, to avoid the occasions of sin, and to 
 overcome the pressure of temptation. 
 
 Now, strengthened by divine grace, he feels changed, 
 a new life is infused into his soul, and what heretofore 
 only inspired him with disgust, now becomes sweet 
 and agreeable, and even tends to the recreation of his 
 
SECOND SERMON. 349 
 
 . » 
 
 soul — such as a child-like intercourse with God and 
 the performance of acts of Christian piety. 
 
 The glorified bodies of the just are also agile; that 
 is, in what place soever man thinks of being, there he 
 is, body and soul. 
 
 Let us make the application and say, man, when in a 
 state of habitual sin, does not proceed with fervor in the 
 divine service. He is spiritually lame, but after his 
 resurrection he hastens with pleasure whithersoever 
 he is called by the whispers of grace. He can rejoice 
 with David: ''After Thou hast enlarged my heart I 
 run in the way of Thy commandments.^' 
 
 Before he has truly arisen, the sinner lies in the 
 grave of sin, deep — buried deep. He has eyes, and ^ 
 sees not — ears, and hears not ; he has hands, yet can 
 not use them ; he has feet, yet can not walk. Instead 
 of the sweet odor of Christ, which St. Paul admonishes 
 us to diffuse around, he spreads, by the mire of those 
 sins in which he wallows, the pestilential exhalation 
 of bad example. 
 
 Now, by a true resurrection and by leading a virtu- 
 ous life, the converted sinner beholds the fulfillment 
 spiritually of those miracles which Christ mentioned 
 when He sent the disciples to St. John with the words : 
 ''Say to John, The blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb 
 speak, the lame walk, and the dead arise." 
 
 He who has arisen to a life of grace and zeal sees 
 clearly before him the way to perfection, perceives the 
 inspirations of the Holy Ghost, intones by word and 
 deed the praises of God, makes rapid strides in the 
 
350 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 path of virtue, and, advancing daily in perfection, pre- 
 serves in his soul the light and life of the grace of 
 God. 
 
 At the last day the bodies of the blessed will be 
 filled with delight — radiant, luminous, and beautiful 
 to behold; for Christ says: ''But the just shall one 
 day shine like stars in the kingdom of My Father." 
 
 What relation does this bear to the state of that 
 sinner who has arisen from the grave of iniquity and 
 soared to his Saviour with contrite love ? 
 
 O dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, it is the fulfillment 
 of the promise of Christ, the hundredfold of consola- 
 tion and delight which we taste even amid the trials 
 and troubles of life if we faithfully imitate Him and 
 live an interior life, hidden with Christ in God, thus 
 acquiring the knowledge of those higher degrees of 
 prayer which is not given to worldlings to know. 
 
 It is also the light of good example to which Christ 
 refers when He calls out to us : " Therefore let the 
 ^light of your good works shine before men, that they 
 may behold them, and glorify your Father Who is in 
 heaven." 
 
 There are especially seven rays of splendor which 
 illumine the life of the truly converted sinner, and 
 these correspond to the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
 The characteristic of these sevenfold gifts of the Spirit 
 of light is that they lead us to the permanent practice 
 of the seven corresponding virtues, for the greater 
 sanctification of our souls. 
 
 This consideration points to the last property of the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 351. 
 
 glorified bodies of the saved — Immortality. In apply- 
 ing this to the condition of the truly converted sinner 
 in regard to his salvation, it means, my brethren, ''No 
 more relapses." *' Christ is risen from death, and dies 
 no more." The words sp'bken by the angel to the holy 
 women must, in a spiritual manner, be verified in all 
 those who have arisen from the grave of sin: ** He is 
 no longer here." 
 
 No ; grace has penetrated the heart of that happy 
 penitent, and he has ceased to dwell amid the willful 
 occasions of sin. He can not be found in that place 
 where his only aim was the gratification of his evil 
 desires. He is, in fine, no longer a frequenter of his 
 former wicked haunts. 
 
 What I have here said of the resurrection from the 
 spiritual death of sin is equally applicable to the change 
 from a state of tepidity to a life of zeal, and from a 
 holy life to one of still greater sanctity, by the annual 
 renewal of the celebration of this joyful feast in spirit 
 and in truth. — Amen ! 
 
352 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with Me in My throne, 
 as I also have overcome." — Apoc. iii, 21. 
 
 ON every feast of the Church is stamped the im- 
 press and character of the mystery of faith it is 
 intended to commemorate, and of which we are vividly 
 reminded by its annual occurrence. Therefore the fes- 
 tival of Easter — ''the feast of feasts" — is a day of 
 triumph, and the exultant strain of the "Alleluia" re- 
 sounds throughout the Church. On Holy Saturday, 
 the Preface salutes Christ as the glorified Redeemer, 
 Who, by His resurrection, triumphed over death and 
 hell. 
 
 All Christendom entones a gladsome Easter hymn 
 in honor of the Conqueror Who vanquished death, and 
 burst the trammels of the grave. 
 
 The Saviour struggled against the enemies of our 
 salvation and conquered; and so will you vanquish 
 them, if you call upon Him. 
 
 «' Death, I will be thy death; hell, I will be thy 
 bite." So Christ assures us through the mouth of 
 the prophet. This was fulfilled by the painful death 
 on the cross, from which He arose, the Victor. The 
 joyful Alleluia reminds us of this. It is the cry of 
 jubilee of the Church triumphant in heaven; and tells 
 us also that, if we wish to celebrate Easter with Christ 
 and all the blessed in heaven, we must, while members 
 of the militant Church, combat and conquer with her. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 353 
 
 What will particularly encourage us to combat as 
 children of God is the thought of Christ, the Con- 
 queror ; and, my dearest brethren, all that intensifies 
 the joy of victory beams forth in an infinitely more 
 perfect manner in this brilliant triumph which Jesus 
 gained over death and hell. ^ 
 
 The joy of the triumph re-echoes in the Alleluia 
 which He entoned when He arose glorious and im- 
 mortal from the tomb. 
 
 Mary, who, by crushing the serpent's head, didst 
 vanquish hell, assist us, that we may do so too; and 
 thus rejoice with thee in the triumph of the Church 
 for all eternity ! 
 
 1 speak in the name of the Risen Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 When the children of Israel, protected and led by 
 the hand of the Almighty God, crossed the Red Sea, a 
 few days subsequent to the celebration of Easter, ac- 
 cording to the command of God, and witnessed the 
 terrible destruction of Pharaoh and his whole army, 
 they lifted up their voices and sang the hymn of praise 
 and thanksgiving to the Lord which Moses, His faith- 
 ful servant, had taught them : 
 
 "Sing praise to the Lord, Who giveth glory unto 
 Himself. Horses and riders He cast into the sea. 
 His name is Almighty. The justice of the Lord has 
 exalted itself; His enemy is destroyed. His kingdom 
 endures from eternity to eternity." This hymn of joy 
 
354 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 and praise was sung by Mary, the sister of Moses 
 and Aaron, and all the women of Israel ; and then 
 the strain was taken up by six hundred thousand 
 men, and never before, nor since, has the world heard 
 such a glorious song of praise. 
 
 But in heaven, ah, yes! in heaven will be sung a 
 hymn of praise which will never end — a joyful chant 
 more glorious far than this, to celebrate the triumph 
 of Christ over Lucifer and his infernal hosts. Ah, yes ! 
 the Alleluia which the risen Lord, in the majesty of 
 His power and glory, entones with the whole celestial 
 choir and the valiant army of sanctified souls, in com- 
 memoration of His victory, surpasses by far the song 
 of praise which the Israelites, rescued from Egyptian 
 power, poured forth unto the Lord. 
 
 What increased the joy of this grateful people, as 
 they stood upon the shores of Egypt's dark sea, was, 
 above all, the imminence of the danger from which 
 they had been delivered. 
 
 For we all know full well that the more numerous 
 and powerful the enemy who suffers defeat, the more 
 enthusiastic are the demonstrations of the conquerors. 
 Now Pharaoh, with his powerful troops arrayed in 
 armor, pursued the Israelites with the utmost haste, 
 exulting in the fact that the chosen people of God 
 were not prepared for war; moreover, they were 
 surrounded by their terrified wives and wailing chil- 
 dren, whom they expected to see slaughtered before 
 their eyes, or led once more into a captivity worse 
 than death. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 355 
 
 When, therefore, they beheld their relentless foe 
 stricken down by the arm of the Lord, — buried in the 
 waters of the Red Sea, — when they knew that the 
 tyrant and his minions lay lifeless in its turbid 
 depths, their overwhelming delight at this unlooked- 
 for delivery can not be described. 
 
 What exalts the feelings of triumph of a victorious 
 army is the fact that they have conquered in spite of 
 the many exterior circumstances and dangers which 
 utterly took away the hope of being so fortunate as 
 to defeat the foe. It was thus with the children of 
 Israel. The dark shadows of night were beginning 
 to close around, enshrouding the weary wanderers in 
 a sable pall. Before them, darkness and gloom ; be- 
 hind, the terrible foe. The mighty throng, they felt, 
 was drawing nearer and nearer, to crush them with 
 the weight of their strength. And yet, upon what a 
 different scene did the sun of the morrow look down ! 
 The Lord, in His power, had called on the waves to 
 divide, while the Israelites passed to the opposite 
 shore ; and, when the pursuer and his satellites rushed 
 madly across, they united once more, and the Egyp- 
 tians were buried in the depths of the sea. What 
 jubilant gratitude was felt by the Israelites at this 
 unexpected deliverance ! The more, because God had 
 freed them from a miserable state of bondage, and 
 led them to the possession of a land in which they 
 could live in comfort, and amply provide for their 
 children and their children's children. Yes, they be- 
 held themselves rescued from that slavery in which 
 
35^ FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 the long, long weary days dragged so slowly on in 
 marching to Canaan, the dear land of their fathers — 
 the land flowing with milk and honey — where they 
 need fear neither oppression nor want. 
 
 Their rejoicing was the more perfect because they 
 felt assured that, after having wrought so wonderful 
 a miracle in their favor, the Lord would go on and 
 protect them, and victoriously conduct them to the 
 promised land. 
 
 But what was this victory, and the triumphant hymn 
 by which it was proclaimed, in comparison with that 
 which the Lord Jesus obtained for us, and the Alleluia 
 which resounded through the lofty dome of heaven 
 when Christ arose from death? It was not one army 
 alone which He defeated, for His combat was waged 
 with the devil and numberless hosts of fallen spirits. 
 He wrestled against these united powers — the world, 
 the flesh ; against those irregular desires which, as St. 
 Paul teaches, have dwelt in our members since the fall 
 of Adam, and whose attacks we must constantly suf- 
 fer. What a splendid victory we have gained through 
 Christ ! 
 
 The children of Israel did not fight. God delivered 
 them miraculously. Christ, on the contrary, fought 
 and was victorious. Therefore the merits and the joy 
 were the greater on account of His dearly-bought 
 triumph. 
 
 The peril of the Israelites was great, but the Lord 
 delivered them. Alas ! the dangers of salvation which 
 have encompassed the soul since the fall of Adam, and 
 
THIRD SERMON. 357 
 
 through which we are exposed to innumerable tempta- 
 tions and individual sins, are immeasurably greater. 
 
 But Christ has come to the rescue, and through Him, 
 the Conqueror Who combats with and in us, we are 
 enabled to trample under foot those dangers and burst 
 the bonds of sin, — even as our Redeemer burst open 
 the bonds of the grave and called upon us to trust in 
 Him Who had vanquished the world. 
 
 The triumph of God's chosen people delivered them 
 from Egyptian bondage and the miseries of an enslaved 
 race : but the victory of Christ rescued us from the 
 pains of hell and the thralldom of Satan. 
 
 The hymn entoned by them as they stood on the 
 shores of the Red Sea was a hymn of joy and exulta- 
 tion, because they knew that victory would lead them 
 to a fertile and lovely country; — but the soft ver- 
 dure of Canaan was also dotted with graves. The 
 curse of original sin rested also on Canaan: "In 
 the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread;" 
 whereas the country which Christ obtained for us is 
 heaven — an eternity of delight, God Himself our fut- 
 ure possession. 
 
 The triumph of the children of Israel was for one na- 
 tion only ; the victory of Christ was for every nation on 
 the face of the earth — for the eternal salvation of ^// who 
 are of good-will, and who will walk in this world follow- 
 ing Christ by the practise of those virtues which are 
 symbolized by the manner in which the children of 
 Israel left Egypt and pursued their journey to Canaan. 
 
 First, they must kill the Paschal lamb and sprinkle 
 
358 FEAST OF EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 their doors with its blood, that the destroying angel 
 might pass them by. — What are we to learn from 
 this ? Christian souls, if you seek for salvation, you 
 must destroy sin in your hearts — blot it out by con- 
 trition and confession. Reconcile yourselves with your 
 Creator in the sacrament of Penance, and be purified 
 in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 The children of Israel were commanded to, leave 
 Egypt ; and you, O Christians, if you would celebrate 
 Easter in heaven, your watch-word must be, too, 
 *'Away from Egypt!" That is, you must avoid sin 
 and its occasions, remembering the admonition of 
 Christ: " If your eye scandalize you, pluck it out; if 
 your hand or foot scandalize you, cut it off." In other 
 words, if not your eye, your hand or foot, but any thing 
 as dear and precious, would be to you an occasion of 
 sin, you must most certainly give it up. 
 
 The Israelites partook of the Paschal lamb standing 
 and in haste, as if to set out on a long journey. If you 
 would celebrate Easter with Christ in heaven, learn 
 from this to free your hearts from all desire of pos- 
 sessing the goods and plunging into the pleasures of 
 this world. Learn to stand, and not to sit; that is, to 
 fix your thoughts on heavenly things, and to keep ever 
 before you that eternity to which you are hastening. 
 Learn also to participate even in the innocent enjoy- 
 ments of life, as if expecting to be summoned away. 
 Be not troubled about many things, nor live as if there 
 were no other world than this one in which Providence 
 now permits us to live. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 359 
 
 The shoes indicate a life of determined resolution 
 and unfaltering piety, while the staff ^)\\Qki the Israel- 
 ites held in their hands signifies the consciousness 
 which supports us, and refers our every action to God. 
 One thing alone is necessary — to serve our Creator 
 and work out our salvation. 
 
 Over the Israelites hung a cloud to guide them on 
 their perilous journey, which at night assumed the 
 form of a pillar of fire to cast light on their way. Over 
 the camp of the Egyptians it threw such a shadow that 
 it was completely enveloped in darkness. This cloud 
 signifies the word of divine revelation, the word of 
 holy faith as it is announced to us by the Church ; and 
 it matters not if Lucifer, with all the powers of hell, 
 the temptations of the flesh and the seductions of the 
 world pursue us, the hand of the Lord is with us. 
 
 Christ has said that *' No one can snatch those from 
 
 TMe whom the Father hath intrusted to Me." That is, 
 
 beloved in Christ, those who avail themselves of the 
 
 spiritual weapons which God gives through the Church 
 
 to all her members, in order to vanquish. 
 
 Children of the Church ! if we in spirit listen to the 
 joyous strains of the '' Alleluia " which, on the occasion 
 of the victory of the Risen Jesus, the Church entones, 
 we will feel encouraged to fight the battle of salvation 
 as did millions of souls who have already gone before 
 us with the sign of faith, and who rest in Christ. 
 
 Oh, what bliss to celebrate with Jesus, His blessed 
 Mother, and the whole celestial choir, the ''Feast of 
 glorious Victory" forever in Heaven! — Amen! 
 
FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "And the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, and sitteth at the right 
 hand of God." — Mark xvi, 19. 
 
 THE various feasts which we, as children of the 
 Church, are called upon to celebrate throughout 
 the year, invite us to consider, with special attention, 
 and, as it were, to behold in spirit the mysteries of 
 which that tender Mother makes mention herself, in 
 so solemn a manner to us all. 
 
 This is particularly so on the festival of to-day, 
 which commemorates the Ascension of Christ inta 
 heaven. We gaze with the disciples into the cloud- 
 less sky as if we fain would pierce the secrets of the 
 celestial realm beyond, and witness the entrance of 
 Christ therein. Then the thought arises within us : 
 ** O happy Apostles ! chosen to behold the Ascension 
 of the Lord ; would that we could know the feelings 
 which filled your hearts when you saw Him sur- 
 rounded by a luminous cloud, disappear from view." 
 
 Beloved in Christ Jesus, I will tell you : Unspeak- 
 able longing after heaven took possession of them when 
 they beheld their beloved Master enter therein. The 
 
 same longing should also fill our heart. 
 
 (360) 
 
FIRST SERMON. 36 1 
 
 Mary, Queen of heaven, obtain for us that same 
 longing which animated your immaculate heart, to 
 follow your divine Son to the abode of eternal bliss. 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus for the 
 greater honor and glory of God. 
 
 As I have already said, the feelings of the dis- 
 ciples, as they stood gazing upon Jesus as he faded 
 from their view, were concentrated in one ardent 
 desire for heaven, to be and remain with him there 
 forever. 
 
 Yes ; and so also would we have felt had we been 
 present on Mount Olivet with Mary, the Apostles 
 and disciples, when Christ raised Himself from the 
 ground, blessed them, and, soaring aloft, was seen no 
 more. 
 
 **Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up to 
 heaven?" was the question put to them by the 
 Angels; and, my brethren, had I been present, I 
 would have said: '*0 dear Angels, how can you ask? 
 for, while the favored few, whom Christ selected to 
 witness His wondrous ascension, did certainly con- 
 gratulate Jesus upon entering His eternal home, they 
 also sighed, from their very hearts, ' O that we, too, 
 could leave this earth, to be and remain with our be- 
 loved Saviour in heaven.' " 
 
 This ardent desire is the more important because it 
 is the fundamental condition without which we can not 
 follow the admonition contained in the succeeding 
 words spoken by the angelic messengers : " This Jesus,. 
 
362 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 Who is taken up from you, so shall come again/* 
 He will exact a rigid account from every man as to 
 whether he has fulfilled that end for which God called 
 him into existence, redeemed him, and permitted him 
 to belong to the kingdom of His Church. 
 
 Upon the eve of His Ascension, Christ declared 
 that He would send His disciples to the confines of 
 the earth ; and that they might be better enabled to 
 proclaim His word, He would prepare them with the 
 strength of the Holy Ghost. For only those who 
 combat and conquer, who work for and with Jesus, 
 who complete the work on earth for which God cre- 
 ated them, and remain faithful, receive a beauteous 
 crown in heaven. 
 
 Besides the strength God the Holy Ghost be- 
 stows, that divine Spirit also implants in the heart 
 another disposition — a longing to accomplish some- 
 thing for God. This is confirmed by numerous ex- 
 amples of heroic actions, performed by those who, de- 
 voting their lives to sanctity, listened to and acted 
 upon the inspirations of that divine Spirit. What 
 wonderful things have been accomplished, even ac- 
 cording to the testimony of our own experience, at 
 the price of innumerable sacrifices and hardships, 
 from the impulse and through the strength of this 
 ardent desire ! This has also its perfect application in 
 the great affair of salvation. 
 
 Whoever meditates as he should upon heaven, feels 
 strong enough to labor, to struggle, and to suffer for 
 it, in faithful perseverance, unto the end. And what 
 
FIRST SERMON. 363 
 
 should be more easy than for every faithful child of 
 the Church to excite in his heart this longing desire? 
 Consider how many and what powerful motives there 
 are to increase it therein ! Let us devote some mo- 
 ments to these considerations; and with the divine 
 blessing, even as the words fall from my lips, this de- 
 sire for heaven will arise and increase in our hearts. 
 
 Behold, in spirit, Christ ascending to heaven, and 
 say, within yourselves. Dear Jesus, where are you go- 
 ing? O beautiful country ! how I sigh after thee. 
 
 Here is the land of our exile; there, our eternal 
 home. 
 
 Here are hunger and thirst; there, an excess of 
 delight. 
 
 Here, lamentation and wailing ; there, the security 
 of bliss. 
 
 Here is poverty and nakedness ; there, the glorious 
 vesture of heaven, decorated with the diamonds of 
 merit, acquired by our good works upon earth. 
 Here we have no lasting dwelling; there, when the 
 Christian enters upon the reward of a well-spent life, 
 he can exclaim: ''Heaven is mine; all is mine; I 
 enter the dwelling which Jesus prepared for me, and 
 ascend a royal throne, whereon I will be crowned 
 with a radiant diadem forever." 
 
 Here there is a never-ceasing sound of wailing, as 
 human hearts grow faint with the burden of sorrow ; 
 there, in heaven, the eternal Alleluia resounds, and 
 never for one moment does the celestial music of 
 
 angelic voices cease. 
 
 24 
 
364 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 Here is the labor; there, rest and quiet — the re- 
 ward ; and O what a reward ! Eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard; nor hath it ever entered into the 
 heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared 
 for those who love Him. 
 
 Here we must endure mortification and persecu- 
 tion; there, we shall enjoy a peace which passeth all 
 understanding. 
 
 Here we are subject to temptations; there, no 
 thought of evil can come. 
 
 Here it is constant struggle; there, is the triumph 
 attained. 
 
 Here the world, and those who are of the world, 
 strive only for the possession of creatures ; there, the 
 sole desire of the blessed is to see and possess God 
 Himself in His infinite perfection and beatitude. 
 
 Here a shadow rests upon our brightest hours, — 
 the thought of the impending separation from our 
 loved ones by death ; there, neither sorrow nor death 
 can enter; and the union among the blessed and 
 with God will be eternal. 
 
 Blessed Egidius! when we think of these striking 
 contrasts, we can not wonder that the very mention 
 of heaven — ''Paradise'' — threw your soul into an 
 ecstatic state, while your ardent desire after its joys 
 raised your body from the ground as if your spirit 
 longed to soar. 
 
 Yes, beautiful Heaven ! the ardent desire of my 
 heart, who will give me wings like a dove, to fly from 
 this valley of tears, and rest on the mountain of bliss ? 
 
FIRST SERMON. 365 
 
 But this necessitates labor, struggling, suffering. 
 And what, beloved in Christ, will make this suffering 
 light? what but this ardent desire of heaven ! 
 
 See the laborer as he goes forth to his daily toil, 
 willing to endure all, and leave himself no rest, for 
 he knows that the more diligently he works, the 
 greater will be his gain. And daily experience proves, 
 that it is the same in every walk of life; yet how 
 poor and trifling, how infinitely small, is the richest 
 guerdon which the world can give compared to the 
 reward which awaits us in heaven for every meritori- 
 ous work performed by us on earth. How w^orthless 
 should the world's rewards appear when we think 
 how soon they pass away! How infinitely great 
 should we deem the ones which never, never end! 
 How brave and determined the warrior who knows 
 that, if he return from the conflict with the laurel 
 wreath of victory, his fortune i^ assured! How will- 
 ingly he risks that life, which is to him so precious, 
 for the hope of a possible reward. How bravely, 
 therefore, my dearest Christians, should not you be 
 able to combat, having in view the hope of Heaven — 
 the crown of eternal victory! 
 
 Men have borne, with the greatest patience, the 
 most painful operations, with a view to saving life or 
 limb. Strive, therefore, to bear with patience the sor- 
 rows and trials of earth, to save your immortal souls. 
 Oh, let us never forget the heaven which may be all 
 our own! Let us think of it, not only while we 
 celebrate this glorious festival, but long after it 
 
366 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 has passed away, that we may so live that, when 
 we close our eyes to earthly things, we may, with- 
 out delay, ascend to that bright and glorious home 
 to dwell with Christ in Heaven for evermore. — 
 Amen. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 367 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "They going forth preached every-where, and the Lord working withal, 
 -confirming the word with signs that followed." — Mark xvi, 20. 
 
 JESUS had entered into glory, and still the disci- 
 ples remained spell-bound, gazing after Him with 
 irrepressible yearning to follow Him to that heavenly 
 home, whither He went to prepare a dwelling for the 
 souls He had redeemed. 
 
 Suddenly, as the Evangelist St. Luke relates, there 
 appeared to the Apostles two Angels clad in white 
 robes of golden glory, who thus addressed them : '' Ye 
 men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven ? 
 This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, 
 shall so come, as you have seen Him going into 
 heaven." This is the explanation of the above: "As 
 surely as you have witnessed the departure of your 
 blessed Saviour, so surely will He come again. He 
 will come not in His humiliation, but in the full splen- 
 dor of His incomparable Majesty, to you, as well as to 
 the whole world." 
 
 Jesus raised Himself on high and entered heaven as 
 Conqueror over death and hell; and once again He 
 will come, not as Reconciler, but as Judge. Can we 
 endure the penetrating glance of His all-seeing eye; 
 that eye which will, as it were, search into the very 
 marrow of our souls ? It depends very much upon our- 
 selves. 
 
 Jfw(^ have during life been disposed as were the dis- 
 
S6S FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 ciples on Mount Olivet on Ascension-day, there will 
 be no terror for us in the coming of Christ at the end 
 of the world. 
 
 Mary, Queen of angels, to whom it was granted 
 to be assumed body and soul into heaven, and to sit 
 enthroned at the right hand of your divine Son, bless 
 and protect us, that we may one day behold the bliss 
 of heaven ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor of God ! 
 
 Deep in the human heart there lingers sweet 
 hope of ascending at last to heaven. There is 
 scarce a sinner, be he ever so abandoned, that does 
 not cherish the hope that by some unlooked-for grace 
 he will behold his glorified Saviour. It is true that sin- 
 cere, even if tardy, repentance can win forgiveness for 
 any crime, no matter how great ; yet we must not ex- 
 pect to be called by wonderful ways ; but, to insure 
 to ourselves the eventual possession of that exquisite 
 bliss, we must, during our whole lives, look up to 
 heaven with affections similar to those of the disciples 
 as they looked after Jesus when He soared aloft be- 
 yond the skies. It was, above all, the wish to enter 
 heaven with Him which animated them when they, 
 after He had disappeared from their view, stood spell- 
 bound, looking up as if tliey could still behold His be- 
 loved face. I have already touched upon this disposi- 
 tion of ardent desire, but after the address of the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 369 
 
 angels there were other affections which deeply moved 
 their hearts. 
 
 First, they congratulated Jesus upon His entrance 
 into glory. In proportion to the compassion with which 
 His humiliation and bitter sufferings had inspired 
 them, they now rejoiced ; and repressing their grief 
 at His departure, felicitated Him upon having as- 
 cended to heaven. ^ 
 
 They stood upon Mount Olivet, that spot so rich in 
 sacred memories, — that spot where the agony of the 
 Son of God forced blood from His pores. Their feet 
 touched the ground once moistened by that precious 
 blood ; and with these thoughts welling up in their 
 hearts, they might well exclaim: '* According to the 
 afflictions of my heart, consolations have rejoiced my 
 §oul." 
 
 The disciples rejoiced with Jesus, especially at the 
 assurance He gave them: '* I go to prepare for you 
 a lasting dwelling," and now they perceived more 
 clearly than ever the grand and majestic character of 
 the happiness which had been conferred upon them, 
 of beholding the incarnate Son of God, — that happi- 
 ness after which Abraham and the prophets had so 
 ardently longed, — yet which they were not permitted 
 to enjoy, with the exception of Moses and Elias. 
 
 They now understood the favor which had been 
 meted out to them, and blessed the Saviour that they 
 had received from His lips the word of salvation; that 
 they had walked by His side, and had had constant per- 
 sonal intercourse with Him. They thanked Him with 
 
370 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 the most intense fervor of heart for their call to the 
 true faith, and for their election, according to the Sav- 
 iour's promise, to proclaim the word of life to the 
 very extremities of the earth, and to distribute to the 
 children of men the treasures of the Redemption, by 
 propagating the true Church to which had been be- 
 queathed such fruitful means of salvation. 
 
 And it was not merely sensible affections of the 
 heart which so deeply moved them ; for they, at the 
 same time, made firm resolutions, with the assistance 
 of divine grace, to fulfill their calling faithfully, and to 
 obey the precept which had been given them, to await 
 at Jerusalem, in prayer, the coming of the Holy Ghost, 
 the Paraclete. And this, my brethren, should be the 
 disposition of our hearts upon this glorious day. 
 
 Let us exult and praise the Lord for His Majesty; 
 for if we love Jesus more than ourselves, we should 
 rejoice at His Ascension to such a kingdom of delight. 
 What exultation must expand the heart of the Chris- 
 tian who really loves Him, as he recalls to-day the 
 words of the psalm which prophetically describes the 
 Ascension of Christ: "Be^ye lifted up, O eternal 
 gates, for the King of Glory approaches ! " and behold 
 in spirit the myriads of Angels coming from heaven 
 to meet him, entoning the Alleluia of victory before 
 the Lord. 
 
 We should also imitate the Apostles and disciples 
 in their gratitude ; for if we reflect that we have been 
 called to the true faith through no merit of our own,, 
 while the souls of millions who might have responded 
 
SECOND SERMON. 371 
 
 more fully to the grace of God, and availed themselves 
 more frequently of the means provided by Him to help 
 us on our heavenward way, are left in the darkness of 
 error. What cause for thankfulness is the certainty 
 that we are on the right path to salvation, and that if 
 we really wish to attain it, we can do so through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. We should also thank God that we, 
 as children of the true Church, may lead other souls 
 thereto, and thus propagate His kingdom. There is 
 no other way to heaven than that which Jesus trod, 
 the way of struggle, labor, and toil, — of self-denial, 
 mortification, and tears — no other way, in short, than 
 the royal road of the holy a^oss. 
 
 But heaven is worth it all, and when well nigh faint- 
 ing in the conflict, the Christian should think of the 
 Saviour, Who, in His painful walk to Calvary, faltered 
 and fell three times; and, taking courage, exclaim 
 with St. Paul : '' I can do all in Him who strength- 
 ens me." The same Holy Ghost, promised and sent 
 by Christ to His Apostles and disciples; He has, ac- 
 cording to St. John, promised to us also ; and He will 
 send Him if we, by zealous and fervent prayer, pre- 
 pare our hearts for His reception. The Apostles and 
 their companions at Jerusalem did so. 
 
 And after that happy event they immediately or- 
 dained deacons for the service of the Church, that 
 they might themselves have more time for prayer and 
 union with God. 
 
 Let us, then, beloved in Christ, imitate their exam- 
 ple, by an increase of zeal in prayer, as we celebrate 
 
372 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 this festive day. Let us, in spirit, place ourselves in 
 their midst, and imagine the deep emotion with which 
 we would have fallen at the feet of Christ and em- 
 braced them, had we been witnesses of this happy 
 meeting between Him and His holy Mother, and faith- 
 ful friends. With what ardor we would have implored 
 Him to remember us before His Father in heaven, 
 and promised to do His holy will in all things, that 
 we might one day follow Him to the realms of ever- 
 lasting bliss. 
 
 If we possess these affections, and fulfill the reso- 
 lutions arising therefrom ; if we think constantly of 
 heaven, and live only for it, then most assuredly will 
 we courageously combat those enemies who would 
 fain deprive us of its celestial joys ; and having borne 
 the cross on earth, we shall wear an eternal crown 
 above. — Amen! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 373 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "And He was taken up to heaven." — Mark xvi, 19. 
 
 BELOVED in Christ, as often as we think of the 
 Ascension of our Lord a shadow falls upon our 
 hearts, because the Church has been deprived of His 
 visible presence. 
 
 "Your hearts are troubled," said Christ to His dis- 
 ciples, "for I have told you that I would leave you ; 
 but be consoled, for I will soon come again." And 
 this is indeed the way in which we always seek to 
 console ourselves at parting with those we fondly 
 love: ''We soon shall meet again." 
 
 Our hearts, too, like those of the disciples, feel 
 deeply grieved to think that Jesus left us behmd. We 
 feel that to have had Him here in person would have 
 been a most precious boon. But still there is solace 
 in the thought: "It will not last forever, for we will 
 live so as to meet Him again, to be united with Him 
 forever." 
 
 There is another source of consolation still, and 
 that is the sublime and incomprehensible truth that, 
 although He left us. He still remains in our midst. 
 " I go, yet remain with you," He said to His disci- 
 ples, and, through them, to all who believe in Him, 
 hope in Him, and love Him to the end of time. 
 
 Jesus abides now personally in Heaven in all His 
 majesty and glory, seated at the right hand of His 
 Father. 
 
374 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 But at the same time, although hidden under the 
 mystic vails of bread and wine, He abides with us in 
 Person on earth, and, by the ineffable sweetness of His 
 presence, transforms this earth, for those who love Him, 
 into a Paradise of delights, 
 
 Mary, to whom the angel said, *' The Lord is with 
 thee," obtain for us the grace to dwell in the most in- 
 timate union with thy divine Son, that, while still on 
 earth, we may once taste His blisS in Heaven ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 Jesus has ascended into heaven, and yet He remains 
 with us, first, as Head of the Church. She is His 
 mystical body, as we are assured by the Apostles 
 and by the testimony of the Fathers. 
 
 Christ Himself refers to His spiritual presence on 
 earth in His holy Church, where, at the conclusion 
 of the Gospel of St. Matthew, He says: ''Behold, I 
 am with you all days, even to the consummation of 
 the world." The certainty of this should dispel the 
 shadow which fell upon all those devoted to Jesus 
 when He ascended to heaven, even though we might 
 think that, had He remained with us in His visible 
 presence, we could the more easily have worked out 
 our salvation ; for there is an illusion in this. Christ in 
 heaven is equally aware of our many wants, and knows 
 fully as well the warfare in which we must constantly en- 
 gage ; He knows the many snares, laid by His enemy 
 
THIRD SERMON. 375 
 
 and ours, to surprise us into some sin, the commission 
 of which would give us over to the power of the devil. 
 Christ in heaven knows the sorrows that encompass 
 us, the desolation that so often overshadows our lives, 
 the uncertainty we feel in regard to our eternal fate. 
 He knows it all, and He is waiting to help us. 
 
 ** All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth." 
 So Christ has most solemnly assured us, and He 
 has also told us of the great benefit which His 
 Ascension would confer upon man. *' I will send 
 you the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of consolation, the 
 Spirit of truth, the Spirit of strength, to remain with 
 you forever." A twofold — a threefold source of 
 grace for the sanctification and deliverance of your 
 souls shall be poured upon you after My Ascension, 
 through God the Father, God the Holy Ghost, and 
 through Me, the eternal Son, your Redeemer. I 
 am the Source whence the prayers you pour forth 
 to God obtain their victorious power, — through Whom 
 the offering on your altars so infinitely glorifies the 
 Triune God, — through Whom the holy Sacraments 
 receive the grace which they impart to the soul. 
 
 To this invisible presence of Christ, which sancti- 
 fies, directs, and fortifies, are to be referred the words 
 of St. Augustine when he declares that it is properly 
 Christ Himself Who distributes, through His priests, 
 graces and spiritual favors to us. He says: "Peter 
 baptizes, Paul baptizes, Judas baptizes, but Christ bap- 
 tizes in them."* 
 
 Behold, therefore, the wonderful power, the mighty 
 
^Y6 feast of the ascension. 
 
 effects of Christ's presence on earth, although visibly 
 He is throned only in heaven, and we do not behold 
 Him with our corporeal eyes. 
 
 I will illustrate this by a comparison, and say, al- 
 though a person in power, upon whom we depend 
 for help, may live in a far-off land, this will not in- 
 terfere with his power to aid. Nay, if we can commu- 
 nicate with him, ask advice, and beg his assistance, it 
 is the same as if he lived near by. This is especially 
 so if he is able and willing to aid and grant our re- 
 quest. — Thus it is with Christ as the life-giving Head 
 of the Church on earth. At one time He preached 
 and ministered only in Palestine, but now His mission 
 extends over the whole world by the promulgation of 
 His doctrine and the administration of graces by means 
 of the sacerdotal office, which will remain in the Church 
 until the end of time. 
 
 Yes, Christ indeed ascended to heaven, but, never- 
 theless, He is still on earth personally, and He will 
 remain unto the end of time ; but in a more intimate 
 and essential union than if He had stayed with us in 
 a visible manner. He might indeed have said: ''Let 
 Me go hence, for you will be more blessed by My in- 
 visible presence in the Blessed Sacrament, which all 
 my faithful children can receive." 
 
 Yes, beloved in tke Lord Jesus, Christ is as truly 
 and essentially present in body and soul, divinity and 
 humanity, and that for our blessing and salvation, as 
 He is present on the throne of His glory in heaven. 
 He prayed always for us while He lived on earth, ^nd 
 
THIRD SERMON. 2ill 
 
 now from His little abode, the tabernacle, His prayer 
 forever ascends to his heavenly Father for the souls 
 He has redeemed. 
 
 There was but one occasion on which Christ visibly 
 offered the holy sacrifice of thfe Mass. Now, really 
 present in the Eucharist, the clean oblation is offered 
 by His ministers from the rising of the sun to the go- 
 ing down of the same ; and that not once, but by num- 
 berless priests, over the whole globe often at one and 
 the same time. 
 
 While on earth Jesus bestowed Himself but once 
 on His disciples in Holy Communion ; while now the 
 numbers who receive Him, and the times they are so 
 favored, can scarcely be reckoned. Every Christian 
 who knows what happiness it is to have his Lord 
 really present in the Blessed Sacrament as offered up 
 in the Mass, and as received by the faithful, and avails 
 himself of the privilege with the love and fervor of St. 
 John — who abides with Him by visiting and receiving 
 the Holy Eucharist — will feel the truth of what St. 
 Teresa said when she appeared to one of her spiritual 
 daughters : *'0 my child, what have we in heaven of 
 which you have not already here the foretaste through 
 the presence of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of 
 the altar?" 
 
 In conclusion, although visibly taken up to heaven, 
 yet Christ remains among us on earth, in our hearts, 
 if we can say with truth: "Jesus, my all, my only 
 thought, my only desire, my consolation, my strength 
 and delight, my God and my all ! " And if we show by 
 
^yS FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
 
 our lives that we wish nothing so much as to fulfill 
 the holy will of God, then, my dear brethren, that 
 solemn promise, '* I and the Father will come and 
 abide with him," will be fulfilled in us. 
 
 If this be so, oh, then the arid desert of life will 
 change for us, through this invisible presence of 
 Christ, into a Paradise of joys, where we will have 
 no reason to mourn that He has left us ; but rather^ 
 according to His own assurance, to rejoice ! 
 
 What though for a few brief years we are deprived 
 of the privilege of beholding Christ on earth ; we can 
 enjoy His rea/ presence by a loving intercourse with 
 Him in the Blessed Sacrament ! 
 
 This intimate union will enable us to amass such 
 treasures of merit that we shall one day taste the 
 sweets of the divine beatitude in a more superabun- 
 dant measure, united through Him with God the Fa- 
 ther, God the Holy Ghost, with Mary, and all the 
 saints. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 •• And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." — Acts ii, 4. 
 
 A ND He commanded that they should not de- 
 l\ part from Jerusalem; but should wait for the 
 promise of the Father, which you have heard," said 
 He, **by My mouth, that you may give testimony of 
 Me, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth." 
 Thus runs the admonition of the Lord before His 
 ascension. (Acts i, 4-8.) 
 
 The Apostles, therefore, with Mary, the Mother of 
 Jesus, and many of His disciples, obeying the com- 
 mand of Christ, remained at Jerusalem, united in 
 prayer; and, behold, after ten days, the promise of 
 Christ was fulfilled : ** Suddenly there came a sound 
 from heaven, as of a mighty wind, and it filled the 
 whole house where they were sitting; and the Holy 
 Ghost came down upon them in the form of fiery 
 tongues, and sat upon every one of them." 
 
 Then did this Spirit of light replenish their souls 
 with knowledge, power, and love ; and enrich them 
 with His sevenfold gifts. St. Paul says of himself, 
 
 25 (370) 
 
380 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 that the same Lord Who decreed that there should 
 be light, caused the light of knowledge in holy faith 
 to irradiate his soul; and so it was with the disciples 
 assembled at Jerusalem. Their understanding seemed 
 darkened; they were faint-hearted and timid since 
 the ascension of Him Who was at once their Lord, 
 their Saviour, and beloved Friend. They remained se- 
 cluded — ''behind bolt and bar," — not daring to ap- 
 pear in public ; but, lo ! that fear suddenly vanished, 
 for seven new and most precious gifts were bestowed 
 upon them. 
 
 ^ With unfaltering courage they went forth to pro- 
 claim the truths of Christianity, and to preach "Christ 
 crucified " to the same people who had been guilty 
 of His death upon the cross ; and the grace of God 
 touched the hearts of that vast multitude, as they list- 
 ened, with rapt attentiouy to their Inspired words. 
 Thousands were converted on the spot ; and the 
 Church celebrated her birthday on earth, and ex- 
 tended her mission, from that very day, to the utmost 
 limits of the globe. 
 
 There can be no greater happiness on earth, be- 
 loved in Christ, than the privilege of belonging to the 
 true Church — the only one In which salvation is to be 
 found. But mere external membership will not confer 
 it upon us. We must become living temples of the 
 Holy Ghost, letting our faith shine forth in our lives 
 with a luster so brilliant that it will attract number- 
 less souls to the fold of Christ. The seven gifts, with 
 which the Holy Ghost enriches all who worthily re- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 38 1 
 
 ceive the Sacrament of Confirmation, will produce this 
 effect in our souls. 
 
 Let us consider to day in what essentially consists 
 each one of these, and see in what manner they influ- 
 ence the tcninterrupted duration of the kingdom of God 
 in our souls. 
 
 Mary, obtain for us, from the Holy Ghost, thy 
 divine Spouse, the grace to retain in our hearts the 
 influence of His sevenfold gifts! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 St. John says: ''Thus spoke Christ of the Holy 
 Spirit, whom every one that believes in Him shall 
 
 receive." 
 
 The miracle which God vouchsafed to work on Pen- 
 tecost Sunday, namely, the descent of the Holy Ghost 
 upon the Apostles, was a peculiar grace conferred upon 
 those companions of Jesus Christ, as was also the extra- 
 ordinary gift of speaking in divers tongues, and pene- 
 trating, with prophetic vision, the mysteries of the 
 future. Yes, my brethren, these were gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, indeed, but reserved for the Apostles 
 alone, apart from those sevenfold gifts which that di- 
 vine Spirit confers upon all who worthily receive the 
 Sacrament of Confirmation. Through this Spirit of 
 love, the Apostles communicated them to all the faith- 
 ful, to whom, after their baptism, they administered 
 this Sacrament, as the Acts of the Apostles certify. • 
 
382 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 What are the effects of this Sacrament ? It strength- 
 ens us in our determination to belong to the kingdom 
 of Christ — the kingdom of God — the Holy Church ; to 
 live as her children ; to propagate the faith according 
 to our strength and ability; and even, should God re- 
 quire it of us, to sacrifice life itself rather than be false 
 to its teachings. That we may be enabled to do all 
 this, we must not only receive the Sacrament of Con- 
 firmation exteriorly ; but the graces it confers must 
 penetrate to the very depths of our hearts. 
 
 Let us consider to-day in what the essence of each 
 of these gifts consists ; and we will arrive at a clearer 
 understanding of the relation which each one of them 
 bears toward the continuance and increase of the king- 
 dom of God in our hearts. 
 
 The first gift — in the order in which they are im- 
 parted to us — is ''Fear of the Lord'' which so dis- 
 poses our hearts that we entertain no fear whatever, 
 except of God, and the possibility of offending that 
 Divine Being by sin. This gift implies a heart free from 
 sin and filled with a true, sincere, and effective resolu- 
 tion to avoid the most trivial venial sin and imperfection. 
 
 When this gift fills our hearts, then indeed the 
 kingdom of God is firmly established therein, and we 
 are temples of the Holy Ghost. But, alas ! how many 
 there are who receive not this heavenly gift in its pleni- 
 tude ; who waver and falter in the service of God ; and 
 who, so far from being inspired by a holy fear of offend- 
 ing Him, rather allow the fear of men, or human re- 
 spect, to take entire control of their actions. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 2>^^ 
 
 The second gift of the Holy Ghost is Piety, which 
 leads us to a state of perpetual prayer, so that we not 
 only perform our prescribed devotions at certain times, 
 but, through them, become united in so intimate a man- 
 ner with God that we walk constantly in His presence, 
 and live so that the salutation of the angel to the Im- 
 maculate Virgin: '* The Lord is with thee," might well 
 be applied to us. 
 
 As long as prayer is regarded by us only in the light 
 of an obligation, we are yet very imperfect children 
 of God ; but if, on the contrary, we find it an absolute 
 necessity — if it be for our spirits, what breath is to the 
 body — then is the kingdom of God firm in our hearts;, 
 then are we indeed confirmed in the service of our Cre- 
 ator, and living temples of the Holy Ghost. O how 
 many are there who waver in this holy service ! The 
 spirit of prayer is wanting in them ; their devotions 
 bring them no nearer to God, whereas they should 
 tend to promote an intimate union with Him. 
 
 The third gift of the Holy Ghost is Knowledge, 
 through which we become versed in the science of 
 salvation, and thoroughly impressed with the truth, 
 that the great affair of our eternal welfare should 
 first rank in our estimation ; and become fully resolved 
 that nothing shall prevent the permanent establishment 
 of the kingdom of God in our hearts. This heavenly 
 knowledge renders us fully alive to the perils which 
 threaten the salvation of those who, while living in 
 the world, strive always, according to the spirit of the 
 world, to possess and to enjoy ; and this always in an 
 
3^4 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 ever-increasing degree, and for as long a time as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Not so the Christian whose soul, enriched by God 
 the Holy Ghost, is filled with this holy science. He 
 will continually have in view the warning of our Lord : 
 '* What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world 
 and lose his own soul ? " And when the tempter 
 places before him some favorite, though forbidden, 
 pleasure, or paints in glowing colors the joys of yield- 
 ing to some darling sin, he will pause and ask himself 
 that question, Will I spurn the tempter from my heart 
 or not? 
 
 When the charms of earthly pleasures and temporal 
 enjoyments were held up to St. Aloysius, by those who 
 wished to make him waver in his resolution to dedicate 
 himself to God in the religious state, he would silence 
 them by asking: '' What doth it profit a man to gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul? " — Such a soul 
 recognizes the value of time, and employs it accord- 
 ingly, knowing well that death, which is most surely 
 approaching, is but the pathway to an eternity, which 
 it depends upon him to make happy or miserable. 
 
 The Christian who entertains such sentiments will 
 remain firm and unshaken amid the tempests of life, 
 and may feel assured that the kingdom of God is estab- 
 lished in his heart. But by far the greater number who 
 call themselves children of the one true Church, and 
 have even received the Sacrament of Confirmation, 
 do not respond to the dignity of their vocation. 
 Carried away entirely by the affairs of the world, their 
 
FIRST SERMON. . 385 
 
 only anxiety is for pleasure, or for gain — for the things 
 of earth which pass away. 
 
 The fou7^tk gift, with which we are favored by the 
 munificence of the Holy Ghost, is CounseL This 
 gift floods the soul with celestial light sufficient to 
 discern what is pleasing to God in the various cir- 
 cumstances of life. 
 
 It guards us against the evil of seeking advice from 
 vain and worldly minds, and inspires us to go directly 
 to the representatives of Christ on earth. 
 
 The life of the Christian who receives this gift is 
 blessed with 'that peace which the world can not 
 give, and, God reigning in his heart by His grace, the 
 divine kingdom is firmly established therein. 
 
 But too many go in quest of advice from those 
 who are filled with the spirit of the world, and who 
 can not impart what they do not possess ; and in- 
 stead of receiving benefit, the petitioner wavers in 
 the service of God; nay, sometimes abandons it en- 
 tirely. 
 
 The fifth gift of the Holy Ghost is Fortitude, 
 which enables the recipient to embrace, and bear 
 patiently, all the crosses which are inseparable from 
 that state of life, to which he has been called by the 
 most holy will of God, and to fulfill the duties con- 
 nected therewith, in spite of every obstacle. From 
 this gift also arises that disposition which inspires the 
 soul with an esteem for tribulations, a love of suffer- 
 ings, and an ardent desire to bear the cross for the 
 sake of Jesus Christ. Whoever is thus disposed may 
 
^S6 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 enjoy the blessed assurance that the kingdom of God 
 is confirmed in his heart, and that, by a faithful cor- 
 respondence with divine grace, he will combat val- 
 iantly and bear away the palm of victory. 
 
 Where, however, this steadfast love of sufferings 
 through love of Christ exists not, the prayer, *'Thy 
 kingdom come," arises not as much from the heart, 
 but from the lips only ; and the kingdom of God is 
 often endangered. 
 
 The szx^k gift which the Holy Spirit offers us, in 
 the Sacrament of Confirmation, is Understanding, 
 which enables man to look at, and judge every thing 
 in this world, through the light of holy faith, and to 
 live accordingly. In this way his confession of faith 
 will not proceed from the lips only, but all its teach- 
 ings will appear, in a manner most clear and distinct, 
 to his spiritual vision. The kingdom of God is truly 
 and firmly established in that blessed soul, and grace 
 will constantly increase therein, to enable her to W 
 sist all the attacks of the infernal enemy. Then will 
 the purity of her intention exalt and multiply the 
 merit of her good works before God. 
 
 O that all would endeavor, by a worthy prepara- 
 tion for the Sacrament of Confirmation, to receive 
 this gift In its plenitude ! But too often it is not the case. 
 
 Finally, the seventh gift is the gift of Wisdom, 
 which is essentially the gift of well-ordered love to 
 God and our neighbor, by which the Christian finds 
 his delight in the fulfillment of the precept which en- 
 joins upon us to love God above all, and our neigh- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 387 
 
 bor as ourselves. Of such love it is written that it is 
 stronger than death. It induces us to give up all 
 earthly joys and worldly treasures for Christ's dear 
 sake ; and whoever is aware of possessing it, may 
 well exclaim, with St. Paul: "What can separate us 
 from the love of Christ? Hunger, misery, poverty, 
 death; we overcome them all through Him whom we 
 love." 
 
 But, beloved Christians, when every portion of the 
 heart is engrossed by self, there can be no thought 
 of faithful perseverance amid the storms and tempta- 
 tions of life. What weighty and all-powerful motives 
 should on this glorious day, the birthday of our Holy 
 Church, inspire us to assemble in spirit, with the 
 Mother of Jesus and the holy Apostles and disciples 
 of the Lord, as they awaited the descent of the divine 
 Spirit. From the very depths of our hearts let us cry 
 out : " Come, Holy Ghost, replenish our hearts with 
 Thy love, that its ardent fire may animate our souls. 
 Banish therefrom all aversion to prayer, and that 
 spirit of the world which seeks our ruin. Banish from 
 our hearts all unrest, faint-heartedness, forgetfulness 
 of the truths of faith ; above all, of the four last things 
 which await us: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. 
 Cast from our hearts the spirit of self-love, and lead 
 us, through thy sevenfold gifts, to love God above 
 all, and in Him all whom He has created for Himself; 
 and so confirm these dispositions in our hearts, that 
 we may become, and remain Thy living temples, sanc- 
 tified through thy love for all eternity." — Artien. 
 
388 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 *• For the Prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not any thing." 
 — John xiv, 30. 
 
 THE Church of God, the kingdom of light, celebrates 
 to-day the feast of her establishment on earth, of 
 her birthday, for the blessing and benefit of the human 
 race. Although, my dear brethren, all mankind have 
 been, since the day of creation, universally called to 
 honor God, to love and serve Him, and He has 
 vouchsafed to them messengers to lead them to 'the 
 way of salvation, there is, on the other hand, a king- 
 dom of darkness which opposes the kingdom of light 
 with all its powers, — blinds, and endeavors to destroy 
 souls, and makes every effort to propagate the king- 
 dom of evil. 
 
 The Prince of the realm of light is Christ; the ruler 
 of the region of darkness is Satan. The latter is fit- 
 tingly styled by the fathers, the *' Ape of God;" and 
 daring to look with an envious eye upon "the honor" 
 which belongs to the Lord, he seeks to attract a sim- 
 ilar homage to himself Knowing well that God works 
 in the most efficacious manner to attain the end for 
 which He created man, Satan tries to imitate Him in 
 His plans, not for the welfare, but for the damnation 
 of souls. 
 
 He leaves nothing untried to accomplish this dar- 
 ling project, seeking continually new victims to draw 
 
SECOND SERMON. 389 
 
 into his toils, hardening their hearts, and leading their 
 souls to perdition. 
 
 As the Holy Ghost seeks, by the characteristic 
 gifts which He imparts, to confirm the good in all 
 that is pure and holy ; so does Satan endeavor, 
 through gifts of an entirely opposite nature, to con- 
 firm the bad in every thing vile and wicked. 
 
 To-day we will consider this diabolical confirmation, 
 and the seven gifts which strengthen those who receive 
 it in every thing bad. 
 
 Mary, dearest of mothers, obtain for us grace to 
 secure our salvation while God grants us time for "the 
 work! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 ** But the sinner, when he falls into the depths, de- 
 spises." These are the words of the Holy Ghost, and 
 it is the constant aim of the evil one to drag him into 
 such fathomless depths, that at last he cares not 
 whether he is saved or not. Day and night goes about 
 this spirit of malice seeking whom he may confirm in 
 malice. Yet do not lose courage, beloved in Christ! 
 Even though he should induce you to sin, call upon 
 God, repent, and you can regain what you have lost. 
 But to prevent this the devil will try to ruin you with 
 his seven vile gifts, entirely different to those of the 
 spirit of light. 
 
 The first gift of the Holy Ghost is fear of the Lord, 
 
390 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 which casts out all other fear, save that of offending 
 God, and confirms the Christian in all that is good, 
 leads him on to the practice of every virtue, and brings 
 him at last to eternal life. 
 
 Now, what course does Satan pursue to confirm and 
 • strengthen the sinner in malice ? He first seeks to 
 persuade him that sin is only a pardonable weakness : 
 so trifling indeed, that, unless temporal loss is con- 
 nected therewith, it is not worth even a thought. He 
 fills his heart with human respect, so that a craven 
 fear makes him prefer displeasing God, to offending 
 man. Woe to the unhappy beings to whom Satan be- 
 stows this disposition ; for they are confirmed in mal- 
 ice and sin! 
 
 The second disposition of the soul which leads to. 
 salvation is fervor in prayer, union with God, a per- 
 petual remembrance of His holy presence. 
 
 Satan strives to animate the soul with feelings the 
 very reverse, until prayer becomes so distasteful to 
 man, that at last he entirely neglects it, does not even 
 think of God, but, like an irrational animal, goes 
 through the world, caring only for the companionship 
 of men as wicked, or, perhaps, more so than himself. 
 
 Woe to the wretch who lives in this total neglect of 
 prayer ; for he is confirmed by Satan in his service 
 probably forever ! 
 
 The third disposition of the heart, which assures us 
 of perseverance in virtue, is knowledge ; that heavenly 
 knowledge, which teaches us that our eternal salva- 
 tion, and the most fitting means to attain it, should 
 
SECOND SERMON. 39 1 
 
 be kept constantly in view, as the most important and 
 only really essential affair for the faithful child of the 
 Church and for every man on earth. 
 
 But Satan seeks to ensnare him in the net of 
 earthly desires and schemes, even as the spider keeps 
 the fly moving its little feet and wings, until at length 
 it can move them no more. Men thus become so en- 
 tangled in worldly affairs, that they lose power to act 
 for the good of their souls, and even grow spiritually 
 blind so as to think they are acting a most wise and 
 prudent part. 
 
 Woe to that sinner who is thus entangled by Satan, 
 and held fast in the thralldom oi temporal cares ; for 
 he will be dragged hither and thither at the will of 
 this spirit of evil, and prevented from using the heav- 
 enly means by which he might escape from the toils. 
 
 The fourth gift of the Holy Ghost to confirm and 
 strengthen us in good, is counsel. It so disposes the 
 soul that the recipient can discern how he can best 
 labor, not only for his own salvation, but also for the 
 welfare of others ; advising them how to advance in 
 the science of the saints. But Satan is a rebellious 
 spirit, whose delight it is to fish in troubled waters. 
 If, thereby, he can deprive the sinner of the assist- 
 ance of divine grace, thus rendering him confused and 
 helpless, what more is needed to confirm him in sin ? 
 Think of Judas ! When Satan took possession of him, 
 he knew no more what to do ; and even on that day 
 when Jesus offered Himself for the salvation of man- 
 kind, he gave way to the blackest despair. 
 
392 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 The fifth gift of the Holy Ghost is fortitude, which 
 enables us to persevere in good to the end. Lucifer, 
 on his part, leaves nothing untried to shake this ce- 
 lestial courage which inspires the Christian with the 
 most heroic resolves ; he seeks to turn him from the 
 path of right, and leads him to abuse the graces be- 
 stowed upon him by a merciful God. When the sin- 
 ner seeks forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance, he 
 tempts him to relapse, after which his confirmation in 
 evil is easy. Alas ! for the relapsing sinner who 
 thinks he has no cause for fear, because he has con- 
 fessed his sins, and received absolution for them! 
 That is a fatal delusion, which will lead to final im- 
 penitence. Constant relapses weaken his will, and con- 
 firm him forever in the service of hell. 
 
 The sixth gift of the Holy Ghost, by which the 
 children of the Church are confirmed in good, is that 
 living faith by which man is not satisfied to confess his 
 beUef with the lips, and merely through habit, or to 
 fulfill his religious duties because he has been so 
 taught, but which makes him do it from an inward 
 consciousness of the dignity of his vocation as a child 
 of God, and of the admonitions of that divine grace 
 which he never resists, and which invites him to lead 
 the life of a zealous Christian, and obtain eternal bliss. 
 
 But Satan tries to weaken the influence of faith upon 
 the life of man, or to destroy it entirely. He, too, 
 often succeeds, so that many, who exteriorly lead lives 
 in conformity with the requirements of the Church, 
 give themselves no trouble as to how they stand before 
 
SECOND SERMON. 393 
 
 God, and what they can answer on the day of terror 
 and doom at the judgment-seat of Christ. There, 
 they must account for graces neglected, by which, if 
 they had availed themselves of them, they would have 
 attained the most exquisite joy in heaven. 
 
 Alas ! for the Catholic whom Satan can persuade 
 \ki2X faith alone is sufficient for salvation ; that because 
 he is a Catholic, he will never be lost! He is con- 
 firmed by the spirit of darkness, and belongs to those 
 of whom it has been written: "And the children of 
 the house will be cast out." 
 
 The seventh disposition, by infusing which into the 
 soul the Holy Ghost would ensure its eternal salva- 
 tion, is a degree of divine love which impels us to love 
 God above all, and to ernbrace all mankind in a truly 
 fraternal affection. It is that heavenly wisdom which 
 is a pledge of final perseverance in the service of God. 
 
 In direct opposition to this the ruler of the kingdom 
 of darkness tries to instill into the heart of the sinner 
 disgust and indifference to God, aversion and hate to 
 his neighbor, or, perhaps, fills his whole being with a 
 passion so vile, that he commits sins of the most 
 shameful kind. 
 
 Alas ! how many there are whom Satan thus confirms 
 in his service, who, chained in the thralldom of lust, 
 grow too weak to sever the bonds of some unchaste 
 attachment. Yes, strange as it-may^seem when we 
 consider the weapons with which God has provided 
 us in the combat with Satan — the seven gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost — that diabolical spirit too often steps in 
 
394 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 with his seven vile gifts, and with one or another, so 
 hardens man's heart, that there is, we might almost 
 say, no means of bringing him back. 
 
 The enemies of Christ beheld Him call Lazarus forth 
 from the grave, and yet at the question: " What shall 
 we do, for this man worketh many miracles?'* the 
 answer came back: "Away with Him! away with 
 Him! crucify Him! crucify Him!" 
 
 Thus it is, beloved in Christ, with sinners who, hav- 
 ing received the seven gifts of the spirit of evil, have 
 been confirmed in wickedness. They behold signs and 
 wonders, and the Holy Ghost withholds not His di- 
 vine inspirations ; yet they harden their hearts, and re- 
 main impenitent unto the end. — Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 395 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 ** And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire." — Acts ii, 3. 
 
 CHRIST promised to send the Holy Ghost not only 
 to the Apostles, but to all who would believe in 
 Him, " to dwell with them forever." And, indeed, when 
 on the great festival of Whitsunday He fulfilled this 
 promise, and the divine Spirit appeared in the form 
 of parted tongues, as it were of fire, He rested not 
 only on the heads of the Apostles, but on all who were 
 there assembled, among whom were many of the 
 female sex too." 
 
 This should serve as an admonition that, although 
 the Apostles were first and immediately chosen by 
 Christ to announce the word of salvation over the 
 whole earth, it is^ alike the duty and the privilege of 
 every Catholic to contribute to the propagation of the 
 kingdom of God on earth, and to lead souls to Christ 
 by teaching them the truths of faith; if they are al- 
 ready members, but cold or tepid children of the 
 Church, then it is the duty of every Christian to win 
 them, by word and example, back to God. 
 
 It is true that Christ intrusted the apostleship of 
 preaching only to those divinely appointed, who, 
 through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, are ordained 
 to be ministers of the altar ; but there is also an apos- 
 tleship of encouragement, of example, of prayer y and 
 
 of desire, which all can frequently exercise. 
 26 
 
396 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 None should fail in this duty, and how it can be ful- 
 filled shall be the subject of my sermon to-day. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Apostles, who didst so richly 
 merit that title — not indeed through preaching, but 
 through zeal for the salvation of souls — obtain for us 
 some portion of that zeal which burned in the hearts 
 of the early Christians who received the Holy Ghost 
 on this glorious day! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God. 
 
 In addition to the apostleship of preaching the word 
 of God, my dear brethren, and the ministry of the 
 priesthood in the sanctuary, there is still another — 
 that of propagating the kingdom of Christ on earth, 
 and to this we are all called by divine authority. 
 
 In regard to the apostleship immediately connected 
 with the Sacrament of Holy Orders, it is most certain 
 that no one can dare to preach the word of God to man 
 except those divinely appointed and ordained priests 
 of the Most High. 
 
 We learn from the Acts of the Apostles that they 
 exercised the utmost care lest any one, not thus com- 
 missioned, should preach ; for, in the first Council they 
 held at Jerusalem, they wrote : '' We have heard that 
 there are some who trouble and disquiet you by their 
 preaching, whom we have not sent. Do not hear 
 them." To us, also, this admonition of the Apostles 
 is of great importance ; for, since the introduction of 
 
THIRD SERMON. 397 
 
 Protestantism, even the laity have taken it upon them- 
 selves to preach, and especially in America it is fre- 
 quently done. Indeed, this abuse has reached such a 
 point that even wornen pretend to expound the sacred 
 text. This is usurping authority. 
 
 But there are ways and means entirely distinct from 
 this by which the greatest good can be accomplished, 
 and they are within the reach of all. 
 
 To these ways belongs, first, the apostleship of in- 
 structio7i, of warning, of reproof, of consolation. A 
 very essential obligation rests upon parents to exer- 
 cise the above in regard to their children. Full of so- 
 licitude, they must, from the very earliest years of 
 their little ones, see that they are well and thoroughly 
 instructed in matters of faith, both by word and ex- 
 ample. They must never weary in their watchful care, 
 but admonish, when occasion requires, those whom 
 God has placed under their charge, and place such 
 books within their reach as will be of permanent ben- 
 efit to the mind and heart. Parents should esteem it 
 not only a duty, but a pleasure to visit and encourage 
 Catholic schools. 
 
 What is particularly needed for America at the 
 present day is a fundamental and thorough home- 
 training in all matters of faith; but the duty of par- 
 ents has a still wider range. Here the apostleship of - 
 the word has proved more effective than when it is 
 announced from the pulpit, and it consists in advising 
 the children to faithfully fulfill their duties as good 
 Christians, in whatever state of life they maybe placed. 
 
398 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 and to live so as to attain perfection in this life, and 
 eternal happiness in heaven. 
 
 Shpuld it nevertheless happen that children or sub- 
 jects do not correspond with the care bestowed upon 
 them — that they become careless or indifferent, or in- 
 dulge in some forbidden amusement or evil intercourse 
 with wicked companions, thus exposing their souls to 
 ruin — these suggestions will show parents the neces- 
 sity of administering words alike of reproof and en- 
 couragement. Yes, and even punishment can be very 
 effectively employed in this apostleship. 
 
 All this refers to intercourse between relatives 
 and friends too. There may be among them those 
 who have not heard a sermon for years, who willfully, 
 and of their own accord, shun every opportunity of 
 doing so, of speaking with priests, or seeking in any 
 way to promote the interest of their souls. In such 
 instances the kindly offices of friends to supply the 
 word of the priest, become still more essential. 
 
 On the last great day, when all hidden things shall 
 be made manifest, it will be seen that, through the 
 apostleship of the spoken and written Word, vast 
 numbers of souls have been led to repentance and 
 amendment of life, and finally have been saved. 
 
 To the apostleship of the word should be joined 
 that of good example. " Words move, examples draw," 
 we are assured by a well-known proverb. If parents 
 merely admonish their children to say their morning 
 and evening prayers, but do not kneel down and unite 
 with them, and, perhaps, even do not perform these 
 
THIRD SERMON. 399 
 
 necessary devotions, the children will, in all probability, 
 neglect their own. But let parents lead the daily pray- 
 ers, read every evening some portions from the " Lives 
 of the Saints;" and on Sundays select some other 
 appropriate lesson, and question the children upon it, 
 and the most beneficial results will appear. If parents 
 never fail to assist at divine service on the days com- . 
 manded, and receive monthly the Holy Sacraments of 
 Penance and the Eucharist, they will set their children 
 such a noble example that God will eventually bless 
 them all. Let those tender souls given into your care 
 by their Creator, see that you are zealous in the prac- 
 tice of humility, meekn^ess, charity towards God's be- 
 loved poor, and liberality to the Infant Jesi!is and His 
 Immaculate Mother by remembering the necessities 
 of the Church ; this beautiful example will be regarded 
 by them as a precious legacy, and will be most effect- 
 ual in serving to keep them in the path of virtue long 
 after those who gave it lie moldering in the dust. 
 
 A glorious testimony to the truth of this appears 
 in the " Lives of the Saints." Although centuries have 
 rolled away since they passed from earth to heaven, 
 they still encourage and assist mankind to labor for 
 their sanctification and salvation. We particularly ex- 
 perience this in regard to SS. Benedict, Augustine, 
 Dominic, Francis, Ignatius, and other founders of re- 
 ligious orders, and of those Saints who, by their preach- 
 ing and missionary labors, propagated holy faith. 
 
 Christ says : *' Let your light shine forth that men 
 may see your works, and praise the Father in heaven 
 
400 FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 for them." We read in the life of St. Francis that he 
 said to one of his brethren: '*Let us go forth and 
 preach." They went through many streets of the city, 
 silently, till they again reached the monastery gates. 
 There the brother spoke and said: '' Father, did you 
 not say, ' Let us go forth and preach? ' and now behold 
 us at the very spot wherice we set out, without having 
 uttered a single word." St. Francis replied : " Brother, 
 we carried the sermon with us." *' How so. Father? " 
 *' The busy world beheld us in our voluntary poverty, 
 and knowing us from earlier times, they know that we, 
 for the love of God, have left every thing. In that 
 there is a most powerful admonition for them to de- 
 tach their hearts from the world." 
 
 To this apostleship of example, then, is united that 
 of prayer and of desire. 
 
 First. — That our encouragement and example may 
 be effective, we must pray. Prayer, indeed, is the 
 means appointed by God to obtain graces through 
 which we can do all, but without which we are power- 
 less. 
 
 Secondly. — Although your children may leave the 
 home of their youth, and, bidding you farewell, go to 
 a strange and distant land, there still remains one 
 means of assisting them, and that is, prayer. Father 
 — Mother — Sister — Brother — Friend! pray for the 
 eternal welfare of those dear to you ; pray for the sal- 
 vation of the whole world. It was revealed by our 
 Lord to St Catherine of Sienna, that, as a recom- 
 pense for her zealous prayer. He had granted the 
 
THIRD SERMON. 4OI 
 
 grace of conversion to many thousands, and that her 
 never-ceasing petitions had obtained their persever- 
 ance until the end. 
 
 In conclusion, beloved in Christ, there remains still 
 another apostleship in which all can participate, — that 
 of desire. If the desire be sincere, it possesses as much 
 value before God as the act itself. It was the ardent 
 wish of St. Francis Xavier to effect the conversion of 
 China and Asia, to destroy the Greek schism, and to 
 reconcile Protestant Germany with the Church; and 
 then, returning to Rome, to embrace Ignatius, his spirit- 
 ual father, and to receive his blessing. With these 
 wishes burning in his heart, the saint yielded up his pure 
 spirit into the embrace of Christ, and hastened to his 
 eternal reward. God knows these desires, and accepts 
 them for the glorious fulfillment. 
 
 These are the ways and means by which you can, 
 each and every one, become Apostles of Christ on 
 earth, that you may have a never-ending claim to that 
 glory of which we read in the Prophet Daniel (xii, 5) 
 which is awarded to those who instruct others to justice : 
 ''They will one day shine as stars in an endless eter- 
 nity." — Amen! 
 
FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON, 
 
 ** For God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son, that who- 
 soever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting." — St. 
 John iii, 1 6. 
 
 THE holy season of Whitsun-tide recalls to the mind 
 the establishment of the Church, and the manner 
 and form in which God provided that, through the in- 
 finite merits of Jesus Christ, means should be bestowed 
 on all men for their redemption and sanctihcation. 
 
 " For God so loved the world as to give His only-be- 
 gotten Son for it." These are the words of the holy 
 Evangelist, St. John. After the consummation of the 
 work of Redemption, it is true that Jesus left this 
 world, when He ascended into heaven to enter His 
 eternal glory ; but He established on earth that king- 
 dom of God, His Church, to which He committed the 
 word of revelation, as He had announced it when on 
 earth, and, at the same time, also, the sources of sal- 
 vation, through which graces should be bestowed up- 
 on all men, to enable them to live in accordance with 
 the precepts, obligations, and principles of holy faith. 
 
 Since, then, this His One only true and divine Church, 
 has exclusively possessed and preserved these treasures 
 
 of %ith, Christ has placed her, as it were, on a lofty 
 
 (402: 
 
FIRST SERMON. 4O3 
 
 mount, whence she can be clearly discerned by all who 
 are of good will ; and has endowed her with qualities 
 called marks, which belong and are peculiar to her alone. 
 Let us, my brethren, glafice to-day at these four marks, 
 that amid the darkness of understanding and obscurity 
 of spirit which are, alas ! prevalent, we may behold the 
 one true Church — the Bride of Christ, our Mother — 
 shine forth brilliant and beautiful, and with a luster 
 which can not be dimmed. 
 
 Mary, protectress of the Holy Church established 
 by Christ, obtain for us, we beseech thee, that faith 
 which will enable us not only courageously to confess 
 our religion, but to live according to its dictates ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Were I to request almost any Catholic child to enu- 
 merate the four marks of the Church, I should meet 
 with a ready answer; and yet I find it of the utmost 
 importance to make them the subject of a special dis- 
 course. 
 
 First. — Because it frequently happens that what 
 is learned in early life is forgotten or neglected amid 
 the cares of later years. 
 
 Secondly. — If there is an earnest desire to attain a 
 more perfect knowledge of the arguments upon which 
 some truths are based, the understanding being more 
 developed as our years advance, we can understand 
 and appreciate them better than we could in youth. 
 
404 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 Thirdly. — We live in a time when it becomes par- 
 ticularly necessary to arouse the Catholic spirit, and 
 enliven the faith which may have grown languid or 
 cold. This is especially the case in America, and also 
 in Germany, where there is such constant intercourse 
 between those of a different faith, where Catholics and 
 Protestants so often mingle together. ^ 
 
 How often we hear the expression: "We are all 
 Christians, and believe in the same God; so the dif- 
 ference between Catholics and Protestants is but tri- 
 fling — the former choose one path to church, the latter 
 another." 
 
 Thus, indifference in matters of faith creeps in; and 
 those whose religious instruction has been defective, 
 or, if thorough, has been forgotten in the rush of tem- 
 poral cares, are in the most imminent danger of losing 
 their faith. • - 
 
 But far different is the aspect when, fully awake to 
 the glory and beauty of his grand old faith, the Catho- 
 lic Christian is able to prove that, between it and the 
 various Protestant sects, not a grain of resemblance 
 exists. They are as different as day and night, false- 
 hood and truth, life and death. And why? Because 
 God is essentially truth ; and all churches or sects which 
 deviate from truth even on one single point, differ- 
 ing from what has been revealed by God in the slight- 
 est degree, can never be the Church of which He de- 
 clared: "■ He that will not hear the Church, let him be 
 to thee as the heathen and publican;" and, ''He 
 that believeth not will be condemned." 
 
FIRST SERMON. 405 
 
 Those who unfortunately have been born in a heret- 
 ical belief, and who console themselves by the thought 
 that, as they believe in Christ, and lead lives which can 
 not be censured, they are sure of salvation, can not be 
 too often reminded that to believe in Christ is not suffi- 
 cient ; that whosoever cares for the salvation of his soul 
 must practise what Christ has enjoined as the Church 
 expounds it. 
 
 To make use of a simple and plain example, when 
 there is question of the preservation of life, it is fool- 
 ish to say that, because the hands or feet are sound, 
 there is no danger of death. One wound in the heart, 
 and life is extinct. It is the same with willful errors in 
 faith; for St. James says: '' Whoever offends in one 
 point is guilty of all ; " because, for each article of faith 
 we have the same infallible authority of God as for all 
 One willful error in matters of faith maybe compared 
 to that deadly aim which, so to speak, sends the bullet 
 through the heart of the soul, destroying therein the life 
 of grace, and rendering it hideous in the sight of the 
 Lord. 
 
 How important it is, therefore, to know the true 
 Church of Christ, and to believe all that she presents 
 for our belief. 
 
 After these preliminary observations, let us now 
 glance, in order, at each separate mark of the Church, 
 to prove that the numerous sects by which we are 
 surrounded, especially the Protestant, can lay no claim 
 to one among them. . 
 
 The first mark of the Catholic Church is Unity. She 
 
406 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 is one: " Father, I pray Thee, let them be one." " One 
 faith, one Lord, one baptism, one body, and one mind." 
 These are the words of St. Paul to the faithful. One, 
 is the Catholic Church, our Mother. She is one in her 
 Founder, Jesus Christ ; one in the doctrine she teaches, 
 and one in her children banded together by one and the 
 same faith. She is one in her means of salvation ; one in 
 her Head, who is the direct successor of the prince of 
 the Apostles, the glorious St. Peter. 
 
 Far different is it with the Sects. They have not 
 been established by Christ ; they can only trace their 
 origin to the vagaries of men, and possess not the char- 
 acteristics of unity, for each of their members can take 
 the Bible and find in its pages authority to believe as 
 he will. They have no spiritual ruler. Take England, 
 for example, where the Sovereign is the head of the 
 Church. Even if a Queen is on the throne, she still 
 claims the privilege of swaying the destinies of the 
 nation In regard to religion. 
 
 Christ our Lord wished for a Hofy Church, there- 
 fore He prayed: '' Sane tijy them in truth;" and called 
 out to His faithful children : '' Be ye perfect, as your 
 Father in heaven is perfect." St. Peter exclaims: 
 '' Christ offered Himself for His Church, that He 
 might sanctify her; " and has not the Offering brought 
 forth the richest fruit? 
 
 Holy is our Mother, the Catholic Church. Her 
 Founder is Christ, the Holiest of the Holy. She is 
 holy in her doctrine ; holy in the means she so lav- 
 ishly provides to gain salvation for the souls of her 
 
FIRST SERMON. 407 
 
 children; holy in her members, for she can boast of 
 the nine angelic choirs as among them, and claim vast 
 numbers of canonized saints in her ranks. She can 
 joyfully point to the ever-blessed and Immaculate 
 Virgin and Mother, claiming all as belonging to the 
 communion of saints in Heaven and on earth. 
 
 It is not so with the Sects ; for the pages of history 
 unmistakably prove that their founders, in many in- 
 stances, were dissolute men, addicted to passions the 
 most vile, breaking their vows, and living unblushingly 
 in open adultery. Witness Luther and Henry VIII., 
 who stand before the world as the basest of men, their 
 memories branded with the stigma of crime, the relig- 
 ions they founded born of pride and lust. 
 
 The various sects teach error as if it were truth; 
 and possess not the means of sanctification, which 
 Christ deposited in His Church. Search the history 
 of their rise and progress, and you will find no record 
 of a patron saint. Nay more, when, either with or 
 without some pretense of a ceremony of baptism, they 
 would christen a child, the name selected must come 
 from the long list of Catholic Saints, unless indeed they 
 search the Old Testament for the name of a Jew, or 
 prefer the surname of some political hero. 
 
 Christ our Lord wished His Church to be universal y 
 and to become the Church of all nations, as appears 
 from the command to His Apostles to **go forth and 
 preach the Gospel to all nations, teaching them to 
 observe whatsoever He had commanded them, and 
 promising that He would remain with them forever.*' 
 
408 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 Yes, truly the Catholic Church, our Mother, is uni- 
 versal; for, from the days of the Apostles she dates 
 her establishment ; and, in the Creed, they have given 
 her the title 'of "■ Catholic," which means M7iiversaL She 
 is the Mother Church, who of heathens made such fer- 
 vent Christians that they preferred to give up life itself 
 rather than yield an atom of their allegiance to her. 
 She alone possesses in herself \h^ principle of univer- 
 sality, because she alone is governed by one head, 
 whose authority is recognized by all ; for all know 
 that he is divinely commissioned to rule, and that he 
 is an unerring guide in matters of faith. 
 
 Without this infallible power to teach and decide, 
 without this unquestionable right to rule, received from 
 Christ Himself by the sovereign Pontiff, it would be im- 
 possible to secure such an absolute unity in matters of 
 faith as now exists among so many millions of souls. 
 
 In this regard. Protestantism presents the greatest 
 contrast; for, the various sects exist not from the be- 
 ginning, but date back only to the brief period of 
 three hundred years; and what Tertullian asserted 
 seventeen centuries ago of the heretics of his day : 
 '' They can make perverts, but not converts," is equally 
 applicable to the sects of to-day. And even if they 
 succeed in increasing their ranks by means of some 
 misguided beings, who, for pecuniary or other tempo- 
 ral considerations have proved false to their faith, 
 they never can constitute a Church, because each of 
 its members would claim the right to believe for him- 
 self. They are not faithful to Christ, but to self. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 4O9 
 
 Let me illustrate this by a homely comparison, and 
 say: Suppose that one hundred thousand heads of 
 cabbage were placed one above another, by no possi- 
 ble conception of fancy could they be transformed into" 
 one head; and in the same way it would be impossi- 
 ble, where there is no unity in matters of faith, and 
 no uniformity in the guidance of the Church, whose 
 fallibility is admitted without a doubt, to maintain that 
 that Church is one. 
 
 Finally, Christ our Lord wished His Church to be 
 apostolical, hence His words to St. Peter: "Thou art 
 Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." 
 To guide her children through the desert of life, and 
 lead them happily to the promised land, she can point 
 to the successors of the Apostles, her bishops and 
 priests, and, above all, to him who presides over her 
 destiny on earth, the Pope. Hence the emphatic dec- 
 laration of St. Ambrose: ''Where Peter is, there is 
 the Church." 
 
 Where, my dear brethren, can this mark be found 
 in any of the sects? We can most emphatically reply: 
 In none. This should be to all, as clear as the noon- 
 day sun, a proof that not one of them is, or can ever 
 hope to be, the one true Church, which has existed 
 for over eighteen hundred years without spot Qr blem- 
 ish — pure, holy, immaculate — as when our Lord Jesus 
 Christ first chose her to be His spouse. Not one 
 of those sects, which have all originated, if not in 
 passion or crime, at least in. the wild fancy of some 
 fevered brain, even pretends to reach back to the days 
 
4IO FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 of Peter and the Apostles ; therefore, " Peter is not 
 with them." 
 
 Then, beloved in Christ, let us send forth most fer- 
 vent prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God, Who 
 has so mercifully called us to be children of this Holy 
 Church ; and, when we have occasion to speak of re- 
 ligion with our separated friends, let us draw their 
 attention to her four marks — Unity, Sanctity, Catho- 
 licity, and Apostolicity. Then, if they, with sincere 
 desire to discover the truth, go earnestly to work, the 
 Holy Ghost will enlighten them until, recognizing the 
 Catholic Church as the only true one, they will enter 
 her fold: and, living as her faithful members, will, 
 at the hour of death, be called to enjoy the reward 
 of their courage and fidelity by her divine and holy 
 Founder, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 4I I 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 «*And there appeared to them parted tongvies as it were of fire." — Acts ii, 3. 
 
 IT is most fitting, beloved in Christ, that the great 
 work of the Redemption, the greatest visible work 
 of God, should be divided among the three divine 
 persons of the Blessed Trinity, each one bearing a 
 part in some special manner, yet in such a way that 
 the honor and glory which beam therefrom should 
 revert wholly to the One only triune God, of one es- 
 sence and nature, eternal — existing from all eternity. 
 
 God the Father sent His only-begotten Son into 
 this world ; God the Son assumed our human nature, 
 and completed the work of redemption ; while to God 
 the Holy Ghost was left the glory of imparting to 
 man the merits thereof, inspiring him with the desire 
 to propagate, and endowing him with ability to gov- 
 ern the new-born Church. 
 
 It was God the Son, the WORD, Who became 
 man for us. The Word is, therefore, the means ap- 
 pointed by the most blessed Trinity to diffuse the 
 holy faith over the universe ; and upon the feast oi 
 Pentecost, as the day which witnessed the establish- 
 ment of the Church, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of 
 truth, descended in the form of tongues of fire. 
 
 Thus, in the divine economy, it was arranged that 
 
 the diffusion of faith should be world wide ; not, so to 
 
 speak, through the intervention of divine Providence, 
 
 but by the co-operation of man among men, that, in 
 27 
 
412 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 one point of view success might be effected, in spite 
 of all opposition, by frail and helpless man, that the 
 divinity of the Church might be more apparent, and 
 that those who earnestly strive to propagate the faith 
 might increase their merits a hundred-fold. 
 
 The communications of the Holy Ghost should, 
 therefore, be accomplished through the word of man 
 to his fellow-man, a proof of which may be found in 
 the words of St. Paul: '' But how can one believe if 
 no one preach? and how will one preach ifvio one is 
 sent?" The tongues were at once cloven and fiery; 
 and herein is to be found an admonition of the deep- 
 est importance. 
 
 Let us, therefore, to-day consider the signification 
 of ''the cloven tongues as it zvere of fire ^ under 
 which symbol God the Holy Ghost entered the hearts 
 of the Apostles and disciples on the feast of Pentecost, 
 
 Mary, Mother of fair love, obtain for us a readi- 
 ness to receive the Holy Ghost with all His divine 
 inspirations ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God ! 
 
 *' Going therefore, teach ye all nations, and behold 
 I am with you all days, even to the consummation of 
 the world." Thus runs the commission of Christ to 
 His Apostles ; and that it might be done in a fitting 
 manner, they were not to go forth on their mission at 
 
SECOND SERMON. 413 
 
 once, but were to wait for the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost, who, indeed, appeared ''and sat upon every 
 one of them." 
 
 And could the Holy Ghost have chosen a more 
 appropriate symbol of Himself to indicate His mission 
 through the Father and the Son? It is the tongue 
 which gives utterance to the word, and takes it to the 
 farthest limits of the earth. Thus it was the zeal of 
 St. Raymond Nonnatus that carried the tidings of 
 salvation to the Turks, undaunted by the threats of 
 those unbelievers, who would fain have sealed his 
 lips. The barbarous punishment which they chose to 
 inflict upon him, was to thrust a sharp instrument 
 through those holy lips, and suspend a lock from 
 them. 
 
 The fiery tongues which flamed above the heads of 
 the Apostles, therefore, symbolized the preaching of 
 the word as enunciated by those tongues through 
 which God was to send over the world light, strength, 
 and consolation for the salvation of the fallen human 
 race. And the word of God, as spoken by Apostolic 
 lips, has met with most glorious success, and brought 
 forth fruit a thousand fold. When those tongues ap- 
 peared at Jerusalem, the entire world, in matters of 
 faith, was shrouded in the most intense and impen- 
 etrable darkness. Over the holy land, indeed, hov- 
 ered the twilight of revelation, but the pagan world 
 remained groping in an utterly rayless night of gloom. 
 But, lo! scarce had the Holy Spirit, represented by 
 fiery tongues, rested above the heads of the Apostles, 
 
414 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 when St. Peter opened his lips with an inspired elo- 
 quence, which none could resist, and expounded the 
 truths of the new-born Church. Thousands responded 
 to the call of grace, and believed ; and behold, before 
 the lapse of a few short years, the faith had spread 
 over the whole universe to its uttermost limits. Its 
 brilliant light flashed across the darkened world, and 
 the path to salvation became clear. O happy Chris- 
 tians, who listened to those inspired men! The un- 
 derstanding of man was illumined so that he knew 
 whence he came and why he had been created by 
 God^ Not only was the origin of evil made clear to 
 him, but also the knowledge of how to combat it. 
 Ht realized the value of the means of salvation, and 
 felt strengthened to live and to die in the service of 
 God. . 
 
 Yet the word is not intended only to ^eac/i, but also 
 to console; and since the spirit of man has been illu- 
 mined by faith, he should learn the value of suffer- 
 ings. By accepting them with joy, for the love of 
 Christ, they can be changed into an endless source of 
 merit, and the thorns which twine around His cross 
 transformed to most lovely and fragrant flowers. 
 Since Christ has redeemed the world by sufferings, 
 the most intense that can be imagined, they should 
 be the greatest consolation for the Christian who, 
 filled with the consciousness of faith, may well ex- 
 claim, with St. Paul: ''God forbid that I should glory, 
 save in the cross of Christ." 
 
 The tongues which rested upon the heads of the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 415 
 
 favored missionaries were at the same time divided, 
 or cloven. Tongues of encouragement it is true, but 
 also of warning and threatening for all who loudly 
 profess the faith, but who, when the question turns upon 
 living in accordance with its divine commands, are 
 careless and cold. 
 
 In proof of this we need only read the epistles, 
 written at different times, by the Apostles, to the 
 faithful, wherein they not only instruct, but encour- 
 age, warn, reprehend, and, when necessary, inflict 
 the penalty which they deemed proper. The long 
 and unbroken line of the successors of the same 
 Apostles, in their holy office, have invariably adopted 
 a similar course. And who, indeed, could tell us, be- 
 loved brethren, how many words have, in the hours, 
 and days, and months, and years, that go to make 
 up the long course of nineteen centuries, been uttered 
 by those Apostolic tongues? They have announced 
 the Gospel to the heathen ; to the Christian they 
 have imparted encouragement, amid the struggles of 
 life ; to all faithful children of the Church they have 
 made known the holy will of God, pointed out the 
 path to Paradise, and the way of eternal bliss. ' 
 
 Every word uttered by preachers, missionaries, 
 and confessors, with a view to effecting some spirit- 
 ual good, is typified by the fiery cloven tongues ; but, 
 above all, we have cause to congratulate ourselves 
 upon the admirable work, in this regard, of the suc- 
 cessors of the prince of Apostles, St. Peter. By 
 their allocutions, bulls, documents, and deeisions, they 
 
4l6 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 have pointed out to all nations, with unerring decis- 
 ion, the way of truth and salvation. 
 
 In some cases the tongue has even been glorified 
 by miracles ; witness that of St. Anthony and St. John 
 Nepomucene. The tongues of these great servants 
 of God were preserved from corruption, for their 
 glory, through and in the glory of the Most 
 High. 
 
 The tongue has been chosen by God as the means 
 of propagating His kingdom on earth. Those which 
 rested upon the heads of 'the Apostles were cloven, 
 and at the same time, as Holy Writ tells us, "of fire," 
 being emblematic of the love for God which burned 
 in their fervent hearts. Had not this love so ardently 
 glowed in the breasts of the Apostles and their suc- 
 cessors, they would never have taken upon them- 
 selves the labors, hardships, sacrifices, and sufferings 
 which their vocation required of them ; and, in regard 
 to the convincing power which the divine word as- 
 sumed upon their lips, it was that divine fire which 
 caused and impelled so many who heard them to em- 
 brace the true faith. 
 
 The unction of holy love imparts the plenitude 
 and fervor of consolation to the divine word. Thus, 
 when the preacher — from the days of old until the 
 present time — may have been obliged to raise his 
 voice against sinners, and threaten them with the 
 thunders of the wrath of God, the warning, tempered 
 as it is by love, causes not the hearers to despair, 
 but inspires them with the hope of forgiveness. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 417 
 
 This ardent love filled the Apostles with the spirit 
 of endurance and patience, so that they were strength- 
 ened to go on until their glorious undertaking had 
 reached a happy completion. 
 
 Had this love been wanting, the words of St. Paul 
 would have been verified: '*If I speak with the 
 tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, 
 I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.'* 
 If this be true of the word which is preached and 
 spoken, it is no less true of that which is written and 
 printed, for it is the same which is promulgated 
 among the children of men. Let us, therefore, make 
 use of both ways to communicate to our fellow crea- 
 tures the truths of fiith, particularly in our own day, 
 when the divine wisdom has been pleased to place 
 in our hands the means by which the influence of 
 the word is so immeasurably increased. I refer to the 
 Apostleship of the Press. We do not, like the Apos- 
 tles, possess the gift of tongues, but by means of the 
 press this grace is fully supplied ; and it would be 
 difficult to say whether the word of salvation has 
 been rt^ore widely spread by that wonderful gift 
 which enabled thousands of different nationalities to 
 understand what St. Peter preached, or by the press, 
 which empowers us, by diversifying the spoken and 
 translating the written word, to preach to all nations 
 at once. It enables the missionary to preach in re- 
 gions where he has never been, and still to preach 
 when the tongue which uttered the words, or the 
 hand which transcribed them, lies powerless and 
 
41 8 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 Still, and when the soul from whence they came has 
 gone to its eternal home. 
 
 Therefore, if the royal psalmist exclaims: **I have 
 believed, therefore I have spoken," we dare and can 
 say, with still more consolation, ''I have believed, 
 therefore I have preached and written." 
 
 In this manner, my dear brethren, will the promise 
 made to us by the Lord, through His prophet 
 Daniel, be fulfilled in us in the most perfect meas- 
 ure: ''They who instruct others to justice shall shine 
 as stars through all eternity." — Amen. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 419 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "And they began to speak." — Aets ii, 4. 
 
 OF the word of God as preached by the Apostles, 
 by which the Church was propagated on earth 
 after the Ascension of Christ, St. Paul testifies that it 
 extended to the farthest limits. Beyond a doubt, the 
 Apostles literally fulfilled the divine commission : '* Go- 
 ing, therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost ; teaching them to observe all that I have com- 
 manded you." 
 
 Had mankind universally accepted the preaching 
 of the Apostles, their mission, united with the power 
 of miracles, which accompanied the apostolic word, 
 would have been sufficient to illuminate, during every 
 age of the world's existence, the whole human race in 
 things of salvation, and to lead all men to the way of 
 truth, until they would safely rest in the embrace of 
 their Mother the Holy Church. But, alas! although 
 thousands were converted by those sermons, the Apos- 
 tles still met with opposition and resistance in the very 
 beginning ; for the evening shadows of the feast, which 
 had been so gloriously ushered in, found St. Peter and 
 St. John already in prison, and the prohibition of the 
 authorities was made known to them : no longer were 
 they to preach in the name of Jesus, Whose commands 
 they must cease to obey. 
 
 But the prince of the Apostles, and his zealous band 
 
420 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 of colaborers, enriched with the sevenfold gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, were restrained neither by threats nor 
 chastisements from doing their duty. Hell, robbed of 
 so many souls long regarded by Satan as his prey, 
 was quick to place every impediment in their way; 
 but they surmounted them all. 
 
 A7id what, beloved in Christ, was and is still the 
 most pernicious and successful means employed by dia- 
 bolical art to render fruitless the work of the Word and 
 promote the destruction of the kingdom of good by the 
 powers of darkness ? I say it is the abuse of the tongue, 
 
 Mary, who, by crushing the serpent's head, didst 
 vanquish hell, obtain for us grace to conquer the ene- 
 mies of the Church with the victorious power of the 
 divine Word. 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 honor and glory of God. 
 
 What a fearful weapon the tongue can be in the 
 power of wicked men ! Lucifer makes use of it to at- 
 tack the kingdom of God on earth, as he employed it 
 to work the ruin of our first parents in the garden of 
 Eden, and therewith the woe of their hapless posterity. 
 It was the enticing promises, made by the wily tongue 
 of the serpent to Eve, which caused her to fall. It Is 
 by the word of seduction that he would fain, If that 
 could be possible, render fruitless the work of the Re- 
 demption of man. 
 
 Christ, the Word of God made man, entered into 
 
THIRD SERMON. 421 
 
 this world; but as soon as Mary presented Him in 
 the temple, Simeon, inspired by God, lifted up his 
 voice and declared that the divine Child should be 
 placed as a sign for the ruin and salvation of many. 
 Even as, on the one hand, it is by the Woj^d, as enunci- 
 ated by the ministers of God by which the tidings of 
 revelation are to reach the human race, that men may 
 become illuminated by faith, become -children of the 
 Church, and serve its divine Founder, until rewarded 
 by eternal happiness : — so, on the other, there is a word 
 which is employed in the service of Lucifer as a means 
 not only to destroy or prevent as much as possible the 
 effects of the divine Word, but to spread or promote 
 the kingdom of evil. 
 
 The Gospel, the Epistles, and the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles themselves give testimony of this, together with the 
 entire history of the Church until to-day. The symbol 
 of the sanctified tongues of fire is not only the sym- 
 bol of the Holy Spirit, but also of His evil adversary. 
 
 As those burning tongues were emblematic of the 
 ardor of divine love, so is the fire, which glows in lurid 
 light upon the tongues of the damned, a sign of hatred 
 to God and His kingdom. These diabolical tongues 
 vent their wickedness in various ways. 
 
 First, there is the lying tongue, the tongue of cal- 
 umny, which can be found in every part of the world. 
 
 Even as Christ promised and sent the Holy Ghost, 
 the Spirit of truth, that the Apostles and disciples 
 might imbibe all truth, so the tongue which, under 
 the influence of the devil, wages perpetual war against 
 
422 FEAST OF WHIT- MONDAY. 
 
 the kingdom of truth, is the tongue which propagates 
 lies. Holy Scripture calls the devil a liar from the be- 
 ginning — "the father of lies." 
 
 Man, made according to the image of God, longs 
 for truth. God is truth. This desire is so great that 
 man often mistakes falsehood for truth, but only so far 
 as it has the appearance of that quality; and hence 
 the efforts of the emissaries of hell to deform and dis- 
 tort the sense of the divine Word, as they did even in 
 the days of Christ, for we read: "They went forth to 
 ensnare Him in His speech." They distorted the mean- 
 ing of His doctrine, to calumniate Him ; and akhough 
 Christ solemnly declared that He came not to destroy 
 but to fulfill the law, they asserted before the people 
 that He was an enemy of Moses and of the Law. 
 
 And although He enjoined them " to render to 
 Caesar the things that are Caesar's," they asserted 
 that He promulgated sedition against him. 
 
 The fire which glowed on their tongues was the 
 flame of hatred toward Christ and His kingdom. For, 
 although the Saviour demonstrated to tl;iem His ad- 
 vent from the writings of the Prophets themselves, 
 performed miracles, even raised the dead to life, yet 
 they stretched forth their tongues against Him to cry 
 out: "Crucify Him! crucify Him!" 
 
 Three millions of tongues were then stretched forth 
 against Christ, inflamed with the hatred and envy of 
 hell ! And who would be able to compute the mill- 
 ions and millions which, in the course of nineteen 
 hundred years, have wagged their heads against Him, 
 
THIRD SERMON. 423 
 
 not in Jerusalem alone, but over the whole world? 
 The Jews, dispersed over the earth, manifested con- 
 stant opposition to the Gospel, as we learn from the 
 Acts of the Apostles, on almost every page. The 
 Jews of Rome, indeed, did not pretend to deny the 
 fact; but said, to the very face of St. Paul: ''We 
 know, in regard to that sect called Christian, that it is 
 every-where contradicted." This opposition of the 
 Jews was very soon followed by that of the heathens; 
 and in what point was Satan most solicitous among 
 them ? I answer : In distorting and giving a false mean- 
 ing to the doctrines of Christianity, that he might ren- 
 der the Gospel hateful to men. 
 
 How often, too, nowadays, in China and Japan, 
 does not the distortion of the doctrine of the Real 
 Presence, — that Christ is truly present in the Most 
 Holy Sacrament of the Altar, — serve as a means to 
 calumniate the Church when its members are accused 
 of eating human flesh, and slaughtering innocent chil- 
 dren for the purpose ? And if we think, further, of the 
 venom of heretical tongues, are not almost all the 
 articles of faith which Protestants generally attack 
 distorted by them, and the tales they promulgate of 
 us mere inventions ? And this, notwithstanding the 
 fact that hundreds and hundreds of learned men, dur- 
 ing three centuries, have told them over and again the 
 real truth. 
 
 And yet the tongues of those blatant ministers of 
 the Protestant sects remain arrayed against Christ and 
 His Church ! They continue to utter their vile calum- 
 
424 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 nies. Yet, if infidels and heretics would, with imparti- 
 ality, tell what they know of our faith, few indeed 
 would obey the voice of the tempter which poisons 
 their minds. What fills men with disgust toward the 
 Church and her ministers are those lying tongues, 
 which disfigure the reality, the aim, and the end. 
 
 If this be true of the spoken word, it is no less 
 so of the far more pernicious influence of the press, 
 which changes the word into just so many tongues as 
 there are words in the volumes, to furnish the poison 
 of lies to the world. 
 
 O God, how many myriads of flaming tongues do 
 we not find therein stretched forth against Thee and 
 Thy Holy Church impregnated with the blackest of 
 hate! And if this be true of the Church in general, it 
 is no less so with regard to the kingdom of God in 
 the hearts of her children. How many tongues move 
 daily to weaken the religious convictions of youth, and 
 to ruin their principles of morality ! They not only 
 ridicule those who lead good and pious lives, but they 
 try to loosen the bonds of fraternal union which should 
 unite men together. 
 
 To these belong the tongues of slanderers, de- 
 tractors, and tale-beai^ers ; also those who give utter- 
 ance to that vain boasting which grows more and more 
 common, and those who wag in rude contradiction, 
 in quarrels, and in disrespect to the Divine Name. 
 
 Further, the tongues of those whose seductive words 
 lead others to commit mortal sin, especially the vice of 
 impurity. What, indeed, is more common than the prac- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 425 
 
 tice of sinful conversation, which can not be too severely 
 censured, of which the seducer makes use to corrupt 
 his victim ? 
 
 In addition to the above, a great many sins are com- 
 mitted by an inordinate love of talk, and by unneces- 
 sary visits and amusements. It is the tongue which, in 
 all these instances, does Satan most service when he 
 sets forth to destroy the kingdom of good in the hearts 
 of mankind, and in its place to establish the rule of 
 infidelity or indifference in matters of faith. Who can 
 not see, at first glance, that it is the tongue of which 
 Satan makes most use to spread the kingdom of evil — 
 to disturb the dominion of God ? Is it not astonishing 
 to reflect with what success hell always makes use of 
 the word in its diabolical efforts ? By spreading false 
 maxims of life, Satan poisons the judgment of public 
 opinion, and knows how to give wrong the appearance 
 of right. Those who would work the moral ruin of 
 man are made to appear as the friends of humanity, 
 while the world calls ignorance in matters of faith and 
 neglect of the duties of religion, enlightenment and 
 culture. It tries, by every means, to gain youth by 
 giving them false views of life, and filling them with 
 hatred against the Church and her priests. 
 
 And then, have not the emissaries of hell the daily 
 press under their control ? . Pamphlets are constantly 
 being scattered among men to prove that science has 
 taken the place of religion, and that bitter is the con- 
 flict now raging between them. 
 
 And if, beloved in Christ, this is done with an outlay 
 
426 FEAST OF WHIT-MONDAY. 
 
 of SO much money and zeal on the part of the an- 
 tagonists of the Church through vanity and malice, 
 should not the children of the Church emulate these 
 evil exertions in an opposite direction, and do all in 
 their power to disseminate good books over the world ? 
 We should also take care that we, ourselves, are thor- 
 oughly instructed in matters of faith, and then take 
 every opportunity to aid in enlightening others. 
 
 We should support the Catholic press, and distrib- 
 ute books and pamphlets to counteract, as much as 
 possible, the effects of those sent forth by the apostles 
 of hell. 
 
 Let us act In this manner, and the kingdom of God 
 will increase in the world, and, with it, our merits, 
 through the constant imitation of the apostolic Chris- 
 tians — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 *'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — Matt, xxviii, 19. 
 
 THE beautiful chain of festivals commemorating the 
 mysteries of the redemption, linked together by 
 so many golden memories of fervor and piety, i^ fin- 
 ished ; but ere it is laid aside — not, indeed, as some 
 thing to be no longer cared for, but as a precious as- 
 surance of faith and hope and love — the Church adds 
 one more brilliant ornament to it, which is the Feast 
 of the Most Holy Trinity. This gives us to under- 
 stand that although every feast, properly speaking, is 
 celebrated only for the greater glorification, honor, and 
 adoration of the triune God, it is nevertheless most sal- 
 utary for the children of the Church to be, by an es- 
 pecial solemnity, reminded of the dogma of this incom- 
 prehensible mystery. 
 
 The celebration of this festival can not fail to inspire 
 us with more ardent sentiments of love and gratitude, 
 and a determination to pay undivided homage to each 
 of the three Divine Persons, since each one bore a part 
 
 in the redemption of man. 
 
 28 (427) 
 
428 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 God the Father sent His only-begotten Son Into 
 the world to save us; God the Son assumed human 
 nature and redeemed us, and God the Holy Ghost 
 bestowed upon us the precious fruits of redemption. 
 
 In reality we shall celebrate this feast only in heaven 
 — forever ! The commemoration to-day, however, or 
 as we may say, the vigil of the perpetual feast, will 
 exert a most beneficial influence upon our lives. 
 
 The veneration of the Most Blessed Trinity, in the 
 spirit of the ecclesiastical celebration of to-day , indicates 
 how we should begin, in some degree, to lead the life 
 of the blessed in heaven, ere yet we are called to leave 
 this vale of tears. 
 
 And this I will place before you for consideration 
 to-day. 
 
 Mary, daugliter of the eternal Father, Mother of 
 the Incarnate Son, and spouse of the Spirit of Truth, 
 help us to live so that the guardian angel of every 
 Christian present here will be permitted to direct to 
 Him the blessed words: **The Lord is with thee ! " 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor of God ! 
 
 ''Our conversation is in heaven,'* says the Apostle 
 of the Gentiles to us, from which arises the question : 
 '' But in what consists the essential life of the saints 
 in heaven ? " I answer : They are with God ; they be- 
 hold Him face to face ; adore, thank Him, and are 
 united with God ; the essential, infinite love and beat- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 429 
 
 itude, in a manner that they seem rather to be more 
 divine than created beings. 
 
 This is the state of the blessed, as we learn from 
 the Roman Catechism; and this in itself declares in 
 what our conversation must consist, that we, accord- 
 ing to the challenge of the Apostle, may, while still 
 on earth, live as if already in the realms of bliss. 
 
 We must enter, as it were, into the very spirit of 
 prayer, so that, after having communed with our God, 
 we may still remain always in His holy presence, and 
 view the world and its creatures, not merely with our 
 corporeal eyes, but in the light of faith ; offering not 
 only at the hour of prayer our acts of adoration, 
 thanksgiving, and love to God, but encouraging such 
 dispositions at every moment of our lives. This is the 
 state of prayer to which Christ refers when he enjoins 
 us to " pray always ; " that is, to pray so that we may 
 exclaim with the beloved in the Canticle of Canticles : 
 *'I sleep, but my heart watcheth." ''I remain united 
 with my God." That these may be, indeed, the affec- 
 tions of our hearts, it is of the utmost importance that 
 we henceforth think particularly, and often, of this 
 great mystery, and cherish a special devotion to it. 
 
 We read of a holy hermit who ascended daily an 
 elevated piece of ground, from the summit of which 
 he enjoyed a most exquisite view of the surrounding 
 landscape. A fertile plain lay at the base of the mount, 
 watered by a limpid stream, the windings of which, as 
 it occasionally peeped forth from the thick foliage 
 which shaded its banks, gave it the appearance of a 
 
430 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 broad and shining band of silver. Far beyond was 
 seen ''the deep blue sea," which seemed to blend with 
 the heavens it reflected in its depths. 
 
 Sometimes the hermit would postpone his visit until 
 the eventide, when the azure sky would be brilliant 
 and sparkling with stars — those radiant worlds of light 
 on which it is joy to gaze — or the fair queen of night 
 would remain suspended in space above the ocean, as 
 if entranced by the image she beheld therein. The 
 hermit would gaze around upon this wondrous beauty, 
 and prostrate himself in profound adoration, while, for 
 hours together, his prayer consisted of nothing but the 
 constant repetition of those words of praise : '' Glory 
 be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy 
 Ghost." And then he would extend his arms to 
 heaven, as if longing to soar to that loveliness of which 
 this fair earth is but .a faint type. 
 
 We may, perhaps, ask ourselves what sentiments 
 filled this hermit's heart when he thus prayed. Yet, 
 my dearest Christians, the question would be need- 
 less ; for our own hearts should tell us this. If, with a 
 lively faith we think upon the relation which the Three 
 Divine Persons bear to each other and to us, and how 
 in all the beauties of the earth and sea and sky we 
 should behold the might and majesty of the adorable 
 Trinity, — the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, — certainly 
 affections of adoration, thanksgivingy and love should 
 animate our prayers, and bear them on high to the 
 throne of God. They should replenish our souls with 
 love, and exercise such an influence upon our every 
 
FIRST SERMON. 43 I 
 
 act, that although still on earth we shall live as do the 
 saints in heaven. 
 
 It is by frequent meditation upon the Three Divine 
 Persons, and their infinite perfections, that this three- 
 fold disposition will spring up within us to strengthen 
 us, and render our lives faithful for the home beyond 
 the skies. 
 
 The thought of the eternal Father as the first prin- 
 ciple of the other two Divine Persons reminds us sol- 
 emnly of the perfection of the divine nature ; and, in- 
 deed, who could reflect upon the glorious attributes 
 of the triune God in His eternal existence, and in the 
 external relations of His perfections, without feelings 
 of the most profound admiration, praise, and adoration? 
 
 God, considered in Himself, has existed of Himself 
 from all eternity, as the infinitely perfect Being. In. 
 Him are Three Divine Persons, and yet, incomprehen- 
 sible mystery ! He is but one. How can man think of 
 this wonderful truth without sinking down before the 
 throne of God, to adore Him with all the celestial 
 hosts ? 
 
 This perfection also beams forth in the most diverse 
 relations exteriorly, as the infinite power, wisdom, sanc- 
 tity, justice, long-suffering, truth, majesty, fidelity, love, 
 beauty, and beatitude. Every contemplative soul who 
 becomes absorbed In the immensity of these perfec- 
 tions, as holy faith teaches us to believe them, will 
 fall at once into an abyss of heart-felt admiration, and 
 sigh forth: '' Lord, triune God — I adore Thee; I serve 
 but Thee!" 
 
432 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 The Christian who meditates upon the incarnate 
 Son, views with the eyes of faith, more especially the 
 wonders of the infinite goodness and mercy of God, 
 which are particularly glorified in the rescue of the 
 fallen human race, so strikingly indeed that each indi- 
 vidual soul has the right to appropriate whatever was 
 done for mankind. 
 
 These considerations will recall many gifts and 
 graces conferred upon us by the triune God, which 
 should merit our gratitude, and cause us to say with 
 holy David: "What shall I render to the Lord for all 
 He hath done for me?" and also for His glorious 
 promises for all eternity. I am a human soul created 
 by Thee, O Lord, and for Thee. I am Thy own image. 
 Oh, what a favor ! Once I was nothing, and Thou gav- 
 est unto me a most glorious existence ; more glorious 
 than the firmament all brilliantly spangled with stars; 
 more glorious than the whole exterior world in all its 
 grandeur and magnificence; more glorious than the 
 heavens themselves which so majestically arch above 
 the skies. How I thank Thee, O God ! 
 
 I behold in the heavens, indeed, myriads of Angels 
 to whom Thou hast also given a most glorious des- 
 tiny. Through the fall of Adam, Thy image was de- 
 stroyed in my soul, and I was excluded from heaven ; 
 but Thou didst become man for me, and my nature 
 became exalted above the Angels. I am permitted to 
 call Thee my Brother, — I am a child of the Church 
 with the most abundant means of grace at my com- 
 mand, and with every breath I draw can increase my 
 
FIRST SERMON. 433 
 
 merits for heaven. Oh, what indeed can I render to 
 the Lord for all He has done for me ? What else but 
 a grateful heart? Holy David says: "In my medita- 
 tion a fire enkindled itself; " and again : *' When Thou 
 hast enlarged my heart did I run in the way of Thy 
 precepts." 
 
 Now, if the only thought of the glory of the nature of 
 God and the graces received from Him fills the heart 
 with affections of love towards Him it is in a special 
 manner the work of the Holy Ghost to bestow on every 
 soul that remains intimately united with God in prayer, 
 the foretaste of those delights which will one day con- 
 stitute our eternal bliss. The lives of the saints 
 exemplify this, and prove how great were the spirit- 
 ual joys which they tasted on earth by constant inter- 
 course with God. 
 
 Although every soul is not called to be filled with 
 such gifts of the love of the Holy Ghost, yet their ef- 
 fects will not fail for any one who, opening his heart 
 to the inspirations of that divine Spirit, will strive to 
 walk in the way of perfection. 
 
 By contemplating the mystery of the Most Holy 
 Trinity, he can acquire that disposition to which the 
 promise of Christ refers : '' The Father and I will come 
 to him to take up our abode with him, in order to 
 unite him with us once forever through the divine 
 Spirit in the bond of beatifying love." 
 
 May every soul thus become intimately united with 
 God — the triune Deity — forever. — Amen! 
 
434 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "For there are three that give testimony: the Father, the Word, and the 
 Holy Ghost; and these three are One." — i St. John v, 7. 
 
 THE Church commemorates to-day, as every well- 
 instructed Christian is fully aware, that mystery 
 of faith which inculcates the belief in the most blessed 
 Trinity, or three Divine Persons in one God. This 
 article of faith teaches us that there is but one God 
 and one divine nature, the essential self-existent, 
 eternal, and infinite perfection, the Creator of all 
 things. 
 
 However, in this one divine nature and essence, we 
 discern three different substantial relations, which we 
 call persons : the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost. Of these, the Father is the principal. From 
 the Father the Son proceeds, through knowledge ; the 
 Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son at 
 the same time, as the Spirit of love, which flows from 
 the knowledge of the Father in the Son, and that of 
 the Son in the Father, from all eternity, and beatifies 
 in an infinite degree, the plenitude of the Divinity. 
 
 It is our duty, as rational creatures, to fulfill the 
 will of God in the most perfect manner, and to find 
 our highest aim, our greatest delight and happiness, 
 In the contemplation of his adorable perfections. And 
 that we may lead such a life in the service of God, we 
 must assiduously practise the three divine virtues: 
 faith, hope, and charity, to which St. Paul refers when 
 
SECOND SERMON. 435 
 
 he says: "Now there remain faith, hope, and char- 
 ity;" of which we may say: ''And these three are 
 one." 
 
 Let us consider to-day in what relation these three 
 divine virtues stand to the three divine persons of the 
 Trinity, and how they^ with united strength ^ exert a 
 sanctifying influence upon our lives. 
 
 Mary, Mother of knowledge, of holy hope, and 
 of fair love, who didst possess a most perfect faith, 
 hope, and love, pray for us, that we may become 
 strengthened in these three divine virtues ; at every 
 breath we draw, and through our lives, give God 
 honor arid glory. ' 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus for the 
 greater glory of God. 
 
 " Whosoever approaches God, must believe," as the 
 Apostle assures us. And in another place he says : 
 *'Now there remain three: faith, hope, and charity." 
 And again: ''Without faith it is impossible to please 
 God." 
 
 It is, indeed, the light of faith which has revealed 
 to us the existence of the world, the creation of man, 
 his final destination, his fall, and redemption. 
 
 Faith points to that Church which God established 
 upon earth for the salvation of man. He Himself 
 transmitted to us the word of faith and the most 
 abundant means of salvation ; and it is by faith that 
 we learn what awaits us after death. 
 
43^ FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 It is faith which places before our eyes, on the one 
 hand, the deformity of sin, and, on the other, the en- 
 tire beauty of virtue. 
 
 Faith teaches, at the same time, our relations to 
 each other as children of whom Adam and Eve were 
 the common parents ; as children of the same family 
 of God — that is, the Holy Church on earth. Faith 
 teaches, moreover, with what zeal we should en- 
 deavor to fulfill the duties of mutual charity, each one 
 assisting the other in his temporal needs, but still 
 more in his spiritual wants, for the love of God, and 
 exercising a tender solicitude that all over whom we 
 have any influence should serve God and live accord- 
 ing to His divine law. For, by confessing and prac- 
 tising the precepts of that One only true and beatify- 
 ing faith we can truly serve Him, and become forever 
 blessed. 
 
 It is faith, also, which infuses into our hearts the 
 feeling that we not only have strength sufficient, but 
 possess the will to live in such a manner as to keep 
 constantly before our eyes the truths of our holy faith, 
 and to have frequent recourse to the means of salva- 
 tion, which Christ bequeathed to His Church — prayer, 
 union with Christ in the most holy Sacrament, and re- 
 flection upon the examples of the good who have gone 
 before us, and who, without a single exception, have 
 conquered through the strength of this divine faith. 
 
 Very justly does St. Peter cry out to us: ''Seize 
 the shield of faith, upon which all the poisonous 
 darts of the temptations of the world, the flesh, and 
 
SECOND SERMON. 437 
 
 the devil fall powerless, and rebound harmless." St. 
 Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, whose words, 
 as often as we hear them, never fail to animate, con- 
 firm, and encourage us in the consoling truth, says : 
 *'By faith, Abel offered to God a sacrifice, and ob- 
 tained a testimony that he was just. By faith, Henoch 
 was translated to heaven, and received the testimony 
 that he was pleasing to God. By faith, Noe was in- 
 stituted heir of justice. By faith, Abraham obtained 
 the promise that his posterity should be multiplied, 
 even as the stars in the sky, and that all genera- 
 tions should be blessed through him. By faith, Moses 
 passed through the Red Sea with the children of 
 Israel. By faith, the walls of Jericho were rased to 
 the ground. And, what shall I furthermore say of 
 all the prophets and just men who were persecuted, 
 stoned to death by their enemies, and deprived of 
 life by the sword. All were proved by faith, and ob- 
 tained the crown of victory." 
 
 And, therefore, we have so great a cloud of wit- 
 nesses, particularly if we look at the multitude of 
 those who, since the earthly life of Christ, conquered 
 by faith and entered upon the joys of heaven. 
 
 Of this divine virtue we are especially reminded 
 by God the Father: ''The words which I make 
 known to you," says Christ, ''I have brought from 
 heaven from my Father;" and the Apostles' Creed 
 begins with the words : " I believe in God the Father." 
 He it is Who is the Source of all revelation, and Who 
 has sent His only-begotten Son to announce it to us. 
 
43 S FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 The second of the divine virtues is Hope, by which 
 we confidently trust that God will lead us to the 
 possession of that eternal beatitude, for which He 
 has created us ; for God, Who is truth and infinite 
 goodness, wishes it infinitely more than man does, or 
 can desire it. Therefore He is always ready to give 
 us every means by which we may attain the consum- 
 mation of that work. 
 
 And what, indeed, could be more fitted to strengthen 
 us in this assurance of faith, than an unfaltering hope 
 in Christ, and a loving glance at Him, the incarnate 
 Son of God ! Remembering His Incarnation, we feel, 
 in the innermost depths of our hearts, the truth of 
 the words of St. Paul, when he cries out to us: "If 
 God the Father has given to us His only-begotten 
 Son Himself, has He not given us, through Him, all 
 things ? " 
 
 Well may the prophet exclaim: ''They will look at 
 Him Whom they have transfixed." Look at Him to 
 regret the sins you have committed ; but also look at 
 Him to be saved through Him, strengthened and en- 
 lightened through His imitation, and aided by His 
 holy grace, to walk in the way of perfection. Let the 
 cost be what it may, even the loss of all you hold 
 dearest on earth. Do this and you will be saved. 
 Follow the example of Abraham, the father of the faith- 
 ful, who, as St. Paul testifies, "hoped against hope," 
 and in this manner obtained the promise that, through 
 him, all generations on earth should be blessed and re- 
 deemed. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 439 
 
 Therefore the same Apostle of nations has every 
 reason to say to us: "Through hope, we were res- 
 cued;" and what, my brethren, can so certainly and 
 speedily bestow upon us this power of holy hope as 
 the faithful remembrance of God the Son, Who be- 
 came man for us? 
 
 The third divine virtue which urges us to serve 
 God, is divine Love, of which the Third Person of 
 the Blessed Trinity reminds us, the Holy Ghost. 
 
 By God the Holy Ghost is represented the essen- 
 tial love of the Father to the Son, and the Son to the 
 Father ; therefore the Apostle adds : "And the great- 
 est of these three is charity." 
 
 Yes, this love towards God is what will strengthen 
 and animate our desire to serve God, and to fulfill 
 His holy will, not only by leading the life of a pious 
 Catholic, but by striving after perfection. 
 
 We are told by St. Paul: "The love of Christ 
 urges us." It inspires us with courage to make the 
 resolution to glorify God by our holy lives, and to 
 propagate His kingdom. "Who shall separate us 
 from the love of Christ? Is it ignominy, or the sword, 
 or persecution?" All these we conquer through the 
 strength of love; for love is strong as death, — if a 
 man should give all the substance of his house, he 
 shall despise it as nothing. Such is the declaration 
 of Holy Scripture in the old Testament. 
 
 Nay, more: The most active life in the service of 
 God, if it were not beautified and ennobled by love, • 
 would be of no avail in the sight of God ; and even if 
 
440 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 we were, as the Apostle says, " to deliver our bodies 
 to be burned, and have not charity, it would profit 
 us nothing." 
 
 Such is the influence of the three divine virtues 
 in their relation to the Three Divine Persons upon 
 our lives, as we become more and more devoted to 
 the service of God. 
 
 As it was written of God the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost: ''And these three are One," the 
 same can also be said of the three divine virtues. 
 They have their origin in God; they have been in- 
 stilled into our hearts by the Lord Himself. They 
 are one in their effects, for no one lives in the light 
 of faith, if his faith be truly an active and meritorious 
 one, who does not at the same time live in the fervor 
 of hope and love. 
 
 And, my dear brethren, the more lively our faith 
 is, the more firm is our hope, and the more ardent 
 our love towards God. 
 
 These three virtues are one, indeed, for they lead 
 us to the possession of our ultimate ..aim and end, 
 which is no other than God Himself. 
 
 Let us, therefore, daily endeavor to increase in our 
 hearts the strength and fervor of these three divine 
 virtues, through constant remembrance and adoration 
 of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, and our 
 faith will one day be changed to sight, our hope into 
 possession, and our love to a perfect, an eternal union 
 with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. — 
 Amen. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 441 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "In Him we live and move and be." — Acts xvii, 28. 
 
 IF the various festivals of the Church should serve 
 to animate our zeal in the service of God, this is 
 in an especial manner true of the feast celebrated by 
 the Church to-day; for where is the Christian who 
 could think of the Triune God, reflect upon this mys- 
 tery of faith, and meditate upon the relation in which 
 we stand to the Three Divine Persons, and not be 
 penetrated with feelings of the most profound adora- 
 tion, heartfelt thanksgiving, and grateful love ? And 
 who indeed could cherish in his soul suc^ affections 
 without renewing at the same time the firm resolution 
 to manifest these dispositions of heart towards God 
 in his life? 
 
 But, beloved in the Lord Jesus, if we indeed wish 
 to remember our glorious vocation as children of the 
 true Church, and to lead lives dedicated to the serv- 
 ice of our Creator, let us not forget that, as members 
 of the militant Church, we must fight and conquer, 
 for there are three of the most vigilant adversaries 
 that man could have, lying in wait to entrap and en- 
 snare us to our endless ruin. 
 
 Day and night they watch and wait, putting forth 
 every seductive wile to tempt the human race and 
 drag numberless souls to perdition. 
 
 To these terrible foes may also be applied the words 
 of Holy Scripture : ''And these three are one." One 
 
442 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 in their origin, one in their effects, one in their diabol- 
 ical tendency and aim. 
 
 Even as faith, hope, and charity, in their activity, 
 comprise in themselves the true service of God, so the 
 world, the flesh, a7zd the devil, on the contrary, signify 
 apostasy from Him, and constitute the service of the 
 devil. 
 
 Mary, Immaculate Virgin, who didst crush the 
 serpent's head, obtain for us an ardent zeal in the 
 service of thy divine Son ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God. 
 
 If a Christian, a member of the Holy Catholic Church, 
 would dedicate his life wholly to the service of God, 
 then it should be a life animated by faith, hope, and 
 charity ; and these three being one, will influence his 
 every act. What arrays itself against such a life is 
 that triple power — the world, the flesh, the devil; and 
 ** these three " are also " one," for they lead to the work 
 of the devil and to separation from God. The truth 
 of this will become clear to us if we place the three 
 divine virtues in contrast to these three evil powers. 
 The former are essential to salvation ; the latter will 
 lead to perdition. 
 
 To enter with zeal upon the service of God we 
 must first have a lively faith — the same faith which 
 Christ imparted through the Prophets, through the 
 Apostles, and through Himself to the world. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 443 
 
 The true faith was proved by miracles, and from 
 the first day of creation down to the present time the 
 word of this faith resounds through the whole uni- 
 verse ; for there is not a single word which the divine 
 lips of the Saviour uttered that did not send forth light 
 to illumine the soul of man, while man on his part is 
 fully conscious that of himself \i^ could never discern 
 the path of salvation. He is ignorant of the origin of 
 what is morally evil, the means by which sin is blotted 
 out, and the rewards or punishments which await us 
 Hereafter. 
 
 One would think that the world would be full of de- 
 sire to receive the light of faith and instruction there- 
 in ; but, nevertheless, whole nations still rest in the 
 shadow of death, and grope in the darkness of infi- 
 delity and heresy. They care little or nothing for the 
 fate of their souls in the approaching eternity. 
 
 And what, my brethren, is the reason of this ? 
 
 Let us glance at the first inimical power and say it 
 is th^ flesh. Man will not deprive himself of the most 
 trifling enjoyment, but loves all that the world can 
 give, especially in regard to carnal desires. But faith 
 speaks the word, and the duty of conquering self and 
 corrupt human nature, and saving the soul, becomes 
 clear. 
 
 '*Go," said Christ to His disciples, "and preach to 
 the world." "What, O Lord?" "Proclaim unto man 
 that if he do not penance, he must perish everlast- 
 ingly." "Whosoever would follow Me, must deny 
 
 himself." Consider this, O Christians! "But those 
 29 
 
444 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 who belong to Christ," exclaims St. Paul, ''have their 
 flesh, with its desires, crucified;" and again: **God 
 forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Christ." 
 
 Here we find the reason why heathenism, which 
 adored its own vices as deities, rejected, and still re- 
 jects, the faith of Christ. Is not that arch-enemy of 
 the Christian name, Mohametanism, but another name 
 for the pleasures of the flesh ? Whence came the in- 
 troduction of Protestantism into the world ? 
 
 Every one knows that it originated in the broken 
 vows of a faithless nun and a perjured priest, and in the 
 adultery and polygamy of a lustful king. Ask the mis- 
 sionaries, who go over the whole world, what is gen- 
 erally the greatest obstacle to the conversion of the 
 heathens, and for reply they will tell you that the 
 power which combats but too successfully their zeal- 
 ous efforts, is the flesh. 
 
 Even in regard to those who believe in the true 
 Church, and are known as her children, what weak- 
 ens and renders fruitless their faith ? What causes 
 those who boast so loudly of being Catholics, to re- 
 semble whitened sepulchers, and puts their salvation 
 in the greatest danger? It is impurity. Yes, it ren- 
 ders their souls a thousand times more hateful in 
 the sight of God than if they were heretics, Jews, or 
 infidels ; for they possess the light of faith, yet abuse 
 it, to their perdition. Yes, the flesh is a tyrant to 
 all who, perhaps for years, have worn its heavy 
 chains. They may be, to all appearances. Cath- 
 olics, but this terrible slavery destroys the effect of 
 
THIRD SERMON. 445 
 
 every grace, and renders useless every good work 
 they perform, even to the changing of the reception 
 of the sacraments into sacrileges. 
 
 Yes, my brethren, such are the fatal consequences 
 of an inordinate desire to gratify the lusts of the flesh, 
 that insatiate monster which deprives its hapless vic- 
 tims of their rank in the army of the living God, and 
 sends them, wretched beings, to the service of the 
 king of hell. 
 
 The second disposition of the heart, which ennobles 
 the life of the Christian who devotes himself to the 
 service of Gocii is hope. This divine virtue leads him 
 to seek after the things which are above, that, by ful- 
 filling every duty of his state of life, he may lay up a 
 rich store of merits for heaven. This can be wonder- 
 fully increased by the exercise of a heroic patience in 
 poverty, sickness, or any trials which the Lord may 
 please to send him. 
 
 The hostile power which prevents or destroys the 
 effect of holy hope, is the world. By the word world 
 we are to understand that multitude of men, who live 
 for no other purpose than to enjoy the goods and pleas- 
 ures of earth, and to strive after its honors and wealth. 
 The unhappy influence of the perverse inclination to 
 follow the example of the children of the world in their 
 greater solicitude for earthly than heavenly things, is 
 no less subversive of good, than is that of the flesh. 
 
 The first beatitude which Christ proclaimed is : 
 ** Blessed are the poor." On the contrary, ''Woe to 
 the rich." *'You can not serve God and mammon." 
 
446 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 The sole thought of the worldling is to possess and 
 amass, to live and enjoy for as long a duration as pos- 
 sible, forgetful of the truth that the longest life is but 
 as a few brief moments when compared to eternity. 
 
 The world ! — it takes not time to consider whether 
 the Church established by Christ be true or not ; it 
 cares not for the promises of faith in regard to the 
 life to come. Speak to the worldly man of spiritual 
 things, and he listens with weariness and disgust. 
 Heaven may be heaven, with all its promises, for all 
 the interest he takes. But change the subject to some 
 means of amassing wealth or promoting his temporal 
 welfare, and he can not evince too great an interest. 
 The same is true of the honors of the world. All are 
 anxious to take as exalted a position as possible, fre- 
 quently sacrificing principle to obtain it ; and thus, 
 through a slavish fear of man, they falter in good, and 
 perhaps prove entirely false to their allegiance to God. 
 
 Charity is the third divine virtue which leaves its 
 impress on the life devoted to the service of God. It 
 is charity which inspires us to make every effort to 
 manifest, by an entire union with Him, that we are His 
 in poverty and abundance, honor and dishonor, sick- 
 ness and health, time and eternity. 
 
 The heart which is inflamed with this love, has one 
 only desire, which is, to glorify God, to be united to 
 Him in perfect indifference to creatures, which it is 
 willing to possess or reject, as God wills. 
 
 In never-ceasing opposition to this disposition of 
 heart is enlisted the devil. The standard which Luci- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 447 
 
 fer raised in heaven, represented pride, self-conceit, 
 and self-adoration ; and those who walk under it no 
 longer wish to fulfill God's holy will. An inordinate 
 love of creatures prevents them in a thousand ways. 
 
 Behold here the destructive influence of the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil. ''And these three are one." 
 One in their origin, which dates back to the downfall 
 of our first parents in Paradise ; one in their effects 
 against the influence of faith, hope, and charity, whose 
 aim is union with God in the present and future life; 
 while that of the three inimical powers is eternal sep- 
 aration from Him, apostasy from Christ, an eternity 
 of pain, and endless despair. 
 
 In conclusion, therefore, beloved in Christ, may the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost protect us, and preserve 
 us in united love, compassion, and grace, from these 
 three enemies of our salvation, so terrible to contend 
 with — the world, the flesh, and the devil. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 *« Oh, if thou didst know the gift of God, and Who it is that speaks to 
 thee." — John iv, lo. 
 
 THE fairest month, the loveliest flowers, the bright- 
 est skies, the sweetest music, the most brilliant 
 lights, the most fragrant incense, and the ardent love 
 of devout hearts unite to do honor to this feast, which 
 is so essentially one of love, commemorating, as it does, 
 the perpetual presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment among His faithful children. 
 
 On the eve of His passion — that eve so sad, and yet 
 so replete with holy joy — Christ, my dearest brethren, 
 as you all well know, instituted and bequeathed this 
 precious boon to us ; but, as the Church, in Holy Week, 
 is entirely absorbed in meditating upon His bitter sor- 
 rows, she wishes her children to participate therein. 
 Full of faith, this tender Mother is overwhelmed with 
 mournful memories when she casts a glance at the 
 Lamb of God "which taketh away the sins of the 
 world " at the cost of such a tremendous sacrifice. 
 
 It is true she entones the ''Gloria" at the Mass on 
 Holy Thursday, celebrated in commemoration of this 
 
 Most Blessed Sacrament, as, for a few brief moments, 
 
 (448) 
 
FIRST SERMON. 449 
 
 the tide of thanksgiving, which surges over her heart, 
 absorbs the grief that lies in its depths ; and this grate- 
 ful joy finds vent in the ringing of bells, the organ's 
 pealing sound, and the Gloria's triumphant strain. 
 But, suddenly, all is hushed, and the memory of the 
 pain and anguish crowded into one short week in the 
 life of our Lord comes on again, and no sound of joy 
 is heard until the Resurrection is at hand. 
 
 Then follows the solemn commemoration of the 
 various divine facts in the order of salvation. After 
 Easter comes the Ascension of the Lord, and the de- 
 scent of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, which beaute- 
 ous wreath of festivals is closed by the Feast of the 
 Most Holy Trinity. 
 
 When this wreath, in which have been twined so 
 many holy thoughts and fervent desires, is laid before 
 the throne of the Most High, the Church avails her- 
 self of the Thursday immediately succeeding; and, 
 obeying the impulse of her joy and gratitude for that 
 precious and heavenly gift, the Blessed Sacrament, 
 summons her children to take part In the celebration, 
 and calls upon heaven and earth to assist therein. 
 And as though the walls, even of the most spacious 
 edifice, were too limited for the excess of her devo- 
 tion, she leads the rejoicing multitude to the great 
 temple of Nature, and enjoins them to bring the fair- 
 est flowers of the garden to beautify the pathway 
 over which the King of kings is to be borne on high 
 by the priests of His Church. And so, in every part 
 of the world, thousands and millions of loving hearts 
 
450 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 send forth the anthem of praise, and receive the bene- 
 diction of Jesus in the Most Adorable Sacrament. 
 
 Let us briefly consider what there is i7i the divine 
 gift thus bestowed upon us through Christ. The dif- 
 ferent names which the Church applies to the Blessed 
 Sacrament will assist us i^i this, 
 
 Mary, from whom Jesus did take the flesh and 
 blood which we receive in the Most Holy Sacrament, 
 obtain for us a most ardent love to Him in this sub- 
 lime mystery! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 ** If thou didst but know the gift of God which is 
 imparted to thee, and Who it is Who speaks to thee." 
 
 These words of Christ, addressed to the Samaritan 
 woman, relate, in their application, also to every Chris- 
 tian soul who appears before Christ in the Sacrament 
 of the Altar. In the strictest sense of the word, no one 
 has ever existed, even among the greatest saints, who 
 could behold the miracle of miracles distinctly before 
 him, and discern its grandeur, majesty, and wondrous 
 power. It is a divine fact, to which, with a particular 
 emphasis, the words of the Psalmist may be applied : 
 '*God hath created a wonder of wonders; He hath 
 given food to them that fear Him." 
 
 The presence of Christ, by the changing of the bread 
 and wine into His body and blood, is a divine fact which, 
 even to the understanding of the angels, remains in- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 45 I 
 
 comprehensible. But we are, nevertheless, able to un- 
 derstand so much of the ineffable majesty, sanctity, 
 and efficacy of the Most Holy Sacrament, that we feel 
 encouraged and impelled not only to join in the rejoic- 
 ings of the Church with our whole hearts, for this 
 day alone, but to dedicate our entire lives to the ado- 
 ration of Christ therein, and, so to say, live only for 
 Him, present in the Most Holy Sacrament. 
 
 The different names by which the Church distin- 
 guishes this most divine gift indicate, in themselves, the 
 individual graces which we must consider in order to 
 learn to know it, and zealously use it, in all its greatness. 
 
 The Church calls it, first : ''The Sacrament oi^Faith^ 
 and most justly, for there is present the Founder of 
 faith, Jesus Christ. Here we have the opportunity 
 to make the act of faith in its entire extent, in all its 
 strength. 
 
 With every act of faith man confesses indeed to be- 
 lieve the Church as the infallible teacher, given us by 
 God to guide us in all matters of faith ; and so he be- 
 lieves and confesses, although he sees not what he be- 
 lieves, upon the word of the Church alone. For ex- 
 ample : He believes and confesses that original sin is 
 washed away by the Sacrament of Baptism, although 
 he most certainly does not see it. But now, in regard 
 to the Holy Eucharist, man believes in spite of what 
 he sees and feels ; and therein consists the triumph 
 of faith and the excellence of the act when we, as 
 children of the Church, confess the doctrine of the 
 Real Presence. 
 
452 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 At the same time, this sacrament also points to the 
 Church herself as administering and dispensing the 
 mysteries of grace in the New Law. 
 
 She designates this Blessed Sacrament as the Sac- 
 rifice of the New Testament. It is, in fact, the Sun 
 of the divine service therein. Wherever her validly 
 ordained ministers, the priests of God, are, there also 
 is celebrated the Sacrifice of the Mass. There the 
 means of salvation are effectively distributed ; there 
 a brilliant light illumines the pathway to heaven. What 
 a motive for rejoicing ! 
 
 The Church also calls this sacrament the bread of 
 the strong. To possess the light of true faith is cer- 
 tainly an immeasurable happiness, but it depends on 
 an obligation fulfilled. We must live in accordance 
 with its principles ; for from him who has received 
 much, much will be required. 
 
 But we are too often ready to falter and well nigh 
 faint in our efforts to live as faithful members of the 
 Holy Church, free from sin, strong and invincible in 
 the combat with Satan, zealous and full of courage 
 to advance in the practice of virtue. What a sweet 
 solace it is, therefore, to the heart, that the Church 
 can point to the Most Holy Sacrament with the as- 
 surance that it is the frequent and worthy reception 
 of this august gift which deadens the power of pas- 
 sion in its very beginning, so that it can be easily 
 overcome. 
 
 As to our efforts to attain perfection, to which holy 
 faith challenges us, how could we be wanting in grace 
 
\ FIRST SERMON. 453 
 
 if we receive Jesus Himself, the source of all grace? 
 How intimately are not we united to Him through 
 the reception of Holy Communion ? He, the Al- 
 mighty, — benign, infinite, and omniscient, — is with us, 
 the knowledge of which can not fail to multiply our 
 hopes of heaven, and increase our strength to resist 
 temptation. 
 
 Yes, so wonderful are the effects of this Sacrament, 
 that the holy fathers can not find words to express their 
 astonishment and admiration. They say, even as wax 
 melts into wax, and as air fills space, so do the Body 
 and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, become united 
 with us in Holy Communion. We become, as it were, 
 one with Him, in regard to His Humanity united with 
 His Divinity. What a motive of rejoicing for a soul 
 that loves Jesus with the desire to be dissolved and be 
 with Him ! 
 
 The reception of the Blessed Sacrament bestows 
 upon us a foretaste of heaven, as is intimated by the 
 prayer of the Church in the Mass for Corpus Christi : 
 *' O God, make us partakers of the possession of Thee 
 forever, the delights of which are foreshadowed on earth 
 by Thy Flesh and Blood." 
 
 The Church, therefore, styles the Most Holy Sacra- 
 ment the man7ia of heaven, containing all sweetness. 
 
 A life wholly devoted to faith has also its trials, and, 
 at times, they are very bitter ; but let the afflicted soul 
 once enter into the personal knowledge and love of 
 Christ, by a devout intercourse with Him in the Sac- 
 ment'of Love, and a balm for all those troubles will 
 
454 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 soon be found — "a manna having in it all sweetness 
 and delight." There is no sorrow for which it does 
 not bring relief. 
 
 The Church also calls this sacrament the bread of 
 Angels. Those pure spirits hover day and night over 
 the altars in the tabernacles of which the Blessed Sac- 
 rament is kept; and its presence fills them with inex- 
 pressible delight, as we learn from St. Peter. Our joy, 
 however, should be more exquisite still ; for. Him whom 
 they adore we receive, and take into our very hearts — 
 a happiness which certainly foreshadows that of heaven. 
 Ah, no ! we must not envy the angels ; rather should 
 we be subjects of their holy envy. 
 
 The Church calls the Blessed Sacrament the Viati- 
 cum — the pledge of our future glory; for Christ Him- 
 self assures us that "whosoever eats of this Bread will 
 live forever." *' He abides in Me, and I in him." '* He 
 will have eternal life." 
 
 What incentives to hope can be found in these as- 
 sertions of Christ, on which we can fully rely as 
 coming from the Eternal Truth. Even if they had not 
 proceeded from the Divine Lips, our own intrinsic con- 
 sciousness would say: *' Never, ah! never would our 
 Saviour say to the Christian — who has devoted him- 
 self to the love of this Most Holy Sacrament, lived 
 only for it, remained in its presence, received it in 
 Holy Communion — never, I say, would He utter to 
 him the terrible words: "Depart from Me!" No; 
 rather would He address the faithful soul, cheered 
 by the holy Viaticum, with the consoling invitation: 
 
FIRST SERMON. 455 
 
 *'Come now, faithful soul, behold My glory not shad- 
 owed by the mystic vails which shroud My Majesty on 
 earth. Enter into the knowledge of My beatitude, 
 as thou hast entered into the enjoyment of My love 
 through the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar." — 
 Amen ! 
 
45^ FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed." — John xx, 29. 
 
 "QLESSED are they who see not, and yet be- 
 JD lieve;" this assurance of the Lord to those 
 who surrounded Him, when He, in visible form, dwelt 
 upon this earth, verifies itself in all its truth and im- 
 portance, when we apply it to His sacramental pres- 
 ence on our altars. 
 
 Here, indeed, is the same Jesus present, who at 
 Bethlehem reposed in the manger, who lived at Naza- 
 reth with Mary and Joseph, journeyed through Pales- 
 tine, and died upon Calvary. It is the same Jesus 
 Whom, at this very moment, the angels and all the ce- 
 lestial inhabitants now contemplate in His glory. 
 
 St. Augustine was wont to say that the dearest wish 
 of his heart was, that he could have seen Jesus in His 
 visible presence on earth. This is but natural ; yet if 
 we consider what advantages and graces are bestowed 
 upon us through the personal presence of Christ in 
 the Most Holy Sacrament, we might venture to say 
 to the great Saint that, although we certainly do not 
 enjoy the consolation of seeing Jesus with the eyes 
 of the body, as did those who had personal intercourse 
 with Him, yet the presence of Christ in the Most Holy 
 Sacrament, after His ascension into Heaven, is accom- 
 panied with privileges which makes it preferable even 
 to that happiness, for it reveals to us sources of 
 
SECOND SERMON. 457 
 
 grace which were unknown to those who lived with 
 Christ on earth. 
 
 Let us consider to-day the arguments on which this 
 assertion is based, and we shall then celebrate the Feast 
 of Corpus Chris ti with so much greater joy and grat- 
 iiude. 
 
 Mary, Mother of Jesus, blessed are thine eyes, 
 which beheld Jesus upon earth; but obtain for us the 
 grace to look at Him in the Most Holy Sacrament 
 with the eyes of faith, in union with the love of thy 
 faithful heart! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Jesus said to His disciples: ** Blessed are the eyes 
 which see what you see." 
 
 The prophets most ardently longed for it, and this 
 happiness was not their portion. 
 
 Even Abraham did not enjoy it, and nevertheless, 
 I say we have no reason to envy those who saw Jesus 
 on earth, if we faithfully and lovingly look at Him in 
 the Most Holy Sacrament, and earnestly avail our- 
 selves of the graces which His real presence discloses 
 to us therein. This will become evident if we think 
 particularly of those four hallowed places in the life 
 of our Lord, which are so rich in sacred memories of 
 the redemption and deliverance of mankind through 
 Christ, and rise up with especial splendor before our 
 eyes. 
 
45^ FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 They are : the Grotto at Bethlehem ; the house at 
 Nazareth; the Hall of the last Supper at Jerusalem, 
 and the cross on Calvary. 
 
 I said, first, the Grotto and Crib at Bethlehem. 
 There are many circumstances in the life of Christ 
 recorded in the gospel ; but in the estimation of eyei^y 
 faithful, contemplative, loving soul, those four holy 
 spots especially call forth in our hearts the wish that 
 we had seen Jesus on earth. 
 
 Have we not, most beloved in Christ, frequently 
 longed to have been, for instance, among the watch- 
 ing shepherds, when suddenly the angels, surrounded 
 with the glory of the Lord, addressed to them the wel- 
 come words : ** Behold, I bring you glad tidings of 
 great joy, for this day is born to you a Saviour Who 
 is Christ the Lord : and you shall find the Infant 
 wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger?" 
 
 And they obeyed, and were so highly favored as 
 to find the divine Child, the Infant Saviour, Who was 
 to open heaven for man. Oh, with what rapture and 
 delight, with what affections of gratitude and love did 
 they prostrate themselves at the feet of the Infant 
 Lord. Happy, thrice happy shepherds ! 
 
 After the Grotto of Bethlehem we come to the 
 house of Nazareth, the dwelling of Christ for thirty 
 years — and Palestine, which He traversed during His 
 apostolic journeys. What deeply interesting, what 
 sacred, what holy places : and yet the tabernacle, where 
 Christ is present in the Most Holy Sacrament, sur- 
 passes them all. Why? 
 
SECOND SERMON. 459 
 
 Because we are permitted to enjoy this Divine Pres- 
 ence more permanently, and for a longer period of 
 time. The shepherds remained but a little while, and 
 then hastened again away from Christ : and God 
 knows, my brethren, how few among them were so 
 blessed as even to behold Him kgain on earth, or, 
 in after life, ever heard a single word from His 
 divine and gracious lips. In Nazareth it was grant- 
 ed only to Mary and Joseph to enjoy the presence 
 of the Lord; and as to Palestine, through which Christ 
 traveled, preaching as He went, the multitude saw the 
 Lord on certain occasions only for some hours or 
 days ; and those who were permitted to live in contin- 
 ual intimacy with Him, as the Apostles, were very few; 
 while in the Most Holy Sacrament, on the contrary, 
 Christ is present day and night, and we can commune 
 with* Him whenever we wish. Here He is, as it were, 
 so enwrapt in the sacramental forms that He can not 
 depart. 
 
 He is, so to say, compelled to hear us. He is ever 
 ready, and welcomes us to His Divine Presence at 
 whatever moment we please to come. 
 
 When Jacob wrestled with the Lord, in that won- 
 derful struggle during the night, and the Lord said : 
 "Leave Me, Jacob;" the latter answered : **No, Lord, 
 I will never leave You until You have blessed me." 
 
 Through Christ abiding in our tabernacles we are 
 
 permitted, as it were, to force Him to stay with us, and 
 
 to hear us. Oh, what a happiness ! Oh, that we only 
 
 knew rightly how to value this inestimable favor ! Oh, 
 30 
 
460 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 that we would but remember how Jesus is left to re- 
 main alone in so many churches, and manifest our love 
 to Him by daily visits to the Blessed Sacrament! 
 
 The third mystery of faith, in which the fullness of 
 the manifestation and love of God glorifies itself 
 through the institution of the Most Holy Sacrament, 
 is the upper chamber at Jerusalem, the scene of the 
 Last Supper, 
 
 Who can conceive a more sublime, a more elevat- 
 ing sight, than that presented by Christ at the Last 
 Supper, surrounded by His disciples, when, taking in 
 His blessed hands bread and wine, He looked up to 
 heaven, gave thanks, and said : '' This is My Body — 
 this is the chalice of My Blood." 
 
 At that moment His divine eyes glanced over the 
 whole earth, through all the vicissitudes of future time, 
 and beheld all the honor and glory which He would 
 give His heavenly Father through this His presence ; 
 and also the many streams of grace which, as fount- 
 ains of living water, would flow into the hearts of His 
 own, through this Sacrament. 
 
 How did His heart exult and rejoice as He distrib- 
 uted it with His own hands to His disciples ! Who 
 would not wish to have had the happiness of receiv- 
 ing Holy Communion at the Last Supper from the 
 hands of Christ Himself? And nevertheless : "Blessed 
 are they who have not seen, and yet believed." Christ 
 administered the Sacrament to His disciples but once, 
 on the occasion of the Last Supper, which they par- 
 took of together ; while we have the happiness of re- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 46 1 
 
 ceiving Holy Communion as often as we wish, even 
 daily, and during our whole lives, until we shall one 
 day receive it as viaticum to help us on our heaven- 
 ward way. Had we lived at the time of Christ, and 
 beheld Him in His visible presence on earth, we 
 might have had the privilege of communicating but 
 once. And all those who lived at that time, even when, 
 later on, they were converted to the Church, did not 
 enjoy this happiness in their early years as we did. 
 
 Yes, dearest Lord, by far better is it for us to be- 
 hold Thee in faith in our midst in this Sacrament of 
 Thy love, if we, on our part, avail ourselves of the 
 privilege of receiving Thee with the zeal and fervor 
 of the saints. 
 
 The fourth mystery of faith, from which shine forth 
 such brilliant rays of light, that we behold most clearly 
 the miracle of God's mercy for the rescue of man- 
 kind, is Calvary, the cross. 
 
 Oh, blessed the eyes which, with Mary, St. John, 
 and the penitent Magdalen, beheld the Redeemer 
 lifted on the cross, in tears and blood, looking up to 
 heaven, 'crying to His eternal Father for mercy : 
 *' Father, forgive!" Mercy and justice have kissed 
 each other. 
 
 Mankind is saved ! It is consummated ! 
 
 Christ bows His head and expires. His features 
 assume the livid hue of death. 
 
 ''And behold, a soldier hastens up the mount and 
 thrusts his spear into the side of the crucified Sav- 
 iour," — opens His heart, and blood and water, the sym- 
 
462 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 bol of the Church, flow from the open side of the 
 heavenly Adam, who sank to slumber on the cross. 
 
 Oh, what a spectacle ! St. Bridget, to whom the 
 suffering Lord appeared in a vision, which made such 
 a vivid impression upon her that ever afterwards the 
 memory so moved her heart that she melted into tears 
 at the very remembrance, fully realized what it cost 
 Him to procure the salvation of the world. 
 
 And yet, how abundantly is this sacrifice renewed 
 by the presence of the Sacred Host on the altar, at 
 the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! 
 
 Most certainly, as the Council of Trent expressly 
 remarks: "It is the same sacrifice which Christ con- 
 summated on the cross, with this difference only : that 
 the one on Calvary was exteriorly a bloody one, that in 
 the Mass is unbloody. But it is the same sacrifice, 
 the same oblation, the same High Priest, who offers it 
 by the hands of the priest, and the same plenitude 
 of divine grace which it contains, for the glory of God, 
 for the obtaining of new graces, for our reconciliation 
 with God." 
 
 And with all these we have the advantage of being 
 present at this sacrifice, not only once, but often ; yes, 
 innumerable times in our lives. 
 
 Therefore, if we had been permitted to choose, 
 either to be present on Calvary, when Christ on the 
 cross redeemed the world, or to be so favored as to 
 assist daily at Mass, then, O Christians ! our hearts 
 should say: ''My Lord Jesus! better to me are the 
 graces which can be mine through the sacrifice of 
 
SECOND SERMON. 463 
 
 Holy Mass, which are even more abundant for me, 
 because they are constantly renewed, from the rising 
 of the sun till the going down of the same." Therefore, 
 let us beseech the Lord that faith may so entirely pen- 
 etrate our hearts, that we may receive the graces, 
 which Christ distributes in the Most Holy Sacrament 
 to us, with the most grateful and ardent love. 
 
 Let us do this in an especial manner to-day, as we 
 kneel in adoration at the four altars erected and 
 adorned for this glorious feast, and we will feel our- 
 selves most powerfully impelled to cry out, from the 
 depths of our hearts, before Christ in the Most Holy 
 Sacrament: ''What shall I give to the Lord for all 
 He hath given unto me, through this Sacrament of 
 His real presence ? " And the loving voice of Christ will 
 sweetly say : " My son, give Me thy heart ! " — Amen ! 
 
464 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us be glad and rejoice 
 therein." — Psalm cxvii, 24. 
 
 THE Church, on this day of jubilee, loves to call 
 her children to the house of God, from which 
 they go forth with hymns of praise and prayers in 
 honor of the Blessed Sacrament, which is borne, 
 under a richly ornamented canopy, by one of the 
 Lord's anointed ministers, to the altars erected by 
 the faithful, to receive the blessing of the Lord. 
 That this benediction may be poured out so as to 
 bring forth the richest fruit, it is essential that our 
 hearts be animated with the dispositions proper to re- 
 ceive so great a boon. 
 
 To effect this, the consideration of the anthem, which 
 the Church makes use of in the administration of the 
 Blessed Sacrament to the faithful, will be most illus- 
 trative. The anthem runs as follows : 
 
 ' ' O sacrum convivium !'' ''O sacred banquet in which 
 Christ is received, the heart replenished with grace, and 
 the pledge of eternal life bestowed!'' 
 
 These words indicate the particular graces which 
 we, as Catholics, enjoy through Jesus Christ in the 
 Blessed Eucharist ; and which should call forth our 
 most profound adoration and ardent gratitude, our 
 fervent petition and sincere love and desire. 
 
 O Mary, obtain for us that disposition of heart In 
 
THIRD SERMON. 465 
 
 which thou didst, in ages past, entone the '' Magnifi- 
 cat," remembering the graces which God bestowed 
 upon thee through Jesus Christ ! 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 *'0 sacred banquet in which Christ is received!" 
 The consecration, through which our Lord becomes 
 present on our altars, reminds us most vividly, as the 
 holy fathers remark of the great grace, of the Incar- 
 nation of the Son of God — the greatest of all graces — 
 the source of all the rest. Every thing depended on 
 whether God would stretch forth His arm to save the 
 fallen human race or not. He did; and their Redemp- 
 tion was accomplished by the Incarnation of His di- 
 vine Son, the pledge of which is the consecration when 
 the Body and Blood of Christ are on the altar, instead 
 of the bread and wine, which a moment before were 
 there. ' 
 
 God, in His justice, did not spare the Angels, yet 
 He extended His clemency to ms. Sing praise to Him, 
 for His mercy endureth forever; and this infinite mercy 
 leads Him to impart to us the merits of redemption in 
 all their plenitude, because we are children of His 
 Church — the only one in which salvation is to be 
 found ; and we possess, therefore, the light of true 
 faith, and every means of salvation, — yes, even Jesus 
 Christ Himself in the Blessed Sacrament. What a 
 grace ! Millions and millions have lived and died with- 
 out it, and yet it is within our reach! Let us, then, 
 
466 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 pour forth our grateful thanks to God for having given 
 us a place in His kingdom on earth. Most beloved in 
 Christ, it was for no merit of ours that we have been 
 called to the Catholic faith. There are millions who 
 do not celebrate Corpus Christi to-day, who do not 
 with us feast upon this sacred banquet. But this privi- 
 lege and blessing calls for a certain acknowledgment, 
 which is to show our appreciation of it by a truly Catho- 
 lic Hfe. 
 
 The most efficacious means for promoting the in- 
 crease of grace in our hearts is a lively faith in the 
 real presence of Christ, united with the determination 
 to derive as much benefit as possible from it through 
 our frequent presence before Him. Let the foregoing 
 reflections fill your minds during the course of the pro- 
 cession to the first altar. Think of the unmerited grace 
 of being a Catholic ; whisper to your Lord how ardently 
 you wish to live in accordance with the teachings of 
 that divine faith, and to induce others to participate 
 with you in this happiness. 
 
 Make, at the same time, acts of reparation, that you 
 have heretofore thought so litde of it yourself, recit- 
 \ ing the ''Angelic Salutation" with so litde devotion, and 
 manifesting so little interest in propagating the king- 
 dom of the Church. Make acts of reparation, also, 
 for the whole human race, which, for so many years, 
 in so many countries, has so ungratefully rejected this 
 grace, derided, persecuted, and put to death the Apos- 
 tles and missionaries whom Jesus sent to win their 
 hearts to listen to His gracious call. Say to your Lord 
 
THIRD SERMON. 467 
 
 that, as far as it lies in your power, you will labor for 
 the propagation of the faith ; and, full of the fervor of 
 this intention, to assist the Church, and spread the 
 knowledge and love of Christ, receive the benediction 
 at the first altar. 
 
 "O sacred banquet in which Christ is received!" 
 These words indicate a second blessing, which is im- 
 parted to us, children of the Church, through the pres- 
 ence of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament, which is 
 His perpetual Presence among us. 
 
 Although it is over eighteen hundred years since 
 our Lord personally dwelt upon earth and ascended 
 into heaven. He, nevertheless, remains with us in this 
 sacrament, and is ever ready to distribute more abun- 
 dant graces to us than He would have done had we 
 beheld Him then. We can repair to the tabernacle 
 where, under the vail of the sacramental forms. He 
 abides like a captive — held by the chain of His love 
 for us. We can hasten thither, and pour forth the ne- 
 cessities of our souls, the love of our hearts. 
 
 Let us, therefore, make firm resolutions frequently 
 to avail ourselves of this privilege, by visiting Jesus 
 even daily, if possible, in this Blessed Sacrament. If 
 Christendom would but accept the glorious truth, what 
 throngs would seek the temple of the living God, and 
 open their hearts before Christ the Lord, to speak 
 to Him in loving confidence. But have you not also 
 something to reproach yourselves with in this regard? 
 Do you not spend weeks and even months in entire 
 forgetfulness of the presence of Christ on our altars ? 
 
468 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 With the desire of making reparation, then, at the 
 second altar, kneel down before your God. Bow down 
 in adoration, and receive benediction with the firm 
 resolve often to visit those churches wherein He 
 dwells, to petition for graces from the fountain of His 
 wounds. 
 
 ''O sacred banquet, at which the heart is filled with 
 graces ! " The third source of grace, which the Blessed 
 Sacrament bestows upon us, is the blessing of Holy 
 Mass — the sacrifice of the New Law. Thrs wonder- 
 ful sacrament is, indeed, the Sun of divine service 
 which will shed its beams over the whole universe to 
 the very end of time. The sacrifice of Christ on the 
 cross is, indeed, the principal source whence issue all 
 the graces of Redemption. But the sacrifice of the 
 Mass is the very same, bestowing daily abundance of 
 graces on all who seek them and determine to use 
 them. O what a motive for joy and gratitude ! What 
 honor is given, what homage is offered to the triune 
 God, by the daily sacrifice of the Mass ! 
 
 There is not one moment In the day, not one 
 moment in the night, in which the sacrifice of the 
 Mass is not offered up in one or another quarter of 
 the globe. Not one single moment wherein some 
 priest in one or another portion of the world is not 
 elevating the Sacred Host to heaven, surrounded with 
 a glory and splendor which our eyes can not behold, 
 and beside which the glory of the saints and angels 
 seems dim. There is not one moment of time in which 
 this Adorable Victim is not presented to the Eternal 
 
THIRD SERMON. 469 
 
 Father — an offering so precious that all the praise and 
 homage ever offered by the Angels, or that ever will 
 be offered, is as nothing compared to it. 
 
 Then let us, at the third altar, pour forth our thanks 
 to God for every Holy Mass which has ever been said 
 since the Apostles first celebrated theirs,and for the very 
 last one which will be offered up before the Judge of 
 the living and the dead shall come '' to judge the world 
 by fire." Let us return thanks for every grace which 
 has been conferred upon us during all the Holy Masses 
 at which we have ever devoutly assisted, and make acts 
 of reparation for all the outrages endured by Jesus from 
 us by our neglecting to assist at Mass, or by hearing it 
 v^ithout proper devotion ; also for ^// that He has had to 
 suffer, even from the children of His Church, during 
 the celebration of the divine mysteries. 
 
 *'And through which we receive the pledge of eter- 
 nal glory.*' The fourth motive for gratitude and re- 
 paration is the happiness of receiving the Holy Com- 
 mMnion. If the fathers could not find words to express 
 the magnitude of the grace which is imparted to us by 
 its worthy reception, much less are we able to express 
 the thanks which are due to our Lord for so great a 
 boon. 
 
 We are objects of envy to the very Angels. They 
 wonder and adore when we receive our Saviour; when 
 we are united to the divinity and humanity of Christ; 
 when we hold captive the Author of grace, our God 
 and Redeemer, in the poor dwelling of our hearts. 
 Return thanks, O Christian, for every Holy Commun- 
 
470 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 ion which has been administered since the Last Sup- 
 per, and for those which will be given until the end of 
 time. Thank God especially for every worthy Com- 
 munion which you have received yourself; and beg of 
 the Lord to grant y€>u occasion, from this day forward, 
 often to enjoy the same happiness. Beg Him also for 
 grace to employ His presence in your hearts as profit- 
 ably as possible ; yes, in a manner so perfect as to 
 initiate you into His personal love and knowledge. 
 
 Do not forget to make acts of reparation for all out- 
 rages and ingratitude, the horrible sacrileges, the in- 
 numerable unworthy communions, beginning with the 
 crime of Judas, until the very last unworthy reception 
 of the Most Holy Sacrament which will ever take place 
 in the world. And, oh, if any one here present has 
 been so wretched as to receive his Saviour into a heart 
 disfigured by mortal sin, I beg of you repent before it 
 is too late. Let not the sun go down without a sincere 
 resolution to repair the evil by a good confession, and 
 put it into execution the very first moment you can. 
 Receive, then, with heartfelt thanksgiving, the bene- 
 diction of Jesus Himself at the fourth altar. 
 
 These, dearly beloved in Christ, are the affections 
 which should overwhelm us as we kneel at the differ- 
 ent altars erected to do honor to the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment. Then the benediction we receive will enable 
 us to celebrate this day entirely in the spirit of the 
 Holy Catholic Church. — Amen! 
 
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "This is life everlasting that they may know Thee, and whom Thou hast 
 sent, Jesus Christ." — John xvii, 3. 
 
 AS the pulpit text which I have just read for you, 
 dearly beloved in Christ, admonishes us, more is 
 necessary for our salvation than faithfully to confess 
 God the Father, and whom He has sent, Jesus Christ ; 
 for, if this confession is to deliver and save us, we 
 must follow Christ by obeying the teachings of the 
 faith He brought into the world. 
 
 The devils also confess God, and yet they remain 
 devils ; they also confess Jesus Christ, yet they are 
 damned forever. 
 
 Therefore, St. Paul so expressly declares to the 
 early Christians: ''And what else do I require of you, 
 by all I have told you, by word and by our epistle, than 
 that you advance in the knowledge and love of Christ ? " 
 which means that, in proportion as this knowledge 
 and love takes root in your heart, and increases and 
 fructifies, so also will you, together with me, follow 
 Jesus, and be saved through Him. These are the 
 words of the Apostle of nations. 
 
 But it is precisely in this regard that a very great 
 
 (47X) 
 
472 . FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 deficiency is generally manifested. Not to speak of 
 those who know nothing of Jesus save what they 
 have learned from history, and who are not members 
 of the true faith, how many, even among those who 
 call themselves Catholics, and, perhaps, live exteriorly 
 as such, in reality know Him not ! They know Him, 
 as it were, only by name ; they know Him not per- 
 sonally ; and the 'knowledge they have of the divine 
 Saviour exercises no beneficial influence upon their 
 lives. 
 
 In this meditation, therefore, my dear brethren, I 
 will endeavor to demonstrate, that a true veneration of 
 the Sacred Hea^^t of fesus is the portal through which 
 we must eiiter into the sarictuary of a sweet, a loving 
 union, with Christ, an intimate, personal knowledge 
 of the Saviour. 
 
 Mary, who, as His Mother, didst know and love 
 the Son of God, following Him with devoted care 
 even to the foot of the cross, we pray thee, obtain for 
 us the grace to know and love Him too. 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Christ is, as holy faith teaches, the incarnate Son 
 of God. That this knowledge may enkindle within us, 
 and fan the fire of divine love, in so ardent a manner 
 that we may imitate our divine Saviour, we must 
 often meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation of 
 the Son of God, of which a tender devotion to the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 473 
 
 Sacred Heart can not fail to remind us. The Angels 
 cherish the most profound veneration, and yet God 
 did not become an angel — but a man. To this He 
 was impelled by no other consideration than His love 
 for us. 
 
 *' I have loved thee with an eternal love, and drawn 
 thee with merciful love to Me." What a powerful 
 inotive for love and gratitude! God was pleased to 
 create us, not only after His own image, but to take 
 upon Himself our very nature, inexpressibly inferior 
 as it is, and thus elevate it above the ano-elic nature. 
 They possess not, like us, the privilege of calling him 
 brother. Should not this urge us to listen to our Lord 
 when he speaks thus to our hearts: **And now what 
 else does thy God require of thee, than that thou 
 shouldst love him?" 
 
 Christ, as God and man at the same time, is our 
 Redeemer, Who shed His precious blood for us in 
 that atoning sacrifice, completed through the infinite 
 merits which accompanied all His divine actions ; and 
 He offered it as an expiation to the infinite justice of 
 God. But if we wish fully to understand this tremen- 
 dous sacrifice which Christ presented to His heavenly 
 Father for every human soul, the love of Christ, and 
 His character as Saviour of the world, must arise 
 clearly before us, and this will be attained by looking 
 into the depths of the Sacred Heart. 
 
 For "■ the redemption of the world" would have been 
 realized by the first aspiration to which Christ gave 
 utterance in His mother's womb, at His Incarnation, 
 
474 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 when He confessed before His Father: ** Behold, 
 here am I, and Thy law is in the midst of my heart." 
 I have come to reconcile the human race with Thee. 
 
 This prayer was, as St. Paul assures us, already 
 sufficient for the salvation and redemption of every 
 member of the human family, for it was of an infinite 
 value. But the overwhelming love of Jesus for us de- 
 manded something more than our mere redemption, 
 for He wished to deliver us in a manner indicative 
 of that love, so that our hearts might the more read- 
 ily turn to Him. O how He wished us to follow His 
 divine example, and make the merits of His life and 
 death our own, no matter how great the cost ! 
 
 And now, to understand this in the most effective 
 manner, let us glance at His heart, and remember, 
 at the same time, that Christ offered His life, suffer- 
 ings, and death, to His heavenly Father, not only 
 for all mankind, but for every individual soul ; as if 
 that soul had been the only one He came to save, 
 as will be manifested, in the clearest light, by a 
 glance at the Sacred Heart. You have a right to say 
 this very heart beat in the breast of the Infant Jesus as 
 He lay in the manger at Bethlehem, and offered the 
 pains and griefs of infancy for 7ne. 
 
 The circumcision, the flight into Egypt, the weary 
 toil which marked His daily life at Nazareth, He 
 offered for me! This Sacred Heart throbbed for me 
 in every phase of His Apostolic life, and offered all 
 for me! 
 
 This same heart throbbed for me in His breast at the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 475 
 
 Last Supper, and throbbed for me when Jesus re- 
 solved to offer Himself daily in the Sacrament of 
 His love, until the very end of time, to remain with 
 me, to unite Himself with me, body and soul, divin- 
 ity and humanity, in every holy Communion which it 
 would be my privilege to receive. 
 
 It throbbed for me when, with prophetic vision, the 
 Redeemer saw the many temptations which would 
 surround me in life, and His precious blood burst 
 forth from every pore, as Gethsemane's groves wit- 
 nessed His terrible agony there. And, oh, how bit- 
 terly it throbbed when the cruel scourge laid open 
 the quivering flesh to the very bone, and the aching 
 brow was made to feel a keener pang from the press- 
 ure of the sharp thorns, put on in mockery of a 
 crown, and the heavy cross was laid upon those 
 weary shoulders until all that was human in the Son 
 of God was well nigh crushed to earth. And at last 
 the weary walk was over, but only to give place to 
 new and bitter pain as the nails were driven through 
 the sacred hands and feet. And now behold the Cre- 
 ator of heaven and earth hanging on the cross, a 
 bleeding victim for our sins. Ah, then His Sacred 
 Heart throbbed for me as He cried out to the eternal 
 Father: ''Father, forgive!" Then, when he yielded 
 up the Ghost, behold, a soldier opened His heart, 
 and from it fell the last drop of His precious blood — 
 for me, I am redeemed, and with a Redemption super- 
 abundant indeed ! 
 
 "They will see Whom they have pierced." These 
 31 
 
476 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 are the inspired words of the prophet; yes, and they 
 will adore the triumph of infinite mercy by which the 
 greatest crime which a creature can commit, Deicide, 
 became a source for the pardon of every sin, as St. 
 Paul implies when he says: ''Christ destroyed sin 
 through sin upon the cross." 
 
 This open heart, this sacred wound, removed the 
 vail which rested upon the work of Redemption. To 
 glance at it, nay, to look into its depths, we can see 
 the glimmer of a lovely light which illumines the 
 work of the Saviour's mercy and love, penetrating 
 our hearts with a longing to reciprocate that love 
 which led him to purchase our salvation at the cost 
 of life. 
 
 This Jesus is, as Saviour, the founder of that Church 
 to which He confided His infinite merits, and the dis- 
 pensation of the means of salvation. She rose from 
 His heart in the symbol of blood and water, even as 
 from the side of the sleeping Adam God called our 
 mother Eve into existence. And behold us, without 
 any merit of our own, members of this Church so holy 
 and divine. What a motive for us, as children of 
 this loving mother, to grow in the grace of God, and 
 by constant intercourse with Jesus in the Blessed 
 Sacrament, to grow also in His personal knowledge. 
 
 Yes! to look into the Heart of Jesus, gives us a 
 glimpse, in all its splendor, of the majesty and sanc- 
 tity of the one true Church, and can not fail to excite 
 in us the most ardent desire and longing to live as 
 her faithful children, grateful that we are so highly 
 
FIRST SERMON. 477 
 
 favored as to be children of that glorious mother. It 
 animates us to more earnest efforts to propagate the 
 faith, over the whole world, according to the desire 
 of the Sacred Heart. 
 
 This Lord and Saviour is, according to His Person, 
 at once our Father, Friend, and Brother; the Spouse 
 of our souls — Christ ! He it is Who regained for us tho 
 right to enter heaven. He is our Brother, Who took 
 upon Himself our nature ; our Friend, Who provided 
 for us as for Himself; and the Spouse of our souls — in- 
 finite goodness and greatness — Christ! 
 
 To behold all this we must look into the depths ot 
 His Sacred Heart. The world is full of brothers, 
 friends, and spouses, but how different are they in the 
 measure of love they bear to their own ! In the open 
 Heart of Jesus we behold, united, the hearts of loving 
 fathers, brothers, and friends; and yet His love is 
 greater than all ! Did He not give the very last drop 
 of blood from that heart, and am I not, therefore, 
 right when I say : If we wish to attain to a knowledge 
 of this dear Redeemer, in all His divine sweetness, 
 we must cast frequent glances into the Sacred Heart, 
 and seek refuge In its bleeding wound? We will 
 then adorn our own hearts, so that we will one day 
 be worthy to enter into an abode of eternal blessed- 
 ness. Blessed St. Gertrude, devoted adorer of the 
 Sacred Heart, obtain for us the grace to love it with 
 you7' fervent love, and through a like imitation of its 
 virtues, to share with you the glorious reward of its 
 faithful servants. — Amen. 
 
478 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father, that you may be able to 
 comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height 
 and depth of this mystery." — Eph. iii, 14, 18. 
 
 'T^O me, the least of all the saints, is given this 
 1 grace to preach among the Gentiles, and to en- 
 lighten all men what is the dispensation of the mystery 
 which hath been hidden from eternity in God, Who cre- 
 ated all things. 
 
 " For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom all paternity in heaven 
 and earth is named, 
 
 '* That He would grant you the grace to be strength- 
 ened by the power of His Spirit unto the inward man ; 
 
 " That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts : that 
 being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able 
 to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth 
 and length and height and depth of this mystery; 
 
 " To know also the charity of Christ, which surpass- 
 eth all human knowledge." 
 
 With these words to the Ephesians, and similar as- 
 surances in many passages of the Epistles which St. 
 Paul wrote — not only for the faithful of his own day, 
 but for those of all future time — the Apostle of nations 
 exhorts us in the most expressive manner to advance 
 in the knowledge of Christ. 
 
 And if we wish to comprehend the total height and 
 depth, the entire breadth and le^igth, of the love offesuSy 
 
SECOND SERMON. ♦ 479 
 
 we can only do so by looking into the depths of His Sa- 
 cred Heart ; and to make this clear, will be the object 
 of my words to-day. 
 
 Mary, Mother of the Divine Heart, obtain for us 
 the grace to enter into the full knowledge of Christ's 
 love for us, that we may meet it with faithful recipro- 
 cal love ! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God ! 
 
 To contemplate in its entire extent the love of 
 Jesus Christ, and to open our hearts in true recipro- 
 cal love to the Lord, that He may dwell therein, we 
 must go to the Sacred Heart and look into its depths. 
 There, ah ! there, we can behold in all its immensity a 
 love so mighty that it drew Him away from the throne 
 of His glory in heaven to earth, and urged Him not 
 only to assume human nature, but by so doing, as St. 
 Paul assures us, to annihilate Himself and take the 
 form of a slave. 
 
 For, appearing as a man among men. He concealed 
 His divinity before them ; and although He wrought 
 miracles, other men, with the Divine assistance, per- 
 formed wonders still greater: — Moses, for instance, at 
 the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. 
 
 Men in general acknowledged Him so little as God, 
 that they threatened to stone Him when He declared 
 that He was. They persecuted at every occasion 
 this meek Lamb of God, and at last nailed Him to 
 
480 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 the cross. And what brought to such depths of humil- 
 ity the King of kings and Lord of lords ? Because He 
 chose not to appear as a powerful monarch, as a ruler 
 over the whole universe, before whom all nations would 
 tremble, but as a slave ; for He entered this world as the 
 subject of an emperor who governed only the Romans 
 as free men, while those nations he had conquered were 
 held in subjection. And therefore Christ suffered the 
 death of the slave — crucifixion. 
 
 Why did He humble Himself so deeply ? One glance 
 into the Divine Heart will tell us that it was His mer- 
 ciful love to us. 
 
 Great God ! what misery overwhelmed the human 
 race, and what would have become of us if the arm of 
 Thy infinite justice had not been stayed ! But Christ 
 the Son of God, equal in essence and nature to His 
 eternal Father, wished, through love, to celebrate the 
 triumph of His infinite mercy ; and this love urged 
 Him not only to grant pardon to penitent sinners, but 
 to make satisfaction for them, and take upon Himself 
 the justification for sin. 
 
 Not only, beloved in Christ, did He mean to par- 
 don this or that sin, to forgive this or that sinner, but 
 for every sin that would ever be committed, and for 
 every sinner, if he were truly contrite, a gracious par- 
 don would be found. Christ requires but one thing of 
 the sinner — that he avails himself of those efficacious 
 means of salvation to be found in the true Church, 
 and takes refuge in His Sacred Heart. 
 
 Dearly beloved Christians, souls redeemed by. the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 48 1 
 
 blood of a God, reflect upon this precious truth ; and 
 that you may realize the depth of His love for you, 
 look at the Sacred Heart — look into its bleeding 
 wound. The Almighty, the Omnipotent God, the 
 gracious and merciful Saviour, comes from the heaven 
 of His glory to afford us a certain refuge therein — to 
 save us from that pit which the malice of sin has pre- 
 pared for us in hell. 
 
 The Deluge prefigured the spiritual ruin which over- 
 whelmed the whole human race. Now, Holy Scripture 
 testifies that the waters thereof rose to the height of 
 fifteen cubits above the loftiest mountains. This indi- 
 cates the degree of malice which characterized the^ 
 wickedness of mankind, it being greater than that of 
 the fallen angels. Their sin was that pride which led 
 them to wish to be like God ; while man, on the con- 
 trary, committed Deicide, as St. Peter, in his first 
 sermon, called the Crucifixion, when he said: "The 
 Author of life you have killed." 
 
 This reproach applies not only to those Jews who 
 personally laid hands on Christ, but to all men as sin- 
 ners ; for St. Paul asserts : '' Whosoever sins, crucifies 
 God in his heart, tramples His precious Blood under 
 foot." And yet God forgives on account of the merits 
 of Christ ! Whom ? The greatest sinner if he but 
 repent. And what means does He choose for this ? 
 Let us adore and wonder, for the commission of the 
 greatest possible sin — attempted Deicide — became 
 for us the source of every grace. What a triumph of 
 Infinite Mercy! 
 
482 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 Glance at the Heart of Jesus, opened after his death : 
 by this He opened His arms to every soul, with the 
 loving words: '* I have loved thee unto death, and pre- 
 sented the last drop of My heart's blood for thee to 
 draw thee from the abyss of destruction which thy sins 
 prepared for thee in hell." 
 
 Oh, what a depth, and, at the same time, what a 
 height of love ! The work of Redemption as consum- 
 mated by this love, made fast the gates of hell, and 
 rescued us from that fiery pit ; but not content with 
 this, our loving Saviour would open the portals of a 
 heaven more beautiful than the one which would have 
 been our portion had Adam never sinned. 
 
 And now, as brothers of the Son of God, we may en- 
 ter that region of bliss, and become as precious stones 
 set in the celestial crown of the world of angels. 
 
 We may, by our zeal in the exercise of good works, 
 and their union with the merits of Christ, ascend higher 
 and higher, through new and more brilliant merits, to 
 an immeasurable degree of glory. 
 
 Look at Mary, whose throne is next to that of Jesus : 
 she was, like us, a child of man, and her glory by far 
 , outshines that of the brightest angel. We, as her chil- 
 dren, may hope to attain a place in heaven, near that 
 of our gracious Queen ; for from the Heart of Jesus 
 came forth the cry: ''To him that shall overcome I 
 will grant to sit with Me on My throne." 
 
 And how shall we learn the breadth of this love ? I 
 answer : By contemplating the generosity which mark- 
 ed its course, and so animated the Sacred Heart in the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 483 
 
 breast of the Infant Saviour in the crib and of the Re- 
 deemer on the cross. Even now it beats for us in the 
 Most. Holy Sacrament over the whole globe. Think 
 of the generosity of that love by which Jesus has com- 
 municated to us the whole merit of His life, passion, 
 and death. 
 
 The words of St. Augustine refer to this in the ex- 
 planation and answer given by him of the words of 
 Christ: ''What price could man give for his soul?" 
 ''Remember," exclaims St. Augustine, "the price 
 which Christ paid for yoii through the work of Re- 
 demption ; you have been purchased by the life, pas- 
 sion, and death of Christ the Son of God." What He 
 gave for you He did not give even for the angels. 
 
 Oh, how sweetly are we reminded of all this by one 
 loving glance at the Sacred Heart of Jesus ! It beats 
 indeed to-day on earth for each one of us. 
 
 Go before the tabernacle and ask what is that which 
 Jesus confers upon you in every Holy Communion. It 
 is Himself, 
 
 And the length of this enduring love may be dis- 
 cerned by the unwearied forbearance He shows to 
 man. 
 
 From the first moment of your conception. Chris- 
 tian soul. He has loved you with an everlasting love. 
 He has thought of you, and longed to bless you for 
 all eternity. And it will be your own fault if He does 
 not remain, until your very latest breath, the same 
 faithful, loving Jesus, Who will assist you in that last 
 dread passage where time is merged into eternity. 
 
484 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 Yes, It Is an article of faith that when the greatest 
 sinner turns with a repentant heart to Jesus, even in 
 his dying hour, he will still be saved through Him. 
 And is this really so? Christian, look at the wounded 
 Heart In the breast of your Redeemer. It has ceased 
 to beat — it is dead ! Yet from the wound came blood 
 and water, the symbol of the Church to which Christ 
 gave power to pardon the dying sinner whose heart 
 cries out for mercy — for forgiveness through the mer- 
 its of Christ. 
 
 Dearly beloved, who have listened to my words to- 
 day, reflect upon what I have told you of the Most 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus — of the height, depth, breadth, 
 and length of the love of Christ. Consider it daily, 
 and the wish of St. Paul, of which I have already 
 spoken to you, will certainly be fulfilled in you. 
 
 You will become so strengthened in the love of 
 God, through the Spirit of Christ, that He will abide 
 In your heart, and, finding therein so firm a faith, ear- 
 nest a hope, and ardent a love, will there take up His 
 abode forever.-— Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 485 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? " — 4 Kings x, 15. 
 
 CENTURIES have passed since our Lord and Sav- 
 iour, the loving Jesus, in His visible presence, 
 walked the earth ; and as the years roll on, He asks 
 of every CathoHc soul the same question which He 
 put to the prince of the Apostles : ^' Lovest thou Me? " 
 and every one should reply as did the ardent Peter : 
 ** Yes, Lord, I love Thee ; " and yet the answer is not 
 the same, for St. Peter not only assured the Lord of 
 his love, but added: '' Lord, Thou knowest all things, 
 Thou knowest that I love Thee." 
 
 If our divine Lord possessed not the power to read 
 what is written in the inmost recesses of our hearts, 
 He might be deceived by the assurance of a love 
 which has no place therein, and indiscriminately be- 
 stow those rich treasures of grace which He loves so 
 well to give, and which we require to work out our 
 salvation in that state of life to which we have each 
 one been assigned. But the Lord searcheth the heart 
 of man, and knoweth if his lips speak truth. And too 
 often, my dearest Christians, the lives, even of those 
 who possess the gift of faith, so directly contradict 
 their professions, that to them might be applied the 
 words of Isaac : "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but 
 the hands are those of Esau." 
 
 The lips say: "I love my Jesus who died for me," 
 but as ''actions speak louder far than words," they 
 
486 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 often proclaim the falsity of the assertion. We can 
 not sufficiently appreciate the necessity of examining 
 ourselves carefully on this point, and it were well to 
 do so in presence of the Sacred Heart, as it beats in 
 our midst, in the Most Holy Sacrament. What an- 
 swer could we make to this question of our Lord ? 
 Could we truly say with St. Peter : " Lord, Thou know- 
 est all things ; Thou knowest that I love Thee." Be- 
 loved in Christ, in this regard I will put into the 
 mouth of our Saviour those words of Holy Scripture. 
 " /f thy heart right as my heart is with thy hea74?'' 
 and after y on have listened attentively to Tny words to- 
 day ^ let each 07ie make answer to his soul and his God, 
 
 Mary, Mother of Jesus, who lovedst Him with the 
 most sincere and maternal love, grant that we also 
 may love Him with sincere and filial love ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 honor and glory of God ! 
 
 The first mark of sincere love is the silent testi- 
 mony of the heart itself, which is felt only by those 
 who love. The little child, which never even heard the 
 word love, feels it in the depths of its tender heart to- 
 ward its mother, who lavishes upon it every fond en- 
 dearment as it lovingly clings about her neck. 
 
 Question your own heart as to its feelings when- 
 ever you pronounce the sacred name of Jesus, or 
 even think of Him. 
 
 St. Bernard sometimes, after he had uttered that 
 
THIRD SERMON. 487 
 
 holy name, tasted a sweetness upon his lips as though 
 he had eaten honey. Can you say, O Christian ! that 
 your feelings are like his ? Is it with you, as St. 
 Augustine declares of himself, that you find every 
 thing, wherein the name of Jesus does not occur, insip- 
 id and without interest? You love Jesus, you say, but 
 if His name leaves you insensible and cold, I am forced 
 to doubt the sincerity of your love. 
 
 But as it is also true that mere feeling is very de- 
 ceptive, therefore show, by your life, that you really 
 speak the truth. ■ 
 
 The second mark of sincere love is the care one 
 takes not to grieve or offend the object of his love. 
 Thus it may happen that a wife says to her husband : 
 '' Do you love me ? " and what is his probable reply ? 
 '* Silly question; would I have married you had I not?" 
 But evening comes, and the charms of home are pow- 
 erless to keep him there. So he goes to the tavern, 
 where the midnight hour finds him still, yet he knows 
 how much he will grieve his faithful wife by this evil 
 course. Is she not perfecdy right, therefore, if she 
 says within herself: ''Thy lips say I love thee; but 
 thy life says it is a lie. Thy love is not sincere, or 
 thou wouldst not be so ready to grieve my heart." 
 
 Christian, your Saviour asks: ''Do you love Me?" 
 How does your life answer this question of the Lord ? 
 With what care do you endeavor, not only not to com- 
 mit a mortal sin, which would at once banish Christ 
 from your heart ; but to avoid committing even one de- 
 liberate venial sin which grieves and afflicts your Lord? 
 
488 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 Do you watch over your conscience by the most 
 assiduous practice of the particular examen ? If so, 
 then, indeed, you speak the truth. But if it would 
 seem that you are careless in regard to the trifling 
 sins and imperfections, — if you neglect the particular 
 examen, you place yourself in the greatest danger of 
 sinning, even grievously, and your lips would utter a 
 lie : your love is only an illusion. 
 
 Even if you would read from your book the most 
 ardent affections of love, while your lips say: ''Yes, 
 Lord Jesus, I love You;" your life cries out: "It is 
 false." But how is it, then, if you live with the guilt 
 of mortal sin upon your soul ? Ah ! then, indeed, you 
 deeply grieve your Saviour, and banish Him from 
 your heart. 
 
 The third mark of sincere love is the desire to 
 please the beloved, and to do with zeal what is re- 
 quired of us by the one whom we love. A well known 
 proverb says that "love can read in the eyes of the 
 beloved the desire of his heart." The same is true of 
 a sincere love towards Jesus. A wife needs not to ask 
 her husband whether he loves her, although he is of 
 a very undemonstrative nature, — never expressing his 
 love, — if his actions show that he does, if he is quick 
 to anticipate every wish of her heart; and fulfill it, if 
 possible ; therein lies the real test of love. The same 
 is true of the sincerity of our love towards Jesus. 
 What He requires of us is made known by His admo- 
 nition : " Follow Me ! — Be ye holy, as your Father in 
 heaven is holy." Ask your heart, with what zeal you 
 
THIRD SERMON. . 489 
 
 walk in the path of Christian perfection, whether it is 
 your earnest wish to become holy. 
 
 And not only that, but what zeal do you manifest 
 in assisting Jesus to extend His kingdom on earth, 
 through zeal in the exercise of the spiritual and cor- 
 poreal works of mercy ? With what solicitude do you 
 endeavor to prevent others from offending God, par- 
 ticularly those whom the Lord has confided to your 
 care, watching that they fulfill their duties as faithful 
 and zealous children of the Church ? 
 
 Do you try earnestly to lead infidels and heretics 
 to the way of salvation, and the knowledge of the true 
 and only Church wherein salvation is to be found; 
 and to support over the whole earth the kingdom of 
 God, that zealous missionaries may be enabled to 
 preach the gospel among the heathens ? Can you say 
 with truth that you are zealous in each of the above 
 duties? If so, then you may indeed rejoice, for it is 
 well with you ; and your life replete with holy deeds 
 shows that you sincerely love your God. But, on the 
 contrary — and oh, with how many is not this the case ! 
 — if you are satisfied to live an ordinary Christian 
 life, and, even this merely from the force of habit ; if 
 you do not at the very moment you awake from sleep, 
 resolve to let your aim be to grow always better and 
 better ; to constantly multiply the good works you per- 
 form, to never lose an opportunity to save and sanc- 
 tify others; — If, I repeat, beloved in Christ, it is thus 
 with you, then your love for Jesus is far from being 
 sincere. 
 
490 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 And if you are content to be solicitous only for your 
 immediate family or your own parish Church, as far 
 as necessity requires ; and even if you show yourself 
 an active parish child, yet neglect every thing in re- 
 gard to caring for the salvation of souls, as if it were 
 a duty belonging only to priests, then the sincerity of 
 your love towards Jesus is rather self-deception. 
 
 Whosoever loves Jesus sincerely provides for the 
 salvation of souls, even though he be not a Paul nor a 
 Priest, remembering the admonition of the disciple of 
 love: *' As He has shed His blood for us, so we should 
 be ready to shed ours for each soul." 
 
 Th^ fourth mark of sincere love is that magnanimity 
 and fidelity which leads us to make sacrifices, even if 
 we should have to suffer by assisting others. 
 
 Behold a married couple blessed with the goods of 
 the world, with health and happiness, because prosper- 
 ity has smiled upon their lives. You ask me whether 
 they love one another, and to what degree? A ques- 
 tion difficult to answer, while they continue to lead 
 such a delightful life. On the contrary, suppose a 
 youth and maiden to enter the married life with every 
 prospect of health and happiness, and behold ! after 
 a few qionths, the hand of the Lord is laid heavily 
 upon her, and He calls her to pass under His chas- 
 tening rod. The wife becomes incurably ill, the hus- 
 band loses his entire wealth, yet their love remains 
 the same ; yes, its flame burns even more brightly 
 than before. Ah, ^es ! they love each other truly. 
 
 You say: *' Yes, I love Jesus;" show it by your 
 
THIRD SERMON. 49 1 
 
 love for the cross, by your patience, If the Lord Im- 
 poses His chastening hand upon you. If then your 
 affections of love multiply towards Jesus, and you es- 
 teem yourself happy that He has drawn you to Him- 
 self by the royal way of the cross, we know that you 
 really*have a sincere love towards Him. 
 
 And what in all this world so effectively conduces to 
 this condition of sincere love, as one glance at the 
 most Sacred Heart of Jesus and an assiduous culti- 
 vation of that beautiful devotion ; for that Heart shed 
 the last drop of blood for you on the cross, in sincere 
 love. You have this Sacred Heart present in the 
 Blessed Sacrament. Go then before the tabernacle, 
 and think of Him who nourishes you so often with 
 the Holy Sacrament, and gives it to you as food. 
 
 The better to illustrate this I will relate the follow- 
 ing event : It happened that a ship was lost at sea, 
 and those of the passengers who escaped the wreck 
 were cast upon a desert island. Among them was a 
 mother with a nursing infant. However, the joy of 
 the passengers at their rescue was of brief duration, 
 for they discovered that the soil was bleak and barren, 
 and afforded no food whatever. And no vessel ap- 
 peared to bear them away, the mother sat holding 
 the starving child to her breast, from which it had 
 drawn the very last drop of milk. 
 
 The mother had no nutriment, how could she nour- 
 ish it ? It drew with such force that it took from her 
 veins the life blood, yet she uttered no word of com- 
 plaint. 
 32 
 
492 FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 The mother becoming weaker and weaker, the pas- 
 sengers entreated her to let the child die, and, perhaps, 
 her own life might be saved. But she was deaf to 
 their prayers, and still allowed the babe to drink her^ 
 blood ; yes, to the very last moment of her life, which 
 was indeed at hand, for her head drooped upon that 
 faithful breast ; and when the prayers of wrecked pas- 
 sengers, that they might be rescued, were heard and 
 a vessel came in sight, she was dead. The child 
 lived and grew to man's estate, and when the youth 
 heard what his mother had done for him, and how she 
 had nourished him with her blood, the heroic act filled 
 his heart with such ardent love for her, that from the 
 very depths of his yearning heart he often cried : ** O 
 mother ! mother ! could I but once behold you, if even 
 for one moment, only to thank you for- your devoted 
 maternal love. Oh, how happy would I not feel!" 
 
 Christians, what that mother did, the Sacred Heart 
 of Jesus is doing daily in the Most Holy Sacrament, 
 and has done it for nineteen hundred years, by nour- 
 ishing us with His precious blood. As children of God, 
 as members of the Church, we can thank Him for it 
 personally. Oh, then, make good use of His Presence 
 on your altars, particularly by frequent and worthy 
 Communions. 
 
 No doubt that will enkindle and nourish in your 
 hearts the, fire of divine love, as nothing else could in 
 the world ; and you will find your dearest joy in cher- 
 ishing a sincere, ardent, and faithful love towards the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 **Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." — Matt. 
 xvi, 1 8. 
 
 THE Church has set apart this day as the Feast of 
 St. Peter, while to-morrow she assigns for that 
 of his faithful coadjutor, St. Paul. But as these two 
 great champions of the truth were so intimately asso- 
 ciated in their mission, proclaiming together to the 
 Romans the divine word, which would lead them to 
 life eternal, and disseminating, with the most happy 
 results, our holy religion in the principal city of the 
 world, the Church, to perpetuate their glorious memory 
 together in the hearts of the faithful, upon the feast 
 of one or the other, observes the commemoration of 
 both. Their combined efforts in behalf of the Church 
 were productive of such luminous effects that St. Paul 
 himself gives testimony thereto, when writing to the 
 Romans, in the following words : '' Your faith is spoken 
 of in the whole world." As SS. Peter and Paul, more- 
 over, on the very same day, and for the very same 
 faith, gave up their lives, and received in heaven the 
 martyr's crown, it is fitting, indeed, that hymns of 
 
 (493) 
 
494 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 praise should, throughout the CathoHc world, ascend 
 on high in honor of both. 
 
 Let us to-day, in honor of St. Peter, consider : how 
 all that renders the Church so majestic and glorious by 
 her marks, is due to the privileges given by Christ to 
 the Pope — His Vicar on eaidh. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Apostles, whose maternal bless- 
 ing rejoiced the heart of St. Peter when, for the first 
 time, on Pentecost, he preached the word of God, ob- 
 tain for us the grace to honor the prince of the Apos- 
 tles in his successor! 
 
 1 speak m the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 During the solemn ceremonies attendant upon the 
 coronation of a newly-elected Pontiff, the cardinal dea- 
 con, second in rank, approaching the Vicar of Christ, 
 addresses him thus: *• Know that the Lord has made 
 of thee the ruler of the universe, and that thou art His 
 earthly representative. To Christ the Lord be ever- 
 lasting praise and glory." 
 
 This admonition to the newly-elected Head of the 
 Church is full of the deepest meaning, not only to him, 
 but to us; for it serves to remind his faithful children 
 to render to him the honor, love, and obedience which 
 belong to him as head of the Church, and to pay the 
 tribute with a willing heart. 
 
 That we may, at one glance, conceive a just idea 
 of. the glory which surrounds the pontificate of the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 495 
 
 successor of St. Peter, and realize its dignity in its 
 entire grandeur, we need but look at the kingdom of 
 God on earth, the Church, and consider how all that so 
 wonderfully exalts it emanates from its venerable head. 
 
 Who can behold this ancient and impregnable city 
 of God, so distinguished and glorified through those 
 four towers of strength, her marks, and refrain from 
 admiration and love! The Church is 07ie ; she is holy; 
 she is Catholic ; she is apostolic ; she is, moreover, infal- 
 lible and indestructible, and the Vicar of Christ watches 
 over it all. 
 
 ,The Church is 07ie! Look around the world, and 
 behold the thousands and hundreds of thousands of 
 men upon whose religious dissensions and wranglings 
 the sun never sets. Division of opinion, factions and 
 revolutions, new sects spring up every day on the 
 ruins of the old. Throughout all disunion arises, save 
 in the Church of God alone. She knows no compro- 
 mise between truth and error. All those who do not 
 confess what she teaches, or refuse her the submis- 
 sion of their will and judgment, must go forth from 
 her fold. And for the maintenance of this wonderful 
 union she is principally indebted to the Pope. 
 
 The earliest of the fathers of the Church have most 
 emphatically asserted this. '*It can not be denied/* 
 writes Optatus of Milevi, " that to St. Peter Rome is in- 
 debted for the establishment of the first dogmatical chair, 
 that over the whole Church unity might be preserved.'* 
 
 Remove from the Church of God the venerable 
 ruler who wields the scepter of her spiritual desti- 
 
496 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 nies; take from her that shepherd who for so many 
 centuries has guarded the flock of Christ, and unity 
 would prevail no more. 
 
 The Sovereign Pontiff is the center of unity, the cen- 
 ter toward which every thing in the spiritual creation 
 of the Church must ever tend — the sun — to which the 
 children of the Church must look for solace, light and 
 warmth, derived by him from the Sacred Heart of 
 Christ. 
 
 The Church, as we learn from her divine Founder, 
 is built upon one rock, not upon two ; and this rock 
 which procures for her individuality and unity is Peter, 
 and in him, his successor, the Pope. 
 
 The Church is holy. This characteristic of the 
 Church casts a halo of light about her. She is the 
 glorious Mother of all who have lived upon earth in 
 the practice of virtues so exalted that the Lord of 
 heaven and earth has attested and glorified them by 
 numberless most astonishing miracles. And what is 
 it that enables the saints of God to rise so far above 
 this poor weak nature of ours and become what they 
 are to-day ? It was a participation in all those means 
 of sanctification which Christ has communicated to 
 this Church. 
 
 But the Pope is the source from which emanates 
 every act of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Besides, there 
 is no other state or calling in life which, in proportion 
 to its numbers, can bring forward such a glorious array 
 of saints, whom the Church- has placed upon her altars 
 for the veneration of the faithful. Among the two hun- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 497 
 
 dred and fifty-seven of the successors of St. Peter eighty 
 Saints are placed on the altars. It is true that there 
 were many sainted bishops ; there have been Princes, 
 Kings, and Emperors, — men of almost every -state and 
 rank, — whom we venerate as canonized saints ; but, in 
 proportion, they are by far not so numerous as the 
 saints who once graced St. Peter's chair. 
 
 There is, therefore, a deep moral motive in the uni- 
 versal feeling of veneration which has impelled the 
 faithful to bestow upon the Sovereign Pontiff a title 
 which not even those of a different creed refus^ to 
 him — the title of ''Holy Father T It is he to whom 
 belong the words of Christ to St. Peter, whose suc- 
 cessor he is: ''I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom 
 of heaven ;'' and who, consequently, has the power to 
 open that celestial realm for all who deserve admis- 
 sion, and to enroll on earth among the saints all who, 
 by their holy lives, merit that glorious honor. 
 
 Even this is not the limit of his power, for he can 
 open to those departed suffering souls so dear to God 
 the treasure of the graces of the Church ; and, that 
 they may be the more speedily released from the puri- 
 fying fire of purgatory, he mercifully applies to them, 
 for their perfect purgation, the merits of Christ our 
 Saviour, by granting a plenary indulgence. Then, 
 nothing can detain them from entering the celestial 
 portals, and pouring forth their love and gratitude be- 
 fore the throne of God. What a high and holy privi- 
 lege ! what a sublime dignity has Christ conferred upon 
 the Pope! 
 
498 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 The Church is Catholic or universal; and to whom 
 is she indebted for this ? To the successor of St. Peter, 
 for it is through him that she retains her unity, without 
 which men of every land, although indeed a multitude, 
 would be utterly unable to form such an ecclesiastical 
 organization. 
 
 She is the Church of nations, because more than 
 two hundred millions of men, of every clime and 
 every tongue, look up to him who rules this Church 
 and lovingly call him *' Father." 
 
 St. Bernard pays a fitting tribute to the papal dig- 
 nity in the following energetic words, which he directed 
 to Pope Eugene III., whom the voice of God, guiding 
 the choice of the Church, summoned from the cloistered 
 walls of Clugny to wield the scepter of the Church. St. 
 Bernard, his former superior and spiritual father, ad- 
 dressed him in the following words: " Who art thou? 
 The Prince of Bishops and Apostles ; in the primacy, 
 Abel ; in the government, Noe ; in the patriarchate, 
 Abraham ; in the priestly character, Melchisedec ; in thy ♦ 
 dignity, Aaron ; in thy power, Peter ; in thy unction, 
 Christ!" 
 
 Most justly, therefore, did the great St. Cyprian, 
 more than sixteen centuries ago, pen the following 
 words: ''To be in communion with the Pope means 
 to be in communion with the whole Catholic world." 
 
 Take the sovereign Pontiff from the Church there- 
 fore, and she will cease to be Catholic. 
 
 The Church is apostolic. She knows and will rec- 
 ognize no other Founder than Christ, Who commis- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 499 
 
 sioned His Apostles to propagate her faith over all 
 the earth, and it is her Head who secures to her the 
 mark of apostolicity, for the pontifical succession has 
 reached from the time of the Apostles — from Peter, 
 Linus, Clement — uninterrupted and unbroken, until 
 the present day. 
 
 The '' Confessio'* as it Is called — the spot at Rome 
 where St. Peter was martyred ; the spot which was en- 
 riched by his blood — is the trunk of that mighty and 
 magnificent tree from which sprang other churches in 
 every part of the world ; so that St. Augustine might 
 well exclaim: "The Chain which rivets me to the 
 Catholic Church is the unbroken succession of that 
 glorious line of pontiffs who have filled St. Peter's 
 chair. Behold all those who have succeeded each 
 other there! Oh, this is. Indeed, the rock upon which 
 the Church is built, against which the gates of hell can 
 never prevail!" 
 
 The Church Is infallible. What a distinction for 
 her! The kingdom of truth upon earth — a world full 
 of doubt, contradiction, and lies! And through whom 
 is she infallible? St. Thomas of Aquin, the greatest 
 of all theologians, will answer: ** It is because her 
 Head is infallible ; because he has been endowed with 
 that power ever since Christ said to St. Peter : ' Satan 
 has desired to have you to sift you as wheat, but I have 
 prayed for thee Peter, that thy faith fail not ; and thou 
 being once converted, confirm thy brethren,' and ever 
 since the earliest ages of Christianity the popes have 
 faithfully done this.'* 
 
500 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 The Church is indestructible. What a glorious privi- 
 lege is this in a world where every thing else yields to 
 the withering touch of time ! It is the indestructible 
 nature of the rock upon which she is built which se- 
 cures for her this enviable attribute. It is St. Peter in 
 the reigning Pontiff, whoever he may be, who, inspired 
 by Christ, secures this indestructibility to the Catholic 
 Church, as the history of every age has shown. 
 
 Not only was she tossed about on the waves of dis- 
 puted dogma, but for three hundred weary years the 
 bloody sword of persecution was drawn, and the blood 
 of many martyrs became the seed of the infant Church. 
 Twenty-eight Popes gave up their lives for the faith; 
 and, by their example, ''confirmed their brethren" in 
 the faith until Pope Sylvester planted the cross upon 
 the crown of Constantine the Great. 
 
 Then came the migration of nations. Rome, with 
 the West, is forsaken, and left without protection from 
 the emperors. But, behold! the Popes, in the might of 
 their power, checked the incoming tide of barbarians, 
 converted the Asiatic hordes to our holy faith, and laid 
 the foundation of the civilization of to-day. 
 
 The Musselman's creed, making such rapid advances, 
 threatened to blot out Christianity, could such a thing 
 have been possible ; but there were the Popes, who en- 
 couraged the Crusades, and crushed the encroachment. 
 At home, despotism enslaved even nations professing 
 Christianity; but the Popes broke the arrogant spirit 
 of royalty, and secured the freedom of the people. 
 
 But, with the advance of time, all this was forgotten ; 
 
FIRST SERMON. 5OI 
 
 nations were misled by fanatical demagogues, while 
 pseudo-philosophers and revolutionists destroyed the 
 basis of human society, and trampled upon the interests 
 of mankind. But Popes, as were Pius VI. and VII., pro- 
 nounced the anathema against this corruption, while the 
 wicked raged at the check thus put on their schemes, 
 and chafed in their ire, but in vain! 
 
 And, in our day, we know how a false and inflated 
 knowledge seeks to sully the purity of faith. We be- 
 hold how ''modern progress," in this nineteenth cen- 
 tury, and its boasted civilization, glories in trampling 
 upon the liberties of the Church, and points at her the 
 finger of scorn. But Pope Pius IX. confronted this 
 arrogance, and by his ecclesiastical censures crushed 
 down its assaults. 
 
 Do not think that the Church, or her venerable 
 Pontiffs, would ever raise their voice, or exert their 
 power, against the blessings of real progress, for, that 
 they have ever encouraged. She has been its mother, 
 and she has ever ranked first in assisting to promote 
 Its advance. But, at the same time, through her 
 Pontiffs, she has ever condemned those who abused 
 it for the promotion of their own vile ends, — to en- 
 slave religious freedom, and destroy the purity of 
 faith, — with a courage and firmness which equalled 
 that of the martyrs of old. 
 
 It is an honor, indeed, for a mortal to be ranked 
 among those who have been chosen to be the suc- 
 cessors of Peter, the Head of the Church of God, the 
 Vicar of Christ, and to enjoy the greatest dignity ever 
 
502 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 conferred upon man by God. Leo XIII. fully realizes 
 the greatness of this honor, and gloriously guards the 
 interests of the Church. But let the faithful children 
 of the Church be also encouraged to stand up boldly 
 for the rights of the Pontifical Chair ; and, through 
 their veneration, attachment, and fidelity to the Pope, 
 show themselves to be devoted and worthy children of 
 the Holy Catholic Church. — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 503 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 ** Simon, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not ; and thou, being 
 once converted, confirm thy brethren." — Luke xxii, 32. 
 
 HOLY SCRIPTURE tells us that, ere yet our first 
 parents had forfeited their right to dwell amid 
 the varied charms of Eden, while their still pure 
 and innocent souls enabled them to revel in its de- 
 lights without a thought of care, God created in them 
 the spirit of knowledge and filled them with wisdom. 
 Unfortunately, they listened to the seductive voice of 
 the tempter, yielded to sin, and, in consequence, both 
 they and their posterity were deprived of those gifts 
 in their perfection. To atone for this deficiency, there- 
 fore, man is bound to acquire such knowledge as will 
 enable him not only to provide for his temporal ne- 
 cessities, but also to learn the truths of revelation, 
 that he may walk in the way of salvation, fulfill the 
 will of God, and one day receive an eternal reward. 
 
 This granted, my dear brethren, it becomes evident 
 at once that Catholics should be so thoroughly in- 
 structed in their holy faith as to be able to defend or 
 explain it when called upon. 
 
 At the time when the early dawn of Christianity 
 first beamed upon a world so long groping in the 
 darkness of error, the first Christians knew every 
 point of faith, and could impart that knowledge, too, 
 to those who were longing to seek refuge in the fold 
 of Christ ; but, alas ! it is no longer so. 
 
504 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 Look, for example, at that article of faith which has 
 been recently defined to be a dogma — much to the 
 joy of all devoted Catholics — ^but amid such a storm 
 of opposition from the side of unbelievers, and even 
 of some Catholics themselves. And but few Catholics 
 comprehend it even now so fully as to explain or de- 
 fend it to those who treat it with scorn. 
 
 / allude to the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope, 
 of which, in my sermon to-day, I will present to you the 
 proofs. 
 
 Mary, most perfect model of a living faith, who, 
 as we are taught by the Church, didst so often crush 
 the heresies in their very birth, pray to thy divine 
 Son that we may never desert that holy faith ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 If, beloved in the Lord Jesus, it is so essentially 
 necessary, especially in our own day, for the Catholic 
 Christian to be in general well instructed in all mat- 
 ters of faith, a thorough knowledge of those truths 
 which have been more recently defined as necessary 
 to be believed, is of the utmost importance. Scarcely 
 any other article of faith has been so disfigured and 
 distorted as the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope ; 
 and, being but imperfectly understood by Catholics 
 themselves, defection from faith sometimes was the 
 result. Witness the sect of "■ Old Catholics " in Ger- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 565 
 
 many, which numbers in its ranks some of the most 
 renowned professors and learned savants of that land. 
 Therefore, parents, I entreat you, if you love the souls 
 of your children, listen to my words to-day. 
 
 Let your children not suffer shipwreck in their faith, 
 and therefore instruct them most carefully as to the 
 meaning of the assertion, ** The Pope is infallible." 
 
 The time will soon come for your child to leave his 
 home and choose a career in life. He will possibly 
 meet with companions of a different faith. He will be 
 questioned as to whether he, as a Catholic, believes 
 in the Trinity, the Real Presence, and sacramental 
 confession. He will, no doubt, answer in the affirma- 
 tive. But now his Protestant or infidel friend may 
 ask : '' Tell me if you also believe that a mere man is 
 infallible." '* A man infallible? I don't believe that he 
 is infallible." *'But," continues the Protestant, ''your 
 Church and her ministers insist upon the infallibility 
 of the Pope, which blasphemous assertion is nothing 
 else than investing a man with the attributes of God." 
 How can your child reply as he should unless, before 
 his departure from the paternal roof, you were careful 
 to have him well instructed in his religion, especially 
 in regard to this pontifical attribute ? 
 
 Parents ! the responsibility is yours ; therefore listen 
 with a particular attention to that which I shall say on 
 this subject to-day, that you may conceive a proper 
 idea of so important a matter, and impart to your chil- 
 dren a knowledge sufficient to answer satisfactorily the 
 enemies of our faith. t 
 
506 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 First, I answer to the question, What do we mean 
 by saying that the Pope is infallible ? 
 
 Secondly, How can we prove that he is infallible ? 
 
 Thirdly, How can we reply to the questions or ob- 
 jections most generally brought forward against it ? 
 
 First, What does it mean that the Pope is infallible ? 
 I answer : It does not mean that the Pope is infallible 
 when he merely converses, preaches, or writes upon 
 faith. It does not mean that he can not err in matters 
 of a purely worldly nature or in questions of science ; 
 neither are we to understand that in political affairs 
 he can make no mistake. Above all, it does not mean 
 that he is impeccable ; that is, exempt from the com- 
 mission of sin. What, then, does it mean? By saying 
 that Christ's Vicar on earth is infallible, we mean that 
 he, as the successor of St. Peter and representative of 
 Christ on earth, can not err in matters oi faith when 
 he, as Head of the Church, pronounces to the whole 
 Church a decision of faith upon some disputed point. 
 
 For instance, as to whether a certain something is 
 a revealed truth or not, or whether it stands in imme- 
 diate relation to some revealed truth. Here, my breth- 
 ren, the Pope is infallible ; and even here it is not from 
 any intrinsic merit of his own, but through the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, Who, ever watchful of the interests of 
 His Holy Church, bestowed upon him this gift. 
 
 Now, how can the prerogative of Infallibility be 
 proved? How can we convince those who do not 
 believe it that it is not a mere assumption of author- 
 ity on the part of the Sovereign Pontiffs ? 
 
SECOND SERMON. . 507 
 
 There are three passages in which our divine Lord 
 Himself assures us of it ; first, when He spoke of es- 
 tablishing His Church, and addressed to the venerable 
 chief of the apostles those memorable words: ''Thou 
 art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, 
 and the gates of hell shall never prevail against her." 
 
 Age after age has rolled away, and yet she has 
 stood firm and immovable, undaunted by the malice 
 of her foes, and all because the faith which she teaches 
 is truth itself. If, then, according to the words ot 
 Christ Himself, St. Peter is the firmly established foun- 
 dation of the Church, then the faith he teaches must 
 be without a blemish ; for let the foundation totter, 
 and the structure which it supports must fall — a ruined 
 pile ! 
 
 Again, we read in Holy Writ (Luke xxii, 32) that 
 when, upon one occasion, our Lord referred to the 
 diabolical malice of Satan, who exerted himself to the 
 utmost to destroy the infant Church, He exclaimed: 
 *' Simon, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; 
 and thou, being once converted, confirm thy breth- 
 ren." And can we doubt, for one little moment, be- 
 loved in Christ, that a prayer offered up by the Son of 
 God made man would fail to achieve its end ; and that 
 at that very moment the power of infallibly deciding 
 in matters of faith was imparted to St. Peter and his 
 Successors, in order that the Church might be con- 
 firmed in faith and the salvation of her children se- 
 cured ? 
 
 Lastly, Christ thus addressed Peter, after His resur- 
 33 
 
508 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 rection arid before ascending to heaven: ''Feed My 
 lambs; feed My sheep." These words, dear brethren, 
 inculcate obedience in all matters of faith, on the part 
 of the faithful — the bishops as well as the laity; the 
 sheep as well as the lambs — to the successor of St. 
 Peter, the sovereign Pontiff. For the word of God — 
 the right and full instruction in matters of faith — is 
 the pasture which sustains the spiritual life of the flock 
 of Christ, Who, therefore, deemed it necessary to 
 secure the prerogative of Infallibility to St. Peter and 
 the long line of popes, who have succeeded, and will 
 continue to succeed, him until the end of time, that 
 they might never lead the souls, whose salvation He 
 had purchased at so dear a rate, to graze in poisoned 
 meadows. 
 
 The existence of this power attached to the dignity 
 of the Pope, which Christ so decidedly and gloriously 
 has enunciated in the three preceding passages of Holy 
 Writ, has always been acknowledged and recognized 
 by the Church, from the time of the Apostles until the 
 present day, as a prerogative which the successors of 
 St. Peter have always both exercised and required to 
 be obeyed. 
 
 In proof of this we need only take into considera- 
 tion the opinions of the holy fathers, from the Apos- 
 tles to St. Bernard, who all confess with St. Jerome: 
 " I swerve not from that which the Head of .the Holy 
 Roman Church commands to be believed ; for upon the 
 teaching of the chair of St. Peter the Church is con- 
 firmed in faith." The holy fathers all cry out, and con- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 509 
 
 fess with St. Augustine : " No more discussion, Rome 
 has spoken ! " 
 
 This privilege of St. Peter in his successors, the 
 popes, has been acknowledged also by all the Bcu- 
 menical Councils or assemblies of the Church — fathers 
 in the East and the West, from the first to the last. 
 Unanimously they cry out with the fathers of the Coun- 
 cil of Chalcedon : '' Leo speaks. St. Peter speaks 
 through him. We believe with Leo;" and they all 
 confess with those of the Sixth General Council: 'Tt 
 seems but paper and ink, but, through Agatho, Peter 
 has spoken ; Peter lives among us in his successors as 
 Head of the Roman Church." 
 
 This infallible right of decision has also ever been, 
 and is still, acknowledged by the mightiest intellects 
 of every age. Men of the greatest learning and re- 
 nown, as doctors in the Church, have always been 
 ready to agree with St. Thomas of Aquin, the most 
 celebrated of all theologians. He says: ''The Church 
 is infallible, for her head is infallible, according to the 
 promise of Christ : Simon, I have prayed for thee that 
 thy faith fail not." 
 
 Acting then upon this infallible right the Sovereign 
 Pontiffs themselves have throughout all ages, and in 
 the face of the whole ecclesiastical world exercised this 
 privilege, from the earliest days of Christianity until 
 now. All heresies were judged by the Pope as Head 
 of the Church within or without the councils, and, 
 therefore, to say that history can show nothing of this 
 privilege, and that the definition of the ''Infallibility 
 
5IO FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 of the Pope,'' as a dogma, was a mere scheme of Pius 
 IX. and the bishops of the Vatican Council, is simply 
 absurd. 
 
 So far from this, there is no other article of faith to 
 which Church history so frequently points as this, so 
 amply has Christ provided for the faith of the Church 
 for all time. 
 
 Finally, beloved in Christ, when you speak upon 
 this subject with Protestants, especially Americans, 
 remind them that in every state there is a supreme 
 court from whose decisions there can be no appeal ; 
 otherwise disputes would never cease, and all govern- 
 ment would be at an end. In Washington, for exam- 
 ple, there is the Chief Justice, to whose decision all 
 must yield. Beloved in Christ, what this chief justice 
 is for the national government, the Sovereign Pontiff 
 is for the Church; the difference only consisting in 
 this ! that neither the United States nor any other gov- 
 ernment does claim to be a kingdom of truth. But 
 the Church assures us that she is the kingdom of 
 truth, and her divine Founder tells us that he is the 
 King of truth. It may be advisable to sacrifice one's 
 rights for the public welfare ; but no one who has the 
 consciousness of a rational being will willingly palm 
 off error for truth. Consequently, all unprejudiced 
 thinking men over the entire world, if they only give 
 the subject sufficient consideration, must know and 
 confess that when the Church declares herself infalli- 
 ble, her Head, in pronouncing upon questions of faith, 
 must be so too. If this were not the case there would 
 
SECOND SERMON. 5II 
 
 be an interminable chain of doubts, dissensions, and 
 disputes. 
 
 But some may ask: Why then did the Gallicans so 
 strenuously oppose this dogma, and reject it even 
 after its definition was announced to the world? 
 
 That they did indeed do so is a lamentable fact; 
 but the motives which guided their conduct, especially 
 in England and France, was to flatter those sovereigns 
 who aspired not only to govern the state, but the 
 Church in the state as well. 
 
 In Germany also the promulgation of Papal Infalli- 
 bility, as an article of faith, elicited a storm of oppo- 
 sition from certain learned theologians, who disdained 
 to submit their understanding to the decision of the 
 Church; but this opposition, my brethren, had its or- 
 igin in a spirit of pride which rebelled for not hav- 
 ing been invited to the Vatican Council. 
 
 More than thirty years have elapsed since I lived in 
 Europe, and read the writings of him who has since 
 become the principal actor in the recent heretical and 
 scandalous movement in Germany, and I predicted 
 even then, that he would become a heresiarch, that is, 
 the founder of a new heretical sect. Every line of 
 what proceeded from his pen bore upon it the impress 
 of pride, insincerity, and willful blindness. 
 
 But God be forever praised, beloved in Christ, that 
 the bishops of our Holy Church remained faithful to . 
 their calling ! Not one joined the r-anks of that heret- 
 ical body, although some priests were so false as to 
 do so, and even so guilty as to forget their vows, and 
 
512 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 marry. And that reveals plainly that in their hearts they 
 had long ago wished to give up their allegiance to the 
 Church ; and pride is never slow in opening wide the 
 portals through which carnal desire may come. But 
 heed what I say, my brethren, the day is close at 
 hand which will witness the dying struggles of that 
 sect. 
 
 Let us then give eternal praise and thanks to God, 
 Whose divine will it was that this dogma should be 
 solemnly proclaimed before the end of time, and Who 
 so blesses His Church that never has she felt interiorly 
 so immutable, firm, and secure. This definition has 
 secured for her perfect immunity against all possible 
 storms from without and within, no matter how 
 fiercely they rage in matters of faith. At whatever 
 emergency, all eyes will then be only directed with in- 
 fallible assurance to the decision of the Sovereign 
 Pontiff. 
 
 Even if the successor of St. Peter should be for^ 
 cibly deprived of the Vatican, and banished from his 
 home in the Eternal City, no matter if he withdraw 
 to the uttermost limits of the earth, never more to 
 behold the gold and crimson of the setting sun tinge 
 with a glorious radiance the s6ven hills of Rome, still 
 we may exclaim with St. Ambrose: " Where Peter 
 is, there is the Church, — there is the One upon whom 
 Christ bestowed the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 
 St. Peter lives in his successor — the Pope ! There is 
 the certainty of faith, the way of salvation ! " — Amen! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 513 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 ** Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates 
 of hell shall not prevail against her." — Matt, xvi, i8. 
 
 EIGHTEEN hundred years and more have rolled 
 away since the divine Founder of our Holy 
 Church uttered these consoling words to the prince 
 of the Apostles, when He invested him with the power 
 of the keys; and, of all those years, we can scarcely 
 point to one wherein the storms of persecution have 
 not raged so wildly and fiercely, in one or another 
 portion of His spiritual domain, that, at times, the 
 enemies of religion rejoiced in the hope that the hour 
 of their triumph was at hand ! 
 
 But, firm and unshaken in her power and might — 
 pure, holy, immaculate — the Church still stands forth, 
 the kingdom of God on earth. She combats and con- 
 quers ; and will at last celebrate, with Christ in heaven, 
 the never-ending triumph of victory. 
 
 But of what avail would it be for you, my dearly be- 
 loved, if the Immaculate Bride of Christ rise far above 
 the malice of her foes, and you yourselves, though you 
 be Catholics, were to go to perdition ? 
 
 *' You are temples of God," says the Apostle ; and 
 Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, Himself assures us 
 that the kingdom of God is within us. This kingdom 
 is also exposed to the assaults of temptation, and the 
 artful attacks of the enemy of our souls, whose de- 
 
514 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 monlac joy it is to win us from our allegiance to this 
 heavenly realm. 
 
 Therefore, our lives must be one constant struggle, 
 which can only end with life ; for, as children of the 
 militant Church, we must valiantly fight, if we wish 
 to participate in her grand celestial triumph. 
 
 Full well did the great St. Augustine comprehend 
 this truth when he said: "I beheld men falling, who 
 once stood as pillars in the Church." Beloved in 
 Christ, what a motive to incite us to try, by every 
 means in our power, to strengthen this kingdom of 
 God in our hearts, and how important is not the 
 question: What must we do to preserve this king- 
 dom within us ? How shall we remain faithful to the 
 standard of Christ? I answer, and say: 
 
 The very promises 7nade by the Saviotir to Peter, the 
 rock upon which He would build His Churchy are those 
 which, applied to ourselves, are the guarantees of our 
 perseverance, 
 
 Mary, Protectress of the Church, thou valiant 
 woman, who stoods't beneath the cross with bleeding 
 heart, yet crushing down thy grief, obtain for us 
 
 • strength and fidelity to combat and conquer as vic- 
 torious soldiers of thy Son! 
 
 1 speak in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater 
 honor and glory of God! 
 
 ** Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
 My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 
THIRD SERMON. 515 
 
 against her." Such was the glorious assurance which 
 the Saviour gave to St. Peter, when the latter, in the 
 name of all the Apostles, made that sublime confes- 
 sion of faith in Him as Christ, the Son of God made 
 man. And again : '' Peter, I have prayed for thee, that 
 thy faith fail not, and thou, being once converted, con- 
 firm thy brethren." 
 
 From these promises we learn the first and princi- 
 pal condition upon which depends the firm establish- 
 ment of the kingdom of God in our hearts, and that 
 is, faith. Because it is faith which so gloriously illu- 
 mines our path to eternity that, with its brilliant light 
 flashing into the inmost recesses of our soul, we can 
 not fail to realize the importance of the great affair of 
 our salvation. 
 
 How could it be otherwise than that faith, with all 
 its promises, should inspire us to valiantly combat 
 temptation, walk firmly in the pathway of right, and 
 obtain that eternal reward ? 
 
 It is faith which teaches us, not only to avoid the bad, 
 but to perform the good ; urges us on in our striving 
 after perfection, and enables us to reach the goal at last. 
 
 Faith warns us -against the many dangers which con- 
 stantly threaten the Christian ; and opens our spiritual 
 hearing to the terrible warnings which are sent us in 
 mercy and love — warnings of the punishments which 
 will come upon us if we prove false to our God. 
 
 It is faith which whispers so sweetly of that heaven 
 which may be ours, the glories and joys of which the 
 heart of man hath not conceived. 
 
5l6 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 Faith teaches us, also, that God was pleased to cre- 
 ate rational beings; to endow them with free will; to 
 place them on earth in a state of probation and trial, 
 and that all those who emerge victoriously from the 
 ordeal will, through His beatific vision, and an essen- 
 tial union with Him, become forever blessed, a7td be 
 even like unto Him. 
 
 But faith also points out the dangers of salvation. 
 It teaches that many of the human race have failed to 
 stand the test of freedom; that, even of the bright an- 
 gelic host, a third part succumbed to the violence of 
 their evil desires, and were hurled into the abyss of 
 fire enkindled by the breath of an angry God. 
 
 Then was inaugurated the conflict between the king- 
 dom of God and the dominion of Satan ; between the 
 kingdom of virtue and the kingdom of evil. Then 
 stood arrayed against each other the kingdom of light 
 and the powers of darkness in a contest which will 
 end but with time. 
 
 Then our first parents, forgetful of that God Who 
 had placed them in a terrestrial paradise — a garden of 
 delights — listened to the tempter who, envying their 
 happiness, sought to drag them to perdition, and urged 
 them to rebel against their Maker. It was fitting, In- 
 deed, and most worthy of the Divine Goodness, that 
 the Redemption of man was effected ; but. In regard 
 to his individual temptations he should combat, be 
 faithful to God and His kingdom, and ''bear it away." 
 
 Well is It for that Christian who never loses sight 
 of faith amid the cares and turmoil of the world, — 
 
THIRD SERMON. 5^7 
 
 \vho, illuminated by its light, thinks often upon its 
 promises, its warnings, its threatenings, in their 
 whole eternal greatness, — combats valiantly against 
 temptation, and is firmly determined, not only not to 
 risk his salvation by sinning mortally, but to aspire 
 even after perfection, and to continually increase his 
 merits for heaven. 
 
 Faith points, moreover, to those means which the 
 bounty of a loving Saviour has placed within our 
 reach that we may serve Him with unswerving 
 fidelity. Then, O child of the Holy Catholic Church ! 
 cling firmly to the rock upon which that Church is 
 built; for there, indeed, the light of faith shines with 
 such splendor that, when hidden foes would assault 
 the soul, we are warned at once. Live in that light, 
 and the kingdom of God will forever remain firm in 
 your heart. 
 
 Christ, secondly, promised to St. Peter the keys of 
 the kingdom of heaven ; and, through the prince of 
 ihe Apostles, our Lord makes similar promises to us. 
 What, then, for us, beloved in Christ, are those keys 
 which possess such wonderful power? I answer: 
 Those prayers which we offer up in the most holy 
 name of Jesus. ''Whatsoever you ask the Father in 
 My name, He will give unto you," so Jesus Himself 
 assures us. How, then, can we hesitate to ask for 
 graces when, as it were, we become almighty through 
 this promise? 
 
 St. Teresa has declared that she does not fear for a 
 soul devoted to prayer. The prayerful soul possesses, 
 
5l8 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 through that very love of prayer, the key to heaven, 
 thus being able to procure always new graces for her 
 sanctificatlon. It was prayer which transformed so 
 many holy souls into saints of God. St. Augustine 
 justly says: *' He that prays rightly, lives rightly;" 
 consequently, those who pray like the saints will live 
 like them. 
 
 Yes, beloved in the Lord Jesus, whoever prays "in 
 spirit and in truth," and according to the divine admo- 
 nition, prays always, — that is, keeps himself ever in 
 the presence of God, — will, according to the promise 
 made to Abraham the father of the faithful, become 
 perfect. *' Walk before Me, and you will become per- 
 fect," said the Lord. 
 
 " Feed My sheep." The pasture to which the 
 Spiritual Shepherd leads His flock are those green 
 and pleasant meadows of revealed truth watered by 
 limpid streams and sparkling founta;ins of grace. 
 
 But another pasture is also contained in the divine 
 admonition, namely, the manner and form in which 
 the Church celebrates her feasts throughout the ec- 
 clesiastical year ; her maternal heart thus reminding 
 us of our calling as children of God, and of all He has 
 done for our salvation. To this spiritual pasture be- 
 longs, also, the hearing of the divine word, the many 
 attractive devotions she cherishes, and the frequent 
 reception of the Holy Sacraments. 
 
 Above all, beloved in the Lord Jesus, remember 
 Him Who remains in the little tabernacle, often alone 
 and forgotten, although His delight is to be with the 
 
THIRD SERMON. 519 
 
 children of men. Make good use of the real presence 
 of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament — Christ, Who 
 offers Himself daily, yes, hourly, on our altars, and 
 gives Himself a celestial banquet for our souls. 
 
 Ah, yes, the presence of Christ among us is indeed 
 a very pasture of delight and spiritual repast ! Visit 
 Him then often, and remember that He is the same 
 Jesus Who once offered Himself for each one of us 
 upon the cross, as He now offers Himself for us daily 
 in the Mass, and that not once, but numberless times. 
 
 Oh, what a treasure is Holy Mass to those whose 
 hearts are penetrated with a true and living faith ! 
 When the Sacred Host is held on high in the hands 
 of the minister of God, we may indeed exclaim with 
 more than the confidence of holy David : *' Behold 
 herein the face of Christ Thy Son." But what shall I 
 say of Holy Communion ? What strength do we not 
 derive from a pasture which affords us as food the 
 flesh and blood of Christ, Who deigns to mingle them 
 with ours. Who condescends so far as to come with 
 body and soul, divinity and humanity, into our poor, 
 weak hearts. " He that eateth this bread will live for 
 Me — will live forever ; " and again : *' He that eateth 
 this bread abideth in Me, and I in him." Blessed as- 
 surance from the divine lips of Him Who will one day 
 come to judge the living and the dead ! 
 
 Yes, brethren in Christ, that the promises of Christ 
 to St. Peter may one day be verified in us, and that 
 the kingdom of God may take deep root in our hearts, 
 we must entertain an absolute and unqualified sub- 
 
520 FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 mission to the teaching of the Church in matters of 
 faith, and to the teaching of the Infallible Head of the 
 Church, the Pope. We must cultivate a spirit of prayer, 
 be zealous in receiving the Sacraments. We must 
 assist devoutly at Mass as often as we can, not on 
 Sundays only, but even when the Church does not 
 oblige us to go, and should also, by visits, adore Him 
 in the Most Holy Sacrament, and receive Him often 
 through Holy Communion. 
 
 If it be thus with you, beloved in Christ, you may 
 indeed thank God for enabling you to be thus faith- 
 ful to the graces- He gives, — you may thank Him 
 from the very depths of a grateful and loving heart ; 
 for His divine kingdom is firmly established within 
 you, and the gates of hell can work no ruin there- 
 in. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 **I am the mother of knowledge." — Eccl. xxiv, 24. 
 
 LIFE is a warfare, and none should be more sensi- 
 ble of this truth than the children of that holy 
 and venerable Church whose character on earth is 
 militant. Well did St. Paul realize our state; and, 
 therefore, in his Second Epistle to Timothy, he ad- 
 monished this disciple that he who striveth for the 
 mastery is not crowned except he strive lawfully. 
 That all the members of our ancient faith do not 
 strive after this manner is, alas, but too certain ; and 
 who can say, dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, that the 
 greater number ever at all begin this conflict with the 
 world, the flesh and devil? And yet, as salvation for 
 a long and endless eternity depends upon this com- 
 bat and this victory, each zealous child of the Church 
 should avail himself of every means within his reach 
 to render the issue as certain as possible ; for what is 
 more just than that a combatant choose the keenest 
 weapons for the fray, and protect himself with the 
 strongest armor? 
 
 A child of the Church should, therefore, obey the 
 
 loving call of that tender mother when she most 
 
 (521 
 
522 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 earnestly entreats him to fly for refuge to Mary the 
 Mother of God. That she does so is evident from the 
 fact that in almost every instance the ''Hail Mary" 
 immediately follows the "Our Father." The very 
 words, which are thus placed on our lips, manifest 
 the confidence reposed by the Church in the ever- 
 blessed Virgin. From this powerful protectress her 
 children may expect assistance in all dangers of soul 
 and body, for she teaches them to say: '' Holy Mary, 
 Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the 
 hour of our death." 
 
 There are innumerable other prayers which she 
 says in the name of her children, and each one indi- 
 cates her confidence in the patronage of Mary. There 
 are also two special devotions through which she calls 
 upon her children to take refuge with Mary, namely, 
 the devotion of the Rosary and of the Scapular. 
 
 It is the latter which to-day claims our attention, and 
 I say to you: Children of Mary, be invested with the 
 Scapular of Mount Carmel, and, moreover, wear it in 
 the spirit of God ; wear it as becomes worthy children 
 of her who calls herself: **The Mother of knowl- 
 edge." 
 
 How does she deserve this title ? I shall to-day en- 
 deavor to establish her claims.- 
 
 O Mary, Protectress of the Church of God and her 
 children, above all strengthen in our hearts the virtue 
 of holy faith, that it may be and remain for us all a 
 shield in that combat which will only end at death ! 
 
FIRST SERMON. 523 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of Jesus for the 
 greater glory of God. 
 
 ''The just man lives by faith," as St. Paul assures 
 us. How important, therefore, must it be to let this 
 virtue take deep root in our hearts, that it may have 
 a vigorous growth and bear abundant fruit; how anx- 
 ious ought we to be that these fruits obtain their full 
 maturity for the nourishment and refreshment of our 
 souls. 
 
 The same Apostle also calls faith a shield. The 
 life of the just man upon earth is, as we have already 
 heard, a combat, and only he who lawfully strives 
 will receive the crown of victory. As proof of this 
 read the eleventh chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the 
 Hebrews. Beginning with Abel the just, he points to 
 the combat and victory of the patriarchs and all the 
 just of the preceding ages, to Gedeon, Sampson, 
 Jephte, David, Samuel, and the prophets, and con- 
 cludes with the words : '' Who by faith subdued king- 
 doms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped 
 the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 
 
 put to flight the armies of foreigners 
 
 They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were 
 tempted. . . . And all these being approved by the 
 testimony of faith. . . . ." 
 
 The same and much more St. Paul could have as- 
 serted of the faithful under the New Law. What should 
 
 we learn from this? That, as the same Apostle ex- 
 34 
 
524 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 horts US, following ''this cloud of witnesses," we 
 should run to the fight proposed unto us, "looking on 
 Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith,'' which must 
 illumine and strengthen the valiant contenders for 
 the kingdom of God. To combat victoriously it is 
 necessary to have an accurate knowledge of the bat- 
 tle-field, to know beforehand the number of the op- 
 posing forces, and to be acquainted with the manner 
 of their attack. All this we see by the light of 
 faith. 
 
 St. Paul says: *' Looking on Jesus, the Author and 
 Finisher of faith;" I say to-day: Looking at Mary, 
 upon whom Christ Himself bestows the epithet 
 ''blessed" on account of her faith. And why? I 
 answer : Because Mary, as Mother of the Author of 
 our holy faith, with all its truths, gifts, advantages, 
 and promises, is intimately and inseparably united 
 with Him. 
 
 St. Paul calls faith, first, a shield in the conflict 
 against the world, the flesh, and the devil. In olden 
 times, the shield covered the warriors from head to 
 foot. When will faith be to us such a protection in 
 the combat for our salvation? When we not only 
 confess the faith with our lips and in some of our ac- 
 tions, but are thoroughly instructed in matters of faith 
 and able to furnish a correct explanation of what we 
 believe. What a reliable shield in the conflict against 
 temptation will our faith be to us if it be as firm and 
 unhesitating as Mary's ! 
 
 " Blessed art thou who hast believed." These were 
 
FIRST SERMON. 525 
 
 the words which the holy and venerable Elizabeth 
 addressed to the young and tender Virgin, and in 
 the same manner the entire Church calls out to her, 
 saluting her as the seat of divine wisdom, as the 
 tower of David, as the one who put to flight all here- 
 sis and enemies of holy faith. 
 
 The whole life of the blessed Mother is a resplend- 
 ent picture of active faith. All that she is before God 
 and in the kingdom of God, she is simply and only in 
 virtue of the truths, the gifts, the means, and promises 
 of holy faith. 
 
 How important is it, therefore, that we, in the con- 
 flict against temptations, look on her, and think of 
 what holy faith teaches us in regard to our existence, 
 our eternal destiny, our Redemption through Christ, 
 and our call to the Church ! How essential is it that 
 we reflect upon and make use of the means of salva- 
 tion, which she distributes to us, and obey the call to 
 dwell forever in , the kingdom of the blessed, with 
 which, through the grace of God, we have been 
 favored. 
 
 Give me a Christian who is so entirely penetrated 
 with the spirit of faith, that his thoughts run constantly 
 thus: 
 
 '^ I am an image of God ; my destination is not this 
 world, but eternity. I have no other problem to solve 
 than the fulfillment of the holy will of God ; and all 
 that I do in this regard is meritorious for eternal life, 
 for heaven, where, in communion with the angels and 
 
526 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 saints, united with God, I shall be and abide eter- 
 nally." 
 
 All the ^ privileges which holy faith secures for us 
 shine with most wonderful brightness over our path- 
 way through life if we look upon Mary. She also was 
 a child of man. God called her into existence that she 
 might one day become His Mother, Queen of heaven 
 and earth. Therefore, she entered the world pure, 
 Jioly, immaculate ; her precious soul unstained by the 
 slightest breath of sin ; and she lived only to fulfill the 
 holy will of God. 
 
 ''I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto 
 me according to Thy word." In this disposition Mary 
 lived and suffered, and now, resplendent in glory, her 
 place in heaven is by the side of Christ. If we glance 
 at Mary, the Queen of Apostles, the Mother who 
 heard the word of revelation from the lips of the 
 Word incarnate, during nearly thirty years she spent 
 in solitude at Nazareth, what a motive we find for 
 appreciating the benefits of faith and deeming it 
 a priceless blessing, which should call forth our ar- 
 dent gratitude ! Without any merit of our own^ we 
 have been made children of the holy, the infallible 
 Church, a happiness which millions, both before and 
 after Christ, have not enjoyed, and which will be un- 
 known to millions in time to come. 
 
 But merely to be penetrated with a high apprecia- 
 tion of the truths of faith will not avail ; we must live 
 in accordance with its precepts. To prevent this con- 
 formity, and to induce us to transgress the law of 
 
FIRST SERMON. 527 
 
 God, is the constant aim of Satan. But let us look 
 upon Mary, and we will have a most powerful motive 
 to crush the serpent's head in the first moment of 
 temptation, that we may not afflict the heart of the 
 stainless Virgin and Mother, by yielding to sin. And 
 oh, what shame will overwhelm that evil spirit ! He 
 will retire in dismay if we, in the moment of tempta- 
 tion, call upon that sure refuge, the invoking Mother. 
 
 But if Satan does not succeed in making us plunge 
 into mortal sin, he puts forth every effort of his dia- 
 iDolical art to weaken the kingdom of God in our 
 souls, that, leading a. lukewarm and indifferent life, 
 we may not strive after perfection, as every^ soul re- 
 deemed by Christ should do. 
 
 To enkindle our fervor and to avoid the danger of 
 a tepid life, the most efficacious means is a glance at 
 Mary, the mirror of justice. What an incentive to 
 zeal is the example of her humility, devotion, self- 
 denial, and fraternal charity! 
 
 How inviting and amiable the exercise of these, as 
 of all the other virtues, appears in this most admirable 
 Virgin ! 
 
 If we serve God in this manner, beloved in Christ, 
 we may be well assured that hell, with all its powers, 
 will be arrayed against us ; our faith may be exposed 
 to many most severe and painful trials ; God Him- 
 self will, perhaps, visit us with afflictions the most try- 
 ing. In every case let us look at Mary beneath the 
 Cross, and sorrow will turn to the sweetest joy; a 
 radiant light will shine upon our earthly griefs, for we 
 
528 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 will bear them for Christ's dear sake. The thought, 
 that through sorrow Jesus entered into His joy, that 
 through sufferings Mary and the blessed saints attained 
 eternal bliss, will strengthen us, give us courage to 
 fight, and render us invincible to the foe. 
 
 A true devotion to Mary will furnish us with a 
 shield, most efficacious for our protection in the spir- 
 itual combat, which is her perfect readiness, if we 
 have sinned, to assist us in obtaining forgiveness 
 from God, and in once more being reconciled to Him. 
 She is surely the Mother of mercy and the refuge of 
 sinners, who assists us and prays for us, that we 
 may not remain enemies to her Son, Whom she loves 
 so well. 
 
 At the same time her hidden life with Christ in 
 Nazareth, is a figure of the intimacy which we, chil- 
 dren of the Holy Church, enjoy with Christ, the 
 Conqueror of death and hell. Who abides with us 
 in the most holy Sacrament, offers Himself for us, 
 and even enters into our hearts. Oh, let us frequently 
 avail ourselves of this happiness, and in such a man- 
 ner that we may derive from it that benefit which 
 Mary gained from the presence of Jesus at Nazareth. 
 
 Is our faith a perfect, an enlightened, a living one? 
 Then will it provide us also with those other weapons 
 to gain the victory, of which St. Paul speaks: ''the 
 girdle of truth" — faith teaches us with infallible cer- 
 tainty — ''the breastplate of justice," "your feet shod 
 with the preparation of the gospel of peace," "and 
 take unto you the helmet of salvation, the sword of 
 
FIRST SERMON. 529 
 
 the Spirit" These weapons, beloved in Christ, will 
 enable you to conquer, even if all the powers of hell 
 be arrayed against you. Believe with a living faith, 
 make good use of those unerring weapons, for never, 
 never, will the Christian who clings to them be lost. 
 
 And when you look upon the Scapular, which you 
 wear in honor of Mary, pray to that blessed Mother, 
 that she may obtain for you the perfect plenitude 
 and power of faith, that you may be firmly grounded 
 in all its truths, and live in the observance of Its holy 
 precepts. Thus may faith, with its warnings, require- 
 ments, and promises, illumine your pathway through 
 life, and may you give glorious testimony thereto by 
 the possession of a heart free from sin, and richly en- 
 dowed with virtue. 
 
 May the arrows of temptation fall powerless against 
 this Scapular of faith, and drop as from an impen- 
 etrable shield, harmless, to the ground. And, above 
 all, may you set out upon that awful journey to the 
 other world, under the protection of the ever-blessed 
 Mother of God, as a soul saved by her example and 
 intercession, in the power of faith vivified by love 
 and animated by hope. — Amen. 
 
530 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "I am the mother of holy hope." — Eccl. xxiv, 24. 
 
 THAT which Is particularly necessary to the war- 
 rior Is courage ; for a coward fights not, but Ig- 
 nomlniously takes to flight, and is entirely overcome. 
 
 Now, what augments and enlivens the courage of 
 a warrior is, first, the possession of suitable weapons ; 
 and, secondly, what is of greater Importance, the pro- 
 tection which he has reason to expect from the brave 
 and experienced warriors engaged with him in the 
 combat. 
 
 And this, beloved in Christ, Is precisely what we 
 . children of the Church militant need to combat vic- 
 toriously for God and the salvation of our immortal 
 souls : unerring weapons and powerful protection. We 
 also need courage ; and this courage is supported and 
 strengthened in us by the influence of holy hope. But 
 that this hope may prove efficacious, and protect us 
 like a shield In the batde, we must hasten to Mary, 
 , who calls herself the Mother of holy hope. And in 
 truth she proves herself such to her faithful children. 
 
 The Church salutes Mary as " Star of the Sea; " for 
 as, amid the threatenings of a storm upon the mighty 
 deep, the sight of a star animates the courage of the 
 navigators, quiets their fears, and revives their hopes 
 to soon reach in safety the longed-for haven : 
 
 So the thought of Mary acts upon us children of 
 
SECOND SERMON. 53 I 
 
 the Church, saiHng through the storms of Hfe, and 
 steering towards the harbor of eternal bHss. 
 
 Mary, the Mother of holy hope, the star which glit- 
 ters so brightly amid the clouds of life, the star which 
 slmies to illuini^ie our path to heaven, will be the sub- 
 ject of my theme to-day. 
 
 Mary, kind Mother, to thy protection we fly ! In- 
 vested with the holy Scapular, by which we proclaim 
 ourselves to be thy children, we invoke thy aid. Show 
 thyself a Mother, and from eternal death save all who 
 come to thee ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God. 
 
 ''We were saved by hope," so says St. Paul; and 
 this assurance at least makes known to us how impor- 
 tant it is to strengthen in ourselves this divine virtue 
 if we wish strenuously to battle against the enemies 
 of our souls' salvation. And the reason why St. Paul 
 speaks with such high commendation of Christian hope 
 is perfecdy clear to every one who reflects upon the 
 influence of this virtue upon our lives as children of 
 God. For all salvation is referred to Christ, through 
 Whom alone we are saved. Hence, for those souls 
 who waited during four thousand years for the com- 
 ing Redeemer, hope became the anchor which saved 
 them from the shipwreck of sin. 
 
 Our hope, too, after His coming, is in Christ. It is 
 the anchor on which the bark of the Church depends 
 
532 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 for safety amid the tempest of persecution ; it is a mo- 
 tive power which every child of the Church must feed 
 to give his faith an outward expression and to bear up 
 against the tribulations of life. 
 
 Hope gives light, strength, and perseverance even 
 in earthly affairs. It is indispensable for success in 
 life. It is especially necessary for the soldier on the 
 batde-field when about to face a deadly foe. But, above 
 all, in that terrible struggle in which we, as children 
 of the militant Church, must engage from the cradle 
 to the grave, holy hope inspires with indomitable en- 
 ergy and irresistible courage, — and this for three rea- 
 sons : 
 
 First, because the benefits which this divine virtue 
 places before our eyes as the pledge of victory are so 
 indescribably great and glorious. 
 
 Secondly, because.it reminds us that the weapons 
 which faith offers us, if earnestly used, procure for us 
 a certain victory. 
 
 Thirdly, because it recalls to our minds God's prom. 
 ise oi victory if we combat valiantly, and His solemn 
 assurance of unfailing protection. 
 
 Listen to the promise of the Lord : '' Because he 
 has confided in Me, I will deliver him and glorify him 
 illustriously." Thus He speaks by the mouth of the 
 Psalmist: *' Look about you and see if there be one 
 on earth who put his trust in God and was deluded 
 or forsaken." Thus the inspired wise man challenged 
 God's people. And David gave vent to his unbounded 
 confidence in God thus: *' I have hoped in Thee, O 
 
SECOND SERMON. 533 
 
 Lord ; I will never be confounded ! " As this virtue, 
 therefore, is of such importance, should we not exert 
 every means to confirm ourselves therein ? 
 
 Now, there is no means more effective than to has- 
 ten to Mary, whom the Church calls the Mother of 
 holy hope, and unto whose care Christ, from the tree 
 of the cross, committed the whole human race as her 
 children, with the power and privilege to petition Him 
 for their salvation, and to assist them in every neces- 
 sity, spiritual and corporal. And with what readiness 
 do we ever behold Mary fulfilling this maternal duty! 
 
 Let us, then, confide in her, the pledge of our hope, 
 for we may rest assured that whatever be the motives 
 which inspire our hearts with confidence in friends who 
 have, besides the power, also the wish and the deter- 
 mination to h^lp us, we have more cause to salute 
 Mary as our hope, and take refuge with her. 
 
 The first reason which encourages us to take refuge 
 with a friend and entreat him to aid us is the convic- 
 tion that he has the power to do it. What a motive 
 to place unlimited confidence in Mary ! Jesus, Who is 
 almighty, is her Son, and, as a devoted Son, He wishes 
 to honor His Mother and to give her joy. To Him had 
 been given '' all power In heaven and on earth,'* and He 
 has communicated it to His Mother. To gratify her He 
 performed the first miracle at Cana, In the presence of 
 His disciples ; and if Mary to-day asks Him in heaven, 
 is there any favor He will not grant ? 
 
 Jesus, the Author of grace, has appointed Mary to 
 be the dispenser of grace. St. Gertrude once had a vis- 
 
534 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 ion In which she beheld the throne of Jesus in heaven, 
 and the throne of Mary, the heart of Jesus and the 
 heart of Mary. She saw, besides, a stream flowing 
 from the heart of Jesus into the heart of Mary, and 
 from thence back* into the heart of Jesus, and again 
 into the heart of Mary, and from thence through 
 heaven to earth, and into purgatory. 
 
 Beloved in Christ, what are we to understand from 
 this consoling vision ? I answer : Jesus merits — Mary 
 dispenses. The father of the house earns, the mother 
 distributes. Thus the order of grace is reflected in the 
 order of nature, and the two are in perfect accord. 
 
 Moreover, Mary is the Queen of Angels, the Queen 
 of Saints. At Mary's behest all these ministering spir- 
 its are ready every moment to assist us.- 
 
 The second motive which inspires us with confidence 
 to ask for assistance, is a conviction that the one to 
 whom we apply knows our wants, and being, perhaps, 
 father, mother, brother, or friend, has the will to aid 
 us. What a motive for us children of God to put our 
 trust in Mary! She knows our wants, she Is united 
 to God, sees all In Him, and is the seat of divine wis- 
 dom. She will help us, because she is indeed all 
 mercy, and loves us more tenderly than an earthly 
 mother can ever love her child ; for she perceives, 
 with vision bright and clear, the value of the souls for 
 whom Christ shed every drop of His blood. 
 
 Since, then, the Lord bestowed upon her so tender, 
 kind, and merciful a heart, is It not most fitting that 
 she, the Mother of the Redeemer, should aid these 
 
SECOND SERMON. 535 
 
 souls to gain eternal life ? Besides, she gave the prom- 
 ise — she, the Queen of Apostles, promised her dying 
 Son upon the cross to be our Mother, and to do all 
 in her power to guide those souls who would fly to 
 her protection, through the storms of life to a haven 
 of rest. 
 
 The third motive which increases our confidence in 
 asking assistance, is the assurance that the one to 
 whom we apply has actually helped many others. Now, 
 what is the testimony of experience on this point? 
 We need only glance at the many shrines dedicated 
 to Mary, where an innumerable multitude of her de- 
 voted children flock ; where miraculous cures are of 
 constant occurrence ; where, from the rising of the 
 sun to the going down of the same, Mary assists her 
 faithful clients. 
 
 And indeed, my dear Christians, we need only say 
 the well-known prayer of St. Bernard to be strength- 
 ened in our confidence. **The ear hath never heard,'* 
 this great saint and servant of Mary assures us almost 
 one thousand years ago — " The ear hath never heard 
 that he who ran to her for refuge was forsaken of 
 God." 
 
 This bold assertion is confirmed by the experience 
 of every devout child of Mary. Whosoever in his mis- 
 ery sought refuge in her maternal love, full of confi- 
 dence in her power and goodness, has experienced 
 her protection. She loves to aid us — the more as she 
 knows how earnestly the Sacred Heart of Jesus desires 
 us to have recourse to her, especially in our spiritual 
 
53^ FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 wants and all that tends to nourish divine love in our 
 souls. 
 
 " Mother of mercy, Refuge of sinners." Thus does 
 the Church salute Mary. And, by means of the Hail 
 Mary, she repeats over and again through the lips of 
 her members, '' Pray for us poor sinners." And thus, 
 from the little child whose lips can scarce form the 
 words, to the venerable Pontiff who rules the destinies 
 of the Church, all Christendom is calling, " Pray for 
 us sinners ! " 
 
 I have, however, one caution to add : Satan, who 
 deems nothing too holy or sacred to be abused, makes 
 use even of this confidence in Mary to work our ruin 
 and destruction. There are souls who remain willfully 
 in the state of sin, and suppose that if they only put 
 their trust in Mary, and daily say some prayers in her 
 honor, they have done all that is necessary to secure 
 their salvation. This is particularly the case in regard 
 to the Scapular. Many think that if even they live in 
 mortal sin, provided they are only faithful in wearing 
 the Scapular, Mary will never permit them to die in 
 that state. This, however, is injustice. It is supersti- 
 tion. By that presumptuous thought such men sin 
 grievously. What ! to expect Mary to protect, and 
 permit them to lead abandoned lives, and at the same 
 time favor them with her maternal care ! This would 
 make of Mary not only a refuge of sinners, but their ac- 
 complice. God will punish them for this, and they will 
 not even have the grace to die with the Scapular on. 
 It will be taken from them in changing their clothes, 
 
SECOND SERMON. 537 
 
 as remarkable examples have shown. There are well 
 attested instances of suicides who were found without 
 scapulars, though they were known to have faithfully 
 worn this sacred badge. 
 
 If the Scapular is to be for us a pledge of Mary's 
 special protection during life and at the hour of death, 
 and even in purgatory, then it is essential that we wear 
 it as a remembrance — an admonition to strive, as true 
 children of Mary, after perfection, and to follow her 
 example. When this is the case — yes, then the Scap- 
 ular will indeed prove for us a most effectual shield ; 
 will strengthen our confidence in Mary, as Mother of 
 holy hope, as the consoling Star of our eternal salva- 
 tion. — Amen ! 
 
538 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 *'I am the mother of fair love." — Eccl. xxiv, 24. 
 
 EVEN as the Church has her marks by which she 
 is known to be the true Church of Christ, so like- 
 wise are found in the Hves of her true children, marks 
 by which they are distinguished from the infidel and 
 the heretic. These marks are a reflection of the Church 
 herself in the true Catholic life. Among these char- 
 acteristic attributes of the true children of God is one 
 which shines with especial splendor, and that is, their 
 devotion, their confidence, their love towards Mary. 
 That this trait is indeed characteristic of faithful and 
 zealous Catholics, is proved by the very reproach and 
 ridicule heaped upon them in consequence, by those 
 who are not of *'the household of the faith." 
 
 But this reproach becomes for us a source of con- 
 solation. The holy and venerable Simeon predicted it 
 of the Blessed Virgin in the temple : " Through you, 
 the hearts of the children of men shall be made mani- 
 fest." Should we, therefore, shrink from a reproach 
 which will, if patiently borne, gain us such treasures 
 in heaven ? 
 
 *'From henceforth all generations shall call me 
 blessed," so Mary herself assures us, with holy exul- 
 tation in the " Magnificat." 
 
 But, my dear Christians, as not every prayer, which 
 is offered up to the Most High, is genuine and fervent, 
 as the homage paid to God by the lips is often ren- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 539 
 
 dered void by a dissolute life, so the veneration which 
 is professed for Mary becomes suspected and value- 
 less, because not manifested in action. A person may 
 wear, in her honor, the Scapular upon a heart, which 
 crucifies her Son by mortal sin, and, therefore, deeply 
 wounds her loving heart. 
 
 This is not to wear it as a faithful child of the 
 ''Mother of fair love." 
 
 What this attribute of Mary, as Mother of fair love 
 requires of her clients^ that they may wear her dress 
 meritoriotcsly y as a pledge of salvation, I shall explain 
 to-day. 
 
 Mary, replenish our hearts with the fire of that 
 love which burns in your tender heart ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 As I said before, there is a prayer which mounts 
 straight to the throne of the living God, and a prayer, 
 which, coming only from the lips, and contradicted by 
 dissoluteness of conduct, merits for him who pronounces 
 it the reproach: '' His prayer shall be turned to sin." 
 So there is also a true veneration of Mary, and one 
 which is only apparent. 
 
 The first is manifested by him, who, by his life 
 shows that he is really in earnest to please Mary ,* the 
 second appears in the lukewarm, presumptuous Chris- 
 tian, who makes his exterior veneration of Mary a pre- 
 text for living with the greater wantonness in a con- 
 
 35 
 
540 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 tinual state of sin, foolishly imagining that Mary will 
 not forsake him, since he honors her occasionally with 
 his lips. 
 
 And what is, indeed, the principal reason that our 
 lives contradict the exterior and apparent devotion to 
 Mary? The answer is suggested by my text : '' I am 
 the Mother of fair love." Yes, hence arises the con- 
 tradiction. The heart, whose every throb is but a feel- 
 ing of sin as it beats beneath* the Scapular, is not filled 
 with the beautiful, 'holy, and sanctifying love of Mary, 
 but with the wicked, sinful, and disorderly love of 
 creatures. Their enjoyment and possession is pre- 
 ferred by the sinner before God and his beatitudes. 
 The sinner has no right to declare : '' O my God, I 
 love Thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, 
 with my whole mind, and with all my strength!" 
 
 Mary had every right to repeat this prayer, for she 
 is the Mother of fair love. This expression, " Mother 
 of fair love," tells us at the same time that not only 
 Mary loved God in this manner, but that veneration 
 to her, to be true, must at the same time fill our hearts 
 with similar dispositions of love ; must produce and 
 prove within us this true and beautiful love of God. 
 To understand this better, let us consider separately 
 the different kinds of love which burn in the heart of 
 Mary. 
 
 The first is the most perfect love to God the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost 
 
 How far exalted is the love of Mary towards God, 
 even above that of the angels themselves ! Now which 
 
THIRD SERMON. 54I 
 
 are the principal sources of the love of God? First, 
 the knowledge of His infinite perfections ; and, sec- 
 ondly, the appreciation of His benefits. 
 
 Now, then, Mary is, as Holy Scripture testifies, the 
 seat of divine Wisdom ; she is the Queen of the Cher- 
 ubim, those angels that are distinguished for their 
 knowledge of God. 
 
 Who can imagine, then, with what unquenchable 
 ardor the fire of Mary's love rises up to God ? 
 
 And what thanks does not Mary owe to the triune 
 God ! God the Father chose her from all eternity as 
 His daughter ; God the Son as His Mother ; God the 
 Holy Ghost as His spouse. What prerogatives are 
 contained in this triple relationship of Mary! Priv- 
 ileges by far greater than any conferred upon the 
 Angels or Saints, were imparted to her; no one can, on 
 earth, even faintly realize their importance. We shall, 
 no doubt, understand more about them in heaven. 
 But St. Thomas of Aquin does not hesitate to assert 
 that ihe excellence to which Mary was elevated by the 
 most Holy Trinity, surpasses, and will ever exceed 
 even the understanding of die angels, on account of 
 the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. 
 The extent of this mystery, in its fullness, is known 
 to God alone. And radiant in this glorious dignity, 
 Mary appears in her majesty as Queen of heaven and 
 earth, so rich in the possession of the rarest endow- 
 ments of nature and grace, that she may be compared 
 to the ocean, into which all rivers flow; for it was the 
 dearest joy of her divine Son to pour into her immac- 
 
542 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 ulate heart the most royal gifts. Oh, how Inflamed 
 with love for God was, and is, this virginal heart! 
 
 And in our own regard, how can we think of this 
 pre-election of Mary, without congratulating our- 
 selves upon having a right to call her our Mother? 
 And even if God has not elected us to such an emi- 
 nent degree of glory as He bestowed upon her, He, 
 notwithstanding, created us according to His image, 
 and chose us, therefore, to enjoy, at some future day, 
 in heaven, the most perfect bliss, as the faithful chil- 
 dren of Mary. 
 
 The second stream of love which, uniting with the 
 first, has its source in that immaculate heart, is her 
 love towards Christ as man. She certainly is His 
 Mother, and in a greater degree than any other 
 mother, for she is a virgin Mother, and the Son of 
 God took His human nature from her alone. *' Thou 
 art all mine," might well be her joyous thought, when 
 she pressed the Infant Jesus to her maternal breast, 
 and nursed the Lord of heaven and earth. And, surely, 
 if God fills the heart of every mother with such affec- 
 tion for her child, particularly if she has long desired 
 to be blessed with one, and still more, if she sees it 
 grow up highly gifted, most amiable, and beholds in 
 it a pledge of her dignity and happiness on earth, who 
 can imagine what the heart of Mary felt for Jesus? 
 And this fire of love towards Him increased every day 
 of the thirty years during which she dwelt with Him 
 under one roof at Nazareth. 
 
 Suppose a man were, during thirty years, to pour oil 
 
THIRD SERMON. 543 
 
 into a fire, what a vast conflagration would result ! 
 The whole earth would be one immense sea of flames. 
 What this oil would be to the fire, that, during thirty 
 years, Jesus was for Mary's love. His appearance, 
 each holy word which fell from His divine lips. His 
 every act in the house of Nazareth, increased her love 
 for Him. But when Jesus went forth upon His apos- 
 tolic mission, then His incomparable preaching, even 
 like that oil upon the fire, enkindled the love of her 
 heart to still greater ardor, as did also the sight of the 
 miracles which He performed, commencing with the 
 first which He wrought in Cana, at her own request. 
 At last she stpod beneath the cross, as co-redemptrix 
 and Eve of the New Testament, and heard Jesus make 
 her the dispenser of His infinite merits in the king- 
 dom of that Church which arose from the wound of 
 His Sacred Heart on the cross. 
 
 What ardent gratitude glowed in the heart of Mary 
 for all the favors granted to her ; gratitude and ma- 
 ternal love strive for the mastery in her — our Mother i 
 
 In contemplating her our own hearts can not re- 
 main unmoved. How could we look at Mary, the dol- 
 orous Mother, who made such a sacrifice for us — how 
 hear in spirit the words of Christ from the cross : 
 ''Behold thy Mother!'' — and not feel an increase of love 
 toward Jesus for this inestimable gift, which He gave 
 us from the cross? How could we reflect, that almost 
 in the agony of death the Saviour remembered us, and 
 not increase in love from day to day ? 
 
 The whole appearance of Mary, whether we see her 
 
544 FEAST OF THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 holding the divine Infarct in her arms, or standing at 
 the foot of the cross, is so beautiful, so holy, that we 
 instantly perceive the value of our Redemption, and 
 recognize what a joy it is for us to be children of that 
 Church in which Jesus deposited the word of revela- 
 tion, and which He enriched with every means of sal- 
 vation, besides placing it under the special patronage 
 of that blessed Mother, 
 
 The love which burns in the heart of Mary, in 
 fine, is a well-ordered, ardent, self-sacrificing, mag- 
 nanimous, and faithful love towards all the children 
 of men, whom the Lord transmitted to her from the 
 cross. Besides Christ, no one knows the value of 
 souls so well as Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer; 
 she saw all what her divine Son Himself did for 
 them. 
 
 How mightily, therefore, did the love of Mary in- 
 crease for Him, as well as for every child of man ; 
 how tenderly she thought of every one of those weary 
 steps of this divine Son, Who offered for them His 
 whole life, His passion and death. 
 
 And in regard to the fraternal charity which we 
 should cultivate in our hearts, what a motive to love 
 our neighbor as ourselves may be found in the wish 
 to please Mary, even if it were not a precept which 
 God has given to us ! For, how much will the heart 
 of a mother be pleased and consoled, when we assist 
 a child of hers who is in need and great danger ! The 
 mother will regard our efforts and kind offices as if 
 they were conferred upon herself; nay, her joy and 
 
THIRD SERMON. 545 
 
 thankfulness would be even more intense than if she 
 herself had received them. 
 
 Such is the influence of the devotion to Mary, if we 
 look at her as the Mother of fair love. 
 
 But, alas ! too often the heart is full of that disor- 
 dered love which afflicts her mother's heart with the 
 deepest wounds. 
 
 What a gain for the soul, if the holy Scapular re- 
 min(5ls us daily of Mary, the Mother of fair love, in 
 the manner I have to-day endeavored to describe ! Oh, 
 may it do so; may it cause the love of God, the love 
 of Jesus, the love of Mary, and the active, holy love 
 of our neighbor daily to increase in our hearts. Then 
 the Scapular will, indeed, become a coat of mail, and 
 a shield in our combat against temptation to ill-or- 
 dered, impure, and unholy love ; and it will make us 
 faithful and unwavering in good, according to the as- 
 surance of St. Paul : " For love is strong as death, and 
 should a man give all his substance, he shall despise 
 it as nothing." Therefore, ye faithful children of the 
 Catholic Church, be invested with the Scapular of 
 Mount Carmel, whose use the Church has approved 
 centuries ago, and for whose feast she has composed a 
 special office. If rightly used it will increase the flame 
 of love in our hearts, and we shall be permitted to 
 apply, what St. Paul says of our love for Christ, to 
 true devotion to His blessed Mother: ''Then in all 
 things we will conquer through her — through our love 
 towards Mary." — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 ** Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ! " — Luke i, 28. 
 
 MOST fitting it was that the beautiful casket which 
 enshrined the soul of Mary as a precious jewel 
 should not be subjected to the dissolution of the grave. 
 Therefore the blessed Mother of God was assumed, 
 body and soul, to the realms of bliss, and exalted 
 above all the ang^els and saints in the fullness and 
 completeness of splendor and beauty. 
 
 Let us rejoice, then, on this glorious festival, and 
 praise the Lord of hosts in company with the whole 
 celestial choir. 
 
 This is the day on which the Church invites her 
 children to celebrate the Assumption of the Mother 
 of God, and they accept the invitation with joy; for, 
 in love and devotion to Mary, all true devoted Catho- 
 lics find their greatest delight. 
 
 Now, if we are filled with consolation as often as 
 we address to Mary the prayer, in which the Church 
 has combined the salutations of the angel and of St. 
 Elizabeth, together with an invocation of her own — 
 
 ''Ave Maria^ or ''Hail Mary" — to-day these words 
 
 (5461 
 
FIRST SERMON. 547 
 
 must be replete with a special unction and sweetness ; 
 and therefore this salutation ascends, on this beautiful 
 festival, from millions and millions of her faithful cli- 
 ents, like a sweet perfume to her glorious throne. 
 
 And if this salutation, already on earth, fills us with 
 delight, how infinite will not our joy be when one day 
 we shall greet the Holy Virgin with the same saluta- 
 tion in heaven, as children of God, redeemed by the 
 precious Blood of her divine Son ! 
 
 The joy which the ransomed soul will feel in salut- 
 ing the Mother of God with the ''Ave Maria " in heaven 
 shall be the subject of meditation 07i this beauteous fes- 
 tive day. 
 
 Mary, accept our greeting here on earth in an- 
 ticipation of that which we hope one day to offer be- 
 fore thy throne in heaven, and take us unto thy heart 
 to-day and forever ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 We deem ourselves happy if we are permitted to 
 salute persons of an exalted rank. Our hearts are glad 
 if we can pay homage to the ruler of the country — be 
 he King, Emperor, or President, as the case may be ; 
 and the measure of our joy would be full if we can 
 salute the Pope himself. 
 
 This feeling of joy becomes still more intense if the 
 objects of our admiration be connected with us by 
 bonds of relationship ; if we love them ; if we are in- 
 
54^ FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 debted to them for many benefits, and hope to receive 
 still greater favors from them in the future. 
 
 Children of Mary, endeavor to realize how great 
 must be the rejoicings of a soul that, entering heaven, 
 beholds Mary upon her celestial throne, and hastens 
 to the embrace of that loving Mother! 
 
 When Gabriel brought the message to Mary, he 
 found the Virgin in solitude, pouring forth her soul in 
 prayer to God in her humble little home -at Nazareth ; 
 and, nevertheless, he saluted her with the most pro- 
 found veneration. 
 
 The message which he brought to her gave him 
 clearly to understand the Majesty and Dignity of the 
 elected Virgin. 
 
 And this is why we on earth already salute her with 
 such veneration and joy, because we are well aware 
 of her exalted dignity in the kingdom of God ! 
 
 This feeling grows more intense within us when it 
 is our happy lot to visit those places where Mary is 
 especially honored and praised; where many miracles 
 have been performed through her gracious interces- 
 sion, and where thousands at once salute the Mother 
 of God. Remember Loretto, Lourdes, Einsiedel. 
 
 But what will be our joy when we, for the first time, 
 salute this Virgin Mother with the ''Ave Maria'' in 
 heaven, and behold her, for the first time, in that 
 glory and majesty with which she was clothed by the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in heaven. 
 
 What joy will be ours when we behold her in the 
 irresistible charm of her numberless merits, as Mother 
 
FIRST SERMON. 549 
 
 of God, as Co-redemptrix of man, and as the heroic 
 woman, who walked with Christ to the very foot of 
 the cross ! 
 
 How we will rejoice when we bow down before her 
 as Queen of the Angels, whose prerogatives are all 
 crowned in her; and, at the same time, behold 
 blended in the majesty of the Queen of all Saints 
 the glory of all Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Mar- 
 tyrs, Confessors and of all ranks of the blessed ! 
 
 On all sides will be entoned anthems of praise, 
 homage, admiration, and thanksgiving! Ah, yes, what 
 consolation will it be for us to behold Mary one day, 
 and salute her in this Majesty and Glory ! 
 
 It is, indeed, true that already on earth we salute 
 her as full of grace. But in what this fullness of grace 
 precisely consists, we can not as yet realize; neither 
 can we know on earth the perfection with which Mary 
 corresponded with this plenitude of grace, and her 
 consequent increase of merits, in respect to which 
 Holy Scripture says of her: ''Others have gathered 
 riches, but you surpassed them all." 
 
 But in heaven we shall clearly behold the ocean of 
 graces which the Holy Trinity bestowed upon Mary; 
 we shall see combined in her heart all the favors 
 granted to men and angels, as the waters of all the 
 streams are comminorled in the sea. 
 
 '* Full of grace ! " in wondering admiration the child 
 of God cries out to Mary in heaven. ''The Lord is 
 with thee!" thus spoke the Angel to Mary on earth. 
 He was permitted to salute her thus on account of 
 
550 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 her intimate union with God by the plenitude of sanc- 
 tifying grace which dwells within her, and which made 
 her more pleasing to God than all the angels and saints. 
 
 " The Lord is with thee ! " Thus do we salute Mary 
 when we see her with the Infant Jesus in her arms ; 
 or think of her dwelling with Him in the house at 
 Nazareth; or accompanying Him in His apostolic 
 journeys, or standing beneath the cross. 
 
 Now she sits enthroned in honor and glory, for her 
 place in heaven is nearest that of her divine Son, Who 
 shares with her His majesty, His beatitude, and joys 
 to an extent that we shall understand only in heaven. 
 
 '*The Lord is with thee!" Thus will we greet the 
 Blessed Virgin when, after having safely passed 
 through the trials and temptations of life, we are led, 
 by our gilardian angel, to her glorious throne. 
 
 Yes, and when that happy day arrives, we may truly 
 add: ''He is with me also." O Mother of fair love, 
 behold I come to participate in the glory and beatitude 
 which through you the King of heaven distributes to 
 all the blessed ! 
 
 What joy it is for us to meet those with whom God 
 has connected us by the bonds of relationship, friend- 
 ship, or love, especially if it be a fondly loved mother! 
 Child of Maty, with what delight will you one day 
 greet, in heaven, that tender Mother, — Mother of 
 Jesus, — Mother of God ! My Mother, all hail to you I 
 There only will we know the depth of the maternal 
 love which filled her heart for us — the heart of her 
 to whom the Lord bequeathed us from the cross. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 55 I 
 
 Concentrate the hearts of all mothers into one, it 
 would be far from containing the love of Mary for 
 each of the children of God. Never, until we have 
 passed through the golden gates which lead to the 
 mansions of eternal bliss, can we know the faithful 
 and tender love with which she protects us in life, and 
 intercedes for us with her divine Son that temptation 
 may not be allowed to vanquish us. And when the wiles 
 of the evil one succeed but too well, and we are so un- 
 happy as to commit sin and offend God, it is Mary who 
 pleads with her divine Son until she has obtained for 
 us the grace of repentance and amendment of life. 
 
 It is Mary who preserves us from relapsing into 
 sin, and gains for us every grace which the Lord de- 
 signs for our sanctification, particularly the grace of 
 final perseverance. 
 
 *' Hail Mary ! " Well may this cry ascend in heaven 
 from the soul rescued from eternal death by her gra- 
 cious prayers. To thee, O dearest Mother, I owe my 
 beatitude and joy. Then what a happiness to behold 
 thee here ; to hasten to thy maternal arms ; to love 
 and enjoy with thee forever ! When, mid the gathering 
 shadows of the valley of tears, my cry went forth to 
 thee: "Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners 
 now, and at the hour of our death," now in heaven I 
 see how all the infinite attributes of God glorify 
 themselves in thee, and, as in a mirror, reflect His 
 mercy, longanimity, and sanctity; His majesty and 
 glory; His beauty, beatitude, and love. I am now 
 permitted to participate in this thy glory and delight. 
 
552 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 happiness beyond compare! ''Whatever is mine, 
 is thine," is the acclamation which, coming from the 
 blissful lips, re-echoes in my heart. Yes, Mary, Mother, 
 
 1 come to the refuge of thy maternal love, and em- 
 brace thee on thy throne in heaven. Ah, would that we 
 were allowed to view, if but for an instant, that realm 
 beyond the skies, and see how a soul, purified by the 
 flames of purgatory, and released by the prayers of 
 some faithful friend, now enters paradise, and receives 
 the embrace of that loving mother, who welcomes her 
 happy child in the realm of eternal beatitude. 
 
 Beloved in Christ, if you have lived as true children 
 of Mary, you also will, at the hour of death, enjoy the 
 bliss of a welcome from her. 
 
 Therefore, salute her often and often with the an- 
 gelic salutation; and, calling upon her here on earth, 
 say to her : '' Mary, pray for me now ; obtain for me 
 the grace that I, as thy true child, may follow thy ex- 
 ample on earth, avoid- sin, crush the head of the ser- 
 pent, and imitate Jesus by living a holy life according 
 to the state in which I have been placed." 
 
 To-day, therefore, when the homage of all her de- 
 voted children ascends like the sweetness of fragrant 
 flowers to Mary, beg of her to obtain for you perse- 
 verance and fidelity unto your happy end ; that you 
 may one day expire in her arms and experience her 
 assistance in purgatory, so that you may the more 
 speedily be enabled to cry out in heaven : " Hail Mary ! 
 Mother ! Now I am with you, and will forever remain 
 with you!" 
 
FIRST SERMON. 553 
 
 This consideration on the Angeh'c salutation, as it 
 will one day be uttered by us in heaven, if we sink 
 into the sleep of death as children of that Blessed 
 Mother, will serve as a constant admonition to antici- 
 pate this salutation by repeating it on earth in a spirit 
 of recollection, and with the whole ardor of our love 
 and confidence in Mary, that it may always ascend as 
 the sweet odor of our devotion to her, the Queen of 
 heaven. — Amen ! 
 
554 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 " Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her." — 
 Luke X, 42. 
 
 ^^ly f ARY is exalted above all the choirs of angels." 
 iVl Thus, does the Church rejoice on the feast 
 of to-day. Yes, Mary is, indeed, elevated to the most 
 exalted degree of glory in heaven ; for enthroned .as 
 Queen of heaven and earth, her place is nearest her 
 divine, her beloved Son. 
 
 It is written of Jesus her Son: *'God has exalted 
 Him and given Him a name, that in the name of 
 Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth, and 
 under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that 
 Jesus entered into the glory of the Father." This is 
 also true of the glorification and honor of His most 
 blessed Mother. He has elevated her and given her 
 a name, that at the name of Mary every creature 
 shall pay homage in heaven and on earth, and every 
 tongue shall confess that Mary has entered into the 
 glory of her Son. 
 
 No other creature possesses such a share In the 
 glorification of Christ, In heaven, as Mary; and why? 
 Ah! it was because she stood nearest to Christ upon 
 earth. And what, my dearest Christians, gained her 
 this great grace? It was her deep humility. In other 
 words : Mary descended into the deepest depths of 
 humiliation by the perfection to which she carried the 
 virtue of humility, according to the example and imi- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 555 
 
 tation of Jesus Christ; and In proportion to the depth 
 to which she humbled herself on earth, Christ, on His 
 part, exalted her throne in heaven. 
 
 If we wish to enter the kingdom of glory as chil- 
 dren of God ; if we wish to reach heaven and partici- 
 pate in the glory of the Son ; it is incumbent on us, 
 while still on earth, to tread, with willing steps, the 
 path of humiliations. 
 
 If we wish to exalt the throne of our glorification 
 in heaven, then it is essential that we humble our- 
 selves in life. This will become clear to us if we con- 
 sider Mary as our model. 
 
 / say in this regard: Mary ascended the highest 
 point of glory in heaven, becausey after her divine Son, 
 no one on earth ever descended so deep than she in the 
 practice of humility. 
 
 Mary, most humble of all creatures, obtain for 
 me, in preference to all other virtues, true humility of 
 heart ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God! 
 
 I said : Mary attained the highest degree of glory 
 in heaven, because she humbled herself most deeply 
 on earth, and, by the humility of her heart, modeled 
 her life on that of her divine Son. It is written of 
 Christ, that he not only humbled, but, as It were, an- 
 nihilated himself, and that, therefore, God the Father 
 
 exalted Him and elevated Him in glory above all the 
 
 36 
 
556 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 heavens. Through the prophets He styled Himself 
 the lowest among men — an outcast of the people. 
 He, the King of heaven, permitted Himself to die 
 the death of a malefactor, to be ranked lower than 
 a murderer, and even to be crucified between a 
 murderer and a thief 
 
 If Christ thus lowered Himself to the rank of the 
 least of men, such likewise must have been the dispo- 
 sition of her whom He placed nearest to Himself on 
 earth. Most' justly, therefore, has St. Bernard said: 
 " If Christ had found a virgin more humble than 
 Mary, He surely would have chosen her, and not 
 Mary, for His Mother." 
 
 We are informed, by private revelations to the 
 Saints, that it was the singular desire of Mary to 
 have the happiness of being a handmaid of that 
 chosen virgin who should be so highly favored as to 
 become the Mother of the promised Messiah, and yet 
 it was upon herself that the divine choice was fixed. 
 And why? 
 
 Mary herself, in that canticle of praise which is now 
 entoned over the entire Catholic world, tells us why 
 she was chosen: "Because He hath regarded the 
 humility of His handmaid." Thus Mary proclaimed 
 her holy joy in the ** Magnificat," when Elizabeth 
 saluted her as the Mother of the incarnate Word 
 of God. 
 
 But it was not only this disposition of her heart, 
 this humility, which prepared her for the dignity of 
 becoming the Mother of God ; it was also because 
 
SECOND SERMON. * 557 
 
 she reached, in each of her works, the highest perfec- 
 tion of merit. In this most perfect humility we can 
 certainly find the reason that she never in any way 
 followed her own will, that no single action of her's 
 was ever marred by any shadow of self-will, but that 
 her whole endeavor was to know and fulfill the Will 
 of God. 
 
 Even when the angel saluted her, she called her- 
 self "the handmaid of the Lord." And how beauti- 
 fully was this disposition of her heart verified at her 
 elevation to the Maternity of Christ ; for when she 
 was informed by the angel that she was the chosen 
 Mother of the Saviour of the world, and therefore to 
 be exalted ^bove all creatures in heaven and on 
 earth, she did not entone the **Te Deum;" no evi- 
 dence of excessive or exuberant joy appeared in her 
 heavenly countenance ; but she uttered only the words 
 of entire submission to the most holy will of God : 
 
 ''Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to 
 me according to Thy word." 
 
 *'My will in her" — that is, the praise which the 
 Holy Ghost confers upon her. Oh, how majestic, 
 how holy, how great, is Mary In the humility of her 
 heart, which, excepting the Sacred Heart of Christ, 
 was in no other creature, not even in the angels of 
 heaven, manifested in so perfect a degree. And in 
 this perfect humility can be found the reason why the 
 merits of her actions surpassed, in an immeasurable 
 degree, that of all others, both men and angels. 
 
 It is not from the number of precious stones which 
 
558 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 are exposed to view that we judge of a person's 
 wealth, but from their size, their clearness and value. 
 All the good works of the angels and saints may be 
 compared to precious stones ; but what determines 
 their value ? I answer : conformity of intention with 
 the most holy ivill of God unmingled with any alloy 
 of-self-will, or obstinacy, or self-interest. Therefore, if I 
 were so happy as to have the merit of only one good 
 work of Mary, I would not change it for the united 
 merits of all the angels and saints. 
 
 On the contrary, what, indeed, too often diminishes 
 the merits of our good actions? It is a want of 
 humility, the dust of self-love, self-conceit, and a lack 
 of purity of intention, which causes man, with all the 
 good works which he performs for the honor of 
 God, to keep before his eyes himself- — his own inter- 
 est — which urges him to long for honor and distinction. 
 Therefore, if we wish to increase the glory of that 
 throne which awaits us in heaven, and to be nearer 
 still to Mary, then it becomes necessary to humble 
 ourselves, and to open, in all the good we do, the 
 contest with self-love, and to desire nothing else than 
 the greater honor and glory of God, for He has prom- 
 ised: ''Those who glorify Me, those will I also one 
 day glorify." 
 
 What will increase our glory in heaven is especially 
 our union with the most holy will of God in all suf- 
 ferings and afflictions. 
 
 Glance at the most holy Virgin, in her earthly life, 
 and you will realize the truth of this remark. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 559 
 
 On earth, nearest the Cross ; in heaven, next to 
 the throne of her divine Son : on earth, Queen of 
 martyrs; in heaven, Queen of the glorious and re- 
 splendent host of saints and angels : on earth, suffer- 
 ing the pangs of a heart pierced with the sword of 
 grief; in heaven, happy in the possession of a heart 
 filled with the purest celestial bliss. 
 
 And, my dear brethren, had not Christ Himself to 
 enter into the joy of heaven by the rugged path of pain 
 and grief? Undoubtedly He had, as we learn from 
 the words addressed by Him through the Prophet: 
 *'Oh, all you that pass by the way, attend and see if 
 there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!" 
 
 This was the mournful plaint which Christ, through 
 the lips of the prophet, uttered centuries before, and 
 well might it be addressed, by Mary, to the children 
 of men, as she stood beneath the Cross: **Oh, all 
 you that pass by the way*' — all you who, during the 
 long course of centuries, will listen to the tale of my 
 Son's passion — ''attend and see if there be, except 
 His, any sorrow like unto mine ! " 
 
 Thus Christ entered into His joys and ascended 
 the throne of His glory; thus did Mary and all the 
 blessed who ever entered, or will enter, heaven, attain 
 eternal joy. There is no other way to heaven than 
 that of patience, of suffering for the love of God, in 
 perfect union with His most holy will. 
 
 And why is it that we do not tread the path of 
 suffering with the unfaltering step with which Jesus 
 and Mary, and all the saints of God, walked therein ? 
 
560 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 It is because humility is wanting in us ; for how 
 many, beloved in Christ, when the hand qf the Lord 
 presses upon them, cry out, in utter want of resigna- 
 tion: ''What have we done, O Lord, to be thus 
 afflicted?" 
 
 This is especially so when the trouble, or injury, 
 comes from some one, whom we have benefited, but 
 who has repaid us with ingratitude. It seldom hap- 
 pens that the children of the Church do not receive 
 the cross from the hand of man as well as from the 
 hand of God himself; but, alas ! equally seldom do we 
 find them exclaim, with sincere humility: ''This and 
 more yet have I deserved! It is, O God, Thy hand 
 which strikes and chastises me, or which afflicts me, in 
 order to give me occasion, through suffering, to show 
 my love to Thee." The trial is still harder so, if the 
 trouble comes from one at whose hands we have had 
 reason to expect treatment of a different kind. Mary 
 experienced all these afflictions at the foot of the 
 Cross. But she rejoiced to suffer innocently with the 
 innocent Jesus, and to take upon herself the scorn 
 and derision of the enemies and crucifiers of our 
 Lord, in perfect union with the most holy will of 
 God. 
 
 Behold here the degrees of humility, which lead 
 us, while upon earth, through lowly paths, that in 
 heaven we may reach to high degrees of glory, of 
 that humility which prompts us to say : " O my God, 
 O Lord, I deserve not the happiness of being a child 
 of election, a child of thy Holy Church. I deserve no 
 
SECOND SERMON. 56 1 
 
 praise for the good I do. To Thee alone, O Lord, 
 be all the honor. In every decree of Thine I will 
 kiss 'Thy gracious fatherly hand; and when Thou 
 dost please to try me by some heavy sorrow I will 
 cry out: *Thy will be done.'" 
 
 And if you one day receive with this resignation 
 the announcement of your approaching death, and 
 yield up your spirit in perfect conformity to the will 
 of God, desiring nothing further on earth than to die 
 in the manner decreed by Him, O then, indeed, you 
 will ascend so high in heaven that your throne will 
 be bathed in the light of glory that inundates the 
 throne of heaven's Queen ; and this because, while 
 here on earth, O happy child of Mary, you tried to 
 be like her : Meek and humble! — Amen. 
 
562 - FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "When shall I come and appear before Thy face?" — Ps. xli. 
 
 E read in the life of St. Stanislaus Kostka that, 
 
 w 
 
 being visited by sickness in Vienna, Mary ap- 
 peared to him with the Infant Jesus upon her arm. 
 The divine Child embraced the holy youth, while Mary 
 told him distinctly that he should leave the world and 
 enter the Society of Jesus. Without hesitation he obey- 
 ed, and traveled on foot all the way to Rome, where- 
 St. Francis Borgia received him into the Society. 
 
 But God had decreed that ere long he should set 
 out upon another journey, and travel from Rome to 
 Heaven. He was still in the morning of life, in the 
 first bloom of early youth, when, before the year 
 which had witnessed his entrance into religion elapsed, 
 on the Feast of the Assumption, his pure soul winged 
 its flight to God. What shortened his days and burst 
 the bands which bound his soul to earth, was the ar-' 
 dor of his desire to behold Mary in heaven. He wrote 
 to her in terms of glowing love, begging her to take 
 him from this world, and to obtain for him the favor 
 of celebrating the approaching feast of her glorious 
 Assumption in the company of the angels and of the 
 saints. 
 
 Mary heard his prayer. He died on the morning 
 of her feast. Mary herself came to bring him with 
 her to Heaven. Beloved in Christ, you may ask: 
 
THIRD SERMON. 563 
 
 What filled the heart of St. Stanislaus with such great 
 longiiig to see Mary in heave^i f It may be worth our 
 while to-day to answer this question. 
 
 Mary, Mother of fair love, crowned Queen of 
 Heaven, may our longing to see you in Heaven so 
 sanctify our lives that we may at an early day cele- 
 brate with St. Stanislaus the feast of your Assumption ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 St. Stanislaus longed for heaven. Great saint, we 
 share that desire ! Many are the reasons which inspire 
 us with disgust for this world and excite in us a long- 
 ing for heaven. 
 
 First, in regard to the exterior world in general and 
 the life which we live, many long and weary years has 
 the earth groaned under the curse of sin. There are 
 indeed here below, even after the gates of Paradise 
 are closed against us, many beautiful countries ; but 
 all men can not live there, and those who do, grow 
 accustomed to the beauty which surrounds them and 
 find it monotonous and tame. 
 
 Oh, how I long to behold the delights of the Lord 
 in the country of the living — to behold what a God 
 Who is infinite Beauty and Blessedness, and at the 
 same time omnipotent, is able to create ! 
 
 Here on earth are men who, though wide tracts of 
 land lie unused, can not -call one foot of ground their 
 own. 
 
564 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 O Mary, I long to leave this inhospitable country 
 to enter heaven, there to exclaim : ■' Heaven is mine ! 
 All is mine ! " 
 
 Here, according to the curse pronounced on man — 
 " In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread " — 
 he is obliged to earn his bread by weary toil, for that 
 curse is fulfilled in every one to a greater or less 
 degree. 
 
 O Mary, I desire to go home to heaven ! Here is 
 labor — there is reward ; here is toil — there is rest ; 
 here is anxiety — there is peace. Here is one constant 
 vicissitude — to-day rich, to-morrow poor ; to-day in 
 health, to-morrow in sickness ; to-day honored, to- 
 morrow despised ; to-day flattered, to-morrow perse- 
 cuted ; to-day it is life, to-morrow death. 
 
 In heaven we find rest eternal and perpetual joy. 
 Oh, how I yearn to go to heaven ! Here all is perish- 
 able — there all is eternal ; here is suffering — there is 
 rejoicing. 
 
 With what perfect justice, no doubt, could Job ex- 
 claim : *' Man, born of a woman, liveth but a short 
 time, and is filled with many miseries.'* 
 
 How many thorns of suffering spring up in life from 
 the one single care to provide for one's self and fam- 
 ily! Often, with the most willing heart to labor, a 
 person can even find no employment. 
 
 To this are added innumerable painful sicknesses, 
 and finally death. Oh, I long to leave this world to' 
 go to heaven, where, for ever and ever, no shadow 
 of trouble can ever fall — no rain, no hunger, no thirst, 
 
THIRD SERMON. 565 
 
 no misery afflict the body — no separation distresses 
 the soul; where no tears are shed; where there is 
 naught but joy — eternal joy. 
 
 If we regard the society and the intercourse of men 
 on earth, what a longing after heaven stirs up the 
 heart of man ! 
 
 Oh, what terrible wickedness, servility, and malice, 
 what falsehood and treachery, are found among men 
 in this valley of tears ! 
 
 In heaven there is only the Communion of Saints. 
 
 Oh, I desire to leave this sink of moral corruption 
 to enter the society of Angels and Saints — to fly from 
 the company of creatures and enjoy an endless union 
 with God Himself! 
 
 As long as I live on earth I live in danger of offend- 
 ing God. In heaven it will be impossible for me to 
 commit sin. Oh, thrice happy impossibility! Mary, I 
 desire to leave this world to go to heaven ! 
 
 If there were no other motive, this alone would be 
 sufficient for a soul inflamed with love of God to lonor 
 
 o 
 
 continually for heaven, where never a shadow of temp- 
 tation or imperfection is to be found, where to displease 
 God is an impossibility. 
 
 The misery of this world and the happiness of the 
 next was the daily subject of meditation for St. Stan- 
 islaus ; hence his longing for the abode of the blessed. 
 
 But apart from all these motives, there is, for the 
 child of Mary, one motive which, in the abstract, is 
 alone powerful enough to nourish daily — yes, hourly — 
 in our hearts the desire of Heaven. It is the wish to 
 
566 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 behold there this dear Mother, to offer her our thanks, 
 and to share her beatitude forever. 
 
 It. was, above all others, this motive which so in- 
 flamed the heart of St. Stanislaus that it dissolved the 
 fetters which held him to earth, and set him free to fly 
 to heaven on this lovely feast so dear to the hearts of 
 Mary's devoted children. 
 
 Oh, how many reasons have we to long with St. 
 Stanislaus for heaven ! For if its general magnificence 
 is so indescribably ravishing, and each dwelling there, 
 each throne, each crown so resplendent with unfading 
 glory, how magnificently will not the mansion, the 
 palace, the throne, the crown shine forth which God 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, have prepared for 
 the Queen of heaven ! 
 
 Oh, that I, too, might soon with St. Stanislaus be- 
 hold them in all their beauty ! 
 
 Heaven is the kingdom of reward, with which noth- 
 ing earthly can be compared. ** Eye hath not seen nor 
 ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man 
 to conceive what God has prepared for His lovers." 
 
 And as to Mary, each act of hers surpasses in merit 
 those of the saints and angels. They are the jewels 
 on her heavenly attire, the gems on her celestial 
 crown. 
 
 It is your happy lot, St. Stanislaus, to gaze upon 
 Mary to-day. Oh, that I .too, ere long, may behold her 
 there with you ! I long to see Mary, as tl|£ mirror of 
 justice, in the abundance of merit which distinguished 
 her, which, from the beginning with her Immaculate 
 
THIRD SERMON. 567 
 
 Conception, augmented to the day on which her stain- 
 less soul departed this life. 
 
 I long to see her, to salute her, to thank God with 
 and through her for her great glory and pre-election, 
 and at the same time to see all the graces which she 
 has obtained for me from Him, as the Mother of 
 mercy, as Mother of divine grace. How much I am 
 indebted to her intercession and solicitude for the 
 rescue and sanctification of my soul ! 
 
 Indeed, I long to enter heaven and to present to 
 Mary my affectionate homage and veneration, my grat- 
 itude and love. Only in heaven can this be done to 
 the entire satisfaction of my heart. Here in the land 
 of my exile I can only thank her from afar, surrounded 
 by the assaults of the enemy of salvation — there I will 
 thank her as her rescued child ; and not alone my 
 thanks will be offered, for with them will go the ar- 
 dent gratitude of the whole celestial host. 
 
 A heart penetrated with gratitude to God invites, as 
 the Psalmist admonishes us, every creature in heaven 
 and on earth to laud, praise, and thank God. The same 
 may be justly said of our gratitude to Mary the Mother 
 of God. 4 
 
 Oh, what a motive to sigh after heaven with the fer- 
 vent ardor which glowed in the heart of St. Stanislaus ! 
 What a joy and privilege, in the company of the An- 
 gels and Saints, to laud, praise, and thank Mary! 
 
 St. Stanislaus, the Holy Ghost moved thee to direct 
 thy petition to Mary, because that divine Spirit chose 
 thee as a model for youth. We, on the contrary, call 
 
 / 
 
568 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 Upon thee to obtain for us through her the grace to cel- 
 ebrate yet often, but always In a more worthy manner, 
 the Feast of her Assumption on earth, until we shall 
 be called from this land of exile to celebrate with thee 
 in heaven this happy feast, and with all the Angels and 
 Saints rejoice in the possibly highest degree there- 
 at. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE 
 BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 **Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising?" — Cant, vi, 9. 
 
 CHRIST calls Himself the light of the world, and 
 such, in truth. He is. The Church terms Him the 
 Sun of Justice, and calls Mary blessed, because from 
 her sprung this Sun. that came to illume the world. 
 
 She is, therefore, justly styled the Dawn of Morn, an- 
 nouncing, by her happy birth, the coming of the Sun. 
 
 For four thousand years the gloom, occasioned by 
 the fall of Adam, lay brooding over man. For four 
 thousand years man sighed for the coming of the 
 Redeemer ; and who can tell the storms and trials 
 that befell him during this long period of time? But 
 the day dawned that gave birth and life to the 
 Mother of this Redeemer. Ah, happy day ! Though 
 it was not hers to free us from our bonds, and draw 
 us out of the depth of misery into which sin had cast 
 us, yet hers it was to foretell the advent of the Sav- 
 iour, even as the morning dawn foretells the light of 
 day. 
 
 The very first appearance of the dawn warns us 
 
 that the sun will soon follow, bringing with him light 
 
 and growth, and sustenance and Hfe. So did the birth 
 
 (569) 
 
570 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 of our Lady proclaim, to those who lived in pious ex- 
 pectation, the coming of the Messiah. 
 
 Let us consider to-day the prayer of the Church : 
 ''Thy birth hath brought joy unto the whole world, 
 because, out of thee, there came forth the Su7i of fustice, 
 Christ our Lord and God'' 
 
 Mary, bless especially this day thy rejoicing chil- 
 dren! / 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater honor and glory of God ! 
 
 Who has not felt his heart calmed and cheered at 
 beholding that beautiful phenomenon of nature — the 
 Aurora ! How soothing a sight especially it is to one 
 who has passed a long and fearful night, where pain 
 and dread and danger left him no rest, but has rea- 
 son to hope that the day will relieve all this pain and 
 misery ! 
 
 And so it is with us when we behold, with loving 
 trust, the child that is born unto us this day. The 
 words addressed to the shepherds at the birth of our 
 Saviour — "I bring you good tidings of great joy, for 
 this day is born to you a Saviour" — are applicable to 
 the child that is born this day. The Angel could have 
 addressed us in almost the same terms : I bring you 
 good tidings of great joy, for this day is born unto 
 you Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Yet a few 
 years, and there will come forth from her blessed 
 womb Christ Jesus, the Sun of Justice, Who will dis- 
 
FIRST SERMON. 57 I 
 
 pel the darkness of sin that has overtaken the chil- 
 dren of men. He will turn night into day ; yea, into 
 a day of happy and celestial Ight ! 
 
 How great is the joy of the royal heir when, after 
 having lost his claims to the throne, he beholds the 
 morn that will reinstate him in his rights, and make 
 him the ruler of a yet mightier kingdom. 
 
 Such, my brethren, Is our happy lot through Christ, 
 Who is the Light of the world. He is to make us 
 children of God; to make us happy in calling God 
 our Father.; to make us lawful heirs of heaven, — heirs 
 far richer than we would have been had we never lost 
 our inheritance. Oh, let us return thanks to God, and 
 hail with fairest greeting the child that is to be the 
 Mother of such a God and Benefactor ! 
 
 Take the case of an unfortunate man, who, though 
 once rich, Is now leading a wretched life. He is sud- 
 denly surprised with the news, that on a fixed day 
 he Is to recrain all his wealth with twofold interest. 
 
 o 
 
 That day is now dawning; and, oh, how its first ap- 
 pearance in the Eastern skies thrills his soul with 
 joy! 
 
 Dear brethren, you remember how sin has robbed 
 us of every thing; but you, likewise, remember that 
 Christ has made us partakers of the superabundance 
 of His grace, and obtained for us the means of ob- 
 taining merits for His kingdom of glory. Mary's na- 
 tivity announces the approach of this eventful day. 
 Rejoice, therefore, and be glad ! 
 
 A sick man spends a sleepless night. He is suffer- 
 
 37 
 
572 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 ing from a painful malady. However, there is hope 
 for him. The physician tells him that on such a day, 
 fixing the precise date, he will be cured. That day is 
 now advancing; already its first glimmerings appear 
 in the horizon. He raises himself from his bed, and 
 hails the light of the looked-for day. 
 
 Beloved brethren, we all have been wounded by sin, 
 fatally wounded. Christ came to heal our wounds, and 
 to save us from the dangers of eternal death. He shall 
 be to us a means of recovery, perfect recovery ; but 
 Mary is as "the morning rising" of the -day of our 
 salvation, effected through Christ our Redeemer. It 
 is just, then, that we should celebrate her nativity with 
 festive rejoicings. 
 
 ' A prisoner pines in his dungeon. He is to be freed 
 from prison on a certain day. The dawn of that day 
 is about to break; and, when he catches the first 
 glimpse of the morning light, he cries out : " Hail, 
 happy light ; a little longer, and I am free ! " 
 
 And how much greater should be our happiness to- 
 day! Eternal pains of hunger and thirst were to be 
 our only share ! It is sin's share ! Our Lord would 
 free us from this misery. By the union which He 
 effected between God and us, we shall be partly sa- 
 tiated in this world, entirely and forever In heaven. 
 Ah, lovely dawn, birth of the Virgin Mother, that an- 
 nouncest our Saviour's coming! And, in very truth, 
 her birth is as the morning dawn, the dawn of free- 
 dom ; of salvation ; of grace ; of mental illumination ; 
 of fortitude ; of consolation, and of happiness eternal. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 573 
 
 No more shall darkness obscure our understanding ; 
 but bright and clear is the way that leads us on to 
 heaven. No more shall we grow faint and weary in 
 the service of God ; in the observance of His laws ; 
 in the practice of virtue ; in the treading of the path 
 of perfection ; but steadfast and strong shall we be in 
 leading an almost angelic life here on earth. 
 
 No more shall distress make our hearts fail, but in 
 the splendor of the Gospel Sun we shall see the value 
 of sufferings as reflected from the life and deeds of 
 our Lord; and the ointment of His merits shall be 
 poured into the wounds which hardships, trials, and 
 tribulations have dealt us so severely. 
 
 No more shall the thought of approaching death fill 
 us with fear and trembling; but, after looking upon 
 Christ victorious, we shall say, with the Apostle : " O 
 death! where Is thy sting?" 
 
 And what if our body crumble Into dust? Christ 
 says : " I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that be- 
 lleveth In Me, although he be dead, yet shall live." 
 
 This, then, is the day which the Lord has made. 
 Let us rejoice and be glad, as holy king David bids 
 us. The nativity of the Blessed Virgin foretells the 
 coming of the Saviour. Hence it Is that we celebrate, 
 with such solemnity, this day, which is the precursor 
 of that greatest of days — Christmas. 
 
 And may we endeavor to reap benefits from this 
 feast by resolving so firmly to Imitate her that to* 
 day's celebration may be the beginning of the long 
 and blissful day that awaits her faithful followers. 
 
I 
 
 574 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 Let US remember, too, that we are not to rest sat- 
 isfied in mere empty rejoicings; but that we should 
 meditate on the various events of her Hfe, that we 
 may be led on to, and strengthened in, the resolve 
 to imitate her, and so to grow in age and wisdom be- 
 fore God and men. — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 575 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 ** What an one, think ye, shall this child be ? " — Luke i, 66. 
 
 WHEN St. John, the precursor of our Lord, first 
 saw the light of day, and when his father's tongue 
 was loosed, as he wrote the name of the child, people 
 wondered and said : *' What an one, think ye, shall 
 this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with 
 him." 
 
 This child was to be the forerunner of our Lord, 
 of Him who is to be the Saviour of the world, to pre- 
 pare for Him a way by which to enter the hearts of 
 the children of men. Had the neighbors, when they 
 first saw the child, but known his high vocation, they 
 would have had every reason to congratulate him, and 
 to be glad over his birth. I shall apply this text : '* What 
 an one, think ye, shall this child be ? " to the birth of 
 the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of the Incarnate Son 
 of God. 
 
 How many and how great reasons should have 
 urged the people, who lived at the time of her birth, 
 to congratulate the child, and to be glad. To them, 
 however, these were not known. But we do know, 
 and we, therefore, celebrate the memory of the happy 
 occurrence of her nativity, as though this were the 
 day on which our Blessed Lady first saw the light of 
 day. 
 
 It is in this spirit, as you are well aware, that the 
 
576 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 Church celebrates her feasts, and her prayer for to- 
 day's festivity confirms what I have just said. 
 
 Be it then to her ho7ior and to our consolation that I 
 ask the question : what child is this that is born to-day ? 
 and what shall this child be? 
 
 The answer to the two questions shall be the sub- 
 ject of my sermon. 
 
 And thou, Mother of God, obtain for us the grace 
 to know thy Dignity and Power, and our hearts will 
 be filled with festive joy! 
 
 I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 glory of God ! 
 
 The chief reason why a whole empire often rejoices 
 at the birth of a child, is because this child is heir or 
 heiress to the throne. Then it is, that days of jubilee 
 are proclaimed throughout the land. 
 
 Observe, then, the character of the child that is born 
 to-day. This child is the future Queen of heaven and 
 earth, the Ruler of the powers of Nature, the Mis- 
 tress, not only of the visible world, but of those spa- 
 cious realms of glory that loom up with dazzling bril- 
 liancy beyond the skies. Yea, more, she is Queen of 
 the Angels, in the order of their choirs, — of Angels, 
 of Archangels, of Dominations, Virtues, Powers,. 
 Thrones, Principalities, Seraphim, and Cherubim. All 
 the Choirs of Angels are hovering around the cradle 
 of this child, and pay homage to their Queen. 
 
 Yet, even now, at the first moment of her life, this 
 
SECOND SERMON. 577 
 
 child is full of grace, surpassing, by the splendor of • 
 her virtues, all the Choirs of Angels who may justly ex- 
 claim in their bewilderment of joy : " Who is she, fair 
 as the moon, bright as the sun, the one chosen 
 Mother of the Son of God? " Already in her mother's 
 womb she was endowed with the full use of reason, 
 so that with every breath she could gain merits that 
 surpassed those of the angels and saints, and these 
 merits would go on increasing to the end of her life. 
 What a glorious spectacle for the Angels to behold 
 this child! and her name should be Mary, which sig- 
 nifies — the sea. 
 
 It was not without a special intervention of heaven 
 that St. Joachim and St. Anna gave the child of grace 
 this name. For as all the waters of the rivers flow into 
 the sea, and the sea majestically flows over them all, so 
 should every grace which God ever granted to Angels 
 and Saints, and will ever grant them to the end of time, 
 flow into the heart of Mary, and be inundated with 
 the fullness of her grace. Yet, what do I say : this 
 Child is pleasing in the sight of Angels. Rather let 
 us consider, with what complacency the Blessed Trin- 
 ity looks upon this Child. 
 
 ''This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well 
 pleased," thus resounded the voice of the heavenly 
 Father on Mount Tabor. And to-day the voice of 
 that same Father is heard over the cradle of the 
 Blessed Virgin: "This is My beloved daughter, in 
 whom I am well pleased." And the voice of the Son 
 re-echoes : "This is My Mother, whom I have chosen 
 
578 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 from eternity, and in whom I am well pleased." Be- 
 neath her heart I shall soon rest as God and man ; 
 shall first take substance from her. Her I shall after- 
 wards embrace as My Mother, honor as my Mother, 
 and glorify as My Mother. ''This is My beloved 
 spouse whom I have chosen from eternity, and in whom 
 I am well pleased. My only spouse, immaculate." Such 
 are the words spoken by the Holy Ghost. And had a 
 prophet been present at her birth, as at that of St. 
 John, what might his prophecies have been ? We know, 
 for even then all that Scripture and tradition said of 
 her dignity power, sanctity, and glory was fulfilled. 
 
 This child — such might have been the words of the 
 Prophet — this child when scarcely three years of age 
 shall consecrate herself, body and soul, to God in the 
 temple. This child, as the virgin spouse of St. Joseph, 
 shall receive the Angel's salutation, and become the 
 Mother of the Son of God. Being Mother to the Son 
 of God, she shall nourish and nurse Him, live with 
 Him for thirty years under the same roof, shall daily 
 have His most holy example before her eyes ; and, 
 like Him, grow in age and wisdom and grace before 
 > God and men. She shall accompany Him on His 
 apostolic journeys, hear His divine word, and witness 
 all the wonders that He will work. She shall hear the 
 cry of the people : '' Blessed the womb that bore thee, 
 and the paps that gave thee suck." And when the 
 hour comes in which He will end the sacrifice of re- 
 demption on the cross, this child shall stand at the foot 
 of the Cross as Co-redemptrix, and there she shall 
 
SECOND SERMON. 579 
 
 hear the words of her dying Son : Woman, behold thy 
 Son! 
 
 She shall remain on earth in the midst of the Apos- 
 tles as their Queen, and as protectress of the Church, 
 until saints of every rank shall have preceded her to 
 heaven, and be ready to render her entry glorious. 
 This child, when it shall have shone as the Mirror of 
 Justice on earth, shall be taken, body and soul, glo- 
 rified into Heaven. 
 
 Oh, what a day of triumph this shall be, when Christ 
 shall embrace her as His Mother, lead her to her 
 throne, where she remains seated forever, and enjoys 
 the bliss and glory of her Divine Son. There she will 
 entone that ''Mag7iificat'' which once on earth she 
 sang In such rapturous tones of thanksgiving. There 
 she will be our intercessor with Christ, recommend- 
 ing to Him each of her children, and showing her- 
 self the Mother of grace and of mercy, the refuge 
 of sinners, the consoler of the afflicted, the restorer 
 of the sick, our only hope after Christ our Lord. 
 
 The whole of Christendom, from its first begin- 
 ning, and down through all succeeding ages, honored 
 our Lady under all these titles. How many are the 
 examples and witnesses that go to establish grounds 
 for which the Church greets her with these titles, and 
 that prove how accurately were fulfilled the words of 
 the Queen of Prophets: ''From henceforth all gen- 
 erations shall call me blessed ! '* 
 
 Let us think especially of the many shrines erected 
 in her honor throughout Christendom, and of the en- 
 
580 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 thusiasm with which CathoHcs fifteen hundred years 
 ago received the decree of the Council of Ephesus, 
 declaring that Mary is the Mother of God, and is to be 
 honored and praised and venerated as such. Coming 
 to our own days, think of the ever-memorable year 
 1854, in which Pius IX. published the declaration that 
 Mary was conceived without stain, exempt from the 
 defilement of original sin. Then it was that the ''JTe 
 Deum" resounded over the length and breadth of the 
 earth. Look at the many shrines in Europe, where 
 faith has fructified for nineteen hundred years. There 
 is scarcely a province in which Catholics do not assem- 
 ble at some shrine, and where we do not see count- 
 less memorials kept to testify that Mary has proven 
 herself to be the refuge of sinners, the restorer of 
 the sick, the help of Christians. But still more im- 
 pressive and still more consoling it is for us, her chil- 
 dren, to glance into the sanctuary of our own hearts, 
 to look back upon our life-long pilgrimage, and to see 
 how often we ourselves have experienced our dear 
 Mother's help and protection. 
 
 Let me ask the sinner : " Who has obtained for you 
 the grace of conversion? '* Oh, it is Mary ! I cried to 
 her for help. To her I owe this grace. And who, O 
 grief-stricken soul ! was it that consoled you when your 
 father, mother, husband, or child were snatched away 
 from you by death ? You sought relief from Mary. 
 She consoled you. And to whom do you acknowledge 
 your thanks for the recovery from this or that sick- 
 ness, for the rescue from this or that dan2:er ? You 
 
SECOND SERMON. 58 1 
 
 took refuge to Mary. She stood by you. Who is It 
 that will be your consolation and hope on your death- 
 bed ? It is Mary, the Mother of a happy death. 
 
 And may she be such to us in truth. May she, by 
 her assistance, complete, even unto the salvation of 
 our souls, the work of grace begun in us, in order that 
 we, who have presented our hearty congratulations 
 at her cradle, may behold her throne of glory, and that 
 when, through death, we shall be reborn unto life eter- 
 nal, departing this world under her guidance and pro- 
 tection, we may forever share her happiness in heaven. 
 Amen ! 
 
582 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God, has given joy to the whole world; 
 because of thee wa§ born Christ, the Sun of Justice, Who, taking away the 
 curse, hath brought us blessing, and, conquering death, hath bestowed on 
 us life eternal." — Anthem of the Holy Church. 
 
 ^^q^HY birth, O Virgin Mother of God, has given 
 1 joy to the whole world; because of thee was 
 born Christ, the Sun of Justice, Who, taking away 
 the curse, hath brought us blessing, and, conquering 
 death, hath bestowed on us life eternal." . 
 
 These are the joyous words which the Church uses 
 at the Vespers of this day ; and these words form, as 
 it were, the key-note of all tl^e prayers and hymns with 
 which to-day's liturgy is embellished. 
 
 Had Mary been the daughter of the greatest ruler 
 of the world, think you, my brethren, that we would 
 remember her to-day ? No ; long since her memory 
 would have passed from the minds of men. How few 
 are the daughters of great princes of whose birth 
 even mention is made after the lapse of centuries ! 
 Such would have been the case with Mary, the royal 
 child of the family of David. However, she brought 
 forth Christ, the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the 
 world, the God-man. 
 
 Mothers of great men, of men that have done great 
 things in the world, are praised as long as their sons 
 are praised. This is the case with mothers of great 
 rulers, great philosophers, great saints. 
 
 Mary was to take part in the work of redemption ; 
 
THIRD SERMON. 583 
 
 this is the reason why the faithful, wherever they are 
 found, look upon Mary with so great a devotion, and 
 reverence and hail her birth as the harbinger of good 
 tidings. 
 
 Let us, then, consider to-day, on the one hand, the 
 curse which rested on mankind since the fall of Ada^n ; 
 and, on the other, the blessing which Christ droughty 
 and in which Mary took part. 
 
 Mary, obtain for us the blessing of thy holy na- 
 tivity, in order that we may fulfill the duties of our 
 state of life as redeemed children of God ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 Wishing to know the nature of the curse which 
 weighed down mankind since the fall of Adam, we 
 must first consider man before the fall, in his origi- 
 nal justice and happiness ; and then we must ex- 
 amine him after the fall, in his subjection to Satan and 
 misery. 
 
 Adam and Eve, our first parents, awoke in para- 
 dise, enriched with all the gifts of nature and grace in 
 order to begin a heavenly life even on earth. Their 
 reason was enlightened with so much knowledge that 
 our minds can not form an adequate idea of it. This is 
 proved from Holy Writ. 
 
 Through sin this light, this knowledge, was lost to 
 mankind. What night, thick and impenetrable, even 
 in natural things, fell upon our race ! Witness the 
 
584 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 savages, the cannibals, and see how among them, not 
 only the knowledge of God and the science of salva- 
 tion, but even the first ideas of right and wrong, have, 
 in regard to many, almost disappeared. 
 
 Besides, we must bear in mind that the will of man 
 has been very much weakened as regards the practice 
 of virtue. The heathens adored, and even yet adore, 
 their very vices. What did they gain by so unreason- 
 able a manner of acting? Anguish of heart, height- 
 ened to despair, urged them to take away their own 
 life ! 
 
 Again, how many and how great have been and 
 are the cares of man to provide for his bodily suste- 
 nance ! How literally has the curse of God been 
 fulfilled, saying to Adam: *'The earth shall bring 
 forth thorns and thistles, and in the sweat of thy 
 brow thou shalt eat thy bread ! " And to Eve: ''I 
 will multiply thy sorrows, and in sorrow thou shalt 
 bring forth thy children ! " 
 
 It is with good reason, then, that we call this earth, 
 cursed as it is since the fall, a valley of tears. A great 
 change, however, has taken place since the coming of 
 Christ for all those that have faith and live by their 
 faith. Who can form a just estimate of the knowl- 
 edge by faith concerning eternal truths which our race 
 acquired through the coming of the Saviour? 
 
 Now we see clearly and distinctly the way which 
 we must walk ; we believe truths so consoling at oiice, 
 and so sublime, that even Adam himself, in his primi- 
 tive justice, could* not have imagined so much con- 
 
THIRD SERMON. . 585 
 
 descension on the part of God, and so much eleva- 
 tion on the part of man. 
 
 Now we believe that God has become man ; we 
 confess, as children of an infallible Church, truths 
 which point to an eternity — an eternity far more 
 blissful than we could have expected or obtained 
 had Adam not listened to the tempter. 
 
 Again, we behold in the light of faith many bless- 
 ings bestowed on us even while on earth — graces ob- 
 tained by prayer, graces obtained through the inter- 
 cession of friends, of Angels, and Saints ; but, above 
 all, graces obtained through the Sacraments, and es- 
 pecially through the Holy Eucharist. With all this the 
 Blessed Virgin is most intimately connected. 
 
 For you must know that to Mary belongs the title 
 of Protectress of our faith. '' Thou alone," says the 
 Church in one of her prayers to Mary, '' hast con- 
 quered all heresies." She it is who preserves and en- 
 livens the faith in the hearts of the true children of 
 the Church ; she it is who incites us to a faith made 
 living by prayer and good works. 
 
 What the experience of ages teaches can not be 
 called in question. But this experience teaches us, 
 that in proportion as the devotion of nations and fami- 
 lies and individuals to Mary is increased, in the same 
 proportion liveliness of faith, true piety and persever- 
 ance in good works are increased. 
 
 Through the curse of sin our will has become weak ; 
 but, through the grace of Christ, our will has again be- 
 come strong. 
 
586 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 The grace of Christ enables us, not only to obey the 
 strict law of God, — for even in the Old Testament 
 there was sufficient grace to do that, — but also to 
 do more: To walk in the way of the Evangelical 
 Counsels, and thereby live the life of angels, though 
 still detained in our houses of clay here on earth. 
 
 And although for the practice of this sublime de- 
 gree of perfection extraordinary graces are neces- 
 sary, these graces are not wanting; for Mary will ob- 
 tain them for her children, partly through her inter- 
 cession with Christ, and partly through the encour- 
 agement in virtue which the example of her life gives 
 to the faithful. 
 
 And these extraordinary graces have been effica- 
 cious with millions upon millions! By how far, think 
 you, do the saints nowadays scattered all over the 
 earth exceed in number those of the old law? Let 
 us recall to mind the lives of the saints! What do 
 we find in them ? We find that as star differeth from 
 star, so saint from saint. Still they have one trait in 
 common. All cherished a special devotion to the 
 Blessed Virgin. The same may be said of those 
 multitudes of faithful whose lives and virtues, though 
 hidden and unnoticed of the world, are, nevertheless, 
 conspicuous for an ardent devotion to the Mother of 
 God. All Catholic nations and countries and peoples 
 bear witness to what I say. 
 
 Man has lost, it is true, the paradise of pleasure 
 and delight ; and, in its place, we are living in a val- 
 ley of tears, our minds are surrounded by doubt and 
 
THIRD SERMON. 587 
 
 ignorance, and our hearts are pressed down by an- 
 guish, resdessness and sorrow. But Christ has turned 
 this our night of sorrow into a day of consolation. How 
 has He done this? By redeeming the world through 
 His sufferings and death. For now, illumined as we 
 are by faith, we know and confess that nothing is so 
 well calculated to increase our portion of heavenly 
 glory as trials and sufferings accepted and borne with 
 resignation to the most holy will of God. 
 
 But Mary, the comforter of the afflicted, the help 
 of Christians, she It is to whom we have recourse, 
 especially in our temporal necessities, in order that, 
 through her intercession, the Lord may free us from 
 them, or lessen their severity; or else, that He may 
 give us patience to bear them meritoriously. The 
 mere name of Mary, pronounced with confidence, 
 acts as a balm upon our wounded hearts, and im- 
 parts a certain sweetness to our very sufferings. That 
 I do not exaggerate, I appeal to the experience of 
 every Christian soul here present that, in days of 
 tribulation, has had recourse to her. 
 
 Again, who is there that, contemplating Mary, the 
 Queen of Martyrs, at the foot of the cross, does not 
 feel in himself an increase of patience in suffering, 
 and even a desire to kiss the hand of God that strikes 
 him. 
 
 However, losses in the natural order are as nothing 
 when compared to those of the supernatural order. 
 
 Adam, in his original justice, was not only created 
 
 to the image and likeness of God, but he had also 
 
 38 
 
588 FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 
 been raised to divine sonship — a sonship of adoption, 
 it Is true ; but, as son — as child of God — he was des- 
 tined one day to be a sharer of God's own beatitude. 
 
 Sin robbed our first father, and, in him, ourselves, 
 of this high destiny, of this God-like elevation of 
 our nature. What a loss! Yet, again, what a gain! 
 Through the coming of Christ this divine sonship of 
 adoption has been recovered by us; and, what is 
 more, the natural, only Son of God the Father, has 
 become a Son of Adam, of David, and, consequently, 
 He has become our Brother — an honor which was not 
 given to the Angels. 
 
 Mary is the chosen Mother of tlie new law, as Eve 
 had been of the old. Mary Is the Mother of all men 
 In the kingdom of Christ, as Eve is the mother of all 
 according to the flesh. 
 
 The sin of Adam brought death into the world, and 
 opened the gates of destruction for soul and body; 
 Christ's redemption brought life for the soul immedi- 
 ately, and for the body on the day of the glorious re- 
 surrection. Mary has preceded us to heaven. Soul 
 and body, she thrones there as Queen of Angels and 
 Saints. There she awaits our coming. 
 
 Think of this, child of the Church, and rejoice to- 
 day, with all the faithful, at the birth of the Redeem- 
 er's Mother. — Amen! 
 
FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 I 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 *'I was as a rose-plant." — Eccl. xxiv, i8. 
 
 N various passages of the Old and New Testaments 
 we find prayer compared to a sweet odor rising be- 
 fore the throne of God. And referring to the faithful 
 spouse of the Holy Ghost, Sacred Scripture calls her 
 a rose-plant. This appellation recalls to our mind that 
 method by which we frequently invoke and honor the 
 blessed Mother of God : it reminds us of the holy Ro- 
 sary. Every Catholic is sufficiently well acquainted 
 with the manner in which this beautiful devotion is 
 performed. 
 
 It consists in this : that whilst saying the Our Fa- 
 ther and Hail Mary, we meditate on the mysteries of 
 our holy faith, which, if duly considered and dwelt 
 upon, will draw from the heart the sweet odor of 
 pious emotions. 
 
 To-day I wish to speak of those emotions of the 
 soul which mostly determine the efficacy of the devo- 
 tion of the holy Rosary ; of the emotions which ren- 
 der prayer agreeable to Mary, acceptable before God, 
 
 and greatly conducive to our own sanctification. 
 
 (589^ 
 
590 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 If, in reciting the Rosary, we do not reflect at all, 
 or only carelessly, on the mysteries of our holy faith, 
 we may be assured that we do not pray except with 
 our lips, and that such a prayer will be to us of no or 
 of but little avail. And yet, of all prayers, that of the 
 Rosary is most likely to degenerate into a mere "me- 
 chanical recital of words, on account of the constant 
 repetition of the same forms. # 
 
 It is evident, then, that, in order to perform this 
 beautiful devotion to the Blessed Virgin well, we must 
 occupy our mind with the truths of our holy faith. 
 
 Now, the mysteries on which we meditate whilst re- 
 citing the Rosary, are, according to the events which 
 they call to our mind, divided into xh^ joyful, the sor- 
 rowfuly and the glorious mysteries. 
 
 To-day we shall consider the sweet-scenting roses of 
 the joyful mysteries, 
 
 Mary, mystical Rose, as Holy Church calleth 
 thee, would that as often as we perform the beautiful 
 devotion of the Rosary, it might ascend to thy heav- 
 enly throne as a perfumed offering of thy devoted chil- 
 dren ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 "The Conception by the Holy Ghost." This Is the 
 first event pondered over in commemorating the joy- 
 ful mysteries. These words refer to the fundamental 
 mystery of our holy faith in the order of salvation and 
 
FIRST SERMON. 59 1 
 
 redemption of mankind. They refer to the Incarnation 
 of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 The emotions of the soul which are stirred up with- 
 in us and ascend towards heaven as the perfume of 
 roses, at the mentioning of this mystery, are those of 
 thankfulness for the infinite mercy which the Almighty 
 was pleased to show to the unhappy race of Adam. 
 Indeed, it was an act of mercy which was shown not 
 even to the Angels. They fell, and are lost forever. 
 But to fallen man the infinitely merciful God stretched 
 forth His saving arm, wishing to celebrate in the sal- 
 vation of our race the triumph of His mercy. 
 
 What else would be the sentiments of our souls, at 
 the thought of such marvelous clemency, but those of 
 thanksgivifig? But at the same time we must not for- 
 get to encourage ourselves to lead such a life as will 
 entitle us to participate in the privileges of Redemp- 
 tion. For certainly the state of a redeemed, and yet 
 lost soul, would be much more miserable than that 
 of a fallen Angel, to whom mercy has never been ex- 
 tended. 
 
 But, in order to secure to ourselves the merit of 
 Redemption, let us be close imitators of the virtues 
 of Mary. Especially let us imitate her profound hu- 
 mility and her unshaken conformity in the most holy 
 will of God, so beautifully expressed in those words 
 addressed by her to the angel at Nazareth : ''Behold 
 the handmaid of the Lord ; be it done unto me ac- 
 cording to thy word." 
 
 Oh, yes, if we recite the first decade of the joyful 
 
592 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 mysteries In sentiments like these ; if we renew the 
 good resolution to show our thankfulness for the grace 
 of Redemption, principally by living a pure and holy 
 life, and wishing that nothing but the will of God may 
 be fulfilled in us, then surely our prayer will ascend to 
 the throne of heaven as sweet and agreeable as the 
 perfume of the most odoriferous roses. 
 
 *' The Visitatio7i of our Lady to her cousin Eliza- 
 beth." The Visitation of Mary bespeaks her active 
 virtue of charity towards her fellow-creatures. And 
 the holy emotions that, like fragrant roses, will spring 
 up in our souls at the thought of Mary's example of 
 charity, will be the resolutions to thank God for the 
 grace of Redemption by a true and active charity to- 
 ward our neighbor. 
 
 Though, as children of the same Adam, we are al- 
 ready brothers and sisters, and are bound to contrib- 
 ute to each other's happiness, yet how much more 
 urgent has not this duty become on every one of us 
 since the Son of God became man and has <:alled ev- 
 ery man His brother ! How much more are we not 
 bound to live in harmony and peace with our fellow- 
 men, now that we are destined to be the children of 
 the same Church on earth and to enjoy eternal bliss 
 together in heaven! And looking up to Mary, our 
 resolution of a mutual, lively charity must surely be 
 increased, since, through Jesus Christ, she has be- 
 come the Eve of the New Testament, and thus the 
 spiritual Mother of all the children of God. 
 
 But, in order to fulfill the commandment of charity 
 
FIRST SERMON. 593 
 
 to its full extent, we must diligently consider those 
 very virtues which Mary practised when visiting Eliz- 
 abeth. Mary, namely, though she was at that time 
 already clothed with the dignity of Mother of the In- 
 carnate Son of God, hastened to Elizabeth in order to 
 perform for her the offices of a servant. She has- 
 tened, and joyfully overcame the difficulties of the 
 road. 
 
 Thus, then, according to the example of Mary we 
 must help our neighbor in the spirit of self-sacrifice, 
 speedily and lovingly ; we must administer to his bod- 
 ily as well as spiritual wants. 
 
 Mary helps her cousin Elizabeth, and John is deliv- 
 ered by the very presence of the Mother of God, from 
 the stain of original sin, and sanctified as the precur- 
 sor of the coming Messiah. 
 
 Oh, yes, such holy emotions of fraternal charity rise 
 up to heaven, agreeable to God as the perfume of 
 roses, and consoling to the maternal heart of Mary. 
 
 '* The birth of our Lord in the stable at Bethle- 
 hem." We must follow Jesus if we wish to live as 
 children of our heavenly Father, in charity with God 
 and man. 
 
 " Follow Me." In these words Christ addresses Him- 
 self to every human soul. The virtues, however, which 
 Christ our Model wants us to imitate, are those which 
 were practised by him as a child in the manger. 
 
 There lies the Incarnate Son of God, annihilated in 
 the guise of a helpless babe, poor, trembling, and sac- 
 rificing Himself for the Redemption of mankind. 
 
594 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 How eloquently does not this example speak to our 
 soul ! If you wish to follow Me, the God-Man says to 
 us, humble yourselves and be willing to receive humil- 
 iations, as I did at Bethlehem when rejected from the 
 doors of its inhabitants. 
 
 Indeed, without humility there can be no true vir- 
 tue, no solid foundation of piety, no increase of grace, 
 no certainty of salvation. 
 
 If you wish to follow Me, look at Me in the manger; 
 there I lie, poor and helpless. Free, then, your heart 
 from the gross cares for this world, from the harassing 
 thoughts of riches and possessions. " Blessed are the 
 poor in spirit." Thus the divine Child speaks to us by 
 its example from the hard bed of straw. Be not solic- 
 itous about the coming day. " Give us this day our 
 daily bread." Are not cares for riches the thorns that 
 choke within our soul the divine word of God ? 
 
 The firm determination of freeing ourselves from all 
 desires after earthly riches, will surely ascend to the 
 throne of God as a sweet fragrance of spiritual roses, 
 whilst the harassing cares for the things of this world 
 will hover below as the foul odor of sin. And again, 
 how much will we not be encouraged by a glance at 
 the Blessed Virgin, who offered up for herself and the 
 Child Jesus the offering of the poor ! 
 
 ''The offering of the Infant Jesus in the temple." 
 Such a life is indeed a victory over self, and insepara- 
 ble from the spirit of sacrifice. 
 
 If we are animated with a sincere and earnest desire 
 of following in the footsteps of Jesus, we must deny 
 
FIRST SERMON. 595 
 
 ourselves, take the cross upon our shoulders, and place 
 ourselves with eagerness under the banner of the holy 
 cross — under the banner of Christ, Who, as Simeon 
 predicted, shall be a sign of contradiction to many. 
 
 We must, furthermore, sanctify our life in patience, 
 and purify our intentions ever more and more. \ 
 
 All for Jesus ! We must be ready to accept every 
 thing with a willing heart, in union with the divine 
 heart of Jesus. And whatever may be the opinion of 
 the world, let us not heed it, but do what Jesus de- 
 sires us to do, in order to follow His divine example. 
 
 If we say the Rosary, afi-imated with such sentiments 
 against the world and its desires, our prayer will be 
 as blooming roses in the sight of the Almighty. Filled 
 with this resolution against the spirit of the world, 
 Mary led a retired life at Nazareth till Jesus was about 
 to accomplish the sacrifice of the redemption of man- 
 kind. For then she came forth, but only to place her- 
 self beneath the cross, whence alone we can draw sal- 
 vation and eternal happiness. 
 
 ''^Yi^ finding in the temple." Though a soul may 
 determine to despise the maxims of the world, to de- 
 vote herself to the service of God and to follow her 
 Jesus, still the time may and will come when she will 
 be assailed by temptations to sin and lukewarmness. 
 And what remains to be done if she should have the 
 misfortune of yielding to sin, and thus separating her- 
 self from her Spouse ? The soul must return in sorrow 
 and repentance, and must, moreover, draw good from 
 evil by determining to regain lost grace, and to be 
 
59^ FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 more watchful in future against the snares of the evil 
 one. 
 
 Here the roses that exhale their sweet odor before 
 the Most High are the sentiments of repentance over 
 our shortcomings and imperfections, and particularly 
 over the grievous sins which we may have committed 
 during the past. 
 
 Now, concerning contrition, what remarkable things 
 do we not read in the '' Lives of the Saints " ! Not a 
 few of them led a life of the most rigorous penance for 
 a single venial sin or a mere imperfection. Sorrow for 
 past sins will be particularly salutary for the soul, as it 
 strengthens the foundation of all virtues — humility — 
 and increases patience, a virtue so necessary for final 
 perseverance in the service of the Almighty. 
 
 But, that in truth our prayer may rise up to God, 
 agreeable as the fragrance of roses, we must, before 
 beginning the prayer, make the good intentioA of 
 meditating in true recollection of spirit on the mys- 
 teries prescribed. 
 
 And it is especially to the devotion of the Rosary 
 that the admonition of the Holy Ghost has reference 
 when He says : " Before prayer prepare thy heart." 
 
 Observe well this counsel, O child of Mary, and the 
 roses that will spring up whilst reciting the beads will 
 change themselves into precious gems to adorn the 
 crown that is awaiting you in heaven ! — Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 597 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have 
 given joy to my soul." — Ps. xciii, 19. 
 
 IN Holy Writ true prayer is often compared to a 
 sweet odor or fragrant incense, rising before the 
 throne of the Most High. But this comparison holds 
 good only for prayer, which is animated with senti- 
 ments of adoration and praise, and thanksgiving and 
 love. 
 
 Now the prayer, which is most generally said by 
 all Catholics on the face of the earth, and in whose 
 commemoration a special feast has been instituted, is 
 that of the holy Rosary. 
 
 Last year we considered together with what senti- 
 ments and emotions we should be animated when re- 
 flecting on the joyful mysteries. 
 
 And we found, as you will remember, that the mys- 
 teries of this part of the Rosary have reference, prin- 
 cipally, to the maxims of the Christian's daily life in 
 the service of the Almighty. 
 
 But this, our daily life, passed in sweet and peace- 
 ful union with God, is often interrupted by bitter suf- 
 ferings and direful adversities. And in order that we 
 may bear patiently and meritoriously the ills of life, it 
 will not suffice only to contemplate the ordinary life 
 of Christ, but we must also often turn our thoughts 
 to the sacred passion and death of our divine Re- 
 deemer. Such salutary thoughts are stirred up within 
 
59^ FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 our hearts by reciting the Rosary and meditating on 
 the sorrowful mysteries. 
 
 There is nothing more meritorious, and nothing 
 more agreeable, in the sight of God, than a perfect 
 resignation to His will in times of adversity. 
 
 Let MS, then, consider to-day what fragrant roses of 
 pious emotions will spring up in our hearts while 
 meditating the sorrowful mysteries — roses that will ex- 
 hale their sweet odor before the throne of fesus and 
 Mary] 
 
 Mother of dolors, would that every pair of beads 
 commemorating the sorrowful mysteries, were to thee 
 a bunch of roses laden with, the perfume of a true love 
 of the cross of thy Jesus! 
 
 I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God! 
 
 *'The sweating of blood." The particular suffering 
 of our Lord which excites us most to compassion, is 
 His anguish in the. garden of Olives. 
 
 Every soul that in spirit contempla^tes Jesus sweat- 
 ing blood, must say within itself: It is for me that 
 Christ sweats blood, through fear that, notwithstand- 
 ing His passion, to which He subjected Himself for me, 
 I might yet yield to temptation and perish. I say : for 
 me. Jesus came down upon earth for the redemption 
 of the soul of every man, and He offered up His suf- 
 ferings for each particular human being, as though 
 each one had been the only object of His sufferings. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 599 
 
 Yes, If in this manner we consider the bitter pas- 
 sion of our Lord, its recollection will move our hearts 
 most effectually, and produce in it corresponding- 
 emotions of sorrow and repentance. 
 
 Now, whilst recalling the bloody sweat, and, in 
 general, the mysteries of the passion, as the Rosary 
 presents them to our mind, it is highly imporj:ant and 
 beneficial to contemplate, in spirit, the Redeemer in 
 His sufferings, that our heart may be filled with com- 
 passion, and that we may be moved to ask ourselves : 
 O, my Jesus, what can I do in order to console 
 Thee? 
 
 According to St. Luke, Christ fell three times to 
 the ground. He grew pale, trembled, and prayed: 
 *' Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from 
 Me," and the blood obzed from His veins, moistened 
 His garment, and flowed upon the ground. 
 
 What a sorrowful sight for every soul that loves 
 Jesus! 
 
 The uppermost thought here is the question: 
 "What was it that afflicted our Lord thus unto 
 death?" Ah, as I said above, it was the thought of 
 the innumerable risks and dangers to which our final 
 salvation is exposed, and which may render fruitless 
 for us His passion and death. 
 
 Console the Lord by your promise to avoid, as 
 much as you can, every occasion of sin, and to make 
 use of the means which Holy Church offers us to 
 overcome every temptation as soon as it manifests 
 itself 
 
600 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 Oh, how agreeable will not such resolutions be to 
 the sorrowful heart of our Lord and that of His 
 blessed Mother! 
 
 But you must prove the sincerity of this your in- 
 tention by adhering faithfully to your resolution, es- 
 pecially on the day on which you say your Rosary. 
 
 "The flagellation at the pillar." This scene, too, in 
 the Passion of our Lord, is very apt to fill our hearts 
 with great compassion. 
 
 Contemplate thy Jesus, and see how He is lacer- 
 ated to the very bones; how, bathed in His own 
 blood. He falls to the ground, and breaks forth in the 
 sorrowing words of the prophet: " I am a worm, and 
 no man." Here, again, the question rises within our 
 soul : What was it, O Lord, that lacerated thee ? The 
 answer is : It is the countless number of sins committed 
 by the human race. What a countless number of lashes 
 had He to suffer from them! 
 
 Reflect on your own sins. Who could count all 
 those sins of thought, word, desire, action, and omis- 
 sion which you have already committed? 
 
 And what shall we say if we consider how many 
 sins are committed every moment, how long this 
 wickedness has already lasted, and how long it may 
 still continue ? Console the Lord, and protest, with a 
 firm resolution, that henceforth you will nevermore 
 commit a deliberate sin ; that you will even try, with all 
 your heart, to avoid every imperfection, and, more- 
 over, hinder others as much as possible from offending 
 Him. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 6oi 
 
 And you will- accomplish this latter part first by 
 giving others no occasion of sin, and, secondly, by 
 using every opportunity to lead heretics and infidels 
 to the road of salvation, the Holy Church of God. 
 And more yet, to do all in our power that the chil- 
 dren of the Church themselves may not sin, but walk 
 in holiness and humility before the Almighty. 
 
 With such emotions fill your heart at the thought 
 of our Lord's flagellation, and the sweetest fragrance 
 will rise from these roses of compassion and zeal for 
 souls, a consolation to the divine heart of Jesus and 
 the sorrowful heart of Mary. 
 
 '•The crowning with thorns." Contemplate in spirit 
 your God and Lord as He was presented by Pilate 
 to the Jews, crowned with thorns, clothed, by way of 
 mockery, with a purple garment, and bearing a reed 
 in His hand. Listen to the cries of the bloodthirsty 
 crowd: ''Crucify Him; crucify Him." Pity your de- 
 rided Jesus. 
 
 Christ looks at the people, for whom He has done 
 so much good; He looks at the whole human race, 
 whom He came to save, and He feels most painfully 
 the insults that are heaped upon Him by the chil- 
 dren of His Church. He is particularly afflicted on 
 account of the inconstancy of those who, purified by 
 the waters of baptism, walked for a time in the 
 path of virtue, but fell back again into sin, and thus 
 plunged themselves deeper into the abyss of perdi- 
 tion than if they had never known the grace of Re- 
 demption. 
 
602 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 Console the Lord by your protestations that you 
 will ever lovirfgly and faithfully confess Him before 
 man, without being misled by false huma^i respect. 
 Certainly such a resolution is of * the greatest utility^ 
 especially in our times, when all the efforts of the 
 children of the world are directed to the destruction 
 of the Church, and the restoration of ancient hea- 
 thenism. 
 
 Consoling, indeed, and agreeable as the fragrance 
 of roses will such emotions be to the afflicted hearts 
 of Jesus and Mary. 
 
 ''The carrying of the Cross." Jesus is pressed to 
 the ground under the burden of the Cross. Consider 
 with what an ardent love for us the Lord embraced 
 the Cross, which was ignominiously laid upon him! 
 He falls under its burden a first, a second, and a 
 third time, until Simon of Cyrene lends Him his 
 assistance, and carries the wood of salvation to Cal- 
 vary. 
 
 Christ permits all this in order to admonish us that 
 without a co-operation on our part His Passion will 
 be of no avail to us, but that in order to participate in 
 the grace of Redemption we must check our bad pro- 
 pensities and firmly resolve to bear, patiently and 
 willingly, the hardships of life for the love of Him. 
 And when the hour of tribulation approaches think 
 of Mary, who, when meeting her divine Son loaded 
 with the cross, did not murmur, but pressed Him to 
 her heart, In perfect conformity to the most holy will 
 of God, whose wish she knew it was, that Christ 
 
SECOND SERMON. 603 
 
 should thus suffer in order to reconcile the human 
 race with His heavenly Father. 
 
 Protest, before Jesus, that you will unite your sen- 
 timents of confoj^mity to the most holy will of God 
 with those of Mary, and that you will be ready to 
 bear, willingly, whatever divine Providence may send 
 you for your own sanctification. Oh, how few per- 
 sons there are w^ho suffer patiently and without mur- 
 muring against the providence of God ! And for this 
 reason sentiments of patience and perfect resignation 
 in God's most holy will rise up to the Lord and His 
 blessed Mother, with the dehcious perfume of the 
 queen of flowers. 
 
 *' Crucifixion." See your Jesus! The cross is ele- 
 vated; His wounds gape; the sun disappears from 
 the heavens ; the earth trembles ; and from the Cross 
 Christ speaketh the words: "Father, forgive them." 
 Every one of His words has reference to the salvation 
 and sanctification of our souls. Consider especially 
 the words : '* It is consummated ! " 
 
 Console the heart of Jesus by protesting that you 
 will follow Him, with fidelity, to the end. And, in 
 order that you may do so, turn your thoughts to 
 John under the cross, when Jesus s^id to him: " Be- 
 hold thy mother!" And she stood under the cross, 
 her heart filled with compassion, thanksgiving, adora- 
 tion, and conformity to the most holy will of God. 
 Fall, in spirit, at the feet of Mary, and make the prom- 
 ise of flying to her, as your mother, in all your ne- 
 cessities of body and soul. Try, also, to inspire others 
 
 39 
 
604 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 with a great confidence to Mary. If we thus honor 
 her, she will, undoubtedly, become to us a guaranty 
 of final perseverance In the state of grace. 
 
 Such sentiments of love and fidelity will certainly 
 exhale a heavenly fragrance before the throne of 
 Jesus and Mary. And since the proverb, *' Every 
 day brings its evils," is but too true, it would cer- 
 tainly be most beneficial, for those who meditate on 
 the sorrowful mysteries, to renew their resolution 
 and show themselves particularly patient In their suf- 
 ferings on the day when they perform this beautiful 
 devotion. And, in order that they may succeed so 
 much the better in their praiseworthy endeavors, let 
 them invoke the help of Mary, saying: O Mary, ob- 
 tain for me the grace, that when the sword of sorrow 
 shall pierce my soul, I may, in perfect patience and 
 resignation, like thee, follow Jesus, my crucified love. — 
 Amen. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 605 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, 
 and on her head a crown of stars." — Apoc. xii, i. 
 
 THE Lord loveth a willing heart. This disposition 
 of readiness and alacrity in the service of God is 
 excited within our souls by meditating on the glorious 
 mysteries of the Rosary. 
 
 He who serves God from-motives of fear and neces- 
 sity, lacks courage, determination, zeal, and, not sel- 
 dom, constancy. 
 
 But if we consider the mysteries of faith, which re- 
 fer to the glorious life of Christ and His Blessed 
 Mother, we shall be strengthened and encouraged to 
 suffer, with joy and patience, whatever our holy relig- 
 ion may require of us, calling to mind the words of 
 St. Paul: '' If we suffer with the Lord, we shall also 
 be glorified with Him." 
 
 The glorious mysteries, those on which we medi- 
 tate when reciting the third part of the Rosary, are 
 those of the resurrection of our Lord, His ascension 
 into* heaven, the coming of the Holy Ghost, the as- 
 sumption of our Blessed Lady, and her crowning as 
 Queen of heaven. 
 
 And now with regard to these divine truths, we 
 will first consider the events themselves which faith 
 places before our mind, and then reflect on the emo- 
 tions with which they filled the heart of Mary when 
 
6o6 FEAST OF .THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 they were being accomplished, in order that we too 
 may be animated with similar thoughts and affections. 
 
 And we should strive, moreover, to retain these pi- 
 ous sentiments, not only during the time of prayer, but 
 during the whole course of our life. 
 
 We shall then consider to-day the glowing roses 
 which will bloom in our heart, when, in remembrance 
 of Jesus and Mary, we contemplatively recite the Rosary 
 of the glorious mysteries. 
 
 Mary, crowned Queen of heaven, Mother of 
 Christ and our Mother, fill our hearts with an ardent 
 desire of being united to Thee in heaven, in order 
 that we may live on earth in a manner becoming the 
 children of so glorious a Mdther ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 ''The resurrection from the dead." What an en- 
 couraging, what a glorious sight ! Christ risiiig from 
 the tomb on Easter-morning, surrounded by myriads 
 of holy angels, and an infinite number of souls, that 
 in the course of four thousand years have sanctified 
 and saved themselves through hope in the corning 
 Messiah, the Saviour of the world. 
 
 Mary was the first, as tradition relates, to whom 
 Christ appeared after His resurrection from the dead. 
 What a heavenly joy must it have been for the heart 
 of Mary to see Jesus, Whom she had so bitterly 
 bewailed, once more among the living! With what 
 
THIRD SERMON. 607 
 
 an ardent love must she have pressed Him to her ma- 
 ternal heart ! 
 
 The fruit which we ought to reap from the consid- 
 eration of this divine mystery is, — a great increase of 
 faith. For as St. Paul says : '' Christ is risen, He lives, 
 and, therefore, all His teachings are true." Christ is 
 risen ! Like Him, our prototype, we too shall rise, 
 with a glorified body, radiant as the sun, moving with 
 the ease and swiftness of thought beyond the reach 
 of suffering and death. 
 
 But we must also live in a manner becoming men, 
 that profess to follow in the footsteps of Christ. And 
 like Jesus we must preserve our heart unsullied from 
 sin, putting off the old man, and clothing ourselves 
 with the new. In order to succeed the better in these, 
 our pious endeavors, let us often turn our thought to- 
 wards Mary, the most faithful follower of Jesus, who 
 was left upon earth by her divine Son, that she might 
 be a Mirror of Justice to the Apostles and the prim- 
 itive Christians, as well as to all those who, in the 
 course of time, might be united with them in the one 
 Holy Church of God. 
 
 Happy those, O Mary, who saw thee upon earth 
 with the eyes of their body ; but happy also those who 
 in spirit look up to thee as their example, and imi- 
 tate thy virtues ! 
 
 Oh, how much does not the life of a true child of 
 Mary contribute to the edification and sanctification 
 of others ! 
 
 "The ascension into heaven." Let us repair in 
 
6o8 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 Spirit to Mount Olivet. How touching the farewell 
 scene which we there behold : The Apostles and dis- 
 ciples of the Lord throw themselves at His feet, in 
 order to receive their Master's blessing before He 
 goes to the Father. But what must have been the 
 feelings of Mary, when Jesus embraced her before 
 His ascension into heaven, where she was soon to 
 meet Him and be united with Him for all eternity ! 
 
 Throw yourself in spirit at the feet of Jesus and beg 
 His blessing, in order that you too may follow Him 
 one day into life everlasting, and occupy that throne 
 which He has prepared for you in heaven. The con- 
 stant remembrance of the Ascension of our Lord 
 should excite in every Catholic a longing desire to 
 follow Him soon. 
 
 Oh, what a precious fragrance such emotions ex- 
 hale before the Lord, in a world filled with the foul 
 odor of malice and sin ! 
 
 "Lift up your heart to the Lord! " thus the priest 
 at the altar admonishes us in the words of St. Paul. 
 If you are risen with Christ, desire the things that are 
 from above. For the difference between the children 
 of the world and those of God consists in this : that 
 the former never think of heaven, whilst the latter de- 
 sire it most ardently, saying with St. Paul : 
 
 *'I long to be dissolved and to be with Christ." 
 This great longijig for heaven should excite in us the 
 resolution of often visiting our divine Redeemer in 
 the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. For there 
 Christ is yet present as truly and really as He is in 
 
THIRD SERMON. 609 
 
 heaven, and as He was on earth with Mary in her 
 house at Nazareth, and as, after His ascension, he re- 
 mained with her under the sacramental species, which, 
 as we are informed by private revelations of saints, 
 were never consumed in Mary from one Communion 
 to another. 
 
 A close union with Christ in the Most Holy Sacra- 
 ment of the altar, animated by an ardent desire of 
 paying Him frequent visits, of often assisting at the 
 holy sacrifice of the Mass, and especially of frequently 
 and worthily receiving Him in Holy Communion, char- 
 acterizes the true child of Mary. 
 
 These are the thoughts which should occupy our 
 mind when meditating on the second glorious mys- 
 tery. And if we consider that, notwithstanding His 
 Ascension, our Lord is yet upon earth, let us say to 
 ourselves : What a happiness to be a child of the true 
 Church, and to be so near to our Saviour ! 
 
 Hail to you, child of Mary, if your heart gives tes- 
 timony that you live solely for Christ in the Most 
 Holy Sacrament! 
 
 You may, in this case, with peace and confidence 
 await the second coming of the Lord — His coming as 
 Judge — which was foretold to the disciples on Mount 
 Olivet by the Angels: "This Jesus, Whom you have 
 seen ascending Into heaven, shall come again." And 
 you may even now know your sentence from those 
 words spoken by Christ: "He that eateth My flesh 
 and drinketh My blood abides in Me and I in him/* 
 and : " He that eateth this bread shall live forever." 
 
6lO FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 Such emotions of love towards Jesus will send forth 
 a fragrance that shall pervade our whole life, and 
 which St. Paul, speaking of the faithful followers of 
 the Saviour, calls the sweet odor of Christ. 
 
 " The coming of the Holy Ghost." Christ, as St. 
 John tells us, sent the Holy Ghost not to remain with 
 His Apostles only, but also with all those who would 
 believe in Him to the end of time. As often as you 
 meditate on this glorious mystery look up to Mary, 
 surrounded by the Apostles and first disciples of 
 Christ. Contemplate her, the Spouse of the Holy 
 Ghost, and consider how abundantly the divine Spirit 
 poured forth His seven gifts into her soul. Ask of our 
 good Mother, that she may obtain for you a great in- 
 crease of the seven gifts of the Paraclete. 
 
 Just as these heavenly gifts render the Christian 
 an active member of the Church militant, and inspire 
 him with fidelity and courage to give testimony to his 
 holy faith in life and death, so do they likewise des- 
 ignate the true child of Mary. 
 
 The true child of Mary is filled with the fear of the 
 Lord and the fear of sin ; it flees from temptations and 
 conquers them, receives often the Sacrament of Pen- 
 ance, and is not influenced by human respect. 
 
 The true child of Mary loves prayer ; often fortifies 
 itself with the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, and 
 celebrates with devotion the feasts of the Church. 
 
 The true child of Mary endeavors to grow in the 
 science of the saints, cares for the one thing neces- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 6 I I 
 
 sary, the salvation of its soul, and is always ready to 
 assist others with good counsel. 
 
 The true child of Mary shows itself, for the love of 
 Jesus and Mary, courageous and submissive in times 
 of adversity, judges the world in the light of faith, and 
 tries to employ every moment in the work of its eter- 
 nal salvation. The dutiful servant of the blessed 
 Mother of God prays often to the Holy Ghost, that He 
 may fill his heart ever more and more with holy inten- 
 tions and desires. 
 
 Oh, what a fragrance of holy thoughts pervades the 
 souls of the children of Mary ! 
 
 ''The assumption of our Lady into heaven." Who 
 could meditate upon this mystery without wishi-ng 
 soon to enter heaven, and enjoying forever the pres- 
 ence of the blessed Mother of our Redeemer ? But the 
 question whether you will go to the abode of the 
 blessed, will be decided by the sanctity of your life, 
 and your constancy in the service of God. Now, the 
 surest pledge for such a perseverance is, according to 
 the holy fathers and doctors of the 'Church, a genuine 
 devotion to the blessed Virgin. 
 
 Child of Mary, profess openly your allegiance to 
 her, that at the end of your life she may assist you 
 with a mother's care. 
 
 "■ The coronation of our Lady in heaven." Contem- 
 plate Mary sitting on her throne in heaven. St. John 
 once had a vision, in which he saw Christ in heaven, 
 adorned with precious diadems. Now, every one of 
 these ensignia of royalty is also borne by Mary, the 
 
6l2 FEAST OF THE HOLY ROSARY. 
 
 Queen of heaven. Rejoice, then, O child of Mary! for 
 one day, and perhaps soon, will you not only see her 
 in all her glory, but also participate in her splendor 
 forever. 
 
 What a canticle of joy will your soul entone before 
 the throne of Mary, as soon as you will comprehend 
 with what maternal solicitude the Queen of heaven 
 watched over you, lest you might forfeit the heir- 
 loom of a blissful eternity, and be separated from her 
 forever. 
 
 After these holy considerations renew the resolu- 
 tion of devoting yourself entirely to her honor, love, 
 and imitation upon earth, and of gaining over as many 
 hearts as possible to her honor and veneration. 
 
 Such holy emotions and desires, excited in a child 
 of Mary by meditation on the glorious mysteries, will 
 rise towards heaven agreeable as the fragrance of 
 roses, to the greater glory of God, and to the greater 
 honor of Mary, our blessed, glorious Mother. Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 *' Behold, I will send My angel, who shall go before thee ; take notice of 
 him, and hear his voice." — Ex. xxiii. 
 
 TO-DAY we celebrate the Feast of our Guardian 
 Angels — a solemnity which, as your own joyous 
 sentiments testify, is especially dear to the heart of 
 every faithful Christian. And how can it be other- 
 wise, since the occasion reminds us of the great bene- 
 fits bestowed upon us by the Almighty, in giving to 
 each one a watchful Angel to be the companion of his 
 life, thus exhibiting a providence so loving as to ex- 
 tend at once over our eternal and our temporal well- 
 fare ? 
 
 The interest of this festival is heightened by the 
 circumstance that our veneration is not offered to be- 
 ings who, like the Saints, pass their happy existence 
 in far remote regions; but that our homage is ten- 
 dered- to creatures that ever linger near us, accom- 
 pany us, watch over us, protect us, and conduct us 
 safely by the hand toward our eternal and blissful 
 home. 
 
 The heavenly spirit that thus accomplishes God's 
 
 (613) 
 
6 14 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 grand design in our regard we call the Guardian An- 
 gel ; and St. Jerome, at the sight of this wonderful dis- 
 play of God's goodness, cries out: *'0 what a great 
 dignity it is for a man ever to be protected and 
 guided by an Angel! " 
 
 It is, then, the duty of the Guardian Angels to 
 spread their sheltering wings over their charges — a 
 duty which they fulfill with the greatest exactness and 
 fidelity. But what reciprocal service, dear Christians, 
 should we proffer to our Guardian Angels for their 
 solicitous care? Is it not but just that we should, as 
 we are told in the above text, imitate the inestimable 
 qualities that shine forth in the nature of these celes- 
 tial spirits? 
 
 As St. Paul addresses to the children of the Church 
 these words: '' Be ye imitators of me, as I am of Jesus 
 Christ," so the Guardian Angels appeal to their trusted 
 friends with the entreaty: ''Would ye have life? then 
 be ye imitators of me, as I am a bright copy of St. 
 Michael, the mirror of the Almighty." 
 
 Let MS, then, dear Christians, contemplate, in to-day's 
 sermon, the heave7ily virtues of our Guardian Angels 
 with a view of ingrafting them on our souls. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Angels, be thou our advocate 
 before the throne of God, Imploring for us the" grace 
 to fulfill His will on earth with the same fidelity as the 
 Angels do in heaven ! 
 
 1 address you In the holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
FIRST SERMON, 615 
 
 If we are desirous M:o become true followers of our 
 Guardian Angels, we must commence at once to re- 
 form our lives ; and we must endeavor most strenuously 
 to render our conduct similar to theirs, in accordance 
 with the express command of Jesus Christ : *' Thy will 
 be done on earth, as it is in heaven." 
 
 Now, in examining the heavenly properties of the 
 Angels, we are most forcibly struck by one character- 
 istic mark of theirs, which, to imitate, ought to be our 
 first, our special aim. I mean their entire freedom from 
 sin. 
 
 It is this spotless purity of soul which confers on 
 these blessed spirits their title of good Angels; it is 
 this excellence that confers on them the honor of be- 
 ing our guardians. 
 
 Yes, the Angels are without sin; for, hardly had 
 Lucifer and his followers yielded to that first and only 
 thought of pride — a thought not even carried into ex- 
 ecution — but they were hurled into the abyss of hell, 
 and at once changed from Angels into demons. 
 
 Hence, you can imagine with what horror the An- 
 gels look upon sin ! They stand constantly before the 
 throne of God, where, gazing upon His holy counte- 
 nance, they draw from it, in deep draughts, their burn- 
 ing love and profound knowledge; and, since the 
 detestation of sin is proportionate to one's love and 
 knowledge of God, we can form an idea of the inten- 
 sity with which the Angels must hate every outrage 
 offered to the Almighty. 
 
 Hence, too, it is easy to understand why the Angels 
 
6l6 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 make it their first and principal concern to avert every 
 temptation from the souls confided to their charge ; or, 
 to enable them to escape unharmed when they see them 
 beset by like dangers. Such is the anxious solicitude 
 of the Guardian Angels in your regard. 
 
 But how do you requite this kindness ? Do you not 
 still continue to heap ^in upon sin? If so, then woe to 
 you, for the abominable sight has filled your good An- 
 gel with horror, and driven him far from your side ! 
 With horror and loathing he frowns upon you ! He 
 sees you transformed, by the defilement of sin, from a 
 child of God into a menial of Satan. He beholds you 
 become like the very demons themselves, by destroy- 
 ing the temple of God within you, and erecting in its 
 stead an abode for the evil spirits. 
 
 If, then, we desire to imitate our Guardian Angels, 
 by depicting their virtues on our hearts, let us pre- 
 serve our consciences pure from all stain of sin. Let 
 us, furthermore,, beseech them to warn us of the ap- 
 proach of temptation ; and, should God, for our greater 
 purification, permit the tempter to assail us, let us fiy 
 at once under their protecting wings, entreating them 
 to aid us in resisting the Evil One with promptness 
 and with that entirely determined will with which they 
 themselves have defeated the devil. 
 
 However, should we have the misfortune to be de- 
 feated by Satan, O let us implore our good Guardian 
 Angel, in all humility, to obtain for us the grace of 
 eliciting tvu^ ^ contrition , and of reconciling ourselves 
 to God by a good confession. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 6l 7 
 
 Then will that benevolent spirit rejoicingly draw 
 near us again, and stretch out to us his guiding hand. 
 
 But the Angels are not only free from all sin, but 
 they are also the external reflex of God's perfec- 
 tions. 
 
 According to the degree of divine splendor which 
 beautifies their nature, they are distinguished into va- 
 rious choirs or orders, one ascending above another, un- 
 til the bright series is crowned with those most perfect 
 of God's creatures — those Angels of Love, the Ser- 
 aphim, and the seven heavenly Princes, led on by St. 
 Michael the Archangel. 
 
 In fact, oh, what a wonderful amount of accidental 
 glory does accrue to God from the innumerable Choirs 
 of Angels! And why do we not also strive, to the 
 best of our power, to glorify God externally, evincing 
 ourselves, as St. Paul says, the followers of God by 
 daily increase in the practice of solid virtue. 
 
 Now, God is every-where. He is infinite Power, 
 Wisdom, and Goodness. He is replenished with in- 
 finite Holiness, Mercy, and Clemency. He is infinite 
 Majesty, Love, and Beatitude. 
 
 All these attributes of God demand of us the prac- 
 tice of certain corresponding virtues, by which we are 
 required to make daily progress in the knowledge of 
 God ; to place implicit confidence in His decrees, and 
 resign our wills totally into His hands ; to glorify His 
 holiness, by exhibiting a holy desire and thirst after 
 perfection ; to carry our cross with patience and with- 
 out murmuring, never wavering in our fidelity, nor 
 
6l8 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 wandering about in fear and trembling on account of 
 the frequency of His unexpected chastisements. 
 
 But, above all, we must, according to the example 
 of the Angels, make good these sentiments of our 
 hearts by an ardent zeal to know and fulfill the most 
 sacred will of God, showing it principally in a faithful 
 fulfillment of the duties of our state. 
 
 If our life be such, there is no doubt but we shall 
 approach nearer and nearer to the perfection of the 
 Angels. 
 
 Nay, divines affirm that some of God's Saints have 
 equaled, nay, even surpassed the holiness of some of 
 the Angels ; so perfectly did they accomplish His ador- 
 able will. 
 
 This truth will strike you still more forcibly, if you 
 consider the consoling words which our Lord on one 
 occasion addressed to St. Gertrude, who had been 
 thus bewailing her miseries: "Oh, wretched me ! how 
 can the earth any longer bear so despicable a creat- 
 ure?" To which our Lord promptly rejoined : ''Ger- 
 trude, all the Angels yearn for the moment when thou 
 shalt make thy entrance into heaven, to be one of 
 their company, to participate in their love and beati- 
 tude. They are astounded at the sight of thy per- 
 fection ! " 
 
 After this there will be no need of dwelling at length 
 on the elevation to which Mary, the Queen of Angels, 
 has been raised, and sits enthroned in glory, far above 
 even tfee loftiest of the angelic spirits. 
 
 Now, the question may be asked : What means and 
 
FIRST SERMON. 619 
 
 practices are the most efficacious in enabling us to lead 
 a life conformable to that of the Angels ? To answer 
 this question, let us fix our gaze on the bright model 
 we have in our Guardian Angel. This heavenly guide 
 is one of the good Angels ; and he is such by virtue 
 of that determination^ that unshaken firmness, with 
 which he re-echoes the war-cry uttered by St. Michael 
 the Archangel : '' Who is like unto Godf This watch- 
 word resounded from the lips of the good Angels dur- 
 ing their strife against Lucifer, and edged the swords 
 with which they struck down that proud rebel and his 
 retinue and thrust them into hell. 
 
 " Peace on earth to men who are of good and de- 
 termined will," said the Angels at the birth of our Lord. 
 **If thou wilty says our Saviour Himself, **thou canst 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven." But in this sin- 
 cere, firm, unshaken will men are often deficient ; and 
 hence so many, by the abuse of their free will, are 
 doomed to eternal perdition. Wavering between vir- 
 tue and vice, they will and will not. They say: ''I 
 desire to do good;" but they lack the strength to 
 declare: "Yes, certainly, I will; I am determined." 
 
 If this resolute determination had struck deep roots 
 in our soul, how many occasions of sin would not be 
 avoided ! If we were to meet every temptation with 
 a firm. No, no ! how powerless, how despicable would 
 it not become ! 
 
 But, alas ! men only too often resemble our Lord's 
 
 executioners, who, on Palm Sunday, hailed Him in 
 
 the streets of Jerusalem, singing: " Hosannah to the 
 40 
 
620 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 son of David ; " and, on the Friday following, pro- 
 nounced sentence of death, crying out: ''Crucify 
 Him! away with Him!" 
 
 Do you, however, dear Christians, take a firm reso- 
 lution to deliver yourselves up wholly and entirely to 
 His adorable will! 
 
 Let us observe, further, that the Angels look con- 
 stantly upon the face of the Most High. Why, I ask 
 you, is it that we often grow remiss in our attachment 
 to God ? It is because the remembrance of God be- 
 comes effaced; it is because we no longer walk in His 
 presence; it is because we view our present condition, 
 not from a heavenly, but from a worldly standpoint. 
 Were we but to abandon this perverse manner of 
 passing judgment on things, how steadfastly we should 
 pursue the path to salvation ! 
 
 Another quality of the Angels is the ardor with 
 which they worship the Deity. Their "holy, holy, 
 holy," resounds constantly through the heavenly Je- 
 rusalem before the throne of God. 
 
 If we desire to resemble the Angels also in this 
 respect, we must, as our Lord demands, acquire the 
 habit of constant prayer, i. e., we must persevere in 
 the holy practice until it appears to us no longer a 
 burdensome duty, but a sweet necessity of our heart. 
 When we have reached that point, we need no longer 
 be in dread as to the good state of our soul ; for then 
 the promise of Christ will be fulfilled in us: " Where 
 two of three are together in My Name, I am in the 
 midst of them." 
 
FIRST SERMON. 621 
 
 These, beloved Christians, are some of the charac- 
 teristic marks which signalize our Angel Guardians. 
 Let us, then, endeavor to imitate these bright models. 
 If we do so, we may rest assured that the same Angel 
 who extended his protection over us during life, and 
 whose heavenly qualities we strove to engrave on our 
 souls, will, at our death, conduct us before the judg- 
 ment-seat, and bid us enter into the joys of the Lord, 
 to partake, in His society, of the glory and bliss of 
 eternal life. — Amen ! 
 
622 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 "For He hath given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy 
 M^ays. In their hands they shall bear thee up; lest thou dash thy foot 
 against a stone." — Ps. xc. 
 
 ON the feast of the Archangel Raphael, the Church 
 prays: ''O God, Who hast given the Archangel 
 Raphael as a companion to Tobias, grant that we. 
 Thy servants, may be strengthened by his assist- 
 ance and helped by his protection." 
 
 The desire to which the Church gives expression 
 in these words, finds its fulfillment in the angel, 
 whom God has given to every man, to accompany 
 him during life and conduct him securely to his 
 eternal home. 
 
 What weighty reasons have we not, then, to offer 
 thanks to the Lord for choosing such a companion 
 and guide for us ! 
 
 The road that leads to eternal salvation is shrouded 
 in darkness, and hence we may easily be led astray 
 if we rely on our own selves. It is a road along 
 which the enemies of our salvation lie in ambush, to 
 surprise us, wound us, and, if possible, to bring about 
 our utter ruin. 
 
 Yet, if we be but of good will, we need not fear, 
 for by our side walks an angel, endowed with all the 
 qualities of a good guide, in whom we may put entire 
 trust, following him, without anxiety, on our hazardous 
 journey through life. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 623 
 
 Let uSy then, consider what those traits are in our 
 Guardian Angel which render him a good guide. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Angels, recommend us to our 
 Guardian Angels, that at thy bidding they may assist 
 us to walk on the right path — that path which will 
 lead us to God and to thee, O Queen of Angels! 
 
 1 address you in the holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God! 
 
 The qualities for which we look, in a reliable guide, 
 are, besides a thorough knowledge of the road, are up- 
 right character, obliging behavior, and amiable man- 
 ners. To a guide possessing these qualities the pref- 
 erence will always be given over others not similarly 
 gifted. 
 
 We shall now see in how remarkable a degree our 
 Guardian Angel has all these requisites of a good 
 guide, and is thus rendered thoroughly fit to dis- 
 charge his duty. 
 
 Only think of it; that companion of yours is an 
 Angel! What a virtuous, amiable, excellent being must 
 he not then be ! As an angel he is raised far above 
 the level of men. In comparison with his tremendous 
 power of mind, the mental strength of the greatest 
 genius dwindles to nothing. 
 
 An Angel is a being that, arrayed in the glory of 
 heaven, arrests the delighted gaze of the Almighty! 
 On one occasion, St. John, in an ecstasy, saw an 
 Angel clothed in such wonderful beauty that he mis- 
 
624 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 took him, at first, for our Lord Himself, and was 
 about to fall down and adore him. And yet the 
 vision was but an angel. Hence, you can form some 
 idea of the ravishing beauty of an angel. 
 
 Such a being, then, is that heavenly protector of 
 yours. Hence, Holy Writ justly makes us this ex- 
 hortation: ** Honor him; he is deserving of it." 
 
 Oh, would that you could share the happiness of 
 St. Frances of Rome, who always beheld her Angel 
 Guardian by her side ! How devout and modest would 
 you then not be, at all times and in all places, on ac- 
 count of his visible presence. St. Bernardin of Sienna, 
 makes the very just remark that, should your Angel 
 Guardian display, before your eyes, all the glory with 
 which he is surrounded near the throne of God, the 
 entire world, not even excepting the sun, would fade 
 from your sight, and nothing would be seen but that 
 one Angel, so dazzling would his brightness be. But 
 here you may apply that promise of Jesus Christ: 
 '' Blessed are those that have not seen and have be- 
 lieved." Think of your Guardian Angel often during 
 the day, and frequently call to mind his actual pres- 
 ence at your side. The remembrance of him, whether 
 you be working, taking your meals, resting, or in suf- 
 fering, will console and render you more devout. 
 
 We are better pleased with a guide if he is well 
 affected toward us, and if he offers his services with 
 a good grace. Should he lack these qualities, we 
 would prefer to travel alone, even through dangerous 
 places. 
 
SECOND SERMON. 625 
 
 Now, as to our Guardian Angel, he delights in 
 our company; he loves us as chosen citizens of 
 heaven; as children of Jesus Christ, that, redeemed 
 in the blood of the Lamb, are destined to be united 
 with him in heaven. 
 
 Then he takes upon himself the duty of a guide 
 with so much the more readiness, as he knows that 
 if the one intrusted to his charge be saved, he 
 himself shall one day have a special interest in his 
 bliss. 
 
 He is, moreover, encouraged in the discharge of 
 his office by the thought that he unites to himself, 
 by the bonds of gratitude, the hearts of all those who 
 are in any way related to his charge by the ties of^ 
 blood, or love, or friendship, such as father, mother, 
 husband, and wife. All these will one day pay him 
 special homage in the realm of the Blessed. 
 
 But what most sweetens the labor of the Guardian 
 Angel, in performing his task, is the love oi Jesus 
 and Mary, He is well aware how our dear Mother 
 yearns to clasp to her loving embrace the children 
 whom Jesus confided to her at the foot of the cross; 
 he fully appreciates the longing desire of our Saviour 
 to press to His bosom the brothers for whom He 
 shed the last drop of His blood; and he is assured 
 that Jesus, the King of heaven and earth, will reward 
 him richly for his services. 
 
 Finally, is he not sent by the most Holy Trinity, 
 whose greatest desire it is to see all men saved and 
 sanctified ? 
 
626 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 A guide will be the more welcome if the road to be 
 traveled over is unknown, and, above all, if it leads 
 through an unsafe and dangerous country; such is 
 the road to heaven. 
 
 Hence, ought we not to rejoice at having so ex- 
 perienced, prudent, and faithful a companion, on our 
 journey through life, as our Angel Guardian is? 
 He has already fought the good fight, on which de- 
 pended his eternal salvation. He has also come from 
 heaven, and hence he knows the road thither. There- 
 fore let us follow him with blind confidence. 
 
 He is, moreover, a prudent guide. The wiles of 
 Lucifer could not deceive him, whilst they deceived 
 so many others. Besides, he has become wiser by 
 the additional experience of over five thousand years. 
 
 He has seen and known innumerable pilgrims in 
 this world, who, by diligently following the advice of 
 their Guardian Angels, have safely reached their 
 eternal home. 
 
 Our Guardian Angel is also a prayerful spirit, 
 who, .standing before the throne of God, asks graces 
 for his charge — graces which are readily granted to 
 so great a friend of the Almighty! 
 
 Moreover, he is aided in his petition by numerous 
 other Angels, in whose company he lives, and who 
 are united to him by the bonds of the tenderest love ; 
 together with them he besieges the throne of mercy; 
 and along with them he offers up his prayers before 
 the divine Majesty. 
 
 Priests have become aware, in times of Jubilees 
 
SECOND SERMON. 627 
 
 and Missions, of the mutual services which the angels 
 render each other in order to obtain more plentiful 
 graces for the souls intrusted to their care. 
 
 This powerful protection of our Guardian Angel 
 extends to our body as well as to our soul. 
 
 In tending to the needs of our body, the angels 
 are helped by their thorough knowledge of the pow- 
 ers of nature, as we can see in the instance of the 
 Archangel Raphael, the guide of young Tobias. 
 
 As regards the wants of our soid, our Guardian 
 Angel knows all the wiles and crafts of Satan; and 
 when the Evil One tempts us, he inspires us with 
 encouraging thoughts, thwarts his plans, and secures 
 our eternal salvation. 
 
 He is, moreover, a conquering angel, dreaded by 
 the devils, since they already experienced his power 
 when they first rose in revolt against God. Let us, 
 therefore, put all our confidence in him. 
 
 He is, finally, a faithful guide, who will never 
 abandon us in life; who will protect us at the hour 
 of death, and still help us in the pains of purga- 
 tory. 
 
 Yes, our Guardian Angel will assist us during life. 
 No matter how long it may be, he will fulfill his duty 
 of praying for us and protecting us at all times and in 
 all places — in Europe as well as in Asia, in Africa no 
 less than in America. 
 
 He watches over us during our hours of work and 
 leisure, and Is near us In our joys and sufferings, in 
 our consolations and temptations. 
 
628 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 But, above all, our Guardian Angel will assist us 
 at the awful hour of death, on which our whole eter- 
 nity depends. At that moment, certainly, we may be 
 sure of his help and protection. 
 
 For, it is especially in our agony that Satan strains 
 every nerve in order to secure our soul and thrust it 
 into hell. He knows but too well that if he is able to 
 seize on her then, he holds her forever ; for where the 
 tree falleth, there it remaineth. 
 
 Therefore it is that he has often appeared visibly 
 to the dying, and has even dared to frighten and as- 
 sail the Saints. But the Guardian Angel, too, is on 
 the alert. He is aware of the fact that if he rescues a 
 soul at the hour of death, it can never again be torn 
 from him, and that then he has fulfilled his mission in 
 its regard. On this account he endeavors, to the best 
 of his power, to assist the departing soul, and is 
 ready, if need be, to call other angels to his aid in 
 driving away the evil spirits, and in obtaining, by his 
 prayers, for the dying person, the grace of a happy 
 death. 
 
 But, even after a soul has departed this life, he 
 ceases not to assist her ; for, if she be still detained in 
 the flames of Purgatory, he offers up prayers for her 
 before the throne of God, thus to lessen and shorten 
 her pains. He also incites the friends of the deceased 
 to aid him, by prayer, and by offering up the holy 
 sacrifice of the Mass. 
 
 Finally, the Guardian Angel leads the soul in- 
 trusted to his care into eternal bliss; and who can 
 
SECOND SERMON. 629 
 
 describe his joy on seeing at last all his efforts 
 crowned ? 
 
 And the soul that is saved, what will she do? 
 
 With what feelings of gratitude will she not hail 
 her adviser and guardian, especially when she sees 
 clearly to what a degree she is indebted to his care 
 for her eternal salvation. 
 
 I desire, for all of you here present, to follow in 
 this way your heavenly guide, so that, at the end of 
 your journey through life, you may be led triumph- 
 antly into heaven by your Guardian Angels. — Amen. 
 
630 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 "I became all things to all men that I might save all." — i Cor. ix, 22. 
 
 THE holy Angels whom God has sent to wait upon 
 mankind fulfill their duty with the greatest readi- 
 ness, in obedience to the Almighty and out of love to 
 Him ; for, as the Psalmist sings, they are ordered by 
 the Lord to take care of the welfare of souls. 
 
 Yet we are greatly mistaken if we imagine that this 
 command regards only the Angels. Not at all ! It is 
 also addressed to each and every one of us. 
 
 We may gather this first from the precept of Jesus 
 Christ: '' Love thy neighbor as thyself." Hence it fol- 
 lows that every man must apply himself to the well- 
 being of his brethren with the same earnestness as he 
 does to his own. 
 
 In another passage of Holy Writ God addresses 
 these express words to each soul : '' He hath confided 
 unto thee the welfare of thy brother." That is, the 
 Lord desires that you should love all men as breth- 
 ren ; that you should attend to the spiritual as well as 
 the corporal needs of each other. 
 
 Therefore, dear Christian, honor your own Guardian 
 Angel and imitate him, but at the same time — 
 
 Honor also the Guardian A^igel of your neighbor, 
 and endeavor to be yourself a Guardian Angel to him, 
 
 O Mary, Queen of the children of God, Protectress 
 of the Church, and Refuge of Christians, pour out into 
 
THIRD SERMON. 63 I 
 
 the souls of thy children the spirit of mutual love for 
 their mutual sanctification ! 
 
 I speak to you in the holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 We read of Blessed Peter Faber, the first disciple 
 of St. Ignatius, that whenever he drew near a village 
 or town in which he desired to preach the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ, he would, even before arriving, invoke 
 the Guardian Angels of all living there, that they might 
 obtain for him the grace of laboring fruitfully for its in- 
 habitants. 
 
 It is really astonishing to see that a devotion is so 
 neglected which promises such fruits, and which holds 
 out motives for its practice that are at once so numer- 
 ous and striking. 
 
 It is indeed a sad thing to observe that even the de- 
 votion to our own Guardian Angel is not sufficiently 
 esteemed. How few grown persons there are that ap- 
 ply to it with fervor ! 
 
 It is true that as long as we are children our parents 
 accustom us to offer some short prayers in honor of the 
 Guardian Angel. But, as regards the parents them- 
 selves and adults in general, they have long neglected 
 to honor their Guardian Angel ; nay, they often do not 
 even think of him for years, much less do they remem- 
 ber his presence daily and hourly, as they ought. 
 
 Am I not in the right? Ask yourselves whether 
 you pray every day to your Angel Guardian, whether 
 
632 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 you often call to mind the assistance he offers you» 
 especially during temptations, and whether you unite 
 your prayers to his, thus to render them more fruitful. 
 
 Is it then, a wonder, that if we neglect our own 
 Guardian Angel, we pay no regard whatsoever to the 
 Guardian Angels of others ? 
 
 How many are there not that, during their whole life, 
 have given not even one thought to these benevolent 
 spirits ! But, as for you, resolve to act differently for 
 the future, and be assured that the Angels will assist 
 you and obtain for you the grace to become a Guard- 
 ian Angel to those with whom you deal, according to 
 the words of St. Paul : '* Be ye the sweet odor of Jesus 
 Christ." Then you may apply to your own persons 
 what St. Paul says of himself: "I became all things 
 to all men that I might save all." 
 
 And fear not that there will be wanting occasions 
 to show yourselves Guardian Angels towards your 
 neighbor. Have but a good will, and then look about 
 you. You have opportunities at home. 
 
 If you are a married person St. Paul tells you what 
 you ought to do. He says : *' Husbands, love your 
 wives as Christ also loved the Church ; as the Church 
 is subject to Christ, so also let wives be subject to 
 their husbands in all things;" i. e., you must love 
 each other not merely from worldly motives, but from 
 such motives as faith inspires. 
 
 Remember that matrimony is a holy state ; that 
 God has united husband and wife not indeed to live 
 a life of pleasure and ease on earth, but to give testi- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 633 
 
 mony to the Church of Christ before all men by their 
 holiness of life. 
 
 Oh, how I could wish to see you lead such a life — 
 to see the husband become a Guardian Angel to the 
 wife, and the wife to the husband! How much assist- 
 ance could you not then afford one another for your 
 eternal salvation ! 
 
 Let us now examine in how many different manners 
 the wife can exercise an influence over her spouse's 
 religious conduct. 
 
 The first and most effectual way of advancing his 
 spiritual welfare is to set him a good example. If 
 the wife attends to her daily prayers ; if she goes to 
 hear Mass whenever it is possible ; if she receives 
 the Sacraments with due frequency, she may effect a 
 surprising change in her husband's conduct, and force 
 from him the acknowledgment : *' It is true that be- 
 fore marriage I was a lukewarm and indifferent Cath- 
 olic. I neglected my duties as a Christian entirely, 
 never praying or assisting at Mass, not even on Sun- 
 days, much less receiving the Sacraments. I lived in 
 the habit of sin, and, what is worse, in the habit of 
 mortal sin. But, thanks be to God, since I have your 
 example before my eyes, I am wholly changed. I have 
 become a true Christian. Your pious conduct has ef- 
 fected all this in me." 
 
 Besides setting her husband a good example, she 
 ought also closely to watch over his conduct. She 
 ought to observe whether he associates with bad com- 
 panions. Should this be the case, she should seize the 
 
634 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 most convenient opportunity of reminding ^him of the 
 danger, and of warning him of the bad consequences 
 which will follow so unchristian a way of acting. She 
 ought, further, to urge him to cleanse himself from 
 guilt by a good confession, and to commence a new 
 life in the service of God. 
 
 But especially should the wife evince her pure and 
 tender love to her husband when he is stricken down 
 with a severe illness that is likely to prove fatal. Let 
 it then be her principal care to afford him an occasion 
 of confessing his sins and receiving the viaticum, that, 
 strengthened with the Sacraments, he may be taken 
 up into the joy of his Lord, there to pray for his wife, 
 and one day to thank her for having been his deliverer 
 from eternal damnation. 
 
 U wives attend in this manner to the spiritual wants 
 of their husbands, they will in truth prove Guardian 
 Angels to them ; and I may have the consolation of 
 hearing again what a married man, who had neglected 
 his spiritual duties, once told me : '' Father," he said, 
 " who do you think has changed me from a lukewarm 
 man into a fervent Christian ? It is she who stands 
 here at my side. It is my wife. She has pressed and 
 entreated me to amend my life, until at last I have 
 yielded. Indeed, I do not deserve to be the husband 
 of such a wife." Yes, she was indeed a treasure to 
 her husband. 
 
 But no less praise is to be lavished on that husband 
 to whose exertion is due the conversion and salvation 
 of his wife. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 635 
 
 Many a married woman has, with tears, made me 
 an avowal like the following: " As/ my father and 
 mother died early, I was confided to the care of stran- 
 gers. There my education was neglected, and I be- 
 came very indifferent in religious matters. But ever 
 since I was married to so good, so religious a husband, 
 I have become quite another person. I have been led 
 back to the right road." 
 
 A special blessing has sometimes descended on 
 either of the spouses in mixed marriages when one 
 was the cause of the other's embracing the true faith — 
 that greatest of gifts which any man can bestow on 
 his neighbor. Happy indeed are those married peo- 
 ple who are thus Guardian Angels one to the other ! 
 
 If husband and wife are bound to advance each 
 other in holiness, this obligation is still greater on 
 parents in relation to their children. 
 
 Parents who wish to exhibit themselves true Gi\ard- 
 ian Angels to their children, should remember that 
 there is one thing which it behooves them to do above 
 all, viz., to lead a truly Christian life themselves. An 
 exact fulfillment of the commandments of God and of 
 the Church on the part of parents will advance their 
 children wonderfully in piety and in the practice of all 
 virtues. Even after death the holiness of father and 
 mother will uphold and strengthen their offspring in 
 all the temptations and trials of life. 
 
 However, besides good example, parents, in con 
 ducting the education of their children, have a thou- 
 sand other means of making of their children true 
 41 
 
6^6 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 servants of God. Such a result they ever obtain by 
 accustoming their children from childhood to pray de- 
 voutly, by instructing them in the first principles of 
 religion, by obliging them to read in some pious book 
 every evening, and by preparing them thoroughly for 
 their first Holy Communion! 
 
 Parents should, further, be exceedingly careful in 
 directing their children in the choice of a state of life. 
 They should, moreover, punish them if they be given 
 to some vice, remove from them all occasions of sin, 
 and especially keep them from all intercourse with 
 wicked companions. 
 
 I can assure you, parents here present, that if you 
 adopt such a course of action towards your children, 
 you will become their true visible Guardian Angels ; 
 and that when the burden of education weighs heavily 
 upon you, you may justly console yourselves with the 
 thoyght that their invisible Guardian Angels will thank 
 and reward you for your services. 
 
 In a similar manner sisters and brothers should prove 
 Guardian Angels to each other, and to all those with 
 whom they come in contact in the same family or 
 house. 
 
 But your obligation does not stop here. No ; it is 
 your bounden duty to fulfill the office of Guardian 
 Angel towards all with whom you may have any in- 
 tercourse, Catholics as well as non-Catholics, accord- 
 ing to the express command of our Lord : "So let 
 your light shine before men that they may see your 
 good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." 
 
THIRD SERMON. 637 
 
 What beautiful instances of this disinterested char- 
 ity do we not find recorded in the '' Lives of the 
 Saints ; " but especially in the lives of founders of Re- 
 ligious Orders and of great missionaries, those vessels 
 that are especially set apart for the Sanctuary ! 
 
 Missionaries are those who have spread, and are 
 still spreading, the seed of the Gospel all over the 
 world, preaching to all nations the word of truth, and 
 giving evidence of the divine origin of our religion by 
 the holiness of their lives. They have become Guard- 
 ian Angels to the present generation of men, and, 
 through them, will be such to their posterity. 
 
 Only think of St. Francis Xavier ! May we not truly 
 call him the Guardian Angel of those innumerable pa- 
 gans of Japan to whom he brought the glad tidings of 
 the Gospel, and whom he regenerated with his own 
 hand in the waters of Baptism ? 
 
 The same may be said of the many founders of Re- 
 ligious Orders — of St. Benedict, of St. Dominic, of 
 St. Francis, and of St. Ignatius. 
 
 Oh, would that we could behold them now in heaven, 
 surrounded by numerous Saints that press round them 
 to express their gratitude for the generosity of heart 
 they showed in caring for the salvation of their neigh- 
 bor while they procured their own ; to thank them for 
 opening the portals of heaven to them and so many 
 others, by 'the establishment of Religious Orders and 
 Congregations. 
 
 But woe to him who follows an opposite course ; who, 
 instead of proving a Guardian Angel to his neighbor, 
 
638 FEAST OF THE HOLY ANGELS. 
 
 becomes, by his example, conversation, and advice, 
 the murderer of his brother's soul. 
 
 Such a man fastens to his own neck the millstone 
 of which our Lord speaks when He says : " Woe to 
 him through whom scandals come ; it were better for 
 him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and 
 he were cast into the sea, than that he should scan- 
 dalize one of these little ones." Yes, after death that 
 millstone will draw him down into hell, there to be 
 handed over to cruel executioners — those demons 
 whom he aided during life in their fiendish design of 
 seducing and ruining souls. 
 
 My brethren, make your choice, for choose you 
 must ! There is no middle course ; you will either be a 
 Guardian Angel to your neighbor or a destroying 
 devil ; you will either lead your neighbor to the path 
 of salvation or guide him to the broad road which 
 leads to perdition. What a terrible alternative! Make 
 your choice while it is yet time. — Amen ! 
 
FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A 
 CHURCH. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "Christ loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for it, that He might 
 sanctify it." — Ephes. v, 25. 
 
 TO-DAY we commemorate that solemn festival on 
 which, amid universal rejoicings, this Temple of 
 God was consecrated to the honor and service of the 
 Most High. 
 
 The very sight of a Catholic Church reminds us of 
 the only true, the only divine Church which Christ has 
 established here upon earth, constituting it, if I may 
 so call it, a channel that conveys to the children of 
 men the bountiful gifts of Redemption. And most con- 
 veniently does our Mother, the Church, pour forth all 
 the treasures of her blessings and imposing ceremonial 
 rites when she blesses and consecrates her temples of 
 worship. 
 
 Therefore, I wish to call your attention to the char- 
 acter attached to the consecration. 
 
 The words of St. Paul, which I made use of at the 
 outset of my discourse, evidently point to the charac- 
 ter of the consecration imparted by Christ Himself to 
 His Church, when He made her tlie common Mother, 
 
 unto the end of time, of all the children of God scat- 
 
 (639) 
 
640 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 tered over the earth. The words: "Christ loved His 
 Church, that He might sanctify it/' imply that the 
 Church is to represent the visible kingdom of God 
 upon earth — the kingdom of grace, of light, of truth, 
 of consolation — and the only haven of salvation. 
 
 This Church of God is to raise her lofty head above 
 the sky, and entone an eternal canticle of triumph and 
 praise before the throne of the Most High. 
 
 From these considerations I infer, that the consecra- 
 tion which Christ gave to His Church, pj^oceeded from 
 a movement of His love, and that the consecration of 
 the temples raised by our Mother, the Church, partici- 
 pate of the riches of this divine love by which Christ 
 loves His Church. 
 
 most holy Mary, thou who art the most worthy 
 Temple of the Godhead, Mother of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, obtain for us the grace that our hearts, puri- 
 fied by the fire of divine love, may be true temples 
 of God ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 I have just said that the consecration with which 
 Christ sanctified His Church, proceeded from a pure 
 love of His adorable Heart, that knows no bounds to 
 its feelings of compassion, of communication, and of 
 sanctif cation, and which will prove consoling diVid faith- 
 ful to the end. Now to get a clear idea of such a won- 
 derful love, we must bear in mind the doctrine laid 
 
FIRST SERMON. 64 1 
 
 down by the holy fathers, chiefly by St. Augustine and 
 St. Chrysostom, about the manner in which the Church 
 took her rise. 
 
 These great doctors unanimously declare that, just 
 as from the side of Adam came forth our first mother 
 Eve, so from the side of Christ issued the Sacraments ; 
 that, as while Adam slept in Paradise, the Lord opened 
 his side, and out of one of his ribs formed Eve : so 
 while Christ slept in death on the wood of the cross, 
 the lance opening His loving Heart, caused blood and 
 water (typifying the Church) to gush forth. The 
 water of the wound of Christ symbolized the Sacra- 
 ment of Baptism, and the blood the Sacrament of the 
 Altar; and these two Sacraments being the principal 
 ones, are well chosen to represent the whole Church. 
 
 This circumstance sufficiently proves the eminent 
 qualities of the wonderful consecration by which the 
 Church sprung into existence ; for it was effected 
 purely by the Heart of Jesus, and the heart, as is com- 
 monly believed, is the seat of love, or that organ which 
 allows man to experience the sweet impulses of love. 
 
 And furthermore, the very thought which entered 
 into the impenetrable mind of the Most High, — that 
 of saving the fallen human race, — bears the stamp of 
 that infinite love which characterizes the Redemption 
 in its fulfillment. There was certainly no need of so 
 much labor and suffering to save us. Yet so God 
 willed it, or, as St. John justly expresses it : " God so 
 loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son.*' 
 So great a condescension was not shown to the fallen 
 
642 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Angels, though their nature is far above that of men. 
 I admire here, my dear brethren, and profoundly 
 adore the unsearchable designs of divine love. Here, 
 indeed, we find the first feature which signalizes the 
 love of our Redeemer; His love is a love full o{ com- 
 passion: ''Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting 
 love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on 
 thee." Such are the words of the Holy Ghost himself. 
 We shall understand better this infinite mercy of 
 God, if we examine the manner in which Christ has 
 completed the work of our Redemption. There we 
 see Him, on Mount Calvary, nailed to a cross, raised 
 between heaven and earth, with His arms stretched 
 out towards us ; and with a sorrowful and blood-stained 
 countenance, inviting all men to come and to suffer, 
 in their turn, so as to share abundantly in the infinite 
 merits of their Lord and Redeemer. Yes, dear breth- 
 ren. His very looks speak words of love to our hard- 
 ened souls : *' Oh, all ye that pass by the way, attend, 
 and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.'* 
 You see, then, that it was an impulse of His infinite 
 mercy for us that caused Him so to complete the 
 > work of our salvation, as to remove from us the least 
 thought of despair and despondency, and to induce 
 us all to throw ourselves with child-like confidence into 
 the arms of our merciful Father. 
 , You are all bound to admire this miracle of gen- 
 erous and unreserved charity by which our blessed 
 Redeemer embraced and sanctified the Church. 
 The love by which Christ loved His Church was 
 
FIRST SERMON. 643 
 
 most generous and communicative. To her He gave 
 His word and His doctrine ; to her He left the keys 
 of heaven, all His merits, and an inexhaustible 
 source of graces, open to those who pray in His 
 name and have recourse to the Sacraments. Nay, 
 He gave us His very Person in the Most Bless- 
 ed Sacrament, and He remains with us to the 
 end of time. So, then, the love which Christ showed 
 us when He consecrated His Church, sprung from a 
 generous and unreserved sentiment of His divine 
 Heart, and it will be crowned in heaven, when, in 
 that eternal kingdom of love, the whole Church, in 
 company with her spouse Jesus Christ, will reign and 
 flourish, and share with Him an endless glory and 
 eternal blessedness. 
 
 But, my dear friends, until the glorious day of our 
 triumph dawns, it is our lot to wander in this valley 
 of tears, and to live as if our life were spent among 
 the blessed spirits, as our Lord recommends in His 
 admirable prayer : " Thy will be done on earth as it 
 Is in heaven." Yes, such should the Church appear 
 even here below, — a body with which Christ has left 
 every means of sanctification, and of compliance with 
 the earnest recommendation : '* Be perfect, as your 
 heavenly Father Is perfect." The love of Jesus for His 
 Church was a sanctifying one. And, In fact, the Church 
 of Christ alone can bring forth new elect to swell the 
 bands of the blessed, in whose communion we live, 
 and whom we are happy and honored to call by the 
 sweet names of brothers and sisters. But as so holy 
 
644 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 a life necessarily implies struggles and sacrifices, the 
 Christian needs consolation and encouragement. And 
 here we have another of the characteristics of the love 
 which Christ bears to His Church. It is a most consol- 
 ing love for all her true children. For has not Christ 
 promised a hundred-fold, even in this world to His true 
 followers ? Yes, dear brethren, all those who with an 
 eager spirit and with perseverance follow Christ our 
 Lord, can not but experience the fulfillment of such a 
 promise, and may well, as loving children of the Church, 
 cry out with the Apostle : *' I exceedingly abound with 
 joy in all our tribulation." 
 
 Finally, the love which Christ manifested for His 
 spouse, the Church, tat the time of her foundation, 
 bore the character of a faithful love. In spite of all 
 the storms and persecutions raised against the rock 
 on which the Church is built for about nineteen cen- 
 turies, Christ stands ever at her side, guides her, and 
 shields her from all dangers. To her we may well 
 apply the words of Gamaliel : '* Because if this is the 
 work of God, you will never destroy it." This char- 
 acter of faithfulness, as well as all the other loving 
 qualities, is necessarily connected with the solemn 
 consecration given by our Mother, the Church, to 
 temples raised to God's service and glory. 
 
 Now to make the truth of what I have advanced 
 more tangible, I will set it forth in a concise way. 
 
 The Consecration of a Church, intended for the 
 service of the Most High, is the effect of the love of 
 God, full of compassion for us. For the Church is the 
 
FIRST SERMON. 645 
 
 place of which it is spoken : " I have chosen this spot 
 that I be merciful unto all that hasten hither, and pour 
 out before Me their hearts in prayer." 
 
 Again, the Consecration of a Church is an effect of 
 the communicative and sanctifying love of Christ. Be- 
 cause the Church, by its consecrations, is dedicated 
 for the purpose of prayer, and especially of common 
 prayer; for the dispensation of the Sacrament of Pen- 
 ance ; for the offering of the Holy Sacrifice, that ob- 
 lation of the Lamb, for the benefit of the living and 
 the dead. 
 
 Who can tell the numbers that have entered into 
 this sacred place, and, lifting up their supplicating 
 hands towards heaven, have been succored in their 
 necessities? and who can say, how many from the 
 present hour to the end of time will hence send their 
 supplications heavenwards, and here find mercy and 
 relief ? 
 
 But, above all, it is here that we see the fulfillment 
 of the promise which Christ has made to those who 
 are united in prayer: "Where there are two or three 
 gathered together in My name, there am I in the 
 midst of them." And again: *' When two are united 
 and pray in common in My Father's name, they will 
 be heard." 
 
 Here resounds the Word of God ; here flows an 
 abundant stream of graces through the two great 
 channels of Baptism and Confirmation. And after 
 the lapse of a few years you may ask how many 
 Masses have already been said in this place, and 
 
646 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 how many more will be said hereafter? how many 
 Communions have here been received, and how many 
 more will yet be received ? How many sinners have in 
 these confessionals obtained the grace of reconciliation 
 with God ? how many others have received the Sacra- 
 mental blessing of matrimony within these holy pre- 
 cincts ? and, finally, how many departed souls have found 
 comfort and relief in the scorching flames of purgatory 
 from the prayers offered up for them in this holy 
 place ? And, over and above all, Christ Himself is 
 here present, as He is in heaven, and makes of this 
 spot, by His adorable presence, a paradise upon earth. 
 Every thing we see in a Church, their very construction, 
 the ringing of the bells, the pulpit, the confessional, 
 says in a mysterious and salutary language to the soul 
 of a candid child of the Church : *' Be therefore holy, 
 as your God is holy." 
 
 Lastly, I said that the consecration implies that 
 Christ loves us with a heart full of mercy and sweet 
 consolation, which is precisely the character of the con- 
 secration of our Churches. 
 
 Does not the very sight of a Church, be it in the 
 center of a large city, or on the top of a hill some- 
 where out in the country, or the mere aspect of a 
 lonely chapel, fill the heart with consoling thoughts ? 
 And pray tell me, dear brethren, whither do you, in 
 your sorrow and distress, wend your steps more ea- 
 gerly in quest of consolation than to the Church of 
 God? " Come to me all ye that are sad and weary, 
 and I will refresh you." Such are the words which 
 
FIRST SERMON. # 647 
 
 is^ue from every Tabernacle, sent by Jesus as so many 
 darts of loving invitation to the children of His dear 
 spouse, the Church. Blessed are all that give ear to 
 the Invitation ; for with Jesus Christ they will find con- 
 solation. 
 
 Then, too, the consecration of the Church of Christ 
 is the master-piece of His faithful Heart. This feature 
 of Q]\v\si' s faitkjzil love for His Church is brought out 
 and made clear to us in the consecration of our 
 Churches. As long as the House of God stands erect, 
 and is made use of as a holy place of worship, Christ will 
 be found there, no less than in St. Peter's at Rome; 
 and He has so ordained it, that all, without exception, 
 .may come hither and draw life and comfort at the inex- 
 haustible fountain of grace. 
 
 Lastly, my dear brethren, to understand with what 
 fidelity Jesus Christ loved us, we have but to interro- 
 gate our lives, and consider the infidelities we have 
 offered to Him in return. Yet He is ever ready to 
 pardon us again and again, and impart to us unceas- 
 ing favors to further your salvation and sanctification. 
 
 May the consideration of these few thoughts I have 
 suggested be present to your minds as often as you 
 enter the house of God and fill your hearts with de- 
 votion, in order that, sanctified by the hidden work- 
 ings of His divine love, you become living temples of 
 the Holy Ghost. — Amen! 
 
648 FEAST OF T^E CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 ** With Him there is plentiful redemption." — Psalm cxxix. 
 
 THE Psalmist, and the whole human race with him, 
 openly acknowledge their gratitude for the great 
 benefit of Redemption in these words : " Thou hast 
 redeemed us, God of might." Yes, my dear brethren, 
 we have been redeemed ; and who is there that could 
 be unmindful of such a grace ? We will more readily 
 appreciate this great benefit, if we reflect that were this 
 the only fruit to be derived from Redemption; viz., 
 the blessing of not being lost forever, but of being 
 saved, through Christ, from the eternal pains of hell, 
 and then placed in the condition in which we suppose 
 unbaptized children to be after their death, we would 
 still be the recipients of an infinite favor. 
 
 But, my dear brethren, this was not enough for our 
 merciful Lord. "It is His mercy which has provided 
 that we be not lost," as the Psalmist expresses it. 
 Still more, however, has it done ; for our Redemption 
 has been effected in a plentiful and super abounding 
 manner. By dying for mankind upon the cross, Jesus 
 Christ — the heavenly Adam — gave us more, both for 
 time and eternity, than we ever lost by the fall of the 
 first Adam. 
 
 This reflection will be clearer, if we run over to- 
 gether the means given us in the Church to work 
 out our salvation ; and thus we shall understand, I 
 hope, that all we possess in the eyes of God, as 
 
SECOND SERMON. 649 
 
 heirs to His kingdom, comes from a merciful and su- 
 perabundant Redemption. 
 
 But the temples of God, consecrated by an espe- 
 cial solemn dedication, are precisely those places 
 where we are in the most effective way, reminded of 
 the overflowing channels of grace, opened to the chil- 
 dren of God through Christ. 
 
 Let us, tkefi, to-day enter ifito the hidden meaning 
 of the words of the Psalmist: "■ With Thee there is 
 plentiful Rede^nption^ Of this oracle of the Holy 
 Ghost the sight of the Church, whose dedicatio7i we 
 celebrate, reminds and assures us, 
 
 Mary, dispenser of Christ's merits, obtain for us 
 the grace thoroughly to appreciate the truth, that by 
 our Redemption we are children of the Church ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater 
 glory of God ! 
 
 The Church dedicates her temples principally for 
 this end, that in them she may present to the Triune 
 God her united prayers, offer the sacrifice of the New 
 Testament, and administer to the faithful the holy sac- 
 raments, which are the channels established by God to 
 convey sanctifying grace to the faithful, and increase 
 in them the supply of actual grace. 
 
 ''My house shall be called the house of prayer" 
 (Matt, xxi, 13). These are the words of Christ even 
 in regard to the temple of the Old Law; and, from 
 the very time of the Apostles, places were set apart 
 
650 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 in which the Christians might assemble for the pur- 
 pose of prayer. 
 
 Adam prayed, and the patriarchs and the people 
 under the Old Law prayed, though revelation is 
 silent about the promises made in behalf of their 
 prayers. But, as regards the prayers of the children 
 of God under the New Law, we all know the prom- 
 ises of Christ: "Amen, amen, I say to you: if you 
 ask the Father any thing in My Name, He will give 
 it to you" (John xvi, 23). This is Christ's own sol- 
 emn declaration. 
 
 It is, however, principally to prayer in the house of 
 God that the assurance of Christ is to be referred : 
 '* Where there are two or three gathered together in 
 My Name, there am I in the midst of them " (Matt, 
 xviii, 20). When we assemble in any place for the 
 purpose of prayer, Christ, according to this assur- 
 ance, is spiritually amongst us. In the Church, how- 
 ever, behind the door of the tabernacle, Christ is re- 
 ally present in Person. How must not this increase 
 our confidence, especially when, with a lively faith, we 
 say to ourselves that a God so near must assuredly 
 hear our prayers ! 
 
 In the old dispensation, it was rather the merit of 
 him who prayed that made the prayer efficacious ; but, 
 in the new, it is especially the merit of Christ that 
 procures to our prayer the power of being heard ; for 
 St. John calls out to us: *' Let us have confidence, for 
 we have an Advocate with the Father, Who prays for 
 us and with us," — that is, Christ in heaven, and the 
 
SECOND SERMON. 65 I 
 
 same Jesus upon earth, present in the Most Holy 
 Sacrament. Oh, what a superabundant source of Re- 
 demption ! 
 
 Yes, prayer is the key that unlocks all the treas- 
 ures of the merits of Christ, drawing thence help from 
 God for the sanctification of our lives, and even relief 
 for all the temporal necessities and misfortunes, so far 
 as this conduces to our eternal salvation. Yea, the 
 Church does not hesitate to acknowledge before God 
 in one of her prayers : That God in His mercy grants 
 more than we dare to ask for. 
 
 Therefore, if we lack the graces which the Saints 
 obtained, it is solely because we do not, with the nec- 
 essary confidence, call on the Name of Jesus ; and 
 especially because we do not unite our prayers with 
 the prayers and merits of Christ present in the Most 
 Holy Sacrament, and with that of the whole Church, 
 as we are reminded and invited to do whenever we 
 assemble with the faithful for the purpose of prayer 
 in the temple dedicated to God. 
 
 The second end of the Church in assembling her 
 children within the walls of the temples which she 
 has dedicated to the service of God, is to offer there 
 the sacrifice of the New Covenant. Oh, what a source 
 of grace ! The sacrifice of the Mass is the same sac- 
 rifice which Christ offered on the cross to His heav- 
 enly Father — a sacrifice which reconciled mankind 
 with Him, and thus consummated 'the work of Re- 
 demption. 
 
 The first prayer of Christ, in the womb of His 
 42 
 
652 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 blessed Mother, was in itself more than sufficient for 
 the salvation of the human race, as St. Paul assures 
 us in his letter to the Hebrews. But this did not sat- 
 isfy His liberality. He wished to redeem us with a 
 superabundant Redemption. On the eve of His death, 
 He instituted, in an unbloody manner, that sacrifice 
 which He offered, in a bloody manner, on the cross. 
 It was to be offered in every place on earth from the 
 very foundation of His Church, and in an uninter- 
 rupted succession until the consummation of the world, 
 as the prophet Malachias had already foretold. 
 
 Certainly Adam, also, had he remained in the state 
 of his original justice, would have offered sacrifice to 
 God, as an expression of the highest worship due to 
 God. Still, whatever sacrifice this might have been, 
 it would have given to God but an imperfect and finite 
 worship and glory, just as all the sacrifices of the Old 
 Law were of a finite worth. They were only types 
 of that sacrifice which was to give to God an infinite 
 glory, because it is Christ, the Incarnate Son of God 
 Himself, Who in it offers His sacred Person to His 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 Therefore, if only the Vicar of Christ, who is the 
 Pope, the Head of the Church, had been authorized 
 to offer it daily, this alone would have been a source 
 of plentiful Redemption. But more copiously still 
 was this channel of grace to flow. Countless priests 
 now stand at the altars of the Church all the world 
 over, and raise the Sacred Host and chalice, without 
 intermission, toward heaven, in union with the prayer 
 
SECOND SERMON. 653 
 
 of David before the throne of God : " Behold, O Lord, 
 our Protector, and look on the face of Thy Christ" 
 (Psalm Ixxxiii, lo). 
 
 Again, the Church administers, within the walls of 
 her temples dedicated to the service of God, the Sac- 
 raments which, instituted by God, are the visible signs 
 of invisible graces. 
 
 We need but examine them one by one, and reflect 
 on their efficacy, to perceive how plentiful are the 
 graces that they impart. They supply superabun- 
 dantly what we lost in Adam ; and they impart to us 
 such an increase of grace as original justice could 
 never have given us. 
 
 The first sacrament is " Baptism," by which is remit- 
 ted the fault of Adam, the effects of which are trans- 
 mitted to us by the fallen condition of the human race. 
 
 But, more than this, by Baptism we are made chil- 
 dren of God, heirs of heaven, and obtain the right, 
 through the Incarnation of the Son of God, to call God 
 Himself our Brother. Our human nature is raised, 
 through the glorified Humanity of Christ, above that 
 of the Angels; and heaven becomes an eternal reign 
 of triumphant joy, — it becomes a heaven far more 
 glorious than that which would have received us had 
 Adam never fallen. 
 
 The second sacrament is "Confirmation.*' No doubt 
 man, with the ordinary assistance of grace, is ena- 
 bled to keep his baptismal vows, and live according 
 to the dictates of faith ; but this does not satisfy the 
 goodness of the Redeemer. He gives man a peculiar 
 
654 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 sacrament of Confirmation, which is npt only to enrich 
 his heart with grace ; but also to cause the Holy Ghost 
 Himself, Whose living temples we are made by the 
 superabundance of grace, to enter into his soul. 
 
 Christ, indeed, once risen from the dead, entered 
 into His kingdom ; and it should have satisfied man 
 that He, to Whom all power is given in heaven and 
 on earth, protects and governs, from His heavenly 
 throne, the Church and every one of her members. 
 But this did not satisfy the generosity of his Saviour's 
 diffusive love. He wished to remain, at the same time, 
 amongst us upon earth ; to be approached by every 
 one ; to offer Himself daily for us on thousands of 
 altars; and even, as far as His own Person is con- 
 cerned, to enter into the heart of each one, there to 
 unite Himself, by His Flesh and Blood, Divinity and 
 Humanity, wnth each one, and to sow in it the seed 
 of a Resurrection made still more glorious by the su- 
 perabundance of His Redemption. 
 
 But man thus redeemed was to have his liberty sub- 
 jected to a trial, and so each of us was to remain lia- 
 ble to fall, even after Baptism. But what a difference 
 between our case and that of Adam and Eve ! Their 
 single sin deprived them and their posterity of heaven, 
 and opened before them the gates of hell ! Whereas, 
 the guilt of the sins that we commit since the Redemp- 
 tion, were it as weighty as the guilt of the rest of the 
 human race, can be removed by a valid and efficacious 
 reception of the sacrament of Penance. Moreover, by 
 going to confession repeatedly, man can obtain, not 
 
SECOND SERMON. 655 
 
 only the forgiveness of sins, but also an increase of 
 sanctifying grace. ''God," as St. Augustine remarks, 
 *' knew how to draw good even out of the evil of sin 
 for the salvation and sanctification of our souls." 
 
 Truly, we are redeemed with a superabundant Re- 
 demption! Even for the close of our life, the mercy 
 of Christ has prepared for us a sacrament, the sacra- 
 ment of Extreme Unction. By it man recovers even 
 the health of his body, and obtains a prolongation of 
 his life ; or certainly gets the grace, in his agony, to 
 overcome the tempter, secure to himself the remis- 
 sion of the sins that may still cling to his soul, and a 
 more speedy entrance into heaven. 
 
 Man, by his fall, was obliged to bear the yoke of 
 sin, and the slavery of the devil ; but by redemption 
 he was not only to re-enter the state of sanctifying 
 grace, in which the good Angels persevered, but even 
 to be elevated, by a special sacrament, above the dig- 
 nity of the Angels. This, as the holy Fathers rightly 
 affirm, is the privilege of the Priest, who, by his office, 
 affords more protection to the souls of the faithful, and 
 assists them more materially, than the Angels could 
 ever do. 
 
 Finally, that alliance between man and woman, for 
 the propagation of the human race, was, by virtue of 
 the Redemption, not only to attain the original dig- 
 nity with which God invested it in Paradise, but was 
 also raised to the dignity of a Sacrament ; that is, sanc- 
 tifying the married persons and typifying the Union 
 of Christ with His Church. 
 
656 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Yes, O Lord, Thou hast redeemed us with a plenti- 
 ful, a superabundant Redemption, as the sight and 
 dedication of every temple of God especially and sol- 
 emnly reminds us ! 
 
 May every Christian show himself grateful for this 
 gift by the overflowing affections of his heart, and 
 prove his gratitude by the zeal he has to lead a holy 
 life, and by a faithful correspondence to the graces 
 which he receives as a child of his Holy Mother the 
 Church. — Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 657 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **You are God's building." — i Cor. iii, 9. 
 
 EVERY Church, designed for the service of God, is 
 a representation of Christ's own Church, and an 
 image of the Kingdom of God within us. Just as the 
 building dedicated to God is distinguished by certain 
 marks from all other buildings, so, too, the children 
 of God must bear about them certain signs by which 
 they can be easily known from unbelievers. These 
 features must be such as to show the indwelling of 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Let us consider the resemblance which a Christian 
 soul bears to a Christian temple ; and in studying the ex- 
 terior and inner parts of the material structure, we will 
 try to learn their correspondence with the acts of wor- 
 ship that flow from the heart and intellect of the fol- 
 lowers of Christ. Nor will our reflection be fruitless 
 of good, for we will discover that there is a striking 
 parity between the structure of wood or stone and the 
 immortal temple made by the hands of God : that the 
 resemblance is borne out part for part in each. 
 
 A house of God possesses height, length, and 
 breadth. Besides, it stands on a foundation, and its 
 interior is embellished with altars, pulpits, confession- 
 als, while round its walls hang beautiful paintings. If it 
 have pretensions to grandeur, its vaulted roof rests on 
 pillars of marble, while above the roof there tapers, 
 
658 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 heavenward, a spire whence issue the sweet harmon- 
 ies of a chime of bells. 
 
 Let us call to mind to-day the holy meaning of 
 these pi^operties of a Church in relation to the King- 
 dom of God in our hearts, so that we may become and 
 remain real living temples of God. 
 
 Mary, whose sacred image is found in every 
 Church, thou fair temple of the Holy Ghost, grant 
 that our hearts may become as thine, and that such 
 virtues and dispositions as adorned thy soul in the 
 temple of Sion may ornament our hearts. 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God! 
 
 I said that every building raised to the honor and 
 service of God should be to us a type of the qualities 
 of the temple of God within us, and also an incentive 
 to make our lives such that the words of the Apostle 
 may be verified in us: "Know you not that your 
 members are the temples of the Holy Ghost, who is 
 in you?" 
 
 Let us begin our comparisons. What is th& foun- 
 dation of the temple within us? It is Faith, ce- 
 mented and made strong by great humility of heart, 
 through which we submit our understanding to the 
 doctrines of our holy religion. This faith becomes 
 capable of supporting the edifice, which is to be the 
 abode of God for all eternity, when it is laid far 
 
THIRD SERMON. 659 
 
 down in the depths oi humility ; in fact, it is then that 
 this faith becomes efficacious, and it must have this 
 mark in order to be pleasing to God. We can not lay 
 this foundation without the help of God; and this 
 help, in the work of building, is Grace. Without this 
 we can do nothing. But God gives His grace only 
 to the humble ; hence the conclusion is manifest. 
 
 Peter is the rock upon which is built the Church of 
 Christ, and on Peter, too, is built our temple — that is 
 to say, it is supported by obedience, love, and fidel- 
 ity, to the only true Church, the Holy Roma7i Catholic 
 Church, whose foundation is Peter. The love and at- 
 tachment to her is a proof that the Kingdom of God 
 is within us, and that we are true temples of God. 
 
 ''May I forget my right hand if I forget thee, O 
 Church of Rome," cried out St. Augustine. 
 
 Every willful deviation from the doctrines of the 
 Roman Church shakes the foundation of God's temple 
 within us ; the house of the Lord crumbles, and only 
 shapeless ruins remain! 
 
 The height of the Church figures what should be 
 the loftiness of our desires and hopes, "If you have 
 risen with Christ, seek that which is above," says St. 
 Paul. It tells us that our thoughts should ever be of 
 heaven, and that our exertions should be constantly 
 directed to the attainment of eternal happiness, whilst 
 it reminds us of the character that should distinguish 
 the true children of God from the children of the world. 
 
 The roof of the Church, resting upon the solid 
 walls, is emblematic of the imperishable promises of 
 
66o FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Christ to His Church, picturing the crown of im- 
 mortal glory, which shall be put upon every true child 
 of hers in the city of God, and which has already been 
 granted to many of our departed friends. 
 
 The width of the Church represents the far-reach- 
 ing love of God, and, besides, reminds us of the 
 great charity that we should bear to our neighbor, if 
 we desire to be true temples of God. 
 
 The length symbolizes the constancy with which we 
 are to persevere in the practice of virtue and pursue 
 the vocation assigned us by God, for ''he alone will 
 be saved who persevereth unto the end." 
 
 The cross crowning the spire ever holds before our 
 minds the fact that the Kingdom of God is within us, 
 in so far as we love the cross — the Church itself, es- 
 pecially if it be of Gothic style, is cruciform in shape, 
 and again impresses upon us the truth that the re- 
 ligion of Christ is the Gospel of the cross. 
 
 Th^ four walls rising from the foundation to the roof, 
 picture the four cardinal virtues, without which the edi- 
 fice of virtue is not properly put together, and without 
 the exercise of which, it is clear, that the virtue we prac- 
 tice is not real virtue ; they are prudence, temperaiice, 
 justice, 2ind fortitude. Moreover, unless these virtues 
 are genuine, we can not clearly see the end, which 
 we must endeavor to attain; nor can we, if we put 
 aside these virtues, make use of the right means to 
 obtain our end; for we will be guilty of exaggeration, 
 of injury to fraternal charity, as regards his goods, 
 his honor, or his actions before God and man. In a 
 
THIRD SERMON. 66 1 
 
 word, without these we could not keep on steadily in 
 our course to salvation. 
 
 The pillars that support the roof of a Church must 
 stand upon good foundations; must be solid and in 
 proportion. So, too, in our inner temple we must 
 find pillars that strengthen the edifice: viz., the eight 
 beatitudes : 
 
 " Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the 
 meek. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are 
 they that hunger and thirst after justice. Blessed are 
 the clean of heart. Blessed are the peace-makers. 
 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice* 
 sake." 
 
 Often, in the course of our lives, we put partly into 
 practice the eight beatitudes, but not in a sufficient 
 manner. We show that our inner temple is held 
 up by those pillars ; but, alas, how often must we not 
 acknowledge their unfitness for the purpose intended ! 
 Why is this? Because they are not so much founded 
 on faith as on a mere natural inclination to this or 
 that virtue; and natural virtues can not stand the 
 shock of great temptations. 
 
 To urge us on to attain the fulfillment of these prom- 
 ises, Christ tells us : "I and My Father will take up 
 our abode in such a soul.'* 
 
 Our love of Jesus Christ must ever burn before 
 the tabernacle like the lamp of the sanctuary, as a 
 sign of our everlasting remembrance of Him, from 
 the moment of our awakening till that of retiring to 
 rest. ''All for Jesus ! '* 
 
662 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Moreover, the spirit of prayer must pervade our 
 life in the manner suggested to us by the house of 
 God, which is ever open, day and night, presenting 
 itself to us as a sacred abode of prayer. Every good 
 Christian that enters therein betakes himself immedi- 
 ately to that sacred occupation in order to honor 
 God, thank Him, praise Him, and love Him. 
 
 This spirit of perpetual prayer changes our interior 
 into a temple of God, making it holy and worthy of 
 the Most High. 
 
 The spire rising above the Church, and the chime 
 of bells, tells us that it is not enough to have the 
 Kingdom of God within us, but that it is also our 
 duty to induce our neighbor, to the best of our 
 power, to become God's temple for the love of Him, 
 and to bear in his life the marks of this love. This we 
 achieve by showing good example at all times and in 
 all places. 
 
 The lives of the Saints stand forth in the Church 
 like so many spires in the city of God, and call out to 
 the children of men : We have reached sanctity; why 
 can you not do likewise? 
 
 Spires are not always solid, though they seem to be. 
 So it often happens that deeds which seem to us to be 
 virtue, are only its semblance ; those acts are the meYe 
 outcome of stubbornness, self-love, and a purely natural 
 inclination. They are not polished off by the love of 
 God and our neighbor ; nor are they free from the in- 
 fluence of places and persons. 
 
 In the interior of the Church stands the Altar. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 663 
 
 Around it center all ceremonies of religious worship. 
 It is the stone of sacrifice upon which Christ daily 
 offers Himself as a holocaust for men. The altar in our 
 soul is our spirit of self-sacrifice, our willingness to yield 
 up all for Christ, and to shed our heart's blood for His 
 sake. 
 
 Nor does the pulpit fail to convey its lesson. 
 From it are announced the words of salvation, which 
 enable us to give an account of our faith, as the 
 prophet foretold that the true children of the New 
 Law were to do, and as, indeed, was done by the 
 primitive Christians. 
 
 The co7ifessio7ial symbolizes the contrition we should 
 have for our past vices and the many imperfections 
 into which we daily fall, and should cleanse our hearts. 
 
 The special object of our loving veneration must 
 be the tabernacle, in which Christ is ever present in 
 the most Holy Sacrament of the altar. We must ever 
 be mindful of His continual presence ; and this thought 
 should occupy our minds in our visits to Him, both 
 when assisting ^t Mass and when approaching Holy 
 Communion. These two latter practices are the pulses 
 that indicate the state of our Catholic life. 
 
 This intercourse with Christ in the holy Eucharist, 
 more than all other means, is the one best suited to 
 change our interior into a temple of God. 
 
 The sight of the Church and the sound of the 
 bells become more beautiful and impressive when 
 saints, in so many different vocations and conditions 
 of life, tell us that they have reached perfection and 
 
664 FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH. 
 
 great merits by the good example they have given to 
 the world. 
 
 As in the course of the year our Churches are 
 adorned more richly on feast-days, and the peal of the 
 bells rings out more solemnly, so, too, should we, 
 children of the Church, celebrate her feasts with more 
 than ordinary care and devotion. 
 
 This is the resemblance between the outer Church 
 and the temple of our hearts. Remember it often. — 
 Amen. 
 
FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 FIRST SERMON. 
 
 "And they sang the canticle of Moses, the servant of God." — Apoc. xv. 
 
 IF on to-day's festival we think of the communion 
 of the Saints in heaven, we will undoubtedly ex- 
 claim within our soul : ** Oh, what a joy, what an ec- 
 stasy of delight will there be in heaven on this glorious 
 feast!" 
 
 And what is it that incites the hearts of our breth- 
 ren in heaven to such holy rejoicings? Ah, it is the 
 remembrance of their victory — the victory which, while 
 on earth, they gained over Satan, the world, and their 
 own evil inclinations ! They lived for heaven, fought 
 for heaven, and gained heaven. Their joy, then, is a 
 victor's joy, the greatest and sincerest of all the de- 
 lights which can be tasted by the heart of man. 
 
 To show that in truth, on this day, an unbounded 
 joy reigns In heaven, we need but remind you of the 
 description which the seer St. John, in the Island of 
 Patmos, gives us of the city of God. ''And I heard 
 them," he says, " singing the canticle of Moses, the 
 servant of God." It was the re-echo of that canticle 
 
 which the children of Israel entoned on the shores of 
 
 (665} 
 
666 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 the Red Sea after God had destroyed Pharaoh, with 
 all his warriors. 
 
 By saying that the Blessed sang the canticle of 
 Moses, St. John wants to represent to us the inde- 
 scribable sweetness and grandeur of the canticle of 
 Victory which the Blessed in heaven chant before the 
 throne of the Almighty. 
 
 / want to explain to-day to you the meaning of this 
 Canticle of Moses sung in Heaven. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Saints, lead us to victory in our 
 battle on earth, that we may entone once the joyful 
 songs of Saints and Angels with thee in Heaven ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 The joy that fills the hearts of victorious warriors is 
 proportioned not only to the number and power of 
 the conquered, but also to the previous danger of 
 defeat, to the misery and wretchedness that would 
 have resulted from the enemy's victory, and, finally, 
 to the positive good following its overthrow. 
 
 Now, in the case of the victorious Israelites, all 
 these motives of joy were united in a higher degree 
 than in any earthly victors before them ; and yet the 
 joyful songs of Israel can not even be compared with 
 the heavenly hymns in which Saints and Angels give 
 honor and praise and thanks to God for their good 
 fight and their glorious victory. 
 
 In the first place, the 77iighty number and dreadful 
 
FIRST SERMON. 667 
 
 power of the conquered enemy, as well as the victor's 
 narrow escape from defeat, increase and intensify the 
 joy of a victorious army. How great, then, must have 
 been the joy of the Israelites ! 
 
 It was a dark night ; the Egyptians had urged the 
 Israelites to leave in haste. The latter had hurried 
 away \)vithout even thinking of war and battle. Sud- 
 denly they see an approaching cloud of dust. Pharaoh, 
 with his mighty army — horse, foot, and chariot — is at 
 their heels. The Israelites have no arms ; the cries 
 of their wives and children urge them to try their ut- 
 most to seek safety in flight. But even this is in vain, 
 for before them they see nothing but an immense ex- 
 panse of water. 
 
 But now Moses says to the people: ''Fear not; 
 stand and see the great wonders of the Lord which 
 He will do this day ; for the Egyptians whom you see 
 now, you shall see no more forever." 
 
 He then stretches out his hand — the waters of the 
 Red Sea are divided, a warm wind dries the bottom, 
 and the Israelites pass through, followed by Pharaoh 
 with hundreds of thousands of armed warriors. But 
 the eye of the Lord watches and looks down on them 
 from above. The horses of the Egyptians are fright- 
 ened, the wheels fall from the chariots, the waters 
 sweep down in floods over the heads of the sons of 
 Egypt, and, to a man, they are swallowed up in the 
 depths of the sea. 
 
 At dawn the bodies of the drowned Egyptians float 
 
 on the waters, and Israel, with its six hundred thou- 
 43 
 
668 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 sand men and many hundred thousand women, raises 
 its voice and sings before the Lord a song of thanks 
 and praise. 
 
 But, however great the praises and thanks of a 
 nation saved from immediate destruction may have 
 been, they are like sounding brass when compared with 
 the hymns of victory which the Saints entone in the 
 house of their heavenly Father. For each and every 
 saved soul has had to fight against all the powers of 
 hell, against numberless fallen angels and their asso- 
 ciates, the world and the flesh. But now all enemies 
 are crushed, and peace reigns eternally. 
 
 Besides, we must consider the great dangers that 
 threatened the Saints while alive. *' Sister," said a 
 blessed soul, in an apparition, to a friend of hers — 
 *' Sister, I am saved. But it is only now that I under- 
 stand the dangers of life. At times, in certain temp- 
 tations and occasions of sin, I had hair-breadth escapes 
 from hell. If the Lord in His endless mercy had not 
 stretched out His saving hand to me then, I should 
 now be buried in the eternal flames. But now, no 
 more enemies, no more dangers; my soul sings eter- 
 nal praises to the Lord." 
 
 From Pharaoh and the Egyptians, indeed, the chil- 
 dren of Israel had nothing more to fear. But were 
 they equally sure that no other hostile powers would 
 oppose their way to the land of promise ? 
 
 No care of this sort overshadows the happiness of 
 the Saints. All is secure for them, and they are free 
 forever from dangers and enemies. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 669 
 
 The joy of victory increases if the victory sets the 
 victors free from the miseries and wretchedness of a 
 painful life. Think of a people of slaves that fights for 
 liberty from tyranny and despotism, and you have a 
 picture of the situation of the Israelites. Up to that 
 time they had served as slaves in labor and hardship, 
 and what would not have been their lot had they been 
 brought back to Egypt not merely as slaves, but also 
 as enemies and prisoners of war ! 
 
 Victory dispelled all these anxieties. ''The Lord is 
 a warrior. Almighty is His name. Pharaoh's chariots 
 and his army He hath cast into the sea ; his chosen 
 captains are drowned in the Red Sea. Who is like to 
 Thee among the strong, O Lord ? who is like to Thee, 
 glorious in holiness, terrible and praiseworthy, doing 
 wonders ?" 
 
 Joyous though this canticle of Israel be, it can not 
 compare with the strains of the Blessed : "The former 
 things are passed away ; God has wiped away all tears 
 from the eyes of His servants ; and death is now no 
 more, nor mourning, nor weeping, nor sorrow is any 
 more.'* 
 
 The bonds of Egypt indeed have been broken, but 
 new troubles, new anxieties arise for the children of 
 Israel. They have before them a long journey through 
 the desert ; and even when this journey is happily com- 
 pleted, they will live only in another part of the 
 same earth that has been cursed by its own Maker : 
 ''Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and 
 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." The 
 
670 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 Saints, on the contrary, have entered a land where 
 there is not a shadow of pain nor any fear of hard- 
 ship. 
 
 Another source of joy in victory is xh^ positive good 
 we have gained. What is not ourjoy when we acquire 
 some temporal good, new possessions, fresh honors, 
 or influence over new nations ! Such was the joy of 
 the Israelites. Freed from the bonds of Egypt, they 
 were to enter the land of promise, the land flowing 
 with milk and honey. But however rich Chanaan may 
 have been, it still was, like the rest of the earth, a val- 
 ley of tears. Its mightiest king, while enjoying more 
 riches, honors, and pleasures than any mortal before 
 or after, cried out from the depths of his burdened 
 heart: "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." 
 
 How different are the joys of the Blessed in Heaven ! 
 They enjoy riches and pleasures of which the Apos- 
 tle says: **Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what 
 things God hath prepared for them that love him." 
 Heaven is the Society of Saints and Angels, of Jesus 
 and Mary. God Himself says: ''At the fountain of 
 waters I will give them drink, and I will be their God, 
 and they shall be My sons." 
 
 Heaven, then, is God Himself. The Saints see God 
 face to face, they possess God, they become like unto 
 God in the light of glory, and in peace and love they 
 remain glorified with God forever. How can we, then, 
 suppose this joy to be equaled by the joy of the chil- 
 dren of Israel? For even supposing the Israelites 
 
FIRST SERMON. 67 1 
 
 should have found a perfect earthly happiness in their 
 promised land, they still had the graves of Adam and 
 Eve and of all the Patriarchs, reminding them that 
 soon they, too, should rest in the grave and molder 
 into the dust from which they had been framed. But 
 the bliss of the Saints lasts eternally, and their joyful 
 Alleluias resound forever. 
 
 And even considering their respective numbers, the 
 joys and songs of the Israelites remain far behind the 
 jubilation of the Saints. The Israelites amounted to 
 six hundred thousand men, with a number of women 
 and children in proportion. The number of the Blessed 
 is indicated by St. John : '' After this I saw a great mul- 
 titude, which no man could number, of all nations and 
 tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the 
 throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white 
 robes, and palms in their hands ; and they cried with 
 a loud voice, saying : Salvation to our God, Who sit- 
 teth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." 
 
 And, besides all this, if we consider the immense 
 joys of the Blessed, that result from the continual in- 
 crease of their number by the arrival of souls from the 
 Church suffering, who does not feel the intense strug- 
 gling for utterance ! 
 
 Oh, that I, too, were among the number of the 
 Blessed ! that I were at least certain of my eternal 
 happiness! But we are certain of our eternal s^va- 
 tion if we only follow the example of the Saints ; if 
 we avoid sin ; if we are faithful in our daily duties. 
 On these conditions we too, even, perhaps before the 
 
672 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 next Feast of All Saints, shall unite our voices with 
 those of the Blessed ; ^we too, crowned by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, shall triumph among the bands of the 
 Saints and Angels. 
 
 The Israelites went forth out of Egypt. They killed 
 a Paschal lamb, with the blood of which they signed 
 their doors ; they stood and ate hastily, with shoes on 
 their feet and staves in their hands. On their journey 
 they followed a cloud of fire, and were nourished with 
 manna. 
 
 Now, each of these circumstances is symbolical. 
 If we w4sh to attain the joys of Heaven we must wash 
 ourselves in the blood of the Lamb ; we must leave 
 the fleshpots of Egypt — that is, the world, with its 
 pleasures ; we must stand upright — that is, our hearts 
 must be free from earthly desires ; we must gird our- 
 selves with the spirit of self-denial. Continual thought 
 of approaching Eternity must be the staff to guard us 
 through life. The light of faith is our cloud of fire. 
 Occasions and temptations to sin must be passed 
 through by us as the Red Sea was by the Israelites. 
 On our way through life we must nourish ourselves not 
 with earthly manna, indeed, but with the heavenly — I 
 mean the Eucharist. 
 
 Let us be ready ; we are warned, and soon we shall 
 take part in the triumph of All Saints, singing with 
 them the canticle of Moses amid the Alleluias of all 
 heavenly hosts. — Amen! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 673 
 
 SECOND SERMON. Y'*^'^'/'*'^^^ 
 
 "Considering the end of their conversation, follow their faith." — Heb( 
 
 xiii, 7. 
 
 WHEN one lives in distress, and hears of the hap- 
 piness of others, he naturally asks himself the 
 question: How is it that, although born of parents 
 of the most humble condition, he is held in such high 
 honor, and is esteemed by so many? Thus we hear 
 of an Emperor, once a swine-herd ; of a Pope, the son 
 of a carpenter. And how many similar examples do 
 we not witness in America ? Men of low birth have 
 worked themselves up to the highest dignities of the 
 State ; and many from beggars have become million- 
 aires. Here again the thought naturally suggests 
 itself: How did their success begin ? How did they 
 manage to succeed so well? 
 
 Hence it is that, looking into heaven in spirit, and 
 thinking upon those who have entered that happy 
 abode, this question will also force itself upon us: 
 What were the thoughts that occupied the minds of 
 the Saints while here on earth? What means did 
 they employ to attain such a degree of Christian per- 
 fection ? 
 
 I say to you : Ask the Saints, and they will answer 
 you from heaven. 
 
 How fitting it Is to examine the motives that act- 
 uated their works, and guided them to the land of 
 promise! Can there, indeed, be one more appropri- 
 ate to the day? 
 
674 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 Mary, Queen of all Saints, Mirror of Justice, ob- 
 tain for us the favor of the Saints, that we may follow 
 their example and become holy! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of lesus, to the 
 greater honor of God ! 
 
 When we name the Saints and speak of them, we 
 do not seem to consider them as ordinary beings, but 
 rather as more than mortal, whom God has raised to 
 more than human perfection. Yet this is not alto- 
 gether the case. The Saints were men as we are. 
 They were children of Adam, born in sin, and sub- 
 ject to the stain of original sin, as we all have been. 
 As they grew in age, they were not free from temp- 
 tation. They were frail children of Adam, who, as St. 
 Paul declares, felt in themselves the sting of concu- 
 piscence, and were exposed to the dangers of being 
 lost forever. 
 
 They lived as ordinary men, and yet their lives 
 were extraordinary. What was ordinary in them, 
 and belonged to their state of life, was not done 
 in a common way, but rather in a perfect and holy 
 manner. Why this difference? I answer: Because 
 they lived in the full resoluteness of those principles 
 that faith taught them, and were more faithful in ob- 
 serving them than we are. You may ask : What 
 are those principles ? I answer : Ask the Saints 
 themselves, they will tell you from above. 
 
 Speak, ye Saints of God, you holy — \name of pa- 
 trons of this Church, etc.~\ — and all ye Saints ! What 
 
SECOND SERMON. 675 
 
 did ye meditate upon that your lives became so holy ? 
 Listen to-day to the answer from heaven. 
 
 Our thought was : / serve God, Do ye hear ? 
 Think on this, and you, too, will lead a holy life. 
 Why? Because God is infinite perfection, and de- 
 serves an infinite homage. Indeed, no mortal, nay, 
 not even Mary herself, can give this homage to 
 God. The blessed Manhood of Christ, in hypostatic 
 union with His Divinity, is alone capable of render- 
 ing to the Father the adoration due to Him. What 
 lesson does this teach us? It teaches us that, though 
 we had the ardor of Mary, and of all the Saints, we 
 would still be obliged to acknowledge before God : I 
 am a useless servant. My God, to Thee belongs a 
 much greater zeal in Thy service than we can give. 
 
 Ye Saints, what made you so holy ? Listen to the 
 answer: Our thought was, God sees me. 
 
 Think on this as did the Saints, walk constantly 
 according to their example, in the presence of God, 
 and, as they did, so will you live holy. God Himself 
 assured us of this when He said to Abraham : *' Walk 
 before Me and be perfect." Try this ! Walk only one 
 entire day in the presence of God, and say to your- 
 selves, ten, twenty times a day, at the beginning and 
 the end of your work : God sees me ! and the inspi- 
 rations of the Holy Ghost will be multiplied within 
 you, and urge you to live in a holy manner. You will 
 be inspired to make good resolutions, and will receive 
 strength to live according to them. 
 
 Ye Saints of God, what made you so holy, so ear- 
 
6"] 6 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 nest, and humble in the service of God? Hear the 
 answer : The thought that filled our mind was what I 
 do, I do it for God. 
 
 Do you likewise think of this with the same assi- 
 duity, and you, too, will live holy in the strength and 
 vigor of a pure Intention. 
 
 This Is done even in the world. Whosoever does 
 any thing for a dignitary of this earth— for a Lord, a 
 King, or an Enperor — on whose kindness depends 
 the happiness of this whole life, that man certainly 
 will make all possible endeavors to do his work as 
 perfectly as he can, so that it may be presentable to 
 this Lord, King, Ruler, or Benefactor. 
 
 Ye Saints of God, what made you so holy? Listen 
 to the answer : It is this thought : either I must become 
 holy and go to heaven, or I shall be damned. Either 
 I must live in grace, and be in the company of the 
 blessed, or I shall fall into sin, perish, and be num- 
 bered with the throngs of evil spirits and condemned 
 sinners. " Not to go forward In the way of perfection 
 is to go backward," St. Bernard says. Whoever does 
 not swim against the stream, him the stream will sweep 
 along in its course. If I do not become entirely holy 
 in life, though I should die In the state of grace, the 
 fires of Purgatory must cleanse me unto holiness. 
 Hence it is better to labor and suffer meritoriously 
 now, than to endure great torments without merit 
 hereafter. 
 
 And mark this well. Perhaps none of you have 
 ever thought of It. And still It is one of the teach- 
 
SECOND SERMON. 677 
 
 ings of the Church upon which the Saints continually 
 meditated. Should we not reach the degree of sanc- 
 tity to which God calls us as the Saints did, who are 
 now raised to the honors of the altar, we may run the 
 risk of being lost forever. 
 
 For you it may be either to be high in heaven, or 
 not to be there at all. Remember Judas. He was 
 either to have a place in heaven among the Apos- 
 tles, or to be excluded altogether from the company 
 of the Saints. The degree of holiness, which corre- 
 sponds to this glory, depends, perhaps, upon one prof- 
 fered grace — upon the use or abuse we make of it. A 
 chain, be it the longest, if one link is missing, is falling. 
 
 It is the assurance of the Lord, Who said: "The 
 kingdom of heaven is like unto a mustard seed." 
 The lives of the Saints bear testimony to this. 
 
 In their lives things apparently small took place; 
 and had they not, on those occasions, listened to the 
 inspirations of grace, they would never have become 
 such great Saints ; nay, perhaps they would have been 
 lost. 
 
 Call to mind St. Anthony. Had he not listened to 
 the inspiration of God, which said: '' Go to Mass to- 
 day ; " had he not heard the words of the Gospel : •* If 
 thou wilt be perfect, sell what thou hast, give it to the 
 poor, and follow Me," he would likely have remained, 
 during life, in the possession of his worldly goods; 
 would have set his mind on gold ; would not have re- 
 tired to the desert, and would never have become the 
 patriarch of innumerable Saints. The woes of riches 
 
6j^ FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 would have befallen him; and, mayhap, he would be 
 now a reprobate. Behold the mustard seed! Like- 
 wise, had John of God not listened to the inspiration: 
 *' Go to-day to the sermon;" had he not done it on 
 that particular day; had he not heard that sermon, 
 which made him a Saint instantaneously, although he 
 was a sinner when he entered the church, — I ask, 
 would he be a Saint to-day, or would he not rather be 
 among the damned ? 
 
 Do you know to which grace God has attached your 
 salvation ?\ You do not. Therefore, make use of every 
 grace which the Lord offers you. Do this, and you will 
 be holy. 
 
 Ye Saints of God, what made you holy? Listen to 
 the answer : This thought, — The more assiduous I am, 
 the better and lighter becomes the work, and the 
 greater the merit thereof. Think on this, and you, 
 too, will acquire merit, as did the Saints, and gather 
 full sheaves for the granary of heaven. 
 
 Ye Saints, what made you so holy? Listen to the 
 answer : This was our reflection, — Life is but one. Only 
 once have I the opportunity to reap merits for heaven. 
 Nozu, or never! Oh, what an all-important principle! 
 
 Not without a special dispensation of divine Provi- 
 dence does the Feast of All Saints precede that of 
 All Souls, — that reminder of certain death, — that re- 
 minder of the fleeting nature of time! Death and 
 time cease together! The harvest is over! Eternity 
 begins ! 
 
 *'Yes, time, thou art precious as God Himself," 
 
SECOND SERMON. 679 
 
 cried St. Chrysostom, — for time Is the only means by 
 which we can insure our union with God forever, and 
 increase His glory. Were we able to see every even- 
 ing all the crowns that we have lost during the day, 
 not only because we have sinned, but because we 
 have not made use of all the hours and minutes of the 
 day in the service of God, — with what fervor would 
 we not live the following day ! 
 
 Hence, think daily of your last hour, and ask your- 
 self: When the moment comes, and my heart beats 
 for the last time, how would I then desire to have 
 spent my life ? Holily! Bilt then it will be too late ! 
 Now, I have it in my power; but then, as my life has 
 been, so will be my death ! If I have lived in luke- 
 warmness, the pangs of the tepid Christian at death 
 await me ! On the contrary, if I have lived with the zeal 
 of the Saints, then will I certainly die the precious 
 and consoling death of the just. May be, a death even 
 without Purgatory. 
 
 Ye Saints, what made you so holy? Oh, we thought, 
 if I die holily, I shall go straight to heaven. My judg- 
 ment shall be without judgment, and I shall hear the 
 invitation of the Lord: ''Enter thou into My joy." 
 
 Finally, the Saints of heaven ask us: Why do 
 you question us so often? Children of men, do you 
 not know where we are ? In the kingdom of recom- 
 pense ! Should we be sorry for any thing, it would be 
 that we did not live more holily, and did not labor and 
 suffer more for heaven. 
 
 But you may ask : Must J not then receive special 
 
68o FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 grace from God to live thus? I answer: And thou 
 shah have it, if thou prayest for it with an upright 
 heart; not, indeed, because of thy own merits, but 
 because of the infinite merits of Christ. 
 
 All depends on this: That thou be, at present, as 
 earnest and sincere as the Saints. Then wilt thou be 
 able to say before God : Lord, Thou seest my heart ; 
 I am in earnest ; I have said it, now do I begin, and 
 I will live up to the principles of the Saints. Give 
 me Thy efficacious grace. 
 
 May all the Saints intercede for us, that we may 
 obtain these graces. All heaven says : Amen ! Amen 1 
 
 « 
 
THIRD SERMON. 68 1 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 **Your reward is very great in heaven." — Matt, v, 12. 
 
 SHOULD we desire, in some measure, to antici- 
 pate the fullness of the bliss that the Saints enjoy 
 in heaven, we need only recall to mind what Faith 
 teaches us concerning the joy and happiness of 
 Heaven. In this consideration, let us follow the advice 
 of St. Paul, and, even while upon earth, gaze, as in a 
 mirror, upon the joys of heaven ; and w^e will under- 
 stand that all the joys of this world are likewise found 
 in heaven, but in an immeasurably higher degree. 
 
 And still there are Christians who think and say : 
 *' There is a heaven; but, alas, how little we know of 
 it, and of what is therein contained! " What a delu- 
 sion! I say, on the contrary: ''We know enough, 
 and so much, indeed, that it is inconceivable how, 
 when once we have earnestly reflected on what Faith 
 teaches us about heaven, we do not continually carry 
 the thought of that blessed abode in our minds, live 
 for heaven, long for heaven, and exclaim, with holy 
 David: "Who will give me wings like a dove, and I 
 will fly and be at rest ? Woe is me that my sojourn is 
 prolonged ! When, when, O Lord, shall I stand in 
 Thy presence?" 
 
 In order to see this truth more deafly, we need but 
 question the Saints themselves, upon whose exultation 
 we are meditating. 
 
682 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 ''Where are ye? '' They will give us their answer 
 from heaven. 
 
 Mary, thou, whose joy is above that of all the 
 Angels and Saints in the bliss of heaven, assist us, 
 that we may one day share that joy in the commun- 
 ion of all the Saints ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God! 
 
 It happened once that an aged servant of God met 
 a man who seemed to be entirely buried in grief, and 
 said to him: ''Art thou a Christian? Dost thou be- 
 lieve that there is a heaven awaiting thee? If so, 
 how canst thou mourn? Let them grieve who never 
 have heard of heaven ! Let them be downcast who 
 do not believe in heaven ! " 
 
 To appreciate this truth, it is merely necessary to 
 reflect on where the Saints of God are, and to con- 
 sider the bliss they there enjoy ; for all the happiness 
 they enjoy is within our reach. 
 
 And, as life is so short and heaven our approaching 
 destiny forever, is it not proper that we ask the Saints 
 to-day: " Where are ye? " Listen to their answer as it 
 descends from heaven: ''We are in the land oi prom- 
 ise ; in the land where many meet and none do part. 
 What joy when we found there those whom we loved 
 on earth, who served God with us, whom death had 
 torn from us, and with whom we now enjoy life ever- 
 
THIRD SERMON. 683 
 
 lasting!" Dost thou hear this, afflicted soul? Hast 
 thou lost relatives and acquaintances? Hast thou the 
 hope that they died a holy death? Console thyself! 
 Rejoice and sing the jubilee of the Saints ! Soon thou 
 wilt see them again. 
 
 "Ye Saints of God, where are ye?" Listen to 
 their answer: "We are \Xi paradise. We behold the 
 good things of the Lord in the land of the living." 
 Paradise means that part of creation which expands 
 over the regions of the starry firmament. 
 
 There is a proverb which says: "See Naples and 
 die." Still, what is Naples? What is the beauty of 
 the earth, even in its most charming spot? All these, 
 in God's sight, are as thistles and thorns — the husks 
 with which He feeds the sinner for the little moral 
 good he does during life. 
 
 A God, infinitely beautiful, blessed, and at the 
 same time Almighty, is able to create more than the 
 dust of this world. Yet, even of this earthly home, 
 how little do we possess! Poor man, do you hear 
 the call from heaven? "The heavens are mine; all 
 mine." Thus shalt thou, too, soon cry out. Rejoice 
 and be jubilant, and cry to the Saints: We come 
 soon, soon! 
 
 "Where are ye, Saints of God?" Hear their an- 
 swer from heaven: "We are in the kingdom of r^- 
 wardy The greatness of which reward no eye hath 
 seen, nor ear heard ; neither hath it entered into the 
 heart of man to conceive. Oh, too much, too much ! 
 
 Thus exult the Saints. They are in the land oi joy, of 
 44 
 
684 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 perfect joy ; and there is no shadow of sorrow, no grief, 
 no misery, forever. ^ 
 
 ''I heard a voice from the throne, which said: 
 There shall be neither suffering, nor complaining, nor 
 misery, nor want, nor separation, nor death. What 
 was, has gone by. The Lord has dried the tears from 
 the eyes of His own forever." Thus writes St. John, 
 who, in ecstasies, had got a glimpse of heaven. 
 
 Child of man, is it labor that weighs thee down, 
 is it sickness, grief, persecution, that embitters thy 
 life? Think on heaven. Soon thou wilt be in the 
 kingdom of rewa7^d and joy. Persevere, and thou 
 shalt enter forever into the joy of the Lord. Oh, 
 what a consolation ! Yes, ye Saints, we come soon to 
 the kingdom of joy. 
 
 ''Where are ye, ye Saints?" Hear the answer 
 from heaven: ''We enjoy the communion of all the 
 Angels and Saiiits — we entered into the communion of 
 their blessedness and glory." Nor is this all, for the 
 Lord not only rewards every one according to his 
 works, but there is also a participation of each in the 
 bliss of all. 
 
 Hearest thou, O melancholy soul? What is it that 
 casts thee down? Art thou alone and abandoned on 
 earth? Are all whom thou lovest and who were dear 
 to thee, dead? Soon thou, also, wilt sing thy canticle 
 of joy in heaven: "I see all the Angels, the Arch- 
 angels, the Principalities, the Powers, the Virtues, the 
 Dominations, the Thrones, the Cherubim, the Seraphim, 
 and I enter into the bliss and love of all the holy 
 
THIRD SERMON. 685 
 
 Virgins, Confessors and Martyrs, of the Patriarchs ancj 
 Prophets, of the beloved Apostle of Christ, St. John, 
 and of St. Joseph ? Why should I bewail you, ye holy 
 acquaintances and relatives ? Soon will I share with 
 you your everlasting joy." 
 
 "Where are ye now, ye Saints of God?" "With 
 Mary dind /esuSy'" echoes the answer. " What is mine 
 is thine:" thus cries Mary to every saved child of 
 hers, and Jesus fulfills His promise: "To the victor 
 I will give to sit with Me on My throne." 
 
 " Where are ye, ye Saints of God?" Hear the an- 
 swer: "Near God, with God, in God." "I Myself," 
 says the Almighty, " am thy reward exceeding great." 
 Remember this: God, the never-ending happiness, 
 shall soon be thy lot and portion ; and, oh, in what 
 a union! There is no expression for it in human 
 language. 
 
 "We shall see Him as He is," as St. John tells us. 
 "They shall be like God," says Christ Himself. 
 
 Christian soul, how canst thou grieve, when thou 
 thinkest on the jubilee of the Saints, which thou art 
 soon to share? Hear their call from heaven: "We 
 see God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." 
 Thus they shout in thunders of Alleluias: "We are 
 now united to God, submerged in the never-ending 
 power, wisdom, holiness, mercy, truth, majesty, and 
 magnificence of God, and lost in His infinite beauty 
 and blessedness and love. We are one with God as 
 His godlike representations." 
 
 I will give you an illustration : Suppose an acquaint- 
 
6S6 FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 
 
 ancc, a father, brother, friend, or bridegroom were 
 to come from afar, and you did not know it, and he 
 were to stand at the door behind a curtain. You can 
 not see him, but there is in the room a mirror, in 
 which his image is reflected. Looking at the mirror, 
 you would cry out: '*Oh, it is my father, brother, 
 friend, or husband!" 
 
 Were it possible for this man to impart his life to 
 the image shadowed in the mirror, we could say, at 
 once: ''It is he!" This mirror in heaven is the light 
 of glory, in which the soul sees the image of God re- 
 flected, of Whose divine life she now partakes. Oh, 
 what a place of divine bliss ! 
 
 Christian soul, when thou takest seriously to heart 
 the answer that the Saints have just given from 
 heaven, then must thou say: "Beautiful heaven, thee 
 must I possess, cost what it may — labor, suffering, 
 blood, and life itself. How glad must thou not be if 
 thou reflectest that it depends on thee alone to be- 
 come truly holy. Sin is theronly hinderance that pre- 
 sents itself in thy way. But there is neither man nor 
 devil capable of forcing thee to sin. Man is free, 
 and with the grace of God is stronger than the whole 
 world, and all flesh, nay, even stronger than hell it- 
 self 
 
 Of like strength is virtue, whith we must practise, 
 in order to multiply our joys in heaven. It is true 
 that men and hell are able to prevent us from fulfill- 
 ing this or that work of virtue and zeal : but nothing 
 in the world can hinder us from doing God's will, 
 
THIRD SERMON. 687 
 
 from SO doing what He expects of us, that we may 
 go forward, meritoriously, on the path of Christiaij 
 perfection. These practices of virtue are presented to 
 us in the words of Christ Himself, words that the 
 Church repeats to us in the gospel of to-day, the 
 feast of All Saints : " Blessed are the poor in spirit. 
 Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they that mourn. 
 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice. 
 Blessed are the clean of heart. Blessed are the merci- 
 ful. Blessed are the peace-makers. Blessed are they 
 that suffer persecution for justice' sake. Exceedingly 
 great is their reward in heaven." It is Christ Him- 
 self who gives us this assurance. 
 
 Live up to these eight beatitudes, after the example 
 of the Saints on earth, and soon shalt thou rejoice in 
 communion with them in heaven through Him, the 
 King of All Saints. — Amen. 
 
FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 ' FIRST SERMON. 
 
 ** When shall I come and appear before the face of God ? " — Psalms xli, 3. 
 
 ON the Feast of All Souls, and whenever we are re- 
 minded of Purgatory, we can not help thinking of 
 the dreadful pains which the souls in Purgatory have 
 to suffer, in order to be purified from every stain of 
 sin ; of the excruciating torments they have to undergo 
 for their faults and imperfections, and how thoroughly 
 they have to atone for the least offenses committed 
 against the infinite holiness and justice of God. 
 
 It is but just, therefore, that we should condole with 
 them, and do all that we can to deliver them from the 
 flames of Purgatory, or, at least, to soothe their pains. 
 
 Sufferings, however, are not the only cause which 
 renders the state of the poor souls deplorable in our 
 eyes, and moves us to commiseration. There is yet 
 another reason, which, though it occurs less frequently 
 to our minds, yet, if duly considered, will prove a pow- 
 erful incentive to charitable exertion in behalf of the 
 souls of our departed brethren. I allude to their ar- 
 dent yearning for God, and their sincere desire of 
 being united with Him forever in heaven; a desire, 
 which as long as it is not satisfied, will be no less pain- 
 ful to them than the keenest flames of their place of tor- 
 ture. We should, then, with the same eagerness with 
 
FIRST SERMON. 689 
 
 which we try to deliver the poor souls from the pain 
 of fire, endeavor to obtain for them the accomplish- 
 ment of their ardent longing to be united with their 
 heavenly Spouse. I say: 
 
 All that can increase the pain of desire and eager 
 yearning in our hearts^ makes the longing of the poor 
 souls after God and heaven immeasurably great and 
 tormenting. 
 
 Let us now reflect on this, and endeavor, if possible, 
 to open for them to-day the gates of their heavenly 
 home. 
 
 Mary, Mother of mercy, obtain for us the grace 
 to hasten to the relief of thy suffering children in Pur- 
 gatory, and to offer them, even this day, to thy mater- 
 nal embrace ! 
 
 1 address you, dear Christians, in the name of 
 Jesus, to the greater glory of God ! 
 
 Theologians rightly maintain that the pain of the 
 damned in hell is a twofold one — namely, that oi fire 
 and that of loss of the beatific vision or contemplation 
 of the unveiled splendor of the Divinity and the other 
 delights of heaven. 
 
 This last pain torments the damned still more, in- 
 creases their sorrow and despair to a higher degree 
 than all the suffering which they undergo in the ex- 
 piating flames. 
 
 Now, in like manner is the agony of the souls in 
 Purgatory twofold — namely : the pain of the purifying 
 
690 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. \ 
 
 flames; and of the delay in beholding God and enjoy- 
 ing the other pleasures that await them in heaven. 
 To comprehend this more clearly, we need but con- 
 sider the pain which an ardent longing for that which 
 is most dear to us produces in our hearts, as long as 
 it is withheld from us, and then compare our state 
 with that of the poor afflicted souls. 
 
 The first source or cause of a desire to be delivered 
 from any state in life is, when that state is connected 
 with great embarrassment and afflictions. Hence it is 
 that the sick long so eagerly for the presence of the 
 physician and for the medicine that will cure them; 
 in like manner the starving long for bread and nour- 
 ishment ; the thirsty, for water ; the poor, for the sen- 
 tence of the judge, that will declare them heirs to 
 riches, and save them from destitution. So also does 
 the wayfarer upon the billows of the stormy ocean sigh 
 for the port, yearn to reach the place where a happy 
 future awaits him ; and so does the prisoner in his 
 dreary cell anxiously expect the hour of his delivery. 
 How great, therefore, must not be the desire of the 
 poor souls to be ransomed from Purgatory. 
 
 The fire of Purgatory, as the doctors of the Church 
 declare, is as intense as that of the abode of hell ; with 
 this difference, that it has an end. Yea ! it may be 
 that to-day a soul in Purgatory is undergoing more 
 agony, more excruciating suffering than a damned 
 soul, which is tormented in hell for a few mortal sins ; 
 while the poor soul in Purgatory must satisfy for mil- 
 lions of venial sins. 
 
FIRST SERMON. 69 1 
 
 All the pains which afflict the sick upon earth, 
 added to all that the martyrs have ever suffered, can 
 not be compared with those of purgatory, so great is 
 the punishment of those poor souls. 
 
 We read, how once a sick person who was very im- 
 patient in his sufferings, exclaimed : '' O God, take 
 me from this world ! " Thereupon the Guardian Angel 
 appeared to him, and told him to remember that, by 
 patiently bearing his afflictions upon his sick-bed, he 
 could satisfy for his sins and shorten his Purgatory. 
 But the sick man replied that he chose rather to sat- 
 isfy for his sins in Purgatory. 
 
 The poor sufferer died ; and, behold, his Guardian 
 Angel appeared to him again, and asked him if he did 
 not repent of the choice he had made of satisfying for 
 his sins in Purgatory by tortures rather than upon 
 earth by afflictions ? Thereupon the poor soul asked of 
 the Angel : " How many years am I now here in these 
 terrible flames?" The Angel replied: " How many 
 years ? Thy body upon earth is not yet buried ; nay. 
 It is not yet cold, and still thou believest already thou 
 art here for many years ! " Oh, how that soul la- 
 mented upon hearing this. Great indeed was its grief 
 for not having chosen patiently to undergo upon earth 
 the sufferings of sickness, and thereby shorten its Pur- 
 gatory. 
 
 In that abode of sorrow the departed souls hunger 
 after the possession of God, and with so famishing a 
 desire that nothing on earth can be compared with it. 
 They thirst after the fountain of eternal life with that 
 
692 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 thirst which knows no comparison in this world. They 
 suffer ; poor and destitute of all worldly goods. Yea ! 
 they are even deprived of all those consolations which 
 at times lessen our desires, and afford us moments of 
 repose. 
 
 Here upon earth, though we long and sigh ever so 
 much after a thing, still we can sleep ; and the pains 
 produced by our heart's desires in our waking mo- 
 ments leave us, we feel them no longer. We can en- 
 gage ourselves in other occupations ; other cares may 
 distract our minds. We may, at. times, enjoy various 
 pleasures, and partake of the good things of this life. 
 Now all these things remove, or, at least, soothe the 
 pain and care of our desires. Not so, however, is the 
 condition of these distressed souls. They have no re- 
 freshing slumber ; they are incessantly awake ; they 
 have no occupation ; they can not indulge in other 
 cares, in other distractions. They are wholly and con- 
 tinually absorbed with the burning desire of being 
 liberated from their intense misery. 
 
 Again, upon earth, persons who anxiously seek 
 another abode or another state of life, often know not 
 whether, perhaps, they may not fall into a more 
 wretched condition. How many have forsaken the 
 shores of Europe, with the bright hope of a better fut- 
 ure awaiting them in America? All has been disap- 
 pointment ! They have repented a thousand times of 
 having deserted their native country. Now, does this 
 disappointment await the souls of Purgatory upon their 
 deliverance ? Ah ! by no means. They know too well 
 
FIRST SERMON. 693 
 
 that when they are released heaven will be their home. 
 Once there, no more pains, no more fire for them; 
 but the enjoyment of an everlasting bliss, which no eye 
 hath seen, nor ear heard ; nor hath it entered into the 
 heart of man to conceive. Such will be their future 
 happy state. Oh, how great is their desire to be already 
 there. Another circumstance which especially intensi- 
 fies hope in the breast of man, is intercotirse, union 
 with those who are near and dear to him. 
 
 How many, indeed, have bid a last farewell to Eu- 
 rope, where they would have prospered ; but oh, then 
 there are awaiting them in another land their beloved 
 ones, — those who are so dear, and in whose midst 
 they long to be! Oh, what a great source of desire 
 is not this, for the poor souls in Purgatory to go to 
 Heaven ! 
 
 In heaven they shall find again those whom they 
 loved and cherished upon earth, but who have already 
 preceded them on the way to the heavenly mansion. 
 There with their friends shall they share forever un- 
 told bliss and glory. Not only will they possess this 
 happiness, but they will, moreover, partake of the 
 glory, blessedness, and love of all the angels and 
 saints. Yea, even Jesus and Mary will share their 
 blessedness with the now happy souls. 
 
 There is still another feature, another circumstance 
 which presents itself in the condition of the poor souls 
 in Purgatory. I mean the irresistible force or tendency 
 with which they are drawn towards God ; the intense 
 longing after Him, their last aim and end. 
 
694 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 So long as man is burdened upon earth with his 
 mortal body and its appetites, so long will he not feel 
 this attraction with such intensity. But immediately 
 upon his soul's separation from its mortal frame does 
 it, as the image of God, experience this incomprehen- 
 sible desire for its Creator and Aim. 
 
 Like the balloon that rises aloft as soon as the cords 
 are detached, and rapidly soars higher and higher ; 
 just so the soul which leaves this world in the grace 
 of God mounts upward with inconceivable rapidity to- 
 wards God ; and the more pure and spotless she is, 
 the greater is its intensity. 
 
 Hence it was that David, filled with an ardent long- 
 ing after God, sighs aloud: "When, when, O Lord, 
 shall I appear in Thy presence ? " Oh, with what in- 
 tense anxiety and longing is not a poor soul in Pur- 
 gatory consumed, to behold the splendor of its Lord 
 and Creator ! 
 
 But also with what marks of Gratitude does not ev- 
 ery soul whom we have assisted to enter heaven pray 
 for us upon its entrance. 
 
 Therefore, let us hasten to the relief of the poor 
 suffering souls in Purgatory. Let us help them to the 
 best of our power, so that they may supplicate for us 
 before the throne of the Most High ; that they may 
 remember us when we too shall one day be afflicted 
 in that prison-house of suffering, and may procure for 
 us a speedy release and an early enjoyment of a bliss- 
 ful eternity. Amen ! 
 
SECOND SERMON. 695 
 
 SECOND SERMON. 
 
 **Have pity on me, at least you my friends." — Job xix, 21. 
 
 THAT it is a duty, a truly Christian duty, to help 
 the poor afflicted souls in Purgatory, no one can 
 doubt. We are commanded even as men, but espe- 
 cially as Christians, to love and assist our neighbor 
 as ourselves. But the souls in Purgatory do not cease 
 to be deserving of our love and service because they 
 are in an abode of punishment, for they are still our 
 brethren, and they are the more deserving of prayers 
 as they can not help themselves. 
 
 When it will be our turn one day to dwell in those 
 flames, and be separated from God, how happy will 
 we not be if others alleviate and shorten your pains ! 
 Do you desire this assistance for your own soul ? Then 
 begin in this life, while you have time, to render aid 
 to the poor souls In Purgatory. 
 
 As the teachers of Divinity justly observe, all that 
 we can render to the souls in Purgatory is our 
 intercession before God in their behalf Our heavenly 
 Father accepts our appeal in proportion to their con- 
 dition in that place of confinement. But he who does 
 not assist others, unto him shall no mercy be shown ; 
 for this is what even-handed justice requires. Hence, 
 let us not be deaf to the pitiful cries of the departed 
 ones. 
 
 We, moreover, fulfill a duty assigned us the more 
 cheerfully when there are many and weighty motives 
 
696 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 for complying with it ; but especially is this the case 
 if we perceive that thereby some advantage accrues 
 to ourselves equal to or greater than that which falls 
 to the share of him whom we assist. Now, that is 
 precisely the case when we help the souls in Purga- 
 tory through our prayers and good works, whether we 
 consider ourselves and our own salvation, or the good 
 we render those beloved, but afflicted ones of God. 
 
 The main reflection which should be drawn from 
 all that has been said, and which should be deeply 
 engraven upon the mind, is — 
 
 That all the pains the poor souls in Purgatory suffer 
 tend to sanctify our own souls, and to shorten hereafter 
 our own misery in the same place of torme^it. 
 
 How this can be accomplished I shall endeavor to 
 explain in the present sermon. 
 
 Mary, Mother of mercy, secure for us the grace 
 of making what we now hear enter deeply into our 
 hearts, in order that, from this day forward, we may 
 hasten to the aid of the souls in Purgatory! 
 
 1 speak to you in the holy name of Jesus, for the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 I said, that which pains the poor souls in Purgatory 
 tends to sanctify our soul here upon earth, and here- 
 after to shorten the term of our punishment in the 
 purifying flames of Purgatory. 
 
 The first thing that torments the poor souls in Pur- 
 gatory is the longing, the burning desire to behold 
 
SECOND SERMON. 697 
 
 God, to be with Christ and Mary, and to be among the 
 number of the Blessed ; in a word, to possess the joys 
 of Heaven. This is their constant desire. The hope 
 of one day entering into the mansion of heavenly de- 
 lights is what makes their stay doubly painful. 
 
 Oh, with what torments are not these souls afflicted 
 through their yearning to be with their God ! Were 
 there no other suffering beyond this desire, it alone 
 would be exceedingly agonizing. 
 
 Now, this very thought elevates our heart and 
 tends to sanctify our lives. Whence arises the fact 
 that we live so tepidly, so regardless of our Christian 
 duties ? Why are we more anxious to possess the 
 perishable things of the world than to own the ever- 
 lasting treasures of heaven ? I answer : We think too 
 h'ttle of God, of the glorious attributes of His infinite 
 divine perfection ; in brief, we are too careless about 
 our union with God. 
 
 Were we steadily to walk in the presence of God, 
 to sigh for Him, oh, how clearly would not such a 
 disposition place before our eyes the misery and hei- 
 nousness of the smallest sin and imperfection, and 
 thus impel us to shun it forever ! 
 
 Should we, however, have the misfortune to com- 
 mit an imperfection or a venial sin, we would without 
 delay,^filled with the spirit of penance of a St. Aloy- 
 sius, banish it from our heart, and thus shorten our 
 Purgatory hereafter. 
 
 Again, we betray too little regard for Jesus. Were 
 this not the case, oh, how would we not avail ourselves 
 
698 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 of His presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the 
 Altar to advance our sanctification by repeated visits 
 to that sacred shrine, where He reposes ; by devout 
 attendance at Mass ; by frequent union with Him in 
 Holy Communion ; in fine, by closely following the 
 example of His earthly career. 
 
 The same remark may be made of our love for 
 Mary, the Mother of Christ Jesus. How great was 
 not the ardent affection of a blessed Leonard of Port 
 Maurice or a St. Stanislaus, for Mary ! It was on ac- 
 count of this filial love for her that they entered with- 
 out delay into heavenly bliss, for they, living on earth, 
 copied the image of Mary the Mirror of justice. 
 
 Yes, should we have had the happiness of worthily 
 wearing the Scapular of Mt. Carmel, through a desire 
 of imitating Mary's virtues, then, as we are informed 
 in the holy Office of the Church, Mary will assist us 
 after our departure from this life, and soon deliver us 
 from Purgatory, to receive us, her dear children, into 
 heaven. ^ 
 
 The same observation holds true concerning the 
 yearning of the poor souls in Purgatory to be in the 
 companionship of all the Angels and Saints. We, 
 again, regard too little the image presented to us in 
 the life and actions of the Saints. Were v^tq oftener 
 to lecall it to our minds, we would share in the en- 
 couraging reflection of St. Augustine while contem- 
 plating their lives, and say with him: *' If these have 
 done such things, why can not I do the same ?" 
 
 What is the reason that we, instead of imitating 
 
SECOND SERMON. 699 
 
 their zeal for virtue, are content with abstaining from 
 grievous sin only? Ah, we do not reflect that, as chil- 
 dren of the Church, we possess the same means as the 
 Saints used, and by which they became holy. We do 
 not consider that it is now time for us, while we yet 
 sojourn upon earth, to gain at every moment new 
 merits, to reap a harvest of heavenly glory, that in 
 the hereafter we may elevate ourselves to the splen- 
 dor of heaven in the communion of the Saints ! 
 
 What torments the souls in Purgatory is the knowl- 
 edge that they are no longer able to merit any thing 
 for heaven. They can not help themselves ; they are 
 entirely dependent upon others. They wait, and wait, 
 and have nothing to do but to yearn and suffer. Oh, 
 how they grieve and lament that while on earth they 
 thought so little of heaven ; that they accomplished so 
 little to gain it, and did so much for this world ; that, 
 in fine, they have rashly squandered their precious 
 time ! Could they in Purgatory practise good works, 
 spread the kingdom of God, save souls, how readily 
 would they perform these duties ; but, alas ! it is now 
 too late. 
 
 We, however, have this rich treasure, this great 
 blessing — time. We can, if we desire it, make use of 
 it even if it costs the severest effort and toil. We have 
 still command over the priceless gift. Let us employ 
 it well. 
 
 What afflicts those poor, helpless souls still more 
 is the circumstance that, despite their patience in suf- 
 fering, they can earn nothing for heaven. With us, 
 45 
 
700 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 however, such is not the case. We. fortunately, by our 
 patience under affliction, may merit much, very much 
 indeed, for Paradise. The cross of misery and suffer- 
 ing borne with resignation, carried bravely for love 
 of God, and in compliance with His divine will — that 
 cross which weighs so heavily in heaven's just scale 
 of retribution — will be for us a pledge of untold bliss 
 in heaven. Christ Himself expressly assures us of 
 this, and St. Paul declares it when he says : " The 
 sufferings of this world can not be compared with the 
 weight of glory, which they prepare for us in Paradise." 
 
 I well remember a certain sick person who was 
 sorely pressed with great sufferings. Wishing to con- 
 sole him in his distress, I said: ''Friend, such severe 
 pains will not last long. You will either recover from 
 your illness and become well and strong again or God 
 will soon call you to Himself." Thereupon the sick man, 
 turning his eyes upon a crucifix which had been placed 
 for him at the foot of his bed, replied : " Father, I desire 
 no alleviation in my suffering, no relief from my pains. 
 I cheerfully endure all as long as it is God's good 
 pleasure ; but I hope that I now undergo my Purga- 
 tory." Then, stretching forth his hands towards his 
 crucifix, he thus addressed it, filled with the most 
 lively hope in God's mercy: '' Is it not so, dear Jesus? 
 Thou wilt only take me from my bed. of pain to re- 
 ceive me straightway into heaven!" 
 
 These were the words of one who confided in the 
 goodness of an all-merciful Father. Are we resigned 
 like that poor afflicted sufferer on his couch of pain ? 
 
SECOND SERMON. > 7OI 
 
 Have we the same Christian fortitude and hope ? If 
 not, let us strive to imitate his example. 
 
 Impatience — I say impatience is the fountain of in- 
 numerable defects and venial sins against God and 
 our neighbor. It is this that so frequently prevents 
 us from resigning ourselves to God's most holy will. 
 
 On the other hand, how efficacious is the recollec- 
 tion of the suffering of the souls in Purgatory ! Soon, 
 and perhaps very soon, I, too, will be of their num- 
 ber, and will have to endure intense agony without 
 reward. When I consider the patience of those souls, 
 how encouraged ought I to be to endure all patiently 
 and to resign myself entirely to God's will. 
 
 Besides these circumstances, there is in the condi- 
 tion of the poor souls still another, and one which, 
 above all others, characterizes their state. 
 
 It is the circumstance that all who suffer in Purga- 
 tory are holy souls — souls most dear to God. While 
 there they are no longer in danger of being tempted 
 to sin by intercourse with worldly-minded and imper- 
 fect persons. 
 
 If we were very careful to shun the company of 
 sinners and the children of the world, oh, how many 
 sins and faults would we not avoid — sins and imper- 
 fections that make us guilty before God, and from 
 which we shall have to be cleansed by the flames of 
 Purgatory. 
 
 Therefore let us strive to associate ourselves in 
 spirit with those distressed souls ; often think of them ; 
 pray and work for their release. If we were to do this, 
 
702 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 how much would it not conduce to mend our lives, to 
 sanctify us, and thus assist us to escape Purgatory, or 
 at least to shorten our stay there ; for all the circum- 
 stances that mark the state of the souls in Purgatory 
 are so well adapted to encourage us in the path to 
 perfection ! 
 
 These circumstances are, as I have said, first, their 
 great yearning to be with God, with Jesus and Mary, 
 and in the society of the Angels and Saints ; sec- 
 ondly, their inability to labor meritoriously or to gain 
 merit by suffering — things, however, which we can do 
 by entire conformity with the most divine will of God. 
 
 Therefore how true and important is not the coun- 
 sel of the Holy Ghost — " It is a holy and wholesome 
 thought to pray for the dead " — when we reflect that 
 through our assistance they may the sooner enter into 
 the joys of heaven ; that here upon earth we, by de- 
 votion to them, may lead the life of Saints, that thereby 
 we may be delivered, if not entirely, at least in a short 
 time, from Purgatory, to enjoy the unspeakable 
 bliss of the celestial Paradise forever in company with 
 all the Saints and Angels. — Amen ! 
 
THIRD SERMON. 703 
 
 THIRD SERMON. 
 
 «*It io a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead." — 2 Machab. xii. 
 
 ALL the feasts of the Church are sacred, and pro- 
 duce the wholesome effect of sanctifying her chil- 
 dren. Hence, the faithful have good reasons for cele- 
 brating these solemn occasions with great fervor, and 
 in the spirit of our holy Mother, the Church. But es- 
 pecially is this the case on this day, v/hen the Church 
 exhorts us to remember and efficaciously to assist the 
 departed souls. 
 
 There is scarcely another feast of the Church, in 
 whose celebration the hearts of her children are more 
 prompt, than in this consecrated to the memory of 
 the dead. 
 
 The remembrance of their pitiable state, and the 
 desire to help them, in consequence of our natural 
 sympathy, are calculated to awaken the tenderest 
 feelings, and to move the hearts of the children of the 
 Church to celebrate this feast with zeal. 
 
 But, besides the motive of natural sympathy for all 
 in distress, there are motives of faith which impel us 
 to procure their relief not only on AH Souls Day, but 
 on ^very day of our life. For this our love and inter- 
 est in their regard is a work not only pleasing to God 
 and meritorious for us, but also efficacious for the re- 
 lief of the departed souls. 
 
 Hence, we see evinced in the lives of all the saints 
 a most ardent zeal in the cause of these poor afflicted 
 
704 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 ones. For their relief they offered to God not only 
 prayers, but also the Masses, penances, the most 
 severe sicknesses, and the most painful trials ; and all 
 this as a retribution and a practical display of the be- 
 lief which they cherished — that they who have slept 
 in Christ are finally to repose with Him in glory. 
 Now, I maintain that we, too, shall feel in our breasts 
 this same strong, this same ardent zeal, if we care- 
 fully weigh the assurance of the Holy Ghost and 
 practise the counsel it implies : 
 
 "// is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the 
 dead. ' ' 
 
 How holy — how wholesome — this practice is we 
 shall endeavor to consider to-day for the consolation 
 of the poor souls and of ourselves. 
 
 Mary, most compassionate, most tender Mother, 
 inspire our hearts with a deep compassion for the 
 poor souls in Purgatory, so that we may be moved to 
 pray for those suffering children of thine and assist 
 them with all our power ! 
 
 1 speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the 
 greater glory of God ! 
 
 When the Church, on her festive days, offers 
 up prayers and sacrifice, she thereby wishes to re- 
 mind the faithful of the solemnity of the occasion, 
 and to exhort them to draw profit, for their spir- 
 itual welfare, by meditating upon what they wit- 
 ness. 
 
THIRD SERMON. 705 
 
 Therefore, it is but just and proper that we place 
 before our eyes, upon this day, the motives and 
 proofs which show forth the hoHness of the act of 
 praying for the departed souls, and the spiritual 
 blessings that will accrue from the practice to them 
 and to us. 
 
 Now, as to what regards the holiness of the act, it 
 is plain that it is one performed through love of 
 God. It is an act that tends to relieve the souls that 
 have left this world in the state of grace and advance 
 them, somewhat sooner, to, the contemplation of the 
 splendor and beatific vision of God. 
 
 It is, moreover, an act which enables these same 
 souls the sooner to praise God in the presence of 
 the Angels and Saints, for the accomplishment of the 
 work which He began in their creation and finished 
 in their redemption and salvation. 
 
 Who can tell what ardent praise the happy soul 
 offers to God in heaven ! what heartfelt thanks it 
 lavishes upon its Lord when it reaches the realms 
 of everlasting bliss ! how much it rejoices the heart 
 of God to receive all this exaltation and thanks from 
 the lips of a soul forever saved ! 
 
 It is a most holy act, which at the same time 
 rejoices and comforts so exceedingly the heart of 
 Jesus in heaven, and affords the now happy soul 
 an occasion of thanking Him for all that . He has 
 accomplished for it by His life and death on the 
 cross. 
 
 The same may be said of the heart of Mary, 
 
7o6 FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 What a most holy and praiseworthy deed does he 
 not perform who assists the soul of the elect the 
 sooner to receive the affectionate embraces of Mary, 
 to do her homage, and to return her everlasting 
 thanks, in heaven, for her motherly care. 
 
 Yea, the entire Church triumphant feels an in- 
 crease of glory as often as a soul enters into heaven, 
 and thanks that pious soul who was the instrument, 
 in the hands of God, of conducting it the more rap- 
 idly into the celestial Paradise. 
 
 The same, again, may be said of the Church suffer- 
 ing. She, too, is a part of God's kingdom; for in 
 the Church we distinguish the Church militant, the 
 Church suffering, and the Church triumphant. By 
 the interest we display in the cause of the poor 
 souls, we acknowledge them as our brothers and 
 sisters in Christ Jesus. Besides, by this we honor 
 the Church, because we thereby solemnly acknowl- 
 edge that all who are of her fold, in the grace of 
 God, are heirs and heiresses of Heaven. 
 
 It is a holy thought, moreover, to pray for the 
 dead, as our text affirms. And why? Because all 
 that we perform for the help and delivery of the 
 poor souls in Purgatory, are works of Christian 
 faith and piety. Such are prayer, the august sac- 
 rifice of the Mass, the reception of the holy sac- 
 raments,* alms-deeds, and acts of penance and self- 
 denial. 
 
 It is a holy and at the same time a wholesome 
 thought; because it so powerfully excites within us 
 
THIRD SERMON. 707 
 
 the desire to sanctify our own self. This will be evi- 
 dent if we only consider what are the predominant 
 causes of that lukewarmness of ours in the service 
 of God, which, in spite of all the promises, the en- 
 couragements and counsels of the Holy Spirit, still 
 hinders us from advancing with the zeal of the Saints, 
 in the path of Christian perfection. 
 
 The sources of our spiritual misery may particu- 
 larly be traced to an inordinate love for worldly goods 
 and interests, the pamperi7ig of our bodies, and 
 thoughtlessness in the matter of venial sins and imper- 
 fections. 
 
 First, the undue attachment to the things of this 
 world is a serious, a very serious, impediment to piety 
 and zeal, and the foundation of innumerable defects. 
 
 There are, indeed, many reasons, if we were only 
 to seek for them, which indisputably prove to us the 
 vanity and folly of this inordinate yearning after the 
 possession of earthly goods. But nothing places this 
 folly so forcibly before our eyes as the thought of the 
 poor souls in Purgatory, the warning cry of poor 
 souls from the grave: ''Our money is lost; lost 
 to the last farthing. To-day my turn; to-morrow 
 yours!" 
 
 Remember, dear Christians, that we, too, shall once 
 be poor, helpless, and suffering souls in Purgatory; 
 and what shall we carry with us of all our earthly 
 goods and treasures? Not a single farthing! 
 
 Therefore, how important is it not to avoid the pit- 
 falls which the anxious care of goods and chattels, of 
 
yoS FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 gold and possessions, prepares m our path to salva- 
 tion. Even were there no danger of offending God 
 grievously through inordinate worldly cares, still, how 
 great are not the obstacles they oppose to the practice 
 of good works and to our efforts after Christian per- 
 fection. 
 
 Yes, alas, it is often too true, and that in the case 
 of many of the most zealous members of a congrega- 
 tion. What prevents them from actually carrying out 
 the many purposes of amendment which they so 
 often form? It is naught else than their inordinate 
 love and care for the perishable goods of this earth. 
 
 The second source of our tepidity in the service of 
 God, and which gives rise to so many imperfections, 
 is sensuality. 
 
 This is an avenue broad and convenient, by which 
 the Evil Spirit frequently approaches our heart. How 
 often lias he not, in this way, come upon it unawares 
 and vanquished us ? How often have we not yielded 
 to sensuality on the plea of necessity, or of con- 
 forming to others? Yes, the inordinate love of com- 
 fort, of seeking pleasures for the body, is a great 
 check to progress in the spiritual life. Here, also, we 
 have sufficient proof to show how foolish and de- 
 ceitful is the thought that the joys of the world and 
 the pleasures of the senses can replenish us with all 
 good, and satisfy our desires. Blinded men, who 
 are not afraid of Purgatory, provided they can 
 enjoy this transitory life! Yet they shall not be 
 satisfied, because the heart of man is so great 
 
THIRD SERMON. 709 
 
 that Its Lord and Creator alone can satisfy its 
 desires. 
 
 To remind us forcibly of this insane love of earthly 
 comforts and happiness, we need only think of the 
 great, the powerful, and the wealthy, whose bodies 
 are moldering in the dismal grave. Think of the 
 poor souls who, having left their bodies upon earth, 
 are now undergoing intense suffering for the sins 
 they committed by over-indulgence. Oh, how they 
 now lament having surrendered their bodies to sensual 
 delights, and having, on this account, too often shunned 
 carrying the cross of Christ. 
 
 Finally, the third cause of lukewarmness, and the 
 fountain of innumerable imperfections, is the great 
 disregard of ve7iial sins. 
 
 Of course, every Christian knows that a deliberate 
 venial sin offends the majesty of God, and is next 
 to mortal sin, the greatest evil that can befall a 
 soul. Its heinousness can not be more strongly im- 
 pressed on the mind than by considering those ex- 
 cruciating pains, which afflict the poor souls in Purga- 
 tory, in punishment of such an offense. To under- 
 stand their condition, we should know what Purgatory 
 is. It is, as theologians maintain, the same fire that 
 burns and rages so intensely in Hell, and whose glow- 
 ing heat penetrates the poor, sad soul, as no other 
 fire can do. 
 
 What is not the agonizing anguish that fills a 
 mother's breast upon hearing the heart-rending cries 
 of her child as she beholds it rushing forth from 
 
7IO FEAST OF ALL SOULS. 
 
 an adjoining apartment, all in flames ? And yet, what 
 is a mother's heart and her love for her child in com- 
 parison with the heart of God, as Creator. 
 
 Nevertheless, God confines souls, that are His 
 most dear children, and are still in His grace, in 
 Purgatory. There they suffer, not only for hours and 
 days, but for years and years ; and yet He receives 
 them not into His fatherly embrace before they have 
 become spotless in His sight. 
 
 Yes, these souls themselves would not leave Purga- 
 tory until every trace of the least imperfection were 
 washed away. 
 
 We read, in the life of St. Gertrude, that God 
 once allowed her to behold Purgatory. And, lo ! she 
 saw a soul that was almost upon the brink of Purga- 
 tory, and Christ, who, followed by a band of holy 
 virgins, was approaching and stretching forth His 
 hands toward it. Thereupon the soul, which was 
 almost out of Purgatory, drew back, and of its own 
 accord sank again into the fire. ''What doest thou?" 
 said St. Gertrude to the soul. "Dost thou not see 
 that Christ wishes to release thee from thy terrible 
 abode?" To this the soul replied: "O Gertrude, 
 thou beholdest me not as I am. I am not yet im- 
 maculate. There is yet another stain upon me. I 
 will not hasten thus to the arms of Jesus." 
 
 O, children of the Church, what a motive for us 
 to live religiously, to avoid the smallest sin, and to 
 do penance for the past. What a stimulus to prac- 
 tise all virtues and good works, to display our zeal 
 
THIRD SERMON. 71I 
 
 for souls with the diligence and perfection of the 
 Saints, remembering, at the same time, the words 
 of the Holy Ghost: 
 
 ** Blessed are the dead who have slept in the Lord, 
 for their works follow them, and they now repose 
 from their labors in everlasting peace," through Christ 
 Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. — Amen. 
 
INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 
 
 2d 
 
 (( 
 
 3d 
 
 (( 
 
 1st 
 2d 
 
 Sermon, 
 
 3d 
 
 (< 
 
 First Sunday in Advent. 
 
 1st Sermoix. — The state of the sinner — a sleep. 
 
 2d ** The state of the sinner — a dream, 
 
 3d " On the second advent of Christ, as the Judge of mankind. 
 
 Second Sunday in Advent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Christ, the Sun, on the day of conversion, at the hour of death, 
 
 and on the day of judgment. 
 2d ** On the tokens and evidences of a true conversion. 
 
 3d *' On the four different classes of moral reeds among men. 
 
 Tliird Sunday in Advent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Why men don't hear the call of divine grace. 
 
 Why men confess, and nevertheless the rubbish of sin remains 
 
 in the path of their life. 
 Our confession, as followers of Christ, should have the same 
 characteristics v^^hich distinguished the testimony of John the 
 Baptist. 
 
 Fourtli Sunday in Advent. 
 -On the power of holy hope to lead us on the way of salvation. 
 On the necessary preparation to receive the inspirations of grace 
 
 into our hearts. 
 The meaning of the seven Antiphons, by which the Church, in 
 '' the last week of Advent, expresses her longing for the com- 
 ing Redeemer. 
 
 Sunday witliin the Octave of Nativity. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Holy Family as a model of every Christian family. 
 
 2d ♦' On the fulfillment of the prophecy of Simeon in Christ and 
 
 His Church, as a sign which shall be contradicted. 
 3d «' The sword of sorrow piercing the heart of a neglectful Catholic 
 
 mother. 
 
 Sunday within the Octave of Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The greatness of the loss of Jesus by sin. 
 
 2d *' Why many of those who seem to seek Jesus do not find Him. 
 
 3d " What it means to find Jesus after having lost Him. 
 
 Second Sunday after Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — What the words of Mary at Cana mean : ** Whatsoever He shall 
 
 say to you, do ye." 
 2d " What it means to do every thing Jesus demands. 
 
 3d *' 'On the rules how to indulge in amusements. 
 
 Third Sunday after Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the fallacies of a supposed conversion. 
 
 2d " On the most noble and consoling act to place our confidence in 
 
 God's help. 
 (712) 
 
INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 713 
 
 3d Sermon. — That many are called, and only few chosen, ^is the fault of man 
 alone. 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The life of man a struggle and a tempest on the ocean of life. 
 2d " When Jesus seems not to listen to us, He often comes to our 
 
 help in the most unexpected and compassionate manner. 
 3d '* On the danger of despondency. 
 
 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the tricks by which the devil tries to prevent in our hearts 
 
 the growth of the seed of grace. 
 2d *' Why God permits the wicked ones to live among the good ones 
 
 on earth. 
 3d *' Now is the time to choose — to the right, or to the left. 
 
 Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Esteem nothing little which can promote or impede your life 
 
 as a child of God. 
 2d " Our intellect, will, and heart have to be penetrated by faith, just 
 
 as flour is by the leaven. 
 3d " On the hidden" life of Christ reflected in the mysteries of the 
 
 Incarnation, the Eucharist, and His death on the cross. 
 
 Septuagesima Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Envy — a most dangerous and execrable crime. 
 
 2d " Our perdition is the more to be lamented after having been 
 
 a Catholic during life. 
 3d ** How to purchase back the lost time of our life. 
 
 Sexagesima Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the reason why the word of God does not exercise the de- 
 sired influence upon the lives of men. 
 
 2d ** On the reasons from which depends the fructifying influence 
 
 of the word of God. * 
 
 2id «« What is meant by the thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold fruit. 
 
 Quinquagesima Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Christ mocked and put to death by the behavior of the Chris- 
 tian sinner. 
 2d ** The Christian sinner a blind man. 
 
 3d ** The Christian sinner a beggar. 
 
 First Sunday in Lent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the intention ^nd the spirit of the Church in the observance 
 
 of Lent. 
 2d " On the three temptations with which Satan dared to tempt 
 
 Christ. 
 3d ** A glance at the manner in which the Church observes Lent. 
 
 Second Sunday in Lent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — "And His face did shine as the Sun." What meaning has 
 this miracle in reference to our striving after perfection ? 
 
 2d " On the stains of imperfection which deface our daily works. 
 
 3d " On the three tabernacles for our spiritual abode, viz.: the pid- 
 
 pit, the confessional, the altar. 
 
714 INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 
 
 Third Sunday in Lent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the dumb demon inducing man to a sinful silence. 
 
 2d '* On the want of determination in the character of the Chris- 
 
 tians deserting the standard of Christ. 
 
 3d •* ,Why Christ assures us of the relapsing sinner that his last 
 
 state will be worse than his first. 
 
 Fourth Sunday in Lent. 
 
 1st Sermon. — How important it is for us to strengthen our trust in divine 
 
 Providence. 
 2d *' On the disposition of the five thousand people who followed 
 
 Christ in the desert. 
 3d ** Man does often not know what he is doing, but God always 
 
 knows his ways. 
 
 Passion Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — What little right we have to challenge those with whom we 
 
 live and ask : Which of you shall convince me of sin ? 
 2d ** On the difficulty of driving out the .devil of habit. 
 
 3d ** Let us consider the sin of slandering our neighbor. 
 
 Low Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The peace which Christ gives is a true, complete, holy, and 
 
 sanctifying one. 
 2d " The five rays of consolation streaming from the wounds of 
 
 Jesus, which restore peace in our troubled hearts. 
 3d ** In what relation does faith stand to our spiritual life? 
 
 Second Sunday after Easter. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Christ's qualities as Good Shepherd. 
 2d ** On the qualities of the true sheep of Christ. 
 
 3d ** On our obligation to bring the lost and wandering sheep to 
 
 the fold of Christ. 
 
 Third Sunday after Easter. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the change of the sadness of the children of God into joy. 
 2d *' On the change of the joy of the 'children of the world into 
 
 sadness. 
 3d " The sweetness to think of God as of our Father. 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Easter. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the manner in which the Holy Ghost convinces the world 
 
 of sin. 
 2d " On the manner in which the Holy Ghost convinces the world 
 
 of 'its want of justice. 
 3d ** On the meaning of the words of Christ: "The Holy Ghost 
 
 shall convince the world of judgment, because Satan is 
 
 already judged." 
 
 Fifth Sunday after Easter. 
 
 1st Sermon. — What it means to pray in the name of the Father 
 
 2d '* What it means to pray in the name of the Son. 
 
 3d '* What it means to pray in the name of the Holy Ghost. 
 
INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 715 
 
 Sixth Sunday after Easter. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Why does Christ call the Holy Ghost the Spirit of Truth ? 
 
 2d " Why does Christ call the Holy Ghost the Comforter? 
 
 3d " On the qualities of the testimony which Christ expects from us. 
 
 Sunday within the Octaye of Corpus Christi, 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the zeal to hear Mass. 
 
 2d " On the zeal to receive Holy Communion. 
 
 3d " On the zeal to visit the Most Holy Sacrament. 
 
 Third Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the will of God to save every man. 
 2d " On the ways of Christ calling back the strayed sheep. 
 
 3d " Why the angels rejoice with so great an exultation at the con- 
 
 version of the sinner. 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the words of Peter : "At thy word I will let down the net." 
 2d *' On the many reasons which urge us to labor for the salvation 
 
 of souls. 
 3d ** What net is at hand for every one to fish souls ? 
 
 Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — There are Christians that live like the Pharisees. 
 2d ** There are Christians that live worse than the Pharisees. 
 
 3d ** How must we live that our justice may be greater than that of 
 
 the Pharisees? 
 
 Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the compassion of Jesus for every one of us. 
 
 2d " On the reasons which urge us to be, above all, grateful towards 
 
 ' God. 
 
 3d ** Let us consider the seven caskets of virtue which are filled by 
 
 our trust in divine Providence. 
 
 Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the conditions of our life necessary to bring forth fruits for 
 
 eternal life. 
 2d •' On the loss of heaven. 
 
 3d '• On the torments of hell. 
 
 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the cleverness of the children of the world in order to 
 
 reach their purpose. 
 2d " On the cleverness of the children of the world in rectifying 
 
 losses which they suffered. 
 3d " On our obligation to help the poor. 
 
 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Christ weeping over Jerusalem, the emblem of a soul in the 
 
 state of mortal sin. 
 2d '* Christ weeping over Jerusalem, seeing a soul in the state of 
 
 habitual sin. 
 3d ** Christ weeping over Jerusalem, seeing a soul that in spite of 
 
 all He had done and endured, is lost forever. 
 46 
 
71 6 INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 
 
 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the blasphemies of the sinner pronouncing the Lord's 
 
 Prayer. 
 2d " On the hidden life of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament. 
 
 3d " Pride, the great impediment of real penance. 
 
 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the spiritual deafness of the human race. 
 2d " How the spiritual deaf-mutes are cured by Christ. 
 
 3d '* On the spiritual meaning of the words of to-day's gospel: 
 
 "And He spoke right." 
 
 Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The robbed and wounded traveler to Jericho. 
 2d " Confess often, but confess right. 
 
 3d " On the shallowness of the excuses usually brough;: forward 
 
 against frequent confession. 
 
 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the different classes of spiritual lepers. 
 
 2d " On the Catholic Church as the only saving Church. 
 
 3d " Faith, the root of a real holy life. 
 
 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 
 
 1st Sermon. — God as our Master, whom we should serve. 
 2d " What folly it is to serve the world as our master. 
 
 3d " On the contrast between the service of mammon and the service 
 
 of God. 
 
 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the answer of death within us. 
 2d *' As is life — such is death, 
 
 3d •' Let us to-day take a glance on the four pall-bearers of the 
 
 soul dead in sin. 
 
 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 ist Sermon. — The Pharisees watched Christ to slander Him. Let us watch 
 Him present in the Most Holy Sacrament in order to follow 
 Him. 
 
 2d " The dropsical man of to-day's gospel, a figure of a habituated 
 
 drunkard. 
 
 3d ** Let us to-day consider the loathsomeness of pride. 
 
 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the great commandment : to love God above all. 
 2d " What it* means : to love one's neighbor as one's self. 
 
 3d " On the signs of a true love for Jesus. 
 
 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Confession a divine institution. 
 
 2d " On the consoling words of Christ: */Be of good heart, thy sins 
 
 are forgiven thee." 
 3d ** On the teaching of the Church concerning indulgences. 
 
INDEX OF THE SUNDAY SERMONS. 717 
 
 Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The joys of the true Christian on earth, the beginning of his 
 marriage-feast in heaven. 
 
 2d *' On the silence of the reprobate sinner before the judgment- 
 
 seat of God. 
 
 3d *' On the characteristic marks of the elect. 
 
 Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the spiritual profit we would and should derive from bod- 
 ily sickness. 
 
 2d " On our duties of charity towards the sick. 
 
 3d *' On the inexcusable delay of receiving the Sacrament of Ex- 
 
 treme Unction when dangerously sick. 
 
 Twenty-flrst Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the futility of the usual pretexts, not to forgive our enemies. 
 2d . " On the obligation of restitution. 
 
 3d '* On the obligatiou of restitution, when wronging the character 
 
 of others. 
 
 'Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Human respect the great impediment for man to embrace holy 
 
 faith, and to live accordingly. 
 2d *' On the duties of servants in regard to their masters. 
 
 3d ** On the duties we owe to the Church of God, our heavenly 
 
 mother. 
 
 Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the salutary influence of the real presence of Christ in the 
 Eucharist, to be cured from our sinful infirmities. 
 
 2d '* On the tumult which rages in the heart of the sinner. 
 
 3d *' On the consolation we should feel when exposed to the scorn 
 
 and laugh of the impious. 
 
 Twenty -fourth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The cross appearing in the sky a mirror of the adorable attri- 
 butes of divine nature. 
 
 2d " The cross appearing in the sky as a sign of victory for the 
 
 elect. 
 
 3d ** The cross appearing in the sky a sign of eternal separation of 
 
 the wicked from the good. 
 
SERMONS ON THE FEASTS. 
 
 The Immaculate Conception. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. 
 
 2d ** A glance at the image of the Immaculate Conception indicates 
 
 how to preserve baptismal innocence. 
 3d " Mary, the terror of hell. 
 
 Christmas. 
 
 1st Sermon.— On the Gloria of the Holy Angels sung on Christmas night. 
 2d " On the conduct of the shepherds on Christmas night. 
 
 3d " On the words of to-day's gospel : ' ' There was no room for them 
 
 in the inn." 
 
 St. Stephen. 
 
 1st Sermon. — St. Stephen in the midst of torments crying out : I see Jesus ! 
 2d- " On the praise given by Holy Writ to St. Stephen : " He was a 
 
 man full of the Holy Ghost." 
 3d *' On the twelve stars crowning the glory of St. Stephen in 
 
 ven. 
 
 St. John. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Why St. John called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. 
 
 2d " John co-operated with the graces Christ effused into his heart, 
 
 — Judas wasted them. 
 
 3d *• John regarded his neighbor in the light of faith — so he be- 
 
 came the model of brotherly love. 
 
 Feast of the Holy Innocents. 
 
 1st Sermon — What parents have to do in order that their children may pre- 
 serve their innocence. 
 2d ** What hurries youth into the abyss of ruin. 
 
 3d '* On the leading principles of a good education. 
 
 Feast of New Year's Eve. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the characteristic hours which form the general outline of 
 
 our lives, and their good use. 
 2d " How we have to redeem lost time, employ the present time, 
 
 and secure the future. 
 3d •* All that-passes away is not worth trouble ; only that which is 
 
 eternal is of any value. 
 
 Feast of New Year's Day. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The general mode of greeting a Happy New Year applied to 
 
 wishes for our spiritual welfare. 
 2d *' Our life is a pilgrimage to heaven. 
 
 3d '• What the sun is for us in the order of nature, Christ is for us 
 
 in the order of grace. 
 (718) 
 
INDEX OF THE SERMONS ON THE FEASTS. 719 
 
 Vigil of the Feast of the Epiphany. 
 
 Whatsoever God, Who loves us, sees fit to send, we should embrace pa- 
 tiently and joyfully for love of Him. 
 
 Feast of the Epiphany. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Men remain in darkness in the way of salvation, because they 
 
 ^ do not look like the Magi to the star of truth. 
 2d " The royal crown of Christ, and the character of His eternal 
 
 kingdom. 
 3d *' The symbolical meaning of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and 
 
 myrrh. ' 
 
 The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the full meaning of the Holy Name of Jesus. 
 
 2d '' On the strength and power communicated to our souls through 
 
 the Holy Name of Jesus. 
 3d *• On the dignity of the name — a Christian. 
 
 On the Feast of the Purification. 
 
 1st Sermon. — How to prepare for a good death, according to the example 
 
 of Simeon. 
 2d " On the symbolical meaning of the blessed candle-light upon 
 
 its presentation. \ 
 
 3d " On the zealous fulfillment of our duties to the Church of Go'd. 
 
 The Feast of St. Joseph. 
 
 1st Sermon. — St. Joseph, after Mary, the greatest saint in heaven. 
 2d " St. Joseph, after Mary, the most powerful saint in heaven. 
 
 3d " The characteristic virtues of St. Joseph, a model for our prog- 
 
 ress on the way to perfection. 
 
 The Feast of the Annunciation. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The divine sublimity and importance of the message of the 
 angel to Mary. 
 
 2d " On the disposition of our hearts to participate in the fruits of 
 
 the Incarnation. 
 
 3d *' On the triumph of God's infinite mercy achieved by the re- 
 
 demption of mankind. , 
 
 Holy Thursday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Judas, the mirror reflecting the whole hideousness of the 
 malice and abomination of a Christian in the state of sin. 
 
 2d " St. John at the Paschal Table resting on the bosom of our 
 
 Lord. 
 
 3d ** Christ, the Sun of Consolation, in the gloomy night of suffer- 
 
 ing. 
 
 Good Friday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — How the last seven words of Christ on the cross inflamed the 
 fire of zeal in the heart of Mary to save souls. 
 
 2d " An ardent love for Jesus, according to the love of St. John, is 
 
 the channel from which to receive most abundantly the mer- 
 its of redemption. 
 
 3d ** Christ, the Sun, which brightens the dark hours of death. 
 
720 INDEX OF THE SERMONS ON THE FEASTS. 
 
 Easter Sunday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the conditions in which we should celebrate, with the joy 
 
 of Magdalen, Easter — in the Spirit of the Church. 
 2d " St. John at the sepulcher, and the characteristic of his Easter 
 
 3d *' Christ the Sun, in the bliss and light of heaven. 
 
 Easter Monday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — Jesus lives — be confident children of the Church — but you, 
 
 enemies of the Church, tremble. 
 2d " The qualities of the glorified bodies symbolizing the marks of 
 
 a true resurrection from sin. 
 3d *' The Easter Alleluia — a joy of triumph. 
 
 Feast of the Ascension. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The longing of the disciples of Christ on Mount Olivet after 
 Christ. 
 To meet Christ with joy, coming from heaven as our Judge. 
 Christ entering hea ven, and, nevertheless, remaining with us 
 in the Most Holy Sacrament on earth. 
 
 Feast of Pentecost Sunday. 
 
 -On the confirming character of the seven gifts of the Holy 
 
 Ghost. 
 On the hardening character of the diabolical confirmation, and 
 
 its seven awful consequences. 
 C'n the apostolate of instruction — example, prayer, and de- 
 sire. 
 
 Feast of Pentecost Monday. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the distinguishing marks of the Catholic Church to be the 
 
 true Church of Christ. 
 2d " On the symbolical meaning of the parted tongues under 
 
 whose form the Holy Ghost descended. 
 3d " On the dreadful harm done to the Kingdom of God by the 
 
 abuse of the tongue. 
 
 Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Three Divine Persons point out how to begin our heav- 
 enly life here on earth. 
 
 2d *' Let us consider the relation of the Three Divine virtues to the 
 
 Three Divine Persons. 
 
 3d *' How the efficacy of the three divine virtues signalized the 
 
 worship of God in opposition to the flesh, the world, and 
 hell, — signalizing the worship of the devil. 
 
 Feast of Corpus Christi. 
 
 1st Sermon. — On the names given by the Church to the Most Holy Sac- 
 rament. 
 
 2d " The presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist amply recom- 
 
 pensing His visible presence on earth. 
 
 3d ** Explanation of the anthem:' "O sacred banquet," etc. 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 
 " 
 
 1st 
 
 / 
 Sermon, 
 
 2d 
 
 - 
 
 3d 
 
 i( 
 
INDEX OF THE SERMONS ON THE FEASTS. *] 2\ 
 
 Feast of the Sacred Heart. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Sacred Heart is the portal to enter into the sanctuary 
 
 of the personal love of Christ. 
 2d *f To comprehend the total height and depth, and the entire 
 
 breadth and length, of the love of Jesus, we have to look 
 
 into the depths of His pierced and open heart. 
 3d •' On the meaning of the words : Is thy heart right, as my heart 
 
 is with thy heart. 
 
 Feast of SS. Peter and Paul. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The marks of the Church grounded in the prerogatives by 
 
 which Christ invested her Head — the Pope — His Vicar on 
 
 earth. 
 2d " On the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope. 
 
 3d *' The very promises made by the Saviour to Peter — the un- 
 
 shakeable foundation of the Church — are applied to us; 
 
 also the guarantees of our perseverance as true children 
 
 of the Church. 
 
 Feast of the Scapular. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Scapular, through Mary the Mother of Knowledge, a 
 
 . shield of Holy Faith. 
 2d ** The Scapular, through Mary the mother of Holy Hope, a 
 
 shield for her children to strengthen their hope. 
 3d ** The Scapular, through Mary the Mother of Fair Love, a 
 
 shield for her children to increase their love of God. 
 
 Feast of the Assumption. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The "Ave Maria" addressed by the blessed souls to Mary 
 
 entering heaven. 
 2d " Mary ascended to the summit of glory in heaven because she 
 
 descended to the humblest depths of humility on earth. 
 3d ** On the desire to see Mary in heaven. 
 
 Feast of the Natiyity of Mary. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary — the consoling 
 
 dawn of our Redemption. 
 2d " The answer to the question : What Child is this that is born 
 
 to-day ? 
 3d " On the curse through the fall of Adam, and on the blessing 
 
 brought over mankind, through Christ. 
 
 Festival of the Holy Rosary. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The fragrant roses of the joyful Rosary. 
 2d *' The fragrant roses of the sorrowful Rosary. 
 
 3d •' The fragrant roses of the glorious Rosary. 
 
 Feast of the Consecration of a Church. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The consecration or dedication of a Church is a reflex of the 
 love by which Christ loved and sanctified the Church. 
 
 2d *' On the overflowing Redemption of mankind. 
 
 3d '* The structure and disposition of a Church designing the pro- 
 
 prieties of our souls as a living temple of God. 
 
72 2 INDEX OF THE SERMONS ON THE FEASTS 
 
 Feast of the Holy Angels. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The characteristic virtues of our gu-ardian Angel to be en- 
 grafted in our souls. 
 2d " On the traits of our guardian Angel as our guide to heaven. 
 
 3d " On the devotion of the guardian Angels of others. 
 
 Festival of All Saints. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The Canticle of Moses sung in heaven. 
 
 2d " The Saints telling us from heaven which were their principles 
 
 of life on earth. 
 3d " The joy of the Saints in heaven gazed as in a mirror on earth. 
 
 Festival of All Souls. 
 
 1st Sermon. — The longing of the souls in Purgatory after God. 
 2d " The pains of Purgatory cleansing our souls on earth. 
 
 3d *' The prayer for the dead is wholesome for them, and more yet 
 
 for ourselves. 
 
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