! i
•Bill
Coll. Christ! R«
BIBL THEO:
rpr-N-r-, '"-V.-vn
A WAtO"** •*• •
SERMONS
ON OUR LORD AND HIS BLESSED
MOTHER,
I I.
NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO:
BENZIQER BROTHERS,
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See,
AND ON THE SAINTS.
PANEGYRICS AND MORAL DISCOURSES,
ADAPTED TO ALL THE SUNDAYS AND HOLYDAYS
OF THE YEAR.
REV. FATHER FRANCIS HUNOLT,
Priest of the Society of Jesus, and Preacher in the Cathedral ofTrevcs.
Coll. Christi F-
BIBL. THEOL.
TRANSLATED BY THE
REV/J. ALLEN", D.D.
Imprimatur.
* P. STROBING,
Bishop of Pompciopolis and Vicar-Apostolic of the
Eastern Vicariate of the Cape Colony,
COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS.
CONTENTS.
SERMON PAGE
xxxvni. On the Holy Angels, - 7
ON THE HOLY PATRIARCHS.
xxxix. On St. John the Baptist, - - 17
XL. On St. Joseph, the Patron of our Fatherland, - 30
XLI. On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God, - 40
XL.II. On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying, - - 51
ON THE HOLY APOSTLES.
XLIII. On the Holy Apostles SS. Peter and Paul, - 62
XLIV. On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew, - 76
XLV. On the Holy Apostle St. James, 90
XLVI. On the Holy Apostle St. John, - 104
XLVII; On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas, 117
XLVIII. On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James, - - 133
XLIX. On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew, - 151
L. On the Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew, - 168
LI. On the Holy Apsotles SS. Simon and Jude, - 183
LII. On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias, - 200
ON THE HOLY MARTYRS.
Lin. On Loving our Enemies after the Example of St.
Stephen, 220
LIV. On St. Lawrence, - 233
LV. On St. Sebastian, the Healer of all Diseases, 244
LVI. On St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague, 254
LVII. On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian, 263
LVIII. On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement, - 272
LIX. On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves, - 282
6
5 Contents.
SERMON PAGE
LX. On the Honor which the People of Troves Derive from
their Holy Martyrs, 291
LXI. On the Lesson which the People of Treves should
Learn from their Holy Martyrs, - 300
ON THE HOLY CONFESSORS.
LXII. On the Humble Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, 312
LXIII. On the Great St. Augustine, - 320
LXIV. On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves, - - 330
LXV. On the Wonderful St. Bernard, - 337
LXVI. On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World, - - 347
LXVII. On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon, - - 356
ON THE HOLY VIRGINS AND WIDOWS.
LXVIII. On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom, - 367
LXIX. On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves, - - 376
LXX. On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman, - - 385
LXXI. On the Holy Empress Helen, a Mother of Christendom, 392
LXXII. On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ, 400
LXXIII. On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ, 411
LXXIV. On all the Saints of God, ... 413
THIRTY-EIGHTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY ANGELS.
Subject.
1. The holy angels are most perfectly united with the will of
God. 2. We, too, should endeavor to be in full conformity with
the divine will. — Preached on the feast of the guardian angels
and of St. Michael.
Text.
Angeli eorum in ccelis semper vident faciem Pair is mei qui in
cwlis est. — Matt, xviii. 10.
" Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father
who is in heaven."
Introduction.
"Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father
who is in heaven." These words signify something more than
the glory of the holy angels, by which they behold God for eter
nity. When we say of a servant that he always keeps his eyes
fixed on his master, we mean that he is always ready and willing
to do arid omit whatever he knows to be pleasing to his master.
And this is what we must understand of the holy angels when we
say that they always see the face of the Father in heaven. Yes,
my dear brethren, there we have a perfect model of the conform
ity and likeness of our will to the will of God; as I now mean to
show in this sermon, which shall be partly a panegyric and part
ly a moral discourse.
Plan of Discourse.
The holy angels are always most perfectly united with the will
of God. This I shall show in the first part. Let us, too, endeavor
to be in conformity ivith the divine will on earth, just as the an
gels are in heaven. Such shall he the exhortation in the second
part. The first part to the praise and honor of the holy angels ;
the second by way of a lesson to us, that we may imitate their ex
ample.
8 On the Holy A ngels.
Help us hereto, 0 holy angels, and thou, Mary, Queen of an
gels!
The angeis As I have often told you already, the likeness of our will to the
whausod divine wiH consists partly in doing or avoiding what God wills,
wins and as when God wills, how God wills, and because God wills us to do
llls> or avoid it, and partly in being quite satisfied and content with
whatever arrangement God has made with regard to us and to
all creatures, in great things or small, in high things or lowly,
in agreeable or disagreeable things. My dear brethren, we find
a perfect example of this twofold conformity in the holy angels
in heaven. With regard to the first, the Prophet David, wishing
to give the angels a name descriptive of their office, calls them
servants and attendants of God, who have nothing else to do
but to fulfil His holy will. For he sings to them: " Bless the
Lord, all ye His angels; you that are mighty in strength, and exe
cute His word, hearkening to the voice of His orders. Bless the
Lord, all ye His hosts; you ministers of His that do His will." '
And with And how quickly, readily, joyfully, and perfectly they do that
spee^ancT1 n°lv w^« St. John in the Apocalypse says of the cherubim, who
readiness, appeared to him under the guise of mysterious living things,
that they were "full of eyes before and behind;" and they had
" each of them six wings; and round about and within they are
full of eyes;" 2 namely, that they might always see and attend to
every sign of their Creator in order to be ready to obey it at once.
They were equipped with wings, and indeed angels are always
painted thus, to show the readiness and speed with which they
carry out the divine command. St. Thomas of Aquin speaks of
two kinds of angels: the one he calls assistentes, or attendants,
the other ministr antes, or servants; after the manner of a royal
court, in which there are some ministers who never leave the
royal presence, and others who have to go here and there to ful
fil the king's behests. The former stand before the great God,
waiting for His commands with all possible reverence and awe;
the others fly tc execute the orders given them by God.
shown from Thus, as we read in Holy Writ, an angel goes to stand senti
nel at the entrance of paradise to guard it, until he should be
recalled by the Almighty from his post. " He placed before
1 Benedicite Domino, omnes angeli ejus : potentes virtute, facientes verbam illius, ad audi-
endam vocem sermonum ejus. Benedicite Domino, omnes virtutes ejus: ministri ejus, qnl
facitis voluntatem ejus.— Ps. cii. 20, 21.
2 Plena oculis ante et retro. Singula eorum habebant alas senas ; et In circuitu et intus
plena sunt oculis.— Apoc. iv. 6, 8.
On the Holy Angels. 9
the paradise of pleasure cherubim and a flaming sword, turning
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." ' Another angel
goes to the desert to bring back Agar to her master Abraham.
A third flies to prevent Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac.
Two angels hasten to save Lot from the danger of destruction in
the city of Sodom. Many others help the Israelites to find their
way through the desert to the promised land. An angel receives
the command to encourage Gideon against the Madianites; an
other to free king Ezechias from the hostile power of the Assyr
ians; another to protect the purity of Judith in the camp of Holo-
f ernes; another to defend Daniel in the lions' den from the fury
of those savage animals; another to save the lives of the three
youths in the fiery furnace; another to accompany the younger
Tobias on his journey; another to free St. Peter from prison;
others to carry the body of the virgin and martyr Catharine to
the top of Mount Sinai; and so on. All of them went oil at once
at the first sign made by God to fulfil the order given; and their
chief joy and glory consists in being able to do what they under
stand their Creator wishes of them.
And not only are they thus eager to fulfil the commands given They .are
them immediately by God, but they also show the same readi- J"8^^7
ness and willingness in executing what other angels tell them, win of God
or what they otherwise know to be pleasing to God. For accord- wnentney
ing to the teaching of theologians, all the angels in heaven are from other
not equal in dignity and excellence; one choir is subordinate to
the other. Not all receive commands immediately from God,
for the inferior is ruled by the superior; just as in a royal court
the will of the king is made known by one courtier to another,
and by the latter to a third, and so on. Nevertheless an angel
executes the command received from another angel with an obedi
ence just as ready and humble as if the command came direct
from the Creator Himself, without the least feeling of envy or
jealousy at the superior excellence of the other; for every one is
quite content with the place and post assigned to him, and they
have greater joy in doing the will of God, however and whenever
it is made known to them, than they have in their own dignity
and glory. " Bless the Lord, all ye His hosts; you ministers of
His that do His will." Thus is the Lord blessed by His servants,
1 Collocavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium atque versatilem
ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae.— Gen. iii. 24.
10
On the Holy Angels.
They are
content
with all
that God
decrees for
them.
This is
shown by
the angels
who guard
us poor
mortals.
Nay, they
attend on
even the
worst sin
ners.
who do and omit nothing except what, when, how, and because
God wishes them to do or omit it.
With regard to the second part of conformity with the will of
God, even the chief princes of the angels are so resigned to the
divine will, and so content with all that God arranges for them,
that if they could perceive but the least sign of His wishing them
to become gardeners here on earth and pluck up weeds, or to till
the fields like a peasant, with great labor and trouble (in former
times an angel really performed this office for the holy peas
ant St. Isidor, and guided the oxen in the plough for him while
he heard Mass), or to undertake any other task, no matter how
lowly, they would esteem it as the greatest honor, and make for
themselves a heaven of happiness out of it, as long as only the
good will and pleasure of God is fully accomplished in and by
them.
If you wish to test the truth of this, then think of the holy
guardian angels, and of the office to which they allow themselves
to be appointed. 0 my God! I am often struck with wonder
ment to think that such excellent beings as even the lowest of
the angels are, that such great, beautiful, and mighty princes of
heaven, many of whom in the beginning were, before they reached
the place of their eternal happiness, ashamed to attend on God
when He should become man, and were therefore cast out of
heaven into hell as rebels — my God, I think, how is it possible
for these blessed courtiers of the Almighty to deign to defend
and guard such mean creatures as we are! But what do I say!
exclaims St. Bernard; to defend and guard ? Rather to wait upon
and attend us poor mortals. They are not ashamed in their
own exalted persons to take that lowly office on themselves for
years and years, from the first moment of life to the moment of
death, and to stand day and night, in all places, at all times, by
the side of a poor mortal, even of the meanest of men, of a poor
beggar or swine-herd!
And what is still more astonishing, they perform this service
even for the most wicked, even for infidels, heathens, Jews,
Turks, and idolaters, whose mouths are filled with blasphemies
against the true God. That service they perform even for wiz
ards and witches who adore the devil! And although the angels
experience the greatest disgust at those who are in mortal sin,
and enemies of God, yet with the utmost patience they stand at
their side day and night, to protect and ^uara aiem aL Ciii.cren
On the Holy Angels. II
entrusted to their care; they wait on them, so to speak, as serv
ants wait on their masters in all their affairs; and the same serv
ice shall be rendered by an angel even to anti-Christ, who shall
be as an incarnate demon in his rebellion against God. All this
they do simply because such is the will 4of God; and he who is
deputed to guard a poor beggar or lowly peasant boy is as well
content with his office as if he had the care of the greatest mon
arch of earth. He who has to protect the wizard or sorcerer is
just as satisfied as if he had to attend on the greatest saint and
servant of God; simply because such is the will of God, who has
so ordained and given to each one his peculiar office.
Nay, the holy angels are so united with the divine will that if They are
they were free to do anything contrary to it they would prefer to annihilated.
be cast away forever among the demons than to commit the least if such
venial sin by which they might displease God. And if it were
pleasing to God to annihilate them, or, without any fault on their
eide, to hurl them into hell forever, provided they might con
tinue to love Him there, they would all without exception be ready
for their fate, that they might thus accomplish and fulfil the will
of God. From this it follows that they desire nothing so much in
us, their charges, as a conformity of our will with the divine will,
and there is nothing they labor so hard to bring about with their
inspirations and suggestions as the practice of this virtue in us,
which is the compendium of all virtue.
My dear brethren, we must acknowledge that we owe a debt of The best
the greatest gratitude, honor, and love to our holy guardian toYhowTur
angels for the unceasing and countless benefits we have received gratitude t*
and hope to receive from them every moment of our lives; and ^Jate*0
he would indeed be more stupid than a dumb beast, more thank- their con-
less than a dog, who would refuse to acknowledge this obligation. ^^
Now they who do acknowledge it often ask themselves, with the wiiioi God
younger Tobias, who had received so many favors from his faith
ful companion, the angel Raphael, on his journey, "What wages
shall we give him? or what can be worthy of his benefits?"
See this, Christians. Do you wish to know how we can and
ought to reward our holy angels for their services to us? No more
grateful offering can we make them than to follow their example
by being fully united with the will of God, by always endeavoring
to do and omit what, when, how, and because God wills us to do
or omit; and at the same time to be always ready in all circum-
1 Quam mercedem dablmus ei ? aut quid dignum poterit esse beneflciis ejus ?— Tob. xii. &
12 On the Holy Angels.
stances to submit to the divine ordinances and arrangements, and
to say candidly: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven: as
the angels, 0 Lord! do Thy will in heaven, so may men also do
it on earth. Let this be our resolution, our promise, and let us
fulfil it by way of honoring and thanking our holy guardian
angels: as I shall further explain in the
Second Part.
conformity Yes, one might say, the angels can do all this easily enough; it
wm of God *s no^ a difficult matter for them to be perfectly united with the
is indeed will of God. Oh, what a difference and great inequality there
flcuit for" us *s Between those happy spirits in heaven, in the abode of joys
than for and delights, and us poor mortals who have still to live in this
the angeis. yaje Of f-ears an(j sorrows! To the angels in heaven everything
happens according to their will and pleasure, and there is noth
ing that can cause them grief; but to us, on the other hand,
who are still far from our fatherland, everything goes contrary;
wherever we turn we find trials and annoyances; seldom do we
meet with any one who has all he wishes; countless are the things
that displease us daily. In heaven it is a pleasant and an easy
thing to be satisfied with the will of God, and be always content
with it, for there is no contradiction there, nor can there be any;
while here on earth one trial comes after another, one cross after
another, one difficulty after another. Therefore, just as the
satiated who have eaten and drunk enough dance and sing dif
ferently from the hungry and thirsty, so we cannot say and pray
as the angels do: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Take us up to them, 0 God, and we will do as they do, and with
all our hearts we will be satisfied with Thy arrangements; but to
do that now is a difficult and troublesome thing! All this is quite
true, my dear brethren; we do indeed find a greater difficulty in
fulfilling and accomplishing the will of God than the angers;
but why? Because we do not yet wish from our hearts all that
God wishes, but would rather have things according to our own
will. If we only had this one virtue of conformity and union
with the will of God, then would almost every difficulty be re
moved; for even crosses and trials would be pleasing to us, be
cause they are pleasing to God, and because, as long as we are so
journing on this earth, God has ordained them for us.
Butitis In one way, although it is much more difficult for us in many
things to be as satisfied with the divine will as the angels are,
On the Holy Angels. 13
yet we may still say that we are better off than they. How is meritorious
that? Because the angels, with all their most perfect conformity, siwe for us
cannot merit anything to add to their glory in heaven; but we *° Practise-
who are still on the way thither can and must daily merit a
happiness like theirs by resigning our will to the will of God.
If it were not possible for us on earth to attain to this virtue like
the angels, God would not have required it of us, and to no pur
pose should Our Lord have told us to pray: Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven; that is, may Thy holy will, 0 God. be done
by us as the angels do it in heaven ! May Thy will be done by us and
by all our actions to Thy honor and glory, just as the angels in
heaven do many things for Thy honor and glory ! May Thy will
be done in us, body and soul, according to Thy pleasure, however
and whe-never Thou pleasest, just as the angels allow themselves
in all things to be guided and directed by that will! Now, since
it seems often hard and almost impossible to our weak nature and
our sensuality to do this, therefore Christ has exhorted us to pray
daily to our heavenly Father for grace to make it easy, at least to
our reasoning will; and, as St. Cyprian justly says, we should pray:
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; not that God may
do what He wishes to do, or ordain for us what He wishes to ordain,
for that He will do without asking us, whether we like it or not,
but we should pray that we may do what God wills, that we may
be always satisfied with what the will of God ordains for us.
The holy martyrs and primitive Christians were weak mortals And it is
as we are; they were as sensitive to the trials and difficulties of
life as we are; they found temptations as hard to overcome as we tians
find them; and yet with God's help they attained a high degree
of conformity with the divine will; their only cry in all attacks
of adversity was: Lord, Thy will be done! I will select only
one example from all. In the days of the Emperor Diocletian,
Epictetus, a priest, and Astion, his companion, were thrown into
prison by the tyrant. Dear Astion, said Epictetus, let us be of
good heart; it is the will of God! If the judge causes us to be
brought before him to-morrow, and asks us our names, who are
our parents, and where we come from, our only answer must be:
We are Christians. And if \t is the will of God for us to be tor
tured and mangled, our only words during our sufferings must be:
May the will of God be always done in us! And when they were
brought before the judge the next day, their only words were:
We are Christians; may the will of God be done in us! whereat
14 On the Holy Angels.
the judge was so incensed that he caused them to be cruelly beaten s
but the martyrs only raised their eyes to heaven, saying: Jesus
Christ, Thy will be done in us! The judge, inflamed with anger,
caused them to be stretched on the rack and torn with hooks;
but all he could get them to say was: Tyrant, know that we are
Christians; we are Christians; may the will of God be done in us!
Then their flesh was burned with torches, their wounds rubbed
with vinegar and salt, and after many other tortures they were con
demned to die by the sword; but in all their sufferings the only
words, almost, they were heard to utter were: We are Christians;
may the will of God be done in us! Saying these words they gave
up the ghost. Vigilantius, a heathen, who witnessed their
martyrdom, thought there must be some special virtue hidden in
those words, to banish all sense of pain, so that their tortures caused
them no suffering; therefore in all adverse circumstances he re
peated those words: We are Christians; may the will of God be
done in us! And for three whole days did that blind heathen
keep on repeating them; when, wonderful to relate, the mercy
of God could no longer withhold from him a special grace.
Vigilantius was suddenly enlightened; he was converted to the
Christian faith, and ran into the public street, crying out before all
the people: I am a Christian; do you hear me, tyrant? May the
will of God be done in me! He then caused his whole household
to be baptized with himself, and was thrown into prison with the
martyrs.
Exhortation ]y[y <jear brethren, we, too, are Christians, are we not? Let us,
them and then, in all occurrences think and say, and show by our actions
the angels, that we mean it: May the will of God be done in us! We are
fellow-servants and brethren of the angels, as the angel in the
Apocalypse said to St. John, who was about to adore him: " See
thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren." 1
Let us, too, think and say in all circumstances: May the will of
God be done by us and in us on earth as it is done by and in the
angels in heaven! And no matter how hard and difficult and
bitter it may appear to me, nevertheless may the will of God be
done in me! This cross weighs heavily on me; this insult seems
intolerable; this sickness and pain are grievously tormenting; se
cret poverty and want oppress me; this death causes me bitter
sorrow; yet I am a Christian, a fellow-servant of the angels; may
the will of God be done in me, too ! And may the will of God be
s Vide ne feceris ; conservus tuus sum, et f ratrum tuorum. — Apoc. xix. 10.
On the Holy Angels. 15
done by me, also, in all my thoughts, words, and actions, with an
upright, pure intention, as it is done by the angels in heaven;
with a fervent love of God, as it is done by the angels in heaven;
with as much readiness and cheerfulness as it is done by the an
gels in heaven; so that I may always be able to say what that
courtier said to his sovereign, when the latter told him he must
accompany him on his journey to-morrow; no, your majesty, an
swered the courtier, it is not a case of must with me, for I shall
do it with the utmost willingness, because it is pleasing to my
master. May the will of God be done in and by me with as
much perfection as it is done by the angels in heaven, that is,
without my making the least exception, and with as much per
severance as it is done by the angels in heaven, that is, without
my ever being wearied by the lengCh of time, or by the greatness
of the difficulties that may present themselves; may the will of
God be done for ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred years, for all
eternity!
That, my dear brethren, is the real way to say the Our Father. By this we
These are the wings by which we may soar to the highest knowl-
edge of the divine will; this is the best way of always keeping
in the presence of God, as that great servant of God, Father
Gregory Lopez of our Society, was taught by God Himself; who
said to him that he should often repeat in thought the words:
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; amen. These words
he impressed deeply on his heart, and constantly repeated for
three years in succession; so that at last he could not forget them,
and, as it were, with every breath he drew he used to say: Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven; amen. He himself
acknowledges that if he was ever careless or slothful in saying
these words he was usually assailed by violent temptations of the
devil; so that these sweet words served him as a teacher and de
fender against the enemies of his soul; therefore he tried to
persuade of their value all with whom he came into contact.
Heavenly spirits, and you, especially, holy guardian angels, to Resolution
whom, after God, we must acknowledge that we of ten owe our lives,
our bodies and souls, since we cannot show our esteem and love
for you better than by imitating as diligently as possible that
virtue of conformity to the will of God which is so remarkable
in you, we are determined in future to be most fervent in prao-
tising that virtue; and do you pray for us to God in heaven, that
He may draw our rebellious wills to His, so that, like you, we may
1 6 On the Holy Angels.
always be and remain united with the divine will in all things;
that we may give to God whatever we know to be pleasing to Him;
that we may avoid and readily cast from us all that we know to
be displeasing to Him, and that in every circumstance we may
be content and satisfied with the arrangements of His Providence.
For my parti beg this of thee, my holy guardian angel! Touch
my heart unceasingly with thy inspirations; give me no rest un
til 1 do the will of God in all things, and thus imitate thee con
stantly! May the will of God be done in and by me for all eter
nity! Amen.
See several sermons on the holy angels in the first, fourth, and
volumes.
ON THE HOLY PATRIARCHS.
THIRTY-NINTH SERMON.
ON ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
Subject.
St. John was a penitent, and therefore a wonderful man. —
Preached on the feast of St. John Baptist.
Text.
Et posuerunt omnes qui audierant, in corde suo, dicentes :
Quis putas, puer iste erit? — Lnke i. 66.
" And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart,
sayi?ig: What an one,, think ye, shall this child be?"
Introduction.
All that happened before, during, and after the birth of St.
John the Baptist was most wonderful. St. Thomas of Villanova
gives us a pithy description of those wonders: " An angel brings
the message," he says; " his father becomes dumb, a barren wom
an conceives, the virgin greets, the boy leaps for joy, the moth
er prophesies, the name is given from heaven, it is known to
the mother by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, it is written
down by the father, the string of his tongue is loosed, and from,
being a dumb man the father becomes a prophet: what a num
ber of miracles happened at his birth!" With reason were all
who heard of them astonished, so that they asked each other;
" What an one, think ye, shall this child be? " If, my dear breth
ren, I had been present, and had foreseen the life of St. John, I
should have answered: This child will prove the greatest miracle
1 Angelus nunciat, pater obmutescit, sterilis concipit, Virgo salutat, puer exultat, mater
prophetat, nomen de coelo mittitur, a matre per Spiritual agnoscitur, a patre conscribitur, vin-
culum linguae solvitur, ex muto propheta pater efflcitur : quanta in ejus ortu miracula facta
Mint!
17
1 8 On St. John the Baptist.
of all. And I should have been right; for we must consider St.
John as a living miracle when we look at his penitential life: as
I shall now show.
Plan of Discourse.
St. John was a penitent, and therefore a most wonderful man.
Such is the whole subject of this panegyric. Sinners ! ye just !
ye innocent! whoever you may be, you, too, must do penance; such
shall be the conclusion by way of a moral lesson.
That all may profit by it, grant us Thy grace, Almighty God,
through the intercession of Thy Mother Mary, of Thy holy pre
cursor St. John, and of our guardian angels.
Many saints If I read the Lives of the Saints I find many examples of serv-
an^s °^ ^0(^ w^° ^ suc^ Potential lives and were so hard on
themselves that I have reason to shake with fear, and to say to
myself : Alas, how little I have done for heaven! I think of the
saintly David, and the words resound in my ears that he sighed
forth to God: " I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is con
tinually before me." The tears he shed during the night in
his constant vigils were enough to bedew his couch: " Every
night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears/7
His fasting and mortification were so severe that he ate ashes in
stead of bread, and tears of repentance were his drink: " I did eat
ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping." Then
I remember the holy apostle St. Peter, whose cheeks were fur
rowed and ploughed up by the tears of bitter sorrow he was con
stantly shedding; St. Paul, that chosen vessel of election, who
in the midst of his trials and sufferings chastised his wearied
body most mercilessly: " I chastise my body, and bring it into
subjection," 4 as he says of himself. Then I behold St. Mary
Magdalene, who separated herself from the society of men, and
lacerated her body with scourges even to blood. If I enter in spirit
into the deserts and wildernesses, I find hearts broken with contin
ual contrition and sorrow; bodies blanched and wasted by uninter
rupted vigils, hunger, and thirst, more dead than alive, clad with
hair-shirts furnished with sharp iron nails, scourged with thongs
armed with spurs and knives, and other terrible implements of
1 Ego In flagellis paratus sum, et dolor meus in conspectu meo semper.— Ps. xxxvii. 18.
* Lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum : lacbrymis meis stratum meum rigabo.— Ibid,
rl. 7.
» Cinerem tanquam panem mauducabam, et potum meum cum fletu raiscebam.— Ibid. ci. 10.
4 Castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo.— I. Cor. ix. 27.
On St. John the Baptist. 19
penance with which those repentant souls chastised the flesh.
Amongst others, I seem to behold a St. Victorinus placing his
hand like a wedge between the parts of a cleft tree, and there
holding it until it was crushed, to his great pain and torture;
Jacobonus, who buried himself alive in the grave of a dead per
son, and there, amid the fearful stench of corrupting flesh, passed
his life in shedding tears of contrition; Guarinus, who crawled
out of his solitude to Rome on his hands and feet, like a dumb
beast, returned in the same manner, and continued in that pos
ture for the remainder of his life, until, covered altogether,like a
beast, with hair, he was captured by hunters. I pass over others.
What think you of this, my dear brethren? Are you nothor- This is not
rifled at the penitential lives of such holy people? Truly, you ^dlt^oi
have reason for wondering; yet I cannot help thinking that they they were
are no great miracles of penitence after all. Why not? Read once£reat
J sinners,
the account of their previous lives, and you will agree with me.
All these penitents, although they then served God truly, had
been great sinners and had grievously offended God. David had
been an adulterer and murderer; Peter had denied Christ; Paul
had been a persecutor of the Christians; Magdalene had been a
notorious sinner in the city: (< A woman that was in the city, a
sinner." 1 Victorinus had committed impure actions with the
hand that he crushed in the cloven tree; Jacobonus had been
guilty of carnal lust with the person in whose grave he had lain;
Guarinus also had misused the body that he allowed to grow in
to the semblance of a wild beast for brutish lusts. What won
der, then, that all these, after they had entered into themselves
and become converted to God, inflicted such severe penances on ,
themselves.
It would have been more astonishing if they had done no pen- And pen
ance at all, for to what purpose are austerities, if sinners are not anceis
in want of them? What is a sinner? asks Tertullian. He is a sinners,
man, is the answer, who after having committed sin lives still
on earth to do penance, that is, to suffer, to deny himself, to
mortify his senses and sensuality, to chastise and crucify his body.
And this is only right and just. For could the great God ex
pect any less from a mean creature by whom His infinite majes
ty has been wantonly insulted, vilely treated and offended, than
that the creature should humble himself and punish himself by
works of penance, in order to make some reparation to the divine
1 Mulier quae erat in clvitate peccatrix.— Luke vii. 37.
*o On St. John the Baptist.
justice, and in some manner to restore the divine honor
by sin? Is it too much for a man to rob himself of some lawful
comfort, after having wantonly stretched forth his hand to un
lawful actions? Is the untamed flesh less deserving of punish
ment after it has enjoyed the forbidden pleasure, and thus merit
ed the pains of hell? No! One who has been a sinner must either
punish himself by penance or expect chastisement from the jus
tice of God.
st John Show me, my dear brethren, a man who is quite innocent and
^ab™ir" has never done any wrong, and yet submits to severe penances
cause he of his own free will, and of him will I say: truly he is a great
thTmost miracle of penance! And behold, of all mere holy men, the only
severe pen- miracle of the kind is St. John the Baptist. Consider his mode
ance. Of jjfe. couid jt weu have been more severe? St. Matthew de
scribes it in the following words: " And the same John had his
garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins;
and his meat was locusts and wild honey." 1 His garment was
a kind of mantle made of the hard and bristly hairs of the camel,
a sort of penitential garment that rather tormented his body
than covered it. His meat was locusts; what food for a human
being! Other solitaries, although they fasted strictly, had at
least bread or cooked vegetables to eat. Who ever heard of any
one eating locusts, a vermin found in the desert? So that he
must have suffered continual hunger and thirst. And such, in
deed, was the case; for with him fasting and eating must have
been the same thing. Therefore with reason did Christ, the eternal
Truth, say of him: " John came, neither eating nor drinking." a
, Of which passage St. Bernard says: "According to the Apos
tle, if we have food and clothing we should be content; this was
the perfection of the apostles, but it was not enough for John; " *
it seemed too small for him. " For he came, neither eating nor
drinking, nor wearing clothing; for as locusts are not proper
food, unless, perhaps, for some unreasoning animals, so neither is
camel's hair a proper kind of clothing for a man."4 And we
may well add to this: he lived without food, without drink, with-
1 Ipse autem Joannes habebat vestimentum de piliscamelorum, et zonam pelliceam circa
lumbos suos; esca autem ejus erat locustae et rael sylvestre.— Matt. iii. 4.
2 Venit enim Joannes, neque manducans, neque bibens.— Ibid. xi. 18.
1 Habentes victum et vestitum, ait Apostolus, his content! simus ; apostolica perfectio M&
est ; sed Joannes etlam hanc contempsit.— S. Bern. Senn. de Nat. Joan. Bapt.
* Venit enim non manducans, neque bibens, plane necvestiens ; sicutenim non est locust a
cibus, nisi forte irrutionabllium animaliurn; »<c nee pJUvr g c&raelorum horainum eat in**w
On St. John the Baptist. 21
out clothing, without a bed; for as locusts are not food, nor
cameFs hair clothing, neither are the caves in the desert a fit
resting-place for a man. Thus by a miracle he lived in an al
most uninterrupted fasting and watching. Has any one ever
heard of any other saint who did the like ?
And when did he begin that penitential life ? how long did it And that,
last ? Other hermits, in order to do penance, went into the des- chnd^ocxi
ert in their old age, or at least in their manhood, while they still to the end
had the strength necessary for that severe mode of life. ButofMslife<
when did John commence? "In thy tender years/' sings the
Church to him in the office of to-day, " flying the turmoil of men,
thou didst seek the caves of the desert." l "As soon as he had
passed the years of infancy," says Denis the Carthusian, "he
hastened to the desert;"2 there, creeping into the caverns of the
earth as a companion of the wild beasts, he began his life of
penance. " He began," says St. Thomas of Villanova, " where
any perfect man would wish to leave off. 0 wonderful child !
0 hermit, miraculous even in the sight of all the angels ! " 8
How could it have been possible for a child of such tender years
to practise those austerities if the Almighty God had not worked
in and with him in a miraculous manner ? And so it is, con
tinues St. Thomas: " Human frailty would not have been capable
of such perfection at that age, especially if God had not been
pleased to show in John to all ages a miracle of holiness." 4
How long did John endure this severe life ? " The child grew,
and was strengthened in spirit," says St. Luke, "and was in
the deserts," mark this well, my dear brethren, "until the day
of his manifestation to Israel; " 5 that is, until he announced
Christ as the true Lamb of God, and pointed Him out to the
people. So that John lived alone in the desert from his child
hood until his thirtieth year, for that was the age of Our Lord
when He began to preach publicly, and it was then that St. John
pointed Him out to the world. Even when John was preaching
1 Antra desert! teneris sub aunis, civium turmas fugiens petisti.
2 Moxutinfantiae annos egressus est, properavit ad eremum.— Dion. Cart. Serm. 5. deNat.
Joan.
8 Suam inde inchoans vitam, ubi perfectus quisque desinere solet. O puerum mirabilem 1
O eremitam ipsis etiam angelis cunctis stupendum !— S. Thorn, de Villanova, Cone. 1. de Nat.
Joan.
* Nequeenim tantae perfectionis capax erathumana fragility, ea maxime aetate, nisi Deus
cunctis saeculis sanctitatis miraculum in Joanne pro libitu facere decrevisset.— Ibid.
6 Puer autein crescebat et confortabatur spiritu, et erat in desertis usque in diem ostecflt-
onts suae ad Israel.— Luke i, 80.
22 On St. John the Baptist.
penance, he did not leave the desert, for the people came in
crowds to hear him, to see the wonderful man, and to be baptized
by him, as St. Mark testifies: "John was in the desert, baptizing,
and preaching the baptism of penance. And there went out to
him all the country of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem, and
were baptized by him in the river of Jordan." Here I remark,
with St. Thomas already quoted, another instance of self-denial
and mortification in John, that is indeed admirable, besides his
other austerities. What was that ? John had never seen Jesus
for thirty years, although he was so nearly related to Him, and
was appointed His precursor. What think you of this, my dear
brethren? Have you any doubt that he felt a most ardent desire
to see and be in the society of the Saviour of the world? Why,
then, did he not leave his solitude now and then, and visit Christ
in Nazareth, to make His acquaintance, to receive consolation
from Him, and to enjoy the presence of His holy Mother ? No,
that much comfort was denied him. " I knew Him not," he said
afterwards." What a wonderful thing ! " Although," says St.
Thomas, "he knew that Christ was dwelling among men, he de
prived himself of the presence and acquaintance of Christ, and
remained in the desert; which was to him a most bitter martyr
dom, and worse than all the rigors of his life. " 3 " Oh, how he de
sired to see Christ, to speak to Him, to enjoy and delight in His
presence and conversation, for he knew Our Lord to be God in
human shape!" And yet he constantly, through a spirit of
mortification and penance, resisted this vehement desire of his,
although he might easily have gratified it. Thus, my dear breth
ren, the whole life of John, from, his childhood upwards, was
nothing else but a constant and uninterrupted penance, until he
exchanged the desert for a prison, in which, at last, for the cause
of truth, he ended his penance by martyrdom when his head was
cut off.
Although gu^ great Saint, how am I to understand all this? Let me ask
quite inno- thee, with St. Thomas: " What was the reason of such severe pen-
cent.
1 Fuit Joannes in deserto baptizans et preedicans baptismum poenitentire. Et egrediebatur
ad eum omnis Judaeae regio, et Jerosolymitae universi, et baptizabantur ab illo in Jordanis
flumine.— Mark i. 4, 5.
a Ego nesciebam eum.— John i. 31.
3 Cum sciret Christum inter homines habitare, privavit se consortio Christ! et f amiliaritate,
et manslt in deserto ; quod fuit ill! magnum martyrium, acerbius omni illo rigore poeniten-
ttae.
4 0 quomodo sitiebat videre Christum, alloqui, gaudereet frui ejus prses« ntia et colloqulo,
quern sclebnt esse Deura in came!
On St. John the Baptist. 23
ance?"1 what crime hadst thou committed? If anyone had
seen thee in the rough garment of camel's hair, living in the dens
of wild beasts, would he not have thought that thou wert the
greatest sinner in the world, and obliged to condemn thyself to
that mode of life to do penance for thy sins? Tell me, then, what
crime thou didst commit? It is the infallible truth, my dear
brethren, that John did not even bring into the world the stain
of original sin in which all men are born, but that he was
cleansed from it in his mother's womb: " He shall be filled with
the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." 2 " Behold,"
says St. Chrysostom, " how John went to heaven before he
touched the earth; and how he received the divine Spirit be
fore receiving that of man, and the graces of heaven before the
limbs of his body." 3 "And," adds the Saint, "he began to
live for God before living for himself." 4 What but a holy life
could follow such a holy beginning? And it is also a certain
truth, confirmed by the Fathers, that during the whole course
of his life John never committed any sin against God, neither
mortal sin deserving of hell nor the least venial sin, and that he
lived more like an angel in the flesh than a mortal man: " For
this is he of whom it is written : Behold I send My angel before
Thy face." Whereupon de Lyra says: " I send My angel: be
cause he led an angelic life." 6 " His life was not human, but an
gelic," says St. Thomas; " he was indeed a man like us; but he
seems to me to have had nothing of a man but the color and
form; all his thoughts, wishes, desires, and actions were angel
ic; "T that is, pure, as if he were an angel. Nay, as far as a spot
less life is concerned, St. Bernard places him among the sera
phim: "He obtained such a high place in the angelic choirs that
he is among the highest of the seraphim." 8 See how great was
1 Ad quid poenitentia? tantus rigor ?— S. Thorn, de Villanova, Cone. 3. de Nat. Joan.
2 Spiritu Sancto adhuc ex utero matris suae.— Luke i. 15.
3 Videtis quemadmodum Joannes ante pervenit ad coelum, quam tangeret terram ; ante
accepit divinum spiritum, quam haberet humanum ; ante suscepit divina munera, quam
corporis membra.— S.Chrys. in Cat. D. Thorn.
4 Ante coapit vivere Deo, quam sibi.
6 Hie est enim de quo scriptum est : Ecce ego mitto angelum meum ante faciem tuam.—
Matt. xi. 10.
8 Mitto angelum meum ; quia vitam duxit angelicam.
7 Vita ejus non erat humana, sed angelica ; erat quid em homo sicut et nos ; sed mini
videbaturnihil hominis nisi efflgiem et colorem habere ; totumquod cogitabat, quod volebat,
quod desiderabat, quod agebat, totum erat angelicum.— S. Thorn, de Villanova, Cone. 1. de
Nat. Joan.
9 Sic novem angelorum ordinibus Insertus est, ut etiam ad Seraphim apic«m transferatur.
— S. Bern, de priv. S. Joan.
24 On St. John the Baptist.
his innocence, how wonderful his holiness and unspotted sanctity!
And had But again I must ask: Why such excessive rigor of penance?
never done T -j. • i j. j? • 11
the least *s jt rign^ f°r aT1 innocent man, who has never done any wrong,
thing to be to be punished and chastised? I know well that some of the
l°f- saints led innocent and holy lives, and yet did severe penance;
but they had now and then committed venial sins, or at all events
found something in their lives which they thought merited
chastisement. Thus if I were to ask the innocent and holy Ber
nard: What crime hast thou committed to make thee take the
scourge in thy hands, and, besides thy strict and constant fast
ing, so unmercifully chastise thyself, weak and sickly as thou art,
that thou walkest about like a living corpse or a skeleton? he
would point to some fault of his early youth, and say that he had
once happened to cast a rather incautious glance at a person of
the opposite sex, although he at once turned his eyes away. See,
he would say; have I not done wrong? do I not deserve punish
ment? If I ask a St. Francis Xavier why he tied rough hair
ropes so tightly round his feet and limbs that they grew into
the flesh, and caused him excruciating agony, he would answer
that this chastisement was meet for him, in order to atone for
the vanity he felt formerly when in the world in dancing. If I
ask the angelic youth St. Aloysius why he slept at night on a
hard board, weighed his midday meal with an ounce weight, and
scourged himself till the blood come forth in torrents, he would
tell me about what he thought to be his sins; how when a child
he spoke an improper word heard from a soldier, a word of
which he did not know the meaning; and how, on another occa
sion, during his childhood, he once took a cartridge out of a sol
dier's bandolier. Mark, my dear brethren, these had at least the
appearance of sin to atone for and do penance for. But John
cannot point to a single fault that deserved penance, for in his
whole life he had done nothing wrong, committed no sinful act,
spoke and thought nothing that was not holy. Why, then, such
severe and constant penance?
He was But, on second thoughts, perhaps he was afraid of falling in-
even con- j.Q g-n •£ ne ka(j no^. 0;hastiSed the flesh and kept it in restraint?
firmed in
grace. Ah, it was this fear that drove other innocent servants of God to
practise severe penances, and to arm themselves with constant
mortification. They knew well that their weakness and frailty
amid so many dangers and occasions of sin were in need of being
strengthened by mortification; they experienced the power that
On St. John the Baptist. 25
our corrupt inclinations and the desires of the flesh have, even
against our reasoning will, so that they are always inclining, and,
as it were, violently drawing us to evil; and if we do not brave
ly resist them and chasten the wanton flesh we cannot long keep
from sin; they knew the many attacks, allurements, tempta
tions that have to be sustained from men and demons, and which
cannot be overcome unless we do violence to ourselves. There
fore the hermits withdrew into the deserts, that they might not
run any danger of losing their souls in the society of men; there
fore St. Jerome beat with a stone his emaciated breast; there
fore St. Bernard plunged into a frozen pond; therefore St. Ben
edict rolled about in the sharp thorns; and all this they did to
tame the obstinacy of their flesh, and drive away the temptations
that plagued them. Therefore Edmund, Aloysius, Stanislaus,
and other innocent youths girded themselves with hair ropes and
iron spikes, that they might keep free from sin and retain their
innocence. But this could not have been the object of St. John
in doing such severe penance. Why so? According to the
teaching of the holy Fathers, he was confirmed in grace even
in his mother's womb, and, as it were, assured that he would
never fall into any sin; the fulness of grace was in him; "He
shall be filled with the Holy Ghost," as the angel said of him.
Mark the words: he shall be filled. Namely, grace was given
him in such abundant measure that his parents received of it.
" Into those who had given him the substance of flesh," says the
Abbot Guaricus, " he infused the superabundance of his spirit
and of grace." ' Clearer still are the words of St. Emissenus:
" It is a great thing to be illumined by the Holy Ghost, but a
greater still to be filled with Him." 2 For just as a vessel when
quite full cannot contain any more, " so in him no spot of
worldly imperfection could find place, for the fulness of holiness
reigned in him." 3 St. Chrysologus calls John all holiness, for
he says of his parents: " In them was prepared the source whence
all holiness was to be bom." 4 Finally St. Thomas gives him
this eulogy: "John was made by God a prodigy of sanctity, a
1 In eos qui In se transfuderant carnis substantiam, spiritus sui et gratiae superabundan-
tlam fundebat.— Guar. Abb. Serra. de Nat. Joan.
2 Magnum est Spiritu Sancto illustrari ; sed multo est magis repleri.— Emiss. Horn. 1. de
Nat. Joan.
• Ita in eum nibil saecularis maculae introire Jam poterat,in quo sanctiflcationis plenitude
regnabat.— Ibid.
« In illls parabatur unde tola sanctltas nasceretur.— S. Cbrysol. Serm. 89.
26 On Si. John the Baptist.
i
miracle of all perfection, an admirable spectacle of all virtue to
all ages." 1 So that he could hardly be distinguished from the
Holy of holies, Christ, Our Lord, the Son of God; many, on ac
count of the wonderful sanctity of his life, looked on him as the
Messias and Redeemer of the world, although they had never
seen him work a miracle; and they would have remained in
their error, had not John himself undeceived them. fi And as
the people was of opinion," says St. Luke, "and all were think
ing in their hearts of John, that perhaps he might be the Christ,
John answered . . . there shall come one mightier than I." 2 Nay,
after Our Lord had worked many wonders, the like of which they
had never seen John do, they yet looked on him as Christ, and
took Our Lord for John. When Christ asked His disciples :
" Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" 3 they answered :
" Some, John the Baptist." 4 But why have recourse to so many
proofs, when the words of the infallible Truth Himself are more
than enough to convince us? After Christ had called him an
angel and more than a prophet, He adds: "Amen, I say to you;
there hath not risen among them that are born of women a
greater than John the Baptist." 6 From which St. Augustine
draws this conclusion: " Whoever is greater than John the Bap
tist is not only man, but God also." " Hence I am driven to the
conclusion that John, although he had the freedom to commit
sin, yet, humanly and morally speaking, could never have offended
God, and therefore in this respect he was not at all in need of
such severe penances.
Neither had What, then, was the reason of such austerity of life? There is
example of another reason, my dear brethren, which has driven even the
the living most innocent and holy to the practice of penance, and which
should drive them to it, namely, the example of the suffering and
dying Son of God. What! thought those servants of God,
are the watchings, fasting, and chastising of the body which Christ
willingly bore for my sake too much for me to undertake for the
sake of a God crowned with thorns? for the sake of a God beaten
over His whole body with ropes, rods, and scourges? for a God
1 Sanctitatis prodigium et totius perfectionis monstrum, et admirandum sseculis virtutum
omnium spectaculum Joannes a Deo factus est.— S. Thorn. Cone. 1. de Nat. Joan.
2 Existimante autem populo, et cogitantibus omnibus in cordibus suis de Joanne, ne for
te ipse esset Christus ; respondit Joannes . . . veniet autem fortior me.— Luke iii. 15, 16.
3 Quern dicunt homines esse Filium hominis ?— Matt. xvi. 13.
4 Alii Joannem Baptistam.— Ibid. 14.
8 Amendico vobis,non surrexit inter natos mulierum major Joanne Baptista.— Matt. xi. 11.
• Quisquis Joanne major est, non tantum homo, sed Deus est.— S. Aug. in Ps. 29.
On St. John the Baptist. 27
whose hands and feet were pierced with cruel nails? for a God
whose bitter hunger and thirst were satiated with gall and vine
gar? for a God who died in the greatest agony, hanging on a dis
graceful gibbet? fora God who, innocence itself, bore all this for
our sake? What! exclaims the holy penitent St. Bernard: "It is
a shame for a member living under a thorn-crowned Head to be
delicate/' l Christ, our Lord and Model, suffered even to thedeath
of the cross; therefore we, too, must suffer with Him. " He that
taketh not up his cross and followeth Me is not worthy of Me." *
If we wish to be in the number of the elect we must be like
our crucified Lord, according to the express words of St. Paul:
" For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be made con
formable to the image of His Son." So that the saints ar
gued rightly in favor of their austerities. Hence I no longer
wonder so much why John led such a hard life, although he was
quite innocent, pure as an angel, had never committed the least
fault, and being confirmed in grace, was not in the slightest dan
ger of sinning, and, after Christ and His virginal Mother, was the
greatest of all the saints. For he did not wish to be a delicate
member under a thorn-crowned Head. But what am I saying?
Am I wrong again? For John had not seen anything of the
kind in Our Lord, my dear brethren, since he was beheaded in
prison before Our Lord began His passion, and died while He
was still accompanied by crowds of people, who followed Him
everywhere, wondering at His miracles; so that John had not in
Him then an example of suffering. Nevertheless from his child
hood upwards he led that strict and penitential life!
Now, all I can think or say is this; there you have the truth of Hence Jott
my proposition fully proved: the penitent John is the greatest lsj^
miracle! And let me repeat with St. Thomas: John was made miracle.
by God a prodigy of sanctity, a miracle of all perfection, and an
admirable spectacle of all virtue to all ages. If any one asks
me, then, why, according to the gospel, John worked no miracle,
I shall answer in the words of the same St. Thomas: " He was
not in need of miracles, for everything in him, if you rightly
consider it, was a miracle; " * and his penance alone was the
greatest miracle of all!
1 Pudeat sub spinoso capite membrum esse delicatum.
1 Qui non accipit crucem suam et sequitur me, non est me dignus.— Matt. x. 38.
8 Quos prsescivit, et prasdestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui.— Rom. viii. 29.
4 Sed ne signis quidem indiguit : quidquid in eo erat, si recte inspicis, signum erat.
28 On St. John the Baptist.
Exhortation Christians, what are our thoughts on this? We wonder at
tottum*06 t]ie innocence and the great austerity of the life of St. John,
who have And is that all ? Is that to be the only fruit of the panegyric
ied> you have just heard? Oh, if so I had better have kept silent,
and you would then perhaps have gone away just as well off. No;
we must bring home something better. Let us, then, briefly enter
into ourselves and see what manner of life we have been leading
hitherto. Are we all so innocent, I will not say as St. John, but
so that we can say with truth that we have never offended God
by mortal sin, and can we venture to boast as Job did: "My
heart doth not reprehend me in all my life"? ' Can we say
that with truth? Alas, must we not most of us confess with the
penitent David: " To Thee only have I sinned, and have done
evil before Thee" ? 2 Alas, what a heap of sins we shall find in
our consciences that we have committed from youth upwards in
thought, word, and deed! But where is our penance? We have
disclosed our sins in confession, and performed the penance en
joined by our confessor; and thus we imagine we have fully
atoned to God. We sleep just as peacefully as before; we laugh
and amuse ourselves as unrestrainedly as before; we eat and
drink to satiety as before; we enjoy ourselves as if we had never
done any wrong. Fasting, mortification, wearing penitential
garments and chastening the flesh we leave to religious in their
convents; those things are not for us. Truly, that is a fine way
of doing penance! A fine way of atoning for the pains of hell
that we have merited so often! Do we think we shall thus find
the road to heaven, which penitent and innocent servants of God
had to work so hard for? No, no, that will not do! He who
has sinned must do penance and often deprive himself even of
lawful pleasures and delights, and withdraw those things from
the flesh even against his natural inclination, since he has en
joyed forbidden pleasures against the will of God. Wanton
eyes, curious ears, talkative, uncharitable tongue, unchaste, un
just hands, impure, vindictive hearts, dissolute, dissipated flesh,
what else have you been but arms of malice to make war with on
the most high God? So St. Paul calls them when he says:
"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of iniquity unto
sin." What is then more just than to take up arms against those
that have made war on God? And so it is. " Present yourselves
1 Neque enim reprehendit me cor meum in omni vita mea.— Job xxviL 6.
* Tibi soli peccavl, et malum coram te feci.— Ps. L 6.
On St. John the Baptist. 29
to God," continues the Apostle, " as those that are alive .from
the dead; and your members as instruments of justice unto God,"1
that wage war on themselves. In a word, he who has ever sinned
grievously is in need of penance.
And if we have never sinned? if we are innocent? Ah, would Tothein-
I might say that of myself! But supposing we are all in our p°esTrve°
first innocence, and have never committed mortal sin; yet we may their virtue
sin, and oh, how easy it is for us to sin! We all have natural in- ^P61""10^
. ' and imitat*
clinations and desires, no matter how. good we may be, which we Christ and
inherit from our forefather Adam, and which will never be com- Hissaints-
pletely extirpated. How are we to restrain and keep them in
check, unless we often do violence to ourselves, and call in the
aid of frequent mortification and self-denial? We know by ex
perience that he who wishes to keep free from sin must carefully
avoid the occasions and dangers that lead to it; for as the Holy
Ghost says by the Wise Ecclesiasticus: •" He that loveth dan
ger shall perish in it." 2 Now the wanton flesh and our outward
senses are the most frequent and dangerous occasions of sin to us:
that is to say, when we think we may look at, hear, say, taste, and
feel all we wish; and mortification and self-denial are the means of
cutting off those occasions and dangers. In a word, a delicate,
comfortable life, in which one seeks to gratify all his senses, can
not long continue without sin. A soft and luxurious life cannot
lead to heaven, of which Christ has said: "From the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth vio
lence, and the violent bear it away." A soft, easy life is not
at all in harmony with the life of our suffering and crucified
Lord and with the lives of His saints. And them we must
necessarily follow, and with them take up our cross daily, if we
hope with them to enter into glory. Therefore, even if we are
the most innocent, we must still do penance.
But, my God, why do I talk so much about innocence, which Resolutlon
I have long ago and so often lost? I am ashamed, 0 Lord, toa(nce°P<
appear before Thee, for Thou hast seen all that I have done. I
am sorry from my heart that in spite of all my wickedness I
have hitherto lived such an easy life, and so studiously sought
my comfort and gratified my senses, as if I had been almost
1 Neque exhibeatis membra vestraarma iniqnitatis peccato: exhibete vos Deo tanquamex
mortuis viventes, et membra vestra anna justitiae Deo.— Rom. vi. 13.
a Qui amat periculum in illo peribit.— Ecclus. iii. 27.
8 A diebus Joannis Baptist® usque nunc regnum coelorum vim patitur, et violent! rapiun*
Ulud.— Matt. xi. 12.
30 On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland.
guiltless! I have not been able to bear the least bodily pain nor
the least mental trouble without murmuring; I have always
granted every freedom to eyes, ears, and the other senses, as if
I had never done anything to repent of. Ah, how long is this
life to last? I now acknowledge that I must do penance. Yes,
0 Lord! I will not refuse it. Even if I had never offended Thee,
and, alas! my sins are only too grievous and numerous (pardon,
0 Lord, my presumption!), nay, if I were, like Thy holy precursor
St. John, confirmed in graoeand assured that I could never com
mit a sin, yet I should be ashamed to wish to live in comfort and
without penance when I adore a God who suffered and died on
a cross. I should be ashamed to wish to enter so easily into
the heaven which Thy servants have bought so dearly! There
fore I will do penance by patiently bearing all the insults and
injuries offered me by men, and by receiving from Thy hand
with resignation all the trials and afflictions Thou mayest send
me. Moreover I will do penance by constantly overcoming my
self, by mortifying my inordinate passions and inclinations, and
by frequently chastising my flesh and its senses; so that I may
atone for my past sins, be saved from committing sin again, be
come in some measure like to my crucified Redeemer, and imi
tate Thy saints, at least at a distance, that I may one day enjoy
with them in the kingdom of heaven the consolation Thou hast
promised to the penitent. Amen.
FORTIETH SERMON.
ON ST. JOSEPH, THE PATRON OF OUR FATHERLAND.
Subject.
The archdiocese of Treves could not have chosen, after the
Blessed Virgin, a better patron and protector than St. Joseph.—
Preached on the feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Vir
gin Mary.
Text.
Ecce, constitui te super universam terram ^Egypti.—Qen. xli.
41.
" Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt/-'
On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland. 3 1
Introduction.
Behold, 1 have placed you as overseer over my house, as vice
roy in my kingdom. So said King Pharao to Joseph, the son of
Jacob, who having spent many years in the country unknown,
was at last brought out of prison. Pharao caused him to ascend
his chariot with great pomp and show, with a herald crying out
before him: "The crier proclaiming that all should bow their
knee before him, and that they should know he was made govern
or over the whole land of Egypt." There was no one at court,
no one in the city or the whole land, who did not show Joseph
the greatest reverence; and as he was borne along in the royal
chariot all praised him with shouts and cries of joy as the sav
iour of their country, according to the name given him by Pharao:
*' And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian
tongue the saviour of the world."5 There, my dear brethren,
we have a figure of our great St. Joseph, in whose honor we are
now assembled here; and at the same time a figure of the triumph
with which God in these days of ours leads him through the
world, after he had been many years unknown and hidden, as it
were, in the Church of Christ; for now God has caused him to be
praised and extolled with public and special devotions by all the
people in most Christian countries and kingdoms. " Behold, I
have appointed thee over the whole land," said Ferdinand, the
third Roman emperor of the name, when with unusual solemnity
he appointed St. Joseph as the protector of the whole kingdom
of Bohemia, and to that end instituted the celebrated and now
universally known confraternity. " Behold, I have appointed
thee over the whole land," said also Leopold the First, when he
appointed St. Joseph as the protector of the whole house of
Austria, and the ruler of his kingdom and country, begging at
the same time all the other electors and princes of the Roman
empire to choose the same saint as their patron, especially in
Germany, and to show him special honor. And most of those
princes followed his example. " Behold, I have appointed thee
over the whole land, "said also one of the first of the archbishops of
Treves, Charles Gaspar von der Layen of glorious memory, when
he dedicated himself and his whole diocese to St. Joseph and
chose him as the father of his country. And what is the mean-
1 Clamante ;: raceme, ut omnes coram eo genu flecterent, et preepositurn esse scirent
traiversse terrse JSgypti.— -Gen. xli. 43.
2 Vertitque nomen ejus, et vocavit eum lingua JSgyptiaca salvatorem mundi.— Ibid. 45.
32 On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland.
ing of this feast, celebrated from his time to ours every year
with extraordinary pomp? Why do all the people of Treves as
semble here in their different classes and guilds? Is it not to
hail with a unanimous shout of joy St. Joseph as the patron and
protector of the whole diocese? And there is good reason for
the holy custom, my dear brethren, as I shall now prove.
Plan of Discourse.
Archdiocese of Treves ! after the Blessed Virgin herself, thou
couldst not have chosen a better patron and protector than St.
Joseph; such is the whole subject of this panegyric, and its ob
ject is to increase love and devotion to this saint in the minds of
all.
This grace, St. Joseph (it is a matter that concerns thy honor!),
we beg of thee to obtain for us through Jesus and Mary by the
hands of the holy angels,
in olden He who is about to choose a patron and protector must look
se^wM Ollt for one who is able to fulfil a11 fcne duties of that office; one
honored for \yho by his high dignity can secure the respect and esteem of the
dignitydand Peoplej one wno DJ h^8 power and influence can protect the land
power. from all dangers. These were the qualities that made Joseph so
respected and beloved in all Egypt, for the people had heard of
the wonderful wisdom with which he had interpreted most difficult
and mysterious dreams. " Seeing God hath showed thee all
that thou hast said," said Pharao to him, "can I find one wiser,
and one like unto thee ? " 1 They noticed his diligence and fa
therly care, for he caused the abundant crops to be gathered
here and there into barns to provide for the coming scarcity.
They saw him seated on the throne and giving commands as a
second king; they knew that everything was subject to his pow
er, that without his consent not a hand or foot might move in
the whole land, and that all favors were to flow from him, as
the king said: " Without thy commandment no man shall move
hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." 2 Therefore he attracted
to himself even people from far distant lands, who all did homage
to him as their common father: " Our life is in thy hand," said
1 Quia ostendit tibi Deus omnia quae locutus es, numquid sapientiorem et consimilem tui
iuvenire potero ? — Gen. xli. 39.
* Absque tuo imperio non movebit quisquam manum aut pedem. in omni terra ^Egypti.—
Ibid. 44.
On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland. 33
they to him; " only let my lord look favorably upon us, and we
will gladly serve the king." *
My dear brethren, let the Egyptians congratulate themselves The wisdom
on their Joseph; what he did for them, after all, was to take their 2^^.
goods in pawn during the famine and make slaves of them. We dent from
have a much better, higher, and mightier patron in our St. Joseph, ^JJ^
A better: and here for brevity's sake I appeal to the testimony of which God
the God of infinite wisdom, who cannot err in His choice, and Placed nim-
who, as the Apostle says, appoints capable men for every office
and position: "Who hath made us fit ministers." 2 What wis
dom and capability must He not have found in St. Joseph! God
had to provide for the welfare of a family on earth which was
of the utmost importance to Him, which He preferred to all the
kingdoms and empires of the world, and from which the salva
tion of the world was to come. Mary, the Mother of God, the
spouse of the Holy Ghost, must have a companion and protect
or to guard her virginal purity, to live with her outwardly as
her husband, and thus keep for a time from public knowledge
the Incarnation of the Son of God, whose father he was supposed
to be; an opinion that even the devils entertained for a long time,
as we learn from the testimony of SS. Ambrose, Basil, Leo, Ber
nard, Jerome, Damascene, and others. Jesus Christ, the eternal
God, required a tutor when He became man in time to bring
Him up from His childhood, to feed and clothe Him, to protect
Him from dangers; and this tutor's instructions, commands, and
advice God was to obey as a most obedient child. Where was a
man to be found to whom such an office could be entrusted?
If faith did not teach us that he was a man, we should have
more reason for asking: Where was a God to be found to rule
over a God? " Who was that faithful, that prudent man? " asks
Nicephorus, in wonder; " no other man but Joseph was found
suited to the office." 3
Abraham, Moses, David, Isaias, Elias, Daniel — what great men one that
they were! The world still wonders at their very names; but ^^^'
not one of them was chosen by the Almighty as the father of any of the
His household; " no other man but Joseph was found suited to Patnarchs-
the office." Other duties were entrusted to them which were of
far less importance, although they seemed weightier in the eyes
1 Salus nostra In manu tua est ; resplciat nos tan turn dominus noster, et laeti servlemus
regi.— Gen. xlvii. 25.
a Qui idoneos nos fecit rainlstros.— II. Cor. ill. 6.
* Quls fldelis ille, quis prudens ille ? Non alius prae Joseph Ipso visus est Idoneus.
34 On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland.
of the world. "I have made thee a father of many nations/3
said the Lord to Abraham, " and kings shall come out of thee." 1
" Behold,, I have appointed thee the God of Pharao, " 2 said the Lord
to Moses. He made Isaias a preacher to the kings, princes, and
tyrants of the world; Elias a conqueror of the false prophets;
Daniel the master of King Kabuchodonosor. But of none of
them could the words be said: "He made him master of His
house; " 3 "no one but Joseph was found worthy of that office."
That God who by His infinite wisdom rules heaven and earth,
before whom the principalities tremble, and every knee in heav
en, on earth, and under the earth must bow: "Under whom
they stoop that bear up the world;" 4 that God, I say, as if He
were not capable of ruling Himself, gives Himself over to the
government and care of Joseph: " He was subject to them." &
Joseph (who can understand it?) by his teaching and instruc
tion had to help the incarnate God to stand, speak, and work;
Joseph by his labor, diligence, care, and protection had to see
that God was not in need of begging His bread, that God had
food and clothing, that God was not slain by Herod. Boast, ye
monarchs and potentates of earth, of the vast dominion and the
numerous peoples that are subject to your sway; our patron St.
Joseph had but two under his authority; but one of them was
God and the other the Mother of God. i( Consider," says St.
Bernard, " what sort of a man St. Joseph was, and how great his
dignity; the Lord appointed him as the comforter of His Mother,
as the foster-father of His human nature, and finally as the only
most faithful helper of the divine council on earth; " 6 that is,
the divine council for the redemption of the human race. Now if
while still on earth St. Joseph was entrusted with the care and
government of the greatest and noblest family in the world, how
prudentl}7 have we not acted in giving ourselves over to his care
and protection, now that he reigns in glory in heaven?
His great And what rank and title does he enjoy there? What gained
for Joseph in Egypt so much influence and esteem among the
people was the title of Father of Pharao, that the king himself
Patrem multarum gentium constitui te, et regesque ex te egredientur.— Gen. xvii. 5, 6,
Ecce constitui te Deum Pharaonis.— Ex. vii. 1.
Constituit eum dominum domus suae.— Ps. civ. 21.
Sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.— Job ix. 13.
Et erat subditus illis.— Luke ii.51.
Conjice quis et qualis homo fuerit ille Joseph ; quern constituit Dominus suae matris so
latium, suse carnis nutritium, solum denlque in terris magni concilii adjutorem fldeUssiraum.
ibe fact
On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland. 3 s
conferred on him, as he himself said to his brothers: "By the that he had
will of God was I sent hither, who hath made me, as it were, a Oodailltl
father to Pharao." Most ancient and royal race from which
our saint descended, nearest blood-relationship with the human
ity of Christ! I do not need ye to bring forward the dignity and
high position of St. Joseph. Only one thought I will borrow
from St. Basil, as he was breaking out into the praises of Mary,
and was about to describe her excellence: "Do you wish," he
says, " to weave a crown worthy of that great virgin? You may
do so in a few words: Mary, of whom was born Jesus." 3 In the
same way I may sum up all the praise due to Joseph in the words:
Joseph, the father of Jesus, the Son of God. Such is the title
given him by Mary, his spouse: "Behold, Thy father and I have
sought Thee sorrowing." 3 And all men at the time looked on
him in the same light: "Isnot this the carpenter's son?" 4 Such,
too, is the name given him in the gospel of St. Luke: "And
His father and mother were 'Wondering at those things which
were spoken concern ing Him." 5 Christ Himself confirmed this
by His childlike obedience and reverence towards him. Joseph
was the father of Jesus, not indeed according to nature, but an
adopted father, as Augustine says; he was His father by marriage,
as Rupert says; he was His father by superiority, as Suarez says;
he was His father by law, as Gerson says; he was His father by
dignity, as Cajetan says; he was His father by the power which
the eternal Father gave him over His Son, as Bernard says. So
that as the heavenly Father sent down from heaven the joyful
words: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," '
so Joseph in his workshop and elsewhere might have well boast
ed, and to the greatest comfort of his heart have thought in the
same words: " This is my beloved Son." Oh, how happy lam!
This is my beloved Son! What think you of this, holy angels?
Behold, all men! This is my Son! He is your King, but my
Son! He calls me by the name of father, and I call Him my
most beloved Child! What can be imagined or said to redound
more to Joseph's honor and dignity?
Dei voluntate hue missus sura, qui fecit me quasi patrem Pharaonis.— Gen. xlv. 8.
Vis coronam tanta virgine di^nam texere ? Contexes paucis his verbis : Maria, de qua
natus est Jesus.
Ecce pater tuus et ej?o dolentes qurerebamus te.— Luke ii. 48.
Nonne hie est fabri fllius?— Matt. xiii. 55.
Erat pater ejus et mater mirantes super his qua? dicebantur de illo.— Luke ii. 33.
Hie est Filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui.— Matt. xvii. 5.
,6 On Si. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland.
Hence, af
ter Mary, he
surpasses
almost all
theotlier
saints in
excellence.
Therefore
he has great
Dower with
Sod to pro-
Great and holy patron, as long as we compare thee to men and
angels we fail in our object, and do not give thee the praise due
to thy merit; for there still remains something which elevates
thee far above all comparison, namely, the title of Father of Je
sus Christ. From this alone St. Bernard, St. Bernardirie, St.
Isidor, Gerson, and Suarez conclude that Joseph must far excel
all the other saints, the Mother of God excepted, in holiness,
dignity, and glory. "I do not think I am speaking rashly,"
says the great theologian Francis Suarez, "when I say that it
is a pious and probable opinion that St. Joseph excels all the
others in grace and beatitude." But I will leave this question
untouched, and not try to rob any of the saints of the glory,
holiness, and happiness due to them in my efforts to sound the
praises of St. Joseph. All I say is this: As far as the title and
honor of being the father of Jesus Christ is concerned, Joseph has
not his equal. In this sense St. Bernard says, without the least
hesitation: "No one born on thisjearth, except Joseph, can call
himself the father of the Son of God. In this dignity he is with
out a rival."3 During the wars of the Spaniards against the
Moors, Vasco Fernandez ventured very far into one of the enemy's
cities which he was besieging, and in memory of his heroism he
caused the inscription to be written on a house: Thus far did
Vasco Fernandez come. Another Spaniard saw this, and not
wishing to be outdone, went still farther into the town, and wrote
on a house: Thus far Vasco Fernandez did not come. Great
and holy servants of God! far, very far did you advance in merit,
in holiness, in honor and dignity; precursor of Christ, vicar of
Christ, apostles of Christ, ye martyrs of Christ, ye friends,
brothers, and children of Christ! so far have ye come; but, not to
take away anything from your glory, you must confess that you
have not gone so far as to be called father of the eternal Son of
God; that is a dignity none of you attained; it is an honor that
belongs to Joseph alone. Archdiocese of Treves, such is the
patron thou hast chosen; couldst thou have made a better choice?
From what we have seen we may without further argument
infer the great power and efficacy of the prayers of Joseph with
the Almighty in favor of his children, if they only appeal to him
1 Non existimo temerarium, sed plum potius et vero simile, si quis opinetur sanctum
Josephum reliquos omnes in gratia et beatitudine antecellere.— Suarez, 3. p. t. 2. d. 8. sect.
1. and 2.
9 Nemo natus est in terra, sicut Joseph, qui pater Fllii Dei dtctus est. Sublimitas sine
socio.
On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland. 37
in their necessities with confidence. For if the proverb be true: tectws
The prayer of a friend is a command, ' so that a discreet man cl
sometimes hesitates to ask his friend for a favor which the latter
cannot confer without trouble, although he is sure it would not
be denied him, how powerful, then, will not be the prayers of a
father to a son who can give everything without difficulty or
trouble? If other friends of God are so powerful in obtaining
graces for us by appealing to what they did in God's service, as
we know by experience; if, as St. Chrysostom says, even the
blood of the poor whom we feed by our alms cries unceasingly
to heaven to obtain blessings and graces for us from God; what
may not be effected by the far more intimate and perfect service
which Joseph rendered the Son of God? And how much more
efficacious will be the voice of £he blood of Jesus Christ, which
was nourished by the toil and labor of Joseph?
Let other friends of God say in their prayers: Lord, Thou Greater
. .. „,, „. , . than all the
wert hungry, and we fed Thee; Thou wert thirsty, and we gave other saints,
Thee to drink; Thou wert naked, and we clothed Thee; Thou Mury alone
wert sick, and we visited Thee; Thou wert a stranger, and we M
received Thee into our houses; truly they can say that; yet it
still remains true that all this was done only for the servants of
Christ, Our Lord considering as done to Himself the least bene
fit conferred on the most lowly of them. But Joseph can say
with truth that he did all this to Our Lord in His own person.
Remember, 0 beloved Son, how, when Thou wert a weak little
infant, I brought Thee to Egypt and back again; how often,
when Thou wert hungry on the road, and I had not a bit of bread
for Thee, I ran into the woods to seek some fruit to refresh Thee,
how often, when Thou wert thirsty, I ran to get a refreshing
drink for Thee from some brook! Often, when Thou wert tired,
I took Thee in my arms and carried Thee. Often we were over
taken by night in the open country, and I took off my gar
ments to make a shelter for Thee. With the labor of my
hands I supported Thee and Thy Mother for many years in
our house at Nazareth. Look now OH my children, who have
committed themselves to my protection, assured that I can do
everything with Thee; they are now calling on me, expecting me
to help them in their necessities. There are poor, hungry people
who sit at home, hearing their little ones cry out for bread; there
is a sick man suffering grievous pain, who desires relief; here
1 Amiens qui rogat, jubet.
38 On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland.
are orphans deprived of father and mother, who cry out for help;
there an unhappy wife is plunged in grief through the conduct
of a jealous, dissipated, or passionate husband; another appeals to
me on account of her disobedient children; there a poor widow,
harassed by debt, cries out for assistance; and others who are
tried in various ways wish at least to obtain from me the grace of
patience; others again look for help and strength against the vio
lence of temptations and in the dangers that affect their souls;
others wish to have light and understanding to manage well the
affairs of state. Most beloved Son, they are my children; canst
Thou refuse me what I ask for them?
And he can ]yjy dear Christians, I ask you again, if the friends of God on
earth are heard on account of the services they render to Christ
ueeds. in the persons of the poor, can the prayer of the foster-father of
Christ be in vain? No! Willingly, 0 angelic Doctor, do I agree
with thy teaching! Some saints, he says, receive from God the
grace of being able to help in special necessities, " but to St.
Joseph is granted the power of rendering aid in every business
and necessity, and to defend and succor all who with devotion
and confidence appeal to him." * I agree with thee, too, Isidor:
" Amongst the patrons whom mortals have at the throne of God,
I think that St. Joseph is the most powerful after the Blessed
Virgin." 2 I believe firmly, holy mother Teresa, that in all thy
necessities thou didst have recourse to this great intercessor St.
Joseph, and that thou didst never ask anything from him which
thou didst not obtain. Oh, if thou gavest us only the half of thy
devotion to and confidence in this holy foster-father of Christ,
we should have to make the same confession, and a happy ex
perience would teach us to congratulate ourselves on having such
a patron for our city and land!
we are fort- Ah, I cannot help thinking sometimes, how is it that such a
imute, then, . , -. . . , . ,
in publicly powerful patron and intercessor, such a great saint, remained so
honoring long unknown and hidden in the Christian Church; that for so
aso^rpa* many hundred years no church was erected nor devotion estab-
tron. lished in his honor? Martyrs, confessors, virgins by the thou
sand, whose lives have been less holy, have immediately after their
happy deaths begun to shine like stars in the firmament; God
has made them known to the world by countless miracles, and
1 At sanctissimo Josepho in omni necessitate et negotio concessum est opitulari, et omnes
ad se pie confugientes defendere et fovere.
2 Inter patronos mortaUurn apud Deum, arbitror sanctum Josephum post beatissimam Vir-
ginem efflcaciorein esse.
On St. Joseph, the Patron of Our Fatherland. 39
signified His wish that they should be appealed to as interces
sors; but of Joseph nothing, so to speak, was publicly known.
Why is that? Segneri gives the correct answer to this question:
The sanctity and dignity of Joseph, says he, were so great above
those of other saints that it was not meet to publish them too
openly in Christendom for some time. But why? Could he not,
then, have been more honored? No; for in the first ages of
Christianity there were different heresies, the head of which was
Cerinthus, who, wishing to lessen the dignity of Christ, taught
that He, like other men, was conceived by an earthly father, and
that St. Joseph was really His father according to nature. This
heresy would certainly have gained more ground if public honor,
such as is due to that great Saint, were everywhere shown him.
Therefore the Church, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, prudent
ly refrained for a long time from showing him any public signs of
veneration; and God did not wish to bring before the world this,
His most beloved foster-father, until those later years, when
calamities and trials render his help and intercession more nec
essary, and thus cause his praises and glories to be all the more
fervently published the longer they remained hidden in the
Church in former times. Blessed, then, be the memories of those
princes, kings, and emperors — Ferdinand, Leopold, Charles Gas-
par, and their illustrious descendants — who helped to carry out
this design of the Almighty! How happy w'e are, my dear breth
ren, in being reserved for these times, in which we can boast of
the help and protection of this Saint in our necessities!
And still happier should we be if our devotion, confidence, Recom-
and love for him increased more and more. So shall it be, most ^m^an
holy Joseph! We wish and desire to remain under thy protec- resolve to
tion and patronage, under which the archdiocese of Treves placed honorhlm
constantly,
itself; and as this land in general chose thee, so do we now in
particular each and every one of us choose thee, with renewed
desires and the assurance of our fidelity, as our patron and fa
ther. In future not a week in the year shall pass in which we
shall not set apart a day in thy honor, nor a day in which we
shall not perform some special act of devotion to thee. All we
ask of thee, since thou canst do everything with thy divine Son
and thy virginal Spouse, is that we may be faithful to thee in
confidence, true love, and devotion till the day of our death; and
then we may comfort ourselves with the assurance that thou wilt
protect our fatherland and our city with paternal care from all
40 On Josephs Conformity with the Will of God.
dangers, hear our prayers in our necessities, and, above all, in the
hour of death, in our last agony, by thy help take our souls to
thyself and thy Son in heaven. Amen.
FORTY-FIRST SERMON.
ON JOSEPH'S CONFORMITY WITH THE WILL OF GOD.
Subject.
Joseph was always satisfied with the Lord and with His will:
1. In his life; 2. In his death. — Preached on the feast of St.
Joseph. *
Text.
Joseph autem vir ejus, cum esset Justus. — Matt. i. 19.
"Joseph, her husband, being a just man."
Introduction.
A just man is one who stands well with God in his conscience,
and is always in conformity with God and His will. For if I wish
to know whether a line is straight or not, all I have to do is to
take the rule and lay it along -the line; if the latter deflects from
the rule in one way or the other it is not a straight line. A just
man can always live satisfied with and rejoicing in the Lord,
and he can die satisfied with and rejoicing in the Lord, as I have
shown on a former occasion. My dear brethren, you have a per
fect model of this conformity in him whom this day calls on us to
honor, and whom our archdiocese has chosen as its special patron,
the great St. Joseph.
Plan of Discourse.
Joseph was always satisfied with the Lord and with His ivill ;
there you have the whole subject of this sermon. Joseph was sat
isfied with the Lord during his life : the first point. Joseph was
satisfied with the Lord in his death : the secondpoint. Let us, too,
thus live and die satisfied with the Lord : such shall be the moral
Obtain for us the grace to act up to it, 0 holy St. Joseph,
through Jesus and Mary, by the hands of the holy angels!
it is a great To be resigned to the will of God, to be joyful and contented.
)G in tha Lord, to be ready and willing to submit to all His decrees
On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God. 41
when things are going according to our wishes, is indeed the always re-
praiseworthy virtue of the just man, and one that God Himself JjJwfli of
approved of in His servant Job, when the latter was still prosper- Godiuad-
ous and had not yet tasted the bitterness of affliction. But, after vers
all, it is not such a very wonderful matter to be always satisfied
with one who has never contradicted us, but always looked on us
with favor, greeted us with a smiling countenance, and endowed
us with a bounteous hand. Moreover, it is one thing to offer one's
self to bear a heavy burden which is not to be imposed for a con
siderable time, and another to feel the weight of it on one's
shoulders, and yet bear it readily; in the one case the burden is
felt only in the imagination and in the promptitude of the will;
in the latter it actually weighs one down and makes itself felt in
reality. What beautiful resolutions we sometimes make during
prayer in time of spiritual consolation! Then, with the zealous
Peter, we would wish to go to death for Christ; but when there
is question of really suffering, of bearing some little cross or stroke
of adversity for God's sake, what sour faces we make! Then it
costs us trouble enough to follow Christ at a distance, with down
cast hearts and sad demeanor, like Peter.
Perhaps, then, you wonder, my dear brethren, that I try to find st. Joseph
out something in praise of St. Joseph from the fact that he act- j!
ed as a great hero in being always satisfied and contented with life, the
the will of God. Why should he not have been? If ever a man
in the world had cause for leading a joyous and contented life, it of je*us
was Joseph. For what greater good fortune could he have ex- and Mary>
pected than to be the foster-father and to be called the father
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal God? Than to have as his
spouse that most blessed virgin whom the princes of heaven
honor with the utmost reverence as their queen? The mere rec
ollection of the name of Jesus fills St. Bernard with overwhelm
ing joy: " Jesus, sweet to the memory, and giving true joy to the
heart ; but sweeter than honey and all sweetness is His sweet
presence." What must then have been the joy of Joseph in al
ways being in the presence of Jesus and Mary, holding to the one
the relations of a father to his child, and to the other those of a
most chaste spouse with his virginal bride? Wherever he turned
his eyes, he saw one or other of them ; if he sat at table, his
companions were Jesus and Mary; if he was employed in his
1 Jesu dulcis memoria. daii« ?era cordis praudia ; sed super mel et omnia ejus dulcis prse-
sentia.
42 On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God.
Yet he had
also trials
to bear :
his lowly
condition.
Trials be
fore and in
the birth
of Christ.
workshop, the divine Child was with him as his apprentice. Oh,
who can imagine the consolation that filled the heart of Joseph
with two such amiable companions! " Heaven, w says Gerson,
"envied such inhabitants to the earth." ' And therefore Joseph
had good reason to be satisfied with the Lord.
I acknowledge it, my dear brethren, but the same God who is
wont to mingle joy and sorrow for His devout servants on earth
did not wish to spare the foster-father of His Son, but gave him
frequent opportunities of proving his virtue. I will say nothing
now of the poor condition, lowly in the eyes of the world, in
which Joseph lived, for before and after the birth of Christ he
had to earn his bread by hislabor, although he was descended from
royal blood, and had as his ancestors great and mighty monarchs
whom God Himself had placed on the throne. And it is no
small matter for a man who has come down in the world to be
satisfied with the divine will. There is nothing more humiliat
ing to one of rich and noble descent than to be forced to live in
poverty and lowliness; and I take as witnesses to the truth of this
all who have had experience of it. And yet Joseph was content
ed and happy in his poverty, because such was the will of God,
even before he had the happiness of seeing the Saviour. He was
satisfied as long as he could by his toil support himself, and after
wards that God to whose service he had dedicated his whole life.
Was it not a hard trial for him, as the gospel of to-day tells us,
fluctuating as he was between hope and fear, love and grief, to be
compelled to think it necessary for him to put away Mary, his
most beloved spouse? And yet, as St. Jerome, quoted by Cor
nelius a Lapide, says, he did not even entertain a wrong suspicion
of the Blessed Virgin, but left the mystery which he could not
understand, and himself, as well, in the hands of Providence,
without a murmur, until the angel appeared to him and explained
all. Was it not a hard and bitter thing for him, when the Bless
ed Virgin was about to bring forth the Saviour, to arrive at Beth
lehem in the depth of winter, and find all the inns of the place
closed against him, so that he was obliged to find shelter in an
abandoned stable, exposed to wind and weather, where there was
neither chair nor bed, fire nor hearth, food nor comfort of any
kind? Truly, the greater his love for the Blessed Virgin, the
more intense his desire to behold the Son of God, the more violent
and bitter must also have been his grief and anguish at seeing
1 Inridebat terris tales habitatores coelnm.
On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God. 43
fl»he poverty and destitution to which they were abandoned. But
such was the will of God, and therefore Joseph was quite satisfied.
Was it not a hard and bitter thing, and therefore one that could Especially
not be accomplished without an heroic resignation on his part to J
the divine will, to have to fly into Egypt with Mary and her
Child at the command of the angel? " Arise/' said the angel to
him, "and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt,
and be there until I shall tell thee "? 1 Truly, the command was
a hard one! Let us consider the circumstances of it briefly.
Arise, and fly; such was the order. When? at what time? In
the middle of the night, for the angel appeared tp him during
his sleep, and that, too, in the depth of winter. Fly; with whom?
With the Child and His Mother. Fly; whither? Into the un
known, wild, and far-off land of Egypt. Fly; how long were they
to remain there? "Be there until I shall tell thee/' And why?
"For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to de
stroy Him." 2 And behold, Joseph starts otf at once, without ask
ing any questions, and without a moment's hesitation: "Who
arose, and took the Child and His Mother by night, and retired .
into Egypt." : Had he notgood reason for objecting, and saying
to the angel, as St. Chrysostom remarks: But why should I fly?
Why should I go into that terrible land? "from my own coun
try, into exile; from my friends, among strangers; from the chos
en people of God, to idolaters; from the holy temple in Jerusa
lem, to the shrines of idols in Egypt?"4 where there is no
one who knows us? no one whom we know? Who will provide
us with the means of livelihood? Where shall we find a house
to shelter us? Is there no nook or corner in Judea where the
Child may be hidden with His own friends? Why should we
have to go into such a remote, heathen land? And if we must
go, at least let us wait till to-morrow, and have the daylight for
our journey! Why should I depart in the dark night? The
Child is young and small, the Mother weak and tender; I do
not know the way; I have not a farthing of money for food; let
us at all events make the preparations necessary for such a long
and toilsome road. No! Joseph was ready at the least sign
1 Surge, et accipe puerum et matrem ejus, et fuge in ^gyptum, et esto ibi usque dum di-
cam tibi.— Matt. ii. 13.
2 Futurum estenim ut Herodes quaerat puerum ad perdendum eum. — Ibid.
3 Qui consurgens, accepit puerum et matrem ejus nocte, etsecessit iu .ZEgyptum. — Ibid. 14.
4 Ex patria in exilium, a meis ad extraneos, ad sacrilegos a sanctis, a templo Dei saneio
quod est in Jerusalem, ad fana daemonum, quae sunt in JKgypto ?— S. Chrys. Horn. 8. in Matt
44 On Josephs Conformity with the Will of God.
that God gave him by the angel: " Who arose and took the ChiK
and His Mother by night, and retired into Egypt; " in the darlc
night, without provisions, ignorant of the way, and yet without
any anxiety as to what should happen to him. He placed al'
his care in the hands of that God who had commanded him fe,
set out. But, continues St. Chrysostom, if he refrained from
asking questions about his own comforts, he might at least have
made some pretext of considering the honor of the Saviour, and
said: "Thou, 0 dear angel, hast said that this Child will save
His people; and now He cannot save Himself from danger, but
we are obliged to take to flight? " What will the shepherds
think who came here to adore Him? What will ail think who
have heard that He is the Saviour of the world? Is that the
great Son of God? they will say; and must He now meanly seek
safety in flight, because He is unable to protect Himself from
the attacks of a mortal man otherwise ? Cannot He who called
the three kings from the East to a,dorG Him and do homage
to Him as God — cannot He wk the heart of Herod, or, if the
latter is quite hardened in hb r-*ge and presumption, at least
avoid his attacks in some oth/,r manner than by taking flight so
hastily? All that hear of i/ shall think themselves deceived,
and be ashamed of having believed the Child to be the Messias.
And if He must fly, why not allow usto go into the East, to those
three kings, who will receive us with due honor, and before all
their people acknowledge and adore the Child as God? But
Joseph said nothing of the kind; it was enough for him to know
the will of God. " He who has learned perfect obedience,"
says St. Gregory, "does not know how to criticise or ask ques
tions;" 2 he resigns himself completely to the will of God. It
is not for him to ask: Why is this, or that? Why should I do so?
Why at such an inconvenient time? It was a question of the
kind that the hellish serpent suggested to the woman: " And he
said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you
should not eat of every tree of paradise? " ' Par be such ques
tioning from the obedient Joseph! far, therefore, from the just
Joseph! Arise, and fly, said the angel. And he got up at once
and fled; it was all one to him how he should find the way, how
1 Tu, chare angele, paulo ante dicebas: quia puer hie salvabit populum suum; et mine
seipsum quidem non potest de periculis Jiberare, sed fuga nobis necessaria est?
2 Nescit scrutari, et interrogare, quisquis perfecte didicit obedire.
8 Qui dixit ad mulierem : cur prsecepit vobis Deus ut non comederetis de omni ligno
«aradisi?— Gen. iii. 1.
On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God. 45
he should fare, how live in Egypt, how long he was to remain
there; all this he left to the will and providence of God, who
commanded him to set out; and with that will he was satisfied.
Nay, I may say that while he was in the cottage at Naz- in the daily
areth, after his return from Egypt, although he had the great ^Jsf-ta
comfort of living in the Holy Family, yet Joseph was never an of which
without secret sorrow and interior trials; for without doubt Our hewas
Lord, who foretold His passion and death to His disciples, must resigned to
also have spoken of them to His mother and foster-father. How the wlu of
f^od
that revelation must have pained the heart of Joseph I leave
you to judge, fathers and mothers, who know what it is to have
even a suspicion of misfortune or calamity to your children.
What bitter grief it must have caused him to see Jesus standing
at his side, working and helping him at his trade, and to think,
at the same time: Those hands shall one day be pierced with the
nails; this foster-son of mine shall be fastened to the cross, and
held up to the scorn and mockery of the world! Meanwhile he
was satisfied with it all, since such was the will of the heavenly
Father.
0 holy St. Joseph, what a beautiful example thou hast left Like him,
to posterity! But how it puts to shame my inordinate anxiety, ^^avs
trouble, disquiet, fear, impatience, chagrin, and annoyance satisfied,
when any contradiction happens to me! How it puts to shame
my little confidence in the providence of God when any evil
threatens; iny dissatisfaction with the divine will when the evil
actually happens! Ah, imprint deeply on my heart and the
hearts of all present this day the words: Such is the will of God;
so that we may never forget them, and may find encouragement
and contentment in them in all the accidents of life. Truly,
my dear brethren, that is the foundation of all contentment in
a man as long as he lives on this earth; to know, namely, that
everything, sin alone excepted, that happens in this world is ac
cording to the decree of the almighty God. " Whatever hap
pens against your will," says St. Augustine, "you must know
does not happen unless according to the will of God, the provi
dence of God, the command of God, the laws of God; " 1 and in
deed it is for your greater good. Hence when you sometimes
think with disgust and discontent: That man is rich, and lives in
abundance, while I am poor, and have to suffer hunger and thirst;
1 Quidquid accldit contra voluntatem tuam noveris id non accidere nisi ex voluntate Dei.
de providentia Dei, de nutu Dei, de legibus Dei.— S. Aug. in Ps. cxlviii.
The death
was bard,
becauseit
46 On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God.
remember,, at the same time, to your consolation and comfort:
such is the will of God. That man is in a high position, and I am
but as the dust under his feet: such is the will of God; that man
is strong and healthy, while I am always sickly and delicate:
such is the will of God; everything that man puts his hand to
thrives, while I am always unlucky: such is the will of God; the
one child is deformed, the best son lies dangerously ill, the father,
the mother, the husband, the wife is dead; that misfortune has
happened me, that lawsuit is lost, and so on: such is the will of
God. God wishes things to be so, and that, too, for my greater
good; then I can and must be satisfied, and, with St. Joseph, say
with a joyful and contented spirit what I daily ask and pray for
to my heavenly Father: Thy will be done! Not as I will, but as
Thou wilt. Do with me and all mine as seems good to Thee! In
this, as I have often told you, consists real piety and true per
fection and holiness; namely, to do, omit, suffer, what, when,
how, and because God wills, be it in little and mean or in great
and wonderful and astonishing things. In this consists a man's
true happiness, the greatest he can enjoy on earth; namely, to re
sign himself fully to God's providence, and be always satisfied
with the divine will and decree. In this sense the words of the
Wise Man are beyond a doubt: " Whatsoever shall befall the just
man it shall not make him sad." Whereupon Salvianus says:
Nothing makes the just man sad; for if he is humbled, it is ac
cording to his desire, since it is the will of God; if he is poor,
he wishes to be so, because it is pleasing to God; and as he wills all
that God wills, he always has what he wants, and how he wants
it, during his life. Even death itself does not frighten the just
man; he is ready to die, if such is the will of God. And with
regard to this latter point, again you have a perfect model in St.
Joseph. For he was satisfied with the Lord, not only during
his life, but also in his death, which he accepted willingly and
readily, at the command of God, as we shall briefly see in the
Second Part.
Whenever the question is asked: Who had the most joyful and
happy death, our thoughts usually revert to St. Joseph; for al-
though the Holy Scriptures say nothing express on the matter,
tne general opinion of the holy Fathers and other authors is that
he died before Our Lord, and in the presence of Jesus and Mary.
J Non contristabit justum quidquid ei accident.— Prov. xii. 21.
On Joseptis Conformity with the Will of God. 47
Here again it might seem as if he had not much toboast of in being MS beiovec
willing to accept death under such circumstances, and in being
content to die. Oh, our hearts begin to bound with joy and desire
at the bare thought of it! Ah, we say, who would not die sweet
ly and peaceably with Jesus on one side and Mary on the other
to close his eyes! But, my dear brethren,, from that very circum
stance I conclude that the death of Joseph must have been very
hard and bitter, only that he was so just and knew so well how
to be resigned to the will of God. For in the first place, how is
it that even a good and holy man has sometimes a great horror of
death when lie thinks of it being close at hand? From what
else can that come, but from the natural and inborn desire that
all men feel to be and to remain with those whom they love, who
love them, and from whom they know that death is about to
separate them violently? " Doth bitter death separate in this
manner? '' 1 think most people with that king of the Amalecites.
What is harder and more bitter than for a father to leave his wife
and dear children by a premature death, without the hope of
ever seeing them again in this life? Indeed, the relations of the
dying man are often kept away from his death-bed, lest they
should add by their presence to his pains. Now, was there ever
a spouse dearer to her husband than Mary to St. Joseph? Had
ever father a more loving child than Jesus was to him, in whose
presence he found his daily consolation, as we have seen already?
And now death had come to separate him from this most agree
able and loved company! Was he not sorely troubled when, as
St. Luke describes, he lost the Child Jesus, who had remained'
behind in the temple for three days? How he grieved at having
to be without Him even for that short time! And the Mother
of God gave expression to the sorrow that he concealed in his
heart: " Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Behold, Thy father
and I have sought Thee sorrowing/' 2 What, then, must have been
his feelings when he saw that he was about to die, and that he
would never again on earth lay eyes on those whom he loved so
dearly ?
Again, if ever he had reason for wishing for a longer life he had On '
it then. It is chiefly anxiety for their children that makes par- sire for a
ents desirous of living longer, and therefore you often hear them longer i fe
sighing: Oh, how will my poor children fare when I am gone!
1 Siccine separat amara mors ? — I. Kings xv. 32.
3 Fill, quid fecisti nobis sic ? ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes quaerebamus te.— Luke ii. 48.
48 On Joseph* s Conformity with the Will of God.
If I only saw my son, my daughter settled I should die content
ed! And do we think that Joseph had lost all natural affections
and inclinations? Must he not have felt a wish to know how
things would go with Christ, the Son of God? to see and, to his
great delight, hear his supposed Son publicly preaching the gos
pel, healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing all sorts
of wonders, and how, after His death, He would draw the whole
world to adore Him? But that consolation was denied him; he
had to die.
on amount And, most bitter of all, to what place had he to go after death ?
' and n°ly nien, do not complain of death; be neither
troubled nor afflicted at the idea of leaving and being parted
from your dear ones, for you are going to a far better place,
into heaven, where countless friends of God, along with all the
angels, await you, in whose society you will rejoice forever! And,
as I have said on a former occasion, this is a consideration that
makes a pious man on his death-bed feel comfortable and happy
at the thought of leaving the world; for he says to himself: What
I leave here is very little, and for that I shall be placed over
many things, and enter into the joy of my Lord. Hence I am
not surprised that so many saints longed eagerly for death, and
prepared for it as for a joyous wedding feast. "I am strait
ened/' says the Apostle, I suffer violence, " having a desire to
be dissolved and to be with Christ." * I believe thee, holy Apos
tle; thou hast good reason for thy desire! Why? He answers:
" For we know if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved,
that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in heaven;" thither all my desires tend; " for in this
also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation
that is from heaven." 2 The same sure hope inspired others with
sucli joy that they could not hide it at the approach of death, but
were forced to show it openly, and with joyful accents to sing:
Te Deum laudamus ! Others, with Simeon, cried out: "Now
Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord ! according to Thy word, in
peace;"3 others, with David: "I rejoiced at the things that
were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord." 4
1 Coarctor; desiderium habens dissolvt et esse cum Christo.— Philipp. i. 23.
2 Scitnus enim quoniarn si terrestris domus nostra hujus habitations dissolvatur, quod
a?difk-,ationem ex Deo habemus, domum non manufaotam, aeternam in coelis. Nam et in
tioc ingerniscimus, habitationem nostram, qnas de coelo est, superindui cupientes. — II. Cor.
•7. 1, 2.
3 Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace —Luke ii. 29.
4 Laetatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi : in domum Domini ibimus.— Ps. cxzi. 1.
On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God. 49
" Come, my soul, my sister, my spouse/7 ' said St. Jerome, speak
ing to death. Our St. Aloysius began, with smiling face, to
sing on his death-bed: "We go with joy! we go with joy!'"
Whither? asked a Father who was standing by. "To heaven!
to heaven!" But where had Joseph to go after death? To
heaven? No, indeed! The door was still shut fast, nor was it
opened until Christ entered, after death, in triumph with His
saints. Where had Joseph to go meanwhile? To a gloomy hole
in the earth, to the limbo of the fathers, where those poor
souls had to wait for their redemption, for they could not come to
that God whom they knew to be their only Good, and whom they
desired to see; not otherwise than a son, who, on his return from
a long journey, stands on one side of a river, looking with many
a sigh at his father's house, longing to enter it after twenty years'
absence, but cannot do so because he has not a boat to carry
him over. Hear the heartrending sighs with which those poor
souls in the days of old implored the obdurate heaven and earth
as well: " Oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens! " 4 Ah, that
they would send down the Saviour! " Let the earth be opened
and bud forth a saviour." 6 Now think of this, my dear breth
ren, and see whether it would not have pleased him better to have
remained longer on earth, and to have enjoyed the heaven he
found in the society of Jesus and Mary!
0 dear Lord! is it thus Thou allowest Thy dear foster-father Yet he did
to leave Thee, and to go "into the region of the shadow of ^ ^ J
death " ? 6 King Ezechias, when his death was foretold to him, but in this,'
begged of Thy Father for a respite in the following mournful to°iwasful
prayer: " I beseech Thee, 0 Lord, remember how I have walked to the will
before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done of God-
that which is good in Thy sight." 7 And Thy Father heard
him, and prolonged his life for fifteen years, as Isaias tells us.
And couldst not Thou, divine Son, have obtained a similar
favor for Thy foster-father, and kept him in life until he might
have entered heaven gloriously with Thee? Hast Thou not
Veni, anima mea, soror mea, sponsa!
Lsetantes imus ! laetantes imus!
Ad coelum! ad coelum!
Utinam disrumperes coelos.— Is. Ixiv. 1.
Aperiatur terra, et germinet salvatorem.— Ibid. xlv. 8.
In regionem umbrae mortis.— Ibid. ix. 2.
Obsecro Domine, memento quasso, quomodo ambulaverim coram te in veritate, 8t in
corde perfecto, et quod bonum est in oculis tuis fecerim.— Ibid, xxxviii. 3.
50 On Joseph's Conformity with the Will of God.
said: " All things are delivered to Me by My Father " ? > Didst
Thou not restore to the widow of Nairn her dead son, and raise
from the grave Lazarus, who was already beginning to decay?
And when Thy friends remembered the premature death of
Joseph, could they not with reason have said of Thee, as the
Jews did: " Could not He that opened the eyes of the man born
blind have caused that this man should not die?'va Might
they not have wondered why Thou who didst raise the dead to
life couldst not prolong Joseph's life, for a time at least? Was
the prayer of Thy foster-father, then, of less efficacy with Thee
than that of King Ezechias? I beseech Thee, 0 Son! he might
have said with much more reason than Ezechias, remember how
I have walked before Thee; remember the fatherly care I be
stowed on Thee from Thy childhood! Remember how often I
have carried Thee in my arms! Remember how I saved Thee
from the fury of Herod, and how for Thy sake I had to under
take long journeys here and there, and to fly with Thee into
Egypt! Remember how I labored in the sweat of my brow to
find food for Thee! So might Joseph have prayed, and he would
assuredly have been heard; but the thought of such a prayer
never even entered his mind. For he had learned from the di
vine Son, who was always subject to him, to resign himself cheer
fully even to such a death, since it was the will of God. He
who during his life set out for the wild land of Egypt in the
middle of the night, without any provision for the journey, at
the first word of the angel, and without a word of opposition,
now, with the same readiness, not hesitating a moment, sets out
on his journey to limbo. This one thought was enough for him:
such is the will of God.
Exhortation My dear brethren, it is time for me to conclude. There you
tion TftCT1" nave a perfect model of resignation to the divine will, as I prom-
nisexam- ised to give it you. St. Joseph was satisfied with the Lord's will
stcnmu-6" during his ^e> satisfied with it in his death, hard though it
selves to was for him. And learn this, too: the best means of ensuring a
the win of happy death is to offer one's self to the Lord to die how, when,
and where it may be pleasing to Him. Hear St. Augustine:
" There are some who say that they do not wish to die that they
may become more perfect, whereas their perfection consists in
1 Omnia mihi tradita sunt a Patre meo.— Luke x. 23.
1 Won poterat hie, qui aperuit oculos coeci nati, facere ut hie non moreretur?— John xi. 37.
On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying. 51
their being willing to die." 1 And what he means by this is:
He who desires to become perfect must prepare to live so that
he may be willing to die at any hour or moment when the Cre
ator gives the sign; for \ve cannot offer to God a more agreeable
sacrifice than to give Him,, according to His will, that which we
hold most dear of all things, namely, our life. Therefore I con
clude with St. John Chrysostom: " Let us offer to God as a gift
what we are obliged to offer Him as a debt." 2 Let us live pious
ly, holily, and according to the will of God, and then nothing
will prevent us from being willing to die according to the will
of God! Obtain for us this willingness and readiness, 0 holy
St. Joseph! And if fear or anguish should trouble us on our
death-beds, do thou assist us with those whose hands closed thy
eyes in death, that is, with Jesus and Mary; and then, after thy
example, we, too, shall die contented. Amen.
FORTY-SECOND SERMON.
ON ST. JOSEPH AS THE PATRON OF THE DYING.
Subject.
St. Joseph is a comforter and helper in the extreme necessity
of approaching death; therefore he should be constantly invoked
by us all, and with the most tender devotion and reverence.—
Preached on the feast of St. Joseph.
Text.
Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis sues, vocavit fili-
um suum Joseph. — Gen. xlvii. 29.
"And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he
called his son Joseph."
Introduction.
The sole earthly comfort of the aged Jacob was his son Jo
seph; and when the old patriarch heard that his dear child was
still alive, " he awaked, as it were, out of a deep sleep . . . and he
said: It is enough for me if Joseph, my son, be yet living." ! And
when he had seen him in Egypt, and embraced him, it seemed
1 Sunt aliqui qui dicunt, ideo se nolle mori, ut proflciant ; cum taraen profectus eorum in
hoc ipso situs sit, quod mori velint.
• Offeramus Det pro munere, quod pro debito tenemur reddere.
3 Quasi degravi somnoevigilans . . . et ait : Sufflcit mihi si adhuc Joseph fllius meus vivit.—
Gen. xlv. 26, 28.
52 On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying.
as if he had lived long enough and had nothing more left to
wish for on earth: "Now shall I die with joy/' he exclaimed,,
"because I have seen thy face." And when he knew the day
of his death to be at hand, he called his son Joseph, as if he had
no other sons. To him alone he commended himself and the
eare of his other children; in his arms he wished to die, and his
eyes were to be closed by Joseph, as the Lord had promised him:
"Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes/'3 My dear
brethren, all know well that the Joseph of those days was a
figure and symbol of our holy St. Joseph, the foster-father of
Christ and the spouse of the Blessed Virgin. 0 archdiocese
of Treves, how well thou hast done in choosing as thy patron
this great Saint! Great reason hast thou on this day to congratu
late thyself, as thou art doing, by holding this joyful feast in
his honor, for Our Lord could not have given thee a mightier
or better defender, after His blessed Mother, nor couldst thou
have chosen a better consoler in all thy necessities. Happy
country, if thou only remainest constant in thy love and confi
dence to him, and in thy efforts to honor him! More than
happy all who in trials and difficulties, and especially at the ap
proach of death, call on St. Joseph and receive from him the
great grace of having him to assist at their death and close their
eyes! For after Jesus and Mary, there is no one who can better
help and console in that dangerous time than he. If I succeed
in proving this latter point, I hope and desire with all my heart
to awaken in you and me a more firm confidence in, and a zeal
ous, constant devotion and love for this holy patron.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Joseph is a comforter and protector in the extreme neces
sity of approaching death; therefore he should be invoked hy all
with the greatest and most tender devotion and reverence. Such
is the whole subject of this sermon.
Most holy St. Joseph, obtain for us that childlike trust and
constant reliance on thee from and by those whom thou hast in
thy power, that is, from Jesus, thy Child, and Mary, thy spouse!
Help us herein, ye holy angels!
r^^ere are many kinds of helpers and friends in this world as
long as we live together; most people experience their services
1 Jam laetus moriar, quia vidi faciem tuam.— Gen. xlvi. 30.
8 Joseph quoque ponet manus suas super oculos tuos. — Ibid. 4.
On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying. 53
when they least need them; few can profit by them when really and helper
in want. " There is a friend for his own occasion," says the in
Wise Man, "'and he will not abide in the day of thy trouble." l
As long as things go well, and people may hope for something
from you, you need not seek long for friends; they will come in
troops of their own accord; but if the wheel of fortune takes a
turn, if the time of want comes on, "he will not abide;" there
are few who will stand by you; the most of them will turn their
backs on you, and say to themselves: I must look after myself.
Then, too, others are afraid of showing their friendship or rela
tionship, lest they might be asked to help, to give proof of their
good will, and to assist in the time of need. Then you see that *
you have built on sand, that the professions of good will were
only empty words, mere lip-service, and you learn the truth of
the proverb: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
And granted that there are some whose 'feelings are upright NO one can
in this respect, and who, like true friends, stand by you in your Jrl°Qdg^j
necessities, where in the whole world can you find any one to in death,
help in your most extreme necessity, when you are most in want
of help, that is, in the last moments of your life? There is no
one in the world who can comfort us then, no matter how near
he may be to us, or how great his love for us. In that hour of
death, when help and consolation are so badly needed, no comfort,
nor assistance, nor counsel can be expected from any one. We
may call as much as we please, but in vain; no one can aid, no
one can assuage our pain; in the hour of death all friendship is
severed, all love is at an end. The dying man alone knows how
he feels at heart; he must leave all and depart alone; he must
set out on the unknown way to " the house of his eternity." a
0 necessity above all necessities! "Death is the most terrible Although tt
of all terrible things! " 3 such is the lament of all philosophers, ^^^1^"
heathen and Christian. Terrible on account of the past, terrible needs, in
in the present, terrible on account of the future, terrible in all its which we
most re-
circumstances, each one of which is enough to make a cold sweat quireneip.
come over the dying man, and to cause his hair to stand on end!
To die is to be separated at once and forever from the world and
everything in it; never more to see the light of day; 0 sad
necessity! To die is to be torn away violently from parents,
1 Est enim amlcus secundum tempus suum,et non permanebit indie necessitatis.— Ecclus.
vi.8.
8 In domum seternitatis suae.— Ibid. xii. 5.
* Terribilium omnium terribilissimum more !
54 On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying.
In vain
should we
then call
upon our
friends.
children, friends, acquaintances, and from all we love best; 0
bitter necessity! To die is to be robbed of house and home,
money and wealth, service and occupation, joy and pleasure; for
none of all those things may be taken on the road to eternity;
0 hard necessity! To die is to depart in the greatest agony of
body, in desolation of soul, in the darkness of the glassy eyes, in
the dumbness of the tongue, in the loss of the use of all the sen
ses; 0 painful necessity! To die is to arrive at that time when
all our sins, even those we now know little of as to their gravity
and number, so that we hold them as grains of mustard-seed, as
weak threads — that time when even they will lie like a millstone
on our breasts, drawing us down into the abyss; 0 dolorous ne
cessity! To die is to arrive at that time when the words will be
said: " Time shall be no longer." No more time to atone for
past faults, to do penance for sin, to advance the affair of our
salvation; 0 necessity full of anguish! To die is to come to that
time when the devil will put forth his utmost strength, summon
all his rage and hatred, call together all the forces of hell to
bring the poor soul to despair in the last moment, that he may
drag it down with him into eternal flames. "The devil is come
down, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short
time;"8 0 dangerous necessity! To die is to travel and not
know where to go; 0 terrible necessity! To die is to go to
judgment, in which one is to be pronounced blessed forever
or to be lost eternally; 0 fearful necessity!
Wo to me if at that time I have no friend whom I can call on
for help! Would you then wish to appeal to those who so care
fully follow the world and its vanities? whose thoughts and cares
from morning till night are directed solely to temporal gain, prof
it, and wealth? Try if they can give you any assistance in that
hour. Death may not be turned aside by money; the Author of
life may not be bribed; in that hour rich and poor are on an
equality. Wo to you if you have no other consolation to hope
for! Call, in your need, on those whose favor you now rely on so
confidently, in whose service you now wear out body and soul,
for whose sake you now risk soul and conscience; see whether
death will have any respect for them. Wo to you if you have
no other help to expect! Call, in your need, on that person to
«• fempus non erit amplius.— Apoc. x. 6.
* Descendit diabolus, habens iram magnam, sciens quod modicum tempue habet. — Ibid,
xii. 12.
On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying. 55
whom you now give your heart and affections,, whose love you
consider the greatest good; explain the condition in which you
are, and see if help may be looked for from that quarter. Wo
to you if you have no other to call upon! Call, in your need, on
your parents, your children, your husband, your wife, for whose
sake you have borne so much care, labor, and toil, that things
might be well with them. Wo to you if you have no one else
to appeal to! They will stand around your death-bed, they will
shed tears, they will mourn; but to save you from your extrem
ity, go with you into eternity, speak to your Judge for you — that
they will not, cannot; that cannot be done by any one on earth.
My dear brethren, why have I spoken of those matters to-day St.. Joseph
so much in detail? That you may know how highly we are to lsat™e
J J friend and
honor, how diligently to invoke, how earnestly to reverence and protector in
love him who can then help and assist us; for we must judge of tnehour of
the value of the help given from the greatness of the need and
from the scarcity of help to be hoped for; that will show us the
value and advantage of the friend. A helper of that kind, after
his virginal spouse, is in a special sense St. Joseph; and if I were
assured of his favor and good will, and knew that I could with
childlike confidence call on him in my last moments, then, al
though the hour of death is full of anxiety and terrible anguish
and fear, yet would I cry out, with Jacob, cheerfully and joyfully:
" Now shall I die with joy, because I have seen thy face."
For if it is true that all creatures are subject to Joseph, and shownfrom
must obey the least sign given by him, as the celebrated Ger- monjesUof
son asserts, who spared no pains to spread the honor of Joseph the saints,
throughout the world, and who in the Council of Constance
worked hard to have his birthday celebrated in the Church: " It is
no wonder," says he, "that Christ wished all creatures to obey
Joseph, since Christ Himself obeyed him;" l then in that hour
the power of the devil must yield to the power of the protection
of Joseph, so that the evil one cannot vex or disturb me. If it
is true, as the angelic Doctor St. Thomas of Aquin expressly says,
that " it is granted to Joseph to help in all necessities"2 — and
that opinion is confirmed by St. Teresa, so enlightened in all
divine things, who says: I know by experience that this glorious
Saint helps in all necessities; a confidence that impelled the
1 Non mirum si Christus voluit ut omnes creatura? obedirent Josepho, cum et ipse se
obediens ei exstiterit.
8 Sanctissimo Josepho in omni necessitate concessum est opitulari.
56 On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying.
Catholic Church, and especially this archdiocese of Treves, to
choose St. Joseph as patron — then there is no doubt that the ex
treme necessity of death is not excepted; for to what purpose
should he help us during life if he left us at the hour on which
our salvation depends? What good is it to me to have safely
sailed the high seas if i am wrecked in port? No; let other
saints have from God the power of helping in special cases dur
ing life; the Almighty has set no bounds to the power of Jo
seph in this respect: " It is granted to Joseph to help in all ne
cessities/' without exception,, and therefore much more in the
hour of death.
This power is founded on the two titles of honor that are pe-
joseph'sin- culiar to him alone among all the angels and saints; for on the
tercessjon One hand he is the foster-father of his Creator, and on the other
' the spouse of the Queen of heaven, Mary, by whose hands, as
St. Bernard says, God dispenses all His graces. Who could im
agine that such a child can deny anything to the request of such
a father, or that such a spouse could refuse to grant the prayer
of her bridegroom? Yet why do I speak of prayers? They
might indeed be necessary to other saints, but not to St. Joseph;
he, says Gerson, need not ask anything of Christ; he has but to
command and give orders.1 It is true that other saints confer
countless benefits on us by the help of God, but it is by their
prayers and entreaties, as servants are wont to entreat their mas
ters, and God Himself addresses them in those terms: " Well
done, good and faithful servant." 2 Or else they speak as court
iers to their sovereign, as David calls the angels: " You minis
ters of His that do His will." 3 Or, at the very farthest, as one
friend would speak to another, as Christ called His apostles: "I
have called you friends." Joseph, on the other hand, speaks to
Him as a father to his son; he need not ask anything of Christ;
he has but to command and give orders; he can do what he
wishes without entreaty; his authority, his will is enough.
Therefore beyond all doubt so powerful a saint can help if he
will, even in the extreme necessity of death, more than the other
saints; and if I make sure of his friendship by devotion and love
to him, what comfort and help may I not expect from him in
1 Non impetrat, sed imperat ; non orat, sed ordinat.
* Euge, serve bone et fldelis.— Matt. xxv. 21.
s Ministri ejus qui facitis voluntatem ejus.— Ps. cii. 21.
4 Vos autem dixi amicos.— John xv. 15.
On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying. 57
that hour, in which, if he abandoned me, he would see his child
go down to eternal death?
We find a figure of the departing soul in the Israelites when Explained
they were leaving Egypt and had come to the Red Sea. Poor
people, what were your feelings on the occasion? " They feared
exceedingly," says the Scripture, "and cried to the Lord;" '
everywhere were heard groanings and lamentations, as if fear and
anguish possessed them all. For before them they saw nothing
but the sea, that threatened to swallow them up in its waves; if
they looked behind they saw Pharao and his hosts coming after
them, full of rage and fury. And what happened to them?
Moses held his rod over the sea, and made a dry path for them to
cross over without danger. Why did God work this prodigy by
the hand of Moses, since on other occasions it was Aaron who
performed miracles by the same rod? In the preceding chapter
we read: " Moses took Joseph's bones with him, because he had
adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you;
carry out my bones from hence with you." As if, according to
some interpreters, the memory of such a great benefit should be
coupled with the memory of Joseph, their first benefactor. Be
that as it may, we have far more reason for taking this incident as
a figure of the power of the intercession of our St. Joseph. My
dear brethren, the time shall come when we shall have to travel
out of this world into an unknown land, and to arrive at that
shore where we shall have nothing before us but the boundless
ocean of eternity, and behind us the rage of pursuing demons;
before us the fathomless sea of the judgments of God: " Thy
judgments are a great deep," 3 as the Prophet David says; be
hind us the yelling and gnawing of a disturbed conscience. Oh,
what terrible danger we shall then be in! What anguish and
dread shall overwhelm us! But even then no true child of Jo
seph's need be alarmed; his help and assistance shall be far more
powerful to bring the departing soul in safety from the world
than the dead bones of Joseph of old were to save his people.
Ask who was he of whom the Wise Man says that he sat as the
husband of the valiant woman among the judges and senators of
the land : " Her husband is honorable in the gates, when he sitteth
1 Timuerunt valde, clamaveruntque ad Dominum.— Exod. xiv. 10.
a Tulit quoque Moyses ossa Joseph secum ; eo quod adjurasset fllios Israel, dicens : visita-
bit vos Deus, efferte ossa mea hinc vobiscum.— Ibid. xiii. 19.
8 Judicia tua abyssus multa.— Ps. xxxv. 7.
58 On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying.
among the senators of the land " ? l " He was Joseph," answers
St. Bonaventure, " who was given as spouse to Mary; " a he sits
at the gate of eternity, that he may bring his devout clients
safely into the city of glory. Again, why did Our Lord wish to
suffer the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemani? Because,
says St. Gregory, He wished to represent the terrible anguish we
shall feel in the judgment that awaits us at the hour of death."
Why did this happen in the garden, and not elsewhere? The
great St. Jerome, the YTenerable Bede, Suarez, and others be
lieve that the grave of St. Joseph was in the Garden of Olives,
and therefore that Our Lord went there according to His wont to
pray,4 as we read in the Elucidarium Virginis. Mark, my dear
brethren, how when the Lord wishes to represent to us the agony
of death He goes to the garden, to the grave of St. Joseph, to
let us see that the heavy burden of this last hour will become
light for us under the patronage of St. Joseph, and that we
should have frequent recourse in our prayers and devotions to
this Saint if we wish to enjoy his help and protection at the
hour of death.
confirmed If this interpretation should seem far-fetched and doubtful to
erai^inion some> then I appeal to the general and devout sense of all Chris-
of tbefaith- tians in the Catholic Church; for when there is question of what
sort of a patron any saint is, if the Scripture says nothing of the
matter, almost the only means of finding out the truth is to re
fer to the general sense of the faithful, since God never inspires
us with confidence in any saint without having appointed him
as our helper in certain things. Look, tl/en, at the statues erect
ed here and there to St. Joseph; generally you will find on them
the inscription: " The patron of the dying;" 5 listen to the young
people singing hymns in the church; whenever mention is made
of St. Joseph you will hear something like the following: 0
dear St. Joseph, when the fatal hour comes do thou be my pa
tron, and pray for me to the Avenger and Judge; 6 or else: Do
thou be the third, with Jesus and Mary, to assist me when my
1 Nobilis in portis vir ejus, quando sederit cum senatoribus terrae.— Prov. xxxi. 23.
2 Hie f uit Joseph, qui datus est Marias in sponsum.
3 Appropinquante morte, nostrse mentis insecertamen expressit.— S. G"eg. 1. xxv. Moral,
e. 17.
4 Idcirco in horto Gethsemani orare solebat, quia avorum et patris Joseph cadavera inclu-
deret.— Elucid. Virg. 2. part. n. 4.
• Patronus morientium.
6 Dilecte mi Josephe, si fatalis instet bora, ad vindicem turn Judicem pro me patronus ora.
On St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying. 59
last day has come, and death awaits me with its terrors.1 And
what else is the meaning of the custom of repeating the names of
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the ears of the dying but to encourage
them and terrify the demons? Is it not a certain sign that this
Saint is regarded as a special helper in the hour of death, being
appointed to that office by God ?
Oh, if we could look into the hearts and minds of the dying, By expert,
what consolation and cheerfulness we should find many a one to euce>
enjoy, who has been devout to St. Joseph, when he hears that
sweet name! If we might call on the departed souls as witnesses,
how many would come forward who have been helped by Joseph
in their last necessity, and brought safely to the gate of heaven!
I cannot refrain from mentioning what I know by personal ex
perience of a certain dying person who was very devout to St.
Joseph, and whose name is known to many of you from his learn
ed works; this man, although he had served God in the religions
state for many years, began to be exceedingly troubled when the
end came near; lie grew fearful, anxious, down-spirited, nor
could any one succeed in encouraging him; the only answer he
would make to them was: Alas! alas! 0 inscrutable judgment
of God! 0 strict justice of God! how will it be with me when
I have to appear before it? At last some one reminded him
of St. Joseph,, and told him to be of good heart, for the Saint
whom he loved so tenderly during life would not abandon him in
death. The bare mention of the name seemed to drive away all
the clouds from the sick man^s mind, and instead of moaning
he begun to laugh and weep for joy. Shortly before his death
he asked some of us who were standing by to sing quietly the
hymn he was so accustomed to: Great Joseph, son of David, etc.,2
from the beginning to the end, and meanwhile he gave every
sign of the consolation he experienced by his cheerful counte
nance and sweet tears. This occurred a few years ago.
My dear brethren, Joseph is a friend, a helper, and a protector so that we
in the hour of death. I need add no more. And the conclusion a11 have
good reason
we have to draw is evident; after the virgin Mother of God, to honor st.
there is no better helper to whom we can appeal; therefore we all JosePh-
have good reason to honor this patron whom we have chosen
with all possible devotion, with childlike confidence and constant
love, as long as we live. There is no better helper, for there is
1 Eja Jesn et Marise te conjunge tertium, quando me suprema die mors citabit anxium.
2 Magne Joseph, flli David.
( o On Si. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying.
no greater or more dangerous necessity than that of death, in
which, if we are left helpless, it is all up with us forever, and
there is no man on earth from whom help can be hoped for then.
And we all have reason to seek a helper in this necessity, for it is
one that will certainly befall us all, without exception; other ca
lamities are not general; they occur here and there; but neither
prayers nor entreaties can ward off the stroke of death; we must
all die sooner or later.
Resolution An, why have I not thought of this before? Why have I not
U)ho"°r run to thee, St. Joseph, for refuge long ago? Why have I not
him better
future, placed my confidence in thee? Why have I been so niggardly,
slothful, tepid, and cold towards thee; for I have hardly thought
of thee, or I have uttered thy name carelessly, without fervor
or devotion, in prayers I happened to come across now and then
which I said with distracting thoughts. It is true I have not
honored thee as thou deservest! I have not loved thee as my
own advantage and necessity required! From this moment I de
clare myself thy zealous servant; and I will renew, preserve, and
increase in myself and those belonging to me, as far as I can, a
great esteem and respect for thee by daily invoking thee, and by
advising and helping others to do the same! Every week, as long
I live, I shall fix on a day to be dedicated to thee by some special
devotion; no business shall steal the time from me, so as to pre
vent me from attending public devotions in the church when
ever they are held in thy honor. And now I will cry to thee as
David did to God: "Depart not from me; for tribulation is very
near; for there is none to help me." The tribulation of death
is coming nearer and nearer, and no one can aid me! " Be thou
my helper; forsake me not." 2 Think of thy own time of need,
when the angel said to thee: " Arise, and take the Child and His
Mother, and fly into Egypt. For it will come to pass that Herod
wi.ll seek the Child to destroy Him." 3 Ah, great Saint, I shall be
in extreme distress one day! A terrible trial shall come upon me;
" It will come to pass" that the hellish Herod will seek my soul,
with all his hosts, and try to fill it with anguish and destroy it!
Arise, then, and take it, thy child, under thy care, that it may
not fall a prey to the hellish wolf! " Be thou my helper; forsake
1 Ne discesseris a me : quoniam tribulatio proxima est : quoniam non est qui adjuvet.— Ps.
xxi. 12.
a Adjutor meus esto, ne derelinquas me. — Ibid. xxvi. 9.
1 Surge et accipe puerum et matrem ejus, et f uge in ^Egyptum. Futurum est enim ut He-
rodes quserat puerum ad perdendum eum.— Matt. ii. 13.
On St. Joseph as the Pair on of the Dying. 61
me not " ! " It will come to pass " that my past sins will seek to
drive me to despair; arise; be my helper; forsake me not! "It
will come to pass" that my strength and vital powers will grad
ually leave me, that my dying tongue will not be able to cull on
frhee, perhaps, that my glassy eyes will not be able to behold thy
picture, that my dead ears will not be able to hear thy sweet
name, that I will knock with fear and trembling at the gate of
eternity, to appear before the judgment-seat of God; arise, then,
and take thy child under thy care; remember the confidence I
placed in thy intercession, the prayers I now send forth to thee,
and mean to send forth till the end. Be my helper; forsake me
not! And then I shall be able to say to myself with contented
mind, or to think it, if unable to say it: " Now shall I die with
joy/'' since Joseph is my helper and protector. Amen.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLES.
FO R TY- THIRD SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL.
Subject.
1. The repentance of St. Peter puts many sinners to shame.
2. The zeal of St. Paul puts many just to shame. — Preached on
the feast of SS. Peter and Paul.
Text.
Egressus foras, flevit amare. — Matt. xxvi. 75.
"And going forth, he wept bitterly."
Charitas Christi urget nos. — II. Cor. v. 14.
"The charity of Christ presseth us."
Introduction.
To-day I am obliged to use a twofold text, as it is my inten
tion to sound the praises of the two greatest apostles in this ser
mon. The first text represents the bitter tears of repentance shed
by St. Peter: " Going forth, he wept bitterly." The other refers
to St. Paul, whose love of God allowed him to enjoy neither rest
nor ease. "The charity of Christ presseth us." In both we
find much worthy of imitation; the one being an example for
sinners, the other for the just. In the first we see a wonderful
spirit of repentance for past sins; in the other a wonderful zeal
for the honor of Our Lord. This sermon shall be a panegyric of
both those apostles, and at the same time show how their con
duct puts many Christians to shame. Namely:
Plan of Discourse.
The repentance of St. Peter puts many sinners to shame : the
first part. The zeal of St. Paul puts many just to shame: the
second part.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 63
Jesus Christ, whom with Thy apostles we all acknowledge to
be the Son of the living God, look on me and all sinners with
those eyes with which Thou didst look on Peter, so that, like him,
we may weep bitterly for our sins; inflame our hearts with that
fire which Thou didst kindle in St. Paul, that with him we may
in future love Thee zealously above all things! This we humbly
beg of Thee through Mary, the Queen of the apostles, and the
intercession of our holy guardian angels. SS. Peter and Paul,
lend me some of your zeal and spirit, that I may announce your
praise to our own confusion and salutary amendment!
That unhappy night had arrived in which Christ was brought Peterde-
as a prisoner to the house of Caiphas; Peter alone of all the dis- uied Chrisl
ciples, fearing for himself, yet ashamed also of having run away,
and influenced, moreover, by his great love for his divine Master,
followed Him at a distance and ventured into the court of the
high-priest to see how things would go on. Ah, Peter! it had
been better for thee to have remained with the others than to
have followed thy divine Master as thou didst, and cause Him
such pain. A. servant-maid was the first occasion of his shame
ful fall. " The maid, therefore, that was portress saith to Peter:
Art not thou also one of this Man's disciples? " 1 And Peter
answered: " I know not what thou sayest." 2 He was again
asked if he was not one of the disciples, and he replied with an
oath that he knew not the Man.3 A third time the same ques
tion was put to him: " Surely thou art one of them; for thou
art also a Galilean. But he began to curse and to swear, saying:
I know not this Man of whom you speak." 0 Peter! here ex
claims St. Augustine, where is now the courage with which thou
didst dare the whole band of soldiers, and draw thy sword in de
fence of thy Master? Where are thy words: " I will lay down
my life for Thee"? 6 Yet no fetters bind thee, nor art thou
threatened with imprisonment and death. The voice of a poor
servant was enough to fill thee with terror and utterly prostrate
thee! Dost thou not know the Man? Hast thou not already
acknowledged Him to be the Son of God? And dost thou now
say: I know Him not? See, my dear brethren, how easy it is to
1 Dicit ergo Petro ancilla ostiaria : numquid et tu ex discipulis es hominis istius ?— John
xviii. 17.
2 Nescio quid dicis.— Matt. xxvi. 70.
3 Et iterum negavit cum juramento ; quja non novi hominem.
4 Vere ex illis es, nam et Galilaeus es. Ille autem coepit anathematizare et jurare, quia
nescio hominem istum, quern dicitis.— Mark xiv. 70, 71.
8 Animam meam pro te ponam,— John xiii. 37.
64 On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
But he bit
terly re
pented it
his whole
life long.
Like Peter,
we often
leny God.
make a poor weak mortal forget himself and his God! There
we have the sin of Peter; now let us see how he did penance.
Hardly had the crowing of the cock reminded him of his fault,
and called to his heart, as the voice of God formerly did to Cain,
"What hast thou done?" 1 when he began to shed bitter tears
of sorrow: "And going forth, he wept bitterly," 2 filled with
contrition at the thought of having been so ungrateful to his best
Friend, his dearest Master. Unhappy me ! he must have sighed
forth, how can I live any longer, since I have denied life Him
self ? How can the earth support me, since I have offended its
Maker? 0 wicked mouth, how could st thou have opened to dare
to assert on oath that thou knowest not Him who did thee so
much good? 0 accursed tongue, how couldst thou have so far
perjured thyself as to deny Him, who a short time before had
fed thee with His body and blood? 0 grief! 0 sorrow! Come,
ye tears, and overwhelm me; I give myself up to ye completely!
And, as the interpreters of the sacred Scriptures say, so great
was Peter's sorrow that he hid away and spent in tears the whole
time that elapsed until the resurrection of Christ. But this was
not enough; he spent all the remainder of his life in constant
penance for this one sin. St. Clement, his disciple, tells us that
whenever he heard the cock crow, by day or night, he would pros
trate himself on the ground and weep bitterly, so that his cheeks
were furrowed by the unceasing flow of tears. His food, as St.
Gregory Nazianzen says, consisted of nothing but bitter peas; his
life was spent in unceasing toil, wandering throughout the world,
suffering imprisonment and persecution, in satisfaction for his
sin, until his martyrdom on the cross, on which he wished to be
nailed with his head downwards, thinking himself unworthy to
die like Christ, his divine Master. Just reason indeed, 0 penitent
apostle! just reason hadst thou to bewail bitterly thy sin; but,
alas, how the consideration of thy long and painful repentance
fills me with consternation and fear!
What sayest thou to this, my soul? Where are ye now, ye
men who are fellow-sinners of mine? "Peter was allowed to
deny, and to sin," says St. Chrysostom, "that he might give to all
sinners the example of true penance." 3 I need not search long
to find sins and sinners; there are only too many of them who
1 Quid fecisti ?— Gen. iv. 10.
3 Et egressus foras, flevit amare. — Matt. xxvi. 75.
' Permissus est Petrus negare et peccare, ut omnibus peccatoribus verum posnitenttse da-
ret exemplum.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paiil. 65
have imitated Peter in hisuntruthfulness and sin; but where are
the tears? where the contrition and sorrow, after the example of
Peter? We sin with Peter, not merely once, nor thrice, but
almost every hour and moment; but we hardly weep with Peter
even once.. Is it not so, my dear brethren? What do we do
when we sin. Hear what St. Augustine says: " We deny Christ
as often as we commit sin." ' For as the just confess Christ
before the world by keeping the commandments, by doing good
works and fulfilling the will of God, so sinners deny Christ by
despising His commandments, disobeying His will, and dishon
oring Him. " They profess that they know God," says the
Apostle, "but in their works they deny Him."2 Tell me, 0
sinner! you acknowledge God as your sovereign Lord, whom you
are bound to obey in all things; you believe that in your heart,
and say it with your mouth; but what do your actions say? If
an object agreeable to the senses is proposed to you, and you ac
cept it against the divine law, you say, by your actions, with Peter,
I know Him not; I do not now acknowledge Christ as my Master:
who has a right to command me? I will not do as He wishes, but
as I myself choose. You acknowledge and believe that God is
the sovereign Good, and is therefore worthy of all honor and in
finite love; but when you love a creature against His law, what
else do you do, but say with Peter: I know Him not; I do not
acknowledge Him as my sovereign Good; I love something that
seems to me better, more beautiful, more deserving of love?
Yon acknowledge and believe that Jesus is your Redeemer and
Saviour, who has suffered so much and died on the cross for you,
and therefore deserves the most heartfelt gratitude from you;
but what do you say by your actions, when you commit sin? I
know not the Man; I do not now look on Him as my greatest
friend and benefactor, for I do not hesitate to insult and offend
Him. You acknowledge and believe that God is a strict judge,
who knows how to punish wickedness with the greatest severity;
but you go on heaping sin on sin with the utmost carelessness,
as if there were neither heaven nor hell; what else does that
mean but- I know Him not; I care not for His strictness and
justice? You acknowledge and believe that wherever you are —
walking, standing, lying down,, by day or night — your God is al
ways with you, looking at all your thoughts, words, and actions;
1 To ties nepatnus, quoties peccamus.
3 Confltentur se posse Deum, factis autem negant. —Tit. i. 16.
Through
numan re
spect, too,
like him.
66 On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
and yet yon think and say and do things that you would shrink
from doing before any decent man, nay, even before a vile beg
gar; what else is that but saying by your actions: I know Him
not; I do not care for His presence; I will do what I please in
spite of it? What do you believe of Him who is in the church,
present in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you know who He is?
Yes, your tongue says, with Peter: Thou art Christ, the Son of the
living God! But what is the language of your actions? of your
want of reverence, your dissolute laughter, your talking, staring
about, indecent looks and gestures, and unbecoming salutations?
Do these show that you believe in a God really present, that God
before whom all in heaven, on earth, and under the earth must
bend the knee in awe? By your actions you say: I know Him
not; for you would show more respect to any decent man of the
world. Thus many Christians profess with their lips that they
know God, but in their works they deny Him.
And what was the occasion of the denial of Peter? His exces
sive fear of being apprehended and put to death; the company
of the servants of the high-priest brought him to lying, perjury,
false swearing, and cursing. 0 vain fear! 0 human respect!
0 wicked dread, I will not say of death, but of some trifling loss!
of a slight punishment, of a hard word, an unkind look, the dis
pleasure of one's master, or losing the favor of some mortal, what
evil thou dost cause in the world nowadays! How many a one
dost thou not bring so far that he thinks more of his parents,
his children, his friends, than of his great and sovereign God,
most worthy of all love? How often is not God offended and
insulted for the sake of pleasing the former? How often is not
good omitted and evil of all sorts committed through fear of dis
pleasing one's fellow-man, of incurring the anger of a master, of
troubling a beloved person? In a word, the fear of men or of
temporal misfortune makes people sin recklessly; they prefer to
have God as their enemy than to lose the friendship of men; as
if God had done us no good, could do us no harm! " Who looked
upon the Almighty as if He could do nothing;" ' although, ac
cording to the words of Christ, He has in His hands a power
not possessed by any man or potentate in the world; for He it is
that " can destroy both soul and body into hell/' 3
1 Quasi nihil posset facere omnipotens, aestimabant eum.— Job xxii. 17.
a Qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam.— Matt, z. 28.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 67
0 treacherous company! 0 baleful occasion! were it not for And in a
you many thieves would not have denied justice, many of both ^^r °
sexes would not have denied purity, many would not have denied
decency and honesty, and many hundred thousand sins would
have been removed from the world! Poor weak mortal, why
shouldst thou vaunt of the firmness of thy purpose, of thy good
resolution? How little it takes to weaken thee, to upset thy
reason and common sense, and turn thee from the path of recit-
tude! For it is not necessary that one should threaten thee
with the sword or the gallows; nor that the evil one should put
forth all his power to tempt thee by offering thee all the goods
of the world, as he did to Our Lord: " All these will I give
Thee;" 1 the company of a single person, a vile servant, a mean
portress, a poor mortal, a look, a caress can, and, if you are not
careful, will bring you so far as to make you forget your God,
sacrifice heaven, lose your soul, and become a wicked, unchaste,
vindictive, perjured man. Would to God that experience had
not taught us only too clearly the truth of this in the case of so
many unhappy souls! Thus we sin with Peter; I acknowledge
it, and the consciences of most men will upbraid them with this
truth. And would that we had only sinned thrice, like Peter —
nay, that we had not exceeded the hundreth or the thousandth
time!
Meanwhile, what is the worst of all, where are our tears of re- But we
pentance? where our sincere contrition and satisfaction? When ™!?,1fh^!
*• W 3,11 trUOSG
Peter was reminded of his fall by the crowing of the cock he sins, for we
did not lose a moment, but at once left the company that had led
him into sin, and went and did penance. How often does the
cock crow for you, 0 sinner! for what else is the voice of con
science? what else the divine inspirations? what else the exhor
tations of preachers in the pulpit, which St. Gregory well likens
to the crowing of the cock? What else do all these say, but:
0 sinner! arise; you have sinned enough; you have of ten enough
denied your God! Leave that occasion, give back that unjustly
acquired property, be reconciled with your enemy; go at once and
do penance, otherwise you are lost forever! And what notice do
you take of these exhortations? Let who will exhort and cry out to
you, you remain seated in the house of Caiphas, with the maid
at the fire-place, in impurity, in your old inveterate bad habits,
from day to day, from year to year. I will do penance, you say,
1 Hsec omnia tibi dabo.— Matt. iv. 9,
68 On the Holy Apostles Peter and PauL
but not now. When, then? Oh, later on! Later on! Many a
one has been brought to the fire of hell by those words. Later
on! the seed and origin of all misfortune. Later on! how long is
that for many souls, who keep putting off repentance from day
to day, and at last find themselves at the gate of eternity, when
repentance is of no avail!
shown by a « ^aii passeth as an image/' 1 says David; like a shadow or a
picture. These words are understood by St. Basil of those sin
ners who always defer repentance, and never carry out their good
resolutions. Look at the pictures in your room; here you see a
man holding up his hand to strike his enemy; there kneels a St.
Jerome about to beat his breast with a stone; there is a St. Francis
with a discipline; a St. Augustine with a pen; come to-morrow,
or in a year's time, and you will find them all in the same post
ure, still about to do the same things; the man will still raise
his hand to strike, Jerome raises his with the stone, Francis, with
the discipline, Augustine, with the pen. How long have they
been doing that? Twenty, thirty years, as long as the pictures
are in existence; nor will they cease while a shred of the paint
ing holds together; yet in all that time the sword never touched
the enemy, the stone of Jerome never bruised his breast, nor the
discipline of Francis his back, nor did the pen of Augustine
touch the paper. And how could it be otherwise, for they are
but lifeless pictures? " Man passeth as an image." Many a sin
ner passes through life like the picture. How long now is it
since you opened your mouth to say: I will go to confession; I
will amend my life? How long since you raised your hand and
thought to yourself: I will make restitution of that ill-gotten
property? How long since you resolved to leave that house, that
company? It is now a year, and may be many years, since you
made up your mind to do those things, and they still remain un
done; you are just as you were long ago; you are immovable, like
the lifeless picture; your desires for better things were only emp
ty and inefficacious; you did not repent in reality.
seldom Bitterly and with many thousand tears did Peter bewail his
true contri- threefold sin. How do we act? Ah, would' that we had even
tion. one tear of sincere repentance for a hundred or a thousand sins
when we enter the confessional! 0 confessions of Christians,
how different ye are! They all cry: Peccavi! I have sinned! I
have sinned! I am heartily sorry! But how many who come with
1 In imagine pertransit homo.— Ps. xxxviii. 7.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 69
that degree of contrition and repentance are rejected by God! If
repentance consisted only in the words uttered by the mouth,, in
the ordinary prayers read out of the book,, then I could find vast
numbers of true penitents. But sorrow for sin does not consist in
words, but in the heart; and as many penitents are not truly con
trite of heart, it follows that their sorrow is not earnest, but only
apparent', and of no value in the sight of God as far as forgive
ness is concerned. Peter, after he had repented of his sin, never
again during his life did anything to cause him to repent. But
how do matters stand with us in this respect? When, as we im
agine, one sin of ours is blotted out in confession we at once set
about committing another; and we keep on alternating between
confession and sin, sin and confession, thus progressing still far
ther on the downward path of wickedness, until at last the hour
of death comes and we are not able to sin any more.
During his life Peter never ceased to deplore his fault, and to our repent,
do penance for it; but you, 0 sinner! who have offended you r but a short
God perhaps many hundred times, and denied Him, how long time,
do you bewail and do penance for your crimes? I have confessed
them, you say. And is that enough? Where is the satisfac
tion for the punishment you owe to God for your sins? I have
performed the penance enjoined on me; my mind is at rest; I
need not bother any further. Yet reflect a moment; if your
confession is good, and the guilt of your sins remitted, what
must you do to satisfy for all the punishment that still remains
due to you? There is no other alternative; you must either
punish yourself, or God will punish you, as St. Augustine says.1
Consider whether the laws of decency and gratitude do not re
quire you to try to atone, by leading a strict and holy life, for
the insults you have offered the Almighty? And for what are
you keeping your tears, if they are not to be shed for your past
sins? If a temporal calamity overtakes you you are troubled
and you weep. Ah, have you not caused yourself a calamity
great enough when you sinned, and by sin lost God, your soul,
heaven and all, and that, too, not once, but often? And is this
less to be deplored than a temporal misfortune, which all your
tears cannot avert, after all? Your wife, husband, child, friend
dies; you weep; but what good does that do? Can your tears
call the loved one back? You have suffered some loss in your
property; you weep; does that make the loss good? You have
1 Aut punis, aut puuit.
70 On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
many trials and crosses to bear; you sigh and moan; does that
lessen what you have to suffer? See how uselessly we squander
our tears on things of hardly any importance, which cannot be
avoided or remedied by all our weeping. On the other hand, if
by tears of true repentance we seek to regain the lost favor of
the Almighty, to extinguish the fire of hell, to escape all other
chastisements, and to make good all the harm and mischief done
by sin, we shall certainly succeed; and yet to gam all this one
tear seems too precious, an unnecessary, a superfluous trouble.
"I have sinned," we exclaim, "and what harm hath befallen
me?" ' 1 have offended God grossly and grievously; but what
of that? I have lost heaven; but what does that matter to me?
I have incurred such heavy debts by my sins; but they do not
trouble me; I will pay them all in eternity. 1 do not wish to
speak of those sinners of whom the wise Solomon says: "Who
are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked
things; " 2 who, instead of bewailing their sins, like the penitent
Peter, make a boast of them. How lucky I was the other day! says
the unjust man; I made all that money. What a pleasant day I
had! says the sensual man; I was completely drunk. What a
gratification it was for me to be revenged on my enemy! says the
vindictive man. What a fine opportunity I had of gratifying my
passions! says the unchaste man. "They are glad when they
have done evil." Oh, truly, their joy is a devilish one; they re
joice at what might with good reason make them shed tears of
blood!
prayer to 0 penance! what a glory and honor for thee, St. Peter! what
fortruere- :l sname and terror for us sinners! 0 penitent, and therefore
pentance. most glorious apostle, obtain from Our Lord for me and all sin
ners thy contrite heart, thy sorrowful soul, thy weeping eyes,
that we who have offended our God not less, but even more than
thou hast, may, like thee, at once do true and heartfelt penance,
leave sin and its occasions forever, and never cease till death to
bewail our sins, and to weep for the insults we have offered the
Almighty, so that we may love Him constantly till the end! I
go on to the other source of confusion for those of us who are
just, namely, the great apostle of the nations, St. Paul.
1 Peccavi, et quid mihi accidit triste ?— Ecclus. v,4.
2 Qui Icetantur cum malefecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis.— Prov. ii. 14.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 7 1
Second Part.
When I name St. Paul I speak of one whose like the world has st. Paul
seldom seen; he> was a vessel filled with the love of God and of 2e°^usMS
his neighbor; nay, as St. Chrysostom says, he was all pure char- chanty by
ity: "As the iron," such are the words of Chrysostom, " when wordi
placed in the fire, becomes all fire, so Paul, inflamed with char
ity, became all charity." 0 great St. Paul, to attempt to
portray that charity I should have thy mind and tongue to give
even a slight sketch of the height of divine love to which thou
didst ascend! Do you wish, my dear brethren, to know some
thing of the love St. Paul had? Kead the epistles he has left
us, in which you will find as many glowing arrows of love as
there are words. " As often as I read St. Paul," exclaims St.
Jerome, " I seem to hear not words, but claps of thunder; " a
thunderbolts inflamed with the zealous love of God. But why
do I refer to his words? Love does not consist in words, but is
shown especially by actions. He might have said a hundred
times with the lips, " the charity of Christ presseth us," 3 and
it would have mattered little if he had not shown his love in ac
tion; for, as St. Gregory says, " the proof of love is in the fulfil
ment of the work." St. Chrysostom, otherwise so eloquent,
acknowledges his utter incapacity for the task when he comes
to speak of the charitable works of St. Paul. Where, he asks,
is there a place in the world, a sea, a people that has not experi
enced his charity? " He went through all the regions of earth,
as if he had been a spirit freed from the trammels of the flesh," '
in order to further the glory of God.
If love is proved by many difficulties and trials, Paul might By bearing
appeal to all the tribulations that could possibly assail him from
heaven, earth, and even hell. Hear how he, as it were, defies them sake,
all: " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trib
ulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or per
secution? or the sword? In all these things we overcome because
of Him that hath loved us. For I am sure that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth,
1 Sicut ferrum mtssum in ignem, totus ignis efflcitur ; sic Paulus charitate succensus, to-
tus factus est charitas.
2 Quern quotiescumque lego, videor mini non verba audire, sed tonitrua.
8 Charitas Christ! urget nos.— II. Cor. v. 14.
4 Probatio dilectionis, exhibitio est operis.
6 Mundi regiones omn.es quasi libero a corpore ammo, pervolavit.
72 On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus, Our Lord." Where are ye,
then, 0 miseries of this life? Hunger, thirst, poverty, persecu
tion, martyrdom, torments, sickness, fire and sword, demons
from hell, that have cowed so many thousands, and taken the
heart from them; that have put to flight so many otherwise val
iant heroes, and brought them to despair, terror, and apostasy;
the bare imagination of which causes so many to shed tears, and
makes them shudder with apprehension; where are ye? Have
you lost your power? Is your strength gone? Come now and
set on Paul, and show what you can do! And indeed these ca
lamities did attack him, as he himself says: "Even unto this
hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffet
ed; we are reviled; we are persecuted; we are blasphemed; we
are made as the refuse of this world, the oif-scouring of all, even
until now." " Our flesh had no rest, but we suffered all tribn-
ulation; combats without, fears within." 3 " In many more la
bors, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths
often. Of the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was in the depth of the
sea. In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of rob
bers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles,
in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils from false brethren. In labor and painfulness, in
much watchings," and so on. But what have you gained with all
your raging and storming? You have not forced a tear from his
eye, a sigh from his heart. Hear how little he thinks of you,
how he laughs at you: "We glory also in tribulations."4 "I
am filled with comfort, I exceedingly abound with joy in all our
tribulation." His love of Christ was so great, says St. Chrysos-
1 Quis nos separabit a charitate Christ! ? Tribulatio ? an angustia ? an fames ? an nudi-
tas? an periculum? an persecutio? an gladius? In his omnibus superamus propter eum,
qui dilexit nos. Certus sum enim quia neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque princi-
patus, neque virtutes, neque instantia, neque futura, neque fortitude, ueque altitude, neque
profundum, neque creatura alia potent nos separare a charitate Dei, quse est in Christo
Jesu Domino nostra.— Rom. viii. 35, 37-39.
1 Usque in hanc horam et esurimus, et sitimus, et nudi sumus, et colaphis caedimur :
maledicimur, persecutionem patimur, blasphemamur, tanquam purgamenta hujus mundi
facti sumus, omnium peripsema usque adhuc. — I. Cor. iv. 11-13.
3 Nullam requiem habuit caro nostra, sed omnem tribulationem passi sum us : f oris pugnae,
intus timores.— II. Cor. vii. 5.
4 Sed et gloriamur in tribulationibus.— Rom. v. 3.
6 Repletus sum consolatione, euperabundo gaudio in omni tribulatione nostra.— II. Cor.
vii. 4.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 73
torn, that he only made fun of difficulties, and looked on all ty
rants as so many grasshoppers; bruises and buffetings he regarded
no more than fly-blows; pain, suffering, and death seemed to him
a desirable reward: " To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." '
Come, then, 0 world, with thy caresses, by which thou dost take
so many away from the love of God! Show to Paul all thou
canst give him, take from him all thou rnayest, and what does
it all matter to him? Even as much as if thou hadst given to
or taken from him a handful of filth: "I count all things to be
but loss, for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord,
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things; and count them
but as dung, that I may gain Christ." a
0 charity of the Apostle! 0 shame of modern Christians! we show
Hear, my dear brethren, how he invites us to imitate him: " I of^Move8
beseech you, be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ." 3 of God by
And again: " Be ye as I." 4 0 great Saint, cease those exhorta- our works-
tions, otherwise thou wilt reduce us to faintness and despair!
Must we all be like thee? love like thee? bear trials and difficul
ties like thee? Ah, some art would be required for that! We
are altogether too delicate for such a mode of life! If you invit
ed us into the third heaven, there to behold the joys that no
eye has seen, nor ear heard of, we might perhaps endeavor to
follow thee at once; but we are not at all ready to take on our
shoulders the crosses thou hadst to bear. Oh, how tepid the love
of God in the hearts of us men nowadays! How far different
we are from our forefathers! Nor am I speaking now of what
the children of the world love against the law of God; I am
speaking of just and pious souls, who think they are doing won
ders for God's sake. The proof of love does not consist in words,
in long prayers, but, as we have seen already, in the performance
of works. Where are our works that resemble those of Paul?
Alas, in vain do I seek for them! A hand lifted up to heaven,
a penny given to a poor man, rising an hour earlier than usual
in the morning, going a few steps distant to visit a church, hear
ing the word of God for an hour, giving a fast day or a day of
devotion to God alone, bearing a word of insult or suffering a
1 Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum.— Philipp. i. 21.
2 Existimo omnia detrimentum esse propter erainentem scientiam Jesu Christ! Domini
mei ; propter quern omnia detrimentum feci, et arbitror ut stercora, ut Christum lucrifaci-
am.-Ibid. iii. 8.
3 Rogo ego vos, imitatores mei estote, sicut et ego Christi.— I. Cor. iv. 16.
4 Estote sicut ego.— Gal. iv. 12.
74
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
By Impa
tience in
trials.
We have
little love
for our
neighbor.
slight injury for God's sake — even that much seems a great deal
to us.
No creature could separate Paul from the love of God. Ala>:,
an}' creature that attracts our attention brirgs our hearts and
thoughts away with it! the smallest thing can make our charity
cold and tepid, and even lead us into mortal, or at least deliber
ate venial sin. Which of us would dare to challenge all the trials
of life as St. Paul did? Oh, no! keep off; we have too much of
you as it is! Persecution, tyranny, imprisonment, stripes, ston-
ings, sword and death, keep away from us! AVe do not desire
you, as Paul did. Would that we could even bear our daily
trials with more patience for God's sake! Every little annoyance
makes us cross, every sickness makes us impatient, every insult
arouses our anger, every loss troubles us, every misfortune dis
turbs our reason, poverty depresses, the death of a friend fills us
with grief, every trial makes us desperate, so that we refuse to be
comforted; in a word, all trials are hateful to us, and thus we
show how cold is our love of God. The love of God made Paul
forget himself, and speak of nothing, know nothing, think of
nothing but Christ, his love; his mind was always with Christ
in heaven, and he wore himself away in the service of God on
earth: " Our conversation is in heaven." 1 "I judged not my
self to know anything among you but Jesus Christ, and Him
crucified." 2 On the other hand, our hearts are fixed to earth,
our thoughts are for the greater part occupied with worldly
things, and even in prayer we know nothing of Christ sometimes.
The love of God made Paul to suffer with those that were sick,
to be in trouble with the afflicted, to be poor with the poor, to
be, as it were, ignorant with the ignorant, to be all things to all
men, to be the servant and slave of all. " Whereas I was free as to
all, I made myself the servant of all, that I might gain the more.
I became all things to all men, that I might save all." 3 Nay, so
great was his love for God that he was willing to suffer the great
est evils, even for his worst enemies and persecutors, if he could
only thereby convert and bring them to heaven: " I wished my
self to be an anathema from Christ for my brethren." 4 It was
harder for his love, says St. Chrysostorn, to see others lose their
» Nostra conversatio in ccelis est.— Philipp. iii. 20.
a Non judicavi me scire aliquid inter vos nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc cruciflxum.—
I. Cor. ii. 2.
* Cum liber essem ex omnibus, omnium ire servum feci, ut plures lucrifacerem. Omni-
bus omnia factus sum, ut omnes facerem salvos. — Ibid. ix. 19, 22.
4 Optabam enim ego anathema esse a Christo pro fratribus meis.- Iloin. ix. 3.
On the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. 75
souls than for himself to be damned, without any fault of his
own, so eager was he that God might be blessed by many souls
during eternity. IIovv is it with our love of our neighbor in
this respect? Those who are according to our own heart and
inclination, who do us no harm, but always please us — these we
love; these we willingly associate with and do good to. But there .
is no great skill required for that; heathens and Turks, nay, cats
and dogs, can do as much. But where is our love for our enemies?
Is there one towards whom we have a natural dislike, whose way
of acting does not chime in with our humor, who has injured or
spoken ill of us? Him we do not wish to see or hear; his society
we avoid; with him we can have nothing to do; although the law
of God commands us to love our worst enemy even as ourselves,
and to treat him as we love him. 0 charity of Paul! I must
again exclaim. 0 shame of modern Christians! We are in the
number of those of whom them hast said: ''Having an appear
ance, indeed, of godliness, but denying the power thereof; " ' we
carry love on our lips, but have little of it in our hearts.
I conclude, my dear brethren, with the words of St. John Chrys- Exhortation
ostom: "You are no better than Paul or Peter. If you wish to to repent
gain the same reward as they did, why do you go by a different way with Peter<
to that travelled by them?" a Were not those holy apostles men ^1^7
like us? As far as the sinner is concerned, there is no other way ail things,
for him but, with Peter, to repent of and do penance for his sins; wlthpaul-
otherwise he can have no hope of eternal happiness. And as for
the just, they must persevere in the love of God and their neigh
bor; otherwise they will not enter heaven. I dare not and will not
say that we must be as earnest and zealous as St. Paul in the love
of God and our neighbor; otherwise wo to me! But that we may
not go away without some fruit and comfort, we shall at least
learn this lesson from the panegyric of that great Saint: that
no matter how holy and pious we seem to be, we must always pre
serve ourselves in humility before God and men by remembering
how small and mean our virtues are, compared to the wonderful
virtues of St. Paul. If we cannot, like him, be inflamed with
such a perfect love of God that no creature can interfere with it,
let us at least love our God so constantly as never to consent to
mortal sin for the sake of any creature. If we cannot love like
1 Habentes speciem quidern pietatis, virtutem autem ejus ahnegautes.— II. Tim. iii. 5.
2 Tu neque melior Paulo es, neque Petro. Si vis eadem cum illis assequi; quare contra-
riam amlmlas viam?
7 6 On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
Paul, whose heart and mind were always in heaven with God, let
us at least so love as never to give place deliberately to unlawful
thoughts and desires, and often during the day direct our thoughts,
words,, and actions to God by the good intention. If our love of
Godis not so great that, like Paul, we wish and desire, as it were,
to endure all the torments and tribulations of the world, let us at
all events so love as to bear with patience for God's sake those
daily trials and troubles that we have to suffer, and which we can
not avoid in any case. If we cannot, with Paul, roam the world
through love of our neighbor, and convert many souls by our
preaching, let us at least bring to God, by our good example, pa
ternal care, and Christian training, the servants and children com
mitted to our charge, and teach them to fear and love God. If
we cannot and will not, with Paul, sacrifice our health, our well-
being and profit, nay, our own soul, for the good of our neighbor,
let us at all events love all our brethren, look on all as our brothers
and sisters, and help the poor and needy according to our means.
Then we shall have derived fruit enough from this sermon. Yes,
0 Lord, such shall be now the resolution of one and all of us!
1 and all sinners will do penance with Thy servant Peter, and we
shall spend the days of our lives in bewailing our past sins! I,
along with all the just, if I may count myself among them,
will endeavor to follow Thy servant Paul at least at a distance,
and so love Thee, my God, above till things that no sin shall ever
again separate 'me from Thy grace and friendship. Amen.
FORTY-FOURTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. ANDREW.
Subject.
St. Andrew was the first disciple and follower, the first helper
of Christ; therefore, before others, he was a worthy servant of
Christ, and an apostle of God.— Preached on the feast of St.
Andreiv.
Text.
Andreas Christi famulus, dignus Dei apostolus. — (From the
office of the day. )
"Andrew, the servant of Christ, the worthy apostle of God/'
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 77
Introduction.
Were not, then, all the apostles servants of Christ? Were they
not all made worthy to become apostles of God? There is not
the least doubt of it. Why, then, does the Catholic Church give
to St. Andrew alone, and not to the others, this praise, that he is
"a servant of Christ, and a worthy apostle of God"? Either she
could say nothing of him but what could also be said of the others,
or she uses those words with some special meaning. This latter
is indeed the case, my dear brethren, for when I consider the
matter, I find something in St. Andrew, special to himself, that
could not be said of the other apostles and disciples of Christ; on
account of which the Church praises him in the manner quoted.
And what is that? The others were apostles and disciples of
Christ, but Andrew was the first of them all. The others helped
Christ in the work of converting souls, but Andrew was the first
of all to help Him. There you have the subject of this pane
gyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Andrew ivas the first disciple and follower, and at the same
time the first helper of Christ; therefore, before others, he was a
worthy servant of Christ and apostle of God : such is the whole
subject. What we have to learn from it will appear from the
moral lesson to he drawn.
Christ Jesus, we beg of Thee, by the merits of Thy Moth
er, Mary, and the intercession of our holy guardian angels, to
strengthen us with Thy grace, that we may imitate Thy holy
servant and apostle Andrew, even if only at a distance.
When something has to be done that is unusual., rare, and at the He who is
same time dangerous and difficult, generally speaking, no one is ^a^ythki
willing to be the first to commence it. We say to ourselves: No, unusual
I will not meddle with it; who knows how it may turn out? I will amldlff
wait till others begin, and see how they get on. But he who vent- thy of ad-
ures to be the first to undertake the business is looked on as either miration,
daring, or as brave and heroic, or as wise and far-seeing. Thus
people say: I should like to know who was the first to vent
ure his life on the sea; he must have been a daring man, or he
must have been much more clever than his fellows. And without
doubt they who were present at that first venture must have
trembled with dread, and been filled with amazement when they
78
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
saw the rash man set forth. But to-day no one is astonished to
see countless numbers committing their fortunes to the raging
deep, for there have been so many who have returned safe to land.
If an unlettered artisan, whose sole occupation has been to patch
up old shoes, were to set himself up as a doctor, what sick per
son would venture to be the first to entrust his life to him? I
certainly should not care to be the first nor the twentieth to
leave my health in the hands of such a man; nor should I vent
ure on such a step until I had learned by experience that he
had succeeded in curing many. Suppose, further, that a poor,
strange, unknown man were to come into this city and to en
deavor to upset all the old traditions and customs hitherto ob
served herein, to replace them by an altogether new and unheard-
of order of things, and to secure his end by trying to gain as
many as possible of the people over to his way of thinking; how
long do you imagine he would have to wait before finding
partisans? Not a single one would he find to agree with his pro-,
ject, much less to give up his business and attach himself to the
new order. Eh! do we not know this well? It is not an easy
matter to persuade people who are apparently good and pious
to give up certain customs that they themselves acknowledge to
be useless, and that certainly are scandalous, and to be more mod
est and Christian in their lives and conduct. If others like my
self do it, they say, then I will follow suit; but I do not wish to
be the first to begin a thing of the sort. I myself have heard
many say in a similar case: If one can be found to be the first to
do away with this abuse, I will be the second. See; nearly all de
sire to see things amended, but no one wishes to commence, and
thus the change is never effected.
But to my subject, my dear brethren. St. Andrew was a heroic
anc^ far-seeing man when, having seen Our Lord for the first time,
he at once went with Him and became His disciple. Consider
a^ *^e circumstances, and you will wonder at this exploit of the
to adoptnis holy apostle. Christ came forward to deliver His doctrine to the
c" people; it was quite a new doctrine, of which the world had hith
erto heard nothing, a doctrine that was to upset all other forms
of religion; one that utterly contradicted those sacred usages and
ceremonies peculiar to the Jewish religion, that Andrew and all
the Jewish people had always professed, namely, the law of Moses,
that had hitherto been held in the highest honor, and could
point for so many years to its patriarchs, prophets, judges, kings,
such was
the first to
Christ and
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 79
and high-priests; a law that was made illustrious in the world hy
the glorious temple, in which so many sacrifices of praise, thanks
giving, and atonement had been offered to the Almighty by His
own command; a law, the followers of which were called the
chosen people of God. All who received the teaching of Christ
and acknowledged themselves His disciples had to renounce that
law and look on it henceforth as invalid. Truly, that was a
strange doctrine; one that preached a hard, strict law, opposed to
all sensuality; a law that spoke of nothing but mortification, hu
miliation, self-denial, chastising the flesh, loving one's enemies,
detaching one's heart from all earthly things and riches, despising
the world, and shunning all worldly customs; a law that repre
sented happiness to be found in weeping, poverty, persecution,
and so forth. Could we believe it possible, my dear brethren,
that in those days even one man could be found in the whole
world to adopt such a teaching; nay, that even one would listen
to Christ when propounding such a law? See, now, what a won
derful man Andrew was. Hardly had he heard John the Bap
tist say of Our Lord, as He was passing by: " Behold the Lamb of
God!" ' when he at once followed Him and asked Him: " Rabbi,
where dwellest Thou? " 2 He then went with the Lord, arid,
as St. John tells us, heard -His doctrine for a whole day. This
alone was enough to convince him that Jesus was the true Mes-
sias, and to induce him at once to proclaim himself a disciple of
Christ, and to live according to His doctrine.
Yes, you think; but what did the other apostles and disciples Truly,
do? And countless numbers followed their example afterwards; °um^e|"s
' havefol-
and all good Christians in our own days do the same; all have lowed the
truly adopted the same wonderful teaching that is so opposed to samed
sensuality, and have determined to live as followers of Jesus they had ex-
Christ. What, then, is there in Andrew that deserves so much araPles-
wonder? What! Do you not vet see the difference, as I ex
plained it to you in the introduction? It is one thing to follow
where many have preceded, and another to be 'the first to strike
out on an unknown path, without any predecessor to guide you.
"There is a great difference," says St. Chrysostom, "between
entering on a smooth and easy road, where many travellers have
already passed, and venturing on a way that has to be made with
difficulty, that is full of stones and beset with wild beasts, and by
1 Ecce Agnus Dei !— John i. 36.
' Rabbi, ubi habitas?— Ibid. 38.
So On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
which no traveller has as yet journeyed." Who will not admit
that the first task is much easier than the second? True it is
that countless Christians have adopted the doctrine of Christ, but
the way they entered on was smoothed and made easy for them
by others. Soldiers rush forward to the walls of the besieged
city with much greater intrepidity when they see that many of
their comrades have succeeded in mounting. Much readier is
the fisherman to throw himself into the water to swim when he
sees others swimming about in safety. Did you ever read how
those soldiers acted who had Simon Machabeus as their general?
They came to a swollen torrent that separated them from the en
emy; they were afraid of their lives to cross, and not one of them
would have ventured had not Simon himself first made the at
tempt; then they all vied with one another in following him : " He
went over first; then the men,, seeing him, passed over after him." Q
So powerful is the example of the first that it draws thousands
after it, while, on the other hand, in a thousand you will hardly
find one who will dare to be the first to attempt anything with
which danger or difficulty is connected.
Andrew Therefore what is most to be wondered at in the holy apostle
otaiitodo Sk. Andrew is the fact that he first of all ventured on the
this, and unknown way, and became an adherent of Christ. And I cannot
whii^ch'rist ^P thinking: What had he seen in Our Lord to bring him so sud-
was stm un- denly to such a resolution ? Imagine, my dear brethren, that poor,
incwnand unlettered man of whom we have already spoken, who wishes to
ne-vorid. Pass as a doctor, and think what qualities he would be likely to
possess to gain the respect and sympathy of the world, and then
you will have some idea of that man who then called Himself Je
sus Christ, as He appeared before the world, to astound it by the
doctrine He came to preach. For in the eyes of the world He
was a lowly, ignorant, poor, unsophisticated artisan, unknown
until that moment, hidden away in the cottage at Nazareth, earn
ing His bread by the labor of His hands; He was one of whom
the people could -say no more than that He was a carpenter, who
had never learned anything but His trade. His own countrymen,
when they heard Him teaching in the synagogue, asked with
amazement: " How came this man by this wisdom? Is not this
the carpenter's son ? Is not His mother called Mary ? " How, then,
1 Non aequalis est labor viam tritam et plane paratam post rnultos ingredi viatores ; atque
-aam quae nunc secanda est prirao, quseque praerupta et saxosa, ferisque plena, nee ullam
adnuc viatorem admisit.
' Transfretavit primus, et viderunt eum viri, et transierunt post eum. — I. Mach. zvl. 6.
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 81
can He teach others? "And they were scandalized in His regard; " *
so that there was little chance of their listening to Him favorably
and following His doctrine. Such, too, was the opinion formed of
Him by the Jews when they heard Him in the temple: " And the
Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters, having
never learned? " 2 Moreover, He was still an object of hatred and
execration to the scribes and chief men of the people; nay, they
conspired together, and agreed to put out of the synagogue any one
who should venture to become His disciple: "For the Jews had al
ready agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess
Him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." 3
See, now, how this poor, lowly artisan persuaded Andrew in one in
terview to be the first to follow Him; a circumstance of which Sal-
meron well says: " The greatest praise that can be given to An
drew consists in this, that he was the first who dared to believe in
Christ." And still greater praise is due to him because he gave
up all he had, although he was only a poor fisherman, in order to
follow Our Lord. For he might with good reason have said:
Master, Thou art so poor that Thou hast neither house nof home;
nor have I anything, except what I can earn by my daily labor.
Now if I follow Thee, I shall have to leave my trade, give up my
nets and boat; and then how shall we manage to live? But no
such excuse fell from the lips of Andrew, for as soon as he had
spoken to Christ he acknowledged Him as the true Messias, and
went with Him as His disciple, without any delay or consideration
as to where the means of livelihood were to come from.
And how did he know that Christ was the Messias? I know well Nor had h€
that afterwards Nicodemus, one of the chiefs of the Pharisees, Lori work
and a prince among the Jews, believed Our Lord to be the Messi- any mh-a-
as, but that was after many great miracles had been wrought. cle'
"Kabbi," he said, " we know that Thou art come a teacher from
God." How did he know that? "For no man can do these ,
signs which Thou dost unless God be with him." ' For the same
1 Unde huic sapientia haec? Nonne hie est fabri fllius? Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria?
Et scandalizabautur in eo.— Matt. xiii. 54, 55, 57.
3 Et mirabantur Judaei, dicentes: quomodo hie literas scit, cum nondidicerit? — John vii.
15.
3 Jam enim conspiraverant Judaei, utsi quis eum confiteretur ease Christum, extra syna-
gogam fleret.— Ibid. ix. 22.
4 Profecto maxima laus Andreae est, quod primus omnium se ausus fuerit credere Christo.
— Salm. Com. 4. Tract. 17.
6 Rabbi, scimus quia a Deo venisti magister ; nemo enim potest haec signa facere, quae tu
facis, nisi fuerit Deus cum eo.-John ill. 2.
82 On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
reason many of the people in Jerusalem believed in Our Lord:
" Many believed in His name, seeing His signs which He did." '
The same motive impelled others to follow Him in thousands
into the desert, in spite of having to suffer hunger and thirst:
" A great multitude followed Him, because they saw the miracles
which He did on them that were diseased. " : Truly, it is not sur
prising that a great multitude of people should run after Christ,
and see that there was something more than human in Him, af
ter they had beheld the water turned into wine, tne multiplica
tion of the loaves, the healing of the sick with one word, the
instantaneous curing of the dumb and blind, of the lame and par
alytic, the expulsion of demons, the raising of the dead to life,
for no sound reason could resist the influence of such wonders
as these. But for one to believe in a poor, unknown, and lowly
man, and to follow him at the first word as the saviour of the
world, before he had worked any miracles — that is something that
human reason cannot grapple with. For what is most surprising
in the conduct of Andrew is the fact that Our Lord had not yet
worked any sign when Andrew followed Him as His disciple.
As the Evangelist tells us, the first miracle was wrought after
wards, at the marriage-feast of Cana, where Our Lord and sever
al of His disciples were present: "Jesus also was invited, and
His disciples, to the marriage." There Our Lord changed the
water into wine: " This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana
of Galilee, and manifested His glory."' So that Andrew had
as yet seen nothing wonderful done by Jesus, and yet lie believed
in Him.
Hence he 0 what a wonderf ul man ! Truly, I must repeat, with the
deserves to iea,rned Salmeron: The greatest praise that can be given to An-
and praised, drew consists in this, that he was the first who dared to believe
in Christ. " See," he continues, " what light must have been
. suddenly infused into him, to enable him to recognize the Mes-
sias." & The Doctors of the Church can therefore hardly find
terms expressive enough in which to praise him. " He had," says
de Lyra, " the privilege of being the first disciple of Christ, the
1 Multl crediderunt in nomine ejus, videntes signa ejus qua? faciebat.— John ii. 23.
2 Sequebatur eum multitude magna, quia videbant signa, quae faciebat super his qui In-
flrmabantur.— Ibid. vi. 2.
8 Vocatus est autem et Jesus et discipuli ejus ad nuptias.— Ibid. ii. 2.
4 Hoc fecit initium signorum Jesus in Cana Galilaeae, et manifestavit gloriam suam.— Ibid.
11.
* Vide huic quantum repente luminis sit infusum, ut Messiam agnoverit.— Salm. loc. cit.
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 83
first to point out the promised Messias." " 0 sweet apostle,
and first calling of the Saviour!" cries out St. Peter Damian.1
St. Lawrence Justinian calls him the first foundation of the
Church : " He was truly worthy of being the foundation-stone for
the building of the people into the house of God.": By others
he is called "the dean of the college of the apostles."' " He
was," says St. Thomas of Aquin, " the first to be perfectly con
verted to the faith of Christ, and he was also the first to preach
Christ; as Stephen was the first martyr after Christ, so Andrew
was the first Christian."1
Mark those words of the angelic Doctor, my dear brethren, He was also
" he was also the first to preach Christ." Not only was Andrew !;he flra* to
J bring others
the first disciple of Christ, but he was also the first who showed to Christ,
himself as an active co-operator with Christ, who won many for
Him by his persuasion. For as soon as he knew who Our Lord
was he gave himself no rest, but ran at once with joy and exul
tation to his brethren, to gain them also for Our Lord: " He find-
eth first his brother Simon, and saith to him: We have 'found
the Messias. And lie brought him to Jesus." " He did not
keep for himself alone the treasure he had found," says St.
Thomas, " but ran at once to his brother, to share with him the
goods he had received."7 "For the true way of finding God
and being zealous in His love is to have a care of the salvation of
our brethren," says the Venerable Bede.8 Cardinal Hugo, speak
ing of the text, "he findeth first his brother," says: "That is,
before he found others. Whereby we are told that Andrew
called many to Jesus."1 Probably he went about and told all
whom he met of the joyful news of having found the Messias,
1 Hanc prgerogativam habuit, quod fuit primus Christ! discipulus, primusque qui Messiam
promissum digito monstravit .— Lyran. in c. 1. Joan.
2 O dulcis apostolus, et primitiva vocatio Salvatoris!— S. Pet. Dam. Serm. 2. de S. And.
3 Dignus certe, qui sediflcandis in domo Dei populis lapis esset ad fundamentum.— S. Laur.
Just. Serm. 29. de Sanctis.
4 Decanus collegii apostolici.
5 Prior conversus est ad fldem Christi perfecte, turn etiam Christum primus praedicavit ;
unde sicut Stephanus fuit primus martyr post Christum, ita et Andreas fuit primus Christi
anas.
6 Invenit hie primum fratrem suum Simonen, et dicit ei : invenimus Messiam. Et addux-
it earn ad Jesum. — John i. 41, 42.
7 Non detinuit apud se inventum thesaurum, sed festinat et currit cito ad fratrem, tradi-
turus el bona quag susrepit.
8 Hoc est enim vere Deum in venire, vere illius dilectione f ervere, f raternse quoque salutis
curam gerere. — Beda in Catech. D. Thorn.
9 Id est, antequam alios inveniret. In quo notatur, quod multos vocavit Andreas et Je
sum.
84 On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
and urged them to go with him and become disciples. Be that
as it may, when he brought Peter to Christ he brought Him
half the world. For what did not Peter afterwards do for Our
Lord? In one day he converted three thousand infidels, on an
other occasion five thousand, and finally he won to Christ count
less souls. Now it was Andrew, and Andrew alone, who brought
into Our Lord's net this great fish, that caught the world, as
Salmeron remarks: "Andrew has the name of being the first
Christian, and the first who preached Christ and brought the
first fish, namely, Peter, into the net of the gospel to Christ."1
"Behold!" exclaims St. Peter Damian in astonishment, "An
drew in his very noviceship brings forth fruit, and becomes a
preacher of the truth he had but just heard; being made a new
disciple, he is not content with securing his own salvation; he
seeks to make other disciples; his fraternal charity moves him to
gain other souls." 2
And worked Now if his zeal for souls was so great in the beginning, when
he first knew Our Lord, how intense must it not have become af ter-
wards when, filled with the Holy Ghost, he entered on his apos-
tolate? Mark, my dear brethren, how Our Lord says to all the
apostles: (f Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel
to every creature;"8 a command they all obeyed, for they di
vided the world among them, and each went to the part of the
globe allotted to him and preached Jesus Christ: "But they,
going forth, preached everywhere." 4 Yet the Catholic Church
gives to Andrew this special praise, that he was the preacher and
ruler of the Church; for she prays thus on this feast: " 0 God, we
humbly beg of Thee that as the blessed Andrew was the preacher
and ruler of Thy Church," etc. Why is that? Doubtless the
Church wishes to show that among the apostles Andrew was a spe
cially zealous preacher of the gospel and propagator of the true
faith. And indeed he journeyed through many countries of the
world, and with unwearied toil gained many souls to Christ. He
preached the gospel in Scythia, as Origen testifies; in Ethiopia,
or the country of the Moors, as Sophonius says; and the Roman
1 Andreae nomen ponitur quasi primi Christian!, et Christum aliis prsedicantis, quique pri-
raum piscem, nempe Petrura, reti evangelico ad Christum traxit.— Salm. loc. cit.
2 Ecce Andreas inter ipsa novi tyrocinii sui rudimenta fructiflcat, et veritatis jam prae-
dicator efflcitur, cujus adhuc vix erat auditor ; novus discipulus factus, non est propria sa
lute contentus; condiscipulosquaerit ; adlucrandos alios fraternus se amor extendit.— 8. Pet.
Dam. Serm. 1. de S. Andrea.
8 Euntes in mundum universum, predicate evangelium omni creaturae.— Mark xvi. 15.
4 Illi autem profecti, praedicaverunt ubique.— Ibid. 30.
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 85
Martyrology relates how he spread the faith in Thrace, Cappa-
docia, Bithynia, and even to the borders of the Black Sea. St.
Gregory Nazianzen adds that he visited Albania; St. John Chrys-
ostom asserts that he preached the gospel in Greece. Oh, who
could count the number of souls that he gained for Christ in those
long journeys, through so many extensive provinces? Let it suf
fice to say, with Denis the Carthusian: " St. Andrew converted
countless souls to the faith." 1
And how long did that zeal continue in him? To his old age, Even to the
to the death of the cross: nay, what must strike all with aston- death°f the
cross, TOP
ishment, he continued to preach even in those circumstances, which he
at that time when nature imposes silence on the most eloquent ea^erly
tongue; for he preached Christ even while he was hanging on the
cross, suffering the most cruel agony, and struggling with death,
and expounded the truths of faith to a vast crowd even to his
latest breath, as we read in the history of his life.2 Truly, no
bridegroom ever longed so eagerly for the presence of his beloved
spouse as St. Andrew did for his cross: " When he saw the cross
afar off he began to exclaim: 0 good cross, long desired, earnest
ly loved, sought for without intermission, and now at last con
ceded to my earnest desires! receive me from among men, and
restore me to my Master." What a wonderful thing! exclaims
Denis the Carthusian : "Wholly filled with divine love, when he
saw the cross prepared for him his joy was so great that he
could hardly contain himself, and addressed the cross as if it
could understand him." So that Andrew was the first follow
er of Christ, the first helper of Christ, and therefore, before oth
ers, he was. " the servant of Christ, and a worthy apostle of God."
0 my dear brethren, would that each one of us could with Bewailing
truth be called "a worthy servant of God"! But, alas, howun- inspiteof'
like we are in this respect to the holy apostle St Andrew! He many good
was the first of all who followed the doctrine of Christ, and was ^nofre-
faithful to Him, although he had no example to encourage him mam true
to this step. We have the example of many thousands of both to
sexes who have sworn fidelity to the holy doctrine and law of Je
sus, and have been constantly faithful to Him till death; and yet
we cannot make up our minds to be true followers of Christ, and
1 Sanctus Andreas innumerabiles convertit ad fldem.
' Itaque cruci affixus est, in quabiduum vivus pendens, et Christi fldem nunquam praedi-
care Intermittent, ad eum migravit cujus mortis similitudinem concupierat.— Brev. Rom.
8 Divina dilectione plenissimus, visa sibi cruce parata, in tantum gavisus est, quod prte
tetitia se ipsum vix cepit, ipsamque crucem affatus est, quasi et ipsa intelligere posset.
86 On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
to order our lives according to his teaching! Such was the com
plaint uttered by the holy Pope Gregory, when writing on the
gospel of to-day: "You have heard, my dear brethren, how Peter
and Andrew at the first call left their nets and followed the Ee-
deemer; they had not as yet seen Him work any miracle, they had
not heard of any eternal reward from Him, and nevertheless, at
His first command they seemed to forget all they possessed. How
many miracles of His we have witnessed! How many stripes He
has visited us with! What threats He utters to deter us from
evil! And yet we refuse to come when He calls! He who has
exhorted us to repentance is now in heaven; He has already sub
jected the heathens to the yoke of the faith; He has overcome
the pomps of the world; by many calamities He warns us of the
approaching day of His strict justice; and yet our proud heart
will not relinquish that which we are daily obliged to lose against
our will. What, then, my dearest brethren, shall we be able to
say for ourselves in His judgment, since neither His commands
nor His punishments can wean us from the love of this world ? "
So did St. Gregory speak to the Christians of his time. Ma)>
not the same complaint be made nowadays of most of us Catho
lics? I know that we all boast of the name of Christian; we say
that we are servants and followers of Jesus Christ; but how do our
lives and actions harmonize with our professions?
They are Andrew, a true servant and follower of Christ, was the first who,
ashamed to . . . .
be the first m circumstances in which no one dared to join Our Lord, pro-
in the ser- fessed himself boldly as His disciple. 0 human respect, what
' power thou hast over us! For to please a mere mortal, or to
avoid displeasing him, we often trample on the law of God, omit
doing good, and do evil against the voice of our conscience! Nay,
we do the evil and omit the good even because we are ashamed to
be the first to proclaim ourselves openly as servants of God ! How
often does not the tolling of the bell warn us, when the Blessed
Sacrament is carried to the sick, of our duty to show the sover
eign Monarch of heaven the honor of accompanying Him? How
often are we not reminded in sermons that when the signal is
given we should, morning, midday, and evening, greet the Mother
of God on our knees by the recitation of the Angelus, in order to
gain the usual indulgences? that we should appear in the church
with humility and reverence, with downcast eyes, folded hands,
on both knees, as before the throne of God? that we should say
grace before and after meals with similar devotion? a custom
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 87
that, alas,, seems to have fallen almost into desuetude amongst
those people of the world who seem to belong to the better
classes! How often are we not exhorted in sermons to give up
this or that dangerous abuse, and so on? But at all this we shrug
our shoulders! No one will be the Andrew; no one will be the
first to show due honor to his God. If others like myself do it,
such is the un-Christian excuse put forward, then I will follow
them; but I am ashamed to be the first. As if it were a shame to be
the first among the servants of God! Fie! Should not every one
look on it as the greatest honor and glory to be before others in
good? If the favor of a mortal sovereign is to be gained, if a hand
ful of money is to be made anywhere, if a lucrative post is to be
obtained, do we then think or say: I am ashamed to be the first?
Oh, no! here every one will be a good Andrew; every one strives
to prevent others from being beforehand with him. But where
there is question of the true service of God, of the salvation of
the soul, of the grace and favor of the sovereign Monarch, of the
eternal happiness of heaven — then we look at others, and consider
what they do; then no one will be the first to put in his claim;
every one wishes to be the last. " What, then, dearest brethren,
shall we say for ourselves in the judgment?" Alas, dear Chris
tians! what shall we have to urge in our defence before the tribunal
of God, when He Himself will show us how He will act in our re
gard: " He that shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of
him the Son of Man shall be ashamed when He shall come in His
majesty, and that of His Father, and of the holy angels." '
Andrew was the first who, not content with following Christ Those wi»
himself, at once went and induced many to follow Him. My JJut^of **"
dear brethren, if we wish to be true servants and followers of leading
Christ, we, too, must show our zeal in this respect, and try to
gain other souls for Christ and heaven. God has given a charge
to every one concerning his neighbor; when occasion offers we
must endeavor, by fraternal correction, exhortation, and good ex
ample, to restrain others from evil and encourage them to good.
This is specially the case for you, Christian parents, fathers and
mothers, superiors, and others in authority. The great Father of
all has entrusted to your care the souls of your children, servants,
and subjects, that you may keep a watchful eye on their actions,
prevent and amend their sins and vices, keep them from the dan-
1 Qui me erubuerit, et meos sermones, hunc Films hominis erubescet, cum venerit in
oaajestate sua, et Patris, et sanctorum angelorum.— Luke ix. 26.
88 On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew.
gers and occasions of evil, teach them the fear and love of God,
and so one day restore them to Him in eternity; and wo to you
if you neglect or perform carelessly this, your bounden duty!
But, alas, how slothful most people are in this respect! In how
many cities and country places are not shameful abuses and pub
lic vices tolerated through the indifference of those who should
extirpate them, and who could do so! How many masters and
mistresses there are who take more care of their horses than of the
immortal souls of their servants! How many fathers and moth
ers who, when their sons or daughters experience a vocation to
the religious state or the priesthood, try to restrain them from
following it by caresses and endearments, by promises and threats,
by blows and hard usage, nay, what is most horrible, even by
leading them into sin! How many parents there are who can
not bear to see their children good and pious, and therefore send
them into foreign countries that they may learn to live according
to the maxims of the world ! How many parents who, by word
and exhortation and example, are the first to inculcate on their
children, from their very youth, the vanity and folly of the world,
and thus bring up those still innocent souls for the world and of
ten for the devil! Wo to you ! I say again. " What shall we say
for ourselves in the judgment?" How shall you answer before
the tribunal of God when He will ask at your hands those souls
entrusted to you?
Andrew> in order to follow Christ, unceasingly sought for the
Christ's cross, and when he saw it he rejoiced and exulted as if he had
sake. found the greatest treasure in the world. Christians! are we so
minded that for Christ's sake we are ready, I will not say to de
sire and seek crosses and trials, but to bear them contentedly
and cheerfully when they are sent to us? Oh, how true are the
words of Thomas a Kempis: "Jesus has now many lovers of
His heavenly kingdom, but few to bear His cross; many He has
who desire His consolations, but few who wish to share in His
sorrows; He has many companions at His table, but few in His
mortifications and fastings. All wish to rejoice with Christ,
but few desire to suffer with Him. Many follow Jesus to the
breaking of bread, but few follow Him in drinking the bitter
chalice of the passion. Many honor His wonders and miracles,*
few go with Him to the ignominy of the cross. Many love Je
sus as long as no trial comes in their way; many praise and
bless Him because they are comforted by Him; but if Jesus
to
On the Holy Apostle St. Andrew. 89
hides Himself and leaves them even for a little time, they either
complain or fall into the greatest despondency." Truly, such is
the case! Even those trials and crosses that we cannot avoid,
no matter how we try, and that, according to the well-meaning
intention of the Almighty, should be so many ladders to enable
us to mount up to heaven — even these we turn into a means of
thrusting ourselves down deeper into hell by our frequent and
wilful impatience, by our cursing and swearing, by murmuring
and complaining against God, and by giving way to despond
ency and despair. "What, then, dear brethren, shall we have
to say for ourselves in the judgment" when the sign of the
cross shall appear in the heavens as a consolation for those who
have willingly borne their cross, but as a source of terror to
those who have avoided it, or rejected it with disgust?
0 dear Saviour. I see now how vainly I have hitherto pro- conciusicr
fessed myself Thy follower! By my actions and mode of life I andpuriH,.1
have frequently contradicted what my lips have uttered, in spite st. Andre'
of the many examples of true servants of Thine that have gone
before me! Sometimes, when there was question of Thy pub
lic honor and glory, 1 was ashamed to be the tenth or twen
tieth when I should justly have been the first to show Thee
due reverence! Instead of using the many opportunities afford
ed me of leading souls to Thee, alas, how often have I not
turned them away from Thee by my dissolute manners, by in
structing them in evil, and by giving scandal and bad example?
The bare name of the cross has often quite disturbed me, al
though I cannot come to Thee in heaven except by the way of
the cross! Ah, God of infinite goodness, give me Thy powerful
grace that I may carry out what I now firmly resolve to do, and
to some extent, at least, tread in the footsteps of Thy worthy serv
ant and apostle, work zealously for my salvation and that of
others, lay aside all human respect, acknowledge myself as Thy
true servant, accept with resignation the crosses Thou art lay
ing on me and those Thou art minded to send me, love Thee
constantly, and so, with Thy holy apostle Andrew, ascend from
the cross to Thee in heaven. Amen.
90 On the Holy Apostle St. James.
FORTY-FIFTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. JAMES.
Subject.
The holy apostle James was an unwearied worker for the
glory of God and the salvation of souls; a labor for which he
was richly rewarded. — Preached on the feast of St. James.
Text.
Dignus est enim operarius mercede sua. — Luke x. 7.
"For the laborer is worthy of his hire."
Introduction.
Here Christ calls His apostles and disciples laborers, whom
He has sent out to preach the gospel and convert souls. And
this labor was indeed a grievous and troublesome task, which
they all undertook with the utmost zeal; so that they deserved
the reward promised them by the Lord: « Be glad and rejoice,
for your reward is very great in heaven." 1 My dear brethren,
if the reward is to be measured according to the greatness of
the labor, what are we to think of the recompense merited by
the holy apostle St. James, of whom I need not fear to say
that he was one of the most zealous laborers, nay, that he was
the most indefatigable of all? And this is the praise I now wish
to give this holy apostle.
Plan of Discourse.
The holy apostle James ivas an unwearied worker for the honor
of Christ and the salvation of souls ; a labor for which he was
richly rewarded. Such is the whole subject of this panegyric.
The moral lesson shall form the conclusion.
To understand it aright, give us Thy grace and light, 0 good
God ! This we beg of Thee through the intercession of Mary, of
our holy guardian angels, and of Thy holy laborer James.
wnatanin- There are many diligent laborers in the world, who do not,
workman is. however, merit the name of being indefatigable; some work, but
not so as to interfere with their comfort; they engage in occupa-
1 Gaudete et exultate, quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in coelis.— Matt. v. 12.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 91
Jiai; they can attend to with little trouble and without any
difficulty; others are busied the whole day in hard and difficult
• labor, whereat t.hey sweat and toil until they go home in the
evening, quite worn out; but they are compelled to work by
want and necessity of earning their daily bread, or they are
forced to it by the rich, who drive them to work by blows and
stripes; and hence laboj of that kind is not undertaken volun
tarily, but against their will, and with many murmurs and com
plaints, and sometimes oaths and curses. Others work willingly
as long as they succeed in their intent; but if things go wrong
with them they give up ia disgust. Of none of these can we
say that he is an indefatigable \vorker. To undertake great and
difficult tasks readily and willing-', despising all difficulties, and
to persevere in them v/ith eheerlucness and content, and, what
is the chief point, to keep at thenL rcnsiantly, although they help
little or nothing to the proposed end— -thtit is a mark of a really
indefatigable worker, who is determined to <io his duty.
Such was the holy apostle St. James. To travel unceasingly such was
barefoot through vast and unknown countries,1, to have to deal St-James:
for he un-
constantly with strange, uncultured, and oosth:ate people, to dertook
be hunted by them from one town to anothe^ to have nolmrdlabor
nourishment but bread and water, to suffer hunger «md thirst,
often for whole days, and meanwhile to preach un»jl he became
hoarse; after those wearisome occupations to spend the i^ght in
watching and prayer, or to sleep in the open field, or scmet:mes
in a barn, on the bare earth, for a few hours, and then to rise s*,id
begin the same tiresome work, and to keep at it year after year —
what think you, my dear brethren ? Is not that great, severe, and
harassing labor? See what a life St. James voluntarily em
braced when he began his apostolic preaching, and went to an
nounce the gospel of Christ to heathens and Jews, and to gain
many souls for heaven. In this toilsome work he consumed his
strength until death.
But, you will say, the other apostles did the same; for each of An& **"*'•>
them had his share of trouble, difficulty, discomfort, and suffer- utmost zeai
ing when preaching Christ in the part of the globe allotted to him. and J°y of
It is true, and I readily grant that in this respect what James h€
had and did was common to him with the others. But in this
difficult task I find something special in our apostle, as far as
the zeal, the eagerness, the joy are concerned, with which he
undertook to work for Christ. For, mark this well, he is the
92 On the Holy Apostle St. James.
only apostle who,, before all the others, and before they had di
vided the world among them, went forth to preach the gospel.
St. Vincent Ferrer, in his sermon on this feast, is of the opinion
that James, as soon as he heard the words of Christ, " go ye into
the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature, " ' ful
filled the command at once, and without any delay, or, as is
probable, at least after having received the Holy Ghost, went
and announced Christ to the heathens. " Who/' asks St. Vin
cent, " first went on this embassy, going into the whole world?
Not Peter, nor Andrew, nor John, but this James. The tra
dition of the churches of that province tells us that he went at
once into Spain, and there converted some to the faith." 2 That
such is the case is attested by Cardinal Baronius in his annota
tions on the Martyrology; for, he says, since St. James suffered
death in Jerusalem, before the world was divided among the
apostles, and they had separated in order to go to the different
provinces appointed for each one, it must necessarily be true
that he, as the most zealous of all, went into Spain immediately
after the death of St. Stephen. So great was his eagerness, his
longing to labor for Christ and for the salvation of souls, that he
could not wait for the division of the world, but had to go forth
at once to find some outlet for his fervor. Nay, he did not even
wait till he arrived in Spain. Immediately after the Ascension
of Christ he began to give public proofs of his zeal, and to preach
Christ, as we read in the Breviary in the lesson of to-day: " After
the ascension of Christ into heaven he preached His divinity in
Judea and Samaria, and converted souls. Presently he went into
Spain," although no part of the world had as yet been appointed
for him.
And what were the fruits of his labor there? Here we have
very Httie the chief proof of my proposition; for as far as being indefati
gable is concerned, St. James had none to equal him among all the
apostles in undergoing labors, sufferings, and persecutions for
Christ. How so? In the whole time during which he was in
Spain he only converted a few to the faith, as tradition says.
What was the exact number of the few? We know not. St.
Vincent Ferrer says he only converted nine.3 Others are of the
1 Euntes in mundum universum, predicate evangelium omni creaturae.— Mark Ixvi. 15.
2 Quis hanc legationera exequebatur, eundo per mundum? Non Petrus, nee Andreas,
nee Joannes, sed Jacobus iste. Mox Hispaniam adiisse, et ibi aliquos ad fldem convertisse,
ecclesiarumillius provinciae traditio est.— S. Vine. Fe.r. Serm. in hoc festo.
3 Solum novem discipulos convertit.— S. Vine. loc. cit.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 93
opinion that he gained only seven souls to Christ during his
stay in Spain. Is that all? Yes, that is all he gained there by
his labor. Afterwards, when he returned to Jerusalem, shortly
before his death, he converted two sorcerers, Hermogenes and
Phigellus, and brought them to the light of the true faith;
but they relapsed soon after, and went back to their former
errors, as is clearly stated in the Second Epistle of St. Paul to
his disciple Timothy: "Thou knowest this, that all they who
are in Asia are turned away from rne, of whom are Phigellus
and Hermogenes/' And again: "And their speech spreadeth
like a canker; of whom are Hymeneus and Philetus, who have
erred from the truth."2 So that if the opinion of those writ
ers quoted above is true, only seven altogether remain of all
whom James converted during his whole apostolate outside of
Judea. But, you may well ask me, what do you mean by this?
You undertook to describe to us the great exploits of this apos
tle as something worthy of our admiration. We were expecting
to hear wonderful things of him; how he converted millions of
Jews and heathens; and now you tell us that the number of his
converts was so wretchedly small! Is there, then, an extraordi
nary meed of praise due to him for having converted so few ? Yes,
my dear brethren, from this very fact appears most clearly how
admirable and praiseworthy is this apostle in his really unwear
ied efforts to procure the glory of Christ and the salvation of
souls.
For, think and consider well what a grievous disappointment HOW
it is to work hard and effect nothing or little. How disappoint- JJjJoJ1^*0
ing for the hunter to roam about in the forest all day, and not effect notn-
find a single head of game. How annoying for the fisherman to ing-
drag his nets all day, and catch nothing but a few worthless fish
es. What were the feelings of the disciples when they had la
bored all the night and caught nothing? They had already given
up work and were washing their nets when Our Lord came up to
them. "Launch out into the deep," said He to Peter, "and
let down your nets for a draught." But the latter replied,
" Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken noth-
1 Scis hoc, quod aversi sunt a me omnes qui in Asia sunt, ex quibus est Phigellus et Her
mogenes. — II. Tim. i. 15.
2 Sermo ut cancer serpit ; ex quibus est Hymenaeus et Philetus, qui a veritate exciderunt.
—Ibid. ii. 17, 18.
94 On the Holy Apostle St. James.
ing; " f we are tired of fishing. And so it is. Never is the man
of business more chagrined than when he returns from the
market after a long, difficult journey, and has made but little
profit on his wares; if I had known how things were to go,
he thinks to himself, I should have stayed at home. Never is
the husbandman more acutely disappointed than when he has
nothing to bring into his barns after having well tilled and sown
his lands; what did I give myself so much trouble for, he says;
I might have taken things easier. Never is the owner of a vine
yard more annoyed than when, in spite of all his labor, he hard
ly brings home a few bunches of grapes at vintage time. And
if these people were thus unsuccessful three, four, or five con
secutive years they would begin to despair, and the one would
give up his traffic, the other his tillage, the third his vine
yard. In a word, experience teaches us how true it is that labor
in vain is the most disagreeable kind of labor, and that which
tires us quickest.
while ex- On the other hand, to labor, and to labor long and hard, where
u*achesthat tnere *s a prospect of gaining the desired end and making a
ir, is easy to great profit — oh, that is an easy and a consoling task. If the
work when }msbandman has to work hard from morning till night in the
the desired
fruit is field, gathering his crops, heaping them on wagons, and storing
gained. them in his barns in rich abundance, who would say that he is
an indefatigable workman? Who would wonder at the diligence
of the merchant, who, barely taking time enough for his meals,
is hard at work every day in his shop, receiving money, and heap
ing it up in his coffers? Who would say: What an indefatigable
man! he is certainly not tired of working? Eh! why should he
be? In such circumstances that is no labor or trouble for those
people; it is rather a pleasure and delight for them; and their
satisfaction is so great that they can hardly sleep at night think
ing of their gains. But have they not labored and toiled the
whole day? Yes; but what immense gains they have made by
their work! Therefore they have not found the least difficulty
in it, but rather joy and pleasure. Useful and lucrative labor,
I repeat, is easy, sweet, and full of consolation. And again ex
perience teaches us the truth of this.
This is es- This is especially the case with those apostolic men, who, im-
Dpoifillv thp
1 Due in altum, et laxate retia vestra in capturam. Praeceptor, per totam noctem laboran
tes, niliil cepimus.— Luke v. 4, 5.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 95
tion of souls, and by their labor convert many and bring them to apostolic
Christ in heaven. Oh, what joy! what an indescribable heavenly la
consolation such success causes in the hearts of zealous servants
of God! It can be fully understood only by those who have had
experience of it. If one could have seen into the heart of the holy
apostle Peter, when he converted, with his first sermon, three
thousand, and on another occasion, over five thousand, to the true
faith, what joy would he not have found therein! With what
exultation the disciples came forward, after they had driven out
demons by their labor: "And the seventy-two returned with
joy, saying: Lord, the devils also are subject to us in Thy name,"1
as St. Luke tells us. Ask the many zealous lovers of souls what
their feelings were in their arduous missions, in countless labors,
in journeys hither and thither, in dangers by sea and land, in
the want of the necessaries of life, and they will tell you that
they were always filled with heavenly joy and consolation,
which they often felt at the conversion and absolution of even
one sinner. St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, St.
Bernard ine of Siena, St. Vincent Ferrer could not refrain from
shedding tears of consolation while hearing confessions; they
called the confessional their paradise, on account of the great joy
and almost sensible pleasure caused them by the repentance and
conversion of the worst sinners. St. Ignatius, the founder of our
Society, commanded all his subjects, in whatever part of the
world they might bo sent to spread the glory of God, to write to
him once a year and tell him how many sinners were convert
ed each month, how many received the sacraments, how many
heretics and infidels were brought to the true Church. These
letters he used to read with tears in his eyes, and with such in
terior joy that he could often not sleep at night on account of it.
For my own part, I must acknowledge that sometimes when God
granted me the happiness of absolving a great sinner I could not
help shedding tears of consolation. From this I can conclude
how great must be the joy of apostolic men who have received
the grace by their preaching and instructions to win hundreds
and thousands of souls to Christ. Therefore we must confess
that the labor that brings in the desired fruit must necessarily
be much lessened and sweetened by the consolation and joy it
causes. In a word: to labor and convert many souls is, I do not
1 Reversi sunt autem septuaginta duo cum gaudio, dicentes : Doraine, etiam daamonla
subjtciuntur nobis In nomine tuo.— Luke x. 17.
On the Holy Apostle St. James.
Which is all
the more
disagree
able the less
it effects.
Yet James
did not
cease from
bis almost
useless la
bor.
hesitate to say, as far as men are concerned, no trouble or diffi
culty, but rather a pleasure and delight.
But in spite of that labor to effect little or nothing, to run
hither and thither, to call and shout at the top of one's voice,
to exhaust all one's strength, and yet to hardly move to good
one or two souls, alas, that is a troublesome and grievous thing
for one who means well to God and to souls! Imagine, my dear
brethren, a general to whom his sovereign has entrusted an army
to be led against the enemy; he brings into requisition all his
experience in military matters; he is busy day and night schem
ing how he can best circumvent the foe; and yet all his plans
are of no avail; he cannot gain the least advantage, although at
different times he hears news of great victories being gained
elsewhere by other generals of his king. What disappointment
and chagrin must he not feel! Imagine one who is very much
in love, and who puts forth his best efforts to make money, so as
to have something worth while to offer the beloved one; but he
is always unsuccessful, while he has at the same time the morti
fication of seeing his rival prospering. Here you have a kind
of sketch of the displeasure and inward disappointment of the
zealous servant of God, who, with all his labor, troublesome as it
is, can make no progress towards the desired end, while others
with the same or less labor gam rich harvests of souls. For
what makes them work is the burning love of God, the earnest
longing to do something for His honor and glory, and to rescue
souls from the evil one. Hence the greater this love and desire,
the greater must necessarily be the secret sorrow and regret that
they naturally find in seeing their efforts fruitless. Therefore
you must not wonder at the conduct of a certain preacher in this
very cathedral, one whom the most of you knew well; at first, as
very few came to listen to him, he used to go, after the sermon,
and kneel down at the altar of the Blessed Virgin, and there,
weeping bitterly, complain that in spite of the trouble he had
taken to prepare his sermon during the whole week so few came
to hear him, and so little good was done.
Now I leave it to yourselves to see whether St. James does not
deserve, more than the others, the name of an indefatigable la
borer for the honor of Christ; for in spite of the fact that they
reaped such rich fruit by their preaching, while he gained little
or nothing, yet, without being in the least disgusted with his
profitless labor, he continued at it constantly, persistently, as if
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 97
he had converted half the world. Reason enough had he to think
to himself: What! seven souls, after so much hard work! Is
it really worth the while? Why do I plague myself so long?
Should I not rather give up the work that I find so unprofitable?
But our great apostle did not look at matters in that light; to
further the glory of Christ and announce His gospel he did not
cease to put forth his best efforts as long as life lasted; and if it
had been granted him to live longer, he would have continued
his thankless task with just as much energy and vigor.
But the envy of his enemies did not grant him that; they plot- AH the re-
w&rd Ihf*
ted against his life in all parts. Already in Granada in Spain, hadforitin
during his apostolate there, how many persecutions and suffer- this life WM
ings had he not to endure at the hands of the Jews, who public- ^Monof"
ly denounced him as a traitor, a seducer of the people, a sorcer- his enemies
er and wizard ? Often they bound him with chains and ropes, °
with the intention of putting him to death; and they would have
done so had he not been miraculously helped and delivered out
of their hands. As soon as he returned to Jerusalem, and there
began, with his wonted zeal, to preach Jesus Christ, the high-
priests and all the Jews regarded him with special hatred and
determined to get rid of him by a violent death. The execu
tion of this plan was entrusted to Abiathar, the high-priest, and
his subordinate, Josias, who with the help of the Roman soldiers
seized James as he was preaching, and crying out that he was a
disturber of the peace, and a preacher of a false religion that was
contrary to the laws of Rome, they tied a rope around his neck
and brought him before King Herod, at whose command the
executioner at once struck off his head. St. Luke, in the Acts
of the Apostles, says that all the Jews were exceedingly exultant
at the death of this apostle; so that Herod was inclined to put
to death Peter, as well. " And he killed James, the brother of
John, with the sword. And seeing that it pleased the Jews he
proceeded to take up Peter also." From this it appears that
James must have been especially zealous, since the Jews were so
exceedingly anxious to have him put out of the way before the
other apostles. i( It is evident," says Theophylactus, " that he
was inflamed with an ardent zeal from the very fact that Herod
put him to death to please the Jews." a And in fact St. James
1 Occidit autem Jacobum, fratrem Joannis, gladio. Videns autem quia placeret Judasis,
apposuit ut apprehenderet et Petrum.— Acts xii. 2, 3.
2 Manifestum ilium ingentis zeli fuisse, turn exeo quod Herodes, ut placeret Judaeis, gla
dio ilium occidit
98
On the Holy Apostle St. James.
But for that
very reason
God re
warded him
all the more
after death
with a co
pious h«i,r-
vesi oi
301US.
was the first of the apostles whom the Jews seized and put to
death for the faith. See, now, my dear brethren; contradictions,
sufferings, persecutions, chains, and imprisonments, and finally a
martyr's death — such were the rewards this apostle received dur
ing his life for his hard and wearisome labor.
During his life, I say, for the pleasure the Almighty had in
his indefatigable zeal was shown after his death, when he was
rewarded with a harvest of souls such as no other apostle gained
during life. The Holy Scripture says of Samson that he threw
down the house in which a thousand Philistines were. " He
killed many more at his death than he had killed before in his
life." The contrary may be said of St. James: he gave life to
many more after his death than he had given life to when liv
ing. For, according to the saying, what you do by another is
done by yourself. Now the seven disciples whom James had
gained for Christ in Spain were afterwards consecrated bishops
by St. Peter, and sent to Spain; and throughout that vast king
dom and its mighty provinces, and among its many different na
tionalities, they converted crowds of Jews as well as heathens to
the Catholic faith, doubtless not without the special assistance
and influence of St. James; for he had by his preaching sown
the good seed that was afterwards to produce such abundant
fruit, to be gathered by his disciples into the granary of the true
Church; or, rather, James himself was that grain of wheat of
which Our Lord says in the gospel of St. John: "Unless the
grain of wheat, falling into the ground, die, itself remaineth
alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." a By a wise ar
rangement of Providence it was decreed that our apostle should
effect little during life with all his labor; he had first to die and
shed his blood for the faith, and then gather in rich fruits,
just as was the case with his divine Master. How Our Lord
toiled and labored during the last three years of His life, going
from place to place! He preached everywhere, and worked won
derful miracles; and yet there were very few whom even with
His divine eloquence He could induce to believe in Him fully as
the Son of God; not one of the high-priests, hardly any of the
Pharisees and scribes, whom He spoke to most frequently. Many
of the people regarded Him as a seducer, a seditious man, a
1 Multo plures interfecit moriens, quam ante vivus occiderat.— Judges xvi. 30.
• Nisi granum f rumenti cadens in terrain mortuum fuerit, ipsum solum manet ; si autem
mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert.— John xii. 24, 25.
Coll. Christi
BIBL THEOL.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 99
drunkard, a wizard; and all who at one time followed Him, and
believed in Him to some extent, abandoned Him, and many of
them even cried out: Crucify Him! crucify Him! That, my dear
brethren, as we see, was just the fate of the apostle St. James
while he still lived. But see what happened after the death of
each. Christ said of Himself: " And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all things to Myself/'7 And that is indeed
what happened after His death; for He sent His apostles to
preach the gospel throughout the world, and thus subjected it
to His Church. The same, due proportion being observed, may
be said of St. James. I, he might have said, being free from this
earth, will by my disciples draw many in those countries to me.
And such was really the case after his death. So says St. Vin
cent Ferrer, who attributes to the apostle nine converts in Spain.
Just as our Saviour, he says, converted twelve apostles, as so
many grains of corn, who were afterwards to spread the seed of
the gospel throughout the world, "so it was with the blessed
James; for his nine disciples were nine fruitful grains, who con
verted all Spain." 2 And how they converted it! From that
time forward the light of faith has so shone in that country that
it has never been extinguished to the present moment. Al
though the other apostles have planted the Catholic faith in oth
er lands, yet we know by experience that in many places it has
died out in time; while Spain,, once converted, has never lost the
faith, but still remains a Catholic kingdom in which to the pres
ent day no heretic is allowed; and therefore the ruling sover
eign retains the title of Catholic King. Oh, what a glorious fruit
and reward for the labor of our apostle! " What is most to be
admired and praised in James, according to my opinion/' writes
a learned bishop, "is the fact that he first went to Spain, first
wandered about and preached therein, and that kingdom has
never lost the faith it once received." So that in him espe
cially, before the other apostles, is fulfilled the prophecy of Christ:
" I have appointed you that you should go, and should bring
forth fruit; and your fruit should remain." * Mark, my dear
brethren, the words, " your fruit should remain; " the fruit
1 Ego, si exaltatus f uero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum.— John xii. 32.
2 Ita beatus Jacobus ; nam illi novem discipuli fueruot novem grana f ructiflcantia, qul to-
tam Hispaniam converterunt.
8 Quod de Jacobo magni faciendum, sentio illud est, quod Hispaniam primoper seascendit
primus earn perambulans et prasdicans, quae illam quam semel recepit lucem, non deseruit.
— Eplsc. Monopolit.
4 Posui vos ut eatis, et fructum afleratis ; et f ructus vester maueat.— John xv. 16.
ioo On the Holy Apostle St. James.
brought forth by the other apostles in many other provinces
and kingdoms gradually dried up and was lost, while the fruit
planted by the labor of James and his disciples remained, and
is there to this day.
And made Yes, even to this day our Saint continues to bring forth new
tnousbe- fruit of souls; and that is the other reward of his indefatigable
fore the zeal. Denis the Carthusian applies to St. James the words of
above the-D Ecclesiasticus about the Prophet Eliseus: " After death his body
other apos- prophesied. In his life he did great wonders, and in death he
wrought miracles;" 1 for a dead body placed in the grave of the
Prophet was restored to life. "How much more," continues
Denis,' (( may not those words be said of the most holy apostle
James, who after his death wrought many great and surprising
miracles, such as are possible to omnipotence alone; for he raised
several dead people to life. But after he was slain in Judea his
body was carried thither (to Spain) by an angel, and there it
shone with so many wonderful miracles that crowds were con
verted." 2 That sacred body has hitherto served as a bulwark
to Spain against the attacks of the infidel; for St. James often
showed himself in the air, and put to flight whole armies of ene
mies to the Christian name. It would be necessary to write
whole volumes to describe the prodigies and miracles, as well as
the numerous conversions of heathens and hardened sinners,
which have for the last seventeen hundred years taken place in
the sight of the world at his glorious tomb at Compostella. There
fore it is not to be wondered at that pilgrims from all parts of
the world, many crowned heads being among them, go in pro
cession to prostrate themselves before his sepulchre; so that we
may apply to James, with good reason, the words uttered by the
Prophet Isaias of Christ, the apostle's blood relation: "The
root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people; Him the
Gentiles shall beseech, and His sepulchre shall be glorious." 3 St.
Antoninus gives as a reason why Our Lord inspired the faithful
of all nations with such great veneration and esteem for the rel-
1 Mortuum prophetavit corpus ejus. In vitasua fecit monstra,et in morte mirabiliaope-
ratus est.— Ecclus. xlviii. 14, 15.
2 Quanto magis verbum istud dici potest de sacratissimo apostolo Jacobo, qui post mortem
suam tarn multa et magna, tarn praeclarissima, solique omnipotentipossibilia fecit miracula,
inter quse etiam plures suscitavit defunctos. Eo autem in Judaea occiso, corpus ejus illic
angelo duce miraculose delatum, tantis ibidem radiavit prodigiis, ut per hoc plurirni sint
conversi.
3 Eadix Jesse, qui stat in signum populorum ; ipsum gentes deprecabuntur, et erit sepul-
<*rum ejus gloriosum.— Is. xi. 10.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 101
ics of this apostle, and why the vow to visit his grave at Com-
postella cannot be dispensed with except by the Pope (as is also
the case with the vow to visit the sepulchre of Christ at Jerusa
lem, and the tomb of the holy apostles Peter and Paul at Eome),
that, namely, " as less honor and glory were given to him during
life than to the other apostles by the faithful, on account of
the shortness of his life, the divine munificence should make a
return to him after his death, by causing his relics to be honored
more than those of the other apostles/' 1 Moreover, generally
speaking, God is wont to exalt His servants after their death in
those very places in which during life they were despised and
looked down upon for His sake; and therefore we have reason
to believe that since St. James was so disgracefully treated and
banished by the Jews and heathens in Spain, so that he con
verted very few of them, God rewarded His faithful servant for
the humiliation and scorn he suffered in that country by the
great glory and honor He conferred on him afterwards in the
sight of the whole world. And what must be the recompense
reserved for him in heaven among the elect if his dead bones
are held in such honor by men on earth? So great is the pleas
ure God has in the indefatigable zeal of His servant, although
his labor seemed to be to no purpose.
This is a comforting thought for you, zealous preachers and Lesson fot
pastors of the flock of Jesus Christ, who, according to the obligu- auTpastot
tionsof your office, diligently endeavor, by frequent sermons, in- ofsouis.
structions, and exhortations, to abolish vice, to bring sinners to
true repentance, to urge all to do good, and so to gain many
souls for Christ and heaven. It often happens either that few
hear your preaching or that few receive it, so that the only re
sult of your efforts is to bring down scorn and ridicule on your
selves, while little or no good rewards your trouble. Oh, do not
get wearied of your work; do not be downhearted or despondent,
and much less should you think of giving up preaching altogeth
er; for your reward from God will not be a whit the less be
cause the present results are so small. Hear the beautiful words
in which St. Augustine addresses you: "As the evil counsellor,
who tries to lead others into sin, justly incurs the penalty of his
deceit, although his efforts have not been successful, so the
1 Ut quod minus honoris et gloriae caeteris apostolis illi in vita collatum sit a fldelibus,
propter brevitatem vitae ejus, hoc quasi divina muniflcentia suppleverit post mortem ejus,
plus quam apostolorum omnium visitatis et aonoratis ejus reliquiis.— S. Antonin. 1. parte,
tit. 6. c. 7.
IO2 On the Holy Apostle St. James.
faithful preacher of justice,, although he is ridiculed by all, will
by no means be deprived of his reward from God for the faith
ful fulfilment of his duty." 1 How does the town-crier act when
the magistrate orders him to publish a certain command or pro
hibition on public market days? He goes and does as he is told;
whether few or many of the people are there to listen to him,
whether they observe the law or not, is no affair of his. If any
are afterwards subjected to punishment on account of having
transgressed the law they may thank themselves for it. So you
should say to yourselves: it is my duty to spare neither diligence
nor study for the glory of God, to tell the truth and announce
the will of God, without allowing myself to be influenced by hu
man respect; that, with the help of God, I 'have hitherto done;
that I will do in future. It is not in my power to make others
profit by what I say, and derive fruit from it; nor has God obliged
me to do so. The so-called author of the Imperfect Work,
speaking of the words in which Christ called Peter and Andrew,
"come ye after Me, and I will make you to be fishers of men/'2
gives great comfort to those who, in spite of all their labor, can
not gain the desired fruit of souls. He says that it is not the
duty of the fisherman always to catch a great quantity of fishes,
for that is not in his power; his duty consists in this, that he dil
igently furnishes his hook with the proper bait, and casts it in
to the water, that he spreads his nets in a proper way, and does
all he can to catch fish, and then waits patiently for whatever
God will send him. In the same manner it is not the duty of
the fisher of men always to catch a number of souls; that is not
in his power, but in the power of God and His grace, as Our Lord
Himself says: " No man can come to Me except the Father, who
hath sent Me, draw him." 3 The duty of the pastor is to use
every effort he is capable of, with the help of God's grace, to do
good to souls. The author quoted above says: " As in the fish
erman all that is required is the labor of fishing and drawing the
nets, while God sends the fish, so it is with the pastor of souls;
for it is not a man who can make the people amend their lives,
1 Slcut raalignus suasor peccatl, etlamsi non persuasertt, merito poenam deceptoris Incur-
rit ; ita fldelis justitiae praedicator, etiamsi ab omnibus respuatur, absit ut apud Deum sui
offlcii mercede fraudetur.— S. Aug. 1. 5. Controv. c. 5.
2 Venite post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum.— Matt. iv. 19.
3 Nemo potest venire ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum.— John vi. 44.
On the Holy Apostle St. James. 103
but God." * Meanwhile, although the lahor undergone is with
out fruit as far as the conversion of souls is concerned, yet it
will not lose its reward with God, but rather have all the more
merit in His sight; for, as we have seen, the merit is greater the
more difficult and fruitless the work.
The same consolation is for you, Christian parents, fathers and For parents
mothers, if sometimes your children, without any fault of yours, J^^h*f
turn out undutiful and thus cause you much trouble! I know famines,
that it is a sad thing for parents, when they have done their best
to bring up their children to virtue and the service of God, by
teaching, paternal correction, and good example, and thus to
bring them to heaven — it is a sad thing to see them turn out dis
obedient, obstinate, and dissolute, given to lying, deceit, cursing,
drinking, impurity, and other vices, and thus hurrying to the
everlasting flames of hell. Could a well-meaning father or a
pious mother have a greater cross than this to bear? Mean
while, although you have compassion on the souls of your chil
dren, who are wantonly rushing to destruction, do not lose heart;
your grief should and must be lessened by the knowledge that
you have done your duty, and not been wanting in any part of a
father's or mother's obligation; and more than that God will not
require from you. If your trouble and care have little or no ef
fect on your undutiful children, your own future reward will be
no less, but will be all the greater and more abundant 011 account
of the trouble and difficulties you had to contend with.
Pious and oppressed Christians! you sometimes complain and For the
sigh forth: Ah, how is it that the good and merciful God, who Piouslnad-
vprsitv
grants so much happiness even to the most wicked, has so com
pletely forgotten me? I do my best not to commit any sin; my
first and greatest care is to serve Him diligently every day, and to
do His holy will in all things. And yet He treats me so harshly;
He leaves me unassisted in my secret poverty and great want; one
misfortune comesupon me after the other! What does He mean
to do with me, since He thus turns His heart and thoughts away
from me? Hush, Christians! God has not turned His fatherly
heart away from you; He is most certainly thinking of you, al
though He seems to have forgotten you. Think of the generous
reward He bestowed on the holy apostle St. James! But when
1 Sicut enim in piscatore solus labor requiritur piscandi et jactandi retia ; Deus autem
transmittit capturam ; sic et in doctore contingit, quia populum non corrigit homo, sed Deus.
— Auct. Op. Imperf. horn. 7. in Matt.
104 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
and where did He bestow it? During the Saint's life He sent
him nothing but sufferings and persecutions, but after death He
made him glorious and illustrious in heaven and on earth. Oh,
what a splendid reward awaits your zealous service of God and
your patience in bearing crosses! And if God does not give it
you in this life, it is a sure sign that he is keeping it for you till
eternity. Tell me: is there any one of you who would wish to
have his reward in this life, and to forfeit it in the next, and thus,
like the wicked, to be content with an apparent happiness? I
cannot think that any sensible Christian would be guilty of such
folly. And is there any one who would like to give up a part of
his heavenly reward, so as to be freed from his crosses in this life
and enjoy a little earthly happiness? Neither do I think that
any one would agree to that when he remembers how short and
momentary is the sorrow that is to be rewarded with an eternal,
heavenly joy. Therefore do not complain; be satisfied with
what the well-meaning Lord appoints for you now; and rather
rejoice and say with me: I thank Thee, 0 dear Lord! for that
which hitherto has been to me the occasion of inordinate sorrow,
because I did not understand things aright. Now I resign my
self willingly to the cross which Thou hast laid on me; I do not
want any reward in this life, but with an assured hope I await it
in eternal life with Thee. Amen.
FORTY-SIXTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. JOHN.
Subject.
St. John a true son of Mary. — Preached on the feast of St.
John.
Text.
Dicit matri sum : Mulier, ecce filius tuus. Deinde dicit dis-
cipulo : Ecce mater tu'a. — John xix. 26, 27.
" He saith to His Mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that
He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother."
Introduction.
No greater happiness could John have received from Christ on
earth than to be loved by Him in such a special manner, and
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 105
thus to be distinguished among the other apostles as " the dis
ciple whom Jesus loved." Nor could Our Lord have given John
a surer sign of this special love than to give her of whom He
deigned to be born to John as his mother, and at the same time
to give him to her as her son. " He saith to His mother: Woman,
behold thy son. After that He saith to the disciple: Behold thy
mother." "0 wonderful proof of love!" exclaims St. Thomas
of Villanova, " He puts John in His own place with His Mother,
and leaves John to the Blessed Virgin as a son in His stead! " !
" Could that favor have been made any greater? " 2 And to the
great glory of this apostle, all we can add in his praise is this,
that as John was publicly declared the son of Mary by Christ Him
self, so he was a true son of such a great mother. This glory and
honor of this great Saint I mean to represent to you to-day, my
dear brethren, and I say :
Plan of Discourse.
St. John was a true son of Mary. Such is the whole subject
of this panegyric. Let us, too, endeavor to be worthy children of
Mary : such shall be the conclusion.
Obtain for us this grace, 0 holy St. John, from Jesus, who
loves you, through the hands of Mary, your mother, and our holy
guardian angels.
To be a son of Mary — Oh, what an honor! what happiness for a A great
mortal man ! To have as mother the greatest lady of the world, honor and
the Queen of heaven and earth, the chosen daughter of the Eter- t^tea'son
nal Father, the beloved spouse of the Holy Ghost; to be called of Mary.
the son of the same mother of whom was born Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, and thus to be a brother of Jesus Christ; what an
honor, I repeat; what a dignity, and what incomprehensible hap
piness! Where, since the beginning of the world, will you find
any mere creature who has enjoyed a similar happiness? None
of the angels, not even the greatest of the seraphim, could hope
to be raised to such a dignity: " To which of the angels hath He
said at any time: Thou art My son?" 3 Such is the question we
may well ask about Mary, which St. Paul in wonderment asks
of the Eternal Father. Oh, truly, no! All the princes of heaven,
1 O magnum dilectionis indicium! suo loco apud matrem substituit eum, et pro se in flli-
um virgin! reliquit eum.
2 Huic gratiae quid amplius addi potest?
8 Cui enim dixit aliquando angelorum : fllius meus es tu?— Heb. i. 5.
io6 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
great as they are, are quite satisfied to have the honor of saluting
this virgin as their empress, of serving and waiting on her most
humbly as her vassals. When St. Margaret of Cortona once heard,
after holy communion, those words from Our Lord: " My daugh
ter," she was ravished out of herself with joy, fell into an ecstasy,
and after a considerable time, awakening as from the dead, cried
out in a loud voice: "0 infinite sweetness of God! 0 blessed
words! My daughter! such is th,e name given me by the great
God! Is it possible that I still live, and that my soul was not
forced toleave my body bysuch an overwhelming weight of happi
ness? " My daughter! Jesus has said that to me! What, then,
is there in the world for me to desire any longer? What, think
you, lovers of Mary, would be your feelings if any one of you
heard from the lips of the Mother of God the words: My son;
my dear child? For my part, if that happened to me, I could
not contain myself for joy; but to no purpose should I expect
such a great and unmerited favor.
TWS was This joy, this honor, this happiness fell to the lot of John alone
sT John °r among all niere creatures; for from the lips of the infallible truth,
alone. Jesus Christ Himself , he heard himself publicly proclaimed as the
son of Mary when he heard the comforting words: " Woman, be
hold thy son/' which the Lord said to His Mother; " After that He
saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother." Whereby He meant,
as a learned author says, " For My sake you have said to your
parents: I know you no longer; behold, now the Mother of God is
your mother! You left the fisherman's boat; behold, now you
guide the merchant's ship that bringeth her bread from afar; I
commit to your care what I love best on earth." 1 " 0 happy
and blessed St. John," exclaims St. Bernard, " to whom the Lord
deigned to commend such a treasure ! 0 prudent disciple, beloved
by Christ before all, whom the Lord made the private chamber
lain of His most beautiful palace ! " 2 Denis the Carthusian is also
struck with astonishment, and cries out, congratulating John:
" How great is thy honor and glory, and what a precious treas
ure is entrusted to thee! The vessel of all holiness, the Lady of
the world, the Queen of heaven, who had and brought forth one
and the same Son with the Eternal Father, from whom the Holy
1 Dixisti parentibus tuis propter me : Non novi vos ; ecce Dei genetrix mater tua! Renun-
ftasti naviculae piscatoris; ecce navem gubernas institoriam de longe portantem panem
suurn ; quod dilectis-sium in mundo babeo, tuas fldei committo.
2 Ofelix, beatus Joannes, cui talem thesaurum Dominus dignatus est commendare! O
Christ! dilecte pra? omnibus et prudens, quern constituit Dominus privatum camerarium au-
lae suae speciosissirna?!— S. Bern, de Lament. Virff..
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 107
Ghost truly proceeds, is given aud is sent; that Mother is com
mitted to tbee, and is become thy mother, and thou art called her
son! Truly, Jesus loved thee when He conferred such a favor
on thee! " John, the son of Mary! Nothing more glorious can
be said in his praise.
John, the son of Mary, not merely in word and name, not Not only IB
merely by adoption, as rich and childless people sometimes adopt
poor children, and make them their heirs, but a true son of Mary.
Such is the opinion plainly asserted by some of the holy Fathers.
Hear St. Thomas of Villanova: "Let us not imagine," he says,
writing of the words: Behold thy mother; "let us not think
those words of the Saviour to have been uttered in vain; for
there are not wanting pious and learned men who maintain that
he is not merely Mary's son in the opinion and estimation of
men, as if by adoption, for they say He who by His word created
all things out of nothing could make a son of one who was not
a- son; but if He could, He did; for He did not say: Have her
as your mother; but assertingly: Behold thy mother." 2 St.
Peter Damian seems to have no doubt of this, writing of the
same words of Christ: "These words are efficacious and found
ed on the infallible truth; for that only-begotten Word of the
Father that hung on the cross is substantially in the substance
of the Father and is eternal; therefore the words spoken by
Him, since they are the spirit and the life, cannot be empty.
Just as He said to the Mother: This is thy son; so He said to
the disciples: This is My body — words that have such great pow
er and efficacy that the bread which He held out to them at
once became the body of the Lord; for He spoke, and they were
made; He commanded, and they were created." From which the
holy Doctor draws this conclusion: " By analogy, then, we may
say that St. John was not to bear merely the name of son, but
he deserved by the force of those words of the Saviour to be
united with the Blessed Virgin in the bonds of a stricter re
lationship." Origen contradicts all who would wish to dispute
1 Quantus tibi est honor et gloria ? Vas omnis sanctitatis, domina mundi, regina coell,
quag cum Patre ^Eterno habet et genuitunuin eundemque Filium, a quo Spiritus Sanctus vere
procedit, datur et inittitur, tibi eommittitur, Mater tua efflcitur, et tu niius ejus appellaris!
Vere diligebat te Jesus, quern ad tantam gratiam prselegit.
2 Neque putemus vacua ilia Salvatoris verba f uisse ; neque enim def uere pii et docti, qui
assererent, non sola a&stimatione humana fllium potius reputari quam esse, quales lex et
adoptio soletfllios procreare ; sed eum qui verbo suo cuncta creavit ex nihilo, potuisse, ajunt,
fllium facere de non fllio; quod si potuit, fecit; non enim dixit : Habeto earn matrem ; sed
assertive: Ecce mater tua.— S. Thorn, a Villanova, Serm. de S. Joan.
io8 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
this sonship of John, and says: "If, according to the judgment
of those who think rightly, no one but Jesus is the son of Mary,
and if Jesus said to His Mother: Woman, behold thy son; it i
the same as if He had said: Behold, this is Jesus whom you
brought forth;" or, This is thy son, as Jesus, whom thou didst
bring forth, is thy Son.
He bad an Be that as it may, my dear brethren, this much is certain, that
ttie marks John pOSSeSses all the qualities that go to make a true son of Mary.
l^Mary: For in the first place, a true son loves his mother, and is loved by
in final love her in return. Oh, who can describe the tender and affectionate
for ber' love that Mary had for John as her son, and John for Mary as his
mother? Let St. Cyril of Alexandria speak of it: "Christ," he
says, "commended His Mother to the disciple that he might per
form the duties of a son to her; in the same way He admonishes the
Mother to have the authority of a parent over the disciple; that
is, He wished them to be as united in the bonds of love and char
ity as if they were bound to each other by the ties of the strictest
relationship according to nature." Speaking of the words, "be
hold thy son; behold thy mother," St. Thomas of Villanova says:
" By these words the Lord impressed on the heart of the virgin
a certain maternal love towards John more ardent and strong
than that which mothers generally have by nature; and He gave
to the apostle a filial reverence, such as no son naturally pos
sesses." * And how must not this maternal and filial love have
grown and increased while these most holy and amiable persons
were living in the same house, united by the strictest ties, con
versing, eating, and praying together, and that not merely for
one or two years, but, as the probable opinion has it, for twenty-
three whole years? Oh, that we had been vouchsafed a glance
at that holy society! What comfort and joy that motherly and
childlike love must have caused them mutually? If a single
greeting of the Mother of God made John the Baptist exult in his
mother's womb, "what, think you," says St. Thomas, "must
have been caused in the Evangelist by such long-continued asso
ciation with the same virgin? " And that, too, the association of
such a mother with such a loving son; of such a son with such a
tender mother?
1 Impressit In hoc verbo Dominus statim eordi virgineo amorem queradam maternam in
Joannem, fortiorem et ardentiorem, quam soleat matribus natura tribuere ; visceribus etiam
apoatoli reverentlam fllialem in virginem inseruit, qualera nullus fllius naturae habet in ina-
fcrem.
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 1 09
Moreover, the true son is recognized by his likeness to the moth- And a true
er; for children are generally like their parents, and they resem-
ble the mother more than the father, not only in the outward form to her,
and appearance of the body, but also in their character. Well
does Salvianus say of children: " Before they are able to use their
parents' property they have the parents themselves in their dis
positions." 1 As St. Paul says: " For if the first fruit be holy, so
is the lump also; and if the root be holy, so are the branches." 2
Of which passage a learned author writes thus: " As the leaven
must be like the mass, and the branches like the root, so must
children resemble their parents." Therefore parents are wont
to say of a child that is not like them: That is not my child;
he must have been changed in the cradle. And of one who is
like father or mother: That child is the living image of its father;
it is the very stamp of its mother, etc. And it is in that respect,
my dear brethren, that St. John is a true son of the Blessed Vir
gin; for if we compare them with each other we find in him a
perfect image of Mary, showing forth clearly the disposition and
the virtues of the divine Mother. Let us see whether such is
really the case.
It is an infallible truth that Mary was always an immaculate AS far as
virgin, the Virgin of virgins, who, according to the testimony of vir#inal
the holy Fathers, would have preferred not to be the Mother of concerned
God than to sully her virginity. Is not John exactly like her in
this respect? For there is no doubt that from his childhood till
his death he remained a chaste virgin. Euthemius writes of him
that from his youth he was most careful in guarding his virtue,
" so that he never allowed even an impure thought to enter his
mind." 4 The doctors and interpreters of Holy Writ are generally
of the opinion that it was on account of this virginal purity that
he was so specially beloved by Christ, as de Lyra says: "Jesus
loved him and showed him special marks of love on account of
his virginal purity." B According to St. Thomas, " he was beloved
especially on account of the beauty of purity, because he was chos
en as a virgin by the Lord." St. Bonaventure says: " He was
with reason beloved by the Almighty on account of his inviolable
Prius quam in dominio suo habere incipiant res paternas, habent in animis ipsos patres.
Quod si delibatio sancta est, et massa ; si radix sancta, et rami.— Rom. xi. 16.
Necesse est, fermento massam, et radici ramos assimilari : sic parentibus fllios.
Ut ne turpem quidem cogitationem unquam in cor suum ascendere permiserit.
Quern diligebat Jesus, specialia ei dilectionis signa ostendendo prse caeteris, propter mun-
ditiam virginalem.
• Fuit magis dilectus propter munditiam puritatis, quia virgo est electus a Domino.
i io On the Holy Apostle St. John.
purity/' ' To the same effect are the words of St. Jerome, The-
ophylactus, Albert the Great, and others. On account of the
same purity he received from God a wonderful light, greater
than that given to the other evangelists. " Not without rea
son," says St. Peter Damian, " was such a profound and accurate
knowledge of the divinity given to a virgin." It was John
alone who recognized Christ when He appeared to the disciples
after the resurrection, while none of the others knew who He
was. " It is the Lord ! " 3 cried out John with joy. De Lyra tells
us the reason of this: "John, who was purer than the others,
being a virgin, recognized Christ quicker than they." And it
was on account of the same virginal purity that he received
Mary as his mother, as St. Jerome testifies: " To him the Lord,
while hanging on the cross, commended His Mother, that a
virgin might have charge of a virgin."6 Mary herself called
him her angel, on account of his purity; for when asked by her
divine Son, after His death, whether He should send her the
archangel Michael as her guardian, she answered, as the Abbot
Guericus tells us: " It is not necessary; I am satisfied with that
new angel in the flesh, the disciple- whom Jesus loved." But
why should we spend so long to prove this? The purity of
Mary alone excepted, no greater purity has been found in the
world than that of John, as St. Peter Damian does not hesitate
to say.7 Therefore in this respect John was a son of Mary,
quite like his Mother.
Again, there was never a creature in heaven or on earth who
loved Jesus so tenderly as Mary, His Mother; and we may
well say that after Mary there was never any one in the world
who loved Jesus so tenderly as John, the son of Mary, who
was so like her. This is already evident from the fact that
he was "the disciple whom Jesus loved;" for if Christ loves
those who love Him, as the eternal Wisdom expressly says, "I
love them that love Me," 8 then John must necessarily have loved
Merito dilectus a Deo ob integritatem sacrae virginitatis.
Non immerito tarn profunda, tarn supereminens revelatio deitatis virgin! debebatur. —
Serm. 1. de S. Joan. ,
Dominus est. — John xxi. 7.
Joannes, qui caeteris purior erat, tanquam virgo citius aliis cognovit Jesus.
Huic Matrem suam pendens in cruce commendavit Dominus, ut virginem virgo servaret.
— S. Hieron. in Prolo. Evan. Joan.
• Non est opus ; sufflcit mihi meus novus in came angelus, discipulus tile, quern diligebat
Jesus.— Gueric. Serm. 2. de Assumpt. Virg.
T Caeteras a mundi primordio virgines antecellit.
8 Ego diligentes me diligo.— Prov. vlil. 17.
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 1 1 1
more than all the others, since he was loved by Christ above all
the others. So it is, says the learned Salmeron: "John loved
more intimately and sweetly, therefore he was loved by the Lord
more tenderly and sweetly." This, too, is the opinion of St.
Augustine, whose words are quoted by Albert the Great: "The
cause of this special love was that John in his turn also loved
Christ more than the others loved Him." 2 St. Peter Damian
calls his heart a burning furnace of divine love; 3 and indeed he
could not hide his excessive love for his Saviour. From the abun
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh; we know that all lovers
gladly speak of the object of their affection, and exult and re
joice at the thought of being loved; now almost everything that
John spoke was filled with love, as St. Gregory says: "Let us
consider the words of John; for everything he utters is inflamed
with the fire of charity." Therefore he repeats so often the
words: " The disciple whom Jesus loved," as St. Chrysostom well
remarks: " It is usual for lovers to be unable to conceal their love;
they often speak of it, that they may thus receive some consola
tion." And it is the property of lovers to be willingly in each
other's company, and to be unable to -bear separation without
pain. And how that showed itself in John! Wherever Jesus
went John was with Him. " Hence," says Surius, "the seat
he desired to have next Our Lord, with his brother, was not
asked through ambition, but for the love of Christ, since he did
not wish any one to be nearer to the Beloved One than himself." '
He showed the same afterwards, when he hastened with Peter to
the grave of Our Lord; the gospel says: " They both ran to
gether, and that other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first
to the sepulchre."7 For, as St. Gregory says: "Pie who loves
more ardently runs quicker and arrives first." Many a one,
seeing John reclining on the bosom of the Lord, would have ac-
*
1 Joannes famillarius ac suavius amabat ; unde a Domino et dulcius suavius deamatus. —
Salm. torn. 11. Tract. 13.
2 Causa hujus prsecipuae dilectionis erat, quod Joannes vice versa etiam Christum prae cse-
teris dilexit.
3 Velut carainus quldam divini incendii.
4 Joannes verba pensemus, cujus omne quod loquitur, charitatis igne vaporatur. — S. Greg.
Horn. 11. in Ezech.
6 Hicarnantium mos est, ut amorem suumsilentio tegere nequeant ; enarrant f requentius,
ut ipsa assiduitate narrandi solatium amoris sui capiant.
* Hinc etiam manifestum est, quod cathedram, quam proximo Christum cum f ratre petivit,
non gloriae, sed Christi amore petiverit, eo quod nollet hie alium esse sibi dilecto viciniorem.
7 Currebant autem duo simul,etillealiusdiscipuluspra3cucurrit citius Petro.— John
8 Qui amat ardentius, currit velocius, et pervenit citius.
H2 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
cused him of a discourtesy or want of thought in behaving thus
in presence of the other apostles; but, as Salmeron says, " it
was done through excess of love, which does not consider its
actions, and is only concerned about being united with the loved
one." ' St. Thomas says: " The beloved John, without being
ordered, without asking permission, confidently reclines on the
Lord's bosom. Love did that; for love is beyond measure dar
ing." * For he knew that Christ was aware of the tenderness of
his love, and would not take his conduct in ill part.
sutiertnsr Further, no one can deny that Mary truly suffered with her
**' divine Son; therefore she is called by the Catholic Church the
Queen of martyrs; for she it was who, standing close to the cross,
with her own eyes contemplated the sufferings of her Son as He
hung dying between two thieves; all the pain and agony that He
suffered in His body that Mother felt in her soul, so that, ac
cording to the prophecy of Simeon, a sharp sword of sorrow
pierced her heart. There again, my dear brethren, you can see
the resemblance between Mary and John, her son. For he alone
it was who kept constantly at her side during her bitter sorrows,
with this difference, that Mary felt the torments of Christ as
those of her son by nature, while John felt them as those of one
who was now given to him as a brother. And indeed it would
seem that, as far as the length of time is considered, the suffer
ings of John with Christ lasted longer than those of Mary; for
of the latter we read only that she stood at the foot of the cross,
and saw how Jesus died; while John was present at the whole
passion from beginning to end. He saw the bloody sweat in the
Garden; and from there he accompanied Our Lord to the house of
Caiphas; thence to the tribunal of Pilate; from Pilate's house to
the cross, and from there to the grave. " He was present with
Him in the palace," says St. Thomas; " he was present in the
praetorium; he was present as He hung on the cross; he weeps,
grieves, and groans. It was a wonderful dispensation of love
that the beloved disciple should be present at the terrible tor
ments of his Lord, and that he should drink the chalice of the
passion with his dear Master at the foot of the cross."3 And
1 Ex nlmia dllectione, quse non considerat quid agat, sed tantum ut dilecto adhereat.
* Joannes dilectus nou jussus,nonpetitavenia,confldenterrecumbit super pectus Domini.
Amor facit hoc ; est enim supra modum audax dilectio.
• Adstat in palatio ; adstitit in praetorio ; adest etiam patibulo ; lachrymatur, dolet, gemit.
Mira utique amoris dispensatio fuit, ut terribilibus Domini sui cruciatibus dilectus adesset
et calicem passionis ad pedem crucis cum dilecto suo potaret.
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 1 1 3
truly, if the sorrow of Mary on account of the sufferings of her
Son were so great that they are compared by the Prophet Jere-
mias to a vast sea, " great as the sea is thy destruction,"1 then,
too, must we say of the sorrow of John that it was like a rapid,
rushing river. For, 0 my God! what anguish must have filled
the heart of the loving disciple when he saw his dear Master fet
tered with chains and dragged like a dog through the streets,
buffeted, spat upon, and ridiculed as a fool! What pain it must
have caused him to hear the whips and rods raining down the
cruel blows, and tearing and wounding Jesus from head to foot!
To see Him crowned with the sharp thorns, streaming with blood,
more like a worm than a man, exhibited publicly to the people,
condemned to death, and obliged to carry the heavy load of the
cross on His shoulders up the steep hill of Calvary! To see Him
nailed hand and foot, lifted on high, hanging three hours in ex
treme agony, and finally giving up the ghost! What pain to be
hold that most sacred bosom, which had formerly served as his
sweetest resting-place, and that heart by which he was so tender
ly loved pierced with a lance! Who can comprehend the great
ness of this torment? " Those two martyrs," says St. Bernard,
speaking of Mary and John, " kept silent, and could not speak
on account of the greatness of their sorrow." Both almost died
of compassion with Our Lord; that is, Mary and John, the suf
fering mother and her son, who was like her in suffering.
Finally, to epitomize the virtues of this Mother and of her son, in conform-
there never was any mere creature so united with the will of lty,to*he^
T • • • will of God
God as Mary was. In all circumstances, in sorrow and in joy,
she repeated with contented heart that humble act of submission:
" Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Even on Mount Calvary,
according to the teaching of the holy Fathers, she was ready, al
though to her own greatest sorrow, to nail her most beloved Son
to the cross with her own hands, if that had been necessary for
the redemption of the world, and had been required by the will
of God. My dear brethren, if we wish to know whether and how
far St. John was like his Mother in this great virtue, we need
not examine his whole subsequent life; the last years of it are
enough for us; if we consider them briefly we shall find circum
stances which many perhaps have hitherto passed over. Mark
1 Magna est velut mare contritio tua.— Lam. ii. 13.
2 Tacebant ambo ill! martyres, et prse nimio dolore loqui non poterant.— S. Bern, in La
ment. Virg.
ii4 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
what I am about to say: after Christ had died on the cross and as
cended into heaven; after Mary, the Mother of Christ, had been
assumed, body and soul, into heaven; after all the other apostles
and disciples of Christ, set free from the trammels of the flesh by
the death of martyrdom, had been received into heaven: John
alone remained alive on earth; — and how long? Not for a few
months only, but for many years after; and although he was the
youngest of the apostles at the time of their calling, he was the
oldest of them at the time of his death, for, as some writers tell
us, he was ninty-three years old, or, as others say, ninty-eight,
and, according to some, he even reached the hundred and sixtieth
year of his life.
THIS he Yes, you think, but what is the meaning of all this? What
pecianyin" conclusion do you wish to draw from it? This: that John was
old age. an example of the most perfect conformity with and resignation
to the divine will. How so? Consider for a moment what a
hard thing it is for a lover to be separated even for a few weeks
from the object of his affections. Every day in which he highs in
vain to be in the loved one's company seems a year to him. How
hard, then, must it not have been for that holy apostle so filled
with ardent love, to be left quite alone by his Master4 his dear
Mother, Mary, his beloved brothers, the other apostles, and that
for so many years, in this sorrowful vale of tears, while, they were
in the full possession of eternal joys, in the presence of Jesus and
Mary, in the heavenly fatherland! " I am straitened/' exclaims
St. Paul; "having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ/' ]
"I am dying because I do not die," cried out St. Teresa,2 so
intense was her desire to be with Christ, her spouse. For life
seemed to her more bitter than death, on account of the fervent
desire she had to be united with her God. How many similar
sighs, then, will not St. John beyond all doubt have sent to heaven,
since he enjoyed such a special degree of intimacy with Our Lord
on earth, and yet had to abstain from seeing His divine counte
nance till he had reached a ripe old age? 0 good Jesus, is it then
true that this is the disciple whom Thou didst love most tender
ly? If so, why didst Thou leave him so long on earth? Why
didst Thou not call him to Thee before all the others, since his
wish to be with Thee was so intense? What a fine opportunity of
dying he had when, weakened by age and constant apostolic labor,
1 Coarctor; desiderium habens dissolvi et esse cum Christo.— Philipp. i. 23.
8 Morior quia non morior.
On the Holy Apostle St. John. 1 1 5
he was scourged and put into a caldron of boiling oil, in the city of
Rome, out of hatred to the faith ? Oh, how his heart must have
bounded with joy on the occasion! Praised be God! he must
have cried out; now at last I have reached the goal of my desires!
now I am dying for love of my dear Master! now the long wished-
for moment has arrived for me to come to Him whom I have
loved more thaft myself! But he was disappointed. God pre
ferred to work a miracle rather than allow John to die then.
The boiling oil was to him a cooling bath, in which his body was
made more vigorous and strong. "He came out of it stronger
and healthier than he entered it/' 1 says St. Jerome, and such,
too, is the testimony of Tertullian. But, 0 dear Lord, what
does that mean? When St. Andrew was hanging on the cross
he cried out, fearing lest the people should rescue him: " 0 Lord,
King of eternal glory, receive me hanging on the gibbet; " a and
Thou didst hear his prayer! Thy holy martyr Ignatius cried
out, through a desire of death: " May I be ground by the teeth of
the wild beasts! " Let the lions, 0 Lord, devour me, that I may
come to Thee! And Thou didst hear him! Many other martyrs
begged of Thee to put an end to the miracles by which they
were enabled to withstand different torments, so that they might
at last lose their lives; and Thou didst grant their prayers!
Thou dost take from the world many who dread nothing more
than death, and desire nothing more than a long life. And be
hold, the disciple whom Thou lovest, who loves Thee so much,
wishes for nothing more than to die; naturally speaking, he
should have succumbed in the bath of boiling oil; yet Thou didst
not permit him to die! The very means that should have de
stroyed his life were by Thy Almighty power made the means of
enabling him to live longer! Oh, what a hard fate! I repeat.
Meanwhile, how did John submit to this arrangement of Divine
Providence? Did he become downcast, or did his love grow
less? No; he was fully satisfied and in the same dispositions
towards his divine Master as before; daily he preached nothing to
his disciples but the love of Christ and of his neighbor; he who
in the same sentiments as Mary stood at the foot of the cross
always thought in his heart like his Mother: Behold the servant
of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word; according
1 Purtor et vegetior exivit, quam intravit.
9 Domine, Rex aeternae gloriae, suscipe me pendentem in patibulo.
3 Dentibus bestiarum molar !
1 1 6 On the Holy Apostle St. John.
to Thy holy will let me live how and as long as my God wills;
let me die how and when it may be pleasing to Him.
so that John My dear brethren, could a child be more like his mother than
Jolm was like Mary? So that he was a son of that Mother> ac'
cording to the last testament of Christ; a son of that Mother, be
ing adopted to that position; a son of that Mother by filial love;
a son of that Mother by likeness of disposition and virtue; and
therefore John was a true son of Mary. Yes, holy apostle of
charity, we congratulate thee, and rejoice that thou hast been
raised to such a high dignity and happiness as to have received
as thy mother her who bore the Saviour of the world! " Truty,
Jesus loved thee, since He conferred such a favor on thee!" Ah,
would that we, too, might have the happiness of venturing to
greet Mary as our mother, and to call ourselves her children!
we, too, But what am I saying? Venturing? Dear Christians, rejoice!
should try, j]ven we £00 have aii Of us that great happiness; and on account
after John's
example, to of it we are bound every day of our lives to render most humble
betruecnil- thanks to Jesus Christ. According to the holy Fathers, when
Mary. St. John heard the words of Christ at the foot of the cross,
" Woman, behold thy son; behold thy mother," he stood there in
the person of the whole Catholic Church, and in the name of all
the faithful he received Mary as his Mother; so that we are
adopted children of Mary, and Mary is the Mother of us all. But
to be true and beloved children of this great Mother depends on
ourselves, and on how we behave towards her. We shall be her
true and beloved children, if, like St. John, we show her a con
stant, tender, childlike love, not merely in word and in daily
greetings, but in deed and truth. But this cannot be done by
us unless we love Jesus, her divine Son, with our whole hearts,
and constantly; for it is a falsehood to pretend to love Mary when
one is in the state of mortal sin and an enemy of Jesus. Unduti-
ful are those children who disobey Him whom the Mother loves
more than herself, and wills every one to love above all things!
We shall be true children of Mary, if, like St. John, we endeav
or, as far as possible, to become like to that Mother, that is, to im
itate her life and virtues, especially in as far as purity according
to our state is concerned. No one is more displeasing to this
most chaste virgin than he who is contaminated with the horrible
vice of impurity. WTe must imitate her also in suffering witli
Christ, that is, in bearing with true patience the crosses and
trials that are laid on us; and we must be like her in the con-
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 1 1 7
formity and resignation of our will to the will of God in all His
decrees. 0 dearest disciple of Christ, true son of Mary! thou
canst now do all with these two in heaven; obtain, we beseech
thee, for us all the grace to be as we profess to be — true children
of thy Mother and ours; then we shall have a sure pledge and
sign that we shall one day rejoice with thee forever in heaven in
the society of Jesus and Mary. Amen.
FORTY-SEVENTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. THOMAS.
Subject.
The holy apostle St. Thomas was an active and zealous apostle
in his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. — Preached on
the feast of St. Thomas.
Text.
Noli esse incredulus, sedfidelis. — John xx. 27.
" Be not faithless, but believing/''
Introduction.
He is indeed an unbelieving Thomas! Such is the expression
in common use when we wish to speak of one who is obstinate
and hard to convince; and generally St. Thomas is represented in
the pulpit as having refused to believe in the truth of the resur
rection of Our Lord. My dear brethren, I intend to-day to save
the apostle's memory from that horrible calumny, and to show
the contrary, to his undying fame. I repeat, then, without fur
ther introduction:
Plan of Discourse.
St. Thomas was an active and zealous apostle in his faith in
the resurrection of Jesus Christ : such is the whole subject of this
panegyric. The moral lesson will follow by way of conclusion.
Great apostle, before all I must publicly acknowledge that I
have never experienced more consolation, pleasure, joy, and read
iness in study than I did in the preparation of this sermon; this
I ascribe to thy assistance, and conclude therefrom that thou art
pleased with it — a conclusion that confirms me all the more in the
1 1 8 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
intention that I now wish to carry out. One thing I ask of thee:
give strength to my words so to move the hearts of all present
that they may henceforth have a better opinion of thy faith and
imitate thee better therein. The same grace I expect from the
Queen of the apostles and our holy guardian angels.
r&omas Thomas the most active and zealous in the faith, and that, too,
mcred- in the resurrection of Christ? How can that be? Does not
•iious. the very gospel of to-day, dictated by the infallible truth, assert
the contrary? What time and trouble were not required to bring
Thomas at last to confess his belief in the resurrection? The
other disciples all assured him that they had seen the Lord alive
with their own eyes after He had risen from the tomb, and had
spoken with Him; and what answer did Thomas make? We
have heard it already: "But he said to them: Except I shall
see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into
the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe." And the words of my text, pronounced by Our Lord,
seem also to be against my proposition: "Be not faithless, but
believing." And when at last the apostle was convinced Our
Lord said to him: "Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou
hast believed." 1 So that we have undeniable proof that after
all the other apostles had signified their belief in the resurrec
tion of Christ Thomas alone still had his doubts. Was it not
great obstinacy on his part to contradict the words of so many
witnesses so worthy of credence? And still worse for him to re
main a whole week in his incredulity? Nay, what presumption
on his part to state boldly that he would not believe until Our
Lord fulfilled certain conditions laid down by him: "Except I
shall see, etc., I will not believe" ? Is that the way to be active
in the faith? Is it not rather being the slowest and most obsti
nate of all the apostles? Such, my dear brethren, is the man
ner in which many preachers depict the character of this glori
ous apostle, and condemn him of a grievous fault. I confess
that formerly I, too, was of the same opinion; but now that I am
better instructed in the matter I withdraw all I have said be
fore, and proclaim that with other preachers I have done this
apostle great wrong.
1 Ille autem dixit eis: Nisi videro in manibus ejus flxuram clavorum, et mittam digituin
meum in locum clavorum, et mittam manum meam in latus ejus, non credam. Et noli esse
incredulus, sed fldelis. Quia vidisti me, Tnoma, credidisti ; beati qui non viderunt, et cre-
diderunt.— John xx. 25, 27, 29.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 119
How so? Is it not true that Thomas was first unbelieving? Yet he did
Yes. I cannot and dare not deny that, after the words of the °h°e re^_
gospel which he himself spoke: " I will not believe." So that rection of
in the beginning Thomas did not wish to believe. But what beHeved^Q
did he not wish to believe? That Christ was risen from the itarmiy.
dead? The gospel says not a word to that effect, nor can such
a conclusion be drawn from it. And if the gospel says nothing
of it why should we blame the holy apostle and accuse him of tners<
being guilty of disbelieving the resurrection of Our Lord, in spite
of the many prophecies of it he himself had heard from Christ's
own lips? This is the incredulity I dare not accuse him of, much
less can I say that he was obstinate, stiff-necked, presumptuous.
I could prove the contrary, and say that at the very time when
Thomas said straight out, " I will not believe," he had not the
least doubt of the resurrection of Christ; and I should be able
to help out my proof by plenty of testimonies from the Doctors
and Fathers of the Church, as well as by arguments drawn from
reason. Hear what St. Ambrose says, speaking of this apostle:
" He seemed to doubt, not of the resurrection of the Lord, but
of the circumstances of it/'1 St. Augustine- agrees with this
when he says: "The words: I will not believe, are those of one
who is inquiring, not denying; for when he speaks them his
wish is to be instructed and confirmed in his faith."2 Else
where he calls him a just man, a faithful man, a saint, even be
cause he wished to put his hand into Our Lord's side: " There
fore," says St. Augustine, " as Thomas was holy, faithful, and
just, he was eager to search after all these things, not that he
doubted, but to put aside every suspicion of disbelief."3 Still
clearer are the words of the holy Bishop Gaudentius, who lived
in the time of St. Ambrose: "It was an ardent desire, and not
incredulity that impelled him to say to the disciples who had
seen the Lord in his absence: Except I shall see, etc., I will not
believe. For he was most anxious to enjoy the sight of that
which he believed in his heart." Such is the opinion of those
1 Ille non de resurrectione Domini, sed de resurrectionis qualitate videtur dubitasse.— S.
Arab, in c. 24. Luc.
2 Vox ista inquirentis est, nou negantis ; dum hoc dicit, doceri voluit, conflrmari desi-
derat.
3 Thomas ergo cum esset sanctus, fldelis, et Justus, haec omnia solicite requisivit, non quod
ipse aliquid dubitaret, sed ut omnem suspicionem incredulitatis excluderet.— S. Aug. c. 10.
Serm. 5. in Oct. Pasc.
4 Ardentis desiderii fuit illud, non infldelitatis, quod condiscipulis suis, qui ipso absente
Dominum viderant, ait : Nisi videro, etc., non credam. Erat enim valde anxius ne non et
oculis frueretur, quod corde credebat.— S. Gaudent. in Tract, de Die Dedic. Basil.
120
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
Deduced
iilso from
the fact
that Thora-
!is did not
fear the
Jews as
much as
the other
apostles
did.
holy Doctors and Fathers of the Church regarding the faith of
Thomas in the resurrection; and most of the other Fathers do
not contradict this opinion.
And to me it seems quite probable, and I am still more con
firmed in this belief when I consider the undaunted courage of
St. Thomas, a courage that could be founded only on a faith in
the resurrection of Christ. Mark, my dear brethren, what the
gospel says of the apostles: "Now when it was late that day,
the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the dis
ciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came/'
None of them had the courage to leave the room, much less dared
they go into the street, fearing lest they should be taken by the
Jews and served as their Master was. Peter and John had gone
to the sepulchre a little while before; but they went in the dark
night; nor did they remain long, but hastened back, and joined
the others, as St. Cyril says: "My opinion is that they came
back all the quicker, because they knew how angry the Jews
were against the disciples of Christ; nor did they think it safe
to remain at the tomb till daybreak." 1 And where was Thomas
meanwhile? The gospel says: "Thomas was not with them
when Jesus came." So that he did not fear the Jews, but went
out boldly and let himself be seen in public, either for the pur
pose of bringing food to the others, or to find out what was be
ing said about Christ in the city; " Thomas was not with them."
Now I ask: Why were the other apostles so much afraid of go
ing out? Because they knew not how things were with them,
and still doubted whether Jesus was in reality risen from the
dead; so that they had no more help, assistance, or protection,
such as He had given them during His life, to hope for from
Him than from a dead man. And why was not Thomas afraid ?
Doubtless because he relied on the prophecies of Our Lord re
garding the resurrection on the third day, and being assured of
that, could trust confidently in the help of the Saviour, who
was again truly living, and for whom he was ready to give his
life if the Jews should seize him. And he had already given
proof of his heroism in this respect; for when Christ wished to
go to Jerusalem before His passion, all the other apostles were
terrified, and tried to persuade Him not to go: " Rabbi, the Jews
1 Citius autem arbitror reverses f uisse, quoniam Judaeorum iram adversus discipulos Chris-
ti non ignorabant; unde nee sibi tutum putabant, ad diem usque circa monumentum mo-
rari.— S. Cyril. 1. xii. c. 45.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 1 2 1
but now sought to stone Thee, and goest Thou thither again?" '
Thomas was the only one who encouraged them to go even to
death with Christ: "Thomas therefore said to his fellow-dis
ciples: Let us also go, that we may die with Him."3 "These
words of Thomas exhorting the disciples," says Cajetan, "area
sign of great fervor and courage; he does not say: Go, but: Let
us go with Jesus, that we may die with Jesus, be stoned and
slain with Him." 3 And the same fervor and courage moved
him after the death of Christ to show himself boldly in the
streets, and to run the danger of death for the sake of his be
loved Master. He certainly would not have acted in that man
ner had he doubted the truth of the resurrection of Our Lord,
and consequently His divinity; for he surely would not have
incurred such danger for the sake of a dead man whose prophe
cies turned out false.
Moreover, this faith of Thomas is evident from the words confirmed
which make some condemn him of obstinacy and incredulity: byhisown
Except I shall see, etc. How did Thomas know that Jesus
would retain the wound marks in His hands, feet, and side after
He was risen from the dead? for it is not natural for a living
man to have his hands and feet pierced, and his heart opened in
his side. And how did he know that the wound in the side
would be large enough for him to put his hand into it? The
Lord had indeed foretold His disciples that He would rise again
on the third day; but He said nothing to them of preserving the
marks of the wounds in His body; so that Thomas must have
known and understood more than the others of the resurrection
of Christ, as he was so eager in insisting on putting his fingers
into the place of the nails and his hand into the side of Our Lord.
He must, therefore, either have received a special revelation from
God, or else have spoken those words under the impulse of some
prophetic spirit. So it is, says St. Peter Chrysologus: "For
why should he have expressed such a desire, unless he had
known from God that Our Lord would preserve the marks of
the wounds as a proof of the truth of His resurrection? " And
hence Thomas must have believed in that resurrection.
1 Rabbi, nunc quaerebant te Judaei lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc?— John xi. 8.
2 Dixit ergo Thomas ad condiscipulos : Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.— -Ibid. 16.
• Magnl fervoris, tmpavldlque animi verba sunt haec Tbomae adhortantis discipulos ; non
Ite, sed eamus cum Jesu, ut cum ipso Jesu simul moriamur, simul lapidemur, simul occida-
mur.
4 Nam cur talia peteret, nisi a Deo ad Indicium resurrectlonis suse, servata vulnera pro-
phetali spiritu cognovisset ?— S. Chrysol. Serm. 84.
i 2 2 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
By the Finally, if Thomas had been as obstinate in denying the res-
n*™rbyhown urrection as some would have us believe, Our Lord would not
Christ. have met him with such marks of friendship and favor. Such
is the conclusion drawn by St. Gaudentius: "Surely/' he says,
"if Thomas were as incredulous as some say, Christ would not
have deigned to appear to him after the resurrection; for it is
written that He is found by those who do not tempt Him, but
appears to those who have faith in Him." Or at all events, as
I cannot help thinking, Our Lord would have reproved him for
his unbelief, as He was wont to do with the disciples whenever
they committed even lesser faults. What a severe reproof He
administered to the well-meaning Peter, who tried to dissuade
his beloved Master from undergoing the bitter sufferings of His
passion and death! " Go behind Me, Satan, " said Our Lord, with
displeasure; "thou art a scandal nnto Me; because thou savor-
est not the things that are of God." a James and John asked
for the first seats in His kingdom, and they received the harsh
reproof: " You know not what you ask." 3 When the same two
disciples asked Him to bring fire down from heaven to destroy
those who refused to receive them, they were again reprimanded
by Him: " Turning, He rebuked them, saying: You know not
of what spirit you are." 4 When the apostles disputed among
themselves at the last supper as to which of them was the great
er, Jesus at once reproached them in these words: "The kings
of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over
them are called beneficent; but you not so. But he that is the
greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that
is the leader, as he that serveth." 6 In the Garden of Gethsem-
ani the disciples were awakened by the reproof: "What! could
you not watch one hour with Me?" In a word, never did Our
Lord notice a fault in His disciples without correcting it. Now
Thomas would certainly have been guilty of a grave one if he
had denied the resurrection of Christ as obstinately as is sup
posed, and therefore would have merited a severe reproof; but
1 Qui utique, si juxta opinionem quorundam infldelis fuisset; Christus illi post resurrec-
tionem suam, non fuisset apparere dignatus ; scriptum est enira : invenitur ab his, qui non
tentant eum, apparet vero his, qui fldem habent in ipsum. — S. Gaud. loc. cit.
2 Vade post me, Satana ; scandalum es mihi ; quia non sapis ea quae Dei sunt.— Matt. xvi. 23.
* Nescitis quid petatis.— Ibid. xx. 22.
4 Conversus increpavit illos, dicens : Nescitis cujus spiritus estis.— Luke ix. 55.
6 Reges gentium domlnantur eorum, et qui potestatem habent super eos beneflci vocan-
tur ; vos autem non sic. Sed qui major est in vobis, flat sicut minor, et qui processor est,
gicut ministrator.— Ibid. xxii. 25, 26.
6 Sic non potuistis una hora vigilare raecum ?— Matt. xxvi. 40.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 123
instead of that Christ never alluded even by a word to any un
belief on his part, but rather showed him an amount of favor,
condescension, and love such as He had not given to any of the
others immediately after the resurrection. For Thomas' sake
alone, says St. Gaudentius, He appeared a second time to the
disciples: " He appeared a second time to the apostles to satisfy
the desire of Thomas; so that this desire was advantageous to
the others as well." 1 When the Lord found them all together
He turned to Thomas at once, and in a most friendly manner
said to him: "Put in thy finger hither and see My hands; and
bring hither thy hand and put it into My side." Mark, says St.
John Chrysostom in astonishment: "Jesus stands at his side,
and without waiting to be asked bj7 him, and without a word hav
ing been uttered on his part, Jesus Himself first satisfies his de
sire." 2 This special grace, this loving intimacy He reserved
for Thomas in preference to all the others; and what other con
clusion can we arrive at except that Thomas was especially dear
to Him? He indeed reproved the incredulity of Thomas in the
words: "Be not faithless, but believing;" and again: "Because
thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed;" but He does
not say that this incredulity or this faith concerned His resur
rection. Why, then, should we interpret this event so as to
blame the apostle for such a grievous fault, since, as we shall
see presently, we can understand the words quoted in a far dif
ferent sense? It is a well-known rule that we must put the best
possible interpretation on the doings of our fellow-man, and not
accuse any one of wrong unless his guilt is clear and evident;
but no such proof of the guilt of Thomas is furnished by the
Holy Scriptures.
In what, then, did the incredulity of Thomas consist? What He only re
did he actually mean by his " I will not believe"? I answer neve that
that he did not wish to believe what the other disciples told Christ had
him. And what did they say? That the Lord was risen from the
dead? No; they told him something new that he had never
heard of before, something that was quite unknown to him. If
they had said at once: The Lord is risen, that would not have
been anything new for Thomas, and he could readily have an
swered: You need not tell me that, for it is an undoubted truth,
1 Apparuit secundo apostolis, ut Thorn* desiderium adimpleret ; prof uitcupiditase jus et
ceeterts.— S. Gaud. loc. cit.
8 Adsti tit Jesus, neque ab illo rogari expectat, sed nihil eo dicente, ipse Jesus primum ejus
satisfacit desiderio.— S. Cbrysos. Horn. 86.
1 24 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
since the Lord Himself has often told and prophesied to us that
He would rise again on the third day after His death, a day
that is now long past. And what news, then, did they give him
of which he had known nothing? Eead the gospel, my dear
brethren: "The other disciples therefore said to him: We have
seen the Lord." That was all. Whereupon Thomas at once
replied: " Except I shall see, etc., I shall not believe." You tell
me you have seen the Lord; I do not and will not believe you
until I have seen Him myself. For Thomas could not be
lieve that the disciples had really seen the Lord after His resur
rection, that the Lord had then really appeared to them. There
we have the whole incredulity of this apostle, as far as the Holy
Scripture says anything of it. And in this sense we may easily
understand the words of Christ to him: "Be not faithless, but
believing." That is: Thomas, thou hast hitherto refused to be
lieve that thy fellow-disciples have seen Me, although they all
have assured thee to that effect; be not so incredulous in fu
ture, and when they all unite in telling you anything do not
doubt of it again. And again: " Because thou hast seen Me thou
hast believed;" that is: Thou didst not wish to believe that I
have really appeared to thy fellow-disciples until thou didst see
Me thyself; since thou hast now seen Me thou believest that
the others have seen Me also. There is no forcing or distorting
the meaning of the text in this interpretation.
And cannot ]^ow \ do nofc see how St. Thomas can be accused of obstinacy
be accused .
of obstina- on account of refusing to accept the 'words of the disciples. For
cy on that although they told him that they had seen the Lord, yet it ap-
account, for ,1 v • -f
he had his pears he had some good grounds tor not believing that to be
own reasons really true. In the first place, he might have reasoned thus with
ueving " himself: My fellow-disciples tell me they have seen the Lord;
what they but I cannot trust them; they have often been deceived before
in similar cases, and I have been deceived with them; perhaps
this is another instance of hallucination on their part. On a
former occasion we saw Christ in reality, and imagined Him to
be a ghost; such was the case when we saw Him coming towards
us as we were in the boat, and commenced to cry out for fear.
"And they, seeing Him walking upon the sea, were troubled,
saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear." 1
If the disciples took Him for a ghost then, it may well be the
1 Vldentes eum super mare ambulantern, turbati sunt dicentes : Quia phantasma est. Et
prae timore clamaverunt.— Matt. xiv. 26.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 125
case that they have seen a ghost now and taken it for the Lord;
so that, deceived by a false apparition, they have said to me:
" We have seen the Lord." But lam not so easily persuaded; I
must have better proofs before I believe them. Such is the man
ner in which Albert the Great excuses St. Thomas: He did not
wish to believe them because he had seen signs of weakness in
them. Men of his stamp are slow to believe, but once they have
given their assent, very tenacious of their faith. For, as Chrys-
ostom says: " It is a praiseworthy thing not to be too quick to
believe what is not clearly proved." 1
Again, it is likely that in this instance Thomas acted as one And was
who loves truly. For example: My dear friend, whom I love, b ^e and
and who, as I know, loves me in return, goes off somewhere, and sorrow,
says to me: In three days I will come back. Now four or five
days later different mutual acquaintances come and tell me that
my good friend has visited them the day before yesterday and
told them how he fared on his journey. I am naturally dis
turbed at this, partly through jealousy and sorrow, and partly
through wonderment that he did not come to see me also.
What? I say; how can that be? I can hardly believe you, for cer
tainly he would have come to see me, too. Such, perhaps, may
have been the thoughts of Thomas when disturbed by the sudden
announcement that the others had seen the Lord. No, he said
to himself, that cannot be! Will the Lord exclude me alone
from His visitation, although I love Him so truly, and have re
ceived countless proofs of love from Him? No, I cannot and
will not believe it until I am certainly convinced that there is
no deception in it. Such is the manner in which St. Cyril of
Alexandria defends St. Thomas: " Although it seems to me that
Thomas was disturbed, not so much by infidelity as by a great
sorrow at not having seen the Lord with his own eyes." 3
In the third place, might not the words, "I will not believe," partly
have been uttered through the influence of sudden joy and fear? throu^h
Of joy, at hearing the agreeable news of Christ's appearing to he did not
His disciples after the resurrection, for he, too, hoped to see the Delieve-
Lord? of fear, lest the tidings might not be true? For when we
hear a piece of news that is very pleasing to us, even if it is con-
1 Quia multa signa inflrmitatis viderat. Et tales sunt tardi ad credendum, et quando cre-
dunt, flrmissime credunt. Sicut enim dicit Chrysostomus : Laudabile est, rem non probatam
non cito credere. — Alb. Mag. in Joan. xx.
* Quamvis mini Thomas videri soleat, non infldelitate magis, quam sumrao moerore per-
fturbatus fuisse, quia Dominum oculis suis non viderat. — S. Cyril, 1. 12. in Joan. c. 57.
126
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
cused of
presump-
firmed by the testimony of many good witnesses, we are wont to
have all the more fear and anxiety lest it should be false the
greater the joy it would cause us if it really turned out true.
Hence on such occasions we are wont to say, with a mixture of
joy and fear: Yes, that would be indeed good news if it were
true! Ah, I can hardly believe it; I must have some better
proof of it! Such is the manner in which Surius writes of the
incredulity of St. Thomas: " Overcome by joy at the news, he did
not believe that to have really happened which he so longed for;
and hearing it, did not believe it; for the transports of an ex
ceeding great joy make one less apt to believe what one hears."1
Therefore, And from this it follows that it was not out of presumption
tnat lie made tne condition: ''Except I shall see in His hands
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the
naj}s>" por? as we }iave seen already, not trusting to the words
of the apostles, lest they should have been deceived by a false
apparition, since on a former occasion they had taken Christ
Himself for a ghost, he thought to himself: The same thing
might happen to me again if the Lord should appear to me, and
I might think I saw, not a living being, but a ghost; therefore I
will not trust my own eyes; but to be sure and certain that He
has really appeared to the disciples, and that it will be really
Himself whom I, too, shall see in time, I shall prove the matter
with my own hands, and touch the marks of the wounds. St.
Bernard seems of the opinion that it was an ardent and holy love
of Jesus arid His sacred wounds that prompted Thomas to utter
those words; therefore he calls him a man of ardent desires, and
wishes that he, too, had bad the good fortune of touching the
wounds of Christ: " Like Thomas, that man of desires, I wish to
see Him altogether, and not only to touch Him, but to approach
the sacred wound of His side." 2 Thus he confirms the words
of St. Gaudentius: It was an ardent desire that made him say,
Except I shall see, etc., ' ' for he feared to be deprived of the sight
of that which he believed in his heart, and to be denied the en
joyment of that light by which the other apostles gloried in
being illumined." 3 And I am still farther strengthened in this
1 Ille propter id, quod audlebat, laetitia affectus, quod fieri desiderabat, id factum esse au-
diens non credebat : solet enim ingentis laetitiae exsuperationes esse tardiores ad ea creden-
da quse dicuntur.
1 Sicut Thomas ille vir desideriorum, totum eum videre desidero, et tangere non solum.
sed accedere ad sacrosanctum lateris ejus vulnus. .
* Erat enim valde anxius, ne non et oculis frueretur quod credebat, et ne privaretur as-
pectu illius lucis, qua caeteri apostoli iUuminatis gloriabantur.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 127
opinion when I consider that Christ at once accedes to this de
sire in a most friendly and condescending manner, without be
ing asked to do so, and offers Thomas the wounds in His hands
and side to touch. See,, my dear brethren, how we cannot hold
it as absolutely certain that Thomas ever doubted the resurrec
tion of Christ, or that he was stiff-necked or obstinate in unbelief;
on the other hand, we have good reason to give him the praise of
having shown himself most firm and zealous in his faith in the
resurrection of Our Lord.
But suppose the opinion of those who seem to assert the con- Even if he
trary is true, and indeed it is not now my intention to dispute doubted the
J J " resurrection
it, or to prove it erroneous; — suppose that at first Thomas really at first, yet
doubted of the resurrection, yet I still maintain that in the faith he wassti11
th6 most
in that mystery he was the firmest and most zealous of all. For zealous in
who would deny the charitable zeal of St. Peter or St. Paul, the the faith,
Apostle of the Gentiles, because the former had denied his divine fessedit
Master and the latter had persecuted Christ? Generally speak- quicker
ing, are not they who have sinned grievously against God far others
more zealous in the divine service after their conversion than
they who have been always innocent? as St. Gregory says: " Peni
tents are often more fervent than the innocent." ' The same I
say of our holy apostle Thomas; if it be true (which I do not
believe) that he vacillated in the faith, yet he acknowledged the
resurrection of the Lord more quickly and unhesitatingly, more
zealously and solemnly, than the other apostles. Let us con
sider the history of the first apparition of Christ to His apostles
as it is described by St. Luke; there we shall find the whole mat
ter explained. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary of James,
and others, who had come with Jesus out of Galilee, had visited
the grave, seen that Our Lord's body was not there, and having
learned from the two men in shining garments that Christ was
truly risen, went back again, and related all to the disciples who
were gathered together. Then the two disciples came from Em-
maus, and told them all that had happened to them on their
journey — how they had had a long conversation with Jesus, and at
last recognized Him in the breaking of the bread: " Saying:
The Lord is risen indeed. Now whilst they were speaking these
things, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and saith to them:
Peace be to you; it is I; fear not." 2 Thus far St. Luke, as
1 Saepe ferventiores poenitentes innocentibus.
2 Dicentes : Quod surrexit Dorninus vere. Bum haec loquuntur ; stetit Jesus in medio
eorum, et dicit eis : Pax vobis ; ego sum, nolite timere.— Luke xxiv. 34, 36.
128 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
you may read in his gospel, twenty-fourth chapter. Mark that in
all this Thomas was not present; otherwise the words of St. John
would not be true: "Thomas was not with them when Jesus
came." Nor would the disciples afterwards have told him any
thing new, when speaking of the resurrection, if he had seen the
Lord as well as they. Now, my dear brethren, note how the
apostles behaved : Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary of James
were holy women, greatly esteemed by Our Lord and worthy of
credence; did the apostles believe them when they said that
Christ was risen? No; and they even looked on the words of the
holy women as madness. "And these words seemed to them as
idle tales; and they did not believe them." The two who came
from Emmaus and told the apostles of the resurrection of Christ
were also worthy of credence; were they believed? No; for their
narration was interrupted by the arrival of Christ: " Now whilst
they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in the midst of
them." Now at least they will have believed? No! they indeed
behold the Lord with their own eyes; they hear Him say: " It
is I; " and yet they do not believe: " They, being troubled and
frighted, supposed that they saw a spirit." 2 Then, to convince
them, Christ encourages them, shows them His wounds, and in
vites them to touch them and see for themselves that it was He
in reality: "And He said to them: Why are you troubled, and
why do thoughts arise in your hearts? See My hands and feet,
that it is I Myself; handle and see; for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as you see Me to have." 3 But still the disciples were
not to be moved: " But while they yet believed not and won
dered for joy." 4 They wonder and rejoice, but will not yet be
lieve. Until Our Lord had eaten with them and held a long dis
course in which He explained the Scriptures they did not be
lieve that He was truly risen from the dead. See what trouble
it cost to persuade them. But with Thomas all that was not
necessary; he had not yet seen the Lord, nor heard Him say:
" It is I; " he had not yet received permission to touch the place
of the wounds, but had merely heard from the apostles, who a
short time before could not believe their own eyes and ears, these
1 Visa suntapud illos, sicut deliramentum verbaista; etnon crediderunt illis.— Luke
xxiv. 11.
2 Conturbati vero et exterriti, existimabant se spiritum videre.— Ibid. 37.
3 Et dixit eis : Quid turbati estis, et cogitationes ascendunt in corda vestra? Videte ma-
nus et pedes, quia ego ipse sum ; palpate et videte, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet,
sicut me videtes habere.— Ibid. 38, 39.
4 Adhuc autem illis non credentibus, et mirantibus prse gaudio.— Ibid. 41.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 1 29
few words: "We have seen the Lord;" and that was what he
denied. But as soon as he saw Jesus in the second apparition,
and satisfied his wish to behold the wounds, he laid all doubts
aside and publicly confessed the resurrection of Christ. Now,
my dear brethren, you can see whether or not Thomas was quick
er and more zealous in professing his faith in the resurrection
than the other apostles.
And how did he make this profession ? With the utmost possi- And made 8
ble solemnity: " Thomas said to Him: My Lord and my God." 1 solemn pro-
" His profession of faith/' exclaims St. Thomas of Villanova, Cession of
"is far greater than his incredulity; it could not have been t^e otheare<
made more emphatically." 2 "For whatever the faith in Christ
contains is included in that brief profession." ' Salmeron, con
sidering those few words, says: " They form a most brief, but a
perfect confession of the sovereign dominion of Christ, of His
divinity, of His divinity and humanity, or of the hypostatic
union of the two natures in Him." 4 " He saw and touched the
man," says St. Augustine, "and confessed the God whom he
neither saw nor touched." 5 A confession, the like of which for
clearness and emphasis no one before him had made with regard
to Our Lord. Peter, Nathanael, Martha, the centurion on Mount
Calvary indeed confessed Him to be the Son of God; but Thom
as was the first who called Him his God. " Thomas compensated
for the guilt of his unbelief by the greatness of his profession;
for he was the first who expressly confessed Christ to be the true
God;" 6 such are the words of Cajetan. " Truly," says Barrad-
ius, " it was a great privilege for Thomas to be the first to pro
fess and proclaim the divinity of Christ." 7
If time permitted, my dear brethren, I should like to bring you And most
in imagination into the wide world, and show you how zealously z^°^
our apostle preached the faith in Christ as the true God really the faith
risen from the dead, and brought countless numbers to the true througnout
the world.
1 Dixit ei : Dominus meus et Deus meus.— John xx. 28.
2 Major incredulitate conf essio ; altius sonare non potuit.— S. Thorn, a Villanova, Senn.
in Oct. Pasc.
3 Quidquid fldes habet, brevi elogio comprehendit.
4 Est brevisslma, sed perfecta dominii Christ!, ac divinitatis, sive humanitatis acdivinita-
tis, sive duarum naturarum in una hypostasi Christi confessio.
8 Videbat, tangebatque hominem, et confltebatur Deum, quern non videbat, nee tangebat.
— S. Aug. Tract. 121. in Joan.
8 Thomas incredulitatis suge culpam magnitudine prof essionis pensavit ; primus enim f uit,
qui professus sit expresse, Jesum esse verum Deum.— Cajetan in Joan. xx.
7 Magna haec est Thomas praerogativa, quod divinitatis Christi primus ipse fuerit expresse
professor proclamator.
1 30 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
fold. To put the matter briefly: imagine you see the wildests
most ignorant, savage, and cruel people on earth; go in thought
to those nations that live, so to speak, at the very ends of the
earth — to the Indians, Moors, Parthians, Persians, Medes, Hir-
canians, Bactrians, Abyssinians, Chinese, and others who live
in far distant islands and countries, wandering about like
brute beasts; and then say: These are the lands and nations that
Thomas undertook to evangelize and instruct in the faith.
And in fact Thomas alone brought the faith to those places; so
that the author of his Life cannot understand how it was possible
for a man merely to travel through so many distant lands, without
speaking of remaining in them long enough to instruct their
barbarous inhabitants., Yet that was done by that man, who, as
Surius says, wandered about every where, "pallid in face, ema
ciated, bloodless, and evidently without vigor, so that he carried
with him, so to speak, not a body, but a mere shadow covered
with a torn and soiled garment." Methinks I hear that apos
tle preaching in this guise, and convincing those nations of the
truth of Our Lord's resurrection in the words he could have
said, and probably did say, whenever he baptized any one: See
these hands of mine that have poured the waters of salvation on
your head; they have had the great honor of being warmed in
the open side of the Saviour who arose from the dead, and who
is my true God and yours! And when absolving a sinner in the
sacrament of penance: This hand that is raised over you has had
the favor of touching the sacred wounds of Jesus Christ, and of
being sanctified in His most sacred heart. Oh, what power these
words must have had! what influence they must have exercised
over the hearts of men for their conversion! St. Lawrence Jus
tinian says that there is no counting the number of nations that
Thomas brought to the faith, for he effected the conversion of
countless peoples.8 Such, too, is the opinion of Denis the Car
thusian, who says: " Vast and countless were the numbers of in
fidels that he converted to the faith." Who, then, can number
the souls converted by him, if the nations themselves are count
less? And in fact some Doctors of the Church do not hesitate
to say that Thomas alone brought more to the faith than all the
1 Vultu pallidus, totus aridus, exsanguis, et plane succo carens, et ut semel dicara, non
tarn corpus, quam umbram corporis circumferens, sordido et trito amictus pallio.
* Innumerabillum conversionem populorum.
• Copiossisimum et innumerabilem populum infldelem convertit ad Christum.— Dion. Car-
thus. Serm. 1. de hoc festo.
On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas. 1 3 1
other apostles put together. Nor did he cease from this la
borious and harassing mode of life, which brought in such rich
fruit, until his heart was pierced with a lance, and he thus sealed
with his blood the faith he had planted and spread.
See now, my dear brethren, how true it is that Thomas was sothat
the most active and zealous of the apostles in his faith in the ^the
resurrection of Christ. Therefore not without reason has the most active
Catholic Church, enlightened by God, used in the office and Mass ™*™'^™
of this feast the words: Grant, 0 Lord, we beseech Thee, that we theresur-
may rejoice on the solemnity of Thy blessed apostle Thomas; to rection of
the end that we may always have the assistance of his prayers, 4
and zealously profess the faith he taught; — mark those words.
Therefore this Saint is the special patron of those who have to
combat temptations against faith, and who call upon him with
confidence. I remember having heard one of our Fathers re
lating how, while he was still in the world, he heard a sermon on
the obstinacy and incredulity of this apostle, and he then con
ceived a low opinion of him, and thought to himself: Truly he is
an unworthy apostle; whereupon he was assailed by such fre
quent and violent temptations against faith that he was quite
disturbed, and knew not what to do, till he fled to that holy
apostle for help, and at once found himself completely freed
from the temptations. For my part, my only advice to all who
complain to me of similar assaults is to have recourse to St.
Thomas with confidence in fervent prayer; and they have assured
me that they experienced immediate help and relief. 0 great
apostle, I now beg of thee in my own name, in the name of all
here present, stretch out over us thy powerful hand, which was
consecrated in the heart and wounds of Jesus Christ, and keep
us constant to the true faith; but let our faith be lively and ac
tive, that in and by it we may gain eternal life!
0 Christians! we should send forth this short prayer daily to Lesson fm
the holy apostle St. Thomas; for, alas! how many infidels are ^^°a
there not, not only among heretics and heathens, but even in the lively faith
bosom of the true Church, among those who profess to be true
Christian Catholics, but whose lives and actions do not at all cor
respond with their profession? With the lips they say they be
lieve in one God, whom we must love and honor above all things;
with their works they adore many false gods, against the law of
the true God. With the lips they profess to believe in an eter
nal, joyful heaven that is prepared for the good; in an eternal
1 3 2 On the Holy Apostle St. Thomas.
hell of torments appointed for the wicked; and yet they live as
if all this were a mere fable. With the lips they profess to be
lieve that Jesus Christ, the true son of God, is risen from the
dead, and that they, too, will one day rise to an immortal life, and
will have to appear before the tribunal of Christ to receive from
Him an irrevocable sentence, either of eternal damnation among
the demons, or of eternal happiness with the elect; and yet they
live as if they were to die after the manner of brute beasts. In
a word, they profess with the lips to believe in each and every
article of the faith; and yet they continue to live on in their old
t vices and sins. A dead, fruitless faith like that is of no help to
eternal life, as I have already shown in detail on another occa
sion. To these I say to-day: Be not faithless, but believing; be
lieve, but live according to the truth which you profess.
And who Again, if it be true that St. Thomas did not believe at first in
o!TtheirPUt ^ie resurrecti°n °f Christ, yet at the first word of Our Lord at
conversion, once he gave adhesion to that truth. This, too, is an example
for you, wicked Christians, who, after you have frequently of
fended your God by grievous sin, become blinded by your evil
passions, and never think of repentance and amendment, in spite
of .the many inspirations you receive from the good God, in spite
of the warnings given you by preachers and other servants of
God to amend your evil ways — an amendment that you keep put
ting off from month to month, and from year to year! Ah, what
are you thinking of? Do you not see clearly before your eyes the
great danger in which your soul is, the danger of being hurried
off by a sudden death, that may come at any moment? Ah,
to these also I must cry out: Be not faithless, but believing; be
not obstinate and stiff-necked in your sins! It is human to err,
and to err grievously; but to persist in wickedness is diabolical.
Therefore: " To-day, if you shall hear His voice, harden not
your hearts," 1 that you may not hereafter, through want of time,
and to the eternal loss of your souls, be unable to repent when
you would perhaps be willing to do so.
For those Finally, if it be true that St. Thomas did riot at once wish
sinned^6 ^° ^e^eve ™ ^ne resurrection of Christ, yet, after the first vivid
grievously, illumination he received, he not only believed in it, but atoned
and repent- for fas former incredulity, inculpable though it was, by a more
solemn profession of the faith and by a greater zeal in spreading
it. A beautiful lesson and warning for you who have been sin-
1 Hodie si vocem ejus audieritis, nolite obdurare corda vestra.— Ps. xciv. 8.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 133
ners! It shows you how, after having laid aside the load of your
sins and been fully reconciled to God, you must try to atone, by
greater zeal in His service, for the insults you have offered the
Divine Majesty, and how you ought to love all the more ardent
ly the good God with your whole hearts, since at one single re
pentant prayer of yours He so graciously remitted your many and
grievous transgressions. Thus the words of St. Gregory may be
verified in you: " See how a zealous life after sin may often be
come more pleasing to God than a tepid innocence." This
warning is for me, 0 my Lord and my God! I must confess be
fore heaven and earth that I am bound in the strictest sense of
the word to serve Thee with all possible zeal when I remember
how Thou hast so patiently borne with me, a wretched sinner, in
so many grievous insults I have offered Thee for year after year,
and how with fatherly mercy Thou hast again received me into
the number of Thy beloved children, and heaped so many graces
and favors on me. Shall I not, then, love Thee? Shall I not
serve Thee with all my strength and with my whole heart? Ah,
if I refused to do so I should be the most ungrateful man on
earth! Truly, I will love Thee, 0 my God, and to the last mo
ment of my life love Thee with all the greater fervor the more
I have to acknowledge having offended Thee in the past; and
with the help of Thy grace I will never offend Thee again. Amen.
FORTY-EIGHTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLES SS. PHILIP AND JAMES.
Subject.
SS. Philip and James were apostles most like to Christ. 1.
The one in his life. 2. The other in his sufferings and death. —
Preached on the feast of SS. Philip and James.
Text.
Philippe, qui videt me, videt et Pair em. — John xiv. 90
" Philip, he that seeth Me seeth the Father also."
1 Ecce flt plerumque Deo gratior amore ardens vita post culpam, quam secnritate torpens
innocentia.— S. Greg. 3. p. Past. Admon. c. 29.
1 34 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
Introduction.
By these words in which He answered the eager desire of Philip
to see the eternal Father our dear Lord wished to signify that
He is like to His heavenly Father in everything that pertains
to the divine nature, and that He has the same perfections, the
same divine being with the Father; so that he who sees Him
sees the Father also. " Not," says St. Augustine, " that He is
the Father and the Son at the same time; but that the Father
and Son are so alike that who knows one knows both. For we
are wont to say of those who resemble each other: Have you
seen him? then you have seen the other, too." ' My dear breth
ren, the same, it seems to me, could be said, though not exactly
in the same sense and meaning, of both those holy apostles whose
yearly anniversary we commemorate to-day; namely, that he who
sees and considers thoge two disciples of Christ, in a certain
measure must recognize Christ Himself, their divine Master; not
indeed that they have the same divine nature with Christ as He
has with His heavenly Father; for they were but men, and what
ever good they possessed they had to ascribe to the generosity
and grace of Christ; but on account of the exact resemblance to
Our Lord which was specially evident in those two apostles; for
the one in his life represented the life of Christ, while the other
in his passion and death was a perfect imitation of the passion
and death of Christ. And this is what I now mean to explain,
to their greater honor and glory.
Plan of Discourse.
88. Philip and James were apostles most like to Christ. Such
is the whole subject of this panegyric. James was most like Him
in his life : the first part. Philip was most like Him in his pas
sion and death : the second part.
That we may resolve, after their example, to be like to Christ
in our life and death, grant us Thy grace, 0 Jesus, most perfect
Model and Exemplar of all holiness; we ask it of Thee through
the intercession of Mary, of the holy angels, and of the apostles
Philip and James, who were so like to Thee.
1 Non quodipse sit Pater et Filtus : sed quod tarn similes sint Pater et Filius, ut qui unum
noverit, ambos noverit. Solemus enim de similibus ita loqui : vidistis istum ? ilium vidistis.
— S. Aug. Tract. 70.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 135
I do not speak now of an outward resemblance in bodily stat- st. James
ure, although even in that respect St. James was most like o^"ordin
Our Lord; so that one was hardly to be distinguished from the outward
other; and therefore James was called the brother of Our Lord. aPPearance-
"James was called the brother of the Lord, that is, of Christ/'
says Denis the Carthusian, ' ' because he was most like Him in
face, in bodily stature, and in manner." ' The holy martyr Igna
tius, in an epistle to St. John the Evangelist, writes thus: " If I
may, I should like to go to Jerusalem with you to see that ven
erable James, whom they say to be most like to Jesus Christ in
face, bodily stature, and manners as if he were His twin brother." a
Therefore some think that it was not without reason that Judas
the traitor agreed with the Jews to give a certain sign by which
they were to know Christ when he was about to betray Our Lord
into the hands of His enemies: '' Whomsoever I shall kiss that
is He; hold Him fast." 8 For he feared that in the dark night, by
the fitful light of the lanterns, they might make a mistake and
apprehend James instead of Our Lord, so great was the resem
blance between them. Be this as it may, I will not delay longer
on it; for although the Scripture says of Christ: " Thou art beau
tiful in form above the sons of men," 4 and therefore James
must have been most comely of form, yet that kind of beauty re
dounds little to a man's praise, as it is the free gift of God, and is
not in the power of our free will; and sometimes we find two
brothers alike in appearance and comeliness, of whom the one is
good and holy, while the other is a wicked wretch, in spite of his
beauty.
That for which St. James is chiefly to be praised is this: he Butes-
waslike to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in his manners and con- pfcfoHy In
versation; that is, in holiness of life, in morals and virtue. St. sitionand
Epiphanius says of him: "James is called the brother of the virtues.
Lord on account of the likeness of manners, not by nature, but
by grace." 5 To the same effect writes St. Jerome on the words,
" other of the apostles I saw none, saving James, the brother of
1 Jacobus iste dictus est frater Domini, scilicet Cbristi ; quoniam in vultus dispositione,
lineamentisque corporis, ac modo conversationis exstitit ei simillimus.
8 Si licitum mihi est, apud te Hierosolymam volo ascendere, ut videam ilium venerabileai
Jacobum, quern referunt Jesu Cbristo simillimum facie, vita et modo conversationis.
8 Quemcunque osculatus fuero, ipse est ; tenete eum. — Matt. xxvi. 48.
4 Speciosus forma prse flliis bominum. — Ps. xliv. 3.
6 Jacobus frater Domini appellatur, propter morum similitudinem, non secundum natu-
ram, sed per gratiam.
1 36 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
the Lord ": 1 " Let this suffice, that on account of his excellent
virtue and incomparable faith and unusual wisdom he was called
the brother of the Lord/'' 3 For,, as St. Epiphanius writes, James
was brought up with Our Lord from his childhood, and he saw
daily for years the most holy life and wonderful virtues of the
incarnate Wisdom, whose every action should serve as our model
and pattern; so that he must have increased daily in sanctity by
the force of this holy example, and have inherited the disposition
and manner of Him in whose footsteps he trod. For if it is true:
"With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the innocent man
thou wilt be innocent, and with the elect thou wilt be elect," 3
then James must have put on some resemblance to Our Lord,
since even from his childhood he consorted with the Holy of
holies, with innocence itself, and with the Crown of the elect; es
pecially since He who afterwards said to His apostles, " I have
given you an example, that as I have done to you so you do al
so," 4 must have daily instructed His companion, not only by
example, but also by word and teaching.
To see this clearer, let us compare the two: Jesus Christ and
ness> James. For when we wish to know whether the copy is like the
original, the picture like the model, all we need do is to set them
beside each other and compare them. The foundation of all the
other virtues is humility and meekness; the whole life of Jesus
Christ, from His incarnation to His death on the cross, was a
constant exercise of humility and meekness; and these virtues
are the ones He recommends most warmly to His Christians:
" Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart." Ex
cellently well did St. James learn this lesson and take it to heart.
Of all the apostles he may well be called the most humble and
meek. " His eye was gentle and placid/' 6 writes Surius of him;
and he mentions that as a point of distinction between him and
the other disciples. He showed himself so in reality; for if it
was to be ascribed to the humility of Christ that He remained
unknown to the world for thirty years, concealing the dignity
1 Aliura apostlorum vidi neminem, nisi Jacobum fratrem Domini.— Gal. i. 19.
2 Hoc sufflciat, ut propter egregios mores et incomparabilem fldem, sapientiamque non
modicam, frater dictus sit Domini.
8 Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum viro innocen.te innocens eris, et cum electo electus eris.
—Ps. xvii. 26, 27.
4 Exemplum dedi vobis, ut quemadmodum ego feci vobis, itaet vos faciatis.— John xiii. 15.
§ Disclte a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde.— Matt. xi. 39.
6 Oculus ejus lenis et placidus.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 1 37
and excellence of His person, and afterwards, during His public
mission, wished to be known only as the Son of Man, as He always
called Himself; in the same way, says Surius, the profound hu
mility of James caused him to keep the strictest silence about the
special graces with which Christ honored him, especially that
signal favor Our Lord conferred on him in appearing to him im
mediately after the resurrection, as St. Paul, inspired by the
Holy Ghost, tells us; and this silence he kept so strictly, lest he
should be thought too much of. For the same reason in his
Epistle he calls himself only by the name of " servant of God."
" Although," as Surius remarks, " he might have called himself
an apostle or a bishop, or, what is still greater, the brother of the
Lord — names by which Paul speaks of him, writing to the Gala-
tians — yet he seems to delight in the humble appellation, and
makes known to the tribes of Israel that he is the servant of
God." Christ showed His wonderful meekness in bearing with
the uncouthness of His disciples, who at first were very ignorant,
and often quarrelled and disputed with one another; and by the
same meekness and affability He gained the hearts of the mul
titudes who followed Him. James was also meek; for, accord
ing to the opinion of the Venerable Bede, he was chosen in pref
erence to all the other apostles, after the stoning of St. Stephen,
to be bishop of Jerusalem, in order to win the hearts of the Jews,
who were embittered by the sharp reproofs addressed to them by
the zealous protomartyr. " You stiff-necked and uncircumcised
in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Ghost; " 2 and so
great were his meekness and affability that he gained them over
in great part to Christ. For nine and twenty years he governed
the Church in the greatest tranquillity, and without any opposi
tion, so that the heathen and Jewish converts, who formerly had
some disputes with each other, united in regarding him as their
father; and even the blind and perverse Jews who refused to be
converted held him in the highest esteem.
Amongst the many beautiful sayings which the wise Plato has injustice
left the world is the following: "Nothing is more like to God
than one among men who is found to be very just." If such is life.
1 Cum ei liceret seipsum vocare apostolum, aut episcopum, aut, quod majus est, fratrem
Domini, quibus nominibus ipsum quoque Paulus siguiflcavit, scribens ad Galatas ; videtur
delectari humilioribus, se esse servum Dei signiflcat tribubus Israel.
2 Dura cervice, et incircumcisis cordibus et auribus, vos semper Spiritui Sancto reslstitis.
— Actsvii. 51.
8 Deo nihll est similius, quam cum ex hoinmibus aliquis justissimus est.
138 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
the case, my dear brethren, who will not see the resemblance of
James in this respect to Our Lord, who says of Himself: " Itbe-
cometh us to fulfil all justice," * and who was able to challenge
His envious foes to convict Him of guilt: " Which of you shall
convince Me of sin ? " a In the History of his life and in the An
nals of the Church this apostle is generally called James the just;
James the divine; " James, the brother of the Lord, whom all call
the just."5 Cardinal Baronius writes of him: " He was looked
upon by all as most just on account of his great wisdom and the
piety which he cultivated so assiduously during his life."4 On
account of the same justice and holiness, as Simeon Metaphras-
tes testifies, he alone was allowed to enter the tabernacle or the
holy of holies in the temple of Jerusalem as often as he pleased,
although the high-priest could not do so more than once a year.
And although the Acts of the Apostles say that there was a terri
ble persecution set on foot by the Jews in Jerusalem against the
Christians, "at that time there was raised a great persecution
against the church which was at Jerusalem,"6 yet James alone
continued to go into the temple, and up to the six and ninetieth
year of his age to preach Jesus Christ crucified, in presence of all
the people, without the least hindrance; for although the stiff-
necked Jews were so embittered against the Christian religion,
they did not dare to do anything against the person of James,
through respect for his innocence, justice, and holiness of life;
on the contrary, each one thought himself fortunate to be allowed
to touch even the hem of the apostle's garment, as was the case
with Our Lord during His life on earth. St. Jerome says that
" such was his sanctity and the veneration in which he was held
by the people that they strove with each other to touch the hem
of his garment." ' What the scribes and Pharisees said to Our
Lord in their hypocrisy and envious desire to ensnare Him in
His speech, " Master, we know that Thou art a true speaker, and
carest not for any man; for Thou regardest not the person of
men, but teachest the way of God in truth," 7 that the scribes
Decet nos iraplere omnem justitiam.— Matt. iii. 15.
Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato?— John viii. 46.
Jacobus frater Domini, quern ornnes justum appellant.— Annal. Anno 63. n. 2.
Propter summum sapientiae, et pietatis studium, quod in vita assidue excoluerat, ab
omnibus justissimus putabatur.— Metapb. in Vita S. Jacobi.
Facta est autem persecutio magna in ecclesia quae erat Jerosolymis. — Acts viii. 1.
Vir f uit tantae sanctitatis et rumoris in popiilo, ut flmbriam vestimenti ejus certatim cu-
perent attingere.
7 Magister, scimus quia verax es, et non curas quemquam ; nee enim vides in faciem ho-
minum, sed in veritate viam Dei doces.— Mark xii. 14.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 139
and Pharisees said in earnest to James afterwards, when they
tried to induce him to dissuade the people from believing in
the faith of Christ: " We beg of you to restrain the people; for
we all have confidence in yon; for we protest, and all the people
with us, that you are just and are not a respecter of persons." l
Could any copy be more like the original than James is like Our
Lord in this respect?
We know well from the gospel how earnestly Our Lord ex- in the spin;
horted His disciples to constant prayer, not only by words, but
also by example, so that He often separated Himself from them ance.
during the day to go into the mountain to pray, and even de
prived Himself of rest during the night for the same purpose:
" He passed the whole night in the prayer of God," 2 says St.
Luke. We need not say anything of His fasting and mortifi
cation; for besides the forty days' fasting in the desert, He calls
the fulfilment of His Father's will His food and drink: " My
meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, that I may per
fect His work." How did James act in both 'these respects?
He hardly did anything else but pray; he was always on his knees
in the tabernacle in the temple, as Hegesippus and Metaphrastes
testify; the latter says: " He constantly went alone into the holy
of holies; and immediately on entering threw himself on his
knees, and begged for the remission of the sins of the people; so
that his knees became hard, like those of a camel, from being
bent so constantly." The Church of the time had to thank
this prayer for the preservation of the life of the Prince of the
apostles, St. Peter; for as he lay in prison, waiting to be led forth
the following day, St. James assembled all the Christian people,
and they prayed most fervently for the release of Peter: " Prayer
was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him; " *
and Peter was liberated miraculously by an angel. The city of
Jerusalem had to thank the same prayer for being saved so long
from the terrible punishments and vengeance prophesied against
it by Christ as a chastisement for the crime of deicide it had
1 Rogamus te, inhibe populura ; nam tibi omnes fldem habernus ; nos enim protestamur, et
omnis populus nobiscum una, te justum esse, nee personam accipere.
2 Erat pernoctans in oratione Dei.— Luke vi. 12.
3 Meus cibus est ut faciam voluntatem ejus, qui misit me, ut perflciam opus ejus. — John
iv. 34.
4 Solus in sancta sanctorum perpetuo ingreditur ; ingrediensautemseinclinabat ingenua,
et populo conciliabat remissionem peccatorum ; adeo ut instar camelorum ei genua obdure-
scerent, eo quod ea flecteret assidue.
6 Oratio autem flebat sine intermissione ab ecclesia ad Deum pro eo.— Acts xii. 5.
140 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
committed; for at once after the martyrdom of James, and when
he had ceased praying, the city was taken by the Emperor Titus.
With regard to the self-denial of this apostle, we may well say
that as his life was a continual prayer, so also it was a contin
ual fast and mortification. We read in the Divine Office that
" James, the brother of the Lord, surnamed the just, from his
childhood drank neither wine nor any strong drink, and ab
stained from the use of flesh-meat; he barely took bread and
water enough to still the pangs of hunger, and with these he
mingled bitter tears for the sins of the people."
in the love Stern and severe as he was to himself, so he was affable and
Bothers, beneficent to others. " His hands were always employed in do
ing good," J says the author of his Life. Is not that exactly
what the Scripture says of Our Lord? Who " went about doing
good and healing all." 2 The love and beneficence of both were
exercised chiefly for the good of the souls of men; their efforts
tended to the conversion of sinners, to lead the erring back to
the right path, to keep the just constant, and to bring all, as far
as in them lay, to eternal happiness; to this end tended all their
preachings and exhortations. What beautiful and instructive
lessons St. James gave to his people of all classes you can see for
yourselves in his Epistle. There you will read how he encour
aged the desponding in temptations; how he comforted the sor
rowing in tribulations; how he instructed the rich not to be
elated by their wealth, but rather to be humble; the poor to be
patient and think themselves happy in their poverty; while he
exhorts all to avoid vainglory and much talking, to shun anger,
cursing, the love of the world, and similar vices; how he encour
ages all to practise mercy, charity towards one another, constant
prayer, and confidence in God; hardly a virtue is there which he
does not inculcate on his people with a most wonderful eloquence.
But is not that the same doctrine that Jesus Christ preached
during His public mission? Open the gospel and compare the
teaching of Christ with that of St. James, and you will be
obliged to confess that both speak, as it were, out of one mouth.
And where and to whom did Our Lord preach? To the Jewish
people alone in the city and country of Judea. " I was not sent,"
He says, " but to sheep that are lost of the house of Israel." *
1 Manus ejus semper movebantur ad benefaciendum.
a Pertransiit benefaciendo et sanando omnes. — Acts x. 38.
8 NOD sum missus nisi ad oves quae perierunt domus Israel.— Matt. xv. 34.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 141
There you see still clearer the resemblance between them; these
very Israelites in Jerusalem were the people to whom St. James
preached the gospel; for when the other apostles divided the
world between them, and went out to convert the heathens, it
was doubtless provided by Divine Providence that James should
remain with the Jews. Finally, both received the same reward
for their beneficence and love from the same thankless nation
whom they had benefited, namely, a violent death; Christ, at
the instigation of the high-priests and chief men of the people,
was crucified; James, at the instigation of the envious high-priest
Ananus and the chiefs of the Jews, was hurled from the top of
the temple and killed with a blow of a club.
0 holy apostle, what a glory and honor for thee to be so st. James ic
like Jesus, the Son of God, in all things! If the eternal Father ^™f'
lias elected for heaven those " whom He foreknew, He also pre- this likeness
destinated to be made conformable to the image of His Son,"1 toctirist-
how high must thou not have ascended in glory, since from the
very beginning of thy life to the end thou hast so closely imi
tated this divine Son in all thy actions! To the end of thy life,
I say; for in this respect nothing but the mode of death inter
feres with the perfection of the resemblance to the death of Christ
on the cross. But this special praise thou dost leave to him
whose feast is celebrated on this day in union with thine; name
ly, thy holy companion Philip, for of all the others he was most
like the Son of God in His death, as thou wert in His life. We
shall consider this in the
Second Part.
It is true that all the martyrs of Christ are like Him in as far st. pwiip, m
as His passion and death are concerned; for they all suffered cumstances
with and for Christ, and died violent deaths; yet in the man- of his suf-
ner in which most of them died we find a great difference. Many death^was
had nothing more to suffer than to have their heads cut off by a like bis suf-
blow of a sword or an axe; others were poisoned; others died
through privation in prison; others were pierced with a spear; lour,
others shot with arrows, others stoned to death, others flayed
alive, others burned, and so on. Our Lord suffered nothing of the
kind. Peter and Andrew were indeed crucified, but none of the
things that happened to Our Lord before and after His execution
1 Quos praescivit et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui.— Rom. viii. 29.
142 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
happened to them. To Philip alone belongs the honor of suffer
ing and dying almost exactly like his divine Master in nearly
every circumstance. Let us see if this is not the case.
What aroused the Jews and incited them to take Our Lord
prisoner and nail Him to the cross was the envy of the high-
priests and scribes, who could not bear the doctrine He preached
publicly, nor the many miracles He wrought everywhere, espe
cially the raising the dead to life, on account of which the people
followed Him in crowds, and listened eagerly to His doctrine.
" What do we? " said they, filled with wrath and envy; "for this
man doth many miracles.1" ' " Behold, the whole world is gone
after Him; " 3 we must not suffer that any longer. We will con
demn and sentence Him to death as a sorcerer, who draws the
people to Him by the black art. And this plan they determined
to carry out; the innocent Son of God was seized in the Garden
of Gethsemani and dragged away. My dear brethren, it was also
a diabolical envy, and for the same reasons, too, that plotted
against the life of St. Philip and eventually caused his death.
"This wonderful apostle," says Metaphrastes, "having been
appointed to Asia as the scene of his apostolic labors, travelling
about that country visited all its towns and villages, and brought
a vast number of people to the light of the true faith, all of whom
he baptized and brought to the eternal Father; nay, he even
cured the sick and freed those possessed by the demon by a mere
word, or by the imposition of his sacred hand; and thus he con
verted a great number to Christ." Amongst other miracles it
is to be noted that he raised three dead persons to life.4 The
gospel tells us that Our Lord restored three dead people to life:
the daughter of Jairus, the widow's son of Nairn, and Lazarus.
That it was that made the envious demon so enraged with our
holy apostle; the wonderful and evident miracles he wrought,
the conversion of so many souls, the extraordinary spread of the
divine honor and glory he could not endure, and therefore he
excited the chiefs of the city of Hierapolis, where the apostle
then was, and by their aid aroused the heathens against him, so
1 Quid faciraus, quiahic homo multasigna facit?— John xi. 47.
3 Ecce, totus mundus post eum abiit.— Ibid. xii. 19.
3 Admirabilis hie apostolus, sortitus Asiam, ipsaraque circumiens, et omnes in ea urbes
oppidaque pervadens, innumerabilem multitudinem adduxit ad pietatem, quos universes
lumine repenerationis consignans, rosiest! adduxit Patri. Quin et inflrmitatibus morbisque
afflictos solo verbo, sanctseque raanus impositione curabat ; atque ita maximum credentium
per se numerum adduxit Christo.— Apud Bolland. in Act. Sanct. 1. Maji.
* Nan et tres mortuos legitur suscitasse.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 143
that in their blind fury they fell upon St. Philip and dragged
him to prison. Thus this zealous apostle began his passion like
Christ, his Master, and from the same cause. See now if his
martyrdom was not like Our Lord's passion throughout.
Nearly everything that the gospel tells us of the sufferings of During hts
Christ seems to me a symbol of that which was afterwards done su
to Philip. For if I consider the shameful abuse and blasphemy
that the scribes, high-priests, and the Jewish rabble uttered
against Christ I hear the senseless heathens raging in the same
terms against the apostle of Christ. Hardly had he appeared
before the tribunal when one of the chief men of the city ac
cused him of being a seducer and a sorcerer, who befooled the
people and led them astray. If I consider Christ as He was
iragged by the Jews through the streets of Jerusalem, buffeted,
sput upon, and pulled along by the hair, I see Philip, too, in simi
lar circumstances, suffering the same vile treatment from the
heathens. And the same chief man of the city, at the first sight
of the holy man, was so inflamed with- anger and fury that he
became, as it were, beside himself, forgot his dignity and office,
and laid violent hands on the apostle, dragged him by the hair
from one place to another, and finally threw him into a cesspool,1
is we read in the history of his life. I will leave you to imagine
what the wild multitude did to the servant of God, after having
seen such an example in their chief. Metaphrastes describes it
i.n a few words: " They, too, took him and put him into a vile dun
geon, and beat him most cruelly." 2 if I further consider how
Christ, when under the hands of the reckless rabble, was inhu
manly scourged until the blood streamed down from His sacred
body, I read also of Philip that he suffered the same cruel treat
ment from the barbarians,3 as Surius tells us. Finally, if I cast
my eyes on Christ hanging on the shameful cross, which was
then looked on as the most painful and disgraceful death, and
see Him exposed to the mockery and insults of the crowd on
Mount Calvary, in the same way I behold St. Philip hanging on
a shameful cross, on a height near the city of Hierapolis, for the
honor of Christ and of our holy faith. I do not read in his Life
that he was crowned with thorns; but the humble disciple of
Christ wished to leave that mark of honor to his divine Master
1 Aristarchus apprehensa apostoli coma, ipsum per lutura impulit.
* Qui eum eornprehenderunt, daro incluserunt career!, duriusque ceclderunt.
8 Acerbius flagellaverunt et verberarunt.
1 44 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
as the King of martyrs; yet we may say that in some measure
this crown was represented in his martyrdom, for as he was
hanging on the cross, in the utmost agony, the infuriated rabble
threw stones at him, thus forming for his head a crown far more
glorious than diamonds and precious stones. Truly, he was a
faithful servant who so steadfastly followed every footstep of his
Master, even to the cross.
in the man- There is one circumstance I must not pass by in which the
which be resemblance of the suffering apostle with the suffering Redeem-
«'iflere«i. er is still more striking; namely, the manner in which Philip ac
cepted his martyrdom and bore it. We know from the gospel
how eagerly Our Lord longed for His passion, how joyfully He
foretold it to His disciples, how He congratulated Himself that
the time for it had at last arrived, and what wonderful and in
comprehensible patience and meekness, love and beneficence, He
showed towards His tormentors amidst so many insults, pains,
and tortures. In all these things Philip tried to imitate the ex
ample of his Master, and to follow it to the best of his ability.
From the beginning of his apostolate he desired nothing more
eagerly, and in his long and tedious journeyings through differ
ent countries and kingdoms, preaching the gospel, announcing
the true faith, he sought for nothing more earnestly than the
happiness of dying, shedding his blood and giving his life for
Him who died for men. And how he rejoiced when, after so
many labors, in the eighty-seventh year of his age, he learned by
divine revelation the death that was in store for him ! As if he
could not contain himself for joy, he assembled the chiefs of his
Christians, and told them of the combat that was before him.
" Seven days before his death he summoned the priests, deacons,
and bishops of the neighboring cities, and said to them: Seven
days has the Lord still granted me to live." 1 He then exhorted
them to be constant in the faith and to rely on the divine aid.
" Be mindful of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and act manfully. But
the Lord will fulfil His promise, and strengthen and confirm His
kingdom." 2 And with what joyous courage did he not learn by
revelation that his enemies were already on the way to apprehend
him! He could not wait their arrival, but got up at once and
1 Ante septem dies migrationis suae vocavit ad se omnes presbyteros et diaconos, sed et
vicinarum urbium episcopos, et dixiteis : Hos septem dies mihi Dominus in ista vitaconces-
sit.
2 Memores estote Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et state viriliter. Dominus autem comple-
bit promissum suum, et corroborabit Ecclesiam suam.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 145
went boldly to meet them/ and offered himself voluntarily to
them, as Christ presented Himself to the traitor Judas and the
Jewish rabble. With regard to his invincible patience and meek
ness, we can well say that, as the Prophet said of the Saviour of
the world: " He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter. . . and He
shall not open His mouth; "2 so we may say of the apostle that
as he was led to the slaughter he opened not his mouth, unless to
sound the praises of God. And what most surprises me here is
the wonderful love and benevolence with which he regarded his
executioners, even in the midst of his torments. You know, my
dear brethren, that Christ by the mere touch of His hand healed
the ear of Malchus, one of the servants of the high-priest who
had come out to apprehend Him, and whom Peter had wounded
with a sword: " And when He had touched his ear He healed
him." 3 Hear how Philip treated his worst enemy, the magistrate
of the city. The latter, as we have seen already, had seized the
holy man and dragged him along by the hair; hardly had he with
drawn his sacrilegious hand when he felt the effects of the divine
wrath. His hand withered, he lost the sight of one eye, he be
came deaf in both ears, and his whole body was tormented by an
intolerable cramp. What did the holy man do? He prayed to
God, and then commanded one of his disciples to make the sign
of the cross on the magistrate's body, and behold, at once all the
pains were taken away, and he was restored to the full use of all
his members and senses.4 Is not that being a true imitator of
Jesus Christ, since he not only suffered nearly all the different
kinds of torture endured by Our Lord, but in his sufferings dis
played so heroically the virtues of Christ?
To make this resemblance still clearer, let us go to the places Before
of execution, and cast our eyes on the crucified Saviour and on deatn-
the disciple hanging also on a shameful cross, and consider how
the glorious death of the one resembles that of the other in
almost every circumstance. By the cross of Christ I behold Mary
standing, His most holy and virginal Mother, burning with love
for her divine Son, and overwhelmed with sorrow and compassion;
by the cross of Philip I see his virginal sister, Mary, or, as she is
called by some, Mariamne, who accompanied him in his toilsome
journey to Hierapolis, stood by him in his passion, and shared his
1 Intrepide exivit.
2 Tanquam ovis ad oocisionem ducetur . . . et non aperiet os suum.— Is. lilt. 7.
8 Cum tetigisset auricularn ejus sanavit eum.— Luke xxii. 51.
4 Aristarcbum articulis restauratis integrum effecit.— Hagiogr. Antwerp, in Mirac. S. Phil.
146 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
sufferings as far as her wish went, at least. 1 I hear Christ speaking
seven times on the cross; Philip preached the whole day, as long as
he lived on his cross, and did not cease to give the people salutary
instructions until his last breath, and to exhort them to put their
trust in God.3 Christ on the cross prayed for His enemies; so
also did Philip for those who crucified him.3 At the crucifixion
and death of the Saviour the earth trembled and shook through
compassion and horror at the murder of its Creator; at the cru
cifixion of Philip the earth not only shook, but even opened and
swallowed down his persecutors: 4 " The people began to sink
down into the crevice, and were in imminent danger of perishing
miserably; " 5 nor, as there is reason to believe, would any one
have been saved had not the people acknowledged their fault,
and appealed unanimously to the holy apostle for help: " They
begged of him to stretch forth his helping hand to them, and not
to allow those to perish who were in danger on his account alone."
Whereupon they were saved by God, who miraculously rescued
them from the abyss, in which many of them had already sunk.
Christ did not wish to descend from the cross, although He might
have done so by His almighty power, and the Jews scornfully
invited Him to come down: " If Thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross." Philip did not wish to be freed from
his cross, although the people who had been so wonderfully saved
by his intercession ran up to take him down, and begged of
him to allow them to free him: " Philip prevented them, for he
knew that he was about to go to Him whom he so longed to
see." ' Finally, when Christ was on the point of death, He gave
up the ghost with a loud cry into the hands of His heavenly
Father; the dying Philip did the same: " He went to the Lord
whom he loved, commending his soul into His hands."9 Riba-
1 Soror Mariamne corpore et animo virgo, neque magis natura fratri conjuncta, quam ani-
mo, aderat patient! Philippo, cum eoque patiebatur ac sustinebat cruciatum.
a Sublime pendens, de iis quae eraiit eis futura utilia, tota die disserebat, et flduciaconflr-
mans eorum animos, sacrosancte cum sacris excessit eloquiis.
Pro eis supplicans.
Concussa terra, et tremorem insolitum patiente . . . subvertitur funditus locus, atque in
pr fundum dehiscit.
Absorbebatur populus, eratque in periculo miserrimae perditionis.
Rogabant dexteram eis suam porrigeret, neque despiceret animas, ipsius solius causa
periclitantes.
Si Filius Dei es descende de cruce.— Matt, xxvii. 40.
Prohibuit Philippus, sciebat enim'sese jam jam emigraturum ad ilium quern desiderabat.
Ad Dominum quern amaverat, transiit, animam suam in manus illius commendans,—
Metaph. in Vita.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 147
deneira adds: " Dying, he returned due thanks to God for hav
ing deigned to cause him to imitate the death of the Lord."
And indeed what greater grace could he have prayed for or de
sired than that of such conformity with his suffering and dying
Redeemer?
Nay, after the death of the apostle some circumstances occurred After deam
which are most like those that happened after the death of our
Saviour. Do we not read that hardly had Our Lord breathed
His last when the centurion who had to assist at the fulfilment
of the sentence against Him opened his eyes to the light of faith,
acknowledged Him who was hanging dead on the cross to be the
Son of God, and freely confessed his belief: "Indeed this was the
Son of God " ? a And, as St. Luke tells us, the people, too, were
touched, and acknowledged their error: " And all the multitude
of them that were come together to that sight, and saw the things
that were done, returned, striking their breasts." When they
saw the earth quake, says St. Matthew, they were sore afraid.
Metaphrastes relates a similar incident at the death of St. Philip:
as soon as he gave up the ghost on the cross the eyes of the heath
ens were opened, and partly through astonishment at his invin
cible virtue, and partly through dismay at the earthquake, they
execrated their own cruelty, and having renounced idolatry,
served the true God with all their hearts. " This opened the
way of salvation to the infidels, who while they acknowledged the
great power of Philip, praised and glorified much more the Al
mighty whom he had preached to them."' Last of all, let us ac
company both to the tomb. The more ignominious the death of
Christ, the more glorious was His sepulchre, for He was taken
down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea, a noble, and by
Nicodemus, a prince among the Jews, who anointed His body
with costly spices, and placed it in a new tomb hewn out of the
rock, in which no one had ever been buried. Was not almost
the same honor shown to Philip after the disgrace of the cross?
" His sacred body," writes the author of his Life, " was placed,
with hymns and sacred rites, in a consecrated and becoming
1 Mortens meritas Deo gratias egit, quod se Dominicae mortis imitatorem facere dignatus
esset.— Ribaden. 1. Maji.
3 Vere Filius Dei erat iste.— Matt, xxvii. 54.
3 Omnis turba eorum, qui simul aderant ad spectaculum istud, et videbant quae fleb^Qt,
percutientes pectora sua revertebantur. — Luke xxiii. 48.
4 Haec f uit via fldei ad salutem infldelibus, et simul quidem magnum esse Philippine, ma
Jorem quoque ilium quern annunciabat Dominum prsedicarunt.
148 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
place by Bartholomew and Mariamne, after they had performed
in splendid style the usual funeral obsequies." 1 So that in both
ciises the honor paid after death atoned in some sort for the dis
grace suffered before it. Could any stronger proof be adduced
to show the resemblance between Christ and Philip in their pas
sion and death?
so that both There, my dear brethren, you have two true disciples, perfect
iT^To^r5 followers, and, in a word, as I undertook to prove, two apostles
Lord. most like to Christ; the one imitating the life of Christ, the other
His death, both with an exactitude that fills the world with aston
ishment. Truly, their fame is not to be surpassed; nor can any
thing more be added to the praise due to them. The eternal Truth
Himself says, in the gospel of St. Matthew: "It is enough for
the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his
lord."2 If it is an honor and glory for a man to be like an
other man who is his master, have we not reason to say that these
true servants, these zealous disciples of Christ have reached the
highest pinnacle of honor and glory, since they were raised with
their divine Master to such a wonderful likeness to the great
Monarch of heaven and earth? Yes, 0 glorious apostles, it is
enough! this alone is more than enough; this alone is the high
est and greatest thing that can be said of you, that you were
most like to Christ. This alone is enough to show the excellence
of your virtues, your perfection and holiness; this alone is enough
to enable us to form some idea of the greatness of your merits;
this alone is enough to make your glory, your praise, your fame
illustrious and immortal before heaven and earth.
we, too, My dear brethren, can we take any part of this fame and glory
mm. € ^ to ourselves? Are not we, too, disciples and servants of Christ?
Yes, we profess to be such when we say that we are Christians.
But wherein do we show the likeness to Christ, our Master? Is it
not that likeness that makes the true disciple of Christ? " What
does it mean to be a Christian? " asks St. Gregory of Nyssa. And
he answers the question by saying that "it means having a like
ness to God as far as is possible to human infirmity." 3 The same
answer is given by St. John Climacus: " The Christian," he says,
1 Venerandum illius corpus a Bartholomseo et Mariamne, cum ea splendide persolvissent,
v quse fieri in sepulturis consueverant, depositum est cum hymnis et obsequiis sacris, In loco
saucto et decenti.
2 Sufflcit discipulo, ut sit sicut magister ejus, et servo sicut dominus ejus.— Matt. x. 25.
8 Quid est aliud esse Christianum ? Nisi habere cum Deo similttudinem, quatenus capit
humana ratio.— S. Greg. Nyss. in Verbb. Faciames Hominem.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James. 149
"is one who tries to imitate Christ in word and work as far as is
possible for a human being." 1 That is the first and most sacred
duty to which we bind ourselves in holy baptism, a duty that
nothing can excuse us from fulfilling. Besides the redemption of
the human race, that was the chief object that Christ had in
view in His life and passion; namely, to be our model, as St.
Peter says: "Leaving you an example, that you should follow
His steps/72 and endeavor to be like unto Him. If we do not
tread in His footsteps, if we do not follow His example, if our
lives and actions do not harmonize with the life and actions of
Christ, then to no purpose do we boast of being Christians. "To
no purpose are we called Christians if we are not imitators of
Christ."3
And how is it with us in this particular? The whole life of But most
Our Lord was nothing but humility, meekness, self-denial, mor- notataiisk
tificaiion, temperance, and abstinence, love of God and man — in a in their
word, it was the most perfect justice and holiness. We have
seen how excellently St. James imitated his divine Master in this
respect. Now let each of us compare his own life with that of
Christ, and see whether there is any resemblance. Must we not
acknowledge that in nearly every point we find a difference? In
stead of humility we find pride and worldly vanity; instead of
meekness, anger and desire of revenge; instead of self-denial and
mortification, the satisfaction of our own will, the gratification of
our senses, and the constant search after bodily comforts and the
delights of the flesh; instead of temperance and abstinence, glut
tony and drunkenness; instead of the love of our neighbor, hatred
and envy; instead of the love of God, a coldness and tepidity so
great that the least occasion is enough to turn our hearts away
from God to the unlawful use of creatures. In a word, instead of
justice and perfection, we find nothing but sin and vice. Truly,
a fine way to resemble such a perfect and divine model. Ah, too
true is the complaint of Haymo: "We find Christ on the lips of
all, but not in the lives of all;" * for, alas! He is found there only
in very few cases.
1 Christianas est qui Christum quantum homini possibile est, imitari nititur verbis et
operibus.— S. Joan. dim. de Vian. Vita, pag. gr. 1. c. 1.
2 Vobis relinquens exemplum, ut sequamini vestigia ejus.— I. Pet. ii. 21.
3 FrustraappellamurChristiani, si imitatores non sumus Christi.— S. Leo, Serm. 5. in Na-
tiv. Dora.
* Omnium vox Christum clamat, sed non omnium vita Christum clamat. — Haymo, Dom,
Septuag.
1 50 On the Holy Apostles SS. Philip and James.
And in suf- And finally, what shall I say of our conformity to the passion
ferings. ^ deai^ of C}irjstp Philip bore nearly all the different kinds
of torments that Our Lord suffered, for His sake; what have we
endured for Christ? Philip, after the example of Christ, desired
the cross and suffering; we have a horror and dread of it; we
shun every kind of pain, mortification, and chastening of the
flesh, no matter how necessary it may be; the bare name of those
things shocks and makes us cowardly. Philip, during his mar
tyrdom, showed an invincible patience, and although he could
have come down from the cross, preferred to die on it, to be like
his divine Master; if the smallest cross is laid on us, if the least
stroke of adversity befall us, we murmur and complain and be
wail our lot, and strain every nerve to get rid of the cross. Phil
ip, after the example of Christ, prayed while on the cross for
those who nailed him to it, as if they had conferred on him the
greatest benefit, and actually saved them from the most immi
nent danger of temporal and eternal death; but we curse and vilify
those from whom we imagine we received an injury; we try to be
revenged on them, and do them all the harm we can. Is that the
way in which we ought to act as disciples of Christ, as true Chris
tians? Must we not be ashamed to see what a perfect resem
blance to Christ those holy apostles reached, while we are so ut~
terly unlike Him? Were they perhaps obliged to be more strict
in imitating His virtues and holiness than we? Did He propose
Himself as a pattern to them alone, and not to us as well? Has
He not said to all: "Learn of Me; for I have given you an ex
ample, that as I have done to you so you do also"?1 Truly,
my dear brethren, these words are for us all. We are Christians
as the apostles were; we have to follow the same holy doctrine
and example of Christ; the same duties and obligations to fulfil;
and even the same way of virtue and the cross that Christ point
ed out to them must be our road to heaven also. Once for all,
according to the express words of St. Paul, we must be made
conformable to the image of the Son of God if we wish to be in
the number of those whom God has chosen for eternal glory and
happiness.
Exhortation Come, then, let us at least make a resolution for the future,
thoJehoiy anc^ determine to live and suffer like Christ, Our Lord, after the
apostles in example of the holy apostles Philip and James. If we dare not
1 Diacite a me ; exemplum dedi vobis, ut quemadmodum ego feci vobis, ita et vos facia,-
tis.-Matt. xi. 29 ; John xiii. 15.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 151
promise to imitate His perfection, humility, meekness, self-deni- following
al, charity, justice, and holiness in the same degree as the apos-
tie St. James, we can at all events strain every nerve to follow fering.
Him at a distance, and represent in ourselves to some extent
those virtues that were proper to the Saviour. If we have not
the heart and courage to enter with Our Lord on the bitter way
of the cross, after the example of Philip, and to remain constant
ly thereon till death, then let us at least bear with patience and
contentment, after the example of Christ, the daily trials, crosses,
and disappointments that we seem never to be without, that in
some manner we may prove on rselves His true disciples. Yes, dear
est Lord, this is my firm resolve, and that, too, I trust, of all here
present. Do Thou grant us the help of Thy powerful grace,
which we humbly beg of Thee through the intercession of these
holy apostles of Thine, that we may keep our resolution, walk
in Thy footsteps, and so zealously endeavor to imitate Thy ex
ample, and to be made conformable to Thee, that we may one
day merit to gain this likeness, and resemble Thee in glory, as
Thy holy disciple St. John has promised to all who follow Thee:
" We know that when He shall appear we shall be like to Him," '
Amen.
FORTY-NINTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. BARTHOLOMEW.
Subject.
St. Bartholomew was, before all the other apostles, a most
glorious and illustrious martyr of Christ. — Preached on the feast
of St. Bartholomew.
Text.
Elegit . . . BartJiolomceum. — Luke xiii. 14.
" He chose . . . Bartholomew."
Introduction.
It is already a great distinction for Bartholomew to be selected,
in preference to so many others, to join that company of men
whom Our Lord Himself had chosen from all eternity to be His
1 Scimus, quoniam cum apparuerit similes ei erimus.— I. John iii. 2.
152 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
helpers in the great and holy work of the redemption; I mean
those twelve to whom He gave the title of Apostles, of men sent
by Him, and to whom, during His life on earth, He revealed the
most hidden secrets and decrees of Providence; nay, to whom He
opened His own heart, and to whom He left, after His ascent
into heaven, full power to rule the work so laboriously begun by
Him, His newly-established Church, and to spread it through
out the world. For what could be said more in praise of any
mere mortal than that he was chosen to perform such an im
portant and sublime duty, appointed to such a divine office by
the God of infinite wisdom, who is so foreseeing in the choice
He makes? Yet perhaps this privilege might be looked on as
an act of sheer generosity, an unmerited favor bestowed by Our
Lord. Much more, then, does our holy apostle deserve praise,
because, as far as he could, he made himself worthy, by a virtu
ous and exemplary life, to be raised to this high dignity. For
according to the most celebrated historians Bartholomew was
that renowned disciple Nathanael, who, as the gospel tells us,
at his first calling merited to be praised and publicly lauded by
Christ, the eternal Truth, as a true Israelite, in whom there was
no guile or deception, nor anything worthy of blame. But, in
my opinion, the chief praise of this great apostle consists in this,
that as he was dignified by Our Lord with the office of apostle,
so he brought to Christ, his Master and Eedeemer, special and
extraordinary honor, praise, and glory, as well in his apostolate
and while preaching the gospel as in his martyrdom, and by the
constancy with which he endured the most cruel and inhuman
torments; so that with just reason he is called, in preference to
the other apostles, a most glorious and illustrious martyr of
Christ in his sufferings, and therefore is deserving of admiration
and praise. There you have the matter of this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Bartholomeiv, in his martyrdom, was a most glorious and
illustrious martyr of Christ, in preference to the other apostles :
such is the whole subject. The moral lesson shall be that as we
are not worthy of martyrdom, yet, after the example of St. Bar
tholomew, we should at least honor Our Lord by constancy in
bearing trials, and by mortification and chastising the flesh.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 153
Help us to do this by Thy powerful grace, 0 Christ Jesus,
King of martyrs; this we beg of Thee through the merits of Thy
holy Mother, Mary, and of the holy angels.
Of course all the elements, and all lifeless and senseless creat- Lifeless
ures give their Creator honor and glory by doing, according to
their nature, in their different ways, that for which the divine
omnipotence has called them into being; nor is there a blade of when they
grass so worthless, a grain of sand so small as not to pay its against*™
Creator the due meed of service and honor by doing the work their na-
for which God created it, and proclaiming His majesty. Yet tu
these creatures show forth the divine honor still clearer when,
at a single sign on the part of God, they either restrain their
natural movements or allow themselves to be used to produce
effects that are extraordinary and contrary to their nature.
Thus never did the sea proclaim more wonderfully the power of
its Creator than on the day when, at the command of God, it
divided, so that its waves, quite in opposition to their natural
movement, heaped themselves up like a wall on either side, to
make for the Israelites, pursued by Pharao, a way by which they
might pass dryshod through its hitherto untrodden depths.
"Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified,"1
they sang with one voice when they beheld this wonder. Never
did fire better proclaim the honor of God and show its obedience
to Him than when in the Babylonian furnace it restrained its
sevenfold fury, and not only did not the least injury to the three
Hebrew youths, but even appeared to them as a cooling breeze,
as a most refreshing air. The proud Nabuchodonosor could not
restrain his astonishment at this; he " was astonished," says the
Scripture, "and rose up in haste . . . and breaking forth, said:
Blessed be their God . . . who hath delivered His servants that
believed in Him."2 Never did the winds give greater praise to
their Creator than when, being on the point of overwhelming
all with their impetuosity, they, at a single word of Christ, al
layed their fury and became tranquil. All who were present
knew not how to give expression to their wonder and awe:
" Who being afraid, wondered, saying one to another: Who is
this, think you, that He commandeth both the winds and the sea,
1 Cantemus Domino; gloriose enim magniflcatus est.— Exod. xv. 1.
2 Obstupuit, et surrexit propere . . . et erumpens ait : Benedictus Deus eorum, qui .
emit servos suos, qui crediderunt in eum.— Dan. iii. 91, 95.
Far more
honor did
God receive
from the
holy mar
tyrs, who
overcame
their na
ture, and
suffered
painful
deaths for
His glory.
1 54 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
and they obey Him?" Are not those wonderful effects, pro
duced by senseless and lifeless creatures at the command of their
Creator, irrefragable proofs, sufficient to convince even the most
obdurate of the unlimited power of the Almighty, and of the
right He has to our praise and adoration? But why should I
delay long on what such lifeless things do to honor their God by
extraordinary effects, and by acting contrary to their nature, as
if they could even thus add much to His honor? They are, after
all, but senseless tools, compelled by a force they cannot resist
to do this or that in opposition to their natural tendencies.
Reasoning men, endowed with free will, ye brave and faithful
servants of God, and you, especially, heroic martyrs of Christ,
you indeed show far more honor to the Divine Majesty, far more
glory and homage, when with your own free will and choice, for
the sake of God's glory, you fight against yourselves, freely con
quer your own natural inclinations, sacrifice goods and life for
His honor and glory, and go cheerfully to torments and death,
against which your nature struggles most violently, impelled
solely by your desire to prove to the world your love for God.
These are wonders of the grace of God, by which His perfections
are most clearly shown forth; these are heroic exploits of human
weakness, strengthened by grace, which compel the admiration
even of the angels; these are the victories and conquests that God
Himself looks on as His own triumphs, and in which He places
His honor and glory, as St. Jerome says: " The sufferings of the
martyrs and the blood they shed are the triumphs gained by
God."2 In a word, these are the most glorious proofs that a
reasoning creature can give of his adoration and reverence for
the infinite, divine Majesty. Therefore the holy Fathers prefer
martyrdom to all acts and practises of virtue, and praise it as the
greatest proof of charity. " Of all virtuous acts," says St.
Thomas of Aquin, " martyrdom especially shows the perfection
of charity; " for we prove our love for anything most of all by giv
ing up for its sake that which we should otherwise most love,
and select what we should otherwise most abhor. Now it is cer
tain that of all the goods of this life there is none we love more
than life itself, and nothing we hate more than death, especially
a painful death; hence it is evident that the sufferings of the mar-
1 Timentes, mirati sunt ad invicem, dicentes : quis, putas, hie est, quia et ventis et marl
imperat, et obediuut ei?— Luke viii. 25.
9 Triumphus Dei est passio martyrum et pro Christ! nomine cruoris eflusio.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 155
tyrs are more perfect than all other acts of human virtue, and
are a proof of the greatest love, according to the words of
Christ: "Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay
down his life for his friends." J This is the reason why they
who shed their blood and give their lives for Christ are called
martyrs, that is, witnesses of blood; because by shedding their
blood they prove to the whole world, and publicly profess that
the infinite and priceless majesty and goodness of God are such
that for their sake one ought to be ready to do, abandon, suffer,
and endure all. It was these heroic witnesses who most pro
moted the glory of Christ on earth, who spread His doctrine and
law throughout the world, and who preached His name, often
with tongues cut out or silenced in death, most powerfully of
all to the heathens and infidels of the world.
Now I think we may say of all the holy apostles that they were it is true
not only martyrs of Christ, but even among the martyrs the ftpOBttea
highest place belongs to them. For in addition to the fact that weremar-
during the life of Christ they shared to some extent in His
persecutions and sufferings for His sake, they were the chief of
those who preached the gospel of Christ throughout the world,
and they were the first to testify to its truth by the sacrifice
of their lives, so that, as it were, the whole earth was moistened
with their blood, and they were almost the first to give the hero
ic example of suffering martyrdom; so that, as they were placed
by Our Lord as the heads of Christianity and the examples of all
virtue, and should be regarded by us in that light, so also, in
the same degree, we must consider them as our patterns in pa
tiently bearing torments and afflictions for the name of Christ,
and we honor them as the chiefs of the martyrs. With reason
does St. John Chrysostom add this to the other praises of the
apostles: You are they who gave the example of constancy to the
martyrs, who encouraged them in their sufferings, inflamed them
with zeal for the divine honor, and made them invincible, in
spite of the tortures they had to endure.2 Yes, 0 holy apostles,
this can be said of you alone, that you are, as it were, the crown,
the ornament, and pattern of all the martyrs, and as their blood is
the seed of Christianity, according to Tertullian,3 so we may say
1 Majorem hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam pouat quis pro amlcis suie.— *
John xv. 13.
a Vos estls martyrum tolerantla.
8 SanRuis martyrum semen est Christianorum.
156 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
ret herein
of you that the blood you shed for Christ was the seed that pro-
duced so many martyrs in the Church of Christ, which, like a
fruitful field, was fertilized by your blood.
Yet as far as martyrdom is concerned, permit me to give Bar-
tholomew the preference above you all, and allow me to assert
boldly that he was the most illustrious and glorious martyr of
Christ, your Master, and the one who gave Him most honor and
glory in his sufferings. Why so? Mark this, my dear brethren.
There is no doubt that the hero procures greater renown and
honor for the king under whose banner he fights the greater and
more powerful the enemy whom he contends with and subdues;
for the might of the hostile force and the opposition made is, as
it were, the test of the glory obtained by victory, and therefore of
the honor gained by the sovereign. In the same way it cannot be
denied that that martyr gave more glory to Christ, his heavenly
King, and gained the brightest crown and palm of victory, who
endured with fortitude even to death the most atrocious, cruel, and
long-continued torments; for in this respect it is the same with
the valiant warrior and the constant and brave sufferer. Now
which of the apostles had to endure such a cruel, difficult, and
protracted martyrdom as St. Bartholomew? Truly, it was a
hard thing to offer one's neck freely to the sword, or to the axe,
as did St. Paul, St. James the Great, SS. Judas and Matthias;
a hard thing to offer one's body to the cross, as SS. Peter, An
drew, and Philip did; a hard thing to expose one's breast to the
hostile lance violently thrust against it with deadly intent, as
did the holy apostles Thomas and Matthew, or to stretch out
the body and allow one's self to be sawed asunder, as did St. Si
mon; or, finally, to have the head shattered by a blow of a club,
as was the case with the holy apostle James the Less. All these
were indeed glorious and wonderful martyrdoms, from which
Christ, the Leader and King, drew more honor and glory the
more His holy name was thereby made known and honored
throughout the world. Yet these torments and modes of death
were riot as unusual, nor as cruel and inhuman, nor as pro
tracted as were the sufferings and death of St. Bartholomew.
God indeed wished to be honored by the constancy and the blood
of all the apostles; yet it seems that He chose Bartholomew in a
special manner, in order to show the world, by his invincible
courage, what a true disciple and follower of Christ can do and
suffer. For him He reserved an extraordinary combat, a most
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 1 5 7
glorious victory, in which he wished to triumph over the worst
efforts of human cruelty and violence.
I will not now dwell on all that this holy apostle did during For besides
life for the honor of his Saviour; how he travelled through many !*!!!?""*
° * pcrSGCilllon
vast countries and kingdoms — through Asia Minor, Arabia, India, and tor-
Morocco, Phrygia, Mesopotamia, Armenia — everywhere preach- m
ing and sowing the seed of the Christian faith amid many perse- apostles,
cutions. For as Nicetas, an ancient writer, says in his panegyric
of St. Bartholomew: " What tongue can narrate the journey ings
and wanderings, the dangers, the labors, the flights, the wounds,
the prisons, the scourgings, the stonings, the revilings he endured?
Who can relate how often he was brought before judges, accused be
fore magistrates, calumniated, insulted, harassed, burnt, flogged,
torn, and mangled?"1 There you have a short sketch of all
the torments and trials that Bartholomew had to contend with.
Would not almost any one of them have sufficed to gain a glor
ious crown of martyrdom for him? But all that we have heard
hitherto was but a preparation and prelude to the chief combat
he had to sustain. Bartholomew was chosen and selected by God
for no ordinary martyrdom, for no simple victory, but for an ex
traordinary and manifold combat. In the town of Hierapolis, in
Phrygia, he was nailed to a cross with Philip, his fellow-apostle.
If he had then, like Philip, given up his heroic spirit he would
have been looked on as a martyr equal to Philip, Peter, and An
drew; but that palm-branch was too small for him; and there
fore God so ordained that his tormentors, terrified by a sudden
earthquake, took him down from the cross while still living, and
thus prolonged his life for further tortures. If Bartholomew had
had nothing more to suffer than decapitation, his glorious soul
would have ascended to heaven, and he would have shared in the
crown of St. James the Great, St. Paul, and St. Matthew; but in
that case he would have suffered only in one part of his body,
while the will of God was for him to suffer and conquer in his
whole body, in every part and member of it. Had he died on the
cross he would have endured only one kind of martyrdom, where
as almost countless kinds were ordained for him from above, that,
proved and perfected by so many tokens of victory, he might
make his heroism clearer, and give greater glory to God in his
1 Quis circuitus, itinera, pericula, labores, fugas, plagas, carceres, flagellationes, lapida-
tiones, opprobria valeat enumerare ? Quis abductiones ad presides, coram magistratibus
accusationes, calumnias, convitia, vexationes, ustiones, verbera, lacerationes ac laniatus po-
test recensere ?
i j 8 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
last combat, in which he alone was to fight in the place of many,
and by an unheard-of bravery to conquer cruelty itself.
He endured j sa/y cruelty itself; for what could be imagined more inhuman.
a most cruel . .. /.,
and pro- atrocious, or painful than that barbarous flaying, by which, as
tracted ali the wo rid knows, he was pat to death by the order of the
cruel Astyages? What fearful tortures, what intolerable agony
is comprised in that one word! Fastidious Christians, what do
you say or think of the ideas that word brings to your minds?
Ah, the prick of a needle seems too much for you to bear; and if
the plaster is taken off a small wound somewhat roughly, how
you shriek in agony! And if a small piece of proud flesh has to
be cut off a finger, what pain it causes! The mere anticipation
of the surgeon's visit to cure you, the bare sight of his instru
ments makes you tremble and shake with dread! And what is
it all compared to what St. Bartholomew had to suffer? For
they took the skin away, not from a corrupting limb, but from
the whole healthy body, from head to foot, and that, too, with
out any mercy, but with the utmost ferocity, violence, and ha
tred. If you can endure it, try to imagine what a terrible sight
it must have been for the holy apostle to look at the sharp
knives lying there before him, and to see the barbarous execu
tioners, inflamed with diabolical rage, running up to flay him as if
he were a dead animal! I dare not paint this picture to you in
too vivid colors, because the very idea of it is repugnant to nature;
I will content myself with the words of the gifted Louis of Gran
ada: When the executioners had bound the holy man to a post,
or, as some will have it, to across, in such a manner that he could
not move a limb, they fell upon him with the utmost ferocity,
and vied with one another in glutting their cruelty on him,
" They stripped him," says Louis, "and then, to get through
their work more conveniently, they began to cut furrows here
and there in his flesh, and opened the way, with their knives, be
tween the skin and the flesh; they then cut in still deeper, pull
ing off the skin with one hand, and with the other holding the
knife pressed so as to separate the skin from the flesh; in this
barbarous manner they tore the body of the holy man, lacerat
ing his back and breast, his arms, legs, and thighs; " 1 in a word,
1 Detractis vestibus, ut expeditiores essent, sulcare et scindere nine inde sarratissimum
illud corpus incipiunt, et inter cutem carnemque vias ferroaperire; rimari secreta viseerum,
et altera quidem maim pellem ad se trahere, altera ferrum stringere, et cutem acarne sepa-
rare; atque hac immanitate divini viri et terga, et pectora, et brachia, et femora, et crura
conscindunt, lacerant atque discerpunt.— Ludov. Granat. Serm. de S. Earth.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 159
they mangled his every limb. Gracious God, who can describe
the pain and anguish caused by such an extraordinary, manifold,
and protracted martyrdom! As to its being extraordinary, the
above quoted author says that such a mode of torment could have
been suggested only by the powers of hell to the tyrant Astyages.1
Of the manif-old torment it caused he says: " When Bartholo
mew offered his skin to the torture, he offered every member of
his body, and he suffered as many cruel deaths as there were
members to be flayed by the executioners." 2 Finally, I will al
low yourselves to judge how protracted his martyrdom must have
been; you may know, perhaps, how long it takes to skin a beast
that has been slaughtered. Seneca tells us of a Eoman tyrant,
who, to glut his cruelty, ordered one who had been condemned to
death to be executed in such a manner that he might feel death.
In the same barbarous fashion did Astyages treat our Saint in
condemning him to such a long-continued martyrdom. And
indeed not only was Bartholomew flayed alive, but he lived in
that state till the next day, and therefore suffered as many mar
tyrdoms in each limb as there were moments in the time dur
ing which he lived after the executioners had done their bloody
work. So that I can well conclude with the same author: " This
mode of death tortured the apostle most cruelly by the agony it
caused him, by its extraordinary nature, and by the length of
time it took."
And how did the holy man behave under those torments? He And with
did not even change the expression of his face, nor lay aside for toe most
a moment his natural cheerfulness and joy of heart, as our au- flrmness.
thor says.4 Not the least word of complaint escaped his lips,
nor did he betray any sign of inward suffering. Instead of com
plaining, he rejoiced and exulted as if the greatest good fort
une had befallen him, or the highest honor he could wish for
had been conferred on him. " The divine apostle looked on his
bleeding body as a royal garment, and on his executioners as the
workmen who were fashioning his crown; he considered his lacer
ated flesh as a holocaust and living sacrifice pleasing to God; and
fixing the eyes of his mind on the picture of his crucified Re-
1 Atrocissimum hoc supplicii genus, numquamanteavisum, satana instigante excogitavit.
8 Curn pellem dedit, omnia corporis membra dedit, atque tot mortes acerbissimas pertulit,
quot membra carniflci excorianda dedit.
8 Hoc supplicii genus acerbitate sua, et novitate, et diuturnitate apostolum immanisslme
cruciavit.
4 Semper eodem vultu, et animo Isetus et hilaris.
160 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
deemer, he triumphed, with an incredible feeling of consolation,
at beholding himself approaching more to the resemblance of
Christ by the death he was suffering, and giving back his own
blood for the blood by which he was redeemed/' 1 and thus made
a return to Our Lord as far as he could. Still more wonderful
is what St. Vincent writes of him; namely, that after the flaying
was completed, he took the skin that had been torn from his body
and placed it round his neck, like the stole of a priest, and thus
ascended an elevated place, as if it were a pulpit, and there, with
even more animation than usual, and in a loud voice, preached
Christ and His holy gospel. Be that as it may, I find all au •
thors agreed in this, that after the completion of his martyrdom
the holy apostle continued undauntedly to preach the doctrine of
Christ; although under the circumstances words were not neces
sary, since the torrents of blood that flowed from him announced
sufficiently the truth of the doctrine he professed, and were
in themselves a proof convincing enough for even the hardest
hearts. And this very heroic constancy so enraged the tyrant
Astyages, that, seeing that martyrdom could not daunt the cour
age or take away the life of the apostle — nay, that it rather added
to his firmness and zeal in preaching Christ, so that many were
converted by the spectacle — he ordered him to be beheaded on
the following day, that his own cruelty might no longer be defied
by the constancy of the apostle,2 as Peter de Natalibus tells us.
what glory My dear brethren, if Christ is crowned in the sufferings of all
given tQS the martyrs, because He is the source of victory to them all, as
Christ! St. Bruno says/ what a glorious crown of honor He must have
received from the incomparable triumph of this invincible mar
tyr! What glory accrued therefrom to the name of Christ! what
renown to the whole Church! And if every drop of blood shed
by the holy martyrs is a seed of new Christians, as we have seen
already, who will be surprised to learn that by the copious tor-
rents of blood shed by St. Bartholomew, not only did the Chris
tians of the place receive new courage and strength, but multi-
1 Divinus apostolus sanguineolentum corpus ut regalem purpuram intuebatur, carniflces
autem illos, coronarurn ministros atque fabricatores reputabat ; corpus lacerum holocaustum
et hostiamvivam Deo placentem existimabat; et mentis oculis in cruciflxi sui imaginem
deflxis, incredibili alacritate triumphabat, quod se illi per mortis supplicium similem fieri
videbat, et sanguini quo redemptus fuerat, vicem suo sanguini rependebat.
2 Cumque pelle nudatus, adhuc vivens permansisset et excoriatus Dominum praedicaret,
et multos tantum cerneutes miraculum, convertisset, jussu regis decollatus est die sequent!.
—Pet de Natal. 1. 7. c. 183.
8 In singulis sanctis coronatur Christus, quia omnis eorum victoria ipsius est.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 161
tudes of heathens, as we read in his Life, were converted on the
spot to the true faith. Thus the cruel bath of blood by which the
tyrant hoped to extinguish and destroy the faith was but a
means of adding notably to its adherents. Finally, if all the
martyrs when they suffer present an agreeable spectacle to heav
en and its inhabitants, what joy must they not have felt at see
ing this courageous servant and disciple of Christ enduring so
bravely and constantly such a dreadful martyrdom ! Seneca, con
sidering the patience of a just man under adversity, cries out:
" Behold a sight worthy of the attention of God Himself ! " 1 With
greater reason may I say of the martyrdom of Bartholomew: Be
hold a sight in which heaven finds joy, and God Himself pleas
ure and satisfaction! In truth, if Our Lord showed such extra
ordinary satisfaction at the charity of St. Martin, when the lat
ter divided his cloak with a poor man, as to appear to Martin
the following night, and say, as if touched, to a multitude of an
gels: Martin, while still a catechumen covered Me with this gar
ment, how incomparably greater must not have been the pleas
ure He felt when Bartholomew, out of sheer love for Him,
allowed the skin to be torn off his body, that he might honor
Our Lord therewith as with a purple mantle, and as a sign of
virtue?
This joy that Christ experienced in the constancy of His serv- Howgener-
ant was the reason of His conferring on him great graces, both J^J/re™
during his martyrdom and after his death. Not without reason warded the
does the learned Cardinal Baronius express his astonishment and JJ^lew
his inability to understand how a man, after suffering so terribly martyrdom i
as Bartholomew did in his martyrdom, could still preserve his
life; for the intensity of the agony he endured and the loss of
blood should have been enough to kill him. Still more amaz
ing is it that the holy apostle of Christ not only endured his
torments till the bitter end, but even continued for a whole day
after to preach with mangled and bleeding body, and to announce
Christ to the heathens, so that the tyrant, finding himself unable
to conquer his dauntless spirit by the cruel flaying, was forced
to have him decapitated in order to put him to death. Yes, I
acknowledge that this is, humanly speaking, impossible; and
from that very fact I conclude that God must have had an ex
traordinary satisfaction in the constancy of Bartholomew, for He
prolonged the martyr's life by an evident miracle, partly to in-
1 Ecce, spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo Deus !
162 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
crease His own glory in the sight of the world, and partly to
add to the martyr's merits and his future glory. And for this
reason historians are of opinion that in some churches the feast of
St. Bartholomew is held on this date — the 24th of this month —
and also on the following day — -the 25th — as well, so as to cele
brate the constancy with which he endured the flaying and also
his decapitation, that thus both the combats he sustained might
be duly honored in the Christian world. Still more evidently
did God reward his firmness, for in miraculously prolonging his
life He not only filled the martyr with greater interior conso
lation but also opened heaven before his eyes, and sent angels
to comfort and strengthen him in his torments and to invite
him to the eternal glory prepared for him; and when he was be
headed the angels brought his heroic soul into everlasting joys; *
so writes Nicetas in his' panegyric. 0 happy soul, that formed
such a pleasing sight to heaven, go and receive the reward of
thy bravery; go to be crowned by Him for whom thou hast
fought so valiantly! Thou hast by thy sufferings on earth hon
ored thy Saviour and thy God; rejoice now, happy soul; everlast
ing shall be the honor and glory that thou shalt receive as a
reward in heaven! For all eternity shalt thou see and experience
in thyself the truth of the words of the divine promise: " Who
soever shall glorify Me him will I glorify." 2
After hfe Not the soul alone of this glorious disciple, but his body
ajgo receive(j thjg reward; for as it had suffered and fought so
well for Him, Our Lord endowed it with extraordinary glory in
recompense for the torments it endured. I should never come
to an end if I were to narrate all the miracles wrought at the
apostle's shrine immediately after his death. They were so
numerous, and so much honor was shown the sacred body by
the surrounding people, that the barbarous heathens could no
longer bear to see crowds flocking to and from the shrine, some
deformed and crippled, others returning thanks for being healed;
and they became so enraged that they took the leaden, or, as
others say, stone coffin in which the martyr's remains were
interred, and four other coffins, containing the bodies of other
1 Angeli de ccelo super eum descendentes et ascendentes augustissimum ei parabant as-
censum ; superne vero apertum eo erat coelum, omnesque virtutum bierarchiae se prsepara-
bant, quo susciperent ac salutarent dilectissimum Domini discipulum, gloriosissimum Cnris-
ti martyrem.— Nicet. apud Hagiogr. Autusep.
2 Qulcumque gloriflcaverit me, gloriflcabo eum.— I. Kings ii. 30.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 163
holy martyrs, and threw them all into the sea, in the hope of
thus making the people forget the apostle and cease to show
him the honor they had hitherto paid him. But this madness
of theirs and their attempt to sink the body only added to the
apostle's glory before the world. Hardly had the coffin touched
the water when the senseless element seemed as if it wished
to let all understand that it appreciated the valuable treasure
confided to it, and to the great astonishment of the spectators
it received the sacred relic with reverence into its waves, and
not only did not allow it to sink into the depths, but even bore
it on the surface, heavy as it was, and with the other coffins,
two on each side of that of the apostle, as if accompanying their
superior, conveyed it from Armenia towards Sicily, to the Lipari
islands; as we learn from St. Theodore Studita, St. Gregory of
Tours, Nicetas, and others, and as we may read in detail in the
Antwerp Lives of the Saints. But this was not an end of the
wonders: that the island so favored by the arrival of the sacred
relic might realize the value of the treasure it received, a volca
no that used to vomit fire was at once removed from the island by
an arm of the sea, so that it could do no more harm to the place
which the apostle had taken under his protection. 0 miracle
of miracles! cries out Nicetas; 0 most wonderful of prodigies!
Was ever anything like it seen under the sun before?1 I dare
not dwell longer on the miracles wrought at the shrine of this
holy apostle, as well in the island of Lipari, where they were of
almost daily occurrence, as afterwards in Benevento and Rome,
when the sacred relics had been brought thither. Thus did Our
Lord honor the faithful servant who had so honored Him by
his sufferings.
Now if the lifeless body of the apostle was so gloriously exalted what a
before the world, what glory may he not expect on the day of ^lorious re
general judgment, when that body shall be again united to the awai
soul that strengthened it so bravely for the combat? With what at the lasl
beauty and light will it not be adorned above others? For if, ac- heaven!
cording to the teaching of St. Augustine, St. Thomas of Villano-
va, and other theologians, "as Christ retained the marks of His
wounds after His resurrection, so also shall the wounds of the
holy martyrs remain for their adornment, honor, and glory;
for they shall shine with those wounds as with so many diamonds
1 O miraculum miraculorum ! prodigium prodiglossimum ! Ubl simile quid unquam sub
sole cognitum est ?
1 64 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
and precious stones," ' as St. Thomas says — how glorious, then,
shall not be the body of our most glorious martyr! " What a
sight it will be," exclaims St. Augustine in astonishment, "to
behold St. Bartholomew, whose whole body was flayed, shining
so brilliantly that he will seem to surpass the splendor of the
most precious purple!"2 He will shine like the sun among the
stars. "The greater the wounds that brave men bear in their
bodies," says Sidonius Apollinaris, " the greater praise is due to
them." 3 Is it not an honor and glory for soldiers, when they re
turn from a victory, to be able to point to the wounds they have re
ceived for king and country? " They glory in their wounds,"
says Seneca, "and point to the blood which redounds to their
honor; and although they who escaped all wounds may also have
performed heroic exploits, yet it is they who have been wounded
who attract the most attention." 4 For their wounds are undoubt
ed proof of their valor; and hence they are praised, admired,
and honored more than the others. How great, then, must
not be the honor due to our Saint, what admiration will he not
excite among angels, men, and even demons when he shows the
bleeding skin that he allowed to be torn off his body for the name
and honor of Christ, his heavenly King! (Fastidious Chris
tians, who now care for your bodies so tenderly, what will you
then be able to point to as having been done or suffered by you
for your God? Where will you be able to hide your shame when
you behold the glorious trophies brought from the combat by
St. Bartholomew and other martyrs in honor of Christ, whereas
you by your luxurious lives have only dishonored Him?) Now
if the honor and glory of this apostle will be so great on the last
day when he points to his mangled body as the sign of his vic
tory, how exceedingly rich and copious will not the reward be
that he will receive in all eternity! "For," says St. Thomas of
Villanova, " if he who gives a cup of cold water for Christ's sake
shall receive a reward from God, what glory will not be theirs
who shed every drop of their blood, and suffered a most cruel
1 Sicut Dominus in sua resurrectione cicatrices servavit, ita et in corporibus sanctorum
ad decorem, honorem et gloriam remanebunt ; quia sacris illis stigmatibus veluti carbuncu-
lis et adamantibus decorabuntur.— S. Thorn, de Villanova, Cone. 2. de SS. Cosmas et Dam.
2 Quid erit videre sanctum Bartholomaeum, cui pellis a toto corpore detracta f uit, cernere
toto corpore ita illustrem, ut omnem purpuram quantumvis pretiosam superare videatur.—
8. Aug. 1. xxii. c. 26.
3 In corpore fortium virorum laus est amplior, amplior cicatrix.
4 Gloriantur vulneribus, et laeti fluentem meliori casu sanguinem ostentaut; idem licet
fecerint, qui integri revertuntur ex acie, spectatur qui saucius redit. — Sen. de Prov.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 165
death for His sake?" ' Who can describe, nay, who can under
stand the joy reserved for those who suffered such pain, and for
thee, especially, holy St. Bartholomew, glorious martyr and apos
tle, who in the flaying thou didst so valorously sustain didst shed,
as it were, every drop of thy blood? How great will not be the
recompense bestowed on thee by the God of infinite generosity
for the bitter torments thou didst suffer for His honor? We con
gratulate thee with all our hearts, and praise and glorify God,
who has prepared for His servants who have endured temporal
pain for His sake such an abundant, incomprehensible, endless,
and eternal happiness and bliss.
But, my dear brethren, to come to ourselves, what have we to The con-
expect after this life? Can we console ourselves with the hope *rar,yisJt°J
1 be dreaded
of enjoying in the general resurrection such renown before the by those
divine tribunal, such glory, such a great, eternal reward? Yes,
we would indeed desire that; but where are the trophies of the
victories we have gained for Christ? Where the wounds we
have suffered for Him? Where the instruments of torture that
we may point to, like Bartholomew, as the proofs of our suffer
ings? Yet what do I say of wounds and torture? Many shud
der at the bare name of such things. Meanwhile it is and re
mains true, there is no other way to attain to that reward but
the way of suffering; this is what Christ Himself has shown us
by His example; this is the way that Bartholomew and all the
other apostles and disciples of Christ, nay, all the saints have
been obliged to follow. Never shall that divine sentence be
convicted of falsehood: "Through many tribulations we must
enter into the kingdom of God/' Under no other condition
is eternal glory bequeathed to us, as we learn from St. Paul:
"Heirs indeed of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; yet so if we
suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him.-"
How I pity you, then, weak and luxurious Christians, whose
sole care is for your bodily comfort and sensual gratification!
You who fear and avoid nothing more than what can hurt the
flesh, and desire nothing but what can delight it; who give to
your palates all that can please them, to your eyes all liberty to
1 Si enim is qui calicem aquae frigidas pro Christo dederit, recipiet a Deo mercedem ; qui
sanguinem suum totum pro ipso fuderunt, et tarn acerbam mortem, laniati sustiuuerunt,
quanta gloria afflcientur ?
2 Per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei.— Acts xiv. 21.
3 Haeredes quidem Dei, cohaeredes autem Christi, si tamen compatimur, ut et conglorifl-
cemur.— Rom. viii. 17.
1 66 On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew.
look on agreeable objects, to your ears all the delights of hear
ing, to the smell pleasing perfumes, to the touch all that is soft
and luxurious. - You who, in a word, seek for bodily pleasures
and sensual delights, while you shun with the utmost care all
that savors of pain and sorrow as if it were a plague. You
may easily judge for yourselves the amount of honor and glory
you give the Almighty by your luxurious and easy manner of
life, and can from that see what praise you will have from Him
on the day of judgment and what reward in eternity. Hear
the sentence pronounced by the angel in the Apocalypse on the
luxurious city of Babylon: " As much as she hath glorified her
self and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye
to her." ' And this is the meaning of that terrible wo pro
nounced by Our Lord on the voluptuous in the gospel of St.
Luke: " Wo to you that are rich, for you have your consolation.
Wo to you that are filled, for you shall hunger. Wo to you
that now laugh, for you shall mourn and weep." 2
Exhortation ~$Q> Christians; if we wish to share with Bartholomew in his
«on,afterU~ reward and eternal glory we must also share in his sufferings.
the example « The mind," says St. Gregory, "is pleased to think of the
omew'to1" greatness of the reward; but it must not be frightened by the
honor struggle of the combat; " if we are pleased at the thought of the
seif-denLi exceeding great recompense prepared for the martyrs of Christ by
and pa- the Lord, we, too, should not allow ourselves to be frightened by
e un~ the difficulty and labor of the strife. In a word, if we desire to go
so as to re- to heaven we must travel by the road that leads to heaven. But
cetveare- ^his is, as we have seen, no other than suffering for God and
heaven. His honor; either suffering from violence, like Bartholomew
and other martyrs who were tortured by tyrants, or else by vol
untary mortification, penance, and patiently bearing the crosses
laid on us by Providence. God be praised that we have not now
to combat against raging tyrants, threatening to cut off our heads
with the sword, or to take our lives by the wheel or gallows, by
fire or sword! (Oh, I fear that such threats would shake the
constancy of many of us!) But precisely since God has made
things so easy for us we must and should all the more earnestly
take the knife in our hands and pierce our own flesh therewith,
and all the more zealously restrain our inordinate inclinations,
1 Quantum gloriflcavit se, et in deliciis fuit,tantum dateilli torroentumetluctum.— Apoc.
xviil. 7.
* Vse vobis divitlbus, quia habetis consolationem vesfram. Vae vobis qui saturati estis»
qula esurietis. Vae vobis oul ridetis nunc, quia lujrebitis e± flebitis.— Luke vi. 24, 25.
On the Holy Apostle St. Bartholomew. 167
repress our carnal desires, tame and keep in check our outward
senses,, be our own tormentors by voluntary mortifications, and
accept cheerfully from the hands of God sickness, poverty,
want, persecution, and whatever other trials we may have to
bear. Thus we shall honor Christ like the martyrs by overcom
ing ourselves, and gain a glorious victory, and when the short
combat is at an end we shall receive an eternal, immortal crown
of glory in heaven. Yes, my dear brethren, such is our reso
lution. And what have we to suffer? Nothing, answers the
Apostle, but " what is momentary and light;" ' and even that
brings us " an eternal weight of glory. " 3 It is light in com-
parsion with the priceless glory and heavenly joys we may win
by it; it is momentary in comparsion with the long eternity in
which we shall enjoy that bliss. Let others, then, pamper their
flesh, and give their senses all freedom, delight, and pleasure;
let them eat well, drink well, and sleep well, and laugh and
amuse themselves; we will keep all our joy and pleasure for an
other time — for the time of resurrection and reward; here in our
mortal bodies we are willing to suffer, so that hereafter we may
receive them incorruptible and rejoice all the more. With this
thought we will console ourselves, and say with the suffering
Job: " I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I
shall see my God." 3 Then shall my body be amply and abun
dantly repaid for what it now has to endure. Even if my skin
were to be torn off like St. Bartholomew's, let it be so: " I shall
be clothed again with my skin; " I shall receive it again; nor
will that be all, for "in my flesh I shall see my God." In that
flesh which is now mortified and chastened, which is now emaci
ated by hard work, abstinence, mortification, hunger, and thirst,
in that flesh which is now tormented by sickness and pain — in
that I shall see my God, and find in Him my everlasting delight
and joy. Yes, "this, my hope, is laid up in my bosom."
With this do I console myself; to this I leave myself. Amen.
• Momentaneum et leve.— II. Cor. iv. 17.
1 Sternum glorise pondus operatur in nobis.— Ibid.
5 Tursum circumdabor pelle mea, et in carne mea videbo Deum meum.— Job jcix. 36.
Sleposita est naec spes mea in sinu meo.— -Ibid. 27.
1 68 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
FIFTIETH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST ST. MATTHEW.
Subject.
In his conversion St. Matthew gained a heroic victory over
himself. — Preached on the feast of St. Matthew.
Text.
Ait illi: Sequereme. Et surgens secutusest eum. — Matt. ix. 9.
" He saith to him: Follow Me. And he arose up and followed
Him/'
Introduction.
See what a brave, constant mind, strengthened by the grace
of God, can do. Matthew was a public, notorious miser, a rich
publican sitting in the toll-house, and actually engaged in usu
rious practice; the Saviour, passing by, saw him and said only
the words: Follow Me; and at once, without hesitation, Matthew
gets up, leaves the toll-house, his money, his house and home,
and from a rich publican becomes a poor disciple and faithful
follower of the poor Jesus: "And he arose up and followed
Him." In truth, when we consider this matter rightly, it is one
that deserves our greatest admiration, one that could be the re
sult only of a heroic act of self-denial. For when I consider on
the one hand the power of the love of money and of avarice, once
it has taken possession of the heart, and how difficult it is to be
overcome, and on the other with what quickness and bravery
Matthew trampled it under foot, I must give him this great and
well-deserved meed of praise, that by so speedily conquering a
strong passion he proved himself to be a heroic and brave con
queror of himself. This shall form the subject of this pane
gyric.
Plan of Discourse.
In his conversion St. Matthew gained a heroic victory over him
self. Such is the whole subject. How, after his example, we are
to overcome ourselves shall form the moral lesson.
That we may resolve to do so, give us Thy powerful grace,
Christ Jesus, which we beg of Thee through the merits of Mary,
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 1 69
x>f our holy guardian angels, and of Thy heroic apostle and fol
lower St. Matthew.
The stronger the enemy we have to fight against, and the it is a great
greater the difficulty of overcoming him, the greater and more Jjyercome a
glorious is the victory we gain, and therefore he deserves the powerful
praise of heroic valor who not only undauntedly attacks such a enemyat
foe, but at once overthrows and subdues him. What was it, my
dear brethren, that gained for the brave young David such re
nown in the whole land of Judea? Was it not the ardent courage
with which he at once, as soon as he had heard the vile reproaches
uttered by the giant Goliath, went to King Saul, and immediately
attacked this formidable foe, whom none of the men of Israel had
hitherto dared to meet, overcame him at the first onset, cut off his
head, and by this sudden victory took away all courage from the
Philistines, and infused such vigor into the hands and hearts of
his countrymen that they gained victory and freedom? Truly,
that was an exploit that deserves the admiration of posterity, and
undying praise and renown.
My dear brethren, it is a point on which the holy Fathers and Morally
heathen moralists are agreed that man, as far as the moral life speakm^
HlllI! IlaS I1O
is concerned, has no worse or more powerful foe than himself, worse en-
especially when, taken up by a violent passion, he allows it to emytban
master and govern him. No worse foe, I say, for it is a foe that
no one can escape, that one must always have with him; no more
powerful foe, because that enemy attacks us with our own arms,
and by the help of the self-love innate in all men easily conquers
us, and as the combat is an interior one it is all the more diffi-
eult. Therefore the Holy Ghost says, by the wise Solomon, that
it is not such a great exploit to capture well-fortified cities and
strongholds as to hold in restraint one's own desires by overcom
ing one's self : " He that ruleth his spirit "is better "than he that
taketh cities." For, as St. Gregory writes of these words, the
victory over cities is less, because what is conquered is outside the
man himself; but it is a far greater thing to overcome one's own
desires, because by an interior combat the mind is overcome by it
self, subjected to itself, and its unrestrained desires made to obey
the commandof reason.2 A victory that as it is the most difficult
1 Melior est qui dominatur animo suo, expugnatore urbiura.— Prov. xvi. 32.
2 Minor est victoria urbium, quia extra sunt qui subiguntur ; valde majus est, quia ipse a
se animus superatur, et semetipsum sibi subjicit.— S. Greg. p. 3. Past. Admon. 10.
70 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
come.
is also the most glorious and excellent, as the heathen philosopher
Plato says.1
The most ^ow Of {l]} tne desires that sway the heart of man there is none
ourpassions tna* does ^ more violence, adheres to it more obstinately, and is
is avarice; more difficult to be overcome than avarice and the desire of
est'^ncMff" money^ once it has taken possession of and rules the mind. I
mostdiffl- acknowledge that anger, desire of revenge, and carnal love are
!"!!I°°Ver" verv powerful and mighty foes that conquer many souls and
bring them to ruin; yet they are not always equally violent and
inflamed; their fire decreases with time, and at last is even ex
tinguished altogether. Take from the angry or vindictive man
the object which excites his rage and his wrath is stilled, his fury
appeased; when death comes and takes from the unchaste man
the object of his unholy love that passion is at an end. And al
though it is one of the most violent, and often, when deep-rooted,
trammels and fetters the mind for years, yet experience teaches
that at least on the approach of old age, or on the occurrence of
sickness or danger of death it is generally not only lessened, but
even extinguished altogether. But, oh, unhappy the heart that
once allows itself to be taken up by the love of money! There
is hardly any means of overcoming that enemy and getting the
better of it; neither gain nor loss nor misfortune can still the
fires of avarice; it is always on the increase, always growing
stronger. Well has the poet said : " The miser is always in want." 3
For when he has amassed the great treasures he was longing for
he is not content with them, and his desires for more gain are all
the greater, as St. Gregory says: "Avarice is not extinguished,
but increased by the possession of the desired goods; for like a
fire it grows, the more fuel is placed upon it, and what seemed to
put it out only makes the flame burn fiercer." Nay, even in
abundance the avaricious man is poor in his own fancy, as St.
Ambrose says.4 Why? " Because he thinks himself in want of
all that others possess." & "Everything in the world is wanting
to him, because the world itself could not satisfy his cupidity."
Protracted and painful illnesses, old age and the approach of
1 Vincere seipsum, victoriarum omnium prima est et optima.— Plato de Legib.
2 Semper avarus eget.
8 Avaritia desideratis rebus non extinguitur, sed augetur ; nam more ignis, cum ligna,
quae consumit, acceperit, excrescit, et unde videtur ad momentum flamma comprimi, inde
paulo post cernitur dilatari.— S. Greg. 1. 15. Mor.
4 Pauperiorem se judicat omnis abundans. — S. Amb. de Naboth.
* Quia sibi deesse arbitratur quidquid ab aliis possidetur.
• Toto mundo eget, cujus non capit mundus cupiditatem.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 1 7 1
death — how powerful you are to restrain other passions, or even
to extinguish them! But you can do nothing with the avaricious
man; his desires increase even during suffering, they are not
lessened by any bodily weakness, and therefore they are with
just reason called incurable by St. Chrysostom: "The insane de
sire of riches is an incurable malady." 1 It grows strong with
years, it sticks to a man in his gray old age, and although other
passions and inclinations are then wont to weaken and die out,
avarice still holds its sway, nay, shows itself even stronger, as St.
Jerome says.2 Hence it is generally the case that they who aban
don themselves to this vice do not cease to be avaricious until
they cease to live, and although death separates them from their
money and riches, their desire for these things accompanies
them to the grave. " It is not easy for him who has once been
overcome by avarice to overcome avarice." See, my dear
brethren, how mighty, obstinate, and almost invincible a foe is
avarice. It is clear, then, that he who has fully overcome it and
trampled it under foot deserves justly to be praised and exalted
as a most heroic, brave, and valiant champion.
Most glorious apostle Matthew, holy disciple of Christ! thou Matthew
art he who has gained an illustrious and renowned victory over ^^l^ a
this strong and mighty foe, when, although at first thou wert time when
under the dominion of the craving for money, as soon as the di- ^upied"!!
vine light and the impulse of grace came, at the words of Christ, amassing
thou wert at once converted, and didst abandon forever thy wealth monev-
and goods, and even the desire for them, and didst resolve to fol
low the poor Jesus in extreme poverty. My dear brethren, let us
consider the circumstances of the conversion of our holy apos
tle: the state in which he then was, the time and place in which
he was addressed and called by Our Lord, the alacrity and gener
ous cheerfulness with which he followed the call of the Saviour
by leaving all he possessed. Who was Matthew? What was his
business? He tells us himself. When he records the names of
the apostles he puts his own along with them, and adds these
words: " Matthew the publican." 4 The same title is given him
by St. Luke, who does not mention him by the name he is
1 Insana divitiarum cupiditas est morbus insanabilis.
2 Cum caetera vitia senescente homine, senescant, sola avaritia juvenescit.
3 Non facile de avaritia triumphal, de quo semel avaritia triumphavit.— Petres Blesensis,
Serm. 14.
4 Matthaeus publicanus.— Matt. x. 3.
1 72 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
usually known by: " He saw a publican named Levi." ' So that
Matthew, according to his own confession, was a publican, th.it
is to say, a public sinner, notorious for avarice and the thirst of
lucre, who sought to enrich himself by cheating, usury, rob
bery, and unjust extortion. For such was the estimation in which
publicans were held at the time. "The business of the publi
cans," says St. Chrysostom, " was full of heartlessness; it was a
vile pursuit, nay, a very robbery." a And St. Lawrence Justinian
testifies that Matthew was also one of this sort: " Matthew was
a publican, openly practising usury, ostracized from the society
of the good, seeking only for temporal things, and caring little
about heavenly goods." : Nay, some authors affirm that Matthew
had at the time made good profit out of his usurious practices,
that he had already amassed a good sum of money and hoped to
amass more. So that the satisfaction at the gains he had made al
ready, and the expectation of still greater gains had filled his mind
and heart completely. Could any one imagine or reasonably
expect that one who was bound to riches by so many chains could
ever be converted, and be persuaded to abandon his wealth at the
first word of a man whom he had never seen before?
Nay, while Where, and at what time did Jesus speak to him? If Mat-
gagelnn11" thew nad accompanied the other publicans who went into the
usury. desert to hear the preaching of John the Baptist, if, with other
sinners, he had gone after Christ to listen to His teaching and
meditate on His holy life, we should not have much reason to
wonder that he then turned his heart from riches; in such cir
cumstances he would have had no opportunity of practising usury;
the truths preached would have opened his eyes and shown him
the deformity of the vice to which he was addicted, and so in
spired him with a disgust for his former life. But his greed of
gold left him no time to go into the desert to hear the preaching
of John and of Our Lord. It kept him chained to the custom
house, fettered to his desk. There he sat as Jesus approached,
there he sat when Jesus spoke to him: "Jesus saw a man sit
ting in the custom-house named Matthew,"4 as he himself tells
us. The Glossa Interlinearis adds that he was then all intent
1 Vidit publicanum nomine Lev!.— Luke V. 27.
2 Publicanorum studia crudelitatis plena, turpis qusedam mercatura, irao rapina. — S. Chrys.
Horn. 32. in Matt.
1 Erat namque Matthaeus publicanus, et turpis lucri publice negotiis intentus, a sacrorum
sejfregatus consortio, temporaliaque quaerens, parvi pendens coelestia.
4 Vidit Jesus hominem sedentem in telonio, Matthasum nomine.— Matt. ix. 9.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 1 73
on gain.1 Abulensis goes still farther: " As he was sitting, in
flamed with the fires of avarice/'2 And even at the moment
when he was fully occupied with the passion that devoured him,
actually engaged in usury and the acquisition of money, in the
custom-house, where he liked so much to spend his time, Mat
thew formed the resolution of giving up his occupation, leaving
the custom-house and all his wealth, and instead of living in
abundance, as he had hitherto done, of leading a poor, necessitous
life. And he carried this resolution into effect. What think
you of this, my dear brethren? Was there ever before seen in
one addicted to the greed of gain such a sudden change, such
a heroic conversion, such a complete victory over self?
And what did Jesus say to him? Did He perhaps hold a long This victory
discourse with him? Did He sit down and set forth at length gSlorlo^°re
the deformity of greed, the abominable sins he had committed because he
publicly as well as privately, as He did on another occasion with
the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well? Did He convince him word,
by force of reasoning? Did He frighten him with the threat of
the eternal fii6) of hell, or attract him b}^ winning words and
promises, or ga n him over by divine eloquence — means that He
frequently used to win the hearts of His hearers? No; He sim
ply passed by: '* When Jesus passed." And when He saw Mat
thew He said tol?im: " Follow Me"; that was all; that finished the
whole discourse. He did not tell Matthew for what purpose he
should follow Him, nor whither, nor how long; He promised
nothing, said no1*; a word of a reward or recompense that he might
expect; He went no farther than the words: " Follow Me"; and
they sufficed to make Matthew obey Him at once: "And he arose
up and followed Him." Others of the apostles, before resolving
definitely to adhere to Christ, remained in His company for a
considerable time, and saw the great wonders and glorious deeds
He performed; how He expelled the demons from the possessed,
healed the sick, cured the dumb, lame, blind, restored hearing
to the deaf, and the use of their limbs to the paralytic; and it
was no great wonder that, attracted by such signs and miracles,
they left all and became His disciples. But, as St. Lawrence
Justinian says: "Matthew had seen no sign of salvation, nor
heard the exhortations of Christ, nor had he been a familiar
friend of Our Lord," perhaps up to that moment he had never
1 Lucris pertinaciter inhaerentem.
a Cum sederet in ardoribus avaritias.
1 74 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
With the
greatest
readiness,
not d* lay
ing iu the
least.
laid eyes on Him, " yet the mere word of Christ calling him was
enough to fill his heart with contrition, so that he became com
pletely changed in mind, enlightened with the faith, transfixed
with the dart of charity, and he at once left money, family, pos
sessions, and self, and submitted to his Master's authority."
Mark how he did that at once. Hardly had Jesns called him
when he was ready; hardly had he heard the words, "Follow
Me," when he arose up at once and obeyed. Truly, that victory
over self was all the more heroic the quicker the brave resolution
was formed and carried out, and therefore the victory was all the
more glorious as it was gained so suddenly.
We read in the Third Book of Kings that when Eliseus, at the
command of God, received the prophetic spirit from Elias he at
once left his father's field, oxen, and plough, with which he was
actually engaged, and followed Elias: "He forthwith left the
oxen, and ran after Elias." Yet he begged for a little delay, and
asked permission to take leave of his parents: " He said: Let me,
I pray thee, kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow
thee." 3 On another occasion one was called by Onr Lord in the
same words as Matthew: " Follow Me"; he did not indeed refuse
the invitation, and even accepted it: " I will follow Thee, Lord; "
but he wished first to take leave of his relatives: "Let me first
take my leave of them that are at my house." 3 Matthew was
much braver and more generous; without any delay or hesitation,
without thinking of taking leave of his family, "without los
ing a moment of time," 4 as St. Ambrose says, he got up at the
first word of the Lord; "he arose up and followed Him." Doubt
less he must have thought that after having carried on business
for so long, and having been occupied in the custom-house so
successfully he should have arranged matters before leaving,
and settled his accounts, or at least disposed of his private prop
erty and the wealth he had been so long accumulating, and so
forth; but all these thoughts he put out of his head, and, as St.
Peter Damian says, " as soon as he heard the command of the
Saviour calling him he did not delay, nor ask for time to dispose
1 Signa non viderat salutis, non intellexerat monita, nee familiarls Christo extiterat; ad
unam vocantis vocem corde compunctus, mente mutatus, irradlatus flde, charitatis jaculo
transflxus, repente relictis pecuniis, familia, possessionibus, ac seipso praeceptoris obedivit
imperio.
2 Statim relictis bobus cucurrit post Eliam. Ait : osculer, oro, patrem meum, et matrem
meam, et sic sequar te. — III. Kings xix. 20.
1 Sequar te, Domine : permitte mini primum renunciare his quaedomi sunt.— Lukeiz. 61.
4 Ne momentum quidem temporis diflerendo.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 175
of his goods, or to see his friends, but at once despised riches,
broke nil the bonds of carnal affection, and being thus quite free,
cheerfully arid with alacrity followed the footsteps of Christ." '
But Our Lord did not command him thus completely to re- The victory
nounce everything, and to give up all his goods; he could have ^^CJ™"
simply restored whatever he had gained unjustly; and if he he con-
wished to do more than that, he might have divided the half of iueredhis
0 _ avarice once
his possessions among the poor, and kept the remainder for his
own wants. Did not Jesus show great satisfaction with that oth-
er publican Zachseus, when he came and said: " Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wronged
any man of anything I restore him fourfold."2 It is true, my
dear brethren, but Matthew's victory over greed and avarice had
to be in all points a complete one; he wished to prostrate and
trample at once on the passion that had so long had dominion
over him. If he had kept back a portion of his goods the love
for them would still have remained partially in his heart, and it
might have grown again with time and broken out as bad as
ever. No, Matthew wished to free himself perfectly from the
danger of such a misfortune. Therefore he at once stood up and
renounced not only what he had acquired unjustly, not only the
half of his lawful goods, but the whole of them at once, thus tak
ing from himself all occasion of avarice, all opportunity of being
again tempted by that desire. Doubtless enlightened by divine
grace, at the first words of Christ he recognized Him as the true
Messias, was impelled by grace to follow Him, and determined
to make the following a perfect one; seeing, therefore, that Jesus
was poor and needy, he resolved to be poor, like Him, and to re
nounce all his possessions; " leaving all things, he arose up and
followed Him." Cardinal Hugo adds: " Leaving all that might
keep him back, delay, or hinder him " 3 from following Christ
perfectly. And, as Euthemius says, "he kept nothing but
a will ready to do everything commanded him by Him who
had called him." Is not that a resolution, my dear brethren,
1 Mox ut vocantis se salvatoris audivit imperium, non cunctatus est, non sua disponendl
quaesivit inducias, non amicorum coinmunicanda consilia, sed illico divitias sprevit, carna-
lium affectuum nexus abrupit, sicque solutus post Christ! vestigia Isetus et impiger prope-
ravit.— S. Pet. Dam. Serm. 1. de S. Matt.
2 Ecce dimidium bonorum meorum, Domine, do pauperibus ; et si quid aliquem defraudavi,
reddo quadruplum.— Luke xix. 8.
3 Relictis omnibus retrahentibus, retardantibus, retinentibus.
4 Solum adduxit mentem ad omnia paratam, quse jussisset is, qui eum vocaverat.— Eu-
them. in Matt.
1 76 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
which deserves all the more admiration the more difficult it is
and the more unexpected in such circumstances? I know well
that when St. Luke describes the calling of Peter, Andrew,
James, and John he gives them also this praise, and says that
"leaving all things, they followed Him." 1 But what did they
leave? A torn net, a poor, worm-eaten fisherman's boat. This
was all they had, their whole possessions, so that their hearts
were not much trammeled, nor were they in need of great hero
ism to leave so little. And that act of renunciation they com
pleted on the occasion of the miraculous draught of fishes, when
at the word of Christ they launched forth their nets and caught
so much that the boat was unable to hold the fishes; so that they
who had labored all the night and taken nothing were quite
amazed at the occurrence. What! they must have said to them
selves, if Jesus can enrich us by one word, as we now see He
can, we need not plague ourselves any more with this trouble
some work in heat and cold, by day and night, in order to find
something to eat; if He has the power to bring the fish out of
the deep into our hands, He will certainly not allow those who
adhere to Him to suffer want; away, then, with net and boat, we
want them no more! we will follow Jesus! Thus there was no
special difficulty about their resolution; in fact, they were rather
impelled to it by the desire of bettering their poor and laborious
mode of life in the train of such a great lord. On the other
hand, who was Matthew? A publican, as we have seen already,
and a rich publican, nay, as Metaphrastes, quoted by Surius,
writes, one of the chiefs of the publicans.2 He was sunk in mon
ey and the desire of making money; he saw, moreover, that Jesus
was poor, and consequently that if he followed Him he would
have no riches to expect, so that he would not improve his world
ly state, but rather impoverish himself, nay, reduce himself to
beggary, and be obliged to live on alms. But all this did not
deter him; rich as he was before, and greedy to grow richer, he
left all and followed Him. In truth, my dear brethren, that is
a heroism which seems to me the more wonderful and incom
prehensible the more I consider it.
And with There is still another circumstance to reflect on, namely, the
^y state of mind in which he was when this change occurred and he
left all he owned. Only too true are the words of St. Augustine:
1 Rellctls omnibus secuti sunt eum.— Luke v. 11.
1 Princeps publicanorum.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 177
" What is possessed with desire is not lost without sorrow. " *
Why did that young man of whom we read in the Gospel of St.
Mark go away sorrowful and troubled from Jesus? He came
up to Our Lord most respectfully, and knelt down before Him,
desiring nothing else but to be put on the right way to heaven;
he professed to be ready for everything: " What shall I do that
I may receive life everlasting? " 3 I have kept, he continues,
all the commandments from my youth; what else have I to do?
what is still wanting to me? Our Lord seemed particularly
pleased with his frankness, and showed a special pleasure in him.
"One thing is wanting unto thee," said Our Lord; "go, sell
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven." But when he heard these words he be
came sad, uneasy, and disturbed; he went away sorrowful: ' ' Who,
being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful." Why so?
Had he not come to get good advice from Jesus as to how he
was to make sure of heaven? And did he not offer to do all
that Our Lord would ask him? Yes, but, alas! he was rich, and
his heart was attached to his riches: <f For he had great posses
sions/'4 Anything else he was ready enough to do; but to leave
his beloved goods, to sell them and distribute them to the poor —
that was too much for him. Therefore " he went away sorrow
ful/' Did our Saint perhaps show signs of being sorrowful, dis
turbed, or sad when he was on the point of leaving at once and
forever the money he formerly loved so much? Not by any
means; on the contrary, he felt the greatest joy on the occasion,
and to prove it he prepared a banquet for Our Lord and invited
many publicans and former friends of his, that they might share
in his joy: " Levi made Him a great feast in his own house," as
we read in the Gospel of St. Luke; " and there was a great com
pany of publicans and of others that were at table with them."'
" A banquet is a sign and symbol of joy,"6 says a certain author.
And therefore Matthew prepared a splendid feast in honor of
Our Lord, to show that " he followed Christ, not with regret,
Sine dolore non amlttitur, quod cum amore possidetur.
Quid faciam ut vitam aeternam percipiam ?— Mark x. 17.
Unum tibt deest; vade, vende quaecunque habes,et dapauperibus,ethabebis thesaurum
incoelo.— Ibid. 21.
Erat enim habens raultas possessiones.— Ibid. 22.
Fecit ei Levi convivium magnum in domo sua, et erat turba multa publicanorum et alior-
um, qui cum illis erant, discumbentes.— Luke v. 29.
8 Est convivium gaudii stgnum et symbolum.— Lucas Brugensls.
i 78 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
but willingly and cheerfully." 1 Abulensis writes in the same
strain: " He prepared a great feast, to show that he renounced
the goods of this world with greater joy than another would have
in acquiring them." Such was the power of the first ray of
God's grace in this brave, heroic heart that he now looked on
that which had been his idol — gold and worldly goods — as mere
chaff, and he proved by his actions the truth of what St. Paul
afterwards wrote in his Epistle to the Philippians: " The things
that were gain to me, the same I have counted loss for Christ; "
and he adds immediately after: " Furthermore, I count all things
to be but loss, . . . and count them but as dung, that I may gain
Christ." 3 Truly, that was a great and courageous mind that at
the first word of Our Lord, at the first glimmer of interior light,
" with ease, quickness, and readiness counted as nothing what
it formerly esteemed and valued highly."
Heiefthim- But all this was not enough for the brave spirit of Matthew.
h^'ave'iu'T ^e ma(^e ^is victory over avarice and the greed of gain still
strength more glorious by a new conquest, for when he abandoned all his
efor earthly goods he gave up, so to speak, himself also, his heart,
his body and soul — in a word, his whole self without exception,
and devoted himself altogether to Christ and His service. ''After
having given all he had," says St. Peter Chrysologus, "he gave
himself to the Lord; " 6 and that with such a complete emptying
of himself " that he reserved not the slightest concern or regard
for the things of this life," 6 as the Venerable Bede says of him,
but directed all his thoughts to pleasing Christ, his Lord, to fol
lowing Him in a perfect manner, and to further His glory by
teaching and instructing others. This was the sole gain that he
looked for during the remainder of his life, and to make that
more copious he strained every nerve and wore out his strength.
No labor was great enough for him, no country vast enough to
satiate his untiring zeal. His wish was to enlighten the whole
world and gain it for Christ. Therefore, in addition to his apos-
1 Quo testatum faceret, quam non tristi, sed libenti animo ac cum gaudio se addiceret
Christi sequelae.
2 Magnum convivium fecit, ut ostenderet, se major! jucunditate hujus ssecnli divitias de-
serere, quam alius eas assequeretur.
8 Quae mini fuerunt lucra, haec arbitratus sum, propter Christum, detrimenta. Verunta-
men existimo omnia detrimentum esse . . . et arbitror ut stercora, ut Christum lucrifaciam.
-Philipp. iii. 7, 8.
4 Generosus animus, qui sic ea, quse magna putarat, facile et quasi nulla contempsit.— S.
Pet. Chrysol.
6 Post omnia sua, semetipsum dedit Domino.
6 Ut nullum prorsus hujus vitae respectum vel cogitationem sibi reservarit.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 1 79
tolic labors, acting on the impulse of the Holy Ghost and at the
invitation of the other apostles, to whom his zeal was well known,
he also undertook the office of Evangelist, in order that the name
and doctrine of his divine Master might be spread even after his
death to the end of the world, and that the knowledge, adora
tion, and love of Our Lord might be furthered where the sound
of his preaching could not arrive. And this praise is especially
due to Matthew, because he was the first to give an account of
the advent, the life, the doctrine, the miracles, the passion
and death of Christ, and his description of these is the most de
tailed one. Therefore St. Peter Damian says of him: " He may
well be called the Evangelist of evangelists, because he was the
leader and general and first of them all. By his example he
showed the way to the others, and like a general he carried the
standard in front, and aroused others to write. We therefore
owe the gospel to him, because he is known to be the first who
undertook to write the gospel narrative." Nay, he adds: " I af
firm without hesitation that there is no one, after Our Lord, to
whom the Church owes so much. For if a properly-ordered life
can be led in the world, that is because the light of the gospel
has shone on us. Now it is well known that Matthew first of
all wrote the gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and thus he first of
all made, as it were, a kind of mirror of the faith." 1 This gos
pel was brought by the holy apostle St. Bartholomew into India
through many countries; St. Barnabas copied it with his own
hand, and held it in such honor as a great treasure that he
kept it always on his breast. Matthew himself preached it first
in Judea, then to the Tartars, to the inhabitants of Palestine, of
Mesopotamia, of Egypt, and finally to the Moors, until at last he
shed his blood and sacrificed his life for the honor of his divine
Saviour and in testimony of the truth of what he had written and
preached; thus after having by the martyr's death given up his
life for Christ, whom he had followed so zealously on earth, he
followed Him into eternal glory in heaven. " Leaving all things,
- he followed Him.
•'
1 Evangelista evangelistarum non immerito did potest, quia dux et processor, et primus
i omnium reperitur. Scribendi viam caeteris aperuit, et tanquam dux vexillum sequentibus
I prsetulit, suoque eos exemplo, ut scriberent incitavit. Illi ergo debemus evangelium, quia
evangelicae narrationis eonstat intulisse principium. Audacter dicam, nemo post Christum
esse, cui magis debeat sancta universalis Ecclesia. Nam quod mundus recte vivit, hsec est
causa, quia lux nobis evangelica coruscavit. Constat autem quia primus omnium Matthaeus
Hebraico stylo evangelium seripsit, et sic fldei quoddam quasi speculum scribenduin primus
iste procuravit.
1 80 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
Hence he is
a most hero
ic victor
over him
self.
Lesson for
the unjust
to act like
Matthew,
overcome
themselves
:md make
restitution.
Such was the glorious end by which Matthew confirmed the
victory he had gained over himself. Truly, he was a valiant and
intrepid champion, whose heroism cannot be sufficiently admired!
I leave you to imagine what a glorious triumph in heaven followed
his victory. Suffice it to quote the words of St. Peter Damian:
" Of all the saints who have brought trophies from the conquered
world into eternal glory the blessed Matthew seems to me to be
distinguished in a special manner, and to hold, as it were, the chief
place." The chief place, I say, because in his conversion he
overcame with wonderful strength and promptitude a roost
powerful, difficult, and intimate enemy; the chief place, because
he continued during the remainder of his life to reap the fruits
of glorious victory, and continued to the end. We therefore wish
thee joy, great apostle, renowned conqueror, holy St. Matthew!
We rejoice and exult with thee on account of thy glorious tri
umph, and much more on account of the eternal crown, the un
ending happiness thou hast thereby gained in heaven. Valorous
indeed and difficult was thy combat, yet it was short; in a little
time thou didst fight with and overcome thyself; and everlasting
is the reward thou hast reaped therefrom. To follow Christ thou
didst give up all thou hadst in the world, yet these things were
but earthly and perishable; and instead of them thou hast re
ceived heavenly and eternal goods, and a superabundance of bliss.
We wish thee joy then, and congratulate thee on thy unending
happiness!
But, my dear brethren, what conclusion shall we draw from
this glorious victory for our own profit? Shall I exhort you, too,
to a complete renunciation of all earthly things, after the exam~
pie of St. Matthew? Ah, in many cases my words would have
but little effect if I were to address you in such a style, and in
stead of finding attentive listeners I should only be treated with
scorn. No, such a sacrifice is not required by the Almighty from
every one, but only from those whom He has called to serve Him
perfectly in the religious state. Therefore I must not ask too
much of you. I only say with the gifted Salvianus; " 0 ye rich
of this world, if you cannot be persuaded to be poor liere below,"
like Matthew, " at least so act that you may be rich in eternity." 9
These words are for you in the first place, unjust Christians,
1 Inter omnes plane sanctos, qui coelesti gloriae de triumphato mundo titulos intulerunt,
heatus Matthaeus mihi videtur insignis, et quendam inter eos obtinere primatum.
2 O divites hujus saaculi, si impetrari ab unoquoque vestrum non porast, ut esse in hoc
saeculo pauper velit ; praestet sibi saltern, ne In asternitate mendicet.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew. 1 8 1
who, like Matthew, when he was avaricious, appropriate wrong
fully the goods of others and still retain possession of them. If
with the penitent Matthew you do not wish to renounce every
thing once for all, at least overcome yourselves so far as to restore
what does not rightly belong t'o you, and abandon what you have
unlawfully acquired. Pay what thou owest is the divine law
that allows no excuse nor exception. Unless you fulfil this law,
provided it is in your power to do so, you can never obtain for
giveness of your sins, nor hope to enter heaven. The well-known
saying of St. Augustine holds good: " The sin cannot be forgiven
unless what is unjustly acquired be restored." At once, then,
if with Matthew you have acted dishonestly, like Matthew make
due restitution. If this seems difficult to you, then remember
that the sacrifice is well warranted by the hope of saving your
soul and gaining heaven. It is better to suffer a little loss of
what you must some day or other leave in any case, and perhaps
soon, much better to be poor on earth, and even beg your bread
from door to door than to lose your soul and be deprived of the
eternal and infinitely better things of heaven, and suffer want
and distress in the torments of hell.
Wealthy and just Christians, whom God has blessed in prefer- For the
ence to others with temporal goods and riches! if. I say to vou rlcht°give
.,, J alms out of
with the writer quoted above, if you cannot and will not over- their lawful
come yourselves so far as to renounce at once, like Matthew, when wealth, and
called by God, all earthly possessions, that thus you may follow treiu'res^
the poor Christ; " if you cannot be satisfied to live without rich- in heaven.
es, then so act that you may always be rich." 2 Let your riches
be to you an incentive to serve God all the more zealously, and
by a good use of your wealth and by good works to make your
salvation all the more sure. For that is the end and object for
which God has made you wealthy. " For this reasc^i does God
make men rich in temporal things, that they may become rich in
good works; and thus, by using well the things of this world that
God has given, may make them turn into everlasting goods."
The best means of making one's wealth everlasting is gener
osity to the poor and needy. Do not imagine that you lose what
you give the poor. Never can you make a better investment of
your money than by spending it on them. What they receive
1 Non dimittitur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum.
2 Qui sine divitiis omnino esse non acquiescitis, id asrite ut divites semper esse possitis.
8 Deus ad hoc facit homines in substantia locupletes, ut bona operatione sint divites ; ut
Dei opes, quas habent in hoc saeculo temporarias, bene utendo, faciant sempiternas.
1 82 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew.
from you through Christian charity they hand over to Heaven;
God Himself takes it from them as if it were given to Him, as a,
capital entrusted to Him, to be one day returned to you with a
hundredfold interest, as St. Peter Chrysologus says.1 Truly, a
profitable investment! You receive a hundred for one; and for
temporal, trivial, and transitory things, everlasting, heavenly, and
priceless treasures! 0 Christians, if you all knew how to trans
act business in this style, what great wealth you might amass for
eternity! Try it; the infallible words of Christ cannot deceive:
" Give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven."
For aii to But above all, see that temporal wealth be not to you a snare to
detach their jea(j you to eternal perdition. "What," says' the oft-quoted
minds from . . , . ,
earthly Salvianus, " what can be more miserable than to convert pres-
and eiit goods into future evils, and to seek eternal death and damna-
tion by those things that were given to help to eternal beati
tude?" 2 Therefore I conclude for all in general: at least follow
the example of Matthew by leaving in spirit, with him, what you
cannot leave in reality. Do not allow your hearts and minds to
be trammeled too much with the world and its vain and perishable
goods; do not, for the sake of gaming such things, or the fear of
losing them, allow yourselves to be misled into doing anything
displeasing to God. Often recall to mind that you are created,
not to amass or keep temporal goods, but solely to serve God
and garner up treasure in heaven. To gain this end the rich
should use their wealth and the needy their poverty. Happy
ye poor, if by your poverty you attain this end; unhappy and
eternally miserable ye rich, if by abusing your wealth you turn
away forever from God and your salvation !
To this object, then, should we, like the converted Matthew, di
rect our hearts and all our thoughts; for the rest of our lives this
should be the chief, nay, the only care to occupy us: to gain God
and heaven. " Lord," said the holy bishop of Nola, Paulinus,
when the town was plundered by the barbarians, ff even if I lose
all, the loss of gold or silver will be nothing to me, for Thou
k no west where I have all my wealth." As if to say: It makes
5 Quidquid pauper acceperit. Pater coelestis suscipit ; et ubi recondit incoelo. Et ue for
te perdidisse, te doleas usuram, centuplum in coelesti foenore recipies, quidquid in ccelum
paupere trausmiseris perferente.
2 Quid enim pejus, aut quid miserius, quam si quis prasseutia bona in futura mala con-
vertat, et quoe ad hoc data sunt ut pararetur ex eis vitae beatitudo perpetua, per hoc ipsa
quveratur mors et damnatio sempiterna ?
1 Domine, non excrucier propter aurum aut argentum ; ubi enim omnia mea sunt, ut scis.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 183
little matter whether I be rich or poor in the goods of this world,
as long as I possess Thee, my God, my only Good; Thou art to me
in the place of all riches. Let us, too, make this resolution, my
dear brethren; let no desire of earthly gain, no fear of temporal
loss or injury cause us the least disturbance, discontent, or sor
row; for all that we can possess on earth is but transitory and
perishable, and sooner or later we must leave it all. Thou, my
God, art the only Good that can satisfy us. If I have Thee I
have all. Thee alone shall I try to possess by Thy grace here on
earth, that I may possess Thee in glory in heaven. Amen.
FIFTY-FIRST SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLES SS. SIMON AND JUDE.
Subject.
The holy apostles Simon and Jude were two true Christian
zelators of the glory of God and the salvation of souls. — Preached
on the feast of 88. Simon and Jude.
Text.
Simon Zelotes et Judas. — Acts i. 13.
" Simon Zelotes and Jude."
Introduction.
Never has God given to angels or men a special name without
having a special mystery concealed under it, signifying thereby
either some privilege of grace conferred on a particular individ
ual in preference to others, or some excellence of virtue by which
the favored one was to distinguish himself. Thus to the Prince
of the angels is given the glorious title of Michael, that is, the
strength of God, because he was chosen in preference to all the
other angels and archangels to humble the pride of Lucifer and
hurl him and all his followers into hell. Thus the name of the
holy Patriarch Abram was slightly but most honorably changed
into Abraham, that is, the father of the faithful, to the perpetual
remembrance and praise of his firm faith, which was to be plant
ed in his children to the end of time. In the same way Our Lord
184 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
changed the name of Simon, the Prince of the apostles, and as
those Roman generals who had subjected some part of the world
to the sway of their fatherland received the surname of Africanus,
Asiaticus, Gallicus, to distinguish them, to Simon was given the
name Petrus, or Petra, that is, a rock, because as a reward of his
glorious confession of the divinity of Christ he was to be made
the corner-stone and rock on which the Lord was to build His
Church, and which was to protect and defend it against the as
saults of heresy and all the'might of hell. Who, then, can reason
ably doubt that when the Holy Ghost gave to our Simon the
name Zelotes, the zealous one (an appellation that, according to
St. Jerome, belongs also to St. Jnde), as we read in the gospel of
St. Luke as well as in the text quoted, He had specially in view
the extraordinary zeal of these two apostles, and thereby wished
to let us understand that as the other disciples and apostles of
Christ excelled each in some particular virtue, on account of
which they received special and honorable titles, so also these two
shone brighter than all the others in their zeal in spreading and
furthering the glory of God in all places? And so they deserve
the name of Zelotes by acting strictly in the spirit of their divine
Master. This is to be the subject of my panegyric to-day, in which
I mean to show that these two holy apostles were true Christians,
that is, according to the pattern and exemplar of Christ, Our
Lord, perfect and devoted zelators of the divine honor and the
salvation of souls.
Plan of Discourse.
The holy apostles Simon and Jude were true and real Chris
tian zelators of the honor of God and the salvation of souls, for
they followed in their zeal the example and the spirit of Christ
perfectly. Such is the whole subject. That we may imitate their
Christian zeal shall be the moral lesson and conclusion.
Divine Saviour, Christ Jesus, who didst come into the world to
inflame it with new zeal, kindle the same in our hearts, that after
the example of Thy holy apostles each one of us, according to
his state, may become a true zelator of Thy honor and the salva
tion of souls. This we beg of Thee through the powerful inter
cession of Thy Mother, Mary, and of the holy angels.
A true It is one thing to have a zeal for the divine honor and the
salvation of souls, and another to have a true and real Christian
zeal. For just as not every zeal, though it may have the ap-
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 185
pearance of holiness, is really good, praiseworthy, or holy, so,
too, not every zeal, good though it be, is at the same time Chris- b€
tian. To be a true Christian zeal, it must be according to the
spirit, the teaching, and example of Christ, and hence it must
have the two properties of meekness and firmness: firmness in
heartily despising all that might deter from the proposed end;
meekness in patiently bearing the opposition, persecution, inju
ries, and all other trials that may come in the way of advancing
the divine honor and the salvation of souls, and putting aside all
hatred, rancor, and desire of revenge, nay, loving heartily even
one's worst enemies. If any of these qualities be wanting, the
zeal cannot be looked on as true Christian zeal. Firm indeed
was that zeal of the Prophet Elias in his labors to bring back the
people of Israel from idolatry to the worship of the true God;
firm the zeal of the brave high-priest Mathathias and his sons,
the Jewish heroes, namesakes of our holy apostles Simon and
Jude, when they so bravely opposed the wicked King Antiochus
in defence of the law of God, and exposed their lives in their ef
forts to keep their brethren in the true faith. But what torrents
of blood they shed! Did not Elias, spurred on by the fire of his
zeal, fall upon and slay at once four hundred false prophets and
servants of the god Baal? a feat of which he boasted afterwards
before the Lord: "With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord
God of hosts/'1 Mathathias happened to see a Jew sacrificing
publicly to the false gods, for the sake of appeasing the tyrant
Antiochus, when he became filled with fury and killed the idol
ater on the spot: "And Mathathias saw," says the Scripture,
"and was grieved, and his reins trembled, and his wrath was
kindled according to the judgment of the law, and running up
on him, he slew him upon the altar/72 How many cities of the
infidels did not Simon and Jude, his sons, take and lay waste
with fire and sword? How many thousands of their enemies did
they not put to death? All the nations that dared to oppose
them were destroyed off the face of the earth. That zeal was in
deed heroic, firm, good, and holy, according to the law of the
time, but on account of so much bloodshedding and the want of
meekness it was far removed and very different from the spirit
of Jesus Christ.
1 Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum.— III. Kings xix. 14.
2 Vidit Mathathias et doluit, et contreumerunt renes ejus, et accensus est furor ejus, se-
cundum judicium legis, et insillens trucidavit euna super aram.— I. Mach. ii. 24.
1 86 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
But meek Of another sort altogether was the zeal brought by Our Lord
as wen. jn£o ^e world, and inculcated by His own example, as well as by
the teaching of His apostles and their successors. Just as He
Himself was the firmest and bravest of all the children of men,
and at the same time the meekest, most affable, and kind, as ia
proved beyond doubt by His whole life on earth from its begin
ning to its disgraceful end on the cross, so He wished His disci
ples to inherit the same spirit from Him, and to unite firmness
with meekness, and indomitable bravery with patience, kindness,
and love. Hence while He often told them that when there
was question of the honor of God and the salvation of souls they
should be deterred by no danger, fear no obstacle, dread no ty
rant, nor turn back for fear of any persecution at the hands of
men, nay, that even death itself should not appal them, " f ear
ye not them that kill the body/' 1 yet at the same time He ex
pressly commanded them not to forget the meekness of which
He gave them the example, and which they were to observe even
with regard to their enemies and persecutors: " Learn of Me be
cause I am meek."2 He sent them forth to conquer the idol
atry, the infidelity, the wickedness of the world, to overthrow
the empire of Satan, and to make all nations subject to His holy
and divine law; but He did not by any means wish them to do
as the Machabees did in former times, and to force people by
violence to accept this law, or to spread it with fire and sword and
bloodshed. No! the same weapons that He made use of were
also to be the arms of their zeal, namely, indomitable patience,
meekness, and charity ; they were never to give way to anger or
revenge, never to stain their hands with another's blood. This
Our Lord showed clearly to be His will when in the Garden of
Gethsemani He reproved the zeal of Peter, and at once told him
to put back into the scabbard the sword he had drawn against
the rabble crowd of Jews: " Put up thy sword into the scabbard."3
But did not the zealous disciple mean well towards his divine
Master? Or was it wrong to try to save the most innocent and
all-holy blood of the God-man by shedding the blood of a wicked
wretch? Certainly not; but this was contrary to the spirit of
the meek Saviour, who, instead of desiring to revenge Himself by
the blood of others, rather wished to shed His own as a sacrifice
Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus.— Matt. x. 2£
Discite a me quia mitis sum. — Ibid. xi. 29.
Mitte gladium tuum in vaginam. — John xviii. 11.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 187
of atonement and a redemption for us men. Such, too, was the
lesson He had before that taught the disciples James and John
when they wished Him to punish the gross incivility of the Sa
maritans, and the insults they had offered their divine Master, by
calling down fire from heaven as Elias formerly did: " Lord, wilt
Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and con
sume them?" A just and righteous anger indeed; but it was
far removed from the innate meekness that was the special char
acteristic of Our Lord, and therefore He at once sharply re
proved them: '-And turning, He rebuked them, saying: You
know not of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came, not to
destroy souls, but to save." There, my dear brethren, you have
the pattern and model of a real, true Christian zeal qualified by
meekness and patience. It must belike the thorn-bush on Mount
Sinai, which burned but did not consume ; or like that pillar in
the desert, which went before the Israelites during the night in
the form of a burning fire, and during the day in that of a cloud;
for, as St. Gregory well remarks, "in the fire there is the terror
of judgment, but in the cloud the protection of mercy/' a That
is to say, apostolic zeal must be inflamed with heat, and, as it
were, set fire to everything, but in such a manner as not to con
sume what it enflames, but rather to preserve it by meekness.
These pillars of the Church should burn and sparkle with zeal,
but in such a manner as to protect and overshadow those entrust
ed to them, and their faults as well with love, mercy, and mild
ness as with a cloud.
We have a perfect example of this zeal in our holy apostles ss. Simon
Simon and Jude. First, they had a firm and burning zeal, so and Jude
had that
that they could say with David: " My zeal hath made me pine Zeai, for
away/' 3 For if the greatness and firmness of the zeal is to be they .were
measured by the difficulty and number of the labors undergone, ing many
by the brave contempt of all dangers, by the hearty renunciation hardships.
of all earthly things, then it cannot be denied that these two
apostles have proved themselves true heroes and zelators of the
divine honor; for neither the multiplicity of labors wearied them,
nor did the fear of evil daunt them even in the midst of evident
dangers, nor were they turned aside for a moment by the hope
1 Domine, vis dicimus, ut ignis descendat de coelo, et consumat illos ? Et conversus in-
crepavit illos, dicens : nescitis cujus spiritus estis. Filius hominis non venit aniraas perdere,
sed salvare. —Luke ix. 54-56.
a In igne quippe terror judicii est, in nube autem protectio miserationis.
8 Tabescere me fecit zelus meus.— Ps. cxviii. 139.
1 88 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
or desire of any earthly good from their task of promoting the
glory of their Saviour and bringing the world under His law and
sweet yoke. And with regard to their manifold labors, I can
not restrain my wonder at their difficulty and number. " The
zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up," ] they might well say
with the holy Prophet David, when he was laboring so hard to
keep from vice and to bring under the law of God the house of Is
rael, the chosen people of the Lord entrusted to him. But how
much easier it was for him to give expression to his zeal! He
was a crowned king, a monarch possessing full power and au
thority; he had the sword in his hand; he had only to let loose
the reins of his holy zeal; and moreover the law of God was al
ready well known to his subjects; he had not the trouble of
preaching it to them; they were all well practised in the obser
vance of it. Quite different was it with our holy apostles. Their
zeal was opposed by countless obstacles. For, in the first place,
they were quite unknown in the greater number of the places in
which they labored; in outward appearance they were lowly, des
picable men, who had no worldly influence, no weapons or arms,
who went about barefoot, " without purse and scrip and shoes/'
as their divine Master had commanded them; they did not pos
sess a foot of land in the world, and always lived on alms; so
that they could not effect anything by their power or influence.
Again, the law they preached was not a whit better known than
they themselves; it was quite a new law, of which nothing had
been heard till their arrival; a law diametrically opposed to sensual
ity and carnal inclinations, a law that made happiness consist in
poverty, suffering, persecution, crosses, and trials. And of what
sort were the people to whom they had to preach this law? Bar
barous, uncivilized, cruel, savage, almost bestial men, who had
hardly anything human in them except their outward appearance.
Their fierce and savage dispositions had then first to be subdued,
their brutish and sensual mode of life to be made human before'
the seed of the word of God could be planted in their hard and
rugged hearts! Judge yourselves of the difficulty of a task like
this. Is it not often hard enough to bring back to the right
path a single family that has fallen into vicious habits through
the culpable negligence of the parents? What labor and toil,
then, must not have been necessary to introduce evangelical mod-
* Zelus domus tuae comedit me.— Ps. Ixviii. 10.
2 Sine sacculo et pera et calceamentis.— Luke xxif. 35.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude< j 89
esty, humility, purity, godliness, cind holiness in whole districts,
countries, kingdoms, and cities that were completely sunk in
abominable vices, in idolatry itself, and were accustomed to an
unrestrained freedom of conduct! Nor was it merely one city,
country, or kingdom that these apostolic men visited and watered
with the sweat of their toil, but so many were the places they
preached in, and so far apart from each other, that without exag
geration we may say that they wandered over half the world and
inflamed it with their burning zeal. According to the testimony
of Xicephorus and Dorotheus, St. Simon alone brought the light
of the faith into Mesopotamia, Egypt, Africa, and Great Britain;
Cardinal Baronius adds to this list Arabia, Idumea, and other
neighboring countries in which our Saint preached and converted
the inhabitants. Nor did St. Jude labor less: he wandered
through all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and since his great zeal
could not be circumscribed within such narrow limits he went
to the vast land of Syria, where, according to the testimony of
authors worthy of belief, he brought to the knowledge of the
Christian faith and truth King Abgarus and his whole court.
But as fire once it begins to ascend cannot be restrained, so the
zeal of our two apostles could not be satisfied with those great
and, so to speak, superhuman labors. Before ending their toil
some career the fire of their zeal had to be spread in the land of
Persia, which constitutes a great part of Asia, and especially in
wicked Babylonia, the seat of idolatry and all vice. In this vast
kingdom they brought to the faith an almost countless number
of people and founded a populous church. Truly, if those glor
ious followers of Christ had merely wandered through those vast
countries they could not have done so without great difficulty,
and at the cost of many hard days' travelling, great loss of
strength, and countless sufferings. With what unwearied zeal,
then, with what incessant labor must they not have worked and
worn themselves out to convert vast and barbarous lands into
fertile ground in which the seed of the word of God might take
root and bring forth rich fruit of virtue pleasing to God ! Yes,
my dear brethren, the bare idea of such labors is enough to dis
hearten us; but the burning love of these disciples for their Mas
ter, their earnest desire to further the glory of God everywhere,
and to make His name known to all nations, their ardent wish
to save many souls for their Creator, and rescue them from the
thraldom of the devil, gave them courage to undertake all this
1 90 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
with readiness. The inward fire of their zeal lightened every
thing that was heavy, sweetened all that was bitter, shortened all
that was tiresome, in a word, it made pleasing and agreeable to
them all that would otherwise be most troublesome and distress
ing to human nature.
in despis- And as their zeal was unwearied in undertaking labor, so it
ger. was undaunted in despising all dangers and threatened persecu
tions. They had already given a specimen of their courage in
danger, even before their patience and constancy were put to
the severest trial, and while the danger was still tolerable; that
is to say, while they were still with the Jews, and before they
went among the heathens. Were they not in the number of
those of whom we read in the Acts of the Apostles: " They laid
hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison" ?*
Were they not among those who, in spite of the threats and envy
of the Jews, went boldly before the high-priest and the whole
assembly of the people, and answered them freely: " We ought
to obey God rather than men " ? 2 To no purpose do you try
to close our mouths and forbid us to preach the crucified Jesus;
if it cost us our life-blood, if we had to suffer all the tortures in
the world, to die by the wheel or the gallows, we would still adhere
to our words: " We ought to obey God rather than men." Were
they not among the band of heroes, who, after having endured a
severe scourging, and suffered many insults and mockeries, came
forth from the tribunal rejoicing and exulting: "They went
from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were ac
counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus"?3
And in spite of all they had suffered, as St. Luke adds: " Every
day they ceased not, in the temple and from house to house, to
teach and preach Christ Jesus." 4 If already at that period
they gave such glorious proofs of their heroism, what, think you,
will they not have done among the heathens and savage people
to whom they brought the knowledge of Christ? for of course
the persecutions and dangers they then had to undergo must
have been far greater, since those people v/ere blind, wicked,
lost to all sense of decency, who had not the least sign of meek-
1 Injecerant manus in apostolos, et posuerunt eos In custodia publica.— Acts v. 18.
2 Obedire oportet Deo magis quam hominibus.— Ibid. 29.
s Ibant gaudentes a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Jesu con-
tumeliam pati.— Ibid. 41.
4 Omni autem die non cessabant in templo et circa domos docentes et evangelizantes
Christum Jesum.— Ibid. 42.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 1 9 1
ness, nay, of anything human in them; who had not seen any of
Our Lord's miracles as the Jews had, nor heard of them, and
who, moreover, had a natural abhorrence and aversion for the
shame of the cross, so that they were at first disposed to jeer
and laugh at the idea of a crucified God, as St. Paul says: " We
preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling-block,
and unto the Gentiles foolishness." 1 How could it be possible
that under such circumstances they were not daily, nay, hourly
exposed to imminent dangers and terrible persecutions, since
the idolatrous priests saw that their avarice was likely to be frus
trated, and the empire of the demons and superstition, the source
of gain to them, overthrown; while kings and princes and
others in authority could not help noticing that Christian hu
mility, chastity, and meekness were altogether opposed to their
pride and ambition, their carnal and impure pleasures, their
tyranny and cruelty? St. Paul complains bitterly in many of
his epistles of the cruel persecutions and sufferings he had to
endure, by sea and land, from enemies and false brethren for
Christ's sake, but, my dear brethren, if we accompany him in
thought on his journeys we shall indeed find him among heath
ens, but they were heathens who had some civilization and cul
ture, such as the Greeks and Romans. Now I leave you to
judge what uncommon and extraordinary persecutions the holy
apostles Simon and Jude had to endure, for in their many wan
derings till their glorious death they met with as many blood
thirsty tyrants as they did men. If Paul had to contend with
the subtlety of the philosophers, they had to combat the cruelty
of the barbarians; if he had to deal with reasoning beings, they
had to do with monsters, who, so to say, went about like wild
beasts. From this, then, we may easily see how undaunted and
heroic their zeal must have been, since they remained till the end
amid those constant and imminent dangers, in circumstances in
which we should think it most difficult, nay, even intolerable to
live even for a short time.
There is another kind of heroism in which our apostles distin- inrenouu
guished themselves, which is all the more to be esteemed the°1Dgan'1
despising
more unknown it was among the heathens of the time and the earthly
rarer it is even nowadays among Christians. And what was
that, my dear brethren? To say it in a few words: an honest,
1 Praedicamus Christum cruciflxum, Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultt-
tiam.— I. Cor. i. 23.
192 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
unaffected, sincere contempt of all earthly and temporal gain or
profit, of all transitory and perishable things. Oh, how many
are there not who gloriously overcome great difficulties and
hardships, nay, even the danger of death itself, and yet allow
themselves to be vanquished by the miserable greed of gain, inas
much as for the sake of temporal and often uncertain profit they
undertake great labors and expose themselves to danger! But
such was not the object aimed at by our two apostles. There was
nothing selfish in their zeal; its sole object was the honor of God,
the glory of their dearest and most beloved Master, and the sal
vation and eternal welfare of men. This was the , only gain they
wished to make^by their long and difficult journeys, amid dan
gers and trials that beset them on all sides. On the other hand,
earthly and transitory goods seemed to them so vile and contempt
ible that they regarded them as unworthy of either esteem or
desire. Their wealth and riches consisted alone in Jesus Christ
crucified, whose image they endeavored to imprint on the hearts
of the blind heathens; and from the latter they looked for no
other reward than insult and injury, crosses and persecutions,
martyrdom and death. When they arrived in Persia and were
asked by the inhabitants what was their object in making such a
long and dangerous journey to such a distant land they gave no
other answer but this: We have come for the sake of your eternal
salvation. As if to say: Others come here to trade, to amass money
by buying and selling, to enrich, and thus to make themselves
great in the eyes of the world. But do not imagine that such
a motive has led us hither; long ago we have renounced all earth
ly things. Our sole object is to spread the glory of God, whom
we wish to make known to you, and' to save your precious, immor
tal souls. We do not desire anything of yours for ourselves, but
we do wish to gain you for God and heaven.1 And in fact their
whole conduct and manner of life was a living, indubitable proof
of their complete renunciation of all earthly gain. That was
shown by their ragged, worn-out clothing, by the incipid nourish
ment they begged from door to door, by their emaciated counte
nances, by their bodies reduced almost to skeletons by the want of
sufficient food, so that they looked more like corpses than living
men. It was shown by the generous manner in which they refused
all the money and other presents offered them, so that every one
must have been convinced that their unselfishness was not at all
1 Non vestra sed vos.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 193
hypocritical, nor like what the heathens were used to in their phi
losophers, as they were called, who covered their avarice under
poor clothing, and despised riches with the lips only, while they
stretched out their hands eagerly for gain when the opportunity
offered. No; far more convincing were the proofs given by our
apostles of their renunciation of the whole world and its goods.
How often were not vast riches offered to St. Jude by Agbar in
Syria, by others to St. Simon, and to both together by the king
of Persia? And these riches were not merely promised, or shown
to them from afar, but, as it were, almost violently forced on
them. But their firm contempt of such things was so unchange
able that neither prayers nor entreaties availed to persuade them
to accept the least thing. Thus they proved by their- actions the
truth of their professions, and showed that they had not come
to make money, but as apostles of Christ to gain souls and to
promote the honor of God. And this unselfishness of theirs
helped wonderfully to the object they had in view; for when the
heathens saw those servants of Christ thus detached from all
earthly things they remarked something heavenly in them, and
were all the more willing to hear their teaching and to profit by
it. For this contempt of the world preaches much more power
fully than any sound of words, and what the people saw arid
experienced made a greater impression on them than what
they heard. Thus the zeal of these apostles was great, firm,
nay, invincible! It was unwearied in the undertaking of great
labors and trials, undaunted in the contempt of all dangers and
persecutions, unwavering in their disregard for all earthly goods
and for everything that is wont to excite the cupidity of men.
But it was also, according to the spirit of Christ, characterized
by an invincible patience, meekness, and charity, and therefore
it was a perfect and true Christian zeal.
If we had no other proof of their patience than the con ver- Their zeai
sion of almost countless savage nations, that in itself should be was also
meek and
enough to convince us that as their firmness was invincible, so kind, as is
also were their patience, meekness, and charity. Suppose, my clear from
dear brethren, that, like the zealous Peter, they had had recourse version"of
to the sword, that, like Elias, they had called down fire from heav- so many
en; do you think they would have been so successful with those s^™8(
barbarous people? Would they not thus have poured oil on the
flames, and rather excited the wrath and fury of the savages
than gained them over to Christ? Were they not obliged,
194 OH the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
above all, to try to gain their hearts, to win their love and affec
tion, and thus to find favor with them? But what chains can be
found to bind the hearts of men faster than meekness, love, and
affability? These are the only means by which a return of love
can be assured and the human heart conquered, and hence they
are the chief means that an apostolic man must have recourse
to in his efforts to convert the heathen. How wonderful, then,
must not have been the meekness of SS. Simon and Jude, since
they knew how to win over so many barbarous nations, and to
subject them to the sweet yoke of Christ, although they were so
different in manners and customs, and sunk in vice, cruelty, and
wickedness! Was there at the time any land under the sun that
showed greater aversion to the Jews and to all strangers from
Judea than Egypt? Did not all the people of that country,
great and small, nourish a traditional hatred from olden times
against the God of the people of Israel, who had drowned their
forefathers in the Red Sea; and against Moses, and all whom they
thought to be of the same religion, since he had inflicted such
grievous plagues on them? What indescribable patience and
meekness, then, must not these holy apostles have shown to win
the love of such a people, and to persuade them to listen to their
preaching, to receive them as well-meaning friends, nay, as teach
ers of the true law! Again, if we wander in imagination through
Africa, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Persia, and Babylonia, coun
tries bedewed with the sweat of the labors of these apostles, as
we have already seen, what rude, uncivilized people we find there,
whose manners were more suited to wild beasts than to human
beings; whose cities and towns were nothing but sinks of vice!
And yet these two holy men alone gained them over to a more
human mode of life and to the Christian faith. " By the holy gos
pel," says St. Isidor, writing of St. Jude, "he tamed wild and
savage people, who lived almost like beasts, and brought them
under the yoke of the true faith." ' The Eoman Breviary says
of them both: " They brought forth innumerable children to
Christ," a and made them children of God. But how could
that have been possible if meekness had not paved the way to
such a great work; if charity and humility had not broken the
pride and haughtiness of the barbarians; if patience had not
1 Feras et indomitas gentes quasi belluarum naturas, sancto mitigat evangelic, et fldei
dominicae subjugat.— S. Isid. apud Lipom.
8 Innumerabiles fllios Christo pepererunt.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 195
overcome their anger and jealousy; if kindly and .friendly man
ners had not conquered and softened the arrogance and cruelty
of the savage people? Truly, their meekness must have been
something superhuman, for it had not only to combat hourly
with unheard-of rage and wickedness, but also to become master
of those passions, and thus to convert countless ravening wolves
into so many meek lambs. Kemember the Jewish lawgiver,
the Prophet Moses; how the holy Fathers and interpreters of
Scripture praise him for his meekness, and hold him up as an
example of divine and perfect meekness, patience, and charity!
Why so, my dear brethren? Because he had such patience in
conducting through the desert for so many years such a numer
ous and at the same time such a stiff-necked and obstinate peo
ple, who were always ready to rebel. If Moses really deserved
praise on this account, how great must not have been the meek
ness of those who not only presided as spiritual superiors for so
many years over almost a half world full of savage, abominable,
superstitious, idolatrous, and vicious men, but also induced them
to practise Christian modesty and to lead edifying and virtuous
lives!
Still more renowned was their meekness, and indeed it attract- By pardon-
ed the attention of the heathens, inasmuch as these holy apos- injf ^
ties were so mild and forgiving towards their worst enemies, injuries.
This is a sure sign of the disciple of Christ, and an example of
the meekness shown by Our Lord during His whole life even
till His death. Among other examples the following is recorded :
The general-in-chief of the king of Babylonia, finding the priests
and sorcerers of the idols false in their prophecies, while the
apostles were true and upright, became so enraged against the
former that he was on the point of sentencing them to the cruel
death by fire which they had tried to have inflicted on the apos
tles. But the holy men begged most earnestly that their ene
mies might be set at liberty, adding that they had come, not to
make any one unhappy, but to secure the welfare of all. This
great virtue was so admired by the general that he imagined
there must be something more than human in the two apostles,
and he wished to raise them to the rank of gods. For these blind
heathens were of the opinion that the desire of revenge is so
deep-seated and innate in our nature that to return good for
evil must be something divine. Nor is this opinion of theirs
without foundation; for, as St. Chrysostom says: "Nothing
196 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
Especially
by the love
they
ibowed
their ene
mies in
their mar
tyrdom.
Moral les
son: each
one, accord,
ing to his
state.
makes a man more like to God than to be friendly to his ene
mies."1
Yet their heroic meekness reached a higher point and attained,
as it were, the climax in their martyrdom, if we are to believe
the accounts given by St. Antoninus and Denis the Carthusian.
These authors tell us that the priests of the idols sought by
every possible means to put the apostles out of the way, and were
on the point of falling upon them and murdering them, when
an angel appeared and gave the holy men the choice either of
having their enemies taken off by a sudden death, or of suffer
ing death and martyrdom themselves.2 What think you of
this, my dear brethren? Many a one would not take long to
make up his mind in such circumstances, and would at once save
his own life and give his enemies over to destruction. Bui far
different were the promptings of the meek charity of these two
true disciples and followers of Christ. They had seen how their
divine Master gave His life for the enemies whom He could have
destroyed in a moment had He chosen to do so, and how, before
His death, He prayed for them to His heavenly Father; and they,
^oo, resolved not to seek the death of their persecutors, but rath
er to obtain for them the grace of conversion by their own
death.3 Thus they both crowned their truly Christian meek
ness by a death that was violent indeed, but yet in some manner
chosen by themselves. It is a general and ancient belief in
the Church that St. Simon was sawn in two and St. Jude be
headed with an axe. Finally, then, it is undeniable and evident
that these holy apostles have a right and title to the glorious name
of Zelotes, that they have deserved it by their lives and deaths,
and that in truth they were always true zelators of the honor of
God and the salvation of souls; for they conformed their zeal ex
actly to the spirit, teaching, and example of Christ, uniting firm
ness with meekness, charity, and kindness, and thus in life and
death they were most like their divine Saviour.
Truly, they have given us a great and glorious example to fol
low! All of us should be zelators of the divine honor; that is
the most important duty incumbent on us all; that is the sole
end and object of our creation, namely, the honor of God, which
1 Nlhil ita fecit hominem Deo similem, sicut inimicis esse placabilem.
a Apparuit eis angelus dicens : aut horum repentinam interitum, aut vestrum martyrium
eligite.
3 Responderunt apostoli : exoranda est misericordia, ut et istos convertere, et nog ad mar-
tyrii palmam perducere dignetur.
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 197
we must do our best to further in all our actions. The Lord should har«
says of each one of us, by His Prophet Isaias: "I have created ^giory
him for My glory; I have formed him and made him/' ' And of God and
of him who turns away from this end the words may with truth J^^*"
be said: " He hath taken his soul in vain; " 2 to no purpose has souls,
he received a reasoning soul; he is more like a dumb beast than
a human being. And, moreover, all of us should be zelators of
souls as far as our state, duties, and obligations require of us.
If we are not all called and chosen by God to be apostles, to
spread the gospel throughout the world, at least must each one
be an apostle in his own house, and have a care for his domes
tics, his servants and children, exhort them to devotion and
the fear of God, teach them to shun the vanity and folly of the
world, instruct them in the truths of Christianity, and show
them how to lead godly lives. For as St. Paul says: " If any
man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his
house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel/'3
If you are not the head of a family, you are at all events obliged,
as far as in you lies, to keep your neighbor from evil, and to ad
vise him to shun bad company and the occasions of sin, to al
low of no scandal being given in your presence, much less to
give scandal yourself, and if you cannot do better, at least to show
by your demeanor that blasphemous, uncharitable, and impure
talk is displeasing to you. This duty is one you cannot be ex
cused from; it is founded on the express command of God: "He
gave to every one of them commandment concerning his neigh
bor/'4 And He has also commanded us to love our neighbor
from our hearts: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." If
you are determined to satisfy your conscience and your obligation
in this respect, you will find abundant occasions of working for
the good of souls. God only grant that your zeal may be a true
Christian one, that is, firm, so that you may not be blinded by
any idle love or fear of men, but at the same time meek, with
out gall, bitterness, or anger, which would do more harm than
good .
But, alas, how few there are who know how to unite these two Aflrmzeai
is of no us*
1 In ffloriam meam creavi eum, formavi eum, et fed eum.— Is. xliii. 7.
a Accepit in vano animam suain.— Ps. xxiii. 4.
3 Si quis suorum, et maxime domesticorum curum non habet, fldem negavit, et est infl-
deli deterior.— I. Tim. v. 8.
4 Mandavit illis unicuique de proximo suo.— Ecclus. xvii. 12.
198 On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude.
without qualities of true zeal! Some indeed have an earnest desire to do
their duty; but they deal with their domestics so that the latter
must shake and tremble before them; they wish to break what
they cannot bend; they have no pity for the weaknesses of others;
they wish to have everything according to their own ideas and
foolish whims and fancies, and if any resistance is offered them
they are ready to smite with thunderbolts. Ah, that is not the
zeal of Christ, but a passionate anger, which inspires fear and
dread, and fills with shame and confusion every one on whom it
falls; therefore it is utterly unable to gain the hearts of men; it
only serves to make them distrustful; it is not able to heal the
wounds of the soul, and only makes the physician as well as his
medicines hateful. If the bridle is pulled too tight, is it any
wonder that the horse should rear, become obstinate, and refuse
to obey the rider? The free will of man does not allow itself to
be forced by such violent and painful means; it wishes to be
treated with love and tenderness.
Nor a meek Meanwhile there are others who go too far with that tenderness.
one without
firmness. They wish to be looked on as kind, friendly, and loving, but
they forget to have the necessary firmness. They have indeed
some zeal for the souls of their domestics, but it is a cold-hearted
zeal. Thus many parents wish their children to be well off in
this world and in the next, too; now and then they give a word
of exhortation or advice, but not always where it is wanted.
The rod is shown but not used. Where there is a necessity of
supporting the authority of father or mother by a judicious se
verity, when kindness can be of no avail, then those parents
hang back; they do not wish to hurt or displease their children.
That is not a Christian zeal. Did not Our Lord Himself grasp
the scourge and drive both buyers and sellers out of the temple?
Remember the high-priest Heli, of whom we read in the First
Book of Kings. What else brought that kind-hearted old man,
along with his children, to ruin and death, and plunged all his
posterity into the bitterest poverty but the too grievous neglect
he showed in chastising the faults of his sons? Did he perhaps
not rebuke them at all, or connive at their misdeeds? No; but
his reproofs were too lenient; fatherly kindness won the upper
hand; his warnings were not earnest enough. In a word, he was
wanting in firmness; he contented himself with the bare, cold
words: " Why do ye this kind of things which I hear, very
wicked things, from all the people? Do not so, my sons, for it
On the Holy Apostles SS. Simon and Jude. 1 99
is no good report that I hear." ' No wonder that the sons went
to destruction, and incurred the anger of God. Zeal, therefore,
of this kind is not a whit better than the other for furthering
the salvation of souls, for it does not help to amend the lives of
others, to lessen the number of their sins, or to extirpate their
vices; nay, by too much indulgence it rather strengthens and con
firms them in their bad habits.
Therefore no zeal should be admitted by us but that true Conclusion
Christian zeal of which SS. Simon and Jude have given us such j^^01""
a brilliant example; namely, that which is at the same time firm, imitate the
earnest, and heartfelt, and mild, patient, and meek. An earnest Christjan
zeal effects nothing unless it is united with mildness; the most simonand
kind-hearted zeal is useless if it is not strengthened by firm- Jude-
ness and earnestness. Severity shocks men and makes them
turn aside from the path of virtue if kindness does not take off
its bitter edge. A too great kindness, on the other hand, strength
ens the wicked in their vices unless firmness give it power.
Hear the beautiful exhortation given by St. Paul to his disciple
Timothy: " Preach the word, be instant in season out of sea
son;" 2 be earnest when there is question of the honor of God
and of hindering sin, and preventing the eternal loss of souls;
be urgent and inexorable, whether they whom it concerns are
pleased or not. Do not cease from your efforts until you have
done away with all that can be prejudicial to the divine honor
and the welfare of souls. But at the same time the holy Apostle
admonishes his disciple not to forget meekness and patience:
" Reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine; " * en
treat, if you hope to gain anything by kindness; otherwise re
prove, but in all patience. St. Paul wishes his disciple to be
firm and earnest with all those entrusted to his care, but at the
same time to be affable, meek, and kind. This is the model that
all should study who have at heart the honor of God and the
welfare of souls. They must have a true Christian zeal, that is,
a zeal according to the spirit of Christ; an unwearied, undaunted,
constant, but at the same time a kind, an affable, a friendly, and
a meek zeal, that insists with firmness on what is right, but does
not by any injudicious importunity make the sweet yoke of
1 Quare facitis res hujuscemodi, quas ego audio, res pesslmas ab omni populo? Nolite,
fllli, mei ; non enim est bona fama, quam ego audio.— I. Kings ii. 23, 24.
2 Prsedica verbura, insta opportune, importune.— II. Tim. iv. 2.
8 Argue, obsecra, increpa in omni patieutia et doc trina.— Ibid.
2OO On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
Christ bitter. This is the true zeal by which the holy apostles
Simon and Jude furthered the honor of God, spread the name
of Christ through so many countries, and brought countless souls
to heaven; and by the same zeal we, too, shall further the glory
of God, gain the souls entrusted to our care, and along with them
attain eternal happiness. God grant that such may be the case.
Amen.
FIFTY-SECOND SERMON.
ON THE HOLY APOSTLE ST. MATTHIAS.
Subject.
1. The exaltation of St. Matthias shows that no one should dis
turb himself by unnecessary questions regarding his predestina
tion or reprobation, but should endeavor to work out his salvation
by a holy life and a careful use of the grace of Godv. 2. The
unhappy fall and reprobation of Judas shows, on the other hand,
that in no state of life can we promise ourselves security, but
must be always afraid of a fall, and therefore protect ourselves
against it with all possible diligence. — Preached on the feast of
St. Matthias.
Text.
Annumeratus est cum undecim apostolis. — Acts i. 26.
" He was numbered with the eleven apostles."
Introduction.
Wonderful, but just and adorable are the providence and the
decrees of the Almighty! Judas at first was most carefully chos
en by Our Lord, and placed among the twelve vessels of election
whom the Saviour of the world selected out of the whole human
race to assist Him in the great work of the redemption; neverthe
less he is not found in the number of the blessed apostles in heav
en; another received his office and took his place. On the other
hand, St. Matthias had not the happiness of being among the
apostles during the lifetime of Our Lord, and yet he has the good
fortune of enjoying, like the other eleven, the title, rank, and
privileges of an apostle in eternal glory. A strange turn for
things to take! Did Our Lord perhaps not know beforehand
the fall of the one and the merits of the other? God forbid
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 201
that we should suspect Eternal Wisdom of such ignorance! But
if He knew the one as well as the other, why did He in His
choice prefer the unworthy to the worthy, thus entailing, accord
ing to our poor way of looking at it, the disagreeable consequence
of having His choice, as it were, frustrated? To this I can give
no answer except to cry out with the Royal Prophet in the deep
est adoration and reverence for the inscrutable judgments of
God: "Thy judgments are a great deep."1 "Thou art just,
0 Lord, and Thy judgment is right." 2 Thou art just in hurl
ing Judas from his seat, and excluding him from heavenly glory;
just in giving to Matthias the place lost by Judas, and the glory
of heaven! My dear brethren, instead of venturing on a rash
investigation of the inscrutable designs of the Almighty, let us
rather endeavor to draw a useful lesson, which may serve partly
for our encouragement, and partly to inspire us with a salutary
fear that will render us most cautious; let us learn this lesson
from the rejection of the one who was called and chosen, and
from the elevation to the apostolic dignity of the other, who was
not expressly called at first. The choice and exaltation of Mat
thias may serve to encourage us, inasmuch as we can learn there
from not to disturb ourselves by useless inquiries into our pre
destination, but rather seek to work out our salvation and make
it certain by leading holy lives; the unhappy fall and eternal rep
robation of Judas will serve to make us cautious, and to inspire
us with a salutary fear, inasmuch as we shall learn from it that
no one, no matter in what state he may be, can promise himself
full security, but must be always in dread of a fall, and there
fore must be always on his guard. There you have the subject
and divisions of this sermon.
Plan of Discourse.
The choice and exaltation of St. Matthias teaches us that no one
should disturb himself by useless inquiries into his predestination,
but rather seek to work out his salvation by a holy life and a care
ful use of the grace of God: the first part. On the other hand,
the unhappy fall and reprobation of Judas teaches us that no one,
no matter what may be his state of life, can promise himself se
curity, but must always fear a fall, and therefore guard him
self from it most carefully: the second part. The exaltation of
1 Judicia tua abyssus multa.— Ps. xxxv. 7.
2 -Justus es, Domine, et rectum judicium tuura.— Ibid, cxviii. 137.
2O2 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
Matthias and the reprobation of Judas are the whole foundation of
my sermon; the careful use of divine grace, a salutary fear , and
constant watchfulness are the end and object of it.
To obtain this end we beg Thy powerful grace, 0 dearest Sav
iour, Christ Jesus, through the intercession of Thy holy Mother
and of the holy angels.
The exaita- Many, even pious Christians, are not a little troubled by the
Matthias thought: Am I chosen for eternal life or not? How if I am ex-
shows that eluded by God from the number of the elect? If such is the case,
not Double °^ what avail will be all my efforts to save my soul? for no matter
ourselves what I do I shall not be able to change the eternal decrees of the
destination Almighty. To be chosen for eternal life is a grace for which we
can never be grateful enough to God; but to be excluded from it
is a misfortune that we can never sufficiently deplore. But away
with this useless worry and trouble! St. Peter teaches us to lay
it aside: "Wherefore, brethren, labor the more that by good
works you may make sure your calling and election." 1 As if to
say: How can it help you to lose your time in such distressing
questions? Be on your guard against sin, do good; be zealous
in working with the grace that God gives you; then you your
selves can make your election and eternal salvation certain. So it
is, my dear brethren. We have a striking example of this truth
in the election of our holy patron, St. Matthias the apostle, who,
as it were, forced his way into the dignity of the apostolate by the
holiness of his life, although he had not been called to that digni
ty before, and drew to himself by the power of his merits the hon
or and glory prepared for the apostles in preference to others of
the elect, according to the words of Our Lord. The history of
this is told in the Acts of the Apostles, and is too well known for
me to delay in recounting it to you. But the mysteries concealed
therein are perhaps not often considered as deeply as they deserve;
and these may well occupy our attention now.
For As you are aware, by the shameful fall and unhappy death of
though he the traitor Judas a place was made vacant in the college of the
caHed°by aPosfcles, which, according to the prophecy of David, had to be
the Lord filled up. To this end the disciples of Our Lord met, in order to
other'*16 ta^e connsel about the choice they should make. The question at
apostles, issue was indeed an important one, for it treated of a very great
yet he was dignity and a great responsibility which could be conferred on
1 Fratres, magis satagite, ut per bona opera certain vestram vocationem et electionem fa-
Ciatis.— II. Pet. i. 10.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 203
only one person. Peter, as the head of the assembly, rose up named with
and said: " Men brethren, the Scripture must needs be fulfilled ^aklTtne
which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David con- place of
cerning Judas, . . . who was numbered with us, and had obtained Judas<
part of this ministry. . . . For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
His bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men who
have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in
and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John
until the day wherein He was taken up from us, one of these
must be made a witness with us of His resurrection." ' He must
be a man who, like us, has been constantly following Christ, who
has heard His sermons and doctrine, and observed His exhorta
tions, so that he may be a good witness to His actions. He must
be a man free from faults, who will neither allow himself to be
led into evil by an imaginary happiness nor to be deterred from
good and from the perfect imitation of Christ by any imaginary
evil or fear; lest we should a second time be exposed to the shame
caused our holy office before the whole city of Jerusalem — nay,
before the whole world — by the disgraceful treachery of Judas.
In a word, he must be a man of whose virtue there can be no
doubt, and who by his blameless life may atone for the scandal
caused by the perjury of the unhappy traitor, which might turn
the people away from us and our teaching. My dearest breth
ren, it is the will of God that you seek out a man of this kind, un
daunted in danger, proved in virtue, from among those who are
assembled here, in order to associate him in our apostolic labors.
Such was the address of the Prince of the apostles; whereupon
there was held a general examination of the lives and actions of
all present, in which their virtues and merits were strictly inves
tigated, until finally the votes of the assembly were given to Bar-
sabas and Matthias: " And they appointed two: Joseph, called
Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias; " 2 and one
of these was to be chosen to take the place of the traitor Judas.
This fact alone, if we knew no more of him, should suffice to And that,
give us an extraordinary idea of the holiness and virtue of this too, inpref-
1 Viri fratres oportet irapleri Scripturarn, quara praedixit Spiritus Sanctus per os David de
Juda . . . qui connumeratus eratin nobis, et sortitus estsortera ministerii hujus. . . . Scrlptum
est enim in libro psalmorum: Episcopalian ejus accipiat aller. Oportet ergo ex his viris, qui
noblscum sunt congregati in omni tempore, quo intravit et exivit inter nos Dominus Jesus,
incipiens a baptismate Joannis usque in diem, qua assumptus est a nobis, testem resurrec-
tionis ejus nobiscum fleri unum ex istis.— Acts I. 16, 17, 20-22.
2 Et statuerunt duos, Joseph, qui vocabatur Barsabas, qui cognominatus est Justus, et
Matthiam.—Ibid. 23.
204 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
erence to great man; for the election held by the Christians then assembled
menCno* was no^ f°linded on vain or worldly views, but rather on the merits
were pros- and sanctity of the individual, as we cannot for a moment doubt.
tnt- It is clear, then, that Joseph and Matthias were men such as Peter
had described in his address — nay, that their virtue shone con
spicuous before that of all the others, and therefore that in the
whole crowd of Christians they were the most perfect and the
best fitted to fill the vacant place. Truly, that is a short and pithy
description of the greatest praise that a holy man can receive!
Judge yourself if such be not the case. In those days the Church
was so filled with the spirit of Christ in all its freshness and vigor
that nearly every member of it deserved to be admired as a model
of holiness; yet in that shining firmament there were some stars
that shone far brighter than others; among them might be reck
oned the holy deacon Philip, St. Luke, St. Mark — two evangel
ists and instruments by whose voice and pen the Holy Ghost was
pleased to speak to the nations, to announce the teaching and
articles of the faith; besides, there were St. Stephen, St. Barnabas,
and many others! What excellent men they were! and what
a beautiful example of holiness they gave! What glorious props
and pillars they were of the divine edifice, the Church, that the
incarnate wisdom of God erected here on earth! We know how
laudatory are the terms in which the Holy Scripture speaks of
Stephen: "A man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost;"1 and
again: " Full of grace and fortitude." 2 He it was whom even
his enemies looked on as an incarnate angel, on account of the
innocence and sanctity that shone in his countenance and in all
his behavior: "And all that sat in the council looking on him
saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel." He it was
who had gone so far in the doctrine of his divine Master that
while he was still living he merited to see the heavens opened,
and Christ in His glory standing at the right hand of His heaven
ly Father: tf He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God." 4 Yet he, and many others like him — ex
cellent men, whose holiness and brilliant virtues the world cannot
even now sufficiently admire — had to retire; for after due deliber
ation the assembly of Christians judged that of all present Mat-
1 Virum plenum flde et Spiritu Sancto.— Acts vi. 5, 8.
a Plenus gratia et fortitudine.— Ibid.
* Intuentes eum omnes qui sedebant in concilio, viderunt faciem ejus tauquam faciem
»ngeli.— Ibid. 15.
4 Vidit gloriam Dei, et Jesum stautem a dextris Dei.— Ibid. vii. 55.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 205
thias and Barsabas were the best suited for the office of the aposto-
late. "They appointed two/' says Denis the Carthusian, " be
cause they seemed to be conspicuous for sanctity above the others,
and more adapted for the grace of the apostolate."
Now we should do this most wise and holy assembly, in which
were the apostles and Mary herself, the Mother of Jesus, a great
injustice if we doubted that their choice of Matthias and Barsa- life
bas was a perfectly just one and suited to the merits of the per
sons chosen. But if it was just, and according to sound reason
as well as to the divine will, then it is evident that marks of a
quite extraordinary and unusual perfection must have been dis
covered in those two men, on account of which they merited the
preference. And as far as our St. Matthias is specially concerned,
the holy Fathers, authors, and historians are unanimous in assert
ing that from his childhood he was a model and mirror of all per
fection; "he was illustrious by his purity and innocence of soul," 2
says St. Bonaventure. Denis the Oarthusian writes that he showed
a wonderful innocence from hi-3 childhood, avoided all vanity and
dissipation, and adorned his tender years with a great earnestness
of manner.3 The author of his Life in the Bollandists shows
how in his youth he would, have nothing to do with the frivol
ities which belong to a tinder age, but occupied himself solely
with reading the Holy & ;riptures, and studying the law and all
the commandments and prohibitions contained in it, and exactly
observing them. Whereby under the guidance of Simeon, the
high-priest at the tim e, and his experienced teacher in divine
things, he advanced s>d far as to attain to a perfect knowledge of
the law and the prophets; and the author adds: "The blessed
man was most pure of body and of mind, most acute in solving
the difficulties of t'he Scriptures, prudent in counsel, elegant and
eloquent in speech." It would delay me too long to rehearse all
the praises given to the admirable virtues displayed by him both
before and after he followed Our Lord, virtues by which he won
such great esteem in the assembly of Christians. It is enough
for my purpose to say that the Christian community, moved by
no other consideration than that of his exceeding great and re-
1 Statuerunt duos, tanquam prae casteris sanctitate conspicuous, atque ad gratiam aposto-
latus, ut videbatur, magis idoneos.
2 Commendatur a tnundltia et pudicitia animi.— S. Bonav. Serm. 1. de S. Matt.
3 Lasciviam devitans, pueriles annos moruro gravitate ornavit.
4 Erat igitur vir beatus corpore mundissimus, animo purus, in solvendis Sacrae Scripturae
qua?st1onlbus acutissimus, in consilio providus, sermone nitidus et expeditus.
206 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
markable virtues, presented Matthias, along with Barsabas, to
St. Peter.
His inward gu^ ^ne excellence of his merits is still more evident from the
fore God fact that by the infallible judgment and command of God Him-
wasthe seif he was preferred even to Barsabas, who was justly so re-
MI Y nowned for holiness and perfection. On account of the appar-
ently equal merits of both, the apostles and disciples could not
decide which should be raised to the rank of apostle. Therefore,
•aha*. to avoid all mistakes in such a weighty matter, they all had re
course to Heaven in fervent prayer, and begged of the Almighty,
who knows the secrets of hearts, to decide which of the two, who
seemed outwardly so like each other, should have the preference:
" And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts
of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast chosen to take
the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas
hath by transgression fallen." (< They left to God the decis
ion," says the learned Salmeron, " since He knew which was
the better of the two."2 Then they cast lots, in crder to have
an outward sign of the divine will: " And they gave them lots,
and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the
eleven apostles." We congratulate thee, holy disciple, and now
chosen apostle of Christ, on this fortunate lot! It did not
fall on thee by chance, but was directed by the hand of God,
whereby thy virtues were made known and exalted before the
world much more than by any other species of eulogy. And in
fact, my dear brethren, what clearer or better proofs of the great
perfection of Matthias could we wish or desire to have than the
directing of this lot to him by the eternal Wisdom? For whereas
in the estimation of the Christian assembly he was before held
only on an equality with Barsabas, he is now exalted above him
by the decision and decree of the Almighty. This one circum
stance surpasses all other kinds of praise, says Denis, that he
was chosen for the high dignity of apostle in preference to one
who on account of his great name for virtue was surnamed the
Just.' This alone is worth more than all else that could be said
in his praise; for by a divine decree he was chosen as the holiest
1 Tu Domine, qui corda nostri omnium, ostende, quern elegeris ex his duobus unum, ac-
cipere locum minister!! hujus et apostolatus, de quo praevaricatus est Judas.— Acts!. 34, 25.
2 Reliquerunt Deo judicium, qui sciret meliorein, ut eligeret quern vellet.
8 Ei prae omni praeconio potest sum" cere, quod alio tarn justo, in hac parte relicto, ipse ad
apostolatus apicem est assumptus.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 207
of all that assembly of holy men; so writes St. Bonaventure.1
And in what, my dear brethren,, did his sanctity especially ap- His pro-
pear? How did he merit such a great grace from God, and ^mty and
attain to the rank of apostle? There are, I find, two virtues zealous
which all spiritual writers especially recommend in him, namely, JUnaspe-*6
a most profound humility and a most zealous love of God. The tiaiiy dear
first of these is the foundation, the latter the perfection of all to God'
virtue. It was by means of them that he won the heart of God,
and gained His favor and affection. For on the one hand, the
Almighty Himself tells us what great pleasure He has in the hum
ble; how lie is, so to speak, in love with them, and determined
to exalt them. Does not the spirit of God rest on the humble?
And it is the foundation of the dispensations of Providence that
he who humbles himself shall be exalted.2 And on the other
hand, it is not possible for the Almighty to refuse the marks of
His love to one whom He knows to love Him truly. Matthias
was not, like the other apostles, a lowly, unlearned man, but, as
we have seen, he was unusually well read in the Holy Scriptures,
and so experienced in spiritual matters that he might justly have
been considered as one of the lights of his age. Now when a
man has great learning he usually extols himself above others in
his own mind, and indulges in a kind of vanity and self-compla,-
cency, as St. Paul says: " Knowledge puifeth up;" 3 but, accord
ing to the testimony of all who have written his life, Matthias, in
spite of his learning, was as retiring and kept himself as hidden
from the world as if he were the least and most ignorant of all.
And hence some are of the opinion that the name Matthias — " the
little one of God " — was given him by Divine Providence to sig
nify his humility to the whole world. In the history of his life
in the Bollandists I read the following words: "Although he
was most learned, he was not at all puffed -up; but, according to
the meaning of his name, endeavored in all things to show him
self truly lowly and humble, remembering the words of the Wise
Man: 'The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all
things. "' Oh, that we could have seen how, when Peter offered
the prayer for success in their choice of an apostle, St. Matthias,
1 Ex tanta multitudine est electus, tanquam Deo inspirante sanctissimus.
2 Qui se humiliat exaltabitur.— Luke xiv. 11.
3 Scientia inflat.— I. Cor. viii. 1.
4 Licet eruditissimusesset, nullatenus extollebatur, sed juxta nominis sui etymologiam se
vere parvum et humilem exhibere nitebatur, illud sapientis saape commemmorans : Quant*
magnus es, humilia te in omnibus.— Ecclus. iii. 20.
2o8 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
like the public sinner in the temple, who did not dare to lift up his
eyes, retiring into a corner of the supper-room, where the as
sembly was held, and with downcast eyes but with heart raised to
God begged of the Almighty to choose the most worthy, never
dreaming in the least that the choice would fall on himself! And
this very humility was the cause that Heaven cast its eyes on him
alone and no other. "To whom shall I have respect," says the
Lord, by the Prophet Isaias, " but to him that is poor and little?"
So that we may with reason say, " the lot fell upon Matthias/'
that is, grace on the humble. For according to the testimony of
the Holy Ghost, God is wont to bestow His special favors on the
humble: " God giveth grace to the humble." a Such, too, seems
to be the reason why the Church has chosen as the gospel of the
Mass of this feast that part which speaks of the humility of the
followers of Christ, and in both Mass and Office she applies to
St. Matthias the words of Our Lord: " I confess to Thee, 0 Fa
ther, . . . because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru
dent, and hast revealed them to little ones." 3 And with regard to
his burning love of God, it is evident from the fact that he was
appointed to the apostolate by Him who requires this love as a
special mark of His disciples: " By this shall all men know that
you are My disciples, if you have love." Now if that is the
characteristic of Our Lord's disciples, how wonderful must not
that love have been in Matthias, since Our Lord choso him in
preference to all the other disciples to take the place of the
traitor Judas! Denis the Carthusian says, in a word, that he
was filled with love.5 Not with a vain and fruitless love, but
with one that was true and perfect; one that impelled him to use
all the powers of his soul and body for the glory of God and the
salvation of others.6 St. Bonaventure considers St. Matthias' love
of God as a virtue in which he specially excelled all the others.7
Glorious indeed was that union in the one soul of two such
*ei* the excellent virtues — a profound humility and a burning charity!
erf These were the virtues which raised Matthias to the dignity of
1 Ad quern respiciam, nisi ad pauperculum?— Is. Lxvi. 2.
a Humilibus dat gratiam.— James iv. 6.
3 Conflteor tibi Pater.. . quia abscondisti base a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea
parvulis.— Matt. xi. 25.
4 In hoc cognoseent omnes, quod discipuli mei estis, si dilectionem habueritis.-— John xiii.
85.
* Charitate repletus.
' Pro Deo et proximorum salute se totum impendit.
* Commendatur ab excellentia amoris eximii.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 209
apostle, preserved him in it, and finally brought him to eter- the apos-
nal glory in heaven. These were the spurs that always urged him gamedeter-
on in the way of perfection, and impelled him to study unceas- nai glory,
ingly the sanctification of his soul. Humility caused him to
ascend daily higher and higher in charity, through fear lest he
might grow cold therein, and, like Judas, lose his place and his
soul; charity, on the other hand, caused him always to think little
of himself, and to sink deeper in his own estimation, lest if he
should extol himself he might be separated from Our Lord, and
sink deeper into the abyss. As we read in the Lives of the Fa
thers, his favorite saying was: " If pride ascends to heaven it shall
be cast down to hell; so if humility descends to hell it shall be
raised up to heaven." * Humility and charity together filled him
with an insatiable zeal for converting souls and spreading every
where the name and glory of Christ, and although he had con
verted many Jews and heathens, endured many hardships, labors,
and persecutions, and wrought many miracles, yet this humble
and loving apostle thought he had done nothing, and looked
on himself as an unprofitable servant, according to the words of
his Saviour: " When you shall have done all these things . . . say:
We are unprofitable servants."2 He had already preached in
Judea, Palestine, and Morocco " with great success and profit to
souls," 3 as we read in his Life; but not content with this he re
turned to Judea, to begin anew, as it were, his apostolic labors.
This he did with such zeal that he was taken by the Jews, con
demned to death, and by a twofold martyrdom — stoning and de
capitation — sent to receive the eternal crown of glory that Judas
lost, and that he won by his humility and charity. " 0 truly
lowly and truly great man," I must here exclaim in the words
of Authbert, in his panegyric on St. Matthias, quoted by the Bol-
landists; " who wert great, not because thou wert exalted but
rather because thou didst become humble;" 4 and because he
united such an ardent charity with humility, therefore he is now
exalted forever in heaven.
Let us reflect on this a little, my dear brethren. As we have Henc«ttls
J clear that
seen, St. Matthias seems to have been disregarded and passed
1 Si superbla ascenderit usque in coelum, usque ad inf eros detrudetur ; itahumilitas,side-
scenderit usque in infernum, usque ad coelum extolletur.
2 Cum feceritis haec omnia. . . dicite : Servi inutiles sumus.— Luke xvii. 10.
3 Cum magno animarum lucro atque profectu.
4 0 vere parvum, vere magnum, qui non ideo magnus, quia elatus, sed ideo magnus, quo-
niam humilis factus.
2io On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
whoever over by Our Lord in the first calling of the apostles; he was a
true follower and disciple of Christ, but was not reckoned among
good use of the twelve chosen preachers of the gospel. Nevertheless by his
the grace of holiness, innocence, humility, and charity he brought things to
save ws such a pass that first, by the unanimous vote of the assembled
SOUL Christians, he was presented, with Barsabas, who alone seemed to
be equal to him in sanctity, as a candidate for the apostolate in the
place of Judas, and then, by the infallible decision of God, was pre
ferred to Barsabas. My dear brethren, what conclusion are we to
draw from this? If St. Matthias was able to offer the Almighty, as
it were, a pleasing violence, and to force from Him what was at
first denied him, and thus by his own merits to ascend to a throne
of glory in heaven that the mere generosity of God would other
wise not have given him without extraordinary co-operation on
his part, then there is no doubt that they are wrong who say
that our salvation or reprobation depends alone on deliberate
choice or rejection on the part of God, and that man by his own
works can neither further the one nor prevent the other. Fool
ish people who imagine such things or allow such thoughts to
disturb them! Every one knows that we must distinguish be
tween those works that indeed concern us, but that God alone
accomplishes without our co-operation, and those for the accom
plishment of which we have indeed need of divine grace, but
which nevertheless, after this grace has been freely offered, are
left to our own will. With regard to the first, it would be use
less for us to trouble about them, for in such cases we should
leave ourselves altogether to Divine Providence; therefore Our
Lord in the gospel reproves with good reason those who torment
themselves with useless cares: " Which of you/7 no matter how
learned, rich, or powerful he may be, "by taking thought, can
add to his stature one cubit?"1 But with regard to the other
class of works, which God has left to our own free will, it would
be clearly a great folly not to set about them ourselves, but to
leave them altogether to God. For if our diligence or careless
ness in this respect had no influence, they would not be works of
our free will, but would depend solely on God. A work of this
kind, my dear brethren, as every true believer acknowledges, is
our salvation or damnation, our holiness or wickedness, our ad
vance in perfection or our falling away therefrom. So says the
Wise Man expressly: " God made man from the beginning, and
1 Ouis vestrum cogltans potest adjicere ad staturam suam cubitum unum ?— Matt. vi. 27.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 211
left him in the hand of his own counsel. He added His command
ments and precepts. If thou wilt keep the commandments . . .
they shall preserve thee. He hath set water and fire before thee;
stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt. Before man is life and
death, good and evil; that which he shall choose shall be given
him."1 God has made the sun and moon, the heavens and the
earth, not only without our co-operation, but even without theleast
consent on our part; in the same way He has placed one in prefer
ence to another in a Catholic land, caused him to be born of Cath
olic parents, to be brought up in the Catholic faith (a happiness
for which he to whom it is granted cannot be grateful enough to
God for all eternity); but that he saves his soul in preference to
another, or gains a higher place than another in heaven — that is
a work for which God indeed gives His help generously to every
one, but the success or failure of it He has so left in our hands
that the failure can in no wise be attributed to Him, but rather
to the sloth and carelessness of the individual. " He who creat
ed you without you," are the well-known words of St. Augustine,
" will not save you without you."2 He has created you out of
sheer goodness, and will not reject you without fault on your
part. Therefore when the young man came to Christ, as we read
in the gospel, and said to Him, " good Master, what good shall
I do that I may have life everlasting?" Our Lord did not tell
him that he should not trouble himself about the matter, and
leave the care of it to God, but: " If thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments." : It depends on yourself, on your
own free will. And when the young man aspired higher, and
seemed not to be content with ordinary holiness and glory in
heaven, for the second time Our Lord did not refer him to the
will of God, but to his own will: "If thou wilt be perfect, go,
sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven."4 Happy mortals, in whose power it is to
make themselves sure of heavenly bliss — nay, to ascend as high in
heaven as they please! On the other hand, how culpable the
1 Deus ab initio constituit hominem, et reliquit ilium in manu consilii sui ; adjecit man-
data et pra?cepta sua. Si volueris mandata servare, conservabunt te. Apposuit tibi aquam
et ignem ; ad quod volueris, porrige manum tuam. Ante hominem vita et more, bonum
et malum; quod placuerit ei, dabitur illi. — Ecclus. xv. 14-18.
2 Qui creavit te sine te, non salvabit te sine te.
3 Magister bone, quid boni faciam, ut habeam vitam seternam? Si vis ad vitam ingredi,
serva mandata.— Matt. xix. 16, 17.
4 Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in
coelo.— Ibid. 21.
212 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
carelessness of those who do not profit by their privilege, and
who squander the good fortune they have in their hands! Let
no one dare to say to me again,, with heretics or cold-hearted
Catholics, who seek to palliate their sloth and indifference by
laying the blame on others — let no one say that it depends on the
generosity of God, and on the greater grace given to one rather
than to another, that one should be chosen for eternal life and
another excluded from it; that one should be called to extraor
dinary sanctity, while another is left among the common crowd.
And can ai- jf QO(J }ias not through sheer generosity given yon great graces,
ing to the" su(Jh as He has bestowed on others, do not despair on that ac-
measure count! A diligent workman often earns as much in time as
us adcHo" AVOUld be given to a good friend out of sheer love. And what
nisRioryin God has given to others as a gratuitous gift He is ready to give
heaven. yQU &g a rewar(j for your labor. We have convincing proof of
that in our St. Matthias, who certainly must not be less esteemed
than the other apostles because he was not at first chosen for that
state by Our Lord, without any merits of his own. But as among
soldiers they who rise from the ranks by their knowledge of and
experience in war are generally more esteemed than those who
become officers by money or on account of their noble birth, with
out having given any special proofs of bravery, so to any one
with sound reason it must redound to the greater praise of this
apostle that he attained that high position by his own efforts,
to which the others were elevated by mere generosity. Take
courage, my dear brethren! — you who think that God has not be
stowed such great gifts on you as on many others whose holi
ness and perfection you admire. The graces that the divine gen
erosity has not hitherto given you God will not refuse you, ac
cording to His most faithful and unfailing fidelity to His prom
ises, if you try to make yourselves worthy of them by your merits.
Even those high places of honor which the cherubim and sera
phim occupied shortly after their creation are open to us if by con
stant co-operation with divine grace we only endeavor always to
make a step in advance. In a word, we shall be as perfect in holi
ness and as high in heaven as we ourselves wish, for there is no
want in the earnest will of God in this respect. On the other
hand, no matter how high the favor and grace bestowed by God
on man, the latter will certainly fall into shameful ruin unless he
works with grace, and thus seeks to keep himself safe in his state.
This is the second part of my sermon, and it is proved especially
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 213
by the sad fall of Judas, whose place in the apostolate our St.
Matthias occupied.
Second Part.
Who could have believed it possible that out of the twelve That Judas
whom Christ had selected by a most wise choice to be the foun- apostolate,
dation and corner-stone of His Church one would shamefully to which he
fall away and make, as it were, a fissure in the spiritual edifice? byCbrist,
Who can think, without trembling, that one of those whom Christ and was ex-
treated as His dearest friends, who were always with Him, to ^r^™01
whom, before all others, He opened His heart, to whom He re- glory.
vealed the highest secrets of His heavenly kingdom: "To you
it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; " 1 who
can think, I say, without trembling, that one of those, in spite
of long-continued friendship with Christ, should at last die as
the enemy of God, and be condemned to the everlasting fire of
hell prepared for God's enemies? 0 God of goodness! who would
not shudder at the thought? One of the apostles chosen by Our
Lord Himself in the fire of hell! A teacher of truth, a pillar of
the Church, an instrument of the divine omnipotence, who, as the
holy Fathers say, worked miracles as well as the other apostles;
who had healed the sick, expelled demons, and by his instruc
tions and sermons brought many to the light of truth — he falls
at last into the power and under the yoke of the devil, so that
he is now tortured forever by those whom he once commanded!
Whence, in God's name, came such a terrible fall, such a sad was caused
ending, after so noble a beginning? Did Our Lord perhaps make negligence
a mistake when He first called Judas to the apostolate, and think anddisre-
him better than he was in reality? Or had He perhaps no earnest
will to raise him to that dignity, and to confer on him in heaven
the glory of an apostle? No; we dare not, without blasphemy,
form such a suspicion, either of the uprightness or of the omni
science of the incarnate God. Not only had Christ an earnest
will to maintain Judas in his dignity on earth, and to give him
the same glory with the other apostles in heaven, but also when
the traitor had separated himself from the chosen number, and
by his unheard-of wickedness made himself unworthy of the grace
conferred on him, Our Lord offered to receive him again into His
friendship if he only wished to return to Him. Such is the in
terpretation given by many of the holy Fathers to the words:
* Vobis datum est nosse mysterium regni Dei. — Luke viii. 10.
214 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
"Friend, whereto art thou come?"1 As if Christ wished to
say: Art thou come to beg pardon for thy sin, and to renew thy
friendship with Me? If such is the case, I shall not be wanting;
I hereby declare thee My friend and apostle, as thou wert before.
Was there perhaps something in the life led by Judas, either be
fore or after his calling to the apostolate, which caused him to
lose that place of honor? No; for the holy Fathers testify that
he was a holy and just man. " At first," says Tertullian, " he
was not only holy, but by the zeal of his preaching he was the
means of sanctifying others." 2 Whence, then, in God's name,
that terrible fall, unexampled since the fall of our first parents?
The only cause of it is that Judas did not try, by his own co
operation, to retain the graces and favors which Christ had most
generously bestowed on him. Our Lord did not wait for merits
on the part of that unhappy man to raise him so high, and give
him so many graces; of His own accord, without any help on the
part of Judas, He showed him more love, kindness, and favor
than he could have merited, nay, hoped for. But, according to a
just ordination of Divine Providence, it depended on Judas' own
co-operation and merits to remain to the end in that happy state,
to die as an apostle beloved by God, and to attain to the high
degree of glory in heaven given to an apostle. And since Judas
neglected his duty in this respect, and was not careful of the
graces conferred on him, he suffered a terrible fall and eternal
misery.
And it was Unhappy man! what blinded you to such an extent that you
of^maii60 squandered away such a great good fortune? What wonderful
things that good attracted you, or what great evil terrified you, so that the
etenmi ^ ^ove °^ ^e one or ^e ^ear °^ ^ne otner induced J°u to leave your
ruin. divine Master, to deliver Him over to His enemies, to rob your
self of eternal goods, and to hurl yourself into the abyss of hell?
There was neither a great good nor a great evil, my dear brethren.
We do not read of the Jews having terrified Judas by threats,
or used other forms of violence to persuade him to betray Christ.
His malice was so great that of his own accord he went to the
high-priests and offered to render them that disgraceful ser
vice: " He went . . . to the chief priests, and said to them:
What will you give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?"3
1 Amice, ad quid venisti ?— Matt. xxvi. 50.
2 Fuit ergo primitus ipse non solum sanctus, sed et zelo prasdicationis suae sanctiflcans
alios.
3 Abiit ... ad principes sacerdotum, et ait illis : Quid vultis mini dare, et ego vobis eum
tradam ?— Matt. xxvi. 14, 15.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 2 1 5
Thirty pieces of silver were not of such value as to induce one
of an honorable mind to commit such a deed of shame, if there
was not some other hidden reason which prepared the way for
so great a crime. ' ' No one becomes very wicked all at once/'
says the old proverb; 1 a holy man does not at once fall into the
depths of depravity. These violent changes are generally the
work of small things, that grow gradually greater in time, so that
at last they prepare the way for a ruinous fall. So it was with
Judas; he was certainly a holy man, since he had been called
to the apostolate; for a time he kept all right in that state;
finally, when he was appointed to keep the purse which con
tained the alms given by pious people to Our Lord, who was vol
untarily poor, for the needy, and to supply His own wants, Judas
began at first to be economical, and as he kept the purse always,
to have a love for the gold that passed through his hands; thus
he began to wish that the alms might increase daily, under the
pretext of being better able to help the poor. In time he began
to look on as his own property the purse that was entrusted to
his care; here and there he extorted a trifle, and became a thief.
The gospel tells us that he was a thief/ because he imagined
he had sustained a loss when St. Mary Magdalene poured the
precious ointment on Our Lord's head at the feast in the house
of the Pharisee. This loss he was determined to make good in
some way or other, and as no other opportunity presented it
self, his cursed greed of gold brought him so far that he of
fered to sell Jesus Christ, his Lord and Master, to His sworn ene
mies, the most innocent Lamb to those ravening wolves, that he
might regain by the blood of Our Lord the gold he had lost.
Thus did a once holy apostle of Christ by such a small begin
ning come to such a sad end, and sink to the lowest depths of
wickedness.
Christian souls, even you who think you have made no small A consider-
progress in virtue! is not this sad fall enough to make the blood g^^gter
freeze with horror in your veins? If Judas in the school of even pious
Christ, under the teaching of that divine Master, and after hav- soulsfrom
" < apparently
ing wrought many great miracles, was not confirmed in grace, or small faults
assured of his salvation, which of us can promise himself security
in his state of life? If this apostle, so richly endowed with graces
by Christ, from a small beginning, and through what was at first
1 Nemo repente fit turpissimus.
9 Fur erat.— John xii. 6.
2 1 6 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
For such
faults can
easily lead
us into
grave of
fences.
not a sinful but a somewhat inordinate love of the alms entrusted
to him, fell into such an abyss of wickedness, what sin, what fault,
what imperfection, no matter how trifling it seems, can we have
reason to despise, or to regard without the fear of suffering a sim
ilar fall? " Behold," says St. Ambrose, " if such men as the trai
tor Judas was fall, even the most heroic saints must tremble,"
and dread to fall in a similar manner. <( He thatthinketh him
self to stand let him take heed lest he fall," 3 says St. Paul,
no doubt terrified by the fall of Judas, which had occurred short
ly before; let him who believes himself in the grace of God
guard himself carefully on all sides, lest he should lose that
grace. Even a slight stumble, a trifling carelessness in the di
vine service may be the occasion of everlasting ruin. And no one
need wonder at this who considers the frailty of our corrupt na
ture as it ought to be considered. For since it lost after sin the
inclinations to good imprinted on it by our Creator, and by a
sort of natural gravitation became inclined to all kinds of evil,
it seems to me like a heavy stone that is hurled from the top
of a high mountain into the valley beneath. A slight push is
enough to start it, and its own weight will then hurry it down
wards with increasing impetuosity, so that neither hedge nor
ditch nor other impediment is able to stop its way. Sad ex
perience, with how many and terrible examples dost thou not
convince us of this truth! I will not refer to them now, because
the case of Judas, since it is confirmed by the indubitable testi
mony of the gospel, is much more convincing than any other.
But you, thoughtless souls, who after some consolation exper
ienced in prayer, or after having made some imaginary or real
progress in virtue, not only do not fear a similar fall, but prom
ise yourselves full security, and disregard apparently small faults,
think seriously of the danger that threatens you, and how quickly
from a small beginning you may fall into the depths of vice!
For instance (to keep to the subject in hand that the fall of Judas
supplies us with), how often does it not happen that even in just
dealings with our neighbor we are too exact, and insist strictly
on all our rights? Is that a sin? No, my dear brethren, not by
any means; but it is a beginning, from which a great change
may easily spring. For a too great exactness in this respect can
1 Ecce cadentibus hujusmodi viris, qualis f uit proditor Judas . . . etiam fortes viri trepl-
dabunt.
* Qui se existimat stare, videat ne cadat.— I. Cor. x. 12.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 217
easily influence the mind, so that blinded by self-love we seek
all sorts of pretexts for exacting something small over what is
our due when occasion offers. The injustice is still small, but
it is on the increase, and these small things will bye-and-bye
become great, and at last we go to receive Holy Communion with
our souls filled with sacrilege and profanation of the holy sac
raments, as our coffers are filled with unjustly-acquired gain.
There we have a real Judas, who betrays Christ for the love of
money, and, as St. Paul says, crucifies Him again. So it is with
other things, too; a small disorder may be the cause of a great
misfortune, and of final ruin. A vain thought not driven away
at once, a careless look, a too confidential conversation with a
person of the other sex, a chagrin taken too much to heart on
account of some real or imaginary injury — oh, how often have
not such things been the beginning of the eternal loss of many
a pious soul that now bewails its ruin with ineffectual tears!
These things at first are mere trifles, small evils, but they soon
grow to be great ones, and end in everlasting destruction. In
the time of Elias the heavens were closed, so that no rain fell
for the space of three years, and the earth could not produce
any fruit on account of the long-continued drought. Suddenly,
when King Achab was in the field, Elias warned him to ascend
his chariot and save himself from the rain. What had the Proph
et seen to be able to predict such a storm? The heavens were
as clear as before; only that there appeared ascending from the
sea a little cloud.1 But how quickly that small cloud became a
great one, from which the rain poured down in torrents! " And
while he turned himself this way and that, behold the heavens
grew dark with clouds and wind, and there fell a great rain."
Who could have expected such a change in so short a time? Be
not surprised, my dear brethren; that cloud came out of the sea,'
where there is no lack of water; it drew to itself and spread
abroad, while the wind helped it, until several clouds united to
gether, and a heavy fall of rain was the result. That slight dis
sipation, that too great familiarity, that resentment of the sup
posed injury — oh, they were indeed trifling at first, and hardly
worth notice; little clouds! But (reflect on this, my dear breth
ren) what wicked inclinations and desires attach themselves to
1 Nubecula parva.— III. Kings xviii. 44.
2 Cumque se verteret hue atque illuc, ecce coeli contenebrati sunt, et nubes et ventus, et
facta est pluvia grandis. — Ibid. 45.
8 Ascendebat de mart.— Ibid. 44.
2 1 8 On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias.
those small things in time! What a dangerous wind of diabol
ical suggestions seizes these clouds, and drives them about, with
the fogs ascending from the heart, until at last the storm breaks;
and how does it break? You, alas, know best! How often has
not the heart been inundated with impure love, incontinence,
implacable hatred, anger, and desire of revenge, and similar vices
from such small beginnings!
Exhortation ^j^ Christians, never let yourselves be so blinded as to think
against*1 little of any carelessness or other fault, no matter how small it
small faults, may appear in itself; never despise those small things, for it
should be enough to deter us from them to remember that even
tionsureby those trifles can have such disastrous results, as was the case with
workirf7 Ju(^as au& so many others, and to us they may also be the occa-
with grace, sion of eternal ruin. Therefore I conclude with the words of St.
Paul: " See, therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly/' 1
Let us with all possible diligence see that we do not begin with
small vices, like the traitor, and then we shall not have grave
evils to dread. Unhappy Judas, if you had only used the same
care and watchfulness to keep Christ in your heart that you
recommended to the Jews who brought Him before the high-
priest, "lay hold on Him, and lead Him away carefully," a thou
wouldst never have lost the grace of Christ, nor thy apostolic
dignity and eternal glory, nor wouldst thou have come to that mis
fortune in which thou now eternally bewailest thy carelessness.
But why should I say any more of the fall and eternal reproba
tion of this accursed traitor, since there is no longer any rem
edy for them? You, Christian souls, who by sanctifying grace
bear Christ about with you, ah, "lay hold on Him, and lead Him
carefully " ! Do not go into any dangerous occasion of losing
His grace, no matter how remote the danger may seem. Avoid
even the least negligence in the divine service; be on your guard
against even the least faults, as far as you can, for although the
grace of God may exist with them, yet they may interrupt the
order of graces appointed for you by God, and thus be the cause
of great sins, which will separate you from God and God from you
forever. Often recall to mind that warning of Our Lord in the
Apocalypse of St. John: " Hold fast that which thou hast, that no
man may take thy crown," 3 as Judas lost his, which was given to
1 Videte itaque, fratres, quomodo caute ambuletls.— Epb. v. 15.
1 Tenete eum et ducite caute.— Mark xiv. 44.
8 Tene quod babes, ut nemo accipiat coronam tuam.— Apoc. HI. 11.
On the Holy Apostle St. Matthias. 219
Matthias. Judas lost it by his carelessness and contempt for lit
tle faults. Matthias received it by his zealous co-operation with
and use of the graces bestowed on him, assured himself of it by
his watchfulness, and now glories in it forever in heaven. Let
us use a like zeal, my dear brethren, and try with equal careful
ness to ensure our salvation, and we shall have a similar exalta
tion in heaven with Matthias, and rejoice with him in glory.
Amen.
ON THE HOLY MARTYRS.
FIFTY-THIRD SERMON.
ON LOVINQ OUR ENEMIES AFTER THE EXAMPLE OF
ST. STEPHEN,
Subject.
After the example of St. Stephen we are bound: 1. To bear
patiently with our enemies, that is, not to return evil for evil;
2. To love our enemies, that is, to return good for evil. — Preached
on the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr.
Text.
Positis autem genibus, clamavit voce magna, dicens: Domine,
ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. — Acts vii. 59.
"And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying:
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."
Introduction.
False judgments and deceitful rules and laws of the world, how
you are put to shame in these days! How happy that man is
who is so rich, who is held in such high esteem, who is so be
loved, who leads such a comfortable and pleasant life! Such is
your opinion! Christ, the infallible and infinite wisdom, showed
us the contrary yesterday by His example. The great Son of
God, as a poor little Child, sheltered by a stable against the
cold winter weather, places poverty, humiliation, crosses, and
sufferings on the throne. The laws of the world say that we
must not submit to injustice; we must defend ourselves as well
as we can; it is not possible to love those who hate and persecute
us; Stephen, a servant of Christ, teaches us the contrary to-day
by his example: " Falling on his knees, he cried with a loud
voice, saying: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." So that
we must bear patiently with our enemies? And we must even
220
On Loving Our Enemies, like St. Stephen. 221
love our enemies from our hearts? Truly, my dear brethren, the
laws of the world say no to this; but the law of Christ and of
His servants says expressly yes; this is no work of supereroga
tion, left to our own free choice; it is an obligation, binding
under sin, a-s I shall now show.
Plan of Discourse.
After the example of St. Stephen we are bound to bear patient
ly with our enemies, that is, not to return evil for evil: the first
part. After the example of St. Stephen we are bound to love our
enemies, that is, to return good for evil: the second part.
Christ Jesus! I beg of Thee to grant what I have already prayed
for in the holy Mass, and which the Church commands us to
pray for; grant us, by the intercession of Thy dearest Mother
and of our holy guardian angels, such an upright, Christian heart
" that we may learn to love our enemies because we celebrate
the natal day of him who knew how to pray for his enemies."
I should not be surprised to find that many think this subject whom we
a not very useful one; for most people, especially the pious, who ^stand'a
try to serve God to the best of their ability, say or think to them- enemies,
selves: I have neither hatred nor enmity towards any one; I have
no enemies to trouble me; or, if any one injures me, I do not
treat him as an enemy. Would to God, my dear brethren — would
to God, I say, that this were really the case, that we still lived
in the golden age of the primitive Christians, when, as the Acts
of the Apostles tell us: " The multitude of believers had but one
heart and one soul."1 Would to God that this sermon of mine
concerned not a soul in this congregation, and served for no other
purpose but to console the hearts of my hearers in the thought
that they are free from all discord, and to encourage them to
remain always united with each other in the bonds of charity!
But I fear that what I have to say will be a matter of deep con
cern to only too many. For under the name of enemies who do
us harm I understand not only all those who from an inveterate
and implacable hatred conspire, as it were, against us, and public
ly and privately try to injure us in our honor and property, or
plot against our lives, although the name, properly speaking, be
longs to those persons, but I mean also all who in any way cause
us trouble or annoyance, for instance, those towards whom we
1 Multitudinis credentium erat cor unum et anima una.— Acts iv. 32.
222 On Loving Our Enemies
have a natural aversion and repugnance, whose manner of acting
is disagreeable to us, and with whom we are obliged to have daily
intercourse; I mean also those who now and then speak roughly
to us, or refuse some request; who excite us to impatience by
contradiction, sour looks, disobedience, or who in any other way
act contrary to our will, whether the injury done us be great or
small. Such enemies we often find among our acquaintances,
neighbors, superiors, inferiors, masters, servants; such an enemy
is often the husband to the wife, the wife to the husband, the
children to the parents, the parents to the children. Injuries
of the kind are to be met with everywhere; daily and hourly
some one does to us what is displeasing and annoying. And I
say that if we have no worse enemies we are bound to love all
such people who thus annoy us with every outward mark and
inward feeling of sincere love, and with a perfect and beneficent
love.
st. Stephen Let us study the example of St. Stephen on this point. The
revenge^on Uoty Scriptures tell us of the Jews, when they heard him preach:
hisenemies, " Hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they
St hav^ gnashed with their teeth at" him."1 They stopped their ears,
bad it. fell upon him in a body, hurried him out of the city, and stoned
him to death. Is not that a grievous injury? And how did
Stephen act? Did he grind his teeth at them? Did he repay
revenge for revenge, anger for anger, stoning for stoning? Oh,
you will say, how could he think of such a thing? He was alone
in the midst of the crowd of Jews, who were all embittered
against him; he was a lamb in the midst of so many wolves, and
what could he do to defend himself? True. But why should
he not have been able to do something? What did not the
prophets do in similar circumstances? They asked for help from
Heaven and received it. On two occasions in succession Elias
was surrounded by a band of fifty soldiers, whom the king of
Israel had sent to take him prisoner; what did he do to defend
himself against so many? " Let fire come down from heaven/1
he cried out, filled with zeal for the honor of God, " and con
sume thee and thy fifty."2 The Prophet Eliseus was once sur
rounded by the whole Syrian army; what did he do to defend
himself? He prayed to God, saying: "Strike, I beseech Thee,
this people with blindness. And the Lord struck them with
1 Dissecabantur cordlbus suls, et stridebant dentibus in eum.— Acts vii. 54.
8 Descendat ignis de coelo et devoret te, et quinquaginta tuos.— IV. Kings i. 10.
After the Example of St. Stephen. 223
blindness, according to the word of Eliseus." Why should not
the prayer of the first martyr have the same efficacy as that of
the prophets? Did he not serve the same almighty God as they?
Could he not have found equally valid reasons for demanding
vengeance from God, and saving himself from the hands of his
enemies? Could he not have been moved to adopt this course by
the shame that the cross was to the Jews, by the thought of
the weakness of the first Christians, who might have been great
ly helped by some visible manifestation of the divine protection,
as was the case in the days of the prophets of old ? Oh, truly, there
are many who would not require such cogent reasons to induce
them to take revenge! But, as St. Gregory says, Stephen had a
different and a Christian spirit. He was not a disciple of the zeal
ous Elias or Eliseus, but was brought up in the school of the most
meek Saviour; " like a disciple of Christ, he prayed for those who
were stoning him. " * He had learned from Christ to heal the
sick, and to command fire, water, and the other elements; but at
the same time he had learned not to return evil for evil, to bear
injuries with patience, and to be meek and gentle with those
who used him despitefully; " like a disciple of Christ, he prayed
for those who were stoning him."
Where are ye now, ye vindictive, rancorous Christians, even — we seek m
and I do not hesitate to say it — even you who have the outward ven^e in
* • «i TTTI !• i i every pos-
appearance of piety? Where are your patience and charity in sibieway.
this respect? No one has as yet made an attack on your persons,
no one has gnashed his teeth at you, or taken up stones to throw
at you; no one has inflicted a grievous wound on you; but a
single sour look, a biting word, a displeasing action is quite
enough to inspire you with the desire of revenge. Some one hap
pens unwittingly to tread on your corns, to say a disagreeable
word in some trifling matter; your servants or children do not
run at once when you tell them; and immediately there is an
outburst of impatience, anger, rancor, quarrelling, and strife;
with Elias, but not with the same holy zeal, you call down fire
from heaven, and summon the demons from hell, and your first
prayer for your enemies is murmuring, invective, abuse, cursing,
swearing. If my honor is attacked I dare not forgive; if I have
suffered bodily injury I must have eye for eye, and tooth for
1 Percute, obsecro, pentem bane, csecitate. Percussitque eos Dominus ne viderent, Juxta
verbum Elisaei.— IV. Kings vi. 18.
8 Pro lapidantibus orabat, ut Christ! discipulus.
224 On Loving Our Enemies
tooth, blow for blow, wound for wound; I must pay back in the
s;ime com
And if there is question of mine and thine, as St. Chrysostom
is question says, "that cold word — mine and thine; "l if one's property is
of worldly attacked, what a noise there is about it, even amongst Chris
tians, even among those who would otherwise be the best of
friends, nay, even among brothers and sisters, and that for a tri
fling sum of money! On account of an insulting word lawsuits
are often commenced which in most cases are motived only by
the wish to cause harm to others, and are thus the expression of
bitterness, hatred, envy, vindictiveness; neither part will yield
to the other, because when the passions are inflamed the mind
cannot be induced to look calmly at the matter; the suit is often
continued so long that both parties are brought to irretrievable
ruin; and when nothing more is left the contending parties
seek consolation in the thought that the opponent has suffered
too. Meanwhile, what evils spring from this spirit of revenge!
What various forms of rash judgments, evil thoughts, wicked
interpretations, plans of vengeance that are brooded on night
and day! How many false testimonies, uncharitable conversa
tions, calumnies, detractions in company are not indulged in by
both parties! And what grievous scandal is thus given to a
whole street, a whole town, or district! Oftentimes the enmity
thus aroused becomes so deep-rooted that it can be healed only
by death. What do I say? By death? Nay, it is often left as
a legacy to children and children's children. The children and
domestics are entertained with frequent accounts of the injury
supposed to have been received from such-and-such a person . He,
they are told, is a sworn enemy of our family; he is only waiting
an opportunity to do us harm; he is the cause of my ruin! Let
none of you dare to set foot inside that man's house, or to asso
ciate with any of his acquaintances! Thus the poor children,
who are like wax, capable of receiving any impression, are from
their tenderest years impressed with the same hatred and enmity
that is nourished by their parents, and enmity and hatred are
made, as it were, immortal, and handed down from generation to
generation. Such is the manner in which many treat their ene
mies — the idea they have of forgiving injuries!.
™atTfor Bufc is fchat rig]lt? Is Jt Christian, nay, is it human? If such
a mode of action were allowable, and every one were at liberty
1 Meum et tuum, frigidum illud verbum.
After the Example of St. Stephen. 225
to take revenge, to return evil for evil, injury for injury, harm
for harm, what would become of natural, civil, and religious law God'
and order? And if all the laws of nature, of the world, of your
own reason cried out to you: You are allowed and commanded
to take vengeance on those who have done you harm, yet there
is another who tells you quite the contrary, and whose law and
will must be preferred to those of the whole world, namely, your
God, who is almighty, and the supreme and sovereign Lord. His
will is that you must not be angry even with your worst enemy.
He says to you, by His apostle Paul: "To no man render
ing evil for evil. Not revenging ourselves, my dearly beloved,
but giving place unto wrath; for it is written: Revenge to Me;
I will repay, saith the Lord." 1 He says to you: " But I say to
you: Love your enemies."2 He says to you: "If one strike
thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other; " 3 you must
not return the blow, but even be ready to bear another patiently.
He says to you: " Forgive, if you have aught against any man,
that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your
sins. But if you will not forgive, neither will your Father that
is in heaven forgive you your sins." 4 Now if you do not obey
His command He will reject you; if you return evil for evil He
will also revenge Himself on you, and that, too, for eternity.
But, you say, this or that person is always troubling me; am Nomattot
I to put up with that? Must I say nothing about it, and let him JJ^^J
do as he likes? I am not a stock or a stone. Nevertheless you may ai-
must listen to what the Almighty tells you: " I say to you: Love lege*
your enemies "; you must treat that person with charity, and not
return evil for evil. There are lawful means of getting rid of
the annoyance without allowing yourself to be influenced by
passion or the desire of revenge; but to seek for satisfaction on
your own authority is forbidden by the law of God. But the
injury is a most grievous one; he has assaulted me in the pres
ence of others, and publicly; he persecutes me contrary to all
right and justice, so that I am obliged to show him that I am
not a simpleton! No matter! Be the injury public or private,
1 Null! malum pro malo reddentes. Non vosmetipsos defendentes, charissimi ; sed date
locum irae. Scriptum est enim : Mini vindicta ; ego retribuam, dicit Dominus.— Rom. xii.
17, 19.
1 Ego autem dico vobis : Diligite inimicos vestros.— Matt. v. 44.
3 Si quis te percusserit in dexteram maxillam, praebe illi et alteram.— Ibid. 39.
* Dimittite, si quid habetis adversus aliquem ; ut et Pater vester, qui in coelis est, dimit-
tat vobis peccata vestra. Quod si vos non dimiseritis, nee Pater vester, qui in coelis est,
dimittet vobis peccata vestra.— Mark xt. 85, 26.
226 On Loving Our Enemies
great or small, hear what God says to you: " I say to you: Love
your enemies "; in spite of all you must love that enemy of yours.
But he is known to be a bad character, a mischievous man; he
is not worthy of my forgiveness! Be he good or bad, you must
be as God wishes to have you: " I say to you : Love your enemies."
If the man is unworthy of your kindness, at all events God de
serves that you should obey Him. But if I leave this unavenged
he will become worse, and torment me still more! Let him do
as he pleases; you are not therefore allowed to revenge yourself.
"1 say to you: Love your enemies." Oh, but that is impossible!
What will people think of me? They will look on me as a nin
compoop, who has not a word to say for himself! They will
make a laughing-stock of me! I cannot forgive; my honor and
position will not allow it. What! must your honor suffer if you
do not take revenge? Not at all, as I have already shown on
another occasion. And if any one tells you that it is honorable
to seek revenge you may tell him straight out that he has not
an honest, Christian heart, nor a sound, Catholic mind and un
derstanding. It is an honor to do what God requires of you.
But for the present I will grant that your honor is concerned in
taking revenge; and even then, are you excused from the obli
gation of obeying the Christian law? If God could and did lay
commands on you with the obligation of losing goods and prop
erty, and even life itself, rather than transgress one of them,
has He not also the power of obliging you to sacrifice your honor
and the esteem of the world rather than incur His anger? Is
He not Lord of your honor as well as of your life? You say:
My honor requires me to take revenge. Granted again; but the
honor of God requires you to forgive and to obey Him. Is your
honor of more account than His? Must you sacrifice the honor
of God for the sake of yours? And do you think such an ex
cuse will serve your turn when you stand before the judgment-
seat? My honor was concerned in it, you will say; and He will
answer: But Mine was concerned also. I was offended first, you
will reply; was that a reason for offending Me? He will an
swer. I have acted like other men of the world, like other men
in my position, among whom I was obliged to live. But was
that a reason for not Jiving according to My law? I have acted
as any man of honor would before the world. But you have
acted like a bad and wicked Christian before the eyes of heaven!
Have I not forbidden you plainly enough to seek revenge? You
After the Example of St. Stephen. 227
should have observed this command of Mine: f< I say to you: Love
your enemies."
But, dearest Lord, with all Thy exhortations Thou canst do But few ob-
nothing with those in whose hearts rancor and hatred have ^wof^God
once taken root! (There are many other customs and usages in
the world that Thou hast forbidden, and yet men pay no atten
tion to Thee!) Their honor and property have more influence
with them than all Thy entreaties and exhortations. The
words Thou hast spoken by the Prophet Jeremias are still true,
and are daily verified: " Behold, the word of the Lord is become
unto them a reproach, and they will not receive it." I am
sure that if any person — the woman, the young maiden whom
they adore as if she were a goddess, whose least sign they are
willing to obey, whose favor they are most anxious to retain — if
she, a mere mortal though she be, were to ask them to pardon
their enemies, and do them no harm, they would at once grant the
request; but Thou mayest beg and entreat, and cry out a hun
dred times: " I say to you: Love your enemies/' and they cannot
and will not do what Thou commandest; they must have re
venge! What a shame on the name of Christian and Catholic!
My dear brethren, I do not believe that among those here pres
ent there are any who are guilty in this respect, and therefore I
go on to the higher degree of charity that God requires from us;
that we must, namely, love our enemies, and return 'good for
evil. This we shall see in the
Second Part.
You confess, then, that it is not right to take or seek revenge it is not
on him who has iniured you; and therefore you are determined enou&h not
. J J J tobere-
not to harm him in any way, nor to show any outward sign of vengedon
hating him. But is that enough to fulfil completely the divine ourene-
law? Is that enough for a Christian? If so, then even heathens,
Turks, thieves, and robbers, and the most wicked and abandoned
of men can be looked on as true Christians so far. Nothing is
more common among such people than to hide their feelings, to
restrain their wrath, to give each other the hand outwardly, and
even to embrace each other, either through worldly politeness,
or because they are unable to revenge themselves, or through the
hope of some good, or the fear of incurring a greater loss, or
"* Ecce verbum Domini factum est eis in opprobrium, et non suscipient illud.— Jer. vi. 10.
228 On Loving Our Enemies
through respect for those who are in a high position in the world,
or through love of friends who advise them to take that course,
or for some other human motive. But is this outward pardon
the virtue of charity? Do you by it satisfy the requirements of
the gospel? Is that the way in which Christ commanded you to
forgive?
st. Stephen ^ras ft jn this wav alone that St. Stephen showed his love for
to them. his enemies who were stoning him? He was not satisfied with
merely refraining from returning evil for evil, hatred for hatred;
but. according to the teaching of Him whom he publicly con
fessed, he returned a heartfelt and sincere love for hatred and
the evil done him by every benefit it was in his power to confer.
He prayed for those who were stoning him: " Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge." What better treasure could he bequeath
them than his prayer and the ardent desire of their welfare
which he sent up to the throne of God? He prayed on bended
knees: "Falling on his knees"; he did not do that for himself ,
so that it seemed as if the salvation of his enemies was a more
important matter in his eyes than his own. He prayed for
them in a loud voice: " He cried with a loud voice," that the
sincerity of his love might not be doubted. He prayed for them
to his last breath: "And AFhen he had said this, he fell asleep
in. the Lord," that his last sigh might have more influence and
efficacy with God. See to what perfection the Christian law
binds us! Not only does it forbid all outward attempts at re
venge, all hostile actions; not only does it forbid all cursing
and detraction with the tongue, but it even prohibits all, even
the most secret, movements of the heart in the direction of re
venge, and all uncharitable recollections of the injury suffered:
"If you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts."
And that to such an extent that if the bare remembrance of the
injury be accompanied with hatred and anger it is enough to
keep us from the altar, from the divine sacrifice. But this is
not yet enough; for the same prohibition was given to the Jews:
" Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citi
zens."2 If you go no farther than merely not hating your ene
my, and not seeking revenge on him, you cannot escape the sen
tence of Christ: "Unless your justice abound more than that
1 SI non remlseritis unusquisque fratri suo de cordibus vestris.— Matt, xviii. 35.
* Non quaeras ultionem, ne memor eris injuriae civiutn tuorum. — Lev. xix. 18.
After the Example of St. Stephen. 229
of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter into the king
dom of heaven."1
And what more does Christ require of us? " Love your ene- After hi§
mies." Hatred must be turned into love. Into what kind of examPlei
love? Not an ordinary one, but a perfect, beneficent love, ioveour
which proves itself by works: "Do good to them that hateenemies:
you; " and if you have not the means nor the opportunity of do- tbati
ing them good, then you must let your prayers take the place of
it: " Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you."2 Oh,
where can I now find a voice and words powerful enough to
declaim against the deceitfulriess of the world, and to root out
of the hearts of men the errors regarding this point that have
been so deeply ingrafted in them! Oh, how many there are
who indeed seem to be friends outwardly, and yet have their
hearts filled with hatred and rancor! Of those David says:
" Who speak peace with their neighbor, but evils are in their
hearts."3 How many there are who do no harm to their neigh
bor because they cannot or dare not, and meanwhile do not
lay aside their bitterness and secret desire of revenge! Thus, al
though they are not murderers in reality, yet they are so in will
and desire, which is just as bad almost in the sight of God. Their
rancorous feelings show best how their hearts are disposed with
regard to Christian charity and the love o^ their neighbor. I
do not envy him any good fortune, they say; but if they hear of
some unusual good luck falling to the lot of those whom they
should forgive from their hearts they are ready to burst with
envy. I do not wish him any harm, they say of their enemy;
but if a misfortune happens him they are full of joy. I do not
wish to say any evil of him, they say; but they are pleased to
hear others speak ill of him, and make known his faults. I do
not hate him, yet I cannot forget the harm he has done me. I
am ready to forget the harm, but I do not wish to have anything
to do with him. I cannot bear the sight of him; his very pres
ence is enough to upset me; my blood begins to boil; if I meet
him anywhere I cannot say a civil word to him; if I am obliged
to answer him my gall rises, and I can hardly control myself;
and if I endeavor to meet him in a friendly way he must not ex-
1 Nisi abundaverit justitia vestra plus quam scribarum et Pbarisseorum, non intrabitls in
regnum coelorum. — Matt. v. 20.
2 Benefacite his qui oderunt vos, et orate pro persequentibus et calumui antibus vos. —
Ibid. 44.
8 Loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo ; mala autem in cordibus eorum.— Ps. xxvii. 3.
230 On Loving Our Enemies
pect that when he is in want of me I shall be ready to do him
a service. But is that the way to love your enemy, to pardon
him, as Christ commands? Say what you like, I still maintain
that you do not obey the law of God. The seeds of enmity are
still in you; they lie concealed in your heart, like smouldering
embers, or, as St. Ephrem says, like burning coals, that are still
able to kindle the fire of enmity.
That love is An(j jf t|iese are not extinguished, if you still adhere to your
We' secret hostility, then you cannot hope that God will forgive you,
and therefore you have no claim to eternal happiness. What!
you say; that is hard indeed! And dare I not expect heaven
unless I have a love and affection for him who hates and tries to
injure me? That is not in the power of my free will; the
thought of the injury suffered, the displeasure caused me there
by, comes into my mind unbidden; I cannot prevent it; it is im
possible. Eh ? Take your time and consid er the matter leisurely !
It is indeed natural to have a dislike to one who has done you
harm, and to have that thought in the mind; this happens wheth
er you will or no, and it is not in this that hatred consists, for
with that you can still love your enemy truly. But to wish de
liberately to entertain this hatred and desire of revenge, without
striving against it, and to shun the society of another on account
of it; to be troubled at his prosperity, rejoiced at his misfortunes,
to refuse without cause, or danger of loss, or difficulty any service,
benefit, or prayer that you would otherwise think your friend en
titled to — that is a sign of inward hatred, and that is forbidden.
Now do you think the law impossible of fulfilment? Why, then,
has God so expressly enjoined it on you? Does He wish, nay,
can He order you to do an impossibility? Did St. Stephen and
so many others do what was beyond their strength? And why
should you not do for God's sake what you often do perhaps for
human respect? Sometimes, out of worldly prudence, or to avoid
losing the favor of some man, you have to swallow many a bitter
morsel without a word of complaint or a sign of displeasure; do
you say on such occasions: I cannot do it? If in spite of the
many reasons you have for giving way to your anger you still
bear patiently and with cheerful countenance what is displeasing
to you, that you may not make an enemy of this or that one, do
you then say: I cannot do it? When for the sake of accomplishing
some business or making an agreement yon have to forget the
past altogether, do you then say: I cannot do it? Why, then.,
After the Example of St. Stephen. 231
can you not treat with kindness and love your fancied enemy
when the Almighty God wishes you to do so? There is no doubt
the matter is easy enough if only you have an earnest will; and
you must do it if you wish to please God.
Once for all the words are to be remembered: I say to you: And coin-
Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; pray for them ^muief
that persecute and calumniate you. " I," who am thy sovereign pain of sin.
Lord; " I," at whose nod the heavens and the earth, the angels
and demons, the winds and the elements obey; " I," who hold
life and death in My hands; " I," who reward eternally those who
obey Me, and reject eternally those who disobey: " I say to you:
Love your enemies." Let them treat you as unjustly as they will;
be it hard or easy for you; still you must love them, do good
to them, pray for them. But, you will say, by way of a last ob
jection, that is a counsel of spiritual perfection, not a command
under pain of sin. Is it only a counsel? Why, then, does God
utter it so emphatically: " But I say to you " ? Does that mean:
I beg of you; I recommend you? Does He not in the same place
command us in the same words not to swear, not to have the de
sire of committing adultery, and so forth? These things are cer
tainly not mere counsels, but commands, binding under pain of
sin. And if it be only a counsel to love our enemies, and do good
to them, why does He add: " For if you love them that love you,
what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans this?
And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? Do
not also the heathens this?" Is that a mere counsel? Why,
then, does He threaten those who disobey with the loss of heav
en: "You shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"? And
if it were only a counsel, would you even then be unwilling to
observe it? Do you not daily pray in the Our Father: Forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us?
Would you be satisfied if God forgave you only in the way in
which you forgive, according to your imperfect idea of charity?
Oh, wo to you, poor mortal, if Christ only abstains from doing
evil to you! And wo to you if He forgives you only in outward
show! Wo to you if He persecutes you with an implacable ha
tred, although He shows it not outwardly! Wo to you if He
1 Si enim dlligltis eos qul vos diligunt, quam mercedem habebitis ? Nonne et publican!
hoc faciunt ? Et si salutaveritis fratres restros tantum ; quid amplius facitis ? Nonne es
Ethnici hoc faciunt ?— Matt. v. 46, 47.
232 On Loving Our Enemies, like St. Stephen.
does not love you ! Wo to you if He does not good to you ! Wo
to you if He does not pray to His heavenly Father for you!
Exhortation Come, then, my dear brethren, let us without further hesita-
enemies. tion and with blind obedience follow the voice of Christ, and
love in outward deed, love sincerely, and from the bottom of the
heart, and with all possible meekness and beneficence, such as we
are bound to show to others — let us love, I say, even those who
cause us trouble, love even those who are our sworn enemies.
He, the Lord, has said it, and that should suffice for us. What
ever may happen, let our answer be that of the paralytic man at
the Pool of Bethsaida in Jerusalem. The Pharisees reproached
him for having taken up his bed on the Sabbath and walked
away with it; what reply did he make them? Nothing but
what you. too, should answer: " He that made me whole, He said
to me." Say what you will about the impossibility of doing
it: "He said to me." Love your enemy, therefore, as God has
told you to love him; the law of the flesh will offer opposition,
and tell you to return evil for evil; your answer must be: " He
said to me; " God does not wish me to harbor thoughts of re
venge. The law of reason will say that it is enough to return
good for good. But no: "He said to me." The law of the
world will cry out that it is enough not to show enmity outward
ly, although the poison remains hidden in the heart; your an
swer must be: " He said to me" the contrary. But most peo
ple act otherwise; you must do as they do, and not try to appear
wiser than they. No matter: " He said to me " that I must do
good to my enemy. You will be laughed at as a coward. No
matter: "He said to me." Your enemy will become more dar
ing. Let him do what he pleases: "He said to me." Your
honor is involved. " He said to me." It is a hard thing to do.
" He said to me." It is His will, and I must obey.
conclusion Yes, my sovereign Lord and God, Thou hast said it; Thou,
to love our wno alone hast to command me, hast laid this law on me; if I
enemies, had no reward to expect, no punishment to fear from Thee; if
I were not in need of Thy grace and pardon — which, alas! is so
necessary to me on account of the many sins and offences I have
committed against Thee from my youth upwards — Thy mere will
and word: " I say to you: Love your enemies," should be to me
reason enough for loving them from my heart; and it should be
my greatest glory to obey Thee most humbly in this particular.
1 Qui me sanum fecit, ille mini dixit.— John v. 11.
On St. Lawrence. 233
0 Lord, I will do so, and do it at once! It will indeed cost me
something to overcome myself; I must trample on all my natu
ral inclinations, and tear myself out of myself, as it were, in order
to bear patiently with that man who has caused me such annoy
ance, and to meet with meekness and kindness him who always
contradicts and thwarts me; to renounce that revenge, which I
might so easily take; to render that service, which he has not
deserved from me; to take this step, or speak that word for his
sake, or to give him this fresh sign of friendship; to be the first
to propose this reconciliation, this mutual agreement; this, I say,
appears hard and difficult, and even contrary to my nature; yet,
my God, I am ready for it, because it is Thy will! Come all of
you who have looked on me as your enemy, or whom I have
considered as my foes; come all whom I have hitherto not been
able to bear on account of injuries done me; before that God who
sees our hearts I forgive you from my heart! Let us all pros
trate ourselves at His feet, and bury in eternal oblivion every
thing we have done to displease each other! Yes, at Thy feet,
0 Lord, we now lay all the injuries we have hitherto suffered,
and that we have still to bear; to Thee do we sacrifice our an
ger, hatred, desire of revenge as an offering we owe Thee, our
sovereign Lord; we will love each other as Thou wishestus, Thy
children, to love; that is, sincerely, from our hearts, in all cir
cumstances, in all places, until the end of our lives. Do Thou,
0 God, help us by Thy grace in this resolution and now earnest
will, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that tres
pass against us. Amen.
FIFTY-FOURTH SERMON.
ON ST. LAWRENCE.
Subject.
1. Lawrence proved himself, while undergoing pains and tor
ments, a prodigy of virtue and of the love of God; 2. Our love
of God and our virtue, to be sincere, must be tried by adversity
and contradictions. — Preached on the feast of St. Lawrence.
Text.
Tanqitam aurum in fornace probavit illos. — Wis. iii. 6.
" As gold in the furnace He hath proved them. ''
234 OH •$£• Lawrence.
Introduction.
What St. Chrysostom said of the great St. Paul I may well ap
ply to-day to him in whose honor we are now assembled here,
the great martyr St. Lawrence. " If you wonder at the exploits
of Paul when you consider him calling the dead to life, much
more do I wonder at him when I behold him manacled and con
fined in a gloomy prison." Such are the words of the holy Father.
And I say in turn: If the city of Eome wondered long ago at
the virtue of Lawrence when she beheld him leading a life of
chastity in the bloom of youth, giving all his treasures to the
poor, fighting so zealously for the glory of God, and restoring the
blind to sight by the mere sign of the cross, much more do I
wonder at Lawrence lying bound on the glowing coals, and suf
fering the most atrocious torments. For miracles and exterior
works of devotion are not infallible tests of true virtue and holi
ness; but crosses, sufferings, persecution, adversity — these are the
furnace in which God tries the true love of men, like gold in the
fire, and makes His saints glorious and admirable before the
world, as He has shown in a special manner in Lawrence, and as
I, to his honor and glory, now mean to prove in detail.
Plan of Discourse.
Lawrence proved himself, while undergoing pains and torments,
a prodigy of virtue and of the love of God; the first part of this
panegyric. Our virtue and love of God, to be sincere, must be
tried and preserved by adversity and contradictions; the second
part, for our instruction.
Give us, 0 Lord, Thy light and grace, through the interces
sion of the Queen of angels and martyrs, and of Thy admirable
martyr Lawrence, who is now triumphant in glory with Thee!
Amen.
it is a rare To bear great pain and sorrow without murmuring, readily
bear great an^ patiently, is in itself a sure sign of a no small degree of vir-
pain with tue in a man in this world. To accept great pain and sorrow
desire with thankfulness, to bear it with joy and exultation requires
an uncommon and extraordinary virtue from a man in this
world. To sigh for still greater pain and sorrow, and to desire
and wish for it as a joyous and agreeable thing must indeed be
the result of a surprising virtue in a man in this world. How
On St. Lawrence. 235
seldom nowadays do we find, even among Christians, men of the
first class, who bear trials with patience and constancy! How
very rare to find any of the second class, who rejoice in their
trials! And where is there one to be found who may honestly
take his place in the third class, as one who longs for more
trials?
This feast presents us with a prodigy of the kind in St. Law- st.
rence. No miser ever stretched out his hand for gold, no ambi-
tious man ever strove for the honors of the world, no voluptuary eagerly for
ever longed for pleasures and delights so eagerly as Lawrence Palnand
longed for and exulted in pains and torments. His eager desires
in this direction cannot be expressed fully by any one except
himself, or else St. Ambrose, who has handed down to us the
following well-known words of his, in which he uttered a bitter
complaint to Pope Sixtus: " Where, 0 father, dost thou go with
out thy son? Whither, 0 holy priest, dost thou hasten without
a deacon? Thou art wont never to offer sacrifice without a min
ister; have I displeased thee, father? Hast thou found me un
worthy to attend on thee? Now thou art going, and leavest me
here! What fault have I committed? Hast thou found any
thing displeasing or unbecoming in my conduct that thou wilt
no longer admit me to be thy companion? Try me and see if I
shall not be thy true servant in all places, at all times." Where
was Sixtus going, my dear brethren? If he had been setting
forth on a party of pleasure or to a banquet, could Lawrence
have been more pressing in his entreaties to be taken with him?
And to our minds his complaints would have then been more
seasonable. But the journey was for a far different purpose;
Sixtus was surrounded by fierce soldiers, laden with chains, and
was being dragged to the place of public execution, to be be
headed by the sword, as we learn from the Roman Martyrology,
or, as Prudentius says, to be hung on a gibbet. This was the
aim of the ardent desires of Lawrence; he complained at being
excluded from a similar death.
And therefore he ran after the Pope, crying out with tears in And would
his eyes: "Take me with you, 0 father, and see whether he to °^cj)m"
whom thou hast entrusted the dispensation of the flesh and blood ne obtained
of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, be not ready to offer up his own tbem-
flesh and blood for his faith and for God's sake. If thou hast
pity on me as thy disciple, then remember that Abraham was
prepared to slay even his only son, that Peter sent Stephen to a
236 On St. Lawrence.
most painful death. Do this now with me, too. All the treas
ures thou hast entrusted to me are already distributed to the
poor; I have nothing left but my life; be not so cruel as to pre
vent me from offering that up to my God." Be of good heart,
Lawrence, thy wish will soon be fulfilled! Thy thirst for suf
fering for the love of Christ will soon be satiated! " Grieve not,
my son," was the answer of St. Sixtus to his sighs, "I do not
desert thee! Thou shalt follow me after three days; thou hast a
greater combat to sustain." What a wonderful consolation! ex
claims St. Augustine; who ever heard that a man should com
fort and console himself at the thought of coming torments?
"He does not say: Do not grieve, my son; the persecution will
soon cease, and thy life will be safe; but: Do not grieve; thou
shalt come after me where I am going;" 1 the news of his being
freed from suffering would rather have saddened him all the
more, and therefore the holy Pope said: Grieve not, for greater
torments await thee.
He rejoiced ^nd so jt happened in reality. I do not mean to describe at
in suffering.
length the atrocious torments inflicted on him by the Emperor
Valerian, nor to dwell on the rods and scourges that tore and
wounded his whole body from head to foot; on the hot iron
plates that burnt him while he was hanging in mid-air; on the
clubs and whips, loaded with lead, wherewith he was so mangled
that, as we read in his Life, his flesh looked as if it had been
pounded in a mortar; on the cruel rack on which, since all for
mer efforts to make him renounce his faith had proved fruitless,
his torn, body was stretched out by the hands and feet, and then
hacked with hooks and pincers until the flesh fell off his bones
in pieces. Reflect on this, my dear brethren; was it not enough
to quell the courage of even the bravest hero, and to reduce him
to a humble silence? But how was it with Lawrence in his tor
ments? Was his hunger for suffering stilled? Not by any
means; what he was suffering seemed to him, as it were, mere
rods fit for children, not torments to try the virtue of a true
servant of God, whose heart was inflamed with charity. With
cheerful mien and smiling face he turned to his tormentors, and
actually laughed at them: "He cried out and said: I worship
my God, and therefore I do not fear your torments." Do what
you wish; do not leave off; if I might beg a favor from you it
1 Non ait: noli moerere flli, desinet persecutio et salvus eris: sed noli moeiere, quo ego
praecedo, tu sequeris.
On St. Lawrence. 237
be that you do not spare me, but rather torture this body
of mine as long as you can; " I do not fear your torments/'
Therefore, 0 tyrant, since such is his wish, grant it; exhaust on
him the resources of your cruelty; show what you can do, that
he may at last learn to fear you!
Finally the wrathful emperor, to glut his fury, thought of a He was
new species of torture which had never before been heard of, and ^sete(
could only have been imagined in hell itself. This was the grid
iron, on which the torn and mangled body of Lawrence was laid,
to be slowly roasted to death. The mere imagination of this
makes me shudder, although it did not inspire the least senti
ment of horror in him who suffered it. What a torment it is,
my dear brethren, to burn in fire! What an incomprehensible,
terrible torment to be thus roasted in fire! Fire is the greatest,
most severe, and searching of all tortures that can be inflicted
on man. Steel and iron, rocks and stones are not hard enough
to withstand its action. Try how long you can hold your finger
in the flame of a candle. Even a drop of heated wax falling on
your hand causes great pain, so that you shako it off at once.
Yet there is this advantage, that if the pain caused by fire is
sharp it cannot be long continued; for its power is too great,
its action too violent and penetrating; it destroys the sufferer in
a brief space, takes away his life speedily, and so puts an end to
his torments.
But when an inventive cruelty knows how to tamo the power And that by
of the flames and restrain it, so that it burns indeed the unhappy aslow flre>
man, but only slowly, then there are two circumstances to be
considered, which make the torment almost intolerable and un
conquerable; that is, to have to suffer pain, and to have to suf
fer it for a long time. Such was the case with Lawrence, that
his admirable virtue might be made manifest to the whole world,
;ind proved beyond a doubt. He was not burned at the stake, as
is done to poor wretched criminals nowadays when they are burnt
alive, and who are smothered by the smoke and flames, and re
duced to ashes before they have time to feel the sharpness of the
fire. No; far different was the cruelty practised on the servant
of Christ; so speedy a death seemed too mild for him. " For,"
as St. Augustine says of our holy martyr, "he was not slain at
once, but was tortured by fire, and compelled to die slowly/' *
And how could it be otherwise? He lay on the gridiron, over
1 Neque enim occisus est cito ; sed cruciatus est igne, et tarde *nori compulsus est.
238
On St. Lawrence.
No other
form of
martyrdom
can be corn-
pa red to
that.
Even that
he bore
cheerfully
and laugh
ingly.
the coals, which burned a long way under him; he had to see
his own skin crackling and shrivelling up with the heat, to feel
his nerves and sinews drawing together, the marrow in his bones,
the blood in his veins, the entrails in his body simmering and
boiling and falling in drops on the fire, hissing and spitting
when they came in contact with the burning coals; and in the
midst of these long-drawn torments he had to feel the slow ap
proach of death that was to put an end to them. My God, what
a terrible torment to have to suffer by that slow fire!
Heroic martyrs who have suffered so much for the honor of
Jesus Christ, I admire your patience under torments when I
consider the racks on which you were flayed alive, the ice-cold
water in which you were drowned, the arrows and spears with
which you were pierced, the swords and axes with which you
were beheaded, the crosses and wheels on which you were fixed,
the lions and tigers whose teeth mangled and tore you; and I ask
myself in amazement: How is it possible for weak flesh and blood
in such a frail nature to bear all this so bravely, and to overcome
it with patience and joy? Yet forgive me if I say, without the
least wish to lessen your glory, that your torments, no matter
how glorious your triumph over them was, were only small and
trifling compared to what Lawrence had to suffer. Water, ar
rows, spears, crosses, swords, wheels, lions, tigers were merely
the instruments that quickly placed on your heads the crown of
martyrdom; the combat lasted only a few minutes; the victory
was speedily won; but the fiery bed of Lawrence protracted his
combat and pains, so that every moment he had, as it were, to die
a new death, and thus to gain, not a single, but a manifold vic
tory. For, as St. Cyprian says: "He conquers but once who
suffers quickly, " 1 and by a speedy death soon puts an end to his
torments, while he who has to sustain long and severe pains
wins many crowns.
And what dost thou say now, 0 great Saint, on thy bed of
torture? Is thy courage quelled at last? Hast thou not yet
begun to moan, to sigh, to scream, and beg for mercy? for the
mere sight of thy scorched and roasted body should of itself
move the hearts of thy tormentors. Hear his cries to the ty
rant; they were nothing but the laughter with which he mocked
him: "I am roasted on the one side; turn me over and eat!"
and still your cruel thirst for blood. Turn me over, so that
1 Semel vincit, qul statim patitur.
On St. Laivrence. 239
the other side may be roasted too! See what I care for thy fire:
" Learn, wretched man, that thy coals seem to me a refreshment,"
although you think you are torturing me by them! Hear his
sighs to heaven, which were nothing but sheer songs of joy and
thanksgiving for the grace the good God had bestowed on him
in thus allowing him to suffer for the glory of His name: "I
thank Thee, 0 Lord, that I have merited to enter Thy gates."
Eternal praise to Thee, since by these coals Thou hast deigned
to prepare the way for me to enter into everlasting joys. " Ee-
ceive, 0 Lord, this sacrifice in the odor of sweetness." What I
am, what I have I have received from Thee; behold, it is all now
to be consumed in this fire for Thy honor and glory! Who is it
who speaks thus, my dear brethren? Is it an angel without feel
ing and senses, or a mortal man with sensitive flesh? Or is it a
man who has lost all feeling? Oh, no! Well could he have said,
with Job: " My strength is not the strength of stones, nor is my
flesh of brass."1 Truly, he felt the pain; but, as St. Ambrose
says, the inward flame of the love of God burned his soul with a
greater desire of suffering more than the material flame consumed
his flesh.2 The inward joy that came from that divine fire
of love caused him to find only pleasure in the outward flames,
and to congratulate himself on being allowed to be thus burned
and tormented. And hence St. Augustine says: " In compari
son with the flame that consumed his heart, the material flame
of the persecutors seemed cold." Truly, Lawrence, thou art a
prodigy of virtue! And if thou hadst given no other proof of
it, the fire alone would have sufficed. But the more glorious thy
victory over pains and torments, the more we are put to shame
by it. We shall consider this, my dear brethren, in the
Second Part.
Our virtue must be proved by fire — by the fire of the crosses our virtue
and trials of this life — to see whether it be a true virtue, a true ^nc*loveof
(jrOQ UlUSt
love of God. " The furnace trieth the potter's vessels," says be tried in
the Holy Ghost by Ecclesiasticus, " and the trial of affliction theflre of
tribulation.
just men." Such was the beautiful answer given by thathero-
1 Nee fortitude lapidum fortitude mea, nee caro raea aenea est. — Job vl. 12.
3 Ardebat extrinsecus martyr tyranni saevientis incendiis ; sed major ilium Intrinsecus
Christi amoris flamma torquebat. — S. Amb.in Luc. xili.
8 In comparatione fervoris quo pectus ejus ardebat, exterior persecutorura flamma frige-
bat.— S. Aug. Serm. 37. de Diversit.
4 Vasa flguli probat fornax, et homines justos tentatio tribulationls.— Ecclus. xxvli. 6.
240 On St. Lawrence.
ic champion of the faith, Minucius Felix, to the infidel heath
ens and idolaters of his time, when they upbraided him with the
many hardships and cruel persecutions that the Christians had
to suffer everywhere. Their idea was that the God of the Chris
tians had no power or strength, since He could not help His serv
ants, or no mercy, since He did not wish to help them. Truly,
you are altogether in the wrong, said he: " The God whom we
adore is wanting neither in the power nor the will to help us."
But how does He act? " He tries us all by adversity; He ex
amines our hearts; He looks into the nature of the life of each
one."1 By what means? By adversity; by sending us trials,
crosses, and contradictions; by depriving us of worldly goods; by
weakness and sickness and other calamities; as if the Lord wished
to say to each just man: Show what you are; let Me see what you
can do; hitherto I have not been able to form a right idea of
your worth; I must learn from yourself how I am to value you.
As long as everything prospered with you, and you lived in
peace, plenty, and pleasure, you said to Me a thousand times
that you wished to serve Me, to love Me, to be and to remain
Mine; but I may not trust too much to these bare words of yours;
in prosperity you yourself cannot say whether you love Me or
yourself most; whether you do not serve Me more for My gifts
than for Myself; whether you are not still a mere child in vir
tue, that must be fed with milk, or a man who can digest solid
food. But now when I send you the bitterness of life to taste, now
in sickness, in poverty, in misfortune, in that loss occasioned by
death, in that trouble that I have prepared for you; now that
you think all the evils of the world are pressing on your shoul
ders, now is the time in which you can give Me the surest proof
of your faithfulness and love. If while you are in that state I see
that you are as constant as ever in My service; if I hear you pray
ing daily with as much fervor as before; if you appear before My
altar to praise, adore, and thank Me as before — then I will be
lieve you without hesitation, and will know for certain that you
mean honestly by Me; then I will know that you have a true love
and sincere virtue. " He scrutinizes the life of man." Thus
it is by adversity that God sees what we are made of.
Just as the And truly, my dear brethren, what opinion should we form of
^e Dravery of the soldier who always boasts of his valor, and
1 Deus ille noster, quern colimus, nee non potest subvenire, nee despicit; in adversis un-
umquemque explorat, vitam hominis sciscitatur. .
On St. Lawrence. 241
yet is never seen facing the enemy outside the walls of the for
tress? What great merit is there in being virtuous if the virtue
is not subject to any opposition? How can any one prove his
strength if there is no enemy to overcome? Is there any great
merit in being meek if no one opposes you? in being patient
when you have nothing to suifer? in praising and thanking God
when He gives you all you can wish for, and heaps good things into
your hands? If a man of that kind tried to boast to me of his
virtue and piety I would give him the same answer that Satan
gave to the Lord in a contemptuous manner about Job. Thou
speakest to me wonders of the virtue of Thy servant Job; he
fears and loves and honors Thee, that is true indeed; but is
there anything to wonder at therein? " Hast Thou not made a
fence for him and his house, and all his substance round about,
and blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath in
creased on the earth?" Thou showest him nothing but favor
and grace: " Doth Job fear God in vain?" Not without reason
does he honor, fear, and love Thee; he is a hypocrite, who de
ceives Thee; he is a mercenary, who serves Thee for a daily wage;
Thou canst find thousands like him in the world, who will praise
and serve Thee at the same rate. But show Thyself otherwise
to him; turn Thy back on him for a time, and then Thou wilt
no longer have reason to praise him: " Stretch forth Thy hand
a little, and touch all that he hath; " take the rod in Thy hand,
and let him feel the weight of it; strike boldly, and then Thou
shalt see what becomes of his virtue: " And see if he blesseth
Thee not to Thy face." ' Then he will show whether his ser
vice was only an outward one or not. So that not even the foul
spirit would believe in the reality of the virtue of Job, although
there was none like him on earth, unless it was first tried in the
furnace of tribulatiui, and that, too, by the severe trials that he
afterwards showed such patience in bearing. JoVs love of God
and his virtue, says St. Chrysostom, did not shine so brightly
when he was opening his palace gates to receive strangers and
the poor as when he saw all his houses and possessions destroyed,
and still remained constant in his love of God; it was not so evi
dent when he daily offered sacrifice to God for his children as
when he sought for their bodies under the ruins of their homes,
1 Nonne tu vallasti eum, ac domum ejus universamque substantiam per circuitum ; operi-
bus manuum ejus benedixisti, et possessio ejus crevit in terrain? Numquid Job frustra
timet Deum ? Extende paulumm manum tuam, et tange cuncta quae possidet ; nisi in f aciem
benedixerit tibi.— Job i. 10, 9, *•!.
I
242 On St. Lawrence.
and with patient, quiet content, and praising God, committed
them to earth; his merits were not so clear when he was an eye
to the blind, a foot to the lame, a refuge of the afflicted, a pro
tector of the innocent as when, suffering the most violent pain,
robbed of everything, abandoned by all, poor, naked, and needy,
overrun with sores and ulcers, and seated on the dunghill, he
raised his eyes to heaven, and said: Blessed be the name of the
Lord. Then the devil, in spite of his hatred and envy, was forced
against his will to acknowledge that Job was justly praised,
that the Lord had reason to extol the sanctity of His servant,
and he had to confess with shame that he was indeed a holy and
virtuous man. Truly, then, it is necessary that the gold of the
love of God be tried, proved, and verified in the furnace of tribu
lation.
we may From this, my dear brethren, we may see of what kind is our
not endure virtue and love of God, and whether our heart is of lead or gold
martyrdom, in His sight. Are we in the same dispositions as St. Lawrence,
whose feast we celebrate to-day? Are we, too, prepared to shed
our blood, to give our lives for Christ? Do we find in us a de
sire to suffer more and more for His sake, and to bear even a
part of the torments in which Lawrence so joyfully conquered?
Alas, I must not press that question; the bare thought of such
sufferings makes me shudder. Eternal thanks and praise be to
Thee, 0 God of mercy, that Thou hast changed the times now,
and that the persecution of Thy Church has come to an end in
this land; that there is no Valerian to torture us for our faith!
For if he came amongst us, and treated us as he did the martyrs
long ago, we have great reason to fear that many of us Chris
tians would renounce our faith through terror. For how could
they bear to give up all they have for the sake of the faith who
can hardly bring themselves to give an alms to a poor man ? How
could they undertake any such thing who knowingly possess the
property of others, which they have acquired by unjust means?
How could they deliver up their bodies to the rods, the scorpions,
the loaded clubs, the iron hooks, to be flayed and torn, who pam^
per their weak and luxurious flesh until they cannot bear the
prick of a needle; to whom a fast-day, early rising, an hour's
kneeling in the church seems difficult? How could they bear to
writhe and twist on a glowing gridiron whom a hard or an ill-
made bed robs of sleep? How could they rejoice in suffering,
and sigh and long for greater pains,. who fear the cross as if it
On St. Lawrence. 243
were the foul fiend himself, who moan and murmur in the least
pain, who curse and swear and storm at the least contradiction?
Eternal thanks and praise be again to Thee, 0 God of goodness,
that Thou hast not exposed us to such grievous temptations, to
which many of us would succumb, under which many of us
would become renegades instead of martyrs!
Oh, no! we do not want any Valerian or Diocletian to come For we can-
against us with fire and sword, with glowing gridirons, and simi
lar instruments of torture, to prove our faith, our virtue, our slight
love of God! Of sorrow, trouble, pain, and difficulties we find
more than enough daily, more than we wish for, indeed, to prove weak vir-
our virtue, if we only bore them with patience and resignation tue>
for Thy sake! We have opportunities enough to mortify our
eyes, ears, tongue, senses, and inclinations every hour and mo
ment; but even this is often too much of a martyrdom for us,
and our dread of that mortification, without any tyrant to com
pel us, is frequently enough to deter us from keeping the com
mandments of God. A slight chagrin, a word of opposition is
often all that is required to upset our patience, to turn it into
anger and discontent! 0 great martyr St. Lawrence, what a
vast difference there is between thy virtue and love of God and
ours! Good reason have we to mingle our tears with thy praises
when we think that what has served for thy undying renown
only puts us to greater shame, since we who admire thy exalted
virtue find so little of it in ourselves!
What remains for us, my dear brethren, but to humbly ac- conclusion
knowledge that we are still far from true devotion and from the ^ ^t^ai
virtues of the saints, and to resolve to follow them in some degree, our daily
at least, making this earnest resolution: If I find no desire in ^j^™1"1
myself to suffer much for God's sake, as St. Lawrence had; if I for God's
am not so far advanced in virtue as to fervently pray to God for sake-
pains and crosses, in order to prove my love for Him, then at least
I will bear for His sake whatever crosses, trials, and difficulties
occur daily in my state and profession, and whatever may in fu
ture be ordained for me. If my love of God is not so strong as
to enable me to bear with spiritual joy and gladness the contra
dictions that I must suffer and cannot avoid, then at least I will
bear them with patience, resignation to the will of God, and with
a good intention. If my corrupt nature now and then shows
signs of murmuring and obstinacy, against my natural will I
shall always think: Blessed be the name of the Lord; and I
244 OH £*• Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases.
shall say, with the Prophet David: " Prove me, 0 Lord, and try
me." 1 Only continue to preserve me with the proofs with which
Thou art wont to try Thy elect; that is, with crosses and trials.
But grant me patience at the same time, that I may one day
make a worthy appearance in that place where the gold Thou
hast here tried in the furnace will shine forever. Help us here
in, holy St. Lawrence. Amen.
FIFTY-FIFTH SERMON.
ON ST. SEBASTIAN, THE HEALER OF ALL DISEASES.
Subject.
St. Sebastian is a general and wonder-working physician for
all diseases, therefore there is just reason for holding him in high
honor. — Preached on the feast of St. Sebastian.
Text.
Virtus de illo exibat, et sanabat omnes. — Luke vi. 19.
" Virtue went out from Him, and healed all."
Introduction.
The words of my text are indeed applied by the Evangelist to
Christ, Our Lord, who, while on this earth, was constantly sur
rounded by a crowd of sick and infirm persons, whose diseases
He healed; yet the same words may with truth be used of some
of the saints, as Our Lord Himself said of His servants in the
Gospel of St. John: "Amen, amen, I say to yon, he that believ-
eth in Me, the works that I do he also shall do, and greater than
these shall he do." 2 My dear brethren, among all the saints
who are renowned for their power of healing, I dare say, with
out hesitation, that the most illustrious and greatest is he whose
feast we celebrate to-day, namely, the holy martyr St. Sebasti
an. Not without reason has the Church appointed to be read on
this day that part of the gospel which says: "All the multitude
sought to touch Him; for virtue went out from Him, and healed
all." All the world knows the power of St. Sebastian's inter
cession in the case of pestilence, and I need dwell no longer on
1 Proba me, Domine, et tenta me.— Ps. xxv. 2.
9 Amen, amen dico vobis, qui credit In me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet, et majora
horum faciet.— John xiv. 13.
On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases. 245
an explanation of it. But his power is not confined to this; he
healed all. I may call him a helper and physician in all imagin
able maladies, no matter what their names may be, as I now pro
ceed to show.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Sebastian is a general and wonder -working physician for
all diseases, therefore there is just reason for holding him in
high honor. Such is the subject of this sermon, to the eternal
praise of this Saint, and to encourage and increase our devotion
and confidence in the confraternity dedicated to his name.
Let us ask this grace from him, and expect it through the
hands of Mary and of the holy angels.
Of all the goods of this world, there is none better and more Health is
desirable, none that we seek so eagerly, none that we long for and the ****
wealth.
desire more than health. Nor are we wrong in this. For of
what good is it to me to be rich, and, as it were, buried in gold up
to the ears, if I am sick and cannot enjoy my wealth? Of what
good is it to me to be a great lord, to rule over lands and people,
if I am blind, deaf, lame, deformed, and dare not show myself
in public? What use can I make of the most delicate food, the
most agreeable company, the most pleasant conversation, if my
body is writhing in pain, if sickness gives me a disgust for every
thing? No; a healthy man with his piece of dry bread is far
better off, and leads a far more pleasant life, than a sick man
seated at a royal table groaning under the costliest viands. In a
word, in this mortal life health is more valuable than anything
And hence men are always so careful about their health. How And we are
cautious people are about entering a house in which there is some ready to
1 r ° sacrifice all
one suffering from a contagious disease! No one will go near the else for its
place, unless compelled by necessity, for fear of inhaling the poi- sake*
soned air, and bringing away the sickness with him. How many
people are afraid even to go to church, or to venture outside the
door in the raw, wintry air, lest they should catch cold or catarrh!
How many seek for a dispensation in Lent, that they may be
allowed to eat meat, lest fish should upset their stomachs and
make them ill! And it is when health begins to fail that we
know what a great treasure we possessed. And then what com
plaints, moans, and sighs are indulged in I Nothing is heard but:
246 On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases.
Oh, I wish I were strong again ! No money is spared, no matter
how hard to come at, to buy medicines in the hope of their con
tributing to the restoration of health. Then we learn to depend
on the doctor, to desire and beg of him to come and see us, to hon
or and love him, even though we may have never seen or thought
of him before. Nay, we often send for a doctor to a far-off land.
And how uneasy we are till he comes, how anxious for his arri
val, that we may explain our case! No matter of what standing
the doctor may be, noble or plebeian, if he only knows his busi
ness and can help he is the best friend we have, and if he gives
us hope of a speedy recovery, although there may be no truth in
what he says, we already feel consoled and rejoiced, as if every
thing were right again. If the sick man finds himself somewhat
.better after the medicine, oh, what confidence he has in the doc
tor, what a love he feels for him! No medicine is too bitter or
insipid for him to take, in spite of any natural disgust he may
experience. He does not refuse to be bled, to suffer hunger, to
be cut and scarified, to be cauterized even, if necessary; he is
ready for all, and even thanks and pays richly the doctor who
caused him the pain. Why? Because he wishes to regain his
health.
Hence And if the patient recovers fully from a grievous and daiiger-
physieians , r , , .
are held in ous i^116^ what honor and praise are given to the doctor whose
hiprhes- skill brought about the happy result, although he has already
been paid for his work! The patient is bound in honor never to
forget the benefit as long as he lives; and whenever he mentions
the doctor's name it is always with the most profound thankful
ness; that, he will say, is the man who cured me and saved me
from the jaws of death; to him, under God, I owe my life and
health. Even those who have never been ill are wont to hold
in high honor and esteem one whom they know by experience to
be very successful in his cures; and the city or community that
can count such a man among its inhabitants may think itself
lucky. Why so, for healthy people are not in want of a doc
tor? True, but any one may get sick, and if that happens peo
ple can comfort themselves with the thought that help will not
be wanting them in their necessity. This is the meaning of the
exhortation of the Wise Man: " Honor the physician for the need
thou hast of him," 1 for the time may come when you will be in
want of his services.
1 Honora medicuin propter necessitatem.— Ecclus. xxxviii. 1.
On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases. 247
Now, my dear brethren, if there were in the world a doctor who K there
knew a sure remedy for all diseases, who could heal all thewhocould
afflicted, even the most desperate cases, at once, and without put- at once
ting them to any pain, what a great reputation would he not en- dl8easeSi be
joy! What crowds of people would not come to him from all would be
parts ! And how would it be if one could address him easily in any
place? How, if he consented to perform his cures without money
or reward, and solely at the humble petition of those in need of
his aid? Would not such a man be almost idolized? Would
not every one try to be his friend? But to no purpose should we
look for a man of that kind among mortals on earth; nowhere in
the world is such an experienced, kind, and generous physician to
be found. We must look for him in heaven. And, you think,
it is God who can best cure in that manner. Truly, there is
no doubt of that; but He does not do everything that He can
do immediately and by Himself; His will is to make His servants
illustrious before the world by endowing them with the power of
working such miraculous cures.
Among all the saints who are renowned for the grace of heal- Such is st
ing, the most admirable and illustrious is St. Sebastian; he is the
doctor whom I have described. Nor can I prove this in any other examples.
way than by referring to the many wonderful cures wrought by him
on different occasions, just as we show the skill of a clever phy
sician by our knowledge of his success in his profession. Come,
now, all of ye on whom St. Sebastian has laid his healing hand,
give testimony and show in what he has helped you! But still,
why do I appeal to all whom he has assisted? It would require
the whole day, nay, a whole year to hear them all; so that we must
take their depositions by a thousand at a time. How many souls
were numbered in the city of Rome in the year 680? How many
in the year 1381 in the cities of Prague in Bohemia, Vienna in
Austria, Breslau in Schleswig, Raab in Hungary? How many
in the year 1466 in Paris; in the year 1500 in Milan; in the year
1000 and 1002 in almost the whole of Europe? For so many wit
nesses have we who, if they could rise from their graves, would
acknowledge that they were then healed of or preserved from
the plague by the intercession and help of St. Sebastian. In the
year 826, when his relics were carried through Piacenza and
brought to Soissons, in these places alone so many were healed
by merely honoring the sacred remains that the number of them
could not possibly be counted; so we read in his Life in the Bol-
248 On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases.
landists: * "But the different manners of cures operated, and
their circumstances would seem incredible, unless to those who
know that nothing is impossible to the divine will." 3 The fields
round about were on one side filled with the sick, and on the
other with those who, having been made whole, were returning
to their homes.
He has Let us now, my dear brethren, take one or other kind of in-
ness. " firmity, and let them be such as are looked on as incurable or most
difficult to cure, such as Our Lord has reserved the healing of
to Himself, or to a few of His saints, and which are therefore
called evangelical diseases. One of these, according to the tes
timony of physicians, is incurable. And that is blindness from
birth. " From the beginning of the world it hath not been
heard that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind,"3
such were the words of the blind man in the Gospel of St. John
when his eyes were opened by Our Lord; and he concluded that
the man who restored him to sight must be irom God. In for
mer times, to be cured of an infirmity of the kind it was mere
ly necessary to enter a church dedicated to St. Sebastian, or
to honor with confidence a cloth that had touched his relics.
Amongst other innumerable cases of the kind, there was a child in
the neighborhood of Piacenza who was born blind; its parents
had placed it for a whole night before the altar in a church; in
the morning, when the procession of the relics of the Saint was
passing by, accompanied by a vast crowd of people, the child
heard the noise, and crawling and groping its way as well as it
could, it managed to reach the shrine and to touch it. In a
moment its eyes were opened, and it cried out in a loud voice:
He who is in the coffin has cured me! Now I can see who have
never seen in my life before! After this child came five blind
men and women, who were also healed by the intercession of the
Saint.
Deafness, Dumbness and deafness are also reckoned among the evangel-
lameness.' ical diseases; Sebastian is the physician for them, too. One in
stance alone, since time does not suffer me to bring forward
more, must suffice as a proof of this. A man of the common
people was at the same time deaf, dumb, and lame; for three
1 Tanta virtutum vis in omni genere sanitatum in nomine ejusdem beatissimi martyris
emicuit, ut multitude numeros excedat.
2 Porro qualitas fldem superat, nisi eis auribus credatur, quibus persuasum est, nihil re-
pugnare divinsei jussioni.
3 A saeculo non est auditum, quia quis aperuit oculos cseci nati.— John ix. 32.
On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases. 249
days consecutively he had sat at the grave of St. Sebastian, and
commended himself to him with great confidence;. on the fourth
day he suddenly recovered the use of ears, tongue, and limbs,
arid praised his benefactor with public rendering of thanks. Of
the pool at Bethsaida the Evangelist St. John says, that at it
"lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered,
waiting for the moving of the water." ' I imagine I see a pool
of the kind whenever I behold an altar or church in which relics
of St. Sebastian are honored, but with this difference, that at the
pool of Bethsaida only one was healed at a time after the angel
had come and stirred the water, while hardly one who has confi
dence in him goes away from the altar of our Saint without re
lief. A woman who was so deformed that her chin almost
touched her knees had hardly set foot in the church when, in
the presence of all the people, she suddenly stood up straight,
arid walked as if nothing had ever been the matter with her.
Immediately afterwards the same beneficent power was exper
ienced by a man whose legs were bent and crooked in the form
of a cross; by a girl who had been a cripple in both legs from
childhood; by another whose hands and feet were withered, and in
the space of an hour eight persons similarly deformed were healed
in an instant, and enabled to walk straight.
What happened to the woman in the gospel who was cured by Those who
touching the hem of Our Lord's garment occurred to another frora an is_
woman who implored the intercession of St. Sebastian. "There sue of wood,
was a certain woman," says St. Luke, " having an issue of blood
twelve years, who had bestowed all her substance on physicians,
and could not be healed by any." * She approached Our Lord,
and touched the hem of His garment, and was at once made
whole. We read in the life of St. Sebastian that a woman similar
ly affected for eight years unceasingly, so that she had no longer
any strength left, stood at the door of the church, for she dared
not enter, and there sent forth her prayers to the Saint; and be
hold, within an hour she was completely cured.
We know from the gospel how the evil spirits howled and raged The pos-
in the bodies of the possessed when they saw Our Lord approach- JJJ^
ing, for they knew well that He had the power to expel them.
1 Jacebat multitude magna languentium, coecorum, claudorum, aridorum, expectantium
aquae motum. — John v. 3.
2 Mulier quaedam erat, in fluxu sanguinis ab annis duodecim, quae in medicos erogave-
rat omnem substantiam suam, nee ab ullo potuit curari. — Luke viii. 43.
250 On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases.
Similar cries were heard on all sides from the demons in the bod
ies of possessed persons, and from evil spirits in houses, when the
relics of our Saint were brought there or carried past; for the de
mons cannot resist that Saint, and are compelled to give way to
him. Although Our Lord cured all kinds of diseases, we do not
read of His having restored any insane person to the use of rea
son; that He did afterwards by His servant Sebastian. Amongst
other cases recorded in his Life, there was a poor, wretched, un
happy woman who was totally deprived of reason, and like a
dumb beast; she used to run mad and raving through the streets,
and could hardly be restrained by chains and ropes. Her friends,
sadly troubled about her miserable condition, brought her by
force to the church of St. Sebastian, and begged and prayed of
him to take pity on her. Nor were their prayers in vain. Not
only did she recover the use of reason, but ever after was remark
able for her sound sense and prudence.
And an I must cut my sermon short, and say nothing of the lepers, of
those suffering from different other diseases, of the sick whose
bodies were already half putrid and dead, who, with little trouble
to themselves, were cured by St. Sebastian. Of those whom I
have mentioned, not one, but twenty at a time were healed, as it
were, at the same moment; so that in one day, at the same place,
sometimes twenty-two, sometimes more blind, deaf, dumb, lame,
possessed, paralytic, and lepers were made whole; in one evening,
as the Emperor Louis saw with his own eyes at Soissons, eigh
teen were counted who recovered their sight; and one thousand
one hundred and seventeen miraculous cures were reckoned
to have occurred in that town alone through the intercession
of our Saint. Do not imagine, my dear brethren, that I am say
ing this without due authority; if you doubt my words you can
read all about it for yourselves in the Bollandists' Life of the
Saint. There you will find far more examples and in greater de
tail than time will suffer me to dwell on to-day. And who can
count all the wonderful cures performed by this heavenly physi
cian in latter times down to the present day? For, as I have of
ten said, there is hardly a town in Christendom in which there
is not to be found an altar or an image of this Saint set up as a
token of gratitude for help already received, or as a sign of his
present protection against sickness. St. Ambrose, in his day, ex
perienced another sort of cure worked by this Saint, namely, the
On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases. 251
being preserved from a sudden and unprovided death.1 When
ever a thunder-storm came on, or severe weather threatened.
St. Thomas of Aquin used to go down on his knees, and say:
"Through the merits of St. Sebastian, deliver us, 0 Lord!"2
What I should now think and say I know not, unless to cry out
to Thee, 0 God, in wonder and admiration, with Thy Prophet
David: "God is wonderful in His saints."1 If there were no
other proof of the Catholic faith but that given by the miracles
of St. Sebastian, they alone would be enough to convince me
that that religion comes from God, and therefore cannot be
false.
See now, my dear brethren, and you especially, sodalists of this we have
confraternity, what a great, excellent, useful, salutary, and won- then, to
derful holy patron you honor on this altar! Mark with what honor him.
good reason the members of the sodality assemble here every tnesame
Wednesday to hear holy Mass in honor of their protector, and power suii.
learn, too, why you should in future come in still greater num
bers and with greater zeal to do him honor. There are still dis
eases and sicknesses enough for which we require help. There are
at all events dangerous diseases still, which should induce us to
hold in high honor such an excellent physician. But, you think
perhaps, in former times St. Sebastian used to work cures of the
kind; now we hear little of them. What! Are we to believe
that the power of this Saint has decreased? He who healed so
many thousands of all classes, who saved so many cities and
countries from ruin— is he now unable to help those who in sim
ilar difficulties implore his aid? No! What the Prophet Isaias
said of the Lord I may now say of St. Sebastian: " The hand of
the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear
heavy, that it cannot hear." 4 We do not nowadays see so many
striking miracles; that I grant, and may I venture to assign the
reason for it, as it seems to me? Either the devotion and honor
we show this Saint has grown cold, or we have not as much con
fidence in him as people had in olden times; and it is to this
confidence especially that the Lord has promised His extraordi
nary help. If you desire any favors, He says, " believe that you
1 A morte subitanea et improvisa, meritis et precibus Sancti Sebastiani confldimus libe-
rari.
2 Per merita Sancti Sebastiani, libera nos, Domine I
3 Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis.— Ps. Ixvii. 36.
4 Ncn est abbreviata manus Domini, ut salvare nequeat ; neque aggravata est auris ejus.
ut non exaudiat.— Is. lix. 1.
252 On Si. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases.
shall receive, and they shall come unto you." ' " Thy faith hath
made thee whole," 3 was Our Lord's usual expression when He
healed the sick. If we had a strong faith, a lively confidence,
we also should be heard, provided that good health and strength
were not prejudicial to our salvation.
it should And is it not a great blessing that city and country have been
tohave Preserve(^ so l°ng i'rom pestilence? The ancient Romans, as
been saved Giraldus writes, used every year to hold a solemn feast on the
by mm Quirinal hill to obtain good health; and here we must remark
lence, that they never implored the help of their false gods during a
pestilence, but only when it began to decrease or had fully ceased.
I will not stop to examine what their motive was in this. This
we all know from the true gospel, that Our Lord warns us:
"Make unto you friends." When? At what time? When we
are actually in need of them? No, long before; " that when you
shall fail they may receive you." He deserves neither friend
ship nor help who puts off appealing for it until he is forced by
necessity.
Hence we I at all events would not advise any one to think little of de-
honor mm v°ti°n to St. Sebastian, either because he is not now in want of
the less be- that Saint's help, or because he has seen no miracle worked by
arenotTn him. I will show this by an example: About the year 826, in
actual want the neighborhood of Soissons, there was a peasant who, as we
of his help: rea(j jn ^Q Bollandists, yoked his oxen on a day held sacred in
shown by J J
anexampie. honor of St. Sebastian by the people, and went into the field to
work. One of his neighbors met him, and said: Where are you
going? Do you not know that this is a holy day? Go back at
once, and go to church with the others to honor St. Sebastian on
his feast day. What! replied the peasant; we are not obliged to
keep the feast; I must earn my bread by my work; I owe the
Saint nothing; he has never done good or evil to me; and he
went on with his oxen. But it was not long before he repented!
That same night, as he was about to fall asleep, he was seized
with such a violent pain that every member of his body seemed
to be torn asunder; his limbs were drawn up in agony, and his
whole body racked with pain; and as a punishment of his ir
reverence his mouth was drawn together in the form of a cross,
so that he was a lamentable sight to witness. In this miserable
1 Credite quia accipietis, et evenient vobis.— Mark xi. 24.
2 Fides tua te salvain fecit.— Luke viii. 48.
3 Facite vobis amicos; ut cum defeceritis, recipiant vos.— Ibid, xvl. 9.
On St. Sebastian, the Healer of All Diseases. 253
condition he lay for three days, doing nothing but shouting and
crying for mercy, and acknowledging his guilt. On the third
night, while he was still howling, he saw a beautiful man, sur
rounded with light, standing before him, who asked him the
cause of his sufferings, and whether he was minded to amend in
future. Oh, yes! replied the wretched man; for the remainder of
my life I will honor St. Sebastian, and never profane his feast
day again. Get up, then, said the other, and go at once to the
church, thank the Saint for having restored you to health, and tell
the people publicly what has happened to you. At these words
the man's body, that had been rolled together like a ball, was
straightened out again and resumed its former appearance; full
of health and strength, he ran to the church and told the people
what had happened him, and exhorted them to hold that great
Saint in special honor. Thus does the admirable servant of God
know how to punish those who despise him! And thus, too,
does that compassionate physician know how to heal when the
fault is repented of, and to turn sorrow into joy!
Let us learn from this, my dear brethren, how God wishes us Exhortation
to honor and esteem this holy friend of His, and at the same *£* ™^
time to continue with renewed zeal the devotion we show him in orwmde-
this confraternity, attending its meetings regularly every week, voutly-
and endeavoring to spread it more and more. If we are now
healthy, and do not want the Saint's help, we have still reason
enough for honoring him, and making a friend of him, for the
time may come when it will please God to chastise us with a pri
vate or public calamity. And if we have no other request to
make of him, let us at least beg of him to preserve us from the
worst of all maladies, namely, from sin, the malady of the soul.
And this is what we beg of thee, 0 great and wonderful Saint,
and what we, assembled before thy altar, shall beg of thee every
week; take, as thou hast hitherto done — take this city and land
of ours under thy powerful protection, but especially obtain from
the Almighty, by thy intercession, that the souls of the inhabitants
may be kept in the state of sanctifying grace; that we may al
ways, till the end of our lives, serve uprightly, with pure hearts,
the God who has done so many wonderful things by thee, that
we may carefully avoid all sin and vice, and so one day be worthy
to praise Him with thee in eternity. Amen.
254 ^- Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague.
FIFTY-SIXTH SERMON.
ON ST. SEBASTIAN AS A PROTECTOR AGAINST THE PLAGUE
Subject.
St. Sebastian was always surrounded by the plague, but was
never touched by it. — Preached on the feast of St. Sebastian,
Martyr.
Text.
In cathedra pestilentim non sedit. — Ps. i. 1.
" Nor sat in the chair of pestilence."
Introduction.
What is the reason that of all the saints of God and interces
sors in heaven St. Sebastian is especially appealed to and hon
ored as a patron and protector against pestilence? If I could take
in the whole world at a glance, I should need but one look to be
able to say with truth: The whole Christian world honors and
praises St. Sebastian. Most countries of Europe seem to have
vied with each other to obtain a portion of his relics. The chief
cities, such as Malaga, Seville, Compostella in Spain ; Rome,
Milan, Capua in Italy; Paris, Soissons, Toulouse, and countless
other places in France; Antwerp, Brussels, Dornick, Utrecht in
the Netherlands; Munich, Ebersberg, Brunswick, Wesel, Cologne
in Germany, and this ancient city of ours, Treves, boast of possess
ing a part of his relics, which they regard as an invaluable treas
ure. In most parts of Christendom, as the Bollandists say, this
day is held as a feast, and not profaned by servile works. Nay,
there is hardly a Catholic town in the world in which there is
not a church, an altar, a chapel, or an image dedicated to St. Se
bastian, and placed as a sign of public devotion, either through
gratitude for having been freed from pestilence through his inter
cession, or through a devout confidence of future help from him
if required. Whence, I ask, comes this so general devotion to
and trust in this Saint? Some attribute the reason to his mar
tyrdom, and say that God has appointed him as a special patron
against the plague because he was shot through with arrows,
and, generally speaking, in the Holy Scriptures by arrows are un
derstood pestilences and contagious diseases, according to the
St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague. 255
threat uttered by the Lord: "Except you will be converted, He
will brandish His sword; He hath bent His bow, and made it ready,
and in it He hath prepared the instruments of death; He hath
made ready His arrows for them that burn." 1 My dear brethren,
when I consider the life of St. Sebastian I seem to behold that
wonderful man whom David praises so highly, and calls blessed,
in the first psalm: " Blessed is the man who hath not sat in the
chair of pestilence." Blessed is the man who, though always in
the very midst of the plague, yet was never affected by it, so that
now he is able to save others from it even after his own death.
This is what I now mean to show in this brief panegyric, to his
honor and for the increase of the confraternity established under
his patronage.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Sebastian was always surrounded by the plague, but was
never harmed ~by it; such is the whole subject.
0 God, who art wonderful in Thy saints, while we admire Thy
great servant Sebastian, strengthen us with Thy grace, that we
may imitate him as far as we can, and keep ourselves unharmed
by any plague, especially that most dangerous plague of the soul!
This we ask of Thee through the intercession of St. Sebastian, and
through that of Mary, the Queen of martyrs, and of all the holy
angels. Amen.
To touch pitch and not be defiled; to live in the midst of sin, There is
and yet remain free from sin, on the one hand, and on the other, jj^aof £°_~
to live in the midst of a pestilence, and not be harmed by it, are element in
both wonderful things. And, according to the words of my text, t^lc<^ "the
the Prophet does not make any distinction between them: "Bless- wicked,
ed is the man," he says, " who hath not walked in the council
of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the
chair of pestilence." For as the plague, once it has fixed itself
anywhere, poisons the surrounding air which is breathed by
those who trust themselves too close to it, so that in the time of
pestilence houses are generally closed, and those who have already
caught the sickness are, as it were, buried alive, and not allowed
to hold any communication with others, so we learn by sad ex
perience that the wicked, especially when by their numbers they
have no punishment to fear in a community, nor shame to deter
1 Nisi conversi fueritis, gladium suum vibrabit ; arcum suum tetendit et paravit ilium.
Et in eo paravit vasa mortis ; sagittas suas ardentibus effecit.— Ps. vii. 13, 14.
256 St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague.
them — the wicked spread abroad the poison of their vices on all
who come too near to them. " With the perverse thou wilt be
perverted/'' * says God by the Psalmist; and with the sinner thon
wilt become a sinner. Therefore the Wise Man often and em
phatically warns us against bad company: " My son, if sinners
shall entice thee, consent not to them," he says in the Proverbs;
" my son, walk not thou with them; restrain thy foot from their
paths." 2 For he who touches pitch will be denied by it; he who
associates with the wicked will put on wickedness as a garment.
This is the reason of that great and never to be sufficiently praised
care of good parents, who are concerned for the eternal salvation
of their children, and who use every effort to keep them from
bad and dangerous company, lest they should learn evil, and be
corrupted by the wickedness of others. Unhappy souls who
put themselves into such danger without necessity!
Hence they Lamentable the state of those who have to live with the wicked!
admired Yet at the same time wonderful the power of divine grace, which
who live can keep the servant of God innocent, holy, and pure in the
midst of vice! Tobias was holy, but his holiness is all the more
among1 the » *
wicked. admirable because he was the only one among all his fellow-cap
tives who remained faithful to the true God. (< When all went
to the golden calves ... he alone fled the company of all, and
went to Jerusalem, to the temple of the Lord, and there adored
the Lord God of Israel." 3 Job was holy and a miracle of holi
ness; there was not his equal to be found in the whole world, as
the Almighty said of him. But why? Hear his own answer:
" I was the brother of dragons, and companion of ostriches."4
How so? Was Job obliged to live among wild animals? No; by
the dragons and ostriches he means the wicked whom he had to
associate with, as the Glossa says: " He was good among the
wicked;"5 he was pious among sinners, which is as rare as it is
admirable.
My dear brethren, do you wish to know what a great saint
holy nfe. I speak of when I name St. Sebastian? Do you wish to have a
short sketch of the life he led before his martyrdom? Then I
1 Cum perverse perverteris.— Ps. xvii. 27.
2 Fili mi, si te lactaverint peccatores, ne acquiescas eis. Fili mi, ne ambules cum els, pro-
hibe pedem tuutn a semitis eorum.— Prov. i. 10, 15.
3 Cum irent omnes ad vitulos aureos . . . hie solus fugiebat consortia ominum ; pergebat
in Jerusalem ad templum Domini, et ibi adorabat Dominum Deum Israel.— Tub. i. 5, 6.
4 Frater fui draconum, et socius struthionum.— Job xxx. 29.
a Erat bonus inter malos.
St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague. 257
will allow St. Ambrose, who has written of him at length, to
speak in my place. " Sebastian," he says, " was a most perfect
Christian; a true worshipper of God; a man of God; a man of great
prudence; true in his words, just in his judgments. He was con
spicuous for his goodness. He was illustrious in all things for the
gravity of his manners. He was a light in darkness." 1 Such are
the praises given to our Saint by the Doctor of the Church. He
was seen, surrounded by heavenly light, and accompanied by
seven angels, when once trying to confirm the tottering faith of
some Christians. A dumb man to whom he restored the gift of
speech said to him: "Thou art blessed, and blessed is the word
of thy mouth/' 2 The heathens whom he converted knelt before
him in admiration of his sanctity. Pope Caius gave him the
glorious title of Defender of the Church. Thus far St. Ambrose,
as we read in the Bollandists.
Glorious praise indeed, my dear brethren ! But you will be Not llke
, , other saints,
much more surprised when you hear in what part of the world, in cloisters
what time, under what circumstances, amongst what people Se- and deserts,
bastian won that name for holiness. Oh, ye saintly confessors,
hermits, founders of Orders! the whole world stands justly amazed
at and is filled with reverence for you and the lives you led
when it considers the deep humility with which you thought
yourselves unworthy of living on earth, and looked on and pub
licly professed yourselves as deserving to be thought the worst
of sinners; it wonders when it considers your voluntary poverty,
which induced you to leave all — house and home — for the sake of
God and heaven; your chastity, which made you like angels rath
er than men; your patience in bearing so many injuries and
trials, and in desiring and praying for more and more crosses,
as if they were so many joys and delights; your temperance, which
barely permitted you to take enough food and drink to preserve
your lives; your constant mortification and self-denial, with which
you tortured and chastised yourselves; the rods and scourges
with which you punished your bodies; the hot tears that the love
of God drew from your eyes amid unceasing watching, prayer,
and meditation! True it is you were great saints, whom we
are too weak and feeble to imitate, so that we can only praise
the Almighty who is so wonderful in His saints! Yet it was in
1 Vir per omnia Christianissiinus, verus Dei cultor ; vir Dei ; vir totius prudentiae, in ser-
mone verax, in judicio Justus. In bonitate conspicuus. In universa morum honestate prae-
clarus. Lumen in tenebris.
2 Beatus es tu, et benedictus sermo oris tui.
uu> In in
tmoerial
3ourt.
In a court
258 St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague.
the gloomy forest, in the caves of the mountains, in the holes of
the earth, in the hidden corners and cells of convents that you
led such lives, — places closed to most of the dangers and occasions
of sin; places that help virtue and holiness. It is no great won
der that a beautiful garden should bring forth rare and splendid
flowers, and form an agreeable object for the eye to rest on; but
to see a rare exotic growing in stony, neglected ground not only
excites our admiration, but our surprise as well. What a won
derful effect then, 0 God, Thy powerful grace had in and on Thy
servant Sebastian!
Where, my dear brethren, did he become holy, and indeed so
holy? At court — I say it again, at court he led that holy life.
If I said at the court of a Christian king you would still perhaps
have reason enough to be surprised; for who is ever sent to court
to learn to practise the Christian virtues? What care and dili
gence are not required to preserve those virtues there, no matter
how well grounded in them one may be! Truly, it is a rare vir
tue not to be proud in the midst of honors, and to remain small
and lowly in one's own eyes; to keep the heart pure and untainted
amongst all sorts of pleasures and delights of the senses, and in
the midst of a thousand dangerous objects arid allurements; to
avoid avarice in the midst of riches; to live temperately in the
midst of abundance; not to offend Christian charity by even an
unkind thought, and never to utter a word of detraction in the
midst of envious rivals; not to lose the freedom of the children
of God in the midst of the freedom of a vain life; to watch day
and night for the favor of a man, and still not to neglect the ser
vice of God; that, I say, requires a rare and well-founded virtue.
<fWho was with the princes of the people, and did the justices
of the Lord; " ' such was the greatest praise that Moses, when at
the point of death, gave to Gad. Meanwhile I do not and can
not deny that pious and zealous servants of God have been found
in Christian courts. And if we could see everything, we should
in our own days have to admire many a beautiful and wonderful
virtue amongst courtiers that they show not by outward sign;
and under many a silken garment, embroidered with gold, we
should find a hair-shirt. So true it is that in every state of
life one can live in a Christian, holy, and edifying manner.
But what was the court in which Sebastian attained to such a
high degree of sanctity? It was one that was sunk in the poison-
1 Fuit cum principibus populi, et.fecit justitias Domini.— Deut. xxxiii. 21.
Si. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague. 259
ous filth of all wickedness, a cesspool of vice, where idolatry,
bestial impurity, cruelty, witchcraft showed themselves publicly, J^s g<
namely, in the court of a heathen emperor, the bloodthirsty ty
rant Diocletian. There, among the enemies of Christ, Sebastian
reached the summit of Christian perfection, and, what is still
more surprising, he was in the same place raised above others in
a profession, a state of life that brought him constantly under
the emperor's eyes, so that he had to hide his faith and conceal
his virtues from his imperial master; for he was appointed cap
tain of the imperial guards, according to the words of St. Am
brose: "The soldiers reverenced him as a father, and all the
chief men of the palace held him in the highest esteem." 1 And
when Diocletian found out that Sebastian was a Christian, he
complained to him in the following words: " I have always placed
you among the chief men of my court; and you, to the shame
of the gods, have always kept concealed till now what you really
are."' Truly, my dear brethren, it was a wonderful thing in
such circumstances and for so many years to be able to conceal
his faith and holiness of life, so that he escaped the observation
of the soldiers, the courtiers, and even of the emperor himself!
If he might have dared to acknowledge his religion publicly, where he
.,, ° ,,._,,. , ,. , , did not dare
we might have less difficulty in understanding how he, tolerated toshowtnat
in the midst of idolaters, rendered such faithful and constant he was a
service to the true God. But as things were, this holiness of life C1
had to contend with unceasing contradictions. He had to seem
outwardly different to what he really was inwardly. Who would
not have sworn that Sebastian, the intimate friend of Diocletian,
was consequently of the same turn of mind as his master; that he
was a defender of false gods, an enemy and persecutor of the true
faith? He was always with the emperor; he assisted at the impe
rial banquets, at the shows in the amphitheatre, at the public
dances, at the chase in the fields, at the gladiatorial combats, at
the torturing of the Christians, nay, at the hellish sacrifices in
the temples of the gods, without ever giving the least sign of out
ward adoration, which he could not do in conscience, and with
out ever detaching his heart for a moment from the true God in
heaven. He held daily intercourse with heathens, and at the
1 Diocletiano ita charus fuit, ut principatum ei primse cohortis traderet, et suo eum con-
spectui juberet semper adstare ; hunc milites ac patrem venerabantur ; hunc universi, qui
praeerant palatio, carlssimo venerabantur affectur.
3 Ego te inter primos palatii mei semper habui ; et tu in injuriam deorumhactenus latuisti.
260 St. Sebastian as a Protector against (he Plague.
same time encouraged and strengthened by his help and advice
the hidden Christians who were entrusted to his care.
Andhadto With what secret art he used to carry on two such offices that
sanctity un- were diametrically opposed to each other I cannot understand. I
der the ap- imagine I see in him that holy man of the Old Testament, Abdias
ST Df the Prophet, of whom we read in the Third Book of Kings,
heathen. Achab, that most wicked king, persecuted with the utmost fury
the Prophet Elias and all other Israelites who adhered to the
worship of the true God. The governor of this king's house was
Abdias, of whom the Scripture says: "Abdias feared the Lord
very much." * While the persecution lasted he went to the
caves in which the prophets, a hundred in number, were hidden,
and brought them food every day with his own hand: '• When
Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred
prophets, and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them
with bread and water." 2 Meanwhile Achab thought he had no
better helper in his wicked designs, no more earnest persecutor
of the prophets than the same Abdias. Sebastian used the same
art at the court of Diocletian. His sole reason for serving so
faithfully a heathen master was that he might be able to encour
age others in the worship and service of the true God. It was not
the dread of torments, nor the fear of losing his office, his liber
ty, or his life that induced him to conceal for such a long time
his name of Christian under the garb of a courtier and captain; for
he afterwards heroically gave proof to the contrary; but it was
rather the desire to gain many souls to Christ that by divine in
spiration led him to adopt that career, as the author of his Life
says: "That he might strengthen the minds of those Christians
whom he saw about to give way under torture, and might give to
God the souls that the devil was trying to take from him."
The favor he enjoyed with the emperor and the facility of ap-'
preaching him at any moment served Sebastian as a sure means of
detecting his plans and unveiling his craft, so that he had time to
warn the Christians either to hide, or to fly elsewhere, or to pre
pare for martyrdom. The money and rich salaiy he received
yearly went to found a house of refuge for poor and needy Chris
tians; his diligent attendance at courc every day served to con-
1 Abdia autem timebat Dominum valde.— III. Kings xviii. 3.
2 Cum interflceret Jezabel prophetas Domini, tulit ille centum prophetas, etabscondit eos
quinquagenos et quinquagenos in speluncis, et pavit eos pane et aqua.— Ibid. 4.
3 Ut Christianorum animos, quos inter tormenta videbat deflcere, confortaret, et Deo red-
deretanimas, quas diabolus conabatur auferre.
,5V. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague. 261
ceal the employment in which he spent his nights, attending
on the sick, visiting prisoners, consoling the afflicted, and com
forting the wavering. I wish I had a little of the eloquence with
which he described the shortness of life, the vanity of the world,
the pains of hell, the joys of heaven, in order to keep firm in the
faith those who were beginning to vacillate through fear of tor
ture. His exhortations and sermons may be read in the Bollan-
dists by any one who wishes.
" Nor sat in the chair of pestilence." Thus Sebastian lived Thus, in the
in the midst of the plague, nay, at the very fountain-head of it, ^1^*
and yet was not hurt by the poison; he lived in the midst of vice plague, he
and danger, and yet knew how to lead a holy and pious life; J^^n
until at last he betrayed himself, openly confessed what he was, contagion,
and who the master was whom he served under the pretext of
attending on an earthly lord, and, unmoved by the threats, prom
ises, and caresses of the emperor who loved him so much, he was
shot with arrows by his own soldiers, and at last beaten to death
with clubs, thus gaining the crown of martyrdom.
Hadst thou lived in his time, Moses, what wouldst thou have He is there-
thought of a prodigy that seemed impossible to thee? When Ofrgre^°rady
King Pharao said to thee, "Go, and sacrifice to your God in this miration,
land," no, thou didst answer at once: "It cannot be so;" that
cannot be done in this country, in the midst of idolaters. Why
can it not be done? Behold the man who was able to do that
wonderful thing! See Sebastian, in the midst of a people far
worse than the Egyptians of old, worshipping the true God, offer
ing Him sacrifice, and serving Him faithfully! " If we kill those
things which the Egyptians worship in their presence, they will
stone us; " ' this was the excuse thou madest to Pharao. Such a
thought does not disturb Sebastian in the least. Let who will
cast stones or shoot arrows at him, he still offers sacrifice in the
midst of Egyptians, boldly and confidently adoring the true
God, offering to Him his freedom, comfort, honor, and high po
sition, the favor and good will of the emperor, his property, his
life, and everything the heathens adored as their gods. What
wonder, then, that Sebastian now enjoys in heaven such great
and mighty power, especially as a patron and protector against
pestilence, who while he was on earth remained free from all
1 Ite et sacriflcate Deo vestro in terra hac. Non potest ita fieri ; si mactaverimus ea, qute
colunt Ejjyptii corarn eis, lapidibus nos obruent.— Exod. viii. 25, 26.
leading holy
lives.
262 St. Sebastian as a Protector against the Plague.
contagion in the midst of the most dangerous of all pestilences,
that is, who became a saint in the midst of sinners!
Exhortation gut? mv ^ear Brethren, have we assembled here to-day only to
st/sebas- wonder at the extraordinary holiness of our Saint? Or is that
aitar set up in the church, and do the members of the sodality
come here every Wednesday only to honor their patron with the
hope of being freed from sickness and other temporal calamities
by his intercession? It is true that this intention and custom
are holy, and may eternal joy be the lot of those who commenced
it! Happiness and salvation to all who try to further the sodal
ity and spread it more and more! But of what advantage will it
be to the honor and glory of Sebastian if we are only admirers
of his holy life? And what will it help ourselves if, freed from
temporal pestilence by his prayers, we are infected with a spirit
ual poison, and live in sin? No; it is a great error to imagine
that saints are appointed protectors of a town only to free the
inhabitants from temporal evils! The chief object of Our Lord
in giving us such patrons is that we may imitate their lives,
their virtues and holiness, and thus make ourselves more worthy
of their patronage.
And to arm Must we, then, live like St. Sebastian in the midst of dangers
ourselves „ . ^ ^., ,
with the and occasions of sin? Oh, no! such is not my meaning. Let
fear of God him venture to do that who has a well-grounded virtue, a zeal
dangers of ^or tne nonor of God and the salvation of souls, and an inspira-
the soul we tion of the Holy Ghost, like Sebastian, and who is moreover sit
uated in similar circumstances. Ah, would to God that in the
midst of the clear light of the truth, where there is no persecu
tion to fear, no plans to be secretly cogitated in order to enable
us to practise our religion and do good; where we have so many
examples of piety to encourage us — would to God that we were
not often cold and tepid in the divine service, that we did not
live as heathens in the midst of Christians! "Flee ye from the
midst of Babylon," says the Lord to us by the Prophet, "and
let every one save his own life." 1 Fly, as well as you can, the
occasions of sin, and let every one use all diligence to save his
precious, his only, his immortal soul! And if we cannot always
avoid all dangers (truly, there are enough of them in every state
of life!), then at least we should not deliberately seek them.
Let us take the shield with which Sebastian defended himself in
the midst of the wicked, namely, the fear and zealous love of
1 Fugitede medio Babylonis, et salvet unusquisque animam suam.— Jer. li. 6.
On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian. 263
God; let us dread sin above all things as we should the plague,
and love God always above all; then we shall be able to appear
before the altar of our Saint with greater devotion, explain to
him our wants with more confidence, and more surely expect his
help if we not only admire his holy life, but try to imitate it as
far as we can. Amen.
FIFTY-SEVENTH SERMON.
ON ZEAL IN THE SODALITY OF ST. SEBASTIAN.
Subject.
Precisely because we seem to be free from the pestilence, and
the danger of it, our devotion, respect, confidence, and love for
St. Sebastian as our protector should not only maintain their
first fervor, but should even increase and grow greater. — Preached
on the feast of St. Sebastian, Martyr.
Text.
Non accedat ad te malum, et flagellum non appropinquabit
tabernaculo tuo. — Ps. xc. 10.
" There shall no evil come to thee, nor shall the scourge come
near thy dwelling."
Introduction.
Great and comforting promise! " There shall no evil come to
thee, nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling." What
evil? What scourge? " The scourge of temporal punishment," 1
says Eaynerius. And, amongst temporal punishment, is there
any greater than the plague and contagious maladies? That
these are specially meant by the word " scourge " is evident from
the prayer of the Church against pestilence and famine: "That
the hearts of men may know that such scourges come from Thy
just anger."2 This scourge will not come to thee; such is the
promise of God by the Prophet David. Why? "For He hath
given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee." 3 0 city of
Treves, could one assure thee also of this promise that the
scourge of pestilence will never approach thee? Truly, for He
1 Flagellum temporalis poenae.
* Ut mortallum corda cognoscant, te indignante, talia flagella prodire.
8 Quoniam angelis suis mandavlt de te, ut custodiant te.— Ps. xc. 11.
264 On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian.
has commanded His saints to protect thee therefrom. What
saints? To say nothing of thy many other patrons, He has spe
cially commended thee to the saint in whose honor we hold this
solemnity to-day, whose image is carried about in procession fol
lowed by numbers of people — the wonderful and holy martyr St.
Sebastian. Our well-founded confidence in him induced us long
ago to select him as the patron and protector of this city, and
that is the end and object of the honor we show him weekly in
the sodality dedicated to him. We have with thankful hearts
seen our hopes verified for many years now, and the help granted
us by that Saint has given a great impulse to our love and devo
tion to him. I will keep in mind to-day this laudable object of
the sodality, firmly believing that I will do all the more service
to St. Sebastian the more I endeavor to excite your devotion to
him. It might be with some as with sailors, who during a storm
at sea pray and cry for mercy, but when the danger is over laugh
and joke and think no more of it; in the same way, now that there
seems to be no danger of pestilence, some of you might be in
clined to grow cold and tepid in your devotion, and neglect the
prayers of the sodality. To prevent this is the object of my
sermon to-day.
Plan of Discourse.
There shall no evil come to thee, 0 city of Treves, nor shall
the scourge of pestilence come near thy dwellings (let us suppose
this to be the case; at all events, we have no reason to dread the
plague at present; there seems to be no immediate danger of it;
and may God keep it far from us!); and since thou art freed
from this danger, thou shouldst not only maintain thy devotion,
respect, confidence, and love for St. Sebastian in their first fer
vor, but shouldst rather increase and add to them all the more.
Such is the end I aim at in this sermon.
0 sovereign God, who art pleased to be honored in Thy saints,
grant us by the intercession of Thy holy Mother and of the
holy angels such confidence, love, and veneration for Thy serv
ant that we may merit to have him fulfil the promise: " There
shall come no evil to thee, nor shall the scourge come near thy
dwelling"!
The greater the evil that actually afflicts or threatens you, so
the more much the greater are the esteem, honor, and love you have for
the benefactor who frees you from it, and with all the more care,
On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian. 265
diligence, and confidence do you have recourse to his help. This honoris due
is an undoubted truth that is not in need of proof. Consider free™sw (
the state of the sick man who is suffering from some unusual from it.
kind of fever. How eagerly he looks forward to the visit of the
doctor! He spares neither diligence nor enquiries nor money,
nor any other means that may enable him to procure the services
of an experienced and skilful physician as soon as possible, if
such a one can be had.
What is the plague, my dear brethren? The very name of it Tne plague
shocks both our ears and minds, and is in itself enough to con- the ngreatest
vince us that the plague must be an unusually terrible evil. It eviiswith
•n n •j.ij.-i j> J.T £ which God
is called a scourge, as a sign that it comes from the anger of a punisnes
chastising God. On one occasion Our Lord took a scourge into the world.
His hands during His life on earth; when? on what occasion?
It was when, to the great astonishment of the disciples, the other
wise most meek Jesus was inflamed with a holy zeal and anger on
account of the profanation of the temple, as we read in the sec
ond chapter of the Gospel of St. John. Many a time did God
threaten His people with the rod of chastisement of which we
are now speaking; but it was only when He was grievously
incensed, and meant to punish the wicked without mercy.
Thus He said to Moses: " How long will this people detract Me?
How long will they not believe Me, for all the signs that I have
wrought before them?" I can no longer bear with them; things
have come to an extremity at last! " I will strike them there
fore with pestilence, and will consume them/7 In the same
way He said to the Prophet Ezechiel: "I will send into her
pestilence and blood in her streets; and they shall know that I
am the Lord." 2 Of all the evils and terrible chastisements that
the Lord threatened the Israelites with if they did not give up
sin, pestilence was the worst: " I will send the pestilence in the
midst of you." As if among all temporal calamities there was
none as bad as this.
And indeed such is the case; may God grant that we may never NO other
know it by experience! All the other sicknesses and miseries slckness
>T J r € t causes such
that assail the human body in countless ways are indeed painful misery as
and grievous evils, but they are nothing in comparison to this the
1 Usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste? Quousque non credent mihi, in omnibus signis,
quae feel coram eis? Feriam igitur eos pestilentia, atque consumam.— Num. xiv. 11, 12.
2 Immlttam el pestilentiam, et sanguinem in plateis ejus ; et sclent quia ego Dominus.—
Ezech. xxvlii. 23.
» Mittam pestilentiam in medio vestri.— Lev. xxvi. 25.
266 On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian.
scourge. They attack one part or other of the body; but the
plague, once it strikes in, carries off the whole man in a short
time; the former bring a few dozen people to the grave in the
year in a community; the latter slays in one street hundreds in
a day! In the case of ordinary sicknesses, people still frequent
each other's company; when the plague comes it puts an end
to all business, trade, friendship, and acquaintance; it turns the
houses into hospitals, the streets into graveyards, the towns into
charnel-houses, the country into a desert. Gates and doors are
closed; no one is seen to enter or go out, unless those who drive
the dead-cart, full of corpses. Nothing is heard but wailings and
lamentations, sighs and moans from those who have still enough
life left to make known their misery. All help and assistance are
cut off; the father is abandoned by the son, the son by the father,
one friend by the other. Each one shuns his neighbor as if he
did not know him, through fear of contagion. Many a one
would wish to confess his sins even in public, but cannot find a
priest to absolve him; often in bolted and barred houses the dead
lie in heaps on top of each other, through want of some one to
bury them. In a word, it is a calamity in which there is neither
counsel, help, comfort, nor remedy.
shown from jjow great must not have been that calamity that forced from
King David those words in which he expressed his wish to be de
stroyed himself, if by his death he could put an end to the un
speakable misery of his people! And indeed it must have been
a sad sight to witness, when in three days seventy thousand of
the Israelites were carried off by the plague, as we read in the
twenty-fourth chapter of the Second Book of Kings. I will say
nothing now of the many cities and countries in Europe which
God visited by the plague, and which could give testimony of
the misery it caused. Has not our own city of Treves often had
sad experience of it? Not to go back to very ancient times, in
the year 1313 the plague carried off in this one town not less
than 13,000 people; take that number from the present popula
tion, and see how many will remain. The famine which result
ed from the plague, in consequence of the interruption of all in
tercourse, brought them to such extremities that mothers were
known to have eaten their own dead or living children. In the
last century, in the year 1605, the pestilence that had been com
mitting its ravages for three whole years would have carried off
all the inhabitants of this city if God had not been at last ap-
On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian. 267
peased by the prayers and penance of the people, so that the
scourge ceased, as it were, miraculously and at once. To come
nearer to our own times, in the year 1636 the plague caused such
misery that in the neighboring villages hardly twenty people
were left alive out of six hundred; in our college alone not less
than fourteen persons in the bloom of youth perished in a short
time; and from that we may easily calculate the amount of injury
done in the town itself. Through scarcity of provisions in the
same year two hundred dogs were eaten as delicacies; cats, mice,
and other such animals were sought for as food, and again there
was a case of a woman who cut up the fruit of her own womb
and ate it. Brower and Masenius describe all this in the history
of Treves. But I will say nothing more on such a sad subject.
See, my dear brethren, what a great and calamitous scourge the The inter-
plague is. Imagine now that it has again come to us, and that st
it is already in our city (I see that the bare idea of it is enough
to make you tremble); but I will not go so far as that; imagine witt) God ^
that there is only a report of the neighboring cities and countries free whole
being infected with it, so that it is on the way to us; imagine, ^omTt68
also, that after all necessary precautions have been taken there is
nothing left for us to do but to fly for refuge to our holy patron
St. Sebastian, who is well known as a powerful protector in such
circumstances, and a mighty helper in time of pestilence — so well
known, indeed, that it would be a loss of time to wait to prove it,
for his fame in this respect has gone far and wide. Rome and
all Italy can testify to this; for in the time of Pope Agatho an
altar was erected to this holy martyr by divine inspiration, and
when his intercession was implored the plague ceased at once.
France can testify to this; for it preserves the relics of the Saint
with great veneration, and has often experienced the benefit of
his help. All Germany can testify to this; for the people have
always had great confidence in the intercession of our Saint, and
this confidence is increasing daily. I have heard that there are
people still living who know that a similar experience fell to the
lot of the town of Cochem on the Moselle; and their assertion is
proved by the magnificent altar erected to St. Sebastian, and the
homage paid to his statue; while the city of Treves unanimously
acknowledges before his image that it has often been freed from
the plague by him, and therefore is filled with gratitude for past
benefits, and confidence with regard to his protection in the fu
ture. Finally, the whole Catholic Church spread throughout the
268 On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian.
world calls on St. Sebastian as a helper and patron in such sad
circumstances.
so that if If 9 I say again, there was nothing else for us to do at the up-
was^nour proach of the pestilence than to fly to this Saint for refuge (and
midst, or when once this evil has gained a footing, there is hardly any
threatened reme(jy against it but the immediate help of heaven), how would
should ap- youact? what would you wish to do? I certainly would not think
peai to this ^ necessary for me to ascend the pulpit and exhort you to this
great devo- devotion, for the presence or even the dread of the scourge would
tion- of itself be sermon enough to induce all of you to appeal for help
where help is to be found. And indeed a sermon of the kind is
wont to produce greater effect, and to be listened to more atten
tively; for then the Lord Himself, taking the rod in His hand,
speaks to eyes and senses by the general misery. The disciples
required no exhortation to call upon Our Lord for help and pro
tection when the waves rose and threatened their ship with de
struction, as we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew; the imminent
danger of death impelled them at once to waken the sleeping
Lord, and cry out to Him: " Lord, save us; we perish." ' Nor
did the people need a preacher at the death of Our Lord to warn
them to repent of their cruelty towards Him; the terrible signs
they saw, the thick darkness, the rending of the rocks, the trem
bling of the earth were enough to excite them to contrition:
( ' And all the multitude of them that were come together to that
sight, and saw the things that were done, returned, striking their
breasts/' 2 It is not many years ago since we saw what a com
motion was excited in many cities of Germany by the mere rumor
of the approach of the plague from neighboring countries. What
public prayers, fasts, pilgrimages, and processions were then held !
And since that time those devotions are still continued in some
places. So that without a doubt if such a calamity were again
to befall us you would of yourselves, although all preachers
were dumb, be moved by the fear of danger to show the utmost
devotion and reverence to St. Sebastian as the best means of
saving your lives. Could you then find one who would not re
joice to be a member of the sodality dedicated to him? Could
one be found then to absent himself from the weekly devotions
and meetings? I believe that if their piety would not induce
1 Domine, salva nos ; perimus.— Matt. viii. 25.
2 Omnis turba eorurn, qui simul aderant ad spectaculum istud, et videbant quse flebant,
peroutientes pectora sua, revertebantur.— Luke xxiii. 48.
On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian. 269
them to come, fear would, as it were, drive them out of their
houses to the church as with a whip. Great and small, compelled
by the fear of danger, would then come to this church as to a
place of refuge, and run to the altar and statue of St. Sebastian
as to an ark of safety, begging and praying, vowing and prom
ising, that by his intercession God might deliver them. Is not
that so, my dear brethren?
I come at last to the conclusion which I believe I have suffi- But we owe
ciently proved already. You acknowledge that it is salutary, gr^rben-
just, and necessary to have recourse to St. Sebastian when the eflt in being
evil, that is, the plague is already in our midst, or when it is in
our vicinity. You acknowledge that on account of the severity long,
of this scourge and the greatness of the evil it is an incompar
able and inestimable benefit to be freed from it, and that he de
serves your utmost love, reverence, and gratitude who should
deliver you if you were attacked by it. I repeat, then, what I
said in the beginning, that we who are now free from this evil,
and hope to remain free from it, since we have not heard of any
such danger threatening us — we, if we wish to act prudently and
uprightly, should show to St. Sebastian the same, nay, still great
er love and respect, and continue the devotions we have com
menced, and continue them with greater fervor and confidence.
For is it a lesser benefit to obtain that we should remain free
from the evil, and not have to fear it, than to be delivered from
it after it has actually attacked us? Does he do you less good
who restrains the rod that is raised to strike you than he who
alleviates your pain after you have received the blow? Is he less
your benefactor who is the cause of your remaining in good
health than he who, when you are sick and suffering, gives you
medicine to cure you? Is he who seizes you by the arm, and pre
vents you from falling, less to be thanked than he who, after
you have fallen, lifts you up and heals the limb you have broken?
Is he who prevents you from going to prison to be less regarded
than he who, after you have lost your liberty, releases you again?
If such be your opinion, you show that you think little the good
health and freedom from disease you enjoy. Every one who
lias the use of sound reason must acknowledge that the preser
vation from evils and the averting of them is a greater benefit
and much more to be prized than the mere freeing us from
them after we have been made to feel them, and it would be
270 On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian.
gross ingratitude to forget in the time of prosperity the bene
factor to whom we owe it.
And we por a sjmj}ar reason it would be ungrateful in us to grow cold
should be
veryun- in our devotion, love, and reverence for our holy patron. To
grateful if erect an altar, and seldom visit it; to be enrolled in a confrater-
^ ? and not to appear at the usual meetings, and that because we
are not in dread of any approaching calamity, because we have
gained the freedom from the evil we feared, because we can en
joy in peace and quiet the fruit of this devotion — is not that gross
ingratitude? Who does not condemn the culpable forgetfulness
of Pharaohs butler, of whom we read in the Book of Genesis;
Joseph had interpreted his dream in prison, and removed all ap
prehension from his mind by telling him that in three days he
would be set at liberty, and restored to his former place of honor,
to stand at the king's side and hand him the cup. No one could
be more rejoiced than the butler, no one more profuse in promis
ing to intercede for his prophetic benefactor, and to obtain his
liberation. " But," says the Scripture, two years passed away,
and he never even thought of Joseph; "the chief butler, when
things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter."
Yet when My dear brethren, is it not so sometimes among us men? We
past we are attend only to what is present before us, without further thought
apt to for- or reflection, without a particle of gratitude for evident favors
efactor. ^ we nu-ve received, without any effort to fulfil the obligation they
impose on us, just like dumb beasts that have to be driven to
work by the fear of blows. " Till they receive," says the Wise
Man of such people, " they kiss the hands of the lender, and in
promises they humble their voice;" but when the time comes to
make a return they shrug their shoulders, forget the favor re
ceived, or return only half of what they owe.2 There are some
who forget their benefactors altogether. When a man is climb
ing a ladder he grasps it with both hands; but when the ladder
has done its work he throws it into a dark corner, out of sight.
While one is taking water from a well he keeps his eyes fixed
on it; but when he has enough he goes away and turns his back
on the well. So do we, alas! often act towards our benefactors.
When necessity is at the door we acknowledge, praise, and honor
1 Et tamen succedentibus prosperis, praepositus pincernarum oblitus est tnterpretis sui.
—Gen. xl. 23.
2 Donee acclpiant, osculantur manusdantis, et in promissionibus humiliant vocem suam.
In tempore redditionis vix reddet dimidium.— Ecclus. xxix. 5-7.
On Zeal in the Sodality of St. Sebastian. 271
the helper who^ comes to our aid; when the time of want is at
an end our benefactor and the gratitude, love, and reverence we
owe him slip from our memory. Well does the Prophet David
say: " Our eyes unto the Lord, our God;" how long? " : until
He have mercy on us." When we have received grace and
mercy they are again turned away from Him.
My dear brethren and members of this sodality, are we to act Exhortation
in this manner towards our holy benefactor? Shall we turn our to
J zealous de-
servile eyes towards the Lord only when we see the rod in His votiontost
hand, and are in dread of the stripes? Shall we not rather show Sebastian-
our gratitude and uprightness now, since He has kept the scourge
so long and so far away from us? Truly, we should otherwise
deserve, and should have good reason to fear that it would be
with us as St. Cyprian says: " That since we refuse to acknowl
edge what we owe this Saint for the many benefits we have re
ceived from him, we should be compelled to due acknowledg
ment by punishment." * But I firmly hope for better than that
from your zealous devotion. Praise and thanks, then, be to the
ashes of him who first instituted this advantageous sodality!
Praise and blessing to those who in any way try to spread and
help it! Praise and blessing to those who by their good example
encourage others to join the sodality, and to attend regularly the
appointed devotions, so that by their united prayers and fervent
zeal they may avert many evils from the whole community, and
ensure its prosperity! Since so much depends on it, let us all
take part in this laudable custom, and by frequently and devoutly
visiting this altar obtain a continuance of favors from our holy
benefactor; thereby we shall merit to be saved from the plague,
and from all other contagious maladies. For, as de Lyra remarks
on the eighth chapter of Genesis, he perpetuates the benefit
who is grateful for it. " I will no more curse the earth," said
God to Xoe, after the deluge; now thou canst be without fear,
for a deluge shall never again overwhelm the earth. How did
Noe merit this promise? As soon as he left the ark, " Noe built
an altar unto the Lord, and taking of all cattle and fowls that
were clean, offered holocausts upon the altar." " Thus," says
de Lyra, " after the benefit of freedom from the chastisement
1 Oculi nostri ad Dominum Deum nostrum ; donee misereatur nostri.— Ps. cxzll. 2.
2 Ut qui beneflciis non intelligitur, plagis intelligatur.
3 Nequaquam ultra raaledicam terrae. JSdiflcavit altare Domino, et tollens de cunctis
pecoribus, et volucribus mundis, obtulit holocausta super altare.— Gen. viii. 21, 20.
272 On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement.
comes that of security." ' 0 city of Treves! continue to show
thy gratitude to thy benefactor; then thou mayest be sure of
the fulfilment of the promise: " There shall no evil come to thee,
nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling." But above all
let us attend to what generally engages peoples' minds during a
plague, namely, to keep from our consciences the plague of the
soul — sin, the fuel of all evil — lest the divine anger should be
aroused and punish us by another pestilence of the body. We
have had sorrowful times enough; wo to us if this worst of all
chastisements should be added to what we have suffered already!
;» Q God of goodness, protect us therefrom! 0 great friend of
God, holy St. Sebastian, to whom my humble prayers and those
of all present are now directed, take under thy protection this
city and land of Treves, which owes so much to thee! If per
chance we have grown somewhat cold in our first fervor of grat
itude, in our reverence and confidence in thee, we now, before
thy altar, renew and increase our devotion to thee. We renew
our thanks for the great benefit we owe thee in being so long freed
from the plague, a benefit we do not deserve, and for which we
can never be sufficiently grateful. With thankful hearts, then,
we shall in future attend the holy sacrifice here every Wednes
day; and so we hope, by thy intercession and advocacy with God,
for the time to come that the evil will not approach us, that the
scourge will not come near our dwellings, and that thus we, thy
children, shall be able to serve thee and our God in greater peace
and with greater cheerfulness. Amen.
FIFTY-EIGHTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY POPE AND MARTYR ST. CLEMENT,
Subject.
St. Clement was like the apostles: 1. In his patience; 2. In
the signs and wonders he performed. — Preached on the feast of
St. Clement in the Collegiate Church of St. Paulinus.
Text.
Signa apostolatus mei facta sunt super vos in omni patientia,
in signis et prodigiis. — II. Cor. xii. 12.
1 Ideo post beneflcium liberationis, datur beneflcium securitatis.
On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement. 273
" The signs of my apostleship have been wrought on you, in
all patience, in signs and wonders."
Introduction.
Although I was a persecutor of the Church of Christ; although
I am the last of those who were called and appointed to the apos-
tolate by the Lord; although I must acknowledge that I am noth
ing, yet I am not less than the great apostles: "I have no way
come short of them that are above measure apostles, although
I be nothing." * Why so? Because I have shown amongst
you all the marks of the apostolic office; namely, in all patience,
in signs and wonders. This confession regarding himself is
made by St. Paul, the great teacher of the nations. My dear
brethren, in the same words I can, it seems to me, with reason
praise the holy Pope and martyr Clement, whose feast is celebrat
ed to-day in this church. For if the marks of an apostle, ac
cording to the words of St. Paul, consist in all patience, in
signs and wonders, certainly Clement is not unlike the great
apostles, as I mean to show in this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Clement was like the apostles in all patience; the first part.
St. Clement was like the apostles in signs and wonders; the sec
ond part.
Both to the honor and glory of this Saint; both with a brief
moral lesson for the good of our souls, which we expect from
God, through the hands of Mary and of the holy angels.
If I- had nothing more to say of St. Clement than that he was a st. dement
companion and fellow- worker of St. Paul, the apostle of the Gen- w™*nc™~
tiles, as the latter calls him in the Epistle to the Philippians, st. Paul.
" who have labored with me in the gospel with Clement and
the rest of my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the Book of
Life," a then I should have sufficiently proved the first part of
my proposition, that in all patience he is like the apostles. For
what a wonder of the world is proposed to me when Paul is
named! After Our Lord Himself, who had so many hardships,
1 Nihil minus fui ab eis, qui sunt supra modum apostoli ; tametsi nihil sum.— II. Cor. xii.
11.
3 Quae mecum laboraverunt in evangelic cum Clemente, et caeteris adjutoribus meis,
quorum nomina sunt in libro vitae.— Philipp. iv. 3.
274 On the H°fy Pope and Martyr St. Clement.
trials, and difficulties to contend with as he? Humble as he
was, and convinced that he was the greatest sinner in the world,
unworthy the name of a servant of Christ, yet he boasts that he
did more than the other apostles, that he is more than they:
" They are the ministers of Christ (I speak as one less wise); " yet
I dare say it, " I am more." * St. Chrysostom wonders at these
words, and thus apostrophizes St. Paul: "Show us what that
' more ' is, and how thou dost excel the others." * Holy apos
tle, you say you are more than the others; show us how that is.
Perhaps you are more learned, and have received more special
wisdom from God to interpret the Scripture, to discover the mys
teries hidden therein, and to convince all of the truth of Chris
tianity? No; it is not in such things that I am more. Then
it will perhaps be in your great eloquence with which you fear
lessly attack the enemies of the faith, and make judges and
kings tremble when you open your mouth? No; it is not that,
either, that I boast of. And what, then? Did you perhaps per
form more miracles than the others? Wrong again. Now I
know what it is; you allude to your wonderful visions, to your
ecstasies and revelations, to your journey to the third heaven?
Neither is it that.
But st. Paul I will tell you what it is : My renown as an apostle consists in
triais'most this, that I have been more humiliated than the others, have
patiently, endured more crosses and trials, have been more persecuted and
hunted from one place to another, and more frequently scourged
and beaten: " In many more labors, in prisons more frequently,
in stripes above measure, in deaths often;" in toilsome journeys
by day and night; " in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils
in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils from false brethren; in labor and painfulness, in much
watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and
nakedness." There are the trials of which I have received a
greater share than the others; and it is in them that I glory, for
them I owe the most to my God, since He has deigned to send
1 Ministri Chrlsti sunt (ut minus sapiens dico) ; plus ego.— II. Cor. xi. 23.
3 Indica nobis illud plus, et eminentiam tuam.
8 In laboribus plurimis, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis supra modum, in mortibus
frequenter. Periculis fluminum, periculis latronum, periculis ex genere, periculis ex gen-
tibus, periculis in civitate, periculis in solitudine, periculis in mare, periculis in falsis fra-
tribus ; in labore et serumna, in vigiliis multis, in fame et siti, in jejuniis multis, in frigore
et nuditate.— II. Cor xi. 23, 26, 27.
On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement. 275
them to me so abundantly. " For such a one I will glory," 1 if it
is allowed me.
Now I draw this conclusion, my dear brethren. St. Clement Therefore
was the companion and assistant of St. Paul in his labors in ^^^
preaching the gospel; therefore he was also his companion in suf- share of
fering persecutions, dangers, and manifold contradictions. For them<
when two persons are on the same journey they are in the same
circumstances; if it rains and hails on the one, the other will
get wet, too; the same wind that whistles in the ears of the one
will also annoy his companion; if the sun burns one, it will not
spare the other; if the one has a poor lodging, the other must
share it with him. Therefore if things went always so hard
with Paul, as he describes, his companion and fellow-worker,
wherever he went with him, could not have been much better
off; and on this head alone he can boast with his master that he
performed his apostolic office with all patience in enduring dan
gers and trials.
And how much had he not to endure after the death of Paul, He had also
when he was raised to the highest dignity of the Christian Church, sufferto the
and was made third Pope after St. Peter? The trials of life end of his
consist of three kinds: some affect the soul, such as sadness,
desolation, fear, and anxiety; others affect the body, such as
those pains that attack the flesh and the outward senses; the third
sort affect our good name and reputation, such as humiliations,
detractions, injuries, insults, public shame, and disgrace. To
the very end of His servant Clement's life God proved him by
all these kinds of tribulations, as Ribadeneira says in his Life.
In the first place, he had to suffer in his good name, for he was
publicly decried and accused as a hypocrite, a traitor, a blasphem
er, a seducer of the people, a wizard by wicked people who
hated him for the innocence and holiness of his life; thus he
was made odious in the whole city of Rome as a worthless man,
and was brought before the judges, who, although they knew
his innocence, yet to avoid a tumult among the people were
forced to banish him from the city. Thus we may say of him
what St. Athanasius said of St. Antony, who for a long time
sought an opportunity of martyrdom in the city of Alexandria,
and not finding any, left the city in order to spend his life in
the desert in fasting and watching, in hunger and thirst, and
in all kinds of austerities for the love of God; so also did the
1 Pro hujusmodi gloriabor.— II. Cor. xil. 5.
276 On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement.
Lord preserve His vicar on earth, St. Clement, for still greatei
sufferings, and allowed him to be banished from Rome to the
Chersonese, that he might there in exile endure a longer mar
tyrdom, and have more opportunity for practising patience.
Great men- Again, what bitter pangs and sorrow must not the holy man
have felt at being so violently separated from his Christians of
Rome, whom he loved more than his own soul, and who ran
after their dear father and only consolation with tears in their
eyes; whom, nevertheless, he had to leave like so many sheep
amid the fierce wolves, while his only comfort was in the hot
tears he shed! And how he must have deplored the wretched
state of the Christians, of whom he found two thousand in his
exile, who had already been sent there by the tyrant, and were
condemned to severe labor, unprovided with the necessaries of
life! Clement now found himself in the midst of this oppressed,
famished, thirsty, emaciated people like a poor banished father
among his children, to whom he cannot give a bit of bread.
What bitter sorrow he felt we can easily imagine; as his Life
says: " He grieved with the sorrowing, and wept with mourn
ers." I will say nothing of the perpetual anguish, fear, and
care that oppressed him for the Church entrusted to his vigi
lance, for the sheep of the fold of Christ whom he ever carried
in his heart, whose lot was ever a source of anxiety to him— an
anxiety that increased when he heard that they were persecuted
on all sides by the enemies of the faith, that they were martyred
and put to death most cruelly.
Bodily dis- Finally, we can easily imagine from all this what bodily pains
which like ^e ^a(^ ^° undergo when we consider the miserable slavery to
the Apostle, which he was condemned, with his companions. They had to
an patience s*eeP on ^ne ground, and during the day to drag about huge
stones, to polish and smoothe them, a work to which they were
driven by blows and scourges, and meanwhile they were obliged
to suffer hunger and thirst; truly, their bodies could have found
little comfort under such circumstances. In this misery Clement
had to suffer until at last he was condemned to a martyr's death;
a heavy anchor was tied round his neck, and he was sunk into
the sea. Thus this holy martyr of Christ, having spent his life
in suffering, closed it in suffering also, and therefore he can
boast that he was like the apostles in all patience, and that he
was one of those to whom Our Lord says in the gospel' "As tho
1 Cum moerentibus moerebat, et cum flentibus flebat.
On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement. 277
Father hath sent Me, I also send yon." ' He sent Me into the
world to teach and further His glory; in the same way I send
you, My dear disciples; go into the whole world and teach all
nations. My Father sent Me to take up My cross, to die on the
cross, and by My cross and passion to enter into My glory; in
the same way I send you to endure many persecutions, to live
and die in crosses and trials for My name's sake.
Let us for our own edification reflect a little on this, my dear
brethren. Patience under many trials is the mark by which the under
apostles and true disciples of Christ are recognized, as St. Greg- triaisas
ory remarks: " The disciples are sent into the world by the Lord, election,
not for the joys of the world, but for suffering." 2 By this they
must prove themselves true disciples and followers of Christ.
So, I say, according to the teaching of the holy Fathers, pa
tience under adversity is the chief mark and characteristic by
which we may certainly recognize and know those who are pre
destined to heaven. For%as St. Paul says, the eternal Father
has ordained that they whom He has called to eternal life should
by suffering be made conformable to the image of His crucified
and suffering Son. This likeness God enables them to put on
by giving them opportunities of practising patience under trials;
and He gives this blessing to those whom He loves as His own
friends and children. "For unto you it is given for Christ,"
eays St. Paul; and this high destiny is yours, " not only to be
lieve in Him," for many go to hell in spite of their faith, "but
also to suffer for Him." It is by patience under adversity that
we must especially prove that we have the Christian virtues,
that we truly love God with all our hearts. It requires no great
skill to keep the Lord before our eyes, to praise and bless Him
as long as He gives us everything we desire and wish for; but it
is a great virtue when He takes all from us, when He gives us
the bitter chalice to drink, when He strikes us with His rod — it
is a great virtue then to kiss the chastising hand, to be satisfied
with the will of God, and always to think and say, with the pa
tient Job: "Blessed be the name of the Lord!" Finally, it is
patience under adversity that must prepare for us the road to
the kingdom of God and eternal glory: "Through many tribu-
1 Sicut misit me Pater, et ego mitto vos.— John xx. 21.
2 Discipuli a Domino non ad mundi gaudia, sed ad passionem mittuntur in mundum.
8 Vobis donatum est pro Cnristo, ut non &Dlum in eum credatis, sed ut etiam pro illo pati-
amini.— Pbilipp. i. 29.
278 On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement.
lations we must enter into the kingdom of God." What & great
mistake we then make when we look on trials as signs of the di
vine anger, and murmur against them! Let us then, my dear
brethren, daily encourage ourselves to practise this patience, and
show our readiness to bear with resignation for God's sake, and
as long as He pleases, the cross He has laid on our shoulders,
and those which He may have ordained for us in the future.
What joy, what contentment of heart we shall feel at the end,
if, like St. Clement, we shall be able to congratulate ourselves,
and say: My life is ended in this world, and ended in many
trials, but yet in all patience! I return to St. Clement; as we
have seen, he was like the apostles in his patience under adver
sity; he was also like them in signs and wonders, as I shall
briefly prove in the
Second Part.
In his first sermon on SS. Peter and Paul St. Augustine de-
couutiess scribes the manifold powers given by God to those whom He
miracles: a called to the apostolate. "The Lord gave the apostles power
over nature, that they might heal it; over the demons, that they
might overthrow them; over the elements, that they might
change them; over death, that they might contemn and con
quer it." 2 Such power and might did St. Clement receive from
God even while he was still in this mortal life. To give a de
tailed description of all the wonderful miracles he performed
would be impossible for me. Ribadeneira, in his Life, imitates
painters when they wish to represent a great army of soldiers on
a small canvas; they paint one or two files of soldiers fully and
in detail, but behind them they put in perspective a number of
indistinct heads, swords, and spears, thus leaving to our imagi
nations the multitude of soldiers which the canvas connot con
tain. So does our author, when describing the life of Clement.
He relates only one or two miracles, in order to give us an idea
of the others, and then refers to a great number of them in a
few words, without order or detail; "many and astounding were
the miracles he daily wrought." 3
Clement, like the apostles, had power over nature to heal it.
nature. By his prayers the eyes of his persecutors were blinded; by his
1 Per multas tribulatioues oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei.— Acts xiv. 21.
2 Dedit Dominus potestatem apostolis super naturam, ut earn curarent; super daemones,
ut eos everterent ; super elementa, ut ipsa immutarent ; supra mortem, ut contemnerent et
vincerent.
8 Multis, stupendisque miraculis, quae quotidie patrabat.
On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement. 279
prayers the blind recovered their sight, and were brought to the
light of the true faith. It seemed no miracle any longer for
him to cure all kinds of sicknesses and maladies by the mere
sign of the cross, so frequent every day were the cures he wrought
in this manner; and thereby he drew the hearts of men to him
self to such an extent that many of those whom he converted left
house and home and friends when he was sent into banishment,
and voluntarily followed him over the sea, preferring to be with
their dear master in misery than to live without him in liberty
and prosperity.
Clement had power over the demons to overthrow them. The overde«
evil spirits themselves felt that whenever he came near them, n
and at his command were obliged to leave the bodies of the pos
sessed and the statues of the idols. A year after his arrival in
the Chersonese there was not an idolatrous temple to be found
in the whole surrounding country; all the pillars and statues of
the demons were overturned, broken up, and destroyed utterly,
and in their places sixty-five churches were erected to the true
God; moreover, every day over fifty heathens who had adored
the devil were made members of the true Church by baptism.
He had power over the elements to change them. This Clem- over the
ent showed when, like another Moses, he caused a spring of water e1'
to gush forth from the earth by striking it with a rod. The
Christian slaves had to suffer from thirst, along with the other
miseries that oppressed them, and had to carry water on their
backs a distance of two miles. The compassionate father could
not bear the sight of such misery among his children; he made
them all kneel down and pray; he joined his supplications with
theirs, and behold, a lamb appeared, pointing with its foot to a
place on the hill where water was to be found. Hardly had Clem
ent gone thither, and begun to dig, when suddenly a spring of the
purest and sweetest water bubbled forth, and became a torrent.
Finally, he had power over death, which he despised and con- over death.
quered as a victorious martyr; and after death his sacred body
was the greatest wonder of all. The heathen magistrate feared
that the Christians would venerate him as a god, and that not
the least particle of him might remain for their veneration, he
caused the holy man to be sunk into the depths of the sea. All
the Christians cried out with one voice: Let us all pray that we
may recover the holy body; and behold, the otherwise ungovern
able sea separated for the distance of a thousand paces, and opened
280 On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement.
for them a path in the midst. They entered boldly, and walked
along the bottom of the sea, until, to their great surprise, they
found a chapel built by the angels, and in it a small stone coffin,
in which the sacred body was, while beside it lay the anchor with
which it had been sunk. And the same miracle was repeated
every year as long as the body remained there; during that time
the sea would divide and remain so for seven days, so that the
faithful had an opportunity of visiting the sacred relics; and, as
Metaphrastes testifies, they obtained from God everything they
asked for during those days.
A special rphe f0uowjng remarkable incident is related by the holy Bish-
wroughtat ops Ephraim, Gregory, and others: A woman with her little son
ws grave, visited the grave of Clement in the sea; the child, tired out, fell
asleep, and the mother forgot it at the grave and returned with
the other Christians to the land. When the usual time had
elapsed the sea flowed over the chapel. The afflicted mother be
gan to weep and lament the fate of her son; she could find neither
counsel nor consolation, and, as she thought, her only resource was
to bewail the untimely death of her dear little one. The follow
ing year, in spite of her misfortune the year previous, she made
her usual pilgrimage to the shrine of the holy martyr, fell down
on her knees without further thought, and began her prayers,
when, happening to lift up her eyes to the place where she had
lost the child a year ago, she found it sleeping calmly as she had
left it. She could hardly contain herself for joy and astonish
ment; she woke the child, embraced it, and asked what it had
been doing, and how its life had been saved; but the child could
only say that it had been asleep; how long, it knew not.
warlike116 Truly> ° God> Thou art wonderful in Thy saints> to whom
the apostles Thou hast given power over all created things, to make their
in signs, glory and Thine known! You wonder, 0 Israelites, at your
generally Moses, who at the command of God opened a way for you in the
wrought by Red Sea. Only once did that wonder happen amongst you, while
this was continued for many years. Learn from this how much
more glorious and illustrious the Almighty knows how to render
His faithful servants in the law of grace. One thing we must
here remark for our instruction, my dear brethren: St. Clement
was like the apostles in the signs and wonders he worked; but
how did he work them? As we have seen, not one did he per
form without prayer, and the chief of them — the procuring the
water from the rock to refresh the Christians, and the dividing
On the Holy Pope and Martyr St. Clement. 281
of the sea to make an open way for the people — were the result
of the united prayers of all the Christians assembled there; let
us all pray unanimously, they said.1
Behold, I now say with St. Augustine, what great power and
efficacy with God the prayers and devotions have that many offer prayer, es-
together! When in the beginning the Lord God made the light, peciaiiy
He looked at it and saw that it was good: " And God saw the prayto.
light that it was good." 2 And the same He said of the firma- getner.
ment, of the water, of the earth, and of all other creatures in
dividually. But when He considered them altogether He found,
as it were, that their goodness and beauty were increased: "And
God saw all things that He had made, and they were very good." *
How did it happen that God then found them very good? Such
is the question asked by St. Augustine, and his answer is that
we must learn from this that if the devotions we perform in
private are good in the sight of God, the same devotions, when
performed with others, and in public, are much more pleasing and
agreeable to Him. It is good to praise and adore God at home,
or privately in the church, but still better to unite our prayers
with those of our Christian brethren, according to the saying
of the Prophet: " Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us extol
His name together/' 4 It is certain that such a united prayer is
much more efficacious in obtaining what we wish and desire, be
cause the one makes up with his devotion for that in which the
other is deficient. And this is founded on the infallible word of
God in the Gospel of St. Matthew: " I say to you, that if two of
you shall consent upon earth concerning anything whatsoever
they shall ask, it shall be done to them by My Father who is in
heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together
in My name, there am I in the midst of them." 5 Now if two
or three can do so much, what cannot be eifected by a devotion in
which many are united of all classes, ages, and sexes; in a sodality
united to pray and praise God? Oh, says Tertullian, in that way
they constitute, so to speak, an army to storm heaven, and to
Oremus omnes unanimes.
Vidit Deus lucem, quod esset bona.— Gen. i. 4.
Viditque Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona.— Ibid. 31.
Magniflcate Domiaum mecum, et exaltemus nomen ejus in idipsum. — Ps. xxxiii. 4.
Dico vobis : quia si duo ex vobis consenserint super terrara de orani re, quamcumque
petierint, flet illis a Patre meo qui in coelis est. Ubi enim sunt duo vel tres congregati in
nomine meo, Ibi sum in medio eorum.— Matt, xviii. 19, 20.
282 On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves.
. compel the Almighty, as it were, to restrain His chastising hand,
and to grant them the graces they desire. '
Exhortation Should not this, dear sodalists, be to us an encouragement to
^ more zealous in attending the meetings of this sodality? In
future, then, when the feast-days of the brethren here arrive,
think of the words: " Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us
extol His name together." Let us go to praise the Lord in con
cert! We will try it, and shall see that the divine promise will
be fulfilled: "If two of you shall consent upon earth concerning
anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by
My Father who is in heaven." Amen.
FIFTY-NINTH SERMON.
ON THE COUNTLESS HOLY MARTYRS OF TREVES.
Subject.
1. The inhabitants of Treves are the children of saints; what
an honor for the city! 2. The inhabitants of Treves are the
children of saints; what a shame for the city if its people should
deviate from the constancy and virtue of their holy ancestors! — =
Preached on the feast of the Martyrs of Treves.
Text.
Filii sanctorum sumus. — Tob. ii. 18.
" We are the children of saints/'
Introduce >n.
The question was asked, in olden tim«s, among the Macedonians,
whether it was a greater glory for King Alexander to have been
born of Philip, or for Philip to have Alexander for his son. My
dear brethren, I may ask a similar question to-day, namely: Is it
a greater glory for the city of Treves to have been the mother of so
many countless martyrs whose feast we celebrate to-day, or a
greater glory for the Christians who are now in Treves to have
had so many holy ancestors? Be the answer what it may, both
honors undoubtedly belong to this city, because she has brought
into the world and reared so many htfly children who shed
their blood for Christ, and because she SUV nourishes so many
1 Quasi manu facta Deum oramus.
On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves. 283
who are the descendants of these holy ancestors; both these cir
cumstances redound to her undying honor. Christian inhabi
tants of this city, as I am about to address you now, I shall con
fine myself to the latter, namely:
Plan of Discourse.
" We are the children of saints;" the people of Treves are the
children of saints; what an honor for the city! The first part.
" We are the children of saints; " the people of Treves are the
children of saints; what a disgrace for the city if its inhabitants
should deviate from the constancy and virtue of their holy an
cestors! The second part. The first ivill be to the greater glory of
the martyrs of Treves; the second will serve for the edification
and profit of the present inhabitants of that city.
Do you, 0 holy martyrs, and thou especially, Queen of mar
tyrs, virginal mother Mary, and you, 0 holy angels, who fought
on the side of the martyrs, obtain that profit for us by your
prayers !
So close is the union and bond of nature between parents and children
children, ancestors and their posterity, that the latter inherit
from the former their honor or shame, their glory or disgrace, parents'
rather than their wealth or poverty. Such is the express testi- h(
mony of the Holy Ghost: " The glory of children are their fa
thers/' ' On the other hand, " a father without honor is the dis
grace of the son/' 2 Hence it is that we look on children as
good or bad, according to the nature of their parents. Saul,
when enraged with Jonathan, gave him a sharp reproof, and put
him to great shame, by calling him, in his anger, " thou son of
a woman that is a ravisher of a man/' But Gabelus, when he
embraced the younger Tobias, said in joyful accents: "The God
of Israel bless thee, because thou art the son of a very good and
just man, and that feareth God and doth almsdeeds." In the
same manner, as St. Paulinus remarks, when the evangelists
wish to praise any one in a special manner they first of all speak
of his honorable descent. Thus St. Luke praises the parents of
St. John the Baptist before commencing to describe his won-
1 Gloria flliorum patres eorum. — Prov. xvil. 6.
2 Dedecus fllii pater sine honore.— Ecclus. iii. 13.
8 Fill mulieris virum ultro rapientis.— I. Kings xx. 30.
4 Benedlcat te Deus Israel, quia fllius es optimi viri, et justi, et timentis Deum, et elee-
mosynas facientis.— Tob. ix. 9.
284 On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves.
derful life: " They were both just before God, walking in all
the commandments and justifications of the Lord without
blame." What else does the Evangelist mean by this,, asks St.
Ambrose,, unless " to let us see that St. John is ennobled by his
parents " ?* So that St. John is praised on account of the piety
and goodness of his parents. The wise Solomon, in order to give
authority to his books, begins by saying whose son he was: "The
parables of Solomon, the son of David;" 3 so he begins the Prov
erbs. " The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David; " 4 so he
begins the Book of Ecclesiastes. When Our Lord said to the
Pharisees that He was not of this world,, they at once referred
to their ancient descent from Abraham: "We are the seed of
Abraham;" 6 " Abraham is our father." Where else in our
own days does the nobility and respectability of families come
from but from their ancestors, who in former times showed great
bravery in war, or skill in managing state affairs, or performed
other praiseworthy exploits that made their names illustrious
before the world, so that they were elevated above others by
princes, kings, and emperors ? On their account their descendants
are held in honor above the common people. So true is it that
"the glory of children are their fathers."
The people If that is the case, my dear brethren, oh, what glory for this
are children G^J> an(^ wna^ honor and dignity have fallen to the lot of her
and deseen- children ! I will not now refer to the antiquity, excellence,
dauts of
martyrs.
magnanimity, power, and reputation of your heroic forefathers,
by whom this city was founded, increased, and continued to our
own times. In these matters there is no nation in Europe that
excels Treves; so that in ancient times the blind heathens traced
her origin to Jupiter and Vesta, whom they looked on as their
father and mother. I leave to the heathens their foolish non
sense, and I leave to the world also the vainglory it seeks from
others. For true glory and nobility consist in virtue alone and
in Christian fortitude. "We are the children of saints." If
any one can with truth make that boast, you are the fortunate
ones, 0 inhabitants of Treves! You are children of the saints,
children of the martyrs, children of the blood-relations of Christ,
1 Erant justi ambo ante Deum, incedentes in omnibus mandatis et justiflcationibus Do-
mini sine querela.— Luke i. 6.
3 Nisi ut Sanctus Joannes nobilitetur parentibus.
8 Parabolas Salomonis fllii David.— Prov. i. 1.
4 Verba Ecclesiastse fllii David.— Eccles. i. 1.
* Semen Abrahae sumus.— John viii. 33.
6 Pater noster Abraham est.— Ibid. 39.
On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves. 285
as St. Vincent Ferrer calls the martyrs. You are children of
the angels,, according to the words of St. Chrysostom: "The
martyrs and the angels are distinguished only in name; " 1 you
are children of those who, according to the testimony of St.
Basil, " are the general protectors of the human race, most pow
erful ambassadors with God, the stars of the world, the flowers
of the Church." 2 You are children of those who, according to
St. Cyprian, will be, with Christ, judges of the living and the
dead; whose honor and glory excels that of the other saints in
heaveii; who by their bravery overcame torments and tyrants,
and boldly confessed their God under pains and torture, sealing
with their blood the truth of their faith. Such are your ances
tors, 0 children of Treves!
Pay attention and see how bravely they fought for the honor WDO sned
of God. That day had come which brought joy to heaven, torc?tirtst
glory to the city of Treves, and which will be held to the end of with the
the world as a solemn feast — that day when the bloodthirsty
judge Riccius Varus began to rage against the Christian faith,
that day on which, for the first time, the chief man and burgo
master of this city, St. Palmatius, along with other Catholic
councillors and princes of the state, as they are called in the An
nals, publicly confessed their faith in presence of all, and offered
to give their life's blood for it, and thus, like true shepherds,
opened by their blood the gates of heaven to the sheep entrusted
to their care; for on the following day the whole flock they left
behind, without distinction of state, sex, or age, were driven to
gether, and hewed and smitten down. Oh, what a cruel, and, at
the same time, what a glorious spectacle it must have been to
behold those gray-haired old men, venerable matrons, tender vir
gins, young boys, mothers with their children, running with joy
ful cries out of their houses, vieing with each other in offering
themselves to the points of the swords and spears, contending
with pious zeal who should be the first to hasten to the slaugh
ter, as if it were a wedding-feast, and suffering death with every
sign of joy and exultation! What a sight, worthy of the admira
tion of heaven, to see the streets covered with dead bodies, the
ground reddened with blood, the Moselle choked with corpses,
so that its waters were hardly cold any longer, but rather run-
1 Martyres et angeli nomine tantum distinct! sunt.
2 Communes human! generis custodes, legati apud Deum potentlssimi, astra mundi, flo-
res Ecclesiarum.
286 On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves.
What an
bonor for
tbem, and
how they
should re
vere their
ning with warm blood, and bearing the holy crimson tide from
Treves throughout the world, thus testifying to the neighboring
lands the faith of Christ! This I say with St. Gregory: " Look
at the whole world, 0 brethren; it is full of martyrs/' 1 I
change those words, and say: " Look at the whole city; it is full
of martyrs; " there are so many of them that the counting of
them must be left to the Almighty alone. Therefore this feast-
day has been instituted to honor the innumerable martyrs of
Treves. So many were there that if one were to ask for relics
from me I might well say what a Pope once said to a stranger
who asked for relics; he took a handful of dust from the ground,
and gave it to him with the words: There you have them; for
you must know that the dust of the earth here is mingled with
the blood of martyrs. The same might be said of the city of
Treves; all the places round may be looked on as shrines, because
they are inundated with the blood of martyrs.
Behold, I must again say to you, children of Treves, what
great ancestors you have, how noble your descent! They are
saints crowned in heaven, whom men now honor above all the
kings and emperors of the world. You are children of the saints;
forefathers! oh, what a great honor and glory! 0 holy ancestors, now citi
zens of the heavenly Jerusalem, what thanks do not your chil
dren and descendants owe you, since you have prepared for them
- such a glorious road to heaven! In what honor should we not
hold you and your relics that we have amongst us, which have
brought us such a great name and renown! What devotion arid
love must we not have for you, whose blood has been the seed
from which sprang so many Christians! With what confidence
can we not appeal to you in all our needs, since it is by your help
and intercession the inhabitants of our city have preserved their
faith in the midst of the heresies that have overrun Germany!
What do we not owe you, in a word, since it is from you we have
the happiness of being able to boast that we are children of
saints! I go on to the
Second Part.
martyrs left "We are the children of saints." A glorious title! But I
theirchii- fear fc}iat jt js one that brings to some more shame than honor,
ample of When the philosopher Seneca was on his deathbed, and was asked
their lives, what lesson he wished to leave behind him for his disciples, he
1 Totum mundum fratres aspicite ; martyribus plenus est.
On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves. 287
made an effort to recall for a moment his soul, which was on the
point of taking wing, opened his glassy eyes, and with broken
voice said these few but impressive words: "I leave you the
image of my life/'1 As if to say: You have hitherto had before
your eyes the life of your teacher; this life of mine, which, as you
have seen, I have used for the practice of virtue, I now be
queath you as one that you have to learn from arid to imitate.
" I leave you the image of my life." Children of Treves, what
legacy have your holy ancestors left you? It seems to me that I
hear them, with blood-strearning eyes and mutilated bodies, cry
ing out to all their descendants: " We leave you the image of our
lives," of our holiness, of our virtues, of our constancy in the
faith even to death; this is our last will, this your inheritance.
And the same words are uttered now by their sacred relics that
repose here: We leave you the image of our lives. Consider the
example of your holy ancestors; with what zeal they fought for
the honor of God and for their faith; how important they judged
their eternal salvation, so that to ensure it they gave up for God's
sake property, blood, and life; this glorious example we leave you
for imitation.
Now if we show no traces of this inheritance, what will it
' must follow
profit us to have saints for our fathers? Is it any honor to me it.
to have a king for my father if I live as a peasant? Is it any
renown to me that my ancestors were celebrated for skill, piety,
and holiness if I am an ill-reared, undutiful, wicked, and ignor
ant son? "Let no one," says Simon de Cassia, "trust in the
justice of his ancestors, if he himself is ruled by wickedness."7
" What better were the sons of Samuel," asks Mendoza, " for
having a holy father, since they did not inherit his virtues?"3
What better was the shameless Cham for having Noe as his
father? What better the wicked Ismael for having been born from
Abraham; the wrathful Esau for having been born from Isaac;
the rebellious Absalom for having been born from David; the
impious Manasses for having been born from Ezechias; the reck
less Joachim for having been born from Josias? They were all
bad children who were born of holy fathers. And that was all
the more to their shame, since by their wicked lives they dis
honored their descent. "Although you may have an illustrious
father," says St. John Chrysostom, " do not think that enough
1 Imagine m vitae meae vobis relinquo.
2 Nemo confldat in praedecessoris justitia, si sibi dominetur iniquitas.
8 Quid fllios Samuelis necessitudo juvit parentis, cujus non f uerunt virtutis hasredes ?
288 On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves.
Their
greater if
for your salvation, honor, or glory, unless you resemble him in
your way of life." 1 " If you be the children of Abraham," said
Christ to the Pharisees, "do the works of Abraham. "* Imi
tate that great man; show, not by words, but by deeds, that you
are descended from such a noble father. The life of Abraham
was holy and innocent; if you are the children of Abraham your
lives must resemble his. " But now you seek to kill Me, a man
who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God;
this Abraham did not." 3 So that you are wicked children of a
good father. This, as Barradius remarks, concerns us all; and
therefore I say to you: If you are the children of saints, do the
works of saints. If you wish to inherit renown and fame from
your ancestors you must walk in their footsteps, and by your
lives and actions show that you are not degenerate children.
Our ancestors are saints of God; what a shame if their chil-
dreu should be wicked! Our ancestors were martyrs of Christ;
what a shame if their children should be martyrs of the world,
tlie flesb> and the devil! Our ancesfcors did not allow a cruel
death to make them deviate from the path of rectitude, from the
love of God; what a shame for their children if human respect
and the fear of a slight loss, not to speak of the fear of death,
should make them renounce God by sin! Our ancestors, to gain
heaven, to save their souls, sacrificed life, and goods, and all they
possessed; what a shame for their children, if, for the sake of a
wretched piece of money, a breath of honor, a momentary, brut
ish lust, the love of a vain creature, they should sell their souls to
the devil! Our ancestors defended the faith with their lives; what
a shame for their children, in whose veins still flows the blood
of those holy forefathers, if they, Catholic in name, dishonor that
faith by leading wicked lives! Our ancestors ran joyfully to
throw themselves on the points of spears and swords, and met
torments and death with exultation; what a shame for their chil
dren to give way to murmurs and complaints in the slight crosses
and daily trials ordained for them by God! Our ancestors kept
God before their eyes as their sole end and reward; what a shame
for their children to allow their hearts to be fixed on earth and
worldly goods! What a shame for an undutiful child to dishon-
1 Etiamsi celebrem habeas parentem, ne putes tibi illud ad salutem sufflcere, aut ad ho-
norem et gloriam, nisi et moribus illi cognatus sis.
2 Si fllii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite.— John viii. 39.
* Nunc autem quseritis me interflcere, hominem qul veritatem vobis locutus sum, quara
audivi a Deo : hoc Abraham non fecit.— Ibid. 40.
On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves. 289
or by impurity and disgraceful conduct those places that were
sprinkled and watered by the blood of such holy ancestors!
" In the land of the saints he hath done wicked things,,"1 says And if
the Prophet Isaias with astonishment, as if he were speaking of
a terrible thing. In the land, in the city, in the dwelling-place of saints.
of the saints he has done evil; what a shame! There he has
not hesitated to practise wickedness, to lead a godless life. If
this were done by any here, would not the holy remains of the
martyrs turn in their graves in this consecrated earth? " Son
of man," said God to the Prophet Ezechiel, " show to the house
of Israel the temple; " show it to that thankless people, who do
not deserve to be called Mine; " and let them be ashamed of
their iniquities . . . and be ashamed of all that they have done." 2
And why were they to be ashamed and blush at the sight of the
temple? Because there they could see the heroic exploits of
their glorious forefathers depicted — exploits which they were far
from imitating. 0 children of Treves, if any of you — and I trust
such is not the case — lead bad lives, then look on this temple, in
which some of your holy forefathers repose, and be ashamed of
your vices and the wickedness of your lives. What confusion
will be the lot of those degenerate children when, on the last
day, their ancestors will come out of this temple and stand before
them! " Behold, the Lord cometh with thousands of His saints,
to execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for
all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done un-
godly."3
I conclude with the words of St. Chrysologus: Beloved hear- Exhortation
ers (I should say holy hearers, because you are children of the tL™oiiness
saints), we are the children of saints. Children must follow of their an-
their parents. Come, then: " Let us act up to our dignity; let
us live for heaven; let us be like our forefathers." 4 Let us im
itate the virtues of our forefathers, their zeal for the honor of
God, their constancy in the faith, their unwearied fervor in good,
their earnest devotion and love of Our Lord! " Speak not so,"
said Tobias to his friends, who ridiculed him for his devotion,
fear of God, and works of mercy, "for we are the children of
1 In terra sanctorum iniqua gessit.— Is. xxvi. 10.
2 Fill hominis, ostende domui Israel templum, et confundantur ab iniqultatlbus suls . . .
et erubescant ab omnibus quae fecerunt.— Ezech. xliii. 10, 11.
3 Ecce venit Dominus in sanctis millibus suis, facere judicium contra omnes^ et arguere
omnes impios cle omnibus operibus tmpietatis eorum, quibus impie egerunt.— Ep. Jud. 14, 15.
4 Respondeamus generi, vivamus ccelo, patrem similitudine referamus.— S. Chrysol,
Serm. 10.
290 On the Countless Holy Martyrs of Treves.
saints, and look for that life which God will give to them that
never change their faith from Him." ' This should form the
daily lesson taught by parents to their children, by masters to
their servants and subjects, and by every one to himself in all
temptations, occasions, and dangers of sin. Speak not so; give
up that habit of cursing, swearing, quarrelling, abusing, detract
ing, lying; for we are children of the saints; our forefathers
spoke in a far different manner. Think not so; renounce those
bad thoughts, imaginations, and desires that you have been wont
to indulge in deliberately; for we are the children of saints,
whose hearts were always directed to God and heaven! Do not
so; let there be in your works no trace of injustice, pride, im
purity, vindictiveness, enmity, drunkenness; in a word, let noth
ing appear in them that savors of sin; for we are the children of
saints, whose whole lives were virtuous and holy. Look at the
relics of your forefathers that are placed on the altars for pub
lic veneration; do not disgrace them by depriving them of the
joy they who now rejoice in heaven should have in you on earth.
Their lives should be the model of yours, and yours an exact
copy of theirs; their relics and images that are everywhere held
up before your eyes and minds should be to you as the statues
of their forefathers were to the Lacedemonians of old — statues
which they caused to be erected in the senate-house as an en
couragement and exhortation to their children, with these re
markable words as an inscription: " If you, 0 Lacedemonians,
behave like these, you will be honored like them." 2 But I say:
0 dear inhabitants of Treves, children of the saints, if you live
as they did, and follow the example of holiness they gave you,
you will be holy like them, and like them will have a crown and
reward and glory in heaven.
Resolution Yes, 0 holy ancestors, such shall be our unanimous resolution;
:pct< never for anything whatsoever shall we act so as to dishonor our
noble and holy race which descends from you. Your virtue and
constancy, your love of God, your sanctity in life and death we
shall always keep before our eyes, that, encouraged by your ex
ample, we may fight to the death against the perverse inclina
tions of corrupt nature, against all the assaults of the world, the
flesh, and the devil, and remain steadfast in the love of God till
1 Nolite ita loqui; quoniam fllii sanctorum sumas, et vltam illam expectamus, quam Deu?
daturus est his, qui fldem suam nunquam mutant ab eo. — Tob. ii. 17, 18.
1 Si fueritis aicut isti, eritis sicut isti.
On the Honor Derived from Our Holy Martyrs. 291
the end. Thus,, as worthy children of such holy progenitors, we
shall merit to be protected by you in all dangers, and, after hav
ing been your imitators here on earth, to be one day with you.
where you are now, and to rejoice with you in heaven. Amen.
SIXTIETH SERMON.
ON THE HONOR WHICH THE PEOPLE OF TREVES DERIVE
FROM THEIR HOLY MARTYRS.
Subject.
The people of Treves derive the greatest renown from their
holy forefathers and martyrs: 1. In the sight of heaven; 2. In
the sight of men. Therefore they owe them a debt of all possi
ble gratitude, devotion, honor, and love. — Preached on the feast
of the Martyrs of Treves.
Text.
Laudemus viros gloriosos, et parentes nostros in generatione
sua. — Ecclus. xliv. 1.
" Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their
generation."
Introduction.
If ever the chief cities of the world showed honor to any one
they did so to their founders from whom they acknowledge to
have sprung, and from whom, as from parents, they have re
ceived life. Therefore the city of Rome honored Romulus, not
only by beautiful statues, but also by placing him in the num
ber of the immortal gods. This special gratitude and honor
which cities owe their founders cannot be required of thee, 0
city of Treves, for thou art not so new and young in the world
as to know for certain who was the founder to whom thou may-
est trace thy beginning. All historians acknowledge this to be
doubtful. Some, with Masenius, date the origin of Treves from
Trebeta; others, with Brower, attribute the origin, not to him,
but to Gomer, the son of Japhet; others among the old heathens
trace its origin to Dis, or Mercury; others, to Vesta, whom they
then adored as their mother. The time also at which Treves
was built is unknown; some say it was built at the time of the
Patriarch Abraham; others make it still older, and date its
292 On the Honor which the People of Treves
origin back to the days of Noe, after the deluge. Be this as it
may, if, 0 city of Treves, thy great antiquity is lost in the mist
of ages, so that thou canst not know who placed the first stone
in thee, and gave thee life, and so thou hast no opportunity of
showing thyself grateful to him, yet it cannot be unknown to
thee that thou hast reared brave inhabitants, children, and sons,
who fought heroically for God and their faith; I mean the in
numerable martyrs of Treves, whose yearly commemoration we
now celebrate. These are the glorious men, the men of renown,
thy forefathers, who have given thee a far better life, and gained
far greater honor and glory for thee than all thy former foun
ders who in the beginning surrounded thee with walls and made
thee famous. And for that very reason thou owest these holy
martyrs a far greater honor, love, and gratitude, as I now mean
to show, to the furthering of thy devotion towards them.
Plan of Discourse.
Thy greatest renown and glory, 0 city of Treves, thou hast
from thy holy forefathers and martyrs : thy greatest glory in the
sight of heaven; thy greatest glory in the sight of the world.
Such is the subject and division of this panegyric. Therefore
thou owest them all possible gratitude, devotion, love, and honor.
Such shall be the conclusion.
To enable us to fulfil our duty in this respect, do Thou en
courage us, 0 King and Crown of martyrs, Christ Jesus, through
their intercession and that of Mary, Thy virginal Mother, and
of the holy angels.
The city of What glory before heaven and earth — that is, what honor in
in a very the sight of God and men — thou, 0 city of Treves, hast inher-
dangerous jted from thy holy forefathers I cannot better describe than by
recalling to thy mind and memory the— shall I say troublous
and miserable, or rather joyous and happy — condition in which
thou then wert when the holy martyrs began their combat, and
terminated it victoriously in the very place in which we now are?
I must call it a happy and joyous condition on account of the
glorious result, which we have just reason for admiring, and a
troublous and anxious one when I consider its sorrowful circum
stances and great danger. . For the question was whether the
city would remain faithful to the one true God, to whom it had
once for all sworn fidelity, or would perjure itself, turn from
Derive from Their Holy Martyrs. 293
Him, and adore stocks and stones, and the demons who resided in
those graven images. The question was whether it would retain
and defend the faith it received in the time of St. Peter from
Eucharius, his disciple, and acknowledge itself Christian, or by a
hateful apostacy deny that faith, and go back to its former
heathendom and the worship of false gods. Every motive that
could urge it to adopt this last desperate resolution was at hand,
while to induce it to keep faith with God there was no motive be
yond the fortitude of a Christian mind, supported by the mighty
arm and the special helping grace of God. Such was thy condi
tion, 0 Treves, in the year of Our Lord 286, so that thou wert
then in the utmost extremity.
Hardly had the tyrant Riccius Varus entered the city with his
pins VHTUS
heathenish and bloodthirsty soldiers when the inhabitants, with persecuted
sorrowing eyes, had to behold the images of the gods erected in the chrts-
every street and lane. The magistrate and all the citizens were
commanded at the first order to abjure Christianity, and to offer
sacrifice after the manner of the Roman heathens; if they refused
they were threatened with the most terrible and cruel instru
ments of torture — chains, rods, scourges, swords, spears, gallows,
wheels, burning torches, frying-pans, boiling oil, molten pitch,
and all the implements of cruelty that the rage of the tyrant
could invent; such were the tongues which were to persuade them
to accede to his commands or else the punishments to chastise
their disobedience. What a dangerous time for thee, 0 city!
How difficult for thee to save thy honor, thy faith!
I know well that when in former times this city was assaulted shown from
in grievous wars it was not wanting in brave men, who, with an
heroic contempt for life, sacrificed all they had for the sake of
freedom, and for the general welfare; but they were not un
avenged, for on both sides wounds were repaid with wounds,
blood with blood, life with life. But now there was question of
going deliberately to a violent and painful death, in a far differ
ent manner — in a manner which, according to the judgment of
the world, is dishonorable: offering one's self to the slaughter
without any effort at defence, without even opening one's mouth.
In other times brave men fought who were accustomed to blood
shed and the roughness of the soldier's life; but now all, young
and old, great and small, strong and weak, rich and poor, mas
ter and servant, lord and lady, boy and girl — all, without distinc
tion, had to enter the arena; all had to make their choice of suf-
In which
we should
probably
have lost
courage.
294 On the Honor which the People of Treves
fering a cruel martyrdom or sacrificing to the gods. Then the
father had to look on at his son, the son at his aged father, the
mother at her daughter, the daughter at her dear mother, the
husband at his wife, the bridegroom at his spouse, while they
were suffering the most exquisite tortures, having their bones
broken, their limbs cut off, their bodies stretched on the rack;
parents were obliged1 to carry their little children in their arms
to the rack, the torture, the stake, and to be butchered with
them; all, without exception, had to abandon whatever they had
in the world, and to give themselves up to torments and death.
The mere recollection of such a time of anxiety and cruelty is
enough to make us shudder.
My dear brethren, how should we have behaved in such cir
cumstances? I hardly dare say that in all of us who are here
there would have been constancy enough to withstand such a
severe trial. There was indeed question of defending the faith,
and in that case no true Christian should hesitate to give up
his life if necessary, for heaven is infallibly promised as the
immediate reward of martyrdom; even the mere thought of dy
ing for Christ, of being a martyr, is wont to excite a secret joy,
desire, and longing in the mind of the Christian. But it is one
thing to think of this, and another to fulfil it in reality; it is one
thing to wish and desire to be martyred, when we are still far
away from the chance of such a death, and another to have the
actual experience of it. How it hurts us to have a needle prick
our hand, to have a spark of fire fall on the bare skin! and what
contortions we make with the pain thus caused! But what am
I talking of? Does it not cost a deal of trouble to bear an angry
look with patience, to overcome the love, fear, or respect for a
mere mortal, to hold our own passions in check, so that they
may not go too far? Ah, even lesser difficulties are sometimes
powerful enough to take from us all strength and courage, so
that we forget the laws of our faith, God, and heaven. What
resolution, then, should we come to if we saw the instruments
of torture ready, displayed before our eyes, and a painful death
awaiting us? I, for my part, would not dare to promise that I
should be constant under such circumstances; I should think
that I would creep away somewhere, and hide myself through
fear of such dreadful torments.
fathersf°had ^ut *n tnose days, 0 city of Treves, to thy undying renown,
done that, those heroic souls were created and chosen in the special designs
Derive from Their Holy Martyrs. 295
of Divine Providence for this difficult combat. And if it
not been for them, what would have become of thee? Of what
use to thee would have been thy ancient descent, thy power, thy would have
pomp and splendor? Imagine that those ancestors of thine had ^^r
given up their faith, terrified by the torments threatened by
the tyrant; that they obeyed his will and sacrificed to the gods;
then unhappy would have been thy fate, 0 Treves; deplorable
thy condition in being descended from such ancestors! What a
legacy they would in that case have bequeathed thee, such as in
olden times parents left their children, namely, blind heathenism,
involved in all sorts of errors and vices, thus entailing the eter
nal ruin of souls! Should we then have seen so many magnificent
temples built all over the land to the true God, and not rather
instead of them a stone Jupiter, an iron Mars, a wooden Apollo,
a marble Venus, to whom thou wouldst then have offered sacri
fice with all kinds of uncouth ceremonies? Where, then, would
have been thy precious and glorious relics and shrines? What
else wouldst thou have done with them but made sport of them,
after the manner of heathens? And if with the lapse of time
and the cessation of persecution it had pleased God to restore to
thee the light of faith, the stain incurred would have been so deep
ly branded on thee that all the waters of the Moselle would not
have sufficed to wash it out. Hadst thou once given up thy
faith by a hideous apostasy, thy disgrace would have been ever
lasting.
But I must not continue this supposition, lest some should But they ail
form unworthy thoughts of our heroic ancestors. Truly, they g,^^ly
showed themselves quite different in reality, and they have left martyrdom,
to you another legacy for your greater glory! Scipio boasted in
olden times that he had in his army three hundred soldiers who
would have cast themselves into the sea at a single command
from him. Oh, far greater, nay, countless, was the number of
the heroic and truly Christian soldiers whom Treves could then
point to as being quite ready, without even a word of command,
to cast themselves into a torrent of blood for God and their faith,
who were not to be overcome by any cruelty, who made a feast
and a triumph of pains and torments. Heroes were they whom
Treves could then point to. What kind of heroes? Old men,
weak women, little children. What did they dare to do? To tri
umph over cuts and wounds, torture and butchery, fire and flame.
And how did they meet those things? Even with smiling coun-
296 On the Honor which the People of Treves
tenances, singing, exulting, and blessing God. The executioners
were not so ready to cat and strike as the Christians of Treves
were to receive the blows; the former were tired with tormenting
before the latter were tired of suffering. As Tertullian says of
the first Christians, they were tortured, and they increased in
number; J the more they were tortured, burnt, slain, the greater
the number of those who presented themselves to undergo mar
tyrdom; if a hundred were put to death, a thousand stood up in
their place, ready to suffer death; if one had lost an arm, a leg, by
the sword, he stretched forth the other to be completely maimed
for the sake of the faith. The day was spent in butchery;
swords and spears were blunted; the butchers themselves were
wearied and required rest; the streets and lanes ran with blood;
and yet the torturers could not prevail on one man, woman, or
child to stretch forth even a finger in honor of the false gods.
The only fear of the Christians was lest any of them should be
left out of the number of the martyrs, through the shortness of
the day.
And thus See, 0 city of Treves, how thy forefathers acted ! Could they
gtor6<and we^ nave ma(^e ^nee more glorious, renowned, triumphant before
renown for God and the whole court of heaven than when they thus shed
Jof city' ^or their Creator the blood they had received from Him, and
we0weC filled heaven with their souls? And from this judge for thy-
tnem seif what gratitude, honor, love, and confidence thou dost owe
reverence, them. If they had been strangers and foreigners, who had noth
ing to do with thee; if there had been but a few who thus glor
iously suffered death in this city for Christ — even that would have
been a great honor for thee, and thou wouldst have been in duty
bound always to celebrate their feast with a most tender devo
tion. Thus the city of Ravenna honors St. Vitalis; Messina St.
Placidus; Rome St. Sebastian; Cologne the eleven thousand vir
gins, for no other reason than because they were bedewed by the
blood of those martyrs. How great is not then thy obligation
towards thy holy martyrs, of whom there were not merely one
or two, but countless numbers; and who were not foreigners,
but thy own forefathers, born and brought up in thy walls, and
who not only in thee, but for thee and the salvation of all thy
posterity gave up their lives! These thou hast to thank for thy
ancient, true, and only saving faith, which, witnessed and con
firmed by their blood, thou hast hitherto preserved incorrupt.
1 Torquebantur, et multiplicabantur.
Derive from Their Holy Martyrs. 297
Thus they have brought thee forth in the spirit, after having gen
erated thee according to the flesh, as St. Gregory says of St. Feli-
citas; 1 from them thou hast received that glorious name which is
thy boast even at the present day: Holy Treves; * so that we may
apply to thee and thy inhabitants the words of St. Paul to the
Ephesians: " Therefore you are no more strangers and foreign
ers, but you are fellow-citizens," blood-relations and descendants
of "the saints." 3 By their means heaven has, as it were, made
a compact with thee to regard thee on their account and by their
intercession as its city and fortress. St. Chrysostom looks on
that city as fortunate which has even one martyr buried within
its walls, "for the body that suffered for Christ still cries out,
and is heard in favor of the citizens." What a happiness is
thine, then, 0 Treves! and how high must thou not stand in the
sight of heaven! For thou hast brought forth not merely one,
but many thousands of martyrs, and hast had in thy possession
up to the present those whose prayers for thee are always ascend
ing to the throne of God.
And if we think there is any importance to be attached to the They have
also made
praise and esteem of men, what could have brought thee great- Trevesgior
er honor than was earned for thee by the constancy of thy holy ious befo™
martyrs? If there had been a place in the world where Treves
was unknown, the bravery of the holy martyrs would alone have
sufficed to bring its fame thither. It is true that in olden times —
and who can deny it? — the fame of thy greatness and widespread
dominion, the beauty of thy buildings and palaces, the number
of thy inhabitants was spread throughout all Europe; bat later
on thou didst draw to thee far distant nations, who left their
own countries and came here in crowds to see with their own
eyes the place of which they had heard so much, and to render
the tribute of humble homage to the ground bedewed by the
blood of so many martyrs. This fame of thine drew hither not
only crowds of the common people, but even the crowned heads
of the world — popes, cardinals, emperors, kings, princes, nobles.
Among the popes who came from Rome was Innocent III., with
seventeen cardinals; amongst the emperors was Maximilian I.,
with a large retinue, who came in the year 1517; amongst the
1 Parturivit spiritu, quos came pepererat.
2 Sancta Treviris.
* Non estis hospites et advenae, sed estis cives sanctorum.— Ephes. II. 19.
4 Felix civitas in qua vel unus sanctus quiescit ; corpus enim illud, quod pro Chrlsto pas-
sum est, adhuc clamat pro concivibus suis, et exauditur.
298 On the Honor ivhich the People of Treves
kings, to say nothing of many more, was Theodobert, king of
Austrashi, in the year 538, who, having laid aside his crown and
bared his head, went to honor the relics and shrines of the Liar-
tyrs, and to implore their help on bended knees. And what
else brings so many people in procession, even in our own days,
from far-off lands, except their desire to show their devotion to
these and other holy relics, and thus to fulfil their vows?
And given You may say that in former times kings, emperors, and other
it never16 grea-t ones dwelt in the city of Treves; that it was nothing
had before, new then to see crowned heads here. I know well that such
was the case; but what was their object in dwelling here? Was
it to honor thee, 0 city? Not at all; but rather to bring thee
under their yoke and bondage; to rule thee and be served by
thee. And if thou dost look on that as an honor, how far great
er the glory that redounds to thee from the fact that those
crowned heads came afterwards, not to receive service from thee,
but to worship thee and the ground on which thou art built as
a sacred thing, as the dwelling-place of saints! In short, I may
well use with regard to thee the words spoken by St. Chrysostom
about the city of Rome: " I love Rome on this account, although
I might praise her for other reasons also; but I look on her as
especially praiseworthy in this, that Paul ended his life amongst
those who now possess his sacred body, a fact which in itself
alone is more admirable than all the other wonders of Rome put
together." The same I might say of Treves: I love, praise,
and extol thee, 0 city of Treves! and am moved to do so, not
by thy ancient descent, thy greatness, thy glory, thy power, thy
wealth, thy valor in war, in which thou didst surpass almost all
the cities of the world; I admire thee, not on account of the mag
nificent buildings, palaces, columns, bridges, amphitheatres, cap-
itols with which thou wert adorned (where can we see a sign of
those things now? They are all laid waste); not on account of
the great heroes, princes, and emperors who dwelt and died in
thee (where are now their graves, their ashes? Who thinks of
them any longer?). For this reason, then, alone I praise thee, 0
city, and call thee fortunate; for this reason alone undying praise
belongs to thee, because so many — nay, such countless numbers
of thy inhabitants exposed their lives within thy walls for their
1 Ego et Romam propterea diligo, tametsi aliunde illam laudare queam ; ob id illam bea-
tam pnedico, quod Paulus postremo vitam apud eos flnivit, cujus sanctum corpus ipsi pos-
sident; et propterea civitas ilia hinc facta est insignis magis, quam ab aliis rebus omnibus.
— S. Chrysost. in Ep. ad Rom. Serm. 31.
Derive from Their Holy Martyrs. 299
God and faith, and have left us their sacred relics as a perpetual
memorial for our veneration. This is in itself enough to make
other towns view thee with a holy envy. Oh, what a glorious
triumph will one day be that of Treves, when, in the sight of
all angels and men, Palmatius and the councillors of the city,
crowned with the palm of victory, will come forth from their
graves, and bringing with them a whole host of martyrs, crim
soned with their own blood, will stand before the Judge, and
after having been praised for their bravery and virtue, will en
ter gloriously into heaven! These and similar thoughts suggest
ed by the subject I leave to your pious consideration, as time
does not permit me to dwell on them.
Judge now for yourselves what honor, service, devotion, and Whata
love are deserved from you by those happy souls now reigning in ^gratitude
heaven, who by their glorious death on earth have earned for it would be
you such great renown and fame before heaven and earth. What ^'honor*
a disgraceful thing it would be for the people of Treves to have them m a
to be exhorted by strangers to show reverence to their own saints J^ned
and ancestors! Many come still from foreign lands, over moun
tain and valley, by land and water, with much difficulty and
hardship, and often hungry and thirsty, to the shrines and
churches of these glorious martyrs, singing and praying at their
graves, honoring and kissing on bended knee their holy relics;
while they who live in the midst of these shrines, they whom
the martyrs are most closely connected with, their own children
and descendants, who have the sacred remains always at hand,
and can visit them without difficulty daily, almost hourly, with
out having to go further than a few steps from their doors —
while they, I say, are cold and tepid in venerating those holy
martyrs, and seldom or never think of them. Have not the
martyrs of Treves just cause for complaining that they receive
more honor, love, and homage from strangers than from their
own fellow-citizens and countrymen? that they are more loved
and praised by foreigners than by their own relations? that they
are visited and called upon with more confidence by pilgrims
from far-off lands than by their own descendants?
But I hope that no such cause for complaint has been given Exhortation
as yet. Continue, then, 0 city of Treves, as far as possible, to andrever-
further the honor of thy holy martyrs, for in doing so thou wilt
add to thine own! "Let us now praise men of renown, and our
fathers in their generation." Let us always praise and invoke
300 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
those holy martyrs, and appeal to them in all our wants as chil
dren to their parents; let us lay our petitions here before their
shrines, and so we may trust that you, 0 glorious ancestors, will
also show us constantly that you are with God powerful and
faithful protectors and guardians of this city, wherein you are
especially interested, that you are, as St. Ambrose says, the prin
ces and preservers of our faith, the guardians of our souls, the
patterns and models of the Christian life for us; so that when
one day your sacred bodies shall arise from this place, we, as
your children, shall be associated with you in the blessed com
pany of the elect in eternal glory. Amen.
SIXTY-FIRST SERMON.
ON THE LESSON WHICH THE PEOPLE OF TREVES SHOULD
LEARN FROM THEIR HOLY MARTYRS.
Subject.
The holy martyrs teach us: 1. That, after their example, we
should live according to the Christian faith; 2. That, after their
example, we should die in and for that faith. — Preached on the
feast of the Innumerable Martyrs of Treves.
Text.
Inter roga pair em tuum, et annuntiaMt tibi; majores tuos, et
dicent tibi. — Deut. xxxii. 7.
" Ask thy father, and he will declare to thee; thy elders, and
they will tell thee."
Introduction.
Ancient city of Treves, trodden by the feet of Peter, the Prince
of the apostles, brought to the true faith by the holy Empress
Helena, confirmed and strengthened therein by the teaching of
so many holy men, honored by the presence of SS. Athanasius,
Jerome, Ambrose, Martin, Bernard, and others besides the saints
that belong to thee, what wert thou fifteen hundred and odd
years ago? I do not refer to thy outward glory and splendor,
but to thy faith and Christian morals. Dost thou wish to know?
If thy eyes cannot reach so far, then cast thy thoughts on the
graves and coffins that surround us, and on the bones of thy
forefathers hidden therein; then thou wilt see what sort of a city
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 301
thou wert then, and what sort thou shouldst be now. I allude,
my dear brethren, to the innumerable martyrs of Treves, whose
bones rest in our midst, and whose feast we now celebrate. " Ask
thy elders/'' ask these forefathers of thine, "and they will tell
thee." What will they say? St. Ambrose, writing of the relics
of the martyrs, uses words admirably suited to my purpose: " I
honor the body that teaches me how to love my Lord, and shows
me not to fear on account of His death." ' The same lesson is
taught you by your forefathers, as I now mean to show you in
their name.
Plan of Discourse.
They will tell you lioiv holily they lived in this city, and teach
you how to live according to their example : the first part. They
will tell you how valiantly they died for the faith, and teach you
liow to die according to their example : the second part.
Holy forefathers! obtain for us from God, through the hands
of the angels and of the virginal Mother of God, the grace to
take your teaching to heart, and to live and die according to it.
As St. Thomas of Aquin tells us, God is not wont to raise any God is not
one to a great and exceptional dignity and grace unless he has ^i>gh°g
first prepared himself for it by an especially innocent and holy grace unless
life. Of all the children of men, Mary, the Blessed Virgin, alone tooneif °
\ J makes him-
had the highest honor of becoming the Mother of her Creator; self worthy
and from this the holy Fathers draw the undoubted conclusion of itbya
holy life.
that she must have been free from all stain, even from that of
original sin, and have been adorned with all possible virtues.
Although the gift of prophecy and miracles cannot of itself
make a man holy, yet it is a sign of holiness that rarely deceives;
and of him who works real miracles, or foretells the future, we
may say with confidence that he is a holy man, that he leads a
virtuous and pious life; for otherwise God would not have en
dowed him in such an extraordinary manner.
My dear brethren, of all the graces and dignities to which a The grace
soul maybe raised after the death of Christ, the greatest and
most evident is that of martyrdom. For what could be more of the
glorious and noble for a man than to suffer and die for the hon-
or of his God? What greater good fortune could one have than
to be like the eternal Son of God, and to give his life and blood
1 Honoro corpus quod reihi Dominum meum ostendit dillgere, quod me propter Domini
mortem docuit non tlmere.
302 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
for Him who first gave His for us? Therefore the martyrs are
also called blood-relations of Christ. What could be more de
sirable than to win that crown of triumph with which eternal
happiness is so inseparably connected that to die the martyr's
death and enter heaven is one and the same thing; so that it
would be, as it were, an injury and insult to pray for a martyr
who has given his life for the faith, as St. Augustine says.1
What more glorious than after death to shine in heaven like
the stars with a special splendor; to be looked on by the other
saints as the flowers of the Church militant; to be general pro
tectors and defenders of the human race, as St. Basil says of the
martyrs! If in heaven, that place of eternal glory, there were
room for envy and jealousy, then would the angels grudge that
grace to men, and wish that they, too, had mortal bodies, that they
might suffer and die for their God, and so merit the glorious
crown of martyrdom.
Hence pious \ am therefore not so much surprised that St. Francis Xavier
God longed an(^ so many hundreds of his imitators should display such eager-
so much for ness in going to India, Japan, and other savage lands, and labor
and toil for so many years among barbarous and uncivilized
people, suffering countless hardships and trials, looking, hoping,
and praying earnestly for no other reward than the happiness
and grace of being cut to pieces, burnt, beaten to death, or other
wise martyred for Christ's sake. I am not surprised when I read
of the holy martyrs despising danger, and giving themselves up
to the tormentors, exciting the auger of the tyrants by mocking
at and insulting the false gods, and freely and openly professing
the Christian faith that they might be condemned to death and
torments. And how grieved and afflicted some of them were
when, contrary to their wishes, life was granted them ! And with
what joy and exultation others hastened to the torture as if they
were going to a wedding-feast! And how, in the midst of their
torments, they laughed and joked and rejoiced, and confessed
that they found it more difficult to bear the exceeding consola
tion they experienced than even the atrocity of the tortures in
flicted on them!
bavore° D° T°U ^™^> mj dear brethren, that a great favor of this kind,
reived it is °f which even the holiest souls always acknowledged themselves
asig^of unworthy, would likely fall to the lot of one who leads— I will
not say an un-Christian, dissolute life, but even of one whose life
J Injuriam facit martyri, qui orat pro martyre.
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 303
is not extraordinarily pions and holy? It is true that we read of
martyrs who, having been suddenly converted from heathenism, pl
received the great grace of dying at once for the faith; but we
find hardly one instance of a Christian who, though illumined
by the light of faith, had led a bad life receiving the grace of
martyrdom, unless a wonderful repentance followed. We rath
er find instances of such Christians who, being come to the place
of martyrdom, were terrified at the sight of the tortures prepared
for them, denied the faith, abjured Christ, and became apostates.
No! If the gift of miracles and prophecy is a sign of holiness,
martyrdom, since it is a much greater grace, is a surer sign of a
pious, holy, and God-fearing life. Nay, says St. Ambrose, the
very death of the martyrs is nothing else than the reward of their
pious lives.1
0 ancient, Christian Treves, what a pious and holy city thou The ancient
must then have been in days gone by, and now deeply thou Trevetre-
must have been written in the heart of God, since thou becamest ceivedit in
the chosen arena, such as no other place in the world can boast ^^n-"
of, from which, in the space of three days, while in other places ner.
many years would be required to perform so much, so many con
fessors and martyrs of Christ ascended at once xu^o heaven, not
by hundreds, nor by thousands, nor by eleven thousands at a time,
but so many that till now there has not been found any one able
to compute their numbers, and we must speak of them as we do
of the stars in the firmament — by the title of innumerable! The
mayor and his councillors, officers and their soldiers, husbands
and their wives, fathers and their sons, mothers and their daugh-
ers, masters and mistresses and their servants, old people and
little children — every one capable of walking or even crawling
went forth and cried out in a loud voice (oh, ye angels, what an
agreeable sound the words must have made in your ears!): " We
are Christians; " Christ is our glory! Take our goods, our blood,
our lives; you will never take Christ and His love out of our hearts!
In a word, every single Christian in this city had the great honor
and glory of dying for Christ, of gaining the crown of martyrdom,
and of entering, with a vast.crowd, into heaven; nor is there on
record a single instance of apostasy.
Again, what a holy city thou must have been! True it is, 0 They must,
great St. Ambrose, that the death of the martyrs is the reward b^^
of their lives. What pious and holy lives, then, must not have holy.
1 Ipsa mors martyrum preemium vitae est.
304 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
been led by all the Christian inhabitants of this city, since they
all merited to be rewarded by such a glorious martyrdom! Brow-
er, in his history of Treves, gives them this praise, that they must
have been of incredible holiness and innocence.1 Then were
those golden times to be seen here which are presented to our
contemplation by the virtues of the early Christians, as we read
in the Acts of the Apostles and in other ecclesiastical histories,
when in the faithful, different as they were by condition and
state of life, there was but one heart and one soul: " And the
multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul." 2 When
the minds of all were united in the bonds of the sincerest love to
the greater praise, honor, and glory of God; when enmity could
find no room nor dwelling-place, because there was no one to in
jure another, no one to nourish hatred, anger, or desire of re
venge; when the words "yes " and "no " still held their value,
and were able to confirm, arrange, and settle everything; when
the cold-hearted words " mine " and "thine " had not set on foot
so many dissensions, and when there was not even a suspicion, not
to speak of a word of injustice: "Neither did any one say that
aught of the things which he possessed was his own;" 3 when
the old German faith, expressed by a grasp of the hand, was a far
surer pledge than seals and letters and mortgage-bonds are now,
when esteem, honor, and respect were paid, not to greater wealth,
or a more noble descent, but to greater devotion to God and
Christian piety; when a man's happiness was not measured by
his riches, but by the heavenly goods he possessed; when the
words were still true: "Our conversation is in heaven;"4 our
conversation, our daily intercourse is with God; to Him as to
our last end tend all our thoughts and cares; when the likeness
to our poor, humble Christ crucified for us was to be seen in the
manners and behavior of the faithful; when dress, conversation,
eating, drinking, the education of children were all ruled accord
ing to the humble, holy gospel of Jesus Christ; when all accu
sation and suspicion of vices which the heathens might urge
against the Christians were repelled once for all by the words: I
am a Christian; when all sin and. temptation to unbecoming
conduct was also overcome with the sole words: I am a Christian.
0 happy times, what have become of you!
1 Martyrum horum incredibilem juxta virtutem ac innocentiam, etc.
' Multitudinis autem credentium erat cor unum et anima una.— Acts iv. 33.
8 Nee quisquam eorum quse possidebat, aliquid suum esse dicebat.— Ibid.
4 Nostra autem conversatio in coelis est.— Philipp. ill. 20.
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 305
See there, Christians of Treves, such were your ancestors, such But their
the holy times, "the holy manner in which they lived! The elder ^^not
Tobias asked the angel, disguised as a pilgrim : " I pray thee, tell help us to
me of what family or what tribe art thou." And Raphael an- salvatlon-
swered: " I am Azarias, the son of the great Ananias." Then
replied Tobias: "Thou art of a great family."1 The same I
may say of you, citizens of Treves, with all respect, when I cast
the eyes of my mind on those great forefathers of yours, nor need
I enquire further of what family you are descended; you are of a
great family, of a great and holy race! Meanwhile let each one
of you reflect on the life he has been hitherto leading, which is
known to himself alone. Of what good to me will be this great
title of honor and glory and descent from such holy forefathers,
if my morals and life do not harmonize with theirs? For in that
case I should be like some decayed scion of worldly nobility, who
can only point to the ancient escutcheon of his family, while in
himself there is no trace of nobility, and his outward conduct
and behavior resembles that of a peasant rather than of a noble;
and as often as he looks on the portraits of his heroic ancestors
he receives a sharp and secret reproof from their dumb images,
that upbraid him on account of his unworthiness. Of what use
for my eternal salvation will be the holiness of so many, nay, in
numerable forefathers, if I have not received any portion of their
virtues? Did not Absalom go to hell, although David was his
father? Could Manasses have atoned for his sins and blotted
them out by merely pointing to the good works of his father
Ezechias?
No; it is my own life that must bring me to heaven; my own so that we
works for which I shall have to answer. If my soul is not in the JJJ
state of sanctifying grace T am an enemy of God, and merit to live
everlasting fire, although amongst my forefathers there are plously-
countless friends of God in heaven. Nay, on that very account
my tepidity in the divine service is less to be excused, for I am
all the more bound to lead a holy life the more saints have gone
before me with their good example. " Ask thy elders, and they
will tell thee." Therefore as often as you hear mentioned the
innumerable martyrs of Treves, as often as you come to this
place sprinkled with the blood of a number of them, to honor
their relics, ask yourselves: How did those holy forefathers of
1 Rogo te, Indica mihi; de qua domo, aut de qua tribu es tu. Ego sum Azarias Ananias
magni fllius. Ex magno genere es tu.— Tob. v. 16, 18, 19.
306 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
ours live? How do we live? And they would speak inwardly
to you, and tell you and teach you how, after their example, you
should live piously, chastely, humbly, temperately, justly, zeal
ously, holily in the true faith. " Ask thy father, and he will de
clare to thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee." They will
show you also how you have to die for the true faith, as we shall
see in the
Second Part.
HOW hero- But why should I delay here to explain to you the manner in
matiusPal which vour forefathers died? As we have seen already, they all
resolved to gave up their possessions, their blood, their lives in defence of the
Christian faith, and allowed themselves to be done to death most
cruelly. This one fact should suffice. When I consider the cir
cumstances of their glorious death — how savagely the execution
ers raged against the innocent; how meekly, cheerfully., and will
ingly the soldiers of Christ went to the painful martyrdom — then
it seems to me that I behold that cruel massacre of the Jews de
scribed in the First Book of Machabees, second chapter. The
tyrant Antiochus had resolved either to extirpate the Jews al
together or else compel them to become idolaters. First of all,
therefore, he sent to the chief man of the Jews, that renowned
hero of Scripture, Mathathias, thinking that if he could be gained
over the rest of the people would offer no opposition. "Thou
art a ruler," said the messengers of the king to him, " and a
great man in this city. Therefore come thou first, and obey the
king's commandment,. . . and thou and thy sons shall be in the
number of the king's friends, and enriched with gold and silver
and many presents." God forbid! cried out Mathathias: " God be
merciful unto us; it is not profitable for us to forsake the law,
and the justices of God. Every one that hath zeal for the law
... let him follow me." 1 Who is more clearly represented by
this prince than Palmatius, the then mayor of Treves, or, as he
was called in those times, the prince of the city? He it was
whom, with the other councillors, the bloodhound Riccius Varus
attacked with promises and threats in order to induce him to
deny the Christian faith. Oh, he exclaimed, God be merciful to
us, and keep us from such a shameful crime! No, that I will
never do in all eternity! " Every one that hath zeal for the law
1 Princeps et clarissimus et magnus es in hac civitate. Ergo accede prior, et fac jussum
regis . . . eteris tu et fllil tui inter arnicos regis, et ampliflcatus auro, et argento, et mimeribus
multis. Propitius sit nobis Deus ; non est nobis utile relinquere legem et justitias Dei. Om-
nis qui zelum habet legis, exeat post me.— I. Mach. ii. 17, 18, 21, 27.
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 307
let him follow me." My dear fellow-citizens, keep fast to the law
in which you have hitherto lived so zealously; follow me, and let
us give up our lives, and die together, rather than depart a hair's
breadth from our God and His law!
The Scripture says further of the Jews that when Mathathias what a
left the city a great multitude assembled in the desert, near at t™^,^
hand, and there courageously awaited the approach of the enemy, an in the
and allowed themselves to be put to death without saying a word, ^^"or
much less did they make any attempt to repel violence by vio- the faith!
lence, as the text says: "They answered them not, neither did
they cast a stone at them, nor stopped up the secret places, say
ing: Let us all die." Again a clear image of the courage of
the Christians of Treves. For when Palmatius and his council
lors had been beheaded for Christ's sake in this place, the un
controllable rage of the tyrant was let loose on the people the
next day. The latter did not run into the wilderness, like the
Jews, but awaited death joyfully in and before their houses. I
have often thought, my dear brethren, when reading this his
tory: Is it true that they who were martyred here were innumer
able? They must surely have known already howRiccius Varus
acted towards the Christians in other places, and how cruelly he
caused them to be put to death; and they must have heard from
the neighboring people of his approach with his army. Why,
then, did they not take measures to oppose him? Why did they
not close the gates? Could they not have defended themselves
at least for a considerable time, and made it very difficult for
him to take the city, and even have made away with a goodly
number of their enemies? Or, if they could not make up their
minds to do this, could they not have escaped in time? Who
can doubt it? But, no! these brave soldiers of Christ knew how
to fight in a far different manner; their idea was, not to run
upon the enemy, sword in hand, but rather to lay down their
arms and run of their own accord on the arms of the enemy:
" Neither did they cast a stone at them, nor stopped up the
secret places." When the Roman soldiers, with their generals,
came into the town, gallows, stakes, and instruments of torture
were prepared on all sides; wherever the eye was turned it fell
on some evidence of cruelty; the clang of sharp swords and
knives resounded everywhere, the lead was melted, Ihe boiling
1 Et non responderunt eis, nee laptdem miserunt in eos, nee oppilaverunt loca occulta,
dicentes : Moriatnur omnes.— I.Mnch. ii. 36, 37.
308 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
oil and pitch prepared. The countless inhabitants of Treves
looked on at all this; they were told that these preparations were
for them if they would not consent to renounce the faith of
Christ. Yet they beheld them without dismay: "They an
swered them not; " their only reply was a shout of exultation,
whereby they encouraged each other to constancy, and urged on
the executioners, " saying: Let us all die." Then the slaughter
ing, hanging, boiling, roasting, cutting, and butchering went
on; no state or age was spared; all suffered, from the first to the
last, so that the streets ran with blood, and, as history tells us,
the Moselle was crimsoned for the space of ten thousand paces.1
0 noble river, never wert thou more beautiful than when thou
wert adorned with the precious blood of these holy martyrs!
Never wert thou laden with more costly wares than when thou
didst bear on thy bosom the bodies of those heroes of the faith, the
inhabitants of Treves! See, my dear brethren, how bravely
your ancestors fought for the faith of Christ and His honor.
They teach j^ what am I doing? I had hoped, perhaps, to inspire you,
die for God too, with the idea of dying for God and the faith, after their ex
ample. Now I am afraid that I have done quite the contrary,
and that I have terrified you, or made you despair of ever dying
such a death. For some will say: Would that we were so for
tunate as to give up our lives by martyrdom for Christ's sake!
But where is the opportunity? Where are the tyrants, the per
secutors? The Christian religion is now free; how, then, can
we become martyrs? And the greater number of you will per
haps say, with a sigh: What! must I run on the points of swords
and spears, and into fire and flames? Must I allow myself to be
so terribly tortured? Ah, I am far too delicate and tender for
that! But be of good heart, Christian brethren! Your holy
forefathers are ready to assist you from heaven in all the combats
that await you; for there is no doubt that they now have a far
greater care of the salvation of their descendants than of their
temporal prosperity; and besides, they do not expect so much
from you; they do not require you to endure such torments as
they had to withstand; they are content with far less.
By a moral In olden times people of all classes went to St. John the Bap-
om' tist, and, moved by the consideration of the austere life he led,
and with hearts softened by repentance, they asked him: " And
* Ad decem passuum millla,
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 309
what shall we do? " 1 What answer did John give them? Did
he tell them to go and lay aside their soft clothing, to put on a
rough camel-hair garment, to lie on the bare ground, and eat
nothing but locusts, drink nothing but muddy water? No;
nothing of the sort; for otherwise most of them would have
shrugged their shoulders, and gone away from him in disgust.
Are you soldiers? he said; " do violence to no man, neither ca
lumniate any man, and be content with your pay.": You who
are superiors, be mild and gentle towards your inferiors; citizens,
be kind and loving towards each other; let him who has more
share with him who has less. Thus the holy man, who led such
a severe life, imposed a far lighter burden on others. In the
same way you can imagine your holy forefathers speaking to you
from heaven: Dear fellow-citizens and children! lift up your
eyes to heaven; see where we are now. Come, hasten to this far
better fatherland, where we await you! The only death we ex
pect you to suffer in order to imitate us is that moral death
which Jesus Christ, our sovereign Master, requires of all Chris
tians in the gospel; that, namely, you die every day more and
more to the world and its wicked customs and vain goods, to
the flesh and its sinful lusts. You can be martyrs if you mortify
your evil passions and inclinations, if you restrain anger, oppose
inordinate love, bear injuries with patience, treat with meekness
him who has done an evil to you, and pardon your enemies from
your heart, as St. Bernard teaches you: " You can be a martyr
without suffering the stroke of a sword, if you preserve your
mind in patience."
You, married people, can be martyrs if in conjugal love and Of which
fidelity you bear your daily cares and troubles for God's sake peJ^^a
with humility and contentment. You, unmarried people, can be theoppor-
martyrs if you constantly overcome temptations against purity, tumty-
carefully guard your eyes and other senses, avoid dangerous oc
casions, and keep your purity untarnished; for, according to St.
Jerome, " to keep chastity uninjured is in itself a martyrdom." '
You rich and wealthy can be martyrs if you do not allow your
selves to become the victims of the spirit of avarice; if you keep
your hearts detached from riches, and are diligent in the works
1 Quid faclemus et nos?— Luke iii. U.
2 Neminem concutiatis, neque calumniam f aclatis ; et contentl estote stipendiis vestris.
-Ibid.
* Sine ferro martyr esse poteris, si patientiam in animo conservaveris.
4 Habet et pudicitia servata martyrium suum.
Yet an do
310 On the Lesson which the People of Treves
of charity and mercy to the poor. You can be martyrs, 0 ye
poor, sick, and suffering, if you are always satisfied with the will
of God, unite your sufferings, sickness, and trials with the pas
sion and death of Christ, and bear them till death for His sake.
You can all be martyrs if you regulate your lives according to
the Christian law, and never let joy or sorrow separate you from
it. " The whole life of the Christian," says St. Augustine, " if
he lives according to the gospel, is a cross and a martyrdom." *
Thus live, dear children; thus die; it is the way to heaven. Oh,
if you only knew what indescribable joys we experience here,
how richly we are repaid and rewarded for the little we have en
dured for Christ, you would stretch forth both hands with eager
ness to the cross and to suffering. More than blessed pains and
torments, what a short time you lasted! what a long, im
measurable eternity of happiness you have won for us! Ah,
come, hasten after us, that we may make you partakers therein!
See, my dear brethren, how little your holy forefathers require
of you to imitate them, and to enable you to rejoice with them
in heaven. I have represented them as speaking to you them
selves, that their words may make a deeper impression on yon.
How have we profited by this teaching hitherto? How far
are we s^ removed from living and dying in that manner? Ah,
we sometimes feel a desire for martyrdom; we boast that we are
ready to give up our possessions and lives for our faith and heav
en, if it were necessary; and yet we often refuse to undergo
a slight trial or mortification for that faith and that heaven.
Well do we boast, says Tertullian; which is the easier: to give
up our lives, or to restrain an evil passion or inclination? Which
is the easier: to shed our blood, or to bear a word of contradic
tion in silence? Which is the easier: to renounce all our pos
sessions, or to restore ill-gotten goods? Which is the easier: to
give up at once and forever all our friends and relations, or to
despise human respect when the honor of God and His holy law
require us to do so? Which is the easier: to stretch our neck
forth to the axe, or to break our obstinacy, in order to give way
to another, and humble ourselves? Which is the easier: to be
publicly crucified, or in private to beg forgiveness of our neigh
bor whom we have injured? Which is the easier: to love our
enemies who take away our lives, and with them all we have, or
to smother our anger, and receive in love and friendship the
1 Tota Christian! hominis vita, si secundum evangelium vivat, crux est atque martyrium.
Should Learn from Their Holy Martyrs. 311
brother who has done us some slight harm? It is evident that
this latter is far less difficult and troublesome. And yet it seems
sometimes so hard and intolerable to us that we transgress the
Christian law, and deny Christ by our actions, when there is
question of suffering a slight mortification. And we dare to
boast that we are ready to lay down our lives in torments for the
sake of Christ and His doctrine! We have reason rather to be
ashamed and confounded when we think of our past conduct in
this respect.
" Now, therefore, 0 my sons," said Mathathias to his children, conclusion
and methinks Palmatius and all the martyrs of Treves say the tatlon to
same to us, my dear brethren, " be ye zealous for the law, and " live and du
in future, and always, " give your lives for the covenant of your
fathers," which they entered into with Christ, "and call to re- tyre,
membrance the works of the fathers, which they have done in
their generations, and you shall receive great glory and an ever
lasting name." The remembrance and consideration of their
exploits should encourage you never to deflect from the way of
virtue and constancy in life or in death; then great shall be your
fame. "You, therefore, my sons, take courage, and behave
manfully in the law." Yes, holy forefathers, so let us answer;
in future we shall endeavor to do this with all diligence, and,
relying on your help and intercession, always try to live piously
to the end as you lived, to die daily according to the spirit as
you died according to the body, that we may one day come where
you now are, that is, to heaven. Amen.
1 Nunc ergo, 0 fllii, aemulatores estote legis, et date animas vestraspro testamento patrum
vestroruin, et mementote operum patrum, quas fecerunt in generationibus suis, et accipietis
gloriam magnam, et nomeu seternum. Filii, conf ortainini, et viriliter agite in lege.— I. Mach.
ii. 50, 51,64.
ON THE HOLY CONFESSORS.
SIXTY-SECOND SERMON.
ON THE HUMBLE DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, ST. AU
GUSTINE.
Subject.
St. Augustine was: 1. Great and noble in the eyes of the whole
world; 2. He was lowly and humble in his own eyes. — Preached
on the feast of 8t. Augustine.
Text,
Hie magnus vocabitur. — Matt. v. 19.
" He shall be called great/'
Introduction.
To be called great in the kingdom of heaven is a well-merited
honor and happiness of the saints of God, and this praise can be
bestowed on them without any danger; for the saints are not
subject to vanity and pride, and they seek as the end and object
of their own glory nothing but the honor and glory of their Cre
ator. To be called great during life on earth is also a happiness
and an honor, but it is full of danger; for who does not know
and experience the great power that esteem and honor before
the world have over the human heart to make it puffed up and
proud and self-complacent? It is indeed a rare thing to be held
in high esteem, and yet to remain humble. St. Augustine was
a man of this rare kind, or, to speak better, extraordinary virtue;
it is his feast that we celebrate to-day. This I at once proceed
to prove, to his greater honor.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Augustine was great and noble in the eyes of the whole
world; the first part. St. Augustine was lowly and humble in
his own eyes; the second part. On both accounts he was an ad
312
On the Humble Doctor St. Augustine. 313
mirable saint. Happy for us if, as we cannot strive to be as
great as he before the world, we at least endeavor to follow at a
distance his humility and lowliness.
This is the grace which we beg of the Holy Ghost, through
the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the holy angels,
and also through the humility of the wonderfully humble St.
Augustine.
To prove the great esteem and honor in which Augustine was
held by the world I need not seek long; the gospel of to-day and skill
furnishes me with a sufficient basis for it: " A city seated on a make one
•,, -i -i-i. i 1 • i / i renowned.
mountain cannot be hid. An unusually brilliant light cannot
fail to be remarked unless every one is stone-blind. An extra
ordinarily clear understanding, wisdom, learning, skill cannot
show itself in public without exciting the wonder, admiration,
and respect of men.
My dear brethren, when you hear Augustine mentioned you The great
may picture to yourselves a light such as had never shone in the st A,1RUS.
Church of God since the time of the apostles; a man whose like tiue is
in wisdom and learning the world had never before seen; a man
to whom the Holy Ghost (from whom all wisdom and truth
comes) seems to have given all knowledge, and to have chosen
as the strongest support of His Church. Although the tongues
of men should be silent, we learn this from the books he has
left us, treating of the highest mysteries, the number of which
is so great that we can hardly understand how the man who
wrote them could do anything else, even though he spent day
and night in writing. Victor of Utica says that before the per
secution of the Vandals commenced two hundred and thirty-two
books had already come forth from the pen of Augustine, be
sides the explanation of the whole Book of Psalms, the epistles,
and other tracts called homilies, " the number of which it is
impossible to comprehend," 2 as the author says. St. Thomas of
Villanova says that he is not to be believed who says that he has
read all the writings of Augustine: " He was able to write more
than we can read/' The Saint himself acknowledges that in
his youth he learned all imaginable arts without a teacher, and
without any special trouble, and learned them to perfection, so
1 Non potest ciritas abscond! supra montem posita.— Matt. v. 14.
2 Quorum numerum comprehendere satis impossiblle est.
8 Mentltur qui se omnla Augustinl volumlna leglsse jactat. Plus valult ille scribere,
quam nos sufflcimus legere.
314 On the Humble Doctor of the Church,
By the her-
most
learned
honored
him.
that he was justly considered a miracle of nature, a wonder of
mental powers and acuteness.
This is shown by the many heretics, especially the Mani-
chseans, Donatists, Pelagians, Arians, Priscillianists, Origenists,
Marcionists, Nestoriaris, who in his time attacked the Catholic
Church on all sides, and tried to destroy her by their errors; it
was Augustine who opposed all those legions of hell, proved
their falsehood, and put them to flight. So that one may well
apply to him the words said in the Scripture of the wise man:
" Thou wast filled as a river with wisdom." l It is vain labor to
try to restrain a river in its course; the more it is opposed the
more impetuously do its waters rush on. There you have a sym
bol of St. Augustine; like a river he has poured out his knowl
edge on the world, so that no hostile force could withstand him.
The great- What renown, reputation, and glory he thus acquired we can
again learn from the men of his own time. Great and small,
the clergy and the laity, rich and poor came to him as to a pub
lic oracle to seek counsel and instruction from his wisdom. No
doubt arose in important and weighty matters which Augustine
was not able to solve and explain; no passage so dark in Holy
Writ that he could not interpret. Pope Martin V. says that
any one who thought he knew something of the mysteries of
Christ, of the faith, and religion, had Augustine always in his
thoughts and on his lips.2 Hardly any part of Scripture could be
understood unless the light to explain it was given to Augustine;
hardly anything could be made clear without his interpretation.
Even during his lifetime he was called everywhere the salt of the
earth, a light of the world, a teacher of teachers, a hammer and
scourge of heretics, a tongue of the Church, an oracle of the
Holy Ghost. These, and such as these were the titles with
which he was honored by popes and prelates, by emperors and
rulers of the world. Hear in what terms of laudation the Em
peror Theodosius speaks of Augustine in a letter written to invite
him to the Council of Ephesus: Now, writes the emperor, we ad
dress our prayers to thee, who art in all things a light of the
Christian world, an enemy of and terror to apostates, who dread
to appear before thee; to thee, we repeat, we address our most
earnest prayers, beseeching thee to come to Ephesus, where the
Council of the Church is to be held. St. Jerome, whose author-
1 Impletus es quasi flumen, sapientia. — Ecclus. xlvii. 16.
2 Omnibus in ore erat Augustinus, ut nihil pene ex sacris litteria possit nisi eo duce intel-
Ugi, nihil nisi eo interprets, explicari.
St. Augustine. 315
ity is worth that of a thousand others, who lived at the same
time and kept up a constant interchange of letters with Augus
tine, used to lay down his pen whenever Augustine began to write,
acknowledging publicly that there could be nothing more for
him to say on the subject or to add to it. For thus he answers
the Pelagians: The holy and eloquent Bishop Augustine has al
ready written against your heresy; therefore I will be silent lest
I should seem to carry wood to the forest, or pour water into the
sea. For I cannot bring forward anything new that his enlight
ened understanding has not already perceived. To Augustine
himself he writes in the following terms: I have always with the
utmost respect admired thy holiness; but now I cannot allow an
hour to pass without mentioning thy name. All Catholics hon
or thee as a new founder of the ancient Christian faith; and,
what is a still greater proof of thy renown, all heretics fear and
curse thee. In fact, all that could be said hitherto or drawn
from the well-spring of the Holy Scriptures has been exhausted
by thee. So far St. Jerome. And with what public jubilee and
exultation the Fifth General Council greeted Augustine when it
adhered to his teaching unanimously, saying: " We follow Au
gustine in everything; " 1 we accept everything he has said of the
true faith and against heretics! See, my dear brethren, how
great he was in the eyes of men; but admire still more the hum
ble and lowly opinion he formed of himself.
Second Part.
It is not unusual for one who is really vile and worthless to Tobehon-
look on himself as such; it is no great act of humility for one J^Tsame *
who has nothing praiseworthy or laudable to be humble, as St. time hum-
Bernard says. Thus no one is astonished to see a beggar going
on his knees to ask for a piece of bread, or calling public atten
tion to his torn and ragged garments. No one is surprised to
see a peasant's servant come out of the stable covered with dirt;
no one would call him an humble beggar, an humble servant, on
that account. But it is a most amazing, rare, and prodigious
thing for one to look on himself as vile and unworthy who is
praised and esteemed by every one on account of his great and
wonderful excellence. " It is," says St. Bernard, " a great and
rare virtue to be ignorant of thy greatness, although thou really
1 Sequimur Augustinum per omnla.
ble, is most
rare.
3 1 6 On the Humble Doctor of the Church,
dost great things," * and art therefore high in the esteem of men.
St" A\vaaS" What occasions and opportunities the great Augustine had to
most hum- become proud and puffed-up! But there is a vast difference be-
bie in flying tween the light of an earthly fire and the light of the sun; such
is the beautiful thought of St. John Chrysostom; the earthly fire
always throws its flame on high, while the sun pours its rays
down on earth. Augustine shone before the world like the sun;
the higher his light ascended outwardly the lower he sank in
his own estimation. No ambitious man ever sought honor as
eagerly as he avoided honor and distinction. His fear and terror
of dignities, when his name first began to be celebrated, drove
him out of the cities into the solitude of the desert, lest the people
might call upon him to accept a high ecclesiastical position. He
begged of his bishop, who had called on him to preach to the
people, to allow him to remain hidden, and not to impose a bur
den on his shoulders for which he felt himself unable. And
even at the time when others are wont to be filled with consolation,
and to shed tears of joy, namely, when he was forced to accept sa
cerdotal ordination, Augustine was seen, as he himself confesses,
to shed tears of sorrow and pain forced from him by his humility.
" Violence is done to me," 2 said he; they wish to raise me to that
dignity, a miserable sinner, who have done so much evil, and to
send me to take into my hands on the altar the precious body
and blood of Jesus Christ. And what terror seized him when,
against his will, he was forced to accept the bishop's pastoral
staff! Ah, he sighed, that is evidently a punishment brought
upon me at last by my sins; now am I made to feel the anger of
the just God who is wroth with me; I am made bishop, and the
only reason I can find for it is that God wishes to punish me!
seekin1 hi ^n^ f<is muc^ as ne feared all honors, and tried to avoid them
own shame as real misfortunes, which is indeed a humility rare enough
by retract- amongst men, so much also did he in the midst of the dignities
rors. which he could not escape seek his own humiliation and shame
and disgrace before the world. And he discovered a way of sat
isfying his craving in this respect which in such a great man
seems to be almost incomprehensible. I will refer in proof of
this only to two of his books: one in which he publicly retracts
the errors and mistakes that had crept into his former works
and writings; another in which he details with the utmost mi-
1 Magna et rara virtus profecto est, ut magna licet operantem, magnum te nescias.— S.
Bern. Serai. 13, in Cant.
1 Vis mihi faeta est.
St. Augustine. 317
nnteness the sins of his youth, and lays them before the world
with all their circumstances. I leave it to yourselves to judge
in which of the two he showed the greater humility. With re
gard to the first: think, my dear brethren, what it must be to re
tract one's own words; to say: I did not understand properly; I
made a mistake. What a hard thing that must be for a learn
ed, renowned man occupying a high position! Whence comes
the obstinacy of so many heretics, who maintain their errors
against the known truth, except from their unwillingness to ac
knowledge that they have made a mistake? Even amongst good
friends, between man and wife, what quarrels arise sometimes
from some miserable, worthless cause in which the one says yes,
the other no, merely because each wishes to be in the right and
neither will confess to a mistake! For all look on it as a shame
and disgrace to be mistaken in their judgments. Yet Augus
tine, that man who was everywhere considered as an oracle of
learning and wisdom, actually seeks to draw that shame on him
self; the man who was able to confute all heretics accuses him
self, not merely of one, but of several errors! But you may think
that it is no great matter after all; for it is only human to make
mistakes, especially in abstruse matters, and therefore his humil
ity may not have been so very great in this respect.
Be that as it may, what do you think of his second proof of And by
humility? Augustine describes publicly all his hideous, hidden confessing
sins which he had committed from childhood, even in thought —
sins that otherwise could not have come to the knowledge of any more than
one. What shame he put himself to! Or, to speak better, what anv otner
unheard-of humility was his! I find among the servants of God
many humble souls, who, to increase the glory of their Creator,
related and made known to the world the virtues and graces
they had received from God. Thus the patient Job boasts to
his friends that he was an eye to the blind, a foot to the lame,
the father of orphans, the protector of the poor; St. Paul, in
his Epistle to the Corinthians, describes in detail all the suffer
ings he had to endure in his apostolic labors, and the visions he
had. I find many humble souls among the saints of God who
indeed tried with all possible diligence to hide their special vir
tues and gifts, lest they should be looked on and esteemed as
saints; but when their honor and innocence were calumniated
they spared no effort to defend themselves, and to give the lie
to their defamers. Samuel was humble, as we know from Script-
3 1 8 On the Humble Doctor of the Church,
ure; but,, to stop the mouth of the calumniator, he did not hesi
tate to show with great freedom before all the people how hon
estly he had always acted in matters of justice, and how far he
was removed from all greed of gain and avarice. Judith was
humble, yet how careful she was on her return from the camp
of Holofernes to prove to the people that she had suffered no
indignity, that her purity had been protected by an angel, and
that she had returned from the camp as chaste as she had en
tered it: "As the same Lord liveth," she said, with an oath,
"His angel hath been my keeper, both going hence and abiding
there, and returning from thence hither; and the Lord hath
not suffered me, His handmaid, to be defiled." ' I also find
among the servants of God saints who remained silent and left
their defence to God when they were calumniated; but of one
who comes forward of his own accord, and makes known his
own wickedness and the filth of his life, I cannot find any ex
ample except Augustine.
AH seek to Nothing is more common for the sinner than to try to conceal
sins. hig guilt. "Everyone that doth evil," says Our Lord Himself,
"hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works
may not be reproved."8 Hence the care with which each one
tries to hide his vices, to palliate them, to offer a hundred ex
cuses for them. Hence that most reprehensible shame that often
closes the mouth of the penitent in the confessional, prevents
him from disclosing some shameful sin, and often brings him so
far that he bears about with him his whole life long the abomin
able filth of sin, preferring to sacrifice the friendship of God,
his soul, and heaven, and to choose the eternal pains of hell
rather than make known to one priest, who is bound to the
strictest secrecy, the crime he is guilty of. How would it be if
one had to confess publicly before a whole city? Tell me, my
dear brethren, there are very few of us here in church; imagine
an angel coming in my place, and saying out loud : That man,
that woman, that boy, that girl, that religious, that priest has
lived in such-and-such a manner; he has entertained such-and-
such abominable thoughts; he has said so-and-so; he has done
from youth upwards such-and-such bad actions; and thus relat-
1 Vivit ipse Dominus, quoniam custodivit me angelus ejus, et hinc euntem, et ibi commo-
rantem, et inde hue revertentem, et non permisit me Dominus ancillam suam coinquinari.
— Jud. xiii. 20.
a Omnis qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera ejus.—
John iii. 20.
,5V. Augustine. 319
ing all our sins, mentioning names and circumstances; what
would be our feelings in such a case? With what shame we should
try to creep under the benches and hide ourselves! How quickly
would those whose consciences reprove them seek the door, and
rush out of the church, lest their turn should come! For my
part, I should be one of the first to run away. And yet there
are so few of us here to be ashamed of!
0 admirable Augustine, to what shame thy own voluntary Bu^tAu-
humility brought thee! He discloses and reveals his most hid- closed^3
eous and abominable sins — sins that men are most anxious totoallmen
hide through shame; and that he does, not to one, or a hundred, clearest
or a thousand people, but to the whole wide world; not to all words,
those who were then present merely, but to all who are to live
in this world; and he describes them in a published book that
has now so often appeared in print, and is still read by every one,
and will always be read. And what may well excite our admir
ation, of all the books written by him there is none adorned
with such art of eloquence, with such choice and elegance of
words, with such rare and agreeable subtlety of thought, than
that in which he confesses his sins and transgressions. As if he
wished to put forward his best efforts to make the book so pleas
ing that all would read it, that thus his shame might never die
among men, and his humiliation might be eternized in their
minds. Truly, a great and rare virtue! From this we may
form an idea of the wonderful holiness of Augustine, since he
united such profound humility with such great gifts and high
dignities.
Before concluding, let us cast a glance at ourselves, and see Exhortation
how we are in this particular. To say the thing in a word, my to
dear brethren, humility is necessary to us all, whether we are
great or small, rich or poor, clerics or laymen. Without humil
ity all our good works, all our holiness, are nothing. We may
be as pious as we please, spend a long time in prayer, mortify
ourselves as much as we can, but if humility is wanting all is
worth nothing; we are building without a foundation, resting
on sand, high trees without fruit, golden vessels that are empty;
for the foundation, the kernel, the guardian, nay, as it were,
the soul of all virtue and piety is humility alone. As the hum
ble Augustine says: "He who does good works without humil
ity carries dust in the wind." * It is not the high mountains
1 Qui sine humilitate bona opera agit, in ventum pulverem portal.
320 On the Great St. Augustine.
but the lowly valleys that are filled with water; not the proud
but the humble soul that is filled with grace by God. Once for
all Our Lord has pronounced sentence: " Unless you become
as little children," that is, small in your own eyes, "you shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Therefore I conclude
with the words that St. Bernard says of the humility of the
Blessed Virgin Mary: When we admire the great Augustine,
and see that we cannot reach his holiness, let us try to imitate
his humility, and that will be enough.3 We shall find abundant
opportunities for this if we wish; every hour and minute we can
practise humility. We can be silent when accused, and confess
our faults when in the wrong; we can restrain and overcome
ourselves when we would willingly contradict; we can beg for
giveness when we have offended others; we can greet, visit, and
show respect to one against whom we feel a natural aversion; we
can bear patiently with crosses, trials, contempt, and shame,
thinking that we have deserved far worse on account of our sins;
when we have sinned we can disclose our sins in confession
honestly and candidly; and there are many other ways in which
we may every day of our lives show whether or not we are in
earnest about practising humility. So let us try to imitate the
humble Augustine, and it will suffice for us; that alone will
make us great with the great Augustine in heaven. Amen.
SIXTY-THIRD SERMON.
ON THE GREAT ST. AUGUSTINE.
Subject.
Augustine, from being a great sinner, became a great saint,
and therefore is worthy of admiration. — Preached on the feast
of St. Augustine.
Text.
Hie magnus vocabitur. — Matt. v. 19.
"He shall be called great."
Introduction.
It would be a vain and useless labor for me to undertake to
day to prove that Augustine is a great saint; there is nothing
1 Nisi efflciamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum.— Matt, xviii. 3.
2 Stude humilitatem imitari, et sufflcit.
On the Great St. Augustine. 321
better known in the world, both among the learned and the ig
norant; it is proclaimed by the dumb books in libraries, written
by pens in the universities, spoken of by tongues in the pulpits;
whenever the name of Augustine is mentioned you hear the
great Augustine spoken of. So that one who has even a little
knowledge of the Saint must, whenever he thinks of him, look
on him as a great saint. There is one thing, my dear brethren,
that excites my surprise, and that is that he was at first a great
sinner, and yet became a great saint. That is what I mean to
speak of to-day in his praise.
Plan of Discourse.
Augustine, from being a great sinner, became a great saint,
and therefore he is a wonderful saint. Such is the ivhole subject
of this panegyric. Let no sinner despair of conversion; let no
just man be anxious on account of his past sins. Such shall be
the brief moral lesson.
Give us Thy grace to profit by it, 0 Lord, who didst work
such wonders in Thy servant Augustine, through the intercession
of Mary and of the holy angels.
St. Gregorydistinguishesthree classes of sinners: there are some. He who
he says, into whose hearts and consciences sin creeps, but does many sins
not remain, because they free themselves at once from it by re- habitually
pentance; there are others in whom sin remains for a time, yet ^h^!1**
it does not rule in their soul, nor gain the upper hand, because acuity.
it is not often committed or repeated; the third class consists
of those in whom sin takes up a fixed dwelling, and has the mas
tery, because by being constantly repeated it fastens itself in
the soul, takes root, and becomes habitual. The first class is the
best (although no sinner is good for anything), and is the easiest;
of cure. For even a pious man, who is concerned for his salva
tion, sometimes falls grievously, either through weakness, or an
unforeseen occasion, or a violent temptation; but since he imme
diately condemns and repents of his wickedness, he is not in such
great danger of dying in sin and being lost. The second class is
more difficult of cure; for when repentance is deferred it requires
a special grace and protection from God to guard one from
further sins. The third class is the worst of all, and those who
compose it can hardly be cured without a miraculous grace, not
to speak of bringing them to sanctity.
322
On the Great St. Augustine.
gauged.
tor an m- For who does not know and experience what tyranny is exer-
c'lse& by an old and inveterate habit, especially in vice? It is like
a miracle to abandon at once that which has occupied the heart
an(j -j.g jove an(j (jesire> 1^ is like a miracle to raise up to heaven
your thoughts that had been sunk in carnal lusts, and to lead a
holy, pure, and heavenly life. A fresh wound is easily healed;
but when it grows old, and begins to fester, medicine is of no use;
it must be cut and burnt in order to preserve the body in life.
So it is with the sickness of the soul, with the habit of sin when
it becomes inveterate. This is what Christ wishes us to learn,
as our St. Augustine remarks, by the three persons whom He
raised from the dead. In the case of the daughter of Jairus
He had only to speak two words: " Damsel, arise." 1 The son
of the widow of Nairn required something more; Our Lord
touched his bier, and spoke the impressive words: " Young man,
1 say to thee, arise." But in the raising of Lazarus, who
had been four days in the grave, and had begun to putrify, Our
Lord " groaned in the spirit." 3 He began to sigh and weep; He
raised His eyes to heaven, and prayed to His heavenly Father:
"He cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth." 4 Whence
such a great difference in Our Lord's mode of acting? Did His
omnipotence require more labor in one case than in the other?
No; that cannot be. But, as Augustine says, Our Lord wished
to show that it is harder to convert a sinner who has lain a long
time in the grave of sin than one who has only recently com
menced to sin. And he assigns this reason: in the first case the
passions and evil inclinations become continually stronger and
increase; the desires are more violent; and thus there results a
sort of agreeable repose in sin, so that the sinner is pleased with
his condition, and has neither wish nor desire to free himself;
nay, in time there arises a sort of necessity, a second nature,
impelling him to sin; and to change that, although the man
may wish to do so, an extraordinary grace from God is required.
T$a,y) the Holy Ghost, by the Prophet Jeremias, seems to make
a sort of impossibility of the conversion of such a sinner: "If
quires the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots, you
a miracle.
Nay, such a
1 Puella surge.-Mark v. 41.
2 Adolescens, tibi dico : surge. — Luke vii. 14.
8 Infremuit spiritu.— John xi. 33.
4 Voce magna clamavit : Lazare, veni foras.— Ibid. 43.
On the Great St. Augustine. 323
also may do well when you have learned evil." When a vi
cious habit has begun to take root from youth upwards, then the
conversion and amendment of the sinner is still more difficult,
nay, is almost to be despaired of. The elephant, monstrous as
he is, may be tamed if taken in hand when quite young, and
trained to bend the knee and wait on one like a dog, a training
that he never forgets as he grows older; but if he remains in the
forest until he is grown up, and the nerves and bones of the feet
become hard, there is no use in trying to train him; he is and
will remain an untamed, wild animal. "A young man according
to his way," says the word of God in the Book of Proverbs, " even
when he is old he will not depart from it; " a and by the Prophet
Job: " His bones shall be filled with the vices of his youth, and
they shall sleep with him in the dust." When the man whose
son was grievously tormented by the demon came to Our Lord, and
complained that the disciples could not drive out the evil spirit,
Christ asked him at once: " How long is it since this hath hap
pened unto him?" And the father answered: " From his in
fancy." Truly, a curious question to be asked by Him to whom
all things are known! Did not Our Lord know more about it
than the father himself? Why, then, did He ask? The Gloss
answers: That we might understand whence came the difficulty
experienced by the disciples in freeing the youth from the devil.
As if to say: Since the evil one has had possession of him from
his infancy, what wonder is it that he has struggled so long, and
refuses to go out at the command of these poor fishermen? This
is a case which requires the almighty hand of God.
There, my dear brethren, you have a sketch of the deplorable According
... 1 • i * i' i <» i • • T to his own
state of sin in which Augustine was before his conversion. I confession
will not and may not bring forward any other proof of this but Augustine
his own words, in which he, to his own glory however, publishes, ^ ,anven
through humility, his shame to the world of his time and to all vices from
posterity. "I went away from Thee," he sighs forth, " and 1 his youth>
went wrong, my God! " I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
I have abandoned Thee worse than the prodigal son, and have
sacrificed to vice the substance Thou hast given me: my memory,
1 Si mutare potest JSthiops pellem suam, aut pardus varietatis suas, et vos poteritis bene-
facere, cum didiceritis malum.— Jer. xiii. 23.
2 Adolesceus juxta viam suam, etiam cum senuerit, non recedet ab ea.— Prov. xxil. 6.
8 Ossa ejus implebuntur vitlis adolescentiae ejus, et cum eo in pulvere dormient.— Job
zx. 11.
4 Quantum temporis est, ex quo hoc ei accidit? Ab infantia.— Mark ix. 20.
6 Deflexi ego a te, et erravi, Deus meus I
324 On the Great St. Augustine.
understanding, will, eyes, ears, and my other senses. And what
vices were they? Those which are the fountain and origin of all
sins, namely, pride, greed of gold, and impurity.1 These I have
pursued day and night; so that sin strove with sin within me, to
see which should have the greater part of me.2 And when didst
thou commence to commit those sins? As soon, he answers, as
I could make use of my reason, and barely knew what sin was.3
I was hardly a few spans long in my body, and was already full-
grown in vice; I was still tender and weak in my members, but
they were hardened in wickedness; such a little boy, and such a
great sinner! My good mother did her best to teach me to love
and fear God; but my father did not agree with her, and took
my part. I constantly heard good advice from my mother; but
I was so corrupted that I looked on it as womanly weakness.
She became sick from grief, shed copious tears, sent forth sigh
after sigh into my ears; but I laughed at her, and appealed to my
father, who always said that I was right, and took little trouble
to enquire into the life I was leading before God. Oh, truly un
happy the children that are brought up by such parents, who are
opposed to each other in matters that concern the welfare of the
soul! Fathers and mothers, you think those children of yours,
be they boys or girls, innocent angels, and care little with whom
they associate; and if by your negligence one may say of them
that they are little children and great sinners, what will become
of them after they have been fed on the poisonous milk of vice?
And as he Hear further how things went with the ill-reared Augustine.
advanced in
years. He describes it himself, with bitter tears : After having thus spent
the years of my childhood, and attained the age of sixteen, vice
held such sway over me that I could no longer hold my wan
tonness and wickedness in check, nor be content with being a se
cret sinner, but I must needs become a public leader of the godless.
I lost all fear and the shame that is innate in man, and exulted
and gloried in the most disgraceful and abominable excesses; I
could not understand how a man could be a man and lead a good
and pure life. And in addition to the perversity by which I en
deavored to excel my companions in vice, I pretended to be more
guilty than I was, and looked on it as a matter for boasting to be
1 Inhiabam lucris, honoribus, conjugio.
a Certabant in meipso, et de meipso cujus potissimurn ego viderer.
3 Eram tantillus puer, et tantus peccator.
On the Great St. Augustine. 325
the worst of all; I was ashamed not to be the most shameless of
all.1
From this perverse will of mine came a darkening and blindness
of the mind; I fell into an error concerning the faith, and joined "*
hard.
the sect of the Manichaeans, which seemed to me the best of all, «ned and
because it suited my beastly lusts and the freedom I allowed my desPerate-
senses; so that I became half Manichaean, half heathen,, and whol
ly godless. At last I was quite obdurate in wickedness, hardened,
and almost despairing. " I was pleased with the disease of car
nal lusts, and feared to be healed." 2 If a divine inspiration
came to warn me to amend I used to cry out: Not now, 0 Lord,
not now! Leave me in my wickedness. For out of my many
sins there grew such a habit that it bound me with iron chains,
and from the habit there grew the necessity of sinning, and from
this necessity the impossibility of conversion and amendment.
These were the links of my chain: habit, necessity, despair.
Pardon me, great Saint, for alluding to thy vices when I should This con-
rather praise thee! I do not go beyond thy own words and pen, d()s*nds to~
and my sole object is to make the wonder of thy holiness all the his honor.
greater and more evident. In this thou hast set thy glory before
heaven and earth, that in thee and by thee the honor and glory
of the grace and mercy of God may be made evident and public
before the world. I appeal to the words of St. John Chrysostom,
who says that he should do great wrong to the saints who have
been converted, and to the goodness and power of God by which
their conversion was effected, if we did not bring to light and
make known even the gross crimes they committed in their former
lives; for from this appears, on the one hand, the greatness of the
divine mercy, which so patiently bore so long with such great
sinners, so paternally attracted and changed them into such great
saints; and on the other hand, we should wrong the magnanimity
and the glorious victory and triumph which those holy penitents
gained over their nature and their inveterate habits, with the help
of divine grace. Truly, the greatest praise of Augustine consists
in this, that from a great sinner he became a wonderful saint, so
that now all the world honors him.
What think you of this, my dear brethren? What a wonder- He would
fully powerful grace it must have been that brought to sanctity j^^^6
one who from childhood had grown up to be a hardened, obdu- that he
1 Pudebat non esse impudentem.
s Delectatus morbo carnis, sanarl timebam.
326 On the Great St. Augustine.
would rate, almost despairing sinner! What an incomprehensible vie-
ws life. toi7 over se^ ifc must have cost Augustine at first to free himself
from so many bonds and chains that tied him down, and to begin
a holy life diametrically opposed to his former career! He him
self cannot sufficiently express his wonder at the change; and if
any one had told him in his youth that it would have taken place
he would have laughed at the idea, and treated it as ridiculous and
impossible. If an angel had appeared to him disguised, and said.
Augustine, listen; all that you now regard as the object of your
desires, thoughts, wishes; all that now occupies your whole heart
and affections you will, after a certain time, hate and detest, con
demn and curse. You now laugh at the tears and sighs of your
mother; the time will come when you will shed tears of blood for
not having paid better attention to her admonitions. Now it
seems to you impossible to abstain from sin and carnal lust; the
time will come when nothing will appear sweeter to you than to
shun all pleasure, and then it will seem to you impossible to com
mit the least sin against God, and you will not be able to under
stand how you could ever have offended Him, how you did not
begin to love Him sooner; nor will you have rest or peace until
you give yourself altogether to the love of your God. Now in all
your actions you seek honor and glory before the world, and part
of this honor you place in the fact that you are the most shame
less of all; then your humility will bring you so far that you
will seek to hide yourself and your great talents, and by public
ly confessing your crimes try to bring shame on yourself be
fore the world. Now you cannot live without a wanton com
panion of the opposite sex; the time will come when you will
not speak alone even with your own sister. Now you spend your
time in gluttony and drunkenness, and all sorts of sensual in
dulgence; then you will chastise your body by fasting, watch
ing, and wearing the garb of penitence, and you will take the
bread out of your own mouth to feed the hungry and indigent
stranger. Now you boast of your vices among your companions;
then you will never cease to announce the glory of God every
where. Now you seek for comrades in sin; the time will come
when the world will be filled with convents either founded by
you or following your rule, the inmates of which will praise God
day and night with prayer, singing, and preaching; while you
yourself will learn, before your death, to your great consolation,
that in the whole of Africa there is hardly a town or district in
On the Great St. Augustine. 327
which there is not a convent, many of them having a hundred or
more religious; and after your death you will see Europe adorned
with your spiritual children in countless places. Now you adhere
to the false teaching of heretics; then there will be no heretic who
will dare to appear before you, no one who will venture to con
tend with you, no heresy which you will not refute, confound,
and put to shame, either with your pen, or by your tongue, or
with your published writings. Now you are a slave of the devil,
a treacherous, ravening wolf among the sheep of Christ; then you
will be called a shepherd of souls, a teacher of teachers, a tongue,
a light, a protector, a preserver of the Church of God. Now you
are a great sinner; then you will be a saint, and a great saint be
fore the world. In your honor will be erected everywhere stat
ues, altars, churches, and temples, while universities and pulpits
will ring with the praises of your holiness. I now foretell to you
that all this will happen. Tell me, my dear brethren, if this had
been said to Augustine when he was buried in the grave of sin,
do you think he would have believed it, and not rather treated it
as an absurd jest? What! he would have exclaimed; I a saint?
It is impossible for me to keep one day from sin; and am I to lead
such a pure, perfect, and holy life? It is all nonsense; there
cannot be a word of truth in it; it is impossible!
Nevertheless all that was accomplished in Augustine. If, ac- And yet he
cording to the words of the Apostle, the complete fulfilment of of the
the law consists in charity; if the greatness of charity is to be greatest of
measured by the sanctity of the soul, then we require nothing
more to see what a great saint Augustine was than to cast our
eyes on his images, in which he is generally represented, in dis
tinction to other saints, with a heart in his hand on fire with
love; nothing more is necessary than to read the meditations and
soliloquies with God that he has left us amongst his writings,
wherein every word we read is, as it were, a spark thrown out by
a burning fire of unspeakably sweet and intimate love. Hear a
few of his sighs of love, wherewith his books are filled: Sweet
Lord, my love, my God, my only love! inflame me altogether with
Thy love, that my body and soul and all within me may be burnt
and consumed with Thy love! I am consumed in Thee; I have
Thee in my heart, on my lips, before my eyes, always, in all places.
I have no wish to speak, except with and of Thee; to think, ex
cept on Thee; to desire, except Thee. If Thou dost not know that
I love Thee, and dost not believe my words, then let the torrents of
328
On the Great St. Augustine.
Lesson for
of conver-
tears I shed, and that I cannot restrain, speak and bear witness
for me how much my soul loves Thee.1 On other occasions the
violence of his love carries him, as it were, out of himself, so that,
as is the case with lovers, he cannot find words to express his
love, and desires the impossible, and breaks out into the well-
known sigh of love: I rejoice, 0 Lord, that Thou art God; but
if perchance Augustine could be God, then should I prefer to be
Augustine, that Thou mightest be God.2 0 wonderful power
of divine grace, what extraordinary changes thou canst make in
the hearts of men! Now I understand the meaning of those
words of the Lord, in which He says that the grace of God can
turn the hard stones into children of Abraham. Great Augus
tine, if it is true, as some say, that during your lifetime you
worked no miracle, yet you are in yourself and by yourself the
greatest miracle which shows to the world the might of the grace
of the Almighty, since from so great a sinner you became such
a great saint.
j conclude, my dear brethren, with a brief moral lesson for
tne good of our souls — a lesson supplied me by St. Augustine
himself when he speaks of the conversion of St. Paul. What,
he asks, was the intention of Jesus Christ in the conversion of
Paul? Or rather, what object has the Catholic Church in view
when she sets before our eyes this wonderful sanctification of
Paul, who at first seemed to be a desperate sinner? What else
but to teach all who are honestly minded to return to God that
they must have a childlike confidence, that if they only wish
they can and will be healed of the maladies of their souls, no
matter how great and abominable their sins have been? "If
Pau] was healed, why should I despair? Why should I not have
recourse to the same beneficent hands?" Why should I hes
itate to cast myself into the good and fatherly arms of the di
vine mercy? This may be applied to themselves by all who,
being in the state of sin, meditate on the conversion of Augus
tine, even if their sins are worse and of longer continuance than
his. If, they should think — if Augustine was healed, why should
I despair? If Augustine was converted after having committed
so many sins, for such a long time; if from great wickedness he
attained to great holiness, why should I despair, as if I could
1 Quantum te diliglt anima mea.
2 Sed si forte Augustinus Deus esse potest ; mallem Augustinus esse, ut tu Deus esses.
1 Si Paulus sanatus est, ego quare despero? Cur ad illas manus non festinabo?
On the Great St. Augustine. 329
never be converted? No! I can again become a child of God; if I
only will, I can be converted and become holy in spite of the
multitude and enormity of my past sins, provided only I work
with the grace of God! Meanwhile I must and will not hesitate
any longer, nor defer my conversion, but take advantage of the
first ray of grace. If Augustine had withstood the grace of God
any longer; if he had obstinately remained in the filth of sin till
old age — oh, then indeed would the Church perhaps have no Au
gustine, that great light, and hell would have numbered a great
demon among its denizens! Therefore this very day I will profit
by the mercy of God.
If Augustine was healed, why should I despair? So should TO the just
, i • T T . , i not to be
you, too, think, just souls, for among you there may be some faint.
who, on account of their past sins, allow themselves to be over- hearted on
come by an inordinate fear, anxiety, and doubt, and give way to
a cowardly pusillanimity, so that they dare not cultivate an in- sins.
timate love of God; they are in a state of half despair, doubting
of the pardon of their past offences, or of the fatherly kindness
of God, or of their perseverance in good, and especially of their
dying a happy death. Say to yourselves: If Augustine was healed ;
if the good and loving God dealt so favorably and kindly with
Augustine, who was such a deplorable sinner, and gave him more
graces and favors than He bestowed on many another saint who
lived and served Him piously from youth upwards; if Augus
tine, after such a wicked life, could love his God so intimately
and fervently, why should not I then have a childlike, upright,
and intimate confidence towards such a good God and Father,
provided only that I am really in earnest about serving Him faith
fully in future, according to my state, and in loving Him above
all things, as Augustine did, with my whole heart? This should
be my only care, and then I shall have nothing to fear. This,
0 Lord, is what we are all determined to do, with Thy grace.
Amen.
33O On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves.
SIXTY-FOURTH SERMON.
ON ST. FELIX, ARCHBISHOP OF TREVES,
Subject.
Great and manifold is the fortune that the city of Trevesowes
to St, Felix, and therefore it also owes him a debt of sincere grat
itude and love. — Preached on the feast of St. Felix.
Text.
Felix dies, in qua reversus es ad terram patrum tuorum, et
sedisti in sede regni eorum. — I. Mach. x. 55.
" Happy is the day wherein thou didst return to the land of
thy fathers, and sattest in the throne of their kingdom."
Introduction.
Divine Providence, that arranges everything in the world, in
number, weight, and measure, has also given to some people
names that indicate their future lives, or the events that are to
happen in them. Thus the precursor of Christ was called John,
that is, the grace of God, for he was to announce the presence
of the Author of all grace, Jesus Christ. The first martyr was
called Stephen, or the crowned, because he was to be the first, af
ter Christ, to gain the crown of martyrdom. The prince of the
apostles was called Peter, or the rock, because, as Our Lord Him
self explains, the Church was to be built on him. In the same
way it seems to me that it is not without reason that the holy
Archbishop whose feast we celebrate to-day was called Felix, that
is, the happy. In truth he verified his title to that name. Fe
lix was a happy bishop, or, rather, I should say that the city of
Treves was fortunate in having received from God such a happy
bishop. He it is by whose footsteps this ground on which we
stand was trodden and honored, and by whose holy doctrine the
church of Treves was enabled to grow in the true faith and to
preserve it incorrupt. Happy Treves, I say again, in having
Felix as a shepherd and superior!
On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves. 331
Plan of Discourse.
Wliat good fortune thou, 0 city, owest him, and therefore
what gratitude and love thou shouldst show him I mean to explain
now, to his honor and praise.
We beg the help of the Holy Ghost, through the intercession
of Mary and of the holy angels.
The good fortune brought to the church of Treves by Felix
when he was called to this archiepiscopal see I cannot better or cius Varus
clearer describe than by inviting you to cast the eyes of the mind wasperee-
, . -. ,, cutingthe
and memory on those sad and dangerous times in which the Christians
church of this land then was when Felix began to rule it, to its is not to be
advantage and salvation; for from the greatness of the danger out happy™1
of which one is rescued we must judge the benefit conferred by
him who liberates him. 0 sad times, when the bloodhound Kic-
cius Varus was glutting his rage, and slaughtering and butcher
ing,, when the city of Treves was running with the blood of her
own children and inhabitants! you were indeed, according to
outward appearance, terrible and awful, yet in reality sweet and
golden times compared to those that preceded the arrival of
Felix. For all that Riccius Varus with his cruelty could effect
was to send countless numbers of souls from Treves to heaven
by martyrdom, and thereby to make the fame and renown of this
city undying in the whole world; a fact that might readily cause
other cities to feel a sort of holy envy, and awaken in them a
desire for a similar opportunity of distinction.
But quite different was the aspect of affairs in the time of St. But very
Felix, so that the author of his Life, Severus Sulpitius, com pas- and un_
sionates him, and says that he was worthy of better times.1 For nappy for
this city and archdiocese was then altogether torn to pieces by t^J^61"8
an internecine war, and that to the great disadvantage of the tnatfoi-
divine honor, and to the loss and ruin of the faith and of souls. lowed>
The Catholic religion, which had been planted here in the begin
ning by the disciples whom the apostles sent forth, and confirmed
by the blood of innumerable martyrs, was now on the point
of suffering a shameful downfall, and not only open enemies,
but, what was much more dangerous, hypocritical friends and
children of the true faith were ready to give it the last push.
To speak more plainly: Error and heresy had gained the upper
hand, and infected with its baleful poison clergy and laity, with-
1 Dignus qui meliore tempore fleret sacerdos.
332 On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves.
out distinction, so that one could hardly distinguish between the
lambs and the wolves disguised in sheep's clothing. The tyrant
Maximus, who had placed himself on the throne by murder,, assas
sination, and violence, held the reins of government here, and
therefore obtained the surname of the Emperor of Treves.1 He
arrogated to himself even the ecclesiastical power, and under
the pretext of zeal against the heretics summoned the bishops
from all parts to Treves. These bishops were pleased to flatter
the emperor,, and, out of human respect, to give way to him
in all their councils and assemblies; so that St. Martin, who had
been brought hither by his concern for the danger which he saw
threatening the church of Treves,, and St. Felix feared to incur
excommunication if they had anything to do with those bishops;
and these holy men bewailed afterwards with tears that they had
gone to meet them even on one solitary occasion. And all pious
and good people, among whom was St. Martin, who refused to
agree with the opinion of those bishops, were condemned as here
tics publicly,, and banished. Things got into such a disorderly
state that recourse was had to fire and sword, and at last people
were condemned as heretics merely from the expression of their
countenances, from their dress and manner of clothing; so that
a decree was made unanimously to imprison and put to death as
Priscillianists all who practised fasting and prayer, or preserved
a humble demeanor, or showed any other signs of piety. This
sentence was ready to be executed; the swords were sharpened,
the imperial soldiers were sent out to use them. In this woful
condition of affairs the innocent were on the point of losing goods
and life with the guilty, the pious and holy with the wicked and
ungodly; there was no distinction made between them. I can
not bear to reopen this wound of my fatherland and make it
bleed again.
Fortu- Such were thy circumstances then, 0 wretched Treves! but
Feii-^was even in thy misery a fortunate Treves! Why fortunate? Be-
there, to set cause at that very time God raised up for thee a fortunate, wise,
anc^ vir^ous father and shepherd, by whose prudent govern
ment the dangerous storm was tided over and changed into
calm and tranquil weather. It was St. Felix who undertook this
great work, aided indeed at first by St. Martin, but he accom
plished it by himself. He, with Martin, courageously opposed
the senseless fury of the other bishops, went to the imperial pal-
1 Imperator Trevicus.
On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves. 333
ace, and after a long conference at last obtained that the bloody
sentence should not be carried into execution,, and that the sol
diers sent out through the country should be recalled. He then
tried to calm the perturbed minds of the malcontents, and part
ly by persuasion and preaching, partly by kindness and lenien
cy, to bring the heretics and apostates back to the true faith,
until at last he managed, during his government, to secure the
desired peace and tranquillity.
What labor this must have cost Felix until he brought it to a But not
happy termination is easily imagined. When St. Paul was about greauabor
to set forth for Jerusalem, to preach the gospel there, he said and trouble,
to his friends: " Behold, I go to Jerusalem, not knowing the
things which shall befall me there; save that the Holy Ghost in
every city witnesseth to me, saying that bonds and afflictions
wait for me at Jerusalem. But I fear none of these things . . .
so that I may consummate my course and the ministry of the
word which I received from the Lord Jesus," x and do the duty
imposed on me by Him. So could St. Felix with reason have
thought and said when he was placed over the church of
Treves in such troublous times: There is a duty imposed on me;
how things will go with me there I know not, but I am well
aware that I shall be confronted by serious difficulties that I
must overcome. And in truth such were the circumstances
that it could not be otherwise. To bring apostates back to the
right way, to calm the discontented, to restrain the rebellious,
to chastise and tame the obstinate, to take up arms against the
opinion of great, learned, and seemingly pious superiors, and to
manage all that so fortunately as to bring back peace and con
tentment — what skill, trouble, inconvenience, reflection, and dif
ficulties of all kinds a task of that sort would require I leave to
the consideration of those who know how hard it is to bring to
subjection a country or city that has begun to rebel. Here I
may use the words of St. John Chrysostom when he describes
the great difficulties the apostles had to contend with in the
conversion and changing of the world: In such a vast and mighty
undertaking, when all had, as it were, to be turned upside down,
when old customs had to be abolished, and new manners and
morals, quite opposed to the former, introduced, even if there
1 Ecce vado in Jerusalem ; quae in ea ventura stint mini ignorans ; nisi quod Spiritus
Sanctus mini protestatur, dicens : quoniam vincula et tribulationes Jerosolymis me rnanet.
Sed nihil horutn vereor . . . dummodo consummem cursum meum, et ministerium verb!,
quod accept a Domino Jesu.— Acts xx. 22-34.
334 OH St- Felix, Archbishop of Treves.
were no opposition, and a work of this kind succeeded in peace
and quietness, that would be a great, unexpected, and wonder
ful result.1 What hardships Felix had to undergo might have
been still more clearly explained if, unfortunately, by a deplorable
mischance in the devastations and plunderings of subsequent
times, the writings and histories of this and other saints of
Treves had not been destroyed.
THUS he From the little I have told you you may see for yourselves
greafgood w»at gratitude, honor, love, and confidence you owe your holy
fortune bishop and patron. Suppose that the persecution, or, what was
^es' still worse, heresy, had then gained the upper hand, and become
fixed in the land — an evil that St. Felix happily averted — what
would have become of Treves? Could it now boast of that glori
ous name it has above most countries of Germany that it has
never had a ruler addicted to heresy? Go in thought for a mo
ment through Europe, and consider what has been done in differ
ent places by heresy when it managed to insinuate itself into a
country where it found no opposition. Consider what evil it
has caused, what hateful abuses it has introduced, how many
thousand souls it has sent to hell. And then ask yourselves: If
this fearful evil has brought such ruin to so many kingdoms and
provinces, how would it have been here, how would it probably
still be, if it had not been stifled in its birth? — a benefit that,
after God, we have to ascribe to the care, watchfulness, and labors
of St. Felix. Truly, this is a happy day! " Happy is the day
wherein thou didst return to the land of thy fathers, and sattest
in the throne of their kingdom; " happy the day on which Felix
came into the land of our forefathers, and sat on the throne of
their kingdom.
Besides the And now, with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, I cast my eyes
other bene- ^- ancient church of St. Paulinus, and on the ruined heap
fits he con- t ' . r
ferredon beside it (may God forgive those, if they are still capable of
tms city, forgiveness, who left such tokens of their rage behind them!).
Again we have a reason, my dear brethren, for acknowledging our
debt of gratitude to St. Felix, and calling happy the day on which
he came into our city to sit on the archiepiscopal chair. If it
were not for him never would that beautiful and celebrated
temple have been built; for during his lifetime he had it erect
ed at great expense in honor of the Mother of God and of the
1 Haec profecto magna res foret et excellenter magna, si nemo turbaret, essetque pwc,
' -*iuctante.
On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves. 335
holy martyrs of Treves; and its size and magnificence were so
great that in length it measured 410 feet, and in breadth 120.
Were it not for Felix this church in which we are now assem
bled would not have stood in this land for the last 1340 years,
nor would the praises of God have been uttered in prayer and
hymn by so many religious devoted to the divine service; of all
this daily devotion Felix was the first author and founder. If
it had not been for him we should not now be able to honor the
relics of St. Paulinus, whose body, as that of his predecessor in
this see., he had brought at great trouble and expense from dis
tant Phrygia, where Paulinus, banished for the faith, laid down
his life; Felix caused the relics to be enshrined in a costly cas
ket. If it had not been for Felix perhaps the relics of our holy
forefathers, who gave up their lives for their God and faith, would
still be hidden under earth and stones; for he had their bones
collected in order, and placed in the crypt of the church built by
himself, and thus drew crowds of people from nearly every part
of Germany to pay them public honor.
Would to God, my dear brethren, that I could as quickly Hence we
awaken in you feelings of gratitude, devotion, and love towards mosT^rat
this Saint as it is easy to show from the little I have told you fuitowm.
how much you owe him. Truly, if even heathen cities and coun
tries always remember and show devotion and gratitude to their
first founders, from whom they acknowledge to have received
their origin, just as the city of Rome in the darkness of heath
enism adored its founder Romulus as a god, what, then, cannot
a saint who is really reigning with God in heaven expect and
require from you, since you have much more reason to be grate
ful to him than if he had merely laid the first stone of your city?
Meanwhile might he not perhaps have reason to say, in the And shoul
words of the Prophet: "lam forgotten as one dead from the
heart "? * I am so little thought of that when my name happens for the
to be mentioned once or twice a year there is hardly one who glory of
remembers me, or the benefits that my beloved Treves owes to
my care and labors. " I have brought up children, and exalted
them, but they have despised me." a Whether St. Felix has
such reasons for complaint I know not; or, rather, I cannot say
whether there is on your part a carelessness in following his ex
ample, for imitation is the true way of honoring the saints. All
1 Oblivion! datus sum, tanquam mortuus a corde. — Ps. xxx. 13.
8 Filios enutrivi, et exaltavi ; ipsi autem spreverunt me.— Is. i. 2.
336 On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves.
the thoughts, cares, and labors of Felix had for their sole object
to save the Christian, Catholic faith in the sheep entrusted to
his care, to adorn the churches and sacred buildings, and to
further the divine honor by his efforts and those of his flock.
In this he spent all his strength, to this he devoted all his in
come, and for the same end he at last, after twelve years' rule,
resigned his dignity to another, and entered this cloister in order
to be able to attend more strictly in solitude to his salvation and
higher perfection. Here he spent the remaining years of his
life as the lowest among his brethren, in prayer and praising
God.
nils ic not What direction do our thoughts and cares mostly take, my
' dear brethren? Whither tend our desires and efforts? Are there
not some of us of whom the words might be said that St. Paul
wrote to the Philippians: " All seek the things that are their
own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's"? 1 They seek the
things that are their own — their honor, their profit, their reve
nues, their repose, their comfort, their temporal well-being; all
their care is devoted to such things. They begin with them
and end with them, as if they had received life for the sake of
them, and had been born into the world and placed in the state
they occupy only for them. They think little of and seek not
at all the things that are Jesus Christ's; they are careless of the
honor of God, the progress of the Church, the amassing treasure
and merits for their immortal souls. Let each one look to him
self, and see how matters stand with him in this respect, and
whether the life he is now leading will at the end bring him the
same consolation that St. Felix felt, whose soul was seen ascending
into heaven in the shape of a golden dove, accompanied by the
songs of the angels.
ixnortation j conclude with the short but impressive words of St. Felix.
co seal in
the ^rvice which he said on his death-bed to his brethren who were bewail-
* ***• ing the loss of their beloved shepherd, and to the other Chris
tians who were present: " Do not deceive those who are subject
to you, but instruct them as your children by the word of God
and your example. ... Do not adore dumb idols; " 2 that is,
let not the love of any creature take the upper hand in your
hearts; but let Him alcne rule in your minds to whom you have
J Omnes quae sua sunt quserunt, non qua? sunt Jesu Christi.— Philipp. 11. 21.
* Nollte f alleres ubditos vestros, sed ut fllios verbo Dei et exemplo mstruite. . . . Nolite
adorare idola muta.
On the Wonderful St. Bernard. 337
sworn fidelity and service, namely,, our Father in heaven and
His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I have nothing more to
add, but: Amen.
SIXTY-FIFTH SERMON.
ON THE WONDERFUL ST. BERNARD.
Subject.
St. Bernard was a wonder: 1. Of innocence; 2. Of penitence.
— Preached on the feast of St. Bernard.
Text.
Fecit mirabilia in vita sua. — Ecclus. xxxi. 9.
"He hath done wonderful things in his life/'
Introduction.
By the wonderful things the saints have done in their lives
are generally understood the signs and miracles they wrought.
Thus St. Gregory, St. Antony of Padua, and, in our own times,
St. Francis Xavier are surnamed thaumaturgs, or workers of
miracles. The same title, my dear brethren, could also be given
with just reason to our St. Bernard; for where is there a place
in* Europe where he has not been, and which has not had exper
ience of his wonderful power? The mere fact of approaching
Bernard and receiving a blessing from his hands was to the
blind the means of regaining sight, to the deaf it brought hear
ing, to the lame the use of their limbs, to the sick their health,
as we may read in detail in the history of his Life; and this can
be testified to by the surrounding country, by the city of Treves,
by this sacred place in which we are assembled, which he for
merly sanctified by his presence, and which still bears his name.
But why should I seek for a motive of praising him from things
that were done outside of him, and that were the result of gifts
bestowed on him by God gratuitously — gifts that are common to
all the saints? Bernard himself, when I consider his person and
mode of life, seems to me the greatest wonder of all. And this
thought was suggested to me by his own words, which he often
said to others, and wrote, as well: " My monstrous life calls out to
338 On the Wonderful St. Bernard.
you." ' 0 Bernard, thou didst say that out of humility; yet thou
saidst the truth at the same time,, if thou hadst only changed that
doubtful word monstrous for another more suitable to thee, and
said as I now change instead of thee: My prodigious life calls
out to you. Truly, thy wonderful life calls out to us, and will
call out as long as the world lasts. Since the whole day would
not be long enough for me to relate all the wonders of his life,
I will now, my dear brethren, content myself with bringing to
your notice two wonders only. I find in him two qualities and
effects united which must justly excite the astonishment of every
thinking mind, namely:
Plan of Discourse.
I find in him the greatest innocence and the most severe pen
itence. There you have the subject of this panegyric. St. Ber
nard a wonder of innocence; the first part. St. Bernard a won
der of penance; the second part. Both together: innocence re
penting, the greatest wonder; both to his undying fame and to
our salutary confusion.
0 wonderful St. Bernard, obtain for us, through the hands of
Mary, whose dearest child thou wert always, and of whose praises
thou couldst never speak without shedding the sweetest tears,
and uttering words that flowed with honey, obtain for us the
grace that, as we cannot imitate thy innocence, we may at least
follow thy spirit of penance from a distance. Help us hereto, ye
holy angels, who helped Bernard to preserve his innocence,
it is a won- ^0 begin to strive after virtue and holiness when the mind is
derfulthinj? . 6 . .
to keep weaned with sm and vice; to live chaste and pure alter having
one's first given a loose rein to the lusts of the flesh; to be temperate and
during a abstemious after having indulged the palate without restraint;
lonjfiife to sigh, weep, be contrite after having committed actions that
of dangers!1 are wortny of being deplored, is indeed a laudable thing, but not
so wonderful as it is necessary in one who hopes to go to heaven.
But for one who has lived long on earth, and that in the midst
of dangers and occasions of sin, to preserve the first innocence
and purity received in baptism, and to bring it untainted and
uninjured to the grave and into eternity — oh, that is indeed an
extraordinary and unusual effect of the mighty grace of God!
What a small number of such men there are in the world! I
may venture to say even: What a small number there is among
1 Clamat ad vos monstruosa vita mea.
On the Wonderful St. Bernard. 339
the elect in heaven who can with truth boast of having accom
plished that feat!
My dear brethren, St. Bernard was a wonder of innocence of From his
this kind. As Ribadeneira tells us in his Life, he was born of S^*100* „
ot. UGrriaTCi
noble parents (mark well all the circumstances which render his wasincir-
innocence all the more surprising); he had inherited by nature cumstances
* j ? • i j- i Dangerous
strong passions, a profound and quick understanding, and
most lively spirit; he was moreover endowed with unusual come- cence-
liness, and a gracious manner which won the hearts of all. Be
sides these excellent gifts of mindf and body, he was entitled to
the greatest honors, riches, and worldly prosperity on account of
his noble birth and great abilities. My God, what dangerous
circumstances in which to preserve innocence! Truly, it is a
rare thing with such gifts as these not to allow the heart to be
enslaved by the attractions of the world and its vanities, and to
preserve purity untainted; for the beauty of the body alone al
ways fights most strenuously against the purity of the soul, as
St. Augustine plainly says: " What is very beautiful soon falls." '
Consider, too, his young and tender years. Who knows not that
youth, through want of understanding, weakness of nature, the
impetuosity of untamed passions, thoughtlessness, and the itch
ing to know everything, is the time in which we are most apt to
sin, and the most dangerous of our lives! How many are able
to confirm this by sad experience!
Now when in addition to all this there are not wanting occa- He had to
sions, temptations, allurements, and snares inciting to sin, who s^r^M
could venture to say that he would escape them all unhurt? In tions.
his youth Bernard was surrounded by those occasions on all sides.
His companions tried to induce him to lead a freer life, and by
their bad example to tempt him to commit unbecoming actions;
he was assailed by shameless and wanton women, who tried in
every way to gain his affections; the devil never ceased to assault
his imagination with all kinds of impure images. Nay, he had
to suffer from his own friends, relations, and brothers, who spared
no efforts to lead him from the path of virtue, and to persuade
him to indulge in sinful pleasures.
Yet in those dangerous circumstances, which are the occasion And yet
of ruin to thousands of souls, in the midst of temptations that J^tisma*
the holy David in his old age and the wise Solomon acknowl- innocence.
edged themselves too weak to overcome, Bernard's innocence re-
1 Quod valde pulcbrum est, hoc ctto cadlt.
340
On the Wonderful St. Bernard.
Nay, always
ea
nocent m
mained in its pristine vigor. I have read the whole history of
his life most carefully in order to see whether I might not
detect some trace of those faults that even the holiest are wont
to commit; but I could not find the least indication of his hav
ing been wanting in anything, except in mere outward appear
ance, as we shall see farther on.
Hardly had he attained the use of reason when he made it
his first and most important business to know God, to love God,
to be united with God in constant prayer, so that while still a
child he was honored more than once by a visit from the Child
Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, the Queen of heaven, who taught
him in a special manner how to pray internally and to meditate
on heavenly things; hence he never after found pleasure in any
thing except in the thought of God and heavenly truths. To
his elder brothers he was a perfect model of obedience and sub
mission to his parents; his control over his tongue was an indi
cation of the wonderful silence he afterwards introduced among
his religious; his love of solitude was so great that he could not
be induced to go into company, as if he had been born for the
religious and solitary life. The money given him for his pleas
ure belonged, not to him, but to the poor, to whom he gave it all,
without keeping the least part for himself, and so great was his
charity as well as his humility that he did this only in secret, so
that no one could see him. His love of truth, his modesty and
reserve made him resemble an angel more than a human being.
The world and all that the world loves was in his sight only a
worthless rag. As it seems to me, he dealt with it almost as
Moses did with the land of Egypt; before that holy lawgiver left
Egypt he, by divine inspiration, deprived it of its treasures.
Even so Bernard was not content with leaving the world, and de
voting himself completely to the service of God, for he brought
away from it with him all that he had most precious and costly,
namely, his own relations — his brothers and sisters, nay, even
his father, all of whom he persuaded to join the religious life
either with himself or afterwards.
From this, my dear brethren, I leave you to judge of the life
^at ^e ^ *n a^ter years- I argue in this manner: If, while
still a child, a youth, he had such a distaste for the world and its
J0^8 an(^ g00^8' an(^ sucn a desire and longing to devote himself to
divine and heavenly things, how must it have been with him
afterwards, when he became a man, and was taught the most sub-
On the Wonderful St. Bernard. 34 1
lime mysteries by the Almighty? If he remained free from sin in
the midst of filth; if he suffered no loss of innocence in the deceit
ful world, and amid temptations,, occasions,, and dangers, how must
it have been with him in the walls of the cloister, in the religious
life? Certainly if virtue and innocence have a favorite place
on earth it is in the religious state. And therefore I repeat that
if in the world, where he lived for three and twenty years — if in the
world, where there are so many foes to virtue, where innocence is
secretly and openly attacked, he still managed to keep it untar
nished, Heave you to imagine how much more innocent, holy, and
perfect he must have become in the cloister. The history of his
life, which there is no time now to refer to, shows that. See
now what a wonder of innocence Bernard was. But at the same
time behold in him a wonder of penance, or of repenting inno
cence, as we shall see in the
Second Part.
Here I might well make the same confession as St. Gregory Yet this in-
makes when speaking of the penitent Magdalene: " When I think ^M mos^
of the penitence of Mary Magdalene I am more inclined to weep severe pen-
than to speak. "' I may say the same of the penitence of Ber- auce'
nard. This angel, so far removed from the shadow of sin, so
pious, so holy, nevertheless treated himself as harshly, as severe
ly, and as unmercifully during his whole life as if he were the
greatest sinner in the world; nay, he could not have been harder
on himself if he had in reality surpassed all sinners in wickedness.
I will not return to his youthful years and recount the austeri
ties he then practised. As soon as he entered religion, and de
voted himself altogether to the divine service, he began to prac
tise towards himself what he afterwards recommended to his nov
ices as the very foundation of the religious life; he told them
that they should leave their bodies outside the gates of the mon
astery, and enter with the soul alone, that is, they must once for
all renounce all bodily comforts, and treat their flesh as if it were
their worst enemy.
To realize this in himself Bernard crept away from all soci- Bymorti-
ety of men, into a most savage and solitary wilderness, and he ouuvarcf
used to say afterwards that here his councillors, advisers, and senses.
masters were the oaks and beeches. He never allowed the least
satisfaction to the outward senses; he kept them so well in check
1 Cogitanti mihi de Marine Magdalense poenitentia, flere magis libet, quam aliquid dicere.
342 On the Wonderful St. Bernard.
that one might say of him what Our Lord said in quite a dif
ferent meaning: " Having eyes, see you not? and having ears,
hear yon not? " 1 He had eyes and saw not, ears and heard not,
a tongue and spoke not. For a whole year he lived in a room,
and did not know at the end whether it was vaulted or ceiled
with boards. He was always of the opinion that the church in
which he used to pray had but one window to admit the light.
After having wearied his body the whole day with hard work,
he did not permit it to rest at night; his sleep was so short that
it seemed impossible for him to preserve life with it.
By severe Eating and drinking, if we can call them so in his case, were
with him unknown things; he had such a disgust for meals that
when the time for them came he felt, as his Life says, as if he
were going to the rack; the bare thought of food and drink was
enough for him. And when, after long fasting, his emaciated
body was in need of food to preserve life, his meal consisted of
a draught of water and a piece of barley bread, which was so in
sipid that Pope Innocent II., when he saw a bit of it, began to
weep with those who were with him, thinking it impossible for
a man to live on such nourishment as that. The usual food of
his religious were boiled beech leaves; if Bernard happened now
and then to taste them he thought he had been partaking of a
delicious banquet, although by constant fasting he had lost the
sense of taste to such an extent that he could not distinguish
one kind of food from another, and once, through inadvertency,
drank water instead of wine. At last he was hardly able to take
enough food to keep body and soul together.
Bychastis- Besides this fasting, watching, and labor, which did not seem
flesb. penance enough for him, he tortured his emaciated body by a
hair-shirt, which he never laid aside, and with iron girdles,
scourges, and disciplines, as if he were minded to kill it alto
gether. And (mark this, my dear brethren) the holy man was
so severe to himself that, although he was free from all internal
maladies and pains, as well as from external diseases, from his
first entry into religion, yet it is no wonder that he became so
thin and worn that he looked more like a skeleton than a living
man, and one could say of him what St. John Chrysostom said
of St. Paul, the great apostle: " He was nothing but soul; "* be
sides his bones and dried-up skin he had nothing but his §onl,
1 Oculos habentes non videtis ? et aures habentes non auditis ?— Mark vlil. 18.
3 Nuda erat anima.
On the Wonderful St. Bernard. 343
which, according to the testimony of the physicians of the time,
could not have existed had not his life been preserved specially
by God that he might torture himself longer. This penitential
life he never interrupted, although engaged in many important
matters of Church and state; still practising these austerities, and
animated by the love of his neighbor and his zeal for the glory
of God, he travelled through all the kingdoms and important
cities of Europe, bearing about with him everywhere, as he him
self says, " the pallid image of his death."
What think you of this, my dear brethren? What could be so did this
more wonderful than the union of such innocence with such peni- man treat
tence? A very severe penance awakens horror even in the worst wmseif.
sinners, although it seems tolerable to some extent that a man
should be hard on himself when he remembers that by his mis
deeds he has often merited the pains of hell. What wonder is
it that such a man should treat himself with a holy anger, and
take a just revenge on the flesh that sinned so often? But for
a man in whose life not the least fault can be found, whose con
science reproves him with nothing, to chastise himself in so ter
rible a manner, does it not seem as if we could regard that as an
injustice, a culpable presumption, a cruelty? But holy people
are wont to weigh their faults more accurately than others; let
us hear, then, what was the fault in Bernard that, according to his
idea, merited such severe punishment. I have found one.
Perhaps it was this, my dear brethren: In his early youth And that to
Bernard had once allowed his eyes to wander for a moment on a
person of the opposite sex, although he immediately turned them
away again. There you have all his sins together; I cannot find
any more. 0 innocent Bernard, is that the worit thing you
have done? Is that the sin that deserved such a long and cruel
penance? Was that the fault that had to be atoned for by such
fasting, watching, scourging, and shedding your own blood ? Oh,
if so, wo to me! wo to all poor sinners! What ought I not to
do, then, to atone for my many and grievous sins! Ah, quickly,
Bernard, give me thy garb of penance, thy iron girdle, the rods
and scourges with which thou didst arm thy hands. All the
torments of the martyrs are not enough to atone for my sins if
thy faults had to be punished so severely. And hadst thou not
in thy youth done penance enough for them? Hear, my dear
brethren, how he acted. As soon as he thought of himself after
1 Ubique pavidae mortis pallidam circumferens imagined.— S. Bern. Ep. 144.
344 On the Wonderful St. Bernard.
that incautious glance, and remembered that he had given way
to curiosity, filled with contrition, he ran and threw himself into
a frozen pond in the winter time to wash out that stain; there
he remained up to the neck in water until he was drawn out,
more dead than alive. And that this penance of his was pleas
ing to God is evident from the fact that from that time con
cupiscence was so extinguished in him that he never felt the
least inclination to carnal lust, inborn though that inclination
is in us all. But, I ask again, was this penance not enough for
such a small fault? What necessity was there for such austeri
ties during the remainder of his life? Ah, my dear brethren,
this is the thought that fills me with shame! For that highly
enlightened soul knew better what it is to offend the sovereign
majesty of God, worthy of all love, even by a small fault only
once; he knew well that the only way to heaven is the rugged
way of the cross; he understood that he is not worthy of Christ
who does not daily take up his cross and follow Him. Therefore
Bernard embraced the cross, and in that position he is generally
painted, and with the cross the instruments of Our Lord's pas
sion, sighing forth constantly, like St. Paul: " With Christ I am
nailed to the cross. " ' And in spite of all this he thought he
was doing but little to merit heaven; for he wrote from his
death-bed to the Abbot Arnold in the following strain: Now I
am on the point of entering into eternity; pray for me to Our
Saviour, who does not desire the death of the sinner, that He
may receive my poor soul into favor.2
we have of- 0 wonderful Bernard, wonder of innocence, wonder of pen-
ance- What glory for thee, but what shame for me and those
like me! Can I, can any of you, my dear brethren, compare our
innocence with that of Bernard? Let each one enter into his
own conscience, and examine with me briefly the past years of
his life. Years of my childhood, after I came to the use of rea
son, how was it with me then? Where is my innocence? Youth,
and the years that have passed since then, what have you to say?
Where is my innocence? Ye chambers and gardens, ye streets
and lanes, ye pleasure parties, ye gaming-houses and taverns,
nay, ye churches and temples, that have been witnesses of my
past life, if you could speak what would you say? Where is
my innocence? How often have I lost it alone by myself, how
1 Christo conflxus sum cruci.— Gal. ii. 19.
2 Orate Salvatorem, etc.
On the Wonderful St. Bernard. 345
often in company, how often in thought and desire, in unlawful
discourses, in songs, in shameful touches, in deeds and actions?
Ah, innocent Bernard, lend me the words which thy humility
forced from thee; they are better suited in their obvious meaning
to me; the monstrous life I have led cries, not to men, who can
not see the heart, but to the all-knowing God, who proves the
reins, and says that as thou art a wonder of innocence, so I am
a wonder of wickedness!
Meanwhile where is my penance? After a life spent in sin, And yet do
. , . „, -, -, such little
while my conscience reproves me with so otten having onended penance.
God, lost my soul, bartered heaven, and merited the everlasting
fire of hell, can I imagine that I may lead a careless and an easy
life and go to heaven on a bed of roses and soft down? My de
sires always tend to rest, comfort, good living, eating, drinking,
and sleeping; I seek what pleases my eyes, delights my ears,
tastes well to my palate; that I take when I can have it; but
penance is a word that I do not wish to understand the meaning
of. To yield to my neighbor, to forget an imaginary insult, to
keep silent when a word of contradiction is spoken, is for me an
insuperable difficulty; the least touch of adversity is enough to
make me burst forth into curses, imprecations, and blasphemies,
as if I had never done any wrong. In the daily crosses and trials
from which hardly one on earth is free, in the little troubles sent
to me that come from the hand of the heavenly Father, who
means so well with me, I begin to murmur, through discontent,
to complain against God as if I were treated unjustly, as if I
were innocence itself. What is to be the end of this life of mine
if the way to heaven is that by which the saints of God travelled?
if the way to heaven is no other, even for innocent and just souls,
than the way of mortification, of self-denial, of constant crosses
and penance; the way that Jesus Christ has marked out for all
the elect? Is there perhaps a different, a more comfortable and
broad way for the sinner who has often and grievously offended
God? Shall he perhaps have less penance to do in order to go to
heaven than an innocent man?
Alas, where shall I creep to on that day when I shall see an so that one
innocent Bernard coming forward, armed with the cross, the rods, hofy peni.
and scourges, followed by a countless multitude of his spiritual tents shall
sons, and hear him speaking to the Judge in the words of the
Prophet Isaias: " Behold I and my children, whom the Lord
346 On the Wonderful St. Bernard.
hath given me for a sign, and for a wonder in Israel." ' Behold,
here I am (so I imagine Bernard speaking), and I have with me
the children whom the Lord gave me to be a sign in the Church of
God; who, after my example, united innocence with penance; for,
generally speaking, they were taken from the dangerous world
in the first bloom of their youth, and yet they spent the remain
ing years of their lives in this holy solitude, in many watchings,
in fasting, and other austerities; their sole business was to praise
God and love Him with unceasing prayers and hymns; their only
profession was to learn nothing but to be crucified here with the
crucified Jesus. What, then, shall become of me, I ask again,
who have done so much evil and so little penance? Ah, my Lord
and my God, what am I to do? Must I not begin at last to
amend my way of life?
Resolution Yes, truly, I acknowledge it is high time to do so. It shall be
done, 0 Lord, with Thy grace, this very day! To-day shall my
penance begin, and that by the most necessary penance of all;
for I will first make a candid confession of all my sins, and es
pecially of those secret sins that I have carried about for so many
years in my uneasy conscience, that shame kept me from telling,
so that I have never made a sincere confession, and have incurred
the guilt of many sacrileges and unworthy communions; I will
confess them now candidly and with a contrite heart. And in
future my sinful eyes shall be kept from indulging in wanton
glances, and, with Bernard, even from looking at things that are
remotely dangerous. My sinful ears shall do penance, for I will
close them to all unlawful and uncharitable discourse. My sin
ful tongue shall do penance, for it will never more indulge in
that un-Christian, hellish speech common to all the reprobate,
namely, that scandalous cursing and swearing. My sinful mouth
shall do penance, for I will never more indulge in excessive drink
ing, which, as I know by experience, has been the occasion of
many sins. My sinful feet shall do penance, for they will never
more bear me to that person, that house, that company where I
have found the occasion of sin. My sinful hands shall do pen
ance, for I will this very day make restitution of ill-gotten goods,
and never more stretch them forth to unlawful actions. My
wanton flesh shall do penance by being forced to renounce even
lawful amusements, since it has so often indulged in forbidden
1 Ecce ego et pueri mei, quos dedit mihi Dominus in signum, et in portentum Israel.— Is.
Viii. 18.
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World. 347
ones, contrary to the law of God. I will do penance my whole
life long by patiently bearing all the annoyances that are caused
me daily by my husband, my wife, my children, my neighbors,
in any way whatsoever; by willingly undergoing all the contra
dictions that the Almighty may please to send me, humbly ac
knowledging that I have deserved far more on account of my
sins; that so, with the penitent St. Bernard (since I cannot as an
innocent penitent), at least as a penitent sinner receive in heaven
the reward promised by a merciful God to all penitents. Amen.
SIXTY-SIXTH SERMON.
ON ST. BERNARD AS A DESPISER OF THE WORLD,
Subject.
1. St. Bernard left everything to follow Christ; 2. We, too,
should leave everything to follow Christ into heaven. — Preached
on the feast of St. Bernard.
Text.
Ecce, nos reliquimus omnia, et secutisumuste. — Matt. xix. 27.
" Behold, we have left all things, and have followed Thee."
Introduction.
Is it then such a great exploit to leave all things? Sometimes
even heathen philosophers did that, as St. Jerome says of the
gospel from which I have taken my text: ''This was done by
Crates, the philosopher; and many others despised riches." Yes;
but mark, my dear brethren, how in the words of my text St.
Peter does not merely say: We have left all things, but he adds:
We have followed Thee. That the heathens did not do; they left
earthly goods through vanity and love of praise, in order to be
admired and esteemed by men; but, as St. Jerome says, to leave
all things and follow Christ, to walk in His footsteps, " is the
mark of the apostles and the faithful." St. Bernard could say
with truth of himself these words of St. Peter, as I now mean to
prove in this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Bernard left all things to follow Christ; the first and long
er part. We, too, should leave all things to follow Christ into
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World.
The goods
leave are
partly ex-
st. Bernard
temai
goods.
heaven; the second part. The first to the undying praise of SL
Bernard; the second to the use and profit of our souls.
0 great servant of God, St. Bernard, obtain this latter grace
for us from God, for whose sake thou didst leave all things; we
expect it through the hands of the Blessed Virgin, whom thou
didst love most tenderly in a wonderful manner. Help us here
in you, too, holy angels.
There are two kinds of goods that we mortals can leave in this
world : the first are external, the second are within ourselves.
The external goods are described by Our Lord in to-day's gospel:
" Evei7 one that hath leffc house, or brethren, or sisters, or fa
ther, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands." In a word, to
this class belongs everything that man can possess, or gain, or
appropriate to himself for his support, or advantage, or amuse
ment. The internal goods that belong to us are body and soul,
freedom, understanding, memory, our natural inclinations and
desires, the use of our eyes, ears, tongue, and other senses and
powers of our body. There we have all that man has had placed
in his power by the Creator. Now if Christ has pronounced
blessed, and prizes so highly one who has left only some of the
outward and less valuable goods, such as house, or lands, or broth
er, or sister for His sake, so that He is willing to give him a
hundredfold here, and life eternal in heaven, how highly must He
not value, what a great reward, honor, and glory must He not
give to him who once for all leaves, not some of those things, but
everything for His sake!
Such a generous and faithful follower of Jesus Christ was St.
Bernard, my dear brethren. There was nothing in or outside
of himself which he did not completely, without the slightest ex
ception, and in the most perfect manner, leave and give to his
God forever. First, he did not keep for himself any of his ex
ternal goods, but everything that had the name of a temporal
good that belonged to him, or that he could hope for, or gain in
future, he left forever; nor did he, like St. Peter, wait to do this
until he had arrived at man's estate, and was called by Christ to
follow Him; but in his early youth, as soon as he came to the
use of reason, and was able to understand the interior voice of
the divine inspiration, when he had hardly begun to taste the
first enjoyment of worldly goods, he already resolved to relin
quish them once for all; and this resolution he carried into effect,
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World. 349
not being deterred from it by any difficulty, hindrance, tempta
tion, persecution, although his brothers and relations did all they
could to prevent him; nor was he easy in his mind until he
could say with Peter: Behold, I have left all things — house and
home, gold and money, father, brothers, sisters, friends, relations,
and acquaintances. Good-bye to all of you ! I will go to the des
ert; God alone shall be my refuge.
And what kind of a house and home did he leave? If Peter Andthe7
were great
had a home of his own to leave, I can find in it nothing in the andnumer
shape of worldly goods, as St. Jerome says, speaking of this gos- ous-
pel, except a poor fisherman's garment, a few nets, hooks, and
other fisher's gear by which he managed to earn his bread.
"And yet/' continues St. Jerome, " he says with confidence: We
have left all things." Of what kind was the house of Bernard?
As Ribadeneira tells us, it was that of a noble and rich family.
On account of the wonderful keenness of intellect and great mind
and ability of which Bernard gave promise in his early youth,
his brothers were not at all willing that he should enter religion, a
rare thing among brothers and sisters; and the children of the
family were seven in number. From this we can judge what a
rich inheritance he left; otherwise his brothers and sisters would
not have taken such trouble to prevent him from entering re
ligion; besides that, his personal comeliness attracted the atten
tion of many of the opposite sex, who tried to gain his affec
tions. From all this, my dear brethren, you can easily imagine
what prosperity Bernard had to expect, what honor he could
have enjoyed, and what pleasures awaited him had he remained
in the world and lived according to the usages of the world.
Oh, truly, it requires a great fight in the human heart, an heroic ^^"nj0*
and difficult act of self-denial, to renounce all those things of imquished
one's own free will, and leave them forever! How was it with witbout a
that young man of whom we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
who, through a desire of saving his soul, had most carefully ob
served all the commandments from his childhood, and with all
eagerness presented himself to Our Lord, and asked Him : " Good
Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?"
I have kept all the commandments from my youth. ff What is
yet wanting to me? " " If thou wilt be perfect," said Jesus to
him, " go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor; and come,
follow Me." Alas, what a hard saying for this young man, well-
meaning though he was! " And when the young man had heard
350 On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World.
this word," says the Scripture, "he went away sad." Why?
"For he had great possessions." So difficult it is to separate
one's self from worldly goods when they are possessed in abun
dance. And this was what Our Lord said to His disciples after
the young man had gone away: "Amen, I say to you, that a rich
man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." 1
He left And yet how did Bernard act in similar, nay, more difficult
them in the
mostperfect circumstances? Great as was the wealth to wnich he could just-
manner. ]y Jay daim, attractive as were the comforts and pleasures that
awaited him, high as was the position promised him by the world,
he cast it all aside and turned his back on it to follow Christ.
And where did he go to? Mark, my dear brethren, the perfec
tion with which he left all. We still praise and admire the
obedience of the Patriarch Abraham when God commanded him,
saying: "Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and out of thy father's house."2 He obeyed at once; but he
did not leave all; for, as the Scripture says, he took with him
Sarah, his wife, and Lot, the son of his brother, "and all the
substance which they had gathered." Besides, he was promised
a far better and richer land, where God was to give him abun
dance of blessings and goods, and to make him the father of an
innumerable people. It is not hard to leave one's country on
such conditions. But it was quite different with Bernard; he
did not bring the least iota with him, except that his father,
brother, sister, and some of his nearest relatives, persuaded by
his example and exhortations, left the world and joined the
banner of Christ. The place to which he fled was a wilderness,
abandoned by men; there his home was the desert, his possessions
extreme poverty, his bed the hard earth, his clothing a rude garb
of penance, his food boiled beech leaves, his company hazel and
beech trees, as he himself tells us. In a word, of the whole
world he had nothing but room enough in which to pray, watch,
fast, and praise God. " Behold, we have left all things;" that
is the right way in which to renounce the world.
Many men of the world cannot understand the ideas of relig-
ions, and look on it as a strange thing to abandon all temporal
ompieteiy. g00^s. some, jn fact, go so far as to condemn this mode of action
1 Magister bone, quid boni faciam, ut habeam vitam feternam? Quid adhuc mihi deest?
Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende quae habes, et da pauperibus, et veni, sequere me. Abiit
tristis, erat enim habens multas possessiones. Amen dico vobis, quia dives difficile intra-
bit in regnum coelorum.— Matt. xix. 16, 20-33.
8 Egredere de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui. — Gen. xii. 1.
8 Universamque substantiam quam possederant.— Ibid. 5.
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World. 35 1
as opposed to nature and reason; but their astonishment and
condemnation are the result of gross ignorance, for they know
not how to distinguish between transitory and true everlasting
goods. Bernard could see much farther ahead; all that he left
he looked on as toys, and it seemed to him that in giving to God
his external goods he had given nothing at all, and therefore
he gave himself, with body and soul, and all that he was and had.
So that after renouncing all things he completely detached His body
himself from them. He renounced his body, and he used after
wards to say to his novices that they should leave their bodies
outside the door of the monastery, and enter with the soul alone;
and in fact he treated his body as if it did not any more belong
to him, but was the property of some malefactor that merited
nothing but to be daily scourged and chastised; and he was as
unmerciful, cruel, and severe towards it as I have described on.
another occasion, when speaking of his wonderful penance.
He abandoned the use of his tongue, which he condemned to a
perpetual silence, so that he never allowed it to speak a word,
unless to praise God and announce His glories. He abandoned
the use of his ears, for he separated himself from all society of
men, and took no interest in anything that occurred outside him
self; nay, even the pleasing song of the birds was an annoyance
to him, so that, as is well known, he caused the nightingales in
Himmenrodt to become dumb because they disturbed him in
his prayer and intercourse with God; and those birds are dumb in
that place to this day. He abandoned the use of his eyes, which
he so mortified and chastened by long self-denial that when they
beheld any object he took no notice of it. He lived a whole year
in a novice's cell, and when he came out he did not know whether
the cell was vaulted or had a boarded ceiling. In the church
that he visited daily he thought there was only one window in
the choir, although there were three of them. For a whole day
he travelled once along a lake, and did not remark it, or take any
notice of it, or remember that he had seen it; for when the re
ligious began to speak of this lake in the evening he asked where
it was. He abandoned the use of his taste, for he was so ema
ciated by his long and severe fasts that he could hardly take
enough nourishment to preserve his life, and at last he lost all
taste completely, and could not distinguish one kind of food
from another. Foi many days, one after the other, he ate raw
blood that had been set before him by mistake, and drank oil in-
,52 On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World.
All the fac
ulties of
his soul.
His health
and life.
Thus he
merited a
great re
ward.
stead of water, without in the least noticing what he was eating
or drinking. It would take too long to relate all that is written
in his Life of similar traits of his.
And what wonder was it? How could it be otherwise? All
the senses of the body must lose their power when, as was the
case with Bernard, the soul itself was, so to speak, abandoned,
which, with all its faculties, memory, understanding, will,
thoughts, and desires, was by night, during long watching, as
well as by day, while he worked hard, always sunk in God alone,
and, as it were, ravished out of itself. In a word, the life led
by this wonderful man was more like that of an angel without a
body or bodily appetites than that of a human being. ' ' No one,"
says the Abbot William, in the history of his life, " could, in my
opinion, explain how he lived who does not live by the same
spirit." '
And even this solitude and intimacy with God that were so
dear to him he left when the honor of God, the good of the
Church, and the salvation of souls required it. He travelled
through nearly every country in Europe, and visited the chief
cities of Italy, France, and Germany, partly to combat the new
heresies that were just cropping up, and partly to further impor
tant ecclesiastical business that was entrusted to him by different
Popes. In these journeys he lost no opportunity of working
countless wonders in his unwearied zeal for the honor of God,
and that without in the least abating his wonted austerities, un
til at last, worn out and exhausted, more like a skeleton, as
he says himself, than a living man, leaving all his remaining
strength and vital spirits for the love of God, he resigned his
valiant soul into the hands of his Creator.
"Behold, we have left all things, and have followed Thee.
What, therefore, shall we have?" Such was the question asked
by St. Peter, who had left only a few fisherman's nets. 0 holy
St. Bernard, what reward must then have been given to thee?
Yet thou didst receive here on this earth the hundredfold. Didst
thou not receive a hundred times more wealth, in the shape of
illuminations and graces from God, than thou didst renounce in
the world ? A hundred times more honor and glory, too, before
men, in every place where thy wonderful sanctity was known,
than thou could st have hoped for in thy father's house? A hun
dred times more consolation, joy, and delight in thy intimacy
1 Neminem enarrare posse puto, qui non vivat de spiritu, de quo ille vixlt.
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World. 353
with God than all the pleasures of the world could have given
thee? Oh, what glory, happiness, and sweetness will now, 0
Bernard, be thy lot in all eternity with God in heaven! This
we cannot now understand; but we shall see it one day with
thee, if we only now endeavor to follow the example of thy vir
tues, and for God's sake to renounce all things. My dear breth
ren, if we wish the first we must also do the latter. We, too,
if we desire to follow Christ into heaven, should and must leave
all things for God's sake. This is briefly the moral lesson of the
Second Part.
We, too, must leave all things. Hear this, ye married men ! We< too'
Go away, then, from your wives; leave house and home, shop, everything,
business, and trade! We must leave all things. Hear this, ye asfarasoul
mothers; leave your children to themselves; to the desert with afe con-S
you! We must leave all things. Children, why do you tarry? cemed.
You must take leave of father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends,
and relations, and shut yourselves up in the walls of a cloister!
We must leave all things. At once, ye peasants; give up your
fields and lands and vineyards; they are no more for you; you
are relieved from all work; abandon your homes and barns,
•and follow Christ, if you wish to go to heaven! But, you will
say, what queer kind of preaching is this? Have we not received
from God, by the apostle St. Paul, the express command: "But
to them that are married, not I, but the Lord commandeth,
that the wife depart not from her husband. And let not the
husband put away his wife " ? 1 Are not all parents bound by
God, under a grievous obligation, to bring up their children
for God and heaven, to keep a watchful eye on them, and to
direct them as well as they can? Does not the same apostle
say: "Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was
called " ? a How can these commands be fulfilled if we have to
run away and leave everything? And you are right! Eemain,,
therefore, where you are, with your own, according to the require
ments of your duty and state of life, and live in a Christian and
holy manner as becomes you. Meanwhile it is true that all who
wish to save their souls must leave all things, not indeed in
act, but at least in heart, affection, and inclination. Of this
1 lis autem qui matrimonio juncti sunt, praecipio, non ego, sed Dominus, uxorem a vlro
non discedere. Et vlr uxorem non dimittat.— I. Cor. vii. 10, 11.
1 Unusquisque in qua vocatione vocatus est, in ea pennaneat. — Ibid. 30.
354 On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World.
the same apostle writes in the same chapter: "This, therefore,
I say, brethren: The time is short; it remaineth that they also
who have wives be as if they had none; . . . and they that buy as
though they possessed not; and they that use this world as
though they used it not." ' In this consists the detachment of
the heart, that one does not allow his heart, inclinations, and
desire to cleave to any earthly thing, and uses what is necessary
only so far as is required for the service of God; and that one
is always so disposed in his heart as to lose husband, wife, chil
dren, house and home, money and property, rather than for their
sake to transgress any one of the divine laws. He who is not so
disposed at heart, and does not in that manner and in affection
leave all things, is not on the way to heaven.
Besides, we must also in reality leave everything at once that
we cannot retain without losing our souls. Sinners, leave, there-
fore, by speedy repentance and amendment, the yoke of the evil
one whom you have been serving hitherto; leave that unhappy
state in which, if death surprises you, your poor souls will be
condemned to the eternal pains of hell. Do this at once; there
is no time to lose! You must leave everything that, so long as
you retain it, keeps you from regaining the grace of God. You
must leave that ill-gotten gain that you have hitherto had in
your possession, and restore it to its lawful owner. You must
leave that secret hatred, anger, and desire of revenge you have
hitherto entertained against your neighbor, whom you could not
bear to look at, or to speak a kind word to, and you must be re
conciled to him from your heart. You must leave the proxi
mate occasion of sin; that house in which, as you know by ex
perience, you have sinned so often and grievously; that company
in which you have done so much evil; that person with whom
you have been united in the bonds of unlawful love. If you do
not leave all these things all your confessions, communions, and
absolutions are nothing but so many sacrileges. You must leave
that bad habit of cursing, which gives so much scandal to your
children and domestics; that habit of excessive drinking, which
is the cause of so much sin; that habit of talking against chari
ty, which so often injures the character of your neighbor; that
habit of impure conversation, which is the occasion of evil to so
many innocent souls. You must leave that perverse, scandalous,
1 Hoc itaque dlco fratres : Tempus breve est ; reliquum est, ut et qui habent uxores, tan-
quam non habentes sint ; ... et qui emunt, tanquam non possidentes ; et qui utuntur hoc
mundo, tanquam non utantur.— I. Cor. vii. 29-31.
On St. Bernard as a Despiser of the World. 355
and unlawful worldly custom which cannot harmonize with the
teaching and principles of the gospel. You must leave that deviFs
pillow, that is, idleness, which is the cause of so much sin to
yourselves and your children. You must leave that habit of
gambling and paying unnecessary visits by which so much pre
cious time is squandered, and which prevents the training of
children from being properly attended to.
Further, we must leave all that might place us in danger of And an
losing the grace of God by sin; namely, we must leave thej^™lgnt
too free use of the eyes, so that, like Bernard, we must close from GOQ.
them, not only to unlawful objects, but even to those that are re
motely dangerous; we must leave the too curious use of the ears,
that we may not listen to uncharitable or impure talk; we must
leave the too unrestrained use of the tongue, that we may learn
to be silent about the faults and failings of others; we must leave
the use of the feet, that they may not bring us into the danger
ous company of persons of the opposite sex; and we must leave
all carnal sensualities, and mortify our senses, often even in law
ful things, for the sake of God and heaven. Finally, we must
and will, with all our hearts, leave all that the providence of God
has not given to us as well as to others who are richer, or that
He has taken from us by misfortune and temporal calamities, or
that He may in future deprive us of; so that, since we must in
any case suffer the loss of those things, we may turn it to the
profit of our souls by bearing it with Christian patience and con
formity to the will of God, and with peaceful and contented
minds for the sake of God and heaven.
Let us, with the utmost care, seek wealth and riches, but, with Exhortation
Bernard, let them be heavenly riches, that no thief, nor misfort- tionto seek
une, nor adversity, nor death can deprive us of. Let us seek eternal
honor and esteem, but let them be that undying honor and glory g(
that will be ours for all eternity. Let us seek pleasures and de
lights, but let them be those of which the Apostle speaks, that
surpass all human understanding. Let us, as long as we are on
this earth, abandoned by temporal prosperity and worldly pleas
ures, always keep our hearts fixed on heaven. Yes, so it shall
be, 0 Lord! But what reward have we to expect? Even those
very goods, honors, and pleasures that we shall have sought in
this manner; Thy grace and friendship, repose of conscience,
the consolation of the Holy Ghost on earth, and eternal life with
Thee in heaven. With that we shall have enough. Amen.
356 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
SIXTY-SEVENTH SERMON.
ON THE HOLY CONFESSOR OF TREVES, ST. SIMEON.
Subject.
1. St. Simeon had good reason to rejoice at his death, and to
say with Simeon of old: " Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant,
0 Lord," etc.; 2. If we imitate St. Simeon in life we shall have
reason to rejoice with him at the hour of death. — Preached on
the feast of St. Simeon.
Text.
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum
in pace.— Luke ii. 29.
" Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord, according to
Thy word, in peace."
Introduction.
If it be true, as Plato writes, swans never sing so sweetly and
agreeably as when they know that they are on the point of
death,1 a similar pleasing song was sung in olden times by that
pious, God-fearing old man Simeon, so celebrated by St. Luke
the Evangelist, when, after having spent a long life in the serv
ice of the Lord, he saw and received into his arms the Saviour
of the world, whom he so eagerly longed to behold. " Now,"
he cried out, full of joy, "Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0
Lord, according to Thy word, in peace." The same words, it
seems to me, could have been said with the same joy and sweet
consolation of heart by our great St. Simeon, who was like that
holy old man, not only in name, but also in justice and right
eousness, when, after having come to the end of a severe and
laborious life, in this cloister, at the invitation of his Saviour, and
in His embrace, he gave up the ghost. What just reason he had
to rejoice at the hour of death, and how we may attain to a sim
ilar happiness at the end of our lives, shall form the subject of
this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
Just cause had St. Simeon to rejoice at the hour of death, and
to sing: "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, etc.'': this we shall
see, to his praise, in the first part. If we imitate St. Simeon in
1 Cygni quando se brevi prsesentiunt morituros, tune dulcius canunt.
On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon. 357
life we shall have like cause to rejoice in death : this shall form
the lesson of the second part.
0 great patron, holy St. Simeon,, obtain for us, through the
intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, and that of the holy
angels, powerful graces, that we may resolve to do this latter,
and so be enabled in our last moments to say and sing with joy:
" Now Thou," etc.
But after all is that enough to a man's praise to be able to say st- simeon
of him that he left this world with joy? Is it then so very un-
usual and rare to die cheerfully and contentedly? Can I find
nothing else in our St. Simeon wherewith to praise him than his
last hour and departure into eternity? Is there not more than
matter enough to extol him in what almost half the world from
east to west has seen and admired of his holy and wonderful life?
Truly, my dear brethren, such is the case; and if I had time to
describe his life at length I should go in thought to Constanti
nople where, in the bloom of youth, he learned, with the liberal
arts, the contempt of the world and of all its goods, and renouncing
his native land and inheritance once for all, and leaving his
father and friends, impelled only by the love of God and the de
sire of serving Him perfectly, set out on a journey to the Holy
Laud, and accomplished it in spite of a thousand dangers and
difficulties. I should have to go with you to Jerusalem, where
he spent seven whole years attending on poor strangers and pil
grims through Christian charity; I should show you, if it were
possible, the gloomy deserts on the banks of the Jordan, the ra
vines on the shore of the Red Sea, the caves in the neighborhood
of Bethlehem, the deep holes and fallen rocks on Mount Sinai,
in which, separated from all human consolation, he hid himself
among wild animals, and lived in the utmost poverty, assailed
continually by the rage of the demons, and terrified by hideous
spectres, while he endeavored to sustain life by eating herbs and
roots, and drinking muddy, stagnant water.
Again, I should accompany you to Babylon, where this holy And en-
man, having been forced by obedience to leave his solitude in or-
der to go to France, was seized as a spy and traitor, and driven for God's
off with many insults. I should explain to you how, not long sa
after, by a decree of Divine Providence, since God wished to try
His servant by many contradictions, he fell into the hands of pi
rates, who cruelly slew all who were with him in the ship, while
35 8 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
he alone, trusting in God, leaped into the sea, and escaping the
fury of the waves, as well as the clouds of arrows that were shot
at him, arrived safely in harbor; how, now that he was deprived
of his companions, he travelled quite alone through Italy and
France, amid countless dangers by land and water, and, after
suffering many hardships, at last arrived here in Treves. From
Treves he again went with the then Archbishop Poppo to the
Holy Land, and from there returned again to Treves, which of
all places in the world was assigned to him by a divine revelation
as his last dwelling and final resting-place in his laborious life.
I could and must finally lead you here to the holes and crannies
that are still to be found in these walls where he had himself built
in, and spent the remaining seven years of his life in constant
watching, prayer, and psalmody, amid unceasing attacks of the
hellish foe, and sustaining life with a little bread and water, so
that, like St. Paul, he could say: " Our flesh had no rest, but we
suffered all tribulation. ... In many labors " I passed my life; "in
deaths often, in journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils
of robbers; in perils in the sea, in labor and painfulness, in much
watchings, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness; " * always
in difficulties, never out of want, as the Life of this Saint in
the History of Treves proves.
See, my dear brethren, what matter I have to praise him; but
I will not dwell on this, for I believe you have heard it all de-
death with scribed in former years, and perhaps you are better acquainted
with it than I am. I will only briefly recall to-day what you
have often heard before: for I refer to the holy life of this great
servant of God in proof of the proposition with which I began,
that, namely, our St. Simeon, as well as the holy old man of the
gospel, had a joyful and consoling death, which sets the crown
on all his other laudable exploits, and that he could say with as
much desire and longing as his namesake the Canticle of Simeon:
" Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord, according to Thy
word, in peace." And truly, if the saint of old could utter those
consoling words on account of his just and pious life, as the
Scripture says of him: "And behold there was a man in Jeru
salem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout," 2 and
1 Nullam requiem habuit caro nostra, sed omnem tribulationem passi sumus. ... In la-
boribus plurimis, in mortibus frequenter; in itineribus soepe, periculis fluminum, periculis
latronum, etc.— II. Cor. vii. 5 ; xi. 23, 26, 27.
2 Ecce homo erat in Jerusalem, cui nomen Simeon, et homo iste Justus et timoratus.--
Lufee ii. 25.
So that he
had reason
to await
On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon. 359
God-fearing, what else but piety and uprightness do we find in
the life of our St. Simeon? If the former had a desire and long
ing to die because his eyes had seen the Saviour, as he says him
self: " Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation/' 1 so, too, did
our St. Simeon see with his own eyes the holy places in which
the same Saviour was born, where He died and was buried, and
where He rose again and ascended into heaven; while with the
eyes of the faith, and far more meritoriously, he saw his Lord
continually in contemplation, and embraced Him in his heart
with burning love. If a divine revelation gave the former cour
age to die: " He had received an answer from the Holy Ghost,
that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the
Lord/' 2 so, too, our St. Simeon had received a similar answer
from God; for three months before his death he himself related
in detail to the Abbot Ebervin, in his cell, how God had an
nounced to him his approaching death; how he was to die in
presence of the Abbot, and in what manner he was to be buried.
I know well that death is looked on as the most terrible of all For he had
terrible things. I know, too, that the approach of death is wont feai% like
to make even the bravest heroes and holiest souls shudder and others,
tremble with dread and aversion through the natural horror we
have of it. But what fear or terror could it cause such a serv
ant of God, who had, so to speak, spent the time of his life
rather with the dead in a grave than with the living? When
David spoke of the courage of Abner he said: " Not as cowards
are wont to die hath Abner died/' The same I might say of St.
Simeon: Not as cowards are wont to die hath Simeon died; not
with fear and trembling, but full of consolation and joy. Sin
ners may await death with anguish and despair; and no wonder
they should, for they have every ill to fear, and no good to hope
for. Not as these did our Saint die; for to keep his soul, inno
cent as it was, from hell, he condemned himself to prison, and
could say with St. Jerome: '' Through fear of hell I have sen
tenced myself to this prison." 4 Let those vain children of the
world die with fear and trembling who fix their thoughts and
hopes in gold and temporal goods, and their hearts on creatures;
no wonder they should ; death must be bitter to them, since it
1 Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum.— Luke ii. 30.
2 Responsum acceperat a Spiritu Sancto, non vlsurum se mortem, nisi prius videret Chris
tum Domini.— Ibid. 26.
3 Nequaquam ut mori solent ignavi, mortuus est Abner.— II. Kings iii. 33.
4 Ego ob gehennse metum, carcere isto me ipse damnavi.— S. Hierou. ad Eustoch.
360 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
takes them violently away from what they love to excess. Not
as they are wont to die did Simeon die, for death could take
from him nothing but his troubles; he never asked the world
for consolation; although in the world, he was, as it were, out
of it, and was in the number of those of whom St. Paul says:
" Of whom the world was not worthy; " whom it did not deserve
to have on it; who were "wandering in deserts, in mountains
and in dens, and in caves of the earth." Let tenderlings fear
death on account of its pains; he did not die as they are wont to
die, for he never allowed himself any comfort, and was already
accustomed to suffering. Let others feel the anguish inspired
by the presence of the demons in their last moments, when the
evil spirits put forth all their strength to attack the dying man;
our Saint had little to fear from them, for he had been engaged
in constant combats with them, and had turned them into ridi
cule. Let others fear to be separated from the world, since they
desire and expect a longer life on earth; not like them did St.
Simeon die; for, like St. Paul, his most ardent wish was to be
dissolved and to be with God as soon as possible; therefore he
could not look on death otherwise than as the joyful completion
of his merits, the beginning of his future happiness, the foun
dation of his glory, the union with his last end, the crown of his
combat, a sweet sleep and longed-for repose, which was to put
an end to all the miseries of life. Finally, let others fear death
who do not know when, where, and how they are to die; not so
did St. Simeon die, for all this was revealed to him by God, who
invited him to enter into glory.
And be died oh, with what reason, then, could he not have wished for the
approach of death; nay, with what real eagerness did he not
actually see it approach; and with what joy and exultation did
he not behold the heavenly glory prepared for him, so that he
might well sing: "'Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant;" now
shall my eyes behold my Saviour, no longer darkly, but in the
clear light! Such seems to have been his idea when, a week be
fore his death, he said with a cheerful countenance to him who
brought him the bread and water as usual: Now it is finished;
you have done your duty well; you need not bring me anything
else, and then, as if saying adieu to everything in the world, he
added: "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord, accord-
1 Quibus dlgnus non erat mundus ; in solitudinibus errantes, in montibua et speluncis, et
in cavernis terrae.— Heb. xi. 38.
On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon. 361
ing to Thy word, in peace; " all suffering is now at an end.
Hunger and thirst, you will plague me no more; ye caves and
dens will no longer shut me in; ye demons will no more annoy
me; ye hardships that I have voluntarily undergone will no more
torment me; the long wished-for hour of my departure is at
hand! Now, 0 Lord, Thou dost allow Thy poor and lowly serv
ant to depart! Now wait no longer; my eyes have seen Thy holy
one; they have wept enough; my hands have labored, my feet
have walked in the way of Thy commandments; my body is
worn away with penances; my heart is melting with love; I have
done what Thou didst require of me; now Thou dost dismiss Thy
servant; now give me what Thou hast promised, according to
Thy word, which Thou didst reveal to me. Now let me depart
into that better and eternal life with the hope of which I have
consoled myself!
Thus, my dear brethren, he who wept during life could afford Precious is
,/.,,,,,•, • i • T-, • the death of
to laugh in death; thus he who was always sighing could sing at tne just>
the end; thus he who lived in hardships could at last exult;
thus he who dwelt among wild beasts and the assaults of the
demons could close his eyes and joyfully give up the ghost in
the hands of the angels, in the embrace of his Saviour. Thus
he whom the world despised and considered as a poor, simple,
miserable fool, entered into his glory in heaven, and was made
illustrious before the whole world, after his death, by countless
miracles. One day the children of the world will say: " We
fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor;
behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and
their lot is among the saints."1 0 death of the just, how pre
cious thou art in the sight of God! 0 death of the just, hc«v
joyous thou art in the hearts of the dying! 0 death of the just,
what a reward is given to thee in heaven! Eejoice, therefore,
now, 0 holy St. Simeon; we congratulate thee, and while we
humbly beg of thee to intercede for us, permit me to go on to
the moral lesson for the good of our souls in the
Second Part.
One day, and perhaps it is not far distant, that now will also There are
come for us, and we shall have to leave the world. When it J^ death*"
comes we may not all expect a revelation to warn us of it as
1 Nos incensati vitam illorum aestimabamus tnsanium, et flnem illorum sine honore ; ecce
quoraodo computati sunt inter fllios Dei, et inter sanctos sors illorum est. — Wis. v. 4, 5.
362 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
happened to St. Simeon. All the Holy Ghost says to us is: "Be
you then also ready; for at what hour you think not the Son of
man will come." Who among us is so daring as to venture
this day, this very hour, in the place in which we now are, to
send forth his voice to heaven, and to challenge death to appear?
Who has the courage to sing in joyous tones, like Simeon : " Now
Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord "? come, now, Lord, and
take me from this world? I am now ready to die? Oh, if it
came to the last moment with us, how laughing and singing
would be at an end with the most of us! Far other would be
the notes we should utter, the sighs that would burst forth from
our lips! What would you think who now exult in your youth
ful health and strength, and think of nothing but leading a
happy and comfortable life? Would yon say: Now Thou dost
dismiss Thy servant? Oh, no; methinks I he&r you rather cry
out: Oh, not now, 0 Lord, not now! it is too soon for me; I
must first learn to know the world! What would you think of
it who seem to have a good hold of prosperity, if death were to
come to your door to-day suddenly? Would you say: Now Thou
dost dismiss Thy servant? Oh, no, not yet! you would exclaim; I
have not yet prepared for death; I should like first to enjoy the
good things that surround me! What would you think who,
sunk in worldly and domestic occupations, toil and sweat the
whole day for the good of those dependent on you, and hardly
find a moment for your God and your soul? Oh, not yet, 0
Lord! you would exclaim; do not take me from my children so
soon! How would it be with you who are fettered by the love
of a creature, in whom you place all your happiness and delight,
and whom you regard as your last end? Oh, no! you would cry
out; not yet; death would be too bitter altogether now! What
would you think, 0 sinner, who are still in the state of sin, and
are still minded to continue in your wicked ways? Are you in
clined to say: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord?
Now, 0 Lord, I am ready? Ah, ready to die in the state of sin!
Oh, no; I must first make my confession; I must first be recon
ciled with God. In a word, my dear brethren, I should find
very few who, like St. Simeon, are ready with joy and cheerful
ness to await the approach of death.
some wish Yet there is no one, no matter how wicked he may be, who
does not now and then desire to die, and say with the Prophet;
1 Et vos estote parati, quia qua hora non putatis, Filius hominis veniet.— Luke xii. 40.
On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon. 363
" Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like
to them;" 1 yet we do not always dare to welcome death, because
our lives are not like the lives of the just. We sometimes hear
people crying out for death, and exclaiming, as it were, at the
top of their voice: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord!
Such is the cry of the unhappy wife; of the man who has fallen
into dire poverty and secret want, who hardly knows what to
do to find food for himself and his family; it is the cry of the
persecuted man, who is oppressed and hunted down; it is the
cry of nearly all who are discontented with their state, and over
whelmed with trials and crosses. Come, 0 death! they say; Oh, '
that I were dead! But why so? Is it through fervent love of
God? through a confident desire of heaven? Not by any means!
Love has not such power over them! Their trials, their want,
their poverty, their misery, their pain seem too much for them;
they wish to be freed from suffering, and so impatience or des
peration presses that cry from them. But a wish of that kind
is of no good, and when it is the result of despair it does not
help to heaven. Come, 0 death, that I may be freed from this
torment! What! do you really mean that? If your invitation
were accepted, and death came to you in your despair, where
would you go to? Not into the peace of the servants of God,
but in your anger and discontent you would involve yourself in
far greater sufferings. My opinion is that many a one would
bitterly repent if he were taken at his word when he utters such
thoughtless complaints, and wishes for death.
And, as there is reason to dread, how many in such circum- Many on
stances, instead of singing the joyful nunc dimittis of Simeon, ^s wn^
would rather, like the wicked Antiochus, writhe with agony on think of
their beds, and howl forth: " Into what tribulation am I come, ^£ temr
and into what floods of sorrow wherein now I am; I that was pleas
ant. . . . But now I remember the evils that I did in Jerusa
lem." 2 Ah, now at last my eyes are opened; now I see that
everything in the world that I have loved is vanity; now there
is an end to my pleasures and delights; now I know how wicked
ly and foolishly I have acted in not loving my God and serv
ing Him more zealously; now I see the sins I have committed
in the city, in that house, in that company, with that person;
1 Moriatur anima meamorte justorum, flantnovissima meahorum similia. — Num. xxiii. 10.
2 In quantam tribulationem deveni, et in quos fluctus tristitiae, in qua nunc sum, qui
Jucundus eram. . . . Nunc vero reminiscor malorum quae feci in Jerusalem.— I. Mach. vi.
11, 12.
364 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
now I remember the injustices, the hatred, the persecution of
my neighbor, the impurity and wantonness that I have commit
ted in thought, word, and action! " Into what tribulation am
I come, and into what floods of sorrow, wherein I now am!"
Would that I were now so happy as to be able to think of my
good works, and to say with Ezechias: " I beseech Thee, 0 Lord,
remember how I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a
perfect heart, and have done that which is pleasing before
Thee." '
And wish How happy I should be now, many a one will sav, if, like St.
that, likeSt. o. T i j 11 j • ' i. v* •
Simeon, Simeon, I had led a poor, austere, and just life in a cave; as
theyhadied Philip,, king of Spain, holy though he was, sighed when on his
penitent* death-bed: " Ah, how happy I should now be if I had lived in
lives. some out-of-the-way corner in a desert!" And I believe it, too;
it would be far better for him to have lived thus than to have
wielded the royal sceptre. With what sweet consolation the
formerly poor Simeon may now say: Oh, what a happiness for
me now that I lived in a corner of the desert! that I spent al
most all my life apart from men, hidden from the world, un
known, despised, living in caves and holes in the earth, serving
my God alone in solitude! 0 blessed caves, 0 blessed cells,
which enclosed me for so many years! 0 blessed tears that the
love of God forced me to shed! Blessed the nights that I spent
in watching and prayer; blessed the fasts and hunger I suffered
voluntarily; blessed the hair-girdles with which I encircled my
loins! You have raised me to this glory before men, to this
eternal joy in heaven!
Exhortation ^[y dear brethren, if we wish to die thus joyfully with St. Sim-
to leave the J . . . . . ..
world like eon> allC* "^e him to exult in the hour ot death, let us now live
st. Simeon. \{^_Q him, and abandon the world. We, I say; for the author of
the life of our Saint affirms of the people of Treves that in for
mer times they could boast, not merely of possessing the body of
St. Simeon, but also of having inherited his mind and spirit.2
Let us, then, not depart from this spirit, nor go aside from the
footsteps of our ancestors. But are we, then, all to shut our
selves up within four walls? No. Must we all become hermits,
and hide ourselves in the caves of the wilderness? No. Must
we enter a cloister and become religious? No. Must we all
1 Obsecro Domine, memento quasso, quomodp ambulaverim coram te in veritate, et in
corde perfecto, et quod placitum est coram te, fecerim. — IV. Kings xx. 3.
8 Cujus non modo Treviri corpus, veruin etiam spiritum se quondam habujspe gloriautur.
On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon. 365
lead an austere life, and pass the nights in watching, and live
on bread and water? Neither is that necessary. What, then?
Shall we, like Simeon, abandon the world? Yes! But in what
manner? In the way of which the Apostle speaks: " They that
use this world as if they used it not; " 1 they who live in the
world as laity should not and must not live according to the world,
nor according to the teaching of the world, nor according to the
perverse maxims and usages of the world, nor according to the
vain principles of the world, nor according to its false policy and
scandalous practices. We must not allow our hearts to become
attached to the goods of the world; we must keep our desires
and thoughts free from its delights; we must dwell in spirit in
heaven, and devote our chief care and labor to our God, to our
souls, and to their eternal salvation; we must mortify our senses,
and restrain and deaden our evil passions; we must take from
the hand of the Lord with patience and gratitude the miseries,
trials, and troubles that daily cross our path in the world; we
must be as satisfied, and love and serve and praise God as well
in adversity as in prosperity, in poverty as well as in riches, in
contempt as well as in honors, in sickness as well as in health,
in suffering as well as in joy; that will be a sign that we care
little for the world; that we are only pilgrims and strangers who
are here for a time; that we set little store by worldly gain, suf
fer no disappointment by worldly loss; in a word, that is the
way to leave the world in a spiritual sense.
Oh, what a joyful death will follow such a life! " Blessed are Then we
the dead who die in the Lord." a Blessed are they who, already ^"JJ ^
dead to the world, have served the Lord alone, and at last die same joy.
in the Lord. They may die poor, despised, abandoned by all;
that makes no matter; they are blessed because they die in the
Lord! And what a consolation it must be in that hour to have
enjoyed little of the consolation of this world! What a joy
to have suffered much for God's sake; to have patiently borne
many crosses and trials! What happiness to be able to look at
those things as evils that we have suffered, and that appeared in
deed hard and difficult to bear, and to remember that they are
now passed away, that they can never trouble us again; that, on
the contrary, they will be to us the source of a bliss that will
never pass! Ye miseries of this life, how many tears you have cost
1 Qul utuntur hoc mundo, taaquam non utantur. — I. Cor. vii. 31.
3 Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur.— Apoc. xiv. 13.
366 On the Holy Confessor of Treves, St. Simeon.
me! Ye persecutions,, how many sad days you made me spend!
Misfortune, poverty, secret want, how many sleepless nights
you caused me! Premature death of my dear friends, how you
have troubled me! Past pains, sighs, miseries, sicknesses, where
are ye now? You are all gone; I feel you no longer. " I have
afflicted thee," will the Lord say, " and I will afflict thee no
more; " 1 the rod is broken. ' ' Well done, good and faithful serv
ant (oh, what sweetness these words cause in the hearts of the
dying!), enter thou into the joy of thy Lord/'' 2
Resolution Q my QO(^ s}ia^ that consolation fall to my lot on my death-
to st;rvp (rod
aione zeal- bed ? Alas, what will all the world be able to do for me if I do
ousiy that 110fc foe ^ne death of the just! How could I have been so foolish
as not to have prepared myself sooner for it, and with more dili
gence! How foolish of me to make my death troubled and anx
ious by a sinful life! What a false opinion I have formed of
those contradictions that Thou, my God, hast sent me! I looked
on myself as unfortunate when I had the least thing to suffer, al
though if I had borne it for Thy sake it would have helped to pre
pare for me a joyful death and a happy heaven. In future, my
God, this shall be my greatest, my only care: to avoid all sin, to
serve Thee alone zealously, to bear with patience and joy the cross
es Thou wilt send me, and those I have now to suffer; so that one
day, when Thou wilt come for me, even if it were to-day, I may
be able to sing with consolation, like Thy servant Simeon: " Now
Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord, according to Thy word,
in peace," and bring him to heaven. Amen.
: Afflixi te, et pon affligam te ultra.— Nahura. i. 12.
» Kuge serve bone et fldelis, intra in gaudium Dojnini tui.— Matt XXT. 21.
ON THE HOLY VIRGINS AND
WIDOWS.
SIXTY-EIGHTH SERMON.
ON ST. AGNES AS A TEACHER OF WISDOM.
Subject.
The child Agnes with wonderful wisdom teaches us what be-
Jongs to God, and what to the world: namely, to the world a
sovereign contempt; to the Lord God a perfect, zealous love.
— Preached on the feast of St. Agnes.
Text.
Quinque autem ex eis erant fafuce, et quinque prudentes. — •
Matt. xxv. 2.
" And five of them were foolish, and five wise."
Introduction.
I must bring you with me into school to-day, my dear breth
ren; you and I shall be the scholars, and a child the mistress
who is to teach us. Be not ashamed when you hear the name
of a child to go into that school to learn. For it is a child of
wonderful wisdom, who is capable of teaching the wisest and
most learned in the world what they have perhaps hitherto
neither learned nor been able to understand. I speak of the
holy virgin and martyr Agnes, in years a child of thirteen, in
wisdom an accomplished mistress. " Let men stand amazed,"
says St. Ambrose, when speaking of her; "let not children de
spair; let the married be astonished; let the unmarried imitate
her." 1 Come here, all of you! exclaims St. Maxim us, and learn
in this school. What! "Learn from that young child the fer
vent love of Christ, and to esteem as filth all the delights of the
1 Mirentur viri, non desperent parruli ; stupeant nuptse, imitentur innuptae.
367
368 On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom.
world."1 This is the teaching in which all Christian wisdom
consists, which she will now explain to us, partly by word, part
ly by her example.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Agnes, a child of wonderful wisdom, teaches us what be
longs to the world, and what to God : namely, to the world a gen
erous contempt; to God a perfect and zealous love. By the first
she puts to shame the folly of worldlings; by the second our te
pidity and sloth in the divine service.
Both to the undying renown of St. Agnes, both to the profit
of our souls, which we hope to attain to-day, by the intercession
of St. Agnes, mistress of this wisdom, and especially by that of
the Queen of virgins, Mary, who is the seat of wisdom. Holy
angels, help us herein, that we may reap all the more profit from
our visit to this school.
it is no We must first go to school and study diligently, and then be-
™houk?at come masters; sucn is tne proper way, and the one generally
despise the followed. But to teach what we have never learned is either a
hTsbacT10 ridiculous presumption or else a sign of an extraordinary, infused
longexper- wisdom. For an old, worn-out man of sound mind who has
ience of its Spent many years in different parts, and experienced all sorts of
events and circumstances, and grown weary of the world — for
him to judge harshly of the world, and describe it and its goods
as worthless, and to long for better things in heaven is not so very
astonishing; for such a man, by virtue of his long experience,
has a sufficient knowledge of the inconstancy, vanity, and deceit-
fulness of worldly things, and can easily tell others how little
those things are to be valued, and how they deserve to be de
spised. See, he can say, when I was young I thought great things
of the world. 1 was like a little senseless child who, when it hap
pens sometimes to see a high mountain, thinks the sky is on the
top of it, and that if it could only climb so far it would be able
to grasp it in its hands, and to wash them in the clouds; but
when, after long climbing, it at last reaches the top, it sees then
how grossly it was deceived, and that the sky is still a long way off.
Oh, it then says, would I were down below again; but that will
cost some trouble! Such, too, were my thoughts, such the de
ceit I learned to detect by experience. I heard people speak of
1 Discite Christ! amorem in puella ferventem, et omnes mundi delicias velut stercora re
cuaantem.
On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom. 369
treasures and riches, of honor and glory, of pleasures and delights;
I saw some, splendidly clad, sitting on high, waited on by many
zealous attendants, eating, drinking, and amusing themselves
as they pleased; oh, I thought, what a high mountain of happi
ness they have reached ! Would that I were as high as they;
would that I had that property, that position, that office; if I
could possess that creature I should have a heaven of joys and
pleasure on earth! Ah, it is easy to talk of heaven! I climbed
with a great deal of trouble to the top of the mountain; after
much care and labor I became possessed of the desired good, the
coveted position and office; and what have I now from it all?
Nothing but an increase of care and worry. I was not long con
tent with that property; I wanted more; the position I gained
redoubled my cares and labor; the friend, the person on whom I
set all my hopes was taken from me by death, and left me a leg
acy of sorrow. In a word, everything in the world is vanity and
folly; it is and always will be a vale of tears, in which joys and
consolations come singly and rarely, while miseries and troubles
flock in by the dozen, nay, by the hundred. The only sensible
thing one can do is to hold fast by the Almighty God always,
<ind to seek the true joys of heaven. That, I say, such should
be the views of one who has learned by long experience is to me
not at all surprising.
But for a child who has hardly had an opportunity of seeing But for a
the world, and learning anything of it; for a child who has not f^jj0^6
had time to learn the hollo wness and falsehood of the goods of wonderful
the world; for a child who, moreover, lived in circumstances and wisdom-
occasions that all tended to inspire it with the love of the world
and of creatures, while youth of itself requires little to deceive it in
those matters, since children, through want of good sense, con
sideration, and reflection, and through the weakness of their
nature, the pleasing disposition peculiar to their years, the novel
ty of the things that attract their attention, the curiosity of the
senses, are generally inclined to judge of everything by its out
ward appearance, and take the accident for the substance and
essence, a blind color, a glittering show, a worthless toy for
an incomparable treasure; while they allow themselves to be
attracted by every sweetness, to be allured by every flattery, to
be befooled by every external beauty; — for a child, I say, in spite
of all this to have such a clear knowledge of the nothingness of
the world, and to give such a sublime example of contemning it —
3 70 On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom.
St. Agnes
was still a
child, and
exposed to
the allure
ments of
the world.
And had to
live in the
midst of its
seductions.
that is indeed a rare and prodigious instance of wisdom, which
goes far beyond the usual powers of nature; a wisdom that can
come only from the special influence of the Holy Ghost; a wis
dom that even the sage Solomon in his years of manhood seems
not to have attained to. At least he gave no proof of having
done so; for, as the Scripture says, he allowed himself to be com
pletely befooled by the love of creatures and sensual delights;
and although in his youth he had received from God a great
knowledge of natural things, yet it was only in his old age that
he pronounced that sentence on the vanity of the world, after
enjoyment and satiety had. rendered its goods insipid and dis
gusting in his sight; then only he said : " Vanity of vanities, and
all is vanity."
In the holy virgin and martyr Agnes we have an example of
this extraordinary wisdom in a child. St. Ambrose says of her
that he has no ideas nor words with which to express her praises
worthily. "Her devotion," he says, "was beyond her age; her
virtue above nature. She filled the office of a mistress of virtue,
although by her age she could not yet be mistress of herself." 2
This maiden of twelve years of age (for she was in her thir
teenth year when she shed her blood for Christ) seemed to be a
true favorite of the world, which had set forth all its charms to
attract her heart. At her first entry into life great riches, hon
ors, and comforts were at her command, for she was born of a
noble Roman family. Eare personal beauty, an agreeable man
ner, a frien'dly and affable disposition were the gifts she had re
ceived from her Creator; by their means she attracted attention,
excited admiration, and filled the hearts of all with affection for
her. What dangerous circumstances to be placed in — I. will not
say for an inexperienced girl, but even for the strongest and wis
est man; for our nature is frail, and liable even of its own accord
to be perverted by the love of a sensual world.
Now when in addition to these allurements and occasions there
are temptations and assaults as well, who could dare to say that
he will stand firm, and not allow himself to be overcome? Yet
such was the experience of Agnes. To say nothing of the period
of her martyrdom, when her virginal honor was exposed to the
utmost peril and escaped unhurt, what a hateful and yet alluring
violence was offered her by the son of a Eoman praetor, who, cap-
1 Vnnltas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.- Eccles. i. 2.
2 Quid dignum ea loqui possumus? Devotio supra setatem, virtus supra naturam. Ma-
gisteiimn virtutis iinplevit, quae adhuc arbitra sui per aetatem esse non posset.
On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom. 3 7 1
tivated by the love of her, endeavored, by promises and caresses,
by the most costly presents, and by the persuasion of her parents
and friends, to obtain her as his wife! A circumstance, indeed,
that, in the judgment of the world, would have been considered
as most fortunate for her, and would not have been contrary to
her honor or to the divine law. I need not dwell on the descrip
tion of this, for the history of her life is no doubt frequently
read and well known in this place.
But how did the child Agnes act? All the goods we have But she
heard of, and the treasures, honors, and pleasures offered to her themaii,
she esteemed as mere clay and filth, to use the words of St.
Maxitnus. Her sole thought, and the only one she would speak
of, was Jesus the crucified; her whole business was to hide her
self in His wounds; her only consolation and comfort was to medi
tate on His bitter sufferings and death. Hear how this child
speaks, as we learn from St. Ambrose, when rejecting the address
es of her suitor: " Depart from me, 0 food of death I" said she,
throwing down the ornaments of gold arid precious stones he had
presented to her, " for my heart is already occupied by another
Lover; you are too low for me; another has offered Himself to me,
and I have accepted Him as my Spouse; He offers me far more
precious treasures than you or the whole city of Rome can give;
His beauty is incomparable, His power irresistible, His wisdom in
scrutable, His riches inexhaustible; at His nod sun, moon, stare,
the earth, the heavens, the angels stand in awe, ready to obey
Him. What are you thinking of? The treasure you offer me
is a stone dug out of the earth, what my Beloved will give to me
is an eternal good; the honor you promise me is a breath of va
por that passes, while my Bridegroom will give mean unfad
ing crown of glory; the pleasure I have to expect from you is
momentary, and mixed with sorrow and pain, while He has
promised me unending joys. Your love is transitory, my Beloved
is unchangeable; you will be taken away by death, He will never
die; you will become the food of worms, He to whom I have
given my heart will live forever. Think not that for the sake
of pleasing a wretched mortal I will be unfaithful to Him; I will
be true to Him whom I love; to Him will I give all the affection
of my heart; Him will I possess, and still remain a virgin."
Hear this child speaking, my dear brethren, but not in a child- A wisdom
ish manner. Her words are marked by a wisdom that all the teach-
ers and universities in the world, with all their theological learn-
372 On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom.
ing, could not surpass. Who taught that maiden such things?
He who taught the fire to force itself up on high from the earth;
He who by the mouths of babes and sucklings knows how to
announce His praises, as the Prophet says: "Out of the mouths
of infants and of sucklings Thou hast perfected praise; " 1 name
ly, Jesus, to whom Agnes gave herself completely at the first
dawn of reason, and to whose love she devoted all the powers of
her heart and mind. So that the world, with all its goods, could
have no influence on this child, a fact which deserves all our
admiration. Let us see if it had better success with threats.
Nor did she Oh, let the world act as it pleases; let it turn all its flattery
world's e an(^ caresses into threats and outbursts of wrath; the child Agnes
threats to will not be frightened by them. Come, ye executioners, bring
h^butof f°rwar(i aH tne instruments of torture that tyranny has ever
feredher- been able to invent; the child Agnes will only laugh at them.
self joyfully Loac[ ner wj^n chains and fetters, shut her up in a dungeon, cast
to suffer all
torments, her into the most infamous den of shame, throw her into the
flames, and see whether you will be able — I do not say to make
her renounce Christ, but even to sacrifice her virginal purity by
making a promise of marriage. The child Agnes will put all
your efforts to shame. Her body is so small and tender that St.
Ambrose asks whether there is really room in it to receive a
wound from a sword.2 The child Agnes will offer it, tender and
weak as it is, to all the torments in the world for Christ's sake;
the more tender her limbs the greater the courage with which
she will put to shame all your wrath and cruelty. Where are
your bonds and fetters? She is ready to stretch out her hands
and feet to them, and even to put them on herself, if necessary.
Have you rods and whips, and at the same time strength to use
them ? This child is ready to receive the blows. Have you swords
and axes? This child is willing to stretch forth her head to be
cut off; her neck to receive the stroke. Do you threaten her
with fire? You will not be so eager to kindle it as she will be
to offer herself to the flames, with smiling countenance, and
every expression of joy, as she showed in reality. In a word, do
all you can and you will not be able to overcome her. Although
she is so young and delicate as hardly to be fit for the torture,
yet she is able to gain the victory.3 She has only one heart, but
1 Ex ore Infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem.— Ps. viii. 3.
2 Fuitne in illo corpusculo vulneri locus?
8 Nondum idonea poanse, et jam matura victorias.
On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom. 373
if she had a thousand to dispose of they would all be devoted to
the service of Jesus, her Spouse. So little does Agnes care for
all the world can offer her; so little does she fear its threats and
the harm it can do her; so clearly does she know what is due to
her God, what a great Lord He is, and how worthy of all love.
Oh, truly, a wonderful example of true Christian wisdom in one
so young!
" Learn/' I repeat with St. Maximus, " learn from her to love Lesson fw
Christ with fervor, and to despise all the goods of the world as U
mere filth. " Learn, no matter what your state in life may be, worm,
or your sex, or your age, — learn, great and small, young and
old, — learn from this teacher how to love your God and to con
demn the world. Learn from this child, you, especially, vain
children of the world, and be ashamed of your folly, which you
try to pass off as wisdom; inasmuch as you so eagerly desire, so
laboriously seek, so carefully keep, so fervently and exclusively
love what the world esteems as beautiful, noble, and costly, while
you do so little to secure eternal goods, and think as rarely of
God and heaven as if you were created, not for God, but for the
world. Children of the world, I say; for they deserve no other
name who, like senseless children, place their happiness in things
in which it cannot be found, while they neglect those true goods
in which alone happiness is. Show to a child a beautiful paint
ing, a costly golden vessel; it will indeed look at it and examine
it; but since it does not know the value of such things, it will
take no further notice; but show him an apple, a nut, a doll,
and he will stretch forth both hands to grasp it; and if you do
not give it to him he will cry most piteously. Is it not so with
most people in the world? " 0 children, how long will you love
childishness/' complains the Lord by the wise Solomon, "and
fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves?" How
long will the children of the world love its toys? God shows us
heavenly joys, which shall be ours if we only love Him; how do
most people act with regard to them? Ah, they have no taste
for them, because they have never seen or experienced them.
We bite eagerly at the apples and pears, that is, at the transitory
goods of the world, that come before our eyes and other senses;
our hearts and desires go out altogether to them; we grasp at
them; we work day and night for them, and for their sake we
1 Usquequo parvuli dlligitis infantiam, et stulti ea, quse sibi sunt noxia, cupient ?— Prov.
i.22.
3 74 On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom.
often give up God and heaven. If there is question of a fash
ion, of a custom of the world,, as to whether one should adopt it,
and dress and converse in the style favored by others, then is the
world preferred, and Jesus and His holy gospel must give way.
0 folly! " how long will you love childishness, and fools covet
those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate
knowledge?" l
For the Learn from this child, you, too, servants of God, how to love
lervants of J
?hrist. Him truly and zealously. We sometimes love God; but how?
and for how long? We should be ashamed of our laziness and
sloth when we consider St. Agnes. She loved God, and God
alone; she allowed no other lover a place in her heart; to Him
she gave herself altogether, without exception, body and soul.
Our hearts and love and affection are directed to God; but in
how many parts they are often divided! Sometimes a part is
given to this creature, at other times to that; and it is sold, as it
were, to the one that offers the most; just as little children act
who smile kindly at all who please them, without distinction,
and are just as friendly to the servants in the house as to their
own brothers and sisters. Agnes showed her love even amid fire
and sword. St. Ambrose says: " No bride hastens so eagerly to
the marriage as this virgin joyfully set out for the place of tort
ure and martyrdom." 2 We love; but how? and how long? When
everything goes according to our wish, when we are filled with
interior consolations — then we love God; but there is no great art
required for that. A true, sincere love is never better known
than in adversity; that is the touchstone to prove and test it. We
often say with the lips that we love God, and indeed that we love
Him above all things; and yet a small contradiction or difficulty
is often enough to deprive us of all energy and fervor in the serv
ice of God; if a slight cross comes in our way we begin to grow
discontented, displeased, down-hearted, cowardly — just as little
children begin to cry when they see the rod. We sometimes offer
ourselves to God, and profess our willingness to endure all for
His sake, for His honor and glory; but this offering, this will
ingness lasts only as long as we feel that we have nothing to suf
fer. If we happen to be visited by a cross (not to speak of some
serious trial, such as a long sickness, great misfortune in tempo-
1 Et imprudentes odibunt scientiam ?
9 Non sic ad tbalamum nupta properaret, ut ad supplicli locum laeta successu gradu festlna
Tirgo processit.
On St. Agnes as a Teacher of Wisdom. 375
ral things, the unforeseen death of a dear friend), if we only hear
a word of contradiction from one or the other whom we do not
like; if anything is refused, no matter how small it may be, that
we have set our heart on — oh, then, where is our virtue? where
our willingness and readiness to suffer for God's sake? Agnes
loved God always from her infancy; she offered her life to Him
in the first bloom of her years, which made the offering all the
more pleasing; we love and serve God, but when did we begin to
do so? How long had the Lord to wait for our service? Perhaps
many of us deserved in our conversion the reproof: " Thou hast
prostituted thyself to many lovers; nevertheless return to Me,
and I will receive thee." Thou comest to Me after having
played Me false with many; thou art now willing to serve Me,
after having spent long years in the service of others; the bloom
of thy youth thou hast given to the vain, transitory world, to the
flesh, to the devil; and I am to have what is left? Nevertheless,
come, and I will receive thee. Oh, truly, a painful thought for
me! 0 Lord, I am ashamed, and I must acknowledge, with the
humble and penitent St. Augustine: Late have I loved Thee, 0
God of beauty and love! Late have I loved Thee!
What a consolation it would be to me if, with those souls who consolation
have loved Thee from infancy like Agnes, and who, after having ious<
despised and abandoned the world, have devoted themselves to
Thy service, of whom I see some now before me; what a consola
tion if I could say with them: 0 God of my love, I am Thine total
ly, and have always been Thine; I turned my back on the world
before I had any experience of its hollowness and dangers! The
days of my life I have spent in this sacred solitude, in Thy serv
ice alone; I will continue, with Thy grace, as I have begun, to
sacrifice my understanding and will to Thee by obedience, my
goods by poverty, my body by chastity, my whole self by a long
martyrdom, renouncing any hope and desire of worldly honors
and pleasures. It is indeed little to offer such a great Lord; but
it is all I have; all Thou hast given me. I expect no reward ex
cept, with St. Agnes, Thee, my Beloved. Oh, what a consola
tion for a soul! Continue to enjoy it! And I will at least learn
from the child Agnes what I have not done hitherto: to despise
all temporal things, and to love Thee, my God, constantly above
all. Amen.
1 Tu fornicata es cum amatoribus multis, tamen revertere ad me, et ego suscipiam te.—
Jer. iii. 1.
376 On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves.
SIXTY-NINTH SERMON.
ON ST. ACNES AS A LAMB AMONG THE WOLVES.
Subject.
St. Agnes was: 1. A lamb of the fold of Christ; 2. She was a
lamb in the midst of wolves. — Preached on the feast of St. Agnes.
Text.
Ecce, ego mitto vos sicut agnos inter lupos. — Luke x. 3.
" Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves."
Introduction.
So spoke Christ to His apostles and disciples when He was
sending them into the world to preach the gospel; and at the same
time He foretold them the terrible and manifold persecutions
they would have to suffer for His name's sake from the infidel
and the wicked. They will bind you, said He, with chains and
fetters; they will drag you before the judges and condemn you;
they will scourge you with rods, and drive you out of one city
into another; in a word, they will treat you as wolves treat lambs.
And such was the experience of the apostles, as we know from
the Acts of the Apostles. Most extraordinary is the might of
divine grace by which, although they were innocent lambs, they
were enabled to endure all this with undisturbed serenity, and
to overcome it. Yet what do I wonder at? At any rate they
•were men, and mostly poor men, who from their youth upwards
were accustomed to hard work and discomforts, and who, more
over, had been already trained in the school of Christ. But weak
women, tender virgins, and young children learned afterwards
to imitate them. We need not read the Lives of the Saints to
have a procf cf this, we need only consider her whose feast we
celebrate to-day — St Agnes. Her very name shows her to have
been a lamb. But she proved herself such, not merely in name,
but in reality; and she proved herself to be not merely a lamb,
but a lamb among wolves, as I now mean to show, to her undy
ing praise.
On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves. 377
Plan of Discourse.
St. Agnes was a lamb of the fold of Christ; the first part. St.
Agnes was a lamb among the ivolves; the second part. A short
lesson for our own profit will form the conclusion.
Christ Jesus, Thou good Shepherd of souls, who didst preserve
Agnes unhurt in the midst of the wolves, give us the grace to
live so that we may be counted in the number of Thy lambs!
This we beg of Thee through the intercession of Mary, of her
child Agnes, and of the holy angels.
Of all four-footed animals there is none more innocent, pure, The iambi*
meek, patient than the lamb. Therefore we are wont to say of ^ ™^~
one who has either inherited such qualities from nature or who and most
has gained them by the practice of virtue: That man is a lamb: ^nocent
to J r 'of animals.
he is as innocent as a lamb; as quiet and meek as a lamb. It
seems, too, that the Almighty God, though He has no need of
any creature, has a special pleasure in this creature; for, as we
know, He commanded in the Old Law that a lamb of a year old
should be offered to Him as a most agreeable sacrifice, and as a
figure and symbol of that unspotted Lamb of whom St. John
said: "Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who taketh away
the sins of the world. " As a figure, I say, of Jesus Christ, His
eternal Son, who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and did not
open His mouth, as Isaias prophesied, and who was sacrificed on
the gibbet of the cross to the eternal Father, and who is still
offered daily in the Holy Mass.
My dear brethren, if all faithful and just souls are sheep under Pure vir-
the one Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, as He calls Himself ^lambs
so often in the gospel: "I am the Good Shepherd; and I know of the flock
Mine, and Mine know Me/'2 then all virgins, and those whoofchris1"
have preserved their purity untouched for God's sake, must justly
be reckoned among the purest lambs of the fold of Christ; " The
noblest part of the flock of Christ/' 3 as St. Cyprian calls them;
whom Christ, as the Lover and Spouse of chaste souls, embraces
with special fervor, and wishes to have nearest Himself. These
are they of whom St. John, in the Apocalypse, says that they
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth: " They are virgins.
These follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were
purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the
1 Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi.— John 1. 29.
a Ego sum pastor bonus, et cognosce meas, et cognoscunt me meae.— Ibid. x. 14.
1 Illustrior portio gregis Christ!.
378 On Si. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves.
St. Agnes
was one of
the most
innocent
•ad pure.
Shown from
her life.
Lamb, ... for they are without spot before the throne of God." l
What a dear lamb, then, Agnes must have been in the sight
of God; for she was one of the purest virgins whom, after Mary,
the Mother of God and the Virgin of virgins, the world ever
saw. St. Ambrose does not hesitate to give her the glorious title
that is otherwise given to Mary alone; for he always calls her
most blessed. "Let us remember," he says, "how the most
blessed Agnes suffered."2 It is a thousand pities that of the
lives of the martyrs hardly anything is known to the world ex
cept their glorious triumph of martyrdom. St. Chrysostom com
plains that what we now read in histories of the merits and
virtues of the saints is the least part of the good works they per
formed. And that arises from the fact that either the saints
themselves knew how to hide their virtues from the world, through
humility, or the enemies of Christ hid them, that they might
not appear, or the lapse of time caused them to sink into ob
livion. The time that Agnes spent in this mortal life was indeed
short, for she was butchered and slain for Christ in her thirteenth
year; but if we knew all she did during those years — how she
lived, how zealously she served her God — we should have to ad
mire in this child many extraordinary and sublime virtues that
are now known to God alone. " In years," says St. Ambrose,
"she was a child, but in wisdom she was a very old woman; in
body she was a young maiden, but she was old in mind, prudence,
holiness, and merits." 3
And truly, when we consider all the circumstances, Agnes
must indeed have been a pure and innocent lamb. This is proved
by her age — so young as to be hardly apt for vice; it is shown
by her name, Agnes, which in Greek signifies one who is pure,
chaste, and undefiled; it is proved by the crown of martyrdom,
which, as St. Thomas teaches, is one of the greatest graces, that
God seldom gives unless to one who has already made himself
worthy of it by many and great merits; it is proved by the angel
who was always with her besides her ordinary angel guardian,
whom she often saw and conversed and spoke with in a most
friendly manner, as she herself says: " I have as the guardian of
my body an angel of the Lord, who clothed me with this gar-
1 Virgines enim sunt. Hi sequuntur Agnum, quocunque ierit. Hi empti suntexhomini-
bus primitiae Deo et Agno . . . sine macula enim sunt ante thronum Dei.— Apoc. xiv. 4, 5.
2 Qualiter passa sit Agnes beatissima, ad memoriam revocemus.
3 Infantia computabatur annis, sed erat senectus mentis immensa ; corpore quidem ju«
vencula, sed animo cana.
On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves. 3 79
ment." ' And we read, too, in the history of her life that when,
during prayer, she was dissolved in tears, an angel of the Lord
appeared, raised her from the ground, and consoled her.2 Now
the angels, those most pure spirits, cannot, according to St.
Augustine and St. Ambrose, have friendly intercourse unless
with souls that are as pure as themselves, with souls who lead
an angelic life. And, finally, this is seen from the extraordinary
favor and love of Our Lord for this virgin, who showed in a
wonderful manner the great pleasure He had in the innocence
and purity of Agnes, inasmuch as He espoused her as His dear
est bride in her childhood, as she again confesses, in the words
used by St. Ambrose in the history of her life: " He has es
poused me with the ring of His fidelity; He has surrounded my
right hand and my neck with precious stones; He has put in
to my ears inestimable jewels; He has set a sign on my face, that
I should allow of no other lover but Himself." 3
Of all animals sheep are those which allow themselves to be sheep hear
guarded, guided, and governed with the least trouble. If the ^ ™^£_ °f
shepherd makes a sign with horn or staff it is enough to gath- herd,
er them together, no matter how far they may have strayed; at
the first signal, the first call they run together at once. If the
shepherd goes in front, they follow him, without caring where
he leads them, while the guardians of other animals have to la
bor and toil, to shout and scream, to throw stones and rain down
blows before they can keep their flock in good order. This is
what Our Lord exults in when speaking of His sheep: "My
sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me " 4 wherever I wish to
bring them.
What trouble or labor did it cost Our Lord to bring Agnes to st. Agnes
love and follow Him? As we know, He called Paul, the great ^^
apostle of the Gentiles,, but had, as it were, to employ violence Christ most
with him; for He first threw him down from his horse by a flash
of lightning, and then spoke to him in a terrible voice. In the
same manner He called the great St. Augustine, whose heart
was afterwards changed into a burning furnace of divine love;
but this was after. He had, so to speak, pursued Augustine for
1 Mecum habeo custodem corporis mei, angelum Domini, qui et induit me hoc vestimento.
3 Orante autem ilia, apparuit angelus Domini, qui elevavit earn flentem.
3 Annulo fldei suas subarrhavit me ; dexteram meam et colluru meum cinxit lapidibus
pretiosis, tradidit auribus meis ina?stimabiles margaritas ; posuit signum in faciem meam,
ut nullum prater eum amatorem admittam.
4 Oves mese vocem meam audiunt, et sequuntur me.— John x. 27.
380 On Si. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves.
seventeen years, during which the holy mother of the latter was
constantly sighing, weeping, and praying for her son. And in
our days the Lord calls all men to His love; but how few there
are who hear His voice and follow Him! How very few who
follow at once when they hear His call! And still fewer are they
who remain with Him constantly! What a great number there
are who, in spite of the divine calls, run wild, and never come
back to the true fold ! Agnes, like a lamb, obeys the first sign
of the Shepherd. When? At once, without delay. As soon as
she began to know God by the first dawn of reason she at once
commenced to love Him, and betrothed herself to Him alone; so
she says herself: " He has guarded my body, which was conse
crated and offered to Christ from my cradle/5 1 How did she
love Christ? She loved Him alone, and no one except Him, as
St. Ambrose tells us: " She found life because she loved no one
but the Author of life." 2 In what degree did she love Him?
Of this again she herself is the best witness: Her parents sat
day and night weeping at the grave of their dear little daugh
ter; Agnes appeared to them, accompanied by a great number
of other virgins; weep not, said she, on account of my death,
but rather rejoice and congratulate me: " For I am now united
to Him in heaven whom while on earth I loved with all the
strength of my heart." How long did she so love Him? To
her latest breath, till by martyrdom she offered herself as a holo
caust to her Beloved. Thus, my dear brethren, you see in
Agnes a true lamb of Christ; let us now consider her as a lamb
in the midst of wolves.
Second Part.
TWO kinds There are two kinds of wolves: some, raging with hunger,
affatast °Penty ^a^ uPon the sheep and devour them, unless they are
the Hock of prevented by force from so doing; others attack the flock secret
ly and slyly, creeping up to it as if they were quite tame and
harmless, to see if they may not carry off something by deceit and
treachery. Such is the sense in which Our Lord speaks of those
wolves that attack His beloved flock; and of the first ravening
sort He says, by the apostle St. Peter: " Watch, because your
adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom
1 Custodivit corpus meum, quod ab ipsis incunabulis Christo consecratum est et oblatum.
a Vitam invenit, quia solum vitae dilexit auctorem.
* Illi sum Juncta in coslis, quern in terris posita, tota animi intensions dilexi.
On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves. 381
he may devour; whom resist ye strong in faith." 1 Of the other
sort He says, in the Gospel of St. Matthew: " Beware of false
prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inward
ly they are ravening wolves."
The innocent lamb Agnes was surrounded by both kinds of Both as-
wolves during her life. The devil, a sworn enemy of chaste and ^sled Ag'
pure hearts, cannot see, without the bitterest envy and rage,
young, tender, and weak children in their first innocence and
purity, and often does he succeed in carrying away a portion of
their hearts. Yet he did not dare to tempt the young Agnes
because he foresaw that he would only be put to shame by her,
and knew well that she was protected by an angel much more
powerful than he. So that he employed all his skill in urging
on other wolves to take his place, and either clad in the cloth
ing of sheep to endeavor to win her heart by flattery and craft,
or else by open rage and violence to undermine her virtue.
Amongst the first was the son of the then chief magistrate of The crafty
Rome, who followed her everywhere about the streets, and visit- WDOrashe
ed her constantly at her house, paying all sorts of compliments, despised,
making costly presents of rare jewels and pearls, and promising
all the joys of the world; he left none of the allurements untried
that a foolish love could invent to gain her heart; but all to no
purpose. I told you last year how Agnes, that wisest of chil
dren, ridiculed all the attempts of this wolf, turned him away,
appealing to her only Love in heaven. He went off crestfallen,
and driven to despair; his angry father Symphronianus takes his
part, and tries on another most vile plan with Agnes. After
having in vain employed promises and threats, he caused her to
be stripped of her clothing and brought to a house of ill fame,
where she might be exposed defenceless to the rage of the most
wicked. Oh, truly, a lamb among the wolves! But what had
she to fear when she was protected by the Good Shepherd? The
same God who clothes the sheep with wool covered Agnes in a
miraculous manner with her own hair, and after, by means of His
angels, with a snow-white garment; so that not an eye could see
her without being at once dazzled by the splendor of her purity,
and no one approach her without being illumined by the won
derful light that emanated from her, so that they who came near
1 Vigilate, quia adversarius vester diabolus tanquam leo rugiens circuit, quserens quern
devoret: cui resistite fortes in fide.— I. Pet. v. 8, 9.
2 Attendite a falsis prophetis, qui veniunt ad vos in vestimentis ovium, intrinsecus autem
sunt lupi rapaces.— Matt. vii. 15.
382 On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves.
her abjured the false gods, adored the true God, and, as we read
in her Life, came away from her purer than they were before.
The magistrate's son alone, who ventured in his despair to treat
her with disrespect, was strangled by the demon, and fell dead at
her feet, but being recalled to life by the prayers of Agnes, he
cried, out: " The God of the Christians is the only God! " ' Thus
Agnes, in the midst of the wolves, not only escaped all harm,
but even turned them into meek sheep of the fold of Christ.
The threat- Meanwhile there was not yet an end of ths wolves. Others
wolves, came forward, whetting their fangs against the lamb of Christ;
whom she those, namely, whom Christ has told us not to fear, since they
' can only hurt the body: "Fear ye not them that kill the body,
and are not able to kill the soul." 2 The idolatrous priests,
and all the rest of the people, seeing the wonder, cried out:
Away with the witch who has befooled the minds of the people! 3
To the fire, to the stake with her! Hear how Agnes was fright
ened by these wolves. When the judge told her that she should
either sacrifice to the gods or be put to a cruel death after hav
ing been violated, " Ha! ha!" said the undaunted child, "what
a foolish man you are! What are you thinking of ? I could not
even bear to look at your son, so determined wa? I to remain
true to Christ; although that son is a living man who can see
and hear and walk. Do you think, then, that I shall renounce
my God to bow the head and bend the knee to a senseless and
lifeless image that cannot even move itself? Let your gods them'
selves grow angry with me; let them speak to me and command
me to adore them; but that they cannot do. Miserable gods
that they are, made of clay and copper, out of which you have
made, much more to your advantage, pots and pans for the use
of man; or else your gods are made of stone that you pave the
streets with to keep down the dust and mud ! And you think
you can persuade me to adore them? Threaten me as you please;
do with me what you will; I will adore and love only Him who
can give eternal life after death."
The raging Finally the threats were fulfilled. The judge, moved by the
whom she raising of his son from the dead, entered into himself, and
overcame, went away quietly, so that Aspasius pronounced sentence. He
caused a great fire to be kindled, and Agnes to be thrown into it
1 Unus est Deus Christianorum!
2 Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam vero non possunt occidere.— Matt. x. 28.
8 Tolle magam!
On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves. 383
alive. But the fire had more respect and reverence for innocence
than men had; it flew out on all sides against the wicked men,
while Agnes sat in the midst of it unhurt, lifting her folded
hands to heaven, and her only cry was a joyful hymn in which
she praised God and blessed Him: " Behold, my God, now I see
what I have believed; now I have what I hoped for; I embrace
what I desired. Behold, I come to Thee, the only true God." 1
While intoning this song of joy, since the fire had become ex
tinguished, Agnes was at last put to death by the sword. Thus,
like the paschal lamb that God commanded the people in the
Old Law to sacrifice to Him, Agnes, after having immolated her
body by uncontaminated virginity, and having given her soul
and life by the martyr's death to her beloved Spouse, came to
the place in which she now follows the Lamb of God wherever
He goes.
My dear brethren, Agnes was a true lamb of the fold; wo to us Like st-
if we are not sheep of the same flock! Whether we have been sh^uui t
so always, whether we are so now, is a question that each one true sheep
must ask himself. The innocent lamb Agnes was never stained
by any grievous sin; if we are sheep of Christ we must also be
innocent. But, alas! what am I saying? In that case neither I
nor many others belong to the fold of Christ! How often have
I not lost my innocence by mortal sin! Can I then hope to have
a place among the blessed ones of the flock? Eh! better is the
opinion and the hope I have of the mercy and goodness of
the Shepherd who ran over hill and dale to seek the lost sheep,
and brought it back on His shoulders. If, then, I have erred I
will return in humility; if my baptismal innocence is gone I will
wash away my guilt by true contrition, and will in future guard
most carefully against sin. Agnes was a pure and holy lamb; if
we are sheep of Christ we must lead chaste lives; we must be
chaste in heart and thought, chaste in eye and behavior, chaste
in speech and conversation, chaste in our whole bodies and in all
our senses. Agnes, a dutiful and obedient lamb, always folio wed
the first sign given her by the Shepherd, whom alone she loved
with all her strength, above all things, to the end; if we are sheep
of Christ we must hear His voice, obey His will in all things
with contentment, and never leave Him, whether He leads us
through thistles and thorns, through the contradictions of this
1 Ecce jam quod credidi, video ; quod speravl, Jamt eneo ; quod concupivl, amplector.
Ecce ad te Tenio, unum et verum Deum 1
384 On St. Agnes as a Lamb among the Wolves.
life, or through flowers and roses and temporal prosperity, which
latter, however, He is not wont to do long with His sheep.
If we are sheep of Christ we must, like St. Agnes, love Him
above all things, with all our hearts, so that we are determined
to lose everything in the world rather than forfeit His friend
ship by sin. If we are not honestly so minded we do not belong
to His fold. Oh, what great reason for repentance we have, my
dear brethren, when we think of our past lives! How necessary
for us to resolve to amend when we think of the future!
And as such Agnes was a lamb among the wolves; if we belong to the flock
the wolves. of Christ we must not expect to be free from the attacks of the
wolves, nay, for that very reason we shall be all the more exposed
to them. The Wise Man gives us this warning: " Son, when
thou comest to the service of God . . . prepare thy soul for temp
tation." Truty, we must do our best to live as piously as we
can, and we must be on our guard as well as possible; yet in spite
of all that there are too many wolves lying in wait for our souls,
and trying with all their might to get possession of them. The
devil never rests; he is always prowling about, seeing if he may
not snatch up one of the sheep of Christ. The world puts for
ward its false doctrine, and appeals to custom, according to
which most people imagine they must order their lives; and even
one man is often a danger and an occasion of fall to another. If
we all went into a cloister, or hid ourselves in caves, still we
should bring ourselves with us, and our own flesh is always obsti
nate and unwilling to submit as a servant to reason. What else are
these enemies but ravening wolves that try to lead us away from
God and heaven, to bring us into sin, to destroy our souls for
ever, and to deliver us up to the fangs of the hellish wolf? But
let us not lose heart; the same almighty, good God still lives who
preserved the child Agnes unhurt in the midst of the fierce
wolves; He can, with His powerful grace, protect us in the midst
of temptations, no matter how great, how violent, how hideous
they may be. He will never refuse to help us if only, like the
holy virgin Agnes, we place in Him a childlike confidence, fly
to Him by prayer, and remain true to Him by constant service.
Let us all resolve to do this, my dear brethren, that, after having
been here true sheep of Christ among the wolves, we may one
day be elect sheep, and, with St. Agnes, rejoice forever in the
company of the angels. Amen.
1 Fill, accedens ad servltutem Dei, prsepara animam tuam ad tentationem.— Ecclus. ii. 1.
On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman. 385
SEVENTIETH SERMON.
ON ST. AGNES AS A VALIANT WOMAN.
Subject.
St. Agnes was a valiant woman in overcoming all the attacks
made on her virginal purity. — Preached on the feast of St. Agnes.
Text.
Mulierem fortem quis inveniet. — Prov. xxxi. 10.
"Who shall find a valiant woman?"
Introduction.
Is it then so rare to see a valiant woman that Solomon must
ask who shall find one? " The price of her is as things brought
from afar off, and from the uttermost coasts." 0 Solomon,
hadst thou been able to foresee the future, and to cast thy eyes
on the Christian times that were to come, thou wouldst have
seen, not only one, but many women more brave and heroic
than the strongest men; and thou wouldst have beheld with as
tonishment even young maidens and little children defying kings
and tyrants, and gaining the victory over all the attacks of men
in the most difficult and dangerous combats. So it is, my dear
brethren. Let us now, of so many heroines, consider only one,
whose feast we celebrate to-day — the holy virgin and martyr
Agnes. Agnes was still almost a child, yet she was a valiant
woman. This name she deserved by her contempt of the world,
as I have shown elsewhere, when speaking of her extraordinary
wisdom. This name she deserved by her constancy in enduring
terrible torments and a martyr's death, as I explained last year,
when I spoke of he* as a lamb among the wolves. This name
she especially earned by the combat she sustained against her
purity; this latter will now form my whole subject, to her undy
ing praise, namely:
Plan of Discourse.
Agnes was a valiant woman ly the victory she gained against
the dangerous assaults made on her virginal purity.
Heroic virgin! to follow thy example in this we stand in need
1 Procul et de ultimis flnibus pretium sjus.
386 On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman.
of a powerful grace from God, which we beg of the Spouse of vir
gins by the merits of her whom the Divine Word chose to be His
Mother when she heard the angel say: Hail, Mary, full of grace.
it needs ^e enemies °^ our sou^s use two kinds of arms, especially
great when they assail our purity: they either captivate by promises
miDd^Q1 °f an(^ caresses> or they have recourse to threats, violence, and force,
conquer ail Of the two kinds I find examples in the Holy Scriptures: one in
temptations Joseph, the other in Susanna. The former was constantly as-
purity. sailed by the wife of his master, who used all sorts of cajolery to
induce him to commit the horrible sin, as we read in the thirty-
ninth chapter of the Book of Genesis; Susanna was threatened
by the two wicked elders that if she did not consent to sin she
should be accused and stoned as an adulteress. Oh, how many
souls are nowadays brought to ruin and destruction by those
means! To resist violence and not to be influenced by the threat
of public shame and disgrace requires great strength of mind and
bravery; to refuse a proffered pleasure and not to be led astray
either by flattery or promises requires an uncommon degree of
virtue. How little is necessary to excite sinful desires! For
many a one a chance company or occasion, a gentle word, a look,
a glance cast from afar at another, nay, a bare thought, is tempta
tion enough to sully the purity, if not of the body, at least of the
heart. Therefore there is a divine command obliging us to re
move all dangers to our souls in this respect, and so carefully to
close eyes, ears, and all our senses, with our hearts and minds as
well, that we may avoid not only a sinful act, but even refrain
from taking wilful pleasure, though it be only for a moment, in
an impure thought. And although God exhorts us in other mat
ters to meet temptation calmly, and grapple with the enemy
of our souls, yet when there is question of a temptation against
purity the only remedy He gives, even to the holiest souls who
are most practised in virtue, is immediate flight. Now when
both temptations come at once, namely, great violence and
threats along with great blandishments and promises, and that,
too, in such circumstances that there is no way of avoiding them,
do you not think that an heroic virtue and wonderful bravery as
well as prudence are required to overcome the assault, and re
main uninjured by it? " Who shall find a valiant woman?" I
may well ask; a woman, nay, a man, a hero brave enough to
conquer in such a combat; where can he be found?
On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman. 387
Agnes was obliged to enter into this formidable contest. Agnes had
Whatever blandishments and promises the deceitful world could wl^^nd
hold forth, whatever terrors a cruel tyranny could invent, were ressesand
all employed and used against Agnes in order to deprive her of pl
the treasure of her virtue; yet she conquered them all, and pre
served her virginal chastity unhurt. Imagine, my dear breth
ren, on the one side a young maiden of thirteen years of age,
endowed by God with most excellent gifts of nature and grace,
and on the other side a young nobleman, the son of the chief
magistrate of Rome, who in those days came next after the em
peror himself. The father and son both begged most humbly
that Agnes would agree to marry the son. We need not now
dwell on the efforts made by the young man to secure her con
sent; on the assiduity of his attentions, on the rich presents he
made — all of which were steadily rejected by Agnes. For these
things are sufficiently known from the history of her life.
Let us only consider the greatness of the temptation in its cir- The vio-
cumstances. Renowned and tried was thy chastity, 0 Joseph, ^^^^
and in the Old Law it could not be sufficiently admired, and explained.
even now, after the coming of Christ, we must still praise and
wonder at it; for thou didst reject the shameful proposals of the
wife of Putiphar, and, leaving thy mantle in her hands, didst at
once take to flight. Yet thy virtue is not equal to that of Agnes,
which is all the more deserving of our admiration as the combat
she had to sustain at first appeared in no way contrary to decency
or honor, and she might easily have agreed to the proposal made
to her. If Joseph had consented he would not have gained any
thing more than he had already, for he enjoyed full control over
all his master's goods. The proffer made to Agnes would have
added notably to her honor, position, and happiness in the eyes
of the world. Joseph's consent could not have been given with
out imperilling his life and honor if his master found him out;
if Agnes had consented she would have had as her friends the
noblest families of Rome. What horrified Joseph was the grav
ity of the sin he would have committed against his earthly mas
ter, and against his sovereign Lord in heaven: " How can I do
this wicked thing, and sin against my God?" He who has a
little conscience and sense of decency left, no matter how violent
the temptation may be, when he remembers that God is present
everywhere, who threatens him with the eternal fire of hell, must
1 Quomodo possum hoc raalum facere, et peccare in Deum meum?— Gen. xxxix. 9.
388 On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman.
necessarily feel a horror and aversion to sin. On the other hand,
the proposal made to Agnes was in itself lawful, for the matri
monial state, if rightly entered into, is even a holy one — one in
which she could still have enjoyed the friendship of God. Joseph,
by consenting to the proposal of the impure woman, would have
ruined his own soul; Agnes, by consenting, might have had the
well-founded hope of gaining the soul of her husband, and per
haps also many of his relatives, to the true God and the Chris
tian faith, once she had won his affections.
which she jn a wor(j? what strengthened Joseph against temptation was
by^hiTiove the fear of offending God's supreme majesty; what strengthened
of Christ Agnes in her purpose, and made her despise the proffered goods
^y ° r" and delights of the world, was simply the love she had of vir
ginal purity, and her zealous and burning love for Jesus, to
whom she had already given and consecrated her whole heart,
her body and soul. Therefore she repelled all attacks with this
one word, as St. Ambrose tells us: " You offer me a spouse; I
have found a better one/" 1 You offer me a bridegroom of noble
birth; I have found a better one, who is the King of heaven and
earth; you offer me a spouse of great beauty; I do not want him
I have found a better one, whose beauty makes the joy and de
light of the angels; you offer me one who is rich; I will not ac
cept him; I have found one to whom all the treasures of the
earth belong; the spouse you offer me is only a mortal man;
therefore I will not have him; I have found one who is God and
man at the same time, who died once for me, and now cannot die
any more; Him alone will I love, for Him alone will I live and
die. Do what you please; this is my fixed determination; you
will never make me change, never make me turn away my love
from Christ.
Lesson for Christian virgins, who by divine inspiration and the disposi-
)us' tion of Providence have made a vow of chastity, these words are
for you also, as St. Ambrose says. Learn, with feelings of the
deepest gratitude, what a special grace the Lord God has shown
you, since He has chosen you as His spouses in preference to so
many others; so that you can make this boast, and in all difficul
ties, troubles, temptations console yourselves with this comfort
ing thought: I have found a better one; I have chosen the best
bridegroom in heaven or on earth; I must not and cannot be
untrue to Him! Learn to love Him alone, with all your hearts,
1 Sponsum offertis, meliorem reperi.
On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman. 389
for He wishes to have you for Himself alone, and cannot bear
that others should have the least share in you. Learn that you
cannot love too much Him who has loved you from eternity, who
for your sake has become man, and who on account of His infin
ite, immeasurable goodness is alone worthy of all love.
Learn, also, you married people, and all others, whatever may Forthe
be the state in life to which the Lord has called you, that the
love of God must always hold the chief place in your hearts.
Husbands, love your wives; wives, love your husbands; for such
is the will and commandment of God. Ye poor, love those who
do you good; ye afflicted, love those who comfort you; ye per
secuted, love those who protect you; for such is the law of nature
and gratitude. Let each one love his neighbor, and even his
worst enemy; for such is the command of Christ. But, as far as
your state in life allows, love no mortal, no good, no joy, or
pleasure as much as you love your God; still less should you love
anything or any one against the will and law of your God. Think
and say, with Agnes, although not quite in the same sense: You
offer me a spouse, but I have found a better; I have a better
Lord, whom I must obey, serve, and love far above all things.
Finally, this answer of Agnes changed friendship into enmity, The purity
favor into hatred, love into rage and cruelty. What! said they; ° -Agne^
J was ex posed
shall we tolerate this in a mere child, and allow her to defy us to violence,
so hardily and obstinately? What kindness and love could not
effect must now be done by anger and vengeance; she has re
fused the honor offered her; let her now be made the prey of
the very lowest. Hear! you must select one of these alterna
tives: either give up your God and sacrifice to our deities, or
else your virginal honor shall be exposed to shame and public
disgrace. Wicked proposal, than which the demon himself could
not have invented a more hateful one! She must lose either
her faith or her honor! Poor child, what will you do now?
Here I imagine I see a Susanna in the hands of the godless el
ders, who make to her the same proposal: Either consent to our
wishes, or you shall be publicly stoned as an adulteress. " Su
sanna," says the Scripture, "sighed, and said: I am straitened
on every side; for if I do this thing it is death to me," since my
soul shall die by sin; "if I do it not I shall not escape your
hands;" I am straitened on every side! Still she was better off
than Agnes; there was one choice left her which did not involve
her honor, and she accepted it at once: If, said she, I have to sin
390 On St. Agnes as a Valiant Woman.
Against
which her
sole help
was confi
dence in
God.
She was
protected
by a mira
cle.
or die, then I will choose death: " It is better forme to fall into
your hands without doing it than to sin in the sight of the Lord." 1
Oh, if Agnes had had the choice of death, how soon would she
not have been ready with her answer! Sword and spear, wheel
and gallows, fire and gridiron — all the torments of the world
come and fall upon me; this is what I have been wishing for,
what alone I seek — to be martyred and be made a holocaust
and burnt-offering to my Bridegroom. But, ah, what shall I do
now? Give up my faith I cannot and will not. Yet to sub
mit to that disgrace of losing my purity is a hard and terrible
thing even to think of. I am straitened on all sides, she might
well have said with more reason than Susanna. Her only re
source was a still and secret sigh to her Spouse Jesus. Al
mighty God, whom I love with all my heart, Thou knowest my
thoughts and wishes; Thou seestthe straits in which I am placed;
Thou alone canst help me now. Thou hast given me the faith,
I have given Thee my virginity; things have come to such a pass
that I must lose one or the other. Without Thee I shall lose
both those treasures; with Thy help I can keep them both. I
will keep the faith; do Thou preserve my virginity. I offer
Thee my life, arid commend my honor to Thee. Thou didst save
Jonas in the belly of the whale; Thou wert able to save Daniel in
the den of the hungry lions; Thou wert able to preserve the
three youths unhurt in the fiery furnace at Babylon; Thou canst
as easily save my honor from those impure robbers. I resign my
self into Thy hands; whosoever trusts in Thee will never be con
founded. Thus prayed Agnes in the secrecy of her heart.
Meanwhile the shameful threat was still more shamefully car
ried into execution; Agnes was brought by force into a house of
ill fame. Oh, truly, far more tolerable to Tobias was his sudden
blindness, more desirable to Job the ulcer thai tortured him!
Willingly would Agnes have changed with either; willingly
would she have become blind and leprous, so as to excite horror
in all who saw her. 0 ye angels who came to comfort Job on
the dung-hill, to give Tobias his sight back again, and who hith
erto preserved the innocence of Agnes, have you no means now
of saving her virginal honor from the utmost danger? Truly,
they have, my dear brethren; you need not fear for Agnes; the
1 Ingemuit Susanna : angustias sunt mihi undique ; si enim hoc egero, mors mihi est ; si
autem non egero, non effugiam manus vestras. Melius est mihi absque opere incidere in
manus vestras, quam peccare in conspectu Domini.— Dan. xiii. 22, 23.
On Si. Agnes as a Valiant Woman. 39 1
same God to whom she once for all gave her body and soul has
already worked a miracle to keep from all danger the pledge en
trusted to Him, for He surrounded her and the place of shame
with such splendor that not an eye could behold her, nor dared
any one come near her without being at once dazzled, or struck
dead to the ground, or compelled to acknowledge the truth of
the Christian faith, and publicly to praise the true God. Thus
does the Lord God know how to protect His own who love Him
and trust in Him in their necessities, and to put to shame even
by little children all the power and violence and assaults of men.
We wish thee joy, holy virgin! The fight is fought, and the
victory in thy hands! Now thou mayest sing to thy beloved
Lord that canticle of the Wise Man intoned in thy honor by
the Church: " I will give glory to Thee, 0 Lord, my King, and
I will praise Thee, 0 God, my Saviour. . . . For Thou hast been
a helper and protector to me, and Thou hast preserved my body
from destruction; . . . out of the hands of them that sought my
life, . . . from the oppression of the flame which surrounded me;
and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt. "
We wonder. at this, mv dear brethren, and with reason. But Exhortation
. J to shun all
we must not expect such a miraculous preservation of innocence tbat endan-
unless we carefullv avoid all dangers and occasions. To no pur- gers purity,
111 /-< 1 /• 1 1 111 and t0 10VG
pose should we pray to God for help, to no purpose should we Go(L
place our confidence in Him, and expect Him to keep us from
sin, if by our own fault we open the doors and windows, that is,
the outward senses, to temptation. God worked a miracle to
preserve the purity of His holy spouse Agnes in the midst of
dangers because against her will and by violence she was brought
into those dangers. But can we expect to be saved by a mir
acle in dangers that we seek and love, into which we go through
wantonness, or culpable negligence and carelessness? Oh, no!
that will never do! God protected Joseph in the danger to
which he had not given occasion; the same God allowed David,
although he was a man after His own heart, to fall shamefully
in a far lesser danger because he did not guard his eyes from an
unchaste look. God saved Susanna from shame in an extreme
danger into which she had been forced; the same God allowed
Dina to be disgraced because she left her tent to see the for-
1 Confltebor tibi Domine Rex, et collaudabo te Deum Salvatorem meum, . . . quoniamad-
jutor et protector factus es raihi ; et liberasti corpus meum a perditione, . . . de mantbus
quaerentium animam ineam, ... a pressura flammae quae clrcumdedit me, et in medio ig
nis non sum aestuata.— Ecclus. li. 1-3, 5, 6.
39 2 On the Holy Empress Helen
eign women, as we read in the Book of Genesis. In a word, my
dear brethren, to see, hear, speak, read, and think of what can
excite unlawful desire and rebellious passions, to frequent all
sorts of company without necessity in which the poison of im
pure love is wont to insinuate itself gently and gradually by eyes
and ears— to do this, and yet expect to preserve holy purity of
the heart, would be a miracle indeed, humanly speaking, but
one that God would certainly not work in such circumstances for
our advantage. Let us, then, all learn from* Agnes to have God
before our eyes always, in all our actions, to love Him constant
ly with all our hearts, to avoid the occasions of sin as well as we
can, to fly with childlike confidence to Him in prayer in all the
temptations that come in our way against our will, and to resist
and bravely overcome them. Then, with the valiant woman
whom we admire in the child Agnes, we shall win the crown in
heaven promised to all who fight manfully and conquer. Amen,
SEVENTY-FIRST SERMON.
ON THE HOLY EMPRESS HELEN A MOTHER OF CHRIS
TENDOM.
Subject.
St. Helen is a mother of Christianity in general, and espe
cially of the Christians of Treves: 1. In the Christian training
of her spiritual children; 2. Inasmuch as she has left a rich
spiritual inheritance to her children. — Preached on the feast of
St. Helen.
Text.
Ecce mater tua. — John xix. 27.
" Behold thy mother."
Introduction.
Great Queen of heaven, Mary! these words are, properly speak
ing, for thee, for in them thy dying Son, Jesus Christ, addressed
St. John, and in his person all Christians, and gave thee to them,
after His death, as their Mother. " Behold thy mother." Yes,
most blessed Virgin! we acknowledge and honor thee with the
deepest reverence as the dearest spiritual mother of us all; for
thou didst bring forth into the world our elder Brother who, by
A Mother of Christendom. 393
His merits, brought us forth again to heaven, and made us adop
ted children of His Father. We acknowledge thee with joy as
our most loving Mother, who in heaven hast a motherly care of
us, thy children, entrusted to thee; and it is by thy hand that
all graces flow down on us from thy Son. Meanwhile, allow me
to-day to apply the same words in a spiritual sense to another
whose anniversary as foundress we now celebrate with a festival
of joy and thanksgiving: I mean the holy Empress Helen. " Be
hold thy mother." City and land of Treves, behold thy spiritual
mother, who can be justly called so in the sense in which St.
Paul calls himself the father of the Galatians: " My little chil
dren, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in
you." l This St. Helen might with reason say to us, as I mean
to show in this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Helen is a mother of Christians in general, and especially
of the Christians of Treves. Such is the whole subject. A care
ful mother in the Christian training of her spiritual children;
the first part. A kind mother in the rich spiritual legacy she has
left her children; the second part. Let us act as true children
of such a mother; the conclusion.
Give us Thy grace, 0 Lord, to do this latter, through the inter
cession of Thy Mother, Mary, and of the holy angels.
The first and chief care of a mother is the training of hersheisno
children, for she must feed, clothe, and teach them to walk and wnodoes
speak. And this duty devolves more on the mother than on the not bring
father, for the latter, being obliged to attend to his daily busi- children for
.ness, has no time for his children's education. But this duty is God and
common to all mothers, even among Turks and heathens. What h€
am I saying? Even unreasoning wild beasts do not yield a whit
to human beings in this respect, for they use the greatest care,
according to their natures, to bring up their young properly. Far
more is required from a Christian mother, in which, too, the fa
ther is obliged to help; for the parents must bring up their chil
dren for their last end, for God and heaven, and therefore must
teach them the true fear of God, and how to lead a really Chris
tian life. Where this training is wanting or deficient the par
ents are not true Christians, or, as St. Bernard says, " they are
i Filioii mei, quos iterum parturio, donee formetur Christus in vobis.— Gal. iv. 19.
394 On the Holy Empress Helen
robbers and seducers of their children." 1 Yet, alas! there are
many Christian households in which this training is reckoned
of the least importance. St. Chrysostom says: " Some bring up
their sons to be soldiers, others provide them with riches, others
with honors; none provide their children with God." 2 They are
taught how to dress, how to adorn themselves, how to salute
others and pay compliments, how to behave in company, and to
act towards others; they are taught gambling, dancing, fencing,
and all sorts of languages and sciences; but no one provides
them with God, no one thinks much of the things that concern
God and their souls, and sometimes those things are neglected
altogether.
The moth- But I must not complain any longer! I have to preach apan-
st. Helen egyri°> and to speak of St. Helen as a perfect model of a holy
for Chris- mother in the training of her children; of Helen as the general
directed^ motner of a11 Christians. Let us consider her conduct, and learn
leading how to train children in a becoming manner from her example.
^er chie^ and greatest care was to impress the life and holiness
of Jesus Christ on the souls of her subjects: " Until Christ be
formed in you." To that end she began with herself, and la
bored to make her inward and outward life conformable to that
of the Son of God. For she knew well that the best means of
urging others to good was to be good herself, and that generally
it is in vain to expect children to be dutiful and pious when the
father and mother do not give them proper example. She knew
that a superior is looked up to by the common people as the
citizens of a town look up to the town clock; if that gees wrong
all order is disturbed in the place. Therefore the holy empress
led her flock on by her own example to the Christian virtues more
than by mere words.
shownfrom St. John Chrysostom writes as follows of her and her son Con
frere stantine: " The pious emperor and his royal mother taught their
subjects by their own example how to lead good lives; and as
they were the greatest in the empire in authority, so they were
greater still by the force of their example." 3 " That holy em
press," says St. Ambrose, like Magdalene at the feet of Our Lord,
" depended in all things on the bishops," to learn from them the
1 Seductores et latrones flliorum.
2 Alii militiam flliis suis provident, alii dignitates, alii divitias, et nemo niiis suis providet
Deum.
8 Facererecte cives suos princeps optimus et augusta mater faciendo docebat; cumque
essont imperio maxirai, majores erant exemplo.
A Mother of Christendom. 395
word of God and true devotion; " she always carried the gospel
of Christ with her, that wherever she went she might by read
ing and meditating on it renovate her spirit, and be impelled to
imitate the life of Christ/' 1 Nothing else did she bear in her
heart or on her lips, like St. Paul; nothing else did she desire to
know but Jesus Christ crucified. To preach Him and make Him
known she wandered over the world, although she was a weak
woman, and endeavored to bring all people to the knowledge
and love of Christ. Therefore she was justly called by St. Pau-
linus "a teacher of the faith, of religion, and of piety/' 2
In the tenth chapter of the Third Book of Kings we read that she spread
the queen of Saba came with a great retinue to Jerusalem to faitn
visit the wise Solomon; a figure, says St. Augustine, of our holy throughout
mother: " This empress of ours, Helen, came with the nations th
of the whole earth to Christ, the true Solomon, that all nations
might learn what she had already learned." ; The queen of Saba
brought to Solomon as a present a hundred and twenty talents
of gold, and a great quantity of spices and precious stones: " She
brought to Christ innumerable souls, more precious than gold
and gems/'4 And as that queen introduced into her town and
whole land the law of Moses she had learned from Solomon, so
Helen introduced the Christian faith into her own city of Treves,
into Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and the whole Roman
empire from east to west; partly having it preached for the first
time, partly spreading and preserving it. Helen was that wom
an of whom the parable in the Gospel of St. Matthew speaks:
"The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven which a woman took
and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leav
ened/' Of which passage St. Ambrose writes thus: The Lord
Jesus is the wheat; His gospel teaching, which seemed insipid
to the carnal Jews, is the leaven; and who is the woman who hid
it within herself, and communicated it to others? " She is Hel
en, who, of all queens and empresses, was the first to spread
throughout the world the holy gospel of Christ, which, on ac-
1 Sancta ilia Imperatrix uhique pendebat abore episcoporum ; ubique circurnferebatevan-
gelia Christ!.
'-' Magistra fidei, religionis. et pietatis.
3 Haec regina nostra Helena cum totius mundi gentibus venit ad verum Salomonem
Christum, ut quod ilia jam didicerat, et omnes gentes discerent.
4 Haec Christo animas innumeras auro et gemmis pretiosiores adduxit.
8 Simile est regnum coelorum fermento, quod acceptura mulier ubscondit in farinse satis
tribus, donee fermentatum est totum.— Matt. xiii. 33.
396
On the Holy Empress Helen
count of its humility, is compared to leaven." * "Oh," cries
out St. Chrysostom in transports of joy, "how great was the
fervor of the early Christians, inflamed as it was by the charity
of Helen! " 2 By her were opened schools of Christian wisdom,
"and all peoples learned how to live according to the law of
Christ, in the cities, and even in the woods and mountains."
By her the churches were supplied with bishops, the altars with
priests, the pulpits with preachers, " so that all held the word
of God in the utmost esteem." 4 For all were ashamed to neglect
what they saw practised and listened to so attentively by such a
great emperor and such a holy empress. " If you had been
present you might have seen as many angels as Christians, and
a heavenly life led on earth." 5 So far the words and testimo
nies of the holy Fathers.
" Behold thy mother; " city and land of Treves, nay, all Chris
tendom, behold thy mother! Behold the spiritual mother who
has brought you forth to Christ! See and acknowledge with
what holy teaching, with what a godly example she has trained
up Christians as her children for heaven! Would to God that a
similar zeal for winning souls to Christ and furthering His di
vine honor burned in us all, and that all of us would do our best
to spur on our neighbor, if not by teaching and exhortation,
at least by good example, to the service of God! Opportunity
enough is offered for this to any one who sincerely loves God,
and who is not content with being merely just for himself, but
wishes to appear before the Lord in heaven with a great number
of souls whom he has gained for God. This is specially meant
for you, Christian superiors, parents, fathers, and mothers! You
are set by the Almighty as pastors over the souls of your inferi
ors, children, domestics, that you may do all in your power to
urge them to good, restrain them from evil, and bring them
with you to heaven. But as 1 have on other occasions spoken
in detail about this obligation I now pass on again to our St.
Helen. As we have seen, she was a provident mother of all
Christians in the training of her spiritual children; and at the
same time she was a beneficent mother on account of the rich
inheritance she left her children, as we shall see in the
1 Helena est, quae prima omnium sanctum Christi evangelium, quod ob humilitatem fei-
mento comparatur per totum orbem portavit.
2 O quantus fervor primorum Christianorum, igne Helenas accensusl
8 Et omnes gentes didicerunt quae agenda sunt, in urbibus, in ipsis sylvis et moutibus.
4 Factumque est ut apud omnes sermo Dei pretiosus esset.
5 Vidisses angelorum choros. et conversationem omnino caelestem in terris micare.
A Mother of Christendom. 397
Second Part.
Generally speaking, the greatest care of parents is to leave
their children an inheritance. To this end are directed most of desirous to
their cares and labors; for this they work day and night; f or leave tneir
children a
this they often deny themselves in many things; for this they do rich inheri-
without many a comfort and pleasure which they otherwise have tance.
means enough to indulge in; their sole d-esire is to spare expense,
that they may have all the more to leave their children and heirs.
Yet they cannot know certainly for whom they are saving, and
often they leave their property to children who misuse the wealth
so laboriously accumulated by their well-meaning parents, and
make it serve only as a means to their own eternal ruin by their
reckless extravagance. I cannot disapprove of this care on the
part of parents. I only wish that they all took as much care as
Christians should to leave their children a real legacy of true vir
tue and the fear of God!
How did our holy mother Helen act in this respect? She st- Helen
left a rich
wandered over the whole Roman empire — nay, so to speak, over legacyto
the whole world, to collect vast treasures, that she might leave Christians
them to her Christians and descendants as an eternal inheritance lurches
after her death. What treasures were they? That question isandciois-
answered by the charitable foundations, the magnificent temples, J^nd^
the beautiful cathedrals and other churches which she erected
at her own cost and richly endowed — foundations of which the
eastern world has many an instance here and there. The church
at the crib in Bethlehem, the church on Mount Thabor, the
celebrated temple on Mount Calvary in Jerusalem, the many
churches in Constantinople, Rome, and other cities are too far
for us to take them in evidence. To come nearer home, we are
told of her piety by the dumb pillars and towers of the churchea
she built in neighboring towns: by the celebrated so-called gold
en church of St. Gereon in Cologne, which was formerly covered
with pure gold; by that of SS. Cassius and Florentius in Bonn;
by that of St. Victor in Zante, and, to say nothing of many
others, by this great cathedral in which we are now assembled
in her honor, dedicated to the holy apostle St. Peter — all so
many visible proofs of the motherly generosity of Helen. In a
word, as St. Ambrose says: (< She adorned the eastern empire
with churches; " 1 and we may say that, with her son Constantine^
1 Orientate imperium exornavit ecclesiis.
398 On the Holy Empress Helen
she did as much in the western parts of the world as far as the
empire and her authority extended in that direction. That is
an inheritance that will never die out; an inheritance that is for
the spiritual good and salvation of her descendants, and their
children after them; an inheritance by which the Almighty is
daily praised in hymn and prayer by servants consecrated to Him,
and by which the Christian people are fed with the word of God,
and encouraged to lead Christian lives.
And by pro- ipjjg game js saj(j j^y foe }lojy an(j precious treasures of relics
with relics, that Helen with great trouble and unwearied diligence collected
and placed in the different churches she caused to be built.
Again I need not mention foreign lands; here in Treves we have
to thank her for the bodies of the holy apostles Matthias and
Philip, for the holy nail by which Our Lord was fastened to the
cross, and for that costly and invaluable treasure — the holy coat
of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — which alone would have
sufficed to make the name of Treves known over the whole world
if it were not known already; which princes and kings and count
less numbers of people from all nations have come here to see, and
which makes the archdiocese of Treves an object of holy envy
to all other countries. The whole Christian Church must thank
Helen for the sacred emblem of triumph — the cross — on which the
Son of God suffered death for the salvation of the world, which,
as we know, Helen sought, found, and left to the world for its
consolation; an inheritance that could not be paid for with all
the goods the world has in its possession.
By leaving But the best of all the legacies we owe this mother, mv dear
the good J
example of brethren, and one that we should all succeed to, is the example
her life. Of }ier virtues and holy life. " My little children, of whom I am
in labor again, until Christ be formed in you " ( so you must
imagine the holy Empress and mother Helen calling out to us
constantly), "besides the other goods you have received from me,
I have left you the example of my life; keep it always before
your eyes, that you may regulate your lives according to it. I
have left you the example of my zeal for the divine honor and
the faith, which I have spread and planted everywhere; of my
burning love of God, which drove me over the whole world in
order to announce and make known His name and doctrine; of
my patience and desire for the cross, for I bore with resignation
ill-treatment from my husband, and other crosses, as well; of my
humility, for I laid aside my imperial diadem to wait on and
A Mother of Christendom. 399
serve on bended knees virgins consecrated to God; of my gen
erosity and liberality to the poor, whom I sought out in every
place I went to,, and whom I helped with money and in other
ways, too. These are the virtues of which I give you the ex
ample, that you may imitate them; so that as I have always
tried to make my life as conformable as possible to that of Christ,
you also may do the same, until Christ be formed in you, and
His holiness shine forth in all your behavior and actions.
"Behold thy mother;" behold, I repeat, 0 Christians of which<
however
Treves! But let me change those words a little: Holy mother manydo
Helen, here are thy children; dost thou recognize them all asnotfollow-
thine? Dost thou see in them all the footsteps of thy holy life?
the conformity of their manners with thy teaching and example?
the holy use of the rich inheritance of foundations thou hast left
behind in all those who enjoy them? If that is so, then I wish
them all joy from my heart! But perhaps thou mightest com
plain of some as St. Paul did of the Gralatians, whom he called
his children: " I would willingly be present with you now, and
change my voice, " and say clearly that you are not my children,
"because I am ashamed for you." For there are some of you
of whom I am ashamed; some who do not follow my teaching,
who show little resemblance to the example I have left them,
who belong only in name and outward appearance to the faith I
have planted and spread and preserved among you; who attend
only to the vain usages of the world, and the false maxims of
'worldlings, and live according to them, setting aside the humble,
holy gospel of Jesus Christ that I always carried about with me.
I am ashamed of you! No; I do not acknowledge you as my
children! What a disgrace for us, my dear brethren, if we gave
reason to our good and careful mother to utter such a complaint
of us!
I hope that such is not the cast' Changing the words of St. Resolution
Chrysologus, let us put on the likeness of our mother; let us all ^er vir(tuea
endeavor to imitate her virtues and holy life. Holy mother and
Empress Helen! what now remains for us to do is to pay thee
the debt of deep gratitude we owe thee, and to show thee the
homage and give thee the praise that thy whole city of Treves is
now occupied in rendering thee; and at the same time show
thee constant devotion and love, and a childlike confidence in
1 Vellem apud vos esse modo, et mutare vocem meam ; quoniam conf undar in vobis.— Gal,
iv. 20.
400 On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ.
thy intercession and protection. Truly, thou canst now do far
more as a princess in heaven than when thou wert a mortal em
press on earth. We commend to thee, then, this diocese and
the whole city of which thou hast in a special manner shown
thyself the mother. Obtain for us from the Monarch of mon-
archs and the Emperor of emperors, by thy intercession,, that
we may always be true to Him, and be and remain zealous in
His service until that happens which thou didst so eagerly long
for, namely, until Christ is formed in our lives in the most per
fect manner. Amen.
SEVENTY-SECOND SERMON.
ON ST. HELEN, FINDER OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST.
Subject.
1. St. Helen with great zeal sought for the cross of Christ,
and found it, to her great joy; we, too, should seek and take up
our cross as a sign of life. 2. St. Helen held the cross of Christ
in constant honor and love; so should we, too, esteem our cross.
— Preached on the feast of St. Helen.
Text.
Lignum vitce est his, qui apprehenderit earn, et qui tenuerit
earn beatus. — Prov. iii. 18.
"She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her; and he
that shall retain her is blessed/'
Introduction.
These words are applied by Solomon to wisdom; yet not with
out reason do SS. Ambrose, Bernard, John Damascene, and other
holy Fathers apply them to the cross of Christ. " The cross is pre
cious/' says St. Bernard, "and is indeed the tree of life to those
who lay hold of it. Oh, truly, it is a tree of life, since it alone
was found worthy to bear the fruit of salvation ! " 1 For on
what else but the cross is our hope of salvation founded? Happy
city of Treves, that in preference to all other places hast brought
forth and brought up her who found this precious treasure after
it had lain hidden in the earth for a long time, who drew it out
1 Crux pretiosa est ; lignum vitas est apprehendentibus earn. 0 yere lignum vitae, quod
Bolum f uit dignum portare salutls f ructum 1
On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ. 401
of the dust and held it up to receive the homage of the world!
You understand already, my dear brethren, to whom I address
this congratulation. This great festival brings before our minds
a daughter of Treves who has brought more honor and glory to
this city than all the heroes, princes, and kings who were born
or have dwelt here, namely, that dear mother of Treves who
now in heaven holds her careful and protecting hands over you,
bearing the cross in her arms — the great and holy Empress
Helen. This is that blessed woman who has laid hold of the
tree of life and retained it to her great good fortune. A renown
for her than which none can be greater; a treasure for us and
all Christians than which none can be more precious! 0 more
than happy city of Treves, if you, too, on this day lay hold of
the cross, with your mother Helen, and retain it! This is to be
the exhortation I shall give you now in this panegyric.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Helen sought the cross of Christ with the utmost eagerness,
and laid hold of it with joy; we, too, should seek and lay hold
of the cross as a sign of life; the first part. St. Helen, after
having laid hold of the cross of Christ, retained it in constant
love and esteem; so should we, too, honor our cross; the second
part; from which will follow that we shall ~be fortunate, like
Helen.
Do Thou, 0 God, who wert nailed to that cross, grant us, by
the intercession of Thy Mother, who stood by Thy cross, of the
angels who wept by Thy cross, and of St. Helen, who honored
Thy cross, the grace to lay hold of our cross with zeal and de
sire, and to bear and retain it with joy; that the words may be
verified in us, too: " She is a tree of life to them that lay hold
on her; and he that shall retain her is blessed."
To describe the zeal and joy with which the holy Empress st. Helen
Helen seized and embraced the cross of Christ I believe that all desiredthe
cross most
we need do is to remember the desire with which she longed for eagerly,
it, the care and trouble with which she sought it, the great
difficulties she had to overcome for the sake of it. For the good
that is gained by great desire and labor is always possessed with
greater joy. With regard to her desire, it was so strong and in
tense that she gave herself no rest, night or day, looked on the
imperial palace as a gloomy prison and dungeon, the life at court
402 On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ.
as most wearisome, and all regal pleasures and delights as dis
gusting and bitter as long as that treasure was hidden from her.
Where it was there was her heart also; thither were turned her
thoughts; thither flew her sighs, and all the inclinations of her
mind; she could not and would not be satisfied until her desire
was fulfilled.
And sought rp^ trout)ie and difficulty she had in seeking it were so great
much ton. and manifold that they might easily have deterred the bravest
and most determined hero; nay, at first they were almost enough
to make her despair of success. For the object of her search
was a rough piece of timber, a tree that was in those days an
object of horror to the world — a mean, disgraceful cross, on
which one had hung who was esteemed as a criminal and an ob
ject of execration. The place where this wood was sought for
was in former days the place of public execution, but in her
time a place of crime, devoted to the worship of false gods, in
habited by the worst enemies of the cross who, in order to blot
out all recollection of it from the minds of men, had erected
there a shameful statue of Venus, to whom they offered their
impure sacrifices. The way leading to this place was hundreds
of miles long; it led over the raging sea, over high and rugged
mountains, beset with idolaters, and through Jewish countries
in which there were a thousand dangers, discomforts, and an
noyances to be met with. The hope of finding it was very small
indeed; for it had already lain hidden in the earth for three
hundred years, where it had been buried out of diabolical hatred
and envy by the enemies of the Christian name; nor were there
any means of finding out where it was concealed. Finally, who
was the person who sought it? A weak woman, an empress
brought up in luxury — Helen, who was at the time in her eigh
tieth year. But, in spite of all, she it was who brought her love
and desire for the cross so far as to venture what no one had
hitherto attempted. In spite of her advanced age she laid aside
all imperial pomp and circumstance, left her home and father
land, travelled by sea and land, dug through the mountain, and
sought, found, laid hold of, and retained the desired wood of the
cross.
And found Oh, who can describe the joy, the delight that then filled her
toher^reat near^ *ne consolation that inundated her spirit! 0 sweet tears
joy. that were then forced from her eyes! 0 love that made her
spread out her arms to embrace the cross! who can measure you?
On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ. 403
No one unless she who had experience of them. We can form
some idea of this from the state of the poor man who has sud
denly found a rich treasure; from the joy of the traveller who,
after having undergone many dangers of shipwreck, has at last
arrived in harbor; from the joy of him who, after long journey
ing to and fro, at last reaches his fatherland; from the delight
experienced by the man who, after much labor and trouble, at
last has in his hands the good he so longed for. I leave all this
to your own pleasing meditations, and go on to the moral les
son.
My dear brethren, the cross is found; why, then, have I urged Most people
you all, in my Plan of Discourse, to seek it with Helen? Why enough, as
run and toil in search of what lies before us? I am not now they say.
speaking of the material cross on which Our Lord died, but of
another, which most people hate even more than the Jews and
heathens hated that of Christ — of one, the bare name of which
excites horror and loathing; of one that, as St. Bernard says, is
the most terrible of all things to men; 1 of a sign, namely, that
is not less contradicted than the cross of Christ: namely, the
cross that is made for us by everything that displeases and
troubles us; in a word, I mean the trials and contradictions of
the world, which are usually called crosses. It seems to me that
1 hear myself interrupted by the question: What! shall we seek
such crosses with desire? Alas, they come to us daily of their
own accord! We need not, like Helen, go long journeys in search
of them, nor cross the sea, nor dig in the earth for them; they
are with us, although we have not sought them. Sickness and
bodily pain, trouble and anguish of mind, poverty and temporal
misfortunes, loss of good name by detraction and calumny, and
many other crosses of the kind are guests that come uninvited,
that we must daily behold with weeping eyes, and bear with
sweating hands, and grieve for with sorrowing hearts. Would
that we could only free ourselves from them! How easy it is to
find them! So it is, my dear brethren, and I acknowledge such
to be the truth. What else have we to expect in this miserable,
sorrowful life of ours? And I am of the opinion that few are
free from these trials. We know only too well by experience,
and are sure of what Thomas a Kempis says in that golden book
of his on the Imitation of Christ, which I advise all who seek com
fort in their afflictions to read daily: "All our mortal life is filled
1 Nihil formidolosius homini.
404 On St. Helen, Finder of the Crosc of Christ.
with miseries, and is marked round about by crosses." There
are few who have not something to suffer and a cross to bear.
Many a one laughs outwardly, yet he is wanting in something
where we least suspect. Even that most fortunate of men, Sol
omon, who was, as it were, sunk in a sea of all imaginable pleas
ures, finds affliction of spirit, as he himself confesses: "I saw in
all things vanity and vexation of mind." Therefore I will lose
no more time in recommending you to seek the cross in sorrow.
And there- Otherwise, if perhaps you have none to bear, I should set be-
neednot ^ore Jou *ne example of those holy souls who vied with Helen in
seek them, seeking troubles and trials with the greatest desire, who prayed
for them most fervently, and were almost displeased when they
delayed to come, or did not remain long; who went to meet
pain, and complained of those who prevented them from suffer
ing; who, as St. Gregory testifies, looked on temporal prosperity
and wealth as an evil sign.2 I should wish to let you hear the
sighs of Pope Innocent I., who, although he was full from head
to foot of ulcers and sores sent him from heaven, cried out: 0 my
God, send me worse and more painful sicknesses, if Thou wilt
only grant me grace to bear them! I should like to tell you of
the desire of the holy martyr Ignatius to be eaten up by the lions
and tigers: Ye wild beasts, when shall I belong to you? 3 If you
refuse to seize me I shall force you to do so, and shall excite all
your rage against me; I will rush upon you, that you may open
your mouths to devour me; and if you decline, I myself will open
your jaws, and will put my head between them, that you may not
spare me.4 I should like to describe for you the cries with which
the holy Levite St. Lawrence ran after the holy martyr Xystus,
desiring to be beheaded and slaughtered for the honor of Christ;
the prayer of that pious old man, of whom Hermetius writes
that every year he was visited by grievous trials, but one year
passing by in which he had not much to suffer, he complained
of it to the Lord in bitterness of heart, saying: 0 my God, what
sin have I committed that Thou hast no mercy on me this year?
All these people knew well what a great treasure is hidden under
the cross, under trials; therefore they were so eager in seeking
and desiring them.
1 Vidi in omnibus vanitatem et afflictionem animi.— Eccles. ii. 11.
2 Sancti viri cum sibi suppetere prospera hujus mundi conspiciunt, pavida suspicione tur-
bantur.
3 Utinam fruar bestiis !
4 Ego vobis vim faciam ; urgebo vos, ut devoretis me.
On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ. 405
But up to this we have not been in need of forming such de- Hence thgy
sires! We have crosses enough! All the better, then! Let us tnei" cross
rejoice with David: "I met with trouble and sorrow."1 Lay with joy, as
hold on them with courage; take up your cross bravely: "It is predeL°ina-
a tree of life to them that lay hold on it." Have you never re- tion.
marked when a ship strikes on a rock in mid-stream how it is
broken into pieces, and the unfortunates who are on board have
nothing but a plank to trust their lives to? What a noise they
make! How they fight and quarrel about the possession of the
plank! Each one tries to have it for himself. Why? Because
it is a means of saving his life. Such is the light in which we
should consider the trials and contradictions of the world; for
by them we, after that sad shipwreck of original sin, can gain
eternal life. " No one," says St. Augustine, " can cross the sea
of this world unless he is carried by the cross."2 And in an
other place: " It is necessary that they for whom eternal life is
prepared should be chastened here."1 According to the teach
ing of all the holy Fathers, the cross is the surest ladder to bring
us to heaven, the key which will open the door thereof to us.
The cross is the sign that God has given to all whom He loves
and has selected for eternal life: "For whom the Lord loveth
He chastiseth; and as a father in the son He pleaseth Himself."
I will not dwell longer on the proof of this, as I have already
spoken about it sufficiently. Once for all it is and must be true,
as the God of truth Himself says in words I have often quoted
for you: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the
kingdom of God."5 Happy they who acknowledge this truth
and lay it to heart!
My dear brethren, what, then, shall we do? Shall we look If tbey^h
with weeping eyes and saddened thoughts on the cross that we it to enter
have daily to bear, and that the well-meaning providence of God heaven,
has sent us? Or shall we not rather take it up eagerly, and re
tain it as our own property, and not try to pass it on to others,
or to leave the desire of it to them? Do we not love eternal life?
If so, shall we cast from us the tree of life? If we reject this
ladder we shall never be able to ascend into heaven. If we throw
away this key we shall never be able to open the door of the
Tribulationem et dolorem inveni.— Ps. cxiv. 3.
Nemo potest transire mare hujus sasculi, nisi cruce portatus.— S. Aug. Tract. 1. in Joan.
Illis quibus paratur vita sempiterna, necesse est, ut hie flagellentur. —Ibid, in Ps. xvii.
Quern enim diligit Dotninu-? eorripit: et quasi pater in fllio complacet sibi.— Prov. iii. 12.
Per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei. — Acts xiv. 21.
406 On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ.
St. Helen,
having
found the
cross, held
it in great
honor.
It is not
enough for
us to be
tried by
shown by
similes.
heavenly mansions. It is the tree of life to them that lay hold
on it; not to those who merely find it, that is, contemplate it
outwardly, but to those who take it up. But why should I go
to such lengths to persuade you of this? It seems to me that
you interrupt me again: Take up what? you ask; bear what? If
that be all that is necessary, we are sure of eternal life! Truly,
we must take up our cross; we are compelled to do it, whether
we like or not! We cannot cast away the heavy wood; it lays on
our shoulders always; we feel only too keenly how hard it presses.
Again I believe you. But is that enough for your eternal hap
piness? No; something more is required: "He that shall retain
her is blessed," says the Holy Ghost in the words of my text; and
I add that he who shall retain the cross shall be eternally happy.
Second Part.
St. Helen was not satisfied with finding the cross of Christ,
nor with laying hold of and taking it up; she always held it in
love and veneration, and, according to St. Paulinus, spent all her
treasures in building a costly temple in which to preserve it; she
spread the veneration of it throughout the world, and placed all
her happiness, joy, and fame in the possession of it and in the
homage she and all Christians paid it, saying with St. Paul : <•' God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus
Christ; " 1 and the same words are read in the Introit of the Mass
of this feast in honor of St. Helen.
Do not flatter yourselves, then, 0 afflicted Christians, if you
have laid hold of the cross and suffering, or rather, if the cross
has found you and is weighing you down! Trials are indeed
the tree of life to those who lay hold on them, that is, to those
who are visited by them; for they have in them a salutary means
of gaining eternal life. But how can the means help one if he
does not keep and use it as he ought? What would it help you,
if you have suffered shipwreck, for one to throw you a plank if
you do not hold fast to it with both arms? You will certainly
go to the bottom as well, nay, quicker with it than without it
unless you lay hold of ic properly. Take a piece of bread in
your hand; look at it well; you have there something that can
preserve your life; but if you only look at it, and do not eat it,
of what good to you will it be? In spite of the bread you will
have to suffer hunger.
1 Absit gloriari nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi.— Gal. vi. 14.
On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ. 407
So, too, how can it help you to be tried in various ways if you if we wish
cry out and complain? for then you merely consider the out- ^eaveTb
ward appearance of trials; you look on them as intolerable; they means of
trouble and displease you; but you do not use the cross in the ^^^r
proper manner for the good of your soul. In that way it will be them pa-
of as much good to you as the blows are to the stubborn horse tlen"yfor
that kicks against them; or as the stones thrown at the barking and esteem
dog, that shows his teeth, and barks back at them; or as the cross them<
was to the wicked thief on Calvary, who had to hang on it
against his will, and died in despair. It is the tree of life to them
that lay hold on it, and he that shall retain it is blessed. The
cross must, after the example of St. Helen, be held in honor,
that is, it must be accepted from the hand of God with resigna
tion; it must be kept willingly, readily, constantly, acknowl
edging that it is for us the surest and best means of salvation;
it must be borne with pleasure, joy, delight, and exultation, or,
if that is not possible, at least with Christian patience, with res
ignation of our will to the holy will of God.
Oh, now we have come to where the greatest fault lies in us! Fewdothat
Most people are burdened with the cross, but, alas! how few, how
few there are who hold it in honor as we have said, and thus
gain their souls' salvation! For this reason, perhaps, the Holy
Ghost speaks of those who lay hold of it in the plural, saying:
" Them that lay hold on her," while in the following clause He
speaks of but one: " He that shall retain her is blessed; " thus
showing the small number of those who bear their crosses, as they
ought — willingly and contentedly. What else is the meaning
of that inordinate sorrow, that crying and lamenting that go so
far beyond the limits of decency, those despairing thoughts and
ideas, those impatient words, sighs, curses, cries, that murmur
ing and complaining against, as they say, the pitiless Heaven,
those imprecations that fall from many who are in affliction?
What else but that they bear their trials unwillingly, and because
they cannot help themselves, and that if they could they would
keep the cross at a great distance. They are like the wheels of a
wagon that always keep on creaking and rattling. Is not this a
state of things that we may well deplore and bewail? 0 unhap
py and thrice miserable mortals! To have to suffer, and to suf
fer without merit or profit! To have to suffer, and to suffer
without human or divine consolation! To have to suffer, and
in suffering only to increase one's sorrow! To have to suffer,
408 On St. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ.
and often by the suffering that was intended as a means of gain
ing heaven to condemn one's self to hell! A consideration that
is enough to make me shed hitter tears when it occurs to my
mind. 0 holy souls, if we were only as enlightened as you, how
far different the use we should make of our crosses, and with
what pleasure, joy, and love we should lay hold of and embrace
them!
still fewer Yet I must acknowledge that there are many who willinglv
who bear 3 . ...
with the take up the cross, who retain and bear it with joy; not, however,
same pa- every cross, but only that which they wish to bear; not that
cross God which God desires to send them, according to their state, as St.
sends them. Augustine beautifully remarks, speaking of the words of the
psalm I have quoted for you, " I met with trouble and sorrow,"
" There is," he says, "one kind of trouble that you find your
self; another that finds you." The trouble that you find your
self, that is, the mortifications that many practise voluntarily,
out of devotion and the love of God, or the suffering that suits
their temperament, they bear readily; but other trials that find
them, that is, those misfortunes that God sends, that are not ac
cording to their nature and inclination, they can and will not
bear; in such trials they show neither patience nor joy nor con
tentment! Many a woman, hearing others complain of losses,
will say: Oh, I should care little for that if I only had my hus
band still with me; but he is dead, and I am desolate; that I
cannot endure. Another says: I could indeed endure that; but
this domestic trial, this secret poverty that presses so hard on
my children and myself is intolerable! A third: Things might
go as they will if I were only quit of this pain, if I only had my
health! A fourth: I can bear anything but an attack on my
honor; that I cannot stand ! A fifth: I do not mind what people
say of me, as a general rule; but I cannot understand why so-and-
so should plague me to such an extent. The crosses of others
appear light to us; but when our own shoe pinches, that is, when
we have the cross on our shoulders, we feel it sharply enough.
People are often seen going early in the morning and late in the
evening to church, through rain and snow, and cold and heat,
to assist at public devotions; they spend hours on their knees,
watch, pray, and fast often, sleep on the bare ground, emaciate
and chastise their bodies, and are heard to cry out with Peter:
Lord, I am ready to go even to death with Thee. If you ask
1 Alia est tribulatio quam tu invenis ; alia quae te invenit.— S. Aug. In Ps. cxvi.
On 6V. Helen, Finder of the Cross of Christ. 409
the n why do they practise such austerities they have a beauti
ful answer ready: Oh! they will exclaim, we must suffer some
thing for God's sake; heaven suffers violence; the door leading
into it is narrow! There is the cross that one finds himself.
Truly, it is a practice that is very laudable, meritorious, and
pleasing to God thus to deny one's self. Meanwhile something
unforeseen happens to those who are thus austere with them
selves; a difficulty or an annoyance comes to them from another;
a word is spoken that they do not like; and at once all is upset;
patience is changed into discontent, joy into anger and displeas
ure. But what is the matter? We must suffer something for
God's sake! Heaven suffers violence! Yes, but that is quite
another matter! What has happened now is more than I can
bear! So that in some cases the Lord should ask us beforehand
what kind of a cross is most pleasing to us! But not in this
does true virtue consist; the great God must not be dictated to;
not what we will, but what is pleasing to Him, whatever be its
name, we should bear with patience and contentment, and bear
it as long as He wills. He is blessed who thus retains his cross.
" My brethren/' says the apostle St. James, "count it all joy
when you shall fall into divers temptations." Rejoice, not
only when you fall into this or that trial, but when all sorts of
troubles come upon you.
Oh, what happiness the cross she found and honored brought By that pa-
to our St. Helen! It was not the imperial crown but that cross g^^n,
that made her glorious and illustrious before the whole world, withst.
And what happiness did she not find by its means in the next ^J^116
life! "What reward, "asks St. Augustine, "will God give to happiness.
His faithful servant who gave such honor to the instrument of
His death? " 2 My dear brethren, how happy we, too, shall be—
nay, how happy we are already, if we always honor our crosses!
For a time, but how short a time! we shall be miserable and suf
fering in the eyes of the world; but in the sight of God we shall
be as dear children who do Him the greatest honor by bearing
His cross, and stand high in His grace and favor. And what
happiness will follow in a long eternity! Then we shall know
that what we have to suffer here is nothing, as the Apostle says:
" The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with
1 Omue ffaudium existimate fratres, cum in varias tentationes incideritis.— James i, 2,
9 Quid servat fldeli suo, qui talem honorem dedit supplicio suo ?
4 m Ott- .S'/. I Ic/cn, J<* itider of I he Cross of Christ.
Ill'- glory to ••nine thut Hhall ho revealed in UH." Tlim wo ..li.-i.ll
know wliut. agrievoui Injustice wo have done tho Lord — nay, oven
ourHolvoH, whon wo roftiHod and rejected tho CTOHH.
Hhnwii by Qn one Occasion I^MMH XII., king of Franco, oaiiHod the narnoH
limpid. of all bit OOUrtiers and uU.eudantM to ho wriM.cn down; whon lio
had road them ho took a p<-n and markod with uoroHH tho narnoB
of two of thoni who woro ahHont. Tho luM.or woro told of thin,
and, frightened at tho U. irk mark placed aftor thoirnamon, took
l.o flight. Tho king, hearing of it, hogan to laugh, and said:
What aro tho good people afraid of? 1 1 HOOIJIH they do not undor-
i.ui'i the letters of <'ini,.i., who m.-ii.r !ii<-<-n>.,: tho beginning of
all tho favot'H Ho confers j 1 ruado a oroyn after tho namcH of
these two because it wan my intention '" confer on them pontn
of tho III^IIOH! iinj)ortano,o.
() my (Jn«|, what a. miHtako I and many othorH havo rnado
'0' what a vain four wo have entertained whon Thou didst
r-.'-i "i mark IIH with the cross! Thou hast markod mo with tho CI'OHH
of poverty whon Thou did .1. placo mo and mino in wa.nt hy \\\\ .
fortune or Hcanuty; and I looked on that UH a Hi#n of Thy din-
pleaiure, und took it with fear and avoi'HJon, QOt thinking of the
ricltuH Thou worl. preparing for mo hy moans of it, although
Thou haul, aHHiirod mo that " ItloHHod are the poor in piril,
for ihoirH in tl>o kingdom of heaven." Thou hant marked me
with I In- ci'OHH of HOITOW wluMi Thou didst talu; my e.oiiHolation
from me hy death, and 1 iiavo oomplainod of that UH if it had
hoon a sign of rejection; nor did I acknowledge what a Hwoot
joy 'I'll. .11 would. •!. have propartMl for mo on account of it, HHICO
Thou hast said: " HloHHod HHJ they that moui'ii, for Uiey Hliull
be Comforted." Thou |IUH|. marked mo with tho eroHH of |)orHe-
CUtion when Thou didnt porrniL othei'H to torment me unjustly,
to put me to shame, to oppress me; und I have set myself against
ituH intolerable, with anger, on CHOH, and imprecations j nor did I
know what a great honor Th«»u wort preparing for mo, although
Thou hast laid: " HloHHnd are ye when they nhall revile you, and
porHoeuto you, and Hpoak all that m evil against you; . . . ho glad
and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heft ven.1" In a word,
1 Noil mil . ..n.lij. n '• |>.i , .i.iii. •.: tin |u |I-MI|IOI i . III! I Him :iin uloi'liilll, ijii.i- n-M-hilill in III
lloblH. Itoill. Vlll. IH.
'* i.' iii piuiporoHHplrtt.il, <|iioiitiitn IpMoruin OM(. ro^iinin nrlnriuii. — Matt. v. II.
" Itc'.ili ..ill liifdil , (|||0lllaill IpSl .-OM ...Inliilliliil 11)1(1. ft.
4 ItOlltl i-.|.|;i .HIM Illllto (tlXOflllt. VOblN III.IMIIK-. ot. | >' ' I ..TI 1 1 I VON flirrlnl , cl ill \c| Mil. nliipi-
iiiniiiin itilvofHiiiii vim ; . . . ifiuiilnto ol, oxtilluto, i|iu>ulain IIIOI-COH vowtra coploHii «mt hi (ujull*
—ibid. 11, ia.
f>// A'/. Helen, who Itxaltcd the Cross of Christ. 411
every annoyance disturbed me, made my mind uneasy, and my
will rebellions; I have avoided the cross as the greatest evil in
the world, although I should have rejoiced at it as tho chief
proof of Thy love, and the best means of increasing my glory in
heaven. Oh, what a mistake 1 have made! how many useless
tears I have shed!
In future, O Lord, 1 will make a more sensible use of the cross,
I will let those weep who do not hold with Thee; I will let those
fear and dread who have everything they wish for here below; oronei, and
but I will rejoice that by the sign of the cross Thou hast regis- hol(l thom
tered me in the number of Thy dear children in the Hook of Life.
1 now olTcr myself to Thee, ready to bear any cross; T will not
refuse any; behold, my hands are stretched out in readiness to
sei7,e tho cross; my arms are open to embrace it; my shoulders
are bent to carry it, as Thou wilt lay it on me. till the end, with
joy, or at least with patience. And if perchance no cross comes
in my way, like St. Melon 1 will seek it. 1 will seek it in tho
troubles of my daily business, which I will always perform with
u good intention in Thy honor; I will seek it in others, whose
faults 1 will hour with patience and charity; I will seek it in my
self, in my own inclinations and passions, which I will oonstant-
Iv mortify Mini restrain, that they may not hinder me from fol
lowing perfectly Thy divine law; that thus I may find the tree
of life, retain it till death, and. with the holv mother of Troves,
St. Melon, attain to the possession of that eternal happiness
promised by Our Lord to those who seek the cross and retain it.
Amen.
SK YEN T } '- Til /It/) tiKHMO N.
ON ST. HELEN, WHO EXALTED THE CROSS OF CHRIST.
Subject.
1. Helen, by honoring the cross of Christ, restored Mis honor
and glory, and spread them through the world; '2. We, too, by
bearing contradictions, can increase and spread the honor and
glory of God. — Preached on the feast of St. Helen.
Text.
Qn\cunqu6 glorificaverit me, t/lorificnbo euw. — T. Kings ii. 30.
*' Whosoever shall glorify Me, him will I glorify."
412 On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ.
The lower
the con
dition of
the person
exalted, the
more does
he prize
the honor.
Introduction.
According to the old saying, one honor deserves another. If
this holds good among men, although they are often guilty of
ingratitude, and are very apt to forget benefits received, how
much more will it not be true of God, who never allows His
creatures to surpass Him in generosity; who receives one, and
gives back a hundred; who has promised on His word: "Who
soever shall glorify Me, him will I glorify "? Therefore, my dear
brethren, the great honor and glory to which Christ has raised
our holy empress and patroness Helen in heaven we can measure
to some extent from the sole consideration of the honor and
glory to which she exalted Christ before the world. That honor,
how she gained it for Our Lord, and how we may imitate her in
this respect, shall form the subject of this sermon.
Plan of Discourse.
Helen, hy honoring the cross of Christ, restored His honor
and glory, and spread it throughout the ivorld; the first part.
We can, l)y patiently hearing contradictions, increase and spread
the honor and glory of God; the second part.
That this latter may happen, we beg, 0 Lord, Thy light and
grace, through the intercession of Mary and of the holy angels,
while we rejoice on account of the honor which Thy great and
holy servant Helen brought to Thee.
The meaner the condition from which one is rescued, the
more is the honor prized to which he is elevated. It is an un
common piece of good fortune for a poor, lowly peasant to be
called out of his straw-thatched cabin to court, to be there en
nobled and made a great lord. That change of fortune is more
appreciated by him than if he had been born in that position.
What an honor for Joseph to be brought out of the fetid prison,
in which, although innocent, he had lain for some years as
a malefactor, and to be suddenly declared viceroy of Egypt!
What an honor for Saul to be anointed king by the Prophet
while he was seeking his father's asses! What an honor for
David to be called from keeping sheep to hold the royal sceptre
in his hand! The former lowly condition of these men, and the
high position to which they were afterwards elevated, must have
largely added to their gratitude to Him who effected that great
change in their state.
On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ. 4 1 3
But is it my object now to cast Our Lord down to such a low Christ was
condition, and maintain that Helen raised Him up and made poverty'to™
Him illustrious before the world? We know by the faith that thegioiy
Christ was born of a poor mother, in a lowly stable, that He was Ffa^r
brought up in a poor workshop, and looked on by men as the
son of a carpenter, and that He was put to death as a malefactor.
But all this had occurred three hundred years before; He had
long ago made His triumphant entry into heaven, and there
taken possession of the kingdom that belonged to Him by right;
there He is seated on the right hand of the Father as the lawful
King of heaven and earth, and as such He was acknowledged
by all Christians in the whole world even in the time of Helen;
many thousand martyrs of both sexes had already shed their
blood and given their lives for Him, and we cannot say that
Helen had any share in all that. How, then, is it true that she
restored His honor and glory, since He had that already before
heaven and earth without any aid from her?
St. Ambrose remarks, very appositely to my subject, that Christ But Hls
TT- i 11 • n • TT- "i i i • i cross, in
sets His honor and glory especially in His holy cross, on winch which He
He suffered for the salvation of the world: "The glory and hon- set His
or of Christ is His cross." 1 And so He Himself calls it in the glory'
Gospel of St. John, when speaking to His disciples of His pas
sion and death: " The hour is come that the Son of Man should
be glorified." a And again, while on His way to the Garden of
Gethsemani: "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son;"3
honor Him and make Him illustrious! For this reason Peter
did not wish to be crucified upright, but with his head down
ward, as St. Ambrose says: " Lest he should seem to lay claim
to the glory of his Master." *
In the time of Helen this glory of Christ was hidden and con- wass'in
cealed from the world, for the cross was buried deep in the b™the °r
ground, and no one knew where this divine treasure was to be world as
discovered; so that it lay buried, too, as far as the minds and dlsgrax
memory of men were concerned, since no one could pay it pub
lic homage. Nay, it was not merely forgotten and without hon
or, but was covered more with shame and reproach than with
earth. All nations and peoples still held to the words of the
Lord in Deuteronomy: " He is accursed of God that hangecn on
1 Gloria et honor Christi est crux.
2 Venit hora ut clariflcetur Filius hominis.— John xii. 33.
3 Pater, venit hora ; clariflca Filium tuum.— Ibid. xvii. 1.
4 Ne affectasse eloriam Domini videretur.
4 1 4 On St. Helen> who Exalted the Cross of Christ.
a tree." J In those days crosses were to be seen, as the wheel and
gallows is with us, only in the place of public execution, and
the name of one who had been nailed to the cross was held in exe
cration and dishonor. The cross was then the instrument of pun
ishment on which thieves, robbers, traitors, assassins, and incen
diaries were executed. And as they are now disgraced who are
publicly put to death or punished, so Christ, although He enjoyed
His glory in heaven, had still in some measure to suffer before
the world the disgrace of His cross, on which the Jews had put
Him to death as a criminal, His cross being still held in the same
dishonor as the gibbets on which notorious malefactors suffered
the extreme penalty. Therefore she who rescued the cross from
this shameful position, and raised it to a, high place of honor
before the world, deserves the praise of having, as it were, taken
away a disgrace from Christ Himself, and restored and increased
His honor in the sight of men.
8t. Helen As every one knows, my dear brethren, Helen did this great
work. Hardly had she conceived the heroic design of setting
into honor Out on her travels to seek the cross of Christ, wherever it might
ke, to say nothing of the time when she found and exalted it,
when at once, by the command of Constantino the Great, her
son, the cross ceased to be an instrument of punishment to evil
doers. For through reverence for the holy cross he forbade,
under severe penalties, any one to be again crucified, a custom
that all Christendom has since observed to the present day.
Thus, as St. Augustine says, the cross is rescued from disgrace,
since it is no longer used as an instrument of punishment; while
its glory commenced, and still remains, and will last for all time.9
What glory? "It was transferred from the place of execution
to the brows of emperors." From that time Constantine would
have no other standard in his kingdom and for his army but the
cross; the pearls and precious stones on his crown had to make
room for it; the heathenish images of Mars and Hercules were
taken from the helmets of the soldiers, the eagles and lions from
the standards, and in place of them was everywhere to be seen
the glorious and resplendent sign of the cross. From that time
we see the cross on the tiara of the popes, on the crowns of kings,
on the mitres of bishops, on the vestments of priests, on the
1 Maledlctus qui pendet in ligno.— Deut. xxl. 23.
* Crux flnita est in poena, manet in gloria,
* A locis suppliciorura fecit transitum ad frontem imperatorum.
On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ. 4 1 5
spires of churches, and oil the summits of altars, everywhere
occupying the chief place.
Since that time how many orders of knighthood were estab- Andslnoe
lished under the sign of the cross, to bear it and the honor due always been
to it publicly through the world — orders, the members of which beidintiw
vowed to defend it at the cost of their lives! In a word, the org €
cross is the standard under which all faithful Christians, as re
ligious of the cross,1 to use the expression of Tertullian, promise
on oath, in holy baptism, to be true to God. The cross is that
holy thing that we reverence on bended knee in our churches,
in our homes, in the market-place, on mountains and in valleys
as the sign of our eternal salvation. " We mark everything with
the cross," says St. Chrysostom, "as with a royal sign." 3 We
sign it on the forehead, on the lips, on the breast; at our going
in and out; when eating and drinking; when rising and laying
down to rest. A small particle of the true cross is to us Catho
lics a treasure of such great weight, of such immense value, that
no wealth of gold or silver can be compared to it. In the cross
we see, like St. Paul, our highest, nay, our sole renown and
glory, according to the words of the Introit of the Mass of to
day: " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our
Lord Jesus Christ." 3
What an honor for thee, 0 city of Treves, to have brought up sotnatnei-
her to whom all Christendom must give this praise, that she, by t^^fss of
elevating His cross, spread the honor and glory of Our Lord, Christ mus-
and made it known to all nations! What a happiness for us, my tr
dear brethren, if, after the example of St. Helen, we, too, by
exalting the cross, further the honor and glory of God! This
shall be the case if we bear the cross of Our Lord in a moral
sense, that is, if we are patient and resigned for His sake in all
the trials and contradictions of life; as I shall prove in the
Second Part.
Let us see, without further preface, in what consists the honor
and glory that God seeks from men. In this, especially, that man who sub-
fully submits himself to God as his Creator and sovereign Lord, JJJ1^8^1
obeys His commands readily, at the least sign, in all imaginable aiithings.
circumstances, gives up his will altogether to the will and provi-
1 Rellgiosos crucis.
a Omnla cruce quasi signo quodara regio obsignamus.
' Absit mihi gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christ!.— Gal, vi. 14.
4 1 6 On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ.
This sub
mission is
not proved
so well in
prosperity
As in ad
versity
borne pa
tiently.
dence of God, and thus makes the glory of God known before
the whole world. For,, as I have often said, God is not in the
least need of His creatures, and He places His exterior honor in
this, that they are always ready to do, to omit, to suffer what He
wills, how, and when He wills.
Never does a man show this complete submission and obedi
ence clearer and better than in trials, when he bears them with
contentment, without exception, accepting them from the hands
of God, and submitting to them with patience and joy for His
sake. If I were to point to a man who has hitherto lived in
prosperity, in good health, in the enjoyment of abundant wealth,
possessing a high reputation and the esteem of every one, and to
say: There is a man who is content with the Almighty in his
state of life, who is resigned to the divine will, satisfied with the
arrangements of Providence, and always obedient and submis
sive to the divine law; he is always grateful for the benefits be
stowed on him by God — would not that man honor and glorify
his Creator by his Christian mode of life and edifying resigna
tion to the divine will? There is not a doubt of it. Meanwhile,
however, you will perhaps say to yourselves: I, too, would be
satisfied with the will of God, and be grateful to Him, if He
acted in the same manner towards me. For it is natural to re
ceive willingly and with pleasure what we desire. So that your
remark is not without reason.
But I say to you again: There is a man who has been in mis
ery and wretchedness for a long time past. That poor workman
must plague himself the whole day to find enough food for him
self and his family. Everything that unfortunate man under
takes is a failure; nothing succeeds with him; wherever he turns
he finds a cross. That desolate widow, with her family of little
children, is persecuted and harassed on all sides by enemies.
That woman, besides the daily want she has to suffer, is exposed
to the brutal treatment of a drunken husband, who beats and
abuses her. That man has been lying for years on a bed of
pain and sickness, etc. Oh, truly, those are troublous circum
stances, which have no sweetness in them, nor anything to appeal
to our sensuality, for they are, as it were, contrary to nature.
And yet all these people are as satisfied with God in their misery
as the former in their prosperity; they follow their Lord on this
uncomfortable road, over thistles and thorns, as quickly as the
former do on roses and flowers; and while the former thank God
On St. Helen, who Exalted the Cross of Christ. 417
for the goods He has given them, the latter praise and bless Him
with humble hearts for the sufferings He has sent them, for de
priving them of worldly goods, as if those trials were great bene
fits. Never is there seen in them the least sign of impatience;
and although sensitive nature feels the pain, and sometimes for
ces a tear from their eyes, yet with all their weeping and sigh
ing their only cry is: God's will be done! What think you of
them? Oh, you must acknowledge, with the greatest admiration,
theirs is indeed a far different case; what great delight must
not the Almighty God have in such souls! What an edifying ex
ample they give to the whole city! And what a source of secret
shame they must be to other tepid, vain, and luxurious Chris
tians! What renown they gain for our religion! What honor
and glory for the Lord! One of them does more to honor and
praise God and His holy gospel than a hundred of the others
in their prosperity.
So it is, my dear brethren. They who serve God in prosperity Patience
seem to me to resemble the servants and courtiers of a king who ^Jory6^ ^
are always in their master's presence, and accompany him in pub- «od more
lie; they go with him to the chase, they share in his amusements, ^anHs^7n
they sit at table with him, they wait on him in magnificent array prosperity:
early in the morning and late at night; while they who serve God sho^n bya
in adversity are like those brave heroes and generals who, far
from home, in the field, under the canopy of heaven, lead restless
lives, exposed to danger, with death from a hostile sword or spear
staring them in the face, ready at any moment to give their lives
for their king. Which of the two sorts of servants must the king
love best? There is no doubt that the least heroic exploit of a sol
dier in battle, or at a seige, or in any military expedition gains
more glory for the king than all the other courtiers together with
their daily and nightly attendance on the person of their sover
eign. The latter, with their show and glitter, surround the king
with outward pomp and glory; but the others, by their fighting
and conquering, spread his name through the world as that of a
great victor, and thereby render him terrible to his enemies and
to other monarchs. My dear brethren, to pray long and frequent
ly, to hear many Masses daily, to distribute alms to the poor, and
perform similar good works, constitutes, according to the opinion
of most people, true devotion and piety. And there is no doubt
that those are good and praiseworthy actions, whereby we ac
knowledge what we owe to God, and, as it were, show Him honor
4 1 8 On All the Saints of God.
by outward parade. But I do not hesitate to say that a heart
felt Deo gr atias! — thanks be to God! — a single God's will be done!
in suffering and trial, generally speaking, brings more honor and
glory to God than praying whole books full of prayers, and per
forming other works of devotion when things go according to our
wishes. By that complete subjection to the divine will in adver
sity a man gives to God at once all that he has in and outside of
himself — his happiness, his goods, his health, his joy and pleas
ure — all of which he places at the disposal of the Almighty, ready
to lose, if such should be His will, his body, his soul, his under
standing and will: all of which he gives over unreservedly, in hu
mility and obedience, to the divine will.
DoncJusion j must conclude, since my time is expired, and I do so in the
don to bear wordsof the ancient Origen: " Let no one, then, be so ignorant of
aiaisoa- the meaning of trials sent by the Almighty as to think them
jkxfssake simpty misfortunes and punishments; " 1 let no one be so foolish
as to complain, on account of them, that God is a hard taskmas
ter; let no one be so senseless as to turn into still greater trials
the crosses sent him by God by impatience and obstinacy! If
the cross brought us no other advantage and profit than to en
able us to increase the honor and glory of the great God, should
we not, with the saints, desire it, and take it as a glorious pledge
from the hands of the Lord? Come, then, my dear brethren, as
I have often said before, let us bear with patience and content
ment for God's sake what we are obliged to bear in any case;
and let us do so with this consolation and assured hope, that if
we honor God in this world by patience and contentment we
shall also be honored and exalted by Him in heaven for all eter
nity. For "whosoever shall glorify Me, him will I glorify."
Let it be so, 0 Lord, with Thy help. Amen»
8E VENTY-FO UR TH SERMON.
ON ALL THE SAINTS OF GOD.
Subject.
He who does not live and die, with the saints, in a holy manner
shall be judged and condemned by the saints. — Preached on the
feast of All Saints.
1 Nemo ijrltur ita ineruditus sit dirinae disciplinse, ut flagella divina perniciem putst.
On All the Saints of God. 419
Text.
Vidi turbam magnam quam dinumerare nemo poterat, ex om
nibus gentibus et tribubus, et populis, et linguis, stantes ante
thronum. — Apoc. vii. 9.
" I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all
nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the
throne."
Introduction.
Since to-day the whole heavens are opened before me to the
eyes of faith, and I behold, on the one hand, that great multitude
of the saints of God of all races, nations, and peoples, standing
and rejoicing by the throne, and on the other hand I cannot help
thinking how things go with us mortals in this world, I am
compelled to exclaim: Ah, how contradictory the objects that are
offered to my mental vision! There I see those who have never
lost their baptismal innocence, and have brought it with them to
heaven; here I see men bartering that grace for some wretched
thing, falling from one sin into another, and rejoicing in sin daily.
There I behold many thousand martyrs, who endured with the
utmost joy, even to death, the most cruel torments for the sake
of God and heaven; here I find men to whom the least trial
seems intolerable, who do nothing but murmur against the cross
es they have to bear, and curse and swear at their fate. There
I see a vast crowd of chaste virgins who preferred to lose their
lives rather than their purity; here I find men who deliberate
ly seek occasions of indulging in carnal pleasures. There I see
countless confessors who, in order to enter on the narrow path
to heaven, spent their lives in constant austerities and mortifica
tions, in fasting, watching, and prayer; here I find most men
walking on the broad way, pleasantly and cheerily going on the
downward path to hell. How is this? I ask. Have, then, these
latter given up all hope of heaven? It seems so. For he who ear
nestly desires to be with the saints in heaven must, like the saints,
lead a holy life; otherwise he will be disappointed. Nay, those
very saints will judge and condemn him to hell. This is what
I mean to show to-day, my dear brethren, to the greater honor of
the saints, and to our own spiritual advantage.
Plan of Discourse.
He who does not, like the taints, live and die in a holy manner
will be judged and condemned by the saints. Such is the whole
420
On All the Saints of God.
The saints
are now our
best friends
and advo
cates with
God.
But they
will judge
and con
demn us if
we are not
holy, like
them.
subject. Let us, therefore, reverence the saints now ~by endeav
oring to imitate their holiness of life. Such shall be the conclu
sion.
Obtain for us the grace to do this, all ye saints of God, and
thou, especially, Queen of the saints, Mary, and you, too, 0 holy
angels.
What does that mean: to be judged and condemned by the
saints? By those saints who wish and desire nothing more than
that we, their brethren and sisters whom they have left behind in
this vale of tears, should follow them to heaven, and be partakers
in their eternal bliss? Shall they judge and condemn us to the
everlasting pains of hell? Those saints to whom our wants and
miseries, our weaknesses and frailties are only too well known;
who, as St. Bernard says, have, as it were, an anxious care for
our welfare, lest we should be lost forever: " They are now sure
of their own happiness, and anxious concerning ours " ? 1 Those
saints who stand round the throne of God as so many advocates
and intercessors; our protectors and guardians, who by their
prayers and merits obtain God's grace and mercy for us who are
still on earth; to whom we appeal with an assured confidence in
our wants and necessities, and by whose intercession we are often
miraculously helped in troubles? Shall these saints one day
stand up as judges against us, to pronounce on us the sentence
of eternal reprobation: Depart, ye cursed, into eternal fire?
Yes, my dear brethren, yes! Even those chosen friends of God,
who are now our best friends and advocates in heaven, we shall
one day have to fear as our strict judges, by whom we shall be
examined, convicted, and condemned, unless, like them, we lead
a holy life and die a happy death. " Know you not," asks St.
Paul, "that the saints shall judge this world?"3 Know yon
not that their mouldering bones that we now reverence on our
altars shall in the general judgment rise from the grave, and
that the saints shall then take their places as judges of the
wicked? Yes, and this is confirmed by the apostle Jude from
the Prophet Enoch: "Behold, the Lordcometh, with thousands
of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all
the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness." ' Our Lord
1 De sua felicitate securi, de nostra soliciti.
* An nescitis quoniam sancti de hoc mundo judicabunt?— I. Cor. vl. 2.
' Ecce venit Dominus in sanctis millibus suis, facere judicium contra omnibus, et argue-
re omnes impios de omnibus operibus irapietatis eorum.— Jude i. 14, 15.
On All the Saints of God. 421
Himself prophesied the same to His disciples in the words:
" Amen, I say to you, that you who have followed Me in the re
generation, when the Son of Man shall sit on the seat of His
majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel/' According to the interpretation of the holy
Fathers, these words are not to be understood only of the apos
tles, for otherwise the thirteenth apostle, St. Paul, would be ex
cluded, although he said he should be a judge of the angels; but
they are applicable to all the saints who by their virtuous lives
have tried to follow the example of Christ. In two ways the
saints will judge the wicked: first, as assessors, or assistants to
Jesus Christ, the supreme Judge, in which capacity they will
give their votes, and approve of and confirm the sentence of
condemnation; secondly, and chiefly, as witnesses, who will com
pare their own lives and virtuous habits with the crimes and sins
of the wicked, and with this comparison put the latter to shame,
confound, and condemn them.
Oh, what a terrible experience it will be for the wicked to be A fearful
obliged thus publicly to appear before a multitude of saints of pearbefore
all nations, peoples, and races, seated beside Jesus Christ in their so many
glory and majesty, comparing their virtuous lives with the sinful
career of the reprobate! Cinna, the ambassador of King Pyr-
rhus, came to Home to see the Senate about making peace; the
majesty of that assembly so impressed him that he almost lost
the faculty of speech, and afterwards acknowledged to his sov
ereign that the city of Rome seemed to him a temple, and the
Senate to be a meeting of kings.2 Such is the image that comes
before my mind, my dear brethren, when I think of that day in
heaven, and I, too, say: Heaven appears to me as a temple of
awful majesty, and the multitude of the saints as an assembly of
terrible judges. There I behold Abraham the Patriarch, who
will examine and judge each one as to his faith and confidence
in God. There I behold John the Baptist, with the prophets,
who will examine and judge concerning the many inspirations and
lights received from God and in the hearing of the word of God.
There I see the apostle St. Peter, who will examine concerning
the preaching of the gospel and the manner in which we have
conformed our lives thereto. There I see St. Stephen, with count-
1 Amen dico vobis, quod vos qui secuti estls me, in regeneration cum sederit Filius ho-
minis in sede majestatis suse, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes duodecim
trtbus Israel.— Matt. xix. 38.
a Urbem Romam templum sibi visam, senatum regum esse consessum.
422
On All the Saints of God.
less martyrs, who will examine and judge concerning the patience
with which we shall have borne our crosses and trials. There I
behold Benedict,, Bernard,, Dominic, Francis, Ignatius, and other
founders of religious orders, with their spiritual children, and
all the holy confessors, who will examine and judge us concern
ing our zeal in the service of God, our humility, temperance,
self-denial, mortification; to see whether we have practised those
virtues according to the teaching and example of Christ. There
I see Catharine, and a great number of virgins, who will examine
and condemn the sins committed against purity and chastity.
There I see Joachim and Anna, with other saints, who will ex
amine and judge the sins of married people, especially those
committed with regard to the training of children. There I see
Antony, with all the holy hermits, who will examine and judge
the sins committed by the tongue, by the eyes, and the ears in
dangerous company and meetings. There I see Magdalene, with
the penitents, who will examine and judge concerning the sins that
have been concealed in confession,, or that have not been duly
repented of, or that have been committed by remaining in the
proximate occasion. " I saw a great multitude which no man
could number." The eyes are dazed by the sight of that vast
multitude of saints, all holding up their hands, as David says:
"Two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance upon
the nations, chastisements among the peoples." 1
Unhappy sinner! how will you feel when you see all those
judges sitting against you? What escape will you have, what
cusefrom excuse will you be able to offer when they will all contrast their
the wicked. | -yeg an(j v|r^ues ^yj^ Y0lir vicesp What will you say, proud
and vain child of the world, if the supreme Judge questions you
about your pride in despising others, about your vanity and in
decency in dress, about your extravagance in tricking yourself
out in order to catch the eyes of strangers, and secure their ad
miration? Have I not often enough, the Judge will say, caused
My gospel law of humility, modesty, and decency to be preached
to you? You will answer: My state in life and noble birth re
quired me to dress in that manner; it was the fashion in my
time, and I was obliged to follow it. What! a holy St. Eliz
abeth, with other saintly kings and queens, will exclaim against
you; we were of royal blood, and subjects bent the knee to us,
Their lives
1 Gladil ancipites In manibus eorum, ad faciendam vlndlctam in nationibus, increpationes
ka populis.— Ps. cxlix. 6, 7.
On All the Saints of God, 423
and yet in order to follow the humble King of glory we clad
ourselves with Christian simplicity, and bowed our crowned
heads down to the feet of the sick poor. I, holy Tobias will cry
out, although I was brought up in the Jewish law, took no no
tice of the customs and ways of others, but did what God re
quired of me and them: " When all went to the golden calves"
to adore them " he alone fled the company of all." I was the
only one who shunned all society and went to Jerusalem to the
temple of the Lord to adore the God of Israel; you might have
done the same, and have been saved with the few, with the small
number who walked on the narrow way to heaven. Come here,
0 avaricious man! Was not My law about almsgiving well enough
known to you, and My commands regarding the works of Chris
tian charity and mercy? But you, with your usury, injustice,
and cheating, have sucked the blood of the poor. Lord, you will
say, I had to keep a large family; without such practices I should
not have been able to maintain them in their proper state of
life. What! away with you to the judgment-seat of Abraham,
who will say to you: I had a far greater family to support; it
counted more than three hundred souls; yet I sought out the
stranger and the poor man, and entertained them with food and
drink. What will you say, unchaste man, who indulged all your
carnal desires, and allowed them to rule over you? Lord, I was
too weak to withstand temptation! Then behold your judge, a
Joseph, an Agnes, a Paul, and many others, who, armed with
the fear of God, gained a victory over the most violent tempta
tions and assaults, partly by taking to flight, partly by chastising
their bodies. And you, vindictive man, have you not known
the command: " Love your enemies; do good to them that hate
you "* ? What have you to say? My honor was concerned; if I
had allowed the insult to pass by unavenged I should have been
looked on as a fool and a coward. Your judges will be a King
David, whose honor was worth much more than yours, and who
nevertheless carefully spared the life of his sworn enemy Saul
when he had him at his mercy; a protomartyr Stephen, who,
while the stones were being cast at him, prayed to God for his
murderers. And you, 0 drunkard, who so often sin by excess,
how will you bear the sight at the tribunal of divine justice of a
1 Cum irent omnes ad vitulos aureos; hie solus fugiebat consortium omnium.— Tob. 1. 8.
* Diligite inimicos vestros ; benefacite his qui oderunt vos.— Matt. v. 44.
424 On All the Saints of God.
Bernard, a Francis, a Dominic, whose lives were an uninterrupt
ed fast and mortification?
Their hoii- Finally, what excuse shall we have to offer for our sloth in
show us the divine service when we shall see appearing before the judg-
that we ment-seat all the elect of God, who, on the one hand, will upbraid
should have 11S w^h the words of the Apostle urging us to be holy: " This is
lived homy, the will of God, your sanctification," ' and, on the other hand, will
of^heTame Point to their own example to prove that we, too, could have
natureas been holy as they are? " Wo is me," sighs St. Augustine, con
sidering this; " I shall stand bare before as many judges as there
are saints who have preceded me in doing good."2 I shall be
convicted arid confounded by as many as have given me the ex
ample of a holy life! And shall we then be able to rely on the
excuses that we now think serve our turn? Speaking of his
own times, St. Chrysostom says: If the example of the apostles is
proposed for our imitation, and we are urged to imitate their
mode of life and their virtues, we change countenance at once,
and say: That we cannot do. And if we are asked why, we have
a foolish answer in readiness: "Oh, he was Paul, or Peter, or
John;"3 we are not as they were. Eh, great Saint! you have
indeed hit the mark, not only for your own times, but for ours
as well! If the virtues of the saints are set before us in pious
books, in sermons and exhortations; if we are reminded how
zealous the apostles were for the honor and glory of God, how
eagerly the martyrs welcomed the most cruel torments, what
severe penances were practised by the confessors, how angelical
was the purity of the virgins, how other saints constantly did
violence to themselves, what wonderful patience they exhibited
under trials, how their only wish was to suffer crosses and con
tradictions, how they lived in the world and yet not according
to the maxims of the world, and kept their thoughts always
united with God in heaven — oh, then we shrug our shoulders,
and our first word is: Yes, but they were saints! What? asks
St. Chrysostom, " what do you mean by saying: He was Paul, he
was Peter?" they were saints? Were they not men as we are?
Were they not born into the world as we are? Have they not
been obliged to eat and drink as we are? Have they not lived
on the same earth, under the same sky, and breathed the same
1 Haec est voluntas Del, sanctiflcatio vestra.— I. Thess. iv. 3.
2 Vae mihi ! tot judiclbus inops stabo, quot me in bono opere praecesserunt.
1 Ille Paulus erat ; ille Petrus erat ; ille Joannes erat.— S. Chrysost. L. 1. De Compunc,
Cordis.
On All the Saints of God. 425
air as we? What, then, is the meaning of saying: They were
saints? Perhaps because they worked great miracles that are
beyond our power? No, for holiness does not consist in per
forming miracles; otherwise John the Baptist would not be a
saint, for, as Our Lord says, he worked no miracle; and Judas
the traitor would be a saint, for he did wonders in the name of
Christ. Holiness consists in the works of justice; avoid all sin,
as the saints did; keep always in the state of sanctifying grace,
like them; live chastely, like them; be meek and patient, like
them; be zealous in the love of God and of your neighbor, like
them, and then you will be a saint, too. "But," continues St.
Ohrysostom, "if that is not the case with you, your own will is
in fault." We do not wish to live holily, and therefore the
saints will judge and condemn us.
Yes, it is easy to talk about that, but not so easy to do it. They lived
Trulv, I know well that more than mere talk is required to lead i°thesarne
" StclLti US Wti,
a holy and pious life. But we men of the world cannot do that;
we have other things to think of; the care of the whole family
lies on our shoulders; our state makes it impossible for us to be
saints. This, says St. Chrysostom, is the excuse alleged by
most people, namely, their state in life; some speak of their mar
riage, others of their children, others of their numerous domes
tics, others of their business, their affairs, their work, service,
labor; others, again, allege their military duties, others their
high position and laborious occupations, others their riches, oth
ers their poverty and misery. Thus many a one says: Oh, that
I were 7iot married, that I were freed from this duty; then I
could live a better life! 0 Christians, how could such lame ex
cuses help us on that great day when the vast multitude of
saints of all races, nations, peoples, and every condition of life,
will sit beside the Judge, and, pointing to their own holy lives,
condemn and put us to shame! You are married, as you com
plain; Moses, Joachim, Anna, nearly all the saints of the Old,
and many of the New Testament will say: So were we, and yet
the married state did not prevent us from attaining sanctity.
You have a great number of children; the mother of the Macha-
bees will say: I had seven of them; the Patriarch Jacob will say:
I had twelve sons, and yet I lived a holy life. You hold a high
position before the world; you have very important business and
duties to attend to; David, Josias, Ezechias, Leopold, Henry,
1 Quod quia non sit, voluntas in culpa est.— S. Chrysost. L. 1. De Cornpunc. Cordis.
426 On All the Saints of God.
Louis will say: We were nobles, kings, and emperors, who had to
rule over many lands, and yet we led humble, zealous, and holy
lives. You are a soldier; that centurion of whom Christ said
that He did not find such faith in Israel; Cornelius, mentioned
in the Acts of the Apostles as fearing God, with his whole family,
and as being always united with God, will say: So were we. You
area tradesman; St. Joseph will say: Did I not practise the same
trade as you? and yet I became a great saint! You are a servant;
so was Onesimus, whom St. Paul praises so highly as to say of
him that he found him most faithful and helpful in his apos
tolic labors. You are rich in the goods of the world; Abraham,
Job, and others will say: We were much richer than you; there
fore we were a foot to the lame, an eye to the blind, the fathers
of the poor, supporters of orphans, and thus by our riches we
have gained heaven and eternal glory. You are poor and needy;
Lazarus will say to you: By poverty I became holy; and the holy
founders of Orders will tell you that they sought poverty in order
to attain to perfect sanctity. There is, then, no state in life in
which we do not find saints who will judge and condemn us if
we do not live holily, each according to his condition,
in the same But, we say further, in our state there are too many occasions,
and temp- dangers, and temptations for us to be able to guard against them,
tations. Sometimes business is bad, trade is dull, and one is often de
ceived by others. We have to go into society, and see dangerous
objects, so that we cannot well be as pure as angels; it is nec
essary to fall now and then. Other people trouble me; the hus«
band is violent, the wife obstinate; the servants go wrong, the
children are unruly; we are obliged to commit sin; we must
grow impatient, and swear and curse, etc. What! What must
is there about it? Who compels you to sin? Do you think that
excuse will avail you at the tribunal of God? See how Joseph
in the bloom of youth was able to defend himself against seduc
tion; how Susanna struggled against the lust of the elders; how
St. Jerome used to beat his breast with a stone; how St. Bene
dict rolled in the thorns; how St. Thomas of Aquin defended
himself with a firebrand; how St. Nicetas, deprived as he was
of other means of defence, since he was tied hand and foot, bit
oft' his tongue and spat it in the face of the temptress; so did
these act in order to overcome impure temptations. They will
say: We were not obliged to sin, to fall; why did you not remain
away from the dangerous company? Why did you not avoid
On All the Saints of God. 427
the occasion,, and keep a better guard on your senses? There
yon will see the patient Job, who was deprived of all that he
once had in abundance, and was, moreover, laughed at and ridi
culed by his friends as he sat infected with an ulcer on the dung
hill; a blind Tobias, who was reviled by his own wife; they will
say: We were not forced to grow impatient, nor to curse or revile;
but the more we had to suffer the more we praised God and
blessed the name of the Lord. Why did you not act in the same
manner? The whole fault lies in your own wicked will.
Alas, we are weak, corrupt creatures; we have a perverse na- m the same
ture, inclined to all evil, to which faults and failings are as its
daily bread. Yes? And even so, could you not have led a holy
life? Hear what all the saints will say to this, with holy Job:
" My strength is not the strength of stone, nor is my flesh of
brass. " 1 What are you thinking of? Do you imagine that we
were made of marble, and as senseless as our own images? The
relics that reposed on your altars are a proof to the contrary,
and show that we were neither angels, nor made of wood or iron,
but that we were men like you, who had flesh and blood like
you, and were not less subject to evil inclinations than you are.
That we, too, could have sinned is proved by those great sinners
who, having done penance, became great saints. St. Augustine,
considering this before his conversion, acknowledges of himself:
Alas, I was ashamed in my heart, and knew not where to go to
hide my confusion.8 Why, Augustine? It seemed to me an im
possibility to abstain from sin on account of my evil habits; then
occurred to me the thought of the innumerable host of saints of
all sexes, ages, and conditions who lived chaste and pure in the
midst of temptations, and I heard within me a voice saying: If
they who lived in the flesh could avoid living according to the
flesh, could not you also? 3 To this I knew not what answer to
make, and all I could do was to be ashamed of myself in the
depth of my heart. The same words will be heard on the last
day, when the Judge shall present the multitude of saints to the
wicked: See how all these have been able to live in humility,
justice, temperance, purity, chastity, patience, meekness; or else
they led penitential lives, and became holy; and you could not
do >t* Why did you not follow their example? No I all the
1 Nee fortitude lapidum fortitude mea, nee caro mea eenea. — Job rl. 12.
* Erubescam nimis.
* Potueruut isti et istse, et tu non poteris ?
428 On All the Saints of God.
saints will exclaim; you could have done as we did; but you did
not wish to do so. Depart, you cursed, into eternal flames!
Let us, My dear brethren, we do not expect that terrible sentence.
tate them ^et us> therefore, now honor the saints by treading in their foot
steps and imitating their holy lives. Let us avoid sin, like the
saints; practise virtue, like the saints; and each one in his state
of life do the will of God in all things and in all his concerns,
like the saints. Have we done that hitherto? Let each -one en
ter into himself and ask himself with me: If I were now to die,
where should I find a place among you, 0 saints of God? Should
I be among the apostolic saints? Ah, where is my zeal for the
glory of God and the salvation of souls? Should I find a place
among the holy martyrs? Ah, where is rny patience? A fast
day, a short interruption of sleep, a word of contradiction is
more than enough for me. Should I be with the holy confes
sors? Where is my humility, mortification, penance? Should I,
be in the choir of holy virgins? Oh, what filthy thoughts, ac
tions, words, and works prevent me from that! Should I be
among the innocent children? Alas, my innocence! long years
ago thou hast left me. I acknowledge, then, that there is no
room for me among the saints in heaven. All I can do, then, is,
with Augustine, to be ashamed of myself. Yet I must go to
heaven! What shall I do? I shall try, at all events, to find room
among the holy penitents. I will now begin to do sincere pen
ance for my sins, to amend my coldness and tepidity, and for
the future to lead a holier life according to the gospel law of
Jesus Christ, and to serve God with all possible zeal for the time
that remains to me, never more to offend Him by a single sin,
and to love Him constantly above all things, no matter what
happens. That we may carry out this resolution, do you pray
for us, 0 chosen saints of God, that we may not on that day
find in you judges to condemn us, but rather companions, who
in eternal joys will with us praise, see, and love God forever.
Amen.
END OF THE WORK.
To the greater honor and glory of God, of the Blessed Virgin
and Queen of heaven, Mary, of all the holy angels and elect, and
for the salvation of souls.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS TREATED IN "THE
CHRISTIAN'S MODEL."
— A.—
Agnes (Saint).
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
While still a child, she was a teacher of
wisdom in her contempt of worldly al
lurements. - 68 1 to 6 ii. 368
In her contempt for all the threats of the
world. 68 7 ii. 372
She was a true, innocent, chaste lamb of
Christ. 69 1 to 6 ii. 377
She overcame the crafty and the violent
wolves. - 69 7 to end. ii. 380
In her childhood she was a valiant woman. 70 ii. 385
Andrew (Apostle).
He was the first disciple and follower of
Christ. - 44 ii. 76
lie first received the teaching of Christ
while Our Lord was still unknown and
despised. - 44 4 to 6 ii. 80
lie was the first to lead others to Christ. 44 7 ii. 83
Augustine (Saint).
Was great before the world. 62 1 to 4 ii. 312
He was lowly and contemptible in his own
eyes. 62 5 to end. ii. 315
His great wisdom appears from the books
he has written. 62 2 ii. 313
From the heretics he refuted. - 62 3 ii. 314
From a great sinner he became a great
saint. - 63 ii. 320
Angels.
They are most perfectly united with the
will of God. - 38 1 to 9 ii. 8
Avarice.
When it once gets possession of the heart
it is almost insuperable. - - 50 3 ii. 170-
It was completely vanquished by the holy
apostle St. Matthew. - 50 4 to 12 ii. 171
— B.—
Bartholomew (Apostle).
Was, before all the other apostles, in his
martyrdom a most glorious witness of
the faith of Christ. - 49 ii, 151 ~
429
430 Alphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
Besides many other torments which he
had previously suffered, he endured
a most painful death for Christ. 49 5, 6 ii. 157
And that with invincible bravery and con
stancy. - 49 7 ii. 159
How gloriously he was rewarded for this
by Our Lord. - 49 9, 10, 11 ii. 161
Bernard (Saint).
A wonder of innocence and penance. - 65 ii. 337
One who thoroughly despised the world
and himself. - - 66 1 to 11 ii. 348
Blood of Christ.
To be guilty of shedding it is a terrible
thing. 11 1, 2 i. 132
It was poured out to the last drop. - 11 3 i. 133
Examination to find who were guilty of it. 11 7 to 19 i. 134
— C.—
Clement (Pope and Martyr).
Was like the apostles in the sufferings he
endured. - 58 1 to 7 ii. 273
Was like them in the wonders he worked. 58 8 ii. 278
Christian.
Many Christians do not know what it is to
be a Christian. - 1 1 i. 8
The profession of a Christian is to lead a
holy life. 1 2 i 9
Most Christians have no sign of holiness
in them. 1 5 to 9 i. 11
Christians are bound to order their lives
according to the teaching and example
of Christ. - 2 3 to 5 i. 20
He who does not try to do that has no
claim to heaven. - 2 6, 7 i. 22
And will not be able to answer for himself
at the tribunal of Christ. 2 13 i. 27
Christ.
Became man to show us how to live by
word and example. 2 1, 2 i. 18
He despised all that the world esteems. - 2 9 i. 23
In His birth He chose the extreme of hu
miliation. .3 i to 6 i. 31
The extreme of poverty. - 3 9 to end. i. 36
An example to all in His circumcision. 4 i. 41
In His manifestation to and calling of the
three kings He showed Himself a
great God and Ruler of hearts. 5 1 to 8 i. 58
Treated in " The Christians Model"
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTK VOL.
431
PAGE
He wishes us often to think of His suffer
6
1 to 4
i.
74
ings.
All that He suffered was for our sake.
6
6
i.
78
Unheard-of love of Christ in dying for us.
9
1 to 4
i.
102
Yet very few love Him in return : a mon
strous ingratitude.
9
5 to end.
i.
105
What cruelties were practised on Him in
the court of Pilate.
10
1
i.
111
He is our best friend, and yet is often cru
cified again by us through sin.
10
13, 14
i.
123
And that after having died for us on the
cross.
10
15
i.
124
To be guilty of His blood is a terrible thing.
Christ voluntarily accepted death for us. -
11
11
1, 2
9
i.
i.
132
136
Yet can do little'with most men in spite
of that; hence He has just reason for
complaint.
Ou
11
14
13
14
i.
i.
139
201
Has shed His blood for even the worst sin
ners.
14
22, 23
i.
146
Died in extreme poverty.
12
1, 2
i.
155
1 fii
In the greatest agony.
l~i
i.
101
Suffered all kinds of torments in His cru
cifixion.
12
10, 11, 12, 13
i.
162
Was condemned to a death that in all its
circumstances was a most terrible one.
13
2, 3
i.
174
Although He was quite innocent.
AVas not granted a hearing either by His
13
4
i.
176
earthly judges or by His heavenly
13
5, 6
i.
178
Father.
Died without any consolation.
13
7
i.
180
Our sins are the cause of His death.
11
22
i.
146
&
13
9
i.
182
Christ prayed on the cross for sinners, and
that, too, in a most efficacious manner.
16
4, 5, 6, 7
i.
236
Explanation of the last words of Christ
when He gave up the ghost.
14
2
i.
190
They were addressed to sinners.
14
3 to 11
i.
191
The sufferings of Christ are renewed in all
their circumstances daily by sinners.
15
3
i.
209
The frequent recollection of the passion of
Christ is consoling for the just.
And for sinners.
6
6
1 to 7
8 to end.
i.
i
74
80
It is also useful to the pious to help them
7
1 to 7
i.
83
to persevere.
To the wicked to deter them from sin.
7
8 to end.
i.
88
The divinity of Christ proved by His sep
,•
ulchre.
17
i.
,604:
The tomb of Christ is to this day an incon
trovertible proof of His divinity. _ -
18
i.
264
The truth of the resurrection of Christ is
the foundation of our faith.
The proof of that.
In it He conquered the rage of hell.
And the envious Jewish world.
19
19
20
20
1
2 to end.
1 to 8
9 to end.
i.
i.
i.
i.
277
277
289
295
432
Alphabetical Index of Subjects
The resurrection of Christ is a symbol of
our resurrection from sin .
Wonderful love of Christ for men in send
ing them the Holy Ghost after His
Ascension.
Although they had treated Him so ill when
He was on earth. -
The same wonderful love of Christ appears
in the Blessed Sacrament.
Conformity.
Conformity with the will of God in adver
sity is a great virtue.
We have a perfect model of this conformity
in Mary, the Mother of God.
In the holy angels.
In St. Joseph.
Cross of Christ.
Was sought by St. Helen with great zeal
and desire, and found and received
by her with great joy. -
Was held in the highest honor.
Was exalted by her, whereas it had before
then been held in contempt and dis
honor. ...
Crosses and Sufferings.
Were eagerly desired by many holy servants
of God. - - - - . _
How the apostle St. Andrew longed for
them.
And St. Lawrence. - . .
By means of them our virtue must be tried.
They are necessary to enable us to enter
heaven ; therefore they should be ac
cepted with contentment.
They should be borne willingly and readily.
Nay, we should rejoice at them.
By patiently bearing the cross we give
most honor to God.
The passion of Christ should encourage us
to suffer with patience. - -
To bear great sufferings and crosses with
joy is a great virtue.
Even small crosses make us impatient, be
cause we have little virtue.
They shall have a great reward who have
suffered much with patience. - -
Complaints against those who do not wish
to suffer for Christ's sake. - -
MARGINAL
IMON NOTE
VOL.
PAGE
21
i.
300
23 1 to 10
i.
326
23 11 to end.
i.
333
24
i.
338
41
73
72
ii.
4, 5, 6 ii.
ii.
40
33
i.
445
38
ii.
7
41
40
72
1, 2, 3 ii.
401
72
8 ii.
406
413
404
- 44
9
ii.
85
- 54
Ito 8
ii.
234
1. 54
?r
9, 10
ii.
239
>
- 12
15
i.
166
&72
6,7
ii.
405
7. 72
9, 10
ii.
406
- 72
"P
13, 14
ii.
409
tJ
- 73
IQ
8 to end.
ii.
415
lo
- 12
h
15 to end.
i.
166
54
1
ii.
234
54
g
11, 12
ii.
242
- 49
11
ii.
163
- 44
13
ii.
88
Treated in uTke Christian's Model." 433
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGB
— D.—
Danger.
In dangers to the soul that we cannot avoid
we must arm ourselves with the fear
of God. 56 12 ii. 262
It is dangerous to frequent the company of
the wicked. - - 56 1 ii. 255
Death.
The death of the just is joyful. - - 34 1, 11 i. 455
& 67 6 ii. 361
We should often think of what our death
is like to be. .... 34 10 i. 461
In death we shall know the vanity of earth
ly goods. - 12 4, 5 i. 157
Dead.
When extraordinary honors are shown to
one who is dead it is a sign of esteem
for his virtue. - 17 1, 2, 3 i. 255
Devil.
Urged on the condemnation of Our Lord
to death. - 20 1 i. 289
Was deprived of his power by the death of
Christ. - - 20 4, 5, 6 i. 291
— E.—
Enemy.
We must be patient with our enemies. - 53 1 to 7 ii. 221
We must love them. - 53 8 to end. ii. 227
Faults (Small).
Should be carefully avoided, because they
easily lead to grievous sin. - - 52 13, 14, 15 ii. 215
Felix, Archbishop of Treves.
Was a special benefactor of the city. - 64 ii. 320
Friend, Friendship.
True and constant friendship is rare among
men. 23 1 i. 326
Christ is our best friend, for He continues
to love the poor mortals whom He loved
when on earth, although He has as
cended into heaven. - - - 23 3 to 8 i. 328
Friends in need are the rarest. - - 42 1 ii. 52
St. Joseph is a friend in the greatest need,
namely, in the hour of death. - - 42 2 to end ii. 58
434 A Iphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
— o.—
Grace.
What sanctifying grace is. - - - 29 1 i. 393
What is actual and helping grace. - - 29 2 i. 393
Mary was filled with both. - - 29 3, 4, 5 i. 395
Yet she always tried to increase them. - 29 6, 7 i. 397
We have no reason to complain of the want
of grace, since it is given to us in abun
dance. - - 29 8 to 11 i. 399
We are careless of increasing it. - - 29 12 i. 402
Therefore with justice does God withdraw
many graces from us. - 29 13 i. 403
The abuse of the grace of God brought
Judas to fall. - 52 10, 11 ii. 213
Gratitude.
What gratitude we owe Christ, who suf
fered and died for us. - ... 66 to end. i. 78
& 11 10 to 13 i. 137
& 13 14 i. 186
& 14 12, 13, 14, 15 i. 199
— H.—
Habit.
The inveterate habit of sin can hardly
be cured without a miracle. - - 63 1, 2, 3 ii. 321
Yet St. Augustine overcame it. - 63 4 to 10 ii. 323
Health.
Is a great good, for the sake of which we
will do anything. 55 1, 2 ii. 245
Heaven.
In heaven is everything that can fully
satisfy us. .33 n i. 321
There are true, perfect, and eternal goods. 22 12,13,14 i. 321
Folly of men who care so little for heaven. 22 15 i. 323
Helen (Saint).
A mother of Christianity. - 71 1 ii. 392
Gave her subjects good 'example. - - 71 2, 3 ii. 394
Led countless souls to Christ. - 71 4 ii. 395
Left to Christendom a rich legacy in the
churches she built and founded. - 71 7 ii. 397
In the relics she collected. - - 71 8 ii. 398
But especially in the example of her virtues
and holy life, which she has left behind
for us to imitate. 71 9 ii. 398
Helen sought the cross of Christ with de
sire and in spite of difficulties. - 72 1, 2 ii. 401
Found and received it with joy. - - 72 3 ii. 402
Held it in the highest honor. ... 73 g ii. 406
Treated in "The Christian's Model." 435
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
Exalted it, whereas before it was held in
contempt and dishonor. 73 4, 5, 6 ii. 413
Human Respect.
On account of it nowadays much good is
left undone and much evil committed. 10 8 i. 118
Holy Ghost.
The sending of Him shows the indescrib
able love of Christ for the world. - 23 i. 325
Humility.
Christ has given to all in Himself an ex
ample of humility. 30 13 i. 417
His wonderful humiliation in His birth. 3 1 to 6 i. 31
It shames the pride of the world. - - 3 6, 7, 8 i. 35
Humility of Mary, the Mother of God. - 26 2 to 9 i. 363
& 30 1 to 7 i. 407
Humility of St. Augustine. 65 5 to end. ii. 340
Humility in honors is wonderful. - - 30 1 i. 407
A rare virtue among men nowadays. - 30 7 i 411
Is necessary even for lay people, in order
to please God and go to heaven. - 30 10 to end. i. 413
Ingratitude.
The ingratitude of those who do not think
of the sufferings of Christ. 6 8, 9 i. 80
Monstrous ingratitude of man in not lov
ing Christ, although He has died for
us. 9 5 i. 105
&11 10, 11, 12 i. 137
&14 13, 14, 15 i. 200
Inspirations (of God).
Are not recognized by many. - - 5 8, 9 i. 68
Others do not follow them at once. - 5 11 i. 70
Such conduct is very dangerous. - - 5 12, 13 i. 71
James, St. (the Greater, Apostle).
An unwearied laborer for the honor of God
and the salvation of souls. - 45 1 ii. 90
Undertook great and severe labors for
Christ. - - - 45 2, 3 ii. 91
Yet he effected little by his work. - - 45 4 ii. 92
But did not on that account give up. 45 9 ii. 96
What rich fruit of souls God granted his
unwearied labors after his death, and
how he was made illustrious above
the other apostles before the whole
world. ....... 45 11, 12 ii. 98
436 A Iphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGK
James, St. (the Less, Apostle).
Was like Christ in personal appearance. - 48 1 ii. 135
But especially in virtue. - 48 2 to 7 ii. 135
John, St. (Apostle).
A son of Mary. 46 12 ii. 116
Not so merely in name. - - 46 3 ii. 107
For he had all the qualities of a true son
of Mary. - - 46 4 to end ii. 108
John, St. (the Baptist).
A penitent, and therefore a great wonder. 39 ii. 17
He performed the most severe penances,
and that from his childhood till his
death. 39 4, 5 ii. 20
Although he was quite innocent, and con
firmed in grace. 39 6, 8, 7 ii. 22
Nor had he seen the example of our suffer
ing Redeemer. - 39 9 ii. 26
Judas the Traitor.
Lost his apostolic position and eternal glory
by carelessness and the neglect of divine
grace. - 52 10, 11 ii. 213
The beginning of his fall and eternal ruin
was the contempt of small faults. - 52 Jfi ii. 214
Judgment.
In the last judgment the saints will be our
judges, and will condemn us if we
have not lived holily. 74 1 to end. ii. 420
A terrible thing to have to appear before so
many judges. - 74 o ii. 421
— K.—
Kings, the Holy Three.
Showed a wonderful obedience when they
were called by God by means of the star 5 * to * i. 58
Lawrence, St.
A wonder of the love of God, because on
account of that love he longed for suf
fering. - 54 1, 2, 3 ii. 234
And rejoiced in it. 54 4 to 9 ii. 236
Love.
Wonderful love of the heavenly Father in
giving His only-begotten Son for us. 11 9 i 136
Treated in " The Christian s Model"
437
Love of God.
Must be proved in the fire of tribulation.
St. Lawrence proved it in enduring tor
ments.
St. Paul showed it in word and work.
In many tribulations borne for God.
We show by our works the coldness of our
love.
AVe show it by impatience in adversity.
We do not wish to bear even a slight trial
for God.
The inconstancy of our love of Christ.
Love of our Neighbor.
We have very little of it.
Two kinds of works of love and mercy.
Mary practised both towards John and
Elizabeth in the Visitation.
Works of charity surpass all others in mer
it.
We have abundant occasions of practising
them.
And are bound to do so.
The saints show us by their example how
to do that.
It is deplorable that our love is so cold now
adays.
Especially where works of charity are con
cerned, to which all are bound, espe
cially parents, masters, and superiors.
Love of our Enemies.
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE
VOL.
PAGB
54
1 to 9
ii.
234
43
11
ii.
71
43
12
ii.
71
43
13
ii.
73
43
14
ii.
74
54
11, 12
ii.
242
23
8, 9
i.
331
43
31
15 ii.
1 i.
74
422
31
2, 4, 5 i.
422
31
6 i.
426
31
31
7 i.
8 i.
426
427
31
10 i.
428
31
11 i.
429
31 12, 13, 14 i.
Is possible. 53 11 ii.
Is commanded by God under pain of sin. 53 12 ii.
Should be practised by us, after the exam
ple of St. Stephen. 53 8, 9, 10, 13 ii.
-M.—
Mary, Mother of God.
Not to believe her Immaculate Conception
seems in our days hardly to consist
with a true and devout love of Mary. 25 i.
Countless reasons make us, humanly speak
ing, certain of it. 25 8 i.
Such as the consent of many in different
parts of the world. 25 9 i.
The testimony of the apostles. 25 10 i.
Of the Fathers of the Church. 25 11 i.
The authority of the Church herself. - 25 12 i.
How disadvantageous it would have been
for her to have been conceived in orig
inal sin. - • - - 25 2 to 7 i.
429
230
231
227
350
356
357
357
357
358
352
438
A Iphabetical Index of Su bjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE
VOL.
The truth of the Immaculate Conception
proved from the fact that she never by
the least sign let it be imagined that
she was conceived in sin.
Mary would rather have renounced all her
other privileges than choose to remain
for a moment in original sin.
The feast of her nativity is a joyful one for
all, especially for the people of Treves.
The whole world helped in the triumph
of her birth.
She was full of sanctifying and actual grace.
And labored diligently to increase it. -
Mary, in spite of her dignity, was the most
humble of all. -
Never revealed the least of her signal fa
vors. -
Always feared and shunned her own praise.
Embraced every occasion of appearing
mean and vile in the sight of men. -
On account of her humility she was chosen
as the Mother of God. -
In her Visitation she practised the works
of mercy, both corporal and spiritual,
towards John and Elizabeth.
She was the purest and most beautiful in
soul and body.
And yet, like a sinner, she fulfilled the law
of Purification.
She was a perfect model of conformity to
the will of God. ...
This she showed in the Annunciation.
When St. Joseph was on the point of send
ing her away. -
In the birth of Christ in the stable. -
In the flight into Egypt. -
In the passion and death of her divine
Son. -
After His death to the end of her life.
She thus puts to shame our discontent.
Mary's death was a joyful one in the rec
ollection of the past.
And in the thought of the future.
Mary the true Ark of the Covenant. -
Bestowed more benefits on Christians than
the ark did on the Jews.
Especially does the city of Treves owe her
much.
She is the refuge of sinners. -
She freed the city of Treves, as Judith for
merly did Bethulia, from grievous dis
asters. - -
As the true Esther she freed the world from
eternal ruin. .....
26
PAGE
360
27
1 to 8
i.
374
28
i.
384
28
2,3,4
i.
386
29
3,4,5
i.
395
29
6, 7
i.
397
30
1 to 7
i.
407
26
3, 4, 5, 6
i.
364
26
7
i.
367
26
8
i.
368
30
5
i.
410
31
1 to 6
i.
422
32
1 to 4
i.
433
32
5,6
i.
435
33
i.
444
33
2
i.
446
33
3
i.
446
33
4
i.
447
33
5
i.
447
33
7 to 10
i.
448
33
11
i.
451
33
12
i.
452
34
1 to 5
i.
455
34
6 to end.
i.
458
35
i.
465
35
1 to 4
i.
466
35
5
i.
469
35
6,7
i
470
36
1, 2, 3, 4
i.
474
37
3
i.
481
Treated in "The Christian's Model" 439
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
She has frequently saved Christendom
from grievous calamities. 37 4 i. 481
To be a son of Mary is a great grace and
favor. - 46 1 ii. 105
We can and should all endeavor to be
true children of Mary. 46 12 ii. 116
Martyrs.
By their sufferings and death they give
the Almighty special honor and glory. 49 1,2 ii. 153
The grace of martyrdom is one of the great
est, and is therefore eagerly longed
for by devout servants of God. - 61 2, 3
It is a proof of a preceding holy life. 61 4 ii. 302
The holy martyrs teach us how to suffer
martyrdom in a moral sense for God's
sake. 61 11, 12, 13 ii. 308
Martyrs of Treves.
Have left their descendants the example
of a holy life. 59 5, 6, 7 286
All, without exception, suffered bravely. 60 6 ii. 295
& 61 9, 10 ii. 306
Thus gaining for Treves undying glory in
the sight of heaven. - 60 7 ii. 296
They also made the name of Treves glor
ious before the world. - 60 8 ii. 297
They teach their descendants how to live
according to the Christian faith. 61 1 to 8 ii. 301
And at the same time how we can suffer
martyrdom in a moral sense for the
faith. - 61 9 to end. ii. 306
Masters.
Participate in the sins of their servants
if they do not hinder them when they
can. - 10 3 i. H»
Matthew, St. (Apostle and Evan
gelist).
A heroic conqueror of himself when he
subdued avarice. 50 1 to 4 ii. 169
And that while he was actually engaged
in usury. 50 5 ii. 172
At a few words of Christ he at once left
all things. 50 6, 7, 8, 9 ii. 173
And himself as well, and devoted the rest
of his life to Christ. - 50 10 ii. 178
Matthias (Apostle).
On account of his edifying life before men
was chosen to fill the place of Judas. 52 2, 4 ii. 202
440
A Iphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE
And that, too, in preference to so many holy
men who were among the Christians
of that time. - 52
On account of his interior holiness he was
chosen by a lot directed by God even
in preference to Barsabas the Just. 52
This preference was given him on account
of his humility and zealous love of God. 52
Meditation on the Passion.
Frequent meditation on the passion is most
reasonable. - 6
Is consoling for the just and for sinners. 7
Useful to all. - 8
— O.—
Obedience.
Of the three holy kings in following the
call of God by the star. - 5
Original Sin.
It is a great evil to be in original sin even
for a moment. - 27
How disadvantageous to the glorious Moth
er of God if she had been conceived
in original sin. - 25
— P.—
Parents.
Their chief duty is the training of their
children for their last end. - -71
They participate in the sins of their chil
dren if they do not hinder them when
possible. 10
And must therefore expect severe punish
ment. - 10
Paul, St. (Apostle).
Showed the zeal of his charity by word
and work. - - 43
By enduring many tribulations for God's
sake. 43
He thus puts to shame our coldness and
impatience under adversity. - - 43
Pastors and Preachers.
Should not be downcast if their labors are
not successful. - 45
Peter, St. (Apostle).
Constantly bewailed his denial of Our
Lord. - - - - - - 43
1 to 7
1 to 5
2 to 7
4
6
11
12
13, 14
13
1, 2
VOL.
ii.
ii.
ii.
ii.
ii.
PAOK
203
20«
207
57
374
352
393
113
115
71
71
73
101
64
Treated in "The Christians Model" 441
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
He thus puts to shame our impenitence. 43 3 to 9 ii. 64
Philip, St. (Apostle).
Was like Our Lord in almost every cir
cumstance of his suffering and death. 48 8 to 14 ii. 141
Pilate.
Was guilty of all the cruelty practised on
Our Lord because, through careless
ness, he did not prevent it. 10 2 i. Ill
Consented to the death of Christ, whom
he knew to be innocent. 10 7 i. 110
Is the chief murderer of Christ, and guilty
of shedding His blood. 10 11 i. 120
& 11 16 i. 142
Pious, Piety.
The pious generally die joyfully. 34 1 i. 455
& 67 4, 5, 6 ii. 359
To have lived piously brings consolation
at the hour of death. - 34 11 i. 462
The piety of others is of no help to us un
less we imitate it. - - - 61 7, 8 ii. 305
To preserve piety among the wicked is
wonderful. " - 56 2 ii. 256
Plague.
Is one of the greatest evils by which God
punishes the world. .- 57 2, 3, 4 ii. 265
St. Sebastian is a powerful patron against
this evil. - 57 5 ii. 267
Pride.
Shamed by the humility of Christ in His
birth. 3 G, 7 i. 35
The proud have reason to fear that they
will have no part with Christ in heaven. 38 i. 36
Predestination.
We should not trouble ourselves uselessly
about it. - 52 1 ii. 202
But rather by a diligent use of divine grace
try to make our salvation sure. - 52 8, 9 ii. 209
— R.—
Repentance.
Is with many penitents false on account of
want of examen of conscience and a
defective confession. - 21 3, 4, 5 i. 303
On account of the want of sincere contri
tion. - 21 6 i. 305
Therefore we must not trust too much to
the repentance of the dying. - 21 7 i. 305
44 2 A Iphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
Still less to that of those who go to con
fession at Easter only. 21 8 i. 300
The best proof of true repentance is the
avoiding the occasions of sin. 21 10 to end. i. 308
Many saints did severe penance. 39 1 to 4, 11 ii. 18
Even the innocent should do penance in
order to retain their innocence. 39 12 ii. 29
The repentance of St. Peter for his denial
of Christ lasted all his life. 43 2 ii. 64
We are like him in sinning, but not in re
penting. 43 3 to 9 ii. 64
Repentance should not be put off. 47 16 ii. 132
Revenge.
St. Stephen did not seek revenge on his
enemies, although he might have done
so- 53 2 ii. 222
We seek revenge in many ways, although
God has forbidden us to do so. 53 3 to 8 ii. 223
Resurrection of Christ.
Is the foundation of our faith. 19 i. 276
Triumph of Christ in His resurrection. 20 i. 288
Therein He conquered the rage of helL 20 1 to 8 i. 289
The envious world. 20 9 to end. i. 295
It is a symbol of our resurrection from the
death of sin. 21 i. 300
Which is false in the case of many who go
to confession. 21 3 to 9 i. 303
The proof of a true resurrection is the
avoiding the occasions of sin. 21 10 to end. i. 308
Rich.
The rich should give alms out of their
wealth, and thus lay up treasure in
heaven. . 50 13 ii. i8i
They should detach their minds from
worldly goods, and turn them to God. 50 14 ii. 182
— S.—
Sacrament of the Altar.
Herein Christ shows wonderful patience
and love for us. - - 24 i 338
In it the death of Christ is constantly re
newed. - 24 3 i. 341
He endures therein many terrible insults
at the hands of heretics. - 24 5, 6 i. 342
And even from Catholics as well. - - 24 8 9 i". 344
We should show Our Lord in this mystery
all possible love and devotion. - 24 13 jt 347
Treated in The Christians Model'' 443
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGB
Saints.
The saints are now our best friends and
advocates with God in heaven. - 74 u.
But they will be our judges, and condemn
us if we do not live holily, like them. 74
Their lives will show the wicked that
there is no excuse for them. 74
Their holiness will convince them that
they could have led holy lives, for the
saints were of the same nature and
lived in the same states of life as we. 74 5, 6, 7, 8 n.
Sebastian, St. (Martyr).
Is a general and wonderful physician
against all maladies. 56 1 to 11
Should therefore be especially honored. 56 11 to end. 11. 2b2
Lived holily in a wicked, godless court. - 56
His intercession is powerful with God to
ward off pestilence from us. - 57 5
Simeon, Confessor of Treves.
Always led a holy life, and therefore he
had reason to rejoice in death. - 67 1 to 7 u.
Simon and Jude, SS. (Apostles).
Were both truly Christian, that is, zeal
ous and meek promoters of the glory
of God and the salvation of souls. - 51 11.
Sepulchre.
The sepulchre of Christ is glorious, and a
proof of His divinity. 17
The same holds good nowadays, as His
grave is still in the power of the Turks. 18
Pious men have always desired to have
their graves in holy places. 1, 2, 3
Sin.
Is the worst of all evils. 27 8 i. 380
Is vet so wantonly committed for some
wretched thing. 27 9,10 i.
The malice of sin appears from the passion
and death of Christ. 8 7
& 13 10 i. 183
Sin is the worst and chief cause of shed
ding the blood of Christ. 11
& 13 9 i. 182
Sinner, The.
Never finds consolation anywhere. - 7 8
Yet when he remembers the sufferings of
Christ he can comfort himself with
the hope of pardon. - 16 9 to 13
444 A Iphabetical Index of Subjects
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
Should be moved to repent by the consid
eration of the love shown him by
Christ in His passion. 16 18 i. 247
And by the fear of the strict justice of God. 16 19,20 i. 248
Should not despair, no matter how wicked
he is, but trust in the blood of Christ. 7 10 i. 89
& 11 23 i. 148
& 16 2, 3 i. 234
No sinner is so bad that he may not be
converted. 16 2 i. 234
Blindness of the sinner in consenting to sin
for some trifling thing to his own
great detriment. - 27 8 i. 380
He crucifies Christ, his best friend and
benefactor. 10 12 to 17 i. 122
Renews His sufferings. 15 i. 206
Wo to him if the consideration of the pas
sion of Christ does not induce him to
amend. ..... - 11 26 i. 151
& 15 14, 15 i. 227
No sinner is so bad as not to be able to
repent. - 63 10 ii. 328
Repentant sinners should not be cast down
by the memory of their past sins. - 63 11 ii. 329
Stephen, St.
After his example we should love our ene
mies and return good for evil. - 53 ii. 220
— T.—
Treves.
Has cause to rejoice on the birthday of
Mary, the Mother of God. - 28 6, 7, 8 i. 388
Has received great benefits from her. - 35 5 i. 469
& 36 3 i. 475
The people of Treves are children of the
saints, a great honor for them. - 59 1 to 3 ii. 283
They should honor their holy ancestors. - 59 4 ii. 286
What a shame for them not to imitate their
ancestors, and to live wickedly in the
land of the saints. 59 5 to end. ii. 286
They have from their ancestors the great
est renown before heaven. 60 1 to 7 ii. 292
And the greatest glory before the world. 60 8 to 9 ii. 297
Therefore these ancestors should be spe
cially honored and revered. - - 60 10, 11 ii. 299
Vanity.
The vanity of worldly things is well known
in death. - 12 4, 5 i- 157
Treated in "The Christian's Model." 445
MARGINAL
SERMON NOTE VOL. PAGE
-W.—
Words of Christ on the Cross.
Different interpretations of the last words
of Our Lord. 14 2 i. 190
They were directed to us, especially to sin
ners. - 14 3 to end. i. 191
"World.
Despised by the child Agnes. 68 ii. 367
The law of Christ cannot consist with the
law of the world. 19 i. 14
The goods of the world cannot satisfy us. 22 1 i. 314
They are empty and imperfect goods. 22 2, 3, 4 i. 314
Pass like a dream. 22 6 i. 317
They are bitter and full of cares. - - 22 7 i. 317
The joy they give soon vanishes. 22 8 i. 318
Therefore we must detach our hearts from
them. - 22 9, 10 i. 319
Their emptiness is seen in death. - 12 4, 5 i. 157
— Z.—
Zeal.
Christian zeal for the honor of God and the
salvation of souls must be firm, but at
the same time meek. - 51 1, 2 ii. 184
That zeal was exercised by the holy apos
tles Simon and Jude. - - - 51 3 ii. 187
GENERAL INDEX OF ALL THE SERMONS OF THE WHOLE WORK
FOR ALL THE
SUNDAYS AND FESTIVALS OF THE YEAR.
N. B.— Sometimes the same sermon may be preached on different days ; when that is the
case there is a suitable introduction provided.
The introductions are found either at the beginning or the end of the sermon.
GENERAL INDEX FOB SUNDAYS.
First Sunday of Advent.
VOL. SERMON PAGE
On Adultery. i. 35 421
On the Multiplicity and Maiice of Superstitions. - iii. 29 397
On the Works of Penance. .... v. 35 465
On the Happiness of Him who Trusts in God. - viii. 41 36
On Carefully Preparing for Death. ix. 4 47
On the First Reason for the Last Judgment. - - ix. 22 272
On the Advent and Cruelty of Antichrist. - - ix. 26 318
On the Terrible Signs that are to Precede the Judg
ment. ix. 27 329
On the Judge as God. - ix. 30 364
On the Summoning of the Dead to Judgment. - ix. 34 419
On the First Part of the Judge's Sentence on the
Guilty: "Depart," etc. - ix. 38 472
On *he Calling of the Elect to the Kingdom of
Heaven. .... x. 45 85
Second Sunday of Advent.
On the Obligations of Masters to their Servants. - ii. 54 197
On those who Consult Soothsayers and Sorcerers. iri. 28 382
On an Easy and Indolent Life. - - vi. 39 7
On Confidence in God alone. - - viii. 42 49
On Death, that Occurs but Once. ix. 5 60
On Rashly Scrutinizing the Divine Decrees. - - ix. 23 284
On the Terrible Signs that are to Precede the Last
Day of General Judgment. Introd. at end. - ix. 27 329
On the Causes of these Terrible Signs. - ix. 28 340
On the Judge as Man. ... - ix. 31 378
On the Accused in Judgment. ix. 35 431
On the Second Part of the Sentence on the Guilty :
" Into Everlasting," etc. x. 39 7
On the Triumphal Entry of the Elect into the King
dom of Heaven. ------ x. 46 98
448
General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAGK
Third Sunday of Advent.
On the Exaraen of Conscience in the Evening.
On the Lying Tongue.
On the Works of Penitence in Prosperity and Ad
versity.
On Confidence in God when Things seem Desperate.
On the Uncertainty of the Hour of Death.
On the Justice of the Divine Judgments. - - -
')n the Causes of the Terrible Signs that are to
Precede the Last Day of Judgment. Introd.
at end.
On the Unexpected Arrival of the Day of Judgment.
On the Judge as our Redeemer. -
On the Guilty One Accused in Judgment. - - -
On the Thoughts of the Damned in Hell.
On the Joy of the Elect in Heaven outside of God.
Fourth Sunday of Advent.
On the Obligation of Subjects to their Spiritual and
Temporal Superiors. -
On Superstitions in Holy Things. -
On the Penitential Works of the Innocent and the
Just. - - - -
On Continual Confidence in God.
On an Unprovided Death. -
On the Second Reason for the Last Judgment.
On the Judge as Man. Tntrod. at end.
On the Judge as our Model. - -
On the Conviction of the Guilty One in Judgment
by Witnesses. .....
On the Pain Caused the Reprobate by the Consider
ation of Heaven. - ....
On the Joy of the Elect at the Sight of God.
Sunday in the Octave of the Nativity.
On the Obligations of the Young towards God.
On the Conformity of the Remainder of Life with
Youth. -
On Redeeming in Old Age of Lost Time.
On the Bad Effects of Scandal. - - -
On the Necessity of the Works of Penitence, be
cause we have a Patient and Penitent God. -
On Prayer with Childlike Confidence. -
On the Happy End of our Years. -
How Christ is Placed for the Ruin of Many Chris
tians, because they do not Live in a Christian
Manner.
First Sunday after Epiphany.
On the Necessary Business of Christians, -
On the Respect Due to Parents. - -
On the Deliberation of the Young in Choosing a
State of Life. Introd. at end. ...
On the Obligation of Subjects to Princes.
ii.
75
480
iv.
73
463
v.
36
479
viii.
43
63
ix.
6
70
ix.
24
295
ix.
28
340
ix.
29
352
ix.
32
391
ix.
36
446
X.
40
21
X.
47
110
ii.
52
170
iii.
30
411
V.
37
493
viii.
44
76
ix.
7
83
ix.
25
306
ix.
31
378
ix.
33
405
ix.
37
459
X.
43
59
X.
48
123
i.
13
146
i.
14
159
ii.
70
418
iv.
60
292
v.
38
506
viii.
39
7
ix.
16
200
XI.
6
15
20
52
63
172
234
170
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 449
YOL. SERMON PAGJB
On Making Good Use of Present and Future
Time, especially for Young People. Introd. at
end. ii. 71 432
On the Dangerous State of those who Rarely Hear
the Word of God. Introd. at end. iv. 46 107
On the Necessity of Hearing the Word of God for
Sinners who wish to be Converted. Introd. at
end. v. 1 7
On the Peace of Heart in a Good Conscience. - viii. 67 869
On the Judge as our Model. Introd. at end. - - ix. 33 405
On the Happy Society of the Elect in Heaven.
Introd. at end. - x. 50 149
That the Life of the True Christian should be
Conformable to the Life of Christ. xi. 2 17
Second Sunday after Epiphany.
On the Obedience Due to Parents. - i. 16 185
On the Deliberation of those who are about to
enter the Married State. i. 26 314
On those who Hear the Word of God without Fruit.
Introd. at end. iv. 47 120
On Nightly Gatherings of Different Sexes. In
trod. at end. iv. 54 209
On Human Weakness in Dangerous Occasions. - vi. 59 296
On the Happiness of a Good Conscience. - - viii. 68 381
On the Judge as our Redeemer. Introd. at end. - ix. 32 391
On the Eternity of the Joys of Heaven. Introd. at
end. x. 51 163
Third Sunday after Epiphany.
On the Love we Owe our Parents. - i. 17 199
On the Life of those who wish to Enter the
Married State. - - i. 27 326
On those who Hear the Word of God with a Hard
Heart. Introd. at end. - - iv. 48 138
On the Vanity of Hoping for the Divine Aid in
Dangers that we Deliberately Seek. - - vi. 60 310
On Prayer with Childlike Confidence. Introd.
at end. - viii. 39 7
On the Comfort of a Good Conscience in Adver
sity. ----- , viii. 69 390
On the Summoning of the Dead to Judgment. - ix. 34 419
On the Society of the Damned in Hell. Introd. at
end. x. 42 48
On the Frequent Meditation on the Kingdom of
Heaven. Introd. at end. - x. 54 196
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
On the Deliberation of the Young in the Choice of
a State. - i. 20 234
On the Necessity of Friendship with God in the
Married State, that it may be Happy as far as
Salvation is Concerned. - i. 28 338
On the Small Number of those who Hear the Word
of God well. Introd. at end, - iv. 50 158
450
General Index of all the Sermons
On the Necessity of Avoiding the Proximate Oc
casions of Sin.
On the Joy of a Good Conscience on account of
one's Good Works.
On the Interrogation of the Guilty in Judgment.
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
On tho Necessity of Friendship with God in the
Married State, that it may be Happy in Tem
poral Things. -
3n the Impure Tongue.
On the Goodness of God in Protecting Sinners
that they may Repent. Introd. at end. - -
On the Vain^Excuse of the Sinner, that he is not,
or will not be in the Occasion of Sin. -
On Avoiding Venial Sin because it is Displeasing
to God. Introd. at end.
On the Great Favor he Enjoys with God who is
Content with His Will. Introd. at end.
On Lawfully Rejoicing on Account of Good
Works.
On the Accusation of the Guilty in Judgment.
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany.
On Divine Providence in the Distribution of States
of Life.
On Sloth in the Divine Service.
On the Empty Excuse of the Sinner Saying that
he cannot Avoid the Proximate Occasion of
Sin. -
On Avoiding Venial Sin on Account of its Bad
Effects. Introd. at end.
On the Means of Acquiring Conformity with the
Divine Will. Introd. at end. -
On the Conformity of the Joy of a Good Conscience
with the Words of God.
On the Conviction of the Guilty in the Judgment.
Septuagesima Sunday.
On the Happiness of the Religious State.
On Adultery. -
On the Profanation of Shrove-tide. - -
On Confidence in the Divine Assistance in Unavoid
able Dangers.
On the Marks of a Good Conscience. - - -
On the Sentence of the Judge against the Wicked
in the Judgment.
On Avoiding Idleness, if we seriously wish to go
to Heaven. Introd. at end.
Sexagesima Sunday.
How to Go to Hear a Sermon. Introd. at end.
On the Grace of Vocation to the Religious State.
On the Goodness of God to the Rich.
On the Nature and Characteristics of Gluttony.
You SEBMON PAGE
v. 26 344
viii.
ix.
71
35
414
431
i.
iv.
29
71
350
439
V.
11
14^
V.
27
358
vii.
7
102
viii.
50
158
viii.
ix.
72
36
425
446
ii.
iii.
66
27
363
367
V.
28
370
vii.
9
129
viii.
51
172
viii.
ix.
73
37
437
459
i.
i.
iv.
22
35
51
262
421
170
vi.
viii.
61
74
325
448
ix.
38
472
X.
56
227
i.
i.
ii.
iii.
10
23
58
17
108
274
250
236
For all tkc Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 45 1
VOL. SERMON PAGE
On the Merits to be Acquired in the Society of the
Wicked, if we cannot Avoid it. vi. 62 340
On Disturbing the Peace of Conscience. - - viii. 75 463
On the Remorse of the Dying on Account of Time
Lost thrjugh Idleness. Introd. at end. ix. 10 121
On the Frequent Hearing of the Word of God. - x. 71 434
Quinquagesima Sunday.
On Shrove-tide. - ii. 72 445
On those who daring Shrove-tide Prefer to Side
with the Devil rather than with Christ. iv. 52 184
On the Indecency and Bitterness of the Pleasures
of Shrove-tide. iv. 53 197
On the Profit of Souls in the Society of the Wicked. vi. 63 353
On the Manner in which we ought to Pray. - vii. 37 520
On the Eternal Fire of Hell. ... x. 39 7
First Sunday in Lent.
On the Happiness of the Unmarried State. - i. 24 290
On the Ingratitude of the Rich towards God. - ii. 59 262
On the Nature and Qualities of Gluttony. iii. 17 236
On the Observance of the Law of Fasting, which
is Violated by Gluttony. .... iii. 19 359
On the Works of Penitence which the Sinner owes
to God and to Himself. Introd. at end. v. 35 465
On the Obligation of Fasting. .... vi. 40 23
On the Love of God, because He is Our Lord. - vii. 2 27
On the Thoughts of the Damned in Hell. - - x. 40 21
Tr at the Devil is not to be Feared on the Way to
Heaven. Introd. at end. - x. 62 312
Second Sunday in Lent.
On the Dangers of the Unmarried State. - i. 25 300
On the Obligations of the Rich towards the Poor. ii. 60 274
On the Injurious Effects of Gluttony. - - - iii. 18 249
On the End of the Law of Fasting, which is Vio
lated by Gluttony. - iii. 20 271
On the Works of Penitence in Prosperity and Ad
versity. Introd. at end. v. 36 479
On the Necessity of Fasting in Order to do Penance. vi. 41 36
On the Love of God who in Himself is Worthy of
all Love. - - - - - - - vii. 4 56
On the Pain Caused the Damned by the Considera
tion of Heaven. x. 43 59
On the Utility of the Temptations of the Devil.
Introd. at end. x. 63 324
Third Sunday in Lent.
On how we should Act after having Heard a Ser
mon. Introd. at end. - - - - - i. 12 132
On Harmony in the Married State. .... i. 30 364
On the Vain Excuses of the Rich, who say they
cannot Give Alms. .... ii. 61 289
On the Inexcusable Folly of those who Injure their
Health by Excessive Drinking. - - - iii. 21 288
On the False Repose of a Bad Conscience. In-
trod, at end. v, 7 88
452 General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAQ»
On the "Works of Penitence even for the Innocent.
Introd. at end. - v. 37 493
On the Necessity of Fasting, that we may be Kept
from Sin. - vi. 42 48
On the Fear and Love of the Almighty God. - - vii. 3 42
On the Pain of Sense in Hell. - x. 41 30
On the Serious Will of God to Save All. Introd. at
end. - x. 64 339
Fourth Sunday in Lent.
On the Obligations of the Husband to the Wife. i. 31 375
On how Deserving of Help the Poor are. - ii. 62 304
On the Disgraceful Malice of those who by Excessive
Drinking Ruin their Good Name and their
Families. - iii. 22 2()4
On the Necessity of the Works of Penitence, because
we have a Patient and Penitent God. Introd.
at end. v. 38 506
On the Necessity of Almsgiving that we may be
Kept from Sin. - - vi. 43 60
On the Necessity of Hearing the Word of God. - vii. 24 354
On the Society of the Damned in Hell. - x. 42 48
On the Means by which All can be Saved. Introd.
at end. x. 65 352
Fifth Sunday in Lent.
Instruction for Women whose Husbands are a Cause
of Discord. i. 32 386
On the Decent Poor. Introd. at end. - - ii. 63 318
On the Sinfulness and Evil Effects of Habitual Drunk
enness. - - iii. 23 306
On the Blindness and Hardness of Heart of the Sin
ner as a Punishment. - v. 10 127
On nn Easy and Luxurious Life. Introd. at end. - vi. 39 7
On Keeping the Commandments of God. - vii. 6 89
On the Justice and Mercy of the Judge in Condemn
ing the Wicked. x. 44 72
On the Sufficient yet Unequal Graces given to all,
that they may be Saved. Introd. at end. - x. 66 364
Easter Sunday.
See the following Index for the Feasts of the year.
First Sunday after Easter.
On the Duties of the Wife towards the Husband. - i. S3 397
On Nightly Gatherings of Both Sexes. - - - iv. 54 209
On the Dangerous Sign of a Relapse into Sin. - vi. 50 162
On the Good Reason we have to Keep the Presence
of God always before our Minds. ... vii. 17 243
On Consolation in Trials from the Hope of the Res
urrection. . . ix. 19 234
On the Hope of Salvation of the Just although they
may have formerly Committed many Sins. In
trod. at end. x. 67 376
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 453
VOL. SERMON PAGE
Second Sunday after Easter.
On Practical Considerations Regarding the Choice of
a State of Life.
On Jealousy in the Married State.
On the Malice with which Bad Christians Attack the
Catholic Church. Introd. at end.
On the Punishment of the Ungrateful.
On the Torment of a Bad Conscience. Introd. at
i.
i.
iii.
iv.
v.
21
34
1
41
6
250
410
7
43
73
On Trials as a Just Punishment for any Kind of Sin.
Introd. at end.
vi.
45
86
On the Fruit of Perseverance in Good after having
done Penance.
vi.
52
191
On Avoiding Venial Sin because it is Slight.
vii.
8
116
On the Fruit to be Derived from the Trials and the
Prosperity of the Just.
ix.
20
246
On the Hope of Salvation for the Just, although Few
shall be Saved. Introd. at end.
X.
69
402
Third Sunday after Easter.
On the Respect Due to Parents. Introd. at end.
i.
15
172
On the Unnecessary Troubles of Married People.
i.
36
431
On the Impudence of those who Boast of their Sins.
iv.
74
475
On Guarding the Heart from Evil Thoughts. - -
vi.
54
219
On Consolation in Trials and Mortification.
viii.
64
335
On the Justice and Shortness of the Trials of the Just
and th • Prosperity of the Wicked.
ix.
21
259
On the Consolation of the Just in not Knowing
whether they are Predestined or not. Introd.
at end. ........
X.
70
419
On Patient Sorrow in Adversity, as a Forerunner of
Eternal Consolation. Introd. at end.
X.
74
477
Fourth Sunday after Easter.
On the Obedience Due to Parents. Introd. at end.
i.
16
185
On the Consolation of Married People in Sorrow and
Trials.
i.
37
445
On the Desperate State of those who Boast of their
Sins.
iv.
75
485
On Guarding the Eyes.
vi.
55
234
On Fidelity to God in Prosperity and Adversity.
viii.
66
359
On the Consideration of our Last End.
ix.
1
9
On Confidently Leaving the Care of our Salvation to
the Divine Will. Introd. at end.
X.
75
489
Fifth Sunday after Easter.
On the Love we Owe our Parents. Introd. at end.
i.
17
199
On the Prayer of Married People in Adversity.
i.
38
456
On Morning Prayer.
ii.
73
457
On False and Useless Prayer.
iii.
37
502
On Frequent Prayer to God in Order to Obtain the
Grace of Perseverance.
vi.
56
249
On the Object of Prayer.
vii.
36
507
On tb 3 Earnest Will of God to Save all Men.
X.
64
339
454 General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAGB
Sixth Sunday after Easter.
On the Benefit of Vocation to the Catholic Faith. i. 2 24
On Practical Considerations Concerning the Choice
of a State. 21 250
On the Usefulness and Nature of Morning Prayer. - ii. 74 467
On the Malice and Multiplicity of Scandal. - - iv. 59 279
On the Deformity of the Habit of Cursing. - - iv. 68 401
On Avoiding Bad and Dangerous Company. vi. 58 283
On the Advantage of Recollecting the Presence of
God. - - vii. 18 258
On the Hope of Salvation for the Just, although they
may have Formerly Committed many Sins. - x. 67 376
Pentecost Sunday.
See the following Index for the Feasts of the year.
First Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Life of the Chi istian as a Child of God. • 1. 4 42
On the Necessity of Correcting the Habit of Cursing, iv. 70 426
On the Mercy of God towards Sinners, when in the
State of Sin and when Converted. v. 12 157
On the Holiness of the Sacrifice of the Mass. - - vii. 25 368
On the False Hope of Salvation that Rests on Certain
Devotions. - x. 58 254
Second Sunday after Pentecost.
On a too Busy Life. - - ii. 56 224
On Unworthy Communion. ... jii. 33 438
On the Injustice of the Sinner towards God when
he Defers Repenting. v. 3 35
On Accompanying the Blessed Eucharist when it is
Brought to the Sick. Introd. at end. - - vii. 22 322
On Frequent Communion. Introd. at end. - - vii. 23 337
On the Glory given to God in the Sacrifice of the
Mass. - - - - vii. 26 380
On Receiving Holy Viaticum in Time before Death, ix. 8 96
On Frequent and Worthy Communion as a Sign of
Predestination. Introd. at end. - x. 72 447
On the Love of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. xi. 24 338
Third Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Evils of a too Busy Life. - - - ii. 57 237
On Sloth in the Divine Service. - ... Hi. 27 367
On the Malice of Detraction. - - iv. 64 352
On the False Hope of Salvation of those who Defer
Repentance. v. 4 48
On the Goodness of God in Preserving Sinners, that
they may Repent. Introd. at end. - v. 11 143
On the Goodness of God to the Sinner who does Pen
ance. - vi. 47 116
On the Sacrifice of the Mass as a Propitiation. - vii. 27 391
On the False Hope of Presumptuous Sinners in the
Goodness and Mercy of God. - - - - x. 60 283
Fo,
all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 455
VOL. SERMON PAGB
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
The Truth of the' Catholic Religion. Introd. at end.
i.
^
11
On the Benefit of Vocation to the Catholic Faith. -
i.
2
24
On the Vain Labor of the Proud. -
iii.
3
39
On the Vain Labor of the Sinner in the State of Sin.
v.
2
21
On the Sacrifice of the Mass as a Thanksgiving.
vii.
28
403
On Confidence in God alone. Introd. at end. -
viii.
42
49
On the False Hope of Salvation which Rests on a
Death-bed Repentance.
ix.
11
132
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Sins of Christians.
i.
8
146
On the Irreparable Injury caused by Detraction. -
iv.
65
364
On the Uselessness of Prayer without Repentance. -
vi.
70
453
On the Manner of Hearing Mass with Fruit.
vii.
29
416
On Confidence in God when Things seem Desperate.
viii.
43
63
On the Insecurity of Repentance at the End of Life.
ix.
12
148
Six in Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Necessity of Parents giving Good Example.
ii.
46
92
On the Usefulness of Almsgiving to Secure Temporal
Prosperity.
ii.
49
131
On the Injurious Effects of Gluttony.
iii.
18
249
On the Necessity of Hearing the Word of God.
V.
1
7
On the Necessity of the Sacrament of Confession.
v.
15
200
On the Manner and Motive of Helping the Souls in
Purgatory.
viii.
59
272
On the Efficacious Means of Salvation given to all
Men. - - - - - -
X.
65
352
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Usefulness of Almsgiving for the Life to
come. - - -
ii.
50
145
On the Signs of Pride and the Remedy of Humility.
iii.
5
68
On those who Consult Sorcerers. -
iii.
28
382
On the Manifold Ways of Detracting and the Excuses
Made for this Sin.
iv.
66
376
On the Facility of Confession as a Remedy.
v.
16
213
On the Sanctifying of our Daily Actions. - -
vii.
10
145
On Constant Confidence in God. Introd. at end. -
viii.
44
76
On Avoiding Idleness if we wish to go to Heaven.
X.
56
227
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Decent Poor. -
ii.
63
318
On the Happiness of the Poor.
ii.
64
332
On the Vain Labor of the Avaricious. -
iii.
6
84
On the Usefulness of Confession.
v.
17
226
On the Order and Manner of Doing our Work.
vii.
11
159
On the First Reason for the Last Judgment. -
ix.
22
272
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Necessity of Hearing the Word of God.
i
9
95
On Training Children for their Last End. Introd.
ii.
30
7
456 General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAGF
On the Sloth of the Avaricious who Neglect God
During Life. - i"- 7
On the Multiplicity and Malice of Superstitions. iii. 29 397
On the Hardness of Heart and Blindness of Sinners
as a Punishment of Sin. Introd. at end. - - v. 10 127
On the Choice of a Good Confessor. v. 29 384
On the Good Intention. vii. 12 171
On the Reasons for Fraternal Correction. Introd. at
end. - - viii. 54 211
On Rashly Scrutinizing the Divine Decrees. - - - ix. 23 284
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost.
How to go to Hear a Sermon. - i. 10 108
On the Motives for Training Children for Their Last
End. Introd. at end. - ii. 40 19
On the Unhappy Death of the Avaricious. - - iii. 8 112
On Superstitions in Holy Things. - - iii. 30 411
On the Malice and Punishment of those who are
Irreverent in Church. Introd. at end. - - iii. 35 476
On the Prayer of the Sinner who wishes to Repent. v. 18 240
On Avoiding Vainglory in our Works. - - vii. 13 185
On the Duty of Fraternal Correction. Introd. at
end. - - viii. 55 223
On the Justice of the Divine Judgments. - - ix. 24 295
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost.
How to Hear a Sermon. - - i 11 119
On the Training of Children. Introd. at end. - ii. 41 31
On the Examen of Conscience in the Evening. In
trod. at end. ------- ii. 75 480
On those who Hear the Word of God without Fruit. iv. 47 120
On those who Listen to Detraction. - iv. 67 388
On the Talkative Tongue. Introd. at end. - - iv. 72 451
On the Examen of Conscience before Confession. - v. 19 252
On the Signs of Vainglory. - - - vii. 14 199
On the Manner of Correcting our Neighbor. Introd.
at end. - - - viii. 56 235
On the Second Reason for the General Judgment. ix. 25 306
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost.
On What to do after a Sermon. i. 12 132
On Watchfulness over Children. - - ii. 42 47
On Injustice as an Effect of Avarice. - - iii. 9 126
On Those who Hear the Word of God with a Hard
Heart. iv. 48 133
On Following the Custom in Unlawful Things. - iv. 57 250
On the Sincerity of the Examen of Conscience. - v. 20 256
On Doing the Will of God in all Things. - - vii. 15 213
On Accepting Fraternal Correction. Introd. at end. viii. 57 248
On the Sufficient yet Unequal Graces given for the
Salvation of All Men. - - x. 66 364
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Correction of Children. Introd. at end. - ii. 43 58
On the Obligations of the Laity to Priests. - - ii. 63 184
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 457
VOL. SERMON PAGE
On the Necessity of Restoring Ill-gotten Goods.
On the Common Vice of Ingratitude, so Hateful to
God.
On the Few who Hear the Word of God.
On the Necessity of Sorrow before going to Con
fession. -
On the Justice of Gratitude to God.
On the Glory given to God by Conformity with
His Will. Introd. at end.
On Increasing our Future Glory in Heaven during
Life.
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Duties of Servants to their Masters.
On the Presumption of Every Sinner.
On the Nature of Sorrow before Confession. -
On the Advantage of Gratitude to God. -
On the Easy Means we have of Adding to our Fu
ture Glory.
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Training of Children for their Last End.
On the Circumstances of Restitution.
On the Nature of the Purpose of Amendment be
fore Confession.
On the Usefulness of Adversity as a Means of Satis
faction for Sin. Introd. at end.
On the many Motives we have for Gratitude.
On the Frequent Meditation on Death. -
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Motives Urging Parents to Train up their
Children for their Last End.
On the Necessity of Parents Giving Good Example
to their Children. Introd. at end.
On the Folly of the Envious.
On the Injustice of Fault-finding and Misinterpret
ing the Acts of Others.
On the Matter of Confession.
In what True Gratitude Consists.
On the Advantage of Conformity with the Divine
Will. Introd. at end.
On the Advantage of Meditating on Death.
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Instruction of Children. - - ii.
On the Duty of Feeding and Supporting Children.
Introd. at end. - ii.
On the Fewness of those who Love their Neighbor. iv.
On the Advantage of a General Confession with Re
gard to the Past. - - v.
On the Motives for the Love of our Neighbor. - viii.
On the Justice of Conforming our Will to the Will
of God. Introd. at end. - - viii.
On Carefully Preparing for Death. ix
10
140
iv.
38
7
iv.
50
158
V.
21
279
vii.
30
428
viii.
45
91
X.
52
174
ii.
55
209
iv.
76
495
V.
22
291
vii.
31
439
X
53
185
ii.
39
7
iii.
11
154
V.
25
331
vi.
44
72
vii.
32
452
ix.
2
22
Vlll.
ix.
40
46
15
47
3
41
47
58
33
52
46
4
19
92
210
62 323
30 397
33 465
117
35
31
106
264
435
189
104
47
45 & General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAGE
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On Watchfulness over Children. - ii. 42 47
On the Madness of Impure Love and Lust. - - iii. 12 170
On Blasphemy. - iii. 31 425
On the Advantage of a General Confession with Re
gard to the Future. - v. 34 451
On Conformity with the Divine Will in Adversity.
Intnxl. at end. .... viii. 48 131
On How to Love our Neighbor. - - - viii. 53 198
On the Premature Death of the Idle. - - ix. 9 110
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Correction of Children. - - - - ii. 43 58
On the Excessive Care of Parents with Regard to
the Support of their Children. - ii. 48 118
On the Malice and Punishment of Those who are Ir
reverent in Church. - iii. 35 475
On the Manner of Making a Confession. - v. 31 410
On Fraternal Correction. - - viii. 54 211
On the Sorrow of the Dying on Account of Time
Lost in Idleness. - - ix. 10 121
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost.
On How to Correct Children. -
ii.
44
70
On the Duties of Masters towards Servants. Introd.
at end.
ii
54
197
On the Incurable Disease of Impure Love and Luxury.
On the Appreciation of the Benefit Received by
iii.
13
183
Penance. - .... .
vi
46
102
On the Duty of Fraternal Correction.
viii.
55
223
On the First Advantage of Adversity. Introd. at end.
On the Uncertainty of the Hour of Death.
viii.
ix.
62
6
310
70
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Good Example of Parents.
ii.
45
209
On the Anger of God against the Vice of Impurity.
Introd. at end. ... . .
iii
14
1 97
On the Malice of the Envious. Introd. at end.
iii.
16
223
On the Madness of Anger, and How to Restrain it.
iii.
24
320
On the Malice of Him who Sins because he can go
to Confession. ...
vi.
51
176
On the Manner of Fraternal Correction. - - -
viii.
56
235
On the Second Advantage of Adversity. Introd. at
On the Fear of Purgatory after Death. - - -
ix.
63
17
322
210
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Preservation of our Precious Soul.
i.
18
212
On the Necessity of Parents Giving Good Example.
On the Meanness of Human Respect.
On the Goodness of God to the Repentant Sinner
On Accepting Correction. - - . '.
ii.
iv.
vi.
viii.
46
55
47
57
224
225
116
248
On a Sudden Death. - ...
ix!
7
83
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 459
VOL. SERMON PAGK
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.
On How to Hear a Sermon. Introd. at end. - •
On the Care of One's Only Soul.
On the Temporal Support of Children.
On Charity to the Souls in Purgatory.
On the Injustice of Human Respect.
On Concealing Sins through Shame in Confession.
On the Gratitude of the Souls in Purgatory.
On the Awful Death of the Wicked.
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
On the Excessive Care of Parents for the Support of
their Children.
On the Talkative Tongue.
On Frequent Confession.
On the Efficacy of Prayer.
On the Coming and Cruelty of Antichrist.
- vm.
- ix.
11
19
47
51
56
32
60
13
48
72
53
38
26
119
222
106
159
237
423
283
161
118
451
206
535
318
GENERAL INDEX FOR THE FESTIVALS OF THE YEAR.
Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle.
St. Andrew the First Disciple of Christ. - - xii. 44 76
On the Goodness of God to the Rich. - - ii. 58 250
On Rejecting the Divine Inspirations. - - iv. 43 69'
On the Advantage of Trials as a Means of Atoning
for Sin. - - vi. 44 72
On the Usefulness of Adversity in Detaching our
Hearts from Earthly Things. - - - - viii. 62 310
On the Usefulness of Adversity in Gaining Heaven
ly Glory. - x. 73 462
Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
On Faith in the Immaculate Conception. - xi. 25 350
On the Truth of the Immaculate Conception. - - xi. 26 360
On the Esteem She had of Her Immaculate Concep
tion. - - xi. 27 373
On Redeeming Lost Time. - - ii. 70 418
On the Madness of Impure Love and Lust. Introd.
at end. iii. 12 170
On Avoiding Venial Sin because it is Displeasing
to God. .... vii. 7 102
On Dying Once Only. - - ix. 5 60
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle.
St. Thomas was most Prompt and Zealous in Believ
ing and Preaching the Resurrection of Christ. - xii. 47 117
On Making Good Use of Time. Introd. at end. - ii. 71 432
On the Malice and Multiplicity of Scandal. Introd.
at end. iv. 59 279
On the Torments of a Bad Conscience. - • v. 6 73
On the Presumption of the Sinner. Introd. at end. iv. 76 495
|6o
General Index of all the Sermons
VOL.
On Avoiding Venial Sin on Account of its Bad Effects.
On God as our Judge.
Christmas Day.
Extreme Humility and Poverty of Christ in His Birth.
On the Happiness of the Poor. Introd. at end.
On the Glory Given to God by Conformity with
His Will.
On the Hope of the Just, although the Judgment
will be Most Rigorous.
Feast of St. Stephen the First Martyr.
On Imitating His Love for His Enemies.
On the Ingratitude of the Rich to God.
How Unbecoming it is to Seek Revenge.
On the Injustice of Revenge.
On the Reasonableness of Conforming our Will to
the Will of God.
On the Vocation of the Elect to the Kingdom of
Heaven. -
Feast of St. John the Apostle.
St. John a Son of the Blessed Virgin.
On the Divine Decree Allotting to Each One a State.
On the Injury Done by Fault-finders to God and
Themselves. .......
On the Fewness of Those who Truly Love Jesus. -
On the Triumphal Entry of the Elect into the King
dom of Heaven. ......
Feast of the Holy Innocents.
On the Duties of the Young to God. -
Feast of the Circumcision.
On Jesus Circumcised as an Exemplar and Pattern
to All. - -
On the Use of the Present Time.
On the Divine Decree Allotting a State to Each One.
Introd. at end. -
On the Old and New Year for the Just and Sinners.
On the Value of Time. -
Dn the Meditation on Eternity. - - - -
Epiphany.
The Child Jesus King of the Hearts of Men. - -
On False and True Happiness. - ...
On the Conformity of Youth with Manhood.
On Divine Providence in the Distribution of States.
On Childlike Confidence in Divine Providence. -
On Those who do not Wish to Acknowledge the
Divine Inspirations.
On the Advantage of Conformity with the Divine
Will.
On the Consolation of the Just in Being on the
Right Road to Heaven. - - -
SERMON PAGE
9 129
30 364
xn.
ii.
IV.
vii.
XI.
ii.
ii.
vi.
viii.
x.
xi.
i.
i.
ii.
ii.
iv.
viii.
x.
3
64
45
68
46
45
46
65
63
5
46
4
76
44
47
61
30
332
91
390
53 220
59 262
25 333
20 351
104
85
104
350
336
71
91
13 146
41
493
65 350
76 526
76 474
76 504
5 57
7 74
14 159
66 363
69 402
80
117
297
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 461
VOL. SERMON PAGE
Feast of St. Sebastian, Martyr.
St. Sabastian a Physician against All Kinds of
Diseases. ...-'... xii. 55 244
St. Sebastian Unhurt in the Midst of the Plague. xii. 56 254
On Constant Fervor in Devotion to St. Sebastian
and to the Confraternity Erected in His Honor. xii. 57 263
On Flying to St. Sebastian for Refuge in Our
Necessities. - : vi. 75 513
Feast of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr.
St. Agues in Her Childhood a Teacher of Wisdom. xii. 63 367
St. Agnes a Lamb among Wolves. - xii. 69 376
St. Agnes a Valiant Woman. - - xii. 70 385
Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Purification of the Most Blessed and Pure
Virgin. xi. 32 432
On the Duties of the Young to God. Introd. at end. i. 13 146
That Each One Should be Satisfied with His State,
as far as the Service of God is Concerned. - ii. 67 378
On the Anger of God against the Vice of Lust.
Introd. at end. - .". ' " . " i!i- 14 197
On the Happiness of Him who is in Conformity
with the Divine Will. - - - viii. 49 144
On the Consolation of a Good Conscience in Death. ix. 14 176
Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle.
The Election of St. Matthias should be to Us an
Encouragement to Fervor; the Reprobation of
Judas a Source of Fear and Caution. - - xii. 52 20C
That Each One should be Content with His State,
as far as the Dangers of the Soul are Con
cerned. ----- ii. 68 391
On Those who During Shrovetide Prefer to Side
with the Devil Rather than with Christ. In
trod. at end. iv. 52 184
On the False Repose of a Bad Conscience. v. 88
On Seeking Counsel from God in all Our Affairs. vii. 16 227
On the Consolation of the Just in Ignoring Their
Predestination. x. 70 419
Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the B. V. M.
St. Joseph a Most Powerful Patron of Our Country. xii. 40 30
St. Joseph an Example of Conformity with the Di
vine Will in Life and Death - xii. 41 40
St. Joseph the Patron of the Dying. - - - xii. 42 51
On Conformity with the Divine Will in Adversity. viii. 48 131
On the Happy Death of the Just. ix. 15 186
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Great Humility of the Blessed Virgin Marv in a
Most Exalted Dignity. - - xi. 30 406
On the Necessary Business of Christians. Introd.
at end. i. 6 jfc
462
General Index of all the Sermons
On Those who do not at Once Follow the Divine
Inspirations as soon as They Recognize Them.
On the Favor He Enjoys with God who is Resigned
to His Will.
On the Hope gf the Just, although there are Few
Chosen. -
On the Marks of a Good Conscience. Introd. at
end.
Ash-Wednesday.
That it is Right for Us Often to Think of the
Passion of Christ.
On the Happy Death of the Just. Introd. at end.
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent.
The Frequent Remembrance of the Passion of
Christ is Full of Consolation to the Just and
to Sinners.
Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent.
The Frequent Remembrance of the Passion of
Christ is Most Useful to the Just and to
Sinners.
Good Friday.
See Eight Sermons on this Subject in the Index to
Vol. xii.
Easter Sunday.
The Divinity of Christ Proved from His Glorious
Sepulchre. ----_-_
The Glory of the Sepulchre of Christ among the
Turks an Irrefragable Proof of His Divinity.
The Truth of the Resurrection of Christ the
Foundation of Our Faith. ...
On the Triumph of Christ in His Resurrection
Over the Fury of Hell and the Envy of the
World.
The Resurrection of Christ an Exemplar of Our
Resurrection from the Death of Sin.
On Childlike Confidence in the Providence of God.
On the Vice of Ingratitude, so Common among
Men, and so Hateful to God.
On the Difficulty of Getting Rid of the Inveterate
Habit of Sin.
On the Glory Given to God by Patience in Ad
versity. -------.
On the Hope and Truth of Our Resurrection.
Easter Monday.
On the Multiplicity of Sins of the Tongue.
Easter Tuesday.
On the Disgraceful Ingratitude of Those who Owe
Most to God. - - -
On the Disgrace and Danger of Relapse into Sin.
VOL. SERMON PAGE
iv. 45 93
viii. 50 158
x. 69 402
viii. 74 448
xi.
ix.
xi.
xi.
Xi.
ii.
iv.
v.
viii.
ix.
iv.
iv.
vi.
6
15
20
21
69
38
5
65
18
61
S9
49
73
186
xi. 17 254
xi. 18 264
xi. 19 276
288
300
402
7
60
348
222
?.08
SO
16'i
For all the Sundays and Festivals of tJie Year. 463
/"OL. SERMON PAGE
Feast of SS. Philip and James, Apostles.
88. Philip and James Apostles most Like to Christ:
James in Life, and Philip in Death. - - xii. 48 133
m Morning Prayer. ii. 73 457
Uii the Folly of Envy. Introd. at end. - - iii. 15 210
Oil the Means of Acquiring Conformity with the
Divine Will. - viii. 51 127
On the Joy of the Elect in Heaven from What They
shall See Outside of God. x. 47 110
Feast of the Ascension.
On the Ascension of Our Hearts to Heaven with
Christ. - - xi. 22 313
On the Want of Faith in Bad Christians. Introd.
at end. - - iii. 2 23
On the Consolation to be Derived from the Recol
lection of the Presence of God. - - vii. 19 273
On the Joy of the Elect in the Sight of God. x. 48 123
On the Want of Faith in Heavenly Glory. Introd.
at end. x. 55 212
Pentecost.
The Sending of the Holy Ghost a Proof of the
Great Love of Christ, after His Ascent into
Heaven, for the World who Deserved so 111 of
Him. xi. 23 325
On the Dignity of Christians in Being Made Chil
dren of God by the Grace of the Holy Ghost. i. 3 33
On the Multiplicity of Sins of the Tongue. Introd.
at end. iv. 61 108
On the Malice of Cursing. - iv. 09 414
On the Recollection of the Presence of God. vi. 57 265
On the State of Grace. vii. 1 11
On the False Hope of Salvation of Those who do
not Keep the Commandments of God. - x. 57 239
Whit-Monday.
On the Necessity of Hearing the Word of God.
Introd. at end. i. 9 95
On Refusing the Light of the Holy Ghost. - - iv. 42 56
On the Ignorance which the Sinner Voluntarily
Seeks in Order to Find Peace of Conscience. v. 8 102
Whit-Tuesday.
On Culpable Ignorance as a Cause of Many Sins. v. 114
On the Incredulity of Bad Christians. - - - iii. 2 23
Corpus Christi.
The Love of Christ for Us is Proved by His Patience
in this Sacrament. - xi. 24 338
On Irreverence to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. iii. 83 450
On Devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. - vii. 21 305
On Frequent and Worthy Communion. - - - x. 72 447
464 General index of all the Servians
VOL. SERMON PAGE
Feast of St. John the Baptist.
St. John the Baptist a Miracle of Penitence. - - xfi. 39 17
How to Act after a Sermon. Introd. at end. - - i. 12 132
On the Conformity of Youth with Succeeding Age. i. 14 159
On the Course to be Followed by Young People in
Selecting a State of Life. Introd. at end. - i. 20 234
On the Folly of the Proud. Hi. 4 53
On Humility. - - viii. 61 295
On the Society of the Elect in Heaven. - - - x. 50 149
Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
The Penitence of St. Peter Confounds Sinners; the
Charity of St. Paul Many Just. - xii. 43 62
On the Truth of the Christian Religion. - i. 1 \\
On the Wickedness by which Bad Christians Attack
the Christian Religion. - - - iii. 1 7
On Continual Sorrow for Sin, after the Example of
SS. Peter and Paul. - vi. 48 131
On the Peace of a Good Conscience in Spite of what
Men Say. .... viii. 70 402
On the Want of Faith in Heavenly Glory. - x. 55 212
Feast of St. Simeon, Confessor of Treyes.
The Happy Death of St. Simeon after a Holy Life. xii. 67 356
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On the Works of Mercy Done by the Blessed Virgin
to John and Elizabeth. - - - xi. 31 421
On the Preservation of Our Most Precious Soul. In
trod. at end. ------- i. 18 212
Mary the Refuge of Sinners who Wish to Repent.
Introd. at end. - v. 14 186
On the Happiness of Him who Trusts in God. - - viii. 41 36
On Humility. Introd. at end. .... viii. 61 295
Feast of St. James, Apostle.
St. James an Unwearied Worker for the Glory of God
and the Salvation of Souls. ... xii. 45 90
On the Respect Due to Parents. Introd. at end. - i. 15 172
On the Marks of Pride and the Means of Acquiring
Humility. - iii. 5 68
On the Efficacy of the Prayers of the Just. Introd.
and Conclusion at end. vi. 68 ±21
On the Goodness of God in not Hearing Our Prayers, viii. 40 21
On Patient Sorrow in Adversity as a Sign of Eternal
Joy. - - x. 14 477
Feast of St. Anne, Mother of the B. V. M.
On the Preservation of Our Only Soul. Introd. at end. i. 19 ££?.
For all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year. 465
VOL. SERMON PAGE
Feast of St. Lawrence, Martyr.
The Charity of St. Lawrence Proved by Fire. - - xii. 54 233
On the Obedience Due to Parents. Introd. at end. i. 16 185
On the Injustice of Revenge. Introd. at end. - - iii. 26 351
On Adversity as a Just Punishment of Sin. vi. 45 86
On Charity to the Souls in Purgatory. - - viii. 58 261
On Confidently Resigning the Care of Our Salvation
to the Divine Will. x 75 489
Feast of the Assumption of the B. Y. M.
On the Most Joyful Transit of the Blessed Virgin
Mary from this World to Heaven. - - - xi. 34 454
On the Love Due to Parents. Introd. at end. - i. 17 199
On Mary the Refuge of Sinners who Wish to Repent. v. 14 186
On the Pleasures of the Senses in Heaven. x 49 136
Feast of St. Helen, Empress.
See the Index of Vols. xi. and xii.
Feast of St. Bernard.
See the Index of Vols. xi. and xii.
Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle.
St. Bartholomew the Most Glorious Martyr among All
the Apostles. - xii. 49 151
On the Use and Nature of Morning Prayer. Introd.
at end. - ii. 74 467
On Those who do not Practise What They Hear in
Sermons. - iv. 49 146
On the Necessity of Avoiding the Proximate Occa
sion of Sin. Introd. at end. - v. 26 344
On Accompanying the Blessed Sacrament when it is
Carried to the Sick. vii. 22 323
Feast of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor.
Bee the Index of Vols. xi. and xii.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary a Joyful Day
for All Christians; Most Joyful for the Christians
of Treves. - xi. 28 884
On the False Hope of Salvation of Those who Trust
to False Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. - - x. 59 270
Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle.
St. Matthew a Most Generous Conqueror of Himself, xii. 50 168
On the Dignity of the Poor. Introd. at end. - - ii. 62 304
On the Malice of Envy. Introd. at, end. - iii. 16 223
On the Goodness of God in Protecting Sinners that
They May Repent. - - - . - - v. 11 143
On Frequent Communion. - - vii. 23 387
Feast of St. Michael and the Holy Angels.
The Holy Angels Always Most Obedient to the Di
vine Will. xii. 38 »
40 6 General Index of all the Sermons
VOL. SERMON PAGE
On the Dignity of Christians who have Guardian
Angels. ' - i. 5 59
On the Reasons Why Parents should Bring Up Their
Children in a Christian Manner. - ii. 40 19
On Ingratitude to the Guardian Angels. - - - iv. 40
On the Evil Effects of Scandal. - iv. 60 292
On Sorrow for Sin on Account of the Severe Punish
ment Inflicted on the Rebel Angels by Divine
Justice. - - - v.
On Gratitude to the Guardian Angels. - - vii. 84 478
That the Devil is not to be Feared on the Way to
Heaven. x. 62 313
Feast of the Martyrs of Treves.
See the Index of Vols. xi. and xii.
Feast of SS. Simon and Jude, Apostles.
SS. Simon and Jude True Christian Zelators. - - xii. 51 183
On the Duty of the Rich to the Poor. Introd. at end. ii. 60 274
On the Vain Pretext of Custom in Following Unlaw
ful Usages. - - iv. 57 250
On Sorrow for Sin on Account of Offending Our
Heavenly Father. v.
On the Use of the Temptations of the Devil. - - x. 63 324
Feast of All Saints.
The Saints will be Our Judges, and will Condemn
Those who Refuse to Imitate Their Sanctity. - xii.
On Charity to the Souls in Purgatory. - ii. 51
On the Profanation of Holy Days. - iii. 36 490
On the Use of Adversity. - - - viii. 63 322
On the Happiness of Him who is Resigned to the
Divine Will. Introd. at end. - viii. 49
On the Eternity of Heavenly Joys. - - x. 51 163
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was Full of Grace, and yet
was Always Most Anxious to Increase it. - xi. 29 391
The Blessed Virgin Mary a Most Perfect Exemplar of
Conformity with the Divine Will. - - - xi. 33 444
How to Act after a Sermon. i. 12 132
On the Excessive Care of Parents with Regard to the
Temporal Wants of Their Children. - - ii.
On the Talkative Tongue. iv.
On Frequent Confession. - - - - - vi. 58
Feast of St. Clement, Pope and Martyr.
St. Clement an Imitator <y& the Apostfes in Patience
and Miracles. *ii. 58 272
Feast of St. Felix.
On St. Felix, Archbishop of Treves. - xii. 84 330
Fcr all the Sundays and Festivals of t/ie Year. 407
VOL. SERMON PAGB
Feast of the Dedication of a Church.
On the Vain Excuse of the Rich Saying They Cannot
Give Alms. Introd. at end. - - - - ii. 61 289
On Irreverence in Church. - iii. 34 452
On the Dangerous State of Those who Rarely Hear
the Word of God. - - iv. 46 107
On the Trials with which God Visits Sinners. v. 13 171
On the Use of the Recollection of the Presence of
God. Introd. at end. .... . vii. 13 258
On Reverence in Church. vii. 20 289
On the Frequent Meditation of the Heavenly King
dom. - x. 54 196
On any Indulgenced Feast.
On the Benefit of the Jubilee and Indulgences. - vi. 64 370
See Several Sermons on the Jubilee in the Index in
Vol. m.
On a Solemn Supplication in Honor of the Blessed Vir-
gin ^lary. See the Index in Vol. xii.
On Public Prayers in the Time of General Calamities,
Diseases, \Vnrs, Inundations, or other Scourgc«
S&6 the Index in Vol. vi.
GENERAL INDEI OF THE SUBJECTS TREATED IN THE
WHOLE WORK,
VOL. PAGE
—A.—
Abraham.
Was ready to sacrifice his son to please God. - i. 245
Account.
In the judgment God will demand a strict account of
the sermons deliberately lost through sloth. - - i. 106
Adultery.
A terrible sin. i. 423
Rated by every one. - i. 423
Most injurious to the general welfare of the whole
human race. i. 424
Is the cause of many other sins. i. 424
All Christians should guard against it. i. 425
Is an abomination before God, and draws down severe
punishments. - i. 426
Age.
When we consider ourselves, as we should often do,
we shall find that we are already aged. ii. 420
Many deliberately avoid this thought. ii. 422
Agnes, St.
As a child was already a mistress of wisdom in de
spising all the allurements of the world. xii. 370
In contemning all the threats of the world. xii. 372
She was a pure, innocent lamb of Christ. xii. 378
She overcame the crafty as well as the raging wolves. xii. 381
In her childhood she was a strong woman. xii. 386
Ale-houses.
In them are generally found dangerous companions. - vi. 289
Alms.
Use of alms for temporal prosperity.
A means of investing capital at usurious interest.
Is the best means of becoming rich.
Parsimony to the poor a means of becoming poor.
By alms we gain eternal treasures. ii. 145
Folly of those who give little alms in order to save for
their children.
Almsgiving is a duty imposed under pain of sin. ii. 274
469
470 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
Many are lost forever because they did not give alms. ii. 281
What alms each one is bound to give. ii. 280
Vain excuse of the rich that they can give little or no
alms. ii. 289
Even the poor can and should give alms. - ii. 290
Almsgiving is a satisfaction for the punishments due
to sin. vi. 61
A means of obtaining all from God. - vi. 62
Sinners should give generous alms. vi. 64
Alms keep the soul from sin. vi. 66
And save from hell. vi. 67
AMBITION. See Pride.
Andrew, St., Apostle.
Was the first disciple and follower of Christ. - - xii. 76
Was the first to receive the teaching of Christ, while
Our Lord was still unknown and despised. - - xii. 80
Was the first to bring others to Christ. - - xii. 87
Angels.
God has given to every one an angel as tutor. - - i. 54
Dignity and excellence of the angels. - i. 55
Their beauty. i. 56
These great princes of heaven are the guardians of our
bodies and souls. - i. 57
The benefits we owe them deserve our most heartfelt
thanks. i. 59
Especially as they are far greater and more excellent
than we. i. 60
They bestow those benefits on us although we are un
worthy of them. i. 61
Neither good nor bad angels can detect the secrets of
the heart of man. iv. 453
Terrible punishment of the angels who sinned. - - v. 306
The angels are princes of heaven. v. 308
They are countless in numbers. v. 310
They protect us in life and death. See Guardian
Angel.
We owe them great gratitude. vii. 489
They are most perfectly united with the will of God. xii. 7
Anger.
Is contrary to sound reason. iii. 320
Draws down the anger of God. iii. 327
How they should act who have to deal with angry
people. iii. 327
How the passionate man should control his anger. - iii. 329
Anti-Christ.
Cruelty of Anti-Christ, and what he will do in the
world. ix. 318
Treated in the Whole Work. 471
VOL. PAOK
Apostles.
The Christian religion was spread throughout the
world by twelve apostles. i. 17
They had neither authority, money, nor power, nay,
were hated everywhere. i. 17
And yet they undertook to spread the Christian relig
ion in the chief cities of the world, and succeeded. i. 18
Augustine, St.
Was great in the eyes of the world. xii. 314
Small and lowly in his own eyes. xii. 316
His great wisdom is evident from the books he has
written. xii. 313
From the heretics whom he overcame. xii. 314
From a great sinner he became a great saint. - - xii. 327
Avarice, Money.
One can make money and still serve God. - iii. 101
The labor of the avaricious man is vain. ... iij. 85
Money and property are vain goods. iii. 84
How a man may become avaricious. iii. 88
The miser is foolish, and gives himself much trouble to
no purpose. iii. 88
Incurs the hatred of men. - iii. 92
It is hard for him to leave all in death. - - iii. 93
Money can make men do anything. - iii. 86
The avaricious man neglects his God in this life. iii. 98
Is insensible to all good. iii. 100
Works only for others and not for himself. iii. 102
Looks on money as his god. iii. 103
Has no pity /or the poor. iii. 104
Avarice is the source of every vice. - - - - iii. 105
The avaricious generally die an unhappy death. iii. 112
Avarice increases till death. iii. 113
The avaricious are hard to convert. iii. 114
And it is very hard to persuade them to make restitu
tion, iii. 118
They are most unhappy men. - - iii. 122
Happy he who does not love money. - iii. 122
Avarice is found even among the poor and people of
every state. iii. 123
— B.—
Bartholomew, St., Apostle.
Was in his martyrdom, before all the other apostles, a
most glorious martyr of Christ. xii. 156
Besides enduring other tortures, he suffered a most
painful and protracted martyr's death for Christ. xii. 157
And that with admirable constancy and firmness. xii. 159
What a glorious reward he received from Christ for
this constancy ! xii. 160
Beauty.
Personal beauty and comeliness is vanity. iii. 63
472 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAOB
Benefit.
The greatness of a benefit is to be measured by its use
fulness and necessity for eternal salvation. - - i. 25
No one should upbraid another with benefits conferred. iv. 44
Benefits.
It is only the ungrateful that God upbraids with bene
fits conferred on them. iv. 45
Bernard, St.
A wonder of innocence and penance. xii. 339
One who had a perfect contempt for the world and
himself. ______ xii. 341
BIRTH OF CHRIST. See Christ.
Blanche, St.
How she brought up her son Louis in the fear of God. ii. 31
Blasphemy.
How many kinds of it there are. iii. 426
It is a terrible sin. ______ iii. & iv. 429, 319
Offends God much more than all other sins. - iii. 430
The blasphemy of men is worse than that of the de
mons and the reprobate. iii. 433
It is a sin committed through the grossest injustice,
out of anger and rage. iii. 434
Is justly punished by God with extraordinary chastise
ments, iii. 435
Blindness, Spiritual.
We are blind in our understanding even with regard
to things that are before our eyes. ii. 382
Blood of Christ.
It is a terrible thing to be guilty of shedding it. xi. 132
Was shed for us to the last drop. xi. 133
Examen as to who were guilty of it. xi. 134
Body.
Is generally better cared for than the soul. - i. 218
The body of the sinner must do penance and be chas
tised, v. 473
The body is almost the sole cause of sin. v. 475
Body, Chastising- the.
The sinner has good reason for chastising the body. v. 480
To no purpose do some excuse themselves from this by
saying that they are too weak. v. 481
The same degree of mortification is not required from
every one. - v. 482
How we may easily mortify our outward senses. v. 482
FM sting is the best means of chastising the body. - yi. 52
Treated in the Whole Work. 473
VOL. PAGB
Business.
Our only business should be to serve God and take care
of our souls. iv. 338
Busy.
A too busy life is an idle and useless life before God. ii. 224
It is a sinful life. ii. 237
It withdraws the heart from heavenly things. ii. 240
How to order one's business so that the soul will not
suffer. ii. 240
Carnal Sins.
It is not advisable for those who have committed many
carnal sins to repeat a general confession. - v. 461
Catholic.
Catholics nowadays can hardly bear to hear the truths
of their religion preached, although the same
truths were received in former times by heathens
and Jews. i. 16
They owe the greatest gratitude to God for the bene
fit of vocation to the true faith. i. 24
There are many who do not thank God for this; but it
is to their deeper damnation. - ... i. 31
Children.
As they are in youth, so, generally speaking, arc they
in old age. i. 159
They owe their parents reverence in all their actions. i. 173
Many great faults are committed against this duty. i. 178
They who threaten to beat, or actually strike their
parents, must expect fearful punishments from God. i. 182
They are bound to obey their parents. i. 185
They are ignorant, and must therefore allow themselves
to be guided by their parents. i. 186
They are commanded by God to obey their parents in
all things that are not contrary to the divine law. i. 190
Many children commit many sins in this respect.
Such children were punished severely in the Old Law. i. 195
And even in our own days.
Children are bound to love their parents. i. 199
Of what kind this love should be. i. 203
Many sin against this love by causing their parents
sorrow by their vicious lives. i. 204
By refusing their parents help and support when they
are in want. i. 205
By forgetting their deceased parents. i.
Christians who have no children have cause to rejoice. i. 438
And those, too, who have too many children. i. 440
474 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGR
And those whose children die prematurely. i. 442
Undutiful children are a sore trial for parents. - - i. 445
Sickly children should be loved by their parents. - i. 447
Children should thank their parents for correcting them,
and rejoice thereat. i. 68
Children, like monkeys, imitate their parents in every
thing, i. 84
How they are to act in the choice of a state of life.
See State.
Training of children. See Parents.
Wicked children are a disgrace to their parents. - iii. 7
Undutiful the child that forgets his mother. - - iv. 31
Children should shun nightly gatherings. - iv. 218
They are naturally inclined to reverence and love their
fathers. v. 319
Children who ill-use their father are execrated and
punished by God and map, v. 319
Children who wish to see and oe seen too much are not
far from sin. vi. 247
Christian.
The Christian who does not mortify himself is not a
proper member of Christ. v. 509
He must be ashamed of not following Christ. - - v. 511
He has reason to fear. - v. 519
He who wishes to go to heaven must lead a Christian
life. vi. 13
A Christian should live more perfectly than the Jews
of old. vii. 250
Christians.
Pious Christians have reason to rejoice at being in the
true faith. - i. 20
Wicked Christians should be ashamed of not living
according to their religion. i. 21
The Christian Church complains of wicked Christians. i. 22
In holy Baptism Christians become children of God. i. 35
What an honor and happiness that is ! i. 36
Holy Christians can hardly contain themselves for joy
thereat. i. 38
Many tepid Christians think little of that honor. i. 39
Christians should live as becomes children of God and
brethren of Christ. i. 42
They should order their lives according to the will of
their heavenly Father and the example of Christ. i. 45
Few Christians do that. i. 46
It is a great shame for a child of God to be a slave of
the devil. i. 48
Yet many are in that disgraceful condition. i. 49
Christians live in a clearer light and have more knowl
edge than the Jews and heathens of old ; therefore
their sins are less excusable. i. 86
They have more aids and helps to good. i. 90
They have sworn an oath of special fidelity to God. - i. 92
Treated in the Whole Work. 475
VOL. PAGE
Therefore their sins are more reprehensible than those
of the Jews and heathens. i. 93
Wicked Christians disgrace the holy name of the Cath
olic Church. iii. 12
They are more guilty and less to be excused in the
judgment than heathens and infidels. iii. 17
They will be derided by the latter in hell. iii. 20
By their holiness of life the first Christians proved to
the heathens the sanctity of our religion. iii 34
Nowadays many Christians are put to shame by
heathens. iii. 35
For they give scandal, and disgrace our religion by
their Shrove-tide orgies. iv. 202
Many Christians know not what a Christian is. xi. 8
The duty of a Christian is to lead a holy life. xi. 9
Most Christians have no sign of holiness about them. xi. 11
Christians are bound to order their lives after the ex
ample of Jesus Christ. xi. 20
He who does not endeavor to do that will have no part
iii the kingdom of heaven. xi. 22
And will not be able to answer for himself at the
judgment-seat of Christ. - - xi. 27
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. See Religion.
Christ.
In Christ alone is true happiness to be found. - i. 82
He is a model of childlike obedience. i. 192
He loves His Church. i. 378
He counts it as an honor to treat His enemies with
meekness, and all should imitate Him therein. - iii. 345
Christ and the devil are always contending with each
other, and inviting men to imitate them. iv. 185
He is the advocate for sinners. v. 153
He is our model and teacher. v. 514
Did penance His whole life long. v. 507
He who does not follow Christ can have no hopes of
heaven. v. 511
He has loved us with a patient, meek love. viii. 199
With a beneficent love. viii. 203
Which extended itself to all men. viii. 207
He became man to teach us how to live rightly by
word and example. xi. 18
He despised all that the world esteems. xi. 23
In His birth He chose the utmost humility. - xi. 31
And extreme poverty. xi. 36
In His circumcision He is presented to people of all
classes. xi. 41
In the circumcision and in the calling of the three
kings He showed that He is Almighty God and
the Ruler of hearts. xi. 58
He wishes us often to think of His passion. xi. 74
All that He suffered was for the love of us. - xi. 78
Unheard-of love of Christ in dying for us. xi. 102
Yet few love Him in return : a gross ingratitude. xi. 105
What cruelty He had to suffer in the court of Pilate. xi. Ill
476 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGK
He is our best friend, and yet we crucify Him again
'>y si". xi. 123
And that after He has died for us on the cross. xi. 124
It is a terrible thing to be guilty of shedding His
blood. xi. 132
Christ freely chose to die for us. xi. 136
Yet His love has been able to do little with most men,
of which He justly complains. xi. 139
He has shed His blood for the forgiveness even of the
worst sinners. xi. 146
He died in extreme poverty. xi. loo
In the greatest agony. ______ xi. 101
In the crucifixion He suffered all kinds of torments. - xi. 162
He was condemned to a death that was terrible in all
respects. xi. 174
Although He was perfectly innocent. xi. 176
He was not allowed a hearing, either by His earthly
judges or by His heavenly Father. * xi. 178
He died without the least consolation. - xi. 180
Our sins are the cause of His death. - - xi. 146
Christ while on the cross prayed for sinners, and that,
too, in the most fervent manner. xi. 236
The last words of Christ with which He gave up the
ghost. xi. 190
They were directed to sinners. xi. 191
The sufferings of Christ are daily renewed in all their
circumstances by sinners. xi. 209
The frequent recollection of the passion of Christ is
consoling to the just. xi. 74
To sinners. ______ xj ^0
It is useful to the pious to keep them in grace. - - xi. 83
To the wicked to induce thtm to repent. xi. 88
The divinity of Christ proved by His burial. - - xi. 254
The sepulchre of Christ is to this day an undeniable
proof of His divinity. xi. 264
The truth of the resurrection of Christ is the founda
tion of our faith. xi. 277
The proof of it. xi! 277
He thereby overcame the rage of hell. xi. 289
And the envious Jewish world. - - xi. 295
The resurrection of Christ is a symbol of our resurrec
tion from sin. - xi. 300
Wonderful the love of Christ for men in sending
them the Holy Ghost after His ascent into heaven. xi. 326
Although He had been so ill-treated by them during
His life. xi. 333
This wonderful love of Christ appears from His pa
tience in the Blessed Sacrament. xi. 338
Church.
What a great sin irreverence in church is. - iii. 462
The magnificence and splendor of the temple in Je
rusalem. ---_____ ui. 464
God dwells in our churches, and wishes to be specially
honored in them. - - - iii. 467
Treated in the Whole Work. 477
VOL. PAGE
Many are irreverent in church. iii. 468
And thereby grossly insult the Almighty. iii. 473
ijy unbecoming behavior in church God is dishonored
in a most grievous manner. iii. 476
They who misbehave in church are put to shame by
heathens and Turks. iii. 480
And give joy to the demons. iii. 482
Of which God complains. iii. 482
How severely He punishes this irreverence. iii. 483
We must be reverent in church. vii. 289
How to enter the church. vii. 290
How to behave in it. vii. 298
Clement, St.
Was like the apostles. What he suffered. xii. 273
Was like them in the miracles he performed. What
they were. xii. 278
Commandments of God.
Are required for the welfare of the world. vii. 89
No one can complain of the difficulty of keeping them. vii. 94
Communion.
Christ, Our Lord, is treated most shamefully by an un
worthy Communion. iii. 439
Tt is a terrible sin. iii. 445
Is committed by many. iii. 445
We should often receive Holy Communion. vii. 337
Frequent Communion leads to holiness of life. vii. 338
Helps to holiness of life. vii. 344
Frequent and worthy Communion is a sign of predes
tination, x. 447
Company.
We must avoid bad company if we wish to persevere
in good. vi.
One bad companion is enough to pervert many. vi.
The society of the opposite sex is dangerous. vi. 290
Our weakness becomes greater in dangerous company
and occasions of sin. vi. 296
Company and occasions that lead to impure love are
the worst of all. vi. 304
To no purpose should we trust in the help of God in
dangers that we wilfully seek. vi. 310
Seemingly respectable company, even that of relations
and religious persons, is dangerous if too much
freedom is allowed. vi. 321
in the company of the wicked that we cannot avoid
we may add to our merits. vi.
And should then try to gain the souls of others. vi. 353
Conceal.
How foolish to conceal a sin in confession through
shame. v. 423
478 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGR
Confession.
We are not allowed to make known the sins of others
even in confession. iv. 359
The impure should accuse themselves in confession in
a modest manner. iv. 446
It is very hard to acknowledge one's own shame in
confession. iv. 480
It is not enough for repentance to declare one's sins in
confession. iv. 486
The sacrament of confession is necessary to the salva
tion of the sinner. v. 200
How reckless the conduct of him who defers confes
sion for a long time. v. 209
Confession is an easy means of gaining pardon for sin. v. 213
And a very useful one. v. 226
By it the sinner regains all he has lost. v. 228
And becomes richer than before. v. 234
How to examine the conscience before confession. - v. 252
Many make bad confessions because they do not ex
amine their consciences as they should. v. 269
See also Contrition, Purpose, Declaration.
He who sins in the hope of being able to go to con
fession is in danger of damnation. vi. 176
Frequent confession is a sure means of perseverance. vi. 206
He who confesses frequently easily conquers the temp
tations of the devil. vi. 210
Lessens the punishment due to his sins. vi. 212
Increases sanctifying grace. vi. 213
Gains the grace of a happy death. vi. 213
A general confession cleanses the soul from all stain. v. 43tf
Is necessary to many, highly useful to all. v. 449
How to make it. v. 450
The best means of keeping the soul in peace and se
curity, v. 451
Who should be advised to make a general confession. v. 459
Confessor.
We should choose a good one. v. 384
Of what kind he should be. v. 387
It is easier to confess to a good confessor than to any
other. v. 393
The folly of those who conceal from their confessor a
grievous sin. v. 423
Confidence in God.
It makes us happy to leave ourselves with childlike
confidence in the hands of God. ii. 402
How foolish they who have not confidence in God. - ii. 413
God is forced to make eternally happy those who have
confidence in and serve Him cheerfully. - - x. 489
Confidence.
Happy he who in all his needs puts his confidence in
God. - - - viii. 48
Treated in the Whole Work. 479
VOL. PAGE
.ust put our confidence in God alone. - - viii. 59
people trust to natural means, so that God does
i.of- help them. - - - ^iii. 56
In extreme necessity we should trust all the more in
Goa. viii. 64
Never g*> f»uld we lose that confidence. viii. 84
Conformity with the Will of God.
This in chfRcult matters is a great virtue. xii. 40
We have a perfect example of it in Mary, the Mother
of God. xi. 445
In the holy angels. xii. 8
In St. Joseph. xii. 41
Contentment.
All should be content with the will of God. i. 444
Contentment of each one in his state. See State.
£d»*tradiction.
Is a wholesome chastisement sent by God. v. 136
By it God seeks the conversion of the sinner. v. 171
How one can and should do penance by it. v. 488
How to bear it willingly and meritoriously. v. 489
In contradictions we become more like to Christ. v. 512
They are a gracious punishment for one who has
sinned even once. vi. 72
And he shoula rejoice and thank God for them. vi. 78
How unjust not to bear contradictions patiently. vi. 82
All deserve th6^» on account of the malice of their
venial sins. vi. 87
And on account ji jins forgiven. vi. 95
It is comforting to remember God's presence in con
tradictions, vii. 278
It is good and useful for salvation. x. 462
Patience under contradictions is a forerunner of eter
nal happiness. x. 477
Public contradictions are an effect of God's mercy for
our amendment. Se» also Trials. ix. 345
Contvit*<)n.
How dangerous to sleep in the state of sin without
contrition. ii. 488
It is the most necessary part of rep^nrance. vi. 279
In what it consists. vi.
Of what kind it must be. vi. 291
How to excite one's self thereto. vi. 302
Contrition for sin on account of God's strict justice. vi. 306
On account of offending our heavenly Father. vi. 318
Because we have sinned in the presence of God. vi. 280
The sinner should always have contrition. vi. 131
Conversation.
There are many kinds of evil conversation. iv. 306
480
General Index of the Subjects
Uncharitable conversation is very mischievous.
He who remains silent when he should speak does
much harm. -
Conscience.
A good conscience is the best comfort in trials.
Examen of conscience in the evening. -
The conscience is disturbed in the danger of sin.
Still move when sin is committed.
Intolerable pain of a bad conscience.
How the false repose of a bad conscience is attained.
The conscience cannot be deceived.
How to examine, the conscience before confession.
The peace of a good conscience a great blessing.
Is sought for in vain from earthly things.
It consists in the possession of God alone.
It is a perpetual, joyful marriage-feast.
It is a comfort in trials.
Cares neither for calumny nor detraction. - - -
Can rejoice on account of its good works. - - -
Is disturbed only by sin.
Signs of a good conscience. ...
A good conscience need not fear death. - -
Constancy.
Constancy in good is a good sign. ....
To remain constant in grace to the end is the greatest
gift of God.
Conversion.
The conversion of many penitents is merely apparent.
CORRECTION OF CHILDREN. See Parents.
Correction, Fraternal.
Every one is obliged to correct his neighbor's faults in
a friendly manner. -
All are bound by the duty of fraternal correction.
This is required of every one by the love of God.
By the love of our neighbor.
Many are bound to it under sin by justice. - - -
All are bound to it by a special law of God.
How to administer fraternal correction. - -
How to take it.
Cursing.
Oursing and swearing is unbecoming a Christian.
It is a hellish style of conversation.
It is most scandalous.
Eternal malediction awaits him who is addicted to it;
therefore all should be on their guard against it.
Cursing is of its nature a mortal sin.
A most injurious sin.
There is no excuse for the habit of cursing.
It is very difficult to get rid of that habit.
Means of overcoming it. _ . . . .
VOL.
PAGB
iv.
814
iv.
461
i.
452
ii.
480
iv.
206
iv.
208
v.
73, 231
V.
88
v.
90
V.
252, 265
viii.
370
viii.
371
viii.
375
viii.
387
viii.
388
viii.
405
viii.
414
viii.
468
viii.
454
ix.
174
vi.
191
vi.
198
vi.
11.
vi.
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
396
59
358
212
217
224
230
245
252
310
402
408
410
415
419
428
438
434
Treated in the Whole Work. 481
VOL. PAGE
Custom.
It is in vain to appeal to custom in unlawful things. v. 91, 272
They are to be bewailed who follow unlawful customs. vi. 349
Cross of Christ.
Was sought with great zeal and eagerness by St.
Helen, and found and taken up by her with great
joy. xii. 401
Was held in the highest honor. xii. 406
Was exalted by her, whereas before it had been held
in execration. xii. 414
Cross and Suffering.
Eagerly desired by many holy servants of God. xii. 404
How the holy apostle St. Andrew longed for it. xii. 85
And St. Lawrence. xii. 234
By it our virtue must be tried. xii. 239
Is necessary in order to go to heaven ; must therefore
be accepted willingly. xi. 166
& xii. 405
We should bear it readily and willingly. xii. 406
Nay, rejoice at it. xii. 409
God is highly honored by our patiently bearing the
cross. xii. 415
The sufferings of Christ should encourage us to bear
the cross with patience. xi. 166
To suffer great crosses and pains with joy is a great
virtue. xii. 234
We bear even small crosses with impatience, because
we have but little virtue. xii. 242
They may expect a great reward who suffer much
with patience. xii. 163
Complaint against those who do not wish to suffer for
Christ's sake. xii. 88
— D.—
David.
Teaches how we are to guard our only soul. - i. 226
Danger.
We are in constant danger of falling into sin. - - vi. 267
God helps His servants in a wonderful manner in those
dangers into which He sends them ; but not those
who seek danger. vi. 318
In the unavoidable dangers of our state we must trust
in God. vi. 325
What means we must use against the dangers that
threaten the soul. vi. 333
We should often think of what our death is like to be. xi. 461
In the dangers of the soul that we cannot avoid we
must arm ourselves with the fear of God, - - xii. 262
To consort with the wicked is very dangerous. xii. 255
482 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
Dances.
nightly gatherings are very dangerous occasions of
sin.
iv. 209
Day.
The first dav of the year is especially a day of salva
tion. - - - ii. . 494
Only the present day belongs to us. 497
If that day is ill-spent, a wicked life is the consequence. ii. 498
In what manner people of every condition may use the
present day well. ii. 498
Death.
In death all must leave their property and wealth to
others. iii.
As we are in life, so we shall be in death. - vi. 200
The frequent recollection of death is a powerful means
of leading a good life. ix.
How this recollection should be made. ix. 35
We should prepare for death our whole lives long. - ix. 51
The way and manner of making this preparation. - ix.
We shall die but once. ix. 60
Uncertainty of the time of death. - - ix. 70
How liable we are to be surprised by the approach of
death. ix.
Unhappy death of the wicked. ix. 161
Comfort of a good conscience in death. ix. 174
Joyful death of the just. ix. 186
We can wish for nothing better than a happy death. ix. 200
The death of the just is joyous. - - xi. 455
& xii. 361
In death we learn the vanity of earthly things. xi. 157
Death, Hour of.
Is the most dangerous and terrible hour. - - vii. 488
The just need not fear it, because they shall be pro
tected by their angels guardian. vii. 488
Debts.
Not to pay them when one can is an injustice. iii. 134
Declaration of Sins.
What we must declare in confession. v. 397
Even the number of grievous sins must be declared. v. 407
How we must declare our sins in confession. v. 410
They must be declared with humility; a point in
which many are wanting. v. 411
They must be declared with candor. v. 418
DELIBERATION IN THE CHOICE OF A STATE. See State.
Departed.
Special honor shown to the departed is a sign of the
high esteem in which they are held on account
of their virtues. - xi. 255
Detraction.
Is a grievous, dangerous sin. iv. 315
Treated in the Whole Work. 483
VOL. PAGE
3 contrary to the love of our neighbor. - - iv. 353
Robs him of his good name. iv. 356
Detractors are punished by God. - - v. 362
It is an almost insuperable difficulty to restore the
good name taken away by detraction. iv. 365
There are circumstances in which one is excused from
restoring his neighbor's good name, lessened by
detraction. iv. 375
All should avoid this sin. iv. 372
One can detract in many ways. iv. 377
Vain excuses by which the detractor seeks to palliate
his sin. iv. 382
How they sin who listen to detraction. iv. 389
How to act so as not to sin by listening to detraction. iv. 394
Even in confession we must not take away another's
good name. iv. 359
Descent.
One should not extol himself on account of his noble
descent. - - - iii. 60
Devil.
Tries to keep people away from sermons. - i. 103
Sets a high value on the human soul. - i. 216
Finds many who help him to ruin their souls. - - i. 231
Is readily satisfied with a small service from a man,
knowing that in time he will obtain a greater. - iii. 371
It is a terrible thing to ask help from the devil. iii. 383
It is done by those who seek advice from sorcerers. - iii. 384
The devil is not to be trusted in what he says of the
future, and is very apt to deceive. iii. 388
Present hidden and visible things he can know of, but
even in such matters he is wont to deceive men. iii. 389
Why he wishes to have superstitious practices mixed
'with holy things. iii. 412
How foolish to seek help from the devil through
superstition. iii. 421
The devil seeks to distract the minds of the hearers
during sermons. - iv.
Most men take sides with him. - iv. 187
It is not allowed to curse him. - - iv. 417
He endeavors to keep sinners from sermons. v. 14
His power over sinners. v. 67
He tries to disturb prayer. vii. 543
He is our worst enemy ; but the pious need not fear him. x. 313,319
Use of the temptations of the devil on the way to
heaven. x. 324
He instigated the condemnation of Christ to death. xi. 289
He was deprived of his power by the death of Christ. xi. 291
Devotion.
To no purpose does the sinner trust his salvation to
certain devotions. v. 207
484 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGK
Devotion, Works of.
How false the hopes of heaven that rest on certain
works of devotion while the commandments are
neglected. • x. 254
Dress.
Indecency in dress a great source of scandal. - - iv. 289
A point in which there is little hope of amendment. iv. 280
Drunkenness.
Many shorten their lives by immoderate drinking. - iii. 283
How wicked that is. iii. 289
How blind. iii. 289
How wrongly they act who provoke others to exces
sive drinking. iii. 290
How foolish they who allow themselves to be persuad
ed thereto. iii. 292
How foolish to drink excessively to the health of others. iii. 292
The family is brought to ruin by excessive drinking;
how wicked and foolish. iii. 295
They who are guilty of such conduct occasion many
sins. - iii. 300
Drunkards lose their good name. iii. 301
Drukenness is a most shameful vice in woman. iii. 304
Deliberate and complete drunkenness is a mortal sin. iii. 308
By it a man runs the risk of losing his soul. iii. 311
Habitual drunkards generally die an unhappy death. iii. 312
Drunkenness is not allowed under any pretext. - - iii. 313
They who make others drunk commit a grievous sin. iii. 314
The habit of excessive drinking is in many cases the
occasion of many sins. - iii. 315
How wives are to act with drunken husbands. - iii. 317
— E.—
Ears.
The ears sometimes deceive us in what we hear from
others. • . . . iv. 330
Edmund, St.
How the mother of St. Edmund instructed him in the
fear of God. ii. 38
Elect.
Hope of the pious although there are few elect. - x. 402
Signs of election : hearing the word of God. - x. 434
Frequent and worthy communion. - x. 447
Patience in trials. ------ - x. 477
Confident resignation of one's soul to the hands of God. x. 489
End.
We should often consider our last end. ix. 9
Treated in the Whole Work. 485
VOL. PAGE
Enemies.
Should be borne with patiently. .... xii. 221
Should be loved. ..... xii. 227
Envy.
What it is. iii. 211
How common a vice. - iii. 212
The envious man is a fool. iii. 215
Envy strives most maliciously against the love of our
neighbor. iii. 223
From it come almost all other sins against charity. - iii. 226
It is a cruelty. iii. 229
It is a diabolical vice. iii. 231
The envious must expect severe punishment. iii. 233
How they should act who are envied. ... iii. 234
Eternity.
We should diligently prepare for eternity, that we may
have something to live on when we come there. ix. 16
The frequent meditation of eternity is useful and
necessary to all men. - x. 504
Eternal Happiness.
Hope of the pious to gain eternal happiness, although
they may have formerly committed many grievous
sins. x 376
Evening.
Every Christian has good reason to examine his con
science in the evening. ii. 480
The advantage of this practice. ii. 485
Extravagance in Dress.
How common it is to-day, and how it draws down
public calamities. vi. 487
Eyes.
They deceive us sometimes. - iv. 329
Must be carefully guarded if we wish to avoid sin. - vi. 234
They betray us to evil. vi. 235
Very dangerous to look at another's beauty. - vi. 236
Still more dangerous to look at impure pictures and
statues. vi. 245
The eyes must be carefully guarded if we do not wish
to lose the grace of God. vii. 23
V —
~ M. »
Faith.
What is a dead, what a living faith. - - - iii. 24
A dead faith is of no use to salvation. ... iii. 25
Works must harmonize with faith. - - - - iii. 26
General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
From the want of a lively faith comes irreverence to
Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. iii. 450
Faith, Catholic.
Is the only true faith. L 20
Vocation to the true faith is the greatest benefit of God,
and lays us under an obligation of the deepest
gratitude. - i. 24
This faith is necessary to salvation. - i. 25
For without it no other benefit of God can help us. i. 25
God has called us to this faith in preference to count
less heretics and infidels. i. 26
A special benefit to be born and bred in this faith at a
time when the Church en joys peace and tranquillity. i. 28
Fasting : Lenten Fasting.
Holy people grew old in fasting. .... iii. 254
Duty of fasting. - - iii. 260
Manner of fasting. - - ..... iii. 268
Vain excuses of those who seek to be dispensed from
fasting. iii. 263
Fasting does not injure the health. - - - - iii. 267
How rigorously the early Christians fasted. iii. 269
Object of fasting. - iii. 271
Many sin against this. iii. 275
Fasting tames vicious inclinations, and strengthens us
against temptations. iii. 278
Everything in man should fast. iii. 280
We are bound under sin to keep Lent. - - vi. 24
The law of fasting is easily observed. - vi. 25
To no purpose do people say they cannot fast. - - vi. 28
Fasting does not injure health. - vi. 31
Fasting is the best and easiest of all penances. - vi. 41
How wrong to determine to avoid fasting. vi. 44
Fasting is necessary in order to keep from sin. - vi. 48
Fashion.
It is offensive to God to follow unlawful fashions. - iv. 251
Such conduct is very wicked, and draws down the an
ger of God. iv. 259
Many follow the fashion in omitting their prayers and
in cursing and swearing. iv. 252
And dress and live extravagantly, while they do not
pay their debts. iv. 253
In acts of injustice. - - iv. 254
In excessive drinking. - - iv. 255
In neglecting their children. iv. 255
In scandalous dress. ..... iv. 256
Felix, St., Archbishop of Treves.
Was a special benefactor of the city of Treves. xii. 320
Fault-finding.
To find fault with and condemn the actions of others
is contrary to the love of our neighbor. - - iv. 324
Treated in the Whole Work. 487
He -who does that neglects the advantage of his own
soul. iv. 337
He encroaches on the rights of the Almighty. - - iv. 344
Flattery.
Is a kind of evil conversation. - iv. 315
Forgiveness.
The forgiveness of sins is one of the greatest benefits
of God. vi. 102
How readily and joyfully God forgives sins. vi. 109
Friend, Friendship.
Faithful, constant friendship is rare. xi. 328
Christ is the best and truest friend, since He still
loves men although He is in heaven. xi. 328
Friends in need are the rarest. xii. 52
St. Joseph is a friend and helper in the greatest ne
cessity, namely, in the hour of death. xii. 53
Gatherings.
Nightly gatherings of both sexes are very dangerous
occasions of evil. - - iv. 209
Gluttony.
In what this vice consists. ..... iii. 237
How one can sin by it. - - - - - iii. 238
It is very general. iii. 239
Marks of gluttony. ...... iii. 241
It is punished by God. iii. 247
Injures the health very much. .... iii. 249
How foolish the gluttonous are. ..... iii. 256
God.
The love of God for us men in giving each of us an
angel guardian. . 53
God is the architect of the human soul. - . 213
And has carefully made it to His own image. . 214
He has a great esteem for it. . 214
Without His help no means are of any avail. - . 351
He orders all according to His pleasure. . 353
They who act without or against God have no good
luck. . i. 354
How we must behave to God in all our actions in
order to have good luck. i. 360
Confidence in God. See Confidence.
God can help us in all circumstances. - ii. 405
He has a care for us even in the least things. ii. 406
His omnipotence can do all things. ii. 408
He wishes to turn everything to our greater good. - ii. 408
He has promised to have a care of those who trust in
Him. ........ ii. 411
488 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGB
He is the supreme Lord, who must be served in all and
above all. ______ iii. 359
That service is not rendered Him by those who are not
faithful to Him in small things. iii. 369
He wishes to have our hearts altogether or not at all. iii. 373
They who neglect small things in His service do not
render Him a pleasing service. iii. 874
They do not please Him. iii. 375
He does not love God who offends Him even in small
things. - - iii. 376
God is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. iii. 453
He alone can harm us, and is therefore the only one to
be feared. iv. 246
He is a great, almighty Lord. iv. 496
What is required to please God. iii. 98
God's patience in bearing with the sinner is, of all
His perfections, the most wonderful. iii. 203
He shows His almighty power by patiently bearing
the offences offered Him. iii. 343
Contempt of God is the greatest sin. iii. 477
God is our best Father. v. 321
We should be afraid to offend God. - v. 313
He forgets forever the offences endured from the sin
ner when the latter repents. vi. 117
He heaps on the penitent more graces and gifts than
on many an innocent man. vi. 123
Most sins come from forgetfulness of God. vi. 269
God sees all things, and no one can hide himself from
Him. - vi. 275
God uses small things to punish us, that we may know
His almighty power. vi. 475
He can easily help us in public calamities. vi. 496
He increases His glory by bearing with the sinner. - vi. 341
The mercy of God is great in bearing with and re
ceiving the sinner. v. 157
Hatred of God towards sinners. v. 160
The constant recollection of the presence of God is the
best means of avoiding sin. vi. 265
The strict justice of God appears in the punishment
of the angels. v. 306
The sinner will be publicly put to shame in the judg
ment, v. 435
Without the grace of God no sinner can obtain for
giveness, v. 9, 240
God is wont to give His grace only when the heart is
prepared to receive it. v. 10
The goodness of God in calling sinners to repentance. v. 36
The goodness of God in protecting the sinner. v. 143
The goodness of God to penitents is wonderfully great. vi. 116
The love of God for him who has done penance. v. 236
The honor of God is the greatest good that God pos
sesses, viii. 92
God has an earnest will to save all men. - - x. 339
He gives to all men, as far as He is concerned, means
enough of salvation. - x. 352
Treated in the Whole Work. 489
VOL. PAGE
Even to the most savage people God gives sufficient
means of salvation. x. 365
Why He does not give to all the same means of sal
vation, x. 371
It is presumption to pry into and criticise the decrees
of God. ix. 284
We must look on all God's decrees and arrangements
as most just, although we do not understand them. ix. 295
God, the Lord.
Must be loved because He is Our Lord. vii. 27
God is an almighty Lord ; therefore He must be
feared and loved. vii. 42
God is worthy of infinite love. vii. 56
The beauty of God. vii. 58
Few men love their God truly. vii. 71
We should take counsel from God in all things. vii. 227
Outside of God there is no true joy to be found. - viii. 340
Gratitude.
What great gratitude we owe God for the benefit of
vocation to the true faith. i. 24
What great i.-ratitude we should show the holy guar
dian angels. i. 59
God deserves and requires from us an unceasing grat
itude, vii. 429
He requires it that He may do us all the more good. vii. 442
As often as we ask a new favor from God we should
thank Him for past favors. vii. 447
The number of benefits we have received should make
us always grateful to God. vii. 453
True gratitude consists in the love of God. vii. 466
Most men are ungrateful to God. vii. 71
We should thank God for having been preserved from
heresy. vii. 492
The gratitude we owe the holy angels. vii. 478
We owe gratitude to Christ for having suffered and died
for us. xi. 78
Grace.
What sanctifying grace is. xi.
What helping or actual grace is. xi.
Mary was full of both. xi. 395
Yet always endeavored to increase them. xi. 397
We complain without cause of the want of grace, for
it is given us in abundance. xi. 399
We do not care about increasing it. xi.
Therefore God justly witholds many graces from us. xi.
The misuse of the grace of God caused the fall of
Judas. xii. 213
Grave, Burial.
The grave of Christ was glorious and a proof of His
divinity. xi. 254
490 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
This is shown in our own days by His grave among
the Turks. xi. 264
Pious men have always desired to have their graves in
holy places. xi. 266
Guardian Angel.
He is an ungrateful man who forgets and grieves his
guardian angel. iv. 31
The great care taken of their charges by the guardian
angels. iv. 32
Many men are ungrateful to them. iv. 38
Wo to those who are ungrateful to their guardian
angels. ...... iv. 41
Habit,
Sinful habits must be laid aside at once. ... y. 60
It is difficult to amend vicious habits. ... v. 61
And becomes with the lapse of time all the more dif
ficult. v. 64
The inveterate habit of sin is hardly to be amended
without a miracle. ...... xii. 321
Yet it was overcome by St. Augustine. ... xii. 323
Happiness.
In what true happiness consists. - i. 70
It is not to be found in worldly goods. - i. 76
It is to be found only in Christ, Our Lord. - - i. 82
And yet is Jeast thought about by blind mortals. - i. 83
Hatred.
Looks only at the faults of others to condemn them. iv. 324
Interprets everything, even the inward intention, in a
bad sense. - iv. 326
Health.
What a great good it is. iii. 284
How carefully it must be looked after. iii. 285
It is a great good, for the sake of which we are ready
to use any means. xii. 245
Heart.
Should be carefully guarded from evil thoughts. vi. 219
How to guard the heart from evil thoughts. - - vi. 236
HEARERS. See Word of God.
Heathens.
The ancient heathens honored their heroes as gods,
that they might behave as gods. i. 44
They held it as a dishonor for one who had acted the
part of a god on the stage to remain a slave. - i. 47
Treated in the Whole Work.
Heaven.
Most people are brought to heaven by violence by
means of crosses and trials.
The desire of heaven is inflamed by the trials of the
just and the prosperity of the wicked.
Vocation of the elect to heaven.
Joyful entry of the elect into heaven.
Joy of the souls in heaven outside of God.
Joy in heaven in the vision of God.
Pleasures of sense of the elect in heaven. ...
Joyful society of the elect in heaven.
Eternal duration of heavenly joys. -
Increase of heavenly glory during this life.
On the easiness of the means of increasing heavenly
glory.
In what this increased glory consists.
Frequent recollection of heaven and meditation thereon.
Necessity of this.
Folly of men who take little trouble to gain heaven.
False hope they have of heaven who do not keep the
commandments.
False hopes of heaven that rest on certain devotions.
False hopes of heaven that rest on a false devotion to
Mary.
False hope of the sinner in the mercy of God.
Comfort of the just in being on the right way to heaven.
The devil is not to be feared on the way to heaven. -
The use of the temptations of the devil on the way to
heaven.
In heaven our hearts shall be fully satisfied.
There are true, eternal, perfect goods.
Folly of men who have so little desire for heaven.
Helen, St.
A mother of Christendom.
Gave her subjects a holy example.
Gained countless souls for Christ.
Left the Church a rich legacy in the beautiful temples
she built.
In the relics she collected.
But especially in the example of her virtues and life,
which she left behind for our imitation.
Helen sought the cross of Christ with desire, and in
seeking it overcame all difficulties.
She found and received it with joy.
Held it in the highest honor.
She exalted the cross, whereas before it had been held
in execration.
Hell.
The eternal fire of hell. .
Thoughts of the damned in hell.
Pain of sense in hell.
Company of the damned.
VOL.
Vlll.
xn.
xii.
xii.
xii.
xii.
xii.
xii.
xii.
xii.
491
PAGE
327
ix.
256
X.
85
X.
98
X.
110
X.
125
X.
136
X.
149
X.
163
X.
176
X.
185
X.
180
X.
196
X.
202
X.
212
X.
239
X.
254
X.
270
X.
282
X.
297
X.
302
X.
324
xi.
321
xi.
321
xi.
323
392
394
395
397
398
398
401
402
406
413
13
21
36
48
49 2 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
Pain of the damned in the thought of heaven. - - x. M)
God shows His justice in the damned. ... x> 7-5
To us who are still alive He shows His mercy and
kindness. .... x 7^
Heretics.
Their false doctrine about matrimony. ... ii. 327
They can by prayer obtain the grace of the true faith. vi. 262
Heresy.
Is the greatest punishment for a country. - - vii. 498
Holy Ghost.
How the Holy Ghost comes to souls. - - . vii. 12
How we are to know that the Holy Ghost has come to
and remains with us. . vii. 14
How we are to keep the Holy Ghost with us. - - vii. 21
His sending proves the wonderful love of Christ for
the world. xi. 335
Holiness of Life.
Consists in doing the will of God, and in the perfect
performance of the duties of state. ... vii. 146
It is easy to live holily. - . . vii 152
Honor.
Honor and glory of Christians in becoming children
of God in baptism. - - - i. 80
This honor is not much esteemed by many. - i. 39
High honors change manners. - i. 43
Most men endeavor to grasp at worldly honors. - iii. 40
Honor before the world is nothing of itself. - iii. 41
The ambitious find in honorable positions nothing
but chagrin and trouble. - iii. 42
To be honored is not wrong, but to seek honor is
wrong. . jii. 47
What brings us honor before God and the world. iii. 54
Hope.
Hope in God must be all the greater, the greater our
necessity. - vi. 503
Household.
The welfare of a household depends on the good train
ing of the domestics. - - ft. 205
Human Respect.
It is disgraceful to do evil or omit good through hu
man respect. . . iv. 225
It is very unjust to God. - - . . iv. 237
Treated in the Whole Work.
Humility.
Without humility purity of heart will not last long. -
How one can preserve humility under all circumstances.
Signs of a false humility.
Signs and effects of true humility.
It is so rare and yet so necessary to salvation.
Means of attaining it.
Without humility no grace is obtained from God.
The sinner must be humble, especially when at con
fession.
In many penitents humility is wanting. -
It makes men great in the sight of God. -
It brings them honor before the world also.
Christ the example of humility to all.
Mis extreme humility in His birth.
Puts to shame the pride of the world.
Humility of Mary, the Mother of God. -
Humility of St. Augustine.
I lumility in the midst of honors is admirable.
Is rare among men nowadays.
Is necessary to all men to please God and gain heaven.
Husband.
Should be careful not to be led into evil by his wife.
Is master of the wife, but it should be a mastery of
love. -
Sins if he ill-treats hie wife.
If he does not give her proper support.
If he treats her like a servant.
If he hates her and loves others.
How wicked such husbands are.
They must expect severe punishment.
There is no excuse for them. -
The husbands are to be pitied who have bad wives. •
How they should act.
How they should act so as not to give their wives an
occasion for jealousy.
VOL.
i.
iii.
iii.
iii.
iii.
iii.
v.
v.
V.
viii.
viii.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xii.
xi.
xi.
xi.
493
PAGE
307
66
71
73
74
75
411
412
415
296
304
417
31
35
363
316
407
411
413
344
376
381
381
382
382
383
384
384
407
40$
416
Idleness.
A constantly idle, luxurious life is a sinful life.
An idle man deserves to die prematurely.
Regret of the dying for the time lost in idleness.
Idleness must be avoided if we wish to go to heaven.
Ignorance.
Gross ignorance of the sinner.
Wilfully affected ignorance of the sinner in matters
concerning his salvation.
Culpable ignorance does not excuse sin.
It is widespread among men.
Imagination.
From the imagination come unnecessary troubles.
239
110
121
227
98
102
114
117
434
494 General Index of the Subjects
TOL. PAGE
We should get rid of such images. - ... i. 437
Our happiness or misery in this world consists mostly
in the imagination. _____ viii. 147
Impurity.
In a Christian is less to be excused than in Jews or
heathens. i. 90
Wickedness of those who lead the innocent into im
purity. _ ... i. 299
No sin is too great for the impure man to commit. - iii. 188
He is hard to bring to repentance. iii. 190
Even on his death-bed. - Iii. 195
No vice so arouses the anger of God as impurity. - iii. 1 97
It is the vice most frequently punished by God. iii. ', •'
The impure are ungrateful to their guardian angels. - iv. Sj
Impure Pictures.
Are most treacherous objects for the eyes. - vi. 246
Impure Song's and Conversations.
Give great scandal. iv. 312
Are unbecoming a Christian. - iv. 4^!o
Many innocent people are thereby corrupted and ruined
forever. iv. 443
Confessors should be cautious in questioning about
impurity. iv. 446
Preachers should be very cautious when speaking of
this vice. iv. 446
The impure should accuse themselves with decency in
confession. iv. 446
They who are given to impure talk have a sure sign of
reprobation. iv. 447
It is no excuse for them to say that they have no bad
intention. - iv. 449
Double meaning words are the most dangerous. - iv. 449
Impure Things.
Impure books are dangerous and forbidden. - vi. 242
Ingratitude.
For the grace of vocation to the true faith draws down
a deeper damnation. - i. 31
Ingratitude to God is an abominable vice most hate
ful to Him. iv. 7
In what it consists. iv. 8
Is put to shame by lifeless things. - iv. 13
Most men are ungrateful to God. - iv. 13
They will be abandoned by God. - - iv. 17
Those who owe God most of all are always the most
ungrateful. iv. 20
How and in what manner God is wont to punish the
ungrateful, even in this life. - iv. 48
Ungrateful men die prematurely. ... iv. 51
Treated in the Whole Work. 495
VOL. PAGE
Ingratitude of those who think seldom of the passion
of Christ. xi. 80
Monstrous ingratitude of men in not loving Christ, al
though He died for them. - - xi. 105
Inclinations.
Evil inclinations deceive the conscience. ... v. 95
They bring temporal and eternal misfortunes. - - vii. 96
Inconstancy.
In good is common among men. - - iv. 164
Injustice, Unjust.
Brings on poverty and eternal ruin. - ii. 124
There is much injustice in the world. iii. 126
The unjust must expect a strict judgment. iii. 138
Injustice brings no advantage in temporal things, and
hurls one into everlasting damnation. iii. 139
How foolish they who seek to make profit by injustice. iii. 152
Foolish the parents who seek to enrich their children
by injustice. iii. 158
Inspiration.
Whence the divine inspirations come. iv. 69
The contempt and neglect of them may be the origin
of eternal ruin. iv. 72
Their conduct is very dangerous to the soul who re
fuse to look on good thoughts as inspirations from
God. iv. 83
In weighty matters one should not take all impulses
and ideas as divine inspirations, but seek advice
from others. iv. 86
Otherwise one may easily be misled by the devil. - iv. 88
It is most dangerous not to follow divine inspirations. iv. 89
Not to follow them at once is to run the risk of an un
happy death. iv.
God has fixed a certain number of inspirations for
every one. iv. 100
They are not recognized by many. xi.
Others refuse to follow them at once. xi. 70
They run a great risk. xi. 71
Insults.
Should be borne meekly. iii- 345
Intention.
In all our actions should be directed to God.
Intemperance.
In eating and drinking leads to impurity.
Makes the mind earthly and brutish. iii. 277
Irreverence.
Towards Christ in the Blessed Sacrament comes from
the want of a lively faith. - iii. 450
496 General Index of the Subjects
Irreverence in church comes from the fact that people
forget the great Lord who dwells therein. iii. 462
Isaac.
An example of childlike obedience. ... i. 191
j
James the Great, Apostle.
An unwearied laborer for the glory of God and the sal
vation of souls. - - - xii. 90
Underwent all sorts of toil and difficulties for Christ. xii. 91
Although his labor was not very fruitful. xii. 92
But he did not despair on that account. xii. 90
How God rewarded him during life and after death. xii. 98
James the Less, Apostle.
Was like Christ in person. xii. 135
But especially in virtues and disposition. - - xii. 135
Jealousy.
What it is. --. .... i. 411
Nothing is worse in the married state. - i. 412
What evils and sins come from it i. 412
How married people should act so as to avoid jealousy. i. 414
John, St., Apostle.
A son of Mary. xii. 100
Not merely in name. xii. 107
For he had all the qualities of a true son of Mary. - xii. 108
John, St., the Baptist.
A penitent, and therefore the greatest wonder. - - xii. 20
Led a most penitential life from his very childhood to
his death. xii. 21
Although he was quite innocent and confirmed in grace. xii. 22
Nor had he the example of the penitent Saviour. - xii. 20
Joseph, St., Foster-father of Christ.
The best of patrons. xii. 32
His great wisdom appears from the office to which God
appointed him. xii. 33
His dignity from the fact that he had God as his Son,
and therefore after Mary he is above almost all
the other saints. xii. 34
Hence he is a most powerful advocate for his children
in all their necessities. xii. 30
Well, then, for those who honor him as their patron. xii. 38
He had much to suffer in his poor state. xii. 42
Before and after the birth of Christ. xii. 42
Especially in the flight into Egypt. - - xii. 43
in his daily intercourse with Christ ; for he was in all
things resigned to the will of God. - - xii. < 3
Treated in the Whole Work. 497
His death was hard, because it separated him from the
Holy Family. xii. 46
Because of his holy desire for a longer life. xii. 47
Because of his entry into Limbo. - - xii. 48
Yet in all he resigned himself into the hands of God. xii. 49
He is a comforter and helper in the extreme necessity
of approaching death. xii. 55
Therefore all should honor and call upon him with
the utmost devotion. - - xii. 59
Joy.
The joy of a good conscience on account of good works
is most pleasing to God. - viii. 415
Is useful to the soul. - viii. 421
Is not vainglory. viii. 426
Is not opposed to the Scripture. viii. 437
Jubilee.
Is a favorable time of grace, and should not be neglect
ed, vi. 370
Difference between the Jubilee and ordinary confes
sions, vi. 378
Wickedness of those who are not converted during the
Jubilee. vi. 382
Their conduct is deplorable who are not converted dur
ing the Jubilee. vi. 396
The Jubilee is an advantageous peace between God and
the sinner. vi. 409
Judas the Traitor.
By his carelessness and abuse of the grace of God lost
his apostolic office and eternal glory. xii. 213
The beginning of his fall and eternal ruin was the ne
glect of small faults. xii. 214
Judge.
God will be our judge on the last day. ix. 366
He will also judge us as man, but He will be quite
changed to sinners. ix. 379
The Judge as our Saviour will condemn sinners. ix. 391
The mere sight of the Judge, as of a man like to us,
will be intolerable to the sinner. ix. 411
The pious will have a gracious Lord in this judge. - x. 390
Judgment, Last.
Is necessary to vindicate the justice and the providence
of God. ix. 272
And to the vindication of His pious servants. ix. 307
The terrible signs of the last judgment will frighten
sinners, and fill the just with consolation. ix. 329
They will be effects of the divine mercy to sinners. - ix. 341
The last day will come unexpectedly. ix. 352
Therefore we should be prepared for it even now. ix. 359
49 8 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
No one can escape the last judgment, in which the
proud shall be humbled and the humble exalted. ix. 419, 425
Strict examination in the judgment. ix. 432
Every sinful act will then be made manifest, to the
great shame of the wicked. ix. 440
Accusation of the sinner in judgment. ix. 446
Conviction of the sinner in judgment. ix. 459
Terrible sentence on the sinner. ix. 472
On the last day the saints will be our judges, and con
demn us, if we do not live holily, like them. - xii. 420
Terrible to have then to appear before those judges. - xii. 421
— K.—
Kings, the Holy Three.
Were wonderfully obedient when called by God by
the star. xi. 58
Knowledge.
Of things pertaining to salvation is rare among men. - iv. 161
Many have it, but do not live according to it. iv. 162
Laborers.
It is a great sin to defraud laborers of their wages. - iii. 133
Last End.
We should not consider whether we wish to attain
it or not, but rather see what means we must use
to attain it. ........ i. 251
Law of God.
Should be the only guide of our lives. iv. 261
Lawrence, St.
A wonder of the love of God, because that love made
him desire torments. - xii. 234
And he rejoiced in them. ...... xii. 236
Lay People,
Should hold the priest in honor. ii. 184
Many sin against this duty. - ii. 195
Life.
The life of the Christian should be such as becomes a
child of God and a brother of Christ. i. 42
It must be modelled after the will of our heavenly
Father. i. 45
And after the example of Christ. ... i. 46
Impure love does not attain what it seeks. iii. 170
How foolish they are who allow themselves to be en
tangled by impure love. iii. 172
Impure love has more of pain than of pleasure. - - iii. 17o
Treated in the Whole Work. 499
VOL. PAGE
It makes men hardened in sin. iii. 183
Hinders the working of the word of God. iv. 150
What the law of the love of our neighbor requires. - iii. 224
Love should show itself in time of need. - - iv. 178
The love of our neighbor is rare among men. - - iv. 264
What it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. - iv. 274
Sinful love of our neighbor. iv. 213
Love puts the best interpretation on everything, iv. 331
In what true love consists. - - vii. 73
LOVE OF CHRIST FOB MEN. See Christ.
Love of Enemies.
Is possible. - - xii. 230
Is most strictly commanded by God. - - - - xii. 231
Should be practised, after the example of St. Stephen. xii. 227
Love of God for Us.
Wonderful the love of the heavenly Father in giving
His own Son for us. xi. 136
Love of God.
Must be proved by suffering and trial. xii. 239
St. Lawrence proved it in the midst of torments. xii. 234
St. Paul proved it by word and work. xii. 71
And in the many hardships he endured for God's sake. xii. 71
We show by our acts the coldness of our love. - - xii. 73
By impatience under contradictions. xii. 74
We do not wish to suffer even a slight inconvenience
for God's sake. xii. 242
Inconstancy of our love for Christ. xi. 331
Love of Neighbor.
Is very small with us. ------ xii. 74
Two kinds of works of love and mercy. xi. 422
Mary exercised them both in favor of John and Eliza
beth in the Visitation. xi. 422
These works surpass in merit all other good works. - xi. 426
We have constant occasions of doing them. xi. 426
Are bound to them. xi. 427
The saints show us by their example how to do them. xi. 428
Deplorable that love has grown so cold nowadays. xi. 429
Especially where the spiritual works of love and mercy
are concerned, to which all are bound: fathers,
heads of families, superiors. (See Neighbor.} - xi. 429
Luxury.
Is not the way to heaven. vi. 7
Is a sinful mode of life, that leads to sin. - vi. 9, 54
Is not a Christian life. vi. 13
Will have an unhappy end. vi. 19
500 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PACK
Lying.
Is a disgraceful vice, hateful to God and men. - - iv. 463
Is necessarily forbidden by God and men. - iv. 465
Is a common vice. iv. 466
Brings no temporal advantage. - iv. 466
Opposes the divine truth. - - iv. 470
Is not allowed under any circumstances. iv. 470
Pious Christians would prefer to die rather than save
themselves by a lie. ------ iv.
To hide the truth is not lying. - - iv. 474
— M.—
Man.
Is poor and lowly in himself. - in. 56
Human weakness and inconstancy in good are great. iv. 164
Human weakness is great, especially in dangerous oc
casions. - - vi. 298
All are bound to help to the amendment of their fellow-
man, vi. 358
Marriage, Married State.-
He who wishes to enter the married state must seek
advice from God. i. 315
Difficulties of the married state. i. 316
Troubles of it. i. 320
Since many do not seek counsel from God there are
many unhappy marriages. i. 322
Advice for married people who have not sought advice
from God. i. 325
False teaching of heretics about marriage. - i. 327
Matrimony is a holy sacrament. i.
Must be entered into with a pure conscience. i.
Who are they who sin in this respect. i. 329
There can be no happiness in a marriage unworthily
entered into. i.
The principal end and object of marriage. i. 332
They who enter on that state through mere carnal lust
are often given over to the devil. i. 333
Marriage should be entered into with a pure love. - i. 335
Since this is not always the case there are many un
happy marriages. - i. 336
Lesson for those who have erred in this respect. i. 336
Dangers of the soul in the married state. i. 340
Dangerous duties of that state. i. 341
In spite of those dangers married people can remain
pious if they have God as their friend. i. 348
Thev who wish to secure temporal prosperity in the
"married state must have God as their friend. - i. 350
It is not lawful to remain in the proximate occasion of
sin under pretext of future marriage. v. 379
Married People.
Unity amongst them is very necessary. . i. 364
Treated in the Whole Work. 501
VOL. PAGE
Their state is pleasing to God when they are united. i. 367
It is a happy state when they are united. i. 368
The devil seeks to disturb this union. i. 369
Unhappy the state of married people when union is
wanting. i. 369
This want of union may be traced to the time before
marriage. i. 372
How married people are to comfort themselves in the
trials caused by children. i. 445
And when one of them is sick or dies. i. 451
In trials married people and their families learn to
pray. i. 460
Martyrs.
They honor God in a special manner by their lives and
death. xii. 153
The grace of martyrdom is one of the greatest, and is
therefore longed for by holy servants of God. xii. 301
It is a sign of a holy life. xii. 302
The holy martyrs teach us to endure a moral martyr
dom for the love of God. xii. 308
Martyrs of Treres.
Have left their descendants the example of a holy life. xii. 286
All suffered death with the utmost bravery. xii. 295, 306
Thereby they gained great glory for the city of Treves
before God and heaven. xii. 296
And made the name of Treves illustrious. xii. 297
They teach their descendants how, after their example,
they are to lead a Christian life. xii. 301
They teach them also how to suffer a moral martvrdom
for the faith. xii. 306
Mary, the Mother of God.
Is a refuge of sinners. v. 186
All should love her with a tender devotion. v. 196
False hope of heaven founded on a false devotion to
Mary. x. 270
The belief in her Immaculate Conception is most closely
connected with a devout love for her. xi. 350
Countless proofs of the Immaculate Conception. xi. 356
The unanimous voice of all men in all parts of the
world testifies to it. xi. 357
The holy apostles testify to it. xi. 357
The holy Fathers. xi. 357
The authority of the Catholic Church. xi. 358
How disadvantageous it would have been for her to
have been conceived in original sin. xi. 352
The truth of the Immaculate Conception confirmed by
Mary herself. xi. 360
She would have preferred to lose all her other privi
leges than to be for a moment in original sin. - xi. 374
Her Nativity is joyful for all, especially for the people
of Treves. - - - - - xi. 384
502
General Index of the Subjects
The birth of Mary brought joy to the whole world.
She was full of sanctifying and actual grace.
She endeavored most strenuously to increase them both.
Mary the most humble in spite of her dignity.
She never sought to make the least show of her spe
cial graces.
She always avoided praise.
She always wished to be looked on as lowly.
Through her humility she was chosen to be the Mother
of God.
In her Visitation she performed the corporal and spir
itual works of mercy in favor of John and Eliza
beth.
She was the most beautiful and pure of all in body
and soul.
And yet, like a sinner, submitted to the law of purifica
tion.
Mary a perfect example of conformity with the will of
God.
This she showed especially in the Annunciation.
And when Joseph was about to leave her.
In the birth of Christ in the stable.
In the flight into Egypt.
In the passion and death of her divine Son.
After His death till the end of her life.
She thus puts to shame our discontent.
Mary's death was full of joy in the consideration of the
past.
In the consideration of the future
Mary the true ark of the covenant.
She has done more good to Christians than the Jews
received by means of the ark.
Especially has the city of Treves much to thank her for.
She is a refuge of sinners.
Like Judith of old, Mary saved the city from many
calamities.
By Mary, the true Esther, the world has been saved
from eternal ruin.
She often freed Christendom from calamities.
To be a child of Mary is a great grace and happiness.
We should endeavor to be true children of Mary.
Mass.
It is not lawful to get Masses said with the money of
others when we know the lawful owner.
VOL.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xi.
xii.
xii.
iii.
PAGE
386
395
39?
407
364
367
368
410
422
433
435
444
446
446
447
447
448
451
452
455
458
465
466
469
470
474
481
481
105
116
162
Mass, Sacrifice of.
Is infinitely holy. vii. 368
The priest who offers is Christ. vii. 372
The gift offered is also Christ. vii. 376
We should hear Holy Mass every day with reverence. vii. 375 to 415
In the Mass infinite honor is offered to God. vii. 383
It is an infinite atonement for our sins. - - - vii. 394
Treated in the Whole Work. 503
VOL. PAGE
An infinite thanksgiving for benefits received. - - vii. 404
The source from which fresh benefits are to come. - vii. 408
Punishment of those who despise the Holy Mass. vii. 414
How to hear Mass profitably. vii. 416
How it is that not all receive the same advantage from it. vii. 417
Masters and Mistresses.
Are bound to look after the eternal welfare of their
domestics. ii. 198
Must encourage them to good and give them good ex
ample, ii. 200
Many sin in this respect. ii. 200-
They are guilty of the sins of their domestics when
they do not prevent them through carelessness. - xi. 112
Matthias, St., Apostle.
Was raised to the place of Judas on account of his ex
emplary life. xii. 202
Was preferred to many other holy men. xii. 203
Even to the just Barsabas. xii. 206
This privilege he gained chiefly by his humility and
zealous charity. xii. 207
Matthew, St., Apostle and Evangelist.
A heroic victor over himself when he conquered ava
rice, xii. 169
And that at a time when he was actually engaged in
usury. xii. 172
At a few words of Christ he left all things. xii. 173
And himself, too, and gave all the remainder of his life
to Christ. xii. 178
Meditation on the Passion of Christ.
Frequent meditation on the passion is only right. - xi. 73
Very consoling for the just and for sinners. - - xi. 83
Useful for all. xi. 91
Men.
Are strangers and pilgrims in this world, and are sur
rounded by countless dangers. i. 53
God has given them all different protectors against
these dangers. i. 54
And moreover given each one an angel guardian. - i. 54
Most men are ignorant of the art of living and dying
well. i. 97
Therefore they must hear sermons to learn it. - i. 99
Mercy of God.
To sin because God is merciful is a sign of reprobation. x. 282
Moment.
On a single moment depends our eternal happiness or
misery. ix. 60
504
General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PACK
Morning Devotions.
When many assemble together for them their prayer
is the best, most useful, and pleasing to God. - ii. 474
Morning.
The best time, and that most pleasing to God, is the
morning ; therefore it should be especially devot
ed to God. iL 457
Vain excuse of many that they cannot devote this time
to prayer. ii. 4C3
In what morning prayer consists, and which is the
most useful. ii. 473
Mortal Sin.
They who keep for a long time from mortal sin can be
sure that they are in the state of grace. - - vi. 173
Mortification.
How to mortify the outward senses. - v. 482
Without mortification of the senses one cannot keep
from sin. vi. 10
Money, Greed of.
Leads men into all kinds of vice. - ... vi. 65
Once it has taken hold of the heart it is almost in
vincible, xii. 170
But was overcome by the holy apostle St. Matthew. xii. 171
Mothers.
Sin if they do not, when able, nurse their children. - ii. Ill
—IX.—
Name.
A good name is the greatest and best good. - - iv. 356
God has a care for the good name of men. - - iv. 358
A good name is more prized than life. - - - iii. 301
Neighbor.
Yery few love their neighbor as themselves. - - iv. 264
Who is our neighbor. -.-... iv. 265
Every one is worthy of love. - - viii. 196
Christ wishes us to love our neighbor for His sake. - viii. 190
We must love our neighbor as Christ loves us. viii. 198
The love of our neighbor must be patient and meek. viii. 199
It must be beneficent. - - viii. 203
It must be general. -,----„ viii. 207
Night.
Nightly gatherings and dances are very dangerous
occasions of sin. - - iv. 205
Treated in the Whole Work. 505
VOL. PAGE
— O.—
Oaths.
Malice of unnecessary oaths. - .... iv. 311
Obedience.
Children owe obedience to their parents. ... i. 185
The three holy kings obeyed at the first sign given by
God. - xi. 57
Obstinacy.
In what th£ obstinacy of the sinner consists, and what
a terrible punishment of sin it is. v. 127
Occasion.
The occasion of sin must necessarily be removed and
avoided forever. v. 344
Useless to think that one runs no risk of sin in the
proximate occasion. v. 358
Under no pretext is it allowed to go into the proxi
mate occasion of sin. v. 370
Original Sin.
It is a great evil to be in original sin even for a moment. xi. 374
How disadvantageous it would have been for the
Mother of God to have been conceived in orig
inal sin. ........ xi. 352
Parents.
Hold to their children the place of kings and princes,
nay, even of God Himself. i. 173
They must be honored by their children in all things. i. 176
They are the best guides for their children. i. 187
They are specially enlightened by God to train their
children well. i.
They are the greatest benefactors of their children. - 200
Therefore they must be specially loved by them. i. 202
Their children should take more care for their sup
port than for that of their own wives and children. i. 208
How they are to act in choosing a state for their chil
dren. See State.
They have great trials with their children.
They should train up their children for their last end. ii. 7
Most of them look after the bodies, but not the souls
of their children. ii.
On the training of the children depends their salvation. ii. 13
Cries for vengeance of lost children against their par
ents. ii. 16
The temporal happiness of parents consists in the
good conduct of their children. ii. 21
Children will not behave well if they are not trained
up to piety. ....... ii- 21
506 General Index of the Subjects
VOL.
Grief caused parents by wicked children. ' ii.
Just punishment of parents when they have to suffer
temporal and eternal misery for not having well
trained their children. - ii. 25
Evil training is a grievous sin in parents, and God
and all heaven will demand vengeance for it. ii. 25
Many are lost on account of it. ii. 29
What good lessons they should teach their children. - ii. 31
Many teach their children evil. ii. 41
What watchfulness they should exercise over their
children. ii. 47
To what it should be extended. ii. 50
Great faults committed in this respect. ii. 51
Parents should punish and correct their children when
they do wrong. ii. 58
Most parents err in this respect. - ii. 62
And thus bring their children to eternal ruin. ii. 66
They must therefore expect to be severely punished. - ii. 67
How paternal correction is to be administered. ii. 70
Great faults committed by parents in this respect. ii. 72
Chastisement should be given with moderation and
love. ii. 76
Parents should give their children good example. - ii. 80
When they sin they kill many other souls. ii. 87
If all parents were holy the whole world would be
holy. ii. 90
Without the good example of parents all other means
of training children are of no avail. ii. 92
Parents should pray daily for their children, and for
themselves, that they may do their duty. - ii. 103
They are bound to provide sufficient nourishment for
their children. ii. 106
Many faults committed by parents in this respect. - ii. Ill
Polly of parents who are too careful in providing for
the temporal welfare of their children. ii. 118
They should first of all look after their own souls. - ii. 122
Unhappy the parents who seek to provide for their
children by unjust means. ii. 124
Parents who have many children should be generous
in giving alms. - ii. 131
They should be careful not to excite envy among their
children. iii. 233
Should keep them from nightly gatherings. iv. 221
Should especially guard against cursing. iv. 411
The curses of parents on their children have a special
power. iv. 422
Parents are bound to look after the spiritual welfare
of their children and domestics. vi. 356
They should keep their children from bad company. vi. 288
Their chief care is to leave their children a rich inheri
tance, instead of training them for their last end. xii. 397
By their carelessness they participate in the sins of
their children. xi. 113
And must expect severe punishment on that account. xi. 115
Treated in the Whole Work. 507
VOL. PAGE
PASSION OF CHRIST. See Christ.
Pastors and Preachers.
Should not be cast down if with all their labor they
effect but little. xii. 101
PATIENCE. See Trials.
Paul, St., Apostle.
Proved the zeal of his charity by word and work. - xii. 71
By suffering many hardships for the love of God. - xii. 71
He puts to shame our tepidity, our want of charity,
and our impatience under contradictions. - - xii. 73
Peace.
In peace of heart consists true happiness. - ii. 334
The peace of man -with God is the highest happiness. vi. 410
How unjust he is who will not make peace with God. vi. 419
Penance.
He who has sinned grievously must do penance. - - v. 465
& vi. 37
Penance wrongly rejected by heretics. - v. 466
The body especially should do penance. v. 473
What penances may be practised during the time of
prosperity. v. 480
How to suffer contradictions instead of penance. v. 488
Even the just and innocent should do penance. - v. 493
Penance keeps men from sin. - - v. 497
All should do penance because we have a penitent God. v. 506
Peter, St., Apostle.
Bitterly deplored his denial of Christ. xii. 64
He thus puts to shame our impenitence. xii. 64
Persecution.
In spite of persecutions the Christian religion was
spread throughout the world. - i. 18
Philip, St., Apostle.
Was like Christ in almost all circumstances of his life
and death. xii. 141
Philosophers.
The heathen philosophers looked on the Christian re
ligion as opposed to human reason. ... j. 13
Pilate.
By his carelessness was guilty of all the cruelty prac
tised on Christ. xi. Ill
He consented to the death of Christ, although he knew
Him to be innocent. xi. 116
He is the chief murderer of Christ, and is guilty of
shedding His blood. xi. ISO
death. .. xi. 462
. ...
The piety of others will not help us unless we imitate
-
508 General Index of the Subjects
Pious, Piety. V01' PiGE
Brings every blessing and grace. .... i. 353
T° hSVexiived Piouslv brillgs happiness in the hour of
xi.
It is a wonderful thing to live piously among the
wicked. . . xii 256
The pious can rejoice at being on the right road to
heaven. x 297
They need not fear the devil on that road. - - x. 312
They need not fear the judgment of God. - - x! 390
Hope of salvation of the pious, although they may have
formerly committed many grievous sins. - x. 376
Hope of salvation of the pious, although there are but
few chosen. -----._ x. 402
Comfort of the pious in not knowing anything of their
predestination. _ . x 4^9
The pious generally die a joyous death. - - - xi! 455
& xii. 359
Plague.
Is one of the worst evils with which God punishes the
world. xii 265
St. Sebastian is a powerful protector against it. - - xii. 267
Poor, Poverty.
They who become poor through their own fault may
thank themselves for their misfortunes. - i. 449
Comfort for those who have become poor by divine
decree. - ... ^ 450
All the poor, no matter who they are, are worthy of
help, because they represent the person of Christ. ii. 304
Even impudent, deceitful, ungrateful, and wicked beg
gars deserve our help. ii. 393
The decent poor are in greater need than others, there
fore they are especially worthy of help. - - ii. 313
He who persecutes and oppresses the poor must expect
severe punishment. - - - ii. 325
Advice and consolation for the poor. - ii. 328, 346
How happy the poor are if they are content with God. ii. ' 332
They live in repose and peace 'of heart. - - ii. 335
They live more comfortably, eat, drink, and sleep bet
ter than the rich. ... ii. 339
They are more like to Christ. .... ii'. 340
Therefore many choose voluntary poverty. - - ii. 341
The poor who are content with God are more certain
of their salvation than the rich. ... ii. 342
The poor can be avaricious. - - ... H[t J23
It is not allowed to give the goods of others to the poor
if one knows the rightful owner. . iii. 159
Comfort for the poor and industrious. . vi.' 18
Poverty of Spirit.
Should be united with the care of temporal wealth. - i. 346
Treated in the Whole Work.
Prayer.
The gift of prayer is a great grace of God.
Contradictions help us to this, and are the best teachers
of prayer.
Prayer should be humble.
Should be fervent.
Fervent prayer is a means of preserving purity.
Prayer directed to the Mother of God is very powerful.
The best prayer is that of many assembled together. -
Prayer is false and useless when one does not really
wish for that for which he prays ; such, however,
is the prayer of most men.
God is dishonored thereby.
Prayer is necessary for the conversion of the sinner. -
Is for all a necessary means of avoiding sin.
God allows us to be in the danger of sin that we may
learn to pray.
Without prayer God will not give us His grace.
Prayer is a necessary means of dying a happy death.
No one can complain that the grace of God is wanting
to him, since all can pray.
I To who does not pray is in a very miserable state.
The prayer of the just has the greatest power. - -
Especially powerful is the united prayer of many.
Prayer of him who is in the state of sin has no effect.
The prayer of the just in time of public calamities is
of no use unless the wicked are converted. - -
In public calamities prayer without penance is fruitless.
The nature of prayer.
The prayer of the sinner who refuses to be converted
is not as it should be.
Prayer without repentance embitters the anger of God.
Necessity of prayer.
When praying to God we should ask for great goods.
First for heavenly, then for earthly things.
Prayer should be humble.
And fervent.
It always brings profit.
We can and should pray always.
Prayer should be confident.
God cannot refuse confident prayer. - ...
We do not always know what we pray for.
God often shows us His favor by not hearing our pray
ers. --------
Preachers.
Should be careful when speaking of impurity.
Generally speaking, they can do little against the vices
of the age.
Predestination.
We should not trouble ourselves excessively about it.
But seek to make our salvation certain by a diligent
use of grace.
VOL.
111.
iii.
v.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
vi.
viii.
vii.
vii.
vii.
vii.
vii.
vii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
IV.
vi.
xii.
xii.
458,
509
PAGE
457
462
462
464
309
311
474
502
513
249
249
252
253
256
256
263
421
429
430
444
453
455
456
459
173
509
515
521
527
535
544
8
14
24
28
446
441
202
209
5 io General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PACK
Presence of God.
We should often remember it. vii. 245
How we may always keep in the presence of God. vii. 255
This constant remembrance tends to make us zealous
in the divine service. vii. 261
Brings men to heaven. vii. 265
Gives comfort in the trials of soul and body. vii. 273
Pride.
Pride is less to be excused in a Christian than in a
Jew or heathen. i. 86
The proud man does not obtain what he desires either
from God or man. iii. 39
The contrary almost always falls to his lot. iii. 44
Of all vices there is none more intolerable to God than
pride. iii. 48
The proud man robs God of His honor. iii. 49
From pride come many sins. iii. 50
The proud man is a fool. iii. 53
Foolish to be proud on account of one's riches. iii. 59
Or on account of noble birth, or great knowledge or
sTdll. iii. 60
Or even on account of success in business. iii. 62
Or on account of personal beauty. iii. 63
Or even on account of one's good works. iii. 64
It is hard to distinguish between pride and humility. iii. 69
Marks of a proud man. iii. 71
Put to shame by the humility of Christ in His birth. - xi. 35
The proud must fear that they will have no part with
Christ in heaven. xi. 36
Priests.
Should be held in great honor. ii. 184
Are raised by God to a great dignity. ii. 185
Have the most excellent office to fill. - - ii. 187
Represent the Person of Jesus Christ. ii. 189
Even crowned heads have bowed down before them. ii. 193
Even wicked priests should be held in honor. - - ii. 193
Promises.
What to think of the promises held forth by some pray
er-books to those who say certain prayers. iii. 419
Property.
The property of others brings neither grace nor bless
ing, iii. 151
Prosperity.
In time of prosperity most men forget their God. - vi. 471
It is a rare and difficult virtue to love God in temporal
prosperity. - .viii. 361
God has decreed that, generally speaking, the wicked
should live in prosperity, and the pious in adver
sity ; but that lasts but a short time. - - ix. 259,267
Treated in the Whole Work.
Providence of Gk>d.
Rules the world. - -
Has appointed a state of life for each one.
Folly of those who complain of this providence.
The most wise providence of God in arranging differ
ent states.
We must admire and praise it.
Resignation to providence for people of all states in
general and particular.
Happy he who confidently resigns himself to the care
of Providence. --_..._
Purgatory.
It is a work of the greatest charity to help the souls in
purgatory.
They are in great straits.
Sigh and long unceasingly for deliverance.
Wonderful love of holy Christians for them.
All the torments of this world are nothing compared
to the pains of purgatory.
The souls in purgatory are in great need, therefore we
should help them.
Generosity to them brings great profit.
It is an effect of the love of God.
How we may help the poor souls.
Wonderful gratitude of those souls to their benefac
tors.
We all have reason to dread a severe purgatory.
Therefore we should help the poor souls. -
Purpose.
Of what nature should be the purpose of amendment
before confession.
It must be heartfelt.
Many have not an earnest purpose. -
Many have only a half-hearted purpose.
— R.—
Kelapse.
Into sin is abominable. ___...
Shows gross ingratitude.
Is coupled with the danger of damnation.
When one relapses easily into his former sins it is a
sign that his repentance was not sincere.
Religion.
When we consider all the circumstances, the spread of
the Christian religion throughout the world is the
greatest wonder. -
This religion alone comes from God, and is the only
true one.
The Catholic religion is the holiest of all.
VOL.
PAGE
ii. 351
ii 354
ii. 357, 373
ii. 363
ii. 368
373
402
159
160
163
165
75
262
268
273
277
284
211
219
331
332
333
340
148
151
156, 201
&404
163
11
20
Vlll.
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
ix.
ix.
VI.
vi.
vi.
vi.
i.
iii.
5 1 2 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
It had a most holy founder. iii. 8
Prescribes the holiest laws. - iii. 10
From its holiness its truth is known. - ... iii. 4
It is the only religion in which salvation can be
found. iii. 15
Will only tend to the deeper damnation of the wicked
Christian. iii. 15
Religious State.
How happy it is. i. 262
According to the judgment of the world it is not
happy. i. 263
It might be compared with the happiness of heaven. i. 264
Everything in it tends to make one remember and
know God. i. 265
There you will most surely find a perfect love of God. i. 266
In the religious state the soul tastes an undisturbed
peace in God. i. 268
What moral lesson we are to draw from this. - i. 270
How great the grace of vocation to this state. - i. 274
It has every sign of predestination. i. 275
The life of a religious is esteemed a martyrdom. i. 276
A religious suffers this martyrdom with joy. - i. 279
Religious vocation is a sure sign of predestination. - i. 283
Happy they who are called to it. i. 283
What parents, children, and other Christians should
learn from this. ------ i. 284
Repentance.
He who defers it acts very unjustly towards God. - v. 35
He places himself in the danger of losing his soul. - v. 48
Future repentance is treacherous. v. 49
Repentance, when deferred, always becomes more dif
ficult, v. 52
Until at last it never takes place. - v. 55
The sinner should at once earnestly repent on account
of the goodness of God. v. 154
How easy it is to obtain forgiveness by repentance. - v. 167
The vain hope of those who defer repentance to the
last moment. ix. 132
Such repentance is generally false. ix. 148
The repentance of many who go to confession is false
on account of a faulty examen of conscience, or a
want of candor in declaring their sins. xi. 303
On account of a want of true sorrow. - xi. 305
Therefore we must not trust too much to the repentance
of the dying. - - xi. 305
Still less to that of those who confess only at Easter. xi. 306
The best proof of repentance is the avoiding the oc
casion of sin. - xi. 308
Many saints have done severe penance. - xii. 18
Even the innocent should do penance in order to pre
serve their innocence. xii. 29
Treated in the Whole Work. 5 1 3
The repentance of St. Peter for denying Christ lasted ?AGE
the whole of the remainder of his life. - . xii 64
We resemble him in sinning, but not in repenting, - xii
Repentance should not be deferred. - ' . x^' 133
Reserve.
A means of preserving purity. - - . . j 30g
Respect, Human.
On account of it nowadays much good is omitted and
much evil done. - xj -j^g
Restitution.
Of another's property is very hard. ... jj^ -j^g
Especially for the unjust man on his death-bed. - iii 119
When possible it is necessary for salvation, nor is any
excuse for not making it available. - iii. 140
Parents damn themselves and their children if they
do not make restitution. - iii. 150
To whom, what, and when restitution should be made,
and who should make it. iii. 154
How foolish they act who defer restitution. - - iii. 166
Resurrection.
We shall all rise again from the dead. ix. 222
The resurrection should make all difficulties easy for
us. - ix. 234
This resurrection is proved by the prosperity of the
wicked and the trials of the just. ix. 246
Resurrection of Christ.
Is the foundation of our faith. xi. 276
Triumph of Christ in His resurrection. xi. 288
In it He conquered the rage of hell. - ... xi. 289
The envious world. - xi. 295
It is a symbol of our resurrection from the grave of sin. xi. 300
And is not verified in the case of many who go to con
fession, xi. 303
The proof of such a resurrection is the avoiding the
occasions of sin. xi. 308
Revenge.
St. Stephen did not take revenge on his enemies, al
though he might have done so. xii.
We seek revenge in all kinds of ways, although God
has forbidden it. xii.
Reverence.
Should be shown by children to their parents.
Of the angels to the Blessed Sacrament. iii. 457
Of pious Christians, and even great monarchs, to the
same holy Sacrament. - 458
Nay, even of unreasoning beasts. - - iii. 459
514 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
Rich.
The rich spend their money on unnecessary things, and
forget the poor. ii. 155, 200
Kindness of God to the rich. ii. 250
Wo is threatened to the rich. ii. 251
Riches may be used for evil as well as for good. ii. 252
They serve for the welfare of the body and the soul. ii. 254
The rich can save themselves from all spiritual anxiety. ii. 257
They should therefore be grateful to God. ii. 261
Most rich people are the most ungrateful to God. - ii. 262
They are bound under sin to help the poor. ii. 274
What alms one is bound to give. ii. 286
Vain excuse of the rich, saying they can give little or
no alms. ii. 289
They must expect severe punishment if by their extrav
agance they leave themselves unable to help the
poor. ii. 324
Still more severe if they oppress and persecute the poor. ii. 32G
The rich generally live an uneasy life. ii. 336
It is hard for them to enter heaven. ii. 341
They are fools if they are proud. iii. 59
They should give alms of their wealth, and thus amass
treasure in heaven. - ..... xii. 181
They should detach their hearts from worldly goods
and turn them to God. xii. 182
Sacrament, Blessed.
Irreverence towards it comes from a want of faith. - iii. 450
What reverence the angels have for it. - iii. 457
And pious Christians, and even great potentates. • - iii. 458
Nay, even unreasoning animals. iii. 459
It should be held in the highest honor. - vii. 305
It is a great mystery. vii. 306
In it Christ shows us the greatest love. vii. 309
We should accompany.it publicly when it is borne to
the sick. - vii. 322
In it Christ shows an astonishing patience, and there
fore an astonishing love for us. xi. 338
In it the death of Christ is constantly renewed. - - xi. 341
In it He bears with countless insults from unbelieving
heretics. xi. 342
And even from Catholics. xi. 344
We should have all possible love and devotion for
Christ in this mystery. xi. 347
Saints.
The intercession of the saints will not help us if we
do not repent of our sins. vi. 521
He who has lived a saintly life up to the present may
easily become changed. - - vi. 527
The saints are now our best friends and advocates
with God. xii. 420
But they will be our judges, and condemn us, if we do
not live holily, like them. xii. 420
Treated in the Whole Work. 5 1 5
VOL. PAGE
Their lives will upbraid the wicked, so that the latter
will have no excuse. ----__ xij. 423
Their holiness will prove that the wicked might have
lived holily, for the saints had the same nature and
weakness, and lived in the same states of life, and
in the same dangers. - xii. 424
Salvation.
We men are blind and stupid in things that concern
our salvation. iv. 59
Scandal.
The scandal given by a Christian by indecency in dress
is less to be excused than if it were given by a
Jew or heathen. i. 90
Scandal-giving is a diabolical vice, and he who gives
scandal is an agent of the devil. iv. 280
Scandal may be given in many ways. iv. 285
Wo to him by whom scandal comes. iv. 291, 303
In what it consists. - - iv. 293
He who gives scandal strives against Christ and the
holy angels for the ruin of souls. iv. 295
He is worse and more to be feared than the devil. iv. 296
He spreads sins and vices abroad. - iv. 298
Warning to those who give scandal. iv. 304
How to guard against scandal-givers. - iv. 305
He who gives scandal is ungrateful to the holy angels. iv. 40
How wicked it is to give scandal. - vi. 367
Season.
We should leave the fruitfulness of the seasons to the
providence of God, since we do not understand it. vi. 434
Sebastian, St., Martyr.
Is a powerful helper, especially in time of war. - - vi. 519
Is a wonderful physician against all diseases. xii. 255
Should therefore be devoutly honored. xii. 262
He lived holily in a wicked, heathen court. - xii. 264
His intercession is very powerful with God against the
plague. xii. 267
Secrets.
He who reveals secrets acts very wickedly. iv. 451
Secrets are a man's own property. iv. 451
God alone has reserved to Himself the right to examine
into them. iv. 453
He who is obliged to silence by his office does great
mischief by revealing secrets. - - - iv. 456
A man who does that is most despicable, and is put to
shame by women. ... - iv. 460
Sermons.
The frequent hearing of sermons is for most Christians
necessary to salvation. - i. 96
5-6
General Index of the Subjects
Very useful for those who are in sin.
And for the just as well.
They who seldom hear sermons are in a deplorable
state.
And will have to render a strict account.
How one should go to the sermon. -
For this is required a well-prepared heart.
In what this preparation consists.
To come too late to the sermon is an irreverence to
God.
An ingratitude to God.
A want of love of God.
They who come too late derive little or no profit.
How to hear sermons.
God speaks to us in sermons, and about most important
things.
Therefore we owe Him constant attention.
We should hear the sermon for our own profit.
What to do after the sermon.
We should take to heart what we have heard, and set
about doing it at once. -
The truths we learn in sermons and do not observe draw
down reprobation from God in this life.
And subject us to a stricter account in judgment.
And to a deeper damnation in eternity.
The sinner should be diligent in hearing sermons in
order to be moved to do penance.
The devil tries to hinder sinners from this. -
Sinners hate sermons.
Frequent hearing of the word of God. See Word of
God.
Servants.
How they are bound to serve their masters.
In what their fidelity consists. -----
In how many ways they may sin against it.
They must obey their masters.
Many sin against this obedience.
They should obey with patience.
They should leave the house in which there is the
proximate occasion of sin.
Service of God.
In what it consists.
It consists in doing the will of God.
And is attended to by all who do the duties of their
state.
To omit duties and do better things that are not re
quired is not to serve God.
A joyful and confident service is the most agreeable of
all to God, and is a sign of predestination. - -
Shrove-Tide.
Belongs to God, and should in all reason be more sanc
tified to Him than other seasons. • -
VOL.
i.
i.
11.
ii.
ii.
ii.
ii.
ii.
PI.OI
101
104
105
106
108
111
111
113
115
115
116
119
121
122
127
132
133
139
142
143
7
14
106
209
210
211
215
217
222
373
384
384
ii. 386
ii. 387
x. 490, 496
iv.
171
Treated in the Whole Work.
517
The heathens devoted these days to the devil; there
fore Christians should do the contrary.
The Catholic Church cannot tolerate the Shrove-Tide
orgies.
In this time no one is allowed to sin.
During those days Christ has much to suffer; there
fore pious Christians should show Him all the
more love.
During this time most men take sides with the devil.
Pious Christians should be faithful to Christ, even dur
ing Shrove-Tide.
How disgraceful during those days to leave the service
of God.
Shrove-Tide orgies are not at all allowed.
They are indecent, and not fit for a Christian.
Heathens and Turks are not worse than many Chris
tians on such occasions.
The latter give scandal in that way.
Shrove-Tide orgies bring on uneasiness of conscience.
During this time things that are wrong are ' no more
allowed than at any other time.
Sickness.
Is a general punishment.
Simeon, St., Confessor of Treves.
Always led a holy life, and therefore could await death
with joy.
Simon and Jude, SS., Apostles.
Were both true Christians, that is, firm, and, at the
same time, meek zelators of the honor of God and
the salvation of souls.
Sin.
There is no sin that somewhere or other is not looked
on as small.
The sins of Christians are greater and more inexcus
able than those of Jews or heathens.
Means of avoiding the danger of sin.
Past sins may be made the occasion of greater glory
in heaven.
The malice of sin consists in this, that it turns the
heart of man away from the Creator to creatures.
It loses all shame on account of scandal given.
By sin a man brings great shame on himself.
It is the greatest evil.
It is a most dangerous illness.
Venial sin is worse than all natural evils.
Is severely punished by God.
It drives God out of the heart and the conscience.
Venial sin should be more hated and shunned than
any natural evil.
It should not be committed because it is small. -
Vol.
iv.
xii.
xn.
in.
iv.
iv.
v.
v.
vi.
vi.
viii.
vii.
vii.
PAGK
173
174
175
179
187
190
191
193
197
201
202
205
445
474
357
183
442
85
400
429
198
299
478
214
215
88
90
468
107
116
5 1 8 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGK
He who thinks little of it does not love God. - - vii. 125
It gradually separates God from the human soul. vii. 134
It gradually separates the soul from God. vii. 135
The saints did severe penance on account of their ven
ial sins. vii. 140
To sin on account of the mercy of God is a sign of
reprobation. x. 282
Sin is the worst of all imaginable evils. xi. 380
Yet is often so wantonly committed for the sake of a
miserable pleasure. xi. 380
The wickedness of sin appears from the passion and
death of Christ. xi. 96
Sinners are the first and chief cause of shedding the
blood of Christ. - xi. 146
State of Sin.
In this state no good works are of any avail for merit. v. 21
Yet they should not be omitted on that account. - v. 31
Sinner.
Most useful for the sinner to hear sermons often. - i. 101
Sinners should not refuse the proffered grace of con
version, iv. 104
How the sinner becomes hardened. iv. 138
Many hardened sinners are converted by hearing ser
mons. - iv. 142
They who boast of their sins are the most shameless
sinners. iv. 475
They make their own disgrace public. iv. 478
They are in a desperate state. iv. 485
They do not acknowledge the malice of their sins. - iv. 487
They do not repent of them, and will with difficulty
repent. iv. 489
They are guilty of treason to the divine majesty, and
are in open rebellion. iv. 491
Therefore with difficulty shall they find grace from God. iv. 493
Presumption of the sinner who despises his Lord and
God. ------ iv. 495
He entices others to forget God. ----- iv. 502
All creatures are ready to take vengeance on the sinner. iv. 504
From this appears the terrible malice of sin. iv. 504
Which is justly punished in hell forever. - - - iv. 505
It is hateful to God. v. 24
It is senseless. - - - .... v. 33, 81
& 247
How unjustly he acts towards God who defers repent
ance, v. 35
Deceitful hopes of the sinner who defers repentance.
See Repentance.
Uneasiness and anguish of the sinner. See Conscience.
How he seeks to deceive himself to keep his conscience
quiet. v. 88
Gross ignorance of the sinner. See Ignorance.
The sinner avoids sermons, lest they should disturb him. v. 105
Blindness of the sinner. ........ v. 128
Treated in the Whole Work. 5 1 9
VOL. PAGE
Obstinacy of the sinner. v. 129
[t is the most terrible punishment. - v. 135
All creatures are ready to take vengeance on the sinner. v. 147
Presumption of the sinner. v. 164
Misfortune of the sinner when he is not chastised. - v. 182
The sinner acts like a despairing man when he puts
off repentance. v. 209
He should fly to Mary for refuge. - ... v. 186
He should beg of God the grace of conversion. - - v. 249
He offends God, his heavenly Father. - v. 318
In the commission of sin consists its shame. v. 424
He has to expect severe punishment in this life or in
the next. vi. 74, 95
He is in an unhappy state. vi. 103
Presumption of the sinner who sins before the eye of
God. - ... - vi. 275
He is a slave of the devil. vi. 373
Has bartered all the treasures of his soul. ... vi. 375
He acts wickedly when he refuses the grace of con
version. -..._-.. vi. 385
One sinner may bring down general chastisements. - vi. 388
The sinner should not defer repentance. vi. 393
He is dead before the Lord. vi. 530
He is in danger of eternal death. ----- vi. 533
He should do penance. See Penance.
God tries to convert the sinner. vi. 355
He is presumptuous, because he offends the Alimighty
God. - - vii. 55
He acts disgracefully towards God, his sovereign bene
factor, vii. 463, 473
He can find no consolation. - - xi.
Only in the recollection of the passion of Christ can he
find the hope of being forgiven. xi. 239
He should be moved to repentance by the 'considera
tion of the love shown him by Christ in the pas
sion. xi. 247
And also by the fear of the strict justice of God. xi. 248
He should not despair, no matter how great a sinner
he may be, but trust in the blood of Christ. xi.
Blindness of the sinner, who for a trifling pleasure, and
to his own great loss, consents to sin. xi.
He crucifies Christ, his sovereign benefactor and friend. xi.
He renews the sufferings of Our Lord. xi. 206
Wo to him if the meditation of the passion of Christ
does not move him to repent. xi. 151
The presumption of the impenitent sinner appears from
the passion of Our Lord.
No sinner is so bad that he may not be converted. - xii. 328
They who have been sinners should not be downcast
when they remember their former sins. - - xii.
Slavery.
Is disgraceful to a man. iv-
The most shameful slavery is that which leads a man
to do evil and omit good through human respect. iv. 227
52O General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGI
Sloth in the Diyine Seryice.
Is very displeasing to God. ----- iii. 367
The slothful render God a false service. - - - iii. 373
They do not act honestly with God, and therefore do
not please Him. iii. 374
They love God only with the lips. iii. 377
They cannot have true peace of conscience. iii. 378
Small Faults.
Should be carefully avoided, because they easily lead
to great ones. ------- xii. 215
Small Things.
Eternal ruin may be the result of contemning small
things in the divine service. - vii. 214
Sorrow.
Vain and unnecessary sorrow of married people. - i. 431
How manifold it is. i. 432
Many are sorry for things that do not concern them. - i. 433
Through a mere effect of the imagination. - i. 436
Others are sorry when they have reason rather to re
joice. - i. 438
Soul.
Is a most precious image, whose artist is the Almighty
God. i. 213
Is made most carefully to the image of God. - - i. 214
Is held in the highest esteem by God. - i. 214
And even by the devil. i. 216
Holy servants of God are ready to give their lives to
save even one soul. - - - - - - i. 216
Yet most people think nothing of it. i. 217
Generally speaking, the body is better looked after
than the soul. i. 218
It is bartered for a wretched price. i. 219
Blindness of men in thinking so little of the soul. - i. 220
We have only one soul ; therefore we should guard it
with the greatest care. i. 223
With this one soul many act as if they had a thousand
to dispose of. i. 227
Many sacrifice their souls to the devil, nay, help him
to ruin the souls of others. i. 230
Prayer to God to keep our souls. - i. 234
The soul loves its body. i. 377
It cost the Son of God much trouble to redeem souls. iv. 282
Soul's Salvation.
Is the only necessary business of the Christian. - i. 63
All other things must give way to this. ... i. 60
Ali depends on it. i.
If it is once neglected the loss is irreparable. - i. 68
Yet it is most frequently neglected. L 69
Treated in the Whole Work. 5 2 1
VOL. PAGE
They who help to the salvation of others are men of
God. iv. 280
Spirit of God.
Many are not enlightened by the Spirit of God because
they do not wish to have His light. iv. 50
State.
The choice of a state is a very important business; for,
generally speaking, salvation or reprobation de
pends on it. i. 236
Should not be made without deliberation. i. 287
No man can give certain advice on this matter ; God
alone can. i. 238
Not to follow the advice of God in this is to run the
risk of damnation. i. 239
Many children take the first state that offers, without
thought. 241
They seek advice, but not from God. i. 243
Many parents fix on a state for their children accord
ing to their own whims.
They thus sin against God and against their children.
HOWT to act in the actual choice of a state. 250
A certain state is the means to our last end. i. 251
Therefore each one should consider what state is the
best for him to secure his last end.
And whether he has the abilities necessary for that state. i.
In this many children and parents do wrong, to their
own great detriment. i- 254
We should consider whether the state is in conformity
with the will of God. i- 256
The furtherance of our salvation consists in conform
ity with the will of God.
How to find out the will of God in this matter. i. 257
Young people should be careful not to risk their sal
vation by entering on a state without or against
the will of God. 259
Advice for those who have chosen a state, either with
out seeking advice from God, or without being
called to it by God.
In every state there are temptations and dangers. i. 301, 3
& ii. 3l)o
God has appointed a state for each one, therefore each
one should be content in his state.
Folly of those who complain on this head, yet there
are many such. "• 357, 3J3
ofc ooU
God has appointed the different states with a view-
to the welfare of each individual and of all in
general. - il-
This difference of states is necessary for the preserva
tion of the world.
No state is better for salvation than that in which one
is by divine decree. ^7°
522 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
No one could serve God better in another state than
that allotted him. ii. 380
In any other he would not at all serve God. ii. 383
How each one is to serve God according to his state. ii. 390
Every one should be content with his state, even with
its spiritual dangers. ii. 391
Unjustly does a man blame his state for his sins. ii. 394
In any other state he would sin worse in far less dan
gers, ii. 3U>
How each one is to spend the present day in his state. ii. 498
Stephen, St.
After his example we should love our enemies and re
turn good for evil. xii. 220
Subjects.
Duties of subjects to their spiritual and temporal
superiors. ii. 170
God punishes disobedience and disrespect to superiors. ii. 180
Sundays and Holy-Days.
God wishes them to be altogether sanctified. - - iii. 491
How they are to be sanctified. iii. 49;j
These days are profaned in all sorts of ways. iii. 494
How unjust that is to God and the soul. iii. 499
Punishment of those who work on these days. - - iii. (,00
Much greater punishment do they deserve who sin on
these days. iii. 501
Superiors.
It is necessary for the general welfare that there should
be superiors. ii. 172
They have their power from God. ii. 175
They rule in the place of God. ii. 176
Must be held in honor, no matter what sort they are. ii. 177
They are bound to look after the faults of their sub
jects, iv. 344
Superstition.
What it is. iii. 398
It is a common sin. - iii. 399
Consists of different vain observations. iii. 400
Of supeistitious belief in dreams. iii. 402
Of observing the hour of one's nativity. iii. 404
Of superstitious means of recovering lost property, or
increasing what one has. - iii. 405
Of finding hidden treasure. iii. 406
Of healing illnesses. iii. 407
Every superstition is an abominable sin, because by it
the name of the devil is invoked. iii. 408
How superstition is carried on by means of prayers,
devotions, and holy things, and from what we
may know that devotions are superstitious. iii. 411
Treated in the Whole Work. 523
VOL. PAG*
How foolish to expect help from the devil by means of
superstitious practices. iii. 421
— T.—
Tale-bearing.
Is a grievous and mischievous sin. - iv. 318, 454
Temple.
What great expense was incurred in building the tem
ple of Jerusalem. iii. 464
Temporal Cares.
Shut out the divine light from the heart. iv. 147
Temperance.
In eating and drinking is meritorious. ... iii. 257
Every one should be temperate. iii. 258
Temptation.
All men must suffer temptation. i. 301
Means against temptation. i. 306
In temptations we should remember the presence of
God. ... - vii. 274
Thanks.
The penitent sinner owes God thanks for his conver
sion, vi. 102
Thanksgiving.
Should be offered for benefits received. ... ii. 481
Thieves.
There are many kinds of thieves in the world. - - iii. 126
Small thieves generally make restitution, but not
great ones. iii- 155
Thomas, St., Apostle.
Did not deny the resurrection of Christ, but believed
in it firmly. xii. 119
He only refused to believe that Christ had really ap
peared to the disciples. xii. 123
He should not be condemned for obstinacy or presump
tion on that account. xii. 124
And even if in the beginning he did not believe the
resurrection of Christ, he was afterwards the most
zealous in his faith in it. xii. 127
Thoughts.
One commits more grievous sins by bad thoughts than
by works. vi.
The dying are plagued by bad thoughts. vi. 225
524 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PA<;K
When these thoughts are sinful. .... yj^ 22"
How to keep the heart from them. .... vi! 23x!
Time.
How to redeem lost time in old age. ... i^ 4^3
In a short time a zealous man may merit more than
another in a long time. - ii. 433
Present and future time should be well looked after. ii. 432
Value of time. . _ . jj' 434
Time is squandered, especially in youth, in idleness,
wickedness, and frivolity. - ii. 433
At no time is it allowed to sin. - ...
Time of need is the right time to show friendship and
love. jv 178
What a precious good time is, and how it should be
spent by each one. viii 475
Pain of the dying caused by time lost in idleness. - ix. 121
Tobias.
How he instructed his son. - ii. 37
Tongue.
There are many kinds of bad tongues in the world. - iv. 308
We should guard our tongues carefully. - iv. 321
Torments.
The martyrs found joy in their torments. - - i. 280
TRAINING OF CHILDREN. See Parents.
Treves.
Has reason to rejoice at the birth of Mary, the Mother
of God xi> 88S
Has received great benefits from her. xi. 46 *j
The people of Treves are children of the saints ; a great
honor for them. ... xjj 3^3
They should honor their holy ancestors. - xii. 280
A shame for them if they do not imitate their ances
tors, and if they live wickedly in the land of
saints. _ xii ^Sii
They have gained the greatest renown before Heaven
through their holy ancestors and martyrs. - - xii. 2', 2
And great honor on earth. - xii! 2! 7
Therefore they owe them honor and devotion. - - xii! 2i>!)
Trials.
In general as well as in private trials we learn to pray. i. 450
We should thank God for trials as for a great benefit. i. 40 7
They detach the heart of man from worldly goods and
creatures. - . . _ yjjj^ gjg
They draw the heart to the love of God. - - - viii. 331
Patience in trials brings the servants of God supernat
ural joy. viii. 336
And true natural peace of mind. .... viii. 343
TreaLd in the Whole Work.
VOL. * PAGK
Thereby God is especially honored. - - yiii. 349
Therein consists true virtue. - viii 351
A good conscience gives comfort in trials. - - viii. 392
— U.—
Understanding.
No one should be proud on account of a good under
standing. - i£ 6i
Unity.
Unity is the foundation of great happiness. - i. 355
Unmarried State.
How happy it is. ... i. 290
Not all unmarried people belong to this state. - - i. 290
Who belong to it ? ....... i. 292
Praise of this state. ... i. 292
Dangers and graces of it. - - i. 300
The unmarried suffer temptations from the devil, the
world, and the flesh. ... i, 302
They are protected by Christ. i. 304
Means for the unmarried to preserve purity. - - i. 306
Yainglory.
Brought many so far that they strove for divine hon
ors. ...... i. 34
It takes the merit from our good works. ... vii. 185
What it is, and how we seek it. ... vii. 187
Marks of vainglory. - - vii. 200
Means against vainglory. .... . vii. 208
Vanity.
The vanity of worldly goods shows itself properly in
death. - xi. 157
Viaticum.
Should be administered to the sick in time. ix. 96
Yices.
Generally decrease with age. - iii. 112
Yindictiyeness.
In a Christian is less to be excused than in a Jew or
heathen. ........ i. 88
Dishonors God and man. iii. 335
The meek man who does not seek revenge gains hon
or from all. iii. 239
He who seeks revenge acts against all right, human
and divine. ....... iii. 351
526 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAOI
Virgins.
Have God as their spouse. - i. 295
Folly of those who lose their virginity in youth. - i. 297
What a great treasure they have lost. ... i. 298
Means of preserving it. i] 390
Virtue.
Is tried in the society of the wicked. - - - vi. 343
VOCATION TO THE TRUE FAITH. See Faith.
VOCATION TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. See Religious
State.
— W.—
Want
General want may be inflicted on a country on ac
count of one sinner. ---... vj ggg
The proper cause of such want are the vices of the people. vi. 440, 485
In time of want we cannot do without penance. - - vi. ' 444
He who is not converted in such a time incurs a curse. vi." 450
Prayer without penance is useless in time of want. - vi.
It is a paternal punishment to make us amend. - - vi. 4 0
It forces us to acknowledge God, and to beg His help. vi. 469
God threatens us with that scourge in order to warn us. vi. 478
If we will not amend He will punish us still more se
verely. . vi> 480
We must humbly acknowledge that we deserve that
chastisement. vi. 49-
When things are at their worst we should have all the
more confidence in God. - vi. 503
War.
Is the worst of all temporal chastisements. - - vi. 412
Is ordained by God on account of sinners. ... vi. 414 485
How to avert it. vi! ' 482
Wives.
Are in danger of being perverted by their husbands. i 344
Many have just reason to complain of their husbands. i! 333
How they are to act when their husbands give occa
sion to disunion. - .... . ^ gg^
Duties of wives to their husbands. .... ^ 397
They must be obedient to their husbands. . . i. 399
In what and how they are to obey. - ^ 40 ^
Thus they will rule their husbands. - ... j. 493
They must be faithful in their housekeeping. - i* 403
They must love their husbands constantly. - £ 493
Many do quite the contrary. - - ... ^ 495
How they are to act when their husbands give occa
sion for jealousy. j 4^4
A drunken wife is a shameful sight. - - - iii 304
How wives are to act when their husbands are drunk
ards. - - - iii. el?
Treated in the Whole Work.
Many put their husbands to shame as far as holding
their tongues is concerned.
Will of God.
The state I choose must be in accordance with the will
of God. -
The merit of a good work consists in its accordance
with the will of God.
Way and means of knowing the will of God.
It is dangerous not to fulfil the known will of God
even in the least thing.
Conformity with the will of God gives God the great
est honor.
With every right does God require that conformity of
us.
By conformity with the will of God we have a sure
pledge that things shall go well with us.
And thereby, too, all pains in trials will be lessened.
This conformity makes us bear all contradictions with
patience.
And accept them with joy.
He who is completely in conformity with the will of
God is the happiest man on earth. -
And stands high in favor with God.
It is not against God's will-to make use of natural means
to free ourselves from troubles.
How to resign one's self daily to the will of God.
Means of obtaining conformity with the will of God.
It should be learned in youth in order to be practised
perfectly.
Words of Christ.
Different interpretations of the last words with which
Our Lord gave up the ghost.
They were directed to us men, especially to sinners. -
Word of God.
Many neglect or misuse the word of God heard in ser
mons. -
Others receive it, but not in everything.
Those whose souls are in a bad or dangerous state are
wont to hear the word of God seldom or never. -
But for that reason they should hear it diligently.
Vain worldlings seldom hear the word of God.
They are in a dangerous state.
They, too, who are pious according to their own fancies
seldom hear the word of God.
No work of devotion should prevent us from hearing
the word of God.
Those who are too busied with temporal things seldom
hear the word of God.
They who hear the word of God with distractions de
rive no profit.
But give joy to the devil, who tries to distract people
during*sermons.
VOL.
iv.
Vll.
viii.
viii
viii.
viii.
viii.
viii.
XI.
xi.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
527
PAGE
460
256
256
257
223
94
107
119
127
133
139
155
160
166
169
175
177
190
191
65
67
107
110
111
112
113
114
118
122
124
528 General Index of the Subjects
VOL. PAGE
They who hear the word of God out of curiosity derive
no profit. iv. 125
>7or do they who immediately forget what they have
heard. - iv. 128
How to remember the truth preached. iv. 130
Many sinners are quite hard-hearted while hearing the
word of God. iv. 134
The word of God is powerful against all sins and vices. iv. 135
But can do nothing with a hard heart. iv. 136
Many allow themselves to be moved in one thing or
the other, but not in all. iv. 140
Such people should be diligent in hearing sermons, and
then they would not fail to be moved at last. - iv. 142
Many hardened sinners have been converted by the
word of God. iv. 142
All the good done by a sermon must come from God. iv. 147
Temporal cares hinder the fruit of sermons. iv. 148
Impure love interferes with the fruit of sermons. - - iv. 150
They who do not fulfil what they hear in sermons bring
on themselves a deeper damnation. iv. 155
How to distinguish between real and false hearers of
the word of God. iv. 159
In sermons we learn the knowledge of things condu
cive to our salvation. - iv. 1G3
And are strengthened in virtue. iv. 104
And purified. iv. 105
Hearing the word of God is comforting. - iv. 106
There are few good hearers. iv. 167
How wicked to keep others from hearing the word of
God. iv. 107
The hearing of it is necessary for the sinner to bring
him to conversion. v. 7
It is the usual means of converting the sinner. - v. 11
Without the word of God he can hardly be converted. v. 14
The neglect of it is a punishment and a sign of repro
bation. .-....-. v. 17
Works.
The accumulation of many works, even if they are
good in themselves, may be sinful. ii. 238
The perfection of good works consists in their merit,
and not in their duration. ii. 427
The good works of the just are precious in the sight of
God. --- v. 26
Works done in the state of sin have no merit. - - v. 21
Need not be mentioned in confession. v. 399
He who wishes to be pious must diligently perform
the daily duties of his state. vii. 152
Our daily duties should be performed in an orderly
manner. vii. 160
And with due zeal. vii. 165
Especially with a good intention for God's sake. vii. 171
One may and should feel secure on account of his good
works. ... ..... viii. 425, 4T,7
-
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11