Sermon XXI. Thoughts For Advent. (For The Third Sunday Of Advent.)

Philippians iv. 8. "For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are modest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are holy, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are of good repute; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise of discipline, think on these things."

The Christian is so deeply impressed with the truth, that a time will come when his faith will be changed to sight, his hope be realized in reward, and his charity be perfected in the enjoyment of all that is good, that he may be said to have this thought always uppermost in his mind. It regulates his conduct, consoles him in affliction, cheers him in the hour of darkness and of doubt, and puts in his mouth and hands the words and deeds of encouragement to his fellows. It is a magnetic thought, which, amid the storms and tempests of life, and through all its weary wanderings, keeps one's heart ever turned towards God and eternity. This blessed time for which we are all looking is the coming of the Lord, the manifestation and glorious consummation of the Kingdom of God. As the Apostle expresses it: "Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." [Footnote 111]

The holy season of Advent brings this truth more strongly before us, and directs our thoughts to it by the Gospel prophecies of the second advent of Christ, and by the warnings to prepare for it which St. Paul gives so often in his epistles. The words of the text follow immediately the admonition of the great Apostle which the Church has chosen for the third Sunday of Advent: "The Lord is nigh." Let us to-day, then, think on these things, and endeavor to make these thoughts profitable.

I. Whatsoever things are true. Here is a thought worth thousands. We look around us, and see so much insincerity, duplicity, and double-dealing; we meet so many who will overreach us with a friendly smile on their countenance, and cheat us without a blush, that we are tempted both to exclaim with David, in haste, "All men are liars," and to descend from our Christian stand-point of high integrity and noble frankness, in order to cope with the world after its own fashion, and meet it with its own weapons. But it is an unfortunate day for the Christian when he begins to forget or disbelieve in what is true, and to think on what is false. His mind is quickly pervaded with a subtle poison, which induces a meanness towards his fellow-men—a distrust of their good faith, and ends in a practical disbelief of the Providence of God. To him such unmerited success as attends the corrupt and swindling practices of the day is at first astonishing. The wicked seem to have it all their own way, and profit by the delay, and despite the coming of the hour when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed before the judgment-seat of Christ. His Christian simplicity and candor gives way little by little before the attacks of this lying spirit; his faith in truth, honesty, and pure motives is gone, and his practice is not slow to follow his faith.

It is a trite saying that the world is full of humbug, but it is a degrading thought; and to accept this saying as a universal truth, or as the guide of his actions, is unworthy of the Christian man. I envy not the man who acts on the despicable maxim, "Treat every man as a rogue until he has proved himself honest." Rather, a thousand times, would I trust in the power of truth, be true to myself, and, if need be, suffer the loss thereby; for he who has cheated me is the loser in the end, while I have preserved, for a small price, that which is above value, my Christian honor and loyalty to truth.

Sincerity and candor are not dead, neither has humbug killed them. There are many true people in the world, be there ever so many hypocrites; and truth is always living, real, indestructible, for it lives with a divine, immortal life. Remembering our blessed Lord's words, then, let our "speech be always yea, yea, and nay, nay; for that which is over and above these is of evil." [Footnote 112] Whatsoever things are true, let us think on these.

From another point of view, what a thought that is for those who are out of the pale of the Catholic Church! Have they the true faith? Have they now that truth which shall stand the trial at the coming of Jesus Christ? Do they consider their present state a true one in all respects—true before their conscience, and without doubt before their intelligence? Do they regard their religion as a sure religion? What a serious thought it ought to be for many of them who are even now struggling with the strong power of duty, which bids them make their calling and election sure, by embracing, at all hazards, and with ready obedience and trust in God, that truth in the Holy Catholic Church, without which they would not now dare to die. Oh! how earnestly, sincerely, and courageously ought they to listen to the Apostle's words, and think upon those things which are true!

There is one of the eight beatitudes for those who think upon the truth. It is the first: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"—the poor in spirit; the simple in heart and mind; a heart and mind to which cunning, duplicity, or falsehood is both strange and repulsive. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven which Christ will bring at His coming, who are poor and humble in spirit, receiving God's truth as a little child, and not rejecting it with high-minded and arrogant self-will, or with proud disdain. Brethren, whatsoever things are true; let us think on these things during the Holy Advent time.

II. Whatsoever things are modest. Modesty is a marked and well-known characteristic of the Christian. No one would ever think of using the expressions, "heathen modesty" or "Mohammedan modesty," simply because it is neither a heathen nor a Mohammedan virtue. The Apostle evidently uses it here in the sense of reservedness of action which springs from true humility of heart. This displays itself in a most pleasing manner to us in the persons of those who, though endowed with some remarkable talent or accomplishment, yet, through the Christian humility they possess, are not on that account arrogant and puffed up, but bear their honors meekly, and with gentle, unassuming manners.

So with their natural gifts. God has given to some, more than to others, beauty of face or form, or some personal qualification which excites our admiration or affection. And in those who are thus favored, how much all this beauty is enhanced by the softened halo which Christian modesty and reserve throws about them! Who would pretend to compare the beauty of the haughty and sensual Magdalen, flaunting her profane charms in the streets of Capharnaum, the theme for the toasts of libertines, to the beauty of the saintly and almost angelic penitent, bathing the feet of Jesus with her tears, and wiping them with her dishevelled hair!

He whose thoughts are modest cultivates an unselfish spirit. Alas! what with our fund of pride, our intolerant self-will, and ungovernable temper, how much we need to think on whatsoever things are modest! How prone we are to stand upon our rights; how ready to quarrel with and grumble about our neighbors! A profitable thought for the Advent time, St. Paul urged this especially: "Let your modesty be known of all men." And why so? Because "the Lord is nigh." Yes, He is nigh who taught us a similar lesson: "Learn of Me; for I am meek and humble of heart." [Footnote 113]

At His coming He will recognize for His own flock, not the wolves, but the sheep; not the bold-faced and giddy votaries of fashion and pleasure, but the meek and humble Christians, whose beauty is the beauty of their holiness. It is not the useless thorns and briers, which no one can approach without being wounded, but the hidden and inoffensive wheat that will be gathered into the garner of the Lord.

There are two beatitudes for the modest-minded—the second and the third: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." And again; "Blessed are the mourners: for they shall be comforted." For the meek and modest, who possess as though they had not; who teach as though they learned; who rule as though they obeyed; whose beauty of body and soul shines among men as though they but reflected that of others; whose inheritance is renunciation, and whose wealth is in their gifts; for them is the whole earth reserved, in its beauty and its glory, at the coming of the Lord. For the blessed mourners, whose perfection in Christian modesty has led them to fly all worldly honors and escape its flatteries; to exchange the gay paths of life for the tearful road of penance, and whose contrite and humble hearts God has promised not to despise—for them is dawning an everlasting day of comfort.

III. Whatsoever things are just. The just man always desires to act honorably and fairly in his dealings. The Christian is required to give anxious thought as well to the obligations he has contracted towards his neighbor. The closing year naturally brings these obligations to mind; the debts that are owing, the promises made, and the claims for support which others hold against us; and it is a mark of the good, conscientious Catholic that he is anxious about these things, and is earnestly striving to discharge them.

A wise thought for Advent. For now the Lord is nigh, the day of His Judgment approaches, when all wrongs will be made right. The unjust escape payment here, through some quibble in the law, or through practices of chicanery and partial testimony of which they take an unfair advantage, but whose unpaid debts and hidden thefts will not escape the memory of their righteous Judge on the last day. Let our thoughts be, then, to render quickly unto every man his due, "because the Lord cometh, because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with His truth."

He who thinks upon whatsoever is just will think upon the poor. It is the word of God, that "the just taketh notice of the poor, but the wicked is ignorant of them." [Footnote 114]

God has given to the poor and needy rights which no Christian man can ignore. They are committed to him by his Master, and their Friend and Protector, to be taken care of, to be thought about, to be sought out and ministered unto. Oh! a thousand times happier is he who in Advent time thinks upon the poor: when winter, with his icy blasts, is making the poor shiver with cold and nakedness; when the poor man goes sadly home to find the cupboard bare and his little ones moaning for hunger; when lonely widows and friendless girls, whose homes are in hovels and cheerless garrets, sit up far into the night with no fire in the stove, warming their weary and chilled fingers over the candle, that they may be able to ply the needle that keeps them from starvation. Oh! blessed is that man who, knowing no hunger or thirst for his body, yet hungers and thirsts in his soul after justice for the poor; whose thoughts revert to them when the weather grows colder, and the storm howls more fiercely, and can say when he lays his head upon his pillow at night: "Thank God, I have not forgotten them to-day!"

You all know the beatitude in store for those who think on what is just. It is the fourth: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall be filled." Yes, God will reward them plenteously. The Psalmist says of them: "The just shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus; they shall increase to a fruitful old age, that they may show that the Lord our God is righteous." [Footnote 115]

IV. Whatsoever things are holy. The vice of the world is irreligion. Its votaries do not believe in sanctity. Unholy in their lives, so are their thoughts. They are ever ready to scoff at holy persons and things, and to stigmatize the pious as hypocrites. But the Christian is slow to suspect evil. To his pure mind all things are pure. His religion, which is the law of his life, he knows to be replete with holiness; that it is holy in doctrine, holy in its moral teachings, and glorious in the great multitude of its saints. And just so far as his religion guides him, and exercises its hallowing influence over him, just so far will he delight to think upon what is holy and pure. There are times when the evil we are forced to witness becomes a severe trial to us. Scandals are now and then brought to light which grieve the saints, bring the blush of shame to the cheek of the good Christian, and not unfrequently destroy the faith of the lukewarm. "Scandals must needs come," said our Saviour; but is it, therefore, necessary for us to think about them and brood over them? No; there is good enough for our thoughts, good enough for us to glory in, and for which to praise God. The Church never bears her name in vain. She is always the Holy Catholic Church; and we should rather be striving to prove that holiness in our own lives, "pressing forward towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," than stay and linger on the way, losing our time in mourning an evil we see and cannot remove.

There is a beatitude for those whose thoughts are holy. It is the sixth: "Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God." The pure-minded, the holy in heart, are those who are most dear to God. Brethren, this is a blessing worth winning, and it is easily won. Remember that the Lord is nigh. Keep your thoughts in the presence of God, and you will prepare your hearts and minds to see Him in the clear vision of His glory, which is promised to the clean of heart.

V. Whatsoever things are amiable. To the Christian there is something sacred in all the beauties of nature and of grace. In everything he sees the hand of God, and all the acts of Providence are admirable, and he does not need to be told that they are the best that could happen. One who has such thoughts is sure to be a kind-hearted soul. The world wears easily with him, for he sees only what is pleasant, is long mindful of favors, and quickly forgets and forgives injuries. If his friends happen to be at a disagreement with him, or even among one another, it is a positive pain to him. He is uneasy until it is all made up again. It gives him unfeigned delight to bring about a reconciliation between people at variance. Oh! charming and beautiful is such a soul! Sweet is the interior peace which it enjoys. He is filled with thoughts of kindness and gentleness because he thinks on those things that are amiable.

There is a beatitude for such. It is the seventh: "Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God." Let us strive, dear brethren, to merit this blessing during holy Advent time, when we are preparing to meet our Lord, who came to bring peace on earth to men of good-will.

VI. Whatsoever things are of good repute. I love to see good honest pride. It tells me that there is a desire not only to be respected by men, but to stand well and blameless before God. How much sin would be avoided if Christians would only be more thoughtful of the character and name they bear! And how many could easily be rescued from shame and degrading despair if one could inspire them with true self-respect! One day, there came to a priest a young man in the lowest state of moral cowardice from drunkenness. He thought it was of no use to try to retrieve himself, and his friends looked upon him as a hopeless case. The priest, however, did not say one word of reproach to him. He did not need that, poor fellow; he was down enough already. But he shook him warmly and encouragingly by the hand, and said to him, "Why, my dear sir, you have only to think what I believe about you, and in three months time you will be one of the most respectable members of the church." He heard himself called "sir," and "my dear sir," and it would have delighted you to see the change that came over him. He brightened up immediately, his eyes filled with tears, and, returning the pressure of the priest's hand, he said, with a voice choked with emotion, "So I will, father"; and he departed full of hope, and strengthened to make good his resolution. Thoughts of good repute will shut the mouths of backbiters and slanderers, and will school the tongue to speak well of every one. The love of our own good repute should teach us to be merciful to others. For, if there was one who knew all our sins as we ourselves know them, and threatened to expose us before the world, how piteously would we cry to him for mercy, and beseech him to spare the good name we hold! He who would have that mercy shown to him, let him show it to others, and bury the knowledge he possesses of their shame in that deep oblivion and secrecy in which he would wish to hide his own.

There is a beatitude for such. It is the fifth: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

VII. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise of discipline. The presence and influence of the Holy Ghost in the Church has infused into her members a spirit whose manifest workings have made the world stand in awe. It is Christian fortitude. This has enabled the martyr to smile in the midst of torture, and changed the dungeon into an ante-chamber of heaven. This has nerved the missionary to bid an eternal farewell to home, friends, and kindred, and carried him with a fearless heart into the haunt of the savage, to the shore of the cannibal, and to the land of the relentless and cruel pagan who gloats over the horrible death he makes a Christian die. This it is that gives strength to timid, weak woman to put on the habit of sacrifice, and enter the pestilential wards of the hospital with a cheerful step, and watch through the long and weary night by the bedside of the dying stranger, whose contagious disease carries death to her own brave heart. This gives her courage to face the cannon's mouth, and stand amid shot and shell ready to bind up the bleeding wounds of the soldier, or to waste and wear her life away in seeking out, teaching, and reforming the vilest outcasts upon the streets. This it is that covers the Little Sister of the Poor with a panoply of heroism as she goes from door to door begging for the superannuated and bedridden wretches whom she has picked up out of the gutters, or from the purlieus and filthy alleys of the city, degraded, friendless, and miserable from want or disease; and it wreathes her head with a halo of glory as she sits down with a merry laugh to eat the scraps of food which they have left, or puts on the thin and ragged dress which is not warm enough or good enough for her dear old poor.

This Christian fortitude, this heavenly virtue, this divine power of discipline and mastery over souls, is seen in the earnestness and the fearlessness of all the deeds of charity and mercy, of all the admonitions and exhortations, and even of the threats and warnings of God's Holy Church to the nations of the earth. She is able to teach her children to carry out the lesson of the Lord: "Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." [Footnote 116]

Oh! let us think a little upon this virtue, this discipline worthy of all praise, and it will lead us to be more trusting and loyal to the Church, and also to obey her commands the more readily who, like her Divine Founder, "speaks as one having authority." A thought for the Holy Advent time: for at the bottom of it all lies the grand reason of the Church's existence and work. She prepares men for the coming of the Lord. She is looking for the establishment and triumph of the kingdom of our Lord on the earth. The principle of her actions, which she learned at the foot of her Master's cross and with which she inspires her children, is this: Sacrifice for love; suffering for justice's sake.

She wins a blessing for it. It is the last: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice's sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I have not brought the beatitudes to mind in connection with these Advent thoughts without reason. St. Paul has a promise of beatitude to those who think on these things—a comprehensive beatitude, the sum of all happiness: "And the God of peace shall be with you" [Footnote 117]—a blessing, my dear brethren, which I hope we may all enjoy when the coming Christmas shall bring the angelic salutation to our ears: "Pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis!"