"What does our Lord mean by this, my brethren? He seems to say that there are some things which do not belong to God, but to some one else; that God has only partial right in this world which he has created. It would appear to belong partly to Caesar; and who can this Caesar be, who shares the earth with its Creator?

Caesar was the name of the Roman emperor, and our Lord means by Caesar the temporal authority of the state. Now, it must seem absurd to any Catholic, and indeed to any one who believes in God at all, to say that this authority has any right in the world other than that which God has lent to it; so we cannot imagine that our Lord meant anything like that. Nevertheless, there are plenty of people, who do not profess to be atheists, who really maintain not only that the state has rights against him, but even that its right always prevails over his. They say that we must render everything to Caesar, whether God wants it or not; that the law of the state must be obeyed even against the law of God as shown to us by conscience.

These people are really atheists, whether they profess to be or not. The only true God, in whom we believe, will not and cannot resign his right to our obedience or give up his eternal laws. Nay, more, he will and must reserve to himself the right of making new laws if he pleases, and annulling law of the state which are contrary to them. Besides all this, he has also only given to the state a limited sphere in which it can work, and in which only its laws can have any force - that is, he will only allow it to make laws providing for the temporal well-being of its subjects.

This, then, is what belongs to Caesar - that is, to the state. It has the right to claim and enforce our obedience to laws intended for the temporal welfare of its subjects, and to these only, as far as they are not contrary to the eternal law of God, or to others which he may choose to make. And that is all.

When it does not exceed its rights we must give our obedience to it; and we must presume that it does not exceed them unless it is clear that it does. This is what we must render to Caesar.

But how shall we tell that it does exceed its rights? First, by the voice of conscience, when that voice is clear and certain; secondly, by our knowledge of the laws which God himself has made; lastly, by the voice of that other authority which he has put in the world to provide for our spiritual welfare - that is, the Catholic Church. When God speaks to us in either of these ways we must obey him, whether it interferes with Caesar or not; this is what we must render to him.

If the state makes a law commanding us to blaspheme, deny our faith, or commit impurity, we will not obey. Conscience annuls such a law. If the state commands us to do servile work on Sunday its law has no force. We know that God's law is against it. And, lastly, if the state goes outside its sphere, and makes laws regarding things not belonging to its jurisdiction, as the sacraments, we are not bound by such laws. It has no power, for instance, to declare marriage among Christians valid or invalid. The Church has told us this plainly. It is here specially where the state goes out of its province, that it is subject to correction by the church; though it may be in other matters also.

Our Lord, then, means that we should render to Caesar the things that belong to him, not because of any right that he has in himself, but because God has lent it to him; but that we should render to God the things that he has not lent to Caesar, whether Caesar consents or not. Obedience must always be given to God. Give it to him through the state in those things about which he has given the state authority, and in other things without regard to the state; thus shall you render to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Source: Five minute sermons for Low Masses on all Sundays of the year by Paulist Fathers 1886

Rue du Bac, Paris.©VP

Saint Vincent de Paul to the Congregation of the Mission, serving the clergy by means of spiritual exercises for those about to be ordained, and by the direction of seminaries:

" To be employed in training good priests and to contribute thereto, as a second efficient instrumental cause, is to perform the work of Jesus Christ, Who, during His mortal life, seems to have assumed the task of making twelve good priests, who were the apostles; have deigned to live with them for years in order to instruct and form them in the Divine Ministry.

What is there in the world so grand as the ecclesiastical state? Principalities and kingdoms bear no comparison to it. Kings cannot, like the priests, change bread into the body of our Lord, forgive sins, or do the other wonders whereby priests surpass all temporal greatness."

It such be the greatness of the priest, judge of his action whether beneficent or fatal according as he is faithful or otherwise to his vocation. "As is the pastor, so will be the people. To the officers of the army is attributed the good or evil success of war. In like manner we can say that if the ministers of the Church are good, if they perform their duty, all will be well; but if, on the contrary, they are unfaithful, they are the cause of all disorders... Yes, we are the cause of the desolation that at present ravages the Church, of the deplorable diminution it has suffered in so many places....(...)

Yes, O Lord, we, it is, who have provoked Thy wrath; our sins have drawn down these calamities. Yes, it is the clerics and those who aspire to the ecclesiastical state, it is the sub-deacons, the deacons, the priests, it is we, who are priests, who have been the cause of this desolation in the Church."

O, my God, what a power! Oh, what a dignity! Is there anything greater or more admirable? Oh, gentlemen, how great a thing is a good priest! What can a good ecclesiastic not do? What conversions can he not procure? Upon the priests depends the happiness of Christendom. This consideration, then, obliges us to serve the ecclesiastical state which is so holy and so elevated, and still more the need the Church has of good priests to remedy the immense ignorance and the innumerable vices with which the earth is covered, and for which pious souls ought to shed tears of blood.

There is question whether all the disorders we witness be not attributable to the priests. This may scandalize some, but the subject requires that by the magnitude of the evil the importance of the remedy be shown. For sometime back, this question has been the subject of several conferences, and it has been thoroughly treated, in order to discover the sources of so many evils; and the conclusion arrived at was that the Church had not greater enemies than bad priests. Heresies sprang form them. We have the instance of the last heresies in those two great heresiarchs, Luther and Calvin. They were priests. It is by priests that heresy has prevailed, vice has reigned, and ignorance established its throne among the poor people; and this, because of their own disorders and their neglect to oppose with all their strength, as was their bounden duty, these three torrents that inundated the earth. What sacrifice, then, gentlemen, will you not make to God, in order to labor for their reformation so that they may live conformably to the sanctity of their state, and that the Church may rise from out her shame and desolation?"

Source: Virtues and spiritual doctrine of St. Vincent de Paul, by a priest of the Congregation of the Mission 1877; (Internet Archive)

His zeal was ardent and fearless. In order to convert hardened sinners, he sent terror into their hearts. He tore the mask from the hypocrite. To put a stop to scandal, he raised his voice in a thunder of invective. He spared no one. The proud as well as the hypocritical he attacked with the courage of Christ Himself, whose precursor he was. When he saw the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he exclaimed: "Brood of vipers" - that is to say, you who instill into the souls of men the poison of false doctrines and traditions - "who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come? do ye penance." The true preachers of God's Gospels must show at times just fiery zeal for the glory of the Master: "And Elias the prophet stood up as a fire, and his words burnt like a torch." (Eccl. xLviii. 1.)

O Priest of God, is your eloquence as penetrating, is it as full of burning fire as was that of St. John? Does it go deep into the soul? Does it wound the soul unto conversion? Is it a burning torch, is it a cutting sword, is it a piercing dagger? Zeal is only another name for charity. A good father does not like to chastise his disobedient son, but love prompts him to do so. And is not the preacher a spiritual father?

True zeal, as we see it in St. John, is prudent, energetic, and yet to some extent, lenient. If St. John saw poor, humble, or ignorant people eager to become instructed he had a cheering word for them. To such he promised pardon. They will not have to retire into the desert as did the precursor himself; let them practice justice, give alms, live according to the state of life. All are called to be saints, but sanctity does not imply for all a very austere life, or the performance of heroic deeds. Sanctity consists in doing the will of God, each one according to his vocation.

A truly zealous preacher is not elated by success. He is entirely forgetful of self. An ordinary man might have been tempted to pride or vain-glory on seeing the messengers sent to him, and the unbounded admiration of the multitudes who listened to him. Not so John the Baptist. His soul was filled with humility and confusion. It entered the minds of many that he might be the Messiah; even his disciples told him: " He of whom thou gavest testimony, behold He baptizeth and all come to Him." But John reproved them. The more they praised him, the more he humbled himself. Far from wishing to pass as the Messiah, he declared that he was not worthy to loose the latchet of His shoe. His sole desire was that they overlook the precursor, and prepare for Him who is to come.

Truly that priest deserves little success, O my God, who looks for it more to glorify himself than to glorify his Master. If souls be saved, what is the praise of men to a good priest, the instrument of their salvation?

A truly zealous man is not easily tired; nothing discourages him, neither the frequency of his instruction, nor the ignorance of his hearers. For all he has an answer and a kind word.

A truly zealous man is also brave; he knows no danger, he flatters no one, and if he meets with a Herod, he will not hesitate to say: Non Licet. To show regard for the dignity or social position of a wicked man is to become, to some extent, an accomplice of his wickedness; for the more exalted a man's position, the greater the harm he does by a scandalous mode of living. John's courage in reproving Herod cost him his life; but was not martyrdom the fittest recompense of his holy preaching?

What a model is offered to evangelical preachers in the person of St. John!

Source: Meditations For The Use Of The Secular Clergy, from the French of Father Chaignon, S.J. 1907

Fr. Altier Homily: Darkness may have its hour, but God will have His day

My God, I believe in the sublime dignity of the priesthood-a dignity which St. Denis calls divine; a dignity which surpasses that of kings and angels, as St. Ambrose says. O My God! Thy priests are the leaders of Thy people, the guardians of Thy Church, the light of the world, (Matt. v. 14), the dispensers of the sacraments, the vicars of Jesus Christ, and His coadjutors in the work of salvation (1 Cor. III. 9). Grant, then, O Lord, to me and to all the faithful to have the same respect and submission toward the person, words, and counsels of Thy ministers as toward Thine own, since Thou Thyself didst say to them: “He that heareth you Heareth Me, and he that despiseth you despiseth Me"

I ask of Thee, my God, for all the priests in the world and specially for those who have done any good to my soul, by seeking to sanctify it, the grace of loving Thee much and making Thee to be loved by others, so that by their piety, their virtues, and the ardor of their zeal they may merit a place with Thy apostles and most faithful servants.

Divine Spirit! Influence all their thoughts, words, and deeds; take complete possession of their minds and hearts, so that they may live in Thee and Thou in them. Jesus, meek and gentle Lamb of God, let their lives resemble the life Thou Thyself didst lead upon earth!

Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, do thou by thy intercession sanctify the souls of all our priests and second their efforts in the work of saving souls; shield them, and defend them as thine own. Pray for them that the peace of God may be always with them, and that they may attain to the everlasting blessedness of heaven. Amen.

Source: Blessed Sacrament Prayer Book

I. They have the Trinity ever before their eyes.
II. They cause the people to adore the Trinity.
III. They work in the name of the Trinity.



" Going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father,and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you," — St. Matt, xxviii. 19.

1. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost . Priests should have a deeper knowledge of the mystery of the Trinity than the rest of the Faithful, in consequence of their study of dogmatic treatises, in which all the truths relating to this sublime subject are so carefully set forth. Profiting by such instruction, they will discover traces of the Trinity in all creation ; for " of Him, and by Him, and in Him are all things" (Rom. xi. 36). Even in their own souls, the memory, the understanding, and the will may serve to remind them of the Trinity of Persons in unity of essence ; whilst all their actions should be directed (as St. Augustin enjoins), to the remembrance, the contemplation, and the love of the Most High Trinity. Further, Priests offer the Sacrifice of the Mass to the Holy Trinity, as they assert so frequently in the sacred Liturgy ; they chant the Trisagium in profound adoration of the Blessed Trinity, thus fulfilling upon earth the office of the Seraphim, and of the four mystical living creatures, who sing the same hymn continually in Heaven (Is. vi. 3 ; Apoc. iv. 8). In this Trisagium the distinction of Persons and unity of substance are clearly set forth (says St. John Damascene); for when we say thrice, "Holy, Holy, Holy," we praise and adore the glory of the Triune God. Again, when we say " Lord God of Hosts, the Heavens and earth are full of Thy glory ! the three Divine Persons are worshiped with equal homage. Lastly, Priests are bound to the frequent repetition of the " Gloria Pain' by which they are invited to profound adoration of the Trinity ; and in repeating those words let them call to mind St. Bernard's remarks. There is (says he) the Creative Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. From this Trinity the created trinity fell away — that is to say, the memory, the reason, and the will ; and that by means of another trinity— viz., suggestion, delight, consent ; and this trinity into which it fell consists of weakness, blindness, and uncleanness. What important subject of examination is this ! What motives does it not suggest for adoring, loving, invoking the Divine Trinity !

2. Teach ye. St. Jerome admires the order indicated by the Savior's command, which was, that the Apostles should first teach all nations, and afterwards baptize them. Let us, too, in teaching these sublime truths to the unlearned and ignorant, follow (as St. Gregory Nazianzen bids us) the Prophets and Apostles; nay, let us tread in the footsteps of our Redeemer, Who, before He left this world, said to His Father, " I have manifested Thy Name to men 99 (St. John xvii. 6) ; by which words (says St. Chrysostom) He indicated the Mystery of the Trinity to men. How many are there, even amongst Catholics, Who are ignorant of this Mystery, and, therefore, incapable of receiving the Sacraments ! Perhaps we might say more truly now than St. Philip Neri said in his day, "We have Indians in Italy." And may not this possibly be due to the negligence of the Priesthood ? Priests, however, are bound to defend this august Mystery from the attacks of all those who oppose it, whether Jews, Unitarians, or unbelievers. They should look to the example of those who devote their tongue and pen to its defense, as well as of those who have undergone bitter persecutions and cruel martyrdom in support of this great truth. St. Augustin teaches Priests how they should defend this Mystery : " First we show that our faith is consistent with the teaching of Holy Scripture. Then we shall, perhaps, satisfy the demands of those contentious babblers who are puffed up with their own conceit rather than possessed of any real capacity for comprehending the truth : thus, I say, we may leave even such persons no room for doubt. Let us, then, do our utmost to promote the direct worship of the Trinity, so that it may not happen that, while the Saints receive their due homage, there should be any neglect in the adoration of the Three Divine Persons — the Triune God — the uncreated Sanctity — the sole Author and source of all sanctity." Let us strive to realize the desire thus expressed by St. Augustin : — "When we shall have reached Thee, Thou alone shalt be in us, all in all. Then we shall be ever praising Thee ; then we shall be made one in Thee, O Triune God."

3. Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Baptism is the door of entrance to all the Sacraments ; and, as our Saviour, by the words "Teach ye," gave the Gospel trumpet into the Apostles' hands (says St. Leo), so, when He commanded them to baptize in the Name of the Trinity, He shewed by what authority they were to act in dispensing the heavenly treasures. As the three Persons have one and the same Divinity, so is the gift of grace one (says St. Jerome) which They bestow through one agency. And, as all men were created by God, Who is one in essence and three in Persons, so by the same Triune God have they been created anew to salvation. Hence it has been said that the whole dispensation of the Church is perfected in the Trinity. What confidence, therefore, in the Trinity ought not we to have in the discharge of the duties of the ministry ! And how great blessings will not that Priest procure for himself who invokes the Most Holy Trinity in all trials and dangers ! How many Priests, thus filled with the Spirit of God, have experienced in a sensible manner the protection of the Blessed Trinity !

 May God, our God, bless us : may God bless us." — Ps, lxvi. 7.
"Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God of hosts."— Is. vi. 3.

Source: Meditations for the Clergy

There is a God : this is the first truth which we profess to believe when we recite the Creed, a truth which is the foundation of all the other truths of religion, and of salvation ; a truth which nature as well as religion alike inculcate ;a truth better known than all others, and which is as clear to our eyes as the light of day. Hence, we always regard as monsters, rather than men, that small number of wretches who arrive at such a height of impiety that they dare deny or even doubt that there is a God. If they have the hardihood to say so, “it is only in their heart,” saith the prophet. Indeed, the corruption of their hearts makes them desire that there were no God, that they may with greater ease and freedom abandon themselves to the disorders of their passions ; but their intellect never admits such an absurdity, and always convicts them of their lying blasphemies.

In fact, my Brethren, to convince us of the Existence of a God, it is not necessary that we should enter into tedious researches, and have recourse to laborious studies ; it suffices to contemplate ourselves attentively, to cast a glance over this vast earth, on the millions of creatures that inhabit the world. Yes, says Isaias, "Lift up your eyes on high ; consider who has created the heavens, who caused the army of stars to move in such beautiful order, and who calls them by their names.” Who, then, has fixed this earth upon its foundation ? Who has constructed the spacious firmament on high, --that wonderful ceiling dotted all over with stars, as so many precious stones ? Did man give existence to himself? Did the sun and moon fix themselves in the firmament ? « Do you know who is the Father of the rain, or who begot the drops of dew? (Job, XXXViii)
Ah! the world is a great book, which speaks to us only of God; the voice of the Supreme Being resounds from one end of the universe to the other, and says : “I am the Lord ; that make all things ; that alone stretch out the heavens; that establish the earth; and there is none with me.” (Isaias)

It is God, who has made every thing, and nothing was made without Him. Every man who does not recognize Thee, and who presumes to deny Thy existence, O, my God, is blind, is an ungrateful wretch, is a monster without eyes, without ears, without intellect, and without heart. Yes, if he has eyes let him open them, and everywhere he will see evidences of Thy wisdom, O, my God, and the wonders of Thy Omnipotence!- If he has ears to hear, why does he close them against the voice of every creature that proclaims the greatness of its Creator? Has he received from heaven the gift of intelligence ; he, who, more stupid than beasts, disowns HIM to whom he is indebted for every thing ? And where, then is his heart, since he is insensible to the ineffable bounty for all the blessings which he constantly receives from this adorable Providence,that confers them on him ?

Yes, -my Brethren, there is a God, there is but one God, and here can be no more gods than one. In truth, God is the Being above all beings ; the Infinite Being ; the perfect Being. That perfection can not be divided; infinity appertains to but one Being alone. Were there many infinitely perfect beings, none of them would possess perfection, since they would all be equal ; none of them would be superior to the others, none would be Sovereign Master; and we can with reason say, if there were many gods, there would be none, for a plurality of gods were an idle fancy, a thing that exists not. Says the prophet of God: “Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord, our God, is the only Lord. I am, says he, the first and the last, there is no God besides me.”* lsaias, xl and xliv

There is but one God. You must not however imagine, my Brethren, that the unity of God is opposed to the adorable mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. It is true, faith teaches us to acknowledge and adore three Persons in the Most Blessed Trinity, three Persons in one God ; yet, there is in this no contradiction. Indeed, we do not say, there are three Gods in one God ; but there are three Persons, who constitute but one God. In the Most Blessed Trinity there are not three divine natures, but only one and the same divine nature for the three divine Persons. Yes, my Brethren, always bear in mind, that the three divine Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity have but one and the same divine nature, and are but one and the same God. I know that this is one of those truths which reason of itself cannot comprehend, experience teach, nor the senses assist us to discover; it is a mystery the depth of which, it belongs to God alone to fathom. “No one knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. (St. Matthew, Xi:27) But what ought to set our minds at rest, and free us from all uneasiness, is, that God himself has revealed this august mystery, and His divine word is our guaranty for this profound truth. He has said: “There are three in heaven who give testimony, — -the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, — and these three are one. (St. John, V:7)

But what is God? The day will come when, in heaven, we shall know God and see His infinite perfections in the clearest light. In this life we behold Him only through a glass and in shadows. Yet, however imperfect our knowledge may be, faith and reason throw sufficient light around us, to demonstrate to us that God is a Spirit infinite in all His attributes ; that He is self-existent, and that He is from eternity. God is infinite, therefore He wants nothing ; and there is in Him not even the smallest defect, nor the slightest imperfection. He is perfect ; there is in Him neither sleep, nor hunger, nor thirst, nor anger, nor sadness, nor suffering, nor death; none of these imperfections are to be found in the infinitely perfect nature of God.

God is from all eternity ; He was not created by himself; neither could He have been created by another. If God created himself, He must have existed before He created himself, which is a palpable absurdity. If God was created by another, tell me by whom this other was himself created? How, then, does God exist? The Almighty himself informs us, when He says to Moses : “ I Am who Am” — that is to say, I am the necessary, infinite, eternal Being, the Source, the beginning of all other beings ; Life, and even Existence itself.

God is a being perfectly simple; He is a perfect Spirit; He has neither body, nor figure, nor form. He does not come under our senses ; He can neither be seen, nor touched. If the picture of God the Father represents Him under the form of an old man, it is to give us an idea of His adorable antiquity, and because He showed himself in this form to the prophet Daniel. If the Sacred Scriptures speaks to us of the eyes, the feet, and the hands of God, it uses such language only to accommodate itself to our weakness. These are no more than figures which serve to make us understand the perfections and attributes of God. By His eyes is signified that He sees all things ; by His hands that He made all things ; by His arms is understood His supreme power; and we express as far as possible His dignity, by placing all creatures at His feet.

But at the same time, the word of God warns us not to conceive a false idea of God, by supposing Him to have a human form, giving Him a human body and senses, or by believing that He is, as it were, confined within the vast and magnificent palace of this world. God is a Spirit; and therefore He desires to be adored in spirit and in truth. He wishes that our minds should be constantly raised toward Him, and that our hearts should he penetrated with His love, when we contemplate and meditate upon His infinite perfections.He wishes that, like generous children, we should have
for Him the deepest respect and the most perfect submission to His ever adorable will. He wishes that, by a faithful discharge of all the duties of our state, we may merit His favor and His love.

There is a God : He is perfect. He is infinite. O my soul, bless the Lord, and may all that is within me praise His holy name ! Yes, 0 Lord, I am the work of Thy hands, and my soul and my body shall never cease to publish Thy greatness and Thy goodness. Alas! can it be possible that there are men who refuse to recognize Him, by whose omnipotence they were called into existence! Can it be, that there are others who, though acknowledging that there is a God, yet live as if they knew Him not ; do not love Him, nor serve Him, nor wish to do any thing to please Him.

Let us not, O my God ! be amongst the number of those ungrateful wretches; on the contrary, let us bless Thee all the days of our lives; let us praise and glorify Thee on earth, which is Thy footstool; that, we may merit the happiness of being one day admitted to praise, and bless, and love Thee forever in Heaven, where Thou hast established the “ Throne of Thy Glory.” — Amen. 

Source:  One hundred short sermons, The Most Rev. Martin John Spalding Archbishop of Baltimore

In the old time there were three great ministries or offices by means of which God spoke to His chosen people, the Israelites, or , as they were afterwards called the Jews, viz. that of Priest, that of King, and that of Prophet.

Those who were chose by God for one or other of these offices were solemnly anointed with oil - oil signifying the grace of God, which was given to them for the due performance of their high duties. But our Lord was all three, a Priest, a Prophet, and a King - a Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins; a Prophet, because He revealed to us the Holy Law of God; and a King, because He rules over us. Thus He is the one true Christ.

source: Meditations and Devotions, by Cardinal John Henry Newman, 1893

"But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers and burned their city." Matt xxii, 7.

SYNOPSIS. The meaning of the parable. God's desire for the salvation of all men. Hence all are invited again and again to do penance and amend their lives. The testimony of Scripture on this point. The relation be tween justice and mercy. God s punishment of old of those who refused His call to penance, i. e., the ark and the Hood. This is just as true in our times. Therefore, let us look to it that we escape the just anger of God.

In the king spoken of in today's Gospel, we have an example of forbearance. When those whom he had invited to the feast failed to appear he did not at once become angry, but sent his servants out again with a more pressing invitation. When this kindness met with more evil results ending in the murder of the servants, the king became very angry and sent an army to set fire to the city.
This is a parable telling us of the forbearance of Almighty God, who invites men to do penance and patiently defers punishment even when the invitation is ignored. If a person, says St. Bernard, notices a defect in his house he will not immediately tear it down, but will seek to repair the defect. God sees the wrongdoing of man; He does not immediately visit punishment on the wrongdoer, but patiently waits and gives him many opportunities to amend. "But thou hast mercy upon all because thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance," says Solomon (Wisdom xi, 24). And the Lord calls to sinners through the prophet Ezekiel : "As I live, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live" (Ezekiel xxxiii, fi), and through Isaias: "If your sins be as scarlet they shall be made as white as snow, and if they be as red as crimson they shall be white as wool" (Isaias i, 18). It is in the power of God to punish sinners as soon as they fall, but He wishes them to repent and reform. God's goodness and forbearance are not limited, but when the measure of iniquity is full, justice steps in and deals out retribution. When the first sinful generation of mankind refused to do penance, God resolved to punish the evildoers, and He said to Noah: "The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of timber planks. Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth to destroy all flesh." Noah did as God commanded him, and it took him one hundred years to build the ark. Why such length of time to build an ark when the magnificent temple of Solomon was built and completed in seven years? St. Chrysostom explains this in the words : "God let so much time be spent in building the ark because He desired that for all this time the work of erecting the ark should be a constant warning and exhortation to the perverse people to acknowledge their guilt before the threatened punishment would descend upon them."

And this great forbearance of the Lord is witnessed in all ages, yea, also in our times, in ourselves. Why does the Lord show such great forbearance and love? For no other reason than that men should acknowledge and repent of their sins and seek forgiveness in His mercy. He wants not the death of the sinner, but that he repent and live. He not only has forbearance with the sinner, He also admonishes him in many ways to return to Him. If you will examine your conscience you must acknowledge that God has often brought to your mind the deplorable condition of your soul, and admonished you to do penance. God calls you to Him: "Return to me, and I will receive thee" (Jer. iii, i).

Do not forget, however, that the Lord will in the end punish severely those that fail to pay attention to His admonitions. Do not misuse His forbearance, for death may suddenly overtake you, and in death the justice of the Lord. I will close with the words of the Apostle: "Despiseth thou the riches of His goodness, and patience, and long-suffering? Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance ? But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God" (Romans ii, ,4-5).

SERMON CXXVIII.

Why do you think evil in your hearts ? ST. MATT. ix. 4.

All those, dear brethren, who are trying to lead a holy life have a great horror of external sins. They will not lie, steal, murder, or be guilty of adultery or intemperance. Still, I am afraid a great many of us are awfully careless about internal sins. We forget that not only the sins which we openly commit, but those also which we secretly assent to in our own minds, are offenses against God.

You can see this in today's Gospel. When our Lord said to the sick man, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," the Scribes directly said "within themselves, He blasphemeth"; and although they did not shape this sentence in words, it was accounted to them for sin, as we can see from the reply of Jesus Christ contained in the text.

You see, then, brethren, if you want to keep your conscience clear, you must not only avoid external but even internal sins. Indeed, I think the sins which we commit internally are even more deadly than the external ones. First, because they always precede the open offense ; as our Lord says in another place, " From the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies." Now, you will see at once that "evil thoughts " come first on the list, by which I think our Lord wishes to intimate that they are the root of all the others.

Again, evil thoughts, whether they are against charity, or against chastity, or against faith - whether they are thoughts of pride, of hatred, or envy, or avaricious thoughts - insomuch as they are concealed from the sight of others, do not cause the same shame to the guilty person as an overt act would. Thus, being the more easily committed, they are the more frequent and the more deadly.

Lastly, dear friends, evil thoughts pollute the mind and heart, and in proportion as they and their darkness enter God and his brightness leave. To indulge in evil thoughts is to defile the stream at its fountain-head and poison all the river below.

Be on your guard, then, dear brethren, against this insidious enemy.

Perhaps evil thoughts against faith may assail you. Cast them out before they have time to enter fully into the mind. Many, better perhaps and holier than you, have in times past become heretics, apostates, enemies of God s church because they did not trample at once upon these beginnings of evil. You may be assaulted by imaginations against holy purity. Stifle them, I beseech you, at once, or they will grow in strength and gain in frequency till they have buried the grace of God, peace of mind, and strength
of intellect in one common and unhallowed grave. You have all doubtless heard of the avalanche which happens in regions where the mountains which rise from the great valley and tower above the nestling valleys are covered with perpetual snow. Perhaps it is a slight puff of air, or the light tread of the mountain goat, or it maybe nothing but the brushing of a bird swing that detaches the ball of snow ; but be that as it may, the particle, once started, rushes down the mountain-side, gathering strength as it hurries on, leaping from one precipice to another, till finally, having swept everything before it, the enormous heap falls upon the peaceful village and buries everything in "a chaos of indistinguishable death." Yet in the beginning that avalanche was but a ball of snow. So it is with evil thoughts against faith, chastity, charity, humility, and all the other virtues. Once let them start and you can never tell in what awful ruin they will end.

Nip evil thoughts, then, in the bud ; and as chief remedies I would say :

1. Fill your mind with good thoughts. A vessel cannot be full of two liquids at the same time. Think of heaven ; think of God, of Jesus, of Mary and her pure spouse, St. Joseph.

2. Remember the eye that sees the secrets of all hearts, and Him who saw the thoughts of the Scribes in the Gospel of today.

3. Remember that you can commit a mortal sin by thought as well as by deed.

Lastly, picture to yourself One ever standing by your side, with wounded hands and pierced heart, " whose name is faithful and true, whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and on his head many diadems ; who is clothed with a garment of blood," and who cries to you night
and day, " Why do ye think evil in your hearts ?"

Source: Five minutes sermons for Low Masses on all Sundays of the Year by the Paulist Fathers, 1886