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