Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year
At the Introit of the Mass pray with the Church for God's help to guard us against our enemies:
INTROIT When
I cried to the Lord, he heard my voice, from them that draw near to me,
and he humbled them, who is before all ages, and remains forever. Cast
thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. (Ps. LIV.) Hear, O
God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication; be attentive to me, and
hear me. Glory
be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in
the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
COLLECT O
God, who dost manifest Thine almighty. power above all in showing
pardon and pity: multiply upon us Thy mercy, that we running forward to
the attainment of Thy promises, may be made partakers of Thy heavenly
treasures. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in
the Unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end, Amen.
EPISTLE (I
Cor. XII. 2-11 .) Brethren, You know that when you were heathens; you
went to dumb idols according as, you were led. Wherefore I give you to
understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith. Anathema
to Jesus. And no man can say: the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Ghost. Now
there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit; and there are
diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities
of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. And the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit. To one,
indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the
word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another, faith in
one Spirit: to another, the working of miracles: to another, prophecy:
to another, the discerning, of spirits: to another, divers kinds of
tongues: to another, of speeches. But all these things one and the same
Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will.
EXPLANATION The
apostle here reminds the Corinthians of the great grace they received
from God in their conversion, and urges them to be grateful for it; for
while heathens, they cursed Jesus, but being now brought to the
knowledge of the Spirit of God, they possess Christ as their Lord and
Redeemer who can be known and professed only by the enlightenment of the
Holy , Ghost. The holy Spirit works in different ways, conferring His
graces on whom He wills; to one He gives wisdom to understand the great
truths of Christianity; to another the gift of healing the sick; to
another the gift of miracles and of prophecy; to another the gift of
discerning spirits, to know if one is governed by the Spirit of God, or
of the world, Satan and the flesh; to another the gift of tongues. The
extraordinary gifts, namely, those of working miracles, and of
prophesying &c. became rarer as the faith spread, whereas the gifts
which sanctify man will always remain the same.,
[See Instruction on the gifts of the Holy Ghosts Pentecost.]
 GOSPEL (Luke
XDII. 9-14.) At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted
in themselves as just, and despisedothers. Two men went up into the
Temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The
Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks
that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as
also is this Publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all
that I possess. And the Publican standing afar off, would not so much as
lift up his eyes towards heaven, but struck his breast, saying: O God,
be merciful to me a sinner. I say to you: this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalteth
himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Why did Christ make use of' this parable of the Pharisee and the Publican?
To
teach us never proudly to condemn or despise a man, even though he
should appear impious, for we may be deceived like the Pharisee who
despised the Publican, whom he considered a great sinner, while, in
reality, the man was justified before God on account of his repentant
spirit.
What should we do before entering a Church?
We
should reflect that we are going into the house of God, should
therefore think what we are about to say to Him, and what we wish to ask
of Him. That we may make ourselves less unworthy to be heard, we should
humble ourselves as did Abraham, (Gen. XVIII. 27.) remembering that we
are dust and ashes, and on account of our sins unworthy o appear before
the eyes of God, much less to address Him , for He listens to the
prayers of the humble only, (Ps. CI, 18.) and gives them His grace,
while He resists the proud. (James IV. 6.)
Was the Pharisee's prayer acceptable to God?
No,
for it was no prayer, but boasting and ostentation; he praised himself,
and enumerated his apparent good works. But in despising others and
judging them rashly he sinned grievously instead of meriting God's
grace.
Was the Publican's prayer acceptable to God?
Yes,
for though short, it was humble and contrite. He stood afar off, as if
to acknowledge himself unworthy of the presence of God and intercourse
with men. He stood with downcast eyes, thus showing that he considered
himself because of his sins unworthy to look towards heaven, even
confessed himself a sinner, and struck his breast to punish, as St.
Augustine says, the sins which he had committed in his heart: This is
why we strike our breast at certain times during Mass, for by this we
acknowledge ourselves miserable sinners, and that we are sorry for our
sins.
ON PRIDE AND VAIN GLORY
We
should learn from this gospel that God looks upon the humble and exalts
them, but is far from the proud. (Ps. CXXXVII. 6.) The Pharisee went to
the temple entirely wrapt up in himself, and the good works which he
thought he had performed, but returned empty and hated by God; the
Publican, on the contrary, appearing before God as a public but penitent
sinner, returned justified. Truly,. an humble sinner is better in the
sight of God than a proud just man!
He
who glories in his own good works, or performs them to please men, or
to win their praise, loses his merit in the eyes of the most High, for
Christ says: Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be
seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who
is in heaven. (Matt. VI. 1.)
In
order that we may learn to despise vain glory, these doctrines should
be well borne in mind. We should consider that it will happen to those
who seek after vain glory, as to the man who, made many toilsome
journeys on land and sea in order to accumulate wealth, and had no
sooner acquired it than he was shipwrecked, and lost all. Thus the
ambitious man avariciously seeking glory and honor will find, when
dying, that the merit which he might have had for his good works, is now
lost to him, because he did not labor for the honor of God. To prevent
such an evil, strive at the commencement of every good work which you
undertake, to turn your heart to God by a good intention.
But
that you may plainly recognize this vice, which generally keeps itself
concealed, and that you may avoid it, know that pride is an inordinate
love of ostentation, and an immoderate desire to surpass others in honor
and praise. The proud man goes beyond himself, so to speak, makes far
more of himself than he really is, and, like the Pharisee, despises
others; the humble man, on the contrary, has a low estimate of himself,
looks upon himself as nothing and, like the Publican, despises no one
but himself, and thus is pleasing in the sight of God.
ASPIRATION O
God, who hearest the prayers of the humble, but dost resist the proud, I
earnestly beseech Thee to give me an humble heart, that I may imitate,
the humility of Thy only?begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and
thereby merit to be exalted with Him in heaven.
INSTRUCTION ON GRACE
In
the epistle of this day the Apostle St. Paul speaks of the different
gifts of the Holy Ghost which He distributes as He pleases. These
extraordinary graces which the apostle mentions, are not necessary for
salvation. But the Church teaches, that the grace of the Holy Ghost is
necessary
for salvation, because without it we could neither properly believe,
nor faithfully observe the commandments of God. For the holy religion of
Jesus teaches, and experience confirms, that since the fall of our
first parents we are weak and miserable, and of ourselves, and by our
own strength, we cannot know or perform the good necessary for our
salvation. We need a higher aid, a higher, assistance, and this
assistance is called grace.
What, then, is grace?
Grace
is an inward, supernatural gift which God through finite goodness, and
in consideration of Christ's merits, ants us to enable us to work out
our salvation.
Grace
is a gift, that is, a present, a favor, a benefit. t is an inward and
supernatural gift; an inward gift, Because it is bestowed upon man's
soul to distinguish it tom external gifts and benefits of God, such as:
food, clothing, health; grace is a supernatural gift, because it is
above nature. In creating our souls God gives us a certain degree of
light which enables us to think, reflect, judge, to acquire more or less
knowledge: this is called natural light. In the same way He gives our
souls the power in some measure to overcome sensual, vicious
inclinations; this power is called natural power (virtue). To this
natural light and power must be added a higher light and a higher power,
if 'man would be sanctified and saved. This higher light and higher
power is grace. It is, therefore, called a supernatural gift, because it
surpasses the natural power of man, and produces in his understanding
and in his will wholesome effects, which he could not produce without
it. For example, divine faith, divine love is a supernatural gift or
grace of God, because man of his own power could never receive as
certain God's revelations and His incomprehensible mysteries with so
great a joy and so firm a conviction, and could never love God above all
things and for His own sake, unless God assisted him by His grace.
God
grants us grace also through pure benevolence without our assistance,
without our having any right to it; He grants it without cost, and to
whom He pleases; but He gives it in consideration of the infinite merits
of Christ Jesus, in consideration of Christ's death on the cross, and
of the infinite price of our redemption. Finally, grace is a gift of
God, by which to work out our salvation, ,that is, it is only by the
grace of God that we can perform meritorious works which aid us in
reaching heaven. Without grace it is impossible for us to perform any
good action, even to have a good thought by which to gain heaven.
From
this it follows that with the grace of God we can accomplish all things
necessary for our salvation, fulfil all the commandments of God, but
without it we can do nothing meritorious. God gives His grace to all,
and if the wicked perish, it is because they do not cooperate with its
divine promptings.
How is grace divided?
Into two kinds, actual and sanctifying grace.
Actual
grace is God's assistance which we always need to accomplish a good
work, to avoid sin which we are in danger of committing, or that grace
which urges us on to good, and assists us in accomplishing it; for it is
God, says the Apostle Paul, (Phil. II. 13.) who worketh in you both to
will and to accomplish. If a good work is to be performed by us, God
must enlighten our mind that we may properly know the good and
distinguish it from evil; He must rouse our will and urge it on to do
the known good and to avoid the evil; He must also uphold our will and
increase our strength that what we wish to do, we may really accomplish.
This
actual grace is, therefore, necessary for the just, that they may
always remain in sanctifying grace, and accomplish good works; it is
necessary for the shiner that he may reach the state of sanctifying
grace.
What is sanctifying grace?
It
is the great benefit which God bestows upon us, when He sanctifies and
justifies us; in other words: sanctifying grace is the love of God,
given to us by the Holy Ghost, which love dwells in us and whose temple
we become, or it is the advent and abiding of God in our hearts, as
promised in the words of Jesus: If any one love me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our
abode with him. (John XVI. 23.)
He
who possesses sanctifying grace, possesses the greatest treasure that a
man can have on earth. For what can be more precious than to be
beautiful in the sight of God, acceptable to Him, and united with Him!
He who possesses this grace, carries within himself the supernatural
image of God, he is a child of God, and has a right to the inheritance
of heaven.
How is this sanctifying grace lost?
It
is lost by every mortal sin, and can only be regained by a complete
return to God, by true repentance and amendment. The loss of sanctifying
grace is a far greater injury than the loss of all earthly possessions.
How, terrible, then, is mortal sin which deprives us of this treasure! |
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