Sermon VII. The Holy Ghost, The Comforter. For The Feast Of Pentecost.

St. John xiv. 16. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever."

To-day is the Church's grand high festival of the coming of that other Comforter, who abides for ever with those whom Jesus loves.

We are tempted to wonder why He, who had done so much for the peace of the world, whose coming was the pledge of every joy to the human heart, whose words are a healing balm for every wound, a solace for every misery, and through whom comes all forgiveness for sins, should not have remained Himself to bless and comfort His own with His Divine presence.

What other Comforter of our souls would we ask or could we need than Him? Oh! that He had stayed with us! Had we not all in having Him? When the Father in His love sent Him to us, did he not send all He could give? What other Comforter is there in heaven to give that will be better than He?

Truly, brethren, we would not be able to imagine that anything more or better could be done for us than that our Blessed Lord should remain amongst us, had He not Himself said: "It is expedient for you that I go; for if I do not, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." [Footnote 26]

There is a mystery here which we cannot fathom, because we are not able to fathom the works of God. Our Lord knew that it was best for Him to depart, and that the Holy Ghost must come, as He said, to bear testimony of Him, to teach all truth, to fill the hearts of the faithful with grace, and kindle in them the fire of Divine Charity, so that they might strive manfully for the faith, and win the crown of everlasting joy set before them.

It is not in vain that our Lord called the Holy Ghost the Comforter, which signifies the strengthener. We are weak, vacillating, full of wandering desires, led away from God and heaven by trifles, easily cast down and disheartened, in constant danger by temptation, discouraged by doubts, crushed quickly beneath some present sorrow, and fearful of the coming storms of adversity and grief; and grace, which it is the office of the Holy Ghost to bring to us, is the life-giving force which leads and directs us, which enlightens, strengthens, and comforts us in all.

It is this which inspires the Holy Church, in the sequence of the Mass for to-day, to cry

"Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Et emitte coelitus Lucis tuae radium. Veni, Pater pauperum, Veni, dator munerum, Veni, lumen cordium. Consolator optime, Dulcis hospes animae, Dulce refrigerium. In labore requies, In aestu temperies, In fletu solatium O Lux beatissima, Reple cordis intima Tuorum fidelium!"

I cannot do better than explain these words of the Holy Church, which express in so many beautiful forms the comforting grace of the Holy Ghost.

Who is this Divine Comforter? God the Holy Ghost. Not an attribute of God, such as His omnipotence, His omnipresence, His justice or mercy, but the Person of God Himself. God lives in Himself an eternal, infinite life; a mysterious life to us, in that He needs no other object besides Himself to give Him life. God is but one being; and hence the Holy Ghost is the same God as the Father and the Son; but God possesses, as it were, a threefold personal life, which, being mutually dependent and united, is but one. The Father is the Infinite Personal Cause of His own Divine Life; the Son is the Personal Life of God, begotten of the Father; and the Holy Ghost is God personally enjoying, living the Divine Life, begotten by Himself. Think of it! This is what we invoke when we cry, Veni, Sancte Spiritus! This is what was promised by our Lord, when He said: "I will ask the Father, and He will send you another Comforter." The Life of God! Life full beyond human imagination, of ineffable joy, and of peace that passes understanding! Life full of beauty, sublimity, and majesty! Life of omnipotence and of glory! "O Lord, my God," exclaims the enraptured Psalmist, in one of the Psalms of to-day's matins, "Thou art exceedingly great! Thou hast put on praise and beauty, and art clothed with light as with a garment." [Footnote 27]

The sun rises in his splendor, and no man may look with unblenched gaze upon it; but who shall describe the dazzling brightness of Him who dwells in light inaccessible! And it is a ray of the light of the Life of God we crave for our darkened souls, when we say, Veni, Sancte Spirtus, et emitte coelitus lucis tuae radium! "Come, O Holy Spirit, and send forth upon us a ray of Thy heavenly light!"

The coming of the Holy Ghost to man is the completion of the mysterious union between God and us. By the Father Almighty we are created. Something of the hidden essence of Life is given to us in creation. "And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." [Footnote 28]

In creation, we are united to the Life of God the Father. By the Incarnation of the Word, the Son of God, we became, as St. Peter declares, "partakers of the Divine nature." Humanity became united to the Life of God the Son through Jesus Christ; and now the Life of God the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Love, descends and fills with Divine grace the hearts of the faithful children begotten to God through the creation and Incarnation; the union between God and man is complete, and the love of God to man is exhausted.

Truly, the Father Almighty was a Comforter, to bring us out of nothingness, and bestow upon us the boon of being and the joys of an eternal existence. God the Son was a Comforter in redeeming us, and regenerating us, and giving us the right, which angels might envy, to call our Creator our Father; but the Holy Ghost was yet another Comforter, and He would not deny Himself to those whom the Father had loved to create, whom He had yet loved more so as to send His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him "might have life, and might have it more abundantly"; and thus the life of man becomes exalted and deified by its union with the Eternal, Infinite life of the Triune God.

Look down from the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, and pierce the mighty depths of waters with a glance. Look up into the blue vault of heaven, and with unaided vision scan the uttermost bounds of space, far beyond the dizzy distances where roll the last stars in their lonely course; but fathom if you can the height, the depth, the immensity of that Infinite Life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in which, as in a boundless and fathomless ocean of comfort, and as in a measureless firmament of glory and of rapture, the soul of man is swallowed up and lost in the love of his God.

But who among men belong thus entirely to God? To whom does the Holy Ghost come in His fulness? Not to all; for I read that our Lord said that "the world cannot receive Him, because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him." [Footnote 29] To whom, then? Let St. John answer us: "As many as received Him (Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God), to them He gave power to become the sons of God, to them who believe in His name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." [Footnote 30]

It is not enough, then, to be a creature of God, to be born of the flesh, or of the will of man. The soul who would receive the Holy Ghost, to see and have God in His fulness, must be born of God. "Except a man be born of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." [Footnote 31] As the Son of God became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin, so the sons of men must be born again of water and the Holy Ghost in Baptism, to become the sons of God. Then, and then only, can we call God Father. Then, and then only, do we "receive the spirit of adoption of sons," as St. Paul declares, "whereby we cry, Abba (Father)." [Footnote 32] We must believe in the Word made flesh, in Jesus Christ, else that other Comforter will not come unto us; and hence the Church invokes the Holy Ghost to come down into the hearts of the faithful, or the believers in Jesus Christ.

"Come, O Holy Spirit! fill the hearts of thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of thy love." Alas! for those who do not realize this great truth. By their rejection of Jesus Christ and the new birth unto God in Baptism, they remain for ever in the lower sphere of the simple creature, with no hope of the enrapturing vision of the Blessed Trinity when their souls shall have passed beyond this human life, in which the choice of that higher destiny is given to them. This is the first thought suggested to us by the opening invocation of the sequence of the Mass.

And now the sentiment of the sequence suddenly changes. Though we be so exalted by the Divine relationship, though the light of Heaven's glory is beaming upon our footsteps as we advance towards it, and our loosened tongues cry out with St. Paul, "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!" [Footnote 33] yet what is our human life now compared with the Heavenly Life in God! It is a blessed truth to me, some of us say, and a hope that I would not part with for life; but though inexhaustible riches, and crowns and harps of gold, are waiting for me in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father, here I am poor, here my heart is too sad to sing.

Though there I shall possess wisdom, to which the wisdom of this world is foolishness, yet here I am ignorant. There shall be no want, I know; but here I am ever in want. I cry, Give, give, and my soul is never satisfied. There, in the light of glory, shall be peace, rest, and victory; but here is toil, strife, temptation, defeat, and my heart is oft darkened within me, even to forget my God. Hark what the Holy Church inspires you to say:

"Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Veni, Pater pauperum, Veni, dator munerum, Veni, lumen cordium!" "Come, O Holy Spirit! Come, O Father of the poor! Come, O giver of every gift! Come, O light of every heart!"

Are you poor? Repine not, for Jesus has said it is a blessed state. God loves you, and has given you poverty, that through it you may receive the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Money is the riches of man, but the comforting grace of the Holy Ghost is the riches of God; and the poor may have that easily if they will. God has deprived you of the things of this world that you may set your heart on Him. Wonder not that thousands of Christians have left all, and vowed themselves to poverty, that they may get the grace of God easily, like you. Ask for grace, then, poor man, and your requests shall be quickly granted. Cry with the Holy Church—Veni, Pater pauperum! Come, O Father of the poor! and the Comforter will come, and pour out upon you a flood of graces that shall make your heart sing for joy. Then you will say with the Psalmist, enjoying nothing here below, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; it is Thou who wilt restore my inheritance to me." [Footnote 34]

Are you in ignorance of what is best for you here and hereafter? Is it hard for you to think of God? Lift up your heart, and say—Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, dator munerum! Come, O Giver of every good and perfect gift!—and you shall receive the Comforter's gift of Divine Wisdom.

Are you ignorant of the truths of faith, or do they seem difficult to you and beyond your grasp? Pray—Veni, dator munerum!—and the Comforter will bestow upon you the light of the gift of understanding.

Are you ignorant of the ways of God's providence? Do you look around, and see the wicked prospering, the good suffering, the widow oppressed, and the orphan deserted, while wickedness and injustice are enthroned in high places, and are you tempted to doubt if God careth for His own? Pray with the Church—Veni, dator munerum!—and the Comforter will bring you His gift of knowledge.

Are you wayward in heart, now overzealous and now too lukewarm, oftentimes grieved and cast down at the ill-success of your undertakings or your prayers, and disappointment and disgrace make you feel as if you would almost give up trying to be good? Cry to the Giver of every good gift, and say—Veni, Sancte Spiritus! and that Comforter will enlighten you with His gift of counsel.

Are you hard-hearted, stubborn, and resentful, easy to take offence? Do the sins and offences of others destroy your peace of mind, and dry up within you the fountains of mercy and pity for sinners? Do you wish you could feel more like God, kind and long-suffering, and less like Satan, watching for the falls of others, and exulting over them? Oh! cry to the Holy Ghost, and that Comforter, the Spirit of perfect charity, will soften that dry heart of yours with the grace of His gift of piety.

Are you timid and shamefaced in your service to God? Are you a victim to human respect? Are you a Christian who is ashamed of Christ, and do you draw back from a bold, consistent profession of your holy faith when the wicked scoff and sneer? Or, are you one who dares do great things for the God who has done so much for you? Does your heart burn to offer Him a glorious and complete sacrifice, and yet you can not summon up the courage to accomplish it? Put up your supplication, and say—Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, dator munerum!—and the Comforter, the Divine Strengthener, will come with His grace, and cover your weak soul with the armor of His gift of fortitude.

Are you proud? Does the demon of intemperance, of anger, or of lust creep stealthily into your breast, and leave foul traces of his presence there? Is the majesty, the power, the holiness of that God to whom you belong forgotten? Do you tremble no more when you hear of justice, of chastity, and of the judgment to come? Pray, for your danger is great. Put up a strong and earnest cry, and say—Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, dator munerum!—and the Comforter will be with you, bringing the help you need in your peril, with the grace of His gift of the fear of God.

These seven good and perfect gifts it is the office of the Holy Ghost to impart to those who ask for them. We prize the simple gifts of friendship and affection which serve us in our daily life for our comfort or protection. Oh! that we but knew the gifts of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Friends bestow their gifts and depart, but the Almighty Friend abideth with His gifts for ever in the faithful soul. The gifts of men wear out and tarnish, and the rust and moth corrupt them; but the gifts of God are as incorruptible and as unchangeable and as eternally bright and beautiful as His own divine, unchangeable life.

The sequence now invokes the Holy Ghost as "the Light of every heart." The soul of the innocent child, of the pure-minded youth and maiden, of the upright man and pious matron, of the aged Christian, whose locks are whitened in the service of God, is bright with this heavenly Light; but even these know their hours of heaviness of spirit. "Though one may have rejoiced in many years," as says the Scripture, "he must remember the darksome time, and the many days, in which the passed things shall be accused of vanity." [Footnote 35]

There are times to the merriest soul when the heart is dark. The hour of sorrow will come sooner or later—sorrow for earthly losses and disappointments, grief for the misspent years, anguish for our or others sins and misfortunes; the grave will open at our feet and rob us, the house will be hung in black, the mourners will go through the streets, the clods will fall upon the coffin, and we shall return to the home that has been despoiled, and cover our faces against the light of day, and sit in loneliness and gloom with our own darkened hearts. Speak not to us now, nor smile upon us when our hearts are dark. Leave us alone. Alone with what? Alone with my own wretchedness and comfortless thoughts, says the unbeliever. Leave me alone, says the Christian, with my God. Yes, the Christian has his God to go to in his darkest hour. He has always abiding with him that other Comforter, the Light of every heart.

Sinner! now contrite and sorry for the bitter past, who, weeping with the penitent Psalmist, say, "My heart hath expected reproach and misery. I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort me, but I found none" [Footnote 36]—you have a Comforter to go to. Raise your drooping head, and cry—Veni, lumen cordium! Come, O Light of every contrite heart! and the seeds of the grace of contrition, which He has already planted in your soul, will spring up, and bear the sweetest fruits of peace and pardon. Go to thy God, and confess thy sins to Him, and when the Holy Ghost shall give thee the grace of absolution, thou shalt return lighter of footstep and comforted in spirit.

Christian mourner and sufferer, I know that the brightest days are obscured by the clouds of sorrow which hang over your bereaved head, and the nights are oppressed with a thicker darkness than comes when the sun goes down; but a Light is shining ever in heaven, behind the dark clouds which hover over this world—the comforting Light of every sad heart. Call to Him—Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, lumen cordium!—and though the tears cease not to flow, yet comfort will steal in upon you, and the spirit of holy resignation to that higher and better will in which you trust will descend, and abide with you for ever.

While I am speaking, there is one, now lying in a poor, humble cabin, whom God has been pleased to afflict with a lingering illness, which must soon end in death. As she told me of the long, weary days and sleepless nights she spent, I said to her: "You must be very lonely." "Not so lonesome," she replied; "for, after all, God is not far away." On another occasion, I said: "This world is but short, my poor child; but, short as it is, it has pleased God to give you many dark days of suffering in it." "Ay, priest dear," she answered, "it is His blessed will, glory be to Him. But, then, when once I am on the bright side of the cloud, it is not much thinking of the dark side I'll be."

Oh! surely you, and all who invoke that Divine Comforter, will be ready to exclaim, in the words of the sacred song,

"Consolator optime! Dulcis hospes animae, Dulce refrigerium!"

O Thou of all consolers the Best! most welcome Guest of every soul! O sweet Refreshment to the weary heart! no labor for either earth or heaven tires when Thou art near. No burning heats dry up the welling springs of grace whilst overshadowed by Thy dove-like wings. No sorrow wrings the breast to which Thou canst not bring a solace, and wipe the tears away.

"In labore requies, In aestu temperies, In fletu solatium!"

In all that concerns our happiness, here and hereafter, there is the Holy Ghost, the giver of all happiness, the heavenly Comforter. Whichever way we turn, there is the God of love beforehand with us, waiting with His gifts of peace.

Look at the Holy Church herself. Is she not our pride, our glory, our comfort? Why is she holy? Because the Holy Ghost dwells within her. If we have any comfort from the security and surety of our faith, it is because the Holy Ghost keeps that faith pure and unchangeably true. If we have any comfort in her words of wisdom, her good instructions, her guidance of our souls in a holy life, it is because the Holy Ghost keeps her pure in morals. If we have any comfort in the Sacraments, those blessed means of grace, it is because the Holy Ghost is the life-giving power in them all. If we think a good thought, or speak a good word of prayer, of kindness or advice; if we do a good deed of mercy or of charity, it is because the Holy Ghost is the Inspirer of them all. Through His influence all conversions are made, whether of sinners or of unbelievers. He is the Infinite Goodness, the Source of all holiness, and there is nothing that is good but cometh from Him. Nay, more, my brethren. If God the Father was good to us in creating us, it was because of the love of the Holy Ghost. If God the Son was good to us in redeeming us and bringing us to salvation, it was because of the same Holy Spirit; and now He Himself, God the Holy Ghost, fills up the measure of His mercies, and God Himself can do no more.

O Lux beatissima! exclaims the Church. O most blessed Light! fill the depths of the hearts of Thy faithful. Break forth, Christian soul, into singing, and with rapture praise the Holy Ghost.

Yes, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove! may we never cease to invoke Thee in our needs, and praise Thee for the comfort Thou dost bring us. The words of the Psalmist are upon our lips: "Oh! how Thou hast multiplied Thy mercies, O my God! The children of men shall put their trust under the covert of Thy wings. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure. For with Thee is the fount of life; and in Thy light"—O Lux beatissima!—"we shall see light." [Footnote 37]