How to Persevere
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Sermons
HOW TO PERSEVERE
"And in doing good, let us not fail.”—GAL. vi. 9.
1. How often have we failed! and why?
2. We must not remain failures.
3. We are weak, indeed, but strength is offered us.
4. The secret of perseverance-begin again and again.
How often has not this been our resolution-to be good and not to fail again! But what does our past life show us? Ah! the retrospect is one that may daunt the bravest heart. Our confessions make the revelation. How many, many times have we confessed in sorrow those things, in which we have failed, in spite of all our resolutions to be manful and persevere. The past has been a bitter and repeated disappointment to the best of us.
And why? Because, though we are poor, weak, erring creatures, we have placed too much reliance on ourselves. We thought that if we made up our minds, if we were determined, then we could start afresh and surely persevere. We forgot that we can do nothing, not even invoke the most holy name Jesus, without the grace of God; and for this grace we have humbly and continually to pray. We have failed, because, again, we became negligent in little things, not heeding the warning of Scripture, that he that despiseth little things shall fall by little and little. For instance, by shortening, omitting, or carelessly performing our devotions, we have paved the way for a failure.
Because, again, we have ventured too near a dangerous occasion of sin; dallied with a temptation; forgot the all-seeing eye of God, and to cry out, like Joseph tempted in Egypt, "How can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?" (Gen. xxxix. 9).
But however often we have failed in the past, it is imperative, absolutely necessary for us, for our soul's sake, not to remain failures. We must not dare to give up the attempt to try again. How can we, then, do better for the future, and begin, with some chance of success, to do good and not to fail? First, when we find we have failed, we must begin again at once. It is only wounded pride that makes us lose heart and despond. If we humble ourselves and turn to God, He, in His mercy, will make that very fall a means of a new beginning, and give us fresh strength. A good life is simply a continuous good beginning. God wishes us to be good, therefore He is ready and pleased to help us.
Rising up and beginning again at once after failing, and earnestly turning to God for help, are the means of doing good and not failing. Our Blessed Lord complained, "You will not come to Me that you may have life" (John v. 40). We choose to trust to ourselves, whereas our only hope is from Him. "Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it " (Ps. xxxvi. 5). He will give us life; and what is life in a man, but strength of will, of purpose, and courage to make the endeavour to fulfill that purpose? We need not say that we cannot. That excuse will not hold at the Judgment-that we could not help failing when all the time the grace to will and to do was offered us. The patient Saviour was waiting to be asked to give it us, and complaining that we would not come.
We starve our soul and let it perish of want, and wonder why we fail, and have not the power manfully to persevere. We look for our daily bread to sustain our bodily strength; and can we be excused for the folly of neglecting the daily bread of our souls? Prayer is nourishment for our souls, but a far greater and stronger nourishment is the most holy Eucharist. Our Lord has said, "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." Ah! if we wish really to do good and not to fail, let us have devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We gain strength, we prove our love for our Blessed Lord, and we give Him glory by receiving Holy Communion. Here is the strength that is offered us to enable us to persevere in doing good. We must not fear that we are trespassing on His kindness, as we are not fit or worthy to receive Him. No, we are not worthy: but our Blessed Lord "went about doing good to all," yea, even to those who He knew would fail Him many a time, and perhaps turn against Him. Come to Communion, to frequent, yea, daily Communion, and thus prove that you wish for His sake to have the good heart and strength to do good and not to fail. You will thus please our divine Lord; and be sure He will not fail you, but gladly will He give you the grace and strength that you may not fail Him.
So we see that the secret of perseverance is to begin again and again. And where shall we find the dispositions to wish to begin each day earnestly and zealously better than at the altar-rails? He comes to us there, who inspires us with the desire to be faithful and generous, and He comes to give us the strength to fulfill that desire, that purpose, that longing. Look back gratefully at the countless times that our Saviour has thus helped us to start afresh. Oh! what could have made us tire of Him, and wish to leave Him and abandon Him? Of ourselves we might despair, but never of His goodness. Our time is growing short: let us begin again at once, and pray to persevere. No more to trust to ourselves our good will or our strength-but wholeheartedly to trust to that good Lord, who would have us, for love of Him, to do good and not to fail. Source: Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey
Preparing for Lent (Quinquagessima)
by VP
Posted on Sunday March 03, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
“Thy faith hath made thee whole.”—Luke Chapt 18. verse 12.
"Which of us, dear brethren, has such perfect spiritual health that he does not need to call upon Christ, our all-merciful physician? We are all crippled, blind, and sick. The great remedy by which we must be healed is faith. We see how the blind man in to-day's Gospel was made whole by faith. In another place we read of the woman with an issue of blood made well by faith. And in many other parts of Scripture faith is put down as our great healing remedy.
Thank God, we have received the great blessing of the Catholic faith! But is our faith what it ought to be ? Is it a living faith? If we have a living faith it will show itself by our deeds. Let us examine ourselves today as to our intentions for the coming Lent. How much practical faith shall we find in ourselves? “ Faith without good works is dead.” How can we expect that such faith will make us whole? Are you dreading the approach of this season of penance? Are you calculating the easiest terms upon which you can get through it? Do you look upon it as an evil time, which must be borne with, but out of which you expect to get nothing but discomfort?
If you look upon Lent in this spirit, you are no true follower of Christ and the Cross—your faith is not a living faith. And a dead faith is worse than useless, for such a faith can abide only in the lukewarm, of whom the Holy Ghost speaks thus : “Would thou wert cold or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth." Beware lest your present lack of the Christian spirit of penance be the beginning of your casting forth !
But do not misunderstand and think that we must relish this coming season of penance, in our lower natures, just as a hungry man relishes his dinner. That is not the kind of relish we are bound to have. Although we may have an involuntary horror of penance, if we, nevertheless, appreciate our need of mortification, and are determined to make the most of this opportunity, all the more because we instinctively dread it, we show that God has at least a large part of our hearts.
He wants the whole of them, saying : “My son, give Me thy heart." But if we keep a part for our miserable selves, in His mercy, though grieved, He will not condemn us.
But if any one has not at least a determination to try, he may well tremble at his condition. If he thinks he can safely put off his repentance to his death-bed, he deceives himself. The odds against such a man's being saved are tremendous. Does it not stand to reason that an ordinary man who has spent his life in sin cannot, unless by a miracle of grace, accomplish in a short hour, or perhaps less time, what it has taken good men a lifetime to do? The dying sinner may persuade the priest that he has repented, but is it not because he has deceived himself in his fear of death? If we could test his repentance by offering him ten years more of life, would he persevere in his good intentions? If he has resolved not to sin any more for the sole reason that he has no chance left him for doing so, his repentance is a sham, and all the absolutions of all the priests that have ever lived cannot save his soul. " As a man lives, so shall he die." Is it not easier to repent now, while you are able, than upon your death-bed, when disease and sin have almost robbed you of reason ?
Have a living faith which will show itself by deeds! And let the prayer of the blind man be the prayer of each of us, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me.” And let us not cease until Jesus answers us, “Thy faith hath made thee whole."
Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses for every Sundays of the Year by the Priests of the Congregation of Saint Paul 1893
MIRACLES.
by VP
Posted on Sunday January 14, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
James Tissot: Les noces de Cana (The Marriage at Cana)
"As the Gospel of to-day relates one of the miracles our Lord performed, I am led to say a few words about miracles as used in evidence of the truth of the Divine doctrine of Jesus Christ. Certainly our Lord appealed to miracles sometimes as proof that He had Divine power, but that was by no means the rule. The miracle of changing water into wine was performed for no such purpose. On other occasions He bade those whom He healed to say nothing about it. And St. Matthew expressly said that the reason why He wrought not many miracles among those who knew Him best was because of their unbelief: the very reason we would think why He ought to have worked miracles before their eyes so as to oblige them to believe in Him. And St. John also intimates that our Lord did not place much reliance upon belief that only depended upon miracles; for he says, "Many believed, seeing the signs that He did. But Jesus did not trust Himself to them, for He knew what was in man." If we read the Gospels attentively we shall see that it was true then, as it has been all through the history of Christianity, that the triumph of His Divine truth has not been due to miracles, but rather in spite of them. If there was then, or has been since, anything which the world hates to learn of, and obstinately refuses to credit, it is a miracle.
"The idea of God or any messenger from God pretending to do things a man cannot understand! Don't I know nature well enough to know that even if God made it He cannot change it? To believe in miracles I would have to acknowledge God knows what I cannot know." That is the way men think, if they do not speak out their thoughts quite so plainly. There have always been miracles, plenty of them, enough to convert the whole world to Christianity if that were the means intended by Almighty God to bring about conviction and conversion. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still; and miracles convince men against their will - the will of their proud, self-conceited, rebellious heart. They see them plainly as you and I do, but they won't believe them. The triumph of our Lord's holy religion, therefore, has not been due to miracles of healing. These are the things unbelievers hate, as they do every other sign of Christ that demands their submission. But what conquers the world despite itself is Love and the sacrifices that it makes. They cannot stand out against the sight of our Lord's love, even unto death, nor gaze upon the love of those who through all generations have taken His place, and spoken, prayed, preached, suffered, and died in His name, without being won to belief.
So, my brethren, if you
are anxious to convert anybody to our holy faith, never mind about
miracles; and do not be astonished if they poohpooh arguments as strong
as the reasoning of St. Thomas. Go and show them a little of the
unselfish, charitable, self-denying, suffering love of Christ. Let them
see how sweet-spoken and kind you are to the poor, how patient you are
in affliction, how nobly you conquer your passions for God's love, and
resist temptations to drink and steal and gratify desires of the flesh.
Did I say never mind about miracles? I made a mistake. For if you do
what I have just told you, I am inclined to think some of you will be
doing as great a miracle as there is on record. You that are stingy,
give freely. You that dislike the poor, go and serve them. You that are complaining of God's
providence, submit to your lot like a man and a Christian. You that are a
drunkard, take the pledge and keep it. You that are living like a
beast, get honorably married and live chaste. You that have hands
getting hot for hell with ill-gotten money, make full restitution. These
will be miracles - miracles of grace; and against such miracles unbelief
never will have any argument, or power to resist either conviction or
conversion. And then you can say to the unbeliever: If you will not
believe in the Catholic religion for its truth's sake, look at me, and
believe it for the work it can do. It can bring a sinner back to God,
and that is a greater miracle than raising a dead man to life."
Source: Five-minute Sermons for Low Mass, All Sundays of the Year, by Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul. 1893
The Unworthy Priest
by VP
Posted on Saturday August 26, 2023 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"You will find indeed many an unworthy priest who will assure you that he
gives no scandal; but he is greatly mistaken. “Murder will out,” and
the sins of the priest cannot long remain hidden.
Does the unworthy priest love solitude? Does he love study? Do you find
him often in church praying before the Blessed Sacrament? Do you find
him often in the confessional? Why is he so often absent when the
messenger comes for a sick call? Why does he come home so late at night?
Why does he visit that house so often? Why does that light burn so late
in his room? Is he praying, or perhaps card-playing? Why does he sleep
so long in the morning instead of being in the confessional? Why does he
omit Mass so often on week days? Why is he so often nervous and ill-humored? Is he not a little too free and confidential towards certain
persons?
Look at the church, look at the altar, look at the vestments, look at
the sacred vessels – the chalice and ciborium – is everything clean,
decent and orderly? Why does he not begin Mass punctually on Sundays and
holy days of obligation? Why does he so often fail to keep his promises
and thereby disappoint the people? See how he hurries through Mass.
How does he observe the rubrics? Is he attentive and devout? Why is he
so eager for money, and so indifferent when there is question of saving a
soul? (...)
Why does he speak against the Pope, the bishop, and religious? Why does
he jest about holy things? Why does he not show more reverence in
church, and when he carries the Blessed Sacrament to the sick?
Why does he not show more self respect, more priestly dignity and
decorum in society, at fairs, excursions, picnics, and so on? Why does
he make use of words of double meaning, unbecoming hints and jests? Why
does he allow young persons to read dangerous story papers, magazines,
and novels? (…)
These are some of the questions that the people ask; these are some of
the thoughts that flit through their minds. The unworthy priest may try
his best to hid his crimes; but the cloak of hypocrisy cannot hide them
forever. The inner corruption of his heart betrays itself at least at
times. But how terrible is the scandal when the sins of the priest are
no longer a matter of doubt or uncertainty, but a sad and shameful
reality. Who can sum up all the harm that is done by even one bad
priest? (…)
How often must a good priest suffer for the misdeeds of his
predecessors! He may be as generous and disinterested as St. Paul; still
some will accuse him of avarice, of doing everything for money. (…) He
may be reserved and dignified and pure as an angel, yet wicked tongues
will not be wanting to whisper unjust suspicions. (…)
The higher the source of the torrent is, the more rapidly does it rush
into the valley, and the more wide spread is the destruction which it
causes. O God! Who can calculate all the harm that is done, all the sins
that are committed, all the souls that are ruined on account of the
scandalous life of one unworthy priest! Like a mountain torrent, the
scandal rushes on, spreading death and desolation on every side. It
rushes on like a poison flood, bearing death to generations yet unborn;
aye, it goes on in its work of destruction even till the day of doom;
its evil consequences go even beyond the tomb; they live on forever in
hell.
O God! How many yet unborn will rise up on the judgment day against the
bad priest and curse him! If a petty shrub is uprooted and falls, it
harms only itself; but if a might cedar falls, it drags down in its
deadly embrace whatever stands within its reach!
Woe to the world, when the “Salt of the earth” becomes the corrupter of innocence.
Woe to the world when the “Light of the world” becomes an "ignis fatuus",
a wandering light that leads unwary souls into the foul, noisome marsh of sin.
Woe to the world when the shepherd of the flock has become a ravenous wolf!
The unworthy priest loses the friendship of God; he loses the beauty of
his soul; he loses the merit of all his good works. As long as he
remains in sin, his arm is withered; he can merit nothing for heaven.
The unworthy priest is the slave of sin, the slave of the devil; he
heaps sin upon sin, sacrilege upon sacrilege. By his wicked life he
gives scandal and ruins innocent souls.
All this is sad and terrible enough; but the most terrible of all the
consequences of sin is that the unworthy priest becomes hardened; he is
at last struck with spiritual blindness; his conversion becomes almost
an impossibility; and finally he gives way to despair, like another
Judas."
Source: Rev. Fr. Michael Muller, C.SS.R. The Catholic Priesthood, 1885.
Catechism on the Holy Spirit (St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars)
by VP
Posted on Sunday May 28, 2023 at 01:00AM in Sermons
Catechism on the Holy Spirit (St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars):
"O my children, how beautiful it is! The Father is our Creator, the Son is our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost is our Guide. . .
Man by himself is nothing, but with the Holy Spirit he is very great. Man is all earthly, and all animal; nothing but the Holy Spirit can elevate his mind, and raise it on high. Why were the saints so detached from the earth? Because they let themselves he led by the Holy Spirit. Those who are led by the Holy Spirit have true ideas; that is the reason that so many ignorant people are wiser than the learned. When we are led by a God of strength and light, we cannot go astray.
The Holy Spirit is light and strength. He teaches us to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and between good and evil. Like glasses that magnify objects, the Holy Spirit shows us good and evil on a large scale. With the Holy Spirit we see every thing in its true proportions; we see the greatness of the least actions done for God, and the greatness of the least faults. As a watchmaker with his glasses distinguishes the most minute wheels of a watch, so we, with the light of the Holy Ghost, distinguish all the details of our poor life. Then the smallest imperfections appear very great, the least sins inspire us with horror. That is the reason why the most Holy Virgin never sinned. The Holy Ghost made her understand the hideousness of sin; she shuddered with terror at the least fault.
Those who have the Holy Spirit cannot endure themselves, so well do they know their poor misery. The proud are those who have not the Holy Spirit.
Worldly people have not the Holy Spirit, or if they have, it is only for a moment. does not remain with them; the noise of the world drives Him away. A Christian who is led by the Holy Spirit has no difficulty in leaving the goods of this world, to run after those of heaven; he knows the difference between them. The eyes of the world see no farther than this life, as mine see no farther than this wall when the church-door is shut. The eyes of the Christian see deep into eternity. To the man who gives himself up to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, there seems to be no world; to the world there seems to be no God. . . . We must therefore find out by whom we are led. If it is not by the Holy Ghost, we labour in vain, there is no substance nor savour in any thing we do. If it is by the Holy Ghost, we taste a delicious sweetness;...is enough to make us die of pleasure!
Those who are led by the Holy Spirit experience all sorts of happiness in themselves, while bad Christians roll themselves on thorns and flints.
A soul in which the Holy Spirit dwells is never weary in the presence of God; his heart gives forth a breath of love.
Without the Holy Ghost we are like the stones on the road. . . . Take in one hand a sponge full of water, and in the other a little pebble; press them equally. Nothing will come out of the pebble, but out of the sponge will come abundance of water. The sponge is the soul filled with the Holy Spirit, and the stone is the cold and hard heart which is not inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
A soul that possesses the Holy Spirit tastes such sweetness in prayer, that she finds the time always too short; she never loses the holy presence of God. Such a heart, before our good Saviour in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, is a bunch of grapes under the wine press.
The Holy Spirit forms thoughts and suggests words in the hearts of the just. . . . Those who have the Holy Spirit produce nothing bad: all the fruits of the Holy Spirit are good.
Without the Holy Spirit all is cold; therefore, when we feel we are losing our fervour, we must instantly make a novena to the Holy Spirit to ask for faith and love. . . . See, when we have made a retreat or a jubilee, we are full of good desires: these good desires are the breath of the Holy Ghost, which has passed over our souls, and has renewed every thing, like the warm wind which melts the ice and brings back the spring... You who are not great saints, you still have many moments when you taste the sweetness of prayer and of the presence of God: these are visits of the Holy Spirit. When we have the Holy Spirit, the heart expands - bathes itself in divine love. A fish never complains of having too much water, neither does a good Christian ever complain of being too long with the good God. There are some people who find religion wearisome, and it is because they have not the Holy Spirit.
If the damned were asked, Why are you in hell? they would answer, For having resisted the Holy Spirit. And if the saints were asked, Why are you in heaven? they would answer, For having listened to the Holy Spirit. When good thoughts come into our minds, it is the Holy Spirit who is visiting us.
The Holy Spirit is a power. The Holy Spirit supported St. Simeon on his column; He sustained the martyrs. Without the Holy Spirit, the martyrs would have fallen like the leaves from the trees. When the fires were lighted under them, the Holy Spirit extinguished the heat of the fire by the heat of divine love.
The good God, in sending us the Holy Spirit, has treated us like a great king who should send his minister to guide one of his subjects, saying, "You will accompany this man every where, and you will bring him back to me safe and sound." How beautiful it is, my children, to be accompanied by the Holy Spirit! He is indeed a good Guide; and to think that there are some who will not follow Him!
The Holy Spirit is like a man with a carriage and horse, who should want to take us to Paris. We should only have to say 'yes,' and to get into it. It is indeed an easy matter to say yes! .. Well, the Holy Spirit wants to take us to heaven; we have only to say 'yes,' and to let Him take us there.
The Holy Spirit is like a gardener cultivating our souls. . . . The Holy Spirit is our servant.
There is a gun; well, you load it, but some one must fire it and make it go off... In the same way, we have in ourselves the power of doing good; . . . when the Holy Spirit gives the impulse, good works are produced.
The Holy Spirit reposes in just souls like the dove in her nest. He brings out good desires in a pure soul, as the dove hatches her young ones.
The Holy Spirit leads us as a mother leads by the hand her child of two years old, . . as a person who can see leads one who is blind.
The Sacraments which our Lord instituted would not have saved us without the Holy Spirit. Even the Death of our Lord would have been useless to us without Him. Therefore our Lord said to His Apostles, "It is good for you that I should go away; for if I did not go, the Consoler would not come."...The descent of the Holy Ghost was required, to render fruitful that harvest of graces. It is like a grain of wheat - you cast it into the ground; yes, but it must have sun and rain to make it grow and come into ear.
We should say every morning, " O God, send me Thy Spirit, to teach me what I am and what Thou art."
Source: The Spirit of the Cure of Ars, by Alfred Monnin 1865
Placing Scandals (Sexagessima)
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 12, 2023 at 12:00AM in Sermons
“And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it choked it."-St. Luke viii. 7.
We, my dear brethren, have received the seed of the Divine word, and we have kept it: we have never fallen away from the true faith as it is in Christ and His Church, and with God's help we never shall. Our steadfastness in the faith is our greatest glory in the sight of heaven and of earth, and whatever our shortcomings may be, we are at least free from the awful crime of apostasy, and this worst of all reproaches can never be laid to our charge. The good soil that produces a hundred fold is ours; but alas! the thorny soil is ours also, and our faith though firmly rooted is often choked by the pernicious jungle growing up around us, in which we suffer ourselves to become entangled.
How many a glorious promise of supernatural faith and virtue in those around us becomes utterly blighted by the thorns of the world's ways and temptations, because no proper care is taken to resist them and stamp them out! The thorny growths that stifle our faith and render it worthless in the sight of God are many indeed, but there is one in particular that is more destructive than all the rest beside. I need hardly name it to you, for you know it but too well—the deadly Upas-tree of intemperance- that casts its withering shade over our hearts and homes and altars! Is there a single person here this morning that does not know of more than one generous soul in whom every fruitful germ of faith and hope and charity, and every sentiment of true Christian manhood and womanhood, have not been blighted by this prevalent passion ? Call the roll of your nearest friends and acquaintances, and how many will you not find absent from the ranks of Christian life, duty, and fidelity through this one vice? There is a skeleton in every closet, and the saloon-keepers have taken the flesh off its bones. This more than anything else chokes the divine seed of the word amongst us; this nullifies the power of our faith; this neutralizes the effects of the Sacraments; this scandalizes our holy religion and makes our consecrated ministry vain; for this is the evil root from whence springs the foul crop of lusts and blasphemies, and crimes and contentions, that stifle every virtue of the Christian life and weigh down the Church of the living God.
Could we but cast out this baneful blight of intemperance from amongst us, our glorious faith would appear in all its strength and beauty, and yield its hundred fold. If it were not for the gross and scandalous lives that so many so-called Catholics lead, nothing could stop the onward march of our faith. This is the one objection raised against us that we cannot satisfactorily meet.
We know very well that ours is the only true religion, and that it supplies every help that we need to enable us to overcome our passions and to lead upright lives. But the world at large knows little or nothing of our faith; it only looks at the dark side of our every-day conduct, and scornfully asks: "Where is the influence of the Catholic religion on the venal politician, the low liquor-seller, the drunken reveler, the meretricious streetwalker, the abominable fathers and mothers who make their homes a hell upon earth, and drive their unfortunate children to destruction ? And what reply can we make? We cannot deny that many who claim to profess our faith are an utter disgrace to it, and a rock of scandal to the world. They, of course, have shaken off all sense of obligation to their religion and its teachings, and have no more conception of religious duty than the cow or the horse. Theirs is a purely animal existence, they live only for the gratification of their lower nature, and we disclaim all responsibility for them. What responsibility has the Catholic Church for those who seldom or ever darken its doors, who never approach its Sacraments, who spend their Saturday nights in the saloons, and their Sunday mornings in drunken slumber? What responsibility has the Church for the recreant rowdies who hang around the corner grog-shops, and the fallen flirts who frequent the sidewalks? They may have Catholic names, but that is the only evidence of their Catholicity. The thorns of dissipation and sensuality and sin of every kind have choked the seed of truth in their hearts, and they are outside the soul of the Church, though they may still claim to belong to its visible pale. But take our consistent Catholics, men and women who are in touch with the spirit of their faith and honestly endeavor to live up to its teachings. Are they not in very truth the salt of the earth? and does not the divine seed planted in their souls produce a hundred fold?"
Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses for every Sundays of the Year by the Priests of the Congregation of Saint Paul 1893
The Revolt of the Intellect Against God by Cardinal Manning
by VP
Posted on Monday November 28, 2022 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"But yet the Son of Man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, faith on earth? St. Luke, 28.8.
By this question our Divine Lord intends us to understand that, when He comes, He shall find many who do not believe, many who have fallen from the faith. It foretells that there shall be apostasies; and if apostasies, therefore that He shall still find the truth; but He will find also those that have fallen from it. And this is what the Holy Ghost, speaking by the Apostle, has distinctly prophesied. St. Paul says, "Now the Spirit manifestly saith that, in the last times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils." And again, St. John says, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heart that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last hour." The meaning therefore of our Lord is this: not that when He comes He will not find the Church He founded in all the plenitude of its power, and the faith He revealed in all the fullness of its doctrine. "The city seated upon the hill cannot be hid." The Holy Catholic Church is the "light of the world," and so shall be to the end. It can never be separated from its Divine Head in heaven. The Spirit of Truth, who came on the day of Pentecost, according to our Divine Lord's promise, will abide with it forever: therefore when the Son of God shall come at the end of the world, there shall be His Church as in the beginning, in the amplitude of its Divine authority, in the fullness of its Divine faith, and the immutability of its teaching. He will find then the light shining in vain in the midst of many who will be willingly blind; the teacher in the midst of multitudes, of whom many will be willingly deaf: they will have eyes, and see not; and ears, and hear not; and hearts that will not understand. As it was at His first coming, so shall it be at His second. This, then is the plain meaning of our Lord's words."
Source: Catholic Oratory: A Compilation of Sacred and Sublime Orations by Card. James Gibbons
Sacrifice and Oblation
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 18, 2022 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"Those who are familiar with the Latin Missal, or those who will take the trouble to examine it, will see at once that the Mass consists mainly of two parts, the first a preparation for and leading up to the second. In the former we have the prayers and supplication with passages of Holy Scripture from the Epistles and Gospels, selected by the Church as appropriate to the feast or Sunday upon which they are read. In this part also we have the ceremonial offices arranged for the offering of the bread and wine prepared for the Christian Sacrifice, accompanied by prayers expressing the idea of sacrifice and oblation.0Thus, for example, at the offering of the bread the priest says these words:" Receive, O Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God, this spotless Host," etc...When he offers the chalice with the wine and water in it he says:"We offer up to Thee, O Lord, the chalice of Salvation, beseeching Thee of Thy mercy that our sacrifice may ascend with an odor of sweetness in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty," Etc.; and he adds:"May the Sacrifice we this day offer up be well-pleasing to Thee." Finally, bowing down before the altar, the priest says: "Receive, O Holy Trinity, this oblation offered up by us to Thee," etc. and, turning to those who are assisting, he says: "Brethren, pray that this sacrifice, which is both mine and yours, may be well-pleasing to God the Father Almighty." To this the people through the server reply: " May the Lord receive this sacrifice at your hands," etc.
Everyone who will carefully examine these prayers must see that the main idea contained in all is that of sacrifice and oblation. In the same way the prayer called the Secret, which follows upon the offering of the bread and wine for the Sacrifice, though it varies with the feast celebrated, practically always contains some mention of the oblation or victim to be offered. Thus on this, the second Sunday of Advent, the Secret prayer contains these words: "Be appeased, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by our prayers and by the sacred Victim we humbly offer," etc.
In the second part of the Holy Mass we shall find, if we use our Missals, or Mass books, that there is one unchanging ritual formula called the "Canon", during which the words of Consecration are pronounced by the priest over the bread and wine. By the efficacy of these words, as we Catholics, believe, the substance of the bread and wine are changed by God's power into the Body and Blood of Christ; and in this Sacred Canon the Christian sacrifice is perfected. Naturally we should expect to find in this solemn part of the Mass the same idea of sacrifice and oblation clearly expressed. And so it is. The priest begs Almighty God "to receive and to bless these gifts, these oblations, these holy and spotless hosts, which we offer up the Thee;" and "to be appeased by this oblation which we offer." Again he prays: "Vouchsafe to bless this same oblation, to take it for Thy very own...so that on our behalf it may be made into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ," etc. To this he adds: "Wherefore we offer up the thine excellent Majesty... a Victim which is pure, a Victim which is holy, a Victim which is stainless, the holy Bread of like everlasting and the Cup of Eternal salvation." then after the words of Consecration, bowing down before the sacred species on the altar, the celebrant says: "Humble we beseech Thee, Almighty God, to command that by the hands of Thy holy Angel, this our Sacrifice be uplifted to thine altar on high."
Day 39. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Catechism on Salvation
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 05, 2022 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"There are many Christians who do not even know why they are in the world.
"Oh my God, why hast Thou sent me into the world?" "To save your soul. " "And why dost Thou wish me to be saved?" "Because I love you. "
The good God has created us and sent us into the world because He loves us; He wishes to save us because He loves us.
To be saved, we must know, love and serve God. Oh, what a beautiful life! How good, how great a thing it is to know, to love and serve God! We have nothing else to do in this world. All that we do besides is lost time. We must act only for God, and put our works into His hands. We should say, on awaking, "I desire to do everything today for Thee, O my God! I will submit to all that Thou shalt send me, as coming from Thee. I offer myself as a sacrifice to Thee But, O God, I can do nothing without Thee. Do Thou help me!"
Oh, how bitterly shall we regret at the hour of death the time we have given to pleasures, to useless conversations, to repose, instead of having employed it in mortification, in prayer, in good works, in thinking of our poor misery, in weeping over our poor sins; then we shall see that we have done nothing for Heaven. Oh, my children, how sad it is! Three-quarters of those who are Christians labor for nothing but to satisfy this body, which will soon be buried and corrupted, while they do not give a thought to their poor soul, which must be happy or miserable for all eternity. They have neither sense nor reason: it makes one tremble.
Look at that man, who is so active and restless, who makes a
noise in the world, who wants to govern everybody, who thinks himself of
consequence, who seems as if he would like to say to the sun, "Go away,
and let me enlighten the world instead of you." Some day this proud
man will be reduced at the utmost to a little handful of dust, which
will be swept away from river to river, from Saone* to Saone, and at last
into the sea.(*French river)
See my children, I often think that we are like those little heaps of sand that the wind raises on the road, which whirl round for a moment, and are scattered directly. . . . We have brothers and sisters who are dead. Well, they are reduced to that little handful of dust of which I was speaking. Worldly people say, it is too difficult to save one's soul. Yet nothing is easier. To observe the Commandments of God and the Church, and to avoid the seven capital sins; or if you like to put it so, to do good and avoid evil: that is all. Good Christians, who labor to save their souls and to work out their salvation, are always happy and contented; they enjoy beforehand the happiness of Heaven: they will be happy for all eternity. While bad Christians, who lose their souls, are always to be pitied; they murmur, they are sad, they are as miserable as stones; and they will be so for all eternity. See what a difference!
This is a good rule of conduct, to do nothing but what we can offer to the good God. Now, we cannot offer to Him slanders, calumnies, injustice, anger, blasphemy, impurity, theaters, dancing; yet that is all that people do in the world. Speaking of dances, St. Francis of Sales used to say that "they were like mushrooms, the best were good for nothing. " Mothers are apt to say indeed, "Oh, I watch over my daughters." They watch over their attire, but they cannot watch over their hearts. Those who have dances in their houses load themselves with a terrible responsibility before God; they are answerable for all the evil that is done - for the bad thoughts, the slanders, the jealousies, the hatred, the revenge. . . . Ah, if they well understood this responsibility they would never have any dances. Just like those who make bad pictures and statues, or write bad books, they will have to answer for all the harm that these things will do during all the time they last. . . . Oh that makes one tremble!
See, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away. Let us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well. We have begun badly; let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in Heaven"
Source: The Blessed Curé of Ars in His Catechetical Instructions (1951)
Day 21. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: On Impurity
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 05, 2022 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"That we may understand how horrible and detestable is this sin, which the demons make us commit, but which they do not commit themselves, we must consider what a Christian is... A Christian, created in the image of God, redeemed by the Blood of a God! a Christian, the child of God, the brother of a God, the heir of a God! a Christian, the object of the complacency of the Three Divine Persons! a Christian, whose body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; that is what sin dishonors.
We are created to reign one day in heaven, and if we have the misfortune to commit this sin, we become the den of the devils. Our Lord said that nothing impure should enter into His kingdom. Indeed, how could a souls that has rolled itself in this filth go to appear before so pure and so holy a God?
We are all like little mirrors, in which God contemplates Himself. How can you expect that God should recognize His likeness in an impure soul?
There are some souls so dead, so rotten, that they lie in their defilement without perceiving it, and can no longer clear themselves from it: everything leads them to evil, every thing reminds them of evil, even the most holy things; they always have these abominations before their eyes; like the unclean animal that is accustomed to live in filth, that is happy in it, that rolls itself and goes to sleep in it, that grunts in the mud; these persons are an object of horror in the eyes of God and of the Holy angels.
See, my children: our Lord was crowned with thorns to expiate our sins of pride; but for this accursed sin, He was scourged and torn to pieces, since He said Himself that after His flagellation all His bones might be counted.
O my children, if there were not some pure souls here and there, to make amends to the good God, and disarm His justice, you would see how we should be punished! For now this crime is common in the world, that it is enough to make on tremble. One may say, my children, that hell vomits forth its abominations upon the earth, as the chimney of the steam-engine vomit forth smoke.
The Devil does all he can to defile our soul, and yet our soul is everything;... our body is only a heap of corruption: go to the cemetery to see what you love, when you love your body.
As I have often told you, there is nothing so vile as the impure soul. There was once a saint who had asked the good God to show him one; and he saw that poor soul like a dead beast that has been dragged through the streets in the hot sun for a week.
By only looking at a person, we know if he is pure. His eyes have an air of candor and modesty which leads you to the good God. Some people, on the contrary, look quite inflamed with passion...Satan places himself in their eyes to make others fall and to lead them to evil.
Those who have lost their purity are like a piece of cloth stained with oil; you may wash it and dry it, and the stain always appears again: so it requires a miracle to cleanse the impure soul."
Source: The Spirit of the Cure d'Ars by Abbe Monnin p.99, 1865
