Morals
Dear Catholics--one of the greatest dangers to faith is Immorality. It is a widespread danger, as widespread as human nature. Be not surprised, my brethren, at the term or at its application. Whatever is sinful is immoral, inasmuch as it contravenes the laws of conduct; and whatever makes for sin, or even for the lower natural life, is necessarily inimical to so holy and perfect a virtue as divine faith. Arguments need not be multiplied; hear the Old Testament and the New: "The wicked man is void of knowledge" (Prov. xxix. 7) ; "for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins" (Wis. i. 4); "everyone that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved" (John iii. 20) ; "how can you believe, who receive glory one from another; and the glory which is from God alone you do not seek?" (Ib. v. 44); "you do not believe because you are not of my sheep" (Ib. x. 26). So, no light, no knowledge, no wisdom for the sinful; no believing for the evil, the proud, the disobedient, who hear not the Shepherd's voice, nor come when He calls. It is not that every sin, be it even mortal, immediately destroys faith: holy Church found it necessary to define the contrary; only sin against faith at once destroys faith. But all sin obscures, weakens and endangers it. The word of God says that we can neither commence nor continue to believe without divine help. And if we turn that help aside? If we reject it? The Holy Ghost alone can form in us acts of this supernatural virtue. But if we sacrilegiously expel Him ? if we close our souls against His breathings, if we heartlessly shut our ears to His unspeakable pleadings? In a small yacht, as you are all aware, you may cross a wide lake or ascend a strong river-- provided you have sound wind-filled sails. But you will not go far if you keep out of the way of the wind, if your sails are torn and worthless, if you refuse to carry or hoist any sails at all. So do many Catholics in the progress of Christian life.
This point, my brethren, needs much attention from some of you. The earthen vessel in which we have so divine a treasure as faith, is, you must admit, perilous enough in its unstable fragility, without being sordidly neglected, without being corroded and buffeted by filth and iniquity. Now, you easily grant that you fail in other matters, but not, you think, in faith. You do not see that contradicting your religion in practice is endangering your belief of it. I know, my brethren, and am glad to proclaim that poor sinners can fall very low and yet never doubt about Catholicity. In that, too, is their one hope of salvation; for faith keeps open their access to the Church, and access to her is access to God's mercy. They begin to look hopeless only when, by word or act, they cast themselves into the morass of soul-destroying heresy. It is of apostates St. Paul uses the fearful words about the impossibility of being renewed again to penance. But notice that on this very question of preserving or losing faith, the same Apostle has a word of warning for those who fail not in belief but in conscience. When he writes: "Having faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith" (i Tim. i. 19), he sufficiently shows that where conscience was otherwise violated the way was taken toward loss of belief. He continues to enforce that teaching by speaking of the mystery of faith that is to be held "in a pure conscience" (Ib. iii. 9). The words seem like an echo of his abiding anxiety about the heavenly treasure which he had been instrumental in placing in so many earthen vessels.
But earthly as we are, we yet can have this good conscience, this pure conscience: not, however, with sin. All sin is iniquity and foulness; hence with it, of any kind, conscience is bad and unclean, and faith feels not at home. Two vices are so speedily destructive of the delicate virtue that we require special caution against them. Impurity and pride are necessary and deadly enemies of this sacred dignity of our elevated nature. It has been figuratively yet accurately said that as was St. John the Baptist in the court of Herod, so is faith in the unchaste soul: beheading is the consequence. For the proud we have the Lord's intimation that they could not believe in Him so long as they sought false glory. Witness the Pharisees, who knew so much of the law and professed belief so formally, yet persisted in rejecting the true Messiah even when testified to by Himself, by His Father, and by the Holy Spirit!
Conclusion
To what, then, my brethren, do our reflections lead us? Surely to the conclusion that, as faith is most high and precious, so must our jealous care of it be most humbly assiduous. We should not lose it, we would not lessen it: we need it all for our eternal salvation, for our filial service of our heavenly Father. Without it we cannot please God, without it we can be but condemned. For no earthly bribe will we betray it, for no fleshpots renounce it, for no mess of pottage barter it, for no passing enjoyments endanger it. Far from us be the folly of the worldlings who have finally to say: "We have erred from the way of truth; and the light of justice hath not shined unto us; and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us" (Wis. v. 6) ; farther still be the counsel of the malicious who said to God: "Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways" (Job xxi. 14). We, my brethren, believe in the Almighty, we serve Him and find profit in praying to Him. We know that of His wrath the unbelieving wicked shall drink; that their lamp shall be put out; that a deluge shall come upon them; that they shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth. Fearing our human weakness, but trusting in the grace of faith which, as we so often sing, alone suffices to strengthen the sincere heart-- ad firmandum car sincerum sola fides sufficit--we simply hold our ground in the ranks of the Church's children who have their eyes opened, who are converted from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, who receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints by the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Amen.
This point, my brethren, needs much attention from some of you. The earthen vessel in which we have so divine a treasure as faith, is, you must admit, perilous enough in its unstable fragility, without being sordidly neglected, without being corroded and buffeted by filth and iniquity. Now, you easily grant that you fail in other matters, but not, you think, in faith. You do not see that contradicting your religion in practice is endangering your belief of it. I know, my brethren, and am glad to proclaim that poor sinners can fall very low and yet never doubt about Catholicity. In that, too, is their one hope of salvation; for faith keeps open their access to the Church, and access to her is access to God's mercy. They begin to look hopeless only when, by word or act, they cast themselves into the morass of soul-destroying heresy. It is of apostates St. Paul uses the fearful words about the impossibility of being renewed again to penance. But notice that on this very question of preserving or losing faith, the same Apostle has a word of warning for those who fail not in belief but in conscience. When he writes: "Having faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith" (i Tim. i. 19), he sufficiently shows that where conscience was otherwise violated the way was taken toward loss of belief. He continues to enforce that teaching by speaking of the mystery of faith that is to be held "in a pure conscience" (Ib. iii. 9). The words seem like an echo of his abiding anxiety about the heavenly treasure which he had been instrumental in placing in so many earthen vessels.
But earthly as we are, we yet can have this good conscience, this pure conscience: not, however, with sin. All sin is iniquity and foulness; hence with it, of any kind, conscience is bad and unclean, and faith feels not at home. Two vices are so speedily destructive of the delicate virtue that we require special caution against them. Impurity and pride are necessary and deadly enemies of this sacred dignity of our elevated nature. It has been figuratively yet accurately said that as was St. John the Baptist in the court of Herod, so is faith in the unchaste soul: beheading is the consequence. For the proud we have the Lord's intimation that they could not believe in Him so long as they sought false glory. Witness the Pharisees, who knew so much of the law and professed belief so formally, yet persisted in rejecting the true Messiah even when testified to by Himself, by His Father, and by the Holy Spirit!
Conclusion
To what, then, my brethren, do our reflections lead us? Surely to the conclusion that, as faith is most high and precious, so must our jealous care of it be most humbly assiduous. We should not lose it, we would not lessen it: we need it all for our eternal salvation, for our filial service of our heavenly Father. Without it we cannot please God, without it we can be but condemned. For no earthly bribe will we betray it, for no fleshpots renounce it, for no mess of pottage barter it, for no passing enjoyments endanger it. Far from us be the folly of the worldlings who have finally to say: "We have erred from the way of truth; and the light of justice hath not shined unto us; and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us" (Wis. v. 6) ; farther still be the counsel of the malicious who said to God: "Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways" (Job xxi. 14). We, my brethren, believe in the Almighty, we serve Him and find profit in praying to Him. We know that of His wrath the unbelieving wicked shall drink; that their lamp shall be put out; that a deluge shall come upon them; that they shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth. Fearing our human weakness, but trusting in the grace of faith which, as we so often sing, alone suffices to strengthen the sincere heart-- ad firmandum car sincerum sola fides sufficit--we simply hold our ground in the ranks of the Church's children who have their eyes opened, who are converted from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, who receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints by the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Amen.
