Month: June 2019

On Conformity to the Will of GOD – by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

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SERMON 28 of St. Alphonsus de Liguori for PENTECOST SUNDAY. – ON CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD

JESUS CHRIST was given to us, by God, as a saviour and as a master. Hence he came on earth principally to teach us, not only by his words but also by his own example, how we are to love God our supreme good: hence, as we read in this days Gospel, he said to his disciples: “That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I.” To show the world the love I bear to the Father, I will execute all his commands. In another place he said: ”I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John vi. 38.) Devout souls, if you love God and desire to become saints, you must seek his will, and wish what he wishes. St. Paul tells us, that the divine love is poured into our souls by means of the Holy Ghost. “The charity of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us.” (Hom. v. 5.) If, then, we wish for the gift of divine love, we must constantly beseech the Holy Ghost to make us know and do the will of God. Let us continually implore his light to know, and his strength to fulfill the divine will. Many wish to love God, but they, at the same time, wish to follow their own, and not his will. Hence I shall show today, in the first point, that your sanctification consists entirely in conformity to the will of God; and in the second, I shall show how, and in what, we should in practice conform ourselves to the divine will.

“The saints in heaven love God perfectly. In what, I ask, does the perfection of their love consist? It consists in an entire conformity to the divine will.”

First Point Our sanctification consists entirely in conformity to the will of God.

1. It is certain that our salvation consists in loving God. A soul that does not love God is not living, but dead. “He that loveth not, abideth in death.” (1 John iii. 14.) The perfection of love consists in conforming our will to the will of God. “And life in his good will.” (Ps. xxix. 6.)”Have charity, which is the bond of perfection.” (Col. iii. 14.) According to the Areopagite, the principal effect of love is to unite the wills of lovers, so that they may have but one heart and one will. Hence all our works, communions, prayers, penances, and alms, please God in proportion to their conformity to the divine will; and if they be contrary to the will of God, they are no longer acts of virtue, but defects deserving chastisement. X 2. Whilst preaching one day, Jesus Christ was told that his mother and brethren were waiting for him; in answer he said: “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matt. xii. 50.) By these words he gave us to understand that he acknowledged as friends and relatives those only who fulfil the will of his Father. X 3. The saints in heaven love God perfectly. In what, I ask, does the perfection of their love consist? It consists in an entire conformity to the divine will. Hence Jesus Christ has taught us to pray for grace to do the will of God on earth, as the saints do it in heaven. ”Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. vi. 10.) Hence St. Teresa says, that” they who practise prayer, should seek in all things to conform their will to the will of God.” In this, she adds, consists the highest perfection. He that practises it in the most perfect manner, shall receive from God the greatest gifts, and shall make the greatest progress in interior life. The accomplishment of the divine will has been the sole end of the saints in the practice of all virtues. Blessed Henry Suson used to say: “I would rather be the vilest man on earth with the will of God, than be a seraph with my own will.”

4. A perfect act of conformity is sufficient to make a person a saint. Behold, Jesus Christ appeared to St. Paul while he was persecuting the Church, and converted him. What did the saint do? He did nothing more than offer to God his will, that he might dispose of it as he pleased. “Lord,” he exclaimed, “what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts ix. 6.) And instantly the Lord declared to Ananias, that Saul was a vessel of election, and apostle of the Gentiles. “This man is a vessel of election to carry my name before the Gentiles.” (Acts ix. 15.) He that gives his will to God, gives him all he has. He that mortifies himself by fasts and penitential austerities, or that gives alms to the poor for God’s sake, gives to God a part of himself and of his goods; but he that gives his will to God, gives him all, and can say: Lord, having given thee my will, I have nothing more to give thee I have given thee all. It is our heart that is, our will that God asks of us. “My son, give me thy heart.” (Prov. xxiii. 26.) Since, then, says the holy Abbot Nilus, our will is so acceptable to God, we ought, in our prayers, to ask of him the grace, not that we may do what he will, but that we may do all that he wishes us to do. Every one knows this truth, that our sanctification consists in doing the will of God; but there is some difficulty in reducing it to practice. Let us, then, come to the second point, in which I have to say many things of great practical utility.

Second Point How, and in what, we ought to practise conformity to the will of God.

5. That we may feel a facility of doing on all occasions the divine will, we must beforehand offer ourselves continually to embrace in peace whatever God ordains or wills. Such was the practice of holy David. “My heart,” he used to say, ”is ready; God! my heart is ready.” (Ps. cvii. 2.) And he continually besought the Lord to teach him to do his divine will. ”Teach me to do thy will.” (Ps. cxlii. 1 0.) He thus deserved to be called a man according to God’s own heart. ”I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills.” (Acts xiii. 2 2.) And why? Because the holy king was always ready to do whatever God wished him to do.

6. St. Teresa offered herself to God fifty times in the day, that he might dispose of her as he pleased, and declared her readiness to emhrace either prosperity or adversity. The perfection of our oblation consists in our offering ourselves to God without reserve. All are prepared to unite themselves to the divine will in prosperity; but perfection consists in conforming to it, even in adversity. To thank God in all things that are agreeable to us, is acceptable to him; but to accept with cheerfulness what is repugnant to our inclinations, is still more pleasing to him. Father M. Avila used to say, that “a single blessed be God, in adversity, is better than six thousand thanksgivings in prosperity.”

7. We should conform to the divine will, not only in misfortunes which come directly from God such as sickness, loss of property, privation of friends and relatives but also in crosses which come to us from men, but indirectly from God such as acts of injustice, defamations, calumnies, injuries, and all other sorts of persecutions. But, you may ask, does God will that others commit sin, by injuring us in our property or in our reputation? No; God wills not their sin; but he wishes us to bear with such a loss and with such a humiliation; and he wishes us to conform, on all such occasions, to his divine will.

8. “Good things and evil… are from God.” (Eccl. xi. 14.) All blessings such as riches and honours and all misfortunes such as sickness and persecutions come from God. But mark that the Scripture calls them evils, only because we, through the want of conformity to the will of God, regard them as evils and misfortunes. But, in reality, if we accepted them from the hands of God with Christian resignation, they should be blessings and not evils. The jewels which give the greatest splendour to the crown of the saints in heaven, are the tribulations which they bore with patience, as coming from the hands of the Lord. On hearing that the Sabeans had taken away all his oxen and asses, holy Job said: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.” (Job i. 21.) He did not say that the Lord gave, and that the Sabeans had taken away; but that the Lord gave, and that the Lord had taken away: and therefore he blessed the Lord, believing that all had happened through the divine will. “As it has pleased the Lord, so it is done: blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Ibid.) Being tormented with iron hooks and burning torches, the holy martyrs Epictetus and Atone said: ”Lord, thy will be done in us.” And their last words were: ”Be blessed, eternal God, for having given us the grace to accomplish thy will.”

9. ”Whatsoever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad.” (Prov. xii. 21.) A soul that loves God is not disturbed by any misfortune that may happen to her. Cesarius relates (lib. x., c. vi.), that a certain monk who did not perform greater austerities than his companions, wrought many miracles. Being astonished at this, the abbot asked him one day what were the works of piety which he practised. He answered, that he was more imperfect than the other monks; but that his sole concern was to conform himself to the divine will. Were you displeased, said the abbot, with the person who injured us so grievously a few days ago? No, father, replied the monk; I, on the contrary, thanked God for it; because I know that he does or permits all things for our good. From this answer the abbot perceived the sanctity of the good religious. We should act in a similar manner under all the crosses that come upon us. Let us always say: ”Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight.” (Matt. xi. 26.) Lord, this is pleasing to thee, let it be done.

10. He that acts in this manner enjoys that peace which the angels announced at the birth of Jesus Christ to men of good will that is, to those whose wills are united to the will of God. These, as the Apostle says, enjoy that peace which exceeds all sensual delights. “The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding.” (Phil. iv. 7.) A great and solid peace, which is not liable to change. “A holy man continueth in wisdom like the sun; but a fool is changing like the moon.” (Eccl. xxvii 12.) Fools that is, sinners are changed like the moon, which increases today, and grows less on tomorrow; Today they are seen to laugh through folly, and to-morrow, to weep through despair; Today they are humble and meek, tomorrow, proud and furious. In a word, sinners change with prosperity and adversity; but the just are like the sun, always the same, always serene in whatever happens to them. In the inferior part of the soul they cannot but feel some pain at the misfortunes which befall them; but, as long as the will remains united to the will of God, nothing can deprive them of that spiritual joy which is not subject to the vicissitudes of this life. “Your joy no man shall take from you.” (John xvi. 22.)

11. He that reposes in the divine will, is like a man placed above the clouds: he sees the lightning, and hears the claps of thunder, and the raging of the tempest below, but he is not injured or disturbed by them. And how can he be ever disturbed, when whatever he desires always happens? He that desires only what pleases God, always obtains whatsoever he wishes, because all that happens to him, happens through the will of God. Salvian says, that Christians who are resigned, if they be in a low condition of life, wish to be in that state; if they be poor, they desire poverty; because they wish whatever God wills, and therefore they are always content. ”Humiles sunt, hoc volunt, pauperes sunt, paupertate delectantur: itaque beati dicendisunt.” If cold, or heat, or rain, or wind come on, he that is united to the will of God says: I wish for this cold, this heat, this rain, and this wind, because God wills them. If loss of property, persecution, sickness, or even death come upon him, he says: I wish for this loss, this persecution, this sickness; I even wish for death, when it comes, because God wills it. And how can a person who seeks to please God, enjoy greater happiness than that which arises from cheerfully embracing the cross which God sends him, and from the conviction that, in embracing it, he pleases God in the highest degree? So great was the joy which St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to feel at the bare mention of the will of God, that she would fall into an ecstasy.

12. But, how great is the folly of those who resist the divine will, and, instead of receiving tribulations with patience, get into a rage, and accuse God of treating them with injustice and cruelty! Perhaps they expect that, in consequence of their opposition, what God wills shall not happen? “Who resisteth his will ?” (Rom. ix. 19.) Miserable men! instead of lightening the cross which God sends them, they make it more heavy and painful. “Who hath resisted him, and hath peace ?” (Job ix. 4.) Let us be resigned to the divine will, and we shall thus render our crosses light, and shall gain great treasures of merits for eternal life. In sending us tribulations, God intends to make us saints. “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thess. iv. 3.) He sends us crosses, not because he wishes evil to us, but because he desires our welfare, and because he knows that they are conducive to our salvation. “All things work together unto good.” (Rom. viii. 28.) Even the chastisements which come from the Lord are not for our destruction, but for our good and for the correction of our faults. ”Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord….have happened for our amendment, and not for our destruction.” (Jud. viii. 27.) God loves us so tenderly, that he not only desires, but is solicitous about our welfare. ”The Lord,” says David, ”is careful for me.” (Ps. xxxix. 18.)

13. Let us, then, always throw ourselves into the hands of God, who so ardently desires and so anxiously watches over our eternal salvation. ”Casting all your care upon him; for he hath care of you.” (1 Peter v. 7.) He who, during life, casts himself into the hands of God, shall lead a happy life and shall die a holy death. He who dies resigned to the divine will, dies a saint; but they who shall not have been united to the divine will during life, shall not conform to it at death, and shall not be saved. The accomplishment of the divine will should be the sole object of all our thoughts during the remainder of our days. To this end we should direct all our devotions, our meditations, communions, visits to the blessed sacrament, and all our prayers. We should constantly beg of God to teach and help us to do his will. “Teach me to do thy will.” (Ps. cxlii. 10.) Let us, at the same time, offer ourselves to accept without reserve whatever he ordains, saying, with the Apostle: ”Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?” (Acts ix. 6.) Lord, tell me what thou dost wish me to do I desire to do thy will. And in all things, whether they be pleasing or painful, let us always have in our mouths that petition of the PATER NOSTER-”Thy will be done” Let us frequently repeat it in the day, with all the affection of our hearts. Happy we, if we live and die saying: ”Thy will be done” “Thy will be done!”

Children of the HOLY GHOST and Children of the World

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Sermon for Whit-Sunday by St. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney

“Know ye not that you are the temple of GOD, and that the spirit of GOD dwelleth in you?”  -1. Cor. iii. 16.

    From the beginning of the ecclesiastical year, which you, dear Christians, know commences with Advent, the holy Catholic Church has celebrated glorious festivals in honor of our divine Saviour. First of all was the holy feast of Christmas, when the faithful rejoiced that the Redeemer had come down from heaven to deliver us from sin and eternal damnation; after that we celebrated the joyful feast of the Resurrection, and we sang with the risen Saviour joyful alleluias because His bitter passion and our redemption was accomplished; and, finally, a few days ago, we saw our divine Saviour return to His heavenly Father, from henceforth to take possession of His throne of glory for all eternity. But there the same JESUS, who in this world had done so many such unutterably great things for us, was not unmindful of our soul’s salvation: He kept His work, which He had spoken to His Apostles, and also to us – the word, “I will send you another comforter,” another deliverer, “the HOLY GHOST,” and this Holy Spirit will not only rule over the holy Church founded by Him, but, according to the words of my text, He will enter into every soul and enlighten and guide them in the way of salvation; in Him we shall live, walk, and work for heaven.

But do all men who have received the HOLY GHOST cooperate with Him for heaven? In other words, are they all true children of the HOLY GHOST? Unfortunately I must say that many men, although they have received the HOLY GHOST, are not children of the HOLY GHOST, but children of the world. I consider it, therefore necessary to show you whereby we can recognize:

 I.  Who is a child of the HOLY GHOST, and

II.  Who is a child of the world.

I. Without doubt, dear brethren, that Christian is a child of the HOLY GHOST who avoids all grievous sins, for the HOLY GHOST can only dwell in a soul which is disunited from grievous sin; He is that purest Spirit in whose eyes sin is an abomination. Therefore St. Paul writes: “Grieve not,” that is to say by sin, “The Holy Spirit of GOD.” (Eph. Iv. 30.) Sin turns the abode of the HOLY GHOST into an abode of satan.  St. Gregory writes, therefore: “The sinner’s heart is the devil’s workshop, but not the dwelling of the HOLY GHOST.” It is especially the sin of impurity, whether committed by unchaste thoughts, words, or works, which drives the HOLY GHOST out of our hearts, and closes against Him the entrance to our souls. “The sensual man,” writes St. Chrysostom, “cannot receive the grace of the HOLY GHOST.” And Holy Writ says, in expressive words that on account of this sin the HOLY GHOST cannot remain in man. “My Spirit,” we read, “shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh.” (Gen. vi. 3); in other words, because he is addicted to the lust of the flesh.

   For this reason, dear Christians, if through a sinful life you have lost the HOLY GHOST, strive by penance to purify your soul again from sin, so as to receive the HOLY GHOST into your hearts again. St. Peter exhorts us to do this in the words: “Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of JESUS CHRIST, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the HOLY GHOST.” (Acts ii. 38.) Reflect upon what you have lost through sin, namely, that you are no longer a child of the HOLY GHOST.  Let us do penance, that we may obtain the heavenly treasure again!

   Without doubt, I say further, is the Christian a child of the HOLY GHOST if his heart is adorned with numerous virtues. As our divine Saviour in Holy Communion enters only into a virtuous heart, and that the Christian before receiving the same should excite feelings of virtue, even so the HOLY GHOST will only dwell in those souls which are adorned with these virtues; in such a soul He has an abiding dwelling place. Just as the oil keeps the light burning, and the flame is extinguished when the oil is all used, just so is the HOLY GHOST – the light and fire of the soul – preserved within us by virtue and good works.  St. Augustine, therefore, in a sermon on the feast of Pentecost, tells his listeners: “the promises of our Redeemer have been fulfilled; our LORD JESUS CHRIST is ascended into heaven, and the HOLY GHOST has come down from heaven; there remains for us, in order that this double event be fulfilled in us, to preserve within us by a virtuous life the HOLY GHOST who has descended, and by leading such life to follow JESUS CHRIST, who has ascended. And this virtuous life of ours should consist in a firm faith, in the hope of GOD’S mercy, in the love of GOD and our neighbor, in humility, in being at peace with our neighbors, and in piety and the fear of GOD, especially in purity of heart and chastity. Where these virtues are found in the souls of Christians, there we find the true children of the HOLY GHOST.

   Finally, dear Christians, I say, a sure mark of a child of the HOLY GHOST is borne by that one who is a child of prayer, especially when he often prays to GOD for the gifts of the HOLY GHOST. Our divine Saviour demands such a prayer from us when He says:  “If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke xi.13.)    The Apostles serve us with an example that the heavenly Father grants the HOLY GHOST and His gifts to those who ask Him. He promised the HOLY GHOST to them with these words: “And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you forever.” (John xiv.16.) What, therefore, did the Apostles do when they returned to Jerusalem after the ascension of JESUS into heaven from the Mount of Olives? They adjourned to an upper room where they lived, and they all united together in prayer with Mary.

   And being assembled there in the same manner, in prayer, on the feast of Pentecost, suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire; and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the HOLY GHOST, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the HOLY GHOST gave them to speak. (Acts ii. 1,2.) Should we, dear Christians, pray less than the Apostles did for the HOLY GHOST and His gifts? Our holy Church imitates the Apostles in invoking GOD for the HOLY SPIRIT. Through the entire week of Holy Pentecost she prays by the mouth of the priests, “Come, HOLY GHOST, and visit the souls of Thy servants.” (She sings that beautiful hymn, “Veni Creator Spiritus” (“Come, Creator Spirit”), that He may descend into the souls of the faithful, and enlighten them by the word of GOD. Pious Christians have always prayed to the HOLY GHOST for His seven gifts. A pious abbot named John cried out to his listeners in a sermon: “We will beseech GOD to grant us His HOLY SPIRIT that He may fructify and refresh our hearts with the rain and dew of His grace.” Yes, we will pray frequently for his sublime grace, and with heart and voice repeat after St. Augustine those beautiful words: “Breathe perpetually, O HOLY GHOST, Thy holy work within me, that I may think upon it; move me, that I may do it; persuade me, that I may love Thee; strengthen me, that I may hold Thee fast; keep me, that I may not lose Thee!” Truly, those who pray thus possess the HOLY GHOST, and are indeed true children of the HOLY GHOST!

II. I say, dear Christians that the children of the world stand in direct contrast to the children of the HOLY GHOST.

   The children of the world, dear Christians, are manifestly those men/women to whom the world is everything, to whom the world and all that it offers is of more consequence than heaven – I might say, to whom the world IS their GOD. To them belong those who are attached with their whole hearts to transitory things; who make only the one effort to accumulate the treasures and wealth of this world, to become possessed of them. Tell me, is it conceivable that such efforts could proceed from a heart filled and animated by the HOLY GHOST? Does the HOLY GHOST not say in Holy Writ: “If riches abound, set not your heart upon them.” (Ps. lxi. II.) Can mankind, then, who has sold his/her heart wholly and entirely to the world and its treasures and possessions, say of him/herself that his/her exertions are holy and directed to heaven? Let the HOLY GHOST, dear Christians, reign in your hearts, that he/she may turn toward GOD and heaven, in heaven alone, where are true riches and treasures. “Seek first,” that is to say, more than all earthly things, “the kingdom of GOD.”

   The children of this world are manifestly those persons who only strive after the joys and pleasures of this life. GOD has created us for heaven and its joys, “to the purchasing of salvation,” as the Apostle writes. (1 Thess. v.9.)  At the same time, He has not forbidden us the en-joyment of worldly pleasures, for St. Paul says: “Rejoice with them that rejoice.” (Rom. xii. 15.) But GOD has not created us that we should enjoy solely the pleasures of the world without thinking of heavenly joys, nor strive after them, much less that we should strive for them alone. “Seek first the kingdom of GOD.” But, alas! how many people, how many Christian people, think only of joy, of pleasure, of the enjoyment of pleasures, and the lust of the world! How many seek these alone, and desire to enjoy them, without thinking of the joys of heaven, or longing for them! Worldly festivities with joyful meetings, with all the pleasures of the table; worldly pleasures with rioting and debauchery; worldly feasts with music and dancing; worldly festivities on Sundays and holy days: this is what occupies the atten-tion of so many people – their hearts desire it, without ever being satiated. Pleasures, and still more pleasures, enjoyment on enjoyment: this is what so many people are striving for. Now tell me, dear Christians, do not all these worldly pleasures and enjoyments generally bring grievous sins in their train? Do they not at least bury virtue beneath their pleasures, and are you not led thereby to eternal damnation? Can the HOLY GHOST dwell and work in the hearts of such people, who only serve the spirit of the world?

   The children of this world, I will say further, are manifestly those people who lead a tepid life, forgetful of GOD; in them the HOLY GHOST cannot be, for He is and lives only in the pious and GOD-fearing. Holy Scripture says of Simeon that he was GOD-fearing, and it adds these words: “The HOLY GHOST was in him.” (Luke ii. 25.) He was GOD-fearing; he was pious, as the Holy Scripture says of him. He came, as it says further on, “in answer to the HOLY GHOST,” and he had the grace to take into his arms the Infant JESUS, and he blessed GOD for this grace. (Luke ii. 28.) Would Simeon have had this grace if the HOLY GHOST had not dwelt in him, and if he had not led a pious, GOD-fearing life? Can we, then, say of lukewarm Christians that within them dwells the HOLY GHOST, who instills in us the virtue of the fear of GOD and piety; may we say that of the lukewarm Christian who does not fear GOD, who does not lead a pious life nor visit the temple of GOD frequently, who neglects his morning and night prayers, who receives the Holy Sacraments either not at all or only once a year? No, I reply, he/she is a child of the world, lives only for the world, feels no desire to do good for heaven, and for this reason that it cannot be said of him/her, as of the pious Simeon: “The HOLY GHOST is in him.”

   In conclusion, those are the children of the world, and not the children of the HOLY GHOST, who speak the language of the children of the world, and not the language of the HOLY GHOST. But what language does the HOLY GHOST speak? We see this in the holy Apostles. They are zealous to receive the HOLY GHOST, who came down upon them in the form of fiery tongues, that they may speak for the holy faith; they preach virtue, they exhort to charity and peace, to mercy and justice, to chastity, and to a holy Christian life. But what is the language spoken by so many children of the world, over whom the HOLY GHOST descended in the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation? I reply, they speak the language of the devil in derisive discourses on the holy faith; in unchaste conversations and stories; in curses and maledictions; in blasphemies against GOD and everything that is sacred to a Christian; in slander and seducing their neighbor to do wrong. The fiery tongue of the HOLY GHOST, I might almost say, which descended upon them as it did upon the Apostles, even if invisibly, has been exchanged for the poisonous tongue of the devil, and for this reason they only speak the language of the devil, and not the language of the HOLY GHOST.

“Breathe perpetually, O HOLY GHOST, Thy holy work within me, that I may think upon it; move me, that I may do it; persuade me, that I may love Thee; strengthen me, that I may hold Thee fast; keep me, that I may not lose Thee!” -St. Augustine

   O Christian, if your heart is so made that it only strives for the treasures and joys of the world; O Christian, if your heart is cold and lukewarm in the service of GOD; O Christian, if your tongue does not speak the language of the HOLY GHOST, but the language of the devil, ah, then, be horrified at the unhappy state of your soul – the HOLY GHOST does not live and operate in your heart! On this holy festival of the HOLY GHOST, therefore, lift up your hands to GOD and pray fervently for your soul: “O my GOD, who hast enlightened the hearts of Thy faithful through the HOLY GHOST, grant that henceforth I shall speak only in this same spirit of heavenly things, that I may pray and work only for that which is heavenly, only accumulate treasures and merits for heaven, so that I may be found worthy one day to reach there where Thou with the HOLY GHOST rules on the throne of heaven for all eternity.”    Amen.

The Followers of Christ Should Give Testimony of Him

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“And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning.”  -St. John xv. 27.

St. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney, the Cure of Ars

    When two kingdoms are at war with one another it is easy to distinguish the soldiers of either party by their arms, their uniforms, and their flags. A violent struggle has been going on since the beginning of the world between the King of heaven and earth and the prince of darkness as to which of them the human race should belong. Christ, the Redeemer, by His death and resurrection, has won the victory over hell. Before He entered gloriously into heaven as a conqueror, leading with Him the souls of the just of the old law, as the first-born of His victory, He founded His Church upon earth as His kingdom, in which we should continue to combat against hell, and by His power we should and could complete the victory. Therefore He says to His Apostles, the generals of His kingdom, “You will give testimony of me,” and Holy Writ says of them, “With great power did the Apostles give testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Acts iv. 33.) The words of Christ apply also to us. We are all obliged to give testimony of Him, not by sermons and miracles, as the Apostles did, but by our life, by the imitation of Jesus; for as we have all become members of His body, and have received from Christ the name of “Christians,” we are obliged to lead a life worthy of this Chief, not to bring disgrace upon His Holy Name, but so to live that in our life the Christian can be distinguished from the non-Christian. This is our testimony of Christ. I will now speak on this subject. In the Canticle of Canticles, the divine Bridegroom says to the soul that loves Him: (Cant. viii. 6): “Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm.” We bear this seal of Christ when we imitate Him:

  1. In our will.
  2. In our words.
  3. In our works.

I. 1. David expresses what the will of our Redeemer was in these words, which the Holy Ghost permits Him to speak (Ps. xxxix. 8-9): “In the head of the book it is written of me that I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart.” But Christ says of Himself (John vi. 38), “Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me,” and (John iv. 34) “My food is to do the will of him that sent me”; and the Apostle extols Him, saying (Phil. Ii. 8): “He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” When He descended from the glory of heaven and earth He sacrificed Himself to the will of His Father. “Thou willest, O my God,” He said, as it were with complete resignation, “that I should be born in a desolated stable; that I should shed my blood at the circumcision; that I should flee before Herod; that I should bear the burdens and the troubles of this earthly life for three and thirty years. Thou willest that I should be betrayed, despised, spit upon, buffeted upon the cheeks and scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, and suffer the most cruel of deaths. My God, I will it also. I am ready to suffer these and still greater afflictions.”

2. Now, dear Christian, behold and act according to this model in thy dispositions. When a thousand disappointments beset you, say, too, “My God, I will it!” When poverty afflicts you, when the calumniator’s tongue wounds you, when false friends deceive you, when sickness visits you, when bodily pains torment you, with invincible patience imitate Christ and say, “My God, I will it!” You must have these dispositions, this will; then the life of Christ is your model and you give testimony of Him.

3. How have you acted up to the present? Examine yourself and acknowledge how different your dispositions have often been to those of the Lord. Ah, how many ambitious people there are whose whole thoughts and actions are directed toward the acquisition of honor, recognition, offices, and dignities! How many avaricious people who ponder night and day how to increase their mammon! How many worldlings who think continually of their pleasures! How many revengeful souls who will not forget the insults they have endured! Is this giving testimony of Christ? Do not the heathens do likewise, who give testimony of Satan?

II. 1. Of what kind are the words of Christ the Lord? Peter once said (John vi. 69), “Thou hast the words of eternal life,” for all His words were directed to the honor of God, the extirpation of sin, the growth of virtue, and the salvation of souls. Consider this in the seven last sacred words which He spoke from the cross in the midst of His death-agony. First He prayed to the heavenly Father, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke xxiii. 34) These are words of mercy and reconciliation. To the penitent thief He said, “This day thou shaly be with me in paradise” (Luke xxiii. 43) – words of blessed promise. He addresses these words to His Blessed Mother, “Woman, behold thy son!” and to His disciple, “Behold thy mother!” (John xix. 26.) What consoling words! In the moment of abandonment He cries out, with entire submission and confidence in God, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. xxxvi. 46.) His desire to suffer still more and in the highest degree for the sake of our salvation is proved to us by His cry, “I thirst” (John xix. 28), “It is comsumated” (John xix. 30). He says, full of joy, that He has completed our redemption, and He recommends His soul with resignation into the hands of His Father: “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke xxiii. 46.) Now, dear Christians, look at this model and act accordingly in thy words. Whatever you speak must be to the honor of God, and to thine own and thy neighbor’s salvation. Speech is given to us, as a servant of God says, to praise God, to the edification of our neighbor.

  2. Have your conversations been of this description, dear Christian? Ah, how different have they often been from the Lord’s! If we go into the houses and palaces of the rich and powerful, what talk, what conversations are there in vogue? What words do we hear in the halls of learning, in the assembly of the leaders of the people? In the streets we meet the indications of sensual pleasures, in the stores it is vanity; at home, in the workshops, too often, unfortunately, it is unbelief and blasphemy. Where is the place in which reputations are not blasted, slanders, blasphemies, oaths, and especially where improper conversations have not found a home, in our days? Even family life is no longer pure, and words are dropped into the ears of innocent children that poison their souls. Dear Christians, is this giving testimony of Christ? Do not the heathen do likewise, who give testimony of Satan?

III. 1. Let us consider, in conclusion, the works of the Lord. St. Bernard describes them to us thus: “Under the name of Jesus I picture to myself a man humble and meek of heart, kind, temperate, chaste, merciful – in short, distinguished in every virtue and holiness.” Our Lord’s own teaching is witness that He was perfect in the practice of all the works which He taught. He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and from His birth in the stable until His death upon the cross He was Himself the poorest, “for He had not where to lay His head.” “Blessed are the meek,” He says, and He forgives not only the wrong done to Him, but he rewards it with the richest benefits. “Blessed are the sorrowful;” He expiated our sins by His whole body, and wept over them tears of blood. “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice;” but His food was to do the will of His Father. “Blessed are the merciful;” He heaped good deeds upon His enemies. “Blessed are the peacemakers;” He made peace between God and man. “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice sake;” He bears hatred and persecution on account of His teaching until His death.

2. But how do we perform our works? Do you not love your body and your comfort inordinately, and adhere so obstinately to the maxims of the world that you are almost ashamed to be a Christian? Or you love sin, allow your vices to become habits, and have even laid aside all feelings of shame therefore, or you only think of that which is earthly, and live on like the unreasoning animal, constantly pursuing pleasures and sensuality. Unhappy Christian, is this the way to give testimony of Christ? Do not the heathen do the same, who give testimony of Satan? Is it any wonder that heretics and unbelievers are not converted when they see that Catholics and Christians are worse than they are?

3. Therefore, my Christians, behold, and behave according to the model that is shown to you. It is your duty to imitate the teaching and the example of the Redeemer and to practice diligently Christian perfection. You must serve God and reflect night and day upon His laws; you must crucify your flesh with its wicked desires; you must not be overcome by adversity, nor dazzled by happiness. It is your duty so to practice the Christian virtues that even unbelievers shall admire them, and say that they are not able to reach to such a high perfection. If this could be said of all Christians, surely the whole world would soon be Christian!

Do not delay, dear Christian, to conform your life to the life of Jesus Christ, and thereby to give testimony of Him. Hear how the Apostle exhorts you (II Cor. iv. 10): “Always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus: that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies.” By mortification you must make your life a copy of His life. Your eyes should not be overcurious, nor your mouth without shame, nor your sensual desires ungovernable, as the heathens are; your conduct must not correspond with the life of the rich glutton. On the contrary, all those who see your retirement and your modesty must acknowledge that you are not only in name, but in deed and truth, a Christian, a follower of the Crucified One, and an heir of the kingdom of heaven. Amen.