Hunolt Sermons/Volume 10/Sermon 55

by Franz Hunolt

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TRUTHS EXPLAINED ABOVE.

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On the Folly of Men in Taking Such Little Trouble to Secure Heaven.

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FIFTY-FIFTH SERMON.

ON THE WANT OF FAITH IN HEAVEN.

Subject.

Many Christians either do not believe in heaven or else they do not desire it: 1. Because they take such little trouble to secure it; 2. Because they think it does not require hard work to gain heaven.—Preached on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul.

Text.

Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis?—Matt. xvi. 13.

“Who do men say that the Son of man is?”

Introduction.

How widely different the opinions of men that came to light when the question was asked what they thought of Christ! Some took Him for John the Baptist, others for Elias, others thought Him to be Jeremias or one of the prophets. St. Peter alone, the prince of the apostles, being specially enlightened by God, gave the correct answer: “Simon Peter answered, and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.” And therefore he alone merited to hear the blessed words from the lips of Our Lord: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father who is in heaven. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” My dear brethren, on the past feast days we have ascended in thought into heaven, and contemplated its infinite delights in order to inflame our minds with the desire of possessing them. But if one were to ask the question: what do men say that heaven is? what do they think of the joys of the eternal city of God? oh, what erroneous opinions and judgments would then come to light! How few we should find who could give a correct answer! Truly, when I consider the life led by many Christians, I do not know which I must doubt: whether they have a true faith in heaven, or whether they are really in earnest about desiring to get there. One of these must be the case, as I now proceed to show in this sermon.

Plan of Discourse.

Many Christians either do not believe in heaven or do not desire it. Why so? Because they take such little trouble to secure it; the first part. Because they think it does not require hard work to gain heaven; the second part. Both concern tepid Christians who are slothful in the divine service, in order to spur them on to greater zeal. Those who are evidently wicked sinners can see from this sermon how far they are from the road to heaven, and what small hope they have of ever getting there unless they seriously amend their lives.

Grant us all Thy light, O Holy Ghost! We ask it of Thee through the intercession of Mary and of our holy guardian angels.

To take little trouble to secure a great treasure is a sign that one does not know its value or desire it. Shown by a simile. When one takes little trouble to secure a great good on which much depends, it is a clear proof either that he does not value it at its proper worth, or that he does not really desire it. A wealthy prince (so let us suppose) has amassed a vast, sum of money, like that which Solomon inherited from his father David for the building of the wonderful temple of Jerusalem, of which I spoke to you on a former occasion, namely, over a hundred thousand hundred weight of gold, and a million hundred weight of silver. Now this prince causes the following notice to be published everywhere through the city: This afternoon, at two o’clock, the prince will go out to take a walk in the neighboring fields and meadows; while he is out his treasury will be opened and every one will be allowed to take as much out of it as he pleases; no one will be denied access to it. But this permission shall last only during the time that the prince is absent from his palace taking a walk; when he returns the treasury shall be closed again. What do you think of this, my dear brethren? What a commotion it would cause in the town! Poor citizens, what would you think of such a favorable opportunity? Would you fail to profit by this short and uncertain although precious time in which you might become rich! would you sleep or sit it idly out? I imagine I am looking at the whole affair. The approach to the palace is thronged already at midday by people who have forgotten their meals in their eagerness to be in time; every one desires to be the first to enter after the prince leaves, so as to be able to take away as much money as possible. The lame and crippled become on such an occasion smart and active, and work with both hands to fill their pockets, and sacks, and clothes, as far as they will hold it, with money. I imagine the crowd would be so great as to endanger one’s life. Blows and kicks would certainly be interchanged between those who come and those who are hurrying out; but no one would be less eager to advance on that account. It does not matter, the people would think, if I have a broken head, as long as I can bring home plenty of money. But, I cry out to them, why do you crowd together so? Go quietly to work! The treasury is great enough, and contains much more than all of you could carry away. Yes, they answer, that is right enough, if we only knew how long the prince is to remain absent. Perhaps he will return immediately, and then the treasury will be closed in our faces. No, no! this is not a time for delaying; it is likely we shall never have such an opportunity of becoming rich offered us again. Suppose now that one or the other who is really in need of money for his support, and who could be the first at the treasury if he wished, is actually too lazy to stir a step out of his house, because he is with pleasant company engaged at play, what would you think of that man? He laughs at your credulity; he is perfectly certain that all the outcry about the open treasury is nonsense; or otherwise he has no desire to take anything out of it; if he had he would surely give up his talk and card-playing in order not to allow such a good chance to escape him.

God offers us endless O Christians! what a wretched simile this is to explain what our faith teaches us of the future life of the just! But what a detreasures in heaven. plorable fact that even this very simile must cause us to blush with shame, and condemn our sloth and laziness in the divine service. The King of kings opens his treasury—His heaven—and offers to men all that He has therein. And what sort of a treasure is it? A hundred thousand times a thousand million of hundred weight of gold and silver? A palace, a city built of precious stones? Eh! these and similar things are mere shadows and figures to help our weak understanding, as long as it is clothed with flesh, to grasp in some measure the happiness of the next life, for it cannot form any idea of it otherwise. What we shall receive in heaven as a reward is an infinite, immense good,—the supreme God Himself. “I am Thy protector, and Thy reward exceeding great,”^[1] He says to Abraham and to all the faithful. We shall see God; we shall possess God completely; we shall love God; we shall rejoice in God; we shall have in God all imaginable joys and happiness, and that for all eternity, without ever fearing that it shall come to an end. And mark that we need not trouble about anything further; this treasury is open to all; every man has full leave and permission to share in it by every meritorious work he performs, and to amass as many treasures of glory as he wishes in God. Nor is there any crowding or pushing here on account of the multitude of people; heaven is not a small treasure-chamber. “In My Father’s house there are many mansions,”^[2] such is the assurance given us by Christ; there is room for all; the multitude pressing for entrance cannot crowd the door; the number who come for a share in the treasure cannot lessen it. When here on earth there are many children to share an inheritance, each one gets but a small portion. The heavenly inheritance is inexhaustible, for God Himself shall be the infinite and eternal lot of each one. Come forward, then, boldly! Take as much as you wish and can carry off with you.

This life is the time for us to gain it. But what time has been proclaimed? what hour appointed in which we can strive for this heavenly, eternal treasure? The King of heaven has announced that to us by the apostle St. Paul: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”^[3] Now, while we are together, and as long as we live it is free to us to gain heaven. “Trade till I come”^[4] is the word spoken to all by the holy Evangelist St. Luke; trade till I come to bring you out of the world; work to gain heaven as long as you live; hereafter there will be an end to all work; what is not gained now is lost for all eternity. O dear Lord! Thou sayest, “till I come.” And when wilt Thou come? How long wilt Thou remain away? Give us some idea of this, so that we may arrange accordingly, and that Thy coming may not be perhaps when we are just beginning to put our hands in Thy treasury, in order to gain heaven. Alas! if we are caught then, the door will be shut in our faces, and we shall be turned away empty-handed. No; trade and work for heaven till I come. The time of My coming is not fixed; whether it will be by day or night, in the morning or the evening, in sleeping or waking moments: you must know nothing of this; all I say to each and every one is: “Be you also ready: because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.”^[5] For you, O man! for this or that one there may still perhaps be a year; for that other perhaps not even a day; for me this very hour in which I am speaking may be my last, and the King of heaven may now come to fetch me.

And if we do not work now we shall never find this treasure, but be unhappy forever. “Therefore, whilst we have time let us work good,” such is the warning given us by St. Paul; let us set to work to gather in the treasures of heaven while we have time; the time is short and its duration uncertain: “In doing good let us not fail.”^[6] A great deal depends on this; there is no question now of a temporal treasure. If I now lose an opportunity of making money I can repair my loss afterwards; and if I do not gain, I have suffered no further loss except that I did not make money when I could have done so. But far different is the business we have in hand when we undertake to gain heaven in the uncertain time of our lives; if I neglect anything in that, I shall never have an opportunity of repairing my loss; if I do not win heaven altogether it is lost to me completely. Nay, what is most terrible of all, if I do not become eternally happy I shall be eternally miserable, besides suffering that loss; if I do not come to God in heaven, I shall, besides being excluded therefrom, have to dwell with the demons in hell; there is no alternative. “Therefore, whilst we have time let us work good.”

But most men are There, my dear brethren, we have what faith teaches us of heaven, and of the ways and means of gaining it. “Believest slothful in the service of God. thou this?”^[7] Our Lord asked Martha, after He had explained to her about the eternal life that is to follow the resurrection of the dead. Let me now put the same question to many Christians and Catholics: “Believest thou this?” do you believe and believe firmly that your last end is heaven? that your eternal happiness is in heaven? that the great God Himself shall be the measure of your happiness? that you must, in the short and uncertain time of this life, prepare and merit that happiness for yourselves? Do you believe this? I am not speaking to you, O wicked sinners! who spend the days and years of your lives in vice, for it is clear and evident that you are stone-blind, that you have no true knowledge of heaven; for not only do you not work for it, but you do all in your power to have yourselves violently excluded from it. My question is addressed to you, slothful Christians who are careless in the divine service, who appear not to belong to the number of the wicked, and yet do not deserve the name of pious and zealous servants of God; you who spend the greater part of your time in idleness, or in doing things that are useless for the salvation of your souls; you who in all things seek yourselves, your comforts, and the gratification of your senses, or who are so sunk in sordid cares, in your domestic and other duties, that you find no relish for heavenly things and works of devotion, who hardly think of God once or twice in the day, who make nothing of sins unless they are evidently grievous, who rarely examine your consciences to see how they stand with God, except once a year when you go to confession, who say your short prayers, that you now and then offer to God, in a cold, distracted manner, who perform your daily tasks and duties without tiie good intention, without any regard for God or heaven, without a supernatural motive: and with all this you have little patience in adversity, little devotion in the church, little charity and mercy towards the poor, little zeal for the honor of God, little inclination for hearing sermons or reading spiritual books, for overcoming and mortifying evil propensities, for humility and other Christian virtues. In a word, you are neither hot nor cold, neither pious nor wicked; you live as if you were created only for this world. Again I ask you, tepid Christians, do you believe this? Do you believe that such a great treasure of eternal reward is open for you in heaven?

They do And what do you do to gain it? Show us the care and trouble They do nothing to gain heaven. you have hitherto taken for it? To believe that such an immense good is there spread out before you, and to go to such little pains to get possession of it, how can that be explained? Do you do as much to gain heaven as sinners do, as you yourselves have perhaps done before now, to accomplish a sinful action, to be revenged on an enemy, to enjoy the forbidden love of a creature, to get possession unjustly of what belongs to another, to lose your souls eternally? For shame that I should have to ask such a question that should cause you to feel the utmost confusion! Do you work as hard for heaven as those people of the simile to get the money out of the royal treasury? Do you do as much for heaven as those athletes among the Eonians of old who contended in the public games in order to gain a crown of victory and the applause of the public? The Apostle writes of them to the Corinthians: “Every one that striveth for the mastery refraiueth himself from all things,” from excess in eating and drinking, from too much comfort, from all that might enervate the body and weaken the limbs; no mortification is too great for them, no wounds which they expect too painful; the danger of death even they despise, and all that in the hope of gaining the crown of victory. And what sort of a crown? asks Paul. Ah! “And they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown;” they do all that for a wreath of withered laurel leaves; what then, he continues, should we not do to gain the imperishable crown of eternal glory? “But we an incorruptible one.”^[8] Do you do as much for heaven as you do to regain your health if it is in any way affected? as you still do to make some profit, or to secure success in your domestic arrangements, to get a good situation, to gain a lawsuit, to curry favor with the great, to please some mortal, to look after your bodily comforts? Is then heaven, eternal happiness, of less importance than all this trumpery that will come to an end with this short life? Ah, if even a tenth part of the trouble were devoted to gaining heaven, things would not be in such a bad state.

They have no inclination or liking for it. But there is no use in talking of working for heaven; people hardly ever think of it; or if they do, what impression does the thought leave on their minds? Talk to a worldling, a tepid Christian, about heaven when he is troubled or sad; say to him: be comforted; God has sent you this affliction for your good; it is by means of such things that we earn heaven, and when we go there we shall rejoice forever. Say to him when he is lying sick in bed: be patient, my friend; what a beautiful crown this will gain for you in heaven! Tell him about the riches and treasures of heaven when he has suffered some loss. If he is put to shame or confusion before the world, speak to him of the high honor that the saints enjoy in heaven. If he mourns the death of a dear friend, tell him of the company of the elect that the deceased enjoys in the next world, and so forth: and see how he will take your exhortations. He will answer you with sighs and groans, and if you still continue to try to console him in that way, he will turn his back on you in disgust. So little impression can such thoughts make on him. And why should we wonder at that? These subjects have hitherto hardly ever entered into bis cold and tepid heart; rarely, if ever, has he thought seriously of heaven, and therefore the subject is an insipid one to him. But if you wish to give a consolation that he will eagerly accept, I will tell you what to do: tell him that he has just been left heir to some thousands; after shedding a few tears to the memory of his departed friend, tears that he will soon forget, he will feel quite cousoled for the loss he has suffered. Bring him a document from the court to show that he has been raised to some honorable position, and he will think no more of the shame he was put to. Speak to him of his approaching marriage, or of some pleasant companions, and his melancholy will soon disappear. So easily do we console ourselves in this miserable world with fresh miseries.

Hence they do not believe in heaven, or do not desire it. O heaven of joys! what immense treasures thou hast! but in this case thou canst do little or nothing. Small is the trouble or labor we undergo for thy sake; little do we think of thee; we have no pleasure or comfort in thee, and what must necessarily follow, our faith in thee is very weak! Holy Prophet David! well hast thou spoken of those men when thou didst compare them to the dumb beast that has no understanding or power of reflection: “Man, when he was in honor did not understand;” when he was invited to eternal honor he did not understand: “He is compared to senseless beasts and is become like to them,”^[9] to beasts that have no other pleasure but to have plenty of corn and hay to eat. An eternal heaven is offered to any one who wishes to accept it; but the slothful, tepid man does not understand it; he does not believe in it, and therefore he does not trouble himself about it. I know well the bald excuses that tepid Christians make. I do no harm, they say; as far as I know I do not commit any grievous sin; I do not lead a wicked or vicious life. Thus they imagine they are all right, and that they need not go to any further trouble. But in this they fall into a grievous error against the very foundation of our belief in heaven, as I shall show in the

Second Part.

To gain heaven it is not enough to abstain from evil. Shown by a simile. I do no harm, commit no grievous sin. So you think, because you are buried in sloth, in temporal cares, or in idleness, and you pay no heed to your interior life, although it is hardly possible for you to keep your conscience pure for such a long time, But I will not now dispute this point with you; granted that it is true, as you say, that you do no harm, do you imagine that all that is required to gain heaven is to do no evil? Tell me this: you have a servant in your house who never does any harm, or anything against you; he sits the whole day with folded hands, or goes about the rooms without putting his hand to any work; or if he does anything, it is only some trumpery affair that is of no use to your housekeeping: would you pay that servant his yearly wage? No, you say; I would not on any account. And if you were asked whether you had a good servant, you would answer, no; I cannot keep that servant any longer. Why? Does he steal from you? No; I have no complaint to make in that respect. Does he allow strangers to make away with your things? No. Is he a drunkard? No. Does he give scandal to your children by bad language or example? No. Does he keep up an improper intimacy with any one? No. Does he answer you disrespectfully when you speak to him? No. And why then do you refuse to pay him? He does nothing; he is always idle, and I have not hired him for that. It is not enough for me that he does no harm; he must work and earn his wages by bis industry. Now this very answer of yours is the judgment of God on the excuse you allege in favor of your tepidity. You do not commit mortal sin; you are not a blasphemer or addicted to cursing; you are not an adulterer, a drunkard, a thief, a murderer, a vindictive or uncharitable man; all the better for you if it is true: but you do little or nothing for God’s sake; you sit idle the whole day as far as the practice of virtue and the divine service is concerned; all your thoughts, words, and actions are directed to yourself, to your own profit, comfort, and pleasure; you do nothing for heaven, for your last end. Was it for that that God called you to His service? Do you think that He will give you the eternal joys of heaven as a reward for such a life?

We must labor for it by good works. Shown by a simile from Scripture. Or do you imagine that heaven will come to you of its own accord if you do not run away from it? For instance, you think of travelling to Coblentz; now sit down where you are, or remain standing, if you choose; be very careful not to go a step farther for Coblentz, and of course in that way you will at last arrive at the end of your journey; is that not so? No, you acknowledge; that will not do; I must stir myself and set out for Coblentz. To live in mortal sin is indeed to go away from heaven and to travel towards hell; and that you are careful to avoid, as you say; but more than that is required to gain heaven. “Decline from evil;” that is one thing but not all, for besides that, “do good;” travel bravely forward to the heavenly country, “and dwell forever and ever.”^[10] “Why stand you looking up to heaven”^[11] thus idly? said the angel to the disciples after the ascension of Christ. This is not the time for standing; go at once and follow the example of your divine Master if you wish to follow Him into heaven. In Holy Writ heaven is described as the wages that the workmen receive in the evening after having toiled during the day: “Call the laborers,” says the householder to his steward, as we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew, “and pay them their hire.”^[12] The Wise Man likens it to a treasure hidden in the ground: “If thou shalt seek her as money and shalt dig for her as for a treasure.”^[13] St. Paul speaks of it as a crown of victory: “He also that striveth for the mastery is not crowned except he strive lawfully.”^[14] It is likened to the crops reaped in harvest-time: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming, they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves;”^[15] and to a kingdom conquered with great violence: “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away.”^[16] Now there is good reason for refusing wages to him who has not worked diligently, although otherwise he has done no evil. If you do not wish to possess the treasure, all you need do is to refrain from digging, and of itself it will remain hidden from you. To lose a victory or a country you have only to throw down your arms and surrender to the enemy; keep quiet and do not defend yourself when he approaches and you will surely be overcome. The peasant who sows his land with weeds and stones will certainly reap no fruit; but he need not go to even that trouble; all he has to do is to sit still and leave his land untilled. And you, O slothful Christian! hope to enter heaven by idling your time away, by doing nothing, although as you imagine, you are not guilty of any grievous sin?

Confirmed by gospel parables. Do you know what happened to the fig-tree of which the Lord speaks in the Gospel of St. Matthew? “Seeing a certain fig-tree by the wayside, He came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only;” at once the tree was cursed: “and He saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever, and immediately the fig-tree withered away.”^[17] But why so? The tree did not bring forth evil fruit, and it had splendid leaves? No matter: “Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.”^[18] What tree shall be cast into the fire? The tree that bears evil fruit? Yes, and also that which does not bear good fruit. Have you never heard or read in the same Gospel the parable of the servant who hid his talent in the ground, and gave it uninjured to his master when the latter returned? Read and ponder on it attentively, for it seems written expressly for you. “Wicked and slothful servant,” said the master to him in an angry voice; was that the reason I entrusted the talent to you? “Thou oughtest therefore to have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with usury.” Away with him at once! “The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Ah, Lord, how stern Thou art to the poor servant! He has done no wrong. He has not gambled away thy money, or spent it in drinking. He has kept it carefully, so that no thief could make away with it. He “going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord’s money;” and now he gives it back to thee to the last farthing: “Behold here thou hast that which is thine.”^[19] Nevertheless away with that servant! I do not accuse him of being a gambler, a drunkard, a spendthrift, or a thief; he is an unprofitable servant, who has allowed My talent to lie idle; therefore away with him into the exterior darkness. Ah, exclaims St. Bernard, filled with awe at reading this passage, “what must wickedness deserve if mere unprofitableness deserves damnation!”^[20]

The Judge shall condemn men to hell for having omitted to do good. No, O slothful Christian! no longer think or say as you have hitherto done: I do no wrong; I do not curse, or steal, or commit adultery; this sloth in the divine service is already a great evil against God, and against the maxims of the Gospel of Christ, Bring that lame excuse of yours before the judgment-seat of God, and if you appear there empty-handed, and have not many good works to present to the Almighty, you will hear, to your sorrow, when it will be too late, what sort of a sentence shall be passed on you. The Judge will then pass sentence on each; how? “To every man according to his works.”^[21] “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire,” He will say. Why? Because you have ill-treated Me by your bad and vicious lives? No; not a word shall be said of that. But, “I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me not in; naked, and you covered Me not; sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me.”^[22] The reason of your damnation is not merely what you have done against Me, but also what you have omitted and not done to please Me.

And for not having made a good use of their gifts and talents. Repeat now your ordinary excuse: I have not done much harm. What, He will say, wicked and slothful servant! where are the talents I entrusted to you? Where are the graces and good inspirations that I so often addressed to you Myself, and so often by means of others, speaking to your heart to encourage you to serve Me with zeal? Where are the frequent helps and opportunities of doing good that I gave you in a Catholic town or country every day of your life, in preference to so many others? What use have you made of all these? What have you gained during all the years of your life? How much alms have you given to My poor who represent My own Person? What other works of Christian charity and mercy have you performed? How many virtuous acts of faith, hope, humility, meekness, patience, mortification, and self-denial can you point to? With what prayers or works of devotion have you implored My mercy, blessed My name, promoted My honor and glory? How have you profited by the frequent reception of the holy sacraments, the hearing of sermons, the reading of spiritual books? “Why then didst thou not give My money into the bank, that at My coming I might have exacted it with usury?”^[23] Why? Has My help or time or opportunity been wanting to you? Now you wish to enter heaven, to share in My glory with My faithful servants; why? what is your title? what claim have you on Me? Perhaps because you have served your body, your senses, the world, better than Me? Why should I give you an eternal reward? Because you have hardly thought of Me once in the day? Because you have ordered your day so directly in opposition to the Christian laws and fundamental truths? You rose in the morning at seven or eight o’clock; you said your morning prayer while dressing, or before the looking-glass, if you even thought that much of Me, and that with as little reverence as if you were talking to a servant; and it was no better in the evening. Afterwards you sometimes heard Mass with the same amount of devotion, and then you spent your time in eating, drinking, walking, paying visits, gambling, in order to amuse yourself. All your other cares and anxieties were devoted to temporal things; not the fortieth part of your time was given to Me. So the days, months, years, have passed without fruit or profit for your soul, without merit. And you think that such a life is like My poor, humble, laborious, crucified life! And you now ask heaven as a reward for it!

The tepid shall be upbraided by the saints, who had to Hear ye this, My holy servants, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins! This man wishes to go to heaven to be a sharer of your joy and glory! What do you think of him? Did you get heaven so cheaply, when in your innocence you crucified your flesh work hard for heaven. with constant mortifications, suffered hunger, thirst, persecution, and trials, even to death, for My sake? Hear this, ye saints who were formerly princes, kings, emperors, queens, and empresses, who laid down your crowns at My feet, voluntarily left your courts, and retired into convents and solitudes in order to make more sure of coming to heaven! This man wishes to have the same happiness as you, although he has done nothing for it. He wishes to have the reward that cost Me thirty-three years’ toil and labor, and My life-blood in addition, to gain for you. What do you think of this? Eh! I will allow yourself, slothful Christian! to pronounce sentence. Would you pay so dearly your own servant if he had served you as you have Me? Would you give him an eternal reward? No; no labor, no pay; no work, no rest; no merit, no heaven. Go; let the world that you have served pay you; from Me you have nothing to expect. “The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Exhortation and resolution by diligence in good works to make sure of heaven. Ah, my dear brethren, let us not be in the number of those half-believing, lazy Christians! “We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus,” I conclude with the words of St. Paul, “that as you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God, so also you would walk that you may abound the more…and that you do your own business,”^[24] and work out your salvation with diligence. Bernard, why art thou here? this saint would often say to himself. And so should each one of us say to himself daily: why am I in this world? For what am I created? To eat, drink, sleep, waste my time? Eh! that is the happiness of the dumb beast! I am a far nobler creature. What is the business that I have to do here? Is it to make myself rich or honored before men? No; such things cannot satisfy my heart. Why am I then in the world? To serve my God, to enrich my soul, to gain the eternal joys of heaven. That is my business, my most important business, my sole and only business. If I do not gain heaven, alas! then everything is lost forever! Therefore in future I will devote my whole attention to this business; I will work most diligently for heaven, lay aside my former tepidity, and serve God with the utmost zeal. Every morning I will say to myself: perhaps this is the last day for me to attend to the business of my eternal salvation; how much I have lost already for eternity! Therefore to-day at least I will labor in earnest; all my thoughts, words, and daily duties shall be directed to heaven by the good intention; heaven shall spur me on to true devotion and to the frequent practice of virtue; heaven shall make me humble, patient in adversity, constant in temptation, until at last I shall possess for all eternity as an exceeding great reward for my labor that happiness which is now shown me afar off by the faith. Amen.

Another introduction to the same sermon for the Feast of the Ascension.

Text.

Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit.—Mark xvi. 16.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”

Introduction.

Rejoice and be glad, Catholic Christians! Heaven is ours! Listen: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” But we are all baptized. We have no reasonable cause to doubt that. Thanks be to Thee, O most generous God! for having granted us this happiness in preference to so many heathens! We all believe without exception, and with the only true, saving, Catholic faith. Again thanks to Thee, O good God! for having given us this light in preference to so many heretics! Therefore we shall all be saved! Truly, there can be no doubt of that; we have a document to that effect signed by the infallible word of Jesus Christ. He speaks clearly enough: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” But let us not rejoice too soon; the devil might otherwise rob us of our joy. It is true, says St. Gregory, speaking of the words of the text, that he shall be saved whose faith is shown by his works. Alas! there is an end to my joy! The words of Christ are and remain true, my dear brethren; but when I consider their works, I see that many Catholics have not the true faith, and therefore they shall not enter heaven. I do not now intend to examine the articles of faith; I have done so on another occasion. I will confine myself simply to the consideration of heaven, where Jesus Christ, the Head of all the faithful, ascended on this day, and where He invites us to share in His joy and glory. I say then—Plan of Discourse as above.

1. Ego protector tuus sum, et merces tua magna nimis.—Gen. xv. 1.
2. In domo Patris mei mansiones multæ sunt.—John xiv. 2.
3. Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile, ecce nunc dies salutis.—II. Cor. vi. 2.
4. Negotiamini dum venio.—Luke xix. 13.
5. Estote parati, quia qua nescitis hora Filius hominis venturus est.—Matt. xxiv. 44.
6. Ergo dum tempus habemus operemur bonum. Bonum autem facientes non deficiamus.—Gal. vi. 10, 9.
7. Credis hoc?—John xi. 26.
8. Omnia qui in agone contendit, ab omnibus se abstinet; et illi quidem, ut corruptibilem coronam accipiant; nos autem incorruptam.—I. Cor. ix. 25.
9. Homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit: comparatus est jumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis.—Ps. xlviii. 13.
10. Declina a malo, et fac bonum, et inbabita In’sæculum’sæculi.—Ps. xxxvi. 27.
11. Quid statis aspicientes in cœlum?—Acts i. 11.
12. Voca operarios, et redde illis mercedem.—Matt. xx. 8.
13. Si quæsieris eam, quasi pecuniam, et sicut thesauros effoderis illam.—Prov. ii. 4.
14. Qui certat in agone, non coronatur, nisi legitime certaverit.—II. Tim. ii. 5.
15. Qui seminant In lachrymis, in exultatione metent. Euntes ibant et flebant mittentes semina sua. Venientes autem venient cum exultatione, portantes manipulos suos.—Ps. cxxv. 5-7.
16. Regnum cœlorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud.—Matt. xi. 12.
17. Videns fici arborem unam secus viam, venit ad eam: et nihil invenit in ea, nisi folia tantum: ait illi; numquam ex te fructus nascatur in sempiternum: et arefacta est continuo ficulnea.—Ibid. xxi. 19.
18. Omnia arbor quæ non facit fructum bonum, excidetur et in ignem mittetur.—Ibid. iii. 10.
19. Serve male et piger; oportuit ergo te committere pecuniam meam numulariis, et veniens ego, recepissem utique, quod meum est cum usura. Inutilem servum ejicite in tenebras exteriores; illic erit fletus et stridor dentium. Abiens fodit in terram et abscondit pecuniam domini sui. Ecce habes quod tuum est.—Matt. xxv. 26, 27, 30, 18, 25.
20. Attende quid meretur iniquitas, si sola ad damnationem sufflci inutilitas.
21. Unicuique secundum opera ejus.—Matt. xvi. 27.
22. Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum. Esurivi enim, et non dedistis mihi manducare: sitivi, et non desistis mihi potum: hospes eram, et non collegistis me: nudus, et non cooperuistis me: infirmus, et in carcere, et non visitastis me.—Ibid. xxv. 41-43.
23. Quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam, ut ego veniens cum usuris utique exegissem illam?—Luke xix. 23.
24. Rogamus vos et obsecramus in Domino Jesu, ut quemadmodum accepistis a nobis, quomodo oporteat vos ambulare, et placere Deo, sic et ambuletis ut abundetis magis…et ut vestrum negotium agatis.—I. Thess. iv. 1, 11.