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'' All power is given to Me m heaven and in earth. Going, there- 
 fore, teach ye all nations: . . . teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commandecl you."— St. Matt, xxviii, 
 
 18-20. 
 
FIFTV-TWO SHORT INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 PRINCIPAL TRUTHS 
 
 HOLY RELIGION. 
 
 V . 
 
 From the French by ^A> '^ 
 
 Rev. THOMAS F. ../WARD, 
 
 KKCTOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO, 
 BROOKLYN, X. Y. 
 
 
 BENZIGrKR t3ROXHER«, 
 
 PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE. 
 
 CINCINNATI : IReW ^0X\{ t CHICAGO : 
 
 143 MAIN STREET. 36 & 38 BARCLAY STREET. 178 MONROE STREET, 
 
 IS92. 
 
ITmprlmatur j 
 
 ^ John Loughlin, 
 
 Bishop of Brooklyn, 
 
 Nov. 4, 1891, Feast of St. Charles Borromeo. 
 
 Copyright, 1892, by Benziger Brothers. 
 
INTRODUCTION/ 
 
 I HAVE no lengthy plea to offer for the 
 translation of these instructions. Well- 
 nigh eighteen years in the practical exer- 
 cise of the sacred ministry have convinced me 
 that the average priest is a very busy man, and 
 that he has need of all the available assistance 
 he can find which will aid him in the success- 
 ful completion of his work. After reading 
 these instructions in the original French, and 
 finding them eminently practical, I concluded 
 to place them at the disposal of my brother 
 priests, with the hope that they, also, would 
 find them helpful and useful. The instruc- 
 tions are short, each one occupying not more 
 than fifteen minutes, and yet so full of sug- 
 gestion that it may be easily developed into 
 a solid, useful, and practical instruction of 
 half an hour. St. Francis de Sales recom- 
 mended short instructions ; if he lived to-day 
 I think he would make his recommendation 
 obligatory on his priests. These instructions 
 are not only exact in doctrine, but most me- 
 
 3 
 
4 lutroditctiori. 
 
 thodical in construction. These characteris- 
 tics must commend them especially. They 
 contain but little more than a meditation — 
 a mere outline; still, the variety of subjects 
 treated and the orderly manner in which 
 they are presented will render them useful 
 to many a busy priest and religious. If they 
 are read once or twice they will certainly 
 afford the foundation of a practical instruc- 
 tion or useful meditation. Moreover, there 
 are many pious souls who feel the necessity 
 of spending some days in the consideration of 
 the "great truths." They have not the oppor- 
 tunity of making a regular retreat with the 
 assistance of a preacher. For such souls these 
 little instructions may also prove useful. This 
 has been my only thought ; and if these in- 
 structions will prove as helpful for some others 
 as they have been for me I will be fully com- 
 pensated for the trouble of the translation. 
 
 T. F. W. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INSTRUCTION PAGE 
 
 I. — The Grace of a Mission, ... 9 
 
 II. — The Grace OF A Retreat, . . .15 
 
 III. — The Word of God, . . . .20 
 
 IV. — Penance, 25 
 
 V. — The End of Man, . . . .31 
 
 VI. — The Immortality of the Soul, . . 36 
 
 VII. — Excellence and Price of a Soul, . 40 
 
 VIII. — Salvation, 44 
 
 IX. — Religion Considered as a Law, . . 50 
 
 X. — Sin with regard to God, . . .56 
 
 XI. — Sin the Evil of Man, . . . .61 
 
 XII.— Death, . . ' 66 
 
 XIII. — Particular Judgment, . . .71 
 
 XIV. — The Last Judgment and Sentence, . 'jd 
 
 XV. — Penance as a Virtue, . . . .82 
 
 XVL—Trials, . . . .^ . . . 87 
 
 XVII. — Temptations, . . . . . 92 
 
 XVIII. —Bad Books, 97 
 
Contents, 
 
 INSTRUCTION 
 
 XIX. — Human Respect, 
 XX. — Conversion, 
 XXL — Examination of Conscience, 
 XXII. — Death of the Sinner, 
 XXIIL— The Prodigal, . 
 XXIV. — Firm Purpose of Amendment 
 XXV. — Flight from Occasions of Sin 
 XXVI. — The Law of Jesus Christ, 
 XXVII. — Fidelity to Jesus Christ, 
 XXVIII. — Love for Jesus, 
 XXIX. — Imitation of Jesus, . 
 XXX. — Pentecost, 
 XXXI. — The Holy Name of Jesus, 
 XXXII. — The Precious Blood of Our Lord, 
 XXXIII. — The Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
 XXXIV.— The Feast of St. Peter, 
 XXXV.— The Feast of St. Joseph, 
 XXXVL— The Feast of St. Stephen, 
 XXXVII. —The Feast of St. Alovsius, 
 XXXVIII.— Sanctity, .... 
 XXXIX. — Propagation of the P'aith, 
 XL. — The Holy Childhood, 
 XLI. — The First Mass After Ordination 
 XLII. — The Stations of the Cross, . 
 
 PAGE 
 103 
 
 108 
 
. contents. 7 
 
 INSTRUCTIOX PAGE 
 
 233 
 
 XLIII.— Good Works, .... 
 XLIV. — Charity toward the Poor, 
 XLV. — Forty Hours' Devotion, . 
 XLVI. — \^isiTS TO THE Blessed Sacrament, 
 XL VII. — Frequent Communion, 
 XLVIIL — Authority of the Church, 
 XLIX. — Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice, 
 L. — Ends for which Mass is Offered, 
 LI. — Assisting at Mass, 
 LII. — Perseverance, .... 
 
 238 
 
 243 
 248 
 
 253 
 258 
 263 
 268 
 
 273 
 279 
 
Fifty-two Sliort Instructions on the Prin- 
 cipal Truths of our Holy Religion. 
 
 INSTRUCTION I. 
 
 THE GRACE OF A MISSION. 
 
 "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salva- 
 tion." — II. Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 GOD, in His infinite mercy, at all times, 
 and in all places, and to all men, gives 
 • • • the necessary grace to attain eternal 
 salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ has confided 
 to His Church the means to conduct souls in 
 the way of sanctification. He has also aft'orded 
 the means to preserve them from the sad illu- 
 sion of the world and to instruct them in the 
 love and practice of what is good for their sal- 
 vation. The Church, our good mother, speaks 
 and instructs by the words of her ministers ; 
 she purifies, strengthens, and vivifies by the 
 divine virtues of her sacraments. She solicits 
 and obtains Heaven's choicest blessings by 
 prayer, and by the observance of God's law 
 she regulates all the actions of our life. These 
 
 9 
 
10 The Grace of a Mission. 
 
 are the means which the Church daily employs, 
 and they are for us the common, the ordinary 
 way of salvation. But, in the designs of God, 
 there are days, there are times, of extraordi- 
 nary grace. During these days the just are 
 strengthened in virtue, the slothful throw off 
 their fatal lethargy, and sinners depart from 
 their wicked ways. These days are the oc- 
 casion of a mission — " Behold, now is the 
 acceptable time." There are three thoughts 
 which naturally suggest themselves at this 
 time, and these thoughts will furnish us with a 
 fruitful source of meditation, viz: what is a 
 mission, for w^hom is the mission intended, 
 and what should be our dispositions during 
 the mission ? 
 
 I. What is a mission? — A mission is the 
 greatest blessing, the most signal favor that 
 God can bestow on a parish, since it revivifies 
 our faith, reanimates our Christian spirit, and 
 causes our piety and religious practices to 
 flourish abundantly. At the outset of the mis- 
 sion our blessed Lord seems to say to the 
 people who have this happiness accorded them : 
 '' I am come that they may have life, and have 
 it most abundantly." In fact, during the ex- 
 ercises of a mission God seems to multiply all 
 His most powerful aids to communicate spirit- 
 ual life to souls. He invites, He calls, nay, 
 
The Grace of a Mission, ii 
 
 He urges, all those sonls who are bowed down 
 under the weight of sorrow to come to Him, 
 Who alone can sustain them. " Come to Me 
 all you that labor and are burdened, and I 
 will refresh you." At this time frequent and 
 fervent prayers will ascend to the throne of 
 mercy and will be most efficacious, since they 
 will ascend from the whole assembly, who are 
 animated with but one heart, and one soul, and 
 one desire. The word of God will be most 
 abundantly distributed, and will have an espe- 
 cial strength to correct, to encourage, and to 
 instruct. A salutary change will be effected in 
 the manners and life of all, while a general 
 edification will exercise a sweet influence dur- 
 ing those blessed days, and religion will be 
 held in honor throughout the whole parish. 
 You should especially appreciate the mission, 
 since it will be for you a very particular privi- 
 lege. How many countries, how many par- 
 ishes are deprived of this blessing? God has 
 not been so merciful to other people. He has 
 not treated others with the sam^ amount of 
 love and good-will. And yet, among those 
 people there are souls who would be converted 
 and who would return to God if He had pro- 
 vided for them the extraordinary assistance 
 of a mission. What powerful motives you 
 have, therefore, to prompt you to profit by 
 
12 The Grace df a Mission. 
 
 this great grace I Now, this favor is granted 
 you, but you have no guarantee or assurance 
 that you will ever receive this grace again. 
 With the prophet we say to you : " If to-day 
 you hear the voice of God, harden not your 
 hearts." 
 
 2. To ivlioui is it given ? — The mission or time 
 of greatest grace is given to all without excep- 
 tion. Just souls will find in these days of 
 recollection, and prayer, and union with God 
 a most favorable occasion to reanimate their 
 piety and to put on their spiritual armor for 
 the holy combat. Therefore it is that our 
 blessed Saviour invited His disciples, from 
 time to time, to rest in the quiet of retreat: 
 " Come apart into a desert place and rest a 
 little." Weary and tepid souls, the mission is 
 necessary for you, that you may be healed from 
 your spiritual infirmities and encouraged to 
 engage generously in the service of God. 
 Have the greatest care ! There can be no pos- 
 sible alliance between Jesus and the world, 
 and, however skilful you may be, you cannot 
 serve two masters. " There is no one who 
 can serve two masters." 
 
 But it is for you particularly, sinners, you 
 who are spiritually dead, that the grace of the 
 mission is intended. It is at this propitious 
 time, under the influence of God's grace, that 
 
The Grace of a Mission. 13 
 
 all the wonders wrought by our blessed Sa- 
 viour will be again reproduced. The bliiui will 
 open their eyes to the truth, the splendor of 
 which they have ignored until nov/. The lame 
 will walk in the ways of the commandments, 
 from which they have long since departed. 
 The deaf will hear the voice of God, of the 
 Church, and of conscience, and they will hence- 
 forth listen most attentively. The lepers, 
 covered with the stains of sin, guilty habits, 
 and debasing passions, will now be purified, 
 healed, and renewed in the salutary waters 
 of penance. The dead ^N\\\ rise again; they 
 who, like Lazarus, were buried in the sepulchre 
 of sin, and who had already commenced to 
 spread infection, will find a new life and w"ill 
 be restored to those who mourned for them. 
 In a word, all the members of this parish must 
 strive to profit by the blessings of the mission. 
 3. Dispositions. — St. Paul, speaking to the 
 Corinthians, exhorts them " not to receive the 
 grace of God in vain." You should, therefore, 
 correspond to the grace of this mission by your 
 constant attendance at all the exercises. It is 
 for you, and for each one of you, that the holy 
 sacrifice of the mass will be offered every 
 morning, at which our divine Lord will make 
 the most abundant application of His merits 
 for you. For your spiritual welfare the medi- 
 
14 The Grace of a Mission, 
 
 tatioiis will be given, as well as the conferences 
 and sermons. Therefore all the exercises of 
 the mission are of the first importance. You 
 must bring to the mission a great docility of 
 mind and heart, to put in practice the truths 
 you will hear. The traveller will go astray if 
 he does not follow the path or journey which 
 is marked out for him. If the sick man wishes 
 to be healed he must apply the remedies his 
 physician prescribes. Generosity also must 
 characterize your conduct during the mission 
 and aid you to surmount the obstacles which 
 might hinder you from attendance at the ex- 
 ercises. During this holy time give to your 
 material affairs and worldly interests a second- 
 ary consideration, whatever they may be. Your 
 generosity must also demand the prompt, the 
 entire, and the irrevocable sacrifice of all that 
 for you the subject or occasion of sin. 
 
 A spirit of recollection and prayer is the abso- 
 lute and necessary condition for the success of 
 the mission. God cannot find a place in the 
 heart which is disturbed and troubled and 
 filled with solicitude for temporal affairs. Be- 
 sides, we can do nothing without the assistance 
 of God. ''Without Me you can do nothing," 
 says our blessed Saviour. Now, this help and 
 assistance is particularly the fruit of assiduous, 
 humble, and persevering prayer. You will 
 
The Grace of a Retreat. 15 
 
 pray, therefore, in union with our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, in union with the count- 
 less fervent souls who are interested in your 
 success; then you may rest assured that the 
 time of the mission will be indeed for you a 
 time of mercy and salvation. 
 
 INSTRUCTION II. 
 
 THE GRACE OF A RETREAT. 
 
 "And Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, and a great 
 multitude followed Him, because they saw the m.iracles 
 which He did on them that were diseased." — St. John 
 vi. I, 2. 
 
 THE astonishing and numerous miracles 
 which our blessed Saviour wrought dur- 
 • • • ing His earthly life Vv^ere for the poor 
 and miserable. He gave sight to the blind, 
 hearing to the deaf, health to the paralytics 
 and the lepers, and even death was obliged to 
 give back its victims at His word. It is, there- 
 fore, not surprising, after so many miracles 
 and blessings, to see the multitudes eagerly 
 following the footsteps of the Saviour to be 
 the witnesses of the wonders which He 
 wrought. The arm of God is not shortened, 
 nor has He exhausted the treasures of His 
 mercy. Now, through the ministry of His 
 
1 6 The G7'ace of a Retreat. 
 
 Church, which is the depositary of His author- 
 ity and the treasury of His graces, He still 
 heals the many maladies of men and gives 
 spiritual health and life to their souls. To- 
 day I wish to invite you to follow the foot- 
 steps of our blessed Saviour. You will be 
 not only the witnesses of His graces, but you 
 will experience in yourselves the salutary ef- 
 fects of His mercy and goodness. Yet, we are 
 well aware, it is only in hearts which are 
 well disposed that Jesus spreads out the treas- 
 ures of His mercy. I wish to indicate the 
 means you must employ to prepare your souls 
 for the salutary influence of His grace. This 
 means is a retreat. We will then consider, 
 What is a retreat? its necessity, its advantages, 
 and the dispositions it demands of us. 
 
 I. WJiat is a retreat ? — The best idea which 
 we can form of a retreat is contained in the 
 words of our divine Saviour to His disciples: 
 " Come apart in a desert place, and rest 
 awhile." Come, — this is unquestionably an 
 invitation on the part of our blessed Lord, our 
 master, our model, to separate ourselves from 
 our cares, our occupations, and our temporal 
 concerns, to give ourselves wholly to that which 
 regards our soul, our salvation, our eternity. 
 The desert is a place of solitude, silence, 
 recollectioUo We must seek this desert, this 
 
The Grace of a Retreat. 17 
 
 solitude, if we would be alone with our God. 
 Silence and recollection are necessary for the 
 formation of great enterprises and serious 
 labors. It is in silence that the merchants and 
 the busy men of the world prepare their com- 
 binations. The lawyer shuts himself up in 
 his study to prepare for the vindication of his 
 client. The author and the litterateur look for 
 the calm and quiet of night for their profound 
 and fruitful meditations. Are we not engaged 
 in the realization of an inheritance wdiich will 
 be secure from all vicissitudes? Have we not 
 matters of the first importance to arrange? 
 What scientist or savant has graver subjects 
 of meditation than the Christian? The retreat 
 is also a time of quiet and repose. The travel- 
 ler, from time to time, interrupts his journey to 
 recover from fatigue and gain new strength to 
 reach his destination. The soldier, covered 
 with the dust and sweat of battle, re-enters the 
 camp to rest and readjust his arms. Their con- 
 duct will serve as an illustration for our own. 
 The retreat will not be of long duration ; we 
 must, therefore, strive to profit by every 
 moment of this precious occasion. 
 
 2. Its necessity, — The retreat is indispensable 
 since it is necessary for us to labor most 
 earnestly for our eternal salvation. Let us 
 answer the question, ''Must we be saved?" 
 
1 8 The Grace of a Retreat. 
 
 Unquestionably. Yet if we would save our 
 soul we must think of it, we must make it a 
 matter of very serious consideration. We 
 cannot rest satisfied with giving the matter a 
 mere passing thought. Now, it is precisely 
 during the retreat that our souls will be fully 
 enlightened on this important matter, by 
 means of the great truths which will be pre- 
 sented for our serious consideration. Must 
 we labor to gain the recompense of heaven ? 
 Certainly. No one can reasonably expect re- 
 ward who has not earned it. During the re- 
 treat we will learn the most efficacious means 
 to win the reward which is promised only to 
 those who will have been worthy of it. The 
 retreat is necessary for all: for the just, lest 
 they should grow weary in well-doing ; for the 
 slothful or careless, to awaken them from their 
 dangerous torpor. It is particularly necessary 
 for sinners, that they may abandon their sin- 
 fulness and escape the threatened punishment 
 of those who live and die at enmity with God. 
 3. Advantages, — God multiplies His graces 
 during the time of retreat. This grace will 
 illumine souls readily to perceive the vanity, 
 the utter worthlessness of human things, and 
 the inestimable value of those things which 
 are eternal. This grace will strengthen us to 
 conquer every obstacle which hinders us in the 
 
The Grace of a Retreat. 19 
 
 practice of virtue and will prompt good reso- 
 lutions for the future. Frequent and fervent 
 prayer offered in common will be powerful and 
 efficacious. In fine, the sacraments received 
 in fullest faith will have on our lives the most 
 marked and lasting effects. The good example 
 of others will serve to encourage us, and at the 
 termination of the exercises w^e will experience 
 the sweetest consolations. 
 
 4. Dispositions. — God expects from us, during 
 retreat, a perfect good-will to correspond with 
 His inspirations. We must also be constant in 
 attendance, putting aside all the pretexts which 
 business, the world, or indifference may sug- 
 gest. We must listen to the instructions with 
 respect, sincerity, and docility. Moreover, 
 after pious meditation we should make the 
 application to ourselves personally. We must 
 renounce all habits which are even question- 
 able, not to say sinful, and at once begin the 
 work of self -correction. In fine, we must 
 bring to all the occupations of the day a great 
 spirit of recollection and prayer. And then 
 this retreat will be for you a benediction in 
 time and eternity. 
 
20 The Word of God. 
 
 INSTRUCTION III. 
 
 THE WORD OF GOD. 
 
 "Blessed is the man whom Thou shalt instruct, O 
 Lord." — Ps. xciii. 12. 
 
 ALL men have an inherent, instinctive de- 
 sire to be happy. They seek happiness 
 • ' ° everywhere, always, and by every means. 
 This principle is universally admitted. Many 
 new and important discoveries have been made, 
 and science has progressed rapidly. We justly 
 parade the advantages of instruction and edu- 
 cation, and nothing has been neglected to 
 render knowledge accessible to all. But to the 
 question, "Where is true happiness, and how 
 may we find it?" neither scientist nor philoso- 
 pher has ever given a solution. God alone 
 can give the answer, and He has done so by 
 the mouth of His prophet-king : "' Blessed 
 is the man whom Thou shalt instruct, O 
 Lord.'* Strictly speaking, there is no one 
 perfectly happy, except God and the saints 
 whom He has crowned in heaven. The be- 
 ginning of this unalterable happiness is found 
 on earth, in religious instruction, and in the 
 practice of God's word. It is this truth I wish 
 to inculcate on this occasion, by indicating the 
 motives which oblige you to be instructed in 
 
The Word of God, 21 
 
 the science of God and by refuting the pre- 
 texts which may be alleged for negligence of 
 this duty. As Christians you have need of 
 light, preservation, nourishment, strength, 
 remedies, and security in your life on earth, 
 and there are so many motives which should 
 prompt you to esteem the word of God and 
 religious instruction. 
 
 You have need of: 
 
 I. LigJit, to teach you what you should be- 
 lieve and what you should ask of God. Man, 
 by his own unaided efforts, can never attain 
 to the knowledge of those things. He must 
 be taught them. Therefore it is that our 
 blessed Saviour has given the command to 
 His apostles to go forth and instruct the na- 
 tions. The command thus given includes 
 for the faithful a positive obligation to hear 
 their words and obey their teaching. 
 
 " He who does not believe is already 
 judged," says our divine Saviour. But faith, 
 according to St. Paul, "comes from hearing.'* 
 To faith you must unite its practice, for with- 
 out this practice you have only a dead faith: 
 "Without good works faith is dead." Be- 
 sides, you must ask of God grace and assistance 
 and the means to obtain them : " Every good 
 and perfect gift is from above, descending 
 from the Father of lights." 
 
2 2 The Word of God. 
 
 Even if you possessed all this knowledge, 
 still Christian instruction would be necessary 
 for you, to be perfect in Christian life : '' He 
 that is just, let him be still more justified." 
 
 2. Preservation. — Being surrounded here on 
 earth by all the seductions of the world the 
 Christian has greatest need of a powerful pre- 
 servative to escape the dangers which threaten 
 him. Now, the doctrine of Jesus Christ 
 teaches him that " the world and its concupis- 
 cence pass away." The word of God is an 
 intense fire which purifies the heart from all 
 the dross of the earth. Behold how this 
 divine word once transformed the heart of 
 Magdalene, the Samaritan woman, and count- 
 less others. 
 
 3. NoitrisJiuiejit, — Our blessed Saviour as- 
 sures us that man does not live by bread 
 alone, but by every word which comes from 
 the mouth of God. This divine bread is 
 also meat and nourishment for all ages and 
 for all conditions of men. Even as the body 
 will quickly fail when deprived of nourish- 
 ment, so, too, will the soul grow weak and 
 die if not constantly sustained by its spiritual 
 food. 
 
 4. Strength, — When there is question of your 
 eternal salvation and the conquest of true hap- 
 piness you will stand in need of courage and 
 
The Word of God. 23 
 
 strength. Just consider the conduct of the 
 merchant. He will travel to the remotest 
 countries and expose himself to dangers on 
 sea and land, only to increase his wealth. The 
 soldier, also — how he hastens to meet^ the 
 enemy or leads in the assault, only to win fame 
 or merit the badge of honor! Should not the 
 Christian eagerly strive to attain a science 
 which will assure him the possession of an 
 eternal treasure and a throne of which he can- 
 not be deprived ? 
 
 5. Remedy. — In this world, as long as you 
 live, the soul is exposed to a fatal malady, 
 which is sin. Now, the means which you have 
 to fly from sin and hate vice is to hear the 
 word of God, which will remind you of your 
 Christian duties. " The Lord, thy God, thou 
 shalt adore, and Him only shalt thou serve." 
 What more powerful remedy against sin can 
 you have than the remembrance of those 
 frightful punishments which sin merits for 
 eternity ? " Their portion will be the pool of 
 fire/' It is related in the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles that on one occasion when St. Peter had 
 preached to a great multitude their hearts were 
 touched with compunction, and they said to 
 Peter and the other apostles, ''What then shall 
 we do?" Peter answered them, "Do pen- 
 ance." Therefore, if you will hear the pious 
 
24 The Word of God. 
 
 instructions of your pastor — the word of God 
 — you will find in them a powerful and effica- 
 cious remedy against sin. 
 
 6. Security, — It is unquestionably a matter 
 of supreme importance for a Christian to live 
 securely, and still more important that he 
 should die in the friendship and favor of God. 
 The Christian who is instructed in his religion, 
 and who is attentive to the word of God, un- 
 derstands his origin, his destiny, and his duty. 
 He can readily respond to the questions, 
 Whence do you come? Whither do you go? 
 What must you do? He does not fear the re- 
 proach which was made against the Jews, that 
 their conduct was inexcusable, because they 
 did not wish to hear the voice of the Son of 
 God. *' If I had not come and spoken to them 
 they would not have sin, but now they have 
 no excuse for their sin.'* At the dread tribu- 
 nal of the Sovereign Judge the word of God 
 will condemn those who would not hear and 
 keep it. 
 
 Therefore let us love to hear the word of 
 God. This divine word will furnish you the 
 only means to attain true happiness in time 
 and eternity. 
 
Penance, 25 
 
 INSTRUCTION IV. 
 
 PENANCE. 
 
 "Jesus began to preach and to say, Do penance." — St. 
 Matt. iv. 17. 
 
 AFTER having fasted during forty days 
 in the desert, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 • • • Christ commenced the preaching of His 
 Gospel. His first words were an exhortation 
 to penance. His divine mission was the sal- 
 vation of men ; and to accomplish this He 
 gives to men the means of satisfying the justice 
 of His Father, and of regaining their rights to 
 eternal happiness, which they had forfeited by 
 sin. Now, for the sinner who does not wish 
 to perish eter^ially there remains but one 
 means of gaining heaven, and that means is 
 penance. Innocence is only the lot or condi- 
 tion of a very small number. And in our own 
 day, when men are ignorant, or lax, or indiffer- 
 ent with regard to religious matters, where 
 shall we look for those select souls who have 
 preserved their baptismal innocence in all its 
 pristine purity? Therefore, at the beginning 
 of this holy time I think I could not suggest 
 a truth for your consideration which will be 
 more useful than Christian penance. My 
 words will be but the feeble echo of so many 
 
26 Penance. 
 
 powerful preachers whose words have re- 
 sounded in your hearts. I wish, however, to 
 convince you again of the absolute necessity 
 of sincerely returning to God, and the neces- 
 sity also of embracing the holy rigors of a 
 penitential life. We will, then, consider the 
 necessity, the benefits, and the qualities of 
 penance. 
 
 I. TJie necessity, — It is the very voice of God 
 Himself which has promulgated the law of 
 penance. Had He wished, He could have 
 left guilty man under the heavy weight of his 
 sin, and condemned him to eternal reprobation. 
 But God has not so determined. He has, 
 however, condemned him to expiate his faults 
 by repentance and by the labors of penance. 
 " In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy 
 bread." ''Thou shalt die the death.'* Afflic- 
 tion, tears, regret have always been the con- 
 dition of pardon for sin. In this God has 
 manifested mercy toward the sinner, toward 
 His people, toward nations. 
 
 The voice of St. John the Baptist, the pre- 
 cursor of Our Lord, tells us the necessity of 
 penance. '" I am the voice of one crying in 
 the desert: Do penance." The Jews heard the 
 words of St. John, and received baptism as a 
 sign of their desire to live in the friendship of 
 God. The voice of our blessed Saviour con- 
 
Penance. 27 
 
 stantly calls us to penance. Not only His 
 word, but also His example tells us how neces- 
 sary it is. " I have not come to call the just, 
 but sinners, to penance." He most explicitly 
 declares that we must submit to penance or 
 perish eternally. " Unless you do penance 
 you will perish." 
 
 The voice of the Church is also heard urging 
 her children to this duty. The mission of 
 the Church is to continue the work of her 
 Founder, Jesus Christ, to the end of the earth, 
 and to the end of time she invites nations and 
 individuals to labor for their salvation by works 
 of penance. What is the meaning of her 
 prayers, her chants, her ceremonies, her orna- 
 ments, especially during the time of Lent? 
 They tell us clearly the necessity of sorrow 
 and repentance and the duty of calling on God 
 for mercy and forgiveness. 
 
 The voice of conscience speaks to us by the 
 fear and remorse which are felt when lying 
 under the weight of sin. Never can the con- 
 science be stilled unless by the acknowledg- 
 ment of sin committed by repentance and 
 satisfaction offered to .divine justice. 
 
 It is the voice of Heaven. Hear the multi- 
 tude of happy souls, who invite us to follow 
 their footsteps and make the conquest of 
 heaven. If there are many privileged souls 
 
28 Penance, 
 
 who have attained supreme happiness by the 
 pathway of innocence preserved, a still greater 
 number owe their salvation to penance faith- 
 fully performed. Magdalene and Augustine 
 and many others furnish us with examples. 
 " The violent bear it away." 
 
 It is the voice of purgatory. What do the 
 souls detained in purgatory teach us, if not 
 the necessity of satisfying the justice of God 
 by a rigorous penance in this world, if we 
 would gain heaven, "where nothing defiled 
 can enter"? Whatever may be the punish 
 ments which we impose on ourselves here 
 on earth, they are not at all comparable to 
 the suffering which the souls in purgatory 
 endure. 
 
 It is the voice of hell. From the depths of 
 the dread abyss the sinful rich man sends 
 forth the heart-rending cry, '' I am tormented 
 in these flames." Now indeed he does pen- 
 ance for his pride, his high living, his guilty 
 pleasures; but it is a penance which is too 
 late; it is eternal, it is useless. 
 
 2. Benefits, — To these eloquent voices which 
 invite us to do penance we may add the 
 blessings we receive for the past, present, and 
 future. What a blessing for the past! We 
 have received the pardon of our sins ! However 
 great or numerous may have been the failings 
 
Penance. 29 
 
 of the past, if we sincerely humble ourselves 
 before God, if we make a sincere avowal of 
 our sinfulness,, we shall surely be pardoned. 
 God has pledged His sacred word He says: 
 ' If the sinner will be converted, and will re- 
 turn, I will remember his sin no more. I 
 will cast his iniquities away, as far as the east 
 is from the west; I will bury them in the 
 depths of the sea/* 
 
 Surely, when one has had the misfortune to 
 offend God, to revolt against Him, to lose His 
 grace and His love, and thereby incur the rigor 
 of His justice, this must be a subject of sad 
 remembrance during life. How can he abstain 
 from shedding bitterest tears, day and night, 
 as David and Magdalene and Peter and so 
 many other illustrious penitents did, who never 
 ceased to weep for their sins ? The holy Spirit 
 of God warns us, '* Be not without fear for sin 
 forgiven/' This fear is most salutary for 
 every sinner. Still, if God wishes that we 
 should never forget the memory of our faults, 
 that we may always have them before our eyes, 
 a subject of deepest humility, He, however, for- 
 gets them so completely that they die to Him, 
 as if they had never been committed. 
 
 For the present time penance will always 
 afford us a permanent peace of mind. The 
 dispositions in which we are, to appease God 
 
30 Penance. 
 
 and expiate our sins, cannot exist without a 
 good will on our part, and it is to that good 
 will that peace has been promised, "Peace 
 on earth to men of good will." For the future 
 penance is a safeguard, a rampart, and a 
 preservation against every danger of relapsing 
 into sin. It obtains for us from God the 
 strength, the courage, and the energy which 
 are so necessary to combat successfully against 
 our enemies. 
 
 3. Qualities, — Provided our penance be sin- 
 cere, we will find in its practice all these 
 advantages. We can recognize its sincerity 
 if it begins by a reformation of the heart. 
 " Rend your hearts and not your vestments. '' 
 Our flowing tears, and deepest sighs, and even 
 the crucifixion of our bodies — all will not avail 
 us if we do not change our will. Sin has 
 been committed by the will ; it is our will 
 which must do penance. Penance will be 
 worthy or suitable if it is in proportion to the 
 nature and gravity of the sin committed. 
 While preaching penance the holy Precursor 
 recommends to bring forth worthy fruits of 
 penance. These fruits principally consist of 
 prayer, fasting, alms, and the practice of other 
 good works. Let our penance, in fine, be 
 persevering. Even though it were not neces- 
 sary for the expiation of our sins, still pen- 
 
The End of Man. 31 
 
 ance will be useful for the increase of our 
 merits in life eternal. What will be the long- 
 est life passed in penance when compared 
 with the happiness which will be our immut- 
 able recompense ? 
 
 INSTRUCTION V. 
 
 THE END OF MAN. 
 "Lord, make me know my end." — Ps. xxxviii. 5. 
 
 THIS is the prayer which the great prophet- 
 king addressed to God. In the midst of 
 • • • the splendors of his court and the solici- 
 tudes of his kingdom a most serious question 
 preoccupied him — to know what was truly 
 his end in life, or rather why God his Creator 
 had given him existence and life. In the 
 midst of the perpetual agitation which sur- 
 rounds us we must not lose sight of this mo- 
 mentous thought — the end of our existence. 
 Our dearest and best interests in this life and 
 in the next depend largely on the solution of 
 this question, why God has given us existence. 
 To understand our destiny there are some 
 truths which we should take to heart and pon- 
 der well: that Ave come from God, that our 
 whole life must tend toward God, and that we 
 must one day return to Him. 
 
32 The End of Man. 
 
 I. We come from God. — The Lord asks of 
 His servant Job, " Where wert thou when I 
 placed the foundations of the earth?" In my 
 turn I also ask you, where were you fifty or 
 one hundred years ago? The world existed 
 with its states and empires and cities. But 
 where were you? You had no existence. 
 Who, then, has given you life and being? Was 
 it chance? There is no such thing as chance. 
 And, even if there w^ere, chance can neither 
 fashion the flower which blooms, nor the bird 
 which sings, and, for a still greater reason, 
 chance cannot make man, w^ho thinks. Will 
 you say that you have made yourselves? But 
 how can nothingness be the cause of being? 
 We must, therefore, find our origin in God, 
 and proclaim our great Creator in the words of 
 the psalmist, " Thy hand, O Lord, has made 
 and formed me." Our creation is an act of 
 purest liberality and love on the part of God. 
 He had no need of us and was perfectly happy 
 in Himself. However, through love. He has 
 thought of us from all eternity. " I have loved 
 you with a perpetual love." His was a love of 
 preference, since He has placed us in the num- 
 ber of His creatures whom He has made to 
 His own image and likeness. It is a persever- 
 ing love, since He preserves us constantly, and 
 
The End of Man. 33 
 
 we realize that without His sustaining hand 
 we would fall into nothingness. 
 
 2. We must tend toward God, — If God has cre- 
 ated us we belong to Him and He is our Mas- 
 ter. The master has a strict right over his 
 servants. The king has a right to demand 
 obedience from his subjects. What is more 
 just than that children should be submissive 
 and respectful toward their father? A work- 
 man has the right to dispose of his work just 
 as he pleases. Assuming that these principles 
 are correct, their application is easy. We are 
 the creatures of God. We belong to Him 
 more than the servant belongs to his master, 
 or the subject to his king, or the child to his 
 father. We are the property of God, more 
 than the picture is the property of the painter, 
 or the tree is the property of him who planted 
 it. All the rights which man has over his own 
 work God possesses over His creatures in a 
 more eminent degree, and by titles which are 
 more sacred. All that we have, all that we 
 are, we hold from God. St. Paul sums up the 
 matter in a single question, "What have we 
 that we have not received? " 
 
 We, therefore, belong to God necessarily, and 
 there is nothing which can withdraw us from 
 His dominion. We belong to Him only, and 
 3 
 
34 The Eiid of Man, 
 
 we must be submissive to Him in the person 
 of natural superiors, religious or civil. We 
 belong to Him wliolly: body and soul, talents 
 and goods are His. Infancy, mature years, 
 and old age are His. We belong to Him ir- 
 resistibly. We may withdraw our allegiance 
 from men, but from God never. Willingly 
 or unwillingly, we must live under His domin- 
 ion in this world or submit to the rigors of His 
 justice in the world to come. 
 
 3. God is our last end, — God has created all 
 things for His own glory. Man, as all other 
 created things, must, therefore, give God, the 
 Creator, all honor and glory. The child at 
 catechism answers: "God has created me to 
 know and love and serve Him in this world, 
 and thereby acquire life eternal." We know 
 God by seeing Him in His works, by hearing 
 His words. We love Him as the Being sov- 
 ereignly good and beautiful. We serve Him 
 by fulfilling His precepts, by submitting our- 
 selves to His adorable will in all things, and by 
 these means we may reasonably hope to pos- 
 sess Him eternally. Oh, how great and sub- 
 lime is the destiny of man, to be called to see 
 and love and possess God in heaven eter- 
 nally! God gives us this assurance by His 
 own sacred word : '' I Myself will be thy re- 
 
The End of Alan. 35 
 
 ward, exceeding great." And why has God 
 sent His own beloved Son on earth ? To lead 
 us to our eternal destiny. One day the Man- 
 God will say: "Come, ye blessed of My Fa- 
 ther, possess the kingdom which has been 
 prepared for you from the beginning of the 
 world." 
 
 We understand, therefore, that we have in 
 this world no other end than to glorify God 
 by the good use of our intelligence, our heart, 
 our will, our mind, our goods, and then to 
 possess Him eternally in heaven. This is 
 our whole duty, and we cannot propose for 
 ourselves any other end than that which God 
 Himself has marked out for us. This is our 
 only greatness. We are not made for earth, 
 but for heaven ; we are not made for man, but 
 for God; we are not made for time, but for 
 eternity. This is our only happiness. In fact, 
 what greater happiness can we conceive than 
 to serve a master who wishes to give us no 
 other pledge, no other recompense than Him- 
 self? " I will be thy reward, exceeding great. " 
 Therefore let us serve Him faithfully, and 
 then we may hope to possess Him eternally. 
 
36 The I 7117)107' tality of the Soul. 
 
 INSTRUCTION VI. 
 
 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 
 
 "God created man incorruptible." — Wisdom ii. 23. 
 
 THE immortality of the soul," says Pascal, 
 "is a matter which so intimately and 
 • • • so profoundly concerns us that we must 
 have utterly lost our feeling to be altogether 
 cold and remiss in our inquiries concerning 
 it. All our actions, all our designs, all our 
 thoughts should take different ways, accord- 
 ing as there are eternal goods to be hoped for 
 or not; and it is impossible for us to proceed 
 with judgment in our lives unless we keep 
 this point in view, which should be our only 
 object." To speak to you of the immortality 
 of the soul is to present to your meditation a 
 truth of the first importance. Therefore we 
 will consider the nature of the soul, the inti- 
 mate sense, the desire of happiness, the au- 
 thority of the human race, and the teachings 
 of faith. These we consider as so many proofs 
 which establish the truth of the immortality 
 of the soul. 
 
 I. The naUire of the soul, — What is the soul? 
 It is a pure spirit, created in the image of God, 
 and will never die. If we cannot understand 
 
The Immortality of the Soul. 37 
 
 what is a pure spirit at least we know and un- 
 derstand what it is not. Essentially distinct 
 from matter, the soul has its own existence, 
 which is manifested by the faculty of thinking, 
 judging, willing, and speaking. At death the 
 body is dissolved, but not a single atom of 
 which it is composed is annihilated. But the 
 soul, the noblest part of man, the soul, which 
 is simple, and cannot be subjected to decom- 
 position as is the body, will it not survive? 
 If not, where is the goodness, the wisdom, the 
 justice, and the omnipotence of God? 
 
 2. The intimate sense, — Let us ask ourselves 
 why this secret and unconquerable desire which 
 we have to survive ? The soldier, the learned, 
 even the simple laborer, all have the conviction 
 that they will not die forever. The very idea 
 which we have of immortality proves its real- 
 ity, because it is impossible to have the idea 
 of that which does not exist. This belief is 
 universal. Peoples both ancient and modern, 
 civilized and barbarous, pagans as well as 
 Christians, are unanimous on this matter. The 
 handful of modern free-thinkers and their 
 foolish and extravagant notions are not worthy 
 of the consideration of reasonable men. 
 
 3. The desire of happiness. — Every man feels 
 within himself the unconquerable desire for 
 happiness. Even the man who is without 
 
38 The Iimnortality of the Soul. 
 
 faith seeks his happiness in the goods of the 
 present life. The Christian man renounces 
 that which is transitory and clings to all that 
 which is permanent and lasting. Both strive 
 after happiness. They both hunger and 
 thirst after happiness. Is happiness, there- 
 fore, only an illusion and a deceit? Experience 
 proves that there is nothing here on earth 
 which can fill the immense void of our hearts; 
 neither riches, nor pleasures, nor exalted posi- 
 tion will satisfy this craving, longing desire 
 for happiness. The heart needs that which is 
 infinite, immeasurable, immutable. The con- 
 clusion is evident: there is another life in 
 which this desire will be perfectly satisfied. 
 
 4. Tlie authority of the hitman race, — It is a 
 fact, which is attested by history, that all the 
 people of the world have believed in the im- 
 mortality of the soul. Plato, the renowned 
 philosopher, wrote a book on this belief, and 
 Cato, after reading the book, committed sui- 
 cide that he might enter into this immortality 
 quickly. The great Cyrus when dying said 
 to his children : " Do not think that when 
 I depart from this life I will be dead for- 
 ever; I will continue to live.'* I could add 
 countless testimony on this matter which 
 would irresistibly prove the belief in the im- 
 mortality of the soul. And what shall we say 
 
The Immort.ility of the Soul. 39 
 
 of the respect which all have shown for the 
 dead? The pompous funeral ceremonies, the 
 superb mausoleums, the sacrifices offered on 
 their tombs, the process of embalming among 
 the Egyptians conclusively attest their faith 
 in a future life. 
 
 5 . The authority of faith. — The bible is a book 
 which is at once the most ancient, the most 
 authentic, the most reliable of all books. This 
 book contains, by divine authority, our origin, 
 our titles, and our destiny. On the very first 
 page we read the words of God Himself in cre- 
 ating man : " Let us make man to our own 
 image and likeness." Now, this likeness is 
 in our soul. If our soul should be like to God, 
 it must be a spiritual, intelligent, and immor- 
 tal being. All the dogmas of religion pre- 
 suppose the immortality of the soul. Why 
 the incarnation and redemption, the general 
 judgment, the recompense of paradise, the 
 pains of hell, the prayers for the departed? 
 It is because at death all is not at an end for 
 man. What a consoling truth for the humble 
 and the poor of earth! O truth, worthy of 
 a God infinitely good, just, and merciful ! The 
 joys, and the magnificence, and the splendors 
 of paradise will be the eternal recompense of 
 our fidelity while here on earth. 
 
40 Excellence and Price of a Soul. 
 
 INSTRUCTION VII. 
 
 EXCELLENCE AND PRICE OF A SOUL. 
 
 "The wise man is wise to his own soul." — Ecclus. 
 XXX vii. 25. 
 
 THE man who is truly wise in this world 
 is not he who displays skilfulness in ac- 
 • • • cumulating great riches, or who is reputed 
 wealthy ; but he is truly wise who strives to 
 attain the noble and eternal destinies of his 
 soul, who thinks of nothing and speaks of 
 nothing, or undertakes no enterprise, which 
 does not tend to his eternal salvation. In fact 
 the truly wise man is he who is wise for his 
 own soul. It is unquestionably true that 
 there is nothing more grand, nothing more 
 precious than the immortal soul. To convince 
 you of this truth we will consider the nature 
 of the soul, its titles, the price of its redemp- 
 tion, and the estimate which the saints have 
 had for their souls. 
 
 I. Its nature, — God is the creator of our 
 souls. But before creating them the three 
 persons of the adorable Trinity seem to have 
 prepared themselves for the creation of this 
 masterpiece of their omnipotence. The sim- 
 ple fiat which was employed in their other 
 creative works will not now suffice when they 
 
Excellence and Price of a Soul. 41 
 
 intend to create the soul of man. Now the 
 three divine persons act in concert. They say, 
 " Let lis make man. " They have contemplated 
 their own infinite perfections, and they have 
 decided to retrace their image in man. " Let 
 us make man to our own image and likeness." 
 At once man is exalted to the honor of being 
 like to his Creator in this threefold similitude : 
 
 a, God is a pure spirit ; so, too, is the soul of 
 man. That is to say, it is simple, one, indi- 
 visible, and superior to all that is material. 
 What a sublime prerogative of our soul ! We 
 can never fully understand this privilege, 
 while we are slaves to the senses here below. 
 
 b, God is intelligence, love, has free will, 
 and is independent. Like to its divine 
 image, the soul of man is manifested by its 
 power of thought. God is love, and this is 
 also an especial character of the soul. See 
 what noble sentiments you will find in the 
 heart of an apostle! He is prepared for any 
 sacrifice. For him death has no terrors. To 
 prove his love he would gladly give up his life. 
 See what generosity of soul you will find in 
 the young girl who cheerfully abandons home, 
 parents, friends, everything, to vow her life 
 to the service of God and His Church. See, 
 too, the conduct of the Christian mother, and 
 mark how great is the love which she has for 
 
42 Excellence and Price of a Soul. 
 
 her children ! The soul deliberates, deter- 
 mines, acts. There are no obstacles it may 
 not overcome. What wonders may it not ac- 
 complish, especially when it is assisted by 
 God ! The body may become the slave of man, 
 and it may be bound in chains and cast into 
 prison. But the soul — never. It is free. 
 True, indeed, it may commit sin and thereby 
 become a captive, a slave, but even then it 
 still retains the will to break the chains that 
 bind it. c, God is eternal, as reason and faith 
 fully demonstrate. Here again the soul is the 
 image of God. The soul of man, it is true, 
 has had a beginning, but it w^ill never die. 
 The great Creator has given us this assurance : 
 " God has created man incorruptible, and to 
 the image of His own likeness He has made 
 him." For every soul there are eternal re- 
 wards if it is faithful, or there are chastise- 
 ments without end eternally to punish its sin- 
 fulness. This is the teaching of the Catholic 
 Church, the belief of all peoples. 
 
 2. Tlie titles which have been given to the 
 soul admirably reveal its excellence. At one 
 time it is called the beloved daughter of the 
 Father. Again it is called the sister, the co- 
 heir of Jesus Christ, and His friend : " I will 
 not call you My servants, but My friends." 
 The soul is the spouse of the Holy Ghost, 
 
Excellence and P7'ice of a Soul, 43 
 
 His temple of predilection. In fine, it is called 
 a queen, for whom God has destined a throne 
 for all eternity. 
 
 3. The price of redemption, — To redeem this 
 soul God has given a ransom which is no less 
 than His own beloved Son. ''God has so 
 loved the world that He has given His own 
 beloved Son.*' Jesus Christ has made the con- 
 quest of souls at the price of His incarnation, 
 His labors. His sufferings. His passion, and His 
 blood. Therefore St. Paul exclaims: "You 
 have been purchased at a great price." And 
 why is the Man-God a captive in our taber- 
 nacle? It is only to gain possession of our 
 souls that He remains with us a victim of His 
 love. And what is the mission of the Church, 
 assisted by the Holy Spirit of God? This 
 Church, established by our blessed Lord, 
 teaches, and prays, and sighs, and combats 
 constantly, with but one object in view — the 
 salvation of souls ! Contemplating these truths 
 we can understand the exclamation of St. 
 Augustine: ''O soul of man, how precious 
 indeed thou art!" 
 
 4. The estimate which the saints have had for 
 their souls, — Let us now ask of those truly great 
 and wise men, whom we call saints, what 
 was the esteem they had for their souls. 
 From the depths of the solitudes, as well as 
 
44 Salvation. 
 
 from the midst of the busy world, in grandeur 
 or in humiliation, in abundance or in poverty, 
 in joy as well as in sufferings, they will one 
 and all answer in the words of the divine 
 Master: '' What doth it profit a man if he gain 
 the whole world and suffer the loss of his 
 own soul?" This is the only reason of their 
 prayers, their labors, their tears, their pen- 
 ances, and their perseverance in the accom- 
 plishment of good works. After their ex- 
 ample, we should learn the excellence and 
 the price of our souls, and leave nothing un- 
 done to save them. Unquestionably, we have 
 a serious and important work to perform. It 
 will cost us considerable labor and anxiety. 
 We must combat constantly and do violence 
 to ourselves, but the saints will show us what 
 brilliant crowns await the conquerors. 
 
 INSTRUCTION VIII. 
 
 SALVATION. 
 
 **What cloth it profit a man if he gain the whole world 
 and suffer the loss of his own soul? '* — St. Matt, xvi.26. 
 
 FOR the greater part of men, in what does 
 life consist? Is it not, as St. Augustine 
 • • • says, " in calculating the chances of gain or 
 loss '* ? In striving to make a fortune quickly? 
 In seeking honors and lucrative positions? In 
 
Salvation. 45 
 
 placing under the safeguard of insurance com- 
 panies their money, their houses, and even 
 their life ? Among so many interests there is 
 one, the greatest, the dearest, the most nec- 
 essary, which is completely forgotten — their 
 eternal salvation. Contemplating the alterna- 
 tive of unmeasured happiness or endless sor- 
 row, the purest and holiest souls have trembled. 
 Their fears and trembling have increased my 
 terror when considering the sad security of so 
 many sinners, who are daily and hourly sacrific- 
 ing their souls to the sinful and transitory 
 pleasures of earth. Candidly, where are they 
 who think seriously of their soul's salvation? 
 Even you, my hearers, do you think of your 
 salvation ? Do you labor to obtain it ? 
 
 I do not hesitate to say that the man who la- 
 bors for the salvation of his soul, and who gives 
 this work precedence over all other affairs, is 
 truly the wisest, the greatest, and the happiest 
 of men. 
 
 I. The ivisest of men. — He is most wise in the 
 clioice which he makes. In fact, of what is 
 there question? There is question of neither 
 more or less than heaven or hell for all eter- 
 nity ; to be satiated with the delights of par- 
 adise with God or tortured by punishments 
 with the demon; to gain treasures which will 
 be secured from destruction and robbers or to 
 
46 Salvation, 
 
 be contented with perishable riches and taste- 
 less and ephemeral pleasures; to reign with 
 the King of kings or to be the slave of the 
 vilest tyrant. This is the question to be 
 solved. Then, I ask, is not he who chooses 
 God, heaven, things which are durable, and 
 eternal life, the wisest of men? It is true wis- 
 dom, therefore, to give to our salvation the 
 importance which it merits. The care of our 
 eternal salvation is the only business of life 
 which we may call necessary, A man may 
 neglect to accumulate a fortune, or be indif- 
 ferent with regard to business interests or 
 reputation, but he can never afford to be neg- 
 ligent of his salvation. Never. It is a matter 
 to which he must /rr^-^?;/ <?//;/ attend. He can- 
 not delegate this work to some other person. 
 He may confide the care of his health to a 
 physician, he can place his law-suit in the 
 hands of his advocate or attorney to defend 
 for him, he may call upon his confidential man- 
 ager to conduct his business interests. But 
 when there is question of the salvation of his 
 soul it is impossible to transfer this work to 
 other hands. Each and every man must ac- 
 complish this work for himself. It is also a 
 matter which is urgent and admits of no de- 
 lay or postponement, and should it be neg- 
 lected the loss is irreparable: " Time will be 
 
Salvation, 47 
 
 no more/* Should this work be badly done 
 there will be no time to begin again. To per- 
 ish once is to perish forever. He is not only 
 wise in his choice who labors for his salvation, 
 he is also wise in the counsels which he follows. 
 He listens to the voice of Jesus, Who has said, 
 "One thing alone is necessary,'* and that is to 
 serve God in this world and to possess Him 
 eternally in the next. " What shall a man give 
 in exchange for his soul ?'* " What doth it profit 
 a man ? ' * What will it profit him to gain wealth , 
 to occupy positions of trust and emolument, to 
 taste every pleasure — yes, even if he were 
 master of the universe, should he, after all, 
 lose his soul for eternity? The truly wise 
 man hears the Church, whose only mission on 
 earth is to save souls. He hears the saints, 
 who, by their example, show him that true 
 wisdom consists in saving his soul for eternity. 
 2. The greatest of men. — The Christian who 
 makes the matter of his salvation his only 
 business in life is also the greatest among 
 men. He is greatest in the end which he pro- 
 poses. We admire, in the world, the bold 
 navigator, who courageously goes forth to the 
 discovery of some unknown land. We admire 
 the valorous soldier who has made many con- 
 quests, and the learned man who by his labor- 
 ious and persevering researches has attained 
 
48 Salvation, 
 
 the limits of science. How much greater 
 still, and worthy of eulogy, is the man, no mat- 
 ter whether he is rich or poor, learned or ig- 
 norant, according to the world, who bravely 
 battles for the conquest of heaven? He is 
 also greatest in the difficulties which he must 
 overcome. Our blessed Saviour has proclaimed 
 that heaven can be the inheritance only of 
 those heroes who know how to do violence to 
 themselves. It is indeed something grand and 
 beautiful and extraordinary, to do violence to 
 men, to tame the popular passions, to dom- 
 inate over the mob, to conquer countries and 
 to take possession of their citadels. But there 
 is yet something more marvellous still and 
 even more rare. It is to do violence to one's 
 self, to tame the passions and to conquer 
 pride. This is precisely the triumph of the 
 Christian, who seeks his salvation before all 
 things. He is also great in the models he has 
 chosen to imitate. There is no question of 
 rivalling the glory of an Alexander, a C^sar, 
 or a Napoleon. There is question of surpass- 
 ing them, by walking in the footsteps of a St. 
 Peter, a St. Paul, and all the other heroes of 
 Christianity. His model by excellence is Jesus 
 Christ, the Man-God, who by His doctrines and 
 examples has come on earth to open to men 
 the glorious way of salvation. 
 
Salvation. 49 
 
 3. The happiest man, — The world will, no 
 doubt, admit that there is some greatness in 
 the man who renounces earth to gain heaven. 
 But the world cannot comprehend how the 
 Christian, who places the salvation of his soul 
 before all things, can be the happiest of men. 
 Our blessed Saviour, however, gives us the 
 proof that it is even so. He tells us: 
 " Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the king- 
 dom of heaven. Blessed are the meek. 
 Blessed are they who mourn. Blessed are 
 they who hunger and thirst after justice. 
 Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the 
 pure of heart. Blessed are the peaceful. 
 Blessed are they who suffer persecution for 
 justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
 The experience of all time is the confirmation 
 of these divine words. And are not those 
 chosen souls happy, even in this world, who pre- 
 serve peace with God, their neighbor, and them- 
 selves? Speak, ye who are voluntarily poor 
 for Christ's sake. Speak, ye angels of charity, 
 who minister to the sick in their wretched 
 homes. Speak, ye messengers of God, who 
 bring glad tidings to those who weep and 
 suffer; tell us, is there anything on earth want- 
 ing to your happiness? Ah, they have medi- 
 tated and understood the words of true wis- 
 dom : " What doth it profit a man if he gain the 
 4 
 
50 Religio7i Considered as a Law. 
 
 whole world and suffer the loss of his own 
 soul?" I leave you to meditate also on this 
 great truth, and may God grant that you will 
 take the firm resolution to labor promptly and 
 efficaciously for the salvation of your soul. 
 This will be for you completest happiness in 
 time and the reasonable hope of happiness in 
 eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION IX. 
 
 RELIGION CONSIDERED AS A LAW. 
 
 '*By Thy ordinance the day goeth on: for all things 
 serve Thee." — Ps. cxviii.91. 
 
 GOD, the infinite power and sovereign wis- 
 dom, has created all things, and has im- 
 • • ' posed on them laws which are conformable 
 to their nature. It is in accordance with these 
 laws, which are full of magnificence and har- 
 mony, that the heavens proclaim the glory of 
 the Creator. '' The heavens show forth the 
 glory of God, and the firmament declareth the 
 work of His hands." Man also has received a 
 law, according to w^hich he must render to God 
 the honor and glory which belong to Him. 
 This law is religion, and it is at once an indi- 
 vidual and a social law. For man, considered 
 individually, religion is a holy, sure, perfect, 
 and efficacious law, while for society religion 
 
Religion Considered as a Law. 51 
 
 is a most righteous, necessary, and advan- 
 tageous law for all. We will, therefore, con- 
 sider this divine law in its relations to man 
 and to society. 
 
 I. Wit It regard to man, — We have already 
 declared that for the individual religion is the 
 most august and holiest of laws. Who, in 
 fact, is the legislator ? It is God, Who is sanctity 
 itself, and in Whom are found all perfections : 
 truth, science, wisdom, justice and goodness. 
 And what are the duties which this law im- 
 poses? It imposes on us the obligation of 
 honoring, loving, blessing, thanking, and serv- 
 ing God. ^^The Lord thy God thou shalt 
 adore, and Him only shalt thou serve." This 
 law prescribes for us all the virtues, as so many 
 means to elevate us even to the perfection of 
 God. " Be ye, therefore, perfect, as your 
 heavenly Father is perfect." It is a law of 
 charity, of love, of fraternity toward our neigh- 
 bor. It imposes respect for the life, the 
 honor, and the property of others, and forbids 
 all that which may be injurious to our neigh- 
 bor. It imposes the duty of treating ourselves 
 with the greatest reverence in our soul and 
 body, since we do not belong to ourselves, but 
 are dependent for everything on God, our only 
 and sovereign master. Religion is a sure law. 
 It comes from God, Who cannot be deceived, 
 
52 Religion Considered as a Law. 
 
 and Who cannot deceive us in the precepts 
 which He lias marked out for our observance : 
 "God is just and His judgments are right.'* 
 In following this law our intelligence is as- 
 sured that we embrace truth only ; error and 
 doubt are impossible. Our will has the cer- 
 tainty of being attached to the sovereign good 
 only. Whatever this divine law presents to 
 us as good is really good; what it presents 
 as beautiful is really beautiful; what it pre- 
 scribes for us as just and holy is indeed justice 
 and sanctity. In following this law we are 
 not in danger of wandering or of being lost 
 during the journey of life, for the law of God is 
 a light which enlightens and guides our every 
 footstep. Religion is a perfect law. Human 
 laws, even the wisest of them, can only affect 
 our external acts, while religion influences the 
 actions of man, even the profoundest secrets of 
 his soul. It is the rule of his thoughts, since 
 it not only forbids evil, but it interdicts even 
 the desire of evil. It is the rule of his words, 
 as it will not allow him to use the gift of 
 speech, except in the cause of truth, charity, 
 and justice ; and even the divine Legislator 
 declares that He will require a strict account 
 of every useless v;ord. 
 
 Religion, in fine, is a law which is at once 
 pozverfitl and efficacious. The sanction of the 
 
Religion Considered as a Law. 53 
 
 law rests on incomparable foundations. On 
 the one side there is the assured recompense 
 for faithful accomplishment; on the other hand 
 are the inevitable and eternal chastisements 
 reserved for contempt or neglect of the law. 
 And what legislator could better provide for 
 the execution of his laws? For whatever is 
 painful or difficult, for victory over concupis- 
 cence, the seductions of the world, or the sug- 
 gestions of the demon, there are unspeakable 
 joys, torrents of delight, pleasures without 
 end. To punish the transgressors of the most 
 holy and just and beneficent laws there are 
 eternal torments, endless sorrow and remorse. 
 2. With regard to society, — Religion is also a 
 social law. As a social being, a member of 
 society, man must submit to the laws which 
 religion prescribes. If man, taken individu- 
 ally, is dependent on God, by w^hat strange 
 reasoning could any one say that society, 
 which is an assemblage of individuals, is free 
 from the observance of religion? In fact, God 
 has not left human society independent of His 
 sovereign authority. He is called the God of 
 armies, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. 
 As such He has a right to the homage of the 
 societies bearing arms, or united under the 
 sceptres of kings, or ranged under the author- 
 ity of any lord or chief whatever. Sacred 
 
54 Religion Considered as a Law. 
 
 history attests that God has chosen a people 
 to preserve the true religion in the world. 
 There was, among those people, a public wor- 
 ship and public ceremonies. Religion was the 
 very foundation of its social constitution. Pro- 
 fane history assures us that all the people of 
 the world believe in religion, and this is so 
 true that society could not subsist without this 
 fundamental law. In our own day, however, 
 there are some who foolishly speak of the de- 
 struction of religion. Do they not see that 
 they are senseless ? because there is no greater 
 folly than to attack the very nature of man 
 and the essence of society. As well might 
 they endeavor to change the course of the sun 
 and the stars. What greater crime can we 
 conceive than to brave the authority, the 
 power, and the wisdom of God? What greater 
 misfortune could befall us than to live as 
 beasts, and at death to have no other pros- 
 pect than annihilation or hell ? To deny the 
 existence of God is to annihilate Him. Even 
 if some impious and unbelieving men should 
 take away religion, their act will not change 
 the dogmas or precepts of religion. The law 
 still remains with its immutable sanctions. 
 
 There are indeed some ignorant and impious 
 men who dare to say that religion is of no use but 
 for the common people. This is nothing short 
 
Religion Considered as a Law. 55 
 
 of glaring falsehood and blasphemy, which 
 would have us understand that God obliges 
 only the poor, the little, and toilers to serve 
 Him, while He allows the rich and the learned 
 the liberty of thinking, speaking, and writing, 
 and of living according to the desires of their 
 nature. Yes, religion is good for all. But it 
 is excellent, sweet, merciful, and consoling 
 especially for the poor. It proclaims them 
 blessed: *' Blessed are the poor/' And it is 
 also good and necessary for the rich and power- 
 ful to repress their pride, to tame their pas- 
 sions, and to put a check upon their greed for 
 gain, under the penalty of an eternal anathema : 
 " Woe to you rich !" 
 
 Religion is indispensable for the poor, to 
 soothe their privations and their miseries, to 
 hold out the recompense promised to their 
 patience and resignation. It is indispensable 
 for the rich, to render them merciful and com- 
 passionate toward the poor and forsaken, to 
 bring to their minds that there are other treas- 
 ures to seek for besides the goods of the world. 
 It is indispensable for society, to render 
 paternal the authority of those who command, 
 and to render filial the submission of those 
 who obey. We can say of religion that it con- 
 tains all the promises of the present }i:fe and 
 the life beyond the grave. 
 
56 Sin 7vith Regaj^d to God. 
 
 INSTRUCTION X. 
 
 SIN WITH REGARD TO GOD. 
 
 "Know and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for 
 thee to have left the Lord thy God." — Jerem. ii.ig. 
 
 IT is certainly sufficient for us to consult the 
 light of our reason and our faith to be con- 
 • • vinced that the greatest misfortune which 
 can happen to us in this world is to offend 
 God. To lose fortune or reputation or health, 
 aye, even life itself, is assuredly the occasion 
 of great sorrow. But, properly speaking, 
 these are not evils, because we can refer all 
 these circumstances to the glory of God, and 
 thereby find our merit for eternity. But we 
 can truly say that sin is the evil, the only evil; 
 for while it robs God of His glory it casts man 
 into the abyss of every sorrow, and it is alone 
 the great obstacle to our eternal destiny. Ah, 
 let us understand well what sin is with regard 
 to God. St. Augustine defines it " the aversion 
 of the will from unchangeable good and the 
 unlawful conversion to the creature." Sin is, 
 therefore, an unjust preference, which on the 
 part of the sinner contains a senseless revolt, 
 a black ingratitude, and a formal contempt. 
 
 I. A senseless revolt. — Let us ask, w^hat does 
 that man do who is guilty of disobedience 
 
Sin with Regard to God. 57 
 
 toward God, and who thereby commits a mortal 
 sin ? At once he puts himself in contradiction 
 with the whole universe. Is it not true that 
 everything on earth is obedient to God, and 
 obeys wath most admirable harmony? In 
 heaven the angels are ever zealous in fulfilling 
 the orders of God and hence their name, which 
 signifies messengers. The sun and the stars 
 keep the place in the firmament which has 
 been assigned them, and never depart from it. 
 The sea does not encroach a particle beyond 
 the limits marked out for it. " Hitherto thou 
 shalt come and no farther; here thou shalt 
 break thy swelling waves." The earth con- 
 tinues to produce the trees and plants which 
 God, in the beginning, ordered it to produce. 
 In a word, all the creative works of God recog- 
 nize His sovereign domain. Yet, in the midst 
 of this magnificent concert one discordant 
 voice is heard. It is the voice of the sinner: 
 *' I will not serve, I will not obey." And who 
 is he who thus dares to speak? A weak reed, 
 which bends before the least storm, a miserable 
 man, who trembles before another who is 
 angry. It is, indeed, a rasli revolt, since it is 
 done in the presence of God Who has created 
 him, of God Who is his Master, of God Who 
 holds his life suspended by a thread, in the 
 presence of God, Whose eyes are always upon 
 
58 Sin with Regard to God. 
 
 him, that he dares to accomplish his act of 
 rebellion. It is d, foolish revolt, because he is 
 only a worm of the earth, who rises against 
 Him Who could crush him under His foot. 
 Just interrogate the sinner, and ask him what 
 he would think of a vile slave who would dare 
 to attack a powerful king, surrounded by his 
 soldiers? At once he would say: ''He is a 
 fool; he is wanting in ordinary good sense." 
 Sin is, moreover, a satanic revolt, since it aims 
 at nothing less than the annihilation of God. 
 The impious man has said in his heart, There 
 is no God. The sinner would wish that God 
 did not possess wisdom, providence, sanctity, 
 or justice. According to the expression of St. 
 Bernard, "he would annihilate God, if he 
 could." 
 
 2. Ingratitude, — That which aggravates the 
 crime of the sinner most is the inexhaustible 
 goodness of the Master whom he offends. 
 With St. Paul we will say to him: Poor 
 sinner, what have you that you have not re- 
 ceived from the liberal hand of God? The 
 life which you enjoy, your body and all its ad- 
 vantages, your soul and all its faculties — from 
 whom have you received all these, if not from 
 the infinitely good God who has created you? 
 What has God done for the sinner in the order 
 of grace? He has called him, in preference to 
 
Sin with Regard to God. 59 
 
 SO many others, to the knowledge of the truth. 
 He has made him a child of His Church, and 
 has opened for him the sources of His grace. 
 But the miserable sinner forgets these benefits. 
 Not only does he forget them, but he abuses 
 them by offending a God of infinite goodness. 
 *'Thou hast made Me serve in thy sins." 
 These eyes and ears and hands and feet, this 
 body which I have formed, thou, hast made the 
 instruments of thy crimes. This intelligence, 
 this will, this heart, thou hast profaned. 
 These goods, which I have lavished on you for 
 legitimate use, thou hast abused by doing evil 
 things, and by propagating and encouraging 
 them : " Thou hast made Me serve in the com- 
 mission of thy sins." 
 
 The sinner carries ingratitude toward God 
 to the highest degree which malice can attain. 
 Not only does he not recognize the blessings 
 with which he is filled, not only does he ren- 
 der to his benefactor evil for good, but he even 
 employs the good which he has received to 
 outrage his God. He, therefore, debases him- 
 self below the animal of the brute creation, 
 and we can justly apply to the sinner the words 
 of the prophet to the people of Israel : " The 
 oxknoweth his owner, and the ass his master's 
 crib, but Israel hath not known Me, and My 
 people hath not understood." 
 
6o St 72 luith Regard to God. 
 
 3. Contempt. — From the most hateful in- 
 gratitude the sinner goes to the most injurious 
 contempt. What has not God done, and what 
 does He not do every day, to attract the sinner 
 to Him ? God comes to him by the inspiration 
 of His grace; He even begs his friendship: 
 "Son, give Me thy heart." But the sinner is 
 deaf to the voice of his God, his Creator, his 
 Master, his Father, and his Redeemer. He 
 wishes neither His society nor His friendship. 
 God even makes to him the most seductive 
 promises — everything which he asks will be 
 given him; if he renounces sin, and observes 
 the commandments with fidelity, he will be 
 seated at the table in the eternal kingdom — all 
 this if he will only persevere in the practice of 
 virtue. But the sinner despises all these 
 promises. And what does he prefer? A 
 shadow which passes, a cloud which vanishes, 
 a nothing. On the other hand, God makes 
 known His terrible threats. He shows the 
 eternal flames, the inconsolable sorrow, the 
 gnavShing of teeth, the unspeakable torments, 
 which await the impenitent sinner. And still 
 the sinner despises all these threats. 
 
 O unhappy sinner! look into your heart 
 and strive to understand that the sovereign 
 evil is to offend God and to persevere in in- 
 iquity. " Know and see that it is an evil and a 
 
Sin the Evil of Man. 6i 
 
 bitter thing- to have left the Lord thy God." 
 While there is yet time, and the mercy of God 
 offers you pardon, think well, and understand 
 what sin is. Be converted, return to God, do 
 penance, that you may regain your rights to 
 your eternal inheritance. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XI. 
 
 SIN THE EVIL OF MAN. 
 "The wages of sin is death." — Rom, vi. 23. 
 
 A WARRIOR-KING, who had passed his 
 life in battle, wishing to inspire his son 
 • • • with a lively horror of war, employed an 
 artist to skilfully paint a picture, representing 
 the awful spectacle which a battle-field usually 
 presents. There he depicted the dead, the 
 dying, and the wounded hurled together ; arms 
 and legs separated from their bodies, and 
 shreds of human flesh lying in rivers of blood. 
 Again, broken chariots and soldiers' equip- 
 ments mingled in a mass of the dead bodies of 
 horses and men. The prince inscribed on the 
 picture m large letters, '' Behold the results of 
 war.'' 
 
 I wish to represent for you also the sad 
 results of sin. See the world, a prey to revolu- 
 
62 Sin the Evil of Man. 
 
 tions, bloody wars, destructive scourges, la- 
 mentable epidemics, and all the most afiiicting 
 calamities. Behold the fruits of sin! "The 
 wages of sin is death." 
 
 Man has been destined to enjoy three kinds 
 of life: the natural, the spiritual, and the 
 eternal life. Now, sin destroys, at once, this 
 triple life. It causes the death of the body, or 
 the natural life, the death of the soul, or the 
 spiritual life, and the death of soul and body, 
 or the eternal life. 
 
 I. Natural death, — Man, created in the 
 image and likeness of God, was not destined 
 to die. Death was only announced to him as 
 the chastisement which he would incur should 
 he eat of the forbidden fruit: "On the day 
 that you will eat of the fruit you shall die." 
 And what has happened? Adam violated the 
 precept which his Cijeator had given, and im- 
 mediately he heard the irrevocable sentence 
 of death pronounced on him and on all his 
 posterity : " Dust thou art, and into dust thou 
 shalt return." It is, then, in punishment of 
 sin that death has relentlessly harvested all 
 human generations. The divine malediction 
 has been extended from man to all creatures, 
 and all created things have become for man so 
 many instruments of death. Heaven strikes 
 him with its thunderbolts, the seas swallow him 
 
Sin the Evil of Man. d'}^ 
 
 in their floods, the air stifles him with its 
 vapors, the sun burns him with its rays, the 
 earth crushes him under its ruins, the fire con- 
 sumes him in its flames. Ferocious beasts 
 devour him, and even domestic animals become 
 dangerous to him. In fine, man has become 
 the most terrible enemy of man. It is not 
 necessary to present the fearful picture of 
 wars, dissensions, and assassins who have red- 
 dened the earth by their bloody crimes. 
 
 Not only is sin the cause of death in the 
 countless ways it strikes man, but it is the ex- 
 haustless source of all the evils which precede 
 and accompany it. Count, if you can, the 
 pains, the fatigues, the sorrows, and the bitter 
 desolations which come, even upon those who 
 are esteemed the happiest among men. De- 
 scend into the grave and see the mass of 
 bodies which have become the prey of worms. 
 What, then, has cast into the tomb human gen- 
 erations one after the other? Is it not sin? 
 Because man prevaricated he became the 
 victim of death, and, moreover, because the 
 descendants of Adam have multiplied their 
 iniquities divine justice also multiplies the 
 chastisement: "The wages of sin is death.'' 
 
 2. Spiritual death, — Man is destined to a 
 second life: the supernatural, or life of grace. 
 It IS a life so ennobling that it elevates the 
 
64 Si?z the Evil of Man. 
 
 creature to a participation of the divine nature. 
 This life is given us by the holy use of the 
 sacraments. The soul in a state of grace re- 
 flects a ray of God's beauty. It is honored by 
 the most beautiful titles, and is called the well- 
 beloved daughter of the Father, the spouse of 
 the Son-, the temple of the Holy Spirit,- It 
 counts as many friends and protectors as there 
 are saints in paradise. By grace it increases 
 in spiritual wealth every day, and by the prac- 
 tice of good works it augments proportionately 
 the sum of its merits for eternity. The good 
 which the soul accomplishes acquires for it the 
 right to new graces, and renders it worthy of 
 the friendship and protection of God. But let 
 mortal sin once enter the soul, and what a trans- 
 formation takes place! What disorder, what 
 destruction! Ah, if it were permitted us to 
 behold the terrible spectacle which a poor soul 
 presents in a state of mortal sin ! It loses its 
 beauty, and from the image of God which it 
 was it becomes like to the demon. It loses 
 its titles toward the three divine persons. Its 
 spiritual treasures are ruined, and nothing re- 
 mains. It is struck Vv^th vSterility, and can no 
 longer merit for eternal reward. Instead of 
 the graces of God, it merits rather the severity 
 of His justice. In a word, it is deprived of all 
 spiritual life: "The wages of sin is death/' 
 
Si?i the Evil of Man. 65 
 
 3. Eternal death, — When sin has been com- 
 mitted and is not repaired by penance, it en- 
 tails on man a third death, which is death 
 eternal. He Who said at the commencement, 
 **Thou shalt die the death," will say also, on 
 the last day, " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into 
 everlasting fire." Now, who will be those 
 cursed ones? The impious, the blasphemous, 
 the profaners of holy days, the homicides, the 
 scandalous, the debauchees, and the intemper- 
 ate, robbers, perjurers — in a word, all those 
 v/ho violate the commandments of God. Re- 
 call the parable of the rich man. It is said he 
 was buried in hell. With him will be buried 
 all impenitent sinners, and they will never de- 
 part from their eternal sepulchre. But hell, 
 with its inextinguishable fires, its weeping and 
 gnashing of teeth — what has created it? The 
 sin of the rebellious angel : " The wages of sin 
 is death." Now, let us understand the sad 
 effects of sin, and render ourselves worthy of 
 the mercy of God by a prompt and sincere 
 repentance. 
 5 
 
66 Death. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XII. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 "It is appointed unto men once to die." — Heb. ix.27. 
 
 EVEN if the Holy Spirit of God had not 
 formulated this decree by the mouth of 
 . • • • St. Paul, daily experience would suffice to 
 teach us this sad truth. Yes, Christians, we 
 must all die, and still how many are there who 
 live as if they had made a compact with death 
 that they should never quit this world. How 
 many are there who reject the thought of death 
 as something importunate and troublesome, 
 which is calculated only to embitter the pleas- 
 ures of life! The recollection of this awful 
 truth is one of the most powerful remedies 
 which the Holy Spirit gives us against tempta- 
 tion and yielding to the commission of sin: 
 " Remember thy last end and thou shalt never 
 sin." It is, therefore, on this salutary thought 
 of death that we will meditate to-day. Death, 
 as it appears to us, is the beginning and the end. 
 It is the end of life on earth, the end of vanity, 
 error, falsehood, and illusions. It is the be- 
 ginning of eternity and the only real things 
 which exist for man, 
 
 I. The end. — I say that death is the end, and 
 
Death, 67 
 
 the end of all men in this world. This life, 
 which the old man strives to prolong with 
 greatest care ; this life, which the man of ma- 
 ture years employs with so much confidence 
 in increasing his wealth, in conducting his 
 affairs, and solidly establishing his family ; this 
 life, which youth regards as a brilliant aurora, 
 the prelude of a cloudless day — this life is 
 short and comes to an end rapidly. 
 
 Is there a river or an ocean whose waves suc- 
 ceed each other with greater rapidity than the 
 days and weeks and months and years w^hich 
 make up our life ? Holy Scripture records that 
 when Jacob went to Egypt with his children 
 Pharao asked of him his age. The holy patri- 
 arch answered : " The days of my pilgrimage 
 are one hundred and thirty years, few and 
 evil, and they are not come up to the days of 
 the pilgrimage of my fathers." This is what 
 we can say of the longest life, a sequence of 
 days, few in number, and as wicked as they 
 are numerous. 
 
 It is always at the moment we expect it 
 least that death comes to cut short calcula- 
 tions, hopes, enterprises, and all the illusions 
 which have lulled us to sleep. Therefore, in 
 its wisdom, the Gospel exhorts us to keep 
 ourselves prepared always : ^' Be ye therefore 
 prepared, because you know not the hour when 
 
6S Death. 
 
 the Son of man will come." In what year, on 
 what day, at what hour will death arrive? 
 You cannot say. Therefore be prepared. 
 Death will come as a thief, when you least ex- 
 pect or look for the coming. And now let us 
 ask, in what state will this surprise find you? 
 Will you be in the grace and friendship of 
 God, or will you be in sin? Ordinarily, as is 
 life so shall death be. As a man lives so shall 
 he die. The Holy Spirit tells us: ''The tree 
 will fall on the side to- which it inclines." 
 
 Death will put an end to all honors, pleas- 
 ures, riches, joys, projects, and hopes for the 
 future. When that fatal hour will have 
 arrived neither parents, nor friends, nor 
 patrons, nor protectors can retard for a second 
 this inevitable separation from all things. We 
 must say an eternal farewell to all those whom 
 we have loved most in this world. Now, I ask 
 you, is it really worth while to attach ourselves 
 to that which must so quickly finish? Go in 
 spirit to your last hour on earth, and what you 
 will then think of the illusions and vanity of 
 the world ; strive to estimate them now at the 
 same worth. Live out your life in such a 
 manner that this necessary end of all things 
 will not surprise you when it arrives, and you 
 may with confidence enter on that life beyond 
 ^?"iich will never end. 
 
Death. 69 
 
 2. The commencement. — While death is the 
 end of all present things it is also the be- 
 ginning of eternal realities. However diverse 
 may be our conditions during life, in the pres- 
 ence of death all distinctions are effaced. 
 Then there can be only two categories of men : 
 those who have preserved grace or recovered 
 it, and those who have it not and who renounce 
 it at that supreme moment. For both classes 
 of men death is the beginning of unchange- 
 able truth. Go and stand at the bedside of a 
 dying man. He is a man who during life has 
 made profession of incredulity. Notwithstand- 
 ing the lights of reason, in spite of the infallible 
 authority of the Church, of whose teaching he 
 could not be absolutely ignorant, in spite of 
 the testimony of the most respectable wit- 
 nesses, he is still obstinate and has no regard 
 for the existence of God and His sovereign 
 authority. The Catholic Church, her pontiffs, 
 her ministers, her doctrine, her sacraments, 
 her practices — all these have been the objects 
 of his hatred, his contempt, and his sarcasms. 
 He was pleased when he read books or jour- 
 nals which lavished injury and calumny on 
 God and His Church. His God was money, 
 his worship the grossest pleasures. His im- 
 piety, however, could not make him immortal, 
 and now his last hour has come. One last 
 
7 o Death. 
 
 sigh, and that soul escapes from his body and 
 falls into eternity. Great God, what a spectacle ! 
 What horror ! He beholds face to face that God 
 Whom he has denied. The Saviour Whom 
 he has blasphemed is his judge, and he hears 
 the inexorable sentence, *' Depart from Me, 
 you cursed, into eternal fire." Now he clearly 
 sees that the Catholic Church, her pontiffs, 
 her ministers, her doctrines, and her sacra- 
 ments, are the works of Jesus Christ for the 
 salvation of men. Judgment, paradise, hell 
 are no longer for him idle dreams. Now he 
 beholds the reality, and he will behold it for 
 eternity to his confusion and despair. 
 
 A more consoling spectacle is reserved for 
 us in the death of the just man. For him also 
 death is the beginning of eternal realities. 
 This good and merciful God, in Whom he 
 placed all his confidence, is present, and he 
 finds Him faithful in all his promises. He 
 appears before Christ, his judge, and hears the 
 sentence of salvation: "Come, ye blessed of 
 My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for 
 you from the beginning of the world." The 
 faithful member of the Church militant at his 
 death passes into the ranks of the Church 
 triumphant. All the truths which he believed 
 with faith, and which were the objects of his 
 firm hope, he now contemplates with ravishing 
 
Particular Judgment. 71 
 
 reality. "Your elect, O my God! will be 
 satiated with the abundance of the good things 
 you have prepared for them." May this last 
 hour, which will put an end to all the things 
 of earth, be for you also the commencement 
 of an eternal felicity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XIII. 
 
 PARTICULAR JUDGMENT. 
 "Give an account of thy stewardship." — St. Luke xvi.2. 
 
 IN this world, we must be persuaded, we are 
 not the proprietors or owners of all that 
 • • we have. Our body, our soul, our talents, 
 in a word, whatever we possess, have been in- 
 trusted to us to be employed for the glory of 
 God, our creator, our sovereign master. One 
 day He will demand a strict account of the 
 use we will have made of these gifts. To 
 inculcate this truth our blessed Saviour has 
 employed the parable which we read in the 
 Gospel according to St. Luke. A rich man 
 had a steward who was accused of squandering 
 his master's goods, and he was asked for an 
 account of his administration : " Give an ac- 
 count of thy stewardship/' 
 
 It is thus that the Sovereign Judge will re- 
 
72 Particular Judgment. 
 
 quire of each and every one a strict account 
 of the use we have made of life. Let us go in 
 spirit for a moment before that tribunal where 
 we must soon really appear. We Vv^ill meditate 
 on the solemn and terrible circumstances by 
 comparing this tribunal with our own earthly 
 tribunals. 
 
 I . The Judge. — Who will be our judge on that 
 day of final examination? It will be our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself, to Whom 
 all power has been given on earth and in 
 heaven. At a moment when it will please Him, 
 and always sooner than we expect, He will 
 summon us before Him. Hardly will the last 
 sigh be drawn on earth when the soul will be 
 placed in judgment. Jesus, Who hitherto was 
 known to us by titles of Saviour, Redeemer, 
 Benefactor, Friend, and Advocate before the 
 Father, will be only our judge. Then He will 
 be the supreme judge who will weigh in an 
 equitable balance both good and evil, and will 
 mete out recompense or chastisement accord- 
 ing to the merits of each one. He will be a 
 wSevere judge, abiding only by the prescriptions 
 of the law which He Himself established and 
 made known in the Gospel. He will be an 
 inexorable judge, Who will not yield to any 
 plea or prayer for the soul in judgment. He 
 will be a justly angered judge, because of the 
 
Particular Judgment. 73 
 
 sins the soul has committed and the contempt 
 which has been given in return for His bless- 
 ings and His love. 
 
 2. TJie accused. — Against whom will the 
 accusation be made? A man, who before God 
 is less than an atom of dust, less than the vilest 
 worm of the earth. And this man will be 
 there alone in presence of his omnipotent 
 judge. He will have no protector to influence 
 the tribunal, no advocate to plead his cause, 
 no friend whose presence can sustain him. 
 " What then shall I say, miserable sinner as 
 lam?" 
 
 3. The accusation, — The accused will be 
 obliged to answer for the transgression of 
 God's commandments, for the negligence and 
 forgetfulness of the sacraments, which were 
 given him as means of salvation, and of which 
 he has made no use. He must answer for the 
 scandals he has given to those who had a right 
 to expect from him good examples, and for 
 the graces of God uselessly received. Oh, 
 what terror must seize man*s soul when his ears 
 will resound with the words which paralyzed 
 the impious Balthazar with fear : " Count, 
 weigh, separate! " Count, then, all the graces 
 given, weigh well their value in the scales of 
 the sanctuary, separate the good use from the 
 abuse of God's choicest blessings. What will 
 
74 Particular Judg?:ient. 
 
 remain that is worthy of compensation? At 
 the same time an account will be required of 
 the good which has been neglected and the 
 graces received. We must also answer for 
 the good badly performed ; for, as the prophet 
 says : " God will visit Jerusalem with a lamp in 
 His hand," and He will seek out even the 
 slightest imperfections. How many good acts 
 spoiled, or perhaps entirely lost, by the man- 
 ner, the motive, the end which accompanied 
 them or determined their accomplishment ! 
 
 4. Vain excuses of the sinner, — When ar- 
 raigned before an earthly tribunal the accused 
 can often count on what is called '' extenuating 
 circumstances." But before the dread tribunal 
 of God, what pretext can the sinner allege? 
 Is it ignorance ? This will not suffice, since 
 the sinner has been instructed in everything. 
 And has not God multiplied the means to make 
 known the truth and put him in possession of 
 it? Has he been ignorant of the infallible 
 teaching of the Church? If he is wanting in 
 instruction it is his own fault. Has he not 
 sought the nourishment of his soul from im- 
 pious and licentious journals ? Instead of hear- 
 ing the priests teaching in the name of Christ, 
 has he not treated them with contempt and 
 even hatred? Perhaps the sinner may allege 
 his powerlessness to obey the law. But God 
 
Particular Judgment. 75 
 
 cannot command what is impossible. Fur- 
 thermore, when God gives His law to men for 
 their observance He gives at the same time 
 the necessary grace and assistance to observe 
 it. The great apostle St. Patil found that it was 
 humiliating and difficult to combat against his 
 rebellious inclinations, and he was answered, 
 "Paul, My grace is sufficient." Will the sin- 
 ner pretend to say that the practice of virtue 
 was too difficult ? Why, then, does Jesus say in 
 His Gospel, " My yoke is sweet and my burden 
 light"? Again, how many saints of* every 
 rank, of every age, sex, and condition, will be 
 there to attest by their example that the prac- 
 tice of virtue did not present the pretended 
 difficulties which the worldly always allege as 
 an excuse for their cowardice and idleness in 
 the practice of good ! 
 
 5. The accusers. — The sinner, standing at 
 the dread tribunal without excuse of any kind, 
 will see numerous accusers rising against 
 him. Jesus Christ Himself will be at the same 
 time the judge and the witness. And what 
 a witness! He will have seen all, heard all, 
 known all, and counted all. There will be the 
 guardian angel, the inseparable companion of 
 the sinner's life, who will recall the inspira- 
 tion and the advice given him. There will 
 be the demon, who will boast of the evil he has 
 
76 The Last Jiidgvient and Sentejicc. 
 
 prompted him to commit and will impatiently 
 claim his victim. But of all the accusers the 
 most unpitying will be the conscience of the 
 sinner. He had stifled this '' still, small voice" 
 during the illusions of life, but at the tribunal 
 of God it will demand its rights, and will 
 exclaim : " Thou alone art the worker of thy de- 
 struction! " And then, where shall the miser- 
 able sinner turn to escape the hands of his 
 Judge? The saints and angels can do nothing 
 more for him. The Virgin Mother, the advo- 
 cate of repentant sinners, will no longer plead 
 for him. The time of mercy has passed. It 
 is now the time of justice. Do not await this 
 hour for conversion ; it will be too late. Let 
 us begin now to judge ourselves, that we may 
 not be condemned at the tribunal of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XIV. 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE. 
 
 "And these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the 
 just into life everlasting." — St. Matt, xxv.46. 
 
 SUCH will be the sentence which the Sov- 
 ereign Judge will pronounce at the last 
 • • • solemn judgment of the world. It will 
 be a sentence full of consolation for the just, 
 
The Last Judgment and Sentence. 'j'j 
 
 since it will call them from fatigue to repose, 
 from this vale of tears to infinite joys, and from 
 misery to an eternal beatitude which they 
 have merited by their works of charity. It 
 will be a sentence full of fear and terror for 
 the wicked, since it will announce to them 
 their separation from God, His malediction, 
 and an eternity of sufferings and despair. Let 
 us represent to ourselves now the circum- 
 stances and the solemnity of this final judg- 
 ment. Let us consider the judge, the wit- 
 nesses, the accused, the accusers, and, in fine, 
 the separation. 
 
 I. The Judge. — Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ Himself will preside at this last judg- 
 ment. "The Father has given Him the power 
 of judging, because He is the Son of man." 
 Then He will manifest Himself in all the 
 splendor of His majesty, as King of the uni- 
 verse. Oh, how much He will be feared, since 
 He is at once the person off'ended and the wit- 
 ness of the offence. " It is Thou alone Whom 
 I have offended, and in Thy presence I have 
 done evil,'* says David. By the mouth of the 
 prophet Jeremias we learn : " I myself am the 
 judge and the witness.'' He will be an inflex- 
 ible judge : '' He will not pardon on the day 
 of vengeance nor will He listen to the prayers 
 of any one." 
 
78 The Last Judgment and Sentence. 
 
 2. The witnesses. — ^On the day of final retri- 
 bution the Saviour and Judge will be sur- 
 rounded by the angels and all the heavenly 
 court. With the angels will be also the elect. 
 " Behold, how the Lord comes with millions of 
 His saints to judge the world and to punish 
 the impious for all the works of their iniquity.'* 
 No longer will you see Jesus in a stable 
 wrapped in swaddling-clothes and surrounded 
 by poor shepherds. But you will see Him in 
 all His glory, seated on a throne, and sur- 
 rounded by all the powers of heaven. Nor 
 will the angels and saints, or Mary herself, 
 longer plead the cause of sinners, but they 
 will cover the sinners with confusion by re- 
 calling to them the contempt they had for their 
 intercession when they could still have saved 
 them. 
 
 3. Tlie accused, — All men, without exception, 
 must appear before that awful tribunal. But, 
 oh, what a difference in their condition ! What 
 consolation for the just when they will hear 
 the Sovereign Judge say to them : '* Come, ye 
 blessed of My Father, take possession of the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
 tion of the world." Come, My apostles, who 
 have persevered with Me in all trials, and have 
 left all things to follow Me. Come, ye mar- 
 tyrs, w^ho have shed your blood for My glory. 
 
The Last Jtcdgment and Sentence. 79 
 
 Come, ye confessors, who have defended the 
 truth by your teaching and by your works. 
 Come, ye virgins, who have preserved purity 
 of mind and heart and body by vigilance and 
 prayer. Come, ye Christians, who have not 
 blushed for Me before men, and who have 
 glorified My name. Come, receive now the 
 recompense of your works. " I was hungry 
 and you gave Me to eat ; I was thirsty and you 
 gave Me to drink; I was homeless and you 
 sheltered Me; I was naked and you clothed 
 Me ; I was sick and you visited Me ; I was in 
 prison and you came to console Me." 
 
 On the other hand, what confusion for the 
 reprobate when the Sovereign Judge, turning 
 to the left, will unveil before the assembled 
 world all the iniquities they have committed ! 
 There will be there, as accused, all the im- 
 pious, blasphemers, profaners of holy days, 
 unnatural and disobedient children, robbers, 
 assassins, the impure, liars, and the avaricious. 
 There will be there the persecutors of the 
 Church and her pontiffs, the writers of wicked 
 journals, the propagators of false and lying 
 doctrines — in a word, all who have eliminated 
 God from the world and the conscience of 
 men. 
 
 Then they will hear falling on their guilty 
 heads, as an overwhelming mountain, the sen- 
 
8o The Last Jiidgjnciit and Sentence. 
 
 tence of Jesus Christ : " Depart from Me, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, which has been 
 prepared by the devil and his angels." What 
 a frightful sentence ! What rigorous justice ! 
 What insupportable punishment! O separa- 
 tion! O malediction! O fire! O eternity! 
 I do not know which of these four punish- 
 ments is most to be feared, the separation 
 from the Sovereign Good, the malediction 
 of God, the fire of hell, the eternity of these 
 torments. 
 
 4. TJie accusers. — But where can defenders 
 be found before this tribunal ? There will be 
 none. The unfortunate sinner will see around 
 about him, on every side, accusers only. Ac- 
 cording to St. Bernard, his own sins will be 
 his accusers: "Thou hast made us, we are 
 the work of Thy hands ; now we will not leave 
 you, but we will be always with you." All 
 created things, in their turn, will arise, to cry 
 out against the sinner : " Behold him who has 
 offended our Creator, and who has made a 
 sacrilegious abuse of us, to make us serve for 
 his iniquities." And the demon will be there 
 to testify against him whom he has seduced 
 into evil, and w^ho has denied his God to be- 
 come a slave of the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil. But of all the accusers the most terri- 
 ble will be the sinner himself, who must sub- 
 
The Last Judgment and Sentence. 8i 
 
 mit to the heart-rending remorse of his own 
 conscience. The Gospel assures us that this 
 gnawing worm of remorse will never die. 
 
 5. The separation. — Immediately after the 
 judgment comes the eternal separation. The 
 reprobates, placed at the left hand and struck 
 with the divine malediction, will sorrowfully 
 go to eternal punishment, to share the com- 
 panionship of the bad angels. As to the just, 
 placed at the right hand of God, they will enter 
 into eternal life, in the company of our blessed 
 Saviour, His holy Mother, and the angels, to 
 enjoy the glory of heaven for all eternity. 
 Who is the Christian penetrated by this great 
 truth of the general judgment, and the irrev- 
 ocable sentence which must follow it, who 
 will not take the firm resolution of being sin- 
 cerely converted, of doing penance for his sins, 
 and applying himself to good works, which 
 alone can merit for him a sentence of pardon 
 from the just Judge? 
 6 
 
82 Penance as a Virtue. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XV. 
 
 PENANCE AS A VIRTUE. 
 **Do penance." — St. Matt, iii.2. 
 
 THESE are the first words which fell from 
 the lips of St. John the Baptist, the pre- 
 • • • cursor of Our Lord, at the beginning of 
 his mission. To the Jews of every age and 
 condition who came to hear him, he said: '' Do 
 penance." Our blessed Saviour also, when 
 explaining to the multitudes the reason of His 
 coming, said to them : " I am not come to call 
 the just, but sinners to repentance.'* What is 
 this penance, to which as sinners we are all 
 called? It is a virtue which must prompt us 
 to detest sin as an offence against God, and to 
 expiate it when we have had the misfortune to 
 commit it, and to employ the means to avoid 
 all sin for the future. We will, therefore, 
 meditate on the necessity and the qualities of 
 penance. 
 
 I. Its 7icccssity, — That the sinner w^ho has 
 revolted against God and has committed 
 iniquity is bound to do penance, is a truth 
 which is established by every page of Holy 
 Scripture. Adam, contrary to the prohibition 
 of his Creator, ate of the fruit of the tree 
 
Penance as a Virtue, 83 
 
 which he was forbidden to touch. In punish- 
 ment of his sin God condemned him and all 
 his posterity to misery, suffering, and death. 
 Those public scourges, wars, and calamities 
 which have ravaged the earth, and have been 
 a source of sorrow to humanity, are only a just 
 penance imposed on Adam and his guilty 
 children. 
 
 Noe spent a hundred years in the construc- 
 tion of the ark which was to save him and his 
 children from the universal deluge. These 
 long years were not absolutely necessary for 
 the construction of the ark, but God, in His 
 mercy, wished that during these hundred 
 years the patriarch. His servant, would invite 
 men to do penance for the monstrous iniquities 
 with which they were stained, and because 
 they were deaf to the voice of Noe they were 
 buried in the depths of this universal deluge. 
 
 David, who was guilty of a twofold crime, 
 was condemned to do penance. He was the 
 sorrowful witness of the scourges which dec- 
 imated his people, and his heart was torn by 
 grief at the revolt and waywardness of his 
 son Absalom. The Gospel assures us that 
 penance is the only means we have of escap- 
 ing the eternal justice of God. " Unless you 
 do penance you shall all perish.'' When St. 
 Peter preached for the first time before the 
 
84 Penance as a Virtue, 
 
 Jews, who were gathered near the cenacle, 
 on the day of Pentecost, his only exhortation 
 to them was to "do penance." The mission 
 of the apostles was to preach to the world 
 penance and the remission of sins. The 
 Fathers of the Church will also give their tes- 
 timony in this matter. The great Augustine 
 emphatically declares that sin must be ex- 
 piated by man doing penance, or by God ex- 
 ercising vengeance. Tertullian says that the 
 sinner is born for penance. St. Jerome calls 
 penance the second plank after shipwreck. 
 
 To arrive at eternal glory there are only 
 two ways open to us, either innocence or pen- 
 ance. But where are they who have preserved 
 their baptismal innocence pure and stainless? 
 Oh, how rare are these privileged souls in 
 the world, especially in these days of impiety 
 and indifference in which we live! It must 
 be evident, therefore, to the least reflective 
 that there is nothing left for us to do except to 
 have recourse to penance, to expiate our sins, 
 to render ourselves worthy of the mercy of 
 God, who will cheerfully grant us fullest par- 
 don on this condition — penance. 
 
 2. Qualities, — St. John the Baptist not only 
 invited the Jews to do penance, but he also 
 exhorted them to bring forth fruits worthy 
 of penance. Now, to be worthy our penance 
 
Penance as a Virtue. 85 
 
 should be prompt, rigorous, full, and persever- 
 ing. 
 
 It should h^ prompt, that is to say, we should 
 begin at once, in this very hour. The royal 
 prophet tells us : " If to-day you hear the voice 
 of God harden not your hearts/' To postpone 
 this duty is a dangerous matter. God may 
 call us hence without giving us time for pen- 
 ance, and according to the w^ords of St. Paul, 
 "by the hardness of our hearts we treasure 
 up for ourselves the wrath of God." See 
 David; hardly had the prophet Nathan made 
 known to him the heinousness of his sin than 
 immediately he humbled himself and did pen- 
 ance. See St. Peter; one single look from 
 Jesus was enough, and he wept so continuously 
 that the tears furrowed his cheeks. 
 
 Our penance should be rigorous, that is to 
 say, it should be proportioned to the gravity of 
 our sin. It is for this reason that, in the 
 primitive Church, the holy canons had speci- 
 fied different degrees of penance, which sin- 
 ners should perform according as their culpa- 
 bility was more or less grave. Let us go in 
 spirit into the cleansing fires of purgatory, and 
 consider the severity with which divine justice 
 punishes the slightest faults. We will then 
 understand that the pain, the sufferings, the 
 fastings and watchings, which we should accept 
 
86 Penance as a Virtue. 
 
 for our sins, will always be less than what we 
 should perform to satisfy the Sovereign Maj- 
 esty Whom we have offended. 
 
 Our penance should be full and entire, that 
 is to say, it should extend to all that has been 
 offensive to God, and that everything which 
 has served us in the commission of sin should 
 share in the chastisement. Has our mind 
 wilfully meditated on evil things? Then let 
 us employ it in holy and salutary reflections. 
 Has our will been turned away from God? 
 Then let us fix it irrevocably on truth and 
 justice. Has our heart been attached to creat- 
 ures and perishable goods? Henceforth let it 
 entertain only love for God and for goods 
 which are eternal. Have our eyes, our ears, 
 our tongues, our feet, our hands been for us 
 instruments of iniquity? In our penance, let 
 us employ them by a continual mortification. 
 
 In fine, our penance should be persevering. 
 We should weep for our sins, and expiate our 
 faults, not only during some days, some years, 
 but during our whole life. Let us recall the 
 words of Our Lord : " He who shall persevere 
 to the end, he shall be saved." Now, to per- 
 severe in penance is to live in the practice of 
 virtue, of piety, of sanctification, and each 
 da)^ to grow rich in the number of our merits. 
 
 Let us imitate the example which the saints 
 
Trials. 87 
 
 have given us. It is by their salutary works 
 of penance that they have served God and 
 have attained the very summit of perfection. 
 They have said, with St. Paul: ^'The labors of 
 our penance in this world are not at all com- 
 parable to the glory which God will reveal to 
 us in eternity." 
 
 INSTRUCTION XVI. 
 
 TRIALS. 
 
 "You shall lament and weep, but the world shall re- 
 joice." — St. John xvi. 20. 
 
 THE inheritance of the friends and servants 
 of Jesus Christ in this world is suffering, 
 • • • affliction, trials. While they shed tears 
 and are in sorrow the world rejoices. Thus 
 the lot or condition of the Christian is regarded 
 with pity by the partisans of the world, be- 
 cause they cannot understand that there are 
 other joys than those which are sought for in 
 the pleasure, the goods, and th© feasts which 
 the world offers. But Jesus Christ, Who is 
 truth itself, has proclaimed the happiness of 
 those who suffer and weep. " Blessed are they 
 who suffer persecution for justice, blessed are 
 they who mourn, for they shall be consoled." 
 That there is happiness in afflictions and trials 
 
88 Trials. 
 
 is one of those truths which cannot be under- 
 stood except by those who are enlightened by 
 divine light. For reason alone, it is a ''hard 
 saying." But what are human reasonings 
 against the infallible truth of the Gospel ? To 
 the eyes of faith that which gives confidence 
 in our severest trials is that God permits them. 
 He is the witness of what we suffer, and He 
 will, one day, compensate us fully for all we 
 suffer. 
 
 I . God permits them, — It is a principle of faith 
 that nothing happens to us here on earth with- 
 out the permission of God. What more strik- 
 ing proof of this truth can be given us than 
 the history of Job? This holy man, whom 
 God has been pleased to call His servant, was 
 possessed of much wealth, and was surrounded 
 by all that could make the human heart happy 
 in this world. But God has wished to give 
 him to all men as a perfect model of patience 
 and resignation. He permits the devil to 
 attack him, first in his goods, then in his 
 children, and, at last, to assail himself. The 
 story of the patriarch's sorrows and trials is 
 well known, and there are no words more cele- 
 brated or widely known than his sentence of 
 beautiful resignation : " The Lord hath given 
 and the Lord hath taken away : blessed be the 
 name of the Lord." 
 
Trials, 89 
 
 Christians also, although not tested so se- 
 verely, have all had their share of afflictions 
 and trials in this world. The disciples of Jesus 
 Christ are not above their Master. Our blessed 
 Saviour has said : '' If they have persecuted 
 Me they will persecute you/' He has wished 
 to undergo all kinds of trials precisely to be 
 our model. After Him, the saints have been 
 exposed to the crucible of affliction and suffer- 
 ing. See the apostles, the martyrs, the confes- 
 sors ; what have they not endured in this world 
 for their devotion to Christ and His Church? 
 Far from complaining, or of being astonished 
 at the condition which was in reserve for 
 them, they, on the contrary, esteemed them- 
 selves sovereignly happy to have been judged 
 worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. 
 
 If, then, God permits afflictions to fall upon 
 us, if also He wishes to make us like to our 
 divine Model, a single thought from St. Paul 
 must give us fullest confidence. It is that 
 '*God will never allow us to be tried too 
 severely, or tempted beyond our strength." 
 
 2. He zvitnesses them, — Another thought 
 which must assure and encourage us in our 
 trials is that God is the witness and sees them 
 all. The prophet has said that in this world 
 '' the tribulations of the just are many . " There 
 are tribulations of mind, and heart, and body ; 
 
90 Trials. 
 
 oftentimes it happens that we are an insup- 
 portable burden to ourselves. We suffer from 
 flights of imagination, and from too great 
 sensibility of the heart. Our bodies, too, are 
 exposed to a thousand infirmities. And again, 
 how great are the trials which the Christian 
 must endure on the part of the world ! *' You 
 will be cursed and hated for My sake," Our 
 Saviour told His disciples, and He added : *' I 
 will send you as lambs among wolves." Has 
 it ever happened that peace and harmony 
 reigned between lambs and wolves ? However, 
 we should be consoled in the midst of our trials, 
 whatever may be their nature or number. 
 God is the faithful witness of them all. He 
 sees our struggles and our combats, and He 
 counts them. Not the least temptation which 
 we have rejected will He ever forget; and 
 every effort to preserve His grace He will 
 constantly keep in loving remembrance, and 
 one day will recompense us fully for them all. 
 If it is true that a soldier is encouraged to 
 fight valorously when he knows his general is 
 the witness of his courage, for how much 
 greater reason should the Christian, who is the 
 soldier of Jesus Christ, be animated to bear 
 adversity and trial when he knows that he 
 combats under the eyes of his divine Chief? 
 With the great Apostle the Christian can ex- 
 
Trials. 9 1 
 
 claim : " I can do all things in Him Who 
 strengthens me." 
 
 3. He rewards them. — God will, one day, 
 magnificently reward us for the trials which 
 He now permits and of which He is the witness. 
 St. Paul assures us that ''if we suffer with 
 Christ we will also reign with Him." The 
 same apostle compares the trials, the sufferings, 
 and the afflictions which are the inheritance of 
 the servants of Christ with the recompense 
 which is prepared for them in heaven. Then 
 he exclaims: "All the sorrows, all.the agonies, 
 and all the torments of the present life are as 
 nothing when compared with the future glory 
 with which God will be pleased to surround us. " 
 
 See the saints, who have suffered so gener- 
 ously for the honor of Christ! What glory 
 to-day can be comparable to theirs! Their 
 happiness now is intensified just because they 
 suffered so much when on earth. If we would 
 seek consolation and encouragement in the 
 trials of life which afflict us, let us look up to 
 Jesus and the saints, who have followed Him 
 closely. Our blessed Saviour tells us the con- 
 dition which He requires for fellowship with 
 Him. " If any man wishes to come after Me, 
 he must deny himself, take up his cross, and 
 follow Me." Nor must we forget that God 
 requires us to be " like to the image of His 
 
92 Temptations. 
 
 Son." We well know what this image is: "a 
 man of sorrow\" From Bethlehem to Naz- 
 areth, and from Nazareth to Calvary, His 
 whole life was one continued sorrow. This 
 is the example which the saints have given us. 
 Patient suffering and suffering patience were 
 the characteristics of them all, from the Queen 
 of saints down to the very last to whom the 
 Church has given the title. "A little suffering 
 now, an eternal weight of glory," is the prom- 
 ise given to sustain our drooping hearts in this 
 vale of tears. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XVII. 
 
 TEMPTATIONS. 
 
 "Son, when thou comes t to the service of God stand 
 in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for tempta- 
 tions." — EccLUS. ii. I. • 
 
 IT is a long time since the great servant of 
 God Job declared that '' the life of man on 
 • • earth is a warfare." Experience, however, 
 confirms this truth. The Christian must re- 
 gard heaven as a place to which he can never 
 attain unless after a long and severe struggle. 
 Our blessed Saviour tells us: "The violent 
 bear it away." The apostle St. Paul adds that 
 '' no one shall be crowned who has not fought 
 valiantly." 
 
Te77iptations. 93 
 
 It is, then, with reason that the inspired 
 author of Ecclesiasticus tells us that whoever 
 aspires to the service of God should prepare 
 his soul for temptation. Now, temptation is 
 the struggle, the combat, the resistance against 
 all that which is opposed to our eternal salva- 
 tion. We will, therefore, consider temptation 
 in its nature, its causes, and the means of over- 
 coming it. 
 
 I. Its nature, — Everything which solicits or 
 attracts or leads us to the commission of sin 
 may be called temptation. A temptation may 
 be a thought, an inclination of the heart, or a 
 sensible attraction toward something forbid- 
 den. We could not, perhaps, select a more 
 striking example than the temptation of Eve 
 in the terrestrial paradise. God had forbidden 
 Adam under pain of death to touch the tree of 
 the knowledge of good and evil. The demon 
 spoke to the woman. He said: "Why do you 
 not partake of all the fruits of paradise ? No, 
 you will not die ; God knows that on the day 
 you will eat of the fruit of that tree your eyes 
 will be opened and you will be like to God, 
 knowing good and evil." To seduce his 
 victim the demon casts a doubt on the author- 
 ity of God. He assures her against chastise- 
 ment. He makes the most seductive promises 
 to her. Eve listens to the tempter, allows 
 
94 Te^nptations . 
 
 herself to be tempted, and at length yields to 
 the temptation. 
 
 Our blessed Lord in the desert furnishes us 
 with another example of temptation. The 
 demon presents himself. He sees that Jesus 
 is hungry, and he tells Him to command that 
 the stones be changed into bread. Then 
 taking Him up to the pinnacle of the temple 
 he exhorts Him to cast Himself down, promis- 
 ing Him the assistance of the angels. In fine, 
 he points out from the mountain-top all the 
 kingdoms of the earth, and promises to give 
 them to Him if He will consent to adore him. 
 But the Saviour rejects him with indignation, 
 and reminds him that God alone is worthy of 
 adoration, and divinely triumphs over the 
 threefold temptation. 
 
 Our divine Lord experienced temptation for 
 our instruction only, and at the same time to 
 give us a model and example. If the example 
 of our first mother shows us how easily we 
 may succumb by not resisting the first sugges- 
 tions of evil, Our Saviour teaches us the means 
 to employ to resist and conquer. We should 
 also know it well, that temptation may assail 
 us in any place ; even in the midst of delights, 
 as Eve was tempted, or in the depths of the 
 most solitary desert, like our blessed Saviour. 
 And again, all men without exception are ex- 
 
Temptations. 95 
 
 posed to temptation, but particularly those who 
 wish to be faithful to God and lead a Christian 
 life. The lives of the saints, God's special 
 friends and servants, will afford us the most 
 abundant testimony of this truth. 
 
 2. lis causes, — Temptation comes to us from 
 three sources. The demon urges us to evil by 
 his suggestions. The zvorld ensnares us by its 
 bad examples and its dangerous doctrines. In 
 fine, our own concupiscence precipitates us into 
 the dread abyss of sin. 
 
 The greatest source of temptation is the 
 demon. According to the expression of St. 
 Peter, " he goes about like a roaring lion seek- 
 ing whom he may devour." Who can tell the 
 ruses or the artifices he employs to seduce our 
 souls? At first he proposes only slight faults. 
 Then, carefully concealing the enormity of sin, 
 he clothes vice with the most seductive allure- 
 ments. He points out how the infinite mercy 
 of God will pardon everything. Once the sin 
 is committed he casts the deepest and darkest 
 despair into the sinner's heart, and leads him 
 to say with the fratricide Cain : '* My iniquity 
 is too great to ask for pardon." To tempt 
 men the demon has a most powerful auxiliary 
 in the world. Who is there that does not see 
 the disastrous influence of the bad doctrines 
 which are propagated everywhere to deceive 
 
90 Temptations. 
 
 souls and to snatch them from Christ and His 
 Church? Oh, how many are the sad examples 
 which are placed in the pathway of youth! 
 What powerful attractions the pleasures, riches, 
 and honors of the world present ! What care 
 and zeal the world manifests in all temporal 
 mattei:s! What carelessness, what forgetful- 
 ness, what contempt even, for all that pertains 
 to eternal salvation ! 
 
 Concupiscence, which we carry within us, is a 
 continual source of temptation. Listen to the 
 great Apostle complaining of the constant war 
 which he must sustain against his rebellious 
 flesh: ''Unhappy man that I am, who will 
 deliver me from the body of this death ? " You 
 will ask, perhaps, why God has not allowed 
 even the greatest saints to be exempted frorn 
 temptation. I answer: it was to prove their 
 virtue and to render them more acceptable. 
 The angel said to Tobias : " Because thou art 
 agreeable to God it is necessary that tempta- 
 tion prove thee.'* God allows temptations to 
 teach us our own weakness, to lead us to have 
 recourse to God, to furnish us with occasions 
 of merit, and to hinder us from exposing our- 
 selves to a dangerous security. 
 
 3. Means to trininph. — Since temptation is 
 inevitable in this world it is important for the 
 Christian to employ means lest he succumb to 
 
Bad Books. 97 
 
 it. These means are vigilance over our minds 
 and hearts and senses. The enemy may roar 
 about us, but he cannot enter our hearts unless 
 we open the door for him. " Watch and pray, 
 that you may not enter into temptation. " Thus 
 it is our blessed Lord Himself instructs us. To 
 vigilance we must join our fervent prayer. Of 
 ourselves we are incapable of resisting the 
 least temptation, but with the grace of God, 
 obtained by prayer, there is nothing which we 
 may not conquer. Avoid occasions ; that is, 
 companions, shows, reading. We should gen- 
 erously renounce all that may be for us a sub- 
 ject of temptation. Have courage to combat. 
 We will find this courage in considering the 
 sad effects of consent to temptation, and also 
 the eternal recompense which will be the re- 
 ward of virtue. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XVIII. 
 
 BAD BOOKS. 
 
 *'Be not seduced: evil communications corrupt good 
 manners." — i. Cor. xv. 33. 
 
 WHAT the apostle St. Paul has said of 
 evil conversation may be applied with 
 * • • greater reason to bad books. This is 
 particularly true to-day, when the press exer- 
 7 
 
98 Bad Books. 
 
 cises such a vast influence, and may without 
 the slightest overstatement be called the ruler 
 of the world. I think it is true to say that 
 conversation and social discourse have dimin- 
 ished among men in proportion as books and 
 journals have been multiplied. For exam- 
 ple, observe the conipartments of the railroad 
 or the decks of the steamer or the different 
 waiting-rooms; you will not find a traveller 
 who is not fortified with a book or half-a-dozen 
 newspapers. Every one reads, without wish- 
 ing to exchange a word with his neighbor. 
 Books have become a necessity for the young 
 man, the young girl, the mother of the family, 
 and the man of business. There are journals 
 of every kind, which afford a knowledge of 
 everything. Every one reads them. We can 
 readily understand the influence which this 
 fever for reading must necessarily exercise 
 over the mind and heart. This influence will 
 be salutary or sad according to the character 
 of the reading. Therefore I deem it a duty 
 to warn you, to put you on your guard against 
 bad books. Bad books are the ruin of faith 
 for the mind, the destruction of virtue for the 
 heart, and for mind and heart an evil for which 
 there is no excuse. 
 
 I . The ruin of faith. — There is nothing which 
 is more destructive of faith, religion, and Chris- 
 
Bad Books. 99 
 
 tian piety than the multitude of unhealthy 
 books and journals which circulate to-day in 
 the world. The Council of Trent has declared 
 that one of the most powerful means employed 
 by the heretics of the sixteenth century to 
 attack the truth were the books and pamphlets 
 which were spread broadcast at a very small 
 price. To-day, just the same as three hundred 
 years ago, the same means are employed by 
 Satan to combat the Church of Christ and to 
 ruin faith in souls. 
 
 Error, falsehood, calumny, hypocrisy, and 
 sarcasm have alternately done their work 
 against the truths and the teaching of the 
 Catholic Church. We find these characteris- 
 tics in all the literary productions of infidel- 
 ity and free thought. Error, which comes 
 from a profound ignorance of Catholic teach- 
 ing, even of the simple catechism. In these 
 books, nature, destiny, and chance take the 
 place of God, the Eternal Spirit, Infinite Sanc- 
 tity, the Creator and Sovereign Master of all 
 things. After error comes the lying, effron- 
 tery without disguise, making science an arm 
 against revelation, and it is this same false- 
 hood which distorts both sacred and profane 
 history and excites the multitudes against the 
 Church. There are the grossest and most 
 odious calumnies retailed, calculated to destroy 
 
loo Bad Books. 
 
 virtue, charity, and respect for priests and re- 
 ligious. Again, it is hypocrisy which is hidden 
 in little pamphlets, to turn away souls from 
 the practices of Catholic faith. Sarcasm is 
 also not unfrequently employed to cover the 
 Church and all that is sacred or holy with 
 ridicule. To give you a proof of what I ad- 
 vance, you have only to open the first book 
 or magazine which falls into your hands. 
 When, therefore, you see those poisoned books 
 and papers in the hands of every one, how can 
 it be otherwise than that faith is shaken and 
 finally extinguished ? What poison more com- 
 mon, more pronounced, or sadder in its results? 
 2. The ricin of virtue. — While bad books are 
 the ruin of faith, they are also the ruin of vir- 
 tue. We cannot tell the ravages which they 
 daily make in hearts w^hich should love God 
 above all things. See, for example, a young 
 woman of good family, innocent, pure, and 
 faithful. Her husband regards her as an idol. 
 A man of the world, a reader of romances, a 
 constant visitor of the theatre, a lover of ad- 
 venture, visits her and places in her hands a 
 book, which he says is at once beautiful and 
 interesting. The lady accepts the book and 
 reads it. What passes in her heart and mind 
 I will not attempt to say. To relate the most 
 scandalous stories, to despise honor, morality. 
 
Bad Books. loi 
 
 and modesty, the great and noble virtues of 
 domestic life, to place vice in honor and pre- 
 sent it under the most seductive colors— this 
 seems to be the aim of the novelist and the 
 other writers who deluge the city and country 
 with their unclean and trashy works. How is 
 it possible for a mind or heart to remain pure 
 after reading those pages in which there is 
 only question of intrigue, deceit, and all the 
 refinements of degrading and debasing pas- 
 sions? It is a well-known fact that many go 
 so far as to neglect their duties — even the most 
 important — that they may follow those infa- 
 mous narratives to the end. These pages ex- 
 hale a poison which is certain death to all who 
 read them, a poison which is so powerful that 
 no virtue can resist it. 
 
 3. For mind and heart an evil without excuse, — 
 Whatever may be said of the evils produced 
 by bad reading, there are some who will em- 
 ploy pretexts, more or less specious, to justify 
 them in reading everything which may fall 
 into their hands. We must not forget that a 
 formal law of the Church absolutely forbids 
 Catholics to read books or journals which at- 
 tack faith and morals. Even a priest cannot 
 read such works without the permission of the 
 Holy See. How then can a layman think he 
 is exempted from the rules of the Index ? But 
 
I02 Bad Books. 
 
 it may be urged that the author is celebrated. 
 Would you, therefore, take poison in the shop 
 of a pharmacist just because he has a reputa- 
 tion ? But the book is written in an inimitable 
 style, and I read it to adopt a beautiful phrase- 
 ology. Yet how many books are better writ- 
 ten, and you do not read them because they are 
 good. And again, should a person take a 
 draught of hemlock from a golden cup, would 
 he not be mortally poisoned? Would you 
 plunge a poniard in your heart because the 
 blade is of precious metal? But I read 
 through curiosity. Eve looked upon the for- 
 bidden fruit through curiosity, and curiosity 
 inflamed her appetite, and we know what the 
 result has been for her and for ourselves. 
 No, you cannot plead excuse or pretext of any 
 kind. You are guilty if you read bad books 
 or journals — yes, more guilty than they who 
 sell or propagate them. And as for those who 
 write them — well, they will, one day, wish that 
 human justice could shield them from the in- 
 exorable justice of God. 
 
Human Respect. 103 
 
 INSTRUCTION XIX. 
 
 HUMAN RESPECT. 
 
 '*Be not made the bond-slaves of men." — i. Cor. viii. 23. 
 
 LIBERTY is one of those blessings which 
 men are most anxious to acquire, When 
 • • • they possess it, how jealously they pre- 
 serve it! And with what enthusiasm they 
 speak of it! But oh, how often is liberty la- 
 mentably abused! Yes, we repeat, long live 
 liberty! Man has not been created to be a 
 slave. Christ our Saviour has come on earth 
 precisely to liberate us from the slavery of 
 the devil, and to make us free. The Church 
 also has been established to withdraw us from 
 the tyranny of the great ones of the earth. 
 This twofold liberty of soul and body St. Paul 
 gave to the faithful at Corinth, and he exhorted 
 them to preserve it, and never to become the 
 slaves of men. He said to them : " Be not made 
 the bond-slaves of men. '' And yet, how does it 
 happen that with this instinctive love of liberty 
 there are still so many slaves among us? Yes, 
 there are men, Christian men, who blush be- 
 cause of their baptism, and they do not dare 
 to fulfil their religious duties. There are men. 
 Christian men, who are intimidated by the im- 
 
I04 Human Respect. 
 
 becile smile of a freethinker or the senseless 
 statement of some arrogant ignoramus. 
 
 To these trembling, fearful persons I wish to 
 say, that the human respect of which they are 
 the slaves is a folly, a cowardice, and a crime. 
 
 I. A folly, — What should we say of a man 
 who would refuse to follow the rules of good 
 sense, and who does everything contrary to 
 the rule which reason prescribes? Why, we 
 should say that he was an idiot and a fool. 
 Now, you are a Christian, a privileged child of 
 God, Who has created you and preserved you, 
 and is the absolute Master of your body and 
 soul and all you possess. The most ordinary 
 good sense will tell you that you owe to this 
 God your homage, your love, your devotion, 
 and your gratitude. To the man who has ren- 
 dered you the least service you would not 
 wish to be uncivil. You would, at least, re- 
 turn your sincere thanks. Furthermore, you 
 would not hesitate to thank him publicly. 
 Still, there are some who do not dare to fre- 
 quent the church, or to appear at the public 
 exercises, or to pronounce the holy name of 
 Jesus, just because there are others who do 
 not do these things. There are some who 
 neglect to confess their sins or make their 
 Easter duty, and to fulfil their other du- 
 ties of religion, through fear of being re- 
 
Human Respect. 105 
 
 marked, or of being exposed to the criticism 
 of people whom they justly despise. In a 
 word, through human respect they do not dare 
 to express their gratitude to God. It is noth- 
 ing short of folly to act against all the lights 
 of reason, which tell us that it is just and right 
 and proper to publicly honor and thank our 
 Sovereign Master. Again, by huinan respect 
 you sacrifice your soul, your happiness, and 
 your glory for eternity to the caprices or rail- 
 leries of people to whom you owe nothing, 
 who have no claim on you whatever. It is of 
 slaves to human respect that the psalmist has 
 said : " They trembled with fear when there 
 was no reason to fear.'* 
 
 2. A cowardice. — The keenest injury, per- 
 haps the greatest outrage, which one may in- 
 flict on another is to apply to him the name 
 of coward. Yet the slave to human respect 
 merits this appellation from every point of 
 view. The coward is one who is wanting in 
 courage, or who lacks strength of will; and 
 the weaker his enemy, and the more shame- 
 ful is the burden which he accepts, the more 
 cowardly he is. Now, I ask, where is the 
 strength or courage of that man who does not 
 dare to fulfil his religious duties — those same 
 duties which are daily performed by multitudes 
 of women and children ? Whom does he fear? 
 
io6 Human Respect. 
 
 Does he see, as the martyrs did, tyrants or 
 fiends in human form with shining sv/ords or 
 burning torches? By no means; but only 
 weak and timid men like himself, who v^ould 
 not put a finger upon him. At most, in a 
 cowardly undertone, they will call him de- 
 vout, hypocrite, or Jesuit in disguise, etc., etc. 
 This, however, seems to be enough to make 
 him deaf to the voice of conscience, forgetful 
 of the menaces of God, as well as the promises 
 which He has often made. The slave to hu- 
 man respect permits his dignity, honor, reason, 
 liberty of thought and word and action to be 
 enchained. Instead of accepting the paternal 
 authority of God he submits to the caprice of a 
 thousand tyrants ! His slavery is all the more 
 shameful, since he bows down before the vilest 
 and basest passions of those whom he fears, 
 as they are generally not only impious men, 
 but also corrupt. 
 
 3. A crime, — Be not deceived. Human re- 
 spect is not only foolish and cowardly, it is 
 more: it is a crime. It is even a kind of 
 apostasy and idolatry. The Christian who 
 was dragged by a tyrant to the foot of an idol 
 was looked upon as guilty of apostasy if he 
 consented to burn incense before it. Are you 
 less criminal — you who renounce your God 
 through human respect, and not through fear of 
 
Human Respect. 107 
 
 death? You area perjurer, since you violate 
 all your engagements. Did you not promise 
 at baptism to remain faithful to Jesus Christ 
 and take Him for a model ? To-day you blush 
 for Him and His doctrine, and you expose 
 yourself to be denied by Him before His 
 Father. Hear His words : '' He who will deny 
 Me before men, I will deny him before My 
 Father Who is in heaven." And this will not 
 be before some men only, but before the as- 
 sembled world, and you will be an object of 
 confusion. You would excuse yourself by say- 
 ing that you had preserved the faith in your 
 heart, and that the concessions you made to 
 the world were only apparent but not real. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour declares that whoever 
 is not openly with Him is against Him. You 
 wish to please the world and not to distinguish 
 yourself from the great number? St. Paul 
 tells you that on these conditions you cannot 
 be a servant of Jesus Christ. " Should I strive 
 to please men I could not be a servant of 
 Christ." Remember your glorious title of 
 Christian and your immortal destiny. Take a 
 pride in belonging to Christ and His Church. 
 Courageously trample under your feet the idol 
 of ridicule and human respect, and serve God 
 generously. "To serve is to reign" in time 
 and in eternity. 
 
io8 Co7iverston, 
 
 INSTRUCTION XX. 
 
 CONVERSION. 
 
 "Delay not to be converted to the Lord." — Ecclus. 
 V. 8. 
 
 AS often as we read the pages of Holy 
 Scripture we shall find the call for con- 
 • • • version frequently repeated. God never 
 ceases to recall sinners to Himself, or to win 
 them to His service and His love. He wishes 
 to save them. "God's will is our sanctifica- 
 tion. *' For the man who has not entirely for- 
 gotten that he has an immortal soul, and who 
 has not renounced his hopes for eternal hap- 
 piness, there is only one means of pleasing 
 God and regaining his rights to his heavenly 
 inheritance. This one means is to put in 
 practice the advice which the Holy Spirit gives 
 him: "Delay not to be converted to God." 
 If he remains under the weight of his iniqui- 
 ties, or sinks to sleep in his guilty habits and 
 perseveres in his culpable indifference to all 
 religious duty, then he exposes himself to 
 final unhappiness. We will consider, there- 
 fore, the nature, the qualities, and the motives 
 of a true conversion. 
 
 I. TIic nature. — What is conversion? It is 
 a complete change in our life. It suggests 
 
Conversion. 109 
 
 the idea of a return, a reform, and a trans- 
 formation. What must the traveller do who 
 has lost his way ? On reaching a certain point 
 of his journey he discovers his error, or some 
 charitable person warns him of his mistake ; 
 at once he retraces his steps until he has 
 gained the proper pathway. When the work- 
 man has made an error in his calculations, or 
 has used defective materials, he at once stops 
 the work and resumes his labors under better 
 conditions. What does the laborer do whose 
 field produces only poor or indifferent fruit? 
 He begins by transforming and enriching the 
 soil, that he may reap an abundant harvest. 
 These are only so many comparisons to make 
 us understand in what conversion consists 
 from a spiritual point of view. 
 
 For the proud and haughty conversion 
 means humility and only a just estimate of his 
 worth. For the avaricious, a complete detach- 
 ment of his heart from that inordinate love of 
 earthly goods and the practice of alms accord- 
 ing to his means. For the envious, no more 
 jealousy of his neighbor, and to bless God for 
 all He has been pleased to grant to others. 
 For the voluptuous, a full renunciation of his 
 pleasures, and an earnest effort to become 
 chaste and pure in his thoughts, words, and 
 actions. For the intemperate, to practise 
 
no Conversion, 
 
 sobriety and self -mortification. For the wilful 
 and vindictive, to become meek and humble 
 of heart and pardon the injuries done him. 
 For the idle, a love for labor and to bear fatigue 
 heroically. For the worldly, to repress his 
 luxury and curtail his foolish extravagance. 
 For the blasphemer, to correct his vile hSbit. 
 For the profaner of holy-days, to cease from 
 all labor and perform works of piety on these 
 days. Conversion is to renounce a criminal, 
 worldly, or useless life, and begin a new life 
 according to the principles of Christianity and 
 the rules of the Gospel. To be converted we 
 must pass from evil to good, from good to 
 better, and from a better to a perfect life. 
 Conversion thus understood is absolutely nec- 
 essary for every sinner. It is a pressing need 
 for languishing and arid souls. •For the just 
 conversion is an increase of merit, which will 
 be worthy of magnificent reward. 
 
 2 . Qualities, — Conversion is true and genuine 
 when it is sincere ^ entire^ efficacious^ and persever- 
 ing. Our conversion will be sincere when it 
 is not limited by some exterior demonstrations, 
 but if it springs from the heart which has 
 been touched by grace and disposed to do 
 everything to repair the injury done to God 
 by sin. To be entire conversion should omit 
 nothing in the fulfilment of the precepts or 
 
Conversion, in 
 
 duties. A man would not be entirely con- 
 verted who merely restored ill-gotten goods to 
 their owner, or fulfilled the precepts of Easter ; 
 he must also abandon his bad companions and 
 the dangerous occasions which induced him to 
 commit sin. Conversion must be efficacious, 
 that is to say, it should be manifest in works. 
 It should employ those means which have 
 been indicated, to repair the past, to assure 
 the present, and be a guaranty for the future. 
 In a word, efficacious conversion may be rec- 
 ognized if you are careful to expiate the past 
 by penance, to repair scandal by good exam- 
 ple, and to be watchful lest you enter upon 
 those occasions which have hitherto caused 
 you to fall into sin. 
 
 Our conversion should be also constant and 
 persevering. Should we confess our sins and 
 receive Holy Communion at Easter, or on the 
 occasion of a mission or retreat, and quickly 
 fall again into our old habits, this cannot be 
 the sign of a true conversion. It will not- 
 suffice for the traveller to begin his journey : 
 he must continue if he would reach his desti- 
 nation. It is even so with our conversion. It 
 is only the beginning of the journey to heaven, 
 but constant perseverance is the essential con- 
 dition of arriving at this blissful termination. 
 
 3. Motives. — In fine, conversion is necessary, 
 
112 Convei'sion, 
 
 and this conversion should begin at once. And 
 why ? Because now you have the time, the grace, 
 and the g-ood will. These three circumstances 
 are absolutely necessary for every sinner to 
 return to God. Time : to-day is yours to em- 
 ploy in the service of God and the care of 
 your eternal salvation, but you cannot count 
 on to-morrow or next week or next year or at 
 the end of life. " If, therefore, to-day you 
 hear the voice of God, harden not your hearts." 
 Grace is now yours, and at this moment is 
 waiting to enter your heart. The word which 
 you now hear is the word, yes, the very voice 
 of God Himself. This voice urges and en- 
 treats you: "Son, give Me thy heart." But, 
 woe to you if you refuse to accept it! God 
 will one day say to you : '' I have called you in 
 the acceptable time." I have expected from 
 you one single word of repentance. I was dis- 
 posed to receive you with open arms, to pardon 
 you everything, and still you have remained 
 deaf to my invitation. Good will : now you 
 have this good will, but if you postpone your 
 return to God, a long established habit of evil, 
 vice, and crime deeply rooted, and countless 
 insurmountable obstacles will take away not 
 only your good will, but even the thought of 
 serious reflection and the necessary change 
 of life to be truly converted. " With desola- 
 
Exam{natio77 of Conscience. 113 
 
 tion is the earth made desolate, because there 
 is no one that considers in his heart." 
 
 Therefore, do not postpone your conversion 
 until some other time. Now, this very day, 
 return to God; be converted to Him, and live 
 in such a manner that you may be truly worthy 
 of the recompense which Jesus Christ has 
 promised only to His good and faithful ser- 
 vants. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXI. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 '*I will recount to Thee all my years in the bitterness of 
 my soul." — Is. xxxviii. 15. 
 
 THE king Ezechias was miraculously healed 
 of a mortal malady, and was assured by 
 • • • the prophet Isaias that the Lord had 
 granted him fifteen years more of life. This 
 signal favor was for him another reason for 
 humiliating himself before his Creator, and 
 for recounting, in the bitterness of his soul, 
 all his thoughts and w^ords and works. The 
 Christian should have this same holy disposi- 
 tion, since he wishes to be reconciled to God, 
 and to prepare himself by the sacrament of 
 penance to obtain the pardon of his sins. 
 This return to God, this examination of con- 
 
114 Examination of Conscience. 
 
 science, this review of conduct, particularly 
 merits your attention, because the integrity 
 and the sincerity of your confession depend 
 upon it. On this examination of conduct also 
 depend the extent of your repentance and 
 resolutions for the future. " I will recount to 
 Thee all my years, in the bitterness of my 
 soul." 
 
 You should, therefore, be penetrated with 
 the sentiments contained in these words, and 
 should meditate on the necessity, the qualities, 
 and the rules which you should observe in the 
 good examination of your conscience. 
 
 I. The necessity, — Let us say at once that an 
 examination of conscience is a strict scrutiny 
 of all our sins, with the intention of declaring 
 them in the sacred tribunal of penance. That 
 this preliminary examination is absolutely 
 necessary the holy Council of Trent teaches 
 in the most precise terms : '' It is necessary for 
 penitents to declare in confession all the griev- 
 ous sins they can recall after a diligent exam- 
 ination." It will not suffice to confess our sins 
 in a general way ; we must reveal them one 
 by one, distinctly, their number, species, and 
 circumstances which are notably aggravating. 
 It is, therefore, necessary to make a detailed 
 examination. Contrition, too, must extend to 
 all the sins we have committed ; and how shall 
 
Examination of Conscience, 115 
 
 we repent of those sins which we do not know ? 
 The necessity of amending and correcting our 
 life, of forming good resolutions for the future, 
 requires the knowledge of our past sins, that we 
 may not commit them again. After confession 
 our conscience should be tranquil, without 
 trouble or anxiety. It is only a serious exam- 
 ination which can give us this tranquillity and 
 assurance of the sincerity and integrity of our 
 confession. In fine, to confess our sins with- 
 out suitable preparation, without having made 
 an examination with all the care which we 
 should bring to a matter of such great impor- 
 tance, would expose us to make a defective or 
 invalid confession. For the sake of illustra- 
 tion, we may employ a comparison. We have 
 a spiritual account to settle with God, just as a 
 material account should be arranged with our 
 creditor. When an account is presented to us 
 for settlement we do not pay our money in a 
 careless, haphazard manner; we are careful to 
 read each item of the account, and verify the 
 addition of the sum, and thus our business 
 is settled satisfactorily, without detriment to 
 either party engaged. We should treat the 
 affairs of our conscience with at least the 
 same attention we give to the ordinary mat- 
 ters of our daily life. 
 
 2. Qualities, — A good examination of con- 
 
ii6 Examination of Conscience. 
 
 science should be sincere, diligent, and me- 
 thodical. 
 
 Sincerity consists in the desire to know and 
 avow all our sins, just as they are in the eyes 
 of God : our most secret thoughts and desires, 
 our words and deeds of whatever kind they 
 may be — all should be the object of a sincere 
 examination. God knows all and sees all. It 
 is impossible to conceal anything from Him. 
 Why then should we not examine our con- 
 science frankly and fully ? Hence David says : 
 "Against Thee only have I sinned, and in Thy 
 sight have I done evil." 
 
 A diligent examination demands that we em- 
 ploy all the care which we usually bring to a 
 serious and important matter. The Gospel 
 tells us that a woman has lost a drachma ; see 
 what diligence she employs to find it. 
 
 We must also give a suitable time to this 
 examination, in proportion to the time which 
 has elapsed since the last confession. 
 
 It is not only good, but useful, to perform 
 this duty with method. This will render the 
 examination comparatively easy, and will be 
 the means of avoiding disorder, confusion, and 
 incoherence. In fact, it will enable us to avoid 
 everything which not infrequently makes con- 
 fession a true torment for the penitent and the 
 confessor. Your examination will be methodi- 
 
Exainination of Conscience. 117 
 
 cal if you go through successively the com- 
 mandments of God and the Church, the deadly 
 sins, the particular duties of your age, your 
 condition, your state of life, to give to your- 
 self a true account of the faults you may have 
 committed. 
 
 3. Rules for a good examination, — The practi- 
 cal rules for a good examination consist, first, 
 in placing yourself in the presence of God, and 
 imploring the light of the Holy Spirit to weigh 
 well the thoughts, the desires, and the most 
 secret dispositions of our heart. We should 
 say with the prophet: " Lord, give light to my 
 eyes, that I may not sleep in death. " Secondly, 
 we should recall the faults with which our con- 
 science is most heavily laden. Ordinarily, 
 these faults will be the first which w411 present 
 themselves to our memory and which will pro- 
 foundly humiliate us before God. Then let us 
 see if we have been faithful to the good reso- 
 lutions taken in our last confession. Is it not 
 probable that if we have forgotten them we will 
 fall again into the same habits ? For the most 
 part the sins for which we must reproach our- 
 selves have their source in our desires or the 
 dominant vice. We should strive to know this 
 well. This will be for us the thread which 
 will conduct and guide us through the intrica- 
 cies of conscience. Happy shall we be if we 
 
ii8 Death of the Sinner. 
 
 make a severe examination of our faults before 
 God! Happier still shall we be if this ex- 
 amination be accompanied by sorrow and bit- 
 terness of heart, like that of the holy King 
 Ezechias : '' In the bitterness of my soul I 
 will recount my days." Our examination will 
 then be for us the prelude of pardon and the 
 pledge of eternal reconciliation. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXII. 
 
 DEATH OF THE SINNER. 
 
 "The death of the wicked is very evil." — Ps. xxxiii.22. 
 
 DEATH is so terrifying that the most cour- 
 ageous and fearless man is struck with 
 • • • fear at the mere remembrance of it. The 
 most holy souls tremble at the thought of 
 death. Not, indeed, that they are not disposed 
 to accept it, even as Christ the Saviour did, as a 
 supreme act of expiation and to satisfy eternal 
 justice, which has been offended by sin ; but 
 they fear death because it is immediately fol- 
 lowed by the inexorable judgments of God, 
 Who will demand an account of the slightest 
 imperfections and the use which we shall 
 have made of the least of His graces. One 
 single thought alone can assure them at that 
 
Death of the Sinner, 119 
 
 terrible moment, and that is the infinite mercy 
 of Him Who has declared that He wishes not 
 the death of a sinner, but his life. But what 
 shall we say of the death of the impenitent 
 sinner- — the sinner who has become hardened, 
 and, as it were, petrified in his evil ways? 
 What a death will it be, O my God ! Thou 
 hast revealed it to us by a single word of Holy 
 Scripture. It will be horrible, terrible ! '' The 
 death of the sinner is most lamentable." Yes, 
 it w^ill be horrible by the regret for the past, 
 by the anguish of the present, and by the de- 
 spair and hopelessness for the future. 
 
 I. By regret for the past, — There are to-day 
 many men who have forgotten God, or v/ho 
 have outraged or despised His holy name. In 
 their discourses and writings they have vilified 
 Him. They have regarded Him as some old 
 phantom, whose name should not be even 
 mentioned in the schools. And now one of 
 these men, who, having denied his baptism, 
 and having made for himself a god of money, 
 honors, and vile pleasures, through sickness or 
 old age is lying on his death-bed. His days 
 are counted, death has come. Willingly or 
 unwillingly he must submit to the universal 
 decree. No more occupations, no more busi- 
 ness or pleasures will come to absorb him, or 
 serve as a distraction for him. At last, in 
 
I20 Death of the Sinner, 
 
 sight of death, he sees the nothingness of the 
 world and the reality of those things which are 
 eternal. That which he was wont to call the 
 prejudice of childhood, superstition, nonsense, 
 he now recognizes by its true name. It is 
 Christianity with its beliefs, its precepts, its 
 duties, which he has trampled under his feet. 
 He now sees his joys, his pleasures, his good 
 cheer in their true character — most sinful. 
 That proud, ambitious, avaricious, voluptuous, 
 and impious man, the pretended freethinker 
 and enemy of God's Church, now cries out m 
 the depth of his conscience, like Antiochus: '' I 
 now remember all the evil I have done." The 
 passions which once flattered him turn against 
 him as so many avenging poniards : " Thy 
 malice condemns thee.*' 
 
 2. By the anguish of the present, — If the death 
 of the sinner will be rendered dreadful by the 
 remembrance of the past, it will be still more 
 dreadful by the anguish of the present. The 
 moment has at length arrived when he must 
 bid farewell to the accumulated wealth, the 
 sumptuous dwellings, the costly equipages, 
 and the splendid banquets. Constant enjoy- 
 ment was the dream of this ambitious man. 
 He saw that he was well established in the 
 world, his income was more than enough and 
 daily increasing ; he was flattered every hour 
 
Death of the Sinner. 121 
 
 in his earthly paradise — and yet, in the twink- 
 ling of an eye he is despoiled of everything 
 which his heart loved. What an anguish to 
 part from those things which he adored and to 
 which he devoted every effort of his life ! 
 
 Parents, relatives, friends, companions of 
 his pleasures, and accomplices in his luxuries 
 are present, and are the saddened spectators of 
 his agony. He must now bid them all an 
 eternal farewell. From their lips the unfort- 
 unate man hears only the ordinary commiser- 
 ations and the every- day words of condolence. 
 This is the last act of a commonplace and 
 odious comedy. Once the curtain has fallen, 
 and the last sound of the play has been silenced, 
 then the eternal hisses will begin which have 
 been reserved for all the enemies of God and 
 of Christ, His Son. Torn by force from all his 
 earthly surroundings, from all his transitory 
 fame and glory, the sinner must suffer the 
 anguish of being separated from his body, 
 which had been his only idol during life. To 
 this body he has sacrificed his soul. In a few 
 instants it will be only a repulsive corpse, 
 w^hich even his best friends will hasten to bury 
 several feet in the earth. The sculptured 
 marble or the rich and pompous mausoleum 
 will not protect him from the w^orms. They 
 will take their nourishment from his pampered 
 
122 Death of the Sinner. 
 
 body. But the poor soul, alas ! is the food for 
 fire eternal. 
 
 3. Despair for the future, — We are speaking 
 of the sinner's soul. But during life has 
 he not wished to ignore it? Yes, he has 
 wished to ignore it and made every effort to 
 forget it, but his reason and his conscience, in 
 presence of death, oblige him to recognize it. 
 The future which he denied and ridiculed so 
 much has now come with all its reality. The 
 sinner sees, seated on His throne, resplendent 
 with glory, that Jesus Whom the Catholic 
 creed calls " the Judge of the living and the 
 dead." He hears the first words of accusation 
 addressed to him : '' Give an account of your 
 stewardship. " Servant of God, give an account 
 of the goods confided to your administration. 
 These goods were not yours. They were a 
 trust only. What have you done with your 
 soul, your reason, those faculties, those talents 
 which you should have employed for the best 
 interests and the glory of your Master? He 
 sees himself without excuse, and condemned 
 without a single extenuating circumstance. 
 He hears, also, the awful, eternal sentence 
 which will resound in his ears always : " Depart 
 from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" 
 
 His predecessors are already in this fire, and 
 their cry of despair has reached his ears. 
 
The Prodigal, 123 
 
 There is the bad rich man, who expiates his 
 immoralities, his luxuries, and his avarice in 
 these devouring and inextinguishable Jfiames: 
 "I am tormented in these flames." There is 
 the multitude of tyrants, persecutors, assassins, 
 seducers, and blasphemers, whose roaring and 
 gnashing of teeth resound throughout their 
 infernal abode. 
 
 Confronted with this despairing prospect, 
 the impenitent sinner breathes out his last 
 sigh on earth. They who are the witnesses of 
 such a death depart from the bedside and re- 
 peat instinctively, again and again, that there 
 is nothing more frightful than the death of 
 the sinner. Instinctively, also, they turn to 
 God and ask of Him that best of blessings — 
 that when He shall call them hence they may 
 die in His friendship and grace : " May my 
 soul die the death of the just." 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXIII. 
 
 THE PRODIGAL. 
 "A certain man had two sons." — St. Luke xv. ii. 
 
 OF all the parables in the Gospel narrative 
 there is certainly not one which presents 
 • • • to us the infinite mercy of God toward 
 sinners in a more striking manner than the 
 
124 T^^^ Prodigal. 
 
 parable of the prodigal. This man who had 
 two sons is God Himself, and these sons are 
 all mankind. The elder son, who is always 
 respectful and submissive to his father, and 
 who never leaves the paternal house, represents 
 the just; while the younger, proclaiming his 
 liberty and independence, and demanding his 
 portion of the inheritance, and departing for 
 the far-off country, is a most faithful picture 
 or image of the sinner. The story of the 
 prodigal is the story of our own life. Let us 
 meditate and think well on it; and if we find 
 that we have imitated this rebellious son in 
 his guilty conduct let us imitate him also in his 
 repentance. Moreover, we should thank Our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for having re- 
 vealed to us, in this parable, all the tenderness 
 and all the mercy and love of which His Sacred 
 Heart is capable. 
 
 We will follow the prodigal in his departure 
 from his father's house, also in his return and 
 in his reception. 
 
 I. Li his departure, — Our blessed' Saviour 
 tells us that a father had two sons whom he 
 loved equally, lavished on them the same care 
 and affection, and reserved for them the same 
 inheritance. And, in fact, does not God love 
 all men ? Does He not distribute to them the 
 same blessings, and is it not His wish to save 
 
The Prodigal. 125 
 
 each and every one? And the younger son 
 said to his father: ''Give me the portion of 
 the inheritance which belongs to me/' The 
 younger son, he who has greatest need of the 
 love, attention, watchfulness, and assistance 
 of his father, makes the demand : " Give me 
 the part which is mine/' He is carried away 
 by the inexperience of youth, by passion, by 
 rashness. He is unwilling to live longer un- 
 der the authority of his father. He presumes 
 on a right which he has not, and arrogantly 
 demands an inheritance which is not yet his 
 own. On examination we shall discover that 
 this is precisely the conduct of many a Chris- 
 tian to-day. The Christian forgets oftentimes 
 his baptism and confirmation, his first com- 
 munion, and all the graces he has received 
 from God. He is unwilling to bear the burden 
 of religion and to submit to its painful practices, 
 and longs and sighs for freedom and independ- 
 ence. But the prodigal quickly leaves his 
 father's house, after having gathered together 
 all that belonged to him, and then departs to 
 a far-off country. Like to the prodigal the 
 sinner abandons the Church, renounces all his 
 pious practices, and goes far, very far away 
 into the dark region of impiety, incredulity, 
 and all worldly folly. Then he enters upon 
 a life which is a continual round of ex- 
 
126 The Prodigal. 
 
 cesses of every kind, and in a little while he 
 has dissipated all that he had for his sub- 
 sistence. Fortune, health, honor, generous 
 sentiments, all have been swallowed up in 
 intemperance, in play, and in luxury. In that 
 unknown country, where the unfortunate 
 prodigal cast his lot, famine comes with all its 
 consequent horrors. At the same time his 
 appetite is most insatiable, and his vices have 
 opened in his heart an abyss which nothing 
 can fill. He feels the torment of hunger. 
 What a condition for him I He, the petted 
 son of the household, with every wish grati- 
 fied, has not now even a piece of bread! He 
 is reduced to the last extremity. He engages 
 himself to a resident of that desolate country, 
 and he now becomes a keeper of swine. Is 
 not this a humiliation for him ? Yes, but there 
 are still greater depths to which he must de- 
 scend. He sees the swine gorging themselves 
 with their vile nourishment, and he, too, feels 
 the pangs of hunger and wishes to eat of this 
 food which has been prepared for the vilest 
 beasts. There is no one there who will give 
 him even the absolute necessaries of life. Poor 
 prodigal! — we may add, poor sinner! he has 
 become the most unhappy of men; he has 
 descended lower than the animals which are 
 regarded as most unclean. 
 
The Prodigal. 127 
 
 2. His return, — The depth of his misery, 
 his complete abandonment, and the solitude in 
 which he is, prompt him to serious reflection. 
 He remembers the abundance which the ser- 
 vants enjoy in his father's house. He com- 
 pares their condition with his own. He says: 
 " How many servants in my father's house 
 abound with bread, and I here perish with 
 hunger?" And so it is with the sinner. He 
 sees the void which sin has made in his soul. 
 He sees also the sad solitude which surrounds 
 him, and recalls the happiness, of so many 
 Christians who have remained faithful to God, 
 enjoying peace and happiness, while he is ab- 
 andoned to all the horrors of despair. Yet he 
 has not the courage of the prodigal to arise and 
 return to his father and ask his pardon. " I 
 will arise," said the prodigal, " and I will go to 
 my father. " He now recognizes he was wrong 
 to leave his father's house. However, he will 
 return. He had, it is true, demanded his in- 
 heritance with greatest irreverence, but he will 
 return and say in all humility : " Father, I have 
 sinned against heaven and against you.'* He 
 has been a most unworthy son. He considers 
 himself honored if they will only regard him 
 as a servant : " Make me one of thy hired 
 servants." Promptly and generously he acts 
 on his resolution : " And rising up, he goes to 
 
128 The Prodigal 
 
 his father." O sinner! behold the senti^ 
 ments of repentance, humility, and confidence 
 which should lead you to God the Father, 
 Whom you have so shamefully abandoned. 
 However far you have wandered, however 
 deeply you have sinned, after the example of 
 the prodigal generously and courageously 
 say: " I will arise and go to my Father.*' 
 
 3. His reception, — We now see the prodigal 
 journeying to his father's house. What wel- 
 come can he expect, or what welcome will be 
 given him? It is now that pity and mercy 
 will be manifested in all their magnificence. 
 Never forget that, in the parable, God is the 
 father. When the prodigal was still far 
 off, his father saw him and was touched 
 with compassion for him. " And running 
 toward him, he cast himself upon his neck and 
 tenderly kissed him.'' There is no question 
 of reprimands justly merited, of severe re- 
 proaches, or of salutary chastisements. The 
 repentant son humbles himself, avows his 
 faults, and returns w'ith confidence. This is 
 all that the justice of the father asks. In his 
 heart there is only pity and mercy. He said 
 to the servants : *' Bring to rny son the garment 
 of his first innocence, place on his finger the 
 ring which is the insignia of his rank. Put 
 sandals on his feet, kill the fatted calf and 
 
Firm Purpose of Amendme^it, 129 
 
 serve it. Let the festival begin, for my son, 
 whom we thought dead, is come to life; he 
 was lost, but now he is found.'* Every one 
 in the household participates in the joy of this 
 father, whose heart is filled with happiness. 
 
 This touching scene is every day renewed in 
 the Church of Jesus Christ, and in each sincere 
 conversion we see the prodigal returning to 
 his Father's house. When sinners leave the 
 far-off country of their iniquities God, the lov- 
 ing Father, even anticipates their return. He 
 casts Himself on their necks, presses them to 
 His Sacred Heart, and as a sign of perfect rec- 
 onciliation he bids them to sit down at the 
 sacred banquet. This is, here on earth, the 
 pledge of that banquet without end to which 
 He will invite them in a blessed eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXIV. 
 
 FIRM PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT. 
 "Go and sin no more." — St. John viii. 11. 
 
 THESE words were addressed by our 
 blessed Saviour to a woman whom He had 
 • • • absolved from a grave sin. They clearly 
 express the dispositions which should animate 
 the sinner who has just received the pardon- 
 9 
 
130 Firm Purpose of Ai7ie72dinent. 
 
 ing of his sins in the tribunal of penance. 
 Repentance for past faults cannot be true and 
 sincere without a firm resolution to avoid 
 them for the future, and without the good 
 resolution of never falling again into sin. The 
 penitent should represent to himself our 
 blessed Saviour in the person of the priest, 
 saying : '' Behold the burden of your iniquities 
 is taken away. You are now pure and free 
 from every stain. Go, but be careful to sin 
 no more in the future." He should put in 
 practice what he has said in his act of contri- 
 tion: "My God, I would rather die than oflfend 
 Thee mortally." We will consider the neces- 
 sity of a firm purpose of amendment, the 
 conditions it should have, and the means to 
 render it efficacious. 
 
 I. Necessity, — Ordinary good sense is suffi- 
 cient to teach us that for one who has sinned 
 there can be no true repentance or pardon 
 if he will not promise to avoid for the future 
 those faults for which he has asked absolution. 
 Would a father pardon his child who would 
 not promise better conduct in the future ? The 
 master forgives the shortcomings of his ser- 
 vant on the condition of better service in the 
 future. The king grants a commutation of 
 the punishment to the condemned only after a 
 promise of amendment. And how can God, 
 
Fij'in Purpose of Amendment. 131 
 
 Who is infinitely just and merciful, pardon 
 sins if penitents will not form the resolution 
 of never offending Him again? The Holy- 
 Spirit by the mouth of the prophet Ezechiel 
 tells us : " Cast away from you all your trans- 
 gressions by which you have transgressed, and 
 make to yourselves a new heart and a new 
 spirit/' That is to say, separate yourself from 
 sin and its occasions, and entirely change 
 your affections, sentiments, and dispositions. 
 Among all those sinners who have been con- 
 verted you will not find a single one who has 
 returned to the friendship and love of God 
 without making the generous resolution of 
 renouncing sin forever, and manifesting by 
 the reform of his life the sincerity of his good 
 resolution. A holy father says : " He who re- 
 sumes his former habits while seeming to re- 
 pent is not a penitent, but a man who deceives 
 himself." St. Paul teljs the Galatians that 
 God cannot be mocked with impunity, and " you 
 will reap what you have sown." Through de- 
 fect of firm purpose of amendment you Vv^ll 
 make only an appearance of penance, you will 
 trifle with the patience and mercy of God, you 
 will not avoid the dangerous occasions, you 
 will expose yourselves to the same dangers, 
 you will reap what you have sown, and your 
 inheritance will be that of the hypocrite. 
 
132 Firm Purpose of Amendment, 
 
 2. Condition, — The firm purpose of which 
 there is question is not merely a vague, indef- 
 inite promise, or desire, or wish to do better 
 for the future. No, more than that is neces- 
 sary. There must be in the will a strong, 
 firm, and generous resolve to die rather than 
 to voluntarily fall into sin. True contrition 
 supposes this. If you have the firm purpose 
 never to offend God you will allow nothing to 
 shake your determination. You will be in- 
 fluenced neither by the attractions of the world 
 nor its pleasures, neither by the violence of 
 temptations nor by the difficulties you will find 
 in the practice of virtue, nor by the rigors of 
 a penitential life. You will say with David, 
 " I have sworn and determined to keep the 
 judgments of Thy justice.'* This firm pur- 
 pose must extend to a flight from all mortal 
 sin and to the observance of all the com- 
 mandments of God and His Church. It will 
 matter little to a sick man if he is cured of 
 nine mortal maladies if there is still a tenth 
 which will surely be the occasion of his death. 
 It will serve you nothing to avoid blasphemy 
 if you will persevere in the commission of 
 other grievous sin. With the royal prophet 
 you should say : '' Though I should live an 
 eternity I am resolved, my God, to keep Thy 
 holy law." It is not for a week, or a month, 
 
Firm Puj-pose of Amendment. 133 
 
 or a year, but for your whole life, that you 
 should resolve to renounce sin, and to serve 
 God with your whole heart, your whole soul, 
 and with all your strength. Your resolution 
 will be efficacious if you employ those means 
 which your confessor will suggest to insure 
 your perseverance in good. 
 
 3. Meafis. — And now what means shall we 
 employ to obtain and preserve this firm pur- 
 pose ? The first of all is prayer and confidence 
 in God. To desire and to do good is a grace 
 which cannot come to us except from our 
 Father Who is in heaven. St. Paul says to the 
 Philippians : '' It is God Who works in you to 
 will and to accomplish.'' Ask, therefore, this 
 good will. Our Lord assures you that He will 
 grant it. But as the Apostle also teaches, you 
 must co-operate with grace by making constant 
 and generous efforts to be faithful to your 
 resolutions. Act as if you had only your own 
 strength to rely on, and pray as if you could 
 do nothing without the assistance of grace. 
 
 If you wish to have a powerful preservative 
 against the danger of falling into sin, and 
 of forgetting your good resolutions, follow 
 the counsel which the Holy Spirit gives you in 
 the book of Ecclesiasticus: " In all thy works 
 remember thy last end, and thou shalt never 
 sin.*' Yes, in all your works, in all the cir- 
 
134 Flight from Occasions of Sin. 
 
 cumstances of your life, keep the remembrance 
 of your last end — death, judgment, heaven, and 
 hell. Think of the recompense you will one 
 day receive for your fidelity here on earth, 
 and to a certainty you will never sin, never do 
 aught which will make you forfeit this reward. 
 These grave and serious thoughts will be as a 
 torrent of cold water thrown on the fires of 
 concupiscence. Therefore, if you are constant 
 in your good resolutions, faithful to your 
 promises, unshaken in your firm purpose, you 
 will merit to hear from the lips of our blessed 
 Saviour the consoling words, " Well done, 
 good and faithful servant, enter into the joy 
 of thy Lord." 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXV. 
 
 FLIGHT FROM OCCASIONS OF SIN. 
 
 "He that loveth danger shall perish in it." — Ecclus. 
 iii. 27. 
 
 A YOUNG man once asked of a pious soli- 
 tary the best means to avoid sin and to 
 • • • persevere in the service of God. He re- 
 ceived this answer : The first means is to avoid 
 sin, the second is to avoid sin, and the third 
 is also to avoid all the occasions of sin. Does 
 not daily experience teach us that the occasions 
 
Flight from Occasions of Sin. 135 
 
 are, for the most part, the cause of the sins 
 which are committed? Since our poor miser- 
 able nature leads us to evil, what is neces- 
 sary to make us succumb? A circumstance 
 is sufficient — the frequentation of a place, the 
 meeting of some particular person, the sight 
 of some object which acts on our imagination, 
 on our heart, on our will. Then we are led on 
 to the commission of that which has been for- 
 bidden by the law of God. When we reflect 
 on the past, are we not compelled to avow it, 
 that it was in this or that circumstance, on 
 some special occasion, that our innocence was 
 first shipwrecked, and that by the very same oc- 
 casion we have ended, perhaps, by contracting 
 the habit of sin ? We will then consider what 
 has been the occasion of sin for us, the motives 
 we have to avoid these occasions, and the pre- 
 texts we allege for not flying from these occa- 
 sions. 
 
 I . What has been for us the occasion of sin ? — 
 An occasion of sin is every external circum- 
 stance which by itself or by our frailty leads 
 us to offend God. A person whom you visit, 
 and whose conversation is hostile to religion 
 or virtue, a suspicious house, perverse friends, 
 bad books, obscene pictures, scandalous shows, 
 where impiety or immorality is paraded — 
 these are so many bad occasions, so many 
 
136 Flight from Occasions of Sin. 
 
 dangerous circumstances. The occasion is 
 proximate if there is grave or probable danger 
 of falling. It is remote if the danger is small. 
 The occasion is absolute when it is dangerous 
 for all without exception. The occasion is 
 voluntary when it may be avoided easily, and 
 involuntary if there is an impossibility of avoid- 
 ing it or a very great difficulty. If we con- 
 sider these several circumstances, it will be 
 easy for each one to recognize what are the 
 occasions of sin. Young men and women, 
 you should fly from those friends whom you 
 visit, and with whom you attend those guilty 
 amusements and questionable places. Young 
 people, those reunions, assemblies, dances, 
 balls, and picnics are so many occasions of 
 ruin to your purity and innocence ; you should 
 avoid them. Those frivolous or immoral 
 books, those journals which are hostile to re- 
 ligion or to social order, what are they if not 
 a subject of ruin for your faith and a positive 
 perversion of your good sense? You should 
 abandon them. This is an obligation im- 
 posed on you by divine law, and this law may be 
 summarized thus : '' Whoever finds himself in a 
 proximate and voluntary occasion of sinning is 
 obliged to renounce it, and if he will not re- 
 nounce it he is unworthy and incapable of ab- 
 solution.'* He is so unworthy that a priest 
 
Flight from Occasions of Sin, 137 
 
 who is faithful to his duty should not and can- 
 not absolve him. He is incapable of it, and 
 should he obtain it fraudulently this absolution 
 would be worthless and his sins would remain 
 unpardoned. 
 
 2. Motives to avoid the occasion of sin. — A first 
 motive to avoid the occasion of sin is that it is 
 absolutely necessary if we would obtain pardon. 
 And how can one pretend to be sincerely con- 
 verted unless he renounces that which is the 
 cause of his return to evil? A sick man who 
 wishes restoration to health w411 avoid the 
 original cause of his sickness. Should one be 
 so unfortunate as to fall from a precipice, he 
 will not likely venture near the abyss. He 
 who has escaped from drowning will hardly 
 risk his life in a frail boat. 
 
 Our blessed Lord Himself imposes the obliga- 
 tion of courageously avoiding every occasion of 
 sin. He says : '' If your eye should scandalize 
 you, pluck it out, for it is better that one of your 
 members should perish than to see your whole 
 body cast into hell.'* There is no other alter- 
 native, but either to renounce the occasions of 
 sin or to perish eternally. We must either 
 make the sacrifice of this person or that pleas- 
 ure, or that house, or lose our soul, and this 
 we know means despair and eternal punish- 
 ment. 
 
133 Flight from Occasions of Sin. 
 
 3. Pretexts, — Do you wish to avoid sin? Do 
 you wish to save your soul? Then fly from 
 the dangerous occasions of sin, cost what it 
 may. And do not rely on the strength of your 
 resolutions. '' Let him who stands take heed 
 lest he fall." We should recall the life of 
 David, "the man after God's heart," of Solo- 
 mon, "the wisest of men," and of Peter, who 
 had the weakness to deny his Master. 
 
 But you say that you will have the assistance 
 of God. That is true. He assisted Daniel 
 when cast into the den of lions and the young 
 Hebrews in the fiery furnace. But has He 
 promised His help and grace to the rash man 
 who seeks the occasion of sin and casts him- 
 self headlong into it? Again, you allege a 
 long perseverance in virtue ! But how many 
 illustrious persons have there been, more ex- 
 perienced and more holy than you, who have 
 lost in a single occasion of sin all the merits 
 and glory they had acquired during long years 
 passed in the service of God? Our blessed 
 Saviour has given to all the wise precept of vig- 
 ilance. We should exercise a strict vigilance 
 and not allow ourselves to be surprised. St. 
 Peter tells us that the enemy is around us on 
 every side, like a roaring lion seeking whom he 
 may devour. Of all the means we have to per- 
 severe in the grace of God and to preserve 
 
The Law of Jesus Christ. 139 
 
 ourselves from sin the best and the surest is 
 to fly from the dangerous occasions. When 
 there is question of eternal salvation, there 
 can be no evasion or subterfuge. " The king- 
 dom of heaven suffers violence," and it is only 
 by renouncing ourselves that we may become 
 worthy of Jesus Christ our Saviour. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXVI. 
 
 THE LAW OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 "God, Who at sundr^^ times and in divers manners spoke 
 in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in 
 these days hath spoken to us by His Son." — Heb. i. i. 
 
 FROM the beginning of the world God has 
 constantly manifested His adorable will to 
 • • • men. In the first pages of Genesis we 
 see Him speaking to Adam and forbidding him 
 to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and 
 evil, under penalty of death. Later He gives 
 His precepts and commands to the patriarchs 
 personally or by ^is angels. To formulate 
 His law and to give it to the people whom He 
 had chosen among all the nations of the earth 
 He selects Moses and clothes him with fullest 
 authority. In the sequence of ages, even to 
 the coming of the Messias, the prophets were 
 commissioned to make known to men the de- 
 
140 The Law of Jesus Christ, 
 
 crees, the promises, and the thread of the 
 Sovereign Master of the universe. But Moses 
 and the prophets were only the precursors of 
 the Supreme Legislator Jesus Christ, and the 
 old law was only a preparation for that perfect 
 and immutable law which the Son of God 
 would bring to the world. 
 
 Now this law, which we must observe ex- 
 actly if we wish to merit heaven, has certain 
 characters which recommend it to our venera- 
 tion and our love. It is holy, just, sweet, 
 universal, and is eternal in its sanction. 
 
 I. It is a holy lazu. — Sanctity is the essen- 
 tial character of everything which emanates 
 from God. Now, the law of Jesus Christ, as 
 contained in the Gospel, promulgated in the 
 world by the apostles, and preserved in its 
 integrity by the Catholic Church, is holy be- 
 cause its Author is sanctity itself. And it is 
 holy in its effects, since it is given to men 
 only to produce in them that sanctity of which 
 Jesus is the model. The Christian who is 
 faithful to this law, and who makes it the rule 
 of his thoughts, his words, his works, and of 
 all his conduct, can say with St. Paul: "I live, 
 but it is not I who live, but it is Christ Who 
 lives in me." 
 
 ' The duties which this law imposes toward 
 God, toward our neighbor, toward ourselves. 
 
The Law of Jesus ChiHst. 141 
 
 are the very duties which Jesus Himself was the 
 first to accomplish. The good works which 
 the law prescribes — fasting, alms, prayer, 
 and works of charity — are so many means to 
 realize sanctity in us. It is by the observance 
 of this law that all the saints have preserved 
 grace in this world, and by which they have 
 arrived at eternal glory. 
 
 2. A just law, — The law which Jesus our 
 Saviour has given and the law promulgated 
 by men are not at all comparable. Human 
 laws are not unfrequently tainted by injus- 
 tice, partiality, and tyranny, because they who 
 framed them may be swayed by passion, blind- 
 ness, jealousy, or incapacity. On the contrary. 
 Our Lord and Saviour, Who is the thrice holy 
 God, can ask of His creatures only that which is 
 sovereignly just and reasonable. Is it not just 
 to adore God, the creator and sovereign master 
 of all things? Is it not just to love Him and 
 thank and serve Him? Is it not just to love, 
 respect, and assist our parents? Is it not 
 just to obey those who are in authority? Is it 
 not just to do no wrong to our neighbor, either 
 in his soul, his body, his honor, or his goods? 
 Is it not just to forbid all bad desires and 
 actions? How could there be the least injus- 
 tice in that which God prescribes, since He will 
 judge even justice itself? 
 
142 The Law of Jesus Christ, 
 
 3. A sweet law, — Unquestionably the law 
 of God is a restraint upon the passions, which 
 are impatient of all rule. Without doubt the 
 law holds us under this salutary restraint, but 
 our blessed Lord has imposed His law on us, 
 not only for our acceptance, but that we 
 should even desire its complete empire over 
 us. '' Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke 
 is sweet and My burden light." If the law of 
 Christ were so hard, so cruel as the world 
 sometimes pretends, how can we explain the 
 joy and gladness which abounds in souls who 
 are most faithful in the observance of the law ? 
 See how the psalmist celebrates the happiness 
 of those who live according to God's law! 
 " Blessed are they who walk in the way of the 
 Lord." 
 
 4. A tiniversal laiv, — This law is not only 
 the happiness of some privileged souls — it is 
 the joy and consolation of all who observe it 
 faithfully. There is no exception. Since Our 
 Lord wishes the salvation of all men, He has 
 given a law which will be suitable for all. It 
 is universal and is within the power of all 
 to observe it. King and subject, parent and 
 child, rich and poor, powerful and weak, 
 learned and ignorant, the healthful and the 
 sick, Jew and Gentile, civilized and barbarian 
 — all, without exception, will find in the law of 
 
The Law of Jesus Christ, 143 
 
 Jesus Christ the rule of their conduct, and all 
 by observing it will attain eternal happiness. 
 Are there not in heaven now saints of all 
 ages and conditions? And is it not by the 
 fulfilment of this law that they have attained 
 their incomparable glory? 
 
 5. A lazv eternal in its sanction, — Just because 
 the law of Christ is a holy, just, and sweet law, 
 He has wished to give it a sanction which is 
 worthy of it. Now, this sanction consists in 
 the recompense attached to its fulfilment, and 
 also the chastisement reserved for its violation. 
 These rewards and chastisements are eternal. 
 It must suffice for us to recall the last sen- 
 tence of the Sovereign Legislator: "Come, ye 
 blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom 
 which has been prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world.'' Behold the recom- 
 pense reserved for the faithful observers of 
 His law! "Go, ye cursed, into everlasting 
 fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.'' 
 Behold the punishment prepared for unhappy 
 men who have found the law of God too heavy 
 and too difficult for their uncontrolled passions ! 
 In the presence of a sanction so clear and so in- 
 evitable, I ask where is the man who will hesi- 
 tate to submit himself with his whole heart to 
 the. sweet and amiable law of Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour and our God? 
 
144 Fidelity to Jesus Christ. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXVII. 
 
 FIDELITY TO JESUS CHRIST. 
 "Be thou faithful unto death." — Apoc. ii. lo. 
 
 AMONG the many titles applied to Our Lord 
 and Saviour in the Holy Scriptures Ave 
 • • • find, very often, that He is styled the faith- 
 ful God. The psalmist tells us that " the Lord 
 is faithful in all things." St. Paul exclaims: 
 *'God is faithful, and He will not allow us to 
 be tempted beyond our strength." We must 
 not be surprised, therefore, if fidelity is so 
 often recommended to us in Holy Scripture. 
 Let us strive to understand this. God calls us 
 to testify by our love and fidelity to Him. By 
 our vocation to Christianity, and by the multi- 
 plied blessings we have received. He obliges 
 us to keep an inviolable fidelity. What a 
 sweet and noble obligation is imposed on us ! 
 
 The fidelity which we owe to Christ our 
 Saviour, the Sovereign King of souls, will be 
 the object of this instruction. Since our King, 
 Jesus Christ, has three glorious titles to our 
 persevering fidelity, we will consider His au- 
 thority, His power, and His majesty. 
 
 I. His authority, — All power in heaven and 
 on earth has been given to Christ our Saviour. 
 
Fidelity to Jesus Christ. 145 
 
 His modest and sacred lips, which never spoke 
 except in truth and in wisdom, will give us 
 testimony of His authority. It is in virtue of 
 this sovereignty that He has sent His apostles : 
 "Go, all power is given to Me: teach all na- 
 tions, teach them to observe all that I have 
 commanded you." How can we refuse obedi- 
 ence to this authority of God, which constitutes 
 the sovereignty of Jesus Christ? Besides, 
 what an honor and glory it is for us to submit 
 ourselves in all things to Him Who is called 
 " King of kings and Lord of lords.'* It is by 
 Him that the masters of the earth reign and 
 promulgate their just decrees. 
 
 Hear the sweet voice of this Sovereign in- 
 viting us to accept the yoke of His authority! 
 ''My yoke is sweet and my burden light.'' 
 Ask of those who have separated themselves 
 from the slavery of the world to be united 
 irrevocably to Jesus Christ, and they will tell 
 you that under His amiable authority they have 
 found only glory, honor, independence, happi- 
 ness, and peace. And if His authority will not 
 be sufficient to render us faithful to Jesus, we 
 must remember He has also the power. 
 
 2. His pozvcr, — We read in the Gospel that 
 God has given to Christ, His Son, the power 
 to judge men. All who are on earth, power- 
 ful and weak, rich and poor, learned and igno- 
 
146 Fidelity to Jesus Christ. 
 
 rant, all must appear one day before the sove- 
 reign tribunal. There is power and there is 
 justice. We feel the empire of this power 
 now, and we will feel it on the threshold of 
 eternity. This force or power is now veiled 
 and hidden. Jesus appears only under the 
 eucharistic veil. During His mortal life He 
 was a little child in the crib. He was the 
 Good Shepherd. He was Jesus, meek and 
 humble of heart. Then He w^ill be the lion 
 of the tribe of Juda. He will be the Sovereign 
 Master of the human race, and will show Him- 
 self in all His glory and in all His majesty. 
 Even in this world we are not without mani- 
 fest proofs of the power of Jesus Christ. He it 
 is Who defends the Church and sustains her 
 against the gates of hell. Neither the sword 
 of persecution, nor the cunning of heresy, nor 
 the cowardice of apostasy, can disturb the 
 Church : " The gates of hell shall not prevail 
 against her.'* 
 
 And is it not He Who sustains the just in 
 their combats, and Who says : " Fear not, I 
 have conquered the world"? What powerful 
 motives we have to remain faithful, since 
 without Him we can do nothing against the 
 enemies of our salvation! These enemies, as 
 we know by experience, are numerous, and we 
 are not free from their assaults for a single 
 
Fidelity to Jesus Christ. 147 
 
 instant. How great therefore, is our need 
 of the power of our divine Chief to defend 
 us! Ah, let us cry to Him as the apostles did 
 when threatened by the fury of the tempest : 
 "Master, save us, or we shall perish." 
 
 3. His majesty and goodness, — We should not 
 content ourselves by giving our homage to 
 the power and authority of Jesus. We should 
 strive also to recognize in Him w^hat com- 
 mands our respect and love, viz.. His majesty 
 and goodness. 
 
 The people who saw and heard Him during 
 His life on earth were astonished at the maj- 
 esty which surrounded Him. They exclaimed 
 that a greater prophet had never appeared in 
 Israel. When He entered the Temple to expel 
 the profaners of the holy place no one dared to 
 resist Him. In the Garden of Olives at the 
 very sound of His voice the lictors who were 
 sent to seize Him fell to the earth as if by 
 thunder-shock. But it is especially by His in- 
 finite goodness that Jesus wishes to win the 
 fidelity of our souls. Consider this amiable 
 Master such as He appeared when on earth, 
 living in the midst of men only to console them 
 and to bless them, and say if there were ever 
 beauty more ravishing or goodness more touch- 
 ing than He manifested. Let each one per- 
 sonally answer and say if he has not received 
 
148 Fidelity to Jesus Christ, 
 
 untold blessings from His munificence and 
 inexhaustible love. In fact, what good can 
 there be, either in the order of nature or of 
 grace, which does not come from this ever- 
 flowing Source of mercy? We should remain 
 faithful to our blessed Saviour, Who has Him- 
 self given us the example of fidelity. We 
 have promised Him this fidelity with an oath, 
 solemnly. We should, therefore, ever be 
 mindful of our engagements. 
 
 We have the teaching of our Master : then 
 let us both affirm and courageously defend it. 
 '' I have believed what has been spoken to me." 
 We have His precepts : then let them be the 
 invariable rule of our conduct. " He who has 
 My laws and observes them, he it is who loves 
 Me." Fidelity is love in practice. We know 
 the virtues of which He has given the example : 
 humility, poverty, detachment, patience, char- 
 ity toward our neighbor ; let us strive to imitate 
 these virtues, which our blessed Lord Himself 
 has practised. In fine, we should be faithful 
 in all things even to death, and Jesus will be 
 faithful to His promises and will recompense 
 us eternally ; He will be *' our reward exceed- 
 ing great." 
 
Loi'e for Jesus. 149 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXVIII. 
 
 LOVE FOR JESUS. 
 
 " If any man does not love Our Lord Jesus Christ let him 
 be anathema." — i. Cor. xvi. 22. 
 
 THESE words were indeed most suitable 
 for the great Apostle to employ, since he 
 seemed to live only to make our Lord and 
 Saviour loved by men. The love which he 
 entertained for his ]\Iaster was so ardent that 
 he spoke of Him in his exhortations and in his 
 epistles with a kind of ecstasy. In his writ- 
 ings to the first Christians he calls himself 
 "the servant of Jesus Christ," and ''the cap- 
 tive of Jesus Christ." In a certain passage of 
 his Epistles to the Romans his love bursts 
 forth in the strongest terms, and he defies all 
 creatures of heaven, of earth, and of hell to 
 separate him from the love of his God : '" Who 
 therefore will separate us from the love of 
 Christ?" Well does this apostle know all that 
 is just and beautiful and grand and advanta- 
 geous in the love of Christ ; and therefore it 
 is that he considers the man, whoever he may 
 be, as unworthy of living who does not en- 
 tertain this love for Jesus : '' Let him be 
 anathema." Fortified by these words of St. 
 
150 Love for Jesus. 
 
 Paul, I wish to recall to you the pressing mo- 
 tives which we have for heartily loving our 
 blessed Lord and Saviour. 
 
 We will see the obligation and the happiness 
 of this love, the marks by which it may be 
 recognized, and the means to acquire it. 
 
 I. The obligation and happiness of this love. — 
 We are so ensnared and blinded by the illu- 
 sions of this world and the fascinations of the 
 senses, that these words, *Hhe love of Jesus," 
 are for many souls a strange expression ; and 
 still this love is for us a veritable obligation. 
 When we had no existence except in the mind 
 of God, He prepared for us from all eternity 
 the infinite treasures of His mercy : '' With 
 an eternal love have I loved thee." 
 
 The Word which was in God and God Him- 
 self, as St. John tells us, considered the abase- 
 ment of His incarnation. At the time marked 
 by the eternal decrees He appears to us full 
 of grace and love in the crib at Bethlehem, in 
 the arms of Mary, His Mother. He increased 
 in grace and wisdom before God and man, 
 to attract our admiration and win our hearts. 
 When He manifested Himself to the world 
 in His public life, He first announced the 
 glad tidings to the poor and the lowly of 
 earth : " The Father has sent Me to make 
 known His word to the poor." But He came 
 
Lave for Jesus. 151 
 
 also to heal, to console, and to bless them. 
 "Come to me, all you that labor and are bur- 
 dened, and I will refresh you/* It was not 
 enough for Him to share our sorrows: He 
 even takes upon Himself our iniquities and 
 expiates them by dying on the cross. O heart 
 of Jesus, w4th what tenderness thou hast loved 
 us! Friend and Father, how great is Thy 
 compassion for Thy prodigal children! O 
 Good Shepherd, what patience Thou hast had 
 to follow Thy straying sheep and lead them 
 back to the fold ! And should they not love 
 Thee in return ? Thou hast ever}^ right to our 
 love. As Master Thou hast given us Thy com- 
 mands; as benefactor, friend, brother. Re- 
 deemer, and Saviour Thou demandest our love 
 in gratitude, and even this love Thou wilt 
 make for us w^orthy of eternal recompense. 
 Now, O great Apostle I we recognize and un- 
 derstand the truth of your words. Yes, let 
 him be anathema who will not love our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ! 
 
 2. Marks by zvhich zve may know the love of 
 Christ. — You will ask of me now by what signs 
 we may recognize this true love for the Saviour 
 of men ? In a few" words I will designate the 
 characteristics of this love. 
 
 The love which we have for Jesus is evident 
 by the works w^hich we perform. There are 
 
152 Love for Jesus. 
 
 degrees in this love, and the first is a flight 
 from evil, which assuredly offends God. Our 
 Saviour Himself tells us : " He who loves Me 
 keeps My commandments." Are His laws the 
 rule of our life? You will answer, yes. Then 
 you are on the true way. This, however, is 
 not enough. You must strive for the perfec- 
 tion of love, and you cannot attain it except 
 by a faithful and persevering imitation of all 
 the virtues of which our blessed Saviour has 
 given an example : ** He who wishes to come 
 after Me must deny himself." There is ques- 
 tion then of repudiating not only all inordi- 
 nate affection for the goods you possess, but 
 you must carry this repudiation to your own 
 self-will, even to that which you love most. 
 The Saviour also adds that " he who wishes 
 to come after Me must take up his cross and 
 follow Me." The cross is the inheritance of 
 every Christian in the world. Crosses are 
 found at every turning in our life, and we 
 must submit to them and accept them rather 
 than murmur against them. Jesus, our Mas- 
 ter, wishes that we should take the cross in 
 both hands, place it upon our shoulders, and 
 walk after Him as a proof of our true love 
 for Him. And, furthermore, how can we rec- 
 ognize that we love Jesus if we are not en- 
 tirelv devoted to Him in our mind and heart? 
 
Love for Jesus, 153 
 
 If our love is sincere we will give ourselves to 
 Him without the slightest reserve. 
 
 3. Means to acquire this love. — To attain to 
 this true love of Jesus we must first know 
 Him. Do you know Christ? Have you 
 studied His life? Do you read from time to 
 time the pages of the Gospel which contain 
 the history of Our Saviour's life on earth? 
 How is it possible to know our loving Saviour 
 intimately unless we come into closest relations 
 with Him, by meditating on the mysteries of 
 His life, and by recalling His words and teach- 
 ings and miracles. We can never forget that it 
 was through love for us that He became incar- 
 nate, that He lived and taught and suffered and 
 died and arose again '' for us and for our sal- 
 vation.'' The love of Jesus is acquired by 
 detachment from the world, from the things 
 of the world, and from ourselves. "You can- 
 not serve God and mammon." If you are 
 attached to the vain and transitory things of 
 the world, you cannot give your hearts fully 
 to Christ, our adorable Saviour. 
 
 In fine, the best means to attain to a true 
 love of Jesus is to devote yourself resolutely 
 to the practice of good works, since he who 
 does that which God commands truly loves 
 Him. Let this prayer be constantly on our 
 lips and in our hearts : '' O heart of Jesus, burn- 
 
154 Imitation of Jesus. 
 
 ing with love for us, inflame our hearts with 
 love for Thee!" Then we can feel assured 
 that Jesus will grant to us the happy privilege 
 of loving Him in this world and in the next. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXIX. 
 
 IMITATION OF JESUS. 
 "Jesus began to do and to teach." — Acts i. i. 
 
 THE Gospel, which is the history of Our 
 Saviour's life on earth, presents two sub- 
 • • • jects for our consideration, viz., His works 
 and His words. In His works our blessed 
 Saviour is the Model and the Master Whom 
 we must believe, and the Guide in Whom we 
 should confide and trust. If He has come 
 down from heaven and has assumed our hu- 
 manity, it is, as the Church tells us, '' for us 
 and for our salvation." He has satisfied the 
 justice of His Father for our sins, and He has 
 reconciled us with Him. But He has also 
 come on earth to reform our conduct and our 
 life, that we may become like to Him, and, 
 consequently, that we may one day be found 
 worthy of being His co-heirs and partakers of 
 His glory. Before He proclaims Himself the 
 infallible teacher of all truth He presents 
 Himself to us as the accomplished model of 
 all virtues. We should, therefore, endeavor to 
 
I??u'tafion of Jesus. 155 
 
 convince ourselves of the necessity of imitating 
 this divine Master. With this end in view, 
 we will speak of the motives and the practice 
 of this imitation. 
 
 I. Motives, — Countless and powerful are the 
 motives w^hich urge and oblige us to imitate 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. God the 
 Father shows us in His Son the object of His 
 eternal love: "This is My beloved Son, in 
 Whom I am well pleased." He even gives us 
 the command, ''Hear ye Him." And what 
 does our blessed Lord Himself tell us? He 
 says: " I have given you an example, and as I 
 have done so do you also." To follow Him 
 we must renounce ourselves and take up the 
 cross daily. And He adds : " He that does not 
 take up the cross and follow Me is unworthy of 
 Me. " " I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. " 
 Should we fail to walk in the way w^hich He 
 has pointed out, we shall surely wander and 
 be lost, and place ourselves in the impossibility 
 of arriving at the true end of our journey in life, 
 which is heaven. One of the figures under 
 which our blessed Saviour loves to present 
 Himself is that of the Good Shepherd. '' I am 
 the Good Shepherd." And what is the con- 
 duct of a good shepherd? He walks before 
 his flock, and his sheep follow him whitherso- 
 ever he goes. The will of Our Lord is, then, 
 
156 Imitation of Jesus. 
 
 that we should follow Him and regard Him as 
 our only Model. Our title of Christians and 
 our engagements toward Him make it a duty 
 for us to imitate His example. We are the 
 children of God by adoption, and consequently 
 brethren of Jesus, but this noble affiliation and 
 this august brotherhood will be only in name 
 if they are not strengthened by the resem- 
 blance of our thoughts, sentiments, words, and 
 works to those of Christ. If we are the mem- 
 bers of Jesus Christ there should be conform- 
 ity and harmony between the members and 
 their Chief. 
 
 Let us recall the engagements of our bap- 
 tism, the promises renewed at our first com- 
 munion: ''I renounce Satan, his works and 
 his pomps, and I promise to live according to 
 the teaching and example of Christ." These 
 sacred words were pronounced before the altar 
 in a loud and distinct voice, while holding the 
 word of God in our hands. Therefore to vio- 
 late these most solemn promises is to be guilty 
 of perjury. Should a man fail to keep his 
 word of honor with his fellow-man he would 
 fall under the weight of public contempt, and 
 his name would be indelibly branded by dis- 
 grace. But should a man fail in the promise 
 made to Jesus, the King, the Master, the 
 Father, the Benefactor, would he not be guilty 
 
Imitation of J e sits. 157 
 
 of treason, cowardice, and ingratitude? We 
 must, therefore, either renounce our title of 
 Christian or admit that our obligation is most 
 absolute and the first of all our duties is to imi- 
 tate our blessed Lord and Saviour. 
 
 2. Practice of this imitation, — In practice this 
 imitation should be the rule of our own interior 
 life, of our relations with our neighbor, and of 
 our duties toward God. 
 
 Our hidden life consists of thoughts, senti- 
 ments, desires, and interior acts of the will. 
 And what was the hidden life of our blessed 
 Lord? The Gospel reveals it to us in every 
 page. We should make this word of God the 
 book of our daily spiritual reading and medita- 
 tion. Suppose a pious person, whose sole de- 
 sire is to conform more and more to the divine 
 Model ; what will be his practice every day, 
 every instant, and in all circumstances? He 
 will regulate all his thoughts and judgments 
 according to the thoughts and judgments of 
 Christ our Saviour. Whatever the object 
 which presents itself to his soul, he asks. What 
 would the divine Master think of it? For ex- 
 ample, what opinion would He have of the 
 world, its riches, its pleasures? None, since 
 Jesus has cursed the world, condemned its 
 riches, loved obscurity, and sought sufferings. 
 Ought this man fear tyrants, persecutors, or 
 
158 Imitation of Jesus. 
 
 the wicked? Jesus answers : " Fear not men, 
 who can only attack the body, but fear God, 
 Who can destroy soul and body and cast them 
 into hell." In a word, a pious person would 
 think of these things only as Jesus thinks of 
 them ; he would love only what He would love, 
 and have no other will than His holy will. 
 
 Likewise in relations with our neighbor Christ 
 our Saviour is the only rule to follow. The 
 child must be submissive to his parents. 
 "Jesus was obedient to Joseph and Mary." 
 The citizen is taught '' to render to Caesar the 
 things which are Caesar's and to God the 
 things which are God's." In private life He 
 has been the Model of all virtues. " He has 
 done all things well." In His public life it has 
 been said of Him : " He passed His life in doing 
 good." He has been the source and type of 
 all devotion — soothed all human sorrow, healed 
 every infirmity. And in His suffering life, 
 what a model of patience, resignation, and char- 
 ity ! Behold the divine Master, whose example, 
 piously meditated on, will surely conduct us to 
 perfection in our relations with our neighbor. 
 
 Lastly, it is from Him that we will learn to 
 fulfil faithfully our duties toward God, He 
 refers all the glory of His work to God the 
 Father. He has come into this world only to 
 do the will of His Heavenly Father. When He 
 
Pentecost. 159 
 
 recommends persevering prayer, He gives us 
 the example. St. Luke tells us, '' He spent the 
 whole night in prayer." Adorable Teacher 
 and Exemplar ' grant us the grace to become 
 in all things like to Thee for time and eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXX. 
 
 PENTECOST. 
 
 "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began 
 to speak." — Acts ii. 4. 
 
 THE Church, on the solemnity of Pentecost, 
 celebrates the mystery which was wrought 
 . . . for the apostles ten days after the Ascen- 
 sion of our blessed Lord into heaven. In obe- 
 dience to the precept which He had given 
 them, the apostles were assembled in the cen- 
 acle, and were persevering in prayer with 
 Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Acts i. 14), in 
 expectation of the Holy Spirit, Who had been 
 promised to them. The tenth day had come. 
 At the third hour, " suddenly they heard the 
 noise as of a great wind, which resounded on 
 all sides and filled the house in which they 
 were assembled. And there appeared to them 
 parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat 
 upon every one of them. And they were all 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to 
 
i6o Pentecost, 
 
 speak in divers tongues." The wonder which 
 was accomplished in the apostles on this day 
 is at once for us a subject of admiration and 
 edification. We cannot but admire the sub- 
 lime and sudden transformation w^hich the 
 Holy Spirit wrought in the apostles. We are 
 also edified by the fruits of sanctification and 
 salvation which were also produced in Chris- 
 tian souls. Filled with the power of the Holy 
 Spirit, the apostles on this day received the 
 crown of science, the crown of sanctity, and 
 the crown of heroism. 
 
 I. TIic crown of science. — Who were these 
 apostles, whom the assembled Jews in Jerusa- 
 lem heard speaking in every tongue? The 
 Gospel, written by their ov/n hands, tells us of 
 their profound ignorance of human science. 
 They were humble fishermen, knowing noth- 
 ing beyond the management of their boats 
 and nets. Their indocility and inaptitude for 
 instruction equalled and indeed surpassed their 
 native ignorance. During the three years 
 which they passed in the school of Jesus they 
 manifested only an intelligence constantly re- 
 bellious to the teaching of their divine Master. 
 How often before His passion and after His 
 resurrection did He not reproach them for 
 their incredulity and the hardness of their 
 hearts. '' O unbelieving and perverse gene- 
 
Pentecost. i6i 
 
 ration ! how long shall I be with you ? How 
 long shall I suffer you?" "O foolish and 
 slow of heart to believe! " "As yet, you are 
 also without understanding." In the designs 
 of divine Wisdom and Mercy it was reserved 
 for the Holy Spirit to open and expand the 
 intelligence of the apostles to the knowledge 
 of the truth, and to communicate this truth to 
 them in all its fulness. " The Spirit of Truth 
 will teach you all truth." 
 
 This Spirit of Truth, promised and pro- 
 claimed by our blessed Saviour, descended from 
 heaven, filled the cenacle with His divine Light, 
 and spread it upon the apostles and disciples. 
 At once there was evident in them the most 
 complete and sublime transformation that had 
 ever been witnessed. From the ignorant men 
 they had been they were acknowledged the 
 masters and doctors of the world. They gave 
 immediate evidence of the fulness of their 
 science. At once they began to speak and to 
 teach. Yesterday they could speak only their 
 own native idiom, to-day they speak all the 
 known languages. This wonder was so appar- 
 ent that even the strangers assembled in Jeru- 
 salem were astonished. They possessed the 
 most perfect knowledge of all the truths and 
 of all the mysteries of religion, and they 
 
 preached to the people as men having aiUhor- 
 1 1 
 
1 62 Pentecost. 
 
 ity. And thus it is that the Holy Spirit mani- 
 fests Himself, even now, in the souls of men, 
 by enlightening them in the truths of faith 
 and the teachings of the Gospel. How can we 
 otherwise explain the profound science of re- 
 ligious matters which we often find among the 
 poor and the humble,?. Oftentimes they cannot 
 even read, and yet they excite the wonder and 
 admiration of the learned by their extraordi- 
 nary prudence and wisdom. 
 
 2. Tlic crozc'Ji of sanctity. — Not only did the 
 Holy Spirit impart the fulness of science to 
 the apostles on the day of Pentecost : He gave 
 them also the gift of sanctity. This is the 
 second crown with which He adorned them on 
 their departure from the cenacle, and is an- 
 other mark of His divine work in the souls 
 of men. What were the apostles when consid- 
 ered as to their virtue and sanctity? It would 
 seem that the lessons and the examples of 
 Jesus should have taught them the pathway of 
 perfection. The Gospel, however, tells us 
 only of their weakness, their inconstancy, their 
 incredulity, and of all their human infirmities. 
 While their divine Master preached to them 
 of humility, of which virtue He was the most 
 perfect model, they disputed among them- 
 selves for the first place. They were scandal- 
 ized to hear Him speak of the necessity of 
 
Pentecost. 163 
 
 sufferings. In a moment of zeal they vowed 
 to Him their constancy and fidelity, yet in a 
 moment afterward one of them betrayed his 
 Master, another denied Him, and all aban- 
 doned and fled from Him. But scarcely have 
 they received the Holy Spirit when they be- 
 come new men, wholly spiritual. They are 
 not only saintly men, but they manifest a 
 sanctity which is most exalted. They are no 
 longer, says St. John Chrysostom, earthly men, 
 but they are men tried and purified, like the 
 gold which has passed through the fire. They 
 are charmed with the love of virtue and walk 
 in the footsteps of their Master. Every coun- 
 sel given by Him in the Gospel is regarded by 
 them as the rigid rule of their conduct. And 
 this same spirit of sanctity which the apostles 
 received still continues its work of sanctifica- 
 tion in the souls of men. In spite of the cor- 
 ruption of the world, there are still fervent 
 disciples of Jesus. There are apostles, con- 
 fessors, pure and devoted virgins, who reflect 
 in their lives the example of every virtue, and 
 only because the Holy Spirit animates and 
 vivifies them. 
 
 3. The crown of heroism, — On the day of 
 Pentecost the Holy Spirit marked the apostles 
 with a third sign of glory — viz., heroism. The 
 apostles a short time before were weak, timid, 
 
164 Pentecost. 
 
 fearful men. Now their souls are inflamed 
 with a most fervent zeal — a zeal which prompts 
 them to speak aloud and declare themselves 
 followers of Christ ; a zeal w^hich enables them 
 to undertake everything and to suffer every- 
 thing for the holy name of Jesus. Hardly has 
 the Holy Spirit descended upon them than 
 they depart from the cenacle and begin to 
 preach God's word with entire fearlessness. 
 It is in vain that silence is imposed on them. 
 They readily answer : " God has commanded us 
 to make known what we have seen and heard : 
 judge ye, therefore, if it is not just to obey God 
 rather than man." 
 
 Inflamed by the divine Spirit, they under- 
 take nothing less than the complete change of 
 the face of the ea^th by establishing the wor- 
 ship of the true God on the ruins of paganism. 
 To accomplish this vast project, they are only 
 twelve in number, and they possess nothing, 
 humanly speaking, which can achieve success. 
 They have neither influence nor fortune nor 
 arms. But these valiant athletes face with 
 greatest courage threats, dangers, persecutions, 
 torments, and death. They are the first of that 
 long line of martyrs whom we count by mil- 
 lions, and who have sealed with their blood the 
 truths of Jesus Christ. And to-day, also, the 
 heroism of the apostles is manifested in gene- 
 
The Holy Name of Jesus. 165 
 
 rous Christian souls, who, to remain faithful 
 to God, courageously withstand the contempt 
 and the continual threats and persecutions of 
 the world. Then let us imitate their example 
 and dispose our hearts to receive this Holy- 
 Spirit of strength, courage, and intrepidity. 
 It is this same Spirit which will aid us to 
 triumph over all our enemies and make us 
 true disciples of Jesus. He will give to us a 
 share of that courage which characterized the 
 apostles when on earth, and will thereby ren- 
 der us worthy to participate one day in their 
 eternal glory. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXI. 
 
 THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 
 
 "God hath given Him a name which is above all 
 names." — Philip, ii. 9. 
 
 JESUS ! This is the name which the Apos- 
 tle tells us is above all other names, and 
 . . . which the Church honors to-day by a spe- 
 cial solemnity. Before this thrice-holy name 
 every knee must bend, in heaven, on earth, 
 and in hell. Who can tell the grandeur, the 
 magnificence, the riches of this divine name — 
 that name which no one can worthily pronounce 
 if not assisted by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 
 
1 66 The Holy Name of Jesus. 
 
 At this moment I would wish to be the inter- 
 preter of the devout St. Bernard, to offer for 
 your pious reflections the treasures of grace 
 contained in the adorable name of Jesus, 
 and to increase in your hearts sentiments of 
 respect and gratitude, confidence and love, 
 which you should have for our divine Saviour. 
 In the lessons borrowed from this eloquent 
 doctor for the office of to-day, we will find 
 the eulogy of the name of Jesus. There we 
 read these beautiful words, which will be the 
 subject of our instruction. '' This name is a 
 light; preach it. This name is nourishment 
 for our souls ; meditate on it. This name is 
 sweetest balm and consolation ; invoke it. We 
 will, therefore, find light, life, and strength 
 all contained in the sacred name of Jesus." 
 
 I. This name is a light, — What radiant and 
 brilliant light suddenly shone in the world on 
 the day when the sacred name of Jesus fell 
 from the burning lips of the apostles! What 
 was the world then, with its wealth of learned 
 and erudite men, valiant generals, eloquent 
 orators, powerful and conquering Caesars? 
 Even in those days there were not wanting, at 
 Rome and Athens, those lights which are called 
 to-day the very light of civilization. But we 
 must admit what is considered light for men 
 is densest darkness before God. The true 
 
The Holy Name of Jesus. 167 
 
 light, that which enlightens every man coming 
 into the world, the sun of immortal souls, 
 which guides them to their necessary and last 
 end — that light was then veiled by the thickest 
 cloud. The world was seated in darkness and 
 in the shadow of death. At length the day 
 arrives, and twelve poor fishermen without 
 human science, without fortune, without 
 credit, arise and come forth from a corner of 
 far-oflf Judea. They begin to speak to the 
 people, and have for their object nothing less 
 than the conversion of the whole world. What 
 means have they to assure them of success in 
 their crusade against the prejudice, the errors, 
 and the passions which dominate the world? 
 No other means except the name of Jesus, 
 which they have in their hearts and on their 
 lips. They preach this name. They tell of 
 the life, the sufferings, the death, and the 
 resurrection of their Master. At once the 
 dawning comes for the souls of men. Man 
 recognizes what he is. At length he knows 
 his dignity, whence he comes, and whither he 
 goes. The name of Jesus tells him the infinite 
 grandeur of God — His wisdom, His justice. His 
 love, and His mercy. It reveals to him his 
 own dignity in the eyes of faith, and his im- 
 mortal destiny. It teaches him the price of 
 his soul, by recalling to him all that Jesus has 
 
1 68 The Holy Name of Jesus. 
 
 done to redeem and save him. All these 
 truths are unknown to those who have not 
 heard His name preached, or who have obsti- 
 nately closed their eyes to His beneficent light. 
 Yes, it is this adorable name which will en- 
 lighten our souls more and more, and will 
 dissipate the darkness with which Satan would 
 overspread the earth. 
 
 2. TJiis name is food for souls. — The holy 
 name of Jesus is not only our light on earth, it 
 is also our nourishment and life. By meditat- 
 ing on this name with faith and devotion our 
 souls will find most healthful nourishment. 
 " Man does not live by bread alone, but by 
 every word that cometh from the mouth of 
 God." Is not the very name of Jesus a mag- 
 nificent summary of the discourses and the 
 teachings of our divine Master? Moreover, 
 Jesus is the name of the Uncreated Word, the 
 Eternal Word of God. He has said of Himself 
 that He has come to earth that His disciples 
 may have life and have it more abundantly. 
 And what is the nourishment of our souls? It 
 is our Chief, our Model. Has He not declared 
 that " His food was to do the will of His 
 Father"? The name of Jesus reminds us of 
 the holy and adorable will of God. His will 
 is that we should be like to our divine Model — 
 holy as He is, and perfect as He is. This 
 
The Holy Name of Jesus. 169 
 
 name tells us also the means we must employ 
 to attain this sanctity and perfection. In this 
 name are found all the virtues we must practise 
 to be true disciples of Christ. It is in medi- 
 tating on this name that the saints have found 
 the sweetest nourishment of their souls. After 
 the example they have given us, we too will 
 be encouraged in the practice of humility, 
 poverty, obedience, patience, resignation, and 
 sacrifice, which Our Saviour has come on earth 
 to give us, and thereby lead us to life eternal. 
 3. TJiis name is sweetest consolation. — Finally, 
 the holy name of Jesus is a balm which 
 sweetens all pain and soothes every sorrow. 
 Where shall the sick man on his bed of sorrow 
 find aid and consolation? By invoking this 
 name he will recall the cruel scourging at the 
 pillar, the crowning of thorns, the torments 
 and martyrdom of his Master. The heart filled 
 with bitterness and sorrow will be consoled by 
 recalling what Jesus has said : '' Come to Me 
 all you that labor and are burdened, and I will 
 refresh you." This name will also strengthen 
 us to combat the enemies of our salvation. 
 Formerly the athletes who were to combat in 
 the arena were anointed with oil to strengthen 
 them against their adversaries. The invoca- 
 tion of the holy name will communicate to our 
 souls this unconquerable strength to sustain 
 
170 The Precious Blood of Our Lord, 
 
 US in the combat against all the power of our 
 enemies. See the apostles ! By the mere invo- 
 cation of the holy name of Jesus they put the 
 demons to flight, overthrew the temples, and 
 became more powerful than the tyrants. The 
 martyrs feared neither punishment nor death. 
 By calling on the holy name, the fiercest ani- 
 mals, the lions and the tigers, lie as timid lambs 
 at their feet. After the example of the saints, 
 let us faithfully keep in our minds the adorable 
 name of Jesus. It will be our light in the 
 midst of the darkness of the world. Let us 
 meditate piously upon it, and we shall find in it 
 the most salutary teachings. Let us invoke it 
 with love and with confidence. It will be our 
 strength in life and our sweetest consolation 
 in the hour of our death. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXII. 
 
 THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD. 
 
 " This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath 
 made with you. " — Exod. xxiv. 8. 
 
 IT is Moses, the great law-giver, who thus 
 speaks to the Hebrews while sprinkling 
 • • them with the blood of their victims. He 
 shows them by this blood the sign of the 
 covenant which the Lord had made with them. 
 
The Precious Blood of Our Lord. 171 
 
 by liberating them from the slavery of Egypt, 
 nourishing them miraculously during their 
 journey in the desert, and by giving them His 
 law. But the blood of animals was only a 
 prophetic figure of the blood which the Lamb 
 of God would pour out on Calvary, and the 
 alliance of the Lord with the children of Israel 
 was only a symbol of that more perfect and 
 eternal alliance which He has wished to con- 
 tract with us, and which our blessed Saviour 
 has sealed with His own blood. The Church, 
 which is the depositary of the divine precepts 
 of the new law, presents for our adoration the 
 blood of the Saviour of the world. And on 
 this solemnity, consecrated to the precious 
 blood, she tells us again : '' Behold the blood 
 of the covenant which the Lord hath made 
 with you." Let us then enter into the spirit 
 of the Church, while I expose for you the 
 motives of our devotion toward the precious 
 blood of the Saviour. We shall see that this 
 divine blood is the ransom of our souls, the 
 source of their life, and the principle of their 
 eternal glory. 
 
 I. The ransom of our souls. — The prophets, 
 whose mission it was to announce the merciful 
 designs of God toward man, had predicted that 
 the redemption of the world would be accom- 
 plished by the blood of the Man -God. Through 
 
172 The Precioys Blood of Our Lord. 
 
 the veil which hides the future they saw all 
 the circumstances of the passion of our Lord 
 and Saviour. Isaias in a manner counts his 
 wounds : " He was wounded for our iniquities, 
 He was bruised for our sins." The patriarch 
 Jacob says, '' He will wash His robes in w^ne, 
 and His garment in the blood of the grape." 
 Could he mark in clearer terms the purifica- 
 tion of souls by the blood of Christ, under the 
 appearance of wine? Not only did the proph- 
 ets announce the remission of sins by the 
 effusion of blood, but the figures of the old 
 law represented this truth. Abel, falling un- 
 der the fratricidal blows of Cain, was an image 
 of the Saviour immolated by the sinner^s hand. 
 What was the significance of the sprinkling 
 with blood of victims to efface their legal 
 stains? This sprinkling represented what 
 the blood of the Saviour would accomplish in 
 the souls of men — purify them from their 
 faults, wash them from their iniquities, and 
 restore them to their former purity and in- 
 nocence. Hence St. Paul tells us in his 
 Epistle to the Hebrews : " If the blood of oxen 
 could efface the stains contracted under the 
 old law, with how much greater reason will the 
 blood of Jesus Christ purify us from our faults 
 and sins?" It is then this adorable blood 
 which has reconciled us with God and accom- 
 
The Precious Blood of Our Lord. 173 
 
 plished the redemption of our souls. And if, 
 in spite of our first justification, we should fall 
 again into sin, where shall we find our resur- 
 rection to grace? It is to the blood of the 
 Lamb we must have recourse. True, indeed, 
 Jesus died once, and only once has He shed 
 His blood; but every day on the altar He 
 mystically renews the shedding of the same 
 blood for the salvation of men, while in heaven 
 He is living always to plead in our favor be- 
 fore His Father. While celebrating the holy 
 sacrifice the priest tells us in the name of 
 Jesus Christ: " This is the chalice of My blood, 
 of the new and eternal alliance, which shall be 
 shed for you, and for a great number, for the 
 remission of sins." It is, therefore, at a great 
 price that we have been redeemed, since it is 
 nothing else than the life blood of the eternal 
 Son of God that has been shed for our salva- 
 tion. 
 
 2 . The source of life. — The precious blood is 
 not only the ransom paid for our souls, it is 
 also their very life. Our lives may be likened 
 to the uncultivated and sterile earth which pro- 
 duces only thorns and thistles, which will be 
 consumed by the fire of malediction. But 
 when watered by the blood of our blessed 
 Saviour and saturated by this salutary dew, 
 our souls produce the most abundant fruits 
 
174 The Precious Blood of On 7- Lord. 
 
 of sanctification and salvation. Our souls re- 
 ceive this fecundity through the sacraments, 
 which are so many mysterious sources of the 
 precious blood. What astonishing and wholly 
 supernatural virtues the blood of Jesus germi- 
 nates in our souls ! The sacrament of baptism 
 communicates faith, the knowledge of Gad, 
 and the mysteries of our holy religion. This 
 faith, it is true, is only infused into the child, 
 whose reason is not yet developed. But when 
 he will have attained the use of reason and dis- 
 cretion, if he has had the happiness to preserve 
 his heart pure and innocent, what wisdom, 
 what virtues unknown to pagan souls does he 
 not manifest? In the sacrament of confirma- 
 tion the blood of Jesus gives to the Christian 
 the courage and fearlessness to triumph over 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil. Penance 
 gives life and health. The Eucharist pre- 
 serves and augments them. In a word, all the 
 sacraments give particular graces which are the 
 price of the precious blood, and render souls 
 capable of the most eminent virtues. See the 
 patience of the saints in the severest trials, 
 their resignation in the most painful sacrifices, 
 their charity toward neighbors, their zeal for 
 the conversion of sinners, their devotion in 
 solacing the miserable and unfortunate, and 
 their calm intrepidity in the presence of suffer- 
 
The Precious Blood of Our Lord, 175 
 
 ings and death. Whence come these eminent 
 virtues, if not from that adorable Source which 
 flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It is 
 from this Source, also, that we must receive 
 the life of our immortal souls. It is from this 
 ever-flowing fountain that we, too, must gain 
 the inspiration which w411 prompt us to deeds of 
 love and mercy, which will be worthy of rec- 
 ompense in the life beyond the grave. 
 
 3. The principle of eternal glory, — The pre- 
 cious blood is the principle of eternal glory 
 for our souls. It was by the shedding of His 
 blood that Jesus Christ, the eternal Pontiff, 
 has entered into heaven, and acquired for us 
 the right to enter with Him. The privileged 
 disciple of Jesus exclaims : " Blessed are they 
 who wash their garments in the blood of the 
 Lamb." And the elect add: "Lord, it is in 
 Thy blood that Thou hast redeemed us out of 
 every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 
 and hast made us to our God a kingdom. " But 
 to be worthy of this glory during life, we 
 must apply the remedies which the Lord has 
 prepared for us by His blood. These reme- 
 dies are principally the sacrament of penance 
 and the Eucharist. Penance is as a divine 
 bath, whose peculiar property is to cleanse us 
 from the slightest stain, while the Eucharist is 
 the indispensable nourishment of our souls. It 
 
176 The Sac7'ed Heat't of Jesus, 
 
 is also called the " bread of the strong, and the 
 wine which makes virgins." This wine is the 
 precious blood of the Saviour. Let us be care- 
 ful lest we despise or profane this divine 
 blood: it would then become our condemna- 
 tion. We should recall also the example of 
 the Jews. Once they dared in their blind de- 
 lirium to utter the derisive blasphemy : " Let 
 His blood fall on us and on our children. " His 
 blood did indeed fall on them, but for their 
 misfortune and their destruction. Let us ask, 
 also, that the blood of our blessed Saviour fall 
 on our souls, but to purify them, consecrate 
 them, bless them, and enrich them with virtue. 
 May His precious blood fill our souls with 
 merits worthy of reward and render us worthy 
 of eternal felicity ! 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXIII. 
 
 THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 
 "My heart shall be there always." — in. Kings ix. 3. 
 
 IN the seventeenth century there lived in a 
 convent of the Visitation at Paray-le-Mo- 
 • • • nial in France an humble religious named 
 Margaret Mary. Although young in years, 
 she received from heaven the most signal 
 favors, the choicest benedictions, and I need 
 
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, 177 
 
 hardly say that she corresponded to these 
 favors by a most constant fidelity. One day, 
 as she was adoring our blessed Lord in the 
 quiet and peaceful chapel, the good Master 
 appeared to her, and revealed all the treasures 
 of love with which His Sacred Heart is in- 
 flamed for men. Not only once, but even a 
 second and a third time, was this favor given 
 her. These apparitions occurred in the year 
 1675. Our blessed Saviour showed her His Sa- 
 cred Heart, surmounted by a cross, surrounded 
 by a crown of thorns, and enveloped in flames, 
 which seemed to her capable of consuming the 
 world. He asked of her to have a feast es- 
 tablished in honor of His Sacred Heart. He 
 told her to behold the Heart of Jesus, which 
 loved men so well, and enumerated the many 
 blessings which should follow and flow upon 
 whomsoever should honor His Sacred Heart. 
 During twenty years Margaret Mary was in fre- 
 quent communication with our blessed Lord, 
 and during those years God permitted that she 
 should be exposed to the severest trials and 
 contradictions. In the year 1720 the plague 
 ravaged the city of Marseilles. It was this 
 circumstance that God employed to regularly 
 establish the devotion to the Sacred Heart. 
 To-day this devotion is universal. It is known 
 
 and practised in every land where the true 
 12 
 
178 The Sacred Heai't of Jesus. 
 
 Church of God is found, while more than 
 20,000,000 souls have enrolled their names in 
 leagues, societies, and sodalities which have 
 the Sacred Heart as the especial object of their 
 devotion. By a rescript of the Sovereign 
 Pontiff, Pope Pius IX., addressed to the whole 
 Catholic world, a special feast celebrates the 
 honor and the glory of the Sacred Heart of 
 Jesus. 
 
 Let us, therefore, consider the devotion to 
 the Sacred Heart in its object, its end, and its 
 effects, and VvX shall then be able to under- 
 stand how worthy is this devotion of our hearts' 
 best affection. 
 
 I. /;/ its object, — The devotion to the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus is an exercise of religion which 
 has for its object the very Heart of Our Lord 
 and Saviour, burning with love for men. Yes, 
 it is the real, the physical heart of the person of 
 the Incarnate Word ; it is to the Heart of Jesus 
 in its proper and natural signification that this 
 devotion is offered. Such was the wish of our 
 amiable Saviour, according to His revelations 
 to the blessed Margaret Mary. The Church, 
 in establishing confraternities in honor of the 
 Sacred Heart, has had in view only the devo- 
 tion to the true, the real Heart of Jesus. We 
 do not, however, regard the Heart of Jesus as 
 isolated and separated from the person of the 
 
The Sacred Heart of Jesus. 179 
 
 Son of God. No; on the contrary, we con- 
 sider the Heart of Jesus intimately and indisso- 
 lubly united to His adorable person, and by this 
 union elevated to a state wholly divine. In 
 fact, w^hile the adoration, praise, and prayers 
 have for their sensible object the material 
 Heart of Jesus, still they refer to the person 
 of the Word, which is united to Him. The 
 spiritual object of this devotion is the infinite 
 love which our blessed Lord has had for us. 
 The true symbol, the natural sign of this love 
 of Jesus is precisely His Sacred Heart. His 
 Heart was the principle, the seat, the organ, or 
 instrument which prompted Him to undertake 
 everything, suffer everything, and sacrifice 
 everything for the human race. It was in His 
 Heart that He experienced the tenderest sen- 
 timents of a father, the most compassionate 
 love of a good shepherd, the sincerest and ten- 
 derest devotion of a friend. It was from His 
 Sacred Heart that the tears flowed at the death 
 of Lazarus, and for the sorrow of Martha and 
 Mary. It was in the Sacred Heart that His 
 universal and omnipotent charity originated 
 which healed all infirmities, solaced every un- 
 fortunate, and by the cross saved the world. 
 What heart is greater, more perfect, or more 
 worthy of love or to be the object of our de- 
 votion ? 
 
i8o The Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
 
 2. In its end, — The devotion to the Sacred 
 Heart has for its end to pay a tribute of love, 
 gratitude, and reparation to our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. The Heart of Jesus 
 loved us infinitely on earth and still loves us 
 infinitely in heaven. It is love which has held 
 Him enchained on our altars during 1900 years. 
 Is it not, therefore, just that we should sur- 
 round Him with special testimony of gratitude, 
 veneration, and love? In revealing His Sa- 
 cred Heart to His devoted servant, Marga- 
 ret Mary, He said : " Behold the Heart which 
 has loved men so much.'' These words He 
 repeats to each one of us in the blessed Eu- 
 charist. Is not this enough to make us un- 
 derstand that He asks of us our best love and 
 devotion ? 
 
 In addition to our love, He asks of us our 
 gratitude for the innumerable blessings which 
 He daily lavishes on us. We cannot recount 
 these blessings. They are an infinity which 
 no man can number. We owe Him also 
 reparation for the contempt, ingratitude, ir- 
 reverence, sacrileges, and coldness of men in 
 this sacrament of His love. We cannot be 
 insensible to the insults, the blasphemies, and 
 the outrages which are offered to Jesus — to 
 Jesus personally residing in the Eucharist, this 
 sacrament in which He manifests all the wealth 
 
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, i8i 
 
 of His tenderness and love. There are out- 
 rages on the part of heretics, who deny this 
 mystery, and who have gone so far as to 
 trample under their feet the Sacred Host. 
 Outrages also on the part of Catholics, who often 
 repay the burning love of Jesus by forgetful- 
 ness, abandonment, and profanation. 
 
 3. In its effects, — If we consider the devotion 
 to the Sacred Heart in its effects we shall find 
 it the inexhaustible source of all graces. The 
 blessed Margaret Mary wrote to her director : 
 " It is evident that there is no one in the whole 
 world who will not experience the assistance 
 of Heaven if he has for Jesus a grateful love.'' 
 She adds : " I do not know of any exercise of 
 devotion which is more capable of elevating, 
 in a short time, a soul to the highest sanctity 
 and of making it taste the sweetness of the 
 service of God, than the devotion to the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus. Yes, I say it with perfect 
 assurance: if men knew how agreeable this 
 devotion is to Jesus there is not a single 
 Christian who would not practise it at once." 
 
 By borrowing the words of the Wise Man, 
 we can say that " all things come to us in the 
 devotion to the Sacred Heart.'* Let us hear 
 again what this privileged servant of God tells 
 us. "By devotion to the Sacred Heart secular 
 persons — people living in the world — will find 
 
1 82 Feast of St. Peter. 
 
 all the necessary assistance in their state of 
 life, that is to say, peace in their families, 
 comfort in their labors, the blessings of heaven 
 on all their undertakings, and consolations in 
 their sorrows," In the Sacred Heart they will 
 find a place of refuge during life, and espe- 
 cially at the hour of death. Ah, how sweet 
 it is to die after having had a constant devotion 
 to the Sacred Heart of Him who will be our 
 judge ! Then let us honor and love this divine 
 Heart in time to possess it in eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXIV. 
 
 FEAwST OF ST. PETER. 
 
 *'Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." — St. 
 Matt. xvi. i6. 
 
 THIS is the response which St. Peter gave 
 to our blessed Saviour on a most memo- 
 . . . rable occasion. While journeying toward 
 Cesarea, our divine Saviour was conversing 
 familiarly with His disciples. '' Who do 
 men say that the Son of man is?" asked our 
 divine Lord of His apostles. They answered: 
 '' Some say that Thou art John the Baptist, and 
 others Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of 
 the prophets." Jesus said to them: ''But 
 who do you say that I am.^" St. Peter, 
 
Feast of St. Peter. 183 
 
 answering in the name of the others, replied: 
 "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." 
 And Jesus said to him : " Blessed art thou, 
 Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath 
 not revealed it to thee, but My Father, Who 
 is in heaven. And I say to thee that thou 
 art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My 
 Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 against it" (St. Matt. xvi. 13-18). Therefore 
 it is that the faith of this glorious apostle has 
 been recompensed by his elevation to the su- 
 preme rank of head of the Church. It is this 
 faith which I wish to propose for your pious 
 meditation on this day, consecrated to the 
 memory of this great saint. 
 
 We will then consider the faith of St. 
 Peter in its principles, its motives, and in his 
 acts. 
 
 I. In its principles, — St. Peter was the first 
 to believe in his heart and to confess by his 
 words the divinity of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. This truth is the resume of all 
 religion and the essential condition of possess- 
 ing eternal life. The words of St. John give us 
 this assurance : '' This is eternal life, to know 
 Thee, the only true God, and Christ Jesus, 
 Whom Thou has sent." And now, let us ask, 
 What has been for the apostle the principle, 
 the source, the origin of this faith? It has 
 
184 Feast of St. Peter. 
 
 been neither flesh nor blood ; that is to say, 
 neither study, nor knowledge, neither the read- 
 ing of books nor the teaching of men — in a word, 
 the faith of the apostle had not its origin from 
 men or from the world. His faith was purely 
 the gift of God. '' Blessed art thou, Simon 
 Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not 
 revealed this to thee, but My Father, Who 
 is in heaven." Because of this faith, which 
 was wholly supernatural, Peter is proclaimed 
 blessed. And why? In virtue of this faith 
 he is agreeable to God, and without faith no 
 one can be acceptable in His eyes. The great 
 Apostle tells us that *' without faith it is impos- 
 sible to please God." It is, therefore, this 
 very faith which is the principle of His great- 
 ness. His merits, and His glory. 
 
 Like St. Peter, we also are called to follow 
 Christ. In baptism we have been consecrated 
 His disciples and have become children of 
 His Church. And now let us candidly ask, 
 Do we believe sincerely in our hearts and are 
 we ready courageously to confess with our 
 words that Jesus is the Son of the living God? 
 If we can answer affirmatively we should esteem 
 ourselves happy and be grateful for this great 
 gift of faith. We are indebted for this gift 
 neither to our wisdom, to our prudence, nor our 
 learning ; but we owe it solely to the grace and 
 
Feast of St, Peter, 185 
 
 mercy of God. Therefore it is, as St. Paul 
 says, " not of him that willeth, nor of him who 
 runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" 
 (Rom. ix. 16). 
 
 Do we hold this precious gift of faith suffi- 
 ciently in esteem? It is our only, our true, 
 greatness. It is this gift which makes us 
 children of God, Christ's brethren and co- 
 heirs. This gift is our true wealth, since it 
 procures for us those goods which are above 
 all other goods of which we can have any con- 
 ce.ption or which we can possess on earth. 
 This gift of faith is our only glory, since it 
 opens for us heaven with all its splendor and 
 magnificence. " He that belie veth and is bap- 
 tized shall be saved'* (St. Mark xvi. 16). 
 
 2. /;/ its motives, — The faith of St. Peter 
 was not only supernatural in its principle, it 
 was also reasonable in its motives. Having 
 been called to follow Jesus, he received His 
 doctrines and His teaching. If the Jews, who 
 had not the dispositions of the apostle, could 
 say, when hearing our blessed Saviour : '' Never 
 did man speak as this man," what then must 
 have been the admiration of Simon Peter, who 
 was honored with the intimacy and familiarity 
 of his Master? He carefully treasured the 
 words of wisdom which fell from His sacred 
 lips. Again, one day, while Jesus was speak- 
 
1 86 Feast of St. Peter. 
 
 ing of the future institution of the blessed 
 Eucharist, many were scandalized at a mys- 
 tery so sublime and incomprehensible. Peter 
 exclaimed: "Lord, to whom else shall we 
 go? Thou only hast the words of eternal 
 life.'* 
 
 St. Peter witnessed the works of his Master. 
 He saw Him command nature, appease the 
 tempest, heal the sick, raise the dead to life, 
 unfold the secrets of hearts — in a word, he 
 saw Jesus, with sovereign omnipotence, accom- 
 plish the most astonishing prodigies. This was 
 for him a sufficient motive to confess the 
 divinity of Christ. To those who were rebel- 
 lious our blessed Saviour said : '' If you will 
 not believe My word, believe at least My 
 works. My works give testimony of Me." 
 In fine, Jesus confirmed the beauty of His 
 doctrines and the grandeur of His works by 
 the perfection of His life and the sanctity of 
 His examples. This was for St. Peter another 
 motive firmly to believe that Jesus was God. 
 And, besides, had he not heard, on Thabor, 
 the voice of God the Tather speaking of 
 Jesus transfigured : " This is My well-beloved 
 Son m Whom I am well pleased: hear ye 
 Him"? 
 
 3. In his acts. — The faith of vSt. Peter was 
 not only reasonable in its motives, but his faith 
 
Feast of St. Fete?-, 187 
 
 was magnificently manifested in his acts. At 
 the first intimation he received from Jesus he 
 generously abandoned all he possessed and 
 vowed his present and future service to his 
 Master: "Behold, we leave everything to 
 follow Thee." St. Peter's faith was so great 
 that he walked on the waters without the slight- 
 est fear of danger, and eagerly ran to seize the 
 extended hand of Jesus. It is true his faith 
 was not yet perfect, since he merited the gen- 
 tle rebuke of Our Saviour : " Why have you 
 doubted? " It was, however, only a short time 
 afterward when he heard Our Lord say to him : 
 " When you will be converted you will 
 strengthen your brethren in the faith." 
 
 Thanks to his great faith, immediately after 
 his fall his penance was prompt, and entire, 
 and persevering. A single look from his 
 Master sufficed to recall him. At the sight of 
 his sin he shed bitter tears, and he did not 
 cease to weep until his dying day. His tears 
 had furrowed his cheeks. The whole life of 
 this glorious apostle, his journeys, his labors, 
 his preaching, his solicitude to establish the 
 Church and to govern it, his death on the 
 cross after the example of his Master, are all 
 so many splendid proofs of the fervor and 
 activity of his faith. Like to the faith of St. 
 Peter, may our faith be solidly established in 
 
1 88 Feast of St, Joseph, 
 
 our heart, but especially let our faith manifest 
 itself by our constant perseverance in the 
 fulfilment of those works which are calculated 
 to advance God's glory and our own sanctifica- 
 tion. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXV. 
 
 FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 *'Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." — St. Matt. i. i8. 
 
 BEHOLD the three names which are par- 
 ticularly dear to Catholic hearts ! These 
 • • • three names are lovingly linked togeth- 
 er, and are spoken with greatest confidence. 
 Jesus, our God, our Creator, our Redeemer, 
 our Master. Mary, the Mother of Jesus and 
 our Mother, full of grace, of tenderness, and of 
 mercy. Joseph, the descendant of kings and 
 patriarchs, the representative of God in the ac- 
 complishment of the mysteries of our salvation, 
 the foster-father of Jesus, the spouse of Mary 
 the Mother of Jesus and the queen of virgins. 
 Oh, how great should be our confidence and 
 devotion to these three blessed names! I 
 need hardly say that your piety should not per- 
 mit a single day to pass without invoking them 
 with tenderness and love. But since we cele- 
 brate to-day the feast of St. Joseph, I wish to 
 
Feast of St, Joseph. 189 
 
 respond to your pious expectations by speak- 
 ing to you more particularly of the devotion 
 which we should have for the glorious patri- 
 arch St. Joseph. As children of St. Joseph 
 we should honor him, invoke him, and imitate 
 him. 
 
 I. To honor him, — The first sentiment which 
 the name of St. Joseph should awaken in our 
 hearts is the sentiment of profound venera- 
 tion. Has not God Himself infinitely honored 
 him by establishing him as the guardian of 
 Jesus and Mary? ''Take the Child and His 
 Mother." Have for them every care which 
 a father should have for a wife and for her son. 
 Joseph is, therefore, raised to the dignity of 
 head of the holy family, and holds the place 
 of God the Father. Mary honors him as her 
 spouse, and submits to his guidance entirely. 
 It is he who receives the heavenly messages 
 and makCvS them known to Mary. Jesus, 
 Who is the uncreated Wisdom, humbly obeys 
 him. " He was obedient to Mary and Joseph." 
 He labors with Joseph, and is obedient to his 
 commands in the humble workshop at Naza- 
 reth. Now, if the Heavenly Father, if our 
 Lord and Saviour, if the Blessed Virgin have 
 given to St. Joseph the greatest honors that 
 a man is capable of receiving, is it not clearly 
 our duty to give to this illustrious patriarch all 
 
190 Feast of St. Joseph, 
 
 the homage and respect and veneration which 
 piety, enlightened by faith and inflamed by 
 charity, can give ? As children of the Catholic 
 Church we see our holy Mother propagate 
 everywhere the love and devotion to St. Joseph. 
 Temples and altars are erected in his honor, 
 his festival-days are celebrated; in a word, 
 the Church proclaims him her glorious pa- 
 tron. Shall we not also unite in this universal 
 concert of Catholic souls to honor the foster- 
 father of our Lord and Saviour and the spouse 
 of Mary, our good and tender Mother? To 
 honor St. Joseph, therefore, is only to unite 
 in the dispositions of Jesus, and to share the 
 sentiments of His adorable heart toward him 
 whom He venerated, respected, and loved as 
 His earthly father. To declare ourselves the 
 servants of St. Joseph is to profess ourselves 
 true disciples of Jesus. 
 
 And has not Mary a particular predilection 
 for the faithful hearts who honor her holy 
 spouse? Who is there who would not have 
 been most happy to have been a member of 
 that holy family — even to have been an hum- 
 ble servant in it? With what joy you would 
 have obeyed St. Joseph in his humble work- 
 shop! If you are devoted to this glorious 
 saint, if you make it a duty to honor him now, 
 you will merit to be regarded as a servant and 
 
Feast of St. Joseph. 191 
 
 member of that great family of which St. 
 Joseph is the head. 
 
 2. To invoke him. — The devotion which we 
 should have for St. Joseph consists also in in- 
 voking him. His power and influence before 
 God are omnipotent, because he is a just man. 
 St. James tells us that " the prayer of the just 
 man is very great with God.'* How many are 
 the titles he has to be heard by God, and what 
 could our Lord and Saviour refuse him? Dur- 
 ing his life on earth St. Joseph served Him as 
 a father, he provided for Him, and protected 
 Him against the fury of His enemies. He 
 also shared the sorrows and agonies of Mary 
 in their flight to Egypt, in their return to 
 Nazareth, and the loss of Jesus, Who had re- 
 mained in the temple in the midst of the 
 doctors: "Behold, Thy father and I have 
 sought Thee sorrowing." The care and vigi- 
 lance and tender solicitude which St. Joseph 
 had for Jesus he has still for us, whom he 
 sees exposed on earth to the rage of hell, the 
 persecutions of the world, and the fury of pas- 
 sions. From the highest heavens he sees the 
 dangers which surround us in this vale of 
 tears, this place of exile. He is the witness 
 of our fatigues, of our sorrows, and of our mis- 
 eries; his heart is touched by a tender and 
 paternal compassion for us. And since he is 
 
192 Feast of St. Joseph. 
 
 all-powerful with Jesus to obtain for lis the 
 necessary grace and assistance, we cannot 
 doubt but that he will be disposed to intercede 
 for those whom his Son of adoption has -pur- 
 chased at the price of His sacred bloody and 
 for those whom Mary at the foot of the cross 
 received as her children. 
 
 The Church, by a solemn decree, has recog- 
 nized St. Joseph as her protector. This is 
 for us another motive to invoke him with 
 confidence in the countless necessities which 
 beset us in life. But it is especially in the 
 hour of our death that we should recommend 
 ourselves to St. Joseph, since he is particularly 
 the patron of the sick and dying. 
 
 3. To imitate hi?n. — The means to assure 
 ourselves of the protection of St. Joseph, and 
 to make him propitious in that hour which 
 will decide our eternity, is to take him for our 
 model now and to imitate him in the practice 
 of those virtues of which he has given the 
 example. The Gospel tells us that ''Joseph 
 was a just man;" that is to say, he was faith- 
 ful in all his duties toward God, his neighbor, 
 and himself. 
 
 Let the law of God be the only rule of our 
 conduct and the motive of our will, as it was 
 for St. Joseph in all the circumstances of his 
 life. It is not without reason that the devo- 
 
Feast of St. Joseph, 193 
 
 tion to this great patriarch is, in our days, 
 constantly increasing. It is a special remedy 
 for our social state, which is perishing by in- 
 subordination. Let us love our neighbor as 
 St. Joseph loved him, by bearing with him 
 patiently, assisting him in charity, and by 
 humbly submitting ourselves to the represen- 
 tatives of legitimate authority. 
 
 We should imitate St. Joseph also in prayer, 
 labor, and the faithful performance of the 
 duties of our state of life. The sacred text 
 does not record a single miracle performed by 
 this august adopted father of Jesus, but it tells 
 us he was a workman, and that he gained his 
 bread by the sweat of his brow. His whole 
 life was passed in recollection and prayer in 
 the society of Jesus and Mary, and in the ful- 
 filment of the duties of his state. This, there- 
 fore, is the example we must imitate to merit 
 his powerful and paternal protection before 
 Jesus. In our thoughts, words, actions, and 
 conduct we should propose St. Joseph as our 
 model. Let us recommend ourselves to him 
 with confidence in all the circumstances of 
 our life. He will be our assistance and our 
 support, and we will have the happiness to ex- 
 perience his assistance when the hour will 
 come to leave this world and to enter life 
 eternal. 
 
 13 
 
194 Feast of St. Stephen. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXVI. 
 
 FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 
 "And Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great 
 wonders and signs among the people." — Acts vi. 8. 
 
 ON this solemnity I cannot present to you 
 a more eloquent panegyric of the great 
 • • • saint and the glorious martyr whose 
 memory we honor than that which the Holy 
 Spirit Himself has left us in the Acts of the 
 Apostles. Full of grace, Stephen was agree- 
 able to God, Whose vision is not limited by 
 the external appearance of men, but Who can 
 recognize the pure and innocent soul that loves 
 Him and is attached to Him above all things. 
 Full of strength, he employs all his zeal to 
 preach the holy name of Jesus, to publish His 
 glorious resurrection, and to spread His holy 
 Gospel. Thus, the sanctity of his life and the 
 ardor of his faith were confirmed by the mul- 
 titude of prodigies which he wrought among 
 the people. He was the first to shed his blood 
 for the holy name of Jesus, and appears at the 
 head of a countless phalanx of martyrs who 
 have given testimony to the truth by shedding 
 their blood. 
 
 The Church, in giving you St. Stephen as 
 your patron, proposes the first martyr for your 
 
Feast of St. Stephen, 195 
 
 veneration and your imitation. It is in this 
 that the devotion you owe him consists, and 
 not only on the day of his feast, but during 
 your whole life. 
 
 I. Your veneration, — The sentiments of pro- 
 found veneration with which St. Stephen 
 should inspire you are found in the fulness of 
 grace which he possessed, the testimony which 
 the apostles gave to his sanctity, the fidelity 
 with which he discharged the duties of his 
 ministry, and the protection which his patron- 
 age assures you. 
 
 I. His plenitude of grace, — This is unques- 
 tionably the most beautiful title he possesses 
 to our respect and homage. Full of grace, St. 
 Stephen has been elevated to the highest rank 
 which a creature can attain before God. It 
 was in these very terms that the Blessed Virgin, 
 chosen to be the Mother of the Saviour of the 
 world, was saluted by the angel : " Hail, full 
 of grace ! '* For the disciple, as for the Mother 
 of the Saviour, grace has been the principle of 
 the most eminent sanctity. Although still 
 very young, St. Stephen was among the first 
 Christians a model of innocence, purity, char- 
 ity, and of all the virtues. So that with an 
 abundance of supernatural gifts for his own 
 sanctification, he received from heaven also 
 the power to perform prodigies and splendid 
 
196 Feast of St. Stephen, 
 
 miracles, to convert the pagan world to the 
 belief of the Gospel. 
 
 2. Tlie testimony which the apostles gave to his 
 sanctity, — When the chiefs of the Church, 
 inspired by the Holy Spirit, deemed it neces- 
 sary to add new members to their society, to 
 confide to them the care of widows and orphans 
 and to distribute alms to the poor, they said to 
 the assembled disciples: "Brethren, look ye 
 out among" you men of good reputation, full 
 of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may 
 appoint over this business." Upon whom did 
 they fix their eyes? Young Stephen was 
 deemed most worthy. He it was whom the 
 brethren chose to care for the poor and for 
 those who renounced the world and conse- 
 crated themselves to the service of God: 
 "They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and 
 the Holy Ghost." 
 
 3. Fidelity luith zuhich he discharged the ditties 
 of his ministry, — What tongue can ever tell 
 the zeal and the devotion of the deacon St. 
 Stephen in providing for the poor, the sick, and 
 the needs of the infant Church? He was most 
 constant in preaching the sacred truths and 
 assisting the early Christians in all their 
 necessities. He was the depositary and ad- 
 ministrator of the goods of the Church, and he 
 gave to all an example of perfect detachment, 
 
Feast of St. Stephen. k)"] 
 
 and found his glory in the poverty which he 
 had seen his divine Master practise. For one 
 of his age to be intrusted with such important 
 charges, his innocence, his . wisdom, his pru- 
 dence were unquestionable. It is indeed true 
 to say that if there were one among you pos- 
 sessed of these eminent qualities, or having a 
 sanctity so evident, you would entertain for 
 him only sentiments of profound veneration. 
 
 4. The protection ivJiich Ins patronage assures 
 you. — The honor and the homage which you 
 owe to St. Stephen should be great indeed, 
 since you have the happiness to have him for 
 your patron. When on earth he was power- 
 ful in words and works ; now that he has tri- 
 umphed he is still more powerful in his glory. 
 Therefore, have fullest confidence in his pow- 
 erful intercession, and in return he will have 
 for you the same care which on earth he had 
 for the widows and the orphans and the poor 
 and for all those who were confided to him. 
 
 II. Your imitation. — The Church on this 
 solemnity presents to you also St. Stephen as 
 your model. After the example of this illus- 
 trious first martyr, we are all called to give 
 testimony to Jesus, our Saviour and Master. 
 We owe to Him the testimony of innocence 
 and sanctity. How can we pretend to the 
 title of children of God, of true followers of 
 
198 Feast of St. Stephen. 
 
 Christ, if we do not make it our duty to live in 
 a state of grace and to grow in perfection 
 daily? How shall we be recognized as disci- 
 ples of Jesus if not by our fidelity to hear and 
 put in practice the teachings and precepts of 
 the Gospel, which are given us by the Church? 
 
 We owe to Jesus the testimony of zeal and 
 devotion. St. Stephen manifested the highest 
 courage and fearlessness, and performed prodi- 
 gies among the people. I do not say that we 
 should aspire to work miracles ; but if we wish 
 to be, like our glorious patron, worthy follow- 
 ers of Jesus Christ, we should have the cour- 
 age and strength to resist the seductions and 
 bad examples of the world, and publicly to as- 
 sert our faith by our good works. While the 
 crowds are running to enjoyment, pleasures, 
 and amusements, we should not blush to direct 
 our steps to the church, to assist at the holy 
 offices, and approach the confessional and the 
 holy table. Just see the courage and fear- 
 lessness of St. Stephen ! The Jews could not 
 bear the sight of his innocence, nor could they 
 bear his fearlessly spoken words. Far from be- 
 ing intimidated, he hurled against them these 
 just but humiliating reproaches: "Ye hard- 
 ened hearts, how long will you resist the Holy 
 Ghost?'' 
 
 The rebellious Jews prepared to take him 
 
St, Aloysius. 199 
 
 without the city- walls, to stone him to death. 
 But the holy deacon is not dismayed. This 
 he regards as another opportunity to render to 
 Jesus the most glorious testimony He can re- 
 ceive from His disciples, the testimony of blood, 
 Stephen offered to his Master the sacrifice of 
 his whole life. 
 
 At length he was overwhelmed by a shower 
 of stones ; his last words were a prayer for par- 
 don and an act of ardent charity : " Lord, do 
 not impute this crime to them. Into Thy 
 hands I commend my spirit.'* 
 
 After his example we should be ready to 
 defend our faith at the peril of our life, and 
 we should have for our enemies and persecu- 
 tors only sentiments of pity and pardon. Thus 
 it is that we may assure ourselves of the pro- 
 tection of St. Stephen, and, after having faith- 
 fully imitated him on earth, we may thereby 
 merit to share his glory. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXVII. 
 ST. ALOYSIUS. 
 
 "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou 
 hast crowned him with glory and honor." — Ps. viii. 6. 
 
 T 
 
 HE Church applies these words of the 
 prophet-king to St. Aloysius, whose festi- 
 val we celebrate to-day. In their brevity 
 
200 St, Aloysius. 
 
 they sum up the short but perfect life of this 
 illustrious servant of God. We see at once 
 the angelic purity which he manifested during 
 life, and the incomparable glory with which 
 God has crowned him in heaven. In the year 
 1 59I5 when Louis de Gonzaga was twenty-three 
 years old, he gave up his pure soul to God in 
 the city of Rome. His was a short life — a 
 life hardly commenced, but a life already 
 full of saintly perfection and merit. We 
 can say of him, as we say of the young 
 Stanislaus Kostka: "In a short time he has 
 accomplished a long career." One hundred 
 and thirty-five years afterward Pope Benedict 
 XIII. placed him upon our altars as worthy 
 of veneration, and by a particular decree gave 
 him to Christian youth as their protector and 
 model. 
 
 It is from this point of view that I wish to cele- 
 brate with you the memory of St. Aloysius. 
 He presents himself to our pious attention as a 
 model of innocence and of penance. These two 
 thoughts have been suggested by the prayer 
 which the Church recites in the Mass of to-day. 
 
 I. Model of innocence. — Louis de Gonzaga 
 was born on the 9th day of March, 1568, in the 
 castle of Chatillon. His parents were dis- 
 tinguished for their piety as well as for the 
 high position which they occupied in the 
 
St. Aloysius. 201 
 
 world. The young Marquis of Chatillon early- 
 understood the value of that treasure which 
 the sacrament of baptism had deposited in his 
 soul. He esteemed it far above the honors, 
 the riches, and all the pleasures of earth. 
 The first names which his infant tongue 
 learned to speak were the names of Jesus and 
 Mary. At the early age of nine years he 
 made a vow of perpetual virginity before an 
 altar of the Blessed Virgin in Florence. So 
 carefully did he guard the holy virtue of purity, 
 that by a special favor of God he was never 
 called upon to reject a single temptation against 
 chastity. His whole care was to preserve the 
 innocence of his soul. The means which he 
 employed were prayer, recollection of mind, 
 and a continual vigilance over his eyes and all 
 his senses. In fact, this is precisely what our 
 blessed Saviour recommends in the Gospel to 
 those who wish to be His disciples : " Watch 
 and pray.*' 
 
 Because the young Aloysius placed inno- 
 cence above all things, he neglected nothing 
 to preserve it. And now let us ask what es- 
 teem have we for the purity of our soul? Do 
 we regard it as the most precious treasure 
 which we can possess? The world, which 
 enchants, seduces, and deceives us, tells us to 
 esteem fortune, honor, glory, and pleasures, 
 
202 -5/. Aloysius, 
 
 while it inspires only indifference or contempt 
 for all that is supernatural, and for all that 
 relates to the invisible goods of eternity. 
 By his example St. Aloysius teaches us that 
 " there is only one thing necessary : to know 
 God, to love and serve Him.'' This, according 
 to the Wise Man, is " the whole man. '' In fact, 
 this is the only end of life, and we should un- 
 derstand it well and be thoroughly convinced 
 of this truth even from earliest infancy. Our 
 amiable saint understood this important truth 
 well. To strengthen himself in the practice 
 of virtue and to advance in perfection he loved 
 solitude and shut himself up in his room, there 
 to read and meditate on the lives of the saints. 
 Look and see if there are many to-day in the 
 world, and among the youth at the schools, who 
 imitate this conduct. On the contrary, they 
 eagerly devour romances, newspapers, and 
 journals, which too often pervert the mind and 
 corrupt the heart. Some there are, indeed, 
 who read books of science and history both 
 ancient and modern. But the lives of the 
 saints, which are so beautiful, so attractive, so 
 instructive, and so profitable to innocence and 
 morality, are allowed to remain buried in the 
 dust of the libraries, and there is no desire to 
 seek in them models of Christian conduct. 
 While St. Aloysius loved to open and read 
 
Sf. Aloysius. 203 
 
 these edifying books, he still carefully closed 
 the door of his senses. He guarded his eyes 
 so carefully that he never looked at Mary of 
 Austria, whom for several years he saluted 
 each morning, in virtue of his office as page 
 at the court of Spain. He did not even per- 
 mit his eyes to rest on the face of his own 
 mother. From this testimony we can easily 
 understand how he was a perfect model of 
 innocence. We will now see that he was also 
 a model of penance. 
 
 2. Model of penance. — You may ask me why 
 St. Aloysius, who had the privilege to pre- 
 serve his baptismal innocence, wished to sub- 
 mit himself to a severe and continual pen- 
 ance. The saints viewed penance in another 
 light than we regard it. While we submit to 
 it only with reluctance, they, on the contrary, 
 regarded it as a great act of love for our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. St. Aloysius em- 
 braced penance to imitate our blessed Saviour 
 and to become like to Him in all things. Well 
 did he know that if we would merit to reign 
 with Him in His glory we must suffer with 
 Him on earth. 
 
 Penance is, then, a preservative against the 
 seductions of the world and the attractions 
 of the passions. St. Aloysius found in his 
 fasting, his watching, and the mortifications 
 
204 Sf. Aloysii/s. 
 
 which he imposed on himself a powerful safe- 
 guard against the assaults of the demon. The 
 body, which we idolize, and of which we make 
 a dangerous enemy by flattering its tastes, and 
 by favoring its grosser instincts, our servant 
 of God treated severely and made it subservi- 
 ent. He used the discipline until his body 
 freely bled three times each day. With his own 
 hands he made the disciplines of leathern 
 thongs and a hair shirt with sharp points. 
 Oftentimes he placed in his bed pieces of 
 wood to render it hard and uncomfortable 
 and to shorten the time of sleep. He was a 
 voluntary victim of penance and was also a 
 martyr of charity. In fact, he was a victim 
 to his devotion ; for while caring for the sick 
 in the hospitals of Rome he contracted a fever 
 which consumed him and brought him to the 
 tomb at the early age of twenty-three years. 
 
 It is true we are not called to imitate St. 
 Aloysius in all his w^orks, but at least let us 
 follow him in the practice of those virtues of 
 which he is such a splendid example. If we 
 cannot flatter ourselves to have preserved our 
 baptismal innocence as our holy patron did, we 
 can at least generously begin a life of penance. 
 We will find in such a life a salutary expiation 
 of faults committed, a preservative against new 
 faults, and a source of merit for our future life. 
 
Sanctity, 205 
 
 May St. Aloysius be our model in fidelity to 
 prayer, vigilance over ourselves, the love of 
 God and our neighbor, and he will be before 
 God our powerful protector. Through his 
 interx^ession let us hope to obtain that recom- 
 pense which will be eternal. ' 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXVIII. 
 
 SANCTITY. 
 **Be holy because I am holy." — Levit. xi. 44. 
 
 IT was the serious consideration of these 
 words that exalted the saints to that high 
 • • degree of honor and glory which they 
 now enjoy in heaven. Because they have 
 been faithful during their earthly existence, 
 they are now placed on our altars, and the 
 Church celebrates their memory by solemn 
 festivals. We would not, however, fully com- 
 prehend the devotion which is due to them, 
 should we limit ourselves merely to the admir- 
 ation of their virtues ; we should strive to imi- 
 tate them. Our vocation is not at all different 
 from theirs; we also are called to be saints; 
 we also must, one day, share in that glory by 
 which they are surrounded in heaven. Every 
 true follower of Christ must strive for that end, 
 whatever may be his rank or condition on earth. 
 
2o6 , Sanctity, 
 
 Nor can we say that sanctity is difficult, or that it 
 is something good only for certain chosen souls, 
 whom God has called to live far from the em- 
 barrassments of the world and its annoyances. 
 No, heaven is closed to no one. Virtue is 
 possible for all. And not only possible, but 
 we can, no matter what our state or condition, 
 arrive at the highest sanctity — that is to say, we 
 can be numbered among those heroes whom 
 the Church honors and invokes as her protec- 
 tors. To awaken our faith and animate our 
 courage, I wish to show you that sanctity is 
 possible, and that it is most worthy of all our 
 efforts. 
 
 I. Sanctity is possible, — Sanctity is possible 
 and within the reach of all men. It is neces- 
 sary that it should be so. And why? Be- 
 cause God has made it a duty for all men to 
 sanctify themselves. " Be ye therefore holy 
 as I am holy." *' Be ye therefore perfect as 
 your heavenly Father is perfect." Now God 
 does not command what is impossible. There- 
 fore, since He has commanded us to be holy, 
 it is possible for us to be holy. God could not 
 impose on us something which is beyond our 
 strength. In fact, what must we do to be 
 sanctified? Is it necessary to work miracles? 
 Must we lead an extraordinary life? Or is 
 it necessary to submit to rigorous fasts, or 
 
Sanctity, 207 
 
 scourge our bodies, or quit the world and 
 bury ourselves in solitude? It is true the 
 saints have done this and more, but there have 
 been great saints in the Church of God who 
 have not performed these prodigies of penance. 
 What has especially produced sanctity in them 
 is the care they have taken to preserve them- 
 selves from sin in this life, or to expiate by 
 penance the faults they had the misfortune 
 to commit. 
 
 Among the saints there are some who have 
 been great sinners. St. Augustine, for exam- 
 ple, lived long years a life of sinful pleas- 
 ures. Magdalene also expiated a guilty life 
 by shedding tears at the feet of the Saviour. 
 St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, had de- 
 nied his Master, and St. Paul confessed that 
 he was a persecutor of the holy name of Jesus. 
 Yet they did penance; they wept bitterly 
 for their sinfulness, and were, sincerely con- 
 verted to God. That which has made them 
 saints was their fidelity to observe the law of 
 God and to practise the Christian virtues. 
 They had faith, but a lively, ardent, practical 
 faith, which held their souls attentive to the 
 truths which God has revealed, and which His 
 Church teaches. Faith sustained them and 
 animated their courage to endure persecutions, 
 contempt, and all those trials which the ser- 
 
2o8 Sanctity. 
 
 vants of God in this world must expect. The 
 hope of future and eternal goods also prompted 
 them to trample under their feet all the vani- 
 ties and all the pleasures of earth. Their 
 hearts, burning with intensest charity, stimu- 
 lated them to esteem above all things the love 
 for God and their neighbor. 
 
 Why then will we not imitate them ? Why 
 will we say that sanctity is something too 
 difficult? The saints have had no other re- 
 sources than those which we have. But what 
 they had, and what we have not, is their good 
 will. Our blessed Saviour tells us : '' The king- 
 dom of heaven suffers violence, and the vio- 
 lent bear it away." 
 
 Around us on every side we see men busy 
 and active to accumulate a fortune, striving 
 to enjoy the pleasures of life, imposing on 
 themselves the greatest sacrifices, overcoming 
 every difficulty, and exposing themselves to 
 countless dangers for some transitory good or 
 some temporal advantage. Yet when there is 
 question of submitting themselves to Christian 
 duties and practices, when there is question of 
 sanctifying themselves to merit heaven, every- 
 thing is changed into an insurmountable ob- 
 stacle. They plead their state of life, busi- 
 ness, poverty, or health. We forget that 
 the saints were of the same nature as our- 
 
Sanctity. 209 
 
 selves; that they had the same passions to 
 resist and the same temptations to combat. 
 St. Augustine convinced himself that sanctity 
 was not impossible for him by frequently re- 
 peating: '* Augustine, can you not do what 
 other Christians have done?" Surely we can- 
 not regard as impossible what was possible for 
 simple shepherds and the most obscure ser- 
 vants. 
 
 2. Sanctity is most ico7'thy of all our efforts, 
 — It is not enough to show that sanctity is 
 within the reach of all ; we must add that it is 
 something great, sublime, and most worthy of 
 our greatest efforts. What is sanctity? It is 
 simply the light and strength of God, which 
 descend and become incarnate in the heart of 
 man. It is Christ living in the Christian and 
 inspiring his thoughts and sentiments, and 
 directing him in all his ways. In a word, 
 sanctity perfects man and renders him like 
 to God. Truth, purity, justice, goodness — all 
 these virtues are marvellously united in the 
 saints. Let a Christian take the Gospel and 
 make it the rule of his conduct; let him follow 
 its precepts and counsels, and nothing more 
 will be necessary to make him a perfect man 
 according to the heart of God — that is to say, 
 a saint. Let us ask, Is there any undertaking 
 more sublime, more worthy of our efforts than 
 14 
 
2 1 o Sanctity, 
 
 to attain to true glory, power, and the posses- 
 sion of all the sweetest and most lasting joys? 
 What glory is comparable to that of the saints? 
 In heaven they are so intimately united with 
 Jesus that they are one with Him, and in a 
 measure share His divinity. On earth the 
 names of the saints are chanted in every 
 tongue, and their memory is celebrated with 
 love and gratitude by all Catholic peoples. 
 Their power is asserted by the countless mira- 
 cles which God accords to their intercession 
 and their merits. And what shall we say of 
 their felicity, when St. Paul, exalted even to 
 the third heaven, can find no words to tell 
 what God has reserved for those who love 
 Him? The Holy Spirit calls their joys ''a 
 torrent of delights." Does not this glory, 
 this power, this incomparable felicity merit all 
 the affections of our heart, all the efforts of 
 our will? Are they not worthy of the most 
 generous sacrifices? Happy then shall we be 
 if we zealously labor for the sanctification of 
 our souls. This and this only will give us the 
 assurance of that happiness which is eternal. 
 
Propagation of the Faith. 211 
 
 INSTRUCTION XXXIX. 
 
 PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH. 
 
 " How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the 
 gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good 
 things." — Rom. x. 15. 
 
 OF all the works inspired by the Catholic 
 Church one of the most admirable and 
 • • • one of the most agreeable to God is the 
 work of the propagation of the faith. Each 
 successive year the work becomes vaster and 
 more extended. It was inaugurated in a city 
 of France, by the zeal of an humble and pious 
 woman. It has since spread throughout the 
 whole world, and has been favorably received 
 everywhere, and in all ranks of society. The 
 wealthy consider it an honor to be enrolled 
 in this society, and contribute toward it from 
 their abundance, while the poor strive to econ- 
 omize and, from their poverty, give their mite 
 to associate their name, unknown except to 
 God, in this holy work. This work is dear to 
 you and to all. It will be still more so, I 
 hope, when I shall have spoken to you of its 
 excellence and of its results. You who have 
 already the happiness of being members of 
 this society will see that it is not in vain you 
 have given your alms and your prayers, while 
 
212 Propagation of the Faith. 
 
 you who are not yet associated in this society 
 of the propagation of the faith will find in 
 these words powerful encouragement to follow 
 the example of so many others, and also ac- 
 quire precious merits before God. The ex- 
 cellence of the propagation of the faith is 
 found in the end proposed, in the means em- 
 ployed, and the results obtained. 
 
 I. The cud proposed. — To carry the light of 
 the Gospel and the knowledge of the true 
 God, to open heaven, and close hell for multi- 
 tudes of idolatrous people, who have hitherto 
 been seated in darkness and the shadow of 
 death, to make known to them their origin 
 and their destiny, the holy name of our Lord 
 and Saviour, and to make them children of the 
 Church — these are the ends proposed by the 
 work of the propagation of the faith. God has 
 created all men for eternal salvation. But 
 salvation cannot be attained except through 
 the knowledge of Jesus and His Gospel. Now 
 in the distant islands of Oceanica, in the dense 
 forests of America, on the burning vSands of 
 Africa, and in the vast territory of Asia, how 
 many are still living in the darkness of pagan- 
 ism, and give to the demon a worship which 
 is due only to God ! It is to enlighten these 
 people, and to lift them up from the profound 
 degradation in which they are buried, that the 
 
Propagation of iJie Faith. 213 
 
 work of the propagation of the faith has been 
 instituted. It is a continuation of the work of 
 our blessed Lord and His apostles. In fact, 
 we can truly say, from a point of view purely 
 human, the w^ork of the propagation is the 
 master-work of our age. In our day w^e hear 
 much talk of civilization and the means to 
 propagate it in thew^orld. But all the learned 
 Utopian theories and the lengthy declamations 
 of philanthropists can attain nothing in com- 
 parison with this eminently Catholic w^ork. 
 The short prayer and the humble mite of an 
 associate of the propagation of the faith have 
 civilized more savages than all the enterprises 
 of philanthropists and the reveries of human- 
 itarians put together. What glory, therefore, 
 to be associates in this grand society ! What 
 a consolation for us to reflect that w^e are able 
 to communicate to so many unfortunate people 
 the tw^ofold blessing which we possess; viz., 
 faith and civilization. Can we imagine a work 
 more glorious for God or more meritorious for 
 ourselves? 
 
 2. Tlie means eviployed, — Excellent indeed is 
 this w^ork when considered as to the end, but 
 it is no less excellent if w^e consider the means 
 employed. You know the means — prayer and 
 alms-giving. To the eyes of human wisdom 
 these means appear contemptible and weak, 
 
2 14 Propagation of tJie Faith. 
 
 but in the eyes of faith they are truly great. 
 Is not prayer the means which Our Lord has 
 left us to obtain from His Father everything 
 we ask? *' Amen I say to you if you will ask 
 the Father anything in My name, He will give 
 it to you." What then must be the power of 
 prayer when it ascends to heaven from all 
 points of the globe — when it springs forth 
 from millions of hearts animated by the divine 
 breath of charity? To prayer is added alms- 
 giving, which is no less powerful with God. 
 The greater the poverty of him to whom an 
 alms is given the greater will be the recom- 
 pense of him who generously gives it. And 
 who are more miserable than those millions of 
 human beings who are deprived of the best of 
 all goods, which is the grace of God? All can 
 make the offering required for membership 
 in the society of the propagation of the faith. 
 One cent each week is all that is asked. Who 
 is there so poor that can refuse this small 
 offering? Absolutely no one. This penny is 
 indeed insignificant in itself, but in the ag- 
 gregate it produces thousands, aye, millions. 
 With this money the workmen in the vineyard 
 of the Gospel are sustained in every part 
 of the globe ; churches are built, schools are 
 opened for the instruction of children, hospitals 
 and homes are created for the aged and the 
 
Propagation of the Faith, 215 
 
 sick, and, we add, heaven too is opened for 
 countless millions of souls, who would have 
 perished eternally had they been deprived of 
 the opportunities which this society has af- 
 forded them. 
 
 3. Results produced, — Should we traverse the 
 world we would find everywhere evidence of 
 the wonders accomplished by the Society of 
 the Propagation of the Faith. To the sweet 
 influence of this society peoples w^ho had lived 
 in the most degrading barbarism owe that 
 civilization which places them to-day on the 
 level of the most polished people of the world. 
 Into great and flourishing America Catholic 
 missionaries carried the light of God's truth, 
 and everywhere in that vast country planted 
 the cross of the Saviour. As America, Asia, 
 Africa, and the islands of Oceanica advanced 
 toward civilization, in the same measure 
 the faith was received and shed its light 
 upon them. It was in vain that the various 
 sects sent their ministers laden with bibles and 
 tracts to destroy paganism. To the Catholic 
 Church alone is reserved the honor of spread- 
 ing truth and life everywhere. 
 
 While viewing these magnificent results 
 of the work accomplished by this society, it 
 is a consoling reflection that you have contrib- 
 uted to these results by your prayers and 
 
2i6 The Holy Childhood. 
 
 alms. Moreover, you are enriching yourself 
 for eternity. The Sovereign Pontiffs have at- 
 tached most precious indulgences to this holy 
 work. By contributing to the conversion of 
 the infidel you are laboring for your own 
 sanctifi cation. In return for the slightest 
 sacrifices God will grant abundant graces. 
 Besides, the souls whom you will have helped 
 to save will intercede for you before God in 
 heaven, and you will have the happiness one. 
 day to share their glory. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XL. 
 
 THE HOLY CHILDHOOD. 
 
 "Suffer the little children to come unto Me." — St. Mark 
 X. 14. 
 
 THE Gospel assures us that our blessed 
 Lord always manifested an especial pre- 
 • • • dilection for children. He called them 
 near to Him, embraced them affectionately, 
 and gave them His most tender benedictions. 
 Sometimes the apostles feared the importuni- 
 ties of mothers, who pressed upon our divine 
 vSaviour to present their children to Him. 
 The apostles endeavored to put them away. 
 Our divine Saviour, however, chided them for 
 their over-zeal. He said : '' Suffer the little 
 
The Holy Childhood. 217 
 
 children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, 
 for of stich is the kingdom of God." Happy 
 children ! united to-day in the house of God, 
 you are the privileged friends of our Lord and 
 Saviour. He sees in you the grace and 
 innocence of your baptism. Happy parents 
 who, possessing the gift of faith, have had 
 nothing dearer to your hearts than to commu- 
 nicate this faith to those who were born to 
 you. But far away in distant China and in 
 other idolatrous countries there are millions 
 of children exposed to die without baptism. 
 Our Saviour says to us Christians as He said 
 formerly to the apostles : " Suffer the little 
 children to come unto Me." In your name 
 the Church has responded to the appeal of Our 
 Saviour by the work of the Holy Childhood. 
 I will speak to you of the origin, the means, 
 and the advantages of this society. 
 
 I. Its origin. — The work of the Holy Child- 
 hood is in a sense the outcome of the work of 
 the Propagation of the Faith. One day a pious 
 person was touched with compassion at the 
 sight of so many souls who, enveloped in the 
 darkness of paganism, must perish eternally 
 through the want of missionaries to instruct 
 them in the truths of the Gospel and to baptize 
 them. He was so moved by their deplorable 
 condition that he determined to make an ap- 
 
2i8 The Holy Childhood. 
 
 peal to the charity of Christian souls to col- 
 lect some alms, and thereby assist those apostles 
 who were devoting themselves to the salvation 
 of the infidels. All that he asked was one 
 cent each month, and a Pater and an Ave each 
 day. This is the origin, the small beginning 
 of that vast, incomparable work which to-day 
 produces incredible sums of money, and opens 
 heaven to millions of the elect at all points of 
 the habitable w^orld. But in the idolatrous 
 countries, and especially in the vast empire of 
 China, which counts more than three hundred 
 millions of inhabitants, a heart-rending specta- 
 cle constantly presents itself. Countless chil- 
 dren are abandoned and left exposed to death. 
 Unnatural mothers stifle their little ones with 
 their own hands, and are not at all moved by 
 their cries. Still others cast their newly-born 
 babes into the water or sewers, or ditches, or 
 leave them on the wayside, where they are 
 devoured by dogs or swine. 
 
 A t'rench prelate, a man of God, touched by 
 the condition of these innocent creatures, in 
 the tenderness of his soul conceived the 
 thought of saving them from death. This 
 was the origin of the work of the Holy Child 
 hood. This society will do for the salvation 
 of the little children what the ''propagation ' 
 will do for the conversion of infidels. What 
 
The Holy Childhood. 219 
 
 work, then, can be more agreeable to the lov- 
 ing heart of Jesus than this? Your wish is, 
 O Lord ! that the children should be brought to 
 Thee. Behold, we are now ready to give our 
 alms and to offer our prayers that we may 
 merit Thy blessing for ourselves and for our 
 young brethren. 
 
 2. TJie means, — But you will say, since these 
 poor pagan children are counted by the million, 
 how is it possible to reach them? What means 
 have we powerful enough to triumph over all 
 the obstacles w^hich hinder the success of such 
 a vast enterprise? 
 
 Charity is ingenious : it will succeed in every- 
 thing which it undertakes for God. To save 
 these little Chinese children and others from 
 the barbarity of their unnatural parents and 
 from the tyranny of the demon ; to procure for 
 them the blessing of baptism and to open 
 heaven for them, charity will prompt all the 
 children of the holy Catholic Church to be- 
 come little apostles, who by their prayers and 
 their alms will send priests, religious and de- 
 voted missionaries, who will have for these 
 abandoned children the heart of a father and a 
 mother. They will gather them up from the 
 streets and lanes ; they will snatch them from 
 the teeth of vile animals ; they will even pur- 
 chase them, if necessary, from their unnatural 
 
2 20 The Holy Childhood. 
 
 parents. They will baptize them. The poor 
 children who w^ill die will go straight to heaven. 
 They who will live will grow up in the faith, 
 the love, and the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour. Behold, Christian parents! the ob- 
 ject for which we ask from each of your children 
 one cent per month. But this coin, supple- 
 mented by the prayer which will come from 
 innocent hearts, will be a powerful means 
 for the spiritual regeneration of so many frail 
 and unfortunate creatures, who without the 
 assistance of your charity would be condemned 
 to perish miserably in this world, and never to 
 see God in the life to come. 
 
 3. TJic advaiitagcs. — The work of the Holy 
 Childhood is most fruitful in results for the 
 spiritual and temporal life of these poor pagan 
 children. This work diffuses the knowledge 
 of the Gospel and true civilization among in- 
 fidel people. It does more, since it contains 
 the most precious advantages for all associates. 
 
 God wnll never allow Himself to be con- 
 quered by generosity. In return for the small 
 alms you offer to this work you will receive 
 the most abundant benedictions. The holy 
 books tell us that prayer and alms-giving are 
 omnipotent before God. They will penetrate 
 even to heaven and cause to descend on us all 
 necessary graces. These little children, to save 
 
The Holy Childhood. 221 
 
 whom you contribute, will become so many 
 angels, w^ho will glorify God and pray for you. 
 These young associates of the Holy Child- 
 hood, early formed to the practice of charit}^ 
 will contract the most salutary habit. I am 
 sure it will be among these, later on, that you 
 will find the best assistance in all w^orks which 
 will have for their object the glory of God and 
 the love of our neighbor. And what advantages 
 also in the rich indulgences which the Sov- 
 ereign Pontiff has attached to the association 
 of the Holy Childhood ! What countless merits 
 amassed for heaven ! If a cup of water will 
 not remain without recompense, then what 
 shall we say of those acts of charity, spiritual 
 and corporal, performed throughout the uni- 
 verse by the holy missionaries whom you sus- 
 tain, and whose labors and merits you share? 
 Continue, then, to uphold this admirable work 
 of the Holy Childhood! Zealously strive to 
 spread it round about you, and you can reason- 
 ably expect that, one day, our blessed Lord 
 will share with you the kingdom of His glory. 
 
222 The First Mass After Ordiiiation. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLI. 
 
 THE FIRST MASS AFTER ORDINATION. 
 *'For Christ we are ambassadors." — ii. Cor. v. 20. 
 
 OUR blessed Saviour, after His glorious 
 resurrection and before ascending into 
 • • • heaven, selected among men a class es- 
 pecially charged to continue to the end of 
 time His own sacred ministry for the salvation 
 and wSanctification of souls. This holy sacer- 
 dotal tribe or race is the clergy, who to-day, as 
 always, have had the singular privilege of 
 suffering the hatred and persecutions of pre- 
 tended modern civilization. Men have not 
 been wanting who denounced them as public 
 enemies. St. Paul, besides his title of "the 
 great apostle," had also the title of Roman citi- 
 zen. He did not fear, when circumstances 
 required, to vindicate the honor due to his 
 sacred ministry. He did not hesitate to ar- 
 raign the Jews who violated the law of respect 
 toward him and his brethren in the apostolate. 
 To the Corinthians he said : '' We are the 
 delegates, the ambassadors of Christ." Let 
 us then to-day consider what is the priest in 
 his character and functions, and also the duties 
 which this character and these functions im- 
 pose on us. 
 
The First Mass After Ordination. 223 
 
 I . Character and functions of the priest, — That 
 man clothed in a severe costume, different 
 from the garb of most men, whose modest and 
 quiet dwelling stands in the midst of your own ; 
 that man who is constantly before your eyes 
 and who presides at all your assemblies in the 
 church — who is he? Whence does he come? 
 Some twenty years ago he was born under a 
 modest roof, of parents who had no other 
 patrimony than their labor and their faith. In 
 his early years the child was placed in an es- 
 tablishment under the vigilance of learned and 
 devoted masters. After ten or twelve years 
 of mental labor, constantly subjected to trial 
 and discipline, he believes himself called to 
 renounce the world and to labor for the salva- 
 tion of souls. Then he enters the seminary. 
 There, during four or five years, he devotes 
 himself to the twofold and difficult labor of 
 study and piety. With the approbation of 
 veterans in the sanctuary, the bishop calls the 
 young levite, and marks him with the tonsure 
 as a sign of his renunciation of the vanities of 
 the world. He initiates him in his sacred 
 duties, receives his glorious and irrevocable 
 vows of chastity and obedience, and, while im- 
 posing liiiids on him, invokes the Holy Spirit 
 and consecrates him forever a priest according 
 to the order of Melchisedech. In virtue of the 
 
2 24 The First Mass After Ordination. 
 
 plenitude of the priesthood which the bishop 
 has received as a successor of the apostles, he 
 communicates to the young priest whom he 
 consecrates all the powers which belong to 
 the august ministry confided to him. In 
 the words of Christ, he says: *' As My Father 
 hath sent Me I send you." "Go and teach.'' 
 This priest, who ascends the pulpit for the first 
 time, however humble or timid he may be, is 
 no longer a mere man who comics to speak to 
 other men. He is a delegate, an ambassador, 
 a representative of Christ, and he comes to an- 
 nounce the Gospel to every creature. And he 
 comes, too, with an authority which is none 
 other than that of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God: Go, priest of God, and speak in My 
 name. " He who hears you hears Me, and he 
 that despises you despises Me and Him that 
 sent Me." 
 
 In the pulpit the priest is the teacher in the 
 name of Christ. In the tribunal of penance 
 he is a judge. The bishop has said to him: 
 'Receive the Holy Ghost; whose sins you for- 
 give shall be forgiven ; whose sins you retain 
 shall be retained." And not only is he the 
 teacher and judge: he is also the physician 
 who will heal the wounds of souls by giving 
 the most salutary remedies. Being the repre- 
 sentative and delegate of Christ, he has also 
 
The First Mass After Ordination. 225 
 
 the grace of his office to console every sorrow 
 and to give a balm for every moral wound. For 
 the true Christian is there on earth a more 
 tender father, a more devoted friend than the 
 priest? Follow him in all the details of his 
 sacred ministry, and then you will understand 
 the words of Jesus to the priests of His Church 
 in their fullest meaning : '' You are the salt of 
 the earth ; you are the light of the world." 
 
 2. Ditties zuhich this character and these ftmc- 
 tions impose on us, — If the cassock of the priest 
 is calculated to inflame infernal anger, it is also 
 likely to awaken in Catholic hearts the purest 
 and noblest sentiments. What is the priest in 
 the eyes of faith? He is a man consecrated 
 to God. You owe him, therefore, that relig- 
 ious respect with which you are filled — in the 
 church, at the altar, at the foot of the cross. 
 The priest is the man of the Church, the minis- 
 ter at the altar, the dispenser of the divine 
 mysteries, and he always carries the cross 
 literally. Should you see a church poorly con- 
 structed, decorated without taste, and badly 
 appointed, yet it is the house of God, and with 
 all its shortcomings your respect is no less 
 profound. Why then will you esteem and 
 venerate the priest less when you see in him 
 some defects, some imperfections which are 
 inherent to our poor human nature ? 
 15 
 
2 26 The First Mass After Ordination, 
 
 The priest is the teacher and the master 
 who speaks to you in the name of Jesus Christ. 
 How would you listen to our blessed Saviour 
 if you had the happiness to hear Him person- 
 ally! With what attention, with what recol- 
 lection, with what care and docility you would 
 receive His divine teachings! One day He 
 will require of you an account of the use you 
 have made of His word spoken by His minis- 
 ter. What the priest commands it is Jesus 
 Himself Who commands, and what the priest 
 forbids it is God Himself Who forbids. If 
 you are Christians and devoted children of the 
 Church, you will then obey with submission, 
 with joy and love, all that the priest will com- 
 mand in the name and by the authority of the 
 divine Master. That man who is sent to you 
 to instruct and direct and govern, and, if neces- 
 sary, to correct you, is a father, who wishes 
 only the good of his children. He is a friend 
 entirely devoted to your dearest interests. He 
 is a good shepherd, whose mission it is to watch 
 over his flock and protect it from the murder- 
 ous teeth of wolves. For all these titles he 
 merits your fullest confidence, your best love, 
 and your entire devotion. Our blessed Lord 
 has said that He would regard whatever was 
 done for the least of His followers as having 
 been done for Him." The blasphemies hurled 
 
The Stations of the Cross, 227 
 
 against the humblest of His priests will cry for 
 vengeance, and will be punished as an outrage 
 against the very person of the Son of God. 
 And we may add that the respect, the honor, 
 and veneration shown to a priest will be re- 
 ferred to Jesus Himself, and will be recom- 
 pensed with an eternal glory. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLII. 
 
 THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 
 
 "Christ having suffered in the flesh, be ye also armed 
 with the same thought." — i. St. Peter iv. i. 
 
 THERE should be no memory dearer or 
 more familiar to the Christian than the 
 • • • sufferings and. death of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. The apostle St. Peter 
 exhorts us to keep in mind this holy and salu- 
 tary thought as a preservative against the ene- 
 mies of our salvation : '' Be ye therefore armed 
 with this thought.'* The Church has blessed 
 and enriched with many indulgences this pious 
 practice everywhere known as the way of the 
 cross, I wish on this occasion to speak to you 
 of the excellence and advantages of this devo- 
 tion, and consequently to recommend to you its 
 constant practice. Oh, how much we may say 
 
2 28 The Stations of the Cross. 
 
 on this vast subject ! This devotion is certainly- 
 one of the most valuable for us in instruction. 
 It is replete with consolation, and abounds 
 with grace and every kind of spiritual bless- 
 ings. We will, therefore, meditate on the 
 sanctity of its origin, the memories of faith 
 which it awakens, and the graces and privileges 
 with which it is enriched. 
 
 I. The sanctity of its origin, — The practice of 
 the way of the cross essentially goes back to 
 the hill-side of Calvary. It was at the foot of 
 this hill, ever illustrious by the sacrifice of the 
 adorable Victim for our salvation, that we see 
 the beginning of this devotion. Jesus, our 
 divine Master, was the first to walk on this 
 sacred w^ay, and He marked each footstep by 
 the drops of His sacred blood. By accepting 
 for Himself all the rigors of this sorrowful 
 journey, He has smoothed the difficulties for 
 all those whom He invites to follow Him. 
 This pathway, which He has sprinkled with 
 His sweat and blood, He asks us sinners 
 to water with our tears. What He once told 
 the daughters of Jerusalem He now tells us: 
 *'Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves 
 and your children," that you may merit the 
 pardon which is offered you by My cross. 
 
 After Jesus, or rather with Him, we see 
 Mary, His virgin Mother, following as closely 
 
The Stations of the Cross. 229 
 
 as her strength will allow. An old and 
 pious tradition relates that the Blessed Vir- 
 gin after the death of her divine Son often 
 walked over the long road which leads from 
 the house of Pilate to the summit of Golgotha; 
 and while making this journey she reflected 
 on the sufferings which Jesus had endured 
 at each step of the way. When the Gospel 
 speaks of the tender Mother, standing at the 
 foot of the Cross during the agony of the 
 Saviour, we are led to understand that Mary 
 faithfully followed her divine Son on the way 
 to Calvary. We can then truly say to her, 
 Yes, Virgin Mother, you were the first to make 
 the way of the cross ; permit us to accompany 
 thee to the holy mountain, that we may be 
 united to thee during the immolation of thy 
 divine Son. 
 
 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved fol- 
 lowed, and for this reason Jesus wished to 
 have him as a witness and a companion on 
 this sorrowful journey. In his turn the pious 
 centurion came and found in the way of the 
 cross the way to heaven. And Magdalene, 
 poor penitent Magdalene, was among the first 
 to shed on the sacred way the tears of her 
 repentance and her love. Such is the glorious 
 and holy origin of the way of the cross. The 
 first Christians preserved this tradition piously, 
 
230 The Stations of the Ci'oss. 
 
 and it was on the road to Calvary they sought 
 strength to walk joyfully to martyrdom. 
 
 2. The memories of fait li it awakens, — The 
 devotion of the way of the cross is calculated 
 to remind us of the holiest and most august 
 mysteries of our redemption. What a touch- 
 ing memorial of the passion of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ ! With our divine Master 
 we enter the praetorium of Pilate, and there 
 we are witnesses of the iniquitous sentence 
 which condemned Him to death. We see 
 Him laden with the heavy cross and falling 
 three times under this burden, which weighs 
 on His wounded and bloody shoulders. Here 
 the innocent Victim meets His blessed Mother, 
 who would snatch Him from His executioner. 
 Finally, we arrive at Calvary, where God's jus- 
 tice is satisfied as well as the love of Jesus and 
 the malice of men. There are the execution- 
 ers. They strip our blessed Saviour of His 
 clothing, they drive the nails into His sacred 
 feet and hands. They raise the cross, and the 
 Saviour of the world expires on it, after hav- 
 ing given us, as an inheritance, His body, His 
 Sacred Heart, and His Mother. Is there, I ask, 
 a memory more sorrowful or more consoling 
 than this? I shall not be astonished to learn 
 that the way of the cross in this church is one 
 of the most popular and practical devotions. 
 
The Stations of the Cross. 231 
 
 In fact, after the holy sacrifice of the Mass 
 there is no more excellent and salutary devo- 
 tion than this one — to follow our blessed Sa- 
 viour in His sorrowful journey, to take pait 
 in His sufferings, and to meditate on His ex- 
 ample of suffering, humility, resignation, and 
 compassion. In fine, this devotion is within 
 the reach of all. Even the most illiterate can 
 follow the way of the cross just as well as the 
 most learned. It will be sufficient to recite a 
 Pater and an Ave while meditating a few mo- 
 ments at each of the stations which compose 
 the way of the cross. 
 
 3. The graces and privileges with which it is 
 enriched, — The way of the cross is also a source 
 of abundant graces and precious privileges 
 for souls who make it piously. There are 
 graces of penance and conversion. What 
 sentiments, what attractions for justice, what 
 bitter regret for innocence lost, are born in 
 our hearts while contemplating the heart-rend- 
 ing scenes of Calvary ! Do we not experience 
 the need of embracing the rigors of penance 
 when we behold the sufferings which Jesus, 
 Who is innocence and sanctity, has endured for 
 the expiation of our crimes ! How can we re- 
 main under the weight of sin and delay our 
 return when we behold Jesus shedding His 
 blood to appease the justice of His Father? 
 
2^2 The Stations of the Cross. 
 
 For faithful and just souls the way of the 
 cross is the principle of the sweetest consola- 
 tions. Their happiness must be to share the 
 bitter chalice of the Saviour, and to carry after 
 Him the cross, the sorrow, the tribulations, 
 and the inevitable trials of the present life. 
 
 As to the privileges attached to the exercise 
 of the way of the cross, they consist especially 
 in the countless indulgences with which the 
 Sovereign Pontiffs have enriched this devotion. 
 Our stations are favored with as many indul- 
 gences as Jerusalem and the holy places. Is it 
 not true that you would consider it a great 
 happiness to visit the Holy Land and kiss the 
 foot-prints of our dear Lord on the way to 
 Calvary? This, no doubt, would inflame your 
 charity, animate your faith, and obtain the 
 pardon of your sins. You have here all these 
 precious advantages. Hereafter, in your own 
 church, by devoutly making the stations of 
 the cross, you can gain the same blessings as 
 if you had visited the Holy Land personally. I 
 exhort you, therefore, to be faithful in this 
 devotion, and you will merit all the graces 
 which our blessed Lord will give you for time 
 and for eternity. 
 
Good Works. 233 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLIII. 
 
 GOOD WORKS. 
 
 "Labor the more that by good works you may make 
 sure your calling and election. " — 11. St. Peter i. 10. 
 
 ST. PETER, after having preached the Gos- 
 pel and imparted the light of faith to the 
 • • • people of Asia Minor, finally exhorted 
 them earnestly to practise good works. He 
 assured them that this would not only prove 
 their vocation to the true faith, but would also 
 make certain their election among the children 
 of God. In fact, it would have been a small 
 matter for them to have heard the word of 
 God, to have been purified in baptism from 
 their original fault, and even to bear the title 
 of Christians, if they did not practise the works 
 which our holy religion prescribes. There is, 
 however, a very large number of people to-day 
 who imagine they have fulfilled their full duty 
 when they avoid sin and carefully guard 
 themselves against all that which seems op- 
 posed to the teachings and precepts of the 
 Church. For these souls all that whxch is de- 
 nominated good works is a matter of superero- 
 gation, counselled indeed by the Gospel, but not 
 at all necessary for salvation. Now, this is an 
 illusion which we wish to destroy. To accom- 
 
2 34 Good Works. 
 
 plish this we deem it only necessary to estab- 
 lish the necessity, the advantages and the con- 
 ditions to perform good works for all Chris- 
 tians without exception. 
 
 I. The necessity, — That good works are nec- 
 essary to merit eternal life is a truth which 
 is confirmed by abundant proofs in the Gospel, 
 the Old Testament, and the writings of the 
 fathers. The parable of the talents, the male- 
 diction of the sterile fig-tree, the exclusion of 
 the ten foolish virgins from the marriage- 
 feast, prove nothing else than the absolute 
 necessity of good works. Our blessed Saviour 
 has not only taught this truth, but He has also 
 given the example. He did not limit Himself 
 to give us the means to attain eternal life ; He 
 has wished to put in practice that which He 
 taught. He became incarnate, humbled Him- 
 self, He prayed day and night. He labored to 
 save souls and to heal men from their infirmi- 
 ties, He suffered the horrible torments of the 
 passion, and, to show the excess of His love, 
 He died on a cross. Now, in all this, what 
 has He done if not to give us the example to 
 associate our works to His, to assure us of 
 eternal salvation? Moreover, He declares that 
 to be saved it will not suffice to say to Him : 
 '' Lord ! Lord !" but that it is necessary to do the 
 will of His Father. '' Not all who say to Me, 
 
Good Works. 235 
 
 Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of 
 heaven, but he who does the will of My Fa- 
 ther, he will enter the kingdom of heaven." 
 On the last day, before the dread tribunal, 
 whom will he recompense? Is it they who 
 will have believed? Not at all. He will re- 
 ward those who will have accomplished good 
 works in addition to their belief in Him. He 
 will say: "Come, ye blessed of My Father; be- 
 cause I was hungry and you gave Me to eat ; I 
 was thirsty and you gave Me to drink ; I was 
 sick and you visited Me. " Our blessed Saviour 
 is pleased to say that He will consider these 
 good works as having been done for Himself, 
 even when the least of His children have been 
 their object. Our divine teacher has only re- 
 newed a precept long since established and 
 recounted in several passages of Holy Writ. 
 Tobias was about to die, and, calling his chil- 
 dren to him, he commanded them to instruct 
 their children in the necessity of doing good 
 works. The great St. Augustine sums up the 
 teaching of all the fathers on this point. 
 In his treatise on " Duties" he says that to at- 
 tain happiness it is not enough to have the 
 good will or the desire of doing good : it is ab- 
 solutely necessary to perform the good works 
 which are the consequences and the fruits of 
 faith. 
 
236 Good Works. 
 
 2. Advantages, — We have seen the necessity 
 of good works ; let us now inquire w^hat are the 
 advantages. Good works are the most excellent 
 means we have to satisfy the justice of God 
 and expiate our sins in this world. By our 
 good works we attract toward ourselves God's 
 choicest graces and favors. Therefore it is 
 that in great public necessities the Church 
 prescribes for the faithful fasting, alms, and 
 prayers, to appease God and obtain His assist- 
 ance. These works are an authentic and 
 public profession of faith and confidence in 
 God. Besides, our divine Saviour has said: 
 '' Where there^ are two or three gathered to- 
 gether in My name I will be in the midst of 
 them to hear them." 
 
 There is, moreover, in the fulfilment of good 
 works such a sweet consolation that even the 
 pagans themselves are capable of experiencing 
 it. Was it not Titus who grieved and com- 
 plained that he had lost a day when the even- 
 ing came, as he could not remember having 
 performed at least one good action? Each good 
 work which we perform acquires for us new 
 merits before God and purchases for us a new 
 degree of glory in a blissful eternity. Are not 
 all these advantages eminently calculated to 
 excite our zeal and animate our courage to 
 accomplish all the good works we can? And, 
 
Good Works. 237 
 
 mark well : there is no question here of com- 
 mon, transitory gain for which men are usually 
 so eager ; that which we hope for is an assured 
 recompense, without measure and without end. 
 3. Conditions, — To receive from our good 
 works all the fruits we have a right to expect 
 certain conditions are necessary. These works 
 must be performed in a state of grace, God 
 does not regard so much an action in itself as 
 He regards the dispositions of him who per- 
 forms it. Therefore it is that He favorably 
 received the gifts of Abel, because of his in- 
 nocence and purity, while He rejected the 
 offerings of Cain , because he was wicked. And 
 hence St. Paul says : " Although I should give 
 all my goods to the poor and have not charity, 
 I am nothing. " Our good works should be per- 
 formed with purity of intention. Our blessed 
 Saviour tells us to take care lest we perform 
 our good works before men for the approval 
 of men. St. Bernard also tells us a bad in- 
 tention entirely destroys all the good which 
 one may do. A spirit of faith should accom- 
 pany our good works; that is to say, that in 
 all things we should have before us the ex- 
 ample of Our Lord, proposing for ourselves 
 the glory of His Father as the principle of all 
 our actions. We should also do our good 
 works in the name of Oitr Lord Jesus Christy Who 
 
2 3^ Charity towaj'd the Poor, 
 
 will not allow a cup of cold water to be given 
 without recompense. 
 
 Lastly, perseverance is necessary to assure 
 the recompense of our good works. " Be ye 
 not weary in doing good works,'* says St. Paul. 
 This is the counsel which the Apostle gives, 
 and which I exhort you to follow, to please 
 God and merit eternal recompense. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLIV. 
 
 CHARITY TOWARD THE POOR. 
 
 "The poor you have always with you." — St. Matt. 
 xxvi. II. 
 
 WHEN our divine Saviour came into this 
 world He not only wished to be born 
 • • • in absolute poverty, and to spend thirty 
 years of His life in obscurity and labor, but 
 He also wished to leave His disciples to the 
 end of time the salutary spectacle of poverty. 
 He said: I must go: I must leave you, but 
 you will always have the poor among- you, 
 as a remembrance of Me. This is something 
 the world does not understand. The world is 
 scandalized at these words, and if it cannot ab- 
 solutely suppress the poor, it makes laws and 
 rules to interdict them from begging publicly. 
 The sight of tattered garments and the cry 
 
Charity toiuard the Poor. 239 
 
 of misery disturb the pleasure and the feasts 
 of the gay world; and almost everywhere we 
 find these words, "Begging is forbidden/' 
 Charity, however, inspires for the poor nobler 
 and more generous sentiments, and I wish to 
 say to you that we should honor and love and 
 assist the worthy poor. 
 
 I. We should honor tlicm. — Yes, we should 
 honor the poor, because our divine Saviour 
 honored them. It was from among them He 
 chose His blessed Mother. At the birth of 
 the Man-God Mary had only a miserable hovel 
 to shelter them, the poorest garments to pro- 
 tect His delicate person, and a manger and a 
 little straw on which to place Him. A foster- 
 father was necessary for the divine Infant, and 
 St. Joseph, a poor and obscure workman, must 
 care for the Child and His Mother. During 
 thirty years Jesus, the Son of God, equal to 
 His Father, is known only by the name of 
 workman and the son of a carpenter. At the 
 beginning of His public life it was in honor 
 -of the poor, at the wedding-feast of Cana, 
 that He performed His first miracle. His 
 generous heart could not refuse them, and 
 hence, at the request of Mary, His Mother, 
 He changed the water into wine. True, 
 indeed. He announced the salvation and re- 
 demption of the world, but He declared that it 
 
240 Charity toivard the Poor, 
 
 was to the poor especially He had been sent: 
 " The Father has sent Me to make known the 
 Gospel to the poor." When there is need of 
 calling apostles and disciples to follow Him, 
 whom does He call? Is it to the learned, the 
 rich, or the powerful He appeals? There are 
 on the lake of Galilee some poor fishermen, 
 who have no other fortune than the boats and 
 nets which they daily use, and painfully 
 mend. These are the men whom He chose 
 and whom He called to do His work. The 
 first words which fell from His sacred lips at 
 the outset of His public life are a summary 
 of all His teaching — proclaiming the happiness 
 of the poor, and announcing the grandeur of 
 their future ro)^alty. " Blessed are the poor 
 in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
 Thus it is that our divine Lord has honored the 
 poor. Now the world forgets them and de- 
 spises them, but we know that they are the 
 friends and the privileged people of God. The 
 honor which we give them is given Our Sa- 
 viour Himself, since He has said : " Whatever 
 you do for the least of My little ones, I will 
 consider as having been done for Me." 
 
 2. Love the7n. — Not only should we honor 
 the poor: we should also love them. They are 
 certainly comprised in the general precept of 
 love for our neighbor. They are the creatures 
 
Charity toward the Poor, 241 
 
 of God, as we are. If they do not share an 
 equal division of the goods of earth with the 
 wealthy, they have over the spiritual goods of 
 grace the same rights as every one else. 
 They have their place in the Church and at 
 the sacred banquet, by the side of the other 
 members of the Christian family. We owe 
 them all the love which brethren have a right 
 to expect from us. Their very poverty is a 
 title to the greater affection of our hearts, be- 
 cause poverty gives them a particular trait or 
 resemblance to our blessed Lord and Saviour. 
 They are His brethren. His members, His 
 most perfect image. Their poverty is accom- 
 panied by sufferings and sorrows and trials of 
 every kind. This is for us another motive 
 for loving the poor. See the saints whose 
 hearts were full of intensest love for God ; 
 what tender, affectionate, and devoted love 
 they had for the poor, especially the most 
 abandoned and the most unfortunate ! With 
 what fervor a St. Elizabeth pressed to her 
 lips the sick and suffering poor! With what 
 devotion a St. Peter Claver made himself the 
 slave of poor negroes covered with leprosy! 
 Ah, it was in the poor they loved Jesus Christ, 
 who for us wished to submit Himself to pov- 
 erty, sufferings, and sorrow. Sometimes let 
 
 us ask ourselves if we truly love our Lord 
 16 
 
242 Charity iowai'd the Poor. 
 
 and Saviour Jesns Christ. The sure standard 
 of our love for Him is our love for the poor. 
 
 3. Assist them. — If our love for the poor is 
 a true and sincere love, it will prompt us to 
 assist them. How can we witness the misery 
 and poverty of our unfortunate brethren 
 without being touched with compassion and 
 desiring to assist them by all the means in 
 our power? We should give, and give gener- 
 ously, of our superfluous goods, and we should 
 even give something of what we consider 
 necessary for ourselves to assist those who 
 are in need. We are children of the Catholic 
 Church, and we should be inspired by the 
 devotion of this tender Mother to solace and 
 care for the poor. Everywhere she opens 
 hospitals, asylums, schools in which her priests 
 and her religious gather the poor to clothe, 
 nourish, and instruct them, and devote them 
 to her service. We should, by our alms, 
 sustain these holy institutions of charity. 
 Let our hands be always open to the poor. 
 We lend to the Lord what we give to the poor. 
 Nor can we ever forget that eternal recom- 
 pense is especially promised to the exercise of 
 charity toward the poor. Listen to our blessed 
 Saviour speaking to the elect on the last day : 
 " Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
 
Forty Hours' Devotion. 243 
 
 tion of the world. I was hungry and you gave 
 Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to 
 drink ; I w^as a stranger and you received Me ; 
 I was naked and you clothed Me ; I w^as sick 
 and you visited Me." All these w^orks, per- 
 formed for the poor in the name of Jesus, w411 
 be the joy of your hearts on earth and the 
 glory of your souls in heaven. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLV. 
 
 FORTY HOURS' DEVOTION. 
 
 **Come, let us adore and fall down, for He is the Lord 
 our God." — Ps. xciv. 6, 7. 
 
 IT is in the name of the Church and of the 
 diocese that we are called, on this solemn 
 • • occasion, before God's earthly dwelling- 
 place, to offer our heart's best homage to our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Every day, as you know, 
 the Most Blessed Sacrament is publicly exposed 
 in some church of the diocese, so that our 
 divine Lord is adored constantly in this sacra- 
 ment of His love. The faithful on earth are 
 imitating the blessed in heaven by their per- 
 petual devotion. To-day it is you who are 
 invited to celebrate the forty hours' adoration, 
 and to render to God in the Most Holy Sacra- 
 
244 Forty Hours' Devotion. 
 
 ment of the Altar, in your own name and in 
 the name of the Catholics of the diocese, the 
 worship which is dne to Him. With the 
 psalmist, therefore, I will say to you, Let us 
 adore Jesus our Saviour and our God, really 
 present in the sacrament of His love, and ex- 
 posed on His throne of glory and mercy. Let 
 us prostrate ourselves before His divine maj- 
 esty, with the heavenly spirits who surround 
 Him. The Lord our God is here. His body, 
 His blood, His soul. His divinity, veiled under 
 the species or appearance of bread. What we 
 owe especially to Jesus exposed on our altar 
 on this solemnity is adoration, love, and repa- 
 ration. 
 
 I. Adoration, — Our faith reminds us that the 
 blessed Eucharist is the Son of God made man 
 for our redemption and our salvation. Faith 
 assures us that He is there, on that throne 
 illuminated and adorned, really living, glori- 
 ous, and triumphant, even as He is in heaven 
 at the right hand of His Father. What, there- 
 fore, is the first sentiment which should fill 
 our hearts if not profoimd adoration? What 
 do the saints and angels say who share the 
 glory of heaven? " Benediction, honor, glory, 
 and power to Him Who is seated on the 
 throne.'' The God Who in heaven receives 
 the adorations of the elect and blessed spirits 
 
Forty Hours' Devotion. 245 
 
 is the same Who dwells in the midst of 
 us. Hear the words of our blessed Saviour 
 Himself: "Behold, I am with you all days, 
 even to the end of the world." Therefore, 
 whether He descends upon our altars in the 
 holy sacrifice of the Mass, or whether He re- 
 poses in the sacred vessels of the sanctuary, 
 we should not appear before Him except with 
 sentiments of profound adoration. But to-day 
 we have the happiness to behold Him elevated 
 on this earthly throne, w^hich loving hands 
 have reared for Him. To-day His temple 
 is ablaze with lights, full of the perfume 
 of incense, adorned with flowers, and there 
 should be in the whole extent of this parish 
 but one voice to repeat with the prophet-king, 
 Come, young and old; come, rich and poor, 
 just and sinners ; come, let us offer to Jesus 
 our adoration. Let us prostrate before Him 
 with respect. Let us proclaim Him our God 
 and our King and our Saviour. He is the God 
 of the crib in Bethlehem, of Thabor, and of 
 Calvary. 
 
 2. Love, — If in the Holy Eucharist Jesus 
 appears to us as our God and merits our ado- 
 ration, He is also there as our saviour, our 
 friend, our brother, and our master. He has 
 given Himself to us under all these titles, and 
 He is therefore worthy our best love and grati- 
 
246 Forty Hours' Devotion. 
 
 tude. As our saviour, does He not immolate 
 Himself every day to satisfy the justice of His 
 Father and to apply to us the merits of His 
 passion and death ? '' Greater love than this 
 no man hath, than to lay down his life for his 
 friend." This incomparable charity Jesus has 
 had for us, and He has established the holy 
 Eucharist precisely to preserve the remem- 
 brance of His love: "This do in remem- 
 brance of Me." As a friend, He is there to 
 console us and to be the companion of our 
 exile. ''I will not leave you orphans; I will 
 be with you always." As a brother, He makes 
 us participants of His divine nature and estab- 
 lishes us by His grace co-heirs wuth Him. As 
 a master. He continues for us His divine 
 teachings in the adorable Eucharist, and gives 
 us the example of every virtue : '' I have 
 given you an example, and as I have done, so 
 do you also." Who is there, then, who w^ll 
 not love this God, this Father, this Saviour, 
 this Brother, this Friend, and this good Mas- 
 ter? He is with us now, dwells with us con- 
 stantly; this Good Shepherd feeds His flock 
 with His own body and blood. Ah, it is on 
 this solemnity that we can understand the words 
 of St. Paul: ''If there is among you any one 
 who does not love Our Lord Jesus Christ, then 
 let him be anathema," 
 
Forty Hours' Devotion. 247 
 
 3. Reparation, — There is, however, a sad- 
 dening thought which steals into our souls 
 at the foot of the altar, and mingles sorrow 
 with our songs of joy. If the faithful eagerly 
 offer to Jesus the homage of adoration and 
 love, impiety denies, outrages, and blasphemes 
 Him. There are still many Pharisees who 
 pursue Him with their contempt and hatred ; 
 there are also iniquitous judges to condemn 
 Him, false witnesses to accuse Him, a blinded 
 and perverted populace to demand His death. 
 There are still many Judases to betray Him 
 and executioners to crucify Him. The history 
 of the passion in all its lamentable details are 
 renewed for Jesus in this sacrament of His love. 
 It is for you. Christians, devoted friends, faith- 
 ful servants, to console His heart during the 
 solemnity of the forty hours. It is for you to 
 repair the outrages which blinded and per- 
 verted men direct against the adorable person. 
 of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. During 
 these blessed days you will come to prostrate 
 yourselves before our merciful Saviour, at the 
 foot of His earthly throne. There you will 
 pour out your heart's best affections, and make 
 amends for the contempt, the forgetfulness, 
 and the coldness of men toward Jesus always 
 abiding with us. Then will our blessed Lord 
 say to you : '' You have shared in My trials, 
 
248 Visits to the Blessed Sacrament 
 
 and I will give to 3^011, as My Father hath 
 given to Me, a kingdom, that you may always 
 eat and drink at My table." Luke xxii. 29. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLVI. 
 
 VISITS TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. 
 
 *'My delight is to be with the children of men." — Prov. 
 viii. 31. 
 
 IT is our Lord and Saviour, the eternal and 
 uncreated Wisdom of the Father, Who 
 • • thus speaks to us in Holy Writ. This 
 eternal Wisdom has made it His delight to 
 dwell with the just in all times. He was with 
 the patriarchs, the prophets, and the saints of 
 the old law, to enlighten, direct, and conduct 
 them in the service of God, and to inspire them 
 with a love for supernatural goods. But it is 
 especially under the evangelical law that it 
 has been given to men to see the wonders of 
 God, to possess the divine Wisdom really and 
 substantially by the mystery of the Incarnation, 
 and to have Him ever present in the blessed 
 Eucharist. Yes, even now our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ tells us, " My delight is 
 to be with the children of men." In what a 
 convincing manner He proves this to us ! This 
 temple is His dwelling, just as truly as He 
 
Visits to the Blessed Sao^ament. 249 
 
 dwelt at Nazareth. He reposes in this taber- 
 nacle as He formerly reposed in the crib at 
 Bethlehem. This altar is the Calvary on 
 which He is mystically immolated every day. 
 He is on this earthly throne as glorious and as 
 triumphant as He is in heaven at the right 
 hand of His Father. Is it not just, on our 
 part, that we should delight to be with our 
 God, Who has loved us so well? And how? 
 By coming here to visit Him with joy, affec- 
 tion, and devotion. 
 
 I. With Joy, — Should it not be for us the 
 greatest happiness in this world to be able to 
 spend our life in God's temple, at the foot of 
 His holy altar, in the sweet and amiable 
 presence of Jesus our God, our Lord and Mas- 
 ter? If the felicity of the elect in heaven is 
 to see Him, to love Him, and to possess Him, 
 what more can faithful souls desire on earth? 
 His presence among us in the sacrament of the 
 Eucharist makes our churches holy, even as 
 the very gates of paradise ; and therefore it is 
 that so many pious souls come to kneel before 
 the altar and to find in the adorable Eucharist 
 a foretaste of heavenly delight. Instinctively 
 they exclaim with St. Peter on Thabor : " Lord, 
 it is good for us to be here." They would 
 gladly spend the day and the night, aye, even 
 their entire life before Jesus in the Blessed 
 
250 Visits to the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 Sacrament. Nor would they depart, except to 
 enter heaven, there to enjoy the divine pres- 
 ence of Jesus, without shadow or veil or mys- 
 tery. The condition and necessities of life, 
 however, will not permit us to make the 
 church our dwelling. The world and the 
 affairs of life claim our time and attention and 
 call us away from the tabernacle. Yet, since 
 our blessed Saviour delights to dwell with 
 us, we too should find our happiness in His 
 society by coming to visit Him in the sac- 
 rament of His love as often as possible. 
 Therefore, let us come to Him eagerly, joy- 
 fully, not at long intervals, not on festival 
 days only, but as often as we can. With what 
 patience He awaits us ! With what tenderness 
 He invites us ! With what solicitude He en- 
 treats us ! Again and again He cries to us : 
 " Come to Me, all ye that labor and are bur- 
 dened, and I will refresh you." Who is there 
 that does not hasten to the physician when he 
 is ill ; to his benefactor, when in need ; to his 
 consoler, when in affliction? 
 
 2. With affection, — It is love which holds 
 Jesus a captive in our tabernacles. We should, 
 then, bring to Him in our visits all the affec- 
 tion of which we are capable. For us He has 
 the words of eternal life, as St. Peter said to 
 Him; ''Thou hast the words of eternal life/' 
 
Visits to the Blessed Sacraiiient. 251 
 
 Do not think that the divine Master remains 
 indifferent and silent when you come to give 
 Him, in His earthly dwelling, the homage of 
 your respect, your love, and your gratitude. 
 True, indeed, His voice does not resound in 
 your ears, but He knows how to speak to your 
 heart in the solitude and silence of the sanctu- 
 ary. '' I will lead her into the solitude and 
 will speak to her heart." He will speak to 
 you affectionately as a father to his son, as a 
 friend to a friend. He will speak to you of 
 your dearest interests — the price of your im- 
 mortal soul, the vanity of earthly things, the 
 truth of His doctrines, and the sanctity of His 
 precepts. He will tell you that " His yoke 
 is sweet and His burden light." If the world 
 and its attractions are dangerous for you, if 
 the thought of hell is terrifying, He repeats : 
 " Have confidence, for I have conquered the 
 world." The remembrance of past sins will 
 awaken a fear of eternal justice. Again He 
 will tell you : '' Have confidence ; thy sins are 
 forgiven." Such tender and merciful words 
 from the best of friends are indeed calculated 
 to fill your heart with sweetest and most con- 
 fident affection. This is the sentiment which 
 you will experience in the visits which you will 
 make to our dear Lord in this sacrament of 
 His love. 
 
252 Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, 
 
 3. With devotion. — I add that in your visits 
 to Our Lord you should bring a full and irrev- 
 ocable devotion. What takes place between 
 two friends who are entirely devoted to each 
 other? They will vow a life-long fidelity, and 
 are ready to sacrifice themselves for each other 
 if necessary. But has not our blessed Saviour 
 already done this for each and every one of us ? 
 In the Holy Eucharist you have, as St. Thomas 
 eloquently declares, the memorial of the pas- 
 sion and death of the Saviour. His devotion 
 for us has carried Him so far as to make Him- 
 self the living Bread of our souls. He com- 
 municates to you in this sacrament all His 
 virtues, His merits, and all His graces. To 
 give you a pledge of the future glory He wishes 
 to share with you, He has wished that this 
 pledge should be Himself. Behold the devo- 
 tion of Jesus! Think of this, and say if you 
 can place a limit to j^our devotion. It would 
 seem to me that, if a single spark of faith or 
 love remains in your heart, you should have 
 but a single desire : to frequently come and 
 renew to your God, your Saviour, and your 
 Master all the promises of fidelity and devo- 
 tion which you have ever made to serve Him 
 and to procure His glory. His delights are 
 to dwell with you ; all your happiness should 
 be to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
Frequent Coimnitnion. 253 
 
 He has given Himself entirely to you, and in 
 return you should make for Him the sacrifice 
 of your soul, your body, your goods, and even 
 your life. He wishes to be yours in time : you 
 should make the irrevocable vow to belong to 
 Him in time and in eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLVII. 
 
 FREQUENT COMMUNION. 
 
 '' I am the living bread which came down from heaven. " — 
 St. John vi. 41. 
 
 THESE sublime words were spoken by our 
 blessed Saviour, but the Jews did not 
 • • • understand them . They heard Him say 
 that He was the true and living bread which 
 had come down from heaven, and that He 
 would give them His flesh to eat and His 
 blood to drink ; but these words only scandal- 
 ized them. They exclaimed: "This is a hard 
 saying. It is impossible to accept it. How 
 can He give us His flesh to eat and His blood to 
 drink?'* But our blessed Saviour repeats His 
 words, and with all the emphasis of an oath 
 declares: "Amen, amen, I say to you, except 
 you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and 
 drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. 
 For My flesh is meat indeed and My blood is 
 
254 Frequent Conwmnion, 
 
 drink indeed'' (St. John vi. 54, 56). While 
 the Jews are scandalized, let us enter into the 
 thought and desires of our divine Saviour. 
 Since He has wished to become the bread, the 
 food of our souls, it is our duty to partake of 
 this food and to eat of it frequently. I would, 
 therefore, show you the advantages of frequent 
 communion for the sinner and for the just. 
 
 I. For sinners. — The frequent participation 
 of the body and blood of Christ our Saviour is 
 most useful for sinners. You know, of course, 
 that there is no question here of those who 
 are actually in the state of mortal sin. I speak 
 of those sinners who have returned to God, and 
 who have been purified by the salutary sacra- 
 ment of penance. They were dead to God; 
 but they found the life of grace by confession, 
 repentance, and absolution. Although num- 
 bered among the living, they feel the effects 
 of the mortal wounds they have received; 
 there still remains in them a kind of weakness. 
 To prevent a relapse into sin, oh, how many 
 enemies they will have to combat, and how 
 many efforts they must make ! Evil passions 
 are striving for ascendancy, inveterate habits 
 still tyrannize over them, and natural concupis- 
 cence has still its old attractions. The world 
 still remains with its seductions and bad ex- 
 amples; the demon comes with seven spirits 
 
Frequent Co7tiinunion. 255 
 
 more wicked than himself to take possession of 
 the soul from which he has been expelled. In 
 the midst of all these dangers, what must the 
 converted sinner do? Whither shall he go? 
 True, indeed, he will form the strongest 
 resolutions; but how shall he keep them? 
 Without a superhuman assistance, how can he 
 hope to persevere in the practice of virtue? 
 This assistance, this strength, is Jesus in the 
 Adorable Sacrament. The Church tells us this 
 most formally in a decree of the Council of 
 Trent. The council tells us that " this Sacra- 
 ment of the Eucharist is the most excellent 
 antidote, which not only purifies us from our 
 daily faults, -but also preserves us from grave 
 sins/* The blessed Eucharist is, therefore, 
 for the penitent a preservative against relapse. 
 The grace attached to this sacrament is for 
 him the grace of combating, and the peculiar 
 effect of grace, says St. Thomas, is to destroy 
 the very root of sin. Grace restrains the pas- 
 sions, kills the fire of concupiscence, extin- 
 guishes the fiery darts of Satan, and, according 
 to St. John Chrysostom, it renders us terrible 
 to all the powers of hell. Now, if such are 
 the advantages of Communion for the sinner 
 who has had the happiness to be born again to 
 grace, is it not easy to conclude the need he 
 has of approaching the holy table often? 
 
256 Frequent Co77iiminion. 
 
 Does he not eat every day to preserve health 
 and strength of body? Why, then, will he not 
 partake of the living bread to preserve the 
 health and vigor of his soul ? Every day he 
 feels the fires of the passions awakening; then 
 every day he should have recourse to that sal- 
 utary water which is capable of extinguishing 
 them. The cruel enemy of our salvation 
 allows himself no repose. Why, then, should 
 we neglect to renew our strength in the blood 
 of Him Who has conquered the world and 
 hell? Frequent Communion, therefore, satis- 
 fies all the needs of a sinner. 
 
 2. For the Just. — Frequent Communion is 
 not only necessary for sinners, but, I add, it is 
 no less useful for the just to approach the holy 
 table frequently. The just need to be sus- 
 tained in the practice of virtue and to daily 
 progress to the point of perfection to which 
 God calls them. Christian and faithful souls, 
 how many complaints do you make each day 
 of the miserable condition of your nature? 
 With St. Paul you exclaim: " Unhappy man 
 that I am, who w411 deliver me from the body 
 of this death?" To-day you form the most 
 beautiful designs for the future; you have de- 
 termined, once and for all time, to be faith- 
 ful, and on the morrow you are wavering, un- 
 decided and irresolute. The least obstacles 
 
Frequent Cominiinion, 257 
 
 will frighten you, and you begin to grow weak 
 and fall away. You have need of assistance 
 to sustain and encourage you in the weakness 
 which threatens you. And now where will 
 you find this assistance if not in frequent Com- 
 munion ? Why did our blessed Saviour mirac- 
 ulously multiply the bread in the desert ? Pre- 
 cisely that the multitudes who followed Him 
 should not grow faint and fall by the wayside. 
 To-day He multiplies the eucharistic bread to 
 assuage the sorrows of men and strengthen 
 the weary steps of His disciples in their spiri- 
 tual journey through life. 
 
 Not only do the just need to be sustained in 
 the practice of virtue, but they must daily 
 grow in perfection. According to the maxims 
 of all the fathers and of all the masters of the 
 spiritual life, it is impossible to stand in the 
 pathway of perfection. He who will not ad- 
 vance must necessarily recede. In the Gospel 
 our blessed Lord proposes for his followers 
 the perfection of His Heavenly Father. " Be 
 ye therefore perfect, as your Heavenly Father 
 is perfect." How can the just grow in perfec- 
 tion, except by strict imion with Jesus Christ, 
 which is nothing else than a participation of 
 His body and blood? By Holy Communion 
 He lives in us, and we live in Him. vSt. Je- 
 rome says that wisdom, strength, charity, 
 17 
 
258 Authority of the Church, 
 
 piety, and all the virtues live in us with Him 
 and by Him. 
 
 Such are the motives and the advantages 
 which frequent Communion offers to us all. 
 Therefore, fortified by this living bread, which 
 has come down from heaven for us, may we 
 advance in the path of Christian justice, until 
 we can truly say with the great Apostle : '' I 
 live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLVIII. 
 
 AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 *'If he will not hear the Church let him be to thee as the 
 heathen and the publican." — St. Matt, xviii. 17. 
 
 GOD, in His eternal thought, wished to 
 save men by faith in His word and 
 • • • submission to His precepts. In His 
 paternal providence He has also wished to 
 give men an infallible means of arriving at 
 their destiny, a guide to enlighten them, and 
 all necessary assistance to conduct them to a 
 blissful eternity. This is precisely the reason 
 for the existence of the Church. The Church 
 has been established to continue on earth to 
 the end of time the ministry which our blessed 
 Saviour began for the redemption and the sane - 
 tification of souls. Durinir nmeteen centuries 
 
Authority of the Church. 259 
 
 the Church has proclaimed the tender and sub- 
 lime words of her Founder: ''Come to Me, all 
 you that labor and are burdened, and I will 
 refresh you." This consoling invitation she 
 has always extended to the people, and they 
 have turned toward the Church with all the con- 
 fidence of children to a true mother. But im- 
 piety is ever active, and to-day, as in the past, 
 every effort is made to alienate the people from 
 the salutary influence of the Church. There- 
 fore it seems especially useful, in these disas- 
 trous times, to recall to Christians their duties 
 toward the Church. The subject of our in- 
 struction will be the " Divine Authority of the 
 Church, and the Submission due to her Laws." 
 
 I . Divine authority of the Church, — What is 
 the Church? The Church is that grand, no- 
 ble, and glorious society of the disciples of 
 Jesus Christ, spread throughout the universe, 
 having the same faith, the same doctrine, the 
 same sacraments, the same law, and the same 
 future hopes, governed by bishops under the 
 authority of a single visible head, who is our 
 holy father, the Pope, the successor of St. 
 Peter, Prince of the Apostles. 
 
 In every society there is an authority whose 
 mission it is to teach and direct and govern. It 
 is for this that Jesus Christ has established His 
 Church. He has founded the Church on Peter 
 
2 6o Authority of the Church, 
 
 as on an irremovable rock. " Thoti art Peter, 
 and upon this rock I will build My Church, 
 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 it." This Church is a society, since it is 
 founded on a person, who is Peter. This 
 society exists to-day, since the gates of hell, 
 that is to say, the designs and attacks of 
 wicked men, can never prevail against it. Do 
 you wish to know the authority of the Church ? 
 Then we have only to see what authority was 
 given to Peter. Our blessed Saviour said to 
 him : *' I will give to thee the keys of the king- 
 dom of heaven ; whatsoever you shall bind on 
 earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatso- 
 ever you loose on earth shall be loosed in 
 heaven." Peter, and consequently the pope, 
 has the power to bind and loose on earth. To 
 bind and loose is nothing else than to make 
 the laws, ordinances, precepts, and rules which 
 bind consciences or unbind them, according to 
 the requirements of persons, places, or cir- 
 cumstances. Abundant texts of Holy Script- 
 ure attest the sovereign authority of Christ's 
 Church. '' He that hears you hears Me, and 
 he that despises you despises Me and Him 
 that sent Me." Not to hear the pope, not to 
 hear the Church, is to despise Jesus Christ, to 
 disobey Him, and, therefore, to be wanting in 
 respect and submission to God Himself. The 
 
Authority of the Church. 261 
 
 authority of the Church is universal. There 
 is no one , however exalted in dignity he may 
 be, who is exempt from its jurisdiction. Our 
 blessed Saviour has also said to Peter: " Feed 
 My lambs, feed My sheep;" that is to say, con- 
 duct, govern, and guide the flock, and each 
 one of the flock. This authority is exercised 
 by the Church by preserving the teaching of 
 Jesus Christ in its purity, and by enacting 
 laws ; hence there exists for all the faithful 
 the strict obligation of submitting to these 
 laws in mind and heart. 
 
 2. Sttb77iission dice to the laws of the Church, — 
 To observe the commandments of the Church 
 is nothing else than the observance of God's 
 commandments. This is true, not only be- 
 cause the authority of the Church is the very 
 authority of Jesus Christ, but also because 
 the precepts of the Church ordain nothing 
 which has not been commanded by God Him- 
 self. For instance, God commands us to adore 
 Him and to sanctify the day reserved for 
 Him. And what does the Church do in this 
 matter? She regulates the manner of observ- 
 ing this twofold precept. ''You must hear 
 Mass on Sundays, and all holy-days of obliga- 
 tion." Christ our Saviour has given to His 
 apostles the power of forgiving sins, and by this 
 act He imposed on sinners the obligation of con- 
 
262 Authority of the Church. 
 
 fessing their sins. But how often and when 
 must this precept be fulfilled? The Church 
 determines : at least once a year. " If you do 
 not eat My flesh and drink My blood, you 
 cannot have life in you/' says Christ. Here 
 there is an obligation of receiving the body 
 and blood of Christ. The Church merely pre- 
 scribes the time when the faithful are obliged 
 to communicate. God has made a general law 
 of penance; the Church fixes the time for 
 fasting and abstinence — viz., vigils, Lenten- 
 time, etc. Therefore, not to submit to the laws 
 of the Church is a clear violation of the laws of 
 God. All true Christians should recognize it as 
 a duty to be submissive to all the laws, pre- 
 scriptions, and ordinances of the Church. We 
 can never forget the words of St. Augustine: 
 '' He who will not recognize the Church for 
 his Mother cannot hope to have God for his 
 Father." 
 
 One of the best marks of predestination is 
 to love and respect the Church, and to mani- 
 fest this love by observing her laws faithfully. 
 Moreover, for one who is baptized to criti- 
 cise the teaching of the Church, turn it into 
 derision, to regard her commands as of no ac- 
 count, to neglect Mass on Sundays and festival- 
 days, to neglect Confession and Communion, 
 and to violate the laws of fasting and absti- 
 
Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice. 263 
 
 nence, this is to desert the assembly of the 
 faithful and to pass over into the ranks of the 
 pagans and the publicans. 
 
 Is not this unhappily to-day the position 
 of a great number of Christians, who no long- 
 er deserve to be regarded as children of the 
 Church? As for us, if we remain faithful to 
 our holy Mother, and to the assembly of the 
 children of the Church on earth, we will sure- 
 ly pass to the society of the elect in heaven. 
 
 INSTRUCTION XLIX. 
 
 EXCELLENCE OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE. 
 
 "In every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to 
 My name a clean offering." — Malachias i. 11. 
 
 IT is God Himself Who thus speaks by the 
 mouth of His prophet. Also, when our 
 • • blessed Saviour came up from the Jordan, 
 where He had received baptism at the hands 
 of St. John, the Heavenly Father was heard 
 to say: '' This is My well-beloved Son, hear ye 
 Him." The Father regards the Son with eyes 
 of tenderness and love ; He looks lovingly on 
 the immaculate Victim Whom He sees the 
 Church will offer everywhere, in all places, in 
 all nations. This pure Victim, this Victim 
 without stain, has come to replace the old sac- 
 
264 Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice. 
 
 rifices, whose price and value consisted in be- 
 ing the mere figure of the only sacrifice truly 
 worthy of God. This sacrifice is what we call 
 the Mass — the holiest action, the most august 
 ceremony, the most worthy and advantageous 
 work of all religion. 
 
 You will understand the excellence of the 
 sacrifice of the Mass by meditating on what it 
 is in itself, what it is on the part of the Son 
 of God, and what is its relation to us. 
 
 I . The sacrifice of the Mass in itself,^ — Sacrifice 
 always has been the supreme act of religion. 
 There has been no religion, no worship, with- 
 out sacrifice. History proves this conclu- 
 sively. But what is sacrifice? The offering 
 of something sensible, accompanied by the 
 change or destruction of the offering. The 
 offering must be made to God by a legitimate 
 minister, in acknowledgment and attestation 
 of His sovereign dominion over all created 
 beings, and particularly over man. Among 
 all peoples sacrifices have been offered to the 
 Divinity. These sacrifices have been invaria- 
 bly sensible things — animals, perfumes, liq- 
 uors, fruits of the earth. These have been al- 
 ternately the object and material of sacrifice. 
 Among certain barbarous people men have 
 been immolated to appease the anger of the 
 gods, or to obtain their protection. Animals 
 
Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice. 265 
 
 were slaughtered, perfumes were burned, liq- 
 uors were poured out, and the fruits were con- 
 sumed by the priests or by the people. By this 
 offering and destruction of animals, or of those 
 things offered to the Most High, man openly 
 confessed that all things came from Him and 
 belonged to Him. 
 
 These victims offered in sacrifice also signi- 
 fied that man was culpable and merited death ; 
 but God in His mercy, wishing to pardon him, 
 accepted instead victims, over which He ex- 
 ercised the rigor of His justice. Under the 
 ancient law sacrifices were numerous. God 
 had ordered them, and through the ministry 
 of Moses designated the nature and the kind 
 of sacrifice, and even the ceremonial to be em- 
 ployed. But all these sacrifices were only the 
 prophetic figures of the one and true sacrifice 
 of the new law, which should replace all others 
 to the end of time. This is the sacrifice of 
 the Mass. 
 
 Like the Jewish religion, the Christian relig- 
 ion also must have a victim to offer to God. 
 Being the only true religion, the only perfect 
 worship, the only worship worthy of God, its 
 sacrifice should be the purest, the most ex- 
 cellent that was ever offered to God. The mat- 
 ter of the offering, if we can so speak, consists 
 simply of bread and wine — the ordinary nour- 
 
2 66 Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice, 
 
 ishment of man ; but by the omnipotent word 
 of God and the ministry of the priest this 
 bread and wine are changed into the body and 
 blood of Christ. By this transubstantiation 
 the real victim, the true victim offered to God, 
 is Jesus Christ Himself, the God made Man. 
 
 2. Tlie sacrifice of the Mass on the part of 
 J e sits Clirist, — We readily see what makes the 
 Mass the sacrifice par excellence. It is the 
 renewing, or, if you prefer, it is the continua- 
 tion of the oblation which Jesus made of Him- 
 self to His Father on the cross. In fact, in 
 the holy Mass it is the same priest that was 
 on Calvary, Jesus, the Son of God. It is to 
 Him that the Father addresses these words : 
 '' Thou art a priest forever according to the 
 order of Melchisedech." The priest whom 
 you see at the altar, clothed in the sacred 
 vestments, is only the representative of Jesus 
 Christ. It is in His name he acts, in His 
 name he speaks: ''This is My body, this is 
 My blood." Evidently the priest speaks of 
 the body and blood of the Saviour. The only 
 difference which exists between the altar and 
 the cross is, that on the cross Jesus was im- 
 molated in a bloody manner, while on the 
 altar He immolates Himself in an unbloody 
 manner, by concealing Himself under the 
 symbolical species of bread and wine. On 
 
Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice. 267 
 
 Calvary He was mortal and submitted to death 
 really; on the altar He is immortal and His 
 death is only mystical. Nor must we conclude 
 from this that the Mass is only a simple repre- 
 sentation of the sacrifice on the cross. No, 
 this doctrine has been formally condemned by 
 the Council of Trent. The Mass is a veri- 
 table sacrifice, containing all the essentials oi a 
 sacrifice. There is the victim, the body and 
 blood of Christ ; there is the external, sensible 
 offering, the eucharistic species, the bread and 
 wine; there is the legitimate minister, the 
 priest, specially consecrated for this duty ; and 
 the change or destruction of the victim by 
 communion. In fine, this victim is offered to 
 God alone in recognition of His sovereign do- 
 minion over all creatures. 
 
 In the sacrifice of the Mass Jesus Christ is 
 the priest and the victim. He is the greatest, 
 the most precious victim, worthy of God, since 
 Christ is God, equal to His Father in all things. 
 He is the most holy and perfect victim, since 
 He is sanctity itself and eternal perfection. 
 He is a victim of infinite price and value, 
 capable of redeeming millions and millions of 
 worlds, and capable also of giving to God in- 
 finitely more glory than all that men could 
 ever take from Him. 
 
 3. The holy sacrifice with regard to us, — With 
 
268 Ends for luhich the Holy Sacrifice is Offered, 
 
 regard to us, the holy sacrifice of the Mass is the 
 greatest and the most meritorious work which 
 we can offer to God to worship Him publicly 
 or privately. In fact, in the Mass Jesus sub- 
 stitutes Himself in our place, and presents 
 Himself to His Father for us. He prays for 
 us, offers Himself for us, and communicates 
 to us all the merits of His incarnation, His 
 life, His passion, and His death. But He 
 does this on the condition that we also inti- 
 mately unite ourselves to Him as far as our 
 poor, weak nature w^ill allow. Then, united to 
 Jesus Christ in the adorable sacrifice of the 
 altar, we shall be united to Him one day in 
 His glory. 
 
 INSTRUCTION L 
 
 ENDS FOR WHICH THE HOLY SACRIFICE IS 
 OFFERED. 
 
 "He was offered because it was His own will." — Isaias 
 liii. 7. 
 
 THE holy sacrifice of the Mass is the offer- 
 ing which Jesus Himself has made of 
 • • • His body and blood to God His Father. 
 On His part this offering is free, spontaneous, 
 and absolutely voluntary, even as the prophet 
 has said : " He was offered because it was 
 his own will." What, then, is this mys- 
 
Ends for which the Holy Sacrifice is Offered. 269 
 
 tery? Why is the Man-God not content with 
 abasing Himself and assuming the infirmi- 
 ties and miseries of our nature? Why does 
 He renew, constantly, the sacrifice which He 
 once made on Calvary? Let us strive to medi- 
 tate on the adorable intentions of our blessed 
 Saviour in the institution of the holy Mass. 
 The ends which He proposed are that there 
 should always be in His Church the sacrifice 
 of praise, to honor God, a sacrifice of propitia- 
 tion, to appease the anger of God, and a sacri- 
 fice of impetration, to ask and obtain graces 
 from God. 
 
 I . Sacrifice ofi praise, — \7e should honor God 
 and glorify Him as our Sovereign Lord. We 
 owe to Him thanksgiving for all the bless- 
 ings which we have received from His mercy. 
 Poor and contemptible creatures as we are, 
 worms of the earth in revolt against God, dis- 
 honored and stained by sin, how can we dare 
 to appear before Sanctity itself and offer to 
 Him our adoration and homage? Jesus has 
 had pity on our misery and our un worthiness. 
 He has come to take our place, and presents 
 Himself before the majesty of His Father. 
 On seeing Him God cannot turn away His 
 face from us, and when covered by the Son, 
 Who is like to the Father in all things, we can 
 present ourselves at the altar. But even 
 
270 Ends for which the Holy Sacrifice is Offered. 
 
 when at the altar we offer to Him our goods 
 and our life, and make to Him the avowal of 
 our dependence, and render the homage which 
 we owe to Him, nothing we can do will be 
 worthy of God. But Jesus in the holy sacrifice 
 supplies for our indigence, and He renders to 
 God the most suitable adoration and homage, 
 because He Who offers them is equal and con- 
 substantial to the Father. We should assist, 
 therefore, at the holy Mass in a spirit of sacri- 
 fice, and unite ourselves to our blessed Saviour 
 to glorify w^ith Him the divine majesty on 
 Whom we depend for all things. Our best 
 models here are the Virgin Mother and the 
 beloved disciple at the foot of the cross. 
 
 Since we have received from the infinite 
 goodness of God countless blessings, it is just 
 that there should be in the Church a sacrifice 
 of thanksgiving. Such is the sacrifice of our 
 altars. Before the act of consecrating the 
 body and blood of Christ the priest makes 
 us understand this well. He sings: "Let 
 us give thanks to the Lord our God," and 
 the people respond: ''It is right and just.'* 
 From God w^e have everything in the order of 
 nature, of grace, and of glory. While we are 
 of ourselves incapable of repaying the least of 
 these blessings, still we have in Jesus Christ 
 a sacrifice which in value surpasses all we 
 
Ends for wJiicJi the Holy Scwrificc is Offered. 271 
 
 have received or could receive from the divine 
 liberality. '' He Who has not spared His own 
 Son, but delivered Him up for us, has He not 
 given us all things with Him? " This was the 
 reasoning of St. Paul. True, indeed, we are 
 indebted to God for everything ; but when we 
 present Him His Son do we not repay Him 
 everything? Hence^ how great should be our 
 gratitude ! This thought is well calculated to 
 fill our minds and hearts when we assist at the 
 holy sacrifice of the Mass. In return for my 
 infinite blessings, O my God, I offer Thee, 
 through Jesus Christ, infinite thanksgivings I 
 
 2. Sacrifice of propitiation, — The sacrifice of 
 the Mass is a sacrifice of propitiation. On Cal- 
 vary Jesus Christ offered Himself to His Father 
 for the expiation of our sins. On the altar Our 
 Saviour renews the sacrifice of the cross, in an 
 unbloody manner, it is true, but for the same 
 motive and w4th the same efficacy: ''As often 
 as you w411 eat of this bread and drink of 
 this chalice you will renew the death of the 
 Lord.'* What does the apostle mean by these 
 words? Not only will you recall the memory 
 of this death, but you will renew it, and the 
 merit will be applied to you. On the altar, as 
 on the cross, Jesus is the Victim of propitia- 
 tion for our sins. We should assist at the 
 sacrifice of the Mass in the same dispositions 
 
272 Ends for width the Holy Sacrifice is Offered. 
 
 which the publican had in going to the temple. 
 He was a sinner, he w^as humble, he struck his 
 breast, saying: "Be merciful to me, O Lord!" 
 This august sacrifice is also offered for the 
 dead. Its virtue and its merits extend even 
 to the souls in purgatory. What m^ore easy 
 or pow^erful means can we have to exercise 
 charity toward our parents or friends who ask 
 our prayers to God ior consolation and assist- 
 ance? 
 
 3. Sacrifice of ivipctration — Whatever the 
 Church asks of God, it is through the merits 
 of Jesus Christ she asks and obtains her 
 petitions. Therefore it is that the prayers of 
 the Church terminate in these w^ords, '' Through 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and 
 reigns eternally wdth Thee." Where, then, 
 can the Church employ the merits and the 
 mediation of Jesus more efficaciously than at 
 the altar, where He is personally present as 
 victim? "In the days of His mortal life," 
 says St. Paul, " He was heard for the rever- 
 ence w^hich w^as due Him." Is He less worthy 
 in the blessed Eucharist of the same regard 
 for His divinity? And when, in His twofold 
 character of priest and victim, He interests 
 Himself for us and prays for us, may we 
 not reasonably hope to receive every bless- 
 ing, particularly w^hen the graces we ask 
 
Assisting at Mass. 273 
 
 through His intercession are according to the 
 wishes and the mind of God? What we 
 should ask for above all is the sanctification 
 and salvation of our soul. After vSpiritual 
 favors we may also ask for temporal bless- 
 ings. St. Paul, w^riting to his disciple Timothy, 
 says : '' I desire that supplications, prayers, 
 and intercession be made for all men, for 
 kings and for all who are in high stations, 
 that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life.'' 
 Moreover, the Church in her liturgy has par- 
 ticular prayers to offer to God in the holy sac- 
 rifice for all that relates to our present life. 
 We should assist at Mass by uniting ourselves 
 with Jesus and the Church, to honor God, to 
 pray for the pardon of our sins, and ask for 
 all blessings for time and eternity. 
 
 INSTRUCTION LI. 
 
 ASSISTING AT MASS. 
 ** Do this for a commemoration of Me. " — St. Luke xxii. ig. 
 
 IN these words we readily recognize the 
 precept which our blessed Saviour gave 
 • • to His apostles. He commanded them to 
 do just what they had seen Him do. And 
 
 what had He done which He so expressly 
 18 
 
2 74 Assisting at Mass. 
 
 commanded? Our blessed Saviour was tak- 
 ing His last repast with His disciples. Taking 
 the bread and wine, He changed them into 
 His body and blood, and, after having given 
 them their first Communion, He said to them: 
 " Do this for a commemoration of Me." Then 
 it was that the apostles received the power to 
 offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass — that is to 
 say, to consecrate the body and blood of Jesus, 
 and distribute them to the faithful, even as 
 Jesus Himself had done. But if the apostles 
 and their successors, to the end of time, have 
 the mission of offering the holy sacrifice, by 
 that command our blessed Saviour has en- 
 joined on the faithful the duty of participat- 
 ing in the divine sacrifice, and of assisting at 
 Mass. It is of this particular obligation that 
 I would speak to you to-day. 
 
 I . Should you assist at Mass ? — That all the 
 faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and children 
 of His Church are rigorously bound to assist at 
 Mass, is a teaching most solidly established. 
 As a creature endowed with intelligence and 
 reason, man should honor God and offer to 
 Him homage, respect, love, and gratitude. 
 We can say religion is the bond which binds 
 man with God. Now the holy Mass is the 
 supreme act of religion — the most holy, the 
 most august, and the most perfect, indeed we 
 
Assisting at Mass. 275 
 
 may add, the most necessary act. The reason 
 is evident, for v/ithout sacrifice there is no 
 religion and no true worship rendered to God. 
 The Christian, then, as a man is obliged to 
 assist at Mass and to participate in it if he 
 would acquit himself of this most essential 
 duty of religion. 
 
 A true disciple of Jesus Christ hears the 
 word of his Master and makes His divine 
 teachings the rule of his conduct. Now, when 
 our blessed vSaviour instituted the adorable 
 sacrament, and when He commanded His 
 disciples to do what He Himself had done — - 
 that is, to change the bread into His body 
 and the wine into His blood — He also com- 
 manded all the faithful to assist at this divine 
 function in which this great mystery is wrought. 
 It is evident that the apostles must celebrate the 
 holy sacrifice, not only for themselves, but for 
 all the faithful. The obligation of assisting at 
 Mass is correlative to that of communicating. 
 Has not our divine Saviour most formally de- 
 clared that if we did not eat His flesh and 
 drink His blood, we could not have life in us? 
 Unless a man will condemn himself to spiritual 
 death, he must eat the flesh and drink the 
 blood of the Son of God. But the divine ban- 
 quet is prepared onl}^ at the Mass, and it is 
 necessary to assist at ]\Iass to participate in the 
 
276 Assisting at Mass. 
 
 eucharistic sacrifice. Thus the Church, speak- 
 ing in the name of Jesus Christ, Whom she 
 represents, and from Whom she has received 
 all authority, promulgates a most explicit com- 
 mand to all the faithful : " You must hear 
 Mass on Sundays and holy-days of obligation." 
 The mission of the Church is to render to God 
 public and social worship, and she regards 
 every Christian as a member of Catholic soci- 
 ety. God is as truly the author of society as 
 He is the creator of each individual member 
 of society, and public worship is due to Him 
 as is private and particular worship. By all 
 these titles assistance at Mass is for all an 
 indispensable obligation. 
 
 2 . Wlicn should you assist at Mass ? — All the 
 faithful who have attained the use of reason 
 are obliged, under pain of mortal sin, to hear 
 Mass on Sundays and the festivals of precept. 
 God Himself has commanded the sanctification 
 of the Sunday. The duty essentially pre- 
 scribed by the Church on Sunday is assisting 
 at the holy sacrifice. The Mass is also a duty 
 of obligation for the festivals of obligation. 
 Grave and solid reasons can alone exempt 
 from sin if you neglect Mass on Sundays or 
 festival-days of obligation. The care of the 
 sick or of little children, duties of charity, or 
 of imperious necessity can legitimately dis- 
 
Assisting at Mass. 277 
 
 pense from assisting at Mass. But how many 
 are there who acquire the habit of neglecting 
 Mass for slight reasons or for vain pretexts? 
 And what shall we say of those Catholics who 
 assist at Mass only from time to time, on the 
 great feasts or on the occasion of a marriage or 
 a funeral? They are Catholics only in name. 
 They are rebellious against the law of the 
 Church, and they merit only to be regarded as 
 heathens and publicans. 
 
 3. How sJioitld yoit assist at Mass ? — The obli- 
 gation of hearing Mass supposes the obliga- 
 tion of assisting properly — that is to say, zvith 
 respect and attention. The place in which the 
 holy mysteries are held is not a profane place, 
 in which careless conduct may be tolerated. 
 We should appear in the presence of Jesus and 
 in His temple with fear and trembling. At 
 the time He is about to descend on the altar, 
 there to be immolated and to obtain grace for 
 us, our attention should be wholly given to 
 the mystery which is being accomplished. 
 The majority of Christians who assist at Mass 
 are not accustomed to meditate daily ; they 
 should, therefore, employ some means to sus- 
 tain their attention during the holy sacrifice. 
 A prayer-book may be used to advantage to 
 follow the priest carefully during the time of 
 Mass, and at the different stages of the sacri- 
 
278 Assisting at Mass. 
 
 fice. We should strive to fill our hearts with 
 the various sentiments which the w^ords ex- 
 press. For those who cannot, or w^ho know 
 not how to read, there is the rosary or beads 
 or other prayers. These methods of assisting 
 at Mass will hold the attention fixed on the 
 great mystery, and will prevent distraction of 
 the mind more or less voluntary. 
 
 Our divine Saviour immolates and offers Him- 
 self on the altar to adore His Father, to thank 
 Him for His gifts, to satisfy His justice for 
 the sins of men, and to obtain from His bounty 
 the necessary graces for all. Such should be 
 your dispositions while assisting at the holy 
 sacrifice. Endeavor to experience these same 
 sentiments of the adorable Victim of the altar. 
 Who, at the price of His precious blood, se- 
 cures your eternal salvation. If you will unite 
 with Jesus in His sacrifice, you w^ill merit to 
 be united to Him in His triumph. 
 
Perseverance, 279 
 
 INSTRUCTION LII. 
 
 PERSEVERA^XE. 
 
 "He that shall persevere unto to the end, he shall be 
 saved." — St. Matt. x. 22. 
 
 IF at this moment I were allowed to inter- 
 rogate you — you who have had the happi- 
 • • ness of being reconciled with God — I w^ould 
 ask, What is now the most ardent desire of your 
 heart? I am sure you would respond with 
 the prophet : " One thing I have asked of the 
 Lord, that I ma)^ dwell in the house of the Lord 
 all the days of my life." You are now happily 
 free from the heavy weight of your sins ; you 
 are liberated from the shameful bondage of 
 Satan; God's peace and grace have taken pos- 
 session of your hearts. You have become the 
 living members and brethren of Jesus Christ. 
 The angels in heaven rejoice at your conver- 
 sion. The Church, your Mother, participates 
 in your joy, while you yourselves now taste 
 one of the sweetest consolations of your life. 
 What can you now desire if not to persevere 
 in this happy state? Our blessed Lord Him- 
 self tells us that perseverance is absolutely 
 necessary. We will propose three important 
 questions, and their solution will be the sub- 
 
2 8 o Perseverance. 
 
 ject-matter of our instruction. Should you 
 persevere ? Do you wish to persevere ? Can 
 you persevere? 
 
 I . Should you persevere ? — Unquestionably 
 you must persevere, since it is an absolute 
 necessity. Of what use would it be to take 
 the right direction if you will not continue in 
 it to the end of your journey? If a traveller 
 should set out for some distant city, would he 
 reach his destination after having taken a few 
 steps only? St. Paul compares us to those who 
 formerly contended for the prize at the games. 
 He said: '' All indeed run, but one only carries 
 off the palm of victory; run, therefore, that 
 you may obtain it." 
 
 What are w^e, considered as Christians? We 
 are soldiers engaged under the standard of 
 Jesus Christ. But on the field of battle, to 
 whom is the cross of honor given? Is it to 
 the cowards, the idlers, or the deserters? Not 
 at all, but to those who combat nobly and per- 
 severingly until the defeat of the enemy has 
 been accomplished. Hence St. Paul says that 
 in the arena the athlete will not be crowned 
 who has not fought valiantly. 
 
 Not only are we soldiers of Christ, but we 
 are also His servants. He will be our Master 
 always. He does not change with regard to 
 us, neither in His authority. His teaching. His 
 
Pe?'severa?7ce. 281 
 
 commandments, His threats, nor His prom- 
 ises. Jesus always preserves over us His 
 rights as Creator, Redeemer, and Sovereign 
 Judge. We belong to Him in time, we will 
 belong to Him in eternity. Not one iota 
 will be retrenched from His doctrine or 
 His Gospel. His commandments will never 
 suffer reform or modification. It will always 
 be sinful to violate them. It will always be 
 true that there is a hell for the condemned 
 who will have heard the anathema, ''Depart 
 from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." It 
 will always be true that there are eternal rec- 
 ompenses in heaven for all who have remained 
 faithful to Jesus Christ. These truths, the 
 meditation of which has converted you, will 
 never change. Why should you change ? You 
 should, then, persevere. 
 
 2. Do you zuish to persevere? — Certainly you 
 do, since your dearest interests require your 
 perseverance. Your honor is at stake. You 
 have sworn fidelity to God. While receiving 
 absolution for your faults you have said that 
 you would rather die than offend God mortally. 
 You must be faithful, or you will be perjurers. 
 " I have sworn and determined to keep the 
 judgments of Thy justice." Your liberty is 
 also at stake. Would you wish to submit again 
 to the yoke of the demon and the world and 
 
282 Perseverance. 
 
 their cruel and humiliating tyranny? Would 
 you wish to become again the slaves of sin and 
 of passions, most unworthy of a Christian? 
 Your happiness is at stake. What have been 
 the happiest days of your life, if not those days 
 when you have tasted the sweets of peace — 
 those days you have passed in the grace and 
 friendship of God? You have found those 
 happy days, and it only depends on you to 
 preserve them by your fidelity. When the 
 invalid has been restored to health, how 
 careful he is not to lose it again ! When the 
 captive is liberated from prison, how^ dearly 
 he prizes his liberty ! Your greatest interests 
 are involved in your perseverance. When we 
 speak of perseverance, of what is there ques- 
 tion? There is question of preserving your 
 spiritual wealth, and all the treasures you have 
 amassed for eternal life. All that you have 
 done in a state of grace will be meritorious for 
 eternal reward, even a cup of cold water given 
 in the name of Jesus. It is also to your inter- 
 est to augment your merits by the multiplica- 
 tion of your good works, prayers, alms, fasting, 
 charitable acts toward your neighbor; these 
 are so many acts worthy of eternal glory if 
 they are accomplished in a state of grace. For 
 the same reason that you wish for happiness 
 you should also wish for perseverance. 
 
Perseverance. 283 
 
 3. Can yoit persevere ? — Certainly you can per- 
 severe, since it depends only on yourself to em- 
 ploy the means. And what are these means? 
 The first of all is prayer. Perseverance is 
 indeed the greatest and the most precious of all 
 graces; but God grants it, as all others, only to 
 those who ask it with, humility and confidence : 
 " Ask and it shall be given to you." The sec- 
 ond means is the frequentation of the sacra- 
 ments of penance and the Eucharist. Often 
 take counsel of him whom God has appointed 
 the guide of your soul, and you will not be 
 exposed to wander from the right road . Nour- 
 ish yourself often with the bread of the strong, 
 and you will not become weak in the presence 
 of your enemies. A third means is to watch 
 constantly lest you may be surprised, and fly 
 from all dangerous occasions. He who does 
 not wish to be cast headlong will avoid the 
 brink of the abyss. Apply yourself to the 
 practice of good works. The care and sacri- 
 fices they will require of you will protect you 
 against the deceits of the world and the snares 
 of your passions. To be assured of the grace 
 of perseverance, add a tender devotion to the 
 Blessed Virgin. What a happiness I feel to" 
 tell you, w^ith St. Bernard, that " a true servant 
 of Mary will never perish. " She is the Mother 
 of Jesus, and has all power over His heart. 
 
284 Per^evera nee. 
 
 vShe is our Mother, and there is nothing she 
 will ask for more ardently for her children 
 than the grace to persevere. Be devoted to 
 this good and compassionate Mother, and she 
 will conduct you safely to the gate of eternal 
 salvation. 
 
 Printed by Benziger Brothers, New York. 
 
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