/ / ^■— >if >-• ■ fj-^^ vi^ *.st i&:i^ ^ ' ^ OF STANDARD CATHOLIC BOOKS PUBLISHED BT F. LUCAS, Jr. JVo. 138 Market street, Baltimore. #= =# STANDARD CATHOLIC BOOKS FUBU3HE0 BT F. LUCAS, Jr. JVo. 138 Market street , Baltimore, THE HOLY BIBLE, in quarto, translated from the Latin vul- gate, diligently compared with the Hebrew and Greek editions; with references and an historical and chronological index, by the Right Rev. Dr. Challoner. This valuable work is embellished with 11 elegant engravings, on the following subjects: 1. Frontispiece. 2. A view of the Cathedral, and a fac simile of the appro- bation of the Most Rev. Archbishop. 3. The Tower of Babel. 4. Moses at the Burning Bush. 5. The Temptation of Job. 6. The Vision of Daniel. 7. The Wise Men offering Presents. 8. Christ before the Doctors. 9. Little Children brought to Christ. '' 10. Christ giving Peter the Keys. 11. Judaa taking the price of Blood. In plain binding, $7,50. T/ie above may be had in calf, extra, morocco, or russia binding. Approbation of the Most Reverend Archbishop of Baltimore. This stereotype edition of the Doway Bible, is published by Fielding Lucas, Jr. Baltimore, with our entire approbation, and we do hereby recommend it as a genuine copy of the excellent translation of the Holy Scriptures, long since sanctioned by the Prelates of America and Europe. {Seal) t JAMES, Archbishop of Baltimore. E. DAMPHOUX, Secretary. Another edition beautifully printed on a superfine wove royal paper, embellished in the same manner as the preceding, neatly bound, $10; also in fine, super, and super extra binding, from $12 to |20 per copy. ^^Tliis edition is the handsomest that has ever been printed in Viit (ountry. 1 4 Standard Catholic Books THE NEW TESTAMENT, translated from the latin vulgate, diligently compared with the original Greek, 32 mo., plain binding, 50 cts ^Inother edition on superfine paper, . . . . 62i Another edition beautifully pnnted on superfine wove Post, with large margins, . . . . - . . . 87i S^The above may be had in calf, extra, raorocco,(with or with- out tuck,) and russia binding. Another edition, 12 mo. plain binding, 50 cts. do do do half binding, 37 i THE HISTORY OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, interspersed with moral and instructive reflections, chiefly taken from the Holy Fathers. — By J. Reeve. 8vo,, plain binding, $1.25. In the historical account, which is here given of the Inspired Writings, the thread of the narration is carefully connected, and carried on with as few interruptions as the nature of the work will allow. Facts are related as they occur, according to the order of time, in which they happened, and not accor- ding to the arrangement of books, as they stand in tiie common Bible. From the creation of the world to the coming of our blessed Saviour, the best chro- nologists reckon four thousand years, which they divide into six unequal periods, called ages. This computation of years is carefully marked at the head of each paragraph, and this division of time into ages is regularly observed, as a relief to the reader's memory, in helping him to fix and retain the date of memorable events. A HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, from its establishment to the Reformation. — By the Rev. C. C. Pise, A. M. 5 vols. 8 vo. boards, $10. "The Rev. author places the prominent and leading facts in such order as to give to general readers a sufficient knowledge of the occurrences regarding religion: this is done in a very clear, simple, and pleasing style: there is no attempt at decoration, whicii would be altogether out of place in an historical work: perspicuity and orderly method, are the essential characteristics of the historian : and the author of this work appears to us, to have fully attain- ed it. As far as we could judge by some paragraphs which we have read, the style is uniformly and pleasingly sustained. The index is accurately and judiciously compiled ; so that the references are simple and abundant,*** It is a work which ought to be generally read.'' — U. S. Catholic Mtscellany. "To the man of faith, and to the lover of truth, the history of the Christian Church is a treasure — in it we find the most solid, the most consoling, and the most useful truths. He beholds Christianity in its native grandeur and subli- mity, and is enabled to separate it from the drp|is with which ignorance and superstition have ol\en disfigured it. In the wofk before us, the'writer shews extensive research, unwearied industry, and enlightened views — his style is good, and entirely free from meretricious ornament — indeed we may safely say, that he has done justice to his own abilities and learning, as well as to the victorious merits of his subject. We have remarked with particular satisfac- tion, that without entering into the field of controversy, he has exhibited to his Protestant as well as to his Catholic readers, a faithful portrait of the Ca- tholic religion, which is calculated tn remove the prejudices of the former, and whicli is highly gratifying to the feelings of the latter. With Mr. Pise's ar- rangement we are well pleased — it is distinct — it enables the reader to master the most difficult subject of dates. The general subject is exhibited in a manner well calculated to establish it permanently in the memory — it will lay a long and lasting foundation for a knowledge of Church History. Truth'-Teller, Published by F. Lucas, Jr. 5 A COMPENDIOUS ABSTRACT OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, from its foundation to the eighteenth century; illustrated with remarkable events and occurrences, and a brief detail of the eminent virtues and apostolic labours of the Holy Fathers, &c. — By the Rev. Wm. Gahan, O. S. A. 12 ino., plain binding, f 1. "All the facts related in this compendious abstract of Church History, have been faithfully taken from the most unriuestionable authors; and are founded upon original monuments, and authentic records." — Preface. INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PRAYERS AND CEREMONIES OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. Translated from the French of M. Cochin, and arranged for each Sunday throughout the year. 1 vol. royal 12 mo. cloth backs, $1. "These instructions appear well adapted to strengthen the faith, and ani- mate the piety of the faithful; as well as to inspire those sentiments of vene- ration, gratitude and love, with which all should be penetrated who assist at the adorable sacrifice, where the Son of God himself, is at once tlie priest and the victim." — .Approbation of the Sorbomic. THE CATHOLIC MANUAL, containing a selection of prayers and devotional exercises, for the use of Christians in every state of life; embellished with four beautiful engravings. 18 mo., plain binding, ^l. This popular Manual was prepared by the direction, and under the super- intendence of the late Archbishop Marechal. It is printed with accuracy and elegance, and embellished with four engravings, among which is one giving a view of the grand altar of the Cathedraf, and another of the admired picture of the "Oesccnt from the cross," which was presented to the Cathedral bv Louis XVIII, ' THE CHRISTIAN'S GUIDE, with the evening office of the Church, in Latin and English, and a selection of pious hymns. Embellished with six beautiful engravings. 32 mo., plain bindings 50 cts. Another edition elegantly printed on folio post writing paper, 18 mo. fine binding, at various prices — from 2 to 3 dollars. Jlnother edition well boundin sheep, - - 32 mo. 25 ctsj This Prayer Book was compiled under the inspection of the Most Reverencf Archbishop Carroll. The present edition has been much improved, in llie arrangement of the contents, in the correction of many errors that had passed unnoticed in former editions, and also by some important additions- it may now be fairly estimated as a most perfect pocket Manual. ' THE POCKET MISSAL, OR COMPANION TO THE ALTAR, for the Sundays and Principal Festivals throughout the year, with an engraving representing the Holy Family. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. A new and beautiful edition carefully revised, containing the Masses for the Sundays and Principal Festivals throughoutjhe year, with short instructions. of which the following is an extract: ''"""s, To accompany the Priest in the prayers which he recites at the time of cele- brating the Eucharistic Sacrifice, is a practice, wliich tlie ablest divines have strenuously recommended. St. Chrysostom, the great luminary of thechurch e.\hortsthe faithful of his time, "to bring the most earnest attention with them' Standard Catholic Books on this awful occasion, and to consider, thiat tlie priest and people make but one body: that therefore, theysliould join with each otlier." {Hvm. in 2 Cur.) Tlie learned Rudri^ucz {Par. 2. 7V. 8. C. 15.) holds the same opinion: "Tho' It be the priest only that speaks, and with his liands offers tliis sacrifice, yet all the niithful offer it likewise with him: which being supposed, 1 declare," says he, "tlie best method of hearing mass is, to go on jointly with llic Priest, offer- ing up the sacrifice, and doing (as much as may be) the very same he does." The Rev. Mr. Gotkcr, whose reputation for piety and learning is so well esta- blished, asserts, "that tho' there is no positive precept for this practice, yet, that trom the very tenor of the liturgy, it is evidently agreeable to the spirit and intenlion of the church." We will offer a few remarks concerning the plan of this work. The prayers and portions of scripture, of which the liturcy of the Catholic ("liurcli is composed, are, partly unalterably the same, and partly different everyday: the fixed and iH(an'«/;?c j)arts are contained in the Ordinary, the reader may easily discover the places wherein the latter are to be introduced by l[\6 prayers, which occupy their several stations in the Ordinary, vhmX which lie may read or pass over, as leisure may permit, or devotion occasionally incline him: they are in name and order as follows, viz. The Introit, Collect, Kpistleox Lesson, Gradual or Tract, Gospel, Offertory, Secret, Communion and Pustcoiiimunion. The proper prefaces, not being "so frequently subject to change, are placed in regular succession in the Ordinary. THE KEY OF PARADISE. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. Tlie many editions which have been published of this highly valued Prayer Hook, is a sufficient proof of its merit: together with the usual devotions are given, the "Officii" for each day in the week. GARDEN OF THE SOUL: or, a Manual of Spiritual Exer- cises and Instructions for Christians. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. The pious, the venerable name of Challoner, which stands on the title page of this Prayer Cook, is alone sufficient to recommend it. Every exertion has been made to render this edition as perfect as possible. TRUE PIETY, OR THE DAY WELL SPENT: with engra- vings. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. Tlie sHcrifice of the IMass is the same in substance with that, which Christ soffered for us upon the Cross, because both the victim offered, and the priest or pnncipuLfiffercr is the same Jesus Ciirist, the difference being only in the form of the offering: upon the cross our Saviour offered himself in such a manner as really to shed his blood and die for us; whereas now he does not really shed Ilia blood l)or die any inor.e: therefore, this is called an unbloody sucri- jicc, and that on the cross & bloody saerijice, THE POOR MAN'S MANUAL. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 da. This edition of a work long celebrated for the practical piuty it inculcates, lias-been very carefully corrected. . -^ THE POCKET MANUAL. - '■ 32 mo. plain binding, 25 cts. An useful assistant for those desirous to practice the duties of religion. In page? we find the following e.xtract from the fourth council of Lateran, which ordains, "that every one of tlie faithful of both sexes, after they come to the years of discretion, shall, in private, faithfully confess all their sins, at least once a year, to their own pastor, and take care to fulfil, to the best of their power, the penance enjoined them; receiving reverently, at least at Easter, the sacrament of the Eucharist, unless, perhaps, by the counsel of their pastor, for some reasonable cause, they judge it proper to abstain from it for a time; otherwise, let them be excluded from the church while living, aud when tbejr die, be deprived of Christian burial." Published by F. Lucas, Jr. t *rHE PATH TO PARADISE, a selection of prayers and de- Totions, Embellished with 5 beautiful engravings. 48 mo., neatly bound, 374 cents. This neat little pocket volume, and it may be truly so called, has been compiled with great care. Independently of its convenient form, it will be found to combine a judicious selection of devotion, with beauty of execution and cheapness of price. HOHENLOE'S PRAYER BOOK, or the Christian praying in the spirit of the Catholic Church, by the Rev. Alexander Prince Hohenloe; translated from the German. 18 mo., plain binding, 37 i cts. This edition of "Hohenloe's Prayer Book," is the only genuine one pub- lished in this country, as it contains nothing but what was puhlished by him in Europe. Other prayer books, published under his name, contain additional matter that may be found in almost any of the Catholic Prayer Books in common use. Another edition with the addition of Litanies, Rosary's, Nove- na's and Vespers. 18 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. THE PIOUS GUIDE. 18 mo , plain binding, 75 cts. "Let a love for virtue, the desire of serving God according to the end of your creation, and of improving this short time for a blessed eternity, induce you to adopt the following regulations: 1. Faithfully to discharge the duty of Morning and Evening Prayer. 2. To dedicate some time to the practice of Mental Prayer. 3. To assist at the adorable sacrifice of the Mass. 4. Every day to rise early, in order to be able to perform the above, ^t least never to indulge in sloth. 5. To have your fixed and regular hours to attend the duties of your state; and usefully to fill up your time. 6. Every day to give some time to spiritual reading; if prevented, to supply it by the remembrance of pious lectures, instructions, and good sentiments. 7. Nevertogo tobed without an exaininationof your conscience." THE POOR MAN'S CATECHISM, OR THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE EXPLAINED. 12 mo. plain biding, 75 cts. In this volume, the reverend author has given a full and lucid view of the doctrines of the church, together with short, but impressive instructions; such as the following; " Tliou skalt Ivve the Lord thy Ood with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy -mind; and thy neighbour as thi/self. Luke x. 27, Matt. xxii. These are the two great commandments, or precepts of charity; in these two we fulfil the law and the prophets; and the reward is life everlasting. To love God with all your heart, is to love him truly; to love him with all your soul, is to employ all the interior powers of your soul in his service; to love him with all your strength, is to serve him with your exterior power and actions; to love him with all your mind, is to fix your mind upon him in holy contemplation, and think there is none so amiable as he. With this love we must join a holy fear; love him as your Father, fear him as your God." CATECHISME ET PRIERES, ou ABREGE DE LA DOCTRINE CHRETIENNE. Precede de I'esercice du Chretien, des prieres pour la Ste. Messe, la Confession et la Communion, et suivi d'in- structions familieres sur toutes les fetes de I'annee, des Vespres du 5* 8 Standard Catholic Books Dimanche, &c. De litanies pieuses, et de plusieurs cantiques choisis, pour etre chantes avant et aprez le Catechisme. ISmo.; plain binding, 75 cts. LA DEVOTION DES CONFRERIES, ou RECUEIL DES PRATIQUES ET PRIERES. Propres aux princlpales Confre- ries approuvees par le St. Siege ; celles du St. Rosaire, du Sca- pulaire, de Notre Dame Auxiliatrice ; celle du Sacre Cccur de Jesus, du St. Sacrement ; celle du St. csclavae,e de Marie ; celle de la Bonne Mort, &c. Recueil utile a toxttes ks ames pieuses, mais surtout a ce%ix que sont membres de quelqu''une des susdites Confreries. IS mo., j)luin binding, 75 ctSt THE CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED, in the Sacra- ments, Sacrifice, Ceremonies and Observances of the Church — By the Right Rev. Dr. Challoner. 12 mo., plain binding, 75 cts. The object the Right Rev. author of tliis work has in view, is, to explain the doctrine, and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church; to endeavour to remove the prejudice formed through ignorance, of the real tenets of Catholics; and, to disabuse that portion of the public, who through misre- presentation, may have formed erroneous opinions of a large portion of the Christian world. FLEURY'S SHORT HISTORICAL CATECHISM, containing a summary of sacred history and the Christian doctrine. — Revised by the Right Rev. Bishop Cheverus. 18 mo. half bound, 25 cts. Although this work is chiefly intended for the instruction of youth, yet those in mature age will derive valuable information from a perusal of its pages. AN ABRIDGMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, by the Right Rev. Bishop Hat. 18 mo., half bound, 25 cts. .Another edition, 32 mo., half bound, 25 cts. This work is in the catechetical form, and is intended as a development of the smaller Catechisms. It would be riiificult to mention a book in which the truths and precepts of religion are explained in a manner ai once so sucoinct and so satisfactory. A SHORT CATECHISM, for the use of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Stitched, 6i cts. Jinother edition, 24 mo. stitched, 6i cts. NOTES ON A PROTESTANT CATECHISM, "shev.ing the principal errors of the Church of Rome."— By the author of Father Rowland. Stitched, 6i cts. This little work is replete with information; it elucidates the doctrine and usages of the Catholic Church, in a chaste and perspicuous style; it refutes the illiberal, and unfounded assertions of the author of the protestant tract, and triumphantly proves, that tlie Catholic Church is protected by Him, who has promised to be "with her all days, even to the consummation of the world." AN EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE CATHO- LIC CHURCH, IN MATTERS OF CONTROVERSY. By the Right Rev. James B. Bossuet, D. D. Bishop of JMeaux. 32 mo. neatly bound, 25 cts. Published by F. Lucas, Jr. "The exposition of our doctrine must produce very happy effects, as it will lead to the termination of many controversial disputes which have in several instances arisen from an ignorance of our tenets." FATHER ROWLAND, a North American tale. 18 mo. extraboards, 50 ds. " Who would another fairly represent, must study well his character and manners." — Hor. "It is a matter of little consequence," to use the language of the editor of this interesting work, to whom the American public are indebted for the composition of it. F\-om its character, and tlie various parts of which it is composed, we are induced to believe, lliat it is the odspring of more than one pen. It combines at once, much theological research, a thorough know- ledge of the world, an acquaintance with men, and an ability of description almost approaching to poesy. ******* ******** Passing, how- ever, over these conjectures, and confident that time will develop the author, we shall briefly review the matter treated under each chapter, and conclude the present notice with one or two extracts. It strikes us, that the work was written in answer to "Father Clement," although the name of that abusive little romance is not once mentioned, nor are the misrepresentations with which it abounds, so much as even alluded to." — Metropolitan. '.'Tlie descriptions which it contains, are not, it is true, very numerous, nor are they georgeously painted in glowing colours; but we apprehend they will be found to be true to nature, and such we look upon to be the perfection of this species of writing." — Catholic Miscellany. THE INDIAN COTTAGE, A UNITARIAN STORY. "Son uomo, e di quest' uonio aDio non cale. Sou dio, Son Figlio, e non lio Dio, ne Tadre." Lorenzo MigUacti. By the author of Father Rowland. 18 mo. extra hoards, 50 cts. "The above work, by the author of "Father Rowland, was written in vin- dication of a Dogma, which is not only questioned, but systematically at- tacked, by a denomination who style themselves Christians. Tliis too, is the most vital dogma of Christianity: for, if the founder ot the new covenant was a mere man, the system which he established, is not as sublime as that of the old. The reality is not more substantial than the figure. The pro- phecies have not been fulfilled. — Christ is no greater than the propliets, less than Moses. — This will be made manifest, it is thought, to any who will peruse this little work with attention, and without prejudice." A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE GROUNDS OF THE CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHURCHES, by the Rev, John Fletcher, D. D. \2mo.,flainhinding, $1. "The true religion is just as essentially one, as is the divinity itself. And exactly as a multiplicity of true Cods is a contradiction, so, also, under the present order of things, is a multiplicity of true religions, — or even two true religions. Wherefore, it follows, — that, precisely as it is necessary for them to know, and to cultivate, that religion ahnic, which is the true one, — that religion alone, which, founded by the wisdom of our Kedeemer, is, alone, the rule of the Christian's faith, and the source of his sanctification. If then, there exi.-;ts any marks, by which this divine establishment may be known, — any sure criterions, by whicli,in the midst of the surrounding asso- ciations, it may be accurately distinguished, — in this case it ought to appear, — as it certainly is, — a matter of the highest moment to be correctly acquaint- ed with them. Happily, there do exist such marks,— instituted by the eternal wisdom, for the express purpose of pointing out the blessed sanctuary. Be- hold, therefore, the design, and plan, of the succeeding Treatise. Its object is to exhibit, and apply, these important rules, Ii is, to present to the hand of 10 Standard Catholic Boohs the prudent man a clew, which, if he follow with pious care, will conduct him from amidst the mazes of error, to the asylum of real security. I have, however, adopted, for this end, one great principle in particular. It is a principle, admitted equally by the enlightened protestant, as it is by the catholic; and considered, not less the dictate of reason, tljan it is the sugges- tion of religion. It is a principle, too, so plain, and easy, that, in order to understand it, no other talent is required, but common sense; in order to apply it, no other disposition is necessary, but the honest feelings of sincerity. It is, hence, a principle, which has always conducted multitudes, and still con- ducts many, from the paths of error, back again to the paths of truth." AN AMICABLE DISCUSSION ON THE CHURCH OF EN- GLAND, and on the Reformation in general, by the Right Rev J. F. M. Trevern, D. D. Translated by the Rev. Wm. Richmond. 2 vols. 12mo., red cloth backs, $175. " The Disctission AmicaU, a translation of which is now respectfully pre- sented to the public, was first published in 1817, — a second edition appeared in 18i4. — The more than ordinary excellence of this controversial work has never been disputed either by friend or opponent; and its substantial merit, original style, and peculiar applicability, have for some years caused numerous highly respectable individuals to wish that it might appear in our own language. Latterly this wish has become more emphatically express- ed, in consequence of the appearance of the " Difficulties of Romanism," a work written by the great champion of Protestantism, the Kev. G. S. Faber, of Long-Newton, professing to be a fair exposure and complete refutation of the'' Discussion Amicale." As this book of iPij^cuitici seemed calculated to give a very illusory idea of the general character of the volumes it at- tacked; as it evidently suppressed some of the most powerful arguments therein contained, and mutilated or distorted others; as it undeniably gave, in some instances, a false translation of very important passages, and on this false interpietation, raised no small proportion of its arguments; it was thought extremely desirable, that the Bishop of Strasbourgli's original work should be fairly, and strictly translated, and thus appear in its own defence, and that the reader might be enabled to form a more correct estimate of its character and merit. The translator here begs leave to state, that he has followed his author throughout with timorous scrupulosity, perhaps with servility; and that, if he has erred, he has done so involuntarily, his only object in undertaking his arduous task Laving been, to aid tlie cause of truth, justice, and Religion." AN ANSWER TO THE REV. G. S. FABER'iS DIFFICUL- TIES OF ROMANISM, by the Right Rev. J. M. Trevern, Bishop of Strasburg, late Bishop of Aire. Translated by the Rev. F. C. Husenbeth. 12 mo. cloth hacks, 75 cents. No one could better reply to the worK, or Mr. Paiier, than the Prelate against whose first work {Discussion A micale,) "the Difficulties of Romanism" were principally directed. Tlie attack was made by a man, who, it is conc&. ded, wields an able pen, and defends, with a peculiar appearance of ingenuous- ness, the cause of the protestant religion. But he defends a bad cause: and, consequently, is detected in the artifices to which he has recourse, to throw over his undertaking the veil of plausibility. THE DIFFICULTIES OF PROTESTANTISM, by the Rev. Jolin Fletcher, D. D. "What is Protestantism? It is the abjuration of Popery." Dr. Burgess' Catechism, '•Nihil, enim interest illis, licet diversa tractantibus, dum ad unius veri. tatis expugnationem conspirent." TcrtulUan. J vol. 13 mo., 75 cts. Published by F, Lucas y Jr. 11 Extract from the Dedication to the Rt. Rev. James Yorkt Bramston, D. D. Catholic Bishop of London, "The object of this work is to point out, as its title expresses, some of those Innumerabie difficulties, which surround, and perplex, the religion of Protes- tantism. To your lordship, a work of this description is addressed with peculiar propriety, because it was those very difficulties, which, first striking your good sense, whilst yet you were a Protestant, induced your prudence to view them with distrust, and ere long, to examine them with care. You did this, comparing them, at the same time, with the grounds, and character of the parent institute. I need not state what was the result. It was such as might be expected from a mind like yours, — frank, open and sincere, — wishing to see the truth, and willing to admit it. Convinced soon of the illusive pretensions of Protestantism, you quitted the established, and em- braced the Catholic Church. Sacrificing, by the generous act, those flattering prospects of wordly honors, to which, both from your talents, your rank, and reputation, (for, you were already a distinguished ornament in our temples of jurisprudence,) you were eminently entitled to aspire. Hence, therefore, the propriety of dedicating these pages to your lordship." THE END OF RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY, in a friendly correspondence between a religious society of Protestants and a Roman Catholic Divine, by theRt. Rev. John Milner, D. D. V. A. F. S. A. 8 vo., plain binding, i^l 25. The name of this celebrated polemic, so well known in the Christian world has been, if we may so express it, consecrated to the best interests of reli- gion, by the many valuable and important disputations, in which he was en- gaged : but in none, has his powerful and argumentative abilities been exert- ed with more success, than in his "End of Eeligious Controversy." "There can be no doubt, sir, but those who entertain doubts concerning the truth of their religion, in the course of their lives, must experience tlie same, with redoubled anxiety, at the approach of death. Accordingly there are, I believe, few of our Catholic priests, in an extensive ministry, who have not been frequently called in to receive dying Protestants into the Catholicchurch, while not a single instance of a Catholic wishing to die in any other commu- nion than his own, can be produced. O death, thou great enlightener! O truth.telling death, how powerful art thou, in confuting the blasphemies, and dissipating the prejudices of the enemies of God's church! — Taking it for granted, that you, dear sir, have not been without your doubts, and fears about the safety of the road in whicli you are walking to eternity, more par- ticularly in the course of the present controversy, and being anxious, beyond expression, that you should be free from these, when you arrive at the brink of that vast ocean, I cannot do better than address you in the words of the great St. Augustine, to one in your situation: "If you think you have been sufficiently tossed about, and wish to see an end to your anxieties, follow the rule of Catholic discipline, whicli came down to us through the apostles from Christ himself,and which, shall descend from us to the latest posterity. Yes, renounce the fatal and foolish presumption of fancying, that you can interpre the scripture better than the Catholic church, aided, as she is, by the tradition of all ages, and the Spirit of all truth." A PAPIST REPRESENTED AND MISREPRESENTED, or a two fold character of Popery, by the late Rev. John Gother. 18oto., plain binding, 37 1-2 cenls. The re-publication of this little work cannot fail to be grateful to all Roman Catholics, w)io will find in it, the clearest exposition of their principal tenets; moreover, unprejudiced men of other denominations, cannot but be satisfied in finding means of rectifying their notions in religious matters ; and the most obstinate will at least be left without excuse, in shutting their eyes to the chining rays of truth. 12 Standard Catholic Books THE FOLLOWING OF CHRIST, in four books, by Thomas A'Ke.mpis, to which are added reflections at the end of each chap- ter, by the Abbe F. de la Menais — with an engraved frontispiece of Christ bearing the Cross. 2d ed. 18»io., plain binding, 75 cents. It were superfluous to bestow commendations on the "Following ofChrist." We shall merely mention that the notes of the Abbe de la Menais have been translated expressly for this edition. The enlightened reader cannot but be pleased to see, with what sentiments the perusal of this inestimable work in- spired a man not less venerated for his piety, than admired for his unrivalled eloquence. THE FOLLOWING OF CHRIST, in four books, by Thomas A. Kempis. Translated into English by the Rt, Rev. Richard Challoner, D. D. 1 vol. 32mo., 50 cts. "The imitation of Christ," says the celebrated Leibnitz, "is one of the most excellent treatises that have been composed. Happy is he who puts its con- tents into practice and is not satisfied with merely reading them." Of this inestimable volume, Foiitainelle says, "that it is the most excellent book that ever came from the hand of man: the Holy Scriptures being of divine origin." THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT, to which is added the Peace of the Soul, and the Happiness of the Heart, which dies to itself in order to live to God. 24nio., plain binding, 50 cents. Another edition, 32mo., plain binding, 50 cents. This work is second only, to the "Following of Christ." It was the con- stant companion of St. Francis of Sales, and contributed not a little to nour- ish the tender, and enlightened devotion, by which that eminent saint was distinguished. The pious author of this treatise proves, that a spiritual life is founded on perfect self-denial, sincere sentiments of humility, and a diffi- dence in ourselves on the one side ; and on the other, in an entire confidence in God, a profound sense of liis goodness, love, and mercy towards us. The great St. Francis de Sales assures us, he read a portion of it every day for twenty years, and always with great advantage, THE DEVOUT COMMUNICANT, with engravings, by the Rev. P. Baker, 0. S. F. 24?no. plain bindi7ig, 50 cents. The pious author of these meditations on the Holy Eucharist, has left us an admirable system for frequently, and fervently, approaching the adorable sa- crament. The first part is preparation before, the second, of praise and thanksgiving after, communion. THE SOUL UNITED TO JESUS IN THE ADORABLE SA- CRAMENT, or a Devout method of hearing Mass, before and after Communion. 32mo. plain binding, 37 1-2 cents. Of this admirable production that venerable champion of Catholicity, the Right Rev. Dr. Milner thus writes — "I have been much edified by the affec- tions of a lively faith, and ardent devotion towards our Divine victim and food, in the adorable sacrifice and sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist." THINK WELL ON'T, or reflections on the great truths of the Christian Religion, for every day in the month, by the Right Rev. Dr. Challoner. 327no., plain binding, 37 1-2 cents. "With desolation is the whole earth laid desolate : Because there is no one who thinks in bis Iieart." Jeremiah zii. 11. Published by F. Lucas, Jr. 13 I'lresc reflections of that truly eminent divine, the Right Rev. Dr. Challo- Ijer are admirably suited to parsons of every denomination: the many tliousands of copies which, from time to time have issued from the press, area sufficient proof of tlie esteem in which they are held by all reflecting Christians. The following passage is from page 249, "It is consummated. Let us rejoice that the work of man's redemption is now perfected: that the figures and prophecies of the law are fulfilled ; that the hand writing which stood against 'us is cancelled by the blood of our Redeemer ; who, when expiring on the cross, exclaimed 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit !' Let us learn in life, and in death, to commit ourselves wholly to God: happy, O hap- py they who study well the lessons which their Divine Master teaches them from the chair of the cross." FIFTY REASONS why the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Re- ligion ought to be preferred to all the sects in Christendom. l8mo., plain binding, 37 1-2 cents "Though for many j'ears I employed all the study, pains, and diligence, I was able, in an enquiry after the true Religion, and sanctifying faith, which I was sensible could be but one; and this upon no other motive than a concern for my eternal welfare, and a desire to know the truth; I was yet in doubt, out of so many religions and confessions, which it was, that I ought to em- brace. In the mean while, upon this design, I visited several Universities; I turned over whole libraries; I read tlie works of innumerable authors (as well Catholic as otliers) tiiat treated of our present controversies; I advised with a great many doctors, touching the diversity of sects and confessions; I proposed my doubts, not only to Catholics, but likewise to their adversaries. In a word, I tried all ways and means, witliout being able to find out the only thing I desired. This made me resolve to set all other business aside, and to choose a proper time and place, wherein I might wholly apply myself to this afl'air, as being of all others, the most important; because nothing less thaii an eternity of happiness or misery depended on it." A NET FOR THE FISHERS OF MEN— the same which Christ gave to his Apostles, wherein the points controverted be- twixt Catholics and Sectarians are briefly exhibited; by way of di- lemma. Stitched, 6 1-4 cents. "And Jesus said unto them, come ye after me and I will make you become Fishers of Men." — Mark I. 17. "Those endowed with the 'private spirit,' either ean, or cannot, interpret the Holy Scriptures : — if they cannot, why do they presume to explain the most diliicult passages of that sublime volume? if they can, whence the ne- cessity of preachers, seeing no man will believe any thing, but what his spirit suggests ?" THE GROUNDS OF THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE, con- tained in the profession of faith, published by Pope Pius IV. and now in use for the reception of converts into the Church; by way of question and answer. To which is added, reasons why a Ro- man Catholic cannot conform to the Protestant religion. 32mo. sheep filleted, 25 cents. "Because the Protestant religion can afford us no certainty in matters of faith." THE MEDITATIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 18mo., plainbinding, 50 c^ts. This celebrated Father of the Church, in this excellent Work, thus invokes the Almighty: " Enable me, I beseech thee, O my God! through thy dearly beloved Son, to perforin the works of kindness and mercy, to sympathize with 14 Standard Catholic Books he afflicted, to advise such as err, to succour th» wretched, to supply the needy, to comfort the sorrowful, to relieve the oppressed, to cherish the poor, to sustain the dejected, to forgive them that trespass against me, to par- don them that wrong me, to love them that hate me, to render good for evil, to despise none, but to honour.all ; to imitate the good, to avoid the bad, to embrace virtue, to reject vice -, to be patient in adversity, and moderate in prosperity, " to set a watch before my mouth, and a door round about my lips," (Ps. cxl.)to despise all earthly, and aspire to heavenly things." THE MANUAL OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 18»to. plain binding, 37 1-2 cenli. It is not necessary to dilate on the merits of this excellent work, the follow- ing passage occurs in the first chapter: ■ ' "Thou, O Lord, fiUest the heavens and the earth! thou sustainest the unK verse, and yet feelest no burden; thou fillest all things, and art circumscribed hy none. Thou art always in action, yet always in rest; seeking and gatherest, hut wantest notliing; lovest, without passion; art jealous, without vexation; repentest, without remorse; thou nr( anery, withnut pmntinn: altp rest thy measures, but not thy designs; thou recoverest, what thou hadst never lost; rejoicest in gain, and yet never poor; expectest thine own with usury, and yet never covetous; bountiful to them to whom thou owest nothing, and placing to tlieir account, the virtues thou inspirest, that thou mayest become their debtor. Who hast any thing, which is not thine.' Thou payest, and owest not; thou remittest thy dues, but without prejudice to the rights of thy divine justice. Thou art in every place, and in each entire; thou canst be per- ceived, but not with human eyes; absent from none, yet far from the hearts of the wicked; but still not absent even from them; for where thou art not by thy grace, thou art present by thy justice. Though present in every place, we can scarce find thee in any; we follow thee, and yet thou removest not: and what we pursue we are not able to attain: for thou pos- sessest, fiUest, comprehendest all, transcendest and sustainest all things, by thy mighty power. ThoiTteachesl the hearts of the faithful without the help or noise of words; thou art not extended with space, nor varied by time, nor nearer, or more distant by motion; but "inhabitest light inaccessible, which no man in this life, hath seen, nor can see." Always at rest in thyself, and yet pervading the whole universe, and every part of it. As thy nature is really one, and uncompouiided, it is indivisible: thou sustainest and fillest, illustratcst,and possesses! all things, and art every where all in all." SOLILOQUIES OF ST. AUGUSTINE. \%mo. -plain binding, ZQ cents. This celebrated author thus addresses the Almighty, "Let me know thee, my God, O thou, who knowest me! Let me know thee j thou strength of my soul. Show me thy face, O thou my comforter: let me see thee, Othou light of mine eyes. Come, Ojoy of my spirit, let me behold thee, O thou comfort of my heart. Make me love thee, O thou love of my soul. Appear to me, O my great delight, my sweet consolation, my Lord, my God, my life, and the glory of my soul. Let me find thee, O thou desire of my heart; let me possess thee, O love of my soul. "Let me em- brace thee, O heavenly spouse!" O thou, my sovereign, my external and internal joy. Let me possess thee, O eternal beatitude, let me possess thee in tlie very centre of my heart. O thou blessed life, and sovereign sweet- ness of Biy soul." THE LENTEN MONITOR, OR MORAL REFLECTIONS AND DEVOUT ASPIRATIONS ON THE GOSPEL, for each day from Ash- Wednesday to Easter Sunday, by the Rev. P. Baker. \^mo., plain binding, 81-00 "There are few books better adapted to Lent, than this excellent work of Baker's. In a style, at once pleasing and instructive, and with a piety which Published by Fielding Lucas, Jr. 15 breathes in every page, he conveys to the reader the substance and pith of Ihose portions of the sacred gospels, selected by the wisdom of the church, for every day in lent. Most books of a spiritual nature are written in a style too dry and didactic to interest every class of readers: and, indeed, so general is this defect, that it is with difficulty that young persons can be persuaded lo take up a book professedly religious. What we very much stand in need of in this country, are works of piety and morality, written in a manner which would please all, by the propriety and elegance of the composition. Did we possess such books, it would no longer be necessary, in order to acquire a style, to have recourse to productions, not merely profane, but frequently dangerous. What a delight is it not for the French reader to instruct himself not only in his religion, but in the minutest principles of perfection, by the classic writings of a Fenelon, aBossuet, a Massilon, a Bourdaloue, a Flechier, nnd so many others. In Italian, too, we may learn the most refined devotion ill the most elegant style. Who has not heard of a Segneri, a Bartoli, a Pinnamonti, &c. &c.? There are, certainly, in the English language, several Spiritual works of high standing; such as Manning's moral entertainments. Parson's directory, Gother, &,c.; among these, the 'Monitor,' which is now under consideration, deserves not to hold the last place. The recommenda- tion of it, by the Archbishops of Ireland, will convince the reader, that this praise is not exaggerated or unmerited. 'We highly approve,' write those respectable Prelates, 'of the publication of Baker's Works, and recommend them to the perusal of the faithful, as eminently calculated to convey to per- sons of every station, solid and practical information, and to awaken in every breast sentiments of pure devotion. The simplicity, perspicuity, and purity of style, in which the divine truths are unfolded, admirably adapt these reflec- tions to all capacities. Tlie Pastor will find them useful in his closet, and at the altar; and the laity will learn from them to meditate with fruit on tlie Kfe and passion of the Kedeemer, and dispose themselves to rise with Christ, and seek the things tliat are above.' " — jilUropoliiaru. THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY WEEK, according to the Ro- man Missal, and Breviarj : in Latin and English. 18mo., plain binding, §1.00 An attempt has been made to present this work under an improved form ; many inaccuracies have been corrected, the translation has been thoroughly revised, and tlie volume reduced to a more convenient size. The week preceding Easter has been designated "Holy," from the religious duties and ceremonies which arc performed during these days. It has been called Paisosa, in allusion to the sufferings our Redeemer endured for sin: It is styled Hchdnm aria Major, or the Great Week: as the Church then performs the great things whicli she had been commanded by Jesus Christ. THE METROPOLITAN. ' 1 vol. 8vo., in cloth backs. This volume, which was issued in the form of a periodical, constitutes, of itself, a very useful work. The orisinal pieces are from the pens of Divines well versed in the subjects of which they treated ; and are presented in a style which cannot but please the man of taste and religion. The select pieces are from approved authors, and forming a body of miscellaneous reading, highly valuable and instructive. The whole will be found to be a work which is far from ephemeral: and which every lover of truth and good reading shouid place in his library. A HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND, in a series of Letters, by William Cobbett. 12)no. bound, 62 1-2 cents. "I have not been unmindful of the unpopularity and the prejudice that would attend this enterprise ; hut, when I considered the long, long triumph of calumny over the religion of those, to whom we owe all tliat we possess Chat IS great and renowned ; when I was convinced that I could do much to- ward* the counteracting of that calumny; when duty so sacred bade me 16 Standard Catholic Books. speak, it would have been baseness to hold my tongue, and baseness superla- tive would it have been, if, having the will as well as the power, I had been restrained by fear of the shafts of falselwod and of folly."— p. 322. ENGLAND'S REFORMATION, a poem in four cantos, by Thomas Ward. 18mo. plain binding, 87 1-2 cents. "Thrice is he armed whose cause is just, And he but naked, though wrapt up in steel, Whose conscience with injustice is polluted." "'At a time like the present, when we would have thought that the foul tongue of religious calumny had sunk into the bosom of eternal night, there would have been no further necessity for the appearance of this work, than barely to record its existence. But the misrepresentation which daily eman- ates from the pulpit and the press, for the express purpose of stigmatising an innocent and unoffending body of men, renders it indispensably necessary that we should wield the latter weapon in our own defence, it is neither usual nor consonant with the doctrines of our holy religion, for its ministers to occupy their time, or the patience of their hearers, in declaiming against the vices or virtues of persons holding tenets opposite to their own ; but when Protestants think proper to misrepresent the ichole body of our reli- gious community, the laity have an undoubted right to retort those asser- tions in the best possible manner. In this case, so far as we abide by truth, the justice of our cause will render abortive the wily machinations of our enemies. Preface. THE LIFE OF SAINT PATRICK, Apostle of Ireland; with a copious index and a chronological table, &c. &c. Vimo.plainhinding, 75 cents, "From the innumerable calumnies and gros.« misrepresentations of various ancient and modern authors, some, perhaps, influenced by mistaken, but more by vicious views, in relation to the patron saint of the 'Emerald Isle ;' the editor has been induced to present this biography to the public, with the hope that thread-bare^cii'ort will now give place to authentic it ii. Throughout the work, it has been his principal design to examine critically the sugges- tions, to unmask the sophistrii, and to expose the bare faced calumny of several who have preceded him ; and then to present his readers with a perfect and authentic record of the life, the virtues, and the actions of the illustrious ST. PATRICK, with the best corroborative teslimony of the truth of his de> tail." — Preface. A COLLECTION OF TRACTS on several subjects, connect- ed with the civil and religious principles of Catholics, by the Rev. J. Lingard, D. D. "The man who embraces a religious opinion from conviction, has undoubt- edly the richt to maintain it by argument; but truth, ■wi\l be his first and principal object ; the champion of truth, will disdain the petty artifices of substituting assertion for proof, and misrepresentation for fact." CHRISTIANITY; or the evidences and character of the Chris- tian Religion, by the Right Rev. Bishop Poynter, V. A. L. 12>no. 2^l(iin binding, 75 cents "Christianity is that form of religion, which was taught by Christ; It embra ces the doctrines of that faith which Christ revealed : the supernatural moral precepts which he delivered : the sacred rites which he instituted: and the constitution which he founded for the government of his church. Christian- ity is the work of God ; a munificientwork in the establishment and support of which, he has displayed his power, his wisdom, his mercy and goodness, even in a stronger light, than in the creation and preservation of the world, its ead is the gfory of God, and the renovation and eternal happiness of man. Published by F. Lucas, Jr. 17 This treatise is presented to the public by its Reverend author with a hope that it may be of some service, in confirming the true believer in his adhesion to the faith of Christ, and in directing others to the knowledge of the truth of Christianity. SPIRITUAL RETREAT, for eight successive days : with me- ditations and considerations, for ecclesiastics, religious, and all devout Christians— from the French of Bourdaloue, a Father of the Society of Jesus. 18?no. plain binding, 75 cents. The plan of this "Retreat," is peculiarly adapted to the ecclesiastical and religious States : but, it is also suited to Christians engaged in tlie world ; for the great truths of Christianity are always the same in substance, and they regard all states and conditions : the only ditFerence being in the application of them ; hence, each individual may with advantage apply them to his dispo- sition and situation in life. MRS. HERBERT AND THE VILLAGERS; or familiar con- versations on the principal duties of Christianity. 2 vols, cloth backs, ^1.50. From this excellent work we make the following selection "Introduc- tory Chapler." Margaret. — I ask pardon, madam, for the liberty I take in wailing on you; but our little Peggy sent me word you had taken so much pains to teach her to read, since she has been in her new place, that I made bold to return you my best thanks, as soon as I heard you were in the parish. Mrs. Herbert. — I am glad to see you again, my good Margaret. Little Peggy gives great satisfaction to her master and mistress; and is extremely desirous of being acquainted with her duty towards God, and towards them. Slie begged that I would present her duty to you, and her love to her brothers and sisters. JWarD-are«.— Indeed, madam, she took a great liberty; but God bless her little soul! Peggy had always a good heart. As for what concerns her duty, to be sure she wanted to be instructed in that. We poor folks in the country, madam, have not much time to talk to our children about it; and besides, few of us know how to read in books, like those that live in towns. As for my part, I never had any schooling at all; and besides, God help me! I have quite enough to do, to put bread into my children's mouths, without giving them learning. However, I always tell them to be honest, and to wrong nobody. Upon that score, neither I, nor their father, (God rest his soul!) had ever any thing to reproach ourselves. Mrs. Hcrhert.— Yon are to be commended for recommending honesty to your children. To serve God sincerely, and to do to others as we would be done by, is the way to heaven, Margaret. Margaret.— As for serving God, madam — 'tis you rich folks that can do that best. For us, who are obliged to work from morning till niclit— we have hardly time to say an "Our Father" twice a day, and to get to church on the Sunday. Mrs.Herlert.— Yon are quite mistaken, Margaret, in fancying that the rich can serve God more easily than the poor. I shall spend the summ.er in this place; and if you have a mind to come to my house for half an hour on Sundays, after prayers, and to bring any of your friends with you,— we will talk together concerning the means of serving God; and I trust yon will be convinced, that you poor people may go to heaven as easily as ourselves. Good evening, Margaret. I shall expect you next Sunday. VISITS TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT AND TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN, FOR EVERY DAY IN THE MONTH. Translated from the Italian of Liguori. 1 vol. 32nio., 50 cts. The work, a translation of whith is here offered to the Catholic public, comes from the pen of a respectable prelate, renowned for his excellent treatises on theology, and his productions of piety. The name of "LicuoRr," particularly in the kingdom of Naples, suffices for a book's eulogium. The 18 Standard Catholic Books. writings of this author prove him to have been possessed of an enlightened and solid mind, and, moreover, exhibit the effusions of a heart filled witb that tender and ardent devotion, which breathes nothing but God alone. Such is, in a particular manner, the character of this little production, entitled Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin. The senti- ments which it conveys, seems to flow from the abundance of a heart in- flamed with divine love. All those who are devoted to Jesus Christ, in the adorable Sacrament, will here meet with the affectionate, yet simple, artless, and unstudied sentiments, which they ought to express to their loving Saviour. Such as are excluded from the opportunity of offering their devotions to Jesus Christ in his temples, may make use of this book at their homes. All classes of christians will find it of singular utility on the days on which they have the happiness of receiving Jesus Clirist in the holy communion, and also during the adorable sacrifice of the mass. The prayers to the blessed Virgin, which succeed each visit to the holy sa- crament, and which the author designed to be recited before an altar dedicated to her, are, for the most part, taken from the writings of the holy fathers, and contain just and solid sentiments of devotion to the mother of Jesus. The devout aspirations, which will be found at the conclusion of the visits to the blessed Sacrament and to the blessed Virgin, may be recited occasion- ally during mass. To render this little production still more complete, the author has subjoined a method of hearing mass, devotions for confession and communion, and meditations for every day in thelweek, on some of the most moving truths of religion. The translator knows no language more proper for concluding this prefara- tory notice to the reader, than by addressing him in the words of the pious author, which he begs leave to adopt as his own. "1 entreat you, ray dear reader, not to slight this small work on account of the simplicity of its style. This simplicity I have studied with the view of accommodating it to the devotion of all classes of persons. I earnestly entreat you, also, as often as you make use of this book, to recommend me, both during my life and after my death, to Jesus in the adorable sacrament. And I, on my part, engage, every time I celebrate the holy mysteries, to pray for those who do this favour for me; and after my departure hence I hope to be saved, and to continue to pray for them in the vv'orld to come." Live Jesus and Mary. Amen. Ordo Divini Officii recitande missaeque, celebrandae, juxta breviarium et missale Romaiium ad usum Me- tropolitanfE ecclesife totius que Diocesis Baltimoren- sis Pro Anno Domini, mdcccxxxii. Price 50 cts. The Ordo will be published annualhj, and ready for delivery on the first of October, by F. Lucas, Jr. ^^All Orders for it must be post paid^ Standard Catholic Books. 19 F. liUCAS, Jr. HAS ON SALE THE FOLLOWING. THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 12 vols. 8vo. cloth backs, $7.50. "In his (Dr. Lingard's) lucid and elegant pages, facts arc related as they rcaJ/y existed, and, instead of the phUosnpky of Hume, he stores his notes with original and indubitable authorities." — Metropolitan, p. 437. Whoever desires to acquire a thorough knowledge of tlie/rtcfs relating to English history must ultimately have recourse to Dr. Lingard." — Edinburg Review. Examination of Evidence and Report, by the Right Rev. J. England, D. D. Bishop of Charleston, on the re- storation of Mrs. Ann Mattingly, of Washington. 90p j9. stitched, 50 cts. Contrite and Humble Heart. ISmo. plain binding, 50 cts. New Testament, by way of Question and Answer, by the Rev. John Power. l-2mo. plain binding, $1.00 Baxter's Meditations for every day in the Year. Ylmo. jilain binding, $1.50 The Sincere Christian, by the Rev. Bishop Hay. 2 vols. l^mo. plain binding, $2.00 The Pious Christian, by the same author. I'imo. plain binding, $1.25 Medulla Asceseos seu Exercitia, S. P. Ignatii de Loyola. 12mo. $1.50 Novum Testamentum. 32mo. bound, 62^ cts. do do 32»io. boards, 50 cts. Imitatione Christi. 32mo. fine ed. 75 cts. do do 3''2mo.commoned.b0 cts. Imitation de Jesus CI ist, par Gonnelieu. Fine ed. bound in calf, gilt edges, 4 engravings, $1.50 do do do common ed. boards, 62J cts. Paroissien Complet 12)?zo. bound, $1.00 do do 12mo. boards, .50 do do 24mo. boards, .25 Journee du Chretien, 24?wo. fine edition, boards, .50 do do 24mo. common do. bound, .50 do do 32mo. common do. boards, .25 20 Standard Catholic Books. Heures de Paroissiens, 24mo. bound, .37i Visites au St Sacrement par Mgr. Alphonse de Liguori. 1 vol. boards, .31^ Office de I'eglise en fran9ois. 12mo. very large print, .75 Meditations sur les evangiles. 2 vols. ISnio. $1.25 Manuel du jeune Seminariste. ISmo. .75 Memoriale vitas Sacerdotalis. ISmo. bound, .75 L'Office de la Quinzaine de Paques. 18mo. .75 Abrege de I'histoire Sainte. 12?«o. .50 Abrege de I'histoire de I'ancien Testament. 12mo. .75 Instruction sur I'adoration du tres Saint Sacrement. 12wo. .50 Abrege de Phistoire Sainte de I'ancien Testament. 12mo. 16 plates, .62 Annee Chretienne ou abrege de la vie des Saints. 4 vols. 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X^ vols. Svo. $16.00 HOMILiIES OK wmm m%®m. ®w w%m^A^^> OR A FAMILIAR EXPLICATIOPT OF THE PRACTICAL DUTIES OF DOMESTIC LIFE. BY THE^ REV. FRANCZS^XMCARTYN. BALTIMORE: PUBLISHED BY FIELDING LUCAS, Jr. JVb. 138 J^arket Street. f^t Printed by Wm. Ji. Francis. APPROBATION. I recommend to the Faithful, a work recently published by Fielding Lucas, Jr. entitled, " Homilies on the Book of Tobias, by the Rev. Francis Martyn." t JAMES, ArchY of Baltimore. Baltimore, 2(J December, 1831. PREFACE. There is hardly a subject on which the notions of the world are more erroneous, more at variance with the doc- trine of the gospel, than the nature of sanctity, and the means of attaining to it. Numbers are deterred from even attempting to attain to it, because the world incul- cates to its deluded followers, that to be a "Saint" it is necessary to retire from all the accustomed walks of life, and bid adieu to every earthly comfort and enjoyment. Hence sanctity is considered by too many, as the portion of those only who by their profession have renounced the world and consecrated their days to religious retire- ment. But, it is not from the maxims of the world, or the lives of its followers, that a Christian will form his ideas of that holiness, and sanctity of life, to which he is called. Happily for us, sanctity is not confined to any one state of life, but is attainable in all situations. That Di- vine Being, who is the common Father of the great fami- ly of mankind, has allotted different stations to his chil- dren, that each one, by fulfilling with fidelity the respec- tive duties which his station brings along with it, may merit the favour of his Creator and tender Parent in this life, and deserve to receive from the hand of his bounty, a crown of eternal glory in the life to come. It is true that some of our fellow-creatures who are acknowledged Saints, inspired by God with an utter con- tempt of all earthly things, have actually renounced the world and its enjoyments; have immured themselves in lonesome retirement, and devoting their days to the prac- tice of constant and rigorous penance, have presented their bodies a living sacrifice to the Almighty. That this O PREFACE. their sacrifice, that these their austerities and self-denials were pleasing before God and acceptable in his sight, is clear from the extraordinary graces and miraculous gifts conferred upon them. Yet, this part of the conduct of certain eminent servants of the Most High, who have trampled the world under their feet, and have shewn the sublimity of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining by tiie aid of divine grace, is not what we are any where commanded to imitate as necessary to make us Saints. How many holy persons at this time adorn and edify the Church of God by their holiness and sanctity of manners, whose lives present nothing extraordinary or uncommon, except the strict regularity with which they perform the exercises of religion, and the duties of their calling? For this, after all, is the most extraordinary circumstance in the lives of the Saints in general, that their example is followed by so few Christians, while all are capable of copying it, having the same graces to assist them, and the same promised reward to encourage them. Christian holiness and its attendant blessings, belong not to any one state o life, or any one class of mankind exclusively, but are open to all, in every station, who sincerely aim at the attaining of them. This truth is confirmed by the lives of the faithful servants of God, both in the Sacred Writings, and in the history of the Church. Nothing appears better calculated to remove the prejudices, and correct the false notions of the world re- specting sanctity, notions adopted by too many who pro- fess themselves Christians, than to unfold to public view the edifying examples of those who have adorned the common paths of life by their amiable virtues, and sanc- tified themselves by the practice of perfection. With this view I conceived the plan of detailing to the dear flock e .trusted to my care, the history of the virtuous Tobias and his son, as recorded in the sacred volumes. The Book of Tobias has ever appeared to me one of the most interesting and instructive books of the inspired writings. It presents to us, in the virtues of those holy persons, the most edifjing models of fidelity in the discharge of the PREFACE. 7 ordinary duties of mankind. The duties attached to the condition of married persons, parents, and masters of families, are of all others the most important, and those on which the welfare of the greater part of mankind de- pend. Vice owes its universal spread to that ignorance and that neglect of these obligations which reign in the world. How few parents seem sensible of the duties at- tached to their condition! How few are aware of the importance of them! How many Christians are seen strictly attentive to certain general duties, but at the same time ignorant and neglectful of the particular obligations belonging to their respective states of life.'' We behold in Tobias a model of virtue for every period of life; we see him cautiously shunning in his youth the snares of vice, and the company of the vicious, increasing in virtue as he advances in years; ever steady in the ob- servance of his religious duties; cherishing in his mind a constant recollection of the presence of God; making the divine will the end of all his actions; bowing with humble resignation to all the appointments of Providence; atten- tive to the religious instruction of his child; anxious that all his family should serve God in sincerity and truth; fiill of charity fur every neighbour; expossing himself to the greatest danger- to fulfil the duties of broiherly love; revered and beloved by all who knew him; reaping, even in this life, the fruits of his piety, in the favour and pro- tection of heaven; and qutting this earthly scene of exis- tence full of merit, hope, and joy. The young Tobias, like his father, shews us a constant picture of virtue in its most amiable and inviting" form; his history lets us into some of the most admirable secrets of God's providence; and contains the most instructive patterns and lessons for young persons about to enter into, or already engaged in, the married state. It now remains for me to say a few words on the "form" in which the following instructions make their appear- ance. They are entitled, Homilies, or familiar instruc- tions, having been delivered as a series of familiar dis- courses. This method seemed to me the best adapted to convey these instructions to the minds of my hearers, 8 PREFACE. being in itself the most plain and simple, and at the same time affording me an opportunity of dilating more at length than a regular sermon would have permitted, on those points which I thought would be most useful to my flock. As the spiritual improvement of those intrusted to my care was the object of these Homilies, the style will be found less adapted to the subjects that are treated, than to the condition of the persons to whom they were addressed. The greater part of our congregations in general, are persons whose minds have received little or no cultivation, and to whom, therefore, the truths of sal- vation cannot be delivered in too plain and intelligible a form. Where these instructions have not produced the desired fruit, I am too sensible of my own unworthiness, to ascribe the failure to any other cause. In several members of my flock, the good effects of these discourses have been visible in their better acquaintance with their most important duties, and more diligent attention to the discharge of them. For this blessing, both they and I are indebted to the unbounded goodness of that heavenly Husbandman, who alone, when hi? servants have planted and watered, can give the increase, and who lets not the unworthiness of his workmen prevent his giving his bles- sing where, in the decrees of his mercy, he designs to bestow it. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. F. M. St. Thomases, Bloxwich, HOMILIES BOOK OF TOBIAS, The Book of Tobias takes its name from the holy servant of God, whose life and extraordinary virtues it records. Though the Jews did not admit the histo- ry of Tobias into what is termed the canon, or ac- knowledged collection, of inspired writings, yet by the Catholic Church, which received the canon of Scriptures, not from the Jews, but from the Apostles of Christ, this book has always been acknowledged to be one of the canonical Books of Scripture. In- deed we find it frequently referred to as a part of the Bible in the writings of the earliest Fathers of the Church. Whoever reads with any degree of atten- tion the Book of Tobias, must be convinced that there is no portion of the Old Testament which abounds with more excellent lessons of morality, or which is better calculated to inspire a love of virtue, and train the heart to the practice of religion. To open to you dear Christians, the sublime moial precepts which the Book of Tobias inculcates, and at the same time to make you acquainted with the history of that holy man, whose virtues it records, and whose example presents a perfect pattern of the true servant of God, is the design of the following familiar discourses. May the God of all mercy grant that the instructions which they convey, may tend to your improvement both in the knowledge and practice of your Christian duties. 2 14 FIRST HOMILY ON FIRST HOZIfl[ZI.Y^ Chap. I vcr. 1. Tobias was of the tribe and city of Nephthalia- 2. When he was made captive in the days of Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, even in his captivity lie forsook not the way of truth 3. But every day gave all he could get to his brethren, his fellow-captives, that were of his kindred 4. And when he was younger than any of the tribe of Neph- thalia, yet did he no childish thing in his work 5. More- over, when all went to the golden calves, which Jeroboam king of Israel had made, he alone fled the company of all, 6. and went to Jerusalem to the temple of the Lord, and there adored the Lord God of Israel, offering faithfully all his first- fruits, and his tithes,.. ..7. so that in the third year he gave all his tithes to the proselytes and strangers 8. These, and such like things, did he observe when but a boy, according to the law of God. Such is the short, but highly instructive account, dear Christians, which the •- oly Scripture gives of the youth lobias; a youth spent in the practice of virtue, in the faithful discharge of every moral duty, and the diligent observance of tlie law of God. Piety is in every age acceptable to God, and the source of grace and blessing to him whose heart obeys its dic- tates and follows its maxims. Eut in the season of youth a virtuous conduct is peculiarly pleasing to the Almighty, since it consecrates to him the first-fruits of a being received from him, and destined to promote his glory, i^t the moment in which we ai'rive at the use of reason, it becomes an indispensable obligation to each of us, to dedicate our being, with its faculties and powers, to the service of our Creator, by direct- ing all our actions to the glory of God, and perform- ing them with a pure intention of pleasing him, and of promoting the great end of our existence — our union with God in a future state. Happy are they who faithfully comply with this important obligation ! Happy those Christian parents, who both by word THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 15 and example are careful to instil this grand principle of religion into the tender minds of their children, teaching them to make, at least at their morning devo- tions, this daily consecration of their actions to the Su- preme Being. This pure intention is the essence of Christian piety. Without it, the most heroic outward acts of virtue have no claim to a supernatural reward; with it, the most trifling employments become virtues, are sanctified and rendered meritorious of an eternal crown. So pleasing is early piety in the sight of God, that he showers down upon those who make him this ac- ceptable offering, such abundant stores of grace as enable them to persevere to the end of their days in the path of virtue. Of this truth the holy Tobias is an admirable and illustrious example. The Scripture testifies, that when but a boy he was faithful in all the duties enjoined by the divine law. His virtue at that early age was put to the severest trial. Nothing could be more dangerous than the situation in which Tobias found himself placed in his youth. Ten out of the twelve tribes of Israel had renounced the wor- ship of the true God, and adored the idols that had been erected by the impious Jeroboam. After a long forbearance and repeated admonitions on the part of the Almighty, the ten tribes were, in punishment of their idolatry, delivered into the hands of Salmanasar, king of Assyria, who drove them from their country, and carried them captives into his own dominions. Notwithstanding this visible display of God's justice, the idolatrous tribes remained obstinate in their wick- edness. Among the captives or prisoners was the young Tobias; but the captivity which was to his companions a punishment inflicted by the hand of God's justice, was to him, in the order of Providence, the trial and the perfection of his virtue. How edify- ing, how encouraging is the example of this holy- young man, fiirm and steady in the practice of every 16 FIRST HOMILY ON duty, full of affection for the divine law, and faithful in the exercise of his religion, though living in the midst of his idolatrous countrymen, from whom his virtue no doubt met w^ith the severest trials, with fre- quent scoffs, ridicule, and contempt! Steady in his adherence to the true faith, Tobias avoided the com- pany of the idolaters, and took no part in their wor- ship. He knew nothing of the temporising disposi- tion of worldlings, who accommodate their profession of religion to times and circumstances. But, sensible of the necessity of true faith in order to please God, and convinced that it is no less an insult to the God of truth to refuse assent to revealed tiuths, than to diso- bey his moral precepts, Tobias was careful never to give sanction or encouragement to error by being pre- sent at the idolatrous worship practised by his coun- trymen. With the strictest regularity, he, at the times appointed by the Jewish law% w^ent up to adore the true God, the God of his fathers, in Jerusalem; in which city alone were to be found the priesthood es- tablished by God, and the temple chosen by himself to be the place of his divine worship. In the new law, the holy Catholic Church is our Jerusalem. Tn whatever part of the world Provi- dence may place us, we are ever to preserve inviolate our communion with this the only true Church, and in her spirit, and according to her laws, to pay our ho- mage and adoration to the Supreme Being. Nothing can justify our joining in any other form of religious worship than that which is established and practised in the Catholic Church, " the pillar and the ground of truth. " The regularity of the good Tobias in the strict ob- servance of the laws of God and iiis Church, will, I fear, be a stinging reproach, a severe condemnation to thousands of slothful Catholics, who preferring their ease, their pleasures, or their worldly business before their eternal welfare, stay away from the holy sacri- IPHE book of TOBIAS. 1? fice of the mass on Sundays and days of obligation, profane the holidays of the Church by unnecessary work, or disregard the days of abstinence and fasting, which the Church enjoins as a salutary punishment of our sinful and rebellious flesh. In vain will such Christians at the day of judgment appeal to their pro- fession of faith as their claim to an inheritance in the kingdom of life. The Sovereign Judge, while he re- proves them for their base ingratitude, vi'ill thunder out against them the dreadful sentence, " Depart from me, 1 know you not." Obedience to the commands of the Church is a duty inculcated in clear and strong terms by our di-^ vine Redeemer, when speaking to his Apostles, and in them to the Pastors of his Church, he says, " He that heareth you, heareth me ; he that despiseth you, de- spiseth me. " If they who refuse obedience to the lawful orders of their temporal superiors, are declar- ed by the Apostle St. Paul to resist the ordinance of God, and to purchase to themselves damnation, what shall we say of the crime of those, who called by the divine mercy into the true Church, and acknowledg- ing her sacred authority, despise her injunctions, and disregard her precepts ! Let not then, dear Chris- tians, the conduct of others, however great their num- bers, however respectable their rank and condition in life, or however edifying their lives may be in other points, induce you to transgress the precepts of the Church. But, like the good Tobias, grateful to Hea- ven for the blessing of true faith, and the knowledge of your religious duties, and flying from the corrup- tion of evil example, preserve in the whole tenor of your lives an undeviating fidelity in the observance of the laws both of God and his Church. This strict adherence to the practice of your religion will secure you the esteem of those among whom you live, and who never fail to compare your lives with the faith which you profess : it will also draw down the bles- 2* 18 FIRST HOMILY ON sing of God upon your lawlul temporal concerns, be- sides affording you a well grounded title to an ever- lasting recompense in heaven. Tobias looked upon nothing as trivial or unimport- ant, which regarded the service of God. He v^^as careful to practise not only the more important obliga- tions of religion, but fulfilled the injunctions of the law in every point : "he offered faillifully his first- fruits and tithes." — It was enjoined by the law, that the first-fruits of the produce of the earth, and the first-born of animals, should bs given for the support of the priests. The tithes appointed by the law were of three kinds : one tithe or tenth-part of the fruits of the earth, of corn, and of animals, was for the Levites or ministers consecrated to the divine service; another tithe was to be laid up each year, to be ealcn at a feast provided for the Levites and for the poor ; the third tithe was to be reserved every three years, to be dis- tributed among strangers and proselytes, that is, such persons as were converted from idolatry to the Jewish faitb. In the fulfilment of all these ordinances, Tobi- as," afe soon as he was master of his property, was no less exact than in the observance of the feasts com- mandedby the law. He did not, as is the case with too many. Christians, put the calls of worldly interest in competition with those of duty, nor stop to consi- der whether the compliance with these obligations might not be injurious to his temporal concern!:. 'l"o- bias was fully persuaded, that without the divine bless- ing no temporal concerns can prosper ; and that the surest method of securing this blessing, is a ready and exact obedience to the laws of God and his Church. " Who hath first given to God, and recompense shall be made him," cries out the Apostle St. Paul, l\om. ii. 35. This truth was deeply impressed upon the mind of Tobias, and formed an invincible rampart against all the suggestions that flesh and blood might have thrown in the way of a duty, which he perform- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1 9 ed from a liigher motive than any earthly emolument — tlie love of God, and a desire of an eternal reward. As in the old law God was pleased to separate from the rest of his people the trihe of Levi to serve him in the temple; so in the new law, the holy Church of God requires of those who engage in the sacred functions of her ministry, a renouncing of secular employments, and a detachment from worldly business. She exacts from them the most consummate chastity of soul and body, that with unsullied purity they may perform the high and truly sacred obligations of their calling, and, unfettered by any earthly tie, may be ready day and night to attend to the spiritual necessi- ties of the dear souls entrusted to their care. To these salutary ordinances of the Catliolic Church are owing those heroic, edifying, and triumphant exam- ples, so often manifested to tlie world, of pastors sac- rificing their ease, their rest, their health, and even life itself, in promoting the glorious work of the sal- vation of ."^ouls. Having tiius provided for the sanctity of her minis- ters, and the spiritual welfare of her children, in order that no pretext of necessity may induce her pastors to sacrifice any portion of their precious time to tempo- ral concerns, the Church by a positive command en- joins, that all the faithful shall, each according to his respective ability, contribute to the maintainance and support of their pastors. This law of the Church has its foundation in reason and justice, and merely enforces and d(.terinines an obligation frequently inculcated in the holy Scripture. In countries where the Catholic religion is not established by law, the manner of ful- filling this duty is le.ft to the conscience of individuals. But each congregation should bear in ir.ind, that the spirit of the Church is every where the same, and con- sequently it is the duty of all to consider the tempo- ral necessities of their pastors, who minister to their own spiritual wants, and, like Tobias, cheerfully and 20 iPlRST HOMILY ON conscientiously contribute to the decent support of tlie ministers of the altar. Such, dear Christians, are the admirable lessons of morality, of \rhich Tobias, even in youth, was a per- fect pattern. This holy man lived under a law in which the means for attaining" to sanctity were far in- ferior to those which Providence has bestowed upon you. You have both the doctrine and the example of a God made man to direct, to animate, and to encour- age you. This divine legislator has not only delivered to you his precepts, and pointed out the path which will conduct you to happiness, but has witli the price of his blood purchased for you those treasures of grace that will enable you to persevere faithfully in his service until death. These treasures of grace he has left you in the holy sacraments and saciifice of his Church, the constant and never failing fountains of mercy. Approach to them with humility, with confi- dence, and with a sincere desire of advancing daily towards Christian perfection. Your diligence and fidelity in using these holy means of salvation, will obtain for you the grace to be faithful in every duty to God here, and entitle you to the reward of faithful servants in the kingdom of his arlorv hereafter. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 21 SECOND HOMILY. Chap. L ver. 9. But when he was a man, he took to wife Anna, of his own tribe, and had a son by her, whom he called by his own name, 10. and from his infancy he taught him to fear God and to abstain from all sin. In the portion of holy Scripture which forms the subject of my present instruction, the good Tobias is held out to you, my beloved brethren, a perfect model of virtue in the mature age of manhood. You have seen him in his youth an admirable pattern of the strictest fidelity in the exact discharge of every duty. You are now to enjoy the pleasing prospect of the beauteous blossoms of that tender age succeeded by an abundant crop of fruit in his riper years. As the married state is that which embraces by far the greater part of mankind, it is true that the happiness or misery of a very considerable proportion of our fellow-creatures depends upon the discharge or neglect of the duties of that state. There is no class of duties, then, the knowledge of which is of greater importance. Yet it is a fact no less melancholy than certain, that there is no class of duties less known, or more neglected, than this. The history of Tobias will afford another opportunity of directing your se- rious consideration to the duties which married per- sons reciprocally owe to each other. I shall for the present, therefore, content myself with observing how careful the good Tobias was in following the injunc- tions of the divine law in making choice of a wife, knowing, as he did, that his temporal and eternal hap- piness depended upon his securing the blessing of heaven on that important step. Happy indeed will those Christians be, who, like this holy man, endea- vour to make the will of heaven their only guide in the choice which they make, and the sanctification of 22 SECOND HOMILY OS their souls their great object in embracing the holy state of matrimony ! Happy, if they carefully ob- serve the regulations of the holy Church of God, by neither contracting marriage with any one who is in the forbidden degrees of kindred, nor celebrating it at the times prohibited by her authority. The happy fruit of the holy marriage of Tobias, was a son, the heir to his father's sanctity and extraor- dinary virtue. But to what was the young man's piety owing? Under God, dear Christians, he w-as indebt- ed for his innocence and virtue to the care with which his father performed the great and important duties of a parent. "From his infancy, Tobias taught his son to fear God and abstain from all sin," ver. 10. Who- ever reads with attention the lives of the Saints, will be convinced of this truth, that the virtuous lives of those holy and faithful servants of God were the fruits of the tender care with which their parents w^atched over their infant years, and faithfully fulfilled the trust imposed upon them by Providence, of training their children in the path of virtue. On the other hand, observation and experience, both of present and past ages, clearly shew, that the torrents of vice which overrun the world, and bear down so many thousands of mortals into the gulph of eternal misery, have their source in the neglect of parents to discharge the duties which their state imposes on them. Earnestly then do I conjure you, Christian parents, who now hear me, to give me your most serious attention, while I unfold to you, as briefly as I can, the obligations of 3''our state, and point out to you in what manner you may best discharge them. Your children are the property of Almighty God, to whom they belong upon a thousand titles. In your hands they are to be considered as so many talents, which you are to improve to the best of your power, that you may one day restore them with interest to their great Lord and Master, He watches your con- THE BOOK OF TOBTAS. 23 duct towards them with a jealous eye, and at tlic last and terrible day of his judgement will demand a se- vere account from you of the souls of your children. To impress your minds with a sense of the strict obli- gation of training your ofrs]iring in the path that leads to salvation, and of the judgments which await those who neglect the duty which they owe to their family, God has recorded in holy writ the terrible example of the high-priest Heli. AV hat Christian parent can read the dreadful chastisement with which the Almighty, even in his life, visited Heli's criminal neglect of the duties of a father, and not tremble, lest he should stand accused at the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge of having been wanting in the discharge of his duty to his family ! Meditate with attention on this exam- ple, and be convinced of one important truth, that your own happiness for time and eternity depends principally upon the faithful discharge of your duties to your children. Heli was old and infirm ; his two sons Ophni and Phinees officiated for him in the temple; but they were bad men, and did much evil among the people, and gave great scandal. All this came to the ears of their father ; he called his sons to him, and gave them this gentle reprimand : " Why do you do these kinds of things which I hear, very wicked things from all the people.'' Do not so my sons, for it is no good re- port which I hear." 1 Kings, ii. 23. But the old man went no furtlier; he did not use the authority with which he v/as invested as their parent, to correct them and put a stop to their disorders. For this rea- son a prophet was sent to him, who, in the name of God, upbraided Heli with his ingratitude for all the fa- vours God had shewn him, declared that his neglect of the correction of his children was honouring them more than God, and denounced the most severe pun- ishments upon him and his family. All this, however, did not rouse this too indulgent 24 SECOND HOMILY ON parent to a sense of his duty, and therefore God ap- peared some time after to the prophet Samuel, and re- vealed to him, that all the evils which he had before threatened would speedily fall upon Heli. " In that day, says the Lord, I will raise up against Heli all the things that I have spoken concerning his house. I wall begin, and I will make an end. For 1 have foretold to him, that I will judge his house for ever, for iniqui- ty, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them." In fact, all that the Lord thus denounced was soon after accomplished. Heli's two sons both died a violent death in one day, and the old man, on hearing the melancholy news of their untime- ly end, fell backwards from his seat, dislocated his neck, and expired. The tender minds of children are capable of receiv- ing any impression, of good or evil, virtue or vice ; and it is of you, parents, that God expects the fulfil- ment of the great duty of instilling early into them good and virtuous principles of action, and sowing in their hearts the seeds of virtue. By impressing your children with a reverential love and esteem for you, and placmg them during infancy in a total dependence upon you, God has invested you with the power of forming their minds as you please. Regulate, then, your natural love and affection for them, by an earnest desire of their eternal salvation. Let every other con- cern be an object of inferior importance. Suffer not your affection for them to degenerate into unnatural harshness and severeity on the one hand, nor a pas- sionate fondness on the other. Carefully preserve that authority which God has given you, by exacting the most prompt and ready obedience to all your or- ders, encouraging such obedience by little rewards, and always correcting disobedience. " Give not thy child liberty in his youth, and wink not at his devices. Bow down liis neck whilst he is young, less he grow stubborn and regard thee not, and so be a sorrow of heart to theel " Eccles. xxx. 8. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 25 In the first place, then, there is nothing, Christian parents, upon which the success of your endeavours in training up your children to virtue so much depends, as upon your rendering them thus early tractable and obedient. But in enforcing this obedience there is one caution which I wish much to impress upon your minds. It is, that when one parent orders a child to do any thing which it seems unwilling to do, the other parent never take the part of the child, but that parents always go hand in hand in supporting their mutual authority. Besides the duty of rendering their children obedi- ent, parents are, in the second place, under a strict ob- ligation of instructing their children in principles of religion and piety, and in the law of God, from their earliest years. It is a duty expressly enjoined by God himself to his people : " These words, which I com- mand thee this day, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt tell them to thy children. " Deut. vi. 6. The first foundation of all religious instruction, is to instil into the minds of children a fear of God, and a horror of all sin. Let it then be your care, Christian parents, to teach your children early to pronounce with rever- ence and respect the names of God and of Jesus Christ ; and by your own example to discourage all disrespect- ful and profane use of those sacred names. -Acquaint them with the torments of a future state which await the wicked, and the happiness reserved for the faithful servants of God. Instruct them in the knowledge of their Creator, and of their total dependence upon him. Teach them the obligation of morning and evening prayer, for the purpose of drawing down the divine blessing, and see that they are regular in the discharge of that sacred duty. As soon as your children are capable of it, consider it as one of your most essen- tial duties to assist them in the learning of the cate- chism at home, and send them regularly to their pas- 3 26 SECOND HOMILY ON tor, on Sundays and at other times appointed by him, for instruction. Join to your lessons of instruction, a proper watchfuhicss over the conduct of your cliildren ; and carefully remove from them whatever would en- danger their innocence, or might prove the occasion of sin, especially wicked servants and evil con-pany. Too many parents, having taught their cliildren then- prayers and their catechism, rest contented, as if they had discharged the obligations which their stale impo- ses upon them. They leave their children during the day almost entirely to themselves, giving themselves no concern what servants are employed about them, or with what companions they associate. In these moments of neglect the seeds of vice are but too often thickly sown, and take too deep a root to be after- wards eradicated. In the third place, parents are under a strict obliga- tion of correcting the faults of their children; a duty frequently and strongly inculcated in holy writ". To impress this obligation upon you, my beloved breth- ren, and to convince you how jealous Almighty God is of the strict fulfilment of it, I need but remind you of the example of fleli, and the severe vengeance which he drew upon himself, by his sliameful neglect of this duty. In administering correction, let a spirit of mildness and prudence be your guide ; do nothing in a passion, but, intiuenced by a real desire of your children's eternal welfare, beg, at least in your hearts, the blessing of God upon your endeavours; and strive to convince your children, that you correct them, not in order to gratify any feehngs of your own, but from a motive of duty to God and to them. But, Christian parents, to what purpose will it be to correct the faults of your children, if your own lives present them with an evil pattern ? This considera- tion unfolds to you a fourth important duty, that of giving to your children a good and edifying example THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 27 in the faithful practice of every duty, and the careful abstaining from all sin. In vain will you correct your children for their passions, their sinful words, or the excessive indulgence of their appetites, if your own lives are stained with the crimes which you reprove in them. It is to your example that your children look for the principles by which to guide their own con- duct; and if by your example, you have drawn them into sin, and entangled them in habits of vice, on your heads will fall with ten-fold vengeance the woes de- nounced by Jesus Christ against those who scandalize his little ones. Lastly, it is a most important obligation of parents, to pray for their children. That faithful servant of God, holy Job, rising early, offered up sacrifices and burnt-oiferings for every one of his children, lest they should have sinned and offended God. The example of this holy man is recorded as a model of imitation for all parents, who should never fail to offer up their children daily to Almighty God, and make it a part of their morning and evening devotions to implore his blessing upon them. What abundant sources of grace will those parents who are faithful in this duty, open to their children, for their preservation from the dan- gers of sin, and their confirmation in the way of virtue ! Such, my beloved brethren, is a short view of the important duties and obligations of Christian parents. To sum up these duties in a few words : the Almighty, who has blessed you with children for no other end than that you may train them up for heaven, requires of you, that you make the eternal salvation of your children the principle object of your concern for them ; secondly, that you be careful to preserve the authority wdiich he has given you, by exacting from them the most ready obedience; thirdly, that you instruct your children in the principles and duties of religion, and 28 SECOND HOMILY ON carefully remove from them every thing dangerous to their innocence ; fourthly, that you enforce your in- structions by the powerful influence of good example and a virtuous life ; and lastly, that not confiding on your own exeitions, you endeavour by daily prayer to draw down the divine blessing upon them. Great and tiuly awful, dear Christians, is the charge entrusted to parents, and severe will be the ac- count which will one day be demanded of them. — Their own happiness, as well as that of their children, depends upon their faithful performance of the duties attached to their charge. What may be said of the pastor of souls is equally applicable to parents. They can neither stand nor fall alone. If they neglect the care of the souls of their children, the eternal ruin of both will be the dreadful consequence. If they are faithful to their duty, the tender souls wdiich have been trained by them in the path of virtue, will both secure their own everlasting bliss, and will each of them be a jewel of inestimable glory in the unfading crowns of their virtuous parents. Sensible then of the great and truly important obligations which divine Providence has imposed upon you, I conjure you, Christian parents, who now hear me, to imitate the holy and virtuous Tobias in the exact discharge of these duties. Like him, teach your children from their earliest infancy to fear God, and to abstain from all sin. Implant in their tender minds feelings of charity and compassion for their distressed fellow- creatures; and give them fi'equent opportunities of exercising those feelings, by making them occasionally the distributors of your alms. By fervent prayer, and the devout frequenting of the sacraments, seek the blessing of heaven upon your good endeavours, to train them up in piety and virtue. Oh ! what con- solation will the thought of your having faithfully dis- charged these duties diffuse over the bed of death ! THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 29 With what confidence will you be enabled to stand at the last day before the Sovereign Judge ! With what joy will you receive back from his hand the dear pledges of your mutual affection, ascend with them to the realms of bliss, and enter into the possession of that transcendant glory which is promised as the portion of those who instruct others into justice ! — Dan. xiii. 3. 30 THIRD HOMILY ON THIRD HOIKIZLT. Chap. I. ver. 11. And when by the captivity, he with his wife and his son, and all his tribe, was come to the city of Ninive 12. (when all ate of the meats of the Gentiles) he kept his soul, and never was defiied with their meats 13. And because he was mindful of the Lord with all his heart, God gave him favour in the sight of Almanasar the king 14. And he gave him leave to go withersoever he would, with liberty to do whatever he had a mind 15. He therefore went to all that were in captivity, and gave them wholesome admonitions. The trials and persecutions of this life, which, in the order of God's providence serve for the punish- ment of sinners, are to the just man the means of pu- rifying his soul, and bringing his virtues to perfection. For, my beloved brethren, the Apostle St. Paul assures us, that "all things work for the good of those who love God, and whom he calls to be saints. " Rom. viii. 28. Thus it was with the good Tobias; and the portion of his history which forms the ground- work of my present instruction, exhibits to your view a most edifying pattern of virtue, under some of the severest trials that can befal human nature. Tobias with his wife and son, and several of his countrymen, were, in consequence of their captivity, obliged to take up their residence in the city of Ninive, the capi- tal of the Assyrian empire. The vicious example of the inhabitants of that rich and populous city, added to the weight of the temporal calamities with which God had visited the sins and ingratitude of the Israel- ites, was too strong for the weak virtue of the greater part of the captives who dwelt there. None but To- bias had the courage to withstand the torrent of cor- ruption, and preserve inviolate his fidelity to the ordi- nances of the divine law. What grief must have op- pressed ll)e heart of this holy man, when he beheld THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 31 his fellow-countrymen, instead of humbling themselves under the divine scourges, and appeasing God's wrath by the amendment of their lives, adding to their past crimes the guilt of fresh provocations, by trans- gressing some of the essential precepts of their re- ligion. When the Almighty was pleased to call the descen- dants of Abraham to be his chosen people, the other nations of the earth were buried in the grosest idola- tries and superstitions. To prevent his people, there- fore, from being infected by the contagion of the evil example universally spread around them, God ordain- ed for the Jews a great number of rites, ceremonies, and legal observances, some of which were constantly re- curring to call off there attention from too free an in- tercourse with the rest of the world. Among these legal observances was the distinction of clean and un- clean meats, by which the Almighty would at the same time teach his chosen people the necessity of self-de- nial, and of restraining their natural appetites; and moreover remove them further from the danger of being infected with idolatry, by preventing their eat- ing with the heathens, among whom they lived. To- bias in his captivity, though placed in a situation most dangerous to his virtue, rigidly observed all the ordi- nances of the law relative to the distinction of meats. He yielded neither to the cravings of self-love, nor the solicitations of pretended friends, nor the ridicule of unbelievers. With a steady step he continued to walk in the path of obedience, faithfully fulfilling whatever was enjoined by the law, from a pure mo- tive of the love of God, and an earnest desire of eter- nal life. The Old Testament furnishes several noble exam^ pies, besides that of holy Tobias, of the fidelity with which the servants of God observed the rites of the Jewish law respecting meats. One of the most illus- trious of these examples is the truly heroic Eleazar, a 32 THIRD HOMILV ON venerable old man, ninety years of age, who, in the persecution under the impious king Antiochus, cheer- fully resigned his life rather than transgress the law by eating forbidden meats. No doubt some of his world- ly friends, who thought only of his temporal life, would repeatedly suggest to him tiiat there could be no harm in tasting a bit of the flesh of swine any more than of any other animal, and that what goeth into the mouth is not that which delileth a man, and conse- quently advise him to comply with what was demand- ed of him, and save his life. But, with what indigna- tion did the holy man reject their crafty solicitations to sin ! How did he reproach them for their cruelty, which, under the mask of friendship, advised him to purchase a few moments of a wretched existence that death must shortly terminate, at tlie expense of losing the favour of the Diety here, and the eternal enjoy- ment of his glorious presence hereafter ! The vene- rable Eleazar had formed his notions of duty, not upon the false principles of the children of the world, who study only present ease, and seek for happiness in the gratification of their passions, but upon the solid maxims of true piety, which teaches us to make the will of God the sole rule of our actions He was sensible that in whatever the Creator com- mands, the duty of the creature is to obey, and that to refuse obedience to the sovereign authority of our Maker is always sinful. AVhether, therefoi'e, the Almighty by his own word commands us to abstain from fornication, or to refrain from touching the fruit of some particular tree, or by his Church en- joins at certain times an abstinence from flesh-meat, the transgression of any one of these commands is an act of disobedience, and as such defiles the soul, robs it of the title of a child of God, and deprives it of all claim to an inheritance in his kingdom. Con- vinced of these truths, the holy Eleazar stood firm in the path of obedience. His pretended friends, seeing THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. SS his undaunted constancy, attacked his virtue in a more insidious way. They advised him to make an appear- ance of complying with the orders of his persecutor, oftering- to substitute meat which it was lawful for him to eat, that by thus seeming to comply, he might satisfy his enemies, and save his life. But " he," says the sacred text, " began to consider the dignity of his age, and the inbred honour of his grey hairs, and his good life and conversation from a child, and he an- swered without delay, that he would rather be sent into another world For it doth not become our age, said he, to dissemble : whereby many young persons might think that h.leazar at the age of fourscoie and ten years, were gone over to the life of heathens: and so they, through my dissimulation, and for a little time of a corruptiblft life, should be deceived, and hereby I should bring a stain and a curse upon my old age. For though, for the present time, 1 should be delivered from the punishments of men, yet should I not escape the hand of the Ahnighty alive nor dead. Wherefore, by departing manfully out of this life, I shall shew myself worthy of my old age ; and I shall leave an example of fortitude to young men, if with a ready mind and constancy I sutfer an honourable death for the most venerable and most holy laws. And having spoken thus, he was forthwith carried to exe- cution. And, when he was now ready to die with the stripes, he groaned and said : U Lord, who hast the holy knowledge, thou knowest manifestly, that whereas I might be delivered from death, I suffer grievous pains in my body ; but in soul am well content to suf- fer these tbings, because I fear thee. Thus did this man die, leaving, not only to young men, but also to the whole nation, the memory of his death for an ex- ample of virtue and fortitude " 2 Machabees vi. — Yes, Christians, thus did this venerable servant of God die ; thus did he exchange this short and transitory life for immortal glory ; thus did he crown, by a glorious 34 THIRD HOMILY Oi^ death, a life spent in the faithful service of his Creator, yielding himself a sacritice of obedience to the com- mands of his God. Thus did he leave, not only to his own nation, but to you and to all Christians, a noble example of the fidelity which you owe to the sacred injunctions of God and his Church. For, my beloved brethren, the precepts of the Church are, in fact, precepts of Almighty God, since it is God who speaks to us by his Church. Our divine Redeemer, before his ascension into heaven, gave to the Pastors of his Church, in the persons of his A])OS- tles, a commission to establish his kine heiglit of their pride, they may laugh at the threats of divine justice, and despise the calls of God's mercy ; but the day of retribution will most assuredly come, and manifest them to the world a dreadful example of the folly of preferring earth before heaven, and of expecting to find any real hap- piness in the path of sin, or in thegratificalion of their passions, which brings along with it nothing but re- morse of conscience here, and conducts to an eternity of misery hereafter. Ver. 24. After forty-five days, Sennacherib the king: was killed by his own sons 25. And Tobias returned to his own house, and all his substance was restored to him. Sennacherib, having filled up the measure of his iniquities, was slain by his own sons, while he was in the very act of adoring his false gods, and paying to idols the homage which he owed to the true God, whose vengeance he had already felt, but whose judg- ments he had despised. Such was the punishment which, even in this life, overtook one of the most powerful monarchs that ever reigned upon the earth. But do you, my beloved brethren, meditating on his example, carry your thoughts beyond the grave. — Contemplate those everlasting fires prepared for the unrepenting sinner. Tremble, lest, like the impious Sennacherib, you should stand accused at the hour of death of having insulted the God of heaven by mur- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 49 muring against his Providence, by profaning- his holy name, and by calling down damnation upon yourselves or your fellow-creatures, or of having been guilty of a murder infinitely worse than the death of the body, the murder of the souls of others by evil conversa- tion, impure discourse, or bad example. Repair all past scandals by an edifying life for the time to come. Break off all evil habits, more especiallv of swearing or lewd conversation, the sources of ruin to so many ut;- happy young persons. Consecrate the remainder of your lives to fidelity in the divine service, teludy the ex- ample of the good Tobias, and imitate his constancy in the path of virtue. Thus ivill every circumstance of your lives, both in adversity and prosperity, prove to you, as it did to him, the means of advancing you in the way that leads to perfection here, and to the crown of glory laid up for you in heaven. Amen, 50 FIFTH HOMILY ON riPTH HOMILY. Chap. II. ver. 1. But after this, when there was a festival of the Lord, and a good dinner was prepared in Tobias" house, 2. he said to his son, go, and bring some of our tribe that fear God, to feast with us. To renew in the minds of his ]jeople the memory of his past mercies, and of the astonishing wonders which he had wrought for their deliverance; to in- spire them with gratitude, and fill tlieir hearts with a love .of their almighty Benefactor, God himself was pleased to appoint for the Jews certain festivals, which he commanded to be celebrated with great so- solemnity. The principal of these festivals, my be- loved brethren, were the Passovei-, in which the Jews celebrated their delivei'ance from the slavery of Egypt, by sacrificing and eating the paschal lamb ; the feast of Pentecost, in memory of their receiving the law from God on mount Sinai ; and the feast of Taberna- cles or Tents, in memory of their having dwelt in tents during their forty yeais sojourning in the wilderness. To shew the design of these festivals, Moses, when in the name of God he enjoined the religious observance of the paschal solemnity, thus addressed the Israelites: "When your children shall say to you. What is the meaning of this service? You shall say to them. It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the h gyptians, and saving our houses. This is the observable night of the lord, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt : this night all the children of Israel must observe in their generations." Exodous xii. 26, 42. — To give glory to God, and in- struction and edification to his people, was the inten- tion with which the feasts of the old law were estab- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 51 lished by God himself. The Saints who lived un- der the Jewish dispensation, were careful to fulfil the duty thus enjoined them. It was on occasion of one of these festivals appointed by the law, that the holy Tobias made a feast in his own house and invited some of his friends to parlake of it. The piety of Tobias was not of that gloomy cast which forbids every kind of mirth, even such as is innocent, and throws an air of rigidness and despondency over reli- gion, whicli serves to render it unamiable, if not dis- gusting. I rue piety is ever amiable and inviting. Though her seat is in the heart, yet she diffuses a sv»eet odour around her, and paints a joy upon the countenance, which bespeaks the tranquillity and peace that attend her throne. Tobias knew well that the principal design of the festivals of the law was to hon- our and praise the god of mercy, and was careful to spend in acts of religion the greater part of the days appointed to be kept holy. But he refused not the body its proper share in these solemn rejoicings. By the innocent entertainment which he provided for his friends, he both testified the inward gratitude of is soul for the divine favours, and expressed his ardent, wish tiiat they also might join with him in the same pious dispositions. But, my beloved brethren, if the blessing appointed to be celebrated with yearly festivals in the old law thus called for the praise and gratitude of the faithful servants of God, how infinitely more sublime and ho- ly are the feasts of the Christian Church, and how in- finitely more strict is the obligation, incumbent upon us, of manifesting our grateful praise and thanksgiv- ing to that bounteous God, whose astonishing mercies we are on these occasions summoned to commemo- rate! The blessings of the Jewish covenant were chiefly temporal blessings; at the very best but types and shadows of the benefits poured out upon man un- der the Christian dispensation. We have witnessed God himself descendin:ourse will be edifying", and whose example will powerfully incite you to the practice of vii'tue. Of the weighty influence of good example, ; obias is a striking proof At first he stood alone in the path of virtue, but his good life, his acts of charity, and his holy conversation, soon made an impression upon the hearts of those who were more intimately acquain- ted with his merit. They forsook both the com j 'any and the manners of the idolaters: they attached them- selves closely to Tobias, and endeavoured faithfully to copy the bright pattern of virtue which he set be- fore them. With these holy persons, therefore, Tobi- as associated; these he made witnesses and paitakers of the entertainment which he had provided for the celebration of the Lord's festival, of the inward joy which he derived from the testimony of a good cod- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 57 science, and of the heartfelt cheerfulness with which he sacrificed every earthly satisfaction to the lasting pleasure arising from acts of charity and virtue Here then, my beloved brethren, is a model for yourselves in the choice of your company and amusements on the days consecrated to God's service. Be not of the number of those who give one half of these days to God, and the other half to the devil; who in the morn- ing are found in the temple of the deity among his adorers, in the evening are to be met with in the house of Satan, in the company of his votaries, witnesses at least, if not actually partakers, of the scenes of drunken- ness, gaming, and lewd and wicked discourse, which too generally reign in the ale-house and the tavern. Perhaps you may flatter yourselves, that, because you do not actually join in the above crimes, there is nothing essentially wrong in your spending now and then a few hours in the places and in the company to which I al- lude. But do not thus delude yourselves. If, under the influence of this deceitful sentiment, you thus with- out scruple frequent the resorts and the society of the wicked, the enemy of your souls has you much more securely in his possession than if he were to lead you to the commission of some enormous sin. You stand on the brink of a precipice, and you know it not; you hold by the hand those who are actually tumbling down the steep, and do you flatter yourselves with safety.? Were the devil to solicit you, or even pre- vail upon you, to consent to some grievous sin, your situation would not be half so dangerous. Your eyes would then open to the sight of your misery, and you would fly to repentance for refuge and protection. But in leading you into the society of the drunkard, the impure, the swearer, and the libertine, Satan treach- erously robs you of the fruit of your prayers and reli- gious exercises, makes you his instruments in bringing a scandal upon your faith; and in thus rendering you the cause of hindering the salvation of others, deprives 58 FIFTH HOMILY OS you of the graces of God, and links you in bands of friendship with those "who are enemies of the cross of Christ, who glory in what ought to be a subject of shame and confusion to them, and whose end is eter- nal destruction." Phil. iii. 18. Oh! ily then, my be- loved brethren, these pernicious haunts of vice, these houses of sin; and shun that fatal bane of souls, evil company. Choose for your friends and familiars those who fear God, with whom you may go hand in hand in the practice of virtue, and with whom you may rea- sonably hope that you shall one day be found at the right hand of the Sovereign Judge in the day of final retribution. Tobias had sent his son to invite his friends to join with him in celebrating the festival of the Lord. Ver. 3. And, (continues the sacred text.) when he had gone, returning, he told him that one of the children of Israel lay slain in the street. And he (Tobias) forthwith leaped up from his place at the table, and left his dinner, and came fasting to the body 4. And taking it up, carried it privately to his house, that after the sun was down, he might bury him cauti- ously 5. And when he had hid the body, he ate bread with mourning and fear 6. Remembering the word which the Lord spoke by Amos the prophet: Vour festival davs shall be turned into lamentation and mourning. \Mio can refuse the tribute of praise and admiration to the charity of Tobias? With him every thing gives place to duty. The call of charity finds him ever ready and cheerfully obedient. Neither company nor amusement, neither the call of hunger nor the fear of punishment, can prevent the good Tobias fiom exer- cising the works of mercy. < >r\e of his countrymen had been murdered, and his body lay in the strefts un- buried. Tobias had already exposed himself to death by undertaking the same charitable office of burying the dead. Yet, unmoved by fear or any worldly con- sideration, he leaves his meal and the company of his friends, and going to the dead body, takes it upon his THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 59 siioiilders and brings it to his house, intending to com- mit it to tlie earth in the dusk of the evening, that his charity might escape tlie observation of his enemies. The sight of the dead bodj' of one of his countrymen who had thus on a sutlden been deprived of life, filled the holy man with the deepest affliction. But being accustomed to regard every thing that happens as ap- pointed by an all-wise Providence, and to turn every circumstance of life into a source of virtue and of merit, Tobias, on this melancholy occasion, recalled to mind the words which God had spoken by Amos the prophet, threatening his people, that, in punish- ment of their crimes, their festivals should be turned into days of lamentation and mourning. He accepted, therefore, of his present affliction in a spirit of resig- nation and penance, and ottered it up an agreeable sa- crifice to the Almighty, to draw down mercy upon himself and his afflicted countrymen. This his con- duct points out other exercises of piety, by which you may sanctify the >undays and holydays of obliga- tion. It shews that acts of penance and charity, which are at all times highly pleasing to God, are particu- larly acceptable to him on the days dedicated to his service. Having then shewn you the intention of the Church of God in appointnig her annual circle of iestivals; that she designs to renew before your eyes the memo- r\ of past mercies, to aid you in the important duty of praising, adoring, and thanking the Author of all good, and in imploring fresh favours from his bounty, that for your encouragement and assistance in the path of vir- tue, she presents you with the example of the Saints who are gone before you, and are now your interces- sors in heaven; I conjure you, my beloved brethren, as you value your eternal welfare, faithfully to fulfil the precept of the Church in the religious observance of her feasts. Abstain on those days from servile work, assist devoutly at mass, instruct your families, seek 60 FIFTH HOMILY ON the company of the virtuous, exercise the works of mercy, and accompany these holy actions with acts of penance and contrition, mourning over your past sins. This is that mourning of which it is said "bles- sed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted with peace of mind here, and the blessings of eternal peace hereafter." THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 61 SIXTH H03VEXZ.Y Chap. II. cer. 7. So when the sun was down, he went and bu- ried him 8. Now all his neighbours blamed him, saying: Once already commandment was given for thee to be siain because of this matter, thou didst scarce escape the sentence of death, and dost thou again bury the dead? 9. Biit To- bias, fearing God more tlian the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, aud hid them in his house, and at mid- night buried Ihcm. For the trial of the virtue of the servaVitsof God, a strange variety of dang'ers and temptations are per- mitted, by an all-wise Providence, to assail them dur- ing tlie short time of their mortal pilgrimage. Among these trials, my beloved Brethren, there is hardly any one which proves a more serious obstacle in their p)o- gress towards perfection, or which more Irequently in- duces those who have begun to labour ior their salva- tion, to abandon their undertaking, than human res- pects, or a fear of what the world will say of them. What the enemy of man cannot compass by his own arts and malice, he too often succeeds in accomplishing by some of our unhappy fellow-creatures, who act as his agents in seducing or deterring others from the practice of virtue. V^ hen his other weapons have failed, the infernal spirit attacks the followers of the Gospel with the ridicule and reproofs of worldings, and by this means he too often succeeds in under- mining their piety. Many who would have nobly braved the severest tortures for their faith who had in fact already triumphed over the rudest assaults of that most fierce and dangerous enemy, the flesh; who had edified the world by their virtue, and laid up a rich store of merit for eternal life; have shrunk before the taunts and ridicule of pretended friends, and, for fear 6 62 SIXTH HOMILY ON of being blamed or laughed at by the giddy followers of the world, have abandoned the path of virtue. Like the opening bud of some tender flower, broken from its stem by the ru4e wintry storm, their virtue sinks before the chilling blast of worldly ridicule, and dies. < 'r it may be said to resemble a free, which, after being clothed with rich blossoms, withers before the worm that gnaws at its root. Thousands of un- happy mortals, who had begun the career of virtue, and felt within themselves a desire of eternal life have been suddenly stopped in the aiidst of their progress, because the world has branded their piety with the imputation of folly, and assailed tliem with its sneers and its censures. Some indeed struggle for a wiiile against the torrent that opposes them; but tired of the toil at length cease all opposition, and are carried off by the violence of the stream into the gulph of eter- nal perdition. Melancholy indeed is the reflection ex- cited by a contemplation of the dreadful liavock of souls, which is thus made by a foolish fear of the ridi- cule of the world. But how far more melancholy will be the thoughts that will one day rack those very souls that have been thus seduced aiid cheated of their crown To think that they once enjoyed the near prospect of eternal bliss, and for the paltry consideiatiun of screen- ing themselves from the sneers of deluded worldlings, suffered themselves to be robbed of the fiuit of then- past virtues, and consented to take up their portion in everlasting misery — Oh! how cutting will be the re- flection! Few, my beloved brethren, f^w are those, who like the good Tobias, set the laughter and contempt of the world at defiance; whose virtue rises superior to every human consideration. You have seen, and you hav^e admired the fidelity with which that holy servant of God persevered in the steady practice of virtue, and more particulaily in the exercise of the works of mer- cy. His earthly sovereign threatened him with death. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 63 if he pursued his usual chanty of burying the dead. Of his worldly friends, some reproved him for expo- sins^ his life to danger by continuing that holy office, while others laughed at his piely, and ridiculed it un- d.'M- tlie appellation of folly. But neither threats nor allurements, neither contempt nor reproot, could shake hi-i resolution, or weaken his attachment to virtue. He loved God with all his strength and with all his soul. To serve his Creator faithfully in this life, and enjoy him eternally in the next, was the only object of his atlections and desires; and rather than go astray the least step from the path of virtue, or run the danger of losing the favour of liis God, and the promised re- ward of bliss, he was ready at any hour to resign his life. Oh! undaunted constancy! Oh! admirable forti- tude of soul! I'he more admirable, because the gra- ces and helps to heaven were not so plentifully diffus- ed upon mankind under the Jewish dispensation, as they are in the law of Christ; examples of perfection were then more rare, and the path to happiness not so clearly marked out, and trodden but by few. Tobias feared God more than the power of the king, or the re- proofs of worldly friends; and with unshaken fidelity and perseverance, fulfilled his usual exercises of piety and mercy. Let the like unwearied constancy mark your steps in the patb of virtue. Frequently recall to your minds, for your encouragement under difficulties and trials, the example of this holy man, and of other servants of God, particularly of the first Christians, who were exposed, on account of the practice of their religion, to those dreadful persecutions which the in- fernal enemy of man's salvation raised, and continued for more than three centuries against the Church. Your situation in many respects resembles that of the first professors of Christianity. The slanders thrown upon the Catholic faith in these our days, are little else but a repetition of the calumnies heaped upon it at that early period; except that the jiutliors of them are no 64 SIXTH HOMILY ON longer heathens, but nien who profess to believe in Christianity, and who, it is to be feared, will conse- quently be less excusable in the divine sight. It is not, however, so much against their slanderous attacks of your faith that I now wish to put you on your guard, as against the less open though more daiigerous snare for your virtue, to be met uith in the evil example, the sneers, or the ridicule of those who, while they bear the name of Christian, lead unchiistian lives; and ac- ting as instruments of the devil in undermining your virtue, will seek to laugh you out of the practice of religion. But, "be ye not afraid of men, who at most can hurt your bodies only; fear ye Him, who hath power to cast both body and soul into hell."' Matt x. 28. Impress upon your minds that declaration uf your Redeemer, "If any man be ashamed of me and of ir.y words, of him shall the Sou of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in majesty to judge the world." But if ye confess him before men, by a steady adherence to his faith and precepts in the practice of your lives, he will confess you before his Father, he will acknowl- edge you as his true disciples, and confirm your title to the everlasting reward which awaits those who iiave faithfully followed him. When deluded worldlings attempt to seduce you from the way of virtue, by brasid- ing your strict attention to your religious duties witli the name of folly, or by ridiculing your piety, at iii yourselves against their artful and malicious attacks, by the thought of what will one day be your sentiments at the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ Oh! how dread- ful will be the remorse which will then overwhelm your souls, if you shall be found to have deserted the path of virtue, and voluntarily have consented to your own eternal destruction, through a foolisli dread of in- curring the displeasure of your iellow-creatures. Learn then, with the good Tobias, to despise both the threats and the allurements of the world, and to puisue with undaunted constancy the practice of virtue, under what- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 65 even rials and difficulties you may meet with in the faith- ful discharge of your duty. The servants of God, so far from being exempt from tribulation, are, from the very circumstance of their lives being so directly opposite to those of the generality of men, more certain to be exposed to a greater share of it than others. The tri- als which in the hand of an all-wise Providence are a scourge to the wicked, bring the virtues of his servants to the highest degree of perfection in this life, and exalt them in the next world to their crown of glory. God no where promises temporal peace and prosperity as the portion of those who engage in his service; but, on the contrary, has expressly forewarned them "that all they who would live godily in Christ Jesus, must sutler persecution." While some of the trials that be- fall the servants of God arise fro'^. the malice of the wicked, who are permitted to live, either that they themselves may repent, or that by them the just ma)'^ be exercised in the virtues of patience and resignation; other tribulations are expressly sent them by the hand of the Almighty, for the perfection of their virtue. Of the latter truth, the history of the holy Tobias is now going to present you with a most edifying example. Ver. 10. Now it happened oiie day, that, being wearied with bu ryiiig, Tobias came to his house, and cast himself down by the wall and slept, 11. And as he was sleeping, hot dung out of a swallow's nest fell upon his eyes, and he was made blind. 12. Now tills trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, as of holy Job. The short view, which I have in the preceeding in- structions set before you, of the virtues of Tobias, must have impressed you, my beloved brethren, with a thorough conviction of his being truly a just man, whose life was full of good works. True to his char- acter of a servant of God, he presents, in every cir- cumstance of his history, a model of perfection. You 6* 66 SIXTH HOMILY ON have beheld him from his youth faithful in the obser- vance of tiie divine laws; carefully shunning the con- tagion of evil com,)any; sanctifying the most ordinary actions and employments of his life by a spirit of pie- ty, and a recollection of the divine word; bringing up his son in the fear of god; full of charity for his fellow- sufferers, cheerfully exercising the works of mercy towards them during their life, and after their death; in fine, you have seen him generouly sacrificing every earthly consideration rather than omit the doing of a good action; and exposing himself to the danger of losing his property and even life itself, rather than not obey the call of charity. is enemies threatened him with death as the recompence of his mercy: his friends accused him of rashness and folly; but Tobias, listen- ing only to the voice of conscience and of duty, and fearing God more than men, continued his exercises of charity, avoiding on the one hand, the neglect of duty from any human respects, and on the other, all wilful and unnecessary exposing of himself to danger, burying the dead in the silence of the night, to prevent his acts of mercy from being discovered by his ene- mies. Such is a short sketch of the virtuous life of Tobias. Who would not have expected, in return for a life so holy and edifying, to see his days blessed with an uninterrupted course of temporal prosperity.'' But, my beloved brethren, the reward of the servants of God is not to be looked for in the short duration of t'aeir mortal existence. Their recompence is reserved lor eternity, where they will reap the fruit of their past fidelity in everlasting and unchangeable bliss. The Saints, placing their whole heart and affections on the good things of a future state, look for humiliations and afflictions as their portion in this world, knowing that they must first learn to suffer with their Redeem- er, if they would reign with him in glory. After many years of a life spent in the faithful per- formance of every good work, Tobias, while resting THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 67 from the fatigues brought upon him by burying the dead, is struck with blindness. The occasion of this aflliction in the eyes of worldlings would be viewed as a mere accident, as a thing happening by chance. But the Christian, whose faith teaches him that the same Almighty hand which framed the world, rules and governs it, believes, as a most undoubted truth, that nothing, excepting sin, hap'jens in the universe but by the express order and will of God. There is no such thing as chance: God has regulated and appointed all things from eternity. Even the very hairs of our head are all numbered by him, and not one of them falleth to the ground without his will and permission. The order of his Providence is not confined to us, it ex- tends ro the wliole of his creatures Not a blade of grass springs up in the fields, not a leaf moves, nor a branch decays on the trees, but by his divine permis- sion. In whatever, therefore, befals us, under the se- verest afflictions and the most disheartening trials, it is not to chance, nor the mere malice of men, that we are to look as the cause of our sutterings; but in these occurrences, no less than in our greatest prosperities, we are to view the hand of that God who ordains and sweetly disposes all things for the good of his servants. This truth, the knowledge of which is of so much consequence, both for our present and future welfare, is clearly pointed out to us, and exemplified in the blindness that befell Tobias. The holy scripture ex- pressly tells us, that the Lord permitted this trial to happen to him for the perfection of his virtue, and that he might shine to future ages, like another Job, a bright pattern of patience and resignation to the divine will. With what admirable humility and submission did the holy Tobias embrace the appointment of heaven! For, says the sacred text: 68 SlXl H HOMILY ON Ver. 13 Whereas he had always feared God from his infano.y, and kept his conitnandments, he repined not against God, because the evil of blindness had befallen him 14. But continued immoveable in tt^e fear of God, giving thanks to God ail the days of his life 15. For as the kings insulted over holy Job; so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his life, saying; 16 Where is thy ho{)e, for which thou gavest alms, and lini-iedst (he dead? 17. But Tobias rebuked tlicm, sasing, speak not so:.... ...18. For wc are the children of saints, and look for that life which God will y;ive to them that never change their faitii from huu. To what a height of perfection, my beloved breth- ren, are the knowledge aiid })ractice of this truth, that nothing happens but by ihe order of divine Providence, capable of raising the soul of man! Tobias in his atliictiou rises superior to human nature, and manifests a virtue worthy of a higher order of beings, a virtue truly angelical. The blessed spirits aI>ove know no other occLipaiiou than to adore and execute the will of God; and the Saints who ai'c oiie day to be united with them in bliss, know no other hapjiiness here on earth than to embrace and accomplish the divine will in all ils appointments. The consideration of the will of heaven animates them with courage in the hour of tiial, covers them with an impregnable shield in the day of dangei', lightens their burdens, sooths their afflictions, softens their persecutions, and turns what th(? world calls misery into a source of niei-it and of sweet tran- quillity here, and of intinite rewards hereafter. Among the ordinary evils that attend the life of man upon earth; we can scarcely conceive a more heavy alliic- tion than that which befell Tobias. The loss of his sight was to him a double distress; it not only prevented him from fulfilling the common occupations of life, but debarred him from exercising his usual works of mercy, in seeking for objects of charhy, and in bury- ing the dead. To this severe trial was added another equally, or perhaps more painful, the ungrateful and uncharitable behaviour of those who called themselves his friends. Instead of pouring the balm of consoling THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 69 words into his afflicted soul, and endeavouring to light- en his sorrows, they insulted him, they reviled iiini, and ridiculed his past life of virtue. Void of all true sentiments of piety themselves, they would, if possi- ble, have rooted such sentiments from the breast of Tobias, and thus have deprived him of wljat was then his only comfort — the testimony of a good conscience as to his past life, and his confidence in the divine friendship and protection. A similar aggravation] of his affliction had happened ages befoi-e to holy Job, who, when insulted by his friends, and tempted by his wife to blaspheme the God of heaven and put an end to his existence, bore all insults with patience, rejec- ted the solicitations of his wife with iiori-or, and, un- der the heaviest distress tliat ever fell to the lot of man, preserved unsliaken his fidelity to God, and even blessed and praised the hand tiiat aiUi;;led him. Like that holy man, Tobias, in his blindness, continu 'd im- moveable in the fear of God, and the practice of' vir- tue. Unable any longer to exercise his accustomed outward acts of ciianty, he redoubled the interior homage of his heart to the supreme Being, and dedi- cated his time to the acceptable . duty of praise and thanksgiving for past favours, and fervent supplica- tions for a continuance of divine grace. When iiis worldly friends, whose hopes extended not beyond the grave, and whose affections were placed solely upon earthly blessings, mocked his |)ast virtues, and insultingly asked liim, where was now his hope, and what was the fruit of all the toils and dangers to which he had exposed himself in the patii of virtue? The servant of God rebuked them with meekness, saying: "Speak not so; for we are the chiidien of Saints, and look for that life which God will give to them that ne- ver change their faith from him." As if tiiis holy man had said to them: Look at the lives of the ancient pa- triarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom we call our fathers. Those venerable servants of God, con-> 70 SIXTH HOMILY ON sidering themselves as ouly strani^ers and pilgrims on this earth, fixed their hearts on the blessings promised a future state. During their mortal lite, the will of (jrod was their only guide in all their actions; in obe- dievice to his will, they cheerluUy submitted to the portion of trials annexed to their earthly pilgrimage looking forward to the recompense of their virtue in that eternal life which God will bestow upon those who never lose their faith in hinr, but with a full con- fidence in his power and mercy, persevere to the end of their lives in his service. Such, dear Christians, were the admirable senti- ments of piety which animated and consoled the virtu- ous Tobias in the heavy trial which had befallen him. He submitted with humble resignation to the a[)point- nieat of heaven, and this submission filled bim with present comfort and with future hope. As tbe glory of God had ever been the object of all his actions, so the accomplishment of the divine will was the object of iiis desires and affections. By his strict fidelity in the divine service from his youth, he had secured to himseli' those graces wliicb now enabled him to meet his severe trials with patience, and turn them into a source of everlasting happiness. h! cherish then in your souls the spirit of this holy man, and imitate his steady attachment to virtue. Let no human consider- ations, nor a fear of what the world may say of you, deter you from the practice of virtue. Remember that your business in this life is to serve God. Let his will then be the rule of all your actions Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice; sanctifying all the emi)loyiiienls of your lives by doing them with a view to please God, and to gain eternal life. Con- sider whatever befalls you as ordained by an all-wise Pi'ovidence for your good, and be cheerfully resigned to his holy will, even under the greatest crosses and disappointments Then will you truly love God above all things, when you shall have no other will but his. THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 71 This conformity to the divine will, is that charity of which the Ajtostle says, that "it is the bond of perfec- tion." Tongues shall cease; prophecies shall be made void; faith shall no longer be necessary, when the soul shall see her God face to face; hope shall be swallow- ed up in enjoyment; but charity, the love of God and of his will, never faileth, but will continue throughout an eternity of bliss, that happy union of will and af- fection which even in this life subsists between God and his servants. Amen. 72 SEVENTH HOMILY ON SEVENTH B01MCXI.Y. Chap. 11 ver. 19. Now Anna his wife went daily to weaving work, and she brought home what slie couid get for their liv- ing, by the labour ^■( her hands 20. Whereby it came to pass, that she received a young kid. and brought it home 21. And when her husband heard it bleating, he said: Take heed iest perhaps it be stolen; restore it to its owner, for it is noi lawi'ul for us either to eat or to touch any thing thai comelh by liieft. The servants of God, in a slate of affliction and trial, are compared by the holy Scripture to gold in the furnace. For as gold by passing- through the fire loses nothing of its own substance, bui being by this operation cleansed from every particle of dress that adhered lo it, comes fortli from the furnace more bright and more valuable than it Avas before: so, my beloved biethren, tbe virtues of the Saints receive a new lus- tre from the persecutions of the wcrlu, and the afflic- tions of this life; are separated from all dross of earth- ly affection, and are crowned with a much higher de- gree of merit, as to eternal life. The character of the holy Tobias, which in time of prosperity appear- ed so edifying, shone forth with much greater splen- dor, in the afflicting state of bliiidness and poveity, to which Providence had reduced him. This severe tri- al stamped his virtues with the seal of heaven, and made it manifest lo the world that his good works were not performed from any human motive, or a view to any earthly advantage, but from a pure love of God, and a desire of eternal life. This holy man, who, by the blessing of Providence, and the favour of his earthly sovereign, had lately enjoyed the truly en- viable happiness of being enabled to dispense large alms lo his distressed countrymen, was now, by the THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 73 permission of the same all-wise Providence, reduced to want. The holy Scripture does not inform us by what means Tobias became poor; but his stock of mo- ney was exhausted too suddenly to be immediately re- placed. It is true, he had lent a considerable sum to his countryman Gabelus; but as he had no longer the liberty of going whilhersoever he pleased, he could not at present recover it. In addition, therefore, to the severe affliction of the loss of sight, Tobias found himself lorced to struggle with another hardship, that of poverty. The world looks upon poverty as one of the worst of the evils that can befall man in this life. But the Saints, who view things through a very differ- ent medium from that in which the followers of the world behold the objects that surround them, with- drawing their heart and affections from all the transi- tory advantages of this life, fix them upon those eter- nal blessings which are alone worthy of the soul of man. Casting all their care, as to worldly goods, upon that bountiful God whom they serve, and who ordains all things for the good of his servants, they embrace with equal cheerfulness all the appointments of his ho- ly will, whether as to riches or poverty, prosperity or adversity. If Providence blesses them with abundance, knowing the danger of riches, a fatal source of per- dition to thousands, and remembering that they are only stewards of the great and Sovereign Lord of all, they distribute them in acts of mercy to their fellow- creatures, and thus turn the corruptible riches of this earth into solid and never-failing treasures for eternity. eyeful not to set their affections upon worldly riches, they use their possessions as if they used them not, preserving their hearts totally disengaged from all misplaced attachment to them, and living in the dispo- sition of being willing to part from them, whenever such shall be the will of Providence. Hence, if the Almighty visit them with poverty, being fully assured that all his dispensations are designed for their future 7 74 THE SEVENTH HOMILY ON good, they bow with cheerful submission to the divine will, being confident that he who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, will provide them with the necessaries of this life, more than which they neither ask nor desire. It is thus that the servants of God, under the severest hardships and trials, enjoy a happiness which the followers of the world in vain attempt to find in the attainment of earthly emolu- ments. Of the above truths, the conduct of Tobias, during his blindness and poverty, is a stiiking and at the same time an edifying proof. Tiiough deprived of his possessions, and what was still more valuable, his sight, he murmurs not against heaven, nor loses his confidence in the Almighty, but professes himself a child and a follower of the ancient patriarchs, who looked for their happiness and tlieir reward in a future state. — As Tobias, in consequence of his blindness, was unable to work ior his bread, his wife every day strove by the labour of her own hands to support her- self and her afiiicted husband. What she earned by her employment of weaving cloth during the day, she carefully brought home in the evening. It happened on one occasion that she brought with her a young kid, which she had received either as a part of her pay, or as a present over and above what was the price of her labour. Her husband hearing the animal bleating, said to her, "Take heed, lest perhaps it be stolen; restore it to its owner, for it is not lawful for us either to eat or to touch any thing that conieth by theft." — Tobias meant not by these words to accuse his wife of the crime of theft; but, fearing Iest*the poverty to which they were now reduced, might have weakened her principles of honesty, or induced her to accept of a present from someone who had not the right authority to give it, he recalled to her mind the maxims of the divine law, which forbids, not only ac- tual commission of theft, but also all participation in THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 75 the fruits of injustice. In the divine oracles there is nothing superfluous. The circumstance now under our consideration, is in its outward appearance trifling and unimportant; but within is full of useful instruc- tion. It serves to give us a much clearer insight into the character of Tobias; it shews us the extent of his virtue, and how deeply the principles of justice and integrity were implanted in his heart. Many of the Jews, indeed the far greater part of them, being what is called carnal-minded, looked no farther than the outward letter of the law of God, either as to its pre- cepts or its promises. As their hearts were fixed upon earthly objects, they observed the ordinances of the law solely with a view to temporal prosperity; and having no better motive to influence them, it is no wonder that they confined their observance of the law to the mere letter of the precept. They carefully abstained from theft, but at the same time indulged without scruple in many other crying sins of injustice; all of them branches of the same crime of theft, and all equally contrary to the love of their neighbour. Provided that their lives were not stained with any of the grosser sorts of crimes, expressly forbidden by the words of the commandments, they were satisfied; they concluded themselves favourites and in this char- acter looked with confidence for temporal riches, as the reward of what they deemed to be fidelity in the divine service. Thus framing to themselves a false conscience, they passed their lives under the influence of its delusive guidance, profoundly ignorant of many of their most important obligations, and consequent- ly living in the constant violation of some of their strictest duties. Nor did the delusion end tiU death opened the eyes of their souls and they found them- selves stationed at that awful tribunal where the ac- tions of mankind are weighed, not in the deceitful scales of human justice, but in the unerring balance of the sanctuary. The acts of virtue upon which they 76 THE SEVENTH HOMILY ON built their claim to the flavour of heaven, having been undertaken from the sordid motive of gaining human esteem or worldly riches, were then found to have re- ceived their reward in the applause of men, or the temporal prosperity that had attended their mortal ex- istence. But their imaginary virtues were not admit- ted as affording any title to eternal happiness, because they wanted that purity of intention, and were not done from that sincere love of God which alone stamps our actions with real excellence, enrolls them in the rank of real virtues, and renders them deserving of eternal life. On the otherhand, when the false con- science under which the carnal-minded Jew had acted, was removed, and the divine law appeared to him, not as interpreted according to the suggestions of self- love, but agreeably to the dictates of eternal truth and justice, the violations of duty in which he had lived without scruple would overwhelm him with confusion, and prove his eternal condemnation. Such was the state of the carnal-minded Jew, who looked no far- ther than the letter of the divine law. Before I contrast with his conduct the character of the spiritual Jew, or real child of Abraham and faith- ful servant of God, I conjure you, my beloved breth- ren, to give me your most serious attention while I point out to you a certain description of Christians, whose condition in many respects resemibles that of the carnal-minded Jews. I mean those whose lives are under the influence of the fatal vice of lukewarmness or tepidity. This vice is a rock upon which thou- sands of unhappy mortals are shipwrecked, whose lives are unstained with any very gross crimes, and consequently appear virtuous and edifying in the eyes of the world. Almighty God declares that he will not accept of a divided heart. Our whole being, both soul and body, belongs to him upon the most just of titles, and he therefore requires that our whole being should be faithfully dedicated to his service. The THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 77 lukewarm or tepid Christian, is sensible indeed that he is placed in this world to serve God, and knows that if he does not serve him he must be miserable for eternity. Whatever, therefore, appears to him to be a duty of strict obligation, he carefully performs, and as carefully avoids whatever appears to him in the shape of a mortal sin. Further than this he goes not-, but flatters himself that he shall thus be enabled to de- part this life in a state of grace, and escape the tor- ments of hell. A fear of these torments, and not a sincere love of God or an ardent desire of eternal life, is the motive upon which he acts, both in abstaining from certain grievous crimes, and in discharging cer- tain duties. As to heaven, it is seldom the object of his thoughts, much less of his affections. He endea- vours to link together the service of God and of the world; he indulges self-love in every thing that wears not the outward appearance of a mortal sin; but in or- der to pursue this indulgence without disquiet or re- morse, too often puts a false interpretation upon the law of God, and frames to himself a false conscience, under cover of which he indulges in practices direct- ly opposite to the divine commandments. As mortal sin is the only object which the lukewarm Christian dreads, he looks upon all those faults which he either knows or imagines to be venial, as of little conse- quence, and as being not at all dangerous. For exam- ple, knowing that it is a duty of strict obligation to as- sist on Sundays at the adorable sacrifice of the mass, he would not for the world absent himself from at- tending on that important duty. But as to the other duties of the Sunday, such as the being present during the sermon, and instructions at catechism, the attend- ance at the evening service of the Church, the instruc- tion and spiritual welfare of his children and family; these he considers as matters of no great consequence, and as inclination or company suggests to him, omits them either entirely or in part. He makes no scruple 7* 78 THE SEVENTH HOMILY ON of coming late to the house of God, and thinks noth- ing of the disrespect which by such conduct he shews to the l^eity, and the disedifying example which he sets to his neighbour. He suffers any trifling excuse of business, company, or amusement, to put by the important duty of prayer, and the frequenting of the sacraments at the regular times. In fine, the duties which he does outwardly discharge, his acts of vir- tue, his prayers, his confessions and communions, are undertaken from such defective motives, so void of a pure intention, and performed in so cold, so negligent, and so distracted a manner, that the merit of them, if it be not totally destroyed, is at least considerably di- minished. Divine grace is every day weakened, and the love of God, liUe a fire that wants a supply of fuel, gradually dies away in Ins soul. Tlius the luke- warm Christian is constantly exposed to fall a prey to the snares of his spiritual enemies. Sometimes in- deed he feels himself checked by the reproaches of his conscience, and invited by the inspirations of grace, to greater fervour in the service of God. But being unaccustomed to any great labour or exertion in the path of virtue, he frames to himself a thousand difficulties in the way of perfection. At the same time he fondly persuades himself, that such labour and exertion are not of strict obligation, and after a iew weak eflbrts to sliake off the slothful languor that op- presses his soul, he sinks still deeper in his habits of coldness and tepidity in the divine service. Add to this, that the lukewarm Christian, being under the gui- dance of a false conscience, framed according to the suggestions of a mistaken self-love, often imagines those transgressions of the divine law to be only ve- nial, which are in fact grievous violations of duty; and thus, like the carnal-minded Jews, lives without re- morse in the habit of mortal sin, and dies in the same dreadful state. Foolishly relying upon certain exte- rior good works, he fancies himself rich in merit for THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 79 eternal life; till appearing before the judgment-seat of God, he linds himself poor and blind, and wretched, and miserable, and naked. Such, my beloved breth- ren, is'the state of the lukewarm Christian. Can any situation be more truly deplorable, or more dangerous than his? No, believe me, there is no vice more dis- gusting in the sight of God, nor more dangerous to the soul, than lukewarmncss or tepidity. Or, if you will not believe me, believe the declarations of the Al- mighty himself, whot bus addresses the te])id Christian: Apoc. iii. 14, "1 would that thou wert either cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth: because thou sayest, I am rich and^made wealthy, and have need of nothing; and thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and poor, and blind, and miserable." Miserable indeed is the lukewarm Christian, doubly miserable, because he is insensible of his wretched condition, and the danger that attends it. Most earn- estly then, do I conjure you, my beloved brethren, to shun this fatal snare for your virtue, by animating yourselves to fervour in the divine service, and mak- ing the glory of God the end of all your actions. That you may never througli ignorance or a false con- science trangress the bounds of duty prescribed by the divine law, do not rest contented with having once learned the obligations of religion from your cate- chism or the instructions of your pastor. Make the study of religion a daily practice during the whole course of your lives. Seek instruction, by reading each day some pious book, and by diligently attend- ing at the whole of divine service on Sundays and holydays. In each action of your lives, have in view the noble end of your being, and direct every circum- stance of your existence to the attainment of that great end, carefully practising the advice of St. Paul: "All things ^vhatsoever ye do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, by uniting the 9c- •80 THE SEVENTH HOMILY OX tions and sufFerings of your lives to the merits of his death and passion, and seeking in all things the glory of your heavenly Father." Let the maxims of the divine law be the rule not only of your actions but of your affections, and the desires of your hearts; for in the due regulation of these. Christian perfection and sanctity principally consist. Lastly, sensible of your weakness and corruption, apply to the throne of grace for strength from above, by a diligent use of the means of salvation, prayer and the holy sacraments. Let neither sloth nor business, neither company nor amusement, nor the evil example of tepid and un- grateful Christians, prevail upon you to omit the regu- lar discharge of these important duties. By faithful- ly practising the above directions, you will daily ad- vance towards Christian perfection. Like the spiitual Israelites, of whom the holy Tobias is so illustrious an example, you will walk not only with fidelity, but with delight, in all the commandments of God, fixing your heart and affections on the happiness of a future state, and embracing with cheerfulness whatever the hand of divine Providence shall appoint for you in your present pilgrimage. Oil! my beloved bretfiren, what sweet consolations will this your fidelity during life diffuse around your bed of sickness and of death. Enjoying, in the tranquillity of a good conscience, a foretaste of that happiness which is soon to be your everlasting recompense, the near prospect of eternity will fill your hearts with joy. Exulting with the Apostle, you will cry out: " I have fought the good fight, I have kept the true faith, I have finished my course; and now there is laid up for me a crown of glory, which the Lord, the just Judge will render un- to me." 2 Tim. iv. 8. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 81 EiaHTH HOMII.Y. Chap. 11. ver. 22. At these words, his wife being angry, an- swered: It is evident thy hope is come to nothing, and thy alms now appear 23. And with these, and other such like words, she upbraided him. The subject of my last instruction must have con- vinced you, my beloved brethren, that the virtues of Tobias were of no ordinary cast, but stamped with a very high degree of perfection. Anxious that all un- der his care should serve God with the same fidelity as himself, he trained his son in the path of virtue, anfl recalled to the mind of his wife the principles of the divine law, that no temptation, arising either from the poverty of their circumstances, or the persuasions of others less virtuous than himself, might induce her to transgress the bounds of justice. "It is not lawful," said this holy man, "for us either to eat or to touch any thing that comelh by theft." Anna, whose cha- racter was very different from that of her husband, had, by mixing Avith the world, imbibed a worldly spirit. Instead of receiving with gratitude the well- meant and religious admonition of her husband, she gave vent to passion in bitter reproaches, which not only wounded the feelings of Tobias, but also struck at the wisdom of divine Providence, and manifested a great want of confidence in the Almighty, as well as a miserable deficiency of those religious principles that guided and consoled the heart of her husband. To his kind admonition she replied with sneers: "It well becomes you to entertain such scrupulous nicety respecting the property of others, after having foolish- ly given away your own. By your indiscreet liberality you have dissipated your own fortune, and reduced your family to want. Where is now the fruit of your 82 THE EIGHTH HOMILY ON past charities? Is it thus that the Providence of which you have spoken with so much confidence, rewards your services? You will know for the future what re- liance to place upon its care and protection." In such impious terms as these did Anna reproach her husband, not only once but frequently, so little had she profited by his holy advice and example. Her insulting and blasphemous language was not the effect of a mere momentary and sudden impulse of anger: it proceeded from a want of divine faith, and from her having adop- ted the maxims of those carnal-minded Jews among whom she lived; and like whom she was willing to serve God, so long as his service did not call for the sacrifice of any humour, inclination, or worldly inter- est. This life seems to have been the only object of her solicitude, and to provide for its wants the only motive upon which she laboured for the support of of her family, and not any thought or desire of ob- taining a reward in the life to come. Oh! how dange- rous a thing it is to love the company of worldlings, and to listen to their discourse. Their maxims, always i'avourable to self-love and the indulgence of corrupt nature, slide imperceptibly into the heart, and soon undermine the principles of religion and virtue. Faith becomes weak; tlie truths which it delivers, by degrees, lose their influence; and the soul, almost without being sensible of it, adopts the sentiments of the world as the only rule of its affections, its desires, and its ac- tions. Such, unfortunately, was the effect which too free an intercourse with the world had upon the con- duct of Anna, the wife of Tobias. The principles of virtue implanted in her breast by the pious discourse and holy example of her husband, were gradually weakened, and at length almost entirely rooted out. But this will be less a subject of astonishment to us, when we reflect that the wife of Job, many ages be- fore, had furnished a similar example of the danger of communicating with the wicked. The reproaches and THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 85 insults which holy Job met with from his wife and pretended friends, were conveyed in nearly the same impious language with which Tobias under his atiiic- tions was assailed by his wife. It is then necessary for me, my beloved brethren, after these examples, to unfold to you the danger of evil company, and how strict an obligation you are under of avoiding it? Would to God that it were not necessary for me to enter upon this subject! But when I reflect upon the number of young persons, who, not- withstanding their early instruction in piety and reli- gion, have been seduced from the path of virtue, live in a habit of sin, and walk in the road that leads to eternal damnation, and who owe their misfortune to no other cause than mixing with the company of the wicked, 1 feel it a duty which I owe to you and to my own conscience, to warn you who now hear me of this fatal source of the destruction of souls. It is a most lamentable truth, that the good and edifying ex- ample of God's faithful servants, the zealous labours of the Apostles and their successors in the sacred ministry, and the sacraments and sacrifice of the Church, joined to the merits of the death and passion of Christ Jesus, do not procure the salvation of half so many souls as is the number of those who are eter- nally ruined by the corrupt example of the wicked. The Saviour of the world has indeed pronounced the severest of woes against those who by their scanda- lous lives draw others into sin, and lead them in the road to perdition. Yet he has also declared, that it is necessary that scandals sliould come; that there will always be numbers of our unhappy fellow-creatures, who, not content with wilfully consenting to their own damnation, will act as powerful agents of the devil, in corrupting the well-disposed, in withdrawing them from the practice of virtue, and dragging them to everlasting misery. Well does the Apostle St Paul style all such Christians "enemies of the cross of 84 THE EIGHTH HOMILY ON Christ." The Son of God came down from heaven to save souls; his labours, his preachings, his miracles, his suiferings, and his death, v^ere all directed to the salvation of souls. But the scandalous Christian, he, who bearing the name of a follower of Christ, lives in the violation of the precepts of the Gospel, in the neglect of his religious duties, and the habit of any public sin, makes void the death and passion of Jesus Christ, destroys the very end of his coming among men, and, by his evil example and discourse, proves the eternal damnation of those precious souls for whose salvation the Son of God shed his blood upon a cross. My heart, my beloved brethren, is ready to burst with grief; my blood chills within my veins, when I look at and consider the number of souls that owe their dam- nation to no other cause, originally, than the seduction of evil company. You would fly with horror from the wretch whom you knew to have been but once guilty of the crime of taking away the corporal life of a fellow-creature; and can you without fear associate with those far more terrible murderers who are daily and hourly guilty of murdering the souls of others, by leading them, especially young persons, into mortal sin, teaching them habits of vice, and conducting them the first steps in the road to perdition.'' I do not now ask you what will be the sentiments of your soul, if, at the day of God's final judgments upon sinners, some unhappy young persons who have been seduced by your evil example from the way of virtue, shall point to you as the authors of their de- struction. But, I ask you, where can you in reason expect that your station at that day will be, if during life you have been linked in bonds of friendship with the worst of God's enemies; with those, who by their irreligious lives and wicked example have brought a scandal upon religion, made void the blood of Jesus, and proved the eternal destruction of souls.'' Will you not then be classed with the workers of iniquity, and THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 85 with them receive your portion in everlasting misery? For, are you not guilty of offering a most heinous in- sult to the God of heaven, your future Judge, if you associate with those who trample his divine law under their feet? Do you not thus involve yourselves both in their present enmity to God, and in the danger of sharing in their future and everlasting exclusion from presence? When Josaphat, king of Judah, had, for motives of state policy, contracted an alliance with the impious Achab, king of Israel, he was severely condemned by Almighty God for such a connexion. A prophet was commissioned on the part of the iNiost High, to admonish and reprove him in these terms: " You assist the wicked, and associate with those who hate God, on which account you deserve to' be rebuk- ed." 2 Kings, xix. To love God with our w^hole heart, and at the same time to be fond of the society of those who are hour- 1}' insulting him by their crimes, are things totally ir- reconcileable with each other. However we may flatter ourselves that we are in no danger of becom- ing corrupted by the company of the wicked, the dreadful experience of thousands that have gone be- fore us ought to convince us, that it is impossible to associate any long time with the wicked without adopt- ing their manners. There is nothing wiiich has so much influence upon the conduct of mankind as ex- ample. What powerful eli'ects does the virtuous lite of but one faithful servant of God produce upon those who are witnesses of it ! How many sinners are by it reclaimed from vice, how many that waver are confirmed, how many just animated to persever- ance! But, if this be the effect of the lives of the good, how much more weighty must be the influence of the conduct of the wicked, who by their example invite us to the indulgence of every thing that is agreeable to corrupt nature and a vicious self-love! There cannot then, most certainly, be a more danger- 8 86 EIGHTH HOMILY ON ous snare for oi;r virtue, nor consequently a more certain sign of its speedy future destruction, tlian to frequent evil company Weak and corrupt of our- selves, we are unable, without the aid of divine grace, to do any thing deserving of eternal life. This grace the Almighty jjromises to us so long as we walk be- fore him with an humble fear of oti'ending hiin, and carefully shun all dangerous occasions of sin. But to court danger and temptation, is to forfeit all clann to the divine protection, leave ourselves unarmed in the hour of danger, and wilfully consent to our ruin. — Now, among all the dangers and temptations to which we are opposed, there is not any one so great as tliat which arises from the company of the wicked. As well might you expect to live in the midst of persons infected with. the plague and not catch their disorder, as to associate with evil company and at the same time not adopt their vices. "Can a man touch pitch without being defiled with it?" says the wise man. — Ac, nor can we frequent evil company and escape the contagion of their example. You may, perhajjs, per- suade yourselves, that you love their persons and not their faults; that you will take care not to join in their excesses, nor imitate their conduct. Fatal delusion! By being frequently in the company of the wicked you will become habituated to scenes of vice, and the constant hearing and seeing of what is contrary to decency and virtue will soon wear otf that horror of sin which at present proves your security. Your virtue thus stripped of its guard, will be lel't open and defenceless; the poison of evil example \vill work its way insensibly into the heart; you will, almost without perceiving it, adopt the sentiments and ac- tions of your associates; and, at length throwing off all restraint, run headlong with them the career of in- iquity So sensible of this danger were the saints of God, both in the old and the new law, that though they had spent years in the faithful service of God, THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 87 and were confirmad in long habits of virtue, they carefully shunned tlie society of the wicked, lest, by criminally running into danger, they should provoke God to withdraw his supporting grace, and leave them a prey to the snares of evil company. If such was the conduct of the Saints, wlio were infinitely stronger than ourselves, shall ice dare to court the friendship of sinners, and think ourselves safe? Are not we, at kast, under an equal obligation of flying from this most dangerous of all tlie occasions of sin? Yes, my beloved brethren, this obligation is so strict and so important, that the word of God delivers it in various passages, and in the strongest terms. "My son,"' says the wise man, "if sinners shall flatter thee with their caresses, consent not to them: walk not thou with them, refrain thy foot from their paths," Prov. i. 10, 15. "We charge you," cries out the Apostle St. Paul, "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every bro- ther that walketh disorderly." 2 Thess. iii. 6. "If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or a drunkard, with such a one do not even eat." 1 Cor. v. "{• vil communication corrupts good manners." — 1 Cor. XV. Before the Hebrews entered the land of Canaan, Almighty God strictly charged them not to contract any friendship or alliance with the inhabitants of that idolatrous country, lest they should be cor- rupted by their evil example. But the Jews, forget- ful of the divine precept, and following their own evil inclinations, mixed with the idolaters, learned their evil ways, and forsook the worship of their true God. It was through a similar neglect of this impor- tant precept of flying evil company, that Solomon, after many years spent in the service of God, lost the grace of heaven, and miserably abandoned himself to shameful lusts and idolatry. If other examples vs'ere necessary to impress upon your minds a conviction of the obligation under which you are, of avoiding evil 88 EIGHTH HOMILY ON company, and of the fatal consequences attendant up- on a neglect of this obligation, I could cite to you that of the Apostle St. Peter, the great St. Augustine, and thousands of others, who owed their misfortunes to this fatal source of sin, evil company. But I would rather invite you to turn your eyes to the numerous living examples of the fatal effects of bad company. If you yourselves have happily escaped its snares, is there no one among your friends or acquaintance who once walked in the way of virtue, till entering into the company of the wicked, he lost his innocence, and became corrupted like them. Look at the num- bers of young persons living in the dreadful habits of cursing, drunkenness, and impurity, and be convinced how fatal an engine of destruction is the company of the wicked, and how strictly every Christian is bound to shun it! Uh! that all parents and masters of fami- lies who now hear me, sensible of the obligation which their state imposes upon them, would faithfully co-operate with me in warning the tender souls en- trusted to them of this fatal snare, and watch over them to preserve them from the society of the wicked! It is too often owing to a criminal neglect of parents and persons in authority, in not watching with suffi- cient caution over the conduct of their children, ap- prentices and servants, that the seeds of vice are sown by evil companions in the minds of young per- sons; and habits are formed which they never after- wards break off. Be then vigilant in the discharge of your duty; banish from your houses those whose lives are scandalous, and whose vicious example may infect the tender souls under your care. Let all who be- long to you be sensible that it is the first wish of your heart to see them faithful in the service of God, and to aid them in working out their eternal salvation. Thus will you most effectually contribute to their sanctification, and at the same time promote your own and their everlasting welfare. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 89 In the bowels of the mercy of Christ Jesus I now address you, the younger part of my audience, who are more immediately exposed to the danger against which I have this day warned you. I conjure you ever to remember your own weakness and to tremble, lest by connecting yourselves with the wicked you should forfeit the divine protection, and learn their evil ways. If jou have already had the misfortune to listen to their seductions, and leave the path of virtue, break asunder the bonds which link you to the wick- ed, and no more frequent their society, or the places to which they resort. It is hard, perhaps you will tell me, to part from those whom you call your friends. But will it be easier to go with them into everlasting flames? Is there any thing that ought to be preferred to your eternal happiness? Has not your licdeemer declared, that we must cheerfully renounce whatever would prove an obstacle in our way to heaven, even if it be as dear to us as a hand or an eye. With what joy did the martyrs resign their estates, their friends, and even their blood, for the gaining of heaven; and how glorious is the crown that now recompenses their sacrifice! Imitate their noble resolution; trample the world under your feet, renounce the company of sin- ners, and labour to repair {)ast scandals, setting be- fore your eyes the awful scene of the last judgment, in which your station will depend principally upon the choice that you now make of your friends and companions. Oh! what sweet tranquillity will fill your souls when you have once regained the path of vir- tue! ^^ ith what confidence will you be enabled to stand before your Judge in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment! The labour is short, the re- compense is eternal. If you have hitherto escaped the seductions of evil company, be more than ever on your guard against this dangerous snare for your virtue. Be extremely cautious in the choice of your companions, carefully 8* 90 EIGHTH HOMILY ON shunning the society of the drunkard, the impure, the swearer, the detracter, and the blasphemer. Seek the friendship of those who live up to the faith which you profess; by whose good example you may be aided and encouraged in the path of virtue, and in whose happy company you may be found at the right-hand of your Saviour, when he shall welcome his faithful servants to a participation of his glory. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 91 HXNTH noTaiiMY. Chap. III. ver. 1. Then Tobias sighed, and began to pray with tears 2. Sa3'ing, Thou art just, Lord, and all thy judg- ments are just, and all thy ways are mercy, and truth, and jugd- ment 3. And now, O Lord, think of me, and take not re- venge of my sins, neither remember my offences, nor those of my parents 4. For we have not obeyed thy commandments, and therefore are delivered to spoil, and to captivity, and deaih, and are made a fable and a reproach to all nations amongst which thou hast scattered us 5. And now, O Lord, great are thy judgments, because we have not done according to thy pre- cepts, and have not walked sincerely before thee 6. And now, O Lord, do with me according to thy will, and command my spirt to be received in peace: for it is better for me to die than to live. Of all the trials with which the hand of divine Pro- vidence visited the good Tobias for the perfection of his virtue, none seems so deeply to have atfected him as the irreligious language and unafFeotionate conduct of his wife. Struck with blindness, he submitted without murmuring to this severe affliction; and when reviled by his relations and pretended friends, he an- swered their insulting railleries with meekness, and kindly admonished them of their duty. But when he heard the person whom of all others he most tenderly loved, and from whom he expected consolation under his sufferings, join with the impious followers of the world in ridiculing his piety, and attacking the good- ness and justice of God's providence, his heart could no longer withstand the emotions of grief. He made no reply to the insulting reproaches of his wife, lest he should give occasion to fresh sallies of anger, and be forced to witness another effusion of impiety from her, who, notwithstanding his edifying example, had imbibed the false maxims of her carnal-minded ac- quaintance. But heaving a deep sigh from a breast 92 NINTH HOMILY ON overwhelmed with gvief and affliction, Tobias had re- couise to pra)'er as his only consolation in distress. Oh! that all married persons, when in similar circum- stances of affliction, when sulFering from the reproaches or unbecoming" language of the partner of their bed, instead of aggravating their uneasiness by a return of insulting words and unchristian behaviour, would, like the holy Tobias, remain silent till the storm is past, secretly offering their hearts to Almighty God, and imploring light, help, and consolation from above! How many fatal quarrels and dissensions would thus be prevented! how many sources of uniiappiness would be dried up! how seldom would peace and harmony be driven from the bosom of families! Besides, this humble endeavour to p-reserve that agreement which is so essential to the happiness of married persons, never fails to bring down the blessing of heaven upon its exertions; and the prayers, thus offered up in a spirit of meekness and charity, prove an abundant source of grace and consolation to families. The prayer which Tobias poured forth in his afflic- tion, is an admirable model of that holy exercise to persons in all states and conditions, but particularly -to those who are suflfering under persecution or distress. He begins his prayer with tlie most humble acknowl- edgment of the wisdom and justice of divine Provi- dence, and the inwaid humility of his soul manifests itself in the sighs and tears which accompany the ex- pression of his grief. Prayer is an homage due from man to his Creator, as the Supreme and !*overign Lord of the Universe, the beginning and the end of all things. Man, in whatever state we consider him, is strictly bound to humble himself before the majesty of God; to meditate upon the works of his infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; to praise and thank him for his blessings; and to make frequent acts or outward expressions of the love of his Creator. This kind of prayer is what forms the uninterrupted and eternal oc- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 93 cupation of the blessed in heaven, as St. John informs us in the Revelations. At one time, he tells us, that he saw before the throne of God four and twenty elders, having crowns of gold upon their heads, and with them four living creatures, who rested not day and night, but incessantly cried out. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Grod Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. Then falling down before Him who is seated on the throne, and casting their crowns at his feet, as a confession of his soverign dominion, and of his being the Author of their happiness, they proclaim him worthy to receive honour and glory and power and wisdom and strength lor ever and ever. At another time, the holy Evangelist beholds millions of millions of blessed spirits surrounding the throne of the Lamb that was slain for the sins of men, and singing can- ticles of joy and thanksgiving to him; while an innu- merable multitude, of all nations, and tribes, and tongues, standing before the throne, clothed in white robes, and holding palms in their hands, cry out with a loud voice, "Glory be to our God, and to the Lamb that redeemed us by his blood." Apoc. iv. 4., v. 6. — Such, my beloved brethren, is the constant and only occupation of the blessed in heaven. The great work of the creation of the universe, and tiie still more in- comprehensible mystery of tlie redemption of fallen man, call forth the incessant and eternal praises of the angels and gloiified S{)irits. And shall we, for whom the Almighty thus exerted the wonders of his Omnipo- tence, remain unmindful of his goodness, and retuse him the tribute of our adoration, praise, and thanks- giving? Happy indeed are we, if, grateful for his blessings, we pay him the daily homage of our ptaise, and thus begin upon earth that employment which will hereafter be our oiily occupation in the company of the blessed! But, situated as we are in this world, there is another kind of prayer, of still stricter obligation, and still 94 NlN-rH HOMILY ON more necessary for us, and more closely connected with our eternal welfare; 1 mean llie prayer of sup- plication and petition, by wiiich we apply to the Deity, as the source of all good, for help from above, and for the light and grace that may conduct us safe to our everlasting happiness. This kind of prayer was al- Avays necessary for man, even in his happy state of innocence in the garden of Paradise; because prayer alone could secure to him that divine favour and pro- tection which were to preserve him faithful in his al- legiance to his Creator, and firm in the path of duty. But since the disobedience of our first parents, prayer is become of infinitely greater obligation and necessi- ty Fallen from our original excelL^nce, a prey to ig- norance and concupiscence, and surrounded by the most artful and malicious enemies, who at every step aie planting ti snare for our destruction, we are of ourselves totally incapable either of providing for our own safety, of vanquishing our spiritual enemies, or of attaining to the great end of our being — the favour of God here, and. the eternal enjoyment of him hereafter. It is He who by his grace must work in us both to will and to do that which is good; on him we depend for light, help, and strength, for present safety and future happiness. Ttiere is no truth, indeed, more re- volting to our loatural pride and self-sufficiency than this gi-eat secret of Christianity, viz. our own total in- ability to do good. But at the same time there is no truth the knowledge of which is so necessary for us, and of so much importance in a spiritual light. " V\ ith- out me," says the divine Founder of our religion, "ye can nothing," John xv. 5.; and his inspired Apostle assures us, that without grace from above we cannot so much as pronounce the adorable name of Jesus in a maimer agreeable to God. Thus weak and destitute of ourselves, whither shall we fly for refuge, consola- tion, and |)rotcction.'* To God, on the wings of prayer. He is omnipotent, and therefore can help us; he is all- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 95 good, and therefore will not refuse to his children the hlessings which they ask of his paternal bount}'. For, "if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the. good Spirit to them that ask him,'" Luke xi. 1 3. Prayer then is necessary, because of our total de- pendence upon the divine bounty for every good gift necessary for our present and future welfare. But this is not the only reason why we are bound to pray. God, who alone can satisfy our 'Wants and necessities, has been pleased to appoint prayer as the ordinary chan- nel for communicating his graces to us. Our wants are indeed known to him long before they are perceiv- ed and felt by ourselves, and he could, without our petitioning him, administer the help of which we stand in need. But then we should neither have that thorough conviction of our own entire dependence upon him, nor that sense of his intiuite goodness and love towards us, which, during our piesent state of trial, are neces- sary to preserve our soul^ in a proper degree of Chris- tian hope. God, therefore, who is the dispenser of his own mercies, and cau fix what conditions he plea- ses for the disLrihution of his blessings, has ordained prayer as the means on our part for rendering us de- serving of his bounty. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.'" Luke xi. 9. "Pray and, faint not." Luke xviii. \. ( 'h! happy necessity, which forces us to a sweet and holv iniercourse with our Creator! * ■ appy obligation, which admits us into the secret closet of the great King of Heaven, raises us among the princes of his celestial court near to the throne of his infinite majesty, and opens to us the full hand of his unbound- ed mercy! If any earthly sovereign were to invite us to come at any hour into his presence, and lay our tem- poral necessities before him, with a full assurance of lending a favourable ear to our requests, and corres- 96 NINTH HOMILY ON ponding with our petitions, should we slight the invi- tation? Should we siitrer ourselves to be easily prevail- ed upon to wave our claim to the favour and protec- tion of our piince? I believe, my beloved brethren, there is not one of us, who, if honoured with so dis- tinguished a mark of royal favour, would not feel proud of making the world sensible of the high privilege which he enjoyed, and daily embrace with gladness the opportunity wliich a free access to the person of his prince atlbrded him, of obtaining relief for himself and his friends. Shall we, then, think less highly of the honour conlerretl upon us by the King of Heaven, is not only inviting but even commanding us to lay our wants before him? Shall' we be less solicitous for eter- nal blessings than for temporal ones? Shall we slight the gracious condecension of that tender and omnipo- tent Father, who waits but to l)ehold us imploring his aid in the disposition of humble suppliants, and is rea- dy instantly to shower down upon us the treasures of his grace and mercy? Shall we refuse him the accep- table tribute of our morning and evening homage; a tribute, which, tliougli due tohim as our Creator, Pre- server, and Sovereign Lord, he never fails to recom- pense with abundant blessings, temporal and 'eternal? Ah! my beloved Brethren, how truly provoking and insuhing in the sight of God must be the conduct of those who, notwithstanding his invitations, his com- mands, and his promises, neglect the daily and impor- tant obligation of prayer! Vet, how does this crimi- nal neglect now overspread the face of the earth! How few ai'ethe families and the individuals that are faithful in the discharge of this duty? Thousands of those among whom we live, rise in the morning without one thought of the bounty of that Being who preserved them durmg the night from the arrows of death that have fallen thick around them, and have surprised so many of their unhappy fellow-creatures. They hasten to their daily task and occupation without a single act THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 97 of homage and adoration ol" that God who holds in his hand the tl tread of their existence. Forgetful of their dependence on the bounty of God during the day, they conclude theii- labours in the same slothful spir- it; they retire to rest like the brutes of the field; and though their consciences groan under a load of iniqui- ty, they offer not a single supplication for mercy to their insulted God, whose vengeance they have such just reasons to fear. Even among the better sort of Christians, who are careful to perform some acts of devotion each morning and evening, what slothful in- difference is too often observable in the manner of dis- charging this sacred obligation! How small a portion of time i§ devoted to the holy exercise of prayer; and of that small poition, how very little is really given to God from a want of that sense of our total dependence on God, and that ardent desire of obtaining his grace here and the enjoyment of him hereafter, which are the life and soul of Cliristian prayer! Again; how many parents and masters of families, though faithful perhaps iu fulfilling the duty of prayer themselves, take no care of those under their charge as to the per- formance of this obligation, and consequently become responsible in the siglit of God for the criminal neglect of prayer, of which their children, sei vants, and ap- prentices are guilty, and (orj^e evil consequences, that flow from such neglect: Indeetl, my beloved brethren, without entering into any detail of the fatal effects of neglecting the important duty of pray- er, it may be said with truth, that to this one neglect alone we may ascribe the ruin of the greater part of the souls that are eternally lost. For, however violent and dangerous may be the temptations to which we find ourselves exposed; however strong and inveter- ate the habits of vice in which we may have the mis- fortune to be engaged; however malicious the efforts of our spiritual enemies; prayer, fervent prayer, will remove every obstacle to salvation, will prove both a 9 98 NINTH HOMILY ON sword and a sliield in the hour of danger, and will lead us on to the possession of that crown which is promis- ed to the conqueror of sin and death. But to neglect pray^, is to walk naked and unarmed into the midst of foes that are incessantly plotting our destruction; in ^lort, it is wilfully writing the sentence of our own everlasting condemnation. In prayer the Saints of God found their protection from danger, their safeguard in battle, their refuge in tribulation, their consolation in distress. Thus the holy servant of God, Tobias, struck with blindness, deprived of his possessions, ridiculed by his friends, and reviled by his \a ife, in fine, abandoned by every earthly consolation, flies to pray- er for his solace under the sorro\\ s that ovetvvhelmed him, and in prayer finds that comfort and relief which no human aid could have afforded him. He humbles himself under the hand that strikes him; adores the di- vine judgments, always" just and holy in themselves; and bows with perfect submission totiie will of heaven. Heleaves himself to the disposal of Providence, whose ways he acknowledges are full of mercy, and truth, and justice: full of mercy, because all his chastisements are designed to promote the happiness of his children; full of truth, because in them he fulfils liis-own declara- tion, that "he chastises him whom he loi'es," Prov. iii. 12.; and full of justice, because no man living is without slain in his divine sight, and, consequently, no one is exempt from feeling the eflccis of sin in the scourges ot divine justice. "Thou ait just, O Lord, and all thy judgements are just, and all thy ways are mercy, and truth, and judgment." Having thus con- fessed the justice of divine Providence, 'I obias runs with confidence to shelter himself under the wings of its mercy. "Now, O Lord, remember me, and take not revenge of my sins, neither remember my ofi'cn- ces, nor those of my parents. For we have not obey- ed thy commandments, and therefore are delivered to spoil, and captivity, and to death." Full of humility. THE BO&K OF TOBIAS. 99 Tobias ranks himself amonij sinners; acknowledges that his un\vorthiness was such as might have excluded him from a place in liie remembrance of God's mercy. But full also of divine faith, he considers his afflictions as a proof of tiie kind intentions of his Creator to- wards him. knowing- that the like afflictions had befal- len the Saints who liad gone before him in the path of virtue. While he confesses himself a sinner, and ac- knowledges himself and the whole people of Israel to have deserved the vengeance of God by their ingrati- tude for past favours, he implores heaven to avert its scourges, to forget his own and his people's sins, and to be mindful only of its ancient mercies. Then turn- ing to the consideration of his own state; conscious of his past fidelity in the divine service, and being confident that death would bring him to the happy ac- complishment of all his labours, his prayers and his tears, he cheerfully recommends his soul into the hands of his Creator. "And now, O Lord, do with me ac, cording to thy will, and cofiimand my spirit to be re- ceived in peace." Not that this holy man was weary of suflfering, or sunk under his afflictions; but consid- ering the dangers that threatened him, from the evil example of the wicked among whoni he lived, he fear- ed lest he should be drawn aside from the path of du- ty, and forfeit the divine favour. Looking therefore upon death as the best security both for his virtue and its reward, he prays for the hastening of the moment of his dissolution, yet with perfect submission to that divine Providence which ordains all things for the good of its servants. — That holy prayer, my beloved brethren, may be your refuge and consolation in time of distress; be faithful in the discharge of this holy duty during your health and strength, and see that all under your charge are regular in the performance of this sacred obligation. Abundant blessings, both tem- poral and eternal, will be the happy reward of your fidelity. 100 TENTH HOMILY ON TENTH HO]M[ZI.Y. Chap. III. ver 7. Now it happened on the same day, that Sarah, daughter of Raguel in Rages, a city of the Medes, received a reproach from one of her fal&er's servani-maids, 8. Because she had been given to seven husbands, and a devil named As- modeus had killed them at their first going in unto her 9. So when she reproved the maid for her fault, she answered her, saying, May we never see son or daughter of thee upon the earth, thou murderer of thy husbands! 10. Wilt thou kill me also, as thou hast already killed seven husbands? — At these words she went into an upper chamber of her house, and for three days and three nights did neitlier eat nor drink: 11. But continuing in prayer with tears, besought God that he would deliver her from this reproach. We are now, my beloved brethren, arrived at a part of the book of Tobias, which unfolds to us many ad- mirable secrets of the conduct of divine Providence towards its chosen servants. At the same time that Tobias in his affliction at JNinivc had recourse to play- er as his only consolation, Sarah, another servant of God at Rages, or, as it is also called, Elcbalana, a city of the Medes, having met with a severe persecution, flew to the same holy exercise for refuge and comfort. The prayers, of both these holy persons were heard by Almighty God, because they were presented to liim in the same spirit of a lively faith and solid humillLy. Their petitions were granted, but in a manner very ditl'erent from what they themselves expected, as the sequel of the history will inform you. Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was a virtuous young woman, whose holy life corresponded with the principles of piety in which she had been educated. In compliance with the will of her parents, she had engaged no less tiian seven times in the married state, but each of her seven husbands had been struck ^vith BOOK OP TOBIAS. 101 death on the first night of his marriage. As they had sutiered their hearts to fall a prey to the passion of lust, and the gratification of their passion was the prin- cipal motive that induced them to enter into matrimo- ny, Almighty God, to shew the abhorrence which he has of all impurity, particularly in the married state, delivered them up to the power of an evil spirit, "who slew them at their very first going in unto her." How dreadful an example is this of the rigorous punishment with which God will hereafter visit those who either enter into the married state with unbecoming disposi- tions, or when engaged in it, profane its sanctity by any indecent liberties. Though he no longer displays his visible judgments upon such as provoke him by these crimes, Christians are to remember, that their punishment will be so much the more severe in that future state in which justice will no longer be temper- ed with mercy. By the untimely end of the seven first husbands of Sarah, Almighty God plainly shew- ed that they were not worthy ot her, and at the same time gives an awful lesson to all young persons, of that purity of heart and intention which he requires from those who enter into the holy state of matrimony. The dispositions necessary to draw down the divine blessing upon a Christian marriage, will come under our consideration in the course of a future instruction. After the death of her seven husbands, Sarah con- tinued to live with her parents that same life of purity and innocense which had secured her, in so visible a manner, the protection of heaven. On one occasion it happened that she found herself obliged in duty to reprove one of her father's maid-servants for a fault which she had committed. The servant, instead of re- ceiving the correction with humility, flew into a pas- sion, and made use of the most reproachful and insult- ing language, charging her young mistress with being the murderer of her seven husbands, and calling down the curse of heaven upon her. Sarah, though thus iii- 9* 102 TENTH HOMILY ON suited and abused by an inferior, sought no revenge. Like a true servant of God, she considered the hand of Providence in this, as in every other event, sweetly disposing all things for her good. Banishing all thoughts of malice and revenge from her heart, she submits with admirable patience to the persecution of her ser- vant, and seeks for comfort in holy prayer. To per- form this holy exercise with greater recollection of spirit, and to pour forth her heart \vith greater free- dom, she withdraws from the noise and conversation of the world, and retires into a chamber in the upper part of the house. There she spends three whole davs in the most fervent prayer; and in order to give greater efficacy to her petitions, observes during the whole time a most rigorous fast, taking neither meat nor drink. With tears she implores her God to deliver her from the reproach that had been cast upon her, to clear lier from the false accusation of having been the murderer of her husbands; and to avert the curse of barrenness which her servant had called down upon her. It is thus, my beloved brethren, that the Saints of God leave it to the Almighty to be their avenger and deliv- erer under the calumnies and persecutions ^vhich befall them; make it their only study to embrace with the most perfect submission all the appointments of Pro- vidence; and to turn their trials and afflictions into so many sources of grace here, and of eternal reward hereafter. From the prayer of Tobias I took occasion (o point out to you the necessity and obligation of that holy exercise; a necessity founded on our total dependence upon God for every good, and on the positive injunc- tion of God himself, who has commanded us to pray as the means to render ourselves deserving of his boun- ty. The prayer of Sarah, which forms the principal subject of this instruction, presents j^ou with an ex- cellent pattern of the manner in ^vhich you are to dis- charge this holy duty, in order to render your prayer THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 103 pleasing in the sight of God, and productive of fruit to your own souls. For it is not ever}' kind of pray- er which draws down the blessing of heaven. The prayer which is merely tlie service of the lips and not of the heart; the prayer which is otiered up by the wil- ful sinner, who remains obstinate in his crimes, or by the worldling whose soul is enslaved to the perishable things of this life, and cares not for the blessings of eternity, all such prayers as these, are a mockery of God, and instead of securing his blessing, provoke his indignation. When you pray therefore, imitate the virtuous Sarah, in carefully banishing the ^vorld and its follies from all place in your thoughts; and let your exterior, i. e. the outward posture of your body, be- speak the inward reverence and humility of your soul. Kneeling down as a mark of respect due to the sov- ereign Creator, begin not your petition till you have deeply impressed upon your mind a sense of the pre- sence of that immense Being who fills the heavens and the earth, before whom you kneel, and whose mercy you are about to implore. It is the advice of the wise man, or rather of the Holy Ghost by his mouth, who says, "Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not as one who tempteth God." Eccl xviii. 23. If thoughts of worldly business, company, amusement, or the likp, present themselves before you when you go to prayer, say to them as Jesus did to his disciples when he en- tered the garden to pour forth his soul to his heavenly Father, "Stay you here while I go yonder and pray." Shut the door of your mind against all wilful distrac- tions, and bring with you to this holy exercise, a heart truly sensible of the divine presence, and truly desir- ous to discharge this sacred duty in a becoriiing man- ner There is nothing so necessary in order to pray well, as this recollection of spirit, this thought of the divine presence. But to obtain it and preserve it in your souls, you must not only cultivate this recollec- tion at the times in which you go to prayer: accustom 104 TENTH HOMILY ON yourselves to a frequent remembrance of tlie divine presence during the day, let the whole tenour of 3' our lives be regular, and, aljove all, avoid giving too much time to dissipation and excess of amusement, than which nothing contributes more to root out the spirit of prayer from the soul. Bringing with you this re- collection of spirit to youi prayers, you will not only prevent distractions from being voluntary in their ori- gin, but, acquiring a habit of watchfulness over your- selves, you will be powerfully aided in faittifuUy resist- ing and removing those involuntary wanderings of tlie mind, which are inseparable from our present state of frailty and corruption. Having then used your good endeavours to prepare yourselves for the duty of pray- er, by recollection in the divine presence, be not dis- heartened or alarmed at the frequent involuntary dis- tractions which you may experience. ' Make them a subject of humility, acknowledging in them the weak- ness of your nature, and faitlifuUy fight against them; then, so far from hindering the fruit of your prayer, they will, by filling you with sentiments of humility, add greatly to the merit of "that holy exercise, and draw down an increase of grace. For, next to this recollection of spirit and sense of God's presence which I liave pointed out to you as the first disposition towards praying well, you mtrst be careful to pray with an humble spirit. God hath re- gard to the piayer ot the humble, and he despiseth not their petitions; but the proud he rejects far from him. Kneel before God with a full conviction of your own poverty and unworthiness; sensible that your wants are infinite, and that God alone can give you relief, throw yourselves at his feet. Cry out to him in the sentiments of humility and earnest supplication with which the beggar at your gate entreats an alms from you; for, says the great St. Augustine, with re- gard to God, we are all beggars when we pray, pros- trate before the door of this great Father of the whole THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 105 world, with sighs and tears imploring blessings from him. It was in this spirit holy ^ avid prayed, Psalm Ixix. 6, "I am needy and poor, O God help me;" and the prophet Daniel tells us that his pra3^ers were per- formed in the same humble disposition; "When I pray- ed," says he, "I confessed my sins and those of my people Israel, and prostrate on the ground poured forth my prayers in the presence of my God." Dan. ix. 20. In the same humble and contrite spirit, the publican, by a short but fei'vent expression of humili- ty, supplicated and found mercy, in the forgiveness of his sins. But this humble sense of your own unworthiness must always be accompanied with a firm confidence in the goodness of God, which is a third condition requisite for rendering your prayers acceptable to God. This is what the holy Scripture calls praying icith faith; " Wjiatsoever you shall ask in prayer, if you ask with faith, that is, with confidence in God, you shall obtain it." Matt. xxi. 22. How strong, how lively, how admirable was this faith in those poor distressed objects who are recorded in the Gos- pel to have drawn near to Jesus Christ for the cure of their temporal infirmities ! The woman who had been afflicted for so many years with an issue of blood, says within herself, "If I shall but touch the hem of his garment I shall be healed." Matt. ix. 21. The centurion, after expressing his own unworthiness to entertain his Saviour under his roof, cries out with a full faith and confidence in his divine power and goodness, "Speak but the word, O Lord, and my ser- vant shall be healed." Malt. viii. 8. Shall we then have less confidence when we apply to him for the relief of our spiritual wants? Are his goodness and his power less than they formerly were; or is the arm of his mercy shortened? Has not he himself com- manded us to pray, with a full assurance that whatso- ever we ask we shall receive, if we ask it in his name? Oh! let us throw ourselves with confidence in- 106 TENTH HOMILY ON to the arms of his mercy, let us lay our wants at the feet of our heavenly Father, filled, indeed, with a sense of our own unworthiness, but placing all our hopcHJi that adorable Saviour, who having once by his death purchased every blessing for us, lives al- ways to make intei'cession for us, and presents inces- santly to his ^ternal Father his bitter sufferings and death, in union with our humble requests, to the throne of mercy. But you have prayed, and you find yourselves no better for your prayers. — Redouble then your fervour, and persevere in prayer. For, either you have not prayed with those dispositions which I have named to you, recollection in the divine presence, attention, hu- militij, and confidence; or the Almighty, in his merci- ful designs for your good, defers the grant of your petitions, in order thaj; you may pray with greater earnestness and with perseverance, and thus may de- serve a great increase of grace. The oftering of our prayer, at first insignilicant and contemptible in itself, by being many times renewed and repeated, becomes at length valuable, and in some manner proportioned to the blessings which we ask. Hence Almighty God often grants to perseverance in prayer that which he refuses to a first request. Our divine Kedeemer, therefore, exhorts us to pray and faint not; and for our encourairement ffives us the examuleof a widow who O o 1 had for a long time solicited an unjust judge to do her justice but without effect, till at length by her multi- plied entreaties, she in a manner forced him to grant her request. But the most admirable pattern of per- severance in prayer, is the Chananaean woman, as re- lated in the loth chapter of St. Matthew. This poor woman, though brought up amongst idolaters, had heard of Jesus Christ, and conceived a strong faith in Ijim. She applied to him for the cure of her daughter, who was grievously tormented by the devil. At first our divine Redeemer took no notice at all of her re- quest, but remained silent, as if he had no care for THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 107 her. The woman not all disheartened, redoubled her cries, till the Apostles, weary of her importunities, begged their divine Master either to dismiss her, or to grant what she asked. The answer of our Saviour was still more dislieartening than his silence; "I am sent," said he, "-only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." You, therefore, who belong not to my fold, have no claim upon my mercy. But, instead of sink- ing into despair and giving up her cause, the woman drew nearer to Jesus, threw herself at his feet, and worshipped him, saying: "Lord, help me." Admira- ble as was her confidence, and lervent as was her pray- er, Jesus seemed not to regard it, But coolly rejilied, "It is not fit to take the bread of children and give it to the dogs." One would have imagined that this answer of our Saviour would have deprived this poor woman of all hope, and induced her 1o abandon her request; but it SL'rves only to animate her confidence, and redouble iier fervour. "Yes, O Lord," she cries out, "it is true; but even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall fiom their master's table." I confess, O Lord, that brought up in idolatry, I am, compared to tiiy people, as that unclean animal, the dog. I am not worthy to partake of the bread with which thou feed- est thy ciiildren. But deny me not, O Lord, the crumbs which fall from thy table; give me the blessing which I ask, and which requires not the exertion of that almighty power which thou displayest in favour of thy ))eoplc, but merely a fragment of thy omnipo- tent goodness. "O woman," cried out our Redeem- er, in admiration at her perseverance, "great is thy faith; be it done to thee accordingly as thou desired:" and her daughter was cured at that very hour. In how admirable a manner, my beloved brethren, has Jesus Christ here untblded to us the conduct of our heavenly Father. If he grants not our requests when we first present them, it is not because he is either unable or unwilling to relieve us; but it is to impress us more deeply with a sense of our own 108 TENTH HOMILY ON nothingness, to animate us with greater faith and con- fidence in his goodness, to excite us to fresh ferv^our, ■ and to induce us to perseverance, by which our offer- ings are rendered more pleasing in his sight, more proportioned to his graces, and more deserving of his bounty. Mindful tlien of the unbounded goodness of that Being on whom you depend for every blessing, be in- stant in prayer; pray and faint not. But be careful, my beloved brethren, to bnng with you to prayer the dispositions which I have pointed out to you, as es- sentially requisitejto a good performance of that duty. When you present yourselves as suppliants before the throne of God, apply your whole soul to that holy exercise. Banish all carnal and worldly thoughts from your minds, and think of God alone, and of what you are asking from his bounty. Impress your minds with a feeling sense of the divine presence, and raise yourselves in spirit above all earthly objects to the throne of the Deity. There, prostrate in the most profound sentiments of your own nothingness, pour forth your requests with an humble heart, but with a firm confidence in the goodness of God and the merits of your Saviour. Consider prayer as the most important business of each day of your lives; as that upon which principally your present and I'uture happiness depend. Let no worldly cares, neither business, company, nor amusement, prevent your reg- ular attention to this m.osl important duty, both with regard to yourselves and your families. Butin pray- ing, let it be your first concern to seek the kingdom of God and his justice. Your prayers thus proceed- ing from an earnest desire of eternal life, offered up with recollection, attention, humility, and persever- ance, and presented in the name and through the merits of Christ Jesus, will ascend as a sweet odour before God, who will open to you, as he did to his servants Tobias and Sarah, the full hand of his mer- cy, in the liberal giant of all your requests. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 109 EI.EVENTK HOMILY. Chap. in. ver. 12. And it came to pass on the third day, when she (Sarah) was m iiing an end of her prayer, blessing the Lord, 13. she said. Blessed is thy name, O God of our Fa- thers: who, when thou hast been angry, wilt sliew mercy, and in the time of tribulation, forgivest the sins of them that call upon thee. The holy Scripture has recorded for us tlie conclu- sion of the admirable prayer, which Sarah in her dis- tress presented to the Ahnitjhty. It is so clear that it stands not in need of any explanation; and, at the same time, is so full of the noblest sentiments of piety, and the most useful instructions, that it is highly deserving of our serious meditation. Sarah, under one of the most Severe trials that can befall human nature, that of calumny, being falsely charged witli the murder of her husbands, and quite overwhelmed with grief and af- fliction, blesses God, Confessing him to be the Sov- ereign Lord of his creatures, and acknowledging that he has a right to do as he pleases wiih the works of his hands, she finds a source of consolation even in her affliction itself. Nothing can shake her faith in this truth, that the ditferent events of our lives are or- dered by an all-wise Providence for our good, nor les- sen her confidence in the divine mercy and protection. She knows that the very chastisements of heaven are all tempered with mercy, and that afflictions borne with humble resignation to his holy will, are one of the most excellent means of atoning for sin and disarm- ing God's indignation. Banisliing every human con- sideration, and every earthly source of comfort far from her thoughts, she turns to God alone for refuge, and with her whole heart fixed on the contemplation of his infinite wisdom, power, and goodness, she im- 10 110 ELEVENTH HOMILY ON plores his protection. Penetrated with the most live- ly sentiments of her ovvn natural weakness, yet full of that confidence which a good conscience never fails to inspire, she offers her fervent piayeis for relief to the throne of mercy. Like the good Tobias, fearing her trials might overpower her, and the strength, of temptation prevail upon her to quit the path of virtue, she begs of the Almighty with prayers, with fasting, and with tears, either to clear her from the false accu- sation thrown upon her, or, if agreeable to his will, to withdraw her by death from the contagion of a wicked world, and not suffer her to be even innocently an oc- casion of sin to others, who might be induced to think that she had been guilty of the horrid ciimes laid to her charge. Ver. 14. To thee, Lord, (she cries out) I turn my face, to thee I direct my eyes I.t. i beg, O Lord, that tfiou loose me from the bond of this reproach, oi else take me away from the earth. The examples of the Saints in their conduct under afflictions, preach to us more powerlully than any pre- cepts, of the admirable advantages to be derived (rom the trials and sufferings which are insepaia'-)le from our present condition. Even in the old law, what per- fect models of resignation and patience were tiiose holy servants of God, Joseph, Job, David, Tobias, &c. But in the new law, we have the much more perfect example of the divine Founder of Christiani- ty, Jesus Christ himself; who, under the most outra- geous calumnies, insults, and cruelties, heaped upon him by his own creatures, even when he was led as a sheep to the slaug:hter, opened not his mouth; "who, when he was revued, did not revile, and when he suf- iiered, threatened not, leaving you an example that you may walk in his steps." 1 Pet. ii. 21, 22. He fore- warns us not to be surprised if we meet with perse- cution from a wicked world, since the world persecut- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1 1 1 ed him, our Teacher and our Lord; but, under the suiTering's which befall us, to preserve tliat spirit of meekness and chaiity whicli forms tlie characteristic mark of his true disciples; to seek no revenge, but to leave our cause in the hands of God, who will vindi- cate our innocence in due time, and to exercise mercy towards our greatest enemies. Thus shall we heap coals of fire, i. e. confusion, on their heads, and pre- pare for our own a crown of glory. For, "blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven.'"' Matt. v. 11, 12. Sarah, having humbly acknowledged her submission to tlie will of heaven; and expressed her confidence -in the divine mercy, lays open the secrets of her heart before the Most High, and finds in her past innocence of life the most consoling source of hope in the divine power and protection. Ver. 16. Thou knowest, Lord, that I never coveted ahusband, and have kept my soul clean from all lust 17. Never have 1 joined with them that play: neither have I made myself par- taker with them that walk in lightness. Happy are all those young persons, who, like this virtuous woman, can call with confidence upon the God of truth to witness the purity of their hearts; can assert, that they have preserved their souls and bodies fiee from the defilement of lust, and have carefully shunned the company of those whose words or exam- ple might have endangered their chastity! For, of all the snares which the enemy of mankind lays for the destruction of mankind, especially in youth, none proves in his hands so successful a weapon for the ruin of souls, as impurity. This is the vice which deluges the world wnth iniquity, and fills hell with souls. Were we permitted to take a view of the miserable wretch- es who are already condemned to that place of woe^ 112 ELEVENTH HOMILY ON and to see at the same time the cause of their suffer- ings, I am convinced tliat we should find by lar the greater part of them suffering for some sin of lust. Even in this life the Almighty has frequendy execut- ed the severest of his visible judgments, as the holy •Scriptures abundantly testify. The universal deluge which drowned all mankind, with the exception of eight persons; the lire and brimstone that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah; and the husbands of Sarah de- livered over to the power of the devil, are lasting proofs of the abomination in which God holds all im- purity. As none but the clean of heart will be admit- ted to the presence of his glory; so none but the clean of heart, those whose souls are adorned with chastity, will enjoy in this life the presence of his grace, his favour, and his protection. Every unclean person, whose heart is stained with any of the filthy defile- ments of lust, is an object of detestation in the divine sight. God withdraws his gifts and graces from such souls, and delivers them, as he did the husbands of Sarah, to the power of Satan, by giving them up to the fury of their passions, and permitting those dread- ful effects to ensue, which are the dismal consequen- ces of impurity, viz. a disrelish for prayer and spir- itual exercises, a neglect of the sacraments, a hardness of heart, an obstinacy in sin, and that final impenitence which sets the seal to the sinner's eternal reprobation. What numbers of young persons have we ourselves known, my beloved brethren, who once walked in the path of innocence and purity, and promised a life of virtue conducting to an eternity of bliss, but suddenly stopped short in their progress, and were seen gradu- ly to sink into the depth of vice and iniquity. To what fatal snare was this their misfortune owing.'' Was it not to the detestable sin of impurity; the seeds of which were sown in their yet tender minds, either in •those moments when their parents, neglectful of their trust, kept no watch over them in their hours of lei- THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 113 sure, sleep, amusement, and company, or when they themselves, thoughtless of danger, ventured into the society of the abandoned and impure? Like the spot- less lily, which is sullied by the breath, chastity will not bear the breath of the unclean sinner, but quickly fades belbre it, and is lost. The only means of preserv- ing the inestimable treasure of purity, are, a diligent attention to those exercises of religion which increase and preserve the innocence of the soul — prayer and the sacraments; and a vigilent flying from the occasions of this sin, more especially from the company of those, who by their evil discourse, immodest jests and songs, or indecent behaviour and improper liberties, are the instruments of the devil in instilling the poison of this vice into the breasts of young persons. The conduct of Sarah is, on this point, an admirable pattern for youth The care with which she had slnmtied the company of the unchaste, proved, under God, the se- curity of her virtue; and the consciousness of her past fidelity gave her consolation in her distress, and affor- ded her a well-grounded hope of the protection of hea- ven. She calls God to witness, not only tliat she had kept her heart free from the defilements of lust, but that she had carefully avoided the society of all such as by their levity of behaviour or conversation might have proved a snare to her innocence; and had abstain- ed from those diversions and amusements which are too often the incentives to vice, such as promiscuous dancing, which is particularly signified by the Latin text of this passage — ludere. What a reproach is the conduct of this virtuous person to those Christian young women, who, careless of danger, and without choice of company, run with so much eagerness to an amusement, which this faithful servant of God avoided as a rock fatal to innocence! "Never," says she, "did I join with them that play; neither have I made my- self partaker with them that walk in lightness." 10* 114 ELEVENTH HOMILY ON Ver. 18. A husband indeed I consented to take, with thy fear, not with my lust. When arrived at a proper age, Sarah entered into the married state, not from any worldly or criminal ny)tive, but, having the fear of God before her eyes, with that uprightness of intention, and with that holy preparation, which always secure the blessing of hea- en. A want of these holy dispositions on the part of her husbands, was the occasion of their temporal and eternal destruction. But in speaking of them, Sarah pretends not to inquire into, or to fathom the ways of Providence. Ver. 19. And either 1 was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man 20. For thy counse! is not in man's power.. .. 21. But this every one is sure of that worshippelh thee that his life, if it be under trial, shall be crowned: and if it be un- der tribulation, it shall be delivered; and if it be under correc- tion, shall be allowed to come to thy mercy. Sarah, full of humility, is willing to ascribe the death of her husbands to her own uiiworthiness, but professes her ignorance of the designs of Providence, whose counsels are placed far above the reach of man's weak understanding. If vvc aie truly animated with the spirit of the servants of God, we shall be content with knowing and acknowledging, as Sarah did, that all the dispensations of God towards his ser- vants are designed for (heir good. If he tries them in this life, he will reward their fidelity in the next; if he send them afflictions, it is but for a short season; at most, for the continuance of their short lived exis- tence here below, and then death will be to them the entrance into a happiniss uncliangeable and everlast- ing. In fine, if he chastise them for their faults, his punishments operate as a salutary medicine, restoring liealth and vigour to the soul, and drawmg down mer- cy to the humbled penitent. For God, as he himself THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 115 declares by his prophet Ivzekiel, wills not the death of sinners, but is desirous of their conversion. He is not an enemy that delights in our pain; he is a ten- der parent even when he inflicts his scourges He disturbs, the quiet of our souls by raising in them the most alarming apperhensions of hisjustice, that, awak- ened to a sense of our danger, we may undertake the work of our repentance, and restore peace to our con- sciences. He excites in us the terrors and the anguish of a bitter contrition, that, being reconciled to him, we may taste that pure joy which is the fruit of the holy tears that accompany a sincere repentance. In all his dispensations he seeks our good, and in every circumstance oi' our lives he therefore most justly de- serves our heartf(^it praise and thanksgiving. Impress- ed with these sentiments, Sarah concludes her prayer with these words: Ver. 23. For thou art not delig!ited in our being lost, because after a storm tliou makest a caliiu uud after tears and weeping thou pourest in joyfulness 23. Be thy name, God of Israel, blessed for ever. The holy Scripture assures us, that the prayer of Sarah, like that of Tobias, was accepted of by Al- mighty God: Ver. 24. .\t t!iat time the prayers of them both were heard in the sight of the glory of the most high God 25. And the holy Angel of the Lord, Raphael, was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord. The petitions which these two holy servants of God addressed to him in the same spirit of faith in his power and goodness, and the same humble submission to the orders of his Providence, ascended as a rich perfume to the throne of his mercy, and were present- ed to him by the ministry of Angels, those blessed "spirits who are appointed to minister for them that shall receive the inheritance of salvation." Heb. i. 14. 1 1 6 ELEVENTH HOMILY ON The Angels are spirits created by Almighty God for tiie participation of his own glory, are ennployed by him in promoting his merciful designs towards us, and destined one day to be our fellow-members in bliss. Their number is countless. The prophet Daniel, and St. John in the Revelations, represent millions of millions of these holy spirits constantly employed in praising and adoring the Author of their happiness, and in executing his will. St. Paul, as above quoted, tells us, that the Angels are the minis- ters of God, sent by him to exercise their holy othce for his elect. It was by the ministry of Angels that the law was given to the Jews, Acts vii ; and an Angel, invested with God"'s authority, conducted liis peo()le through the desert into the land of promise. Exod. xxiii. 20. Angels present the prayers of the faithful before the throne ol mercy, as the books of Tobias and the Revelations inform us. These holy spirits are sometimes recorded to have been the ministers of God's justice in the punishment of his enemies, as in the destruction of Sodom, the death of the first-born in Egypt, and the slaughter ot the army of Senna- cherib before Jerusalem. Moreover, it is a truth founded on the words of holy Scripture, and constant- ly delivered in the writings of the Fathers and the un- interrupted tradition of the Church, that we have each of us an angel appointed by God to be our guardian and protector. Thus in the 90th Psalm, holy David says of those who trust in God, "that He has given his Angels charge over them to keep them in all their ways;" and in the 33d Psalm, ver. 8, he tells us, "that the Angels of the Lord encamp round about them that fear him." Secondly, Jesus Christ himself, speaking of little children, says, "Their Angels who are in heaven, always see the face of my Father who is in heaven," .Matt, xviii. 10. Lastly, in the 12th chap, of the Acts of the Apostles, it is recorded, that when Peter was released from prison in a miraculous man- ner, and repaired to a house where the faithful were THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 117 met to pray, they at first thought it was his Angel; which clearly shews that the f 'st Christians believed in the doctrine that each one of the faithful has an Angel guardian. Thus, while the evil spiiits are con- tinually plotting our destruction, the good Angels, by the appointment of divine Providence, lend us their powerful assistance, discover to us the snares of our malicious enemies, protect us in the hour of danger, recall to us pious thoughts and past good resolutions; aid us in conquering our passions, overcoming tempta- tions, and vanquishing our enemies; and conduct us safe in our journey through the desert of this life to the land of promise, the heavenly Jerusale n. ' Mi! adorable goodness of our God, which has provided such admirable means of advancing our happiness! Oh! holy presence of our guardian Angel! how power- fully ought the thoughts of his presence to encourage us in the path of virtue! In every action, in every place, cries out St. Bernard, be mindful tliat you are in company of your guardian Angel, and oflend him not. Da not in his presence that which you would be ashamed to do in mine. The constant recollection of the presence of your guardian Angel will provt to you a most powerful protection agaiiist the tonipiations of lust, and preserve you in that spotless purily, which will always ensure to you the divine protection, as it did to the virtuous Sarah. God received her prayer in her affliction, and sent one of the Arcb-angels, or chief spirits of his heavenly court, for her deliverance and that of the virtuous Tobias. Raphael, signifies a physician sent from God. V^ e admire the goodness of Providence in dispatching an Angel for the relief of his servants. Let us not forget, that for our relief, and the cure of our spiritual infirmities, he sent down, not an angel, but his own consubstantial Son, and de- livered him up to death for us, "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse us to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works." Titus ii. 3. 118 TWELFTH HOMILY ON TWELFTH HOMILY Chap. IV. ver. 1. Then Tobias thinking; that his prayer was heard that he might die, called to him Tobias his son, 2. And said to him, Hear, my son, the words of my moulh, and lay them as a foundation in thy lieart. We now return to the history of the good Tobias. This holy man, fearing the dangers and temptations of a wicked wovki, and finding himself, in consequence of liis blindness, no longer able to pursue his ac- customed exercises of charity, prayed earnestly that he might die, if it were the \vill of lieaven. The holy Scripture as; u res us, that his prayer was heard by Al- mighty God, who always accepts the petitions which are presented to him with a perfect conformity to his will The eft'ect, however, of his prayer was not that which Tobia.s expected from it. For as the servants of God pray >vith an entire submission of their own will to the will of Providence, leaving it to Almighty God to ordain what is most for his glory and their goon, so G'"l sometimes regards more that humble colilbrmity ol their will, than I lie requests which they actually present to him. He knows that his own glory is the great object of the desires of his servants; if therefore he rel'uses the immediate subject of their pe- tition, it is only to substitute in its place the grant of some favour more conducive to liis glory, and more agreeable to the designs of his mercy towards them. Such was tlie order of his Providence towards the virtuous Tobias. This holy man, tliinking that his prayer was heard, and humbly confiding that God would soon call him to the reward of his labours, be- gan to dispose himself for his departure out of this world. — To prepare for death ought indeed to be the business of our whole lives, and the Saints of God are THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 119 careful to make it so, according- to the advice of the Spirit of God, "in all ihy ways remember thy last things, and thou shalt never sin." But in drawing near to their last moments, the Saints redouble their fervour in the divine service, and are more earnest in setting their house in order to attend the summons of their great Lord, who is about to demand an account of their stewardship. Sensible of the strict account which he should be required to give of the manner in which he had discharged the obligations of a parent, Tobias called to him his only son, whom he had train- ed in the path of virtue, to complete his destruction, and to impress more deeply on his youthful mind the lessons of piety which were already implanted in his breast. The young Tobias was at this time about twenty years of age. His fatlier, much reduced in his circumstances, had now little else to bequealh him but his virtue. Happy, however, is the parent who on the bed of death can leave such a legacy to his chil- dren, confirmed and supjorted by a life f;ill of good example! And thrice happy are the children, who falling heirs to so rich an inheritance of virtue, culti- vate and improve it like the young Tobias! Let us consider the advice which Tobias gave to his son, as addressed to ourselves, and according to the directions of this holy man, treasure it up in our hearts as a solid foundation for a life of virtue. When his son drew near him in obedience to his call, Tobias, before he began his last instruction to him, gave him directions respecting his own and his wife's funeral in these words: Ver. 3. When God shall take my soul, thou shall bury my body: and thou shalt honour thy mother all the days of her life : 4. For thou must be mindful whit and how great perils she suffered for thee in her womb 5. And when she also shall have ended her time, bury her by me. Though the Saints of (iod are well assured by di- vine faith, that God by his almighty power will re- 1 20 TWELFTH HOMILY ON store them their bodies at the last day, and are there- fore little solicitous what becomes of" them after death, being willing', if it be for the glory of God, to resign them to the flames, or give their ashes to the winds; yet they do not condemn, but highly approve of the respect which is paid to departed friends, in the care- ful and decent interment of their bodies. Tobias, therefore, gives directions for his own burial; and, as a pattern of that regard to his wife which he recom- mends to his son, desires that their bodies may rest in the same grave. Then reminding his son of the af- fection which he owes to his parents, he exhorts him to honour his mother all the days of her life. "For," says he, "thou must be mindful what and how great things she sufliei-ed for thee in her womb." The love and affection which animals bear to those from whom they received their birth, last but for a short duration, till the young are able to supply tiieir own wants; but the love of children towards their parents, is a duty that' continues binding until death. Jesus Christ, our teach- er- and our model, is an admirable pattern in his hum- ble subjection to his blessed mother and St. Joseph, of that filial love, respect, and obedience, which God re- quir-es fi'om childr-en to their parents. For all these duties are included in that of '/iono?iy sou, comfort thy father in his old age, and give him no sorrow during his whole life. If his understanding grow weak, bear with him; and do not despise him because of the advantage which thou hast over him; for tlie charity which thou siiewest thy parent, shall not be forgotten;" that is, God will hold it in remembrance, and will amply repay thee for it. — The Almighty looks with a jealous eye upon the be- haviour of children to their j)arents- whom he has sub- stituted in his own place, to watch over them and pro- vide for them. The holy Scripture is full of the di- vine promises of blessings, both temporal and eternal, to those children that are dutiful to their parents; and at the same time threatens the severest of judgments for time and eternity upon those who are wanting in the fulfilment of these sacred obligations. Do you then, my dear children who now hear me, in the whole course of your lives, religiously observe the injunc- tions of that commandment which says, "-^onour thy father and thy mother." Shew an inviolable respect to your parents in all your words and actions, careful- ly abstaining from all harsh unbecoming language to- wards them. Love them with the most sincere affec- tion, compassionating them in their sufferings, relieving them in their distresses, procuring them comfort both spiritual and temporal, and, above all, daily praying for them. Obey them in all their orders, wherever this obedience would not be contrary to any duty which you owe to God; consult with them in all the principal occurrences and transactions of vour lives, 11 l22 TWELFTH HOMILY ON and faithfully comply with their advice and directions. The holy patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and others record- ed in the holy Scripture, were admirable patterns of these duties, even after they were married and ad- vanced in years. The same fidelity St. Paul recom- mends to all Christians: "Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord," But in thus recalling the attention of the cliildren to their obligations, let me remind vou, Christian parents, that the fidelity of childrea in lulfiUing their duties de- pends principally upon your faithfully discharging the important trust reposed in you. Like the good Tobias, train them up in the way of virtue, teach them to ab- stain from sin, and, above all, give them an edifying example of obedience to the commands of God and his Church. Then, like that holy man, you will be blessed with a family whose virtues will be a source of enjoyment to you during life, a solace in your de- clining years, and one of your sweetest consolations in the hour of death. '1 o succeed in tliis truly im- portant affair, impress upon the tender minds of your children that great truth wiiich Tobias carefully incul- cated to his son, as the ground-\voik of his instruc- tions, viz. a continued sense of the presence of God. Ver. 6. All tlie days of thy life, (said this good man to his son,) have God in thy mind: and take heed thou never consent to sin, nor transgress the commandments of ihc Lord our God. For one of the best preservatives of virtue, and con- sequently one of the best means of preventing sin, is, to have God always in our mind; to think of him in all our ways; to adore him in all the orders of his Provi- dence; to meditate daily on his holy law; to consult his will, by prayer, in all our undertakings; and to con- sider his adorable eye as ever beholding us; that thus we may be careful never to transgress his law, not from the influence of a servile fear of punishment, but moved and guided by a filial love of him, our tender THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 123 and indulgent Parent, and placing our greatest happi- ness in fulfilling his lioly will. Where is the wretch who would wnlfully fly in the face of his Creator, profane his name, call down his curses, defile himself with heastly drunkenness, or those more filthy impuri- ties which lie seeks to conceal in the darkness of the night from the eyes of his fellow-creatures, did he at the moment behold the all-seeing eye of that God who searches the reins and the hearts, and to whom nothing is invisible, looking down upon him, and the arm of his justice stretched out against him? Oh! that while I am recalling to your minds this salutary truth of the Omnipresence of God, I had a voice that could pene- trate into the remotest corners of the earth, and the most secret haunts of sinners, and impress every one with a feeling sense of the presence of the Deity! May you, at least, my beloved brethren, be mindful of this truth in every circumstance of your lives, and be you careful to instil it from the earliest years into the minds of your children! After inculcating to his son this great foundation of the fear and love of God, Tobias imparts to him most excellent advice for the practice of the important duty of giving alms to the poor. He first acquaints him with the obligation of exercising this branch of frater- nal charity, and then encourages him to the fulfilment of it, by pointing out the advantages which it pro- duces to the soul. Ver. 7. Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away thy face from any poor person: fur so it shall come to pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from thee 8. Accord- ing to thy ability be merciful 9. If thou have much give abundantly, if thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little. To relieve the distresses of our fellow-creatures, and to afford charity to those who stand in need of it, is a duty of strict obligation, pointed out to us both by rhe law of nature and the gospel. God, who is 124 TWELFTH HOMILY ON the common Father of all mankind, has bestowed upon some of his creatures a greater siiare of temporal blessings than he has given to others, that those whom he has thus blessed may imitate his bounty, and acting as faithful stewards of him the Sovereign Lord, may deserve from him an eternal recompense in heaven, by faithfully contributing to the support of those whom his Providence has placed in a more dependent situa- tion. But, lest man, blinded by avarice and passion, should forget this to be a point of duty and obligation, and should look upon it as a matter of free choice, Almighty God, both in the Old and New Law, has made it a positive precept; declaring to us, that the neglect of it provokes God to inflict his severest judgments in this life, and entails upon the soul eternal damnation in the world to come. Our divine Re- deemer, in the parable of the rich glutton, Luke xvi. and still more clearly in the account of the last judg- ment, gives us to understand, that our sentence of endless happiness or everlasting misery depends chiefly upon our fidelity or neglect in fulfilling the precept of giving alms. Matt. xxv. — Every one, therefore, who has the goods of this world, is strictly bound to employ a part of them in relieving the wants of others. To neglect this, the Holy Ghost declares is a certain proof that the soul loves not God. "If any one," says the beloved disciple, St. John, "has the goods of this world, and, seeing a brother in want, shuts up his bowels against him, how is it possible that the love of God should abide within him? Let us not love them, in word only and in tongue, but in deed and in truth." Imitate, my beloved brethren, in this point, the conduct of the first Christians, by making, as they did, charity a part of your duty on the Lord's day. In the primi- tive ages of the Church, on every Sunday, a collec- tion for the relief of the poor was made from all who assisted at divine service To prevent the confusion which often attended such collections, the practice THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 125 was afterwards adopted of fixing in chapels and churches a box, called the Poors' Box, into which the faithful might, without disturbing one another, put the offerings of their charity, to be employed by their pastor in the relief of the distressed. Never, there- fore, leave the house of God on Sundays without ad- ding at least one penny to the property of your poor brethren. Besides this, be in the disposition of mind to administer relief to every one as far as lies in your power, according to the advice of Tobias, "turn not away thy face from any poor person." Every dis- tressed fellow-creature has a claim upon our charity, and whenever we meet with such an one, if we are able we should give him an alms. If it lies not in our power, through our own poverty, to afford him tempo- ral relief, we must never turn away our face from him with any contempt or harsh language, but manifest a pity and compassion for his distresses, and signify at least our good will towards him. After shewing the obligation of charity to the poor, Tobias lays down the best rule that can be given for the satisfying of it: "Be merciful according to thy ability." What would be sufficient in one person for the fulfilment of this duty, would not suffice in another. "From him to whom more has been given, more will be required." Whatever we possess more than is ne- cessary for our support and that of our families, is to be considered as entrusted to our care for the relief of the necessitous. If then we have much, we must bestow in proportion; if little, we are still to spare a little with cheerfulness of heart, "For God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Cor. ix. 7. It is the misfortune of the greater part of those who possess worldly riches, that they measure their wants, not by the calls of na- ture, but the cries of avarice, luxury, ambition, and worldly pomp; and hence too often persuade them- selves, when invited to the exercise of charity, that they have nothing to spare. In this they are unjust 11* 126 TWELFTH HOMILY ON stewards; and however exemplary their lives may have been in other points, this waste and misapplication of their Lord's goods and their neglect of the poor mem- bers of his family, will prove to them, as it did to the rich glutton, their condemnation to everlasting tlames. "Be ye then merciful according to your abilities.'" This is the rule of Christian charity, a rule from which no one is exempted however poor. For mercy con- sists, not only in giving money or meat and drink to such as are in distress, we shew mercy when we con- tribute in any way to the temporal or spiritual welfare of our neighbour, in giving him good advice, in com- forting him under his afflictions, in procuring his con- version from the ways of sin, in advancing him in the path to salvation, in praying for him, and in forgiving the injuries which we meet from our fellow-creatures. These are acts of charity of the highest order, which it is in the power of every one to perform, at least in some one or other of the branches which I have here mentioned. JVJindful then, my beloved brethren, of the account which, at the hour of death, you must give of your stewardship, let it be the daily business of your lives to dispose yourselves for it by a strict fidelity in the fulfilment of all your obligations. Walk always as in the presence of that God who filleth the heavens and the earth, and who holds in his hand the thread of your existence. Embrace with joy the opportunities which heaven affords you of opening to yourselves the trea- sures of its grace, by the faithful exercise of the works of mercy; thus making to yourselves '-friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you fail, they may re- ceive you into everlasting mansions." Luke xvi. 9, THE BOOK Of- TOBIAS. 127 THIRTEENTH HOMIL7 Chap. If. ver. 10. For thus thou storest up to thj-self a good re- ward for the day of necessity 11. For alms deliver frona all sin and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness 12. Alms shall be a great confidence before the Most High God, to all them that give it. The holy Tobias, hashing inculcated lo his son the duty of giving alnis to the poor according to his ability, encourages him to be faithful in fulfilling this obliga- tion, by setting befure him the great spiritual advant- ages which are derived from the practice of tliis branch of charity. Indeed, if God had not made it a precept of his holy law, that we should relieve our distressed fellow-creatures, the advantages alone which flow to us from the exercise of this virtue ought to induce us religiously to practise it. The measure of God's mercy towards us will be proportioned to the mercy which we have shewn to our neighbour. "Give, and it shall be given to you; for with the same measure that you shall measure to others, it shall be measured to you again." Luke vi. 38. It is then most undoubt- edly true, that he who gives an alms, reaps a much greater benetit than he who leceives it; so pleasing is charity in the divine sight, so powefful in moving God to bestow his mercies and blessings. In exhorting his son to the practice of this virtue, Tobias advises him never to turn his face from any poor person, "for," says he, "so it shall come to pass that God will not turn his face from thee." In the eye of that Almighty Being, we are all poor and in- digent; infinitely more so than the poorest object upon earth that solicits relief from us. The wants and ne- cessities of our souls are innumerable, and none but God can relieve them. Should he then in his wrath, f 128 THIRTKENTH HOMILY ON turn away the countenance of his tender mercy from us, what would become of us? Deprived of his all necessary aid, destitute of succour from him, and void of the rich treasure of his grace, our souls would have no other prospect before them than misery, temporal and eternal. What more powerful motive then can we desire for the practice of charity to our fellow- creatures, than to be assured by Almighty God him- self, that this is the certain means of securing to our- selves the favourable regards and the kind assistance of his mercy? Borne on the wings of charity, our prayers mount without opposition to the throne of the Deity, and open to us the treasures of his mercy. "Break thy hread with the hungry, and invite the needy into thy house; when thou shalt see one that is naked, clothe him. Then come and cry to the Lord thy God, and he will hear thee." Isaiah Iviii. But, my beloved brethren, the giving of alms accor- ding to our ability, not only draws down the mercy of God in this life, and inclines him to lend a favourable ear to our prayers; Tobias assures us, that the faithful practice of this virtue will store up for us a rich trea- sure and a great reward for the day of necessity. That day is the day of judgment, the day of the final distribution of God's justice, when he will render to each one according to his works. Then shall the earthly and perishable goods, which we have put into the hands of the poor, be transformed into heavenly and eternal treasures. When the hand of death shall have stripped us of our worldly riches, and nothing shall remain to us but our works, which will accom- pany us to the tribunal of our Judge, then shall we behold again in the hands of our divine Redeemer, whatever we have given to him in the persons of his poor members. For Jesus Christ, that same all mer- ciful Saviour, who for our salvation clothed himself with the infirmities of our nature, suffered so many indignities, and so cruel a death on the cross, declares, f ♦ THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 129 that whatever we do to the poor, he considers as done to himself, and as such will recompense it when he shall appear as the Sovereign Judge of angels and of men. "Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." In the third place: "Alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into dark- ness:" that is, into eternal damnation. When the haughty Nabuchodonosor was threatened by God with the severest judgments, in punishment of his pride, the prophet Daniel gave him this advice: "O King, redeem thy sins by alms-deeds, and thy iniquities by relieving the poor." Daniel iv. 24. Not that the giving of charity to the poor can alone and of itself cleanse away the guilt of sin and confer the grace of justification. No, my beloved brethren, God is not a corrupt judge that can be bribed by presents. But if the sinner, however enormous his guilt may have been, entering into sentiments of sincere compunction, and sighing under the load of his iniquities, joins to his prayers and contrition the exercise of frequent acts of mercy to the poor, his alms, thus accompanied with the dispositions of true repentance, will most power- fully plead for mercy, and draw down the grace of a sincere conversion. Thus alms are of the highest ad- vantage to every description of persons; to the sinner they prepare the way for his conversion, and render his desires of repentance efficacious; to the true peni- tent they are the most excellent means of redeeming his past sins; and to the just they serve as an expiation of those smaller stains from which none, however holy, are exempt, and as a means of obtaining the grace of perseverance to the end in the path of virtue. Lastly, my beloved brethren, "alms shall be a great confidence before the most high God to all them that give it." The same divine oracles which tell us, that judgment without mercy shall be passed upon such as have not shewn mercy, moreover assures us, that our ^r ISO THIRTEENTH HOMILY ON best security for mercy in that awful moment when we shall be summoned before the Sovereign Judge, will be the acts of charity and mercy which we our- selves have sent before us to his tribunal. This is par- ticularly true of those works which tend to promote the glory of God, the advancement of religion and piety, and the salvation of souls. Such works as those, in that day of calamity and misery when the heavens and earth shall be consumed by fire, and the sinner, trembling at the left-hand of the Judge, shall in vain call upon the hills to cover him and hide him from the wrath of God, will inspire confidence and hope, will disarm the anger of our Judge, and cover a multitude of sins. Be ye then mn'ciful, according to the ability with which God has blessed you. But in performing the duties of charily, seek not the applause of men; have always in view, as the end of all these and your other asfi of virtue, solely the glory of God, and the gain- ing of eferna! life. For it is only to acts of charity peribrmed wiiii this pure intention, that the spiritual advantages aad blessings which I have mentioned, are promised by Almighty God. After thesL! admirable lessons of charity, Tobias earnestly exhorts his son to fly from all impurity. Ver. 13. Take heed to keep thyself, my son, from all fornication, und beside thy wife never endure to know a crime. Oh! that ill directing the same advice to you, my beloved brethr-i, I could be ensured that it would be as religiously lullowed by you, and attended with the same happy fruits in each member of that dear flock Avhom Providence has entrusted to my care! Sensible of the dreadful liavock which the devil makes among Christian souls by the filthy vice of impurity, fortify yourselves against all its assaults by fervent prayer, by earnest watchfulness, by a constant sense of the presence of God, by carefully flying the company and THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 131 the resorts of the lustful, by frequently meditating on your last end, and, abo\ e all, by cultivating in your souls the most profound humility. For impurity is very often the punishment of pride, as the apostle St. Paul plainly inculcates in his Epistle to the Romans, chap, xi. ver. 22. speaking of tlie heathens, he says, "pro- fessing themselves to be wise, they became fools; God gave them up to the desire of their heart, to unclean- ness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves. For this cause God delivered them up to shameful passions, receiving in themselves the recompense that was due to their error."''' Knowing that pride opens the door of the heait to the passion of lust, and that humility is the best guardian of purity, Tobias con- tinues his advice to his son in these words: Ver. 14. Never suffer pride to reign in th}- mind or in thy words, for from it all perdilion took its beginning. Pride is the worst and the deepest of all the wounds caused in the soul of man by the disoledience of Adam. It is so implanted in our corrupt nature, that utterly to destroy it is almost impossible. To fight against its suggestions, to weaken its power, and to prevent it from ruling over our thoughts, words, and actions, is the daily employment marked out for us in our mortal existence. To succeed in this task, we must ever cherish in our minds the opposite sentiments of Christian humility: meditating often on our own nothingness, on our ingratitude to God, and the un- certainty that hangs over our future lot; behaving with mildness and affability to all; despising no one, however inferior to ourselves; and bearing, in a spirit of meek- ness, the frailties, imperfections, and even injuries of our fellow-creatures. Faithfully attending to these principles as our guide, we shall triumph over this subtle enemy, which is indeed the root of evil. For pride was the occasion of the eternal destruction both of Angels and of men; pride was the parent of sin 1S2 THIRTEENTH HOMILY ON and hell. It is at the same time the first and the greatest of all sins, and that which God holds in the greatest abhorrence, because it strikes directly at his sovereign majesty and infinite perfections, claiming to itself the excellence and the glory which belong to him alone. Yet, so inherent is pride in our very nature, since the fall of Adam, that we are at each moment in danger from some one or other of its mortal wounds, unless by a constant watchfulness and by cherishing in our breasts a solid humility, we provide ourselves with an antidote against its deadly poison. Ver. 15. If any man hath done any work for thee, immediately pay him his hire, and let not the v/ages of thy hired servant slay with thee at all IG. See thou nevei do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. Such are the lessons Tobias gives his son to regulate his conduct towards his neighbour. 1 o do to others as we wish them to do to us, is the abridgment of all the duties of brotherly love enjoined by the gospel. It is a rule extremely simple in itself, but very exten- sive in its obligations. AV'ith this rule all our thoughts, words, and actions, that legard our conduct towards our fellow -creatures, will one day be compared at the judgment-seat of Christ. Do you then, my beloved brethren, make this maxim the invariable rule of your behaviour towards others, that you may avoid that dreadful confusion and severe condemnation which will one day belall those who by their frauds, their in- justices, their rash judgments, their calumnies, and their detractions, shall stand charged with having violated this grand principle of fraternal charity. As to those persons whom you employ to work for you, strictly fulfil the injunction of holy Tobias to his son, by paying them their hire when it is due. To do otherwise, to keep back unjustly the wages of the labourer, is a crime so contrary to justice and charity, that it is declared in holy writ to be one of those more THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 133 enormous sins which cry to heaven for vengeance in this life, over and above the eternal condemnation which is the ordinary punishment of grievous trans- gressions. '^Behold," says St. James, v. 4. "the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Tobias thus proceeds: Ver. 17. Eat thy bread with the hungry and the needy, and with thy garments cover the naked 18. Layout thy bread and thy wine upon the burial of a just man, and do not eat and drink thereof with the wicked. Tobias here alludes to a custom which prevailed among the Jewish people, of making an ofiering at the tombs of their departed friends. The offering- consisted of bread and wine, or other meats, which, after being laid upon the tomb of the dead person, were distributed among the poor, to procure their prayers for the departed soul. Tobias, however, takes care to inform his son, that these prayers could be of no service to the wicked, who die enemies of God, in a state of mortal sin, but only to the just, who de- part this life in the grace of God, but with some les- ser stains upon the soul, which may be expiated by the charities and prayers of the living. Christianity teach- es the same doctrine; and in the records of every coun- try that has received the light of the Christian religion, we find that the custom of praying for the dead intro- duced and established as a part of the faith delivered by Christ and his Apostles. St. Irenaeus expressly mentions this custom in the second century; and the great St. Augustine tells us, in his confessions, with what earnestness his pious mother on her death-bed besought him to remember her soul in the sacred mys- teries, and with what reverential care he fulfilled her devout request Tobias, in recommmending his son to observe this pious practice, common among his 12 134 THIRTEENTH HOMILY ON countrymen, of bestowing charity in behalf of the dead, charges him to invite to these repasts sucii only as fear God and lead a life of virtue, lest these feasts of charity should degenerate into excess and drunken- nessfc. y Ver. 19. Seek counsel always of a wise man. This is another important lesson which Tobias de- livers to his son. Thd Holy Ghost, b}' the mouth of the wise man, (Eccles. xxxii. 24.) gives the same ad- vice: "My son, do nothing without counsel, and ihou shalt not repent after thou hast done." In etfect, we cannot enterlain too great a mistrust of our own lights and prudence. This diffidence in ourselves should lead us to embrace with gladness the opportunities of im- proving ourselves by the knov^ ledge and expericiice of others, by asking advice, particularly of those whom God has appointed our-spiritual guides, the piist(js of the Church. If we are faithful on our part in thus seek- ing direction from the prudence of others, Gou will not fail to put into the minds and the mouths o: those whom we consult, the sentiments and the advice neces sary to promote our welfare. In short, it is he who speaks to us by the mouth of those prudent persons with whom we advise-, upon him tlierefore principally we are to rely for guidance and direction, it is what holy Tobias tells his son m the veiy next verse: Fer., 20. Bless God at all tir/.es; and desire of him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him Oh! how m.any admirable lessons of piety, how many great and importanl obligations are included in these few words! Bless God at all times; be always mindful of him in your hearts, in the midst of tlie hur- ry and employment of the day, during the repose of the night, in affliction and in prosperity, at all times sind in all places bless God, by making him the end of all your actions, and performing them all to his glory. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 135 111 all your ways iin[)lore the guidance of his holy spirit, consult liis will in all your undertakings, rely- iuii; not upon your own lights and prudence, but upon that wisdom and knowledge which he never fails to infuse from above into the breasts of those who put their whole confidence in him and truly seek his glory. Thus placing yourselves under the guidance of his Providence, you will, as Tobias assures his son in the conclusion of his advice, have nothing to fear from the malice of your enemies, however low and apparently wretched your condition may be. Ver. 23. Fear not, my son, said that holy man; we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many good things, if we fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that whieh is good. The fear of God, innocence of life, and an humble confi^rmity to the will of Providence, are a treasure far surpassing all the contemptible riches of this earth, making the soul a pleasing dwelling-place and abode for tlie God of heaven during this life, and adorning h'T with those spiritual riches that will procure her admission into the glorious mansions of never-ending felicity in the life to come. 136 FOURTEENTH HOMILY ON POURTEEMTTH ROMZLY. chap. IV. ver. 21. I tell thee also, my son, that I lent len talents of silver, while thou v/ast yet a ciiild, to GabeJus, in Rages, a city of the Medes, and I have a note of his hanil with me: 22. Now therefore inquire how thou mayest go to him, and receive of him the aforesaid sum of money, and restore him the note of his hand. In the three preceding homilies, 1 have unfolded to you, my beloved brethren, those admirable lessons of instruction which Tobias, thinking, in consequence of his blindness, that he was about to die, imparled to his son as his last advice. That holy man, having thus fulfilled the most important part of his obligation as a parent, in providing for the spiritual well'are of his child, completes his preparation for deatli, by giving proper directions for the settlement of his temporal concerns. This is a duty which every parent, posses- sed of any property, owes to his family. Moreover, it is a duty which Christian parents should take care to discharge, as Tobias did, while yet their health and understandings are good, and not neglect it till sick- ness and the near approach of death scarce leave them the use of their faculties, or till the moments allotted to this task can ill be spared from the more important concern of disposing their souls for judgment. A good Christian who lives in the constant expectation of his last summons, and in a daily preparation for it, will be careful, by making his will during health and strength, so to dispose of his temporal affairs as to satisfy the duties of justice and chaiity. Tobias, as I have before observed, is in this respect a model for Christians. During his pros|)erity, he had lent his kinsman Gabelus his sum of ten talents of silver, to assist him in providing a proper maintenance for his THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 137 family. The sum was considerable, and apparently was all thaf remained to Tobias of his former affluence. Judging it, therefore, to be a duty which he owed to his family to recall that sum of money, and knowing that his kinsman, by his success in business, was able to repay it, he desires his son to look out for a guide, under whose care he may safely undertake a journey to Gabelus's house, and at the same time gives him directions how to recover the money. The young Tobias, trained up in the path of obedience, cheerful- ly complies with his father's wishes. Chap. V. ver. 1. Then Tobias answered his father, and said: I vviil do all things, father, which thou hast commanded me 2. But how I shall get this money I cannot tell: he knoweth not me, and I know not him: what token shall I give him? Nor did I ever know the way which leadeth thither. The young Tobias meant not, by these questions and observations, to detract from the assurance which he had given his father of his readiness to comply with his injunctions; but, foreseeing the ditficulties which he might have to encounter, with the greatest pru- dence he respectfully opens his mind to his father, and solicits his advice. Ver. 3. Then his father answered him, and said: I have a note of his hand with me, which when thou shalt shew him, he will presently pay it 4. But go now, and seek thee out some faithful man, to go with thee for his hire; that thou mayest re- ceive it while I yet live. The young Tobias had started two difficulties which presented themselves to his mind; the one, how he should make himself known to Gabelus, the other, by what means he should discover the road that would conduct him to his kinsman's house; his father removes the first difficulty by telling him, that Gabelus, a man of strict honour and integrity, as soon as he shall see the note, will immediately acknowledge his own hand- writing and pay the money; and to obviate the second 12* 138 FOURTEENTH HOMILY ON difficulty, relating to his journeyi; advises his son to seek for a faithful guide to conduct him. Ver 5. Then Tobias going forth found a beautiful young man, standing girded, and as it were ready to walk 6. And not knowing that he was an angel of God, he saluted him and said: From whence art thou, good young man? 7. But he answer- ed, Of the children of Israel And Tobias said to him: Knowest thou the way that leadeth to the country of the Medes 8. And he answered: I know it; and I have often walked through all the ways thereof, and I have abode with Gabelusour brother; who dwelleth at Rages, a city of the Medes, which is situate in the mount of Ecbatana 9. And Tobias said to him: Stay for me, 1 beseech thee, till I tell these same things to my father. As soon as the young Tobias had with modesty and prudence proposed the difficulties which he appre- hended from the long journey that he was about to undertake, and had received his father's instructions how to proceed, he lost no time in complying with the wishes of his parent, h eady obedience always draws down the blessing of heaven upon itself The world laughs at the humble simplicity with which the Saints follow the directions of diose whom God has placed over them, and ridicules this part of their conduct as the emblem of a weak mind. But the wisdom of this world is folly before God, and while he conceals the wonders of his Providence from tlie proud and self- conceited, he unfolds them to the humble and the little ones, who, diffident of themselves, seek light and counsel from above. > o sooner had the young Tobias, in obedience to his father's advice, set out in search 1)1 a guide, than he meets with one, in the outward appearance of a man, but in reality an Angel deputed by divine Providence in reward of his obedience, to conduct him on his journey and administer the bles- sing of heaven to himself and his parents. How ad- mirable is the goodness which God manifests towards his faithful servants! With what tender care does he watch over them! Truly, he regards them as the THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1 39 apple of his eye; as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, he extends the protecting wings of his Providence over those who trust in him, and gives his angels charge over them to keep them in all their ways. Ps. xc. His infinite goodness and love for us, not content with rendering tiie visible creation subser- vient to our wants and necessities, has appointed the spirits that surround his throne, the inmate of his heavenly court, to attend upon us in our pilgrimage through this life of temptation and trial, and to exer- cise their ministry in favour of those who are heirs of salvation. Heb. i. 14. It is not necessary, my beloved brethren, to repeat here what I have delivered to you in a former instruc- tion as the doctrine of the Church of Christ, respect- ing the offices and employments of the holy Angels as far as regards this woild in which w^e live. Every book of the inspired writings teaches us, that Angels were employed by Almighty God as the instruments of his merciful designs, both towards his whole people and towards the individuals who are recorded as his more faithful servants. On the occasion at present under our consideration, the Angel sent by God to watch over the young Tobias, took the appearance of a young man of the people of Israel, an appearance under which Angels are frequently mentioned in Scrip- ture, clad as a traveller, and on the point of under- taking a long journey. Tobias meeting him, accosted him in an afll'able manner, and asked him whence he came? He replied, that he was of the children of Israel, and was well acquainted with the road to tvages, and knew personally his kinsman Gabelus. In all this reply of the Angel, there is nothing but what is conformable to the strictest truth, since Providence had clothed him with the siiape, the countenance, and outward appearance of the person whom he repre- sented himself to be, whose name he assumed, and -^whom he might with perfect propriety call himself, 140 FOURTEENTH HOMILY ON till he had fulfilled the part which in that character Almighty God had allotted him. The young Tobias was overjoyed at meeting so opportunely with a fellow-traveller. Yet he did not suffer his joy to get the belter of his prudence, or the respect which he owed to his father, but, resolving to do nothing with- out his parent's advice, desired the young man, as he took him to be, to stay while he communicated his good fortune to his father. Ver. 10. Then Tobias going in, told all these things to hi? father. Upon whicli his father, being in adaiiration, desired that he would come in unto him 11 So goinjj in, he saluted him, and said, Joy be to thee always. Tobias, on being informed by his son that he had met with a proper guide, well acquinted with the road which he was going and the kinsman whom he intend- ed to visit, felt a double emotion of pleasure, arising from liis joy at the good news, and his admiration at the kindness of Providence. He immediately invited the young stranger to his house, who, coming in, ad- dressed the good old man in the salutation usual among the Jewish people; "Joy, or peace, be to you." In- ward peace of soul, and the spiritual joy attendant upon it, are the greatest blessings we can look for on this earth. Happy, indeed, is that soul which feels this peace within herself, conscious of her own faith- ful endeavours to walk in the way of God's command- ments, having all her affection? and passions in proper subjection, and breathing a spirit of peace and charity towards every fellow-creature! This three-fold peace Jesus Christ bequeathed as his last and best legacy to his disciples; and when he sent them to convert the world, he appointed them the harbingers of peace, enjoining them, into whatever house they entered to implore for it the same heavenly blessing: "Into whatever house ye shall enter, say first, peace be to Ihis house." Luke x. 5. His Church, guided by the THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 141 spirit of her divine founder, directs her ministers in visiting: the sick, to make use of the same pious sahita- tion, "Peace be to you." — Tobias, when he heard this salutation addressed to him, not knowing as yet who the stranger was, thought that the joy which the young man wished him, might be a mere human joy, such as worldlings seek in the pursuit of earthly pleasures. Ver. 12. And he (Tobias") said: What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven? This holy man had resigned himself with the most perfect submission to the will of God undei- the severe affliction of his blindness. The holy Scripture testi- ties that he murmured not, but gave thanks to God all the days of his life. In his reply, tlierefore, to the angel on this occasion, he signifies, that, as heaven had deprived him of that faculty u|)on which worldly pleasure so much depends, he had bid adieu to eartftly joys and had fixed his desires of comfort on the solid happiness in a future state, which he trusted would be the reward of his cheerful submission to the appoint- ments of Providence, v^ e can hardly imagine a more severe trial than that wiiich had befallen Tobias in his blindness, and he himself seems, by his reply to the Angel, to have been fully sensible of the weight of his affliction: "What manner of joy shall be to me who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven." Yet, on the other hand, guided by that solid virtue which chastens and keeps within proper bounds the feelings of nature, he bears his affliction, not only without murmuring, but with interior joy. If it be so great a misfortune to be deprived of the sight of our bodily eyes, how much more dreadful an evil is it to be deprived of the light of the soul, which is nb other than God himself the eternal light, without whom all within us is darkness and death itself! Such is the unhappy state of every soul that is in a state of 1 42 FOURTEENTH HOMILY ON wilful sin. Ah! how many are there thus spiritually blind, yet insensible of their unhappy condition! Pray for all such, my beloved brethren, I conjure you by atisfied that the guide who had offered his services might safely be entrusted with the care of his son, Tobias implores the blessing of heaven upon their journey, and prays that his good Angel may accom- pany them on their road. His prayer had already heen heard and anticipated by the bounty of God. 'I'he at- tendance of the angel Raphael on the young Tobias, is an emblem of the invisible assistance afforded us during our mortal pilgrimage by the Angels appointed by Providence to guard us. Hearken then to the words which God addressed to his people in the desert, and consider them as directed to eacli of you: "Behold I send my Angel before you, to guard you in the way, and to lead you into the promised land. Respect his presence, and despise him not, for he is invested with my authority." Exod. xxiii. 20. 144 FIFTEENTH HOMILY ON FIFTEENTH HOMZI.Y. ^Chap. V. ver. 23. And when they were departed, his mother be- gan to weep, and to say: Thou hast taUen the staff of our old age, and se.it him away from us 24. 1 wish the money for which thou hast sent him, iiad never been 25. For our pov- erty was sulficient for us, that we might account it as riches, that we saw our son. The character of Anna, the wile of Tobias, was as I have before observed to you, my beloved breth- ren, very different from that of her husband. Tobias, animated by a true spirit of religion, views the hand of God in every circumstance that befalls him; and, anxious only for the fulfilment of the divine will, re- lies with confidence oi> the protection of that Almigh- ty Being who never forsakes those who put their trust in him. On the other hand, Anna, guided by a worldly spirit, and acting from the impulse ot the feelings of nature, studies the gratification of her own will, is disheartened at the least difficulty, is out of humour at every little trial, and frets at the dis- positions of divme Providence, because she looks no further than present enjoyment, and considers not that the momentary tribulations of this life are designed to work for us an eternal weight of glory in the life to come. In this her want ot faith and confidence in the goodness of God, Anna has but too many imitators among Christians, who by their murmuring and impa- tience under the trials which Providence in its mercy ordains for their spiritual good and the exercise of their virtue, lose all the merit of their afflictions, and make them a source of real misery, both temporal and eternal. Anna, who, on a former occasion, had Complained so much of the evil of poverty, now mur- murs and is uneasy because she is for a short time de- prived of the sight of her son, though divine Provi- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 146 dence had given her such plain proofs that her son was under its holy care and protection, and though his journey was undertaken with a view to remove that very poverty. Tobias seeing her affliction, endea- vours to console her by instilling into her breast the same holy sentiments of piety which governed his own heart. Ver. 26. And Tobias said to her: Weep not, our son will arrive th'ither safe, and will return safe to us, and thy eyes shall see him 27. For 1 believe that the good angel of God doth ac- company him, and doth order all things well that are done about him, so that he shall return to us with joy 29. At these words his mother ceased weeping, and held her peace. Though the holy Tobias did not yet know that the stranger who had offered to conduct his son was actu- ally an Angel of the Lord, yet, from the circumstan- ces which had transpired, he was satisfied that his son was under the special guidance of Providence, and that God would depute one of his holy Angels to di- rect his steps. These sentiments of Tobias clearly demonstrate that the faith of the ancient servants of God, who preceded the Christian dispensation, respec- ting guardian Angels, was the same as that of the Catholic Church of Christ. What love and gratitude do we not owe to the infinite goodness of our God who has provided such powerful aids for our weakness, and such admirable helps for us in our journey through the desert of this life! What profound reverence and respect ought we on every occasion to manifest to- wards that guardian Spirit who is appointed by divine Providence to conduct us safe through the perils of our mortal pilgrimage, to inspire us with holy thoughts, to warn us of danger, to assist us with good counsel, to remove from us what might injure our virtue, and to point out to us, and lead us in, the path to eternal life! Let us faithfully imitate the young Tobias in re- ceiving with gratitude the succours of our invisible guide, in listening with docility to his holy counsels, 13 146 FIFTEENTH HOMILY ON and in faithfully following his heavenly directions. Let us ever make it a part of our morning, noon, and evening devotions, to implore a continuance of his pro- tection. The assurance which Tobias gave to his wife, that their son was under the protection of God's holy Angel, imparted comfort to her, and dried her tears. The holy Scripture then proceeds to recount for us the journey of Tobias in the following manner: Chap. VI. ver. 1. And Tobias went forward, and the dog follow- ed him, and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris 2. And he went out to wash his feet, and behold a monstrous fish came up to devour him 3. And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me 4. And the Angel said to him: Take him by the gill and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before his feet 5. Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of this fish, and lay up his heart and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines 6. And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with fnem in the way: the rest they salted as much as mi|^lit serve them till they came to Rages the city of the iMedes 7. Then To- bias asked the Angel, and said to him: I beseech thee, brother Azarias, tell me what remedies are these things good for which thou hast bid me keep of the fish 8. And the Angel answering, said to him: If fhou puta little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, eiiher from man or from woman, so that they come no more to them 9. And the gall is good for anointing the eyes in which there is a white speck, and tiiey shall be cured. That same Almighty Being who created the universe, is the Sovereign Ruler of it, and governs it as he pleases. To promote the designs of his infinite pow- er, his wisdom, and his mercy, he renders all tilings subservient to his will. Sometimes he makes use of even the meanest and most insignificant of his crea- tures, for the purpose of conferring the greatest of his blessings upon man. Of this truth, the sacraments of the Christian Church are a clear and astonishing proof. In one of them (Baptism) he gives to simple water, by the power of his word, the efficacy of THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 147 cleansing the soul from the foul stain of sin, adorning it with the brightest ornaments of grace, and raising it to the dignity of a child of God, heir of heaven, and joint-heir with Christ. In another of these sacred in- stitutions, (the holy Eucharist,) God, with a truly ad- mirable love, employs the lowly elements of bread and wine as the instruments of producing in our souls the most excellent of all the operations of his infinite power and goodness, an union with him our God and Saviour. In the Gospel, Jesus Christ is recorded to have made use of clay mixed with spittle, for effecting the cure of a man who had been born blind: On an- other occasion, he orders Peter to cast his hook into the sea and draw out the first fish which he should take, to open its mouth and take out of it a piece of money which he should find there. It is thus that God at the same time displays his own omnipotence and confounds the pride of man, making use of the simplest of his creatures for bringing about those ends which man, with the utmost exertion of his talents and abilities, could never accomplish. The portion of Scripture which I have chosen for your present in- struction, informs us, that at the very same time when Tobias went to the river Tigris to wash his feet, a monstrous fish, by the order of Providence, made its appearance, and came towards him. Tobias was at first alarmed, and called out to his guide for protec- tion. The Angel quieted his fears, bidding him lay hold of the fish without the least alarm, and draw it on shore. He did so, and the fish after beating itself about for some time, expired at his feet. The Angel then let him know, that divine Providence had sent this fish, partly as a provision for his journey, and partly as a protection from the snares of the devil, and for the cure of his father's blindness. It is not for us to search into the ways of Omnipotence, and ask why God acts in this or that particular manner or how the gall of this fish could prove a remedy for 148 FIFTEENTH HOMILY ON blindness, or its heart and liver chase away evil spir- its, and allay the heat of concupiscence. Let us con- tent ourselves with adoring the wonders of the Al- mighty, and with knowing that it pleased God on this occasion to make use of these humble instruments of his power and mercy in confounding the i)ower of the proud infernal spirit, and in promoting the happiness of his own faithful servants. Ver. 10. And Tobias said to him (the Angel): Where wilt thou that vre lodge? 11. And the Angel, answering, said: Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsmnn of thy tribe, and he hath a daughter, named Sarah, but he hath no other son or daughter beside her 12. All his substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to wife 13. Ask her, therefore, of her father, and he will give her to thee. The young Tobias, learning from his guide that he was now drawing near to the end of his journey, be- gan to inquire where himself and his companion were to lodge. The Angel, in satisfying him upon this question, took occasion to open to him some of the secret dispositions of divine Providence in his favour, telling him that he should lodge at the house of his relation Raguel, and that he should marry the daugh- ter of his kinsman, and inherit his property. For ac- cording to the Mosaic law, if a parent had no male issue, his daughters inherited his possessions, but with an obligation of marrying a person of their own tribe and family. Tobias was no stranger to the history of Sarah, Raguel's daughter, as appears from his answer to the Angel, when he had mentioned the subject of marriage to him. For, Ver. 14. Then Tobias answered and said: I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all died: moreover, I have heard that a devil killed them. 15. Now I am afraid lest the same thing should happen to me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to hell. The miserable and untimely dsath of Sarah's seven husbands, who, in punishment of their lust, had been THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 1 49 delivered by the justice of God to the power of an evil spirit for destruction, had reached the ears of the young Tobias, and filled him with terror. Not know- ing as yet the cause of their unhappy end, he trembled lest the same fate might befall himself; and being ever alive to the most tender feelings of filial affection, he feared lest by a similar misfortune he should over- whelm his aged parents with affliction, and bring down their grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. The holy Scripture uses the word hell in three different signifi- cations, generally as meaning the place of eternal mis- ery, but sometimes, in the sense of the word grave; or, at other times as the place of rest, in which the souls of the ancient Saints were detained until the ac- complishment of the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ. In either of the latter significations it may be understood in the present portion of holy writ. Ver. 16. Then the angel Raphael said to him: hear me, and I will shew thee who they are over whom the devil can prevail 17. For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves and their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and the mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power. Tobias having mentioned his fear of asking Raguel's daughter in marriage, in consequence of the dread- ful fate of her former husbands, the Angel gives him to understand that their miserable death was the pun- ishment of their lust, and of the criminal dispositions with which they entered into the state of matrimony. The sin of lust, which is in all its branches and in every state of life so abominable in the sight of God, is the peculiar object of his hatred and of his veri- geance, when committed by married persons in direct violation of the sanctity of their state. God himself is the author and inslitutor of marriage. He was pleased at first to appoint it as the means of continu- ing to the end of time a race of beings, who, gifted 13* 150 FIFTEENTH HOMlLY OIJ with an immortal soul capable of rising to the knowl- edge and love of him their Creator, might form a con- stant succession of his true adorers and faithful ser- vants. The glory of God is therefore the end of marriage, and his will is its rule. Whatever, either in the intention with which persons enter into mar- riage, or in the use of marriage, is not referred to this end, or is not directed by this rule, is irregular and vicious, and sometimes even highly criminal. In mar- riage every thing is honourable, every thing is holy, if we consider it according to the design with which God instituted it. Much more is it holy, if we con- sider it in the dignity to which Jesus Christ has raised it as a sacrament of the New Law, and as a mysteri- ous sign of the indissoluble union which subsists be- tween Jesus Christ and his chaste spouse the Church. Such is the light in which St. Paul represents it (Ephes. V. 23.), and the Church makes use of the same terms in conferring the nuptial benediction, in order to impress upon the minds of her children the holiness of disposition with which they should enter the mar- ried state. To engage in that sacred state with no other intention than that of satisfying a base and car- nal passion, is to imitate the horse and the mule, who, being void of understanding, know no other rule than the momentary impulse of nature; it is prostituting one of the most sacred institutions of the Deity, and vol- untarily delivering oneself to the power of the devil, like the seven first husbands of Sarah, for eternal des- truction. But, alas! my beloved brethren, how small is the number of young persons, who, entering into the state of matrimony, are careful to banish from their souls every unbecoming motive of carnal passion, worldly interest, and the like! How few, by a pure intention of God's glory, and of having a family; whom they may bring up in the fear and love of God; by watchfulness over their conduct, and by frequent and fervent prayer, endeavour to draw down the bles- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 151 sing of heaven upon their marriage! How few among those, who are ah-eady married, live up to the holiness of their slate and sanctify the use of marriage by a holy intention, and by abstaining from all actions con- trary to the end for which it was instituted! Unhappi- ly the greater part of those wiio engage in matrimony, either by unguarded conduct before hand, or by hav- ing no other ends in view when they enter into matri- mony than the gratification of their passions, or by unbecoming liberties afterwards, shut out God from their hearts, draw down a curse upon themselves and their families, and are too often given over to the pow- er of the devil. But do you, dear Christians, to whom I am now addressing myself on so important a point of duty, give ear to the lessons which the Angel address- ed to the young Tobias respecting his marriage. Ver. 18. But thou, when thou shalt take her, go into the cham- ber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayer with her 19. And on that night, lay the liver of the fish on the fire, and the devil shall be driven away 20. But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs 21. And the third night thou shalt obtain a blessing, that sound children may be born of thee 22. And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abrahan* thou mayest obtain a blessing in children. Some part indeed of the Angel's advice to Tobias, understood literally, regarded that holy young man in particular, and consequently is not meant to apply to others; such as the abstaining for three nights from the consummation of marriage, the burning of the liver of the fish, and the like. But what is spiritually meant by this part of the Angel's advice, is applicable to all Christians who engage in marriage; that they should take care to enter that holy state free from the violence of passion, and consecrate to God their first union by a pure intention, an upright desire and holy prayer, that as Tobias by burning the liver of the fish drove 152 FIFTEENTH HOMILY ON away the devil, they should carefully banish all carnal desires, destroy the power of concupiscence, by a pure motive of the love of God, and by fervent united prayer implore his blessing upon their union, both for themselves individually, and the fruit of their mar- riage. '1 he Angel exhorts Tobias to take the virgin with the fear of the Lord. These few words point out a rule for the use of the marriage-bed. This use is holy and lawful whenever it is accompanied by the fear of the Lord, that holy fear which excludes from the heart and intention every thing that would offend Him who is infinite purity and holiness. Let not married persons deceive themselves by imagining that, because they are married, every thing which passion suggests is lawful. To think thus, is to be ignorant of the very first principles of religion. The end of marriage is, as I have shewn you, the glory of God and the generation of children. Whatever is opposite to this end in the conduct of married persons, is a horrible crime; a profanation of their holy state. Whatever does not tend to this end, is in itself irregu- lar and displeasing before God. Nor are married per- sons exempt from sin, if they seek for the mere satis- fying of carnal pleasure in the use of marriage, rather than the fulfilment of the end for which it was insti- tuted. Would to God, that all married persons were impressed with a due sense of the holiness of their state, and the duties which it imposes upon them! But, alas! how little are these duties know^n; how seldom are they thought of; and, consequently, how few are the marriages which are accompanied with the bles- sing of heaven! How great is the number of those which have an evident curse entailed upon them, both for time and eternity! — A the state of marriage is that which the greater part of mankind embrace, it is most undoubtedly true, that the happiness or misery of a great proportion of mankind, depends upon the man- ner in which, they engage in it. Sensible of this truth, THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 153 I earnestly conjure you to whom I now address my- self, ever to bear in mind the holiness of that state, and the end for which it was instituted. If you are already engaged in matrimony, endeavour to make yourselves acquainted ivith every branch of the truly important duties of your state, and carefully abstain from whatever is contrary to the holy use of marriage. If you are looking forward to that state of life, have chiefly in view the glory of God, and the sanctifica- tion of your souls; be watchful over all your conduct, especially when in company with those for whom you entertain an affection, and take care that no unbecom- ing thought, desire, or action, stain the purity of soul, or shut the door of your heart against the grace and love of God. By fervent prayer, by faithfully follow- ing the advice of your director, and by frequenting the holy sacraments, secure the benediction of heaven upon your undertaking. Thus will you shaie in the blessings which the Angel promised to Tobias; viz. the devil shall be driven far from you; your name shall be enrolled with the names of the holy patriarchs, as inheritors of the divine blessing, and heirs of eternal life; and lastly, the blessing of heaven shall extend to the fruit of your marriage, and shall communicate itself to your children, who, blessed with soundness and health of body, and with virtuous dispositions of soul, shall prove a source of joy and comfort to you during life, and at the last day shall enter with you into the possession of that eternal bliss which God has promised to those who, like Abraham, faithfully serve and adore him. 154 SIXTEENTH HOMILY ON SIXTEENTH H01MEIX.Y- Chap. VII. ver- 1. And they went in to Raguel, and Raguel re- ceived them with joy 2. And Raguel lookiog upon Tobias, said to Anna his wife: How lilce is this young man to my cousin? 3. And when he had spoken these words he said: Whence are ye, young men our brethren? 4. But they said: We are of the tribe of Nephthaliof the captivity of Ninive 5. And Raguel said to them: Do you know Tobias my brother? And they said: We know him 6. And when he was speaking many good things of him, the Angel said to Raguel: Tobias, concerning whom thou inquirest, is this young man's father 7. And Raguel went to him, and kissed him with tears, and weeping upon his neck, said: A blessing be upon thee, my son, because thou art the son of a good and most virtuous man 8. And Anna his wife and Sarah their daughter wept. Tobias and his heavenly guide on their arrival at the house of his kinsman Raguel, with whom the Angel had told him that they should lodge, is received with that hearty welcome, and those outward marks of joy, that plainly designated the inward satisfaction which Raguel felt in discharging the duties of friend- ship and hospitality. A cheerful countenance adds greatly to the weight of a favour; while, on the other hand, coldness of behaviour, and a seeming reluctance in exercising an act of friendship or benevolence, take away a great part of the merit as well as the value of a kind action. It was the saying of a heathen philoso- pher, that he who gives readily and cheerfully, con- fers a double favour: "^zs dat, qui citb dat.'''' — in di- recting us to fulfil the obligations of kindness and be- nevolence towards our fellow-creatures, the holy Scripture mentions cheerfulness as one of the disposi- tions that should always accompany such actions. "God," says St. Paul, Hoves a cheerful giver.'''' '-'■Use hospitality^'''' says St. Peter, ''o?ie towards another^ without murmuring. As every man hath received grace^ THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 155 ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God " 1 Peter iv. 8, 9. JNJoreover, in exercising friendship and hospitality towards either friends or strangers, we must not only banish all coldness, murmuring, and seeming reluc- tance, we must be careful not only to avoid all sordid or worldly motives from such actions, but sanctify them by a pure intention of pleasing God. In them we perform one of the most common, though at the same time one of the most amiable duties of brotherly love. It was thus that the holy Tobias, his kinsman Raguel, and the great father of these and the other servants of God among his chosen people, Abraham, exercised the duties of benevolence, friendship, and hospitality, towards their fellow-creatures. Raguel, as soon as the Angel and Tobias entered his house, re- ceived his visitors with joy; though he did not yet know who they were, or whence they came. Listen- ing only to the dictates of a kind and benevolent heart, he gave them a truly hospitable reception. In the countenance of the young Tobias he discovered a re- semblance of his own virtuous relation, the elder Tobias; for whom he appears to have entertained not only the affection of a friend, but a very high degree of veneration, on account of his great virtues. As soon, therefore, as he had welcomed the strangers to his house, he asked them whence they came, and hear- ing that they came from Ninive, and belonged to the tribe of Nephthali, he enquired after his old and vir- tuous friend Tobias, whom he called his brother, that is, in the language of Scripture, a near relation. Being told that his visitors were well acquainted with that holy man, Raguel could no longer refrain from expres- sing his sentiments of esteem and veneration for him. He spoke with admiration of his virtues, saying many good things of him, and passed a high encomium on his holy life and edifying conduct. See, dear Christians, the force of good example, 156 SIXTEENTH HOMILY ON how widely its influence spreads, how great is its ef- ticacy, and how admirable its fruits! Though Tobais was, in comparison with many others, an obscure in- dividual, the fame of his virtues had reached his brother captives at a very great distance, and no doubt many were influenced by his holy example to lead a life of piety, to bear their afflictions with resignation, to despise the world, and to consecrate their lives to the practice of virtue. " To every one,''^ says the wise man, "/lai/i God given charge of his neighbour.'''' Wis- dom. And while, on the one hand, we are bound to abstain from whatever in word or action might prove an injury to our neighbour, especially as to his soul; we are, on the other hand, under a strict obligation of endeavouring to promote his spiritual welfare and sal- vation, at least by holy example and pious convprsa- tion. That there is nothing which lias so powerful an influence on the conduct of mankind as example, every one who pays the slightest attention to what daily passes in the world must be fully convinced. Alas ! what more successful engine does the devil emploj for the destruction of souls, than the evil example of the wicked Like a torrent unrestrained in its devastating course, evil example sweeps down every thing before it, and not only hurries along with it into the infernal gulph the vicious, the tepid, and the lukewarm Chris- tian, but too often undermines the foundations of solid piety, and proves the eternal destruction of many v^^ho would have been Saints had they possessed the courage to withstand the force of evil example. On the other hand, how efficacious is the edifying example of but one of God's faithful servants ! How many by that e^mple are reclaimed from the path of vice; how many are confirmed in virtue, encouraged to fight manfully the battles of their Lord, taught to triumph over the obstacles to salvation, and conducted to their crown! The gift of tongues, and the power of working miracles, which the Almighty bestowed upon I THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 157 *he first Christians, did not half so much towards ef- fecting the conversion of the heathen world, as did their holy lives, their edifying conversation, and the bright light of their incomparable virtues. Their preaching, unaccompanied by the practice of virtue, would have been an empty sound; their miracles might have excited momentary sensations of wonder and astonishment; but unsubdued by conviction, th'e hes- thens would have entertained no other sentiments than those of contempt for the preachers, and indifference to their cause. But when they saw those who thus an- nounced themselves as having credentials from heaven to communicate tidings of salvation to the world, ex- hibiting at the same time a bright example of every virtue; when they beheld them pioiis,> meek, disin- terested, poor in spirit, despising the world, charitable even to their greatest enemies, and willing to lay down their lives for the glory of God and the salvation of souls; unable to withstand the bright glare of convic- tion which the torch of truth thus presented to their minds, they renounced their prejudices, embraced not only the doctrines but the virtues of their Apostles, and animated with the same spirit, ennobled and pro- pagated the faith by a similar edifying awdf holy ex-' ample. You, my beloved brethren and feilow-membeis of the holy Catholic Church, have, by a distinguishing act of God's mercy, been called to the true faith; you have succeeded to this rich- smd glorious inheritance, the pledge of God's love for you, and the foundation of your own best hopes. Like the first Christians, you live in the midst of those who view the faith which you profess th?0'.igh the medium of misrepre- sentation and prejudice, and look upon yourselves with an eye of ridicule and contempt. Cut off from the unity of the fold of Christ, and strangers to the bles- sings that are to be found only in the communion of the true Church of Christ, they have the strongest of 14 158 SIXTEENTH HOMILY ON claims upon your charity and compassion. You are? bound daily to implore at the throne of mercy, the grace of their conversion; and much more are you under the strictest obligation of labouring to bring them to the knowledge of the truth by good example. If your souls are warmed with one spark of gratitude for the inestimable spiritual benefits wliich God has bestowed upon yourselves; if your breasts feel the least glow of true charity; if you are animated with any real love for that Saviour who gave himself a victim for man; can you behold those souls, for whom he died no less than for you, wandering in the paths of infidelity or error, in danger of eternal destruction, and not feel the obligation of endeavouring, by a holy life and pious conversation, to procure their conver- sion, and promote their eternal salvation.'' They hear you continually boasting of the holiness of your faith, and of the Church to which you belong; and some- times, perhaps, witness the able defence which you make of your religion, when attacked, in the way of argument. But, believe me, they judge of the merits of your cause, not by your words or professions, but by your actions and your lives. If, then, while they hear you loudly proclaiming and defending the truth of your faith by argument, they see your lives pass in a slothful neglect of some of the most essential duties of a Christian, or stained with crimes that would disgrace even a heathen, either proud of their own moral su- periority, or disgusted with your shameful inconsis- tency of conduct, they become more deeply rooted than ever in their prejudices against your religion, and more ready to believe the foul aspersions thrown out against your faith. My God! what accumulated ven- geance will one day fall upon the heads of those un- happy men who shall stand accused of having thus brought a scandal upon religion by their wicked lives, and of having proved an obstacle instead of a help to the conversion and salvation of their neighbour! When THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 159 I look at the lives of some among you who now hear me, and reflect at the same lime on the terrible account which God will one day demand from you, of the use you have made of the true faith, and the blessings at- tached to it, I am struck with horror, and could almost wish, with the Apostle, that I might sink into annihi- lation rather than witness the dreadful scene of your judgment and condemnation. In labouring as a minis- ter of God to reclaim the ignorant and the sinner, there is no greater obstacle which I meet with than the evil examples and disedifying lives of those among you who live not up to the holiness of your faith. Uh! that I could prevail upon every one of you, my dear flock in Jesus Christ, by a virtuous conduct, and the steady practice of every duty, to labour with me in propagating the true faith, and promoting the salvation of souls ! What happy fruits of repentance would then crown the prayers and tears of our holy mother the Church on earth, and give joy to the blessed spirits in heaven! What glorious conversions would adorn the Catholic faith, and increase the happy num- ber of its professors, destined to be heirs of eternal life! There is not one among you, my beloved breth- ren, however obscure may be the station in which Providence has placed him, who has it not in his power, by a holy example, to aid the labours of his pastor, to co-operate with him in procuring the salva- tion of some one or other of those dear souls for whom Christ died, and thus secure to himself a share in that reward which is promised to those who instruct others unto justice: "they shall shine like stars for all eterni- ty." Impressed with these truths, which I have here delivered to you, and sensible of the obligation under which you are, of endeavouring, at least by good ex- ample, to promote your neighbour's salvation, let it be the constant practice of your lives to manifest in your actions the holiness of the faith which you profess. Like the good Tobias, spread around you the sweet 160 SIXTEENTH HOMILY ON odour of a holy life and virtuous conversation. -'L^ your light so shine befoi-e men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaveti.^^ Matt. V. 1 6. '■'■Having your conversation good among the Gentiles, (the adversaries of your faith,) that whereas they speak against you as evil doers, consider- ing you by your good works, they may give glory to God in the day oj visitation?'' 1 Peter, ii. 1 2. But, my beloved brethren, the happy fruits of your good example and virtuous lives will not be confined to the propagation of the true faith, and the conversion and salvation of your neighbours. Great indeed as are these fruits, there are other no less happy efFects, vrhich will flow from your edifying lives. The heart may conceive, but neither the tongue nor the pen can express, that delicious feast of the soul, that inward delight and satisfaction, that holy and unmixed joy which enraptures the mind at the consciousness of a life spent in virtue! The past time full of merit, the present gilded with hope, the future crowned with a glorious reward, all present to the soul of the truly just man and faithful servant of God, an uninterrupted source of consolation and holy joy, and furnish him upon earth with a foretaste of heaven. Moreover, the virtuous Christian reaps another most excellent fruit of his holiness of life, and pious ex- ample, in the blessing of heaven upon those who are most dear to him, his children and family. He be- holds these tender plants, nurtured by his care, and trained by his holy example, growing to maturity, rich in every virtue, propping and consoling his declining years, and throwing a shade of comfort and joy even over his grave. This the holy Scripture unfolds to us in the history of Tobias, both in the present portion of it under our consideration, and in other parts of it. Kaguel, who had long been an admirer of the virtues of Tobias, was overjoyed when he found that his visi- tors were acquainted with tliat holy man. But, vvhea THE BOOR OF TOBIAS. 161 informed by the Angel that the young man who ac- companied him was the son of his virtuous friend, he could no longer restrain his tears. Himself, his wife, and daughter, wept for joy, beholding in the young Tobias the happy fruits of his father's pious care, and an image of his virtue. Raguel, falling upon the young man's neck, embraced him, and exclaimed: "A bles- sing be upon thee, my child, because thou art the son of a good and most virtuous man." Heaven, my beloved brethren, rewards in children the virtues of their parents. As you value then the happiness of your tender offspring, crown all your other endeavours for their good, by a holy and virtu- ous example. Without this, all the lessons of virtue which you may give them will be fruitless; accompa- nied with good example, your lessons will take root in their minds, and bring forth fruit in season. In- heriting from you the rich treasure of virtue, they will inherit together with it, the blessing of heaven. Like the young Tobias, during their journey through this mortal life, they will be under the special guidance of divine Providence; each circumstance of their lives will mark the all-protecting care of the Deity; the Angel of the Most High will guide their steps, direct their ways, counsel them in their doubts, remove their dangers, console their afflictions, receive their expiring breath, and conduct their souls to the mansions of eternal felicity. 14* 162 SEVENTEENTH HOMILV ON S£.Vi:2TT£ENTfi EOMZLY. Chap. VII. ver. 9. And after they had spoken, Raguel com- manded a sheep to be killed, and a feast to be prepared. And when he desired them to sit down to dinner, 10. Tobias said: I will not eat or drink here this day, unless thou first grant me my petition, and promise to give me Sarah thy daughter. You have seen, my beloved brethren, the cheerful- ness and joy with which Raguel received his visitors, even before he knew u'ho they were, or wlience they came. But when he learned that one of these strangers was the son of his revered kinsman Tobias, he wept for joy. As soon as he had given vent to the feelings of nature, and passed a short time in friendly inquiries and social conversation, Raguel ordered a feast to be prepared for the entertainment of his guests; and when it was ready, invited them to dinner. But the young Tobias, who had previously received instructions from his heavenly guide in what manner he was to act, de- clared to Raguel, that he would neither eat nor drink in his house unless his kinsman would first consent to give him his daughter in marriage. This sudden decla- ration of Tobias may at first sight appear strange; but there is no doubt, that, in the conversation whicii had passed between Raguel and Tobias the important sub- ject of the marriage of his daughter had been touched upon. Indeed the Greek text clears up the difficulty, relating the conversation of these holy men more at length, and mentioning certain circumstances which preceded and naturally led to the apparently strange and hasty declaration of the young Tobias. This holy young man, attentive to the Angel's advice and direc- tions, after the first salutations of friendship were over, asked Sarah in marriage of her father. Raguel, full of affection for Tobias, and knowing what had hap- THE BOOIC OF TOBIAS. 163 pened to the former husbaiids of his daugliler, at the same time that he expressed the most sincere regard for the young man, advised him to give up all thoughts of the marriage, and rather think of making merry, and enjoying himself by sitting down to the feast pre- pared for him. It was then that Tobias, instructed by the Angel, solemnly declared that lie would not eat or drink with his kinsman, unless he would first consent to his marriage with Sarah. The book of Genesis, xxiv. 35. records an example of a similar behaviour on the part of Abraham's servant, Eliezer, when he was sent by his master to demand Rebecca in mar- rirge for his son Isaac. Eliezer being arrived at the house to which he had been sent, was immediately in- vited to take some jefreshment; but he replied, I will not eat until I have declared to you the business upon which 1 am come." In effect, he did not sit down to table until he had received a promise that Rebecca should return with him to espouse his master's son Isaac. Another difficulty, arising from the conduct of the young Tobias on this occasion, here presents itself. Is it not astonishing that this holy young man, w^ho in all other circumstances of his lii'e appears to have been influenced by such sentiments of respect and af- fection for his parents, should have thought of engag- ing himself in n arriage without their consent, nay, without having so much as consulted them.-' For, it may be asked, is it not a part of the duty which chil- dren owe to their parents, to consult them on this im- portant step, and to follow their directions.'' Yes, dear Christians, it is most undoubtedly the duty of young persons thus to act, and a duty of strict obligation, from which nothing can excuse them, but either the inability to comply with it, or an evident opposition between the will of their parents and that of Almighty God. It may sometimes happen that vicious or worldly-minded parents, who have nothing in view but 164 SEVENTEENTH HOMILY ON temporal motives, may advise their children to con- tract marriages which would endanger their eternal salvation; or, actuated by the same unchristian motives, may oppose their making such an engagement in the married state, as the will of God, learnt by holy prayer and the advice of their director, manifestly points out for them. In such cases, children are cer- tainly to prefer the will of God and their eternal sal- vation, before the corrupt motives and perverse will of their parents; but preserving, at the same time, both in their inward sentiment and in their outward be- haviour, that respect and affection, from which nothing can dispense them. The young Tobias, at the time of his proposal of marriage with Sarah, was at the distance of many days journey from his parents, and it was therefore impos- sible for him to make known to them his intentions and ask their consent. Besides, he acted on this oc- casion by the direction of the heavenly guide, whom Providence had deputed to conduct his steps. He did not indeed know as yet that his companion was actually an Angel of the Lord; but by the pietv, pru- dence, and excellent instructions which he had receiv- ed from his guide, accompanied by the interior mo- tions of grace with which the Holy Ghost at the same time touched his own heart, he was convinced that God spoke by the mouth of his companion and direc- tor, and consequently that it was his duty faithfully to put in practice all his counsels and instructions. I have before observed to you, my beloved brethren, that the care which the Angel Raphael took of the young Tobias, is an emblem of the invisible protection afforded us by the holy Angels whom God has appoint- ed to be our guardians during our mortal pilgrimage. The history of the young Tobias, moreover, discov- ers to our view some of those admirable springs by which divine Providence directs the visible crea- tion, and so disposes both the animate and inanimate I'HE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1 65 fjart of it as to promote the good of his elect. In the Iruly important affair of the marriage of Tobias, an affair on which the happiness of this young man for time and eternity so much depended, nothing is left thai, can be ascribed to chance or human prudence; all is guided and directed by the hand- of Gcd in the clear- est manner, to shew that a holy and happy marriage is the work of God and not of men. "Father and mo- ther," says the book of Provej-bs, "give houses and riches; but it is the Lord himself wiio gives a wise wife," xix. 14.; that is, a wife filled with piety and the fear of the Lord; for, in the language of holy Scrip- ture, wisdom and piety are inseparable from each other. The same truth the Church of God inculcates in the prayer which she offers up at the end of tlie mass that is celebrated for imploring the blessing of heaven upon a Christian marriage: "O God, who alone art master of the heart of man, who knowest and gov- ernest all things by thy Providence, if thou joinest to- gether, no one can separate; if thou givest a blessing, no one can hinder the salutary effects of thy benedic- tion." A holy and happy marriage is therefore the work of God, and at the same time one of his choicest bles- sings. The christian who hopes to enjoy this blessing, must dispose hiPiiself for it by entering into that holy state with a pure intention of the glory of God, and of answering the end for which matrimony was insti- tuted. But that he may not fail in this truly important step, he must, in the first place, seek instruction, and endeavour to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the nature of this sacred institution, the dispositions requisite for approaching to it worthily, and the obli- gations arising from it. For your instruction, my be- loved brethren, I intend to give each of these points a full and clear discussion. In order to form a just notion of marriage, let us go back to its first institution by our Creator himself, in 166 SEVENTEENTH HOMILY ON the garden of paradise. After the formation of the first man Adam, the book of Genesis, ii. 28, represents Ahiiighty God as speaking and acting in the following manner. "The Lord God said: It is not good fot man to be alone. Let us make for him a help like lo him- self. Then the; Lord God sent a deep sleep upon Adam; and while he slept, he look out one of his ribs; and put flesh in the place of it; and the Lord God formed the woman out of the rib which he had taken from Adam, and brought her to Adam. Then Adam said: this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. — For this reason, man shall leave his Father and mother, and shall adhere to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." These words, which, as the Coun- cil of Trent observes, the first man spoke by the in- spiration of the Holy Ghost, teach us that marriage, according to its first institution, is an union of man and woman, loraied by God himself, for their mutual com- fort during life; an union more close than that which binds us to those from whom we received our birth, a union, in fine, which nothing but death can dissolve. "What God hath put together, let no man separate," says our divine Redeemer, speaking of the bond of marriage. Such was the marriage union in its natural state and primitive institution. But in the New Law, that is, in the Christian dispensation, this natural union is raised to the dignity of a holy union and religious ceremony, blessed with the grace which God, by vir- tue of the merits and the institution of Jesus Christ, has annexed to the ministry of the Church and the nuptial benediction, in order, says the Council of Trent, to perfect the natural love of man and wife, to confirm tlieir union, and to sanctify married persons. The apostle St. Paul gives us a still higher idea of the marriage union of Christians, telling us, that it is a sign and mysterious representation of the holy, spir- itual, and indissoluble union which subsists between Jesus Christ and his chaste spouse the Church. Ex- THE BOOK OF TOBtAS. 167 plaining this mystery to the Ephesians, he says, "Let women be subject to their husbands in the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the liead of the Church. Therefore, as the Church is subject to Christ, so also let wives be subject to their husbands in all things. And you, husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and delivered himself up lor it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by thelaverof water in the word of life; that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh. This is a great mystery, or sacrament, I speak in Christ and in the Church." Eph. v. 22, &c. I wish that all Christians who are already engaged, or think of engag- ing, in the married state, would weigh well these words of St. Paul, and impress upon their minds the holiness of Christian marriage. The Church of God, the faithful interpretei- of the divine word, conforma- bly to this doctrine of the Apostle, has ever taught that matrimony is one of the sacraments of the New Law, that is, one of those excellent institutions which the divine goodness lias appointed for conveying to the souls of Christians the grace of God. Matrimony, says the holy Council of Trent, being more excellent in the evangelical law than it was before the coming of Christ, on account of the grace annexed to it by Jesus Christ, it is with reason that the holy Fathers, Councils, and the universal tradition of the Church have, in every age, taught that it is to be reckoned among the sacraments of the New Law. It is there- fore a point of faith, that whoever enters into the mar- ried state with proper views and intentions, with puri- ty of conscience, and with an earnest desire of sanc- tifying his soul, and fulfilling the important obligations VSS SEVENTEEN in HOMIiit' OJiT of matrimony, receives by virtue of this sacred insti-* tution, an abundant supply of divine grace to enable him to support the difiiculties and to fulfil the duties of that holy state. But this supply of divine grace is given to those only who bring to the sacrament of matrimony the holy dispositions which I have just meiationed. If Christians, therefore, when they engage in matrimony, have no other objects in view than the acquirement of a fortune, the possession of beauty, wit, or talents-, or the gratification of passion, not on- ly are their marriages no better than those of heathens, they are much worse in the sight of God, being so ma- ny profanations of one of his most holy and most mer- ciful institutions. The apostle St. Paul would have all Christians, as- truly followers of Christ, to seek the divine glory in- every circumstance of their lives: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatev^er else you do, do all for the glory of God." 1 Cor. X. 31. Of how much more conse- quence then, and of how much greater obligation is it,, that we should act under the guidance of this truly Christian principle of seeking the glory of God when' we perform any acts of religion, more especially when we approach to a«y of the holy sacraments: of which matrimony is one and one of very great importance, for the happiness of a great proporlion of Christians- is closely connected with it. It is this view to the' glory of God, this acting from a spirit of religion,, which properly makes a Christian marriage. A good Christian engages in marriage, not from any motive of worldly interest, ambition, or passion; he seeks a wife, with whom, in the midst of the employments and oc- cupations of the world, he may dedicate a due propor- tion of time to the service of God and holy prayer, who may share with him the pains and pleasures of this life in perfect union of heart and affection, and who may faithfully concur with him in the virtuous education of their common family. These are the ob- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 169 jects which Christians should have in view when they think of entering into tlie married slate. Having thus explained to you, at length, the nature of matrimony, botli in its primitive institution and in its new dignity as a sacrament of the Clirisfian Church, together with the views with which Christians are to engage in it, I sliall reserve for another discourse the important obligations of married persons. For the present I shall add a few words of advice to young persons on the pn^naration necessary for those who wish to secure the divine blessing upon their marriage. In the first place, as their engaging in marriage is one of the most important steps of their whole life, and that on which haj)piness or misery, both for time and eternity, greatly depends, young persons, before they come to any determination on this point, should endea- vour, by holy prayer and by fervently approaching from time to time to the holy sacraments of penance and the eucharist, to learn the will of God; whether it is conformable to his will thai they shou'd enter into that state, and more particularly whether the object of their choice is agreeable to his divine appointment for them. In the second place after having used their good endeavours to learn the will of God on these two important points, and being satisfied, as far as it is pos- sible to be satisfied in our present slate of darkness and uncertainty, both by their own inward lights and the direction of their pastor, that they are acting in conformity to the divine will in entering into that holy state, let them continue the same pious means of pray- er and the holy sacraments, for the purpose of secur- ing a continuance of the divine blessing, and for ob- taining the holy dispositions necessary for receiving the graces annexed to the sacrament of matrimony. With this view, let them ask the advice of their spir- itual director; and faithfully put in practice the rule of conduct and the pious exercises which he may re- commend, for some time before their marriage, as 15 170 8EVENTEb^TH HOMILY ON fBOSt proper for them. Above all, let them during this time of preparation be more than ordinarily watchful over their actions, more careful of flying from sin and the occasions of it. Few, indeed, are the young per- sons who thus prepare themselves for marriage, and few, consequently, are the marriages which are attend- ed with the blessing of heaven upon them. As God is not invited to be present at them, he is not to be found at them. Now, what happiness or what success can be expected from an undertaking which has not his blessing upon it? How dreadful must be the effect, both temporal and eternal, of an union, which from its sinful motives, and unworthy dispositions, perhaps too accompanied with a profanation of the sacraments, is an object of horror in the divine sight! Do you, at least, my dear children in Jesus Christ, sensible of the holiness of the married state, its difficulties and dan- gers, its obligations, and the happiness which attends it when accompanied with the divine blessing, faithful- ly follow the rules which i have here pointed out for the regulation of your conduct in preparing for it, and you will infallibly secure to your souls the graces that will sanctify your marriage, enable you to surmount the difficulties of that state, avoid its dangers, and ful- fil all the important obligations of it: THE BOOR OF TOBIAS. 171 EIGHTEENTH HOMZLY. Chap. VII. ver. 11. Now when Raguel heard this, he was afraid, knowing what had happened ti) lhi)se seven husbands that went in unto her; and he began to tear lest it might happen to him (Tobias) also in like manner: and as he was in suspense, and gave no answer to his petition, 12. The Angel said to him: Be not afraid to give her to this man: for to him who feartth God is thy daughter due to be his wife: therefore another could . not have her. The young Tobias, in obedience to the Angel's di- rection, and consequently to the will of heaven, had asked for Sarah in marriage; and to shew the steady determination of his mind, had declared that he would not x.at wuW Rasuel until he had given his consent to the marriage. Raguel, Knowing the dreadful misfor- tune that had befallen the seven first husbands of his daughter, feared lest a similar untimely end might be the fate of his young kinsman, and therefore made no reply to the urgent request of Tobias, The Angel then interfered, and exhorted Raguel to banish his fears; assuring him that his virtuous kinsman was the person whom divine Providence had destined for his son-in-law, and that the former husbands of his daugh- ter had not been deserving of her. After this assur- ance of the Angel, Raguel hesitated not a moment, but expressed his acquiescence to the divine appoint- ment in these words: Ver. 13. Then Raguel said: I doubt not God hath regarded my prayers and tears in his sight 14. And 1 believe he hath theicfore made ^ou come to me, that this maid might be mar- ried to one of her ownkitidred, according to the law of Moses: and now doubt not but I will give her to thee. Raguel, faithful to his sacred obligations as a parent, was not content with having given his daughter a vir^ luous education in her youth, but considered it a part 172 EIGHTEENTH HOMILY ON of his duty to pra}' daily for the blessing of heaven upon his child, that in her riper years she might marry agreeably to the divine will, and conformably to the law of Moses. This law, as I have before observed, required that the different tribes should not intermix with each other, but that each one of the children of Israel should select a partner from his or her own tribe. During the captivity and the dispersion of ten of the tribes, the observance of this law was become ex- tremely difficult. Yet Raguel, like the good Tobias^ was anxious, notwithstanding the difficulty, to see it fulfilled in his family; and :;;ade it the subject of his. daily prayers and teaVs that heaven would enable his daughter to comply with it. His conduct in this res- pect is a model, first, for all parents, teaching them, that one of their most important duties is daily prayer for their children; and, secondly. <"'>- o*ciy t/'nnstian, inculcating to ihcm Iiow much the blessing of heaven depends upon their strictly fulfilling the divine will, and complying with the laws and regulations of the Church respecting marriage. It is the duly of every Christian to be well acquainted with these laws of the Church of God, that they may not draw a curse upon their marriage instead of a blessing, by contract- ing matrimony within the degrees of relationship for- bidden by the Church, or celebrating it at the seasons in which the Church prohibits the solemnization of marriage. Raguel had made it his daily prayer, that his daugh- ter in marrying might fulfil the law and will of God, and his prayer was heard. As soon as the Angel as- sured him that Tobias was the husband whom God had destined for his daughter, he no longer hesitated a moment to give his consent. It is true, that neither Raguel nor Tobias yet knew that the stranger who was with them was an Angel; they took him for what he appeared to be, a young man of their tribe Still, there was something in the very mien and behaviour THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 17S of Raphael, and in his manner of speaking, which appeared more than human, and commanded the res- pect and instant assent of those to whom he addressed himself. On all occasions he delivers himself with an air of authority. At his first entrance into the house of the elder Tobias, he tells him with confidence that his careffom God is at hand. He promises, without any hesitation or condition, to conduct his son to Rages, and bring him back in safety. He bids the young To- bias demand Sarah in marriage, assuring him ot suc- cess. In the same authoritative tone, he dispels the fears and anxieties of Raguel, and speaks as one well acquainted with the designs of Providence; assunng him that his daughter was destined for the young lo- bias, and for that reason no other person had been per- mitted to have her for a wife. All the holy personages to whom he addresses himself, place in a moment the most implicit confidence in him. The elder Tobias, without the least mistrust or suspicion, confides to this stranger the care of his darling son, for whom he mani- fests on other occasions such extreme prudence and caution. The son listens with the utmost docility to the advice of this stranger, and practises it with the greatest exactness. Raguel, at his bare assurance, changes his sentiments, his fears vanish, a new light breaks in upon his mind, and his alarms are succeeded by confidence and hope. He cries out with joy, "Now I doubt not but God hath regarded my pray- ers and tears in his sight; and I believe that he hath therefore made you come to me that this maid might be married to one of her own kindred, according to the law of Moses: and now doubt not but I will give her to thee." To what can we ascribe this venera. tion, confidence, and docility, which these holy men testify for the stranger that addresses them, but to the influence of the Holy Spirit secretly animating them to follow the guidance of him whom it had deputed to be their comfort and protection? Raphael discov. 15* Hk EIGHTEENTH HOMILY ON ere not as 3^1 who he really is; hut his words and whole conduct bespeak him something greater than wiiat he appears Jo be; and the servants of God, witl» whom he convei-ses, ever ready to testily their obedience to the divine will, hear him with docility, and obey him without hesitation. Oh! that Christians, with a like spirit, would receive and Ibllow the nist ructions of those whorii, « iih a much greater degree of certain- ty, God has pointed out to them as the guides whom he has constituted to had them in the path to salvation, viz. thfe pastors of the church! Vert 15. Tlien taliing the riglit-Jiaml of iiis daughljer, he gave it into the riglit-liatid of Ti.bias. saving: the God of Abraliam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacot), be with you, aud may he join you togetlier, and fulfil his blessing in you. The Catholic Church, in the celebration of matri- mony, makes use of the same ceremony of joining hands, as an emblem ol the holy union of man and wife in marriage. To impress more strongly upon the minds of her children the sanctity of the married state, the Church administers the sacrament of matrimony with great solemnity. She exhorts those who come to receive this sacrann-nt, to be careful to dispose themselves for it by prayer and the other means which I pointed out to you in my last instruction; more es- pecially, by an humble and sincere confession of their sins, and the worthy participation of the body and blood of our Lord. The marriage ceremony is per- formed publicly, that is, before witness; and where the Catholic religion is protected by the civil law, the banns, or public declaration of each intended marriage, is made publicly in the Church on three preceeding *-'undays or festival days, in order that the faithful may j;)iii together in begging the blessing of heaven upon the married cou|)le, and that if any of the faithful know of any circumstance which would render the marriage either null or criminal, he may lay it open to THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 175 his pastor, and prevent the profanation of the sacra- ment. When nolliiiig is discovered iliat ought to pre- vent the intended maniage, the parties present them- selves, at the time appointed, hefue their pastor, who interrogates each of ihem on the snhject of the volun- tary consent. After this, Ih'j. parlies testif}' their ac- ceptance of each other l)y an union of hands, and the priest confirms that union in the name of the Blessed 'I'rinity. He then hlesscs the nu[)tial ring with a form of prayer adapted to tiiat [)tirpose, and prays God to be present at and give his hiessiiig to the marriage. The holy saciKiee of the ma-;s is tlien ofiered up, at which tlie nu|;lial benediction is given in the most solemn manner, immediately aft'T the Pater Noster. At the end of \\\ii mass, the minister of God turning to the new mariied couple, says, "May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, be with you, and may he fuUtl his blessing in you; that you may see your chihlren''s children unto the third and fourth generation, and afterwards enjoy everlast- ing life, througli the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, vvorlil w itliout end. Amen." This blessing, on t!ie part of the Clnirch, is a prayer that God, who is the source of all benediction, u'iHZ 6e toii/i the new married couiih, since he alone can make them happy; that lie icill confirm their union with the bond of holy love and affection, and that he will fulfil or complete the bhssing by a virtuous offspring, who may inherit the virtues of the ancient patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the promises made to them. The solemn ceremony of Christian marriage is con- cluded by a serious exhortation, which the priest ad- dresses to the married couple, admonishing them of the fidelity which they owe to each other, and exhorting them to live together in the fear of God, in holy con- jugal love and affection, and faithfully to discharge their respective duties and mutual obligations. Now, 176 EIGHTEENTH HOMILT ON these duties are of two kinds, both of them of the greatest ioiportance. As 1 have elsewhere spoken of one brancli of these duties, of married persons which regards their children, (see second Homily,) I shall now enter into a detail of the otiier branch of the duties of married persons, those which they owe reciprocally to each other. These are so clearly marked down in holy Scripture, that littlr else is necessary but to quote the very words of the insi)ired writers. First, St. Paul, in his episth,> to the Colossians, iii. 18, says, "Wives, be suhject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord." — Kph. v. 2^. "Let wives be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord: because the husband is the head of the wile, as Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, which is his body, and of which also he is the Saviour." — "Let wives," says St. Peter, 1 Ep. iii. 1, &c. "be subject to their husbands, that if any believe not the word, they may be won (or gained over) without the word, by the conversation of their wives, when they consider the purity of their lives and respectful conversation." He then proposes the ex- amples of the holy women of old, who lived in sub- jection to their husbands, and especially that of Sarah, who obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord: "whose daughters," says the Apostle, "you also are, if you do that which is good." In the book of Tobias, Raguel and his wife exhort their daughter to honour her father and mother-in-law, to regulate well her household, to govern well her family, and to preserve herself blame- less in all things. Tob. x. 13. In several passages, the great apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, admonish Christian wives to love and be faithful to their hus- bands, to watch over their family at home, to take due care of their household, to be chaste, sober, modest, in their dress, and humble in their behaviour, pro- posing to them as the great end which they are to have in fulfilling these duties, the glory of God, the walking hand in hand with their husbands in the prac- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 177 lice of Christian virtues; or, if their husbands are un- happily not in the pale of the true Churdi, the gaining of them to Christ by a holy life and atfeclionate con- duct. See Titus ii. 1 Tim. ii. 1 Peter iii. S. Secondly, addressing himself to hushands, St. Paul says, Col. lii. 19. "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter towards them." — Eph. v. 25. "And you, husbands, love your wives, as Jesus Christ has loved the Church, delivering himself up (or it. So ought husbands to love their wives as their own bodies." — St. Peter says, "\ou, husbands, likewise dwell with your wives, according to knowledge, giving honour to the woman as to the weaker vessel, and as your joint- heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered." — In a variety of other passages of holy writ, husbands are exhorted to rule tlicir lami!ie>4 »'V»!b mildness, to behave with all affection and tenderness towards their wives, and to avoid all harshness, and much more all savage fierceness and brutal violence of conduct towards them. God declares, by the prophet Malachy, ii. 13. that he will not hear the pray- ers of husbands who are guilty of ill-treatment to- wards their wives. Yet, how often do we witness such brutal conduct in husbands; and how great a pro- portion of the miseries of married persons owe their origin to a want of this mild ar.d affectionate behaviour! More especially, when to this defect are joined the mispending of their time in drinking, gaming, &c. and the squandering away of the support of their families! This is a crime so heinous in the sight of God, that St. Paul declares, "If any man has not care of his own family, he has denied his faith, and is worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. v. 8. Thirdly, married persons, both husband and wife, are strictly charged by the apostle St. Paul, to render faithfully to each other the marriage debt. For either party to refuse this, without mutual consent, is a ciime, a heinous violation of duty, and oftentimes the source lib EIGHTEENTH HOMILY ON of the most shocking excesses. I Cor. vii. 3. The angel Raphael instructed the holy Tobias to discharge this, and the like duties of marriage, in the fear of the Lord, and with purity of intention, that he might not be of the number of those who, following no other rule hut their passions, and consequently having banish- ed God from their heart, are delivei'ed over to the devil lor eternal destruction. Such, my beloved brethr-n, is an outline, taken from holy Scripture, of the duties which married persons owe to each other. There is no class of duties of greater importance to mankind; and, unfortunately, none with whicit the generality of men arc less ac- quainted. To tliis fatal ignorance, and the neglect which follows from it, are owing those scenes of misery which so often disgrace tlic ti-ai litd wtaio, pcr- v rt it fiom its primitive institution, and lender it a ki.id of h' !1 upon earth. Blinded by passion, or under the guidance of motives that would have siiocked a moral hea'li'^ir, ;o > often, at least, without one thought ot God or their own eternal welfare, many, who call themselves Christians, rush into matrimony, neither a are Of its sanctity nor acquainted with its obliira- tions; perhaps too, in defiance of the laws of the Clmrch. Hence those scenes of domestic stiife and conteiitioii; hmce too, oftentimes those dreadful pro- fanations of the sacran>ents, which call down the curse of In aven even in this life! That you, my beloved brethren, may have no share in this unliappiiiess, I have unfolded to you these im- portant points, the knowledge of which is of so much consequence to you; viz. the sanctity of marriage in its primitive insiitution, and much more in its sacra- mental dignity; tl.e ])ure intention, and the holy dis- positions with winch you should enter into (he married «tale; the maimer of preparing for it; the solemn ad- ministration of matrimony, and the sacred obligations and duties wiiich it imposes upon you. Let these im- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 179 portant instructions sink deep into your mind, and regulate your conduct by them. Tal daui^hter, t!:e Lord of lieaveu give thee joy for the trouble ttiou hast undergone. The two preceding instruct ions on tlie important subject of marriage have enabled me to lay before your view, my b( loved brethien, the dis])Ositions and intentions with which a Christian should enter into marriage, the graces and blessings annexed to the worthy receiving of matrimony, and the duties and obligations attached to that htly state. I then pro- posed to you to take the conduct of the holy Tobias for your model on these impoi'tant points. VVhat fol- lows in the Scripture account of the marriage of this holy young man, is no less worthy of your attention, and furnishes no less admirable lessons of instruction. According to the custom of the Hebrew nation, a custom much to be commended for its strict conformity to decency and purity, Sarah was conducted to the nuptial bed by her parents, some time before her hus- band. On entering the chamber prepared for her, she wept; her tears, without doubt, flowing from the re- membrance of her past afflictions, and the unhappy fate that had befallen her former husbands. Her mother, seeing her distress, consoled her with the hope that divine Providence would on this occasion recompense her past sorrow and trouble with abundance of joy. Chap. VIII. ver. 1. And after they had supped, they brought in the young man to her 2. And Tobias, remembering the Angel's word, took out of his bag part of the liver, and laid it upon burning coals 3. Then the angel Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt. When supper was over, Tobias was conducted to the chamber of the bride by .her parents, and left 16 18!^ KIMETEENTH HOHILY ON alone with her. His first care was lo fulfil immediately the advice of the angel Raphael in every particular. The Angel had directed him as soon as he should enter the nuptial chamber to lay the heart and liver of the fish upon burning coals, assuring him that God would, by these simple means, prevent the malice of the devil, and preserve his servant. Tobias did as the Angel had advised him; and God, who is ever faithful to his promise, by his An^el chased away the evil spirit that had been the instrument of his vengeance against the former wicked husbands of Sarah, and permitted not the devil to exercise the power before allowed him, except at a great distance from the spot where Tobias and Sarah were. Happy obedience, which proved to this holy man the source; of so many and such dis- tinguished blessings from heaven! — Tobias knew not that his guide was actually an Angel, deputed to guide him; but feeling persuaded that Providence had pro- vided him with this faithful conductor, he was resolved to obey all his injunctions, being assured that his obedi- ence would secure the blessing of heaven. Such are the sentiments which animate the true servants of God. Tiieir spirit is a spirit of e your model; guided by the same spirit, raise up. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 211 your hearts frequently during the day lo Almighty God, and implore his blessing, more especially when undertaking any business of importance, when going a jourjiey or returning from it. These, and the like holy practices, w\\\ draw down the divme blessing upon your goiyig out and coming in, (Psalm cxx.) and will merit the protection of heaven at every step which you take. The holy Scripture, after detailing to us the direc- tions which Raphael gave the young Tobias on his drawing near to his father's house, relates this affec- tionate meeting with his parents, in a style of simplici- ty which is truly affecting, and which far surpasses all tiie embf;Hishments tiiat the pen of the brightest genius could bestow. Ver. 5. But Anna (his mother) sat beside the way daily, on the top of a hill, from whence she might see afar off. 6. And while she watched his coming from that place, she saw him iifar off, and presently perceived it was her son coming, and returning she told her husband, saying: Behold, thy son cometh 9. Then the dog which had been with them in the way, ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail 10. And his father that was blind, rising up, began to run, stumbling with his feet: and giving a servant his hand, .vent to meet his son 11. And receiving him, kissed him, as did also his wife, and they began to weep for joy. Nothing can exceed the admirable and affecting sim- plicity of this narrative. The majesty of the sacred writings does not consist in the pomp of human elo- quence, but in an inimitable simplicity of style and expression, which at once strikes the imagination and affects the heart. The grief and regret of a fond mother, whose impatient anxiety leads her daily to the top of some hill to look for her darling son; the haste with which she runs, as soon as she perceives her son, to impart the joyful tidings to her husband; the eager- ness with which the old man, notwithstanding his bhndness, rises from his seat, and runs to meet his son,, 212 TWENTY-SECOIS'D HOMILY ON Stumbling at every step he takes; these are traits of inimitable beauty, and (orm a truly interesting and af- fecting tale. That nothing might be wanting to com- plete this sketch of nature in its most agreeable form of unadorned simplicity, the holy Scripture mentions the affection and fidelity of the little dog which had accompanied the young Tobias on his journey. What the sacred text relates of this circumstance may at first sight appear too low and trifling, but w'c are not to judge of the works of God by what appears little or great in our ideas. All the works of the Deity are admirable in themselves; and oftentimes those which seem the most mean and contemptible, are most de- serving of our attention and admiration. The beauties of nature, even in its minutest parts, are trequently noticed by the royal Prophet with a sublimity of ex- pression that fills tiie soul with the most exalted notions of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator, and points out to us, even in the meanest of God's works, subjects of astonishment, admiration, praise, and thanksgiving. The dog is one of the most com- mon of our domestic animals, he diverts us with his fond caresses, guards our house wnth fidelity, is grateful for favours, and immoveable in his attachment to his master. Vet, endowed with these properties, or, if I may so express myself, blessed with these animal vir- tues, he is not possessed of a soul as we are, nor has in him a principle of immortality. But, too often do we find even in this animal, an affection, a gratitude, a fidelity, which we in vain look for in man, though gifted by his divine Master with an immortal soul, bearing in itself the image of its Creator, and destined for an eternal union with him. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 213 Ver. 12. And when they had adored God, and Riven him thanks, they sat down together 13. Then Tobias, taking of the gall of the fish, anointed his father's eyes 14. And he stayed about half an hour: and a white skin began to come out of his eyes, Jiife tlie skin of an egg 15. And Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes, and im-medijiely he recovered his sight 16. And they glorified God, both he and his wife, and all that knew liim 17. And Tobias said: 1 bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because thou hast chastised me, and thou hast saved me, and behold 1 see Tobias my son. The young Tobias like his father, is the same in prosperity and adversity; nothing can draw iiim aside from the path of duty. Though overjoyed at seeing again his aged parents, he does not foiget the direc- tions of his guide. Tlie angel had t(.ild him to make his first act on entering his father's house an act of adoration and gratitude to God for the protection and the blessings whicii had attended him on his journey. Tobias strictly fulfils this adv'ice, and his parents unite with him in blessing and praising the goodness of God. The Angel had directed Tobias, in tiie s'^cond place, to anoint his falhei's eyes with the gall of the fish, as- suring him that his faith, humility, and obedience, would be rewarded by seeing his agid parent recover his sight. Tobias, the child of docility and obedience, after paying his liomage of thanksgiving to God in fervent prayer, applied the gall of the fish, as the An- gel had directed, and in half an hour his father recov- ered his sight. This miracle of the divine power and goodness, called foi'th an immediate return of gratitude and praise from this holy family. Nor was the tribute of grateful tlianksgivmg confined to those who lived in Tobias's house; their kinsman and acquaintance join- ed their hearts and voices in proclaiming the w^onders of God's mercy, pouring forth the sentiments of hearts, inflamed with tiiat true charity wiiich both "weeps with those who weep, and rejoices with those who- rejoice." The Old Testament, which is the history of the patriarchal and the Jewish Church, is one con- 314 lAVENTY-SECOND HOMILY ON tinued displriy of Hits most astonisliing miracles. Some- times we b'.'iio'd thi Do'ity stretching out his omnipo- tent arm foi' the proleciioij or su;)port of his whole people; at otiier times, exerting his om;ii[)otcnce in fa- vour of soiiie more chosen individual, disiinguished foi his virtue. In every page we discover that parti- cular providence, which, even in this life, marks out the just as (lie objects of God's tender affection, and desig.iates the wiciced as tfie victims of God's indig- nation. At one time we behold his whole people pas- sing i'l safety ;!iroug'i tlie waters of the sea; shaded in the desert from t!ie burning hpat of the sun during the day; ilhiminated, duriiig the night, with a pillar of fire: fe:} with bread from heaven; tiiumphing over enemies, vv-siose power se.emed invincible, and put in possession of a land which th:? arin of the Almighty had cleared of its original inhabitants, whose numbers and whose strength had struck his people with terror, and to hu- man views ajjpeared irresistible: at other times we be- h )id A.igfds d(Ji);ilod for the preservation of some more chosen servant of the most High; Lot snatched by their ministry fro:n i!u; flames of Sodo n; Abraham receiv- ing by the same means tlie promise of a son; Elias caught up in a charriot of fire; Daniel seated unhurt and U'ldauiited amidst hungry lions; and Tobias mira- cuously restored to siiiht. In the iS'ew Tes'ament, th.i Son of God is held out to us during the course of his public life, as constantly exerting his infinite power in miraculously conferring bCiiefits u;)on mankind, lie, who was 'fruth itself, declared that, astonishing as these miracles seemed to the crowds wlio witnessed them, bis followers should be enabled to work wonders that should far surpass thein. The history of the Catholic Church attests the fulfilment of this declaration of her Founder, not only in the period of her first establishment and primitive fervour, but in every age, even to our times, 'i he ad- versaries of our holy faith deny this historical truth, THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 215 but upon grounds so contradiclory as to destroy their own testimony. Not a single argument can be b^ouglit by them againsl the autlientic mirachs recorded to have been wrought by the Saints of God in each cen- tury, that would not equally invalidate the miracles related in the gospel. Tlieir own religious systems, the mere inventioiis of men, can bring no proof oi' miraculous interpositions of divine Providrncc in their favour, because lie who alone can suspend 'he laws of nature, being Truth itself, will not exert his omni- potence in contiadiction to himself, or in confirmation of error. But in vain do they attempt to strip the true spouse of Christ, the Catholic Church, of the splendid hght of miracles, with which her divine Founder has invested her, and which is sutBcient to discover her to all who sincerely seek her, and who are not afraid of coming to the light. The arm of the Teity is not shortf-ned; but amidst all the storms that assail his Church, and the darkness with which her enemies at- tempt to hide her, God still miraculously preserves her, enliglitens her, and, by the miracles with which he honours some of her illustrious numbers, declaies her to be the work of his omnipotence, his i'avoured spouse, his chosen inheritance. Oh! that with a heart, like that of the good Tobias, grateful for tlie divine goodness which has mercifully enlightened our spirit- ual blindness, and made the light of his true faith to shine upon us, we may daily pay him the homage of our thanksgiving, and by holiness of life en(!eavour to make our neighbours partakers of our light and joy, that they also may glorify God in the day of visita- tion! — Tobias, full of joy at the recovery of his sight, praised God even for his past blindness, which he con- sidered as sent him for the purification of his soul, and tiie perfection of h.is virtue. His joy, for the blessings coiifeired on himself and his son, received its accom- plishment in the safe arrival of his daughter-in-law, and her servants ar.d possessions. 216 TWENTY-SECOND HOMILY ON Ver. 18 And afler seven days, Sarah his son's wife, and all thp family arrivi-d safe, aiul the catUe and the camels, and an abundance of money of his wife's; and that money also which he had lecciveil IVom Gabelus -l!i. And he told his parents all the benefits of God, whicii i)e had done to him by the man that condiicited iiini 20. And Achoir and Nabath, the kins- men of Tobias, came rejoicing for Tobias, and congratulating with him, for all the good things that God had done for him 21. And for seven days they feasted and rejoiced all with great joy- In prosperity as well as in adversity, the Saints of God look to the hand of Providence as the cause of whatever befalls them. Their joy and their afllictions are like sanctilied by the dispositions of a heart ever sensible of the divine i^oodness, and ever ready to em- brace all the appointments of heaven. Tobias, at the safe arrival of his daughter-in-law, renewed his thanks- giving to the Author of all good, and invited his kins- men, with whose piety he was acquainted to unite with him in grateful acknowledgment to God. During seven days he outwardly expressed his joy and grati- tude in entertaining his fiiends; but his soul continued her unceasing homage of daily acts of gratitude during his mortal lile, faithfully fulfilling on earth that happy occupation which will Ibrm its eternal employment and deliarht in the mansions of the blessed. THE BOOK. OF TOBIAS. 217 TWSNTY-THIIID HOMILY- rhar, XII ver. 1. Then Tobias called to him his son and said to hhn: What can we give this holy man ihal is come with thee?.... S. Tobias ans.verint said to his f.ther: Fath'^^v^- hat wages ohall we s^ive him? or what can be worliiy ot his benehis?....... 3 He conducted me, and brought me sale again-, he received the money of Gabelus; he caused me to have my wife, and he chased from her the evil spirit; he gave joy to her Pa'-e"ts; my- self he delivered from being devoured by the «*''■ ^-'^ ^ ^° h« hath made to see the light of heaven, and we are hlled w.lh a good thin^s through h.m. What can we gne hun sufbcent for the e rhinos?..!. 4. But 1 beseech thee, my father, to desire Jim that he would vouchsafe to acceptof one half of alltlungs Zt have been brought 5. So the father and the son, cal- ling him, look him aside; and began to desire h.m that he would vouchsafe to accept of half of all things that they had brought. The elder Tobias, on the return of his son, and the recoverv of his sight, made it the first object of his care toexuresshis grateful sense of the mercy ol God bv fervent thanksgiving. He invited his relations and friends to unite with him in the same holy exercise. Havin- fulfilled this obligation, hi^ mmd could not rest withoiU making a proper acknowledgment to the faith- ful ffuide, tow hom, under God, himself and his son wer? ind.",bte.d for so many blessings. He therefore calls his son to open to him his own seniiments and as his son was best acquainted with what would be ao-reeable to his guide, to consult with him as to the mlinner in wliich they should recompense his serv-ices. No one can read the conversation which ))assed be- tween this holy father and son on this occasion, with- out bein- struck with admiration at the sublime and amiable^entiments of gratitude that dwelt in their breasts The young Tobias, in particular, seems to want words to express his feelings, while he recounts the benefits which himself, his father, his wife, and her parents had received from the faithful Azarias. 19 818 TWENTY-THIRD HOMILY ON Both these holy men, the elder and the younger Tobi- as, seem at a loss to find out a proper reward for the services of this trusty guide. They confess that it is out of their power to make him an acknowledgment proportioned to his kindness. At last they send for Aza- rias, and willi heartfelt pleasure make him an offer of the one-half of their substance, as the best proof of gratitude their circumstances will afford. Ver. 6 Then the Angel said to them secretly: Bless ye Ihe Gud of heaven, give glory lo him in the siglit of all llial live, be- cause he hath shewed his mercy to yon 7. For it is good to hide the secret of a king; but honourable to reveal and confess the works uf God 8. Prayer is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold 9. For alms deliver- elh from death, and the same is that which purgelh from siiis, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting 10 But they that commit sin and iniquity, aie enemies to their own soul. The time was now come when the veil with which Providence had concealed its ways from its servants was to be drawn aside, and the Angel who had been sent for th.eir comfoit and protection was to discover himself to them. To the kind offer which Tobias and his son had made of the one half of their substance, the angel Raphael replies: Bless the God of heaven, and praise him before mankind, for if is to his mercy, and not to me, that you are indebted for llie blessings which you have received, i he Angel, before he un- folds to them the secret of God's providence towards ihem, makes them remark the difference between the ways of God and those of earthly sovereigns. The success of the counsels of an earthly prince, depends much upon tlie fidelity of his ministers in keeping his plans a profound secret; his enemies, by discovering those plans, might prevent their being put in execution: but no power, either in earth or hell, can frustrate the designs of God, or hinder their effect. For his coun- sels there is no need of secrecy: but, on the cojitrary, it is a part of the zeal and gratitude which are due THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 219 from his servants, to publish to others the wonders of his providence, and proclaim to the world the miracles of his goodness and power, that mankind may glorify him, may learn to put tin-ir trust in hiv., and, by a faithful observance of his law, may merit his protec- tion. The Angel tlien confirms Tobias and his son in the faith of certain important truths with which they were before well acquainted, and by which they had regu- lated their lives. Prayer, says he, is gooil, when ac- companied with fasting and ahnsdeeds. No earthly riches are worthy to be compared to the eternal trea- sures which the |)racticeof these virtues brings with it to the soul. If each one of these excellent works is attended with blessings from heaven, how powerful- ly must their united eflicacy tend to disarm God's in- dignation, to open the door of his mercy, and obtain admission into the kingdom of heaven! These are points, however, upon which I have, in my former in- structions, detailed to you at length tlie maxmas, of the divine word. The A\igel adds: "they that commit sin and iniquity are enemies to their own soul." The royal Prophet, in the 10th Psalm, delivers the same sentiment: "he that, loveth iniquity, hateth his own soul." As sin brings death to the soul, by robbing it of its spiritual life, the grace of God; he who wilfully commits sin, is the enemy and the murderer of his own soul. How frightful is the truth which the holy Scripture delivers in these few words! Who can think of it without horror! The wilful sinner is guil- ty of a crime which in the language of the Holy Spir- it, is a murder, a murder of the worst kind, a murder by which the sinner inflicts upon himself a far more deadly wound than any which could be given him by the hand that should aim a blow for the destruction of the life of his body. Oh! that these words may ever be deeply impressed upon your minds, my beloved brethren: "tliose who commit iniquity are enemies to their own soul" 220 TWENTY-THIRD HOMILY ON The Angel Raphael then tiiscovers himself in the following terms: Ver. 11. I discover then the truth unto you, and I will not hide the secret from you 12. When thou didst pray wilh tears, and didst bury liie dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury thcni by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord 13. And because tiiou wast accepta- ble to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee 14. And now the Lord hath sent me to heal Ihce, and to deliver Sarah thy son's wife from the de\il 15. I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord. The Catliolic Cluirch has, in every age, inculcated to her children the docfrine which is here deliveied to the holy Tobias by an Angel from heaven, which was confirmed by the Son of God, and is expressly men- tioned in the creed taught by his inspired Apostles, the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. While the Catholic Church teaches us, tliat the God who created the universe, and who rults a^d governs tlie world which he has created, is the only object of adoration; while she faithfully calls upon her children to pay to the Supreme Being alone, the homage of their faith, hope, charity, and religious worship; she instructs us to honour and respect the happy spirits, whom God himself has honoured by making them partakeisof his own glory, and to look to them as our friends at the throne of divine giace, wh.o are continually exerting their kind and poweiful influence for us, by prayer and intercession. This doctrine of the Catlsolic Church is confirmed both by the Old and New Testament, in a variety of passages. What can be a clearer proof of this holy commuriion which we enjoy with the citi- zens of the heavenly Jerusalem, than the assurance of the angel Raphael to Tobias: "\Nhen thou didst pray with tears, 1 ottered thy prayer to the Lord." Yes, th&se holy Spirits, who behold their God face to face, and taste (hose joys wiiich flow from the pre- sence of his majesty, compassionate our weakness; THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 221 and knowing the maiice of our spiritual enemies, and the dangers which surround us, advocate our cause by their prayers, and supplicate for mercy in our behalf, through the merits of our divine Redeemer. In the New Testament, St. John, in the book of Revelations, tells us, that he saw "an Angel who stood before the alter, having a golden censei; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all the Saints, upon the golden altar which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God from the hand of the Angel." Rev. viii. 3, 4. It is a truth then, attested by the divine word, both in the Old and New Testament, that the Angels present to God the prayers of the faithful: not that we are to sup- pose that the Deity stands in need of their ministry to know our wants or petitions: but we believe that those holy Spirits, united to us by the bonds of charity, ar- dently desire our salvation, and joining their prayers to ours, aid us in obtaining from God's mercy the suc- cours necessary for securing our eternal happiness. Faithfully adhering then to the doctrine of the Church, and guided by her spirit, let us ever lookup with con- fidence to the assistance of those Iricnds of the Most High, who are now reigning with him; let us cultivate on earth that holy friendship with them, which Will subsist hereafter throughout eternity in heaven; let us imitate their fidelity to God, by a diligent observance of the divine commandments, and we shall both enjoy the benefit of this holy communion upon earth, and reap the fruits of it in their happy society in the world to come. The same holy Scripture, which represent the Angels as so solicitous for our spiritual welfare and so powerfully aiding us by their prayers, repre- sents them as frequently employed in performing offi- ces of charity for the temporal benefit of God's ser- vants. Thus the angel Raphael says, that he was sent by God to deliver Sarah from the power of the 19* 822^ TWENTY-THIRD HOMILY ON devil, and to cure the blindness with which divine Providence had afflicted Tobias. This trial, in the order of God's providence, was necessary for the per- fection of Tobias's virtue. "Because thou wast agree- able to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee." Without the knowledge of this truth, that afflictions are necessary for the just, the conduct of Almighty God towards his servants must be an in- explicable mystery. It is not through a life of ease, of pleasure, and enjoyment, that the Saints are to ar- rive at eternal bliss. What Jesus Christ, the Saint of Saints, has said cf himself, is applicable to all his faith- ful servants: "It was necessary that the Christ should suffer, and so should enter into his glory." Luke xxiv. 26. All those, therefore, who are mystically united to the body of Christ, as members to their head, must, if they hope to share in his glory, be partakers of his sufferings. This truth is evident from the lives of all the eminent servants of God, both in the Old and the New Law. Abraham, Joseph, David, St. John Bab- tist, the blessed Virgin, St. Paul, and his fellow Apos- tles, closely resembled Jesus Christ in his sufferings; and by their sutl'erings became entitled to a participa- tion of his glory. Atfiictions then, so far from dejecting us, ought to fill us with hope and consolation; they are one of the marks of those who are predestined to eternal life. If we are free from trial and persecution, we have reason to tremble for our eternal lot, because we resemble not Jesus Christ and his Saints. But, if we feel the heavy scourge of affliction, we have reason to rejoice and to hope. Let us then make it our daily prayer, not to be dispensed from suffering, but that un- der our sufferings we may imitate the servants of God in their fidelity, and that the divine will may be ever accomplished in us. The Angel having explained to Tobias the designs of God's providence in sending him to the assistance of himself and his family, declares his name and his THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 223 holy office: "I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord." The prophet Daniel re- presents the majesty of God as seated on a throne of fire, surrounded by millions of blessed Spirits, who continually stand in the presence of their God. But St. John, in the Revelations, chap. i. ver. 4. points out among the heavenly host, seven Spirits, who stand before the throne, the leaders of the celestial army, the most perfect and the most holy of those blessed Spirits whom God employs for the accomplishment of his greatest and most important designs. One of these seven the angel Raphael declares himself to be; and the very mention of his name and dignity fills Tobias and his family with fear and trembling. Ver. 16. And when they had heard these things, they were trou- bled; L.nd being seized with fear, they fell upon tlie ground on their face 17. And the Angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not 18. For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless yc liim, and sing praises to him 19. I seemed indied to eat and to drink with you; but I use an invisi- ble meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men 20. It is time, therefore, that I return to him that sent me: but bless ye God, and publish all his wonderful works. We are taught by our divine Redeemer in the Lords' prayer, to petition that we may imitate the blessed Spirits in the readiness and cheerfulness with which they execute the will of God. The angel Ra- phael, in recalling to Tobias's memory the wonders which God had wrought for him and his family, gives the glory of all the favours, of which he himself had been the instrument, to the sovereign Author of all good. He consoles them; he bids them banish their fears, and think only of the obligation under which they are, of returning their heartfelt praise and thanks- giving to the divine bounty. "I seemed," says the Angel, "to eat and to drink with you; but I use an invisible meat which cannot be seen by men." We are not to understand from these 224 TWENTY-THIRD HOMILY ON words, that the angel Raphael practised any deception, and did not eat and drink in reality. St. Augustine teaches, that the Angels ulio appeared to the servants of God under a human shape, eat and drank in the same manner as men, but not through any necessity. "The bodies of ihe just," continues this holy father, "after the general resurrection, being no longer suscep- tible of hunger or thirst, will not stand in need of cor- poral food. Clothed with a glorious immortality, they will retain the power, but not the necessity of eating or drinking." In like manner, the holy Angels are re- corded in Scri|)ture to have eaten and drank with the servants of God; not that tliere was any necessity for their so doing, but they complied with these outward natural functions of men, to humanize themselves, and to resemble more closely those for wliose service they were sent. But while they were thus employed upon earth in fulfilling the designs for which God had sent them, they ceased not to enjoy the beatific vision of their God, and the happiness of the heavenly Jerusa- lem. There, satiated with a spiritual and immortal food, with which He who is the eternal truth, infinite liglit, and immortal wisdom, fills and supports their being, they look down with compassion upon us in this world of misery and sin, they succour us by their powerful aid, and rejoice to be the instruments of di- vine Providence in furnishing us willi those lielps that "will enable us to walk faithfully on in the path that will conduct us to a happy and eternal union with them." "I was with you," said Raphael, "by the order of God:" but even then he enjoyed the sight of God, and this was the invisible meat which nourished him. Ver. 21. And when he had said these things, he was taken from their sigfit, and they could see him no more 22. Then they, fying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed God, and vising up, they told all his wonderful works. Having accomplished the important objects for which he had been deputed by divine Providence, the THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 225 angel Raphael disappeared from the earth. Tobias and his fatuily, full of admiration and gratitude for the favours conferred by his ministry, fell prostrate on the ground, and in silent adoration, for three hours, pour- ed forth ilie fervent homage of the heart to liiat all- bountiful Being- who had vouchsafed to send one of the princes of liis heavenly court to (lis[)ense to them the treasures of his mercy. After this silent and humble thanksgiving, ihey rose up, not to give their minds to earthly enjoyments, but to publish to their neighbours the vvondeis of God^s goodness, and to manifest to the world their grateful sense of his mercy. Let the like pious exticise form the delight and occupation of your hearts and voices, my beloved brelhi-en, when, having approached to the holy communion, you have received the choicest blessing of heaven, not by the ministry of an Angel, but by the visit of Him who is the joy of Angels, Jesus Christ, jour Redeemer, and your God, 21^6 TVVE^TY-FOURTH HOMILY ON TWINTY FOURTH HO^ail^Y Chap. Xlll. ver. 1. And Tobias the elder opcrsiiig liis mouth, blessed the Lord, and said: Thou art great, Lord, for ever, and thy kin:;dJiTi is unto all ages: 2 For thou scourgest and thou savesl; thou leadest down to hell, and bringest up again: and there is none that can escape thy hand. The faithful servant of God, Tobias, during the three hours in which lie lay prostrate on the ground in silent adoration, gave up his soul to the emotions of gratitude and love, listening with awe and reverence to the interior language of God's holy Spirit within him. At length, no longer able to restrain the flame that was enkindled in his breast by the communications of the holy Spirit, and transported with admiration at the goodness of God towards his own family, and the wonders of his mercy reserved for future ages, Tobias breaks forth in that admirable song, or canticle, which the holy Scripture records in the 13th cliapter of his history, and which is one of the most sublime and beautiful passages of holy writ. The first part of it is a solemn act of tlianksgiving, in which this virtuous servant of God invites all the children of Israel to unite with them*, the second part is a prophecy, in which, under the figurative name of Jerusalem, To- bias, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, foresees and foretells the glory of the Church of Christ, both on earth and in her future triumphant state in heaven. '•Thou art great i'or ever, O Lord," cries out the holy Tobias, "and thy kingdom is unto all ages." The thought of the infinite majesty of that God, who had shewn him so many and such extraordinary favours, fills his mind. He is overwhelmed with sen- timents of humility, when he considers that the eternal and incomprehensible Deity should have deigned to stoop down to him from the throne of his mercy, and '■ THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 227 to send one of liis Angels to visit him, and confer blessings upon liim. V\ hat, nr.y beloved brethren, would be the sentiments of a poor beggar, who should see himself nolieed by an earthly prinee, treat- ed by him with kindness and attention, relieved in all his wants, and provided with every aid and comfort in time of sickness and distress! Would he not want words to express his grateful sense of the kindness of his princely benefactoi? Yet, this benefactor, though a prince, and great in power and in earthly riches, is, like the beggar wliom he so generously relieves, alrail mortal, who must one day resign his possessions, and moulder in the dust. His greatness has it^ bounds, and his power is limited to the duration o\' a few years. But thy greatness, O God, cries out the faithful To- bias, is infinite, t!iy power is without bounds, thy em- pire is. universal, thy dominion endures for ever. The lapse of ages, and the revolutions of time, can neither lessen thy power, nor shorten its duintion. "What then is man, O Lord, that thou shouldst be mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou shouldst visit him?" Ps. viii. Oh! that such sentiments as these may have their due influence upon our breasts, when we taste of the bounty of this great and beneficient God, more especially when we partake of the choicest of his favours, by receiving him in the holy communion! "Thou scourgest and thou savest; thou leadest down to hell, and bringest up again; and there is none that can escape thy hand." God, the sovereign Lord and ruler of the universe, exercises his power with mercy and with justice; he is omnipotent, both to save and to punish. In vain shall the sinner fly from his face; in vain shall he attempt to screen himself from the anger of the Deity; God's in- finite vengeance will assuredly overtake him and punish him. The all-piercing eye of the Supreme Being penetrates the thickest darkness, and searches the deepest recesses of the heart. "Shall a man be hid in 228 TWENTY-FOURTH HOMILY ON secret places, and I not see liim, saitli the Lord." "Do I not (ill the ji(-avens a:id the earili, sailh the Lord?" "Yes," cries out the royal Prophet, "if I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; il I descend into liell, thou are theix-, if I taUe \vinijs in the morning, and shall duell in the uttermost bounils of the sea, even tliither thy hand shall l(;ad me, and thy right-hand shall hold me." Psalm cxlix. There is no one then that can escape the hand of his justice. As God witnesses the crimes of the wicked, their violations of liis law, and the insults which they offer to his adoiable majesty, lie is present with them by his infinite justice, to take vengeance on their ini- quities. Though the sinner may be seated on the highest pinnacle of worldly grandeur, and surrounded by a herd of flatterers who persuade him that he may indulge his passions without fear, as there is no one to controul or [)unish him, he shall feel the severity of God's justice, and neither rank r.or power shall save him from the hand of God's indignation. But this God, who is iluis present with smners by bis infinite justice, watches over his servants by the presence of his infinite mercy, and the arm of his unbounded good- ness is ever held out for their protection. Sometimes he leads to the very brink of the grave, which is what is here meant by the word hell, that he may display the magnificence of his power and goodness in the deliverance of his servants. He permits Isaac to be bound and stretched out as a victim for sacrifice, and in an insiant diveits the blow that is about to deprive him of life. Me suffers the innocent Joseph to be con- fined in a dungeon w ith criminals, and on a sudden elevates him to the highest dignity in Egypt. He per- mits the three children, his faithful adorers, to be thrown into a furnace of fire, and preserves them in health and safety. Tobias himself he afflicts with poverty and blindness, and on a sudden restores his sight, and fills him with his best and choicest blessings THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 229 for time and eternity. Who then can doubt of the divine power or goodness? Who can want confidence in the divine protection, though he be placed in the extremity of danger and distress? The arm of his mercy is not shortened, but is and ever will be ready to protect those who faithfully serve him. If it is his will to deliver them, no creature can prevent his de- signs, or retard the effects of his mercy. How con- soling is this truth to the servants of God, that they are ever under the eye of that omnipotent and all-merciful God whom they serve; who loves them as the apple of his eye, and guards them in all their ways. AVhile the wicked, whose conscience reproaches them with criminal violations of the law of their God, tremble and shrink with fear at the thought of the presence of the Deity; the just rejoice in this truth, and their con- stant sense of it fills them with consolation and with hope. "Let God arise, and let his enemies be dis- persed; and let them that hate him fife from before his face. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the just feast and re- joice before God, and be delighted with gladness. Rejoice ye (just) before him: but the wicked shall be troubled at the presence of him, who is the father of orphans and the judge of widows." Psalm Ixvii. I. Animated with these holy truths, and impressed with gratitude for the protection which he himself had ex- perienced from the divine power and goodness, To- bias invites all the people of God to join him in fer- vent thanksgiving. Ver. 3. Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and praise him in the sight of the Gentiles: 4. Because he hath there- fore scattered you among the Gentiles, who know not him, that you may declare his wonderful works, and make them know that there is no other Almighty God besides him 5. He hath chastised us for our iniquities; and he will save us for his own mercy 6. See then what he hath done with us and with fear and trembling give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal King of words in your works. 20 230 TWLKTY-FOURTH HOMILY ON The children of Israel, to whom Tobias himself be- longed, and whom he here calls upon to unite with him in fervent thanksgiving to the Deity, were the chosen people of God. Selected by him from among the nations of the earth, they had been blessed with the knowledge of him tlie true God, had received a law from his mouth, had been guided by his hand, and enjoyed his divine favour and protection. But, un- grateful for the blessings by which they were thus dis- tinguished from other nations, the Israelites j)rovok- ed the anger of heaven by repeated crimes and rebel- lions against God, till, in punisment of their ingrati- tude, they were conquered by a foreign power, driven from their country, and doomed to a long and severe captivity in a strange land, among infidels who were plunged in the grossest idolatry and superstition. This severe punishment of the ungrateful Israelites, was a part of the designs of God's mercy towards his people. For the scourges of God's justice are the chastise- ments of a tender father, who studies the \velfare of his children, and in visiting them u ith aflBiclions, seeks their true happiness. Thus, the dispersion of tlie Is- raelites among the idolatrous Gentiles, serves, in the order of divine providence, two great and Iniportant ends. First, it operated as a seasonable correction on the rebellious Israelites, made them sensible of their ingratitude, and recalled them to a sense of ♦heir duty. Secondly, the captivity of the Jewish people and their repentance, served to spread among the Gentiles the knowledge of the true God, by making known to them the greatness of his power and the serverity of his judgments, and thus prepared them for the blessing which was afterwards to be poured out upon them in their vocation to the Christian Church. Entering into these views of divine providence, Tobias considers himself, and his brethren in captivity, as so many preachers sent to announce, to the idola- trous nations among whom they lived, the knowledge ' THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 231 of the true God. "Therefore hath he scattered you amoii,^ tlie Gentiles, who know not hun, that you may declare his wonderful works, and make them know that there is no other Almigiity God besides him." This holy man exhorts his fellow-caj)tives to acquit themselves faithfully of this duty, of preaching the truth by word and work; to co-operate with the de- signs of God's mercy towards the idolatrous nations; and, by holiness of life, and an edifying conversation, to promote the knowledge and the worship of the true God. The Apostle, St. Paul, gives tiie same advice to us Christians. We live in the midst of a world which calls itself Christian, and professes to know and to serve the true God; while its maxims are in direct opposition to the principles of Christianity, and the lives of its deluded followers are marked with the same vices that formerly disgraced the heathen world before the light of Christianity shone upon it. Look- ing upon ourselves, therefore, as captives and exiles in this world which knows not God, we are bound, in gratitude for the blessing of the true faith and knowl- edge of our duty, to spread around us the sweet odour of Christ, by innocence of life and sanctity of manners. "Be ye blameless and sincere children of God," says St. Paul to the Phihppians, "without reproof in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: among whom you shine as lights to the world." ii. 15. — St. Peter, admonishing Christians to consider themselves as strangers and pilgrims in this world, thus exhorts them: "Let your conversation be good among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evil doers, considering you by your good works, they may give glory to God in the day of visitation." But the captivity of the Jews was designed not only for the benefit of the Gentiles, by diffusing among them the knowledge of the true God; it was to operate as a salutary cori-ection of the stiff-necked and rebellious Israelites: "He hath chastised us for our iniquities, and 232 TWENTY-FOURTH HOMILY ON he will save us for his own mercy." The same truth is applicable to every individual; the afflictions with which God visits us, are at the same time the punish- ment of our past iniquities, and the instruments of God's mercy. I he humble confession of this truth, under the trials which befall us, the sincere acknowl- edgement of our own unworthiness in the divine sight, and of the justice of God's judgments, will disarm the divine indignation, and draw down upon us, even in the severest of God's visitations, his mercy and his blessing. We behold the greatest of God's servants animated by this spirit of humility, and faithfully fol- lowing its directions The prophet Daniel, and the holy Tobias, though unconscious of any share in those grievous transgressions by which their people had drawn upon themselves God's severe judgments, yet remembering that no one is without fault in the sight of God, acknowledged themselves sinners, and in a spirit of penance, cheerfully submitted to the divine appointments. Let us imitate their example; and under every affliction, whether spiritual or temporal, fearful lest we should have contributed by our sins to draw down the wrath of God, let us by our humble submis- sion to God's will, and the sincerity of our repentance, improve the visitations of heaven, and make them in- struments of mercy and salvation. "See and con- sider," said the holy Tobias to his countrymen, "what God hath done with us, and with fear and trembling give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal King of worlds in your works." Ver. 7. As for me, I will praise him in the land of my captivity; because he hath shewed his majesty towards a sinful nation. God my beloved brethren, is no less adorable in his judgments than in his mercies. Whether he strikes us, or heals us, he is deserving of our praise; for all he does is designed to promote our everlasting good. Convinced of his goodness, let us ever, under all his Ve THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 233 -dispeiisatiGns, pay him the grateful tribute of our praise and thanksgiving. Such was the conduct of Tobias; As for me, says this holy man, I will praise God in the land of my captivity; I will kiss his adora- ble hand that strikes me, and I will not cease to bless him for his mercy towards my sinful and ungrateful countrymen. They have abandoned him to serve idols, and have trampled his law under their feet; but he has chastised them, and he has scourged them, that he may bring them to repentance, and may make them partakers of his mercy. r. 8. Be converted, therefore, ye sinners, and do justice before God, believing that he will shew his mercy to you. Tobias now addresses those among his fellow-cap- tives who, insensible either of the divine judgments or mercies, still remained obstinate in their evil ways, and exhorts them to repentance. Be converted, ye sinners; let the judgments which have fallen upon you, awaken you; renounce your iniquities; redeem your past crimes by works of justice; take the scourge of repentance into your own hands; shew the sincerity of your conversion by a change of life and conduct; and by fervent prayer, accompanied with the cries of a truly contrite and humble heart, seek with confidence the mercy of God. Neither the multitude nor the enormity of your sins can exhaust the treasures of his infinite goodness; but his mercy will receive your sighs of repentance, and your prayers will find favour in his sight. Ver. 9. And I, and my soul, will rejoice in him 10. Bless ye the Lord, all his elect; keep days of joy, and give glory to him. After exhorting; his sinful countrymen to repentance, the holy Tobias invites all the true children of Israel to unite with him in praise and thanksgiving. He styles the true Israelites, the elect of God, because they had been in a peculiar manner chosen by God to 20* 234 TWENTY-FOURTH HOMILY ON be his people: "Ye shall be my kingdom, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." Exod. xix. 5. But he con- fines not his address to the seed of Abraham; he ex- horts all sinners, in every age, to tremble at the sight of God's judgments, and avert his wrath by repent- ance; and he calls upon all the servants of God through- out the Christian Church, in each succeeding genera- tion, to begin with him here upon earth that homage of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving, which will form the unceasing occupation of the elect in the kingdom of the blessed. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 235 TUTENTY-PirTH HOMZI.?. Chap. XIII. ver. 11. Jerusalem, city of God, the Lord hath chastised thee for the works of thy hands 12. Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in thee, and may call back all the captives to thee, and thou mayest rejuice for ever and ever. Tobias, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in this second part of his canticle, or song of thanksgiving, foretells events which were to happen in after ages. For the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the Jews, who were transported to Babylon, did not take place until a hundred years after this period of Tobias's history. Yet this holy man speaks of those events as if they had already happen- ed, because the light which the Holy Spirit communi- cated to him, rendered them present to his mind and clear to his sight The same circumstance is remark- able in all the prophets. Isaias and Jeremy, ages be- fore the birth of the promised Saviour, described the principal circumstances of his life and death, with the same clearness and precision, as if they had been re- cording events of past history. This foreknowledge of future events, which God discloses on some occa- sions to his chosen servants, is one of the marks of his divine interposition, and one of the extraordinary means by which he makes known his truths, and mani- fests his chosen delegates to the world. Tobias, in the prophetic vision with which he was favoured by the Holy Spirit, foresaw that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which still remained in their native country, would, like their brethren of the other ten tribes, experience the vengeance of God in a long banishment from Judaea. Unawed by a fear of those judgments which had fallen upon their brethren, and 236 TVVENTY-HFTH HOMILY ON remaining obstinate in their wickedness, the Jews were delivered by Almighty God in the hands of Nabuchodonosor, who carried them captives to Baby- lon, in the same manner as Salmanasar had treated the ten tribes that formed the kingdom of Israel. The severe vengeance which the Almighty thus took upon his rebellious people, is but a shadow of that dreadful chastisement which throughout eternity he will inflict upon wilful sinners, in their everlasting banishment from the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and the joys that flow from the glorious presence of Him who reigns within it. Tobias, at the same time that he foresaw the de- struction of Jerusalem, and the banishment of its in- habitants, was consoled with a view of the restoration of the Jewish people, and their return to the divine favour and protection. He, therefore, exhorts his countrymen to be grateful for the divine goodness, and give due praise to the Most High for his wonderful mercy. "Jerusalem, the Lord hath chastised thee for the works of thy hand. Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God eternal, that he may rebuild bis tabernacle in thee, and may call back all his captives to thee, and thou mayest rejoice for ever and ever." It is not, however, to the mere release of his people from captivity, to the rebuilding of the temple, or the temporal prosperity of the Jews, that the prophetic Tobias confines his view. Glorious as these events were, and wonderfully as they mark the interposing hand of divine Providence in favour of his chosen people, yet they sink into comparative insignificance, when contrasted with the blessings poured out upon mankind in the establishment of the Christian Church, and the graces diffused over the earth by her doctrines and her sacraments, to the end of ages. Tobias fore- sees the day when the knowledge of the true God THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 237 shall no longer be confined to an ungratpful, proud, and rebellious people; when He, to whom his Father hath given all the nations of the earth for his inheri- tance, the promised Messiah, shall come, to bring back the captive children from the slaver}' of sin and hell, awd establish upon earth a kingdom that shall endure for ever. This kingdom, which is no other than the Church of Christ, was to take its rise from Jerusalem, and thence was to spread itself over every nation un- der the sun. Hence Tobias addresses the Church under the figurative name of Jerusalem. The divine Founder of this kingdom likens it to a grain of mus- tardseed, small and insignificant in its first appearance, but afterwards growing up, and becoming a large tree, in which the birds of the air seek refuge and repose. The Church, at its first establishment, was confined to the narrow limits of Jerusalem, but soon spreading its branches into the most distant parts, enclosed the king- doms and people of the earth under its shade. Nothing more clearly bespeakes itself to be the work of God, than the establishment and the propagation of the Church of Christ. The instruments whom its Founder chose to employ for the accomplishment of this great work, in all human views were the most unlikely to succeed. Twelve men, taken from the lowest occu- pations in life, totally unacquainted with human learn- ing, unsupported by an earthly power or protection, with nothing but disgrace, persecution, and death be- fore them as their portion in diis world, are commis- sioned to bring mankind to the belief that one Jesus, who had been rejected by his own people and nailed to a disgraceful cross, was no other than the Saviour of the world, and that all who refused to believe in him, would be eternally excluded from the happiness of a future state. In vain did the great ones of the world oppose the preaching of these men; in vain did the powers of hell unite with the princes of the earth in resisting the progress of the Christian faith. The TWENTY-FIFTH HOMILY ON Apostles preached every where, the Lord co-operating with them, and shewing by the miracles which he en- abled them to work, that they acted by his authority. The prejudices of ages gave way; and the heathens, renouncing their idolatrous superstitions, ran in crowds to embrace Cliristianity; so that in the course of a few years, the spiritual kingdom of Christ was established in most parts of the then known world. "We are but of yesterday," says TertulHan to the Pagans, "and we till your cities, your towns, your armies, your palaces, and your houses." Thus was the church of Christ, the city of God upon earth, miraculously es- tablished; thus was the light of truth diffused over the nations that had hitherto sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. The prophetic view, with which Tobias was favoured of this glorious event, filled that holy man witli raptures of joy, and he thus declares it to his fellow-captives: Ver. 13. Tliou, (Jerusalem, i. e. the Church) shall shine with a glorious light, and all the ends of the earth shall worship thee 14. Nations from afar shall come to thee, and bring gifts, and adore the Lord in thee, and esteem thy land as holy 15. For they shall call upon the great name in thee. The prophet Isaiah, in a noble and sublime strain of prophetic eloquence, announces to the earth the same blessings, of the light of the gospel, and the wonderful propagation of the kingdom of Christ. "Arise, Jerusalem, be enlightened, ior the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; darkness shall cover the earth, and a thick mist the peo[)le thereof: but the Lord him- self shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen within thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes and see; all these are gathered together, they are come to thee; thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side. The strength of the Gentiles shall come to thee; all they from Saba THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 239 shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shew- ing forth praise to the Lord. The islands wait for me, and the ships of the sea, t!iat I may bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath gloritied thee. And thou shall suck the milk of the Gentiles, and thou slialt be nursed with the breast of kings, and thou shalt know that 1 am the Lord, thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." chap. Ix. These magnificent prophecies received their fulfil- ment in the glorious establishment of the Christian Church. When the Apostles began to announce the doctrines of their Saviour, the nations of the earth were buried in the thickest darkness: but Jesus Christ, the Sun of Justice, piercing these obscure clouds with the rays of his divine light, dispelled the mists that covered the world, and enlightened the earth with the splendour of the New Law, which completely eclips- ed the brightness of the Old. As soon as this divine light shone upon mankind, nations ran in crowds to partake of its splendour; they entered into the city of God, his holy Church, revered it as a spot truly holy, brought the most magnificent presents to enrich her, offered in her their sacrifices to the Most High, and called with faith upon his holy name. Enriched with the spoils of the Pagan world, the Church, triumphing over the persecutors that opposed her progress, and gaining strength and fruitfulness from the blood of her martyrs, beheld the most distant nations reposing un- der her wings., and tasting in her precincts, the rich blessings which her heavenly Founder had commis- sioned her to impart to mankind. y'er. IG. TJiey shall be cursed that shall despise thee: and they shall be condemned that shall blaspheme thee: and blessed shall they be that shall build thee up 17. But thou shalt rejoice in thy children, because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord 18. Blessed are all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy peace. 240 TWENTY-FIFTH HOMILV ON In his kingdom, that is, his Chuich upon earth, our divine Redeemer has assured us, tliat tares will be found mixed with the good corn, until he, the hea- venly husbandman, shall come at the end of the world, and, separating the tares from the wheat, shall gather the good grain into his barn, but shall burn the tares with unquenchable fire. The same awful truths are here delivered by the prophetic Tobias; the curse of God is denounced against those who, either in faith or morals, shew themselves enemies of the Church of God. Woe be to those who blaspheme or speak evil against the true Church of Christ, who calumniate her, who misrepresent her doctrines, or seduce men from her into the by-paths of heresy and schism. But a much greater woe, or curse from God, will fall upon those ungrateful children of the Church, who, though nursed in her bosom, and fed with her milk of heaven- ly doctrine and the most holy sacraments, despise her orders, live in the violation of her precepts, disgrace her by a wicked life, and prejudice others against her doctrine by their scandals. The word of God here pronounces the condemnation of all such scandalous and rebellious Christians; and Jesus Christ declares that it shall be more tolei'able in the day of judgment for heathens, who never knew the true God, than for such as bear the name of children of the Church, but live in disobedience to her sacred injunctions. The Church of God mourns over these her unhappy chil- dren; their ingratitude is a subject of deep affliction to her. But she is filled with joy and consolation at the holy lives and edifying conversation of her faithful children, knowing, as Tobias expresses it, that they are truly blessed; blessed upon earth in the friendship of her spouse, and destined for eternal blessedness, by being gathered together to the Lord. This blessing is first promised to those who build up the Church, to , the Apostles and their successors in the sacred minis- try, who by their preaching, their labours, and sancti^ THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 241 ty of manners, propagate the spiritual kingdom of Christ throughout the eartli. Such as these will re- ceive a double crown; for, "they who instruct others unto justice, shall shine like stars for all eternity." But the blessing is not confined to tliem; it extends to all members of the Churcli, who, by a virtuous life and holy example, contribute to the advancement of this holy and spiritual edifice, the Church, and adorn the city of God. It is in these her faithful children that the Church rejoices; she beholds tb.em united in one and the same faith, looking forward with hope to the sair.c promised blessing, animated with a spirit of charity, walking in the footsteps of her divine founder, and directing their lives to the glory of their Creator. These form at once the joy and consolation of this holy mother the Church; she loves these her faithful children, and in return is loved by tliem. "Blessed are all they that love thee, and tiiat rejoice in thy peace." All true children of the Church, sensible of the blessing which they enjoy in her protection, are interested in her prosperity, and rejoice in promoting her extension, and in contributing to her glory. While the children of the world, under the influence of am- bition and earthly glory, devote themselves with eager- ness to the service of their country, and cheerfully sacrifice their ease, their property, and their life, to advance its power and rank among nations; let it be our glory, as children of the Church, to extend her empire among mankind; let us embrace with cheerful- ness every opportunity of contributing to the advance- ment of religion, of increasing the number of God's servants, and promoting the salvation of our fellow- creatures. The Church is the city of peace, and they who truly love her, rejoice in her peace. This peace of the Church will not be perfect until her divine spouse shall unite her to himself in glory. Here on earth, she is exposed to storms, and conflicts, and dangers; 21 242 TWENTY-FIFTH HOMILY ON her peace is often disturbed by the vices and evil ex- ample of some of her unduliful children. But in the midst of these scenes of danger, she enjoys a foretaste of her future peace, in the divine protection, and in the virtues of those her faithful children, who by their unity of faith, the firmness of their hope, and the bonds of charity which unite them, afford upon earth an image of her future state of eternal peace. Tobias pronounces those blessed, who, by their steady ad- herence to the faith of the Church, their humble sub- mission to her laws, and their bright virtues, preserve true peace within her bosom, and fly with horror from all those divisions in doctrine, or scandals, that might disturb her repose, or violate her unity. Ver. 19. My soul, bless thou the Lord, because the Lord our God hath delivered Jerusalem his city from ail her troubles 20. Happy shall I be if there shall remain oS my seed, to see the glory of Jerusalem 21. The gates of Jerusalem shall be built of sapphire and of emerald, and all the walls thereof round about of precious stones 22. All its streets shall be paved with wiiite and clean stones, and Alleluia shall be sung in its stieets 23. Blessed be the Lord, who hath exalted it, and may he reign over it for ever and ever. Amen The holy Tobias, no longer considering the Church in her state of trial upon earili, but favoured with a view of her magnificent glory in heaven, is enraptured with joy, and praising God for his unbounded good- ness, ardently sighs for that happy day of eternity, when he and his virtuous offspring may be at once witnesses and partakers of its glory. This glory of the Church in its triumphant state, is no other than God himself, who is the light, the splendour, and the happiness of the heavenly Jerusalem. Under the figurative appellation of emeralds and precious stones, Tobias designates the elect of God; who, according to their different degrees of sanctity, like so many in- estimable jewels, shall adorn the eternal city of God. Polished upon earth by the chisel and the hammer of THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 243 afflictions, they shall be translated to this heavenly edi- fice, and support and adorn this magnificent structure of God's infinite nnajesty. Into this holy city no un- clean thing shall enter; all its streets shall be paved with white stone, with spotless innocence, and no other song shall be heard, than eternal hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God. O God, blessed be thou for this immense glory which thou hast prepared for thv servants, when after their long captivity thou wilt console them with the presence of thy glorji. Establish in our souls, in this our exile, the reign of thy grace, that thus we may be prepared to rtign with thee for ever in the kingdom of thy glory. Amen. 844 TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY ON TVTENTY SIXTH KOBXZI.Y Chap. XIV. vcr. 1. And the words of Tobias were ended. And after Tobias was restored lo his sight, lie lived two and forty years, ami saw the ciiihiren of liis grand-cliildren 2 And after he had lived a hiindi'cd and twoyears, he was buried hon- ourably in Ninive 3. Ftrlie was sixatid fifiy ycarsold when be lost the si;;ht of his e\cs, and sixty when he recovered it again. And tlic rest of his life was in joy, and with great in- crease of the fear of God h„ diparled in peace. We now, niy beloved brethren, draw near to the close of the history, which the holy Scriptures have recorded, of the virtues of Tobias. After having for four years endured the severe atfliction of blind- ness with the most admirable patience and resignation to the divine will, at the age of three score years he was miraculously restored to his sight, in the manner which you have heard related. It pleased Almighty God to prolong the life of this holy man to a very ad- vanced age, that he miglit present to mankind a pat- tern of virtue in every stage of human existence. His declining years were an uninterrupted series of peace and domestic happiness, the happy fruit of his past fi- delity to God, and the care which he look of his son in his infancy. The rest of his life, says the sacred text, was in joy; not that woildly joy which arises merely from earthly considerations, such as riches and temporal prosperity, but a joy springing from a con- sciousness of enjoying the divine favour and protec- tion, accompanied u ith the sight of a family who made it tlieir constant practice to serve God with fidelity, and devote their lives lo the end for which they had received their being. 'J'o the end of his life Tobias advanced in the fear of God; in that holy filial fear which is founded on a love of the Supreme Being above every otner object, THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 245 and which carefully abstains from every thing that might in the least be contrary to his holy will. This gradual and constant advancing towards perfection, is one of the marks of the predestinated, and forms a distinguishing feature in the character of the truly just man. "The path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day." Prov. iv. 18. To aim at this perfection is the duty of all; the very first, and the greatest of the commandments is, "that we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our strength." But the full perfection of this love of our Creator is not attainable in this life, it is reserved for our future state in eternal happiness, when, being purified from the dross of earthly affection, all the faculties of our souls will be absorbed in God, and our only and never-end- ing employment will be the contemplation and the love of him. During our present state of existence, our love is at the best but imperfect; yet it is our duty to desire its complete perfection, and constantly to press forward towards the attainment of it. This is what our divine Redeemer calls, "to hunger and thirst after justice;" and he promises his blessing both for time and eternity to those who are faithful in fulfilling this duty. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled;" filled with abun- dance of divine grace in this life, to aid their spiritual advancement, and crowned with an eternity of bles- sings in the life to come. Tobias, at the age of one hundred and two years, perceiving that his last hour was come, that hour after which he had long been sighing, called his family around him, and gave them his last advice, as the holy Scripture relates j in the following manner: 2V 8*46 TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY ON Ver. 5. And at the hour of his death, he called unto him his son Tobias, and his children, seven young men, his grandsons, and *aid to them: 6. The destruction of I^inive is at hand: for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled: and our brethren, that are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, shall return to it» 7. And all the land that is desert shall be filled with peo- ple, and the house of God which is burnt in it, shall again be rebuilt, and all that fear God shall return thither 8. And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come into Jeru- salem, and shall dwell in it i). And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it adoring the king of Israel. Tobias, on his death-bed, is favoured by the holy Spirit with a foresight of ceitain great events which, in the order of God's providence, and for the execu- tion of the decrees of his infinite justice and mercy, were to happen in future times. The holy old man imparts the knowledge of these important events to his family, for iheir instruction, and to confirm them in their fidelity to God. He foretells the speedy des- truction of JNinive, the return of the captive Jews to their native land, the rebuilding of the temple, and the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of the tiue God. "The destruction of Ninive is at hand, for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled." When the Ninivites, by their wicked and licentious lives, had provoked the anger of God to the highest pitch, the prophet Jonas was sent on the part of the Almighty to de- nounce his vengeance against them. At the preaching of the prophet, that sinful people humbled themselves in fasting and penance, and by tlieir repentance ob- tained a reversion of the sentence which the divine indignation had denounced against them. But the mercy of God was soon forgotten, and Ninive, in a short time, again sunk into vice and licentiousness. God, whose forbearance is without bounds, with a view to the repentance of that sinful people, delayed the execution of his threats for the long period of one hundred and eighty years after the preaching of Jonas. THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 247 But at length the decree of his justice was executed. Nabopalassar, king of Babylon, and Astyages, king of the Medes, with their united forces, attacked IS'i- nive, took it, and levelled it with the ground. This event happened about thirty-seven years after the death of Tobias. The word of God, said that holy man, must be fulfilled. It is true, God is sometimes slow in executing his vengeance upon sinners, because being rich in mercy and patience, he wills not their death, but that they should be converted to him and live; but unless the sinner, listening to the call of di- vine mercy, averts the indignation of heaven by time- ly repentance, the vengeance of God will most assur- edly overtake him, with a severity proportioned to the mercy that has been abused. The second great event ivhich Tobias foretells to his family, is the restoration of the captive Jews to tlieir native land, and the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem. "Our brethren that are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, shall return to it. And the house of God that is burnt shall be rebuilt, and all that fear God shall return thither." This prophecy of Tobias concerning the return of the captive Israelites, is to be understood not only of the ten tribes who were then actually dispersed over the Assyrian empire; from the circumstance which he mentions respecting the temple of Jerusalem, (which at the period of his death was still standing) it is clear, that he speaks also of the tribes of Judah and Benja- min, who still remained in Judea, but were afterwards transported to Babylon, and continued in captivity un- til Cyrus published an edict permitting their return and the rebuilding of the temple. The Greek text expresses this in clear and full terms. The edict of Cyrus served as a signal for all those among the chil- dren of Israel who feared God, to reunite in the wor- ship of the true God according to the Mosaic law, and to renew, in his temple at Jerusalem, the sacrifices 248 TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY ON which were appointed to be offered to him in that sa- cred place alone. Accordingly we find, that after the rebuildin,:^ of the temple, the Jews who dwelt in the most distant parts of Asia and in t-gypt, on the prin- cipal feasts assembled at Jerusalem to assist at the sa- crifices of the law. The Acts of the Apostles, in the second chapter, mention, that at the solemn feast of Pentecost, when the Apostles began to announce tlie doctrines of their divine .Master, Jews were assembled from all parts of tlie then known world, and were witnesses of the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and first disciples. It was soon after this descent of the Holy Spirit, that the last great event, predicted by Tobias, the cal- ling of the Gentiles or heatlien nations to the ti'ue faith and Church of Christ, began to receive its accomplish- ment. ''The Gentiles shall leave tiieir idols, and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it. And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring the king of Israel." Under the figurative name of Jerusalem, the pro- phetic Tobias again marks out the Church of Christ, and foretells its miraculous establishment and propa- gation. It is evident that the city and temple of which this holy man hei-e speaks, are the same as in the pre- ceding chapter, this city, into which the nations of the earth were to assemble in crowds after renouncing their superstitions, and tliis temple, in which nations and kings wcr'c to adore God, could be no other than the Chui'ch of Christ, the city and the temple of the living God. For the Jewish city of Jerusalem in the Old Law, never witnessed any extraordinary assem- blage of converted Pagans, nor did the kings of the earth come to her rejoicing, to adore the king of Isra- el in her. On the contrary, Jerusalem, the city of the Jews, suffered the greatest of evils and persecutions from the heathen kings who surrounded her, and who, after several times profaning her temple and THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 249 plundering her inhabitants, destroyed her, and burnt the temple to allies. It was the Christian Church, often prefigured in lioly \vrit under the title of Jeru- salem, which beheld the heathen nations biingingto her the spoils of their false gods, taking u[) their abode in her sanctuary, and adorning iier by the most per- fect practice of the suhlime virtues taught by her Founder. After thiec centuries of persecution, the Church at length had the happiness to sec the emper- ors and kings of the e.uth enrol themsches with joy among her ciiildren, adore as their God and King, Jesus Christ, whom the Jews had refused to acknowl- edge as king of Israel- and esteeming the cross, which had hitherto been a badge of infamy, as an ornament far surpassing the briglUest jewels that adorned their crowns. The virtuous and aged Tohias liaving thus comfort- ed his weeping family, by unfolding to them the won- ders of God's meicy reseived for future ages, gives them his last exhoitatiou to virtue in these words: Vcr. 10. Hearken, therefore, my ciiildren, to your fallier; serve ttie Lord in truth, and seeic to do llie thiniLs Inat |)!ease liim: 11. And command all your ciiildren (hat they do justice and alms-deeds, and that they be miridriilOr Gcd, and bless tiim at fill times in truth, and with all their povver 12. And now, children, hear mo, and do not slay here- but as soon as you shall bury your mother by me in one s(!p'ilclire, witiiout delay direct your sieps to depart hence 13. h\v 1 see that its ini- quity will bring it to destruction. In this admirable exhonation of a dying parent to his atfectionale family, what truly excellent lessons of piety are presented to our view! This short discourse is an abridgment of those exhortations and lessons which Tobias delivered to his son on a former occa- sion, when he apprehended, in consequence of his blindness, that his rnd was dra\ving near. We wit- ness in this dying Saint, no anxiety about temporal affairs; we hear from his lips nothing about the riches 250 TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY ON of this earth, or those objects upon which worldlings set their hearts; but we behold a faithful servant of God bequeathing to his children a rich legacy of vir- tues; a treasure far surpassing all the empty honours, transitory wealth, and boasted titles, of a vain world. He exhorts his family to direct every action to the glory of their Creator; to consider him present in all their ways; to pay him faithfully the homage of pray- er and sacrifice due to him; lo bless him at all times, both in prosperity and adversity; to rejoice in the ac- complishment of his divine will, ever just, ever holy, ever amiable; in fine to serve God in truth, by the dili- gent observance of all his commandments, and not suffer their lives to give the lie to their professions; but, while they profess to know and adore the true God, to manifest to the world the holiness and the truth of their religion, by a virtuous life and edifying conversation. Next to these duties, which are branch- es of the love of God, Tobias turns to the obligations of fraternal charity, and exhorts his family faithfully to fulfil them; to satisfy both jusiice and charity, and, more especially, to cherish in their hearts a tender compassion for their distressed fellow-creatures, and be ever readN"^ to relieve and assist ihem in all their wants, both corporal and spiritual. Lastly, he gives directions for his own decent burial; and, to shew his unalterable and inviolate aflection for his wife, requests that she may be buried in the same grave with himself. Then, foreseeing that the deaih of his wife would be speedily followed by the destruction of the wicked city of Ninive, he exhoi'ts his family to leave that har- dened people, lest they also should be involved in the same ruin. Would to God that Christian parents, like this holy man, were ever careful to separate their tender offspring from the corruption of a wicked world! — So great is this corruption, so pernicious are its effects, that thousands of young persons owe their eternal destruction to no other cause. The only meth- THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 251 od of securing the innocence and virtue of children, is, for parents to ibrewarn their tender ofl'spring against the society of those who may endanger their morals, and never suffer them to form a connection that may taint their minds with the infection of vice. The lessons of the virtuous Tobias; his exhorta- tions, and his advice and directions, were faithfully followed in every point by his son and his grandsons. Ver. 14. And it camo to pass, that, after the death of his mother, Tobias departed out of Ninivc with his wife and children, and children's children, and returned to his father and mothei'-in- law 15. And he found them in health, in a good old age: and he took care of tlietn, and he closed their eyes; and all the in- heritance of RagucTs liouse came to him; and he saw his chil- dren's children to the fifth generation 16. And after he had lived ninety-nine years in the fear of the Lord, with joy, they buried him 17 And all his kindred, and all his generation, continued in good life, and in holy conversation, so that they were acceptable both to God and to men, and to all that dwelt in the land. Retaining in his manhood the humble principles of docility and obedience which had guided his youth, the young Tobias fulfilled all his father's directions, and leaving Ninive, went with his wife and family to the house of Raguel his father-in-law. There, by his affectionate behaviour and dutiful attention, he con- soled the declining years of his wife's parents, and, ac- cording to the promise which Raguel had made, at their death received the remainder of their, property. His children, inheriting his virtues, persevered in a good life and holy conversation, and were so eminent for their holiness of life, that they were universally beloved both by God and man. Thus did the fidelity of the elder Tobias, in discharging the duties of a parent, produce at once its fruits and its crown. The piety of this holy family of faithful servants of God was the fruit of the instructions, the prayers, and vir- tuous example of him who was the head and the chief of this race of Saints. The elder Tobias beheld his 952 TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY ON son and h"is grandsons faithfully walking in the path which he had traced for them, and, in their virtues, reaped even upon earth the fruits of his pious labours. In the mansions of the blessed he now enjoys the full recompense of his care, and the souls thus sanctified by his lessons and example are so many jewels added to his crown of glory. Virtue is not an inheritance that decends by blood; it is a pure gift of God's boun- ty. Yet God generally rewards the care of virtuous parents, by blessing them witii a train of virtuous children. By these examples, fathers and mothers are encouraged to discharge with fidelity the obligations of their state; to spare no labours in bringing up their tender offspring in the fear of God, to watch over the conduct of their children and servants, and, by word and example, to conduct them in the path that will lead them to an inseparable union in the kingdom of heaven. THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 253 TWENTY SEVENTH HOMILY Chap. XIV. vcr. 4. And the rest of his life was in joy: and with great increase of the fear of God, lie dep irted iu peace. TftE holy Scripture represents the death of the ser- vants of God under the pleasing* ima