Third Sunday after Epiphany

[Stone]

Third Sunday After Epiphany
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876



"Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."--Matt. 8: 2.

The leper of whom we read in today's Gospel believes that Christ has the power to heal him, and he is not mistaken; Christ, stretching forth His hand, said: "I will, be thou made clean!"

What leprosy is to the body, that sin is to the soul. Many of the children of the Church, many who call upon Jesus, are covered with this leprosy. They believe in His Power and Will to cleanse them from sin, and yet they are not cleansed, and why not? Because they do not earnestly will it.

It often happens that the sinner, while apparently desirous of conversion, has in reality not the will. And why? That is the question we shall answer today. O Mary, thou purest of the pure, pray that we may be filled with a true desire to be cleansed from the leprosy of sin, through Jesus Christ our Lord! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

"Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean," cried the leper. How much more natural it is for us children of the Church to address Christ in these words, since we know so much better than the leper in the Gospel who Jesus is, and why He came into the world.

The leper did not doubt that Christ possessed the power to heal him, but he was not certain of Christ's willingness to perform a miracle. In regard to the leprosy of sin, we have no reason to doubt Christ's willingness to cleanse us. For this He came into the world, for this He sacrificed Himself on the cross, for this He gave His blood and life, for this He established His Church. Do not the Apostles teach us to say: "I believe in the forgiveness of sins?" To give us a remedy against sin, Christ called us to His holy Church, freed us in baptism from the inherited leprosy of our nature, and gave us access to all the Sacraments, those fountains of grace for the purification of souls.

Verily then Jesus is willing. If we are not cleansed, in whom lies the fault? In ourselves. The sinner is wanting in real sincerity and in the earnest desire of being cleansed. And why? Because he feels his own misery too imperfectly. He is not sufficiently disgusted with sin; he is not thoroughly penetrated with fear at the consequences of sin.

The leper was disgusted with himself. Leprosy is, as is well known, a revolting disease, and everyone is careful to avoid those who are stricken with it. But what is such a disease compared to the disfigurement of sin, which makes us resemble Satan in repulsiveness? Not only mortal, but even venial sin is leprosy. Not a moral fault but is more disgusting to God than all the ulcers and sores in the whole world.

Could the sinner but see himself, were he aware of how his soul is deformed by sin, how intense would be his desire, how great his haste to go to Jesus and beg of Him to be cleansed. Unfortunately, the sinner is seldom thoroughly conscious of his deplorable state. He generally believes that his moral condition is not so bad, and, regarding his sins as human weaknesses, consoles himself with the thought that there are others who are worse. He fails to consider God's horror of sin, the disgust of the angels and saints, who have reason to be ashamed of him if he regards himself in communion with them, or perhaps even calls them his brothers and his sisters. He does not realize that the sight of his sins drives away his guardian angel, all angels, in fact, and saints. He never thinks of the misfortune into which sin has precipitated him, robbing his good works of all merit, and rendering him unable to earn anything for heaven; how sin has opened the gates of hell, so that he is liable at any moment to fall into the abyss, where he must bewail in eternal torments those sins which he here committed with so little concern.

He who stains his soul with many venial sins can not consider how these prevent him from lessening the flow of divine grace, diminish his merits, how they augment the debt that is to be paid in purgatory. Moreover, he can not reflect on the danger his waywardness exposes him to of falling into grievous sin. The consequence of this thoughtlessness is that the sinner hastens not to seek Jesus, and to approach Him in the person of His minister to receive, after sincere repentance, the forgiveness of his transgressions.

Secondly.--The sinner goes to confession and apparently is desirous of being cleansed from the leprosy of his sin, but in reality he is very indifferent. How few of those to whom sin has become a habit--a class of sinners who especially resemble the leper--examine themselves conscientiously before confession on the number of their mortal sins and the circumstances that affect the nature of their transgressions. The leper feels day and night the misery of his disease, and knows every place where it has settled. The habitual sinner does not take the trouble to consider the evil of sin on his soul, and hardly deems it necessary to examine his conscience. Why? He is not really in earnest to be converted.

If it were a bodily illness he would immediately send for a physician, and explain minutely all the symptoms of his disease; but as the condition of his soul is a matter of little concern to him, he gives but a superficial account of its state, and not unfrequently makes a bad confession. It but seldom happens that a habitual sinner accuses himself fully and freely without aid from the priest. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the leper. The priest should spiritually do the same to the sinner by his words, but as the sinner has not thoroughly opened his heart, the priest is not able to touch the affected parts and heal them by words of advice.

The sinner confesses, but he has not the earnest desire to make a frank and open declaration of his faults. He is satisfied with a lame, cursory accusation, hoping that the confessor will impart a speedy absolution, and not trouble him with many questions. He is not anxious about the future, how he may avoid relapses, anticipate temptations or combat them, when they do assault him, with effectual weapons.

The sinner, moreover, has not the determination to use the proper means to obtain grace and to advance in the ways of virtue, namely, prayer, spiritual reading, the reception of the Sacraments.

Happy are you, O sinner, if you are conscious that you are, earnest in your desire to be converted, to avoid all occasions of committing sin, and to resist temptations, so that you can truthfully say before Jesus and his minister: I will. Christ will say the same to you. And if you unite your will with His, do not doubt that you will be cleansed from the leprosy of your sin through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!

Second Sermon



"Only say the word and my servant shall be healed."--Matt. 8: 7.

In today's Gospel two distressed men approach Jesus and ask help; the leper and the afflicted father. Both evinced great confidence, and they were not disappointed. Their confidence procured them help, and that by a miracle.

This fact joins to a noble, important, and consoling virtue of Christian life, which has often obtained most wondrous help from God. It is the virtue of confidence in the assistance of God. A sermon on this subject is the more needed, because many trust God too little. These think of the justice to God, of His menaces to sinners, but not of His goodness and mercy; they forget that He is their Creator and Father; they forget what He has done for them, and is continually doing, and what He is ever ready to do for all who approach Him confidingly. In short:

Man does not think frequently enough how noble and consoling, how meritorious before God is this trust which we place in His help. Let us consider this today.

O Mary, Mother of holy hope, fill our hearts with entire trust in God that we may obtain divine grace through Jesus Christ our Lord! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

The leper trusts that Jesus will heal him; the centurion has faith that Jesus will save his dying servant, and both are rewarded. Are these two the only ones who need help, and who must seek this help through Jesus? Certainly not! We live upon this earth surrounded by numberless cares for our temporal well-being, and are at the same time harassed by many needs of the soul.

It is Jesus, who is able to aid us in all these temporal and spiritual distresses. Let us hasten to Him, let us trust. Confidence is the condition on which we shall obtain help, as St. James assures us, as well as the voice of our own hearts.

Whoever distrusts Christ's willingness or power to help us, when he appproaches Him in prayer, does not honor God, but rather dishonors Him. On the other hand, to approach Jesus with full confidence, how ennobling, consoling an act to ourselves, how pleasing and effective with God!

First, it is an act by which not only one or other of God's perfections is worshipped and praised, but an act by which all of them are recognized. He who only fears God and trembles, gives testimony by his fear to the Justice of the Almighty; but he who trusts in the Almighty confesses Him to be the source of all that is good--glorifies Him in all His infinite perfections. He professes belief in the existence of God, he exalts His Omniscience, because he implicitly declares that He knows everything, even his wants, and is ready to hear every suppliant prayer. He confesses by his confidence God's Omnipotence, Wisdom, Goodness, Truthfulness, and Fidelity, what a noble and sanctifying act! Jesus is God. Let us therefore, confide in Him.

The efficaciousness of our trust in Jesus is confirmed most cheeringly by the Holy Ghost in the ninetieth Psalm, when He says: "He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector and my refuge." How great an assurance does the Almighty give to those who trust in Him! "His truth shall compass thee with a shield; thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night or of the noon-day devil. A thousand shall fall on thy right side and ten thousand at thy left, but it shall not come nigh thee." Why? Listen to the answer. "Because he has hoped in me, I will deliver him.--He shall cry to me and I will hear him--I am with him in tribulation--I will deliver him, and I will glorify him."

Trust in Jesus will take still deeper root in our hearts if we regard Him as at once both God and man, and consider that it is He Himself, our Saviour and Redeemer, who invites us to this confidence.

It is true our hearts may feel heavy and be in danger of becoming weary and faint on account of all the sorrows and needs which oppress soul and body; but how can that diminish our trust in the goodness and power of our heavenly Mediator, if with a lively faith we call to mind His teachings, what He has done for mankind collectively, and each individual in particular?

Do temporal needs frighten us? We know how solemnly He has assured us of His assistance. Does not Christ tell us: " Behold the lilies of the field, the grass of the earth, and the birds of the air! See how My Father takes care of them. How much more will He take care of you who are His children!"

Let the wickedness of your enemies be ever so great, let them be high and mighty. Trust in God. The very hairs of your head are numbered, and not one of them falls without the will of your Father who is in heaven. If our mind is troubled, if temptations surround us, let us listen to the voice of Jesus: "My sheep hear my voice; and I know them . . . and no man shall snatch them out of my hand. That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all." Therefore, trust in God! Should the most powerful temptations beset you, the holy name of Jesus alone is able to shield you, and so long as your lips devoutly pronounce it, no power of persecution, however great, can overwhelm you.

Or if fear of sin which you formerly committed befalls you; if you tremble at the thought that heaven has not forgiven them, approach Jesus. Remember the words of St. John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming towards him: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world." Even should you have been so unfortunate as to relapse into sin, you know, as a well instructed child of the Church, that there is no sin or number of sins so great that they cannot, through the infinite merits of the Church, that there is no sin or number of sins so great that they can not, through the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, be effaced in the Sacrament of Penance. Think of all the relations in which Christ stands to you, and how every one of them calls upon you to trust! Is He not, while Redeemer, also our Father through whom we regained the right to be called children of God? With what confidence does a son approach his father when he knows that his father desires above all things the welfare of his children, and that he wishes to help them in need. If this be so of an earthly father how much more certain is it of Christ who is truly our Father!

Did He not relate the parable of the prodigal son, and tell of the kindness and love of the father who pardoned and embraced his child returning from the path of evil? Further, Jesus, as Son of God who became man for us, is our Brother. How consoled a man feels in his troubles when he has a brother who, he is convinced, loves him and has the power to help him! How great therefore should be our trust in Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of hosts, who, as the Apostle assures us, did not hesitate to call us His brothers. A good brother rejoices when it is in his power to assist us. What a reason to trust when we think of Jesus, call Him Brother, and approach Him as such!

A man who is harassed and in danger, and knows that his friend can offer assistance, goes to him for aid, because he is a friend. What an incentive to go confidingly to Christ when we are afflicted. He calls himself our Friend. And what a Friend He is! No one, says Jesus, shows greater sincerity of friendship than he, who gives his life for his friend. This, Christ has done for us, and how painful, yet how willing, was the sacrifice. "A true friend is a second self," says an old proverb, and it is Christ in whom this saying is literally fulfilled. "As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did to me." A man goes trustingly to another to ask assistance, especially when experience has taught him how good this person is, and how often he has aided him. What a spur this thought contains for us to go confidingly to Christ. All, however, depends on our being in such a state, and on our living in such a manner, that we may justly call Jesus our Father, Brother and Friend, and that when He bestows His divine graces upon us, we do not misuse them to His sorrow and offense. Otherwise we call Him in vain Father, Brother, Friend. " What fellowship hath light with darkness?" says the Apostle.

We must therefore, above all, be reconciled to God by a true reformation of heart, and then we can approach His throne and expect help from Him for every need of body and soul. Living in this peaceful confidence, we shall feel the courage which St. Teresa experienced when Christ appeared to her and said: "Teresa, fear not! I am with thee!"

Confidence raises us above our natural weakness. It supplies us with strength divine, and enables us to mount to the high realms of pure love where dwell the blessed inhabitants of heaven--to the very throne of God.

When about to depart this life and to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, what a pledge of a happy death, if with His name in our heart, we can lay ourselves trustingly in the arms of His infinite mercy! Ye shall then feel the comfort which St. Francis Xavier felt when in his last moment he pressed the crucifix to his heart, saying: "In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to confusion." Amen!

Third Sermon



"And Jesus, hearing this, marvelled."--Matt. 8: 10.

As the Gospel tells us, Jesus marvelled at the faith of the centurion who begged Him to heal his child.--Jesus marvelled at the faith of this man!

Christians, when we consider all that God has done for the human race, through how many voices He has revealed Himself to it, how He clothed Himself with our nature, and wrought numberless miracles, both personally and through others who believed in Him, we have reason to be astonished that all mankind has not long since shared this faith, and that, notwithstanding His coming upon earth, so many souls are lost by their own fault. And yet that this is so, Christ, the future Judge Himself assures us when He says: "Many are called, but few are chosen!"

That this is the fault of man alone, I shall endeavor to prove today. O Mary, thou who didst believe, and whom, therefore, Elizabeth called blessed, pray for us that we may obtain the blessing of a living faith! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

God said: "Let there be light!" and there was light. The same Word Who called forth this light, came into the world, and diffused light over the world of men's minds. Yet how many still remain in darkness! Why? Because men voluntarily close their eyes and live in the darkness of unbelief and irreligion, or if they have faith, it is a faith which is dead. This is the cause of their eternal destruction, and we have no reason to marvel at it.

Millions of men since Christ's coming have lived, and still live, in the darkness of unbelief. As this unbelief is intentional, it is certainly a matter of astonishment. St. Paul said that the heathens, even in his time, were, inexcusable for not recognizing God as the Creator and Ruler of the Universe and for not caring what He demands of His creatures, or how they should live in order to fulfill His will and gain heaven.

In ancient times, a philosopher once remarked to the heathen: "You do not find a hut in the forest without saying to yourself: Some one made it. And is it possible that you can look at the great structure of the world, of heaven and earth, without exclaiming: Some one must have made both me and this great world?--God!"

In confirmmation of these words, let me only point to three phases of nature to prove how inexcusable it is in man, after he has arrived at the age of discretion, not to believe in a God and Creator by Whom every thing was called into existence, and by Whom every thing is preserved.

Let us cast our eyes first upon the stars and observe the firmament simply as it strikes the beholder, and without astronominal knowledge. We perceive before all things the rising and setting of the sun, and the regular movements of the starry hosts, and ask: Can any human being, who knows with what regularity the sun has risen and set for 5000 years, never a second too early or too late, according to the season, can such a one imagine that no one has made this luminious body, that no mind has regulated its path, or the course of the stars? Impossible! if his thoughts be not disturbed by passion. The same may be said if we reflect on the constant changes of the moon. Must not every one who is able to reason believe that there is Some One, Who, being from all eternity, is both the Creator and Ruler of the Universe,-- God?

Let us turn our eyes to the earth and consider what the animal and vegetable world, which surround us, suggests. Who gives each separate plant the power to bring forth this and no other fruit? Who has ordained that a flower of such form and color shall grow up from this particular seed, and from no other? Who says to one grain of seed, produce oats, and to another, produce wheat? This fact becomes still more striking when we fix our attention upon the fruit-trees. There are orange, apple and pear-trees of all possible varieties in the same orchard. Who makes the orange-tree produce its juicy and deliciously-flavored fruit out of the tasteless wood and earth, if it be not He Whose Will is omnipotent?

Regarding ourselves, we see that we move, that we nourish our body, and yet we really know not how it is done. Above all, when we meditate upon the powers of the mind, we must, as sensible beings, recognize a God, a Creator. And if we think of Him, how is it possible that we are not compelled to ask: What does this God and Lord demand of us that we may be pleasing in His sight, and that it may go well with us here and hereafter?

Furthermore, how is it comprehensible that nations like the Chinese, the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians did not understand immediately the folly of idolatry when the Gospel was preached to them; that, instead of receiving the teachers of the divine Word with rejoicing, they persecuted them with fire and sword, as do even pagan nations to this very hour? Have we not cause to be astonished at the unbelief of the heathen? Have we no cause to marvel?

Similar reproaches might be addressed to all unbelievers, be they Jews or heretics. The Jews were acquainted with the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. Christ referred to this when he said: "This is written of me." He walked among them as man never walked among men, worked miracles, raised the dead--and yet they cried: "Crucify Him!" He rose from the grave, and yet--they failed to recognize Him, and are still waiting for the Messiah to come. How is it possible that these intelligent Jews, so sharp-sighted in other matters can be so blind in this respect! They possess the books of the Old Testament and watch over them carefully. They have counted every letter in them, and know exactly how many there are, and which is the first, the middle and the last! They read the prophecy of Aggaeus, which distinctly says that the Messiah would appear in that temple which for eighteen hundred years has lain in ruins. They read the prophecies of Daniel which tell them the time the Messiah was to come, suffer and die, after which the temple would be destroyed.

All this has taken place, all these events have become historical facts, and yet they await the arrival of the Messiah! They are like men who await the rising of the sun, while he is sending down around and about them his life-giving beams.--Incomprehensible!

The same may be said of heretics; they believe in Christ, believe the words: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against her "--the Church--whom Christ founded upon a rock. And again: "I will remain with you all days until the end of time." And further: " And if He will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen."--"He that believeth not shall be condemned." Over one hundred millions of men believe this, and call themselves Christians, yet have separated from the first Church and remain thus separated. Certainly they are a just object of astonishment to us!

The obstinacy of heretics in not returning to the first Church would be more, easily understood were it only a question of some articles of faith. But this is not the case. To all those who believe in Christ and in Holy Writ as the Word of God, the entire question about the authenticity of the Church, is historic. No herretic can deny that Christ has asserted several times most, solemnly that His Church should remain unchanged until the end of time. If this be accepted as a truth, the question is simply this : Which of the Churches calling themselves Christian can prove that she dates from the Apostles and is the first Church? That one must be the true Church.

No one denies that the Catholic Church is the first. Well then, who can justify those who separate from her? And who can uphold those who have followed them? And yet millions of men do this. Many even think they are doing right; they pray to Christ, but yet accuse Him of lying, when they say that the first Church, which is the Catholic Church, has erred, notwithstanding His solemn assurance that this should never happen.

If these heretics did not believe in Christ or the Gospel, we could comprehend it, but as it is, what can we say? They frequently lead a moral life, believe in Christ and in the Bible, and yet, for so many hundreds of years they have remained separated from the Church and her infallible doctrines. What a subject to marvel at!

But our astonishment will increase if we consider the dead faith of so many who call themselves Catholics; when we reflect how it is that people, who believe in the truth of the Church and the promises of faith, who even are ready to shed their blood for it, live, notwithstanding, as if they knew no more of the path of salvation than do the heathen, from whom they differ only in so far that they are more culpable.

Yes, considering all this, we have more cause to be astonished at ourselves than at the conduct of Jews and heretics; for the reason that we, believing all that the saints believed, do not endeavor more seriously to live a holy life. On the other hand, I am surprised that men living in the darkness of unbelief do not sink deeper than they do. It must be that the influence of education, special circumstances, and social position, keep them in check and prevent their entire corruption and debasement.

Therefore, O Lord, strengthen through our love for Thee our faith, in order that our lives may bear testimony thereto!--Amen !