Chapter 9. Ti1e Ntxtii Precept, Ox Almsdeeds.

THREE things are to be explained con cerning ahnsdeeds ; its necessity, advantages, and the method.

And first, no one has ever doubted of almsdeeds being commanded in Holy Writ. Sufficient is the sentence of the just and supreme Judge, (even supposing we had nothing else,) which he will pro nounce against the wicked at the last day : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast ing 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:" and a little lower : " Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me." (St. Matthew xxv.) From these words we may conclude, that those only are bound to give alms, who have the means of doing so : for even our Lord is not said to have done these works, but only to have ordered, out of the money that was given to him, a part to be distri buted to the poor. Hence, when our Lord said to Judas, " That which thou dost, do quickly," the disciples supposed that our Lord commanded Judas to give some thing to the poor out of the common purse. But some theologians suppose the precept of almsdeeds is contained in the com mand, "Honour thy parents:" others in the command, " Thou shalt not kill." But it is not requisite for this precept to be contained m the decalogue, since alms-

deeds relate to charity ; the precepts of the decalogue are precepts of justice. But if all the precepts of morality are to Jbe re ferred to the decalogue, the opinion of Albert Magnus is probable — that the precept concerning alms, is to be referred to the command, " Thou shalt not steal," because it seems a kind of theft not to give to the poor what we ought. But the opinion of St. Thomas seems to be more probable, who reduces it to the command, " Honour thy parents.'* By the word honour, is not here understood "reverence" alone, but particularly the supply of things necessary for existence, which is a kind of alms that we owe to our neighbours especially, as St. Jerome remarks in his commentary on the xxv. chapter of St. Matthew. From this we may see, that alms ought to be given to others also, who may be in want. More over, the precept is not negative, but posi tive; and amongst the precepts of the second table, none are positive except the first, " Honour thy parents."

So much on the necessity of alms.

But the fruits are most abundant. First, Almsdecds free the soul from eternal death, whether this be in the way of satis faction, or a disposition to receive grace, or in any other way. This doctrine the sacred Scriptures plainly teach ; in the book of Tobias we thus read : " For alms deliver from all sin and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness;" and

in the same book the angel Raphael says, " For alms deliyereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting.5 And Daniel said to Nabuchodonoser : "Wherefore, 0 king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and redeem thou. thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor, perhaps he will forgive thy offences." (chap, iv.)

Alms also, if they be given by a just man, and with true charity, are meritorious of eternal life : to this the Judge of the living and the dead beareth witness : " Come ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the founda tion of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat," &c. And he answer ed: " Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (St. Matthew xxv.)

Thirdly, almsdeeds are, as it were, like baptism, because they do away both with the sin and the punishment thereof, accordino- to the words of Ecclesiasticus : "Water quencheth a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sins." (chap, iii.) Water entirely extinguishes fire, so that not even any smoke remains. That almsdeeds are of this nature, many holy fathers teach, as St. Cyprian, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St. Leo, whose words it is unnecessary to quote. Such, then, is one great advantage, which ought to enflamo

all men with a love of almsdeeds. But this must not be understood of every kind, but only of that which proceeds from great contrition and ardent charity. Such was that of St. Mary Magdalen, who, with tears of true contrition, washed the feet of our Lord ; and having purchased most precious ointment, she anointed His feet with it.

Fourthly, Almsdeeds increase confi dence with God, and produce spiritual joy ; for, although this is common to other good works also, yet it belongs in particular to almsdeeds, since by them we render a service grateful both to God and our neighbours: and this is a work which is not obscurely, but most plainly acknowledged to be "good." Hence the word of Tobias: "Alms shall be a great confidence before the Most High God, to all them that give it." (chap. iv. 12.) And the apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says: " l)o not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward." (chap. x. 35.) In fine, St. Cyprian, in his Sermon on Aimsdeeds, calls it, " The great comfort of be lievers."

Fifthly, Almsdeeds conciliate the good will of many, who pray to God for their benefactors, and obtain 'for them either tho grace of conversion, or the gift of perseverance, or an increase of merit and glory. And in all these ways may be understood these words of our Lord : "Make unto you

friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail they may receive you into everlasting dwellings." (St. Luke xv.i. 9.)

Sixthly, Almsdeeds is a disposition for receiving justifying grace. Of this fruit Solomon speaks in the Proverbs, where he says: " By mercy and faith sins are purged away." And when our Lord had heard the liberality of Zaccheus, saying: "Be hold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor: and if I have wronged any man of anything, I restore him four-fold." lie said: " This day is salvation come to this house." (St. Luke xix.) In fine, we read in the Acts of the Apostles that it was said to Cornelius, who was not yet a Christian, but who gave large alms : " Thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of God." (chap, x.) From this place St. Augustine proves, that Cornelius by his alms obtained from God the grace of faith and perfect justification.

Lastly, Almsdeeds are often instrumental in increasing our temporal goods. This the wise man affirms where he says : " lie that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord ;" and again : " He that giveth to the poor shall not want." Our Lord has taught us this truth by His own example, when He ordered His disciples, who possessed only the five loaves and the two fishes, to distribute them to the poor : in return they received twelve bas-

kets-full of the fragments, which served them for many days. Tobias also, who liberally distributed his goods to the poor, in a short time obtained great riches ; and the widow of Sarephta, who gave to Elias only a handful of meal and a little oil, obtained from God by this act of charity an abundance of meal and oil, which for a long time did not fail. Many other remarkable examples may be read in St. Gregory of Tours, in the 5th Book of his History of France; and in Leontius, in his Life of St. John the Almoner ; and Sophronms, in his Spiritual Meadow. The same doth St. Cyprian confirm in his Sermon on Almsdeeds, and St. Basil in his Oration to the Rich, in which, by an elegant similitude, he compares riches to water in wells, that gushes forth the purer and more copiously the oftener it is drawn out ; but if it should remain stagnant, it soon becomes putrid. These things covetous rich men will not willingly hear, and scarcely will believe ; but after this life they will understand them and believe them to be true, when such faith and knowledge will be ot no avail to them. . -.

We will now dwell a little on the method of giving alms ; for this is especially necessary, that we may live well and die a most happy death. First, then, we must give our alms with the pure intention ot pleasing God, and not of obtaining human praise. This our Lord teaches us when He says:

" Therefore, when them dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, &c....

Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth." (St. Matthew vi.) St. Augus tine, in his Explanation of St. John's Epis tle, expounds the passage thus : " By the left hand is meant the intention of giving alms for worldly honour or any other temporal advantage ; by the right Jiand is sig nified the intention of bestowing alms to gain eternal life, or for the glory of God, and charity for our neighbour.

Secondly, Our alms should be given promptly and willingly, so that they may not seem to be extorted through entrea ties, nor deferred from day to day, if possi ble. The wise man saith: "Say not to thy friend : Go, and come again ; and to-mor row I will give to thee: when thou canst give at present." (Proverbs iii. 28.) Abraham, the friend of God, requested the angels to take up their abode with him : he did not wait to be asked : so also did Lot do the same. And we read that Tobias did not wait for the poor to come to him, but he sought them himself.

]L hirdly, We should give our alms with joy, not with sadness. Ecclesiasticus saith : "In every gift show a cheerful counte nance ;" and St. Paul : " Every one as he hath determined in his heart, not with sad ness, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Epist. to Corinth, ix. 7.)

.Fourthly, Our alms should be given with humility, that so the rich man may remember that he receives much more than he gives. On this point St. Gregory thus speaks : "When he gives earthly goods, he would find it avail much in taming his pride, were he to remember and carefully ponder on the words of his heavenly Mas ter : ' Make unto you friends of the mam mon of iniquity, that when you ^shall fail they may receive you into everlasting dwellings/ If by their friendship we purchase everlasting dwellings, those that give should doubtless remember that they offer their gifts rather to patrons than to the poor/'""

Fifthly, Our alms should be given abundantly, in proportion to our means: thus doth Tobias teach us— that most ge nerous alms-giver : " According to thy ability be merciful. If thou have much, give abundantly : if thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little, (chap. iv. 9.) And the apostle teaches that alms are to be given to obtain a benedic tion, and not with avarice. St. John Chrysostom adds : " Not merely to give, ^but to give abundantly, is almsdeeds. Ami in the same sermon he says again: Inat those who wish to be heard bybod when they say, Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy, ought to have

• (Lib, Moral, xxi. cap. 14.) mercy on the poor themselves, according to their means."

Lastly, It is necessary above all things, if we wish to be saved and to die a good death, diligently to enquire, either by our own reading and meditation, or by consult ing holy and learned men, whether our "superfluous" riches can be retained with out sin, orwhether we ought of necessity to give them to the poor; and again, what are to be understood by superfluities, and what by necessary goods. It may happen that to some men moderate riches may be superfluous; whilst to others great riches may be absolutely essential. But, since this treatise does not include nor require tedious scholastic questions, I will briefly note pas sages from Holy Writ and the Fathers, and so end this part of the subject. The pas sages of Scripture : " You cannot serve both God and mammon ." " He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none ; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner." And in the 12th chapter of »St. Luke it is said of one who had such great riches, that he scarcely knew what to do with them : " Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee." St. Augus tine, in the 50th book of his Homilies, and the 7th Homily, explains these words to mean, that the rich man perished for ever, because he made no use of his superfluous riches.

The passages from the Fathers are chiefly these : St. Basil, in his Sermon to the Kich, thus speaks : " And thou, art thon not a robber, because what thou hast received to be given away, thou supposest to be thy own?" And a little farther he continues: " Wherefore, as much as thou art able to give, so much dost thou injure the poor." And St. Ambrose, in his 81st Sermon, says: "What injustice do I commit, if, whilst I do not steal the goods of others, I keep diligently what is my own? 0 impudent word ! Dost thou say ' thy own ?' What is this ? It is no less a crime to steal than it is not to give to the poor out of thy abundance." St. Jerome thus writes in his Epistle to Hedibias: " If you possess more than is necessary for your subsistence, give it away, and thus you will be a creditor." St. John Chrysostom says in his 34th Homily to the people of Antioch: "Do you possess anything of your own ? The interest of the poor is entrust ed to you, whether the estate is yours by your own just labours, or you have acquired it by inheritance." St. Augustine, in his Tract on the 147th Psalm: " Our superfluous wealth belongs to the poor ; when it is not given to them, we possess what we have no right to retain.' St. Leo thus speaks : " Temporal goods ore given to us by the liberality of God, and He will de mand an account of them, for they were committed to us for disposal as well as pos session." And St. Gregory, in the third part

of his Pastoral Care : " Those are to be admonished, who, whilst they desire not the goods of others, do not distribute their own; that so they may carefully remember, that as the common origin of all men is from the earth, so also its produce is com mon to them all : in vain, then, they think themselves innocent, who appropriate to themselves the common gifts of God." St. Bernard, in his Epistle to Henry, arch bishop of Sens, saith : " It is ours, for the poor cry out for what you squander ; you cruelly take away from us what you spend foolishly." St. Thomas also writes: " The superfluous riches which many possess, by the natural law belong to the sup port of the poor ;" and again : " The Lord requires us to give to the poor not only the tenth part, but all of our superfluous wealth." In fine, the same author, in the fourth book of his " Sentences," asserts that this is the common opinion of all theo logians. I add also, that if one be inclined to contend that, taking the strict letter of the law, he is not bound to give his super fluous riches to the poor ; he is obliged to do so, at least by the law of charity. It matters little whether we are condemned to hell through want of justice or of charity.

THE TENTH PRECEPT, WHICH IS ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM.

HAVING now explained the principal virtues which teach us how " to live well/' I shall add some remarks on the Sacraments, which, no less than the former, instruct us in this most necessary Art. There are seven Sacraments instituted by Christ our Lord : baptism, confirmation, holy Eucha rist, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. These are the divine in struments, as it were, which God uses by the ministry of his servants, to preserve, or increase, or restore His grace to us; that so being freed from the servitude of the devil, and translated to the dignity of the " Sons of God," we may one day arrive at eternal happiness with the holy angels. From these holy Sacraments, therefore, it is our intention briefly to show who are they that advance in the " Art of living well," and who fail in it. We may then know who can hope for a happy death ; and who, on the contrary, may expect a miserable one, unless he change his life.

Let us begin with the first Sacrament. Baptism, being the first, is justly called the "gate" of the Sacraments, because, unless

baptism precede them, no one is in a state to receive the other Sacraments. In baptism the following ceremonies are observed. First of all, he who is to be baptized ought to make a profession of his belief in the Catholic faith, either by himself or by another. Secondly, he is called upon to renounce the devil, and all his works and pomps. Thirdly, he is baptized in Christ, and thus translated from the bondage of the devil to the dignity of a son of God ; and all his sins being washed away, he re ceives the gift of divine grace, by which he becomes the adopted son of God, an heir of God, and co-heir with Christ. Fourthly, a white garment is placed on him, and he is exhorted to keep it pure and undenled till death. Fifthly, a lighted candle is put into his hand, which signifies good works, and which he ought to add for innocence of life as long as he lives. Thus our Lord speaks in the Gospel : "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (St. Matthew v. 1C.)

These are the principal ceremonies which the Church uses in the administration of baptism; I omit others which do not relate to our purpose. From these observa tions, each one of us may easily discover whether we have led a good life from our Baptism until now. But I strongly suspect that few are to be found who have fulfilled all those things which they promised to do,

Or which they ought to have done. " Many are called, but few are chosen ;" and again, " Narrow is the gate, and straight is the way that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it."

We will begin with the Apostles' Creed. How many of the country people and lower orders either do not remember this, or have never learnt it, or only know the words of it, but not the sense ! And yet at their baptism they answered by their sponsors that they believed in every Article. But if Christ is to dwell in our hearts by faith, as the apostle saith, how can He dwell in the hearts of those who can scarcely re peat the Creed, and much less have it in their hearts ? And if God by faith " puri fies" our hearts, as St. Peter speaks, how base will the hearts of those be, who have not in them the faith of Christ, although they have received baptism outwardly ! I am speaking of adults — not of infants. In fants are justified by possessing grace, faith, hope, and charity ; but when they grow to maturity, they ought to learn the Creed, and believe in their heart the Chris tian faith "unto justice," and confess it with the mouth "unto salvation," as the Apostle most plainly teaches us in his Epis tle to the Romans.

Again: all Christians are asked, either by themselves or by their sponsors, whether they renounce the devil, and all his works and pomps. And they answer: " I do re-

nounce them." But how many renounce them in word, but not in reality ! On the other hand, how few are there who do not love and follow the pomps and works of the devil ! But God seeth all things, and will not be mocked. He therefore that desires to live well and to die well, let him enter into the chamber of his heart, and not deceive himself; but seriously and attentively consider over and over again whether he is ill love with the pomps of this world, or with sins, which are the works of the devil ; and whether he gives them a place in his heart, and in his words and actions. And thus, either his good conscience will console him, or his evil conscience will lead him to penance.

In the other rite is manifested to us the goodness of God in so sublime and wonderful a manner, that, were we to spend whole days and nights in admiration and thanks giving for it, we should do nothing worthy of so great a benefit. 0 good Lord ! who can understand, who is not amazed, who does not wholly dissolve into pious tears when he considers how man, justly con demned to hell, is suddenly by means of Baptism translated from a miserable capti vity to a right in a most glorious kingdom ! But how much the greater this benefit is to be admired, so much the more is man's ingratitude to be detested ; since many, scarcely before they arrive at the age of reason, begin to renounce this wonderful

benefit of God, and to enrol themselves the slaves of the devil. For what else is it to follow in our youth " the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life," but to enter into friendship with the devil, and to deny Christ our Lord in deed and in word? Few is the number of those, who, prevented by a spe cial grace of God, carefully preserve their baptismal grace, and, as the prophet Jeremias expresses it, have borne the yoke of the Lord "from their youth I" But unless we preserve either our baptismal grace, or by true penance again renounce the devil, and return to the service of God, and per severe in it till the end of our life, we cannot possibly live well, nor be delivered from a miserable death.

The fourth ceremony is, when the baptized receives the white garment, and is or dered to wear it until he shall appear before God. By this rite is signified " innocence of life," which acquired by the grace of Baptism, is most carefully to be preserved until death. But who can number the snares of the devil, that perpetual enemy of the human race, who desires nothing more than to disfigure that garment with every kind of stain? Very lew, therefore, are there, who if they live long, do not contract stains of sin ; holy David calls those blessed who are " undefined" in their way. But the more difficult it is to walk undefiled in a defiled way, so much the more glorious

will be the crown of an innocent life. All therefore, who desire to live well and to die well, must be careful to preserve to the very best of their power the white garment. But if it should contract some stains, we must wash it often in the blood of the Lamb ; and this is done by true contrition and penitential tears. When David had bewailed his sin for a long time, he began to hope for pardon, and giving thanks to the Lord, he confidently said : " Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed ; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow." (Psalm 1.)

The last ceremony is, to put a lighted candle into our hand ; this, as we have re marked above, signifies nothing more than good works, which must be joined with a holy life. And what these good works are that men must do who are born again by Baptism in Christ, the apostle teaches us by his example, when he says, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day." (2nd to Timothy iv. 7, 8.) Here in a few words are mentioned the " good works" which must be performed by those who are born again by baptism in Christ. They must fight manfully against the temptations of the devil, " who goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour." They must also complete the

" course" of good works by the observance of the Commandments of the Lord, according to the words of the Psalm : "I have been in the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart." (118.) They must, in fine, preserve fidelity to their master in multiplying their talents, or in cultivating their vineyard, or in attending to the stewardship entrusted to them, or in the government of their family, or in any other matter appointed them by the Almighty. Our most bountiful Lord wishes to admit us as adopted sons to His heavenly inheritence ; but that this may be done to His greater glory and our own, it hath pleased the divine wisdom that by our good works, performed by His grace and our own free will, we should merit eternal happiness. Wherefore, this most noble and glorious inheritance will not be given to those that sleep, or are idle, or fond of play ; but only to the watchful, to the labo rious, and to those that persevere in good works unto the end.

Let every one then examine his works, and diligently inquire into his manner of life, if he wish to live well and die well; and if his conscience testifies to him that he has fought the "good fight" with his vices and concupiscences, and with all the temptations of the old serpent, and that he has finished a happy " course" in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without reproof, then he may ex-

claim with the Apostle, ' ' For the r^st there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day." (2nd to Timothy iv.) But if, having' carefully examined ourselves, our conscience shall testily that in our contest with the enemy of the human race, we have been grievously wounded, and his "fiery darts" have penetrated even unto our soul, and this not once but often, and that we have often failed in the performance of good works, and not only ran on slothmlly, but sat in the way through fatigue or laid down ; and in fine, that we have not preserved our fidelity to God in the business entrusted to us, but have taken away part of the profit, either by vain-glory, or acceptance of per sons, or any thing else ; then must we have immediate recourse to the remedy of penance, and to God himself, and not defer this most important business till another time, because we know neither the day nor the hour.