I COLL CHRIST! REGIS SJ. BIB. MAJOR TORONTO GOD THE TEACHER MANKIND: A PLAIN, COMPREHENSIVE EXPLANATION OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. THE GREATEST and the FIRST COMMANDMENT. BY MICHAEL MtiLLER, 0. SS. R NEW YORK : 52 Barclay St. CINCINNATI : 204 Vine St. FK. PUSTET & CO., PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE. 1881. flOLLCHWSn REGIS S.J. BIB. MAJOR TufiONIO ARCHBISHOP or NEW YOKE. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1881, by MICHAEL MULLER, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. STEREOTYPED AND FEINTED AT THE NEW YORK CATHOLIC PROTECTORY, West Chester, N. Y. CONTENTS. PAGE. Introduction to the Commandments of God - ... 1 Faith alone will not save us--..... 8 The greatest commandment -----.-11 What charity is -----.... 13 What is to love God above all things ..... 22 Why we must love God ....... 25 Perfect and imperfect love of God --..._ 39 Love of our neighbor ---.-... 48 Who is our neighbor ? ..... ...58 Are we obliged to love sinners ?--.... 61 Love of our enemies .......... g2 Love of the poor, orphans, widows, etc. 86 How to help the needy --....__ 88 THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCT : 89 To feed the hungry ---.....93 To give drink to the thirsty - - - . - . . 97 To clothe the naked ---.....98 To harbor the harborless ---..._ 98 To visit the sick ....99 To visit the imprisoned 108 To bury the dead 114 THE SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCT : To convert sinners - - . . . . „ -122 To instruct the ignorant - 150 To counsel the doubtful 153 iv CONTENTS. PAGE. To comfort the sorrowful 154 To bear wrongs patiently ------- 164 To forgive injuries - - - 169 To pray for the living and the dead - - - - - 169 Reward of the charitable - 182 Punishment of the uncharitable ------ 211 Who truly loves God, and his neighbor? - - - - - 213 Law— what it is ._..---.. 215 Eternal, Natural, and Moral Law 217 PEECEPTS OF THE OLD LAW : 1. Moral Precepts of the Old Litwr 226 2. Ceremonial Precepts 227 A. Sacrifices 229 B. Holy Things 230 C. Particular Observances ------- 233 D. Sacraments of the Old Law 233 Circumcision 234 Reasons of the Ceremonial Laws - 237 3. Judicial and Juridical Precepts 238 The reason and propriety of the Judicial Precepts - - 240 The New Law, or the Law of grace - 240 Human Law 254 CONSCIENCE— WHAT IT is : 258 1. The right and true conscience .... 265 2. The erroneous or false conscience 26"> 3. The perplexed conscience -_.... 268 4. The certain conscience 269 5. The timorous or tender conscience ----- 2G9 6. The lax conscience ------- 269 7. The doubtful conscience ------- 270 8. The scrupulous conscience 276 9. The conscience of our modern infidels, and its perversity 294 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS : When, where, and to whom the Ten Commandments were given 298 CONTENTS. V PAOE. What the Commandments teach 303 The first commandment — what it commands .... 306 Adoration of God— what it is Sins against the adoration of God— Superstition and irreligion - 316 Satan, the author of superstition ------ What superstition is - - - • 325 What idolatry is - 325 What attendance at false worship is, and who are guilty of this -' sin 33° Divination — What it is 333 Necromancy, or spiritualism, ------ Animal magnetism or mesmerism 3&> Astrology 372 Witchcraft 373 Sorcery 376 Fortune-telling Other superstitious practices ------- Sin of irreligion 393 Tempting God Sacrilege 39^ Simony 406 Worship of God by faith 410 THE FOUR GREAT TRUTHS WHICH EVERY MAN MUST KNOW IN ORDER TO BE SAVED : The existence of God 411 The Holy Trinity - 414 The Incarnation 420 Immortality of the soul 426 God rewards the good and punishes the wicked - - 431 Other truths necessary to know Why we must believe the Catholic Doctrine .... 437 Objections of non-Catholics refuted 452 Sins against faith - - - - - - - - - 4;>5 Infidelity, negative— what it is 4f>9 Infidelity, positive 4GO vi CONTENTS. PAGE, The man without religion— what he is - The faith of the infidel The causes of infidelity - Heresy — what it is -------- The grievousness and evils of the sin of heresy Apostasy — what it is - - - 521 Beligious indifference - 523 Liberalism— what it is- - - 532 How we worship God by hope ...... 538 The primary and secondary object of hope .... r>44 The motives of hope 544 How the virtue of hope is nourished and increased - - - 550 Sins against hope— despair 555 Presumption— those guilty of 561 How to worship God by charity ------ 564 Sins against charity— Indifference to God 561 Hatred of God ... - 5G5 ON THE HONOE AND INVOCATION OP THE SAINTS I Why we honor the holy Angels - - - - - 567 Why we honor the saints of God 569 The gift of miracles --._.-._ 606 The gift of prophecy 621 Why we invoke the saints - - - -- - - - 034 ON THE HONOR AND INVOCATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MAKY 639 Why the prayers of the Saints are so powerful - ... 666 What the angels and saints know and see _ . . 697 On the honor given to the cross and holy images ... 701 God does not forbid the making, but the adoring of images - 721 Why we honor the relics of the saints - - - - . ... 723 Conclusion ---..-..-_ 730 THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. MANY centuries ago, there lived in the far Orient, in Asia, a great king named Solomon. In his search for hap piness, he sought to gratify every desire of his heart. "1 said in my heart : I will go, and abound with delights and enjoy good things. I made me great works, I built me houses, and planted vineyards. I made gardens, and orchards, and set them with trees of all kinds, and I made me ponds of water, to water therewith the wood of the young trees. I got me men-servants, and maid-ser vants, and had a great family ; and herds of oxen, and great flocks of sheep, above all that were before me in Jeru salem : I heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces : I sought out singing men, and singing women, and the delights of the sons of men : cups and vessels for wine : and I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem : my wisdom also remained with me. And whatsoever my eyes de sired, I refused them not : and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in the things which I had prepared : and esteemed this my por tion, to make use of my own labor." After so ample an enjoyment of all earthly pleasures, may we not think that this king was happy indeed ? Nevertheless, he tells us that his heart was not satisfied. " And when I turned myself," he says, " to all the works 2 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. which my hands had wrought, and to the labors wherein I had labored in vain, I saw in all things vanity, and vex ation of mind, and that nothing was lasting under the sun." (Eccles. ii.) What happened to Solomon happens still to every man on earth. Well has the poet written : " Oh ! what is all earth's round, Brief scene of man's proud strife and vain endeavor, Weighed with that deep profound, that tideless ocean river, That onward bears time's fleeting forms for ever? " Give to that man whose dream, whose waking thought, day and night, is to grow rich ; to live in splendor and luxury j whose life is spent in planning, and thinking, and toiling — give him all the kingdoms of the earth, all the gold of the mountains, all the pearls of the ocean : give him the desire of his heart, will he be happy ? Will his heart be at rest ? Ah ! no. He will find that riches are like thorns ; they only wound and burn. They seem sweet when beheld at a distance ; but indulge in them, and at once you taste their bitterness. Dim twilight broods o'er land and sea, The birds have hushed their melody : I sadly gaze on yon bright star — My soul's true home is far, so far ! My restless heart's a stranger here ! Where e'er I wander far or near I seek in vain for joy and peace, My homesick soul longs for release. Earth's sweetest joys last but a while, Dark tears soon quench the brightest smile. The sparkling eye is dimmed by death, And beauty pales at his chill breath ! COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 3 Earth's pleasures tempt but to defile, Earth's beauty lures but to beguile; Wealth, like the thorn, with stinging smart, Can only burn and wound the heart ! Where have the joys of childhood gone ? Where have youth's golden visions Hown ? Where shall my yearning hopes be bleat ? Where shall my weary heart find rest ? The stream e'er seeks the sounding sea, The flow'ret lures the honey-bee, The wild bird flies to its fond nest — In heaven alone my soul can rest ! All the goods and pleasures of this world are like the fisher's baited hook. The fish eagerly swallows the bait, it sees not the hook ; but no sooner does the fisherman draw up his line than it is tormented and soon after comes to destruction. So it is with all those who esteem them selves happy in their temporal possessions. In their comforts and honors they have swallowed a hook. The time will come when they shall feel the cruel hook which they have swallowed in their greediness. Now, why is it that the riches and pleasures of this world cannot make us happy ? It is because the soul was not created by them and for them, but by God and for God. The enjoyment of God alone can make the soul happy. A thing is made better only by that which is better than itself. Inferior beings can never make superior beings better. The soul, being immortal, is superior to all earthly things. Earthly things, then, cannot make the soul better. Hence it is that here on earth we are never satis fied. We always crave for something more, something higher, something better. Whence comes this continual restlessness that haunts us through life and pursues us even 4 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to the grave ? It is the home-sickness of the soul; its crav- in"- after a Good that is better and more excellent than the soul herself is. God alone is this Good, He is Supreme Goodness itself. He who possesses God, possesses the goodness of all other things ; for whatever goodness they possess they have from God. Where, then, are we to seek true happiness ? In God alone. God has certainly reserved to himself far more beauty and goodness than he has bestowed upon his crea tures. This truth admitted, it necessarily follows that he who enjoys God possesses, in him, all things ; and conse quently, the very same delight that he would have taken in other things, had he enjoyed them separately, he enjoys in God, in a far greater measure and in a more elevated manner. For this reason, St. Francis of Assisi used to exclaim, " My God and my All" — a saying to which he was so accustomed that he could scarcely think of any thing else, and often spent whole nights in meditating on this truth. So also St. Teresa would exclaim, " God alone is sufficient ! " True contentment is found in the Creator, and not in .the creature. It is a contentment which no man can take from the soul, and in comparison with which all other joy is sadness, all pleasure sorrow, all sweetness bitter, all beauty ugliness, all delight affliction. It is most certain that when "face to face, we shall see God as He is, " we shall have perfect joy and happiness. The more closely, then, we are united with God in this life, the greater contentment of mind and the greater happiness of soul shall we enjoy ; and this contentment and joy are of the self-same nature as that which we shall have in heaven. The only difference consists in this : that here our happi- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 0 ness is in an incipient state, whilst in heaven it will be brought to perfection. The very essence of all happiness consists in being intimately united with God. Hence it is that St. Augustine, who had tasted all pleasures, ex claimed : "Thou hast made me, O God! for Thyself; and my heart was uneasy within me until it found its rest in Thee l» Tell me why forever flowing Hastes the streamlet to the sea; Tell me why forever blowing Speeds the wind o'er hill and lea. Why the stream fore'er doth flow, Why the wind fore'er doth blow — This deep secret I would know. Tell me why the stars e'er wander Through the darkling waste of space ; Why the bright sun and the pale moon Restless march from place to place ; Why they wander to and fro ; , Tell me for I long to know — This deep secret I would know. Tell me why the winds are moaning Like a banished soul in pain ; Why the waves are ever sobbing On the restless stormy main; Why the ocean's bosom heaves, Like one who though sleeping grieves O'er the loved and lost he leaves ! Tell me why the birds are flying Far away from their fond nest, Why the roses bright are d\ ing, And the dear ones we love best — They whose love our life hath blessed — Why can they not with us rest ? Why can they not with us rest ? 6 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Why is my sad heart so restless ? Why still longs mj soul fur bliss ? Why are all earth's honied pleasures Like the Judas traitor kiss ? Riches bring but care and pain, Beauty blooms to fade again, Nought that's fair can here remain ! Restless heart so sad and weary, Wouldst thou then the secret know ? All thou seest above, beneath thee, Stars that shine and streams that flow — All things yearn and seek for rest ; And thy soul shall ne'er be blest Till with God in heav'n thou rest ! Now, when is it that we possess God, are closely united with him, and find our rest in him ? It is only when we do his holy will. This God has given us clearly to understand in the words he addressed to Adam : " And of the tree of know ledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.'7 (Gen. ii., 17.) By this commandment man was clearly given to under stand that the continuation of his happiness, for time and eternity, depended upon his obedience to the will of God. To be free from irregular affections and disorderly passions, and to transmit his happiness to his posterity, was entirely in man's power. If he made a right use of his liberty by always following the law of God, if he preserved unsullied the image and likeness of his Creator and heavenly Father, if, in fine, he made a proper use of the creatures confided to his care, he was to receive the crown of life everlasting as reward for his fidelity. But if he swerved even for a moment, from this loving will of God, he was COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 7 to subject himself to the law of God's justice, who would not fail to execute the threatened punishment. JBut did God, perhaps, afterwards, when man was re deemed, lay down other and easier conditions for his hap piness and salvation ? No j God did not change these conditions in the least. Man's happiness still depends on his obedience to the divine will. " Now if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to do and keep all His commandments, the Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations of the earth, and all these blessings shall come unto thee and overtake thee : yet so if thou hear His precepts." (Deut. xxviii., 1, 2.) And our divine Saviour says : " You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you." (John xv., 15.) And again : "Not every one that saith unto me, l Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, shall enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt, vii., 21.) Our Lord himself gave the ex am pie of obedience to the divine will, since he was obedient even unto the death of the cross. He thereby taught all men that their happiness and salvation depend on their un swerving obedience to the will of their heavenly Father. All men without exception were made by God to be happy with him for ever in heaven ; but only on this condition : " He that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter the kingdom of heaven." Now the will of God is expressed in his commandments and in the precepts of his Church. Hence the answer to the ques tion — 8 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 1. Will faith alone save us ? No ; Christ says : " If thou tvilt enter life, keep the com mandments.77 (Matt, xix., 17.) u Therefore, Faith without ivories is dead.7- (James ii., 26.) To be saved it is not enough to believe that there is a God, who is the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, the judge of the living and the dead, the just rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked ; it is not enough to believe that the Son of God became man and died for us on the cross ; that he founded the Roman Catholic Church, that it might, in his name and by his authority, teach all nations what they must believe in order to be saved ; in a word, it is not enough that our understanding be united to God by faith. We must also be united to him by the affections of our heart and will ; that is, we must really love God and show this love by keeping faithfully all his commandments. " Though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains,77 says St. Paul, " and have not charity, I am nothing.77 (1. Cor. xiii., 2.) " What will it profit, my brethren,77 says the Apostle St. James, " if a man says he hath faith, but no wrorks ? Shall faith be able to save him?77 (Ch. ii., 14.) u Every tree that doth not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.7' (Matt, iii., 10.) From these passages of Holy Writ it is evident that good works are required, that the keeping of the command ments is necessary, and that faith alone will not save us. Indeed, a Christian, without good works, is like a tree without fruit, a field without produce, a lamp without oil. His faith is barren and this barrenness is a kind of iniquity which renders a Christian very culpable. The fig-tree, which produced no fruit, was cursed. The talent was COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 9 taken from him who had hidden it in the earth. Those who do not practise what they believe will soon cease to believe. Faith does not long exist in the soul when the fruitful life of charity is destroyed. Those who believe and do not practise what they believe, will be more severely punished than those who are ignorant of the true faith. Our delight and occupation in this world, then, should be to do the holy will of God. It was for his obedience to the will of God that Abel obtained from the Lord the testi mony that he was just. It was for his obedience that Enoch was translated by God. On account of his obedi ence to the will of God, Noe with his family was saved from the deluge. It was for his obedience that Abraham became the father of many nations. It was for his obedi ence that Joseph was raised to the highest dignity at the court of Pharaoh. It was on account of his obedience that Moses was chosen to be the great prophet and law-giver of the people of God. As long as the Jews were obed ient to the law of God, they were protected against all their enemies as by an impregnable rampart. Obedience to the will of God changed Saul from a persecutor of the Church into the Apostle of the Gentiles. The martyrs merited their glorious crown, not so much because they shed their blood, but because they died in obedience to the holy will of God. In fine, Jesus Christ has declared : " Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matt, xii., 50.) He who leads a life contrary to God's will, is altogether out of place. A tool which is useless is cast away. A wheel which hinders other wheels from working is taken out and replaced by another. A limb which is out of 10 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. joint and endangers the health of the other members of the body is cut off. A servant who does no longer his master's will is discharged. A rebellious citizen who violates the laws of the state is put into prison or banished. A child who is stubbornly and sinfully dis obedient to his parents, is disinherited. Thus men naturally hate and reject whatever is un reasonable, or useless, or destructive of good order. What wonder, then, that the Lord of heaven and earth, the author of good sense and good order, should bear an implacable hatred towards those who disobey his holy will? He who lives in opposition to God's will suffers as many pangs as a limb which has been dislocated. He is continually tormented by evil spirits, who have power over a soul that is in enmity with God. He is no longer under the special protection of God, since he has vol untarily withdrawn from his holy will. God sent Jonas, the prophet, to Nineve, but the prophet, instead of going there, set out for Tarsus. What was the consequence f The disobedient prophet was buffeted by the tempest, cast into the sea, and swallowed by a monster of the deep. Behold the just punishment of all those who abandon God's will to follow their own pas sions and evil inclinations. They will be tossed like Jonas, by continual tempests. They will remain asleep in their sins, heedless of their danger, until they, finally, perish in the stormy sea, and are swallowed up in the abyss of hell! " Know thou and see that it is a bitter and fearful thing for thee to have left the Lord thy God, when he desired to lead thee in the way of salvation, saith the Lord God of hosts.'' (Jeremiah ii., 19.) God grants to the devil great power over the disobedient. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 1 1 As in Juda the Lord permitted a lion to kill a prophet in punishment for his disobedience, so he permits the in fernal lion to assail the proud and the disobedient with the most filthy temptations ; and as they are too weak to re sist, they easily fall a prey to the rage of the hellish monster. Disobedience to God's will was the cause that the rebel lious angels were cast out of heaven, and our first parents expelled from paradise ; it made Cain a vagabond on the face of the earth ; it was the cause that the human race was drowned in the wraters of the deluge ; it brought des truction upon the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Disobedience to the will of God was the cause that the Jews were often led into captivity j it was the cause that Pharaoh and all his host were drowned in the Red Sea. Disobedience turned Nabuchodonosor into a wild beast ; it laid the city of Jerusalem in ashes ; it has ruined, and will still ruin nations, empires, and kingdoms ; it will finally put an end to the world, when all those who have obstin ately rebelled against the will of God, will be hurled into the everlasting flames of hell by the irresistible words of the Almighty : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever lasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels," there to obey the laws of God's justice for ever. 2, Which is the greatest commandment of God? The greatest commandment is, to love God above all things, with our ivhole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves. We read in the Gospel that the Jews often put questions to our dear Saviour. Some questioned him through malice, to tempt and to ensnare him in his speech ; others questioned him through curiosity ; and others through a 12 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. sincere desire to know what they must believe and do, in^ order to be saved. Jesus answered all of them with ad mirable sweetness and charity. Thus one day, the Phar isees came to him, and one of them, a doctor of the la\v? tempted him, saying : u Master, which is the great com mandment in the law ! " Jesus said to him : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first com mandment. And the second is like to this : Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Matt, xxii., 35.) Our Lord gave this answer, because he knew that there were many who observed the commandments only exter nally, without loving God above all things. Even the great Apostle St. Paul acknowledges that? though before his conversion he observed the law exter nally, without blame (Phil, iii., 6.), yet he did not observe it internally, by loving God above all things. u We our selves,77 he says, "were some time unwise, incredulous? erring slaves to divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hating one another.'7 (Tit. iii., 3.) In deed a person may not curse or break the Sabbath, or dis obey lawful authority, or commit adultery or steal, thus keeping the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh com mandments, and yet, for all that, he may not observe the precept of loving God above all things. u All these things," said the young man in the Gospel, " I have ob served from my youth." But when he was told to leave his wealth and follow Jesus, he refused, and, therefore, our Lord silently reproved him by saying : " How hardly shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of God." (Mark x./23.) COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 13 One, therefore, may keep the commandments externally without keeping them internally. Now the mere external observance of the commandments is not sufficient to merit heaven. Hence, when our Saviour was asked: " Which is the greatest commandment in the law ? " he answered : " The greatest and first commandment is : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul ; with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength ; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'7 From these words of our Lord it is clear that the keeping of the commandments must be accompanied by divine charity in order to merit heaven. A good father is not satisfied with his children if they merely do what he commands them ; he also wishes that they should obey him out of love. In like manner, our heavenly Father is not satisfied with us if we merely ob serve his commandments externally. He also wishes that we should keep them out of real love for ,him. " Salva tion," says St. Thomas u is shown to faith, and prepared for hope ; but it is given only to charity.'7 But what is charity ? " Charity" says St. Thomas, " is that special kind of friendship which is based on the interchange of goods and affections." Jesus Christ said to his disciples that, as he had made them his friends, he had communicated to them all his secrets. (John, xv., 15.) True love naturally tends to union with the object beloved. It is like a golden chain which binds together the hearts of those that love. Hence, he who loves, always desires the presence of the object of his love. Divine charity, also, establishes, between God and man, 14 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. a communication of goods and a union of sentiments. A loving father yearns intensely to communicate himself and all his goods to his children. • Now, since God is our Father, he has an unbounded yearning to communicate himself to us. This infinite desire of communicating himself is essential to God's nature, for God is infinite love, and love is always communicative. We see clearly the effects of this love of God, in the mystery of the Incarnation. We see these effects in the preaching of Christ, in his miracles, in his passion and death. We see them in the mission of the Holy Ghost. We see these effects in the holy sacraments, especially in that of the Holy Eucharist, in which God may be said to have exhausted his omnipotence, his wisdom and his love for man. Finally, we see them in God's most wonderful care for his Church as well as for each individual soul. In the act of justification by which God frees the soul from sin and sanctifies her, he communicates himself to the soul, not only by grace, charity and other virtues, but he also communicates himself substantially in giving the Holy Ghost. There is in God the Father, as I have said, an infinite desire of communicating himself and all his goods. In this love he generates from all eternity, his only-begotten son. This is, undoubtedly, the greatest act of his infinite Charity. But this heavenly Father still continues to beget, in time, children who are by grace what the Son of God is by nature, so that our sonship bears the greatest resem blance to the divine sonship. Hence, St. Paul writes : " Whom He foreknew He also predestined to be made conformable to the Image of His Son, that He might be the first-born amongst many brethren." (Rom. viii., 29.) COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 15 Behold, the great things which Divine love effects ! We are the sons of God, as the Holy Scripture says : " Ye are the sons of the living God." (Osee i., 107.) In this divine adoption there are infused into the soul not only the grace, the charity and other gifts of the Holy Ghost, but the Holy Ghost Himself, who is the first, the uncreated Gift that God bestows on us. In justifying and sanctifying us, God might infuse into our souls His grace and charity to such a degree only as would render us simply just and holy, without adopting us as His children. This grace of simple justification would, no doubt, be, in itself, a very great gift, it being a participation in the Divine Nature in a very high de gree ; so that in all truth, we could exclaim with the Blessed Virgin: "Fecit mild magna, qui potens est — He that is mighty has done great tilings to me." (Luke i., 49.) But to give us only such a degree of grace and partici pation in his Divine Nature, is not enough for the love of God. The grace of adoption is bestowed upon us in so high a degree as to make us really children of God. But even this measure of the grace of adoption might be bestowed upon us by God in such a manner only as to give, thereby, no more than His charity, grace and created gifts. This latter grace of adoption would, cer tainly, surpass the former of simple justification, so that, in all truth, we might again exclaim with the Mother of God: " Fecit potentiam in brachio suo — He hath showed might in His arm." (Luke i., 51.) 1 ut neither is this gift, great though it be, great enough for the charity which God bears us. God, in His immense charity for us, wishes to bestow greater things upon us, in order to raise us still higher in grace and in the parti- 16 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. cipation in his Divine Nature. Hence He goes so far as to give Himself to us, in order to sanctify and adopt us in person. The Holy Ghost unites Himself to His gifts, His grace, and His charity, so that, while infusing these gifts into our souls, He infuses with them Himself in person. On this account St. Paul writes : " The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Who is given to ws."(Rom. v., 5.) On this very account, the same Apostle calls the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of adoption. " For you have not received," says he, "the spirit of bondage again in fear j but you have received the Spirit of adoption of children, whereby we cry : Abba, Father ; for the Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the children of God ; and if children, heirs also : heirs indeedof God, and joint -heirs of Christ.'7 (Rom. viii., 15.) And : " Whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God." (Galat. iv., 6.) This Divine charity and grace is, no doubt, the height of God's charity for us, and is at the same time, the height of our dignity and exaltation, because, on receiv ing these Divine gifts, we receive, at the same time, the Person of the Holy Ghost, who unites Himself to these gifts, as I have said, and by them lives in us, adopts us, deities us, and urges us on to the performance of every good work. Truly, the love of God effects great things ! But even this is not all — we receive still greater favors. In coming personally into the soul, the Holy Ghost is accompanied by the other Divine Persons also, the Father and the Son, from whom He cannot be separated. Therefore, in the act of justification, the three Divine Persons come person- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 17 ally and really into the soul, as into their Temple, living and dwelling therein as long as the soul perseveres in the grace of God. For this reason, St. John writes : " He that abideth in charity, abideth in God and God in him" (I John iv., 16.) St. Paul writes the same thing: "He who is joined to God is one spirit.'7 (I Cor. vi., 17.) Jesus Christ obtained for us this grace, when he pray ed on the eve of his passion : " Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us." (John, xii., 11,29.) Jesus Christ asks of His Fatherthat all His followers may participate in the one and same Holy Ghost, so that, in Him and through Him, they may be united to the other Divine persons. St. Bonaventure says that the just not only receive the gifts, but also the person of the Holy Ghost. (1 Sent, d. 14, a. 2, 9, 1.) The same is taught by the renowned Master of Sentences (Lib. i.? dist. 14 & 15.) who quotes St. Augustine and others in support of this doctrine. St. Thomas Aquinas asserts the same thing. (I p. 9. 43, a. 3, and 6 & 9. 38 art. 8.) " Grace," says Suarez, " establishes a most perfect friendship between God and man. Now such a friendship requires the presence of the friend, that is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, therefore, abides in the soul of his friend, in order to unite himself most intimately with him ; he resides in the soul of his friend as in his Temple in order to be honored, worshipped, and loved." From what has been said it is easy to see why charity is called the queen of all virtues. " God is charity," says St. John (1. iv., 8.), "He who abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him." The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of charity, who lives in the just, urges them on to the J 8 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. practice of virtue and the performance of good works. Hence, as St. Paul says, " Charity is patient, is kind-, charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up ; is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not pro voked to anger, thinketh not evil, rejoiceth not in ini quity, but rejoiceth with the truth, beareth all things, belie veth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'7 (1. Cor. xiii., 4-7.) ; that is, Charity, or the Spirit of God, makes the just believe all things revealed by God and taught by his Church, hope for all things, and do all things commanded by the Lord ; it makes them God fearing, it makes them generous ; they are full of confi dence in God, and have courage to undertake every thing for his glory. Charity makes the just strong ; it makes them triumph over their passions, over the most violent temptations and the greatest trials ; it makes them obedient ; they promptly follow the voice of God ; it makes them pure : they love God only and love him because he deserves to be loved on account of his most amiable, infinite perfections. Char ity makes the just ardent • they wish to inflame all hearts and to see them consumed with divine love. Charity ravishes the souls of the just, so that they seem to be no longer occupied with earthly things, but with loving God alone. Charity makes the just sigh unceas ingly ; it fills their souls with an evident desire to quit the earth in order to be united to God in heaven, and there to love him with all their strength. Since Charity is unitive, it unites the will of the just to that of their Creator ; it makes them love all that God loves and hate all that he* hates. Charity thus is the queen of all virtues : it produces them, and brings them COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 19 to perfection ; it embraces them all, directs them all to God, gives chem all their supernatural dignity and value, and makes them truly deserving of an eternal reward. Hence it is that the commandment to love God with our whole heart, and our whole soul, and with our whole mind and with our whole strength, is the greatest and first commandment. It is the greatest and first in obligation, because it must be preferred to all other commandments ; it is the greatest and the first in authority because it re fers immediately to God, and is intimately associated with him j it is the greatest and first in dignity, because it is the foundation of all the others and leads to the height of perfection ; it is the greatest and the first in merit, be cause without charity no good work can merit heaven ; it is the greatest and the first in sweetness, because charity renders the yoke of Jesus infinitely sweet and agreeable, filling the soul with joy, and with the peace and unction of the Holy Ghost ; and finally, this commandment is the greatest and the first in efficacy, because it includes and fulfils all the other commandments, for he who truly loves God can do nothing to displease him. As charity is the parent and queen of all virtues, it is evident that where this gift of the Holy Ghost is wanting there cannot be any virtue sufficient to merit eternal life. " If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, " says St. Paul, " I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,! am nothing. And if I should distri bute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth 20 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. me nothing." Indeed all mere natural gifts, however precious and sublime, cannot put us in communication with God, for an effect can never surpass its cause. A natural cause cannot produce a supernatural effect, that is, nothing merely natural can produce divine charity. Charity is pro duced by the Holy Ghost. " The charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us. ?7 (Rom. v., 5.) When God bestows his grace or charity upon us, it is the same as if he gave himself to us. Now God is an infinite good. It is, therefore, self-evident, that no natural gift, or good work proceeding from mere natural virtue, can put us in possession of an infinite good. One mortal sin is enough to destroy charity. The soul has a twofold life: the one natural, the other supernatural. The natural life of the soul cannot be lost — cannot be lost even in hell. But the supernatural life of the soul, which is called the life of grace or charity, is destroyed even by one mortal sin. The Holy Ghost himself is this life. Now mortal sin is directly opposed to the Holy Ghost, for mortal sin consists in turning away from God. Sin and charity are as much opposed to each other as life and death. " The wages of sin is death. " (Rom. vi., 23.) As death is the destruction of life, so is sin the destruction of charity. If charity were a merely natural virtue, one sinful act would not destroy it ; for a natural habit can subsist notwithstanding a contrary act. But charity is a supernatural virtue, it is the Holy Ghost himself. Hence, as soon as we commit but one mortal sin, charity, that is the Holy Ghost, the true life of the soul, leaves us. " Man, " says St. Agustine, uis in light and grace when God is present; and he is in darkness and error as soon as God is absent, not on account of the distance that separates him from us; COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 21 but in consequence of the depravity and corruption of our will. " To accustom ourselves to make acts of charity, we should often meditate on our dear Lord, especially on his goodness, mercy and love. We should meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation, on our Lord in his Passion, on the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We cannot love a person unless we know him ; how, then, can we love God unless we often think upon what he is, what he has done, and what he still does for us? God says in Holy writ: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and and with thy whole strength; these words shall be in thy heart ; thou shalt meditate upon them, sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising. And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and write them in the entry and on the doors of thy house. " (Deut. vi., 6—9.) In these words, our Lord tells us that we should often make acts of love of God, for he who does not fre quently make such acts, will scarcely be able to keep the law. Acts of love are the fuel which keeps the holy ardor of divine love burning in our hearts. Now we are particularly obliged to make acts of charity: 1. When we are in danger of death, especially if we are in mortal sin, and no priest is at hand to absolve us. In this case we are bound to make an act of perfect con trition, which necessarily includes an act of charity. 2. When we are sorely tempted. 3. It is probable that a child is bound to make an act of charity as soon as it comes to the age of reason and is able to appreciate the goodness of God. 4. We are also bound to make an act of charity at the hour of death. 22 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 5. St. Alphonsus says that those who neglect to make an act of charity for a whole month are guilty of a grie vous sin. In fine, if we wish to preserve, in our hearts, the pre cious virtue of divine charity without which we are noth ing in the sight of God, we must never let a day pass without making frequent acts of love for God. It is not necessary to use a particular form of words. Whenever we say the Lord's Prayer, and sincerely desire that God's holy name should be hallowed, that his king dom should come into our hearts, we make thereby an act of perfect charity. Acts of love may be made with out using any words at all. It is an act of charity to give alms, to hear mass, to receive holy communion, to confess our sins, and in fact, to perform any good work with the intention of pleasing God. 8. What does it mean to love God above all things ? It means to be willing to lose all things, even life itself rather than displease him by sin. Our love for an object must be in proportion to its value. The more valuable a thing is, the more we ought to praise and love it. If an object is of immense value, our love for it should also be immense. Now God is an infinite good. Whatever good is found in created things, is found in him in an infinite degree. All creatures, however great and excellent they may be, are as nothing compared with God. Whatever good they possess, is entirely from God. Our love for God, therefore, must be greater than the love we bear to any thing else. We must love God above all things, that is we must love him more than all our COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 23 wealth. All the goods of this world are perishable. God alone is unchangeable and immortal. The rich man in the Gospel loved his wealth more than God. Conse quently he died in sin, and was buried in hell. We must love God more than our parents, more than any one in the world. u He that loveth father or mother more than me," says our Lord, " is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." (Matt, x., 37.) There is a young woman. She is not a Catholic. She is, however, convinced of the truth of the Catholic reli gion. She knows that she cannot be saved unless she be comes a practical Catholic. Her parents are wealthy. They are bitter enemies of the Catholic Church. She knows that, if she becomes a Catholic, she will be dis inherited, and even expelled from her home. Now, if she wishes to be saved, her love for God must surpass the love she bears to her parents, to her home, and to all earthly enjoyments. She must, as she hopes for heaven, embrace the true faith, no matter what may be the consequences. There is a mother of a family. She has an amiable and affectionate daughter to whom she is greatly attached. Her daughter is called by Almighty God to leave the world and serve him in religion. Now, this mother must )ove God more than her daughter. She must be willing to give up her daughter and suffer her to follow her vocation. We must love God, more than ourselves, more than our very lives. We must be willing even to suffer death rather than renounce Jesus Christ or deny a single article of our holy faith. Now, it is not necessary that we 24 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. should feel this love of preference for God ; for such love is not a matter of feeling. Neither is this love a mere act of the understanding by which we know that God is the sovereign good, worthy of all our love. No one, who is in his right senses and believes in God, can doubt that the sovereign good is worthy of all our love. This love of preference lies in the will which deliberately chooses God in preference to all things, and is determined to sacrifice every thing rather than offend him grievously. A certain person once heard a sermon on the love of God. Amongst other things, she heard the priest say that we must love God more than every thing else, more than our parents, more than our dearest friends. After the sermon, she went to confession and accused herself of being guilty of not loving God more than her parents ;• " for," said she, " whatever pleases my parents, also pleases me, and whatever displeases them, displeases me also. I feel that I love them most tenderly, and nothing gives me more pain than to see them in trouble. Now, I do not feel thus towards God. It seems to me I am quite cold and indifferent towards him." The priest said : " Tell me ; would you commit a mortal sin in order to please your parents 1 " " Oh, no ! Father," answered the penitent; "I would rather die than commit a mortal sin." " Then be quite easy," said the priest, " for you love God more than your parents." Indeed, we may feel more intense love for our parents than for God, and yet not sin against charity ; for, as long as we are ready even to give them up, were God to require this of us, we would not really prefer them to him. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 25 4. Why are we bound to IOTC God I Because lie is our Creator, our Redeemer, and our su preme happiness for time and eternity. All sanctity as well as all perfection consists in loving Jesus Christ, our God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sovereign Good and happiness. Whoever loves me, says Jesus Christ, shall be loved by my Father. " My Father loves you, because you have loved me." (John xvi., 27.) " Some/7 says St. Francis de Sales, " make perfection consist in austerity, others in prayer, others in the fre- quentation of the sacraments, and others in alms-giving. Hut they are all mistaken. Perfection consists in loving God with our whole heart." u Charity," says the Apostle, " is the bond of perfection." (Colos. iii., 14.) It unites and preserves all the other virtues. Love God, says St. Au gustine, and do what you please ; for love will teach you to do nothing that could offend God, but, on the contrary, to do every thing that will please him. And does not God deserve all our love? He has loved us from all eternity. (Jer. li., 5.) Children of men, says the Lord, remember that I have loved you first. You were not yet in the world — the world itself did not yet exist, and even then I loved you. As long as I am God I love you, and I have loved you as long as I have loved myself. St. Agnes was then right in saying to the young noble man who asked her hand in marriage : " My heart already belongs to another. No creature can henceforth have any claim upon it — all my affections belong to my God, who has loved me first, and from all eternity." God wishing to gain man by kindness, was pleased to load him with favors, in order to win his love. I will bind him, says God, with chains of love. (Osee xi.7 4.) These 26 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. chains are tlie gifts which God has bestowed on man. He has given him a soul, created after his own image, gifted with memory, understanding, and will, and a body endowed with senses. It was for the love of man that God created the heavens, the earth, the sea, the moun tains, the valleys, the plains, minerals, vegetables, animals of so many species j in a word — all nature j and in return for so many benefits, God requires only from man his love. "0 Lord, my God/7 says St. Augustine, "every thing that I behold on earth, and above the earth, speaks to me and exhorts me to love thee, because every thing tells me that it was created by thee and created for my benefit. n The Abbot de Ranee, the reformer of La Trappe, never looked at the hills, the fountains, the birds, the flowers, or the heavens, without feeling his soul inflamed with the love of God. Whenever St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi beheld a flower, the love of God was enkindled in her heart and she cried out : "It was for love of me that God resolved from all eternity to create this flower ! 7? This thought was a dart of love which penetrated her heart, and united it every day more intimately with God. St. Teresa, at the sight of a tree, a rivulet, a meadow, or fountain, reproached herself for loving God so little, though he had created all those beautiful objects to gain her love. A pious solitary, imagining that he heard the same reproaches from the herbs and flowers which he met on his walks, was wont to say to them : " You call me an ungrateful creature — you tell me that it was through love of me God created you, and that, nevertheless, I do not love him. I understand you — be silent, and do not reproach me any more." God, not content with having created for us so many COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 27 wonderful things, has done still more j in order to gain our love, he has given us himself. The eternal Father has given us his only -begotten Son. (John iii., 1G.) We were all dead in sin. An excess of love, as the apostle says, induced God to send us his dearly-beloved Son to discharge our debts, and to restore us the life of grace (Ephes. ii., 4, 5.) by giving us his Son. In order to spare us, he did not spare his dearly-beloved Son. With his divine Son he has given us all things (Rom. viii., 32.) ; his grace, his love, his kingdom 5 for all these things are incomparably less than his only-begotten Son. The Son of God was also entirely given us through love (Gal. ii., 2.) ; and, in order to redeem us from eternal death, and to restore to us the grace and heaven which we had forfeited, He was made man. (John i., 1 4.) He humbled himself. (Philipp. ii., 7.) The Sovereign of the Universe humbled himself, so as to take the form of a servant, and to subject himself to all human miseries. But what is most astonishing is, that though he could have saved us without suffering and dying he? neverthe less, chose torments, death, contempt, and a cruel igno minious death, the death of the cross. (Philipp. ii., 8.) And why did Jesus, without necessity, deliver himself up to these torments ? It was, because he loved us, and wished to show us the entire extent of his love, by suffer ing for us what no one has ever yet endured. St. Paul inflamed with the love of Jesus said : The charity of Christ presses us. (2 Cor. v., 14.) He means to say that it is not so much what Jesus Christ has suffered for us, as the love which he has displayed in his sufferings, that should oblige and almost force us to love him. " To know that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for love of 28 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. us" says St. Francis de Sales, "is sufficient to press our hearts with a love, whose violence is as sweet as it is powerful." The love which Jesus Christ had for us was so great that it made him long for the hour of his death, in order to make it known to all men. I have to be baptized in my own blood, he said, and how I long for the hour when I can show to men the great love I have for them. (Luke xii., 50.) St. John, speaking of our Saviour's Passion, says that our Lord called this hour, his own hour (John xiii., 1.), because he desired nothing so much as the moment of his death; for it was then that he wished to give men the last proof of his love by dying for them on the cross. But what could have induced God to die, between two thieves, on an infamous gibbet? It was love, infinite love. No wonder that St. Francis of Paula cried out so often on beholding a crucifix: " O Love! 0 Love! 0 Love! " Animated by the same spirit, we, too, should cry out when we behold Jesus on the cross: " 0 Love! 0 infinite Love! " Who would believe, if faith did not assure us, that an all- powerful God, the Master of all things, and supremely happy in himself — that such a God could love man so much that he seems to act as if he were beside himself. " We have seen wisdom itself, " says St. Lawrence Justinian ; " we have seen the Eternal Word become foolish with the excessive love which he bears to men." St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi said the same thing one day, while in an ecstacy. Taking a crucifix in her hands she cried out : lt 0 my Jesus, thy love for me has even made thee foolish. Yes, I say it, and always will say it, love COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 29 has made thee foolish. " " But no, " replies St.Denis the Areopagite, " no, it is not foolishness ; it is the property of divine love to induce him who loves to give himself up entirely to the object of his love. " No one can conceive how ardently this fire of love burns in the heart of Jesus Christ. If, instead of dying once, he had been required to die a thousand times, his great love would have made the sacrifice. If, instead of dying for all men, he had been required to die for the salvation of only one, he would have cheerfully submit ted. In fine, if, instead of remaining three hours upon the cross, he had been required to remain there until the day of judgment, he would have willingly consented, for the love of Jesus Christ was far greater than his sufferings. 0 divine love ! how much more ardent you are than you seem to be exteriorly ! It is true indeed, 0 my Jesus ! that thy blood and thy wounds give proof of a great love but they do not show us its entire extent. These ex terior signs are slight indeed, when compared with the immense fire of love that inwardly consumes thee. The greatest mark of love is to give one's life for his friends ; but even this mark of love was not sufficient to express all the love of Jesus Christ. "Grod is love." This is the language in which every thing speaks to us in heaven and on earth. But nothing in heaven or on earth speaks this in such burning words as the Mystery of Love — the Blessed Eucharist, the last legacy of love. True love knows no bounds, feels no burden, cares for no hardship. It believes that it may and can do all things. Such is true love ; such is the love of Jesus Christ. To gain our love he thinks that he may and can do all 30 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. things. Hence those strange abasements, those mysterious humiliations of the God- Man, in presence of which reason is astounded, the senses revolt, the heart is terrified, and unbelief repeats its ceaseless question :"How is this pos sible?77 But a voice proceeds from the altar, and that voice answers us: "It is thus that God has loved the world.77 The pretended impossibilities of faith are nothing else than the ineffable condescensions of a God who loves us as God; the height, the breadth, the depth of all the mys teries of our holy faith, are but the height, the breadth, and the depth of the charity of Jesus Christ. His blood, which was shed to the last drop, is His title to the most beautiful of all royalties, the royalty of love. His crown of thorns is the diadem of love. His crib, and cross, and altar, are the thrones of love, and the holy reception of his body and blood is the banquet of love. We read in Holy Scripture that King Assuerus, to manifest the riches and glory of his kingdom, made a solemn feast which lasted a hundred and forescore days. Jesus Christ, the king of kings, has also vouchsafed to manifest the riches of his treasures, and the majesty of his glory in a feast worthy of his greatness 5 it is the heavenly banquet of Holy Communion in which he gives himself entirely to us. This heavenly feast is not con fined to the short space of a few days like that of King Assuerus. It has already lasted more than eighteen hun dred years. We partake of it every day, and it will continue even to the end of the world. " Come/7 ex claims the royal prophet, " come and behold the works of God, the prodigious things he has wrought upon earth." (Ps. xlv.; 9.) COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 31 How admirable are the wisdom and deptli of his counsels ! How wonderful are the means which God's love uses for the salvation of men ! The Incarnation was a miracle of divine love and wis dom so vast and so deep that the human mind can never fathom it. The passion and death of our Lord gives us an awful and unspeakable illustration of divine love. The last legacy of the love of Jesus combines both those mys teries in one mystery so stupendous that the very con ception of it overwhelms the soul. " Having loved his own, he loved them to the end ; " and, in the fullness of that love, the end was the grandest illustration of his un utterable love. Let us seat ourselves in spirit at the Last Supper in the midst of our Lord's disciples. The shadow of parting is on the festivity, and the words of our dear Lord are words of tenderness, but also of farewell. " I will not leave you orphans, " he says, " I will come to you. " (John xiv., 18.) " And now, 0 Father, I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Preserve them in thy name, whom thou hast given to me, that like us, they may be one." And then turning to his disci ples with all the love of a fond father, he says: " By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Love one another as I have loved you. " Now, at the last hour, the last time that he was to be hold his beloved apostles assembled, the last time that he was to exhort and encourage them before going through the dark realm of death, he thought of the perfect gift and blessing, the richest and most precious inheritance, the most inestimable of all things that love ever conceived or bestowed. 32 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Jesus, our Father, in leaving us, wished to combine, in one institution so much love and charity, that man, on beholding it, could no longer withhold his affection. Our dear Lord said: UI will unlock the barred gates of Paradise, I will place again in the midst of it the Tree of Life, " that he who eateth of it may not die. " And the angels shall minister to the being with whom I become onej and he shall shine with a brilliancy that even the Father will admire, a brilliancy that will attract him and the Holy Ghost to come thither and abide. And thus I shall make the soul of my beloved a temple, and a throne; and a heaven, and I will dwell there for evermore. Ponder well, my soul, this awful privilege — union with Christ. The Lord of heaven is your guest ; he is made one with you, as two pieces of wax are melted into each other. We become one with God ! One with the eter nal ! One with the most Holy ! Oh, how little and vain are all the honors and treasures of this world when compared with the overwhelming dignity of being one with God ! How can we ever lose sight of the sublime thought. " This is life eternal to know thee, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." It is " life eternal " to know Jesus " in the breaking of bread,'7 in the Blessed Sacrament. As soon as we are one with him, we share in what he possesses : we enjoy his happiness, we live his own immortal life ! " He who eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him, and I will raise him up on the last day." (St. John.) " So dearly has God loved the world that he has given his only-begotten Son to be the life of the world." " God is love," and this sweet Sacrament is the mystery COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 33 of his love. It was on the eve of his Passion, the very night when men were plotting his ruin, when they decid ed to condemn him to a most shameful death, that Jesus left us this living pledge of his love. He did not leave a memorial of bronze or marble, as the great ones of this world leave behind them $ no, he left his own living, life- giving Body and Blood — he left himself. Did not God tell us long ago by the mouth of his prophet, that his delight was to be with the children of men ? Did he not assure us with his own blessed lips, "That he would not leave us orphans, but that he would be with us always, even to the end of the world"? "God is love." He loves us with an infinite love. He has given us this earth, he has given us heaven ; but all this does not satisfy his love. He gives us himself, his body and blood, his soul and divinity. No wonder that God complains : " What more could I do for thee, beloved soul, than I have done ? " Yes, in this Sacrament, God has exhausted his Omnip otence ; for, though he is all-powerful, he cannot do more for us than he has done. He has exhausted his infinite wisdom j for though he is all- wise, he cannot invent a more wonderful proof of his love. He has exhausted his infinite wealth • for in this Sacrament he has poured out all the treasures of his unfathomable love. God is love, arid he gives himself to us in the disguise of love. What an act of charity to a poor weak-sighted mortal to hide the dazzling light from his eyes ! and what loving kindness in our dear Lord to hide his daz zling splendor from our weak, sinful souls ! Were he to appear in his glory, who is there that could look upon him and live ? If we look into the sun but for a moment, we are blinded by its brightness j how then could we gaze 34 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. upon the unveiled splendors of the Eternal Sun of Jus tice ? The prophet Daniel saw only an angel, and he fainted away ; how then could we bear the sight of the King of angels ? When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, where he had been conversing with God, his face shone with such unearthly lustre that the people could not look upon him. He had to veil his face so that all might see him and speak to him. Now, if men were un able to look upon the face of a man, how shall we be able to look upon the face of God ? The Apostles beheld on Mount Thabor but a faint glimpse of the glory of Jesus, and they fell prostrate on the ground. St. John, while in Patmos, beheld only in a vision the glory of Jesus, and he fell to the ground as if dead. How then can we, poor, weak sinners, bear to gaze on the entire fullness of the splendors of God's infinite Majesty ? Oh, what loving goodness then in Jesus, our Lord, to hide his glory be hind the veils of the Sacrament, that we may approach him and speak to him without fear, as a child to its father, as a friend to a friend ! Our divine Redeemer took many forms to attract the love of man. That God, who is un changeable, appeared at one time as a little babe in a crib j at another as an exile in Egypt ; now he appears as a docile child among the Doctors of the Law, and again as an apprentice in the workshop of St. Joseph : now he appears as a servant in the house of Nazareth, and again as a good shepherd, seeking the lost sheep of Israel ; now he is the physican of body and soul, curing diseases, and forgiving sins, and again he appears as a malefactor, bleeding to death on the cross ; now he is the conqueror of death and hell, the glorious king of heaven and earth, and finally he shows himself as bread upon the altar. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 35 Jesus chose to exhibit himself to us in these various guises j but whatever character he assumed, it was always that of a lover. Is it not strange that God who is so good, so amiable, should be forced to have recourse to so many stratagems to win our love ? He commands us to love him, he promises heaven if we obey, and he threatens with the flames of hell if we refuse. To win our love he has, as it were, annihilated him self. He annihilated himself in the Incarnation, but he has gone even still farther in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Ah ! my Lord, canst thou devise any thing else to make thyself loved ? " Make known his inventions," exclaims the prophet Isaias. (Xii., 4.) Go, O redeemed souls ! go and publish everywhere the loving devices of this loving God — the devices which he has planned and executed to win our love. After lavishing so many of his gifts upon us, he has been pleased to bestow himself, and to bestow himself in so wonderful a manner. If a king speaks a confidential word to one of his vas sals, if he smiles upon him, how honored and happy does that vassal consider himself! How much more honored and happy would he be were the king to seek his friend ship, were he to request his company every day at table, were he to assign to him an abode in his own palace ! Ah ! my King, my beloved Jesus, thou hast come down from heaven, and still daily comest down upon earth to be with men as thy brothers, and to give thyself wholly to them from the excess of the love thou bearest them ! " He loved us, and delivered himself up for us." " Yes," exclaims St. Augustine, " this most loving and most merciful God, through his love to man, chose to give him 36 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. not only his goods, but even his very self." The affection which this sovereign Lord entertains towards us sinful creatures, is so immense that it induced him to give himself wholly to us. He was born for us, he lived for us, he died for us, he even offers up his life and all his blood for us every day in the Mass. O power of divine love! The greatest of all has made himself the lowest of all ! Love triumphs even over God. God, who can never be conquered by any one, has been conquered by love ! What breast so savage as not to soften before such a God of love on the altar ; what hardness will such love not subdue, what love does it not claim ? Thus he would appear and stay with us, who wished to be loved and not feared. Even the very brutes, if we do them a kindness, if we give them some trifle, are grateful for it. They come near us, they do our bidding after their own fashion, and show signs of gladness at our approach. How comes it, then, that we are so ungrateful towards God — the same God who has bestowed his whole self upon us, who descends every day upon our altars to become the food of our souls ! Love is the loadstone of love. If you wish to be loved, you must love. There is no more effectual means to secure the affections of another than to love him and to show him that you love him. Ah ! my Jesus, this rule holds good for others, holds good for all,but not for thee ! Men are grateful to all, but not to thee. Thou art at a loss what more to do, to show men the love thou bearest them. Thou hast positively nothing more left to do to allure the affections of men, and yet how many are there among men who really love thee 1 Ah ! God has not de served such treatment from us ! COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 37 0 man, whoever thou art, thou hast witnessed the love which God has borne thee in becoming man, in suffering and dying for thee, and in giving himself to thee as food. How long will it be before God shall know, by experience and by deeds, the love thou bear- est him ! Indeed, every man at the sight of God clothed in flesh, and choosing a life of such durance, and a death of such ignominy, choosing to dwell a loving prisoner in our churches, every one, I say, ought to be enkin dled with love towards so loving a God. " Oh ! that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down j the mountains would melt away at thy presence, the waters would burn with fire." (Isai. Ixiv. 1-2.) It was thus the prophet cried out before the arrival of the Divine Word upon earth. Oh ! that thou wouldst deign to leave the heavens and to descend upon earth and become man amongst us ! On beholding thee like one of themselves the mountains would melt away : that is, men would surmount all obstacles, all difficulties in the way of observing thy laws and thy counsels) the waters would burn with fire ! Surely, thou wouldst enkindle such a furnace of love in the human heart, that even the most frozen souls would catch the flame of thy blessed love ! And, in truth, after the Incarnation of the Son of God, how brilliantly has the fire of divine love shone in many souls ! It may be asserted without fear of con tradiction that God was more loved in one century after the coming of Jesus Christ than in the entire four centuries preceding. How many youths, how many nobles, how many monarchs have abandoned wealth, honor and power, and sought the desert and the cloister, in order to give themselves up unreservedly to the love of 38 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. their Saviour ? How many martyrs have gone rejoicing to torments and to death ! How many tender virgins have refused the proffered hand of the great ones of this world, in order to live and die for Jesus Christ, and thus repay, in some measure, the affection of a God who loved them to such excess ! It is said that when the Gospel was announced to the Japanese, while they were being instructed on the sub limity, the beauty and the infinite amiability of God, on the great mysteries of religion, on all that God has done for man — how God was born in poverty, how God suf fered and died for their salvation, they exclaimed in a transport of joy and admiration: "Oh! how great, how good, how amiable, is the God of the christians ! " When they heard that there was an express command to love God, and a threatened punishment for not loving Him, they were surprised. "What!" said they, "a command given to reasonable men to love that God who has loved us so much? Why, is it not the greatest happiness to love Him, and the greatest of misfortunes not to love Him? What! are not the christians always at the foot of the altars of their God, penetrated with a deep sense of His goodness, and inflamed with His holy love?" And when they were told that there were christians who not only did not love God, but even offended and outraged Him, "0 unworthy people! O ungrateful hearts!" ex claimed they with indignation : "Is it possible? In what accursed land dwell those men devoid of hearts and feel- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 39 5, How many kinds of love of God are there ? Tivo kinds : 1, perfect love, which is to love God for his own sake ; and 2, imperfect love, tvhich is to love God for the sake of his gifts. The manner of doing a thing may be perfect or im perfect. It is perfect when the end proposed is fully at tained ; it is imperfect when, though we do not attain the end, we endeavor to do all in our power to succeed. Now, the end and object of the precept of charity are to love God with all the powers of our soul and body, and to be united to him in such a manner as to find it impossible to wish, to seek, or to love any thing but him, so that God is all our joy, all our honor, all our wisdom, all our riches, all our happiness. Such perfect love, how ever, is found only in heaven. The moment a soul enters heaven, God communicates and unites himself to it as far as it is capable, and ac cording to its merits. He unites himself to the soul, not only by means of his gifts, his lights and his loving attractions, as he does in this life, but he also unites himself to the soul, by his own essence. As fire pene trates iron, and seems to transform it entirely into fire, so does God penetrate the soul, and fill it with him self, in such a manner that, though it does not lose its own essence, yet, it is so replenished by God and buried in the immense ocean of the divine essence, that it finds itself, as it were, absorbed and transformed into God. This spiritual union with God causes the soul to lan guish with love. It remains immersed in the infinite good ness of God ; it then forgets itself, and, being inebriated with divine love, thinks of nothing but God. (Ps. xxxv.7 9.) 40 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. As one who is intoxicated forgets himself, so does the soul in heaven think only of loving and pleasing God. It desires to possess him entirely, and it really possesses him without the fear of ever losing him ; it desires to give itself entirely to God ; it really does so, every moment and without reserve. God shows the soul his love, and will continue to do so for all eternity ; and the soul loves God infinitely more than it loves itself. Its heaven consists in the knowledge that God is infinitely happy and that his happiness is eternal. Here it may be objected that love united to the desire of reward is not the love of true friendship, but rather the love of self. " I answer," says St. Alphonsus, " that we must distinguish between temporal rewards promised by man, and the reward of heaven which God has promised to those that love him. The rewards of men are distinct from their own persons, for they never bestow themselves, but only their goods j whereas the chief recompense which God bestows upon the blessed is himself." (Gen. xv., 1.) To desire heaven is to desire God who is our last end. St. Francis de Sales says that supposing there were an infinite goodness, that is, a God to whom we did not in any manner belong and with whom we could have no union, no communication, we would undoubtedly esteem such a God more than ourselves j we might have even the desire of loving him j but we could not love him in reality because love looks to union with the object beloved. Our soul will never be entirely at peace until it is per fectly united to God in heaven. It is true that those who love God enjoy peace in conforming to the divine will ; but they cannot enjoy perfect rest in this life, be cause such rest is obtained only in heaven where we will COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 41 see God face to face, and where we shall be consumed with divine love. As long as the soul is not in full poss ession of God, it is restless, it sighs and mourns. (Isai. xxxviii., 17.) The good which I expect is so great, says St. Francis of Assisium, that every pain is to me pleasure. These ardent sighs and desires to be united with God and possess him in heaven, are so many acts of perfect charity. St. Thomas teaches that true charity does not exclude the desire of those rewards which God has prepared for us in heaven ; because the principle object of our desire is God, who constitutes the essential happiness of the blessed, for true friendship desires the full possession of the friend. Such is the reciprocal communication expressed by the Spouse in the Canticles. (Cant, ii., 16.) In heaven God bestows himself upon the soul, to the extent of its cap acity and according to the measure of its merits. The soul, on the other hand, gives itself entirely to God 5 it acknowledges its own nothingness in comparison with the infinite loveliness of God. It sees that God deserves to be loved infinitely more than it can love God. Hence the soul is more desirous to please God than to please itself. It rejoices at the glory it receives from God; but rejoices because God is thereby glorified. At the sight of God the soul feels sweetly constrained to love him with all its strength. The soul loves God so much that, were it possible, it would rather suffer all the pains of hell, with the privilege of loving God, than enjoy all the delights of heaven without God's love. The soul knows that God is infinitely more deserving of love than itself, and there fore it has a much greater desire to love God than to be loved by him. Hence the desire of going to heaven to enjoy and to please God, by loving him is a pure 42 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. and perfect love. The pleasure which the blessed ex perience in loving God, does not affect the purity of their love; for they are much more pleased with the love which they have for God, than with the satisfaction which they find in being loved. In this life, such perfect love is impossible. We can only sigh and aspire after it. The cares, and wants, and trials of this life are an obstacle to such perfect charity ; they prevent our hearts and souls from being lifted up to God in perfect love. In this world, says St. Thomas Aquinas, man cannot perfectly fulfill the precept of loving God. None but Jesus Christ, who was the Man-God, and Mary who was full of grace and free from original sin, observed this law perfectly. As for us, unhappy children of Adam, our love for God is always mingled with some imperfection. The love that God requires of us in this life consists in being determined to renounce health, wealth, honors, all the goods and pleasures of this world, and even life itself rather than forfeit even for an instant the friendship of God. This kind of love God requires of us when he says : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole mind, with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength," and this command is binding under pain of mortal sin. By this same commandment God also requires, at least under pain ot venial sin, that we should consecrate to him all our affection. He does indeed not command us to love nothing but him, but he does command us to love nothing apart from him, to have no affection for any thing except for his sake. It is in this manner that many just and holy persons love God. It was this divine love that urged COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 43 the Apostles to go even to the extremities of the earth to announce the Gospel. "lam sure," exclaims St. Paul, "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities. . . . nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God." (Rom. viii., 38, 39.) It was this divine love that encouraged the holy confessors to enter the dungeons, and suffer there for their holy faith. It was this love that encouraged the martyrs to ascend the scaf fold and shed their blood for Jesus Christ. It was this di vine love that filled the deserts with anchorites ; it induced kings and queens to renounce the crown and sceptre and submit to the holy yoke of obedience in the monastery. It was this love that induced thousands of tender vir gins to give up all that this world holds dear in order to become the spouses of Jesus Christ, and they cheerfully endured every torment rather than to prove faithless to their heavenly Bridegroom. There lived in the thirteenth century, in a certain town of Brabant, a pious maiden, named Mary. From her earliest infancy she consecrated her heart to God. Her good parents encouraged her in her virtuous life, and ex horted her to be very devoted to the Blessed Mother of God. When Mary grew older she renewed the vow of virginity which she had made in her childhood, and added the vow of poverty, in order to resemble more closely her divine spouse, who was so poor that he had not even where to lay his head. She renounced all claim to her lawful inheritance, and vowed to beg her bread from door to door. She even shared with the poor whatever alms she received. She thus led, for many years, a life of great hardships, a life of great virtue. At last God rewarded her, as he always rewards those whom he loves: he allowed great sufferings to come upon her. 44 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Mary was virtuous and modest ; she was beautiful and she was virtuous. It happens too often unhappily that great beauty leads to sin. Beauty and virtue do not always dwell together. Beauty is too cften; alas ! but the shining veil that hides a frail and simple heart. However this was not the case with the pious maiden. She was beautiful and she was virtuous. Mary was admired by all on account of her great virtue and her great beauty. There was especially one who not only a J mired, but also loved her with passionate love. But his love was not pure j it was not from Grod. His love was base, animal passion. The demon of impurity took entire passion of his heart. This demon urged him on, and gave him no rest. One day this unhappy man met the pious maiden and disclosed to her the guilty passion that burned in his heart. He offered her gold and silver and costly gar ments; he offered her honors and wealth in abundance. But Mary was not one of these frail creatures who sell their innocence for a gay dress, or a pretty ring. She shrank in horror from the guilty proposal. She told the wicked man that from her infancy, she had consecrated her heart to God, that she could never love any other bridegroom than Jesus. She exhorted him earnestly to think of death and to beware of the just vengeance of heaven. But the wretched man was blinded by passion ; he was deaf to every warning. The thought of gratifying his unholy desires alone occupied his mind. Day and night, waking and sleeping, this one thought, this one desire possessed him. He did not pray for strength ; he did not approach the sacraments. He gave himself up entirely to the power of the demon. In order to effect his guilty purpose, he hid one day a COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 45 silver goblet in the sack of the pious maiden. He then went to her, boldly accused her of the theft, and threat ened her with imprisonment and death, if she still con tinued to refuse him. Mary protested that she was innocent. She declared in a resolute tone that she would die the most cruel death rather than to offend God by mortal sin. Then the wicked man, in a rage, snatched the sack from her and drew forth the silver goblet which he himself had placed therein. Then, in malicious triumph, he cried out : u Behold here the proof of your guilt. Now if you still continue to refuse me, you shall suffer imprisonment and death. " The poor, helpless maiden grew pale ; she trembled in every limb. She wept, and prayed to God for strength j and God, the comforter of the poor and the fatherless, strengthened her, and she answered boldly : "No 5 never will I consent to sin. I will rather die inno cent than become the victim of your guilty passions." Wild with rage at seeing himself thus baffled, this wicked wretch swore that he would be revenged. His passionate love was now turned into deadly hate. This is always the case with sinful love. Sensual love turns sooner or later into deadly hatred. This we often see even in this life. This is especially the case with the damned in hell. Ah ! how those unhappy souls that once loved one another during life with sinful love, ah ! how they curse and hate one another in hell ! Holding the goblet in his hand, this wicked wretch ran in haste to the judge, accused the innocent maiden of theft, and, in proof of his accusation, he showed the gob- let which he had taken from her sack. He accused her, moreover, of the fearful crime of witchcraft. He said that by her magic spells she inflamed the hearts of men 46 COMMANDMENTS OB GOD. with sinful love; that she had even bewitched himself, so that he could neither rest nor eat nor sleep. At first, the judge would not believe his words, knowing the un blemished reputation which Mary always enjoyed. He tried to defend her against the accusations of this wicked man. But this monster would not desist till Mary was taken prisoner. One day, this pious maiden was at the house of her parents, praying and weeping in her great affliction. Suddenly the officers of justice entered, seized her, drag ged her away with them and cast her into prison. In order to force her to confess the crimes of which she was accused, they put her to the torture. The innocent maiden was stretched on a rack, she was tormented in the most inhuman manner ; but she continued to protest her innocence. "It is true/7 she said " the goblet was found in my wallet, but I did not put it there, and I know not who did." " Do you not hear what she says," shrieked the accuser triumphantly ; " she acknowledges herself that the goblet was found in her sack. What more proof do you need f " " Yes," he cried in a rage, " she is a thief, she is a sorceress. Let her be put to death ! " Mary was poor, and the poor have but few friends on earth. She had no one to plead her cause, no one to defend her. Her accuser, on the contrary, was wealthy, and wealth has more power in this world than innocence and justice. Without further examination she was condem ned to death. As she was being led to the place of exe cution, she passed a statue of our Lady that stood by the way-side. She begged permission to pray for a moment before our Lady's shrine. Her request was granted. And now she implored the Blessed Mother of God to as- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 47 sist her in her agony. She prayed for those who were the cause of her death, and begged God especially to forgive her accuser. She prayed, moreover, that all those who should visit her grave, might obtain relief in all their sorrows. She then arose from her knees and with a firm step walked on to the place of execution. All who saw her, wept. Even the heart of the executioner was touched. His hands trembled, his face grew pale, and the tears carne unbidden to his eyes. u Holy maiden, " he cried sobbing aloud, " forgive me before I perform my sad task ; pray for me when you appear before your bridegroom, Jesus." " I forgive you from my heart," answered the innocent victim ; lt I forgive all those who have injured me, and pray that God may forgive them their sins." Then Mary was bound hand and foot with heavy iron chains. A large deep grave was dug for her, and she like an innocent lamb was cast into the grave. The grave was then filled up with earth, and Mary was buried alive ! The executioner then took a long sharp stake, and, by means of a heavy sledge, he drove it with repeated blows through her tender body. O, what a frightful death ! This was, in those days, the punishment of all who were found guilty of witchcraft. The by-standers wept and trembled with horror, on witnessing the cruel death of the innocent maiden. Her accuser alone — that wretched monster — remained unmoved. Like an incarnate demon, he gloated in malicious triumph over her sufferings. But the justice of God overtook him. Scarcely had this wick ed man left the place of execution, when, by God's per mission, the devil entered into him and took full posses sion of him. He now began to rave and howl like a wild beast. He became so furious that he had to be chained 48 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to prevent him from doing harm. His hands and feet were bound fast with hea\y iron chains j and, as all were afraid of him, he was cast into a dark, deep dungeon. In this frightful state he remained for seven years. At last, his friends carried him to various shrines of our Blessed Lady, where many miracles had been wrought ; but the demon declared, in a rage, that he would never leave this wicked man till he had been brought to the grave of the murdered maiden. Mary, the heroic martyr of virginity, was not long dead when God made her innocence known. Many miracles were wrought at her grave. The Blessed Virgin Mary herself was seen one night coming down from heaven, ac companied by a band of beautiful virgins. Thrice they went around her grave in solemn procession, and then dis appeared. In consequence of this a chapel was built over Mary's grave 5 and there many a sad heart came and found relief. Thither too this wicked man was brought by his friends, and instantly the devil departed from him. He was cured, and finally he repented of his enormous crimes. 6. What is it to love our neighbor as ourselves 1 It is to do as Jesus Christ has said : " All things, there fore, whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. " (Matt, vii., 12.) God has given us two precepts of charity, one to love him above all things, and the other, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Is not the first sufficient ? It seems rea sonable that, if we love God, we should also love those upon whom he has bestowed his gifts. Hence St. John says : " This commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, loveth also his brother. " (1 John, iv., 21.) COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 49 But all men do not see how the love of God necessarily includes the love of our neighbor. Even in the natural sciences, a man may have correct principles, and yet be unable to draw correct conclusions. Hence God has given us a special and distinct command to love our neighbor : " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. " God has made the love which we have for ourselves, the rule and measure of the love which we are to bear to our neighbor. To love, then, our neighbor properly, we must first love ourselves properly. Inordinate self-love is al ways bad. Every sin springs from inordinate self-love, that is, from a wilful, disorderly and obstinate attachment to one's self or to some other creature. This inordin ate self-love built the ill-fated city of Babylon ; its walls arose in contempt and hatred of God. We must love ourselves in God, and for God's sake. This love of ourselves is either natural or supernatural. It is natural when its object is the goods of nature. In this sense St. Paul says : " No man ever hated his own flesh." (Eph., v., 29.) Such love, when properly directed, is not condemned by God j for God is the author of nature as well as of grace. Love of ourselves is supernatural when its object is the goods of grace and glory. As we are composed of body and soul, it is our duty to take care of both. The same commandment which obliges us to show charity to our neighbor in his temporal wants, obliges us also, as St. Augustine and St. Thomas teach, to show charity to wards our own body. Now, as Christians we love our body, because it comes from God, and is capable of contributing to his glory. "Present your members as instruments of justice unto 50 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. God/7 says St. Paul. We also love and respect our body because it was consecrated in baptism and became a tem ple of the Holy Ghost. " Know you not/' says St. Paul, " that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which you are." (1 Cor., iii., 16.) Again, we love our body because it is destined to rise bright and glorious on the last day, and to live reunited with the soul, and re joice with it in heaven for all eternity. " The hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life ; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judg ment." (John, v., 28, 29.) Finally, we love and respect our body, because it as sists us in performing our duties towards God, towards our neighbor, and towards ourselves. We are, therefore, obliged to take proper care of our bodily health. In taking care of 'the health of the body, we may be guilty of two excesses : one in taking too much, and the other in taking too little care of the body. There are some who take as much care of the body as if the preser vation of their health or rather the gratification of the sen ses were the sole or at least the principal object of our life on earth. Such love for the body is sinful and leads to the destruction of both soul and body. There are others, who take too little care of their health. They are indis creet in the practice of corporal penances ; indiscreet in fasting, in night-watching, in excessive labor. These in discreet penitents commit four thefts, says St. Bernard : they rob the body of its strength and the mind of its COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 51 vigor, and, thus, by degrees render both unfit for the practice of virtue. Moreover, they rob their neighbor of the good example they owe him, and finally they rob God of his honor. Such indiscreet mortifications are, therefore, displeasing to God. Discretion must guide us in all our actions, affec tions, in all our conduct ; it must assign to each virtue, its proper time, and its proper place ; without discretion virtue becomes really a vice. The care of our bodily health, then, should be moderate, and such care, says St. Alphonsus, is a virtue. " It is in the order of divine Providence," says St. Francis de Sales, " that we should treat our bodies according to their na tural weakness, treating them as we treat poor people, with patience and charity, and this exercise is not one of the least meritorious, because it mortifies our pride. If, in the exercise of our duties, we contract a sickness, or shorten our life, we must bless the Lord for it, and suffer with a joyful heart. Love and respect for Divine Provi dence and charity towards ourselves oblige us to abstain from such practices of penance as would undermine our health 5 for, as it would betray effeminacy on our part to have too much care for our health, so, on the other hand, it would be cruel pride to neglect such care altogether. As the soul cannot carry the body when fed too well, so, on the other hand, the body when fed too little cannot carry the soul. Let the body be treated like a child ; let it be chastised, but not killed.'7 It is related in the life of this saint that he used to abstain from such mortifications as were likely to endanger his health. Now, if it is our duty to take care of our body, it is far more our duty to take care of our soul. It is especially by caring for our soul that we show true love towards ourselves. 52 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. But what does it mean to take care of our soul ? It is to use every means in our power to save and sanctify our soul. The usual means are prayer, meditation, the frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist, the mortification of the senses, exterior and in terior recollection, the control of our passions', the perform ance of good works, especially of such as are prescribed by the commandments of God and his holy Church. In laboring for our sanctification, our chief object should be to glorify God in this world and in the next. u For," says St. Thomas, " the ultimate and chief end for which God created heaven is that we may glorify God in heaven. The glory which we are to receive should be only the secondary object which we have in view in laboring for our salvation and sanctification. It is but the means to reach the principle end. No one can glorify God in heaven but he whom God glorifies. It is, therefore, self- deception, and self-interest to labor for our salvation only for the sake of the glory which we are to receive." The object of our Saviour's life on earth was to glorify his heavenly Father, in order that the Father in turn, might glorify his Son. " Father, the hour is come j glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thougavest me to do. And now glorify thou me, 0 Father, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee." (John, xvii., 1, 4, 5.) If we in imitation of our dear Saviour, pass our life in glorifying God, that God may also glorify us, we have indeed true supernatural love of ourselves — the love of hope which prompts us to love God as our su preme good and reward, and the love of charity which makes us love God and ourselves in him and for him, and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 53 causes us to refer all things to his glory. As the true love of ourselves consists in loving ourselves in God and for God, so the true love of our neighbor consists in loving him in God and for God. When we recommend a dear friend to any one we usually say : "The kindness you show him I will consider as a favor conferred on myself." In like man ner, when our Saviour declared that " the second command ment is like to the first," he wished to give us to understand that the love which we bear him should induce us to love our neighbor also. " If thou lovest me/7 said Jesus to St. Peter, "feed my sheep" (John, xxi., 17) ; that is to say : If you really love me, you will show your love by taking good care of my sheep ? Our Saviour has substituted our neighbor for himself. He wishes us to bestow on our neighbor the charity and gratitude which we owe to God himself. He has transferred to our neighbor all the claims that he has on us and he desires us to pay to our neighbor all that we owe to himself. " As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt,, xxv., 40.) Our dear Lord calls this precept of charity especially his own commandment. " This is my commandment, that you love one another." He calls it his commandment, to teach us that this precept of charity is the foundation of all his heavenly doctrines, the sole object of his coming into this world, the sole aim of all his labors and suffer ings. " I have come," he says, " to cast fire upon the earth (the fire of charity), and what will I but that it be enkindled. " (Luke, xii., 49.) Not satisfied with calling the precept of charity his own commandment, our dear Saviour calls it also a new com mandment. " I give you," he says, " a new command- 54 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. rnent." (John, xiii., 34.) But how is it new ? Is not the precept of charity as old as the world ? True ; the precept of charity, in general, and in a certain sense, is as ancient as the world. The law of charity is a law of nature. It is a law engraven on the heart of every man, that he must act towards others as he would wish that they should act towards him. But this law of nature was more or less obscured by the passions of men. Hence Christian charity, or that kind of charity which Jesus Christ commands, is a new commandment. It is new as to the spirit and per fection with which it is to be observed. We are to love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us. " I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.'7 (John, xiii., 34.) I have given you my entire self, all that I am and all that I have. I am now going to sacrifice my life on the cross for you and all men. I wish you to follow my example and to love one another with true, with divine, that is with a universal, love. My love is not limited by sympathies and aversions, by natural inclinations and antipathies, by ingratitude and hatred. My heart embraces all mankind. As I am in finite goodness itself,, it is my. pleasure to do good to every man who is my image, my subject, my work, and my child. There is no one whom this love of mine does not overshadow ; there is no one to whom I have not given all that is necessary for his temporal welfare ; no one whom I have not enlightened by my inspirations, assisted by my grace. I have given to every one an angel to watch over him. I desire the salvation of all. I have given to each one the means of salvation. I have given to each one the sacraments of my Church. I have created each one for heaven. I gave you an example of this charity COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 55 in the parable of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan did not ask the wounded man what country he was from — whether he was a Greek or a barbarian. He did not wait for others to perform the duties of charity towards the poor stranger. He did not say : " It is the duty of priests andLevites to take care of this man ; I can do noth ing for him." He did not offer his ignorance of medicine as an excuse for abandoning the wounded man. He did not excuse himself on account of the danger he would incur of falling into the hands of the robbers if he delayed. He did not spare his wine and oil. He placed the sick man on his horse, and walked himself. He took the wounded man to an inn and defrayed all his expenses there. It is thus you must love all men, without excep tion. You must exclude no one from your love. You must do good to the most wretched and forsaken. " If you love one another," says Jesus, " all men will know that you are my disciples, and that I was sent by my heavenly Father." (John, xiii., 35.) u And not for them (the apostles) alone do I pray, but for them also who, through their word, shall believe in me, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John, xvii., 20, 21.) When St. Pachomius was yet a heathen soldier and noticed the cheerfulness with which the inhabitants of a certain place assisted the soldiers in their distress, he asked who those persons were who so cheerfully assisted others. He was answered that they were Christians whose religion obliged them to assist every one to the best of their power. This answer made a deep impression upon Pa chomius. He felt convinced that a religion which inspired 56 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. so universal and so disinterested a charity, must be divine, and he immediately became a Christian. If we wish, then, to comply with the precept of charitv, we must behold our neighbor in the heart of Jesus Christ. There we will find our neighbor, and Jesus loves him so much that he died for him. He, therefore, who fixes his eyes upon the heart of Jesus, cannot help loving his neighbor truly. He, on the contrary, who looks at his neighbor out of the heart of Jesus, runs the risk of loving him with neither pure nor constant love. If we love our neighbor in God, our love becomes only the more intense and more perfect. This motive ennobles our affections and transforms them from natural into supernatural, from human into divine, from temporal into eternal. Mere natural friendship does not last long, because its foundation is unsteady. At the first misunderstanding the mere natural cools and dies. But this does not happen in friendship which is founded in God, because its foundation is firm and solid. The bond of divine charity alone can keep our hearts united. You will find men, void of divine charity, slaves of their passions, who affect, when it suits their purpose, great religious zeal and purity. They talk of "Philan thropy," and "Humanity," show great compassion for a lame horse, and give the cold shoulder to the houseless orphan. The hearts of such men are cold and insincere. They are often addicted to shameful secret crimes. By their bad example and their impious principles, they cause the ruin of thousands of souls. See what secret societies do to entice unwary Catholics into the lodges. They promise them assistance in all their temporal necessities j they promise them work; promotion COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 57 to government offices, lucrative employment, and so on — but it is false, poisonous charity ; it is but a bait thrown out to ensnare them — to rob them of their faith, of God, of heaven, and draw them into everlasting perdition : it is but a hellish malice under the cloak of charity. These secret societies are a device of satan who wishes to bring men to kneel down and worship him. "All these kingdoms and their glory will I give thee," said the devil to our Saviour, " if falling down thou wilt adore me."(Matt., iv., 8, 9.) Now, though we are obliged to love all men as our selves, yet we are not bound to love our neighbor more than ourselves ; we are not obliged to prefer his welfare to our own. The only exception to this is when our neighbor is in extreme want and the good he possesses is of a higher order than ours. Now, the order of our spiri tual and temporal goods is — 1st the spiritual life of the soul — the life of grace j 2, the temporal life of the body j 3, our good name j 4, our wealth and temporal posses sions. If our neighbor, then, is in extreme want, we are obliged to prefer our neighbor's spiritual salvation to our temporal life : his temporal life to our reputation, and his reputation to our wealth and temporal possessions. But we must bear in mind that we are thus bound only when our neighbor is in extreme want. If he is not in such necessity, we are not bound to prefer his wel fare to our own, even though his good should be of a higher order than ours. Should my neighbor, for instance, unjustly attempt to take my life, it is no sin for me to kill him, if I have no other way of saving my life ; for, in such a case, I am allowed to prefer my temporal life to the spiritual life of my neighbor, for he is not obliged to kill me. 58 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 7, Who is our neighbor I All men are our neighbors. By our neighbor we are not to understand merely our parents, our friends, our benefactors, our fellow-citizens, or those who profess the same faith with us ; our neighbor means all men, without exception of persons, or distinction of creed ; strangers as well as fellow-country-men; heretics, Jews, and idolaters as well as Catholics, our enemies as well as our friends. If the love of God the Holy Ghost is in us, it will make us love all men — Jews, Greeks, bar barians, Christians, pagans, infidels, heretics ; the just and sinners ; parents and strangers ; friends and enemies ; benefactors and malefactors. He who excludes but one man from his love shows that he loves no one with true Christian charity, for the motives of charity are always the same. If, for God's sake I love him who pleases me, I must also, for God's sake, love him who displeases me ; for both are the creatures of God, made in his image ; both are bought with his blood, both are called to his eternal glory. Our dear Lord, therefore, will despise us, if we despise our fellow-men. He will hate us, if we hate them. He will afflict us, if we afflict them. On the contrary, he will excuse us, if we excuse our fellow-men. He will support us, if we support them. He will pardon us, if we pardon them. In a word, he will treat us, as we treat them. We shall be judged by the charity which we have shown to our neighbor. " He that loveth not, abideth in death," that is in a state of damnation. (1 John, iii., 14.) " But he in whom charity abides, abideth in God, and God in him." (1 John, iv., 16.) " Charity is the fulfil ment of the law." (Rom., xiii.? 10.) Ought we, then, to COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 59 have the same charity for all men without distinction ? I answer, we should love our neighbor as God loves him. Now God loves all men far more than we can understand j but he does not love all with the same degree of love. As he is a Being of infinite perfection, he loves himself with infinite love. Next to himself he loves most those who most resemble him and who are most intimately united to him. Out of a thousand likenesses every one prefers that which is the most correct. In like manner out' of a thousand souls God loves that one most, which is nearest to him in perfection. God's love for men, then, is in proportion to their merit and their virtue. Now this love of God for our neighbor should be our model. Although he has commanded us to love all men, yet he does not require us to love all alike. The holier a man is, the more we should love him. We ought to have a love of preference for those in the highest degree of sanctity. We also owe a special love to our parents. In every act a just proportion must be observed between the object and the agent. The nature of the act, whether good or bad, proceeds from the object,and its in tensity from the agent. Now those who are more ad vanced in virtue than our parents, and consequently par take more abundantly of the gifts of God, have according to the principles of perfect charity a greater claim on our love than even our parents. But we naturally love our parents more intensely, for both grace and nature inspire us with more affection and sympathy for them. The ties uniting us to them are not only closer but also more indissoluble j in fact death alone can dissolve them. It is, therefore, not contrary to true charity to be more strongly attached to our parents than to others who may be even more perfect. 80 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. Ought we to love our relatives more than those who are united to us by the ties of friendship, of society, profession, and temporal affairs ? There is no union more lasting and indissoluble than that of blood-relationship. All who are united by such ties derive their existence from the same source. All other ties and associations are but accidental and transitory : such, for instance, are the relations of citi zens with regard to their habitation, their temporal and civil affairs j the relations of merchants in business and com merce; and the friendship of soldiers who live in the same camp and the same barracks. The ties of blood-relation ship on the contrary are the foundation of society. They hold together families, generations, and the entire nation. They survive the dissolution of all other associations, and are well-nigh imperishable. If we owe a love of preference to our parents and rela tives on account of the ties of nature, we owe also a special love to our country. The love of our native country is paramount to all other natural affections. The prosperity and independence of our native land are to be preferred even to the welfare of parents or kindred, says St. Thom as Aquinas. There are other degrees of charity betw een parents and children, husband and wife. St. Ambrose says that man should love God first, then his parents, then his children, and finally his relatives. As to our love for father and mother, St. Jerome says that after God, who is our common and eternal Father, we ought to love our father more than our mother. As to the husband he ought to have more affection for his wife than for his parents : for the Apostle says that the husband should love his wife as his own flesh. " They are not now two, but one flesh." (Matt., xix., 6.) Never- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 61 theless according to the supernatural order and principle of charity, he ought to have more veneration for his parents than even for his wife. The same principle applies to* the duties and sentiments of the wife. Are we also obliged to love sinners 1 We have already remarked that the love of God for all men must be the model of our love for them. Now, God not only loves the just but also sinners. It is true, he hates and detests their sins, because he is offended, by them 5 but he loves the sinner, because he created him, redeemed him, and has the greatest desire to see himself united to him by grace here below and by glory in heaven. This love of God for sinners, we say, must be the model of our love for them. We must hate and detest the sins of our neighbor, because they make him an enemy of God ; but we must love that sinful neighbor, because, as long as he is a pilgrim on earth, he is capable of meriting eternal happiness. How many saints are now in heaven who, for several years, were great sinners, but are now glorifying God in heaven throughout all eternity for his goodness and mercy to them? Witness St. Augustine, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Margaret of Cortona, and so many others, who from great sinners became very great saints in the Church of God. If we read that the prophets and saints wished for the punishment of the wicked ("Let the wicked be thrown into hell, all the nations that forget God : " Ps., ix., 18.) it was rather through a desire of seeing divine justice tri umph over impiety and iniquity j but they did not wish the eternal damnation of sinners ; for we should always have compassion for sinners, says St. Thomas, unless they pub licly renounce or reject the true faith, and wish to die in the state of impenitence. 62 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Should we have charity for the demons or evil spirits ? God speaks through the prophet Isaias (Xxviii., 18) : u Your league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant with hell shall not subsist.77 The demons or evil spirits are the inhabitants of hell and the instruments of eternal death. Now, as charity is the perfection of 'peace and the seal of the divine covenant, we can have no charity for the demons, as such charity would be contrary to divine justice. However, in the same way that we have compassion for irrational creatures, because their preservation tends to the glory of God and the general utility of man ; so we may have the same sentiments with regard to the evil spirits as being a portion of the univer sal creation and wish that these evil spirits should be pre served in their natural state for the glory of the divine Majesty. 8. Are we also obliged to love our enemies 1 Yes; for Jesus Christ says : u I say to you, love your en emies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you. " (Matt., v., 44. ) To love those who love us and are kind to us, is the love of heathens. " If you love them that love you, " says our Saviour, " what reward shall you have ? Do not even the publicans the same ? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more ? Do not also the heathens the same f " ( Matt., v., 46. ) But to love those who hate us, calumniate and persecute us, is the love of true Christians. Now this love is strictly commanded by our Lord. " You have heard, " said he, " that it has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy ; but I say to you, love your enemies, do good to COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 63 them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you. " (Matt., v., 43.) The law of Jesus Christ is a law of love. He wishes that all, even our enemies, should love us. In like manner he com mands us to love even those who hate us and wish us evil. The spirit of enmity is in itself something bad and de testable. Hence we are not commanded to love that spirit. We are obliged to love human nature and the supernatural gifts that may be in our enemies. This love is of strict obligation, and not to have this love is not to have perfect charity. Though our neighbor may be our enemy, yet he is a child of God, and perhaps the object of his tender mercy and compassion. If we truly love a person, we also love his children and friends, though they may be our enemies. Now the precept of loving our enemies, obliges us to love them with internal as well as with external love, that is, we must love them with sincere love of the heart, by formal acts of love, and show them all the ordinary signs of benevolence and compassion which we show to a friend, especially when we see them in distress, or their life and property in danger. " If thine enemy be hungry, give him something to eat 5 if thirsty, give him to drink. " (Prov., xxv., 21.) We are obliged to salute him when he salutes us. If he is a person whose rank is higher than ours, it is our duty to salute him before he salutes us ; and if, without a grievous inconvenience, we can salute first even an equal, and thereby free him from the hatred which he bears us, we are obliged to salute him first. However, we are not obliged to have such sentiments of affection for an enemy as we have for parents 5 for sentiments of affection are a voluntary and absolute per- 64 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. fection, but not a precept of charity. Hence charity does not oblige us to give any signs of particular esteem and affection to our enemies 5 it obliges us merely to prac tise benevolence and compassion towards them, especially when we see them in spiritual or temporal distress. The precept of charity requires no more, says St. Thomas. Now, the love of enemies is difficult to human nature. Hence our dear Saviour has taught us by his example the love of enemies. When hanging on the cross, Jesus Christ was exposed to the gaze of a blasphemous multi tude. No complaint, however, escaped his lips. He ut tered not a word until, moved with tender compassion for his enemies, he cried out : -'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The blood of Abel demand ed vengeance. The blood of Jesus cried only for mercy and grace for those who shed it. His enemies had ac cused him falsely, judged him through passion, condemned him through malice, and crucified him between two thieves : they insulted his mercy, and in spite of all this, Jesus excuses their sin, diminishes their malice, and assumes the office of advocate for them. He forgets his own bitter anguish to think of those who persecuted him unto death. Their guilt afflicted him more than all the torments he endured. Now, he wishes us to imitate his example. "I have given you an example, that as I have done, so you do also." (John, xiii,. 15.) He promises us the forgiveness of our sins, if we imitate his example. "Forgive," he says, "and you shall be forgiven." (Luke, vi., 37.) In these words, our Lord has made a sort of contract or agreement with us. If you forgive, he says, I pledge you my divine word that I will show you mercy: I will receive you into my heavenly kingdom. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 65 Now this agreement between God and ourselves is very consoling. We have the absolute certainty that, if we forgive others, God will forgive us. God himself has said this, and he cannot break his word : " Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.7' We can then say confidently when we appear before the judgement-seat of God : " O Lord, I have kept my part of the agreement ; I have forgiven all my enemies, do thou also now forgive me." If we, therefore, truly forgive our enemies, we may be perfectly certain of forgiveness. This certainty of pardon is beyond all doubt. Hence a great saint used to say, that we ought to desire, nay, that we even ought to buy, insults and injuries with silver and gold, because if we forgive our enemies God will certainly forgive us. Most touching is what Father Avila relates of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. One day this saint prayed to God to give great graces to all those who had in any way injured her j nay, to give the greatest graces to those who had injured her most. After this prayer, our Lord Jesus Christ said to her: "My daughter, never in your life did you make a prayer more pleasing to me than the one which you have just said for your enemies. On ac count of this prayer, I forgive not only all your sins but even all temporal punishments due to them." To love our enemies, to pray for them, to do good to them, is, no doubt, an act of heroic charity — an act which is free from all self-love and self-interest. The insults, calumnies, and persecutions of our enemies relate directly to our own person. Now, to forgive them, nay even to ask God to forgive them also, is to renounce our claim to our right and honor, and thus to raise ourselves to the great dignity of the true children of God, to an unspeak- 66 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ably sublime resemblance to his Divinity. Jesus Christ assures us of this great truth in these words: "If you pray for those who hate, calumniate, and persecute you, you will be the children of your heavenly Father who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad, and rain- eth upon the just and unjust." (Matt., v., 45.) There is nothing more peculiar, nothing more honorable to our heavenly Father, than to have mercy and to spare, to do good to all his enemies, especially by giving them the grace of conversion that they may become his friends, his children and the heirs of his everlasting kingdom. Now, by imitating his goodness in a point so much averse to human nature, we give him the greatest glory, and we do, at the same time, such violence to his tender and meek heart as to cause him, not only to forgive the sins of our enemies, but even to constrain him to grant all our prayers, because he wishes to be far more indulgent, far more merciful, and far more liberal than it is possible for us ever to be. Holy Scripture and the lives of the saints furnish us with most striking examples as a proof of this great and most consoling truth. The greatest persecutor of St. Stephen was St. Paul the Apostle, before his conversion; for, according to St. Augustine, he threw stones at him by the hands of all those whose clothes he was guarding. What made him, from being a persecutor of the Church, become her great est Apostle and Doctor ? It was the prayer of St. Stephen, "for, had he not prayed," says St. Augustine, "the Church would not have gained this Apostle." St. Mary Oigni, whilst in a rapture, saw how our Lord presented St. Stephen with the soul of St. Paul, before his death, on account of the prayer which the former had offered for COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 67 him : she saw how St. Stephen received the soul of this Apostle, at the moment of his death, and how he presented it to our Lord saying : " Here, 0 Lord, I have the immense and most precious gift which Thou gavest me ; now I re turn it to Thee with great interest." * (Ecomenis of opinion that on account of St. Stephen's prayer, not only St. Paul but many others most probably received the forgiveness of their sins and life everlasting. Not long ago, quite an innocent person received a letter of twelve pages, containing the vilest, the most in famous, and most devilish calumnies. When she had read them she prayed : " Father, forgive them." A few days after, the writer of the calumnies, who had not been to confession for several years, became suddenly so danger ously sick that she could not help acknowledging that her sickness was a punishment for her calumnies. So she had another letter written in which she begged pardon of the person whom she had so maliciously calumniated, promising that, should she recover, she would come in person to ask her pardon. She sent for the priest and made a good confession. Two other persons, who had not been to confession for several years, and were instrumen tal in the invention of the calumnies, also entered into themselves, when they witnessed the excruciating pains of the writer of the calumnies. They, too, made a good confession and promised to ask pardon in person of the one whom they had calumniated with such devilish malice. No doubt it requires an extraordinary grace to convert an obstinate sinner, one who resembles the devil in wick edness. Now, if God grants such a grace to the prayer of him who prays for his enemy, what great graces will * Her Life, by Cardinal Vitriaco, lib. 2, chap. xi. GS COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he not grant to him who, for his sake, forgives his enemy and even begs God to forgive him also and to bless him ? We read in the life of St. John Gualbertus, that he one day met the murderer of his only brother in a very narrow street. The murderer greatly feared that John would take revenge on him, and, as he saw no possibility of escape, he fell on his knees and asked forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, who, when hanging on the cross, forgave his murderers and prayed for them. John forgave him at once and embraced him as one of his best friends. After wards he went to a church, and prayed there before a crucifix. Oh ! how powerful was his prayer now with our Lord ! Whilst praying he saw how our Lord bowed his head towards him, thanking him, as it were, for hav ing forgiven so great an offence. At the same time he felt a most extraordinary change in his soul. He renoun ced the world and became the founder of a religious Order. Let us rest assured that Almighty God will be just as generous towards us as he was towards this saint, if we are as generous as he was in forgiving our neighbor. An extraordinary grace, such as the thorough change of the heart, is attached to the performance of an heroic, vir tuous act. Now, when God furnishes us with the occasion of practising such an act, we either neglect the opportunity altogether, or profit by it only in a very imperfect manner. Hence such an extraordinary grace as changes us into saints, is withheld from us ; our want of generosity makes us unworthy of it. You have been treated very unjustly and uncharitably by one of your neighbors. Now, you forgive your neighbor; but no sooner is the name of that neighbor mentioned in conversation than you relate all the wrong you have suffered from him. You thus show COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 69 that your forgiveness is not a complete, heartfelt forgive ness ; it is not such a one, to which God has attached the extraordinary grace of a full remission of all your sins and the temporal punishment due to them — the extraordinary grace of a thorough change of your heart. You thus re main imperfect, and will perhaps for your whole life. Generous souls act very differently. St. Ambrose pro- cured for an assassin, who had made an attempt on his life, a pension sufficient for a comfortable maintenance. St. Catharine of Sienna performed the office of servant for a woman who had endeavored to destroy her good name. A relative of St. John the Almoner, who had been grossly insulted by an innkeeper in Alexandria, laid his complaint before the saint. St John said to him : " As this publican has been so very insolent, I will teach him his duties. I will treat him so as to excite the won der of the whole city." Now what did the saint do ? He ordered his steward never afterwards to exact the yearly rent which the innkeeper had to pay him. Such was the revenge which the saint took, and which truly excited the wonder of the whole city. It is thus that the saints sought revenge, and it is thus that they became saints. But here some one might say : u I have no opportunity to practise acts of heroic charity towards enemies, for the simple reason that I have no enemies. How can I then make myself worthy of graces so extraordinary as to change one into a saint. " In this case say to God : " Had I, 0 Lord, a thousand enemies, I would, for thy sake, forgive them all, love them and pray for them." Thus you will practise, at least in desire, the highest de gree of charity, and our Lord will take the will for the deed. 70 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. But remember also that if you have no opportunity to practise this degree of charity in reality, you will always find plenty of opportunities to practise the degree of charity next to the highest, which consists in bearing with your neighbor's whims, weaknesses, faults of character, disagree able manners, and all the little annoyances which he may cause you. The practice of this kind of charity will also move our Lord to grant you extraordinary graces. *'I know, " says St. Francis de Sales, " that frequent little vexations and annoyances are often more disagreeable than great ones, and that it often seems harder to bear with the inmates of the house than with strangers ; but I know also that our victory in these little annoyances, is often more pleasing to God than many apparently bril liant victories, which are more glorious in the eyes of worldings. For this reason, I admire the meekness with which the great St. Charles Borromeo suffered, for a long time, the fault-finding attacks which a great preacher ut tered against him from the pulpit, far more than all his patience under the assaults which he received from others. 0 Lord, when shall we be so far advanced in perfection as to bear with our fellow-men, with a truly strong love and affection. We read in Holy Scripture that Moses was always the same kind and meek father to the Jewish people in the desert in spite of their frequent murmurs, reproaches, rebellion, and apostasy. His revenge was to pour forth fervent prayers to God for their spiritual and temporal welfare. Now, when such meek and forbearing charity is praying, God is forced, as it were, to listen to such a prayer and to hear it, Hence he could not punish the Jewish people for their sins, so long as Moses interceded for them arid asked him to pardon them. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 71 Now, if on the one hand, it is certain that God, if we forgive our enemies and do good to them, forgives us, also graciously listens to our prayers, and grants extraordinary graces, both for the conversion of our enemies and for our own spiritual advancement, it is, on the other hand, just as certain that God will neither forgive us, nor listen to our prayers, nor accept our gifts, if we do not forgive our enemies. "And when you shall stand to pray, forgive, if you have aught against any man." (Mark, xi., 25.) a Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming, thou shalt offer thy gift." (Matt., v., 23.) In these words, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that our prayers will not be heard by his heavenly father as long as we entertain in our hearts feelings of hatred to wards any of our fellow- men. If you have recourse to prayer, he says, and at the same time have aught against any man, go first and be reconciled to your brother, or at least forgive him from the bottom of your heart, and then come and offer up your prayers or any other good work, otherwise I will not listen to you. Our dear Lord has made every man his representative on earth, by creating him according to his own image and likeness ; he has re deemed all men with his most precious blood ; he has, therefore, declared that whatever we do to the least of our fellow-men for his sake, we do it to him. Now, by com manding us to love our enemies, to do good to those that hate us, and to pray for those that persecute and cal umniate us (Matt, v., 44.), he asks of us to give to him, in the person of his representatives, that which we can give so easily. It is great presumption to ask for his gifts and favors, without being willing, on our part; to 72 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, give him what he requires of us in all justice. To refuse this request of our Lord is, indeed, on our part, great injustice. We ask of him the greatest gifts : such as the pardon of innumerable and most grevious offences, final perseverance, deliverance from hell, everlasting glory, and so many other countless favors for body and soul. What he asks of us is little or nothing compared with his graces. I will give you, then he says, what I can, if you give me what you can. But if you do not give me what you can, neither will I give you anything. " If you will not forgive, neither will your father who is in heaven for give your sins." (Mark, xi., 26.) It is but just that God should have no compassion on him who has no compassion on his neighbor. " Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy," says St. James. (Chap., ii., 13.) " With what face," says St. Augustine, " can he ask for giveness, who refuses to obey God's command to forgive others." Sapricius and Nicephorus were intimate friends ; the former was a priest, the latter a layman. Their holy friendship lasted many years, till unfortunately it was at last broken by a foolish quarrel. Ni cephorus soon repented, went to the friends of Sapricius and begged them to intercede for him. But in vain ; Sapricius would not forgive him. Nicephorus then went himself, fell on his knees before Sapricius, and conjured him to pardon him. But the priest was .obstinate ; he re fused to forgive. This occurred during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. Sapricius was accused of being a Christian, arrested and brought before the judge. He was put to the torture ; he bore his sufferings with heroic constancy; he was finally condemned to be beheaded. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 73 On his way to the place of execution, Nicephorus meets him, casts himself at his feet, and cries out with tears, "0 martyr of Jesus Christ, forgive me, I am sorry for hav ing offended thee ! " He continued thus to implore Sapricius till they came to the place of execution : but all in vain, Sapricius will not forgive ! Finally, the priest mounted the scaffold — the head-man orders him to kneel down, to receive the fatal blow ; at this awful moment his courage fails, the terror of death seizes him. He turns traitor, renounces his holy faith and sacrifices to the false gods ! Nicephorus grieved by this cowardly apostasy and inspired by the Holy Ghost, proclaims aloud, that he is a Christian, he is beheaded on the spot and thus received the glorious crown that Sapricius lost by his unforgiving hatred. (Acta Mart., A. D. 300.) There is one who has been greatly insulted by his neighbor. On being required to forgive him, he replies : " I will indeed forgive the insult, but I think it is well that evil-doers should be punished." St. Alphonsus an swers : " The precept of loving our enemies forbids us to entertain sentiments of revenge against our enemies. We are bound to overcome evil by good. l Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. ' (LevL, xix.) He who seeks revenge for an insult received, is in the state of mortal sin. Now, if a person says, i I will indeed forgive the injury, but I think it is well that evil-doers should be punished,7 I can hardly see how such a person is free from the desire of revenge, and, therefore, I would hesitate to absolve him, unless there are other just causes to excuse him." However, to rejoice at the temporal misfortune of an enemy is no violation of the precept of charity, if we be- 74 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. lieve that such a misfortune will contribute towards the salvation of others j nor is it wrong to be sorry for the temporal prosperity of an enemy if we have good reason to believe that he will use "his prosperity to oppress the poor, and lead many into perdition. How strange is it not, to see sometimes pious persons overcome by the hell ish demon of hatred and revenge. There is a woman, who was once a model of piety. She went regularly to the sacraments, even gave alms to the poor, was liberal to the Church, a,nd an object of joy to angels and men 5 but unfortunately she took offence at some trifle. The demon of hatred entered her heart. She no longer re ceives the sacraments, or if she does it is only to profane the sacraments, to eat arid drink damnation, for she will not forgive her neighbor ; she still bears hatred in her heart. A few years ago there was a poor man lying sick in one of the public hospitals of a certain city. He was good and pious, received communion every month, and spent the greater part of his time in reading the lives of the saints and other good books. Now, un fortunately for him, it happened that, from some slight provocation, he received a great dislike to a fellow-patient in the same ward. As the unhappy man did not banish this temptation, his dislike soon became a devilish hatred. Sometimes, in his fury, he allowed himself to be so over come by the demon of hatred that he would make use of the vilest language and throw at his companion whatever came to hand. One day the priest told him publicly that he would be obliged to refuse him the sacraments, even on his death-bed, if he did not give up his hatred. Not long after this unhappy man roused the ward at midnight by the most pitiful moans. All hastened to his bedside. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 10 There he was — struggling desperately with smothered cries, as if he wished to rid himself of one who was chok ing him. He was unable to speak, and in a few moments he was a corpse. He died without the sacraments, with out being reconciled to his neighbor — he -died with the devil of hatred still lurking in his heart. But one will say perhaps : " I will forgive that person ; I do not wish him any harm, but I do not want to see him or speak to him any more. I do not wish to have any thing to do with him any longer." You say that you forgive that person who has injured you, that you do not wish him any harm 5 but that you do not wish to see him or speak to him any more ! And with that of course, you are satisfied: you go confidently to confession and communion. You consider yourself a good Christian. You do not even think of accusing your self in confession of any want of charity ; and should the confessor, through love for your soul, make any inquiries about the matter, you answer perhaps with a righteous air, that you have done your duty, that you cannot do more than forgive him. Now I must say to you that you have not forgiven that person. You hate him still, and therefore, you are still living in sin, still an enemy of God. Do you shun the society of those whom you love ? Now if you really loved that person who has injured you, would you be so very careful to avoid his company ? But you will say : " 0 indeed I forgive him and love him, but I avoid him for peace' sake, I do not wish to quarrel with him. The very sight of him makes my heart's blood boil. " What ! You say that you forgive that person and love him ! Does then the sight of one 76 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. whom you love make your heart's blood boil ? You say that you forgive him. You mean to say, no doubt, that you do not wish him any harm. But mark well, that is not enough ; you must love him and love him truly. You must do good to your enemy. You must prove by your actions as well as by your words that you really forgive him. Unless you truly forgive and are forbearing with your neighbor, our dear Saviour will say to you in the hour of death: " I have loved you with an eternal charity, and I still love you, because you are my work 5 but I can neither see nor speak to you. A separation must take place. Depart from me." There is another ; he says : " If I offer to make friends with that woman, she will think me mean-spirited, and only despise me the more for it. r Well suppose she does despise you, will that harm you ? Whose esteem should you value most. God's or hers ? But is it really true that she will think you mean spirit ed, if you offer to make friends with her ? I do not be lieve it. It is a suggestion of the devil. No 5 the Holy Ghost himself assures us that a A mild answer turneth away wrath. " (Prov., xv., 1.) There is something good in the heart of every one yet living on earth. It may indeed be buried far down in the soul, but a meek forgiv ing spirit will surely bring it to the surface, just as the warm sunshine brings up the flowers from beneath the frozen ground. This is, as St. Paul tells us, the only re venge which it is lawful for a Christian to take. "If, " he says, " thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him to drink ; for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. " (Rom., xii., 20.) If you treat your enemy with kindness, if you return good for evil, you will gain him gradually, and at last you will win his heart. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 77 The brave Hungarian, Count Peter Szapary, was taken prisoner by the Turks, brought to Ofen, and dragged before Hamsa Bey. The cruel Turk rejoiced to see his dreaded enemy at length in his power ; he loaded him with insult, condemned him to receive 100 blows on the soles of his feet, then to be chained hand and foot, and cast into prison. It was a dark, loathsome, subterranean dungeon. The prisoner's bed was only mouldy straw; his food was so wretched that he was soon reduced to the point of death. But the cruel Pasha did not wish him to die. He desired first to torture his prisoner, and then receive a heavy ransom for him. He ordered the pris oner to be cared for until he was restored to health; then, condemned him to work in the kitchen. One day Hamsa Bey asked him in mockery, how he felt. Szapary an swered not a word, but turned his back upon the tyrant. At this the Pasha was so enraged that he ordered the brave nobleman to be harnessed to a plough and to till a neighboring field, with another unhappy Christian, ex posed to the strokes of the lash and the jeers of the popu lace. Finally after three long years of cruel martyrdom, Szapary was exchanged for a wealthy Aga, who had been taken prisoner by the Hungarians. Szapary returned home in a most pitiable condition. He was worn to a skeleton and scarcely able to stand. It was a long time before he was again restored to health. Some years after, .Sept. 2, 1686, Ofen was captured by the christians and Hamsa Bey taken prisoner. The Duke of Lorraine gave him over into the hands of Szap ary, to do with him whatever he thought proper. A ser vant of Szapary went in haste to the Turk to announce to him the fact. Some time after Szapary went to the 78 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. prison to visit his cruel enemy. "Dost thou know me?' he asked ; "I am Szapary. Thou art now in my power.?> "I know it," answered the Turk sullenly ; "now is your time for vengence.""Very well, I shall take the revenge of a Christian. I now restore you to freedom, uncondi tionally, and even without ransom.7' The Turk smiles con temptuously. He did not believe such noble conduct pos sible. "I am a Christian," continued Szapary ; "my religion commands me to forgive my enemies, and to return good for evil." He then ordered the chains of his enemy to be struck, off and restored him to liberty for "the sake of Him who was nailed to the cross." The hardened Turk was completely overcome by this extraordinary generosity. He fell writhing at the feet of Szapary. "Your kindness comes too late/7 he shrieked; "I have taken poison to es cape the tortures which I expected. I now curse myself and my cruelty towards you. I crave your forgiveness. I wish at least to die a Christian, since the Christian re ligion teaches so sublime a virtue !" — Skilful physicians were speedily called, but it was too late. Hamsa Bey was baptized, and Szapary stood as his godfather. (Hun- gari.) There is another. He says : " I cannot forgive that person. It is too much to expect from human nature. How can I love a person who has belied me, and calum niated me to all my neighbors ? ;? You say that you cannot love that person. Tell me, then, does the gospel make any exception ? Does it say that you need not love those that belie you ? On the contrary, our Lord says : " Pray for those who calum niate you." COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 79 You say, it is too hard to forgive that person. But supposing it is very hard, is that any reason why you should not do it ? Are you not a Christian ? Is not the way to heaven, a way of suffering and self-denial? "If any one wishes to be my disciple," says Jesus Christ, " let him deny himself." It may be expecting too much from poor human nature to love your enemies, but it is not expecting too much from the grace of God j for, with the assistance of his grace, you can do all things, as St. Paul assures us. St. Francis de Sales relates that, when he was studying in Padua, some of the students were in the bad habit of going about in the city at night, challenging the people, and firing upon them if no reply was made. One night it happened that a student was challenged and killed for refusing to answer. The murderer took refuge with a good widow, whose son was one of his most intimate friends. She harbored and concealed him very carefully. A few moments after, she received the harrowing news that her son had just been killed. The truth flashed at once upon her mind, and going forthwith to the closet wherein she hid the murderer of her son, she thus addressed him : " Alas ! what had my son done to you that you should kill him so cruelly ? " The culprit, overwhelmed by the atrocity of his crime and the remembrance of the former friendship, burst into tears and tore the hair from his head. Instead of begging pardon of the desolate mother, he threw himself on his knees before her, entreating her to deliver him up that he might publicly atone for so atrocious a crime. The heroic woman was satisfied with these feelings of true repentance, and instead of wishing for revenge, she desired onlv that the murderer of her son 80 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. might live and secure God's pardon. Accordingly she had him taken to a place of security. Some time after, the soul of the murdered youth appeared to his merciful mother and told her that God had shortened his time of punishment in purgatory because she had so generously forgiven his murderer. " But everybody tells me that I shall be a fool, if I forgive that person after the way that he has treated me !'7 Well, do you then intend to be guided by the maxims of the world f Remember you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve Jesus Christ and the world. The world, of course, will tell you : " Fight for your right. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If you cannot punish him by law, then take the law into your own hands. Revenge is sweet." Tell me, then, is this your standard of morality ? This may do very well for hea thens, but it will not do for Christians. No ; Jesus Christ says : " If a man smite thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other." (Matt, v., 39.) The motive of your action must be in your own soul, and not in the conduct of others. Men misrepresent you ! What matters it 1 God is your law-giver and your judge. " But there are so many wicked people in the world ! " Well, act so that they may become useful to you. If there were no wicked people how could you grow -in the virtues of charity and patience. " But men are so thankless ! " Then imitate nature which gives to man bountifully and hopes for nothing in return. " But they insult you." Remember that an insult de grades only him who gives it. " But they slander you ! " Thank God that your ene- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 81 mies, to blacken your character, must have recourse to lies. " But the shame of being treated thus ! " Has then a just man any thing to be ashamed of? " But I will lose my character, every one will think me guilty, I will be disgraced forever, if I speak to that man, that woman ! " What ! Look then at Jesus Christ, praying for his enemies ? Tfyen he is the most degraded of men ; for he forgives thousands of men every day ! Jesus Christ forgives his enemies. Now, do you not think it is an honor to resemble your God and your Re deemer ? Is it not true nobility, is it not heroic, to raise yourself above all vulgar prejudices, and to forgive your enemies ? Is it not God-like ? The heathens were aston ished at the charity with which the first christians for gave their enemies. Nay even at the present day the most selfish and degraded hearts cannot help admiring that man who forgives his enemies who returns good for evil. Not long ago it happened, during a certain mission, that some prominent members of the community, who had been at enmity, were reconciled. The two enemies passing on opposite sides of the street crossed at the same moment and embraced each other in the middle of the street. Each one was eager to make the first advance ; and so marked was the fact, that every one in town spoke of it. It was a source of general edification. It revived in the place the old heathen cry about the early christians : "Ah ! see how these christians love one another ! " " But ftiat man, that woman is an ungrateful creature ! No one can live with him." Well, look again at our Lord. Were not his enemies ungrateful ? Were they 82 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. not full of hatred and malice ? And yet he forgave them and prayed for them. " But he has done me too great an injury. I cannot forgive him." What ! Have you suffered more than our Lord has suffered. He is God, and you are after all but a weak, sinful man. Again, is the injury done to you greater than any of those you have offered to God ? Why, then should you not be willing to remit a small debt in order that God may remit your large debt ? " Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt because thou besoughtest me, Shouldst not thou, then, have had compassion also on thy fellow-servant, even as I had compassion on thee ? " (Matt, xviii., 32.) Now, who are those Catholics who make such objections to the love of enemies and to the practice of doing good to them ? Generally speaking, they are those who are not in the habit of making frequent acts of the love of their neighbor. We grow in virtue by practising it. Those, therefore, who but seldom make special acts of the love of their enemies, find it very difficult to practise it when the occasion for its practice is presented to them. They easily give way to their feelings of hatred, and are apt to die with them. Two friends had the misfortune to quarrel about some trifle and from that moment became deadly enemies. This hatred lasted for several years. At last one of them fell sick. As the illness became serious, the priest was sent for. He came and told the dying man that God would not forgive him until he would first forgive his enemy. The dying man offered to forgive, and the priest, at his request, heard his confession. His enemy was sent for. He came : the two were reconciled, at least to all appear- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 88 ances. Unfortunately, as the one sent for was leaving the sick man's room, he said : " Ah, the coward ! he sent for me, because he is afraid ! " When the dying man heard the remark, all his old hatred revived. " No," cried he in a rage j "I am not afraid, and to show you now that I am not, I tell you I hate you as much as ever ! Begone ! May I never see your face again " Scarcely had he ut tered these words when he fell back and died ! Think of the meeting of these two enemies in hell. In order that we may escape a similar misfortune, let us adopt the following means : 1. When saying the Lord's Prayer, let us say, with great fervor and with true sincerity, the words : u And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us," earnestly wishing that God may forgive our enemies and bless them with spiritual and temporal goods. 2. Let us accustom ourselves to banish all wilful feel ings of hatred and rancor as soon as they arise in our hearts, by saying some short but fervent prayer for those against whom those uncharitable feelings arise in our soul. 3. Let us do good to our enemies whenever we cam 4. Let us never speak against those who have hurt or ill-treated us. 5. As St. Stephen has, in many instances, proved to be a powerful intercessor and patron for all those who wish to convert not only their enemies but also other ob stinate sinners, let us often invoke him, that he may ob tain for us the grace .to love our enemies as truly and sincerely as he loved and prayed for his. In a certain city of Spain, two of the principal inhabi tants bore a mortal hatred to each other, and thereby divided the whole into two hostile parties. The streets 84 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. were often the scene of bloody encounters and ruthless murders. The bishop of the place and even the king himself had tried to put an end to these disgraceful feuds ; but in vain. At last it was resolved to give a mission in the place. The missionaries came. When they heard of the two hostile parties, they resolved to erect in the church an altar in honor of the great martyr St. Stephen, in order to obtain, through his intercession, the grace of reconciliation of the two hostile parties. So in the opening sermon, one of the missionaries told the people that he had looked in vain in their city for an altar erected to the great martyr St. Stephen. "Now my brethren," continued he, " we wish to supply the defect. We wish to erect in this church an altar to the first Christian martyr. You must aid us in this good work. You must especially procure us a beautiful pic ture of St. Stephen, for we do not know where to find one. Whoever will get this picture for us will have a special share in the graces and indulgences of the mission. " The missionary then spoke of the importance of saving their immortal souls. Scarcely had the missionary finished his sermon, when one of the ring-leaders who had been greatly affected by his words came to him and said : " Reverend Father, there is a very beautiful picture of St. Stephen in town ; but it belongs to my enemy. If you send somebody to him, per haps he will lend it to you for the altar." " Excellent," said the missionary ; " I shall call on him immediately, but I want you to accompany me. " ^ I ? " said the man sur prised ; " why, this is impossible ! He is a bitter enemy. He will not only insult me, but your reverence also. " " Do not fear, " said the priest ; " come with me, you COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 85 shall be welcome. This is clearly the work of God. " They went together to the house of the other ring leader. They were kindly received. " We intend/' said the priest, addressing him, " to erect an altar in honor of St. Stephen. I have heard, that you have a beauti ful picture of the Saint, and I have come to request you to lend it to us during the mission." " Most willingly," ans wered the ring-leader. li I will not only lend it to you, I will bring it to the church myself, and this gentleman," pointing to his old enemy, " will have the kindness to help me to carry it." He immediately took down the picture and the two enemies bore it triumphantly through the streets to the church. The people, who beheld this miracle of grace, could hardly believe their eyes. The two factions, inspired by the good example of their leaders, now vied with each other in erecting and adorning the altar. In a few days every trace of ill-feeling had disappeared ; the most perfect harmony reigned everywhere. When the holy patriarch Jacob was on his death-bed, he sent a last message to his son Joseph. ll Tell him," he said, " to forgive and forget, for my sake, the great malice of his brethren." Our dear Saviour sends to you this message from the hard bed of the cross on which he died for us all : "I beg of you," he says, u to forgive and forget, for my sake, all the evil that your brother, that your enemy, has done you." Oh ! go in spirit and kneel at the foot of the cross. Look upon the out-stretched arms of Jesus. Look upon his pale face. Look upon his sacred head crowned with thorns. Say to him like Saul : " Lord, what wilt thou that I should do ? " Ah ! listen to his voice. " 0 my child," he says, u my dying request is that you forgive 86 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. from your whole heart, that person who has injured you. But if you will be revenged, then come, here is my heart, glut your rage upon me, for I have become his surety j I have taken his sins upon myself." 9. For which class of persons should we always show a particular love ? For the poor, orphans, widows, and in general for all those who are in temporal or spiritual need. The precept of charity obliges us to love our neighbor internally and externally. We must love our neighbor internally, that is, our love for him must come from our heart. Hence Pope Innocent XL has condemned the pro position : u We are not bound to love our neighbor by an internal and formal act." It is, therefore, a sin to take pleasure in the misfortune of a neighbor, or to be grieved at his welfare. However, it is not wrong to take pleasure in the temporal misfortune of an obstinate sinner, if we have reason to believe that such a misfortune will induce him to amend his life and to oppress no longer the in nocent. But it is a sin to delight in the death, or in any kind of misfortune of our neighbor on account of some temporal advantage that we derive from it. However, to delight in the cause of some temporal advantage, is one thing, and to delight in the advantage itself — the effect of the cause — is another. There are particular cases in which delight in the effect of a certain cause is no sin, whilst delight in the cause of the effect is a sin. It is, for instance, no sin to be delighted in the acquisition of prop erty which comes to us after the de^ih of a parent ; but it is sinful to rejoice at his death. Hence Pope Innocent XL has condemned the proposition (15 Prop.) which COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 87 asserts " that it is lawful for a son to rejoice at the death of his father, on account of the inheritance which will come to him." We should nourish and increase the love of our heart for our neighbor, by making frequent acts of love. u With out such frequent acts of love," says St. Alphonsus, " we shall scarcely be able to practise the charity which we owe to our neighbor. We should make such an act of love at least once a month." Another means to practise the love of our heart for our neighbor is to show compassion for those who are afflicted in soul and body. True compassion makes us feel the misfortunes of our neighbor as if they were our own. We must also love our neighbor externally. Our life on earth is full of bodily and spiritual miseries. We are liable to meet with different reverses of fortune. How many have not been thrown from the summit of wealth into an abyss of poverty ? Hence the precept of charity obliges us to be always willing to help all without ex ception, and assist them according to our ability. li Give to the good," says Holy Scripture, " and receive not a sinner" (Ecclus. xii., 5) ; that is : give nothing to the sin ner to foster his iniquity, but relieve human nature, be cause it is the work of God. It may not always be in our power to assist every body in his wants ; but charity does not oblige us to do what is beyond our means. If we cannot give to every one that is in distress, charity obliges us at least to be charitably disposed towards all our fellow-men, to show sincere compassion for them in their afflictions and misfortunes, and to say, at least, some prayers for them, True charity of the heart, says St. Paul, makes us " rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep." (Kom. xii., 15.) 88 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 10. How should we help the needy? By corporal, as ivell as by spiritual, works of mercy. Our neighbor may be in bodily or spiritual want, or in both at the same time. To relieve him in the wants of the body is a corporal work of mercy, and to relieve him in his. wants of the soul, is a spiritual work of mercy. Now, as the soul is far superior to the body, a benefit conferred on the soul is, also, generally speaking, far superior to a benefit conferred on the body. In some particular cases,, however, a corporal work of mercy, may be better than a spiritual work of mercy, because it may be more necessary. For a man dying of hunger, a loaf of bread is better than an eloquent discourse or a salutary counsel. In the practice of charity a certain order must be ob served. This order is determined by the ties of kindred, of country, and of religion. Hence, when our nearest relations are in distress, nature and charity require us to relieve them in preference to others, because they are more closely united to us by the ties of kindred and friend ship. If, however, one of our nearest relatives is only in ordinary want, and a stranger is in extreme want, we are bound by the precept of charity to relieve the stranger in preference to our nearest relative. If a poor person is in extreme want and in danger of death by starvation we are obliged to relieve him with those means of ours which are not necessary for the preservation of our own life. If our neighbor is in great want, we are obliged to assist him with those means which we do not need for our condition of life. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 89 11. Which are the corporal works of mercy ? 1, To feed the hungry ; 2, to give drink to the thirsty ; 3, to clothe the naked ; 4, to harbor the harborless ; 5, to visit the sick ; 6, to visit the imprisoned ; 7, to bury the dead. God has made the rich depend on the poor, and the poor on the rich. The rich should take care of the poor, in order that the poor may take care of the rich. The misery of the poor is corporal. The misery of the rich is gene rally spiritual. The rich, therefore, should give corporal relief to the poor, in order to receive from them spiritual aid in turn. Without the assistance of the rich, the poor would die corporally. Without the prayers and bless ings of the poor, the rich would die spiritually. Graces and chastisements are in the hands of the poor. When they implore mercy for him who aids them, God grants their prayers. When they demand justice against those who send them away empty, God also grants their prayers. " Son, defraud not the poor of alms, and turn not away thy eyes from the poor. For the prayer of him that curseth thee in the bitterness of his soul shall be heard: for he that made him will hear him." (Ecclus. iv., 1., 6.) A rich man is in danger of losing his soul when he has not the prayers and blessings of the poor. In this world, the rich are the judges of the poor. In the world to come, the poor will be the judges of the rich. Those who have not the poor for their advocates, will not find grace with their judge. He who has the poor to plead for him, need not fear, but may rejoice. Those, therefore, who are able to give alms, are strictly obliged by the precept of charity, to relieve the needy, especially those who are ashamed to beg. "He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in want, and shut up his heart from him, how 90 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. doth the charity of God abide in him?" (1 John iii.,17.) "Be you, therefore, perfect," says our Lord, "as your heavenly Father is perfect." (IMatt v., 48.) In these words, Jesus Christ points out to us his heavenly Father as the model of our charity. We cannot imitate the omnipotence of God by perform ing miracles. We cannot multiply bread, change water into wine, give sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, hearing to the deaf, raise the dead to life, as Christ did. But no one has an excuse, if he does not imitate the charity of God. In his charity, God has created the heavens to give us light and rain ; the fire to give us warmth ; the air to preserve our life ; the earth to give us various kinds of fruit ; the sea to give us fish ; the animals to give us food and clothing ! In his charity, God the Father has given us his only-begotten Son, and his Son gave himself to us in the manger of Bethlehem, and upon the cross, and he gives himself still every day upon our altars, at each holy Mass, and in each holy Communion. God is almighty ; but his omnipotence is not able to give us any thing greater as a proof of his unspeakable charity towards us. He has given heaven ; he has given earth ; he has given his kingdom, he has given himself; what more has he to give ! Ah ! how prodigal is he of himself! Now, this charity of God is most wonderful for five reasons : 1. On account of the greatness and majesty of the lover and giver; for who can be greater and more exalted than the Lord of heaven and earth ? 2. On account of the condition of those to whom he communicates Himself with all his gifts. By nature, they are but men, the lowest of rational beings ; they are proud, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 91 ungrateful, carnal sinners, prone to every evil ; they are mortal, corrupt, vile creatures, doomed to become one day the food of worms. u What is man," exclaims the Psalmist, "that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that Thou visitest him ? " (Ps. viii., 5.) 3. This charity of God is wonderful on account of the manifold and extraordinary gifts which he partly confers on men, and partly offers them. These are a rational soul, created in God's own Image and Likeness ; His grace ; the promise of glory ; the protection of his Angels ; the whole visible world ; and finally, his own well-beloved Son. u For God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son ; that whosoever belie veth in him, might not perish, but might have life everlasting.77 (John iii., 16.) 4. This charity of God is wonderful on account of the end for which he confers all these benefits, that is, for the happiness of man, and not for his own happiness ; for God does not expect to receive any advantage from man. 5. On account of the manner in which he communi cates himself to men. It is peculiar to God's infinite love to lower himself to what is vile and despicable, to heal what is ailing, to seek what is rejected, to exalt what is humble, and to pour out his riches where they are most needed. He often communicates himself even before he is asked, as he does in all the so-called preventing graces, by which he moves the soul to pray for subsequent ones. He even gives more than is asked. The good thief on the cross asked of our dear Saviour to remember him in his kingdom. But our Lord did more than that ; he promised him paradise. " Amen; I say to you; this day 92 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. thou shalt be with me in Paradise." (Luke xxiii,, 42.) God often lavishes his blessings upon those who abuse them, and are ungrateful for them; nay, he lavishes them even upon the worst of his enemies — upon infidels, atheists, heretics, blasphemers. u Be you the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust." (Matt, v., 45.) This charity of our Lord must be our model. u Be, therefore, followers of God as most dear children, and walk in charity," says St. Paul. (Eph. v., 1, 2.) We need no money to buy charity, nor is it necessary for us to cross seas and travel into far-distant countries to find it. Charity is natural to man. He who is destitute of it, is said to have no heart, and, therefore, nothing is more detestable in the eyes of men than want of charity. Every one should be able to say with Job : "I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was the father of the poor." (Xxix. 15.) The goods of this world were made for man's benefit. If they had eyes, feet, and un derstanding, they would go where they are most needed. Now, if a man has charity, he will lend to them his feet to go, his eyes to see, and his tongue to enquire, where they are needed. Indeed, what are the goods of this world ? Are they not the alms which men have received from the Lord 1 u The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine," saith the Lord of Hosts by the Prophet Aggaeus. (Chap, ii., 9.) Men are all beggars before God. " What hast thou," says St. Paul, " that thou hast not received ? " (II. Cor. iv., 7.) The Lord bestows these goods upon men in order that by means of them they may be enabled to imitate His mercy, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 93 charity and liberality. God wishes that men, His child ren, should resemble Him as much as possible. The more they endeavor to become like unto Him, the more He is delighted with them. u The Lord values a perfect soul more highly than a thousand imperfect ones," says St. Alphonsus. The reason of this is, because u there is nothing more like unto God," says Plato, " than a holy man." Out of a thousand likenesses of himself, an emperor will value that one most highly which represents him most perfectly. In like manner, God values a soul in which His Image and Likeness shine forth most perfectly, more than a thousand others which resemble Him less perfectly. Hence, all good Christians apply themselves constantly to their spiritual progress ; they try to enrich their souls every day with greater merits ; they endeavor to embellish them more and more by acts of charity and liberality to wards their fellow-men. They know that they cannot become like unto God, by any thing better than by the practice of the virtue of mercy. This truth is declared in Holy Scripture by the Holy Ghost Himself. " In judg ing be merciful to the fatherless as a father, and as a husband to their mother, and thou shalt be as the obedient Son of the Most High, and He will have mercy on thee more than a mother." (Ecclus iv., 10.) . To suffer with hunger, is so great a pain that many, to satisfy the cravings of hunger, have eaten most disgusting things. During the siege of Jerusalem (A. D. 68.), the famine had become so fearful in this doomed city that the inhab itants had recourse to the most horrible expedients to procure a single morsel of food. They dragged the dead from their graves, in the wild hope of finding food. A woman, a mother, murdered her own infant, roasted it 94 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. and ate one half of its body, and presented the remainder to the famished soldiers, whom the odor of this execrable meal had attracted to the spot. " It is my son," she said ; " be not more tender than a woman, nor more compassionate than a mother." Many of the readers of these lines will still remember the terrible time of famine in Ireland. There were thousands and thousands wasting away and dying of hun ger. They were falling and dying as the leaves fall in autumn. To supply, then, with food the poor and the hungry is a work of charity most pleasing to God. Among the many thousands of Israelites who were led away by Salmanazar into Assyria, there was one, by the name of Tobias, who, for his charity, was distin guished from all the rest. As he had full leave from the king to go where he pleased, he went freely from one part of the country to another, to give all the comfort and assistance in his power to his fellow-captives. " He fed the hungry, and gave clothes to the naked." (Tob. i.) In going about he met a man named Gabelus, who was in great distress. Now, as he had money at his dis posal, he loaned to Gabelus ten talents of silver. " From my infancy, " says Job, " mercy grew up with me. I have not denied to the poor what they desired. I have not made the eyes of the widow wait. I have not eaten my morsel alone,the fatherless have eaten thereof." (Job,xxxi.) The saints rejoice in having an opportunity of practis ing charity, and they feel sad if such an opportunity is wanting. In order to have always such an opportunity, many of the saints fed a certain number of poor people every day j others sold every thing they had, and even contracted debts, to relieve the poor and needy. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 95 St. Louis, King of France, used to feed some poor peo ple at his table, and he himself waited upon them : it was his firm belief that, in the person of the poor, he had Jesus Christ Himself for his guest. He gave money to them with his own hands, because they are, said he, my soldiers to defend my kingdom j I myself; then? must pay their salary. St. Charles Borromeo sold one of his estates for forty thousand dollars to relieve the poor. St. Serapion gave away even part of his clothing. Upon being asked why he did so, he pointed to the Gospel and said : u Behold what has robbed me of every thing ! " He gave in alms even the Gospel book itself. (Life.) St. Camillus de Lellis contracted a debt of thirty thousand dollars for the relief of the poor. Our Lord preserved the right arm of St. Oswald, king of England, uncorrupt, because He wished thus to honor him for having given with hi,s right hand so many alms to the poor. (Butler's Lives of the Saints.) St. John the Almoner, Patriarch of Alexandria, was, as it were, an ocean of aims •, the more he bestowed, the more he received. The saint tells us what especially in duced him to practise this virtue. " When I was fifteen years old," he says, "and lived in Cyprus, I saw in a dream a virgin of charming beauty, with a splendid crown on her head. She drew near me, and gently struck me with her hand. I was frightened, and awoke from my sleep- When I asked her who she was, and whence she had come, and how she could dare come near me whilst asleep, she smiled, cast upon me a most gracious look, and said in joyful accents : i I am the first among the king's 96 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. daughters. If you have me for your friend, you will also have the king for your most intimate friend. No one enjoys more his confidence, and stands in higher favor with him than I. It was I who persuaded him to leave heaven for earth, there to become man.' After having reflected on this vison for some time, I thought that it meant mercy and charity. I rose at once and went to church. On my way thither, I met a poor man who was almost naked, and shivering with cold. I took off my coat and gave it to him, saying to myself: Now let me see whether the vision I had was true. Before I reached the church, a certain man came and gave me one hundred dollars in gold, and then disappeared suddenly. Now I felt persuaded that the vision was no illusion, but a true vision from God." (Life by Leontius.) From that time the saint devoted himself so much to works of charity that he became the example and admir ation of the whole world. a It is not right for us," he used to say, " to attend to the affairs of others sooner than to those of Jesus Christ. Go, then, about in the town, and take up the names of all my masters." And on being asked who they were whom he called his masters, he an swered : " They are those whom you call the poor and needy. They are my masters and my helpers. For they alone are able to assist me, that I may not be excluded from life everlasting. And no sooner have I given away something, than I receive it back a hundred-fold." This saint, while admiring the great goodness of God who sent him so many good things, was often heard to exclaim : " So ! so ! my Lord ! Let us see whether Thou art more liberal in sending means than I in bestowing them ! " One day Sophronius saw this saint much cast down. He asked COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 97 him the cause of his sadness. "I feel unhappy to-day," he answered, " because I had no opportunity to offer to God something in expiation of my sins by assisting the poor." 2. To give drink to the thirsty. The pain of thirst is a greater pain than that of hunger. Those who are sick and dying, generally complain of great thirst. Our dear Saviour himself, when hanging on the cross, could not help manifesting the pain which was caused by thirst. Plutarch relates that Lysimachus, king of Thrazia, surrendered, after a battle, his kingdom to his enemy, in order to obtain water to quench his thirst. How happy must not this enemy of Lysimachus have felt when he bought a whole kingdom at so cheap a price. But our dear Lord has promised to give more than an earthly kingdom to him who gives drink to those who cannot help themselves, to prisoners, to the sick and the poor. " Whoever," he says, " shall give to drink to one of those little ones a cup of cold water, amen I say to you he shall not lose his reward." (Matt, x., 42.) Leo Majoran met one day in the wilderness, a poor, blind beggar, who had lost his way, and suffered exceed ingly with thirst. Leo went immediately in search of water, gave it to the poor man, and led him back to the right road. Almighty God was so much pleased with this act of charity that he made Leo hear' a voice assuring him that he would become emperor as a reward for his charity. (Baron, ad An. 457., Num. 6.) Whilst St. Anastasia suffered the torments of martyr dom, she experienced an excruciating thirst. She asked for a drink of water. A certain man, a heathen, named Cyrillus, felt compassion on her, and went immediately 98 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. for water and gave it to her. Almighty God rewarded him for this act of charity by giving him the grace to become a Christian and die a martyr. 3. To clothe the naked. u When thou shalt see one naked/7 says the prophet Isaias, " cover him." (Lviii., 7.) To clothe the poor for the sake of Jesus Christ, is to clothe Christ himself: " I was naked and you covered me." (Matt, xxv., 36.) St. Sulpicius relates the following beautiful example of the compassion and charity of St. Martin, bishop of Tours. One day in the midst of a very hard winter and severe frost, when many perished with cold, as he was marching with other officers and soldiers, he met at the gate of the City of Amiens, a poor man, almost naked, trembling and shaking with cold, and begging alms of those that passed by. When Martin saw that those who went before him, took no notice of the poor man, he felt great compassion for him. As he had nothing left but his arms and clothes upon his back, he drew his sword and cut his cloak into two pieces, gave one to the beggar, and wrapped himself in the other. Some of the by-standers laughed at the figure he made in that dress, whilst others were ashamed not to have relieved the poor man. The following night, St. Martin saw, in his sleep, Jesus Christ dressed in that half of the garment which he had given away, and was bidden to look at it well, and asked whether he knew it. He then heard Jesus Christ say to the angels that sur rounded him : " Martin, yet a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment." 4. To harbor the harborless. Those who, for the sake of Jesus Christ, harbor the poor and friendless, give such pleasure to our Lord, that, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 99 on the day of judgment, he will say to them: "I was a stranger and you took me in" (Matt, xxv., 35.), and then, for having given him, in the person of the poor, a little room in their dwelling, he will give them his immense, everlasting kingdom. If it is not in your power to har bor the poor, give them something to pay towards a night's lodging, help to support orphan asylums, hospitals, and other charitable institutions, and you will largely share in the corporal works of mercy, that are performed there. Csesarius relates (L. iii.? c. 68.) that a certain family was always very kind and hospitable to the poor, and was, on this account, blessed by God, spiritually and temporally. They never suffered from want, and all the members were very religious. Now, it happened that two members of the family died, and with them all temporal and spiritual prosperity and happiness seemed to have left the family. One day a venerable old man came and asked for a night's lodging. He obtained it with great difficulty. One of the inmates of the house told him that they had been well off, and lived in great peace and happiness, but that since the death of two members of the family, all spiritual and temporal welfare had gradually vanished. To this the stranger replied: "My friend, those deceased members are Date, ' give/ and Dabitur, < it shall be given to you.7 (Luke vi.7 38.) Let these two members come back, and you will be again as happy and prosperous as before." These words made a deep impression upon the family. They understood that the blessing of God was withdrawn because they had ceased to practise hospitality to the poor. So they returned to the practice of their former charity, and with it returned the blessing of God. 5. To visit the sick. During his life, our dear Saviour was the comforter of COLL CHRIST! REGIS SJ. BIB. MAJOR 100 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. the sick. For them he showed more than a mother's compassion. For them he wrought most of his miracles. "I will come," he said to the centurion, "and heal thy servant." (Matt, viii., 7.) "He went about," says the Evan gelist, "doing good, and healing all that were suffering." (Matt, xi., 5.) Let the sick, especially if poor and abandoned, be as dear to you as the apple of your eye. If your charity is to shine forth towards all, it should shine forth especially towards the poor when they are sick. Procure for them all the relief and comfort you can ; and if it is not in your power to assist them, ask others to do some thing for them. Show at least, compassion for them. " As long as I know," wrote St. Francis de Sales to a sick person, "that you are confined to your bed of sick ness, I will always bear you a great love and affection as to a person visited by the Lord. I am sincere in what I say." Bear also patiently and charitably with the weak nesses of the sick, and pretend not to notice them. Do not require of them the perfect practice of virtue at a time when they are depressed by pains and miseries. To be harsh and hard to the sick is to become account able to God for their pains and sufferings. Gen erally speak ing, those who were often sick themselves, are most charit able to the sick. "It is by my own pains, sufferings and in firmities," says St. Frances deChantal, "that the Lord was pleased to make me sympathize with the sick, and practise patience and charity towards them. The Lord made me understand that there is nothing equal to perfect charity." You cannot go easily to excess in charity and affection for the sick, when there is question about procuring relief for them, not only when they are dangerously ill, but also when they complain of light indispositions. These COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 101 indispositions, it is true, may sometimes be nothing but over great anxiety for their health, or may be only imag inary, or exaggerated ; yet, generally speaking, you should believe what they tell you, rfor a slight indisposi tion may prove serious if neglected in the beginning. Even in imaginary evils there is some reality at the bot tom on account of the uneasiness and anxiety which they produce. Besides, should you not believe them, they will be afraid to tell you again when they are really suf fering, thinking within themselves that it is useless to speak to you about their sufferings, because you would not believe them anyhow ; and this might be followed by evil consequences. Hence, it is better to be deceived than not to apply remedies to evils which may really exist. Conceal then your hesitation to believe them, even if you have the best of reasons not to believe them. It is better to show yourself rather ready to believe them, than to ex pose yourself to the danger of violating charity. There lived in Alexandria a pious and wealthy lady who, wishing to make rapid progress in virtue, went to the bishop, St. Athanasius, and begged him to permit her to take home with her one of the sick poor widows, who de pended on the church for support. St. Athanasius, greatly pleased with her charitable design, selected for her an old lady who was very pious and sweet-tempered. The good lady took her home and waited on her day and night with the greatest attention, and the pious old woman thanked and blessed her continually for her great kindness. Now the charitable lady, fearing that she would not have much reward in the other world for serving one who was so sweet-tempered and thankful, went once more to the bis hop and requested him to send her one who was ill-temp- 102 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ered, who would try her patience, and thus afford her an opportunity of meriting heaven. The bishop astonished at the request, said : " Very well ! Your request shall be granted !" The bishop then gave orders to send her one of the sourest and most ill-tempered sick old women that could be found in the city — and as Cassian naively re marks — " such a one was easily found." The old woman was brought to the rich lady's house. She was every thing that could be desired — cross-grained, peevish, quarrelsome, never satisfied, and, what was worse than all, her tongue had a very loose rein. The rich lady tried her utmost to serve and please her, but all in vain ; she received only abuse and curses for her charity. Some times, even, the old woman struck her. To every one that came in, she complained that the rich lady neglected and starved her. The pious lady felt at times almost discouraged, still she prayed and continued her offices of charity till finally God called her to himself. (Cassian, Confessions.) One of the chief reasons why you should be very kind to the sick is, that you may be better able to benefit their souls LJ their pains and sufferings. A sick person will listen the more willingly to your spiritual discourse, the more he notices your charity and solicitude for him. Many a soul, it is true, is brought to a sense of her duty and enters into herself by means of bodily sickness ; but the number of those who do not profit by their sufferings is far greater, because there are but too many who at the the time of sickness, especially when the disease has as sumed a chronic form, and also at the time of convales cence, do not combat their disorderly appetites, and, from being servants of God, they soon become the slaves of cor rupt nature. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 103 To guard the sick against this spiritual lethargy, it is well to relate to them what Father Surin, S. J., writes in one of his letters : " A young man," he says, " filled with the Holy Ghost, and with whom I had the happiness to travel for three days and from whom I learned more of the spiritual life than ever before, told me among other things, that one of our greatest evils is that we do not profit well by our bodily infirmities." u The Lord," said Father Surin, " inflicts them upon us for a wise purpose. He unites Himself to the soul more perfectly by sufferings than by consolations. Hence too great a care for preserv ing our health is a great obstacle in the road to perfection." Should a soul experience a great desire to advance in the spiritual life and to give herself up to prayer, but feel unable to do so on account of her bodily infirmities, let her consider that God requires of her an angelic patience, a constant resignation and calm submission to the dispo sitions of His divine providence, a generous abandonment of herself to His fatherly care, a perfect holy indifference for life or death, and an utter contempt for all earthly things. Then, if the Lord should wish to make use of her for His glory, He will repair in an hour's time all the harm that a sickness of several years may have caused her to suffer in her body. Hence, sick people must be repeatedly exhorted to .pray often and most fervently for the grace to profit well by their sickness, and obtain the wise end for which the Lord is accustomed to visit us with different kinds of infirmities, in order that it may be said of them in truth: " This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it." A great means to dispose sick people to submit to God's 104 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. holy will, and to holy indifference for life or death, is to show them that, by accepting death with perfect resig nation to the holy will of God, they die with a merit similar to that of a martyr and go straight to heaven after death. Death is the last sacrifice that we can make to God. It is a sacrifice most difficult to make, because death is unnatural. Death is a punishment inflicted on all men, in consequence of the sin of Adam ; it is revolting to our nature, for man was not made to die. Now, to die perfectly resigned to the just and holy will of God, is to die with a merit similar to that of martyrdom. According to St. Aug ustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, the merit of martyrdom does not consist merely in suffering many horrible torments; it consists rather in the conformity of the martyr's will to the holy will of God. Now, if God, instead of employing the hand of the executioner, makes use of some natural means, such as sickness, or an accident, to take away my life, and I accept death with as much resignation as a martyr, God will give me the reward that he gives to a martyr. Now, our faith teaches that a martyr, after death, goes straight to heaven. If I die, then, with the disposi tions and the merit of a martyr, my reward will be sim ilar to his. Hence, not only those acquire the merit and crown of martyrdom who die for the faith, but also all those who cheerfully accept death for the love of God. Such a death is an act of perfect love, because by it we aban don and sacrifice ourselves without reserve to the holy will of God. Consequently, such an act of love cancels sin and the punishment due to it. In order to be able to make this act of love at the hour of death, we should accustom ourselves to make it often COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 105 during life* We should often make an offering of our life to God, declaring ourselves ready to accept, at any time, the kind of death which he has decreed for us from all eternity. As soon as the holy martyrs knew that they had to suffer martyrdom, they began to make frequent offerings of their life to God. For every such act they have obtained in heaven a special reward. We should imitate their example, because we, too, shall re ceive in heaven, as many crowns as we have made acts of entire abandonment of ourselves into the hands of God. We should daily beseech our Lord most earnestly to grant us the grace to accept death at his hands with the intention of pleasing him and doing his holy will. Although this doctrine is very consoling for sick persons and well calculated to dispose them to a perfect resignation to God's holy will, yet let it be remembered that if the Lord does not enlighten their mind to under stand it, and inflame their will to embrace and to love it, they will draw from it but little comfort and encour agement. In the life of St. Lidwine, who was sick for thirty-eight years, we read that in the beginning of her sick ness she shrank from suffering. By a particular disposi tion of Providence, however, a celebrated servant of God, John Por, went to see her, and preceiving that she was not quite resigned to the will of God, he exhorted her to meditate frequently on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, that by the remembrance of His Passion she might gain courage to suffer more willingly. She promised to do so and fulfilled her promise, but could not find any relief for her soul. Every meditation was irksome and unpleasant, and she began again to break out into her usual complaints. Upon being asked by her director how she had succeeded 106 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. in her meditation upon our Lord's Passion, and what profit she had derived from it, she replied, " 0 my father, your counsel was very good indeed, but the greatness of my sufferings does not permit me to find any consolation in meditating on my Saviour's sorrows. " Seeing at last that Lidwine derived no benefit from his charitable exhor tations, the Rev. Father Por thought of another means. He gave her Holy Communion and, immediately after, whispered into her ear : " Till now I have tried to console you, but in vain j but now let Jesus Christ Himself perform this office. " Behold ! no sooner had she swallowed the Sacred Host than she felt so great a love for Jesus Christ and so ardent a desire to become like unto Him in His sufferings that she broke out into sobs and sighs, and for two weeks she was hardly able to stop her tears. From this moment she never complained again, but desired to suffer still more for Jesus Christ. Hence it is evident that the sick should be strengthened by the frequent reception of the sacraments ; for they will derive more benefit from one single communion than from all the exhortations they may receive, no matter bow pious or persuasive they may be. I have dwelled so long on this point, from the convic tion that there is scarcely any thing more apt to draw the blessing of God upon one's self than the careful and charitable attendance to the corporal and spiritual wants of the sick, whilst, on the other hand, the neglect of this duty is followed by many great evils. How well the Lord is pleased with one who faithfully complies with this duty, and how great a reward is await ing him in the life to come, may be gathered from what we read in the life and revelations of St. Gertrude. One day COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 107 after having recited the Office as far as the fifth lesson, St. Gertrude saw a religious who was ill and who had no one to say Matins with her. The Saint, moved by the charity which always animated her, said to our Lord : " Thou knowest, 0 Lord, that I have almost exhausted the little strength I have in reciting my Office so far ; nevertheless, as I ardently desire Thee to abide with me during these holy days and as I have not a fitting abode prepared for Thee, I am willing, for Thy sake, and in satisfaction for my faults, to commence Matins again. " As she began the Office once more, our Lord verified the words u I was sick and you visited Me ; and as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me," by appear ing to her and overwhelming her with sweet consolations, which could neither be explained nor understood. It appeared to the Saint that our Lord was seated at a table in the most sublime glory, and that He was distrib uting ineffable gifts, graces, and joys to the souls in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory, not only for each word, but even for each letter which she had repeated with the sick sister ; and she also received an intelligence of the Psalms, Responses and Lessons, which filled her with inexpressible delight. And when she besought our Lord to pour forth an abundant grace and benediction on the whole Church, u What do you desire that I should do, My beloved ? " replied He, " for I give Myself up to you with the same love and resignation as I abandoned my self to My Father on the Cross ; for even as I would not descend from the Cross, until He willed it, so now I desire to do nothing but what you will. Distribute, then, in virtue of my Divinity, all that you desire and as abun dantly as you desire," 108 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. After Matins, the Saint retired again to rest, and our Lord said to her : u She who wearies herself in exercises of charity, has a right to repose peacefully on the couch of charity,'7 and as He said this, He soothed her soul so tenderly that it appeared to her as if she did, indeed, re pose on the bosom of this heavenly Bridegroom. Then she beheld a tree of charity, very high and very fair, covered with fruit and flowers and with leaves shining like stars which sprang forth from the heart of Jesus, extending and lowering its branches so as to surround and cover the nuptial couch on which the soul of Gertrude reposed. And she saw a spring of pure water gush forth from its roots, which shot upwards and then returned again to its source, and this refreshed her soul marvel lously. By this she understood the Divinity of Jesus Christ sweetly reposing in His humanity, which imparts ineffable joys to the charitable elect. (Life and Revel ations: chap, xxxvi.) 6. To visit the imprisoned f To be deprived of liberty is one of the greatest afflic tions. Those who suffer in prison for crimes which they committed, are deprived of their liberty through their own fault. However, Christian charity requires us to show compassion for them as far as possible. We often hear that many a prisoner committed suicide, or went to the place of execution in complete despair. The reason of this may be, because he saw himself abandoned by every body. It is, therefore, an a^ct of great charity to relieve these sufferers as far as we are able. Charity and kindness towards them will soften their hearts, make them repent of their crimes, and inspire them with the sincere desire to be reconciled to God, and accept their punishment at the hand of God in expiation of their sins. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 109 In 1851, a murder was committed near Paris, in France. A captain of the carbineers, an excellent officer, beloved by all, going, as usual, the rounds of the stables, had reprimanded one of the troopers whose conduct had not been very regular. The latter made no reply, but appar ently turned away with a calm countenance, and went up to the mess-room. There he loaded one of his horse-pistols, and, going back to the stable, approached his captain, and with a deadly aim, discharged it against the loins of the" officer. The unfortunate man fell, weltering in his blood. They took him up, carried him to his room, and the surgeons pronounced the wound mortal. In fact, the poor captain breathed his last, a few hours after, in the arms of his old mother, in the midst of horrible sufferings, endured heroically, and with sentiments of faith and charity truly admirable. He had made his confession with great piety, had received the Blessed Sacrament, and, in imitation of his divine Master praying on the cross for his crucifiers had pardoned his murderer, and begged for his pardon with the most touching and pressing appeal. The murderer had been arrested on the spot, and transferred to the prison in Paris. There he was aban doned by all, except the priest. Two or three days after the deed had been committed, the priest went to see the trooper, for the first time, in the cell of the military prison. He encouraged him to hope in the mercy of God, and to prepare himself for a good confession, and to ac cept death in expiation of his crime. The poor criminal was touched by the words of the priest, and said : "I have been the victim of a moment of fury and insanity. It was a punishment from God, whom I had abandoned. Had I always prayed as I do now, I should not have come 1 1 0 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to this pass. My father said to me often : ' Fear God, and pray to him : he alone is good, all the rest is nothing ! J But it is so hard to do so at the regiment ; we are always surrounded by young men who say nothing but what is bad." When he heard that he had been sentenced to death, he exclaimed : " The sentence is just ; to appeal would be to go against the goodness of God. They would show me a mercy that I do not wish for, because the punishment must be -undergone. I must atone for what I have done. My hopes are no longer here below. I have only God to look to. He is now every thing to me j in him alone do I trust. I feel quite calm j I feel no rebellion in my heart j I am perfectly resigned to the will of God." Now, what brought about that calmness, that happi ness, in this poor prisoner ? It was his sincere confession which the priest was kind enough to hear. It was holy communion, which the priest brought to him several times. In a word, it was the charity of the priest, who often went to see him in his prison, in order to console him, and to inspire him with great confidence in the mercy of God. During the three hours and a half of the drive to the place of execution, he never lost his calmness. God was with him in the person of the priest, who accompanied him to the Savory Plains, where he was to be shot. What a touching spectacle : to behold, on a wagon, a tall man, the culprit, followed by the priest of God ; to see how the priest was even paler than the culprit ; and to see them walking side by side, you would think that he was the one to be shot ! The expression of the culprit's countenance evinced great calmness and resignation ; his eyes betrayed, at COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Ill once, sorrow and hope. He seemed to pray with fervor. There was no sadness in his looks ; there could even be seen the reflections of a certain inward joy. He listened, with love and deep attention, to the words addressed to him by the minister of Jesus Christ. When the priest said to him, " Our Lord is between us two : my poor child, we are always well when the good Saviour is with us," he replied : u Oh, yes, my heart is perfectly happy. I did not think I should tell you, but I feel as if I was going to a wedding. God has permitted all this for my good, to save my soul. I feel so much consoled, thinking that my poor captain died a good Christian ! I am going to see him j he is praying for me now. My God has saved me j I feel that he will have mercy on me. He ascended Calvary, carrying his cross : I accompany him. I shall not resist whatever they wish to do with rne — tie me, or bandage my eyes. Ah ! the poor soldiers are lost because they do not listen to you priests. Without you, without religion, the whole world would be lost ! " When they drove by the barracks, where he had com mitted the murder, he offered a prayer for his captain. " I can't conceive how I could have done it ! I had no ill-will against him ! Could the commission of a sin save me from being shot, I would not commit it : I think so now. I have nothing to keep me here ; I am going to see God!" When they had arrived at the place of execution, the priest and the culprit alighted. An officer read the sentence. The culprit replied : " I acknowledge the justice of my punishment ; I am sorry for what I have done j I beg of God to pardon me : I love him with all my heart ! n Then he knelt ; the priest gave him the crucifix to kiss for the 112 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. last time. u My father," he said, with feeling expression — "my father, I place my soul within your hands; I unite my death to that of my Saviour Jesus. Farewell J farewell ! " The priest embraced him once more. Then with his arms extended in the form of a cross, the culprit inclined his head, and awaited his death. The priest retired to pray at some distance. One minute after, hu man justice had been satisfied, and the soul of the unfortun ate soldier, purified and transformed by religion, had fled to the bosom of him who pardons all those who repent. The priest resumed his place by him, and, with tears in his eyes, prayed, on his knees, for the departed soul of the unfortunate carbineer. There are others, who may lose their liberty in defense of their country, as it generally happens in the time of war. Others, again, may lose their liberty in defense of the Catholic religion, as it happened in the time of the crusades. Others, again, may be carried off by violence, into the hands of idolaters, where they are cruelly treated and have to live in barbarous slavery. About eight centuries ago, the Moors were very power ful. They often landed on the coast of southern Europe, seized upon many defenseless christians, and sold them as slaves. They also attacked Christian vessels, plundered them, and sold the crew into bondage. There lived at this time in Paris, a holy priest, named John de Matha. During his first Mass he was honored by a heavenly vision. He beheld a bright angel, clad in a robe of snowy white ness. On his breast shimmered a cross of blue and crim son. He held his hand extended over a Moor and a Christian who stood beside him. The saint understood from this vision that he was called by God to ransom COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 113 Christian captives. In order, then, to prepare himself for this generous undertaking, he quitted Paris and retired to the wilderness where he sought the company of St. Felix, a holy hermit, who was heir to the crown of France, but had quitted all to secure his salvation. While these holy men were, one day, seated near a cool spring that gushed forth beside their hermitage, and were discoursing of heavenly things, they suddenly beheld a snow-white stag. Between its antlers glittered a brilliant cross of blue and crimson. St. John de Matha now told his astonished companion the vision he had seen during his first Mass. The two holy men then agreed to obey the voice of heaven and to found an order for the redemp tion of Christian captives. They set out for Rome to re ceive the approbation of the Pope. On their arival they were graciously received, and on the following morning the Pope also, during Mass, had the same vision which John de Matha beheld in Paris. The holy Father ap proved the new order, and gave it the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Now from the fact that God called into existence a religious order for the purpose of redeeming Christian captives, we clearly see that to visit the imprisoned, or contribute towards the ransom of Christians, is a work most pleasing to the Lord. Those who, for Christ's sake, have performed this corporal work of mercy, will, on the day of doom hear the Eternal Judge say to them : " I was in prison, and you came to me." (Matt, xxv., 36.) One day, a poor widow came to St. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, and begged him, with tears in her eyes, to procure for her the means to redeem her son who had fallen into the hands of a cruel idolater. So St. Paulinus went to 114 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. the master of the poor widow's son, and said to him : "Be kind enough to let the son of this poor woman return home, and keep me instead." The request of the holy bishop was granted. He lived in slavery and worked as a gardener for a long time, until at last he obtained his liberty in a wonderful manner, and returned into his diocese with many fellow-captives. (Life.) 7. To ~bury the dead. After Adam had sinned, God said to him : " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken : for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return." (Gen. iii., 19.) The grave, then, is our earthly home, as heaven is our eternal one. What is the meaning of the word " home I " Home is the hallowed ground, where we are born. Now where were we born ? Whence have we sprung ? We have come from the ground. " God made the first man out of the slime of the earth," says holy writ. The earth then is our home, the earth blessed by the hand of God. But where can we find that earth blessed by the hand of God I In the churchyard — in the grave. The Holy Ghost admonishes us not to refuse this home to the dead. u Stretch out thy hand to the poor, and restrain not grace from the dead." (Ecclus. vii., 36-37.) To contribute, then, towards defraying the expenses of Christian funerals of the poor, or to help burying them, or to honor their dead bodies by accompanying them to the graveyard, is to perform the seventh corporal work of mercy. We read in Holy Scripture that Sennacherib, king of As syria, inflicted many kinds of cruelties upon the captive Israelites. He put many of them to death, and left their COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 115 bodies unburied. Now it happened that, whilst Tobias was at dinner, he was told that an Israelite had just been slain in the street. He immediately rose from table, took his corpse and concealed it in his house till night, and then buried it. His friends reminded him of the great danger he had but lately escaped, and said that his zeal was indiscreet. Tobias, who had a greater regard for God than for men, could not be talked out of his duty. He would not suffer a dead body that came in his way to remain unburied. Hence he deserved to hear the arch angel Raphael say to him : " When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord." (Tob. xii., 12.) Almighty God has often shown, in a wonderful manner, how pleasing it is to him to bury the dead. After St. Catharine had suffered the death of martyrdom in Alexandria, in the year 806, her body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai, and buried there. One day, St. Anthony, the hermit, went to see St. Paul. He found him kneeling in his cave and thought that he was praying. Full of joy, and supposing him yet alive, he knelt down to pray with him, but, by his silence, soon perceived that he was dead. Having paid his last respects to the holy body, he carried it out of the cave. Whilst he was at a loss how to dig a grave, two lions came up quietly, and, as if mourning. They tore up the ground and made a hole large enough for the reception of a human body. St. Anthony then buried the holy corpse, singing hymns and psalms according to holy usages of the Church. (Butlers Lives of the Saints, Jany. 15.) St. Stanislas, bishop of Cracow, repeatedly admonished 116 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Boleslaus II. , the impious king of Poland, to give up his scandalous conduct. At these fatherly admonitions, the king became so infuriated, that he, with his own hand, killed the holy bishop. Then his life-guards fell on the martyr's body and cut it into pieces which they scattered about the fields to be devoured by wild beasts and birds of prey. But eagles came and defended them, till the canons of the cathedral, three days after, gathered them together and buried them before the door of the chapel in which he was martyred. Wonderful to relate, when they put the pieces together, in as natural an order as possible, -they grew conjointly so as not to leave even a scar. (Life, May 7.) There are many who, when preparing for burying their dead friends and relatives, show more honor to their bodies than to their souls. There is a lavish expense for the funeral. A hundred dollars are spent where the means of the family hardly justify the half of it. Where there is more wealth, sometimes live hundred or a thousand, and even more, dollars are expended on the dead body. But let me ask, what is done for the poor living soul ! Perhaps the poor soul is suffering the most frightful tor tures in purgatory, whilst the lifeless body is laid out in state, and borne pompously to the graveyard. You must not misunderstand me. It is certainly right and just to show all due respect even to the body of your deceased friend, for that body was once the dwelling- place of his soul. But tell me candidly, what joy has the departed and, perhaps, suffering soul in the fine music of the choir, even should the choir be composed of the best (opera) singers in the country ? What consolation does the suffering soul feel in the superb coffin, in the splendid COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 117 funeral ? What pleasure does the soul find in the costly marble monument, in all the honors that are so freely lavished on the body ? All this may satisfy, or at least seem to satisfy, the living, but it is of no avail whatever to the dead. Poor, unhappy souls ! how the diminution of true Catholic faith and charity is visited upon you while you suffer, and those that loved you in life might help you, and do not, for want of knowledge or faith ! Poor, unhappy souls ! whilst your friends accompany your bodies to the graveyard, how many prayers did they recite for you ? How many masses had they offer ed up for you ? After returning from your graves, they go to their business, to their eating and drinking, with the foolish assurance that the case cannot be hard on one they know to be so good ! Oh ! how much, and how long this false charity of your friends makes you suffer ! If we, then, wish to please God by burying the dead, if we desire to honor our deceased friends and re latives by accompanying their bodies to the graveyard, we must assist at their funerals with true, Christian senti ments of piety ; we must pray for the repose of their souls, and request the prayers of others for them. And, oh ! what impressive lessons does not the graveyard teach us ! Again, what is home ? Home is that hallowed spot where dwell our forefathers, friends, relatives, and all those we hold dear. Now, where do they all dwell or what is their last resting-place * It is the grave. Where are those who loved and nursed you in early childhood, who soothed you when lying on the bed of fever, who watched you through the long dull nights, who cooled your burning brow, who kissed away your tears ? Ah ! how 1 1 8 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. many of us miss them now ! Those who labored and wept and suffered for us j those who always advised us for our good ; who tried to keep us from harm and lead us on to a life of virtue ; those who loving us with pure unselfish love, would gladly have given their heart's blood to save us ; those whose good name and blessing we inherit — where do they dwell, where do they sleep I Their home, their resting-place, is the graveyard ! Hence it is that every pure and loving heart loves to visit the graveyard; to deck with flowers the hallowed spot where sleep their loved ones ; and to offer up heartfelt prayers and tears for the repose of their souls departed. Where will you find those with whom you were once united in the bonds of pure and hallowed love : those who loved you once and who love you still ? Death has torn from your arms the dear husband and loved wife. You were but one heart and one soul. You walked together so long, side by side, through this vale of tears. The icy hand of death snapped the sweet bonds of love in twain j the grave now hides that faithful heart in which you fondly trusted. You are left alone in the wide world •, you must bear your cross alone. Your dear little one3 are fatherless now. A strange homesickness draws you forth from the busy haunts of men to the silent graveyard. Ah! it is there the broken-hearted feel that they have found home. See that poor mother. She has brough forth her child amid pain and tears. She loves it as the apple of her eye, as a portion of her very being. She breathes of its breath, she lives of its life. But cruel death comes and breathes on the sweet flower 5 it withers in the bud. Her dear child is torn from her breast, from her loving arms ; her COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 119 tender heart bleeds. With ringing hands and broken heart, and weeping eyes she totters behind the coffin that bears her hope, her all on earth. Ah ! ask that heart broken mother where is her home now ! She will lead you to the silent churchyard and the grave where her loved one is buried. Who is there among us who has not a dear friend, or beloved one resting in the graveyard ? Ah ! whoever has a heart that is capable of thanking and loving will feel drawn to weep and pray at the grave of the loved one. And, therefore, the grave is not to us a place of terror. It is the meeting-place of loved ones, the abode of blessing and peace ; it is our home ! Woe to him who flies from the grave ! Woe to him whom the sight of the grave fills only with hate and terror ! His conscience tortures him, because the grave reminds him of some one he has hastened to an untimely death • some one whose life he has embittered, whose heart he has broken by cruelty, by treachery, by the blackest in gratitude. The rich, sensual man hates the sight of the grave ; because his soul is buried in wealth and luxury, and the grave speaks to him of death, that death shall tear him away from all he holds dear, that death which is followed by judgment which shall decide his fate for weal or woe for eternity. The graveyard is the school of true wisdom, it speaks a language calm and stern. It shows us the folly of human pride and human ambition. The path of glory leads but to the grave. When tempted to vanity to pride or ambition, go visit the graveyard ; saunter among the abodes of the dead ; mark the inscriptions on the tombs, and remember those who lie buried there, 120 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. whose memory perchance is 1 >ng forgotten ; once cherished fond dreams of greatness like yourself, were once flattered for their wit and beauty, or envied for their wealth. Where is their wealth and beauty now ? When the accursed thirst for gold torments you, when you are tempted to defraud your neighbor, to forswear your holy faith for the sake of some office, for a membership in some secret society, go to the graveyard j ask the dead how much of all their wealth they have taken with them to the other world ! Are you dissatisfied with your lot ; do you complain that God has been unkind to you? Go to the graveyard and see how in death all are equal, how short is life, how brief are all our joys and all our sorrows. The grave tells you : u There is a joy, there is a woe : and both are everlasting ! '? Does, the devil tempt you to revenge f do you feel the spirit of hatred glowing in your heart, and throbbing in your brain? Go to the graveyard. See how the most bitter enemies sleep there so peacefully side by side. Are you one of those who enjoy life, who spend your days in feasting and rioting, who watch so jealously over the beauty of your face, the symmetry of your form ? Go to the graveyard. The delicately-nurtured body, the beautiful face, the graceful form, are all hideous and loathesome ; they are become the prey of countless worms. Indeed, the graveyard is the school of solid wisdom. There the living may learn from the dead. There we can learn to hate sin, to love God, and to save our eternal soul. Where is your true home, your last dwelling-place I You rent or own a house or room which you call your COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 121 home ; but that home, you will have soon to leave. There is one home, where your name is to be inscribed ; one home where you shall dwell winter and summer, year after year, and no landlord or lawsuit will be able to dispossess you 5 and that is the grave. How poor soever you may be, even though you have not one foot of land you can call your own, there, in the grave, you will become land owner, you will have at least one spot of earth that you can call your own. Even if you lose your property, even if deprived of all your rights, this property at least you will retain, and this one right, the right to a grave. You complain that your enemies give you no rest. Ah ! there, in the grave, they shall not disturb you any more ; there your bones can rest in peace. Are you hated, mocked, and persecuted? See, in the grave, your enemies can no longer annoy you ; in the grave, you will find a true home ; in the grave, you can sleep in undisturbed peace. In the grave, you can rest from all your cares and labors and sorrows j you can rest from your long weary wanderings. When your long day's work is ended, when you have fought the last dread fight, and yielded to the angel of death, your friends bear you to your last resting-place, the grave. Yes, it is the last resting-place of us all. You may wander over the wide world, and sigh because the world seems too small to satisfy the desires of your heart j you may dwell in the healthiest clime 5 you may have wealth and enjoyment, you may live to a green old age ; at last, the end of all your travels, and amusements, and honors, shall be the silent grave. The grave is indeed our true home. Let us then visit it often. It is a spot consecrated to prayer, and love and holy fear. The sunken graves, the moss-grown tomb- 122 COMMANDMENTS OF GOO. stones, the weather-stained crosses, the withered wreathes, and mouldering bones of the dead, will then speak eloquently to your heart. There you may learn betimes to die to the world and its vanities, to the flesh and its sinful desires. There you will grow more familiar day by day with the earnest thoughts of death, judgment and eternity ! J Pray often, then, for the souls of the faithful departed, and when you shall go to your last home, tears of love and gratitude will bedew your tomb, and other lips and hearts will breathe that prayer for you : " Eternal rest give to them, 0 Lord, and let perpetual light shine unto them ! " 12. Which are the spiritual works of mercy ? 1 , To convert the sinner / 2, to instruct the ignorant ; 3, to counsel the doubtful ; 4, to comfort the sorrowful ; 5, to bear wrongs patiently ; 6, to forgive injuries ; 7, to pray for the living and the dead. 1. To convert the sinner. It is an article of our holy faith that the Son of God descended from heaven, became man, and died on the infamous gibbet of the cross, for no other purpose than to save mankind from perpetual destruction. His whole life was devoted to this end. For this purpose alone he es tablished his Church on earth. Every Christian, therefore, ought to be inflamed with zeal for the salvation of souls. Now, what is the meaning of zeal for the salvation of souls I It is a desire to see God truly loved, and honored, and served by all men. Those who are inflamed with this beautiful fire endeavor to communicate it to the whole world. If they perceive that God is offended, they weep and lament : they feel interiorly devoured and consumed COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 123 by the fervor of their zeal. u Who should be looked upon as a man consumed with the zeal for the house of God ? " asked St. Augustine. u He who ardently desires to prevent offences against God, and endeavors to induce those who have sinned to weep, and weeps and groans himself when he sees God dishonored." With such a zeal the saints of the Old Law were inflamed. " I found my heart and my bones," says Jeremiah (Xx., 9, 10.), " se cretly inflamed as with a fire that even devoured me ; and I fainted away, not being able to resist it ; because I heard the blasphemies of many people." "I was in flamed with zeal for the God of armies," says Elias, " because the children of Israel have broken their coven ant." (III. Kings xix., 10.) " A fainting has taken hold of me," says the Royal Prophet, "because sinners have forsaken thy law j and my zeal hath made me pine away, because my enemies forgot thy commandments." (Psalm cxviii., 53.) These holy men were thus afflicted at the sight of the license with which the wicked violated the law of God. The sorrow of their minds passed into the humors of their body, and even into their very blood, as it were. " I beheld the wicked," says David 5 " I pined away ; because they kept not thy commandments." (Ps. cxviii., 158.) u Mine eyes became fountains of water; because they observed not thy law." (Ibid., 136.) It was the violence of his zeal that made David melt into tears when he beheld the infinite majesty of God offended. This zeal made St. Paul write to the Eomans : UI speak the truth in Christ j I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart ; for I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen ac cording to the flesh." (Rom. ix., 1-3.) 124 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. How much have the saints not done for the salvation of their neighbors ? Let us hear what the great Apostle of the Gentiles says of his own labors, troubles and suf ferings for the salvation of men. In his epistles to the Corinthians he writes as follows : " Even unto this hour we both hunger and thirst ; and are naked, and are buf feted, and have no fixed abode ; and we labor with our own hands ; we are reviled and we bless ; we are perse cuted and we suffer it ; we are blasphemed and we en treat ; we are made as the refuse of this world, the off- scouring of all even until now." (I. Cor. iv., 11, 13.) " Our flesh had no rest, but we suffered all tribulation : combats without, fears within." (II. Cor. vii», 5.) "In many more labors, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. Of the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods; once I was stoned; thrice I suffered ship wreck ; a night and a day was I in the depth of the sea. In journeying often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren. In labor and painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." (II. Cor. xi.? 23-27.) Were a St. Francis Xavier to appear among us he could tell us how, for the sake of the barbarians, he climbed moun tains and exposed himself to innumerable dangers to find those wretched beings in the caverns, where they dwelt like wild beasts, and lead them to God. A St. Francis de Sales could tell us how, in order to convert the heretics of the province of Chablais, he risked COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 125 his life by crossing a river every day for a year, on his hands and knees, upon a frozen beam, that he might preach the truth to those stubborn men. A St. Fidelis could tell us how, in order to bring back the heretics of a certain place, he risked his life by going to preach to them. But here one may say : lt I am not a priest, and, there fore, I cannot preach to sinners and convert them." To convert sinners, it is not necessary that you should be a priest. Your neighbor, for instance, has given up the practice of his religion for many years. He is sick and expected to die soon. Cannot you pay him a visit, speak kindly to him, and induce him to send for the priest and be reconciled to God? His salvation may depend on your visit, on a few kind words of exhortation and encourage ment. A certain Catholic once went to see a dying sinner. The unhappy man had led a long life of sin, and was now ob stinate. He did not wish to hear of God or the priest. The good, zealous Catholic tried every means — tears promises, threats, prayers j but all in vain. The dying wretch was hardened. At last the zealous Catholic fell on his knees and begged God to give him this soul, and offered, for his sake, to endure any pain that he would inflict on him. An interior voice then said to him : "Your request shall be granted, but only on condition that you are willing to fall back into your former illness." He had formerly been subject to violent fits of colic. The good Catholic offered himself generously. He then once more spoke to the dying man, and found him quite changed — in the very best dispositions. He made his confession with every sign of true sorrow, and offered up 126 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. . his life in atonement of his sins. He received all the sacraments, and died in the arms of his true Catholic friend. The prayers of the good Catholic were heard ; but no sooner had he returned home than he was seized with the most violent pains, which continued to increase until at last he died, the victim of his Christian zeal for the salvation of a soul. To relieve the wants of the body is undoubtedly an act of great charity ; but to heal the wounds of the soul is an act of far greater charity. Now it is by admonition and counsel that we contribute towards the healing of the spiritual wounds of our neighbor. It is even a formal precept of the Gospel to do what is in our power to heal the wounds of our neighbor's soul, that is, to admonish him when he is in mortal sin or in danger of falling into it. " If thy brother transgress in thy presence," says our Lord, " reprimand and correct him." (Matt, xviii., 15.) If you neglect to correct the sinner, says St. Agustine, you become thereby worse than himself. So all who have chris- tian charity, whether superiors or inferiors, are bound to admonish and correct those who follow evil ways, if they have sufficient influence and authority over them, and have good reason to hope that the correction will be useful. Should the first admonition be fruitless, we are bound to re peat it several times, when we have good reason to hope that it will finally prove useful. We are obliged to perform this act of charity : 1 , when the sin of our neighbor is certain, but not when it is doubt ful 5 2, when there is no other person capable of giving the admonition, and when it is not expected that any one else will give it ; 3, when there is no reason for a prudent fear that, by correcting our neighbor, we shall suffer a COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 127 grievous loss or inconvenience. For, if we have a good reason to fear that the correction will be attended with a considerable loss or inconvenience to ourselves, we are excused from the obligation of making it, because it is only an act of charity which is not obligatory under those circumstances. Parents, however, are obliged to correct their children, even when the correction is attended with great inconvenience. Has an inferior a right to correct his superior f Every act extends to all that is within the sphere of its power, as the sight, for instance, embraces all that is visible. Now as charity comprises all men without exception, it orders us to exercise fraternal correction without distinc tion of persons. The inferior, therefore, has a right to correct his superior when he sees him in fault or in error. But this must be done in a mild, prudent, respectful man ner j for those who are above us in age or authority, merit respect and veneration. " An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father.7 (1 Tim. v., 1.) Has one, who himself is in fault or sin, a right to cor rect another ? To exercise this right, no more than the use of reason is needed. Now, sin does not destroy the natural gift of man. But he who attempts to direct others in the path of virtue and justice, must, first of all, begin to correct himself, otherwise he cannot be supposed to act with a charitable motive. If he, therefore, shows signs of repentance and amendment, and acts with a spirit of humility, he can exercise fraternal correction. What is to be done if the correction does not avail anything, but might, on the contrary, irritate the culprit and make him more obstinate ? If his conduct is an annoyance or a scandal to the public, his superior ought 128 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to rebuke him and even take severe measures against him if necessary. A judge feels no reluctance to condemn a culprit in spite of his recriminations and the affliction of his family. However, in all such cases, the means must always be proportioned to the end. Ought a private admonition precede a public denuncia tion ? If the crime is public, there is no necessity of making any mystery of the correction to be given to the criminal, " Them that sin reprove before all, that the rest also may fear." (1 Tim. v., 20.) If the crime or transgression is private, no public denunciation or revelation should be made, unless in case of something detrimental to the public or of a conspiracy against the state. In similar cases, we ought to imitate the skilful physician, who first strives to heal the wound if pos sible ; but if he cannot succeed, he has recourse to amputation, in order to save the life of his patient. A superior, therefore, should not have recourse to extreme measures, when there is hope that a private admonition will reclaim the sinner. Unless things transpire before the eyes of the public, justice and charity require the superior to keep all secret and leave all rest in the hands of God. In what manner should correction be made I To cor rect one is an act of charity. Therefore, correction should be made in the spirit of charity. A reproof is a kind of food which is always difficult to digest. Fraternal charity should, then, so sweeten it as to destroy its bitterness, or else it will be like those fruits which cause pain in the stomach. Charity does not seek its own advantage, but the honor of God. Bitterness and severity proceed only from passion, vanity and pride. A good remedy used at an improper time often becomes a deadly poison. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 129 Now, it is easy to know when the correction we make proceeds from charity. Truth proceeds from charity when we speak it only from the love of God and for the good of him whom we reprove. It is better to be silent than to speak a truth ungraciously ; for this is to present a good dish badly cooked, or to give medicine unseasonably. But is this not to keep back the truth unjustly ? By no means ; to act otherwise is to bring it forth unjustly, because the real justice of truth and the truth of justice reside in charity. That truth which is not charitable pro ceeds from a charity which is not true. A judicious silence is always preferable to an uncharitable truth. Hence, in correcting others, we should remember the following advice given by the saints upon this subject : 1. Good example must precede the correction, otherwise it may justly be said: u Physician, cure thyself." 2. Patience must defer it, because, reproof being a bitter remedy, it should be applied, generally speaking, only when every other means has proved useless. 3. It must be given with charity, lest, while striving to heal one wound, we inflict several others. 4. Humility must accompany it by accusing ourselves and assuming thus a part of the disgrace of him whose weakness we have discovered. 5. We ought to be very careful to give a reproof in so mild a manner as to lessen the bitterness of this remedy to which nature is utterly averse. It thus becomes effi cacious and strikes at the very root of the evil. G. In reproving we should pay attention to the nature of the fault, its consequences, and to the degree of virtue in the delinquent. 7. It is sometimes advisable, before reproving a person, 130 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to point out to him the nature and greatness of the fault, and then request him to punish himself for it. The pen ance of a contrite heart is great when it sees itself kindly dealt with. We must blame the offence, but spare the offender. 8. When any one has corrected a fault, forget the past and treat him as if nothing had happened, according to what holy Scripture says : " Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him therewith : remember that we are all worthy of reproof." (Ecclus. viii., 6.) It is in this way that we heal wounds without leaving a scar. We read in the life of St. Alphonsus, that his firmness towards those who persevered in their faults, was changed into mercy when he saw them con trite. He loved with an exceedingly great love those who amended their conduct after his admonitions. He pressed them to his bosom, forgot their faults, and never again alluded to the pain they had caused him. " I am informed," writes the saint in his book Preparation for Death, " that the celebrated Signore Pietro Metas- tasio has published a little book in prose, in which he expresses his detestation of his writings on profane love and declares that, were it in his power, he would retract them and make them disappear from the world? even at the cost of his blood. I am told, that he lives retired in his own house, leading a life of prayer. This information has given me unspeakable consolation ; because his public declaration and his most laudable example will help to undeceive many young persons who seek to acquire a great name by similar compositions on profane love. It is certain, that by his retraction, Signore Metastasio has deserved more encomiums than COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 131 he would deserve by the publication of a thousand poetic works : for these he might be praised by men, but now he is praised by God. Hence, as I formerly detested his vanity in priding himself on such compositions (I do not speak of his sacred pieces, which are excellent and deserving of all praise), so now I shall never cease to praise him; and were I permitted, I would kiss his feet, seeing that he has voluntarily become the censor of his own works, and that he now desires to see them banished from the whole world at the expense, as he says, even of his own blood." 9. In reproving our neighbor great regard should be paid to his disposition. Sometimes a courteous little ad monition, such as the reproving glance cast by our Lord at St. Peter, may be sufficient. In many cases it may be advisable to give the reproof in such a manner that it will appear rather as praise than blame. "If a word chastises, cast the rod away, j If a look suffices, have no word to say." 10. Never reprove any one when you are excited. A physician who is suffering from delirium or any other violent disorder should be first cured himself before he at tempts to prescribe for others. 11. The faults of those who sin more from weakness and ignorance than from any other reason, should move us to pity rather than to severity. We should kindly en courage them to amend their faults and avoid relapsing into them. 12. Whether we make corrections in public or in pri vate, we should never use opprobrious expressions, such as fool, simpleton, and the like. We should seem to ad vise rather than to reprove, saying, for example : "Does 132 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. it not appear to you, that such and such a thing is an abuse ? That whoever acts so, and so, exposes himself to censure ? " This manner of acting is more convincing and effective than any other. Prudence, then, requires us to prefer it to a more arbitrary course. 13. We must not be astonished at seeing one troubled at a reproof, or taking it badly. If the culprit is wanting in humility, we must not, on this account, be wanting in charity by forgetting our Christian dignity, and allowing aversions and ill-feelings to take root in our heart. 14. If a correction is to be given to a person whose dignity is to be respected, we should give it so as to re prove ourselves at the same time, speaking in the first person of the plural number, saying, for instance : "How much do we all offend God. We all have our faults, but we ought to be careful to avoid such and such faults.'7 15. There are certain persons who easily find fault with others. They themselves are generally the most guilty. It is one of their secret artifices to turn the eyes of others upon the faults of their neighbor, in order to keep them turned away from their own. You should never pay particular attention to what these great talkers say. Much less should you ever reprove any one with out having given him a hearing. To believe what you hear without further inquiry, and reprove instantly, is to ex pose yourself to a thousand evils and agitations. 16* Generally speaking, it is not advisable to reprove one on the spot for his faults. Medicine must not be given to a person who is in high fever, except in ex traordinary cases. You should take time to consider the matter before God, and to reflect on the best and most useful manner of making the correction, especially when COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 133 the fault is of a serio.us nature, and the offender is of a hasty temperament. Then when a favorable moment pre sents itself, ask with all humility and confidence, the guilty person to be kind enough to allow you, though full of faults yourself, to call his attention to something for his own benefit. In order to gain the affection and confidence of the offender, you may first praise modestly his good qualities. Then, place, with great delicacy, before him his fault, reminding him of its unhappy consequences, and pro pose to him the proper remedy. To this you may add, that you yourself were obliged to use this remedy in or der to correct your own faults. 17. Never reveal the name of the person who reported the fault. Nay, if you have reason to fear that the guilty person may easily suspect the one that spoke of him and conceive a dislike for him, it is better to make no reproof, because peace and union with our neighbor should be preferred to every thing else. 18. Always conclude a reproof with some encouraging words, saying, for instance, that God allows such faults, in order to keep us humble and to increase our solicitude in acquiring virtue. 19. Under certain circumstances, it is advisable to give the admonition publicly without naming the guilty person. This should be done, a. When the evil is deeply rooted ; for in this case it is not prudent to admonish individuals privately ; 5. When the offender has a good heart, but is too weak in virtue to take a reproof in the proper spirit ; c. When it is to be feared that others may commit the same fault, if the warning is not given in public. 134 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD 20. Correct the aged by way of sweet entreaty ; for it is not very easy to manage them ; they are not very flex ible. The sinews of their soul as well as of their body have grown stiff. Hence the way of entreaty is the best manner of admonishing them. 21. Before giving a reprimand, recommend yourself to the Lord. Humble yourself in his presence and acknow ledge that you are more faulty and, consequently, more blame- worthy than your neighbor. St. Vincent de Paul says that those who are spiritually sick, ought to be more tenderly treated than those who are corporally sick. "I beg you," he wrote to a Su perior who had notified him of the desire of a lay -brother to leave the Congregation, "to assist and encourage him to resist the temptation, but do it mildly and 'affection ately, seeming rather to advise than to reprove him, as is our custom." He also tells us, that although during his whole life, he gave a sharp reproof three times only, yet. each time he was forced to regret it, because, notwith standing the apparent just reason for reproving sharply, the correction proved fruitless, while on the contrary, those reproofs which he had given mildly, were always effective. St. Juliana Veronica occupied the post of Mistress of Novices for several years. During this time she had two novices who were of a head-strong disposition. One of them received her charitable admonitions in such ill part, that they produced not the least amendment. She was therefore expelled by the Chapter. However, St. Veron ica obtained for her, from the Blessed Virgin, the grace of being received into another convent, where she cor rected her faults. The other novice forgot herself so far COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 135 as to strike her Mistress in the face, and with such vio lence as to bruise her lips. The holy woman, grieved at the scandal, and at the excommunication which the novice drew upon herself by this act, implored of God so earnestly her amendment that she shed tears of blood. For a time, the rebellious Sister did better, but her amendment was not permanent. One day, when she was again kindly reproved by St. Veronica for not fulfilling her duty, she felt so terribly provoked, and pushed the saint so roughly that she would have fallen, had not those standing near her come to her assistance. The prudent Superior said nothing about the affair at the time, as she knew that a reproof would be useless, nay, even injurious, because the offender was under the influence of passion. She merely remarked to those who insisted upon the punishment of the novice, that it was necessary to have patience, and that her only grief was that God had been offended. At the next Chapter, however, she calmly reproved and punished the fault. The fruit of this moderation was, that the delin quent entered into herself, arid blushing with confusion at the sin she had committed, performed the penance im posed upon her. From that time forward, she watched so carefully over herself, that she lived and died a true religious. A short time after Father Lallemant had been ap pointed Rector of the College of Bourges, the brother baker came to him, one day, and rather rudely complained of having too much to do 5 he told the Rector to see to the matter and put some one else in his place. The Father calmly listened to him, and promised to relieve him. He then went himself quietly into the bake-house 136 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. and began kneading the dough with the greatest dili gence. After the brother had become calm again, he returned to the bake-house, and found, to his great sur prise, the Father Rector doing his work for him. He immediately threw himself at his feet and begged his pardon, being filled with confusion at his fault, and moved by the meekness and humility of so compassionate a Superior. Father Lallemant acted thus on all similar occasions, so prudently using lenity that every one readily con ceded to him whatsoever he desired. He used to say that experience daily taught him more and more, that dis cipline should be kept up in the Company with extreme mildness ; that the Superiors ought to study to make themselves obeyed rather from love than from fear ; that the way to maintain regularity is not by rigor and penances, but by the paternal kindness of the Superiors and their diligence in attending to the wants of inferiors ; and in preserving and increasing in them the spirit of piety and prayer. One day St. Vincent de Paul heard that one of his priests was too inactive during the missions, and that severity towards the people prevailed over charity in his sermons. He wrote to him as follows : " I write to you, dear Sir, to inquire your news and to communicate to you ours. How do you feel after your great fatigue ? How many missions have you given ? Do the people seem disposed to profit by your labors ? Do these labors produce the desired fruit ? It would be a great consola tion for me to be informed in detail of all you have done. From other houses of the Congregation I have received good accounts, thanks be to God ! Their labors are to COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 137 their great content blessed with happy results. The strength which God has given to Mr. N. is truly wonder ful. For nine months he has been laboring in the country, and his missions, according to the Vicar-general, the religious of the place, and others, have done incalcul able good. This result is ascribed solely, to the mildness and charity with which this gentleman seeks to win the hearts of these poor people. This induces me to recom mend more earnestly than ever the practice of these virtues. If God deigned to bless our first missions, it was evidently on account of the kindness, humility arid sincerity with which we treated every one. Yes, if God deigned to make use of the most miserable among us, that is of myself, to convert sinners and heretics, it was, as they themselves unanimously admitted, in consequence of th^ patience and benevolence with which I constantly acted towards them. Even the galley-slaves were won in this manner. When I dealt severely with them, all my efforts were vain, whilst, on the contrary, when I pitied them, praised their resignation, kissed their chains, sympathized with them in their misfortune, or told them that their sufferings were their purgatory in this life, they listened to me and took the necessary means to save their souls. I beg you, therefore, my dear Sir, to help me to thank God earnestly for these favors and to beg of Him to bestow the grace, upon all our Missioners, to act towards every one, privately and publicly, even towards the most hardened sinners.; with meekness, charity and humility, and never to make use of wounding words, or bitter re proaches, or preach severe sermons. I doubt not, Sir, that as far as you are concerned, you will carefully avoid a manner of acting which is so exceedingly unbecoming 138 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. a Physician of souls, and which instead of winning hearts and leading them to God, only estranges and embitters them. Christ, our Lord, is the eternal delight of both angels and men : we must also try to be the delight of our fellow-creatures, so as to lead them to their eternal hap piness." Thus St. Vincent knew how to draw the attention of his priests to their faults and imperfections, without wounding their feelings. He excused them as far as he could, manifested his love and esteem for them, and reproved so modestly and humbly, that none ever felt abashed or dis couraged, but, on the contrary, all were edified and encour aged by his very reproofs. To the Superior of one of his houses, who greatly ex aggerated the difficulties of his office, Vincent gave the following answer : " What you write to me is both true and not true. It is true in respect to those who do not like to be contradicted by any one ; who wish every thing to be conducted according to their opinion and will; who desire to be obeyed by all without opposition or de lay, and who would like to see their every command ap proved of. What you write is not true, however, in regard to those who consider themselves as the servants of others, and who, while they perform the duties of Superior, keep constantly in mind their model, Jesus Christ, who bore with the rudeness, jealousy, want of faith, and other faults of His disciples, and who said that He had come into the world not to be served, but to serve. You used formerly to go through your duties patiently, humbly and cheerfully, and I know well that your only design now in using these exaggerated expressions, is to explain your difficulties better and to induce me to remove you from your post of Superior.77 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 139 It was, however, by no means the opinion of St. Vin cent, that Superiors should connive at every thing in their subjects. He wished that the guilty should always be reprimanded and even punished, insisting, neverthe less upon the reproof being given in the spirit of meek ness and in accordance with the above-quoted principles. He was once told that one of his priests, a very zeal ous man, who at that time was the Superior of a Semin ary, treated the Seminarians too harshly. In a letter to this priest, he reproves him in the following manner : " I believe all that you have written, quite as readily as if I had seen it with my own eyes, and I have too many proofs of your zeal for the good of the Seminary to doubt your words. For this very reason, I have with held my judgment in regard to the complaints which have reached me of your severe government, until I should have learned from yourself the true state of things. In the meanwhile, I beg of you to reflect seriously upon the manner in which you act, and to resolve to correct, with the help of God's grace, whatever may be displeasing to Him in your conduct. Although your intention may be good, yet the Divine Majesty is offended, and the fol lowing are a few of the evil consequences of such conduct : " First, the Seminarians leave the house dissatisfied ; virtue becomes distasteful to them ; the consequence of which is, that they may fall into sin and ruin their souls ; and this, merely because they were, by your severity, too soon forced out of the school of piety. Secondly, they talk against the Seminary and are the cause of others not going, who otherwise would have come to receive the instructions and graces necessary for their vocation. Thirdly, the bad reputation of one house easily reflects 140 COMMANDMENTS OF GOB. upon all the others of the Society, paralyzing the mem bers thereof in their ministry, so much so that the good which the Lord, until now, has deigned to perform by their instrumentality, immediately commences diminish ing more and more. To say that, heretofore, you have not noticed these faults in your own person, betrays, no doubt, a want of humility on your part. For were you possessed of that degree of humility which Jesus Christ requires of Missionary Priests, you would not hesitate for a moment to believe, that you were the most im perfect of all and guilty of all these things. You would attribute to a hidden blindness your not noticing in your self those defects which are so easily discovered by others, and for which you have already been repriman ded. I have learned, that you do not like correction. Should this be so, 0 ! how much should you fear for yourself! How far does your virtue fall short of that of the Saints who annihilated themselves before the world and were rejoiced at seeing their little failings made known to others. Are we not to imitate Jesus Christ, who, notwithstanding His innocence, suffered the bitter est and most unjust reproaches, without even opening His mouth to avert the disgrace from His sacred person ? My dear Sir, let us learn from Him to be meek and humble of heart. These are virtues which you and I must continually ask of Him, and to which we must al ways attend, in order not to be drawn away by the opposite passions, which make us destroy with one hand what we have built up with the other. May God en lighten us with His holy Spirit to discover our blindness and to submit to those whom He has given us for guides." COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 141 To the Superior of a mission-house, he wrote as fol lows : u God be praised that you went yourself to do what Mr. N. refused to do. It was very good that you pre ferred doing this, rather than insisting any longer upon obedience to your command. There are some people, who, although devout and pious, and having a great horror for sin, will still from time to time commit some faults through human frailty ; we must bear with them, and not excite them still more. As God otherwise blesses this gentleman in the confessional, I think we ought to connive a little at his caprices, so much the more as they are of no serious nature. With regard to the other priest of whom you write, I hope that this word has escaped him from want of reflection, rather than from real malice. Even the most discreet when surprised by passion, may say something of which they soon after re pent. Finally, there are men who show aversion to per sons as well as to offices, but who still do much good. Alas ! it cannot be otherwise) live with whom you please, you will still have something to suffer, as well as some thing to merit. I hope, that he, of whom I speak, will still be gained, if we use towards him charitable forbear ance and kind corrections. Do pray for him, as I un ceasingly do for your whole community." To another Superior he wrote : " The priest of whom you make this report, is a pious man ; he practises vir tue, and before he entered our Congregation, he enjoyed a great reputation in the world. If he now manifests a restless spirit, meddling with temporal affairs and those of his family, and thus becomes a subject of annoyance to his brethren in religion, he must be borne with in meekness. If he had not this fault, he would have an- 142 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. other ; and if you had nothing to suffer, you would have no occasion to practise charity. Your Superiorship would, moreover, bear little resemblance to that of our Divine Redeemer who chose, for Himself, imperfect and uneducated disciples, both to manifest His charity and patience, and to give an example to those who have to direct others. I beseech you, my dear Sir, to imitate this Divine Model. From Him you will learn not only how to bear with your brethren, but also how to treat them, in order to free them more and more from their defects. Certainly on the one hand, we must not allow, through human interest, evils to increase or to take deeper root, but on the other hand we must try to remedy them by degrees and in a charitable manner." To a priest who was in company with another on a distant mission, he wrote thus : " I hope that the good ness of God will bless your efforts, especially if charity and patience reign between you and your assistant. I beseech you, in the name of the Lord, to see that this be your principal care, because you are the elder and con sequently the Superior. Bear, therefore, in patience what ever you may have to suffer on the part of your com panion. Bear all, I say, so as interiorly to renounce your authority, and to be guided only by the spirit of charity. By this means Jesus Christ gained his Apos tles and corrected them of their faults. You also will gain this good Priest by this means only. Have then a little regard for his character ; do not contradict him at the first moment, though you believe you have reason for so doing, but wait awhile and then give him a charit able remonstrance. Above all, take great care not to let any one perceive the least difficulty between him and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 143 you, for you are exposed to the observation of all, and one single unkind look on your part, if noticed by the people, would make so bad an impression upon them as to paralyze all your labors. I hope you will follow my advice." If all these admonitions and reproofs were, or seemed to be, of no avail, still Vincent did not lose courage, but continued to bear patiently, to pray, and to hope that God would, in the end, show mercy to these strayed sheep. This perseverance he also recommended to others. When Superiors of the different houses re quested him to send such and such a priest to another house, he recommended patience to them, reminding them of the common lot of all men to have faults. If any of his subjects acted otherwise than he had told him, he would say only : " Sir, had you followed my advice, you would have succeeded better in your under taking.77 Sometimes he would not say anything at all. Ht. Francis de Sales was one evening visited by a nobleman. His servant forgot to put lights in the house and in the room of the prelate, so that the bishop was obliged to accompany the stranger to the gate, in the dark. The only reproof which the Saint made to the servant, consisted in this: " Do you know, my dear friend, that two little pieces of candle would have been of greater value to us to-day than ten dollars ? '7 Once one of the servants of St. Francis de Sales returned home rather late at night, being quite intoxicated. He knocked at the door, but no one answered, all having gone to sleep. The Saint, who alone was still awake, went to open the door, and seeing that his servant was intoxicated to such a degree as not to be able to walk, he took him by the 144: COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. arm and conducted him to his bed-room ; there, after hav ing undressed him and taken off his shoes and stockings, he laid him on his bed, covered him well and retired. The Saint, on meeting him alone next morning, said to him : tl 0, my dear friend, you were no doubt, very sick last night !" On hearing this the servant fell on his knees, and, bathed in tears, begged the prelate's pardon. The holy bishop touched by his sorrow, gave him, though a severe, yet a paternal reproof; he reminded him of the danger to which he exposed himself of losing his soul, and imposed upon him the penance of mixing a certain quantity of water with his wine at table. The culprit accepted the penance, and was, from that time, so faithful that he never again committed a similar fault. "One day," says the bishop of Belley, " I was to preach at the Church of the Visitation. Being aware that our Saint would be present, and that a large concourse of people was expected, I felt a little personal anxiety on the occasion, and I prepared in good earnest. When we had retired to his house, and were alone together, ' Well,' he said, i you have given general satisfaction to-day ; people went away exclaiming, mirabilia ! at your fine and elegant panegyric. I only met with one individual who was not satisfied.7 l What can I have said/ I replied, 'to displease this person ? Well I have no desire to know his name.' ' But I, for my part,' said the Saint, ' have a great desire to tell it to you.' l Who is he then, that I may endeavor to give him satisfaction ? ' i If I had not great confidence in you, I should not name him ; but as I know you well, I willingly do so. Do you see him here f ' I looked around, and saw no one but himself. ' It is you, then,' I said. * Myself/ he replied. 'Certainly,' I re- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 145 joined j i I should have valued your approbation alone, more than that of the whole congregation. Thank God, I have fallen into the hands of one who wounds only that he may heal ! What, then, did you find fault with I For I know that your indulgence will not excuse anything in me !' ' I love you too much/ he resumed, 'to flatter you j and if you had loved our Sisters after this fashion, you would not have amused yourself in puffing up their minds, instead of edifying them 5 in praising their state of life, instead of teaching them some humiliating arid more salu tary doctrine. It is with the food of the mind as with that of the body. Flattery is windy ; and windy food, like vegetables, is not nutritious. We ought, in preach ing, to provide, not empty food, the memory of which perishes with its utterance, but meat which will endure to life everlasting. We must never, indeed, ascend the pulpit, without the special object of building up some cor ner or other of the walls of Jerusalem, by teaching the practice of a certain virtue, or the means of avoiding a certain vice ; for the whole fruit of preaching consists in making the people do away with sin and practise virtue. '0 Lord !' exclaimed David, 'I will teach the unjust Thy ways, and the wicked shall be converted unto Thee.* 'What sort of conversion,7 I retorted, 'could I preach to souls delivered from the hands of their enemies, the devil, the flesh, and the world, and serving Grod in holiness of life *?' ' You should have taught them,7 he said, ' to take heed, since they stand, not to fall • to work out their sal vation according to the counsel of the Holy Spirit, with fear and trembling ; and not to be without fear, even with respect to sin forgiven. You described them to us as so many saints j it costs you nothing to canonize the living. 146 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. You must not place pillows under elbows in this way, nor give milk to those who need bitter herbs and wormwood.' 6 My object/ I said, 'was to encourage and fortify them in their holy undertaking.7 ' We must encourage/ he replied, 6 without running the risk of exciting presumption and vanity. It is always safer to humble our hearers, than to exalt them to high and admirable things above their reach. I feel persuaded, that another time you will be cautious in this respect.' The next day he made me preach at a Convent of the Nuns of St. Clare. He was present, and the congregation was not less numer ous than on the preceding day. I took care to avoid the pit-fall he had pointed out to me ; my discourse was very simple, both in words and ideas, aiming at nothing except edification. I proceeded with much method, and pressed home my subject. Our Saint, on our return, came to see me in my apartment, which, in fact, was his own 5 for when I was on a visit to him, he always gave me his, room. After tenderly embracing me, he said, ' Truly, I loved you dearly yesterday, but much more to-day. You are, indeed, quite after my own heart ; and if I am not much mistaken, you are also according to God's heart, who, I believe, has been pleased with your sacrifice. I could not have believed, you would have been so yielding and condescending. It is a true saying, that the * obedi ent man shall speak of victory.' You have conquered yourself to-day. Do you know that most of your hear ers said, l To-day is very unlike yesterday/ and they were not as much pleased this time as the last ; but the individual, who was not satisfied yesterday, is wonderfully pleased to-day. I grant you hereupon a plenary indul gence for all your past faults. You have fulfilled all my COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 147 wishes to-day ; and if you persevere, you will do much service for the Lord of the vineyard. Preaching must not seek its strength in the words and the notions of hu man wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. If you faithfully adhere to this method, God will give to your labors a full and honorable increase 5 you will become prudent in the words of mystical wisdom, and will possess the science of the saints, the science that makes saints. What, after all, do we desire to know, save Jesus, and Jesus crucified.7 r' One day Cardinal Cheverus learned that a parish priest was at open warfare with his parish. He went to the place with the view of re-establishing peace. The pastor in question was a man of irreproachable life and ardent zeal, but of an excitable disposition which some times hurried him beyond all bounds. It was from this defect that the dispute originated. A child had been brought to him for baptism whose godmother had neglec ted to make her Easter communion. Adhering rigidly to ancient regulations, he would not permit her to stand sponsor, which so exasperated the parents, that they refused to seek a substitute, preferring to leave their infant unbaptized: On his arrival, M. de Cheverus beg ged the pastor to withdraw his opposition ; but in vain. The Cardinal then directed one of the priests who ac companied him to perform the ceremony, in order that the poor child might no longer remain the victim of a quarrel. Irritated at this beyond all self-control, the pastor gave the most insulting language to his archbishop. The meek prelate opposed nothing but silence and cairn- ness to the storm. He repaired to the church, where he ascended the pulpit and invited all the parishioners 148 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to peace and union with their parish-priest, on whom he pronounced an elaborate eulogium, detailing all the good qualities of which he was possessed. " You have," he said, " but one complaint to make of him j he has, you say, a hasty and violent temper ; alas ! my friends, who is without defects ? If I were to remain twenty-four hours among you, you would perhaps discover so many' faults in me that you would not be able to tolerate me : you see but one in your pastor j forgive then that single fault in consideration of so many virtues." Having fin ished his discourse, the Cardinal went to the sacristy, where he found the priest, abashed and ashamed, and, embracing him with the utmost kindness, he said : u My dear friend, I love you with my whole heart ; how shall we begin the service ? " Seeking by this means to do away with the recollection of the offence which had been committed, and prove his condescension in regard to every thing which was not inimical to his duty. The service over, the Cardinal called upon those of the parishioners who were the most embittered against the pastor, and, spoke to them so impressively that they de clared themselves ready to do whatever he wished. The reconciliation was forthwith accomplished ; the kiss of peace was given, all sat down to the same table, and every heart was united in that of the Archbishop. Thus did he everywhere spread the dominion of charity, and illustrate by his example the words of the Apostle : " Charity is sweet and patient, not hasty to anger, but pardoneth and suffereth much." St. Alphonsus' manner of correcting may be seen from the following letter, which he addressed to a Superior, of his Congregation : " To speak with all freedom, I re- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 149 mark above all, that I do not believe that your Rever ence wishes me to treat you with too much consideration, in regard to obedience, and as a subject, weak in virtue, to whom nothing can be said for fear of giving offence. I have a better opinion of your Reverence, and I believe that you desire what is best and most pleasing to God. Now let me tell what I desire to see in you. Your Rev erence knows how much I have always esteemed you ; I have given you proofs of this on several occasions. It would pain me very much were I to be told, as some time ago, that your Reverence is a holy man indeed, but unfit for the rectorship for the following reasons : — first, because, when Superior, you would be seldom at home ; secondly, that you would at the same time busy yourself with too many affairs, write too many letters, trouble yourself about so many things that would not con cern you, and introduce so many devotions to which you seem to be attached that the regular observance of the rule would soon suffer. I know of course, and every one acknowledges, that your Reverence does not go out for the sake of pleasure, or for some other similar reason, but from the motive of pleasing God in every thing ; but ne quid nimis I Now that you are in the Congregation, and especially now that you have been made rector, you must be convinced, that you can do nothing more con ducive to the glory of God, than to take good care of the well-being and regular observance of your commun ity which is one of the most fervent, nay, even the most fervent of all we have. The number of your subjects being small at present, this regularity cannot be so per fect as yet ; however, you must endeavor to make it as perfect as circumstances will 'allow. As regards going 150 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. out, your Reverence knows from your own experience, that if the head be wanting, all the rest is in disorder Nevertheless, I do not forbid you to go out on an impor tant affair for the good of the house or the Congregation? or when the greater glory of God is in question j but should your Reverence wish to take part in all that contributes to the glory of God in your diocese, you could never be at home. The greatest glory you can render to God is the accomplishment of his holy will. I repeat it there fore, henceforth, your Reverence must mind only the good of the house and the Church, Mater Domini ; and the regular observance of the rule, that none of the things may come true which some have predicted of your Rev erence. I speak with all charity, because I esteem you. and esteem you very much, and because I have a good opinion of you, trusting that you belong to the number of those who endeavor to sanctify themselves in the Con gregation like Fathers Cafaro, Villani, Mazzini and others, who have renounced their own will j and that you do not resemble those who wish to be treated too delicately, and whom I will treat thus, but of whom I foresee that they will never sanctify themselves, because they do not obey blindly." 2. To instruct the ignorant. No doubt, there are many poor creatures around you, who labor and suffer and weep, and, in their blindness and despair, curse the loving God who created them ; blaspheme the God who died for them ; and hate the holy Church which he established in order to save them. And among these restless, wandering souls, you often find noble, generous hearts. Many are wavering between good and evil, many of them struggle, at least at times, against their COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 151 passions. They are groping about in the dark. A kind word, a friendly advice, might save them. Many of them are like the poor paralytic at the pool of Bethsaida. They are so near the source of life, they long to reach it j but they find no one to take them by the hand and lead them thither. And one soul brought thus to God will be the means of leading others to God, and so the good will go on till the day of judgment. Kevelin Digby, author of the tl Ages of Faith," who did so much to awaken what was afterwards called the " Oxford Movement," was led to the Catholic faith by means of the barber who used to shave him when he was a member of the University. The barber began to instruct him, in the broken conversations occurring from day to day. Then he lent Mr. Digby books, and the barber thus became the teacher of the University man. Ah! rest assured that every one, no matter in what state of life he is placed, will find opportunities to instruct the ignorant if he is zealous enough to perform this spiri tual work of mercy. A child passes you on the road. Why pass it by as coldly as if you did not see it ? Salute the child kindly ; speak to it. Ask, for instance, if it goes to school and where ; if it can read, can pray ; who is " Our Father" in heaven? You can thus give the child a short instruction ! You cast the seeds of eternal life into its heart — seeds that will one day ripen with God's grace and bear fruit a hun dred-fold. And even should the seed choke and wither in the child's heart, your eternal reward in heaven will not be lost. Your guardian angel has written down the good deed. If even a cup of cold water given in our Lord's name shall be rewarded, how much more an act of charity done to the soul. 152 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. A neighbor's child comes to your house — perhaps to play with your children. Of course, should the child teach your little ones bad words or anything that is wrong, you must send it away or correct it. But if the child is well disposed, treat it kindly ; you have a good opportunity to do an act of charity to that child's soul. Do not imagine that the child comes there merely by accident. It is its angel that sends it, that you may instruct it, that you may teach it how to reach its heavenly home. Show the little one some pious pictures. Tell it something about our Saviour, about the Blessed Virgin, about the angels. Teach it how God sees it every moment, in the darkest night as well as in broad daylight. You are living with a Protestant family. You edify them by your conduct. They are in doubt about their religion, or ridicule yours on certain occasions. Profit by these occasions, and tell them the most important truths of our religion. Be not afraid to do so. Our Lord makes use of you to convert that family if they are sincere before God. Not long ago a poor but worthy Irishman came to the door of a respectable Protestant family, and asked for any employment that would secure his daily bread. He was engaged for some service on the farm, and gave satisfac tion. But being a Catholic he was held in contempt in that part of this country. As he seemed utterly devoid of even the first elements of education, it was thought that an attack upon his religion would not only result in amusement from his ridiculous answers, but in an easy triumph over his evident ignorance. He was accordingly questioned and bantered on the " objectionable " points of his creed by the most intelligent member of the house- COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 153 hold. But the good man, though ignorant of most other things, had been thoroughly instructed in his catechism ; and this alone would have made him more than a match for a score of divines from Princeton or Geneva. His answers were so calm, so clear and correct, so logical, and, finally, so impressive, that the tables were soon turned and the laugh, or the defeat rather, proved to be on the wrong side. The questioner was not only vanquished but dismayed and terrified into the conviction that answers so simple, yet so cogent and logical must rest on some basis of truth. This brought about a serious examination of Catholic doctrine, and the examination was followed by submission to the Church. This conversion happily led to that of the whole family and of many others. These facts are well known throughout the county and State where they happened. (American Cath. Quart. Review, October, 1879, p. 723.) 3. To counsel the doubtful. It often happens that a person is doubting as to whether a thing is lawful or not, whether this or that ac tion is forbidden or allowed. On both sides he sees plaus ible reasons, which make an impression ; but amongst these reasons there is none that draws down the weight, none that is sufficient to ground a determination. Thus, wavering between these different and opposite reasons, he remains undetermined and dares not make a decision for fear of being deceived and of falling into sin. Now that person is not allowed to act with such a doubtful con science. He must seek for light and instruction, if he can. An heir, for example, has entered upon an estate which was formerly unjustly acquired by his ancestors ; but, at the time he accepted it, he had no knowledge, no doubt 154 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. concerning its unjust acquisition. Afterwards he discov ers a flaw in his title, and for good reasons begins to doubt as to whether he lawfully possesses the property. There is another. He doubts as to the state of life to which God calls him. There is a Protestant ; for good reasons he has doubts as to the possibility of being saved in the Protestant religion. Now to counsel aright such persons, is to perform a spiritual work of mercy. For want of knowledge, or discretion, or some other reason, it may not be in your power to perform this kind of work of mercy. But you know, perhaps, a learned and charitable man who is competent to ad vise properly the doubtful. Now by referring to such a man, a person who has doubts of conscience, you share in the spiritual work of mercy — the good advice which is given. 4. To comfort the sorrowful. Great, very great indeed, is the number of those who feel desolate and sorrowful. Some are desolate on ac count of the loss of temporal goods ; others, on account of the loss of a dear parent, husband, wife, a darling child ; a true, faithful friend j others, are desolate on account of scrupulosity ; others, on account of spiritual dry ness and so on. It happened not long ago, that the parents, husband, and several children of a good mother died in the time of an epidemic. The good woman felt quite desolate, and, as it were, forsaken by God and man. Her means were all exhausted, and she saw no way of supporting herself and two little children. She could neither eat nor sleep. She wept day and night, and was reduced to a mere skeleton. One day she went to see an old friend, who, some years previous, had suffered in the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 155 same way. To her she poured out her heart. After she had communicated all her afflictions of body and soul, her friend, a true servant of God, spoke to her in the following manner : "I sympathize with you more than I can tell you. I feel your crosses as if they were my own. I have suffered in the same way some years ago. At first, I found it very difficult to be resigned to the holy will of God. I went to see my confessor, who is a true, faithful father of the sorrowful and afflicted. I have never forgotten his consoling words, and I have often repeated them for the consolation of those who, in their affliction, came to see me. They are as follows : ' My dear child/ said he, ' the Lord treats you as one of his best children. He has deprived you of what was most near and dear to you 5 now you are poor and desolate. But now it is that you can say in truth : Our Father, who art in heaven. ' " As long as you are poor, you feel more dependent on God. You become thereby more closely united to God. It is, then, really a clear mark of his love when God takes away from you the goods of this world. He loves you. He is a jealous God. He wishes to take entire possession of your heart, of all your affections, and, therefore, he weans you from all things in this world, lest you should love them too much. God fore sees that, if you were rich, and could enjoy the pleasures of this world, you would perhaps soon forget him, you would fall into grievous sins and be lost. He, there fore, deprives you of the dangerous gift of riches, just as you take away a sharp knife from the hands of your child. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of divine Love and He is called < The Father of the Popr,' He is the Father 156 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. of the Poor, precisely because He is infinite Love. How consoling is this thought ! Be not solicitous, there fore, saying : What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, wherewith shall we be clothed ? . . . For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things." (Matt, vi., 31-32.) "You say that you have to suffer. That is true ; but who is there, in this world that does not suffer 1 There is not one. There is no man on earth without some trouble, whether he be beggar, Pope or king. You envy, perhaps, that rich man who steps so grandly out of his carriage, who is bowed into his splendid residence by a retinue of servants ; but could you only look into his heart, you would, perhaps, see there a load of care and misery, compared to which, all your troubles are as nothing. Be lieve me, the gorgeous palaces of the rich, are too often but the gilded prisons of weary hearts. Remember that you cannot cure a sick man by clothing him in a costly robe of silk and diamonds, and neither can you cure a sick, weary heart with all the wealth in the universe. But you will ask perhaps why has God given one kind of suffering to you, and another kind to another man ? If you wish to know this, then look up to heaven. Re member, your loving Father in heaven knows what is best for you. He will explain it all to you on the last day. And if you think you have to suffer more than others, then remember that suffering is a sign of God's love. " God loveth those whom He chastiseth. He chastiseth every child that He adopteth." (Prov., iii., 12.) God is also now your friend and protector. Holy Scrip ture assures us that " God is the refuge of the Poor.'7 (Ps. ix.; 10.) "The poor man cries to God," says the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 157 Holy Ghost, "and God hears and delivers him." (Ps. xxxiii., 7.) In this world, even your best friends grow tired, if you appeal to their charity too often ; but God acts far otherwise. He never grows tired. He is never annoyed, no no matter how often you ask Him for help. His ear is ever open to your prayers. He is ever ready to assist you in your necessities. But you will say : "How can I consider God as my friend ? He has treated me rather like an enemy. I was once well off. I was happy. Now I am poor ; sometimes I scarcely know where to find bread for my poor hungry children." Ah ! why do you not understand the ways of God? Were you then richer than Job was ? Certainly not ; and yet God took away from him, all that he had. God took away his health, his property, his children. God afflicted him with a very powerful and loathsome disease. Job was thrown out of house and home ; he was cast upon a dunghill. His friends, the very wife of his bosom, turned against him, accused him unjustly, and loaded him with insult. Now why did God afflict Job in this manner 1 Precisely be cause God loved him. God wished to draw him more closely to himself and to make him perfect. Job knew this well, and, therefore, in the midst of his afflictions, he said: " If we have received good things from the hand of God, why not receive evil also." (Job, ii., 10.) "Eve a though the Lord should kill me, I will trust in him." (Job, xiii., 15.) " St. Lidwine, the daughter of very poor parents, was a great sufferer for many years. She was cover ed from head to foot, with most painful ulcers. In some of these ulcers, as many as two hundred little worms could be counted. Her flesh came off in pieces. She 158 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. was lying, not on a soft bed, but on a rough board, and stretched out there for thirty eight years. She could move only her head and left arm. She suffered from, dropsy, acute head-ache, tooth-ache, and most violent fevers. For want of sufficient clothes, she was, in win ter, quite benumbed with cold. Her tears froze on her cheeks. In the last year of her life she had to endure one of the most painful sufferings that can affect the hu man frame. It caused her such violent pains that she was forced to gnash her teeth, and often fainted away. She slept no more than half an hour in the year. " Besides these sufferings she had to endure the ill- treatment of wicked people. One day an infuriated wo man entered the room of the saintly virgin, and began to abuse her in the most shameful manner. She heaped uponlier the most disgraceful insults and reproaches. She spat in her face, and raised such a loud out-cry that the whole neighborhood was disturbed. Another time, four brutal soldiers entered the chamber of the afflicted maiden and began to speak to her in a most insulting manner. They struck her repeatedly with the most barbarous cruelty. " Now, in all her bodily sufferings, Lid wine was patient and resigned. In the midst of insults, she was like a tender lamb before a ravenous wolf, bearing with a calm countenance the insulting behavior of brutal men. Whence did she derive this superhuman patience, calmness and resignation in all her sufferings and trials ? It was from the consideration that by patience she would at one for her sins, satisfy God's justice, and gain an everlasting crown in heaven. Indeed, by her heroic patience, she became one of the most extraordinary saints of the Church of God. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 159 1 0 Lord ! 7 she exclaimed, i it is most pleasing to me that thou dost not spare me, nor withhold thy hand in over whelming me with suffering, for my greatest comfort is to know that thy will be done in me.7 " Our divine Savior says when you are invited to a feast take the lowest place, so that when the master of the house comes, he may say to thee : ' Friend, go up higher ; 7 and you shall be honored in the eyes of all that are present. (Luke xiv., 10.) Here in this world, you have perhaps the lowest place. Be patient ; do not murmur ; and when the Lord comes at the end of the world, he will say to you in presence of the whole universe : * Friend go up higher now j the first shall be the last ; and the last shall be the first ; 7 and you shall he glorified before the angels and saints of heaven. God assures us that he is himself the defender of the poor, and he threatens the oppressors of the poor with the severest chastisements. 'Do no violence to the poor/ he says; 'and do not oppress the needy 5 for the Lord will judge his cause and he will afflict those that afflict his soul.7 (Prov. xxii., 22.) "Our Lord Jesus Christ is also now more than ever your brother. Look at the life of our Lord. He is the king of heaven and earth, and yet he has become the poorest of the poor. He is born in a stable. Was there ever a poorer place to be born in ? He lived on earth as a poor carpenter's son. He had no home of his own, no place to rest his weary head. 'The birds of the air have their nests,7 he says — 'e'ven the foxes have their lairs, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.7 He suffered hunger and thirst. Sometimes he was even compelled to break off a few ears of wheat as he passed through the field in order to satisfy the cravings of hun- 160 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ger. Now that you are in want, do not lose confidence. Look up to Jesus, and say to him : * 0 Jesus, remember that thou wert once as poor as I am now. Have pity on me then and help me. But if thou wishest me to follow thee yet longer on the road of poverty and suffering, 0 then give me grace to do so cheerfully ! ' "It is also now that you are of the number of those to whom the Gospel is preached, that is, to the poor. Our dear Saviour himself assures us of this : i The spirit of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me, to preach the Gospel to the poor.' (Luke, iv., 18.) And it is to the poor that he still preaches, through the ministry of his holy Church. It is precisely the poor that crowd our churches, and listen eagerly to the words of God. It is especially the poor that crowd the churches during Holy Mass. It is the poor that are found praying in the church, during the long day, and in the silence of the night. It is they, who come to adore our blessed Lord in the Sacrament of his love. It is they who visit him in his little crib at Christmas ; and who weep with compassion when they hear the recital of his sufferings. It is especially the poor who press forward to the altar, hungering for the bread of life. It is they who are so proud to take part in a holy process ion, whether in the church or in the street. Yes, the Cath olic Church is proud of the poor ; and as our Lord Jesus Christ himself declared, " the poor are always with her.' "The holy martyr St. Lawrence was commanded by the tyrant to show him the treasures of the church. St. Lawrence obeyed. He led the tyrant to the church, and pointing to a large crowd of poor persons who were wait ing for alms, he said : ( See, here are the treasures of the Catholic Church.' Yes, the poor are a mark of the true COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 161 Church of Christ. When our blessed Saviour went back to heaven, he left the poor to take his place here on earth. He says to every one of us : ' Whatever you do to one of these poor persons, you do it to me/ uAs you are now poor and desolate, God will also be your sure re warder. He makes more account of the little alms of the poor than he does of the grand contribu tions of the rich. One day, Our Blessed 'Lord saw a poor widow putting a few pence into the treasury of the temple. He saw also the rich Pharisees offering their gifts. Now what did Jesus Christ say of this poor woman ?. Listen to his consoling words : * Amen, I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. J (Mark, xii., 43.) 0, what a consolation for the poor ! That poor widow went away, little thinking who was watching her. Her's was indeed a poor offering, a mere trifle ; but it was the best she had, and she gave it with a cheerful heart. 0, how great is her reward ! Wherever the Gospel is preached through out the wide world, her praise is uttered ; and her praise shall resound throughout all eternity in heaven. 0, what a consoling example is this for you ! You give small sum in alms, or for some other charitable object j or you make a little sacrifice, some act of kindness to your neighbor. Men do not esteem that deed of charity. Perhaps the very one to whom you have done that favor, does not notice it, or soon forgets it ; but God sees that good deed, he sees the good will with which you give that alms, and he remembers it : it is written down in the book of life. He shall proclaim it before the whole world on the last day, and he shall reward you for it through out a long, endless eternity. l Amen, I declare to you/ 162 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he says, ' that even a cup of cold water given in my name shall have its reward.' And then the prayers of the poor ! 0 how powerful are they ! how pleasing to God ! The prayers of the poor pierce the clouds ; they ascend like a mighty voice to the ear of God, and they do not depart until they are heard. Blessed is he for whom the poor are continually praying ; he is almost certain of his salvation. " Now that you are poor and desolate, the gates of heaven are open to you. l Blessed are the poor, ' says Jesus Christ, l for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ' And the Apostle St. James says : l Hath not God chosen the poor to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven.' (James, ii., 5.) Yes, if you are poor and resigned to the will of God, you can say in truth with Tobias of old : "Fear not, my child ren ; you lead indeed a life of poverty, but you shall have an abundance of good things, if you fear God, avoid sin and do good. The state of poverty frees you from many temptations, and makes it easy for you to gain heaven. Bear, then, courageously all your privations. When the hour of hardship comes, when you are tempted to murmur against God, when you are tempted to despair, then remember the consoling words of our Lord : l Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.' " You are now in want. Remember that a throne awaits you in heaven. You live in a poor miserable hut! Re member that there are many mansions in the home of your heavenly Father, and one of these mansions is pre pared for you. Poverty compels you to live in an un healthy neighborhood j cruel death has snatched away several beloved members of your family. Even the worse has come ; your heart has been crushed within you at see- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 163 ing a dear father and mother, darling brothers and sisters, and children carried out in their coffin, one by one ; you are alone and desolate in this wide world. Ah, look up ; raise your eyes to heaven! See they are standing at the gates of heaven to meet you with out-stretched arms : father, mother, brother, sister, and the sweet little babies whose death rent your heart in twain. See they are all smiling upon you, they are waiting to welcome you home to heaven. Your heart is heavy and sorrow-stricken here below ; remember, in heaven you shall enter into eternal, unbounded joy. There shall be no weeping, or sighing, or sorrow any more, for God shall wipe away every tear and heal every broken heart. Gaunt hunger sits every day at your poor table ? 0, have courage ! In heaven you shall sit at the eternal banquet of the Saints. You are poorly clothed ; your tattered garments call forth the heartless sneer of some unfeeling neighbor? Do not be discouraged ; in heaven you shall be crowned with a kingly diadem ; you shall be clothed with the costly robes which the angels and saints of heaven wear. Your friends have deserted you; you are a poor, homeless exile upon the face of the earth ; see, God is your friend ; a true and ever faithful friend, and a home of never-ending happiness awaits you in heaven. Here your hands have grown rough from hard labor; your whole body has been worn out by sickness and suffering! Ah! have courage! in heaven your body shall shine brighter and more glorious than the noon-day sun. Here you are ignorant and suffer much on account of it ; but have patience ; in heaven you shall know every thing, you shall be filled with heavenly wisdom ; you shall behold the Eternal God face to face, and in Him you shall see all things. In all your joys or 164 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. sorrows then turn your eyes constantly towards your true home; look up to heaven, to the mansion of your Father, the palace of His glory, the temple of His holiness, and the throne of His grandeur and magnificence, the land of the living, the centre of your rest, the term of your move ments, the end of your miseries, the place of the nuptials of the Lamb, the feast of God and His holy angels. O holy Sion, where all remains and nothing passes away: where all is found, and nothing is wanting; where all is sweet, and nothing bitter j where all is calm, and nothing is agitated ! 0 happy land whose roses are without thorns ; where peace reigns without combats and where health is found without sickness, and life without death ! O holy Thabor ! 0 palace of the living God ! O heav enly Jerusalem, where the poor sing eternally the beauti ful canticles of Sion ! " It is thus the good priest spoke to me, said the pious woman 5 I have felt happy ever since. May his words also strengthen and comfort you in all your trials. 5. To bear wrongs patiently. We live in a wrorld of iniquity and injustice, in a world where, from the beginning, the good have been wronged and persecuted by the wicked. Lucifer and his angels rebel against God, and fight against St. Michael and his angels. In the family of Adam, Cain slays his brother Abel. In the family of Abraham, Ismael persecutes Isaac. In the family of Isaac, Esau persecutes Jacob. In the family of Jacob, Joseph is sold into Egypt by his brethren In the family of David, Absalom persecutes Solomon Our Lord Jesus Christ is betrayed by one of his Apostles In the Church of Christ, the Roman emperors persecute th< Apostles and their successors for over three hundm COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 165 years. In the Franciscan Order, St. Francis of Assisiura is persecuted by brother Elias. In the Cistercian Order, St. Bernard is persecuted by his uncle Andrew. In the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, St. Alphonsus is calumniated and reviled by Father Leggio. In the kingdom of God on earth, heresy and infidelity constan tly oppose orthodox faith. In all places, the wicked wrong the good. Where is a country, a city, a village, or a family, where injustice is not found in opposition to justice? "Because I have loved justice," exclaimed St. Gregory on his death bed, u I die in exile." " There must be scandals," says our Lord. God per mits the elect, for their greater perfection, to be persecu ted by the wicked. u Good is set against evil, and life against death : so also is the sinner against the just man. And so look upon all the works of the Most High. Two and two, and one against another." (Ecclus. xxxiii., 15.) Now, it is by bearing patiently all kinds of wrong that we become more and more like unto God, and belong to that happy number of christians of whom our Lord says : u Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt, v., 10.) For over three hundred years the Irish people have suffered, struggled, and died for the faith. They suffered poverty with all its bitterness. They endured exile with all its sorrows ; they suffered outrage, and even death itself, rather than lose their God. The minions of hell enacted the fiendish penal laws, and soon that country, so rich and fruitful in colleges and convents, became one vast, dreary wilderness. In tracts of country thirty, forty, fifty miles in extent, the smoke from an inhabited house, as English chroniclers themselves declare, was nowhere to be seen. 166 , COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. The people had disappeared and left only skeletons in the land. The living were to be met only in the glens and dark caves of the mountains. There they dragged out a wretched existence, feeding on the weeds and garbage of the earth. Like shadows they moved about, haggard and wan, starving and wounded, and they endured the cruel pangs of hunger, till God, in his mercy, took them to a better world. Again and again were the harrowing scenes repeated. Ireland became prosperous again in spite of the most galling oppression 5 and the people of Ireland were again starved and massacred for their faith, and those that survived were shipped off to the British West Indies, and sold there as slaves. The British fleet was ordered around the coast. Over eighty thousand of the most influential and most distinguished of the Irish Catholics were packed on ship-board, and their bones have long since rotted in the soil of the English sugar-planta tions of Jamaica. The last effort of tyranny is still fresh in the minds of all — I mean the late famine years. There are, no doubt, some of my readers who have witnessed the appalling scenes of that gloomy period, and, once witnessed, they can never, never be forgotten. Ah! no. Like living fire, these horrid scenes burn into the memory, and leave there a horrid scar — a mark that can never be effaced. There were thousands and thousands wasting away and dying of hunger. They were falling and dying, as the leaves fall in autumn. The food that was sent to the poor people from America, was kept in the harbors until it rotted. And there, in sight of the famishing people, the wealthy, Protestant, overfed wives and daughters of the sleek, oily Protestant parsons, had plenty of food for their COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 167 cattle ; they had food in abundance for their pet birds or their lap-dogs, whilst the poor starving Catholics wished to eat even the husks of the swine, and it was not given them. A few years before that gloomy reign of terror, there lived near a certain town in Ireland a poor, honest farmer, with his wife and children. They were poor indeed, but were contented and happy. Never did the poor or the stranger pass their door without partaking of their hospi tality ; and what they had they gave with a willing heart. But the famine year came on. The good farmer was un able to pay the tithes. His little property was distrained. The police entered his farm j they seized his unreaped corn; they took his crops; they drove his cattle to the pound. The poor unhappy man himself was expelled from that little spot of earth on which he was born, where he had lived so long, and where he had hoped to die. He was turned into the public road, with his wife and children. No roof, no food, no clothing — he was cast, in beggary and nakedness, into the cold, heartless world. He sought for a shelter for his little ones. He sought for employment, but could find none. He was a Catholic. His neighbors around were bitter Protestants, of the blackest dye. They offered him shelter, food, and clothing, but on one condition — that he would apostatize. 0 God ! who shall tell the agony of that poor, heart broken father ? No hope to cheer him, save the hope of death ; no eye to pity him save the all- merciful eye of God ! He saw his poor wife dying before his eyes. He saw her wasting day by day — slowly pining away, while praying and weeping over her starving children. He heard his famished children crying for food, and their piteous 168 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. cries rent his very soul. Oh ! he could help them, he could provide them food, clothing, and a pleasant home — but then he must apostatize, he must renounce his holy faith! Oh! what a sore trial, what a cruel martyrdom! His loving wife died before his eyes — died of hunger. She died with words of patience, words of hope, upon her lips. The poor husband wrung his hands in anguish. He bent over the lifeless form of his wife. Dark night was thickening around him — thickening even within him ; he felt the cruel pangs of hunger gnawing at his very vitals. And were he not upheld by his holy faith, he would have yielded to despair. But the cries of his chil dren roused him. He forgot for a moment his own suffer ings. He took his two weak, starving babes in his trem bling arms, and hurried away with tottering steps. He begged from house to house, from door to door ; he begged for a crumb of bread for his poor, starving little ones ; but not one gave him a morsel of food. They of fered him food and clothing and shelter, if he would only apostatize, if he would give his children to be brought up in their false creed. " But,'7 cried the heart-broken father, " oh ! how could I give my children to be brought up in a false creed and deny their holy faith ? Oh ! how could I sell their souls to the evil one for a mess of pot tage?'7 After some time the unhappy man felt a heavy load weighing like lead upon his trembling arm. He looked. One of his poor babes had ceased moaning. It was dead — cold and stiff in death. The heart-broken father sat down beneath a tree by the wayside and pray ed, but he could not weep. Ah ! no ; his eyes were dry, his heart was withered. In wild, passionate tones he called on Heaven to witness his agony — he called COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 169 God to witness that he did not wish the death of his children, that he would gladly lay down his life to save his family, but he could not — oh ! no ! no ! — he could not deny his holy faith ; he could not sell their souls to the devil. He tried once more to obtain some food for his remaining child, but in vain, and at last the poor, innocent sufferer gasped and died too in his arms. Ah ! whose heart can remain un moved at the sufferings of this good father and his chil dren ! And yet heaven was worth all this, and more too j for St. Paul has said with truth : "I reckon that the suffer ings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us." 6. To forgive injuries. (See above Q. 8.) 7. To pray for the living and the dead. It is from the Lord's Prayer,or the "Our Father," that we learn how pleasing it is to God to pray for others. In this prayer, Jesus Christ teaches us to pray not only for ourselves, but also for all our fellow-men. He teaches us in this prayer to ask for others the same graces which we ask for ourselves. He has also taught us, by his example, to pray for others. Indeed, we may say that his whole life was a continual prayer both for the just and sinners. "And not for them only [the Apostles] do I pray, but for them also who, through their word, shall believe in Me, that they all may be one, as thou Father in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.'7 (John, xvii., 20, 11.) "Pray one for another," says St. James the Apostle, "that you may be saved." (Epist. St. James, v., 15.) We are especially obliged to pray for the successor of St. Peter, our Holy Father the Pope, for the bishops and 170 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. clergy of the holy Catholic Church, and for all those who labor for the propagation of our holy faith. Jesus Christ himself has given us the example. "And now I am no more in the world ; and these [the Apostles] are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we also are. ... I do not ask that thou shoulcLst take them away out of the world, but that thou shouldst preserve them from evil. Sanctify them in truth. . . . Father, I will that where I am, they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me ; that they may see my glory, which thou hast given me." (John xvii., 11, 15, 17, 24.) If there is any one in the world, who needs your prayers, it is especially the priest. What our Lord says of St. Peter, applies to every priest, and to every just man. " Simon, Simon," said he, "behold satan hath de sired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." (Luke, xxii., 31-32.) The priest is surrounded by all kinds of danger ous temptations, contradictions, and crosses. His sacred duty is to lead souls to God, and daily and hourly to dis pense the sacred treasures of God's grace. Now, why has the priest taken upon himself these fearful responsi bilities ? It is out of love for his fellow-men j it is to secure their eternal happiness. It is, then, your most sacred duty to make at least some return to the priest by offering for him your prayers. But not only your gratitude to the priest should urge you to pray for him ; your love for the holy Church also requires it. It is the greatest honor for God to have learned and virtuous priests ; priests full of zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls ; and this un- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 171 speakable gift of God is obtained and maintained by the fervent prayers of the faithful. And not only your love for the holy Church, but also your zeal for the salvation of souls should urge you to pray for the priest. A good priest is indeed the light of the world, the salt of the earth. He is the source of peace and blessings to hundreds and thousands. Moreover, we should often recommend to God all poor sinners, schismatics, heretics and infidels. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when hanging on the cross and suffering the most excruciating pains, prayed for the greatest sin ners, and his most bitter enemies : "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke, xxiii., 34.) "He that knoweth his brother to sin a sin, which is not unto death, let him ask, and life [life of grace] shall be given to him that sinneth not to death." (1. John, v., 15.) Remarkable instances of sinners leaving their evil ways and returning to God, occur every day. No doubt their conversion is owing to the prayers of the just. " For God willingly hears the pcayers of a Christian," says St. John Chrysostom, "not only when he prays for himself but also when he prays for sinners. Necessity obliges us to pray for ourselves, but charity must induce us to pray for others. The prayer of fraternal charity is more ac ceptable to God than that of necessity." (Chrysost. Horn. xiv., Oper. Imper. in Matt.) The prayer for sinners, says St. Alphonsus, is not only beneficial to them, but is, moreover, most pleasing to God; and the Lord himself complains of his servants who do not recommend sinnners to him. He said one day to St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi : " See, my daughter, how the Christians are in the devil's hands ; if my elect did not deliver them by their prayers, 172 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. they would be devoured." Inflamed with holy zeal by these words, this saint used to offer to God the blood of the Eedeemer fifty times a day in behalf of sinners. "Ah!'' she used to exclaim, " how great a pain it is, 0 Lord, to see how one could help thy creatures by dying for them, and not be able to do so !" In every one of her spiritual exercises she recommended sinners to God, and it is re lated in her life that she scarcely spent an hour in the day without praying for them ; she even frequently arose in the middle of the night to go before the Blessed Sacrament, to offer prayers for them. She went so far as to desire to endure even the pains of hell for their conversion, provided she could still love God in that place, and God granted her wish by inflicting on her most violent pains and infir mities for the salvation of sinners ; and yet after all this she shed bitter tears, thinking she did nothing for their conversion. " Ah, Lord, make me die," she often ex claimed, " and return to life again as many times as is necessary to satisfy thy justice for them ! " God, as is related in her life, did not fail to give the grace of conver sion to many sinners, on account of her fervent prayers. " Souls," says St. Alphonsus, " that really love God, will never neglect to pray for poor sinners." How could it be possible for a person who really loves God, and knows his ardent love for our souls, and how much he wishes us to pray for sinners, and how much Jesus Christ has done and suffered for their salvation ; how could it be possible for such a one, I say, to behold with indifference so many poor souls deprived of God's grace without feeling moved frequently to ask God to give light and strength to these wretched beings, in order that they may come out of the miserable state of spiritual death COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 173 in which they are slumbering ? It is true, God has not pro mised to grant our petitions in behalf of those who put a positive obstacle in the way of their conversion ; yet God, in his goodness, has often deigned, through the prayers of his servants, to bring back the most blind and obstinate sinners to the way of salvation, by means of extraordinary graces. Therefore, we should never fail to recommend poor sinners to God in all our spiritual exer cises ; moreover, he who prays for others will experience that his prayers for himself will be heard much sooner. In the life of St. Margaret of Cortona, we read that she prayed more than a hundred times a day for the conver sion of sinners ; and, indeed, so numerous were their conversions, that the Franciscan Fathers complained to her of not being able to hear the confessions of all those who were converted by her prayers. The Cure of Ars, who died a few years ago in the odor of sanctity, relates the following in one of his catechetical instructions : " A great lady, of one of the first families in France, was here, and she went away this morning. She is rich, very rich, and scarcely twenty -three. She has offered herself to God for the conversion of sinners and the expiation of sin. She mortifies herself in a thousand ways, wears a girdle all armed with iron points; her parents know nothing of it ; she is as white as a sheet of paper." (Spirit of Cure of Ars.) The same saintly pastor said one day to a priest, who complained of not being able to change the hearts of his parishioners for the better : " You prayed, you wept, you sighed j but did you fast also ? did you deprive yourself of sleep ? did you sleep on the bare ground ? did you scourge yourself? Do not think you have done all, if you have not yet done these penances. " 174 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. If we do not love poor sinners that much, if we think it above our strength to perform similar penitential works for their conversion, let us at least do something ; let us recommend them to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, or offer ourselves for a week or two as a holocaust to God, to be disposed of according to his good pleasure • let us suffer some cold, some heat, some inconvenience, some contradiction and contempt in silence 5 let us deny our selves some agreeable visits, or other natural pleasures $ or let us make a novena, or hear Mass daily for a week, and offer up our communions with this intention. We may be assured that by such exercises we shall give great pleasure to Jesus Christ, contribute much to the honor of his heavenly father, win his heart over to ourselves, force it sweetly to give the grace of conversion to many sin ners, and obtain for ourselves a large share of divine grace. If it is an excellent spiritual work of mercy to pray for the living, it is also a most praiseworthy spiritual work of mercy to pray for the dead. Before the coming of Christ, the Jews were the chosen people of God. They looked upon prayer for the dead as a holy and laudable work. They believed that, by offering up prayers for the dead, they could free the souls of the departed from their sins. We read, in the second book of the Machabees, a striking example of their charity towards the departed souls. About two hundred years before Christ, they gained a brilliant victory over the enemies of their religion. Now, as many of the Jews had been slain in the battle, Judas Machabeus, their valiant general, took up a collection, and sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for a sacrifice to be offered up in expiation of the sins of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 175 the dead. The Holy Ghost praises the Jews for their charity towards the departed, by saying : " It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.'7 (II Machab., xii., 43.) The souls in purgatory, those holy prisoners, and debtors to the divine justice are quite helpless. A sick man, af flicted in all his limbs, and a beggar in the most painful and destitute of conditions, has tongue left to ask relief. At least they can implore heaven — it is never deaf to their prayer.' But the souls in purgatory are so poor that they cannot even do this. Those cases, in which some of them were permitted to appear to their friends and ask assistance, are but exceptions. To whom is it that they should have recourse ? Is it perhaps to the mercy of God f Alas ! they send forth their sighs in plaintive voices : "As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee, 0 God. When shall I come and appear before the face of God ? My .tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God." (Ps., xli., 1.) "Lord, where are thy ancient mercies." (Ps., Ixxxviii., 50.) "I cry to thee, and thou hearest me not ; I stand up, and thou dost not regard me. Thou art changed to be cruel toward me." (Job, xxx., 20-21.) But the Lord does not re gard their tears, nor heed their moans and cries, but answers them that his justice must be satisfied to the last farthing. Are they to endeavor to acquire new merits, and there by purify themselves more and more? Ah! they know that their time for meriting is passed away, that their earthly pilgrimage is over, and that upon them is come that fatal niglit in which no one can tvorJc. (John, ix., 4.) 176 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. They know that by all their sufferings they can gain no new merit, no higher glory in heaven — they know, it is through their own fault that they are condemned to this state of suffering j they see clearly, how many admoni tions, exhortations, inspirations and divine lights they have rejected, how many prayers, opportunities to receive the sacraments and to profit by the means of grace they have neglected through mere caprice, carelessness and indolence ; they see their ingratitude towards God, and the deep wounds they made in the Sacred Heart of Jesus — and their extreme grief and sorrow for all this is a worm never ceasing to gnaw at them. It is a heart-rending pain, it is a killing torment for them, to know that they have put themselves wilfully and wantonly into this state of the most cruel and most lacerating pains ! "0 cruel comforts ! 0 accursed ease ! " they cry out, u it is on your account that we are deprived of the enjoyment of God, our only happiness for all eternity ! " Shall they console themselves "By the thought that their sufferings will soon be over ? But they are ignorant of the duration of their sufferings unless it be revealed to them by God. Hence it is that they sigh day and night, that they weep constantly and cry unceasingly : " Wo is to us, that our sojourn is prolonged ! " Shall these poor, helpless souls seek relief from their fellow-sufferers — all utterly incapable of procuring mu tual relief? Lamenting, sobbing and sighing, shedding torrents of tears, and crying aloud, these poor souls stretch out their hands for one to help, console and relieve them. We are the only ones who have it in our power to assist them in their sufferings. The souls in purgatory are holy souls. They are COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 177 confirmed in grace and no longer in a condition to offend God or to forfeit heaven. They love God above every thing ; all their disorderly affections and passions have died away, and as they love God, so are they loved by him in an unutterable manner. For this reason, our Lord wishes that they should be united to him as soon as possible ; but as he is a God most holy and most just, his holiness and justice forbid him to admit them into the city of the heavenly Jerusalem before their indebtedness to his di vine justice has been fully discharged, either by their own sufferings or by the prayers and good works of their brethren on earth. To remove, then, by our charity this bar to the divine goodness, and to assist these souls in being sooner united to the angelic choirs and the number of the blessed in heaven/ there to love, praise and glorify God in a most perfect manner, cannot but be a work most pleasing and most acceptable to the Almighty. " I was hungry," He will say to the elect on the day of judg ment, u and you gave me to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink ; I was a stranger and you took me in ; naked, and you clothed me : sick, and you visited me ; I was in prison, and you came to me." And when the just will ask the Lord upon what occasion they acted thus toward him, he will answer : " Amen, I say to you : so long as you did it to one of these, my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt., xxv., 34-40.) Truly, if our Lord so highly values the least act of charity, what value will he not set on that charity which freed from their expiatory place such souls as were already espoused to him for all eternity. We read in the life and revelations of St. Gertrude, that she one day inquired of our Lord why the recital of 178 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. the Psalter for the souls of the departed was so agreeable to him, and why it obtained so great a relief for them, since the immense number of psalms and the long prayers after each, caused more weariness than devotion. Our Lord replied : " The desire which I have for the deliverance of the souls of the departed, makes it acceptable to me j even as a prince who had been obliged to imprison one of his nobles, to whom he was much attached, and was compelled by his justice to refuse him pardon, would most thankfully avail himself of the intercession and satisfaction of others to release his friend. Thus do I act towards those whom I have redeemed by my death and precious blood, rejoicing in the opportunity of releasing them from their pains and bringing them to eternal joy." " But," continued the Saint, " is the labor of those who recite this Psalter acceptable to thee ? " He replied : " My love makes it most agreeable to me ; and if a soul is released thereby, I accept it as if I had been myself delivered from captivity and I will assuredly reward at it a fitting time, according to the abundance of my mercy." — (Chap., xvi.) St. Gertrude never felt happier than on the days on which she had prayed much for the relief of the souls in Purgatory. One day she asked our Saviour why it was that she felt so happy on those days. " It is," he re plied, " because it would not be right for me to refuse the fervent prayers which you on these days pour out to me for the relief of my suffering spouses in purgatory." "It is not right for me," says Jesus Christ, " to refuse the prayers which you address to me in behalf of my captive spouses." How consoling, then, and at the same time, how encouraging must it be to remember in our prayers the poor sufferers of purgatory ! COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 179 Dinocrates, the brother of St. Perpetua, died at the age of seven years. Now, one day when St. Perpetua was in prison for the sake of faith, she had the following vision : " I saw Dinocrates," she says, " coming out of a dark place, where there were many others exceedingly hot and thirsty j his face was dirty, his complexion pale, with the ulcer in his face of which he died j and it was for him that I prayed. There seemed a great distance between him and me, so that it was impossible for us to meet each other. Near him stood a vessel full of water, whose brim was higher than the stature of an infant. He attempted to drink, but though he had water, he could not reach it. This mightly grieved me, and I awoke. By this I knew my brother was in pain, but I trusted I could, by prayer, relieve him; so I began to pray for him, beseeching God, with tears, day and night, that He would grant me my request, as I continued to do till we were removed to the camp-prison. The day we were in the stocks, I had this vision : I saw the place, which I had beheld dark before, now luminous ; and Dinocrates, with his body very clean and well clad, refreshing him self, and, instead of his wound, a scar only. I awoke and I knew he was relieved from his pains." — (Butler's Lives of the Saints, March 7.) After St. Ludgardis had offered up many fervent prayers for the repose of the soul of her deceased friend, Simeon, abbot of the monastery of Toniac, our Lord ap peared to her saying : " Be consoled, My daughter, on account of thy prayers I will soon release this soul from purgatory." " Oh Jesus, Lord and Master of my heart," she rejoined ; " I cannot feel consoled so long as I know that the soul of my friend is suffering so much in the 180 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. purgatorian fire ! Oh ! I cannot help shedding most bitter tears until Thou hast released this soul from her suffer ings." Touched and overcome by this tender prayer, our Lord released the soul of Simeon, who appeared to Ludgardis, all radiant with heavenly glory, and thanked her for the many fervent prayers which she had offered up for his delivery. He also told the saint that, had it not been for her fervent prayers, he should have been obliged to stay in purgatory for eleven years. (Life 1. i., 4) "It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought,7' says Holy Writ, " to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins." — (II. Machabees, xii., 46.) The relief, however, which the souls in purgatory re ceive from our prayers, is in proportion to the fervor with which we say them. This was one day expressly declared by our Lord to St. Gertrude when asking Him " How many souls were delivered from purgatory by hers and her sisters7 prayers?" " The number," replied our Lord, " is proportioned to the zeal and fervor of those who pray for them." He added : u My love urges me to release a great number of souls for the prayers of each religious, and at each verse of the psalms which they re cite, I release many." Although the souls of the departed are much benefited by these vigils and other prayers, nevertheless a few words, said with affection and de votion, are of far more value to them. And this may be easily explained by a familiar comparison ; for it is much easier to wash away the stains of mud or dirt from the hands by rubbing them quickly in a little warm water, than by pouring a quantity of cold water on them without using any friction ; thus, a single word, said with fervor and devotion, for the souls of the departed, is of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 181 far more efficacy than many vigils and prayers offered coldly and performed negligently. What a soothing satisfaction to the heart is not prayer for the dead ! It changes tears, heretofore barren, into works of piety and mercy ; causes our sorrow to be a succor to the object of our love, and makes it, therefore, less bitter ; it establishes and maintains, between our selves and those who leave us, the most pleasing and salutary relations — a continual exchange of services and of precious help. Admirable relations between the living son and the departed father, between the mother and the daughter, the husband and the wife, between life and death ! While I share what I have to spare with the poor, God, to recompense me, will withdraw my father, my mother, my friend, from a place of suffering. That same penny which goes to give his daily bread to a poor sufferer, will perhaps give to a delivered soul a place for all eternity at the table of the Lord. What heart does not thrill at such a thought ! Who among us does not see one of those most near and dear to us in life, appear to exhort us to the work of prayer and the labors of virtue I Who does not exclaim, when watering with his tears the tomb of a beloved one : " O beloved soul, whom so many virtues and good works have recommended to the clemency of the great Judge ! whom so many sufferings have so long tried and purified before my eyes ! whom a death, so very bitter indeed, but sanctified by religion and consoled by its hopes, has so quickly withdrawn from my embraces ! — I hope for thy everlasting salvation, from the divine goodness and merits of Jesus Christ : but I know not if it is yet con summated by thy entrance into glory. In this uncer- 182 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. tainty I pray for thee, and I unite to ray prayers the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which I daily offer upon his altar. My prayer made effectual by our Saviour's blood relieves thee if thou art still suffering j it obtains for my self the favors of heaven in greater abundance. The remembrance of thee accompanies me everywhere ; the desire of hastening thy happiness urges me on, and un ceasingly stimulates my zeal. I feel thee present, as it were, like a guardian angel, who at one time encourages me to prayer and good works, at another assures me of his prayers and assistance. Death has only brought our souls nearer to each other. Formerly I surrounded thee with my attentions, and was in turn the object of thy tenderest solicitude 5 now I still love, and still am loved, and more than ever is my love capable of helping thee, and is itself repaid by thee." What purity is there not in this love ! What holiness in the works which it imposes ! What a charm in the consolations it procures ! What a mysterious and holy association is that which unites in a community of mutual aid the visible and the invisible life, time and eternity : the just man who is still engaged in the combat, with him who is having his wounds healed in an exile that must soon end, and him who is already enjoying the glory and the triumph of heaven ! 13. How does God reward the charitable 1 He rewards them for their charity, as if bestowed upon himself. Who do you think it is that asks alms of you ? It is Jesus, your God, your Creator, your Lord, your Re deemer, your Father. He it is who, in the disguise of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 183 poverty, implores your assistance. " Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt., xxv., 40.) How happy and honored are those who give alms to Jesus Christ in the person of the poor ! If you, like a father, shall give protection and support to the fatherless, and be as a husband to their mother, God also, to reward your charity, will show himself to you as a father, and will tske care of you as his child ; nay, he will be more kind, and more indulgent to you, than a mother can be to her children. You will be, then, a son of the Most High, be cause you comply with his precept of charity to the poor and fatherless. Thus to become and to be a son of God, is something far greater than to be king, emperor, or master of the whole universe j nay, it is even more than to be an angel, an archangel, a cherub, a seraph j it is, as it were, to be a god on earth. For, as the son of a man is man himself, so, in like manner, a son of God is a god himself, as it were 5 especially so, if he imitates those divine attributes which are most peculiar to God, and in which God himself glories most 5 that is, in charity and in liberality. St. Hilary, commenting on Psalm 51 writes thus: "Gold given in alms, changes us from being earthly into heavenly beings ; and from being mortals, into im mortal creatures." And St. Clement of Alexandria says : " A man who is charitable towards others, is the image of God." (I. Strom.) "There is nothing," says St. Gregory Nazianzen, "that makes man so godlike as charity towards his neighbor. Be a god to the helpless and needy, by imitating the charity of God." "If there be nothing," says St. Gregory of Nyssa, " in which God 184 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. glories more than in his goodness, to what else, then, does Christ exhort you when he says : i blessed are the merciful/ than that you should become a god by imitating that divine attribute, which is most peculiar to God." (Lib. de Beatitud. Beati misericordes.) " No act of devotion and piety of the faithful," says St. Leo, " de lights the heart of God more than that which is performed towards the poor j and wherever the Lord finds a man engaged in the service of the poor, and exercising charity, there he sees and recognizes his image and likeness." (Serm. 10 de Quadrag.) " And tlie Lord will have mercy on thee more than a mother." 0 the wonderful goodness of God ! by which he vouchsafes to be to the charitable not only a father, but also a mother ; nay, even more than a mother, accord ing to what he himself declares by the Prophet Isaias : " Thus saith the Lord that made and formed thee, thy helper from the womb. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, who are carried by my bowels, are borne up by my womb, even to your old age I am the same, and to your gray hairs I will carry you. I have made you, and I will bear you, I will carry and I will save. Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb ? And if she could forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands.91 It was this charity of God which induced many philoso phers and theologians of old to call the Lord "Patri- matrem et matripatrem" a father and a mother, because he unites in himself, with the omnipotence of the Fa ther, the indulgence and kindness of a mother. Again : "The Lord will have mercy on thee, more than a mother." 0 great truth ! too little reflected upon, too COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 185 little understood ! As a true parent is more careful to do good to that one of his children who endeavors best to imitate his example, so, in like manner, God is more careful to bestow His mercy upon those of His children who try to the best of their power to imitate the example of His charity. He blesses them temporally and spiritu ally, at every moment of their life and for all eternity. If they pray to him, he grants their prayers most willingly. The Lord says through the mouth of the Pro phet Isaias : " Deal out thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and harborless into thy house j when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear 5 thou shalt cry, and he shall say 'Here I am.? " (Chapters Iviii. & i.) Charity, then, towards our fellow-men, especially towards the poor, render our prayers most powerful with God. " And thy justice shall go before thee," says the Prophet Isaias. (Chap. Iviii.) The prophet means to say that God will hear those prayers which are accompanied by the works of charity, but that those performed without charity are powerless with him. The angel of the Lord declared this to Tobias: " Prayer is good, with fasting and alms." (Tob. xii., 8.) For this reason Tobias said on his death-bed to his son : " Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away thy face from any poor person ; for it shall come to pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from thee." (Chap, iv., 7.) The Bishop St. Julian used to distribute among the poor and needy every thing he possessed. The Church says of him that, on account of his extraordinary charity 186 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. towards his fellow-men, he obtained, through his prayers, many wonderful favors from God. Once, when the people were suffering very much from temporal want, he commenced to pray to God with tears in his eyes. All on a sudden, several wagons loaded with corn arrived, and no sooner were they unloaded, than the men who brought them disappeared. Father Hunolt, S. J., (11 Serm. on the Following of Christ.) relates that there was once a certain vicious young man who often sincerely wished to change his life, but who, on account of his deeply-rooted evil habits, believed his conversion utterly impossible. He thought that whatever he might do, would be of no avail to excite true sorrow and contrition in his heart. One day, as he was overwhelmed with melancholy, he left home in order to seek some relief in the society of his companions. On leaving the house, he met, at the door, a poor beggar. As soon as he saw him, he remembered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: ll Whatsoever you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done to Me." He then went and took a loaf of bread, and throwing himself on his knees before the beggar, he gave it to him, thus praying in his heart : " My Lord Jesus Christ, I adore thee in the person of this poor man ; most gladly would I give thee my whole heart, but I cannot, because it is too harden ed ; for the present at least, take, I beseech thee, this loaf of bread, which I am still able to give ; do with my heart whatever thou wilt." Oh, the wonderful power of pray er when accompanied by works of charity ! No sooner had he prayed thus, than he felt in his heart so bitter a sorrow for all his sins, that he shed a torrent of tears. He made a good confession, and ever afterwards received many extraordinary graces. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 187 Henephon, a wealthy and powerful nobleman of Con stantinople and his wife Mary led virtuous holy lives. They had two sons, John and Arcadius, whom they sent to Phoenicia to study jurisprudence. At first, the voyage was prosperous, but soon a fierce storm arose. Th} sails were torn to shreds ; the masts were broken into splinters ; the ship was entirely at the mercy of the storm. The two brothers prayed and embraced each other j in the next moment they were parted by the violence of the waves and the vessel sank into the boiling sea ! John, the elder brother, seized a plank, was driven about at the mercy of the winds and waves, till finally he was cast on the shore of Phoenicia. Full of gratitude for his escape and thoroughly convinced of the nothingness of all earthly possessions, he fell on his knees and vowed to consecrate himself to the service of God in some monastery. Going farther inland, his good angel led his steps to the gate of a monastery. He pre sented himself to the Abbot and begged to be admitted into his pious community. The Abbot hearing the story of his shipwreck, was touched by his modesty and innocence, embraced him tenderly and received him among his religious. Meanwhile, Arcadius, the younger brother, was also cast ashore. He had not the heart to return to his pa rents with the sad tidings of the shipwreck, and filled with gratitude to God he resolved to make a pilgrimage to the holy places in Palestine. He afterwards entered without knowing it, the very monastery where his brother lived. Here the two brothers lived for years without recognizing each other, as all the religious of the monastery lived in perpetual silence and solitude. The Abbot alone knew 188 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. who they were. You may imagine the grief of the pa rents on learning no news of their sons ! They sent messengers to Phoenicia, who enquired everywhere with out finding the least tidings of the young men. Finally, on their way homeward, they met one of the servants who accompanied the two brothers. From him they learned the sad news of the shipwreck. Ah! who can describe the grief of the parents when they learned the sad fate of their beloved children f They cast themselves on the ground, and with heart-rending groans and tears they of fered the great sacrifice of their children to God : " The Lord hath given," they exclaimed with heroic resignation " and the Lord hath taken away ! Blessed be the name of God ! " They passed the whole night in prayers and tears beseeching the Lord to make known to them if their children were yet living. Towards morning they fell into a gentle slumber and both dreamed, that they saw their sons in Jerusalem. They appeared standing before the throne of Jesus Chris.t and crowned with glory. The good couple resolved, therefore, to set out for Jeru salem in the hope of hearing some news of their dear children. They took with them a large sum of money to distribute to the poor and soon reached Jerusalem. They first visited the holy places and then went from one monastery to another, giving alms and requesting the prayers of the good religious. One day when they came to a certain monastery, the Abbot enlightened by God, recognized them instantly and called them by name. u Have confidence/7 he said; " continue your work of mercy ; and when you have distributed your alms, return to this convent, perhaps God will give you some tidings of your long lost children." COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 189 The good parents were greatly astonished, and consoled by this address, coming especially from a stranger. As soon as they had bestowed alms on all the monasteries they hastened back to the holy Abbot. The good man received them kindly, and begged them to take a slight repast. " I have two religious here," said he, u who have passed through a rigorous fast and I wish to give them a little recreation ! " The Abbot then went to the young men and informed them that they were brothers. No words can express the joy of the young men in meeting each other again. It was indeed a foretaste of heaven ! The Abbot then said : u Two noble pilgrims are to dine here to-day. I wish you to wait on them and edify them by your good conduct. I therefore strictly forbid you to gaze upon them or to express your feelings in any way whatever, until I give you permission to speak." The feast was soon ready. The pious couple were seated at table. The two religious waited on them, but they were so changed by hardships and penances, that the parents did not recognize them. At last the pilgrims entreated the Abbot to give them the promised tidings of their long lost children. "Ah ! how happy would we be," they ex claimed tl if our children had the good fortune to be holy servants of God as are the good religious who have waited on us to-day ! What an honor it would be to have such children ! " Thereupon the Abbot commanded Arcadius to relate the adventures of his life. Arcadius began. He told where he was born ; how he and his brother had been sent to Phoenicia .; how they were shipwrecked ; how they were saved, and finally, how they both met in the same monastery. "What -are the names of your 190 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. parents ? " asked the aged couple eagerly. " My father's name is Henophon and my mother's name is Mary/' answered Arcadius. At these words the parents were transported with joy. They fell weeping upon the necks of their children, those dear children, so long lost and at length so happily found again. So great was the gratitude of these good people to God that, on their return home, they sold all they had, gave the proceeds to the poor, and entered into separate monasteries, where they led a most holy and edifying life. The Church honors them as saints. (Bollandists, Acta Sanctorum.) If you wish to multiply your temporal goods without much trouble, you have but to give alms ; for it is written, " Give and it shall be given to you." Alms-deeds are like the seed sown by Isaac, which yielded a hundred-fold. Christ has said of those who leave every thing for His sake, and distribute their goods among the poor, that they will receive a hundred-fold. St. Augustine justly remarks (Serm. 25 De verbis Domini, c. 3.) that the field of the poor is very fertile, yielding fruit instantly to those that culti vate it. " He that giveth to the. poor, shall not want : he that despiseth his entreaty, shall suffer indigence. " (Prov. xxviii., 27.) As a proof of this truth, let us remember the pot of meal and the cruse of oil, from which Elias received nourishment. "The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished." (III. Kings, chap, xvii., 16.) "He that has mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord : and he will repay them." (Prov., xix.,17.) "The Lord," says St. Leo, "gives security for the poor, and returns every thing with usury. If you, then, wish to carry on usury, do so with God." "To give alms," says St. John Chrysos- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 191 torn (Horn, xxxiii.), "is of all arts the most lucrative;" for the Lord is more liberal than nature. Put into the earth one giain of wheat, and for it you will reap a hun dred, perhaps three hundred grains. But God is much more inclined to return for one act of charity, a hundred, nay a thousand. Again, one good work leads to a better one. Humble yourself before God, and you will feel inclined to humble yourself still more. Pray, and you will feel desirous to pray still more. So in like manner, give alms, and you will feel incited to give still more. Thus the words of the Wise Man will be fulfilled in your regard : "Some dis tribute their own goods, and grow richer. The soul which blesseth shall be made fat: and he that inebriateth, shall be inebriated also himself." (Prov., xi., 24.) " God has prescribed," says St. John Chrysostom, " to give alms not only to relieve the needy, but also that thereby the goods of the giver should be increased, so that the giver of alms should gain more than the receiver himself." One day, the Bishop St. Germanus met on his jour ney a poor man who asked an alms of him. The holy bishop asked his deacon how much money he had still left to defray the expenses of the journey. The dea con replied that he had only three dollars. "Well, give them to this poor man," said the bishop. The deacon, however, did not obey, but gave only two dollars to the beggar. At night a rich man came and gave the bishop two hundred dollars. "See," said St. Germanus to the deacon, "had you given the three dollars to the poor man, as I told you, our Lord would have sent to us one hundred dollars more. Learn from this, never more to distrust the liberality of God." (Life by Ribadeneira.) 192 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Indeed, alms-giving forces God always to come to the assistance of the giver. " Shut up alms in the heart of the poor," says the Holy Ghost, " and it shall obtain help for thee against all evil. Better than the shield of the mighty, and than the spear, it shall fight for thee against thy enemy." (Ecclus. xxix., 15.) And again : " God pro- videth for him that showeth favor : He remembereth him afterwards, and in the time of his fall he shall find a sure stay." (Chap., iii., 34.) Just as if it were said : In the time of adversity, the alms giver will stand firm under the protection of God. Holy Scripture says : "The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye " (Ecclus., xvii., 1 8.); as if it were said : As a seal-ring is worn on the fin ger, and is always before the eyes of man, so in like manner alms are always before the eyes of God, and the alms bestowed upon a poor person are preserved by God as the apple of the eye, i. e., as a thing most precious in his sight. One night, St. Philip Neri carried bread to a bashful poor man. On his way thither he fell into a deep ditch. But the Lord preserved him from being hurt, and sent his angel to extricate him from his dangerous position. Those who are familiar with the lives of charitable souls will remember many instances of this kind. The love of God, however, is not satisfied with bestow ing temporal blessings upon the charitable ; He also be stows upon them His spiritual gifts and graces, which surpass the temporal blessings as much as eternity sur passes time. Now, the first and most necessary spiritual gift that the Lord can bestow upon the soul of man, is to deliver it from sin and eternal death. But charity COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 193 towards the needy induces the Lord to free the soul from sin. Tobias says: "Alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness." (Chap, iv., 11.) "By charity towards the poor we shall overcome and avoid all sin," says St. Leo. (Serm. 2., De ascens.) " Let all those, then, who wish that Jesus Christ should spare them, be merciful and charitable to the poor," says the same holy Pope. (Serm. 4., De collect.) " Redeem thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor," said the holy prophet Dan iel to King Nabuchodonosor. (Chap., iv., 24.) Why is it that alms destroy sin ? (1) Because those who are merciful to others, obtain mercy, according to the words of Jesus Christ : " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (Matt., v., 7.) Alms, of course do not remit mortal sin directly (the remission of mortal sin being obtained only by confession), but indirectly, be cause they are a powerful prayer to obtain from God the grace of sincere sorrow and amendment of life. We read in the Acts of the Apostles (Chap., x., 4.) that at Csesarea there lived a certain centurion, named Cornelius, a religious man, giving much alms, and always praying to God. As he was yet a heathen, the Lord sent him an angel to tell him that he should send for Peter, and be instructed by him in the true faith. What induced our Lord to bestow this great grace upon this man ? It was the great charity which this centurion always exhibited to the poor, as the angel of the Lord himself declared : " Thy prayers, and thy alms/' said he, " have ascended for a memorial in the sight of God." St. Eustace, also, when still a heathen, was very chari table to the poor. Christ himself one day appeared to 194: COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. him and persuaded him to become a Christian. He and his whole family were converted, and died as martyrs. 2. Alms-giving is said to destroy sin, because the poor will offer up to God their prayers in behalf of their bene factors, and their prayers cannot remain unheard. " The Lord hears the sighs and prayers of the poor," says Holy Scripture. (Ps., x., 17.) 3. To give alms is an act of charity, but " charity covers a multitude of sins," says the Apostle St. James. (Chap., v., 20.) 4. This act of charity will always remit temporal punishment. On account of his great charity to the poor, the Emperor Zeno escaped temporal punishment. John Moschus, in his " Spiritual Meadow," tells us that this Emperor had outraged the daughter of a certain lady. This lady went to church every day, there to pray to God that he might avenge her, and punish the emperor for his wicked deed. Having prayed for this with tears in her eyes during several days in succession, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her, and said that the hands of God were prevented from punishing the emperor on account of his great charity towards the poor. (Chap, clxxv.) " Water," says Holy Scripture, " quencheth a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sins." (Eccles. iii., 3.) " Yes," says St. Augustine (Lib. xxi., Civit. xxxvii.), " there are some who cannot be saved without alms, because they are so deeply immersed in sin and irregular desires as not to be able to free themselves from their evil habits by means of the ordinary graces of God ; they need a more power ful grace, which will be granted only through the prayers of the poor and needy." " Alms-giving is, then," says the same St. Augustine COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 195 (Horn. xxix., inter. 80.), "like a propitiatory sacrifice of- iered to God to appease him." St. Paul writes : " Do not forget to do good, and to impart : for by such sacrifices God's favor is obtained." (Heb. xiii., 16.) For this reason, St. Ambrose calls alms-giving a second baptism. (Serm. xxxii.) Should any one have committed sin after baptism, let him appease the Lord, and purify his soul by alms-giving. For Christ has said: "Give alms, and, be hold, all things are clean unto you." (Luke xi., 41.) However, it must be remembered that, though alms make us find mercy with God, that is, mercy for past sins, yet alms are not a license to commit sin with im punity. " For," says St. Augustine, " he who thinks he can bribe, as it were, the divine justice by charity to the poor, shall be damned and experience the divine justice in spite of all his alms." Lord Arpini and his wife made, in the year 1030, their last will in the following manner : " When we commenced to reflect that we were conceived and born in sin, and have from our infancy committed many faults every day, and that on the day of judgment we shall have to give a strict account of all our thoughts, words and actions, and that every one will receive from the Eternal Judge what he has deserved ; and again, when we reflected that sinners will be cast into fire everlasting for having neglected to atone for their sins here below, and that the elect of God will enter into everlasting bliss : then all on a sudden our hearts felt deeply touched by the mercy of God, and we were filled with great fear and trembling. - Whilst yet re flecting about what we should do, we felt inspired to go and ask the advice of holy priests and religious men on the manner of redeeming our innumerable sins, of escap- 196 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ing hell, and making sure of heaven. We were told, that under our circumstances, we could do nothing better than to give alms, and to build, of our own means, a church and a monastery, in which monks might serve God in a holy manner, and chant his praises, according to the rule and constitutions of St. Benedict, and pray for us incess antly. With the greatest pleasure we received this ad vice, and went by it. We built a church in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and we made it over to the venerable Father Dominic and his monks, that they might serve and praise God therein." (Baronius.) Alms-giving, however, is not only a propitiatory sacri fice ; it is also a sacrifice of praise. 1. Alms are given in honor and praise of God. 2. Because alms make the poor and needy praise God for having inspired the giver to relieve them in their necessities. 3. Because, when others see this charity, they, too, will praise God for it, and will feel induced to imitate it. 4. As the charitable man bestows alms for the love of God, he often receives great consolation even in this life, and, therefore, thanks and praises God for the grace of being able to give alms. It is, then, a great act of mercy on the part of God to receive alms both as a sacrifice of praise and as a sacri fice of propitation. But this mercy is particularly vis ible at the hour of death. The hour of death, what an hour of terror ! The past, the present, the future, fill the dying man with horror j the world is receding from him j the judgment of God is before him 5 a strict account is to be given ; the temptations of the devil are most fierce, — all this makes the remembrance of death most frightful. But holy David says : a Blessed is he that understandeth COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 197 concerning the needy and the poor. The Lord will de liver him in the evil day" (Ps. xl., 2.) Now this evil day is the day, the hour of death. But in this hour the alms- giver will experience particular confidence in God. " Alms shall be/7 says Holy Scripture, " a great confidence before the Most High God to all those that give it." (Job. iv., 12.) And again : " Alms delivereth from death, and maketh to find mercy." (Chap, xii., 9.) u The goods of this world," says St. Ambrose, " will not follow us from death. Only the works of charity will accompany the dying. They will preserve them from hell." Tobias says : " According to thy ability be merciful, for thus thou storest up to thy self a good reward for the day of necessity." (Tobias, iv., 8.) St. Cyprian says that Tabita was restored to life on ac count of her charity towards the poor. " This woman," says Holy Scripture, " was full of good words and alms- deeds which she did." (Acts ix., 36, 40.) " A death-bed is a good one," says St. Francis de Sales, " if it has charity for a mattress." (Spirit of Francis de Sales.) St. Vincent de Paul was wont to say, u that those who have been charitable in the course of their life towards the poor, generally have no fear of death at the end of their life j that he had witnessed this in many instances, and that for this reason he recommended to all those who were afraid of death to be charitable to the poor." It is rela ted in his life, that a certain man, who was very chari table to the poor, was always very much afraid of death. But in the whole course of his last illness which prepared him for death, he was calm and cheerful ; he died with a joyous smile on his lips. " Yes," says St. Jerome, t( I cannot remember ever having read that a Catholic who was given to works of 198 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. charity died a bad death. He has too many intercessors in heaven, and it is impossible that the prayers of many should not be heard." " Works of charity alone," re marks a certain author (Ad Fratres in eremo apud St. Augustin.), "lead man to God and God to man. I never saw a charitable person die a bad death." This confidence is a fruit of their charity to the poor — for they know that whatever they have given to the poor, they have given to our Lord Himself, as our Divine Sav iour has declared: u Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matt, xxv., 40.) For this reason, the Fathers of the Church say, that whatever is given in alms is put, as it were, into the Savings Bank of heaven by the hands of the poor. " Secure your riches," exclaims St. John Chrysostom (VII. De Poenitent.), " they are fleeting. How can you secure them ? By giving them in alms you will make them stay with you ; but by keeping them, you will make them leave you. Keep grain locked up, and it will be eaten by worms and disappear j sow it, and it will yield a rich harvest and remain. Thus, in like manner, riches put under lock and key will disappear ; but given in alms to the poor they will yield a hundred-fold." St. Cyprian says the same. These are his words (Tract, de Opere et eleemos.) : " A capital deposited in the hands of Jesus Christ cannot be confiscated by any government, nor can it become the prey of dishonest lawyers. That inheritance is secure which is deposited with God." Sophronius tells us, that Evagrius the philosopher heard one day, in a sermon, that in the other world a hundred-fold would be returned for every thing given in alms. So he brought sixty pounds of gold to COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 199 Bishop Synesius, that he might distribute them among the poor. He received, for this money, the bishop's note stating he would receive a hundred-fold in heaven. He told his children to put this note in his hands after his death, and bury him with it. Three days after his death he appeared to the bishop, and begged him to go to his grave and take back his note, as he had already received a hundred-fold from Christ, according to promise. Next morning the bishop together with his clergy went to the grave of Evagrius, and took from his hands the note, which then read as follows : " Evagrius, the philosopher, to his bishop — I did not wish that you should remain ig norant of the fact, that for all the money which I gave you, I have been rewarded a hundred-fold. You owe me nothing more." The alms, then, which the charitable man has given, will inspire him in the hour of death with great confi dence in Jesus Christ, his Eternal Judge. Holy David says : " Acceptable to God is the man that showeth mercy, and lendeth. Glory and wealth shall be in his house: he shall order his words with judgment." "In these words, the royal Prophet gives us to understand," says St. John Chrysostom, lt that a man rich in works of charity will not be afraid of his Eternal Judge. In vain shall his sins rise to accuse him, if the poor excuse him." He gave his alms to Jesus Christ Himself in the person of the poor. " Opera tua sumus — we are your works," they will cry out to him. " We are so many advocates before the tribunal of Christ to defend your cause." " We will gain for you the good graces of the Eternal Judge," says St. John Chrysostom ; " we will prevail upon Him to pronounce sentence in your favor." 200 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. St. James the Apostle, too, confirms us in this truth when he says, " Mercy exalteth itself above judgment." (Chap. ii., 32.) He means to say that charity will glo riously prevail over divine justice; for on the Day of Judgment Christ will say, u Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess ye the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat," etc. (Matt., xxv., 34.) St. Gregory relates that two martyrs appeared one day to a certain religious person. Upon receiving from her an alms, as usual, they said: u You visit us to day, but we shall come to visit you on the Day ot Judgment to do for you all we can." Cornelius a Lapide, S. J., tens us that he himself heard from truthful Englishmen, that Carthusian monks, who had died as martyrs under Henry VIII. , King of England, appeared to a certain lady, and promised to asssist her in her last hour, for having received from her charitable aid and relief when detained in prison. They really came in her hour of death to assist her, and appeared with her before the tribunal of Christ to defend her cause. " Be not afraid of death and judgment," says St. Peter Chrysologus, "if your charity towards the poor and needy pleads for you. On tha-t day, mercy is hoped for in vain by him who has not practised charity towards the needy. ' Depart from me, ye cursed, into fire ever lasting j for I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat.'" (Matt, xxv.) "In truth/' exclaims St. John Chrysostom, " the charitable soul will behold and find in Jesus Christ her heavenly Treasurer rather than her Judge; she will l.oldly approach him to receive with c;reat interest all that COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 201 she has deposited with him through the hands of the poor ; she will arrive like a queen at the gates of heaven ; the gates of pardise will be flung open immediately, and no one will dare ask : " Who are you, and whence have you come?" " Your business on earth," says the saint, "is to negotiate for heaven. Give earthly things to the poor, and for them you will receive heaven j give a trifle, and for it you will receive a kingdom ; give a little crumb, and you will receive every thing." St. Gregory (Dial. 1. 4, c. 5., 37.) relates that a holy shoemaker of Rome, named Deusdedit (God has given it) would not work on Saturdays, but distributed among the poor all he had gained in the course of the week. Another holy man saw in a vision how the angels were preparing a palace for this holy shoemaker 5 but they worked at it only on Saturday. How true, then, are the words of St. John Chrysostom: " Whatever," he says? a is given in alms, receives golden wings, and with them flies up to heaven, where it causes unspeakable joy to the angels. If you are given to works of mercy, you have a moral certainty of being predestined to life everlasting. u Put ye on," says St. Paul, "as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy." (Coloss. iii : 12.) As soon, therefore, as you begin to practise the works of charity, you lay the corner stone of your future sanctity and glory. It is related in the life of St. Francis Xavier that he one day asked Peter Veglio to give him money enough for a young lady to get married, and escape thus a great danger to which she was exposed. Peter was just playing chess and jocosely said to the saint : " How can you ex pect that I should give you my own money when I am 202 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. trying to win the money of my neighbor 1 Well, here is the key of my desk. Go and take as much as you want." The saint took three hundred crowns, and then said to his friend : u Peter, God has graciously accepted your charity. I promise you on his part, that you shall always be in comfortable circumstances, and die a happy death. When one day the wine tastes bitter in your mouth, then prepare for death, for this bitter taste of the wine is a warning of the approach of your last hour." This prophecy came true. One day as Peter was drinking wine, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He began immediately to prepare for death. Both his life and death were happy and edifying. We may then exclaim with St. John Chrysostom: 11 Truly, to be merciful and charitable towards the poor, is a greater grace than to possess the gift of removing mountains, of curing the sick, and of raising the dead to life." But some one may say : " I have to provide for my chil dren; and, therefore, I cannot be so liberal as I would wish." To those who make this objection, St. John Chrysostom answers : u If you will give up all to your children, you put your wealth in an unreliable bank ; but if you place your wealth into the hands of God, he will become the guardian of your children, and preserve it all for them. If you wish the inheritance of your children to be well insured, make God their debtor by placing your wealth in his hands, and give them the following note : ( God will re turn a hundred-fold for what is given to him in the person of the poor. His promise faileth not. With him cai ry on usury.7' Another one might say: "I could wish, indeed, to make myself worthy of the rich temporal and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 203 spiritual blessings which the Lord is accustomed to bestow upon the charitable, but I am not well off myself 5 I lack the means of being liberal " Let him who makes this objection remember that a small gift is also very ac ceptable with God, provided it be made with love. u The poor, too," says St. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. de S. Baptismo.), u can give valuable gifts to God ; because God considers more the love of the giver than the gift itself." u Before God you will never appear with empty hands," says St. Gregory (Horn. 5 in Evang.), "if you appear with a heart replenished with a good will." On this ac count Gerson used to say : " God seeks adverbs rather than verbs; that is, he pays more attention to the manner in which you do something in his honor, than to the action itself." Our Lord Jesus Christ was more pleased with the poor widow's mite, than with the rich gifts of the wealthy. " If it is not in your power to give even a little," says St. Alphonus, "then recommend your neighbor to God, by saying at least a Hail Mary for him." I remember a charitable woman, who, when she had nothing to give to the poor, made, in winter^ a large fire for them, that they might be able to warm themselves. There are many charitable persons, who, not having any means of their own to assist the poor, or the priest, in building churches, hospitals, asylums, and school-houses, beg the means from others to assist them, and bear patiently, for the sake of Christ and the poor, the insults they receive on many occasions. " Be, therefore, merciful according to thy ability," said Tobias to his son ; " if thou have much, give abundantly ; if thou have little, take care even so to be stow willingly a little " (Tob, 4; 8, 9.)— but with the 204 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. generous will to give more if you are able ; thus the liber ality of your heart will prevail upon the liberality of God to give you more ; because the Lord will not suffer him self to be outdone in liberality. "If any one/' said our Lord to St. Gertrude, " desires, for the love of me, to perform a good work, but, for the want of means, cannot accomplish it, I will so esteem the purity of his intention as to consider it as if it had really been carried into effect j and even if he never commences what he wishes to undertake, he will not fail to obtain the same reward from ine as if he had accomplished the work, and had never committed the least negligence in the matter." (Life and Revelat.) O the great goodness of God, who receives the good will for the deed ! Who can, then, have a lawful excuse if he be deprived of the abundant blessings which the Lord has in store for the charitable, both in this world and in the next ? Now the Lord attaches all these blessings to the charity which you show even to the least of his brethren on earth. By saying " to the least of these my brethren," he gives us to understand that there is another class of his brethren who are great in his sight, and whom he loves most tenderly. Now, if God bestows such great blessings upon those who are charitable to the least of the brethren of Jesus Christ, how much more abundantly will he not bestow his blessings upon those who are char itable to his great friends ! Those who show themselves very charitable to the friends of God, to the pastors of souls, to missionary and religious priests, and in general to all those who have consecrated themselves for ever to the service of God and their neighbor, shall fye ^Jessed in a COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 205 still more extraordinary manner. The Holy Ghost calls our particular attention to this great truth, when he says in Holy Scripture (Ecclus. xii., 1, 2.) : " If thou do good, know to whom thou doest it, and there shall be much thanks for thy good deeds. Do good to the j-ust, and thou shalt find great recompense; and if not of him, assuredly of the Lord" To the just, especially to those of them who are eminently so, may be applied what the angel of the Lord said of John the Baptist, namely, that "he was great before God" (Luke, i., 15.) The reason of this is, because Jesus Christ lives in the just by his grace. al live, now not I," says Saint Paul, " but Christ liveth in me." (Galat., ii., 20.) Hence, whatever is given to a just man is given to Christ Himself in a more spe cial manner. To show this in reality, Christ has often appeared in the form and clothing of a poor man, and as such begged and received alms. This happened to John the Deacon, as is related in his life by St. Gregory. The same saint relates also (Horn, xxxix., inEvang.), that Jesus Christ, in the form of a leper, appeared to a certain monk named Martyrius, who carried him on his shoulders. The same happened to St. Christopher. Also to St. Mar tin, bishop of Tours : when he was still a soldier, and receiving instruction for admission into the Catholic Church, he gave one half of his mantle to a poor man. The following night, Jesus Christ appeared to him, wear ing this mantle, and said to the angels who surrounded him : u Behold, this is Martin, who gave me this mantle.'7 Once St. Catharine of Sienna gave to a poor beggar the silver cross she wore, having nothing else about her to give. During the night, Christ appeared to her and said that on the Day of Judgment he would " show that 206 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. cross to the whole world in proof of her charity." " He that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man (that is, for the reason of being just), shall receive the reward of a just man ; and he that receiveth you (i. e., the apostles, or their followers, religious, etc.), receiveth me, and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a pro phet, shall receive the reward of a prophet." (Matt., x., 41-42.) He who receives a prophet, says our Lord — that is, he who receives a true prophet, a true preacher of the Gospel — will receive the reward of a true preacher. The reason of this is, because by his charitable aid he contri butes towards the spreading of the gospel, and therefore, as he thus shares in the labor and in the merits of the gospel, he must also share in the reward promised to the true ministers of God; and this reward is always in proportion to the charitable aid he gives in spreading the Gospel. u A willow tree," says St. Gregory, u bears no fruit, but, supporting as it does the vine together with its grapes, it makes these its own by sustaining what is not its own." (Horn, xx., in Evang.) In like manner, he who supports the just man makes his own those works of righteousness which are performed by the righteous man, thus doing through him what is righteous ; and he who supports the true minister of the Gospel, the mis sionary priest, preaches and prophesies through him, hears confession through him, converts sinners through him, consoles the sick through him, encourages the des perate through him, confirms the just in their good reso lutions through him ; in a word, he sanctifies the world through him, and is, through him, the cause that the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ is not shed in vain ; and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 207 he gladdens, through him, the angels and saints in heaven, and especially the sacred hearts of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this account, St. Ignatius, in his epistle to the Smyr- nians, rightly concludes from the above-mentioned sen tence of Christ on the last day, that he who honors a prisoner of Christ will receive the reward of the martyrs, because by honoring such a prisoner he encourages him to suffer martyrdon. For this reason, many Christians formerly merited the grace of martydom, because they en couraged, fed, served, and buried the martyrs. In like manner we lawfully infer from the aforesaid sentence of Christ, that those who receive and aid doctors, apostles of the Church, pastors of souls, missionary priests, and religious persons, will receive the reward of doctors, of apostles, of the pastors of souls, of missionaries and re ligious persons. And here I must make a very important remark, to which I call your special attention, namely ; that there are degrees in this well-doing. The more just a man is both for himself and others, the more souls he leads to justice, to holiness of life ; the greater will be his reward, and consequently the greater also will be the reward of him who assists such a just man. il They that instruct many to justice, shall shine as stars for all eternity." (Dan., xii., 3.) To whom can these words of Holy Scripture be applied more truly than to fervent pastors of souls and missionary priests ? They devote their whole life to the salvation of souls. There is nothing more pleasing in the sight of God than laboring for the salvation of souls. " We cannot offer any sacrifice to God/7 says St. Greg ory, " which is equal to that of the zeal for the salvation 208 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. of souls.7' u This zeal and labor for the salvation of men/' says St. John Chrysostom, u is of so great a merit before God, that to give up all our goods to the poor, or to spend our whole life in the exercise of all sorts of austerities, cannot equal the merit of this labor. This merit of lab oring in the vineyard of the Lord is something far greater than the gift of working miracles. To be employed in this blessed labor is even more pleasing to the Divine Majesty than to suffer martyrdom." It was, therefore, with truth that Saint Alphonsus wrote to his brothers in religion : " My dearest Brothers in Jesus Christ : — The principal thing which I recommend to you, is the love of Jesus Christ. Too much are we bound to love Him. He has snatched us from the midst of the world, in order that, during the pilgrimage of this life, we might think of nothing but of pleasing Him, and of bringing those crowds of people to love Him, who every year, by means of our ministry, abandon sin, and put themselves into the grace of God. It is generally the case that when we begin a mission, the greater number of the people of the place are in enmity with God, and deprived of His love; but five or six days have scarcely elapsed, when behold, numbers, as if roused from a deep sleep, begin to listen to the exhortations, the instructions, and the ser mons ; and when they see that God offers them His mercy, they begin to weep over their sins, and conceive the de sire of being reconciled to Him. The way of pardon is opened before them, and seeing it, they begin to abhor that manner of life which they had previously loved ; a new light begins to shine upon them, and a peace hitherto unknown touches their hearts. Then they think of going COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 209 to confession, to remove from their souls those vices which kept them separated from God j and whereas be fore, a Mass of a quarter of an hour appeared to them too long, and iive decades of the Rosary too tedious, and a sermon of half an hour unbearable, now, they gladly hear a second arid a third Mass, and they are sorry when the sermon, which has lasted an hour and a half, or perhaps two hours, is over. And of whom does the Lord make use of, if not of us, to work such wondrous changes, and to bring the people to delight in those very things which before they despised ? So that when the mission is over, we leave in the place two or three thousand persons to love God, who before were living in enmity with Him, and were not even thinking of recovering His grace." (Letters of St. Alphonsus, July 29, 1774.) If, then, in the opinion of the Fathers of the Church and all the saints, there can be no greater honor and no greater merit than that of working for the salvation of souls, we must also say that there can be no work of corporal mercy more honorable and more meritorious than that of giving charitable aid to the pastors of souls, to missionary priests, and to persons consecrated to God. To such as give this aid may be applied the words of the Prophet : " They shall shine as stars for all eternity." " The charity which you bestow," says Aristotle (Lib. I., Ethic., c. ii.), u will be so much the more divine the more it tends to the com mon welfare." But what, kind of charity is tending more to the common welfare, than that which is bestowed upon such apostolic laborers as spend their life exclusively in laboring for the salvation of souls ? Now this chanty is divine in a most eminent degree, and consequently it makes all those divine who bestow it. They shall, with- 210 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. out doubt, shine as the stars, nay even as the sun, throughout all eternity. " Then the just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father " (Matt xiii., 43.); and this glory and happiness of theirs in heaven will, as I have said, be in proportion to the zeal and fervor with which they have continued to furnish charitable aid to Jesus Christ, in the person of the ministers of the holy Catholic Church. " He that receiveth a prophet, shall have the reward of a prophet." TV hat a happiness to be able to give ! u It is a more bless ed thing to give, than to receive !" (Acts xx., 35.) What a happiness to have opportunities to imitate thecharity,mercy and liberality of your Heavenly Father. Every little charitable contribution will add to the beauty of your soul ; it will render your prayers more powerful ; it will multiply your temporal goods a hundred-fold ; it will cancel your sins and temporal punishments due to them : every little alms will avert from you God's anger ; the sacrifice of pro pitiation and praise of your charitable donations will cause great joy in heaven j it will be for you a subject of consola tion in the hour of death ; it will inspire you with great confidence in Jesus Christ, your Eternal Judge, and glo riously prevail upon Him to pronounce sentence in your favor; every little contribution will give you one more claim on heaven ; it will be one more precious stone wherewith to adorn your palace in paradise ; it will bring you nearer to the delightful company of the great Saints, the noble children of God in heaven; there, as reward for your charity, you will shine like the sun, exclaiming with all the saints in joyful accents : tl Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever."(Apocal. vii., 12.) I COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 211 14, What must the uncharitable expect I "Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy" (James ii., 13.) Great, unutterably great indeed are the blessings that God heaps, in this world and in the next, upon the char itable. But great also are the chastisements that often fall upon the uncharitable even in this world. "Whilst Father Beschter, S. J., was building a beautiful church at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, he went around collecting alms of all those who were willing to help along a good work. On his rounds he arrived at the residence of a rich Protestant farmer, and asked him for a small donation toward the erection of a church for the poor Catholics of the district. The farmer refused on the ground that he al ways paid himself for what he wanted, and never went to others for help. Father Beschter asked him whether he was in need of anyone. "No," replied the farmer quite gruffly, " I never was." When the priest asked a second time, an impatient "No, sir! get thee out," was sufficient intimation that he had better leave. "All right," said Father Beschter, without the least alteration in his man ner or voice, and he left the premises. In the course of the day, the farmer strolled to where his men were working in the field, and highly elated over his exploit, related to them how he had "fixed that Romish priest." A week later, a heavy freshet, occasioned by sudden rain, completely destroyed his mill and flooded his fields, inflicting incalculable damage on the now crest-fallen bigot, who did not enjoy it half so well when the men recalled to his mind howh&fixed that Romish priest, and hinted that, forsooth, he might be in need of another man's help sooner than he expected. (Life of Father Nerinckx.) 212 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. In October 1880, a good sister went to a wealthy far mer of the state of Illinois to ask an alms of him. The farmer refused to give it. Two days later, he found twenty-six head of his best cattle lying dead in the stable. He now understood that God had punished him for his want of charity. He entered into himself and repaired his fault by giving liberally to the poor. Now, if God, in many instances, has inflicted great chastisements even in this world upon the uncharitable, the evils and chastisements which he will inflict upon them in the world to come, are far greater. "Judgment without mercy,'7 says St. James, "to him that hath not done mercy.77 We know from holy Scrip ture what this judgment is. "When the Son of Man shall come in his Majesty and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the seat of his Majesty 5 and all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them from one another, even as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his left hand : 'Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat : I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger and you took me not in : naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me/ Then they also shall answer him saying : 'Lord when did we see thee hungry or thirsty, or a stranger or naked, or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee V Then shall he answer them saying : 'Amen, I say to you as long as ye did it not to one of these least, neither did ye do it to me.7 And these COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 213 shall go into everlasting punishment." (Matt, xxv., 31, 32. 33, 41, 46.) "There was a certain rich man,'' says our Lord in the Gospel, "who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a cer tain beggar, named Lazarus who lay at his gate full of sores desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table and no one did give him. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and he was buried in hell." (Luke, xvi., 19, 23.) 15, Who truly loves God and his neighbor? He who keeps the commandments ; for Christ says : "If you keep my commandments^ you shall abide in my love" (John xv., 10.) There are many persons, who have a false idea of the true love of God. There is one who is given up to fast ing. He thinks that he is a great lover of God, because he fasts, and yet his heart is filled with rancor. He scruples to moisten his tongue with wine, or even with water, through sobriety ; yet he makes no difficulty to drink deep of his neighbor's blood, by detraction and calumny. Now, who will believe that such a person truly loves God, because he fasts. True love of God, then, does not consist in fasting and in performing similar bodily mortifications. There is another. He imagines that he loves God, because he daily says many long prayers ; hears several masses, and receives often holy communion 5 yet immedi ately after he speaks very angrily and arrogantly to his 214 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. domestics and neighbors. Now, who would believe that such a person really loves God, because he says long prayers 1 True love of God, then, does not consist in saying many prayers. There is another. He thinks he truly loves God, because he cheerfully draws rich alms out of his purse to relieve the poor and the needy; yet he cannot draw meekness out of his heart to forgive his enemies Now, no sensible man will believe that such a person truly loves God, because he gives many alms to the poor. True love of God, then, does not consist in giving alms. In what, then, does true love of God consist ? or who is it that truly loves God I True love of God is nothing else than a general inclination, promptitude and firmness of the will in doing that which one knows is commanded by God ; in other words, he truly loves God, who does the will of God, as manifested to him by the commandments of God and of his Church. These commandments teach us our duties to wards God and our neighbor. Therefore, he who keeps them faithfully, truly loves God and his neighbor. "Love," says St. Paul, "is the fulfilling of the law." (Rom. xiii., 10.) Our Lord himself tells us that the keeping of the law is the proof of true love for him. "If you love me," he says, " keep my commandments." (John xiv., 15.) " He who has my commandments and observes them, he it is who loves me." Indeed, how can any one make himself more agreeable to a person than by doing his will. Now, what is the law of God and of his Church but the expres sion of his will as to how our lives and actions are to be regulated. We are taught in the first pages of the cate chism that the reason why God created us, is to know God, love him and serve him. How can we serve him COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 215 but by submitting our will to his — that is, by observing those commandments which he has given us ! -As true love of God, then, is principally manifested by the keeping of the laws of God, it is necessary, above all, to give a precise explanation of what is meant by the Law of God, and by the terms of eternal law, moral law, natural law, and so on. What Law is. u Law," says St, Thomas, " is a dictate or command ot reason, which tends to the general good of all, and is enacted and promulgated by him who governs the community. " 1. Law is a comamnd of reason. Eeason alone has the faculty and privilege to understand what is right and wrong. It naturally loves what is right, and hates what is wrong. Hence it commands what is right, and forbids what is wrong. So that law is an ordinance of reason, and has its power and authority from reason. 2. It tends to the general good of all. The law, says St. Isidore, is established, not for the advantage or in terest of individuals, but for the general utility of all. Hence the civil relations, or moral obligations, which the law establishes, must have, as their principal object the general good of the whole community — temporal good, it the law has to direct a temporal community, and spiritual good, if the law is for a spiritual community. Hence a law, serving only private interest to the prejudice of the public good, has not the real character of law ; but still, that which regards individuals and private transactions, can tend to the public good, and consequently be a part and portion of the general law. 3. Enacted ~by him ivlio governs the community. He only who has power to maintain public order and advance 216 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. the general good of the state or community, can establish the law. He only who proposes to himself a certain end or object, has the right of choosing the means to attain that object. In like manner, the state or community, in pro posing to itself the happiness of all, has alone the right of enacting for all, the laws and regulations which it consi ders the best and the safest. If it wishes, it can intrust its power and authority to one of its members to represent it, and act in the name of all. Then this chief, or repre sentative, possesses the legislative power which the entire community had before. He can then enact laws which become obligatory for all his subjects, but not for those who are under the legislative power and jurisdiction of others. The law, says St. Isidore, is the civil and po litical constitution of the people, according to which the chief men of the state, in concert and co-operation with the common people, have passed an ordinance or legisla tive act. 4. Promulgated by him who governs the community. No law is obligatory before its regular promulgation. So a law, to have its full power and efficacy, must be duly and regularly promulgated by the chief legislator, or in his name. But to become obligatory as a law, is it neces sary that all the members of the community must have full knowledge of it ? No ; when the legislator employs sufficient means for its general promulgation, then all are supposed to know it, and bound to observe it. The word law implies a moral obligation which binds by covenant and enactments, and is the rule and measure of public and priv ate acts. Every individual is a member of a community, and must, therefore, direct a portion of his efforts towards the general good. Now, as the law is the rule and rnea- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 217 sure of what he is morally bound to do for the public good, he is obliged to obey the law. Effects of the law. The principal effect of the law is to make all classes of people good, loyal, faithful, and vir tuous. The virtue and merit of one who lives in a sub ordinate state consists in perfect obedience to him who has a right to command him. Obedience puts all parts in strict harmony with the whole : justice and reason are comformable thereto. So the law, by inculcating the principle of voluntary obedience and submission, stim ulates us to loyalty, fidelity, and acts of virtue, which are the characteristics of honest, peaceable people. The other effects of the law are to command acts which are comfor mable to reason j to prohibit those that are contrary to just ice ; to punish those that violate it j and to permit those that are tolerable. ETERNAL, NATURAL, AND MORAL LAW, THE ORIGIN OF OF ALL LAWS. There is a ship-builder. He intends to build a large vessel. Before building it, he has formed, in his mind, not only a correct idea of the whole structure, but also of every portion of it — of the materials and har mony necessary in the grand vessel. He now begins to build the vessel and finishes it according to the plan or idea which he has conceived of it in his mind. Thus the building of the vessel is owing to the knowledge which the ship builder had formed of it, and to his will in building it according to his knowledge or plan. In like manner, God, before creating the world, had conceived, in his own mind, not only the idea of the work of creation in general, but also of each creature in par- 218 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ticular. The moment came for creating the world ; God willed it, and the world was created according to the idea he had conceived of it from all eternity. Thus the cre ation of the world and of each particular creature, is owing to the knowledge and will of God. Now a wise man undertakes no work without having a certain object in view, and without employing all the means in his power to attain that object. In creating the world and every being thereof, God, the wisest of all rational creatures, proposed to himself a particular end or object. All things made by him were good, not only on account of their substance, but also on account of their end, and principally on account of their last end. As he created the substance of all things, so he, also, fixed for them their special end and traced out for them the road which they ought to follow to attain that end. Now, as there existed, in the mind of God, from all eternity, the idea of the work of creation in general, and of each creature in particular, so also there existed in his mind, at the same time, the idea or plan according to which the world in general and each particular creature should be directed towards the end for which everything was created j there existed, in his mind, the idea of the proper means, that is, of necessary practical, and immu table rules or laws to be observed by his creatures to reach their end. When God willed the creation of the world, he will ed, at the same time, that the world should be directed according to his idea, by the means, or laws he pro vided for each creature to reach its end. This divine idea concerning the direction of the world and the rules of that direction, and the divine will directing it according COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 219 to this idea, is called Eternal Law. It is called eternal, because God's ideas are all eternal. What relates to men is temporal, but what originates from God is eternal. In him there is nothing temporal, nothing that indicates alter ation, vicissitude or succession ; for he knows from all eternity, what he does at all times, and the designs, actions, and movements of his creatures. Hence, this eternal law, that directs and governs all things, visible and invisible, is the origin of all laws. Eternal Law, says St. Thomas, is nothing else than that perfect idea in the mind of God according to which he directs all the actions and movements of his creatures towards their end. When we see a vessel in open sea running with all its sails unfurled before the wind and making directly for the port, we say there is a skilful pilot who holds the helm of that vessel according to the laws of navigation. Now as a pilot steers a large vessel across the ocean to a port of a foreign country, by means of the laws and rules of navigation, so in like manner does God direct and govern his creatures according to certain laws or rules which he has laid down for them to follow. In order to govern the material world, and all irration al creatures God placed in nature certain powers and laws. All irrational creatures obey these laws of God's wisdom and power, and it is thus that he governs them and directs them toward their end. "God," says Holy Scripture, "with a certain law and compass, enclosed the depth ; he compassed the sea with its bounds and set a law to the waters, that they should not pass their limits." (Prov., viii., 27, 30.) Light and darkness separated ac cording to his idea and will, and when he ordered this 220 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. separation he willed, at the same time, that night and day should continue their constant, regular succession to the end of time. When God ordered the waters to gather together in their allotted place, he willed at the same time that they should stay there to the end of time. When he com manded the earth to be clad with verdure, and the trees to bring forth fruit, he willed at the same time that this should be so to the end of the world j and every creature forthwith acted in obedience to this divine will or law. God commanded the sea not to overflow its bounds, and it has ever since obeyed this law, keeping reverently within the limits marked out by the Creator. God commanded the sun, the moon, and the stars to rise and set regularly and keep in their path, and they have since followed this law. God commanded the earth to produce every variety of trees and plants, and every kind of fruit and grain, and behold, the earth has ever since done so. As to rational creatures — angels and men — God wishes to govern them by the law of his goodness and justice. The law of God's goodness for men is, that they shall always glorify God by doing his holy will ; that all their homage and adoration are due to him alone, and are never to be given to any creature ; that they are to honor, reverence, and love those who gave them birth and brought them up ; that they are not to kill one an other, nor live like brutes, nor rob one another, but that every one is to treat his fellow-men, as he wishes to be treated by them. . To this law of divine goodness, God added for mankind the law of his justice ; that is, if any one refuses to obey this law of divine goodness, he shall be COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 221 subjected to the torments which God's justice has decreed for al) rebellious creatures. This law of his goodness and justice God impressed upon mankind from the very beginning. " See," says St. Paul, "the goodness and severity of God :• to wards them, indeed, that are fallen, the severity ; but towards thee, the goodness of God, if thou abide in goodness." (Rom. xi., 22.) This law of God's goodness and justice is also called Natural Law — Law of Nature, because it is naturally impressed on the mind and heart of every rational being, and makes him know the difference between good and evil. As man possesses the gift of reason, or, as it is some, times called, lt the light of nature," no man is left in utter ignorance of God and of his will — of the Natural Law. " God has not left himself without testimony" (Acts xiv., 16.), even among the heathens, who, if they do not have full light and knowledge, may yet, as St. Paul told the Athenians, " feel after him, or find him." (Acts xvii., 27.) "For when the Gentiles, >? he says, u who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves ; who show the works of the law written in their hearts, their con science bearing witness to them." (Rom. ii., 14, 15.) This "light of nature'' is a participation of the eternal law or wisdom of God. " The light of thy countenance, 0 Lord, is signed upon us," says the Royal Prophet (Ps. iv.), thus indicating that the light of reason, which makes us distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, is nothing else than the impression of divine light on the soul of man. 222 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. As all men have this light of nature as a rule of right and wrong, no one can plead utter ignorance of right and wrong. Hence it is that we find, even in the heathen nations, the obligations of the natural law respected. This eternal, natural law of right and wrong is called moral law, because natural law, or sound reason, is the rule and standard of good morals : it is the rule to guide men in all their actions 5 it tells them what is good and bad, what they must do or avoid. Are all virtuous acts enjoined by natural law ! Every thing is inclined to act according to its natural properties; fire for instance, by its natural property, produces heat and light. As man is endowed with reason, it is natural for him to perform acts conformable to reason. Now it is in the performance of such acts that human virtue con sists, Still nature does not extend her influence to all virtuous acts, considered distinctively and separately j for she alone does not inspire all the conclusions and con siderations that result from the rational faculty. Is natural law the same for all mankind ? All men, without exception, know the light of nature, the first and general principles of right and wrong. But all do not know the necessary conclusions deduced from these prin ciples. A geometrician in Paris comes to the same con clusion as another in London, or in any other part of the world, that, for instance, three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles, etc. Practical reason draws similar conclusions, if we do not lose sight of general prin ciples ; but by deviating from these principles, reason var ies with circumstances. For instance, if a sum of money was intrusted to you, reason commands you to give it back to the owner. But if you knew he wanted it for the COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 223 purpose of committing some bad action, as vengeance against his neighbor or country, then reason forbids you to give it to him for such a wicked deed. Still, some may think and act differently, and be, therefore, mistaken in losing sight of general principles, as others fall into error in overlooking the first principles. Natural law, there fore, is invariable for all, as long as they do not lose sight of the first principles of right and wrong. Can natural law change ? Natural law comprises the first principles of right and wrong. Now these principles are unchangeable. It is self-evident that that which is natural cannot but be. For instance, the law of nature obliges us to worship God, and love him. God, then, after having given us life and reason, never changes what is na turally necessary for his creature, namely, to adore and love his creator. Hence the natural law imperatively en joins upon us the duties of gratitude and love towards God, from which nothing can exempt us. However, a partic ular case may occur, in which certain circumstances change — not a first principle, which is immutable. So Abraham, in wishing to sacrifice his son, became not guilty of murder, because he obeyed the Lord who is master of life and death. Neither were the Hebrews guilty of robbery in taking along with them the gold and silver vessels of the Egyptians, because God, the Master of all things, had given them the right to take these ar~ tides. They were, besides, but a trifling compensation in comparsion to all that they had suffered from the en emies of God. The written law. The laws of nature, and all principles of justice and morality were almost effaced in the time which elapsed 224: COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. between Adam and Moses. At the time of Abraham, all nations had fallen into idolatry. They were plunged into all sorts of vices. Almost all shut their eyes to the lights of reason. They were like one who is falling into an abyss. The deeper he falls the less day -light he sees. God per mitted the wicked to fall into this state of universal ignor ance and impiety, in order to humble their pride and arrogance. Always full of pride and perversity, they pretend that their private reason alone is sufficient for them, to know their duties and their natural powers to practise them. So, after that sad experience of their ignorance and impiety, God, in his mercy, came to their assistance by giving them the written law in the person of Moses,as a remedy for their blindness and obstinacy. The natural law is imperfect. Hence a divine law is absolutely necessary to direct us in the way of eternal beatitude. We cannot attain to a supernatural end by natural or human means. We need a divine law to direct our thoughts and actions towards that end. The judgment of men is inconstant and changeable. They need an infallible law to direct and rectify their judgment, in order to know with certainty what they must do and avoid, in order to obtain everlasting happiness. So Al mighty God added to the natural law, a higher law, re lating to a higher end, in the form of the Mosaic and evangelical law. Some interpreters of the Scriptures say that God himself gave the Mosaic law and others maintain that God gave it through the ministry of angels. Still it is clear from several passages of Holy Writ that the ancient law was given by the ministry of the angels. " The Law," says St. Paul, u was given through the agency of an- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 225 gels by the hand of a Mediator." (Gal. iii., 19.) And St. Ste phen said to the Jews: "Ye have received the law by the ministry of angels.'7 (Acts vii., 53.) St. Dionysius, the Areopagite, says that the angels are commissioned to bring all messages from heaven to earth, that is from God to man. Why did God give his written law to the Jewish people rather than to any other nation I St. Paul answers this question when he writes to the Romans (chap. iii.l, 2): u What advantage, then, have the Jews, or what is the utility of circumcision ? Very much in every way. First, indeed, because the words of God were committed to them.7' The Royal Prophet says also : " The Lord hath not done the same to every nation, nor hath he made his judgments manifest to them." (Ps. cxlviii.) Even Moses himself declared to all the Hebrew people : " Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not poss ession of this excellent land for thy justice, for thou art a very stiff-necked people : but that the Lord might accomplish the promise he made by oath to thy Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." St. Paul says (Gal. iii., 16.) that these promises were made to Abraham and to his seed, that is, to one of his descendants, who is Jesus Christ. It was, therefore, necessary that the Jews, to whom these divine promises were made, should remain faithful to the worship of the true God, whilst other nations worshipped idols, and thereby rendered themselves unworthy of these heavenly privileges ; for it is not right to give holy things to dogs. All the divine privileges and favors were not granted to the Jews, nor even to the patriarchs and prophets for the sake of their own merits. They were all gratuitous gifts of special grace and munificence 226 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. on the part of the Lord. God makes no exceptions of individuals or nations as to their salvation ; but he can, in his justice and mercy, gratuitously confer special gifts and graces on some in preference to others. As to this predilection of God for one in perference to another, never ask the reason of this says, St. Augustine, if you do not wish to fall into doubt and error. PRECEPTS OF THE OLD LAW. The Old Law contained moral, ceremonial, judicial and juridical precepts. 1. Moral Precepts. The principal object of divine law is to render man holy. " Be ye holy, as I am holy," says the Lord. This holiness consists in perfect love of God and man. This charity is the accomplishment of the law. It is, then, by the practice of virtue that we become holy and resemble God. Hence it was necessary, that the Old Law should contain different moral precepts, regarding the virtues necessary for the perfect happiness of man. These moral precepts are all contained in the ten command ments. These commandments are a full explanation of the natural law. They are of a divine institution. They were communicated by the ministry of angels to Moses, who proclaimed them all to the Hebrew people ; but he added other precepts, ordinances, and ceremonies for the punctual observance of the commandments. The three first prescribe our duties towards God ; that is, to worship him by faith, hope and charity ; and the seven last prescribe our duties towards all our fellow-men. Do the precepts of the Decalogue admit dispensation I A dispensation can be granted in certain cases, when the COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 227 observance of the law would be contrary to the will or desire of the chief legislator. But the object of every good legislator is the general good of the community, and to maintain order and justice among all his subjects. He, therefore, cannot act to the contrary. He can then grant dispensation only in such points as regard the ways and means of observing, but not in the principal object of the law. For instance, the governor of a populous city or province orders all the inhabitants of the district to unite in defense of the city when besieged by the enemy 5 but foreseeing that some of them would be less service able in battle than in a council of war, he can, in this case, exempt them from the obligation of the law. But such cases are not admissable in regard to the precepts of the Decalogue j for they contain the infallible will of the divine and eternal Legislator. Therefore, in all cases, and in all circumstances, the commandments of God ad mit no dispensation : " For he continueth faithful and cannot deny himself." (II. Tim., ii., 13.) But he would deny himself, if he destroyed the order of his justice. Now this is impossible, for justice is an attribute of his divine and eternal essence. 2. Ceremonial precepts. We are bound to worship God not only internally by sentiments of faith, hope and charity, but we are also bound to worship him externally by manifesting, by out ward acts, our inward love and adoration of the Lord. Now all that regards this external religious profession, is called ceremonies, and the precepts regulating it, are cal led ceremonial precepts. "And the Lord showed you his covenant which he commanded you to do, and the ten commandments he wrote on two tables of stone. And 228 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he commanded me, at the same time, to teach you the ceremonies and judgments you have to observe in the land which you are to possess." (Deut. iv., 3. 4.) These precepts of the Mosaic law, figurative of the new law, regulated the public worship of the Hebrews in honor and acknowledgment of God. This worship was of an inward and outward character. As of an inward character, it consisted in offering up the whole homage of man's heart and soul to God. " My heart and my flesh rejoiced in the living God" (Ps. Ixxxiii.}, and as of an out ward character, it was in connection with the first, as the body is in connection with the soul. It is true worship that unites the soul to God. It varies according to the manner and nature of that union. In heaven it shall be but acts of thanksgiving and everlasting adoration. " Joy and gladness shall be found there with thanksgiving and the voice of praise." (Isaias li. 3.) In this world, the rays of divine light shine before our eyes only by means of sensible images. Under the an cient law, the true vision of the heavenly kingdom was not only invisible to the soul, but even the sure way, which leads thereto, was not yet opened for it. Hence the worship of the ancient law represented only in a figurative form both the celestial country and the Messiah who was to open the infallible way thereto for all mankind. These divine mysteries were not spiritually known to the Jewish people. They had only an implicit know ledge of them by means of these figurative ceremonies, which made them offer public homage to the true, living God. Hence St. Paul says : " The law hath only a shadow of the good things to come, but WQt the true im age of these things." (Heb. x.? 1.) COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 229 What were the ceremonies of the Old Law ? Divine worship implies sacrifices, lioly things, certain observances, and sacraments. These are the principal things to which all the cermonies of the Mosaic law refer : A. The sacrifices constituted the supreme worship of adoration, and prefigured the great sacrifice of Mount Calvary. Now why were there ceremonial precepts con cerning the sacrifices ? The worship of the Old Law had two principal objects : the one to manifest our duties to God j the other, to prefigure the Redeemer of the world; and by those sacrifices, this twofold object was realized. By the immolation of victims and the offering of the first fruits of the earth in honor of God, the Jews manifested their gratitude to him, and acknowledged his sovereign dominion over all things. Hence it was strictly forbidden by the law to offer up sacrifices to any one else than to God. "Whoever offers sacrifices to the other gods, except to the one only God, shall be slain." (Exod.) This prohibition was proclaimed to the Hebrew people when they adored the golden calf in the desert, whereby they showed their inclination to idolatry. The law prescribed three kinds of sacrifices : 1. The holocaust, whereby the victim was all burnt, in order to manifest the sovereign, eternal dominion of God. 2. The special sacrifice, of which one part was consumed, and the other consecrated to the use and support of the priests. This kind of sacrifice indicated that the remission of sins comes from divine mercy by the ministry of God's repre sentatives on earth. 3. The propitiatory sacrifice, or pacificatory victim. One part of the victim was con sumed in honor of God ; the second was given to the priests, and the third to those who offered it, to show that 230 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. mercy and salvation come from the Lord by the ministry of his priests, and the faithful co-operation of those who receive them. Of the four-footed animals to be immolated, the law designated the ox, sheep, and goat j and of the birds, the dove or pigeon, and sparrows for the healing of leprosy. This kind of animals and birds was required chiefly to make a distinction between the sacrifices of the Jews and those of Pagan nations. Besides, these animals and birds were very numerous in the Promised Land, and easily procured to make frequent offerings to the Lord. All these sacrifices prefigured the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Mount Calvary, and were emblematic of the sublime virtues that were one day to shine with splendor and glory in the Universal Holocaust of the whole human race. B. Holy things. The sacred or holy things comprised the tabernacle, the vessels used in the sanctuary, etc. The reason and utility of the ceremonial precepts regarding holy things, are not less evident for public instruction and edification. The object of external worship is to inspire us with pro found respect for our merciful and omnipotent God. Man is by nature or habit such, that what is common and always before his eyes, makes less impression upon him. Hence kings and princes, to enhance their person al dignity and grandeur, are clad in costly robes, and live in vast, magnificent palaces, Was it not then fit and proper, that the Lord, to whom supreme honor is due, should have certain times alloted to his worship, and a tabernacle, holy vessels, priests; and as temple, the mag nificent monument of Jerusalem? COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 231 What is more capable of exciting our adoration, res pect, and admiration, than what we see and hear in the temple of the Lord of mercy and glory ? But it may be asked, why in the whole Land of Promise, there was but the only temple of Jerusalem ? The Jews had but one only temple to keep them from falling into idolatry, to confirm them in their belief in the one only Divinity, and to remind them of the truth, that, as they had but one Temple, so they had but one only God. This one only temple was also to foreshow the unity of the militant and triumphant Church of Jesus Christ. Although the Jews had but one temple where the sacri fices were offered, yet they had their synagogues in all their towns and villages, to pray in private and to teach the law. So the Catholic churches, being all one in faith, serve separately for offering up the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and for the public instruction of the faithful. They thus have succeeded the temple and the synagogues of the Jews. The Mosaic law prescribed seven principal festivals, the reason and origin of which are as follows. The first was perpetual, for a lamb was immolated every morning and evening to represent the duration of eternal happiness. The second was the festival of the Sabbath, which was celebrated every week, in memory of God's rest on the seventh day after the work of creation. The third was that of the Neomenia, or new moon, in opposition to that celebrated by the pagans at full moon. It was solemnized every month to remind the Jews of the benefits and protection of divine Providence. The other festivals were celebrated but once a year. They were the solemnities of the Paschal Lamb, in memory 232 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. of the escape of the Jews from their captivity in Egypt ; and of the Pentecost during forty days, in commemoration of the law given to Moses. Three other festivals took place during the seventh month,the whole of which was employed in constant solemnity, corresponding to that of the Sabbath. The first day of that month was the festival of Trumpets, in memory of Abraham's sacrifice, who immolated, instead of his son Isaac, a ram with long horns, and hence is re presented at this festival by trumpets. The sound of these instruments apprised the Jews to prepare themselves for the tenth day of the same month for the festival of Ex piations, established in memory of the pardon that God granted them by the intercession of Moses for having adored the golden calf. r Then followed the festival of the Tents or Tabernacles, to commemorate the miraculous protection of the Hebrews in their journey through the desert, where they dwelt in tents. They had to offer, at this festival, the finest fruit of the trees, and branches of the finest verdure and of the most delicious odor All this was found in abundance in the Promised Land, and was to signify that God had brought them from a barren land to a country of delight ful fertility. The last festival was that of the Collection. During this day they had to contribute towards all that was necessary for the divine worship. These religious solemnities had a mystic or figurative signification. The daily immolation of a lamb represented the perpetual sacrifice of the Lamb of God on our altars. The festival of the Sabbath represented the spiritual rest brought into the world by the Saviour of mankind. The festival of the new moon prefigured the light and grace of the Catholic Church by the doctrine and COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 233 miracles of the Son of God. The festival of Pentecost pre-announced the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles, and that of Trumpets their preaching the Gospel. The festival of the Expiation prefigured the purity of the Christian people, and the remission of their sins. The festival of the Tabernacles represented our pilgrim age and exile in this world of misery and desolation ; and that of the Collection or assembly, the reunion of all the saints in heaven. These three last festivals came in immediate succession, to denote that the Christian soul ought to advance inces santly from virtue to virtue, till it conies into possession of eternal happiness. C. Particular Observances. The Old Law contained particular observances, relating to the general manner of living-, diet, dress, and many other national usages which distinguished the Jews from all heathen nations. The pontiffs and priests in the exer cise of their respective functions wore peculiar robes to distinguish them from the rest of the laity. There was prescribed a strict abstinence from the flesh of impure animals. The use of flesh was ordered as most salutary for health and suitable to the climate. Idolaters used to eat the blood and grease of their victims. Hence the Mosaic law prohibited the use of them, and ordered to burn the grease, spill the blood at the foot of the altar, and cover it with ashes. D. Sacraments of the Old Laiv. The reception of those sacraments was but a kind of consecration to the worship of the true God. Divine worship related both to the people, and the ministers, priests or levites, and so the sacraments were 234 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. necessary for all. Three conditions were required for admision to fulfil and comply with the functions relative to worship. Circumcision was requisite for all, and Consecration for the priests. The law also enjoined upon the people the obligation of eating the paschal lamb, and on the priests that of the obla tion of victims and the eating of the breads of Proposition. In order to avoid every thing incompatible with the legal exercise of worship, the people had, besides, to un dergo purifications and expiations; and the priests, the ablution of hands and feet, and the tonsure. Each of those religious ceremonies had a literal signification as to what related to God, and a figurative one in reference to the Messiah. The sacraments of the Old Law prefigured those of the New Law. Thus the Paschal Lamb was figurative of the Eucharist ; Circumcision was figurative of Baptism, Purification of Penance, and the Consecration of pontiffs and priests, of Holy Orders. The sacrament of confir mation, which is the fulness of grace and perfection for christians, had nothing corresponding to it in the Old Law ; for, as St. Paul says, it brought nothing to per fection. Neither had Extreme Unction any thing in the Old Law to prefigure it ; for this sacrament is an imme diate preparation for eternal glory. But the redemption of mankind had to be wrought as yet by the precious Blood of the Son of God. As to marriage, it was only a simple contract or a kind of religious ceremony ; but had not the real character of a sacrament ; for the Mosaic law admit ted divorce, which is contrary to the inviolable sanctity of the sacrament of matrimony. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 235 The ceremonial precepts were introduced at the time of Moses. Their chief object was the worship of the true God, and the preparation of the Hebrew people for the coming of the Messiah, whose divine mission was repre sented by all those religious ceremonies. Circumcision began at the time of Abraham, and Melchisedec was then the high priest of the Sovereign Lord. So the Hebrew people had both Circumcision and priesthood before the time of Moses. Circumcision was a divine precept, sanctioned and always maintained by the law j but the priesthood, before the time of Moses, was but a human institution, and conferred on the oldest of each family. All these precepts and ceremonies were abolished by the Saviour of the world. The New Law, being once promulgated, its worship succeeded that of the Old Law j the same as in heaven another worship shall succeed that of the New Law, which is an eternal adoration. " And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb." (Apoc. xxi., 22.) During the life of Christ, the two laws existed to gether j for when the Saviour healed the leprous man, he ordered him to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the law. After our Saviour's Passion the Old Law was abolished. Reality put an end to figurative representation. The veil of the temple was torn off, and all was finally con summated. After our Saviour's death it is strictly forbidden, under pain of mortal sin, to receive circumcision or to observe other ceremonies of the Old Law. " Behold, I tell you that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (Gal. v., 2.) A thing can be attested by acts as well as by 236 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. words. Now, to attest by the acts pr ceremonies of the Mosaic law that the Messiah is still expected, is an evi dent outrage to his Divinity ; it is to deny him and to destroy the divine fruits of his Passion. Hence the pious and holy words of the patriarchs and prophets concerning the future coming of the Messiah, would be blasphemies in the mouth of christians, if expressed according to the belief and doctrine of the Jews, However, it cannot be supposed that the Apostles, after having received the spiritual gifts of the Holy Ghost, committed sin by ob serving, in certain points, the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law. " Then Paul took the men, and the next day, be ing purified with them, entered into the temple giving notice of the days of purification, that an oblation should be offered for each of them." (Acts xvi., 26.) In regard to the observance of these Mosaic ceremonies and cus toms, the Apostles deliberated together, and unanimously passed a decree. (Acts xv., 28, 29.) The Old Law existed at three distinct periods. It ex isted during the time preceding the Passion of our Sav iour. During that time, all the precepts were in full force. It existed during the time which succeeded the general promulgation of the Gospel, and during the time between these two periods. . It was during this time that the Apostles, through condescension to those of the Jews converted to the Christian faith, allowed them the prac tice of certain ceremonies, but explained to them that they were not necessary for salvation, as faith in Jesus Christ was sufficient to obtain life eternal. But the Apos tles never allowed to the christians converted from heathenism what they allowed to the converts from the Jewish religion. So St. Paul permitted the circumcision COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 237 of Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess, whilst he re fused it to Titus, who was born of idolatrous parents. It was for the same reason that the Apostles enjoined on their neophytes to abstain from the use of certain meats, hoping thus to reconcile the converts from heathenism and the Jewish religion. Justification could not be obtained by the observance of the ceremonial precepts of the Law. " Knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." (Gal. ii., 16.) There were two kinds of defilement : one of the body, and an other of the soul. The one of the body was contracted by touching a leprous person, or a dead body. This defilement excluded the Jews from the right of public worship. Certain ceremonies were established to efface it. The effacing of this defilement is called by St. Paul the justice of the flesh. The defilement of the soul was that contracted by sin ; but no ceremonies had the power or virtue to efface it. So, according to St. Paul, it was not possible that sins could be effaced by the blood of goats and oxen. These ceremonies, however, had a certain virtue in prefiguring the expected Messiah, for they excited faith and confidence in him, and nourished piety and devotion in the hearts of the Jews. Why were there so many ceremonial precepts f In every state or nation directed and governed by laws, there are two distinct classes of people ; the one, inclined by natural and habitual propensity to evil j the other inclined to virtue, either by nature, habit, or the effect of divine grace. Now the great number of those precepts were good and salutary to correct and intimidate those who had a 238 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. strong habitual inclination to evil, for they were efficacious means to prevent the multitude from falling into idolatry, to which the Hebrews were constantly inclined. As to those who were inclined to virtue, the law en couraged them to the practice of moral discipline and virtue, by reminding them incessantly of the presence of God, and of the coming of the great Messiah. So those ceremonial precepts were very necessary, as they gave the Jews a fore-knowledge of the immense spiritual and temporal benefits which the Redeemer would confer upon the world. Did the precepts of the Old Law bind any other people than the Jews ? The precepts of the natural law, con tained in the Mosaic law, were binding on all nations and generations. But the other precepts and religious cere monies were binding on the Jews alone, for God gave them to this people in consideration of the Messiah who was to come from them according to the flesh. Hence these pre cepts imposed upon the Jewish nation particular obliga tions, redounding to their glory, of which other nations were deprived. These precepts may, in a certain manner,' be compared to the vows which the priests and the religious orders of the Catholic Church make, and by which they contract special obligations before God ; but from which all the laity are exempt, and still can work out their salvation without them. Thus the Gentiles could, by observing the natural law, and by supernatural grace, obtain sal vation without observing the Mosaic law. 3. Judicial and Juridical Precepts. The Old Law contained also judicial precepts. These precepts were to regulate and determine all obligations of justice between man and man. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 239 The natural law gives us only general principles of jus tice and morality. It is, for instance, a natural law that we must worship God ; but this law does not determine the mode and the time of worship. It is a natural law that malefactors should be punished 5 but this law does not determine the mode and kind of punishment. Hence it is necessary that the obligations of the natu ral law should be precisely determined by divine or human law. The Mosaic law supplied, by moral pre cepts, that insufficiency of the natural law ; it speci fied, in a positive manner, the worship due to God, by ceremonial precepts, and regulated all the obligations of justice in civil and social relations. Hence St. Paul, when speaking of the Old Law, says : " The command ment is holy, just, and good" — holy in the ceremonial precepts, which relate to the divine worship, just in the judicial precepts, and good in the moral precepts. Besides these precepts, the Mosaic law contained reg ulations about punishments to be inflicted, and rewards to be granted for the maintenance of these precepts. " If you willingly hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land j but if you will not, and provoke me to wrath, the sword shall devour you, for the Lord hath spoken so.'7 (Isaias i., 19.) The judicial precepts were not figurative like the ceremonial precepts. Still the different wars, triumphs, and defeats of the Jews had something figurative and quite different from those of other nations that were much more powerful, and are celebrated in history. These precepts having been established to regulate the civil and social rights of the Jews, are now abolished, but can, without any violation of faith, be established by any Christian sovereign in his dominion, provided, however, he 240 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. does not present them to his subjects as a divine institu tion originating from the Jewish law. The reason and propriety of tlie judicial precepts. In regard to the government of a state or empire, two things are to be considered ; namely, the legitimate power, and the constitutional form of its government. Every man in the state has a right to take part in the primitive formation of a government, and concur in the establish ment of a competent legitimate power. This is the best means to maintain peace and order in the state, and ani mate all with the spirit of loyalty, and patriotism, and at tachment to a political institution of their own creation. A state or nation can adopt different forms of govern ment. The principal are : royalty, when there is but one only sovereign ; aristocracy, when the grandees of the state govern ; and democracy ', when the chiefs are chosen from all ranks, and elected by the people. There are some who think that monarchy is the best system of government, because it is the most in harmony with the divine government ; but this system of government, they add, is too apt to fall into vice, luxury, avarice and cruelty, and these vices are generally the sources of op pression, tyranny, and slavery — mortal plagues of the hu man race. Hence Artistole said : u It is virtue and wis dom, alone, that can resist the temptations of power and fortune." From this opinion, the enemies of the Catholic Church draw a false argument against the Catholics in this country. They say that the principles of the Catholic Church are opposed to the existence of the Republican form of goverment, because she favors monarchy, and, therefore, Catholics cannot conscientiously be true suppor ters of the Republic. This argument finds acceptance COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 241 with many people who are ignorant of the Catholic religion. Our dear Saviour, the founder of the Catholic religion, of the New Law, which is a law of grace, has wisely reg ulated all our outward works and acts by moral precepts and the sacraments. As to external acts which are not contrary to faith and charity, the New Law of Christ gives us full liberty in such things. Hence the New Law is also called the law of liberty, not only because it delivers us from the bondage of sin and the devil, but also because it does not, like the Old Law, contain such a great number of precepts, which were an obstacle to the exercise of free will. As to our internal acts, they are prescribed and contained in Christ's sermon on the Mount, which comprises all that is necessary for Christian perfection. But Christ has given us no positive precepts concerning the system of government which followers should embrace j for grace does not depend on any particular form of gov ernment. Hence, one may be a good Christian and faith ful citizen under any form of government. Hence it is that the Catholic Church leaves to every state its own independence j she ameliorates the political and social order, only by infusing into the hearts of the people and their rulers the principles of justice and love, and a sense of accountability to Grod. The action of the Church in political and social manners is indirect, not direct, and in strict accordance with the free-will of individuals and the autonomy of states. Servile fear does not rank very high among Catholic theologians. The Church, when she can, resorts to coercive measures only to repress disorders in the public body. Hence her rulers are called shepherds, not lords, and shepherds of their Master's flock, not of their own, and are to feed, tend, and protect the flock, and take 242 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. care of its increase for him, with sole reference to his will, and his honor and glory. The Catholic Church proffers to all every assistance necessary for the attainment of the most heroic sanctity, but she -forces no man to accept that assistance. Catholics believe the doctrines of the Church, because they believe the Catholic Church to be the Church of God. They believe that Jesus Christ commissioned St. Peter and the Apostles, and their lawful successors, to teach all men in his name ; to teach them infallibly and authoritatively his divine doctrine. They believe that this Church is the medium through which God manifests his will, and dispenses his grace to man, and through which alone we can hope for heaven. They believe that nothing can be more reasonable than to believe God at his word; and that, above all, they must seek the kingdom of God and secure their eternal salvation. Being governed by the Church, as freemen, in the spirit of a republican government, and enjoying, as they do, the freedom of the children of God, Catholics feel nowhere more at home than under a republican form of government. If a great pope could say in truth, that he was nowhere more pope than in America, every Catholic can, and does, also say in truth, u Nowhere can I be a better Christian than in the United States. " Hence it is that Catholics are very generally attached to the republican institutions of the country — no class of our citizens more so — and would defend them at the sacrifice of their lives. Catholics far more readily adjust themselves to our institutions than non-Catholics, and, among Catholics, it must be observed that they succeed best who best understand and best prac tise their religion. They who are least truly American, and yield most to demagogues, are those who have very COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 243 little of Catholicity, except the accident of being born of Catholic parents, who had them baptized in infancy. Practical Catholics are the best Republicans ! If we consult history, we find that they were always foremost in establishing and maintaining the republican form of government. Who originated all the free principles which lie at the basis of our own noble Constitution ? Who gave us trial by jury, habeas corpus, stationary courts, and the principle — for which we fought and conquered in our revolutionary struggle against Protestant England — that taxes are not to be levied without the free consent of those who pay them? All these cardinal elements of free government date back to the good old Catholic times, in the middle ages — some three hundred years before the dawn of the Reformation ! Our Catholic forefathers gave them all to us. Again, we are indebted to Catholics for all the republics which ever existed in Christian times, down to the year 1776 : for those of Switzerland, Venice, Genoa, Andorra, San Marino, and a host of minor free commonwealths, which sprang up in the " dark ages." Some of these republics still exist, proud monuments and unanswerable evidences of Catholic devotion to freedom. They are ac knowledged by Protestants, no less than by Catholics. I subjoin the testimony of an able writer in the New York Tribune, believed to be Bayard Taylor. This distin guished traveler — a staunch Protestant — appeals to history, and speaks from personal observation. He writes : " Truth compels us to add that the oldest republic now existing is that of San Marino, not only Catholic, but wholly surrounded by the especial dominion of the popes, who might have crushed it like an egg-shell at any time 244 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. these last thousand years — but they didn't. The only republic we ever traveled in, besides our own, is Switzer land, half of its cantons or states entirely Catholic, yet never, that we have heard of, unfaithful to the cause of freedom. We never heard the Catholics of Hungary accused of backwardness in the late glorious struggle of their country for freedom, though its leaders were Protes tants, fighting against a leading Catholic power, avowedly in favor of religious as well as civil liberty. And chivalric, unhappy Poland, almost wholly Catholic, has made as gallant struggles for freedom as any other nation ; while of the three despotisms that crushed her, but one was Catholic." Let us bring the subject home to our own times and country. Who, I would ask, first reared in triumph the broad banner of universal freedom on this North American Continent ? Who first proclaimed in this new world a truth too wide and expansive to enter into the head of, or to be comprehended by, a narrow-minded bigot — a truth that every man should be free to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience ? Who first proclaimed, on this broad continent, the glorious principles of universal freedom ? Read Bancroft, read Goodrich, read Frost, read every Protestant historian of our country, and you will see there inscribed, on the historic page, a, fact which reflects immortal honor on our American Catholic ancestry — that Lord Baltimore and his Catholic colonists of Maryland were the first to pro claim universal liberty, civil and religious ; the first to announce, as the basis of their legislation, the great and noble principle that no man's faith and conscience should be a bar to his holding any office, or enjoying any civil privilege of the community. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 245 What American can forget the names of Rochambeau, De Grasse, De Kalb, Pulaski, La Fayette, Kosciusko ? Without the aid _of these noble Catholic heroes, and of the brave troops whom they led on to victory, would we have succeeded at all in our great revolutionary contest ? Men of the clearest heads, and of the greatest political forecast, living at that time, thought not 5 at least they deemed the result exceedingly doubtful. And during the whole war of the Revolution, who ever heard of a Catholic coward, or of a Catholic traitor ? When the Protestant General, Gates, fled from the battle field of Camden with the Protestant militia of North Caro lina and Virginia, who but Catholics stood firm at their posts, and fought and died with the brave old Catholic hero, De Kalb ? the veteran who, when others ingloriously fled, seized his good sword, and cried out to the brave old Maryland and Pennsylvania lines, " Stand firm, for I am too old to fly !" Who ever heard of a Catholic Ar nold ? And who has not heard of the brave Irish and German soldiers who, at a somewhat later period, mainly composed the invincible army of the impetuous "Mad Anthony" Wayne, and constituted the great bulwark of our defence against the savage invasions which threatened our whole northwestern frontier with devastation and ruin ? All these facts, and many more of a similar kind which might be alleged, cannot have passed away, as yet, from the memory of our American citizens. Americans can not have forgotten, as yet, that the man who periled most in signing the Declaration of Independence was a Roman Catholic, and that when Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, put his name to that instrument, Benjamin Franklin ob served, "There goes a cool million in support of the cause P 246 COMMANDMENTS OF. GOD. And when our energies were exhausted, and the stout est heart entertained the most gloomy forebodings as to the final issue, Catholic France stepped gallantly forth to the rescue of our infant freedom, almost crushed by an overwhelming English tyranny ! Catholic Spain also sub sequently lent us her aid against England. Many of our most sagacious statesmen have believed that, but for this timely aid, our Declaration of Independence could scarcely have been made good. These facts, which are but a few of those which might be adduced, prove conclusively that Catholicity is still what she was in the middle ages — the steadfast friend and supporter of free institutions. When the Jewish people, wished to have a king as other nations had, God was displeased with their desire, and manifested his disapproval thereof to Samuel in these words : " They have not rejected thee but me, that I should not reign over them." (I Kings, viii., 7.) Samuel endeavored to dissuade them from their determination, but could not succeed, and concluded, saying : " You, then, wish to have a king, but you shall become his slaves." However, God prescribed means to secure his people from despotism. Before the election of a king, they shall await the judgment of the Lord, and never put a strange prince upon the throne, who might not be attached to them. The king must not have immense wealth, nor a great number of chariots, or horses, or wives : he shall fear and obey the Lord ; read and practise his law ; he shall never despise nor oppress his subjects, and always observe strict justice towards them. (Deut. xvii.) The Lord took all these precautions in favor of his chosen people, for he knew that with most nations, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 247 and also with the Hebrew people who were always in clined to avarice and idolatry, absolute monarchy would be the cause of numberless abuses, and would sooner or later degenerate into tyranny and slavery. The Old Law regulated with wisdom all the temporal and judicial affairs of the Jews. A nation is a multitude of people united to one another by common rights and wants. The mutual relations existing between them, de pend either upon the authority of the prince, or upon the will of private individuals. It is the sovereign's duty to take care that justice be impartially administered to all 5 that the good be rewarded and the wicked punished. As to private transactions in buying and selling, they regard in dividuals, and the Old Law wisely regulated these affairs. Hence it established tribunals at the gates of the city ; pro hibited judges to receive presents; and required two wit nesses in evidence of right, or wrong. (Deut. xvi., 18.) The Old Law also regulated the rights of property among the Jews. u I have given you possession of a land which you shall divide by lots." (Numb, xxxiii., 52.) It also prohibited the perpetual alienation of properties ; for they were to return to the first owner after the lapse of fifty years, that is, the year of the jubilee. Finally, in order to avoid confusion and litigation with regard to the right of property, the nearest relatives were to inherit it, in the following manner : first, the son ; the daughter, the father, the grandfather j and then the relatives with equal proportion. The women were not allowed to marry except men of their own tribes. The law ordered to give hospitality to all strangers ; but if they were inclined to fix their residence in the country only for a certain time, the right of citizenship 248 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. was not granted to them, in order to avoid the danger of treachery and idolatry. The Egyptians, in whose part of the country of Egypt the Hebrews first dwelt, and all the descendants of Esau, brother to Jacob, were incorporated with the Jewish people after the third generation. The Ammonites and Moabites, who were in constant hostility with the Hebrews, were always refused the right of citizenship. As to the Amalekites, the mortal enemies of the Hebrews, the law declared war against them from generation to generation. The law never permitted unjust and unnecessary wars, and ordered to offer peat3e before coming to battle 5 but, if refused, to prosecute the war with all might and energy, and depend on the powerful protection of the God of Ar mies. In conquered countries, they were to treat the women and children with the utmost humanity, and never to destroy the corn fields and fruit-trees. In fine, the law enjoined on the conqueror to abstain from animosity and cruelty, and to use the victory with moderation and clemency. It also prescribed salutary regulations for masters and servants. On the Sabbath day, the servants were allowed to rest, as well as their masters 5 and, if they were Jewish slaves, they recovered their liberty the seventh year. They were allowed to take with them all they had when first they entered into their master's service, and he was obliged to supply them with all that was necessary for their journey. If he treated any of them with too much severity, he was obliged to grant him his liberty. The parents were bound to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord, and in the knowledge of the law, which was the principal part of their religion, and to take COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 249 special care of their moral education 5 but if children were guilty of disobedience to their parents, and would not listen to their admonitions, the parents had to take them before the ancients of the city, who sentenced them to be stoned to death. As to the regulations for marriage, the Jews were obliged to marry only such women as were of their own respective tribes ; but if any one of them falsely accused his wife, he was punished for it, and she was thereby entitled to obtain a bill of divorce ; and the husband had the same right, if his wife had been criminal. And the Pharisees said to Christ : " Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce ? And Christ answered : Be cause Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives ; but it was not so from the beginning." (Matt, xix., 7, 8.) The Neiv Law or The Law of Grace. The whole human race was destined to live successively during three distinct periods, 'the first period was that of the Old Law ; the second that of the New Law, and the third and last that of the kingdom of eternal glory. St. Paul says that the Old Law was abolished on account of its weakness, and unprofitableness, for it brought nothing to perfection ; but it brought unto us a better hope, by which we draw nigh to God. (Heb. vii., 8.) He says again : " That the law and commandent are indeed holy, just and good." Now, we say that a doctrine is good when it is conformable to truth, and we say that a law is good when it is consistent with reason. Such was the Old Law ; for it repressed concupiscence, which militates against reason, and it forbade all transgressions contrary to human reason and the divine law. It acted as a phy- 250 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. sician does, in restoring a patient to health by salutary prescriptions. The chief end of man is eternal glory j but it is by divine grace alone that we can merit it. The Old Law could not confer it. u The Law was given by Moses j grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John i.? 17.) But the Old Law was good because it was a prepar ation for the law of grace, for the coming of the Messiah, either by giving testimony of him, or by preserving among the Jews the knowledge and worship of the true God. " Before the true faith came, we were kept under the law for that faith which was to be revealed." (Gal. iii., 23.) However, notwithstanding the imperfection of the Old Law, the Jews had sufficient means of salvation by faith in the Redeemer to come. Jesus Christ, ardently expected, was the Saviour of the patriarchs, of the prophets, and of all the holy souls of the Old Testament ; as Jesus Christ truly come, is the Saviour of the apostles, martyrs, and all the holy souls of the New Testament. The law of Christ, then, or the law of grace, was sub stituted for the Old Law. This law is called new for several reasons. It is new in its author. The Old Law was given by the ministry of angels, but the New Law, by the only-begotten Son of God. Hence, to prove the pre-eminence of the New Law above the Old Law, St. Paul says : u God had spoken in times past to our fore fathers by the prophets, but has spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things." (Heb. i., 1, 2.) The law of Christ is new in its efficacy. The Old Law did not confer justification ; it only prefigured and prom ised it in view of the New Law, which supplied this in sufficiency by substituting reality for figures, and the gift of grace for promises. Thus the law of Christ is the perfect accomplishment and realization of the Mosaic Law. COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 251 The law of Christ is miv in its reivards. Moses, as we read in the beginning of the book of Exodus, conveyed the Hebrew people from Egypt, for the conquest of foreign nations, and promised them a land flowing with milk and honey. The law of the Gospel proposes and promises, first of all, celestial and eternal happiness and glory. Jesus Christ began to preach the Gospel with these humble and holy words ; " Do penance ; the kingdom of heaven is approaching." The law of Christ is new in the perfection it requires. The law ought to direct all human acts for the observance of justice and the punishment of all crimes. But the Mosaic law punished only external acts, whilst the law of the Gospel restrains even internal acts. The one re pressed the actions of the hand, whilst the other re presses even the sinful thoughts and passions of the heart. The law of Christ is new in the motive of its operation. The Old Law operated only by fear and punishment, whilst the Law of Grace operates by perfect justice and charity. u For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath delivered me from the law of sin and death," says St. Paul. (Rom. viii., 2.) In the Old Testament, says St. Augustine, the law was given in an external form to terrify the wicked, whilst in the New Testament, it is given by the infusion of divine charity for our justification. The Old Law of works was written on tables of stone, whilst the Law of Grace is engraved on the living tables of the hearts of the faithful. Hence the New Law is a law of grace, infused into the soul of the just, and proceeds from faith in Christ, who added counsels there to for all who aspire to virtue and perfection. 252 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. By its divine authority, the New Law has power to pre scribe outward works and prohibit certain others. As it has made us children of light, we must perform works of justice and charity, and avoid those of sin and dark ness. "For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord j walk then as children of light." (Eph v., 8.) The new law is a law of grace and sanctity. But in order to know that we possess this divine gift of grace and sanctity, visible signs are necessary and the sacraments are such signs of grace. He who has received the gift of grace must manifest it in words and actions ; for the law of Christ orders us to profess our faith, and never to deny it on any occasion. (Matt. x., 32-33.) The New Law, being a law of grace, charity and lib erty, adds counsels to precepts, which are not absolutely obligatory. The precepts of the New Law are of a moral, indispensable obligation, whilst the counsels are of a discretionary character, and left to our own choice. 6t Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart, and the good counsels of a friend are sweet to the soul." (Prov. xxvii., 9.) Now Christ being the essence of all wisdom and charity, his evangelical counsels are the most useful and salutary to all Christians. Man is placed in this world between heavenly beatitude and temporal enjoyments ; so that the more he is at tached to the one, the more he renounces the other. However, it is not necessary to deprive himself of all the goods of this world to attain eternal happiness; but by depriving himself of the goods of this world, he places himself in a safer way to work out his salvation. The riches and enjoyments of this world seduce us -by the attraction of three kinds of concupiscence. Hence, the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 253 New Law, in order to bring us to evangelical perfection, proposes poverty as an infallible remedy to overcome the concupiscence of the eyes ; chastity, to resist that of the flesh ; and obedience, to conquer the pride and vanity of life. The counsels of the Grospel are thus a moral dis cipline, which leads to sanctity and perfection. Hence St. Paul, after having counselled virginity, adds : " And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which may give you power to at tend upon the Lord without impediment." How long is the New Law to last ? As the law of grace is perfect in every manner, it cannot be succeeded by any. other law. It will, therefore, last to the end of" the world. Would it not have been better, if the New Law had been given at the beginning of the world f As it is only the New Law that can confer grace on mankind, it would seem well if it had been given from the beginning, to remove the obstacle to grace, which was original sin. But we should remember that the New Law is a law of perfection. Now, according to the order of divine Providence things are brought to perfection by degrees, as a child grows to the age of maturity. The New Law was not given from the beginning, because after the fall, it was necessary that man should become sensible of the effects of his pride and malice. Hence God left him to his own free-will and the law of nature, and this being nearly effaced from his mind and heart, he gave him his written law. When these laws became insufficient for the enlightenment and moral direc tion of mankind, reason and sound philosophy proclaimed that the world could not be saved except by a divine me diator. 254 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. The order of Providence is justice and perfection in all things. To realize this, Providence gave first the law of nature, then the written law, and, finally, the law of grace. Had the law of grace been given from the begin ning, what would have become of the Christian faith at the end of ages ? " But when the Son of Man cometh, do you think he shall find faith on earth ? " (Luke xviii., 8.) So our Saviour came and gave his law at the most favor able time for the redemption and perfection of mankind, and prepared them for his coming by a long expectation. Hence St. Augustine says : " Christ did not wish to appear to men and preach his doctrine among them, but at the time and place where he knew there would be people to believe in him.'7 " In the midst of years, O Lord, thou shalt manifest thy great work." (Habac. iii.? 2.) Human Laiv. The natural law, or the first and general principles of justice and morality, were engraven on mankind from the beginning. From these principles, sound practical reason draws certain precepts which thus become human law. According to natural law, he who violates the laws ought to be punished. From this principle is derived a human law which prescribes and determines the mode and manner of punishment, either by imprisonment, hard labor, or death. Human law is indispensably necessary for the admin istration of justice and the maintenance of public order. Aristotle says that a virtuous man is the best of all animals j but if not directed by virtue, he is of all brute beasts the most wicked and ferocious. What, then, can restrain that ferocious animal, regardless of the eternal and natural law, except the fear of corporal punishment inflicted by human law. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 255 Although it be true that the natural law is the original principle of the human law, yet the conclusions, or precepts, drawn from the natural law, are not applicable to all nations in the same form and manner j and hence arises a diversity of positive laws. From the principle, just established, it is evident that the chief object of the positive law is the general good of all. Hence it must be comformable to divine law, otherwise it is not a good and just law, and consequently cannot impose a moral obligation. On this account, no one is bound to obey a law which is opposed to divine law. The right of nations may be considered to have its origin and foundation in the natural law j but the tacit consent of all nations has made a positive law of it, for all nations have reciprocal duties and rights to fulfil to wards one another. As the principal object of human laws is to procure the general good of all, they must be established for the public good, and not for the private interest of individuals. The laws, therefore, in order to accomplish this object, must direct all their power for the most general and ordinary occurrences, and not for particular cases ; they must con tain general prescriptions with regard to persons, times and places. The execution of law must in all things, be possible and practicable. The law, therefore, must be conformable to the nature, condition, and faculties of the people, and to the general customs of the country. The law, however, cannot give rules for all sort of virtues and vices. The acts of a virtuous man are not the same as those of a wicked, corrupt man j but the laws are for all men, the greater part of whom are not perfect in virtue. The laws, therefore, cannot possibly repress 25G COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. all sorts of vices, but only those crimes which are pre judicial to public safety and the general welfare of society such as robbery, murder, etc. Human laws, if just and comformable to reason and divine law, are binding in conscience ; for the legislators of the people are the representatives of God, invested with a sacred and inviolable power. " By me Kings reign, and law-givers decree just things." (Prov. viii., 15.) Now, we are bound in conscience to respect divine au thority, the source and foundation of all laws. " Let every soul be subject to higher powers ; for there is no power but from God. He, therefore, that resisteth the powers resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist, pur chase to themselves damnation. Therefore be subject of necessity, not only for fear of punishment, but also for conscience sake." (Rom. xviii., 1, 2, 3.) Hence all are bound in conscience to obey the laws established for the welfare and protection of the community. But should the legislator abuse his power by arbitrary and illegal means, it is evident that the authority of his laws is no longer binding, because it is not conformable to common justice and divine authority. However, if one could not disobey such laws without causing disturbance or public scandal, it would be better to submit with pat ience, according to what is said in the Gospel : " If a man contend with you in judgment, and take away your coat, let your cloak also with him." (Matt, v., 40.) But if any human law should be manifestly contrary to divine law, man ought never, on any consideration, give up his right in such a case : " for it is better to obey God than man." (Acts, iv.) Those only are bound to obey the law who are under the jurisdiction of their lawful sovereign. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 257 The chief of the state can dispense one from the laws passed by subaltern authorities, as the Pope can from the laws or statutes of ecclesiastical discipline established by bishops in any part of Christendom. The legislator is bound to observe his own law, in virtue of the divine power and authority of which he is the minister. The divine and supreme Master of kings and nations severely blames all in higher power, who do not conform to their own laws and decrees. u Because what they say, they do not do it j they bind heavy and unsupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders, but with a finger of their own they will not move them." (Matt, xxiii., 3? 4.) Although the chief of the state is not exempt from the law, yet, if absolute necessity or public utility requires it, he has power to change the law ; but in any case, no one has a right to pronounce sentence of condemnation against him. In all cases it is necessary to comform to the spirit and letter of the law ; but to conform to the spirit is better than to conform to the letter. If, in any extraordinary case, there arises an unforseen difficulty, it is necessary to appeal to the chief legislator, in order to obtain a satisfactory solution of the difficulty. But, if in any imminent, inevitable danger, one has not time to have recourse to the lawful authority, necessity grants him full dispensation. Hence the common maxim: " Necessity has no law." Those laws which are given by the Sovereign Pontiffs and the bishops for the government of the Church are called Ecclesiastical Laws. It is a matter of faith that the Church can establish laws, which cannot be violated without sin. She received legislative power from Jesus 2f>8 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Christ, in these words : " Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven/7 and, (t If he will not hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen and a publican." (Matt, xvii.) The Church possesses also legislative power by virtue of the natural right. As she is a perfect and indepen dent society, she has the right of self-government and that of prescribing what is necessary for its preservation or conducive to its end. By virtue of this power, the Church can establish laws, watch over their observance, and punish the transgressors, by excommunication and the refusal of the sacraments and Christian burial. The universal legislative power for the whole of Christendom belongs to the Pope, and to the bishops in their respective dioceses, and to the councils of bishops for the entire Church, or for that part of the Church which they represent. The object of the Ecclesiastical Law is: 1, to maintain order and peace throughout the body of the Church by a stable and prudent administration ; 2, to prevent abuses j 3, to render the observance of the divine law and the practice of all that Jesus has taught and prescribed more easy to the faithful. The laws of the Church are numerous : some regard hierarchial superiors ; and others the clergy and religious orders ; while others again, have reference to the sacra ments, worship, and the benefits of worship ; and lastly, some regard all the faithful. The principal of these last are called the precepts of the Church. Conscience. A certain traveller was obliged to pass through a vast forest in the darkness of the night. In order not to lose the way to his country, he carried a lamp in his hand, in COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 259 the light of which he could always clearly see the way he had to travel to reach his home in safety. In this world, we all travel towards our true country which is heaven. We have to travel through the vast forest of this world, in the darkness of the night, that is we have to travel through the darkness of the temptations of the devil, of the flesh, and of wicked men. Now in order that we may not lose our way to heaven God has given to every one a lamp in the light of which he can always see the way which he must go to enter the kingdom of heaven. This lamp is the law of God. " The commandment of God," says the Holy Scripture, "is a lamp, and his law is a light." (Prov. vi., 23.) The law of God is called a lamp, a light, because it shows to every one the way to heaven ; it tells him what he must do and what he must avoid in order to please God and be saved. Keep my commandments and my law as the apple of thine eye, and thou shalt live." (Prov. viii., 2.) The law of God, therefore, is one of the greatest gifts for every man. " I will give you," says the Lord, " a good gift," the gift of my commandments, "forsake not my law." (Prov. iv., 2.) Now, God was not satisfied with showing to man the way to heaven — which is the keeping of his command ments — he, moreover, has given to every one an invisible companion, who stays writh him day and night to the end of his life. Some give to this companion the name of conscience J others call him the oracle or voice of God in the nature and heart of man, as distinct from the voice of revelation. A certain poet says : "Whatever creed be taught, or land be trod, Man's conscience is the oracle of God." Yes, the voice of conscience comes of God, and not of man ; it 260 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. was planted in us, before we had any training, though such training is necessary for its strength, growth, and due formation j it is found even in the untutored savage. When Columbus discovered America, the chieftain of an Indian tribe one day said to him : "I am told that thou hast lately come to these lands with a mighty force, and subdued many countries, spreading great fear among the people ; but be not, therefore, vain-glorious. Know that according to our belief, the souls of men have two journeys to perform after they have departed from the body : one to a place dismal and foul, and covered with darkness, prepared for those souls who have been unjust and cruel to their fellow-men ; the other, pleasant and full of light, for such as have promoted peace on earth. If, then, thou art mortal and dost expect to die, and dost believe that each one shall be rewarded according to his deeds, beware that thou wrongfully hurt no man, nor do harm to those who have done no harm to thee." (Irving's "Columbus," chapt.v., p. 433.) From this short oration of a heathen, it is evident that there is a voice of conscience even in the savage, telling him what is right and what is wrong. This faithful companion knows how far every one is acquainted with the law of God. He knows our desires, our words, our actions, and the omission of our duties. Now his office is to apply our knowledge of the law to every thing we desire, say, and do, in order to see whether our desires, words and actions are in conformity with the law of God, or in opposition to it. Hence St. Thomas says : u Conscience is not a power, but an act of the soul by which we apply, to a particular action, the first principles of right and wrong. If we apply these prin- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 261 ciples to the commission or omission of an act, our con science is. witness of it. "For thy conscience knoweth that thou hast also often spoken evil of others." (Eccles.vii., 23.) If we apply those principles to what ought or ought not to be done for the moment, our conscience excites us to do it or dissuades us from doing it. If we apply those principles to a past transaction, to know whether it was good or bad, our conscience accuses or excuses us. Conscience, then, is that faithful, inward monitor, that warns every man when he is about to offend God and leave the right road to heaven. Whenever we are on the point of desiring, saying, or doing something that is against God's law, conscience says to us on the part of God : "It is not lawful for thee." (Matt, xiv., 4.) No, thou art not allowed to perform that action, to speak that word, to entertain that desire, to read that book, to frequent that company, to go to that place of sin, to make that unlaw ful bargain. If in spite of these remonstrances of conscience we still proceed, it rises up against us and cries out : " What hast thou done ? " (Kings iii., 24.) Thou hast sinned; thou hast offended God, by transgressing his law, and going against his voice which warned thee not to do so j thou art guilty in his sight, and deserving to be punished according to the law of his justice. It was his conscience that made David say : "My sin is always before me.'7 (Ps. Ixxx., 5.) It was his conscience that made Judas cry out : " I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." (Matt, xxvii., 4.) Thus every sinner is accountable for his conduct, to his conscience, which, as Menander says, is his God. It is by means of conscience that God judges man. Conscience, 262 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. as the organ and instrument of God, pronounces, in his name, the sentence of condemnation 5 it passes, under his sovereign authority, the decree of his divine, justice. In this sense it is said that we ourselves are our first judges, and that the first tribunal to which we are cited is our own conscience, without being able to escape from its presence, or call in question its justice, or avoid its decree. Yes, this judgment is just, it is dreadful, it is without appeal. In pronouncing sentence, conscience is at the same time witness against us, and its deposition is so much the more dreadful as it is interior, clear, and personal to us. Ah ! how unfortunate is it to be condemned by our selves, and to have nothing to oppose to the condemna tion! And what, indeed, can be opposed when our own conscience is the accuser, witness and judge ? Therefore, it only remains for conscience to assume the character of executioner, and to exercise its vengeance upon us. Dreadful charge ! which is more terrible than all the rest. It punishes us. God intrusts the interest of his justice and revenge in the hands of conscience ; and in how many ways does it not discharge this dreadful office against the sinner after his sin ? — by those racking re morses which tear him, as it were, to pieces ; by the gnawing worm which eats him up ; by the constant re membrance of his guilt, which follows him everywhere ; by the fears, terrors, and continual alarms in which he lives. If he is visited by illness, if the least infirmity attacks him, death incessantly presents itself to his eyes. If thunders roar, if the earth quakes, if any unexpected ac cident happens, he believes that the hand of God is lifted up against him, fearing every instant to be swallowed up. Alas ! can there be any more dreadful tor- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 263 turer, any more cruel executioner, any more severe minis ter of vengeance for the sinner, than his own conscience ! What more torturing for Cain than the bloody spectre of his brother Abel which presented itself continually to him I What more frightful for the impious Balthasar, than the sight of the hand which appeared on the wall and wrote the sentence of his condemnation upon it ! What more horrifying for Antiochus than the picture of the temple of Jerusalem which he had profaned ? What more alarm ing and terrifying for Henry VIII., King of England, than to behold, on his death bed, the legion of monks whom he had so cruelly treated ! And why were these men thus tortured ? It was be cause conscience, whose rights they had trampled upon, sought atonement by setting the remembrance of their crimes continually before them. " Thus conscience pleads her cause within the breast: Though long rebelled against, not yet suppressed.'' No wonder, that men sometimes commit suicide. They cannot bear the remorse of conscience, and so they try to find rest in death. The hell of the wicked begins even in this world, and it continues throughout all eternity in the next. Hence St. Paul says : " Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil." (Rom. ii., 9.) "By what things," says Holy Scripture, " a man sinneth, by the same he is also tormented." (Wisd. xi., 17.) "He who speaks (against his conscience) whatever he pleases, will hear in his heart what he does not like to hear," says Comicus. Now, such a remorse of conscience, though a punish- 264 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. merit, is at the same time a grace for the sinner. It warns him to enter into himself, by sincere repentance, to ask pardon of God, and promise amendment of life, and be saved. But if a sinner does not experience such a re morse he is, no doubt, in a most lamentable condition. The want of this grace forebodes a certain reprobation for all eternity. Now, this voice of conscience, which strikes terror into the souls of the wicked, fills the just with peace and happiness. There is a great sinner : he is very sorry for all his sins. He firmly purposes amendment of life ; he makes a good confession. See him after confession. His coun tenance is radiant with beauty. His step has become again light. His soul reflects upon his features, the holy joy with which it is inebriated. He smiles upon those whom he meets, and every one sees that he is happy. He trembles now no longer when he lifts his eyes to heaven. He hopes, he loves. A supernatural strength animates him. He feels himself burning with zeal to do good. A new sun has risen upon his life, and every thing in him puts on the freshness of youth. And why ? Be cause his conscience has thrown off a load that bent him to the earth. It tells him that now he is once more the companion of angels ; that he has again entered that sweet alliance with God, whom he can now justly call his Father 5 that he is reinstated in his dignity of a child of God. He is no longer afraid of God's justice, of death and of hell. We must, then, always follow the voice or dictates of conscience, for " this is the keeping of the command ments," says Holy Scripture ; but " whatever is con trary to conscience, is sinful." (Rom. xiv., 23.) COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 265 " What rule," says St. Thomas Aquinas, " can a man follow, unless reason which is the imperative voice of conscience. He who does not appeal to his conscience on all occasions can have no rule of conduct. He is al ways in doubt and perplexity, wavering between vice and virtue, not knowing to which side to turn. He is like a vessel whose helm is lost in a violent storm." DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSCIENCE. Conscience, or the sense of right and wrong, which is the first element in religion, is so delicate, so fitful, so easily puzzled, obscured, perverted ; so subtle in its argu mentative methods, so impressible by education, so biassed by pride and passion, so unsteady in its flight, that this sense is at once the highest of all teachers, yet the least clear and luminous. Hence it is that we meet with different kinds of conscience. 1. The right or true conscience. A right, or true conscience, is one which, according to sound principles, dictates what is right or *wrong. For instance: a child knows that parents must not be obey ed if they command something that is sinful. Now, from this principle the child draws the conclusion that it is wrong for him to steal the sum of money which his father told him to steal. 2. The erroneous or false conscience. A conscience is erroneous or false when it represents to us an action as good which is really bad. For instance : every one knows that a wilful lie is a sin. Now, there is one who sees his neighbor in danger of death, and knows that by telling a lie he can save the life of his neighbor. He feels certain that such a lie cannot be a sin, and that he would sin against charity if he were not to tell it. 266 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. A conscience is also erroneous when it represents what is really good as something really bad. For ex ample : what can be better and holier than the Catholic religion ? And yet there may be found a non-Catholic who, from having been brought up in heresy, is fully persuaded from boyhood that we, Catholics, impugn, and attack the word of God, that we are idolaters, pestilent deceivers, and, therefore, are to be shunned as pestilences. Now, such errors of conscience are either culpable or inculpable. They are culpable, if they spring from voluntary ignor ance, and they are inculpable, if they spring from invol untary ignorance. Ignorance is voluntary, or vincible, when one in doing something has certain doubts about the moral goodness or badness of his action, and about the obligation of ex amining whether his action is really good or bad, and nevertheless does not take the necessary means to find out whether what he is about to do is right or wrong. It is a law to profess the true religion in order to be saved. Now suppose, there is a non-Catholic. A sermon on the true religion, which he heard, or a book which he read, or a conversation which he had with a friend on this sub ject, or the conversion of a wealthy or learned man from Protestantism to the Catholic faith, or any other good reason whatever makes him doubt about the truth of his religion. If he does not make any inquiries about the true religion, as well as he is able, he remains in voluntary, culpable ignorance. Ignorance is involuntary, or invincible, if one in doing something has not the least reasonable doubt about the goodness of the action. To illustrate : an heir enters upon an estate which formerly was acquired unjustly by his COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 267 ancestors ; but at the time when he took possession of it, he had not the least doubt about the just and lawful acquisition of the estate. In this he is in error, but the error is involuntary, and, therefore, not culpable After some years, however, he discovers the flaw in his title, and still continues in the possession of the estate. From that time, his conscience becomes voluntarily and criminally erroneous, contrary to good faith and the dictates of a good conscience. " If your error is voluntary," says St. Thomas Aquinas, "and you do not do all you can to find out the truth, you are answerable for your conduct in following a false conscience. Such was the conscience of the persecutors of the Church of whom Jesus Christ says : " Yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God." (Jphn xvi., 2.) When, in arguing about something, one of the premises is false, the conclusion must necessarily be false. In like manner all the acts of a conscience whose error is voluntary or vinci ble, are bad and partake in the evil result of voluntary ignorance. If you are wilfully ignorant of what you are bound in conscience to know, you are responsible for all your actions. Such is the conscience of many sinners, who wish to be ignorant of their duties in ordei? to live without restraint. u They say to God," says Job, " de part from us, we do not desire the knowledge of thy ways." (Xxi., 14.) A conscience continuing thus to act in a known voluntary error, becomes quite criminal in the sight of God. This is the most lamentable and most unhappy state into which a soul can fall ; for this kind of conscience drives the sinner into all kinds of crimes, disorders, and excesses, and becomes to him the source of blindness of the under- 2G8 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. standing, of hardness of heart, and finally of eternal reprobation, if he preseveres in this state to the end of his life. In order to avoid such great evils, we must rectify our conscience when it is vincibly erroneous — that is, when we are confused with doubts and suspicions about the lawfulness or unlawfulness of an action which we are about to perform, we must try, by examination, consultation, and employing the ordinary means, to find out whether we are right or wrong in what we are about to undertake. But as long as a man's conscience is invincibly erron eous, he must follow it. " His will is then not in fault, '' says St. Thomas ; " it can be good, and even produce meritorious acts, notwithstanding such error. No doubt, a person, who, from an invincibly erroneous conscience, believes that charity obliges him to tell a lie, if thereby he can save the life of his neighbor, performs a meritorious act, and he would sin against charity if he did not tell the lie. As long as a heretic judges his sect to be more or equally deserving of belief, he has no obligation to believe in the Catholic Church 5 and should he feel persuaded that we Catholics are pestilent deceivers, idolaters, etc., he cannot while this persuasion lasts, with a safe conscience, i ear us." 3. The perplexed conscience. A man's conscience is said to be perplexed, when he is placed between two actions which appear bad. There is a person. She is bound to wait upon a sick neighbor on a Sunday : she thinks that it is a sin to leave that sick person, in order to go and hear Mass, and, at the same time, it appears to her that it is also a sin to stay away from Mass, in order to wait upon her sick friend. Now, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 269 if the conscience of a person is thus perplexed, he must, as far as possible, take counsel of prudent men. If he cannot consult such, and is still under necessity of acting, he must choose what appears the lesser evil, and in so doing he will not commit sin. 4. The certain conscience. A certain conscience is one which is clear and absolute in its dictates, so that, in obeying it, we feel morally certain that we are right. By moral certainty, is meant such a one as prudent and enlightened men think it reasonable to act upon in matters of importance. It is the highest kind of certainty we can ordinarily gain in matters of daily conduct. 5. The timorous or tender conscience is one which fears not only sin, but also whatever can have the least shadow, and smallest appearance of sin. Happy the conscience which is so disposed ! 6. The lax conscience. A lax conscience is one which, for a light reason, judges to be lawful what is very unlawful, or considers a sin which is grievous, only as a venial sin 5 in other words, a lax conscience is one which without sufficient reason favors liberty, either in order to escape the law, or to diminish the gravity of guilt. A lax conscience is gener ally the consequence of the neglect of prayer, of lukewarm- ness of the soul, of too much care and anxiety about temporal things, of familiar intercourse with the wicked, of the habit of sinning which destroys horror of sin, of a soft, tepid life which enervates the heart and makes it quite worldly. Such a conscience is most dangerons, for it leads the soul to the broad road of hell. The remedies for such a conscience are : frequent re- 270 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. course to prayer, spiritual exercises, pious reading and meditation, frequent confession, conversation with the pious, and avoiding the company of the wicked, 7. The doubtful conscience. A doubtful conscience is one which is, as it were, hang ing in a balance, and being in suspense, uncertain whether a thing is lawful or not, whether an action is forbidden or allowed. On both sides it sees plausible reasons, which make an impression, but amongst these reasons there is none that draws down the weight, and is sufficient to ground a determination. Thus wavering between these different and opposite reasons, it remains undetermined, and dares not make a decision for fear of being deceived, and of falling into sin. Now, it is never allowed to act with a doubtful conscience. When we do something, we must be morally sure that what we are doing is lawful. To do something, and have, at the same time, a reason able doubt about the lawfulness of our action, is to commit sin, because we expose ourselves to the danger of sin. If we act in such a doubt about the lawfulness of our action, we show ourselves indifferent as to whether we break a law or not, and consequently make ourselves guilty of the sin to the danger of which we expose ourselves. Hence St. Paul says : " Anything that is not according to con science, is a sin. "(Rom. xiv., 13.) We must, then, seek for light and instruction, if we can ; or, if it is necessary to act without delay, and we have neither means nor time to consult and procure in formation to clear the doubt and settle our conscience, after begging God to enlighten us, we must consider and examine what seems most expedient in his sight under the present circumstances, then take our determination COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 271 and proceed ; yet always reserving the intention of pro curing- information, and correcting the mistake afterwards if any thing was not according to law. This is no longer acting in doubt, as the prospect of doing what seems most expedient takes away the doubt : we may, it is true, be deceived, but we cannot sin. Now, doubts may arise in our mind as to whether we have complied with a certain law that must be complied with. It is a law, for instance, to be validly baptized. Now, if there arises a reasonable doubt about the validity of a person's baptism, that person must be baptized again to make sure of the compliance with the law. It is a certain law that in order to be saved a man must profess the true faith, live up to it, and die in it. Now, if a non-Catholic for good reasons doubts the truth of his re ligion, he is not allowed to continue to live and die in this doubt. He must, to the best of his ability, inquire about the true religion, and after having found it, he is obliged to embrace it, in order to comply with the law of professing the true divine faith and worship. It is a law that we must confess all our mortal sins which we do remember after a careful examination of conscience. Now, if after confession we have a reason able doubt as to whether we have confessed a certain mortal sin, we are bound to confess that sin, in order to make sure of having complied with the law of confessing all our mortal sins. If we have borrowed money from our neighbor and afterwards have a reasonable doubt as to whether we have returned it, we are still bound to pay it. In the time of war, an officer or a soldier, who doubts as to whether the war is just, is bound to obey his general, because it is a certain law that no one, much less a 272 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. superior, is to be accused of unjust commands and actions as long as there are not quite evident reasons to prove the contrary. There is a law which says, "Thou shalt not kill. '> Should a hunter, then, see something stir in a brush wood, but doubts whether it is a man or an animal, he is not allowed to fire before he is sure that it is not a man. Or should a physican when prescribing medicine reasonably doubt that the medicine might kill his patient, he is not allowed to prescribe such a medicine. Whenever, then, a law exists for certain, and we doubt whether we have complied with it, we can remove the doubt only by doing what is commanded ; and if the law forbids something, and we reasonably doubt that what we are about to do, might violate the law, we are bound not to perform such an action 5 for every certain law requires a positively certain obedience. But there may also arise in our minds doubts about the real existence of a law, that is, about its promulgation or its obligation in a certain case. There is one : he doubts whether a certain war is just. This doubt (called a specu lative doubt) brings on another, whether it is lawful to take part in such a war. This last doubt is called a practical doubt, because there is question about doing something that may be against a certain law. To act under such a practical doubt is, as we have said above, to become guilty of sin. In order not to expose ourselves to the danger of com mitting sin, we must be morally certain that what we are doing is lawful. This certainty, however, need not be such as to exclude even every speculative doubt. For in stance, one doubts whether the dish which is placed before him on a Friday, is not flesh-meat. So far this doubt is but a speculative doubt, suggesting the question as to whether COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 273 or not this particular case comes under the law of abstin ence. But should he before whom the dish is placed, not wish to order another dish, the practical doubt arises whether it is lawful for him to eat a dish which may be forbidden by the law of abstinence. It is evident that this person, if he is conscientious, is not allowed to eat the dish before he is morally sure that the eating of it is not forbidder by the law of abstinence. What, then, is he to do if he cannot find out whether the dish is real flesh-meat or not? whether the law of abstinence in this case is binding on him or not ? Many such cases may occur, in which we entertain speculative doubts whether a law exists for such a case, or such a person, or under such a circumstance of time or place, and we may not be able to decide whether the law exists or not. But from the fact that such a speculative doubt con tinues, it does not follow that we can leave the matter alone and act as we please. Such conduct would, no doubt, expose us to the danger of violating a law that may really exist. To acquire moral certainty for the law fulness of our action, we must see whether there are reasons which prove that a law really exists or does not exist in this or that case. Now, in trying to find out such reasons, we may find some that may seem to prove the real existence of the law whilst others may seem to prove that the law does not exist. It may happen that the reasons pro and con. are equally or almost equally strong, and it may also happen that the reasons pro are considerably stronger than the reasons con., or vice versa. Those reasons which are con siderably stronger may increase in strength and weight (become so strong and weighty) so much as to make those 274 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. opposed to them, sink in weight and strength. Now the question arises, how weighty these reasons must be to in duce us to judge with moral certainty that the law is uncer tain, and consequently is not binding. If the reasons proving that the law does not exist, are as strong or nearly as strong as those which prove the existence of the law, then we have moral certainty, says St. Alphonsus, to be lieve that the law does not exist 5 but, if the reasons, proving the existence of the law, are considerably stronger than those proving the contrary, then we ought to believe that the law exists. This teaching is undoubtedly quite reasonable. In business matters, every sensible man adheres to that one of two opinions which is best grounded. In scientific matters, those opinions which are but little grounded are also but little cared for. From what has been said, it is easy to understand what rigorism and laxism is. It is rigorism to pronounce in favor of the existence of the law in spite of very weighty reasons proving the contrary. This doctrine was condemned by Alexander VIII. Those who teach such a doctrine are called strict Tutiorists. It is still rigorism, though not quite so bad, to maintain that we must pronounce in favor of the existence of the law, even if the opinion that the law does not exist, is better grounded. Those adhering to this opinion, are called less strict Tutiorists. Finally, it is still rigorism to maintain that the reasons proving that the law does not exist, must be considerably stronger than those proving the contrary, in order to pro nounce in favor of liberty or the non-existence of the law. Those adhering to this opinion are called Probabilionists. But each of these three opinions must be rejected. No COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 275 sensible man adopts and goes by such opinions in his daily business transactions, and social intercourse. No man of learning rejects, in scientific questions, the best grounded opinions and arguments. Why should we not act in the same way in discussing and deciding moral cases ? What more unreasonable than the contrary ? Laxism is to maintain that the law does not exist, even if the reasons to prove the contrary should be considerably stronger and much weightier. It is self-evident that such an opinion is very lax. as it favors liberty be yond what is reasonable. It is true, those adhering to this opinion say, that in theory they only teach that the law does not exist, when there is a solid reason for its non-existence. They forget, however, that a real solid reason is no longer such, when considerably more solid reasons are opposed to it. They only care for having a solid reason for the non- existence of the law, and leave alone the more solid reasons which prove its existence. It is clear that in discussing the question of the existence or non-existence of the law, the reasons pro and con. must be carefully weighed and compared, and if the reasons, proving the existence of the law, are considerably weightier than the reasons proving its non-existence, the latter are no longer solid reasons. Such is the doctrine of St. Alphonsus. " Those," he says, u who defend and adhere to the contrary opinion are called laxists. Their lax opinion is to be rejected in prac tice. Auctores elapsi sseculi quasi communiter tenuere opinionem : i Ut quis possit licite sequi opinionem etiam minus probabilem pro libertate (stantem), licet opinio pro lege sit certe probabilior. Hanc sententiam nos dicimus esse laxam et licite amplecti non posse? " (In Apologia, 1769, et Homo Apost. de consc. n. 31.) In a letter, dated July 8, 276 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 1768, St. Alphonsus writes : "Librorum censor D. Dele- gatum adiit ipsique retulit, se opus Meum Morale legesis ejusque sententias sanas invenisse, et quod attinet sys- tema circa probabilem, me non sequi systema Jesuitarum, sed ipsis adversari ; Jesuitae enim admittunt minus proba- bilem, sed ego earn reprobo" And in another letter, dated May 25, 1767, St. Alphonsus writes : "Formidarem con- fessiones excipiendi licentiam concedere alicui exnostris, qui sequi vellet opinion em certo cognitam ut minus pro- babilem." 8. The SCRUPULOUS conscience. What is a scruple ? " A scruple," says St. Alphonsus, " is a vain fear of sinning, which arises from false, ground less reasons." There is a person : for frivolous reasons he imagines that something is forbidden which is not forbidden, or that something is commanded which is not commanded. So he is disturbed, and runs into doubts without any just foundation and reasonable motives. He sinks into the state of a scrupulous conscience, which is a continual torment to the soul itself, but also often to those who direct it. A scrupulous conscience, then, gives an undue promin ence to certain points of little or no consequence, while it is not unfrequently lax and careless about things of greater importance. It is generally found in persons of a melancholy character, of weak judgment, and of great nervousness. A scrupulous conscience is a diseased con science. Scruples may arise from different causes. They come from God, or from the devil, or from ourselves. Scruples which come from God, are sent as a trial to which the soul must submit. " These scruples," says St. Alphonsus, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 277 (t are useful in those who have begun to lead better lives. For a soul which has but for a short time renounced sin, stands in need of being repeatedly purified. Now scru ples produce this effect. They cleanse the soul, and, at the same time, make her careful to avoid real sins, and they also render her humble. So that, distrusting her own opinion, she places herself in the hands of her spiri tual Director to be guided as he pleases. St. Francis de Sales used to say that the fear which begets scruples in those who have lately gone from the confines of sin, is a certain presage of future purityo f conscience. But, on the other hand, scruples are hurtful to those who seek perfection and have for a long time given themselves to God. In such persons, says St. Teresa, scruples produce extravagant impressions which lead the soul to such a state that she will not advance a single step towards per fection. "Try always to do everything well," says St. Francis de Sales, " but guard against inquietudes ; for there is no greater obstacle to advancement in perfection ! " Scruples which come from the devil, are temptations which must be distrusted. "With regard to those," says St. Alphonsus, " who walk in the way of perfection, the devil ordinarily fills their minds with scruples and troubles, in order to make them lose their mind, render the way of perfection hateful, give up mental prayer, the frequenta- tion of the sacraments, lose by degrees the aid and love of God, abandon themselves to a tepid life, and finally pass from scruples to real sins. How many scrupulous persons have not, in order to get rid of their scruples, given up the practice of virtue, abandoned themselves to despair, and voluntarily took their lives. Father Scara- melli relates that he himself knew two persons, one who on, 278 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. account of scruples, cut with a knife his breast in several places, and another who shot himself dead. I know a person, who, on account of similar anxieties of conscience, threw himself from a window, but was not killed, and at another time intended to cast himself into a well, but was prevented by another person from carrying out his fatal intention. We read of several scrupulous persons who have taken their own lives. For those scruples which arise from ourselves — from a melancholy temperament — we must humble ourselves. In the opinion of St. Francis de Sales, scruples originate from a cunning self-esteem — cunning, because it is so subtle and crafty as to deceive even those who are troubled by them. " For," said he, " those who suffer from this malady will not acquiesce in the judgment of those who are enlightened in the ways of God. They always insist that their opinion should pervail over that of others ; whereas, if they acquiesced and submitted their judgment to discreet directors, they would at once be cured and enjoy peace. It stands to reason that a sick man should suffer who will not use the remedies which are offered to him and are calculated to heal him, if he took them. Who will pity the man who dies of hunger and thirst, having placed within his reach all that can satisfy the one and quench the other? Scrupulosity is indeed a malady of difficult cure, and, like jealousy, it gathers fuel from every object. God preserve you from this tedious disease which I look upon as the quartan fever, or the jaundice of the soul." The marks of a scrupulous conscience are the following : 1. To be always afraid of not having, at confession, true sorrow, or a sincere purpose of amendment. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 279 2. To be afraid, on frivolous grounds, of sinning in every action ; of always consenting, for example, to rash judgments, or to every bad thought which presents itself to the mind. 3. To be in constant doubt, considering an action at one time to be lawful, and at another unlawful, and to be at the same time disturbed with great fears and perplex ities. 4. Not to acquiesce in the decision of the confessor, but obstinately to hold to one's own opinion. 5. To spend ever so much time in the examination of conscience, even about the smallest imperfections. 6. To banish temptations by making ridiculous gestures, such as closing the eyes suddenly, shaking the head, muttering to one's self, "No, I will not; begone, devil! " 7. To be always uneasy about the confessions they have made, and to wish to repeat them. 8. To insist always on confessing the same sin, or to look upon something as sinful which has been repeatedly declared by the confessor as not sinful. 9. To reflect continually about the circumstances which may or may not have accompanied an action, and anxiously to seek certainty in all things. Whether a penitent is scrupulous or not, is not to be decided by the penitent, but by the confessor; for all scrupulous persons say that their scruples are not scruples, but real doubts and sins. If they knew them to be scruples, they would disregard them. They are in the dark, and therefore they do not see the state of their conscience. The confessor, who is free from the darkness in which they are involved, understands the matter well. The more a scrupulous person decides for himself, and the more 280 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he labors to tranquilize his conscience by Ms own opinion, the greater will be his confusion and agitation of mind. Now the scruples of some persons are about the past, and of others, about the present actions. As to scruples about past actions, some are afraid of not having confessed their sins as they ought. Hence they always wish to make general confessions, hoping thus to remove their fears and troubles. But what is the result ? Their perplexities are increased, because new apprehensions and scruples of having omitted, or of not having suffi ciently explained, their sins, are continually excited. Hence the more general confessions they make, the more uneasy they become. No doubt a general confession is most useful to those who have never made one. It greatly contributes to humble the soul by placing before her all the irregularities of her past life. It also contributes to increase her sorrow for her ingratitude towards God, and to make her adopt holy resolutions for the future. A general confession, also, gives the confessor a better knowledge of the state of conscience of the soul, of the virtues she needs, and of the passions and vices to which she is most inclined. Thus, the confessor is better able to prescribe proper remedies and give suitable advice. But for those who once made a general confession, it is not useful to repeat it. Should a doubt afterwards arise, a penitent, who cannot remem ber having purposely omitted a grevious sin in confession, is (generally speaking) not obliged to confess any past sin, unless he is certain that it is a grevious sin and that he never confessed it. But you may say, if the sin be really a mortal sin, and if I have not confessed it? shall I be saved ? Yes j you COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 281 will be saved, says St. Thomas, St. Alphonsus, and all theologians. They all teach, that if, after a careful ex amination of conscience, a sin has not been confessed through forgetfulness, it is indirectly forgiven with the others by the absolution of the priest. It is true that when the penitent remembers it, or has a good reason to doubt "whether he ever confessed it, he is obliged to con fess it. But if he prudently judge that the sin was told in one of his past confessions, he is not obliged to confess it again. I say, he is not obliged to confess it, and this is true for all. But a penitent that is tortured by scru ples is, according to all good theologians of the Church? not obliged to confess a past sin, unless he can swear that it was certainly a mortal sin, and that he never confessed it. For such a repetition of past sins may do great harm to the penitent, and drive him to despair. When a penitent is greatly agitated and confused in trying to de cide whether he can swear or not to the certainty of the sin, the confessor can, in this case, exempt him from confessing sins of his past life 5 for in a case of so much danger and harm to the penitent, the obligation of pro viding for the integrity of confession ceases, because, ac cording to all divines, a less inconvenience excuses from the integrity of confession. Scrupulous persons, therefore, should believe that a general confession is useful to others, but very injurious to themselves. Hence, good spiritual directors do not permit scrupulous persons to speak of past sins. The remedy for them is, not to explain, but to be silent and to obey. As to ordinary confessions, it is not necessary for those who seek perfection and communicate often, to receive 282 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. absolution before every communion. It is enough to receive absolution once a week. In one of his letters St. Francis de Sales says, that persons who walk in the way of perfection, but happen to commit even a deliberate venial sin, ought not, on this account, abstain from holy communion, if they have not the opportunity of going to confession. According to the teaching of the Church, we can obtain the forgiveness of venial sins by making an act of love and contrition. As to scruples about the present, many persons are afraid that they commit sin in every action. They re semble certain horses that become shy at seeing something lying on the road. They rear, go backwards, and will no longer obey the bridle of the rider. So, too, a scrupulous person becomes frightened, perplexed, and disturbed in mind, fearing, without reason, that there is a grievous sin in this or that action which in itself is lawful and praise worthy, or that he has given consent to bad thoughts, etc. Now, a scrupulous conscience is no rule by which a person is to be guided in his moral actions. For a rule of morals is a rule of prudence. But a scrupulous conscience is destitute of prudence, since it goes by most frivolous reasons which are despised by men of prudence. Hence it is not only lawful, but even neces sary to despise such reasons and act contrary to them. Those, then, who are always afraid of committing sin, or giving consent to every bad thought that presents itself to their mind, should remember two things : First, to have bad thoughts and to experience the sting of the flesh, is one thing, and to give consent to them deliberately is another. We cannot help birds flying over our heads, but we can prevent them from making a nest on COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. !J83 them. In like manner, we cannot keep away all bad thoughts and temptations, but we can refuse the consent of our will to them. Some persons feel troubled because they think they gave occasion to these thoughts and temptations. They think, they ought to stay away from this or that person or place, to give up this or that occu pation and employment, etc., which causes bad thoughts to arise in their mind. But let them remember that we are not bound to give up an occupation, a place, etc., when the end for which we are engaged in it is good, either for our spiritual or temporal advantage, or for that of our neighbor. Satan can cause such thoughts to arise in our mind, even amidst the most holy occupations. It would be great folly to give up, on account of such temptations what we have a right to do. Such temptations must be despised. If they are very harassing and continual, it is sufficient resistance, says St. Alphonsus, to pay atten tion to our will that it may not deliberately give con sent to any thing of the kind. There are some persons, who, when troubled with such thoughts, make foolish gestures or signs, with the head, eyes, etc 5 mutter certain words like these : tl No, I will not j begone, Satan," etc. Now, when the devil notices such out ward signs, he knows that his temptations make an un pleasant impression, harass the mind, contract the heart, and prevent that person from performing his duties in a proper manner. So he feels encouraged to leave him no rest. Let the devil and his temptations be despised ; let him not see that they make you afraid. If a bee sits down on your face, and you chase it, it will sting you. If you leave it alone, it will fly off without having hurt you in the least. In like manner, if scruples and fears, and 284 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. bad thoughts of every kind sit down on you, and you im prudently fight them, they will sting you, that is, hurt you by becoming worse and worse. Leave them alone, despise them, and by and by they will leave you alone. Secondly, it should be remembered, that, in order to com mit a mortal sin, the full advertence of the understanding as well as the full consent of the will are required. If either be wanting, the sin is not grievous. Should a tim orous, and especially a scrupulous person, doubt as to the full consent of the will, he may rest assured that he has not sinned grievously, unless he can affirm with certainty that he gave consent to mortal sin. It is also useful for certain very timid souls, who are always in doubt about having consented to bad thoughts, to remember that it is better sometimes not to accuse them selves of certain temptations, such as temptations to hat red, against faith, or purity 5 because, by examining as to whether they have given a deliberate consent, and how they shall explain their temptations, images of bad objects are excited still more vividly in the mind, and their agitation is increased by the fear of having given a new consent. Such souls should be told to accuse themselves of such thoughts in a general way, saying : " Laccuse my self of all the negligences I have been guilty of in not banishing bad thoughts." There are two privileges, then, given to the scrupulous soul, by the generality of divines — by St. Antonine, Navarre, Suares, and many others. The first is, that by acting with a fear or scruple, she is not guilty of sin as long as she acts through obedience. And it is not necessary for her to form expressly at each act a practical judgment of the lawfulness of her actions, by reflecting that she is COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 285 acting according to obedience. To exempt her from all fault, it is enough for her to make a virtual judgment — that is, it is enough for her to act in virtue of a judgment already formed, that such fears 'ought to be disregarded. Nor can it be said that the soul then acts with a practical doubt about the unlawfulness of the action : it is one thing to act with a practical doubt, and another to act with a fear of its sinfulness. Gerson justly teaches, that to act with a doubt, which arises from a formed conscience, or after a person has examined the circumstances, and come to the conclusion that while the doubt remains he cannot act without sin, would be to act with a practical doubt, and would be sinful. But when the mind is perplexed, vacillating amid doubts, and not knowing what opinion to adopt, but, at the same time, resolved not to do any thing displeasing to God, such a doubt is not, according to Gerson, a practical doubt, but a vain fear and scruple which should be as much as possible rejected and despised. Behold his words : "A conscience is formed, when, after inquiry and deliberation, a person judges by a definitive sentence that an act is to be performed or omitted. And to act against such a conscience is a sin. A fear or scruple of conscience consists in a vacillation of the mind between doubts ; the soul knows not whether she is bound to do or to omit the act, but would not wish to omit what she knows to be pleasing to the divine will j and such fear should be as much as possible rejected and despised." (Tract de Consc. et Scrup.) Hence, when a soul has a firm purpose not to offend God, and acts according to obedience in overcoming scruples, she is not guilty of sin, though she acts with fear, and though she does not actually advert to the command of her director. 286 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. The second privilege of the scrupulous is, that after having acted they should believe that they have not given consent to any temptation, unless they are certain of hav ing fully adverted and consented to the malice of the sin. Hence, when they are doubtful, their very doubt is a cer tain sign that they either had not full advertence or that they did not give a full consent. Hence, if the confessor tells them not to confess such doubts, they ought to obey, and should not think of leaving him if he persists in refus ing to listen to the explanation of their doubts. I add, that the spiritual father who is indulgent in hearing the doubts of scrupulous souls, falls into a great error; for, by scrutinizing their consciences, they generally become dis quieted, and are rendered more incapable of advancing in the way of God. What has just been said does not re gard so much the direction of penitents, as of confessors in the guidance of souls. Penitents have only to submit their judgment to their spiritual father, and to obey him in all things. However, it may be useful to certain peni tents to know what has been just said for the direction of confessors, that when their confessor tells them not to accuse themselves of certain sins, nor to speak of them unless they are certain of having committed a grievous fault ; or when, after having heard them, he sends them to communion without absolution, they may not begin to contend with him, but may obey blindly, without even asking a reason for the command which he has imposed upon them. But some may say : I wish to act with a certainty of not giving displeasure to God. I answer, that the great est security which you (who have a troubled conscience) can have is to obey your director, and to conquer scru ples in spite of the actual fear which molests you. And COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 287 you know that though you were at the point of death, you would be obliged to act in this manner in order to avoid the delusions of the devil. And here I repeat what I have already said that you ought to scruple not doing violence to yourself in order to conquer scruples by acting against them, in obedience to your spiritual father, even though you may not be persuaded that your scruples are vain fears. For if you omit an act on account of the scruple you shall not be able to make any further progress in the way of God, and (as has been said) you will expose yourself to the danger of losing your soul or your mind 5 and to expose yourself to such danger is a certain sin. Hence, the devil excites so many fears in scrupulous persons that they may either abandon themselves to a tepid life, or may become fools j or at least that they may not advance in perfection, and live always amid troubles and confusion, in which hell always gains something. St. Louis Gonzaga used to say, that in troubled water the devil always finds fish to catch. We have said that a scrupulous conscience is a diseased conscience. How is a scrupulous person to be cured of this disease ? All theologians and masters of the spirit ual life unanimously say that the principal and only rem - edy for a scrupulous person is to obey blindly his confessor and to distrust entirely his own judgment. Assuredly, a blind person needs a faithful guide to conduct him in the way in which he has to walk. Now, a scrupulous person is like a blind person j for on account of his scruples he is in a state of darkness and confusion. On this account he must allow himself to be guided by his ordinary confessor and obey him blindly. For, as a general rule, a scrupulous penitent should speak of his 288 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. doubts only to his ordinary confessor, because, any other confessor, who is not acquainted with the state of his conscience, may ask a question or say a word which is not in accordance with the directions and sentiments of the ordinary confessor. Thus it easily happens that such a question or word of another confessor throws a scrupulous penitent into a state of confusion and perplexity, makes him lose his confidence in his ordinary confessor and places him forever, or at least for a long time, in a state of great disturbance and agitation of mind. The ordinary confessor is for the scrupulous penitent the guide given to him by God. To obey him is to obey Almighty God himself, who has said of his priests : u He who heareth you, heareth me." (Luke x., 16.) Hence the scrupulous penitent who is not obedient to his confessor, is also dis obedient to Christ. " He who despiseth you" that is, the priest, " despiseth me," that is, Jesus Christ. On this account St. John of the Cross used to say that, not to sub mit to the judgment of the confessor is pride and want of faith. A scrupulous person who does not obey his spirit ual director is lost. 11 Holy writ," says St. Francis de Sales, " teaches us that disobedience is a crime equal to idolatry and witchcraft 5 but what are we to think of the disobedience of scrupu lous people who idolize their opinions so as to be enslaved by them, and who remain, as it were, embedded in their own ideas, against every kind of remonstrance, and against all reasons by which it is shown to them that their fears have no foundation. They will always defend themselves by saying that we flatter them, that they are not under stood, that they do not explain themselves clearly enough." COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 289 God demands no account of what we have done through obedience to our confessor, says St. Alphonsus. St. Philip Neri says the same. " Let those who desire to advance in the way of God, submit themselves to a learned confessor and obey him in God's stead. Let him who does so rest assured that he will not have to give an ac count to God for his actions. The confessor of St. Vero nica Juliana, appeared to her after his death and said : "Be always very obedient to your spiritual Director j for the obedient are not judged after their death/' The reason is because, as they always are submissive to the will of the confessor who holds the place of God, they always live up to the will of God. Now the will of God is in finitely holy. Therefore, he who follows the will of God cannot be blamed or judged for what he has done to please God. The sentence which Almighty God will pronounce upon him is : " Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matt, xxv, 23.) " Obey, then, your confessor," says St. Alphonsus, a and fear not that in obeying him you may be led astray.'7 This was the practice of the saints who often were troubled with perplexities and fears of conscience. But in all their troubles of conscience they found peace in obedience to their confessor. St. Catherine of Bologna was afflicted with scruples. She was sometimes afraid to receive holy communion ; but in spite of all her fears she obeyed her confessor and received holy communion. When St. Paulinus wrote to St. Augustine for advice in his doubts of conscience, St. Augustine replied : u Com- 290 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. municate your doubts and troubles to a spiritual physician, and let me know what the Lord will say to you through him." St. Augustine held for certain that God makes his will known to us through our spiritual director, if we communicate our troubles of conscience to him. St. Antonine relates that whilst a certain religious of the Order of St. Dominic was greatly suffering from scruples, a deceased religious appeared to him and gave him the following advice : "Consult with the wise and ac quiesce in their advice." The same holy archbishop relates that a disciple of St. Bernard was so terribly tor mented with scruples that he no longer could say Mass. In this disturbed state of mind he asked advice of his holy master. St. Bernard said to him, without giving any reason for his counsel : " Go and say Mass j I take it on my conscience." The monk obeyed and was thencefor ward delivered from all his troubles of conscience. But you will say: "Oh! had I St. Bernard for my confessor, [, too, would willingly obey him, and obey him blindly. But my confessor is not a St. Bernard." Now this is a useless assertion. Your confessor is not a St. Bernard ; he is more for you than a St. Bernard for he holds God's place for you. " You greatly err," says the learned Gerson, " when you speak thus ; for you have placed yourself in the hands of a man not precisely because he is a learned or holy man, but rather because he holds God's place for you. Obey him then not as man, but as God and you will never go astray." (Tract de prsep. ad Miss.) In the beginning of his conversion St. Ignatius of Loyola was so violently assailed by scruples and so terribly encompassed with darkness that he found no COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 291 peace. But as he had great faith in the words of our Lord, " He that heareth you, heareth me/7 he said with great confidence, " Lord show me the way in which I must walk 5 and though you give me a dog for my guide, I will faithfully follow him." Now, be cause the saint was faithful in obeying his director he was not only delivered from his scruples, but became also an excellent guide for others. But you will say : "I am not scrupulous ; my anxieties are not vain, but well-grounded fears." I answer, no fool believes that he is a fool. His folly consists in being a fool without knowing it. So you, too, are scrupulous without knowing it, and your scrupulosity consists pre cisely in this that you do not see the groundlessness of your scruples. Could you see that your scruples are all but vain fears you would pay no attention to them, and you would no longer be disturbed by them. Renounce your fears, and obey your confessor, who understands perfectly well the state of your conscience. But you say : " The fault is not in my confessor, but in me, because I am not able to explain myself, and there fore he cannot understand the wretched condition of my soul." I answer 5 strange, very strange, indeed, that you, who have so many foolish scruples, do not scruple at all to charge your confessor with ignorance and even with impiety. You are like that religious who accused her con fessor of heresy because he said that the faults which she confessed, were no real sins. Ah ! tell me, in what uni versity did you study theology that you know better than your confessor how to decide in matters of conscience ? Go and mind your own business, which is to obey Christ in his priest, and to let your follies alone. 292 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. "But you say, if I am damned, in consequence of obeying my confessor, who will rescue me from hell?" What a folly to imagine that obedience can be the cause of damnation. All the damned have been sentenced to hell, not on account of their obedience, but on account of their disobedience to God and his lawful ministers. Ah ! do not look upon God as a tyrant. Do not believe that God is provoked to wrath by every little fault you may commit. " My children," said St. Teresa, "be assured that God does not, as you imagine, attend to so many trifles ; do not suffer your heart to be contracted by such childish fears ; if you do, you will be deprived of many blessings." " Your excessive fears," said our Lord to St. Margaret of Cortona, " are a great obstacle to my grace." There is no safer way of escaping the snares and illusions of the devil than obedience to the confessor, and there is nothing more dangerous and hurtful than to follow one's own private judgment and opinion. But you say : " I must be in the state of damnation, for I have no faith, no confidence in God, no charity, no sorrow for my sins, no pleasure in any thing I do, not even in the holiest things — in hearing Mass, receiving holy commun ion," etc. By this you mean to say that you do not feel your faith, hope, charity, etc. Now, as we cannot feel God, because he is a Spirit, so we cannot feel his grace because it is something spiritual — and the grace of faith, of hope, of charity, of sorrow, etc., must not be sought in our feeling, but in our will. God gives us the grace of faith of hope, etc., not that we should feel it, but that by means of it our will may be ready to believe and do what God has commanded. If you, then, are ready to believe and do all that God teaches you through his Church, you have COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 293 faith, hope, charity, and sorrow for sin enough to become a saint. Say, then, your prayers, hear Mass, receive holy com munion, etc., not that you may experience sensible devotion, but that God may increase the readiness of your will to comply with all your duties. Do not feel discouraged on account of experiencing disgust and reluctance in all you do. What pleasure can there be for any one who has to work hard in the heat of the sun, or in the bitter cold of winter ? An employer does not pay less to his workmen because they suffer, or feel bad whilst at work. And will God be less just, less generous than man, if we have ex perienced all kinds of aversions to every thing we did in compliance with his will ? To do the will of God, is one thing and to enjoy doing it, that is, to draw a sensible pleas ure from doing it, is another. It is our duty to do the will of God 5 but in order to please God, and gain merit for heaven, it is not necesary that we should enjoy doing his will. If we have done God's will on earth in spite of all temptations to the contrary, we shall in heaven enjoy hav ing done it. And should you experience to the end of your life nothing but irksomeness and reluctance in the service of God, be not discouraged on account of it ; be not afraid that you are less pleasing to God. Rest assured that, if you remain faithful to God, in spite of yourself, as it were, you have the grace of God in a high degree ; for this firmness of your will is all owing to God's grace. Aban don yourself blindly to his goodness and mercy, and then rest assured that, after having sought in this life, not the consolation of God, but the God of consolation, not your own will and pleasure, but the good pleasure of Jesus 294: COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Christ, no father ever rewarded his child so liberally as your heavenly Father will reward you in heaven. We have said that conscience is the voice of God, and that, to act against it is to commit sin. But in our day, it has become fashionable with a large number of men to get rid of religion. A man, who wishes to gratify his evil desires, without shame, without remorse, says : " There is no God ; there is no hell : there is no hereafter, there is only this present life, and all in it is good." He looks upon conscience as a creation of man. He calls its dictate an imagination. He says that the notion of guiltiness which that dictate enforces, is simply irrational. When he advocates the rights of conscience, he, of course, in no sense, means the rights of the Creator, nor the duty to him, in thought and deed, of the creature ; he means only the right of thinking, speaking, writing, and eating according to his judgment or his humor, without any thought of God at all. He does not even pretend to go by any moral rule, but he demands what he thinks is an American's prerogative, to be his own master in all things, and to profess what he pleases, asking no one's leave, and accounting any one unutterably impertinent, who dares to say a word against his going to perdition, if he like it, in his own way. With such a man the right of conscience means the very right and freedom of con science to dispense with conscience, to ignore a Law-giver and Judge, to be independent of unseen obligations j to be free to take up any or no religion, to take up this or that, and let it go again ; to go or not to go to Church, to boast of being above all religions, and to be an impartial critic of each of them ; in a word, conscience is with that man nothing else than the right of self-will. Such is the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 295 idea which a very large number of men have of conscience, Their rule and measure of right and wrong is utility, or expedience, or the happiness of the greatest number, or state, convenience or fitness, order, a long-sighted selfishness, a desire to be consistent with one's self. But all these false conceptions of conscience will be no excuse before God for not having known better. The idea that there is no law or rule over our thoughts, desire, words, and actions, and that, without sin or error, we may think, desire, say, and do what we please, especially in matters of religion, is a downright absurdity. Our in tellect is formed for truth and cannot help thinking accor ding to truth. The intellect is not a faculty or power, which is, in itself, free, as the will is. Wheresoever it sees the truth it cannot help embracing it. It is not free to accept or to reject it, except when ignorance puts the mind in such a state as to render it unable to see the truth. Whenever the mind sees the truth, it is forced to accept it. When the mind does not see the truth it is inactive — it does nothing.. If, in this case, it asserts one proposition rather than another, such assertion is merely an act of the will, and not an act of the intellect. For instance, if I am asked whether the moon is inhabited, I can assert that it is, merely because I choose to do so. But I am not com pelled to make this assertion by any evidence, for I do not know. But if I am asked, to how much two and two amount, I cannot choose my answer : I am forced to say " four." The intellect, then, is bound to acknowledge the truth when it sees the truth. But the will may deny it. The intellect of any man cannot help acknowledging the existence of God, and of the first principles of right and wrong. But a perverse will may deny these truths. 296 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Of all things that are good for men, truth is, without doubt, the greatest good. Truth is the good thing for the intellect. As the eye was made to receive light, and the ear to receive sounds, and the hand to do all kinds of work, so the intellect was made to see and embrace the truth, to unite itself with the truth, and to find its repose in truth alone. Truth is the good thing for the heart. The heart is bound to love something. Now, when the intellect does not show it a true, honest object of love, the heart is sure to soil itself in a sordid love. Truth is the good thing for society. If truth does not guide its steps, society must fall into misery, and setting itself against the divine laws of the universe, will speedily be brought to utter ruin. Truth is the good thing for men. They cannot attain their ultimate end — they cannot reach eternal goodness, except by means of the truth. So necessary is truth for men that the Son of God came down from heaven to teach them the truth. Truth, then, is above all good things ; it is a greater good than wealth and honors ; it is above life and death, above men and angels. God is the only fountain of truth ; truth alone leads to him, as it comes from him who is Truth itself. If this be so, what right can there be for any one to obscure the truth, to rob men of the truth, to proclaim errors under every attractive form, to proclaim errors to every class of men ? No, there is no such right. Keason and conscience condemn such impious license. How impious, then, all those who deny or pervert religious and moral truths f who sneer at what is good, in the present, and in the future, for the intellect and will of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 297 man ? How detestable are they who entangle men in the subtle webs of sophisms,and expel religion and morality from the hearts of men ? who instil doubts and disputes about social truth which is the only stable foundation on which nations and empires can tranquilly repose ? Most execra ble men, those who assume the right to insult the Lord and to destroy man. When God gave to man a free will, he intended that man should freely choose what is good and reject what is evil, in order thus to gain merit — a privilege which is denied to beasts, for they blindly follow their instincts. But who can be foolish enough to think that God, in giving man a free will, dispensed him from the obser vance of his laws ? God is infinite goodness, justice, wis dom, mercy and purity, and he impressed on man the notion of goodness, justice, mercy, purity, in order that, as he himself hates all wickedness, injustice, error, and impurity, so man also should do the same. Hence it is impossible that God can concede to man a license to com mit acts utterly repugnant to the divine nature, and also repugnant to the nature of man, who is made in the like ness and image of God. Our use of liberty, therefore, must be consistent with reason ; it must be based upon a hatred of all that is evil, unjust, unkind, false, or impure j and upon a strong desire to attain to all that is good, and true, and perfect. What, then, are the worst enemies of the liberty of man? First, that ignorance and error which prevent him from distinguishing clearly that which is just and right from that which is evil and false. Secondly, his passions which keep him from embracing the good which he knows and sees, and induce him to desire that which he 298 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. knows to be bad. Thirdly, any powers or authorities ex ternal to man, which prevent him from doing that which he knows to be good and which he desires to do ; or force him to do that which he sees to be unlawful, and which he shrinks from doing. 17. Who gave the ten commandments 1 God gave them to the Jews, through Moses, on Mount Sinai, and Christ confirmed them in the New Law. Three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they quitted their encampment in Raphidim, and came to the wilderness of Mount Sinai. There they pitched their tents over against the mountain from whence the com mandments were to be proclaimed. Moses was here called to go up the mountain into the presence of God. And God said to him : " Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them : Ye have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, and how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself. If, therefore, you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my people ; for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation." Moses returned, called together all the elders of the people, and declared to them the words which the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered with one voice : " All the Lord has spoken, we will do." Upon that public profession of their willingness to obey the divine precepts, Moses gave them notice to prepare for the third day, when they should hear God himself speaking to them from the summit of Mount Sinai. And that they might be worthy to appear before the Lord? COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 299 Moses ordered them to sanctify themselves, and to wash their garments . Around the foot of the holy mountain he drew a boundary, which no man or beast was to pass under pain of instantaneous death. Now when the third day began to dawn, a bright light spread over the earth. The sky was clear and serene. All on a sudden, a dark and gloomy change came on, a solemn scene unfolded itself to the spectators. Quick lightnings flashed from the sullen cloud that hung over . the top of Sinai, and dreadful thunders rolled on every side of the holy mount. The Lord descended in fire upon the steep summit, and called Moses to him. The whole mountain was forthwith involved in thick smoke and an incessant stream of flames arose as from a glowing furnace. The shrill and swelling clangors of a trumpet were also heard at the same time. The people trembled and lay close within their tents. Moses went down to them and with difficulty prevailed upon them to move out and range themselves in order be yond the boundary that he had set round the foot of the mountain. The Lord then spoke his commands, saying : I. I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth j thou shalt not adore them nor serve them. II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his Gfod in vain. 300 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. III. Kemember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates f for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day j therefore, the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. IV. Honor thy father and thy mother,, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. V. Thou shalt not kill. VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. VII. Thou shalt not steal. VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. X. Thou shalt not desire his house, nor his servant, nor his hand-maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. The people, terrified at the voice of God, and at the flames, and the sound of trumpet, and the mount all in smoke, said to Moses : u Speak thou to us, and we will hear : let not the Lord speak to us lest we die." And Moses said to the people : " Fear not, for God is come tp prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin ! " In compliance with the request of the people, it pleased Almighty God to speak no inore in person to them, but to deliver to them his, future comrnands through the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 301 ministry of Moses. Hence he called him up again to the mountain, where he gave him many new instructions, and having fully explained himself to his great servant upon every particular, handed to him two tables of stone, on both sides of which he had, with his own finger, written u the Ten Commandments," as the abridgement and ground work of all his other precepts. Forty days and forty nights were spent in secret interview between God and Moses. During that time the people had forgotten, not only Moses, but the very God whose appearance a few weeks before on the very mountain on which they were, still filled them with such dread and alarm. Not knowing what had become of Moses, they collected around Aaron, and insisted in a threatening manner that, like other nations, they should have an idol that might go before them. Aaron refused not their request, and gave orders that the golden earrings of their wives, sons, and daughters should be brought together. And when they were collected, he melted them down together, and formed the image of a golden calf, which was adored as the -god of Israel. At the very hour that they were adoring the idol, Moses, by the express command of God, came down from the mountain with the two Tables of the Law, in his hand. Amazed at the sounds he heard, he hastened to see what was the cause of them, and as he approached the camp, he found the people dancing and singing round the golden calf. At this sight, grief and indignation filled his breast, and in a transport of rage, he threw down the tables from his hands and broke them in pieces at the foot of the mount j for of what use could they be, he thought, to a people who had blotted the law out of their hearts. He seized the idol they had made, broke it down, and cast it 302 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. into the fire, and when it was reduced to powder, he mixed it with water, and gave it to the Israelites to drink. He then marshalled the whole tribe of Levi against the trans gressors, and about three and twenty thousand men were put to the sword. With a heart ready to burst with grief, he returned to the mount, and begged pardon of God for the sins of the people. His fervent prayer was heard, and God was again reconciled to his people. Moses was commanded to hew out two other tables of stone, like those which he had broken, and to go with them to the top of the moun tain, where he should receive the same words engraven on them, as had been engraven on the first. In obedience to this order Moses provided himself with two new tablets, and, for the second time, ascended the holy mountain to converse with God. The Lord conversed familiarly with his servant. The conversation lasted for forty days and forty nights. During all this time, Moses neither ate nor drank. After this long conversation with the Lord, Moses took up the two tables of stone on which God had written the ten commandments, and went down the mountain, being ignorant of the change that his long conversation with God had wrought in his countenance ; for when he came near to the camp, Aaron and all the Israelites per ceived on his face a bright blaze of glory, which made them afraid of going near him. When Moses learned why they were afraid of approaching him, he covered his face with a veil, which he wore ever after, except when he entered the tabernacle to converse with God. Thus it was that God received his people again into favor, and delivered to them his commandments, written with his own hand, for the second time, on two new tables of stone. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 303 The covenant entered into between God and the Israel ites was, " that they should be his people, and he would be their God," on condition that they should keep his commandments. A sign or seal, however, was wanting to the solemn covenant that was entered into between God and his people. This seal was to be the sprinkling of the people with blood. Moses built an altar at the foot of the moun tain and offered victims upon it. He took one half of the blood and put it in bowls, and he poured the other half upon the altar. After he had read the words of the covenant to the people, and they had agreed to observe it, he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and said : " This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." Moses placed the two tables of stone on which the commandments were written, in the Ark of the Covenant, where they were carefully preserved, and hence it is that the Ark of the Covenant obtained its name. Thus was the first covenant completed on Mount Sinai, and solemnly sealed with blood, to remain good until the new and better covenant, sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary, should take its place. 18, What do these commandments teach us? The first three commandments teach us our duties towards God; and the seven oilier commandments teach us our duties towards our neighbor. Although the commandments are contained in Holy Writ (Exod. xxi.), yet Holy Writ does not distinctly divide them. It is, indeed, not the division, but the keeping of the commandments, that Holy Scripture inculcates upon 304 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. all. The Jews followed an arrangement which divided the first commandment into two, but considered the ninth and tenth commandments as but one. Some of the Fathers of the Church have followed this arrangement. But the present arrangement, as given above, is followed by St. Augustine and other Fathers of the Church, as the most natural ; for the latter part of the first commandment is but an explanation of the former. The words, " Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing," and " thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them, for lam the Lord thy God" — these words, says St. Thomas, are but an explanation of the great command given in these first words, " Thou shalt have no other God but me." The reason why God added this explanation especially to this command is because the Israelites were greatly inclined to idolatry, as is clear from their history j and hence it is that God, in the above-mentioned explanation appended to the command, gave to the Jews a special remedy against their proneness to idolatry. As the whole of the first commandment is contained in these words : " Thou shalt have no other God but me," it is great ig norance, or malicious calumny in those Protestants who say that we strike out one of the commandments from the Decalogue by teaching that the words, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing to adore it," are not a commandment distinct from the first. Now, as to the ninth and tenth commandments, the one is really distinct from the other. The command, " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife," is evidently a com mand quite distinct from, " Thou shalt not covet thy neigh bor's goods." These are prohibitions of the internal sin ful acts which are different in kind. The one is a sin COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 305 of lust, the other a sin of injustice. Now, as God has forbidden, by two distinct commands (the sixth and the seventh), the external distinct acts of lust and injustice — adultery and stealing, so also has he forbidden, by two distinct commands (the ninth and tenth), the internal distinct acts of lust and injustice. The principal object of our life in this world is our temporal and eternal happiness. This happiness consists in being united to God and to our neighbor by the virtues of justice and charity. Now, to establish and preserve this union, Almighty God has given us formal precepts of justice and charity. These precepts are contained in the Decalogue. The first three commandments, as they pre scribe our duties towards God, that is, adoration, respect, and the sanctification of the Sabbath, were written on the first tablet of stone. The principal obstacle to the union of God with his people was idolatry and superstition. To remove this obstacle, God gave the first commandment : " I am the Lord thy God ; thou shalt not have strange gods before me : thou shalt not make nor adore idols," etc. A person, however, might avoid the worship of idols, and still might not have due respect for God. Hence the Lord added the second commandment : " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Then in order to be worshipped in proper time, and in a proper manner, he commanded public worship in these words : " Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day." The seven other commandments, as they prescribe our duties of justice and charity towards all our fellow-men, were written on the second tablet of stone. The ten command ments are thus but a development or explanation of the first and greatest law of charity : " Thou shalt love the 806 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. " I am the Lord thy God ; thou shalt not have strange gods before me ; thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, to adore and serve it." 2. What are we commanded by the first commandment I We are commanded: 1, to adore and serve only the one true and living God; and, 2, to worship him by faith, hope, and charity. 1. The God who created us — that God on whom we depend every moment of our existence — is a God of in finite majesty and glory. Look around upon the heavens and the earth, how sub lime an idea do they convey of their almighty Architect ! What a stupendous mass is the ponderous globe upon which we stand ; yet God poises it with one finger ! How vast the abyss of its waters ; yet he measures it, as Scrip ture says, in the palm of his hand ! How awful is the roar of thunder ; it is but the feeble echo of his voice ! How terrific the glare of lightning j it is only a faint scintillation of his brightness ! All that we see around us, the vast luminaries that roll above us, the earth which we inhabit, with its endless diversity of animals and produc tions, with man, the lord and master of the whole, once were not. The Almighty spoke one word, and instantly we leaped into being, and we are ! How must not the soul and all her faculties sink into insignificance before this idea of her Creator, God. How must not the soul long to adore, and serve only the one true, living God, who is the centre of glory, towards whom tend all the COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 307 works of the Creator. Yes, adoration, glory, and honor essentially appertain to God. All that is in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, according to St. John, sing in concert the praises of one God, in three persons : and every creature which is in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them — he heard all saying : " To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction and honor, and glory, and power, forever and ever." (Apoc. v., 13.) The eternal occupation of the Blessed is to chant the sacred Canticle "Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God of hosts ! " (Isai. vi., 3.) Their Alleluias, their hymns of gladness, are ascending before the throne of God for ever and ever. In purgatory, in a special m'anner, are exemplified their profound esteem and homage to Almighty God, from the intense desire of the sufferers to enjoy him. Even hell itself glorifies the Lord, for the reprobate are constrained, in deploring their eternal loss of all the ben efits of nature, grace and glory, to offer a reparation of honor to the power of the Father, the author of nature ; to the wisdom of the Son, whose grace they have despised, and to the goodness of the Holy Ghost, whose saving in spirations they have criminally rejected. Amongst all creatures, man is under special obligations to glorify and honor Almighty God. Man is the master piece of the creation, a resplendent image of the three divine Persons. God has redeemed man preferably to the angels. In baptism man is consecrated to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, by an inviolable char acter impressed on his soul. Man, therefore, is under the strictest obligation to adore and serve God and to 308 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. practise the virtue of religion in the best manner possible. The virtue of religion consists in worshipping God, in a manner worthy of him, that is, to worship him by true, faith, hope and charity. 3. What is it to adore God ? It is to acknoivkdge him, ~by inward and outward acts of worship, as our Creator and sovereign Lord. The word adore, taken in its literal sense, means to carry the hand to the mouth— to kiss the hand through respect. To raise the hand to the lips and to kiss it, is considered, in all Eastern countries, as one of the greatest marks of respect and submission, " Those who adore, kiss the hand," says St. Jerome. And in the third book of Kings it is said : " I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not bowed before Baal? and every mouth that hath not worshipped him by kiss ing the hands." (3. Kings xix.) Adoration means also a prostration before some person, or making a low respectful bow, either for the purpose of sal uting him, or asking some favor of him, or thanking him for some favor received. This mode of salutation was generally practised by the people of the East towards those for whom they entertained deep respect. It is in this sense that the word " adore" is to be taken whenever, in Holy Writ, there is mention made of adoration being paid to men or angels ; as for example, in the book of Genesis, where it is said that Abraham, on seeing the three men, "adored down to the ground," that is, showed to them thus honor, respect and esteem. When the word " adore " is applied to God, it means the supreme worship which is due to God alone. This COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 309 supreme worship consists in acknowledging God as the sovereign, eternal, universal Lord and Creator of heaven and earth, and in confessing our entire dependence on him for every thing that we have and are, and in paying him due homage and respect on account of his infinite Greatness and Majesty. This homage and adoration be long to God alone, and can never, under any circum stances whatever, be rendered to any creature. Now, we must adore God inwardly and outwardly. It is true, God does not stand in need of us nor of our wor ship, but we stand in need of God. We need his grace, his assistance. All that we have, all that we hope for, comes from him. Were he to withdraw from us his assis tance for one single moment we would fall into nothingness. How easy is it not for God to displace a portion of the brain, and in a moment we are raving, madmen ! How easy is it not for him to stop the throbbing heart, to strike us with apoplexy, and lo ! the flickering taper of our life is at once extinguished ! We are made for God. We can never be happy, we can never be perfect, we can never attain the end of our existence without his help. God is our Lord and our Creator. He has an inalienable claim to our obedi ence and our worship. Has not the artist a right to his work ? Has not a father a right to the reverence and obedience of his own son ? Has not the husband a right to the love and fidelity of his wife ? And God, who is more than a mere artist, more than a father, more than a spouse, has ever so many rights that we are bound to respect ; he has especially the inalienable right to our in ward and outward adoration. Now, we adore God inwardly when we bow down in 310 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. spirit before his infinite majesty ; when we protest to him, from the bottom of our heart, that we believe in him, hope in him, and submit ourselves altogether to him as our first principle and last end. It is called inward adoration, because we say nothing, do nothing, nor give the least outward sign of the adoration that we are paying to God. This way of adoring God is agreeable to him, for he sees into our hearts ; and it has this great advantage, that we can render it to him at all times and in all places, and in the midst of our ordinary occu pations and worldly actions. "To adore God" in spirit by some pious ejaculation, now and then, gives no trouble, nor does it require much time, or interrupt, in the least, our external duties. It is a short and easy practice of adoring God, and can be practised on all occasions, with out exposing ourselves to the danger of vain-glory, which often attends external adoration. We adore God outwardly when, by some outward sign, we manifest the inward respect we have for God ; as for example, by bending the knee, inclining the head, falling prostrate on the ground, signing ourselves with the sign of the cross. These are so many acts of adoration, and are very pleasing to God when they proceed from a heart fill ed with respect and reverence for him. "Come, let us adore and fall down before the Lord," says King David. The obligation of paying to God outward worship has been acknowledged at all times and in all places. There is no nation without its sacrifices, its ceremonies, and its religi ous feasts. All the saints have practised the external forms of worship; the Church has always recommended the observance of these forms, after the example of Jesus Christ, who, in the garden of Olives, . " fell upon his face, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 311 praying to his heavenly Father." Yes, outward worship has always been considered as an indispensable duty which man owes to God, because, in the first place, our bodies no less than our souls belong to God, for we were created body and soul on purpose to honor, serve, and adore him, hence he has a full right and title to the homage both of soul and body as both are equally his sole property. In the second place, external adoration flows naturally from internal worship ; for soul and body are so united that whatever one feels, the other expresses. When, for in stance, the soul is filled with terror, the face turns pale, the body trembles. When the soul is filled with joy, the face smiles, the body dances. When the soul is filled with love and hatred, the face, the whole body betrays the hidden emotion. In like manner when the soul is filled with love and reverence of God, it must express its sentiments by outward signs and ceremonies. And even were it possible for man to hide his religion in his heart it would not be lawful to do so. Why? Because man is made for society. He must worship God not only as a private individual, but as a member of society. God is the* author not only of the individual, but also of society, and consequently he has a right to our worship not only individually but also collectively. Outward worship, however, must be accompanied by inward worship, otherwise it will be unprofitable. If our hearts have no part in what we do or say, our forms of worship, such as bending the knee, inclining the head, falling on the face, making the sign of the cross, are so many forms of deceit and falsehood. As a soulless body is but a loathsome corpse, so, too, outward worship with out inward worship is but a counterfeit worship of God. 312 " COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. If we testify outwardly a respect for God which does not proceed from our heart, we are hypocrites, and deserve the reproach which Jesus Christ made to the Jews: "This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." (Matt, xv.) 2. We adore God by acts of faith, hope, and charity, by prayer, vows, oaths and sacrifice. We adore God by an act of faith when we declare that we believe every thing that has been revealed by him and is proposed for our belief by his Church, no matter, how incomprehen sible it may appear to us. We adore God by an act of hope, when we place all our confidence in him, rely on his power, goodness, mercy, and promises, and expect all necessary favors and blessings from him in this world and the eternal enjoyment of him in the next. We adore God by an act of charity when we protest that we love him with our whole heart, because he is in finitely good ; that we rejoice at all the glory and honor which are given him by the blessed spirits in heaven, and by his faithful servants on earth, that we are re solved, with the assistance of his grace, to give up every thing rather than forfeit his grace ; that we are willing to submit to his holy will in everything, and that we resign all that we have, property, reputation and health into his hands to dispose of them as he pleases. We also adore God by prayer. When we pray to God, we acknowledge him to be our sovereign Lord and the giver of all goods spiritual and temporal ; we acknow ledge our own weakness, misery and unworthiness, our entire dependence on him. We honor his power by be lieving that he is able to help us ; we honor his goodness COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 313 by believing that he is willing to assist us j we honor his faithfulness to his promises by believing that he will grant us what he has promised to give us through the merits of Jesus Christ. Vows are also acts of divine worship, for a vow is a pro mise made to God of something that is pleasing to him ; and God is honored by such a promise if it is faithfully fulfilled. An oath taken in regard to what is true, lawful, and important, is another act of worship by which God is honored ; for to call on God to bear witness to truth, is to honor his wisdom and sovereign faithfulness, which can neither deceive nor be deceived. The most excellent way of adoring God is that of offer ing sacrifice to him ; for in sacrifice there is a particular form and rite used, by which we express the homage which we owe him, and which can^be given to God alone. It is in this that sacrifice differs from all other outward ac tions of respect and reverence, as for example, uncovering the head, bowing, kneeling down, for they are used to wards men as well as towards God. All nations, however barbarous and savage, have always acknowledged the obligation of offering sacrifice as a necessary worship due to God. The voice of reason and of nature universally proclaims the existence of a Supreme Being on whom all mankind depend for support and preservation. Hence man uses exterior means — the offering of sacrifice to acknowledge thereby the supreme power and dominion of God over all creatures, and to testify to him, the senti ments of gratitude and sovereign homage. The obligation of offering sacrifice is, therefore, generally imposed by the law of nature. It is only divine or human law that specifies 314 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. in a particular manner the things to be offered in sacrifice. Hence it is that sacrifices and immolations were not every where the same. It is of natural right that the wicked should be punished, but it is only positive or human law that determines the mode of punishment. Now every man has three kinds of goods which he can offer as sacrifices for the honor and glory of God. First, the goods of the soul: these are inward acts of adoration, devotion, humility, and other spiritual acts. Secondly, the goods of the body : these are chastity, acts of mortification of the senses, and the sacrifice of life by mar tyrdom. Thirdly, temporal goods, which he can sacrifice to the honor of God, for the relief and support of the poor, or for the erection of churches, hospitals, orphan asylums, schools, convents, and the like. From the very beginning of the world, sacrifice has always been used by the holy servants of God, as a necessary part of religion and the best means of adoring God. In the earliest times, God made known to his people the manner in which they should worship him. He expressly prescribed several kinds of sacrifices, as the most sacred part of their religion, and so strictly did he demand sacrifice- as the worship due to him alone, that the one who should dare to give it to a creature was ordered to be put to death ! But we, Catholics, have the most august sacrifice of the Mass, which is of an infinite value, because it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God himself, who is offered in Mass to his heavenly Father, as a sacrifice of adoration and praise. Hence it is that, by offering up this holy sacrifice, we honor God as much as he deserves to be honored — we honor him in an infinite manner. {See Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, chap, xxiii.) COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 315 Here two useful questions may be asked, viz. : where should we worship God, and when should we worship him? As to the first question, St. Thomas says, " that a special place for divine worship is not absolutely necessary for God, as he is present everywhere, but it is necessary for man, who is obliged to pay God the tribute of his homage and gratitude." Hence churches are erected in honor of the Most High, in order that, in them, we may honor and worship God with more fervor and devotion. We know from experience, that the sacred character of the church, the grand celebration of the mysteries of our holy religion, and the fervor and devotion of our fellow-Christians tend to inspire us with greater fervor and devotion in worship ping God and asking divine favors of him. The best place for divine worship, therefore, is a church, in which our Lord dwells in the Blessed Sacrament. There, indeed, the Lord is in the midst of those who are assembled to gether in his name, to receive their homage and to hear their prayers. (See Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, chapter xlvii.) As to the second question, namely, when should we make acts of adoration, I answer, that as we should always be disposed to prefer God to every thing else, we are obliged always to adore him. Besides this general obligation, every good Christian makes acts of adoration on awaking in the morning, and at night before he retires to rest. In the morning, he gives his first thought to God, offers his heart to him in prayer, and consecrates to him the actions of the day. In the evening, he thanks God for all his blessings and asks par don for his sins. On Sundays and holidays of obligation, 316 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he often adores God, because these days have been set aside by the Church in order that God should be worshipped in a more special manner. But good and fervent Christians are not satisfied with worshipping God only in the morning and at night, and on Sundays and holidays ; they often think of him, and pray to him during the day. St. Teresa was accustomed to offer herself to God fifty times in the day. St. Martha used to pray to God a hun dred times every day, and a hundred times every night. The Apostle St. Bartholomew used to offer to God two hundred adorations every day. When St. Patrick was guarding his master's flock, he prayed to God a hundred times a day, and a hundred times every night. He also made three hundred genuflections every day in honor of the Blessed Trinity. The saints drew great spiritual profit from these frequent acts of adoration. These acts were a means by which they felt powerfully drawn towards God, more closely united to him, and enabled to lead a holy life on earth. Let us imitate their example, in order that, we, too, may become saints. 4. Which are the sins against the adoration of God ? The sins against the adoration of God are : Superstition and irreligion. From the beginning of the world, Satan has tried to in duce men to pay him the supreme honor of adoration which is due to God alone. He seduced the greater part of mankind to commit the sins opposed to the virtue of reli gion — the sins of superstition and irreligion. There are many who absurdly enough deny the personal existence of Satan. They assert, with an air of profound COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 317 wisdom, that the word "devil," " Satan/' is simply the imaginary personification of all the evil influences to which we are subject in this life. But what can be more absurd than to deny what all nations, without exception, have always believed, and still believe — the personal existence of the devil. What can be more impious than to deny what we find asserted in plain words, on almost every page of Holy Writ— the personal existence of the devil. Holy Scripture tells us that Satan, in the form of a ser pent, seduced Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit ; it declares that all the gods of the Gentiles are devils ; it tells us that the devil is the prince of this world ; that he goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour ; it bids us resist the devil, and he will flee from us; St. Paul speaks of the prince and the powers of the air that besiege us, and against whom we must put on the whole armor of God, and do valiant battle. Moreover, Holy Scripture speaks of demoniacs, or persons possessed with devils ; and among the marvellous works ascribed to Jesus Christ, is that of expelling demons, or casting out devils. The Catholic Church plainly and unequivocally recog nizes the existence of Satan, as may be gathered from the prayers and ceremonies of Baptism, as well as from the significance of the Sacrament itself; and not only his existence, but his power over the natural man, and even material objects. The Catholic Church has also her exor cists, and her precise forms and prayers for exorcising evil spirits. Besides, every Christian knows that the Son of God became man and died upon the cross for no other purpose than to destroy the works of the devil, and to redeem man kind from his power. 318 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Now, to assert that there is no devil is to assert that Jesus Christ suffered so much from no motive, that his mission had no object 5 it is to deny the work of Redemp tion. What can be more blasphemous than such an asser tion f Again, what can be more contrary to sound reason than to deny the existence of the devil ? They who deny the personal existence of the devil must either deny the ex istence of evil altogether, which is absurd, or they must admit the existence of an unbeginning — eternal principle of evil — which is a palpable blasphemy. God alone has existed from all eternity. By his word he has created heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible. God, in his infinite wisdom, created beings gifted with intelligence and free will, and consequently, capable of acting wrong as well as right. All the works of God, when they came forth from his hands were good, very good. It was, then, by the abuse of their intelligence and free-will, it was by refusing to observe the just laws of God, that his creatures became wicked, and that evil was introduced into the world. Satan and his hosts were created by God as bright and beautiful angels ; but of their own free will, they rebelled against God. " Behold they that serve God are not stead fast, and in his angels he found wickedness.7' (Job, iv., 18.) Considered in their nature the angels could sin just as well as man, for the gift of impeccability is not a gift of nature, but of grace alone. It was natural for all the angels to love and glorify God, the only source of their eternal glory ; but, in the rebel angels, soon after their creation, that divine love was extinguished by an abuse of free-will. They sinned COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 319 in wishing through pride and envy, their own partic ular good, in opposition to the will of their Sovereign Creator. By these two sins, the chief of the rebel angels seduced vast multitudes of angels. " From pride all per dition took its beginning." (Tob. iv., 14.) " Pride is the source of all sins." (Ecclus. x., 15.) " Satan is the king of all the children of pride." (Job. xli., 25.) " How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer ? Thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the Most High." (Isai. xiv., 12, 13.) What the bad angels wished to obtain by their rebellion was to be like unto God 5 they wished to be equal to him in splendor and glory, but not in power, for they knew it was impossible for any created being to be equal to God in his infinite power. Their transgression consisted in wishing to be like unto God without merit or supernatural grace. Their pride and envy confounded them, and God abandoned them in that state of perversity. They also aspired after pre-eminence and domination over all in the new creation, which was an additional crime to their blasphemous culpability, by which they forfeited eternal glory. " Thou (Lucifer) wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom, and perfect m beauty. * * * Thou wast in all the delight of God's Paradise ; thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation, until iniquity was found in thee. Thou hast defiled the sanc tuaries of heaven by the multitude of thy iniquities ; thou hast lost thy wisdom in thy beauty. Therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee to devour thoe. * » •* " (Ezech. xxviii.) The prevarication of the highest angel in the celestial 320 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. hierarchy was the cause of the defection of all the rest. The pride of Lucifer, prince of the cherubim, and chief of the rebel angels, was the first provocation to the dis obedience of all the others. It cannot be supposed that he constrained them, but seduced them to rebel ; for it is said in the Gospel : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt, xxv., 41.) "And the dragon's tail drew away the third part of the stars of heaven.77 (Apoc. xii.,4.) Now, the order of divine justice requires that whoever commits a crime at the instigation of another, must undergo the same penalty as the author. St. Peter says: uMan becomes the slave of him by whom he is overcome. 7? The rebel angels were not long in deliberating as to whether they should follow Lucifer, nor was a long discourse necessary to excite them to rebellion. Angels are as quick as lightning in all their operations. They instantaneously, though freely, consented to the senti ments which were manifested in their spiritual language by their powerful chief. The moment they rebelled, they were changed into hideous demons, and cast out of heaven. They are so obstinate in perversity that they can never be free from their diabolical propensi ties. Their crime has fixed them for ever in wickedness, as death fixes man irrevocably either in glory or in damnation. An angel conceives all things instantaneously, by means of his spiritual faculties, as man does conceive the first principles of right and wrong by means of his intellectual faculties. Man is changeable and inconstant in his COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 321 choice ; but the angel fixes his choice irrevocably by the first act of his will. That act, in the choice of divine love and obedience, was the cause of eternal beatitude for the faithful angels, and that instantaneous free act of the rebel angels, was the cause of their ever lasting punishment and damnation. As the glorification of the good angels increases more and more in heaven, so the torments of the wicked angels increase proportion ately in hell. " And there was a great battle in heaven ; Michael and his angels fought with the Dragon and his angels j and that great dragon, that old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world, was cast out of heaven with all his angels. And they were thrown down with the beast and false prophets, into a pool of fire and brimstone, where they shall be tormented day and night during ages and ages." (Apoc. xii.) The rebel angels have two places of torture : hell, where they shall remain eternally, to undergo the punishment of their crime j and the dark, gloomy air, where they shall be till the day of general judgment. As God makes use of the good angels to inspire us with acts of virtue and keep us from vice, so he permits the devil to lay snares for us and entice us to sin. St. Paul tells us that numbers of those wicked spirits surround us on all sides. u For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness, and the spirits of wicked ness in the high places." (Eph. vi., 12.) Hence it is that they are called the Princes of darkness, of the air, and of the world. They differ in order ; for though they never enjoyed the order of heavenly glory, and forfeited, by their disobedience, the order of grace and the supernatural 322 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. gifts with which they were endowed at their creation, yet they have preserved the order of their nature, so that those whose natural intellectual faculties were greater are higher in rank and greater in power. Hence they form a kind of hierarchy. Their prince and chief is sometimes called Lucifer, who was the prince of the cherubim; sometimes Belial (that is, the Rebel), also Satan (i. e., the Enemy), or Beelzebub, from the chief idol of the Accaronites. The rage, malice, and envy of the devils against man, and their enmity to all good, are implacable. Satan, the chief of the fallen spirits, makes his attacks upon men by putting on all shapes : sometimes by craft, or by snares and stratagems, as the old serpent ; sometimes by dis guises, transforming himself into an angel of light, and assuming the air of piety ; sometimes by open assaults and violence, as the roaring lion. He studies and observes every one's character, natural dispositions, inclinations, virtues and vices, to find out, and make his attacks on every one's weak points. The natural subtlety and strength of Satan are exceed ingly great, as appears from the perfection of his being, which is purely spiritual, and from examples, when God has suffered him to exert his power in a more remarkable manner. Holy Scripture tells us that the devils hurried the swine into the lake ; that they killed the first seven husbands of Sara; that they have slain armies in one night ; have often disturbed nature, and stirred up tempests, which struck whole provinces with terror, and ravaged the whole world. What did Satan not do against holy Job ? He killed his cattle and his children. He covered Job himself with ulcers from head to foot. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 323 And, in our own day, what did he not do against the saintly Cure of Ars, in France, for the space of thirty years ? Moreover, by clear proofs, it is also manifest that Satan can, by divine permission, enter our bodies, com pel, as it were, the human being to stand aside, and use our organs himself, and do whatever he pleases with them. But he cannot annihilate the human being, or take from the soul its free-will. It is always in the power of the possessed to resist, morally and effectually, the evil intentions of the devil. The possessed 'person re tains his own consciousness, his own intellectual and moral faculties unimpaired, and he never confounds himself with the spirit that possesses him. He always retains the power of internal protest and struggle. Whenever this power is exercised, and there is clearly a struggle, there is no reason to believe that he is responsible for the crimes which the body, through the possession of the devil, is made to commit. But unfortunately it very often happens that this power to protest is not exercised, and the possessed person yields his moral assent to the crimes committed by the demon that possesses him. Such diabolical possessions have been more or less fre quent in different times and places. This is confirmed by the testimony and experience of all ages, and of all nations, even to the remotest Indies. Such facts both the Old and New Testaments evince. However, with regard to the effects of magic and possession of devils, the Catholic Church says, in her Kit- ual. that such extraordinary effects are not to be easily supposed. That superstition, credulity, and imposture are to be guarded against, and that natural distempers. 324 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. such as certain species of madness, extraordinary palsies, epilepsies, or the like, are not to be construed into effects of enchantments or possessions, which are not to be pre sumed upon ridiculous compacts and signs, nor upon vul gar prejudices and notions of the manner in which such things are done, but must be made apparent by circum stances. The criteria of demoniac invasion or possession, as laid down by the Catholic Church for the guidance of exor cists, are the following : — 1. Understanding of unknown languages. 2. Power of speaking unknown or foreign languages. 3. Knowledge of things passing in distant places. 4. Exhibition of superior physical strength. 5. Suspension of the body in the air during a consider able time. Although Satan, with implacable envy and malice, studies to disturb our temporal happiness and to compass our eternal ruin both by stratagems and open assaults, yet it is certain that he can tempt and assail us only to a certain degree j he can go only the length of his chain, that is, as far as God permits him. This is evident from the history of Job. Before Satan was bound, or his power curbed by the triumph of Christ over him, and the spreading of the happy light and influence of the Gospel throughout the world, the empire which Satan exercised on earth was much greater than since that time. How ever, there can be no doubt that, in our own days, the power and influence of Satan over an immense number of men is great, very great j and it will increase in propor tion as they approach heathenism and infidelity, and leave the true, the Catholic religion. COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 325 After these remarks on the power and influence of Satan over mankind, it will be more easy to understand the grievousness of the sins of superstition and irreligion. 5. What is superstition ? Superstition is to believe that some things or persons have a certain power which they cannot have, either by nature, or by the prayers of the Church, or from God. Superstition, taken in its general sense, means the turning away from the true and living God, and having recourse to the devil for help, instead of seeking it from the Lord j it is the withdrawal of one's self from the Prov idence of God, and from the ordinary means appointed by him to gain what we want, and the confiding in the assistance of the devil, by using means appointed by him to obtain what we desire. But superstition, as it is us ually understood, means a false notion of religion which fills us with a foolish and excessive confidence in certain things, or which inspires us with a frivolous and excessive fear of some other things, as being endowed with a super natural virtue which they have not, or possessing it in a higher degree than they do in reality. There are four kinds of superstition, namely : idolatry, attendance at the false worship of the true God, divination, and superstitious practices. 6. What is idolatry ? Idolatry is to pay divine honor to a creature. When giving his commandments to the Israelites, God commenced by telling them that he was their Lord and their God ; that it was he that brought them out from the land of Egypt, and released them from the slavery in which they groaned under Pharaoh. " I am the Lord thy 326 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. God/' he says ; that is, I am he who created every thing — heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars j who rules every thing, and on whom every thing depends ; I am your Creator, your Master, your Sovereign Lord, your Judge, from whose goodness you have every thing to hope, but from whose justice you have, too, every thing to fear — and I, " the Lord thy God," command you " not to have any strange gods before me." What the strange gods are He goes on to tell them : " Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of these things that are in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them." (Exodus, xx.) We here see that God prohibits all persons from making " a graven thing," or engraving any image or likeness in order to adore and serve it. He tells every one of us, as well as the Israelites, that if we make idols — figures of stone, of wood, or of other matter — as the Pagans did, and if we adore them, and pay them homage, he will punish us with the greatest severity, because as he says : " I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children." They are called " strange gods," because such gods should be unknown to God's chosen people, who should recognize but the one true God, whom Noah taught his children to adore. St. Paul calls Noah a preacher of justice, because he taught his sons the knowledge of the one true God, and of a Messiah that was to come, and gave them commandments by which they might know what is right and what is wrong. However, it was the misfortune of his descendants that they did not preserve this knowledge. Instead of continuing to adore the God COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 327 of heaven, that pure Spirit who cannot be seen by mortal eyes, they began to wish for objects of adoration, which they might be able to see ; and so they were led to make images, or a graven things," which they soon began to wor ship as gods. This worship is called idolatry, which means the worship of an idol or image of a false god. At the time of the coming of Christ, this great sin prevailed everywhere save in one single corner of the earth — Judea. There were several causes of idolatry. Most men, from the beginning, lost gradually the knowledge of God, and of the doctrine of creation. But man, wishing to have some kind of divinity, strove to find it in material objects. Astonished at the grandeur, beauty and splendor of cer tain things, such as the sun, moon and the stars, they took them for gods and worshipped them as such. Hence it is said in Holy Writ : " But all men who have not the knowledge of God are vain, and could not understand or -acknowledge the Sovereign Creator of all these great works, but have imagined that the fire, the wind, the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun, or the moon were the gods that rule the world." (Wisd. xiii, 1, 2.) Another cause of idolatry was the inordinate affections of the heart. A father bitterly afflicted by the sudden death of his son, had a likeness of him made, and then began to worship it as a god, and appointed sacrifices to be offered to him by his servants. Hence we read in Holy Scripture : " A father being bitterly afflicted, made to himself the image of his son who was quickly taken away j and him who then had died as a man, he began now to worship as a god, and appointed him rites and sacrifices among his servants.'7 (Wisd. xiv., 15.) 328 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Again, man is full of vanity, curiosity, natural perver sity, and, if ignorant, is easily influenced by beautiful works of art. Thus it happened that the common people took for gods, the images or statues of celebrated heroes, or of kings who were powerful and liberal to their subjects, and paid them divine honor. Hence Holy Scripture says : " Then (man in his folly and ignorance) maketh prayer to it, inquiring concerning his substance, his children, or his marriage, and is not ashamed to speak to that which hath no life." (Wisd. xiii., 17.) Now, Satan, the arch-enemy of mankind, availed himself of these abominable mistakes and errors, of that universal ignorance and corruption, to make himself worshipped by men. So when the idols were spoken to or consulted, he answered from within them, or he performed a kind of prodigies that struck men with astonishment and admira tion. Hence the Royal Prophet says : " All the gods of the Gentiles are devils." (Ps. xcv., 5.) The idolatry of the heathens is, no doubt, a most abom inable crime in the sight of God. But there is another kind of idolatry which is committed by many Christians — an idolatry of the heart, which consists in loving a creature so passionately as to be induced to renounce God and his friendship, rather than that disorderly love for his creature. It is in this sense that St. Paul calls all those idolaters who are given up to the passion of impurity and covet- ousness. (Eph. v., 5.) One of the most celebrated martyrs of the Church is St. Sebastian. Even before he had confessed the faith in torments, he had become famous by the prodigies which he wrought. The governor of Rome, named Chromatius, who was afflicted with incurable infirmities, sent for him, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 329 » hoping that he would becured by him. When St. Sebas tian appeared before the governor, he spoke to him of our Lord Jesus Christ, and told him that it was in his name and by his power he performed all the miracles of which he had heard. "Well!" said Chromatius to him, "let Jesus Christ cure me, and I promise him that I will be come a Christian.'7 "That is not enough," replied St. Sebatian, " commence by breaking all your idols, and I promise you, you shall be cured." Chromatius promised him, and they parted. Some days after, more tortured than ever, the governor sent again for the generous Sebastian, and began bitterly to reproach him : " How is this, thou wretched Christian ? At thy word I broke all my idols, and behold I suffer more than ever ! " " Is it true, my lord, that you have broken all your idols ? have you spared none?" "No, I broke them all, except one little golden statue, which I value very highly, because it has been a long time in our family." " Ah my lord, I am no longer surprised that you have not been cured ; were that idol dearer to you than all the world, you must destroy it ; because you cannot, in conscience, prefer it to the God who has created you, who preserves you, and will one day judge you. Break it, and I tell you again I will answer for your cure." Chromatius now broke his golden statuette to pieces, and was perfecty cured. (LASSAUSSE, Explic. du Cat. de V Empire, 571.) There are many Christians who resemble this Roman governor. They break to pieces many idols of their heart except one ; they go to confession and accuse themselves of all their mortal sins except one ; they renounce many proximate occasions of sin, except one 5 they forgive all their neighbors except one ; they restore many ill-gotten 330 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. goods except one ; they believe all the truths of the Cath olic religion except one. Hence they remain sick in soul, and often in body, until they have renounced the idol of their heart. 7. What is attendance at false worship 1 It is to assist at the religious worship of heretics. To worship God according to a rite contrary to all precepts of the Gospel is a false and unlawful worship of God. Hence it would be a grievous sin for a Catholic to worship God according to the ceremonial laws of the Jews, for though they were prescribed by God for the Jews before the coming of Christ, yet they were abolished by Christ in the new law. It is also a false and unlawful worship of God to adopt a new religion in opposition to the doctrine of the true Church of Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic Church, and assist at the religious worship of such a false religion. Hence, even if a Catholic despises in his heart such a false religion and worship, it is unlawful for him to play the organ, or to sing, or to discharge the office of sacris tan, in Jewish or Protestant temples during their false worship, or to compose hymns or music for the same, or to ring the bell for calling the people together, or to con tribute money towards the erection of temples for false worship, or to call a Protestant minister for the perform ance of some religous rites, as, for instance, the rites of marriage or baptism, or funeral, etc.; or to take Protestant children, or accompany grown persons, to Protestant Sunday-schools or church and stay with them during their religous worship. Any such act is strictly forbid den by the law of God and of the Church, because it is COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 331 a real communication and formal co-operation in a false worship, and a real approval of it. " No one/7 say the Fathers of the Fourth Council of Carthage (in 398), "must either pray, or sing psalms with heretics; and whosoever shall communicate with those who are cut off from the communion of the Church, whether clergyman or layman, let him be excommunicated. " Such was the language of the Church in all ages. Pope Paul IV. wrote to the Catholics in England : " We are forced to admonish and to conjure you, that on no ac count you go to the churches of heretics, or hear their sermons or join in their rites, lest ye incur the wrath of God 5 for it is not lawful for you to do such things without dishonoring God and hurting your own souls." In consequence of such authoritative decision, the Catho lic pastors of England and Scotland have made most strict prohibitions of all such communication by their special regulations. Here one may say : The reason why I play the organ, or sing, or officiate as sacristan, etc., in a Protestant church, is because I get a good pay which enables me to support my family. I answer : What you do is a grievous violation of the first commandment. It is never allowed to commit a mortal sin in order to acquire the means of support. Alas ! that there are so many people who make a living by unlawful means ! " But the bishop, or parish priest has given me permission to play the organ, to sing, etc., in the Protestant church," says another one. I answer : Neither any priest nor bishop, nay, not even the Pope, can give you permission to violate any of the commandments. "But I am well instructed in my religion," says another; 332 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. "I can see no harm in what I do in the Protestant church. n I answer : I doubt what you say. If you were well in structed, you would know that attendance at false worship is a mortal sin, and that this sin is still greater for him who plays, or sings, at it, or renders any other kind of service for it. And do you see no harm in committing a mortal sin? Do you see no harm in the great scandal you give to those Catholics who know of it, and to the Protestants, whom by your playing and singing, etc., you confirm in the belief that their religion is as good as the Catholic religion ? (See Bishop Hay's Sincere Christian, vol. ii. On communicating with those out of the Church • and Father A. Konings' C. SS. R., Moral Theology, de Co-operatione Catholicorum. p., 136.) St. Hermenegild, th6 son of Leovigild, king of Spain, became a convert to the Catholic faith. When his father, who was addicted to the Arian heresy, heard of it, he be came quite enraged, and put his son in a frightful dun geon, where he made him suffer most cruel torments. The holy martyr wrote to his father: "I avow your goodness to me has always been very great. I will pre serve, to the last moment of my life, the respect, duty, and tenderness which I owe you. But is it possible that you should wish me to like worldly greatness better than my salvation ? I value the crown as nothing. I am ready to lose sceptre and life, too, rather than abandon the divine truth." The prison was a school of virtue to this great martyr. He clothed himself in sack-cloth, and performed other bodily penances in addition to the hardships of his prison. He offered up to God many fervent prayers to obtain sufficient strength and courage to remain faithful in con fessing the truth and dying for it. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 333 The solemnity of Easter being come, the perfidious father sent, in the night, an Arian bishop with the message to his son that, if he received communion from the hand of that prelate, he would be received into favor again. Hermenegild, however, rejected the proposal with indig nation, reproaching the messenger with the impiety of his sect, as if he had been at full liberty. When the bishop returned to the Arian king with this account, the furious father, seeing the faith of his son proof against all his endeavors to make him give up the Catholic religion, sent soldiers with orders to kill him. They entered the prison and found the saint fearless and ready to receive the stroke of death. They cleaved his head with an axe, and scattered his brains on the floor. (Butler's Lives of the Saints, April 13.) 8. What is divination? Divination consists in having recourse to the power and influence of the devil by a tacit or express compact, in order to knoiv past, or present, or future things. The devil, as we have said, possesses still great natural powers which God gave to the angels when he created them. Satan did not lose those powers by his rebellion against God. He is, moreover, assisted by an experience of thousands of years, during which he observed the ways of men and the laws of nature. Hence, he can easily foresee and do certain things that are hidden from us. He can know such things as are actually in existence or are past. He can also know such future things as are the natural effects of such natural causes as he knows pro duce their infallible effects. Hence, he can foretell certain future, natural things, as an astronomer can foretell an 334 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. eclipse of the sun or the moon by his knowledge of the revo lutions of the planets. But to consult the devil even about these things is a great sin, because God has forbidden any kind of dealing with Satan, for this enemy of God and man uses his power only for opposing God's holy will and causing the ruin of man. The devil, however, does not know such future things as depend on God's will. To attempt, then, by the assistance of the devil, to know and foretell such things is to attribute to him who is but a mere creature, an eternal perfection of God — the privilege of knowing all things — and to do this is to be guilty of a most grevious sin. We read in Holy Scripture that when King Ochozias was very sick, he sent messengers to con sult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, whether he would recover from his illness. This sin was so great that the Lord sent an angel to the prophet Elias directing him to go and meet the messengers and say to them : "Is there not a God in Israel, that ye go and consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron ? Wherefore thus saith the Lord : From the bed on which thou are lying thou shalt not arise ; but thou shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elias spoke." (IV. Kings, chap, i., 2, 4, 16, 17.) There are other kinds of divination, such as necromancy or spiritism, astrology, witchcraft, sorcery, fortune-telling, spells, charms, dreams, and a great variety of other supersti tious practices, which are the abominable remains of idolatry. 9, What is necromancy, or spiritism, or spiritualism ? Necromancy ', or Spiritism, is to believe that the spirits or souls of the dead communicate with men, by rapping and moving furniture, or by writing, or seeing, or speaJcing mediums. Necromancy is the invocation of the dead, who seem COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 335 to appear in their natural state, to answer whatever ques tions are proposed to them. In our day, and especially in our country, necromancy is practised under the name of Spiritism. Now, can Spirits appear to the living on earth ? When the soul has left the body, and has been judged by God, it at once enters either heaven, or hell, or purga - tory. But can it leave any of these places, at least for a short time, and return to this world, in order to warn its surviv ing friends, or any other persons I Or, in other words, can there be, or have there been such things as lt spirits" or spectres? It is certain that the belief in " spirits" — a belief spread far and wide — can be traced back to the earliest times. People of every nation, even the most barbarous and uncivilized, are, or have been, of opinion that souls, after death, can return to this world, assume terrestrial or serial forms, make noise, howl, and speak. In this there is nothing opposed to common sense, nothing surpassing the almighty power of God. " When a soul has been separated from the body," says Bergier, " God can make it appear again in the world, give it the same body which it had before, or some other body, and endow it with the power of performing the very same functions it had performed before death. This is one of the most striking means which God could employ in instructing men and rendering them tractable. ? It is, then, absolutely possible that souls after death can again appear in the world. That souls after death have returned to this world, we have no less an authority than the Sacred Writings. We are told in the Gospel, that Moses with Elias appeared on Mount Thabor at the time of Our Lord's transfiguration j and that at the death of Christ, and after his resurrection, 336 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. lt many bodies of the saints that had slept arose j and coming out of the tombs, after his resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many." (Matt, xxvii., 52.) In the Second Book of Machabeus, we read that Jeremias, with the holy Pontiff, Onias, appeared, though in a vision, to Judas Machabeus, and presented him with a sword of gold, saying : " Take this holy sword a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of My people Israel." (II. Mach. xv., 16.) We read, too, in the First Book of Kings, that the Prophet Samuel appeared after death to the Witch of Endor, and that he prophesied and foretold to Saul the evils which were soon to befall him. St. Thomas unhesitatingly says, that Samuel appeared in person : and St. Augustine thus speaks in his Questions to Simplicity : " It is not absurd to believe that God per mitted the prophet to appear to the king, that he might inspire him with a salutary fear." The same holy doctor, in his letter to Evodius, bishop, makes mention of a young man who appeared to a great many persons after his death • and by that means, he adds, God permitted that they should be confirmed in the opinion which they had of his sanctity. Eusebius, St. Paulinus, Origen, Sulpicius, Severus, Theodoret, and other writers, recount in their works many instances of persons who returned after death to this World. St. Augustine assures us that St. Felix, the martyr, appeared to the inhabitants of Nola when besieged by barbarous tribes, and by his presence encouraged them to fight valiantly and gain a glorious victory. St. Gregory the Great relates, also, many instances of souls in purgatory, whom God, in his mercy, permitted to appear to their COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 337 friends on earth and ask them to relieve them in their sufferings by prayers and other good works. In my little book, " Purgatorian Consoler/' I have related several instances of such apparitions. There is a remarkable apparition related of what is called the " White Lady," in Baireuth, Germany. In that place, there are two pictures of the White Lady. One is in the new castle and the other in a hermitage. The latter is in the costume of a shepherdess and dressed in white. The one in the castle, on the contrary, is dressed in black, and wearing a cap or hood. The spectre of the White Lady always appears in the latter costume, and seems to be an exact image of the picture. The whole affair was juridically examined ; the sworn testimony of witnesses was taken down, and all came to the conclusion that the apparition was real. Count Munster, the guardian of the castle, a man of learning and calm judgment, declared positively that he had often met the apparition in the castle, and carefully avoided the room where the picture was hanging. In 1806, as the French army was march ing through Baireuth, the spirit became restless and caused so much disturbance in the castle that the French generals who had taken up their quarters there, were greatly annoyed and terrified. In 1809, General d'Espagne, commander of the reserves of the 8th army corps, lodged in the castle. About midnight, a wild shriek resounded from his room. The officers rushed thither and found the general in the middle of the room, lying under the heavy bedstead which had been upset. He was greatly excited. As soon as he grew calmer he related how he had seen an apparition and described her appearance, so that it corresponded exactly with the picture. The spirit 338 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, threatened to strangle him, then pushed the bed into the middle of the room, and upset it. He left the castle that very night. Next day he ordered that the room should be thoroughly searched, the wainscoting removed to see if there were a secret door or passage, but he could dis cover nothing. Napoleon I. was twice in Baireuth. The first time was on May 14th, 1812, when he was on his way to Russia. He lodged in the castle. A courier was sent with the express orders that the emperor did not wish to be lodged in the room in which the White Lady usually appeared, and that no one should be allowed to enter the room pre pared for him but the emperor himself. A few hours before Napoleon's arrival, Count Munster went through the castle to see whether every thing was in order, and to his amazement saw a lady walking through the corridor. Indignant that his orders had been disobeyed, he was about to order the stranger away, when she turned around and to his horror he saw it was the White Lady. The spectre then vanished. Next morning Napoleon appeared greatly annoyed and excited. He repeated several times the words : u Ce maudit chateau !" and declared he would never spend another night there again . He enquired about the appearance and costume of the White Lady, and when they offered to bring him the picture, he positively refused to see it. On August 3rd, 1813, Napoleon came again to Baireuth. A courier was dispatched with orders that the emperor would not lodge in the new castle. They prepared a room for him in the old one. But when Na poleon came to Baireuth, he refused to spend the night there and went on to the next tower. The soul of the White Lady was released by a descendant of hers, a COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. young girl who looks very much like the picture in the hermitage. She was still alive in 1850, ' 'There is, however," says St. Thomas, ' ' a great difference between the souls of the saints and those of the damned. The souls of the saints can appear at will, for the sancti- fication of the faithful, but the latter can never appear without a special permission from God, a permission that God may grant for the terror of the wicked, to make them sensible of the eternal torments of hell." In the life of St. Bruno, there is an account given of a doctor of Paris, who appeared on the third day after his death, and related how he had been accused, judged, and condemned to most excruciating tortures 5 and the de scription which he gave of what happened to him, was such as to make all who heard him shudder. There have been, therefore, and there may be still, instances of persons appearing again in this world after death. Now, though there may be, and in reality have been, well authenticated accounts of persons who have returned from the other world, and have been seen again on earth, yet we must not conclude that all the stories that we hear told at the fireside, by night, or at wakes and meet ings, about spectres and ghosts, are true. Of a thousand stories of this sort, there is not one that turns out to be true ; and even apparitions, of the reality of which there is scarcely a doubt entertained, can be explained, in almost every case, in a natural way. A great number of stories we hear about spirits which, when closely examined, have turned out to be purely the result of deception, skill, and artifice. At one time we find that the pretended ghost, of which we heard so much, was no other than a young man of the neighborhood, who, in order 340 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. that he might, without being discovered, keep up an illicit familiarity with a female in the house, so disguised him self as to be thought " a spirit." At another time, the " spirit" spoken of as making its appearance in a certain house, and there uttering unearthly sounds, and making fearful noises, turns out, on close examination, to be no less a personage than a noted thief, who, to secure him self from detection, had recourse to those means of im posing on the credulity of those living in the house. Again, the report that a certain house is haunted has gained ground, and no one can be induced to live in a place where it is believed spirits are roaming about at night, and turning everything upside down ; but in a few months it transpires that all this had been effected by one who had lately been ejected from the dwelling, and wanted to prevent others from taking it. There are, too, a great number of apparitions, which, though supposed real, can be traced to fear, or to an ex cited imagination j as, for example, something white is seen at night standing against a hedge, at the end of a narrow road, and it is no sooner seen than it disappears in some unaccountable way. A report immediately gets abroad that it was a " spirit," as, at the time it was seen, plaintive cries were heard. But in reality, the spirit was no other than a frightened poor beast ! A gentleman was benighted, not long ago, in a remote part of the highlands of Scotland, and was compelled to ask shelter for the evening at a small, lonely hut. When he was to be conducted to his bedroom, the landlady ob served, with a mysterious air, that he would find the win dow very insecure. On examination, part of the wall ap peared to have been broken down to enlarge the opening. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 341 After some inquiry he was told that a pedler, who had lodged in the room a short time before, had committed suicide, and was found hanging behind the door in the morning. According to the superstition of the country, it was deemed improper to remove the body through the door of the house, and to convey it through the window part of the wall was removed. Some hints were dropped ' that the room had subsequently been haunted by the poor man's spirit. The gentleman retired to rest rather uneasy j and, to protect himself, laid his fire-arms by the bed-side. He was visited in a dream by a frightful apparition, and awaking in agony, found himself sitting up, with a pistol grasped in his right hand. On casting a fearful glance around the room, he discovered, by the moonlight, a corpse dressed in a shroud, reared erect against the wall close by the window. With much difficulty he summoned up courage to approach the dismal object, the features of which, and the minutest part of its funeral shroud, he perceived distinctly. He passed one hand over it, felt nothing, and staggered back to bed. After some time, and much reasoning with himself, he renewed his investigation and at length discovered that the object of his terror was produced by the moonbeams, forming a long bright image through the broken window, on which his fancy, excited by his dream, had pictured, with mischievous accuracy, the form of a body prepared for interment. The appearance of spectres and phantoms can be very often traced to a mind ill at ease, and to a conscience torn with remorse. Persons guilty of enormous and un natural crimes, who have during life, for example, ill-treat ed their parents, relatives, or friends, to such an extent as to be the cause of their death, or have been guilty of 342 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. seducing from the paths of virtue many young and in nocent souls, are peculiarly predisposed for seeing spirits. Conscience speaks to them of guilt — its voice cannot be hushed. They cannot rest night or day, owing to the remembrance of what they have done. The victims of their crimes present themselves to their minds continually. They tremble, they shudder, at the vivid picture before their eyes. Their imagination becomes so heated, that, in the darkness of night, they think they clearly see frightful apparitions, reproaching and threatening them for their evil deeds — that their fathers are before them on the way cursing them, and their wives upbraiding them with terrible imprecations. Apparitions or ghosts can be very often traced to a gloomy and melancholy turn of mind ; and it is worthy of remark, that ghosts were never so numerous in England as during some years after the civil war in 1649. The gloomy tendency of the rigid Puritans of that period, their possession of the old family seats, formerly the residence of hospitality and good cheer, but, in their hands, dismal, dark, and desolate, and the fearfully thrilling stories cir culated far and wide by the old retainers of these ancient establishments, after they had been dismissed, contributed altogether to produce a wide-spread terror, unknown in other periods of the history of the country. The little that we have said on this subject will prob ably explain all the wonderful things that have been said about ghosts and spirits. As we said before, so we now say, that the apparition of what we call " spirits" is pos sible, for God is all-powerful, and the soul is immortal. Because persons have been deceived in a thousand causes of apparitions, it does not follow that in no case can it COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 343 be proved that a soul has appeared again in this world after death. On this subject we should incline neither to too great credulity, nor to absolute unbelief, but hold a middle course. Nearly all the accounts that have ap peared of " spirits," says Salgues, in his book on Popular Errors and Prejudices, u are formed of puerilities." Ears pulled, bed-clothes removed, tables upset, candles extin guished, vessels broken, curtains drawn aside, chairs dis placed, and the like, form the burden of stories about ghosts. After these preliminary remarks on the apparition of spirits, it will be more easy to understand what necrom ancy or spiritism is. It is now over thirty years (1847) since the notorious Fox girls began to attract public attention by their spirit- rappings. At first, the spirits communicated by rapping and moving furniture ; but, now besides rapping mediums? there are writing mediums, seeing and speaking mediums. Mddern science is altogether unable to account for, or to disprove, the alleged facts of spiritualism, but this is be cause modern science, or rather what passes for science, refuses to acknowledge the existence of the superhuman and supernatural. To deny the reality of all the alleged spirit manifestations, is to discredit all human testimony ; and to regard them all as jugglery, as the result of trick ery, is equally absurd. No one, who reflects a little, will pretend to say that so many thousands of spiritualists — among whom are numbers of men and women noted for their intelligence and honesty — no one, I say, will pretend that all these are only playing tricks upon one another. Tell me, in the name of sound reason, what object could all these fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives, have in thus deceiving one another, and 344 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. pretending to have communications from spirits, if they really have none f Those who can swallow such an ab surdity, are certainly far more weak-minded and credulous than those who believe in the reality of spirit manifestations. It is certain that there is often a great deal of jugglery and trickery in these so called spirit manifestations. It is also certain that there is much that can be explained on natural principles. There is much that proceeds from the morbid or abnormal affections of human nature, from imagination or hallucination ; but, admitting all this, there still remains a great deal that can be explained only by admitting the interference of superhuman and intelligent powers. Some try to explain the phenomena of spirit ualism by attributing them all to animal magnetism, or to a force which they call " od," or "odyllic" force. But what *' odyllic" force means, they are unable to say ; and so, with this newly-coined word, they only seek to cover their ignorance. Spiritualists pretend that these phenomena are produc ed by departed spirits ; but of this they have no other proof than the assertion of the spirits themselves. Now, according to the testimony of all spiritualists, many, I might say all, of these spirits are liars, and consequently their assertions cannot be credited. The truth is, we cannot conclude any thing certain from these phenomena without the aid of revelation. I do not pretend to say that all science is necessarily based on faith, but I do say that, without the light of revelation, we cannot have a full knowledge of the various phenomena of the universe, or explain the various facts of history. If I did not know, from revelation, that the devil and his angels exist, I might observe^ and be convinced of, the various COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 34:5 manifestations of spiritualism, and yet I could not trace them with certainty to their true source ; they would re main to me inexplicable. But, knowing from revelation that even the very air swarms with evil spirits — the en emies of God and man — I can see at once the natural ex planation of the spirit manifestations, and trace them to their proper source. This source is no other than hell. With Father Bonaventure, I boldly assert that " modern spiritualism is nothing but Satanism." The proofs for the truth of this assertion, I take : 1. From the holiness of God and his angels. 2. From the answers of the spirits themselves. 3. From the character of those spirit manifestations and visitations. 4. From the behavior of the spirits when in sthe pres ence of some supernatural power. 5. From the principles and morals of the spirtualists. 6. From the baneful consequences of spiritualism. 7. From Holy Scripture and the Church. As to the origin of these spirit-manifestations, I say they cannot come from God, or his holy angels or saints. God and his angels and saints are too holy and too sub lime beings to amuse vain men with such frivolous enter tainment. Good and holy spirits hate What God hates J they will never do any thing that is an abomination in the sight of God. The spirit-manifestations must, then, pro ceed from evil spirits, from Satan and his associates. The answers of these spirits are such that they betray, at once, their author. "Out of thy own mouth I judge thee. 0 wicked servant !" (Luke xix., 22.) The spiritu alists themselves assert that the spirits, from whom they receive communications, often speak ambiguously j that 346 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. they do not always tell the truth, but that, in many in stances, they have told palpable lies. Now does not this betray their satanic character? To tell a lie is a sin. But holy spirits, cannot sin any more. These lying spirits, then, are evil spirits. Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. He is the inveterate enemy of truth, and if he sometimes tells it, it is because he is compelled by a higher power ; or if, now and then, of his own accord, it is only because truth serves his purpose of deception better than falsehood. The predictions of God are clear and precise, for, with God, the future is ever present. But Satan is a creature, and his power and intelligence, though superhuman, are yet limited. The universe has many secrets which he cannot penetrate. The devil can never tell the future with certainty ; he can only guess at it, like a shrewd observer, judging from his knowledge of the present and the past. Hence it is, the oracles of Satan are always ambiguous and stammering, and calculated to deceive j in most instances, they turn out to be falsehoods. Now the holy, good spirits never speak ambiguously, or in a manner calculated to deceive ; they never tell lies, for they can sin no more. It is, then, evident that those ly ing spirits, with- whom spiritualists communicate, must be evil spirits. The visitations or communications of God, or of His angels, bring peace and holy joy j while the communica tions or visitations of the devil, on the contrary, bring trouble and discord When the Lord comes in his gracious visitations, all is sweetness and peace. No disturbance of the physical system, no whirling and howling, no storm and tempest, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 347 no wringing and twisting of the arms and legs, no violent and indecent postures, no abnormal developement or exercise of the faculties, mark the incoming of the Holy Ghost. All is calm and serene. The understanding is illuminated, the heart is warmed, the will is strengthened, and the whole soul is elevated by the infusion of a super natural grace. There is no crisis, no forgetfulness, or awaking from a trance. But whenever it is the reverse, as is the case in spirit ism — whenever we see violence, distortion, quaking, trembling, and disturbance — these are so many indica tions of the presence of the evil spirit, which delights in violence and disorder, and which displays power without love, force without goodness, knowledge without gentleness. Besides, it is a well- attested fact, that many of the so- called spirit-mediums understand Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French, when they have no knowledge of any language but their own; and that often there have been speaking and writing in foreign languages by those who were unacquainted with any. Some of them see and tell things passing in distant places, and exhibit a sup- perior physical strength. A daughter of Judge Edmonds, a celebrated spiritua list, when about eight or ten years old, wrote, in a trance, Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin. Mr. Hume, in England, some time ago, carried fire in his hands, lengthened his arms, flew up in the air, and was shining bright sometimes. Facts like these evidently betray a diabolical agent, and even satanic possession ; for they are precisely the same as those laid down by the Catholic Church for the guidance of exorcists in cases of supposed demoniac invasion or possession. 348 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. The good angels do all in their power to promote the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth. They remind us of the gospel truths, and encourage us to live up to them : whilst those spirits with whom spiritualists hold inter course, make most strenuous efforts to destroy Christianity. Jesus Christ triumphed over the devil by his death on the cross 5 he broke his power. Hence it is that Satan bears an implacable hatred to Jesus Christ and his religion. What wonder, then, if we find that he is always engaged in undermining Christianity, and destroying all belief in it. The doctrines which these spirits teach, and confirm with lying wonders, are evidently what St. Paul calls 6i the doctrines of the devils." These lying spirits all unite in denying the existence of hell and of devils. They also deny the resurrection of the body ; they give a false idea of God ; they assert that Christianity has had its day, and that they have come to announce a new and more sublime form of religion — a religion which shall free the world from the Old Church, from bondage to the Bible, from creeds and dogmas — a religion which shall free mankind from the laws of social and political life, and shall place the religious and political world on a higher basis, and infuse into it a more energetic spirit of progress. Such is the high-sounding boast of spiritualism and its infernal agents. In the eyes of its deluded followers, spiritualism is destined to carry on and complete the work which was begun by Jesus Christ, and which, as they blasphemously assert, was left unfinished. The morals and principles taught by these lying spirits are as bad as can be imagined ; and, in fact, the lives led by some of the more advanced spiritualists are most im- inoral and revolting. The spirits^ it is true, give, now COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 349 and then,' some good advice : they sometimes tell the truth j for, as the Apostle assures us, the devil sometimes " puts on the semblance of an angel of light." But he does this only to gain credit and to secure the confidence of his deluded followers. He sometimes tells the truth, but it is always blended or followed by falsehood. He sometimes gives good advice, but, at the same time, he takes away all moral restraints. The evil spirit may sometimes advise persons to become Catholics, but it is only that they may receive the sacraments unworthily, and thus become hardened in sin, and incapable of return ing to the truth, and that thus he may acquire more power over them. After some time, he always advises them to leave the Catholic Church. We have numerous instances of this. Dr. Nichols, from Philadelphia, and Mr. Hume, were told by the devil to become Catholics ; and, after some time, the devil said to them, " Now leave the Catholic Church, and ascend higher." These lying spirits war against all authority in faith and morals, as being repugnant to the rights of reason ; as being repugnant to the sentiments of the heart. They assert that all should seek and do what is right, but that no one should be constrained. The affections and passions should be free as the air we breathe, and to restrain them they war against all authority in social and domestic life, say these lying spirits, is to war against nature herself. These hellish spirits often speak to their deluded followers of love, but the love which they preach is not the love of God. No ! it is only sexual love j base, animal passion ! Hence the spiritualists very generally look upon the mar riage law as tyrannical and absurd, and assert the doctrines 350 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. of free love. They hold that sexual love is the essence of marriage, and that, when that love ceases, the marriage is dissolved. They, therefore2 consider it immoral for a husband and wife to live together, after they have ceased to love each other. It is easy to see to what such a doctrine leads, and we are not at all surprised to find that conjugal fidelity is not considered a virtue by the greater part of spiritualists. The spiritualist husband may leave his wife, and the spiritualist wife may leave her husband, and choose a new " affinity " as often as they please. At the Spiritualist Convention, held some years ago (June, 1858) at Rutland, Vt., the following resolution was presented and defended : u Resolved, That the only true and natural marriage is an exclusive conjugal love between one man and one woman." According to this theory, the essence of marriage is " exclusive conjugal love." Consequently, the bond of marriage is dissolved as soon as this conjugal love ceases, and a man or woman may marry as often as his or her conjugal love becomes " exclusive " for any particular individual. A similar resolution was presented at the National Spiritualist Convention, held in Chicago, August 9, 1864. It was offered by Dr. A. 'G. Parker of Boston, Chairman of Committee on Social Relations. At the famous Rutland Convention, a certain Miss Julia Branch, of New York, said, as reported in the "Banner of Light," July 10, 1858, that she must demand her free dom ; she must demand her right to receive equal wages with man in payment for her labor, and her right to have children when she will and by whom she will. We might quote much more, still more startling ; we COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 351 might give an account of the spiritualist community at Berlin, Ohio; but we do not wish to disgust our respected readers. What we have said concerning the doctrines and morals of spiritualists, is enough to prove to all that spiritualism is of satanic origin. " By their fruits you shall know them." Let us see now how these familiar spirits of the spiritualists behave when in the presence of an opposing power. Such an opposing power, for instance, is a sim ple prayer from a Catholic priest, or even from a good Catholic layman. I know a certain priest, who, one day, went to such a meeting with the intention of preventing the diabolical performances. He adjured the evil spirits not to exer cise any influence, neither over their mediums, nor over any of those present at the meeting. What happened ? It was in vain that the medium tried to make the spirits appear and speak. He told the assembly that the spirits would not come, that there must be some opposing power. One day, the Earl of Fin gall, in Ireland, Lord Plun- kett, father of Rev. Father Plunkett, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, happened to be at a meeting of spiritualists. The tables began to move. He became frightened, because he saw there was something preter natural in it. So he retired to a corner, and began to pray (to say the Rosary), and instantly the operations were stopped, and they could not get along any more, as long as he was there. (Related ~by Father Plunkett to one of our Fathers.) The familiar spirits of spirit-mediums find an opposing power in the presence of sacred relics. The Emperor Julian, surnamed the Apostate, was most 352 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. foolishly superstitious, and exceedingly fond of soothsay ers and magicians (or spiritualists), Maximius, the Ma gician (or spiritualist), and others of that character, were his chief confidants. He endeavored, by the black art, or by means of the devil, to rival the miracles of Christ, though he effected nothing. At that time there was, at Daphne, five miles from Antioch, a famous idol of Apollo, which uttered oracles in that place. Gallus Caesar, to oppose the worship of that idol, translated from Antioch to Daphne the sacred relics of St. Babylas, Bishop of Antioch, and Martyr. He erected a church, sacred to the name of St. Babylas, near the profane temple (or devil's temple), and placed in it the venerable relics of the martyr, in a shrine above ground. The neighborhood of the martyr's relics struck the devil dumb. Eleven years after, in the year 362, Julian the Apostate came to Antioch, and, by a multitude of sacrifices, endeavored to learn of the idol the cause of his silence. At length the fiend gave him to understand that the neighborhood was full of dead bones, which must be removed before he could be at rest, and disposed to give answers. Julian understood this of the -body of St. Babylas, and commanded that the christians should im mediately remove his shrine to some distant place, but not touch the other dead bodies. The christians obeyed the order, and, with great solemnity, carried in procession the sacred relics back to Antioch, singing, on this occasion, the psalms which ridicule the vanity and feebleness of idols, repeating after every verse : " May they who adore idols and glory in false gods blush with shame, and be covered with confusion.77 The following evening light ning fell on the Temple of Apollo, and reduced to ashes COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 353 the idol and all its ornaments. — (Sutlers Lives of the Saints, vol. i., pp. 107 and 112, note.) Holy tvater, too, or any thing else blessed by the Church, is an opposing power for these spirits. While some of our Fathers were giving a Mission in Erie, a meeting of spiritualists was held in that city. When the bishop heard of it, he sent one of our Fathers to prevent the evil spirits from exercising their influence over their mediums. The Father went in disguise to the house where the meeting was to take place. He took with him a bottle of holy ivater. Before the performance began, the Father sprinkled the whole floor with holy water. The medium, a young woman, came on the stage, to get into a trance, but she could not succeed. They tried for about an hour, but got no answer. At last the performer, the medium, said: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have to give up to-night. There must be some oppos ing power, as the spirits do not appear and speak." When General Lamoriciere, Commander of the Pope's Army, and a very pious Catholic, came back from Italy, he happened to be present at a meeting of spiritualists. He held in his hand a little crucifix, blessed by our Holy Father the Pope. Now, when they laid their hands on the table, and invoked the spirits, none of the spirits would come and answer. The medium then came and said : " Gentlemen, there is some one among you who is averse to the spirits." He examined the hands of every one, and found the little crucifix in the hand of General Lamoriciere. He then told the general either to give up this article or to leave. The general left, the opposing power was gone, and the spirits could work through their medium. 354 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Even the simple Sign of the Cross is an opposing power. One day, as St Gregory Thaumaturgus (worker of wonders) was returning from the city of Neocsesarea to the wilderness, a violent rain obliged him to take shelter in a heathenish temple, the most famous in the country, on account of oracles and divinations delivered there. At his entrance, he made the sign of the cross several times, to purify the air from the evil spirits, and then passed the night there with his companion in prayer, according to custom. The next morning he pursued his journey, and the idolatrous priest performed his usual supersti tions in the temple ; but the devils declared they could stay there no longer, being forced away by the man who had passed the night there. After several vain attempts to bring those powers back, the priest hastened after the saint, threatening to carry his complaints against him to the magistrates and to the Emperor. Gregory, without the least emotion, told him that, with the help of God, he could drive away or call the devils when he pleased. When the idolater saw that Gregory disregarded all his menaces, and when he heard that the saint had the power of commanding demons at pleasure, his fury was turned into admiration, and he entreated the bishop, as a further evidence of the divine authority, to bring the demons back again to the temple. The saint complied with his request, and dismissed him with a scrap of paper on which he had written, " Gregory to Satan : Enter." This being laid upon the altar, and the usual oblation made, the de mons gave their answers as usual. The priest, surprised at what he saw, went after the holy bishop, and begged he would give him some account of that God whom his gods so readily obeyed. After being instructed in the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 355 principles of our holy religion, he renounced his devilish practices, and became a Christian. (Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. iv., p. 356.) Some time ago the Davenport brothers put up a blas phemous placard all over the city of St. Louis, Mo., inform ing the public that they could perform miracles similar to those of Christ. A certain priest of the city read this placard, and became quite indignant at it. He determined to expose the authors of the placard. So he went, in disguise, to the meeting. Now, when they were about to perform their lying miracles, they put out the lights, and told all present to join hands and form a circle. The priest said to his neighbor: "I will not join hands with you j I wish to find out whether the joining of hands is necessary to the performance." As soon as the lights were put out, they heard music over their heads. All went on very well. The priest saw that the circle was not necessary to the performance j that it was nothing but a cheat to make the affair mysterious. Having found this out, the priest made the sign of the cross. Instantly there was heard a shriek, and a crash. The lights were lit. Davenport came and said : a Gentlemen, some one of you must have broken the circle ; please join hands once more, and do not break the circle." The lights were then put out again. The priest did not join hands with his neighbor, yet the performance again went on as well as before. The priest again made the sign of the cross, and again there was heard a shriek and a crash. Daven port came down and complained. The priest's neighbor then cried out : "My neighbor here did not join hands with me." Every one shouted : " Put him out ! Put him out !" and Davenport, too, begged him to leave. But the priest, 356 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. who was a strong man, said : " I will not leave until the performance is over. You will have some trouble and difficulty in putting me out ; I have paid for my ticket, and I have as much right to stay as any one else. " They could no longer succeed in the performance of their lying wonders. Every one left 5 the priest stayed until all were gone. Davenport complained to him, saying : •'Why did you act thus, and stop our proceedings?" " Well ! " said the priest, " do you know who I am ? I am a Catholic priest. I suppose you never had a Catholic priest in any of your circles. As you blasphemed God by your placard, I will expose you in all the newspapers of the city. A simple sign of the cross, which I made, was more powerful than all your evil spirits. Had they any power, they would have told you what was the opposing power." Davenport left the city next day. — (St. Louis Guardian.) Now every Christian knows that good angels or spirits are not afraid of, nor are driven away by prayer, by holy relics, by the sign of the cross, by holy water, or the like. It is only the devil who fears the power of prayer, and trembles in the presence of sacred objects, because he finds in them the power of Jesus Christ. It is, then, evident from these facts that spiritism is nothing but satanism. Holy Scripture tells us that Spiritualism is an abom ination in the sight of God. Holy Scripture, it is true, does not use the word Spiritualism or Spiritism, but it uses another word which has the same meaning. Holy Scrip ture forbids necromancy, or the evocation of the dead, and commands that necromancers shall be put to death. .Mow our modern Spiritualists openly assert that they COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 357 hold intercourse with the spirits of the departed. They are, then, real necromancers, real diviners, attempting, by means of evoking the dead, to divine secrets, whether of the past or the future, unknown to the living. They prac tise what the world has always called divination, and that species of divination called necromancy. Thus far all is plain, certain, undeniable ; and therefore they do that which the Christian world has always held to be unlawful and a dealing with the devils. Modern Spiritualism is but a revival of the old heathen idol-worship. Satan is constantly engaged in doing all in his power to entice men away from God, and to have himself wor shipped instead of the Creator. The introduction, estab lishment, persistence and power, of the various cruel, filthy, and revolting superstitions of the ancient heathen world, or of pagan nations in modern times, are nothing but the work of the devil. They reveal a more than human power. God permitted Satan to operate upon man's morbid nature, as a deserved punishment upon the Gentiles for their hatred of truth, and their apostacy from the primitive religion. Men left to themselves, to human nature alone, however low they might be prone to descend, never could descend so low as to worship wood and stone, four-footed beasts and creeping things. To do this needs satanic delusion.. Paganism in its old form was doomed. Christianity had silenced the oracles, and driven the devils back to hell. How was the devil to reestablish his worship on earth, and carry on his war against the Son of God. and the religion which he taught us ! Evidently only by changing his tactics and turning the truth into a lie. 358 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. He found men in all the heresiarchs, who, like Eve, gave ear to his suggestions, and believed him more than the Infallible Word of Jesus Christ. Thus he has succeeded in banishing the true religion from whole countries, or in mixing it with false doctrines. He has prevailed upon thousands to believe the doctrine of vain, self conceited men, rather than the religion taught by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. It is by heresies, revolutions, bad, secret societies, and godless State-school education, that he has suceeded so far as to bring thousands of men back to a state of heathenism and infidelity. The time has come for him to introduce idolatry or his own worship. To do this he makes use of spiritualism. Through the spirit- mediums he performs lying wonders. He gives pretended revelations from the spirit world, in order to destroy or weaken all faith in divine revelation. He thus strives to reestablish in Christian lands that very same devil-worship which has so long existed among heathen nations, and which our Lord Jesus Christ came to destroy. The Holy Scriptures assure us that all the gods of the heathens are devils. (" Omnes dii gentium dcemonia." — Ps.) These demons took possession of the idols made of wood or stone, of gold or silver ; they had temples erected in their honor : they had their sacrifices, their priests and their priest esses. They uttered oracles. They were consulted through their mediums in all affairs of importance, and especially in order to find out the future, precisely as they are consulted by our modern Spiritualists at the present day. In modern Spiritualism the devij communicates with men by means of tables, chairs, tablets, planchette, or by rapping, writing, seeing and speaking mediums. It is all COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 359 the same to the devil whether he communicates with men and leads them astray by means of idols, or by means of tables, chairs, planchette, and the like. Upon this sort of dealing with the devil, the Lord has pronounced both temporal and eternal woe. In the book of Deuteronomy, chap, xviii., verses 10-12, we read : " Let there not be found among you," says the Lord, " any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens ; neither let there be any wizard nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune-tell ers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead, for the Lord abhorreth all these things." " The soul that shall do these things, " says the Lord, " I shall set my face against that soul, and destroy it out of the midst of its people." — (Leviticus, xix., 20.) In the same book of Leviticus, chap, xx., 27., we read : " A man or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or is a wizard, dying, let him die ; they shall stone them, and their blood shall be upon them." St. John tells us that such people shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone. — (Apoc., xxi., 8.) That God has severely punished those who hold deal ings and communications with the devil, we find record ed in Holy scriptures. King Saul was slain in battle because he had recourse to a witch, i. e., a spirit-medium. Holy Scripture also tells how King Achab consulted the false prophets, or spirit-mediums, and how God gave power to the devil to deceive these mediums, and tell falsehoods to the King. Achab believed them, and God punished him ; for, soon after, the King perished in battle. The same kind of death was inflicted upon the Emperor 360 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Julian, who was so fond of consulting the devil by his mediums. In our own day we see similar punishments inflicted upon those who practise spiritualism, and even on those who take but a slight part in it. - I know a certain doctor who assisted sometimes, out of curiosity, at these diabolical circles of Spiritualists. When he came to understand that it was sinful to assist at such meetings even from a spirit of curiosity, he never went again ; but he was punished for having entered the house of the devil. He came to me, and told me how he was harassed and tormented every night by evil spirits, that they made a horrible noise in his room, and prevented him from sleeping. "I would not care for the noise," said he, " provided I could sleep, but I have not slept for several weeks, and I am so nervous and excited that I cannot possibly bear it; I shall become insane if it continues so any longer. Please, Father, help me if you can." I told him to kneel down, and I recited over him the prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church for such per sons. The evil spirits left him quiet for about a month, when they began again to disturb him during the night. The doctor, came again to me, that I might pray over him. I did so ; and the evil spirits retired again. This happened about four years ago. Last summer I saw the doctor, and asked him whether the evil spirits had left him alone. He said : " Yes ; I have not suffered any more from them since I saw you last." This is an instance of but a slight punishment ; but there are on record instances of far severer punishments. Experience teaches that those who practise Spiritualism COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 361 often turn insane in the end, and become perfect maniacs. You have, probably, read of many such cases of insanity in the newspapers. The Boston Pilot writes, Jan. 1, 1852: "Most mediums become misanthropical, idiotic or in sane. The same happens even to many of the auditors. Experience teaches that, almost every week, one of these unfortunate persons commits suicide, or is locked up in a mad -house. Many of these mediums betray evident signs of mental derangement, and even sometimes not less evident marks of satanic possession." The Courier and Inquirer writes, May 10, 1852, that, in the month of April, in Indiana, six persons were taken to the insane asylum in consequence of the intercourse which they had held with spirit rappers. The Herald mentions, under date of April 30, 1852, that Mr. Junius Alcott, of Utica, committed suicide in a fit of insanity brought on by the same cause. In Paris, in the same year, many persons, while taking part in table rapping, suddenly became insane, and found their way to the mad-house in Bicetre and Charenton, and others were taken to private insane institutions. Madame Victoria d'Hennequin also died insane. Her husband, too, died a maniac j he had discharged the office of secretary to the spirit of the earth, which communicated with him through the medium of a small table. Not long ago a certain person of Pittsburg, and some others of Philadelphia, who made frequent use of the planchette, became insane, and were put in the insane asylum. Another famous Spiritualist, of Philadelphia, committed suicide because the spirit told him to do so. It would take me too long to adduce more instances of this kind, to show how the votaries of spiritualism are 362 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. punished even in this life. What I have said on Spirit ualism, should be sufficient to convince every sincere mind that the Catholic Church is right in condemning as unlawful the practice of spiritualism. In the admirable book of the Council of Baltimore — lately published — in which it is enjoined on all, Bishops, Priests, and Laity, to observe strictly, after a brief exposition of the rogueries of Magnetism, Clairvoyance and Spiritism, as partly foolery and partly an open door to deviltry, the Fathers of the Council, as approved at Rome, conclude by saying : "It is a great solace to us that our children, beloved in Christ, the Catholic faithful, have not, thus far, been infected with this plague. And we exhort them, in the Lord, that they never give countenance to Spiritism, even in the most casual manner j and that they do not, through any curiosity, ever be present at its ' circles.7 For they who enter the house of the devil, have all reason to fear that they will be deluded by his devices, and enslaved to his command. Against the vile snares of these people, the Apostle, inspired by the Holy Ghost, spoke in prophecy of these last days of the world : the Spirit speaketh, open ly, that in the last days some will fall from the Faith, adhering to spirits of error, and to doctrines of devils, in hyprocrisy speaking falsehood, and having their conscience scarred."— 2U /., p. 83. The claims of Spiritualism are very high, but there is abundant proof to show that, instead of being "ancient Christianity revived,'7 it is, perhaps, the worst enemy that Christianity ever had to meet. It is Satan's last grand effort to substitute his own infernal worship for the worship of God. The snares of the devil are cunningly COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 363 laid. Thousands and millions are already his deluded victims. Occasionally we hear a warning voice from one who has escaped from his power, like a mariner from the sinking wreck 5 but the greater part of Satan's deluded followers, after they have been once initiated into the Spiritualist " circle," are like boatmen in the midst of a terrible whirlpool — their destruction is inevitable ! Mr. J. F. Whitney, editor of the " New York Path finder," was formerly a warm advocate of Spiritualism, and published much in its favor. Hear what he says : " Now after long and constant watchfulness, after see ing for months and years the progress and practical work ings of Spiritualism upon the devotees and its mediums, we are compelled to speak our honest conviction, that the manifestations coming through the acknowledged mediums, whether rapping, tipping, writing, or entranced mediums, have a baneful influence upon its followers, and create discord and confusion. The generality of their teachings inculcates false ideas, and upholds principles and theories which, when carried out, debase men and make them little better than the brute. . . . " We have seen the gradual progress it makes with its believers, and particularly its mediums, from morality to sensuality and immorality. We have seen it gradually undermining the foundation of good principles — we have noticed with amazement the radical change which a few months will bring about in individuals." " We desire," he says in conclusion, " to send forth our warning voice ; and if our position as head of a public journal, our known advocacy of Spiritualism, our experience, and the con spicuous part we have played among its believers, the honesty and fearlessness with which we have defended 364 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. the subject, will weigh anything in our favor, we desire that our opinions may be received ; we desire that those who are moving passively down the rushing rapids to destruction, should pause — ere it be too late — and save themselves from the blasting influence which these' mani festations are causing." Under the description of necromancy or spiritism comes Animal Magnestism, or Mesmerism. " Animal magnetism, or mesmerism," as it is commonly called, is a theoretical agent of a peculiar nature, and is supposed to be capable of producing the most powerful effects, in some mysterious way, on the human body. This so-called science is of recent discovery. Its inventor was Anton Mesmer, who studied physics at Vienna, and took his degree of doctor of medicine in the university of that place, in the year 1776. Whilst at Vienna he became acquainted with a Jesuit, Father Hehl, who had great faith in the influence of the loadstone on human diseases, and had invented steel plates of a peculiar form, which he impregnated with the virtues of a magnet, and applied to the cure of diseases. From him Mesmer learned the art of using the magnet in the cure of diseases ; and having left Vienna, and travelled for some time in different parts of Germany and Switzerland, continuing everywhere to work wonderful cures, he at last set out for Paris, where he arrived in the year 1778. Here his success in curing patients was very great, and a society was actually formed for purchasing his secret. Mesmer and his followers on the Continent, and most of those who have practised mesmerism in these countries, have produced its effect by placing themselves near the individual to be mesmerised, and making downward passes COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 365 with their hands over him, without touching him, but looking him at the same time intently in the face. This is said to affect the individual in a space of time varying from two or three minutes to half an hour. However, Mr. Braid, a surgeon, residing in Manchester, in the course of his inquiries, found that a second individual was not necessary to the successful development of mesmeric phenomena, and that by causing a person to sit still and simply directing his attention, by means of the eyesight, to some particular object, all the effects of the passes and of the intense looking of the operator could be produced. Many theories have been propounded in order to explain the facts of animal magnetism. Mesmer and his immediate followers attributed them to the action of a subtle fluid in the bodies of animals, which enables them to exercise an influence on another at a distance, just as a magnet affects iron ; hence he called it animal magnetism. This hypothesis of a nervous fluid susceptible of being influenced, and producing an in fluence more or less modified, has been adopted by most writers on mesmerism, till the appearance of the experi ments made by Surgeon Braid. The mesmeric state having been produced by Mr. Braid, it is said, without any influence from a second person, he accounts for the phenomena by supposing there is "a derangement of the cerebro-spinal centres and of the circulatory and respiratory and muscular systems, induced by a fixed state, absolute repose of the body, fixed attention, and suppressed respir ation, concomitant with the fixity of attention." He further adds, that in all cases-he believes u that the whole depend ed on the physical and psychical condition of the* patient arising from the causes referred to; and not at all on the 366 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. volition or passes of the operator throwing out a mag netic fluid, or exciting into activity some mystical uni versal fluid or medium.'7 The effects of the passes or fixed attention, on persons of nervous susceptibility, are various. There are different stages or degrees in reference to the effects produced by mesmerism. The person mesmerised completely has his eyes closed and his senses lulled, and yet he speaks and acts — he answers the questions proposed him, and mani fests an intelligence and knowledge of which before he gave no proofs ; and no sooner has he got out of that mesmeric trance or state, than the knowledge displayed previously at once departs. To what, though, are we to attribute this strange state effected by mesmerism f Are we to consider it as a natural result of the process applied, or are we to attribute it to the intervention of demons 1 To this question we simply answer that, whatever animal magnetism or mesmerism may have been in its origin, it has since been allied to superstition and licen tiousness to such an extent that it has been condemned by the Holy See, and has been forbidden as a culpable and dangerous abuse. (Encyc. of the Holy Office, Aug. 4, 1856.) In regard to magnetism, Catherine Emmerich says : u My impression with regard to magnetism has always been one of horror. Magnetism borders on magic. In deed, it is true, the devil is not invoked, but he comes of his own accord. Whoever practises mesmerism plucks from nature something that can be lawfully won only in the Church of Jesus Christ, and that preserves its power of healing and sanctifying only in her bosom. For all COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 3G7 such as are not intimately united with Jesus Christ by true faith and by sanctifying grace, nature is full of satanic influences. " Magnetic persons see nothing in its essence and in its relation to God. They see each thing singly and unconnected, as if they saw it through a hole or cranny. Through magnetism they receive a single ray of light, and would to Grod that ray were pure and holy ! " It is a blessing of Grod that he has separated and veiled us from one another and has placed walls of clay between us. We are so full of sin, and each one has his own peculiar sins, so that it is a mercy that we must first act before we can influence our neighbor by our wicked ness and communicate it to him. " In Jesus Christ alone, as our Head, we can become one, purified from our sins, and sanctified. Whoever breaks down this wall of separation in any other way, unites himself in a most dangerous manner with fallen nature, in which he reigns who brought nature to its fall. " Magnetism is essentially true, but in its hidden light there is a thief loosed from his chain ! Every union among sinners is dangerous ; but this clear-sighted pene tration is still more dangerous. When a soul whose in terior is entirely open, falls through magnetism a prey to artifice and intrigue, then one of the faculties man possessed before the fall, and which is not yet quite dead, revives, but only to leave the soul interiorly more unprotected and mystified, and more exposed to the assaults of the demon. " This state really exists, but it is covered j for it is a spring poisoned for all except the saints. " The condition of these clairvoyants or magnetized persons runs, in some respects, parallel to mine, but it 368 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. moves in another direction, flows from other sources and has other consequences. The sins of persons, in their ordinary state of life, are committed through the senses; the inner light is not thereby darkened, conscience warns, and, like an unseen judge, urges the sinner to acts of contrition and penance, and leads him to the sensible and supernatural remedies of the Church — the holy sacraments. " The senses are the medium of sin, while the inner light remains the accuser. But when, in the magnetic state, the senses are dead and the inner light receives and produces impressions, then that which is holiest in man, the warning conscience, is exposed to sinful influence and to evil infections, of which the soul loses all consciousness as soon as it returns to its waking state — to the life of the senses ; and thus the soul cannot cleanse itself from these sins by the purifying remedies of the Church. " A soul, quite pure and reconciled with God, cannot be wounded by the devil, even when its inner life is thus open. But if the soul has previously consented to the least temptation, as easily happens, especially in the case of females, then Satan is free to play his game in the interior of the soul, and to dazzle her with the semblance of sanctity. And even should the magnetized person see or learn some way of healing the mortal body, she has to pay dearly for it by secret infection of her immortal soul ; for through a certain magic influence, she is often defiled by the sinful dispositions of the magnetizer. " I saw the state of this magnetized person's soul, and learned that her visions were not pure and not from God. Though she did not wish to acknowledge it even to herself, she was influenced by sensuality and the desire of pleasing; and secretly loved the magnetizer. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 369 tl The passes the magnetizer made before the woman's eyes, his stroking and his touches, appear to me to be something abominable, for I could see the interior of them both; I could see the inflowing of his nature and his influences into her being. Satan was always present in person, and accompanied every motion of the magnetizer. a These mediums in their visions are in a sphere entirely different from mine. If they have the least impure stain in them-, before the eyes of their soul are open, they see every thing in a false light. The devil dazzles them with alluring images, and paints everything in glowing colors. " If a medium, before the vision, desires to have some thing interesting to tell, or if she harbors the least sensual desire, she is in the greatest danger of falling into sin. Many indeed are healed bodily through mesmerism, but the greater part of them leave the magnetizer with their soul in a worse condition than when they came, without knowing where the evil was communicated to them." " Vampire" means a blood-sucker, and is said to be a man who returns in body and soul from the other world, and wanders about the earth doing every kind of mischief to the living, generally by sucking their blood when asleep, and thus causing their death. Those who are destroyed in this way, we are told, become themselves vampires. The only way, it is said, of getting rid of such revolting visitors, is, according to Dom Calmet, (Disserta tion sur les Vampires) to disinter their bodies, to pierce them with a stake cut from a green tree, to cut off their heads, and burn their bodies. The belief in l i vampires " has prevailed for many ages in Hungary, Bohemia, Austria, Greece, and all through the East. Of all those countries Hungary may be considered as the principal seat of "vampires/' 370 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. and scarcely a century has elapsed since all Europe was filled with reports about the deeds of vampires in Hungary and Servia. The belief became so general in those coun tries, in the middle of the eighteenth century, that Louis XV. of France commissioned the Due de Richelieu, his ambassador at Vienna, personally to ascertain in Hungary the reality of vampirism. In some Hungarian papers, the manner and habits of those vampires are described ; as, for instance, that when lying in their graves they suck and chew their winding sheets, and that, therefore, it was necessary to bind their hands, that they might not be able to turn about in their coffins. Many believe that " vampires," notwithstanding all the means used to destroy their bodies, will resume their shape, and recommence their mischievous wander ings as soon as the rays of moonlight fall on their graves. Innumerable stories, more or less wonderful, have been circulated in reference to vampirism ; yet, despite the apparent evidence of certain facts, there are very few persons, nowadays, who attach the slightest importance to the accounts circulated about " vampires." " Whatever has been related of their return to life," says Dom Calmet, "of their appearances, of the alarm and dread which they cause in town and country, and of the death which they inflict by sucking the blood of the living — all this is but a delusion, and the result of an over heated imagination, and of a mind strongly prejudiced. No sane, serious, unprejudiced witness can be cited, who can say that he saw, touched, felt, questioned, or examin ed such spirits, or who could assure us of the reality of their return to life, and of the effects which are general ly attributed to them." It is very likely that the super- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 371 slition about the vampire has derived considerable strength from cases where men, supposed to be dead, have been buried alive. Such cases have happened in many countries, as has been shown by the altered position of the body in the coffin, spots of blood on the torn winding- sheets, bites on the hands, and other marks of the trouble and despair be fore life became extinct ; and it is probable that such signs have been sometimes interpreted as the marks of vampirism. 10. What is astrology ? Astrology assumes to forecast the fate of nations and of individuals, and the changes in the elements, from the aspects of the heavenly bodies. In common language there are still remaining somo faint traces of the once almost universal belief in astrology, as when we speak of being born under a lucky star, and of blessing our stars. What possible connection can there be between the stars and the destinies of men! St. Augustine proves by a story of his own day how ridiculous the notion is that stars can exercise a particular influence on the destiny of a person. "The circumstance occurred to one of his friends, named Firminius, who related it to him in these terms: "My father was so superstitious, that, some time before I came into the world he consulted the stars in order to read my fortune. He had a friend who was addicted to astrology no less than himself; this friend likewise consulted the stars for one of his domestics, who was on the point of giving birth to a child. They agreed together that one should send a messenger to the other to apprise him of the day and hour on which the respective births should take place. By a singular chance, the messengers, s,et out a,t the same 372 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. moment from the two houses, and met midway on the road, which proves that the two children were born exactly at the same time. Well ! behold the folly of fortune tellers : my father pretended to have read in the stars that I was to be a great genius, and all my life through, a favorite of fortune. His friend, who had been observing the heavens at the same moment, and who, consequently, should have seen just what he did, assured him that he saw quite the contrary, an evident proof that there is nothing more ridiculous, more absurd, than observations of this kind." — D. GENEVAUX, Histories choisies, p. 436. When the Greek Emperor, Comenus, was very ill, the Patriarch, Theodosius, earnestly exhorted him not to lose time in settling the affairs of his kingdom, and making arrangements about his youngest son, Alexius. But the emperor answered that he had been assured he would live fourteen years more, and that his informant was one whose word could not be questioned, as he was an astrologer. As his malady appeared not to abate, but rather increased from day to day, he gave up all hope of living much long er, settled his affairs as well as he 'could, detested and bewailed his superstition, and died a short time after. 11. What is witchcraft? Witchcraft is to try, with the help of the devil, to injure others in their person or property. Witchcraft consists in trying, by the help of the devil, to injure others j to bewitch them, make them fall into diseases or into poverty 5 to torment them with pains 5 to hurt their cattle, to excite them to impure love, to inspire them with hatred to certain persons and the like. To do anything of the kind is a great abomination, in the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 373 sight of God, and a most grievous sin against charity and justice. The idolatrous parents of St. Cyprian, surnaraed the magician, were given up to all kinds of superstition. They devoted their son from his infancy to the devil. They brought him up in all kinds of impious practices of superstition. They sent him to Athens, Mount Olympus, Macedon, Argos, Phrygia, Memphis in Egypt, Chaldea, and the Indies, in order that, in these places so famous for super stition and the black art, he might make great discoveries in these infernal, pretended sciences. When Cyprian was imbued with all the extravagances of devilish delusion, he no longer hesitated to commit any kind of crime. He blasphemed Christ, and committed secret murders of children, in order to offer their blood and inspect their bowels, and thus learn future events. He employed his infernal skill against the modesty of virgins ; but he found Christian women proof against his assaults and spells. There lived at Antioch a young woman called Justina. her nobility and beauty drew all eyes upon her. She was born of heathen parents, but was converted to the Catholic faith. Her conversion was followed by that of her parents. Now it happened that a young nobleman, a pagan, fell deeply in love with her, and finding her modesty inacces sible, and her resolution invincible, he applied to Cyprian for the assistance of his black art. Cyprian was no less taken with the young virgin than his friend. He tried all the secrets of black art to conquer her resolutions, and excite her to impure love. When Justina perceived her self vigorously attacked, she armed herself with prayer, watchfulness and mortification against all his artifices and the power of his spells. "She defeated and put to flight the devils by the sign of the holy cross/' says Photius. 374 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. When Cyprian found himself worsted by a superior pow er, he began to consider the weakness of the hellish spirits, and resolved to give up their service. The devil was enraged at the loss of one by whom he had gained so many souls. To avenge himself on Cyprian, he assailed him with the utmost fury ; he filled his soul with a deep melancholy, and brought him near the brink of despair by showing to him the enormity of his past crimes. In this great perplexity of mind, he felt inspired by the grace of God to go and see a holy priest, named Eusebius, who had been his school-fellow. By the advice of this priest, he was wonderfully comforted and encouraged in his conscience. On the following Sunday, very early in the morning, he was conducted by the priest to the assembly of the Christians. Every one was astonished to see Cyprian introduced by the priest among them. The bishop could hardly believe his own eyes, and be persuaded that Cyprian's conversion was sincere. But on the day following, Cyprian gave him a proof of his sincerity by burning all his magical books. He, more over, gave all he possessed to the poor, and joined the Catechumens. When he was sufficiently instructed in the Christian doctrine, he was baptised by the bishop. Agladius, the first suitor to the holy virgin, was likewise converted and baptised. Justina herself was so deeply impressed by these examples of divine mercy, that she cut off her hair, dedicated her virginity to God, and gave all- her jewels and other possessions to the poor. After his conversion, Cyprian began to lead a most exemplary life. He edified every one by his humility, modesty, gravity, love of God, contempt of riches, and assiduous application to heavenly things. After he had been door- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 375 keeper and sweeper of the Church for some time, he was promoted to the priesthood, and after the death of Anthi- mus the bishop, he was made bishop of Antioch. He died, at last, a martyr under the persecution of the emperor Diocletian. 12. What is sorcery 1 Sorcery is to try, with the help of the devil, to do wonder ful things. St. Luke relates, in the Acts of the Apostles, (chap, viii.), that a certain man, named Simon the Magician, had acquired a great reputation in the city of Samaria. This man seduced the people by his magical practices. He gave out that he was some great one. All gave ear to him, from the least to the greatest, saying : a This man is the power of God, which is called great." The infernal spirit tried to oppose these illusions and artifices to the true miracles of Christ, as he was suffered to assis the magicians of the King Pharaoh against Moses. But God, when He permits the devil to exert in so extra ordinary a manner his natural strength and powers, always furnishes His servants with the means of discerning and confounding the imposture. Accordingly, the clear miracles wrought, at that time, by St. Philip the Deacon, put the magician quite out of countenance. Being himself witness to them, and seeing the people run to Philip, he also believed, or rather pre tended to believe, and, being baptized, he adhered to Philip, hoping to attain to the power of effecting miracles like those which he saw him perform. The Apostles of Jerusalem, learning of the conversion of Samaria, sent thither St. Peter and St. John to confirm the converts by 376 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. the imposition of hands. With the grace of the Sacra ment of Confirmation, at that time, were usually conferred certain external gifts of miraculous power. Simon, seeing these communicated to the laity by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands he may receive the Holy Ghost." But St. Peter said to him : u Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Do penance for this thy wick edness, and pray to God, if perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and engaged in the bonds of iniquity." Simon, fearing the threat of temporal evils, answered : " Pray for me to the Lord that none of these things may come upon me." The Fathers of the Church generally look upon the conversion of Simon to the faith as an act of hyprocrisy, founded only in ambition and temporal views, and in the hope of purchasing the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which he ascribed to a superior magical art. Simon the Magician, having been confounded in Sa maria, went to Rome, where he gained a high reputation. St. Justin, Martyr, Sts. Irseneus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and others, assure us that divine honors were paid to him. there. Simon found means to ingratiate himself with Nero, the Roman Emperor ; for Nero was, above all other mortals, infatuated with the superstitions of the black art to the last degree of folly and extravagance. To excel in this art was one of his greatest passions, and for this purpose he spared no expense and hesitated about no crimes. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 377 Simon Magus, then, by his vain boastings and illusions could not fail to please the tyrant. The Fathers assure us that this famous magician had promised the Emperor and the people to fly in the air, carried by his angels, thus pretending to imitate the ascension of Christ. Ac cordingly, he raised himself in the air, by his magical power, in presence of the Emperor. St. Peter and St. Paul, seeing the delusion, betook themselves to prayer, whereupon the devil lost his power, the imposter fell to the ground, was bruised, and broke a leg ; so that he who undertook to fly in the air, was, in a short time after, no longer able to walk on the ground. He died, a few days after, in rage and confusion. — (Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. ii., pp. 348, 463, 464.) St Augustine tells us in his book, " The City of God," (book xviii., 18.) " that when in Italy, he heard in a cer tain place of that country, there were women, keepers of inns who, being imbued with the wricked arts, were said to be in the habit of giving to such travellers as they chose, or could manage, something in a piece of cheese by which they were changed on the spot into beasts of burden, and carried whatever was necessary, and were restored to their own form when the work was done. Yet their minds did not become bestial, but remained rational and human. " Now, if the demons really do such things, they do not create real substances, but only change the appear ance of things created by Almighty God so as to make them seem what they are not in reality. I cannot, there fore, believe that even the body, much less the mind, can really be changed into bestial forms and lineaments by any reason, art or power of the demons ; but the 378 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. phantasm of a man, which even in thought or dreams goes through innumerable changes, may, when the man's senses are asleep or overpowered, be presented to the senses of others in a bodily form, in so'me indescribable way unknown to me, so that men's bodies themselves may lie somewhere, alive, indeed, yet with their senses much more heavily bound than in sleep, while that phantasm, as it were, embodied in the shape of some animal, may appear to the senses of others and may even seem to the man himself in sleep to be changed, and to bear burdens ; and these burdens, if they are real substances, are borne by the demons, that men may be deceived by beholding at the same time the real substance of the burdens and the simulated bodies of the beasts of burden. For a certain man, called Praestantius, used to tell that it happened to his father in his own house, that he took that poison in a piece of cheese, arid lay in his bed as if sleeping, yet could by no means be aroused. But he said that after a few days he, as it were, woke up and related the things he had suffered, as if they had been dreams, namely, that he had been made a sumpter horse, and, along with other beasts of burden, had carried provisions for the soldiers of what is called the Rhaetian Legion, because it was sent to Rhae- tia. And it was found that all this took place really as he told, but it seemed to him that it was but a dream. " And another man declared that in his own house at night, before he fell asleep, he saw a certain philosopher whom he knew very well, come to his house and .explain to him some things in the Platonic philosophy, which he had previously declined to explain when asked. Now when he asked this philosopher why he came to his house to explain what he had to do at home, he said : 6 1 did COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 379 not do it, but I dreamed I had done it.7 And thus what the one saw when asleep was shown to the other when awake, by a phantasmal image. "These things have come to us from trustworthy persons whom we could not suppose to be deceiving us. There fore what men say about the Arcadians being often changed into wolves by the Arcadian gods, or demons rather, if such transformations took place in appearance, they have, in my opinion, happened in the way I have said." A fact similar to those related by St. Augustine, is related by Goerres. He tells us that a woman, accused of being a werewolf, anointed her body in presence of the magistrate who promised not to kill her if she would give a specimen of her art. Immediately after anointing, she fell on the ground and slept profoundly. After three hours she awoke and told the magistrate that she had been changed into a wolf, and had torn to pieces a sheep and a cow near a village a few miles off, which she named. The magistrate sent to the village and found that the mischief had really been done. Fortune-telling. — Fortune-tellers are generally gipsies or idle strollers, who go about the country to make their living by imposing on the credulity of ignorant and silly people, persuading them that they can tell them whatever they wish to know, as if God had revealed his secrets to them, or made things of the future known to them. The means for telling fortunes is sometimes what is called u cutting cards," " reading cups," " a lock of hair ;" other times, "the careful scanning of the furrows or creases in the palm of the hand." But very often fortunes are told without having recourse to any external means. What can be more absurd than to believe that our 380 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. fortune can be read in cards, cups, in the palm of the hand, in a lock of hair, and in the like. It is, therefore, the height of folly to consult fortune-tellers, and it is, moreover, a great sin to believe firmly in fortune-telling. But many will say that they do these things for amuse ment. But let them remember that what begins in amuse ment, ends very often in earnest. There are many persons who began to tell fortunes in play, and became at last convinced that they could, with certainty, tell what would happen by using such means, because they often found that, by the use of these super stitious practices, their predictions came true. Now this can be easily explained. God allows the devil to be connected with these things, in order to punish the crime of those who use them. "It happens, some times," says St. Augustine, " that through the illusions and the deceit of the fallen angels, and through many superstitious means, that several things past and to come are told and foretold, and do not happen otherwise than they are foretold. And when persons find that their ob servations come to pass, this heightens their curiosity, and entangles them more in the snares of a most pernicious error." (L. ii. de Doct. Christ.) "Charms and spells" are certain words, sentences, or things, used by superstitious people to procure health for man and beast, to preserve them from some particular evils with which they may be threatened, or to obtain some advantage or other — such as sewing certain things in one's clothes, pronouncing certain words, tying things about some parts of the body, carrying papers about one with cer tain unknown names and figures written on them, for the purpose of curing, for example, the tooth-ache. To use COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 381 sacred tilings to produce an effect which they have no power to produce, either from nature or God, or from any blessings of the Church, is also detested by God, and forbidden by His holy law. It is superstitious to recite prayers, though good in themselves, in a certain deter mined number of times, believing by these means that we shall infallibly be preserved from sickness, or that our health will certainly be restored. Certain verses of Scripture written in a certain figure with other unknown characters, and sewed in one's clothes, as a certain means to ward off sudden death, is also superstitious, and a charm under the cover of piety, introduced by the devil, who can transform him self into an angel of light, in order to deceive and ruin easy and credulous souls. u Philosophize as long as you please upon them," says St. Chrysostom, "and tell me that you call upon God and do nothing else, and that the old woman you make use of is a Christian and Catholic, I tell you it is idolatry and a charm : and no doubt some times the devil makes use of the appearances of piety to hide his treachery, and give poison in honey.'7 (Lib. ii. de Doct. Christ, c. 20.) The great St. Bernard, in his youth, was at one time afflicted with a violent headache, which deprived him of all rest, and which all the remedies prescribed were unable to relieve. Thereupon some of the attendants bethought themselves of a woman, who was reported to have ,the power of healing diseases by means of certain charms applied to the sick person. They accordingly introduced her into his chamber, but no sooner had the holy youth perceived her intention than he leaped from his bed, and drove her hastily from the room. Having 382 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. done so, he again lay down, but this time fell into a refreshing slumber, on awaking from which he found himself entirely cured. — Life of St. Bernard. One day some gypsies met with a young peasant who was herding swine. They told him that they could give .him an excellent means to prevent his herd, even in his ab sence, from scattering and being devoured by wild beasts, These words strongly excited the herdsman's curiosity, for he would be well pleased to be able to go away now and then for a little relaxation. The strangers then showed him a little image of St. Blaise, and told him he had only to fasten that to his stick, and then plant it wherever he wished his swine to remain. The herdsman failed not to make the trial. The first and the second time, having still some doubt as to the efficacy of the plan, he went but 'a short "distance from his herd, and found nothing wrong on his return. Encouraged by this apparent success, and full of confidence in the virtue of his image, he planted his stick again, and went off to join some of his companions two or three miles away. He btaid long without any uneasiness ; but in the evening when he returned, he found that all his swine had van ished, and no trace of any of them could he find. The adventurers who had dicovered to him their famous secret, had counted on his credulity ; they had concealed them selves behind the bushes, and profited by the absence of the simple young herdsman to take away his swine. — SCHMID et BELET, Cat. Hist., II., 64. It is also a superstitious practice to believe that those who carry about them the Rosary or Scapular, or such marks of piety, shall never be damned, or at the hour of death they certainly shall repent and have the benefits COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 383 of the sacraments, although they have neglected them all their lives. "The vanity and superstition of those are abominable/7 says the Council of Cambray, held in the year 1565, "who for certain promise themselves that they shall not depart this life without penance and the sacra ments, because they have a devotion to this or that saint ; who place a security in the things they carry about them, and think that they shall certainly have the success they desire j and whatever else of this nature is made use of and believed." The devotions of the Rosary and Scapular are undoubtedly good and laudable ; and so, too, is the practice of carrying about us relics, or a St John's gospel, the image of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or any of the saints, provided all this be done with a pious atten tion, without placing in them a certainty of salvation, which is unwarrantable, and not approved by the Church. The Ark of the Covenant was a great treasure for the Jews. When it was carried around the city of Jericho, the walls of the city fell down ; when the Jews had arrived with it at the River Jordan, the waters of the river divided, the lower part flowing off, and the upper part rising like a mountain. Now after the Jews had lost four thousand men in one day, in a war against the Philistines, they had the Ark brought into the camp, hoping that, for its sake, the Lord would protect them, and deliver their enemies into their hands. And the ancients of Israel said : "Why hath the Lord defeated us to-day before the Philistines ? Let us fetch unto us the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Silo, and let it come in the midst of us, that it may save us from the hands of our enemies. And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was come into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great joy, and the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. earth rang again." (1. Kings, iv.) Now they thought they had no more to fear from their enemies, who, at the sight of the Ark of the Covenant, were panic-stricken j so much so, that they cried out, "God is come into the camp. And sighing they said. Woe to us ; who shall deliver us from the hands of these high Gods 1 " With new courage the Jews began to fight again. Were they victorious ? By no means j they were defeated worse than ever, losing thirty thousand men, besides the the Ark of the Covenant. One might ask here : Did God cease to love the Israelites ? Most assuredly not. His love still remained the same as before. Why, then, were they defeated in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant, which was given to them as a sign of the Divine blessing and protection? "But for the love of his Ark," says Theodoret, " God did not wish to protect His people, because, after having previously offended Him, they did not repent of their sins. It was with sinful hearts they paid outward honor to the Ark. They shouted with great joy as soon as they beheld it, but there was not one who shed a tear of repentance, no one prayed and sighed with a sorrowful heart. Hence the Ark brought down no blessing upon them at that time." In like manner, let Catholics wear as many scapulars, Agnus Deis, relics of the saints, gospels of St. John as they please, all these articles of devotion will not save them, if they continue to live in sin. DREAMS. To give credit to dreams or to allow our ac tions to be regulated by dreams, by persuading ourselves that from them we know what is to happen, and how our affairs are to succeed, is a very superstitious practice, and strictly forbidden by God. To attach importance to dreams COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 385 argues in us folly and silliness as well as impiety. Must not every sane man admit, that dreams and the idle fancies which come into our heads in sleep proceed from the constitution of our bodies — from the humors, indigestions, and the like by which the body is afflicted — from the fumes of what we have been eating and drinking, or from the thoughts which engaged our minds on retiring to sleep. And such being the case, is it not absurd to take them as pointing out what is about to happen to us, or to consider them a rule by which to regulate our acts ? This it is that made the wise man say : "Dreams lift up fools. The man that giveth heed to lying visions is like to him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind. . . . What truth can come from that which is false ? Deceit ful divinations and lying omens, arid the dreams of evil doers, are vanity .... for dreams have deceived many, and they have failed that put their trust in them." (Eccles. xxxiv., 1.) The impious Manasses, King of Juda, was guilty of the superstition of giving credit to dreams, and with^ this crime and the practice of others like it, he is reproached in Scripture. Giving credit to dreams has been condemned by many councils 5 and a council held in Paris in the year 820, says that to credit dreams is a relic of paganism. However, it is not forbidden to give credit to dreams when there are good grounds for thinking that they come from God: for often dreams do come from God. In the Old Law particularly, God was pleased to make known his will to his servants by means of dreams, for in the Old Law he had not so fully revealed the divine truths to mankind as he has done in his Gospel. And so we find mention made in the Old Testament of the dreams of 386 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Jacob, Laban, Joseph, Pharaoh, Nebuchodonozor, Daniel, the three wise men 5 and in the New Law we read of the orders of God made known to St. Joseph in a dream. Almighty God, in the book of Numbers says : "If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream." (Num.? xii., 6.) And in the book of Samuel, we are told that Saul "consulted the Lord, and he answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by priests nor by prophets.'7 (1 Sam., xxviii., 6.) Historians relate many conversions effected by means of dreams or supernatural visions. Eusebius tells us that Arnobius was often urged in his dreams to examine closely into the Christian religion, for which, up to that time, he entertained no other sentiments than those of hatred and contempt ; and that he did so ; and his prejudices giving way to the light of reason and the proofs of the divinity of the Christian religion, he abjured paganism, and embraced the religion of Jesus. But it must not be forgotten that, as we see from the examples above, when God makes known his will to men by dreams, they always were either great saints or prophets, or people in a public character ; and that his will was made known to such, not on account of trifling, unimpor tant matters, but for some great object that had reference to the public good. For, it nowhere appears that he communicated his will by dreams to ordinary mortals, and for objects of every-day occurrence. And fearing that others should be induced to give credit to dreams, God makes an express and general law that no one should give credit to them : " Let there be none among you that observeth dreams . . . for the Lord abhorreth all these things." (Deut.j xviii., 10.) But this general prohibition COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 387 did not make the servants of God let pass unheeded the manifestations of his will when communicated to them in dreams j for these dreams were accompanied by such pecu liar circumstances, as to prove that they certainly came from God. For the subject proposed in the dreams to the servants of God was invariably good 5 the manner in which it was proposed, decent, distinct, and unequivocal j and peace, humility, fervor, and piety were consequent on those dreams. There are many who believe that the very contrary of what they dream will certainly take place 5 and this notion of dreams is indeed ridiculous and foolish in the extreme. If they dream of gold or silver, they think they will be poor and wretched ; if they have pleasing and happy dreams, they are, they say, to meet with difficulties and trials during the day ; if they dream of a friend that he is happy, he is soon, they imagine, to die. Can there be a greater absurdity than this ? A variety of other superstitious practices. It would be almost an endless task to mention all the superstitious practices in use. It is superstition to believe that I shall have ill-luck if I stumble on the threshold as I go out of the house, or if I put on my right shoe first, or if I meet with a man with one eye, or one that is sick and lame. It is superstition to believe that some misfortune shall befall me if I should meet a magpie on the road, if a hare crosses my path, or if a crow should croak from the house-top. It is also superstition not to begin a journey, or to commence any business upon days that are considered unlucky, and particularly that day of the week on which the feast of Holy Innocents falls that year — not to get married on 3 (S3 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Friday, or in May or August, such times supposed to be unlucky. Now, what power have these things to forbode good or bad luck ? Surely, none. They have no power of themselves, nor from nature, nor much less any power from God. They have no power, then, at all j and conse quently observing these things and regulating our actions accordingly, is no less folly and credulity than sin. If superstitious people will say that they know from experience that their observances of things are not vain but well grounded, such may be the case in their regard, who allow themselves to be influenced by such idle fears, for it may happen that God permits them for their punish ment, that through means of the devil these things may have an evil influence. It is, indeed, hard to account for the way in which some people act and speak. There is cer tainly but one thing that can bring us ill luck or make our affairs go wrong, and that one thing is sin. And yet a great many people have no concern about it ; and the very first thing they do in the morning is to call on the devil to take themselves or their families, or to wish bad luck to themselves or their affairs, and yet they have no fear of any evil consequences from their cursing, whilst from some little mistake or foolish occurrence they are terrified, lest some evil come upon them. This is, indeed, strange ! Do not the Scriptures tell us, that " If God be for us, who can be against us? " And, u That all things work together for good to them that love God.'7 It is also superstition to say that it is unlucky to pare one's nails or comb one's hair on Fridays, or wash linen on such days. To present one with a penknife, some will say, is unlucky, for it cuts friendship ; if a grave be made on such a day, another will say, a great many will die that COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 389 year in the parish ; if we have rain on St. Swithin's day, many will say, we will have rain esrery day for forty days. To enumerate all the other nonsensical and supersti tious remarks that are made every day, would be end less. The observance of lucky and unlucky days is a superstition that is derived from the ancient pagans, and even in the time of the Apostles began to creep in among Christians. It was for this that St. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, says : " You observe days, and months, and years 5 I am in fear for you, lest, perhaps, I labored in vain among you.'7 (Gal., iv., 11). A widow, advanced in years, became one day danger ously ill. Her daughter earnestly implored of her to have the priest sent for that she might receive the last sacra ments of the Church ; but she made answer that there was no necessity. The daughter spoke to a friend in the neighborhood on the subject, and asked the person to unite her entreaties with her own, in inducing her mother to have the priest sent for j but the old woman answered laughing: u Fear not ; I am not going to die yet. The cuckoo has prophesied that I have twelve more years to live." There are some who think that the number of years they will have to live will be in exact proportion to the number of continued notes they have heard from a cuckoo. As she was every day getting worse, the daugh ter sent for the priest at last. The priest came at once, but when he entered the house the old superstitious wo man was without sense or feeling, and remained so until she died. — Lohn, Bibl. iii., 559. St. Chrysostom, in his homily against those that ob serve new moons, says : " It is the greatest madness to expect that your affairs for the whole year should be 390 COMMANDMENTS- OF GOD. successful, because you began them on such a day. Nay, it is not only madness, but an argument of a strange diabolical impulse, to attribute the prosperity of our life to the occurrence of a certain day, and not to our own care and industry. A day is not lucky or unlucky of its own ' nature, for one day differs not from another, but it becomes such by our own industry or our sloth. If you employ it in virtue, it will be a lucky day, and merit a reward from God ; if you spend it in wickedness, it will be an unlucky day, and deserves his anger and punish ment." Oh, how misguided are many Christians ! They will make no difficulty in marry irig contrary to the laws of the Church, which is offensive to God, and which will be the cause of much misery and unhappinesss in the marriage state ; and they will not marry in the break of the moon, because the devil suggests that their marriage will be unhappy if they do so. Surely, this manner of acting must be most offensive to God. Regard not, then, good and bad omens, lucky and unlucky days, for these are relics of paganism, and the pomps and snares of the devil. Beware of the devil in all shapes, and never build an assurance of salvation upon any particular form of prayer. Louis XIII., King of France, was not one of those who shared the silly belief that Friday was an unlucky day. Having fallen dangerously ill, in 1643, Extreme Unction was proposed to him. He wished to have the opinion of his physicians ; he asked Bouvard whether his disease were curable. " Sire" said Bouvard, " God is all-powerful" Then the king, with a gay and smiling countenance, said in the words of the prophet : Lcetatus sum in Ms quce dicta sunt mihi, in domum Domini ibimus : "I rejoiced at the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 391 things they have told me : we shall go into the ho'is° of the Lord." And believing that he was to die on the fol lowing day, which was Friday, he immediately added : " 0, the desirable, 0, the agreeable news ! 0, the blessed day for me ! this is indeed a lucky Friday ! But this is not the first time that Fridays have been favorable to me. It was on Friday I ascended the throne, that I gained my first victory at Ponts-de-Ce, that I took the city of St. John d'Angely, and, finally, that I fought Soubisse at I'lle de Re. But this one will be the happiest of all my life, since it will place me in heaven, there to reign eter nally with my God." It was in these Christian sentiments that this wise prince prepared to receive the last sacra ments, and then to appear before God. He died at St. Germain en Laye, on the 14th of May, 1643. — GUILLOIS, Explic. du Cat., 182. No good Christian, then, will ever use superstitious means and practices. Almighty God has appointed two different ways of as sisting us in our necessities. The one is by natural means ; thus — medicines are appointed by God as the natural means for recovering health; food is appointed by him as the natural means of supporting life; prudent examination with reflection is appointed by him to find out the truth of those things that it is well that we should know. The other way is by supernatural means; thus — prayers, and particularly the prayers of the Church, whether applied to us immediately or by means of those creatures which she blesses for that purpose, are appointed by God as supernatural means for procuring for us many good things both of soul and body. Fasting and almsdeeds are, too, appointed by God as means for obtaining his mercies and 392 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. favors. So also the holy relics of the saints are often, through his infinite goodness, made the means of procur ing for us many advantages j as also other pious practices which the holy Church approves, and which we may law fully and laudably perform, that we may bring down upon our affairs the heavenly blessings of our Lord. But if we have recourse to superstitious means to obtain what we desire, we shall not only not obtain the desired favor, but we shall also lose our soul. The Sin of Irreligion. We have said that two sins can be committed against the virtue of religion — the sins of superstition and irreligion. We have seen what the sin of superstition is, and in how many ways it may be committed. Let us now see what the sin of irreligion is, and how it is committed. The word " irreligion" means a want of due reverence for God and holy things. The sin of irreligion, therefore, consists in showing disrespect to God and holy things. Now, this may be done, (1,) by tempting God ; (2,) by committing sacrilege ; and, (3,) by simony. 1. By tempting God. To tempt any one, means to sound him and try to find out what his power and senti ments are in our regard. To tempt God, then, means to call upon him and expect that he will show his power, or wisdom or mercy, at our pleasure, and in ways that he has not promised. There is a man who, without a spe cial divine inspiration, abstains from food for forty days, trusting that God, by his power, will preserve his health and life. There is another. He is very sick. He prays for the recovery of his health, but despises the natural means for recovering it. ogo COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. There is another. He prays for success in a matter of great importance, but neglects to use the natural means for success. There is another. He exposes himself, without just cause, to the proximate occasion of sin, hop ing that God, in his mercy, will preserve him from falling into sin. There is another. He borrows a large sum of money, hoping, that God, in his goodness, will send him the means to return it. There is another. He exposes himself, without a grave cause, to the danger of life, believing that, by the power of God, he will escape all danger. There is another. He enters upon a state of life, with out having all that is necessary to be able to comply with the obligations of that state of life, hoping that God, in his goodness, will supply what is wanting to him. There is another. He goes to pray, and expects to pray with fervor and confidence without due previous preparation for prayer, hoping that God will supply such preparation. Now, all such persons show a want of due reverence for God ; for the Lord, who is the giver of all natural and supernatural blessings, has given us natural and super natural means to obtain those blessings ; and to neglect the use of those means, and yet expect from God his blessings, is to expect them in ways that he has not appointed. This is to tempt the Lord, and such a tempting of God is a mortal sin. We read in the Gospel of St. Matthew, that the devil tempted our Saviour when standing on the pin nacle of the temple, and said to him : " Cast thyself down, for it is written : That he hath given his angels charge of thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps, thou hurt thy foot against a stone." Our Saviour 394 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. answered : " It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God." (chapt. iv.) 13. What is a sacrilege ? Sacrilege is the profanation of holy persons, of holy places or of holy things. Persons, places and things are considered holy if they are consecrated for the service and the worship of God, and not used for worldly purposes. By such a consecration to the service of the Lord, they are invested with a sacred inviolable character. Hence, whatever tends to bring contempt, insult, or ridicule on the religion of Christ, its priests, its temples, ceremonies and sacred things, is an insult offered to the Lord of all glory and sanctity, and such an insult is the sin of sacrilege, which is a most griev ous sin. With regard to holy persons, that is, priests and religious, sacrilege is committed by him who strikes them j for to beat them is to show great contempt and irreverence for their sacred character. It is also the sin of sacrilege to commit a sin against the sixth commandment with any person consecrated to God by the vow of chastity. With regard to holy places, that is, churches, chapels, monasteries, cemeteries, and other religious houses, or property destined for the support of the clergy, churches and other pious purposes, the sin of sacrilege is commit ted by those who rob, or maliciously burn or destroy them, or who, contrary to the end for which they were intended, convert them into places for buying and selling, gaming, drinking or other profane uses. These persons incur excommunication. Want of due respect and reverence shown to a person consecrated to God is a greater sacrilege than that which is committed by profaning holy places, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 395 because the sacred character of the priests of God surpasses that of all places of worship. It is also a sac rilege to defile a holy place, by committing in it a grievous sin in word or action, for instance, by speaking very obscenely, or by blaspheming God, or- the saints. With regard to holy things, that is, the holy sacraments, the sacred vases of the sanctuary, the images and relics of the saints, the ornaments of the church and the vest ments of the priests, the sin of sacrilege is committed by those who receive any of the sacraments unworthily, especially the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. This sin is also committed by those who, by way of mockery, wear the priestly vestments, mimic the sacred ceremonies of Mass or of any of the sacraments, administer or receive any of the sacraments, convert the holy oil or sacred vessels to profane purposes, show disrespect to the holy Bible, or to holy images and relics by throwing them on the ground in contempt, trampling them under foot and the like. All such acts are sacrilegious, most impious and highly criminal. That Almighty God detests sacrilege, and has severely punished those who have brought into contempt or shown irreverence to holy persons, places, or things, is easily proved from his sacred writings and from history. With respect to sacred persons, we read in the book of Kings, that when Zacharias, thes on of Joiada the priest, reproved king Joas for his impiety, the .king's servants collected around him, and stoned him at the king's com mand, in the court of the house of the Lord. "And when he was dying, he said, The Lord see, and require it. And when a year was come about, the army of Syria came up against Joas? and they carne tq Ju(}a and Jeru- 396 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. salem, and they killed all the princes of the people. ... And on Joas they executed shameful judgments. And departing they left him in great diseases. And his ser vants rose up against him, for revenge of the blood of the son of Joiada the priest, and they slew him upon his bed, and he died. (2 Chron., xxiv.) It happened not long ago in this country, that a certain bad Catholic was admonished by his parish priest to put an end to the scandal he gave to the whole parish. In stead of entering into himself he began to ridicule the priest publicly. But he was soon after punished by Almighty God. He broke his leg and became a cripple. In a place where our Fathers gave a mission, a certain man named one of his horses after the name of one of the Fathers, thus to bring contempt and ridicule upon them. What happened ? The horse died suddenly. With regard to lioly tilings and sacred vessels, we find in many parts of Scripture frequent examples of the hatred in which God held all profanation of them, and of the severity with which he punished those guilty of that pro fanation and irreverence. We read in the book of Chron icles, that Ozias, the king, elated with his victories, "neglected the Lord his God, and going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon the altar of incense." The priests opposed him, as their duty required of them j but " Ozias was angry, and holding in his hand the censor to burn incense, threatened the priests. And immediately there arose a leprosy in his forehead and they made haste to thrust him out.. ..And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a house apart, being full of leprosy." (2 Chron., xxvi., 16.) And we read in the book* of Kings, \hefi when the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 397 Philistines, after the victory they gained over the Israel ites, took the ark of the Lord, carried it away in triumph, and placed it in the temple of their idol, Dagon, the idol was fallen next morning, and broken to pieces before the ark; and "the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them, and he destroyed them, and afflicted them with emerods And there was the confusion of great mortality in the city.... and there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceedingly heavy and the cry of every city went up to heaven." (1 Kings, v., 2, 6.) In the time of the first French Republic, several regi ments of soldiers who were in Italy were passing through a village, when a violent storm suddenly arose, followed by a heavy fall of rain. Some of the soldiers, finding the church open, went in for shelter. It was one of those unhappy years when every effort was being made to destroy religion, and when all those whose faith and piety were not deeply rooted, made a boast of impiety and irreligion. Many of these unhappy soldiers behaved in the Lord's temple as though it were a profane place. Some proposed to have wine brought thither. It was brought in large jars. But, as there were not enough of goblets or cups to drink from, there was one of the soldiers im pious enough to provide himself with a sacred ciborium, by a horrible sacrilege. He goes up to the altar, breaks in the door of the tabernacle, dares to take the consecrated vessel in his hand, throws on the ground the sacred Hosts it contained, and goes back to his comrades with his prize, as though he had done something great. But the moment of God's terrible vengeance had arrived. Just as the wretch dipped the holy ciborium in the jar of wine he fell down dead, and, lest any one should doubt that his death 398 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. was the act of divine vengeance, the ciborium which he had profaned could not be taken from his hand by any one till the pastor of that afflicted parish was brought, who removed it without any difficulty, and replaced it in the tabernacle. Several inhabitants of the village, who were in the church, were witnesses of the sacrilege com mitted by the soldier and the terrible chastisement inflicted upon him. One of them, a bad Christian, was converted on the spot, and went to confession the same day. Sev eral others, even amongst the soldiers, did all they could to repair the horrible scandal given on that sad occasion. — LASSAUSSE, Explic. du Cat. de V Empire, 540. It has never been known that God punishes any one for turning into ridicule, falsehood, idolatry, heresy, super stition and the like ; on the contrary, God is pleased with those who confound heresy, idolatry, superstition and all kinds of error. But when the truths and the mysteries of our holy religion are denied, or turned into ridicule, God has, in many instances, shown his displeasure by inflicting terri ble punishments on those who are guilty of such crimes. All truth is from God. Therefore, to contradict truth, to deny it, to turn it into ridicule, is to contradict God himself who uttered it — it is to mock the Lord of heaven and earth. No wonder, then, that we often hear of instances in which the wrath of God fell upon such enemies of the true religion. By these punishments God confirms those truths and mysteries which are ridiculed and attacked. In the village of Edinghausen, situated not far from the town of Bieldeld, in Rhenish Prussia, an impious blasphemer took it into his head one day to ridicule the Holy Eucharist. He sat down at table with some com panions, not much better than himself. He took bread COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 399 and wine and pronounced over them with mock solemnity the sacred words of consecration. After this sacrilegious parody he distributed the bread and wine among his com panions, saying to them with an ironical smile : " Take ye all of this." He had just distributed the bread and wine to the others and was about to take some himself, when suddenly he grew pale ; his head fell on his chest, and in a few moments he was a corpse. This terrible judgment of God happened on the fifth of January, 1807. The wretch was buried outside the cemetery, on the feast of the Epiph any. (Schmid et Belet, Cat. II., 146.) The Abbe Favre relates, that, some years ago, an im pious barber of Turin had the impertinence to ridicule a person for wishing to assist at the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. He went into the street through which the procession was passing. There he placed himself with his hat on, in order thus to insult the Catholics and to ridicule the Blessed Sacrament. Behold ! when the Blessed Sacrament passed by him he was struck by the hand of God and fell to the ground a corpse. This event made such an impression on the whole city, that the commissary caused the body of the impious man to be exposed before the court-house for thirty-six hours. A great many of the eye-witnesses of this fact are still living ; among others M. Raet, formerly rector of Plancherine, in the diocese of Chauberg, who was staying at Turin when this melan choly occurrence took place. In the year 1563, a Lutheran nobleman in the city of Erfurt ridiculed the Blessed Sacrament, as it was carried in procession by the Rev. Father Th. Baumeier. " Be hold," said he, " what a ridiculous thing that old man is carrying ! " No sooner had he uttered these words than 400 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he fell speechless to the ground. Dr. J. Hebenstreit was instantly called in, but pronounced the man beyond recovery. A few days after the nobleman was a corpse. About thirty years ago, on the feast of Corpus Christi, several citizens of Duren, near Aix-la-Chapelle, were sit ting together in an inn fronting on the market-place, when the solemn procession of the Most Holy Sacrament was passing. Among those present was the son of the mayor. Now, as the priest gave the benediction, with the Blessed Sacrament at the altar that had been erected in the square, this young man held up a silver dollar and mimicked the sacred ceremony. In a few days the very arm with which he had committed this sacrilege began to mortify; the mor tification soon extended to the shoulder, and, not long after, the unhappy man died. Moreover, from this mom ent, the blessing of God forsook his house ; several of his family died, and the rest sunk into poverty and disgrace. In the summer of 18 — a mission was given in the town of D., Mass. One of the missionary Fathers said Mass and preached a few sermons, also, in the neighboring village of N. On the following Good Friday, Mrs. H., the par son's wife at N., took it into her head to mimic the mis sionaries and make a mockery of holy communion. She dressed herself somewhat like a missionary, collected a number of children, made them kneel down and hold a cloth, and then gave them something in mockery of holy communion. Next morning, holy Saturday, Mrs. H. was missed. Search was made, and she was found in the yard, her face buried in a pool of water — a ghastly corpse !- At the burning of the Ursuline Con vent near Charlestown, Mass., when the nuns were driven from their cloister at the hour of midnight by a fanatical mob, one of the ruffians had COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 401 the hardihood to open the tabernacle, and seizing the sacred vessels, he poured into the pocket of a companion the consecrated hosts which they contained. The latter, on his way back to Charlestown, treated the sacred particles with the most atrocious irreverence, and even jestingly offered them to a tavern-keeper in payment for liquor he had drunk. He then returned home and gave to his wife an account of the night's proceedings. Shortly after he went into the yard, but as he did not return, the family became uneasy, and sought for him everywhere. After searching for some time, they found him — a ghastly corpse ! He had died the death of Arius. This fact was related by the late Bishop Fenwick, of Boston. Towards the close of the last century, there lived a very impious man in Rottweil, a little town of Swabia, Germany. One day, when the Blessed Sacrament in solemn proces sion passed the house of this wretch, he had the diabolical audacity to scoff at the holy sacrament in the most infam ous manner. He placed himself before the window, in his shirt-sleeves, wearing his butcher's apron and a white night-cap on his head. By appearing in this unbecoming dress, he wished to show his contempt and disrespect for the Holy Eucharist. What was still worse, as the Bless ed Sacrament passed by him he spat at it. Only a few persons noticed his impiety, otherwise it would have been instantly avenged. But what men failed to do, God was not slow in accomplishing. This blasphemer soon after died the death of a reprobate. This, however, was not all. The dreadful scandal which he had given, and which had become generally known, and the insult which he had offered the divine Majesty, required a public act of repara tion. God made use of the following means to effect 402 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. this : Immediately after the death of this impious man, such horrible noises, such frightful groanings, lamentations and howlings were heard in his house that no one could live there. Everyone easily guessed the cause of this. The difficulty was, how to put a stop to these strange dis turbances. At last, as if inspired by God, the people had recourse to the following expedient : It was resolved that this man's portrait should be painted, in the same dress and posture in which he had appeared when scoffing at the Blessed Sacrament, and that the painting should be placed in an opening made in the wall, that all might see how God punishes those who scoff at the Blessed Sac rament. Strange to say, no sooner was this painting placed in the wall, than the house became quiet. Some years after, the wife of a Protestant preacher, who lived opposite the house, could no longer bear the sight of this horrid portrait. Accordingly, her husband went to the civil magistrate, to obtain an ordinance for the removal of the picture. His petition was granted ; but no sooner was the painting removed, than the former frightful dis turbances returned, and continued until the people of the house obtained permission to restore the painting to its place. One of our fathers, an eye-witness of the fact, related this event to me. About ten years ago, one of our priests received a let ter from his father, in Treves, Germany. In this letter a terrible example was related that had occured in that city, on the occasion of the solemn procession of Corpus Christi. When the procession passed by the house of a certain Protestant gentleman, his servant-girl who was a Catholic said to her master: "0, come and see the splendid pro- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 403 cession and the faith of the Catholics." In answer to this invitation, the gentleman uttered a horrible blasphemy against the Blessed Sacrament. No sooner had he done so than he fell to the ground a corpse ! The whole city looked upon this sudden death as an evident chastisement of God for the horrid crime of blasphemy. As to holy places and churches, it appears from many passages in Scripture that God requires that every respect should be paid them, and that a want of reverence and respect for them has met with his severest chastisements. In the book of Exodus we read that God commanded Moses, and Aaron and his sons, to wash their hands and feet when going into the tabernacle of the covenant : " Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet when they are going into the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they are come to the altar to offer on it incense to the Lord ; lest perhaps they die." (Exodus, xxx., 19.) And in the book of Machabees we read, that when king Antiochus resolved to bring over the Jews to his pagan rites, he defiled the temple of God, and filled it with riots and revellings, and began to persecute the Jews. And from that time for ward we are told that all his affairs went wrong, his armies were beaten, his cities taken, and that himself, re turning from an unlucky expedition into Persia, " the Lord, the God of Israel, that seeth all things, struck with an incurable and invisible plague worms swarmed out of his body, and while he lived in sorrow and pain, his flesh fell off, and the filthiness of his smell was noisome to the army, and no man could endure to carry him for his intolerable stench." (2 Mach., ix.) And when he en tered into himself, and began to remember all the evils he had done at Jerusalem, he promised to repair all damages. 404 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. and to adorn the temple with rich gifts, and to multiply the holy vessels j but all to no purpose. Almighty God would not accept these offerings from his sacrilegious hands and " he died a miserable death, in a strange country, among the mountains." (1 Mach., vi.) But it is particularly to be remembered that Jesus Christ himself, who bore all his own sufferings with the most amazing patience and meekness, was inflamed with the greatest zeal, and manifested his displeasure in a very marked way when he saw the temple profaned. . u When he went up to Jerusalem after the marriage of Cana in Galilee ; and he found in the temple them that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out ,of the temple, and the sheep also, and the oxen, and he poured out the changers' money, and the tables he overthrew. And he said to them that sold doves : Take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a house of traffic.77 (John, ii., 13.) He reproved the world, indeed, for many sins, but he would punish with his own hands none but sacrilege. He refused to be judge in parting the inherit ance between two brothers ; he refused to judge the woman taken in adultery j but when he witnessed the temple of God profaned, he took upon himself immediately to. be both accuser, judge, and executioner. You see, then, how great is the evil of profaning the house of God, and how displeasing and disrespectful it is to him to engage yourself, whilst in it, in anything ex cept in praying to him, and praising him, and thanking him for his many favors and graces bestowed on you, and in listening to his words proceeding from the . mouth of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 405 his priests. To amuse yourself in church, to speak there on worldly business, to look about to see and be seen, is offensive to God, and will, sooner or later, bring upon you his displeasure and anger. " Have you not houses of your own to eat and drink in," says St. Paul, "and do you des pise the church of God ? " (1 Cor., xi.) " The Lord is in his holy temple," according to the prophet Habacuc ; "Let all the earth keep silence before him." (Hab., ii., 20.) 14. What is simony? Simony is the crime of buying or selling spiritual tilings for money or an equivalent. Want of reverence for God is also shown by those who commit the great sin of simony. Simony means the ir religious, infamous practice of buying or selling holy things for money or an equivalent. An act is bad in itself when its object is unlawful, or contrary to reason, justice, and charity. Now, such is the sacrilegious traffic of buying or selling spiritual things for money or an equivalent, for they are more precious than all temporal goods, and con sequently cannot be bought or sold for money. Wisdom, which includes every virtue and is contrary to all acts of injustice, is, says Holy Scripture, " more precious than all riches, and all things that can be desired are not to be compared with her." (Prov., iii., 15.) Indeed, the abominable practice of simony is repug nant to the divine origin of spiritual things. Jesus Christ, the supreme Master of all spiritual goods, and the Founder of the Roman Catholic Church, said to his Apostles : " Freely you have received, freely give ; " (Matt., x , 8.) that is, give gratuitously for the sanctification of the faith ful what you have received gratuitously from God's good- 406 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ness and mercy. These divine words contain the funda mental, inviolable doctrine concerning the administra tion of the sacraments and every thing in connexion with them, as the reception of Holy Orders, church pro perty and religious institutions in general. To acquire, then, something by means of simony, is one of the worst acts of injustice. Therefore ample reparation must be made for all things obtained by simony. The holy Catholic church has always detested the in famous practice of simony. She is accustomed to inflict most exemplary punishments on all persons guilty of this sin. If such a person is in Holy Orders, she suspends him from all ecclesiastical functions, and if he is a layman, she excommunicates him. It is indeed very just and reason able to deprive a person of the spiritual graces arid trea sures of the church, who has so disgracefully abused them. One of the earliest converts to the Christian faith in the time of the Apostles, was a celebrated sorcerer or magi cian called Simon. Having seen the miracles worked by the Apostles, and in particular the signs, which frequently followed the conferring of the Sacrament of Confirmation, he came to St. Peter, offering a sum of money, and say ing, " Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I also lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.77 But St. Peter rejected with contempt and indignation the offer made him by Simon, and answered him thus : " Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. Do penance for this thy wickedness, and pray to God, if perchance the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee." Simon, thus baffled in his design, shortly after abandoned the Christian religion. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 407 St. Peter Damian relates (Ep. 5. c. 7.) that a certain man who was guilty of the sin of simony, made very light of this great crime. Now, when he was told to'pronounce the words " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," he could not say, " to the Holy Ghost." He could only say, " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son." He tried several times to say " to the Holy Ghost," but he tried in vain. Now, this happened as a punish ment for the sin of simony of which this man was guilty • for " by buying the gifts of the Holy Ghost," says St> Damian, "he forced the Holy Ghost to leave him, and render him utterly unable to pronounce even the name of the third person of the Holy Trinity." Is it, then, forbidden to receive money or an equivalent for the administration of the sacraments, or for saying Mass for a certain intention ? No, it is not forbidden. It is customary to give an a honorary" on the occasion of christening, or a marriage, or a funeral. It is also cus tomary to give an honorary to the priest whenever he is requested to say a Mass for a particular intention, whether for the living or for the dead. Custom has established that this honorary for saying Mass should amount to the sum required for the decent maintenance of the priest for one day, and this custom is sanctioned by the Church. The custom of giving an offering to the priest with the request to offer up the Mass, is one of the most ancient in the Church. We find it even in the Old Law. The Jews were obliged by the Law of God to bring offerings, part of which were consumed in sacrifice and part given to the priests. The Holy Scripture tells us that Judas Mac- cabseus sent a very large sum of money to the priests, with the request that sacrifices might be offered up for 408 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. those who died in battle. The early Christians were accustomed to bring offerings during the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and one part of the Mass is on this account still' called the Offertory. The fourth Council of Lateran says, that " though the sacraments are given freely, nevertheless the faithful should be exhorted to give the customary offerings." St. Epiphanius, who lived about three hundred years after the death of our Lord, tells us that a certain Jewish Rabbi, who became a convert to the Church, gave, after his baptism, a large sum of money to the bishop who bap tised him with the request to offer up the holy sacrifice for him. We find numerous examples of this kind in history. It is related, in the life of St. John the Alms- giver, who was patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt in the beginning of the seventh century, that a certain man brought him a large sum of money, with the request to offer up a Mass for his son, who had set out on a dan gerous voyage. Now, whatever is given to the priest on the reception of the sacraments, or on the celebration of Mass, is not given as pay for the graces received in the sacraments, but as a compensation for his trouble, loss of time, and as a means of support. St. Paul says, u that he that ministers at the altar should live by the altar." This is certainly just and reasonable, for "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great mat ter if we reap your temporal things ?" (1 Cor.,ix., 11 — 13.) The priest cannot support himself by working at a trade or by entering into business. The Church forbids it, and the faithful would be scandalized. He must devote all his time — his whole life — to spiritual things, to the care COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 409 of souls. In this country especially, where a young man living in the world has so many opportunities of growing rich, no one but a madman would ever become a priest for the purpose of making money 5 and indeed no one would anywhere become a priest, except from the highest and holiest motive. A person engaged in a lawsuit, will willingly pay a law yer or advocate to take his case in hand to obtain justice. A sick man sends for a physician and pays him liberally for his visits and advice. The priest is the spiritual advocate ; he pleads men's cases with God, and obtains mercy and pardon. The priest is the physician of the soul 5 he devotes his energy, his faculties of mind and body, he sacrifices his health, his time, for the welfare of Christians. It is then most reasonable that they should make some return for his services. " Let the priests that rule well," writes St. Paul to St. Timothy, " be esteemed worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine." (1 Tim., v., 17.) In his explanation of these words, St. Augustine says, that they are worthy of a double recompense — of the temporal support from the people, and of eternal glory from God, as a reward for the exercise of their holy ministry. 15. How do we worship God by faith ? 1, By adoring him as the eternal Lord and the Creaior of heaven and earth ; 2, By believing firmly all that he teaches us by the Catholic Church. We have seen that God, in the first commandment, prescribes the virtue of religion, which consists in wor shipping God in a manner worthy of him. Now, we can- 410 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. not worship God in a worthy manner, unless we have a true idea of him. If the first commandment, then, prescribes plainly the true worship of God, it prescribes also at the same time, the duty of knowing him and the sacred truths which he has revealed for our salvation. Now, there are four great truths which every one must know and believe as a necessary means of salvation. The first of these truths is : That there is but one living God, ivho is the Creator of heaven and earth. As without faith man cannot please God and go to heaven, his Creator has made faith easy for him. Man is born a believing creature, and cannot, if he would, destroy altogether this noble attribute of his nature. If he will not accept a belief in the living and uncreated God, he will create and worship some other god instead of the true God. There never has been a real, an absolute unbeliever. All the so-called unbelievers are either knaves or idiots. All the Gentile nations of the past have been religious people 5 all the pagan powers of the present are also believers. There never has been a nation with out faith, without an altar, without a sacrifice. The belief in the existence of God among men in some sensible form seems to be a want of the human heart. To satisfy this craving after the real Presence of God, men made use of unholy means. Blinded by their passions they fell into idolatry, and, instead of raising themselves to the true, living God, they foolishly worshipped what they deemed the Divine Presence in stones, plants, and animals. It is God himself who planted in the human heart the desire for his real Presence, and God himself also found means to satisfy this desire. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 411 He first revealed himself to man by the creation. Al though hidden in creation, he constantly speaks to man through his great works. An architect speaks to us through a beautiful building, a painter through a paint ing, a writer through a book. God speaks to men in like manner. " He has manifested his power and divinity in the creation of the world." (Rom., i., 19.) He shows his power in the storm, in the cataract, in the earthquake. " For the invisible things of him are understood by the things that are made." (Rom., i., 20.) • One of the clearest proofs of the existence of God is taken from the necessity of a first moving power. Inac tivity is one of the properties of matter. Hence, if we see bodies move, we know that they must have received that moving power from a first agent. If, with my stick, I set in motion, a stone which moves another, the second stone receives its movement from the first, and the first receives its movement from my stick, and my stick received it from my hand. Whence came this moving power to me ? From my parents, and they received it from theirs, and so on all along to the first father of the human race. But Adam's body was inert matter like all the bodies of nature. He, therefore, could not be the first cause of the moving power. He must have received it from his Creator, who gave him life and movement, and said : Walk now in the garden of Paradise. It is the Creator, then, who gave to all the stars and planets of the heavens, and to all things in this world organization and movement, with marvellous perfection and harmony. Besides the moving power, we see efficient causes in the world. The animal produces another of the same kind, and is its cause. The plants; flowers, and trees grow from 412 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. seed. But this animal and this seed came from what pro duced them j so that, going from the last to the first link in the chain of their reproduction, we come to the first seed and the first animal. Now, it cannot be said that they engendered them selves, and are the primitive cause of their existence. To say that anything can exist before its creation, is non sense. There is, therefore, an eternal and omnipotent Creator, who is the principal cause of all things that exist. Were he to withdraw his power, or to interrupt the pre sent order of things by depriving us only of the air, of the heat and light of the sun, all things would soon become extinct. So we have all from God, and without him we have nothing and we are nothing. As God makes known his power in the great works of creation, so he makes his wisdom known in the laws by which he governs the boundless universe. " The wisdom of God reacheth from end to end mightily and ordereth all things sweetly.77 (Wisd., viii., 1.) What admirable order and perfection do we not see in the phy sical world ! What wonderful harmony and regularity in the movement of the sun, the moon, and the millions of stars. For nearly six thousand years the sun has never fail ed to rise and set at the usual hour. The order and regular succession of the seasons of the year are also unchangeable in their course. Spring returns periodically to give heat and fecundity to the earth, and development to all the seeds scattered on its surface. When they are in full growth, the summer heat gives increase to the fruits and corn, and autumn brings them to perfect ripeness. Winter approaches with all its inclemenc}^ and covers the earth with frost and snow, but does not deprive her of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 413 her inexhaustible gifts. She needs rest after giving birth to an abundant harvest, and obliges her children to treat her with care and diligence in hope of a generous reward. What splendid order and harmony in the heavenly bodies ! They move with such rapidity that our sight could not follow them. If they came into collision, the universe would be shaken from its foundation. " They advance," says Holy Scripture, " with the order and obedience of an army in line of battle." Do we not see the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and the animals of the earth, all guided by a wonderful instinct and the laws of nature ? Whence comes all this to irrational creatures, unless implanted by the omnipotent hand of God ? The perfect order, therefore, that prevails in the heavens, and in all things on earth, clearly proves the existence of God, Indeed, " God did not leave him self without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons." (Acts, xiv., 16.) Hence St. Paul says that "all men are vain in whom there is not the knowledge of God ; and who, by these good things that are seen, could not understand Him who is, neither, by atten ding to the works, have acknowledged who was the work man. . . . For, if they were able to know so much as to make a judgment of the world, how did they not more easily find the Lord thereof." (Wisd., xiii., 1, 9 ; Rom., L, 20.) Therefore, "if any one shall say that the one true God, our Creator and Lord, cannot be certainly known by the natural light of human reason, through created things, let him be accursed." (Vat. Counc., ii., 1.) The second great truth is : That there are three persons in God : The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that each of these persons is God, and yet there is hit one God. 414 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. We have seen that, from the contemplation of the world, its beauty, harmony and order, the human mind is forced to acknowledge the existence of &od. However, by the light of reason alone, we could not know and show what God is. " Reason tells us that there is a God," says St. Basil, " but it does not teach us what he is." But God, in his goodness, wished us to have of him a knowledge as perfect as possible. So he revealed him self to man. If a friend visits us at night and finds us sitting in the dark, he speaks, he makes use of words to show that he is really present. In like manner, God, wishing that man should have a correct knowledge of him, spoke to man who was sitting in the darkness of this life. He addressed him in words, and made known to him what he must believe and do in order to be saved. However, God did not reveal all the sacred truths of faith from the beginning. He communicated them gradu ally to his servants. He revealed, in progress of time, his divine attributes, the Trinity of persons, in the unity of eternal Divine Essence, the means by which he governs the universe and procures the salvation of the human race, what shall be the reward of the faithful and the punishment of the wicked in the other world. He spoke to our first parents in the Garden of Paradise, he spoke to the patri archs and prophets, and finally, as St. Paul assures us, he spoke for the last time by his only begotten Son. The knowledge of the Patriarchs, says St. Gregory, was increased in proportion as they approached the time of the coming of the Redeemer. "And the Lord said to Moses : I am the Lord that appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, and my name Adonai COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 415 (Jehovah) I did not show them." (Exod., vi., 2, 3.) In the time of the Royal Prophet, divine revelation was still better known, and so, alluding to the patriarchs, he says: al have more understanding than the ancients." (Ps. 118,1 00). The Apostle says likewise : u which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy Apostles and Prophets in spirit.77 (Eph., iii., 5.) Now, as to the Holy Trinity, this great mystery was hidden, from all eternity, in the bosom of the Divinity, until the Son of God made it known. " No one knoweth the Son but the Father, neither does any one know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." (Matt., xi., 27.) Now the Son of God has revealed to us that there are three persons in God. We do not find the name of person given to God in any passage of the Old or New Testament. There are, how ever, many passages in Holy Writ which express what we understand by person, and thus authorize us to give the name of person to God. u There are three who give testimony in heaven : the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." (1 John, v., 7.) " What are they ? The three divine persons," says St. Augustine. If we say with truth that every rational being is a person, we can, most assuredly, say with more truth that God is a person, because he is in an infinite degree all that con stitutes a person. To answer the objections of infidels and heretics, we are obliged to employ new words to explain the ancient faith and fundamental doctrine of the Church. These terms only illustrate the sacred text, contain nothing pro fane or contradictory, and are not those profane novelties of words which the Apostle counsels to avoid, when he 416 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. writes to St. Timothy : " Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge, falsely so called." (vi., 20.) Now, we give to the first person in God the name of Father. The name of a person distinguishes him from everything that is not himself, from all who are in con nexion with him. Now, no better name than that of Father could be given to the first person in God to distinguish him from the two other persons of the Holy Trinity. What we principally consider and admire in a father is his great yearning to cummunicate himself and all his goods, as far as possible, to his children. As his yearning of commun icating himself and all his goods to his children is natural in an earthly father, we say that it is from God. Such yearning, therefore, is also found in God. In him, how ever, the yearning of communicating himself and all his goods is infinite — it is essential to his nature, for God is infinite love, and love culminates in the reproduction of itself, that is, of generating its own image. Now, the first person in God being Father, eternally be gets as such another self, who is his Son, his most perfect image. He, together with his Son, sends forth a third Self, proceeding from both as from one principle, who is their reciprocal Love — the Holy Ghost, so that the one and the same divine essence is quite the same in each of the three divine persons. These great truths were taught by Jesus Christ. He tells us in tha Gospel, that there is in God the procession of the Son from the Father. a I proceeded," he says, "and came from God. I came not of myself, but he (the Father) sent me." (John, viii., 42.) The Son proceeds from the Father as an effect from its cause. This spiritual procession of the Son or the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 417 Adorable Word is a real substantial generation. " Thou art my Son," says God the Father ; " this day have I begotten thee." (Ps., ii., 7.) However, when speaking of the generation of the Son, we must confess and say with St. Ambrose : " My mind is troubled, my voice becomes mute, and not only mine, but that of the angels, of the cherubim and seraphim." To conceive, however, a faint idea of this divine gen eration, we should remember that there are two kinds of generation — a generation of lifeless things, and a genera tion of living beings. The generation of lifeless things is the passage or transition of something that did not exist into a state of being. The generation of a living being is the origin of a living being, proceeding from a living principle, and receiving from it its substance. Thus a father, as he is a living principle, begets a living son, to whom he is united by the paternal substance transmitted to him. Still we must not suppose that everything in the son, such as hair, size, etc., should have all the characteristic impress of generation. We call engendered oiily that which is necessary for the son to resemble his f^her. Now, do we n,»i according to those preliminaries, find a real, perfect generation in the procession of the Word ? It proceeds from a living principle, being produced as it is by an intellectual operation. When we think of something that we know and under stand perfectly well, we form in our mind a correct idea of it. Now, God the Father from all eternity, knows himself and all his divine perfections. He necessarily contemplates 418 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. himself, and forms, in his divine mind, a perfect image of himself, called his Word or Son. This image is a living image, for it resembles the living principle from whom it comes 5 and, as the substance of the Father is indivis ible, and is as such communicated to the Word, the Son is consubstantial with the Father. Hence Jesus Christ says, "As the Father hath life in himself, so he hath given to the Son also to have life in himself." (John, v., 26.) " I and the Father are one." (John, x., 30.) " Do you not be lieve that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?" (John, xiv., 10.) It is, therefore, something far greater in God to be Father than to be Lord ; for as Father, he begets his Son, who is equal to himself in all his divine perfections, whilst as Lord he created the universe, which is infinitely less than his Son. As the first person in God, then, is the first and eternal principle and source of the Holy Trinity, the first person could not receive a better name than that of Father, to distinguish him from the other persons. There is another procession in God, the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son as from one single principle. This truth, too, we are taught by our dear Saviour. He says : " But when the Paraclete (Holy Ghost) shall come, whom I will send you from the Father, he shall give testimony of me." (John, xv., 26.) " All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine; therefore, I said that he (the Holy Ghost) shall receive of mine and will declare it to you.'7 (John, xvi., 15.) This procession of the Holy Ghost, however, is not like that of the Word. The procession of the Word, as we have said, is a real, substantial generation, whilst the pro cession of the Holy Ghost is only a procession of Love. As our soul is the image of God, it is not surprising to COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 419 find, in its intellectual faculties, a procession somewhat similar to this divine procession — a procession of opera tions similar to those in God. When we are in profound meditation, we perceive the singular phenomenon of our thoughts and ideas ; we know and feel that they proceed from our intellectual faculties. The mind conceives an idea, a word ; it works upon it, and the tongue expresses it in an intelligible manner. But the activity of the mind is not limited to that operation. After having conceived a word, or idea, it experiences a certain love for it, and the heart expands with joy at this favorite production of the mind. This spontaneous excitement of love is a second pro cession, presented to us by the superior faculty of the soul. There is, however, an infinite difference between these two processions and those in God the Father. In him they are divine, living Persons, whilst in us they have neither personality nor life. Knowing the Holy Trinity, we can find, in nature, striking emblems of this great mystery. The human soul is a type of the Holy Trinity, endowed as it is with its three distinct faculties of memory, under standing, and will, with which it seems to be blended. Another is the sun which is at once furnace, light and heat. The root, the stem, and the branches form but one tree. But all these imperfect figures or emblems fall very short of proving and explaining the depths of the mystery. The third great truth, which every one must know and believe as a necessary means of salvation, is : That the second person of God — the Son, by the operation of the Holy Ghost; took to himself a body and soul like ours, 420 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. in the chaste womb of the immaculate Virgin Mary. The divine person assumed the human nature so that the two natures, the divine and the human, were united in the one person of Jesus Christ. In this union, the two natures were not confounded, but remain perfect in their union and essence, for Jesus Christ is God of the substance of his Father, and is man of the substance of his mother. He, therefore, is perfect God and perfect man at the same time. Christ's body was, like ours, composed of flesh, and bones. When our dear Saviour, after his resurrection, appeared in the midst of his apostles and disciples, they were fright ened, and thought that he was a spirit. But Jesus said to them: "See my hands and feet, it is I myself; for a spirit hath no flesh and bones as you see me to have " (Luke, xxiv.? 37, 39.) Jesus also had a soul like ours. He was susceptible of all the affections of body and soul, sin alone excepted. Weariness, fear, and sadness affected and oppressed him so much that he exclamed : u My soul is sorrowful even unto death." (Matt, xxvi., 38.) "As the soul," says St. Thomas, "is a spiritual substance superior to the body, God, in his infinite power, wisdom, mercy, and glory, pre-ordained from all eternity that the Word (his Son) was to be united to the body by means of the soul." " And the Word was made flesh (man), and dwelt among us ; and we have seen the glory of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John, i., 14.) We adore Jesus Christ as God and Man. There are two distinct things to be considered in the respect and honor which we testify to a man in high power and dig nity — his person, and the reason why we honor him. When we bow to him, or kiss his hand in sign of friend- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 421 ship and respect, or when we admire and applaud his virtue, knowledge, merit, or when we pay due attention to his orders, it is his person we respect and revere in all these things. In like manner we honor and adore the divine person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the hypostatic union of his divinity with the humanity ; for he is the principlb of all virtues and eternal wisdom, and consequently merits divine honor and adoration. " For which cause God hath exalted him, and given him a name which is above all names : that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those who are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth 5 and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." (Phil., ii., 9, 10, 11.) Conducted by the Holy Ghost, the wise men from the East adored him in Bethlehem. (Matt., ii., 11.) The Apostles went to the mount where Jesus had appointed them, and seeing him, they adored him. (Matt., xxviii., 16.) That the explicit faith in the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and of the Incarnation of the Son of God is also required as a necessary means of salvation, we learn from Jesus Christ and his church. " This is life everlasting," says our Saviour, " that they may know thee (God the Father) the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; " (John, xvii., 3), for, says he, UI am the way, and the truth, and the life," that lead man to the Father. Hence " no man cometh to the Father but by me." (John, xiv., 6.) This doctrine is clearly expressed in the following words of the Athan tsian Creed : u He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must thus think of the Trinity," that is he must believe the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as explained m 422 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. this Creed. (i Futhermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he'also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ." But what necessity was there that Jesus Christ should suffer for our redemption ? Adam sinned, and all mankind being descended from him, inherited his sin, and deserved hell. In order to obtain pardon it was necessary that men should make full satisfaction to God for their sins. But men, as finite creatures, were not able to make such satis faction to the infinite majesty of God. What then did God do ? " God our Saviour wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth : for there is one God, and one Mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim., ii., 4, 5.) Now, tHe office of a mediator is to rec oncile two opposite parties. Original sin separated man kind very far from God. It required a powerful mediator, who by his divinity and humanity, was capable to grant us pardon and grace, and reconcile us with our omnipotent and merciful Creator. Jesus Christ most bountifully ac complished this divine mediation. He descended from heaven in the midst of us with his divine Nature, presented himself to his heavenly Father with our mortal nature, and thus offered himself up as a propitiatory Victim of reconciliation : " As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, so Jesus also made himself partaker of the same : wherefore it behoves him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high-priest before God, and be a propitiation for the sins of the people." (Heb., ii., 14, 17.) " Christ died for all, that they who now live may not live to themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again." (2 Cor.? v.; 15.) On account of the merits of COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 423 Jesus Christ, the heavenly Father has adopted us as his children. " Who hath predestined us to be children of adoption through Jesus Christ." (Eph., i., 5.) To adopt any one is to entitle him to a part or the whole of our possessions. To do this, we must be rich and gen erous j For, if we have hardly anything to give, or if we are wealthy without being generous, no one would wish to become our adoptive child. But God's riches are immense, and his bounty is inexaustible. Hence it is in his power to adopt us, and give us possession of an everlasting inher itance. ll God sent his Son that we might receive the adopt ion of sons, and sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying— Abba, Father," (Gal., iv., 6.) (2 Cor., v., 15.) Thus, Jesus Christ, as God and man, has obtained grace and mercy for us in this life, and immortality in the next, by the glorious triumph of his resurrection. Hence St. Peter says ; " Be it known to you, that there is no salvation in any other name than that of Jesus Christ ; for there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved." (Acts, iv., 10, 12.) "Thus," says St. Alphonsus, " there is no hope of salvation except in the merits of Jesus Christ. Hence St. Thomas and all theologians conclude, that, since the promulgation of the Gospel, it is necessary, not only as a matter of pre cept, but also as a means of salvation (necessitate medli) to believe explicitly that we can be saved only through our Redeemer." (Reflections on the Pass, of Jesus Christ, Chap i., No. 19.) Now, St. Thomas Aquinas explains how necessary it is for salvation to know the mystery of the Incarnation. This saint asks the question : Did Jesus Christ when he descended into hell (Limbo), deliver the children who 424 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. died in original sin ? and he answers : There is a certair principle and doctrine which we must never lose sight o when there is question of salvation. This principle is tha no salvation is possible for any one who is not united t( Jesus Christ crucified. Hence the great Apostle St. Pau says: "It is Jesus Christ whom God hath proposed tob( a propitiation through faith in his blood." (Rom., iii., 25.' Now, those unfortunate children were not united t( Jesus Christ by their own faith, because they had not the use of reason which is the foundation of faith ; nor were they united to Jesus Christ by the faith of their parents, because the faith of parents was not sufficient for the sal vation of their children ; nor were they united to Jesus Christ by means of a sacrament, because under the Old Law there was no sacrament which of itself had the virtue of conferring either grace or justification. Besides, eternal life can be obtained only by means oJ sanctifying grace. u The grace of God is life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom., vi., 23.) Therefore, all who died at any age. without perfect char ity and faith in the Redeemer to come, as well as those who die without the sacrament of spiritual regeneration after the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, are not puri fied from the mortal stain of original sin, and are, on this account, excluded from the kingdom of eternal glory. The explicit belief in the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and of the Incarnation of the Son of God, is therefore of the greatest importance. This belief teaches us the origin of the world, its creation by God the Father ; it teaches us the supernatural end of man, his fall, and the redemption and salvation of mankind by God the Son ; it teaches us the sanctification of souls by the gifts of the Holy Ghost. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 425 Now, though, by the merits of Jesus Christ, heaven was opened again for those who repent of their sins, do pen ance for them, and keep the commandments of God to the end of their life, yet hell remained open as ever before, for all those who continue to transgress the command ments of God, and live in mortal sin until death. This is the fourth great truth, which every one must know and believe as a necessary means of salvation, namely : that God rewards, in heaven, those who keep his law, and punishes, in hell, those who transgress it. This great truth presup poses another ; it supposes the truth, that the soul of man will live forever. We now and then meet with a class of men who impiously deny their eternal existence, who as sert that they have no soul, and that there is no eternal reward or punishment hereafter, "They," (the wicked) says Holy Scripture, " have said, reasoning within them selves, but not right : The time of our life is short. . . . We are born of nothing ; and after this we shall be as if we had not been. . . .our body shall be ashes, and our spirit shall be poured abroad as soft air, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist which is driven away by the Beams of the sun, and overpowered with the heat thereof. .... Come there fore and let us enjoy the things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth. Let us fill our selves with costly wine. . Let us crown ourselves with roses before they be withered. Let none of us go with out his part in luxury. . . .Let us oppress the poor, just man, and not spare the widow, nor honor the ancient gray- hairs of the aged. . . .These things they thought and were deceived ; for their own malice blinded them. And they knew not the secrets of God, nor hoped for the wages of 426 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. justice, nor esteemed the honor of holy souls. For God created man incorruptible, and to the image of his own likeness he made him." (Wisdom, ii.) The wicked, says Holy Scripture, reason with them selves, but not right. Indeed, their reasoning clearly proves that they have a soul j for their thoughts and reasonings do not proceed from the body, but from the soul. If bodies could think, their thoughts would be divisible like them. But can we imagine a half, or a third, or a quarter of a thought ? The operation of a being is always like the substance which produces it. A material operation proceeds from a material substance, and a spiritual operation proceeds from a spiritual substance. Now, to think and to reason is a spiritual operation. Our thoughts and reasonings, there fore proceed from a spiritual, substance, which we call soul. A body is limited by time and place. If our thoughts, then, proceeded from the body, they also would, like the body, be limited by time and place. But neither time nor place can limit our thoughts. Our thoughts can pass in a moment up to heaven and down to hell, through the length and breadth of the earth, and down to the lowest part of it. In our thoughts we can recall the years that are past, and reach things in the far future, when the last day of this world will be over and eternity shall have begun. Our thoughts, therefore do not proceed from the body, but from the soul. The body cannot conceive any desire. But we exper ience in us an insatiable desire for everlasting happiness. Such a desire proceeds from the soul which cannot die. The body cannot learn languages, conceive plans of magnificent churches, palaces, steam-boats, locomotives ; COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 427 the body cannot count days, dates, distances, money, and above all, know andjove Grod. It is only the soul that can do all this. The body cannot say, " I will, and I will not." There is a man. He beats his neighbor, and is sentenced to be imprisoned for a month, because he was not obliged to beat his neighbor. He could do so or not, as he liked, because he has free will. But if a stone falls from a building and hurts a man, the stone is not imprisoned, because it has no free will. Free will is not then a faculty of the body, but of the soul which can will and choose whether it will do good or evil. " Before man are life and death, good and evil : that which he shall choose shall be given him." (Eccles., xv.) Now, the soul of man is immortal, incorruptible. The corruption of a thing takes place by the separation of the parts of which it is composed. But the soul, being a spiritual substance, is not composed of parts. Hence no separation of parts can ever take place in the soul. There fore the soul is incorruptible, immortal ; it will live forever. The soul is not like those things which can be seen by the eye. No rational being ever said, " I saw my soul," because the soul is a spirit, which is not visible to the eyes of the body. The soul does not wear away like things in this world. It does not fade like a flower, or like the colors of the rainbow. Hence we say the soul is immortal. That means it will never die as the body dies. The soul will not be nailed down in a coffin, or buried in a grave. When the body dies, the soul will go out of this world to God, who made it. We are created to live forever. It is true we must die ; but it is only our body that is doomed to the grave, and that only for a time. Death does not destroy us ; it 428 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. separates only the soul from the body for a certain number of years. Ah ! yes, after a while Almighty God will raise us again to life, that we may hear our eternal fate. This is the infallible doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Won der not at this,'7 he says, " for the hour cometh wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life ; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." (John, v., 28, 29.) This resurrection of the body will take place, as St. Paul assures us, u in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible." (1 Cor., xv.? 52.) " Oh ! say not that we die! Say not that we, whose heaven-born souls inherit Their life from Life, can ever pass away ; That we, whose source is the Eternal Spirit, Can yield what is from God to slow decay." After a time, in which everything passes away, man shall enter upon an eternity in which nothing passes away. The heavens and the earth will pass, but God and the soul shall remain for ever. It has been decreed by God that eternity should be closely united to man's being, as it is to His own. God and man shall live forever. When Jesus was alive on the earth, there was a certain man called Jairus. He had an only daughter, a girl twelve years old. This girl was dying. Jairus went to Jesus. He fell down on his knees before Him, and asked Him to come and cure his daughter. While Jairus was there, somebody came to him and told him that his daughter was dead ! Jesus heard this, and he said to Jairus : " Do not be afraid j only believe, and your daughter shall be safe." COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 429 So Jesus went with Jairus to his house. They found peo ple crying round the dead girl. Jesus told all the people to go out of the room except the father and mother of the girl, and his apostles. Then Jesus who is almighty, took hold of the hand of the dead child, and said "Girl, I say to thee, arise ! " As soon as Jesus had said these words, her soul came back, and she rose up and walked ! (Luke, viii.) You see how it was. The body died. But the Scripture says the soul came back from the other world 5 so the soul did not die with the body. Our life, therefore, is not finished at the grave. We shall be for ever either in heaven or in hell. The infidel or great sinner may ridicule and deny this doctrine. But what will the denial of this truth avail him ? It avails him just as little as, nay, even less than, it would avail a robber or a murderer to say, "I do not believe either in the existence of a policeman who can take me prisoner, or of a judge who can sentence me to death." The man who denies his eternal existence is a liar. His lies will not change the decrees of the Almighty ; they will not restrain the power of God ; they will not prevent our Lord from carrying out his threats. Let the infidel say, "I do not believe in the immortality of the soul;" his disbelief will not annihilate his soul. "What," exclaims St. Paul, " if some of them have not believed ? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God with out effect ? God forbid. But God is true, and every man is a liar." Will the sun shine less brilliantly because a man shuts his eyes, in order that he may not see its light ? And will God and ail the truths he has revealed be less true because an infidel, a great sinner, denies those truths'? To him then, who impiously asserts that he has no soul, 430 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. answer simply this : lt If you say you have no soul, you must consider yourself simply an animal ; and since you are pleased to be an animal, you had better go and live with the class of beings to which you belong. "When you are travelling, do not take the passenger train which is intended for men, who have a soul, but take the cattle train. " When you are invited to a dinner, go and take it with that class of brutes to which you belong. If you are a physician, let no sick man send for you, for no sensible man ever sent for a brute to be cured by it. If you are a teacher, let no parents send their children to you, for no one sends his children to an animal for instruction. If you are a business-man, let no one transact business with you, for a horse or any other kind of animal that you choose to be, cannot transact business. — Yes, if you consider your self a brute, let men treat you as such, let them cast you out of their society, for they have a soul, and on this account their dignity is but a little inferior to that of the angels." Reason acknowledges the immortality of the soul; revel ation speaks of it explicitly, and of the resurrection of the body, of the immortality and eternity of our whole being. " I believe the resurrection of the body and life everlasting." u And these shall go into everlasting punishment : but the just, into life everlasting." (Matt., xxv., 46. ) This is the unchangeable decree of the Almighty. " My counsel," says he, " shall stand." (Isai., 46,10.) As men, then, are created to live for ever, they can be rewarded as well as punished for ever. Now, it is in heaven that God rewards those who have done his will on earth. It is in heaven where he shows himself as a Father of infinite goodness. There he com- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 431 municates himself and all his goods, as far as possible, to all the elect. As a king is with his people, a father with his children, a teacher with his pupils, so God will always be with the elect in heaven, recreating and feeding them, and filling them with numberless delights and unspeakable happiness. They will constantly enjoy his presence which was hidden from them here below. They will see God and speak to him face to face, more familiarly than child ren speak to their father, and God the Father will pene trate them with ineffable sweetness and consolation, for " He shall be their God, their Father, their glorifier, their all." — Yes, "He that cometh to God," says St. Paul, "must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder to them that seek him." (Heb., xi., 6.) As heaven is the place where God rewards his faithful servants, so is hell the place where he punishes all the wicked. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that, as the just shall enter into everlasting life, so shall the wicked go into everlasting fire. u Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt., xxv., 41.) This fire of hell, says St. Thomas Aquinas, is enkindled by the infinite power of God as an instrument of his divine vengeance, to burn the souls, and also their bodies after the general resurrection • it is a fire which tortures and excruciates the damned with much greater intensity than natural fire can affect our body in this world; for it does not operate by the. virtue of its own nature, but by the infinite power of God, who has given it the peculiar property to torment the damned in pro portion to their crimes. Many a sinner wishes that there were no hell ; he even tries to believe that there is no such place of punishment. 432 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. But what does such a wish, such a belief avail ? Wheth er he believes it or not, there is a hell ; there is an eternal punishment. His foolish wish and belief will not keep him out of it. He who does not believe in hell, now when he can escape it, shall believe in it hereafter when he can no longer escape it. The demons bear witness to this truth. The soul that quits her body in the state of mortal sin — at enmity with God, remains in that state of enmity with God for all eternity ; it is fixed unalterable in the spirit of impenitence as the grace of repentance is not granted in the other world. "Wherever the tree falleth, there it shall lie." As the soul can no more repent, its sin can never be forgiven, it will always remain. It is on this account that the soul continues to be for ever a subject of punishment. St. Thomas asks the question : u Is hope possible for the damned I "and he answers: According to the Apostle, hope produces joy ; but the damned are not in joy ; they are in everlasting grief and desolation according to these words of Isaias, (Xlv., 14.): "Behold, my servants shall rejoice, and you (the wicked) shall be confounded. Behold my servants shall praise for joyfulness of heart, and you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for grief of spirit. " The damned, therefore, can have no hope of ever being delivered from their eternal torments. Endless per petuity is one of the awful conditions of the punishment which the dammed suffer, and knowing their torments to be eternal, they can have no hope of deliverance from their everlasting captivity and damnation." But some one may ask : Would it not argue cruelty and a want of mercy in God were he to punish the wicked for COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 433 ever ? The answer is plain : God has decreed that the re wards of the just in heaven for their good lives on earth should surpass all that the eye has seen, the ear has heard the heart has conceived. In like manner has God decreed that the punishments which the wicked have to suffer in hell for their bad lives should surpass all that we can see, all that we can hear, all that we can conceive in our heart. God has decreed that the rewards of the just should last for ever, and he has also decreed that the punishments of the wicked shall be everlasting. It is the will of the Lord that by the everlasting rewards of the just his infinite mercy should be glorified for all eternity ; and it is also his will that by the everlasting punishments of the wicked his infinite justice should be made manifest for ever and ever. Let us u think well of the Lord 5" that is, we must believe that the jnstice of God is just as great as his mercy. It is the common opinion of theologians, says St. Alphon- sus, that any person who has come to the use of reason and lives and dies in ignorance of these four great truths of our holy religion, even without any fault on his part, cannot be saved. There are, however, many other revealed truths, which we must believe, but which a person may not know with out any fault on his part, and is on this account, not res ponsible for the want of knowledge of such truths. Such a person may be saved if he is otherwise disposed to believe and do all that God requires in order to be saved. That we must believe all the truths revealed by God for our salvation with at least implicit faith, is evident from the words of our dear Saviour. After commissioning his Apostles to teach all nations to observe all things what soever he had commanded, he added : < ( And he that 434 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. believeth not (namely, all things that he had commanded) shall be condemned." Now, besides those four great truths the knowledge of which is a necessary means of salvation, there are others which we must know as a matter of precept, which is binding under pain of mortal sin. We must know and believe all the truths contained in the Apostle's Creed, namely : That God has created heaven and earth, preser ves and governs the universe ; that the blessed Virgin Mary is the true mother of God, was conceived without sin and ever remained a virgin 5 that Jesus Christ by his own power rose from the dead on the third day after his death, ascended into heaven, and, there sitteth at the right of his eternal Father ; that on the last day of the world, all men shall rise, and be judged by Jesus Christ. We must also believe the communion of saints, that is, that each of the faithful who lives in the grace of God, shares in the merits of all the saints, living and dead. We must believe in the remission of sins, that is, that our sins are forgiven in the sacrament of penance, if we are truly sorry for them. We must also know the ten commandments of God and the six precepts of the church, the seven sacraments and the graces which they confer upon the receiver, especially the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, penance and the holy Eucharist, and the other sacraments when we are about to receive them. We are also obliged to know the Lord's Prayer, which is a prayer composed by Jesus Christ and left to us in order that we may know how to ask the graces most nec essary for our salvation. Every one should also learn the Hail Mary, in order to know how to recommend himself to the mother of God. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 435 Every one should also know that, in the other world, there is a place called Purgatory. Many of the just die without having fully cancelled the temporal punishments due to their sins. On account of the sorrow for their sins, and the love for God which they conceived in this world, says St. Alphonsus with other theologians, God remits all the guilt of their sins ; but not all the temporal punishments due to them. They can not concel those punishments by acquiring new merits, for their earthly pilgrimage is over. Upon them is come that fatal, u night in which no one can work." (John, ix., 4.) They are no longer at liberty to choose doing penance, but are forced to suffer for their sins, and on this account their sufferings are no longer of any merit. Although they are unable to assist themselves, yet they can be as sisted, in their sufferings, by our prayers and good works. We should, therefore, often pray for the souls in pur gatory that they may be relieved in their sufferings. (Council of Trent, by St. Alph. Sess, 25, n. 17 and 20.) (Catech. on Faith, n. 12.) We also must know and believe that it is very useful to pray to the saints, especially to the Mother of God, to obtain through their prayers, the graces and blessings of God necessary for our salvation. Every Christian, wheth er he be a priest, or layman, a married or single person, lawyer or physician, etc., is obliged to know the principal duties of his state of life. As these truths have been re vealed by God, he commands all men to believe them under pain of eternal damnation. " He that believeth not shall be condemned." (Mark., xvi., 16.) From the fact that Jesus Christ has commanded all men to believe and to do under pain of eternal damnation all that 436 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. he has taught for our salvation, it clearly follows that he must have left in this world a teacher whom he endowed with the gift of teaching his doctrine with infallible cer tainty and without the least admixture of error. With out such a teacher it would be impossible to know what the true doctrine of Jesus Christ is. Now, our dear Saviour gave to the world, such an infallible teacher of his doctrine in his Apostles, and es pecially in the person of St. Peter and his lawful successors, upon whom he built his Church, the Roman Catholic Church, in which alone the lawful successors of St. Peter and of the other Apostles are found. "I say to thee, thou art Peter, (a Rock) and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth it shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth it shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt, xvi., 18-19.) "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep :"(John xxi., 15-17.) As Jesus Christ built his Church upon Peter, and said, that the gates of hell would never be able to prevail against her, it is clear that the true Church is found only where Peter or his successor is. Now, it is clearly proven from history, that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church alone is the lawful successor of Peter, and therefore the Roman Catholic Church alone is the true Church of Christ, the true, infallible Teacher of his doctrine. This is an article of faith. " He," therefore, "who will not hear the Church let him be to thee as the heathen and publican." (Matt., xviii., 17;) As we have, in the Catholic Church, the faithful guard ian and infallible teacher and interpreter of the doctrine COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 437 of Christ, it follows that we must believe, with unwaver ing, steadfast faith, all that the Church teaches us. " He that heareth you, heareth me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth me." (Luke, x., 16.) (See "Church and her enemies.") There are then, two reasons which oblige us to believe the truths of faith. The first is, because God, the infal lible Truth, has revealed them. Our belief in a person's word is firm in proportion as we think that he is not deceived in his knowledge ; that he knows well what he says, because he is wise and pru dent ; that he will not deceive us, because he loves the truth and fears God. Thus, in transacting business, we give more credit to a learned and able than to an ignorant man ; to a learned man who is virtuous than to one who is not so. Now, God is the first and essential Truth. His know ledge extends to all things and is infinitely perfect ; he is essentially true in his words. He knows things only as they are, and can speak them only as he knows them. Therefore we must have the most respectful, submissive faith in all that he has revealed to us, and believe his mys teries with the utmost firmness and simplicity, with an unwavering conviction of their reality. We must believe all the articles of faith more firmly than we believe the proposition : "The whole is greater than a part." We should believe them more firmly than what we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, touch with our hands ; we should be more certain of these articles of faith than we are of our own existence, because, though all these things are realities of which we cannot doubt, yet the things of faith are still more real; because 438 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. they have been taught by God, who cannot deceive us, while we know the others only through the senses, which often deceive us, and by the assurance of our mind, which, being enveloped in darkness, may easily be deceived ; so that there is nothing true in the universe of which we ought to be so certain, of which our understanding should be so fully convinced, as of the mysteries of religion. u Faith, v says St. Basil, " always powerful and victorious, exercises a greater ascendency over minds than all the proofs which reason and human science can furnish, be cause faith obviates all difficulties, not by the light of man ifest evidence, but by the weight of the infallible authority of God, which renders them incapable of admitting any doubt." It was thus that Abraham believed when, not withstanding all the impediments of nature, he felt sure that he should see himself the father of a son, and through him of many nations. " He believed in hope against hope," says St. Paul, "that he might be made the father of many nations, according to what was said to him : i So shall thy seed be.? r And he was not weak in faith, for he consid ered neither his old age nor that of his wife, Sarah. He distrusted not the promise of God, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being most fully convinced that what soever God has promised he is able to perform. The faith of Moses was so great that St. Paul says of him, that " he acted with the invisible God as though he were visible." Similar was the faith of the famous and valiant Count de Montfort, who, being told that our Lord in the Host had appeared visibly in the hands of the priest, said to those who urged him to go and see the miracle : " Let those go and see it who doubt it ; as for myself, I believe COMMAS DM^NTS OF GOD. 439 firmly the truth of the mystery of the Eucharist as our mother the holy Church teaches it. Hence, I hope to receive in heaven a crown more brilliant than those of the angels ; for they, being face to face with God, have not the power to doubt." The noble Count St. Eliazer used to say, that with re gard to matters of faith, he believed them so firmly that if all the theologians in the world strove to persuade him to the contrary, their logic would not have the slightest effect on him. And, in effect, faith ought to take precedence of reason, demonstration, experience, and all other motives of certi tude, with the true Christian and new man regenerated in Jesus Christ. " Consider," says St. Augustine, " that you are not called reasonable but faithful, since when any one is baptized we say : He has become one of the faithful." We must have this firm faith not only in some but in all the truths which God has made known, although they may be altogether incomprehensible to us. Faith will not allow of the rejection of even one ; and he who should voluntarily entertain a doubt of one single article — one single point of faith — could not be said to have faith at all. We believe everything that God has revealed, pre cisely for this reason : that God has said it. The word of God, who. is infallible truth itself, and who cannot deceive nor be deceived, is the ivliy and wherefore of our belief. To say or to think, I believe this article, this truth of faith, but I do not believe that, is as much as to say or think, I believe that God tells the truth in this point, but he tells it not in that other ; it is as much as to say God is capable of telling a lie. This is blasphemy ; it is even the denial of God's existence. 440 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. And also to say or think, I cannot believe such an art icle or such a mystery of faith, because it is too obscure, too incomprehensible, and contrary to reason, is to exhibit a lamentable Lick of reason. To be a man, it is neces sary to have reason. Reason is the light of man. But reason tells us that it is necessary to submit to faith, and that there is no sense in him who wishes to submit to his reason the very essential principle of his reason, and that to wish to understand what is above his intelligence is to be without intelligence. Reason tells us that our religion would not be divine if it were not above reason. For God would not be God if he were not incomprehensible, and my soul could not adore him if my mind could comprehend him. It is one thing to say that such a mystery is contrary to reason, and an other to prove it. In order to prove that a doctrine is con trary to reason, we must have a clear, precise idea of what that doctrine is. We can say, for instance, that it is con trary to reason to assert that a square is a circle, for we have a clear, precise idea of what a square is, and what is a circle. But we cannot say with certainty that a doc trine or a mystery of our holy faith is contrary to reason, for we can never have a full, clear, precise idea of that doctrine or mystery. We cannot have this clear idea, simply because those doctrines are far above reason. We cannot say, for instance, that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the doctrine of three divine Persons in one divine Substance, is contrary to reason, because we can never have a clear, precise idea either of God's essence or of the nature of the three divine Persons. And what is true of the Trinity is true also of all the other doctrines and mysteries of our holy faith. They are not against COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 441 reason, but they are above reason. Reason is above the senses, and faith is above reason. " Certainly/7 says St. John Chrysostom, " since the works of God incomparably surpass the capacity of our minds, the thoughts whereby we seek to penetrate the abysses of faith are always accompanied with folly, and resemble labyrinths which it is very easy to enter, but from which it is almost impossible to come forth ; these thoughts spring from pride, and as proud minds are asham ed to believe or to admit that which they cannot under stand, they entangle themselves in difficulties from which they cannot easily issue. Is it true, then, proud man, that you can understand how the sun and stars were cre ated ; how the earth, with all its riches, was called forth from chaos j how the magnet attracts iron ; how a single grain of corn sown in the earth produces a thousand other grains ? You are not ashamed to own that you cannot answer these things ; and when there is question of things of a more sublime nature, of things that are above the comprehension of angels, you will not avow your ignor ance — you make bold efforts to understand them. Fool ! the shame is not the inability to comprehend them, but the daring to sound them." Speaking of Rahab, who received the spies, and of whom St. Paul says that her faith saved her from the un happy fate of her fellow-citizens, St. John Chrysostom praises the simplicity of her faith, and adds : " This woman did not examine what the spies said, neither did she reason with herself thus : How can it be possible that the captives and fugitives now wandering in the desert will capture a city so strong and so well provided as ours ? Had she argued thus, she had been lost." 442 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Those of the Israelites, on the contrary, who, hearing of the prodigious strength and power of the countries they were to conquer, yielded to diffidence, notwithstanding the divine assurance that they should vanquish their enemies, even without fighting them, were deprived by their infidelity of the happiness which God had promised to their faith. What could be more strange or more opposed to reason than to command a father to sacrifice his only and most innocent son ? And yet Abraham put himself in readiness to do so, without discussing the commandment or adducing arguments to prove its unreasonableness $ he considered only the divinity and wisdom of him who commanded. Another person, wishing to show himself more reason able refused to strike a prophet, as he had been ordered to do, because the thing seemed to him improper. But his disobedience was soon punished, for a lion rushed upon him and devoured him, not far from the place where the fault had been committed. Saul, having been ordered by God to put the Amalekites to death with their flocks and herds, found it reasonable to spare the king, and to set aside the best and fattest of the flocks for sacrifice; in reccompense for his fine reasoning on the subject, he was overwhelmed with many evils, and finally lost his kingdom. The child at the mother's breast takes what it sees not; sometimes he will even close his eyes when he might see, as though he confided entirely in his mother, and in the love she bears him j in like manner the soul sucks the milk of faith from the bosom of the Church, which she sees not ; she reposes on the infinite wisdom and goodness of Jesus Christ, who can teach her nothing but what is true, and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 443 give her nothing that is not good. It is on this juice of divine faith that the just man lives, as St. Paul tells us. The faith of St. Teresa was so firm that it seemed to her she could convert all the heretics from their errors ; and so simple that she said the less she comprehended a mys tery, the more firmly she believed it and the more devo tion it excited in her ; she tasted a singular pleasure in not being able to comprehend it. She silenced all objections to a mystery by saying : " The Son of God, Jesus Christ, has revealed it to us, and we have no more questions to ask." The second reason, which obliges us to believe the truths of faith is, because God, through his infallible teacher, the church, proposes them to our belief, and com mands us, under pain of eternal damnation, to believe and do what she teaches us for our salvation. " To reject, then, but one article of faith taught by the Church," says St. Thomas Aquinas, " is enough to des troy faith, as one mortal sin is enough to destroy charity j for the virtue of faith does not consist in merely adhering to the Holy Scriptures, and in revering them as the word of God ; it consists principally in submitting our intellect and will to the divine authority of the true Church charg ed by Jesus Christ to expound them. ' I would not believe the Holy Scriptures,' says St. Augustine; 'were it not for the divine authority of the Church.7 He, therefore, who despises and rejects this authority cannot have true faith'. If he admits some supernatural truths, they are but simple opinions, as he makes them (the truths) depend on his private judgment. It is absurd for him to say that he believes in Jesus Christ. To believe in a man is to give our full assent to his word and to all he teaches. True 444 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. faith, therefore, is absolute belief in Jesus Christ and in all he taught. Hence, he who does not adhere to all that Jesus Christ has prescribed for our salvation, has no more the doctrine of Jesus Christ and of his Church than the pagans, Jews and Turks have. c He is,' says Jesus Christ, * but a heathen, and a publican.7 So there is no faith out side of the true Church ; and as faith is the beginning of salvation, the foundation and source of justification, and is found only in the true Church, it is clear that there is no salvation outside of the true Church." (See Predest ination in my work, on Grace and Sacr.) So great is the importance of this truth that the holy Catholic Church has placed it as the first article of the profession of faith which converts have to make when about to be received into the church. This truth or article of faith reads as follows : " I, N. N., having before my eyes the holy Gospels which I touch with my hand, and knowing that no one can be saved without that faith which the Holy, Catholic Apostolic Roman Church holds, believes and teaches, against which I grieve that I have greatly erred," etc. " How grateful, then," says St. Alphonsus, " ought we to be to God for the gift of the true faith. How great is not the number of infidels and heretics ! The world is full of them, and they all will be condemned, except infants who die after baptism." (Catech. Sect, i., 10, 19.) " Our rule of faith, therefore," says St. Alphonsus, "is this: 'My God, because thou, who art the infallible truth, hast revealed to the Church the truths of faith, I believe all that the Church proposes to my belief.' 7 (Catech. Sect, i, 6.) Such is the faith which God prescribes in the first commandment. It is only by such faith that he is truly honored and wor- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 445 shipped, for by such faith we acknowledge him as the sovereign Being of infinite perfections, made known to us by revelation, and as the sovereign Truth, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. It is never allowed, under any circumstances whatever, to deny this faith ; for our dear Lord says : " He that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt., x., 33.) From this, however, it does not follow that we are bound always to make an open profession of our faith before every body. We are obliged to profess our faith openly when God's honor, or our own, or our neighbor's good requires us to do so. Hence we are bound to make an open profession of our faith when interrogated by tyrants and persecutors of the church : or when wicked men, by our silence, would be encouraged in blaspheming our holy faith; or when we know that our neighbor would be in danger of deny ing the faith or committing any grievous sin if we were not to profess our faith openly ; or when we are obliged to choose between doing something contrary to our consci ence and making an open profession of our faith — " Every one that shall confess me before men," says our Lord "I will also confess him before may Father who is in heaven. " (Matt., x., 32.) Theodosia had an only son, named Neanias. When he reached his 20th year Theodosia was eager to advance his interests. On this account she presented him to the emperor Diocletian. To gain the favor of the emperor, Theodosia told him, that in spite of all her efforts, her husband died a Christian, but that she had carefully train ed up her son for the service of the emperor and the gods. . Diocletian, being a deadly enemy of the Christians, was 446 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. pleased to hear that Theodosia had brought up her son a pagan. He immediately placed Neanias at the head of a troop of soldiers, and sent him to Alexandria, with orders to ferret out the Christians and put them to death. Theodosia was overjoyed and Neanias, who had learned from his mother to hate Christians, resolved to distinguish himself by his zeal against them, and thus advance in the esteem of the emperor. He set out with his troops, breathing fire and slaugh ter, — when — 0 wonderful mercy of God ! — as he neared the city of Apamea, he heard an interior voice saying to him : " 0 Neanias ! whither art you going 1 " At the same time he beheld a cross in the air before him. Startled by what he saw and heard, he halted instantly. In a mom ent a brilliant flood of light illumined his soul. He called to mind all that his father had told him of the religion of Jesus Christ. At that moment, touched by the grace of God, he resolved to become a Christian. Instead of attacking the Christians he turned his arms against the bands of marauders who infested the country, and completely routed them. He then repaired to Alex andria, where he was fully instructed in the faith. On his return, his mother, not knowing that he had become a Christian, was transported with joy at his great victories. "Yes, mother," answered Neanias, "I have gained a victory far more glorious than all these. I have conquered myself, With the grace of God I have become a Christian ! " What ! my son ! " — cried Theodosia, in amazement, "you a Christian ! surely you are jesting. " — " No," replied Neanias, " I am in earnest. " Then drawing from his bosom a cross that he wore, he showed it to her and kissed it reverently. He then broke to pieces all the idols that were in the house. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 447 At the sight of this Theodosia became so enraged that, scarcely knowing what she was doing, she rushed to the emperor and denounced her own son as a Christian, an enemy of the gods. Diocletian was surprised at this news. He sent for Neanias, spoke kindly to him at first, then threatened him with the most terrible torments. Neanias remained firm. Diocletian was enraged, and ordered him to be put to torture. At first Neanias was cruely beaten with rods, then cast into prison, to give him time for reflection. On the following day as Neanias remained firm he, with a number of other Christians, was put to the most fright ful tortures. Theodosia was present with a number of ladies of rank. She hoped that her son, overcome by his sufferings, would at length renounce the Christian faith, which she hated so intensely. She noticed, however, that, on the contrary, her son as well as the other martyrs, rejoiced in all their sufferings. Suddenly, as she sat there witnessing the wonderful con stancy of the martyrs, the grace of God touched her proud heart. She saw in that moment all the enormity of the unnatural crime she had committed in giving up her own son to be tortured. She was filled with shame and remorse. Enlightened by God ; she cried out in a loud voice : " I am a Christian ! " She was denounced to the emperor, and led to the same prison to which her son had just been brought back. Neanias was surprised to see his mother enter the prison, but how great was his joy when she informed him that she, too, had become a Christian, and that with God's grace she was resolved to die for the faith. After many useless efforts to induce them to apostatize, mother and son had at length the happiness to die for the faith ! 448 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. We are, moreover, obliged to make internal acts of faith : 1. As soon as we come to the use of reason, and are sufficiently instructed in the truths of faith. 2. Whenever faith is a necessary disposition for the performance of a certain duty, for instance, when we are about to receive a sacrament. 3. Whenever we cannot overcome a certain temptation unless we make an act of faith. 4. As we are bound to increase in the virtue of faith, and as every virtue is nourished and increased by frequent acts of virtue, we are obliged to make frequent acts of faith in the course of our life. Hence it is a mortal sin not to comply with this duty for a considerable time. However, the obligation of making acts of faith is ful filled as often as we pray, or hear Mass, or perform other religious duties with proper dispositions. 5. Lastly, we are obliged to make acts of faith when we are in danger of death. But here a non-Catholic may object : Will you send to hell all those who do not think as you do? The Catholic Church sends no one to hell. No one is condemned to the torments of hell, except through his own fault. God gives sufficient grace to all men, heathens as well as heretics. Those who abuse this grace will have to answer for it to God, and not to the Church. You ask, if I wish to send every body to hell, and I ask, if you wish to send every body to heaven I If every one is to go to heaven, no matter what his creed may be, why did the Son of God come down from heaven and establish a Church 1 Why did he abolish the Jewish Church, the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Jewish COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 449 worship ? Why did he declare in so solemn a manner that whoever did not believe in him would be damned ? God really desires the salvation of all, but he wishes that men should reach heaven in the way he has marked out. Now those who refuse to walk that way when they know it, clearly go astray. They walk with open eyes to their own destruction. He alone has an excuse who is invincibly ignorant. But he that is invincibly ignorant, and does what he can and as well as he knows, will re ceive the assistance of God, if he prays for it. God does not save the Turk by leaving him a Turk, or the idolater by leaving him an idolater, but he leads those who cor respond with his grace to a knowledge of the truth, so that at last they are saved ; but those who continually and deliberately refuse to correspond with his grace are lost. Hence, those that are damned go to hell, not because they do not think as we do, but because they refuse to cooper ate with the lights and graces which God gives them. They are like a child born in a cave. If they follow the glimmer of light, it will lead them to perfect dayj if they do not they will remain in darkness forever. Who is then to blame I Whose fault is it ? Remember it was God who created these souls, it was God who be came man and died for them ; and this same God tells us that they who refuse to believe will be condemned. Will any one pretend to tell me that he knows better than God himself, that he has more love for souls than God himself? What prayers have you offered up, what tears have you shed, what sacrifices have you made, what sufferings have you endured for the salvation of souls ? Go, pray, watch, fast, do penance, pour out your heart's blood, give your life for the salvation of men, as Jesus Christ did, and then 450 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. perhaps I may listen to your theories, but unitl then I shall believe the words of Jesus Christ in spite of the shallow objections you may bring. Ah ! let us lay aside all foolish prejudice and blind pas sion. For God's sake, and for your soul's sake, consider the matter calmly. Supposing we admit for a moment that every one goes to heaven, no matter what his belief is. Why then there is no truth on earth. Jesus Christ has said 5 " He that will not believe will be condemned." Now, if the Son of God does not tell the truth, where shall we find it? " "He has the words of eternal life.'7 St. Paul says, " Without faith it is impossible to please God." These are the words of the Bible, the words of God. If I cannot believe God's word, I can believe no one — there is no truth on earth. If all go to heaven, then there is no heaven. Suppose you had to live forever with your most deadly enemy, would you call such a life heaven 1 Suppose you had to live forever with drunkards, murderers, blasphemers, with devils, and the vilest scum of humanity, would you call such a life heaven? . Now, as there is a heaven, so there must be a hell. Now, St. Paul says that heretics, adulterers, and so on, "shall not possess the kingdom of God." And do not deceive yourself with the vain imagination that those who die in mortal sin, will wander from star to star and be able to purify themselves and amend in the next world. The terrible words of Jesus Christ are too plain. " Wher ever the tree falleth, there it shall lie." I ask, what excuse can they have who reject the known truth in order to follow the corrupt desires of their heart, who hate the light because their works are evil; who COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 451 stifle the voice of their conscience, and then pretend that no matter what a man believes he will be saved anyhow. Of course God must change his divine decrees, must break all his divine promises, must cease to be just and holy, in a word, he must cease to be God, in order not to lose their company, and who are they t Unbelievers, perjurers, adulterers, murderers — sinners of every die. And yet they imagine that heaven cannot be happy without their company ? " Ah ! You Catholics," says a non-Catholic, " are intol erant*, you have no charity." Before answering this objection, I would ask : " Who are those who accuse the Catholic Church of intolerance ? Why of course, first of all, it is charitable — tolerant England — Aye, England with her penal code, that code inspired by devils and written in human gore. Ha ! ask Ireland, bleeding, manacled Ireland, standing by her ruined shrines7 her red graves, her coffinless trenches, and they will tell you of England's wonderful toleration. Go, ask the exiled children of Ireland ; track them to the uttermost ends of the earth ; go, ask the winds that have so often heard their sighs and their prayers ; go, ask the earth that has so often drunk in their tears and their blood • go, ask the ocean that has so often witnessed their death-struggle while flying from chains and slavery ; go to the dreary shores of the icy north • go to the burning sands of the torrid south, and the bleached and scattered bones of Ireland's sons and daughters will tell you of England's wonderful toleration. Or is it, perhaps, New England, with her Blue Laws, her cropping and branding, and witch burning. Or is it per haps the faithful followers of Calvin and Knox, so well known for their burning zeal. The hypocrites ! to talk of 452 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. toleration with their penal laws, with their bloody persecu tion directed against those brave and noble souls that had the courage to remain faithful to the religion of their forefathers, the religion of the civilized world, the holy church of Jesus Christ. Before they can talk of toleration, let them first blot out of history the names of that lustful bluebeard, Henry VIII., the name of that heartless virago, Queen Bess, the names of Cromwell and Knox. Before they can talk of toleration, let them first restore the sacked and plundered churches and abbeys of Ireland ; let them call up from their graves the thousands that were massacred, that were deliberately starved to death, that were con demned to a long weary life of exile, far away from their beloved land. Look at the various protestant countries of Europe. See they practise that toleration which they preach so glibly. Go to Norway, Sweden and Denmark. There, after exterminating the Catholic religion with fire and sword, they still exclude Catholicity by the most tyran nical laws. Look at Germany at the present day. Their religious are exiled, their property is seized, their priests and bishops are imprisoned. Before protestants can talk of toleration, let them first destroy the history of the past three hundred years, let them destroy the very facts that exist even to this day. You blame the Catholics ; you call them intolerant, because they defend their holy faith, because they love it more than their life. Now, suppose some new sectarian should arise and teach that God requires human sacrifices. Suppose, in fact, he kidnapped your child, killed it; and poured its COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 453 blood on the altar as an agreeable sacrifice to God. Would you tolerate such a monster, would you approve of his bloody rites ? Certainly not. And why not ? Suppose his conscience tells him that such sacrifices are pleasing to God, would you hinder a man from following the dictates of his conscience ? Did not the ancient, do not even modern heathens offer up human sacrifices I But you will say, the interests of civilization, the in terests of humanity require that such cruel and inhuman sacrifices should be abolished. Very well, granted. Then you admit that there are instances when it is your right and even your duty to be intolerant in matters of religion. Again, if you believe it a sacred duty to forbid human sacrifices, would you not at least allow the disciples of that inhuman religion to preach it every-where, to try to gain as many followers as possible, so that, by and by, they would be strong enough to defend themselves ? Would you allow people to preach such inhuman doctrines ? By no means. Very well, then there are false doc trines which no sane man can tolerate. Let us take another case. Suppose some loved men and women would try to introduce publicly into your city the worship of Venus, as it existed among the heathens of old ; suppose they would poison the minds of your own sister, your virtuous wife or your innocent children with the virus of their foul doctrines, would you tamely suffer them to go on ! What, if they told you it was their religion ? Would you hinder them from following the dictates of their conscience ? Where then is your boasted toleration. "Ah ! " you answer, " such a religion is false ; it is con trary to the laws of common decency." Will you not at least allow the worshippers of Venus to 454 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. preach their doctrines, to spread them by means of books and pictures and pamphlets ? to scatter these vile books and pictures in your own family, among your innocent children ? Never ! Very well, then there are false doc trines which you believe it your right and even your duty to suppress, even though some persons should on that ac count call you intolerant. Again, suppose a number of fanatics should stand up once more, as they did in the days of the so-called reform ation — and slay and burn and outrage all who dared oppose them, would you tolerate this new religion ! But suppose they should declare that they were called by the Lord, that they were bound in conscience to act thus, that, in a word, it was their religion, would you tolerate them ? Then where is all your boasted toleration. Then there are false principles, which every honest man is bound in conscience to oppose to the best of his power. That is precisely what we Catholics maintain. We know, with infallible certainty, that the Catholic religion is the only true one, that the greatest misfortune that can ever befall a man is to lose the true faith 5 u for without faith it is impossible to please God," impossible to go to heaven. We are ready to sacrifice our health, our posessions, yea, our life itself, rather than give up our holy faith. Can you wonder then that we are jealous of this faith, that we can tamely suffer any one to rob us or our children of that which is dearer to us than life ? To tolerate falsehood quietly, a man must be without heart and without reason. It is in the very nature of every honest man when he has the truth, to guard it with jealous watchfulness, and to repel with indignation every admixture of falsehood. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 455 Look at the teacher of mathematics, when he discovers an error in the calculation of his pupils, does he not con demn it — is he not intolerant ? Look at the musician, the leader of a choir — is he not indignant when some one sings flat or out of time? Look at the lawyer who has carefully studied the laws and is eloquently pleading his case. He quotes a certain law. He has. read it even that very morning. Suppose you tell him that no such law ever existed. Is he not indignant at your denial? Is not he jealous of what he knows to be the truth ? Look at that experienced physician. Try if you can to make him believe that unnatural sins will not hurt the nervous system. You may as well try to convince him that poison will not kill. Every honest man guards the truth with the most jeal ous care, and you will blame the Catholics for jealously guarding the highest truth — that truth which God himself has revealed — that truth upon which depends our whole happiness here and hereafter ? Do not the laws of every civilized land condemn those who sell poison indiscriminately, and can you blame the Church for condemning those who poison the souls of their fellow-men, who rob them of their holy faith, who deprive them of the means of salvation, of the assistance of God's grace, who rob them even in their dying hour of the con solations of religion, of even the hope of heaven ? Is not the Church right in condemning those murderers of souls ? " But charity requires at least a little toleration. " Well then, what is charity ? Charity means certainly to wish well 'to your neighbor. Now the true faith is the greatest blessing that man can possess in this life, and the 456 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. lack of faith is the greatest misfortune that can befall one. " For without faith it is impossible to please God. " What kind of charity then is it to rob a man of his greatest treasure — his holy faith ? And you will assert that to try to save a man from such a misfortune is to be without charity. What ! the physician that saves the life of your wife or child, the lawyer that saves your property and your good name — are they uncharitable ? To warn a poor, blind man that is walking on the brink of a fright ful precipice — even to seize him and draw him back — is that uncharitable f Now is not he that saves a man's sou] — his immortal life, a far greater benefactor ? The honor we owe to the God of truth, and the love we bear our neighbor, alike oblige us to defend our holy faith by every lawful means in our power. The various sects and secret societies are ever prating about toleration, why then do they not practise what they preach ? Why are Catholics even to this day forbidden to hold office in New Hampshire ? Why is the Catholic priest forbidden to visit the prisons and hospitals in so many parts of the United States? Why do they tax Cath olics to support their godless schools ? Why do they kid nap thousands of our children every year and sell them out West ? Why do they preach continually against the Catholic Church ? Why do the}7 spread broadcast so many books and pamphlets, filled with the most infamous calum nies of our holy Church ? And should we Catholics, ever dare to defend our holy faith against such atrocious calumnies, these hyrocrites instantly clasp their hands arid turn up the whites of their eyes in holy horror, and accuse us of bigotry, intolerance, want of charity, and so on ! With what name should we brand those who are guilty of such conduct ? COMMANDMENTS OF QOD. 457 16. Which are the sins against faith ? The sins against faith are : infidelity, heresy, apostasy, indifference to faith, ivilful doubt of any article of faith, and liberalism. 17. What is infidelity, Infidelity is the want of the true faith in an unbaptized person. Those who do not believe what God has revealed are. called infidels. Infidel means one who has no faith. Hence unbelievers, and all those who reject any article of the Catholic faith, are, in a certain sense, infidels. The word " infidel," however, is especially applied to those who are not baptized, and who do not believe in God, or in Jesus Christ, his Son. Children who are not baptized, idolaters and pagans who do not adore the one true God, but pay divine honor to idols, are called infidels. Turks are also infidels, for, though believing in one God, they have no belief in Jesus Christ. They pay honor to a false prophet, called Mahomet, from whom they take the name of Mahometans. They distinguish them selves from others by the name of Mussulman, which, in the Turkish language, means a true believer. There are many persons who never had an opportunity of knowing the true religion, or of becoming aware of the obligation of seeking and embracing it. These persons are called negative infidels, and the want of the true religion in these persons is called negative infidelity. This kind of infidelity is no sin, for the Church has condemned the proposition of Baius : " Merely negative infidelity in those to whom Jesus 458 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Christ has not been made known, is a sin." Hence, all those who live in this kind of infidelity are not accountable for the want of the true faith. It is for this reason that our Lord said : " If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." (John, xv., 22.) The Christian revelation is a positive law. Now, the na ture of a positive law is not to be binding until it has been made known. Hence, if negative infidels are condemned, they are not condemned on account of their infidelity, but on account of their sins, says St. Thomas. " For whosoever have sinned without the law/7 say a St. Paul, " shall perish without the law.'7 (Rom., ii., 12.) Almighty God has impressed upon man from the begin ning, the principles of right and wrong or the law of nature, and when man is about to violate this law, his conscience warns him not to do so, and if, in spite of this warning, he violates the natural law, he makes him self guilty and damnable in the sight of God. He will be punished in proportion to his guilt. But if a negative infidel is faithful in obeying the voice of his conscience, God will have pity on him before he dies ; for, says St. Thomas Aquinas, " if any one was brought up in the wilderness or among brute beasts, and if he follow ed the law of nature to desire what is good, and to avoid what is wicked, we should certainly believe either that God, by an inward inspiration, would reveal to him what he should believe, or would send some one to preach the faith to him, as he sent Peter to Cornelius." (See what I have said on this subject in my work, " Grace and the Sacraments, " article on Predestination, p. 117—154.) There are other persons to whom the truths of the true COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 459 religion have been sufficiently made known, so as to be inexcusable before God, like many of the Jews of whom our Lord said that they had no excuse for their sins, be cause he had spoken to them. Having received sufficient light to know the truth, or at least to understand the dan ger of their position, -and the obligation of making diligent inquires to ascertain and embrace the truth, it is evident that such people are accountable to God, especially if they voluntarily deny the truth and obstinately resist it. The want of faith in these people is called, positive infidelity. Now, " positive infidelity, being wilful obstinacy, pal pable contradiction, and public contempt of divine rev elation and of the precepts of the Gospel, is one of the most grievous sins in the sight of God and of his holy Church, " says St. Thomas Aquinas. To understand this truth, we have but to remember what mortal sin is. Mortal sin is a deviation from virtue and divine law. The most heinous sin, therefore, is that which separates man from God more than any other. Now, no sin causes a greater separation from God than that of positive in fidelity. When the intellect is in error and abandons the knowledge of God, the will follows it and increases in malice in proportion as the intellect turns away from the path of truth, justice and charity. Each step that such a man takes in the darkness of infidelity, increases the dis tance that separates him from God. A return from that dangerous course is very difficult, for when the intellect is in error and the will filled with malice and depravity, all the bonds capable of uniting man to God are torn asunder. .Let us take a good look at an infidel and see what kind of man he is. In our day and country it has become fash- 460 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. ionable for a large number of men to have no religion, and even to boast of having none. To have no religion is a great crime, but to boast of having none is the height of folly. The man without religion is a kind of monster, with the intelligence of a man and the cruelty and instincts of a beast. His religion is to disregard good principles ; to do away, not only with all revealed religion, but even with the law of nature j to hold iniquity in veneration ; to practise fraud, theft, and robbery almost as a common trade ; to be regardless of parents and of all divinely con stituted authority ; to create confusion, not only in religion, but also in government and in the family circle ; to con tribute towards the increase of the number of apostates, and make of these apostates members of such secret soc ieties as aim at the overthrow of governments, of all order, and of the Christian religion itself. The man without religion says : " There is no God." He says so "in his heart," says Holy Writ j he says not so in his head, because he knows better. There are moments when, in spite of himself, he returns to better sentiments. Let him be in imminent danger of death or of a considerable loss of fortune, and how quickly, on such occasions, he lays aside the mask of infidelity ! He straightway makes his profession of faith in an Almighty God ; he cries out : u Lord, I am perishing ; Lord ! have mercy on me." The famous Volney was once on a voyage with some of his friends, off the coast of Maryland. All at once a great storm arose, and the little bark, which bore the flower of the unbelievers of both hemispheres, appeared twenty times on the point of being lost. In this imminent dan ger every one began to pray. M. de Volney himself snatched a rosary from a good woman near him, and began COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 461 to recite Hail Marys with edifying fervor, neither did he cease till the danger was over. When the storm had passed, some one said to him in a tone of good-natured raillery : " My dear sir, it seems to me that you were praying just now. To whom did you address yourself, since you maintain that there is no God ? " "Ah ! my friend, " replied the philosopher, all ashamed, " one can be a sceptic in his study, but not at sea in a storm.'7 (Noel, Catech de Bodez, L, 73.) A certain innkeeper had learned, in bad company, all sorts of impiety. In his wickedness he went even so far as to say that he did not believe in God. One night he was roused by the cry of " Fire ! fire ! " His house was on fire. No sooner had he preceived the dreadful havoc going on than he cried with clasped hands : " My God ! 0 my God ! God Almighty ! God of grace and mercy ! have pity on me and help me ! " Here he was suddenly stopped by one of his neighbors : u How ! wretch, you have been denying and blaspheming God all the evening, and you would have him come now to your assistance ! " (Schraid and Belet, Cat. Hist, i., 43.) • Colonel Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticenderago, was an atheist and unbeliever. On the 12th of November, 1827, his daughter fell dangerously ill. The poor girl appeared to have but a few moments to live. She sent for her father to her bedside, and, taking him by his hand, faintly ad dressed him in these words : u My dear father, I am going to die very soon ; tell me seriously, then, I entreat you, whether I am to believe what you have so often told me — that there is neither God, nor heaven nor hell, or what I learned in the catechism which my mother taught me?" The father was thunderstruck; he remained silent for 462 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. some moments, with his eyes. fixed on his expiring daugh ter. His heart appeared to be torn by some violent strug gle. At length he approached the bed, and said in a choking voice : " My child, my dear child, believe only what your mother taught ! " The astonishment of the un believers who heard him may easily be imagined. One of them, who had long before abjured his religion, being asked what he thought, replied that it was more pleasant to live according to his new religion, but it was better to die in the old. (Schmid and Belet Cat. Hist, ii., 47.) From these examples it is evident that the mouth of the infidel belies his own heart. There is still another proof to show that the infidel does not believe what he says. Why is it that he makes his im pious doctrines the subject of conversation on every occa sion ? It is, of course, first to communicate his devilish principles to others, and make them as bad as he himself is ; but this is not the only reason. The good Catholic seldom speaks of his religion 5 he feels assured, by the grace of God, that his religion is the only true one, and that he will be saved if he lives up to it. Such is not the case with the infidel 5 he is constantly tormented in his soul. u There is no peace, no happiness for the impious," says Holy Scrip ture. (Isaias, xlviii., 22.) He tries to quiet the fears of his soul, the remorse of his conscience ; so he communicates to others, on every occasion, his perverse principles, hoping to meet with some of his fellow-men who may approve of his impious views, that he thus may find some relief for his interior torments. He resembles a timid man who is obliged to travel during a dark night, and who begins to sing and shout in order to keep away fear. The infidel is a sort of night traveller 5 he travels in the horrible dark- COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 463 ness of his impiety. His interior conviction tells him that there is a God, who will certainly punish him in the most frightful manner. This fills him with great fear, and makes him extremely unhappy every moment of his life ; he cannot bear the sight of a Catholic Church, of a Catholic procession, of an image of our Lord, of a picture of a saint, of a prayer-book, of a good Catholic, of a priest — in a word, he cannot bear anything that reminds him of God, of religion, of his own guilt and impiety ; so, on every occasion, he cries out against faith in God, in all that God has revealed and proposes to us for our belief by the holy Catholic Church. What is the object of his impious cries ? It is to deafen, to keep down, in some measure, the clamory of his conscience. Our hand will involuntarily touch that part' of the body where we feel pain ; in like manner, the tongue of the infidel touches, on all occasions, involuntarily ? as it were, upon all those truths of our holy religion which inspire him with fear of the judgments of Almighty God. He feels but too keenly that he cannot do away with God and his sacred religion by denying his existence. The man without religion must necessarily lose the esteem and confidence of his folio w-men. What confidence can be placed in a man who has no religion, and conse quently no knowledge of his duties \ What confidence can you place in a man who never feels himself bound by any obligation of conscience, who has no higher motive to direct him than his self-love, his own interests ? The pagan Roman, though enlightened only by reason, had yet virtue enough to say : "I live not for my self ^ but for the republic ;" but the infidel's motto is : "I live for my self; I care for no one but myself." How can such a man 464 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. reconcile " poverty and wealth/7 " labor and ease/7 " sick ness and health," " adversity and prosperity/7 " rich and poor/7 " obedience and authority/7 "liberty and law/7 etc., etc. ? All these are enigmas to him, or, if he affects to understand them at all, he thinks they arise from bad management or bad government. He will be a tyrant or a slave, a glutton or a miser, a fanatic or a libertine, a thief or a highway robber, as circumstances may influence him. Think you that the common u fall-back7' on the principle of self-interest — well or ill understood — will ever restrain such a one from doing any act of impulse or indulgence, provided he thinks it can be safely done ? He will look on life as a game of address or force, in which the best man is he who carries off the prize. He will look upon power as belonging of right to the strongest ; the weak, or those who differ from him in opin ion, he will treat with contempt and cruelty, and will think that they have no rights which he is bound to respect. In power such a man will be arbitrary and cruel ; out of power he will be faithless, hypocritical, and subservient. Trust him with authority, he will abuse it ; trust him with money, he will steal it ; trust him with your confidence, and he will betray it. Such a man — pagan and unprin cipled as he is — may nevertheless affect, when it suits his purpose, great religious zeal and purity. He will talk of Philanthropy and Humanity, have great compassion, perhaps, for a dray-horse, and give the cold shoulder to the houseless pauper or orphan. The heart of such a man is cold, insincere, destitute of every tender chord for a tender vibration, of every particle of right or just feeling or principle that can be touched 5 on the contrary ; it is roused to rage, revenge? COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 465 and falsehood if interfered with. How is such a heart to be touched or moved, or placed under such influences as could move it ? Indeed, it would require a miracle. Nay, even a miracle would fail to make a salutary impression upon such a heart. A French infidel declared that, should he be told that the most remarkable miracle was occurring close by his house, he would not move a step out of his way to see it. Pride never surrenders 5 it prefers rather to take an illogical position than to bow even to the authority of reason. Furious, beside itself, and absurd, it revolts against evidence. To all reasoning, to undeniable evidence, the infidel — the man without religion — opposes his own will : " Such is my determination." It is sweet to him to be stronger single-handed than common sense, stronger than miracles, stronger even than God who manifests himself by them. Such a man may be called civilized, but he is only an accomplished barbarian. His head and hands are instruct ed, his heart, and low passions, and appetites unbridled and untamed. Collot d'Herbois played the most execrable part during the French Revolution. Having become a representative of the people under the Reign of Terror, he had the Lyon- ese massacred in hundreds. The very accomplices of his crimes regarded him as a man so dangerous that they thought it expedient to exclude him from society, by ban ishing him to the deserts of Guiana. Transported to that tropical country, he looked upon himself as the most miser able of men. " I am punished, " he would sometimes ex claim ; " the abandonment in which I find myself is a hell." Being attacked by a malignant fever, he was to be taken to Cayenne. The negroes charged with this commission threw 466 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. him on the public road with his face turned to the scorch ing sun.^ They said in their own language : " We will not carry that murderer of religion and of men." " What is the matter with you? " asked the doctor, Guysonf, when he arrived. " I have a burning fever and perspiration." ." I believe it ; you are sweating crime." He called on God and the Blessed Virgin to assist him. A soldier, to whom he had preached irreligion, asked him why he invoked God and the Blessed Virgin — he who mocked them some months before. "Ah ! my friend," said he, " my mouth then belied my heart." He then cried out : " 0 my God, my God ! can I yet hope for pardon? Send me a con soler, send me a priest, to turn mine eyes away from the furnace that consumes me. My God, give me peace ! " The spectacle of his last moments was so frightful that no one could remain near him. Whilst they were seeking a priest he expired, on the 7th of June, 1796, his eyes half open, his hands clenched, his mouth full of blood and froth. His burial was so neglected that the negro grave- diggers only half covered him, and his body became the food for swine and birds of prey. — Debussi, Nouveau Mois de Marie, 251. The man without religion is a slave to the most degrad ing superstition. Instead of worshipping the true, free, living God, who governs all things by His Providence, he bows before the horrid phantom of blind chance or inexora ble destiny. He is a man who obstinately refuses to believe the most solidly established facts in favor of religion, and yet, with blind credulity, greedily swallows the most ab surd falsehoods uttered against religion. He is a man whose reason has fled, and whose passions speak, object, and decide in the name of reason. He is sunk in the gross- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, 467 est ignorance regarding religion. He blasphemes what he does not understand. He rails at the doctrines of the Church, without knowing really what her doctrines are. He sneers at the doctrines and practices of religion because he cannot refute them. He speaks with the utmost grav ity of the fine arts, the fashions, and matters the most trivial, while he turns the most sacred subjects into ridi cule. In the midst of his own circle of fops and silly women, he utters his shallow conceits with all the pompous assur ance of a pedant. The man without religion is a dishonest plagiarist, who copies from Catholic writers all the objections made against the Church by the infidels of former times or by modern heretics ; but he takes good care to omit all the excellent answers and complete refutations which are contained in those very writings. His object is not to seek the truth, but to propagate falsehood. The man without religion often pretends to be an infidel, in order to appear fashionable. He is usually conceited, obstinate, puffed up with pride, a great talker, always shal low and fickle, skipping from one subject to another with out thoroughly examining any. At one moment he is a deist, at another a materialist, then he is a sceptic, and again an atheist, always changing his views, but always a slave of his passions, always an enemy of Christ. The man without religion often praises all religions — he is a true knave. He says : "If I were to choose my religion, I would become a Catholic ; for it is the most reasonable of all religions." But in his heart he despises all religion ; he scrapes together all the wicked and absurd calumnies he can find against the Church. He falsely accuses her of teaching monstrous doctrines which she has 468 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. always abhorred and condemned, and he displays his in genuity by combating those monstrous doctrines which he himself has invented, or copied from authors as dishonest as himself. The infidel is a monster without faith, with out law, without religion, without God. There are many who call themselves " free-thinkers " — many who reject all revealed religion — merely out of puerile vanity. They affect singularity in order to attract notice, to make people believe that they are strong-minded, that they are independent. Poor, deluded slaves of human respect ! They affect singularity in order to attract notice, and they forget that there is another class of people in the world also noted for singularity ; in fact, they are so singular that they have to be shut up for safe-keeping in a mad-house. What is the difference between an infidel and a madman? The only difference is that the madness of the infidel is wilful, while the madness of the poor lunatic is entirely involuntary. The one arouses our compassion, while the other excites our contempt and just indignation. The man without religion is a slave of the most shame ful passions. What virtue can that man have who believes that whatever he desires is lawful ; who designates the the most shameful crimes by the name of innocent pleas ures f What virtue can that man have who knows no other law than his passions ; who believes that God regards with equal eye, truth and falsehood, vice and virtue ? He may indeed practise some natural virtues, but these vir tues are, in general, only exterior. They are practised merely out of human respect ; they do not come from the heart. But the seat of true virtue is in the heart, and not in the exterior ; he that acts merely to please man, and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 469 not to please God, has no real virtue. What are the poor without religion? They are unable to control their pas sions, or to bear their hard lot. They see wealth around them, and, being without religion, they see no reason why that wealth should not be divided amongst them. Why should they starve, while their neighbors roll in splendor and luxury ? They know their power, and, not having the soothing influence of religion to restrain them, they use their power. They have done so in France and elsewhere ; and if they do not always succeed in producing revolution and anarchy, it is only the bayonet that prevents them. Is not the man who has said, " There is no God," on the point of also saying, " Property is robbery," and " Lust is lawful?" What are children without religion to their parents ? They are the greatest misfortune and the greatest curse that can come to them. History informs us that Dion, the philosopher, gave a sharp reproof to Dionysius, the tyrant, on account of his cruelty. Dionysius felt highly offended, and resolved to avenge himself on Dion ; so he took the son of Dion pris oner — not, indeed, for the purpose of killing him, but of giving him up into the hands of a godless teacher. After the young man had been long enough under this teacher to learn from him everything that was bad and impious, Dionysius sent him back to his father. Now what object had the tyrant in acting thus ? He foresaw that this cor rupted son, by his impious conduct during his whole life time, would cause his father constant grief and sorrow, so much so that he would be for him a lifelong affliction and curse. This, the tyrant thought, was the longest and greatest revenge he could take on Dion for having censured his conduct. 470 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Indeed, there is no father, there is no mother, who is not throughly convinced of the truth that a child without religion is the greatest affliction that can befall parents. This truth needs no illustration. What is the man of learning without religion ? He is more destructive than any army of savage soldiers. His science will prove more fatal than the sword in the hands of unprincipled men ; it will prove more of a demon than a God. The arsenal of his mind is stored with weapons to sap alike the altar and the throne ; to carry on a war of extermination against every holy principle, against the welfare and the very existence of society ; to spread among the people the worst of religions — the no-religion, the religion which pleases most hardened adulterers and criminals, the religion of irrational animals. The man of learning without religion will do all in his power to preach licentiousness, cruelty, and vice ; the substitution of the harlotry of the passions for the calm and elevating in fluences of reason and religion 5 to bring about a genera tion without belief in God and immortality, free from all regard for the invisible — a generation that looks upon this life as their only life, this earth as their only home, and the promotion of their earthly interests and enjoyments as their only end ; a generation that looks upon religion, marriage, or family and private property as the greatest enemies to wordly happiness j a generation that substi tutes science of this world for religion, a community of goods for private property, a community of wives for the private family 5 in other words, a generation that substi tutes the devil for God, hell for heaven, sin and vice for virtue and holiness of life. Witness the current literature of the day, which is pene- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 471 trated with the spirit of licentiousness, from the preten tious quarterly to the arrogant and flippant daily news paper, and the weekly and monthly publications, which are mostly heathen or maudlin. They express and incul cate, on the one hand, stoical, cold, and polished pride of mere intellect, or, on the other, empty and wretched sen timentality, irreligious and impious principles. Some em ploy the skill of the engraver to caricature the institutions and offices of the Christian religion, and others to exhibit the grossest forms of vice and the most distressing scenes of crime and suffering. The illustrated press has become to us what the amphitheatre was to the Romans when men were slain, women were outraged, and Christians given to the lions to please a degenerate populace. Who were the leaders in the work of destruction and wholesale butchery in the Reign of Terror ? The nurs lings of lyceums in which the chaotic principles of the "philosophers" were proclaimed as oracles of truth. Who are those turbulent revolutionists who always long to erect the guillotine ! And who are those secret con spirators and their myrmidon partisans who have sworn to unify Italy or lay it in ruins ? Men who were taught to scout the idea of a God and rail at religion, to consider Christianity as a thing of the past ;.men who revel in wild chimeras by night, and seek to realize their mad dreams by day. What is the physician without religion ? He peoples the grave-yards, murders helpless innocents, and makes many of his patients the objects of his brutal lust. What does he care, provided his purse swells and his brutal passion is gratified ? A gentleman of one of the smaller towns of Connecticut writes to the Independent as follows : 472 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 11 I dare not tell you what I know (and the information has been given me unsolicited) in reference to the horrid practise of the crime of infanticide in the land. I do not believe there is a village in the New England States but this crime is practised in more or less. There are men who make it their business, with medicine and instruments, to carry on this slaughter. And even physicians in good and regular standing in the Church have practised it. Men are making here, in this highly moral State, three thous and and four thousand dollars a year, in the small towns alone, at this business." Trustworthy physicians assure us that there are not less than sixty ghouls in New York City who grow rich by kill ing infants. The number has been stated at six times sixty. The author of the book Satan in Society writes on pages 130, 131, as follows : " A medical writer of some note published, in 1861, a pamphlet, in which he declared him self the hero of three hundred abortions. He admits, in a work of his, that he only found abortion necessary to save the life of the mother in four instances, thus publicly con fessing that in an immense number of cases he has per formed the operation on other grounds j and yet, in the face of all this self-accusation, this rascal walks unhung.'7 These infidel and immoral physicians advertise publicly, offering their services to enable people, as they say, " to enjoy the pleasures of marriage without the burden." They prepare, and even publicly sell everywhere, the drugs and implements for committing such murders of the helpless innocent. But who are the patients of those infidel physicians, the victims of these ghouls ? They come from the low and vicious circles of society. Many of them, shocking to say, are under the age of fifteen. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 473 " How is all this possible ? " exclaims the good Christian, " Is not affection for their offspring a quality possessed even by all animals, with rarely an exception ? Few, indeed, of the millions of the animal creation seek to destroy their own offspring after birth, or to so neglect them as to leave them liable to destruction by other bodies or forces. How, then, can a human intelligence, a mother, though she be illegitimate, be cruel enough to adopt the most revolting and barbarous means of committing that most unnatural of crimes, the crime of infanticide ? " Such a crime is indeed most shocking for the truly Chris tian woman. But since thousands of young ladies nowa days are brought up without religion, and are real infidels, we need not wonder at the fact that they are a kind of monster, with the intelligence of a man and the cruelty and instincts of a beast. In 1865, Dr. Morse Stewart, of Detroit, Mich., could not help declaring that " among married persons the practice of destroying the legitimate results of matrimony had become so extensive that people of high repute not only commit this crime, but do not even blush to speak boastingly among their intimates of the deed and the means of accomplishing it." "Several hundreds " Protestant women," says Dr. Storer of Boston, " have personally acknowledged to us their guilt, against whom only seven Catholics; and of these we found, upon further enquiry, that all but two were only nominally so, not going to confession. There can be no doubt that Romish ordin ance, flanked on the one hand by the confessional, and by denouncement and excommunication on the other, has saved to the world thousands of infant lives." — Criminal Abortion, p. 74. Ah ! if God is despised, his laws will be hated and vio- 474 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. lated ; man will see only his own interests j his neighbor's property will only whet his appetite 5 his neighbor's life will only be a secondary consideration ; he would, according to his creed, be a fool not to shed blood when his interest requires it ; his fellow-men become imbued with his princi ples — anarchy succeeds subordination — vice takes the place of virtue — what was sacred is profaned — what was honor able becomes disgraceful — might becomes right — treaties are waste paper — honor is an empty name — the most sacred obligations dwindle down into mere optional practices — youth despises age — wisdom is folly — subjection to autho rity is laughed at as a foolish dream — the moral code itself soon becomes little more than the bugbear of the weak minded — crowns are trampled under foot — thrones are overturned, nations steeped in blood, and republics swept from the face of the earth. Witness the downfall of so many empires, kingdoms, dynasties, and republics of the past. Witness the great confusion in the governments of the present. Witness the nameless abominations of the Communists, Fourierites, and other such vile and degraded fraternities ; the cold blooded murders and frightful suicides that fill so many domestic hearths with grief and shame ; the scarcely-con cealed corruption of public and professional men; the adroit peculation and wilful embezzlement of the public money ; those monopolizing speculations and voluntary insolven cies so ruinous to the community at large ; and, above all, those shocking atrocities so common in our country of unbelief — the legal dissolution of the matrimonial tie, and the wanton tampering of life in its very bud ; all these are humiliating facts sufficient to convince any impartial mind that if the devil were presented with a blank sheet COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 475 of paper, and bade to write on it the most fatal gift to man, he would simply write one word — no religion. Yes, it is the infidel, the man without religion, who makes war on God and His Christ, and says, with Lucifer, "Non serviam" — I will not serve thee. This daring rebel against God and his law wishes to have the inno cent children of the Christian family, to teach them his false, devilish maxims 5 promises them, as Satan, his master did the Saviour, riches, and honors, and power, if they will but fall down and worship him. He is blind, and he attempts to lead ; he is ignorant, and he offers to teach and direct his fellow-men. He will not receive the law, and he claims the right to give it. He arrogates the "higher law," and "would be as God." How incomprehensibly strange it is that there are so many men and women in our day who give ear to this temper instead of saying, " Get thee behind me, Satan," and " Thou art a liar and a cheat from the beginning." Were we given to see a devil and the soul of an infidel at the same time, we should find the sight of the devil more bearable than that of the infidel ; for St. James the Apostle tells us that " the devil believes and trembles." (Chap, ii., 19.) As no one can attain life everlasting without knowing and living up to the true religion, it is evident that man kind can have no worse enemies than those who endeavor by word and deed to destroy the true knowledge of God and his holy religion. Alas ! how numerous are these enemies in this country ! How hateful these enemies of God and of his holy reli gion are in the sight of the Lord may be seen from the frightful punishments which the Lord is accustomed to inflict upon them. 476 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Let us look at a few instances, taken from the little book, Fate of Infidelity, by a converted infidel. " You have undoubtedly heard of Blind Palmer, a pro fessed infidel. After he had tried to lecture against Christ he lost his sight, and died suddenly in Philadel phia, in the forty-second year of his age. You will also have heard of the so-called Orange County Infidel Society. They held, among other tenets, that it was right to in dulge in lasciviousness, and that it was right to regulate their conduct as their propensities and appetites should dictate ; and as these principles were carried into practi cal operation by some families belonging to the association, in one instance a son held criminal intercourse with his mother, and publicly justified his conduct. The step father, and husband to the mother who thus debased herself, boldly avowed that, in his opinion, it was morally right to hold such intercourse. The members of this impious society were visited by God in a remarkable manner. They all died, within five years, in some strange or unnatural manner. One of them was seized with a sudden and violent illness, and in his agony exclaimed: 'My bowels are on fire — die I must,' and his spirit passed away. " Dr. H., another of the party, was found dead in his bed the next morning. " D. D., a printer, fell into a fit, and died immediately, and three others were drowned within a few days. u B. A., a lawyer, came to his death by starvation ; and C. C., also educated for the bar, and a man of super ior intellectual endowments, died of want, bungerand filth. " Another, who had studied to fee a preacher, suddenly disappeared, but at length his remains were found fast in COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 477 the ice, where he evidently had been for a long time, as the fowls of the air and the inhabitants of the deep had consumed the most of his flesh. " Joshua Miller, notorious as a teacher of infidelity, was found upon a stolen horse, and was shot by Col. J. Wood- hull. N. Miller, his brother, who was discovered one Sun day morning seated upon a log playing cards, was also shot. " Benjamin Kelly was shot off his horse by a boy, the son of one Clark, who had been murdered by Kelly ; his body remained upon the ground until his flesh had been consumed by birds. u I. Smith committed suicide by stabbing himself while he was in prison for crime. " W. Smith was shot by B. Thorpe and others for rob bery. " S. T. betrayed his own confidential friend for a few dollars ; his friend was hung, and he was afterwards shot by D. Lancaster. " I. V. was shot by a company of militia. I. D.? in a drunken fit, was frozen to death. " I. B., and I. Smith, and J. Vervellen, B. R., and one other individual, were hung for heinous crimes they had committed. N. B., W. T., and W. H. were drowned. C. C. hung himself. A. S. was struck with an axe, and bled to death. "F. S. fell from his horse and was killed. W. Clark drank himself to death; he was eaten by the hogs before his bones were found, which were recognized by his cloth ing. J. A., Sr., died in the woods, his rum-jug by his side 5 he was not found until a dog brought home one of his legs, which was identified by his stocking; his bones had been picked by animals. 478 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. "S. C. hung himself, and another destroyed himself by taking laudanum. D. D. was hired for ten dollars to shoot a man, for which offence he died upon the gallows. "The most of those who survived were either sent to the State prison, or were publicly whipped for crimes committed against the peace and dignity of the State." This is a brief history of the Orange County "Liberals," as they called themselves. The days of the infidel are counted. What a fearful thing is it for him to fall into the hands of God in the hour of death ! He knows this truth, and because he knows it he dies in the fury of despair, and, as it were, in the anticipated torments of the suffering that awaits him in hell. Witness Voltaire, the famous infidel of France. He wished to make his confession at his last hour. But the priest of St. .Sulpice was not able to go to hisjbedside, because the chamber-door was shut upon him. So Vol taire died without confession. He died in such a terrible paroxysm of fury and rage that the Marshal of Richelieu, who was present at his horrible agony, exclaimed : " Really, this sight is sickening ; it is insupportable ! " M. Tron- chin, Voltaire's physician, says : "Figure to yourself the rage and fury of Orestes, and you'll still have but a feeble image of the fury of Voltaire in his last agony. It would be well if all the infidels of Paris were present. 0 the fine spectacle that would have met their eyes!" Thus is fulfilled in infidels what God says in holy Scripture : " I will laugh at the destruction of those who laughed at me during their life." Witness Tom Paine. A short time before he died he sent for the Rev. Father Fenwick. So Father Fenwick went in company of Father Kohlman, to see the infidel in COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 479 his wretched condition. When they arrived at Paine's house, at Greenwich, his housekeeper came to the door and enquired whether they were the Catholic priests. "For," said she, "Mr. Paine has been so annoyed of late by ministers of different other denominations calling upon him, that he has left express orders with me to admit no one to-day but the clergymen of the Catholic Church." Upon assuring her that they were Catholic clergymen, she opened the door and invited them to sit down in the parlor. "Gentlemen," said she, "I really wish you may succeed with Mr. Paine ; for he is laboring under great distress of mind, ever since he was informed by his physicians that he cannot possibly live, and must die shortly. He sent for you to-day because he was told that if any one could do him good you might. He is truly to be pitied. His cries, when he is left alone, are truly heartrending. ' 0 Lord ! help me ! ' he will exclaim during his paroxysms of dis tress. l God help, Jesus Christ help me ! ' repeating the same expressions without any, the least variation, in a tone of voice that would alarm the house. Sometimes he will say, i 0 God ! what have I done to suffer so much f ' Then shortly after : l If there is a God, what will become of me ? ' Thus he will continue for some time, when on a sudden he will scream as if in terror and agony, and call out for me by name. On one of these occasions, which are very frequent, I went to him and enquired what he wanted. 'Stay with me/ he replied, ' for God's sake ; for I cannot bear to be left alone.' I then observed that I could not always be with him, as I had much to attend to in the house. ' Then,' said he, l send even a child to stay with me ; for it is a hell to be alone.7 I never saw," she concluded, " a more unhappy, a more -forsaken man. It seems he cannot reconcile himself to die." 480 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. The fathers did all in their power to make Paine enter into himself and ask God's pardon. But all their endeavors were in vain. He ordered them out of his room in the highest pitch of his voice, and seemed a very maniac with rage and madness. " Let us go," said Father Fenwick to Father Kohlman. " We have nothing more to do here. He seems to be entirely abandoned by God. Further words are lost upon him. I never before or since beheld a more hardened wretch." — Lives of the Catholic Bishops of America, p. 379, etc. To the infidel and evil-doer these examples present mat ter worthy of serious reflection, while the believer will rec ognize in them the special judgment of God, which is too clearly indicated to be doubted by any honest mind. Let the unbeliever remember that the hour will come when he shall open his eyes to see the wisdom of those who have believed ; when he also shall see, to his confusion, his own madness in refusing to believe. u Oh ! that he would be wise, and would understand that there is none that can deliver out of the hand of the Lord." (Deut., xxxii., 39.) We have seen what positive infidelity is ; and we have seen what an infidel is. Let us now mention the various causes that lead to infidelity. These causes are corruption of the heart, neglect of prayer, ignorance of the mind, private judgment in matters of faith, and godless education. Before the prodigal son left his father's house our Lord said that "he asked for the portion of goods which should come to him." We are thus informed of the desire which was in the prodigal's mind before he quitted his father's roof ; his aim was to spend those goods without restraint or remonstrance. For the same purpose, also, he took these goods " into a far country," where he would no longer COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 481 be under his father's eye. Thus it is with every sinner. When his passions begin to gain a sway over him, he invents maxims and principles of conduct in order that he may rid himself of the reproaches of the law of God — "putting for the commandments of God the traditions of men " — and by giving a less offensive name to his sin he stills the voice of conscience within him. The next step is to "go into a far country" — into the farthest possible. He says that there is no God. Corruption of the heart or slavery of the passions is the very first cause, the prolific mother, of infidelity. You will find men who deny the immortality of the soul, who deny the eternity of hell, who deny the infallibility of -the Pope. You will find men who deny the divine origin of confession • but why ? It is because these whole some truths put a check to their passions. They cannot believe in these truths and at the same time gratify their criminal desires. " It is only the/00?, the impious man, that says in his heart there is no God." (Ps., xiii., 1.) An honest, virtuous man would never think of doubting or contradicting these sacred truths. In spite of its innate pride, the mind is the slave of the heart. If the heart soars to heaven on the wings of divine love, the mind, too, rises with it. But if the heart is buried in the mire of filthy passions, it soon exhales dark, fetid vapors, which obscure the intellect. The infidel's reason is the dupe of his heart. There is a man who was once a good Catholic, who used formerly to go regularly to Mass and to confession. He is now an infidel 5 goes no longer to confession. But why ? Has he become more enlightened ? Has he received some new knowledge ? The only new knowledge he has received 482 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. is the sad knowledge of sin. He believed as long as he was virtuous. He began to doubt only when he began to be immoral ; he became an infidel only when he became a libertine. The history of his life is soon told. Wishing to gratify his passions without restraint and without re morse, he tried to rid himself of a religion which would have troubled him in the midst of his unlawful pleasures. His face tells the story. The sacred nobility of the free man is there no longer. He has become a member of a secret society. The dark, oath-bound seal of hell is on his lips. His hands are defiled by injustice. He hath grown rich, but his riches are accursed. His heart is a slave to the most shameful passions. He wishes to gratify Ids wicked desires without shame, without remorse. In order to do this he tries to get rid of religion. The solemn form of religion appears in the midst of his sinful revelry like the hand on the wall, writing in letters of fire the dread sentence of his damnation. His conscience tells him that there is a hell to punish his crimes, and he tries to stifle the voice of his conscience, and says ; a There is no hell." The voice of his conscience reproaches him and tells him that there is a just God, who will punish him for his sins ; and he stifles the voice of his conscience, and says : " There is no God." His conscience, says to him : " Ha ! there is a strict and terrible judgment that awaits you after death ; " and he stifles the voice of his conscience, and says : u There is no hereafter ; it is all over after death." He tries to prove to himself and to others that man is a brute, because he wishes to live like a brute. He hates re ligion, he hates the priest, he hates the Church, he hates the Sacraments, he hates every thing that reminds him of God, because he knows that by his crimes he has made himself COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 483 an enemy of God. The unhappy man says, " There is no hell, " and whithersoever he goes he carries hell in his heart. In the silence of the night, when others are sleep ing around him, he cannot sleep. His conscience tortures him. It asks him : u Were you to die in this state this night, what would become of you ? It is a terrible thing to fall unprepared into the hands of the living God ! Think of eternity ! eternity ! eternity ! Think of the worm that never dies, and the fire that never quenches ! " No wonder that men sometimes commit suicide. They cannot bear the remorse of conscience, and so they try to find rest in death. The hell of the infidel begins even in this world, and it continues throughout all eternity in the next. There lived in France a certain philosopher, an infidel, named Banguer. When he was lying on his death-bed, he sent for the priest, the Rev. Father La Berthonie, to assist him in his last moments. The priest instructed him at great length in order to rouse his faith. u Hasten to the end, Rev. Father," said the philosopher; "for it is my heart rather than my mind that wants to be healed ; I was an unbeliever only because I was bad." One day a Lieutenant-General revealed his doubts on religion to one of his officers in whom he placed great confidence. This officer advised him to confer with Father Neuville and Father Renaud. But notwithstanding the solidity of their arguments, he could not arrive at convic tion. Hereupon the officer prevailed on him to visit an ecclesiastic whom he had chosen for his confessor. The Lieutenant-General called upon him in the name of his friend. He told him what had brought him, and the fruit less steps he had already taken to dissipate his doubts. "What could I possibly add, sir," answered the priest, 484: COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. " to the arguments of men like Fathers Neuville and Renaud ? What force can their arguments receive from my lips ? I have only one recourse ; please try it. Enter into my oratory ; let us pray God to enlighten your understanding, to touch your heart, and then begin by making your confession.'7 " I, sir, when I scarcely believe in the existence of God ? " " You believe in him, and in religion too, far more than you think. Kneel down, make the sign of the cross, I am going to call to your mind the Gonfiteor, and to put to you the necessary ques tions. " After sundry marks of astonishment that seemed but too well founded, after many repetitions of his doubts, and even of his infidelity, after many objections and dif ficulties, the Lieutenant-General at length obeyed, and answered honestly the different questions of the priest. The priest went back with him to the time of his first transgressions ; he dwelt at some length on the disorders that ensued. By degrees the heart of the penitent open ed itself, his voice began to tremble, and tears involun tarily flowed from his eyes. The priest, seeing his agitation, ceased questioning him, and giving full scope to all the ardor of his zeal, he exhorted him in the most pathetic and touching manner, and thus accomplished what his interrogations and the first avowals made to him had begun. " 0 father ! " exclaimed the penitent, sobbing, " you have followed the only path that could have conducted you to my heart ! I am a wretch who has been led astray by his passions alone, who carried his judge in the hidden recesses of his conscience, but who stifled that judge's voice, who dared not avow his crimes to himself, and who preferred to believe nothing rather than be obliged to live well ! I will return to-morrow, and COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 485 I will then make a more lengthy confession." And he did so with sentiments of the most lively compunction • he died some years after, in the practice of the most aus tere penance and of a truly Christian life. (Debussi, Nouveau Mois de Marie, 143.) The second cause of infidelity is the neglect of prayer. This was pointed out many centuries ago by a great pro phet. " The impious," says David — and who is more impious than an infidel? — "the impious are corrupt, and they become abominable in their ways. . . . They are all gone aside ; they are become unprofitable together ; there is none that does good, no, not one. . . . Destruc tion and unhappiness are in their ways." " Now the cause of all this wickedness," continues David, " is because they have not called upon the Lord." God is the light of our understanding, the strength of our will, and the life of our heart. The more we neglect to pray to God, the more we experience darkness in our understanding, weakness in our will, and deadly coldness in our heart. Our passions, the temptations of the devil, and the allure ments of the world, will draw us headlong from one abyss of wickedness to another, until we fall into the deepest of all — into infidelity, and indifference to all religion. The third cause of infidelity, and indifference to all religion, is the ignorance of the mind. Many are infidels because they never received any instruction in religion. Among these are some who are more guilty than others ; namely, those who do not wish to be instructed in their religious duties, in order that they may more easily dis pense themselves with the obligations of complying with these duties. Now it is this very class of men that easily give ear to the principles of infidelity, because these prin- 486 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. ciples are more pleasing to their corrupt nature than those of our holy religion. This class is very numerous and their number is on the increase every day. For, not having any religion themselves, nor wishing to have any, what wonder if their children follow their example ? Such as the tree is, will the fruit be. A Catholic lady of New York asked a little child: "How many gods are there, and who made you?" The child could not answer the questions. So the Catholic lady said to the child : " Say, ' There is but one God ;' say, ' God made me.' ' When the mother of the child heard this she flew into a passion, and said : " My child shall never learn such a thing j God has nothing to do with my child." Behold how infidel mothers bring up their children ! There are others who became infidels because they were never sufficiently instructed in their holy religion. There is a certain class of parents who have their children instructed in everything but their religion. They allow them to grow up in ignorance of everything except of the means by which they make money. Now, when the time draws near for these children to make their First Com munion, their parents will take them to the priest to pre pare them for this holy sacrament in a week or two. What can children learn in a couple of weeks ! Certain it is that what they learn in that time very seldom enters their hearts. Their hearts are not prepared for the Word of God ; they are light-minded, and in many cases corrupt, and what they learn is learned from constraint. No sooner are they free from constraint than they throw their religion over board ; they become the worst kind of infidels and the worst enemies of our holy religion. The young man who set fire to St. Augustine's Church, COMMANDMEXTS OF GOD. 487 in Philadelphia, Pa., was a Catholic, and he gloried in being able to burn his name out of the baptismal record. Archbishop Spalding, of Baltimore, asserted one day that in one body of Methodist preachers he had observed seven or eight who were the children of Catholic parents, and that they were the smartest preachers among them. Bishop England said that the Catholic Church loses more, in this country, by apostasy than it gains by conversions. Thus is verified in these children what God has said through the Prophet Isaias : u Therefore is my people led away captive because they had not knowledge." (chap, v., 13.) These three causes of infidelity have existed from the beginning of the world. But about three centuries ago Protestantism opened a very wide avenue to the same end, as we shall see in the explanation of the next question. 18 What is heresy? Heresy is the obstinate clinging to error of abaptized per son, in opposition to a truth taught l)ij the Catholic Church. The word " heresy " is derived from the Greek, and means to choose or adhere to a certain thing. Hence a baptized person, professing Christianity and choosing at the same time for himself what to believe and what not to believe, as he pleases, in obstinate opposition to any par ticular truth which he knows is taught by the Catholic Church as a truth revealed by God, is a heretic. Three things, therefore, are required to make a person guilty of the sin of heresy. 1. He must be baptized and profess Christianity. This distinguishes him from a Jew and idolater. 2. He must refuse to believe a truth revealed by God, and taught by the Church as so revealed. 488 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 3. He must obstinately adhere to error, preferring his own private judgment in matters of faith and morals to the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church. Heresy, therefore, is a corruption of the true faith. This corruption takes place either by altering the truths which constitute the principal articles of faith, or by denying obstinately those which result therefrom. But, as the error of a geometrician does not affect the principles of geometry, so is the error of a person, which does not affect the fundamental truths of faith, no real heresy. Should a person have embraced an opinion which is contrary to faith, without knowing that it is opposed to faith, he is, in this case, no heretic, if he is disposed to renounce his error as soon as he comes to know the truth. A baptized person, then, professing Christianity, com mits the sin of heresy, when he obstinately rejects a truth revealed by God and taught by the Church as so revealed, or when he embraces an opinion contrary to faith, main tains it obstinately, and refuses to submit to the authority of the head of the Church j or when he wilfully doubts the truth of an article of faith, for by such a wilful doubt he actually questions God's knowledge and truth, and to do this is to be guilty of heresy. " The real character of rank heresy, " says St. Thomas Aquinas, " consists in want of submission to the head of the Church. " It is false to say that only those truths are of faith which have been defined by the Church, and that he only is a heretic who denies a defined truth. A man steals a large amount of money from his neigh bor. Now is that man no thief so long as the court has not pronounced him guilty of theft ? Jesus Christ has revealed to his Church a certain COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 489 number of truths. She knows what those truths are. She always believed and taught them as revealed truths, but she defined many of these truths in precise terms only when it was fit or necessary to do so. These definitions of the faith are so many judgments of the Church against those who denied her doctrine or called it into doubt, out of vincible or invincible ignorance. Those who, out of invin cible ignorance, denied certain revealed truths, were excused from heresy until the Church delivered them from the ignorance of these truths by declaring and defining them in precise terms. A Christian, then, who knows that a certain truth is revealed by God and taught by the Church as so revealed, though not defined by her, becomes guilty of heresy if he denies or wilfully doubts that truth. No doubt, Luther, Calvin, etc., were considered by the Church as heretics even before she had defined those truths which were denied by those impious men, and those denied truths were articles of faith, and as such believed just as firmly before as after their definition by the Council of Trent, Any one, then, who sufficiently knows the truths of the true religion, and denies even but one of them, commits one of the greatest sins. To reject what we know has been revealed by God is not only to cut ourselves off from all the blessings of religion, but it is to call in question the Truth of God, and he who calls in question the Truth of God offers to him the greatest insult. We believe the truths of faith, because God revealed them and proposes them to our faith by his infallible Church. Now, to be lieve some of these truths, and reject one or more of them, is as much as to say: I believe that God told the truth in this point, but not in that other. This is a horrible bias- 490 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. phemy. Wilful heresy, therefore, in regard even to but one sacred truth of religion destroys all faith, attacking as it does the authority of God, who revealed the truth. If a man who poisons the food of his fellow-men is most damnable in the sight of God, how much more damnable are not those men who poison the souls of men by the seed of heresy ! To take away the life of the body is a mortal sin. Now is it not a greater crime to rob the soul of its life — the grace of God, and lead it to everlasting perdition by false doctrines f Hence it is that Holy Scripture condemns the sin of heresy in the strongest terms. " A man, " says St. Paul, " that is a heretic, after the first and second admon ition avoid 5 knowing that he who is such an one is subver ted, and sinneth, being condemned by his own judgement." (Tit, iii., 10. ) And again he says: " Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a Gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema, " that is, accursed. (Gal, i., 8, 9.) St. Paul also classes sects or heresies among the works of the flesh, and says that those who do such things, shall not obtain the kingdom of God. (Gal., i., 29. ) When the emperor Valens passed the decree that St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, should depart into banishment, Almighty God passed, at the same time, a decree against the only son of the emperor, named Val- entinian Galatus, a child then about six years old. That very night the royal infant was seized with a violent fever. The physicians were not able to give him the least relief. The empress Dominica told the emperor, that the sickness of the child was a punishment of God, for the decree of banishment which he had passed against the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 491 Archbishop ; and that, on this account, she had been disquieted by terrible dreams. The emperor sent immediately for the saint, who was just preparing to go into exile. No sooner had the holy Archbishop entered the palace, than the young prince's fever began to abate. St. Basil assured the emperor and the empress that their son would be restored to perfect health, if they should have him instructed and brought up in the Catholic faith. The emperor accepted the condi tion. St. Basil prayed over the young prince and obtained his complete cure from God. But Valens was unfaithful to his promise. He sent afterwards for a heretical bishop to baptize the child. Thereupon the young prince relapsed and died. (Butler's Lives of the Saints, June 14.) The Catholic faith restored the sick child to perfect health all on a sudden, and heresy destroyed this blessing arid caused almost sudden death. The blessing bestowed upon the soul by Catholic faith is life everlasting, whilst heresy brings upon it everlasting destruction. In the history of the foundation of the Society of Jesus, in the kingdom of Naples, is related the following story of a noble youth of Scotland, named William Elphinstone. This youth was a relation of King James. Born of heret ical parents he followed the false sect to which they belonged. But enlightened by divine grace, which showed him his errors, ' he went to France, where, with the assistance of a Jesuit Father, who was, like himself, a Scotchman, and still more by the intercession of the Bles sed Virgin, he at length saw the truth of the Catholic religion, abjured heresy, and became a Catholic. He went afterwards to Rome, where a friend of his found him one day very much afflicted and weeping, on being asked the 492 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. cause of his affliction, he answered, that in the night his mother had appeared to him and said : u My son, it is well for thee that thou hast entered the true Church. I myself am lost, because I died in heresy." From that time, the young convert became very fer vent in the practice of his religion. He joined the Society of Jesus, and died in it a very edifying religious. To understand still better the heinousness of the sin ot heresy, we have but to consider that it leads to infidelity and even to idolatry. All the heresies of our age and country go by the name of Protestantism. Protestantism introduced the principle that " there is no divinely-appointed authority to teach infallibly. Let every man read the Bible and judge for himself." Upon this false principle they even boldly denied the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. What more natural than gradually to begin to deny with the same boldness almost all the Gospel truths ? Why should the one who does not care for Jesus Christ upon the altar be expected to care for Jesus Christ in heaven, and for all that He has taught us ? Hence it is that what they may call their religion and their religious service is in itself neither inviting nor impressive ; it has nothing in it to stir up the fountains of feeling j to call forth the music and poetry of the soul ; to convey salutary instruc tion or to awaken lively interest. It possesses no trait of grandeur, of sublimity; it has certainly not one element of poetry or pathos. Generally cold and lifeless, it be comes warm only by a violent effort, and then it runs into the opposite extreme of intemperate excitement and sen- timentalismj nay, it is no exaggeration to say, that COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 493 religiousness among the greater part of Protestants in our day and country seems to have well-nigh become extinct. They seem to have lost all spiritual conceptions, and no longer to possess any spiritual aspiration. Lacking as they do the light, the warmth, and the life-giving power of the sun of the Catholic Church — the holy Mass, the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament — they seem to have become, or to be near becoming, what our world would be if there were no sun in the heavens. For this reason is it that the greater part of Protestants are so completely absorbed in temporal interests, in the things that fall under their senses, that their whole life is only materialism put in action. Lucre is the sole object on which their eyes are constantly fixed. A burning thirst to realize some profit, great or small, absorbs all their facul ties, the whole energy of their being. They never pursue anything with ardor but riches and enjoyments. God, the soul, a future life — they believe in none of them; or rather, they never think about them at all. If they ever take up a moral or a religious book, or go to a meeting house, it is only by way of amusement — to pass the time away. It is a less serious occupation than smoking a pipe or drinking a cup of tea. If you speak to them about the foundations of faith, of the principles of Christianity, of the importance of salvation, the certainty of a life beyond the grave — all these truths which so powerfully impress a mind suscept ible of religious feeling — they listen with a certain pleasure ; for it amuses them and piques their curiosity. In their opinion all this is "true, fine, grand." They deplore the blindness of men who attach themselves to the perishable goods of this world j perhaps they will even give utterance 494 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. to some fine sentences on the happiness of knowing the true God, of serving Him, and of meriting by this means the reward of eternal life. They simply never think of religion at all ; they like very well to talk about it, but it is as of a thing not made for them — a thing with which, personally, they have nothing to do. This indifference they carry so far — religious sensibility is so entirely with ered or dead within them — that they care not a straw whether a doctrine is true or false, good or bad. Religion is to them simply a fashion, which those may follow who have a taste for it. By and by, all in good time, they say ; one should never be precipitate ; it is not good to be too en thusiastic. No doubt the Catholic religion is beautiful and sublime, its doctrine explains with method and clearness all that is necessary for man to know. Whoever has any sense will see that, and will adopt it in his heart with all sincerity 5 but after all, one must not think too much of these things, and increase the cares of life. Now, just consider we have a body ; how many cares it demands. It must be clothed, fed, and sheltered from the injuries of the weather ; its infirmities are great, and its maladies are numerous. It is agreed on all hands that health is our most precious good. This body that we see, that we touch, must be taken care of every day and every moment of the day. Is not this enough without troubling ourselves about a soul that we never see ? The life of man is short and full of misery ; it is made up of a succession of important concerns that follow one another without interruption. Our hearts and our minds are scarcely sufficient for the solicitudes of the present life ; is it wise, then, to torment one's self about the future 1 Is it not far better to live in blessed ignorance ? COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 495 Ask them, What would you think of a traveller who, on finding himself at a dilapidated inn, open to all the winds, and deficient in the most absolute necessaries, should spend all his time in trying how he could make himself most com fortable in it, without ever thinking of preparing himself for his departure and his return into the bosom of his family ? Would this traveller be acting in a wise and rea sonable manner ? " No," they will reply ; " one must not travel in that way. But man, nevertheless, must confine himself within proper limits. How can he provide for two lives at the same time ? I take care of this life, and the care of the other I leave to God." If a traveller ought not regularly to take up his abode at an inn, neither ought he to travel on two roads at the same time. When one wishes to cross a river, it will not do to have two boats, and set a foot in each j such a proceeding would involve the risk of a tumble into the water and drowning one's self. Such is the deep abyss of religious indifferentism into which so many Protestants of our day have fallen, and from which they naturally fall into one deeper still- infidelity. A body which has lost the principle of its animation becomes dust. Hence it is an axiom that the change or perversion of the principles by which anything was pro duced is the destruction of that very thing; if you can change or pervert the principles from which anything springs, you destroy it. For instance, one single foreign element introduced into the blood produces death ; one false assumption admitted into science destroys its certainty ; one false principle admitted into faith and morals, is fatal. The reformers started wrong. They would reform the Church by placing her under human control. Their 496 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. successors have in each generation found they did not .go far enough, and have, each in turn, struggled to push it further and further, till they find themselves without any church life, without faith, without religion, and beginning to doubt if there be even a God. It is a well-known fact that, before the Reformation, infidels were scarcely known in the Christian world. Since that event they have come forth in swarms. It is from the writings of Herbert, Hobbes, Bloum, Shaftesbury, Bolingbroke, and Boyle that Voltaire and his party drew the objections and errors which they have brought so generally into fashion in the world. According to Dide rot and d'Alembert, the first step that the untractable Catholic takes is to adopt the Protestant principle of private judgment. He establishes himself judge of his religion j leaves and joins the reform. Dissatisfied with the incoherent doctrines he there discovers, he passes over to the Socinians, whose inconsequences soon drive him into Deism. Still pursued by unexpected difficulties, he finds refuge in universal doubt 5 but still haunted by uneasiness, he at length resolves to take the last step, and proceeds to terminate the long chain of his errors in infidelity. Let us not forget that the first link of this chain is attached to the fundamental maxim of private judgment. They judged of religion as they did of their breakfast and din ner. A religion was good or bad, true or false, just as it suited their tastes, their likings ; their rel:gious devotion varied like the weather ; they must feel it as they felt the heat and cold. New fashions of belief sprang up, and changed and dis appeared as rapidly as the new fashions of dress. Men judged not only of every revealed doctrine, but they also COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. 497 judged of the BiWe itself. Protestantism, having no authority, could not check this headlong tendency to un belief. Its ministers dare no longer preach or teach any doctrine which is displeasing to the people. Every Pro testant preacher who wishes to be heard, and to retain his salary, must first feel the pulse of his hearers ; he must make himself the slave of their opinions and likings. It is, therefore, historically correct that the same princi ple that created Protestantism three centuries ago, has never ceased since that time to spin it out into a thousand different sects, and has concluded by covering Europe and America with that multitude of free-thinkers and infidels who place these countries on the verge of ruin. The individual reason taking as it does the place of faith, the Protestant, whether he believes it or not, is an infidel in germ, and the infidel is a Protestant in full bloom. In other words, infidelity is nothing but Protestantism in the highest degree. Hence it is that Edgar Quinet, a great herald of Protestantism, is right in styling the Protestant sects the thousand gates open to get out 'of Christianity. No wonder, then, that thousands of Protestants have ended, and continue to end, in framing their own formula of faith thus : " I believe in nothing." And here, I ask, what is easier, from this state of irreligion and infidelity, than the passage to idolatry ? This assertion may seem incredible to some at this day, and may be esteemed an absurdity ; but idolatry is express ly mentioned in the Apocalypse as existing in the time of Antichrist. And, indeed, our surprise will much abate if we take into consideration the temper and disposition of the present times. When men divest themselves, as they seem to do at present, of all fear of the Supreme Being, of all re- 498 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. spect of their Creator and Lord j when they surrender them selves to the gratification of sensuality ; when they give full freedom to the human passions and direct their whole study to the pursuits of a corrupt world, with a total forgetfulness of a future state j when they give children a godless educa tion, and have no longer any religion to teach them, may we not say that the transition- to idolatry is easy ? When all the steps leading up to a certain point are taken, what wonder if we arrive at that point ? Such was the gradual degeneracy of mankind in the early ages of the world, that brought on the abominable practices of idol- worship. Of course it will be said that we have the happiness of living in.the most enlightened of all ages ; our knowledge is more perfect, our ideas more developed and refined, the human faculties more improved and better cultivated than they ever were before j in fine, that the present race of man kind may be reckoned a society of philosophers when com pared to the generations that have gone before. How is it possible, then, that such stupidity can seize upon the human mind as to sink it into idolatry ? This kind of reasoning is more specious than solid. For, allowing the present times to surpass the past in refinement and knowledge, it must be said that they are proportionately more vicious. Refinement of reason has contributed, as every one knows, to refine upon the means of gratifying the human passions. Besides, however enlightened the mind may be supposed to be, if the heart is corrupt the excesses into which a man will run are evidenced by daily experience. Witness our modern spiritism (spiritualism). What else is our modern spiritualism than a revival of the old heathen idol-worship ? COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 499 Satan is constantly engaged in doing all in his power to entice men away from God, and to have himself wor shipped instead of the Creator. The introduction, estab lishment, persistence and power of the various cruel, re volting superstitions, of the ancient heathen world, or of pagan nations in modern times, are nothing but the work of the devil. They reveal a more than human power. God permitted Satan to operate upon man's morbid nature, as a deserved punishment upon the Gentiles for their hatred of truth and their apostasy from the primitive religion. Men left to themselves, to human nature alone, however low they might be prone to descend, never could descend so low as to worship wood and stone, four-footed beasts, and creep ing things. To do this needs satanic delusion. Paganism in its old form was doomed. Christianity had silenced the oracles and driven the devils back to hell. How was the devil to re-establish his worship on earth, and carry on his war against the Son of God and the re ligion which he taught us ? Evidently only by changing his tactics and turning the truth into a lie. He found men in all the heresiarchs who, like Eve, gave ear to his sug gestions, and believed him more than the Infallible Word of Jesus Christ. Thus he has succeeded in banishing the true religion from whole countries, or in mixing it with false doctrines. He has prevailed upon thousands to be lieve the doctrines of vain, self-conceited men, rather than the religion taught by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. It is by heresies, revolutions, bad secret societies, and godless state school education, that he has succeeded so far as to bring thousands of men back to a state of heathenism and infidelity. The time has come for him to introduce idolatry, or his own worship. To do this he makes use of spiritu- 500 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. alisin. Through the spirit-mediums he performs lying wonders. He gives pretended revelations from the spirit- world, in order to destroy or weaken all faith in divine revelation. He thus strives to re-establish in Christian lands that very same devil-worship which has so long existed among heathen nations, and which our Lord Jesus Christ came to destroy. The Holy Scriptures assure us that all the gods of the heathens are devils ( " 0 nines dii gentium dcemonia" — Ps.) These demons took possession of the idols made of wood or stone, of gold or silver ; they had temples erected in their honor; they had their sac rifices, their priests, and their priestesses. They uttered oracles. They were consulted through their mediums in all affairs of importance, and especially in order to find out the future, precisely as they are consulted by our modern spiritualists at the present day. In modern spiritualism the devil communicates with men by means of tables, chairs, tablets, or planchette; or by rapping, writing, seeing and speaking mediums. It is all the same to the devil whether he communicates with men and leads them astray by means of idols, or by means of tables, chairs, planchette, and the like. Assuredly, if the philosopher is not governed by the power of religion, his conduct will be absurd and even despicable to the most ignorant individual of the lowest rank. A Socrates, a Cicero, a Seneca, are said to have been acquainted with the knowledge of one supreme God ; but they had not courage to profess his worship, and in their public conduct basely sacrificed to stocks and stones with the vulgar. When men have banished from their heart the sense of religion, and despise the rights of justice, (and COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 501 is this not the case with numbers ?) will many of them scruple to offer incense to a statue, if by so doing they serve their ambition, their interest, or whatever may be their favorite passion ? Where is the cause for surprise, then, if infidelity and irreligion be succeeded by idolatry? That pride alone, when inflamed with a constant flow of prosperity, may raise a man to the extravagant presumption of claiming for himself divine honors, we see in the ex ample of Alexander, the celebrated Macedonian conqueror, and of several emperors of Babylon and ancient Rome. From suggestions of that same principle of pride, it will happen that Antichrist, elevated by a continued course of victories' and conquests, will set himself up for a god. And as at that time the propagation of infidelity, irreligion, and immorality will have become universal, this defection from faith, disregard for its teachers, licentiousness in opinions, depravity in morals, will so far deaden all in fluence of religion, and cause such degeneracy in mankind, that many will be base enough even to espouse idolatry, to yield to the absurd impiety of worshipping Antichrist as their Lord and God j some out of fear for what they may lose, others to gain what they covet. Then will it be evident to all that infidelity, and even idolatry, existed in the Protestant principle of private judgment, as the oak exists in the acorn, as the conse quence is in the premise; or, in other words, that this principle was but the powerful weapon of Satan to carry on his war against Christ ; of the sons of Belial to fight the keepers of the law ; of false anti-social liberty to de stroy true and rational liberty — to make worshippers of the devil out of the worshippers of God, It may be asked here, why does God permit the Cath olic faith to be assailed by heresy ! 502 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, with the exception of the Greek schismatics, a few Lollards in England, some Waldenses in Piedmont, scattered Albi- genses or Manicheans, and a few followers of Huss and Zisca among the Bohemians, all Europe was Roman Catholic. England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, — every civil ized nation was in the unity of the Catholic faith. Many of these nations were at the height of their power and prosperity. Portugal was pushing her discoveries beyond the Cape of Good Hope, and forming Catholic settlements in the East Indies. Christopher Columbus, a Roman Catholic, had discovered America, under the patronage of the Catholic Isabella of Spain. England was in a state of great prosperity. Her two Catholic Universities of Oxford and Cambridge contained, at one time, more than fifty thousand students. The country was covered with noble churches, abbeys, and monasteries, and with hos pitals, where the poor were fed, clothed, and instructed. However, the progress of civilization tended to foster a spirit of pride, and encourage the lust of novelties. The prosperity of the Church led to luxury, and in many cases to a relaxation of discipline. There were, as there always have been, in every period of the Church, the days of the apostles not excepted, bad men in the Church. The wheat and tares grow together until the harvest. The net of the Church encloses good and bad. The writings of Wickliffe, Huss, and their followers, had un settled the minds of many. Princes were restive under the check held by the Church upon their rapacity and lusts. A Henry VIII., for example, wanted to divorce a COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 503 wife to whom he had been married twenty years, that he might marry a young and pretty one. He could not do this, so long as he acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the pope. Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, wanted two wives. No pope would give him a dispensation to marry and live with two women at once. Then there were multitudes of wicked and avaricious nobles, who wanted but an excuse to plunder the churches, abbeys, and mon asteries, whose property was held in trust for the educa tion of the people, and the care of the poor, aged, and sick, all over Europe. Then there were priests and monks eager to embrace a relaxed discipline j and many people who, incited by the cry of liberty, were ready to rush into license, and make war upon every principle of religion and social order, as soon as circumstances would favor the outbreak of this rebel spirit in individuals and masses. Now when God, says St. Gregory, sees in the Church many revelling in their vices, and as St. Paul observes, believing in God, confessing the truth of his mysteries, but belying their faith by their works, he punishes them by permiting that, after having lost grace, they also lose the holy knowledge which they had of his mysteries, and that without any other persecution than that of their vices, they deny the faith. It is of these David speaks, when he says: " Destroy Jerusalem to its foundations" (Ps., cxxxvi, 7.) j leave not a stone upon a stone. When the wicked spirits have ruined in a soul the edifice of virtue, they sap its foundation, which is faith. St. Cyprian, therefore said : " Let no one think that virtuous men and good Christians ever leave the bosom of the Church 5 it is not the wheat that the winds lift, but the chaff; trees deeply rooted are not blown down 504 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. by the breeze, but those which have no roots. It is rotten fruits that fall off the trees, not sound ones ; bad Catholics become heretics, as sickness is engendered by bad humors. At first, faith languishes in them, because of their vices ; then it becomes sick 5 next it dies, because, since sin is essentially a blindness of spirit ; the more a man sins, the more he is blinded ; his faith grows weaker and weaker ; the light of this divine torch decreases, and soon the least wind of temptation or doubt suffices to extinguish it." Witness the great defection from faith in the sixteenth century, when God permitted heresies to arise, in order t J exercise his justice against those who were ready to abandon the truth, and his mercy toward those who re mained attached to it ; to prove, by trials, those who were firm in the faith, and to separate them from those who loved error ; to exercise the patience and charity of the Church, and to sanctify the elect ; to give occasion for the illustration of religious truth and the holy Scripture 5 to make pastors more vigilant, and value more the sacred deposit of faith ] in fine, to render the authority of tra dition more clear and incontestable. Heresy arose in all its strength j Martin Luther was its ringleader and its spokesman. Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, a bold man and a vehement declaimer, having imbibed erroneous sentiments from the heretical writings of John Huss of Bohemia, took occasion, from the publication of indulgences promulgated by Pope Leo X., to break with the Catholic Church, and to propagate his new errors, in 1517, at Wirtemberg, in Saxony. He first inveighed against the abuse of indul gences ; then he called in question their efficacy ; and at last totally rejected them. He declaimed against the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 505 supremacy of the See of Rome, and condemned the whole Church, pretending that Christ had abandoned it, and that it wanted reforming, as well in faith as discipline. Thus this new evangelist commenced that fatal defection from the ancient faith, which was styled "Reformation.'7 The new doctrines, being calculated to gratify the vicious inclinations of the human heart, spread with the rapidity of an inundation. Frederick, Elector of Saxony, John Frederick, his successor, and Phillip, Landgrave of Hesse, became Luther's disciples. Gustavus Ericus, King of Sweden, and Christian III., King of Denmark, also de clared in favor of Lutheranism. It secured a footing in Hungary. Poland, after tasting a great variety of doc trines, left, to every individual the liberty of choosing tor himself. Muncer, a disciple of Luther, set up for doctor himself, and, with Nicholas Stark, gave birth to the sect of Anabaptists, which was propagated in Suabia, and other provinces of Germany, in the Low Countries. Calvin, a man of bold, obstinate spirit, and indefatigable in his labors, in imitation of Luther, turned Reformer also. He contrived to have his new tenets received at Geneva, in 1541. After his death, Beza preached the same doctrine. It insinuated itself into some parts of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia, and became the religion of Holland. It was imported by John Knox, an apostate priest, into Scotland, where, under the name of Presbyterianism, it took deep root, and spread over the kingdom. But, among the deluded nation, none drank more deeply of the cup of error than England. For many centuries this country had been conspicuous in the Christian world for the orthodoxy of its belief, as also for the number of its saints. But by a misfortune never to be sufficiently lamented, and by 506 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. an unfathomable judgment from above, its Church shared a fate which seemed the least to threaten it. The lust and avarice of one despotic sovereign threw down the fair edifice, and tore it off from the rock on which it had hitherto stood. Henry VIII. , at first a valiant asserter of the Catholic faith against Luther, giving way to the violent passions which he had not sufficient courage to curb, renounced the supreme jurisdiction which the pope had always held in the Church, presumed to arrogate to him self that power in his own dominions, and thus gave a deadly blow to religion. He then forced his subjects into the same fatal defection. Once introduced, it soon over spread the land. Being, from its nature, limited by no fixed principle, it has since taken a hundred different shapes, under different names, such as : the Calvinists, Arminians, Antinomians, Independants, Kilhamites, Glass- ites, Haldanites, Bereans, Svvedenborgians, New-Jeru- salemites, Orthodox Quakers, Hicksites, Shakers, Pant- ers, Seekers, Jumpers, Reformed Methodists, German Methodists, Albright Methodists, Episcopal Methodists, Wesleyan Methodists, Methodists North, Methodists South, Protestant Methodists, Episcopalians, High Church Epis copalians, Low Church Episcopalians, Ritualists, Pusey- ites, Dutch Reformed, Dutch non-Reformed, Christian Israelites, Baptists, Particular Baptists, Seventh-day Bap tists, Hardshell Baptists, Softshell Baptists, Forty Gallon Baptists, Sixty Gallon Baptists, African Baptists, Free will Baptists, Church of God Baptists, Regular Baptists, Anti-mission Baptists, Six Principle Baptist River Brethren, Winebremarians, Menonites, Second Advent- ists, Millerites, Christian. Baptists, Universalis, Ortho dox Congregationalists, Campbellites, Presbyterians, Old- COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 507 School and New-School Presbyterians, Cumberland Pres byterians, United Presbyterians, The Only True Church of Christ, 573 Bowery, N. Y., up stairs, 5th story, Lat ter-day Saints, Restorationists, Schwentfelders, Spiritu alists, Mormons, Christian Perfectionists, etc., etc., etc. All these sects are called Protestants, because they all unite in protesting against their mother, the Roman Catholic Church. Some time after, when the reforming spirit had reached its full growth, Dudithius, a learned Protestant divine, in his epistle to Beza, wrote : " What sort of people are our Protestants, straggling to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, sometimes to this side, some times to that I You may, perhaps, know what their sen timents in matters of religion are to-day, but you can never tell precisely what they will be to-morrow. In what article of religion do these churches agree which have cast off the Bishop of Rome ? Examine all from top to bottom, and you will scarce find one thing affirmed by one, which was not immediately condemned by another for wicked doctrine." The same confusion of opinions was described by an English Protestant, the learned Dr. Walton, about the middle of the last century, in his pre face to his Polyglot, where he says : " Aristarchus hereto fore could scarce find seven wise men in Greece ; but with us, scarce are to be found so many idiots. For all are doc tors, all are divinely learned j there is not so much as the meanest fanatic who does not give you his own dreams for the word of God. The bottomless pit seems to have been opened, from whence a smoke has arisen which has darkened the heaven and the stars, and locusts have come out with stings, a numerous race of sectaries and heretics, who have renewed all the ancient heresies, and invented 508 COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. many monstrous opinions of their own. These have filled our cities, villages, camps, houses, nay, our pulpits, too, and lead the poor deluded people with them to the pit of perdition. " " Yes," writes another author, u every ten years, or nearly so, the Protestant theological literature undergoes a complete revolution. What was admired during the one decennial period is rejected in the next, and the image which they adored is burnt, to make way for new divinities ; the dogmas which were held in honor fall into discredit j the classical treatise of morality is banished among the old books out of date ; criticism over turns criticism ; the commentary of yesterday ridicules that of the previous day, and what was clearly proved in 1840, is not less clearly disproved in 1850. The theo logical systems of Protestantism are as numerous as the political constitutions of France— one revolution only awaits another." (Le Semeur, June, 1850.) It is indeed ut terly impossible to keep the various members of one sin gle sect from perpetual disputes, even about the essential truths of revealed religion. And those religious differ ences exist not only in the same sect, not only in the same country and town, but even in the same family. Nay, the self- same individual, at different periods of his life, is often in flagrant contradiction with himself. To-day he avows opinions which yesterday he abhorred, and to morrow he will exchange these again for new ones. At last, after belonging, successively, to various new-fangled sects, he generally ends by professing unmitigated con tempt for them all. By their continual disputes and bickerings, and dividing and subdividing, the various Protestant sects have made themselves the scorn of honest minds, the laughing-stock of the pagan and the infidel. COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 509 These human sects, the " works of the flesh," as St. Paul calls them, alter their shape, like clouds, but feel no blow, says Mr. Marshall, because they have no substance. They fight a good deal with one another, but nobody minds it, not even themselves, nor cares what becomes of them. If one human sect perishes, it is always easy to make another, or half a dozen. They have the life of worms, and propagate by corruption. Their life is so like death that, except by the putridity which they exhale in both stages, it is impossible to tell which is which, and when they are buried, nobody can find their grave. They have simply disappeared. The spirit of Protestantism, or the spirit of revolt against God and his Church, sprung up from the Reformer's spirit of incontinency, obstinacy and covetousness. Luther, in despite of the vow he had solemnly made to God of keeping continency, married a nun, equally bound as himself to that sacred religious promise ; but, as St. Jerome says, " it is rare to find a heretic that loves chastity." Luther's example had indeed been anticipated by Carlo- stadtius, a priest and ringleader of the Sacramentarians, who had married a little before ; and it was followed by most of the heads of the Reformation. Zwinglius, a priest and chief of the sect that bore his name, took a wife. Bucer, a member of the order of St. Dominic, became a Lutheran, left his cloister, and married a nun. (Ecolampadius, a Brigittin monk, became a Zwinglian, and also married. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, had also his wife, Peter Martyr, a canon-regular, embraced the doctrine 510 COMMANDMENTS OP GOD. of Calvin, but followed the example of Luther, and mar ried a nun. Ochin, general of the Capuchins, became a Lutheran, and also married. Thus the principal leaders in the Reformation went forth preaching the new gospel, with two marks upon them : apostacy from faith, and open violation of the moat sacred vows. The passion of lust, as has been already said, hurried also Henry VIII. of England, into a separation from the Catholic Church, and ranked him amon