THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Vadit ad ovem, quæ perierat, donec inveniat eam, et cum invenerit eam, imponit humeris gaudens. -Luc. xv. 4. He goeth after the sheep that was lost until he find it, and when he hath found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing. I. CONSIDER that thou art that strayed sheep of the Gospel which the divine Shepherd has endeavoured with such toil and hardship to bring back to His fold and place in safety, because whilst thou didst live in the world thou didst wander but too far from thy Shepherd, and didst tread a path fraught with numberless dangers of losing thyself altogether. Whilst thy Lord has left so many others in the midst of the perils of the world, He has sought thee out and after a deal of pains has succeeded in leading thee into the religious state in order to secure thy salvation. Recognise the great obligation thou art under to Almighty God for thy vocation, and thank Him with all thy heart for although thou hast served Him ill in religion, thou wouldst have served Him still worse in the world. II. Consider what it has cost Our Lord to draw thee out of the world and lead thee into religion. How many inspirations and interior voices did He not make thee feel in thy heart and which thou didst leave unheeded! how many lights and impulses did He not employ to which thou didst only offer a long resistance! and yet all the while our good God never ceased from renewing the invitations and multiplying His graces. Then again in order to merit these inspirations and graces in thy behalf, what toil, what labours, what torments, did He not undergo in life and in death! Whatever He did or suffered for the salvation of all, He did and suffered for thy salvation alone, just as though there had been no one else in the world to save: Dilexit te et tradidit semetipsum pro te-Gal. ii. 20— He loved thee and delivered Himself for thee. If such then be the case, it may well be said that He has carried thee on His own shoulders and taken all the burden on Himself. Neither could Jesus have been led to show thee such a marked love for any need He had of thee, but solely because thou stoodst in so great need of His especial love, foreseeing as He did that thou wouldst have been lost for a certainty if He had not drawn thee from the dangers of the world. What correspondence hast thou shown so far to such signal mercy and love? III. Consider that it is mentioned in the Gospel narrative that the good shepherd was congratulated on having reclaimed the strayed sheep and brought it back to the fold, because the angels rejoice and congratulate Our Lord when they behold a soul raised up after falling into sin, and so put out of danger of being lost. In like manner there was rejoicing in heaven when thou didst abandon the world and didst enrol thyself in the service of God in holy religion; but beware lest these rejoicings should be changed into wailings: Versa est in luctum cithara mea-Job xxx. 31-My harp is turned to mourning, if perchance thou art more taken up in serving the world than God. If thou wouldst that the rejoicing in heaven should continue, make up thy mind to attend in good earnest to the acquisition of the virtues proper to thy state, to the correction of thy faults and imperfections-and thus thou wilt complete the joy and gladness of Jesus Christ and of all the heavenly court. MONDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK AFTER Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis.-Matth. vi. 1. Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them. I. CONSIDER that the word justice here signifies all good works these are reducible to three sorts-fasting, under which are comprised all penitential works which justify us with regard to ourselves; almsdeeds, which comprise all works of charity which regulate our conduct towards our neighbour; and prayer, which comprises all acts of religious worship which regulate our lives with regard to Almighty God. Now it is well that all these virtuous and meritorious works be seen by others in order to give good example; but it is not Our Lord's intention that thou shouldst do them with a view to gain the approbation and praise of men. Reflect and consider with what intention thou performest these good works. II. Consider that there are two kinds of good works some are proper to thy state of life and are performed by all the community, others are singular and extraordinary. It is safer and better that thou shouldst perform in private such works as are singular, in order to avoid giving any occasion for wonder or admiration ; but as regards all common acts, thou art bound to perform them with that amount of publicity which is customary in thy own community; and thou oughtest on no account to withdraw thyself from their observance, so as not to give scandal. But alas ! how easily thou neglectest these good works, time after time, not in order indeed to shun vainglory but to pander to thy own sloth and ease. III. Consider how important it is thou shouldst have this upright intention in thy works. Every act of vanity which moves thee to perform thy good actions, takes away thy merit; so that thy whole reward will consist merely in the esteem thou wilt have won here on earth in the eyes of men-that esteem which thou hast preferred to the good pleasure of Almighty God; and so thou wilt obtain nothing from Almighty God for eternity. Observe however, that not always does any act of vanity deprive thee of all merit before God. It is only that which precedes thy action and proposes, as its end, the good pleasure of man; this is that hidden worm that spoils the good work in its entirety. Any little act of vanity that accompanies or follows upon a good work does not spoil it entirely, although it is wrong and blameworthy, because the good work does not depend on it as its end and object. Reflect then, how important it is that thou shouldst direct thy intention from the very beginning of thy actions, and that thou shouldst make it thy study to perform them, not to please men, but to please Almighty God alone. TUESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK AFTER PENTECOST. Dedit ei locum pænitentiæ, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam.-Job xxiv. 23. God hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride. I. CONSIDER what a matter for astonishment it is that God Almighty, the Lord of infinite majesty, after having been most outrageously insulted by man-by a vile worm of the earth-should of His own mere goodness, and from no sort of obligation, give him every means of repentance and of returning to His favour and grace, dedit ei locum pœnitentia-by giving him time and grace, impulses and helps-and that man should abuse all this mercy and employ it only to go on sinning all the more wantonly. Yet how far more wonderful still it is that, in thy own case, after having offended thy God so often, He on His side should in His mercy have called thee to the religious state in order thus to give thee more time and greater convenience for doing penance and amending thy life; and that thou on thy side shouldst make such ill use of all this mercy by increasing thy sins and thy ingratitude! Admire the great goodness of Almighty God in thy regard, and bewail thy own ingratitude. II. Consider that the reason why the sinner makes such ill use of the time granted him, is because he argues falsely. He comes to the conclusion that as Almighty God did not punish him on the instant, but still allows him the enjoyment of life and prosperity, that he was not after all guilty of any great harm. If Almighty God had punished his sins the instant they were committed, oh how profoundly would he humble himself! Quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia, absque timore filii hominum perpetrant malaEccl. viii. 11-Because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the evil, the children of men commit evils without any fear. And wouldst thou be of the number of those who abuse the kindness and patience of God in bearing up against them? If instead of calling thee to religion to do penance for thy sins, Almighty God had cast thee into hell which thou hast so often deserved, then indeed in the midst of those devouring flames wouldst thou know and recognise the heinousness of thy sins and detest thy own folly, but to no |