Pleasure in serving God
by VP
Posted on Sunday May 11, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
Bernhard Plockhorst
(1825–1907)
"Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice."— Phil. iv. 4.
"It has often been noticed, my dear brethren, and we every day come across examples of it, that when things are going well men think very little about God and about the practice of their religious duties. We may almost say that, as things are at present, most men will not perform their duty to God unless they are driven to do so by something unpleasant and hard to bear. It is when a man is taken ill that he sends for a priest and makes his confession and receives the Sacraments; as soon, however, as he gets well it is only too probable that he will return to his old ways.
Now, this shows that the service of God is felt by a great many to be a heavy burden and yoke. And I am sorry to say that this feeling is not confined to those whose passions and low propensities are so strong as to hold them down for a great part of their lives in slavery and subjection to sin and vice. Many even of those who have freed themselves for the most part from this degrading bondage seem far from the possession of that spirit of holy joy with which every one trying to serve God should be filled. Many even of these seem to find the yoke of the Lord a heavy one: and if they do not cast it off, it is chiefly because they are afraid to do so.
Now, I am not going to say a word against the service of God which springs from the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.” The fear of God is not merely good-it is necessary for salvation. But it is only the beginning, not the perfection of wisdom. Moreover, it should not be the habitual dominant and constant motive of our religious life it should serve as a motive to fall back upon when higher motives are not felt. As St. Ignatius says: We should ask of God the grace to fear Him, so that if and when through our faults we grow forgetful of God's love, the fear of punishment may hold us back from offending Him. In other words, we ought, as a rule, to be serving God from love and holy joy rather than from fear and dread.
This is the teaching of the Holy Scripture, and especially of the great Apostle our patron, St. Paul. The text is but a sample of similar injunctions which might be found in every one of his Epistles "Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice." Do not be always looking upon the service of God as a heavy burden and yoke to which you must be driven as a fear of punishment, but let that service fill your souls at all times with delight and satisfaction. This is what St. Paul enjoins. Why is it not so with us? Why should it be so?
Well, there are ten thousand reasons why the service of God should be delightful and satisfactory; but I can refer to one only this morning— one, however, of which I think that we can all feel the force. As a rule, the man who is carrying on a profitable and successful business is, so long as everything goes well, tolerably happy. You don't see him going about with a long face, and although he may grumble a little, as most men do, you can see that he does not mean it. Now, if this is the case in the midst of the uncertainties which are inseparable from all human transactions, what ought to be the satisfaction and contentment of a man who has seriously taken in hand the one necessary business? For how does the case stand with such a man? The man who has seriously taken in hand the business of saving his own soul must succeed - for him there is no such thing as failure. So long as he is willing he must be prosperous. And why? Because he has Almighty God as a partner. And God is ready to give him what I hope it is not irreverent to call unlimited credit. In this life he pours into his soul His heavenly grace, and this grace gives to all his actions a value which gives him a right to an eternal recompense. No action from morning to night, from week's end to week's end, but may be made profitable and fruitful, if done with a right intention, and, of course, if there is nothing sinful in it. This is the position in which any and every man may be placed and may remain if he so wills, and of the sense and judgment of a man who is not satisfied by such terms I have but a poor opinion." (Third Sunday after Easter - Five-minute Sermons from the Paulist Fathers)
Bearing Injustice
by VP
Posted on Sunday May 04, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
Let Him Be Crucified (Qu'il soit crucifié) - James Tissot
'Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly."—I. St. Peter ii. 22.
ONE of the hardest trials, my dear brethren, to which we can be exposed; indeed, perhaps the hardest one of all, is to be condemned unjustly. And the condemnation need not be pronounced in court, and published to the world. It need not even be given by public opinion; no, there may be only a few who share in it, perhaps only one, and that may be one whose judgment is not of much weight; still, to be falsely judged, to be accused of what we have not done, to have even our motives misinterpreted, is a pretty heavy cross to bear. How often will you hear people alleging as a reason for a permanent breach of friendship with someone, that one has belied them? It is of little use to point out that the person who is or seems to be a false accuser, may really not intend to be guilty of falsehood, nor be conscious of rash judgment, but may in his or her heart actually believe the charge, and feel not only justified, but even under an obligation of conscience in making it, and thus be guiltless before God. No, the sting is perhaps even greater, that he should believe a thing about us that we feel is not true, and could not be.
Nor is it enough to say that there are many things which we ought to be judged guilty of, but are not; and that so we can afford to take some punishment that we do not deserve, as we escape a good deal that we do. No, we say to ourselves: "I would not mind it so much if it were true; I would rather take the burden of all the many wrong things that I have done, than of one that I have not." Perhaps that would not really be the fact, but we feel as if it were.
I think, then, that to find a real cure for our heartache about matters of this kind, we must take the one which St. Peter gives us in this Epistle of today. We must take refuge under the shadow of the cross of Him who, as the Apostle says, suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. The Cross of Christ is the only remedy in the last resort for all the pain and misery of the world, as well as for its sins; and we may as well come to it at once as wait till other consolations have failed.
Let us, then, lay to heart our Lord's example in this matter, as St. Peter tells us; let us keep it always by us, to be ready for use at the first moment. Let us consider how slight and insignificant are all the false judgments that can be made about us, miserable sinners that we are, compared with that which was passed on Him, the Saint of saints; on Him who was not merely holy, but holiness itself, the source of all sanctity, the Giver of every virtue that we can have. Let us consider how He was reckoned with the malefactors, how He was condemned not merely to death, but to the shameful death of a criminal; and how not merely one or two, but the crowds of His own people, whom He had come to save, turned against Him and believed all the false charges which His accusers made.
And let us not imagine that, being in truth God, His human nature was made insensible to all this outrageous injustice by its essential sanctity, or by the homage of the angels, or of those on earth who really knew and loved Him and remained faithful to Him. No; it was no more rendered in this way insensible to the pain of the false charges than it was to the sharp piercing of the nails driven through His hands and feet. Indeed, that He could much better have borne. His infinite purity and sensitiveness to sin only made these suspicions and accusations of it the more intolerable; physical suffering was little in comparison.
Yet, as the Apostle says, in this He did not defend Himself. He was willing to drink this bitter chalice to the dregs. When He was reviled, He reviled not again. He neither cleared Himself, which He could easily have done, nor took the poor remedy which we sinners are too apt to take, of accusing His accusers.
Let us then, when thus tried in our poor way, ask Him to give us the grace to do as He did, and even, if it be possible, to rest for a time at least under accusations which we might remove, when the honor of God is not concerned. And let us remember not to be guilty of rash judgment in our turn, but make, as He did, every possible excuse for those who belie us; let us believe that, so far as they are wrong, they know not what they do. And, lastly, let us take the greater pains to abstain from uncharitable thoughts or words about our neighbors, thus exposing them to a trial which we have found so hard to bear." 2nd Sunday after Easter - Five minute Sermons by the Paulist Fathers.
The Circumcision of Our Lord
by VP
Posted on Wednesday January 01, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"THIS being the first day of the new year, consecrate it all to God. Offer to him your thoughts, words, and actions : beg grace for the exact performance of all your obligations, to be supported in dangers, and preserved from sin.
On this day, Christ our Lord subjected himself to the law of Circumcision. Give him thanks; pray for grace, for the ready compliance with all the laws of God, and resolve to comply, even at the expense of your blood. On this day of his humiliation, was given to him the holy name of Jesus; offer yourself to Jesus; beseech him to make you a true follower of him, in all humility, that you may be of the number of those who are saved by him. Beg pardon for the many times you have abused or profaned his sacred name, and be careful to do it no more.
It being on the day of Christ's circumcision that he received the adorable name of Jesus, or Saviour, we have in this a great instruction given us, of the necessity of a Christian or spiritual circumcision, and that he will be a Saviour to none in whom this is not found. This is the condition of the salvation which he offers. He begins the work by a legal circumcision, and we are to partake of his redemption by circumcision of the heart.
This imports a duty, in the first place, of retrenching all habitual sin; because this is an engagement contrary to the law and will of God; and therefore living in any such engagement, is living in wilful disobedience and contempt of God, and rebellion against his law. Such a state can have no other fruit but destruction, in being eternally separated from God. Secondly, all who design to live as they profess, are obliged to renounce all the immediate occasions of these sins. Because these occasions have such a connexion with the sins themselves, that there can be no sincerity in pretending to admit the one, and avoid the other. It is impossible to conceive that a soul can be truly converted to God, and have a hearty detestation of sin, as the gospel requires, which is pleased with the familiarity of such dangers, as are a violence upon it, and almost inseparable from sin. All the thoughts then of such unhappy sinners, of repentance and returning to God, can be no other than treacherous delusions: whilst they pretend to be sorry for having offended, and yet think nothing of quitting that company, and those practices, which have been the continual occasions of all their past offences. Therefore, the omitting to retrench these, is what excludes them from any part in the mercies of a Redeemer.
Thirdly, they are obliged to free themselves from other more remote occasions of sin. But then, as there are different degrees in these, so there is likewise in the obligation of retrenching them; it being in some more absolute and pressing than in others, according to the connection they have with sin. As this differs according to tempers and circumstances, it must be determined in particular by conferring with spiritual directors. However, sine general rules may be proposed as the obligation which every one has of cutting off whatever helps considerably to heighten those inclinations and passions, which alienate the mind from the love of God, and lead to sin. Hence the good Christian is very careful in the choice of his company and conversation. For since the general discourse of the world is a communication of worldly principles, the effusion of error and pride, and other passions, a soul that indifferently exposes herself to company, is in danger of being infected with all this poison. The same caution the good Christian uses in reading books; because too many of these favour concupiscence and corruption so much, that frequent reading them must make impressions, and insensibly work upon the soul, to the great prejudice of all its spiritual concerns. It is the same, as to all manner of shows and diversions; because he sees the great danger and mischief of these things, inasmuch as they are the common ways by which the devil deludes souls into all kinds of sinful liberties and wickedness. Whatever therefore his affections or inclinations may be, he carefully removes so much of all that, to which these lead him, as he has reason to suspect dangerous to his eternal welfare.
This care of the good Christian extends likewise to whatever considerably disturbs that good order and discipline, which ought to be observed in his own person or family. For though these are not numbered among the virtues, yet they have place among the Christian duties; inasmuch as it is the obligation of every Christian to be watchful in that, which is the best security of a Christian life, and without which it must be exposed to be wholly overthrown. Indeed, it is as great an absurdity to think of maintaining a Christian life without order and discipline, as to support any civil or military government without it. Therefore, though it be often necessary to interrupt the order of praying, eating, working, sleeping, &c., yet whoever loses all regard to this order, and lets every humour and inclination take place of it, it is to be feared, that if he be not already lost, it cannot be very long before he will be so. For this going out of all method involves such variety of neglects, draws so many ill consequences after it, and betrays so great a stock of selflove, and desire of satisfying one's own inclinations, and preferring them to ordinary duties, that it cannot be long consistent with a Christian life.
For this reason, the good Christian, ever apprehensive of being insensibly carried out of the way, is not only careful to prevent it, by keeping up discipline, and observing good order in himself and family; but is likewise very watchful in retrenching whatever he perceives of this world apt to possess his heart and likely to turn it from God. And this, not only in respect of sinful objects, but also of all love of the world, love of temporal or secular things, in a word, of all love of creatures. This he undertook in baptism, when becoming the child of God, he promised to renounce all those inclinations, which he brought with him into the world, which naturally and violently carry him to sin, to earth, and to creatures; and solemnly engaged to follow those new impressions which he then received, which lead him to the love of God, to religion, and to the search of heavenly things, by a separation from creatures. Though, from that corruption which is in him, he cannot follow the new impressions, without violence to nature; yet having taken this obligation upon him, he considers it his duty ever to use this violence. This is his exercise, as long as he is in this life. He finds in it great difficulties; but he who undertook to be his Redeemer, has taught him that he is not to expect any part in this redemption without trouble and difficulties. Therefore, encouraged by his example, he resolutely offers himself to all these, and looks for them as part of his portion to which he is called. Though frail of himself, he yet hopes, through the grace of his Redeemer, and the assistance of his holy spirit, to hold out to the end, with cheerful submission, and untired patience, till that happy hour comes when he may say: All is finished. For this end, he puts himself this day under the covert of the sacred name of Jesus, hoping under that protection daily to receive a constant supply of courage and comfort; that he may go on in the practice of a spiritual circumcision, in the same spirit with him who taught it. Grant us, O Jesus, this thy holy spirit, that we may ever remember this lesson, and duly practise it. And whenever our corrupt nature is carrying us to sin, to the love of this world, or of creatures, powerfully check our inclinations, and say to our souls: I am thy salvation." The Catholic Year for Rev. Fr. John GotherSunday Sermon: The Holy Sacrifice
by VP
Posted on Sunday November 03, 2024 at 01:00AM in Sermons
My words shall not pass."-MATT. xxiv. 35.
I. The wonderful words that Christ has spoken to us each Sunday of the year.
2. There is one the Church has specially taken and obeyed day after day.
3. By obeying this word our Redemption is renewed daily.
4. And the faithful partake in this Sacrifice ordained by Christ.
On this the last Sunday of the ecclesiastical year, the gospel ends, " But My words shall not pass." The wonderful words of our Lord, which we have heard each Sunday of the year, arise before our minds. We have listened to His doctrines and teachings, the parables of all kinds, with which we are so familiar; His warnings and rebukes; yea, and His sweet words of love"I am the good Shepherd," "Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee," "I will, be thou made clean," and so many more.
But amongst all the words, there is one that the Church has taken to heart, and has never let pass, but day after day has kept it faithfully. By just keeping this one word, the Church and each of us obeys Him, in faith and hope and love. This obedience proves our faith in His Divinity, our hope in His Redemption, our love because we trust in His continued mercy. He said, the night before He died, "Do this, for a commemoration of Me" (Luke xxii. 19). Oh! word of love, of infinite and individual love! It has never been forgotten; never for a day disobeyed. How the Church treasures this blessed word, by obeying which the Sacrifice of Calvary is renewed morning after morning on the altars of many thousands of churches, and has been since the days of the Apostles. This word is His own, though uttered by His priests; this word is as efficacious and powerful now as when He instituted the Holy Eucharist, the divine sacrament of His Body and Blood. This word shall never pass, because He promised to be with us till the consummation of the world.
The obeying this divine word, "Do this, for a commemoration of Me," is the very life of the Church. The mission of the Church, its very existence, which is guaranteed to it by God, is simply that it may save souls. And our Blessed Saviour has by this word given it the power to bring His Redemption home to the souls of men. To know and believe all the other words of Christ, and yet stop at this, reminds us of Moses beholding the vision of the promised land, yet not allowed to enter in. What excuse can men make for not accepting this word, the very culmination of the mercy of God, if they believe the other words of Christ our Lord? Why did He declare that He was the Bread of Life, and work miracles—multiplying the loaves to emphasize His teaching, if the Bread of Life was never to exist? Why did He say to His disciples, “This is My Body: This is My Blood," and gave to them to eat and drink thereof, if that was to be the solitary and only consecration and Communion? If men disobey this word, "Do this for a commemoration of Me," no wonder they are driven to deny His other words, "This is My Body," and dare to maintain that, though He said these words, He did not mean them. His divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist is denied and disbelieved.
What becomes of all the words of Christ, if one or other can be passed over and denied? The man that doubts or disbelieves one is leaving Christ. "Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered Him: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" (John vi. 68, 69). The words of eternal life! How loyally we must cling to this! And how providentially-arranged by the all-wise God indeed-it is that every member of the Church can prove by deed that he accepts and stands by the words of Christ that can never pass. A poor, humble Catholic may not be able to argue, and there is no need to argue-he simply comes to Holy Mass. And by so doing he is saying like Peter, "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of life." And why does he kneel before the altar? He is waiting for the priest to obey the Lord Jesus, Who said, "Do this for a commemoration of Me." And that Catholic man or woman or child looks up to the altar, and awaits devoutly the coming of the Lord. The word is spoken; the consecration takes place; and Jesus our Lord, Who died to save us from our sins, is there upon the altar, in the priest's hands raised up for adoration, and with the same love and power as on Calvary. He offers Himself once again for us! And the Catholic's faith, hope, love is given to His Lord, and his heart and soul raised up with His Saviour's to the Eternal Father.
Let us learn to treasure this divine word of Christ more and more. If we believe in this we believe in all; if we reverence it, obey it, and love it, we reverence, obey, and love all the words that lead to everlasting life. In action, perhaps daily action, we can prove how we do this by attending Holy Mass. The blessed result of attending Mass! Each day our love and loyalty will increase. We are the children of the Lord, so why should we be kept from His table? So humbly and reverently we shall begin to receive Holy Communion frequently, yea, daily. And each Communion is a pledge of future glory; we are the children of the inheritance: how it becomes us to walk piously, faithfully through life, rejoicing that, united to the Church, we are daily doing this for a commemoration of Him, Who lives in the Holy Eucharist for love of us." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey (Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)
How to Persevere
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Sermons
HOW TO PERSEVERE
"And in doing good, let us not fail.”—GAL. vi. 9.
1. How often have we failed! and why?
2. We must not remain failures.
3. We are weak, indeed, but strength is offered us.
4. The secret of perseverance-begin again and again.
How often has not this been our resolution-to be good and not to fail again! But what does our past life show us? Ah! the retrospect is one that may daunt the bravest heart. Our confessions make the revelation. How many, many times have we confessed in sorrow those things, in which we have failed, in spite of all our resolutions to be manful and persevere. The past has been a bitter and repeated disappointment to the best of us.
And why? Because, though we are poor, weak, erring creatures, we have placed too much reliance on ourselves. We thought that if we made up our minds, if we were determined, then we could start afresh and surely persevere. We forgot that we can do nothing, not even invoke the most holy name Jesus, without the grace of God; and for this grace we have humbly and continually to pray. We have failed, because, again, we became negligent in little things, not heeding the warning of Scripture, that he that despiseth little things shall fall by little and little. For instance, by shortening, omitting, or carelessly performing our devotions, we have paved the way for a failure.
Because, again, we have ventured too near a dangerous occasion of sin; dallied with a temptation; forgot the all-seeing eye of God, and to cry out, like Joseph tempted in Egypt, "How can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?" (Gen. xxxix. 9).
But however often we have failed in the past, it is imperative, absolutely necessary for us, for our soul's sake, not to remain failures. We must not dare to give up the attempt to try again. How can we, then, do better for the future, and begin, with some chance of success, to do good and not to fail? First, when we find we have failed, we must begin again at once. It is only wounded pride that makes us lose heart and despond. If we humble ourselves and turn to God, He, in His mercy, will make that very fall a means of a new beginning, and give us fresh strength. A good life is simply a continuous good beginning. God wishes us to be good, therefore He is ready and pleased to help us.
Rising up and beginning again at once after failing, and earnestly turning to God for help, are the means of doing good and not failing. Our Blessed Lord complained, "You will not come to Me that you may have life" (John v. 40). We choose to trust to ourselves, whereas our only hope is from Him. "Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it " (Ps. xxxvi. 5). He will give us life; and what is life in a man, but strength of will, of purpose, and courage to make the endeavour to fulfill that purpose? We need not say that we cannot. That excuse will not hold at the Judgment-that we could not help failing when all the time the grace to will and to do was offered us. The patient Saviour was waiting to be asked to give it us, and complaining that we would not come.
We starve our soul and let it perish of want, and wonder why we fail, and have not the power manfully to persevere. We look for our daily bread to sustain our bodily strength; and can we be excused for the folly of neglecting the daily bread of our souls? Prayer is nourishment for our souls, but a far greater and stronger nourishment is the most holy Eucharist. Our Lord has said, "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." Ah! if we wish really to do good and not to fail, let us have devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We gain strength, we prove our love for our Blessed Lord, and we give Him glory by receiving Holy Communion. Here is the strength that is offered us to enable us to persevere in doing good. We must not fear that we are trespassing on His kindness, as we are not fit or worthy to receive Him. No, we are not worthy: but our Blessed Lord "went about doing good to all," yea, even to those who He knew would fail Him many a time, and perhaps turn against Him. Come to Communion, to frequent, yea, daily Communion, and thus prove that you wish for His sake to have the good heart and strength to do good and not to fail. You will thus please our divine Lord; and be sure He will not fail you, but gladly will He give you the grace and strength that you may not fail Him.
So we see that the secret of perseverance is to begin again and again. And where shall we find the dispositions to wish to begin each day earnestly and zealously better than at the altar-rails? He comes to us there, who inspires us with the desire to be faithful and generous, and He comes to give us the strength to fulfill that desire, that purpose, that longing. Look back gratefully at the countless times that our Saviour has thus helped us to start afresh. Oh! what could have made us tire of Him, and wish to leave Him and abandon Him? Of ourselves we might despair, but never of His goodness. Our time is growing short: let us begin again at once, and pray to persevere. No more to trust to ourselves our good will or our strength-but wholeheartedly to trust to that good Lord, who would have us, for love of Him, to do good and not to fail. Source: Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey
Preparing for Lent (Quinquagessima)
by VP
Posted on Sunday March 03, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
“Thy faith hath made thee whole.”—Luke Chapt 18. verse 12.
"Which of us, dear brethren, has such perfect spiritual health that he does not need to call upon Christ, our all-merciful physician? We are all crippled, blind, and sick. The great remedy by which we must be healed is faith. We see how the blind man in to-day's Gospel was made whole by faith. In another place we read of the woman with an issue of blood made well by faith. And in many other parts of Scripture faith is put down as our great healing remedy.
Thank God, we have received the great blessing of the Catholic faith! But is our faith what it ought to be ? Is it a living faith? If we have a living faith it will show itself by our deeds. Let us examine ourselves today as to our intentions for the coming Lent. How much practical faith shall we find in ourselves? “ Faith without good works is dead.” How can we expect that such faith will make us whole? Are you dreading the approach of this season of penance? Are you calculating the easiest terms upon which you can get through it? Do you look upon it as an evil time, which must be borne with, but out of which you expect to get nothing but discomfort?
If you look upon Lent in this spirit, you are no true follower of Christ and the Cross—your faith is not a living faith. And a dead faith is worse than useless, for such a faith can abide only in the lukewarm, of whom the Holy Ghost speaks thus : “Would thou wert cold or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth." Beware lest your present lack of the Christian spirit of penance be the beginning of your casting forth !
But do not misunderstand and think that we must relish this coming season of penance, in our lower natures, just as a hungry man relishes his dinner. That is not the kind of relish we are bound to have. Although we may have an involuntary horror of penance, if we, nevertheless, appreciate our need of mortification, and are determined to make the most of this opportunity, all the more because we instinctively dread it, we show that God has at least a large part of our hearts.
He wants the whole of them, saying : “My son, give Me thy heart." But if we keep a part for our miserable selves, in His mercy, though grieved, He will not condemn us.
But if any one has not at least a determination to try, he may well tremble at his condition. If he thinks he can safely put off his repentance to his death-bed, he deceives himself. The odds against such a man's being saved are tremendous. Does it not stand to reason that an ordinary man who has spent his life in sin cannot, unless by a miracle of grace, accomplish in a short hour, or perhaps less time, what it has taken good men a lifetime to do? The dying sinner may persuade the priest that he has repented, but is it not because he has deceived himself in his fear of death? If we could test his repentance by offering him ten years more of life, would he persevere in his good intentions? If he has resolved not to sin any more for the sole reason that he has no chance left him for doing so, his repentance is a sham, and all the absolutions of all the priests that have ever lived cannot save his soul. " As a man lives, so shall he die." Is it not easier to repent now, while you are able, than upon your death-bed, when disease and sin have almost robbed you of reason ?
Have a living faith which will show itself by deeds! And let the prayer of the blind man be the prayer of each of us, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me.” And let us not cease until Jesus answers us, “Thy faith hath made thee whole."
Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses for every Sundays of the Year by the Priests of the Congregation of Saint Paul 1893
MIRACLES.
by VP
Posted on Sunday January 14, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
James Tissot: Les noces de Cana (The Marriage at Cana)
"As the Gospel of to-day relates one of the miracles our Lord performed, I am led to say a few words about miracles as used in evidence of the truth of the Divine doctrine of Jesus Christ. Certainly our Lord appealed to miracles sometimes as proof that He had Divine power, but that was by no means the rule. The miracle of changing water into wine was performed for no such purpose. On other occasions He bade those whom He healed to say nothing about it. And St. Matthew expressly said that the reason why He wrought not many miracles among those who knew Him best was because of their unbelief: the very reason we would think why He ought to have worked miracles before their eyes so as to oblige them to believe in Him. And St. John also intimates that our Lord did not place much reliance upon belief that only depended upon miracles; for he says, "Many believed, seeing the signs that He did. But Jesus did not trust Himself to them, for He knew what was in man." If we read the Gospels attentively we shall see that it was true then, as it has been all through the history of Christianity, that the triumph of His Divine truth has not been due to miracles, but rather in spite of them. If there was then, or has been since, anything which the world hates to learn of, and obstinately refuses to credit, it is a miracle.
"The idea of God or any messenger from God pretending to do things a man cannot understand! Don't I know nature well enough to know that even if God made it He cannot change it? To believe in miracles I would have to acknowledge God knows what I cannot know." That is the way men think, if they do not speak out their thoughts quite so plainly. There have always been miracles, plenty of them, enough to convert the whole world to Christianity if that were the means intended by Almighty God to bring about conviction and conversion. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still; and miracles convince men against their will - the will of their proud, self-conceited, rebellious heart. They see them plainly as you and I do, but they won't believe them. The triumph of our Lord's holy religion, therefore, has not been due to miracles of healing. These are the things unbelievers hate, as they do every other sign of Christ that demands their submission. But what conquers the world despite itself is Love and the sacrifices that it makes. They cannot stand out against the sight of our Lord's love, even unto death, nor gaze upon the love of those who through all generations have taken His place, and spoken, prayed, preached, suffered, and died in His name, without being won to belief.
So, my brethren, if you
are anxious to convert anybody to our holy faith, never mind about
miracles; and do not be astonished if they poohpooh arguments as strong
as the reasoning of St. Thomas. Go and show them a little of the
unselfish, charitable, self-denying, suffering love of Christ. Let them
see how sweet-spoken and kind you are to the poor, how patient you are
in affliction, how nobly you conquer your passions for God's love, and
resist temptations to drink and steal and gratify desires of the flesh.
Did I say never mind about miracles? I made a mistake. For if you do
what I have just told you, I am inclined to think some of you will be
doing as great a miracle as there is on record. You that are stingy,
give freely. You that dislike the poor, go and serve them. You that are complaining of God's
providence, submit to your lot like a man and a Christian. You that are a
drunkard, take the pledge and keep it. You that are living like a
beast, get honorably married and live chaste. You that have hands
getting hot for hell with ill-gotten money, make full restitution. These
will be miracles - miracles of grace; and against such miracles unbelief
never will have any argument, or power to resist either conviction or
conversion. And then you can say to the unbeliever: If you will not
believe in the Catholic religion for its truth's sake, look at me, and
believe it for the work it can do. It can bring a sinner back to God,
and that is a greater miracle than raising a dead man to life."
Source: Five-minute Sermons for Low Mass, All Sundays of the Year, by Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul. 1893
Friday of the Second week of Advent
by VP
Posted on Friday December 15, 2023 at 08:22AM in Sermons
"Thus was the Earth in desolation when the Messiah came to deliver and save it. So diminished, so decayed, were truths among the children of men (Psalm xi. 2) that the human race was bordering on its ruin. The knowledge of the true God was becoming rarer as the world got older. Idolatry had made everything in creation an object of its adulterous worship. The practical result of a religion which was but gross materialism, was frightful immorality. Man was for ever at war with man, and the only safeguards of what social order still existed in the world were the execrable laws of slavery and extermination. Among the countless inhabitants of the globe, a mere handful could be found who were seeking God. They were as rare as the olives that remain on the tree after a careful plucking, or as grape-bunches after the vintage is ended. Of this happy few were among the Jewish people those true Israelites whom our Saviour chose for His disciples and, among the Gentiles, the Magi that came from the East, asking for the new-born King, and later on, Cornelius the Centurion, whom the Angel of the Lord directed to Saint Peter.
But, with what faith and joy did they not acknowledge the Incarnate God! And what their hymns of glad gratitude when they found that they had been privileged above others, to see, with their own eyes, the promised Saviour! Now, all this will again happen when the time draws near of the second Coming of the Messiah. The Earth will once more be filled with desolation and mankind will be again a slave of its self-degradation. The ways of men will again grow corrupt and this time the malice of their evil will be the greater because they will have received Him who is the Light of the world, the Word of Life. A profound sadness will sit heavy on all nations, and every effort for their well-being will seem paralysed. They and the Earth they live on will be conscious of decrepitude, and yet it will never once strike them that the world is drawing to an end. There will be great scandals. There will fall stars from Heaven, that is, many of those who had been masters in Israel will apostatise and their light will be changed into darkness. There will be days of temptation and faith will grow slack, so that when the Son of Man will appear, faith will scarce be found on the Earth.
Let it not be, O Lord, that we
live to see those days of temptation. Or, if it be your will that
they overtake us, make our hearts firm in their allegiance to your
holy Church, which will be the only beacon left to your faithful
children in that fierce storm. Grant, O Lord, that we may be of the
number of those chosen olives, of those elect bunches of grapes, with
which you will complete the rich harvest which you will garner
forever into your house. Preserve intact within us the deposit of
faith which you have entrusted to us. Let our eye be fixed on that
Orient of which the Church speaks to us, and where you are suddenly
to appear in thy majesty. When that day of yours comes and we behold
your triumph, we will shout our glad delight and then, like eagles
which cluster round the body, we will be taken up to meet you in the
air, as your Apostle speaks, and thus will we forever be with you (1
Thessalonians iv. 16). Then we will hear the praises and glory of the
Just One, from the ends of this Earth, which it is your good will to
preserve until the decrees of your mercy and justice will have been
fully executed. Jesus! We are the work of your hands: save us and be
merciful to us on that great day." Dom Gueranger, December 15
2nd Sunday of Advent: The Missionary Spirit
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 10, 2023 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"Jesus, making answer, said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen."-St. Matt. xi. 4.
In the Gospel just read, my dear brethren, we are taught a very practical and important lesson. St. John the Baptist had been thrown into prison on account of his bold denunciation of the sins of those who were then in power. His disciples, it would seem, were losing confidence in him and in what he had taught them. His imprisonment was causing them to waver; and so St. John sends them to our Lord that they may learn from Him whether He was indeed what John had said He was, the promised Messias. "Art thou He who art to come, or look we for another?' '
Now, in what way did our Lord reply to this question? Did he enter into a long and elaborate argument in order to show from Moses and the Prophets that He fulfilled in Himself all that they had foretold? No, it was not by words that our Lord removed their doubts, although never man spake like Him. The way in which He brought the truth home to these men was by deeds. "Go relate to John what you have heard and seen; the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the Gospel preached to them." It was the works which the Father gave Him to do which gave testimony of Him.
Now, the work of bringing back man to God, which brought our Lord down from heaven and of which he made the beginning, is continued and carried on, since He left this world, by His Church, which He founded for this purpose. By His life, and especially by His death and passion, He purchased for mankind full and complete redemption, inexhaustible grace in this life, and never-ending glory hereafter. To what our Lord did no addition can be made which is not itself due to the merits of our Lord's death and passion. The only thing which remains to be done is to have this grace applied to the souls of men. This application is to be made by the ministrations of the Church; in this way the realization and completion of our Lord's work are entrusted to her; and consequently, since our Lord went to heaven again, the Church is for men in the place of Christ, and has in her hands the ordinary means by which men make their own what our Lord has done for them. It is in the Church that our Lord dwells, it is through the Church He works, it is by her ministration that men, according to the ordinary course of God's providence, are saved.
If this be so, we must all see how important it is that nothing should be done by Catholics to keep men from the Church, and that everything should be done to bring them within her fold. The Church has a work to do for every man in this vast city of ours. And how is she to perform this work? How is the fact, that she comes from God, to be brought home to each and all? In early days miracles were the most cogent proof of her supernatural origin. But although miracles are still wrought in the Church, they are not among the ordinary ways by which we can prove to those outside that the Church comes from God. Argument, historical investigation, logic, are good ways of doing this. But men are too busy to study profoundly in our times. There is another way, however, and a better one; one more powerful, one which appeals to larger numbers, one without which all the ways are very often unsuccessful, and that is that Catholics should prove themselves to be before the eyes of men what the Church teaches them to be; that by their works, which they are seen to perform, they should make manifest to all that they are in possession of the truth of God.
Can we say, my dear brethren, that this is the case? Let us not be afraid to look at the facts as they really are. Are our lives such as to recommend to those outside that faith in and through which all must be saved? Let each one ask himself this question; and reflect what a terrible thing it will be hereafter if he has so acted as to have shut out from eternal life a single soul which might have been saved had he acted rightly."
Five-minute Sermons for Low Masses on All Sundays of the Year, Volume 1 by the Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul 1893
The Unworthy Priest
by VP
Posted on Saturday August 26, 2023 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"You will find indeed many an unworthy priest who will assure you that he
gives no scandal; but he is greatly mistaken. “Murder will out,” and
the sins of the priest cannot long remain hidden.
Does the unworthy priest love solitude? Does he love study? Do you find
him often in church praying before the Blessed Sacrament? Do you find
him often in the confessional? Why is he so often absent when the
messenger comes for a sick call? Why does he come home so late at night?
Why does he visit that house so often? Why does that light burn so late
in his room? Is he praying, or perhaps card-playing? Why does he sleep
so long in the morning instead of being in the confessional? Why does he
omit Mass so often on week days? Why is he so often nervous and ill-humored? Is he not a little too free and confidential towards certain
persons?
Look at the church, look at the altar, look at the vestments, look at
the sacred vessels – the chalice and ciborium – is everything clean,
decent and orderly? Why does he not begin Mass punctually on Sundays and
holy days of obligation? Why does he so often fail to keep his promises
and thereby disappoint the people? See how he hurries through Mass.
How does he observe the rubrics? Is he attentive and devout? Why is he
so eager for money, and so indifferent when there is question of saving a
soul? (...)
Why does he speak against the Pope, the bishop, and religious? Why does
he jest about holy things? Why does he not show more reverence in
church, and when he carries the Blessed Sacrament to the sick?
Why does he not show more self respect, more priestly dignity and
decorum in society, at fairs, excursions, picnics, and so on? Why does
he make use of words of double meaning, unbecoming hints and jests? Why
does he allow young persons to read dangerous story papers, magazines,
and novels? (…)
These are some of the questions that the people ask; these are some of
the thoughts that flit through their minds. The unworthy priest may try
his best to hid his crimes; but the cloak of hypocrisy cannot hide them
forever. The inner corruption of his heart betrays itself at least at
times. But how terrible is the scandal when the sins of the priest are
no longer a matter of doubt or uncertainty, but a sad and shameful
reality. Who can sum up all the harm that is done by even one bad
priest? (…)
How often must a good priest suffer for the misdeeds of his
predecessors! He may be as generous and disinterested as St. Paul; still
some will accuse him of avarice, of doing everything for money. (…) He
may be reserved and dignified and pure as an angel, yet wicked tongues
will not be wanting to whisper unjust suspicions. (…)
The higher the source of the torrent is, the more rapidly does it rush
into the valley, and the more wide spread is the destruction which it
causes. O God! Who can calculate all the harm that is done, all the sins
that are committed, all the souls that are ruined on account of the
scandalous life of one unworthy priest! Like a mountain torrent, the
scandal rushes on, spreading death and desolation on every side. It
rushes on like a poison flood, bearing death to generations yet unborn;
aye, it goes on in its work of destruction even till the day of doom;
its evil consequences go even beyond the tomb; they live on forever in
hell.
O God! How many yet unborn will rise up on the judgment day against the
bad priest and curse him! If a petty shrub is uprooted and falls, it
harms only itself; but if a might cedar falls, it drags down in its
deadly embrace whatever stands within its reach!
Woe to the world, when the “Salt of the earth” becomes the corrupter of innocence.
Woe to the world when the “Light of the world” becomes an "ignis fatuus",
a wandering light that leads unwary souls into the foul, noisome marsh of sin.
Woe to the world when the shepherd of the flock has become a ravenous wolf!
The unworthy priest loses the friendship of God; he loses the beauty of
his soul; he loses the merit of all his good works. As long as he
remains in sin, his arm is withered; he can merit nothing for heaven.
The unworthy priest is the slave of sin, the slave of the devil; he
heaps sin upon sin, sacrilege upon sacrilege. By his wicked life he
gives scandal and ruins innocent souls.
All this is sad and terrible enough; but the most terrible of all the
consequences of sin is that the unworthy priest becomes hardened; he is
at last struck with spiritual blindness; his conversion becomes almost
an impossibility; and finally he gives way to despair, like another
Judas."
Source: Rev. Fr. Michael Muller, C.SS.R. The Catholic Priesthood, 1885.
