The young man's guide/Part 1: The Lance of the Fear of God
The Lance of the Fear of God
XXV. Not Pleasant but Profitable
"Remember thy last end" (Ecclus. vii. 40)
1. You know how the pious Tobias strove to infuse the fear of the Lord into the heart of his beloved son while the latter was still very young. He was deeply convinced of the truth of the words of Holy Scripture: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. ex. 10) Therefore it is unnecessary that I should say to you : "If you wish to save your soul, fear the Lord; if it is your heart's desire to dedicate your youth to God, fear the Lord."
But how will you be most surely confirmed in this holy fear of God? By thinking upon your last end, according to the exhortation of the Holy Spirit: "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin" (Ecclus. vii. 40). Therefore comply with this exhortation, and lay to heart the first and most important of these things, namely, death.
2. You are absolutely convinced that death will not spare you, because it has never as yet spared any one; and you dread its coming because you know with equal certainty that everything does not end at death, but that after death an awful judgment awaits you, and that after the judgment there and follow an eternal life.
Now, what is so terrible about death if not its certainty, but that which is uncertain in connection with it. For as it is sure and certain that we must die, so it is doubtful and uncertain when, where, and how we shall die.
3. When shall you die? In regard to this you can never be secure, even for a single moment. To-day you are alive, but it is absolutely uncertain whether you will be still alive to-morrow, the day after, in a week, a month, or a year. While you are reading this you are full of the joy and love of life, but who can give surety that this very evening, or to-night, or even the next minute, you may not drop down dead? I repeat my question : who can give surety that it will not so happen?
Some years ago, in a little village in Bavaria, a few peasants were sitting together in a tavern. Over a glass of beer they discussed one thing and another, until at length the conversation turned upon the uncertainty of the time of death. "Certainly," said a stalwart peasant in the prime of life, "certainly no one can know beforehand the precise moment, but of this I am assured: to-day, at least, I shall not die."
After a time he got up, and prepared to go home; he wished every one good night, and a pleasant meeting on the morrow. Then he left the room, and a few minutes later his companions lifted him up — a corpse! In the dark he had fallen down the steep steps before the door, and broken his neck.
4. Again, who deems himself more safe from death than a merry young person at a dance? Yet it has happened more than once, that such a one has suddenly expired, the excitement of dancing having brought on an apoplectic attack.
I remember reading some years ago of a young girl, eighteen years old, who returned home late at night from a dance, went to bed, and was found dead the next morning!
5. Uncertain as it is "when" we shall die, it is equally uncertain "where" we shall die. Shall you die in a sick-bed, fortified with all the last rites of Holy Church; or will death surprise you while you are asleep, or when you are walking out; in your own room, or in some strange place; while you are at work, or when you are engaged in animated conversation; in a saloon or dancing-hall; on the water or on land; when you are on foot, or in a railway coach, and so on? One might go on forever with a string of such questions as these; but what man or angel could answer them?
It may not be pleasant to consider all these uncertainties; but for this very reason reflect upon them, since it is profitable for salvation.
6. But the "when" and "where" of your death is comparatively of very slight importance. Your eternity depends solely and wholly upon the question of "hour" you will die, whether in the grace of God, or in mortal sin.
Therefore "how" will you die? You do not know, I do not know; indeed there is not any one who knows. Only one thing is certain, that so long as a spark of life and consciousness is left to you, you can correspond to the grace of God, you have a chance to save your soul.
7. Now, my friend, in speaking so seriously about death, I do not wish to make you unhappy, but only to guide you to a good death, only to help you to meet the last enemy with calmness and even cheerfulness. Yes, with cheerfulness! Some years ago I witnessed a death like this in the case of one of my parishioners, a young woman twenty-one years of age. She had always been pious and good, and at the same time merry and cheerful. When death was approaching, she asked that the wreath which was so soon to be placed on her bier, might be shown to her, and as she lay upon her dying bed she seemed quite pleased to look at it. She was indeed a living proof of the truth of the lines:
The fear of God is honor and renown; With it the Christian wins a conqueror's crown, His portion in this world is peace and joy, In heaven 'tis bliss without alloy.
Ever bear in mind the maxim that has caused the conversion of so many sinners, and made so many saints — the memorable maxim that was enunciated by Jesus Christ Himself: "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?" (Mark viii. 36.)
O my God, in the future I will follow more faithfully the example of the saints. I will take to heart the admonition of the Holy Spirit: "In all thy works remember thy last end." I will often go in thought to my deathbed, to God's judgment-seat, to heaven, and to hell. I will endeavor most earnestly to lead such a life now as I would wish to have lived if I had reached the end of my earthly pilgrimage.
"What does this count for eternity?" or, " How does this look in the light of eternity?" was the question proposed to himself by St. Aloysius at the beginning of any important work. Meditate often on the four last things.
Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath,
And stars to set; but all —
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O
Death!
—Mrs. Hemans.
But yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world; now lies he
there,
And none so poor to do him reverence.
— Shakespeare.
"Behold, short years pass away; and I am walking in a path by which I shall not return"
(Job xvi. 23). XXVI. Behind the Veil
1. A PRIEST, who was conducting the exercises of a retreat, related the following anecdote to his youthful hearers. "Some years ago," he said, "when I was prefect of studies in an ecclesiastical seminary, owing to press of work I sat up one evening until eleven o'clock. At this unusually late hour there came a knock at my door, and when I opened it there stood before me one of the older students, a good and clever young man. His eyes were full of tears. 'Alas! your Reverence,' he said, 'I can not go to sleep, I have commuted a grievous sin, I must go to confession.' And when he had done this, he was greatly relieved; he fell asleep in the peace of God, and he told me afterward that he had never slept better in his life."
You will readily guess what gave this young man courage for this self-conquest. It was the thought of eternity, of what lies behind the veil — the thought of eternal damnation. Let us pause and reflect upon hell, upon that which lies behind the veil.
2. What is hell? Or perhaps I ought rather to ask another question, and say: is there any hell? Only the fool, the unbeliever, can say in his heart: "There is no hell, no eternity." Look at those who so impudently deny the existence of hell; what sort of persons are they? Godless persons, sunk in sin and vice — persons who have every reason to dread hell, and therefore call in question or boldly deny its existence. But, however impudently they may assert the non-existence of hell, in their secret heart they often think very differently. Ever and anon they hear a thunderous, terrifying voice which amid the tumult of passion and sinful pleasure utters these awful words : " You fool, you miserable wretch, if the lessons you were taught in the bright days of youth should be true, if there were in very deed a God, a hell, an eternity, what then, oh, what then!"
Voltaire, the notorious infidel, once received a letter from a friend, in which the latter asserted that he had succeeded in completely banishing from his mind all thought of hell, and all belief in the existence of such a place. Voltaire warmly congratulated him, but went on to say that he himself had not been equally fortunate. Nor did he ever succeed in banishing the fear of hell. When he lay upon his death-bed the thought of hell seized upon him with terrible force, and drove him to wild despair.
3. Verily there is a hell; but what is hell? Our poor human understanding can never grasp its full signification, much less can words describe it. The words of St. Paul: "Eye hath not seen," can be applied to hell in an inverted sense, and we can say: " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for those who hate Him, and depart out of this life not in His love and grace, but in the state of mortal sin."
This only can we say, that hell is the place of the greatest and never-ending torture, of the greatest torture; all the expressions employed in Holy Scripture in reference to hell bear out this assertion, as for example: Hell is "a land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth" (Job x. 22); or "He hath reserved (them) under darkness in everlasting chains" (Jude i. 6); or "Which of you can dwell with devouring fire"; or "Which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings" (Is. xxxiii. 14); 01 "The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness : there shall be weeping and. gnashing of teeth " (Matt. xxv. 30).
4. But the greatest torments of hell affect not so much the bodies as the soul of the damned. Think for a moment what pain home-sickness inflicts upon the soul of him who endures it, and then consider the lot of him who is condemned to hell. The reprobate will know and feel what he has lost by his sins. The pain of loss is immeasurably great. Never shall he enjoy the beatific vision of God; never shall he enter heaven, the home of the saints, the place of everlasting happiness and joy. What horror, what torment, what despair, will seize upon the souls of the damned!
5. But what more especially makes hell to be hell is its everlasting duration, the utter despair of the damned, since they know that their torments can have no end. That the punishment of hell does indeed last forever, is clearly and irrefragably proved by the words of Holy Writ, particularly by the plain and definite pronouncement of the Saviour Himself : " The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment."
Do Thou, O God, grant us living faith, heartfelt love, courage, and strength, a true penitential spirit, and grace of perseverance, that so the horrors which dwell "behind the veil," may not be our portion!
As thou livest, thou must die;
As thou fallest, thou must lie;
As thou liest, so thou must remain,
For everlasting loss or everlasting gain.
XXVII. Christian Courage
1. THE more deeply your heart, dear reader, is imbued with a true fear of God, so much the more will this fear rule and guide you in every circumstance of life, and so much the less will you know any other fear, and so much the more courageously will you at all times and in all places range yourself on the side of God before the eyes of the world. And in our own day it is more than ever necessary to stand up courageously for the cause of Christ. All Christians, but in the first place all men, both old and young, must show themselves to be the courageous apostles of Christ, must fearlessly espouse His cause before all the world, and in every position of life. That is a high, a glorious vocation, calculated to fire every youthful heart with enthusiasm.
2. Christ has said: "Every one that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5 32). This open confession of faith in Jesus Christ and the truths He has revealed, this fearless espousal of His cause, is demanded especially in our times. Modern society is to a great extent anti-Christian or inimical to Christ, pervaded by hatred to Christianity in general, and to the Catholic Church in particular.
This was very plainly shown some years ago, when the question of Christian education was debated in the German parliament. On that occasion Count Caprivi, the imperial chancellor, publicly asserted that the whole question centered on this, Christ or Anti-Christ. After this courageous declaration, a tremendous hubbub arose, in which all present joined, with the exception of the Center and some members of other parties. The whole of the press which is hostile to the Church took up the question later on, and did its best to fan the flame of irritation.
The anti-Christian spirit is still more rampant and obnoxious at the present time in France. There a godless government is making every effort to destroy the Church — to subvert the Kingdom of Christ. Faith in the divinity of Christ is also assailed in the United States and other countries by tongue and pen, and from many a pulpit and platform.
The contemptuous cry of the Jews on Good Friday: "We will not have this man to reign over us!" is to-day the battle-cry of His enemies. Therefore is Christianity to be expelled from the school, from the family, from the legislature. And for the selfsame reason the daily press becomes ever more and more unchristian; ever more shamelessly and impudently are immoral novels disseminated, a truly scandalous kind of literature.
3. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that the generation of Catholics who are now growing up, I mean Catholic young men, should fearlessly and courageously come forward and espouse the cause of Christ. Even the dread of death ought to induce no one to hold back, much less the dread of temporal loss. God will know how to protect His own in case of need. Think of what the faithful adherents of our holy religion have endured since the so-called Reformation in England and Ireland. Remember that millions of the early Christians shed their blood for Christ, amid the most cruel tortures. Those who confessed themselves to be adherents of the Christian religion were robbed and deprived by the state of their private property; yet the Christians bore all this for quite three centuries.
Sacrifices like these are not required of us; we are not threatened with similar penalties. We ought, therefore, to find it easier to take the side of Christ, and to fight for His cause more cheerfully. Moreover, when you are of an age to take part in elections and voting, you ought not to be false to your character as a Christian; you ought to have the courage of your convictions and act in accordance with your religious principles even if you thereby antagonize or displease the one who gives you employment.
4. It becomes ever more important also to support with might and main the Catholic press in the fight for Christ. Young men can do much in this respect. They can unite their efforts in this cause," in behalf of which they ought to consider no expenditure of time or money too great. We must give ourselves no rest until there is in every Catholic household at least one newspaper or periodical which, if need be, will courageously fight for the sake of Christ and fearlessly defend the interests of the Church.
5. In this manner must we all, and young men more especially, use every possible exertion in order that, in the days in which we live, Christ may once more reign in the whole of our public life. Let us labor and struggle courageously for the spread of Christ's kingdom on earth. You will hear the enemies of Christ and of the Church assert that this is priestcraft I Bear in mind, however, that the Church only commands in the name of Christ. The commands of the Church simply express the will of God. What the sun, shining in the vault of heaven, is for the life of the body, Christianity is for the life of the soul. Christ is the sun of truth and justice for the whole human race. This sun must influence the whole life of man. Therefore, Christians, to the war! Fight for God and the right I Fight for the interests of Christ and his Church! It is a question of the weal or woe of mankind. Vow fidelity to Christ in the following words :
My God, though all unfaithful be,
I never will depart from Thee.
All, all for Christ shall be my cry.
While life on earth goes swiftly by.
XXVIII. Human Respect
I. HUMAN respect is a cancer which eats into modern society and does incalculable harm, especially to young men. Take, for instance, a young man, who at his nightly carousals fears to offend or to make himself disliked by his companions, and who therefore goes on drinking until the small hours of the morning. He does not reflect whether he is ruining his health and wasting his money, whether he is bringing vexation and disgrace upon those who belong to him; to all this he pays no heed; he merely says to himself: "What would the others say, if I were not to do as they do?" Oh, this foolish bugbear of human respect! Such a young man we may behold going forth into a hostile world carrying his head very high, and full of self-reliance, but when he comes into the society of those whose beliefs differ from those which he professes, or who mock at religion, what then becomes of his courage? His heart at once sinks into his boots, so that, out of a wretched feeling of human respect, he eats meat on fast days, in order that he may not be jeered and laughed at. He never dares to make the sign of the cross or say grace before meals in the presence of those whose opinions differ from his own. "One must have respect," he says, "for the opinions of others and cultivate their good- will."
2. It is human respect which keeps so many young men back from a frequent reception of the sacraments, from a regular attendance at divine service both in the morning and afternoon, on Sundays and holydays. "What will people think of me? I shall be considered quite fanatical if I go so often to church." But tell me: what harm is it if you are thought to be pious? Is it not far better that you should be thought to be pious and well-conducted, than that you should be regarded as a toper and brawler?
Let people think whatever they like. Every one is of just as much value as he is in the sight of God, neither more nor less. Therefore we must fear God, as Our Lord says: "Fear ye not them that kill the body and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. x. 28).
3. Thus many a young man desires to be a good Catholic, but he has not the courage of his convictions; he possesses faith, and his life is blameless as far as he goes; but if he finds himself in society where his religion and religious observances are derided, his faith and his Catholicism are not manifest. He is silent, or perhaps even joins in the mockery and ridicule out of regard for others; that is in consequence of miserable human respect.
He allows the priests of his Church and her chief pastors to be mocked at and made the object of foolish witticisms. God Himself and His saints are not spared, yet he meanwhile does not consider it to be incumbent on him to stand up and defend the honor of God. Believe me, the hour will come when such a coward will hear these words: "I know you not! Depart from Me!" What will it then avail him to have been silent from fear of offending ungodly and unbelieving men?
4. A young French soldier who fought in the war with China was cast in a widely different mold. One day he heard an extraordinary uproar in that part of the barracks which was in his immediate vicinity, and he went to find out what was the matter. One of his comrades had discovered a rosary in the pocket of a volunteer, and a perfect tempest of contempt, blasphemy, and vulgar abuse had broken forth over its possessor.
Then the young Frenchman snowed himself to be a soldier in the true sense of the word, a man of courage, fearless and undaunted, the defender of his religion. "Give me the rosary," he exclaimed amid the tumult; "how can you have the insolence to treat with irreverence and to speak blasphemously about an object of devotion which is so frequently bedewed with many a mother's tears!"
These words were received with a fresh outburst of mockery and curses; but he remained quite unmoved, and never rested until he had gained possession of the rosary. Then with manly decision he said to the mocking crowd: "Believe me, he is a better soldier who has a rosary in his pocket, than one whose mouth is full of blasphemy!"
5. Can you, my dear young friend, do otherwise than admire such courage and strength of character? Does it not give you pleasure to hear of the conduct of this young soldier, whose name is unknown to fame? It also rejoiced the heart of God, and He will likewise take delight in you, as often as you show yourself to be possessed of a like courage and decision, of true respect, of a proper regard for God and His honor. Truly the present day, in which the world is so far from God, affords ample opportunities for thus acting; wherefore go forth into life with a courageous heart and act like a man! "Behold, I command thee, take courage and be strong. Fear not, and be not dismayed, because the Lord thy God is with Thee in all things" (Jos. i. 9). "If God be for us, who is against us?" (Rom. viii. 31).
How beauteous is the courage which we find
With childlike confidence in God combined!
Who fears his God shall know no other fear
He heeds not pitying smile, nor unkind sneer.