that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting (Tob. xii. 9).-Ex.: Zacheus the Publican; Cornelius the Centurion. 34. Which are the Spiritual Works of Mercy? The Spiritual Works of Mercy are these seven: 1. To admonish sinners; 2. To instruct the ignorant; 3. To counsel the doubtful; 4. To comfort the sorrowful; 5. To bear wrongs patiently; 6. To forgive injuries; 7. To pray for the living and the dead. 35. Are we also bound to perform spiritual works of mercy? Yes, provided we have sufficient knowledge and an opportunity to perform them; for the spiritual good neighbor should affect us far more than his of our corporal welfare. 'My brethren, if any one of you err from the truth, and one convert him, he must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins' (James v. 19, 20). 36. When are we in general bound to admonish or rebuke our neighbor in a brotherly manner? When it is necessary, in order to prevent him from committing sin, and there is hope that our admonition will not be in vain. 'If thy brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke him between thee and him alone,' etc. (Matt. xviii. 15). 37, How is fraternal rebuke to be given? 'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in any fault, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness' (Gal. vi. 1). Application. Be peaceable and kind to every one, especially to your brothers and sisters, and to your relations. Bear with the faults and frailties of your neighbor; never render evil for evil; but pray for him who may have offended you. § 3. On Christian Self-Love. 38. May a Christian love himself also ? Yes, he may and ought to love himself; for Christ says: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' 39. In what does Christian self-love consist? Christian self-love consists in being, above all things, solicitous for the salvation of one's soul. 40. Why must we be solicitous, above all things, for the salvation of our soul? 1. Because the soul has been created to the likeness of God, has been ransomed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and sanctified by the grace of the Holy Ghost; and 2. Because on the salvation of the soul depends our eternal welfare (Matt. xvi. 26). 41. What are we to do in order to secure the salvation of our soul? 1. We must carefully avoid sin, and every occasion of sin; 2. If nevertheless we have sinned, we must not delay to do sincere penance; and 3. We must earnestly endeavor to practise virtue, and to do good works. 1. They that commit sin and iniquity are enemies to their own soul' (Tob. xii. 10). 2. 'Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day; for His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee' (Ecclus. v. 8, 9). 3. 'Wherefore, brethren, labor the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election' (2 Pet. i. 10). 42. May we also love our body and temporal goods in a Christian manner? Yes, we may, and are also bound to love, in a Christian and supernatural manner, our body and temporal goods, as health, property, and good reputation. 43. When do we love our body in a Christian manner? When we love it, 1. Because it is the dwelling-place of our soul, and her instrument for the service of God; and 2. Because it also was sanctified in Baptism, and is destined for eternal glory. He who loves his body in this manner will constantly subdue its unlawful desires, and thus, according to the admonition of St. Paul, Present it a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God' (Rom. xii. 1). 44. When do we love the goods of this world in a Christian manner? When we love them, 1. As far as all created things have their origin in God and are His gifts; and 2. As far as they serve us, to promote the honor of God, to assist the needy, and to fulfil the duties of our state of life. He who loves the goods of this world in this manner will not turn his heart away from God, in order to seek his happiness in them, but will make such a use of them that on their account he will not forfeit those of Heaven. 45. What is opposite to this Christian love of one's self? Inordinate self-love. 46. When is self-love inordinate? 1. When man prefers his own honor and will to the honor and will of God; 2. When he is more solicitous for his body and for temporal things than for his soul and eternal salvation; and 3. When he seeks his own welfare to the prejudice of his neighbor. This vicious self-love is the source of all sins. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God' (2 Tim. iii. 2–4). 47. Is every self-love that is not supernatural, vicious and inordinate? No; there is also a merely natural self-love, by which we may indeed love ourselves, and all that belongs to us, in a lawful manner, though not meritoriously for eternity. Thus also those who are evil know how to give [through natural love] good gifts to their children' (Luke xi. 13). Application. Oppose in good time that pernicious self-love by which a person, in all that he thinks, speaks, and does, has not in view the honor of God or the welfare of his neighbor, but only his own self, and his pretended advantages over others. ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. (See Short Hist. of Rel. § 11.) 1. Where is our duty of loving God and our neighbor more fully contained? In the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses written on two tables of stone. 2. What are the Ten Commandments? 1. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me; thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing to adore it. 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. 4. Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his field, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his. 3. Why are we Christians also bound to keep these Commandments of the Old Law? 1. Because Christ is not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it' (Matt. v. 17)— i.e., to confirm it, and to teach us how to observe it perfectly; and 2. Because the Ten Commandments contain that law which al ready binds all men, since it is grounded in human nature, and has been written by God in all hearts '(Rom. ii. 15). 4. If the law is written in all hearts, why did God give it to man written on tables of stone? for our That we may the more surely know the law of God, and be the more strongly impelled to fulfil it; capacity to know and to will what is good, has been. very much weakened by sin. 5. What in particular ought to induce us faithfully to keep the Divine Commandments? 1. The reverence, love, and gratitude which we owe to God; 2. The fear of eternal punishment, and the hope of eternal reward. The First Commandment of God. 'I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me; thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing To adore it.' 6. What are we commanded by the First Commandment ? By the First Commandment we are commanded to pay to Almighty God due honor and adoration. 7. How many kinds of honor do we owe to God? We owe to God two kinds of honor-namely, interior and exterior honor. 8. How do we honor God interiorly? We honor God interiorly, 1. By faith, hope, and charity; 2. By reverence and adoration; 3. By thanksgiving for all His blessings; 4. By zeal for His honor; and 5. By obedience and resignation to His holy will. 9. How do we sin against faith? 1. By infidelity, heresy, and scepticism; 2. By impious and profane language, or by wilfully listening to it; likewise by reading or spreading irreligious books 1 |