constant prayer, by their delight in hearing the word of God, and by devoutly receiving Holy Communion. Their love for their neighbour was active and self-sacrificing. The rich willingly gave up all their fortune for the support of their poorer brethren in the faith. Selfishness, which is so deeply ingrained in the human heart, was driven out by Christian love.
Hypocrisy. The sin of Ananias and Saphira consisted in hypocrisy, or an assumption of piety which proceeded from pride and avarice. They wished to appear generous and charitable in the eyes of men, but were too avaricious to be so in reality. Therefore they kept back a part of the price of their field, and lied to the head of the Church. Their sin was all the greater, because no one compelled them either to sell the field or to give the price of it to the apostles; and since their lie was planned and premeditated, it contained a certain insolence towards those in authority in the Church. Had their sin remained unpunished, the Pharisaical hypocrisy against which our Lord had so urgently warned His followers would have crept into the Church. Therefore Almighty God punished Ananias and his wife by a sudden death, in order that all Christians might see the sinfulness of lies and deceit, and of contempt for ecclesiastical superiors.
The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. St. Peter said to Ananias: “Thou hast lied to the Holy Ghost.” Therefore the Holy Ghost is a Person, for you can lie only to a person. Then St. Peter continued: “Thou hast not lied to men, but to God.” Therefore the Holy Ghost, to whom Ananias lied, is God.
The Necessity of Grace. Holy Scripture (in the Acts of the Apostles) does not say that many Jews were converted to the Christian faith by the zealous preaching of the apostles, or by the holy lives of the Christians; but it says that “the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved”. The preaching of the apostles and the holy example of the Christians would have produced no result whatever, had not the Lord enlightened the understanding of the unbelievers and drawn their hearts to Him by His inward grace.
The Holiness of the Church. The lives of the first Christians show the ennobling and blessed influence of the Christian religion. Being penetrated by the leaven of Christianity (see chapter XXVIII), they loved God above all things, and their neighbour as themselves. They served God with zeal, and conscientiously observed all the commandments. Such things as injustice, theft, or enmities were unknown amongst them, and they all loved and supported one another, so that not one of them suffered want. Even the unbelievers were compelled to respect and honour the Christians on account of their fear of God, and the holiness of their lives. To-day human society would be far better off, and there would be less crime, less misery, less want, if all who call
