67. Interior Obedience to God — Third Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After Trinity

Synopsis — A merciful man is a favorite with God — The cure of harshly judging our neighbor is just judgment of ourselves — The relation of thinking and speaking in dealing with others — Why God seems over-severe in His interior visitations — Rules for the use of bodily mortifications during interior trials — Joy and sadness, how they alternate in the soul favored by God — The ivorst desolation of spirit must be met by patience, and that alone.

FIRST SERMON FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you ; good measure and pres&ed down and shaken together and running over «hall tbey give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you sha'l mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. — Luke vi, 3G-38.

In this Gospel two things are taught us by our Lord — one to be done, the other to be omitted, namely, to be merciful and not to judge others. Children, yesterday I instructed you how dangerous a thing it is and how distressing to sit in judgment on our neighbor, a sin to be most carefully guarded against, for the lips of truth itself tell us: "With the same measure you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." Art thou very merciful? Thou shalt be very mercifully dealt with. Little merciful? Little mercy shalt thou receive. Not merciful at all? Thou shalt receive no mercy at all. This mercy one must cultivate in his interior soul, cherishing a deep-seated pity for his neighbor in his time of suffering, whether his pain be inner or outer, heartily praying God to grant him comfort. Canst thou give him bodily assistance? Do so generously, helping him with good advice and with material aid, as well with words as with works, as far as lies in thy power. Canst thou do little? Do that at least with a pitiful heart and with kindly words, and herein thou shalt have done thy part, and mayst expect to meet a merciful God.

Now as to the other lesson: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged." Children, the amount of harm done by this vice is amazing — it is simply lamentable. Do all the good works of outward religion thou pleasest, the devil laughs at them all if thou art addicted to this judging of others. No man should set himself up as his neighbor's judge without first sitting in judgment on himself. It is a miserable case of blindness of heart, that a man should insist upon another being subject to his will and pleasure, and meantime with all his endeavors he is unable to behave himself as he ought to, or even as he would wish to. One should not rate his neighbor's fault greviously, if he would have God rate his own fault mercifully; or in case he cannot help knowing his neighbor is bad, let him not be eager to judge him.

If we would adopt the right plan, it is to take the beam out of our own eye before noticing the mote in our brother's eye. Look at home ; study thy own defects and no one else's. If it happens that thou art appointed judge over another by thy office, then administer justice affectionately and mildly, with gentle looks and kind words, as St. Gregory admonishes us. To priests especially, set, as they are, to be judges in Holy Church, it is strictly forbidden to punish, with severity, bearing in mind their own accountability to God and to men. Bear in mind that thy own life and works are one day to pass under God's judgment ; and take heed to thy sentence on thy neighbor lest God shall in turn pronounce against thee an awful sentence. Injurious gossiping is so common that it is a lamentable evil, men thereby losing God's grace and their eternal happiness. Think three times before thou openest thy mouth to speak once, so that thy words may be for God's honor and thy neighbor's good, conducive to thy own interior and exterior peace. Do you know why the holy founders of religious orders have prohibited talking so strictly everywhere in convents except in one single place, and allowing it there only after special permission? It is because incalculable injury results from talking, far more than it is possible to reckon.

This Gospel speaks also of giving good measure. Now, the measure is a man's own soul. God is measured by our soul, if we will only have it so. Ah, dear children, that is indeed a noble measure. But it is too often sadly in need of cleansing, that it may be a fit receptacle for Him, for the foul things of this life pollute it. Wilt thou turn to God in holy prayer? Then must thou give thy soul to nim in pawn, and with such sincerity as no longer to have control over thyself. How can God enter in when the love of created things is the doorkeeper and holds FTini hack? If thou prayest without sincerity it is all tasteless to thee, it wearies thee, and thy soul presently runnest away after distractions. Dear child, redeem thy soul from the pawn shop of creatures, by love, by intention, by occupation; then God shall enter in and creatures shall go out. Hold thyself free from vain occupations. Fire does not burn upwards so naturally, nor birds fly into the air so lightly, as a really detached soul ascends to God. If we would be absorbed in the depths of the Godhead, the least that we can do is to go down into our own depths to begin with. Sunk down with real humility, we then come forth bearing all our sins and imperfections, and we lay them sorrowfully at the door of God's mercy, that He may melt them away and destroy them. As to what virtues and graces we may happen to find in our soul's depths, these also let us offer at the gates of His loving kindness, so that He may melt and alisorb them into His gentle love.

And when thou hast with all thy might cut off the love of creatures and all entanglement with them, then thou must do more: thou must hinder even the thoughts and images of creatures from lodging in thy soul. If thou dost not at first succeed well in this, nevertheless keep up a constant endeavor, abandon thyself to God, stay at home with thyself, plead most humbly with Him : O dear Lord, have pity on me. Lord, come to my help. Lord, I beg Thee to force Thyself into my soul. And stand fast to that practice, begin no other, for I have no manner of doubt but that thy trouble will thereby right itself. I have noticed how silver is mined. The ore is pounded fine and all mixed with water, and then the water is poured through it and finally drawn off with the dust and dirt, leaving the precious metal behind, which pays all the expense of this process and gives great profit besides. So must it be with the dust and dirt of all foul images in thy mind, which are there against thy will. The waters of sorrow and suffering will finally cleanse them all out and away from thee, amply repaying thee for thy patience, and leaving great gain to thee. Our Lord will say to thee: 0 well-beloved man, thou art an honor to Me, and I praise thee for having been mindful of My passion and borne the weight of My heavy cross with Me; for in struggling with thy imperfections thou hast taken part in My sufferings. Behold, I shall now be thy reward exceeding great.

But if thou wouldst become an interior man, thou must give God an overflowing measure. Whatever outward thing hinders thy inward recollection must be given up. Study thyself. Carefully scrutinize thy conduct, affections, intentions, words, works, clothing, adornments, friends, property, honors, lodging, pleasure, manners. Look into thy whole life. Find out every single thing that hinders God's dwelling within thee; relentlessly cut it all off. For this is an absolute condition of thy becoming an interior man. So must thou also study over those of thy external religious exercises that are of the more showy kind — stop any of them that may interfere with thy interior spirit. And dost thou ask why I do not recommend thee severe fasts and vigils? I answer that these are of great help in the spiritual life if one has the necessary strength. But if one is of weak bodily constitution, or if he has a weak head (in this country men have very weak heads), and finds that watching and fasting injures and may destroy his health, then let him dispense with these practices, and when a fast day comes obtain dispensation from his father confessor, or if he is not accessible, let him presume on his permission and tell him of it as soon as possible. Holy Church does not mean that we should destroy our health by obeying her law of fasting. Dear children, my whole teaching is very simple: whatsoever hinders thee from the shortest road to perfection, get rid of it — whether it be in thy soul or in thy outward life, and no matter what name it may go by. Follow this rule steadily, and, dear children, be assured that you will become perfect souls.

Yet further, our Lord requires a measure pressed down and shaken together. Dear children, mind what I am going to say. When one has systematically taken up this way, when he has cut off all hindrances to his spiritual life, then it happens that many wonderful sweetnesses come to him, pouring through both his soul and body a joy far above any known to this earth. Then what follows? After some time has passed all this joy suddenly vanishes away. It seems to a man that he has gained nothing at all by his mortification and his love of God — the measure — that is to say, his soul — is pressed clown so hard into its own very self, that all pleasure in life is quite gone out of it. Now, if one will attain to true peace, he must yield himself up to this spiritual destitution; he must make nothing of it; he must in all single-heartedness resign himself to the holy will of God, and suffer this oppression of spirit in all patience; yea, even if it were to endure to the end of the world.

But, O children, how unbearable is this oppression. The whole world is too narrow for that poor soul's misery. lie seems to be withering up with this pain, the pain of losing a heavenly light so sweet and so perfectly happy. Well, there are some who fail, who will not be patient under this trial; for they are too deeply attached to their own spiritual joys. This lack of patience comes from two causes. One is that the soul is not essentially and at bottom dead to self. The other cause is that God is not absolutely trusted. Dear child, stand fast in thy confidence in God, stand fast in holy fear and in humility; for God will, without fail, release thee from thy sorrow. Lift up thy hands to God, to the very essence of God, thinking of nothing less than the infinite God. Do not act like one who receives a jewel from a friend, and forthwith becomes so absorbed in its beauty, and so vain of wearing it as to forget the giver. Hold thyself towards whatever may minister to thy joy like a man asleep — be awake only to God Himself. Whether thy joy be natural or supernatural, cleave not to it. Press thy measure down in all humility till it reaches thy own nothingness, holding fast to God's blessed will in all detachment of spirit. You know that our Lord's disciples were required to give up His blessed bodily presence among them, that presence so consoling and so divine. They were required to make that sacrifice in order to be transformed into new beings. So says St. Paul : "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil, iii: 13-14).

But now our poor man seems hemmed in by high walls, denied relief or rest anywhere. Dear child, give up to God, try not to escape, all will yet be well with thee. Have no desire except that God's will be done in thee — let Him afflict thee as long as He pleases and in whatever manner. When our Lord perceives thy fidelity in the midst of misery and suffering — for on that everything depends — then will He come to thee with His overflowing measure of relief, namely, the gift of Himself. He will pour Himself into thy soul, Himself who is essentially all joy and all good, immersing thee in the abyss of the deity. He pours Himself out to thee, yet He remains filled with gifts to impart them continually to thee. Thy soul will be filled with Him as a cup is filled with the exhaustless waters of the ocean, filled beyond all that thou has ever desired.

When King Assuerus beheld his Queen Esther standing pale and frightened before him, he reached her his golden sceptre, rose up from his throne and embraced and kissed her, and then promised her to grant her wish, were it for half of his kingdom. So will God the Father treat the faithful soul bowed down before Him, blanched with fear, stricken with grief, totally desolate. He will, as it were, reach to it His divine sceptre of power and joy, and embracing it most lovingly, He will make room for it on His throne, instantly relieving it of all its misery. And now what wonders are wrought in that soul. The gift of the divine sceptre is the only begotten Son, and the kiss of love is the unspeakable sweetness of the Holy Ghost, making the soul queen of earth and heaven, sharing God's own royal sway, imparting to it by grace a share of the divinity that is His by nature. This overflowing measure of divine favor makes such souls as receive it the highest glory of all God's creatures. Without the presence of these elect souls amid the Christian people, the world would not survive one hour, for their deeds are much greater in God's sight than those of all the rest of the world put together, because it is in God Himself that they do them. As far as God is above creatures so far are His works in these souls above the works of all other men — yea, they are above the comprehension of men and angels. Here, then, is the truest peace and joy, that of which St. Paul said that it surpassed all understanding.

Dear children, to take lot and part with God is not so dreadful a thing as you have fancied. Whosoever treads this road steadfastly will at last come happily to the end of all his troubles; and whosoever goes not by this road will not arrive at the ever-living truth. He may attain to the knowledge of spiritual things that is gained by the strivings of human reason, but this is as far different from the divine reality as shining brass is different from precious gold. Such knowledge gives forth a deceitful appearance, but the living truth must be sought and found only as I have explained to you. The man that would plant his vineyard on the shady side of a high mountain where the sun never shines would be a fool, as would be the man who looked for the sun with his back turned to it. And among a hundred men, men, too, who would be thought good, you will find hardly one who squarely and honestly turns his face to the light of the living truth that God is. May God grant us the grace to turn ourselves full and direct towards the truth, so that we may be given good measure, full to overflowing. Amen.