Hunolt Sermons/Volume 12/Sermon 74
SEVENTY-FOURTH SERMON
ON ALL THE SAINTS OF GOD.
Subject.
He who does not live and die, with the saints, in a holy manner shall be judged and condemned by the saints. Preached on the feast of All Saints.
Text.
" I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne." (Rev 7:9)
Introduction.
Since to-day the whole heavens are opened before me to the eyes of faith, and I behold, on the one hand, that great multitude of the saints of God of all races, nations, and peoples, standing and rejoicing by the throne, and on the other hand I cannot help thinking how things go with us mortals in this world, I am compelled to exclaim: Ah, how contradictory the objects that are offered to my mental vision! There I see those who have never lost their baptismal innocence, and have brought it with them to heaven; here I see men bartering that grace for some wretched thing, falling from one sin into another, and rejoicing in sin daily. There I behold many thousand martyrs, who endured with the utmost joy, even to death, the most cruel torments for the sake of God and heaven; here I find men to whom the least trial seems intolerable, who do nothing but murmur against the cross es they have to bear, and curse and swear at their fate. There I see a vast crowd of chaste virgins who preferred to lose their lives rather than their purity; here I find men who deliberately seek occasions of indulging in carnal pleasures. There I see countless confessors who, in order to enter on the narrow path to heaven, spent their lives in constant austerities and mortifications, in fasting, watching, and prayer; here I find most men walking on the broad way, pleasantly and cheerily going on the downward path to hell. How is this? I ask. Have, then, these latter given up all hope of heaven? It seems so. For he who earnestly desires to be with the saints in heaven must, like the saints, lead a holy life; otherwise he will be disappointed. Nay, those very saints will judge and condemn him to hell. This is what I mean to show to-day, my dear brethren, to the greater honor of the saints, and to our own spiritual advantage.
Plan of Discourse.
He who does not, like the taints, live and die in a holy manner will be judged and condemned by the saints. Such is the whole subject. Let us, therefore, reverence the saints now by endeavoring to imitate their holiness of life. Such shall be the conclusion.
Obtain for us the grace to do this, all ye saints of God, and thou, especially, Queen of the saints, Mary, and you, too, holy angels.
What does that mean: to be judged and condemned by the saints? By those saints who wish and desire nothing more than that we, their brethren and sisters whom they have left behind in this vale of tears, should follow them to heaven, and be partakers in their eternal bliss? Shall they judge and condemn us to the everlasting pains of hell? Those saints to whom our wants and miseries, our weaknesses and frailties are only too well known; who, as St. Bernard says, have, as it were, an anxious care for our welfare, lest we should be lost forever: " They are now sure of their own happiness, and anxious concerning ours "? Those saints who stand round the throne of God as so many advocates and intercessors; our protectors and guardians, who by their prayers and merits obtain God's grace and mercy for us who are still on earth; to whom we appeal with an assured confidence in our wants and necessities, and by whose intercession we are often miraculously helped in troubles? Shall these saints one day stand up as judges against us, to pronounce on us the sentence of eternal reprobation: Depart, ye cursed, into eternal fire?
Yes, my dear brethren, yes! Even those chosen friends of God, who are now our best friends and advocates in heaven, we shall one day have to fear as our strict judges, by whom we shall be examined, convicted, and condemned, unless, like them, we lead a holy life and die a happy death. " Know you not," asks St. Paul, "that the saints shall judge this world?" Know you not that their mouldering bones that we now reverence on our altars shall in the general judgment rise from the grave, and that the saints shall then take their places as judges of the wicked? Yes, and this is confirmed by the apostle Jude from the Prophet Enoch: "Behold, the Lord cometh, with thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness." Our Lord Himself prophesied the same to His disciples in the words: " Amen, I say to you, that you who have followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the seat of His majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. According to the interpretation of the holy Fathers, these words are not to be understood only of the apostles, for otherwise the thirteenth apostle, St. Paul, would be excluded, although he said he should be a judge of the angels; but they are applicable to all the saints who by their virtuous lives have tried to follow the example of Christ. In two ways the saints will judge the wicked: first, as assessors, or assistants to Jesus Christ, the supreme Judge, in which capacity they will give their votes, and approve of and confirm the sentence of condemnation; secondly, and chiefly, as witnesses, who will compare their own lives and virtuous habits with the crimes and sins of the wicked, and with this comparison put the latter to shame, confound, and condemn them.
Oh, what a terrible experience it will be for the wicked to be obliged thus publicly to appear before a multitude of saints of all nations, peoples, and races, seated beside Jesus Christ in their glory and majesty, comparing their virtuous lives with the sinful career of the reprobate! Cinna, the ambassador of King Pyrrhus, came to Home to see the Senate about making peace; the majesty of that assembly so impressed him that he almost lost the faculty of speech, and afterwards acknowledged to his sovereign that the city of Rome seemed to him a temple, and the Senate to be a meeting of kings. Such is the image that comes before my mind, my dear brethren, when I think of that day in heaven, and I, too, say: Heaven appears to me as a temple of awful majesty, and the multitude of the saints as an assembly of terrible judges. There I behold Abraham the Patriarch, who will examine and judge each one as to his faith and confidence in God. There I behold John the Baptist, with the prophets, who will examine and judge concerning the many inspirations and lights received from God and in the hearing of the word of God. There I see the apostle St. Peter, who will examine concerning the preaching of the gospel and the manner in which we have conformed our lives thereto. There I see St. Stephen, with countless martyrs, who will examine and judge concerning the patience with which we shall have borne our crosses and trials. There I behold Benedict,, Bernard,, Dominic, Francis, Ignatius, and other founders of religious orders, with their spiritual children, and all the holy confessors, who will examine and judge us concerning our zeal in the service of God, our humility, temperance, self-denial, mortification; to see whether we have practised those virtues according to the teaching and example of Christ. There I see Catharine, and a great number of virgins, who will examine and condemn the sins committed against purity and chastity. There I see Joachim and Anna, with other saints, who will examine and judge the sins of married people, especially those committed with regard to the training of children. There I see Antony, with all the holy hermits, who will examine and judge the sins committed by the tongue, by the eyes, and the ears in dangerous company and meetings. There I see Magdalene, with the penitents, who will examine and judge concerning the sins that have been concealed in confession,, or that have not been duly repented of, or that have been committed by remaining in the proximate occasion. " I saw a great multitude which no man could number." The eyes are dazed by the sight of that vast multitude of saints, all holding up their hands, as David says: "Two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the peoples."
Unhappy sinner! how will you feel when you see all those judges sitting against you? What escape will you have, what excuse will you be able to offer when they will all contrast their lives and virtues with your vices? What will you say, proud and vain child of the world, if the supreme Judge questions you about your pride in despising others, about your vanity and in decency in dress, about your extravagance in tricking yourself out in order to catch the eyes of strangers, and secure their admiration? Have I not often enough, the Judge will say, caused My gospel law of humility, modesty, and decency to be preached to you? You will answer: My state in life and noble birth required me to dress in that manner; it was the fashion in my time, and I was obliged to follow it. What! a holy St. Elizabeth, with other saintly kings and queens, will exclaim against you; we were of royal blood, and subjects bent the knee to us, and yet in order to follow the humble King of glory we clad ourselves with Christian simplicity, and bowed our crowned heads down to the feet of the sick poor. I, holy Tobias will cry out, although I was brought up in the Jewish law, took no notice of the customs and ways of others, but did what God required of me and them: " When all went to the golden calves" to adore them " he alone fled the company of all." I was the only one who shunned all society and went to Jerusalem to the temple of the Lord to adore the God of Israel; you might have done the same, and have been saved with the few, with the small number who walked on the narrow way to heaven. Come here, avaricious man! Was not My law about almsgiving well enough known to you, and My commands regarding the works of Christian charity and mercy? But you, with your usury, injustice, and cheating, have sucked the blood of the poor. Lord, you will say, I had to keep a large family; without such practices I should not have been able to maintain them in their proper state of life. What! away with you to the judgment-seat of Abraham, who will say to you: I had a far greater family to support; it counted more than three hundred souls; yet I sought out the stranger and the poor man, and entertained them with food and drink. What will you say, unchaste man, who indulged all your carnal desires, and allowed them to rule over you? Lord, I was too weak to withstand temptation! Then behold your judge, a Joseph, an Agnes, a Paul, and many others, who, armed with the fear of God, gained a victory over the most violent temptations and assaults, partly by taking to flight, partly by chastising their bodies. And you, vindictive man, have you not known the command: " Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you "? What have you to say? My honor was concerned; if I had allowed the insult to pass by unavenged I should have been looked on as a fool and a coward. Your judges will be a King David, whose honor was worth much more than yours, and who nevertheless carefully spared the life of his sworn enemy Saul when he had him at his mercy; a protomartyr Stephen, who, while the stones were being cast at him, prayed to God for his murderers. And you, drunkard, who so often sin by excess, how will you bear the sight at the tribunal of divine justice of a Bernard, a Francis, a Dominic, whose lives were an uninterrupted fast and mortification?
Finally, what excuse shall we have to offer for our sloth in the divine service when we shall see appearing before the judgment-seat all the elect of God, who, on the one hand, will upbraid with the words of the Apostle urging us to be holy: " This is the will of God, your sanctification," and, on the other hand, will point to their own example to prove that we, too, could have been holy as they are? " Wo is me," sighs St. Augustine, considering this; " I shall stand bare before as many judges as there are saints who have preceded me in doing good." I shall be convicted arid confounded by as many as have given me the example of a holy life! And shall we then be able to rely on the excuses that we now think serve our turn? Speaking of his own times, St. Chrysostom says: If the example of the apostles is proposed for our imitation, and we are urged to imitate their mode of life and their virtues, we change countenance at once, and say: That we cannot do. And if we are asked why, we have a foolish answer in readiness: "Oh, he was Paul, or Peter, or John;" we are not as they were. Eh, great Saint! you have indeed hit the mark, not only for your own times, but for ours as well! If the virtues of the saints are set before us in pious books, in sermons and exhortations; if we are reminded how zealous the apostles were for the honor and glory of God, how eagerly the martyrs welcomed the most cruel torments, what severe penances were practised by the confessors, how angelical was the purity of the virgins, how other saints constantly did violence to themselves, what wonderful patience they exhibited under trials, how their only wish was to suffer crosses and contradictions, how they lived in the world and yet not according to the maxims of the world, and kept their thoughts always united with God in heaven oh, then we shrug our shoulders, and our first word is: Yes, but they were saints! What? asks St. Chrysostom, " what do you mean by saying: He was Paul, he was Peter?" they were saints? Were they not men as we are? Were they not born into the world as we are? Have they not been obliged to eat and drink as we are? Have they not lived on the same earth, under the same sky, and breathed the same air as we? What, then, is the meaning of saying: They were saints? Perhaps because they worked great miracles that are beyond our power? No, for holiness does not consist in performing miracles; otherwise John the Baptist would not be a saint, for, as Our Lord says, he worked no miracle; and Judas the traitor would be a saint, for he did wonders in the name of Christ. Holiness consists in the works of justice; avoid all sin, as the saints did; keep always in the state of sanctifying grace, like them; live chastely, like them; be meek and patient, like them; be zealous in the love of God and of your neighbor, like them, and then you will be a saint, too. "But," continues St. Ohrysostom, "if that is not the case with you, your own will is in fault." We do not wish to live holily, and therefore the saints will judge and condemn us.
Yes, it is easy to talk about that, but not so easy to do it. Truly, I know well that more than mere talk is required to lead a holy and pious life. But we men of the world cannot do that; we have other things to think of; the care of the whole family lies on our shoulders; our state makes it impossible for us to be saints. This, says St. Chrysostom, is the excuse alleged by most people, namely, their state in life; some speak of their marriage, others of their children, others of their numerous domes tics, others of their business, their affairs, their work, service, labor; others, again, allege their military duties, others their high position and laborious occupations, others their riches, others their poverty and misery. Thus many a one says: Oh, that I were not married, that I were freed from this duty; then I could live a better life! Christians, how could such lame excuses help us on that great day when the vast multitude of saints of all races, nations, peoples, and every condition of life, will sit beside the Judge, and, pointing to their own holy lives, condemn and put us to shame! You are married, as you complain; Moses, Joachim, Anna, nearly all the saints of the Old, and many of the New Testament will say: So were we, and yet the married state did not prevent us from attaining sanctity. You have a great number of children; the mother of the Machabees will say: I had seven of them; the Patriarch Jacob will say: I had twelve sons, and yet I lived a holy life. You hold a high position before the world; you have very important business and duties to attend to; David, Josias, Ezechias, Leopold, Henry, Louis will say: We were nobles, kings, and emperors, who had to rule over many lands, and yet we led humble, zealous, and holy lives. You are a soldier; that centurion of whom Christ said that He did not find such faith in Israel; Cornelius, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as fearing God, with his whole family, and as being always united with God, will say: So were we. You area tradesman; St. Joseph will say: Did I not practise the same trade as you? and yet I became a great saint! You are a servant; so was Onesimus, whom St. Paul praises so highly as to say of him that he found him most faithful and helpful in his apostolic labors. You are rich in the goods of the world; Abraham, Job, and others will say: We were much richer than you; there fore we were a foot to the lame, an eye to the blind, the fathers of the poor, supporters of orphans, and thus by our riches we have gained heaven and eternal glory. You are poor and needy; Lazarus will say to you: By poverty I became holy; and the holy founders of Orders will tell you that they sought poverty in order to attain to perfect sanctity. There is, then, no state in life in which we do not find saints who will judge and condemn us if we do not live holily, each according to his condition.
But, we say further, in our state there are too many occasions, dangers, and temptations for us to be able to guard against them, Sometimes business is bad, trade is dull, and one is often deceived by others. We have to go into society, and see dangerous objects, so that we cannot well be as pure as angels; it is necessary to fall now and then. Other people trouble me; the husband is violent, the wife obstinate; the servants go wrong, the children are unruly; we are obliged to commit sin; we must grow impatient, and swear and curse, etc. What! What must is there about it? Who compels you to sin? Do you think that excuse will avail you at the tribunal of God? See how Joseph in the bloom of youth was able to defend himself against seduction; how Susanna struggled against the lust of the elders; how St. Jerome used to beat his breast with a stone; how St. Benedict rolled in the thorns; how St. Thomas of Aquin defended himself with a firebrand; how St. Nicetas, deprived as he was of other means of defence, since he was tied hand and foot, bit oft his tongue and spat it in the face of the temptress; so did these act in order to overcome impure temptations. They will say: We were not obliged to sin, to fall; why did you not remain away from the dangerous company? Why did you not avoid the occasion,, and keep a better guard on your senses? There you will see the patient Job, who was deprived of all that he once had in abundance, and was, moreover, laughed at and ridiculed by his friends as he sat infected with an ulcer on the dung hill; a blind Tobias, who was reviled by his own wife; they will say: We were not forced to grow impatient, nor to curse or revile; but the more we had to suffer the more we praised God and blessed the name of the Lord. Why did you not act in the same manner? The whole fault lies in your own wicked will.
Alas, we are weak, corrupt creatures; we have a perverse nature, inclined to all evil, to which faults and failings are as its daily bread. Yes? And even so, could you not have led a holy life? Hear what all the saints will say to this, with holy Job: " My strength is not the strength of stone, nor is my flesh of brass. " What are you thinking of? Do you imagine that we were made of marble, and as senseless as our own images? The relics that reposed on your altars are a proof to the contrary, and show that we were neither angels, nor made of wood or iron, but that we were men like you, who had flesh and blood like you, and were not less subject to evil inclinations than you are. That we, too, could have sinned is proved by those great sinners who, having done penance, became great saints. St. Augustine, considering this before his conversion, acknowledges of himself: Alas, I was ashamed in my heart, and knew not where to go to hide my confusion. Why, Augustine? It seemed to me an impossibility to abstain from sin on account of my evil habits; then occurred to me the thought of the innumerable host of saints of all sexes, ages, and conditions who lived chaste and pure in the midst of temptations, and I heard within me a voice saying: If they who lived in the flesh could avoid living according to the flesh, could not you also? To this I knew not what answer to make, and all I could do was to be ashamed of myself in the depth of my heart. The same words will be heard on the last day, when the Judge shall present the multitude of saints to the wicked: See how all these have been able to live in humility, justice, temperance, purity, chastity, patience, meekness; or else they led penitential lives, and became holy; and you could not do it. Why did you not follow their example? No I all the saints will exclaim; you could have done as we did; but you did not wish to do so. Depart, you cursed, into eternal flames!
Let us, My dear brethren, we do not expect that terrible sentence. Let us, therefore, now honor the saints by treading in their foot steps and imitating their holy lives. Let us avoid sin, like the saints; practise virtue, like the saints; and each one in his state of life do the will of God in all things and in all his concerns, like the saints. Have we done that hitherto? Let each -one enter into himself and ask himself with me: If I were now to die, where should I find a place among you, saints of God? Should I be among the apostolic saints? Ah, where is my zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls? Should I find a place among the holy martyrs? Ah, where is my patience? A fast day, a short interruption of sleep, a word of contradiction is more than enough for me. Should I be with the holy confessors? Where is my humility, mortification, penance? Should I, be in the choir of holy virgins? Oh, what filthy thoughts, actions, words, and works prevent me from that! Should I be among the innocent children? Alas, my innocence! long years ago thou hast left me. I acknowledge, then, that there is no room for me among the saints in heaven. All I can do, then, is, with Augustine, to be ashamed of myself. Yet I must go to heaven! What shall I do? I shall try, at all events, to find room among the holy penitents. I will now begin to do sincere penance for my sins, to amend my coldness and tepidity, and for the future to lead a holier life according to the gospel law of Jesus Christ, and to serve God with all possible zeal for the time that remains to me, never more to offend Him by a single sin, and to love Him constantly above all things, no matter what happens. That we may carry out this resolution, do you pray for us, chosen saints of God, that we may not on that day find in you judges to condemn us, but rather companions, who in eternal joys will with us praise, see, and love God forever. Amen.
END OF THE WORK.
To the greater honor and glory of God, of the Blessed Virgin and Queen of heaven, Mary, of all the holy angels and elect, and for the salvation of souls.