Meditations For Every Day In The Year/November to Advent
MEDITATIONS.
NOVEMBER
FEAST OF ALL-SAINTS
Christ in the holy Eucharist as head of all the Saints.
"O God, my God! to Thee I watch from the morning light." (Ps. lxii. 2.)
I. Imagine yourself among the blessed angels and Saints in heaven, contemplating the face of God: and consider, 1. How great are the glory, riches, beauty, and majesty of that infinite Being. "Thousands of thousands minister to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stand before Him." (Dan. vii. 10.) 2. Think how great is His power; for " whatsoever the Lord pleased He hath done in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the depths." (Ps. cxxxiv. 6.) 3. How great is His wisdom. "Great is our Lord, and great is His power, and of His wisdom there, is no number." (Ps. cxlvi. 5.) 4. How great, too, is His immensity; "for He is higher than the heaven; deeper than hell; longer than the earth; and broader than the sea." (Job xi. 8.)
II. This Majesty so great, this Head of all the Saints, whose memory you celebrate this day, does not disdain to enter the humble habitation of your soul. He even desires it Himself; for He says, "My delight is to be with the children of men." (Prov. viii. 31.) Not, indeed, that He stands in need of you, who are but dust and ashes; but because He wishes to enrich your poverty with the infinite treasures of His divinity. Reflect, therefore, who you are and who He is, and exclaim with the Royal Prophet, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him?" (Ps. viii. 5.)
III. You must prepare your soul for the arrival of so great a guest. "Be prepared," says the prophet Amos, to meet thy God, O Israel." (Amos iv. 12.) Wherefore, purify it first, as perfectly as you are able, not only from all mortal guilt, but also from all venial sin. "Blessed are the clean of heart," says Jesus Christ, "for they shall see God." (Matt. v. 8.) Enkindle afterwards in your soul an ardent love, that you may long retain your heavenly guest with you; for He says, "If any one love Me, we will come to him and make our abode with him." (John xiv. 23.)
For Meditations on week days, see page 26 and following pages.
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER ALL-SAINTS.
Christ in the Sacrament as King.
"To-day I will dine with the king." (Esther v. 12.)
[This and the other Meditations for the Sundays of this month are to be placed between week and week, as they come in their turn.]
I. Jesus Christ is truly a king; the King of kings and Lord of lords. His empire does not extend over one nation only, but over heaven and earth, angels and men. "I am appointed King by Him over Zion" (Ps. ii. 6), and not for a limited time only, as are the kings of the earth, but "forever and ever." (Ex. xv. 18.) Consequently, every service and duty, all homage and tribute which subjects owe to their prince, are due in an eminent degree from you to your King. Examine whether you have hitherto performed your duty.
II. What would you do were some earthly prince or potentate to visit you? How carefully would you put your habitation in order, lest anything might offend the prince's eyes! How much more pains ought you to take to adorn your soul, and render it a fit habitation for the King of heaven, who condescends to visit you in the holy Eucharist! "A house is preparing, not for man," as the prophet says, "but for God." (1 Par. xxix. i.) The women mentioned in the book of Esther, spent a whole year in preparing themselves to appear but once before king Assuerus: "For six months they were anointed with oil of myrrh, and for other six months they used certain perfumes and sweet spices." (Esther ii. 12.) How much greater care ought Christians to employ in preparing themselves to appear worthily before their Lord!
III. Princes of this world are accustomed to send before them furniture and provisions befitting their dignity, to the place which they intend to visit. Entreat Jesus Christ to do the same in your regard, to relieve your spiritual poverty. Besides, if you wish to entertain Him, as He desires, you must divest yourself of every carnal and worldly affection, and listen with all submission to His interior inspirations. "Incline thine ear and forget thy people, and thy father's house," says the royal psalmist, "and the King will greatly desire thy beauty." (Ps. xliv. 11.)
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER ALL-SAINTS.
Christ Your Father
"I will arise and go to my father." (Luke xv. 17.)
I. Almighty God, though He be infinitely powerful and rich, and in regard to whom all His creatures are as "a drop of a bucket, and as the smallest grain of a balance" (Is. xl. 15), does not disdain to be called, and to be really, our Father. He condescends in some respect to be our only Father; for Jesus Christ says, "Call none your father upon earth, for One is your Father who is in heaven." (Matt, xxiii. 9.) Christ Himself would be styled by a special title the "Father of the world to come" (Is. ix. 6), and not content with this, He assumes something more than even the affection of a mother: "If she should forget her child," He says, "yet will not I forget thee." (Is. xlix. 15.) Reflect deeply how Christ performs both of these offices. — He not only gives us a spiritual life, but He nourishes us with His own most precious body and blood.
II. Consider how, like another prodigal son, you have abandoned a father so good and so affectionate; and employed yourself in feeding swine. He is, however, still ready to receive you again, and clothe you with His costly robe; for, "as a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear Him; for He knoweth our frame." (Ps. cii. 13.) He awaits you to-day in the Eucharist, and with open arms wishes to embrace you. Dispose yourself, then, to receive Him in the most worthy manner.
III. To dispose your soul in the best manner to receive Jesus Christ, you must, in the first place, humbly beg pardon for your offences committed against Him. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee." (Luke xv. 18.) Secondly, you must form a resolution of never more abandoning Him; but of imitating the perfection of your heavenly Father, according to the words of the Apostle: "Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children." (Eph. v. 1.) You must, therefore, with a filial confidence, represent to your heavenly Father all your weaknesses and your wants when He visits you, for if "fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask Him." (Luke xi. 13.)
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER ALL-SAINTS.
Christ your Brother.
"Who shall give thee to me, for my brother, sucking the breasts of my mother, that I may find thee without, and kiss thee." (Cant. viii. 8.)
I. To make us more sensible of His love for us, Jesus Christ has adopted not only the name of our Father, but even that of our Brother. Thus, by placing Himself on a certain equality with us (which is accustomed to be the case between brothers), he insinuates Himself in a more familiar manner into our favor, "for which reason," as St. Paul writes, "He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name to My brethren." (Heb. ii. 11, 12.) " Go tell My brethren," He says, "that they go into Galilee." (Matt, xxviii. 10.) Reflect what an honor it is to be the brother of so great a prince; "and if," as the wise man says, " a brother helped by a brother is like a strong city" (Prov. xviii. 19), what help and comfort may you not expect to receive from such a brother!
II. Reflect on your cruel conduct towards your brother; for you have sold him not for twenty pieces of silver, as did the sons of Jacob their brother Joseph, but perhaps for some transient or degrading passion. Like another, and a more guilty Cain, you have murdered this innocent brother Abel of yours, by your sins, and nailed Him to a cross. Yet He has forgiven you, and now invites you to Himself, saying with Joseph, " I am Joseph, your brother; be not afraid; come to me and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, that you may eat the marrow of the land." (Gen. xlv. 4.) And what is this marrow of the land, but His own most precious body and blood, " the corn of the chosen ones, and wine which maketh virgins spring forth." (Zach. ix. 17.)
III. How ought you to meet this divine brother of yours? Imitate Jacob, who went with great presents to meet his angry brother Esau. (Gen. xxxiii. 10.) Let your presents be first " a contrite and humble heart," (Ps, 1. 19), which He will never despise. Secondly, a firm determination of never sinning again "against your brother." (Gen. xlii. 21.) Thirdly, a desire of imitating His virtues, in order that, by rendering your life and conduct like His, He may appear to be what He really is, " the first-born among many brethren." (Rom. viii. 29.)
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER ALL-SAINTS.
Christ your Master.
"The Master is come and calleth for thee." (John xi. 2S.)
I. How ignorant mankind generally are in heavenly things, and in the great affair of salvation! We often "call evil good, and good evil;" we " put darkness for light, and light for darkness." (Is. v. 20.) We often make virtues of our vices, and real virtue we consider folly. To remedy this moral defect in man, the eternal Wisdom of the Father descended from heaven to be our Master, and teach us the ways of truth. "Ye call me master and Lord," He says of Himself, " and ye say well, for so I am." (John xiii. 13.)
II. How willingly and attentively you ought to listen to this Master, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge!" (Col. ii. 3.) "The principal incitement to learn," says St. Ambrose, "is the excellency of the master." What master can be more excellent than Christ Himself, who being the infinite and uncreated wisdom of His Father, can neither deceive nor be deceived? "The Queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here." (Matt. xii. 42.) He is ready in the Eucharist to receive you, and teach you the science of Saints, and the ways of salvation, if you present yourself with proper dispositions.
III. A due preparation is necessary on your part, if you wish to listen with profit to the lessons of this divine master. He requires that His scholars should be, first, pure from all sin; "for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sin:" (Wis. i. 4.) 2. Humble and little in their own eyes; for He says to His Father, "Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones;" (Matt. xi. 25.) 3. Mortified and detached from worldly things; for, "whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand the hearing? Those who are weaned from the milk, who are drawn away from the breasts." (Is. xxviii. 9.) Take care, then, that you be thus disposed and prepared to meet Him.
The End of Man. I.
I. What were you a hundred years ago? Absolutely
nothing; and so you would have been forever, if God
had not deigned to give you an existence. He could
have given to the original matter, of which you were
made, an infinite number of other forms, but he was
pleased to endow it with a rational soul, and give you a
being among men. But for what object? Not to trifle
away your time and existence in folly, not to pursue the
honors and pleasures and vanities of this world, and to
terminate your lives like irrational creatures. "The
Lord has made all things for Himself." (Prov. xvi. 4.)
It is your duty then to serve and worship Him in this
world, that you may attain life everlasting in the next.
II. Consider the excellence of this end. Every other living creature is formed stooping to the earth, and is possessed of a soul that ends with its body. Man alone is raised to the sublime dignity of blessing and praising his Creator in a rational manner, and after a short life spent virtuously, of being crowned with immortal glory. With good reason holy David, full of wonder, exclaims, "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? — Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast set Him over the works of Thy hands." (Ps. viii. 5.)
III. Consider under what obligations you are to your Creator for so great a favor; and how diligently you ought to direct your whole life to His honor and service. These ought to be the only object of your actions, and even of your thoughts. Wherefore say with the prophet, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be always in my mouth." (Ps. xxxiii. 1.) "You were born for heaven; take care that you do not degenerate from the lofty thoughts of the sons of God" (Father Azevedo), "take care that you do not carry in an upright and straight body a crooked soul;" that is, a soul unnaturally inclined to the fleeting objects of this world.
The End of Man. II.
I. Since the object of your existence is to praise and serve God alone, and since the means relating to any end are good or bad only, inasmuch as they help us to attain that end or withdraw us from it; so it is evident that you ought to make use of creatures only inasmuch as they further the attainment of that object, and to avoid them when they withdraw you from it. Therefore you are not to desire riches, honor, nor the conveniences of this life, nor even health, unless they help you to praise and serve God. Wherefore the devout author of the Imitation of Christ says well: "Better is the humble peasant, that serves God, than the proud philosopher, who neglecting himself, meditates on the course of the heavens."
II. Examine if you possess any disordered affections for the objects mentioned above. Examine whether you be willing to suffer poverty, reproach, sickness, and even death itself, if God's glory could be increased by it. Offer yourself to your Creator, with perfect indifference to all things. Say with the prophet, "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready" (Ps. cvii. 28); and with Christ, "Not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matt. xxvi. 39)
III. How irrationally those men live who in their actions pursue any other object than God, who misspend their time in seeking honors, riches, and pleasures! Their conduct is as foolish as would be that of the mariner, who, wishing to sail to the north, steers towards the east — neither will arrive at the end of his journey. Of such the prophet speaks when he says, "You have sowed much and brought in little; you have eaten but have not had enough; you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink. " (Agg. i. 6.) In fine, " they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell." (Job xxi. 13.) Do not follow their example.
The Duty of Man towards God. I.
I. The whole duty of man in regard to his God is comprised in this short sentence: " Decline from evil and do good." (Ps. xxxvi. 27.) These are the two principal points in a Christian life; they are the two wings on which we must fly to heaven. In regard to the first branch of a Christian's duty, the declining from evil, " the life of man upon earth" is declared in Holy Scripture to be "a continual warfare" (Job ix. 28); and Christians are termed soldiers, because it is their duty to stand on their guard, and resist the suggestions of the enemy and his temptations to sin.
II. In this warfare we are to combat sin, even to death; we must never desist, or think ourselves secure, but always stand under arms with watchful care and fear. Job, with all his virtue, examined and feared the smallest of his actions. David, though a man according to God's own heart, did in his own emphatical language continually "sweep his spirit." (Ps. lxxvi. 7.) The Baptist, although sanctified in his mother's womb, led a retired and austere life, for fear "lest (as the Church sings of him) he might stain his life with a slight fault of the tongue." St. Paul, though he was confirmed in grace and rapt to the third heaven, notwithstanding said of himself, " I so fight, not as one beating the air. But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection." (1 Cor. ix. 26.) Consider nothing then too difficult in order to avoid sin.
III. We must not only avoid the actual commission of sin, but also shun every consent of the mind to it. "Beware thou consent not to sin at any time." (Job iv. 6.) Resist every suggestion to sin, and all taking of pleasure in it; for as St. Gregory remarks, " In suggestion is the seed of sin, in delectation the nourishment, in consent the perfection or consummation." Examine what caution you employ, and what guard you place over your thoughts, words, and actions; how you avoid the occasions of danger and resist the suggestions of the devil, the world, and the flesh. Assume, with the saints of God, your spiritual arms; they are prayer and mortification. With these you will be enabled to achieve a glorious victory, and merit an immortal crown.
The Duty of Man towards God. II.
I. The second branch of the Christian's duty is to labor in the exercise of good works, in order to please his Creator. Wherefore, heaven is sometimes spoken of in Holy Writ as "a valuable pearl;" at other times as a " treasure hidden in a field " (Matt. xiii. 44), which we are to discover with pains and labor, and to sell all that we have, to purchase; sometimes, again, as a prize, which we are to gain by running the race of virtue and perfection (1 Cor. ix. 24), and everywhere as the crown and reward of meritorious actions. It is your duty to perform the part of an industrious merchant, and by good works to "lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matt. vi. 20.)
II. Consider the motives which ought to induce you to labor in the pursuit and increase of virtue. 1. The will of your heavenly Father, "For this is the will of God — your sanctification." (1 Thes. iv. 3.) 2. The name of Christian, whose profession is sanctity; and therefore Christians are called by the Apostle "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." (1 Pet. ii. 9.) 3. The examples of Saints of both sexes, of all ages and conditions. By these examples St. Augustine frequently encouraged himself, by inquiring, "Cannot you do what such and such have done?" viz., tender youths and timorous virgins. 4. The greatness of the reward. "Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven." (Matt. v. 12.)
III. Consider the many helps which God has afforded you for your spiritual profit. 1. His divine word, communicated to you in Holy Scripture, sermons, and pious books, by which He informs your understanding and inflames your will. 2. His holy grace, which He is always ready to give you, to enable you to commence, prosecute, and complete any good work. 3. The sacraments, instituted by Christ, to give us a spiritual life, and to nourish and strengthen us in it. 4. The life, merits, and passion of our Saviour, "who is the way, and the truth, and the life." (John xiv. 6.) And, "who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people acceptable, zealous of good works." (Tit. ii. 14.) Let not these helps be thrown away on you.
The Sin of Lucifer and his Apostate Angels.
Our first duty is to remove every impediment which may prevent us from attaining the end of our creation, and from serving God; and then procure a supply of virtue. Now this impediment (and it is the only one) is sin, the guilt and detestable nature of which you may learn by meditating the fall of Lucifer, and then that of our first parents.
I. In what a glorious state Lucifer and his companions were created! Of them are understood the words of Ezekiel [xxviii. 12], "Thou wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; thou wast in the pleasure of the paradise of God, every precious stone was thy covering, the Sardius, the Topaz," etc. These precious ornaments were: 1. Pure spirituality, without any material combination. 2. Immortality. 3. Superior subtilty of understanding. 4. An universal knowledge of all inferior objects. 5. Strength and power superior to all other creatures. 6. Free-will and command over their own actions. 7. Eminent sanctity, resulting from the gifts of grace. 8. They were inhabitants of heaven.
II. In a moment they lost or obscured all these ornaments of nature and grace by pride, and (as all sinners do) by wishing for that which was unlawful for them. Reflect how they were immediately cast headlong into hell, without hope of mercy. Meditate deeply those words of St. Peter: "If God spared not the angels that sinned, but having cast them down into the place of torments, delivered them into the chains of hell to be tormented, the Lord knoweth how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be tormented." (2 Peter ii. 4.)
III. Apply these reflections to yourself. Reflect, 1. What gifts and benefits you have received from God. 2. How you have abused them, even against God Himself. 3. The sin of the angels was but one, and the sin of a moment; your sins deliberate and innumerable in thought, word, and deed. Wonder, lament, and implore mercy.
The Sin of Our First Parents.
I. Consider the happy state in which Almighty God created Adam and Eve. 1. They were created "to the likeness of God," and endowed with free-will. 2. They were then immortal and not subject to any misery. 3. They were supplied with abundant graces. 4. Their inferior appetites were perfectly subject to reason, in consequence of the original justice which they possessed. 5. Nothing was wanting, nothing more could be desired, in Paradise in which they dwelt. 6. From Paradise they were destined to ascend to heaven, without dying or experiencing the pains which mortals now suffer when they leave this world. How happy should we be, had they never sinned!
II. They were commanded to abstain from the fruit of a certain tree. How easy the command! But Satan induced the curious Eve, and she her husband, to transgress the divine injunction; they were immediately deprived of the ornaments of grace, and they fell under the dreadful sentence, "Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return." (Gen. iii. 19.) What misfortunes has this sin entailed on mankind, and yet the transgression seems trivial! — How terrible must sin be!
III. How much severer punishments, and how much more terrible judgments, you have deserved, who have so often and so easily offended against God's law! It would have been just had you been expelled, not as Adam was, from Paradise, but from this world. You have often offended Him, and still He waits for your repentance. " Delay not then to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day, for His wrath shall come on a sudden; and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee." (Ecclus. v. 8.)
Mortal Sin.— I. The Punishment due to it.
I. God is infinitely just in the infliction of punishment, which nevertheless is always (in the language of divines) below our deserts, whilst His rewards are above our merits. Reflect deeply, then, on the grievousness of the offence, by considering the punishment due to every sin. Enter, in imagination, into hell, and view the torments which God has prepared for even one mortal offence. Contemplate those fiery regions — those torrents of sulphur — that gnawing of teeth, and hear those shrill accents of furious agony and settled despair which the reprobate souls continually utter. Remember they are to endure forever. And "which of you," exclaims the prophet, "shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Is. xxxiii. 14.)
II. What a folly it would be to offend a sovereign, by whom you knew you would be cruelly tormented on the rack in consequence of your offence! How much greater folly is it to displease God, "who can destroy both body and soul in hell"! (Matt. x. 28.) And if so great a punishment be due to one mortal sin, though that is below its deserts, what an excess of torments is due to your numerous transgressions! Look back on the days of your youth, and reflect what would have become of you if God had called you from life on such and such occasions. Acknowledge as many distinct favors conferred on you by God as you have committed mortal sins; they were real favors, or you would now be in hell. Say then, with holy David, "I will glorify Thy name forever, for Thy mercy is great towards me: and Thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell." (Ps. lxxxv. 12.)
III. How many obligations you are under to a God so patient, who has so long waited for you to do penance. Beware, lest His patience, which you have abused so often, be changed into fury. Therefore, beg pardon for what is past, and reform your conduct for the future.
Mortal Sin— II. The Person Offended.
I. The greater the dignity of the person offended, the greater is the offence; it is a greater crime to wound a father or a prince than any indifferent person. Reflect deeply, then, who it is that you have so often provoked by your sins. 1. He is the God "at whose beck the pillars of heaven tremble and dread." (Job xxvi. 11.) 2. He is omnipotent; consequently able to torment you a thousand ways, or destroy you in a moment. 3. He is everywhere present; for "His eyes are open upon all the ways of the children of Adam." (Jer. xxxii. 19.) And yet you have been so insolent as to do those actions before His eyes which you would blush to do in the sight of men.
II. Consider the numerous favors which you have received from God; for, each one of these aggravates your crime. 1. He has created you out of nothing, preserved you like a most affectionate Father, and directed you as a guide. 2. He has drawn you out of the jaws of hell, and redeemed you with His precious blood. 3. He sanctifies you by His holy sacraments, directs you by His divine inspirations, and continually draws you by a thousand ways, towards your last end. How could you find it in your heart to abuse so kind and so affectionate a benefactor and friend! "Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? Is not He thy Father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee? — Thou hast forsaken the God that begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee." (Deut. xxxii. 6.)
III. How much you ought to be ashamed of your unblushing ingratitude, how much you should be afflicted for having offended your God and Saviour! Do not abuse any longer so much goodness and such patience, but immediately commence a life of penance; "otherwise thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath." (Rom. ii. 5.)
Mortal Sin.— III. Baseness of the Offender.
I. It would be deemed a high offence if one prince were to strike another, but much less than if a subject were thus to insult his sovereign; because the offence is proportioned to the inequality that exists between the offending and the offended parties. Now what greater inequality can there be than between God and yourself? Reflect who you are, who dare insult the living God and the Lord of hosts, and in His very presence commit the most enormous crimes, as if there were no power in heaven to punish you. As to your body, you are a contemptible worm, formed of the slime of the earth. "Man's days are as grass; as the flower of the field, so shall he flourish. For the wind shall pass over it and it shall not be, and one shall know its place no more" (Ps. cii. 15). "Your life is a vapor which appeareth for a little while." (James iv 15.) Never lose sight of the sentence of God: "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." (Gen. iii. 19.) Why should dust and ashes be proud?
II. As to your soul, what are you? Created of nothing you would return to your original non-existence, did not God preserve you every moment. Without His cooperation you could not even move a finger. 2. You were conceived in sin, and born in sin, and there is no actual crime, however heinous, which you would not commit unless supported by divine grace. 3. In regard to knowledge, how small a portion do you possess! How many objects are entirely unknown to you! And as to power, how little can you do, and how many things lie beyond your reach!
III. What are you in comparison with all mankind? What is all the human race in comparison with the angels? And what are all the angels when compared with God? "The whole world before Thee is as the least grain of the balance, and as a drop of the morning dew, that falleth down upon the earth." (Wis. xi. 23.) And yet, vile and impotent as you are, you have had the effrontery to rise up against a God of such majesty and power, and to provoke Him to indignation against you. Learn humility, do penance, and "sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee." (John v. 14.)
Mortal Sin. — IV. Vileness of its Object.
I. To abandon or insult a friend who deserved our affections is an offence, but to abandon him for some slight or trifling matter would be an aggravation of that offence. Now the whole world, as Isaias writes, in comparison with God, is nothing. "All nations are before Him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to Him as nothing and vanity." (Is. xl. 17.) He would therefore highly insult God, who is the supreme and everlasting good, who should abandon Him only once, and that, too, to gain the whole world; but much more he who should contemn Him for trifles. He complains, of this insolent folly of mankind by the mouth of the prophet: "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord; for my people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer. ii. 12, 13.) Ponder how fitly God is termed the fountain of living water, from which flow all good things, and how suitably ail the things of this world are called cisterns, which can hold no water, that is, which can afford no means of satisfying the cravings of an immortal soul. They seem at first to have something in them, but in reality they contain nothing substantial.
II. For what trifles have you forsaken God? Perhaps in order that you might please His creatures, indulge some short-lived pleasure, gratify some propensity, gain some vain object of ambition, or the like. If Esau did a foolish action by selling his birthright for a meal of food, so did Judas do a worse one by selling his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and so did the Jews do the worst action of all by preferring the miscreant and murderer Barabbas to the innocent Jesus. These you imitate when you prefer some base passion, some transient gratification or evil action, to God, and to your birthright — heaven.
III. How you ought to grieve for your past sins, and redouble your caution for the future! "In proportion to our sins," says St. Cyprian, "ought to be our grief, for we have a good Lord, and according to His greatness so also is His mercy with Him."
Mortal Sin. — V. Its Evil Consequences.
I. Every one naturally avoids what is injurious. Now there is nothing in the world so destructive as sin; hence Solomon says, " Sin maketh nations miserable (Prov. xiv. 34), " and he that shall offend in one, shall lose many good things." (Eccles. ix. 18.) Reflect deeply, then, on the consequences of mortal sin in this life. 1. It obscures the understanding, and by false reasoning withdraws it from the truth. 2. It alienates the will from the supreme and sovereign good, and attaches it to fictitious good, creating at the same time a disgust for spiritual things.
3. It subjects and enslaves reason to animal appetite.
4. It depraves all the senses. 5. It deprives man of the friendship and protection of God. 6. It robs him of habitual grace and all the ornaments of virtue, and from a child of God converts him into a slave of the devil — from an object of delight into an object of detestation.
II. In the next life, 1. Mortal sin deprives man of the vision of God, and of those joys " eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive." (1 Cor. ii. 9.) 2. It excludes him from the blessed company of Saints and angels forever. 3. It introduces him into indescribable torments, without hope of redemption. 4. It subjects him forever to the tyranny of the devil, his most cruel enemy, and associates him with the reprobate souls.
III. Add to all these considerations the reflection that every sinner tramples under foot the precious blood of Jesus Christ, shed for our transgressions; converts the gifts of God into arms against Him; and, in as much as he can, attempts the destruction of God Himself, and saddens the angels and Saints of God. Lastly, he injures the world by his evil example, and the devil triumphs. With good reason then does Ecclesiasticus exclaim to all the children of Adam, " Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent — the teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of men." (Eccles. xxi. 2.) Let not this divine monitor cry out in vain.
Venial Sin. — I. Disposes to Mortal Sin.
I. He who sincerely hates mortal sin must make every exertion to avoid venial transgressions, for " he that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little." (Ecclus. xix. 1.) Venial sin disposes to mortal sin. 1. In regard to the matter of sin; for the matter is generally of the same nature in both mortal and venial sin, and consequently when a person has formed a familiarity with the smaller matter by frequent venial sins, he easily passes to mortal guilt. 2. In consequence of the failure of our spiritual strength, which is diminished by frequent venial sins. Hence in this state we easily give way under the attacks of temptation; for " by slothfulness a building shall be brought down and through the weakness of hands the house shall drop through." (Eccles. x. 18.) 3. In consequence of the withdrawal of divine assistance, which is frequently the consequence of voluntary venial sin; for that man does not deserve much help who spares his own exertions. "He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly." (2 Cor. ix. 6.)
II. What caution a man uses who has any inflammable matter in his house. He spares no exertion to prevent accidents and to ensure safety. And yet there is no substance in physical nature more inflammable than is concupiscence in moral nature. King David, the man who was "according to God's own heart," by an incautious glance of the eye fell first into adultery and then committed murder. Guard then against the least spark, resist at the very commencement, and " dash thy little ones against the rock" (Ps. cxxxvi. 9), that is, annihilate at once the very motions of sin.
III. From slight wounds, when neglected, it frequently happens that severe indispositions ensue, and not unfrequently even death. The same happens to the soul from venial sin. Examine therefore all your actions, and discover in which you are most liable to receive spiritual wounds. Guard against them in time, and endeavor to refrain not only from evil, but, as the apostle advises, "from all appearance of evil." (1 Thes. v. 22.) No caution can be too great when eternity is at stake.
Venial Sin.— II. Its Evil Consequences.
I. We ought to avoid venial sin; not only because it disposes to mortal guilt, but also in consequence of its own intrinsic deformity. St. Augustine says that venial sins are to the soul what ulcers are to the body: they deface its spiritual beauty and disfigure it in the eyes of its heavenly spouse. Those who are dressed in white clothes are cautious when they pass over muddy roads. Souls invested with habitual grace are " whiter than snow, purer than milk, fairer than the sapphire" (Lament, iv. 7.) What care then ought to be taken to preserve their purity from the least blemish, as we pass through the contaminated ways of this world.
II. There are other evils which venial sins entail, particularly if they be frequent. 1. They cool the fervor of charity, and weaken our attention to the one thing necessary. 2. They retard the soul in its progress in virtue, and press upon it " like a heavy burden." (Ps. xxxvii. 5.) 3. They lessen the merit of good works in the same manner as "dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment." (Eccles. x. 1.) 4. They are impediments to prayer, and they diminish our devotion. 5. They counteract the effects of the sacraments. 6. They give our arch-enemy a cause of triumph, whilst they displease the angels and Saints; and lastly, they force God Himself to dislike us; for of such souls He says, "T would thou wert cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth." (Apoc. iii. 15, t6.)
III. From these principles it is evident that it is not lawful, even to save the whole world, to commit one venial sin. And yet how many have you committed, and why have you committed them? Although every Christian is bound to avoid them; yet those who have especially bound themselves to imitate Jesus Christ in perfection ought to shun them in a peculiar manner. God enjoins every one of His Levites " to be perfect and without spot before the Lord his God." (Deut. xviii. 13.) Examine your life and your actions, and for the future attempt to lead a spotless life, for it is a terrible thing to offend the Lord your God.
Venial Sin.— III. Its Punishment.
I. Consider the words of royal David: "Thou art just, O Lord, and Thy judgment is righteous." (Ps. cxviii. 137.) This just Lord, however, has inflicted the most severe punishments on sins, which according to the opinions of most divines were only venial. 1. He struck Mary the sister of Moses with a leprosy (Num. xii. 10) for only lightly murmuring against her brother, notwithstanding his earnest supplication for his sister's pardon. 2. He struck the two sons of Aaron with sudden death, in the sight of all the people, because in haste they used in their thuribles unsanctified fire; " fire coming out from the Lord destroyed them." (Lev. x. 2.) 3. He commanded a poor man to be stoned to death for having gathered a few sticks on the sabbath day. (Num. xv. 35.) Lastly, He inflicted death on Moses before he could enter the promised land, although he most ardently desired to enter it; and his fault, as the holy Fathers expounded it, was some small degree of diffidence when God commanded him to strike the rock. Compare these and other examples with your faults, and you will discover that you have deserved more severe punishments. Shudder at the idea, and repent.
II. God has ordained more severe punishments than these, for venial sin, after life is over, in purgatory. "The purgative fire," writes St. Augustine, "will be more severe than any pain whatsoever, that can be seen, felt, or even understood in this life." There, every debt which has been contracted will be exacted to the last farthing, and no satisfaction will suffice but suffering; and "which, of you," exclaims Isaias, " can dwell with devouring fire!" (Is. xxxiii. 14.)
III. Since you would not consent to remain, even for a very short time, in flames, even to gain the whole world, how reasonable it is that you should begin to do penance for what is past. If through human frailty you cannot avoid every venial sin, shun at least those of greater consequence, and endeavor continually to diminish their number, in order " that the purgative fire," as St. Augustine again remarks, "may find little or nothing
in you to consume." Death.— I. Its Certainty and Uncertainty.
Having considered the heinousness of sin, it is now proper to apply the remedies against it, among which none are more efficacious than the meditation of the four last things, and first of death.
I. Death is absolutely inevitable and certain. " It is appointed for men once to die." (Heb. ix. 27.) Nothing is more certain, nothing can be more evident. All that have gone before us, heroes, emperors, princes, bishops, popes, have all died at last — no dignity, no power, no influence could screen them from the universal necessity of paying the debt of nature. "Thou hast appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed," says holy Job. (Job xiv. 5.) Believe, therefore, this simple but all-important and all-eloquent truth — you too must die.
II. As to time, place, manner, etc., of your death, nothing can be more uncertain. How many sudden accidents have you read of, heard of, and even witnessed! How many have been struck with the unerring shafts of death whilst they were eating, drinking, sleeping, or diverting themselves! When will your turn arrive? What if it should arrive at this moment? Are you ready? What says conscience? In consequence of this fearful uncertainty, Christ frequently and most emphatically exhorts us to be always ready. " Watch ye, therefore," He says, " for ye know not when the Lord of the house cometh — at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning." (Matt. xiii. 35.)
III. We can only die once. If we die a bad death, we cannot recover ourselves; if we die well, all will be well forever. "If the tree fall to the south, or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be." (Eccles. xi. 3.) There will be no more time or place for repentance. Take care, then, that by leading a good life you may be always ready, and the tree fall on the right side. Consider your present state, and examine whether there be anything on your conscience which you would be sorry for on your death-bed. Impress this thought deeply on your mind, that to perish once is to be lost forever.
On Death —II. How Terrible it is.
I. Consider the miserable state of a dying man, stretched out on his death-bed, and hastening to dissolution. Reflect on the terrible pains which he will have to suffer. The sins of his past life will rush into his mind, and the recollection of his having lost so much time in vanity and trifles, of his having despised and neglected so many of God's graces, will torture his memory. He will perhaps have reason to wish for one hour more, in which to do salutary penance, when he may not obtain it because he has neglected so many. " He would not have blessing, and it shall be far from him," says holy David. (Ps. cviii. 18.) Oh, with what regret will the sinner exclaim at that awful moment, " What hath pride profited us, or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us (Wis. v. 8.)
II. Consider the sorrow which the sinner will feel at leaving the things of this world and their enjoyments. " That object," says St. Augustine, " is not abandoned without pain which is possessed with delight." In that hour, however, relations and friends, riches and enjoyments and pleasures are all to be abandoned, without the hope of recovering them. " For we brought nothing into this world," says the Apostle, " and certainly we can carry nothing out." (1 Tim. vi. 7.) The author of Ecclesiasticus then justly exclaims, "O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man who has peace in his possessions." (Ecclus. xli. 1.) Divest yourself, therefore, of worldly affections in time, that there may be nothing which you will have to leave with regret at the hour of death.
III. Consider the anguish and perplexity of mind which every one will experience at the hour of death, in consequence of his uncertainty in regard to the future. The moment in which their irrevocable doom will be pronounced is at hand, "and yet man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred." (Eccles. ix. 1.) The devil will be there to tempt you to despair. Consider what, at that moment, you would wish to have done during life, and do it, before it be too late.
On Death.— III. The Horror of a Corpse.
I. What will become of the body after death — that body which you indulge and adorn with so much care and attention. 1. A dead body lies senseless and motionless; it sees nothing, it hears nothing; it cannot even shake off the worms that crawl around it. 2. It loses its color and becomes deformed; it is soon a prey to corruption, in such a manner, that the dearest friends of the deceased are struck with horror and avoid it. This horror was the cause of St. Francis Borgia's sanctity; for being obliged by his office to inspect the corpse of the queen of Spain, who had been a great beauty, and seeing her beauty so soon and so suddenly fled, and succeeded by the most loathsome corruption, he is said to have exclaimed, " How long shall we love vanity and seek after sin." (Ps. iv. 3.) " How long shall we neglect solid truths and pursue shadows? everything moulders away at death, and joy is soon changed into tears."
II. The garments, the bed, and the habitation of the deceased are immediately changed. Instead of its former clothes, the corpse is wrapped in a winding-sheet. Instead of its usual bed, it is put into the cold ground, and a grave of a few feet long supplies the place of its former mansion. Thus it is abandoned by its best friends, and neglected by all, to become the food of worms. " For when a man shall die, he shall inherit serpents and beasts and worms." (Ecclus. x. 13.) Remember man, then, that " under thee shall the moth be strewed and worms shall be thy covering." (Isaias xiv. 11.) Oh, what a dwelling and what companions!
III. How important, and necessary it is frequently to reflect on the future condition of your body, lest you should pay more attention to that which will be devoured by worms than to your soul, whose existence will be eternal. All our misfortunes proceed from a forgetfulness of death. When you see a dead body, imagine it addresses you in the words of Ecclesiastics: " Remember my judgment; for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to-day for thee." (Ecclus. xxxviii. 23.) Prepare constantly, therefore, for death; and, following the advice of the apostles, be always a dying man. "He will easily contemn all things," says St. Jerome, " who always believes himself a dying man."
Preparation for Death.— I. For those in Health.
I. What diligence prudent men employ in preparation when they have to make a long voyage. They think of it long beforehand, and leave nothing to chance but attempt to have everything in readiness. We ought to be much more solicitous in regard to our departure from this life, for it will be our final journey into everlasting happiness or eternal misery. The importance of this journey induced our Lord frequently to inculcate the necessity of being always ready. "Be ye then also ready," He says, " for at what hour ye think not the Son of man will come." (Luke xii. 40.)
II. This preparation for death consists principally in this, that at its departure, whenever that may be, the soul finds itself free from all mortal sin, and as much • as possible free from all venial sin. Wherefore examine yourself and discover if there be anything on your conscience which might prevent entirely or retard your entrance into heaven were you to die this moment. Put yourself in that state, then, in which you would wish to be found at death, and labor to persevere in it; for death may call on you suddenly, and even if it do not, it is a common remark that few are mended by sickness. " The sinner," says St. Augustine, " has this punishment inflicted on him, that when he is at the point of death he is unmindful of himself; because whilst he was living he was forgetful of God." Do not, therefore, forget God during health.
III. What is most calculated to give comfort to a dying person? 1. To have suffered much for Christ, and to have undergone mortification and penance. 2. To have been devout to the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, etc. — Apply yourself seriously to these things, for the time will come when you will wish to have done so. Happy was that holy man who could say on his deathbed, " I have never done my own will, neither have I
ever taught any one what I did not first practise myself." Preparation for Death.— II. For the Sick.
I. Sickness is the usual warning of death. Every one should therefore most carefully foresee what will be most expedient for him, in that state, to make a secure and a happy exit from this world. He must first acknowledge that sickness and pain are sent by a most loving Father, to expiate his sin or to increase and try his virtue. Because thou wast acceptable to God," said the angel to Tobias, " it was necessary that temptation should prove thee." (Tob. xii. 13.) Let him therefore give God thanks for his sickness, since by it he is warned of his approaching death, and has time to prepare for it.
II. What ought a sick man to do by way of immediate preparation for death: 1. He must purify his soul from all sin, by a sincere confession (a general confession in such a case is very advantageous). 2. He must resign himself entirely to God in regard to life or death. 3. He must foresee the occasions in which he may have to suffer, either in consequence of the violence of his disease or the negligence of his attendants, and arm his mind against temptations to impatience in these cases. 4. He must procure the reading of good books. 5. He must make frequent ejaculations to Heaven. 6. He must often call to mind the sufferings of Christ. 7. He must recommend himself to the Blessed Virgin and his patron Saints. 8. He must frequently make acts of faith, hope, love, and contrition.
III. When his danger increases he must call in time for the last helps of the Church, in order that he may receive them with more devotion. After this he must dilate his heart, and long for the meeting of his heavenly spouse. " Behold the bridegroom cometh : go ye forth to meet him." (Matt. xxv. 6.) He must, lastly, entirely surrender himself into the hand of God, repeating the words of Christ, " Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke xxiii. 46); or those of David, " Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy name." (Ps. cxli. 8.)
The Particular Judgment I.
I. Immediately after death we shall be judged, " that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil." (2 Cor. v. 10.) Ponder the terrors of this judgment. Who are the parties to be concerned in it? The Judge is infinitely wise — you cannot deceive Him; infinitely powerful— you cannot resist Him; infinitely just — you cannot bribe Him : He is supreme, and consequently from His decision you cannot appeal. Your accusers will be the devils, your arch-enemies; the witnesses, your angel guardian, and even your own conscience. Thus will your poor soul be circumstanced. You will stand, bereft of counsellors and friends, despoiled of everything which you had in the world, and accompanied by nothing but your own works. These alone, whether they have been good or evil, will accompany you to judgment. " Their works," says St. John, " follow them." (Apoc. xiv. 13.)
II. Consider the terrors of this judgment, in regard to the strict account which you must give of yourself. Your whole life will be accurately examined, every action, the most concealed, every thought, the most secret, will be brought into open view. " All things that are done God will bring into judgment" (Eccles. xii. 14), even "every idle word." (Matt. xii. 36.) The infinitely wise Judge will exact an account, not only of evil committed, but also of neglected good. He will examine even your good actions themselves, and discover if they be accompanied with any imperfections as to intention and exactness. " I will judge justices," he says by the mouth of David. (Ps. lxxiv. 3.) And by Sophonias, " I will search Jerusalem with lamps." (i. 12.) If God judge so strictly the "justices" of the Saints, and "search" even "Jerusalem," with how much more rigor will He act towards Babylon and sinners!
III. Ask yourself this all-important question: "What shall I be able to say or produce in my defence, at that fearful moment?" Take the advice of Ecclesiasticus, " Before sickness take a medicine, and before judgment examine thyself, and thou shalt find mercy in the sight of God." (Ecclus. xviii. 20.) Whilst you have power and time, do good, and fly from evil; for this conduct alone will screen you from the terrors of judgment.
The Particular Judgment. II.
I. Consider the miserable situation of a sinful soul, at the moment of judgment, if it be found wanting, and in the state of sin. For if that should be its unfortunate case, it will be completely degraded. — In the first place, it will be deprived of the gift of faith; because its actions did not correspond with its faith. 2. It will be stripped of the gift of hope; for, having hitherto neglected to adopt the means of gaining what Christians hope for, it can now hope no longer. 3. Its supernatural graces, if it had any, will be taken from it, and all its moral virtues, which it has abused. 4. Its natural knowledge will still remain, but will remain to torture it, for it will forever know and feel what it has lost and what it has gained, by sinning. 5. The character of baptism and every other sacramental character, which it may have received, will adhere to it for its greater confusion, and enable its infidel companions to upbraid it for all eternity in the language of Scripture: "This man began to build, and was not able to finish." (Luke xiv. 30.) Lastly, all that Ezechiel foretold shall be fulfilled in its regard: "They shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the instruments of thy glory, and shall let thee go naked and full of disgrace. (Ezech. xxiii. 26, 29.)
II. Consider the terror of the sentence which will be pronounced against the wicked: "Cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness." (Matt, xxv. 30.) Ah! wretched state! How will the poor soul feel on that occasion! The devils will instantly hurry it to the bottomless pit. Then there will be no remedy, no escape, no hope for you, as yet there is; take advantage of it therefore now, while you can.
III. Consider the happy condition of the just at that awful time. The sentence which they will hear affords sufficient subject for meditation. "Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matt, xxv. 23.) Imagine what joy that will be, and if you aspire to it, imitate those who will deserve it.
The General Judgment. I.
I. Why has God instituted a general judgment? t. To manifest to all mankind the glory and power of the humbled Redeemer. " The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all men may honor the Son" (John v. 22), and that He who appeared before all men for their salvation might also appear before them in the glorious character of universal judge, and that the wicked may see Him whom they have crucified.' 2. That the just may receive that honor and glory before all mankind, which they deserve, and the wicked meet with that confusion which they have merited; for in this world, for His own wise purposes, God frequently suffers the wicked to be exalted and permits the virtuous to be depressed. 3. That our bodies may receive reward or punishment, as they have been the instruments of virtue or of vice.
II. What terrors will precede the general judgment? "There shall be great earthquakes and pestilences and famines and terrors from heaven." (Luke xxi. 11.) "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be moved." (Matt. xxiv. 29.) And, as St. Peter says, "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved." (2 Peter iii. 12.) The sea will be troubled in the most terrible manner and the trembling earth shall be all on fire. " For behold, the day shall be kindled as a furnace," says the prophet, "and all the proud, and all who do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day which cometh shall set them on fire." (Malac. iv. 1.) Beware lest on that day you prove to be nothing but stubble.
III. The angel will go forth and sound on his trumpet the terrible words, "Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!" The dead will then resume their bodies; but with what different feelings! The wicked will inveigh against their bodies, because for their gratification they have committed so many crimes. They will exclaim to the mountains, " fall upon us, and to the hills, cover us." (Luke xxiii. 30.) But their exclamations will be uttered in vain. At that moment sinners will wish rather to have led virtuous lives, than to have worn crowns or governed empires. Reflect, therefore, frequently on the assertion of St. Jerome, and follow the principle which dictated it: " Whether I eat, or drink, or whatever else I do, that dreadful voice is always sounding in my ears ; Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment." The sound was not in vain in his ears; take care it be not so in yours.
The General Judgment. II.
I. The terror of this judgment will be increased at the appearance of the Judge. " And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty." (Luke xxi. 27.) Legions of angelic spirits will surround him ready to execute his decrees. "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn," (Matt, xxiv. 30.) Those shall mourn who have been enemies to this sign, or the cross of Christ. The Judge will be seated on a throne and His Saints will be round him. His countenance will beam with satisfaction and complacency on his faithful servants, but it will be lighted up with the fire of indignation when it is turned1 towards his enemies: "A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him." (Dan. vii. 10.) • Who would not wish at that terrible moment to be a friend of his Almighty Judge.
II. " The angels shall go out and separate the wicked from among the just." (Matt. xiii. 49.) Dreadful, eternal separation! The just will be placed on His right, and the goats, or reprobate, on His left. Ponder deeply the untimely repentance of the wicked, for it will be too late to retract their evil deeds in presence of their Judge, and of those just souls, of whom they will say: "We have had them some time in derision and for a parable of reproach; we fools esteemed their life madness and their end without honor; behold how they are numbered among the children of God and their lot is among the saints." (Wis. v. 3.) Then will be exacted that strict account of every thought, word and deed of our whole lives. Those crimes which sinners are ashamed of exposing to a confessor will then 'be known to the whole world. Do penance now,' or you will then be covered with confusion.
III. Consider the final sentence of the Judge. He will turn to the elect, and with eyes beaming with love He will say, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matt. xxv. 34.) Then addressing the wicked, " Depart," He will say, " depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." Ponder the greatness of the reward, and then the severity of the punishment. Make your choice between them; it is now in your power, but soon it will not be so. Wherefore, while time exists, " whatever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly, neither worth, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening." (Eccles. ix, 10.)
Hell. I.
I. Hell is the prison house of the damned, replete with every kind of misery and void of all good. Conceive the most severe torments that imagination can fancy, and they will be nothing in comparison with the torments of hell. That place, says St. John, is "a pool of fire, burning with brimstone." (Apoc. xxix. 20.) It will be, 1. A place of hideous darkness, more obscure than Egyptian darkness. 2. Excessively crowded in consequence of the number of the damned. 3. Exceedingly loathsome and nauseous. 4. It will be a place, "where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth." (Job x. 22.)
II. Consider the nature of the pains suffered in hell. 1. They will be most severe and excruciating, without relaxation or respite. Hence the rich glutton could never obtain one drop of water to cool his tongue. 2. The damned will suffer every variety of torture; "Let him pass from the snow waters into excessive heat." (Job xxiv. 19.) These torments will be increased by the company which the reprobate will be always obliged to keep: devils and damned souls, odious to themselves and all around them, will be their constant companions — add to those, vipers and snakes. " He shall suck the head of the asp, and the viper's tongue shall kill him; he shall be punished for all that he did, and yet shall not be consumed." (Job xx. 16.) How horrid a thought, to dwell in such a place of woe!
III. Consider the eternal existence of these pains. Millions of years will pass away and still these torments will exist as if they were only just beginning. Alas! they will endure forever, — yes, forever. " The smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever; neither have they rest day nor night." (Apoc. xiv. 11.) 1. They will be eternal, because the human soul is immortal; "They shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them." (Apoc. ix. 6.) 2. Because that place of torment will never cease to exist. 3. Because the reprobate will be there, "where the worm dieth not and the fire is not extinguished." (Mark ix. 43.) Lastly, the decrees of God are immutable, and He will have said to them, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting flames." What ought you not to undergo to avoid the danger of such suffering!
Hell. II.
I. Consider the expression of the Wise Man: "By
what things a man sinneth by the same also he is tormented." (Wis. xi. 17.) In each one of the senses by
which the sinful soul has offended God it will be punished. 1. The sight will be tortured with the view of
the most hideous monsters, of devils and reprobate souls.
The representations of past crimes will rise up in horrid
succession before it, and perhaps the guilty associates of
former transgressions will be there to add to the poor
soul's torment. 2. The hearing will be tortured with the
sounds of blasphemy and the shrill accents of agony and
despair. 3. The smell will be assailed by all the filth
of hell. 4. The taste will be punished with intolerable
hunger and thirst. 5. The feeling will be universally
tortured over every part of the poor sinner's body;
"Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of
you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Is. xxxiii.
14.) The will, memory and understanding will also have
their appropriate punishments.
II. The "pain of loss," as divines term it, will be far more severe than all these torments. The grief which we feel when we have experienced any loss is always proportionate to the object lost. The reprobate souls will (for their greater torment), know and feel too, what they have lost by their sins, viz., that happiness which is derived from the vision and enjoyment of the supreme good, the society of angels and Saints, eternal rest, peace, tranquillity and delight. How can we prevail on ourselves to forego all these, and besides to incur eternal pains, for some transitory gratification, some base, idle, short-lived pleasure? Foolish mortals, ungrateful Christians!
III. What ought to be done to avoid hell? "Avoid sin and do good." If you would not consent for the whole world to undergo, even for an hour, a very severe corporal pain, with how much more reason ought you to labor to avoid the pains of hell. This cannot be done without avoiding sin. "Let us therefore bewail our sins," as Thomas a Kempis says, "before we come to that place where our tears will be of no other avail than to increase our torments;" and let us avoid sin for the future; for sin is the fuel of hell.
Purgatory.— I.
I. As hell is destined for the punishment of mortal sin, so is purgatory ordained to be the punishment of venial transgressions. In purgatory souls suffer for a time the "pain of loss" and the pains of the senses. Ponder then on their pain of loss. They are deprived of the beatific vision and the enjoyment of God, which they most ardently desire. "Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul." (Prov. xiii. 12.) Much more is the soul afflicted when those hopes regard an enjoyment so great as is the happiness of heaven. If a high honor, a large sum of money, or any extraordinary enjoyment were promised you, think how uneasy you would be until you had gained possession of it. How great, then, must be the desire of these afflicted souls for the beatific vision, and the grief resulting from that desire! That grief is increased by the reflection that this enjoyment is delayed in consequence of their own carelessness and negligence.
II. Consider the pain of sense which the souls in purgatory experience. 1. The place of punishment is hideous and in the vicinity of hell, as most of the holy Fathers think. 2. The nature of the fire is the same as that of hell. 3. The torments are excessive; for as St. Augustine observes, "the purgative fire is more grievous than any pain whatever that we can see, feel, or imagine in this world." 4. Although the pains of purgatory will not endure like the pains of hell, forever, yet in regard to many poor souls they will endure for a very long time; and even should the time of suffering be in itself short, it will seem to the sufferers extremely long. An hour of pain there will be far more painful than a long life of misery here. "Which of you can dwell with devouring fire?" (Is. xxxiii. 14.)
III. How important and how necessary it is both to avoid venial sin and satisfy fully for mortal transgressions, although confessed, and, in respect to their guilt, forgiven! "Of sin that is forgiven be not without fear." (Ecclus. v. 5.) If you do not take this timely precaution you will be in danger of suffering in purgatory, and perhaps for many years. Remember what St. Augustine wrote, "He who will not now so much as put his finger into the fire, must necessarily dread to be tormented then, even for a short time."
Purgatory.— II.
I. How easy it is to sin so as to deserve the pains of purgatory! God will suffer nothing in the slightest degree criminal to pass unpunished. Considering how prone we all are to evil, and how averse to good actions, we have every reason to be on our guard even in our best actions. The sanctity and purity of our God are so perfect that He is easily offended by the negligence or ingratitude of His creatures; and whoever loves his God or his own soul, whoever pays any attention to his own best interests, will avoid even the smallest imperfection. Alas! of how many sins of this nature have you been guilty! How justly have you deserved the pains of purgatory! Wherefore humbly ask pardon for what is past, and pray with the psalmist: "O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy indignation, nor chastise me in Thy wrath. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak." (Ps. vi. 1, 2.)
II. Our merciful Lord has afforded us many means in this world of satisfying for our sins, and escaping the pains of purgatory. Among these means are the reception of the sacraments, the celebration or hearing of Mass, a devout application of the indulgences of the Church; then fasting, alms, prayers, mortification, and at least patience in all kinds of sufferings. God will be easily satisfied in this life, and will be soon appeased by the poor services that we can render Him. But after our time of probation in this world is over, He will exact the whole debt of punishment, even "to the last farthing." (Matt. v. 26.) Hence be careful to do as much good as you can while you may. "Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee." (Ecclus. xiv. 14.)
III. Among the best means of escaping entirely, or mitigating the pains of purgatory, is to pray frequently for the dead. This kind of charity and mercy for the helpless sufferers in purgatory is most acceptable to God. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," says Jesus Christ. (Matt. v. 7.) He will Himself be merciful to those who are merciful to the souls in purgatory. Wherefore pray yourself and procure the prayers of others for them: for, "with what measure you have measured, it shall be measured to you again." (Matt. vii. 2.)
Note.— If some days remain before Advent, for which there are no meditations appointed, some of the more interesting subjects that have been already considered can be taken again.