Fourth Sermon for the Feast of the Assumption: On the Resurrection of Lazarus and on the Dignity and Virtues of Mary

“ When He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.’’—John xi. 43.

Dearest brethren, this is a time when all flesh should shout for joy, because the Mother of the Word made flesh is assumed into heaven ; nor should human mortality desist from singing songs of praise on this glorious festival, when the nature of man is elevated in the Virgin to solitary eminence, high above all the orders of immortal spirits. But whilst my devotion to God’s blessed Mother will not suffer me to be silent concerning her glories to-day, I feel persuaded, on the other hand, that neither my barren mind can conceive nor my unpolished tongue express anything worthy of so grand a theme. Even the very princes of the heavenly court, contemplating so great a wonder, cannot help crying out in admiration, “ Who is she that cometh up from the desert flowing with delights ? ” (Cant. viii. 5). Which may be paraphrased as follows: “Who is this glorious creature? And how is it that one coming up from the desert of earth overflows with such delights ? For delights similar to these cannot be found even amongst ourselves who are made joyful in the city of God by the stream of the river (Ps. xlv. 5), and who are made to drink of the torrent of

Siang Be pleasure that flows from the vision of glory (Ps. xxxv. 9). Who can she be that thus cometh up flowing with spiritual delights, cometh up from under the sun where there is nothing but labour and sorrow and affliction of spirit ? (Eccles. i. 17).” Why may I not call by the name of delights that splendour of virginity united to the gift of fecundity, that loveliness of humility, that “dropping honeycomb ”’ of divine charity (Cant. iv. 11), those “ bowels of mercy ”’ (Luke i. 78), that fulness of heavenly grace, that prerogative of singular glory ? The Queen of the universe, therefore, going up from the desert, “ is become lovely and sweet in her delights,” as the Church sings,* even to the holy angels. Nevertheless, let them cease to wonder at the delights found in this our desert, recollecting that, according to what is promised in the psalm, “‘the Lord hath given goodness and our earth hath yielded her fruit ” (Ps. Ixxxiv. 13). For why should they wonder to see Mary “ going up flowing with delights ” from the desert of this earth? Surely there is more reason to wonder at Christ coming down in poverty from the abounding wealth of the heavenly kingdom. For it appears to be a far more astounding thing that the Son of God should be “ made a little less than the angels ” (Ps. viii. 6), than that the Mother of God should be exalted above the angels. His emptying of Himself has been the filling of us (Phil. ii. 7), His miseries are our delights. For “ being rich He became poor for our sakes, that through His poverty we might be made rich”’ (2 Cor.

viii. 9). Yea, even the shame of His cross is become the glory of His disciples (Gal. vi. 14).

But not only did Christ, Who is our Life (Col. iii. 4), empty Himself for our sakes, He even hastened to the sepulchre in order to recall from the dead him that was already “ of four days ” (John xi. 39) ; and He sought Lazarus — who, if your charity remembers, is to be according to promise the subject of the sermon to-day—in order to besought and to be found by Lazarus. For “in this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because He hath first loved us ” (rx John iv. ro). Go, then, O Lord, seek him whom Thou lovest so as to make him also a seeker and a lover. Inquire where they have laid him (John xi. 34) : for he lies concealed under the stone, bound and burdened. He lies in the prison-house of his conscience, he is bound with the bands of discipline, he is burdened and oppressed with the heaviness of his penance as with the weight of a superincumbent slab ; particularly because he has not yet attained to that charity which is “ strong as death” (Cant. viii. 6) and “ beareth all things” (x Cor. xiii. 4). And in this state “he stinketh, for he is now of four days’’ (John xi. 39). I think the minds of many of you have anticipated my words and already understand whom I am speaking of under the name of Lazarus. Anyhow, the Lazarus I refer to is he who has just recently died to sin (Rom. vi. 2), and has “ digged in the wall ” of his conscience so that he can see the many “ wicked abominations ” (Ezech. viii. 8-9) of his corrupt and inscrutable heart; or in the words of another prophet, he has “ entered into the rock and hidden in the digged earth from the face of the fury of the Lord” (Is. ii. 10).

But, my brethren, how are we to understand the words, “ Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days” (John xi. 39)? For it my be this stench and these days have a deeper signification than appears on the surface. As for me, I take the first day to be the day of holy fear, wherein, our hearts being illuminated, we die to sin and are buried, so to speak, in the sepulchre of our conscience. . The second day, so it seems to me, is passed amidst the labours of conflict. For in the beginning of our conversion to God we are wont to be assailed with particular violence by temptations arising from evil habits and can scarcely “extinguish the fiery darts of the most wicked one ” (Ephes. vi. 16).* The third day I consider to be the day of sorrow. For it is then one “recounts all his years in the bitterness of his soul” (Is. xxxviii. 15), and is more occupied in bewailing the sins of the past than in labouring to avoid future offences. Are you surprised to hear me explaining the days in this sense ? But remember these are the days that belong to the sepulchre, days of darkness and clouds, of affliction and lamentation (Soph. i. 15). There follows next the day of shame, a day not unlike the three preceding, in which the miserable soul is overwhelmed with horrible confusion, whilst she ponders on the multitude and magnitude of her crimes and sadly reviews with the eyes of the heart the repulsive images of her past offences. The soul in this state hides nothing from herself : she rather examines everything, makes much of everything, even magnifies everything. Far from being over-lenient, she judges her own case with the most rigorous severity. But such severity is profitable, such cruelty is found worthy of the divine compassion. For she easily obtains the grace of God when in the interests of His glory she exercises justice against herself. Nevertheless, ‘‘ Lazarus, come forth” (John xi. 43) now from the tomb and do not remain too long in this stench of corruption ; because the flesh that is malodorous is nigh to rottenness, and he that is excessively confounded and afflicted for his sins is not far from the brink of despair. Wherefore, “ Lazarus, come forth.” “ Abyss calleth on abyss” (Ps. xli. 8), the abyss of light and mercy on the abyss of misery and darkness. The goodness of God is greater than thine iniquity, and where sin abounds, causes grace to abound the more (Rom. v. 20). “ Lazarus, come forth,” that is to say: “ How long wilt thou remain under the cloud of thy conscience? How long wilt thou ‘ be contrite upon thy bed’ (Ps. iv. 5) in heaviness of heart ? Come forth, walk abroad, rejoice in the light and free air of My compassion. This is only what thou hast read in the Prophet, ‘ With My praise I will bridle thee lest thou shouldst perish’ (Is. xlviii. 9). And more clearly still another prophet says of himself, ‘ My soul is troubled within myself, therefore will I remember Theet (Ps..xli.).”

Now what is the mystical meaning of the Saviour’s command to “ take away the stone,” and a little later to “loose him and let him go”? (John xi. 39-44). Are we to suppose, my brethren, that after being visited by the grace of consolation our Lazarus will cease to “do penance, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand ” (Matt. iii. 4), or will renounce “ discipline, and so perchance the Lord be angry and he perish from the just way ” (Ps. ii. 12) ? God forbid! No, let the stone indeed be taken away, but let penance remain, penance that no longer burdens and oppresses the sick soul, but rather gives fresh life and vigour to the already revived and vigorous soul; for that which before she would not touch is now become her food, namely, to do the will of the Lord (Job vi. 7, John iv. 34). So too with discipline which has ceased to be a restraint upon her freedom, according to the words of the Apostle : “ The law was not made for the just man” (x Tim. i. 9), and serves now only to direct her willing steps “ into the ways of peace” (Luke i. 79). It is manifestly to this spiritual resuscitation of Lazarus the Royal Prophet is alluding when he says, speaking to the Lord, “ Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (Ps. xv. 10), because, as I remember to have remarked in the sermon for the second day of this feast, a guilty conscience may becalled the hell or the prison of the soul. “Nor wilt Thou give Thy holy one (observe, the Prophet does not say, “my holy one,” but “ Thy holy one,” viz., the one whom Thou hast made holy) to see corruption” (ibid.) ; although he was nigh to corruption, since he was already “ of four days’’ and had begun to give out an offensive odour. Yea, he was on the point of utter dissolution and of “ falling into the depths of evils” in which “ the wicked man contemneth ”’ (Prov. xviii. 3). But prevented by “ the voice of power” (Ps. Ixvii. 34) and reanimated by the same, he gives thanks in the words, “ Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, Thou shalt fill me with joy with Thy countenance” (Ps. xv. 10, 11). That is to say, “ In order that she may begin to contemplate the beauty of Thy face, ‘Thou hast brought forth my soul from hell’ (Ps. xxix. 4), where “my spirit was in anguish within me’ (Ps. cxlii. 4) contemplating the exceeding loathsomeness of the face of its own conscience.” ‘‘ He cried,” says the Evangelist, “ with a great (magna) voice.” Justly indeed is that voice called great, not so much because of its loudness as by reason of its piety and its irresistible power.

But whither have we come? Had we not begun to follow the Virgin in her flight to the heaven of heavens ? And behold, with Lazarus, we have descended into the abyss! The sermon has dropped on a sudden from the splendour of virtue to the stench of a corpse four days in the sepulchre! What is the cause of this, my brethren, unless it be that I have been borne down by my own weight, that I have been attracted earthward by the abundance of matter found here ready to hand, and not less familiar than abundant? I acknowledge my incapacity to discourse on lofty themes, I make no attempt to hide my timidity. It is true, there is nothing gives me greater delight than to preach on the glories of the Virgin Mother, yet neither is there anything that causes me greater fear. For without speaking of the unutterable treasure of her merits or of her absolutely unique prerogative as Mother of God, she is—as indeed she well deserves—loved by all with such tender affection, so highly honoured and venerated, that although everyone is eager to glorify her name, whatever can be said on that ineffable subject, for the sole reason that it can be said, does not fully satisfy, does not fully please, is not quite acceptable. How, in truth, could that little be other than unsatisfying, that little which the human intellect can comprehend of such incomprehensible glory? If I begin to speak in praise of her virginity, behold many other vifgins after her seem to present themselves before me (Ps. xliv. 15). Should I extol her humility, perhaps again others may be found, even though but few, who have learned from her Divine Son to be “ meek and humble of heart ” (Matt. xi. 29). And when I wish to proclaim the multitude of her mercies, I recall that there have been some besides her remarkable for mercy both men and women. There is one thing, however, with regard to which, as the Poet sings, she

Had no precursor in the years before

And peerless shall remain for evermore,

In whom with joys of motherhood we find

The glory of virginity combined.—SEDULIUs.

“Mary,” said the Lord, “hath chosen the best part.” Oh, truly “the best part,” because although conjugal fecundity is good, and virginal chastity better, more excellent than either is virginal fecundity, or should I call it fecund virginity ? This is Mary’s grand prerogative: it shall not be given to any other, because it “ shall not be taken away from her.” It isan unique privilege and at the same time ineffable, so that to speak about it in a worthy manner is as impossible as to attain to it. But what shall we say of her when we remember Whose Mother she is ? What tongue, I ask, whether angelic or human, can worthily eulogise this Virgi Mother, the Mother not of a mere man but of true God? We have here, my brethren, a double wonder, a double prerogative, a double miracle. Yet the two things combine in a glorious and most perfect harmony. For no other son save God would have been worthy of the Virgin nor would any mother but the Virgin have been worthy of God.

Yet, my brethren, if you examine diligently, you will find that not alone this union of virginity with motherhood, but likewise all the various virtues which appear to be common to many are really singular in Mary. Thus, for example, what purity can be anywhere found, even amongst the holy angels, comparable to the purity of her who was deemed worthy to be made the living sanctuary of the Holy Spirit and the dwelling of the Son of God? If we estimate the value of things from their rarity, she undoubtedly must be ranked over all who was the first amongst mortals to conceive the design of emulating upon earth the life of the angels. “ How shall this be done,” she asked the angel, “ because I know not man?” (Luke i. 34). You see, my brethren, so firm was her purpose to live always as a virgin that it could not be shaken even by the words of the heavenly envoy promising her a son. “ How shall this be done ?”’ It cannot be in the ordinary way “ because I know not man,” and neither the desire of a son nor the hope of posterity shall ever induce me to abandon my resolution of remaining always a virgin.

And oh! how sublime and how precious in her was the virtue of humility, united with such transcendent purity, with such spotless innocence, with such a sinless conscience, with such a fulness of grace! Whence, O most blessed One, whence hast thou humility, and humility so great ? This is the humility that deserved to be regarded by the Lord (Luke i. 48), it is the beauty of this virtue the King hath desired (Ps. xliv. 12), and it is by the sweetness of its fragrance He has been drawn down to earth from His eternal home in the bosom of the Father (John i. 18). Notice how completely in accord is the Canticle of our Virgin with the nuptial song of the Old Testament, which in truth is not surprising, since Mary’s womb is the Bridegroom’s marriage-bed. “ He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid,” so sings the Virgin in her Magnificat (Luke, ibid.) ; and hear what she says in the epithalamium, “While the King was at His repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof ”? (Cant. i. 11). Spikenard, as you know, is a lowly herb with purgative properties. Hence we may conclude that by the name spikenard is designated humility, through the odour and braniy of which Mary “hath found grace with God ” (Luke i. 30).

Let him, O most blessed Virgin, let him relies to extol thy mercy, who—if there beany—remembers to have invoked thy assistance and to have found thee wanting to him in his hour of need. As for us, thy poor servants, we congratulate thee on thine other virtues, but on this we rather congratulate ourselves. We praise thy virginity, we admire thy humility, but, because we are so miserable, more consoling to us than either is thy mercy : we love thy mercy more tenderly, we recall it more frequently, we more often invoke it. And the reason is, because it is to thy mercy we owe the restoration of the whole world and the salvation of all. For it is manifest that thou wast solicitous for the salvation of the entire human race when it was said to thee, “ Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God,” the grace, that is, which thou wast seeking. Who, then, shall be able to “ comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephes. iii. 18) of thy mercy, O Virgin most blessed ? Its length stretches forward even as far as the day of doom to succour all that invoke it. Its breadth is as broad as the universe, so that of thee too it can be said, ‘‘the whole earth is full of thy mercy” (Ps. xxxii. 5). Its height reaches up to the city of God the ruins whereof it has been the means of repairing. And its depth goes down to them that “ sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Ps. cvi. 10) for whom it has obtained redemption. For it is through thee, O Mary, that heaven has been filled, that hell has been emptied, that the breaches in the wall of the spiritual Jerusalem have been repaired (Ps. 1. 20), and that the life they had lost has been restored to miserable, expectant mortals. Thus has thy all-powerful and most tender charity abounded not alone in sentiments of compassion but also in deeds of mercy, equally rich in both.

Therefore, my dearest brethren, let us run with thirsting souls to this fountain of mercy, let our misery have recourse with all the eagerness of desire to this treasury of compassion. Behold, O“most blessed One, such are the affections with which we have striven to accompany thee to-day on thy heavenward path to reunion with thy Son. Henceforth, I beseech thee, let it be the concern of thy loving-kindness to make known to the whole world the grace thou hast found with God, by obtaining through thy holy prayers -pardon for the guilty, health for the sick, courage for the pusillanimous, consolation for the afflicted, help and deliverance for all in danger. On this day also, this day of festivity and universal rejoicing, may we, thy poor servants, O Queen most benign, who praise and invoke thy most sweet name of Mary: may we deserve to receive through thy intercession an abundant largess of His heavenly grace from Jesus Christ, thy Son and our Lord, Who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen.

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