at the same time,art thou known to them. Playing and amusing themselves, they become the execration of God. And what play, what amusement is this ? God, who is all love, detests sin with infinite hatred ; should any thing, therefore , be so shocking in our eyes as this hellish monster ?
3. A soul in the state of grace is beautiful beyond expression ; it is a brilliant image of God himself; the Holy Ghost animates it. But , when mortal sin is allowed to affect it , its beauty is lost, its light is extinguished , the Divine Spirit departs, the devil takes possession : all then is darkness, filth , and deformity. If a God-man, dying, was a dreadful spectacle, mortal sin is yet more dreadfui; for Christ died but to atone for sin , and sin can daily frustrate all his merits ; he is crucified over and over -his blood is trampled upon by ungrateful sinners.
[Oh , detest at this moment all your sins. Lament, from your heart, the loss of God's grace : there is no loss so much to be lamented ; it is the only loss which sorrow can repair. ]
“ What advantage had you in those things at which you are now blushing ” (Romans vi.).
“ Woe to that daring soul which hoped that, having retired from you, she might still find something better ” ( St. Austin ).
TWELFTH DAY : ON REPENTANCE.
1. Repent, and believe the Gospel. Our Lord here joins faith and repentance together, in order to teach us that the rigours of penance and the profession of Christianity are inseparable. During his mortal life, he was ever occupied in doing penance; expiating our sins to appease the justice of his Eternal Father. Surely we should follow his example. If the Holy of Holies fasted, prayed , and wept, what should not be done by such vile wretches as we are ?
2. Sin must necessarily be punished either by him who commits it, or by God , against whom it is committed . If sinners do not punish themselves in time, the Divine Justice will punish them in eternity. The flames of hell must punish what the waters of penance have not effaced. Is it not, therefore , better to weep for a few days, than to burn for an eternity ? 3. To be reconciled with God , it is not enough to prostrate ourselves before a priest; to cover our heads with ashes, and our whole bodies with hair-cloth, if we have not a sincere sorrow for our sins : if we do not entirely renounce our criminal attachments , we are impostors , and not penitents . Prayers, alms, fasting, and maceration of the flesh , are but the outsides of repentance - the hatred of the sin is its very spirit and essence.
[ Implore God's mercy for having hitherto led a life so opposite to the Gospel ; and beg of him the grace to live , for the future, as the first Christians did , in the constant practice of penance .]
“ Unless you do penance, you shall all perish alike ” (Luke xiii. ) .
" To penitents I say, To what purpose is it that you be hum bled , if, with this, you be not changed ?" ( St. Austin .)
