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JMJ
U.I.O.G.D.
Ave Maria!
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, we love You, save souls
O God come to our assistance. Jesus, Mary, Joseph please make haste to help us!
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Volume two = The Penitent Christian
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY
On Giving Edification to the Wicked
“And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” Luke 18: 43.
Christ, the Son of God, knew well what was to happen to him, in a short time in the city of Jerusalem, amongst the wicked Jews for he had foretold it to his disciples. Why, then, did he not remain away? Why did he make such haste to go to Jerusalem? So great was his love for all men, and his desire to save them from hell by dying a painful and disgraceful death, that while he was on the way to Jericho, he converted a great number, and impelled them to praise God, by miraculously giving sight to a blind man: “And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” Here again, we have a pattern and example of the use we should make of those bad companions and occasions of sin that our state of life does not permit us to avoid. Almighty God makes use of his dealings with sinners to further his own honor and glory, and we, too, should use our intercourse with them for the good of our souls. Now I say further
I. That, since God makes use of his dealings with sinners for their conversion and amendment, so too, in our unavoidable intercourse with the wicked,
II. We should do our best to edify others and give them good example.
I. In unavoidable associations and intercourse with the wicked we must seek, not
merely the advantage of our own souls, but we must also endeavor, as far as we can,
to convert others and bring them to God. Such is the obligation incumbent on every
Christian, no matter what may be his state, occupation, or condition; and it is
an obligation that specially binds people in certain states of life. For example,
tell me, whose duty is it to keep in order, and chastise a disobedient, dissolute,
drunken, and wicked son? Who is bound to undertake that task, if not his own father?
If a vain young girl spends her time in idleness, sitting at the window or standing
at the door in order to see the passers-
There is no one in the world that God has not obliged in some way or other to look after his neighbor’s salvation: “And he gave to every one of them commandment concerning his neighbor” (Ecclus. I7: 12). How is that? Because there is no one in the world who is not bound by the precept of Christian charity to help his neighbor when he can. From this springs the general obligation, binding on all, of assisting the poor and needy according to one’s means. Now, if the law of charity binds every one to show mercy and charity to the poor in their temporal wants, how much more does not the same law oblige each one to show mercy and compassion to sinners in their spiritual necessities! And if we cannot, without sinning against the law of charity towards God and our neighbor, refuse to help him who is in want in those things that concern his body and this mortal life, can we be said to satisfy the requirements of that law, if, by our carelessness or indifference, we allow the immortal souls of our brethren, purchased so dearly by the precious blood of Christ, to go to ruin?
“My brethren,” says the apostle St. James, in his Epistle, “if any of you err from the truth, and one convert him, he must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death” (Jas. 5: 19, 20). Amongst the sinners and wicked people with whom we have daily to associate, says St. Augustine, there are many who, as God foresees, will be in the number of the elect, provided we help them to be converted; while, if that help and zeal on our part be wanting to them, they will be lost forever. Now we do not know who those sinners are; for the elect and the reprobate, are so mixed up together in this life, that we cannot distinguish one from the other. Hence, then, our charity must be general, and our zeal for souls, as far as possible, universal. St. Paul frequently warned the faithful to give a good example to the heathens and idolaters with whom they had to live; and he praises the Corinthians for having done much good in that way: “Your emulation hath provoked very many” (2 Cor. 9: 2). The Apostle himself, before giving those exhortations to the faithful, taught them by his own example; for after his conversion, hardly had he refreshed his body, worn out by a three days’ fast, than he began to work for the conversion of the Jews and other sinners: And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9: 20). Our Lord himself gave a similar exhortation to St. Peter, when he said to him: “And thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren” (Luke 22: 32). And his royal ancestor, David, after having repented of the crimes of murder and adultery, declared his zealous resolution to bring back to the right path those who like himself had strayed from it: “I will teach the unjust thy ways; and the wicked shall be converted to thee” (Ps. 1: 15). The law of charity in fact, my brethren, binds us all to deter our neighbor from evil and to encourage him to do good.
II. More especially are we bound by our good conduct and edifying lives to give
a holy example, so that the wicked with whom we may have to associate may find therein
a cause of salutary confusion, to impel them to speedy repentance. For this reason,
St. Paul writes to his disciple Titus: “Speak thou the things that become sound
doctrine: that the aged men be sober; . . . the aged women in like manner, in holy
attire; . . . young men in like manner exhort that they be sober… These things speak,
and exhort and rebuke with all authority” (Tit. 2: 1, 2, 3, 6, 15). But above all,
“in all things show thyself an example of good works, in doctrine, in integrity,
in gravity, ... that he who is on the contrary part may be afraid, having no evil
to say of us” (Ibid. 7,8). Such, too, is the advice given by St. Peter to the pious:
“Having your conversation good among the gentiles, that, whereas they speak against
you as evil-
But how am I to understand this? In many other parts of the Gospel, Christ commands me to do quite the contrary, namely, to conceal my good works from the eyes of men. “Take heed that you do not your justice before men to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5: 1). Is there not an evident contradiction here? No. To do good solely for the purpose of being seen by others and praised by them is the vainglory that Christ condemns in hypocrites; to do good and lead a pious life, so as to be seen by men, not for the sake of gaining honor and praise, but to further the honor and glory of God; to do good, even in public, for the advantage of our neighbor, that he may be edified and encouraged to do good also, that is not only lawful, but praiseworthy and meritorious, and in many cases a matter of strict duty.
Thus the father of a family acts very well and according to the requirements of Christian
charity who says or thinks to himself I will go often and with all possible devotion
to confession and holy Communion; I will never neglect to hear a sermon on Sundays
and holy-
St. Gregory says that in certain circumstances one may even praise himself, his good works, his virtues, and his mode of life, if he does it with a proper end in view, that is, for the honor and glory of God and to encourage other men to follow his good example. Many holy servants of God praised themselves in that way. Job, otherwise so humble, boasts before the whole world: “I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was the father of the poor” (Job 29: 15, 16); that is, I helped all, and assisted them in their corporal and spiritual necessities, as well as I could. Does not the great St. Paul relate in detail to the Corinthians the labors he underwent, the good works he performed? “They are the ministers of Christ; I am more; in many more labors, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often” (2 Cor.11: 23). Nay, he proposes himself as an example for their imitation: “Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor.11: 1).
Therefore a mother need make no scruple of her seeming self-
Now, if the law of charity towards all men obliges us to give good example to our associates in order to induce sinners to amend their lives, how much more are we not bound to avoid doing anything, even if we imagine it to be lawful, which could encourage the wicked in their practices, or be an occasion of sin to the innocent!
Hear what St. Paul says: “If meat scandalizes my brother, I will never eat flesh,
lest I should scandalize my brother” (1 Cor. 8: 13). Speaking of these words, St.
Ambrose says: “So much regard should we have for the law of charity, that we should
consider lawful things as unlawful, lest they might be a source of sin to others.”
There are, namely, many things lawful and decent in themselves; But! But! What is
the meaning of that but? For instance, conversation or intimacy with this or that
person may be lawful in itself, so that not the least evil is done, even in thought
but if it occurs too often, it furnishes, the neighbors or servants with matter
for a reasonable suspicion of evil. A young girl dresses above her means; she has
to work hard during the week in order to be able to appear in the newest fashions
on Sundays and holy-
And what conclusion am I to draw from all this? If Christian charity requires us
to avoid what is lawful in itself, lest we should give occasion of sin to others,
how terribly they sin, who try to propagate wickedness by word and example, by advice
and instruction, by approval and instigation, thus leading others into sin! St.
John Chrysostom calls such people “agents and representatives of the devil, murderers
of souls, and betrayers of the Blood of Jesus Christ.” “Woe” cries our Lord: “Woe
to that man by whom the scandal cometh” (Matt. 8: 7). They who know themselves to
be guilty in this respect, are, above all other men, under a special obligation of
doing all they can for the future in word and deed to help convert the wicked, so
as to gain for God either the souls they have perverted, or, if that is impossible,
the souls of others, in order to make good the loss they have occasioned the almighty
God. When Octavius Augustus heard of the slaughter of his three best legions, which
was caused by the negligence of Quintilius Varus, he cried out, full of indignation,
“Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!” So will God cry out to those people
in a terrible voice from his judgment-
My dear brethren, I trust that none of us are guilty in this way. If we are obliged to go into the company of the wicked, let us make use of our intercourse with them according to the law of Christian charity, and in the manner in which God makes use of his patience in bearing with sinners; that is, not only for the good of our own souls, but also for the good of the souls of others. Most of that good will be the work of our edifying example and none of us, no matter what is his state or condition, can reasonably excuse himself from the performance of this duty. If we have no other means at hand to help in the conversion of the wicked, let us, at all events, recommend them to the mercy of God by fervent prayer, so that they and we may be kept from grievous sin, or, if they have already fallen, that they may do penance at once, and that we may help each other to persevere in good to the end of our lives, until we shall meet in the society of the elect in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
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