SECOND SERMON FOR THE FEAST OF TH: Annunciation
SECOND SERMON FOR THE FEAST OF TH
ANNUNCIATION
S And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit. of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and i $ fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety, and He shall — be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord ''—Is. xi. 2, 3+ —
Brethren, to-day when we are keeping the solemnity =. of the Lord's annunciation, the simple history of our redemption presents itself to our view as an immense plain of most pleasing aspect.
The Archangel Gabriel is charged with a new embassy, the Virgin Mary reveals — to the world a new virtue and is honoured by the heavenly envoy with a new form of salutation.
The ancient curse pronounced upon women (Gen. iii. 16) is now cancelled, and the new Mother receives a new benediction.
She who never felt the fire of concupiscence is filled with heavenly grace; so that by the power and operation of the Holy Ghost descending upon her, she, who knows not man, may conceive in her womb the Son of the Most High God.
The remedy for our ruin enters us by the same channel through which was infused the serpent's poison which corrupted the whole human race.
Innumerable flowers of this kind could be gathered without labour in these pleasant fields : but it is the central abyss of awful profundity that now attracts my gaze. Truly, the mystery of the Lord's incarnation is an inscrutable abyss ; an unfathomable gulf of significance yawns beneath that sentence of the Evangelist, '""The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us'
(John i. 14).
> is able t ti or to sound it? or — understand it?
'' The deep and I have se othing wherein to draw"' (John iv. 11).
But I reto penetra the vapour exhaling from the water.
Therefore, though (conscious of my infirmity) I do not dare to plunge in, I often nevertheless "' stretch forth my hands to Thee, O Lord," over the mouth of this darksome deep, because "my soul is as earth without water unto Thee" (Ps. cxlii. 6). And now, dearest brethren, whatever little moisture my weak thought has been
_ able to absorb from the vapour uprising out of this well of mystery, I will endeavour to communicate to you ungrudgingly: I will wring the cloth so as to extract from it if possible even a few drops of the celestial dew.
And first of all, I inquire the reason why it was the Son Who became incarnate rather than the Father or the Holy Ghost, since the three Divine
Persons are not alone coequal in glory and majesty but in Substance are one and the same.
But "' who hath known the mind of the Lord?
Or who hath been His -counsellor ?'' (Rom. xi. 34). My brethren, we are face to face with a most profound mystery upon which it would be irreverent to pronounce an opinion too lightly.
It appears to me, nevertheless, that the incarnation of either the Father or the Holy Ghost would necessarily involve the confusion of a plurality of sonships, since one Person would be called the Son of God and a different the Son of man.
It seems also specially appropriate that that Person in particular should become a Son in time
ras already a Sertrom: Gee lest other -we should have ambiguity in the name.
Beside:
_ is the singular glory of our Virgin, it is Mary's grandest ; prerogative that she has merited to have one and the same Son in common with God the Father, which pre_Togative, as is evident, would be lost to her had any other Person but the Second become incarnate.
And with regard to ourselves finally, we should not have | the same grounds for our hope of salvation and of the inheritance from the incarnation of either the First Person or the Third.
We are confident that He Who was the Only-Begotten, being made now " the FirstBorn amongst many brethren'"'
(Rom. vill. 27) will _ admit to participate in the inheritance those whom He aus called to share in His sonship: for if brothers,
"joint-heirs also"' (ibid. 17).* As Christ Jesus, therefore, our faithful Mediator, in an ineffable mystery united together in His own single
— Person the Substance of God and that of man: so, in the act of reconciliation, following a counsel of infinite wisdom, did He observe perfect equity between the ie Creator and the creature, assigning to each what was due to each, honour to the Former, mercy to the latter.
For this was the most admirable manner of effecting a reconciliation between the offended Lord and His guilty servant : that zeal for the Lord's honour should not be allowed to crush the servant with too severe a chastisement, nor, on the other hand, should
| that honour suffer prejudice by excessive condescension to the sinner.
Hear, then, and ponder carefully the division made by the angels at the very birth of this
Mediator.
'' Glory to God in the highest," so they * Cf, Vol. i. of this Series, p. 6, note.
—_ ee [oh '
F *s "omer a " tay ee eer ey aa ve ee Te <p cee ee eres , 'and on earth peace to men of good will" (Luke
4 . And furthermore, it was that He might observe _ the same distinction of equity that Christ, our faithful
_ Conciliator, was never without the spirit of holy fear ers whereby He always showed reverence and deference to His Father, and always sought His glory, or the spirit of piety, by which He tenderly compassionated men.
Therefore He had need also of the spirit of knowledge, lest without it fear and piety should be confounded in their functions.
Note here that the first sin committed by our first parents had three __ authors, and that each of them lacked a different one of the three virtues aforesaid.
The three authors of = the sin were Eve, the devil, and Adam.
Now it is manifest that Eve lacked knowledge, since, as the Apostle says, "' the woman, being seduced, was in the transgression '' (I Tim. ii. 14). The serpent indeed had knowledge enough, for he is represented as being "' more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth"
(Gen. lll. I) ; yet that malignant one was without piety, being "a murderer from the beginning' (John viii. 44). As for Adam, it may perhaps be allowed that he possessed piety, inasmuch as he was unwilling to sadden the woman, but he certainly forsook the fear of the Lord by hearkening to her voice rather than to His.
Would to God it were the fear of the Lord that prevailed in him, just as it is significantly said of Christ that " He shall be filled with the spirit—not of piety, but—of the fear of the Lord" (Is. xi. 3)!
For in all things and always the fear of the Lord should take precedence of piety towards our neighbour, and it is that alone which has a right to claim possession of the whole man.
It was by means of these three virtues,
Peonciied man fie God, as it was by Eotneet and a es that He delivered him from the hand of the enemy.
_ For by counsel He deprived the devil of his ancient power over the human race, by allowing him to lay — hands on the Innocent ; and by fortitude He prevented — him from forcibly retaining the redeemed when, arising victorious from the dead, He raised up together with Himself the life of us all.
From that time, my brethren, '' He has fed us with the bread of life and understanding, and given us the ~ water of wholesome wisdom to drink"' (Ecclus. xv. 3).
For the understanding of spiritual and invisible things = is the true bread of the soul, the bread that " strengtheneth man's heart"' (Ps. cilil. 15), and fortifies it for every good work and every spiritual exercise.
'' But the carnal man who perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him "'
(x Cor. ii. r4),—let him weep and lament, saying, "My heart is withered because I forgot to eat my bread' (Ps. ci. 5). Thus, it is an evident and absolute truth thatit shall profit a man nothing "' if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul" (Mark viii. 36). But when could an avaricious man be brought to understand it ? Thou wouldst only lose thy labour didst thou attempt to bring it home to him.
And wherefore this?
Simply because he judges it to be foolishness.
Again, what is more true than that Christ's yoke is sweet ? (Matt. xi. 30).
But offer this truth to a man of the world, and see if he does not think thou art reaching him a stone instead of bread (Matt. vil. 9).
Nevertheless, it cannot be doubted that it is by the understanding of such interior truths the soul properly
wi 3 that en aot hast cane a cia for truth, it cannot without much difficulty gain admission to _ thy soul.
But when thou beginnest to feel a delight init, it is no longer food for thee: it has become drink, and flows easily into thy mind, so that '' the water of wholesome wisdom" may help to digest ''the bread
? of understanding,' which would be rather a burden than a benefit to the members of the interior man,
_ if they suffered from the lack of this moisture.
Therefore, my brethren, of all that was required for the salvation of His people, nothing whatever was
= . wanting to the Saviour.
For He it is of Whom the Prophet Isaias foretold:
'"' And there shall come forth a Rod out of the Root of Jesse, and a Flower shall
Tise up out of his root.
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety, and He shall be filed with the spirit of the fear of the Lord"
(Is. xl. I-3).
Note well how the Prophet said that the Flower was to rise up out of the root, not out of the rod. But, as is obvious, if the Flesh of the Infant Christ had been newly created in the Virgin's womb, and was not derived from her substance, as some have maintained, the Flower should have been represented as arising not from the root, but rather from the rod.
Consequently the fact that this Flower is declared to have arisen from the root proves beyond the possibility of a doubt the common origin of the matter
Master of our hearts: there still 'the flesh lusteth < ge _ the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh" (Gal.
. From this domestic strife may He deliver us in W Man, Who took His irc and common Flesh com common source, yet without any of the leave 1
0: concupiscence.
Be VENEER
EN ~
e THIRD SERMON FOR THE FEAST OF THE
ANNUNCIATION
4 The law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus :
Christ '—John i. 17.
- How rich Thou art in Thy mercy, O Lord our God !
How magnificent in Thy justice!
How prodigal of s Thy grace!
Verily, '' there is none like unto Thee"
(Ps. Ixxxv. 8), most munificent Benefactor, most equitable Recompenser, most loving-kind Deliverer.
By _ Thy grace Thou hast regard to the humble (Ps. cxii. 6, _ Luke i. 48); by Thyjustice Thou judgest the innocent ; by Thy mercy Thou savest even the sinful.
Such _ thoughts, dearest brethren, are the mystical meats set before us on the table of our wealthy Host by the testimonies of the Sacred Scriptures (Prov. xxiii. 1; and to-day in greater abundance than usual, as you
'shall find if you "consider diligently."
We owe this unwonted profusion to the circumstance that in the present year the most solemn feast of the Lord's Annunciation falls within the holy season of Lent.*
To-day, then, we have heard recited for us the story of the woman taken in adultery and absolved from her sin through the mercy of the Redeemer, To-day we have seen Him, the same indulgent Redeemer, delivering the innocent Susanna from death, and filling the most
* This sermon was preached in 1150, in which year the Feast of the Annunciation fell upon the Saturday preceding the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
On that day the history of Susanna is recounted in the Office, whilst the story of the adulterous woman is read in the Gospel of the Mass — (Translator ), h36
si hae eA o iaied ie ee ae ¥ em i blessed Virgin with singular gifts of 'His gratu
grace.
Here in truth is a rich banquet, where we have served up to us at the same time mercy, grace, anc justice.
Is not mercy rightly regarded as the food . men?
Yea, it is a most wholesome food and very = efficacious as a remedy.
Is not justice, again them bread of the heart?
Undoubtedly, and a kind of bread that wonderfully '"' strengtheneth the heart of man" (Ps. ciil. 15), because it is so solid and nourishing. Hence it is said, " Blessed are they that hunger
— after justice, for they shall have their fill'? (Matt. v. 6). — And with regard to the grace of God, may not this
— also be described as the food of thesoul ? Oh, certainly, and a most agreeable food it is, "" having in it all that — is delicious and the sweetness of every taste"
(Wisdom xvi. 20): what is more, it unites in itself the properties of the preceding two, for not alone is it pleasant, but it is also nourishing and medicinal.
Let us, therefore, approach this table and let us taste somewhat of each of these dishes.
'' Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one"' (John viii. 5), 1 0 ed ch Naat
so said sinners of a sinner, the proud Pharisees of the adulterous woman.
But, O Pharisees, you were answered " according to the hardness of your heart"
(Matt. xix. 8).
'"' Jesus bowing Himself down wrote with His finger on the earth' (John viii. 6).
" Lord, bow down Thy heavens and descend"' (Ps. cxliii. 5).
'" Bowing Himself down," and inclining towards mercy —for in the Heart of Jesus is no Judaical stiffness—
He '"' wrote with His finger—not this time on a stone, but—on the earth."
And that not once only, but a second time : He wrote twice according to the number of inscribed tables given to Moses.
Perhaps we may
Sa nn "The aw was Sven 1 hoses Sees and reall ame by Jesus Christ'' (John i. 17).
And consider further whether He may not be supposed to have _ read from the first table of truth His refutation of the 'Pharisees: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John viii. 7). A " short
word"? (Rom. ix. 28) indeed, but " living and effectual and more piercing than any two-edged sword" (Heb.
'iv. 12). For the blush of confusion that mantled their faces and their stealthy withdrawal showed with what power this word of the Lord had pierced the stony hearts of the accusers, with what force their flinty foreheads had been broken by this little stone (1 Kings
Xvi. 49).
The adulterous woman deserved stoning, indeed, but let him be forward to punish her who is not conscious of deserving the like punishment himself : let him presume to wreak vengeance on the guilty, whose conscience acquits him of similar guilt.
But as for him who cannot pretend to such innocence, his zeal ought to begin with himself as with the object most within reach.
Let him first pronounce and execute sentence upon the domestic criminal.
So far the table of truth.
But truth is not sufficient.
It has confounded the accusers, yet without absolving the accused.
Therefore, let the Lord Jesus write again, let Him write the table of grace ; let Him read it for us also, and let us, dearest brethren, be attentive.
'' Woman, hath no man condemned thee ? Who said : Noman, Lord. And Jesus said : Neither will I condemn thee.
Go, and now
(Ps. 1. 10, 14). Lord Fae "cause me 40 hear T mercy in the morning, for in Thee have I ho
(Ps. cxlii. 8). For it is hope alone that can move to compassion ; it is only into the vessel of faithft confidence that Thou pourest the oil of Thy mer
There is indeed a perfidious confidence which me nothing but maledictions: it is that which we posse: when we sin in hope.
Although properly speaking it should not be called confidence at all, but rather insensibility or pernicious dissimulation.
For how ca he have any real confidence who attends not to the danger that surrounds him?
Or how can he who feels = no fear and recognises no object of fear possess that which is the remedy for fear?
Confidence is a source — of consolation.
But they need no consolation "who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things"
(Prov. ii. 14).
Consequently, my Be brethren, let us, like holy Job, ask the Lord tomake known to us " how many are our iniquities and sins," and to reveal to us '' our crimes and offences"? (Job
__ xiii. 23).
" Let us examine our ways and our works"
(Jer. xviii. 11, Lam. iii. 40), and ponder in diligent — consideration all the perils that encompass us.
Let each one of us cry out in the midst of his fears, "I shall go to the gates of hell'' (Is. xxxviii. 10) ; so that henceforward the mercy of God shall be our only comfort.
For this is true and perfect hope, when a ~ man despairs of himself and leans with his whole weight
— upon God.
This, I say, is true confidence, to which mercy is never denied, since, as. the Psalmist testifies,
''The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him,
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ar, in them that hope in His mercy"? (Ps. cxlvi. II). ean surely we have good cause for fear when we con_ sider ourselves, and equally good reason for confidence
: when we turn our gaze towards God. For He is "' sweet "x *< and mild and plenteous in mercy"
(Ps. Ixxxv.
5), = _ "ready to repent of the evil " (Joel ii. 13), and '' boun- - tiful to forgive' (Is. lv. 7). Let us at least credit His enemies who could find in Him nothing else that might be made a ground of accusation except His readiness
_tocondone.
" He will compassionate this sinner," they _ said among themselves, '' and when she is denounced to Him He will not suffer her to be slain.
He will, therefore, stand convicted of openly contravening the law by pardoning one whom the law condemns."
But, O Pharisees, all your malicious devising has but redounded _ to your own disadvantage.
By fleeing from judgment | you show that you despair of your cause; whilst the guilty woman, having none to accuse her, can now receive pardon without injury to the law.
But let us consider now, most dearly beloved, in what manner the Pharisees stole away from the scene of judgment.
"' They went out one by one, beginning with the eldest' (John viii. 9). Do you not see how the two elders go to hide themselves in the orchard of Joakim?
They seek his wife, the virtuous Susanna.
Let us follow them, for their minds are full of evil purpose against her.
" Consent to us" (Dan. xiii. 20) say these elders, these Pharisees, these wolves, who only just now have been prevented from devouring another poor sheep, albeit a wanderer from the fold.
"Consent to us and do as we desire." " O ye that are grown old in evil days" (ibid. 52), do you now persuade one to commit the same crime of which you
rg este oe P THE
TE ANNU NCTATI
awhile aE accused PR oiher: ? But this is all your fully with the words, '' He that is without sin amon you, let him first cast a stone at her.''
With good reason, then, did Truth say to His disciples, '' Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes os and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven'"'
(Matt. v. 20).
'' But if thou wilt not consent to us," say these elders, "' we will bear witness
— against thee' (Dan. xiii. 21). O seed of Chanaan and not of Juda!
Moses certainly has not commanded you this in the law.
Perhaps you pretend that he requires you not only to stone the adulterous but also to accuse
_the virtuous ? to bear false witness against the innocent as well as to hurl stones at the guilty ? But so far is this from being the case that he does not allow the — false accuser any more than the adulterer to go unpunished (Deut. xix. 16-19).
The truth is that " you who make your boast of the law, by transgression of the law dishonour God "' (Rom. ii. 23).
" Susanna sighed and said: I am straitened on every side' (Dan. xill. 22). Yes, because whichever way she turned she saw death confronting her: here, bodily death; there, the death of the soul.
'If I do this thing,' she went on, ''it is death to me, and if I do it not, I shall not escape your hands"
(ibid.).
So it is, O Pharisees.
Neither the virtuous nor the vicious can escape your hands, neither the sinner nor the saint is secure from your accusations.
You dissemble the sins you have yourselves committed when you find
a a
scenes a on_ ay side,'' as she is, and forced to choose © = tween death and death, that is, between corporal and spiritual death?
"It is better for me," she says, 'to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord " (ibid.).
For she knew that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the _ Living God" (Heb. x. 31).
Men indeed can " kill the body, but after that have nothing more that they can do': not them, consequently, ought we to fear
_ but rather "Him Who after He hath killed, hath power to cast both body and soul into hell' (Luke xii. 4, 5;
Matt. x. 28). What keeps the servants of Joakim from coming ? Let them rush in by the postern, for there is an uproar in the orchard, the yelping of two old wolves and between them the bleating of a poor frightened littlesheep. But the Lord, Who has so mercifully snatched from their very jaws one little deserving to be rescued, will not now suffer them to devour the innocent.
With reason, therefore, when about to be — put to death, "' her heart had confidence in the Lord "
(Dan. xiii. 35) Whom hitherto she had so much feared as to despise in comparison all human fear, Whose law she had preferred to both life and reputation.
'' For never had there been any such word said of Susanna," whose "' parents were just' and whose '' husband was the most honourable of all the Jews" (ibid. xxvii. 3, 4).
And with good reason also was she, who hungered so eagerly after justice that, for its sake, she had been willing to endure corporal death and the disgrace of her house, and to witness the inconsolable sorrow of her
behold: Mar unjust eae poder to re well- -merited chastisement by the sentence ofa righ judge.
And for npelves dearest brethren, if we desire to hear from the Lord the consoling sentence,
'' Neither will I condemn thee," if we wish now to sin no more against Him, if we '' would live godly in Christ Jesus "
(2 Tim. iii. 12) : we also must " suffer persecution" (ibid.) and that without " rendering evil for evil or railing for railing' (x Peter iii. 9). For he who is not patient shall lose justice, that is to say, shall lose life, that — is to say, shall lose his soul (Luke xxi. 19). "Re
| venge to Me, and I will repay, saith the Lord"
(Rom.*.xii. x9).
So. in truth-it is.
He wil-mum= doubtedly repay thy persecutors, provided only that thou leavest revenge to Him, provided thou usurpest not His right of judgment, provided thou requitest not with evil them that render evil to thee
_ (Ps. vii. 5). He "' executeth judgment" indeed, yet. only "' for them that suffer wrong "' (Ps. cxlv. 7) ; "" He shall reprove with equity—but only—for the meek of the earth" (Is. xi. 4).
But I fear you are growing =a impatient that the sweetmeats are so long delayed.
= You should not, however, be surprised at this, because a they are truly sweetmeats.
No matter how full you may be already, you will find them no burden.
Yea, even though eructating from satiety, you will nevertheless find a relish in these.
" The angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth'' (Luke i. 26).
Art thou surprised, my brother, to see so small a town so highly honoured as to receive an envoy, and so noble an
Sadi "What is Mary but the treasury: of God ?
Yes, and wherever she i is, there is His heart also (Matt. vi. 21). His eyes are always upon her, and He never ceases to "'regard the humility of His handmaid "'
(Luke i. 48).
It will be allowed, I suppose, that the Only-Begotten of God the Father knows heaven.
And _ if He knows heaven, He must likewise know Nazareth.
How can He help knowing His native place? How can He help knowing His inheritance ? For He has inherited Nazareth from His Mother, as heaven from His Father: hence He testifies of Himself that He is both the Son and the Lord of David (Matt. xxii. 44,45).
"The heaven of heaven to the Lord," sings the Psalmist, "' but the earth He hath given to the children of men "' (Ps. cxiii. 16). The Lord Jesus, consequently, has a just title to the possession of both heaven and earth: of heaven, because He is Lord, and of earth, because He is the Son of man.
And hear how, as the Son of man, He even claims the earth for His own, and yet shares it with us as the Bridegroom of our souls : '' The flowers," He says, '' have appeared in our land" (Cant. ii. 12). There is a particular appropriateness in the fact that His native town was called
Nazareth, which signifies '' a flower."
For the Flower from the "root of Jesse" (Is. xi. 1) loves the flowerbearing land: He Who calls Himself "' the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valleys' (Cant. ii. 1) is delighted to "' feed among the lilies " (ibid. 16). Flowers are valued for three things, viz., beauty of colour, sweetness of fragrance, and the prospect of fruit : these
e: may be called their threefold ae Such a ae thou, my brother, be esteemed by God, and He be well pleased in thee (Matt. iii. 17), if He discovers
_ in thee the beauty of a virtuous life, and the swee fragrance of a good reputation, and the hope and desir of a future reward.
For eternal life is the fruit of the Spirit. | ae "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God" (Luke i. 30).
How much grace?
Full grace. a and singular grace.
But is it singular I ought to Savom a and not rather general?
To be exact, it is both singular and general, because it is full, and the more singular in proportion as it is also general.
For she has been endowed with general grace in a singular degree and manner.
Her grace, I say, is all the more singular for that it is at the same time general, because by her alone amongst all has grace been found.
It is singular, because thou alone, O Mary, hast found grace in its fulness ; and it is general, because of this '' fulness we have all received'"' (John i. 10).
'' Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb " (Luke i. 42). Yes, it is no doubt in a singular manner the fruit of thy womb, but through thee it has come into the hearts of us all.
It was thus of old, it was thus, I say, in the case of Gedeon : the whole of the dew was in the fleece and the whole of it on the floor, yet it was not all in any one part of the floor as it was all in the fleece (Judges vi. 37-40).
So in thee alone has the wealthy, yea, boundlessly rich Lord of heaven "' emptied Himself''
(Phil. ii. 7), in thee alone has the Most High humbled Himself, in thee alone has the Immense circumscribed Himself, becoming
'a little less than the angels '' (Heb. ii. 9), in thee alone,
oe a d, Himself true God, made _ self also the Son of Man. But to what end?
To - end that we might be enriched by His poverty, exalted by His lowliness, magnified by His littleness, ind that "' gained to the Lord" by His incarnation, we might be made "one spirit with Him"
(xz Cor.
Vi. 17).
_ But what shall I say, brethren?
Into what manner of vessel in particular does God pour His grace?
If, as already remarked, confidence has capacity to receive mercy, and patience is receptive of justice : what kind of vessel can we pronounce to be a proper receptacle for grace?
Grace is the purest of balsams and requires a vessel of the utmost solidity.
Now what is purer, what more solid than humility of heart? Rightly, therefore, does God give His grace to the humble (James iv. 6), rightly "' hath He regarded the humility of His handmaid."
By what right, do you ask?
Because the humble soul is occupied by no human merit, so that the fulness of divine grace can freely flow into her.
But to this humility we have to mount by certain steps.
For at first, whilst a man still takes delight in sin and has not yet broken off the miserable habit by the purpose to amend, his heart is rendered by its own vices altogether incapable of receiving grace; afterwards, also, when he has resolved to reform his conduct, _ to renounce for ever his old habits, the sins of his past, although they appear to be in a manner pruned as the effect of this resolution, impede, nevertheless, the inflow of grace, so long as they are allowed to abide in 'the soul.
They abide until they are washed out by confession, until by subsequent " fruits worthy of penance " (Matt. iii. 8) they are fully atoned for. But
C= woe to thee if to thy former sins and vices there su what is so evidently opposed to grace? The fervour of — our conversion is lost little by little in course of time, — our charity is gradually cooled whilst iniquity abounds
(Matt. xxiv. 12), so that having begun in the spirit we z are consummated in the flesh (Gal. iii. 3).
Hence it is that through our lukewarmness and ingratitude we do not any longer " know the things that are given us from God "' (x Cor. ii. 12). We forsake the fear of - : the Lord, we give up our pious solicitude, we acquire habits of loquacity, curiosity, jesting, yea, even of detraction and murmuring, wasting our time in frivolity, shirking labour and departing from discipline when we can do so without being observed, as if, forsooth, we thus avoided all harm to our souls.
What wonder is it, then, that grace cannot flow into us with such and so many obstacles in the way?
But even if one " be thankful,"' as the Apostle says, so that "' the word of Christ' and '' the word of His grace may dwell in him " (Col. iii. 15, 16; Acts xx. 32), if one be devout and watchful and fervent in spirit : let him still beware of putting his trust in his own merits, of relying upon his own good work.
Otherwise, divine grace will not enter his soul.
For such a soul is already full and has no room for the gifts of God.
Consider now that Pharisee who prayed in the temple. He was not an extortioner, he was not unjust, neither was he an adulterer.
Perhaps you suppose him to have been without the fruits of penance?
Far from it. He fasted twice in the week and gave tithes of all he possessed.
You are now perhaps thinking that he was ungrateful?
But hear what he said: "' O
fn , NO: the obstacle to grace in him was that his heart 'was not void of self-conceit, it was not emptied out,
'it was not humble but rather proud and elated.
For instead of trying to discover what was yet wanting to him (Matt. xix. 20), he exaggerated his merits : but what appeared to him to be the fulness of merit was in reality the inflation of pride.
Therefore, he who _ imagined himself to be full '' went down into his house "'
_ empty.
The Publican, on the contrary, did in truth empty himself ; and because he took care to bring his vessel empty, he returned with a bountiful largess of grace.
Therefore, dearest brethren, if we too wish to find grace, let us not only abstain from sin in future, but also do worthy penance for the sins of our past, and let us furthermore be careful to prove ourselves devoted to God and sincerely humble.
For it is upon souls with such dispositions that the Lord delights to look with that loving regard whereof the Wise Man says, '' The grace of God and His mercy are with His saints, and He hath respect to His chosen " (Wisdom lv. 15).
And possibly it is because of the four evils mentioned He calls back the soul whom He looks upon four distinct times, saying, "' Return, return, O Sulamitess: return, return, that we may behold thee " (Cant. vi. 12), that is lest she should remain either in a sinful habit, or in a sinful conscience, or in tepidity and the torpor of ingratitude, or in the blindness of self-esteem,
From which fourfold danger may He in His mercy recall and deliver us also, '' Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption "' (1 Cor. i. 30), Jesus Christ our Lord, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God for everlasting ages of ages.
Amen.