Let us beware, then, not in any way, however indirect, to give sanction or encouragement to this work of the devil in our midst. "Have no fellowship with these works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Do not buy or even take up for a moment the indecent papers or books now unfortunately so common among us; still more, do not sell them; do not allow them to be in the house; do not suffer your children to look at or read them; do not frequent places where they are to be had. Set your faces resolutely, for the honor of God and the Catholic name, as well as for your own souls sake, against this plague of immodest literature, which has assumed such fearful proportions and become so bold and unblushing in these days in which we live. Think nothing to be light or of little moment in this matter; mortal sin is much easier in it than you may believe.
Epistle.Hebrews ix.11-15.Brethren:Christ, being come a high-priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation: neither by the blood of goats, nor of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death, for the redemption of those transgressions, which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus our Lord.Gospel.St. John viii.46-59.At that time:Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God. The Jews, therefore, answered and said to him: Do we not say well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered: I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and you have dishonored me. But I seek not my own glory; there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: if any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever.The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day; he saw it, and was glad. The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.
The Blood of Jesus Christ his Soncleanseth us from all sin.—1 Epistle St. John i. 7.
We all know, my dear brethren, that when a man is born into the world he is bornuncleanbefore God. He is thensounclean that he is not fit to associate with the sons of God and heirs of the kingdom of heaven. He is then so unclean that he can never be anything but an outcast from God until he is made clean.
Is there any way in which he can be made clean? Yes, for when he is baptized he is made a new creature; he is cleansed from the stain of original sin, made a child of God and heir of the kingdom of heaven. He is then so pure and holy that if he die immediately he will go, to a certainty, straight to heaven. For baptism applies the Blood of Christ to his soul, and he is become truly clean. But suppose he does not die immediately after baptism, how is it with him then? If he keep his baptismal innocence, so far as never to commit a mortal sin, he still has a right to go to heaven. He can then demand of God permission to enter heaven.
Can he, however, demand this permission to enter heaven immediately after his death if he has committed only venial sin? That depends entirely upon his contrition at the moment of death. If he is not so sorry for all his sins that his contrition is [not] perfect, then he can't enter heaven immediately, but must go to purgatory to be made perfectly pure, so that he can be taken into heaven.
I have said that baptism applies the Blood of Christ to the soul and makes man pure and innocent. Now, baptism is a sacrament. It is the first one and is necessary to salvation. Without it no man can enter heaven, nor even purgatory, for the purgatorial state is the first and lowest state of blessed and holy souls who must go to heaven in the end. But the blood of Christ is applied to the soul of man in other ways, although baptism must come in in the first place.
In what other ways is the Blood of Christ applied:
First, by the Sacrifice of the Mass. For by the Mass we repair our sins, get grace to keep from sin, and make our purgatory shorter in consequence. He who hears Mass daily makes the best prayer that a man can make, and he is more certain to have his prayer answered. He also helps the living and the dead, and brings down upon himself and his own special graces from God.
Secondly, the Blood of Christ is applied to our souls by the Sacrament of Penance. Men defile their souls by sin, bymortalsin after baptism. He who receives the Sacrament of Penance worthily—that is, with true sorrow for all mortal sin, with a firm determination to lead a good life and repair the wrong he has done—that man receives again the grace of God that restores his soul to eternal life.
Thirdly, in Holy Communion we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in a hidden manner, but in deed and in truth. The consecrated Host is the eternal and ever-living God himself. You know, my dear brethren, the strength of this divine food. How it gives new energy to the soul, destroys the power of concupiscence, banishes, or at least weakens, temptation, always giving us the grace to hold our own against the world, the flesh, and the devil.And there are Catholics who refuse to make this Communion once a year!
But there is one thing that ought to be said here. A Catholic ought never to consider as useless, or as almost useless, any one of the sacraments. This too many do as regards confession. They underrate it. They think, therefore, it is no good unless they receive Communion every time they go to confession. Now this is a grave error. One isnotobliged to go to Communion every time he goes to confession. Those who cannot go to Mass nor Communion, on account of their business or employment or work keeping them away, can at least go to confession very often during the year. All such an one has to do is to prepare himself carefully, step into the rector's house, make his confession, and go on to work again. If he but make an arrangement with some one of the priests he can always be heard at once. Frequent confession is a wonderful help to a good life and a happy death.
Which of you shall convince me of sin?—John viii. 46.
To-day, dear friends, is Passion Sunday, and our long Lenten pilgrimage is nearing its end. Heretofore our thoughts have been on ourselves, our own shortcomings, our own sins. Now we stand, as it were, on the hill overlooking the Holy City, and see before us, as a map unrolled, the scene of our Redeemer's agony: Bethany, the olive-garden of Gethsemani, and, further on, the barren mount of Calvary, with its three crosses standing forth, black and cruel, against the fair blue sky.
Now our thoughts turn from ourselves to our Lord. We have seen what the effect of sin has been on us. Now we look and see, and our shame should deepen as we see, what sorrow and tears and agony it has brought on the eternal Son of God.
To-day the cross is veiled, the pictures are shrouded in mourning, the "Gloria" ceases to be sung. So our sins covered our dying Lord as with a garment, and sorrow chokes the voice of holy church, fills her heart to overflowing, and stills all her songs of praise.
What is this veil which obscures the cross of Jesus Christ and makes his Passion of no effect? O dear brethren! is it not our sins? What platted the crown of thorns, and drove those sharp spikes deep into his sacred head? Our selfish pride. What sent those nails through his hands and feet, fixing them to the tree of shame? Our wicked deeds and our wanderings from the path of duty. What parched his tongue with such burning thirst? Our shameless indulgence in drink. What pointed the spear of the impious Roman soldier, and hurled it deep into the Sacred Heart, whence issued the red torrent of the Precious Blood? Our inordinate appetites and sinful lusts. As often as we sin we crucify our dearest Lord afresh.
"Which of you shall convince me of sin?" What more could I have done for my vineyard which I have not done? I came down from heaven; took upon myself the form of a servant, the likeness of sinful flesh; set you a perfect example how you should walk; was led as a lamb to the slaughter; was scourged, spit upon, mangled, crucified; what could I have done more? Which of you shall convince me of sin? Which ofyou, my brethren? How many graces and blessings do you not owe to that crucified Lord? In how many sore temptations have you not been defended and strengthened? In how many bitter sorrows have you not been comforted? From how many shameful falls have you not been raised up? O Christian soul! for whom Christ died, look upon that bleeding, suffering, dying Saviour, and, if nothing else will move you, let those ghastly wounds, which your sins have made, plead with you. Acknowledge your transgressions: abase yourself in the very dust.Let that sacred Passion plead with you, that infinite love plead with you, that Precious Blood plead with you, those last tender words plead with you, and teach you, for their sake and your soul's sake, to love the Lord more dearly, to dread sin more effectually, and never, as long as you live, to add to that heavy burden by any wicked deed of yours.
So shall, a few days hence, the veil be lifted from the cross, and our sorrow be turned to joy, for when the Lord of Glory shall arise we too shall arise with him, and reign with him in glory for evermore.
Walk circumspectly; not as unwise, but as wise.—Ephesians. v. 15-16.
To-day, my dear brethren, I propose to make a few remarks on the dangerous occasions of impurity, so common in these times.
The danger of which I wish specially to speak is that which comes from the familiar acquaintance which now exists to such a great extent, and is taken so much as a matter of course, between young persons of different sexes. This undue familiarity is too common everywhere in this country; and more than anywhere else in a city like that in which we live. Young women here with us, even though they be Catholics, and good enough Catholics in some respects, seem to forget, or rather never to begin to realize, the laws of decorum and modesty which well-instructed persons, even though not professing to be specially religious, have hitherto rightly taken for granted.
To take a flagrant instance. A priest, being a man educated according to the rules of respectable society, is unspeakably surprised when he for the first time hears some young woman, apparently of a careful conscience, ask him if it is a sin to flirt. For what is this which is called flirting? It is simply deliberately and wantonly acting in a way to attract the attention of particular persons of the opposite sex, to make signals which are to be understood as marks of preference for, or of desire of acquaintance with, some young man or men whom she may chance to see on the street. A sin to flirt! How can you ask such a question? Why, outwardly and at the first appearance, the act is not very different from that of an abandoned woman seeking to attract those whom she thinks will notice her. The intention, of course, in your minds is often comparatively harmless, it is true; but by outward standards the act is simply disreputable. Furthermore, it shows a feeling which any lady, really worthy of the name, would hesitate to show even to one whose character she well knew to be good, and who had for a long time given to her respectful and proper attentions. A woman or girl who flirts seems to be, if she is not in reality, lost to all sense of decency; and those are almost as much so who shamelessly walk at night up and down the avenues in the hope of attracting attention.
This seeking to form unknown acquaintances of the opposite sex or to attract special attention among them is, then, a thing which no Catholic girl should think of, if she has any sense of shame. But when such acquaintances are formed by an introduction in itself proper, they should be very carefully considered.For a young woman to make one of the other sex her friend or familiar companion, as she well may one of her own, is a thing which should be unheard of. She should have but one such friend, and he should be one who has acted honorably to her by proposing to her to take the honorable part of her husband, and whom she has before God and in her conscience felt to be worthy, and accepted by a binding engagement. Before that, and to all other men, politeness with proper and modest reserve should be the constant rule, affection and familiarity out of the question. And yet we find girls keeping company, as it is called, and that without any sort of serious guarantee of the purposes of the other party, not only with one after another, but even with more than one at once.
For the reasons, plain enough, on which these directions rest, promiscuous assemblies of both sexes, such as those to be found at certain gatherings, now unfortunately so popular, are full of danger, and had far better in all cases be avoided. A freedom of manners prevails in them—to say nothing of direct temptations to the senses—and an ease of making acquaintance, which opens a free door to sin. I do not wish to be too severe, but, as a rule, I do say, leave such places alone. Young women, respect yourselves; demand the respect of others. There is the moral in a nutshell.
Epistle.Philippians ii.5-11.Brethren:Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery himself to be equal with God: but debased himself, taking the form of a servant, being made to the likeness of men, and in shape found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above every name: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell. And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.Gospel.St. Matthew xxvii.62-66.And the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together to Pilate, saying: Sir, we have remembered that that seducer said, while he was yet alive: After three days I will rise again. Command therefore the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day: lest his disciples come and steal him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them: You have a guard; go, guard it as you know. And they departing, made the sepulchre sure with guards, sealing the stone.
To-day if you shall hear his voice,harden not your hearts.
These words, my dear brethren, are taken from the beginning of the office recited by the clergy on this and the following days, up to Holy Thursday. They entreat us not to let this time, precious above all others, go by without making the use of it which our Lord means that we should make; not to let him show his love for us without giving him love in return.
"Harden not your hearts." How is it that we harden our hearts? It is by putting off our repentance; by clinging to the world and its pleasures, to the gratification of our sinful passions, and waiting for some time to come when it will be more convenient to give them up, or when we shall feel more strongly moved to do so. We think that this time will surely come, that the stream of God's graces will be uninterrupted, and that when necessity urges we can avail ourselves of the one that happens to be then within our reach as easily as we could have done of the many that went by long ago.
But, my brethren, this is a great and a terrible mistake. It may be, indeed, that God in his goodness and mercy has many graces yet in store for us equal in themselves to those which we have had; but if we have despised and neglected the past ones they will not be the same for us as those were which went before,A word of warning, a single prayer, the sight of the crucifix or of our Blessed Mother, a pious picture, an Agnus Dei, is enough to move the innocent soul of a child to the love of God; the most powerful mission-sermon often fails to make any impression on one who has spent his life in sin. It is not the grace that is wanting on God's part. No, he is there in his power; his arm is not shortened; he is still mighty to save. But his voice seems to the deaf ear of the sinner faint and indistinct; his message is the same old story. Yes, it is the same old story; it must be the same, for there is but one. There is but one name under heaven whereby we can be saved, only one Gospel which we can preach, and the sinner has heard it so often with indifference that its interest is gone.
Then—most dangerous delusion of all—he comforts himself with the hope that at least he will die in the grace of God; that somehow or other he will, as he passes from life to death, be brought from death to life. He forgets that the sacraments were not given to give repentance to the sinner; no, they have for their object to give pardon and grace to those who have repented. Do you think it is of the slightest use to anoint with oil the senses of a man who lies unconscious, and who has not, while he had the use of his mind, turned really and truly away in his heart from his sinful life? The priest does it, indeed, in hopes that he may have repented; but how faint is that hope for those who have suddenly been stricken down! And even if there is more time; even if some sort of confession can be made, is it so sure that the hardened heart, which has all its life loved and clung to its sins, will now love God and hate sin? God's mercy is great, it is true; he may now give extraordinary graces, but he is not bound to do so; and if the ordinary ones have failed before they may also fail now.
Yes, my brethren, now is the time—a better time than your last hour. Now in this Passion season the Precious Blood of Christ is flowing more freely for you than you can expect ever to find it again. Listen to his voice now; do not wait till it becomes fainter. If you have not spent Lent well so far, come now and make the most of the help so abundantly given you in these holy days. Harden not your hearts any longer; it is a dangerous game to play.
Think diligently upon him that endured such oppositionfrom sinners against himself.—Hebrews. xii. 3.
The week which we this Sunday enter upon, my dear brethren, is called Holy Week; and of all the many sacred seasons which the church has set apart, this is by far the most solemn and sacred. Everything which it is within the power of external rites and ceremonies to do has been done by the church in these services, in order to bring home to her children the great lesson which this holy season should teach. And while it is true that the church has not made attendance obligatory under pain of mortal sin, yet it would argue a very poor and ungrateful spirit, and one but little in accordance with that of the church, if any one should without good reason neglect to be present.
Now, what is the truth which these services have it for their object to impress upon our minds? No other than that fundamental, distinctive truth—the Passion and death of Christ, its reason and effects. The church this week excludes from commemoration everything else, and applies herself exclusively to tracing the steps of her Lord and Founder from his entry into Jerusalem in the midst of acclamations and rejoicings, to the entombment of his dead and blood-stained body in the sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea. Now, every one must have, necessarily has, in these events the greatest interest—an interest which surpasses every other.
And, first, as to those who are in the habit of going frequently to the sacraments, who understand their great value, and find in these means of grace their chief consolation in the midst of the troubles and cares which surround them. For these the commemoration of the Passion and death of Christ can not but be profitable. The author of "The Following of Christ" tells us that we ought not to consider so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver. And we all know that we esteem the trifling present made by a dear friend more than much more costly things which we have ourselves bought or earned. Now, the sacraments are not merely inestimable treasures in themselves; they are also tokens and pledges of the love of Him who instituted them, bought by him at the cost of his own most Precious Blood, given to us to show us his love to us. Every time a man goes to confession, every time he receives Holy Communion, he is receiving that which was instituted and established and bestowed upon him out of love; and if he wishes to know how great that love was he ought to have a lively sense of what it cost our Lord to merit those graces for us—namely, his bitter Passion and death.
But there are many who neglect the sacraments, who come to them but seldom, perhaps only to their Easter Communion; perhaps not even to that. What is to be thought of those who act in this way? Certainly, however smart and keen and intelligent they may be, or fancy themselves to be, in lower matters which are nearer to them and fall beneath their senses—in money-getting, in trade, in art, in literature—such men show but little sense and understanding about things which are of real importance and value. In what way may these duller and obtuser minds learn to appreciate these higher things? Certainly the price given for a thing by a prudent man is a good means of learning what it is worth. Now, if those who neglect the sacraments, who make but little of them, would during this week apply themselves to the consideration of the price paid by our Lord for those sacraments, I have but little doubt that they would be led to form a truer notion of their value and importance.
I wish I could conclude without alluding to another class which, though I trust it is not numerous, yet does exist—I mean those who do not neglect the sacraments, but those who do worse: who profane them. Those who make bad confessions, who conceal mortal sins, who have no sorrow for their sins and no purpose of amendment, who make the infinite mercy and goodness of God a reason and pretext for wallowing in vice and sin—what shall be said of these?We know that our Lord is reigning now gloriously in heaven; that nothing which we can do can cause him loss or pain; yet it is also true that those who act in this way do all that lies in their power to trample under foot that Precious Blood which was shed for them. But while there is life there is hope, and if even those would devote this week to meditation on the Passion of our Lord, they might form a just estimate of what their souls cost our Lord, and turn to him while there is yet time.
Epistle.1Corinthians v.7, 8.Brethren:Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new mass, as you are unleavened. For Christ, our pasch, is sacrificed. Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.Gospel.St. Mark xvi.1-7.At that time:Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, bought sweet spices, that coming they might anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, the sun being now risen. And they said one to another: Who shall roll us back the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And looking, they saw the stone rolled back, for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe: and they were astonished. And he said to them: Be not affrighted; ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen, he is not here; behold the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee; there you shall see him as he told you.
Hæc dies, quam fecit Dominus:Exultemus, et lætemur in ea.—Psalm cxvii. 24.[USCCB: Psalm cxviii. 24.]"This is the day which the Lord hath made:Let us be glad and rejoice in it."
So sings the Psalmist. So sings the church today in Holy Mass, and every Christian heart beats with the response: "Let us be glad and rejoice."
A happy Easter, then, to you all, my dear brethren! A happy Easter to the old, to whom, in the natural course of things, many returns of this blessed day cannot come! A happy Easter to the young, rejoicing in all the freshness and vigor of youth, and confidently looking forward to many renewals of Easter joys! A happy Easter to the rich, upon whom God has bestowed an abundance of worldly goods! And a thrice happy Easter to God's own special friends, the poor! Thus holy church bids all be glad and rejoice, for to-day Christ is risen, the Saviour of us all.
The joy of Easter, my dear brethren, like that of Christmas, is all-pervading. We feel it in the air we breathe, we see it in the sparkling eye and radiant countenance of the child. The quick and hearty salutation of our friends, "A happy Easter to you!" increases our own joy, for we perceive that all about us are sharers with us in this great gift of the risen Christ.
But the joy of Easter differs from that of Christmas in this: that the latter brings to us the glad tidings of the coming of the true King, the strong and valiant leader of the mighty host of Israel, and our hearts leap with joy as we go forth, with buoyant step and strengthened arm, and fight the great battle of life. Easter joy is the joy of victory, for our gallant Leader, the strong Son of God, has gone before; he has overcome the enemy, and death is swallowed up in victory.
Yes, Christ has fought the battle and won. But there remains for us a battle to be fought, but not an uncertain one; for we have received virtue from the victory of Christ, and by following him faithfully, by keeping our eye fixed steadily on the banner of Christ—the banner of the cross—our victory, too, is certain.
This, then, is why Easter time gladdens the heart of every true Christian, for it brings with it the assured hope of final victory over sin, which is the sting of death, by a glorious resurrection.
But, my dear brethren, mid all these rejoicings may there not be some poor soul among us who does not participate in the joys of Easter time? Some soul for which Christ on Good Friday poured forth the last drop of his Sacred Blood, but which to-day finds itself estranged, nay, even in a hostile attitude towards its only true friend? Oh! would to God there were not even one such ungrateful soul in the whole world. But, alas! I fear there are many upon whom our loving Saviour, the risen Christ, must look this day as his declared enemies; some wretched souls over whom hangs the thick, black cloud of mortal sin, unrepented and unforgiven, and through which the bright rays of God's infinite love cannot penetrate. Yet even these need not despair; the joys of Easter time may still be theirs, for the same loving and sword-pierced Heart of Jesus is still ready to be reconciled with them.Oh! if there be such a one present here this morning let him take courage, come at once to the tribunal of penance, become one of the friends of the risen Christ, and share with us the joys of Easter.
And those who have been, but are no longer, strangers to God's grace, persevere, I exhort you, during the short space of this life in the friendship of our crucified Lord, and yours, too, will, like his, be a glorious resurrection.
Let us, then, my dear brethren, on this happy Easter day elevate our hearts to God in humble thanksgiving for all his benefits, and let us unite with the holy church in the prayer of the office for to-day. God! who, through thine only-begotten Son, hast on this day overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life, we humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us, thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continued help we may bring the same to good effect. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
This is the day which the Lord hath made:let us be glad and rejoice therein.—Psalm. cxvii. 24.[USCCB: Psalm cxviii. 24.]
Familiar words these, my brethren, and for ever associated in our minds with this greatest of all Christian festivals. Frequently on this day and through its octave does the church repeat them to us; they sound now continually in our ears. And no doubt they find some echo in our hearts. Yes, we are glad, we do rejoice; surely no one who can call himself a Christian could hear unmoved the outburst of our triumph and exultation yesterday as the "Gloria in Excelsis" was intoned in the Mass, telling us that the lion of Juda has conquered, that God has arisen and that his enemies are scattered, that he has put death and hell under his feet. For the moment at least we would say with St. Paul: "O death! where is thy victory? O death! where is thy sting? Thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
But as the newness, the freshness of the Easter joy and triumph passes away, does not another feeling come and mingle with it? A feeling of awe, almost of dread, comes upon us, like that terror which came upon the guards at the sepulchre as they saw the angel who rolled away the stone, of whom St. Matthew says that his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; like that fear which came even on the holy women as they saw the two angels in shining apparel standing at the empty tomb; and upon the Apostles themselves when Jesus stood in their midst soon after; for the evangelist tells us that they were troubled and frighted, in spite of his words giving them peace and telling them not to be afraid.
Indeed, I think there was no one of those who saw our risen Lord, except his glorious and Blessed Mother, whose love was so perfect that it quite cast out this fear.And still more is it in our poor and imperfect hearts; we cannot shake it off. How many are there of us, unless, indeed, those innocent ones who have not yet known what sin is, who, if this were really and truly the morning of the resurrection, and the risen one could be seen by those who should seek him, would arise gladly and run to meet him, and fall in loving adoration at his feet?
If we can in our inmost heart feel that we would, we have reason indeed to be glad and rejoice to-day. But to feel so there must be something in us besides that thrill of triumph and of victory which overpowers us as the splendor of the resurrection first breaks upon our souls. There must be a true, fervent, and deep love of the God who to-day comes so near to us; a hatred from the bottom of our hearts and souls of all that in the least degree separates us from him; there must be, beside faith, also hope and charity, such as the saints have had—that hope which knows that he loves us and has forgiven us, that charity which would make us die sooner than offend him again. And these we have not because of our sins.
Yes, it is sin which casts the shadow on our Easter; it is the love and affection for it which still remains in us; it is that compromising spirit which is even at our best times holding us back, keeping us from fully loving, trusting, and giving ourselves up to God, for fear that we might lose something by doing so; it is this that makes us afraid to approach him and to share in his joy. As for mortal sin, that, of course, takes the happiness of Easter away altogether; to one who is in its darkness the thought of meeting God brings, and can bring, no thought of joy. But even venial sin brings its dread with it, too.And what is the remedy for this dread? It is very simple. It is only to try now to begin to love with our whole hearts him who has loved us, and given his life for us; whose delight is to be with us and to have us come to him; to keep nothing back from him—in short, to live here in our feeble measure the life we hope to live in heaven. This is the way, and the only way, for us to enter now as we would wish into the joy of our Lord.
This is the day which the Lord hath made:let us rejoice and be glad in it.—Psalm. cxvii. 24.[USCCB: Psalm cxviii. 24.]
The festival of Easter is, above all things, my brethren, a day of joy. Just as we love the sunshine more after days of cloud and tempest, so also is our joy keener and more intense when it follows sorrows.
It is for this reason that the joy of Easter is greater than that of Christmas, or of any other season of the Christian year. For we have been passing through a time of sorrow. We have beheld in Passion-tide our dearest Lord in suffering. We have beheld him as the King of Martyrs, worthy of the title, because his pains were so far in excess of anything that mere man has ever suffered or could ever suffer. We have seen him in his agony in the garden, when the sins of the whole world and of all time were presented to his vision and pressed heavily upon him, filling his Sacred Heart with deepest grief.We have called to mind his betrayal by his trusted friend and disciple; his arraignment before impious and unjust judges; his cruel condemnation and death. Despised and rejected by his own chosen people whom he had come to save, a robber and murderer preferred before him, we have beheld him abandoned to the tortures of the heathen soldiers, scourged, and spit upon, and crowned with thorns, and finally led forth to die a malefactor's death upon the cross.
And worse than all is the thought that he was forsaken by those whom he held most dear, those whom he had chosen to be his special friends and disciples, and who had been his constant companions in his public ministry. They all forsook him and fled, leaving him to die.
Then we have followed him along the sorrowful way of the cross; we have meditated deeply upon his three last hours of agony; we have almost heard his deep, expiring groan as he rendered up his soul to the hands of his Father.
Now, if we have thus learnt well the lessons of Passion-tide, the joy of Easter will come to us in all its fulness. If we have pondered well the depth of humiliation to which our Lord subjected himself in his death upon the cross, we shall well realize the greatness of his triumph to-day. The joy that filled the hearts of the Apostles, of the holy women, and, above all, the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Lady when they knew that the Lord had risen indeed will be ours to-day, and we shall cry out in the words which the church puts into our mouths: "This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it": for "the Lord is my strength and my praise, and is become my salvation." Therefore, to-day the voice of praise and of salvation "is in the dwellings of the just throughout the world."
"For the right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength"; the right hand of the Lord—that is, his almighty power—has raised up Jesus from the dead. He has risen glorious and triumphant, and in his glory and triumph all mankind are sharers. For by his resurrection he has overcome death and opened unto us the gates of everlasting life. He has triumphed over sin, which brought death into the world, and which was the cause of his death. His resurrection, therefore, means our deliverance from sin and death, and is a pledge to us of that life which he will give to his faithful ones.
Surely, then, we can have no greater cause for rejoicing than this. Pray, then, my brethren, that your hearts may be filled with the true spirit of Easter joy. "Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full; and your joy no man shall take from you."
Epistle.1St. John v.4-10.Dearly beloved:Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in water only, but in water and blood. And it is the spirit that testifieth, that Christ is the truth. For there are three that give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three are one. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God, which is greater, because he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself.Gospel.St. John xx.19-31.At that time:When it was late that same day, being the first day of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands, and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. And he said to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose you shall retain, they are retained.Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Unless 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 after eight days his disciples were again within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not incredulous, but faithful. Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing you may have life in his name.
If ye be risen with Christ,seek those things which are above,where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.—Epistle to Colossians. iii. 1.
The feast of to-day, my dear brethren, brings to a close the solemnities of Easter; and it was the practice, in the early ages of the church, for those who had been baptized on Holy Saturday to put off, on this day, the white garments which they then assumed, and to resume again their accustomed occupation.The white garments were but an external sign of that internal purity and cleanliness which the soul received in the waters of Holy Baptism, and the soul, thus purified and strengthened by God's grace, went boldly forth to the battle-field of life, to meet again its three great and deadly enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. So we, who, during the penitential season just closed, have faithfully observed the laws of holy church, and, by fasting, have brought the flesh under subjection to the spirit; by foregoing our accustomed pleasures and amusements have brought the world under our feet, and, by a good confession and Communion, have again enlisted in the ranks of Christ, and thus declared ourselves eternal enemies of sin and the devil, start again to-day with renewed strength to follow our Leader, the risen Christ, to certain victory.
St. Paul, in the Epistle from which the text is taken, reminds the Christians at Colossa that, if they be risen with Christ, their thoughts must now be turned to where Christ is—sitting at the right hand of God. "Mind the things that are above," he continues, "not the things that are upon the earth; for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
O brethren! would that Catholics did but realize this great truth! Would that their thoughts and affections were directed towards their eternal destiny! Absorbed, as they are, in the sordid pursuits of this life, they cannot be too often reminded that we are here only on trial. An almighty and merciful God has, with a lavish hand, surrounded us with the means of gratifying our reasonable desires and appetites. But, alas! the very gifts of God serve not unfrequently to make us forget the Giver.Look around you and see what is the object for which this noisy, bustling world is striving; what the end for which most men seem to exist. The fact is, brethren, that Mammon, the heathen god of riches, has disputed Christ's sovereignty over the hearts of men, and has actually erected his altar in those very hearts where the grace of Christ once reigned. The only conception men seem to have of this present life is this: that it is a place where we are to strive to become wealthy in the shortest possible time, without being over scrupulous as to the means, and then to retire from active pursuits, the better to indulge our sensual appetites. They thus invert the order of Divine Providence, and make an end of that which was intended only as a means to enable us to attain our eternal destiny.
Everything in this world, my dear brethren, was intended by God for our happiness here and as a pledge of an eternal and infinitely greater happiness hereafter. It is a great mistake to suppose that Christianity requires us to ignore these wonderful gifts of a kind Providence, and to forego all the pleasures of this life. No, not at all! Indeed, we are absolutely obliged to make use of many of them if we would maintain our very existence.
God acts towards us as a kind and affectionate father acts towards his child. The father knows that his child loves him, and he feels confident that the little presents he makes the child from time to time will only serve to strengthen the fond affection which nature has implanted between them.