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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/30579-0.txt b/30579-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a981c76 --- /dev/null +++ b/30579-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3696 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Of My Soul by Rev. Charles J. +Callan + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Shepherd Of My Soul + +Author: Rev. Charles J. Callan + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [Ebook #30579] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + + + + The Shepherd Of My Soul + + By Rev. Charles J. Callan + + Of the Order of Preachers + + John Murphy Company, Publishers + + 100 W. Lombard St. + + Baltimore, MD. + + Printers to the Holy See + + 1915 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Psalm of the Good Shepherd +Introduction. +I. Christ the Good Shepherd. +II. Shepherd Life in the Orient. +III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want. +IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures of Tender Grass; He Leadeth Me +Beside the Waters of Quietness. +V. He Restoreth My Soul. +VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice for His Name’s Sake. +VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me. +VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me. +IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in the Presence of Mine Enemies. +X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; My Cup Runneth Over. +XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me All the Days of My Life; and +I Shall Dwell in the House of the Lord Unto Length of Days. +Footnotes + + + + + + +Nihil Obstat: + +M. A. WALDRON, O. P. S. T. M. + +J. A. McHUGH, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimi Potest: + +J. R. MEAGHER, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimatur: + +++ J. CARD. GIBBONS. + + + + + +PSALM OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD + + +The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. + +He maketh me to lie down in pastures of tender grass. + +He restoreth my soul. + +He leadeth me in the paths of justice for his name’s sake. + +Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no +evil, for thou art with me. + +Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. + +Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence of mine enemies. + +Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. + +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I +shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +No types more beautiful could have been chosen under which to picture the +character of our Lord and the souls He came to redeem than those of a +shepherd and his flock. As nothing on earth could more fitly illustrate +the infinite love and sacrifice of the Saviour than the enduring labors +and tenderness of a shepherd, so nothing here below could better portray +the multiple wants of our spirits than the needful dependent nature of +sheep. After the knowledge we possess of our Redeemer, only a slight +acquaintance with the characteristics of pastoral life, as it exists in +oriental countries, is needed to discern the charming fitness of these +comparisons. The similarity is at once striking and most easily +understood. Hence it is that our Lord, as well as those who described Him +before He came, so often appealed to shepherd life when speaking of the +Messiah’s mission; hence, also, it is that He was so fond of calling +Himself the Good Shepherd, and of alluding to the souls He loved as His +sheep. + +It is the purpose of the pages that follow to trace some of these +beautiful and touching resemblances of the shepherd and his flock, on the +one side, roaming over the hills and plains of Palestine, and the Saviour +of the World with the souls of men, on the other, pursuing together the +journey of life. We have taken as our guide, in noting these charming +likenesses, the Twenty-second Psalm, or the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +every verse of which recalls some feature or features of pastoral life, +and sings of the offices, tender and varied, which the shepherd discharges +towards his flock. + +As this shepherd song was composed and written in the Hebrew tongue, the +language of ancient Palestine, we have employed here a literal translation +from the original language, simply because it expresses much more +beautifully and more exactly than does any rendering from the Latin or +Greek the various marks and characteristics of the shepherd’s life and +duties. The oriental languages, like the people who speak them, are +exceedingly figurative and poetic in their modes of expression; and hence, +for our present purpose, it is only by getting back as closely as we can +to the original that we are able adequately to appreciate the beauty and +poetry of that simple but charming life about which the Psalmist is +singing. + +Although the Shepherd Psalm refers, in its literal sense, to the human +shepherd attending and providing for his sheep, it has also another higher +meaning, which its author gave it, and this has reference to Christ in His +relations with the souls He has made and redeemed. It is by reflecting on +this sense of the psalm, and on all His gracious dealings with us, that we +are enabled to realize how rightly and justly our Saviour is called the +Shepherd of Our Souls, and how beautifully the Psalmist, in the shepherd +song, has depicted His relations with us. And how important this is! how +much it means for our spiritual welfare and spiritual advancement to +reflect on the many mercies of Christ and on the love He bears each one of +us! If the considerations that follow assist their readers to appreciate +more fully and love more ardently the Divine Shepherd of Souls, who daily +and constantly throughout our lives is ministering to our spiritual needs +and trying to further our eternal interests, the desire and aim which +prompted their writing will be fully and perfectly realized. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + + +I. CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. + + +It was announced by the prophets of old that the Messiah, who was to come, +should bear the character of a good shepherd. He was to be a shepherd, and +His followers, the faithful souls that should believe in Him and accept +His teaching, were to be His sheep. It was foretold that He would select +and purchase His flock; that He would choose them from out the vast +multitudes of their kind and gather them into His fold, that He would +provide for them and guard them against every evil; that He would lead +them out to green pastures and refresh them with the waters of rest. “He +shall feed his flock like a shepherd,” sang the Prophet Isaias; “he shall +gather together the lambs with his arms, and shall take them up in his +bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.”(1) In like +manner did Jeremias, referring to the comforting advent of Christ, liken +the offices which the Saviour would perform towards His people to those of +shepherds towards their flocks. “I will set up pastors over them,” said +the Prophet, speaking in the name of Jehovah, “and they shall feed them; +they shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed; and none shall be +wanting of their number.... Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I +will raise up to David a just branch; and a king shall reign, and shall be +wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”(2) The Prophet +Ezechiel also prophetically portrayed the Saviour’s character when he +pictured Him in the capacity of a shepherd visiting and feeding his sheep: +“For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and I +will visit them. As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he +shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my +sheep, and I will deliver them out of all the places where they have been +scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will set up one shepherd over +them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, +and he shall be their shepherd.”(3) + +And when at length the Saviour did appear in the world, He declared, not +only by His life and example, but in explicit terms, that He was the +fulfilment of these prophecies—that He was, in truth, the Good Shepherd, +and that His followers were the sheep of His fold. In the tenth chapter of +the Gospel according to Saint John we have His own words to this effect. +There He tells us plainly that He has not come as a thief and a robber, to +steal, to kill, and to destroy; that He is not a stranger, at the sound of +whose voice the sheep are terrified and flee away; that He is not a +hireling, who cares not for the sheep, and who, beholding the approach of +the wolf and the enemy, fleeth and leaveth the sheep to be snatched and +scattered and torn. The Saviour is not any of these, nor like unto them. +He is the Good Shepherd who enters the sheepfold by the door, and not as +the thief and robber who climb up some other way. To Him the porter +openeth, and He calleth His sheep, and they know His voice and follow Him, +and He leadeth them out to pasture, to rest, and to abundant life. Nor is +this all, for He protects and guards His sheep. By day and by night He is +ever near them: when circling the green plains, or beside the still +waters, or when asleep beneath the silent stars, the sheep are protected +by their Shepherd. Faithfully He watches His dependent flock; and at the +end, as a proof of His love and fidelity, He generously lays down His life +for His sheep. + + + + + +II. SHEPHERD LIFE IN THE ORIENT. + + +We cannot appreciate the beauty of this picture of our Saviour under the +symbol of a shepherd, nor can we later understand the detailed description +which is given of Him through the spiritual meaning of the Good Shepherd +Psalm without first taking into account some of the features of pastoral +life as it prevails in eastern countries. For us of the western world it +is difficult, and at times next to impossible, to represent to ourselves +the life and customs of the Orient; and in particular do we find it hard +to picture to our minds and to understand the simple poetry of that +shepherd life for which Palestine has always been known. Time has little +changed the scene of the Saviour’s earthly labors. The people, their +manners and customs, their life and occupations, remain much the same now +as when the land was graced by His sacred presence. Thus today, as in +those olden times, all the level country east of the river Jordan, as well +as the mountains of Palestine and Syria, serves as vast pasture lands for +innumerable flocks and herds. The country throughout is essentially +pastoral in its character, and the care and raising of sheep constitute +the chief industry of the people. From sheep the people are furnished with +nearly all the necessaries of life—with meat, clothing, milk, butter, and +cheese. + +The care of sheep is a delicate and, in many ways, a difficult task. Not +that they are froward or hard to manage, for of all animals they are the +most tender and gentle; nor again, that they need abundant nourishment in +the way of food and drink, since they require water but once a day, and +can maintain life and strength on a plain which, to the naked eye, seems +little more than a barren waste of sand. But because, in other respects, +they are exceedingly timid and helpless creatures, especially in times and +places of danger, the burdens which their welfare and safety impose upon +the shepherd, while paternal and winning, are, nevertheless, arduous and +manifold. There are the changes and hardships of the climate—the cold and +frost in winter, and the heat and drought of summer; there are the long +rough walks, the steep and dangerous passes which they must climb and +descend; there are perils from robbers, from wolves and wild beasts, which +not infrequently demand the shepherd’s utmost watchfulness and care. The +oriental climate is such that they can graze nearly the whole year +through; and whether they be grazing on the wide open plains, or huddled +snugly within the sheepfold, it pertains to the shepherd to provide for +their varied needs. His vigilance can never cease. He must lead them out +to pasture and to water, he must guide and protect them, he must gather +them into the fold at night or into caves and enclosures, at times, during +the day, to shield them from great danger, whether from enemies or violent +weather; and upon all occasions he must be prepared to defend them, even +at the risk of his own life. + +The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, into which the sheep are +gathered for rest or protection are not roofed over or walled in like a +house. They are enclosures left open to the sky, and consisting simply of +a high wall of rough stone, to protect the sheep from the attacks of wild +beasts, and from prowling marauders who threaten their safety by night. It +often happens that several flocks, belonging to different shepherds, will +graze on the same pastures during the day, and will be penned in the same +sheepfold at night. While the sheep are sleeping, and the shepherds near +by are taking their needed rest, the door of the fold is carefully locked, +and another shepherd or porter is left on guard, lest perchance a hungry +bear or wolf might scale the wall and destroy some member or members of +the sleeping herds. Early in the morning the shepherds come in turn and +rap at the door, and to each the porter opens. Then each shepherd calls +his flock by name; and they, knowing his voice, follow him, and he leads +them out to their pastures. There is never any confusion, for each flock +knows its own shepherd and obeys him alone. Other shepherds they will not +heed; and from the voice of strangers they flee. + +It is a beautiful scene to see a shepherd with his flock. First, we must +remember that he never drives them, but leads them; and they follow him +with instinctive love and trust whithersoever he goes. He usually carries +a rod and a staff: the latter he uses, when need be, to assist the sheep +along dangerous paths and narrow passages; the former, to protect and +defend them, if assailed by enemies or beasts of prey. Another evidence of +their implicit love of their shepherd and trust in his goodness, as also +of their obedience to his voice and commands, is beautifully manifest when +several flocks are led to drink at the same stream or well. Although the +sheep need to drink but once a day, the shepherds never forget, throughout +the day’s roaming, that they must lead their flock to water. And as the +drinking places in Palestine are comparatively few, it often happens that +several herds, whether from the same or neighboring pastures, will arrive +simultaneously at the same spring. But here again, there is neither +trouble nor confusion. When they have drawn near to the place of water +each shepherd gives a sign to his flock, and obedient to his voice, the +respective flocks lie down and patiently wait their turn to drink. The +troughs are then filled with the refreshing water, and when all is ready a +shepherd calls and his flock at once rises and comes forward to drink. The +sheep being satisfied, the shepherd gives another sign, and they promptly +return to their previous place of rest, or move quietly away to their +pasture, as the shepherd may direct. Another flock is then called up, +watered and led away, and so on, in like manner, till all have been duly +satisfied. + +With this passing glance at shepherd life, we can better understand and +better appreciate the likeness between the character of the Saviour and +that of the good shepherd. We can see how apt it was that our Redeemer +should choose a shepherd, with his multiple and tender cares and duties, +to illustrate His own watchfulness and loving kindness towards the many +wants and needs of our souls. For we are, indeed, His sheep. He has called +us, we have heard and understood His voice, and He has gathered us into +His flock and fold. He has literally vindicated for Himself in our regard +all the attributes and qualities of the good shepherd, so far as +described, and as still further depicted in every verse of the +Twenty-second Psalm. This is called the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +because in it the Psalmist, under the symbol of a shepherd, prophetically +foretold the character of the Messiah, our Saviour. The psalm has, +therefore, a twofold meaning: in its literal sense it deals with the +faithful shepherd, ranging with his flock over mountains and plains, and +providing for their every want; and in its spiritual and prophetic meaning +it relates to our Creator and Saviour, caring for our spiritual +necessities. Let us see how this is; and that we may better perceive the +application in detail, let us take this shepherd song, part by part, and +see how beautifully it describes the whole person of Christ as God, and in +His capacity as Redeemer—in all His tender relations with us, and towards +the various needs of our souls. + + + + + +III. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. + + +How full of meaning and how comprehensive are these simple yet beautiful +words which introduce the Good Shepherd Psalm! They at once sum up the +whole round of the shepherd’s life—his duties, his solicitude, his +ceaseless care of his sheep. But here, be it noted, in this opening verse, +the reference, so direct and unmistakable, is not to an earthly shepherd; +it is to the benign and constant Providence of Jehovah towards His +children, to the untiring love of God, our Father and Saviour, for the +souls He has created and redeemed. The Psalmist is looking back, in +grateful remembrance, upon the history of his race, and upon his own life +in particular, and he traces there at every step the goodness and +watchfulness of his Creator. He sees there has never been any want. Dark +days at times have come upon his nation, sufferings and trials there have +been; and in these, as in other respects, his own individual experience +has mirrored the history of his people; but throughout it all there has +never been any lasting want. As the shepherd is ever near his sheep, +whether at peace or in trouble, to provide for their needs, so, sings the +Psalmist in gratitude, has God been near him and his people. And his +confidence is unshaken; that which has been in the past will be in the +future; as sheep put their trust in their shepherd, so will he put his +trust in his Lord and God. Nor is this gratitude for past favors and this +unshaken trust for the future to be restricted to the Psalmist alone; his +words had meaning not only for himself; he knows the same Providence +provides for us all, and therefore he would have his words find an echo in +the hearts and sentiments of all. + +The Lord is my shepherd; He ruleth me with the rod of gentleness. I am His +creation, He has bought me with a great price, He has set me a divine +example and taught me the way to life. There may be times of distress for +me, brief periods of temporal need; but surely, since I am the possession +of my God, and He is providing for me, nothing can long be wanting to +me—permanent want there can never be. + +The Lord ruleth me, and all my kind, as a shepherd ruleth his flock. What +a consoling thought to each one of us, if only we be faithful souls! How +unspeakable the thought, how surpassing the privilege to know and to be +assured that we belong to God! that out of countless millions of +creatures, far nobler than we, to whom He might have given the joy of +life, He has chosen to select us; to think that He has allotted to us a +short period of existence here below, during which it is our privilege to +be able to merit and draw near to Him for eternity; and that after this, +our little time of trial, we are to reign with Him in everlasting glory! +Of a certainty we are a favored people and a royal race, for we belong to +God. He has purchased our souls by creating us, He has come down from +Heaven to redeem and buy us back from the enemy to whom our race in folly +had surrendered itself, He has borne our sorrows and our sufferings to +make amends for us and to teach us the way to life, and finally He has +given His own life for our salvation. + +Since, then, God has created us, it follows that He must have had us in +His mind from everlasting, because nothing that is, or can be, is +unforeseen by Him. From the remotest dawn of eternity, therefore; from the +very beginning of the eternal years, He saw us as He sees us now, clearly, +distinctly, lovingly. We did not exist from eternity as we do now, but we +were present to God before we were to ourselves, He saw us mirrored in +Himself. And when, in time, He called our race into being and endowed it +with life, we know what happened. This human nature of ours which He had +loved from eternity, and favored in time with existence, turned its back +upon its God and strayed away to sin and death. This was the disobedience +of our first parents, and in their sin we all have shared, for the very +reason that they were our parents and responsible for us as well as for +themselves. We became a ruined race, deserving punishment, fit for +perdition; and yet God did not give us up. He followed after us, as it +were; He pursued us, as a shepherd pursues his chosen flock, until finally +He led us back to His fold, and to pastures of rest and plenty. + +It was not enough for God’s goodness to give us the gift of life, and to +endow us with understanding, will, and freedom; it did not satisfy His +bountifulness to make our life fair here on earth, and to enable us to +reap much of the joys and pleasures with which even this world abounds—no, +far more than all this has He wished and prepared for His elect, for the +souls who belong to His flock. It was nothing less than Himself, Heaven +and its rewards, that the eternal Father had in store for us when He +called us into being. In order, therefore, that we should not lose our +destined crowns through the guilt and wounds of original sin, He provided +for us a remedy, He sent us a Saviour, who was His only son, our Lord +Jesus Christ. + +Now since it is to Christ, the Saviour, that the spiritual meaning of the +Shepherd Psalm refers in a particular manner, it is in Him especially, and +in His earthly life, that we discern and find fulfilled the chiefest +qualities of the good shepherd. As God, we see, He has, indeed, been our +shepherd from the beginning, creating and endowing our nature, and +providing for us unnumbered benefits, temporal and eternal. But it is in +His human nature, in His character as God and man, that He draws nearest +to us and proves unto us in ways most gracious that He is, in truth, our +loving Master and the Shepherd of our souls. Marvelous, assuredly, has +been the goodness of God to create us at all; and still more marvelous +that He should have destined us for a participation in His own eternal +blessedness; but in no way has the heavenly Father so stooped to us, in no +way has He so manifested His utter condescension towards us, as in the +abasement of His Only-begotten Son, “who, being in the form of God, +emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.”(4) For let us reflect that +to raise our race from its fallen state and restore it to the divine +good-pleasure, it was not necessary that the Second Person of the Most +Holy Trinity should have come down to earth. Such extraordinary means were +not of necessity to bring us back to Heaven’s smile and favor. As by a +simple act of His omnipotent will God had called the world and us and all +that is out of nothingness in the beginning, so again by a single wish of +the same divine will He could have restored us, from a condition of +bondage and sin, to the realms of grace and peace. And even when the Son +of God did condescend, in accordance with the will of His Father, to +clothe Himself with our nature and visit our blighted sphere, how simple, +really, He could have made our redemption! How easily could He have +blotted out the handwriting that was against us, and presented our tearful +world, all smiling and glad, to the arms of His eternal Father! Yes, +Christ could have made our redemption easy. He could have paid our debt to +God in a thousand different, simple ways, had He wished it so. One drop of +His precious blood, one tear of His eye, one sigh of the Sacred Heart +would have sufficed to redeem innumerable worlds like ours. + +But the Saviour wished it otherwise. He was our Shepherd and He loved us, +His deceived and wounded sheep. He was with the Father when we were +planned and made. He it was, in truth, who made us, for He and the Father +are one.(5) He, therefore, knew our nature, since He designed and gave it +to us. He foresaw our yearnings and aspirations; He knew the sublime, +transcendent possibilities of which, with His help and divine example, we +are capable; He understood the heights of love and worship to which the +human heart can ascend, when assisted from on high, and hence to awaken +and kindle on earth these all-consuming fires;(6) to stir the very depths +of our souls, and elevate and perfect our gifted nature; to afford us the +utmost inspiration to climb with Him the heights of Heaven. He stooped to +our own estate, in all things made like unto us, except, indeed, our +proneness and ability to sin. Since He loved us, He longed to be like us, +in as far as that was possible, and not even our sin-stained, wounded +nature could stay the force of His love. + +There is another reason for the mysterious manner of our redemption, a +further explanation of the extreme condescension on the part of our Lord +towards the frail creatures whom He came to save. Had he come to us in a +foreign attire, with a nature unlike our own, would it not have been +difficult for us to approach Him, and to put our confidence and trust in +Him? If He had appeared like an angel, all bright and dazzling with glory, +if He had come as an earthly king and ruler, crowned and clad in regal +splendor, would it not have been hard for the poor ones of earth? would it +not have been a trial for those who were in need of a shepherd’s love and +care? Already sorely oppressed and trodden down by worldly pomp and power, +they could only have tried to shun His notice and draw back from Him with +feelings of fear and awe. But our Redeemer came not only to save, but also +to teach and to lead the way to life. As a shepherd He was not to drive, +but to lead His sheep; He does not point the direction, but goes before +His flock, and they follow Him, and He leads them out to living pastures +and to bright, sparkling, far-off waters. + +Because He was God, as well as man, Christ knew that, as a result of our +sinful state, we should have to pass our earthly sojourn forever beneath +the shadow of the cross. When sin entered into the world by the +disobedience of the first man, the handiwork of the Creator was despoiled. +That which before had been a paradise of pleasure, replete with all +delights, was wrecked and ruined, and became a place of sorrow, suffering +and death. Thenceforth, pursuant to the divine decree, the lot of man was +to labor, to suffer, and to die.(7) Knowing, therefore, that this was to +be our portion, the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must also teach us the +secret of pain and toil, and help us to bear our cross. + +According, then, to our present state, suffering and sorrow are +inseparable from us, because we are born into the world with sin upon our +souls, and in the wake of sin follow all the evils to which the world is +heir. And, moreover, under existing conditions, it is necessary for our +future happiness that our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil and +pain and tears. It is only through these that we shall be able to atone +for the injuries sin has done, and hold in check the disorders of our +nature. The cross is before us and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us +when we enter the world, it follows us throughout the length of our days, +and finally bears us down in death to our graves. This does not mean that +life on earth is entirely made up of pain and sorrow, for the divine mercy +has mitigated even the stroke of sin, and has caused the world, in spite +of all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. Nevertheless, our sojourn +here below shall always be fraught with diverse ills, and we at last must +yield to death. In spite of all the world can afford us, in spite of its +pleasures and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, real, though +fitful and fast-flying as they are; in spite of health and wealth and fame +and honor; in spite of all the goods that life contains, it still is ever +true that we live in a region of tears, and that death and sorrow are sure +to follow upon the footsteps of joy and mirth. It must be so, for the +stains of sin are indelibly upon the world; and not until the final +renovation comes can life on earth be made entirely happy. + +All this our Saviour knew when He chose our human nature and embraced a +life of labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge took in our lives, and +the lives of all our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our infant +tears, our trials and pains of body, the ceaseless pangs of mind and heart +that pursue us throughout life, were all before Him as in a mirror, and He +must needs instruct and assist us to fight this battle and walk this way +of earth, lest all should perish before the journey’s end. Since we were +to suffer, then He would suffer also; since our lives were to be amidst +labors and trials, then He would labor and travail also; since we were to +feel the sting of pain, be subject to heat and cold, be in want, in +poverty, and in distress, be misunderstood, be thwarted, be cast down from +our highest hopes, and broken, at times, in every cheerful prospect—since +these and other countless ills were to be woven in our web of earthly +life, He, the divine Master, who came to save, to teach a lesson, to +suffer and die, would assume a body so sacred, so delicate, so pure and +sensitive that, when exposed to the rough and ruthless ways of life, He +could truly cry out from the depths of His anguish: “O all ye that pass by +the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!”(8) + +How comforting, then, it is for us to feel that we are not alone in +suffering, and to know that, while all we suffer is but just and due to +our sinful state, we can nevertheless make use of all our ills to attain +to joys unending in Heaven! If we must toil and struggle while on earth, +it is because these things are a result of our state; if we must be +subject to sickness, to weakness and fatigue, to cold and hunger, to +weariness and pain, it is not because God is pleased at the misery of His +creatures; neither does He rejoice on account of our misfortune. We are +simply reaping the harvest of sin and transgression, and sin is the work +of our own free choice and that of our ancestors. And even though it be +objected that we are born into this inevitable condition, and are made the +unconsulted heirs of a heritage we loathe but cannot escape, the solution +of our difficulty is not far to seek. We need but hearken to the +promptings of reason, and lift our sorrowing eyes to the realms of faith +to be convinced that God’s mercy and goodness are above all His works,(9) +and that for reasons not less benevolent than holy He has called us into +life and permitted all our woes. God could not have created us for +suffering and punishment, because He is infinite goodness; He cannot be +pleased at our misfortunes, since He Himself has borne our sorrows and +carried all our pains.(10) If He Himself had not come into the world in +visible human form; if He had not explained our purpose and destiny, and +led the way to Heaven; if He had not, by His words and divine example, +provided us with the solution for all life’s difficulties, then, in truth, +we might object, and sit and grieve and wonder. But in the light of the +life of Christ all this is altered; the picture takes on a different +coloring. Who now can rail at the crosses of life and think of the +sufferings of Christ? Who can murmur at the injustice of pain, and +remember the passion of Jesus? Who can say that God is deaf to our +pleading and unmoved at our tears, and look upon the Saviour dying? Who +can believe that our lives are of little worth, or of no account with the +Almighty, and recall the price that was paid for our souls and ponder the +death of our God? + +Thus it is with a bountiful goodness that the Saviour has purchased His +sheep. By His own free choice, by a life of suffering entirely voluntary, +endured for our salvation and instruction, through a bitter, but willing +agony and death, He has provided the means to free us from sin, and has +bequeathed to us every blessing. Now we can truly say: the Lord is my +shepherd, and I shall not want. If only we can look into that divine life +which has been given as our model, if only we can ponder it, and read in +it the lessons, the hopes, the inspirations it contains for us, we shall +not be weary of our burdens and cares, we shall not falter in any of +life’s battles. Rather, rejoicing at our opportunities, eternal as they +are, and with feelings of exultant gratitude over our condition, as heirs +with Christ to the kingdom of Heaven,(11) we shall bravely welcome all the +conflicts of life, being assured with St. Paul that “that which is at +present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above +measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.”(12) + + + + + +IV. HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN PASTURES OF TENDER GRASS; HE LEADETH ME +BESIDE THE WATERS OF QUIETNESS. + + +Our attention is now directed to a particular phase of the shepherd’s +life, and here we see some of the ways in which he actually provides for +his sheep day by day. For it is not enough that the shepherd has purchased +his flock, by means however difficult and labors however loving; it is not +sufficient that he have procured for them, in a general manner, all that +they need for their life and safety, he must also arrange for their daily +care and provide for their separate wants. Sheep, as we know, are delicate +creatures, and they must be directed in their roamings, and sustained by +sufficient nourishment. Accordingly, we have said that it belongs to the +duties of a good shepherd to lead them out to pasture, and to provide for +them every day adequate food and drink. + +Here again we behold the infinite kindness of the Shepherd of our souls. +Not alone has He deigned to stoop to our fallen state and restore us from +death to life, not only did He take upon Himself our infirmities and bear +our woes, but tenderly also has He provided for our constant direction, +and for the daily needs of our lives. + +The level to which the Saviour raised our lives and the dignity to which +He invites us are far, indeed, above our natural powers. Left to +ourselves, we could never attain the heavenly heights to which, in His +goodness, He has called us. Through the infinite merits of His life and +sacrifice we have been redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of our souls; +the gates of Heaven, closed against us before, have been opened wide; and +our wayward race is again restored to the road that leads to our immortal +home. But just because our celestial destiny is of so high and sublime a +character, it is impossible, if left to our own abilities, that we should +be able long to pursue it, and vastly beyond our sublimest hopes that we +should ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, ever before us, the +life and example of Him who has saved us; we know that His cross and death +have delivered us from the wrath that frowned upon us. But we are weak and +fragile mortals. With respect to things of the higher life—of the +supernatural world—we, of ourselves, shall always remain as helpless and +frail as infants. Not less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse +unaided and explore the material world, than the wisest of men would be to +know and grasp by his natural powers the unrevealed good of the immortal +human spirit. And as, in our natural state, we could not know the true end +of our existence, without a divine revelation, so likewise, we could not +pursue and attain our spiritual destiny without special assistance from on +high. + +How well all this was known to our kind and kingly Shepherd! How keenly +did He appreciate our frailty and inability to walk alone the paths which +He had trodden! Not unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to teach and +direct the way which leads to unending life. When going before his flock +and teaching them by force of example, He did not omit to give them that +saving doctrine which, when He had disappeared, would be their guide, and +the guide to their future shepherds in the direction of safety and truth. +Hence He propounded a teaching which should be to its obedient followers a +realization at once of all He had promised them, and of all their heart’s +desires. Not that it would make them rich or great in the eyes of the +world and according to human standards, but that it would confer a truer +and a higher greatness by lifting them above their weak and natural level +and preparing them for eternal blessedness. + +Men had the Law before the coming of Christ; they knew the ten +commandments. But the state to which the God-man called them, and the +eminence to which they were raised, were quite beyond anything the world +till then had ever been able to conceive. Human nature, under the New +Covenant, was invited to attain to perfection. Things which before were +thought impossible, were now to be the objects of our daily strivings. It +was no longer an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; now not only was +good to be done to those who were good to us, but to those also who did us +evil; not only were we to love our friends, but to love and assist our +enemies also; not only should evil deeds be avoided, but evil thoughts +were likewise forbidden—yea, we were asked to be, in all our thoughts and +deeds, imitators of the Shepherd who leads us.(13) + +Poor human nature, when raised so high above its natural powers, stood in +perilous need of a shepherd’s tender care. The new demands of every day +made indispensible new and special daily helps. While our spirits can see +and know the way, under the light of heavenly teaching, yet how weak and +faltering is our flesh! We have the will to do; but to accomplish, we +alone are not able. Therefore our Saviour said, “Of yourselves, you can do +nothing, but in me all things are possible to you. The branches are +nothing unless they abide in the vine; I am the vine, you the +branches.”(14) Thus He is our Leader, our divine Teacher and our source of +strength. Without Him we can do nothing, but in Him we are strong. And +daily and constantly He is near us, though we see Him not. It is He who +sustains our very life and moves us to all that is good. Like an +ever-present friend, He offers us constant assistance: He instructs and +guides and helps us, and this is the strength and food of our souls. God’s +grace it is, always ready for our use, which makes possible all the high +demands put upon our nature. Without it we should faint and starve on our +journey, and hence He who has planned our high perfection, has provided +the help to attain it. What are those seven wonderful sacraments which He +has left us, but perennial channels of grace, constant fountains from +which stream the life-giving waters that nourish our weary souls and make +them strong for life eternal! Through these sacred means we are brought +into contact with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. They +prolong His life and labors among us, they continue in our midst the +strength of His sacred presence. + +In a manner altogether special is this true of the Holy Sacrament of the +altar. By the Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and will so remain +till the end of time, as really and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the +days of His mortal life. Bound down as we are by the things of sense, we +may, at times, be tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament is all +invisible to us. We can not see Him directly and immediately. His voice is +silent and we do not hear Him; we do not feel the caress of His hand. But +nevertheless we know He is present, for He has said it, and His word must +remain, though heaven and earth should pass away. Even were we privileged +to see the sacred humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, we should +not then, more than now in this sacrament, directly see the divinity +concealed by the human frame. Faith then was required as well as now—faith +in His sacred words, made evident by His sacred deeds. This is not +strange; it is not too much to ask. The same demand of faith is daily made +upon us in much of our intercourse with our fellow mortals. Much that we +do not clearly see we must perforce believe, else life would be +impossible. The same, in a measure, is also true in all our human +friendships. That which is most precious in our friends, that which is the +source of life and beauty, of holy words and loving actions, of all we +love and cherish in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens and moves; +and this we do not see. + +Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, though faith alone can +apprehend Him. He requires of us this faith—this humble subjection of our +sensible faculties to the power and truth of His words. It is all for our +good that now He is hidden from our sight. He is not the less truly +present, not less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful and +forbearing; but He wishes to exercise our faith, to prove our fidelity and +trust in His teaching and promises, and hence He is hidden from the powers +of our senses. + +In the sacrament of the Eucharist the gracious Shepherd of our souls +performs in particular three offices for us: He is our sacrifice, our +silent patient friend, and in communion He becomes the actual spiritual +food of our souls. As a victim He is daily and constantly, from the rising +to the setting of the sun, lifted up for us in the holy sacrifice of the +mass. The mass is the perpetuation of the sacrifice He offered long ago +for our redemption. All the altars throughout the world, on which He is +ever born and dies again in mystic repetition, are but an extension of the +one great altar of Calvary, where first He gave His life for our +salvation. And in this real and awful sacrifice, forever repeated in our +midst, He pleads again our cause with God, the eternal Father. Again in a +mystic manner He suffers for us, again He bleeds, again He is nailed to +the cross and raised on high, and in that same abandoned, pitiable state, +to which His love for His flock has reduced Him, ever and anon in our +behalf He pleads: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they +do!(15) Holy Father, Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! and save the +souls which Thou hast created for Thyself, and for which till the end of +time I die!” He lifts, as it were, before the great white throne, His +bruised and blood-stained hands, He shows those wounded feet, the scar of +the spear in His sacred side; He points again to the agony in the garden, +to the scourging at the pillar, to the cruel crown of thorns, to the weary +way of the cross, and exclaims to Him who sits upon the throne, “Behold, +my Father, and see the price of my sheep, the tears and sorrow and blood +they have cost me! and spare them and save them for the sake of Thy Son!” + +Through the holy sacrifice of the mass, identical as it is with the +sacrifice of Calvary, all the merits of Christ’s life and death are +applied to our souls. By His physical and bloody immolation on Calvary, +Christ purchased for us infinite treasures of grace, and it is His will +that these graces shall be dispensed to us, even till the end of the +world, through the august sacrament of the altar. Moreover, except for the +mass, we should not be blessed with the abiding actual presence of our +divine Shepherd among us—that is, we should not possess Him in that +special, intimate manner in which we now have Him in the Eucharist. For it +is only in the mass that the sacred species are consecrated; and +consequently it is through the mass alone that He takes up His sacramental +presence in our midst and becomes our food in holy communion. He could, +indeed, have ordained it otherwise, but such has been His blessed will, +and such the condition in which we are placed by the direction of His holy +Church. + +Besides being our daily sacrifice, then, under the appearance of bread and +wine, besides ever prolonging in our midst that wondrous act of Calvary by +which at once He liberated our race and reopened to us the gates of +Heaven, the bounteous Shepherd of our souls enters into the tabernacles of +our churches, and there in silent patient waiting He craves the love of +our hearts and longs for our intimate friendship. He is not content alone +to plead for us with God, His Father; He is not content continually to +renew in our presence the tragic mystery by which at the end of His +earthly labors, He procured us every blessing—no, over and above these +sovereign acts of kindest benediction, He wishes to remain among us, and +to converse with us, each and all, as a friend would converse with his +friend. This is what He meant when He said by the mouth of His inspired +writer, “my delights are to be with the children of men.”(16) As a +Shepherd, His chiefest pleasure, as well as His supremest care, is to be +with the flock He has purchased and loves. Yet it is a lonely life for our +Shepherd-King, this abode in the silent tabernacle; but it is all for love +of us. He wishes to be there where we can find Him, where we can come to +Him at any hour and speak to Him, to praise and thank Him for all His dear +and endless gifts, to tell Him our needs and our sorrows, to open our +breaking hearts to Him and reveal the secrets of our souls. This it is +that He desires from us—the outpouring of our hearts and souls in His +presence. This it is which renders unto Him that homage of faith and love +and devotion that He came into the world to inspire. It will not do to say +that, being God, He is acquainted with all our thoughts and aware of all +our wants, for it is intimacy and confidence that He desires, the intimacy +and confidence which alone can create a true and noble friendship. “I will +call you no longer servants,” He said to His disciples, “but I have called +you friends; the servant knoweth not what his Master doth, but a friend is +admitted to confidence.”(17) Christ in the tabernacle is our friend; He +has loved us unto the end, and He yearns for our love in return. Why is +this? Why are we so precious in His eyes? What are we that the great +Creator should at all be mindful of us?(18) We must remember and ever bear +in mind the lofty purpose which the Creator had in view when first He +called us into being—the same purpose it was which prompted our redemption +and all the gracious dispensations that have followed thereupon—namely, +that God, while achieving His own eternal honor and glory, might +communicate to us a portion of His own ineffable blessedness. We were made +for God, and not for the world, or for creatures, or for ourselves. And +precisely because we are the possession and property of God, He wants us, +soul and body, for Himself; and in this blessed sacrament He calls to us +individually, “Son, give Me thy heart;”(19) “come to Me, all you who are +burdened, and I will refresh you.”(20) “come to Me and find rest for your +souls, I will lead you beside the waters of quietness.” + +But the excesses of our Shepherd’s love and care do not stop with the +altar and with the tabernacle. He is not satisfied with being our daily +sacrifice and our abiding friend, not satisfied until He enters into our +very bosom and unites us to Himself. Union with the beloved object and +delight in its presence are characteristic of all true friendship, whether +human or divine. That which we really love we desire to have, to possess, +to be united with; and hence it is that Christ, the lover of our souls, +has not only given His life to purchase us for Himself and Heaven, but has +so extended His loving-kindness as to become Himself our actual food. + +It is incomprehensible, in a human way, that the love of a shepherd for +his flock, the love of God for His creatures, should be so extraordinary +as to provide the wondrous benefits which Christ in the Eucharist has +wrought for us. We simply cannot grasp with our feeble minds the +prodigality of such enduring love. But the Saviour knew His purpose with +us, and He knew the needs of our souls. As guests destined for an eternal +banquet, and as heirs to celestial thrones, it is needful for us, amid the +rough ways and perils of life, to be constantly reminded of our royal +destiny and strengthened against our daily foes. This world of ours is an +arena in which each one must contend for his eternal prize; and it is not +possible, considering our natural frailty and the enemies that oppose our +forward march, that we alone, without an added strength, should ever be +able to win the battle of life. + +Hence, as the body, to maintain its vigor and perform its work, needs its +material and earthly food, so the soul, to live and be strong, must be +nourished with the bread of Heaven. “The bread that I will give,” said our +Lord, “is my flesh for the life of the world ... unless you eat of this +bread you cannot have life in you ... and he that eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood hath life everlasting, and I will raise him up on the +last day.”(21) + +In order, then, to sustain our spiritual life on earth and to make us +strong for our daily conflicts, our heavenly Shepherd has left us a food +which is none other than His own body and blood. What a prodigy of love! +What could He do for us that He has not done? But, besides giving us +strength, He had another purpose in becoming our food. Since He has chosen +us for Himself, and has provided, in another world, eternal mansions for +our souls,(22) He wishes to make certain, not only the happy issue of our +lives, but our ever-increasing resemblance to Himself. He is therefore +preparing us, He is fitting us, through communion in the Holy Eucharist, +for our celestial home, and for visible companionship with Himself. +Intercourse, communion, intimate relationship produce likeness, even here +on earth, and it is a singular effect of Holy Communion that, unlike +earthly food, it changes into itself all those who partake of it. +Material, natural food becomes the substance of our flesh and blood, but +frequent participation in the heavenly nourishment of Christ in the +Eucharist transmutes our whole being—our lives and thoughts and +actions—into its own supernatural character. + +Thus by living much with Christ on earth, by intimate converse with Him, +by allowing Him to enter into our lives and thoughts, and shape our +conduct and actions; and above all, by frequent and fervent communion with +Him in the sacrament of His love, we become like unto Him, even here in +our state of exile. And this likeness to Christ, which His faithful +servants assume here below, is a forestate of future blessedness; it is a +preparation for the great reunion and the eternal banquet which await us +in Heaven. Already we are led beside the waters of rest; we are directed +to pastures of sweetest nourishment; and through the calm and vigor that +reign in the soul we experience even now a taste of joys unseen. + + + + + +V. HE RESTORETH MY SOUL. + + +Throughout the pastoral country of the Orient there are numerous places of +great peril for sheep. There are also, here and there, private fields and +vineyards and gardens into which, if a member of a flock should stray and +be caught, it is forfeited to the owner of the land. Strange as it may +seem, the sheep never learn to avoid these dangerous spots and forbidden +places, and it behooves the shepherd to be ever on his guard for them, and +to rescue them when wandering. + +Here we cannot fail to observe the striking resemblance between this +wayward tendency of the shepherd’s flock and our own inclination and +propensity to wander from God and things eternal. The world is full of +occasions to evil; at every turn of the road on our journey through life +there are fierce and crouching enemies who are waiting the chance to +capture and bear us away. We know this; we have often been warned of the +danger; too many sad experiences and breathless escapes have convinced us +of the sundry perils to soul and body that lie along the way of life. But +we, like senseless, erring sheep, if bereft of the Shepherd’s guiding +care, do not learn, in life’s sad school, the way to keep free from harm. +Though wounded repeatedly, and scarred and worn, and left, perhaps, +without human aid, to waste and bleed our life away, we do not see the +lurking evils; we do not discern beneath the mask the enemy whose purpose +is ruin and death. + +The creatures of the world, the things of sense take vicious hold of us, +and often drag us to the very verge of perdition before we are aware. They +come to us unprepared, and seek entrance into our lives and thoughts, and +allure us by deception. They tell us that the world is fair and beautiful +and full of promise; that God, for the moment, is not concerned; that the +soul is secure and safe, and the body and its needs the only object of +present solicitude. The process is gradual. The turning away and the loss +are not at once and from the beginning of seductive influences, but slowly +and unobtrusively in the guise of hope and high expectation. There is +Ambition, with its glittering prospects, with its proffered rewards and +castles of air. To the young man and young woman, just entering the arena +of life, Ambition says, “Come and follow me, and I will crown you with +glory and honor. I will lift you above the common, beaten paths of men and +seat you on a gilded throne. I will introduce you to my sister Pride, and +we two will make you happy. Pride will teach you your true dignity, your +place and position in the universe; she will remind you of your gifts and +faculties, and enable you to battle with the weak and the strong; she will +give you the secret of knowledge and train you to soar above your +fellow-creatures and probe the mysteries of God and Heaven.” Then +Pleasure, with dimpled cheeks and laughing eyes, and words that sound like +music to the ears, hurries out to greet the passers-by, and charms them by +her shining gifts. “Make me your object and your end,” she says, “and I +will make you blessed. Forget your troubles and your cares, your fears of +present and future ills; rejoice and be glad, eat, drink and be merry; +indulge and drain to dregs the cups of sense, for this is all there is.” +Philosophy comes with another hope. “Drink deeply,” she counsels, “at the +spring of wisdom, and fear not God nor man; believe and trust in me, and I +will steal away the sting of sorrow and pain; I will restore you to man’s +primeval state and land you safe on the shores of rest.” + +And when these deceivers—Ambition, Pride, Pleasure, and the like—have +plundered and sacked their victim’s goods, when these painted idols of a +passing world have led away their worshippers as slaves, and stripped them +of all they possessed, they give them over to evil habits and to masters +that scourge and tear them. Like other prodigals, these pursuers of +earthly phantoms take leave of their Father’s house of comfort and plenty, +they give up virtue, innocence, honesty, purity; they go into a far +country to waste their substance living riotously, only to awake, soon at +latest, to a land of famine, and to find themselves alone and in want. +Instead of the honor and fame and high estate they sought to gain, instead +of the escape from evil and pain and labor they hoped to find, they are +sent into fields to minister to swine—the swine of their own degradation. + +So, to a degree, it is with us, each and all, who listen to other voices +and heed other calls than the voice and the call of God. If we prefer to +stray to other fields and desert the pasture of our Shepherd, if we prefer +a far country to our Father’s home, if the world and its fleeting +pleasures are more to us than God and His paternal rewards, then we must +of necessity find ourselves at length in utter want and penury. It is this +possibility of deserting God, of seeking happiness outside of Him, of +overturning the plans which He has made for our salvation, that gives us a +vision of the awful failure of human life. The gifts of this world are by +nature fleeting and fast-flying, and if we allow them to take the place of +Him who made them, no matter how great our present boons, in spite of +wealth and friends and all success, we have missed our chance and our +purpose in the world, and can only have at last a desolate and a ruined +life. + +But how is it, then, one may ask, that man can be so deceived? How is it +that we do not learn from others’ disasters to avoid, every one of us, +those deceiving, ruinous masters, those false gods that can lead us away +from the one true Shepherd of our souls? It is, indeed, a curious fact +that our deception is so easy. Surely a rational, intelligent being, who +stops to consider, ought easily to distinguish between the great God of +Heaven and the creatures of His hands. It ought not to be difficult for us +to see the transient vanity of human things when compared with the eternal +mansions. But the truth of the matter is, that we _are_ deceived, we do +not at all times see the objects of our choice as they really are +objectively. Our vision is defective and blurred. If God stood out in our +lives as He really ought to stand, if He occupied that place in our +thoughts and plans which belongs to Him by right, it would not be possible +that we should ever be led astray. And that God does not always hold in +our lives the place which is His due is partly the result of our fallen +nature; partly, therefore, in a way, excusable; but more frequently and +chiefly from our own perversity—from wilful neglect of our highest duties. + +The blindness and perversity of our nature, which have come from the +wounds of original sin, make it easy for us, if we are neglectful and +careless of our higher spiritual obligations, to mistake the false for the +true, evil for good, the creature for the Creator. In the midst of the +world and its allurements, it behooves us to be ever watching, if we are +never to stumble and to fall. Had our nature never been corrupted by +original unfaithfulness, had our first parents never turned away from God +and transgressed His sacred precept, all our present ills would never have +existed. But now it is different. We are born into the world a weakened +people; each one of us has had an implicit part in the first +transgression; we all, like erring sheep, have gone astray. And while this +tendency to evil is part of our natural condition, and therefore less +imputable to us, it nevertheless is true that our actual sins and +evil-doing are the work of our deliberate choice. If, at any time, we +really turn away from God and break His law, it is because we have freely +chosen so to act. The native perversity of nature in a normal man can +never explain and excuse the grievous sins which he deliberately commits. +It is only true that a weak and wounded nature leaves one less able to +choose what is right, and more disposed to wrong. And since we know the +state of things, since we know that the fault is really ours when we dare +to stray to forbidden deeds and places, how constant and unrelenting, if +we are truly wise, should be our efforts to keep our vision unobscured and +our ears attuned to the voice and call of our heavenly Shepherd! We know +that by following Him our way will be certain and clear. Howsoever +enormous the evils of life, and notwithstanding all our weakness, we know +that in Him we are safe and strong. But we must hear Him to follow Him, we +must be guided and directed by His gracious commands. + +This failure to hear and obey the voice of God it is which more explains +the falls and sins of men than all their inherited frailty. So long as His +words are heard and directions heeded, mistake and error are impossible. +We see, therefore, why it is that so many actually do desert Him and are +led by evil voices. The cause chiefly lies in the wilfulness of human +nature and in the abuse of human liberty. We cannot stand unless God +support us, and we shall surely fall if He withdraws His supporting hand. +But the choice of evil, the beginning of unfaithfulness comes from +ourselves; for Almighty God will never forsake us unless we first forsake +Him. + +If, ever, then, we find our lives to be at variance with God, whether in +lesser or in greater matters, if it should ever be our unhappy fortune to +wander from Him, like another prodigal, and waste our lives with the +enemies of our souls, we can be assured that the desertion is all our own. +We forget God, we deliberately wander from His sight and care, and then we +fall. Engrossed in worldly affairs, taken up with present vanities, with +ourselves, our ease, our temporal advancement, we begin to neglect prayer +and communion with God, we begin to rely on ourselves and to forge ahead +of our own accord, only to encounter complete defeat and be shorn of all +our strength. The secret of our power and success is to keep close to Him, +to speak to Him lovingly and often, to seek guidance and protection from +Him, and habitually to live in His comforting presence. + +But such is the boundless kindness of our heavenly Shepherd that, no +matter how often we may have wandered from Him, or how seriously we may +have grieved Him, He is ever ready to pursue our wanderings, and to seek +until He finds us. He does not stop to consider the enormity of our guilt, +or our unreasonableness, or our ingratitude, but He seeks us. He does not +pause to take an account of all He has done for us, of the many graces He +has given us, of the tears and blood He has shed in our behalf; but He +goes after our straying souls, and He will not be appeased until He +restore us. God does not will the death of the sinner, but that he be +converted and live.(23) He knows all our frailties and our diverse +temptations; He knows how alluring are the things of sense to a nature +perverted like ours; He knows how easy it is for us, blind and ignorant as +we are, to forget Him and our dearest interests, and to obey the call of +other voices; all this He understands, and He has pity on us. “He knoweth +our frame, He remembereth that we are dust.”(24) + +To bring us back, therefore, when wandering, and to restore us to the +circle of His chosen flock, our Saviour has made ample provision. Through +those divine mediums of grace—the sacraments of His Church—He has arranged +to succor all our wants and to cure our various infirmities. The +sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in particular, were instituted to raise +our souls from death to life, and to heal our spiritual wounds. Baptism +may be aptly compared to the door of the sheepfold. It is the gate through +which men must enter into the fold of Christ, it is the entrance to His +Church. It clears away the guilt and stain of original sin, and restores +the soul from a state of enmity to the friendship and grace of God. None +can really belong to Christ, none can be of His true fold who have not +entered by way of the door, who have not been baptized. Many there are who +pretend to belong to Him and think themselves of the number of His flock; +they speak of Him as their Master and Shepherd; they pretend to be doing +His work; they call Him Lord and preach in His name; but they have not +entered by the door of the sheepfold, and He knows them not. Like thieves +and robbers, they have climbed up some other way, and they neither know +Him, nor does He know them, neither can they understand His voice. Baptism +is the entrance, it is the door, to the fold of Christ. + +And as it is through Baptism that our bountiful Lord first recalls us from +the ways of sin and makes us members of his flock, so in the sacrament of +Penance He has provided a means by which we may at all times be recalled +from our wanderings and restored to His friendship. Penance is an +inexhaustible means of reconciliation between the erring soul and God. It +lasts throughout our lives, it stretches even to the end of time. If only +we are men of goodwill and have at heart our eternal interests, we need +not be disturbed at our frailty, or at repeated lapses into sin. There is +no sin which cannot be forgiven by the sacrament of Penance. Not that +anyone, knowing that he can be forgiven, should presume to abuse God’s +gracious sacrament, and yield freely and without restraint to the voice of +sin; nor that we are not to be truly sorry to the end of our days for +having even once offended our benign Maker and Redeemer; but we must be +confident that, whatever may have been our faults and failings, however +prolonged and extraordinary our transgressions, if we approach the +sacrament of Penance with sincere sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment, +God will always lovingly receive us back to Himself, and remember no more +our unfaithfulness. God hates sin, because it is opposed to Himself and is +the only evil in the world, but He loves the wounded sinner who is made in +His own image and likeness. Precious in the sight of God is the penitent +sinner. Does He not tell us Himself that, like a good shepherd, He leaves +ninety-nine just to go in search of one lost sheep? Yea, He assures us +that there is rejoicing among the angels of Heaven over one sinner who +does penance.(25) + +To make worthy use of the sacrament of Penance we must be truly sorry for +having offended God, and be resolved, at the time of confession, to do +what lies in our power never again to turn away from Him. To these +dispositions must also be joined the intention of doing something to +repair the injury which sin has done to God. Given such conditions, and we +need only speak the word to God’s duly appointed minister and our sins are +no more. The dark veil which hung around the soul like a cloud is lifted, +and we again rejoice in the smile of our heavenly Father. How simple, yet +how potent are the means provided for our salvation! None but God could +have thought of them, nothing but the love of God could have arranged +them! + +But even before the sinner is brought to penance, even while he is +wandering and reveling afar off in the vile delights of sin, God is +pursuing him, God is seeking after him, calling him by name, whispering to +his heart, disposing him for repentance. We cannot return to God, once we +have deserted Him, without His help. It is our awful power to be able to +leave Him, but to return alone we are not able. Wherefore He comes after +us when we have wandered into the wilds of sin; He pleads as it were, with +our souls, and offers us the grace to repent. Oh privileged are our souls +to be thus appraised by God, and happy those who hear and heed the +appealing voice of His grace! + + + + + +VI. HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF JUSTICE FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE. + + +The shepherd country of the East is full of walks and pathways, some +leading this way, some that. Some lead to dangerous precipices over which +the sheep might fall and be lost, others would expose them to the attack +of wild beasts, while still others would lead them so far astray that they +could not find their way back. It is, therefore, always needful that the +shepherd go ahead of his flock and lead them in the right path. The +Psalmist, in the title of the present chapter, is applying this +carefulness of the shepherd for his sheep to our Lord, in His regard for +our spiritual welfare. The Saviour goes before us with the blessings of +His goodness to help and lead us aright, lest perchance we become lost and +perish in our journey. + +This solicitude of our Redeemer in providing for the various needs of our +souls is characteristic of Him as Saviour. It is implied in the meaning of +his name. Before He was born, before He was conceived in His Mother’s +womb, it was foretold of Him that He should be called Jesus, which means +Saviour, for He would save His people from their sins.(26) He exercised, +as we know, this mission of saviour throughout His earthly career. It was +for this that He came into the world, for this that He was born in +Bethlehem with a manger as His cradle, for this that, at the age of +twelve, He was found teaching in the Temple, for this that He retired to +Nazareth and was subject to Mary and Joseph, for this that He labored and +suffered and bled and died. And with His passing from this visible scene +to the bosom of His Father, He did not cease to be that for which He had +been eternally anointed—the great High Priest, the Mediator between God +and man, the Saviour of the world. His work is everlasting; and now that +He has gone up on high, He pleads for us ever more with the Father. We +belong to Him, He has purchased us with His blood, and He must needs care +for our safety to the end. + +Inasmuch as we are heirs, according to divine decree, to thrones beyond +the skies, it was necessary, as we have seen, that He who is our Saviour +and Shepherd should have left behind Him in this world of ours a doctrine, +a code, or system of instructions and laws, which should safely direct and +guide us to our royal destiny. Those who lived with Him on earth, those +who heard His assuring, life-giving words, and felt the inspiration of His +example and visible presence needed not to fear for the direction or +safety of their course. The divine, living voice and sacred presence of +their Lord and Master they enjoyed, and care and anxiety fled from their +souls. But not for these alone had the Redeemer come, but for all mankind, +for all who in future were to breathe the breath of human life. He came to +save all, He died for all; and thus the teaching which He gave to the +world, and which He committed to His chosen followers, was for every human +being, even to the end of the world, that through it all might live and +attain to life everlasting. + +The doctrine which the Saviour left us, and the laws which He prescribed +were vastly different from the teachings of men. Guiding, saving words of +a Shepherd to his flock, they engendered safety, comfort, peace. Free from +error or mistake, sealed with the seal of Heaven, holding out a promise of +future glory, they exhaled the perfumes of the eternal city, they told of +mansions not built with hands. And since this immaculate doctrine, given +for the souls of men, was to last till the end of time, there was need +that it should be shielded against the assaults of the world and protected +from the influence of our changing human teachings. It could not be +corrected, because it contained no mistakes; it could not be changed or +altered, because it came from the changeless God; it could have no +substitute from the part of men or creatures of any kind, because it was +given by Him who alone was the way, the truth, and the life. Consequently +the truths which the Saviour declared to the world as the only means by +which we can be saved, were at once infallible in themselves, and so +provided for that no human agency, no lapse of years or revolutions of +time and place should ever be able to infringe on their eternal, +changeless character. It was to preserve these truths in their integrity +and freshness that He founded His unerring Church and committed to it the +office of custodian and expounder, under the guidance of His Holy Spirit, +of all He had revealed for the salvation of human kind. Hence to hear our +Shepherd’s voice, to understand what He says to us, to know what we must +do to obey His laws and save our souls, we need but listen to the voice of +His Church. Before it was established He declared that He should build His +Church upon a rock, and that no enemy, or group of enemies, not even the +gates of hell should ever prevail against it.(27) He established the +Church as His mouthpiece, and He said to the little band that constituted +it in the beginning, “he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that heareth +me, heareth Him that sent me;”(28) and, as if to emphasize this +declaration, He added that any one who would not hear and obey the Church +should be considered as a heathen and a publican—types of all that was +bad.(29) The Church, therefore, is the oracle of God, it is His +mouthpiece; it possesses and guards the only revelation which God has made +to His rational creatures; it alone has the words of eternal life. + +Thus it is that our divine Shepherd goes before us, leading us in the +paths of truth and justice, preserving us from danger and error with +respect to our spiritual destiny. We cannot go astray if we listen to Him +speaking to us through His church. In all our perplexities and +uncertainties, when confronted by any doubt, or confused and distracted by +the wrangling voices and conflicting opinions of men, we can be calm and +at peace, assured in our inmost souls that the voice which guides us +cannot err, that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for +one word of His to fail.(30) + +He leadeth me in ways of justice, in the ways of holiness, in the ways +which the saints have walked. How exceeding great, indeed, is our +privilege, and how certain and individual our election! All that remains +to us is to listen to His words and to follow Him, and present peace will +attend our labors, while future glory waits upon our end. + +But in the midst of abundant blessings and spiritual favors which have +surrounded and sheltered us from infancy, we are apt to be unmindful of +our state of plenty and forgetful of the duty of gratitude. We are apt to +venture out like thoughtless children, trusting in our own strength to +battle with the foe; or else, on the contrary, we sluggishly presume that +a bountiful Providence will provide for us regardless of our own +co-operation. We have never known what it is to want for spiritual food +and spiritual direction, except when indolence, careless indifference, and +our own folly have led us astray. These are evils which continually assail +us, and we often make friends with them, not knowing what we are doing for +the most part, until the blood of life has almost ebbed away. We are not, +indeed, removed from a world where sin abounds and where deceiving voices +may allure us this way and that. Like the pastoral country of the Orient, +the walks of life are fraught with perils: false teachers, false +doctrines, false prophets, pseudo-christs;(31) “perils from our own +nation, and perils from abroad, perils in the city and perils in the +wilderness, perils in the sea and perils from false brethren”(32)—all +trying to attract and lead us away from the paths of justice and deliver +us to the enemy of our souls. + +It is necessary that we should know that wolves are abroad in sheep’s +clothing; “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into +the apostles of Christ.”(33) They come to us with winning words and easy +teachings, with new creeds, new forms of belief, new ways to the promised +land. + +The doctrine and truths which Christ taught and which He entrusted to His +Church are set aside or explained away by these modern teachers, and the +novel and the strange are made to assume the role of the old, the familiar +and the true. The harm done is incalculable. How many innocent and unwary +sheep have been lost to the fold of Christ by following the call of these +unworthy preachers and false shepherds! What multitudes of precious souls +have been deceived by their polished words and led away into paths of +error, into deadly ways of thinking, believing, and acting, never to +return to the path that leads to life! + +This poisoning of the soul and the heart by erroneous doctrines is +effected in many and diverse ways; the victims of falsehood are variously +captured. There are the wisdom and sagacity of men, there are the +conquests of science and the learning of the philosophers, the discoveries +of our day, the strides of history, the breakdown and overthrow of many +things held sacred by our forefathers—and all these changes and ruptures +in the order of a former generation are now used to beguile the flock of +Christ and sway them from the paths of truth and righteousness. But amid +all this din and uproar of conflicting voices, amid the wrangling tumult +and confusion of converging opinions, those who will may hear and discern +the loving voice of the true Shepherd speaking to the world through His +Church with the same calm, assuring words which He uttered to living +witnesses two thousand years ago. He has not changed, neither has His +teaching; He has not deserted His chosen flock, but is with it all days, +even to the end of the world.(34) His love for us, His watchfulness for +our needs, His enduring care for our interests, in spite of our enemies, +can never fail. + +And while assured of this, it behooves us also, as appealing to our sense +of gratitude, and as inducing to greater love of Him, to reflect that this +abiding faithfulness of our Saviour in caring for our wants is not from +any worthiness of ours, or because of our merits, but only for His Name’s +sake, because He is Saviour. It was His love for us that prompted our +creation, His love that provoked His passion and redeemed us, His love +that made Him suffer for us, His love that teaches and shall guide us to +life everlasting, for His love endureth forever. + + + + + +VII. YEA, THOUGH I WALK IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR +NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME. + + +Besides the paths and dangerous walks in the shepherd country that would +lead the sheep to destruction and death, there are other paths all +encompassed with evils through which, nevertheless, they are at times +obliged to make their way. Safety from all harm there cannot be for the +shepherd’s flock. They must in their journeys encounter many perils, even +while pursuing the proper paths. There are deep and darksome valleys, +walled round on all sides by towering rocky hills, which at times the +shepherd cannot easily escape. And within these shadowy valleys and somber +ravines there dwell not infrequently wild and ferocious animals that will, +if aroused, attack and kill the tender sheep. The utmost care and caution +of the shepherd are called into service safely to conduct his dependent +flock through these places of deepest peril. But in spite of all his +watchfulness it sometimes happens that a wolf will get into the very midst +of the sheep. The timid, terrified animals become wild with fright, and +are scattered, running this way and that, until the shepherd calls and +bids them collect together. No sooner do they hear his voice, than they +all rush swiftly together in a solid mass, and either drive the enemy from +their midst or cripple and crush him to death. + +Thus in times of greatest peril the shepherd protects his sheep, and +wrests them from the jaws of harm. The sheep know this, and they fear no +evils; they know that their master is with them. Yea, though they walk in +the shadow of perils and dwell in the midst of the valley of death, they +faint not, neither do they fear, for they know that the shepherd is near. + +The case of the sheep in the valley of perils is not unlike our own in the +midst of the evils of the world; and the peace and safety which we enjoy +should be similar also to theirs. We are assured, first of all, by an +unflinching faith in God and our Redeemer that, if we trust our Master and +obey Him, we shall be led aright throughout our lives, even to the kingdom +of Heaven. We shall be led in the paths of justice and love, and crowned +at length with the crown of glory, if we but follow the voice of our +Shepherd-King, and avoid the walks of disaster and ruin. And to hear His +voice and to know it we have but to listen to the teachings of His Church, +which will hush to silence our troubled hearts, and direct our wayward +feet into the paths of heavenly peace. + +But, like the shepherd’s flock, we have to avoid in our journey through +life, as perils to our safety and spiritual welfare, not only the false +shepherds and teachers and doctrines that surround us on all sides; but we +must also, to pass to our reward, actually encounter inevitable evils and +fight many necessary battles. Many of the paths of life through which we +must of necessity pass are hard and difficult, and full of deadly perils. +We must remember that sin has ruined the primeval beauty of our earthly +habitation and made our life here below a labor and a toil to the end. + +We not only come into the world with sin on our souls, and are thereby +exiles from the city of God, but even when our sin is forgiven us the +remains of the malady continue as wounds in our nature as long as we live +on earth. The deadly guilt is wiped away, but the effects of the evil +remain. And it is chiefly these wounds of our nature, in ourselves and in +others, that render life’s journey, even when pursued in accordance with +the law of God, at times truly difficult and perilous. Fidelity to God and +to His law is not always a safeguard against the wickedness of the world +and of men; at times, in fact, it is just the contrary. Indeed, is it not +a truth that many, perhaps the majority, of those who endeavor sincerely +to please and to serve God must often suffer severely for their very +goodness and faithfulness? Are they not misunderstood, and criticised, and +censured? Are they not frequently accused of all manner of wrong, their +work disparaged, and their motives impugned? Are not persecution, and even +martyrdom, often their portion? Now all this is the result of sin. Those +who call into question the deeds and motives of God’s saints; those who +upbraid, and criticise, and impute evil to the sincere, faithful servants +of God, inflicting upon them dire evils, are but showing the effects of +sin in themselves, are but giving exercise to the evil that rules within +them. Their particular acts and words may be without present malice, they +may be inwardly persuaded that in reviling and condemning their neighbor +and doing him harm, they are rendering a service to God Himself; but in so +doing they but manifest the effects of earlier sin, personal, perhaps, and +original, which has darkened their understanding and made perverse their +moral vision, so that, having eyes, they see not, having ears, they hear +not, neither do they understand.(35) Following the corruption of their own +nature, bleeding from the wounds of original sin, they are prone to +blaspheme whatsoever they fail to comprehend;(36) and thus it is that they +often make life and the world for the servant of God a truly perilous +sojourn, a veritable valley of death. + +This failure to be understood, this misjudgment of actions, motives, +deeds, are doubtless common evils from which, in a measure, we all must +suffer. But it is also true that the more elevated the life, the higher +its aims, the loftier the spiritual level on which it proceeds, the +greater the difficulty of its being understood and appreciated by the +majority, who always tread the common paths of mediocrity. A saint is +nearly always a disturbance to his immediate surroundings, he is +frequently an annoyance and an irritation to the little circle in which +his external life is cast, simply because he really lives and moves in a +sphere which the ordinary life cannot grasp. Like a brilliant, dazzling +light that obscures the lesser luminaries, and is therefore odious to +them, the man of God is frequently a disturber to the worldly peace of +common men, his life and works are a living reproach to their life and +works; and hence, without willing it, he becomes a menace to their society +and is not welcome in their company. Worldly, plotting minds cannot +understand the spiritual and the holy; sinful souls are out of harmony +with the virtuous; the children of darkness cannot find peace with the +children of light. And not only is there a lack of sympathy in the +worldly-minded for the men and women who are led of God, but there is +often positive hatred for them—a hatred which spends itself in actual, +persistent persecution. To be devout, to refrain from sinful words and +sinful deeds, to shun the vain and dangerous amusements of worldlings, to +attend much to prayer and recollection, to love the house and worship of +God, to be seen often approaching the sacraments and partaking of the +bread of life at the communion rail—even these holy acts are sufficient +frequently to draw down on the servants of God the curse and persecution +of a world which knows not what it does. + +And that which happens individually to the faithful children of God takes +place on a larger scale with respect to God’s Church. The children of this +world, those who have set their heart on temporal things, or who, through +wilful error have deviated from the right path to things eternal, never +cease from pursuing and persecuting the Church of God. They hate the +Church and attack it unceasingly. Like the perverse and blinded Jews of +old who reviled the Saviour and His words and deeds, who pursued Him and +put Him to death, these ever-living and ever-active enemies of light and +truth never abate in their fury against the chosen friends of Christ, and +against His holy Church. But need we be surprised at this? Was it not +foretold? Did not our blessed Shepherd, speaking in the beginning to His +little flock, warn them that men would deliver them up in councils and +scourge them? Did He not say to them plainly, “And you shall be hated by +all men for my name’s sake; but he that shall persevere unto the end, he +shall be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into +another.... The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above +his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the +servant as his lord. If they have called the good man of the house +Beelzebub, how much more them of his household.”(37) + +It happens, therefore, that fidelity to God, and careful adherence to the +paths of justice and holiness, can frequently be the occasion of perils +and sufferings for us individually, as they also are the excuse for a +vaster persecution of the Church in general. All holy persons and holy +things are signs of contradiction. They are not of the world, they do not +fit in with it; and between them and the world there will be strife and +contention until the renovation comes. + +But the enemies that lie along the ways of life, that beset and threaten +even the most righteous paths of our pilgrimage, are not all from +without—the most numerous and menacing are perhaps from within. “The +enemies of a man,” says the inspired writer, “are those of his own +household.”(38) That is to say, the most potent evils which we suffer, the +chiefest foes to our present and future welfare are from ourselves—our own +waywardness, our tendencies to evil, our wilfulness, our self-love and +self-seeking, our own sins. It is from these and like causes that we +suffer most. Hard and trying it surely is to bear persecutions and +contradictions from others; severe is the strain to nature when, in the +face of our noblest efforts, proceeding from noblest motives, we meet with +misunderstanding and even condemnation; but to the upright, religious +heart that is sincerely and truly seeking God amid the shadows and +pitfalls of life, the sorest of all trials and the fiercest of all enemies +are one’s own temptations and passions and inclinations to evil. Easier it +were to conquer the whole external world of foes, than to reign supreme +over the little world within. Of Alexander the Great it is said, that +while he actually subdued the whole known world of his time, he +nevertheless yielded in defeat before his own passions. He could overcome +his external enemies, but surrendered miserably in the battle with self. + +This, then, is our greatest warfare, the struggle with ourselves; and this +our greatest victory, a triumph over self. “If each year,” says the +Imitation, “we could uproot but one evil inclination, how soon we should +be perfect men!”(39) But it is not for us to be free from enemies and +perils, both from without and from within, during our earthly sojourn. +They are a part of our lot here below, they are necessarily bound up with +the darkened regions through which the Shepherd must lead his flock; and +hence, entire safety there shall never be before the journey’s end, until +we say farewell to present woes, and hail “the happy fields, where joy +forever dwells.” + +In our present state, therefore, it is important for us to realize our +dangers and to be prepared for conflict. There is no way of escape from +crosses, and perils, and dreadful battles for all those who wish to win +the crown of victory. They must follow the Shepherd as he leads the way, +and hence our Lord has said, “if any man will come after me, let him take +up his cross daily and follow me.”(40) Yes, it is the following of the +Shepherd, it is his leadership, his constant presence, that give comfort +to the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of perils. And though we pass +through the valley and shadow of death, we need fear no evil, for He is +with us. At times, frequently perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, the +waves roll over and deluge us so completely that we are all but smothered. +The clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast the sky of our souls; the +sorrows of death surround us, and the pains of the pit encompass us;(41) +we are overwhelmed with sadness and plunged in darkness. We think of God, +we remember Him, but He seems afar off. The evil which weighs us down—the +pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness and dejection of heart and +mind, “the madness that worketh in the brain,” muffle the voice and all +but still the trembling pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift our +drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes to see the gentle Shepherd standing +faithfully at our side. It is our failure to discern and apprehend Him +that causes extreme agony. If at these times of utter desolation, when the +soul is swept by the winds of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and +thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and child-like trust, the spell would +be broken; and we should see the clouds lift and part and float away on +the wind, only to let in God’s cheerful sun to raise the drooping spirit, +and warm and soothe the troubled soul. + +But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow and affliction, to lift the +heart and mind to things above. Nature of itself tends downward, and +unless it has learned to discipline itself and to engage with the enemy in +sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for life. For the world is a +battlefield and life a warfare, even from a natural point of view, and +only they can hope to win in life’s hard contest who have learned to brave +the battle, who have prepared themselves for conflict. But who is ready +for the struggle, and how shall we be able to encounter our foes? Left to +ourselves and to our own resources, we shall surely go down in defeat. The +opposing forces are too gigantic, too numerous. They throng from near and +from afar. They swarm from within and from without; from our own nature +and from others, from the world around, and from our own household; from +those at home, and from them that are abroad. Frequently during life we +are, of a certainty, encompassed round with perils; we hardly know where +to turn or what to do, we are breathless with fright; but even then, if we +have proper faith, we shall grow calm, like the shepherd’s flock in the +midst of devouring animals and beasts of prey, for our Saviour and +Shepherd is with us, and no evil can befall us. Even when we think Him +farthest, He is often nearest; when we think Him sleeping, His heart is +watching. He loves us, His weak and timid sheep; we are the objects of His +heart’s affection and ever active solicitude; He will not let perish, if +we trust Him, the price of His precious Blood. + +And the training we are to receive, and the preparation we are to make, in +order worthily and victoriously to engage in the battle of life are +nothing, therefore, but lessons of love and trust in the constant goodness +and faithfulness of our divine Saviour. Unless we viciously drive Him away +by deliberate, grievous sin, He is really never absent from us, and least +of all when we need Him most. It is our fault, if we do not by faith +discern Him, if we do not feel His ever-gracious presence. We need to +discipline ourselves in acts and deeds of faith and love, and then we +shall realize that He is always near us, even in the darkness of the +shadow of death. + +We must try to know our Shepherd, first of all; we must endeavor +intimately to understand Him. For to have faith in Him, to trust Him, to +believe in His power and goodness, in His overruling care for us and our +interests, presuppose a knowledge of Him, just as faith and confidence in +an earthly friend follow upon an intimate acquaintance with that friend. +But this close knowledge of our Master, so necessary to our present peace +and future happiness, will never be ours unless we make Him our confidant, +unless we accustom ourselves to live in His presence, to look to Him, to +speak to Him often, to listen to His gracious direction. And this intimate +relationship with our Saviour, this habitual communion with Him, will +enkindle in our souls the fire of love. Once we know Him, we will trust +Him, and having faith and confidence in Him, we will link our poor lives +to His divine life by the strong cords of heavenly charity. Fear and +uncertainty will then be impossible, even in the darkest hours. + +It is love, above all, that directs our life—love, indeed, which is born +of knowledge. We do not, it is true, love anything before we have some +knowledge of it; this would be an impossibility; but once the soul has +caught the vision, it is love that drives the life and stimulates and +enriches the knowledge. The objects of our affections are the interpreters +of our life and actions. If we love the world, we are led by the world; if +we love God, it is God that leads and directs us. Where the treasure is, +there will the heart be also;(42) and where the heart is, thither will the +life make its way. But if God is the object of our love, we shall fear no +evil; for “God is charity,” says St. John, “and he that abideth in +charity, abideth in God, and God in him ... Fear is not in charity; but +perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain.”(43) + +It is only the love of God, therefore, that will steady our lives, and +bear us up in the thick of tribulations. It is the confident assurance +that we, although so unworthy, are the objects of divine complacency that +awakens in our hearts a return of burning charity, and enables us to say, +with the Psalmist, when the day is darkest “The Lord is my light and +salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of +whom shall I be afraid?”(44) We are not to fear men, said our Lord, who, +when they have destroyed the body, can do no more;(45) neither shall we be +in dread of our Master, if armed with the gift of His love, “for fear hath +pain, but love casteth out fear.” Rather shall we, like the martyrs of +old, mindful of the gift of God, go bravely forth to the battle of life, +or to the slaughter, calmly, hopefully, cheerfully. While humbly, but +steadfastly trustful of the Shepherd that leads us, we shall not be +disturbed or troubled; the present shall be shorn of its terrors, the +future of its forebodings. This truly is the triumph of life, when love, +not fear, has come to rule us. This is the broader, larger life—the +forerunner of life eternal in which our days are passed in calm +serenity—in which we press on with undaunted tread, alike under frowning +clouds, or under a star-lit sky; alike with the joys of friendship around +us, or alone amidst the graves of the dead. + +We must not infer from this that the love of God which is our strength, +the source of our courage, will blunt our feelings or harden our lives. It +does not seal up the fountain of tears, or make us insensible to the pains +and sorrows of life, which belong to the lot of all. In a certain sense it +is likely true that those suffer most in life who are most united to God; +for they feel most the coldness of the world and its desolation, its want +of love and sympathy, its degradation and its misery. Hence it would be a +mistake to think that the friends of God in this life are either exempted +from pain and sorrow, or made insensible to them, either in themselves or +in others. Of these and other evils they are truly more keenly aware than +worldly men, if for no other reason than because of the superior +refinement of their nature and the spiritual outlook of their vision. It +is sin, after all, that hardens while it weakens. Sin closes the heart to +love, it renders its victims cold, unsympathetic and selfish; whereas the +gifts of grace and holiness are tenderness, mercy, strength. But though +all have to suffer, both the holy and the unholy, the difference between +them is this, that the ungodly are borne down and overcome by their +sorrows and crosses, while the spiritual are always triumphing even in the +midst of apparent defeat. To the foolish they seem to be vanquished, yet +they conquer; often they seem on the verge of surrender, when they emerge +in victory; they seem to die, when behold they live!(46) + +The spiritual man, then, does suffer; he suffers in the cause of God; he +suffers for others and for himself. More than this, it is doubtless true +that he feels his crosses more keenly, he grieves more profoundly, than do +the children of the world; but through it all he remembers his Saviour and +is comforted. He knows that the tribulations of the just are many, and +that from all these the Lord will soon deliver him,(47) and he shall not +be confounded forever. + + + + + +VIII. THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME. + + +It is already plain to us that the sorrows and sufferings of the present +life are, without doubt, the result and consequence of sin. That we should +pass our mortal days so full of pain and tears, that our fellow-man, that +the beasts of the field and the elements, which we need and use as helpers +and servants, and most of all that our own nature, with its passions and +evil tendencies, should rise up against us and oppose us, was assuredly +not a part of the original plan. As a wise and all-powerful Designer and +Creator, God founded the world after a masterful fashion—devoid of evil, +free from defect, perfect according to the plans framed in Heaven. The +hills and mountains He founded and set on their bases; the streams and +rivers and valleys He formed, all rich and lovely, intended for the +comfort and happiness of man; the blue deep He constructed and beautified +with its millions of shining wonders; and in all these stupendous +creations, in all the diverse works of His mighty, omnipotent hands there +was in the beginning no trace of fault, of defect, of error or sin. The +upheaval came when man disobeyed and wrought the commencement of all our +woe. And hence it is to man’s first disobedience and the fruit of that +forbidden tree, that we owe all the evils from which our nature suffers +and to which our flesh is heir. + +But although we know the source of our sorrows and feel the guilt of our +sins, this does not make our burden lighter or shorten the path of our +pilgrimage. We are confronted by the problem of labor and suffering as +soon as we enter the world. No one is entirely exempted; and, strange as +it is, we see that it frequently happens, that those are most afflicted +who are farthest removed from the wickedness of the world and purest in +the sight of God. “Many are the tribulations of the just;” and how true is +it that the very fidelity of the servants of God is often an occasion of +their sufferings! It is not wonderful that sorrow and fear should be the +portion of sinners throughout the length of their days, for “contrition +and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not +known;”(48) but that all, even the saints of God, should suffer alike and +be oppressed with miseries is, at first sight, a problem and a baffling +mystery. + +It is something, indeed, to feel in our suffering that we are paying the +debt of our sins, whether personal, or original, or both; it is much to +know that our crosses, severe and inevitable as they are, are a curb to +our wayward nature, and a restraint against further sins; it is assuredly +a great privilege and a high honor that we, unworthy and unfaithful +servants of our Master, should, through our tears and sorrows and +sufferings, be enabled to conform our poor lives to the tearful and +sorrowful life of our Saviour; it is a comfort that words cannot tell to +be assured by our faith that in the midst of pains and perils the Shepherd +of our souls is ever near to shield, to guard, and to save—all this is +surely much—enough to encourage and strengthen us daily to take up our +cross and joyfully follow our Redeemer, even to the hill of Calvary, even +to the death of the cross. But this is not all. A deeper meaning lies +hidden behind the veil of tears, beneath the cloak of pain and sorrow. The +miseries of life are not a mere inheritance, neither is their value of a +purely negative character. We instinctively feel that somehow, somewhere +beyond the scope of mortal ken, there is a higher explanation and a more +valid justification for all the failures and pains and sorrows of life, +than that which appears on the surface of things, or issues in results +that are only negative. Suffering for its own sake was never intended; and +we were not made to suffer. We were not created for misery, but for +happiness; not for failure, but for victory; not for death, but for life; +not for time, but for eternity. And hence there is a deeper meaning, a +higher explanation for all the failures and miseries of the present life +than those that are apparent to the casual observer. + +In the title of this chapter the Psalmist, referring to the shepherd’s +care for his sheep, says: “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” The +staff the shepherd uses, as already explained, is to assist the sheep +along their perilous journeys, and the rod to protect them in case of +attack. The rod and the staff are necessary for the welfare of the flock, +necessary to guide and shield them in their wanderings, and to bring them +safely home. So too, it is with us, the children of God. To be properly +protected and guided to our happy end we have need of the rod of +affliction and adversity, and likewise of the staff of mercy. + +Although human miseries—pain, poverty, suffering and death—are, as we +know, the consequences, just and equitable, of original sin, it is a +shortsighted faith and a defective vision that find in these crosses only +chastisement for sin. Truly, they should not have been, had we never +sinned; but as God, in His mercy, draws good out of evil, so has He made +these inevitable results of our transgression serve a higher purpose and +minister to noble ends. The Saviour came that we might have life, that we +might progress and advance to ever fuller and more abundant life.(49) His +aim, and the aim and purpose of His heavenly Father, since the very dawn +of our creation, has been to lead us to happiness—to perfect, abundant, +eternal happiness. It would be of little account to be happy here, unless +we are also to rejoice eternally. It would be a poor exchange and a paltry +satisfaction, to be present at the feasts of men, only to forfeit our +place at the banquet of angels. But our heavenly reward and our celestial +crown are to be merited and won here below; they are to follow upon our +earthly labors. “Only he shall be crowned,” says St. Paul, “who has +legitimately engaged in the battle.”(50) And did not the Master say +Himself, “Let him who wishes to come after me deny himself and take up his +cross and follow me?”(51) Did He not declare that we must die to live? +that we must surrender our life here, if we would keep it eternally? +“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the +ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much +fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life +in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.”(52) We cannot serve two +masters, we cannot serve God and mammon. If we would seek to avoid all +pain and sorrow, and spend our lives in the pleasures of sense, we must be +prepared to forego the future joys of the soul; if we would pass our days +indulging the flesh and chasing the phantoms of time, we must needs make +ready for the death of the spirit and the forfeit of all that is lasting. + +We have no choice, then; if we would succeed eternally, we must follow the +way of the cross. This is the only way to life—to that abundant, celestial +life which our Creator has wished us to live. And it is the bearing of our +cross, patiently and resignedly to the will of God, together with our +other good works, that enables us to merit, in so far as we can, the joys +of the kingdom of Heaven. But the sufferings and labors, so inevitable and +necessary to our earthly state, which serve as a means to supernal +rewards, have still another, deeper meaning, and serve another purpose. We +cannot evade them, we must encounter them. They are not only unavoidable, +but necessary to our dearest interests, as we see, since they are strewn +as thorns and brambles all along the narrow way that leads to eternal +life. We cannot choose them or lay them aside at will. We may, indeed, if +we be foolish and impious enough, refuse to walk the narrow way of the +just and choose the broad road that leadeth to destruction; but we shall +not even thus escape the pains and perils inseparable from this mortal +life. Or again, we may, in our folly, rebel against the crosses and labors +that confront and pursue us; but whether we go this way or that, whether +we will it or not, we can no more eschew all the evils of life than escape +from the air that we breathe. The pressure, it is true, is not always upon +us; we are not, without ceasing, weighed down by our labors and groaning +to be delivered from the body of this death. There is interruption, there +is passing pleasure, a rift in the clouds and a smile of the sunshine even +for the darkest and poorest life. And yet withal, we know and we are +conscious that we are ever under the sentence of death, that life is a +fleeting shadow, that like + + + “A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, + Man passes from life to his rest in the grave.” + + +There is no evading the conclusion, therefore, that the days of man in +this world are few and full of miseries. “The life of man upon earth is a +warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. He cometh forth +like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow.”(53) “For all +flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The +grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away.”(54) To the +natural man all this is appalling, and how frequently it finds its +solution in unbridled self-indulgence, in mental unbalance, and +self-destruction! But the saints, and all the truly wise, have viewed the +problem of human suffering in a vastly different light. They have +discerned it, first of all, as really distinctive of the road to Heaven, +and as essentially pertaining to the royal way of the cross. They have +understood that it extinguishes the wrath of the heavenly Father, that it +atones for sin and makes the soul conformable to our suffering Saviour, +and therefore have they loved it. And more than this, those who have been +led by the wisdom of God have found, not only that the crosses of life are +essentially connected with the way of salvation, but that by them and +through them alone we are often _positively driven_ to God. We may try to +avoid them, and at times, perhaps, succeed; we may flee from them or +endeavor to still the voice of their pain; or, when unable to escape them, +we may, in our wrath and desperation, rise up against them and rebuke +them: but they persistently remain, they continue to haunt, as if to woo +and to win us to penetrate their deeper meaning, and discover the treasure +that in them lies concealed. The very breakdown of human things, the +severing of human ties and relationships, the loss of health and wealth, +of treasures and friends, and of all that life holds dear, are really +meant, in the deepest sense, to drive us to the divine. This is the +meaning of those tears and sorrows, those pains and sufferings, that +loneliness, that grief, that agony of heart and soul which belong to this +world of tears. All these are intended to teach us that here below, on +this crumbling shore of time, we have no abiding city, or home, or life, +or love; but seek a city, a home, a life, a love that hath foundations, +whose builder and maker is God.(55) + +We need God, we were made for God, and our nature, with all its longings +and powers, cries out for Him. And therefore has God so arranged the +world, in spite of all its evils, and in spite of all our sinfulness, +that, if we do not prevent it, it will lead us out to happiness—lead us +out to Himself. It was our sin that despoiled the face of the world; but +God, in His mercy, has drawn good out of evil, He has made the effects of +sin minister to our advantage, if we will but have it so. We may, +forsooth, refuse, because we are free; we may object, and rebel, and +oppose our lot; we may take our destiny out of the hands of our Creator +and attempt to shape it for ourselves; we may deride and despise the +humble, the lowly of heart, the patient, the mortified and the suffering; +we may upbraid the Providence of God and its workings, and refuse to +submit to the rule of the Creator; we may hold in derision and contempt +the little band that is sweetly marching the way of the cross, preferring +for ourselves the company of the multitude that knows not God—all this can +we do, because we are free; but if such be our choice, and if we persevere +in it, our portion is fixed, and we shall have at last only to say with +the wicked: “Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light +of justice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not +risen upon us. We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and +destruction, and have walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we +have not known. What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the +boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a +shadow, and like a post that runneth on.”(56) + +Sufferings, therefore, are common to all, to the good and the bad, to the +wise and the foolish, to the children of light and to the children of +darkness. But only those who are directed by grace and light from above +are able to pierce the deeper meaning of the cross. All have to bear it, +but not all understand it; all feel the weight of it, but all do not know +the power of it. Like fortune, it knocks at every door, into every heart +it endeavors to enter and make known its deeper significance, its hidden +secrets, lest any of us should suffer in vain, and our lives be altogether +a failure. To be able to suffer patiently and gladly for God’s sake, is +thus a great wisdom; it is a sign of future blessedness. It is the wisdom +of God, which is foolishness to men. “If thou hadst the science of all the +astronomers,” says Eternal Wisdom; “if thou couldst speak and discourse +about God as fully and well as all angels and men; if thou alone were as +learned as the whole body of doctors; all this would not bestow on thee so +much holiness of life as if, in the afflictions that come upon thee, thou +art able to be resigned to Me and to abandon thyself to Me. The former is +common to good and bad, but the latter belongs to My elect alone.” + +We know that our Saviour took upon Himself the cross of sorrow and +suffering, not alone that He might satisfy for our transgressions and be +our ransom from bondage, but also that He might be unto us an example and +a leader. And knowing that our unfaithfulness had incurred severest +maladies from which none could escape, He bore our infirmities and carried +our sorrows for us, in order that we, in our time, might bear our +inevitable afflictions for His sake, for love of Him, and thereby attain +to unending glory with Him. “For the spirit himself giveth testimony to +our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs, +indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, +that we may be also glorified with him.”(57) “If you partake of the +sufferings of Christ,” says St. Peter, “rejoice that when his glory shall +be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”(58) The chains of +sorrow which bind us here below, our Shepherd thus would turn to golden +cords of love, which draw and hold us to Himself. We cannot, as we see, +ascend to Heaven, rise to blessedness, except by the way of the cross. And +our degree of glory in Heaven, the eternal happiness which we shall enjoy, +will be in proportion to the degree of charity or love of God which our +souls possess at death; and this divine charity, which is to measure our +future beatitude, is acquired and augmented by faithfully doing the will +of God—by patiently and lovingly bearing the cross of life. Sacrifice is +the test of love. And hence the more we do and suffer for Christ’s sake, +the more we prove our love for Him and the greater shall be our happiness +in the kingdom of His Father. All holy writers, all the masters of the +spiritual life agree in teaching that God particularly chastises those +whom He loves with a special love. He proves the elect to find if they are +worthy of Himself.(59) He does not spare them now, that He may spare them +hereafter; He tries them for a time, that He may reward them forever; He +seems harsh with them here, during the time of probation, only that He may +draw them closer to Himself everlastingly. + +The devoted friends of God and the ardent lovers of things spiritual have +deeply pondered these momentous truths. They have realized that our days +here, though few and fast-flying, are really to determine our lot and +condition throughout the eternal years. They have known that the passing +present is the price of the lasting future; that this is the seeding time, +and hereafter the harvest. And because our future happiness is to be in +accord with our merits here acquired, jealously have they sought and +embraced every present occasion to increase their merits and their +worthiness for the glory that is to come. This is why they have loved the +cross, the symbol of salvation, the emblem of victory; this, too, is why +they have felt disturbed and full of fear when the cross was absent from +them. Unlike the unenlightened sufferer, who sees only punishment in his +pains, the saints of God have ever accepted their crosses as a sign of +special love, a divine visitation, a preparation for the great communion. + +We see now how it is that the rod of chastisement and the staff of mercy +are able to give joy and comfort to God’s chosen friends; and thus are +they designed to console and comfort everyone who is truly led by faith +and love. Sufferings are really a blessing, but the eye of faith alone +discerns it. They keep us from present pleasures, from hurtful occasions, +from alluring vanities; they direct us into the way of salvation, they +drive us to God, they increase the glory of our eternal blessedness. What +are the trials of earth when compared with the joys of Heaven? Rather, how +precious are they! since, if we use them aright, they lead us out into a +higher life, to a closer friendship with God. And if, through the mercy of +our heavenly Father, we permit the cross to lead us to His knees and +enrich our lives with His love, who can speak its infinite value? What +treasure can be likened to it? Surely nothing that we know can surpass it +in worth. We might, indeed, enjoy all that life can give; we might possess +all riches, all health, all success; we might have honor, fame, glory, +power; the praise and love of men, the treasures of earthly friendship and +earthly affection—the whole world we might gain and enjoy; but if through +all these, or in spite of all, we should not be led to the love and +friendship of God, we should know only vanity, and life for us would in +its issue be nothing but a dismal failure. + +But if, on the contrary, through the sufferings and losses, the +deficiencies and limitations of life, we have been led to make God our +dearest friend, if we have been taught, by the coldness and harshness of +men, to take refuge in His love, how blessed are we! how cheaply the +purchase has been made, even though it has meant the loss of every passing +good, of all that the world can give, even the pouring out of our own +life’s blood! + +Teach me, O my Master, in the day of sorrow and tribulation, to understand +the meaning of the cross, to know the value of my sufferings, to grasp the +power and the secret of Thy rod and Thy staff. Assist me to see Thee +through the darkness that surrounds me; and give me to feel, in the midst +of loneliness and perils, amid pain and desolation, the nearness to my +soul of Thy loving-kindness, and the strength of Thy merciful presence. + + + + + +IX. THOU SPREADEST BEFORE ME A TABLE IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES. + + +In the preceding verses of the Shepherd Psalm the Psalmist has described +the constant care of the shepherd for his sheep—the rest and refreshment, +the protection and comfort he provides for them. And now, in the present +verse, he speaks of a feast he has prepared for them, which is to be +likened to a bountiful banquet—a banquet which they are to enjoy, a feast +which they are to consume, in the sight of their enemies, in the presence +of the evils that afflict them. He refers, at first, to the manner of +preparing or spreading a table in the Orient. Often the custom of olden +times was not much different from that which prevails among the Arabs even +today. To prepare a table means with them simply to spread a skin or a +cloth or a mat on the ground. + +And it is to this kind of table that the Psalmist refers when he sings of +the feast of the sheep. He means nothing more than that he has provided +for his flock in the face of their enemies a rich pasture, a spreading +slope, where they shall feed with contentment and peace, in spite of the +evils that surround them. + +But the quiet and peace which the sheep enjoy, while partaking of their +spread-out banquet, are entirely owing to the protecting presence of the +shepherd. And it frequently happens that here again the utmost skill and +diligence of the shepherd are called into play in thus securing the peace +and safety of his flock. The most abundant pastures are many times +interspersed with noxious weeds and plants, which, if eaten, would sicken +and poison the herd; while around the feeding places and grazing grounds +very often lie hid, in thickets and holes and caves in the hillsides, wild +animals, such as jackals, wolves and panthers, ready to spring out, at the +critical moment, and devour the innocent sheep. The shepherd is aware of +all these evils and enemies of his tender flock; and he goes ahead and +prepares the way, avoiding the poisonous grasses, and driving away, or +slaying, if need be, the beasts that menace the peace and security of the +pasture. The evils are not entirely dispelled, but only sufficiently +removed or held in check so as not to imperil the flock. + +Such is the table prepared for the sheep by their provident and watchful +shepherd; and such is the feast of which they partake with quiet joy in +the sight and presence of their enemies. But, as just said, the tranquil +joy which is theirs comes not from the fact that danger has been all +removed, nor from the fact that they have become hardened and used to its +presence. They know it is always near; and they are conscious, as far as +animals can be, of their own utter helplessness, if left to themselves, to +survive an attack of their powerful enemies. But they do not fear, they +are not disturbed or anxious, solely for the reason that they feel their +shepherd is present, and they know he will guard and protect them. Hence +the Psalmist is speaking for the sheep when he says to the shepherd with a +tone of confident joy, “Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence +of mine enemies.” + +The spiritual meaning of this, like the other verses of the Shepherd +Psalm, is peculiarly descriptive of our Lord, the Good Shepherd of human +souls. He, in a manner altogether divine, precedes His elect, and prepares +them the way of salvation. He does not deliver them from enemies and +dangers, which would be unnatural in the present state, but He makes use +of evils, as said before, to increase the perfection of His chosen souls. +Gradually, step by step, from a natural He leads them to a higher +state—from diffidence to trust, from fear to love, from sorrow and anguish +to peace and joy. + +The change in the soul is rarely at once and immediate; it does not come +of a sudden. At first it is difficult and repugnant to nature to find joy +in sorrow and pleasure in pain, to see gladness in tears and rest in +disturbance, to find peace in the midst of our enemies; but God, in His +omnipotent goodness, so disposes and provides for the souls of His elect +that sooner or later they penetrate to the meaning of things, and find +there their hidden treasure. When the fabric of life itself has crumbled +to its native dust, when friends have gone and charms departed, when the +very earth we tread seems trembling beneath our feet, and every dream of +earthly bliss is fled, when enemies sit where loved ones sat, and the +heart has all but ceased to beat, then is the acceptable time and +propitious moment, for the devout and faithful soul, that has washed its +garments in the blood of the Lamb, to look up to Heaven with expectant +joy. The thrilling vision of eternal love so much desired, so long perhaps +delayed, is then, indeed, about to dawn. + +The sweetness of God and the peace of His spirit are not to be found in +the market place, nor in the noise and clamor of the busy street. It is +not at the banquets of earthly kings that we taste of the joys of the +Saviour’s feast. It is not amid honors and riches and the pleasures of +sense that the calm dews of Heaven refresh the soul. We were made for a +higher friendship, for a more intimate union, for a sweeter companionship +than any that earth can provide. And it is only when the door has been +shut to the outer world, when the vanities of time have ceased to be +sought, that the soul is ready for the wedding garment, and able to +prepare for the marriage feast. It is in the inner sanctuary and alone, +divested of fleshy trammels and freed from the bondage of earthly +attachments, that the soul is able to meet its God and hold intimate +converse with Him. + +There are few, comparatively, out of the multitude of souls that are +called to the feast which is spread for them, that ever sit down at the +Master’s table. Many are invited, and the servant is sent out at the hour +of supper to say to them that were called, that all things are ready, and +that they should come; but they tarry, they are not ready, they begin to +make excuses and wish to be held excused. Some are entangled in perishable +riches and cannot leave their possessions; others are preoccupied with +worldly affairs and must not neglect their business; still others are +pursuing the pleasures of earth, and have no time for the things of +Heaven. But the feast is not for these, after all. The Master invites +them, He calls them, He sends His ministers in search of them, He reproves +and chides them, He thunders against them to make them hear and obey; but +they will not come, they shall never taste of His banquet. He has not +spread a table for the proud, the haughty, the arrogant; He cannot meet in +loving communion the worldly, the sensuous, the lovers of ease and hurtful +pleasures. Such as these are not prepared to meet Him; they would be out +of place and ill at ease in His company, they do not like His society.(60) + +To be able to come to the Master and to sit at His feast there is need of +preparation. The garments of the world must be changed for the garments of +Heaven, the ways of men must be made to yield to the ways of God. For what +is wisdom with men is foolishness with God,(61) the weak things of earth +are the strong things of Heaven, the outcast of the world are the chosen +of the Father Almighty. And hence our Saviour under the figure of the +master in the parable who prepared a great supper, says of all those who +will not hear Him, who neglect His divine inspirations and despise the +call of His ministers, that they shall never taste of His feast. But who, +then, shall sit down at His table? for whom has He prepared the banquet? +He tells us Himself, that those who shall partake of His supper are the +lowly, the humble, the poor, the lame, and the blind; the despised of men +and the outcast of the people; those who have known sorrow and suffering +and penance, who have found the way of the cross and embraced it; who, for +the kingdom of Heaven and the love of Christ crucified, have given up +father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters; yea, +and their own life also, that they might inherit everlasting crowns that +fade not away.(62) + +St. Paul was one of these masterful spirits, who surrendered all that he +had, all that he prized most dearly for love of Christ and His service. +“The things that were gain to me,” he says, “the same have I counted loss +for Christ. Furthermore, I count all things to be but loss for the +excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the +loss of all things, and count them but as waste, that I may gain +Christ.”(63) What a struggle, too, was that which St. Augustine describes, +speaking of his own conversion! The parting with those sinful delights +which had hitherto held him in chains was like the forfeiture of all he +possessed, and it seemed to him that life thereafter would not be worth +living; yet he generously and vigorously gave them up that Christ might +become his possession. He has also described for us the change. “How +sweet,” he says, “did it at once become to me to want the sweetness of +those trifles, which to lose had been my fear, but which to have lost was +now a joy! Thou didst cast them forth from me, oh Thou true and highest +sweetness! Thou didst cast them forth, and in their stead didst enter in +Thyself, sweeter than all pleasure!”(64) + +It is such as these, heroic souls, who for the sake of God and His +kingdom, have made the world their enemy, that compose the company of the +elect. And for these alone it is that the Shepherd of souls has spread a +table of rest and peace, even in this life, of which they partake in the +sight of their enemies, in the presence of those who think evil of them, +who despise and deride them, in the sight of the world which hates them. +These holy souls, the elect of God, whom the Father has chosen for +Himself, have learned, through the trials and losses of life, the lessons +of peace and detachment which crosses are intended to teach. They have +learned, by exclusion and retirement from worldly festivities and +pernicious delights, to draw near to God, out of love for His beauty and +mercy, or if only to ease their breaking hearts and dispel the loneliness +of their forsaken lives. In the words of the Psalmist, they have tasted +and seen that the Lord is sweet, and that there is no one like unto +God.(65) With the image of the Crucified before their eyes and conscious +of the presence of their loving Shepherd, they greet with delight the +sufferings that oppress them, and they feast in peace in the presence of +their enemies. They know that all is arranged or permitted by the hand +that guards them, and by the One that loves them; and, though He slay +them, yet will they trust Him.(66) For what can happen to those that love +God? what evil can befall them? Angels have charge over them to keep them +in all their ways.(67) + +It is confidence, therefore, in their Saviour and God that gives peace and +tranquillity to the souls of the just. To know Him, to love Him, to trust +Him, to dwell in His presence and to please Him, throughout all the +vicissitudes and evils of life, are the objects of their constant actions +and the highest aspirations of their fervid souls. Confident of the favor +and protection of God, and rooted in His love, they despise all pain and +the threats of men; and in the midst of the battle of life they rejoice in +a peace of mind and soul of which the worldling cannot dream. The pasture +in which they feed, the banquet of which they partake are nothing else +than the love and friendship of God which nourishes and refreshes their +spirits when to every mortal eye they seem destitute, abandoned and alone. +And this peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding,(68) develops in +souls truly spiritual a habit of mind and a character of life that even +here below partake of the stability and calm sense of victory which, in +their perfection, belong only to the state of the blessed in Heaven. They +feel that all things are possible to them through Him that strengtheneth +them,(69) and that no temporal affliction, no power of man or any creature +shall wrest from them the feast which they enjoy. And hence they are able +to ask, in the confident words of the Apostle, “Who shall separate us from +the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or +nakedness; or danger, or persecution, or the sword ... In all these things +we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. Therefore we are sure that +neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor +things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor +any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, +which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”(70) + + + + + +X. THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP RUNNETH OVER. + + +In these words the Psalmist alludes to one of the most touching offices +performed by the good shepherd towards his sheep. The day is drawing to a +close, the golden orb of light has sunk to rest, and the shadows are +creeping up the hills. The hush of night is falling round, and the +shepherd must gather his flock into the fold. The labors, the journeys, +the trials, the wanderings of the day are over, and now comes the time for +rest. It is a scene full of peace, and the sheep greet its approach with +feelings of restful anticipation. Many of them are foot-sore and lame; +many have received bruises and scratches during the journeyings of the +day; some have gaping and bleeding wounds from the attacks of wild beasts; +while others are simply tired out and exhausted from the long walks and +steep climbing of hills. The shepherd knows all this, and before leading +them into rest he takes care to see that the wounds of all are dressed and +soothed, so that nothing shall disturb the sweet repose of their sleep. +For this purpose he stands at the door of the fold as the sheep pass in. +He has olive oil and cedar-tar to use as healing ointments for their +wounds, and he has cool, refreshing water for those that are worn and +weary. Lovingly and tenderly he regards each member, as one by one they +enter into rest; and they that are wounded or over-weary he holds back +with his rod, till their scars and sores are duly cared for and made ready +for the night’s repose. + +How closely these offices performed for the sheep by the shepherd resemble +the care of our Father and Saviour providing at the end for the souls that +He loves! He has been with them all through life, leading, guiding, +guarding, shepherding them at all times, going before them with the +blessings of goodness. And when at length the end approaches, they feel +the need of His loving-kindness perhaps more than ever before. Like the +shepherd’s flock, their needs are many and various. Some souls there are +who, through the special grace of God, are able to pass their lives in +innocence and holiness, living in the world, yet not of it, dwelling in +the midst of men and in the sight of their wickedness and sin, yet +undefiled withal, beautiful witnesses of the power and love of Him that +strengthens and preserves them. + +But the majority are not thus favored. Notwithstanding all their graces, +they have been subject to falls—perhaps to many grievous falls; they have +suffered many wounds and bruises, they have had many tears to shed. +Multitudes there are, in fact, who come down to the verge of life, to the +very gate of death, sin-stained, racked and wounded, their life blood +ebbing out through sores and wounds which they themselves have made by +wilful open friendship with sin and vice, the deadly foes of their souls. +We have many varying examples of these straying souls. There is the type +of Mary Magdalen, of St. Peter, of St. Paul, of St. Augustine, who passed +a portion, brief or prolonged, of their mortal days far from the Father’s +home, feeding on the husks of swine; but who, while yet in the vigor of +life, felt the touch of the merciful hand and heard the sound of the +loving voice, leading them, calling them back to God, back to the “beauty +ever ancient and ever new.” Such souls as these, it is true, constitute +one class of erring, but repenting sinners; but there is another class +whose plight is far more pitiable. They are those long-delayed, but +finally repentant sinners, men and women who have lived their lives away +from the Church and its sacraments, who have grown old and gray in the +sins of their youth, and now, at the last, when death is coming, are +moved, by a special grace from Heaven, to weep for their sins and wasted +years before they enter their eternal abode. + +For each and all of these how important it is that the Shepherd should +stand at the door of the fold and bind up their wounds with His tender +grace before they pass through the portals of death! Scarred and wayward +children, victims of evil circumstances, creatures of vanity and of folly, +they realize at the end how impotent they are, how helpless in the +presence of the coldness of death to redeem or make sure the years that +are fled, unless He draw near and assist them who has sustained them in +life, and who is at once the author and the master of both life and death! + +But for all, without exception, the need of the Shepherd is imperative at +the end. The victory, the happy issue of life’s struggle, “is not of him +that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”(71) +All may run, all may strive, indeed, for the prize of eternal life, but +none can be sure, short of the mercy of God, that he will be saved; none +can merit this crowning glory of life. Whether young or old, whether +favored or neglected, whether innocent or guilty, whether the life has +been dowered with special blessings and never known the stain of grievous +sin, or whether it has been eked out amidst deepest misery and defiled +with hateful crimes, the same uncertainty for all remains as to the manner +in which the end shall come. Men may reason and conjecture, from what they +see and know, that this one or that is in God’s favor, and shall so +persevere to the end; that the members of a certain family, or class, or +station in life, are sure to be saved, and shall never fall short; but +that those of another class or condition shall, on the contrary, die as +they have lived, in the filth of their sins, to be forever in torment. But +these are the reasonings of men, which are of no avail in the sight of +God. It is only the Father in Heaven who knows the elect. He alone is able +to tell who shall remain to be crowned, and who is to be condemned. +Perseverance is a gratuitous gift of God, we cannot merit it. All our good +actions and holy deeds, which are performed in the state of grace and out +of a motive of charity, do, it is true, merit a reward in Heaven, they +tend to increase our blessedness hereafter; but just as it is not in our +power to merit the first grace, by which we are raised from a state of +sin, so are we utterly unable to do anything which shall secure for a +certainty the final grace, by which alone we can be saved. Wherefore the +Preacher said: “All these things have I considered in my heart, that I +might carefully understand them: there are just men and wise men, and +their works are in the hand of God; and yet man knoweth not whether he be +worthy of love or hatred. But all things are kept uncertain for the time +to come, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, +to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that +offereth victims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the good is, so +also is the sinner; as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth.”(72) + +This uncertainty as to the end of life, and of the gift of final +perseverance, all holy souls have felt. To die in the friendship of God, +and thence to enjoy His presence forever, is a gift of so transcendent a +nature, so far above our natural powers and utmost deserts that no +creature, which can at all conceive it, would dare claim it as a right. It +was this conviction that made the saints tremble to think of it. This it +was that prompted St. Paul to admonish the Philippians to work out their +salvation with fear and trembling,(73) and that also evoked from the same +Apostle those candid words concerning himself: “I chastise my body, and +bring it into subjection; lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I +myself should become a castaway.”(74) + +And have we not sometimes witnessed instances which, so far as man can +judge, give ground for this fear as to perseverance, and emphasize the +great truth that to die in God’s favor is, indeed, a singular and a +gratuitous gift? How many have we not known who started well, but +terminated ill! How many are innocent and holy in youth and give every +promise of splendid manhood, but fade and drop, like poisoned flowers, ere +the age of maturity has dawned! How many are able to pass through the most +critical period of their lives, unshaken and undefiled, full of faith, +hope, love, purity; but who, when the age of security is thought to have +come, lose the grip which seemed so firm, turn to evil, yield to vicious +habits, and die reprobates of God! Look at King Solomon! Who was ever more +promising than he in his youth? Who ever gave fairer prospects of +continued holiness and of a beautiful end? He was so lovely, so amiable, +so favored of God in the morning of life; graced with such high +perfections, not knowing evil, a stranger to vice, a lover of sanctity, of +wisdom, and of grace. It would seem that he could never fall—he who was +the object of such unwonted favors, who dwelt so supremely in the smile of +Heaven. But lo, and behold the end of him who had received so many graces, +who chose wisdom as his handmaid that he might be guided aright! Behold +that youthful figure, so full of promise and goodly hope, praying to God +that he might never deviate from the ways of grace; and then see the +gray-haired apostate tottering to the grave, borne down by the weight of +his sins and of his years! And how many more there have been, like King +Saul, like Renan and Voltaire, and numerous others that we ourselves +perhaps have known, who were great and good in youth, and for a term of +years, but whose end was a miserable failure! + +Our perseverance, then, or the favor to die in the state of grace, is not +of ourselves, not the reward of our efforts, or of our good works, “but of +God that sheweth mercy.” We must do all in our power to merit eternal +life; we must press on to the mark, waging ceaseless battle in behalf of +God and of our souls, even to the last moment; but for the happy end of it +all we must perforce rely on the tender mercy of God. This is why our +Lord, before He departed from earth, prayed to His heavenly Father for His +disciples: “Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given me; +... I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world; but that +thou shouldst keep them from evil.”(75) This same truth the Psalmist also +had in mind when he prayed: “Perfect thou my goings in thy paths, that my +footsteps be not moved.”(76) + +It is this appalling uncertainty about the end and outcome of life, +together with our own inability to make them secure, that makes death so +terrible to the minds and thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians and +well-living persons. They fear to fall into the hands of the living God. +For them the present life may be not so attractive; on the contrary, it is +likely replete with pain and toil; but somehow they wish to linger here, +preferring that which is certain, although so miserable, to that which is +doubtful, perhaps awful and irreparable. So long as they continue in this +present world there is chance for change, there is hope of improvement. +But when death intervenes, and the soul is removed to the other life, all +hopes of change are swept away, and the lot of the soul is fixed for +eternity. There is, of course, a fear of death which is altogether +natural. Many dread death who pretend not to believe in a future life, or +even in the existence of God. And many there are whose lives are holy, and +who have not whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, nevertheless, the +very thought of death is fraught with all manner of terrors. As some are +naturally afraid in the absence of light, and tremble with fear at being +alone in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or place, so there are many +who, without assignable reason, other than a native tendency, are appalled +at the thought of death. + +But when all due allowances have been made for the uncertainty of final +perseverance, and for the anxiety arising from natural temperament, it +seems not too much to say that, for the most part, the fear and dread of +death which haunts so many Christians can be reduced to two causes: a +defect of faith or a love of the world. It is one of these causes, or both +of them together, which alone can explain, in the majority of cases, why +such numbers of Christians and Catholics are unwilling to surrender the +present life, and are disturbed at the very thought of dying. Either they +do not realize by faith the surpassing glories of the life beyond—doubting +its reality, questioning its nature, misunderstanding the goodness and +mercy of God; or else they are so attached to the present existence that +all serious thought and desire for a better life are excluded from their +minds and hearts. Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual life is +indicated by the answers we give to the following questions: “Do I love to +think of God? Am I willing to suffer for God? Does my desire to be with +Him destroy my fear of death?” We do not fear to meet or to be with one +whom we really love, for “love casteth out fear.” There is no dread at the +coming of the parent or friend whom we truly love, unless, perchance, we +have offended him, and lack full faith that we have been forgiven and +reinstated in his favor and friendship. + +So it is with God. If we are unwilling to meet Him, or filled with fear at +the approach of His coming, it seems of a certainty that our faith is at +fault. Why should we not wish to meet Him who has made us, who loves us, +who has washed away our sins with His own blood, who alone can comfort our +trembling souls and fill us with every good? Perhaps we have sinned and +betrayed our Maker many times and grievously in our lives, and the voices +of those sins are haunting us, and bidding us beware of the hour of death +and of the judgment that follows. Perhaps there is a lurking suspicion +that we have not been forgiven, a temptation that we are not sincere, a +feeling that our sins are too grave to be pardoned, a conviction that we +do not belong to the company of the elect. We may have notions, moreover, +altogether severe, of the nature of God and of His justice; we feel His +immensity and sanctity, we have heard so much of His ineffable beauty, +that, weighed down with a sense of our nothingness, of our poverty and +misery and sinfulness, we cannot but shudder at the thought of appearing +in His presence. These and similar terrors may take hold of us and fill us +with a dread of death; but is it not clear that, whatever their cause, +these fears are born of a lack of faith? We do not trust, as we ought, the +Shepherd that loves us, we are not convinced of His mercy and kindness, if +we do not believe with child-like confidence that He stands ready ever to +forgive and bless the least of His children that humbly and sincerely seek +Him, asking for the help they need. The severity of God toward sinners +endures only so long as they refuse to acknowledge their guilt. His +harshness with them, like that of Joseph with his brethren, is but love in +disguise; and as soon as they are brought to own their guilt, that which +before was the anger of God is swiftly turned into His love and mercy. +Christ did not come to destroy, but to save. He will not crush the broken +reed, nor extinguish the smoking flax.(77) “As a father hath compassion on +his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him; for he +knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust.”(78) + +But there is also the love of the world, which enslaves so many. So +numerous and so bewitching are the attractions of the present life that +they are loath to leave them. It is a beautiful world, this universe of +ours, so deep, so wide, so vast! It is filled with pleasures and +allurements and graced with myriad charms; and he, indeed, seems cold of +heart who can easily turn from its enchanting beauties, and close his ear +to its manifold voices. Ponder for a moment the richness of nature, its +similarity and variety, its sameness and its diversity; consider the +abundance of the harvest—the glowing fruits, the green and golden crops, +the sweet-scented flowers and gift-bearing grasses; see the stars above +and the waters beneath—all the wonders of earth and sky; and then when you +have ranged over fields and waves and mountains, when you have climbed up +the steeps of the sky and gazed on the marvels of the heavens, descend +again to earth and consider the human form—the chiefest work of the +Almighty hand, and the crown of the natural world. What beauties are here +concealed! What a mingling of material and spiritual, of human and almost +divine! What words can express, what lines portray the beauty of the human +countenance? Who can describe or adequately define the loveliness that +streams from human eyes, or echoes from the human voice? And yet these are +but the outer fringes and dimmest glimpses of the beauties of the soul +that dwells within. + +How painful, then, it is for the worldly to forsake the beauties and +pleasures of this present life. Bound down to their beds of clay by the +things of sense, they are grieved to part with a life so full of diverse +attractions. How can they think undismayed of closing forever their eyes +and ears to these charms of color and sound! It is such a difficult thing, +and so hard to nature, to abandon these scenes of enticing pleasure, to +bid farewell to those that are dear and be hurried away alone and forlorn +to the chill and gloom of the grave. + +So reason the children of the world; but are not their reasonings and +feelings a proof of their little faith, and of their poor conceptions of +spiritual and eternal interests? They do not want to leave the world, +because they love it; and they love the world, because their faith is too +weak to raise them to a vision of higher things. The plain on which they +stand is too low clearly to see the things of Heaven. How poor and +trifling at best is the earth and all it contains to Him who beholds with +a vivid faith the world above that is to come! How gladly does he lay down +his life and give up the struggle with ceaseless battles, who sees by +faith, just beyond the portals of death, the great home of the blessed, +spread out like a city on the mountains, bathed in light inaccessible, +full of joy and unending gladness, where “death shall be no more, nor +mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more.”(79) + +The man of faith, therefore, is in no wise straightened or disturbed by +the approach of death. He has learned to know and to trust the good Master +whom he serves. Like the Apostle, he is only concerned that Christ should +be glorified in him at all times and in all things, “whether it be by life +or by death;” for to him also, “to live is Christ, and to die is +gain.”(80) He lives in the world, but is not of it; he treads the ways of +earth, but he really belongs to the kingdom above. Hence his cup of +interior peace is ever running over. Though surrounded by many evils, he +does not faint; though tempted exceedingly, he does not yield; but is +joyous and peaceful withal; because at all times and in all things he +feels himself to be the faithful servant of God, “in much patience, in +tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in strifes, in prisons, in +seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in +knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity +unfeigned; ... as dying, and yet living; as chastised, and not killed; as +sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having +nothing, yet possessing all things.”(81) + +“Precious in the sight of God is the death of His Saints.” As they have +lived for Christ, they gladly welcome the summons that calls them home to +rest. Calmly and fearlessly they go down to death; joyously and with +feelings of exultation they hail the coming of Him on whom their thoughts +have rested throughout life, of Him whom they have ever seen by faith, +whom they have loved, whom they have trusted, whom they have chosen for +their own. Confident of the power and goodness of their faithful Shepherd, +pain daunts them not, the enemy frets them not. The last hour for them is +not one of darkness, but of light; it is not a time for lamentations, but +for joyous and gladsome strains. The end may be sudden, or it may be +gradual in its approach; it may come early, or late in life; it may be at +home or abroad; it may be in the winter, or it may be in summer; on the +sea or on the land; but to the just and spiritual it can never be a +surprise, it can never be lonely, never sad. It is the time for which they +have always longed—a time of liberation, of emancipation from the trammels +of earth and flesh, the end of continuous dying and the beginning of +lasting life. What a supreme moment, what a joyous event is death for a +just and holy soul! What sweet emotions must thrill the spirit, as the +Saviour stoops over the bed of death to wipe away forever the last of +earthly tears! Mary is there to hush the voice of reproach and to whisper +words of peace; Jesus has come to claim the soul and take it to Himself, +and flights of angels are waiting to sing it to its rest. + + + + + +XI. SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE; AND +I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD UNTO LENGTH OF DAYS. + + +If the tender lambs and timid sheep of the shepherd’s flock could speak +the sentiments of their innocent hearts, each one would certainly voice +the words which here the Psalmist has uttered for them all. Throughout the +live-long day, throughout all the days of their lives, they experience the +shepherd’s goodness, they are the objects of his constant mercy. He has +been caring for them since their birth; he has led them out each morning, +since first they were able to walk; he has provided them with food, and +led them to water; and he has ever been present to shield them from harm, +and to protect them from their enemies. After such repeated experiences +and trials of his loving-kindness, they have grown accustomed to his +faithfulness and are filled with love of his goodness and mercy. And while +they have not the power of speech, and cannot by words express their +feelings, they do by the louder voice of action—by their quiet trust in +his care, by their habitual mildness and gentleness and quick response to +his every word, by the absence of solicitude and fear in view of his +presence—by these and all the other actions that speak their simple hearts +they show their love for their shepherd. Though often wounded and bleeding +and exhausted from the roughness and length of their journeys, they have +no distrust about the future, no fear for the morrow. In the midst of +distress the shepherd, they know, will provide. The Psalmist, therefore, +in the closing words of the shepherd song, gives utterance to the feelings +of the sheep when he sings: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all +the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto +length of days.” + +But here, as in the opening verse of the Shepherd Psalm, the words of the +sacred Singer, although truly expressive of the sentiments of the sheep, +are more directly the expression of his own inner feelings, and of the +feelings of all faithful souls towards the Lord who rules and guides them. +All those whose lives have been really and sincerely led by faith, have, +like the shepherd’s flock, grown trustfully accustomed, in the course of +years, to the goodness and mercy, to the faithfulness and love of the hand +that provides for them. As they look into their lives, and retrace the +steps they have taken, they cannot fail to see how God has been always +with them, patiently enduring their faults, mercifully binding up their +wounds and hurts, and lovingly leading, drawing them to Himself. They can +see their advancement, slow perhaps as it has been; and they know it is +God who has given the increase. Looking now at their lives through the +perspective of the years that are gone, how many problems they are able to +solve! for how many apparent mysteries they have found an explanation! All +those crosses and trials, all those struggles and battles with the enemy, +all those attacks from within and assaults from without, all, in fact, +that they have ever endured, their sins alone excepted, they now can +trace, through the light of faith, back to the hand of their Father in +Heaven. Not everything, forsooth, has yet been explained, but enough, +indeed, is sufficiently clear to remove every doubt from the faithful soul +as to the goodness and Providence of God. And hence she exclaims with the +Psalmist, out of the abundance of her faith and confidence, “Surely +goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall +dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” + +It is doubtless a lack of implicit trust in God and divine Providence +which, more than anything else, accounts for the unhappiness and spiritual +barrenness of so many Christian and religious lives. Poor and scanty is +the fruit they yield, simply because they have no depth of soil, they are +not deeply and firmly rooted in faith and confidence in God. Like reeds +shaken by the wind, like houses built on the sand, they tremble and shake +with every blast, they are all but overturned by every tempest that rises. + +Nor is it wonderful that this should be so. The higher gifts of the spirit +come from God, and hence the good fruit which the spirit yields is also +traceable back to Him. “We do not gather grapes from thorns nor figs from +thistles; and as a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, so neither can +an evil tree bring forth good fruit.”(82) And just because the abundance +of the harvest of the spiritual life is dependent upon God as its giver, +is it strange that any distrust of Him and His Providence should be a +great hindrance to the soul’s advancement, and to the bestowal of the +constant help it needs? Can God be pleased with those who do not confide +in Him, and who do not trust Him? Our Lord’s own chiding words to His +disciples are a proof of His displeasure at any distrust in His power and +goodness. How often did He rebuke them for their want of confidence in +Him! How often did He accuse them reproachfully of their “little +faith,”(83) of being “slow of heart,”(84) of being an “unbelieving and +perverse generation!”(85) He was constantly pointing to their lack of +faith, reminding them that it was the source of their weakness, the cause +of their ignorance in things spiritual, the reason of their powerlessness +in the face of difficulties and against the enemies of their souls. It is +clear that Almighty God, being a generous and loving Father, must be +offended at those of His children who do not trust Him; and their want of +faith in Him is consequently the reason for His denying to them the help +which is the life of their souls, and without which they are powerless to +be useful servants in His vineyard. + +And this failure to confide in the goodness of God betrays itself in other +ways. Besides sealing up the fountains of special graces and closing the +door on divine generosity, besides a general unfruitfulness in the +spiritual life, and the lack of all greater works for God and for souls, +which are its immediate consequences, it also penetrates into the interior +sanctuary of the spirit, and weakens at their source the springs of +spiritual action. The results are manifest. Not only is there no yielding +of fruit, but growth is likewise wanting. And if, under fairer conditions, +there has ever been any progress, it is soon perceived to wither and wane +in a soul devoid of living faith. All the exercises and practices of the +Christian life participate in the baneful effects. Prayer and the use of +the sacraments are either seriously neglected or gradually given up, and +the blighting influences of irreligion rapidly spread and overrun all the +departments of life. The view one takes of God, the faith or lack of faith +and trust one has in Providence, have their effect on the character and +give a direction to all one’s ways of thinking, feeling, acting, in regard +to the world we live in, in regard to mankind in general, in regard to the +causes, purposes, and destinies of all things. + +Our conceptions of Providence are vital, therefore. They really determine +what our life is to be, and they are an index to the life that is +finished. It is impossible that we should be quite the same whether we try +to eliminate God from our lives, or allow His blessed influence to cheer +and lead us on; whether we look upon Him as a cold Master, waiting to +exact and to punish, or as a kind Father and Shepherd, seeking to spare +and to save; whether we regard Him as hid far in the heavens, caring +naught for the creatures and the world He has made, or whether we conceive +Him as intimately bound up with all the works of His hands, although +distinct from them, as guiding and regulating everything, as tenderly +loving and providing for all the needs of our souls. + +Another most harmful result of deficient faith and confidence in God is +that it leads us to trust in creatures. It causes us to reverse the proper +order of things. We are dependent beings, and we instinctively feel our +deficiencies and the need of some one, or something on which to lean, at +times, and to which we can look for assistance. We may not be entirely and +always conscious of this tendency in us, we may be too proud or too blind +to admit it, or we may wish we could overcome it and rid our lives of so +constant a need; but whether we see it and acknowledge it or not, whether +we encourage it or try to repress it, the need is always there, deeply +engraved in our nature as creatures, and we cannot but seek to satisfy it. +There is none of us, frail beings that we are, who is entirely sufficient +unto himself. Sometimes, of course, the voice of our needs is silent, and +we feel that we shall never want; “I said in my abundance,” observes the +Psalmist, “I shall not be moved forever;”(86) but when the tide begins to +ebb and prosperity subsides, how soon do we remember that we are dust! How +frequently in times of trouble, in times of illness and poverty and +suffering, when face to face with our foes, or when death steps in and +slaughters, are we made aware of our insufficiency, and of our utter +helplessness to live our lives alone and meet single-handed the burdens +and misfortunes of earth! It takes but a little frost to nip the root of +all our greatness, and then when our high-blown pride breaks under us we +quickly realize how fragile and insecure are the personal foundations of +our lives. Naturally and reasonably, therefore, did the pagan philosophers +conclude that friendship and friends were necessary to man. + +Profoundly aware of this fundamental need of help and support which is a +result of our nature, we habitually stretch out our hands to others, not +only during the years of infancy and childhood, but to a greater or less +extent throughout the whole period of our earthly existence. At first, of +course, it is to creatures that we necessarily look—to parents, relatives, +guardians, teachers, and later on, to friends and acquaintances. Our needs +in the beginning and in early years, though many and imperative, are +comparatively simple; they can be satisfied by those around us. But as we +advance to maturity and take in more completely the meaning of our lives, +and consider not so much the needs of the body as the demands of the soul, +we find that the multiple requirements of infancy and youth, which were +able to be supplied by those that were near, have given way to the fewer, +but vast and unlimited, claims of age, which express the wants of the +spirit. It is when we appeal to creatures for the complete and permanent +satisfaction of these latter necessities of our being, that we seriously +err, and open the way to disappointment and sorrow. Not that we are to +have no cherished and chosen friends, or that we should despise the needs +and gifts, the privileges and blessings of friendship, which in truth our +nature requires; nor again that we are to regard with skeptical, +disdainful eyes the world and human nature; but we must not deceive +ourselves by trying to find in any created being that which it does not +possess. We must not endeavor to get from any creature that perfect +satisfaction which we need, and which the Creator alone can give. Neither +must we seek to fill the unlimited capacity of our souls with those gifts +only, poor and defective at best, which frail mortals like ourselves are +able to supply. It is folly in the highest degree to expect from anyone +less than God that which only God can afford. + +The mistake, therefore, is made when creatures of any kind are allowed to +take the place of God; when they are sought and reposed in as an end in +themselves, and as sufficient satisfaction for the needs of the human +spirit. Unwise, indeed, is this mode of action, and bitter are the sorrows +of soul to which it inevitably leads! One man trusts in riches, another in +glory, another in the esteem of men; one leans upon his friends and +companions, another upon his relatives—all forgetful of the frail and +unsubstantial nature of every earthly prop. Frequently they never awaken +to the peril of their state until they find themselves face to face with +their doom and the awful disillusionment. The crash may be delayed, but +the day must come sooner or later for all of us, who have advanced but a +little beyond maturity, when all the natural lights of life go out, when +every human prop is removed, and we find ourselves out alone and in the +dark, so far as depends on the world and creatures. How miserable then +shall we be if we have put our trust in men! if we have tried to make +creatures play the part in our lives which only God can play! When we need +them most they fail us, when we fain would find beneath their protection a +shield against the fiery darts of life, behold they wither like the ivy of +Jonas and leave us alone in our want!(87) How vain, therefore, and +groundless is that confidence which is put in men, and how wretched that +poor man that hangs on princes’ favors! “Thou trustest in money,” says St. +Augustine, “thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in honor, and in some +eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in some +principal friend, thou holdest to vanity. When thou trustest in all these +things, either thou diest and leavest them here, or in thy lifetime they +all perish, and thou failest in thy trust.”(88) + +It is no despisal, then, of the needs and helps of earthly friends and of +our fellow-creatures to say that we should not put entire trust in them +for all the wants and demands of our being. They are good, they were made +by God, they are oftentimes able to assist us—nay, we need them to a +certain extent; but they are utterly unable to satisfy us completely, they +cannot if they would, simply because of the extent of our wants. And even +if creatures could give us a partial contentment, as at times they seem to +do, we know that it cannot last, and in the midst of our joy and pleasure +we are haunted by the thought that some day, soon at latest, it all must +pass away. We are seeking for rest, for peace, for happiness, and that +unending; we want something to steady our lives and satisfy the yearnings +of our souls forever: but we must not look for these things in the world, +for the world at best is passing away. There is no stability to human +things; the cloud and the storm swiftly follow the sunshine; we have not +here below a lasting habitation. Today we are sitting at the banquet of +pleasure, tomorrow we are draining the cup of sorrow; today we receive the +applause of men, tomorrow we may be the objects of their scorn; today we +put forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow there comes a killing frost +that ruins all our prospects. + +Such, then, is the lot of man when considered in his relations to +creatures and to the world. It is a lot full of uncertainty, of +instability, of vicissitude; but this should not make us skeptical or +cynical; it affords no justification for pessimism. It is a condition +arising, on the one hand, from the very nature of limited beings, and on +the other, from the vast potentialities of our souls, which, while they +are limited in giving to others, cannot be appeased except by the God who +made them. There is a craving in the heart of man for something which the +world cannot give. He clutches for the things that are passing, he toils, +he labors, he struggles; he strives for money, for power, for place, for +honor, not that any of these things are in themselves what he desires, but +only because he conceives them as means and helps to the satisfaction, to +the stillness of mind, and peace of heart, and rest of soul and body for +which his nature longs. Peace and happiness and contentment of life are +the objects of all our dreams, of our persistent efforts, of our ambitions +and aims; but until we give up the hope of finding these things in the +world, in our fellow-mortals, in anything short of God, we shall never +know the blessedness for which we yearn. If we would ever attain to the +state which we covet, we must learn the lesson, even though it be through +tears and sorrow, that God alone, who made our souls with all their vast +desires, is able to comfort us and steady our lives amid the storms and +distresses of earth. + +It is futile to trust in men, or “in the children of men, in whom there is +no salvation.”(89) The peace and blessedness which we seek are “not as the +world giveth;”(90) and unless we turn away from the world and cease to +torture our lives with its vanities, our portion can never be other than +heartaches, secret loathing, consuming thirst. “For many friends cannot +profit,” says Thomas a’Kempis, “nor strong helpers assist, nor prudent +counsellors give a profitable answer, nor the books of the learned afford +comfort, nor any precious substance deliver, nor any place, however +retired and lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost assist, help, +strengthen, console, instruct, and guard us.”(91) Such has been the +history of the race, and such is the experience of every individual in the +race that has placed his hope and trust in anything created. + +We are confronted, therefore, on the one side by the inherent weakness of +our own nature and the constant needs that arise therefrom; and on the +other side, we are assured by the history of the race, if not by our own +experience, that so long as we strive to satisfy our wants by an appeal to +anything but God we are doomed to disappointment and sorrow. It is +unfortunate that most people must first be crushed by the world and +creatures which they serve before they grasp the fundamental truth that +creatures are not their God. Comparatively few of those who enjoy the +world are ever brought to realize the dignity and divine purpose of their +souls until the world and its allurements, like a false pageant on a false +stage, give way beneath them, and they fall helpless and alone. It is +commonly only after repeated awful experiences, when worn out and +exhausted by years of fruitless quest for peace and happiness and +contentment, that men wake up to the simple fact that the treasures which +they seek are not in the world, nor as the world giveth. + +But it is one thing to turn away from the world disappointed, disgusted +and betrayed; and it is quite another thing to turn to God and to +recognize Him as our good Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to +receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our wants. There are many +people who find the world a disappointment and a deception, and who turn +from it with loathing and hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary eyes +to the proper object of their trust. Like the Israelites of old, they +succeed at length in escaping from the hands of oppression and tyranny, +but only to wander in a desert land throughout the length of their days. +This is the region where dwell the pessimist, the skeptic and the +cynic—miserable mortals that have wasted on creatures the talents they +should have given to their Creator, or that have otherwise failed in their +conception of life, and have left unmultiplied the money of the +Master.(92) There is plainly no middle course for us, if we would not +encounter disaster; we are not negative as to the necessities of our +nature; it is not enough for us to turn from positive harm, from the +objects that deceive and disappoint us; we must further turn to positive +good, and to Him who alone can quiet and appease our yearning spirits. + +One of the most evident and convincing reasons, then, why we should put +our trust in God above all else is that He alone can satisfy and give us +rest. Only God is able adequately to respond to all the needs of our +being. The simplest process of reasoning should assure us of this, when +once we perceive the vastness of our wants and the impossibility of their +satisfaction through the medium of created things. We know our nature, +which has come from the source and essence of truth, cannot be false. +Neither can our unlimited capacities for knowledge, for joy, for happiness +be a deceiving mockery. There is a way to peace for us, and a source of +supreme contentment; there is a fountain of living waters from which, if +we drink, we shall never thirst again. Hence our Saviour said: “Come to me +all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you;”(93) and +again, “he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not +thirst forever: but the water that I will give him shall become in him a +fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting.”(94) + +But we shall never be able to come to God, we shall never succeed even in +getting near the secret of interior peace and contentment until we are +able to grasp more or less comprehensively the great basic truths of our +existence: that God loves each one of us with the love of an infinite +Father, and that His Providence is so universal and omnipotent as to +extend to all things, even to the numbering of the hairs of our head. We +talk much about chance and fortune and accident, we speak every day of +things happening, as if by the sheerest contingence, without warning or +previous knowledge; and so it is with reference to ourselves, and to all +the world perhaps: but with reference to divine Providence it is not so; +there is nothing accidental, nothing unforeseen with respect to God. +“Without Thy counsel and Providence, and without cause, nothing cometh to +pass in the earth,”(95) says the Imitation. But what does this mean, “God +provides?” It means that the will of the omnipotent Father directs and +governs everything. “Providence,” says St. John Damscene, “is the will of +God, by which all things are fitly and harmoniously governed,”(96) and +such is its power that nothing can elude or deceive it, neither can it be +hindered or baffled in any way. “For God will not except any man’s person, +neither will He stand in awe of any man’s greatness; for He made the +little and the great, and He hath equally care of all.”(97) + +And just as divine Providence disposes and governs all the events of life, +directing each to its proper end, so the divine Will is the cause of +everything that exists. Just as it is impossible that anything should +escape God’s knowledge and directing hand, so is it impossible that +anything should exist or come into being without the direct intervention +or permission of His will. There is nothing in the world which God has not +made, and nothing takes place which is not according to His good-pleasure, +except the malice and guilt of sin. Even all the other evils of life, such +as sickness, suffering, disease, poverty, cold, hunger, thirst, and the +like, God actually and positively wills. And precisely because these +things proceed from His will, they cannot be bad. God is the author of all +good, and evil He cannot do. So good, indeed, is He that, if He were not +sufficiently omnipotent to draw good out of evil, He would never have +permitted any evil to exist. “God has judged it better,” says St. +Augustine, “to work good out of evil, than to allow no evil.”(98) We must +not argue in our foolishness and try to understand all the doings of God, +for His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts.(99) It is +often beyond our power even to understand our fellow-creatures, and how +foolish it is to complain because we cannot comprehend the great Creator! +Enough for us, if we be sincere and right of heart, to know, as we do, +that God is good, that He loves us individually, and that His protecting +hand guides and governs all the events of our lives, even to the smallest +detail. These are truths which we must take hold of and lay close to our +hearts, else we shall go the way of error and issue in ultimate disaster. + +And from these truths, so certain and unquestionable, it further follows +that everything existing in the world, so far as it affects us, everything +that falls to our lot, all that we encounter, all that we suffer, all that +we do, aside from sin, has been purposely arranged by Almighty God for our +greater spiritual good and eternal salvation. This must be so, since God +is the universal cause of all things, and since He sincerely loves us and +desires above all to save us. If it were otherwise, either He would not +have omnipotent control of everything, or He could not be said really to +desire our salvation. How sadly we misunderstand these great truths in our +daily lives, when we murmur and complain at the evils that afflict us! How +narrowly we conceive the all-powerful will of God, and the infinite abyss +of His goodness which would lead us to eternal delights! We would like to +escape all the evils of time, we love our lives, and we wish to save them +from final wreck; but when failing to trust to the will of God we forget +the words of Christ, that “he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he +that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.”(100) We +want to save our souls, and we are, perhaps, much disturbed about doing +many and great things in the cause of God and of Heaven, unmindful the +while of the Master’s warning that, “not every one that saith to me, Lord, +Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of +my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of +heaven.”(101) It is doubtless our aim to draw ever nearer and nearer to +our Saviour, and to deepen our relationship with Him; but do we remember +that He said, “whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and +my sister, and mother?”(102) + +“Yes,” you will say, “This is all true; I know it is so; my faith is at +fault. If I only had that beautiful faith and trust in God which many have +it would be easy for me, and I should be happy! Faith is a gift and +favored are they that possess it.” But, dear reader, can you not pray? Can +you not ask from God that heavenly gift which will move mountains and +translate them into the sea?(103) Can you not overcome your indolence and +your repugnance, and patiently and persistently implore from on high that +superior vision which pierces the clouds and sees in everything the hand +of God? Surely you can say, with the devout author of the Imitation of +Christ, “Behold, Oh beloved Father, I am in Thy hands, I bow myself under +the rod of Thy correction. Strike my back and my neck too, that my +crookedness may be conformed to Thy will.”(104) Here again, remember the +words of your Saviour, “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the +violent bear it away.”(105) + +Perhaps the greatest trial to our faith in divine Providence is in bearing +what we call the wrongs of life. That we should have any crosses to suffer +at all; that there should be death and sickness and disease; that there +should be poverty and misery, distress and worry, labor and sorrow; that +there should exist any of these things, is to our infirmity, if we forget +our sins and the sins of our race that have caused these evils, a trial +and a test of fidelity. But still more is it difficult, except to minds +that are deeply religious, to meet with the gentleness and serenity of +faith the positive injuries—the injustice, the scorn, the ridicule, the +pain and persecution which others, needy creatures like ourselves, +actually inflict upon us. It is easier, we say, to bear poverty than +insult; it is easier to suffer the inclemency of the elements than to +endure the unkindness of our brethren; it is easier to put up with the +pain and weariness of bodily sickness than to come under the lash of the +tongues of men. There is here, however, no room for hesitation and +question; the rule is the same for all the crosses that come to us. God +often permits us to be afflicted by the sins of others for our greater +spiritual profit. Since, therefore, all alike proceed from God, either by +positive act or divine permission, and since we know that He is supremely +good and loves us, having given every proof of His desire to save us, even +to the delivering up of His only Son,(106) we can never reasonably or +sincerely doubt that every evil and cross of life, with the sole exception +of our personal sins, has been arranged for our good. My God, do Thou +teach us the wisdom of the cross! “For this is a favor to Thy friend, that +for love of Thee he may suffer and be afflicted in the world, how often +soever and by whom soever Thou permittest such trials to befall him.”(107) + +It is helpful that here also, in learning to discern the source and +meaning of our afflictions, we have ever before us the examples of the +holiest souls. We know that in all trials they steadfastly look beyond the +cross that presses them to the hand of Him who has placed it there. Like +the shepherd’s sheep, they are convinced of the power and goodness of +their Master, and nothing can shake their trust in Him. Without +distinction or question they accept all as coming from God by special act +or sovereign permission, to purify them, to detach them from the world and +creatures, to increase their nearness and likeness to Himself, to multiply +their merits for Heaven and bring them to everlasting crowns. They +discover the workings of Providence everywhere, in things that are +painful, as well as in things that are pleasant to nature. Thus behind +their pangs of body and mind, behind the whips and scorns of time, behind +the tongue that slanders and calumniates them, behind the oppressor’s +wrong, the injustice and tyranny of princes and rulers, behind all the +evils of life they see the hand of Him who directs and governs all. But +here we must not conclude that the Saints and holy persons have never +resisted evil and evil-doers, and that consequently we must not. This +would be a serious mistake, as Church history and hagiography plainly +prove. Who was ever more vigorous and fearless in opposing wrong and the +doers of wrong than St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome? Who was ever +more persistent in his efforts to prevail against the evils of sin in +others than St. Monica, St. Teresa, St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of +Siena? After their example, then, we may and we must struggle against +evils of all kinds, whether physical or spiritual, whether from ourselves +or from others, in so far as it is not certain that it is the will of God +that we should submit to them. But when we have exerted ourselves +reasonably and lawfully to rid our lives of that which afflicts us, and +still it persists, there can be no further doubt that it is the will of +God that we should patiently and submissively accept our condition and our +cross. Since, however, we do not know how long it is the wish of +Providence that we should be burdened and afflicted, we may continue +patiently to use every legitimate means to be delivered, provided it be +done with humble resignation to the will of our heavenly Father. + +The acceptance of injuries, therefore, on the part of holy souls is not a +weak yielding to inevitable circumstances, nor a willing consent to the +wrongs of others. Like St. Paul, they know whom they have believed,(108) +and they are certain that, in due time, divine justice will bring all +evil-doers to an evil end and will deliver the just from their troubles. +And further, when the vengeance of the persecutor is turned upon them, and +they are hunted down without reason by their kind, even by the members of +their own household, they remember the words of their Shepherd, “The +disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is +enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his +lord. If they have called the good man of the house Beelzebub, how much +more them of his household!”(109) + +And again, when the servants of God behold the wicked prospering and the +just oppressed; when they see the ambitious, the covetous, the +unscrupulous preferred and honored, and they themselves plotted against +and rejected, their heart is not disturbed, because they know first of all +that “to them that love God, all things work together unto good,”(110) and +secondly, they are persuaded that the efforts of sinners must finally +fail. “For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the +wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm: and as a smoke +that is scattered abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance of a guest of +one day that passeth by.”(111) In a word, then, those who are really the +friends of God have faith and confidence in their heavenly Master; and all +the perils of earth, and all the powers of darkness cannot avail to daunt +them or turn them aside from their purpose. + +This steadfastness of religious trust we, in our turn, must strive to +acquire. It is the only way to peace and victory. If we would ever rise +above the evils of our lives we must learn to look to God for every thing. +And this looking to God must be, not only as to our bountiful benefactor, +but as to a kind master who knows how best to discipline his servants and +preserve them from irreparable harm. + +There is a substantially correct translation of the final verse of the +Shepherd Psalm, which may be rendered as follows: “And Thy goodness and +kindness pursue me all the days of my life, _that I may dwell_ in the +house of the Lord forever.” It is the special wording of the second clause +of the stanza that expresses the real purpose of divine Providence in +regard to the elect. Everything in life has been ordained and arranged for +their eternal salvation, and for the increase of their heavenly rewards. +“Therefore,” wrote St. Paul to Timothy, “I endure all things for the sake +of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ +Jesus, with heavenly glory.”(112) It is this firm conviction that infinite +love is at the bottom of all the workings of Providence, doing everything +for the sake of the elect, that consoles and steadies the souls of the +just throughout all the trials and crosses of life. In the thick of the +battle they never lose sight of the faithful Shepherd that leads them, and +they ever behold by faith the unspeakable delights He has prepared for +them that love Him. + +What joys are there in our faith and hope! If by the mercy and goodness of +God we succeed in saving our souls, how cheap will seem the price we shall +have paid for Heaven, and how benign and ineffably loving will appear the +Providence of God which is leading us there! At times now in our fervor we +can faintly and feebly imagine what it will mean to throw off forever this +veil of faith and see distinctly and continually the Shepherd of our +souls. But our liveliest conceptions here are infinitely inferior to the +vision to come. “To see God face to face, as He is; to gaze undazzled on +the Three Divine Persons, cognizable and distinct in the burning fires of +their inaccessible splendors; to behold that long-coveted sight, the +endless Generation of the All-holy Son, and our hearts to hold the joy, +and not die; to watch with spirits all out-stretched in adoration the +ever-radiant and ineffably beautiful Procession of the Holy Ghost from the +Father and the Son, and to participate ourselves in that jubilee of +jubilees, and drink in with greedy minds the wonders of that Procession, +and the marvelous distinctness of its beauty from the Generation of the +Son; to feel ourselves with ecstatic awe, and yet with seraphic intimacy, +overshadowed by the Person of the Unbegotten Father, the Father to whom +and of whom we have said so much on earth, the Fountain of Godhead, who is +truly our Father, while He is also the Father of the Eternal Son; to +explore, with exulting license and with unutterably glad fear, attribute +after attribute, oceans opening into oceans of divinest beauty; to lie +astonished in unspeakable contentment before the vision of God’s +surpassing Unity, so long the joyous mystery of our predilection, while +the Vision through all eternity seems to grow more fresh and bright and +new: O my poor soul! what canst thou know of this, or of these beautiful +necessities, of thy exceeding love, which shall only satisfy itself in +endless alternations, now of silence and now of song?”(113) + +If regret were possible for the blessed hereafter, they would never cease +to mourn over the loss of their opportunities on earth to increase their +eternal beatitude. It is only when the veil shall have been removed that +we shall fully realize how the goodness and mercy of God have always +pursued us in this life, that we might be saved and enjoy the rewards of +His house forever. May God give us all that child-like trust in our +heavenly Master which the sheep display toward their shepherd; may He +grant us that vivid constant faith of the Saints which will enable us to +see in every event of life, in adversity as well as in prosperity, in our +pains as well as in our joys, the designs of a loving Father who is ever +wishing and trying to lead His children to His home of eternal delights. + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 Isa. xl. 11. + + 2 Jer. xxiii. 4, 5. + + 3 Ezech. xxxiv. 11, 12, 23. + + 4 Phil. ii. 6, 7. + + 5 Jno. x. 30, 38; xii. 45. + + 6 Luke xii. 49. + + 7 Gen. iii. 19. + + 8 Lam. i. 12. + + 9 Ps. cxliv. 9. + + 10 Isa. liii. 4. + + 11 Rom. viii. 17. + + 12 2 Cor. iv. 17. + + 13 Matt. v. 48. + + 14 Jno. xv. 5. + + 15 Luke xxiii. 34. + + 16 Prov. viii. 31. + + 17 Jno. xv. 15. + + 18 Ps. viii. 5. + + 19 Prov. xxiii. 26. + + 20 Matt. xi. 28. + + 21 Jno. vi. 52, 55. + + 22 Jno. xvi. 2. + + 23 Ezech. xviii. 23; xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9. + + 24 Ps. 102. 14. + + 25 Luke xv. 4, 7. + + 26 Luke i. 31. + + 27 Matt. xvi. 18. + + 28 Luke x. 17. + + 29 Matt. xviii. 17. + + 30 Matt. xxiv. 35. + + 31 Matt. xxiv. 24. + + 32 2 Cor. xi. 26. + + 33 2 Cor. xi. 13. + + 34 Matt. xxviii. 20. + + 35 Ps. cxiii. 13, 14. + + 36 Jude 10. + + 37 Matt. x. 17, 22-26. + + 38 Mich. vii. 6; Matt. x. 36. + + 39 Bk. i. 11. 5. + + 40 Matt. xvi. 24. + + 41 Ps. xvii. 4, 5. + + 42 Luke xii. 34. + + 43 1 Jno. iv. 16, 18. + + 44 Ps. xxvi. 1, 2. + + 45 Matt. x. 28. + + 46 Wis. iii. 3. + + 47 Ps. xxxiii. 20. + + 48 Ps. xiii. 3. + + 49 Jno. x. 10. + + 50 2 Tim. ii. 5. + + 51 Luke ix. 23. + + 52 Jno. xii. 34. + + 53 Job vii. 1; Job xiv. 2. + + 54 Isa. xl. 6, 7. + + 55 Heb. xi. 10. + + 56 Wis. v. 6-9. + + 57 Rom. viii. 16, 17. + + 58 1 Peter iv. 13. + + 59 Wis. iii. 4, 6. + + 60 Luke xiv. + + 61 1 Cor. i. 25. + + 62 Luke xiv. 26. + + 63 Philip iii. 7, 8. + + 64 Confess. ix. 1. + + 65 Ps. xxxiii. 9; lxxxii. 2. + + 66 Job xiii. 15. + + 67 Ps. xc. 11. + + 68 Philip iv. 7. + + 69 Philip iv. 13. + + 70 Rom. viii. 33-39. + + 71 Rom. ix. 16. + + 72 Eccl. ix. 1, 2. + + 73 Philip, ii. 12. + + 74 1 Cor. ix. 27. + + 75 Jno. xvii. 11-15. + + 76 Ps. xvi. 5. + + 77 Isa. xlii. 3. + + 78 Ps. cii. 13, 14. + + 79 Apoc. xxi., iv. + + 80 Philip i. 20, 21. + + 81 2 Cor. vi. 4-11. + + 82 Matt. vii. 16-19. + + 83 Matt. vi. 30. + + 84 Luke xxiv. 25. + + 85 Matt. xvii. 16. + + 86 Ps. xxix. 7. + + 87 Jonas iv. + + 88 In Ps. xxx. Exp. 2. + + 89 Ps. cxlv. 2, 3. + + 90 Jno. xiv. 27. + + 91 Bk. iii.; ch. lix. 3. + + 92 Matt. xxv. 24-31. + + 93 Matt. xi. 28. + + 94 Jno. iv. 13, 14. + + 95 Bk. iii., ch. 1, 4. + + 96 De Fide orthod. ii. 29. + + 97 Wis. vi. 8. + + 98 Ench. tom. iii., ch. 27 and ii. + + 99 Isa. lv. 8; Rom. xi. 33. + + 100 Jno. xii. 25. + + 101 Matt. vii. 21. + + 102 Mk. iii. 35. + + 103 Mk. xi. 23. + + 104 Bk. III., ch. l. 6. + + 105 Matt. xi. 12. + + 106 Rom. viii. 32. + + 107 Imitation, Bk. III., ch. l. 4. + + 108 2 Tim. i. 12. + + 109 Matt. x. 24, 25. + + 110 Rom. viii. 28. + + 111 Wis. v. 15. + + 112 2 Tim. ii. 10. + + 113 Faber, Creator and Creature, Bk. II., ch. v. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + +CREDITS + + +December 2, 2009 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by David Clarke, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. 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\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/30579-0.zip b/30579-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a94e6a --- /dev/null +++ b/30579-0.zip diff --git a/30579-8.txt b/30579-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..30d33d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/30579-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3696 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Of My Soul by Rev. Charles J. +Callan + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Shepherd Of My Soul + +Author: Rev. Charles J. Callan + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [Ebook #30579] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO 8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + + + + The Shepherd Of My Soul + + By Rev. Charles J. Callan + + Of the Order of Preachers + + John Murphy Company, Publishers + + 100 W. Lombard St. + + Baltimore, MD. + + Printers to the Holy See + + 1915 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Psalm of the Good Shepherd +Introduction. +I. Christ the Good Shepherd. +II. Shepherd Life in the Orient. +III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want. +IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures of Tender Grass; He Leadeth Me +Beside the Waters of Quietness. +V. He Restoreth My Soul. +VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice for His Name's Sake. +VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me. +VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me. +IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in the Presence of Mine Enemies. +X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; My Cup Runneth Over. +XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me All the Days of My Life; and +I Shall Dwell in the House of the Lord Unto Length of Days. +Footnotes + + + + + + +Nihil Obstat: + +M. A. WALDRON, O. P. S. T. M. + +J. A. McHUGH, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimi Potest: + +J. R. MEAGHER, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimatur: + +++ J. CARD. GIBBONS. + + + + + +PSALM OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD + + +The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. + +He maketh me to lie down in pastures of tender grass. + +He restoreth my soul. + +He leadeth me in the paths of justice for his name's sake. + +Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no +evil, for thou art with me. + +Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. + +Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence of mine enemies. + +Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. + +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I +shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +No types more beautiful could have been chosen under which to picture the +character of our Lord and the souls He came to redeem than those of a +shepherd and his flock. As nothing on earth could more fitly illustrate +the infinite love and sacrifice of the Saviour than the enduring labors +and tenderness of a shepherd, so nothing here below could better portray +the multiple wants of our spirits than the needful dependent nature of +sheep. After the knowledge we possess of our Redeemer, only a slight +acquaintance with the characteristics of pastoral life, as it exists in +oriental countries, is needed to discern the charming fitness of these +comparisons. The similarity is at once striking and most easily +understood. Hence it is that our Lord, as well as those who described Him +before He came, so often appealed to shepherd life when speaking of the +Messiah's mission; hence, also, it is that He was so fond of calling +Himself the Good Shepherd, and of alluding to the souls He loved as His +sheep. + +It is the purpose of the pages that follow to trace some of these +beautiful and touching resemblances of the shepherd and his flock, on the +one side, roaming over the hills and plains of Palestine, and the Saviour +of the World with the souls of men, on the other, pursuing together the +journey of life. We have taken as our guide, in noting these charming +likenesses, the Twenty-second Psalm, or the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +every verse of which recalls some feature or features of pastoral life, +and sings of the offices, tender and varied, which the shepherd discharges +towards his flock. + +As this shepherd song was composed and written in the Hebrew tongue, the +language of ancient Palestine, we have employed here a literal translation +from the original language, simply because it expresses much more +beautifully and more exactly than does any rendering from the Latin or +Greek the various marks and characteristics of the shepherd's life and +duties. The oriental languages, like the people who speak them, are +exceedingly figurative and poetic in their modes of expression; and hence, +for our present purpose, it is only by getting back as closely as we can +to the original that we are able adequately to appreciate the beauty and +poetry of that simple but charming life about which the Psalmist is +singing. + +Although the Shepherd Psalm refers, in its literal sense, to the human +shepherd attending and providing for his sheep, it has also another higher +meaning, which its author gave it, and this has reference to Christ in His +relations with the souls He has made and redeemed. It is by reflecting on +this sense of the psalm, and on all His gracious dealings with us, that we +are enabled to realize how rightly and justly our Saviour is called the +Shepherd of Our Souls, and how beautifully the Psalmist, in the shepherd +song, has depicted His relations with us. And how important this is! how +much it means for our spiritual welfare and spiritual advancement to +reflect on the many mercies of Christ and on the love He bears each one of +us! If the considerations that follow assist their readers to appreciate +more fully and love more ardently the Divine Shepherd of Souls, who daily +and constantly throughout our lives is ministering to our spiritual needs +and trying to further our eternal interests, the desire and aim which +prompted their writing will be fully and perfectly realized. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + + +I. CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. + + +It was announced by the prophets of old that the Messiah, who was to come, +should bear the character of a good shepherd. He was to be a shepherd, and +His followers, the faithful souls that should believe in Him and accept +His teaching, were to be His sheep. It was foretold that He would select +and purchase His flock; that He would choose them from out the vast +multitudes of their kind and gather them into His fold, that He would +provide for them and guard them against every evil; that He would lead +them out to green pastures and refresh them with the waters of rest. "He +shall feed his flock like a shepherd," sang the Prophet Isaias; "he shall +gather together the lambs with his arms, and shall take them up in his +bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young."(1) In like +manner did Jeremias, referring to the comforting advent of Christ, liken +the offices which the Saviour would perform towards His people to those of +shepherds towards their flocks. "I will set up pastors over them," said +the Prophet, speaking in the name of Jehovah, "and they shall feed them; +they shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed; and none shall be +wanting of their number.... Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I +will raise up to David a just branch; and a king shall reign, and shall be +wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."(2) The Prophet +Ezechiel also prophetically portrayed the Saviour's character when he +pictured Him in the capacity of a shepherd visiting and feeding his sheep: +"For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and I +will visit them. As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he +shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my +sheep, and I will deliver them out of all the places where they have been +scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will set up one shepherd over +them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, +and he shall be their shepherd."(3) + +And when at length the Saviour did appear in the world, He declared, not +only by His life and example, but in explicit terms, that He was the +fulfilment of these prophecies--that He was, in truth, the Good Shepherd, +and that His followers were the sheep of His fold. In the tenth chapter of +the Gospel according to Saint John we have His own words to this effect. +There He tells us plainly that He has not come as a thief and a robber, to +steal, to kill, and to destroy; that He is not a stranger, at the sound of +whose voice the sheep are terrified and flee away; that He is not a +hireling, who cares not for the sheep, and who, beholding the approach of +the wolf and the enemy, fleeth and leaveth the sheep to be snatched and +scattered and torn. The Saviour is not any of these, nor like unto them. +He is the Good Shepherd who enters the sheepfold by the door, and not as +the thief and robber who climb up some other way. To Him the porter +openeth, and He calleth His sheep, and they know His voice and follow Him, +and He leadeth them out to pasture, to rest, and to abundant life. Nor is +this all, for He protects and guards His sheep. By day and by night He is +ever near them: when circling the green plains, or beside the still +waters, or when asleep beneath the silent stars, the sheep are protected +by their Shepherd. Faithfully He watches His dependent flock; and at the +end, as a proof of His love and fidelity, He generously lays down His life +for His sheep. + + + + + +II. SHEPHERD LIFE IN THE ORIENT. + + +We cannot appreciate the beauty of this picture of our Saviour under the +symbol of a shepherd, nor can we later understand the detailed description +which is given of Him through the spiritual meaning of the Good Shepherd +Psalm without first taking into account some of the features of pastoral +life as it prevails in eastern countries. For us of the western world it +is difficult, and at times next to impossible, to represent to ourselves +the life and customs of the Orient; and in particular do we find it hard +to picture to our minds and to understand the simple poetry of that +shepherd life for which Palestine has always been known. Time has little +changed the scene of the Saviour's earthly labors. The people, their +manners and customs, their life and occupations, remain much the same now +as when the land was graced by His sacred presence. Thus today, as in +those olden times, all the level country east of the river Jordan, as well +as the mountains of Palestine and Syria, serves as vast pasture lands for +innumerable flocks and herds. The country throughout is essentially +pastoral in its character, and the care and raising of sheep constitute +the chief industry of the people. From sheep the people are furnished with +nearly all the necessaries of life--with meat, clothing, milk, butter, and +cheese. + +The care of sheep is a delicate and, in many ways, a difficult task. Not +that they are froward or hard to manage, for of all animals they are the +most tender and gentle; nor again, that they need abundant nourishment in +the way of food and drink, since they require water but once a day, and +can maintain life and strength on a plain which, to the naked eye, seems +little more than a barren waste of sand. But because, in other respects, +they are exceedingly timid and helpless creatures, especially in times and +places of danger, the burdens which their welfare and safety impose upon +the shepherd, while paternal and winning, are, nevertheless, arduous and +manifold. There are the changes and hardships of the climate--the cold and +frost in winter, and the heat and drought of summer; there are the long +rough walks, the steep and dangerous passes which they must climb and +descend; there are perils from robbers, from wolves and wild beasts, which +not infrequently demand the shepherd's utmost watchfulness and care. The +oriental climate is such that they can graze nearly the whole year +through; and whether they be grazing on the wide open plains, or huddled +snugly within the sheepfold, it pertains to the shepherd to provide for +their varied needs. His vigilance can never cease. He must lead them out +to pasture and to water, he must guide and protect them, he must gather +them into the fold at night or into caves and enclosures, at times, during +the day, to shield them from great danger, whether from enemies or violent +weather; and upon all occasions he must be prepared to defend them, even +at the risk of his own life. + +The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, into which the sheep are +gathered for rest or protection are not roofed over or walled in like a +house. They are enclosures left open to the sky, and consisting simply of +a high wall of rough stone, to protect the sheep from the attacks of wild +beasts, and from prowling marauders who threaten their safety by night. It +often happens that several flocks, belonging to different shepherds, will +graze on the same pastures during the day, and will be penned in the same +sheepfold at night. While the sheep are sleeping, and the shepherds near +by are taking their needed rest, the door of the fold is carefully locked, +and another shepherd or porter is left on guard, lest perchance a hungry +bear or wolf might scale the wall and destroy some member or members of +the sleeping herds. Early in the morning the shepherds come in turn and +rap at the door, and to each the porter opens. Then each shepherd calls +his flock by name; and they, knowing his voice, follow him, and he leads +them out to their pastures. There is never any confusion, for each flock +knows its own shepherd and obeys him alone. Other shepherds they will not +heed; and from the voice of strangers they flee. + +It is a beautiful scene to see a shepherd with his flock. First, we must +remember that he never drives them, but leads them; and they follow him +with instinctive love and trust whithersoever he goes. He usually carries +a rod and a staff: the latter he uses, when need be, to assist the sheep +along dangerous paths and narrow passages; the former, to protect and +defend them, if assailed by enemies or beasts of prey. Another evidence of +their implicit love of their shepherd and trust in his goodness, as also +of their obedience to his voice and commands, is beautifully manifest when +several flocks are led to drink at the same stream or well. Although the +sheep need to drink but once a day, the shepherds never forget, throughout +the day's roaming, that they must lead their flock to water. And as the +drinking places in Palestine are comparatively few, it often happens that +several herds, whether from the same or neighboring pastures, will arrive +simultaneously at the same spring. But here again, there is neither +trouble nor confusion. When they have drawn near to the place of water +each shepherd gives a sign to his flock, and obedient to his voice, the +respective flocks lie down and patiently wait their turn to drink. The +troughs are then filled with the refreshing water, and when all is ready a +shepherd calls and his flock at once rises and comes forward to drink. The +sheep being satisfied, the shepherd gives another sign, and they promptly +return to their previous place of rest, or move quietly away to their +pasture, as the shepherd may direct. Another flock is then called up, +watered and led away, and so on, in like manner, till all have been duly +satisfied. + +With this passing glance at shepherd life, we can better understand and +better appreciate the likeness between the character of the Saviour and +that of the good shepherd. We can see how apt it was that our Redeemer +should choose a shepherd, with his multiple and tender cares and duties, +to illustrate His own watchfulness and loving kindness towards the many +wants and needs of our souls. For we are, indeed, His sheep. He has called +us, we have heard and understood His voice, and He has gathered us into +His flock and fold. He has literally vindicated for Himself in our regard +all the attributes and qualities of the good shepherd, so far as +described, and as still further depicted in every verse of the +Twenty-second Psalm. This is called the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +because in it the Psalmist, under the symbol of a shepherd, prophetically +foretold the character of the Messiah, our Saviour. The psalm has, +therefore, a twofold meaning: in its literal sense it deals with the +faithful shepherd, ranging with his flock over mountains and plains, and +providing for their every want; and in its spiritual and prophetic meaning +it relates to our Creator and Saviour, caring for our spiritual +necessities. Let us see how this is; and that we may better perceive the +application in detail, let us take this shepherd song, part by part, and +see how beautifully it describes the whole person of Christ as God, and in +His capacity as Redeemer--in all His tender relations with us, and towards +the various needs of our souls. + + + + + +III. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. + + +How full of meaning and how comprehensive are these simple yet beautiful +words which introduce the Good Shepherd Psalm! They at once sum up the +whole round of the shepherd's life--his duties, his solicitude, his +ceaseless care of his sheep. But here, be it noted, in this opening verse, +the reference, so direct and unmistakable, is not to an earthly shepherd; +it is to the benign and constant Providence of Jehovah towards His +children, to the untiring love of God, our Father and Saviour, for the +souls He has created and redeemed. The Psalmist is looking back, in +grateful remembrance, upon the history of his race, and upon his own life +in particular, and he traces there at every step the goodness and +watchfulness of his Creator. He sees there has never been any want. Dark +days at times have come upon his nation, sufferings and trials there have +been; and in these, as in other respects, his own individual experience +has mirrored the history of his people; but throughout it all there has +never been any lasting want. As the shepherd is ever near his sheep, +whether at peace or in trouble, to provide for their needs, so, sings the +Psalmist in gratitude, has God been near him and his people. And his +confidence is unshaken; that which has been in the past will be in the +future; as sheep put their trust in their shepherd, so will he put his +trust in his Lord and God. Nor is this gratitude for past favors and this +unshaken trust for the future to be restricted to the Psalmist alone; his +words had meaning not only for himself; he knows the same Providence +provides for us all, and therefore he would have his words find an echo in +the hearts and sentiments of all. + +The Lord is my shepherd; He ruleth me with the rod of gentleness. I am His +creation, He has bought me with a great price, He has set me a divine +example and taught me the way to life. There may be times of distress for +me, brief periods of temporal need; but surely, since I am the possession +of my God, and He is providing for me, nothing can long be wanting to +me--permanent want there can never be. + +The Lord ruleth me, and all my kind, as a shepherd ruleth his flock. What +a consoling thought to each one of us, if only we be faithful souls! How +unspeakable the thought, how surpassing the privilege to know and to be +assured that we belong to God! that out of countless millions of +creatures, far nobler than we, to whom He might have given the joy of +life, He has chosen to select us; to think that He has allotted to us a +short period of existence here below, during which it is our privilege to +be able to merit and draw near to Him for eternity; and that after this, +our little time of trial, we are to reign with Him in everlasting glory! +Of a certainty we are a favored people and a royal race, for we belong to +God. He has purchased our souls by creating us, He has come down from +Heaven to redeem and buy us back from the enemy to whom our race in folly +had surrendered itself, He has borne our sorrows and our sufferings to +make amends for us and to teach us the way to life, and finally He has +given His own life for our salvation. + +Since, then, God has created us, it follows that He must have had us in +His mind from everlasting, because nothing that is, or can be, is +unforeseen by Him. From the remotest dawn of eternity, therefore; from the +very beginning of the eternal years, He saw us as He sees us now, clearly, +distinctly, lovingly. We did not exist from eternity as we do now, but we +were present to God before we were to ourselves, He saw us mirrored in +Himself. And when, in time, He called our race into being and endowed it +with life, we know what happened. This human nature of ours which He had +loved from eternity, and favored in time with existence, turned its back +upon its God and strayed away to sin and death. This was the disobedience +of our first parents, and in their sin we all have shared, for the very +reason that they were our parents and responsible for us as well as for +themselves. We became a ruined race, deserving punishment, fit for +perdition; and yet God did not give us up. He followed after us, as it +were; He pursued us, as a shepherd pursues his chosen flock, until finally +He led us back to His fold, and to pastures of rest and plenty. + +It was not enough for God's goodness to give us the gift of life, and to +endow us with understanding, will, and freedom; it did not satisfy His +bountifulness to make our life fair here on earth, and to enable us to +reap much of the joys and pleasures with which even this world abounds--no, +far more than all this has He wished and prepared for His elect, for the +souls who belong to His flock. It was nothing less than Himself, Heaven +and its rewards, that the eternal Father had in store for us when He +called us into being. In order, therefore, that we should not lose our +destined crowns through the guilt and wounds of original sin, He provided +for us a remedy, He sent us a Saviour, who was His only son, our Lord +Jesus Christ. + +Now since it is to Christ, the Saviour, that the spiritual meaning of the +Shepherd Psalm refers in a particular manner, it is in Him especially, and +in His earthly life, that we discern and find fulfilled the chiefest +qualities of the good shepherd. As God, we see, He has, indeed, been our +shepherd from the beginning, creating and endowing our nature, and +providing for us unnumbered benefits, temporal and eternal. But it is in +His human nature, in His character as God and man, that He draws nearest +to us and proves unto us in ways most gracious that He is, in truth, our +loving Master and the Shepherd of our souls. Marvelous, assuredly, has +been the goodness of God to create us at all; and still more marvelous +that He should have destined us for a participation in His own eternal +blessedness; but in no way has the heavenly Father so stooped to us, in no +way has He so manifested His utter condescension towards us, as in the +abasement of His Only-begotten Son, "who, being in the form of God, +emptied himself, taking the form of a servant."(4) For let us reflect that +to raise our race from its fallen state and restore it to the divine +good-pleasure, it was not necessary that the Second Person of the Most +Holy Trinity should have come down to earth. Such extraordinary means were +not of necessity to bring us back to Heaven's smile and favor. As by a +simple act of His omnipotent will God had called the world and us and all +that is out of nothingness in the beginning, so again by a single wish of +the same divine will He could have restored us, from a condition of +bondage and sin, to the realms of grace and peace. And even when the Son +of God did condescend, in accordance with the will of His Father, to +clothe Himself with our nature and visit our blighted sphere, how simple, +really, He could have made our redemption! How easily could He have +blotted out the handwriting that was against us, and presented our tearful +world, all smiling and glad, to the arms of His eternal Father! Yes, +Christ could have made our redemption easy. He could have paid our debt to +God in a thousand different, simple ways, had He wished it so. One drop of +His precious blood, one tear of His eye, one sigh of the Sacred Heart +would have sufficed to redeem innumerable worlds like ours. + +But the Saviour wished it otherwise. He was our Shepherd and He loved us, +His deceived and wounded sheep. He was with the Father when we were +planned and made. He it was, in truth, who made us, for He and the Father +are one.(5) He, therefore, knew our nature, since He designed and gave it +to us. He foresaw our yearnings and aspirations; He knew the sublime, +transcendent possibilities of which, with His help and divine example, we +are capable; He understood the heights of love and worship to which the +human heart can ascend, when assisted from on high, and hence to awaken +and kindle on earth these all-consuming fires;(6) to stir the very depths +of our souls, and elevate and perfect our gifted nature; to afford us the +utmost inspiration to climb with Him the heights of Heaven. He stooped to +our own estate, in all things made like unto us, except, indeed, our +proneness and ability to sin. Since He loved us, He longed to be like us, +in as far as that was possible, and not even our sin-stained, wounded +nature could stay the force of His love. + +There is another reason for the mysterious manner of our redemption, a +further explanation of the extreme condescension on the part of our Lord +towards the frail creatures whom He came to save. Had he come to us in a +foreign attire, with a nature unlike our own, would it not have been +difficult for us to approach Him, and to put our confidence and trust in +Him? If He had appeared like an angel, all bright and dazzling with glory, +if He had come as an earthly king and ruler, crowned and clad in regal +splendor, would it not have been hard for the poor ones of earth? would it +not have been a trial for those who were in need of a shepherd's love and +care? Already sorely oppressed and trodden down by worldly pomp and power, +they could only have tried to shun His notice and draw back from Him with +feelings of fear and awe. But our Redeemer came not only to save, but also +to teach and to lead the way to life. As a shepherd He was not to drive, +but to lead His sheep; He does not point the direction, but goes before +His flock, and they follow Him, and He leads them out to living pastures +and to bright, sparkling, far-off waters. + +Because He was God, as well as man, Christ knew that, as a result of our +sinful state, we should have to pass our earthly sojourn forever beneath +the shadow of the cross. When sin entered into the world by the +disobedience of the first man, the handiwork of the Creator was despoiled. +That which before had been a paradise of pleasure, replete with all +delights, was wrecked and ruined, and became a place of sorrow, suffering +and death. Thenceforth, pursuant to the divine decree, the lot of man was +to labor, to suffer, and to die.(7) Knowing, therefore, that this was to +be our portion, the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must also teach us the +secret of pain and toil, and help us to bear our cross. + +According, then, to our present state, suffering and sorrow are +inseparable from us, because we are born into the world with sin upon our +souls, and in the wake of sin follow all the evils to which the world is +heir. And, moreover, under existing conditions, it is necessary for our +future happiness that our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil and +pain and tears. It is only through these that we shall be able to atone +for the injuries sin has done, and hold in check the disorders of our +nature. The cross is before us and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us +when we enter the world, it follows us throughout the length of our days, +and finally bears us down in death to our graves. This does not mean that +life on earth is entirely made up of pain and sorrow, for the divine mercy +has mitigated even the stroke of sin, and has caused the world, in spite +of all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. Nevertheless, our sojourn +here below shall always be fraught with diverse ills, and we at last must +yield to death. In spite of all the world can afford us, in spite of its +pleasures and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, real, though +fitful and fast-flying as they are; in spite of health and wealth and fame +and honor; in spite of all the goods that life contains, it still is ever +true that we live in a region of tears, and that death and sorrow are sure +to follow upon the footsteps of joy and mirth. It must be so, for the +stains of sin are indelibly upon the world; and not until the final +renovation comes can life on earth be made entirely happy. + +All this our Saviour knew when He chose our human nature and embraced a +life of labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge took in our lives, and +the lives of all our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our infant +tears, our trials and pains of body, the ceaseless pangs of mind and heart +that pursue us throughout life, were all before Him as in a mirror, and He +must needs instruct and assist us to fight this battle and walk this way +of earth, lest all should perish before the journey's end. Since we were +to suffer, then He would suffer also; since our lives were to be amidst +labors and trials, then He would labor and travail also; since we were to +feel the sting of pain, be subject to heat and cold, be in want, in +poverty, and in distress, be misunderstood, be thwarted, be cast down from +our highest hopes, and broken, at times, in every cheerful prospect--since +these and other countless ills were to be woven in our web of earthly +life, He, the divine Master, who came to save, to teach a lesson, to +suffer and die, would assume a body so sacred, so delicate, so pure and +sensitive that, when exposed to the rough and ruthless ways of life, He +could truly cry out from the depths of His anguish: "O all ye that pass by +the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!"(8) + +How comforting, then, it is for us to feel that we are not alone in +suffering, and to know that, while all we suffer is but just and due to +our sinful state, we can nevertheless make use of all our ills to attain +to joys unending in Heaven! If we must toil and struggle while on earth, +it is because these things are a result of our state; if we must be +subject to sickness, to weakness and fatigue, to cold and hunger, to +weariness and pain, it is not because God is pleased at the misery of His +creatures; neither does He rejoice on account of our misfortune. We are +simply reaping the harvest of sin and transgression, and sin is the work +of our own free choice and that of our ancestors. And even though it be +objected that we are born into this inevitable condition, and are made the +unconsulted heirs of a heritage we loathe but cannot escape, the solution +of our difficulty is not far to seek. We need but hearken to the +promptings of reason, and lift our sorrowing eyes to the realms of faith +to be convinced that God's mercy and goodness are above all His works,(9) +and that for reasons not less benevolent than holy He has called us into +life and permitted all our woes. God could not have created us for +suffering and punishment, because He is infinite goodness; He cannot be +pleased at our misfortunes, since He Himself has borne our sorrows and +carried all our pains.(10) If He Himself had not come into the world in +visible human form; if He had not explained our purpose and destiny, and +led the way to Heaven; if He had not, by His words and divine example, +provided us with the solution for all life's difficulties, then, in truth, +we might object, and sit and grieve and wonder. But in the light of the +life of Christ all this is altered; the picture takes on a different +coloring. Who now can rail at the crosses of life and think of the +sufferings of Christ? Who can murmur at the injustice of pain, and +remember the passion of Jesus? Who can say that God is deaf to our +pleading and unmoved at our tears, and look upon the Saviour dying? Who +can believe that our lives are of little worth, or of no account with the +Almighty, and recall the price that was paid for our souls and ponder the +death of our God? + +Thus it is with a bountiful goodness that the Saviour has purchased His +sheep. By His own free choice, by a life of suffering entirely voluntary, +endured for our salvation and instruction, through a bitter, but willing +agony and death, He has provided the means to free us from sin, and has +bequeathed to us every blessing. Now we can truly say: the Lord is my +shepherd, and I shall not want. If only we can look into that divine life +which has been given as our model, if only we can ponder it, and read in +it the lessons, the hopes, the inspirations it contains for us, we shall +not be weary of our burdens and cares, we shall not falter in any of +life's battles. Rather, rejoicing at our opportunities, eternal as they +are, and with feelings of exultant gratitude over our condition, as heirs +with Christ to the kingdom of Heaven,(11) we shall bravely welcome all the +conflicts of life, being assured with St. Paul that "that which is at +present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above +measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory."(12) + + + + + +IV. HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN PASTURES OF TENDER GRASS; HE LEADETH ME +BESIDE THE WATERS OF QUIETNESS. + + +Our attention is now directed to a particular phase of the shepherd's +life, and here we see some of the ways in which he actually provides for +his sheep day by day. For it is not enough that the shepherd has purchased +his flock, by means however difficult and labors however loving; it is not +sufficient that he have procured for them, in a general manner, all that +they need for their life and safety, he must also arrange for their daily +care and provide for their separate wants. Sheep, as we know, are delicate +creatures, and they must be directed in their roamings, and sustained by +sufficient nourishment. Accordingly, we have said that it belongs to the +duties of a good shepherd to lead them out to pasture, and to provide for +them every day adequate food and drink. + +Here again we behold the infinite kindness of the Shepherd of our souls. +Not alone has He deigned to stoop to our fallen state and restore us from +death to life, not only did He take upon Himself our infirmities and bear +our woes, but tenderly also has He provided for our constant direction, +and for the daily needs of our lives. + +The level to which the Saviour raised our lives and the dignity to which +He invites us are far, indeed, above our natural powers. Left to +ourselves, we could never attain the heavenly heights to which, in His +goodness, He has called us. Through the infinite merits of His life and +sacrifice we have been redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of our souls; +the gates of Heaven, closed against us before, have been opened wide; and +our wayward race is again restored to the road that leads to our immortal +home. But just because our celestial destiny is of so high and sublime a +character, it is impossible, if left to our own abilities, that we should +be able long to pursue it, and vastly beyond our sublimest hopes that we +should ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, ever before us, the +life and example of Him who has saved us; we know that His cross and death +have delivered us from the wrath that frowned upon us. But we are weak and +fragile mortals. With respect to things of the higher life--of the +supernatural world--we, of ourselves, shall always remain as helpless and +frail as infants. Not less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse +unaided and explore the material world, than the wisest of men would be to +know and grasp by his natural powers the unrevealed good of the immortal +human spirit. And as, in our natural state, we could not know the true end +of our existence, without a divine revelation, so likewise, we could not +pursue and attain our spiritual destiny without special assistance from on +high. + +How well all this was known to our kind and kingly Shepherd! How keenly +did He appreciate our frailty and inability to walk alone the paths which +He had trodden! Not unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to teach and +direct the way which leads to unending life. When going before his flock +and teaching them by force of example, He did not omit to give them that +saving doctrine which, when He had disappeared, would be their guide, and +the guide to their future shepherds in the direction of safety and truth. +Hence He propounded a teaching which should be to its obedient followers a +realization at once of all He had promised them, and of all their heart's +desires. Not that it would make them rich or great in the eyes of the +world and according to human standards, but that it would confer a truer +and a higher greatness by lifting them above their weak and natural level +and preparing them for eternal blessedness. + +Men had the Law before the coming of Christ; they knew the ten +commandments. But the state to which the God-man called them, and the +eminence to which they were raised, were quite beyond anything the world +till then had ever been able to conceive. Human nature, under the New +Covenant, was invited to attain to perfection. Things which before were +thought impossible, were now to be the objects of our daily strivings. It +was no longer an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; now not only was +good to be done to those who were good to us, but to those also who did us +evil; not only were we to love our friends, but to love and assist our +enemies also; not only should evil deeds be avoided, but evil thoughts +were likewise forbidden--yea, we were asked to be, in all our thoughts and +deeds, imitators of the Shepherd who leads us.(13) + +Poor human nature, when raised so high above its natural powers, stood in +perilous need of a shepherd's tender care. The new demands of every day +made indispensible new and special daily helps. While our spirits can see +and know the way, under the light of heavenly teaching, yet how weak and +faltering is our flesh! We have the will to do; but to accomplish, we +alone are not able. Therefore our Saviour said, "Of yourselves, you can do +nothing, but in me all things are possible to you. The branches are +nothing unless they abide in the vine; I am the vine, you the +branches."(14) Thus He is our Leader, our divine Teacher and our source of +strength. Without Him we can do nothing, but in Him we are strong. And +daily and constantly He is near us, though we see Him not. It is He who +sustains our very life and moves us to all that is good. Like an +ever-present friend, He offers us constant assistance: He instructs and +guides and helps us, and this is the strength and food of our souls. God's +grace it is, always ready for our use, which makes possible all the high +demands put upon our nature. Without it we should faint and starve on our +journey, and hence He who has planned our high perfection, has provided +the help to attain it. What are those seven wonderful sacraments which He +has left us, but perennial channels of grace, constant fountains from +which stream the life-giving waters that nourish our weary souls and make +them strong for life eternal! Through these sacred means we are brought +into contact with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. They +prolong His life and labors among us, they continue in our midst the +strength of His sacred presence. + +In a manner altogether special is this true of the Holy Sacrament of the +altar. By the Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and will so remain +till the end of time, as really and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the +days of His mortal life. Bound down as we are by the things of sense, we +may, at times, be tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament is all +invisible to us. We can not see Him directly and immediately. His voice is +silent and we do not hear Him; we do not feel the caress of His hand. But +nevertheless we know He is present, for He has said it, and His word must +remain, though heaven and earth should pass away. Even were we privileged +to see the sacred humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, we should +not then, more than now in this sacrament, directly see the divinity +concealed by the human frame. Faith then was required as well as now--faith +in His sacred words, made evident by His sacred deeds. This is not +strange; it is not too much to ask. The same demand of faith is daily made +upon us in much of our intercourse with our fellow mortals. Much that we +do not clearly see we must perforce believe, else life would be +impossible. The same, in a measure, is also true in all our human +friendships. That which is most precious in our friends, that which is the +source of life and beauty, of holy words and loving actions, of all we +love and cherish in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens and moves; +and this we do not see. + +Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, though faith alone can +apprehend Him. He requires of us this faith--this humble subjection of our +sensible faculties to the power and truth of His words. It is all for our +good that now He is hidden from our sight. He is not the less truly +present, not less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful and +forbearing; but He wishes to exercise our faith, to prove our fidelity and +trust in His teaching and promises, and hence He is hidden from the powers +of our senses. + +In the sacrament of the Eucharist the gracious Shepherd of our souls +performs in particular three offices for us: He is our sacrifice, our +silent patient friend, and in communion He becomes the actual spiritual +food of our souls. As a victim He is daily and constantly, from the rising +to the setting of the sun, lifted up for us in the holy sacrifice of the +mass. The mass is the perpetuation of the sacrifice He offered long ago +for our redemption. All the altars throughout the world, on which He is +ever born and dies again in mystic repetition, are but an extension of the +one great altar of Calvary, where first He gave His life for our +salvation. And in this real and awful sacrifice, forever repeated in our +midst, He pleads again our cause with God, the eternal Father. Again in a +mystic manner He suffers for us, again He bleeds, again He is nailed to +the cross and raised on high, and in that same abandoned, pitiable state, +to which His love for His flock has reduced Him, ever and anon in our +behalf He pleads: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they +do!(15) Holy Father, Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! and save the +souls which Thou hast created for Thyself, and for which till the end of +time I die!" He lifts, as it were, before the great white throne, His +bruised and blood-stained hands, He shows those wounded feet, the scar of +the spear in His sacred side; He points again to the agony in the garden, +to the scourging at the pillar, to the cruel crown of thorns, to the weary +way of the cross, and exclaims to Him who sits upon the throne, "Behold, +my Father, and see the price of my sheep, the tears and sorrow and blood +they have cost me! and spare them and save them for the sake of Thy Son!" + +Through the holy sacrifice of the mass, identical as it is with the +sacrifice of Calvary, all the merits of Christ's life and death are +applied to our souls. By His physical and bloody immolation on Calvary, +Christ purchased for us infinite treasures of grace, and it is His will +that these graces shall be dispensed to us, even till the end of the +world, through the august sacrament of the altar. Moreover, except for the +mass, we should not be blessed with the abiding actual presence of our +divine Shepherd among us--that is, we should not possess Him in that +special, intimate manner in which we now have Him in the Eucharist. For it +is only in the mass that the sacred species are consecrated; and +consequently it is through the mass alone that He takes up His sacramental +presence in our midst and becomes our food in holy communion. He could, +indeed, have ordained it otherwise, but such has been His blessed will, +and such the condition in which we are placed by the direction of His holy +Church. + +Besides being our daily sacrifice, then, under the appearance of bread and +wine, besides ever prolonging in our midst that wondrous act of Calvary by +which at once He liberated our race and reopened to us the gates of +Heaven, the bounteous Shepherd of our souls enters into the tabernacles of +our churches, and there in silent patient waiting He craves the love of +our hearts and longs for our intimate friendship. He is not content alone +to plead for us with God, His Father; He is not content continually to +renew in our presence the tragic mystery by which at the end of His +earthly labors, He procured us every blessing--no, over and above these +sovereign acts of kindest benediction, He wishes to remain among us, and +to converse with us, each and all, as a friend would converse with his +friend. This is what He meant when He said by the mouth of His inspired +writer, "my delights are to be with the children of men."(16) As a +Shepherd, His chiefest pleasure, as well as His supremest care, is to be +with the flock He has purchased and loves. Yet it is a lonely life for our +Shepherd-King, this abode in the silent tabernacle; but it is all for love +of us. He wishes to be there where we can find Him, where we can come to +Him at any hour and speak to Him, to praise and thank Him for all His dear +and endless gifts, to tell Him our needs and our sorrows, to open our +breaking hearts to Him and reveal the secrets of our souls. This it is +that He desires from us--the outpouring of our hearts and souls in His +presence. This it is which renders unto Him that homage of faith and love +and devotion that He came into the world to inspire. It will not do to say +that, being God, He is acquainted with all our thoughts and aware of all +our wants, for it is intimacy and confidence that He desires, the intimacy +and confidence which alone can create a true and noble friendship. "I will +call you no longer servants," He said to His disciples, "but I have called +you friends; the servant knoweth not what his Master doth, but a friend is +admitted to confidence."(17) Christ in the tabernacle is our friend; He +has loved us unto the end, and He yearns for our love in return. Why is +this? Why are we so precious in His eyes? What are we that the great +Creator should at all be mindful of us?(18) We must remember and ever bear +in mind the lofty purpose which the Creator had in view when first He +called us into being--the same purpose it was which prompted our redemption +and all the gracious dispensations that have followed thereupon--namely, +that God, while achieving His own eternal honor and glory, might +communicate to us a portion of His own ineffable blessedness. We were made +for God, and not for the world, or for creatures, or for ourselves. And +precisely because we are the possession and property of God, He wants us, +soul and body, for Himself; and in this blessed sacrament He calls to us +individually, "Son, give Me thy heart;"(19) "come to Me, all you who are +burdened, and I will refresh you."(20) "come to Me and find rest for your +souls, I will lead you beside the waters of quietness." + +But the excesses of our Shepherd's love and care do not stop with the +altar and with the tabernacle. He is not satisfied with being our daily +sacrifice and our abiding friend, not satisfied until He enters into our +very bosom and unites us to Himself. Union with the beloved object and +delight in its presence are characteristic of all true friendship, whether +human or divine. That which we really love we desire to have, to possess, +to be united with; and hence it is that Christ, the lover of our souls, +has not only given His life to purchase us for Himself and Heaven, but has +so extended His loving-kindness as to become Himself our actual food. + +It is incomprehensible, in a human way, that the love of a shepherd for +his flock, the love of God for His creatures, should be so extraordinary +as to provide the wondrous benefits which Christ in the Eucharist has +wrought for us. We simply cannot grasp with our feeble minds the +prodigality of such enduring love. But the Saviour knew His purpose with +us, and He knew the needs of our souls. As guests destined for an eternal +banquet, and as heirs to celestial thrones, it is needful for us, amid the +rough ways and perils of life, to be constantly reminded of our royal +destiny and strengthened against our daily foes. This world of ours is an +arena in which each one must contend for his eternal prize; and it is not +possible, considering our natural frailty and the enemies that oppose our +forward march, that we alone, without an added strength, should ever be +able to win the battle of life. + +Hence, as the body, to maintain its vigor and perform its work, needs its +material and earthly food, so the soul, to live and be strong, must be +nourished with the bread of Heaven. "The bread that I will give," said our +Lord, "is my flesh for the life of the world ... unless you eat of this +bread you cannot have life in you ... and he that eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood hath life everlasting, and I will raise him up on the +last day."(21) + +In order, then, to sustain our spiritual life on earth and to make us +strong for our daily conflicts, our heavenly Shepherd has left us a food +which is none other than His own body and blood. What a prodigy of love! +What could He do for us that He has not done? But, besides giving us +strength, He had another purpose in becoming our food. Since He has chosen +us for Himself, and has provided, in another world, eternal mansions for +our souls,(22) He wishes to make certain, not only the happy issue of our +lives, but our ever-increasing resemblance to Himself. He is therefore +preparing us, He is fitting us, through communion in the Holy Eucharist, +for our celestial home, and for visible companionship with Himself. +Intercourse, communion, intimate relationship produce likeness, even here +on earth, and it is a singular effect of Holy Communion that, unlike +earthly food, it changes into itself all those who partake of it. +Material, natural food becomes the substance of our flesh and blood, but +frequent participation in the heavenly nourishment of Christ in the +Eucharist transmutes our whole being--our lives and thoughts and +actions--into its own supernatural character. + +Thus by living much with Christ on earth, by intimate converse with Him, +by allowing Him to enter into our lives and thoughts, and shape our +conduct and actions; and above all, by frequent and fervent communion with +Him in the sacrament of His love, we become like unto Him, even here in +our state of exile. And this likeness to Christ, which His faithful +servants assume here below, is a forestate of future blessedness; it is a +preparation for the great reunion and the eternal banquet which await us +in Heaven. Already we are led beside the waters of rest; we are directed +to pastures of sweetest nourishment; and through the calm and vigor that +reign in the soul we experience even now a taste of joys unseen. + + + + + +V. HE RESTORETH MY SOUL. + + +Throughout the pastoral country of the Orient there are numerous places of +great peril for sheep. There are also, here and there, private fields and +vineyards and gardens into which, if a member of a flock should stray and +be caught, it is forfeited to the owner of the land. Strange as it may +seem, the sheep never learn to avoid these dangerous spots and forbidden +places, and it behooves the shepherd to be ever on his guard for them, and +to rescue them when wandering. + +Here we cannot fail to observe the striking resemblance between this +wayward tendency of the shepherd's flock and our own inclination and +propensity to wander from God and things eternal. The world is full of +occasions to evil; at every turn of the road on our journey through life +there are fierce and crouching enemies who are waiting the chance to +capture and bear us away. We know this; we have often been warned of the +danger; too many sad experiences and breathless escapes have convinced us +of the sundry perils to soul and body that lie along the way of life. But +we, like senseless, erring sheep, if bereft of the Shepherd's guiding +care, do not learn, in life's sad school, the way to keep free from harm. +Though wounded repeatedly, and scarred and worn, and left, perhaps, +without human aid, to waste and bleed our life away, we do not see the +lurking evils; we do not discern beneath the mask the enemy whose purpose +is ruin and death. + +The creatures of the world, the things of sense take vicious hold of us, +and often drag us to the very verge of perdition before we are aware. They +come to us unprepared, and seek entrance into our lives and thoughts, and +allure us by deception. They tell us that the world is fair and beautiful +and full of promise; that God, for the moment, is not concerned; that the +soul is secure and safe, and the body and its needs the only object of +present solicitude. The process is gradual. The turning away and the loss +are not at once and from the beginning of seductive influences, but slowly +and unobtrusively in the guise of hope and high expectation. There is +Ambition, with its glittering prospects, with its proffered rewards and +castles of air. To the young man and young woman, just entering the arena +of life, Ambition says, "Come and follow me, and I will crown you with +glory and honor. I will lift you above the common, beaten paths of men and +seat you on a gilded throne. I will introduce you to my sister Pride, and +we two will make you happy. Pride will teach you your true dignity, your +place and position in the universe; she will remind you of your gifts and +faculties, and enable you to battle with the weak and the strong; she will +give you the secret of knowledge and train you to soar above your +fellow-creatures and probe the mysteries of God and Heaven." Then +Pleasure, with dimpled cheeks and laughing eyes, and words that sound like +music to the ears, hurries out to greet the passers-by, and charms them by +her shining gifts. "Make me your object and your end," she says, "and I +will make you blessed. Forget your troubles and your cares, your fears of +present and future ills; rejoice and be glad, eat, drink and be merry; +indulge and drain to dregs the cups of sense, for this is all there is." +Philosophy comes with another hope. "Drink deeply," she counsels, "at the +spring of wisdom, and fear not God nor man; believe and trust in me, and I +will steal away the sting of sorrow and pain; I will restore you to man's +primeval state and land you safe on the shores of rest." + +And when these deceivers--Ambition, Pride, Pleasure, and the like--have +plundered and sacked their victim's goods, when these painted idols of a +passing world have led away their worshippers as slaves, and stripped them +of all they possessed, they give them over to evil habits and to masters +that scourge and tear them. Like other prodigals, these pursuers of +earthly phantoms take leave of their Father's house of comfort and plenty, +they give up virtue, innocence, honesty, purity; they go into a far +country to waste their substance living riotously, only to awake, soon at +latest, to a land of famine, and to find themselves alone and in want. +Instead of the honor and fame and high estate they sought to gain, instead +of the escape from evil and pain and labor they hoped to find, they are +sent into fields to minister to swine--the swine of their own degradation. + +So, to a degree, it is with us, each and all, who listen to other voices +and heed other calls than the voice and the call of God. If we prefer to +stray to other fields and desert the pasture of our Shepherd, if we prefer +a far country to our Father's home, if the world and its fleeting +pleasures are more to us than God and His paternal rewards, then we must +of necessity find ourselves at length in utter want and penury. It is this +possibility of deserting God, of seeking happiness outside of Him, of +overturning the plans which He has made for our salvation, that gives us a +vision of the awful failure of human life. The gifts of this world are by +nature fleeting and fast-flying, and if we allow them to take the place of +Him who made them, no matter how great our present boons, in spite of +wealth and friends and all success, we have missed our chance and our +purpose in the world, and can only have at last a desolate and a ruined +life. + +But how is it, then, one may ask, that man can be so deceived? How is it +that we do not learn from others' disasters to avoid, every one of us, +those deceiving, ruinous masters, those false gods that can lead us away +from the one true Shepherd of our souls? It is, indeed, a curious fact +that our deception is so easy. Surely a rational, intelligent being, who +stops to consider, ought easily to distinguish between the great God of +Heaven and the creatures of His hands. It ought not to be difficult for us +to see the transient vanity of human things when compared with the eternal +mansions. But the truth of the matter is, that we _are_ deceived, we do +not at all times see the objects of our choice as they really are +objectively. Our vision is defective and blurred. If God stood out in our +lives as He really ought to stand, if He occupied that place in our +thoughts and plans which belongs to Him by right, it would not be possible +that we should ever be led astray. And that God does not always hold in +our lives the place which is His due is partly the result of our fallen +nature; partly, therefore, in a way, excusable; but more frequently and +chiefly from our own perversity--from wilful neglect of our highest duties. + +The blindness and perversity of our nature, which have come from the +wounds of original sin, make it easy for us, if we are neglectful and +careless of our higher spiritual obligations, to mistake the false for the +true, evil for good, the creature for the Creator. In the midst of the +world and its allurements, it behooves us to be ever watching, if we are +never to stumble and to fall. Had our nature never been corrupted by +original unfaithfulness, had our first parents never turned away from God +and transgressed His sacred precept, all our present ills would never have +existed. But now it is different. We are born into the world a weakened +people; each one of us has had an implicit part in the first +transgression; we all, like erring sheep, have gone astray. And while this +tendency to evil is part of our natural condition, and therefore less +imputable to us, it nevertheless is true that our actual sins and +evil-doing are the work of our deliberate choice. If, at any time, we +really turn away from God and break His law, it is because we have freely +chosen so to act. The native perversity of nature in a normal man can +never explain and excuse the grievous sins which he deliberately commits. +It is only true that a weak and wounded nature leaves one less able to +choose what is right, and more disposed to wrong. And since we know the +state of things, since we know that the fault is really ours when we dare +to stray to forbidden deeds and places, how constant and unrelenting, if +we are truly wise, should be our efforts to keep our vision unobscured and +our ears attuned to the voice and call of our heavenly Shepherd! We know +that by following Him our way will be certain and clear. Howsoever +enormous the evils of life, and notwithstanding all our weakness, we know +that in Him we are safe and strong. But we must hear Him to follow Him, we +must be guided and directed by His gracious commands. + +This failure to hear and obey the voice of God it is which more explains +the falls and sins of men than all their inherited frailty. So long as His +words are heard and directions heeded, mistake and error are impossible. +We see, therefore, why it is that so many actually do desert Him and are +led by evil voices. The cause chiefly lies in the wilfulness of human +nature and in the abuse of human liberty. We cannot stand unless God +support us, and we shall surely fall if He withdraws His supporting hand. +But the choice of evil, the beginning of unfaithfulness comes from +ourselves; for Almighty God will never forsake us unless we first forsake +Him. + +If, ever, then, we find our lives to be at variance with God, whether in +lesser or in greater matters, if it should ever be our unhappy fortune to +wander from Him, like another prodigal, and waste our lives with the +enemies of our souls, we can be assured that the desertion is all our own. +We forget God, we deliberately wander from His sight and care, and then we +fall. Engrossed in worldly affairs, taken up with present vanities, with +ourselves, our ease, our temporal advancement, we begin to neglect prayer +and communion with God, we begin to rely on ourselves and to forge ahead +of our own accord, only to encounter complete defeat and be shorn of all +our strength. The secret of our power and success is to keep close to Him, +to speak to Him lovingly and often, to seek guidance and protection from +Him, and habitually to live in His comforting presence. + +But such is the boundless kindness of our heavenly Shepherd that, no +matter how often we may have wandered from Him, or how seriously we may +have grieved Him, He is ever ready to pursue our wanderings, and to seek +until He finds us. He does not stop to consider the enormity of our guilt, +or our unreasonableness, or our ingratitude, but He seeks us. He does not +pause to take an account of all He has done for us, of the many graces He +has given us, of the tears and blood He has shed in our behalf; but He +goes after our straying souls, and He will not be appeased until He +restore us. God does not will the death of the sinner, but that he be +converted and live.(23) He knows all our frailties and our diverse +temptations; He knows how alluring are the things of sense to a nature +perverted like ours; He knows how easy it is for us, blind and ignorant as +we are, to forget Him and our dearest interests, and to obey the call of +other voices; all this He understands, and He has pity on us. "He knoweth +our frame, He remembereth that we are dust."(24) + +To bring us back, therefore, when wandering, and to restore us to the +circle of His chosen flock, our Saviour has made ample provision. Through +those divine mediums of grace--the sacraments of His Church--He has arranged +to succor all our wants and to cure our various infirmities. The +sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in particular, were instituted to raise +our souls from death to life, and to heal our spiritual wounds. Baptism +may be aptly compared to the door of the sheepfold. It is the gate through +which men must enter into the fold of Christ, it is the entrance to His +Church. It clears away the guilt and stain of original sin, and restores +the soul from a state of enmity to the friendship and grace of God. None +can really belong to Christ, none can be of His true fold who have not +entered by way of the door, who have not been baptized. Many there are who +pretend to belong to Him and think themselves of the number of His flock; +they speak of Him as their Master and Shepherd; they pretend to be doing +His work; they call Him Lord and preach in His name; but they have not +entered by the door of the sheepfold, and He knows them not. Like thieves +and robbers, they have climbed up some other way, and they neither know +Him, nor does He know them, neither can they understand His voice. Baptism +is the entrance, it is the door, to the fold of Christ. + +And as it is through Baptism that our bountiful Lord first recalls us from +the ways of sin and makes us members of his flock, so in the sacrament of +Penance He has provided a means by which we may at all times be recalled +from our wanderings and restored to His friendship. Penance is an +inexhaustible means of reconciliation between the erring soul and God. It +lasts throughout our lives, it stretches even to the end of time. If only +we are men of goodwill and have at heart our eternal interests, we need +not be disturbed at our frailty, or at repeated lapses into sin. There is +no sin which cannot be forgiven by the sacrament of Penance. Not that +anyone, knowing that he can be forgiven, should presume to abuse God's +gracious sacrament, and yield freely and without restraint to the voice of +sin; nor that we are not to be truly sorry to the end of our days for +having even once offended our benign Maker and Redeemer; but we must be +confident that, whatever may have been our faults and failings, however +prolonged and extraordinary our transgressions, if we approach the +sacrament of Penance with sincere sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment, +God will always lovingly receive us back to Himself, and remember no more +our unfaithfulness. God hates sin, because it is opposed to Himself and is +the only evil in the world, but He loves the wounded sinner who is made in +His own image and likeness. Precious in the sight of God is the penitent +sinner. Does He not tell us Himself that, like a good shepherd, He leaves +ninety-nine just to go in search of one lost sheep? Yea, He assures us +that there is rejoicing among the angels of Heaven over one sinner who +does penance.(25) + +To make worthy use of the sacrament of Penance we must be truly sorry for +having offended God, and be resolved, at the time of confession, to do +what lies in our power never again to turn away from Him. To these +dispositions must also be joined the intention of doing something to +repair the injury which sin has done to God. Given such conditions, and we +need only speak the word to God's duly appointed minister and our sins are +no more. The dark veil which hung around the soul like a cloud is lifted, +and we again rejoice in the smile of our heavenly Father. How simple, yet +how potent are the means provided for our salvation! None but God could +have thought of them, nothing but the love of God could have arranged +them! + +But even before the sinner is brought to penance, even while he is +wandering and reveling afar off in the vile delights of sin, God is +pursuing him, God is seeking after him, calling him by name, whispering to +his heart, disposing him for repentance. We cannot return to God, once we +have deserted Him, without His help. It is our awful power to be able to +leave Him, but to return alone we are not able. Wherefore He comes after +us when we have wandered into the wilds of sin; He pleads as it were, with +our souls, and offers us the grace to repent. Oh privileged are our souls +to be thus appraised by God, and happy those who hear and heed the +appealing voice of His grace! + + + + + +VI. HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF JUSTICE FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE. + + +The shepherd country of the East is full of walks and pathways, some +leading this way, some that. Some lead to dangerous precipices over which +the sheep might fall and be lost, others would expose them to the attack +of wild beasts, while still others would lead them so far astray that they +could not find their way back. It is, therefore, always needful that the +shepherd go ahead of his flock and lead them in the right path. The +Psalmist, in the title of the present chapter, is applying this +carefulness of the shepherd for his sheep to our Lord, in His regard for +our spiritual welfare. The Saviour goes before us with the blessings of +His goodness to help and lead us aright, lest perchance we become lost and +perish in our journey. + +This solicitude of our Redeemer in providing for the various needs of our +souls is characteristic of Him as Saviour. It is implied in the meaning of +his name. Before He was born, before He was conceived in His Mother's +womb, it was foretold of Him that He should be called Jesus, which means +Saviour, for He would save His people from their sins.(26) He exercised, +as we know, this mission of saviour throughout His earthly career. It was +for this that He came into the world, for this that He was born in +Bethlehem with a manger as His cradle, for this that, at the age of +twelve, He was found teaching in the Temple, for this that He retired to +Nazareth and was subject to Mary and Joseph, for this that He labored and +suffered and bled and died. And with His passing from this visible scene +to the bosom of His Father, He did not cease to be that for which He had +been eternally anointed--the great High Priest, the Mediator between God +and man, the Saviour of the world. His work is everlasting; and now that +He has gone up on high, He pleads for us ever more with the Father. We +belong to Him, He has purchased us with His blood, and He must needs care +for our safety to the end. + +Inasmuch as we are heirs, according to divine decree, to thrones beyond +the skies, it was necessary, as we have seen, that He who is our Saviour +and Shepherd should have left behind Him in this world of ours a doctrine, +a code, or system of instructions and laws, which should safely direct and +guide us to our royal destiny. Those who lived with Him on earth, those +who heard His assuring, life-giving words, and felt the inspiration of His +example and visible presence needed not to fear for the direction or +safety of their course. The divine, living voice and sacred presence of +their Lord and Master they enjoyed, and care and anxiety fled from their +souls. But not for these alone had the Redeemer come, but for all mankind, +for all who in future were to breathe the breath of human life. He came to +save all, He died for all; and thus the teaching which He gave to the +world, and which He committed to His chosen followers, was for every human +being, even to the end of the world, that through it all might live and +attain to life everlasting. + +The doctrine which the Saviour left us, and the laws which He prescribed +were vastly different from the teachings of men. Guiding, saving words of +a Shepherd to his flock, they engendered safety, comfort, peace. Free from +error or mistake, sealed with the seal of Heaven, holding out a promise of +future glory, they exhaled the perfumes of the eternal city, they told of +mansions not built with hands. And since this immaculate doctrine, given +for the souls of men, was to last till the end of time, there was need +that it should be shielded against the assaults of the world and protected +from the influence of our changing human teachings. It could not be +corrected, because it contained no mistakes; it could not be changed or +altered, because it came from the changeless God; it could have no +substitute from the part of men or creatures of any kind, because it was +given by Him who alone was the way, the truth, and the life. Consequently +the truths which the Saviour declared to the world as the only means by +which we can be saved, were at once infallible in themselves, and so +provided for that no human agency, no lapse of years or revolutions of +time and place should ever be able to infringe on their eternal, +changeless character. It was to preserve these truths in their integrity +and freshness that He founded His unerring Church and committed to it the +office of custodian and expounder, under the guidance of His Holy Spirit, +of all He had revealed for the salvation of human kind. Hence to hear our +Shepherd's voice, to understand what He says to us, to know what we must +do to obey His laws and save our souls, we need but listen to the voice of +His Church. Before it was established He declared that He should build His +Church upon a rock, and that no enemy, or group of enemies, not even the +gates of hell should ever prevail against it.(27) He established the +Church as His mouthpiece, and He said to the little band that constituted +it in the beginning, "he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that heareth +me, heareth Him that sent me;"(28) and, as if to emphasize this +declaration, He added that any one who would not hear and obey the Church +should be considered as a heathen and a publican--types of all that was +bad.(29) The Church, therefore, is the oracle of God, it is His +mouthpiece; it possesses and guards the only revelation which God has made +to His rational creatures; it alone has the words of eternal life. + +Thus it is that our divine Shepherd goes before us, leading us in the +paths of truth and justice, preserving us from danger and error with +respect to our spiritual destiny. We cannot go astray if we listen to Him +speaking to us through His church. In all our perplexities and +uncertainties, when confronted by any doubt, or confused and distracted by +the wrangling voices and conflicting opinions of men, we can be calm and +at peace, assured in our inmost souls that the voice which guides us +cannot err, that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for +one word of His to fail.(30) + +He leadeth me in ways of justice, in the ways of holiness, in the ways +which the saints have walked. How exceeding great, indeed, is our +privilege, and how certain and individual our election! All that remains +to us is to listen to His words and to follow Him, and present peace will +attend our labors, while future glory waits upon our end. + +But in the midst of abundant blessings and spiritual favors which have +surrounded and sheltered us from infancy, we are apt to be unmindful of +our state of plenty and forgetful of the duty of gratitude. We are apt to +venture out like thoughtless children, trusting in our own strength to +battle with the foe; or else, on the contrary, we sluggishly presume that +a bountiful Providence will provide for us regardless of our own +co-operation. We have never known what it is to want for spiritual food +and spiritual direction, except when indolence, careless indifference, and +our own folly have led us astray. These are evils which continually assail +us, and we often make friends with them, not knowing what we are doing for +the most part, until the blood of life has almost ebbed away. We are not, +indeed, removed from a world where sin abounds and where deceiving voices +may allure us this way and that. Like the pastoral country of the Orient, +the walks of life are fraught with perils: false teachers, false +doctrines, false prophets, pseudo-christs;(31) "perils from our own +nation, and perils from abroad, perils in the city and perils in the +wilderness, perils in the sea and perils from false brethren"(32)--all +trying to attract and lead us away from the paths of justice and deliver +us to the enemy of our souls. + +It is necessary that we should know that wolves are abroad in sheep's +clothing; "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into +the apostles of Christ."(33) They come to us with winning words and easy +teachings, with new creeds, new forms of belief, new ways to the promised +land. + +The doctrine and truths which Christ taught and which He entrusted to His +Church are set aside or explained away by these modern teachers, and the +novel and the strange are made to assume the role of the old, the familiar +and the true. The harm done is incalculable. How many innocent and unwary +sheep have been lost to the fold of Christ by following the call of these +unworthy preachers and false shepherds! What multitudes of precious souls +have been deceived by their polished words and led away into paths of +error, into deadly ways of thinking, believing, and acting, never to +return to the path that leads to life! + +This poisoning of the soul and the heart by erroneous doctrines is +effected in many and diverse ways; the victims of falsehood are variously +captured. There are the wisdom and sagacity of men, there are the +conquests of science and the learning of the philosophers, the discoveries +of our day, the strides of history, the breakdown and overthrow of many +things held sacred by our forefathers--and all these changes and ruptures +in the order of a former generation are now used to beguile the flock of +Christ and sway them from the paths of truth and righteousness. But amid +all this din and uproar of conflicting voices, amid the wrangling tumult +and confusion of converging opinions, those who will may hear and discern +the loving voice of the true Shepherd speaking to the world through His +Church with the same calm, assuring words which He uttered to living +witnesses two thousand years ago. He has not changed, neither has His +teaching; He has not deserted His chosen flock, but is with it all days, +even to the end of the world.(34) His love for us, His watchfulness for +our needs, His enduring care for our interests, in spite of our enemies, +can never fail. + +And while assured of this, it behooves us also, as appealing to our sense +of gratitude, and as inducing to greater love of Him, to reflect that this +abiding faithfulness of our Saviour in caring for our wants is not from +any worthiness of ours, or because of our merits, but only for His Name's +sake, because He is Saviour. It was His love for us that prompted our +creation, His love that provoked His passion and redeemed us, His love +that made Him suffer for us, His love that teaches and shall guide us to +life everlasting, for His love endureth forever. + + + + + +VII. YEA, THOUGH I WALK IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR +NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME. + + +Besides the paths and dangerous walks in the shepherd country that would +lead the sheep to destruction and death, there are other paths all +encompassed with evils through which, nevertheless, they are at times +obliged to make their way. Safety from all harm there cannot be for the +shepherd's flock. They must in their journeys encounter many perils, even +while pursuing the proper paths. There are deep and darksome valleys, +walled round on all sides by towering rocky hills, which at times the +shepherd cannot easily escape. And within these shadowy valleys and somber +ravines there dwell not infrequently wild and ferocious animals that will, +if aroused, attack and kill the tender sheep. The utmost care and caution +of the shepherd are called into service safely to conduct his dependent +flock through these places of deepest peril. But in spite of all his +watchfulness it sometimes happens that a wolf will get into the very midst +of the sheep. The timid, terrified animals become wild with fright, and +are scattered, running this way and that, until the shepherd calls and +bids them collect together. No sooner do they hear his voice, than they +all rush swiftly together in a solid mass, and either drive the enemy from +their midst or cripple and crush him to death. + +Thus in times of greatest peril the shepherd protects his sheep, and +wrests them from the jaws of harm. The sheep know this, and they fear no +evils; they know that their master is with them. Yea, though they walk in +the shadow of perils and dwell in the midst of the valley of death, they +faint not, neither do they fear, for they know that the shepherd is near. + +The case of the sheep in the valley of perils is not unlike our own in the +midst of the evils of the world; and the peace and safety which we enjoy +should be similar also to theirs. We are assured, first of all, by an +unflinching faith in God and our Redeemer that, if we trust our Master and +obey Him, we shall be led aright throughout our lives, even to the kingdom +of Heaven. We shall be led in the paths of justice and love, and crowned +at length with the crown of glory, if we but follow the voice of our +Shepherd-King, and avoid the walks of disaster and ruin. And to hear His +voice and to know it we have but to listen to the teachings of His Church, +which will hush to silence our troubled hearts, and direct our wayward +feet into the paths of heavenly peace. + +But, like the shepherd's flock, we have to avoid in our journey through +life, as perils to our safety and spiritual welfare, not only the false +shepherds and teachers and doctrines that surround us on all sides; but we +must also, to pass to our reward, actually encounter inevitable evils and +fight many necessary battles. Many of the paths of life through which we +must of necessity pass are hard and difficult, and full of deadly perils. +We must remember that sin has ruined the primeval beauty of our earthly +habitation and made our life here below a labor and a toil to the end. + +We not only come into the world with sin on our souls, and are thereby +exiles from the city of God, but even when our sin is forgiven us the +remains of the malady continue as wounds in our nature as long as we live +on earth. The deadly guilt is wiped away, but the effects of the evil +remain. And it is chiefly these wounds of our nature, in ourselves and in +others, that render life's journey, even when pursued in accordance with +the law of God, at times truly difficult and perilous. Fidelity to God and +to His law is not always a safeguard against the wickedness of the world +and of men; at times, in fact, it is just the contrary. Indeed, is it not +a truth that many, perhaps the majority, of those who endeavor sincerely +to please and to serve God must often suffer severely for their very +goodness and faithfulness? Are they not misunderstood, and criticised, and +censured? Are they not frequently accused of all manner of wrong, their +work disparaged, and their motives impugned? Are not persecution, and even +martyrdom, often their portion? Now all this is the result of sin. Those +who call into question the deeds and motives of God's saints; those who +upbraid, and criticise, and impute evil to the sincere, faithful servants +of God, inflicting upon them dire evils, are but showing the effects of +sin in themselves, are but giving exercise to the evil that rules within +them. Their particular acts and words may be without present malice, they +may be inwardly persuaded that in reviling and condemning their neighbor +and doing him harm, they are rendering a service to God Himself; but in so +doing they but manifest the effects of earlier sin, personal, perhaps, and +original, which has darkened their understanding and made perverse their +moral vision, so that, having eyes, they see not, having ears, they hear +not, neither do they understand.(35) Following the corruption of their own +nature, bleeding from the wounds of original sin, they are prone to +blaspheme whatsoever they fail to comprehend;(36) and thus it is that they +often make life and the world for the servant of God a truly perilous +sojourn, a veritable valley of death. + +This failure to be understood, this misjudgment of actions, motives, +deeds, are doubtless common evils from which, in a measure, we all must +suffer. But it is also true that the more elevated the life, the higher +its aims, the loftier the spiritual level on which it proceeds, the +greater the difficulty of its being understood and appreciated by the +majority, who always tread the common paths of mediocrity. A saint is +nearly always a disturbance to his immediate surroundings, he is +frequently an annoyance and an irritation to the little circle in which +his external life is cast, simply because he really lives and moves in a +sphere which the ordinary life cannot grasp. Like a brilliant, dazzling +light that obscures the lesser luminaries, and is therefore odious to +them, the man of God is frequently a disturber to the worldly peace of +common men, his life and works are a living reproach to their life and +works; and hence, without willing it, he becomes a menace to their society +and is not welcome in their company. Worldly, plotting minds cannot +understand the spiritual and the holy; sinful souls are out of harmony +with the virtuous; the children of darkness cannot find peace with the +children of light. And not only is there a lack of sympathy in the +worldly-minded for the men and women who are led of God, but there is +often positive hatred for them--a hatred which spends itself in actual, +persistent persecution. To be devout, to refrain from sinful words and +sinful deeds, to shun the vain and dangerous amusements of worldlings, to +attend much to prayer and recollection, to love the house and worship of +God, to be seen often approaching the sacraments and partaking of the +bread of life at the communion rail--even these holy acts are sufficient +frequently to draw down on the servants of God the curse and persecution +of a world which knows not what it does. + +And that which happens individually to the faithful children of God takes +place on a larger scale with respect to God's Church. The children of this +world, those who have set their heart on temporal things, or who, through +wilful error have deviated from the right path to things eternal, never +cease from pursuing and persecuting the Church of God. They hate the +Church and attack it unceasingly. Like the perverse and blinded Jews of +old who reviled the Saviour and His words and deeds, who pursued Him and +put Him to death, these ever-living and ever-active enemies of light and +truth never abate in their fury against the chosen friends of Christ, and +against His holy Church. But need we be surprised at this? Was it not +foretold? Did not our blessed Shepherd, speaking in the beginning to His +little flock, warn them that men would deliver them up in councils and +scourge them? Did He not say to them plainly, "And you shall be hated by +all men for my name's sake; but he that shall persevere unto the end, he +shall be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into +another.... The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above +his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the +servant as his lord. If they have called the good man of the house +Beelzebub, how much more them of his household."(37) + +It happens, therefore, that fidelity to God, and careful adherence to the +paths of justice and holiness, can frequently be the occasion of perils +and sufferings for us individually, as they also are the excuse for a +vaster persecution of the Church in general. All holy persons and holy +things are signs of contradiction. They are not of the world, they do not +fit in with it; and between them and the world there will be strife and +contention until the renovation comes. + +But the enemies that lie along the ways of life, that beset and threaten +even the most righteous paths of our pilgrimage, are not all from +without--the most numerous and menacing are perhaps from within. "The +enemies of a man," says the inspired writer, "are those of his own +household."(38) That is to say, the most potent evils which we suffer, the +chiefest foes to our present and future welfare are from ourselves--our own +waywardness, our tendencies to evil, our wilfulness, our self-love and +self-seeking, our own sins. It is from these and like causes that we +suffer most. Hard and trying it surely is to bear persecutions and +contradictions from others; severe is the strain to nature when, in the +face of our noblest efforts, proceeding from noblest motives, we meet with +misunderstanding and even condemnation; but to the upright, religious +heart that is sincerely and truly seeking God amid the shadows and +pitfalls of life, the sorest of all trials and the fiercest of all enemies +are one's own temptations and passions and inclinations to evil. Easier it +were to conquer the whole external world of foes, than to reign supreme +over the little world within. Of Alexander the Great it is said, that +while he actually subdued the whole known world of his time, he +nevertheless yielded in defeat before his own passions. He could overcome +his external enemies, but surrendered miserably in the battle with self. + +This, then, is our greatest warfare, the struggle with ourselves; and this +our greatest victory, a triumph over self. "If each year," says the +Imitation, "we could uproot but one evil inclination, how soon we should +be perfect men!"(39) But it is not for us to be free from enemies and +perils, both from without and from within, during our earthly sojourn. +They are a part of our lot here below, they are necessarily bound up with +the darkened regions through which the Shepherd must lead his flock; and +hence, entire safety there shall never be before the journey's end, until +we say farewell to present woes, and hail "the happy fields, where joy +forever dwells." + +In our present state, therefore, it is important for us to realize our +dangers and to be prepared for conflict. There is no way of escape from +crosses, and perils, and dreadful battles for all those who wish to win +the crown of victory. They must follow the Shepherd as he leads the way, +and hence our Lord has said, "if any man will come after me, let him take +up his cross daily and follow me."(40) Yes, it is the following of the +Shepherd, it is his leadership, his constant presence, that give comfort +to the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of perils. And though we pass +through the valley and shadow of death, we need fear no evil, for He is +with us. At times, frequently perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, the +waves roll over and deluge us so completely that we are all but smothered. +The clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast the sky of our souls; the +sorrows of death surround us, and the pains of the pit encompass us;(41) +we are overwhelmed with sadness and plunged in darkness. We think of God, +we remember Him, but He seems afar off. The evil which weighs us down--the +pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness and dejection of heart and +mind, "the madness that worketh in the brain," muffle the voice and all +but still the trembling pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift our +drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes to see the gentle Shepherd standing +faithfully at our side. It is our failure to discern and apprehend Him +that causes extreme agony. If at these times of utter desolation, when the +soul is swept by the winds of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and +thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and child-like trust, the spell would +be broken; and we should see the clouds lift and part and float away on +the wind, only to let in God's cheerful sun to raise the drooping spirit, +and warm and soothe the troubled soul. + +But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow and affliction, to lift the +heart and mind to things above. Nature of itself tends downward, and +unless it has learned to discipline itself and to engage with the enemy in +sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for life. For the world is a +battlefield and life a warfare, even from a natural point of view, and +only they can hope to win in life's hard contest who have learned to brave +the battle, who have prepared themselves for conflict. But who is ready +for the struggle, and how shall we be able to encounter our foes? Left to +ourselves and to our own resources, we shall surely go down in defeat. The +opposing forces are too gigantic, too numerous. They throng from near and +from afar. They swarm from within and from without; from our own nature +and from others, from the world around, and from our own household; from +those at home, and from them that are abroad. Frequently during life we +are, of a certainty, encompassed round with perils; we hardly know where +to turn or what to do, we are breathless with fright; but even then, if we +have proper faith, we shall grow calm, like the shepherd's flock in the +midst of devouring animals and beasts of prey, for our Saviour and +Shepherd is with us, and no evil can befall us. Even when we think Him +farthest, He is often nearest; when we think Him sleeping, His heart is +watching. He loves us, His weak and timid sheep; we are the objects of His +heart's affection and ever active solicitude; He will not let perish, if +we trust Him, the price of His precious Blood. + +And the training we are to receive, and the preparation we are to make, in +order worthily and victoriously to engage in the battle of life are +nothing, therefore, but lessons of love and trust in the constant goodness +and faithfulness of our divine Saviour. Unless we viciously drive Him away +by deliberate, grievous sin, He is really never absent from us, and least +of all when we need Him most. It is our fault, if we do not by faith +discern Him, if we do not feel His ever-gracious presence. We need to +discipline ourselves in acts and deeds of faith and love, and then we +shall realize that He is always near us, even in the darkness of the +shadow of death. + +We must try to know our Shepherd, first of all; we must endeavor +intimately to understand Him. For to have faith in Him, to trust Him, to +believe in His power and goodness, in His overruling care for us and our +interests, presuppose a knowledge of Him, just as faith and confidence in +an earthly friend follow upon an intimate acquaintance with that friend. +But this close knowledge of our Master, so necessary to our present peace +and future happiness, will never be ours unless we make Him our confidant, +unless we accustom ourselves to live in His presence, to look to Him, to +speak to Him often, to listen to His gracious direction. And this intimate +relationship with our Saviour, this habitual communion with Him, will +enkindle in our souls the fire of love. Once we know Him, we will trust +Him, and having faith and confidence in Him, we will link our poor lives +to His divine life by the strong cords of heavenly charity. Fear and +uncertainty will then be impossible, even in the darkest hours. + +It is love, above all, that directs our life--love, indeed, which is born +of knowledge. We do not, it is true, love anything before we have some +knowledge of it; this would be an impossibility; but once the soul has +caught the vision, it is love that drives the life and stimulates and +enriches the knowledge. The objects of our affections are the interpreters +of our life and actions. If we love the world, we are led by the world; if +we love God, it is God that leads and directs us. Where the treasure is, +there will the heart be also;(42) and where the heart is, thither will the +life make its way. But if God is the object of our love, we shall fear no +evil; for "God is charity," says St. John, "and he that abideth in +charity, abideth in God, and God in him ... Fear is not in charity; but +perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain."(43) + +It is only the love of God, therefore, that will steady our lives, and +bear us up in the thick of tribulations. It is the confident assurance +that we, although so unworthy, are the objects of divine complacency that +awakens in our hearts a return of burning charity, and enables us to say, +with the Psalmist, when the day is darkest "The Lord is my light and +salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of +whom shall I be afraid?"(44) We are not to fear men, said our Lord, who, +when they have destroyed the body, can do no more;(45) neither shall we be +in dread of our Master, if armed with the gift of His love, "for fear hath +pain, but love casteth out fear." Rather shall we, like the martyrs of +old, mindful of the gift of God, go bravely forth to the battle of life, +or to the slaughter, calmly, hopefully, cheerfully. While humbly, but +steadfastly trustful of the Shepherd that leads us, we shall not be +disturbed or troubled; the present shall be shorn of its terrors, the +future of its forebodings. This truly is the triumph of life, when love, +not fear, has come to rule us. This is the broader, larger life--the +forerunner of life eternal in which our days are passed in calm +serenity--in which we press on with undaunted tread, alike under frowning +clouds, or under a star-lit sky; alike with the joys of friendship around +us, or alone amidst the graves of the dead. + +We must not infer from this that the love of God which is our strength, +the source of our courage, will blunt our feelings or harden our lives. It +does not seal up the fountain of tears, or make us insensible to the pains +and sorrows of life, which belong to the lot of all. In a certain sense it +is likely true that those suffer most in life who are most united to God; +for they feel most the coldness of the world and its desolation, its want +of love and sympathy, its degradation and its misery. Hence it would be a +mistake to think that the friends of God in this life are either exempted +from pain and sorrow, or made insensible to them, either in themselves or +in others. Of these and other evils they are truly more keenly aware than +worldly men, if for no other reason than because of the superior +refinement of their nature and the spiritual outlook of their vision. It +is sin, after all, that hardens while it weakens. Sin closes the heart to +love, it renders its victims cold, unsympathetic and selfish; whereas the +gifts of grace and holiness are tenderness, mercy, strength. But though +all have to suffer, both the holy and the unholy, the difference between +them is this, that the ungodly are borne down and overcome by their +sorrows and crosses, while the spiritual are always triumphing even in the +midst of apparent defeat. To the foolish they seem to be vanquished, yet +they conquer; often they seem on the verge of surrender, when they emerge +in victory; they seem to die, when behold they live!(46) + +The spiritual man, then, does suffer; he suffers in the cause of God; he +suffers for others and for himself. More than this, it is doubtless true +that he feels his crosses more keenly, he grieves more profoundly, than do +the children of the world; but through it all he remembers his Saviour and +is comforted. He knows that the tribulations of the just are many, and +that from all these the Lord will soon deliver him,(47) and he shall not +be confounded forever. + + + + + +VIII. THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME. + + +It is already plain to us that the sorrows and sufferings of the present +life are, without doubt, the result and consequence of sin. That we should +pass our mortal days so full of pain and tears, that our fellow-man, that +the beasts of the field and the elements, which we need and use as helpers +and servants, and most of all that our own nature, with its passions and +evil tendencies, should rise up against us and oppose us, was assuredly +not a part of the original plan. As a wise and all-powerful Designer and +Creator, God founded the world after a masterful fashion--devoid of evil, +free from defect, perfect according to the plans framed in Heaven. The +hills and mountains He founded and set on their bases; the streams and +rivers and valleys He formed, all rich and lovely, intended for the +comfort and happiness of man; the blue deep He constructed and beautified +with its millions of shining wonders; and in all these stupendous +creations, in all the diverse works of His mighty, omnipotent hands there +was in the beginning no trace of fault, of defect, of error or sin. The +upheaval came when man disobeyed and wrought the commencement of all our +woe. And hence it is to man's first disobedience and the fruit of that +forbidden tree, that we owe all the evils from which our nature suffers +and to which our flesh is heir. + +But although we know the source of our sorrows and feel the guilt of our +sins, this does not make our burden lighter or shorten the path of our +pilgrimage. We are confronted by the problem of labor and suffering as +soon as we enter the world. No one is entirely exempted; and, strange as +it is, we see that it frequently happens, that those are most afflicted +who are farthest removed from the wickedness of the world and purest in +the sight of God. "Many are the tribulations of the just;" and how true is +it that the very fidelity of the servants of God is often an occasion of +their sufferings! It is not wonderful that sorrow and fear should be the +portion of sinners throughout the length of their days, for "contrition +and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not +known;"(48) but that all, even the saints of God, should suffer alike and +be oppressed with miseries is, at first sight, a problem and a baffling +mystery. + +It is something, indeed, to feel in our suffering that we are paying the +debt of our sins, whether personal, or original, or both; it is much to +know that our crosses, severe and inevitable as they are, are a curb to +our wayward nature, and a restraint against further sins; it is assuredly +a great privilege and a high honor that we, unworthy and unfaithful +servants of our Master, should, through our tears and sorrows and +sufferings, be enabled to conform our poor lives to the tearful and +sorrowful life of our Saviour; it is a comfort that words cannot tell to +be assured by our faith that in the midst of pains and perils the Shepherd +of our souls is ever near to shield, to guard, and to save--all this is +surely much--enough to encourage and strengthen us daily to take up our +cross and joyfully follow our Redeemer, even to the hill of Calvary, even +to the death of the cross. But this is not all. A deeper meaning lies +hidden behind the veil of tears, beneath the cloak of pain and sorrow. The +miseries of life are not a mere inheritance, neither is their value of a +purely negative character. We instinctively feel that somehow, somewhere +beyond the scope of mortal ken, there is a higher explanation and a more +valid justification for all the failures and pains and sorrows of life, +than that which appears on the surface of things, or issues in results +that are only negative. Suffering for its own sake was never intended; and +we were not made to suffer. We were not created for misery, but for +happiness; not for failure, but for victory; not for death, but for life; +not for time, but for eternity. And hence there is a deeper meaning, a +higher explanation for all the failures and miseries of the present life +than those that are apparent to the casual observer. + +In the title of this chapter the Psalmist, referring to the shepherd's +care for his sheep, says: "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." The +staff the shepherd uses, as already explained, is to assist the sheep +along their perilous journeys, and the rod to protect them in case of +attack. The rod and the staff are necessary for the welfare of the flock, +necessary to guide and shield them in their wanderings, and to bring them +safely home. So too, it is with us, the children of God. To be properly +protected and guided to our happy end we have need of the rod of +affliction and adversity, and likewise of the staff of mercy. + +Although human miseries--pain, poverty, suffering and death--are, as we +know, the consequences, just and equitable, of original sin, it is a +shortsighted faith and a defective vision that find in these crosses only +chastisement for sin. Truly, they should not have been, had we never +sinned; but as God, in His mercy, draws good out of evil, so has He made +these inevitable results of our transgression serve a higher purpose and +minister to noble ends. The Saviour came that we might have life, that we +might progress and advance to ever fuller and more abundant life.(49) His +aim, and the aim and purpose of His heavenly Father, since the very dawn +of our creation, has been to lead us to happiness--to perfect, abundant, +eternal happiness. It would be of little account to be happy here, unless +we are also to rejoice eternally. It would be a poor exchange and a paltry +satisfaction, to be present at the feasts of men, only to forfeit our +place at the banquet of angels. But our heavenly reward and our celestial +crown are to be merited and won here below; they are to follow upon our +earthly labors. "Only he shall be crowned," says St. Paul, "who has +legitimately engaged in the battle."(50) And did not the Master say +Himself, "Let him who wishes to come after me deny himself and take up his +cross and follow me?"(51) Did He not declare that we must die to live? +that we must surrender our life here, if we would keep it eternally? +"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the +ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much +fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life +in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal."(52) We cannot serve two +masters, we cannot serve God and mammon. If we would seek to avoid all +pain and sorrow, and spend our lives in the pleasures of sense, we must be +prepared to forego the future joys of the soul; if we would pass our days +indulging the flesh and chasing the phantoms of time, we must needs make +ready for the death of the spirit and the forfeit of all that is lasting. + +We have no choice, then; if we would succeed eternally, we must follow the +way of the cross. This is the only way to life--to that abundant, celestial +life which our Creator has wished us to live. And it is the bearing of our +cross, patiently and resignedly to the will of God, together with our +other good works, that enables us to merit, in so far as we can, the joys +of the kingdom of Heaven. But the sufferings and labors, so inevitable and +necessary to our earthly state, which serve as a means to supernal +rewards, have still another, deeper meaning, and serve another purpose. We +cannot evade them, we must encounter them. They are not only unavoidable, +but necessary to our dearest interests, as we see, since they are strewn +as thorns and brambles all along the narrow way that leads to eternal +life. We cannot choose them or lay them aside at will. We may, indeed, if +we be foolish and impious enough, refuse to walk the narrow way of the +just and choose the broad road that leadeth to destruction; but we shall +not even thus escape the pains and perils inseparable from this mortal +life. Or again, we may, in our folly, rebel against the crosses and labors +that confront and pursue us; but whether we go this way or that, whether +we will it or not, we can no more eschew all the evils of life than escape +from the air that we breathe. The pressure, it is true, is not always upon +us; we are not, without ceasing, weighed down by our labors and groaning +to be delivered from the body of this death. There is interruption, there +is passing pleasure, a rift in the clouds and a smile of the sunshine even +for the darkest and poorest life. And yet withal, we know and we are +conscious that we are ever under the sentence of death, that life is a +fleeting shadow, that like + + + "A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, + Man passes from life to his rest in the grave." + + +There is no evading the conclusion, therefore, that the days of man in +this world are few and full of miseries. "The life of man upon earth is a +warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. He cometh forth +like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow."(53) "For all +flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The +grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away."(54) To the +natural man all this is appalling, and how frequently it finds its +solution in unbridled self-indulgence, in mental unbalance, and +self-destruction! But the saints, and all the truly wise, have viewed the +problem of human suffering in a vastly different light. They have +discerned it, first of all, as really distinctive of the road to Heaven, +and as essentially pertaining to the royal way of the cross. They have +understood that it extinguishes the wrath of the heavenly Father, that it +atones for sin and makes the soul conformable to our suffering Saviour, +and therefore have they loved it. And more than this, those who have been +led by the wisdom of God have found, not only that the crosses of life are +essentially connected with the way of salvation, but that by them and +through them alone we are often _positively driven_ to God. We may try to +avoid them, and at times, perhaps, succeed; we may flee from them or +endeavor to still the voice of their pain; or, when unable to escape them, +we may, in our wrath and desperation, rise up against them and rebuke +them: but they persistently remain, they continue to haunt, as if to woo +and to win us to penetrate their deeper meaning, and discover the treasure +that in them lies concealed. The very breakdown of human things, the +severing of human ties and relationships, the loss of health and wealth, +of treasures and friends, and of all that life holds dear, are really +meant, in the deepest sense, to drive us to the divine. This is the +meaning of those tears and sorrows, those pains and sufferings, that +loneliness, that grief, that agony of heart and soul which belong to this +world of tears. All these are intended to teach us that here below, on +this crumbling shore of time, we have no abiding city, or home, or life, +or love; but seek a city, a home, a life, a love that hath foundations, +whose builder and maker is God.(55) + +We need God, we were made for God, and our nature, with all its longings +and powers, cries out for Him. And therefore has God so arranged the +world, in spite of all its evils, and in spite of all our sinfulness, +that, if we do not prevent it, it will lead us out to happiness--lead us +out to Himself. It was our sin that despoiled the face of the world; but +God, in His mercy, has drawn good out of evil, He has made the effects of +sin minister to our advantage, if we will but have it so. We may, +forsooth, refuse, because we are free; we may object, and rebel, and +oppose our lot; we may take our destiny out of the hands of our Creator +and attempt to shape it for ourselves; we may deride and despise the +humble, the lowly of heart, the patient, the mortified and the suffering; +we may upbraid the Providence of God and its workings, and refuse to +submit to the rule of the Creator; we may hold in derision and contempt +the little band that is sweetly marching the way of the cross, preferring +for ourselves the company of the multitude that knows not God--all this can +we do, because we are free; but if such be our choice, and if we persevere +in it, our portion is fixed, and we shall have at last only to say with +the wicked: "Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light +of justice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not +risen upon us. We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and +destruction, and have walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we +have not known. What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the +boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a +shadow, and like a post that runneth on."(56) + +Sufferings, therefore, are common to all, to the good and the bad, to the +wise and the foolish, to the children of light and to the children of +darkness. But only those who are directed by grace and light from above +are able to pierce the deeper meaning of the cross. All have to bear it, +but not all understand it; all feel the weight of it, but all do not know +the power of it. Like fortune, it knocks at every door, into every heart +it endeavors to enter and make known its deeper significance, its hidden +secrets, lest any of us should suffer in vain, and our lives be altogether +a failure. To be able to suffer patiently and gladly for God's sake, is +thus a great wisdom; it is a sign of future blessedness. It is the wisdom +of God, which is foolishness to men. "If thou hadst the science of all the +astronomers," says Eternal Wisdom; "if thou couldst speak and discourse +about God as fully and well as all angels and men; if thou alone were as +learned as the whole body of doctors; all this would not bestow on thee so +much holiness of life as if, in the afflictions that come upon thee, thou +art able to be resigned to Me and to abandon thyself to Me. The former is +common to good and bad, but the latter belongs to My elect alone." + +We know that our Saviour took upon Himself the cross of sorrow and +suffering, not alone that He might satisfy for our transgressions and be +our ransom from bondage, but also that He might be unto us an example and +a leader. And knowing that our unfaithfulness had incurred severest +maladies from which none could escape, He bore our infirmities and carried +our sorrows for us, in order that we, in our time, might bear our +inevitable afflictions for His sake, for love of Him, and thereby attain +to unending glory with Him. "For the spirit himself giveth testimony to +our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs, +indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, +that we may be also glorified with him."(57) "If you partake of the +sufferings of Christ," says St. Peter, "rejoice that when his glory shall +be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."(58) The chains of +sorrow which bind us here below, our Shepherd thus would turn to golden +cords of love, which draw and hold us to Himself. We cannot, as we see, +ascend to Heaven, rise to blessedness, except by the way of the cross. And +our degree of glory in Heaven, the eternal happiness which we shall enjoy, +will be in proportion to the degree of charity or love of God which our +souls possess at death; and this divine charity, which is to measure our +future beatitude, is acquired and augmented by faithfully doing the will +of God--by patiently and lovingly bearing the cross of life. Sacrifice is +the test of love. And hence the more we do and suffer for Christ's sake, +the more we prove our love for Him and the greater shall be our happiness +in the kingdom of His Father. All holy writers, all the masters of the +spiritual life agree in teaching that God particularly chastises those +whom He loves with a special love. He proves the elect to find if they are +worthy of Himself.(59) He does not spare them now, that He may spare them +hereafter; He tries them for a time, that He may reward them forever; He +seems harsh with them here, during the time of probation, only that He may +draw them closer to Himself everlastingly. + +The devoted friends of God and the ardent lovers of things spiritual have +deeply pondered these momentous truths. They have realized that our days +here, though few and fast-flying, are really to determine our lot and +condition throughout the eternal years. They have known that the passing +present is the price of the lasting future; that this is the seeding time, +and hereafter the harvest. And because our future happiness is to be in +accord with our merits here acquired, jealously have they sought and +embraced every present occasion to increase their merits and their +worthiness for the glory that is to come. This is why they have loved the +cross, the symbol of salvation, the emblem of victory; this, too, is why +they have felt disturbed and full of fear when the cross was absent from +them. Unlike the unenlightened sufferer, who sees only punishment in his +pains, the saints of God have ever accepted their crosses as a sign of +special love, a divine visitation, a preparation for the great communion. + +We see now how it is that the rod of chastisement and the staff of mercy +are able to give joy and comfort to God's chosen friends; and thus are +they designed to console and comfort everyone who is truly led by faith +and love. Sufferings are really a blessing, but the eye of faith alone +discerns it. They keep us from present pleasures, from hurtful occasions, +from alluring vanities; they direct us into the way of salvation, they +drive us to God, they increase the glory of our eternal blessedness. What +are the trials of earth when compared with the joys of Heaven? Rather, how +precious are they! since, if we use them aright, they lead us out into a +higher life, to a closer friendship with God. And if, through the mercy of +our heavenly Father, we permit the cross to lead us to His knees and +enrich our lives with His love, who can speak its infinite value? What +treasure can be likened to it? Surely nothing that we know can surpass it +in worth. We might, indeed, enjoy all that life can give; we might possess +all riches, all health, all success; we might have honor, fame, glory, +power; the praise and love of men, the treasures of earthly friendship and +earthly affection--the whole world we might gain and enjoy; but if through +all these, or in spite of all, we should not be led to the love and +friendship of God, we should know only vanity, and life for us would in +its issue be nothing but a dismal failure. + +But if, on the contrary, through the sufferings and losses, the +deficiencies and limitations of life, we have been led to make God our +dearest friend, if we have been taught, by the coldness and harshness of +men, to take refuge in His love, how blessed are we! how cheaply the +purchase has been made, even though it has meant the loss of every passing +good, of all that the world can give, even the pouring out of our own +life's blood! + +Teach me, O my Master, in the day of sorrow and tribulation, to understand +the meaning of the cross, to know the value of my sufferings, to grasp the +power and the secret of Thy rod and Thy staff. Assist me to see Thee +through the darkness that surrounds me; and give me to feel, in the midst +of loneliness and perils, amid pain and desolation, the nearness to my +soul of Thy loving-kindness, and the strength of Thy merciful presence. + + + + + +IX. THOU SPREADEST BEFORE ME A TABLE IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES. + + +In the preceding verses of the Shepherd Psalm the Psalmist has described +the constant care of the shepherd for his sheep--the rest and refreshment, +the protection and comfort he provides for them. And now, in the present +verse, he speaks of a feast he has prepared for them, which is to be +likened to a bountiful banquet--a banquet which they are to enjoy, a feast +which they are to consume, in the sight of their enemies, in the presence +of the evils that afflict them. He refers, at first, to the manner of +preparing or spreading a table in the Orient. Often the custom of olden +times was not much different from that which prevails among the Arabs even +today. To prepare a table means with them simply to spread a skin or a +cloth or a mat on the ground. + +And it is to this kind of table that the Psalmist refers when he sings of +the feast of the sheep. He means nothing more than that he has provided +for his flock in the face of their enemies a rich pasture, a spreading +slope, where they shall feed with contentment and peace, in spite of the +evils that surround them. + +But the quiet and peace which the sheep enjoy, while partaking of their +spread-out banquet, are entirely owing to the protecting presence of the +shepherd. And it frequently happens that here again the utmost skill and +diligence of the shepherd are called into play in thus securing the peace +and safety of his flock. The most abundant pastures are many times +interspersed with noxious weeds and plants, which, if eaten, would sicken +and poison the herd; while around the feeding places and grazing grounds +very often lie hid, in thickets and holes and caves in the hillsides, wild +animals, such as jackals, wolves and panthers, ready to spring out, at the +critical moment, and devour the innocent sheep. The shepherd is aware of +all these evils and enemies of his tender flock; and he goes ahead and +prepares the way, avoiding the poisonous grasses, and driving away, or +slaying, if need be, the beasts that menace the peace and security of the +pasture. The evils are not entirely dispelled, but only sufficiently +removed or held in check so as not to imperil the flock. + +Such is the table prepared for the sheep by their provident and watchful +shepherd; and such is the feast of which they partake with quiet joy in +the sight and presence of their enemies. But, as just said, the tranquil +joy which is theirs comes not from the fact that danger has been all +removed, nor from the fact that they have become hardened and used to its +presence. They know it is always near; and they are conscious, as far as +animals can be, of their own utter helplessness, if left to themselves, to +survive an attack of their powerful enemies. But they do not fear, they +are not disturbed or anxious, solely for the reason that they feel their +shepherd is present, and they know he will guard and protect them. Hence +the Psalmist is speaking for the sheep when he says to the shepherd with a +tone of confident joy, "Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence +of mine enemies." + +The spiritual meaning of this, like the other verses of the Shepherd +Psalm, is peculiarly descriptive of our Lord, the Good Shepherd of human +souls. He, in a manner altogether divine, precedes His elect, and prepares +them the way of salvation. He does not deliver them from enemies and +dangers, which would be unnatural in the present state, but He makes use +of evils, as said before, to increase the perfection of His chosen souls. +Gradually, step by step, from a natural He leads them to a higher +state--from diffidence to trust, from fear to love, from sorrow and anguish +to peace and joy. + +The change in the soul is rarely at once and immediate; it does not come +of a sudden. At first it is difficult and repugnant to nature to find joy +in sorrow and pleasure in pain, to see gladness in tears and rest in +disturbance, to find peace in the midst of our enemies; but God, in His +omnipotent goodness, so disposes and provides for the souls of His elect +that sooner or later they penetrate to the meaning of things, and find +there their hidden treasure. When the fabric of life itself has crumbled +to its native dust, when friends have gone and charms departed, when the +very earth we tread seems trembling beneath our feet, and every dream of +earthly bliss is fled, when enemies sit where loved ones sat, and the +heart has all but ceased to beat, then is the acceptable time and +propitious moment, for the devout and faithful soul, that has washed its +garments in the blood of the Lamb, to look up to Heaven with expectant +joy. The thrilling vision of eternal love so much desired, so long perhaps +delayed, is then, indeed, about to dawn. + +The sweetness of God and the peace of His spirit are not to be found in +the market place, nor in the noise and clamor of the busy street. It is +not at the banquets of earthly kings that we taste of the joys of the +Saviour's feast. It is not amid honors and riches and the pleasures of +sense that the calm dews of Heaven refresh the soul. We were made for a +higher friendship, for a more intimate union, for a sweeter companionship +than any that earth can provide. And it is only when the door has been +shut to the outer world, when the vanities of time have ceased to be +sought, that the soul is ready for the wedding garment, and able to +prepare for the marriage feast. It is in the inner sanctuary and alone, +divested of fleshy trammels and freed from the bondage of earthly +attachments, that the soul is able to meet its God and hold intimate +converse with Him. + +There are few, comparatively, out of the multitude of souls that are +called to the feast which is spread for them, that ever sit down at the +Master's table. Many are invited, and the servant is sent out at the hour +of supper to say to them that were called, that all things are ready, and +that they should come; but they tarry, they are not ready, they begin to +make excuses and wish to be held excused. Some are entangled in perishable +riches and cannot leave their possessions; others are preoccupied with +worldly affairs and must not neglect their business; still others are +pursuing the pleasures of earth, and have no time for the things of +Heaven. But the feast is not for these, after all. The Master invites +them, He calls them, He sends His ministers in search of them, He reproves +and chides them, He thunders against them to make them hear and obey; but +they will not come, they shall never taste of His banquet. He has not +spread a table for the proud, the haughty, the arrogant; He cannot meet in +loving communion the worldly, the sensuous, the lovers of ease and hurtful +pleasures. Such as these are not prepared to meet Him; they would be out +of place and ill at ease in His company, they do not like His society.(60) + +To be able to come to the Master and to sit at His feast there is need of +preparation. The garments of the world must be changed for the garments of +Heaven, the ways of men must be made to yield to the ways of God. For what +is wisdom with men is foolishness with God,(61) the weak things of earth +are the strong things of Heaven, the outcast of the world are the chosen +of the Father Almighty. And hence our Saviour under the figure of the +master in the parable who prepared a great supper, says of all those who +will not hear Him, who neglect His divine inspirations and despise the +call of His ministers, that they shall never taste of His feast. But who, +then, shall sit down at His table? for whom has He prepared the banquet? +He tells us Himself, that those who shall partake of His supper are the +lowly, the humble, the poor, the lame, and the blind; the despised of men +and the outcast of the people; those who have known sorrow and suffering +and penance, who have found the way of the cross and embraced it; who, for +the kingdom of Heaven and the love of Christ crucified, have given up +father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters; yea, +and their own life also, that they might inherit everlasting crowns that +fade not away.(62) + +St. Paul was one of these masterful spirits, who surrendered all that he +had, all that he prized most dearly for love of Christ and His service. +"The things that were gain to me," he says, "the same have I counted loss +for Christ. Furthermore, I count all things to be but loss for the +excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the +loss of all things, and count them but as waste, that I may gain +Christ."(63) What a struggle, too, was that which St. Augustine describes, +speaking of his own conversion! The parting with those sinful delights +which had hitherto held him in chains was like the forfeiture of all he +possessed, and it seemed to him that life thereafter would not be worth +living; yet he generously and vigorously gave them up that Christ might +become his possession. He has also described for us the change. "How +sweet," he says, "did it at once become to me to want the sweetness of +those trifles, which to lose had been my fear, but which to have lost was +now a joy! Thou didst cast them forth from me, oh Thou true and highest +sweetness! Thou didst cast them forth, and in their stead didst enter in +Thyself, sweeter than all pleasure!"(64) + +It is such as these, heroic souls, who for the sake of God and His +kingdom, have made the world their enemy, that compose the company of the +elect. And for these alone it is that the Shepherd of souls has spread a +table of rest and peace, even in this life, of which they partake in the +sight of their enemies, in the presence of those who think evil of them, +who despise and deride them, in the sight of the world which hates them. +These holy souls, the elect of God, whom the Father has chosen for +Himself, have learned, through the trials and losses of life, the lessons +of peace and detachment which crosses are intended to teach. They have +learned, by exclusion and retirement from worldly festivities and +pernicious delights, to draw near to God, out of love for His beauty and +mercy, or if only to ease their breaking hearts and dispel the loneliness +of their forsaken lives. In the words of the Psalmist, they have tasted +and seen that the Lord is sweet, and that there is no one like unto +God.(65) With the image of the Crucified before their eyes and conscious +of the presence of their loving Shepherd, they greet with delight the +sufferings that oppress them, and they feast in peace in the presence of +their enemies. They know that all is arranged or permitted by the hand +that guards them, and by the One that loves them; and, though He slay +them, yet will they trust Him.(66) For what can happen to those that love +God? what evil can befall them? Angels have charge over them to keep them +in all their ways.(67) + +It is confidence, therefore, in their Saviour and God that gives peace and +tranquillity to the souls of the just. To know Him, to love Him, to trust +Him, to dwell in His presence and to please Him, throughout all the +vicissitudes and evils of life, are the objects of their constant actions +and the highest aspirations of their fervid souls. Confident of the favor +and protection of God, and rooted in His love, they despise all pain and +the threats of men; and in the midst of the battle of life they rejoice in +a peace of mind and soul of which the worldling cannot dream. The pasture +in which they feed, the banquet of which they partake are nothing else +than the love and friendship of God which nourishes and refreshes their +spirits when to every mortal eye they seem destitute, abandoned and alone. +And this peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding,(68) develops in +souls truly spiritual a habit of mind and a character of life that even +here below partake of the stability and calm sense of victory which, in +their perfection, belong only to the state of the blessed in Heaven. They +feel that all things are possible to them through Him that strengtheneth +them,(69) and that no temporal affliction, no power of man or any creature +shall wrest from them the feast which they enjoy. And hence they are able +to ask, in the confident words of the Apostle, "Who shall separate us from +the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or +nakedness; or danger, or persecution, or the sword ... In all these things +we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. Therefore we are sure that +neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor +things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor +any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, +which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."(70) + + + + + +X. THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP RUNNETH OVER. + + +In these words the Psalmist alludes to one of the most touching offices +performed by the good shepherd towards his sheep. The day is drawing to a +close, the golden orb of light has sunk to rest, and the shadows are +creeping up the hills. The hush of night is falling round, and the +shepherd must gather his flock into the fold. The labors, the journeys, +the trials, the wanderings of the day are over, and now comes the time for +rest. It is a scene full of peace, and the sheep greet its approach with +feelings of restful anticipation. Many of them are foot-sore and lame; +many have received bruises and scratches during the journeyings of the +day; some have gaping and bleeding wounds from the attacks of wild beasts; +while others are simply tired out and exhausted from the long walks and +steep climbing of hills. The shepherd knows all this, and before leading +them into rest he takes care to see that the wounds of all are dressed and +soothed, so that nothing shall disturb the sweet repose of their sleep. +For this purpose he stands at the door of the fold as the sheep pass in. +He has olive oil and cedar-tar to use as healing ointments for their +wounds, and he has cool, refreshing water for those that are worn and +weary. Lovingly and tenderly he regards each member, as one by one they +enter into rest; and they that are wounded or over-weary he holds back +with his rod, till their scars and sores are duly cared for and made ready +for the night's repose. + +How closely these offices performed for the sheep by the shepherd resemble +the care of our Father and Saviour providing at the end for the souls that +He loves! He has been with them all through life, leading, guiding, +guarding, shepherding them at all times, going before them with the +blessings of goodness. And when at length the end approaches, they feel +the need of His loving-kindness perhaps more than ever before. Like the +shepherd's flock, their needs are many and various. Some souls there are +who, through the special grace of God, are able to pass their lives in +innocence and holiness, living in the world, yet not of it, dwelling in +the midst of men and in the sight of their wickedness and sin, yet +undefiled withal, beautiful witnesses of the power and love of Him that +strengthens and preserves them. + +But the majority are not thus favored. Notwithstanding all their graces, +they have been subject to falls--perhaps to many grievous falls; they have +suffered many wounds and bruises, they have had many tears to shed. +Multitudes there are, in fact, who come down to the verge of life, to the +very gate of death, sin-stained, racked and wounded, their life blood +ebbing out through sores and wounds which they themselves have made by +wilful open friendship with sin and vice, the deadly foes of their souls. +We have many varying examples of these straying souls. There is the type +of Mary Magdalen, of St. Peter, of St. Paul, of St. Augustine, who passed +a portion, brief or prolonged, of their mortal days far from the Father's +home, feeding on the husks of swine; but who, while yet in the vigor of +life, felt the touch of the merciful hand and heard the sound of the +loving voice, leading them, calling them back to God, back to the "beauty +ever ancient and ever new." Such souls as these, it is true, constitute +one class of erring, but repenting sinners; but there is another class +whose plight is far more pitiable. They are those long-delayed, but +finally repentant sinners, men and women who have lived their lives away +from the Church and its sacraments, who have grown old and gray in the +sins of their youth, and now, at the last, when death is coming, are +moved, by a special grace from Heaven, to weep for their sins and wasted +years before they enter their eternal abode. + +For each and all of these how important it is that the Shepherd should +stand at the door of the fold and bind up their wounds with His tender +grace before they pass through the portals of death! Scarred and wayward +children, victims of evil circumstances, creatures of vanity and of folly, +they realize at the end how impotent they are, how helpless in the +presence of the coldness of death to redeem or make sure the years that +are fled, unless He draw near and assist them who has sustained them in +life, and who is at once the author and the master of both life and death! + +But for all, without exception, the need of the Shepherd is imperative at +the end. The victory, the happy issue of life's struggle, "is not of him +that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."(71) +All may run, all may strive, indeed, for the prize of eternal life, but +none can be sure, short of the mercy of God, that he will be saved; none +can merit this crowning glory of life. Whether young or old, whether +favored or neglected, whether innocent or guilty, whether the life has +been dowered with special blessings and never known the stain of grievous +sin, or whether it has been eked out amidst deepest misery and defiled +with hateful crimes, the same uncertainty for all remains as to the manner +in which the end shall come. Men may reason and conjecture, from what they +see and know, that this one or that is in God's favor, and shall so +persevere to the end; that the members of a certain family, or class, or +station in life, are sure to be saved, and shall never fall short; but +that those of another class or condition shall, on the contrary, die as +they have lived, in the filth of their sins, to be forever in torment. But +these are the reasonings of men, which are of no avail in the sight of +God. It is only the Father in Heaven who knows the elect. He alone is able +to tell who shall remain to be crowned, and who is to be condemned. +Perseverance is a gratuitous gift of God, we cannot merit it. All our good +actions and holy deeds, which are performed in the state of grace and out +of a motive of charity, do, it is true, merit a reward in Heaven, they +tend to increase our blessedness hereafter; but just as it is not in our +power to merit the first grace, by which we are raised from a state of +sin, so are we utterly unable to do anything which shall secure for a +certainty the final grace, by which alone we can be saved. Wherefore the +Preacher said: "All these things have I considered in my heart, that I +might carefully understand them: there are just men and wise men, and +their works are in the hand of God; and yet man knoweth not whether he be +worthy of love or hatred. But all things are kept uncertain for the time +to come, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, +to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that +offereth victims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the good is, so +also is the sinner; as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth."(72) + +This uncertainty as to the end of life, and of the gift of final +perseverance, all holy souls have felt. To die in the friendship of God, +and thence to enjoy His presence forever, is a gift of so transcendent a +nature, so far above our natural powers and utmost deserts that no +creature, which can at all conceive it, would dare claim it as a right. It +was this conviction that made the saints tremble to think of it. This it +was that prompted St. Paul to admonish the Philippians to work out their +salvation with fear and trembling,(73) and that also evoked from the same +Apostle those candid words concerning himself: "I chastise my body, and +bring it into subjection; lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I +myself should become a castaway."(74) + +And have we not sometimes witnessed instances which, so far as man can +judge, give ground for this fear as to perseverance, and emphasize the +great truth that to die in God's favor is, indeed, a singular and a +gratuitous gift? How many have we not known who started well, but +terminated ill! How many are innocent and holy in youth and give every +promise of splendid manhood, but fade and drop, like poisoned flowers, ere +the age of maturity has dawned! How many are able to pass through the most +critical period of their lives, unshaken and undefiled, full of faith, +hope, love, purity; but who, when the age of security is thought to have +come, lose the grip which seemed so firm, turn to evil, yield to vicious +habits, and die reprobates of God! Look at King Solomon! Who was ever more +promising than he in his youth? Who ever gave fairer prospects of +continued holiness and of a beautiful end? He was so lovely, so amiable, +so favored of God in the morning of life; graced with such high +perfections, not knowing evil, a stranger to vice, a lover of sanctity, of +wisdom, and of grace. It would seem that he could never fall--he who was +the object of such unwonted favors, who dwelt so supremely in the smile of +Heaven. But lo, and behold the end of him who had received so many graces, +who chose wisdom as his handmaid that he might be guided aright! Behold +that youthful figure, so full of promise and goodly hope, praying to God +that he might never deviate from the ways of grace; and then see the +gray-haired apostate tottering to the grave, borne down by the weight of +his sins and of his years! And how many more there have been, like King +Saul, like Renan and Voltaire, and numerous others that we ourselves +perhaps have known, who were great and good in youth, and for a term of +years, but whose end was a miserable failure! + +Our perseverance, then, or the favor to die in the state of grace, is not +of ourselves, not the reward of our efforts, or of our good works, "but of +God that sheweth mercy." We must do all in our power to merit eternal +life; we must press on to the mark, waging ceaseless battle in behalf of +God and of our souls, even to the last moment; but for the happy end of it +all we must perforce rely on the tender mercy of God. This is why our +Lord, before He departed from earth, prayed to His heavenly Father for His +disciples: "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given me; +... I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world; but that +thou shouldst keep them from evil."(75) This same truth the Psalmist also +had in mind when he prayed: "Perfect thou my goings in thy paths, that my +footsteps be not moved."(76) + +It is this appalling uncertainty about the end and outcome of life, +together with our own inability to make them secure, that makes death so +terrible to the minds and thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians and +well-living persons. They fear to fall into the hands of the living God. +For them the present life may be not so attractive; on the contrary, it is +likely replete with pain and toil; but somehow they wish to linger here, +preferring that which is certain, although so miserable, to that which is +doubtful, perhaps awful and irreparable. So long as they continue in this +present world there is chance for change, there is hope of improvement. +But when death intervenes, and the soul is removed to the other life, all +hopes of change are swept away, and the lot of the soul is fixed for +eternity. There is, of course, a fear of death which is altogether +natural. Many dread death who pretend not to believe in a future life, or +even in the existence of God. And many there are whose lives are holy, and +who have not whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, nevertheless, the +very thought of death is fraught with all manner of terrors. As some are +naturally afraid in the absence of light, and tremble with fear at being +alone in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or place, so there are many +who, without assignable reason, other than a native tendency, are appalled +at the thought of death. + +But when all due allowances have been made for the uncertainty of final +perseverance, and for the anxiety arising from natural temperament, it +seems not too much to say that, for the most part, the fear and dread of +death which haunts so many Christians can be reduced to two causes: a +defect of faith or a love of the world. It is one of these causes, or both +of them together, which alone can explain, in the majority of cases, why +such numbers of Christians and Catholics are unwilling to surrender the +present life, and are disturbed at the very thought of dying. Either they +do not realize by faith the surpassing glories of the life beyond--doubting +its reality, questioning its nature, misunderstanding the goodness and +mercy of God; or else they are so attached to the present existence that +all serious thought and desire for a better life are excluded from their +minds and hearts. Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual life is +indicated by the answers we give to the following questions: "Do I love to +think of God? Am I willing to suffer for God? Does my desire to be with +Him destroy my fear of death?" We do not fear to meet or to be with one +whom we really love, for "love casteth out fear." There is no dread at the +coming of the parent or friend whom we truly love, unless, perchance, we +have offended him, and lack full faith that we have been forgiven and +reinstated in his favor and friendship. + +So it is with God. If we are unwilling to meet Him, or filled with fear at +the approach of His coming, it seems of a certainty that our faith is at +fault. Why should we not wish to meet Him who has made us, who loves us, +who has washed away our sins with His own blood, who alone can comfort our +trembling souls and fill us with every good? Perhaps we have sinned and +betrayed our Maker many times and grievously in our lives, and the voices +of those sins are haunting us, and bidding us beware of the hour of death +and of the judgment that follows. Perhaps there is a lurking suspicion +that we have not been forgiven, a temptation that we are not sincere, a +feeling that our sins are too grave to be pardoned, a conviction that we +do not belong to the company of the elect. We may have notions, moreover, +altogether severe, of the nature of God and of His justice; we feel His +immensity and sanctity, we have heard so much of His ineffable beauty, +that, weighed down with a sense of our nothingness, of our poverty and +misery and sinfulness, we cannot but shudder at the thought of appearing +in His presence. These and similar terrors may take hold of us and fill us +with a dread of death; but is it not clear that, whatever their cause, +these fears are born of a lack of faith? We do not trust, as we ought, the +Shepherd that loves us, we are not convinced of His mercy and kindness, if +we do not believe with child-like confidence that He stands ready ever to +forgive and bless the least of His children that humbly and sincerely seek +Him, asking for the help they need. The severity of God toward sinners +endures only so long as they refuse to acknowledge their guilt. His +harshness with them, like that of Joseph with his brethren, is but love in +disguise; and as soon as they are brought to own their guilt, that which +before was the anger of God is swiftly turned into His love and mercy. +Christ did not come to destroy, but to save. He will not crush the broken +reed, nor extinguish the smoking flax.(77) "As a father hath compassion on +his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him; for he +knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust."(78) + +But there is also the love of the world, which enslaves so many. So +numerous and so bewitching are the attractions of the present life that +they are loath to leave them. It is a beautiful world, this universe of +ours, so deep, so wide, so vast! It is filled with pleasures and +allurements and graced with myriad charms; and he, indeed, seems cold of +heart who can easily turn from its enchanting beauties, and close his ear +to its manifold voices. Ponder for a moment the richness of nature, its +similarity and variety, its sameness and its diversity; consider the +abundance of the harvest--the glowing fruits, the green and golden crops, +the sweet-scented flowers and gift-bearing grasses; see the stars above +and the waters beneath--all the wonders of earth and sky; and then when you +have ranged over fields and waves and mountains, when you have climbed up +the steeps of the sky and gazed on the marvels of the heavens, descend +again to earth and consider the human form--the chiefest work of the +Almighty hand, and the crown of the natural world. What beauties are here +concealed! What a mingling of material and spiritual, of human and almost +divine! What words can express, what lines portray the beauty of the human +countenance? Who can describe or adequately define the loveliness that +streams from human eyes, or echoes from the human voice? And yet these are +but the outer fringes and dimmest glimpses of the beauties of the soul +that dwells within. + +How painful, then, it is for the worldly to forsake the beauties and +pleasures of this present life. Bound down to their beds of clay by the +things of sense, they are grieved to part with a life so full of diverse +attractions. How can they think undismayed of closing forever their eyes +and ears to these charms of color and sound! It is such a difficult thing, +and so hard to nature, to abandon these scenes of enticing pleasure, to +bid farewell to those that are dear and be hurried away alone and forlorn +to the chill and gloom of the grave. + +So reason the children of the world; but are not their reasonings and +feelings a proof of their little faith, and of their poor conceptions of +spiritual and eternal interests? They do not want to leave the world, +because they love it; and they love the world, because their faith is too +weak to raise them to a vision of higher things. The plain on which they +stand is too low clearly to see the things of Heaven. How poor and +trifling at best is the earth and all it contains to Him who beholds with +a vivid faith the world above that is to come! How gladly does he lay down +his life and give up the struggle with ceaseless battles, who sees by +faith, just beyond the portals of death, the great home of the blessed, +spread out like a city on the mountains, bathed in light inaccessible, +full of joy and unending gladness, where "death shall be no more, nor +mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more."(79) + +The man of faith, therefore, is in no wise straightened or disturbed by +the approach of death. He has learned to know and to trust the good Master +whom he serves. Like the Apostle, he is only concerned that Christ should +be glorified in him at all times and in all things, "whether it be by life +or by death;" for to him also, "to live is Christ, and to die is +gain."(80) He lives in the world, but is not of it; he treads the ways of +earth, but he really belongs to the kingdom above. Hence his cup of +interior peace is ever running over. Though surrounded by many evils, he +does not faint; though tempted exceedingly, he does not yield; but is +joyous and peaceful withal; because at all times and in all things he +feels himself to be the faithful servant of God, "in much patience, in +tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in strifes, in prisons, in +seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in +knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity +unfeigned; ... as dying, and yet living; as chastised, and not killed; as +sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having +nothing, yet possessing all things."(81) + +"Precious in the sight of God is the death of His Saints." As they have +lived for Christ, they gladly welcome the summons that calls them home to +rest. Calmly and fearlessly they go down to death; joyously and with +feelings of exultation they hail the coming of Him on whom their thoughts +have rested throughout life, of Him whom they have ever seen by faith, +whom they have loved, whom they have trusted, whom they have chosen for +their own. Confident of the power and goodness of their faithful Shepherd, +pain daunts them not, the enemy frets them not. The last hour for them is +not one of darkness, but of light; it is not a time for lamentations, but +for joyous and gladsome strains. The end may be sudden, or it may be +gradual in its approach; it may come early, or late in life; it may be at +home or abroad; it may be in the winter, or it may be in summer; on the +sea or on the land; but to the just and spiritual it can never be a +surprise, it can never be lonely, never sad. It is the time for which they +have always longed--a time of liberation, of emancipation from the trammels +of earth and flesh, the end of continuous dying and the beginning of +lasting life. What a supreme moment, what a joyous event is death for a +just and holy soul! What sweet emotions must thrill the spirit, as the +Saviour stoops over the bed of death to wipe away forever the last of +earthly tears! Mary is there to hush the voice of reproach and to whisper +words of peace; Jesus has come to claim the soul and take it to Himself, +and flights of angels are waiting to sing it to its rest. + + + + + +XI. SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE; AND +I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD UNTO LENGTH OF DAYS. + + +If the tender lambs and timid sheep of the shepherd's flock could speak +the sentiments of their innocent hearts, each one would certainly voice +the words which here the Psalmist has uttered for them all. Throughout the +live-long day, throughout all the days of their lives, they experience the +shepherd's goodness, they are the objects of his constant mercy. He has +been caring for them since their birth; he has led them out each morning, +since first they were able to walk; he has provided them with food, and +led them to water; and he has ever been present to shield them from harm, +and to protect them from their enemies. After such repeated experiences +and trials of his loving-kindness, they have grown accustomed to his +faithfulness and are filled with love of his goodness and mercy. And while +they have not the power of speech, and cannot by words express their +feelings, they do by the louder voice of action--by their quiet trust in +his care, by their habitual mildness and gentleness and quick response to +his every word, by the absence of solicitude and fear in view of his +presence--by these and all the other actions that speak their simple hearts +they show their love for their shepherd. Though often wounded and bleeding +and exhausted from the roughness and length of their journeys, they have +no distrust about the future, no fear for the morrow. In the midst of +distress the shepherd, they know, will provide. The Psalmist, therefore, +in the closing words of the shepherd song, gives utterance to the feelings +of the sheep when he sings: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all +the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto +length of days." + +But here, as in the opening verse of the Shepherd Psalm, the words of the +sacred Singer, although truly expressive of the sentiments of the sheep, +are more directly the expression of his own inner feelings, and of the +feelings of all faithful souls towards the Lord who rules and guides them. +All those whose lives have been really and sincerely led by faith, have, +like the shepherd's flock, grown trustfully accustomed, in the course of +years, to the goodness and mercy, to the faithfulness and love of the hand +that provides for them. As they look into their lives, and retrace the +steps they have taken, they cannot fail to see how God has been always +with them, patiently enduring their faults, mercifully binding up their +wounds and hurts, and lovingly leading, drawing them to Himself. They can +see their advancement, slow perhaps as it has been; and they know it is +God who has given the increase. Looking now at their lives through the +perspective of the years that are gone, how many problems they are able to +solve! for how many apparent mysteries they have found an explanation! All +those crosses and trials, all those struggles and battles with the enemy, +all those attacks from within and assaults from without, all, in fact, +that they have ever endured, their sins alone excepted, they now can +trace, through the light of faith, back to the hand of their Father in +Heaven. Not everything, forsooth, has yet been explained, but enough, +indeed, is sufficiently clear to remove every doubt from the faithful soul +as to the goodness and Providence of God. And hence she exclaims with the +Psalmist, out of the abundance of her faith and confidence, "Surely +goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall +dwell in the house of the Lord forever." + +It is doubtless a lack of implicit trust in God and divine Providence +which, more than anything else, accounts for the unhappiness and spiritual +barrenness of so many Christian and religious lives. Poor and scanty is +the fruit they yield, simply because they have no depth of soil, they are +not deeply and firmly rooted in faith and confidence in God. Like reeds +shaken by the wind, like houses built on the sand, they tremble and shake +with every blast, they are all but overturned by every tempest that rises. + +Nor is it wonderful that this should be so. The higher gifts of the spirit +come from God, and hence the good fruit which the spirit yields is also +traceable back to Him. "We do not gather grapes from thorns nor figs from +thistles; and as a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, so neither can +an evil tree bring forth good fruit."(82) And just because the abundance +of the harvest of the spiritual life is dependent upon God as its giver, +is it strange that any distrust of Him and His Providence should be a +great hindrance to the soul's advancement, and to the bestowal of the +constant help it needs? Can God be pleased with those who do not confide +in Him, and who do not trust Him? Our Lord's own chiding words to His +disciples are a proof of His displeasure at any distrust in His power and +goodness. How often did He rebuke them for their want of confidence in +Him! How often did He accuse them reproachfully of their "little +faith,"(83) of being "slow of heart,"(84) of being an "unbelieving and +perverse generation!"(85) He was constantly pointing to their lack of +faith, reminding them that it was the source of their weakness, the cause +of their ignorance in things spiritual, the reason of their powerlessness +in the face of difficulties and against the enemies of their souls. It is +clear that Almighty God, being a generous and loving Father, must be +offended at those of His children who do not trust Him; and their want of +faith in Him is consequently the reason for His denying to them the help +which is the life of their souls, and without which they are powerless to +be useful servants in His vineyard. + +And this failure to confide in the goodness of God betrays itself in other +ways. Besides sealing up the fountains of special graces and closing the +door on divine generosity, besides a general unfruitfulness in the +spiritual life, and the lack of all greater works for God and for souls, +which are its immediate consequences, it also penetrates into the interior +sanctuary of the spirit, and weakens at their source the springs of +spiritual action. The results are manifest. Not only is there no yielding +of fruit, but growth is likewise wanting. And if, under fairer conditions, +there has ever been any progress, it is soon perceived to wither and wane +in a soul devoid of living faith. All the exercises and practices of the +Christian life participate in the baneful effects. Prayer and the use of +the sacraments are either seriously neglected or gradually given up, and +the blighting influences of irreligion rapidly spread and overrun all the +departments of life. The view one takes of God, the faith or lack of faith +and trust one has in Providence, have their effect on the character and +give a direction to all one's ways of thinking, feeling, acting, in regard +to the world we live in, in regard to mankind in general, in regard to the +causes, purposes, and destinies of all things. + +Our conceptions of Providence are vital, therefore. They really determine +what our life is to be, and they are an index to the life that is +finished. It is impossible that we should be quite the same whether we try +to eliminate God from our lives, or allow His blessed influence to cheer +and lead us on; whether we look upon Him as a cold Master, waiting to +exact and to punish, or as a kind Father and Shepherd, seeking to spare +and to save; whether we regard Him as hid far in the heavens, caring +naught for the creatures and the world He has made, or whether we conceive +Him as intimately bound up with all the works of His hands, although +distinct from them, as guiding and regulating everything, as tenderly +loving and providing for all the needs of our souls. + +Another most harmful result of deficient faith and confidence in God is +that it leads us to trust in creatures. It causes us to reverse the proper +order of things. We are dependent beings, and we instinctively feel our +deficiencies and the need of some one, or something on which to lean, at +times, and to which we can look for assistance. We may not be entirely and +always conscious of this tendency in us, we may be too proud or too blind +to admit it, or we may wish we could overcome it and rid our lives of so +constant a need; but whether we see it and acknowledge it or not, whether +we encourage it or try to repress it, the need is always there, deeply +engraved in our nature as creatures, and we cannot but seek to satisfy it. +There is none of us, frail beings that we are, who is entirely sufficient +unto himself. Sometimes, of course, the voice of our needs is silent, and +we feel that we shall never want; "I said in my abundance," observes the +Psalmist, "I shall not be moved forever;"(86) but when the tide begins to +ebb and prosperity subsides, how soon do we remember that we are dust! How +frequently in times of trouble, in times of illness and poverty and +suffering, when face to face with our foes, or when death steps in and +slaughters, are we made aware of our insufficiency, and of our utter +helplessness to live our lives alone and meet single-handed the burdens +and misfortunes of earth! It takes but a little frost to nip the root of +all our greatness, and then when our high-blown pride breaks under us we +quickly realize how fragile and insecure are the personal foundations of +our lives. Naturally and reasonably, therefore, did the pagan philosophers +conclude that friendship and friends were necessary to man. + +Profoundly aware of this fundamental need of help and support which is a +result of our nature, we habitually stretch out our hands to others, not +only during the years of infancy and childhood, but to a greater or less +extent throughout the whole period of our earthly existence. At first, of +course, it is to creatures that we necessarily look--to parents, relatives, +guardians, teachers, and later on, to friends and acquaintances. Our needs +in the beginning and in early years, though many and imperative, are +comparatively simple; they can be satisfied by those around us. But as we +advance to maturity and take in more completely the meaning of our lives, +and consider not so much the needs of the body as the demands of the soul, +we find that the multiple requirements of infancy and youth, which were +able to be supplied by those that were near, have given way to the fewer, +but vast and unlimited, claims of age, which express the wants of the +spirit. It is when we appeal to creatures for the complete and permanent +satisfaction of these latter necessities of our being, that we seriously +err, and open the way to disappointment and sorrow. Not that we are to +have no cherished and chosen friends, or that we should despise the needs +and gifts, the privileges and blessings of friendship, which in truth our +nature requires; nor again that we are to regard with skeptical, +disdainful eyes the world and human nature; but we must not deceive +ourselves by trying to find in any created being that which it does not +possess. We must not endeavor to get from any creature that perfect +satisfaction which we need, and which the Creator alone can give. Neither +must we seek to fill the unlimited capacity of our souls with those gifts +only, poor and defective at best, which frail mortals like ourselves are +able to supply. It is folly in the highest degree to expect from anyone +less than God that which only God can afford. + +The mistake, therefore, is made when creatures of any kind are allowed to +take the place of God; when they are sought and reposed in as an end in +themselves, and as sufficient satisfaction for the needs of the human +spirit. Unwise, indeed, is this mode of action, and bitter are the sorrows +of soul to which it inevitably leads! One man trusts in riches, another in +glory, another in the esteem of men; one leans upon his friends and +companions, another upon his relatives--all forgetful of the frail and +unsubstantial nature of every earthly prop. Frequently they never awaken +to the peril of their state until they find themselves face to face with +their doom and the awful disillusionment. The crash may be delayed, but +the day must come sooner or later for all of us, who have advanced but a +little beyond maturity, when all the natural lights of life go out, when +every human prop is removed, and we find ourselves out alone and in the +dark, so far as depends on the world and creatures. How miserable then +shall we be if we have put our trust in men! if we have tried to make +creatures play the part in our lives which only God can play! When we need +them most they fail us, when we fain would find beneath their protection a +shield against the fiery darts of life, behold they wither like the ivy of +Jonas and leave us alone in our want!(87) How vain, therefore, and +groundless is that confidence which is put in men, and how wretched that +poor man that hangs on princes' favors! "Thou trustest in money," says St. +Augustine, "thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in honor, and in some +eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in some +principal friend, thou holdest to vanity. When thou trustest in all these +things, either thou diest and leavest them here, or in thy lifetime they +all perish, and thou failest in thy trust."(88) + +It is no despisal, then, of the needs and helps of earthly friends and of +our fellow-creatures to say that we should not put entire trust in them +for all the wants and demands of our being. They are good, they were made +by God, they are oftentimes able to assist us--nay, we need them to a +certain extent; but they are utterly unable to satisfy us completely, they +cannot if they would, simply because of the extent of our wants. And even +if creatures could give us a partial contentment, as at times they seem to +do, we know that it cannot last, and in the midst of our joy and pleasure +we are haunted by the thought that some day, soon at latest, it all must +pass away. We are seeking for rest, for peace, for happiness, and that +unending; we want something to steady our lives and satisfy the yearnings +of our souls forever: but we must not look for these things in the world, +for the world at best is passing away. There is no stability to human +things; the cloud and the storm swiftly follow the sunshine; we have not +here below a lasting habitation. Today we are sitting at the banquet of +pleasure, tomorrow we are draining the cup of sorrow; today we receive the +applause of men, tomorrow we may be the objects of their scorn; today we +put forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow there comes a killing frost +that ruins all our prospects. + +Such, then, is the lot of man when considered in his relations to +creatures and to the world. It is a lot full of uncertainty, of +instability, of vicissitude; but this should not make us skeptical or +cynical; it affords no justification for pessimism. It is a condition +arising, on the one hand, from the very nature of limited beings, and on +the other, from the vast potentialities of our souls, which, while they +are limited in giving to others, cannot be appeased except by the God who +made them. There is a craving in the heart of man for something which the +world cannot give. He clutches for the things that are passing, he toils, +he labors, he struggles; he strives for money, for power, for place, for +honor, not that any of these things are in themselves what he desires, but +only because he conceives them as means and helps to the satisfaction, to +the stillness of mind, and peace of heart, and rest of soul and body for +which his nature longs. Peace and happiness and contentment of life are +the objects of all our dreams, of our persistent efforts, of our ambitions +and aims; but until we give up the hope of finding these things in the +world, in our fellow-mortals, in anything short of God, we shall never +know the blessedness for which we yearn. If we would ever attain to the +state which we covet, we must learn the lesson, even though it be through +tears and sorrow, that God alone, who made our souls with all their vast +desires, is able to comfort us and steady our lives amid the storms and +distresses of earth. + +It is futile to trust in men, or "in the children of men, in whom there is +no salvation."(89) The peace and blessedness which we seek are "not as the +world giveth;"(90) and unless we turn away from the world and cease to +torture our lives with its vanities, our portion can never be other than +heartaches, secret loathing, consuming thirst. "For many friends cannot +profit," says Thomas a'Kempis, "nor strong helpers assist, nor prudent +counsellors give a profitable answer, nor the books of the learned afford +comfort, nor any precious substance deliver, nor any place, however +retired and lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost assist, help, +strengthen, console, instruct, and guard us."(91) Such has been the +history of the race, and such is the experience of every individual in the +race that has placed his hope and trust in anything created. + +We are confronted, therefore, on the one side by the inherent weakness of +our own nature and the constant needs that arise therefrom; and on the +other side, we are assured by the history of the race, if not by our own +experience, that so long as we strive to satisfy our wants by an appeal to +anything but God we are doomed to disappointment and sorrow. It is +unfortunate that most people must first be crushed by the world and +creatures which they serve before they grasp the fundamental truth that +creatures are not their God. Comparatively few of those who enjoy the +world are ever brought to realize the dignity and divine purpose of their +souls until the world and its allurements, like a false pageant on a false +stage, give way beneath them, and they fall helpless and alone. It is +commonly only after repeated awful experiences, when worn out and +exhausted by years of fruitless quest for peace and happiness and +contentment, that men wake up to the simple fact that the treasures which +they seek are not in the world, nor as the world giveth. + +But it is one thing to turn away from the world disappointed, disgusted +and betrayed; and it is quite another thing to turn to God and to +recognize Him as our good Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to +receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our wants. There are many +people who find the world a disappointment and a deception, and who turn +from it with loathing and hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary eyes +to the proper object of their trust. Like the Israelites of old, they +succeed at length in escaping from the hands of oppression and tyranny, +but only to wander in a desert land throughout the length of their days. +This is the region where dwell the pessimist, the skeptic and the +cynic--miserable mortals that have wasted on creatures the talents they +should have given to their Creator, or that have otherwise failed in their +conception of life, and have left unmultiplied the money of the +Master.(92) There is plainly no middle course for us, if we would not +encounter disaster; we are not negative as to the necessities of our +nature; it is not enough for us to turn from positive harm, from the +objects that deceive and disappoint us; we must further turn to positive +good, and to Him who alone can quiet and appease our yearning spirits. + +One of the most evident and convincing reasons, then, why we should put +our trust in God above all else is that He alone can satisfy and give us +rest. Only God is able adequately to respond to all the needs of our +being. The simplest process of reasoning should assure us of this, when +once we perceive the vastness of our wants and the impossibility of their +satisfaction through the medium of created things. We know our nature, +which has come from the source and essence of truth, cannot be false. +Neither can our unlimited capacities for knowledge, for joy, for happiness +be a deceiving mockery. There is a way to peace for us, and a source of +supreme contentment; there is a fountain of living waters from which, if +we drink, we shall never thirst again. Hence our Saviour said: "Come to me +all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you;"(93) and +again, "he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not +thirst forever: but the water that I will give him shall become in him a +fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting."(94) + +But we shall never be able to come to God, we shall never succeed even in +getting near the secret of interior peace and contentment until we are +able to grasp more or less comprehensively the great basic truths of our +existence: that God loves each one of us with the love of an infinite +Father, and that His Providence is so universal and omnipotent as to +extend to all things, even to the numbering of the hairs of our head. We +talk much about chance and fortune and accident, we speak every day of +things happening, as if by the sheerest contingence, without warning or +previous knowledge; and so it is with reference to ourselves, and to all +the world perhaps: but with reference to divine Providence it is not so; +there is nothing accidental, nothing unforeseen with respect to God. +"Without Thy counsel and Providence, and without cause, nothing cometh to +pass in the earth,"(95) says the Imitation. But what does this mean, "God +provides?" It means that the will of the omnipotent Father directs and +governs everything. "Providence," says St. John Damscene, "is the will of +God, by which all things are fitly and harmoniously governed,"(96) and +such is its power that nothing can elude or deceive it, neither can it be +hindered or baffled in any way. "For God will not except any man's person, +neither will He stand in awe of any man's greatness; for He made the +little and the great, and He hath equally care of all."(97) + +And just as divine Providence disposes and governs all the events of life, +directing each to its proper end, so the divine Will is the cause of +everything that exists. Just as it is impossible that anything should +escape God's knowledge and directing hand, so is it impossible that +anything should exist or come into being without the direct intervention +or permission of His will. There is nothing in the world which God has not +made, and nothing takes place which is not according to His good-pleasure, +except the malice and guilt of sin. Even all the other evils of life, such +as sickness, suffering, disease, poverty, cold, hunger, thirst, and the +like, God actually and positively wills. And precisely because these +things proceed from His will, they cannot be bad. God is the author of all +good, and evil He cannot do. So good, indeed, is He that, if He were not +sufficiently omnipotent to draw good out of evil, He would never have +permitted any evil to exist. "God has judged it better," says St. +Augustine, "to work good out of evil, than to allow no evil."(98) We must +not argue in our foolishness and try to understand all the doings of God, +for His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts.(99) It is +often beyond our power even to understand our fellow-creatures, and how +foolish it is to complain because we cannot comprehend the great Creator! +Enough for us, if we be sincere and right of heart, to know, as we do, +that God is good, that He loves us individually, and that His protecting +hand guides and governs all the events of our lives, even to the smallest +detail. These are truths which we must take hold of and lay close to our +hearts, else we shall go the way of error and issue in ultimate disaster. + +And from these truths, so certain and unquestionable, it further follows +that everything existing in the world, so far as it affects us, everything +that falls to our lot, all that we encounter, all that we suffer, all that +we do, aside from sin, has been purposely arranged by Almighty God for our +greater spiritual good and eternal salvation. This must be so, since God +is the universal cause of all things, and since He sincerely loves us and +desires above all to save us. If it were otherwise, either He would not +have omnipotent control of everything, or He could not be said really to +desire our salvation. How sadly we misunderstand these great truths in our +daily lives, when we murmur and complain at the evils that afflict us! How +narrowly we conceive the all-powerful will of God, and the infinite abyss +of His goodness which would lead us to eternal delights! We would like to +escape all the evils of time, we love our lives, and we wish to save them +from final wreck; but when failing to trust to the will of God we forget +the words of Christ, that "he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he +that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal."(100) We +want to save our souls, and we are, perhaps, much disturbed about doing +many and great things in the cause of God and of Heaven, unmindful the +while of the Master's warning that, "not every one that saith to me, Lord, +Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of +my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of +heaven."(101) It is doubtless our aim to draw ever nearer and nearer to +our Saviour, and to deepen our relationship with Him; but do we remember +that He said, "whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and +my sister, and mother?"(102) + +"Yes," you will say, "This is all true; I know it is so; my faith is at +fault. If I only had that beautiful faith and trust in God which many have +it would be easy for me, and I should be happy! Faith is a gift and +favored are they that possess it." But, dear reader, can you not pray? Can +you not ask from God that heavenly gift which will move mountains and +translate them into the sea?(103) Can you not overcome your indolence and +your repugnance, and patiently and persistently implore from on high that +superior vision which pierces the clouds and sees in everything the hand +of God? Surely you can say, with the devout author of the Imitation of +Christ, "Behold, Oh beloved Father, I am in Thy hands, I bow myself under +the rod of Thy correction. Strike my back and my neck too, that my +crookedness may be conformed to Thy will."(104) Here again, remember the +words of your Saviour, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the +violent bear it away."(105) + +Perhaps the greatest trial to our faith in divine Providence is in bearing +what we call the wrongs of life. That we should have any crosses to suffer +at all; that there should be death and sickness and disease; that there +should be poverty and misery, distress and worry, labor and sorrow; that +there should exist any of these things, is to our infirmity, if we forget +our sins and the sins of our race that have caused these evils, a trial +and a test of fidelity. But still more is it difficult, except to minds +that are deeply religious, to meet with the gentleness and serenity of +faith the positive injuries--the injustice, the scorn, the ridicule, the +pain and persecution which others, needy creatures like ourselves, +actually inflict upon us. It is easier, we say, to bear poverty than +insult; it is easier to suffer the inclemency of the elements than to +endure the unkindness of our brethren; it is easier to put up with the +pain and weariness of bodily sickness than to come under the lash of the +tongues of men. There is here, however, no room for hesitation and +question; the rule is the same for all the crosses that come to us. God +often permits us to be afflicted by the sins of others for our greater +spiritual profit. Since, therefore, all alike proceed from God, either by +positive act or divine permission, and since we know that He is supremely +good and loves us, having given every proof of His desire to save us, even +to the delivering up of His only Son,(106) we can never reasonably or +sincerely doubt that every evil and cross of life, with the sole exception +of our personal sins, has been arranged for our good. My God, do Thou +teach us the wisdom of the cross! "For this is a favor to Thy friend, that +for love of Thee he may suffer and be afflicted in the world, how often +soever and by whom soever Thou permittest such trials to befall him."(107) + +It is helpful that here also, in learning to discern the source and +meaning of our afflictions, we have ever before us the examples of the +holiest souls. We know that in all trials they steadfastly look beyond the +cross that presses them to the hand of Him who has placed it there. Like +the shepherd's sheep, they are convinced of the power and goodness of +their Master, and nothing can shake their trust in Him. Without +distinction or question they accept all as coming from God by special act +or sovereign permission, to purify them, to detach them from the world and +creatures, to increase their nearness and likeness to Himself, to multiply +their merits for Heaven and bring them to everlasting crowns. They +discover the workings of Providence everywhere, in things that are +painful, as well as in things that are pleasant to nature. Thus behind +their pangs of body and mind, behind the whips and scorns of time, behind +the tongue that slanders and calumniates them, behind the oppressor's +wrong, the injustice and tyranny of princes and rulers, behind all the +evils of life they see the hand of Him who directs and governs all. But +here we must not conclude that the Saints and holy persons have never +resisted evil and evil-doers, and that consequently we must not. This +would be a serious mistake, as Church history and hagiography plainly +prove. Who was ever more vigorous and fearless in opposing wrong and the +doers of wrong than St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome? Who was ever +more persistent in his efforts to prevail against the evils of sin in +others than St. Monica, St. Teresa, St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of +Siena? After their example, then, we may and we must struggle against +evils of all kinds, whether physical or spiritual, whether from ourselves +or from others, in so far as it is not certain that it is the will of God +that we should submit to them. But when we have exerted ourselves +reasonably and lawfully to rid our lives of that which afflicts us, and +still it persists, there can be no further doubt that it is the will of +God that we should patiently and submissively accept our condition and our +cross. Since, however, we do not know how long it is the wish of +Providence that we should be burdened and afflicted, we may continue +patiently to use every legitimate means to be delivered, provided it be +done with humble resignation to the will of our heavenly Father. + +The acceptance of injuries, therefore, on the part of holy souls is not a +weak yielding to inevitable circumstances, nor a willing consent to the +wrongs of others. Like St. Paul, they know whom they have believed,(108) +and they are certain that, in due time, divine justice will bring all +evil-doers to an evil end and will deliver the just from their troubles. +And further, when the vengeance of the persecutor is turned upon them, and +they are hunted down without reason by their kind, even by the members of +their own household, they remember the words of their Shepherd, "The +disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is +enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his +lord. If they have called the good man of the house Beelzebub, how much +more them of his household!"(109) + +And again, when the servants of God behold the wicked prospering and the +just oppressed; when they see the ambitious, the covetous, the +unscrupulous preferred and honored, and they themselves plotted against +and rejected, their heart is not disturbed, because they know first of all +that "to them that love God, all things work together unto good,"(110) and +secondly, they are persuaded that the efforts of sinners must finally +fail. "For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the +wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm: and as a smoke +that is scattered abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance of a guest of +one day that passeth by."(111) In a word, then, those who are really the +friends of God have faith and confidence in their heavenly Master; and all +the perils of earth, and all the powers of darkness cannot avail to daunt +them or turn them aside from their purpose. + +This steadfastness of religious trust we, in our turn, must strive to +acquire. It is the only way to peace and victory. If we would ever rise +above the evils of our lives we must learn to look to God for every thing. +And this looking to God must be, not only as to our bountiful benefactor, +but as to a kind master who knows how best to discipline his servants and +preserve them from irreparable harm. + +There is a substantially correct translation of the final verse of the +Shepherd Psalm, which may be rendered as follows: "And Thy goodness and +kindness pursue me all the days of my life, _that I may dwell_ in the +house of the Lord forever." It is the special wording of the second clause +of the stanza that expresses the real purpose of divine Providence in +regard to the elect. Everything in life has been ordained and arranged for +their eternal salvation, and for the increase of their heavenly rewards. +"Therefore," wrote St. Paul to Timothy, "I endure all things for the sake +of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ +Jesus, with heavenly glory."(112) It is this firm conviction that infinite +love is at the bottom of all the workings of Providence, doing everything +for the sake of the elect, that consoles and steadies the souls of the +just throughout all the trials and crosses of life. In the thick of the +battle they never lose sight of the faithful Shepherd that leads them, and +they ever behold by faith the unspeakable delights He has prepared for +them that love Him. + +What joys are there in our faith and hope! If by the mercy and goodness of +God we succeed in saving our souls, how cheap will seem the price we shall +have paid for Heaven, and how benign and ineffably loving will appear the +Providence of God which is leading us there! At times now in our fervor we +can faintly and feebly imagine what it will mean to throw off forever this +veil of faith and see distinctly and continually the Shepherd of our +souls. But our liveliest conceptions here are infinitely inferior to the +vision to come. "To see God face to face, as He is; to gaze undazzled on +the Three Divine Persons, cognizable and distinct in the burning fires of +their inaccessible splendors; to behold that long-coveted sight, the +endless Generation of the All-holy Son, and our hearts to hold the joy, +and not die; to watch with spirits all out-stretched in adoration the +ever-radiant and ineffably beautiful Procession of the Holy Ghost from the +Father and the Son, and to participate ourselves in that jubilee of +jubilees, and drink in with greedy minds the wonders of that Procession, +and the marvelous distinctness of its beauty from the Generation of the +Son; to feel ourselves with ecstatic awe, and yet with seraphic intimacy, +overshadowed by the Person of the Unbegotten Father, the Father to whom +and of whom we have said so much on earth, the Fountain of Godhead, who is +truly our Father, while He is also the Father of the Eternal Son; to +explore, with exulting license and with unutterably glad fear, attribute +after attribute, oceans opening into oceans of divinest beauty; to lie +astonished in unspeakable contentment before the vision of God's +surpassing Unity, so long the joyous mystery of our predilection, while +the Vision through all eternity seems to grow more fresh and bright and +new: O my poor soul! what canst thou know of this, or of these beautiful +necessities, of thy exceeding love, which shall only satisfy itself in +endless alternations, now of silence and now of song?"(113) + +If regret were possible for the blessed hereafter, they would never cease +to mourn over the loss of their opportunities on earth to increase their +eternal beatitude. It is only when the veil shall have been removed that +we shall fully realize how the goodness and mercy of God have always +pursued us in this life, that we might be saved and enjoy the rewards of +His house forever. May God give us all that child-like trust in our +heavenly Master which the sheep display toward their shepherd; may He +grant us that vivid constant faith of the Saints which will enable us to +see in every event of life, in adversity as well as in prosperity, in our +pains as well as in our joys, the designs of a loving Father who is ever +wishing and trying to lead His children to His home of eternal delights. + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 Isa. xl. 11. + + 2 Jer. xxiii. 4, 5. + + 3 Ezech. xxxiv. 11, 12, 23. + + 4 Phil. ii. 6, 7. + + 5 Jno. x. 30, 38; xii. 45. + + 6 Luke xii. 49. + + 7 Gen. iii. 19. + + 8 Lam. i. 12. + + 9 Ps. cxliv. 9. + + 10 Isa. liii. 4. + + 11 Rom. viii. 17. + + 12 2 Cor. iv. 17. + + 13 Matt. v. 48. + + 14 Jno. xv. 5. + + 15 Luke xxiii. 34. + + 16 Prov. viii. 31. + + 17 Jno. xv. 15. + + 18 Ps. viii. 5. + + 19 Prov. xxiii. 26. + + 20 Matt. xi. 28. + + 21 Jno. vi. 52, 55. + + 22 Jno. xvi. 2. + + 23 Ezech. xviii. 23; xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9. + + 24 Ps. 102. 14. + + 25 Luke xv. 4, 7. + + 26 Luke i. 31. + + 27 Matt. xvi. 18. + + 28 Luke x. 17. + + 29 Matt. xviii. 17. + + 30 Matt. xxiv. 35. + + 31 Matt. xxiv. 24. + + 32 2 Cor. xi. 26. + + 33 2 Cor. xi. 13. + + 34 Matt. xxviii. 20. + + 35 Ps. cxiii. 13, 14. + + 36 Jude 10. + + 37 Matt. x. 17, 22-26. + + 38 Mich. vii. 6; Matt. x. 36. + + 39 Bk. i. 11. 5. + + 40 Matt. xvi. 24. + + 41 Ps. xvii. 4, 5. + + 42 Luke xii. 34. + + 43 1 Jno. iv. 16, 18. + + 44 Ps. xxvi. 1, 2. + + 45 Matt. x. 28. + + 46 Wis. iii. 3. + + 47 Ps. xxxiii. 20. + + 48 Ps. xiii. 3. + + 49 Jno. x. 10. + + 50 2 Tim. ii. 5. + + 51 Luke ix. 23. + + 52 Jno. xii. 34. + + 53 Job vii. 1; Job xiv. 2. + + 54 Isa. xl. 6, 7. + + 55 Heb. xi. 10. + + 56 Wis. v. 6-9. + + 57 Rom. viii. 16, 17. + + 58 1 Peter iv. 13. + + 59 Wis. iii. 4, 6. + + 60 Luke xiv. + + 61 1 Cor. i. 25. + + 62 Luke xiv. 26. + + 63 Philip iii. 7, 8. + + 64 Confess. ix. 1. + + 65 Ps. xxxiii. 9; lxxxii. 2. + + 66 Job xiii. 15. + + 67 Ps. xc. 11. + + 68 Philip iv. 7. + + 69 Philip iv. 13. + + 70 Rom. viii. 33-39. + + 71 Rom. ix. 16. + + 72 Eccl. ix. 1, 2. + + 73 Philip, ii. 12. + + 74 1 Cor. ix. 27. + + 75 Jno. xvii. 11-15. + + 76 Ps. xvi. 5. + + 77 Isa. xlii. 3. + + 78 Ps. cii. 13, 14. + + 79 Apoc. xxi., iv. + + 80 Philip i. 20, 21. + + 81 2 Cor. vi. 4-11. + + 82 Matt. vii. 16-19. + + 83 Matt. vi. 30. + + 84 Luke xxiv. 25. + + 85 Matt. xvii. 16. + + 86 Ps. xxix. 7. + + 87 Jonas iv. + + 88 In Ps. xxx. Exp. 2. + + 89 Ps. cxlv. 2, 3. + + 90 Jno. xiv. 27. + + 91 Bk. iii.; ch. lix. 3. + + 92 Matt. xxv. 24-31. + + 93 Matt. xi. 28. + + 94 Jno. iv. 13, 14. + + 95 Bk. iii., ch. 1, 4. + + 96 De Fide orthod. ii. 29. + + 97 Wis. vi. 8. + + 98 Ench. tom. iii., ch. 27 and ii. + + 99 Isa. lv. 8; Rom. xi. 33. + + 100 Jno. xii. 25. + + 101 Matt. vii. 21. + + 102 Mk. iii. 35. + + 103 Mk. xi. 23. + + 104 Bk. III., ch. l. 6. + + 105 Matt. xi. 12. + + 106 Rom. viii. 32. + + 107 Imitation, Bk. III., ch. l. 4. + + 108 2 Tim. i. 12. + + 109 Matt. x. 24, 25. + + 110 Rom. viii. 28. + + 111 Wis. v. 15. + + 112 2 Tim. ii. 10. + + 113 Faber, Creator and Creature, Bk. II., ch. v. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + +CREDITS + + +December 2, 2009 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by David Clarke, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. 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Charles J. Callan</p></div><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em"><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost + and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, + give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project + Gutenberg License <a href="#pglicense" class="tei tei-ref">included with this + eBook</a> or online at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license" class="tei tei-xref">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a></p></div><pre class="pre tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em">Title: The Shepherd Of My Soul + +Author: Rev. Charles J. Callan + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [Ebook #30579] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** +</pre></div> + </div> + <div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + + </div> + + <hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.73em"><span style="font-size: 173%">The Shepherd Of My Soul</span></p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.44em"><span style="font-size: 144%">By Rev. Charles J. Callan</span></p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.20em"><span style="font-size: 120%">Of the Order of Preachers</span></p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">John Murphy Company, Publishers</p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">100 W. Lombard St.</p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">Baltimore, MD.</p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">Printers to the Holy See</p> + <p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">1915</p> + </div> + <hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + <h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Contents</span></h1> + <ul class="tei tei-index tei-index-toc"><li><a href="#toc1">Psalm of the Good Shepherd</a></li><li><a href="#toc3">Introduction.</a></li><li><a href="#toc5">I. Christ the Good Shepherd.</a></li><li><a href="#toc7">II. Shepherd Life in the Orient.</a></li><li><a href="#toc9">III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.</a></li><li><a href="#toc11">IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures +of Tender Grass; He Leadeth +Me Beside the Waters of Quietness.</a></li><li><a href="#toc13">V. He Restoreth My Soul.</a></li><li><a href="#toc15">VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice +for His Name's Sake.</a></li><li><a href="#toc17">VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of +the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me.</a></li><li><a href="#toc19">VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me.</a></li><li><a href="#toc21">IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in +the Presence of Mine Enemies.</a></li><li><a href="#toc23">X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; +My Cup Runneth Over.</a></li><li><a href="#toc25">XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow +Me All the Days of My Life; +and I Shall Dwell in the House of +the Lord Unto Length of Days.</a></li><li><a href="#toc27">Footnotes</a></li></ul> + </div> + + </div> +<div class="tei tei-body" style="margin-bottom: 6.00em; margin-top: 6.00em"> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page001">[pg 001]</span><a name="Pg001" id="Pg001" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Nihil Obstat: +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +M. A. WALDRON, O. P. S. T. M. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +J. A. McHUGH, O. P. S. T. Lr. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Imprimi Potest: +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +J. R. MEAGHER, O. P. S. T. Lr. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Imprimatur: +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +++ J. CARD. GIBBONS. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page005">[pg 005]</span><a name="Pg005" id="Pg005" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc1" id="toc1"></a> +<a name="pdf2" id="pdf2"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Psalm of the Good Shepherd</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +He maketh me to lie down in pastures +of tender grass. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +He restoreth my soul. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +He leadeth me in the paths of justice +for his name's sake. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Yea, though I walk in the valley of +the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, +for thou art with me. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort +me. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thou spreadest before me a table in +the presence of mine enemies. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thou anointest my head with oil; my +cup runneth over. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow +me all the days of my life, and I +shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto +length of days. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page007">[pg 007]</span><a name="Pg007" id="Pg007" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc3" id="toc3"></a> +<a name="pdf4" id="pdf4"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Introduction.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +No types more beautiful could have been +chosen under which to picture the character +of our Lord and the souls He came to +redeem than those of a shepherd and his +flock. As nothing on earth could more fitly +illustrate the infinite love and sacrifice of +the Saviour than the enduring labors and +tenderness of a shepherd, so nothing here +below could better portray the multiple +wants of our spirits than the needful dependent +nature of sheep. After the knowledge +we possess of our Redeemer, only a slight +acquaintance with the characteristics of +pastoral life, as it exists in oriental countries, +is needed to discern the charming fitness +of these comparisons. The similarity +is at once striking and most easily understood. +Hence it is that our Lord, as well +as those who described Him before He +came, so often appealed to shepherd life +when speaking of the Messiah's mission; +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page008">[pg 008]</span><a name="Pg008" id="Pg008" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +hence, also, it is that He was so fond of calling +Himself the Good Shepherd, and of +alluding to the souls He loved as His sheep. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is the purpose of the pages that follow +to trace some of these beautiful and touching +resemblances of the shepherd and his +flock, on the one side, roaming over the hills +and plains of Palestine, and the Saviour of +the World with the souls of men, on the +other, pursuing together the journey of life. +We have taken as our guide, in noting these +charming likenesses, the Twenty-second +Psalm, or the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +every verse of which recalls some feature +or features of pastoral life, and sings of the +offices, tender and varied, which the shepherd +discharges towards his flock. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +As this shepherd song was composed and +written in the Hebrew tongue, the language +of ancient Palestine, we have employed here +a literal translation from the original language, +simply because it expresses much +more beautifully and more exactly than +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page009">[pg 009]</span><a name="Pg009" id="Pg009" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +does any rendering from the Latin or Greek +the various marks and characteristics of the +shepherd's life and duties. The oriental +languages, like the people who speak them, +are exceedingly figurative and poetic in +their modes of expression; and hence, for +our present purpose, it is only by getting +back as closely as we can to the original that +we are able adequately to appreciate the +beauty and poetry of that simple but +charming life about which the Psalmist is +singing. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Although the Shepherd Psalm refers, in +its literal sense, to the human shepherd attending +and providing for his sheep, it has +also another higher meaning, which its author +gave it, and this has reference to Christ +in His relations with the souls He has made +and redeemed. It is by reflecting on this +sense of the psalm, and on all His gracious +dealings with us, that we are enabled to +realize how rightly and justly our Saviour +is called the Shepherd of Our Souls, and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page010">[pg 010]</span><a name="Pg010" id="Pg010" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +how beautifully the Psalmist, in the shepherd +song, has depicted His relations with +us. And how important this is! how much +it means for our spiritual welfare and spiritual +advancement to reflect on the many +mercies of Christ and on the love He bears +each one of us! If the considerations that +follow assist their readers to appreciate +more fully and love more ardently the Divine +Shepherd of Souls, who daily and constantly +throughout our lives is ministering +to our spiritual needs and trying to further +our eternal interests, the desire and aim +which prompted their writing will be fully +and perfectly realized. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-variant: small-caps">The Author</span></span>. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page013">[pg 013]</span><a name="Pg013" id="Pg013" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc5" id="toc5"></a> +<a name="pdf6" id="pdf6"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">I. Christ the Good Shepherd.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It was announced by the prophets of old +that the Messiah, who was to come, should +bear the character of a good shepherd. He +was to be a shepherd, and His followers, +the faithful souls that should believe in +Him and accept His teaching, were to be +His sheep. It was foretold that He would +select and purchase His flock; that He +would choose them from out the vast multitudes +of their kind and gather them into +His fold, that He would provide for them +and guard them against every evil; that He +would lead them out to green pastures and +refresh them with the waters of rest. <span class="tei tei-q">“He +shall feed his flock like a shepherd,”</span> sang +the Prophet Isaias; <span class="tei tei-q">“he shall gather together +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page014">[pg 014]</span><a name="Pg014" id="Pg014" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the lambs with his arms, and shall +take them up in his bosom, and he himself +shall carry them that are with young.”</span><a id="noteref_1" name="noteref_1" href="#note_1"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">1</span></span></a> +In like manner did Jeremias, referring to +the comforting advent of Christ, liken the +offices which the Saviour would perform +towards His people to those of shepherds +towards their flocks. <span class="tei tei-q">“I will set up pastors +over them,”</span> said the Prophet, speaking in +the name of Jehovah, <span class="tei tei-q">“and they shall feed +them; they shall fear no more, and they +shall not be dismayed; and none shall be +wanting of their number.... Behold +the days come, saith the Lord, and I will +raise up to David a just branch; and a king +shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute +judgment and justice in the earth.”</span><a id="noteref_2" name="noteref_2" href="#note_2"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">2</span></span></a> +The Prophet Ezechiel also prophetically +portrayed the Saviour's character when he +pictured Him in the capacity of a shepherd +visiting and feeding his sheep: <span class="tei tei-q">“For thus +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page015">[pg 015]</span><a name="Pg015" id="Pg015" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will +seek my sheep, and I will visit them. As +the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day +when he shall be in the midst of his sheep +that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep, +and I will deliver them out of all the places +where they have been scattered in the cloudy +and dark day. And I will set up one shepherd +over them, and he shall feed them, +even my servant David; he shall feed them, +and he shall be their shepherd.”</span><a id="noteref_3" name="noteref_3" href="#note_3"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">3</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And when at length the Saviour did appear +in the world, He declared, not only by +His life and example, but in explicit terms, +that He was the fulfilment of these prophecies—that +He was, in truth, the Good Shepherd, +and that His followers were the sheep +of His fold. In the tenth chapter of the +Gospel according to Saint John we have +His own words to this effect. There He +tells us plainly that He has not come as a +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page016">[pg 016]</span><a name="Pg016" id="Pg016" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +thief and a robber, to steal, to kill, and to +destroy; that He is not a stranger, at the +sound of whose voice the sheep are terrified +and flee away; that He is not a hireling, +who cares not for the sheep, and who, beholding +the approach of the wolf and the +enemy, fleeth and leaveth the sheep to be +snatched and scattered and torn. The Saviour +is not any of these, nor like unto them. +He is the Good Shepherd who enters the +sheepfold by the door, and not as the thief +and robber who climb up some other way. +To Him the porter openeth, and He calleth +His sheep, and they know His voice and +follow Him, and He leadeth them out to +pasture, to rest, and to abundant life. Nor +is this all, for He protects and guards His +sheep. By day and by night He is ever +near them: when circling the green plains, +or beside the still waters, or when asleep +beneath the silent stars, the sheep are protected +by their Shepherd. Faithfully He +watches His dependent flock; and at the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page017">[pg 017]</span><a name="Pg017" id="Pg017" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +end, as a proof of His love and fidelity, He +generously lays down His life for His +sheep. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page018">[pg 018]</span><a name="Pg018" id="Pg018" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc7" id="toc7"></a> +<a name="pdf8" id="pdf8"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">II. Shepherd Life in the Orient.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We cannot appreciate the beauty of this +picture of our Saviour under the symbol of +a shepherd, nor can we later understand the +detailed description which is given of Him +through the spiritual meaning of the Good +Shepherd Psalm without first taking into +account some of the features of pastoral life +as it prevails in eastern countries. For us +of the western world it is difficult, and at +times next to impossible, to represent to ourselves +the life and customs of the Orient; +and in particular do we find it hard to picture +to our minds and to understand the +simple poetry of that shepherd life for +which Palestine has always been known. +Time has little changed the scene of the +Saviour's earthly labors. The people, their +manners and customs, their life and occupations, +remain much the same now as when +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page019">[pg 019]</span><a name="Pg019" id="Pg019" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the land was graced by His sacred presence. +Thus today, as in those olden times, all the +level country east of the river Jordan, as +well as the mountains of Palestine and +Syria, serves as vast pasture lands for innumerable +flocks and herds. The country +throughout is essentially pastoral in its character, +and the care and raising of sheep +constitute the chief industry of the people. +From sheep the people are furnished with +nearly all the necessaries of life—with meat, +clothing, milk, butter, and cheese. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The care of sheep is a delicate and, in +many ways, a difficult task. Not that they +are froward or hard to manage, for of all +animals they are the most tender and gentle; +nor again, that they need abundant nourishment +in the way of food and drink, since +they require water but once a day, and can +maintain life and strength on a plain which, +to the naked eye, seems little more than a +barren waste of sand. But because, in other +respects, they are exceedingly timid and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page020">[pg 020]</span><a name="Pg020" id="Pg020" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +helpless creatures, especially in times and +places of danger, the burdens which their +welfare and safety impose upon the shepherd, +while paternal and winning, are, +nevertheless, arduous and manifold. There +are the changes and hardships of the climate—the +cold and frost in winter, and the +heat and drought of summer; there are the +long rough walks, the steep and dangerous +passes which they must climb and descend; +there are perils from robbers, from wolves +and wild beasts, which not infrequently demand +the shepherd's utmost watchfulness +and care. The oriental climate is such that +they can graze nearly the whole year +through; and whether they be grazing on +the wide open plains, or huddled snugly +within the sheepfold, it pertains to the +shepherd to provide for their varied needs. +His vigilance can never cease. He must +lead them out to pasture and to water, he +must guide and protect them, he must +gather them into the fold at night or into +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page021">[pg 021]</span><a name="Pg021" id="Pg021" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +caves and enclosures, at times, during the +day, to shield them from great danger, +whether from enemies or violent weather; +and upon all occasions he must be prepared +to defend them, even at the risk of his own +life. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, +into which the sheep are gathered +for rest or protection are not roofed over or +walled in like a house. They are enclosures +left open to the sky, and consisting simply +of a high wall of rough stone, to protect +the sheep from the attacks of wild beasts, +and from prowling marauders who threaten +their safety by night. It often happens +that several flocks, belonging to different +shepherds, will graze on the same pastures +during the day, and will be penned in the +same sheepfold at night. While the sheep +are sleeping, and the shepherds near by are +taking their needed rest, the door of the fold +is carefully locked, and another shepherd +or porter is left on guard, lest perchance a +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page022">[pg 022]</span><a name="Pg022" id="Pg022" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +hungry bear or wolf might scale the wall +and destroy some member or members of +the sleeping herds. Early in the morning +the shepherds come in turn and rap at the +door, and to each the porter opens. Then +each shepherd calls his flock by name; and +they, knowing his voice, follow him, and he +leads them out to their pastures. There is +never any confusion, for each flock knows +its own shepherd and obeys him alone. +Other shepherds they will not heed; and +from the voice of strangers they flee. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is a beautiful scene to see a shepherd +with his flock. First, we must remember +that he never drives them, but leads them; +and they follow him with instinctive love +and trust whithersoever he goes. He usually +carries a rod and a staff: the latter he +uses, when need be, to assist the sheep along +dangerous paths and narrow passages; the +former, to protect and defend them, if assailed +by enemies or beasts of prey. Another +evidence of their implicit love of their +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page023">[pg 023]</span><a name="Pg023" id="Pg023" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +shepherd and trust in his goodness, as also +of their obedience to his voice and commands, +is beautifully manifest when several +flocks are led to drink at the same stream or +well. Although the sheep need to drink +but once a day, the shepherds never forget, +throughout the day's roaming, that they +must lead their flock to water. And as the +drinking places in Palestine are comparatively +few, it often happens that several +herds, whether from the same or neighboring +pastures, will arrive simultaneously at +the same spring. But here again, there is +neither trouble nor confusion. When they +have drawn near to the place of water each +shepherd gives a sign to his flock, and obedient +to his voice, the respective flocks lie +down and patiently wait their turn to drink. +The troughs are then filled with the refreshing +water, and when all is ready a shepherd +calls and his flock at once rises and comes +forward to drink. The sheep being satisfied, +the shepherd gives another sign, and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page024">[pg 024]</span><a name="Pg024" id="Pg024" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +they promptly return to their previous place +of rest, or move quietly away to their pasture, +as the shepherd may direct. Another +flock is then called up, watered and led +away, and so on, in like manner, till all have +been duly satisfied. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +With this passing glance at shepherd life, +we can better understand and better appreciate +the likeness between the character of +the Saviour and that of the good shepherd. +We can see how apt it was that our Redeemer +should choose a shepherd, with his +multiple and tender cares and duties, to illustrate +His own watchfulness and loving +kindness towards the many wants and needs +of our souls. For we are, indeed, His sheep. +He has called us, we have heard and understood +His voice, and He has gathered us +into His flock and fold. He has literally +vindicated for Himself in our regard all the +attributes and qualities of the good shepherd, +so far as described, and as still further +depicted in every verse of the Twenty-second +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page025">[pg 025]</span><a name="Pg025" id="Pg025" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +Psalm. This is called the Psalm of +the Good Shepherd, because in it the Psalmist, +under the symbol of a shepherd, prophetically +foretold the character of the +Messiah, our Saviour. The psalm has, +therefore, a twofold meaning: in its literal +sense it deals with the faithful shepherd, +ranging with his flock over mountains and +plains, and providing for their every want; +and in its spiritual and prophetic meaning +it relates to our Creator and Saviour, caring +for our spiritual necessities. Let us see how +this is; and that we may better perceive the +application in detail, let us take this shepherd +song, part by part, and see how beautifully +it describes the whole person of +Christ as God, and in His capacity as Redeemer—in +all His tender relations with +us, and towards the various needs of our +souls. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page026">[pg 026]</span><a name="Pg026" id="Pg026" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc9" id="toc9"></a> +<a name="pdf10" id="pdf10"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +How full of meaning and how comprehensive +are these simple yet beautiful words +which introduce the Good Shepherd Psalm! +They at once sum up the whole round of the +shepherd's life—his duties, his solicitude, +his ceaseless care of his sheep. But here, +be it noted, in this opening verse, the reference, +so direct and unmistakable, is not to +an earthly shepherd; it is to the benign and +constant Providence of Jehovah towards +His children, to the untiring love of God, +our Father and Saviour, for the souls He +has created and redeemed. The Psalmist +is looking back, in grateful remembrance, +upon the history of his race, and upon his +own life in particular, and he traces there +at every step the goodness and watchfulness +of his Creator. He sees there has never +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page027">[pg 027]</span><a name="Pg027" id="Pg027" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +been any want. Dark days at times have +come upon his nation, sufferings and trials +there have been; and in these, as in other +respects, his own individual experience has +mirrored the history of his people; but +throughout it all there has never been any +lasting want. As the shepherd is ever near +his sheep, whether at peace or in trouble, to +provide for their needs, so, sings the Psalmist +in gratitude, has God been near him and +his people. And his confidence is unshaken; +that which has been in the past will +be in the future; as sheep put their trust in +their shepherd, so will he put his trust in +his Lord and God. Nor is this gratitude +for past favors and this unshaken trust for +the future to be restricted to the Psalmist +alone; his words had meaning not only for +himself; he knows the same Providence +provides for us all, and therefore he would +have his words find an echo in the hearts +and sentiments of all. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The Lord is my shepherd; He ruleth me +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page028">[pg 028]</span><a name="Pg028" id="Pg028" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +with the rod of gentleness. I am His creation, +He has bought me with a great price, +He has set me a divine example and taught +me the way to life. There may be times of +distress for me, brief periods of temporal +need; but surely, since I am the possession +of my God, and He is providing for me, +nothing can long be wanting to me—permanent +want there can never be. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The Lord ruleth me, and all my kind, as +a shepherd ruleth his flock. What a consoling +thought to each one of us, if only we +be faithful souls! How unspeakable the +thought, how surpassing the privilege to +know and to be assured that we belong to +God! that out of countless millions of creatures, +far nobler than we, to whom He +might have given the joy of life, He has +chosen to select us; to think that He has +allotted to us a short period of existence +here below, during which it is our privilege +to be able to merit and draw near to Him +for eternity; and that after this, our little +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page029">[pg 029]</span><a name="Pg029" id="Pg029" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +time of trial, we are to reign with Him in +everlasting glory! Of a certainty we are a +favored people and a royal race, for we belong +to God. He has purchased our souls +by creating us, He has come down from +Heaven to redeem and buy us back from +the enemy to whom our race in folly had +surrendered itself, He has borne our sorrows +and our sufferings to make amends for +us and to teach us the way to life, and finally +He has given His own life for our salvation. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Since, then, God has created us, it follows +that He must have had us in His mind from +everlasting, because nothing that is, or can +be, is unforeseen by Him. From the remotest +dawn of eternity, therefore; from +the very beginning of the eternal years, He +saw us as He sees us now, clearly, distinctly, +lovingly. We did not exist from eternity +as we do now, but we were present to God +before we were to ourselves, He saw us mirrored +in Himself. And when, in time, He +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page030">[pg 030]</span><a name="Pg030" id="Pg030" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +called our race into being and endowed it +with life, we know what happened. This +human nature of ours which He had loved +from eternity, and favored in time with existence, +turned its back upon its God and +strayed away to sin and death. This was +the disobedience of our first parents, and in +their sin we all have shared, for the very +reason that they were our parents and responsible +for us as well as for themselves. +We became a ruined race, deserving punishment, +fit for perdition; and yet God did not +give us up. He followed after us, as it +were; He pursued us, as a shepherd pursues +his chosen flock, until finally He led us back +to His fold, and to pastures of rest and +plenty. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It was not enough for God's goodness to +give us the gift of life, and to endow us with +understanding, will, and freedom; it did not +satisfy His bountifulness to make our life +fair here on earth, and to enable us to reap +much of the joys and pleasures with which +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page031">[pg 031]</span><a name="Pg031" id="Pg031" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +even this world abounds—no, far more than +all this has He wished and prepared for His +elect, for the souls who belong to His flock. +It was nothing less than Himself, Heaven +and its rewards, that the eternal Father had +in store for us when He called us into being. +In order, therefore, that we should not lose +our destined crowns through the guilt and +wounds of original sin, He provided for us +a remedy, He sent us a Saviour, who was +His only son, our Lord Jesus Christ. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Now since it is to Christ, the Saviour, +that the spiritual meaning of the Shepherd +Psalm refers in a particular manner, it is in +Him especially, and in His earthly life, that +we discern and find fulfilled the chiefest +qualities of the good shepherd. As God, +we see, He has, indeed, been our shepherd +from the beginning, creating and endowing +our nature, and providing for us unnumbered +benefits, temporal and eternal. But +it is in His human nature, in His character +as God and man, that He draws nearest to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page032">[pg 032]</span><a name="Pg032" id="Pg032" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +us and proves unto us in ways most gracious +that He is, in truth, our loving Master and +the Shepherd of our souls. Marvelous, assuredly, +has been the goodness of God to +create us at all; and still more marvelous +that He should have destined us for a participation +in His own eternal blessedness; +but in no way has the heavenly Father so +stooped to us, in no way has He so manifested +His utter condescension towards us, +as in the abasement of His Only-begotten +Son, <span class="tei tei-q">“who, being in the form of God, emptied +himself, taking the form of a servant.”</span><a id="noteref_4" name="noteref_4" href="#note_4"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">4</span></span></a> +For let us reflect that to raise our race from +its fallen state and restore it to the divine +good-pleasure, it was not necessary that the +Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity +should have come down to earth. Such extraordinary +means were not of necessity to +bring us back to Heaven's smile and favor. +As by a simple act of His omnipotent will +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page033">[pg 033]</span><a name="Pg033" id="Pg033" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +God had called the world and us and all +that is out of nothingness in the beginning, +so again by a single wish of the same divine +will He could have restored us, from a condition +of bondage and sin, to the realms of +grace and peace. And even when the Son +of God did condescend, in accordance with +the will of His Father, to clothe Himself +with our nature and visit our blighted +sphere, how simple, really, He could have +made our redemption! How easily could +He have blotted out the handwriting that +was against us, and presented our tearful +world, all smiling and glad, to the arms of +His eternal Father! Yes, Christ could +have made our redemption easy. He could +have paid our debt to God in a thousand +different, simple ways, had He wished it so. +One drop of His precious blood, one tear +of His eye, one sigh of the Sacred Heart +would have sufficed to redeem innumerable +worlds like ours. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But the Saviour wished it otherwise. He +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page034">[pg 034]</span><a name="Pg034" id="Pg034" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +was our Shepherd and He loved us, His +deceived and wounded sheep. He was with +the Father when we were planned and made. +He it was, in truth, who made us, for He +and the Father are one.<a id="noteref_5" name="noteref_5" href="#note_5"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">5</span></span></a> He, therefore, +knew our nature, since He designed and +gave it to us. He foresaw our yearnings +and aspirations; He knew the sublime, transcendent +possibilities of which, with His +help and divine example, we are capable; +He understood the heights of love and worship +to which the human heart can ascend, +when assisted from on high, and hence to +awaken and kindle on earth these all-consuming +fires;<a id="noteref_6" name="noteref_6" href="#note_6"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">6</span></span></a> to stir the very depths of our +souls, and elevate and perfect our gifted +nature; to afford us the utmost inspiration +to climb with Him the heights of Heaven. +He stooped to our own estate, in all things +made like unto us, except, indeed, our proneness +and ability to sin. Since He loved us, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page035">[pg 035]</span><a name="Pg035" id="Pg035" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +He longed to be like us, in as far as that was +possible, and not even our sin-stained, +wounded nature could stay the force of His +love. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +There is another reason for the mysterious +manner of our redemption, a further +explanation of the extreme condescension +on the part of our Lord towards the frail +creatures whom He came to save. Had he +come to us in a foreign attire, with a nature +unlike our own, would it not have been difficult +for us to approach Him, and to put our +confidence and trust in Him? If He had +appeared like an angel, all bright and dazzling +with glory, if He had come as an +earthly king and ruler, crowned and clad in +regal splendor, would it not have been hard +for the poor ones of earth? would it not +have been a trial for those who were in need +of a shepherd's love and care? Already +sorely oppressed and trodden down by +worldly pomp and power, they could only +have tried to shun His notice and draw +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page036">[pg 036]</span><a name="Pg036" id="Pg036" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +back from Him with feelings of fear and +awe. But our Redeemer came not only to +save, but also to teach and to lead the way +to life. As a shepherd He was not to drive, +but to lead His sheep; He does not point +the direction, but goes before His flock, and +they follow Him, and He leads them out to +living pastures and to bright, sparkling, far-off +waters. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Because He was God, as well as man, +Christ knew that, as a result of our sinful +state, we should have to pass our earthly sojourn +forever beneath the shadow of the +cross. When sin entered into the world by +the disobedience of the first man, the handiwork +of the Creator was despoiled. That +which before had been a paradise of pleasure, +replete with all delights, was wrecked +and ruined, and became a place of sorrow, +suffering and death. Thenceforth, pursuant +to the divine decree, the lot of man was +to labor, to suffer, and to die.<a id="noteref_7" name="noteref_7" href="#note_7"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">7</span></span></a> Knowing, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page037">[pg 037]</span><a name="Pg037" id="Pg037" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +therefore, that this was to be our portion, +the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must +also teach us the secret of pain and toil, and +help us to bear our cross. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +According, then, to our present state, suffering +and sorrow are inseparable from us, +because we are born into the world with sin +upon our souls, and in the wake of sin follow +all the evils to which the world is heir. +And, moreover, under existing conditions, +it is necessary for our future happiness that +our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil +and pain and tears. It is only through these +that we shall be able to atone for the injuries +sin has done, and hold in check the disorders +of our nature. The cross is before us +and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us +when we enter the world, it follows us +throughout the length of our days, and finally +bears us down in death to our graves. +This does not mean that life on earth is entirely +made up of pain and sorrow, for the +divine mercy has mitigated even the stroke +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page038">[pg 038]</span><a name="Pg038" id="Pg038" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of sin, and has caused the world, in spite of +all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. +Nevertheless, our sojourn here below shall +always be fraught with diverse ills, and we +at last must yield to death. In spite of all +the world can afford us, in spite of its pleasures +and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, +real, though fitful and fast-flying as +they are; in spite of health and wealth and +fame and honor; in spite of all the goods +that life contains, it still is ever true that +we live in a region of tears, and that death +and sorrow are sure to follow upon the footsteps +of joy and mirth. It must be so, for +the stains of sin are indelibly upon the +world; and not until the final renovation +comes can life on earth be made entirely +happy. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +All this our Saviour knew when He chose +our human nature and embraced a life of +labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge +took in our lives, and the lives of all +our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page039">[pg 039]</span><a name="Pg039" id="Pg039" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +infant tears, our trials and pains of body, the +ceaseless pangs of mind and heart that pursue +us throughout life, were all before Him +as in a mirror, and He must needs instruct +and assist us to fight this battle and walk +this way of earth, lest all should perish before +the journey's end. Since we were to +suffer, then He would suffer also; since our +lives were to be amidst labors and trials, +then He would labor and travail also; since +we were to feel the sting of pain, be subject +to heat and cold, be in want, in poverty, and +in distress, be misunderstood, be thwarted, +be cast down from our highest hopes, and +broken, at times, in every cheerful prospect—since +these and other countless ills +were to be woven in our web of earthly life, +He, the divine Master, who came to save, to +teach a lesson, to suffer and die, would assume +a body so sacred, so delicate, so pure +and sensitive that, when exposed to the +rough and ruthless ways of life, He could +truly cry out from the depths of His anguish: +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page040">[pg 040]</span><a name="Pg040" id="Pg040" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +<span class="tei tei-q">“O all ye that pass by the way, attend +and see if there be any sorrow like unto my +sorrow!”</span><a id="noteref_8" name="noteref_8" href="#note_8"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">8</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +How comforting, then, it is for us to feel +that we are not alone in suffering, and to +know that, while all we suffer is but just and +due to our sinful state, we can nevertheless +make use of all our ills to attain to joys unending +in Heaven! If we must toil and +struggle while on earth, it is because these +things are a result of our state; if we must +be subject to sickness, to weakness and fatigue, +to cold and hunger, to weariness and +pain, it is not because God is pleased at the +misery of His creatures; neither does He +rejoice on account of our misfortune. We +are simply reaping the harvest of sin and +transgression, and sin is the work of our own +free choice and that of our ancestors. And +even though it be objected that we are born +into this inevitable condition, and are made +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page041">[pg 041]</span><a name="Pg041" id="Pg041" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the unconsulted heirs of a heritage we loathe +but cannot escape, the solution of our difficulty +is not far to seek. We need but hearken +to the promptings of reason, and lift our +sorrowing eyes to the realms of faith to be +convinced that God's mercy and goodness +are above all His works,<a id="noteref_9" name="noteref_9" href="#note_9"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">9</span></span></a> and that for reasons +not less benevolent than holy He has +called us into life and permitted all our +woes. God could not have created us for +suffering and punishment, because He is infinite +goodness; He cannot be pleased at +our misfortunes, since He Himself has +borne our sorrows and carried all our +pains.<a id="noteref_10" name="noteref_10" href="#note_10"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">10</span></span></a> If He Himself had not come into +the world in visible human form; if He had +not explained our purpose and destiny, and +led the way to Heaven; if He had not, by +His words and divine example, provided us +with the solution for all life's difficulties, +then, in truth, we might object, and sit and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page042">[pg 042]</span><a name="Pg042" id="Pg042" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +grieve and wonder. But in the light of the +life of Christ all this is altered; the picture +takes on a different coloring. Who now +can rail at the crosses of life and think of +the sufferings of Christ? Who can murmur +at the injustice of pain, and remember +the passion of Jesus? Who can say that +God is deaf to our pleading and unmoved +at our tears, and look upon the Saviour dying? +Who can believe that our lives are +of little worth, or of no account with the +Almighty, and recall the price that was paid +for our souls and ponder the death of our +God? +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thus it is with a bountiful goodness that +the Saviour has purchased His sheep. By +His own free choice, by a life of suffering +entirely voluntary, endured for our salvation +and instruction, through a bitter, but +willing agony and death, He has provided +the means to free us from sin, and has bequeathed +to us every blessing. Now we +can truly say: the Lord is my shepherd, and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page043">[pg 043]</span><a name="Pg043" id="Pg043" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +I shall not want. If only we can look into +that divine life which has been given as our +model, if only we can ponder it, and read +in it the lessons, the hopes, the inspirations +it contains for us, we shall not be weary of +our burdens and cares, we shall not falter +in any of life's battles. Rather, rejoicing +at our opportunities, eternal as they are, and +with feelings of exultant gratitude over our +condition, as heirs with Christ to the kingdom +of Heaven,<a id="noteref_11" name="noteref_11" href="#note_11"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">11</span></span></a> we shall bravely welcome +all the conflicts of life, being assured with +St. Paul that <span class="tei tei-q">“that which is at present momentary +and light of our tribulation, worketh +for us above measure exceedingly an +eternal weight of glory.”</span><a id="noteref_12" name="noteref_12" href="#note_12"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">12</span></span></a> +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page044">[pg 044]</span><a name="Pg044" id="Pg044" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc11" id="toc11"></a> +<a name="pdf12" id="pdf12"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures +of Tender Grass; He Leadeth +Me Beside the Waters of Quietness.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Our attention is now directed to a particular +phase of the shepherd's life, and here +we see some of the ways in which he actually +provides for his sheep day by day. For it is +not enough that the shepherd has purchased +his flock, by means however difficult and +labors however loving; it is not sufficient +that he have procured for them, in a general +manner, all that they need for their life and +safety, he must also arrange for their daily +care and provide for their separate wants. +Sheep, as we know, are delicate creatures, +and they must be directed in their roamings, +and sustained by sufficient nourishment. +Accordingly, we have said that it +belongs to the duties of a good shepherd to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page045">[pg 045]</span><a name="Pg045" id="Pg045" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +lead them out to pasture, and to provide for +them every day adequate food and drink. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Here again we behold the infinite kindness +of the Shepherd of our souls. Not +alone has He deigned to stoop to our fallen +state and restore us from death to life, not +only did He take upon Himself our infirmities +and bear our woes, but tenderly also has +He provided for our constant direction, and +for the daily needs of our lives. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The level to which the Saviour raised our +lives and the dignity to which He invites us +are far, indeed, above our natural powers. +Left to ourselves, we could never attain the +heavenly heights to which, in His goodness, +He has called us. Through the infinite +merits of His life and sacrifice we have been +redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of +our souls; the gates of Heaven, closed +against us before, have been opened wide; +and our wayward race is again restored to +the road that leads to our immortal home. +But just because our celestial destiny is of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page046">[pg 046]</span><a name="Pg046" id="Pg046" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +so high and sublime a character, it is impossible, +if left to our own abilities, that we +should be able long to pursue it, and vastly +beyond our sublimest hopes that we should +ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, +ever before us, the life and example of Him +who has saved us; we know that His cross +and death have delivered us from the wrath +that frowned upon us. But we are weak +and fragile mortals. With respect to things +of the higher life—of the supernatural +world—we, of ourselves, shall always remain +as helpless and frail as infants. Not +less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse +unaided and explore the material +world, than the wisest of men would be to +know and grasp by his natural powers the +unrevealed good of the immortal human +spirit. And as, in our natural state, we +could not know the true end of our existence, +without a divine revelation, so likewise, +we could not pursue and attain our +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page047">[pg 047]</span><a name="Pg047" id="Pg047" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +spiritual destiny without special assistance +from on high. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +How well all this was known to our kind +and kingly Shepherd! How keenly did He +appreciate our frailty and inability to walk +alone the paths which He had trodden! Not +unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to +teach and direct the way which leads to unending +life. When going before his flock +and teaching them by force of example, He +did not omit to give them that saving doctrine +which, when He had disappeared, +would be their guide, and the guide to their +future shepherds in the direction of safety +and truth. Hence He propounded a teaching +which should be to its obedient followers +a realization at once of all He had promised +them, and of all their heart's desires. +Not that it would make them rich or great +in the eyes of the world and according to +human standards, but that it would confer +a truer and a higher greatness by lifting +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page048">[pg 048]</span><a name="Pg048" id="Pg048" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +them above their weak and natural level +and preparing them for eternal blessedness. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Men had the Law before the coming of +Christ; they knew the ten commandments. +But the state to which the God-man called +them, and the eminence to which they were +raised, were quite beyond anything the +world till then had ever been able to conceive. +Human nature, under the New Covenant, +was invited to attain to perfection. +Things which before were thought impossible, +were now to be the objects of our daily +strivings. It was no longer an eye for an +eye, and a tooth for a tooth; now not only +was good to be done to those who were good +to us, but to those also who did us evil; not +only were we to love our friends, but to love +and assist our enemies also; not only should +evil deeds be avoided, but evil thoughts +were likewise forbidden—yea, we were +asked to be, in all our thoughts and deeds, +imitators of the Shepherd who leads us.<a id="noteref_13" name="noteref_13" href="#note_13"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">13</span></span></a> +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page049">[pg 049]</span><a name="Pg049" id="Pg049" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Poor human nature, when raised so high +above its natural powers, stood in perilous +need of a shepherd's tender care. The new +demands of every day made indispensible +new and special daily helps. While our +spirits can see and know the way, under the +light of heavenly teaching, yet how weak +and faltering is our flesh! We have the +will to do; but to accomplish, we alone are +not able. Therefore our Saviour said, <span class="tei tei-q">“Of +yourselves, you can do nothing, but in me +all things are possible to you. The branches +are nothing unless they abide in the vine; I +am the vine, you the branches.”</span><a id="noteref_14" name="noteref_14" href="#note_14"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">14</span></span></a> Thus He +is our Leader, our divine Teacher and our +source of strength. Without Him we can +do nothing, but in Him we are strong. And +daily and constantly He is near us, though +we see Him not. It is He who sustains our +very life and moves us to all that is good. +Like an ever-present friend, He offers us +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page050">[pg 050]</span><a name="Pg050" id="Pg050" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +constant assistance: He instructs and guides +and helps us, and this is the strength and +food of our souls. God's grace it is, always +ready for our use, which makes possible all +the high demands put upon our nature. +Without it we should faint and starve on +our journey, and hence He who has planned +our high perfection, has provided the help +to attain it. What are those seven wonderful +sacraments which He has left us, but +perennial channels of grace, constant fountains +from which stream the life-giving +waters that nourish our weary souls and +make them strong for life eternal! Through +these sacred means we are brought into contact +with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. +They prolong His life +and labors among us, they continue in our +midst the strength of His sacred presence. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In a manner altogether special is this true +of the Holy Sacrament of the altar. By the +Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and +will so remain till the end of time, as really +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page051">[pg 051]</span><a name="Pg051" id="Pg051" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the days +of His mortal life. Bound down as we are +by the things of sense, we may, at times, be +tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament +is all invisible to us. We can not +see Him directly and immediately. His +voice is silent and we do not hear Him; we +do not feel the caress of His hand. But +nevertheless we know He is present, for He +has said it, and His word must remain, +though heaven and earth should pass away. +Even were we privileged to see the sacred +humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, +we should not then, more than now in this +sacrament, directly see the divinity concealed +by the human frame. Faith then +was required as well as now—faith in His +sacred words, made evident by His sacred +deeds. This is not strange; it is not too +much to ask. The same demand of faith is +daily made upon us in much of our intercourse +with our fellow mortals. Much that +we do not clearly see we must perforce believe, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page052">[pg 052]</span><a name="Pg052" id="Pg052" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +else life would be impossible. The +same, in a measure, is also true in all our +human friendships. That which is most +precious in our friends, that which is the +source of life and beauty, of holy words and +loving actions, of all we love and cherish +in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens +and moves; and this we do not see. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, +though faith alone can apprehend Him. +He requires of us this faith—this humble +subjection of our sensible faculties to the +power and truth of His words. It is all for +our good that now He is hidden from our +sight. He is not the less truly present, not +less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful +and forbearing; but He wishes to exercise +our faith, to prove our fidelity and +trust in His teaching and promises, and +hence He is hidden from the powers of our +senses. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In the sacrament of the Eucharist the +gracious Shepherd of our souls performs in +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page053">[pg 053]</span><a name="Pg053" id="Pg053" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +particular three offices for us: He is our +sacrifice, our silent patient friend, and in +communion He becomes the actual spiritual +food of our souls. As a victim He is daily +and constantly, from the rising to the setting +of the sun, lifted up for us in the holy +sacrifice of the mass. The mass is the perpetuation +of the sacrifice He offered long +ago for our redemption. All the altars +throughout the world, on which He is ever +born and dies again in mystic repetition, are +but an extension of the one great altar of +Calvary, where first He gave His life for +our salvation. And in this real and awful +sacrifice, forever repeated in our midst, He +pleads again our cause with God, the eternal +Father. Again in a mystic manner He +suffers for us, again He bleeds, again He is +nailed to the cross and raised on high, and +in that same abandoned, pitiable state, to +which His love for His flock has reduced +Him, ever and anon in our behalf He +pleads: <span class="tei tei-q">“Father forgive them, for they +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page054">[pg 054]</span><a name="Pg054" id="Pg054" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +know not what they do!<a id="noteref_15" name="noteref_15" href="#note_15"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">15</span></span></a> Holy Father, +Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! +and save the souls which Thou hast created +for Thyself, and for which till the end of +time I die!”</span> He lifts, as it were, before +the great white throne, His bruised and +blood-stained hands, He shows those +wounded feet, the scar of the spear in His +sacred side; He points again to the agony +in the garden, to the scourging at the pillar, +to the cruel crown of thorns, to the weary +way of the cross, and exclaims to Him who +sits upon the throne, <span class="tei tei-q">“Behold, my Father, +and see the price of my sheep, the tears and +sorrow and blood they have cost me! and +spare them and save them for the sake of +Thy Son!”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Through the holy sacrifice of the mass, +identical as it is with the sacrifice of Calvary, +all the merits of Christ's life and death +are applied to our souls. By His physical +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page055">[pg 055]</span><a name="Pg055" id="Pg055" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and bloody immolation on Calvary, Christ +purchased for us infinite treasures of grace, +and it is His will that these graces shall be +dispensed to us, even till the end of the +world, through the august sacrament of the +altar. Moreover, except for the mass, we +should not be blessed with the abiding actual +presence of our divine Shepherd among +us—that is, we should not possess Him in +that special, intimate manner in which we +now have Him in the Eucharist. For it is +only in the mass that the sacred species are +consecrated; and consequently it is through +the mass alone that He takes up His sacramental +presence in our midst and becomes +our food in holy communion. He could, +indeed, have ordained it otherwise, but such +has been His blessed will, and such the condition +in which we are placed by the direction +of His holy Church. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Besides being our daily sacrifice, then, +under the appearance of bread and wine, +besides ever prolonging in our midst that +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page056">[pg 056]</span><a name="Pg056" id="Pg056" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +wondrous act of Calvary by which at once +He liberated our race and reopened to us +the gates of Heaven, the bounteous Shepherd +of our souls enters into the tabernacles +of our churches, and there in silent patient +waiting He craves the love of our hearts +and longs for our intimate friendship. He +is not content alone to plead for us with +God, His Father; He is not content continually +to renew in our presence the tragic +mystery by which at the end of His earthly +labors, He procured us every blessing—no, +over and above these sovereign acts of kindest +benediction, He wishes to remain among +us, and to converse with us, each and all, as +a friend would converse with his friend. +This is what He meant when He said by the +mouth of His inspired writer, <span class="tei tei-q">“my delights +are to be with the children of men.”</span><a id="noteref_16" name="noteref_16" href="#note_16"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">16</span></span></a> As +a Shepherd, His chiefest pleasure, as well +as His supremest care, is to be with the flock +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page057">[pg 057]</span><a name="Pg057" id="Pg057" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +He has purchased and loves. Yet it is a +lonely life for our Shepherd-King, this +abode in the silent tabernacle; but it is +all for love of us. He wishes to be there +where we can find Him, where we can come +to Him at any hour and speak to Him, to +praise and thank Him for all His dear and +endless gifts, to tell Him our needs and our +sorrows, to open our breaking hearts to Him +and reveal the secrets of our souls. This it +is that He desires from us—the outpouring +of our hearts and souls in His presence. +This it is which renders unto Him that +homage of faith and love and devotion that +He came into the world to inspire. It will +not do to say that, being God, He is acquainted +with all our thoughts and aware of +all our wants, for it is intimacy and confidence +that He desires, the intimacy and confidence +which alone can create a true and +noble friendship. <span class="tei tei-q">“I will call you no longer +servants,”</span> He said to His disciples, <span class="tei tei-q">“but I +have called you friends; the servant knoweth +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page058">[pg 058]</span><a name="Pg058" id="Pg058" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +not what his Master doth, but a friend +is admitted to confidence.”</span><a id="noteref_17" name="noteref_17" href="#note_17"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">17</span></span></a> Christ in the +tabernacle is our friend; He has loved us +unto the end, and He yearns for our love in +return. Why is this? Why are we so precious +in His eyes? What are we that the +great Creator should at all be mindful of +us?<a id="noteref_18" name="noteref_18" href="#note_18"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">18</span></span></a> We must remember and ever bear +in mind the lofty purpose which the Creator +had in view when first He called us into being—the +same purpose it was which prompted +our redemption and all the gracious dispensations +that have followed thereupon—namely, +that God, while achieving His own +eternal honor and glory, might communicate +to us a portion of His own ineffable +blessedness. We were made for God, and +not for the world, or for creatures, or for +ourselves. And precisely because we are +the possession and property of God, He +wants us, soul and body, for Himself; and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page059">[pg 059]</span><a name="Pg059" id="Pg059" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +in this blessed sacrament He calls to us individually, +<span class="tei tei-q">“Son, give Me thy heart;”</span><a id="noteref_19" name="noteref_19" href="#note_19"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">19</span></span></a> +<span class="tei tei-q">“come to Me, all you who are burdened, +and I will refresh you.”</span><a id="noteref_20" name="noteref_20" href="#note_20"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">20</span></span></a> <span class="tei tei-q">“come to Me +and find rest for your souls, I will lead +you beside the waters of quietness.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But the excesses of our Shepherd's love +and care do not stop with the altar and with +the tabernacle. He is not satisfied with being +our daily sacrifice and our abiding +friend, not satisfied until He enters into our +very bosom and unites us to Himself. +Union with the beloved object and delight +in its presence are characteristic of all true +friendship, whether human or divine. That +which we really love we desire to have, to +possess, to be united with; and hence it is +that Christ, the lover of our souls, has not +only given His life to purchase us for Himself +and Heaven, but has so extended His +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page060">[pg 060]</span><a name="Pg060" id="Pg060" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +loving-kindness as to become Himself our +actual food. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is incomprehensible, in a human way, +that the love of a shepherd for his flock, the +love of God for His creatures, should be so +extraordinary as to provide the wondrous +benefits which Christ in the Eucharist has +wrought for us. We simply cannot grasp +with our feeble minds the prodigality of +such enduring love. But the Saviour knew +His purpose with us, and He knew the +needs of our souls. As guests destined for +an eternal banquet, and as heirs to celestial +thrones, it is needful for us, amid the rough +ways and perils of life, to be constantly reminded +of our royal destiny and strengthened +against our daily foes. This world of +ours is an arena in which each one must contend +for his eternal prize; and it is not possible, +considering our natural frailty and the +enemies that oppose our forward march, +that we alone, without an added strength, +should ever be able to win the battle of life. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page061">[pg 061]</span><a name="Pg061" id="Pg061" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Hence, as the body, to maintain its vigor +and perform its work, needs its material +and earthly food, so the soul, to live and be +strong, must be nourished with the bread of +Heaven. <span class="tei tei-q">“The bread that I will give,”</span> said +our Lord, <span class="tei tei-q">“is my flesh for the life of the +world ... unless you eat of this +bread you cannot have life in you ... +and he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my +blood hath life everlasting, and I will raise +him up on the last day.”</span><a id="noteref_21" name="noteref_21" href="#note_21"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">21</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In order, then, to sustain our spiritual life +on earth and to make us strong for our daily +conflicts, our heavenly Shepherd has left us +a food which is none other than His own +body and blood. What a prodigy of love! +What could He do for us that He has not +done? But, besides giving us strength, He +had another purpose in becoming our food. +Since He has chosen us for Himself, and +has provided, in another world, eternal +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page062">[pg 062]</span><a name="Pg062" id="Pg062" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +mansions for our souls,<a id="noteref_22" name="noteref_22" href="#note_22"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">22</span></span></a> He wishes to make +certain, not only the happy issue of our +lives, but our ever-increasing resemblance +to Himself. He is therefore preparing us, +He is fitting us, through communion in the +Holy Eucharist, for our celestial home, and +for visible companionship with Himself. +Intercourse, communion, intimate relationship +produce likeness, even here on earth, +and it is a singular effect of Holy Communion +that, unlike earthly food, it changes +into itself all those who partake of it. Material, +natural food becomes the substance +of our flesh and blood, but frequent participation +in the heavenly nourishment of +Christ in the Eucharist transmutes our +whole being—our lives and thoughts and +actions—into its own supernatural character. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thus by living much with Christ on +earth, by intimate converse with Him, by +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page063">[pg 063]</span><a name="Pg063" id="Pg063" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +allowing Him to enter into our lives and +thoughts, and shape our conduct and actions; +and above all, by frequent and fervent +communion with Him in the sacrament +of His love, we become like unto Him, even +here in our state of exile. And this likeness +to Christ, which His faithful servants +assume here below, is a forestate of future +blessedness; it is a preparation for the great +reunion and the eternal banquet which +await us in Heaven. Already we are led +beside the waters of rest; we are directed +to pastures of sweetest nourishment; and +through the calm and vigor that reign in +the soul we experience even now a taste of +joys unseen. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page064">[pg 064]</span><a name="Pg064" id="Pg064" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc13" id="toc13"></a> +<a name="pdf14" id="pdf14"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">V. He Restoreth My Soul.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Throughout the pastoral country of the +Orient there are numerous places of great +peril for sheep. There are also, here and +there, private fields and vineyards and gardens +into which, if a member of a flock +should stray and be caught, it is forfeited +to the owner of the land. Strange as it may +seem, the sheep never learn to avoid these +dangerous spots and forbidden places, and +it behooves the shepherd to be ever on his +guard for them, and to rescue them when +wandering. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Here we cannot fail to observe the striking +resemblance between this wayward tendency +of the shepherd's flock and our own +inclination and propensity to wander from +God and things eternal. The world is full +of occasions to evil; at every turn of the +road on our journey through life there are +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page065">[pg 065]</span><a name="Pg065" id="Pg065" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +fierce and crouching enemies who are waiting +the chance to capture and bear us away. +We know this; we have often been warned +of the danger; too many sad experiences +and breathless escapes have convinced us of +the sundry perils to soul and body that lie +along the way of life. But we, like senseless, +erring sheep, if bereft of the Shepherd's +guiding care, do not learn, in life's +sad school, the way to keep free from harm. +Though wounded repeatedly, and scarred +and worn, and left, perhaps, without human +aid, to waste and bleed our life away, +we do not see the lurking evils; we do not +discern beneath the mask the enemy whose +purpose is ruin and death. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The creatures of the world, the things of +sense take vicious hold of us, and often drag +us to the very verge of perdition before we +are aware. They come to us unprepared, +and seek entrance into our lives and +thoughts, and allure us by deception. They +tell us that the world is fair and beautiful +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page066">[pg 066]</span><a name="Pg066" id="Pg066" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and full of promise; that God, for the moment, +is not concerned; that the soul is secure +and safe, and the body and its needs +the only object of present solicitude. The +process is gradual. The turning away and +the loss are not at once and from the beginning +of seductive influences, but slowly and +unobtrusively in the guise of hope and high +expectation. There is Ambition, with its +glittering prospects, with its proffered rewards +and castles of air. To the young man +and young woman, just entering the arena +of life, Ambition says, <span class="tei tei-q">“Come and follow +me, and I will crown you with glory and +honor. I will lift you above the common, +beaten paths of men and seat you on a gilded +throne. I will introduce you to my sister +Pride, and we two will make you happy. +Pride will teach you your true dignity, your +place and position in the universe; she will +remind you of your gifts and faculties, and +enable you to battle with the weak and the +strong; she will give you the secret of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page067">[pg 067]</span><a name="Pg067" id="Pg067" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +knowledge and train you to soar above your +fellow-creatures and probe the mysteries of +God and Heaven.”</span> Then Pleasure, with +dimpled cheeks and laughing eyes, and +words that sound like music to the ears, +hurries out to greet the passers-by, and +charms them by her shining gifts. <span class="tei tei-q">“Make +me your object and your end,”</span> she says, +<span class="tei tei-q">“and I will make you blessed. Forget your +troubles and your cares, your fears of present +and future ills; rejoice and be glad, eat, +drink and be merry; indulge and drain to +dregs the cups of sense, for this is all there +is.”</span> Philosophy comes with another hope. +<span class="tei tei-q">“Drink deeply,”</span> she counsels, <span class="tei tei-q">“at the spring +of wisdom, and fear not God nor man; believe +and trust in me, and I will steal away +the sting of sorrow and pain; I will restore +you to man's primeval state and land you +safe on the shores of rest.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And when these deceivers—Ambition, +Pride, Pleasure, and the like—have plundered +and sacked their victim's goods, when +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page068">[pg 068]</span><a name="Pg068" id="Pg068" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +these painted idols of a passing world have +led away their worshippers as slaves, and +stripped them of all they possessed, they +give them over to evil habits and to masters +that scourge and tear them. Like other +prodigals, these pursuers of earthly phantoms +take leave of their Father's house of +comfort and plenty, they give up virtue, innocence, +honesty, purity; they go into a far +country to waste their substance living riotously, +only to awake, soon at latest, to a land +of famine, and to find themselves alone and +in want. Instead of the honor and fame +and high estate they sought to gain, instead +of the escape from evil and pain and labor +they hoped to find, they are sent into fields +to minister to swine—the swine of their own +degradation. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +So, to a degree, it is with us, each and all, +who listen to other voices and heed other +calls than the voice and the call of God. If +we prefer to stray to other fields and desert +the pasture of our Shepherd, if we prefer a +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page069">[pg 069]</span><a name="Pg069" id="Pg069" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +far country to our Father's home, if the +world and its fleeting pleasures are more to +us than God and His paternal rewards, +then we must of necessity find ourselves at +length in utter want and penury. It is this +possibility of deserting God, of seeking happiness +outside of Him, of overturning the +plans which He has made for our salvation, +that gives us a vision of the awful failure of +human life. The gifts of this world are by +nature fleeting and fast-flying, and if we +allow them to take the place of Him who +made them, no matter how great our present +boons, in spite of wealth and friends +and all success, we have missed our chance +and our purpose in the world, and can only +have at last a desolate and a ruined life. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But how is it, then, one may ask, that +man can be so deceived? How is it that +we do not learn from others' disasters to +avoid, every one of us, those deceiving, ruinous +masters, those false gods that can lead +us away from the one true Shepherd of our +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page070">[pg 070]</span><a name="Pg070" id="Pg070" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +souls? It is, indeed, a curious fact that our +deception is so easy. Surely a rational, intelligent +being, who stops to consider, ought +easily to distinguish between the great God +of Heaven and the creatures of His hands. +It ought not to be difficult for us to see the +transient vanity of human things when compared +with the eternal mansions. But the +truth of the matter is, that we <em class="tei tei-emph"><span style="font-style: italic">are</span></em> deceived, +we do not at all times see the objects of our +choice as they really are objectively. Our +vision is defective and blurred. If God +stood out in our lives as He really ought to +stand, if He occupied that place in our +thoughts and plans which belongs to Him +by right, it would not be possible that +we should ever be led astray. And that +God does not always hold in our lives +the place which is His due is partly the +result of our fallen nature; partly, therefore, +in a way, excusable; but more frequently +and chiefly from our own perversity—from +wilful neglect of our highest duties. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page071">[pg 071]</span><a name="Pg071" id="Pg071" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The blindness and perversity of our nature, +which have come from the wounds of +original sin, make it easy for us, if we are +neglectful and careless of our higher spiritual +obligations, to mistake the false for the +true, evil for good, the creature for the Creator. +In the midst of the world and its allurements, +it behooves us to be ever watching, +if we are never to stumble and to fall. +Had our nature never been corrupted by +original unfaithfulness, had our first parents +never turned away from God and transgressed +His sacred precept, all our present +ills would never have existed. But now it +is different. We are born into the world a +weakened people; each one of us has had +an implicit part in the first transgression; +we all, like erring sheep, have gone astray. +And while this tendency to evil is part of +our natural condition, and therefore less imputable +to us, it nevertheless is true that +our actual sins and evil-doing are the work +of our deliberate choice. If, at any time, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page072">[pg 072]</span><a name="Pg072" id="Pg072" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +we really turn away from God and break +His law, it is because we have freely chosen +so to act. The native perversity of nature +in a normal man can never explain and excuse +the grievous sins which he deliberately +commits. It is only true that a weak and +wounded nature leaves one less able to +choose what is right, and more disposed to +wrong. And since we know the state of +things, since we know that the fault is really +ours when we dare to stray to forbidden +deeds and places, how constant and unrelenting, +if we are truly wise, should be our +efforts to keep our vision unobscured and +our ears attuned to the voice and call of our +heavenly Shepherd! We know that by following +Him our way will be certain and +clear. Howsoever enormous the evils of +life, and notwithstanding all our weakness, +we know that in Him we are safe and strong. +But we must hear Him to follow Him, we +must be guided and directed by His gracious +commands. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page073">[pg 073]</span><a name="Pg073" id="Pg073" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This failure to hear and obey the voice of +God it is which more explains the falls and +sins of men than all their inherited frailty. +So long as His words are heard and directions +heeded, mistake and error are impossible. +We see, therefore, why it is that so +many actually do desert Him and are led +by evil voices. The cause chiefly lies in the +wilfulness of human nature and in the abuse +of human liberty. We cannot stand unless +God support us, and we shall surely fall if +He withdraws His supporting hand. But +the choice of evil, the beginning of unfaithfulness +comes from ourselves; for Almighty +God will never forsake us unless we first +forsake Him. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +If, ever, then, we find our lives to be at +variance with God, whether in lesser or in +greater matters, if it should ever be our +unhappy fortune to wander from Him, like +another prodigal, and waste our lives with +the enemies of our souls, we can be assured +that the desertion is all our own. We forget +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page074">[pg 074]</span><a name="Pg074" id="Pg074" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +God, we deliberately wander from His +sight and care, and then we fall. Engrossed +in worldly affairs, taken up with present +vanities, with ourselves, our ease, our temporal +advancement, we begin to neglect +prayer and communion with God, we begin +to rely on ourselves and to forge ahead of +our own accord, only to encounter complete +defeat and be shorn of all our strength. The +secret of our power and success is to keep +close to Him, to speak to Him lovingly and +often, to seek guidance and protection from +Him, and habitually to live in His comforting +presence. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But such is the boundless kindness of our +heavenly Shepherd that, no matter how +often we may have wandered from Him, or +how seriously we may have grieved Him, +He is ever ready to pursue our wanderings, +and to seek until He finds us. He does not +stop to consider the enormity of our guilt, +or our unreasonableness, or our ingratitude, +but He seeks us. He does not pause to take +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page075">[pg 075]</span><a name="Pg075" id="Pg075" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +an account of all He has done for us, of the +many graces He has given us, of the tears +and blood He has shed in our behalf; but +He goes after our straying souls, and He +will not be appeased until He restore us. +God does not will the death of the sinner, +but that he be converted and live.<a id="noteref_23" name="noteref_23" href="#note_23"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">23</span></span></a> He +knows all our frailties and our diverse +temptations; He knows how alluring are +the things of sense to a nature perverted like +ours; He knows how easy it is for us, blind +and ignorant as we are, to forget Him and +our dearest interests, and to obey the call of +other voices; all this He understands, and +He has pity on us. <span class="tei tei-q">“He knoweth our frame, +He remembereth that we are dust.”</span><a id="noteref_24" name="noteref_24" href="#note_24"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">24</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +To bring us back, therefore, when wandering, +and to restore us to the circle of His +chosen flock, our Saviour has made ample +provision. Through those divine mediums +of grace—the sacraments of His Church—He +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page076">[pg 076]</span><a name="Pg076" id="Pg076" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +has arranged to succor all our wants +and to cure our various infirmities. The +sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in +particular, were instituted to raise our souls +from death to life, and to heal our spiritual +wounds. Baptism may be aptly compared +to the door of the sheepfold. It is the gate +through which men must enter into the fold +of Christ, it is the entrance to His Church. +It clears away the guilt and stain of original +sin, and restores the soul from a state of enmity +to the friendship and grace of God. +None can really belong to Christ, none can +be of His true fold who have not entered +by way of the door, who have not been baptized. +Many there are who pretend to belong +to Him and think themselves of the +number of His flock; they speak of Him as +their Master and Shepherd; they pretend +to be doing His work; they call Him Lord +and preach in His name; but they have not +entered by the door of the sheepfold, and He +knows them not. Like thieves and robbers, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page077">[pg 077]</span><a name="Pg077" id="Pg077" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +they have climbed up some other way, and +they neither know Him, nor does He know +them, neither can they understand His +voice. Baptism is the entrance, it is the +door, to the fold of Christ. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And as it is through Baptism that our +bountiful Lord first recalls us from the ways +of sin and makes us members of his flock, +so in the sacrament of Penance He has provided +a means by which we may at all times +be recalled from our wanderings and restored +to His friendship. Penance is an +inexhaustible means of reconciliation between +the erring soul and God. It lasts +throughout our lives, it stretches even to the +end of time. If only we are men of goodwill +and have at heart our eternal interests, +we need not be disturbed at our frailty, or +at repeated lapses into sin. There is no sin +which cannot be forgiven by the sacrament +of Penance. Not that anyone, knowing +that he can be forgiven, should presume to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page078">[pg 078]</span><a name="Pg078" id="Pg078" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +abuse God's gracious sacrament, and yield +freely and without restraint to the voice of +sin; nor that we are not to be truly sorry +to the end of our days for having even once +offended our benign Maker and Redeemer; +but we must be confident that, whatever +may have been our faults and failings, however +prolonged and extraordinary our transgressions, +if we approach the sacrament of +Penance with sincere sorrow and a firm purpose +of amendment, God will always lovingly +receive us back to Himself, and remember +no more our unfaithfulness. God +hates sin, because it is opposed to Himself +and is the only evil in the world, but He +loves the wounded sinner who is made in +His own image and likeness. Precious in +the sight of God is the penitent sinner. Does +He not tell us Himself that, like a good +shepherd, He leaves ninety-nine just to go +in search of one lost sheep? Yea, He assures +us that there is rejoicing among the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page079">[pg 079]</span><a name="Pg079" id="Pg079" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +angels of Heaven over one sinner who does +penance.<a id="noteref_25" name="noteref_25" href="#note_25"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">25</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +To make worthy use of the sacrament of +Penance we must be truly sorry for having +offended God, and be resolved, at the time +of confession, to do what lies in our power +never again to turn away from Him. To +these dispositions must also be joined the +intention of doing something to repair the +injury which sin has done to God. Given +such conditions, and we need only speak the +word to God's duly appointed minister and +our sins are no more. The dark veil which +hung around the soul like a cloud is lifted, +and we again rejoice in the smile of our +heavenly Father. How simple, yet how +potent are the means provided for our salvation! +None but God could have thought +of them, nothing but the love of God could +have arranged them! +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But even before the sinner is brought to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page080">[pg 080]</span><a name="Pg080" id="Pg080" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +penance, even while he is wandering and +reveling afar off in the vile delights of sin, +God is pursuing him, God is seeking after +him, calling him by name, whispering to +his heart, disposing him for repentance. +We cannot return to God, once we have deserted +Him, without His help. It is our +awful power to be able to leave Him, but +to return alone we are not able. Wherefore +He comes after us when we have wandered +into the wilds of sin; He pleads as it were, +with our souls, and offers us the grace to +repent. Oh privileged are our souls to be +thus appraised by God, and happy those +who hear and heed the appealing voice of +His grace! +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page081">[pg 081]</span><a name="Pg081" id="Pg081" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc15" id="toc15"></a> +<a name="pdf16" id="pdf16"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice +for His Name's Sake.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The shepherd country of the East is full +of walks and pathways, some leading this +way, some that. Some lead to dangerous +precipices over which the sheep might fall +and be lost, others would expose them to +the attack of wild beasts, while still others +would lead them so far astray that they +could not find their way back. It is, therefore, +always needful that the shepherd go +ahead of his flock and lead them in the right +path. The Psalmist, in the title of the +present chapter, is applying this carefulness +of the shepherd for his sheep to our Lord, +in His regard for our spiritual welfare. +The Saviour goes before us with the blessings +of His goodness to help and lead us +aright, lest perchance we become lost and +perish in our journey. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page082">[pg 082]</span><a name="Pg082" id="Pg082" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This solicitude of our Redeemer in providing +for the various needs of our souls is +characteristic of Him as Saviour. It is implied +in the meaning of his name. Before +He was born, before He was conceived in +His Mother's womb, it was foretold of Him +that He should be called Jesus, which means +Saviour, for He would save His people +from their sins.<a id="noteref_26" name="noteref_26" href="#note_26"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">26</span></span></a> He exercised, as we +know, this mission of saviour throughout +His earthly career. It was for this that He +came into the world, for this that He was +born in Bethlehem with a manger as His +cradle, for this that, at the age of twelve, +He was found teaching in the Temple, for +this that He retired to Nazareth and was +subject to Mary and Joseph, for this that +He labored and suffered and bled and died. +And with His passing from this visible +scene to the bosom of His Father, He did +not cease to be that for which He had been +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page083">[pg 083]</span><a name="Pg083" id="Pg083" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +eternally anointed—the great High Priest, +the Mediator between God and man, the +Saviour of the world. His work is everlasting; +and now that He has gone up on +high, He pleads for us ever more with the +Father. We belong to Him, He has purchased +us with His blood, and He must +needs care for our safety to the end. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Inasmuch as we are heirs, according to +divine decree, to thrones beyond the skies, +it was necessary, as we have seen, that He +who is our Saviour and Shepherd should +have left behind Him in this world of ours +a doctrine, a code, or system of instructions +and laws, which should safely direct and +guide us to our royal destiny. Those who +lived with Him on earth, those who heard +His assuring, life-giving words, and felt +the inspiration of His example and visible +presence needed not to fear for the direction +or safety of their course. The divine, living +voice and sacred presence of their Lord +and Master they enjoyed, and care and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page084">[pg 084]</span><a name="Pg084" id="Pg084" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +anxiety fled from their souls. But not for +these alone had the Redeemer come, but for +all mankind, for all who in future were to +breathe the breath of human life. He came +to save all, He died for all; and thus the +teaching which He gave to the world, and +which He committed to His chosen followers, +was for every human being, even to the +end of the world, that through it all might +live and attain to life everlasting. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The doctrine which the Saviour left us, +and the laws which He prescribed were +vastly different from the teachings of men. +Guiding, saving words of a Shepherd to his +flock, they engendered safety, comfort, +peace. Free from error or mistake, sealed +with the seal of Heaven, holding out a +promise of future glory, they exhaled the +perfumes of the eternal city, they told of +mansions not built with hands. And since +this immaculate doctrine, given for the souls +of men, was to last till the end of time, there +was need that it should be shielded against +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page085">[pg 085]</span><a name="Pg085" id="Pg085" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the assaults of the world and protected from +the influence of our changing human teachings. +It could not be corrected, because it +contained no mistakes; it could not be +changed or altered, because it came from +the changeless God; it could have no substitute +from the part of men or creatures of +any kind, because it was given by Him who +alone was the way, the truth, and the life. +Consequently the truths which the Saviour +declared to the world as the only means by +which we can be saved, were at once infallible +in themselves, and so provided for that +no human agency, no lapse of years or revolutions +of time and place should ever be +able to infringe on their eternal, changeless +character. It was to preserve these truths in +their integrity and freshness that He founded +His unerring Church and committed to +it the office of custodian and expounder, under +the guidance of His Holy Spirit, of all +He had revealed for the salvation of human +kind. Hence to hear our Shepherd's voice, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page086">[pg 086]</span><a name="Pg086" id="Pg086" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +to understand what He says to us, to know +what we must do to obey His laws and save +our souls, we need but listen to the voice of +His Church. Before it was established He +declared that He should build His Church +upon a rock, and that no enemy, or group +of enemies, not even the gates of hell should +ever prevail against it.<a id="noteref_27" name="noteref_27" href="#note_27"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">27</span></span></a> He established +the Church as His mouthpiece, and He said +to the little band that constituted it in the +beginning, <span class="tei tei-q">“he that heareth you, heareth +me, and he that heareth me, heareth Him +that sent me;”</span><a id="noteref_28" name="noteref_28" href="#note_28"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">28</span></span></a> and, as if to emphasize this +declaration, He added that any one who +would not hear and obey the Church should +be considered as a heathen and a publican—types +of all that was bad.<a id="noteref_29" name="noteref_29" href="#note_29"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">29</span></span></a> The Church, +therefore, is the oracle of God, it is His +mouthpiece; it possesses and guards the only +revelation which God has made to His rational +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page087">[pg 087]</span><a name="Pg087" id="Pg087" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +creatures; it alone has the words of +eternal life. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thus it is that our divine Shepherd goes +before us, leading us in the paths of truth +and justice, preserving us from danger and +error with respect to our spiritual destiny. +We cannot go astray if we listen to Him +speaking to us through His church. In +all our perplexities and uncertainties, +when confronted by any doubt, or confused +and distracted by the wrangling +voices and conflicting opinions of men, we +can be calm and at peace, assured in our +inmost souls that the voice which guides us +cannot err, that it is easier for heaven and +earth to pass away than for one word of His +to fail.<a id="noteref_30" name="noteref_30" href="#note_30"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">30</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +He leadeth me in ways of justice, in the +ways of holiness, in the ways which the +saints have walked. How exceeding great, +indeed, is our privilege, and how certain +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page088">[pg 088]</span><a name="Pg088" id="Pg088" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and individual our election! All that remains +to us is to listen to His words and to +follow Him, and present peace will attend +our labors, while future glory waits upon +our end. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But in the midst of abundant blessings +and spiritual favors which have surrounded +and sheltered us from infancy, we are apt +to be unmindful of our state of plenty and +forgetful of the duty of gratitude. We are +apt to venture out like thoughtless children, +trusting in our own strength to battle with +the foe; or else, on the contrary, we sluggishly +presume that a bountiful Providence +will provide for us regardless of our own +co-operation. We have never known what +it is to want for spiritual food and spiritual +direction, except when indolence, careless +indifference, and our own folly have led +us astray. These are evils which continually +assail us, and we often make friends +with them, not knowing what we are doing +for the most part, until the blood of life has +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page089">[pg 089]</span><a name="Pg089" id="Pg089" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +almost ebbed away. We are not, indeed, +removed from a world where sin abounds +and where deceiving voices may allure us +this way and that. Like the pastoral country +of the Orient, the walks of life are +fraught with perils: false teachers, false +doctrines, false prophets, pseudo-christs;<a id="noteref_31" name="noteref_31" href="#note_31"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">31</span></span></a> +<span class="tei tei-q">“perils from our own nation, and perils +from abroad, perils in the city and perils in +the wilderness, perils in the sea and perils +from false brethren”</span><a id="noteref_32" name="noteref_32" href="#note_32"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">32</span></span></a>—all trying to attract +and lead us away from the paths of justice +and deliver us to the enemy of our souls. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is necessary that we should know that +wolves are abroad in sheep's clothing; <span class="tei tei-q">“false +apostles, deceitful workers, transforming +themselves into the apostles of Christ.”</span><a id="noteref_33" name="noteref_33" href="#note_33"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">33</span></span></a> +They come to us with winning words and +easy teachings, with new creeds, new forms +of belief, new ways to the promised land. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page090">[pg 090]</span><a name="Pg090" id="Pg090" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The doctrine and truths which Christ +taught and which He entrusted to His +Church are set aside or explained away by +these modern teachers, and the novel and +the strange are made to assume the role of +the old, the familiar and the true. The +harm done is incalculable. How many innocent +and unwary sheep have been lost to +the fold of Christ by following the call of +these unworthy preachers and false shepherds! +What multitudes of precious souls +have been deceived by their polished words +and led away into paths of error, into deadly +ways of thinking, believing, and acting, +never to return to the path that leads to life! +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This poisoning of the soul and the heart +by erroneous doctrines is effected in many +and diverse ways; the victims of falsehood +are variously captured. There are the wisdom +and sagacity of men, there are the conquests +of science and the learning of the +philosophers, the discoveries of our day, the +strides of history, the breakdown and overthrow +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page091">[pg 091]</span><a name="Pg091" id="Pg091" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of many things held sacred by our +forefathers—and all these changes and ruptures +in the order of a former generation +are now used to beguile the flock of Christ +and sway them from the paths of truth +and righteousness. But amid all this din +and uproar of conflicting voices, amid the +wrangling tumult and confusion of converging +opinions, those who will may hear +and discern the loving voice of the true +Shepherd speaking to the world through +His Church with the same calm, assuring +words which He uttered to living witnesses +two thousand years ago. He has not +changed, neither has His teaching; He has +not deserted His chosen flock, but is with it +all days, even to the end of the world.<a id="noteref_34" name="noteref_34" href="#note_34"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">34</span></span></a> His +love for us, His watchfulness for our needs, +His enduring care for our interests, in spite +of our enemies, can never fail. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And while assured of this, it behooves us +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page092">[pg 092]</span><a name="Pg092" id="Pg092" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +also, as appealing to our sense of gratitude, +and as inducing to greater love of Him, to +reflect that this abiding faithfulness of our +Saviour in caring for our wants is not from +any worthiness of ours, or because of our +merits, but only for His Name's sake, because +He is Saviour. It was His love for +us that prompted our creation, His love that +provoked His passion and redeemed us, His +love that made Him suffer for us, His love +that teaches and shall guide us to life everlasting, +for His love endureth forever. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page093">[pg 093]</span><a name="Pg093" id="Pg093" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc17" id="toc17"></a> +<a name="pdf18" id="pdf18"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of +the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Besides the paths and dangerous walks in +the shepherd country that would lead the +sheep to destruction and death, there are +other paths all encompassed with evils +through which, nevertheless, they are at +times obliged to make their way. Safety +from all harm there cannot be for the shepherd's +flock. They must in their journeys +encounter many perils, even while pursuing +the proper paths. There are deep and darksome +valleys, walled round on all sides by +towering rocky hills, which at times the +shepherd cannot easily escape. And within +these shadowy valleys and somber ravines +there dwell not infrequently wild and +ferocious animals that will, if aroused, attack +and kill the tender sheep. The utmost +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page094">[pg 094]</span><a name="Pg094" id="Pg094" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +care and caution of the shepherd are called +into service safely to conduct his dependent +flock through these places of deepest peril. +But in spite of all his watchfulness it sometimes +happens that a wolf will get into the +very midst of the sheep. The timid, terrified +animals become wild with fright, and +are scattered, running this way and that, +until the shepherd calls and bids them collect +together. No sooner do they hear his +voice, than they all rush swiftly together in +a solid mass, and either drive the enemy +from their midst or cripple and crush him +to death. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Thus in times of greatest peril the shepherd +protects his sheep, and wrests them +from the jaws of harm. The sheep know +this, and they fear no evils; they know that +their master is with them. Yea, though +they walk in the shadow of perils and dwell +in the midst of the valley of death, they +faint not, neither do they fear, for they know +that the shepherd is near. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page095">[pg 095]</span><a name="Pg095" id="Pg095" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The case of the sheep in the valley of +perils is not unlike our own in the midst of +the evils of the world; and the peace and +safety which we enjoy should be similar +also to theirs. We are assured, first of all, +by an unflinching faith in God and our Redeemer +that, if we trust our Master and +obey Him, we shall be led aright throughout +our lives, even to the kingdom of +Heaven. We shall be led in the paths of +justice and love, and crowned at length with +the crown of glory, if we but follow the +voice of our Shepherd-King, and avoid the +walks of disaster and ruin. And to hear +His voice and to know it we have but to +listen to the teachings of His Church, which +will hush to silence our troubled hearts, and +direct our wayward feet into the paths of +heavenly peace. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But, like the shepherd's flock, we have to +avoid in our journey through life, as perils +to our safety and spiritual welfare, not only +the false shepherds and teachers and doctrines +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page096">[pg 096]</span><a name="Pg096" id="Pg096" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +that surround us on all sides; but we +must also, to pass to our reward, actually +encounter inevitable evils and fight many +necessary battles. Many of the paths of +life through which we must of necessity +pass are hard and difficult, and full of deadly +perils. We must remember that sin has +ruined the primeval beauty of our earthly +habitation and made our life here below a +labor and a toil to the end. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We not only come into the world with sin +on our souls, and are thereby exiles from +the city of God, but even when our sin is +forgiven us the remains of the malady continue +as wounds in our nature as long as we +live on earth. The deadly guilt is wiped +away, but the effects of the evil remain. +And it is chiefly these wounds of our nature, +in ourselves and in others, that render life's +journey, even when pursued in accordance +with the law of God, at times truly difficult +and perilous. Fidelity to God and to His +law is not always a safeguard against the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page097">[pg 097]</span><a name="Pg097" id="Pg097" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +wickedness of the world and of men; at +times, in fact, it is just the contrary. Indeed, +is it not a truth that many, perhaps +the majority, of those who endeavor sincerely +to please and to serve God must often +suffer severely for their very goodness and +faithfulness? Are they not misunderstood, +and criticised, and censured? Are they not +frequently accused of all manner of wrong, +their work disparaged, and their motives +impugned? Are not persecution, and even +martyrdom, often their portion? Now all +this is the result of sin. Those who call +into question the deeds and motives of God's +saints; those who upbraid, and criticise, and +impute evil to the sincere, faithful servants +of God, inflicting upon them dire evils, are +but showing the effects of sin in themselves, +are but giving exercise to the evil that rules +within them. Their particular acts and +words may be without present malice, they +may be inwardly persuaded that in reviling +and condemning their neighbor and doing +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page098">[pg 098]</span><a name="Pg098" id="Pg098" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +him harm, they are rendering a service to +God Himself; but in so doing they but +manifest the effects of earlier sin, personal, +perhaps, and original, which has darkened +their understanding and made perverse +their moral vision, so that, having eyes, they +see not, having ears, they hear not, neither +do they understand.<a id="noteref_35" name="noteref_35" href="#note_35"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">35</span></span></a> Following the corruption +of their own nature, bleeding from +the wounds of original sin, they are prone to +blaspheme whatsoever they fail to comprehend;<a id="noteref_36" name="noteref_36" href="#note_36"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">36</span></span></a> +and thus it is that they often make +life and the world for the servant of God a +truly perilous sojourn, a veritable valley of +death. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This failure to be understood, this misjudgment +of actions, motives, deeds, are +doubtless common evils from which, in a +measure, we all must suffer. But it is also +true that the more elevated the life, the +higher its aims, the loftier the spiritual level +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page099">[pg 099]</span><a name="Pg099" id="Pg099" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +on which it proceeds, the greater the difficulty +of its being understood and appreciated +by the majority, who always tread the +common paths of mediocrity. A saint is +nearly always a disturbance to his immediate +surroundings, he is frequently an annoyance +and an irritation to the little circle in +which his external life is cast, simply because +he really lives and moves in a sphere +which the ordinary life cannot grasp. Like +a brilliant, dazzling light that obscures the +lesser luminaries, and is therefore odious to +them, the man of God is frequently a disturber +to the worldly peace of common men, +his life and works are a living reproach to +their life and works; and hence, without +willing it, he becomes a menace to their +society and is not welcome in their company. +Worldly, plotting minds cannot understand +the spiritual and the holy; sinful +souls are out of harmony with the virtuous; +the children of darkness cannot find peace +with the children of light. And not only +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page100">[pg 100]</span><a name="Pg100" id="Pg100" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +is there a lack of sympathy in the worldly-minded +for the men and women who are +led of God, but there is often positive hatred +for them—a hatred which spends itself in +actual, persistent persecution. To be devout, +to refrain from sinful words and sinful +deeds, to shun the vain and dangerous +amusements of worldlings, to attend much +to prayer and recollection, to love the house +and worship of God, to be seen often approaching +the sacraments and partaking of +the bread of life at the communion rail—even +these holy acts are sufficient frequently +to draw down on the servants of God the +curse and persecution of a world which +knows not what it does. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And that which happens individually to +the faithful children of God takes place on +a larger scale with respect to God's Church. +The children of this world, those who have +set their heart on temporal things, or who, +through wilful error have deviated from +the right path to things eternal, never cease +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page101">[pg 101]</span><a name="Pg101" id="Pg101" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +from pursuing and persecuting the Church +of God. They hate the Church and attack +it unceasingly. Like the perverse and +blinded Jews of old who reviled the Saviour +and His words and deeds, who pursued +Him and put Him to death, these ever-living +and ever-active enemies of light and +truth never abate in their fury against the +chosen friends of Christ, and against His +holy Church. But need we be surprised at +this? Was it not foretold? Did not our +blessed Shepherd, speaking in the beginning +to His little flock, warn them that men +would deliver them up in councils and +scourge them? Did He not say to them +plainly, <span class="tei tei-q">“And you shall be hated by all men +for my name's sake; but he that shall persevere +unto the end, he shall be saved. And +when they persecute you in this city, flee +into another.... The disciple is not +above the master, nor the servant above his +lord. It is enough for the disciple that he +be as his master, and the servant as his lord. +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page102">[pg 102]</span><a name="Pg102" id="Pg102" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +If they have called the good man of the +house Beelzebub, how much more them of +his household.”</span><a id="noteref_37" name="noteref_37" href="#note_37"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">37</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It happens, therefore, that fidelity to God, +and careful adherence to the paths of justice +and holiness, can frequently be the occasion +of perils and sufferings for us individually, +as they also are the excuse for a +vaster persecution of the Church in general. +All holy persons and holy things are signs +of contradiction. They are not of the world, +they do not fit in with it; and between them +and the world there will be strife and contention +until the renovation comes. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But the enemies that lie along the ways +of life, that beset and threaten even the most +righteous paths of our pilgrimage, are not +all from without—the most numerous and +menacing are perhaps from within. <span class="tei tei-q">“The +enemies of a man,”</span> says the inspired writer, +<span class="tei tei-q">“are those of his own household.”</span><a id="noteref_38" name="noteref_38" href="#note_38"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">38</span></span></a> That +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page103">[pg 103]</span><a name="Pg103" id="Pg103" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +is to say, the most potent evils which we +suffer, the chiefest foes to our present and +future welfare are from ourselves—our own +waywardness, our tendencies to evil, our +wilfulness, our self-love and self-seeking, +our own sins. It is from these and like +causes that we suffer most. Hard and trying +it surely is to bear persecutions and contradictions +from others; severe is the strain +to nature when, in the face of our noblest +efforts, proceeding from noblest motives, we +meet with misunderstanding and even condemnation; +but to the upright, religious +heart that is sincerely and truly seeking God +amid the shadows and pitfalls of life, the +sorest of all trials and the fiercest of all enemies +are one's own temptations and passions +and inclinations to evil. Easier it were to +conquer the whole external world of foes, +than to reign supreme over the little world +within. Of Alexander the Great it is said, +that while he actually subdued the whole +known world of his time, he nevertheless +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page104">[pg 104]</span><a name="Pg104" id="Pg104" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +yielded in defeat before his own passions. +He could overcome his external enemies, +but surrendered miserably in the battle with +self. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This, then, is our greatest warfare, the +struggle with ourselves; and this our greatest +victory, a triumph over self. <span class="tei tei-q">“If each +year,”</span> says the Imitation, <span class="tei tei-q">“we could uproot +but one evil inclination, how soon we should +be perfect men!”</span><a id="noteref_39" name="noteref_39" href="#note_39"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">39</span></span></a> But it is not for us to +be free from enemies and perils, both from +without and from within, during our earthly +sojourn. They are a part of our lot here +below, they are necessarily bound up with +the darkened regions through which the +Shepherd must lead his flock; and hence, +entire safety there shall never be before the +journey's end, until we say farewell to present +woes, and hail <span class="tei tei-q">“the happy fields, where +joy forever dwells.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In our present state, therefore, it is important +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page105">[pg 105]</span><a name="Pg105" id="Pg105" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +for us to realize our dangers and to +be prepared for conflict. There is no way +of escape from crosses, and perils, and +dreadful battles for all those who wish to +win the crown of victory. They must follow +the Shepherd as he leads the way, and +hence our Lord has said, <span class="tei tei-q">“if any man will +come after me, let him take up his cross +daily and follow me.”</span><a id="noteref_40" name="noteref_40" href="#note_40"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">40</span></span></a> Yes, it is the following +of the Shepherd, it is his leadership, +his constant presence, that give comfort to +the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of +perils. And though we pass through the +valley and shadow of death, we need fear +no evil, for He is with us. At times, frequently +perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, +the waves roll over and deluge us so completely +that we are all but smothered. The +clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast +the sky of our souls; the sorrows of +death surround us, and the pains of the pit +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page106">[pg 106]</span><a name="Pg106" id="Pg106" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +encompass us;<a id="noteref_41" name="noteref_41" href="#note_41"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">41</span></span></a> we are overwhelmed with +sadness and plunged in darkness. We think +of God, we remember Him, but He seems +afar off. The evil which weighs us down—the +pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness +and dejection of heart and mind, <span class="tei tei-q">“the +madness that worketh in the brain,”</span> muffle +the voice and all but still the trembling +pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift +our drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes +to see the gentle Shepherd standing faithfully +at our side. It is our failure to discern +and apprehend Him that causes extreme +agony. If at these times of utter desolation, +when the soul is swept by the winds +of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and +thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and +child-like trust, the spell would be broken; +and we should see the clouds lift and part +and float away on the wind, only to let in +God's cheerful sun to raise the drooping +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page107">[pg 107]</span><a name="Pg107" id="Pg107" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +spirit, and warm and soothe the troubled +soul. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow +and affliction, to lift the heart and mind +to things above. Nature of itself tends +downward, and unless it has learned to discipline +itself and to engage with the enemy +in sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for +life. For the world is a battlefield and life +a warfare, even from a natural point of +view, and only they can hope to win in life's +hard contest who have learned to brave the +battle, who have prepared themselves for +conflict. But who is ready for the struggle, +and how shall we be able to encounter our +foes? Left to ourselves and to our own resources, +we shall surely go down in defeat. +The opposing forces are too gigantic, too +numerous. They throng from near and +from afar. They swarm from within and +from without; from our own nature and from +others, from the world around, and from +our own household; from those at home, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page108">[pg 108]</span><a name="Pg108" id="Pg108" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and from them that are abroad. Frequently +during life we are, of a certainty, encompassed +round with perils; we hardly know +where to turn or what to do, we are breathless +with fright; but even then, if we have +proper faith, we shall grow calm, like the +shepherd's flock in the midst of devouring +animals and beasts of prey, for our Saviour +and Shepherd is with us, and no evil can befall +us. Even when we think Him farthest, +He is often nearest; when we think Him +sleeping, His heart is watching. He loves +us, His weak and timid sheep; we are the +objects of His heart's affection and ever +active solicitude; He will not let perish, if +we trust Him, the price of His precious +Blood. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And the training we are to receive, +and the preparation we are to make, in +order worthily and victoriously to engage +in the battle of life are nothing, +therefore, but lessons of love and trust in +the constant goodness and faithfulness of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page109">[pg 109]</span><a name="Pg109" id="Pg109" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +our divine Saviour. Unless we viciously +drive Him away by deliberate, grievous +sin, He is really never absent from us, and +least of all when we need Him most. It is +our fault, if we do not by faith discern Him, +if we do not feel His ever-gracious presence. +We need to discipline ourselves in +acts and deeds of faith and love, and then +we shall realize that He is always near us, +even in the darkness of the shadow of death. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We must try to know our Shepherd, first +of all; we must endeavor intimately to understand +Him. For to have faith in Him, +to trust Him, to believe in His power and +goodness, in His overruling care for us and +our interests, presuppose a knowledge of +Him, just as faith and confidence in an +earthly friend follow upon an intimate acquaintance +with that friend. But this close +knowledge of our Master, so necessary to +our present peace and future happiness, will +never be ours unless we make Him our confidant, +unless we accustom ourselves to live +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page110">[pg 110]</span><a name="Pg110" id="Pg110" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +in His presence, to look to Him, to speak +to Him often, to listen to His gracious direction. +And this intimate relationship +with our Saviour, this habitual communion +with Him, will enkindle in our souls the +fire of love. Once we know Him, we will +trust Him, and having faith and confidence +in Him, we will link our poor lives to His +divine life by the strong cords of heavenly +charity. Fear and uncertainty will then be +impossible, even in the darkest hours. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is love, above all, that directs our life—love, +indeed, which is born of knowledge. +We do not, it is true, love anything before +we have some knowledge of it; this +would be an impossibility; but once the +soul has caught the vision, it is love that +drives the life and stimulates and enriches +the knowledge. The objects of our +affections are the interpreters of our life and +actions. If we love the world, we are led +by the world; if we love God, it is God +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page111">[pg 111]</span><a name="Pg111" id="Pg111" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +that leads and directs us. Where the treasure +is, there will the heart be also;<a id="noteref_42" name="noteref_42" href="#note_42"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">42</span></span></a> and +where the heart is, thither will the life make +its way. But if God is the object of our +love, we shall fear no evil; for <span class="tei tei-q">“God is +charity,”</span> says St. John, <span class="tei tei-q">“and he that abideth +in charity, abideth in God, and God in +him ... Fear is not in charity; but +perfect charity casteth out fear, because +fear hath pain.”</span><a id="noteref_43" name="noteref_43" href="#note_43"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">43</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is only the love of God, therefore, that +will steady our lives, and bear us up in the +thick of tribulations. It is the confident +assurance that we, although so unworthy, +are the objects of divine complacency that +awakens in our hearts a return of burning +charity, and enables us to say, with the +Psalmist, when the day is darkest <span class="tei tei-q">“The +Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall +I fear? The Lord is the protector of my +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page112">[pg 112]</span><a name="Pg112" id="Pg112" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +life; of whom shall I be afraid?”</span><a id="noteref_44" name="noteref_44" href="#note_44"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">44</span></span></a> We +are not to fear men, said our Lord, who, +when they have destroyed the body, can do +no more;<a id="noteref_45" name="noteref_45" href="#note_45"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">45</span></span></a> neither shall we be in dread of +our Master, if armed with the gift of His +love, <span class="tei tei-q">“for fear hath pain, but love casteth +out fear.”</span> Rather shall we, like the martyrs +of old, mindful of the gift of God, go +bravely forth to the battle of life, or to the +slaughter, calmly, hopefully, cheerfully. +While humbly, but steadfastly trustful of +the Shepherd that leads us, we shall not be +disturbed or troubled; the present shall be +shorn of its terrors, the future of its forebodings. +This truly is the triumph of life, +when love, not fear, has come to rule us. +This is the broader, larger life—the forerunner +of life eternal in which our days are +passed in calm serenity—in which we press +on with undaunted tread, alike under +frowning clouds, or under a star-lit sky; +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page113">[pg 113]</span><a name="Pg113" id="Pg113" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +alike with the joys of friendship around us, +or alone amidst the graves of the dead. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We must not infer from this that the love +of God which is our strength, the source of +our courage, will blunt our feelings or harden +our lives. It does not seal up the fountain +of tears, or make us insensible to the pains +and sorrows of life, which belong to the lot +of all. In a certain sense it is likely true +that those suffer most in life who are most +united to God; for they feel most the coldness +of the world and its desolation, its want +of love and sympathy, its degradation and +its misery. Hence it would be a mistake +to think that the friends of God in this life +are either exempted from pain and sorrow, +or made insensible to them, either in themselves +or in others. Of these and other +evils they are truly more keenly aware than +worldly men, if for no other reason than +because of the superior refinement of their +nature and the spiritual outlook of their +vision. It is sin, after all, that hardens +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page114">[pg 114]</span><a name="Pg114" id="Pg114" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +while it weakens. Sin closes the heart to +love, it renders its victims cold, unsympathetic +and selfish; whereas the gifts of grace +and holiness are tenderness, mercy, strength. +But though all have to suffer, both the holy +and the unholy, the difference between them +is this, that the ungodly are borne down +and overcome by their sorrows and crosses, +while the spiritual are always triumphing +even in the midst of apparent defeat. To +the foolish they seem to be vanquished, yet +they conquer; often they seem on the verge +of surrender, when they emerge in victory; +they seem to die, when behold they live!<a id="noteref_46" name="noteref_46" href="#note_46"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">46</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The spiritual man, then, does suffer; he +suffers in the cause of God; he suffers for +others and for himself. More than this, it +is doubtless true that he feels his crosses +more keenly, he grieves more profoundly, +than do the children of the world; but +through it all he remembers his Saviour +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page115">[pg 115]</span><a name="Pg115" id="Pg115" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and is comforted. He knows that the tribulations +of the just are many, and that from +all these the Lord will soon deliver him,<a id="noteref_47" name="noteref_47" href="#note_47"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">47</span></span></a> +and he shall not be confounded forever. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page116">[pg 116]</span><a name="Pg116" id="Pg116" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc19" id="toc19"></a> +<a name="pdf20" id="pdf20"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is already plain to us that the sorrows +and sufferings of the present life are, without +doubt, the result and consequence of +sin. That we should pass our mortal days +so full of pain and tears, that our fellow-man, +that the beasts of the field and the elements, +which we need and use as helpers +and servants, and most of all that our own +nature, with its passions and evil tendencies, +should rise up against us and oppose us, was +assuredly not a part of the original plan. +As a wise and all-powerful Designer and +Creator, God founded the world after a +masterful fashion—devoid of evil, free from +defect, perfect according to the plans +framed in Heaven. The hills and mountains +He founded and set on their bases; the +streams and rivers and valleys He formed, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page117">[pg 117]</span><a name="Pg117" id="Pg117" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +all rich and lovely, intended for the comfort +and happiness of man; the blue deep +He constructed and beautified with its millions +of shining wonders; and in all these +stupendous creations, in all the diverse +works of His mighty, omnipotent hands +there was in the beginning no trace of fault, +of defect, of error or sin. The upheaval +came when man disobeyed and wrought the +commencement of all our woe. And hence +it is to man's first disobedience and the fruit +of that forbidden tree, that we owe all the +evils from which our nature suffers and to +which our flesh is heir. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But although we know the source of our +sorrows and feel the guilt of our sins, this +does not make our burden lighter or shorten +the path of our pilgrimage. We are confronted +by the problem of labor and suffering +as soon as we enter the world. No one +is entirely exempted; and, strange as it is, +we see that it frequently happens, that those +are most afflicted who are farthest removed +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page118">[pg 118]</span><a name="Pg118" id="Pg118" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +from the wickedness of the world and purest +in the sight of God. <span class="tei tei-q">“Many are the +tribulations of the just;”</span> and how true is it +that the very fidelity of the servants of God +is often an occasion of their sufferings! It +is not wonderful that sorrow and fear +should be the portion of sinners throughout +the length of their days, for <span class="tei tei-q">“contrition and +unhappiness are in their ways, and the way +of peace they have not known;”</span><a id="noteref_48" name="noteref_48" href="#note_48"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">48</span></span></a> but that +all, even the saints of God, should suffer +alike and be oppressed with miseries is, at +first sight, a problem and a baffling mystery. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is something, indeed, to feel in our suffering +that we are paying the debt of our +sins, whether personal, or original, or both; +it is much to know that our crosses, severe +and inevitable as they are, are a curb to our +wayward nature, and a restraint against +further sins; it is assuredly a great privilege +and a high honor that we, unworthy +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page119">[pg 119]</span><a name="Pg119" id="Pg119" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and unfaithful servants of our Master, +should, through our tears and sorrows and +sufferings, be enabled to conform our poor +lives to the tearful and sorrowful life of our +Saviour; it is a comfort that words cannot +tell to be assured by our faith that in the +midst of pains and perils the Shepherd of +our souls is ever near to shield, to guard, +and to save—all this is surely much—enough +to encourage and strengthen us daily +to take up our cross and joyfully follow our +Redeemer, even to the hill of Calvary, even +to the death of the cross. But this is not +all. A deeper meaning lies hidden behind +the veil of tears, beneath the cloak of pain +and sorrow. The miseries of life are not a +mere inheritance, neither is their value of a +purely negative character. We instinctively +feel that somehow, somewhere beyond the +scope of mortal ken, there is a higher explanation +and a more valid justification for all +the failures and pains and sorrows of life, +than that which appears on the surface of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page120">[pg 120]</span><a name="Pg120" id="Pg120" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +things, or issues in results that are only negative. +Suffering for its own sake was never +intended; and we were not made to suffer. +We were not created for misery, but for +happiness; not for failure, but for victory; +not for death, but for life; not for time, but +for eternity. And hence there is a deeper +meaning, a higher explanation for all the +failures and miseries of the present life than +those that are apparent to the casual observer. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In the title of this chapter the Psalmist, +referring to the shepherd's care for his +sheep, says: <span class="tei tei-q">“Thy rod and thy staff, they +comfort me.”</span> The staff the shepherd uses, +as already explained, is to assist the sheep +along their perilous journeys, and the rod +to protect them in case of attack. The rod +and the staff are necessary for the welfare +of the flock, necessary to guide and shield +them in their wanderings, and to bring +them safely home. So too, it is with us, the +children of God. To be properly protected +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page121">[pg 121]</span><a name="Pg121" id="Pg121" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and guided to our happy end we have need +of the rod of affliction and adversity, and +likewise of the staff of mercy. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Although human miseries—pain, poverty, +suffering and death—are, as we know, +the consequences, just and equitable, of +original sin, it is a shortsighted faith and +a defective vision that find in these crosses +only chastisement for sin. Truly, they +should not have been, had we never sinned; +but as God, in His mercy, draws good out of +evil, so has He made these inevitable results +of our transgression serve a higher purpose +and minister to noble ends. The Saviour +came that we might have life, that we might +progress and advance to ever fuller and +more abundant life.<a id="noteref_49" name="noteref_49" href="#note_49"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">49</span></span></a> His aim, and the +aim and purpose of His heavenly Father, +since the very dawn of our creation, has +been to lead us to happiness—to perfect, +abundant, eternal happiness. It would be +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page122">[pg 122]</span><a name="Pg122" id="Pg122" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of little account to be happy here, unless +we are also to rejoice eternally. It would +be a poor exchange and a paltry satisfaction, +to be present at the feasts of men, only to +forfeit our place at the banquet of angels. +But our heavenly reward and our celestial +crown are to be merited and won here below; +they are to follow upon our earthly +labors. <span class="tei tei-q">“Only he shall be crowned,”</span> says +St. Paul, <span class="tei tei-q">“who has legitimately engaged in +the battle.”</span><a id="noteref_50" name="noteref_50" href="#note_50"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">50</span></span></a> And did not the Master say +Himself, <span class="tei tei-q">“Let him who wishes to come +after me deny himself and take up his cross +and follow me?”</span><a id="noteref_51" name="noteref_51" href="#note_51"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">51</span></span></a> Did He not declare that +we must die to live? that we must surrender +our life here, if we would keep it eternally? +<span class="tei tei-q">“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain +of wheat falling into the ground die, itself +remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth +forth much fruit. He that loveth his life +shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page123">[pg 123]</span><a name="Pg123" id="Pg123" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.”</span><a id="noteref_52" name="noteref_52" href="#note_52"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">52</span></span></a> +We cannot serve two masters, we cannot +serve God and mammon. If we would +seek to avoid all pain and sorrow, and spend +our lives in the pleasures of sense, we must +be prepared to forego the future joys of the +soul; if we would pass our days indulging +the flesh and chasing the phantoms of time, +we must needs make ready for the death of +the spirit and the forfeit of all that is lasting. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We have no choice, then; if we would +succeed eternally, we must follow the way +of the cross. This is the only way to life—to +that abundant, celestial life which our +Creator has wished us to live. And it is +the bearing of our cross, patiently and resignedly +to the will of God, together with +our other good works, that enables us to +merit, in so far as we can, the joys of the +kingdom of Heaven. But the sufferings +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page124">[pg 124]</span><a name="Pg124" id="Pg124" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and labors, so inevitable and necessary to +our earthly state, which serve as a means to +supernal rewards, have still another, deeper +meaning, and serve another purpose. We +cannot evade them, we must encounter them. +They are not only unavoidable, but necessary +to our dearest interests, as we see, since +they are strewn as thorns and brambles all +along the narrow way that leads to eternal +life. We cannot choose them or lay them +aside at will. We may, indeed, if we be +foolish and impious enough, refuse to walk +the narrow way of the just and choose the +broad road that leadeth to destruction; but +we shall not even thus escape the pains and +perils inseparable from this mortal life. Or +again, we may, in our folly, rebel against +the crosses and labors that confront and +pursue us; but whether we go this way or +that, whether we will it or not, we can no +more eschew all the evils of life than escape +from the air that we breathe. The pressure, +it is true, is not always upon us; we +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page125">[pg 125]</span><a name="Pg125" id="Pg125" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +are not, without ceasing, weighed down by +our labors and groaning to be delivered +from the body of this death. There is interruption, +there is passing pleasure, a rift +in the clouds and a smile of the sunshine +even for the darkest and poorest life. And +yet withal, we know and we are conscious +that we are ever under the sentence of death, +that life is a fleeting shadow, that like +</p> + +<div class="block tei tei-quote" style="margin-bottom: 1.80em; margin-left: 3.60em; margin-top: 1.80em; margin-right: 3.60em"> +<div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 0.90em; margin-top: 0.90em"> +<div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left"><span class="tei tei-q" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 90%">“</span><span style="font-size: 90%">A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,</span></span></div> +<div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left"><span class="tei tei-q" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 90%">Man passes from life to his rest in the grave.</span><span style="font-size: 90%">”</span></span></div> +</div> +</div> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +There is no evading the conclusion, therefore, +that the days of man in this world are +few and full of miseries. <span class="tei tei-q">“The life of man +upon earth is a warfare, and his days are +like the days of a hireling. He cometh +forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and +fleeth as a shadow.”</span><a id="noteref_53" name="noteref_53" href="#note_53"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">53</span></span></a> +<span class="tei tei-q">“For all flesh is as +grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower +of grass. The grass is withered, and the +flower thereof is fallen away.”</span><a id="noteref_54" name="noteref_54" href="#note_54"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">54</span></span></a> To the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page126">[pg 126]</span><a name="Pg126" id="Pg126" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +natural man all this is appalling, and how +frequently it finds its solution in unbridled +self-indulgence, in mental unbalance, and +self-destruction! But the saints, and all +the truly wise, have viewed the problem of +human suffering in a vastly different light. +They have discerned it, first of all, as really +distinctive of the road to Heaven, and as +essentially pertaining to the royal way of +the cross. They have understood that it +extinguishes the wrath of the heavenly +Father, that it atones for sin and makes the +soul conformable to our suffering Saviour, +and therefore have they loved it. And +more than this, those who have been led by +the wisdom of God have found, not only +that the crosses of life are essentially connected +with the way of salvation, but that +by them and through them alone we are +often <em class="tei tei-emph"><span style="font-style: italic">positively driven</span></em> to God. We may +try to avoid them, and at times, perhaps, +succeed; we may flee from them or endeavor +to still the voice of their pain; or, when +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page127">[pg 127]</span><a name="Pg127" id="Pg127" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +unable to escape them, we may, in our wrath +and desperation, rise up against them and +rebuke them: but they persistently remain, +they continue to haunt, as if to woo and to +win us to penetrate their deeper meaning, +and discover the treasure that in them lies +concealed. The very breakdown of human +things, the severing of human ties and relationships, +the loss of health and wealth, of +treasures and friends, and of all that life +holds dear, are really meant, in the deepest +sense, to drive us to the divine. This is the +meaning of those tears and sorrows, those +pains and sufferings, that loneliness, that +grief, that agony of heart and soul which +belong to this world of tears. All these are +intended to teach us that here below, on +this crumbling shore of time, we have no +abiding city, or home, or life, or love; but +seek a city, a home, a life, a love that hath +foundations, whose builder and maker is +God.<a id="noteref_55" name="noteref_55" href="#note_55"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">55</span></span></a> +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page128">[pg 128]</span><a name="Pg128" id="Pg128" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We need God, we were made for God, +and our nature, with all its longings and +powers, cries out for Him. And therefore +has God so arranged the world, in spite of +all its evils, and in spite of all our sinfulness, +that, if we do not prevent it, it will +lead us out to happiness—lead us out to +Himself. It was our sin that despoiled the +face of the world; but God, in His mercy, +has drawn good out of evil, He has made +the effects of sin minister to our advantage, +if we will but have it so. We may, forsooth, +refuse, because we are free; we may +object, and rebel, and oppose our lot; we +may take our destiny out of the hands of +our Creator and attempt to shape it for +ourselves; we may deride and despise the +humble, the lowly of heart, the patient, the +mortified and the suffering; we may upbraid +the Providence of God and its workings, +and refuse to submit to the rule of the +Creator; we may hold in derision and contempt +the little band that is sweetly marching +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page129">[pg 129]</span><a name="Pg129" id="Pg129" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the way of the cross, preferring for ourselves +the company of the multitude that +knows not God—all this can we do, because +we are free; but if such be our choice, and +if we persevere in it, our portion is fixed, +and we shall have at last only to say with +the wicked: <span class="tei tei-q">“Therefore we have erred from +the way of truth, and the light of justice +hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding +hath not risen upon us. We +wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity +and destruction, and have walked through +hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have +not known. What hath pride profited us? +or what advantage hath the boasting of +riches brought us? All those things are +passed away like a shadow, and like a post +that runneth on.”</span><a id="noteref_56" name="noteref_56" href="#note_56"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">56</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Sufferings, therefore, are common to all, +to the good and the bad, to the wise and the +foolish, to the children of light and to the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page130">[pg 130]</span><a name="Pg130" id="Pg130" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +children of darkness. But only those who +are directed by grace and light from above +are able to pierce the deeper meaning of +the cross. All have to bear it, but not all +understand it; all feel the weight of it, but +all do not know the power of it. Like fortune, +it knocks at every door, into every +heart it endeavors to enter and make known +its deeper significance, its hidden secrets, +lest any of us should suffer in vain, and our +lives be altogether a failure. To be able to +suffer patiently and gladly for God's sake, is +thus a great wisdom; it is a sign of future +blessedness. It is the wisdom of God, +which is foolishness to men. <span class="tei tei-q">“If thou hadst +the science of all the astronomers,”</span> says +Eternal Wisdom; <span class="tei tei-q">“if thou couldst speak +and discourse about God as fully and well +as all angels and men; if thou alone were +as learned as the whole body of doctors; all +this would not bestow on thee so much holiness +of life as if, in the afflictions that come +upon thee, thou art able to be resigned to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page131">[pg 131]</span><a name="Pg131" id="Pg131" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +Me and to abandon thyself to Me. The +former is common to good and bad, but +the latter belongs to My elect alone.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We know that our Saviour took upon +Himself the cross of sorrow and suffering, +not alone that He might satisfy for our +transgressions and be our ransom from +bondage, but also that He might be unto +us an example and a leader. And knowing +that our unfaithfulness had incurred severest +maladies from which none could escape, +He bore our infirmities and carried +our sorrows for us, in order that we, in our +time, might bear our inevitable afflictions +for His sake, for love of Him, and thereby +attain to unending glory with Him. <span class="tei tei-q">“For +the spirit himself giveth testimony to our +spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if +sons, heirs also; heirs, indeed of God, and +joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer +with him, that we may be also glorified with +him.”</span><a id="noteref_57" name="noteref_57" href="#note_57"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">57</span></span></a> +<span class="tei tei-q">“If you partake of the sufferings +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page132">[pg 132]</span><a name="Pg132" id="Pg132" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of Christ,”</span> says St. Peter, <span class="tei tei-q">“rejoice that when +his glory shall be revealed, you may also be +glad with exceeding joy.”</span><a id="noteref_58" name="noteref_58" href="#note_58"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">58</span></span></a> The chains of +sorrow which bind us here below, our Shepherd +thus would turn to golden cords of +love, which draw and hold us to Himself. +We cannot, as we see, ascend to Heaven, +rise to blessedness, except by the way of the +cross. And our degree of glory in Heaven, +the eternal happiness which we shall enjoy, +will be in proportion to the degree of charity +or love of God which our souls possess +at death; and this divine charity, which is +to measure our future beatitude, is acquired +and augmented by faithfully doing the will +of God—by patiently and lovingly bearing +the cross of life. Sacrifice is the test of love. +And hence the more we do and suffer for +Christ's sake, the more we prove our love +for Him and the greater shall be our happiness +in the kingdom of His Father. All +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page133">[pg 133]</span><a name="Pg133" id="Pg133" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +holy writers, all the masters of the spiritual +life agree in teaching that God particularly +chastises those whom He loves with a special +love. He proves the elect to find if +they are worthy of Himself.<a id="noteref_59" name="noteref_59" href="#note_59"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">59</span></span></a> He does not +spare them now, that He may spare them +hereafter; He tries them for a time, that +He may reward them forever; He seems +harsh with them here, during the time of +probation, only that He may draw them +closer to Himself everlastingly. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The devoted friends of God and the ardent +lovers of things spiritual have deeply +pondered these momentous truths. They +have realized that our days here, though +few and fast-flying, are really to determine +our lot and condition throughout the eternal +years. They have known that the passing +present is the price of the lasting future; +that this is the seeding time, and hereafter +the harvest. And because our future happiness +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page134">[pg 134]</span><a name="Pg134" id="Pg134" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +is to be in accord with our merits +here acquired, jealously have they sought +and embraced every present occasion to increase +their merits and their worthiness for +the glory that is to come. This is why they +have loved the cross, the symbol of salvation, +the emblem of victory; this, too, is why +they have felt disturbed and full of fear +when the cross was absent from them. Unlike +the unenlightened sufferer, who sees +only punishment in his pains, the saints of +God have ever accepted their crosses as a +sign of special love, a divine visitation, a +preparation for the great communion. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We see now how it is that the rod of chastisement +and the staff of mercy are able to +give joy and comfort to God's chosen +friends; and thus are they designed to console +and comfort everyone who is truly led +by faith and love. Sufferings are really a +blessing, but the eye of faith alone discerns +it. They keep us from present pleasures, +from hurtful occasions, from alluring vanities; +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page135">[pg 135]</span><a name="Pg135" id="Pg135" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +they direct us into the way of salvation, +they drive us to God, they increase the +glory of our eternal blessedness. What are +the trials of earth when compared with the +joys of Heaven? Rather, how precious are +they! since, if we use them aright, they lead +us out into a higher life, to a closer friendship +with God. And if, through the mercy +of our heavenly Father, we permit the cross +to lead us to His knees and enrich our lives +with His love, who can speak its infinite +value? What treasure can be likened to it? +Surely nothing that we know can surpass it +in worth. We might, indeed, enjoy all that +life can give; we might possess all riches, +all health, all success; we might have honor, +fame, glory, power; the praise and love of +men, the treasures of earthly friendship and +earthly affection—the whole world we +might gain and enjoy; but if through all +these, or in spite of all, we should not be led +to the love and friendship of God, we +should know only vanity, and life for us +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page136">[pg 136]</span><a name="Pg136" id="Pg136" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +would in its issue be nothing but a dismal +failure. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But if, on the contrary, through the sufferings +and losses, the deficiencies and limitations +of life, we have been led to make +God our dearest friend, if we have been +taught, by the coldness and harshness of +men, to take refuge in His love, how blessed +are we! how cheaply the purchase has been +made, even though it has meant the loss of +every passing good, of all that the world can +give, even the pouring out of our own life's +blood! +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Teach me, O my Master, in the day of +sorrow and tribulation, to understand the +meaning of the cross, to know the value of +my sufferings, to grasp the power and the +secret of Thy rod and Thy staff. Assist me +to see Thee through the darkness that surrounds +me; and give me to feel, in the midst +of loneliness and perils, amid pain and desolation, +the nearness to my soul of Thy loving-kindness, +and the strength of Thy merciful +presence. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page137">[pg 137]</span><a name="Pg137" id="Pg137" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc21" id="toc21"></a> +<a name="pdf22" id="pdf22"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in +the Presence of Mine Enemies.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In the preceding verses of the Shepherd +Psalm the Psalmist has described the constant +care of the shepherd for his sheep—the +rest and refreshment, the protection and +comfort he provides for them. And now, +in the present verse, he speaks of a feast he +has prepared for them, which is to be likened +to a bountiful banquet—a banquet +which they are to enjoy, a feast which they +are to consume, in the sight of their enemies, +in the presence of the evils that afflict them. +He refers, at first, to the manner of preparing +or spreading a table in the Orient. +Often the custom of olden times was not +much different from that which prevails +among the Arabs even today. To prepare +a table means with them simply to spread +a skin or a cloth or a mat on the ground. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page138">[pg 138]</span><a name="Pg138" id="Pg138" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And it is to this kind of table that the +Psalmist refers when he sings of the feast +of the sheep. He means nothing more than +that he has provided for his flock in the +face of their enemies a rich pasture, a +spreading slope, where they shall feed with +contentment and peace, in spite of the evils +that surround them. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But the quiet and peace which the sheep +enjoy, while partaking of their spread-out +banquet, are entirely owing to the protecting +presence of the shepherd. And it frequently +happens that here again the utmost +skill and diligence of the shepherd are +called into play in thus securing the peace +and safety of his flock. The most abundant +pastures are many times interspersed with +noxious weeds and plants, which, if eaten, +would sicken and poison the herd; while +around the feeding places and grazing +grounds very often lie hid, in thickets and +holes and caves in the hillsides, wild animals, +such as jackals, wolves and panthers, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page139">[pg 139]</span><a name="Pg139" id="Pg139" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +ready to spring out, at the critical moment, +and devour the innocent sheep. The shepherd +is aware of all these evils and enemies +of his tender flock; and he goes ahead and +prepares the way, avoiding the poisonous +grasses, and driving away, or slaying, if +need be, the beasts that menace the peace +and security of the pasture. The evils are +not entirely dispelled, but only sufficiently +removed or held in check so as not to imperil +the flock. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Such is the table prepared for the sheep +by their provident and watchful shepherd; +and such is the feast of which they partake +with quiet joy in the sight and presence of +their enemies. But, as just said, the tranquil +joy which is theirs comes not from the +fact that danger has been all removed, nor +from the fact that they have become hardened +and used to its presence. They know +it is always near; and they are conscious, as +far as animals can be, of their own utter +helplessness, if left to themselves, to survive +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page140">[pg 140]</span><a name="Pg140" id="Pg140" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +an attack of their powerful enemies. But +they do not fear, they are not disturbed or +anxious, solely for the reason that they feel +their shepherd is present, and they know he +will guard and protect them. Hence the +Psalmist is speaking for the sheep when he +says to the shepherd with a tone of confident +joy, <span class="tei tei-q">“Thou spreadest before me a table +in the presence of mine enemies.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The spiritual meaning of this, like the +other verses of the Shepherd Psalm, is peculiarly +descriptive of our Lord, the Good +Shepherd of human souls. He, in a manner +altogether divine, precedes His elect, +and prepares them the way of salvation. +He does not deliver them from enemies and +dangers, which would be unnatural in the +present state, but He makes use of evils, as +said before, to increase the perfection of +His chosen souls. Gradually, step by step, +from a natural He leads them to a higher +state—from diffidence to trust, from fear to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page141">[pg 141]</span><a name="Pg141" id="Pg141" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +love, from sorrow and anguish to peace and +joy. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The change in the soul is rarely at once +and immediate; it does not come of a sudden. +At first it is difficult and repugnant +to nature to find joy in sorrow and pleasure +in pain, to see gladness in tears and rest in +disturbance, to find peace in the midst of +our enemies; but God, in His omnipotent +goodness, so disposes and provides for the +souls of His elect that sooner or later they +penetrate to the meaning of things, and find +there their hidden treasure. When the fabric +of life itself has crumbled to its native +dust, when friends have gone and charms +departed, when the very earth we tread +seems trembling beneath our feet, and every +dream of earthly bliss is fled, when enemies +sit where loved ones sat, and the heart has +all but ceased to beat, then is the acceptable +time and propitious moment, for the devout +and faithful soul, that has washed its garments +in the blood of the Lamb, to look up +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page142">[pg 142]</span><a name="Pg142" id="Pg142" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +to Heaven with expectant joy. The thrilling +vision of eternal love so much desired, +so long perhaps delayed, is then, indeed, +about to dawn. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The sweetness of God and the peace of +His spirit are not to be found in the market +place, nor in the noise and clamor of the +busy street. It is not at the banquets of +earthly kings that we taste of the joys of the +Saviour's feast. It is not amid honors and +riches and the pleasures of sense that the +calm dews of Heaven refresh the soul. We +were made for a higher friendship, for a +more intimate union, for a sweeter companionship +than any that earth can provide. +And it is only when the door has been shut +to the outer world, when the vanities of time +have ceased to be sought, that the soul is +ready for the wedding garment, and able to +prepare for the marriage feast. It is in the +inner sanctuary and alone, divested of fleshy +trammels and freed from the bondage of +earthly attachments, that the soul is able to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page143">[pg 143]</span><a name="Pg143" id="Pg143" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +meet its God and hold intimate converse +with Him. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +There are few, comparatively, out of the +multitude of souls that are called to the +feast which is spread for them, that ever sit +down at the Master's table. Many are invited, +and the servant is sent out at the hour +of supper to say to them that were called, +that all things are ready, and that they +should come; but they tarry, they are not +ready, they begin to make excuses and wish +to be held excused. Some are entangled in +perishable riches and cannot leave their +possessions; others are preoccupied with +worldly affairs and must not neglect their +business; still others are pursuing the pleasures +of earth, and have no time for the +things of Heaven. But the feast is not for +these, after all. The Master invites them, +He calls them, He sends His ministers in +search of them, He reproves and chides +them, He thunders against them to make +them hear and obey; but they will not come, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page144">[pg 144]</span><a name="Pg144" id="Pg144" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +they shall never taste of His banquet. He +has not spread a table for the proud, the +haughty, the arrogant; He cannot meet in +loving communion the worldly, the sensuous, +the lovers of ease and hurtful pleasures. +Such as these are not prepared to +meet Him; they would be out of place and +ill at ease in His company, they do not like +His society.<a id="noteref_60" name="noteref_60" href="#note_60"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">60</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +To be able to come to the Master and to +sit at His feast there is need of preparation. +The garments of the world must be changed +for the garments of Heaven, the ways of +men must be made to yield to the ways of +God. For what is wisdom with men is +foolishness with God,<a id="noteref_61" name="noteref_61" href="#note_61"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">61</span></span></a> the weak things of +earth are the strong things of Heaven, the +outcast of the world are the chosen of the +Father Almighty. And hence our Saviour +under the figure of the master in the parable +who prepared a great supper, says of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page145">[pg 145]</span><a name="Pg145" id="Pg145" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +all those who will not hear Him, who neglect +His divine inspirations and despise the +call of His ministers, that they shall never +taste of His feast. But who, then, shall sit +down at His table? for whom has He prepared +the banquet? He tells us Himself, +that those who shall partake of His supper +are the lowly, the humble, the poor, the +lame, and the blind; the despised of men +and the outcast of the people; those who +have known sorrow and suffering and penance, +who have found the way of the cross +and embraced it; who, for the kingdom of +Heaven and the love of Christ crucified, +have given up father, and mother, and wife, +and children, and brethren and sisters; yea, +and their own life also, that they might inherit +everlasting crowns that fade not +away.<a id="noteref_62" name="noteref_62" href="#note_62"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">62</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +St. Paul was one of these masterful spirits, +who surrendered all that he had, all that +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page146">[pg 146]</span><a name="Pg146" id="Pg146" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +he prized most dearly for love of Christ +and His service. <span class="tei tei-q">“The things that were +gain to me,”</span> he says, <span class="tei tei-q">“the same have I +counted loss for Christ. Furthermore, I +count all things to be but loss for the excellent +knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for +whom I have suffered the loss of all things, +and count them but as waste, that I may +gain Christ.”</span><a id="noteref_63" name="noteref_63" href="#note_63"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">63</span></span></a> What a struggle, too, was +that which St. Augustine describes, speaking +of his own conversion! The parting +with those sinful delights which had hitherto +held him in chains was like the forfeiture +of all he possessed, and it seemed to +him that life thereafter would not be worth +living; yet he generously and vigorously +gave them up that Christ might become his +possession. He has also described for us +the change. <span class="tei tei-q">“How sweet,”</span> he says, <span class="tei tei-q">“did it +at once become to me to want the sweetness +of those trifles, which to lose had been my +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page147">[pg 147]</span><a name="Pg147" id="Pg147" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +fear, but which to have lost was now a joy! +Thou didst cast them forth from me, oh +Thou true and highest sweetness! Thou +didst cast them forth, and in their stead +didst enter in Thyself, sweeter than all +pleasure!”</span><a id="noteref_64" name="noteref_64" href="#note_64"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">64</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is such as these, heroic souls, who for +the sake of God and His kingdom, have +made the world their enemy, that compose +the company of the elect. And for these +alone it is that the Shepherd of souls has +spread a table of rest and peace, even in this +life, of which they partake in the sight of +their enemies, in the presence of those who +think evil of them, who despise and deride +them, in the sight of the world which hates +them. These holy souls, the elect of God, +whom the Father has chosen for Himself, +have learned, through the trials and losses +of life, the lessons of peace and detachment +which crosses are intended to teach. They +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page148">[pg 148]</span><a name="Pg148" id="Pg148" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +have learned, by exclusion and retirement +from worldly festivities and pernicious delights, +to draw near to God, out of love for +His beauty and mercy, or if only to ease +their breaking hearts and dispel the loneliness +of their forsaken lives. In the words +of the Psalmist, they have tasted and seen +that the Lord is sweet, and that there is no +one like unto God.<a id="noteref_65" name="noteref_65" href="#note_65"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">65</span></span></a> With the image of +the Crucified before their eyes and conscious +of the presence of their loving Shepherd, +they greet with delight the sufferings that +oppress them, and they feast in peace in the +presence of their enemies. They know that +all is arranged or permitted by the hand +that guards them, and by the One that loves +them; and, though He slay them, yet will +they trust Him.<a id="noteref_66" name="noteref_66" href="#note_66"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">66</span></span></a> For what can happen to +those that love God? what evil can befall +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page149">[pg 149]</span><a name="Pg149" id="Pg149" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +them? Angels have charge over them to +keep them in all their ways.<a id="noteref_67" name="noteref_67" href="#note_67"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">67</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is confidence, therefore, in their Saviour +and God that gives peace and tranquillity +to the souls of the just. To know Him, +to love Him, to trust Him, to dwell in His +presence and to please Him, throughout all +the vicissitudes and evils of life, are the objects +of their constant actions and the highest +aspirations of their fervid souls. Confident +of the favor and protection of God, +and rooted in His love, they despise all pain +and the threats of men; and in the midst of +the battle of life they rejoice in a peace of +mind and soul of which the worldling cannot +dream. The pasture in which they feed, +the banquet of which they partake are nothing +else than the love and friendship of God +which nourishes and refreshes their spirits +when to every mortal eye they seem destitute, +abandoned and alone. And this peace +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page150">[pg 150]</span><a name="Pg150" id="Pg150" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of God, which surpasseth all understanding,<a id="noteref_68" name="noteref_68" href="#note_68"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">68</span></span></a> +develops in souls truly spiritual a +habit of mind and a character of life that +even here below partake of the stability and +calm sense of victory which, in their perfection, +belong only to the state of the blessed +in Heaven. They feel that all things are +possible to them through Him that strengtheneth +them,<a id="noteref_69" name="noteref_69" href="#note_69"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">69</span></span></a> and that no temporal affliction, +no power of man or any creature shall +wrest from them the feast which they enjoy. +And hence they are able to ask, in the confident +words of the Apostle, <span class="tei tei-q">“Who shall separate +us from the love of Christ? Shall +tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness; +or danger, or persecution, or the +sword ... In all these things we +overcome, because of him that hath loved +us. Therefore we are sure that neither +death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, +nor powers, nor things present, nor +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page151">[pg 151]</span><a name="Pg151" id="Pg151" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +things to come, nor might, nor height, nor +depth, nor any other creature, shall be able +to separate us from the love of God, which +is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”</span><a id="noteref_70" name="noteref_70" href="#note_70"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">70</span></span></a> +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page152">[pg 152]</span><a name="Pg152" id="Pg152" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc23" id="toc23"></a> +<a name="pdf24" id="pdf24"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; +My Cup Runneth Over.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +In these words the Psalmist alludes to one +of the most touching offices performed by +the good shepherd towards his sheep. The +day is drawing to a close, the golden orb of +light has sunk to rest, and the shadows are +creeping up the hills. The hush of night +is falling round, and the shepherd must +gather his flock into the fold. The labors, +the journeys, the trials, the wanderings of +the day are over, and now comes the time +for rest. It is a scene full of peace, and the +sheep greet its approach with feelings of +restful anticipation. Many of them are +foot-sore and lame; many have received +bruises and scratches during the journeyings +of the day; some have gaping and +bleeding wounds from the attacks of wild +beasts; while others are simply tired out +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page153">[pg 153]</span><a name="Pg153" id="Pg153" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and exhausted from the long walks and +steep climbing of hills. The shepherd +knows all this, and before leading them into +rest he takes care to see that the wounds of +all are dressed and soothed, so that nothing +shall disturb the sweet repose of their sleep. +For this purpose he stands at the door of +the fold as the sheep pass in. He has olive +oil and cedar-tar to use as healing ointments +for their wounds, and he has cool, refreshing +water for those that are worn and weary. +Lovingly and tenderly he regards each +member, as one by one they enter into rest; +and they that are wounded or over-weary +he holds back with his rod, till their scars +and sores are duly cared for and made +ready for the night's repose. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +How closely these offices performed for +the sheep by the shepherd resemble the care +of our Father and Saviour providing at the +end for the souls that He loves! He has +been with them all through life, leading, +guiding, guarding, shepherding them at all +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page154">[pg 154]</span><a name="Pg154" id="Pg154" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +times, going before them with the blessings +of goodness. And when at length the end +approaches, they feel the need of His loving-kindness +perhaps more than ever before. +Like the shepherd's flock, their needs are +many and various. Some souls there are +who, through the special grace of God, are +able to pass their lives in innocence and +holiness, living in the world, yet not of it, +dwelling in the midst of men and in the +sight of their wickedness and sin, yet undefiled +withal, beautiful witnesses of the +power and love of Him that strengthens +and preserves them. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But the majority are not thus favored. +Notwithstanding all their graces, they have +been subject to falls—perhaps to many +grievous falls; they have suffered many +wounds and bruises, they have had many +tears to shed. Multitudes there are, in fact, +who come down to the verge of life, to the +very gate of death, sin-stained, racked and +wounded, their life blood ebbing out +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page155">[pg 155]</span><a name="Pg155" id="Pg155" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +through sores and wounds which they themselves +have made by wilful open friendship +with sin and vice, the deadly foes of their +souls. We have many varying examples of +these straying souls. There is the type of +Mary Magdalen, of St. Peter, of St. Paul, +of St. Augustine, who passed a portion, +brief or prolonged, of their mortal days far +from the Father's home, feeding on the +husks of swine; but who, while yet in the +vigor of life, felt the touch of the merciful +hand and heard the sound of the loving +voice, leading them, calling them back to +God, back to the <span class="tei tei-q">“beauty ever ancient and +ever new.”</span> Such souls as these, it is true, +constitute one class of erring, but repenting +sinners; but there is another class whose +plight is far more pitiable. They are those +long-delayed, but finally repentant sinners, +men and women who have lived their lives +away from the Church and its sacraments, +who have grown old and gray in the sins of +their youth, and now, at the last, when death +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page156">[pg 156]</span><a name="Pg156" id="Pg156" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +is coming, are moved, by a special grace +from Heaven, to weep for their sins and +wasted years before they enter their eternal +abode. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +For each and all of these how important +it is that the Shepherd should stand at the +door of the fold and bind up their wounds +with His tender grace before they pass +through the portals of death! Scarred and +wayward children, victims of evil circumstances, +creatures of vanity and of folly, +they realize at the end how impotent they +are, how helpless in the presence of the +coldness of death to redeem or make sure +the years that are fled, unless He draw near +and assist them who has sustained them in +life, and who is at once the author and the +master of both life and death! +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But for all, without exception, the need +of the Shepherd is imperative at the end. +The victory, the happy issue of life's struggle, +<span class="tei tei-q">“is not of him that willeth, nor of him +that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”</span><a id="noteref_71" name="noteref_71" href="#note_71"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">71</span></span></a> +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page157">[pg 157]</span><a name="Pg157" id="Pg157" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +All may run, all may strive, indeed, +for the prize of eternal life, but none can be +sure, short of the mercy of God, that he will +be saved; none can merit this crowning +glory of life. Whether young or old, +whether favored or neglected, whether innocent +or guilty, whether the life has been +dowered with special blessings and never +known the stain of grievous sin, or whether +it has been eked out amidst deepest misery +and defiled with hateful crimes, the same +uncertainty for all remains as to the manner +in which the end shall come. Men may +reason and conjecture, from what they see +and know, that this one or that is in God's +favor, and shall so persevere to the end; that +the members of a certain family, or class, +or station in life, are sure to be saved, and +shall never fall short; but that those of another +class or condition shall, on the contrary, +die as they have lived, in the filth of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page158">[pg 158]</span><a name="Pg158" id="Pg158" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +their sins, to be forever in torment. But +these are the reasonings of men, which are +of no avail in the sight of God. It is only +the Father in Heaven who knows the elect. +He alone is able to tell who shall remain to +be crowned, and who is to be condemned. +Perseverance is a gratuitous gift of God, we +cannot merit it. All our good actions and +holy deeds, which are performed in the state +of grace and out of a motive of charity, do, +it is true, merit a reward in Heaven, they +tend to increase our blessedness hereafter; +but just as it is not in our power to merit +the first grace, by which we are raised from +a state of sin, so are we utterly unable to do +anything which shall secure for a certainty +the final grace, by which alone we can be +saved. Wherefore the Preacher said: <span class="tei tei-q">“All +these things have I considered in my heart, +that I might carefully understand them: +there are just men and wise men, and their +works are in the hand of God; and yet man +knoweth not whether he be worthy of love +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page159">[pg 159]</span><a name="Pg159" id="Pg159" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +or hatred. But all things are kept uncertain +for the time to come, because all things +equally happen to the just and to the wicked, +to the good and to the evil, to the clean and +to the unclean, to him that offereth victims, +and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the +good is, so also is the sinner; as the perjured, +so he also that sweareth truth.”</span><a id="noteref_72" name="noteref_72" href="#note_72"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">72</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This uncertainty as to the end of life, and +of the gift of final perseverance, all holy +souls have felt. To die in the friendship +of God, and thence to enjoy His presence +forever, is a gift of so transcendent a nature, +so far above our natural powers and utmost +deserts that no creature, which can at all +conceive it, would dare claim it as a right. +It was this conviction that made the saints +tremble to think of it. This it was that +prompted St. Paul to admonish the Philippians +to work out their salvation with fear +and trembling,<a id="noteref_73" name="noteref_73" href="#note_73"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">73</span></span></a> and that also evoked from +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page160">[pg 160]</span><a name="Pg160" id="Pg160" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the same Apostle those candid words concerning +himself: <span class="tei tei-q">“I chastise my body, and +bring it into subjection; lest, perhaps, when +I have preached to others, I myself should +become a castaway.”</span><a id="noteref_74" name="noteref_74" href="#note_74"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">74</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And have we not sometimes witnessed instances +which, so far as man can judge, give +ground for this fear as to perseverance, and +emphasize the great truth that to die in +God's favor is, indeed, a singular and a +gratuitous gift? How many have we not +known who started well, but terminated ill! +How many are innocent and holy in youth +and give every promise of splendid manhood, +but fade and drop, like poisoned +flowers, ere the age of maturity has dawned! +How many are able to pass through the +most critical period of their lives, unshaken +and undefiled, full of faith, hope, love, +purity; but who, when the age of security +is thought to have come, lose the grip which +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page161">[pg 161]</span><a name="Pg161" id="Pg161" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +seemed so firm, turn to evil, yield to vicious +habits, and die reprobates of God! Look +at King Solomon! Who was ever more +promising than he in his youth? Who ever +gave fairer prospects of continued holiness +and of a beautiful end? He was so lovely, +so amiable, so favored of God in the morning +of life; graced with such high perfections, +not knowing evil, a stranger to vice, +a lover of sanctity, of wisdom, and of grace. +It would seem that he could never fall—he +who was the object of such unwonted favors, +who dwelt so supremely in the smile of +Heaven. But lo, and behold the end of him +who had received so many graces, who chose +wisdom as his handmaid that he might be +guided aright! Behold that youthful figure, +so full of promise and goodly hope, +praying to God that he might never deviate +from the ways of grace; and then see the +gray-haired apostate tottering to the grave, +borne down by the weight of his sins and of +his years! And how many more there have +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page162">[pg 162]</span><a name="Pg162" id="Pg162" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +been, like King Saul, like Renan and Voltaire, +and numerous others that we ourselves +perhaps have known, who were great and +good in youth, and for a term of years, but +whose end was a miserable failure! +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Our perseverance, then, or the favor to die +in the state of grace, is not of ourselves, not +the reward of our efforts, or of our good +works, <span class="tei tei-q">“but of God that sheweth mercy.”</span> +We must do all in our power to merit eternal +life; we must press on to the mark, waging +ceaseless battle in behalf of God and of +our souls, even to the last moment; but for +the happy end of it all we must perforce +rely on the tender mercy of God. This is +why our Lord, before He departed from +earth, prayed to His heavenly Father for +His disciples: <span class="tei tei-q">“Holy Father, keep them in +Thy name whom Thou hast given me; ... +I pray not that thou shouldst take them out +of the world; but that thou shouldst keep +them from evil.”</span><a id="noteref_75" name="noteref_75" href="#note_75"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">75</span></span></a> This same truth the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page163">[pg 163]</span><a name="Pg163" id="Pg163" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +Psalmist also had in mind when he prayed: +<span class="tei tei-q">“Perfect thou my goings in thy paths, that +my footsteps be not moved.”</span><a id="noteref_76" name="noteref_76" href="#note_76"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">76</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is this appalling uncertainty about the +end and outcome of life, together with our +own inability to make them secure, that +makes death so terrible to the minds and +thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians +and well-living persons. They fear to fall +into the hands of the living God. For them +the present life may be not so attractive; on +the contrary, it is likely replete with pain +and toil; but somehow they wish to linger +here, preferring that which is certain, although +so miserable, to that which is doubtful, +perhaps awful and irreparable. So +long as they continue in this present world +there is chance for change, there is hope of +improvement. But when death intervenes, +and the soul is removed to the other life, all +hopes of change are swept away, and the lot +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page164">[pg 164]</span><a name="Pg164" id="Pg164" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of the soul is fixed for eternity. There is, +of course, a fear of death which is altogether +natural. Many dread death who pretend +not to believe in a future life, or even in the +existence of God. And many there are +whose lives are holy, and who have not +whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, +nevertheless, the very thought of death is +fraught with all manner of terrors. As +some are naturally afraid in the absence of +light, and tremble with fear at being alone +in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or +place, so there are many who, without assignable +reason, other than a native tendency, +are appalled at the thought of death. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But when all due allowances have been +made for the uncertainty of final perseverance, +and for the anxiety arising from natural +temperament, it seems not too much to +say that, for the most part, the fear and +dread of death which haunts so many Christians +can be reduced to two causes: a defect +of faith or a love of the world. It is one +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page165">[pg 165]</span><a name="Pg165" id="Pg165" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of these causes, or both of them together, +which alone can explain, in the majority +of cases, why such numbers of Christians +and Catholics are unwilling to surrender +the present life, and are disturbed at the +very thought of dying. Either they do not +realize by faith the surpassing glories of the +life beyond—doubting its reality, questioning +its nature, misunderstanding the goodness +and mercy of God; or else they are so +attached to the present existence that all +serious thought and desire for a better life +are excluded from their minds and hearts. +Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual +life is indicated by the answers we give +to the following questions: <span class="tei tei-q">“Do I love to +think of God? Am I willing to suffer for +God? Does my desire to be with Him destroy +my fear of death?”</span> We do not fear to +meet or to be with one whom we really love, +for <span class="tei tei-q">“love casteth out fear.”</span> There is no +dread at the coming of the parent or friend +whom we truly love, unless, perchance, we +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page166">[pg 166]</span><a name="Pg166" id="Pg166" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +have offended him, and lack full faith that +we have been forgiven and reinstated in his +favor and friendship. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +So it is with God. If we are unwilling +to meet Him, or filled with fear at the approach +of His coming, it seems of a certainty +that our faith is at fault. Why should +we not wish to meet Him who has made +us, who loves us, who has washed away our +sins with His own blood, who alone can +comfort our trembling souls and fill us with +every good? Perhaps we have sinned and +betrayed our Maker many times and grievously +in our lives, and the voices of those +sins are haunting us, and bidding us beware +of the hour of death and of the judgment +that follows. Perhaps there is a lurking +suspicion that we have not been forgiven, a +temptation that we are not sincere, a feeling +that our sins are too grave to be pardoned, a +conviction that we do not belong to the +company of the elect. We may have notions, +moreover, altogether severe, of the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page167">[pg 167]</span><a name="Pg167" id="Pg167" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +nature of God and of His justice; we feel +His immensity and sanctity, we have heard +so much of His ineffable beauty, that, +weighed down with a sense of our nothingness, +of our poverty and misery and sinfulness, +we cannot but shudder at the thought +of appearing in His presence. These and +similar terrors may take hold of us and fill +us with a dread of death; but is it not clear +that, whatever their cause, these fears are +born of a lack of faith? We do not trust, +as we ought, the Shepherd that loves us, we +are not convinced of His mercy and kindness, +if we do not believe with child-like +confidence that He stands ready ever to forgive +and bless the least of His children that +humbly and sincerely seek Him, asking for +the help they need. The severity of God +toward sinners endures only so long as they +refuse to acknowledge their guilt. His +harshness with them, like that of Joseph +with his brethren, is but love in disguise; +and as soon as they are brought to own their +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page168">[pg 168]</span><a name="Pg168" id="Pg168" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +guilt, that which before was the anger of +God is swiftly turned into His love and +mercy. Christ did not come to destroy, but +to save. He will not crush the broken reed, +nor extinguish the smoking flax.<a id="noteref_77" name="noteref_77" href="#note_77"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">77</span></span></a> <span class="tei tei-q">“As a +father hath compassion on his children, so +hath the Lord compassion on them that fear +him; for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth +that we are dust.”</span><a id="noteref_78" name="noteref_78" href="#note_78"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">78</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But there is also the love of the world, +which enslaves so many. So numerous and +so bewitching are the attractions of the present +life that they are loath to leave them. +It is a beautiful world, this universe of ours, +so deep, so wide, so vast! It is filled with +pleasures and allurements and graced with +myriad charms; and he, indeed, seems cold +of heart who can easily turn from its enchanting +beauties, and close his ear to its +manifold voices. Ponder for a moment the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page169">[pg 169]</span><a name="Pg169" id="Pg169" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +richness of nature, its similarity and variety, +its sameness and its diversity; consider the +abundance of the harvest—the glowing +fruits, the green and golden crops, the sweet-scented +flowers and gift-bearing grasses; see +the stars above and the waters beneath—all +the wonders of earth and sky; and then +when you have ranged over fields and waves +and mountains, when you have climbed up +the steeps of the sky and gazed on the marvels +of the heavens, descend again to earth +and consider the human form—the chiefest +work of the Almighty hand, and the crown +of the natural world. What beauties are +here concealed! What a mingling of material +and spiritual, of human and almost +divine! What words can express, what lines +portray the beauty of the human countenance? +Who can describe or adequately +define the loveliness that streams from human +eyes, or echoes from the human voice? +And yet these are but the outer fringes and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page170">[pg 170]</span><a name="Pg170" id="Pg170" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +dimmest glimpses of the beauties of the soul +that dwells within. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +How painful, then, it is for the worldly +to forsake the beauties and pleasures of this +present life. Bound down to their beds of +clay by the things of sense, they are grieved +to part with a life so full of diverse attractions. +How can they think undismayed of +closing forever their eyes and ears to these +charms of color and sound! It is such a +difficult thing, and so hard to nature, to +abandon these scenes of enticing pleasure, to +bid farewell to those that are dear and be +hurried away alone and forlorn to the chill +and gloom of the grave. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +So reason the children of the world; but +are not their reasonings and feelings a proof +of their little faith, and of their poor conceptions +of spiritual and eternal interests? +They do not want to leave the world, because +they love it; and they love the world, +because their faith is too weak to raise them +to a vision of higher things. The plain on +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page171">[pg 171]</span><a name="Pg171" id="Pg171" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +which they stand is too low clearly to see +the things of Heaven. How poor and +trifling at best is the earth and all it contains +to Him who beholds with a vivid faith the +world above that is to come! How gladly +does he lay down his life and give up the +struggle with ceaseless battles, who sees by +faith, just beyond the portals of death, the +great home of the blessed, spread out like +a city on the mountains, bathed in light inaccessible, +full of joy and unending gladness, +where <span class="tei tei-q">“death shall be no more, nor +mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be +any more.”</span><a id="noteref_79" name="noteref_79" href="#note_79"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">79</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The man of faith, therefore, is in no wise +straightened or disturbed by the approach +of death. He has learned to know and to +trust the good Master whom he serves. Like +the Apostle, he is only concerned that Christ +should be glorified in him at all times and in +all things, <span class="tei tei-q">“whether it be by life or by +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page172">[pg 172]</span><a name="Pg172" id="Pg172" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +death;”</span> for to him also, <span class="tei tei-q">“to live is Christ, +and to die is gain.”</span><a id="noteref_80" name="noteref_80" href="#note_80"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">80</span></span></a> He lives in the world, +but is not of it; he treads the ways of earth, +but he really belongs to the kingdom above. +Hence his cup of interior peace is ever running +over. Though surrounded by many +evils, he does not faint; though tempted exceedingly, +he does not yield; but is joyous +and peaceful withal; because at all times +and in all things he feels himself to be the +faithful servant of God, <span class="tei tei-q">“in much patience, +in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in +strifes, in prisons, in seditions, in labors, in +watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, +in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the +Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned; ... +as dying, and yet living; as chastised, and +not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; +as needy, yet enriching many; as having +nothing, yet possessing all things.”</span><a id="noteref_81" name="noteref_81" href="#note_81"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">81</span></span></a> +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page173">[pg 173]</span><a name="Pg173" id="Pg173" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +<span class="tei tei-q">“Precious in the sight of God is the death +of His Saints.”</span> As they have lived for +Christ, they gladly welcome the summons +that calls them home to rest. Calmly and +fearlessly they go down to death; joyously +and with feelings of exultation they hail the +coming of Him on whom their thoughts +have rested throughout life, of Him whom +they have ever seen by faith, whom they +have loved, whom they have trusted, whom +they have chosen for their own. Confident +of the power and goodness of their faithful +Shepherd, pain daunts them not, the enemy +frets them not. The last hour for them is +not one of darkness, but of light; it is not a +time for lamentations, but for joyous and +gladsome strains. The end may be sudden, +or it may be gradual in its approach; it may +come early, or late in life; it may be at home +or abroad; it may be in the winter, or it +may be in summer; on the sea or on the +land; but to the just and spiritual it can +never be a surprise, it can never be lonely, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page174">[pg 174]</span><a name="Pg174" id="Pg174" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +never sad. It is the time for which they +have always longed—a time of liberation, +of emancipation from the trammels of earth +and flesh, the end of continuous dying and +the beginning of lasting life. What a supreme +moment, what a joyous event is death +for a just and holy soul! What sweet emotions +must thrill the spirit, as the Saviour +stoops over the bed of death to wipe away +forever the last of earthly tears! Mary is +there to hush the voice of reproach and to +whisper words of peace; Jesus has come to +claim the soul and take it to Himself, and +flights of angels are waiting to sing it to its +rest. +</p> + +</div> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page175">[pg 175]</span><a name="Pg175" id="Pg175" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> +<a name="toc25" id="toc25"></a> +<a name="pdf26" id="pdf26"></a> +<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow +Me All the Days of My Life; +and I Shall Dwell in the House of +the Lord Unto Length of Days.</span></h1> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +If the tender lambs and timid sheep of the +shepherd's flock could speak the sentiments +of their innocent hearts, each one would +certainly voice the words which here the +Psalmist has uttered for them all. Throughout +the live-long day, throughout all the +days of their lives, they experience the shepherd's +goodness, they are the objects of his +constant mercy. He has been caring for +them since their birth; he has led them out +each morning, since first they were able to +walk; he has provided them with food, and +led them to water; and he has ever been +present to shield them from harm, and to +protect them from their enemies. After +such repeated experiences and trials of his +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page176">[pg 176]</span><a name="Pg176" id="Pg176" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +loving-kindness, they have grown accustomed +to his faithfulness and are filled with +love of his goodness and mercy. And while +they have not the power of speech, and cannot +by words express their feelings, they do +by the louder voice of action—by their quiet +trust in his care, by their habitual mildness +and gentleness and quick response to his +every word, by the absence of solicitude and +fear in view of his presence—by these and +all the other actions that speak their simple +hearts they show their love for their shepherd. +Though often wounded and bleeding +and exhausted from the roughness and +length of their journeys, they have no distrust +about the future, no fear for the morrow. +In the midst of distress the shepherd, +they know, will provide. The Psalmist, +therefore, in the closing words of the shepherd +song, gives utterance to the feelings of +the sheep when he sings: <span class="tei tei-q">“Surely goodness +and mercy shall follow me all the days of +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page177">[pg 177]</span><a name="Pg177" id="Pg177" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +my life, and I shall dwell in the house of +the Lord unto length of days.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But here, as in the opening verse of the +Shepherd Psalm, the words of the sacred +Singer, although truly expressive of the +sentiments of the sheep, are more directly +the expression of his own inner feelings, +and of the feelings of all faithful souls towards +the Lord who rules and guides them. +All those whose lives have been really and +sincerely led by faith, have, like the shepherd's +flock, grown trustfully accustomed, +in the course of years, to the goodness and +mercy, to the faithfulness and love of the +hand that provides for them. As they look +into their lives, and retrace the steps they +have taken, they cannot fail to see how God +has been always with them, patiently enduring +their faults, mercifully binding +up their wounds and hurts, and lovingly +leading, drawing them to Himself. +They can see their advancement, slow perhaps +as it has been; and they know it is +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page178">[pg 178]</span><a name="Pg178" id="Pg178" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +God who has given the increase. Looking +now at their lives through the perspective +of the years that are gone, how many problems +they are able to solve! for how many +apparent mysteries they have found an explanation! +All those crosses and trials, all +those struggles and battles with the enemy, +all those attacks from within and assaults +from without, all, in fact, that they have +ever endured, their sins alone excepted, they +now can trace, through the light of faith, +back to the hand of their Father in Heaven. +Not everything, forsooth, has yet been explained, +but enough, indeed, is sufficiently +clear to remove every doubt from the faithful +soul as to the goodness and Providence +of God. And hence she exclaims with the +Psalmist, out of the abundance of her faith +and confidence, <span class="tei tei-q">“Surely goodness and mercy +shall follow me all the days of my life; and +I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”</span> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is doubtless a lack of implicit trust in +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page179">[pg 179]</span><a name="Pg179" id="Pg179" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +God and divine Providence which, more +than anything else, accounts for the unhappiness +and spiritual barrenness of so many +Christian and religious lives. Poor and +scanty is the fruit they yield, simply because +they have no depth of soil, they are not +deeply and firmly rooted in faith and confidence +in God. Like reeds shaken by the +wind, like houses built on the sand, they +tremble and shake with every blast, they +are all but overturned by every tempest that +rises. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Nor is it wonderful that this should be so. +The higher gifts of the spirit come from +God, and hence the good fruit which the +spirit yields is also traceable back to Him. +<span class="tei tei-q">“We do not gather grapes from thorns nor +figs from thistles; and as a good tree cannot +bring forth evil fruit, so neither can an +evil tree bring forth good fruit.”</span><a id="noteref_82" name="noteref_82" href="#note_82"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">82</span></span></a> And +just because the abundance of the harvest +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page180">[pg 180]</span><a name="Pg180" id="Pg180" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of the spiritual life is dependent upon God +as its giver, is it strange that any distrust of +Him and His Providence should be a great +hindrance to the soul's advancement, and +to the bestowal of the constant help it needs? +Can God be pleased with those who do not +confide in Him, and who do not trust Him? +Our Lord's own chiding words to His disciples +are a proof of His displeasure at any +distrust in His power and goodness. How +often did He rebuke them for their want of +confidence in Him! How often did He accuse +them reproachfully of their <span class="tei tei-q">“little +faith,”</span><a id="noteref_83" name="noteref_83" href="#note_83"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">83</span></span></a> of being <span class="tei tei-q">“slow of +heart,”</span><a id="noteref_84" name="noteref_84" href="#note_84"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">84</span></span></a> of being +an <span class="tei tei-q">“unbelieving and perverse generation!”</span><a id="noteref_85" name="noteref_85" href="#note_85"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">85</span></span></a> +He was constantly pointing to their lack of +faith, reminding them that it was the source +of their weakness, the cause of their ignorance +in things spiritual, the reason of their +powerlessness in the face of difficulties and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page181">[pg 181]</span><a name="Pg181" id="Pg181" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +against the enemies of their souls. It is +clear that Almighty God, being a generous +and loving Father, must be offended at those +of His children who do not trust Him; and +their want of faith in Him is consequently +the reason for His denying to them the help +which is the life of their souls, and without +which they are powerless to be useful servants +in His vineyard. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And this failure to confide in the goodness +of God betrays itself in other ways. Besides +sealing up the fountains of special +graces and closing the door on divine generosity, +besides a general unfruitfulness in +the spiritual life, and the lack of all greater +works for God and for souls, which are its +immediate consequences, it also penetrates +into the interior sanctuary of the spirit, and +weakens at their source the springs of spiritual +action. The results are manifest. Not +only is there no yielding of fruit, but growth +is likewise wanting. And if, under fairer +conditions, there has ever been any progress, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page182">[pg 182]</span><a name="Pg182" id="Pg182" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +it is soon perceived to wither and wane in a +soul devoid of living faith. All the exercises +and practices of the Christian life participate +in the baneful effects. Prayer and +the use of the sacraments are either seriously +neglected or gradually given up, and +the blighting influences of irreligion rapidly +spread and overrun all the departments of +life. The view one takes of God, the faith +or lack of faith and trust one has in Providence, +have their effect on the character and +give a direction to all one's ways of thinking, +feeling, acting, in regard to the world +we live in, in regard to mankind in general, +in regard to the causes, purposes, and destinies +of all things. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Our conceptions of Providence are vital, +therefore. They really determine what our +life is to be, and they are an index to the +life that is finished. It is impossible that +we should be quite the same whether we +try to eliminate God from our lives, or allow +His blessed influence to cheer and lead +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page183">[pg 183]</span><a name="Pg183" id="Pg183" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +us on; whether we look upon Him as a cold +Master, waiting to exact and to punish, or +as a kind Father and Shepherd, seeking to +spare and to save; whether we regard Him +as hid far in the heavens, caring naught for +the creatures and the world He has made, +or whether we conceive Him as intimately +bound up with all the works of His hands, +although distinct from them, as guiding and +regulating everything, as tenderly loving +and providing for all the needs of our souls. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Another most harmful result of deficient +faith and confidence in God is that it leads +us to trust in creatures. It causes us to reverse +the proper order of things. We are +dependent beings, and we instinctively feel +our deficiencies and the need of some one, +or something on which to lean, at times, +and to which we can look for assistance. +We may not be entirely and always conscious +of this tendency in us, we may be too +proud or too blind to admit it, or we may +wish we could overcome it and rid our lives +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page184">[pg 184]</span><a name="Pg184" id="Pg184" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of so constant a need; but whether we see it +and acknowledge it or not, whether we encourage +it or try to repress it, the need is +always there, deeply engraved in our nature +as creatures, and we cannot but seek to satisfy +it. There is none of us, frail beings +that we are, who is entirely sufficient unto +himself. Sometimes, of course, the voice +of our needs is silent, and we feel that we +shall never want; <span class="tei tei-q">“I said in my abundance,”</span> +observes the Psalmist, <span class="tei tei-q">“I shall not be moved +forever;”</span><a id="noteref_86" name="noteref_86" href="#note_86"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">86</span></span></a> but when the tide begins to ebb +and prosperity subsides, how soon do we remember +that we are dust! How frequently +in times of trouble, in times of illness and +poverty and suffering, when face to face +with our foes, or when death steps in and +slaughters, are we made aware of our insufficiency, +and of our utter helplessness to live +our lives alone and meet single-handed the +burdens and misfortunes of earth! It takes +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page185">[pg 185]</span><a name="Pg185" id="Pg185" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +but a little frost to nip the root of all our +greatness, and then when our high-blown +pride breaks under us we quickly realize +how fragile and insecure are the personal +foundations of our lives. Naturally and +reasonably, therefore, did the pagan philosophers +conclude that friendship and friends +were necessary to man. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Profoundly aware of this fundamental +need of help and support which is a result +of our nature, we habitually stretch out our +hands to others, not only during the years +of infancy and childhood, but to a greater +or less extent throughout the whole period +of our earthly existence. At first, of course, +it is to creatures that we necessarily look—to +parents, relatives, guardians, teachers, +and later on, to friends and acquaintances. +Our needs in the beginning and in early +years, though many and imperative, are +comparatively simple; they can be satisfied +by those around us. But as we advance to +maturity and take in more completely the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page186">[pg 186]</span><a name="Pg186" id="Pg186" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +meaning of our lives, and consider not so +much the needs of the body as the demands +of the soul, we find that the multiple requirements +of infancy and youth, which +were able to be supplied by those that were +near, have given way to the fewer, but vast +and unlimited, claims of age, which express +the wants of the spirit. It is when we appeal +to creatures for the complete and permanent +satisfaction of these latter necessities +of our being, that we seriously err, and +open the way to disappointment and sorrow. +Not that we are to have no cherished and +chosen friends, or that we should despise +the needs and gifts, the privileges and blessings +of friendship, which in truth our nature +requires; nor again that we are to regard +with skeptical, disdainful eyes the +world and human nature; but we must not +deceive ourselves by trying to find in any +created being that which it does not possess. +We must not endeavor to get from any creature +that perfect satisfaction which we need, +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page187">[pg 187]</span><a name="Pg187" id="Pg187" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and which the Creator alone can give. +Neither must we seek to fill the unlimited +capacity of our souls with those gifts only, +poor and defective at best, which frail mortals +like ourselves are able to supply. It is +folly in the highest degree to expect from +anyone less than God that which only God +can afford. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The mistake, therefore, is made when +creatures of any kind are allowed to take +the place of God; when they are sought and +reposed in as an end in themselves, and as +sufficient satisfaction for the needs of the +human spirit. Unwise, indeed, is this mode +of action, and bitter are the sorrows of soul +to which it inevitably leads! One man +trusts in riches, another in glory, another in +the esteem of men; one leans upon his +friends and companions, another upon his +relatives—all forgetful of the frail and unsubstantial +nature of every earthly prop. +Frequently they never awaken to the peril +of their state until they find themselves face +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page188">[pg 188]</span><a name="Pg188" id="Pg188" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +to face with their doom and the awful disillusionment. +The crash may be delayed, but +the day must come sooner or later for all of +us, who have advanced but a little beyond +maturity, when all the natural lights of life +go out, when every human prop is removed, +and we find ourselves out alone and in the +dark, so far as depends on the world and +creatures. How miserable then shall we be +if we have put our trust in men! if we have +tried to make creatures play the part in our +lives which only God can play! When we +need them most they fail us, when we fain +would find beneath their protection a shield +against the fiery darts of life, behold they +wither like the ivy of Jonas and leave us +alone in our want!<a id="noteref_87" name="noteref_87" href="#note_87"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">87</span></span></a> How vain, therefore, +and groundless is that confidence which is +put in men, and how wretched that poor +man that hangs on princes' favors! <span class="tei tei-q">“Thou +trustest in money,”</span> says St. Augustine, <span class="tei tei-q">“thou +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page189">[pg 189]</span><a name="Pg189" id="Pg189" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +holdest to vanity; thou trustest in honor, and +in some eminence of human power, thou +holdest to vanity; thou trustest in some principal +friend, thou holdest to vanity. When +thou trustest in all these things, either thou +diest and leavest them here, or in thy lifetime +they all perish, and thou failest in thy +trust.”</span><a id="noteref_88" name="noteref_88" href="#note_88"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">88</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is no despisal, then, of the needs and +helps of earthly friends and of our fellow-creatures +to say that we should not put entire +trust in them for all the wants and demands +of our being. They are good, they +were made by God, they are oftentimes able +to assist us—nay, we need them to a certain +extent; but they are utterly unable to satisfy +us completely, they cannot if they would, +simply because of the extent of our wants. +And even if creatures could give us a partial +contentment, as at times they seem to do, +we know that it cannot last, and in the midst +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page190">[pg 190]</span><a name="Pg190" id="Pg190" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +of our joy and pleasure we are haunted by +the thought that some day, soon at latest, it +all must pass away. We are seeking for +rest, for peace, for happiness, and that unending; +we want something to steady our +lives and satisfy the yearnings of our souls +forever: but we must not look for these +things in the world, for the world at best is +passing away. There is no stability to human +things; the cloud and the storm swiftly +follow the sunshine; we have not here below +a lasting habitation. Today we are sitting +at the banquet of pleasure, tomorrow we are +draining the cup of sorrow; today we receive +the applause of men, tomorrow we +may be the objects of their scorn; today we +put forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow +there comes a killing frost that ruins all +our prospects. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Such, then, is the lot of man when considered +in his relations to creatures and to +the world. It is a lot full of uncertainty, +of instability, of vicissitude; but this should +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page191">[pg 191]</span><a name="Pg191" id="Pg191" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +not make us skeptical or cynical; it affords +no justification for pessimism. It is a condition +arising, on the one hand, from the +very nature of limited beings, and on the +other, from the vast potentialities of our +souls, which, while they are limited in giving +to others, cannot be appeased except by +the God who made them. There is a craving +in the heart of man for something which +the world cannot give. He clutches for the +things that are passing, he toils, he labors, +he struggles; he strives for money, for +power, for place, for honor, not that any of +these things are in themselves what he desires, +but only because he conceives them as +means and helps to the satisfaction, to the +stillness of mind, and peace of heart, and +rest of soul and body for which his nature +longs. Peace and happiness and contentment +of life are the objects of all our +dreams, of our persistent efforts, of our ambitions +and aims; but until we give up the +hope of finding these things in the world, in +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page192">[pg 192]</span><a name="Pg192" id="Pg192" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +our fellow-mortals, in anything short of +God, we shall never know the blessedness +for which we yearn. If we would ever attain +to the state which we covet, we must +learn the lesson, even though it be through +tears and sorrow, that God alone, who made +our souls with all their vast desires, is able +to comfort us and steady our lives amid the +storms and distresses of earth. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is futile to trust in men, or <span class="tei tei-q">“in the children +of men, in whom there is no salvation.”</span><a id="noteref_89" name="noteref_89" href="#note_89"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">89</span></span></a> +The peace and blessedness which +we seek are <span class="tei tei-q">“not as the world giveth;”</span><a id="noteref_90" name="noteref_90" href="#note_90"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">90</span></span></a> and +unless we turn away from the world and +cease to torture our lives with its vanities, +our portion can never be other than heartaches, +secret loathing, consuming thirst. +<span class="tei tei-q">“For many friends cannot profit,”</span> says +Thomas a'Kempis, <span class="tei tei-q">“nor strong helpers assist, +nor prudent counsellors give a profitable +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page193">[pg 193]</span><a name="Pg193" id="Pg193" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +answer, nor the books of the learned +afford comfort, nor any precious substance +deliver, nor any place, however retired and +lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost +assist, help, strengthen, console, instruct, and +guard us.”</span><a id="noteref_91" name="noteref_91" href="#note_91"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">91</span></span></a> +Such has been the history of +the race, and such is the experience of every +individual in the race that has placed his +hope and trust in anything created. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +We are confronted, therefore, on the one +side by the inherent weakness of our own +nature and the constant needs that arise +therefrom; and on the other side, we are +assured by the history of the race, if not by +our own experience, that so long as we strive +to satisfy our wants by an appeal to anything +but God we are doomed to disappointment +and sorrow. It is unfortunate that most +people must first be crushed by the world +and creatures which they serve before they +grasp the fundamental truth that creatures +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page194">[pg 194]</span><a name="Pg194" id="Pg194" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +are not their God. Comparatively few of +those who enjoy the world are ever brought +to realize the dignity and divine purpose of +their souls until the world and its allurements, +like a false pageant on a false stage, +give way beneath them, and they fall helpless +and alone. It is commonly only after +repeated awful experiences, when worn out +and exhausted by years of fruitless quest for +peace and happiness and contentment, that +men wake up to the simple fact that the +treasures which they seek are not in the +world, nor as the world giveth. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But it is one thing to turn away from +the world disappointed, disgusted and betrayed; +and it is quite another thing to turn +to God and to recognize Him as our good +Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to +receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our +wants. There are many people who find +the world a disappointment and a deception, +and who turn from it with loathing and +hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page195">[pg 195]</span><a name="Pg195" id="Pg195" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +eyes to the proper object of their trust. Like +the Israelites of old, they succeed at length +in escaping from the hands of oppression +and tyranny, but only to wander in a desert +land throughout the length of their days. +This is the region where dwell the pessimist, +the skeptic and the cynic—miserable mortals +that have wasted on creatures the talents +they should have given to their Creator, or +that have otherwise failed in their conception +of life, and have left unmultiplied the +money of the Master.<a id="noteref_92" name="noteref_92" href="#note_92"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">92</span></span></a> There is plainly no +middle course for us, if we would not encounter +disaster; we are not negative as to +the necessities of our nature; it is not enough +for us to turn from positive harm, from the +objects that deceive and disappoint us; we +must further turn to positive good, and to +Him who alone can quiet and appease our +yearning spirits. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +One of the most evident and convincing +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page196">[pg 196]</span><a name="Pg196" id="Pg196" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +reasons, then, why we should put our trust +in God above all else is that He alone can +satisfy and give us rest. Only God is able +adequately to respond to all the needs of our +being. The simplest process of reasoning +should assure us of this, when once we perceive +the vastness of our wants and the impossibility +of their satisfaction through the +medium of created things. We know our +nature, which has come from the source and +essence of truth, cannot be false. Neither +can our unlimited capacities for knowledge, +for joy, for happiness be a deceiving +mockery. There is a way to peace +for us, and a source of supreme contentment; +there is a fountain of living waters +from which, if we drink, we shall never +thirst again. Hence our Saviour said: +<span class="tei tei-q">“Come to me all you that labour and are +burdened, and I will refresh you;”</span><a id="noteref_93" name="noteref_93" href="#note_93"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">93</span></span></a> and +again, <span class="tei tei-q">“he that shall drink of the water +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page197">[pg 197]</span><a name="Pg197" id="Pg197" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +that I will give him shall not thirst forever: +but the water that I will give him shall become +in him a fountain of water, springing +up into life everlasting.”</span><a id="noteref_94" name="noteref_94" href="#note_94"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">94</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +But we shall never be able to come to +God, we shall never succeed even in getting +near the secret of interior peace and contentment +until we are able to grasp more or +less comprehensively the great basic truths +of our existence: that God loves each one of +us with the love of an infinite Father, and +that His Providence is so universal and omnipotent +as to extend to all things, even to +the numbering of the hairs of our head. +We talk much about chance and fortune and +accident, we speak every day of things happening, +as if by the sheerest contingence, +without warning or previous knowledge; +and so it is with reference to ourselves, and +to all the world perhaps: but with reference +to divine Providence it is not so; there is +nothing accidental, nothing unforeseen with +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page198">[pg 198]</span><a name="Pg198" id="Pg198" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +respect to God. <span class="tei tei-q">“Without Thy counsel and +Providence, and without cause, nothing +cometh to pass in the earth,”</span><a id="noteref_95" name="noteref_95" href="#note_95"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">95</span></span></a> says the Imitation. +But what does this mean, <span class="tei tei-q">“God +provides?”</span> It means that the will of the +omnipotent Father directs and governs +everything. <span class="tei tei-q">“Providence,”</span> says St. John +Damscene, <span class="tei tei-q">“is the will of God, by which +all things are fitly and harmoniously governed,”</span><a id="noteref_96" name="noteref_96" href="#note_96"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">96</span></span></a> +and such is its power that nothing +can elude or deceive it, neither can it be hindered +or baffled in any way. <span class="tei tei-q">“For God will +not except any man's person, neither will +He stand in awe of any man's greatness; for +He made the little and the great, and He +hath equally care of all.”</span><a id="noteref_97" name="noteref_97" href="#note_97"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">97</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And just as divine Providence disposes +and governs all the events of life, directing +each to its proper end, so the divine Will is +the cause of everything that exists. Just as +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page199">[pg 199]</span><a name="Pg199" id="Pg199" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +it is impossible that anything should escape +God's knowledge and directing hand, so is +it impossible that anything should exist or +come into being without the direct intervention +or permission of His will. There +is nothing in the world which God has not +made, and nothing takes place which is not +according to His good-pleasure, except the +malice and guilt of sin. Even all the other +evils of life, such as sickness, suffering, disease, +poverty, cold, hunger, thirst, and the +like, God actually and positively wills. And +precisely because these things proceed from +His will, they cannot be bad. God is the +author of all good, and evil He cannot do. +So good, indeed, is He that, if He were not +sufficiently omnipotent to draw good out of +evil, He would never have permitted any +evil to exist. <span class="tei tei-q">“God has judged it better,”</span> +says St. Augustine, <span class="tei tei-q">“to work good out of +evil, than to allow no evil.”</span><a id="noteref_98" name="noteref_98" href="#note_98"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">98</span></span></a> We must not +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page200">[pg 200]</span><a name="Pg200" id="Pg200" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +argue in our foolishness and try to understand +all the doings of God, for His ways +are not our ways, His thoughts not our +thoughts.<a id="noteref_99" name="noteref_99" href="#note_99"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">99</span></span></a> It is often beyond our power +even to understand our fellow-creatures, +and how foolish it is to complain because we +cannot comprehend the great Creator! +Enough for us, if we be sincere and right of +heart, to know, as we do, that God is good, +that He loves us individually, and that His +protecting hand guides and governs all the +events of our lives, even to the smallest detail. +These are truths which we must take +hold of and lay close to our hearts, else we +shall go the way of error and issue in ultimate +disaster. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And from these truths, so certain and unquestionable, +it further follows that everything +existing in the world, so far as it affects +us, everything that falls to our lot, all +that we encounter, all that we suffer, all that +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page201">[pg 201]</span><a name="Pg201" id="Pg201" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +we do, aside from sin, has been purposely +arranged by Almighty God for our greater +spiritual good and eternal salvation. This +must be so, since God is the universal cause +of all things, and since He sincerely loves +us and desires above all to save us. If it +were otherwise, either He would not have +omnipotent control of everything, or He +could not be said really to desire our salvation. +How sadly we misunderstand these +great truths in our daily lives, when we +murmur and complain at the evils that afflict +us! How narrowly we conceive the +all-powerful will of God, and the infinite +abyss of His goodness which would lead us +to eternal delights! We would like to escape +all the evils of time, we love our lives, +and we wish to save them from final wreck; +but when failing to trust to the will of God +we forget the words of Christ, that <span class="tei tei-q">“he that +loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth +his life in this world, keepeth it unto +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page202">[pg 202]</span><a name="Pg202" id="Pg202" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +life eternal.”</span><a id="noteref_100" name="noteref_100" href="#note_100"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">100</span></span></a> We want to save our souls, +and we are, perhaps, much disturbed about +doing many and great things in the cause of +God and of Heaven, unmindful the while +of the Master's warning that, <span class="tei tei-q">“not every one +that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into +the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the +will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall +enter into the kingdom of heaven.”</span><a id="noteref_101" name="noteref_101" href="#note_101"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">101</span></span></a> It is +doubtless our aim to draw ever nearer and +nearer to our Saviour, and to deepen our +relationship with Him; but do we remember +that He said, <span class="tei tei-q">“whosoever shall do the +will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, +and mother?”</span><a id="noteref_102" name="noteref_102" href="#note_102"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">102</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +<span class="tei tei-q">“Yes,”</span> you will say, <span class="tei tei-q">“This is all true; I +know it is so; my faith is at fault. If I only +had that beautiful faith and trust in God +which many have it would be easy for me, +and I should be happy! Faith is a gift and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page203">[pg 203]</span><a name="Pg203" id="Pg203" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +favored are they that possess it.”</span> But, dear +reader, can you not pray? Can you not ask +from God that heavenly gift which will +move mountains and translate them into the +sea?<a id="noteref_103" name="noteref_103" href="#note_103"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">103</span></span></a> Can you not overcome your indolence +and your repugnance, and patiently +and persistently implore from on high that +superior vision which pierces the clouds +and sees in everything the hand of God? +Surely you can say, with the devout author +of the Imitation of Christ, <span class="tei tei-q">“Behold, Oh +beloved Father, I am in Thy hands, I bow +myself under the rod of Thy correction. +Strike my back and my neck too, that my +crookedness may be conformed to Thy +will.”</span><a id="noteref_104" name="noteref_104" href="#note_104"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">104</span></span></a> Here again, remember the words +of your Saviour, <span class="tei tei-q">“The kingdom of heaven +suffereth violence, and the violent bear it +away.”</span><a id="noteref_105" name="noteref_105" href="#note_105"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">105</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +Perhaps the greatest trial to our faith in +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page204">[pg 204]</span><a name="Pg204" id="Pg204" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +divine Providence is in bearing what we call +the wrongs of life. That we should have +any crosses to suffer at all; that there should +be death and sickness and disease; that there +should be poverty and misery, distress and +worry, labor and sorrow; that there should +exist any of these things, is to our infirmity, +if we forget our sins and the sins of our race +that have caused these evils, a trial and a +test of fidelity. But still more is it difficult, +except to minds that are deeply religious, to +meet with the gentleness and serenity of +faith the positive injuries—the injustice, +the scorn, the ridicule, the pain and persecution +which others, needy creatures like +ourselves, actually inflict upon us. It is +easier, we say, to bear poverty than insult; +it is easier to suffer the inclemency of the +elements than to endure the unkindness of +our brethren; it is easier to put up with the +pain and weariness of bodily sickness than to +come under the lash of the tongues of men. +There is here, however, no room for hesitation +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page205">[pg 205]</span><a name="Pg205" id="Pg205" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +and question; the rule is the same for +all the crosses that come to us. God often +permits us to be afflicted by the sins of others +for our greater spiritual profit. Since, +therefore, all alike proceed from God, +either by positive act or divine permission, +and since we know that He is supremely +good and loves us, having given every proof +of His desire to save us, even to the delivering +up of His only Son,<a id="noteref_106" name="noteref_106" href="#note_106"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">106</span></span></a> we can never reasonably +or sincerely doubt that every evil +and cross of life, with the sole exception of +our personal sins, has been arranged for our +good. My God, do Thou teach us the wisdom +of the cross! <span class="tei tei-q">“For this is a favor to +Thy friend, that for love of Thee he may +suffer and be afflicted in the world, how +often soever and by whom soever Thou permittest +such trials to befall him.”</span><a id="noteref_107" name="noteref_107" href="#note_107"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">107</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +It is helpful that here also, in learning to +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page206">[pg 206]</span><a name="Pg206" id="Pg206" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +discern the source and meaning of our afflictions, +we have ever before us the examples +of the holiest souls. We know that +in all trials they steadfastly look beyond the +cross that presses them to the hand of Him +who has placed it there. Like the shepherd's +sheep, they are convinced of the +power and goodness of their Master, and +nothing can shake their trust in Him. +Without distinction or question they accept +all as coming from God by special act or +sovereign permission, to purify them, to detach +them from the world and creatures, to +increase their nearness and likeness to Himself, +to multiply their merits for Heaven +and bring them to everlasting crowns. They +discover the workings of Providence everywhere, +in things that are painful, as well as +in things that are pleasant to nature. Thus +behind their pangs of body and mind, behind +the whips and scorns of time, behind +the tongue that slanders and calumniates +them, behind the oppressor's wrong, the +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page207">[pg 207]</span><a name="Pg207" id="Pg207" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +injustice and tyranny of princes and rulers, +behind all the evils of life they see the hand +of Him who directs and governs all. But +here we must not conclude that the Saints +and holy persons have never resisted evil +and evil-doers, and that consequently we +must not. This would be a serious mistake, +as Church history and hagiography plainly +prove. Who was ever more vigorous and +fearless in opposing wrong and the doers of +wrong than St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. +Jerome? Who was ever more persistent +in his efforts to prevail against the evils of +sin in others than St. Monica, St. Teresa, +St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of Siena? +After their example, then, we may and we +must struggle against evils of all kinds, +whether physical or spiritual, whether from +ourselves or from others, in so far as it is +not certain that it is the will of God that we +should submit to them. But when we have +exerted ourselves reasonably and lawfully +to rid our lives of that which afflicts us, and +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page208">[pg 208]</span><a name="Pg208" id="Pg208" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +still it persists, there can be no further doubt +that it is the will of God that we should patiently +and submissively accept our condition +and our cross. Since, however, we do +not know how long it is the wish of Providence +that we should be burdened and afflicted, +we may continue patiently to use +every legitimate means to be delivered, provided +it be done with humble resignation to +the will of our heavenly Father. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +The acceptance of injuries, therefore, on +the part of holy souls is not a weak yielding +to inevitable circumstances, nor a willing +consent to the wrongs of others. Like St. +Paul, they know whom they have believed,<a id="noteref_108" name="noteref_108" href="#note_108"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">108</span></span></a> +and they are certain that, in due +time, divine justice will bring all evil-doers +to an evil end and will deliver the just from +their troubles. And further, when the vengeance +of the persecutor is turned upon +them, and they are hunted down without +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page209">[pg 209]</span><a name="Pg209" id="Pg209" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +reason by their kind, even by the members +of their own household, they remember the +words of their Shepherd, <span class="tei tei-q">“The disciple is +not above his master, nor the servant above +his lord. It is enough for the disciple that +he be as his master, and the servant as his +lord. If they have called the good man of +the house Beelzebub, how much more them +of his household!”</span><a id="noteref_109" name="noteref_109" href="#note_109"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">109</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +And again, when the servants of God behold +the wicked prospering and the just +oppressed; when they see the ambitious, the +covetous, the unscrupulous preferred and +honored, and they themselves plotted +against and rejected, their heart is not disturbed, +because they know first of all that +<span class="tei tei-q">“to them that love God, all things work together +unto good,”</span><a id="noteref_110" name="noteref_110" href="#note_110"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">110</span></span></a> and secondly, they are +persuaded that the efforts of sinners must +finally fail. <span class="tei tei-q">“For the hope of the wicked is +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page210">[pg 210]</span><a name="Pg210" id="Pg210" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +as dust, which is blown away with the wind, +and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the +storm: and as a smoke that is scattered +abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance +of a guest of one day that passeth +by.”</span><a id="noteref_111" name="noteref_111" href="#note_111"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">111</span></span></a> In a word, then, those who are +really the friends of God have faith and +confidence in their heavenly Master; and all +the perils of earth, and all the powers of +darkness cannot avail to daunt them or turn +them aside from their purpose. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +This steadfastness of religious trust we, +in our turn, must strive to acquire. It is +the only way to peace and victory. If we +would ever rise above the evils of our lives +we must learn to look to God for every +thing. And this looking to God must be, +not only as to our bountiful benefactor, but +as to a kind master who knows how best to +discipline his servants and preserve them +from irreparable harm. +</p> + +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page211">[pg 211]</span><a name="Pg211" id="Pg211" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +There is a substantially correct translation +of the final verse of the Shepherd +Psalm, which may be rendered as follows: +<span class="tei tei-q">“And Thy goodness and kindness pursue +me all the days of my life, <em class="tei tei-emph"><span style="font-style: italic">that I may dwell</span></em> +in the house of the Lord forever.”</span> It is the +special wording of the second clause of the +stanza that expresses the real purpose of +divine Providence in regard to the elect. +Everything in life has been ordained and +arranged for their eternal salvation, and for +the increase of their heavenly rewards. +<span class="tei tei-q">“Therefore,”</span> wrote St. Paul to Timothy, <span class="tei tei-q">“I +endure all things for the sake of the elect, +that they also may obtain the salvation, +which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly +glory.”</span><a id="noteref_112" name="noteref_112" href="#note_112"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">112</span></span></a> +It is this firm conviction that infinite +love is at the bottom of all the workings +of Providence, doing everything for +the sake of the elect, that consoles and +steadies the souls of the just throughout all +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page212">[pg 212]</span><a name="Pg212" id="Pg212" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the trials and crosses of life. In the thick +of the battle they never lose sight of the +faithful Shepherd that leads them, and they +ever behold by faith the unspeakable delights +He has prepared for them that love +Him. +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +What joys are there in our faith and hope! +If by the mercy and goodness of God we +succeed in saving our souls, how cheap will +seem the price we shall have paid for +Heaven, and how benign and ineffably loving +will appear the Providence of God +which is leading us there! At times now +in our fervor we can faintly and feebly imagine +what it will mean to throw off forever +this veil of faith and see distinctly and continually +the Shepherd of our souls. But +our liveliest conceptions here are infinitely +inferior to the vision to come. <span class="tei tei-q">“To see God +face to face, as He is; to gaze undazzled on +the Three Divine Persons, cognizable and +distinct in the burning fires of their inaccessible +splendors; to behold that long-coveted +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page213">[pg 213]</span><a name="Pg213" id="Pg213" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +sight, the endless Generation of the +All-holy Son, and our hearts to hold the joy, +and not die; to watch with spirits all out-stretched +in adoration the ever-radiant and +ineffably beautiful Procession of the Holy +Ghost from the Father and the Son, and to +participate ourselves in that jubilee of jubilees, +and drink in with greedy minds the +wonders of that Procession, and the marvelous +distinctness of its beauty from the Generation +of the Son; to feel ourselves with +ecstatic awe, and yet with seraphic intimacy, +overshadowed by the Person of the Unbegotten +Father, the Father to whom and of +whom we have said so much on earth, the +Fountain of Godhead, who is truly our +Father, while He is also the Father of the +Eternal Son; to explore, with exulting license +and with unutterably glad fear, attribute +after attribute, oceans opening into +oceans of divinest beauty; to lie astonished +in unspeakable contentment before the +vision of God's surpassing Unity, so long +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page214">[pg 214]</span><a name="Pg214" id="Pg214" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +the joyous mystery of our predilection, while +the Vision through all eternity seems to +grow more fresh and bright and new: O +my poor soul! what canst thou know of this, +or of these beautiful necessities, of thy exceeding +love, which shall only satisfy itself +in endless alternations, now of silence and +now of song?”</span><a id="noteref_113" name="noteref_113" href="#note_113"><span class="tei tei-noteref"><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">113</span></span></a> +</p> + +<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"> +If regret were possible for the blessed +hereafter, they would never cease to mourn +over the loss of their opportunities on earth +to increase their eternal beatitude. It is +only when the veil shall have been removed +that we shall fully realize how the goodness +and mercy of God have always pursued +us in this life, that we might be saved and +enjoy the rewards of His house forever. +May God give us all that child-like trust in +our heavenly Master which the sheep display +toward their shepherd; may He grant +us that vivid constant faith of the Saints +<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page215">[pg 215]</span><a name="Pg215" id="Pg215" class="tei tei-anchor"></a> +which will enable us to see in every event of +life, in adversity as well as in prosperity, in +our pains as well as in our joys, the designs +of a loving Father who is ever wishing and +trying to lead His children to His home of +eternal delights. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-back" style="margin-bottom: 2.00em; margin-top: 6.00em"> + <div id="footnotes" class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + <a name="toc27" id="toc27"></a> + <a name="pdf28" id="pdf28"></a> + <h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Footnotes</span></h1> + <dl class="tei tei-list-footnotes"><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_1" name="note_1" href="#noteref_1">1.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Isa. xl. 11.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_2" name="note_2" href="#noteref_2">2.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jer. xxiii. 4, 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_3" name="note_3" href="#noteref_3">3.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ezech. xxxiv. 11, 12, 23.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_4" name="note_4" href="#noteref_4">4.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Phil. ii. 6, 7.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_5" name="note_5" href="#noteref_5">5.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. x. 30, 38; xii. 45.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_6" name="note_6" href="#noteref_6">6.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xii. 49.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_7" name="note_7" href="#noteref_7">7.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Gen. iii. 19.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_8" name="note_8" href="#noteref_8">8.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Lam. i. 12.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_9" name="note_9" href="#noteref_9">9.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. cxliv. 9.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_10" name="note_10" href="#noteref_10">10.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Isa. liii. 4.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_11" name="note_11" href="#noteref_11">11.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. viii. 17.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_12" name="note_12" href="#noteref_12">12.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Cor. iv. 17.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_13" name="note_13" href="#noteref_13">13.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. v. 48.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_14" name="note_14" href="#noteref_14">14.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xv. 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_15" name="note_15" href="#noteref_15">15.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xxiii. 34.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_16" name="note_16" href="#noteref_16">16.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Prov. viii. 31.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_17" name="note_17" href="#noteref_17">17.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xv. 15.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_18" name="note_18" href="#noteref_18">18.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. viii. 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_19" name="note_19" href="#noteref_19">19.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Prov. xxiii. 26.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_20" name="note_20" href="#noteref_20">20.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xi. 28.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_21" name="note_21" href="#noteref_21">21.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. vi. 52, 55.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_22" name="note_22" href="#noteref_22">22.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xvi. 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_23" name="note_23" href="#noteref_23">23.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ezech. xviii. 23; +xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_24" name="note_24" href="#noteref_24">24.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. 102. 14.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_25" name="note_25" href="#noteref_25">25.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xv. 4, 7.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_26" name="note_26" href="#noteref_26">26.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke i. 31.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_27" name="note_27" href="#noteref_27">27.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xvi. 18.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_28" name="note_28" href="#noteref_28">28.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke x. 17.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_29" name="note_29" href="#noteref_29">29.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xviii. 17.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_30" name="note_30" href="#noteref_30">30.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xxiv. 35.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_31" name="note_31" href="#noteref_31">31.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xxiv. 24.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_32" name="note_32" href="#noteref_32">32.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Cor. +xi. 26.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_33" name="note_33" href="#noteref_33">33.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Cor. xi. 13.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_34" name="note_34" href="#noteref_34">34.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xxviii. 20.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_35" name="note_35" href="#noteref_35">35.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. cxiii. 13, 14.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_36" name="note_36" href="#noteref_36">36.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jude 10.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_37" name="note_37" href="#noteref_37">37.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. x. 17, 22-26.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_38" name="note_38" href="#noteref_38">38.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Mich. +vii. 6; Matt. x. 36.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_39" name="note_39" href="#noteref_39">39.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Bk. i. 11. 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_40" name="note_40" href="#noteref_40">40.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. +xvi. 24.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_41" name="note_41" href="#noteref_41">41.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xvii. 4, 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_42" name="note_42" href="#noteref_42">42.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xii. 34.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_43" name="note_43" href="#noteref_43">43.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">1 Jno. iv. 16, 18.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_44" name="note_44" href="#noteref_44">44.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xxvi. 1, 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_45" name="note_45" href="#noteref_45">45.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. x. 28.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_46" name="note_46" href="#noteref_46">46.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Wis. iii. 3.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_47" name="note_47" href="#noteref_47">47.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xxxiii. 20.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_48" name="note_48" href="#noteref_48">48.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xiii. 3.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_49" name="note_49" href="#noteref_49">49.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. x. 10.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_50" name="note_50" href="#noteref_50">50.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Tim. ii. 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_51" name="note_51" href="#noteref_51">51.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke ix. 23.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_52" name="note_52" href="#noteref_52">52.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xii. 34.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_53" name="note_53" href="#noteref_53">53.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Job vii. 1; Job xiv. 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_54" name="note_54" href="#noteref_54">54.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Isa. xl. 6, 7.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_55" name="note_55" href="#noteref_55">55.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Heb. xi. 10.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_56" name="note_56" href="#noteref_56">56.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Wis. v. 6-9.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_57" name="note_57" href="#noteref_57">57.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. viii. 16, 17.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_58" name="note_58" href="#noteref_58">58.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">1 Peter iv. 13.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_59" name="note_59" href="#noteref_59">59.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Wis. iii. 4, 6.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_60" name="note_60" href="#noteref_60">60.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xiv.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_61" name="note_61" href="#noteref_61">61.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">1 Cor. i. 25.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_62" name="note_62" href="#noteref_62">62.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xiv. 26.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_63" name="note_63" href="#noteref_63">63.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Philip iii. 7, 8.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_64" name="note_64" href="#noteref_64">64.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Confess. ix. 1.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_65" name="note_65" href="#noteref_65">65.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xxxiii. 9; lxxxii. 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_66" name="note_66" href="#noteref_66">66.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Job xiii. 15.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_67" name="note_67" href="#noteref_67">67.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xc. 11.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_68" name="note_68" href="#noteref_68">68.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Philip iv. 7.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_69" name="note_69" href="#noteref_69">69.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Philip iv. 13.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_70" name="note_70" href="#noteref_70">70.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. viii. 33-39.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_71" name="note_71" href="#noteref_71">71.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. ix. 16.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_72" name="note_72" href="#noteref_72">72.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Eccl. ix. 1, 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_73" name="note_73" href="#noteref_73">73.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Philip, ii. 12.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_74" name="note_74" href="#noteref_74">74.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">1 Cor. ix. 27.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_75" name="note_75" href="#noteref_75">75.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xvii. 11-15.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_76" name="note_76" href="#noteref_76">76.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xvi. 5.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_77" name="note_77" href="#noteref_77">77.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Isa. xlii. 3.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_78" name="note_78" href="#noteref_78">78.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. cii. 13, 14.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_79" name="note_79" href="#noteref_79">79.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Apoc. xxi., iv.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_80" name="note_80" href="#noteref_80">80.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Philip i. 20, 21.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_81" name="note_81" href="#noteref_81">81.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Cor. vi. 4-11.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_82" name="note_82" href="#noteref_82">82.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. vii. 16-19.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_83" name="note_83" href="#noteref_83">83.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. vi. 30.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_84" name="note_84" href="#noteref_84">84.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Luke xxiv. 25.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_85" name="note_85" href="#noteref_85">85.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xvii. 16.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_86" name="note_86" href="#noteref_86">86.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. xxix. 7.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_87" name="note_87" href="#noteref_87">87.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jonas iv.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_88" name="note_88" href="#noteref_88">88.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">In Ps. xxx. Exp. 2.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_89" name="note_89" href="#noteref_89">89.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ps. cxlv. 2, 3.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_90" name="note_90" href="#noteref_90">90.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xiv. 27.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_91" name="note_91" href="#noteref_91">91.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Bk. iii.; ch. lix. 3.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_92" name="note_92" href="#noteref_92">92.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xxv. 24-31.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_93" name="note_93" href="#noteref_93">93.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xi. 28.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_94" name="note_94" href="#noteref_94">94.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. iv. 13, 14.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_95" name="note_95" href="#noteref_95">95.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Bk. iii., +ch. 1, 4.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_96" name="note_96" href="#noteref_96">96.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">De +Fide orthod. ii. 29.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_97" name="note_97" href="#noteref_97">97.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Wis. vi. 8.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_98" name="note_98" href="#noteref_98">98.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Ench. +tom. iii., ch. 27 and ii.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_99" name="note_99" href="#noteref_99">99.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Isa. lv. 8; Rom. xi. 33.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_100" name="note_100" href="#noteref_100">100.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Jno. xii. 25.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_101" name="note_101" href="#noteref_101">101.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext"> Matt. vii. 21.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_102" name="note_102" href="#noteref_102">102.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Mk. iii. 35.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_103" name="note_103" href="#noteref_103">103.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Mk. xi. 23.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_104" name="note_104" href="#noteref_104">104.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Bk. III., ch. l. 6.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_105" name="note_105" href="#noteref_105">105.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. xi. 12.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_106" name="note_106" href="#noteref_106">106.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. viii. 32.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_107" name="note_107" href="#noteref_107">107.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Imitation, +Bk. III., ch. l. 4.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_108" name="note_108" href="#noteref_108">108.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Tim. i. 12.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_109" name="note_109" href="#noteref_109">109.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Matt. x. 24, 25.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_110" name="note_110" href="#noteref_110">110.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Rom. viii. 28.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_111" name="note_111" href="#noteref_111">111.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Wis. v. 15.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_112" name="note_112" href="#noteref_112">112.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">2 Tim. ii. 10.</dd><dt class="tei tei-notelabel"><a id="note_113" name="note_113" href="#noteref_113">113.</a></dt><dd class="tei tei-notetext">Faber, Creator and Creature, Bk. II., ch. v.</dd></dl> + </div> + <hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em"> + <div id="pgfooter" class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 4.00em; margin-top: 4.00em"><pre class="pre tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em">***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** +</pre><hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em"><a name="rightpageheader29" id="rightpageheader29"></a><a name="pgtoc30" id="pgtoc30"></a><a name="pdf31" id="pdf31"></a><h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Credits</span></h1><table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr><th class="tei tei-label tei-label-gloss">December 2, 2009 </th></tr><tr><td class="tei tei-item"><table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item"><span class="tei tei-respStmt"> + <span class="tei tei-name"> + Produced by David Clarke, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This file was produced from images generously made + available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) + </span> + </span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em"><a name="rightpageheader32" id="rightpageheader32"></a><a name="pgtoc33" id="pgtoc33"></a><a name="pdf34" id="pdf34"></a><h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h1><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">This file should be named + 30579-h.html or + 30579-h.zip.</p><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">This and all associated files of various formats will be found + in: + + <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/0/5/7/30579/" class="block tei tei-xref" style="margin-bottom: 1.80em; margin-left: 3.60em; margin-top: 1.80em; margin-right: 3.60em"><span style="font-size: 90%">http://www.gutenberg.org</span><span style="font-size: 90%">/dirs/3/0/5/7/30579/</span></a></p><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">Updated editions will replace the previous one — the old + editions will be renamed.</p><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">Creating the works from public domain print editions means that + no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the + Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United + States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. + Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this + license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works + to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and trademark. 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[(Pg019) 67 0 R (Pg020) 68 0 R (Pg021) 72 0 R (Pg022) 73 0 R (Pg023) 77 0 R (Pg024) 78 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg019) (Pg024)] +>> endobj +755 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg025) 82 0 R (Pg026) 83 0 R (Pg027) 92 0 R (Pg028) 93 0 R (Pg029) 97 0 R (Pg030) 98 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg025) (Pg030)] +>> endobj +756 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg031) 102 0 R (Pg032) 103 0 R (Pg033) 107 0 R (Pg034) 108 0 R (Pg035) 112 0 R (Pg036) 113 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg031) (Pg036)] +>> endobj +757 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg037) 117 0 R (Pg038) 118 0 R (Pg039) 123 0 R (Pg040) 124 0 R (Pg041) 125 0 R (Pg042) 129 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg037) (Pg042)] +>> endobj +758 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg043) 130 0 R (Pg044) 134 0 R (Pg045) 142 0 R (Pg046) 146 0 R (Pg047) 147 0 R (Pg048) 151 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg043) (Pg048)] +>> endobj +759 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg049) 152 0 R (Pg050) 153 0 R (Pg051) 158 0 R (Pg052) 159 0 R (Pg053) 163 0 R (Pg054) 164 0 R] +/Limits [(Pg049) (Pg054)] +>> endobj +760 0 obj << +/Names [(Pg055) 168 0 R (Pg056) 169 0 R (Pg057) 173 0 R (Pg058) 174 0 R 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Charles J.">Rev. Charles J. Callan</name></author> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>December 2, 2009</date> + <idno type="etext-no">30579</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and + with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it + away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg + License online at www.gutenberg.org/license</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2009-12-02">December 2, 2009</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by David Clarke, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This file was produced from images generously made + available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">The Shepherd Of My Soul</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">By Rev. Charles J. Callan</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">Of the Order of Preachers</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">John Murphy Company, Publishers</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">100 W. Lombard St.</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Baltimore, MD.</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Printers to the Holy See</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">1915</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div> + +<p> +Nihil Obstat: +</p> + +<p> +M. A. WALDRON, O. P. S. T. M. +</p> + +<p> +J. A. McHUGH, O. P. S. T. Lr. +</p> + +<p> +Imprimi Potest: +</p> + +<p> +J. R. MEAGHER, O. P. S. T. Lr. +</p> + +<p> +Imprimatur: +</p> + +<p> +++ J. CARD. GIBBONS. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Psalm of the Good Shepherd</head> + +<p> +The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. +</p> + +<p> +He maketh me to lie down in pastures +of tender grass. +</p> + +<p> +He restoreth my soul. +</p> + +<p> +He leadeth me in the paths of justice +for his name's sake. +</p> + +<p> +Yea, though I walk in the valley of +the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, +for thou art with me. +</p> + +<p> +Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort +me. +</p> + +<p> +Thou spreadest before me a table in +the presence of mine enemies. +</p> + +<p> +Thou anointest my head with oil; my +cup runneth over. +</p> + +<p> +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow +me all the days of my life, and I +shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto +length of days. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Introduction.</head> + +<p> +No types more beautiful could have been +chosen under which to picture the character +of our Lord and the souls He came to +redeem than those of a shepherd and his +flock. As nothing on earth could more fitly +illustrate the infinite love and sacrifice of +the Saviour than the enduring labors and +tenderness of a shepherd, so nothing here +below could better portray the multiple +wants of our spirits than the needful dependent +nature of sheep. After the knowledge +we possess of our Redeemer, only a slight +acquaintance with the characteristics of +pastoral life, as it exists in oriental countries, +is needed to discern the charming fitness +of these comparisons. The similarity +is at once striking and most easily understood. +Hence it is that our Lord, as well +as those who described Him before He +came, so often appealed to shepherd life +when speaking of the Messiah's mission; +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +hence, also, it is that He was so fond of calling +Himself the Good Shepherd, and of +alluding to the souls He loved as His sheep. +</p> + +<p> +It is the purpose of the pages that follow +to trace some of these beautiful and touching +resemblances of the shepherd and his +flock, on the one side, roaming over the hills +and plains of Palestine, and the Saviour of +the World with the souls of men, on the +other, pursuing together the journey of life. +We have taken as our guide, in noting these +charming likenesses, the Twenty-second +Psalm, or the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +every verse of which recalls some feature +or features of pastoral life, and sings of the +offices, tender and varied, which the shepherd +discharges towards his flock. +</p> + +<p> +As this shepherd song was composed and +written in the Hebrew tongue, the language +of ancient Palestine, we have employed here +a literal translation from the original language, +simply because it expresses much +more beautifully and more exactly than +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +does any rendering from the Latin or Greek +the various marks and characteristics of the +shepherd's life and duties. The oriental +languages, like the people who speak them, +are exceedingly figurative and poetic in +their modes of expression; and hence, for +our present purpose, it is only by getting +back as closely as we can to the original that +we are able adequately to appreciate the +beauty and poetry of that simple but +charming life about which the Psalmist is +singing. +</p> + +<p> +Although the Shepherd Psalm refers, in +its literal sense, to the human shepherd attending +and providing for his sheep, it has +also another higher meaning, which its author +gave it, and this has reference to Christ +in His relations with the souls He has made +and redeemed. It is by reflecting on this +sense of the psalm, and on all His gracious +dealings with us, that we are enabled to +realize how rightly and justly our Saviour +is called the Shepherd of Our Souls, and +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> +how beautifully the Psalmist, in the shepherd +song, has depicted His relations with +us. And how important this is! how much +it means for our spiritual welfare and spiritual +advancement to reflect on the many +mercies of Christ and on the love He bears +each one of us! If the considerations that +follow assist their readers to appreciate +more fully and love more ardently the Divine +Shepherd of Souls, who daily and constantly +throughout our lives is ministering +to our spiritual needs and trying to further +our eternal interests, the desire and aim +which prompted their writing will be fully +and perfectly realized. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>The Author</hi>. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>I. Christ the Good Shepherd.</head> + +<p> +It was announced by the prophets of old +that the Messiah, who was to come, should +bear the character of a good shepherd. He +was to be a shepherd, and His followers, +the faithful souls that should believe in +Him and accept His teaching, were to be +His sheep. It was foretold that He would +select and purchase His flock; that He +would choose them from out the vast multitudes +of their kind and gather them into +His fold, that He would provide for them +and guard them against every evil; that He +would lead them out to green pastures and +refresh them with the waters of rest. <q>He +shall feed his flock like a shepherd,</q> sang +the Prophet Isaias; <q>he shall gather together +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> +the lambs with his arms, and shall +take them up in his bosom, and he himself +shall carry them that are with young.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xl. 11.</note> +In like manner did Jeremias, referring to +the comforting advent of Christ, liken the +offices which the Saviour would perform +towards His people to those of shepherds +towards their flocks. <q>I will set up pastors +over them,</q> said the Prophet, speaking in +the name of Jehovah, <q>and they shall feed +them; they shall fear no more, and they +shall not be dismayed; and none shall be +wanting of their number.... Behold +the days come, saith the Lord, and I will +raise up to David a just branch; and a king +shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute +judgment and justice in the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. xxiii. 4, 5.</note> +The Prophet Ezechiel also prophetically +portrayed the Saviour's character when he +pictured Him in the capacity of a shepherd +visiting and feeding his sheep: <q>For thus +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> +saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will +seek my sheep, and I will visit them. As +the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day +when he shall be in the midst of his sheep +that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep, +and I will deliver them out of all the places +where they have been scattered in the cloudy +and dark day. And I will set up one shepherd +over them, and he shall feed them, +even my servant David; he shall feed them, +and he shall be their shepherd.</q><note place='foot'>Ezech. xxxiv. 11, 12, 23.</note> +</p> + +<p> +And when at length the Saviour did appear +in the world, He declared, not only by +His life and example, but in explicit terms, +that He was the fulfilment of these prophecies—that +He was, in truth, the Good Shepherd, +and that His followers were the sheep +of His fold. In the tenth chapter of the +Gospel according to Saint John we have +His own words to this effect. There He +tells us plainly that He has not come as a +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> +thief and a robber, to steal, to kill, and to +destroy; that He is not a stranger, at the +sound of whose voice the sheep are terrified +and flee away; that He is not a hireling, +who cares not for the sheep, and who, beholding +the approach of the wolf and the +enemy, fleeth and leaveth the sheep to be +snatched and scattered and torn. The Saviour +is not any of these, nor like unto them. +He is the Good Shepherd who enters the +sheepfold by the door, and not as the thief +and robber who climb up some other way. +To Him the porter openeth, and He calleth +His sheep, and they know His voice and +follow Him, and He leadeth them out to +pasture, to rest, and to abundant life. Nor +is this all, for He protects and guards His +sheep. By day and by night He is ever +near them: when circling the green plains, +or beside the still waters, or when asleep +beneath the silent stars, the sheep are protected +by their Shepherd. Faithfully He +watches His dependent flock; and at the +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> +end, as a proof of His love and fidelity, He +generously lays down His life for His +sheep. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>II. Shepherd Life in the Orient.</head> + +<p> +We cannot appreciate the beauty of this +picture of our Saviour under the symbol of +a shepherd, nor can we later understand the +detailed description which is given of Him +through the spiritual meaning of the Good +Shepherd Psalm without first taking into +account some of the features of pastoral life +as it prevails in eastern countries. For us +of the western world it is difficult, and at +times next to impossible, to represent to ourselves +the life and customs of the Orient; +and in particular do we find it hard to picture +to our minds and to understand the +simple poetry of that shepherd life for +which Palestine has always been known. +Time has little changed the scene of the +Saviour's earthly labors. The people, their +manners and customs, their life and occupations, +remain much the same now as when +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> +the land was graced by His sacred presence. +Thus today, as in those olden times, all the +level country east of the river Jordan, as +well as the mountains of Palestine and +Syria, serves as vast pasture lands for innumerable +flocks and herds. The country +throughout is essentially pastoral in its character, +and the care and raising of sheep +constitute the chief industry of the people. +From sheep the people are furnished with +nearly all the necessaries of life—with meat, +clothing, milk, butter, and cheese. +</p> + +<p> +The care of sheep is a delicate and, in +many ways, a difficult task. Not that they +are froward or hard to manage, for of all +animals they are the most tender and gentle; +nor again, that they need abundant nourishment +in the way of food and drink, since +they require water but once a day, and can +maintain life and strength on a plain which, +to the naked eye, seems little more than a +barren waste of sand. But because, in other +respects, they are exceedingly timid and +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +helpless creatures, especially in times and +places of danger, the burdens which their +welfare and safety impose upon the shepherd, +while paternal and winning, are, +nevertheless, arduous and manifold. There +are the changes and hardships of the climate—the +cold and frost in winter, and the +heat and drought of summer; there are the +long rough walks, the steep and dangerous +passes which they must climb and descend; +there are perils from robbers, from wolves +and wild beasts, which not infrequently demand +the shepherd's utmost watchfulness +and care. The oriental climate is such that +they can graze nearly the whole year +through; and whether they be grazing on +the wide open plains, or huddled snugly +within the sheepfold, it pertains to the +shepherd to provide for their varied needs. +His vigilance can never cease. He must +lead them out to pasture and to water, he +must guide and protect them, he must +gather them into the fold at night or into +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> +caves and enclosures, at times, during the +day, to shield them from great danger, +whether from enemies or violent weather; +and upon all occasions he must be prepared +to defend them, even at the risk of his own +life. +</p> + +<p> +The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, +into which the sheep are gathered +for rest or protection are not roofed over or +walled in like a house. They are enclosures +left open to the sky, and consisting simply +of a high wall of rough stone, to protect +the sheep from the attacks of wild beasts, +and from prowling marauders who threaten +their safety by night. It often happens +that several flocks, belonging to different +shepherds, will graze on the same pastures +during the day, and will be penned in the +same sheepfold at night. While the sheep +are sleeping, and the shepherds near by are +taking their needed rest, the door of the fold +is carefully locked, and another shepherd +or porter is left on guard, lest perchance a +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> +hungry bear or wolf might scale the wall +and destroy some member or members of +the sleeping herds. Early in the morning +the shepherds come in turn and rap at the +door, and to each the porter opens. Then +each shepherd calls his flock by name; and +they, knowing his voice, follow him, and he +leads them out to their pastures. There is +never any confusion, for each flock knows +its own shepherd and obeys him alone. +Other shepherds they will not heed; and +from the voice of strangers they flee. +</p> + +<p> +It is a beautiful scene to see a shepherd +with his flock. First, we must remember +that he never drives them, but leads them; +and they follow him with instinctive love +and trust whithersoever he goes. He usually +carries a rod and a staff: the latter he +uses, when need be, to assist the sheep along +dangerous paths and narrow passages; the +former, to protect and defend them, if assailed +by enemies or beasts of prey. Another +evidence of their implicit love of their +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> +shepherd and trust in his goodness, as also +of their obedience to his voice and commands, +is beautifully manifest when several +flocks are led to drink at the same stream or +well. Although the sheep need to drink +but once a day, the shepherds never forget, +throughout the day's roaming, that they +must lead their flock to water. And as the +drinking places in Palestine are comparatively +few, it often happens that several +herds, whether from the same or neighboring +pastures, will arrive simultaneously at +the same spring. But here again, there is +neither trouble nor confusion. When they +have drawn near to the place of water each +shepherd gives a sign to his flock, and obedient +to his voice, the respective flocks lie +down and patiently wait their turn to drink. +The troughs are then filled with the refreshing +water, and when all is ready a shepherd +calls and his flock at once rises and comes +forward to drink. The sheep being satisfied, +the shepherd gives another sign, and +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> +they promptly return to their previous place +of rest, or move quietly away to their pasture, +as the shepherd may direct. Another +flock is then called up, watered and led +away, and so on, in like manner, till all have +been duly satisfied. +</p> + +<p> +With this passing glance at shepherd life, +we can better understand and better appreciate +the likeness between the character of +the Saviour and that of the good shepherd. +We can see how apt it was that our Redeemer +should choose a shepherd, with his +multiple and tender cares and duties, to illustrate +His own watchfulness and loving +kindness towards the many wants and needs +of our souls. For we are, indeed, His sheep. +He has called us, we have heard and understood +His voice, and He has gathered us +into His flock and fold. He has literally +vindicated for Himself in our regard all the +attributes and qualities of the good shepherd, +so far as described, and as still further +depicted in every verse of the Twenty-second +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> +Psalm. This is called the Psalm of +the Good Shepherd, because in it the Psalmist, +under the symbol of a shepherd, prophetically +foretold the character of the +Messiah, our Saviour. The psalm has, +therefore, a twofold meaning: in its literal +sense it deals with the faithful shepherd, +ranging with his flock over mountains and +plains, and providing for their every want; +and in its spiritual and prophetic meaning +it relates to our Creator and Saviour, caring +for our spiritual necessities. Let us see how +this is; and that we may better perceive the +application in detail, let us take this shepherd +song, part by part, and see how beautifully +it describes the whole person of +Christ as God, and in His capacity as Redeemer—in +all His tender relations with +us, and towards the various needs of our +souls. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='026'/><anchor id='Pg026'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.</head> + +<p> +How full of meaning and how comprehensive +are these simple yet beautiful words +which introduce the Good Shepherd Psalm! +They at once sum up the whole round of the +shepherd's life—his duties, his solicitude, +his ceaseless care of his sheep. But here, +be it noted, in this opening verse, the reference, +so direct and unmistakable, is not to +an earthly shepherd; it is to the benign and +constant Providence of Jehovah towards +His children, to the untiring love of God, +our Father and Saviour, for the souls He +has created and redeemed. The Psalmist +is looking back, in grateful remembrance, +upon the history of his race, and upon his +own life in particular, and he traces there +at every step the goodness and watchfulness +of his Creator. He sees there has never +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> +been any want. Dark days at times have +come upon his nation, sufferings and trials +there have been; and in these, as in other +respects, his own individual experience has +mirrored the history of his people; but +throughout it all there has never been any +lasting want. As the shepherd is ever near +his sheep, whether at peace or in trouble, to +provide for their needs, so, sings the Psalmist +in gratitude, has God been near him and +his people. And his confidence is unshaken; +that which has been in the past will +be in the future; as sheep put their trust in +their shepherd, so will he put his trust in +his Lord and God. Nor is this gratitude +for past favors and this unshaken trust for +the future to be restricted to the Psalmist +alone; his words had meaning not only for +himself; he knows the same Providence +provides for us all, and therefore he would +have his words find an echo in the hearts +and sentiments of all. +</p> + +<p> +The Lord is my shepherd; He ruleth me +<pb n='028'/><anchor id='Pg028'/> +with the rod of gentleness. I am His creation, +He has bought me with a great price, +He has set me a divine example and taught +me the way to life. There may be times of +distress for me, brief periods of temporal +need; but surely, since I am the possession +of my God, and He is providing for me, +nothing can long be wanting to me—permanent +want there can never be. +</p> + +<p> +The Lord ruleth me, and all my kind, as +a shepherd ruleth his flock. What a consoling +thought to each one of us, if only we +be faithful souls! How unspeakable the +thought, how surpassing the privilege to +know and to be assured that we belong to +God! that out of countless millions of creatures, +far nobler than we, to whom He +might have given the joy of life, He has +chosen to select us; to think that He has +allotted to us a short period of existence +here below, during which it is our privilege +to be able to merit and draw near to Him +for eternity; and that after this, our little +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> +time of trial, we are to reign with Him in +everlasting glory! Of a certainty we are a +favored people and a royal race, for we belong +to God. He has purchased our souls +by creating us, He has come down from +Heaven to redeem and buy us back from +the enemy to whom our race in folly had +surrendered itself, He has borne our sorrows +and our sufferings to make amends for +us and to teach us the way to life, and finally +He has given His own life for our salvation. +</p> + +<p> +Since, then, God has created us, it follows +that He must have had us in His mind from +everlasting, because nothing that is, or can +be, is unforeseen by Him. From the remotest +dawn of eternity, therefore; from +the very beginning of the eternal years, He +saw us as He sees us now, clearly, distinctly, +lovingly. We did not exist from eternity +as we do now, but we were present to God +before we were to ourselves, He saw us mirrored +in Himself. And when, in time, He +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +called our race into being and endowed it +with life, we know what happened. This +human nature of ours which He had loved +from eternity, and favored in time with existence, +turned its back upon its God and +strayed away to sin and death. This was +the disobedience of our first parents, and in +their sin we all have shared, for the very +reason that they were our parents and responsible +for us as well as for themselves. +We became a ruined race, deserving punishment, +fit for perdition; and yet God did not +give us up. He followed after us, as it +were; He pursued us, as a shepherd pursues +his chosen flock, until finally He led us back +to His fold, and to pastures of rest and +plenty. +</p> + +<p> +It was not enough for God's goodness to +give us the gift of life, and to endow us with +understanding, will, and freedom; it did not +satisfy His bountifulness to make our life +fair here on earth, and to enable us to reap +much of the joys and pleasures with which +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> +even this world abounds—no, far more than +all this has He wished and prepared for His +elect, for the souls who belong to His flock. +It was nothing less than Himself, Heaven +and its rewards, that the eternal Father had +in store for us when He called us into being. +In order, therefore, that we should not lose +our destined crowns through the guilt and +wounds of original sin, He provided for us +a remedy, He sent us a Saviour, who was +His only son, our Lord Jesus Christ. +</p> + +<p> +Now since it is to Christ, the Saviour, +that the spiritual meaning of the Shepherd +Psalm refers in a particular manner, it is in +Him especially, and in His earthly life, that +we discern and find fulfilled the chiefest +qualities of the good shepherd. As God, +we see, He has, indeed, been our shepherd +from the beginning, creating and endowing +our nature, and providing for us unnumbered +benefits, temporal and eternal. But +it is in His human nature, in His character +as God and man, that He draws nearest to +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +us and proves unto us in ways most gracious +that He is, in truth, our loving Master and +the Shepherd of our souls. Marvelous, assuredly, +has been the goodness of God to +create us at all; and still more marvelous +that He should have destined us for a participation +in His own eternal blessedness; +but in no way has the heavenly Father so +stooped to us, in no way has He so manifested +His utter condescension towards us, +as in the abasement of His Only-begotten +Son, <q>who, being in the form of God, emptied +himself, taking the form of a servant.</q><note place='foot'>Phil. ii. 6, 7.</note> +For let us reflect that to raise our race from +its fallen state and restore it to the divine +good-pleasure, it was not necessary that the +Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity +should have come down to earth. Such extraordinary +means were not of necessity to +bring us back to Heaven's smile and favor. +As by a simple act of His omnipotent will +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +God had called the world and us and all +that is out of nothingness in the beginning, +so again by a single wish of the same divine +will He could have restored us, from a condition +of bondage and sin, to the realms of +grace and peace. And even when the Son +of God did condescend, in accordance with +the will of His Father, to clothe Himself +with our nature and visit our blighted +sphere, how simple, really, He could have +made our redemption! How easily could +He have blotted out the handwriting that +was against us, and presented our tearful +world, all smiling and glad, to the arms of +His eternal Father! Yes, Christ could +have made our redemption easy. He could +have paid our debt to God in a thousand +different, simple ways, had He wished it so. +One drop of His precious blood, one tear +of His eye, one sigh of the Sacred Heart +would have sufficed to redeem innumerable +worlds like ours. +</p> + +<p> +But the Saviour wished it otherwise. He +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> +was our Shepherd and He loved us, His +deceived and wounded sheep. He was with +the Father when we were planned and made. +He it was, in truth, who made us, for He +and the Father are one.<note place='foot'>Jno. x. 30, 38; xii. 45.</note> He, therefore, +knew our nature, since He designed and +gave it to us. He foresaw our yearnings +and aspirations; He knew the sublime, transcendent +possibilities of which, with His +help and divine example, we are capable; +He understood the heights of love and worship +to which the human heart can ascend, +when assisted from on high, and hence to +awaken and kindle on earth these all-consuming +fires;<note place='foot'>Luke xii. 49.</note> to stir the very depths of our +souls, and elevate and perfect our gifted +nature; to afford us the utmost inspiration +to climb with Him the heights of Heaven. +He stooped to our own estate, in all things +made like unto us, except, indeed, our proneness +and ability to sin. Since He loved us, +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> +He longed to be like us, in as far as that was +possible, and not even our sin-stained, +wounded nature could stay the force of His +love. +</p> + +<p> +There is another reason for the mysterious +manner of our redemption, a further +explanation of the extreme condescension +on the part of our Lord towards the frail +creatures whom He came to save. Had he +come to us in a foreign attire, with a nature +unlike our own, would it not have been difficult +for us to approach Him, and to put our +confidence and trust in Him? If He had +appeared like an angel, all bright and dazzling +with glory, if He had come as an +earthly king and ruler, crowned and clad in +regal splendor, would it not have been hard +for the poor ones of earth? would it not +have been a trial for those who were in need +of a shepherd's love and care? Already +sorely oppressed and trodden down by +worldly pomp and power, they could only +have tried to shun His notice and draw +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +back from Him with feelings of fear and +awe. But our Redeemer came not only to +save, but also to teach and to lead the way +to life. As a shepherd He was not to drive, +but to lead His sheep; He does not point +the direction, but goes before His flock, and +they follow Him, and He leads them out to +living pastures and to bright, sparkling, far-off +waters. +</p> + +<p> +Because He was God, as well as man, +Christ knew that, as a result of our sinful +state, we should have to pass our earthly sojourn +forever beneath the shadow of the +cross. When sin entered into the world by +the disobedience of the first man, the handiwork +of the Creator was despoiled. That +which before had been a paradise of pleasure, +replete with all delights, was wrecked +and ruined, and became a place of sorrow, +suffering and death. Thenceforth, pursuant +to the divine decree, the lot of man was +to labor, to suffer, and to die.<note place='foot'>Gen. iii. 19.</note> Knowing, +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +therefore, that this was to be our portion, +the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must +also teach us the secret of pain and toil, and +help us to bear our cross. +</p> + +<p> +According, then, to our present state, suffering +and sorrow are inseparable from us, +because we are born into the world with sin +upon our souls, and in the wake of sin follow +all the evils to which the world is heir. +And, moreover, under existing conditions, +it is necessary for our future happiness that +our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil +and pain and tears. It is only through these +that we shall be able to atone for the injuries +sin has done, and hold in check the disorders +of our nature. The cross is before us +and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us +when we enter the world, it follows us +throughout the length of our days, and finally +bears us down in death to our graves. +This does not mean that life on earth is entirely +made up of pain and sorrow, for the +divine mercy has mitigated even the stroke +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +of sin, and has caused the world, in spite of +all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. +Nevertheless, our sojourn here below shall +always be fraught with diverse ills, and we +at last must yield to death. In spite of all +the world can afford us, in spite of its pleasures +and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, +real, though fitful and fast-flying as +they are; in spite of health and wealth and +fame and honor; in spite of all the goods +that life contains, it still is ever true that +we live in a region of tears, and that death +and sorrow are sure to follow upon the footsteps +of joy and mirth. It must be so, for +the stains of sin are indelibly upon the +world; and not until the final renovation +comes can life on earth be made entirely +happy. +</p> + +<p> +All this our Saviour knew when He chose +our human nature and embraced a life of +labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge +took in our lives, and the lives of all +our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> +infant tears, our trials and pains of body, the +ceaseless pangs of mind and heart that pursue +us throughout life, were all before Him +as in a mirror, and He must needs instruct +and assist us to fight this battle and walk +this way of earth, lest all should perish before +the journey's end. Since we were to +suffer, then He would suffer also; since our +lives were to be amidst labors and trials, +then He would labor and travail also; since +we were to feel the sting of pain, be subject +to heat and cold, be in want, in poverty, and +in distress, be misunderstood, be thwarted, +be cast down from our highest hopes, and +broken, at times, in every cheerful prospect—since +these and other countless ills +were to be woven in our web of earthly life, +He, the divine Master, who came to save, to +teach a lesson, to suffer and die, would assume +a body so sacred, so delicate, so pure +and sensitive that, when exposed to the +rough and ruthless ways of life, He could +truly cry out from the depths of His anguish: +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> +<q>O all ye that pass by the way, attend +and see if there be any sorrow like unto my +sorrow!</q><note place='foot'>Lam. i. 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +How comforting, then, it is for us to feel +that we are not alone in suffering, and to +know that, while all we suffer is but just and +due to our sinful state, we can nevertheless +make use of all our ills to attain to joys unending +in Heaven! If we must toil and +struggle while on earth, it is because these +things are a result of our state; if we must +be subject to sickness, to weakness and fatigue, +to cold and hunger, to weariness and +pain, it is not because God is pleased at the +misery of His creatures; neither does He +rejoice on account of our misfortune. We +are simply reaping the harvest of sin and +transgression, and sin is the work of our own +free choice and that of our ancestors. And +even though it be objected that we are born +into this inevitable condition, and are made +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +the unconsulted heirs of a heritage we loathe +but cannot escape, the solution of our difficulty +is not far to seek. We need but hearken +to the promptings of reason, and lift our +sorrowing eyes to the realms of faith to be +convinced that God's mercy and goodness +are above all His works,<note place='foot'>Ps. cxliv. 9.</note> and that for reasons +not less benevolent than holy He has +called us into life and permitted all our +woes. God could not have created us for +suffering and punishment, because He is infinite +goodness; He cannot be pleased at +our misfortunes, since He Himself has +borne our sorrows and carried all our +pains.<note place='foot'>Isa. liii. 4.</note> If He Himself had not come into +the world in visible human form; if He had +not explained our purpose and destiny, and +led the way to Heaven; if He had not, by +His words and divine example, provided us +with the solution for all life's difficulties, +then, in truth, we might object, and sit and +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> +grieve and wonder. But in the light of the +life of Christ all this is altered; the picture +takes on a different coloring. Who now +can rail at the crosses of life and think of +the sufferings of Christ? Who can murmur +at the injustice of pain, and remember +the passion of Jesus? Who can say that +God is deaf to our pleading and unmoved +at our tears, and look upon the Saviour dying? +Who can believe that our lives are +of little worth, or of no account with the +Almighty, and recall the price that was paid +for our souls and ponder the death of our +God? +</p> + +<p> +Thus it is with a bountiful goodness that +the Saviour has purchased His sheep. By +His own free choice, by a life of suffering +entirely voluntary, endured for our salvation +and instruction, through a bitter, but +willing agony and death, He has provided +the means to free us from sin, and has bequeathed +to us every blessing. Now we +can truly say: the Lord is my shepherd, and +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> +I shall not want. If only we can look into +that divine life which has been given as our +model, if only we can ponder it, and read +in it the lessons, the hopes, the inspirations +it contains for us, we shall not be weary of +our burdens and cares, we shall not falter +in any of life's battles. Rather, rejoicing +at our opportunities, eternal as they are, and +with feelings of exultant gratitude over our +condition, as heirs with Christ to the kingdom +of Heaven,<note place='foot'>Rom. viii. 17.</note> we shall bravely welcome +all the conflicts of life, being assured with +St. Paul that <q>that which is at present momentary +and light of our tribulation, worketh +for us above measure exceedingly an +eternal weight of glory.</q><note place='foot'>2 Cor. iv. 17.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures +of Tender Grass; He Leadeth +Me Beside the Waters of Quietness.</head> + +<p> +Our attention is now directed to a particular +phase of the shepherd's life, and here +we see some of the ways in which he actually +provides for his sheep day by day. For it is +not enough that the shepherd has purchased +his flock, by means however difficult and +labors however loving; it is not sufficient +that he have procured for them, in a general +manner, all that they need for their life and +safety, he must also arrange for their daily +care and provide for their separate wants. +Sheep, as we know, are delicate creatures, +and they must be directed in their roamings, +and sustained by sufficient nourishment. +Accordingly, we have said that it +belongs to the duties of a good shepherd to +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +lead them out to pasture, and to provide for +them every day adequate food and drink. +</p> + +<p> +Here again we behold the infinite kindness +of the Shepherd of our souls. Not +alone has He deigned to stoop to our fallen +state and restore us from death to life, not +only did He take upon Himself our infirmities +and bear our woes, but tenderly also has +He provided for our constant direction, and +for the daily needs of our lives. +</p> + +<p> +The level to which the Saviour raised our +lives and the dignity to which He invites us +are far, indeed, above our natural powers. +Left to ourselves, we could never attain the +heavenly heights to which, in His goodness, +He has called us. Through the infinite +merits of His life and sacrifice we have been +redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of +our souls; the gates of Heaven, closed +against us before, have been opened wide; +and our wayward race is again restored to +the road that leads to our immortal home. +But just because our celestial destiny is of +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> +so high and sublime a character, it is impossible, +if left to our own abilities, that we +should be able long to pursue it, and vastly +beyond our sublimest hopes that we should +ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, +ever before us, the life and example of Him +who has saved us; we know that His cross +and death have delivered us from the wrath +that frowned upon us. But we are weak +and fragile mortals. With respect to things +of the higher life—of the supernatural +world—we, of ourselves, shall always remain +as helpless and frail as infants. Not +less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse +unaided and explore the material +world, than the wisest of men would be to +know and grasp by his natural powers the +unrevealed good of the immortal human +spirit. And as, in our natural state, we +could not know the true end of our existence, +without a divine revelation, so likewise, +we could not pursue and attain our +<pb n='047'/><anchor id='Pg047'/> +spiritual destiny without special assistance +from on high. +</p> + +<p> +How well all this was known to our kind +and kingly Shepherd! How keenly did He +appreciate our frailty and inability to walk +alone the paths which He had trodden! Not +unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to +teach and direct the way which leads to unending +life. When going before his flock +and teaching them by force of example, He +did not omit to give them that saving doctrine +which, when He had disappeared, +would be their guide, and the guide to their +future shepherds in the direction of safety +and truth. Hence He propounded a teaching +which should be to its obedient followers +a realization at once of all He had promised +them, and of all their heart's desires. +Not that it would make them rich or great +in the eyes of the world and according to +human standards, but that it would confer +a truer and a higher greatness by lifting +<pb n='048'/><anchor id='Pg048'/> +them above their weak and natural level +and preparing them for eternal blessedness. +</p> + +<p> +Men had the Law before the coming of +Christ; they knew the ten commandments. +But the state to which the God-man called +them, and the eminence to which they were +raised, were quite beyond anything the +world till then had ever been able to conceive. +Human nature, under the New Covenant, +was invited to attain to perfection. +Things which before were thought impossible, +were now to be the objects of our daily +strivings. It was no longer an eye for an +eye, and a tooth for a tooth; now not only +was good to be done to those who were good +to us, but to those also who did us evil; not +only were we to love our friends, but to love +and assist our enemies also; not only should +evil deeds be avoided, but evil thoughts +were likewise forbidden—yea, we were +asked to be, in all our thoughts and deeds, +imitators of the Shepherd who leads us.<note place='foot'>Matt. v. 48.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> + +<p> +Poor human nature, when raised so high +above its natural powers, stood in perilous +need of a shepherd's tender care. The new +demands of every day made indispensible +new and special daily helps. While our +spirits can see and know the way, under the +light of heavenly teaching, yet how weak +and faltering is our flesh! We have the +will to do; but to accomplish, we alone are +not able. Therefore our Saviour said, <q>Of +yourselves, you can do nothing, but in me +all things are possible to you. The branches +are nothing unless they abide in the vine; I +am the vine, you the branches.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xv. 5.</note> Thus He +is our Leader, our divine Teacher and our +source of strength. Without Him we can +do nothing, but in Him we are strong. And +daily and constantly He is near us, though +we see Him not. It is He who sustains our +very life and moves us to all that is good. +Like an ever-present friend, He offers us +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +constant assistance: He instructs and guides +and helps us, and this is the strength and +food of our souls. God's grace it is, always +ready for our use, which makes possible all +the high demands put upon our nature. +Without it we should faint and starve on +our journey, and hence He who has planned +our high perfection, has provided the help +to attain it. What are those seven wonderful +sacraments which He has left us, but +perennial channels of grace, constant fountains +from which stream the life-giving +waters that nourish our weary souls and +make them strong for life eternal! Through +these sacred means we are brought into contact +with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. +They prolong His life +and labors among us, they continue in our +midst the strength of His sacred presence. +</p> + +<p> +In a manner altogether special is this true +of the Holy Sacrament of the altar. By the +Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and +will so remain till the end of time, as really +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the days +of His mortal life. Bound down as we are +by the things of sense, we may, at times, be +tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament +is all invisible to us. We can not +see Him directly and immediately. His +voice is silent and we do not hear Him; we +do not feel the caress of His hand. But +nevertheless we know He is present, for He +has said it, and His word must remain, +though heaven and earth should pass away. +Even were we privileged to see the sacred +humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, +we should not then, more than now in this +sacrament, directly see the divinity concealed +by the human frame. Faith then +was required as well as now—faith in His +sacred words, made evident by His sacred +deeds. This is not strange; it is not too +much to ask. The same demand of faith is +daily made upon us in much of our intercourse +with our fellow mortals. Much that +we do not clearly see we must perforce believe, +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> +else life would be impossible. The +same, in a measure, is also true in all our +human friendships. That which is most +precious in our friends, that which is the +source of life and beauty, of holy words and +loving actions, of all we love and cherish +in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens +and moves; and this we do not see. +</p> + +<p> +Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, +though faith alone can apprehend Him. +He requires of us this faith—this humble +subjection of our sensible faculties to the +power and truth of His words. It is all for +our good that now He is hidden from our +sight. He is not the less truly present, not +less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful +and forbearing; but He wishes to exercise +our faith, to prove our fidelity and +trust in His teaching and promises, and +hence He is hidden from the powers of our +senses. +</p> + +<p> +In the sacrament of the Eucharist the +gracious Shepherd of our souls performs in +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> +particular three offices for us: He is our +sacrifice, our silent patient friend, and in +communion He becomes the actual spiritual +food of our souls. As a victim He is daily +and constantly, from the rising to the setting +of the sun, lifted up for us in the holy +sacrifice of the mass. The mass is the perpetuation +of the sacrifice He offered long +ago for our redemption. All the altars +throughout the world, on which He is ever +born and dies again in mystic repetition, are +but an extension of the one great altar of +Calvary, where first He gave His life for +our salvation. And in this real and awful +sacrifice, forever repeated in our midst, He +pleads again our cause with God, the eternal +Father. Again in a mystic manner He +suffers for us, again He bleeds, again He is +nailed to the cross and raised on high, and +in that same abandoned, pitiable state, to +which His love for His flock has reduced +Him, ever and anon in our behalf He +pleads: <q>Father forgive them, for they +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> +know not what they do!<note place='foot'>Luke xxiii. 34.</note> Holy Father, +Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! +and save the souls which Thou hast created +for Thyself, and for which till the end of +time I die!</q> He lifts, as it were, before +the great white throne, His bruised and +blood-stained hands, He shows those +wounded feet, the scar of the spear in His +sacred side; He points again to the agony +in the garden, to the scourging at the pillar, +to the cruel crown of thorns, to the weary +way of the cross, and exclaims to Him who +sits upon the throne, <q>Behold, my Father, +and see the price of my sheep, the tears and +sorrow and blood they have cost me! and +spare them and save them for the sake of +Thy Son!</q> +</p> + +<p> +Through the holy sacrifice of the mass, +identical as it is with the sacrifice of Calvary, +all the merits of Christ's life and death +are applied to our souls. By His physical +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +and bloody immolation on Calvary, Christ +purchased for us infinite treasures of grace, +and it is His will that these graces shall be +dispensed to us, even till the end of the +world, through the august sacrament of the +altar. Moreover, except for the mass, we +should not be blessed with the abiding actual +presence of our divine Shepherd among +us—that is, we should not possess Him in +that special, intimate manner in which we +now have Him in the Eucharist. For it is +only in the mass that the sacred species are +consecrated; and consequently it is through +the mass alone that He takes up His sacramental +presence in our midst and becomes +our food in holy communion. He could, +indeed, have ordained it otherwise, but such +has been His blessed will, and such the condition +in which we are placed by the direction +of His holy Church. +</p> + +<p> +Besides being our daily sacrifice, then, +under the appearance of bread and wine, +besides ever prolonging in our midst that +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> +wondrous act of Calvary by which at once +He liberated our race and reopened to us +the gates of Heaven, the bounteous Shepherd +of our souls enters into the tabernacles +of our churches, and there in silent patient +waiting He craves the love of our hearts +and longs for our intimate friendship. He +is not content alone to plead for us with +God, His Father; He is not content continually +to renew in our presence the tragic +mystery by which at the end of His earthly +labors, He procured us every blessing—no, +over and above these sovereign acts of kindest +benediction, He wishes to remain among +us, and to converse with us, each and all, as +a friend would converse with his friend. +This is what He meant when He said by the +mouth of His inspired writer, <q>my delights +are to be with the children of men.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. viii. 31.</note> As +a Shepherd, His chiefest pleasure, as well +as His supremest care, is to be with the flock +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> +He has purchased and loves. Yet it is a +lonely life for our Shepherd-King, this +abode in the silent tabernacle; but it is +all for love of us. He wishes to be there +where we can find Him, where we can come +to Him at any hour and speak to Him, to +praise and thank Him for all His dear and +endless gifts, to tell Him our needs and our +sorrows, to open our breaking hearts to Him +and reveal the secrets of our souls. This it +is that He desires from us—the outpouring +of our hearts and souls in His presence. +This it is which renders unto Him that +homage of faith and love and devotion that +He came into the world to inspire. It will +not do to say that, being God, He is acquainted +with all our thoughts and aware of +all our wants, for it is intimacy and confidence +that He desires, the intimacy and confidence +which alone can create a true and +noble friendship. <q>I will call you no longer +servants,</q> He said to His disciples, <q>but I +have called you friends; the servant knoweth +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> +not what his Master doth, but a friend +is admitted to confidence.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xv. 15.</note> Christ in the +tabernacle is our friend; He has loved us +unto the end, and He yearns for our love in +return. Why is this? Why are we so precious +in His eyes? What are we that the +great Creator should at all be mindful of +us?<note place='foot'>Ps. viii. 5.</note> We must remember and ever bear +in mind the lofty purpose which the Creator +had in view when first He called us into being—the +same purpose it was which prompted +our redemption and all the gracious dispensations +that have followed thereupon—namely, +that God, while achieving His own +eternal honor and glory, might communicate +to us a portion of His own ineffable +blessedness. We were made for God, and +not for the world, or for creatures, or for +ourselves. And precisely because we are +the possession and property of God, He +wants us, soul and body, for Himself; and +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +in this blessed sacrament He calls to us individually, +<q>Son, give Me thy heart;</q><note place='foot'>Prov. xxiii. 26.</note> +<q>come to Me, all you who are burdened, +and I will refresh you.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xi. 28.</note> <q>come to Me +and find rest for your souls, I will lead +you beside the waters of quietness.</q> +</p> + +<p> +But the excesses of our Shepherd's love +and care do not stop with the altar and with +the tabernacle. He is not satisfied with being +our daily sacrifice and our abiding +friend, not satisfied until He enters into our +very bosom and unites us to Himself. +Union with the beloved object and delight +in its presence are characteristic of all true +friendship, whether human or divine. That +which we really love we desire to have, to +possess, to be united with; and hence it is +that Christ, the lover of our souls, has not +only given His life to purchase us for Himself +and Heaven, but has so extended His +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> +loving-kindness as to become Himself our +actual food. +</p> + +<p> +It is incomprehensible, in a human way, +that the love of a shepherd for his flock, the +love of God for His creatures, should be so +extraordinary as to provide the wondrous +benefits which Christ in the Eucharist has +wrought for us. We simply cannot grasp +with our feeble minds the prodigality of +such enduring love. But the Saviour knew +His purpose with us, and He knew the +needs of our souls. As guests destined for +an eternal banquet, and as heirs to celestial +thrones, it is needful for us, amid the rough +ways and perils of life, to be constantly reminded +of our royal destiny and strengthened +against our daily foes. This world of +ours is an arena in which each one must contend +for his eternal prize; and it is not possible, +considering our natural frailty and the +enemies that oppose our forward march, +that we alone, without an added strength, +should ever be able to win the battle of life. +</p> + +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> + +<p> +Hence, as the body, to maintain its vigor +and perform its work, needs its material +and earthly food, so the soul, to live and be +strong, must be nourished with the bread of +Heaven. <q>The bread that I will give,</q> said +our Lord, <q>is my flesh for the life of the +world ... unless you eat of this +bread you cannot have life in you ... +and he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my +blood hath life everlasting, and I will raise +him up on the last day.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. vi. 52, 55.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In order, then, to sustain our spiritual life +on earth and to make us strong for our daily +conflicts, our heavenly Shepherd has left us +a food which is none other than His own +body and blood. What a prodigy of love! +What could He do for us that He has not +done? But, besides giving us strength, He +had another purpose in becoming our food. +Since He has chosen us for Himself, and +has provided, in another world, eternal +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +mansions for our souls,<note place='foot'>Jno. xvi. 2.</note> He wishes to make +certain, not only the happy issue of our +lives, but our ever-increasing resemblance +to Himself. He is therefore preparing us, +He is fitting us, through communion in the +Holy Eucharist, for our celestial home, and +for visible companionship with Himself. +Intercourse, communion, intimate relationship +produce likeness, even here on earth, +and it is a singular effect of Holy Communion +that, unlike earthly food, it changes +into itself all those who partake of it. Material, +natural food becomes the substance +of our flesh and blood, but frequent participation +in the heavenly nourishment of +Christ in the Eucharist transmutes our +whole being—our lives and thoughts and +actions—into its own supernatural character. +</p> + +<p> +Thus by living much with Christ on +earth, by intimate converse with Him, by +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> +allowing Him to enter into our lives and +thoughts, and shape our conduct and actions; +and above all, by frequent and fervent +communion with Him in the sacrament +of His love, we become like unto Him, even +here in our state of exile. And this likeness +to Christ, which His faithful servants +assume here below, is a forestate of future +blessedness; it is a preparation for the great +reunion and the eternal banquet which +await us in Heaven. Already we are led +beside the waters of rest; we are directed +to pastures of sweetest nourishment; and +through the calm and vigor that reign in +the soul we experience even now a taste of +joys unseen. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>V. He Restoreth My Soul.</head> + +<p> +Throughout the pastoral country of the +Orient there are numerous places of great +peril for sheep. There are also, here and +there, private fields and vineyards and gardens +into which, if a member of a flock +should stray and be caught, it is forfeited +to the owner of the land. Strange as it may +seem, the sheep never learn to avoid these +dangerous spots and forbidden places, and +it behooves the shepherd to be ever on his +guard for them, and to rescue them when +wandering. +</p> + +<p> +Here we cannot fail to observe the striking +resemblance between this wayward tendency +of the shepherd's flock and our own +inclination and propensity to wander from +God and things eternal. The world is full +of occasions to evil; at every turn of the +road on our journey through life there are +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +fierce and crouching enemies who are waiting +the chance to capture and bear us away. +We know this; we have often been warned +of the danger; too many sad experiences +and breathless escapes have convinced us of +the sundry perils to soul and body that lie +along the way of life. But we, like senseless, +erring sheep, if bereft of the Shepherd's +guiding care, do not learn, in life's +sad school, the way to keep free from harm. +Though wounded repeatedly, and scarred +and worn, and left, perhaps, without human +aid, to waste and bleed our life away, +we do not see the lurking evils; we do not +discern beneath the mask the enemy whose +purpose is ruin and death. +</p> + +<p> +The creatures of the world, the things of +sense take vicious hold of us, and often drag +us to the very verge of perdition before we +are aware. They come to us unprepared, +and seek entrance into our lives and +thoughts, and allure us by deception. They +tell us that the world is fair and beautiful +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +and full of promise; that God, for the moment, +is not concerned; that the soul is secure +and safe, and the body and its needs +the only object of present solicitude. The +process is gradual. The turning away and +the loss are not at once and from the beginning +of seductive influences, but slowly and +unobtrusively in the guise of hope and high +expectation. There is Ambition, with its +glittering prospects, with its proffered rewards +and castles of air. To the young man +and young woman, just entering the arena +of life, Ambition says, <q>Come and follow +me, and I will crown you with glory and +honor. I will lift you above the common, +beaten paths of men and seat you on a gilded +throne. I will introduce you to my sister +Pride, and we two will make you happy. +Pride will teach you your true dignity, your +place and position in the universe; she will +remind you of your gifts and faculties, and +enable you to battle with the weak and the +strong; she will give you the secret of +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +knowledge and train you to soar above your +fellow-creatures and probe the mysteries of +God and Heaven.</q> Then Pleasure, with +dimpled cheeks and laughing eyes, and +words that sound like music to the ears, +hurries out to greet the passers-by, and +charms them by her shining gifts. <q>Make +me your object and your end,</q> she says, +<q>and I will make you blessed. Forget your +troubles and your cares, your fears of present +and future ills; rejoice and be glad, eat, +drink and be merry; indulge and drain to +dregs the cups of sense, for this is all there +is.</q> Philosophy comes with another hope. +<q>Drink deeply,</q> she counsels, <q>at the spring +of wisdom, and fear not God nor man; believe +and trust in me, and I will steal away +the sting of sorrow and pain; I will restore +you to man's primeval state and land you +safe on the shores of rest.</q> +</p> + +<p> +And when these deceivers—Ambition, +Pride, Pleasure, and the like—have plundered +and sacked their victim's goods, when +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> +these painted idols of a passing world have +led away their worshippers as slaves, and +stripped them of all they possessed, they +give them over to evil habits and to masters +that scourge and tear them. Like other +prodigals, these pursuers of earthly phantoms +take leave of their Father's house of +comfort and plenty, they give up virtue, innocence, +honesty, purity; they go into a far +country to waste their substance living riotously, +only to awake, soon at latest, to a land +of famine, and to find themselves alone and +in want. Instead of the honor and fame +and high estate they sought to gain, instead +of the escape from evil and pain and labor +they hoped to find, they are sent into fields +to minister to swine—the swine of their own +degradation. +</p> + +<p> +So, to a degree, it is with us, each and all, +who listen to other voices and heed other +calls than the voice and the call of God. If +we prefer to stray to other fields and desert +the pasture of our Shepherd, if we prefer a +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +far country to our Father's home, if the +world and its fleeting pleasures are more to +us than God and His paternal rewards, +then we must of necessity find ourselves at +length in utter want and penury. It is this +possibility of deserting God, of seeking happiness +outside of Him, of overturning the +plans which He has made for our salvation, +that gives us a vision of the awful failure of +human life. The gifts of this world are by +nature fleeting and fast-flying, and if we +allow them to take the place of Him who +made them, no matter how great our present +boons, in spite of wealth and friends +and all success, we have missed our chance +and our purpose in the world, and can only +have at last a desolate and a ruined life. +</p> + +<p> +But how is it, then, one may ask, that +man can be so deceived? How is it that +we do not learn from others' disasters to +avoid, every one of us, those deceiving, ruinous +masters, those false gods that can lead +us away from the one true Shepherd of our +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +souls? It is, indeed, a curious fact that our +deception is so easy. Surely a rational, intelligent +being, who stops to consider, ought +easily to distinguish between the great God +of Heaven and the creatures of His hands. +It ought not to be difficult for us to see the +transient vanity of human things when compared +with the eternal mansions. But the +truth of the matter is, that we <emph>are</emph> deceived, +we do not at all times see the objects of our +choice as they really are objectively. Our +vision is defective and blurred. If God +stood out in our lives as He really ought to +stand, if He occupied that place in our +thoughts and plans which belongs to Him +by right, it would not be possible that +we should ever be led astray. And that +God does not always hold in our lives +the place which is His due is partly the +result of our fallen nature; partly, therefore, +in a way, excusable; but more frequently +and chiefly from our own perversity—from +wilful neglect of our highest duties. +</p> + +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> + +<p> +The blindness and perversity of our nature, +which have come from the wounds of +original sin, make it easy for us, if we are +neglectful and careless of our higher spiritual +obligations, to mistake the false for the +true, evil for good, the creature for the Creator. +In the midst of the world and its allurements, +it behooves us to be ever watching, +if we are never to stumble and to fall. +Had our nature never been corrupted by +original unfaithfulness, had our first parents +never turned away from God and transgressed +His sacred precept, all our present +ills would never have existed. But now it +is different. We are born into the world a +weakened people; each one of us has had +an implicit part in the first transgression; +we all, like erring sheep, have gone astray. +And while this tendency to evil is part of +our natural condition, and therefore less imputable +to us, it nevertheless is true that +our actual sins and evil-doing are the work +of our deliberate choice. If, at any time, +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> +we really turn away from God and break +His law, it is because we have freely chosen +so to act. The native perversity of nature +in a normal man can never explain and excuse +the grievous sins which he deliberately +commits. It is only true that a weak and +wounded nature leaves one less able to +choose what is right, and more disposed to +wrong. And since we know the state of +things, since we know that the fault is really +ours when we dare to stray to forbidden +deeds and places, how constant and unrelenting, +if we are truly wise, should be our +efforts to keep our vision unobscured and +our ears attuned to the voice and call of our +heavenly Shepherd! We know that by following +Him our way will be certain and +clear. Howsoever enormous the evils of +life, and notwithstanding all our weakness, +we know that in Him we are safe and strong. +But we must hear Him to follow Him, we +must be guided and directed by His gracious +commands. +</p> + +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> + +<p> +This failure to hear and obey the voice of +God it is which more explains the falls and +sins of men than all their inherited frailty. +So long as His words are heard and directions +heeded, mistake and error are impossible. +We see, therefore, why it is that so +many actually do desert Him and are led +by evil voices. The cause chiefly lies in the +wilfulness of human nature and in the abuse +of human liberty. We cannot stand unless +God support us, and we shall surely fall if +He withdraws His supporting hand. But +the choice of evil, the beginning of unfaithfulness +comes from ourselves; for Almighty +God will never forsake us unless we first +forsake Him. +</p> + +<p> +If, ever, then, we find our lives to be at +variance with God, whether in lesser or in +greater matters, if it should ever be our +unhappy fortune to wander from Him, like +another prodigal, and waste our lives with +the enemies of our souls, we can be assured +that the desertion is all our own. We forget +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> +God, we deliberately wander from His +sight and care, and then we fall. Engrossed +in worldly affairs, taken up with present +vanities, with ourselves, our ease, our temporal +advancement, we begin to neglect +prayer and communion with God, we begin +to rely on ourselves and to forge ahead of +our own accord, only to encounter complete +defeat and be shorn of all our strength. The +secret of our power and success is to keep +close to Him, to speak to Him lovingly and +often, to seek guidance and protection from +Him, and habitually to live in His comforting +presence. +</p> + +<p> +But such is the boundless kindness of our +heavenly Shepherd that, no matter how +often we may have wandered from Him, or +how seriously we may have grieved Him, +He is ever ready to pursue our wanderings, +and to seek until He finds us. He does not +stop to consider the enormity of our guilt, +or our unreasonableness, or our ingratitude, +but He seeks us. He does not pause to take +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> +an account of all He has done for us, of the +many graces He has given us, of the tears +and blood He has shed in our behalf; but +He goes after our straying souls, and He +will not be appeased until He restore us. +God does not will the death of the sinner, +but that he be converted and live.<note place='foot'>Ezech. xviii. 23; +xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9.</note> He +knows all our frailties and our diverse +temptations; He knows how alluring are +the things of sense to a nature perverted like +ours; He knows how easy it is for us, blind +and ignorant as we are, to forget Him and +our dearest interests, and to obey the call of +other voices; all this He understands, and +He has pity on us. <q>He knoweth our frame, +He remembereth that we are dust.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. 102. 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +To bring us back, therefore, when wandering, +and to restore us to the circle of His +chosen flock, our Saviour has made ample +provision. Through those divine mediums +of grace—the sacraments of His Church—He +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> +has arranged to succor all our wants +and to cure our various infirmities. The +sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in +particular, were instituted to raise our souls +from death to life, and to heal our spiritual +wounds. Baptism may be aptly compared +to the door of the sheepfold. It is the gate +through which men must enter into the fold +of Christ, it is the entrance to His Church. +It clears away the guilt and stain of original +sin, and restores the soul from a state of enmity +to the friendship and grace of God. +None can really belong to Christ, none can +be of His true fold who have not entered +by way of the door, who have not been baptized. +Many there are who pretend to belong +to Him and think themselves of the +number of His flock; they speak of Him as +their Master and Shepherd; they pretend +to be doing His work; they call Him Lord +and preach in His name; but they have not +entered by the door of the sheepfold, and He +knows them not. Like thieves and robbers, +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +they have climbed up some other way, and +they neither know Him, nor does He know +them, neither can they understand His +voice. Baptism is the entrance, it is the +door, to the fold of Christ. +</p> + +<p> +And as it is through Baptism that our +bountiful Lord first recalls us from the ways +of sin and makes us members of his flock, +so in the sacrament of Penance He has provided +a means by which we may at all times +be recalled from our wanderings and restored +to His friendship. Penance is an +inexhaustible means of reconciliation between +the erring soul and God. It lasts +throughout our lives, it stretches even to the +end of time. If only we are men of goodwill +and have at heart our eternal interests, +we need not be disturbed at our frailty, or +at repeated lapses into sin. There is no sin +which cannot be forgiven by the sacrament +of Penance. Not that anyone, knowing +that he can be forgiven, should presume to +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> +abuse God's gracious sacrament, and yield +freely and without restraint to the voice of +sin; nor that we are not to be truly sorry +to the end of our days for having even once +offended our benign Maker and Redeemer; +but we must be confident that, whatever +may have been our faults and failings, however +prolonged and extraordinary our transgressions, +if we approach the sacrament of +Penance with sincere sorrow and a firm purpose +of amendment, God will always lovingly +receive us back to Himself, and remember +no more our unfaithfulness. God +hates sin, because it is opposed to Himself +and is the only evil in the world, but He +loves the wounded sinner who is made in +His own image and likeness. Precious in +the sight of God is the penitent sinner. Does +He not tell us Himself that, like a good +shepherd, He leaves ninety-nine just to go +in search of one lost sheep? Yea, He assures +us that there is rejoicing among the +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> +angels of Heaven over one sinner who does +penance.<note place='foot'>Luke xv. 4, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +To make worthy use of the sacrament of +Penance we must be truly sorry for having +offended God, and be resolved, at the time +of confession, to do what lies in our power +never again to turn away from Him. To +these dispositions must also be joined the +intention of doing something to repair the +injury which sin has done to God. Given +such conditions, and we need only speak the +word to God's duly appointed minister and +our sins are no more. The dark veil which +hung around the soul like a cloud is lifted, +and we again rejoice in the smile of our +heavenly Father. How simple, yet how +potent are the means provided for our salvation! +None but God could have thought +of them, nothing but the love of God could +have arranged them! +</p> + +<p> +But even before the sinner is brought to +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> +penance, even while he is wandering and +reveling afar off in the vile delights of sin, +God is pursuing him, God is seeking after +him, calling him by name, whispering to +his heart, disposing him for repentance. +We cannot return to God, once we have deserted +Him, without His help. It is our +awful power to be able to leave Him, but +to return alone we are not able. Wherefore +He comes after us when we have wandered +into the wilds of sin; He pleads as it were, +with our souls, and offers us the grace to +repent. Oh privileged are our souls to be +thus appraised by God, and happy those +who hear and heed the appealing voice of +His grace! +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice +for His Name's Sake.</head> + +<p> +The shepherd country of the East is full +of walks and pathways, some leading this +way, some that. Some lead to dangerous +precipices over which the sheep might fall +and be lost, others would expose them to +the attack of wild beasts, while still others +would lead them so far astray that they +could not find their way back. It is, therefore, +always needful that the shepherd go +ahead of his flock and lead them in the right +path. The Psalmist, in the title of the +present chapter, is applying this carefulness +of the shepherd for his sheep to our Lord, +in His regard for our spiritual welfare. +The Saviour goes before us with the blessings +of His goodness to help and lead us +aright, lest perchance we become lost and +perish in our journey. +</p> + +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> + +<p> +This solicitude of our Redeemer in providing +for the various needs of our souls is +characteristic of Him as Saviour. It is implied +in the meaning of his name. Before +He was born, before He was conceived in +His Mother's womb, it was foretold of Him +that He should be called Jesus, which means +Saviour, for He would save His people +from their sins.<note place='foot'>Luke i. 31.</note> He exercised, as we +know, this mission of saviour throughout +His earthly career. It was for this that He +came into the world, for this that He was +born in Bethlehem with a manger as His +cradle, for this that, at the age of twelve, +He was found teaching in the Temple, for +this that He retired to Nazareth and was +subject to Mary and Joseph, for this that +He labored and suffered and bled and died. +And with His passing from this visible +scene to the bosom of His Father, He did +not cease to be that for which He had been +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> +eternally anointed—the great High Priest, +the Mediator between God and man, the +Saviour of the world. His work is everlasting; +and now that He has gone up on +high, He pleads for us ever more with the +Father. We belong to Him, He has purchased +us with His blood, and He must +needs care for our safety to the end. +</p> + +<p> +Inasmuch as we are heirs, according to +divine decree, to thrones beyond the skies, +it was necessary, as we have seen, that He +who is our Saviour and Shepherd should +have left behind Him in this world of ours +a doctrine, a code, or system of instructions +and laws, which should safely direct and +guide us to our royal destiny. Those who +lived with Him on earth, those who heard +His assuring, life-giving words, and felt +the inspiration of His example and visible +presence needed not to fear for the direction +or safety of their course. The divine, living +voice and sacred presence of their Lord +and Master they enjoyed, and care and +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> +anxiety fled from their souls. But not for +these alone had the Redeemer come, but for +all mankind, for all who in future were to +breathe the breath of human life. He came +to save all, He died for all; and thus the +teaching which He gave to the world, and +which He committed to His chosen followers, +was for every human being, even to the +end of the world, that through it all might +live and attain to life everlasting. +</p> + +<p> +The doctrine which the Saviour left us, +and the laws which He prescribed were +vastly different from the teachings of men. +Guiding, saving words of a Shepherd to his +flock, they engendered safety, comfort, +peace. Free from error or mistake, sealed +with the seal of Heaven, holding out a +promise of future glory, they exhaled the +perfumes of the eternal city, they told of +mansions not built with hands. And since +this immaculate doctrine, given for the souls +of men, was to last till the end of time, there +was need that it should be shielded against +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> +the assaults of the world and protected from +the influence of our changing human teachings. +It could not be corrected, because it +contained no mistakes; it could not be +changed or altered, because it came from +the changeless God; it could have no substitute +from the part of men or creatures of +any kind, because it was given by Him who +alone was the way, the truth, and the life. +Consequently the truths which the Saviour +declared to the world as the only means by +which we can be saved, were at once infallible +in themselves, and so provided for that +no human agency, no lapse of years or revolutions +of time and place should ever be +able to infringe on their eternal, changeless +character. It was to preserve these truths in +their integrity and freshness that He founded +His unerring Church and committed to +it the office of custodian and expounder, under +the guidance of His Holy Spirit, of all +He had revealed for the salvation of human +kind. Hence to hear our Shepherd's voice, +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +to understand what He says to us, to know +what we must do to obey His laws and save +our souls, we need but listen to the voice of +His Church. Before it was established He +declared that He should build His Church +upon a rock, and that no enemy, or group +of enemies, not even the gates of hell should +ever prevail against it.<note place='foot'>Matt. xvi. 18.</note> He established +the Church as His mouthpiece, and He said +to the little band that constituted it in the +beginning, <q>he that heareth you, heareth +me, and he that heareth me, heareth Him +that sent me;</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 17.</note> and, as if to emphasize this +declaration, He added that any one who +would not hear and obey the Church should +be considered as a heathen and a publican—types +of all that was bad.<note place='foot'>Matt. xviii. 17.</note> The Church, +therefore, is the oracle of God, it is His +mouthpiece; it possesses and guards the only +revelation which God has made to His rational +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +creatures; it alone has the words of +eternal life. +</p> + +<p> +Thus it is that our divine Shepherd goes +before us, leading us in the paths of truth +and justice, preserving us from danger and +error with respect to our spiritual destiny. +We cannot go astray if we listen to Him +speaking to us through His church. In +all our perplexities and uncertainties, +when confronted by any doubt, or confused +and distracted by the wrangling +voices and conflicting opinions of men, we +can be calm and at peace, assured in our +inmost souls that the voice which guides us +cannot err, that it is easier for heaven and +earth to pass away than for one word of His +to fail.<note place='foot'>Matt. xxiv. 35.</note> +</p> + +<p> +He leadeth me in ways of justice, in the +ways of holiness, in the ways which the +saints have walked. How exceeding great, +indeed, is our privilege, and how certain +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +and individual our election! All that remains +to us is to listen to His words and to +follow Him, and present peace will attend +our labors, while future glory waits upon +our end. +</p> + +<p> +But in the midst of abundant blessings +and spiritual favors which have surrounded +and sheltered us from infancy, we are apt +to be unmindful of our state of plenty and +forgetful of the duty of gratitude. We are +apt to venture out like thoughtless children, +trusting in our own strength to battle with +the foe; or else, on the contrary, we sluggishly +presume that a bountiful Providence +will provide for us regardless of our own +co-operation. We have never known what +it is to want for spiritual food and spiritual +direction, except when indolence, careless +indifference, and our own folly have led +us astray. These are evils which continually +assail us, and we often make friends +with them, not knowing what we are doing +for the most part, until the blood of life has +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +almost ebbed away. We are not, indeed, +removed from a world where sin abounds +and where deceiving voices may allure us +this way and that. Like the pastoral country +of the Orient, the walks of life are +fraught with perils: false teachers, false +doctrines, false prophets, pseudo-christs;<note place='foot'>Matt. xxiv. 24.</note> +<q>perils from our own nation, and perils +from abroad, perils in the city and perils in +the wilderness, perils in the sea and perils +from false brethren</q><note place='foot'>2 Cor. +xi. 26.</note>—all trying to attract +and lead us away from the paths of justice +and deliver us to the enemy of our souls. +</p> + +<p> +It is necessary that we should know that +wolves are abroad in sheep's clothing; <q>false +apostles, deceitful workers, transforming +themselves into the apostles of Christ.</q><note place='foot'>2 Cor. xi. 13.</note> +They come to us with winning words and +easy teachings, with new creeds, new forms +of belief, new ways to the promised land. +</p> + +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> + +<p> +The doctrine and truths which Christ +taught and which He entrusted to His +Church are set aside or explained away by +these modern teachers, and the novel and +the strange are made to assume the role of +the old, the familiar and the true. The +harm done is incalculable. How many innocent +and unwary sheep have been lost to +the fold of Christ by following the call of +these unworthy preachers and false shepherds! +What multitudes of precious souls +have been deceived by their polished words +and led away into paths of error, into deadly +ways of thinking, believing, and acting, +never to return to the path that leads to life! +</p> + +<p> +This poisoning of the soul and the heart +by erroneous doctrines is effected in many +and diverse ways; the victims of falsehood +are variously captured. There are the wisdom +and sagacity of men, there are the conquests +of science and the learning of the +philosophers, the discoveries of our day, the +strides of history, the breakdown and overthrow +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> +of many things held sacred by our +forefathers—and all these changes and ruptures +in the order of a former generation +are now used to beguile the flock of Christ +and sway them from the paths of truth +and righteousness. But amid all this din +and uproar of conflicting voices, amid the +wrangling tumult and confusion of converging +opinions, those who will may hear +and discern the loving voice of the true +Shepherd speaking to the world through +His Church with the same calm, assuring +words which He uttered to living witnesses +two thousand years ago. He has not +changed, neither has His teaching; He has +not deserted His chosen flock, but is with it +all days, even to the end of the world.<note place='foot'>Matt. xxviii. 20.</note> His +love for us, His watchfulness for our needs, +His enduring care for our interests, in spite +of our enemies, can never fail. +</p> + +<p> +And while assured of this, it behooves us +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> +also, as appealing to our sense of gratitude, +and as inducing to greater love of Him, to +reflect that this abiding faithfulness of our +Saviour in caring for our wants is not from +any worthiness of ours, or because of our +merits, but only for His Name's sake, because +He is Saviour. It was His love for +us that prompted our creation, His love that +provoked His passion and redeemed us, His +love that made Him suffer for us, His love +that teaches and shall guide us to life everlasting, +for His love endureth forever. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of +the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me.</head> + +<p> +Besides the paths and dangerous walks in +the shepherd country that would lead the +sheep to destruction and death, there are +other paths all encompassed with evils +through which, nevertheless, they are at +times obliged to make their way. Safety +from all harm there cannot be for the shepherd's +flock. They must in their journeys +encounter many perils, even while pursuing +the proper paths. There are deep and darksome +valleys, walled round on all sides by +towering rocky hills, which at times the +shepherd cannot easily escape. And within +these shadowy valleys and somber ravines +there dwell not infrequently wild and +ferocious animals that will, if aroused, attack +and kill the tender sheep. The utmost +<pb n='094'/><anchor id='Pg094'/> +care and caution of the shepherd are called +into service safely to conduct his dependent +flock through these places of deepest peril. +But in spite of all his watchfulness it sometimes +happens that a wolf will get into the +very midst of the sheep. The timid, terrified +animals become wild with fright, and +are scattered, running this way and that, +until the shepherd calls and bids them collect +together. No sooner do they hear his +voice, than they all rush swiftly together in +a solid mass, and either drive the enemy +from their midst or cripple and crush him +to death. +</p> + +<p> +Thus in times of greatest peril the shepherd +protects his sheep, and wrests them +from the jaws of harm. The sheep know +this, and they fear no evils; they know that +their master is with them. Yea, though +they walk in the shadow of perils and dwell +in the midst of the valley of death, they +faint not, neither do they fear, for they know +that the shepherd is near. +</p> + +<pb n='095'/><anchor id='Pg095'/> + +<p> +The case of the sheep in the valley of +perils is not unlike our own in the midst of +the evils of the world; and the peace and +safety which we enjoy should be similar +also to theirs. We are assured, first of all, +by an unflinching faith in God and our Redeemer +that, if we trust our Master and +obey Him, we shall be led aright throughout +our lives, even to the kingdom of +Heaven. We shall be led in the paths of +justice and love, and crowned at length with +the crown of glory, if we but follow the +voice of our Shepherd-King, and avoid the +walks of disaster and ruin. And to hear +His voice and to know it we have but to +listen to the teachings of His Church, which +will hush to silence our troubled hearts, and +direct our wayward feet into the paths of +heavenly peace. +</p> + +<p> +But, like the shepherd's flock, we have to +avoid in our journey through life, as perils +to our safety and spiritual welfare, not only +the false shepherds and teachers and doctrines +<pb n='096'/><anchor id='Pg096'/> +that surround us on all sides; but we +must also, to pass to our reward, actually +encounter inevitable evils and fight many +necessary battles. Many of the paths of +life through which we must of necessity +pass are hard and difficult, and full of deadly +perils. We must remember that sin has +ruined the primeval beauty of our earthly +habitation and made our life here below a +labor and a toil to the end. +</p> + +<p> +We not only come into the world with sin +on our souls, and are thereby exiles from +the city of God, but even when our sin is +forgiven us the remains of the malady continue +as wounds in our nature as long as we +live on earth. The deadly guilt is wiped +away, but the effects of the evil remain. +And it is chiefly these wounds of our nature, +in ourselves and in others, that render life's +journey, even when pursued in accordance +with the law of God, at times truly difficult +and perilous. Fidelity to God and to His +law is not always a safeguard against the +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> +wickedness of the world and of men; at +times, in fact, it is just the contrary. Indeed, +is it not a truth that many, perhaps +the majority, of those who endeavor sincerely +to please and to serve God must often +suffer severely for their very goodness and +faithfulness? Are they not misunderstood, +and criticised, and censured? Are they not +frequently accused of all manner of wrong, +their work disparaged, and their motives +impugned? Are not persecution, and even +martyrdom, often their portion? Now all +this is the result of sin. Those who call +into question the deeds and motives of God's +saints; those who upbraid, and criticise, and +impute evil to the sincere, faithful servants +of God, inflicting upon them dire evils, are +but showing the effects of sin in themselves, +are but giving exercise to the evil that rules +within them. Their particular acts and +words may be without present malice, they +may be inwardly persuaded that in reviling +and condemning their neighbor and doing +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> +him harm, they are rendering a service to +God Himself; but in so doing they but +manifest the effects of earlier sin, personal, +perhaps, and original, which has darkened +their understanding and made perverse +their moral vision, so that, having eyes, they +see not, having ears, they hear not, neither +do they understand.<note place='foot'>Ps. cxiii. 13, 14.</note> Following the corruption +of their own nature, bleeding from +the wounds of original sin, they are prone to +blaspheme whatsoever they fail to comprehend;<note place='foot'>Jude 10.</note> +and thus it is that they often make +life and the world for the servant of God a +truly perilous sojourn, a veritable valley of +death. +</p> + +<p> +This failure to be understood, this misjudgment +of actions, motives, deeds, are +doubtless common evils from which, in a +measure, we all must suffer. But it is also +true that the more elevated the life, the +higher its aims, the loftier the spiritual level +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> +on which it proceeds, the greater the difficulty +of its being understood and appreciated +by the majority, who always tread the +common paths of mediocrity. A saint is +nearly always a disturbance to his immediate +surroundings, he is frequently an annoyance +and an irritation to the little circle in +which his external life is cast, simply because +he really lives and moves in a sphere +which the ordinary life cannot grasp. Like +a brilliant, dazzling light that obscures the +lesser luminaries, and is therefore odious to +them, the man of God is frequently a disturber +to the worldly peace of common men, +his life and works are a living reproach to +their life and works; and hence, without +willing it, he becomes a menace to their +society and is not welcome in their company. +Worldly, plotting minds cannot understand +the spiritual and the holy; sinful +souls are out of harmony with the virtuous; +the children of darkness cannot find peace +with the children of light. And not only +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> +is there a lack of sympathy in the worldly-minded +for the men and women who are +led of God, but there is often positive hatred +for them—a hatred which spends itself in +actual, persistent persecution. To be devout, +to refrain from sinful words and sinful +deeds, to shun the vain and dangerous +amusements of worldlings, to attend much +to prayer and recollection, to love the house +and worship of God, to be seen often approaching +the sacraments and partaking of +the bread of life at the communion rail—even +these holy acts are sufficient frequently +to draw down on the servants of God the +curse and persecution of a world which +knows not what it does. +</p> + +<p> +And that which happens individually to +the faithful children of God takes place on +a larger scale with respect to God's Church. +The children of this world, those who have +set their heart on temporal things, or who, +through wilful error have deviated from +the right path to things eternal, never cease +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> +from pursuing and persecuting the Church +of God. They hate the Church and attack +it unceasingly. Like the perverse and +blinded Jews of old who reviled the Saviour +and His words and deeds, who pursued +Him and put Him to death, these ever-living +and ever-active enemies of light and +truth never abate in their fury against the +chosen friends of Christ, and against His +holy Church. But need we be surprised at +this? Was it not foretold? Did not our +blessed Shepherd, speaking in the beginning +to His little flock, warn them that men +would deliver them up in councils and +scourge them? Did He not say to them +plainly, <q>And you shall be hated by all men +for my name's sake; but he that shall persevere +unto the end, he shall be saved. And +when they persecute you in this city, flee +into another.... The disciple is not +above the master, nor the servant above his +lord. It is enough for the disciple that he +be as his master, and the servant as his lord. +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> +If they have called the good man of the +house Beelzebub, how much more them of +his household.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. x. 17, 22-26.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It happens, therefore, that fidelity to God, +and careful adherence to the paths of justice +and holiness, can frequently be the occasion +of perils and sufferings for us individually, +as they also are the excuse for a +vaster persecution of the Church in general. +All holy persons and holy things are signs +of contradiction. They are not of the world, +they do not fit in with it; and between them +and the world there will be strife and contention +until the renovation comes. +</p> + +<p> +But the enemies that lie along the ways +of life, that beset and threaten even the most +righteous paths of our pilgrimage, are not +all from without—the most numerous and +menacing are perhaps from within. <q>The +enemies of a man,</q> says the inspired writer, +<q>are those of his own household.</q><note place='foot'>Mich. +vii. 6; Matt. x. 36.</note> That +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +is to say, the most potent evils which we +suffer, the chiefest foes to our present and +future welfare are from ourselves—our own +waywardness, our tendencies to evil, our +wilfulness, our self-love and self-seeking, +our own sins. It is from these and like +causes that we suffer most. Hard and trying +it surely is to bear persecutions and contradictions +from others; severe is the strain +to nature when, in the face of our noblest +efforts, proceeding from noblest motives, we +meet with misunderstanding and even condemnation; +but to the upright, religious +heart that is sincerely and truly seeking God +amid the shadows and pitfalls of life, the +sorest of all trials and the fiercest of all enemies +are one's own temptations and passions +and inclinations to evil. Easier it were to +conquer the whole external world of foes, +than to reign supreme over the little world +within. Of Alexander the Great it is said, +that while he actually subdued the whole +known world of his time, he nevertheless +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +yielded in defeat before his own passions. +He could overcome his external enemies, +but surrendered miserably in the battle with +self. +</p> + +<p> +This, then, is our greatest warfare, the +struggle with ourselves; and this our greatest +victory, a triumph over self. <q>If each +year,</q> says the Imitation, <q>we could uproot +but one evil inclination, how soon we should +be perfect men!</q><note place='foot'>Bk. i. 11. 5.</note> But it is not for us to +be free from enemies and perils, both from +without and from within, during our earthly +sojourn. They are a part of our lot here +below, they are necessarily bound up with +the darkened regions through which the +Shepherd must lead his flock; and hence, +entire safety there shall never be before the +journey's end, until we say farewell to present +woes, and hail <q>the happy fields, where +joy forever dwells.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In our present state, therefore, it is important +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +for us to realize our dangers and to +be prepared for conflict. There is no way +of escape from crosses, and perils, and +dreadful battles for all those who wish to +win the crown of victory. They must follow +the Shepherd as he leads the way, and +hence our Lord has said, <q>if any man will +come after me, let him take up his cross +daily and follow me.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. +xvi. 24.</note> Yes, it is the following +of the Shepherd, it is his leadership, +his constant presence, that give comfort to +the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of +perils. And though we pass through the +valley and shadow of death, we need fear +no evil, for He is with us. At times, frequently +perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, +the waves roll over and deluge us so completely +that we are all but smothered. The +clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast +the sky of our souls; the sorrows of +death surround us, and the pains of the pit +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +encompass us;<note place='foot'>Ps. xvii. 4, 5.</note> we are overwhelmed with +sadness and plunged in darkness. We think +of God, we remember Him, but He seems +afar off. The evil which weighs us down—the +pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness +and dejection of heart and mind, <q>the +madness that worketh in the brain,</q> muffle +the voice and all but still the trembling +pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift +our drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes +to see the gentle Shepherd standing faithfully +at our side. It is our failure to discern +and apprehend Him that causes extreme +agony. If at these times of utter desolation, +when the soul is swept by the winds +of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and +thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and +child-like trust, the spell would be broken; +and we should see the clouds lift and part +and float away on the wind, only to let in +God's cheerful sun to raise the drooping +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> +spirit, and warm and soothe the troubled +soul. +</p> + +<p> +But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow +and affliction, to lift the heart and mind +to things above. Nature of itself tends +downward, and unless it has learned to discipline +itself and to engage with the enemy +in sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for +life. For the world is a battlefield and life +a warfare, even from a natural point of +view, and only they can hope to win in life's +hard contest who have learned to brave the +battle, who have prepared themselves for +conflict. But who is ready for the struggle, +and how shall we be able to encounter our +foes? Left to ourselves and to our own resources, +we shall surely go down in defeat. +The opposing forces are too gigantic, too +numerous. They throng from near and +from afar. They swarm from within and +from without; from our own nature and from +others, from the world around, and from +our own household; from those at home, +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +and from them that are abroad. Frequently +during life we are, of a certainty, encompassed +round with perils; we hardly know +where to turn or what to do, we are breathless +with fright; but even then, if we have +proper faith, we shall grow calm, like the +shepherd's flock in the midst of devouring +animals and beasts of prey, for our Saviour +and Shepherd is with us, and no evil can befall +us. Even when we think Him farthest, +He is often nearest; when we think Him +sleeping, His heart is watching. He loves +us, His weak and timid sheep; we are the +objects of His heart's affection and ever +active solicitude; He will not let perish, if +we trust Him, the price of His precious +Blood. +</p> + +<p> +And the training we are to receive, +and the preparation we are to make, in +order worthily and victoriously to engage +in the battle of life are nothing, +therefore, but lessons of love and trust in +the constant goodness and faithfulness of +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +our divine Saviour. Unless we viciously +drive Him away by deliberate, grievous +sin, He is really never absent from us, and +least of all when we need Him most. It is +our fault, if we do not by faith discern Him, +if we do not feel His ever-gracious presence. +We need to discipline ourselves in +acts and deeds of faith and love, and then +we shall realize that He is always near us, +even in the darkness of the shadow of death. +</p> + +<p> +We must try to know our Shepherd, first +of all; we must endeavor intimately to understand +Him. For to have faith in Him, +to trust Him, to believe in His power and +goodness, in His overruling care for us and +our interests, presuppose a knowledge of +Him, just as faith and confidence in an +earthly friend follow upon an intimate acquaintance +with that friend. But this close +knowledge of our Master, so necessary to +our present peace and future happiness, will +never be ours unless we make Him our confidant, +unless we accustom ourselves to live +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +in His presence, to look to Him, to speak +to Him often, to listen to His gracious direction. +And this intimate relationship +with our Saviour, this habitual communion +with Him, will enkindle in our souls the +fire of love. Once we know Him, we will +trust Him, and having faith and confidence +in Him, we will link our poor lives to His +divine life by the strong cords of heavenly +charity. Fear and uncertainty will then be +impossible, even in the darkest hours. +</p> + +<p> +It is love, above all, that directs our life—love, +indeed, which is born of knowledge. +We do not, it is true, love anything before +we have some knowledge of it; this +would be an impossibility; but once the +soul has caught the vision, it is love that +drives the life and stimulates and enriches +the knowledge. The objects of our +affections are the interpreters of our life and +actions. If we love the world, we are led +by the world; if we love God, it is God +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> +that leads and directs us. Where the treasure +is, there will the heart be also;<note place='foot'>Luke xii. 34.</note> and +where the heart is, thither will the life make +its way. But if God is the object of our +love, we shall fear no evil; for <q>God is +charity,</q> says St. John, <q>and he that abideth +in charity, abideth in God, and God in +him ... Fear is not in charity; but +perfect charity casteth out fear, because +fear hath pain.</q><note place='foot'>1 Jno. iv. 16, 18.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is only the love of God, therefore, that +will steady our lives, and bear us up in the +thick of tribulations. It is the confident +assurance that we, although so unworthy, +are the objects of divine complacency that +awakens in our hearts a return of burning +charity, and enables us to say, with the +Psalmist, when the day is darkest <q>The +Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall +I fear? The Lord is the protector of my +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> +life; of whom shall I be afraid?</q><note place='foot'>Ps. xxvi. 1, 2.</note> We +are not to fear men, said our Lord, who, +when they have destroyed the body, can do +no more;<note place='foot'>Matt. x. 28.</note> neither shall we be in dread of +our Master, if armed with the gift of His +love, <q>for fear hath pain, but love casteth +out fear.</q> Rather shall we, like the martyrs +of old, mindful of the gift of God, go +bravely forth to the battle of life, or to the +slaughter, calmly, hopefully, cheerfully. +While humbly, but steadfastly trustful of +the Shepherd that leads us, we shall not be +disturbed or troubled; the present shall be +shorn of its terrors, the future of its forebodings. +This truly is the triumph of life, +when love, not fear, has come to rule us. +This is the broader, larger life—the forerunner +of life eternal in which our days are +passed in calm serenity—in which we press +on with undaunted tread, alike under +frowning clouds, or under a star-lit sky; +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> +alike with the joys of friendship around us, +or alone amidst the graves of the dead. +</p> + +<p> +We must not infer from this that the love +of God which is our strength, the source of +our courage, will blunt our feelings or harden +our lives. It does not seal up the fountain +of tears, or make us insensible to the pains +and sorrows of life, which belong to the lot +of all. In a certain sense it is likely true +that those suffer most in life who are most +united to God; for they feel most the coldness +of the world and its desolation, its want +of love and sympathy, its degradation and +its misery. Hence it would be a mistake +to think that the friends of God in this life +are either exempted from pain and sorrow, +or made insensible to them, either in themselves +or in others. Of these and other +evils they are truly more keenly aware than +worldly men, if for no other reason than +because of the superior refinement of their +nature and the spiritual outlook of their +vision. It is sin, after all, that hardens +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> +while it weakens. Sin closes the heart to +love, it renders its victims cold, unsympathetic +and selfish; whereas the gifts of grace +and holiness are tenderness, mercy, strength. +But though all have to suffer, both the holy +and the unholy, the difference between them +is this, that the ungodly are borne down +and overcome by their sorrows and crosses, +while the spiritual are always triumphing +even in the midst of apparent defeat. To +the foolish they seem to be vanquished, yet +they conquer; often they seem on the verge +of surrender, when they emerge in victory; +they seem to die, when behold they live!<note place='foot'>Wis. iii. 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The spiritual man, then, does suffer; he +suffers in the cause of God; he suffers for +others and for himself. More than this, it +is doubtless true that he feels his crosses +more keenly, he grieves more profoundly, +than do the children of the world; but +through it all he remembers his Saviour +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> +and is comforted. He knows that the tribulations +of the just are many, and that from +all these the Lord will soon deliver him,<note place='foot'>Ps. xxxiii. 20.</note> +and he shall not be confounded forever. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me.</head> + +<p> +It is already plain to us that the sorrows +and sufferings of the present life are, without +doubt, the result and consequence of +sin. That we should pass our mortal days +so full of pain and tears, that our fellow-man, +that the beasts of the field and the elements, +which we need and use as helpers +and servants, and most of all that our own +nature, with its passions and evil tendencies, +should rise up against us and oppose us, was +assuredly not a part of the original plan. +As a wise and all-powerful Designer and +Creator, God founded the world after a +masterful fashion—devoid of evil, free from +defect, perfect according to the plans +framed in Heaven. The hills and mountains +He founded and set on their bases; the +streams and rivers and valleys He formed, +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +all rich and lovely, intended for the comfort +and happiness of man; the blue deep +He constructed and beautified with its millions +of shining wonders; and in all these +stupendous creations, in all the diverse +works of His mighty, omnipotent hands +there was in the beginning no trace of fault, +of defect, of error or sin. The upheaval +came when man disobeyed and wrought the +commencement of all our woe. And hence +it is to man's first disobedience and the fruit +of that forbidden tree, that we owe all the +evils from which our nature suffers and to +which our flesh is heir. +</p> + +<p> +But although we know the source of our +sorrows and feel the guilt of our sins, this +does not make our burden lighter or shorten +the path of our pilgrimage. We are confronted +by the problem of labor and suffering +as soon as we enter the world. No one +is entirely exempted; and, strange as it is, +we see that it frequently happens, that those +are most afflicted who are farthest removed +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> +from the wickedness of the world and purest +in the sight of God. <q>Many are the +tribulations of the just;</q> and how true is it +that the very fidelity of the servants of God +is often an occasion of their sufferings! It +is not wonderful that sorrow and fear +should be the portion of sinners throughout +the length of their days, for <q>contrition and +unhappiness are in their ways, and the way +of peace they have not known;</q><note place='foot'>Ps. xiii. 3.</note> but that +all, even the saints of God, should suffer +alike and be oppressed with miseries is, at +first sight, a problem and a baffling mystery. +</p> + +<p> +It is something, indeed, to feel in our suffering +that we are paying the debt of our +sins, whether personal, or original, or both; +it is much to know that our crosses, severe +and inevitable as they are, are a curb to our +wayward nature, and a restraint against +further sins; it is assuredly a great privilege +and a high honor that we, unworthy +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> +and unfaithful servants of our Master, +should, through our tears and sorrows and +sufferings, be enabled to conform our poor +lives to the tearful and sorrowful life of our +Saviour; it is a comfort that words cannot +tell to be assured by our faith that in the +midst of pains and perils the Shepherd of +our souls is ever near to shield, to guard, +and to save—all this is surely much—enough +to encourage and strengthen us daily +to take up our cross and joyfully follow our +Redeemer, even to the hill of Calvary, even +to the death of the cross. But this is not +all. A deeper meaning lies hidden behind +the veil of tears, beneath the cloak of pain +and sorrow. The miseries of life are not a +mere inheritance, neither is their value of a +purely negative character. We instinctively +feel that somehow, somewhere beyond the +scope of mortal ken, there is a higher explanation +and a more valid justification for all +the failures and pains and sorrows of life, +than that which appears on the surface of +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> +things, or issues in results that are only negative. +Suffering for its own sake was never +intended; and we were not made to suffer. +We were not created for misery, but for +happiness; not for failure, but for victory; +not for death, but for life; not for time, but +for eternity. And hence there is a deeper +meaning, a higher explanation for all the +failures and miseries of the present life than +those that are apparent to the casual observer. +</p> + +<p> +In the title of this chapter the Psalmist, +referring to the shepherd's care for his +sheep, says: <q>Thy rod and thy staff, they +comfort me.</q> The staff the shepherd uses, +as already explained, is to assist the sheep +along their perilous journeys, and the rod +to protect them in case of attack. The rod +and the staff are necessary for the welfare +of the flock, necessary to guide and shield +them in their wanderings, and to bring +them safely home. So too, it is with us, the +children of God. To be properly protected +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> +and guided to our happy end we have need +of the rod of affliction and adversity, and +likewise of the staff of mercy. +</p> + +<p> +Although human miseries—pain, poverty, +suffering and death—are, as we know, +the consequences, just and equitable, of +original sin, it is a shortsighted faith and +a defective vision that find in these crosses +only chastisement for sin. Truly, they +should not have been, had we never sinned; +but as God, in His mercy, draws good out of +evil, so has He made these inevitable results +of our transgression serve a higher purpose +and minister to noble ends. The Saviour +came that we might have life, that we might +progress and advance to ever fuller and +more abundant life.<note place='foot'>Jno. x. 10.</note> His aim, and the +aim and purpose of His heavenly Father, +since the very dawn of our creation, has +been to lead us to happiness—to perfect, +abundant, eternal happiness. It would be +<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/> +of little account to be happy here, unless +we are also to rejoice eternally. It would +be a poor exchange and a paltry satisfaction, +to be present at the feasts of men, only to +forfeit our place at the banquet of angels. +But our heavenly reward and our celestial +crown are to be merited and won here below; +they are to follow upon our earthly +labors. <q>Only he shall be crowned,</q> says +St. Paul, <q>who has legitimately engaged in +the battle.</q><note place='foot'>2 Tim. ii. 5.</note> And did not the Master say +Himself, <q>Let him who wishes to come +after me deny himself and take up his cross +and follow me?</q><note place='foot'>Luke ix. 23.</note> Did He not declare that +we must die to live? that we must surrender +our life here, if we would keep it eternally? +<q>Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain +of wheat falling into the ground die, itself +remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth +forth much fruit. He that loveth his life +shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> +this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xii. 34.</note> +We cannot serve two masters, we cannot +serve God and mammon. If we would +seek to avoid all pain and sorrow, and spend +our lives in the pleasures of sense, we must +be prepared to forego the future joys of the +soul; if we would pass our days indulging +the flesh and chasing the phantoms of time, +we must needs make ready for the death of +the spirit and the forfeit of all that is lasting. +</p> + +<p> +We have no choice, then; if we would +succeed eternally, we must follow the way +of the cross. This is the only way to life—to +that abundant, celestial life which our +Creator has wished us to live. And it is +the bearing of our cross, patiently and resignedly +to the will of God, together with +our other good works, that enables us to +merit, in so far as we can, the joys of the +kingdom of Heaven. But the sufferings +<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/> +and labors, so inevitable and necessary to +our earthly state, which serve as a means to +supernal rewards, have still another, deeper +meaning, and serve another purpose. We +cannot evade them, we must encounter them. +They are not only unavoidable, but necessary +to our dearest interests, as we see, since +they are strewn as thorns and brambles all +along the narrow way that leads to eternal +life. We cannot choose them or lay them +aside at will. We may, indeed, if we be +foolish and impious enough, refuse to walk +the narrow way of the just and choose the +broad road that leadeth to destruction; but +we shall not even thus escape the pains and +perils inseparable from this mortal life. Or +again, we may, in our folly, rebel against +the crosses and labors that confront and +pursue us; but whether we go this way or +that, whether we will it or not, we can no +more eschew all the evils of life than escape +from the air that we breathe. The pressure, +it is true, is not always upon us; we +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> +are not, without ceasing, weighed down by +our labors and groaning to be delivered +from the body of this death. There is interruption, +there is passing pleasure, a rift +in the clouds and a smile of the sunshine +even for the darkest and poorest life. And +yet withal, we know and we are conscious +that we are ever under the sentence of death, +that life is a fleeting shadow, that like +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>Man passes from life to his rest in the grave.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +There is no evading the conclusion, therefore, +that the days of man in this world are +few and full of miseries. <q>The life of man +upon earth is a warfare, and his days are +like the days of a hireling. He cometh +forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and +fleeth as a shadow.</q><note place='foot'>Job vii. 1; Job xiv. 2.</note> +<q>For all flesh is as +grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower +of grass. The grass is withered, and the +flower thereof is fallen away.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. xl. 6, 7.</note> To the +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> +natural man all this is appalling, and how +frequently it finds its solution in unbridled +self-indulgence, in mental unbalance, and +self-destruction! But the saints, and all +the truly wise, have viewed the problem of +human suffering in a vastly different light. +They have discerned it, first of all, as really +distinctive of the road to Heaven, and as +essentially pertaining to the royal way of +the cross. They have understood that it +extinguishes the wrath of the heavenly +Father, that it atones for sin and makes the +soul conformable to our suffering Saviour, +and therefore have they loved it. And +more than this, those who have been led by +the wisdom of God have found, not only +that the crosses of life are essentially connected +with the way of salvation, but that +by them and through them alone we are +often <emph>positively driven</emph> to God. We may +try to avoid them, and at times, perhaps, +succeed; we may flee from them or endeavor +to still the voice of their pain; or, when +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> +unable to escape them, we may, in our wrath +and desperation, rise up against them and +rebuke them: but they persistently remain, +they continue to haunt, as if to woo and to +win us to penetrate their deeper meaning, +and discover the treasure that in them lies +concealed. The very breakdown of human +things, the severing of human ties and relationships, +the loss of health and wealth, of +treasures and friends, and of all that life +holds dear, are really meant, in the deepest +sense, to drive us to the divine. This is the +meaning of those tears and sorrows, those +pains and sufferings, that loneliness, that +grief, that agony of heart and soul which +belong to this world of tears. All these are +intended to teach us that here below, on +this crumbling shore of time, we have no +abiding city, or home, or life, or love; but +seek a city, a home, a life, a love that hath +foundations, whose builder and maker is +God.<note place='foot'>Heb. xi. 10.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> + +<p> +We need God, we were made for God, +and our nature, with all its longings and +powers, cries out for Him. And therefore +has God so arranged the world, in spite of +all its evils, and in spite of all our sinfulness, +that, if we do not prevent it, it will +lead us out to happiness—lead us out to +Himself. It was our sin that despoiled the +face of the world; but God, in His mercy, +has drawn good out of evil, He has made +the effects of sin minister to our advantage, +if we will but have it so. We may, forsooth, +refuse, because we are free; we may +object, and rebel, and oppose our lot; we +may take our destiny out of the hands of +our Creator and attempt to shape it for +ourselves; we may deride and despise the +humble, the lowly of heart, the patient, the +mortified and the suffering; we may upbraid +the Providence of God and its workings, +and refuse to submit to the rule of the +Creator; we may hold in derision and contempt +the little band that is sweetly marching +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> +the way of the cross, preferring for ourselves +the company of the multitude that +knows not God—all this can we do, because +we are free; but if such be our choice, and +if we persevere in it, our portion is fixed, +and we shall have at last only to say with +the wicked: <q>Therefore we have erred from +the way of truth, and the light of justice +hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding +hath not risen upon us. We +wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity +and destruction, and have walked through +hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have +not known. What hath pride profited us? +or what advantage hath the boasting of +riches brought us? All those things are +passed away like a shadow, and like a post +that runneth on.</q><note place='foot'>Wis. v. 6-9.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Sufferings, therefore, are common to all, +to the good and the bad, to the wise and the +foolish, to the children of light and to the +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> +children of darkness. But only those who +are directed by grace and light from above +are able to pierce the deeper meaning of +the cross. All have to bear it, but not all +understand it; all feel the weight of it, but +all do not know the power of it. Like fortune, +it knocks at every door, into every +heart it endeavors to enter and make known +its deeper significance, its hidden secrets, +lest any of us should suffer in vain, and our +lives be altogether a failure. To be able to +suffer patiently and gladly for God's sake, is +thus a great wisdom; it is a sign of future +blessedness. It is the wisdom of God, +which is foolishness to men. <q>If thou hadst +the science of all the astronomers,</q> says +Eternal Wisdom; <q>if thou couldst speak +and discourse about God as fully and well +as all angels and men; if thou alone were +as learned as the whole body of doctors; all +this would not bestow on thee so much holiness +of life as if, in the afflictions that come +upon thee, thou art able to be resigned to +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> +Me and to abandon thyself to Me. The +former is common to good and bad, but +the latter belongs to My elect alone.</q> +</p> + +<p> +We know that our Saviour took upon +Himself the cross of sorrow and suffering, +not alone that He might satisfy for our +transgressions and be our ransom from +bondage, but also that He might be unto +us an example and a leader. And knowing +that our unfaithfulness had incurred severest +maladies from which none could escape, +He bore our infirmities and carried +our sorrows for us, in order that we, in our +time, might bear our inevitable afflictions +for His sake, for love of Him, and thereby +attain to unending glory with Him. <q>For +the spirit himself giveth testimony to our +spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if +sons, heirs also; heirs, indeed of God, and +joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer +with him, that we may be also glorified with +him.</q><note place='foot'>Rom. viii. 16, 17.</note> +<q>If you partake of the sufferings +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +of Christ,</q> says St. Peter, <q>rejoice that when +his glory shall be revealed, you may also be +glad with exceeding joy.</q><note place='foot'>1 Peter iv. 13.</note> The chains of +sorrow which bind us here below, our Shepherd +thus would turn to golden cords of +love, which draw and hold us to Himself. +We cannot, as we see, ascend to Heaven, +rise to blessedness, except by the way of the +cross. And our degree of glory in Heaven, +the eternal happiness which we shall enjoy, +will be in proportion to the degree of charity +or love of God which our souls possess +at death; and this divine charity, which is +to measure our future beatitude, is acquired +and augmented by faithfully doing the will +of God—by patiently and lovingly bearing +the cross of life. Sacrifice is the test of love. +And hence the more we do and suffer for +Christ's sake, the more we prove our love +for Him and the greater shall be our happiness +in the kingdom of His Father. All +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> +holy writers, all the masters of the spiritual +life agree in teaching that God particularly +chastises those whom He loves with a special +love. He proves the elect to find if +they are worthy of Himself.<note place='foot'>Wis. iii. 4, 6.</note> He does not +spare them now, that He may spare them +hereafter; He tries them for a time, that +He may reward them forever; He seems +harsh with them here, during the time of +probation, only that He may draw them +closer to Himself everlastingly. +</p> + +<p> +The devoted friends of God and the ardent +lovers of things spiritual have deeply +pondered these momentous truths. They +have realized that our days here, though +few and fast-flying, are really to determine +our lot and condition throughout the eternal +years. They have known that the passing +present is the price of the lasting future; +that this is the seeding time, and hereafter +the harvest. And because our future happiness +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> +is to be in accord with our merits +here acquired, jealously have they sought +and embraced every present occasion to increase +their merits and their worthiness for +the glory that is to come. This is why they +have loved the cross, the symbol of salvation, +the emblem of victory; this, too, is why +they have felt disturbed and full of fear +when the cross was absent from them. Unlike +the unenlightened sufferer, who sees +only punishment in his pains, the saints of +God have ever accepted their crosses as a +sign of special love, a divine visitation, a +preparation for the great communion. +</p> + +<p> +We see now how it is that the rod of chastisement +and the staff of mercy are able to +give joy and comfort to God's chosen +friends; and thus are they designed to console +and comfort everyone who is truly led +by faith and love. Sufferings are really a +blessing, but the eye of faith alone discerns +it. They keep us from present pleasures, +from hurtful occasions, from alluring vanities; +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> +they direct us into the way of salvation, +they drive us to God, they increase the +glory of our eternal blessedness. What are +the trials of earth when compared with the +joys of Heaven? Rather, how precious are +they! since, if we use them aright, they lead +us out into a higher life, to a closer friendship +with God. And if, through the mercy +of our heavenly Father, we permit the cross +to lead us to His knees and enrich our lives +with His love, who can speak its infinite +value? What treasure can be likened to it? +Surely nothing that we know can surpass it +in worth. We might, indeed, enjoy all that +life can give; we might possess all riches, +all health, all success; we might have honor, +fame, glory, power; the praise and love of +men, the treasures of earthly friendship and +earthly affection—the whole world we +might gain and enjoy; but if through all +these, or in spite of all, we should not be led +to the love and friendship of God, we +should know only vanity, and life for us +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> +would in its issue be nothing but a dismal +failure. +</p> + +<p> +But if, on the contrary, through the sufferings +and losses, the deficiencies and limitations +of life, we have been led to make +God our dearest friend, if we have been +taught, by the coldness and harshness of +men, to take refuge in His love, how blessed +are we! how cheaply the purchase has been +made, even though it has meant the loss of +every passing good, of all that the world can +give, even the pouring out of our own life's +blood! +</p> + +<p> +Teach me, O my Master, in the day of +sorrow and tribulation, to understand the +meaning of the cross, to know the value of +my sufferings, to grasp the power and the +secret of Thy rod and Thy staff. Assist me +to see Thee through the darkness that surrounds +me; and give me to feel, in the midst +of loneliness and perils, amid pain and desolation, +the nearness to my soul of Thy loving-kindness, +and the strength of Thy merciful +presence. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in +the Presence of Mine Enemies.</head> + +<p> +In the preceding verses of the Shepherd +Psalm the Psalmist has described the constant +care of the shepherd for his sheep—the +rest and refreshment, the protection and +comfort he provides for them. And now, +in the present verse, he speaks of a feast he +has prepared for them, which is to be likened +to a bountiful banquet—a banquet +which they are to enjoy, a feast which they +are to consume, in the sight of their enemies, +in the presence of the evils that afflict them. +He refers, at first, to the manner of preparing +or spreading a table in the Orient. +Often the custom of olden times was not +much different from that which prevails +among the Arabs even today. To prepare +a table means with them simply to spread +a skin or a cloth or a mat on the ground. +</p> + +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> + +<p> +And it is to this kind of table that the +Psalmist refers when he sings of the feast +of the sheep. He means nothing more than +that he has provided for his flock in the +face of their enemies a rich pasture, a +spreading slope, where they shall feed with +contentment and peace, in spite of the evils +that surround them. +</p> + +<p> +But the quiet and peace which the sheep +enjoy, while partaking of their spread-out +banquet, are entirely owing to the protecting +presence of the shepherd. And it frequently +happens that here again the utmost +skill and diligence of the shepherd are +called into play in thus securing the peace +and safety of his flock. The most abundant +pastures are many times interspersed with +noxious weeds and plants, which, if eaten, +would sicken and poison the herd; while +around the feeding places and grazing +grounds very often lie hid, in thickets and +holes and caves in the hillsides, wild animals, +such as jackals, wolves and panthers, +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +ready to spring out, at the critical moment, +and devour the innocent sheep. The shepherd +is aware of all these evils and enemies +of his tender flock; and he goes ahead and +prepares the way, avoiding the poisonous +grasses, and driving away, or slaying, if +need be, the beasts that menace the peace +and security of the pasture. The evils are +not entirely dispelled, but only sufficiently +removed or held in check so as not to imperil +the flock. +</p> + +<p> +Such is the table prepared for the sheep +by their provident and watchful shepherd; +and such is the feast of which they partake +with quiet joy in the sight and presence of +their enemies. But, as just said, the tranquil +joy which is theirs comes not from the +fact that danger has been all removed, nor +from the fact that they have become hardened +and used to its presence. They know +it is always near; and they are conscious, as +far as animals can be, of their own utter +helplessness, if left to themselves, to survive +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> +an attack of their powerful enemies. But +they do not fear, they are not disturbed or +anxious, solely for the reason that they feel +their shepherd is present, and they know he +will guard and protect them. Hence the +Psalmist is speaking for the sheep when he +says to the shepherd with a tone of confident +joy, <q>Thou spreadest before me a table +in the presence of mine enemies.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The spiritual meaning of this, like the +other verses of the Shepherd Psalm, is peculiarly +descriptive of our Lord, the Good +Shepherd of human souls. He, in a manner +altogether divine, precedes His elect, +and prepares them the way of salvation. +He does not deliver them from enemies and +dangers, which would be unnatural in the +present state, but He makes use of evils, as +said before, to increase the perfection of +His chosen souls. Gradually, step by step, +from a natural He leads them to a higher +state—from diffidence to trust, from fear to +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> +love, from sorrow and anguish to peace and +joy. +</p> + +<p> +The change in the soul is rarely at once +and immediate; it does not come of a sudden. +At first it is difficult and repugnant +to nature to find joy in sorrow and pleasure +in pain, to see gladness in tears and rest in +disturbance, to find peace in the midst of +our enemies; but God, in His omnipotent +goodness, so disposes and provides for the +souls of His elect that sooner or later they +penetrate to the meaning of things, and find +there their hidden treasure. When the fabric +of life itself has crumbled to its native +dust, when friends have gone and charms +departed, when the very earth we tread +seems trembling beneath our feet, and every +dream of earthly bliss is fled, when enemies +sit where loved ones sat, and the heart has +all but ceased to beat, then is the acceptable +time and propitious moment, for the devout +and faithful soul, that has washed its garments +in the blood of the Lamb, to look up +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> +to Heaven with expectant joy. The thrilling +vision of eternal love so much desired, +so long perhaps delayed, is then, indeed, +about to dawn. +</p> + +<p> +The sweetness of God and the peace of +His spirit are not to be found in the market +place, nor in the noise and clamor of the +busy street. It is not at the banquets of +earthly kings that we taste of the joys of the +Saviour's feast. It is not amid honors and +riches and the pleasures of sense that the +calm dews of Heaven refresh the soul. We +were made for a higher friendship, for a +more intimate union, for a sweeter companionship +than any that earth can provide. +And it is only when the door has been shut +to the outer world, when the vanities of time +have ceased to be sought, that the soul is +ready for the wedding garment, and able to +prepare for the marriage feast. It is in the +inner sanctuary and alone, divested of fleshy +trammels and freed from the bondage of +earthly attachments, that the soul is able to +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +meet its God and hold intimate converse +with Him. +</p> + +<p> +There are few, comparatively, out of the +multitude of souls that are called to the +feast which is spread for them, that ever sit +down at the Master's table. Many are invited, +and the servant is sent out at the hour +of supper to say to them that were called, +that all things are ready, and that they +should come; but they tarry, they are not +ready, they begin to make excuses and wish +to be held excused. Some are entangled in +perishable riches and cannot leave their +possessions; others are preoccupied with +worldly affairs and must not neglect their +business; still others are pursuing the pleasures +of earth, and have no time for the +things of Heaven. But the feast is not for +these, after all. The Master invites them, +He calls them, He sends His ministers in +search of them, He reproves and chides +them, He thunders against them to make +them hear and obey; but they will not come, +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> +they shall never taste of His banquet. He +has not spread a table for the proud, the +haughty, the arrogant; He cannot meet in +loving communion the worldly, the sensuous, +the lovers of ease and hurtful pleasures. +Such as these are not prepared to +meet Him; they would be out of place and +ill at ease in His company, they do not like +His society.<note place='foot'>Luke xiv.</note> +</p> + +<p> +To be able to come to the Master and to +sit at His feast there is need of preparation. +The garments of the world must be changed +for the garments of Heaven, the ways of +men must be made to yield to the ways of +God. For what is wisdom with men is +foolishness with God,<note place='foot'>1 Cor. i. 25.</note> the weak things of +earth are the strong things of Heaven, the +outcast of the world are the chosen of the +Father Almighty. And hence our Saviour +under the figure of the master in the parable +who prepared a great supper, says of +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +all those who will not hear Him, who neglect +His divine inspirations and despise the +call of His ministers, that they shall never +taste of His feast. But who, then, shall sit +down at His table? for whom has He prepared +the banquet? He tells us Himself, +that those who shall partake of His supper +are the lowly, the humble, the poor, the +lame, and the blind; the despised of men +and the outcast of the people; those who +have known sorrow and suffering and penance, +who have found the way of the cross +and embraced it; who, for the kingdom of +Heaven and the love of Christ crucified, +have given up father, and mother, and wife, +and children, and brethren and sisters; yea, +and their own life also, that they might inherit +everlasting crowns that fade not +away.<note place='foot'>Luke xiv. 26.</note> +</p> + +<p> +St. Paul was one of these masterful spirits, +who surrendered all that he had, all that +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> +he prized most dearly for love of Christ +and His service. <q>The things that were +gain to me,</q> he says, <q>the same have I +counted loss for Christ. Furthermore, I +count all things to be but loss for the excellent +knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for +whom I have suffered the loss of all things, +and count them but as waste, that I may +gain Christ.</q><note place='foot'>Philip iii. 7, 8.</note> What a struggle, too, was +that which St. Augustine describes, speaking +of his own conversion! The parting +with those sinful delights which had hitherto +held him in chains was like the forfeiture +of all he possessed, and it seemed to +him that life thereafter would not be worth +living; yet he generously and vigorously +gave them up that Christ might become his +possession. He has also described for us +the change. <q>How sweet,</q> he says, <q>did it +at once become to me to want the sweetness +of those trifles, which to lose had been my +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> +fear, but which to have lost was now a joy! +Thou didst cast them forth from me, oh +Thou true and highest sweetness! Thou +didst cast them forth, and in their stead +didst enter in Thyself, sweeter than all +pleasure!</q><note place='foot'>Confess. ix. 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is such as these, heroic souls, who for +the sake of God and His kingdom, have +made the world their enemy, that compose +the company of the elect. And for these +alone it is that the Shepherd of souls has +spread a table of rest and peace, even in this +life, of which they partake in the sight of +their enemies, in the presence of those who +think evil of them, who despise and deride +them, in the sight of the world which hates +them. These holy souls, the elect of God, +whom the Father has chosen for Himself, +have learned, through the trials and losses +of life, the lessons of peace and detachment +which crosses are intended to teach. They +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +have learned, by exclusion and retirement +from worldly festivities and pernicious delights, +to draw near to God, out of love for +His beauty and mercy, or if only to ease +their breaking hearts and dispel the loneliness +of their forsaken lives. In the words +of the Psalmist, they have tasted and seen +that the Lord is sweet, and that there is no +one like unto God.<note place='foot'>Ps. xxxiii. 9; lxxxii. 2.</note> With the image of +the Crucified before their eyes and conscious +of the presence of their loving Shepherd, +they greet with delight the sufferings that +oppress them, and they feast in peace in the +presence of their enemies. They know that +all is arranged or permitted by the hand +that guards them, and by the One that loves +them; and, though He slay them, yet will +they trust Him.<note place='foot'>Job xiii. 15.</note> For what can happen to +those that love God? what evil can befall +<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/> +them? Angels have charge over them to +keep them in all their ways.<note place='foot'>Ps. xc. 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is confidence, therefore, in their Saviour +and God that gives peace and tranquillity +to the souls of the just. To know Him, +to love Him, to trust Him, to dwell in His +presence and to please Him, throughout all +the vicissitudes and evils of life, are the objects +of their constant actions and the highest +aspirations of their fervid souls. Confident +of the favor and protection of God, +and rooted in His love, they despise all pain +and the threats of men; and in the midst of +the battle of life they rejoice in a peace of +mind and soul of which the worldling cannot +dream. The pasture in which they feed, +the banquet of which they partake are nothing +else than the love and friendship of God +which nourishes and refreshes their spirits +when to every mortal eye they seem destitute, +abandoned and alone. And this peace +<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/> +of God, which surpasseth all understanding,<note place='foot'>Philip iv. 7.</note> +develops in souls truly spiritual a +habit of mind and a character of life that +even here below partake of the stability and +calm sense of victory which, in their perfection, +belong only to the state of the blessed +in Heaven. They feel that all things are +possible to them through Him that strengtheneth +them,<note place='foot'>Philip iv. 13.</note> and that no temporal affliction, +no power of man or any creature shall +wrest from them the feast which they enjoy. +And hence they are able to ask, in the confident +words of the Apostle, <q>Who shall separate +us from the love of Christ? Shall +tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness; +or danger, or persecution, or the +sword ... In all these things we +overcome, because of him that hath loved +us. Therefore we are sure that neither +death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, +nor powers, nor things present, nor +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> +things to come, nor might, nor height, nor +depth, nor any other creature, shall be able +to separate us from the love of God, which +is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Rom. viii. 33-39.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; +My Cup Runneth Over.</head> + +<p> +In these words the Psalmist alludes to one +of the most touching offices performed by +the good shepherd towards his sheep. The +day is drawing to a close, the golden orb of +light has sunk to rest, and the shadows are +creeping up the hills. The hush of night +is falling round, and the shepherd must +gather his flock into the fold. The labors, +the journeys, the trials, the wanderings of +the day are over, and now comes the time +for rest. It is a scene full of peace, and the +sheep greet its approach with feelings of +restful anticipation. Many of them are +foot-sore and lame; many have received +bruises and scratches during the journeyings +of the day; some have gaping and +bleeding wounds from the attacks of wild +beasts; while others are simply tired out +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> +and exhausted from the long walks and +steep climbing of hills. The shepherd +knows all this, and before leading them into +rest he takes care to see that the wounds of +all are dressed and soothed, so that nothing +shall disturb the sweet repose of their sleep. +For this purpose he stands at the door of +the fold as the sheep pass in. He has olive +oil and cedar-tar to use as healing ointments +for their wounds, and he has cool, refreshing +water for those that are worn and weary. +Lovingly and tenderly he regards each +member, as one by one they enter into rest; +and they that are wounded or over-weary +he holds back with his rod, till their scars +and sores are duly cared for and made +ready for the night's repose. +</p> + +<p> +How closely these offices performed for +the sheep by the shepherd resemble the care +of our Father and Saviour providing at the +end for the souls that He loves! He has +been with them all through life, leading, +guiding, guarding, shepherding them at all +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> +times, going before them with the blessings +of goodness. And when at length the end +approaches, they feel the need of His loving-kindness +perhaps more than ever before. +Like the shepherd's flock, their needs are +many and various. Some souls there are +who, through the special grace of God, are +able to pass their lives in innocence and +holiness, living in the world, yet not of it, +dwelling in the midst of men and in the +sight of their wickedness and sin, yet undefiled +withal, beautiful witnesses of the +power and love of Him that strengthens +and preserves them. +</p> + +<p> +But the majority are not thus favored. +Notwithstanding all their graces, they have +been subject to falls—perhaps to many +grievous falls; they have suffered many +wounds and bruises, they have had many +tears to shed. Multitudes there are, in fact, +who come down to the verge of life, to the +very gate of death, sin-stained, racked and +wounded, their life blood ebbing out +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +through sores and wounds which they themselves +have made by wilful open friendship +with sin and vice, the deadly foes of their +souls. We have many varying examples of +these straying souls. There is the type of +Mary Magdalen, of St. Peter, of St. Paul, +of St. Augustine, who passed a portion, +brief or prolonged, of their mortal days far +from the Father's home, feeding on the +husks of swine; but who, while yet in the +vigor of life, felt the touch of the merciful +hand and heard the sound of the loving +voice, leading them, calling them back to +God, back to the <q>beauty ever ancient and +ever new.</q> Such souls as these, it is true, +constitute one class of erring, but repenting +sinners; but there is another class whose +plight is far more pitiable. They are those +long-delayed, but finally repentant sinners, +men and women who have lived their lives +away from the Church and its sacraments, +who have grown old and gray in the sins of +their youth, and now, at the last, when death +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> +is coming, are moved, by a special grace +from Heaven, to weep for their sins and +wasted years before they enter their eternal +abode. +</p> + +<p> +For each and all of these how important +it is that the Shepherd should stand at the +door of the fold and bind up their wounds +with His tender grace before they pass +through the portals of death! Scarred and +wayward children, victims of evil circumstances, +creatures of vanity and of folly, +they realize at the end how impotent they +are, how helpless in the presence of the +coldness of death to redeem or make sure +the years that are fled, unless He draw near +and assist them who has sustained them in +life, and who is at once the author and the +master of both life and death! +</p> + +<p> +But for all, without exception, the need +of the Shepherd is imperative at the end. +The victory, the happy issue of life's struggle, +<q>is not of him that willeth, nor of him +that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.</q><note place='foot'>Rom. ix. 16.</note> +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +All may run, all may strive, indeed, +for the prize of eternal life, but none can be +sure, short of the mercy of God, that he will +be saved; none can merit this crowning +glory of life. Whether young or old, +whether favored or neglected, whether innocent +or guilty, whether the life has been +dowered with special blessings and never +known the stain of grievous sin, or whether +it has been eked out amidst deepest misery +and defiled with hateful crimes, the same +uncertainty for all remains as to the manner +in which the end shall come. Men may +reason and conjecture, from what they see +and know, that this one or that is in God's +favor, and shall so persevere to the end; that +the members of a certain family, or class, +or station in life, are sure to be saved, and +shall never fall short; but that those of another +class or condition shall, on the contrary, +die as they have lived, in the filth of +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +their sins, to be forever in torment. But +these are the reasonings of men, which are +of no avail in the sight of God. It is only +the Father in Heaven who knows the elect. +He alone is able to tell who shall remain to +be crowned, and who is to be condemned. +Perseverance is a gratuitous gift of God, we +cannot merit it. All our good actions and +holy deeds, which are performed in the state +of grace and out of a motive of charity, do, +it is true, merit a reward in Heaven, they +tend to increase our blessedness hereafter; +but just as it is not in our power to merit +the first grace, by which we are raised from +a state of sin, so are we utterly unable to do +anything which shall secure for a certainty +the final grace, by which alone we can be +saved. Wherefore the Preacher said: <q>All +these things have I considered in my heart, +that I might carefully understand them: +there are just men and wise men, and their +works are in the hand of God; and yet man +knoweth not whether he be worthy of love +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> +or hatred. But all things are kept uncertain +for the time to come, because all things +equally happen to the just and to the wicked, +to the good and to the evil, to the clean and +to the unclean, to him that offereth victims, +and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the +good is, so also is the sinner; as the perjured, +so he also that sweareth truth.</q><note place='foot'>Eccl. ix. 1, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This uncertainty as to the end of life, and +of the gift of final perseverance, all holy +souls have felt. To die in the friendship +of God, and thence to enjoy His presence +forever, is a gift of so transcendent a nature, +so far above our natural powers and utmost +deserts that no creature, which can at all +conceive it, would dare claim it as a right. +It was this conviction that made the saints +tremble to think of it. This it was that +prompted St. Paul to admonish the Philippians +to work out their salvation with fear +and trembling,<note place='foot'>Philip, ii. 12.</note> and that also evoked from +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> +the same Apostle those candid words concerning +himself: <q>I chastise my body, and +bring it into subjection; lest, perhaps, when +I have preached to others, I myself should +become a castaway.</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. ix. 27.</note> +</p> + +<p> +And have we not sometimes witnessed instances +which, so far as man can judge, give +ground for this fear as to perseverance, and +emphasize the great truth that to die in +God's favor is, indeed, a singular and a +gratuitous gift? How many have we not +known who started well, but terminated ill! +How many are innocent and holy in youth +and give every promise of splendid manhood, +but fade and drop, like poisoned +flowers, ere the age of maturity has dawned! +How many are able to pass through the +most critical period of their lives, unshaken +and undefiled, full of faith, hope, love, +purity; but who, when the age of security +is thought to have come, lose the grip which +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> +seemed so firm, turn to evil, yield to vicious +habits, and die reprobates of God! Look +at King Solomon! Who was ever more +promising than he in his youth? Who ever +gave fairer prospects of continued holiness +and of a beautiful end? He was so lovely, +so amiable, so favored of God in the morning +of life; graced with such high perfections, +not knowing evil, a stranger to vice, +a lover of sanctity, of wisdom, and of grace. +It would seem that he could never fall—he +who was the object of such unwonted favors, +who dwelt so supremely in the smile of +Heaven. But lo, and behold the end of him +who had received so many graces, who chose +wisdom as his handmaid that he might be +guided aright! Behold that youthful figure, +so full of promise and goodly hope, +praying to God that he might never deviate +from the ways of grace; and then see the +gray-haired apostate tottering to the grave, +borne down by the weight of his sins and of +his years! And how many more there have +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +been, like King Saul, like Renan and Voltaire, +and numerous others that we ourselves +perhaps have known, who were great and +good in youth, and for a term of years, but +whose end was a miserable failure! +</p> + +<p> +Our perseverance, then, or the favor to die +in the state of grace, is not of ourselves, not +the reward of our efforts, or of our good +works, <q>but of God that sheweth mercy.</q> +We must do all in our power to merit eternal +life; we must press on to the mark, waging +ceaseless battle in behalf of God and of +our souls, even to the last moment; but for +the happy end of it all we must perforce +rely on the tender mercy of God. This is +why our Lord, before He departed from +earth, prayed to His heavenly Father for +His disciples: <q>Holy Father, keep them in +Thy name whom Thou hast given me; ... +I pray not that thou shouldst take them out +of the world; but that thou shouldst keep +them from evil.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xvii. 11-15.</note> This same truth the +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> +Psalmist also had in mind when he prayed: +<q>Perfect thou my goings in thy paths, that +my footsteps be not moved.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. xvi. 5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is this appalling uncertainty about the +end and outcome of life, together with our +own inability to make them secure, that +makes death so terrible to the minds and +thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians +and well-living persons. They fear to fall +into the hands of the living God. For them +the present life may be not so attractive; on +the contrary, it is likely replete with pain +and toil; but somehow they wish to linger +here, preferring that which is certain, although +so miserable, to that which is doubtful, +perhaps awful and irreparable. So +long as they continue in this present world +there is chance for change, there is hope of +improvement. But when death intervenes, +and the soul is removed to the other life, all +hopes of change are swept away, and the lot +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> +of the soul is fixed for eternity. There is, +of course, a fear of death which is altogether +natural. Many dread death who pretend +not to believe in a future life, or even in the +existence of God. And many there are +whose lives are holy, and who have not +whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, +nevertheless, the very thought of death is +fraught with all manner of terrors. As +some are naturally afraid in the absence of +light, and tremble with fear at being alone +in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or +place, so there are many who, without assignable +reason, other than a native tendency, +are appalled at the thought of death. +</p> + +<p> +But when all due allowances have been +made for the uncertainty of final perseverance, +and for the anxiety arising from natural +temperament, it seems not too much to +say that, for the most part, the fear and +dread of death which haunts so many Christians +can be reduced to two causes: a defect +of faith or a love of the world. It is one +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +of these causes, or both of them together, +which alone can explain, in the majority +of cases, why such numbers of Christians +and Catholics are unwilling to surrender +the present life, and are disturbed at the +very thought of dying. Either they do not +realize by faith the surpassing glories of the +life beyond—doubting its reality, questioning +its nature, misunderstanding the goodness +and mercy of God; or else they are so +attached to the present existence that all +serious thought and desire for a better life +are excluded from their minds and hearts. +Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual +life is indicated by the answers we give +to the following questions: <q>Do I love to +think of God? Am I willing to suffer for +God? Does my desire to be with Him destroy +my fear of death?</q> We do not fear to +meet or to be with one whom we really love, +for <q>love casteth out fear.</q> There is no +dread at the coming of the parent or friend +whom we truly love, unless, perchance, we +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +have offended him, and lack full faith that +we have been forgiven and reinstated in his +favor and friendship. +</p> + +<p> +So it is with God. If we are unwilling +to meet Him, or filled with fear at the approach +of His coming, it seems of a certainty +that our faith is at fault. Why should +we not wish to meet Him who has made +us, who loves us, who has washed away our +sins with His own blood, who alone can +comfort our trembling souls and fill us with +every good? Perhaps we have sinned and +betrayed our Maker many times and grievously +in our lives, and the voices of those +sins are haunting us, and bidding us beware +of the hour of death and of the judgment +that follows. Perhaps there is a lurking +suspicion that we have not been forgiven, a +temptation that we are not sincere, a feeling +that our sins are too grave to be pardoned, a +conviction that we do not belong to the +company of the elect. We may have notions, +moreover, altogether severe, of the +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> +nature of God and of His justice; we feel +His immensity and sanctity, we have heard +so much of His ineffable beauty, that, +weighed down with a sense of our nothingness, +of our poverty and misery and sinfulness, +we cannot but shudder at the thought +of appearing in His presence. These and +similar terrors may take hold of us and fill +us with a dread of death; but is it not clear +that, whatever their cause, these fears are +born of a lack of faith? We do not trust, +as we ought, the Shepherd that loves us, we +are not convinced of His mercy and kindness, +if we do not believe with child-like +confidence that He stands ready ever to forgive +and bless the least of His children that +humbly and sincerely seek Him, asking for +the help they need. The severity of God +toward sinners endures only so long as they +refuse to acknowledge their guilt. His +harshness with them, like that of Joseph +with his brethren, is but love in disguise; +and as soon as they are brought to own their +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> +guilt, that which before was the anger of +God is swiftly turned into His love and +mercy. Christ did not come to destroy, but +to save. He will not crush the broken reed, +nor extinguish the smoking flax.<note place='foot'>Isa. xlii. 3.</note> <q>As a +father hath compassion on his children, so +hath the Lord compassion on them that fear +him; for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth +that we are dust.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. cii. 13, 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But there is also the love of the world, +which enslaves so many. So numerous and +so bewitching are the attractions of the present +life that they are loath to leave them. +It is a beautiful world, this universe of ours, +so deep, so wide, so vast! It is filled with +pleasures and allurements and graced with +myriad charms; and he, indeed, seems cold +of heart who can easily turn from its enchanting +beauties, and close his ear to its +manifold voices. Ponder for a moment the +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> +richness of nature, its similarity and variety, +its sameness and its diversity; consider the +abundance of the harvest—the glowing +fruits, the green and golden crops, the sweet-scented +flowers and gift-bearing grasses; see +the stars above and the waters beneath—all +the wonders of earth and sky; and then +when you have ranged over fields and waves +and mountains, when you have climbed up +the steeps of the sky and gazed on the marvels +of the heavens, descend again to earth +and consider the human form—the chiefest +work of the Almighty hand, and the crown +of the natural world. What beauties are +here concealed! What a mingling of material +and spiritual, of human and almost +divine! What words can express, what lines +portray the beauty of the human countenance? +Who can describe or adequately +define the loveliness that streams from human +eyes, or echoes from the human voice? +And yet these are but the outer fringes and +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> +dimmest glimpses of the beauties of the soul +that dwells within. +</p> + +<p> +How painful, then, it is for the worldly +to forsake the beauties and pleasures of this +present life. Bound down to their beds of +clay by the things of sense, they are grieved +to part with a life so full of diverse attractions. +How can they think undismayed of +closing forever their eyes and ears to these +charms of color and sound! It is such a +difficult thing, and so hard to nature, to +abandon these scenes of enticing pleasure, to +bid farewell to those that are dear and be +hurried away alone and forlorn to the chill +and gloom of the grave. +</p> + +<p> +So reason the children of the world; but +are not their reasonings and feelings a proof +of their little faith, and of their poor conceptions +of spiritual and eternal interests? +They do not want to leave the world, because +they love it; and they love the world, +because their faith is too weak to raise them +to a vision of higher things. The plain on +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> +which they stand is too low clearly to see +the things of Heaven. How poor and +trifling at best is the earth and all it contains +to Him who beholds with a vivid faith the +world above that is to come! How gladly +does he lay down his life and give up the +struggle with ceaseless battles, who sees by +faith, just beyond the portals of death, the +great home of the blessed, spread out like +a city on the mountains, bathed in light inaccessible, +full of joy and unending gladness, +where <q>death shall be no more, nor +mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be +any more.</q><note place='foot'>Apoc. xxi., iv.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The man of faith, therefore, is in no wise +straightened or disturbed by the approach +of death. He has learned to know and to +trust the good Master whom he serves. Like +the Apostle, he is only concerned that Christ +should be glorified in him at all times and in +all things, <q>whether it be by life or by +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +death;</q> for to him also, <q>to live is Christ, +and to die is gain.</q><note place='foot'>Philip i. 20, 21.</note> He lives in the world, +but is not of it; he treads the ways of earth, +but he really belongs to the kingdom above. +Hence his cup of interior peace is ever running +over. Though surrounded by many +evils, he does not faint; though tempted exceedingly, +he does not yield; but is joyous +and peaceful withal; because at all times +and in all things he feels himself to be the +faithful servant of God, <q>in much patience, +in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in +strifes, in prisons, in seditions, in labors, in +watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, +in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the +Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned; ... +as dying, and yet living; as chastised, and +not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; +as needy, yet enriching many; as having +nothing, yet possessing all things.</q><note place='foot'>2 Cor. vi. 4-11.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> + +<p> +<q>Precious in the sight of God is the death +of His Saints.</q> As they have lived for +Christ, they gladly welcome the summons +that calls them home to rest. Calmly and +fearlessly they go down to death; joyously +and with feelings of exultation they hail the +coming of Him on whom their thoughts +have rested throughout life, of Him whom +they have ever seen by faith, whom they +have loved, whom they have trusted, whom +they have chosen for their own. Confident +of the power and goodness of their faithful +Shepherd, pain daunts them not, the enemy +frets them not. The last hour for them is +not one of darkness, but of light; it is not a +time for lamentations, but for joyous and +gladsome strains. The end may be sudden, +or it may be gradual in its approach; it may +come early, or late in life; it may be at home +or abroad; it may be in the winter, or it +may be in summer; on the sea or on the +land; but to the just and spiritual it can +never be a surprise, it can never be lonely, +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> +never sad. It is the time for which they +have always longed—a time of liberation, +of emancipation from the trammels of earth +and flesh, the end of continuous dying and +the beginning of lasting life. What a supreme +moment, what a joyous event is death +for a just and holy soul! What sweet emotions +must thrill the spirit, as the Saviour +stoops over the bed of death to wipe away +forever the last of earthly tears! Mary is +there to hush the voice of reproach and to +whisper words of peace; Jesus has come to +claim the soul and take it to Himself, and +flights of angels are waiting to sing it to its +rest. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow +Me All the Days of My Life; +and I Shall Dwell in the House of +the Lord Unto Length of Days.</head> + +<p> +If the tender lambs and timid sheep of the +shepherd's flock could speak the sentiments +of their innocent hearts, each one would +certainly voice the words which here the +Psalmist has uttered for them all. Throughout +the live-long day, throughout all the +days of their lives, they experience the shepherd's +goodness, they are the objects of his +constant mercy. He has been caring for +them since their birth; he has led them out +each morning, since first they were able to +walk; he has provided them with food, and +led them to water; and he has ever been +present to shield them from harm, and to +protect them from their enemies. After +such repeated experiences and trials of his +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> +loving-kindness, they have grown accustomed +to his faithfulness and are filled with +love of his goodness and mercy. And while +they have not the power of speech, and cannot +by words express their feelings, they do +by the louder voice of action—by their quiet +trust in his care, by their habitual mildness +and gentleness and quick response to his +every word, by the absence of solicitude and +fear in view of his presence—by these and +all the other actions that speak their simple +hearts they show their love for their shepherd. +Though often wounded and bleeding +and exhausted from the roughness and +length of their journeys, they have no distrust +about the future, no fear for the morrow. +In the midst of distress the shepherd, +they know, will provide. The Psalmist, +therefore, in the closing words of the shepherd +song, gives utterance to the feelings of +the sheep when he sings: <q>Surely goodness +and mercy shall follow me all the days of +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> +my life, and I shall dwell in the house of +the Lord unto length of days.</q> +</p> + +<p> +But here, as in the opening verse of the +Shepherd Psalm, the words of the sacred +Singer, although truly expressive of the +sentiments of the sheep, are more directly +the expression of his own inner feelings, +and of the feelings of all faithful souls towards +the Lord who rules and guides them. +All those whose lives have been really and +sincerely led by faith, have, like the shepherd's +flock, grown trustfully accustomed, +in the course of years, to the goodness and +mercy, to the faithfulness and love of the +hand that provides for them. As they look +into their lives, and retrace the steps they +have taken, they cannot fail to see how God +has been always with them, patiently enduring +their faults, mercifully binding +up their wounds and hurts, and lovingly +leading, drawing them to Himself. +They can see their advancement, slow perhaps +as it has been; and they know it is +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> +God who has given the increase. Looking +now at their lives through the perspective +of the years that are gone, how many problems +they are able to solve! for how many +apparent mysteries they have found an explanation! +All those crosses and trials, all +those struggles and battles with the enemy, +all those attacks from within and assaults +from without, all, in fact, that they have +ever endured, their sins alone excepted, they +now can trace, through the light of faith, +back to the hand of their Father in Heaven. +Not everything, forsooth, has yet been explained, +but enough, indeed, is sufficiently +clear to remove every doubt from the faithful +soul as to the goodness and Providence +of God. And hence she exclaims with the +Psalmist, out of the abundance of her faith +and confidence, <q>Surely goodness and mercy +shall follow me all the days of my life; and +I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is doubtless a lack of implicit trust in +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> +God and divine Providence which, more +than anything else, accounts for the unhappiness +and spiritual barrenness of so many +Christian and religious lives. Poor and +scanty is the fruit they yield, simply because +they have no depth of soil, they are not +deeply and firmly rooted in faith and confidence +in God. Like reeds shaken by the +wind, like houses built on the sand, they +tremble and shake with every blast, they +are all but overturned by every tempest that +rises. +</p> + +<p> +Nor is it wonderful that this should be so. +The higher gifts of the spirit come from +God, and hence the good fruit which the +spirit yields is also traceable back to Him. +<q>We do not gather grapes from thorns nor +figs from thistles; and as a good tree cannot +bring forth evil fruit, so neither can an +evil tree bring forth good fruit.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. vii. 16-19.</note> And +just because the abundance of the harvest +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> +of the spiritual life is dependent upon God +as its giver, is it strange that any distrust of +Him and His Providence should be a great +hindrance to the soul's advancement, and +to the bestowal of the constant help it needs? +Can God be pleased with those who do not +confide in Him, and who do not trust Him? +Our Lord's own chiding words to His disciples +are a proof of His displeasure at any +distrust in His power and goodness. How +often did He rebuke them for their want of +confidence in Him! How often did He accuse +them reproachfully of their <q>little +faith,</q><note place='foot'>Matt. vi. 30.</note> of being <q>slow of +heart,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxiv. 25.</note> of being +an <q>unbelieving and perverse generation!</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xvii. 16.</note> +He was constantly pointing to their lack of +faith, reminding them that it was the source +of their weakness, the cause of their ignorance +in things spiritual, the reason of their +powerlessness in the face of difficulties and +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> +against the enemies of their souls. It is +clear that Almighty God, being a generous +and loving Father, must be offended at those +of His children who do not trust Him; and +their want of faith in Him is consequently +the reason for His denying to them the help +which is the life of their souls, and without +which they are powerless to be useful servants +in His vineyard. +</p> + +<p> +And this failure to confide in the goodness +of God betrays itself in other ways. Besides +sealing up the fountains of special +graces and closing the door on divine generosity, +besides a general unfruitfulness in +the spiritual life, and the lack of all greater +works for God and for souls, which are its +immediate consequences, it also penetrates +into the interior sanctuary of the spirit, and +weakens at their source the springs of spiritual +action. The results are manifest. Not +only is there no yielding of fruit, but growth +is likewise wanting. And if, under fairer +conditions, there has ever been any progress, +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> +it is soon perceived to wither and wane in a +soul devoid of living faith. All the exercises +and practices of the Christian life participate +in the baneful effects. Prayer and +the use of the sacraments are either seriously +neglected or gradually given up, and +the blighting influences of irreligion rapidly +spread and overrun all the departments of +life. The view one takes of God, the faith +or lack of faith and trust one has in Providence, +have their effect on the character and +give a direction to all one's ways of thinking, +feeling, acting, in regard to the world +we live in, in regard to mankind in general, +in regard to the causes, purposes, and destinies +of all things. +</p> + +<p> +Our conceptions of Providence are vital, +therefore. They really determine what our +life is to be, and they are an index to the +life that is finished. It is impossible that +we should be quite the same whether we +try to eliminate God from our lives, or allow +His blessed influence to cheer and lead +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> +us on; whether we look upon Him as a cold +Master, waiting to exact and to punish, or +as a kind Father and Shepherd, seeking to +spare and to save; whether we regard Him +as hid far in the heavens, caring naught for +the creatures and the world He has made, +or whether we conceive Him as intimately +bound up with all the works of His hands, +although distinct from them, as guiding and +regulating everything, as tenderly loving +and providing for all the needs of our souls. +</p> + +<p> +Another most harmful result of deficient +faith and confidence in God is that it leads +us to trust in creatures. It causes us to reverse +the proper order of things. We are +dependent beings, and we instinctively feel +our deficiencies and the need of some one, +or something on which to lean, at times, +and to which we can look for assistance. +We may not be entirely and always conscious +of this tendency in us, we may be too +proud or too blind to admit it, or we may +wish we could overcome it and rid our lives +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> +of so constant a need; but whether we see it +and acknowledge it or not, whether we encourage +it or try to repress it, the need is +always there, deeply engraved in our nature +as creatures, and we cannot but seek to satisfy +it. There is none of us, frail beings +that we are, who is entirely sufficient unto +himself. Sometimes, of course, the voice +of our needs is silent, and we feel that we +shall never want; <q>I said in my abundance,</q> +observes the Psalmist, <q>I shall not be moved +forever;</q><note place='foot'>Ps. xxix. 7.</note> but when the tide begins to ebb +and prosperity subsides, how soon do we remember +that we are dust! How frequently +in times of trouble, in times of illness and +poverty and suffering, when face to face +with our foes, or when death steps in and +slaughters, are we made aware of our insufficiency, +and of our utter helplessness to live +our lives alone and meet single-handed the +burdens and misfortunes of earth! It takes +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +but a little frost to nip the root of all our +greatness, and then when our high-blown +pride breaks under us we quickly realize +how fragile and insecure are the personal +foundations of our lives. Naturally and +reasonably, therefore, did the pagan philosophers +conclude that friendship and friends +were necessary to man. +</p> + +<p> +Profoundly aware of this fundamental +need of help and support which is a result +of our nature, we habitually stretch out our +hands to others, not only during the years +of infancy and childhood, but to a greater +or less extent throughout the whole period +of our earthly existence. At first, of course, +it is to creatures that we necessarily look—to +parents, relatives, guardians, teachers, +and later on, to friends and acquaintances. +Our needs in the beginning and in early +years, though many and imperative, are +comparatively simple; they can be satisfied +by those around us. But as we advance to +maturity and take in more completely the +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> +meaning of our lives, and consider not so +much the needs of the body as the demands +of the soul, we find that the multiple requirements +of infancy and youth, which +were able to be supplied by those that were +near, have given way to the fewer, but vast +and unlimited, claims of age, which express +the wants of the spirit. It is when we appeal +to creatures for the complete and permanent +satisfaction of these latter necessities +of our being, that we seriously err, and +open the way to disappointment and sorrow. +Not that we are to have no cherished and +chosen friends, or that we should despise +the needs and gifts, the privileges and blessings +of friendship, which in truth our nature +requires; nor again that we are to regard +with skeptical, disdainful eyes the +world and human nature; but we must not +deceive ourselves by trying to find in any +created being that which it does not possess. +We must not endeavor to get from any creature +that perfect satisfaction which we need, +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> +and which the Creator alone can give. +Neither must we seek to fill the unlimited +capacity of our souls with those gifts only, +poor and defective at best, which frail mortals +like ourselves are able to supply. It is +folly in the highest degree to expect from +anyone less than God that which only God +can afford. +</p> + +<p> +The mistake, therefore, is made when +creatures of any kind are allowed to take +the place of God; when they are sought and +reposed in as an end in themselves, and as +sufficient satisfaction for the needs of the +human spirit. Unwise, indeed, is this mode +of action, and bitter are the sorrows of soul +to which it inevitably leads! One man +trusts in riches, another in glory, another in +the esteem of men; one leans upon his +friends and companions, another upon his +relatives—all forgetful of the frail and unsubstantial +nature of every earthly prop. +Frequently they never awaken to the peril +of their state until they find themselves face +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> +to face with their doom and the awful disillusionment. +The crash may be delayed, but +the day must come sooner or later for all of +us, who have advanced but a little beyond +maturity, when all the natural lights of life +go out, when every human prop is removed, +and we find ourselves out alone and in the +dark, so far as depends on the world and +creatures. How miserable then shall we be +if we have put our trust in men! if we have +tried to make creatures play the part in our +lives which only God can play! When we +need them most they fail us, when we fain +would find beneath their protection a shield +against the fiery darts of life, behold they +wither like the ivy of Jonas and leave us +alone in our want!<note place='foot'>Jonas iv.</note> How vain, therefore, +and groundless is that confidence which is +put in men, and how wretched that poor +man that hangs on princes' favors! <q>Thou +trustest in money,</q> says St. Augustine, <q>thou +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> +holdest to vanity; thou trustest in honor, and +in some eminence of human power, thou +holdest to vanity; thou trustest in some principal +friend, thou holdest to vanity. When +thou trustest in all these things, either thou +diest and leavest them here, or in thy lifetime +they all perish, and thou failest in thy +trust.</q><note place='foot'>In Ps. xxx. Exp. 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is no despisal, then, of the needs and +helps of earthly friends and of our fellow-creatures +to say that we should not put entire +trust in them for all the wants and demands +of our being. They are good, they +were made by God, they are oftentimes able +to assist us—nay, we need them to a certain +extent; but they are utterly unable to satisfy +us completely, they cannot if they would, +simply because of the extent of our wants. +And even if creatures could give us a partial +contentment, as at times they seem to do, +we know that it cannot last, and in the midst +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> +of our joy and pleasure we are haunted by +the thought that some day, soon at latest, it +all must pass away. We are seeking for +rest, for peace, for happiness, and that unending; +we want something to steady our +lives and satisfy the yearnings of our souls +forever: but we must not look for these +things in the world, for the world at best is +passing away. There is no stability to human +things; the cloud and the storm swiftly +follow the sunshine; we have not here below +a lasting habitation. Today we are sitting +at the banquet of pleasure, tomorrow we are +draining the cup of sorrow; today we receive +the applause of men, tomorrow we +may be the objects of their scorn; today we +put forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow +there comes a killing frost that ruins all +our prospects. +</p> + +<p> +Such, then, is the lot of man when considered +in his relations to creatures and to +the world. It is a lot full of uncertainty, +of instability, of vicissitude; but this should +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +not make us skeptical or cynical; it affords +no justification for pessimism. It is a condition +arising, on the one hand, from the +very nature of limited beings, and on the +other, from the vast potentialities of our +souls, which, while they are limited in giving +to others, cannot be appeased except by +the God who made them. There is a craving +in the heart of man for something which +the world cannot give. He clutches for the +things that are passing, he toils, he labors, +he struggles; he strives for money, for +power, for place, for honor, not that any of +these things are in themselves what he desires, +but only because he conceives them as +means and helps to the satisfaction, to the +stillness of mind, and peace of heart, and +rest of soul and body for which his nature +longs. Peace and happiness and contentment +of life are the objects of all our +dreams, of our persistent efforts, of our ambitions +and aims; but until we give up the +hope of finding these things in the world, in +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> +our fellow-mortals, in anything short of +God, we shall never know the blessedness +for which we yearn. If we would ever attain +to the state which we covet, we must +learn the lesson, even though it be through +tears and sorrow, that God alone, who made +our souls with all their vast desires, is able +to comfort us and steady our lives amid the +storms and distresses of earth. +</p> + +<p> +It is futile to trust in men, or <q>in the children +of men, in whom there is no salvation.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. cxlv. 2, 3.</note> +The peace and blessedness which +we seek are <q>not as the world giveth;</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xiv. 27.</note> and +unless we turn away from the world and +cease to torture our lives with its vanities, +our portion can never be other than heartaches, +secret loathing, consuming thirst. +<q>For many friends cannot profit,</q> says +Thomas a'Kempis, <q>nor strong helpers assist, +nor prudent counsellors give a profitable +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> +answer, nor the books of the learned +afford comfort, nor any precious substance +deliver, nor any place, however retired and +lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost +assist, help, strengthen, console, instruct, and +guard us.</q><note place='foot'>Bk. iii.; ch. lix. 3.</note> +Such has been the history of +the race, and such is the experience of every +individual in the race that has placed his +hope and trust in anything created. +</p> + +<p> +We are confronted, therefore, on the one +side by the inherent weakness of our own +nature and the constant needs that arise +therefrom; and on the other side, we are +assured by the history of the race, if not by +our own experience, that so long as we strive +to satisfy our wants by an appeal to anything +but God we are doomed to disappointment +and sorrow. It is unfortunate that most +people must first be crushed by the world +and creatures which they serve before they +grasp the fundamental truth that creatures +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +are not their God. Comparatively few of +those who enjoy the world are ever brought +to realize the dignity and divine purpose of +their souls until the world and its allurements, +like a false pageant on a false stage, +give way beneath them, and they fall helpless +and alone. It is commonly only after +repeated awful experiences, when worn out +and exhausted by years of fruitless quest for +peace and happiness and contentment, that +men wake up to the simple fact that the +treasures which they seek are not in the +world, nor as the world giveth. +</p> + +<p> +But it is one thing to turn away from +the world disappointed, disgusted and betrayed; +and it is quite another thing to turn +to God and to recognize Him as our good +Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to +receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our +wants. There are many people who find +the world a disappointment and a deception, +and who turn from it with loathing and +hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> +eyes to the proper object of their trust. Like +the Israelites of old, they succeed at length +in escaping from the hands of oppression +and tyranny, but only to wander in a desert +land throughout the length of their days. +This is the region where dwell the pessimist, +the skeptic and the cynic—miserable mortals +that have wasted on creatures the talents +they should have given to their Creator, or +that have otherwise failed in their conception +of life, and have left unmultiplied the +money of the Master.<note place='foot'>Matt. xxv. 24-31.</note> There is plainly no +middle course for us, if we would not encounter +disaster; we are not negative as to +the necessities of our nature; it is not enough +for us to turn from positive harm, from the +objects that deceive and disappoint us; we +must further turn to positive good, and to +Him who alone can quiet and appease our +yearning spirits. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most evident and convincing +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> +reasons, then, why we should put our trust +in God above all else is that He alone can +satisfy and give us rest. Only God is able +adequately to respond to all the needs of our +being. The simplest process of reasoning +should assure us of this, when once we perceive +the vastness of our wants and the impossibility +of their satisfaction through the +medium of created things. We know our +nature, which has come from the source and +essence of truth, cannot be false. Neither +can our unlimited capacities for knowledge, +for joy, for happiness be a deceiving +mockery. There is a way to peace +for us, and a source of supreme contentment; +there is a fountain of living waters +from which, if we drink, we shall never +thirst again. Hence our Saviour said: +<q>Come to me all you that labour and are +burdened, and I will refresh you;</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xi. 28.</note> and +again, <q>he that shall drink of the water +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> +that I will give him shall not thirst forever: +but the water that I will give him shall become +in him a fountain of water, springing +up into life everlasting.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. iv. 13, 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But we shall never be able to come to +God, we shall never succeed even in getting +near the secret of interior peace and contentment +until we are able to grasp more or +less comprehensively the great basic truths +of our existence: that God loves each one of +us with the love of an infinite Father, and +that His Providence is so universal and omnipotent +as to extend to all things, even to +the numbering of the hairs of our head. +We talk much about chance and fortune and +accident, we speak every day of things happening, +as if by the sheerest contingence, +without warning or previous knowledge; +and so it is with reference to ourselves, and +to all the world perhaps: but with reference +to divine Providence it is not so; there is +nothing accidental, nothing unforeseen with +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> +respect to God. <q>Without Thy counsel and +Providence, and without cause, nothing +cometh to pass in the earth,</q><note place='foot'>Bk. iii., +ch. 1, 4.</note> says the Imitation. +But what does this mean, <q>God +provides?</q> It means that the will of the +omnipotent Father directs and governs +everything. <q>Providence,</q> says St. John +Damscene, <q>is the will of God, by which +all things are fitly and harmoniously governed,</q><note place='foot'>De +Fide orthod. ii. 29.</note> +and such is its power that nothing +can elude or deceive it, neither can it be hindered +or baffled in any way. <q>For God will +not except any man's person, neither will +He stand in awe of any man's greatness; for +He made the little and the great, and He +hath equally care of all.</q><note place='foot'>Wis. vi. 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +And just as divine Providence disposes +and governs all the events of life, directing +each to its proper end, so the divine Will is +the cause of everything that exists. Just as +<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/> +it is impossible that anything should escape +God's knowledge and directing hand, so is +it impossible that anything should exist or +come into being without the direct intervention +or permission of His will. There +is nothing in the world which God has not +made, and nothing takes place which is not +according to His good-pleasure, except the +malice and guilt of sin. Even all the other +evils of life, such as sickness, suffering, disease, +poverty, cold, hunger, thirst, and the +like, God actually and positively wills. And +precisely because these things proceed from +His will, they cannot be bad. God is the +author of all good, and evil He cannot do. +So good, indeed, is He that, if He were not +sufficiently omnipotent to draw good out of +evil, He would never have permitted any +evil to exist. <q>God has judged it better,</q> +says St. Augustine, <q>to work good out of +evil, than to allow no evil.</q><note place='foot'>Ench. +tom. iii., ch. 27 and ii.</note> We must not +<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/> +argue in our foolishness and try to understand +all the doings of God, for His ways +are not our ways, His thoughts not our +thoughts.<note place='foot'>Isa. lv. 8; Rom. xi. 33.</note> It is often beyond our power +even to understand our fellow-creatures, +and how foolish it is to complain because we +cannot comprehend the great Creator! +Enough for us, if we be sincere and right of +heart, to know, as we do, that God is good, +that He loves us individually, and that His +protecting hand guides and governs all the +events of our lives, even to the smallest detail. +These are truths which we must take +hold of and lay close to our hearts, else we +shall go the way of error and issue in ultimate +disaster. +</p> + +<p> +And from these truths, so certain and unquestionable, +it further follows that everything +existing in the world, so far as it affects +us, everything that falls to our lot, all +that we encounter, all that we suffer, all that +<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/> +we do, aside from sin, has been purposely +arranged by Almighty God for our greater +spiritual good and eternal salvation. This +must be so, since God is the universal cause +of all things, and since He sincerely loves +us and desires above all to save us. If it +were otherwise, either He would not have +omnipotent control of everything, or He +could not be said really to desire our salvation. +How sadly we misunderstand these +great truths in our daily lives, when we +murmur and complain at the evils that afflict +us! How narrowly we conceive the +all-powerful will of God, and the infinite +abyss of His goodness which would lead us +to eternal delights! We would like to escape +all the evils of time, we love our lives, +and we wish to save them from final wreck; +but when failing to trust to the will of God +we forget the words of Christ, that <q>he that +loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth +his life in this world, keepeth it unto +<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/> +life eternal.</q><note place='foot'>Jno. xii. 25.</note> We want to save our souls, +and we are, perhaps, much disturbed about +doing many and great things in the cause of +God and of Heaven, unmindful the while +of the Master's warning that, <q>not every one +that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into +the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the +will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall +enter into the kingdom of heaven.</q><note place='foot'> Matt. vii. 21.</note> It is +doubtless our aim to draw ever nearer and +nearer to our Saviour, and to deepen our +relationship with Him; but do we remember +that He said, <q>whosoever shall do the +will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, +and mother?</q><note place='foot'>Mk. iii. 35.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>Yes,</q> you will say, <q>This is all true; I +know it is so; my faith is at fault. If I only +had that beautiful faith and trust in God +which many have it would be easy for me, +and I should be happy! Faith is a gift and +<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/> +favored are they that possess it.</q> But, dear +reader, can you not pray? Can you not ask +from God that heavenly gift which will +move mountains and translate them into the +sea?<note place='foot'>Mk. xi. 23.</note> Can you not overcome your indolence +and your repugnance, and patiently +and persistently implore from on high that +superior vision which pierces the clouds +and sees in everything the hand of God? +Surely you can say, with the devout author +of the Imitation of Christ, <q>Behold, Oh +beloved Father, I am in Thy hands, I bow +myself under the rod of Thy correction. +Strike my back and my neck too, that my +crookedness may be conformed to Thy +will.</q><note place='foot'>Bk. III., ch. l. 6.</note> Here again, remember the words +of your Saviour, <q>The kingdom of heaven +suffereth violence, and the violent bear it +away.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xi. 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps the greatest trial to our faith in +<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/> +divine Providence is in bearing what we call +the wrongs of life. That we should have +any crosses to suffer at all; that there should +be death and sickness and disease; that there +should be poverty and misery, distress and +worry, labor and sorrow; that there should +exist any of these things, is to our infirmity, +if we forget our sins and the sins of our race +that have caused these evils, a trial and a +test of fidelity. But still more is it difficult, +except to minds that are deeply religious, to +meet with the gentleness and serenity of +faith the positive injuries—the injustice, +the scorn, the ridicule, the pain and persecution +which others, needy creatures like +ourselves, actually inflict upon us. It is +easier, we say, to bear poverty than insult; +it is easier to suffer the inclemency of the +elements than to endure the unkindness of +our brethren; it is easier to put up with the +pain and weariness of bodily sickness than to +come under the lash of the tongues of men. +There is here, however, no room for hesitation +<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/> +and question; the rule is the same for +all the crosses that come to us. God often +permits us to be afflicted by the sins of others +for our greater spiritual profit. Since, +therefore, all alike proceed from God, +either by positive act or divine permission, +and since we know that He is supremely +good and loves us, having given every proof +of His desire to save us, even to the delivering +up of His only Son,<note place='foot'>Rom. viii. 32.</note> we can never reasonably +or sincerely doubt that every evil +and cross of life, with the sole exception of +our personal sins, has been arranged for our +good. My God, do Thou teach us the wisdom +of the cross! <q>For this is a favor to +Thy friend, that for love of Thee he may +suffer and be afflicted in the world, how +often soever and by whom soever Thou permittest +such trials to befall him.</q><note place='foot'>Imitation, +Bk. III., ch. l. 4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is helpful that here also, in learning to +<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/> +discern the source and meaning of our afflictions, +we have ever before us the examples +of the holiest souls. We know that +in all trials they steadfastly look beyond the +cross that presses them to the hand of Him +who has placed it there. Like the shepherd's +sheep, they are convinced of the +power and goodness of their Master, and +nothing can shake their trust in Him. +Without distinction or question they accept +all as coming from God by special act or +sovereign permission, to purify them, to detach +them from the world and creatures, to +increase their nearness and likeness to Himself, +to multiply their merits for Heaven +and bring them to everlasting crowns. They +discover the workings of Providence everywhere, +in things that are painful, as well as +in things that are pleasant to nature. Thus +behind their pangs of body and mind, behind +the whips and scorns of time, behind +the tongue that slanders and calumniates +them, behind the oppressor's wrong, the +<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/> +injustice and tyranny of princes and rulers, +behind all the evils of life they see the hand +of Him who directs and governs all. But +here we must not conclude that the Saints +and holy persons have never resisted evil +and evil-doers, and that consequently we +must not. This would be a serious mistake, +as Church history and hagiography plainly +prove. Who was ever more vigorous and +fearless in opposing wrong and the doers of +wrong than St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. +Jerome? Who was ever more persistent +in his efforts to prevail against the evils of +sin in others than St. Monica, St. Teresa, +St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of Siena? +After their example, then, we may and we +must struggle against evils of all kinds, +whether physical or spiritual, whether from +ourselves or from others, in so far as it is +not certain that it is the will of God that we +should submit to them. But when we have +exerted ourselves reasonably and lawfully +to rid our lives of that which afflicts us, and +<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/> +still it persists, there can be no further doubt +that it is the will of God that we should patiently +and submissively accept our condition +and our cross. Since, however, we do +not know how long it is the wish of Providence +that we should be burdened and afflicted, +we may continue patiently to use +every legitimate means to be delivered, provided +it be done with humble resignation to +the will of our heavenly Father. +</p> + +<p> +The acceptance of injuries, therefore, on +the part of holy souls is not a weak yielding +to inevitable circumstances, nor a willing +consent to the wrongs of others. Like St. +Paul, they know whom they have believed,<note place='foot'>2 Tim. i. 12.</note> +and they are certain that, in due +time, divine justice will bring all evil-doers +to an evil end and will deliver the just from +their troubles. And further, when the vengeance +of the persecutor is turned upon +them, and they are hunted down without +<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/> +reason by their kind, even by the members +of their own household, they remember the +words of their Shepherd, <q>The disciple is +not above his master, nor the servant above +his lord. It is enough for the disciple that +he be as his master, and the servant as his +lord. If they have called the good man of +the house Beelzebub, how much more them +of his household!</q><note place='foot'>Matt. x. 24, 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +And again, when the servants of God behold +the wicked prospering and the just +oppressed; when they see the ambitious, the +covetous, the unscrupulous preferred and +honored, and they themselves plotted +against and rejected, their heart is not disturbed, +because they know first of all that +<q>to them that love God, all things work together +unto good,</q><note place='foot'>Rom. viii. 28.</note> and secondly, they are +persuaded that the efforts of sinners must +finally fail. <q>For the hope of the wicked is +<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/> +as dust, which is blown away with the wind, +and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the +storm: and as a smoke that is scattered +abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance +of a guest of one day that passeth +by.</q><note place='foot'>Wis. v. 15.</note> In a word, then, those who are +really the friends of God have faith and +confidence in their heavenly Master; and all +the perils of earth, and all the powers of +darkness cannot avail to daunt them or turn +them aside from their purpose. +</p> + +<p> +This steadfastness of religious trust we, +in our turn, must strive to acquire. It is +the only way to peace and victory. If we +would ever rise above the evils of our lives +we must learn to look to God for every +thing. And this looking to God must be, +not only as to our bountiful benefactor, but +as to a kind master who knows how best to +discipline his servants and preserve them +from irreparable harm. +</p> + +<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/> + +<p> +There is a substantially correct translation +of the final verse of the Shepherd +Psalm, which may be rendered as follows: +<q>And Thy goodness and kindness pursue +me all the days of my life, <emph>that I may dwell</emph> +in the house of the Lord forever.</q> It is the +special wording of the second clause of the +stanza that expresses the real purpose of +divine Providence in regard to the elect. +Everything in life has been ordained and +arranged for their eternal salvation, and for +the increase of their heavenly rewards. +<q>Therefore,</q> wrote St. Paul to Timothy, <q>I +endure all things for the sake of the elect, +that they also may obtain the salvation, +which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly +glory.</q><note place='foot'>2 Tim. ii. 10.</note> +It is this firm conviction that infinite +love is at the bottom of all the workings +of Providence, doing everything for +the sake of the elect, that consoles and +steadies the souls of the just throughout all +<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/> +the trials and crosses of life. In the thick +of the battle they never lose sight of the +faithful Shepherd that leads them, and they +ever behold by faith the unspeakable delights +He has prepared for them that love +Him. +</p> + +<p> +What joys are there in our faith and hope! +If by the mercy and goodness of God we +succeed in saving our souls, how cheap will +seem the price we shall have paid for +Heaven, and how benign and ineffably loving +will appear the Providence of God +which is leading us there! At times now +in our fervor we can faintly and feebly imagine +what it will mean to throw off forever +this veil of faith and see distinctly and continually +the Shepherd of our souls. But +our liveliest conceptions here are infinitely +inferior to the vision to come. <q>To see God +face to face, as He is; to gaze undazzled on +the Three Divine Persons, cognizable and +distinct in the burning fires of their inaccessible +splendors; to behold that long-coveted +<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/> +sight, the endless Generation of the +All-holy Son, and our hearts to hold the joy, +and not die; to watch with spirits all out-stretched +in adoration the ever-radiant and +ineffably beautiful Procession of the Holy +Ghost from the Father and the Son, and to +participate ourselves in that jubilee of jubilees, +and drink in with greedy minds the +wonders of that Procession, and the marvelous +distinctness of its beauty from the Generation +of the Son; to feel ourselves with +ecstatic awe, and yet with seraphic intimacy, +overshadowed by the Person of the Unbegotten +Father, the Father to whom and of +whom we have said so much on earth, the +Fountain of Godhead, who is truly our +Father, while He is also the Father of the +Eternal Son; to explore, with exulting license +and with unutterably glad fear, attribute +after attribute, oceans opening into +oceans of divinest beauty; to lie astonished +in unspeakable contentment before the +vision of God's surpassing Unity, so long +<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/> +the joyous mystery of our predilection, while +the Vision through all eternity seems to +grow more fresh and bright and new: O +my poor soul! what canst thou know of this, +or of these beautiful necessities, of thy exceeding +love, which shall only satisfy itself +in endless alternations, now of silence and +now of song?</q><note place='foot'>Faber, Creator and Creature, Bk. II., ch. v.</note> +</p> + +<p> +If regret were possible for the blessed +hereafter, they would never cease to mourn +over the loss of their opportunities on earth +to increase their eternal beatitude. It is +only when the veil shall have been removed +that we shall fully realize how the goodness +and mercy of God have always pursued +us in this life, that we might be saved and +enjoy the rewards of His house forever. +May God give us all that child-like trust in +our heavenly Master which the sheep display +toward their shepherd; may He grant +us that vivid constant faith of the Saints +<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/> +which will enable us to see in every event of +life, in adversity as well as in prosperity, in +our pains as well as in our joys, the designs +of a loving Father who is ever wishing and +trying to lead His children to His home of +eternal delights. +</p> +</div> +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> diff --git a/30579.txt b/30579.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b31d70f --- /dev/null +++ b/30579.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3696 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Of My Soul by Rev. Charles J. +Callan + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Shepherd Of My Soul + +Author: Rev. Charles J. Callan + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [Ebook #30579] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + + + + The Shepherd Of My Soul + + By Rev. Charles J. Callan + + Of the Order of Preachers + + John Murphy Company, Publishers + + 100 W. Lombard St. + + Baltimore, MD. + + Printers to the Holy See + + 1915 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Psalm of the Good Shepherd +Introduction. +I. Christ the Good Shepherd. +II. Shepherd Life in the Orient. +III. The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want. +IV. He Maketh Me to Lie Down in Pastures of Tender Grass; He Leadeth Me +Beside the Waters of Quietness. +V. He Restoreth My Soul. +VI. He Leadeth Me in the Paths of Justice for His Name's Sake. +VII. Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear +no Evil, for Thou Art With Me. +VIII. Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me. +IX. Thou Spreadest Before Me a Table in the Presence of Mine Enemies. +X. Thou Anointest My Head With Oil; My Cup Runneth Over. +XI. Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me All the Days of My Life; and +I Shall Dwell in the House of the Lord Unto Length of Days. +Footnotes + + + + + + +Nihil Obstat: + +M. A. WALDRON, O. P. S. T. M. + +J. A. McHUGH, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimi Potest: + +J. R. MEAGHER, O. P. S. T. Lr. + +Imprimatur: + +++ J. CARD. GIBBONS. + + + + + +PSALM OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD + + +The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. + +He maketh me to lie down in pastures of tender grass. + +He restoreth my soul. + +He leadeth me in the paths of justice for his name's sake. + +Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no +evil, for thou art with me. + +Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. + +Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence of mine enemies. + +Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. + +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I +shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +No types more beautiful could have been chosen under which to picture the +character of our Lord and the souls He came to redeem than those of a +shepherd and his flock. As nothing on earth could more fitly illustrate +the infinite love and sacrifice of the Saviour than the enduring labors +and tenderness of a shepherd, so nothing here below could better portray +the multiple wants of our spirits than the needful dependent nature of +sheep. After the knowledge we possess of our Redeemer, only a slight +acquaintance with the characteristics of pastoral life, as it exists in +oriental countries, is needed to discern the charming fitness of these +comparisons. The similarity is at once striking and most easily +understood. Hence it is that our Lord, as well as those who described Him +before He came, so often appealed to shepherd life when speaking of the +Messiah's mission; hence, also, it is that He was so fond of calling +Himself the Good Shepherd, and of alluding to the souls He loved as His +sheep. + +It is the purpose of the pages that follow to trace some of these +beautiful and touching resemblances of the shepherd and his flock, on the +one side, roaming over the hills and plains of Palestine, and the Saviour +of the World with the souls of men, on the other, pursuing together the +journey of life. We have taken as our guide, in noting these charming +likenesses, the Twenty-second Psalm, or the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +every verse of which recalls some feature or features of pastoral life, +and sings of the offices, tender and varied, which the shepherd discharges +towards his flock. + +As this shepherd song was composed and written in the Hebrew tongue, the +language of ancient Palestine, we have employed here a literal translation +from the original language, simply because it expresses much more +beautifully and more exactly than does any rendering from the Latin or +Greek the various marks and characteristics of the shepherd's life and +duties. The oriental languages, like the people who speak them, are +exceedingly figurative and poetic in their modes of expression; and hence, +for our present purpose, it is only by getting back as closely as we can +to the original that we are able adequately to appreciate the beauty and +poetry of that simple but charming life about which the Psalmist is +singing. + +Although the Shepherd Psalm refers, in its literal sense, to the human +shepherd attending and providing for his sheep, it has also another higher +meaning, which its author gave it, and this has reference to Christ in His +relations with the souls He has made and redeemed. It is by reflecting on +this sense of the psalm, and on all His gracious dealings with us, that we +are enabled to realize how rightly and justly our Saviour is called the +Shepherd of Our Souls, and how beautifully the Psalmist, in the shepherd +song, has depicted His relations with us. And how important this is! how +much it means for our spiritual welfare and spiritual advancement to +reflect on the many mercies of Christ and on the love He bears each one of +us! If the considerations that follow assist their readers to appreciate +more fully and love more ardently the Divine Shepherd of Souls, who daily +and constantly throughout our lives is ministering to our spiritual needs +and trying to further our eternal interests, the desire and aim which +prompted their writing will be fully and perfectly realized. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + + +I. CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. + + +It was announced by the prophets of old that the Messiah, who was to come, +should bear the character of a good shepherd. He was to be a shepherd, and +His followers, the faithful souls that should believe in Him and accept +His teaching, were to be His sheep. It was foretold that He would select +and purchase His flock; that He would choose them from out the vast +multitudes of their kind and gather them into His fold, that He would +provide for them and guard them against every evil; that He would lead +them out to green pastures and refresh them with the waters of rest. "He +shall feed his flock like a shepherd," sang the Prophet Isaias; "he shall +gather together the lambs with his arms, and shall take them up in his +bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young."(1) In like +manner did Jeremias, referring to the comforting advent of Christ, liken +the offices which the Saviour would perform towards His people to those of +shepherds towards their flocks. "I will set up pastors over them," said +the Prophet, speaking in the name of Jehovah, "and they shall feed them; +they shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed; and none shall be +wanting of their number.... Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I +will raise up to David a just branch; and a king shall reign, and shall be +wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."(2) The Prophet +Ezechiel also prophetically portrayed the Saviour's character when he +pictured Him in the capacity of a shepherd visiting and feeding his sheep: +"For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and I +will visit them. As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he +shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my +sheep, and I will deliver them out of all the places where they have been +scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will set up one shepherd over +them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, +and he shall be their shepherd."(3) + +And when at length the Saviour did appear in the world, He declared, not +only by His life and example, but in explicit terms, that He was the +fulfilment of these prophecies--that He was, in truth, the Good Shepherd, +and that His followers were the sheep of His fold. In the tenth chapter of +the Gospel according to Saint John we have His own words to this effect. +There He tells us plainly that He has not come as a thief and a robber, to +steal, to kill, and to destroy; that He is not a stranger, at the sound of +whose voice the sheep are terrified and flee away; that He is not a +hireling, who cares not for the sheep, and who, beholding the approach of +the wolf and the enemy, fleeth and leaveth the sheep to be snatched and +scattered and torn. The Saviour is not any of these, nor like unto them. +He is the Good Shepherd who enters the sheepfold by the door, and not as +the thief and robber who climb up some other way. To Him the porter +openeth, and He calleth His sheep, and they know His voice and follow Him, +and He leadeth them out to pasture, to rest, and to abundant life. Nor is +this all, for He protects and guards His sheep. By day and by night He is +ever near them: when circling the green plains, or beside the still +waters, or when asleep beneath the silent stars, the sheep are protected +by their Shepherd. Faithfully He watches His dependent flock; and at the +end, as a proof of His love and fidelity, He generously lays down His life +for His sheep. + + + + + +II. SHEPHERD LIFE IN THE ORIENT. + + +We cannot appreciate the beauty of this picture of our Saviour under the +symbol of a shepherd, nor can we later understand the detailed description +which is given of Him through the spiritual meaning of the Good Shepherd +Psalm without first taking into account some of the features of pastoral +life as it prevails in eastern countries. For us of the western world it +is difficult, and at times next to impossible, to represent to ourselves +the life and customs of the Orient; and in particular do we find it hard +to picture to our minds and to understand the simple poetry of that +shepherd life for which Palestine has always been known. Time has little +changed the scene of the Saviour's earthly labors. The people, their +manners and customs, their life and occupations, remain much the same now +as when the land was graced by His sacred presence. Thus today, as in +those olden times, all the level country east of the river Jordan, as well +as the mountains of Palestine and Syria, serves as vast pasture lands for +innumerable flocks and herds. The country throughout is essentially +pastoral in its character, and the care and raising of sheep constitute +the chief industry of the people. From sheep the people are furnished with +nearly all the necessaries of life--with meat, clothing, milk, butter, and +cheese. + +The care of sheep is a delicate and, in many ways, a difficult task. Not +that they are froward or hard to manage, for of all animals they are the +most tender and gentle; nor again, that they need abundant nourishment in +the way of food and drink, since they require water but once a day, and +can maintain life and strength on a plain which, to the naked eye, seems +little more than a barren waste of sand. But because, in other respects, +they are exceedingly timid and helpless creatures, especially in times and +places of danger, the burdens which their welfare and safety impose upon +the shepherd, while paternal and winning, are, nevertheless, arduous and +manifold. There are the changes and hardships of the climate--the cold and +frost in winter, and the heat and drought of summer; there are the long +rough walks, the steep and dangerous passes which they must climb and +descend; there are perils from robbers, from wolves and wild beasts, which +not infrequently demand the shepherd's utmost watchfulness and care. The +oriental climate is such that they can graze nearly the whole year +through; and whether they be grazing on the wide open plains, or huddled +snugly within the sheepfold, it pertains to the shepherd to provide for +their varied needs. His vigilance can never cease. He must lead them out +to pasture and to water, he must guide and protect them, he must gather +them into the fold at night or into caves and enclosures, at times, during +the day, to shield them from great danger, whether from enemies or violent +weather; and upon all occasions he must be prepared to defend them, even +at the risk of his own life. + +The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, into which the sheep are +gathered for rest or protection are not roofed over or walled in like a +house. They are enclosures left open to the sky, and consisting simply of +a high wall of rough stone, to protect the sheep from the attacks of wild +beasts, and from prowling marauders who threaten their safety by night. It +often happens that several flocks, belonging to different shepherds, will +graze on the same pastures during the day, and will be penned in the same +sheepfold at night. While the sheep are sleeping, and the shepherds near +by are taking their needed rest, the door of the fold is carefully locked, +and another shepherd or porter is left on guard, lest perchance a hungry +bear or wolf might scale the wall and destroy some member or members of +the sleeping herds. Early in the morning the shepherds come in turn and +rap at the door, and to each the porter opens. Then each shepherd calls +his flock by name; and they, knowing his voice, follow him, and he leads +them out to their pastures. There is never any confusion, for each flock +knows its own shepherd and obeys him alone. Other shepherds they will not +heed; and from the voice of strangers they flee. + +It is a beautiful scene to see a shepherd with his flock. First, we must +remember that he never drives them, but leads them; and they follow him +with instinctive love and trust whithersoever he goes. He usually carries +a rod and a staff: the latter he uses, when need be, to assist the sheep +along dangerous paths and narrow passages; the former, to protect and +defend them, if assailed by enemies or beasts of prey. Another evidence of +their implicit love of their shepherd and trust in his goodness, as also +of their obedience to his voice and commands, is beautifully manifest when +several flocks are led to drink at the same stream or well. Although the +sheep need to drink but once a day, the shepherds never forget, throughout +the day's roaming, that they must lead their flock to water. And as the +drinking places in Palestine are comparatively few, it often happens that +several herds, whether from the same or neighboring pastures, will arrive +simultaneously at the same spring. But here again, there is neither +trouble nor confusion. When they have drawn near to the place of water +each shepherd gives a sign to his flock, and obedient to his voice, the +respective flocks lie down and patiently wait their turn to drink. The +troughs are then filled with the refreshing water, and when all is ready a +shepherd calls and his flock at once rises and comes forward to drink. The +sheep being satisfied, the shepherd gives another sign, and they promptly +return to their previous place of rest, or move quietly away to their +pasture, as the shepherd may direct. Another flock is then called up, +watered and led away, and so on, in like manner, till all have been duly +satisfied. + +With this passing glance at shepherd life, we can better understand and +better appreciate the likeness between the character of the Saviour and +that of the good shepherd. We can see how apt it was that our Redeemer +should choose a shepherd, with his multiple and tender cares and duties, +to illustrate His own watchfulness and loving kindness towards the many +wants and needs of our souls. For we are, indeed, His sheep. He has called +us, we have heard and understood His voice, and He has gathered us into +His flock and fold. He has literally vindicated for Himself in our regard +all the attributes and qualities of the good shepherd, so far as +described, and as still further depicted in every verse of the +Twenty-second Psalm. This is called the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, +because in it the Psalmist, under the symbol of a shepherd, prophetically +foretold the character of the Messiah, our Saviour. The psalm has, +therefore, a twofold meaning: in its literal sense it deals with the +faithful shepherd, ranging with his flock over mountains and plains, and +providing for their every want; and in its spiritual and prophetic meaning +it relates to our Creator and Saviour, caring for our spiritual +necessities. Let us see how this is; and that we may better perceive the +application in detail, let us take this shepherd song, part by part, and +see how beautifully it describes the whole person of Christ as God, and in +His capacity as Redeemer--in all His tender relations with us, and towards +the various needs of our souls. + + + + + +III. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. + + +How full of meaning and how comprehensive are these simple yet beautiful +words which introduce the Good Shepherd Psalm! They at once sum up the +whole round of the shepherd's life--his duties, his solicitude, his +ceaseless care of his sheep. But here, be it noted, in this opening verse, +the reference, so direct and unmistakable, is not to an earthly shepherd; +it is to the benign and constant Providence of Jehovah towards His +children, to the untiring love of God, our Father and Saviour, for the +souls He has created and redeemed. The Psalmist is looking back, in +grateful remembrance, upon the history of his race, and upon his own life +in particular, and he traces there at every step the goodness and +watchfulness of his Creator. He sees there has never been any want. Dark +days at times have come upon his nation, sufferings and trials there have +been; and in these, as in other respects, his own individual experience +has mirrored the history of his people; but throughout it all there has +never been any lasting want. As the shepherd is ever near his sheep, +whether at peace or in trouble, to provide for their needs, so, sings the +Psalmist in gratitude, has God been near him and his people. And his +confidence is unshaken; that which has been in the past will be in the +future; as sheep put their trust in their shepherd, so will he put his +trust in his Lord and God. Nor is this gratitude for past favors and this +unshaken trust for the future to be restricted to the Psalmist alone; his +words had meaning not only for himself; he knows the same Providence +provides for us all, and therefore he would have his words find an echo in +the hearts and sentiments of all. + +The Lord is my shepherd; He ruleth me with the rod of gentleness. I am His +creation, He has bought me with a great price, He has set me a divine +example and taught me the way to life. There may be times of distress for +me, brief periods of temporal need; but surely, since I am the possession +of my God, and He is providing for me, nothing can long be wanting to +me--permanent want there can never be. + +The Lord ruleth me, and all my kind, as a shepherd ruleth his flock. What +a consoling thought to each one of us, if only we be faithful souls! How +unspeakable the thought, how surpassing the privilege to know and to be +assured that we belong to God! that out of countless millions of +creatures, far nobler than we, to whom He might have given the joy of +life, He has chosen to select us; to think that He has allotted to us a +short period of existence here below, during which it is our privilege to +be able to merit and draw near to Him for eternity; and that after this, +our little time of trial, we are to reign with Him in everlasting glory! +Of a certainty we are a favored people and a royal race, for we belong to +God. He has purchased our souls by creating us, He has come down from +Heaven to redeem and buy us back from the enemy to whom our race in folly +had surrendered itself, He has borne our sorrows and our sufferings to +make amends for us and to teach us the way to life, and finally He has +given His own life for our salvation. + +Since, then, God has created us, it follows that He must have had us in +His mind from everlasting, because nothing that is, or can be, is +unforeseen by Him. From the remotest dawn of eternity, therefore; from the +very beginning of the eternal years, He saw us as He sees us now, clearly, +distinctly, lovingly. We did not exist from eternity as we do now, but we +were present to God before we were to ourselves, He saw us mirrored in +Himself. And when, in time, He called our race into being and endowed it +with life, we know what happened. This human nature of ours which He had +loved from eternity, and favored in time with existence, turned its back +upon its God and strayed away to sin and death. This was the disobedience +of our first parents, and in their sin we all have shared, for the very +reason that they were our parents and responsible for us as well as for +themselves. We became a ruined race, deserving punishment, fit for +perdition; and yet God did not give us up. He followed after us, as it +were; He pursued us, as a shepherd pursues his chosen flock, until finally +He led us back to His fold, and to pastures of rest and plenty. + +It was not enough for God's goodness to give us the gift of life, and to +endow us with understanding, will, and freedom; it did not satisfy His +bountifulness to make our life fair here on earth, and to enable us to +reap much of the joys and pleasures with which even this world abounds--no, +far more than all this has He wished and prepared for His elect, for the +souls who belong to His flock. It was nothing less than Himself, Heaven +and its rewards, that the eternal Father had in store for us when He +called us into being. In order, therefore, that we should not lose our +destined crowns through the guilt and wounds of original sin, He provided +for us a remedy, He sent us a Saviour, who was His only son, our Lord +Jesus Christ. + +Now since it is to Christ, the Saviour, that the spiritual meaning of the +Shepherd Psalm refers in a particular manner, it is in Him especially, and +in His earthly life, that we discern and find fulfilled the chiefest +qualities of the good shepherd. As God, we see, He has, indeed, been our +shepherd from the beginning, creating and endowing our nature, and +providing for us unnumbered benefits, temporal and eternal. But it is in +His human nature, in His character as God and man, that He draws nearest +to us and proves unto us in ways most gracious that He is, in truth, our +loving Master and the Shepherd of our souls. Marvelous, assuredly, has +been the goodness of God to create us at all; and still more marvelous +that He should have destined us for a participation in His own eternal +blessedness; but in no way has the heavenly Father so stooped to us, in no +way has He so manifested His utter condescension towards us, as in the +abasement of His Only-begotten Son, "who, being in the form of God, +emptied himself, taking the form of a servant."(4) For let us reflect that +to raise our race from its fallen state and restore it to the divine +good-pleasure, it was not necessary that the Second Person of the Most +Holy Trinity should have come down to earth. Such extraordinary means were +not of necessity to bring us back to Heaven's smile and favor. As by a +simple act of His omnipotent will God had called the world and us and all +that is out of nothingness in the beginning, so again by a single wish of +the same divine will He could have restored us, from a condition of +bondage and sin, to the realms of grace and peace. And even when the Son +of God did condescend, in accordance with the will of His Father, to +clothe Himself with our nature and visit our blighted sphere, how simple, +really, He could have made our redemption! How easily could He have +blotted out the handwriting that was against us, and presented our tearful +world, all smiling and glad, to the arms of His eternal Father! Yes, +Christ could have made our redemption easy. He could have paid our debt to +God in a thousand different, simple ways, had He wished it so. One drop of +His precious blood, one tear of His eye, one sigh of the Sacred Heart +would have sufficed to redeem innumerable worlds like ours. + +But the Saviour wished it otherwise. He was our Shepherd and He loved us, +His deceived and wounded sheep. He was with the Father when we were +planned and made. He it was, in truth, who made us, for He and the Father +are one.(5) He, therefore, knew our nature, since He designed and gave it +to us. He foresaw our yearnings and aspirations; He knew the sublime, +transcendent possibilities of which, with His help and divine example, we +are capable; He understood the heights of love and worship to which the +human heart can ascend, when assisted from on high, and hence to awaken +and kindle on earth these all-consuming fires;(6) to stir the very depths +of our souls, and elevate and perfect our gifted nature; to afford us the +utmost inspiration to climb with Him the heights of Heaven. He stooped to +our own estate, in all things made like unto us, except, indeed, our +proneness and ability to sin. Since He loved us, He longed to be like us, +in as far as that was possible, and not even our sin-stained, wounded +nature could stay the force of His love. + +There is another reason for the mysterious manner of our redemption, a +further explanation of the extreme condescension on the part of our Lord +towards the frail creatures whom He came to save. Had he come to us in a +foreign attire, with a nature unlike our own, would it not have been +difficult for us to approach Him, and to put our confidence and trust in +Him? If He had appeared like an angel, all bright and dazzling with glory, +if He had come as an earthly king and ruler, crowned and clad in regal +splendor, would it not have been hard for the poor ones of earth? would it +not have been a trial for those who were in need of a shepherd's love and +care? Already sorely oppressed and trodden down by worldly pomp and power, +they could only have tried to shun His notice and draw back from Him with +feelings of fear and awe. But our Redeemer came not only to save, but also +to teach and to lead the way to life. As a shepherd He was not to drive, +but to lead His sheep; He does not point the direction, but goes before +His flock, and they follow Him, and He leads them out to living pastures +and to bright, sparkling, far-off waters. + +Because He was God, as well as man, Christ knew that, as a result of our +sinful state, we should have to pass our earthly sojourn forever beneath +the shadow of the cross. When sin entered into the world by the +disobedience of the first man, the handiwork of the Creator was despoiled. +That which before had been a paradise of pleasure, replete with all +delights, was wrecked and ruined, and became a place of sorrow, suffering +and death. Thenceforth, pursuant to the divine decree, the lot of man was +to labor, to suffer, and to die.(7) Knowing, therefore, that this was to +be our portion, the Shepherd-Saviour of our souls must also teach us the +secret of pain and toil, and help us to bear our cross. + +According, then, to our present state, suffering and sorrow are +inseparable from us, because we are born into the world with sin upon our +souls, and in the wake of sin follow all the evils to which the world is +heir. And, moreover, under existing conditions, it is necessary for our +future happiness that our earthly life be largely spent amidst toil and +pain and tears. It is only through these that we shall be able to atone +for the injuries sin has done, and hold in check the disorders of our +nature. The cross is before us and we cannot escape it. It is ready for us +when we enter the world, it follows us throughout the length of our days, +and finally bears us down in death to our graves. This does not mean that +life on earth is entirely made up of pain and sorrow, for the divine mercy +has mitigated even the stroke of sin, and has caused the world, in spite +of all its wounds, to bloom with many delights. Nevertheless, our sojourn +here below shall always be fraught with diverse ills, and we at last must +yield to death. In spite of all the world can afford us, in spite of its +pleasures and joys, its sunshine and pleasing pastimes, real, though +fitful and fast-flying as they are; in spite of health and wealth and fame +and honor; in spite of all the goods that life contains, it still is ever +true that we live in a region of tears, and that death and sorrow are sure +to follow upon the footsteps of joy and mirth. It must be so, for the +stains of sin are indelibly upon the world; and not until the final +renovation comes can life on earth be made entirely happy. + +All this our Saviour knew when He chose our human nature and embraced a +life of labor and sorrow. His divine foreknowledge took in our lives, and +the lives of all our kind, until the end of all shall be. Our infant +tears, our trials and pains of body, the ceaseless pangs of mind and heart +that pursue us throughout life, were all before Him as in a mirror, and He +must needs instruct and assist us to fight this battle and walk this way +of earth, lest all should perish before the journey's end. Since we were +to suffer, then He would suffer also; since our lives were to be amidst +labors and trials, then He would labor and travail also; since we were to +feel the sting of pain, be subject to heat and cold, be in want, in +poverty, and in distress, be misunderstood, be thwarted, be cast down from +our highest hopes, and broken, at times, in every cheerful prospect--since +these and other countless ills were to be woven in our web of earthly +life, He, the divine Master, who came to save, to teach a lesson, to +suffer and die, would assume a body so sacred, so delicate, so pure and +sensitive that, when exposed to the rough and ruthless ways of life, He +could truly cry out from the depths of His anguish: "O all ye that pass by +the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!"(8) + +How comforting, then, it is for us to feel that we are not alone in +suffering, and to know that, while all we suffer is but just and due to +our sinful state, we can nevertheless make use of all our ills to attain +to joys unending in Heaven! If we must toil and struggle while on earth, +it is because these things are a result of our state; if we must be +subject to sickness, to weakness and fatigue, to cold and hunger, to +weariness and pain, it is not because God is pleased at the misery of His +creatures; neither does He rejoice on account of our misfortune. We are +simply reaping the harvest of sin and transgression, and sin is the work +of our own free choice and that of our ancestors. And even though it be +objected that we are born into this inevitable condition, and are made the +unconsulted heirs of a heritage we loathe but cannot escape, the solution +of our difficulty is not far to seek. We need but hearken to the +promptings of reason, and lift our sorrowing eyes to the realms of faith +to be convinced that God's mercy and goodness are above all His works,(9) +and that for reasons not less benevolent than holy He has called us into +life and permitted all our woes. God could not have created us for +suffering and punishment, because He is infinite goodness; He cannot be +pleased at our misfortunes, since He Himself has borne our sorrows and +carried all our pains.(10) If He Himself had not come into the world in +visible human form; if He had not explained our purpose and destiny, and +led the way to Heaven; if He had not, by His words and divine example, +provided us with the solution for all life's difficulties, then, in truth, +we might object, and sit and grieve and wonder. But in the light of the +life of Christ all this is altered; the picture takes on a different +coloring. Who now can rail at the crosses of life and think of the +sufferings of Christ? Who can murmur at the injustice of pain, and +remember the passion of Jesus? Who can say that God is deaf to our +pleading and unmoved at our tears, and look upon the Saviour dying? Who +can believe that our lives are of little worth, or of no account with the +Almighty, and recall the price that was paid for our souls and ponder the +death of our God? + +Thus it is with a bountiful goodness that the Saviour has purchased His +sheep. By His own free choice, by a life of suffering entirely voluntary, +endured for our salvation and instruction, through a bitter, but willing +agony and death, He has provided the means to free us from sin, and has +bequeathed to us every blessing. Now we can truly say: the Lord is my +shepherd, and I shall not want. If only we can look into that divine life +which has been given as our model, if only we can ponder it, and read in +it the lessons, the hopes, the inspirations it contains for us, we shall +not be weary of our burdens and cares, we shall not falter in any of +life's battles. Rather, rejoicing at our opportunities, eternal as they +are, and with feelings of exultant gratitude over our condition, as heirs +with Christ to the kingdom of Heaven,(11) we shall bravely welcome all the +conflicts of life, being assured with St. Paul that "that which is at +present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above +measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory."(12) + + + + + +IV. HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN PASTURES OF TENDER GRASS; HE LEADETH ME +BESIDE THE WATERS OF QUIETNESS. + + +Our attention is now directed to a particular phase of the shepherd's +life, and here we see some of the ways in which he actually provides for +his sheep day by day. For it is not enough that the shepherd has purchased +his flock, by means however difficult and labors however loving; it is not +sufficient that he have procured for them, in a general manner, all that +they need for their life and safety, he must also arrange for their daily +care and provide for their separate wants. Sheep, as we know, are delicate +creatures, and they must be directed in their roamings, and sustained by +sufficient nourishment. Accordingly, we have said that it belongs to the +duties of a good shepherd to lead them out to pasture, and to provide for +them every day adequate food and drink. + +Here again we behold the infinite kindness of the Shepherd of our souls. +Not alone has He deigned to stoop to our fallen state and restore us from +death to life, not only did He take upon Himself our infirmities and bear +our woes, but tenderly also has He provided for our constant direction, +and for the daily needs of our lives. + +The level to which the Saviour raised our lives and the dignity to which +He invites us are far, indeed, above our natural powers. Left to +ourselves, we could never attain the heavenly heights to which, in His +goodness, He has called us. Through the infinite merits of His life and +sacrifice we have been redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of our souls; +the gates of Heaven, closed against us before, have been opened wide; and +our wayward race is again restored to the road that leads to our immortal +home. But just because our celestial destiny is of so high and sublime a +character, it is impossible, if left to our own abilities, that we should +be able long to pursue it, and vastly beyond our sublimest hopes that we +should ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, ever before us, the +life and example of Him who has saved us; we know that His cross and death +have delivered us from the wrath that frowned upon us. But we are weak and +fragile mortals. With respect to things of the higher life--of the +supernatural world--we, of ourselves, shall always remain as helpless and +frail as infants. Not less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse +unaided and explore the material world, than the wisest of men would be to +know and grasp by his natural powers the unrevealed good of the immortal +human spirit. And as, in our natural state, we could not know the true end +of our existence, without a divine revelation, so likewise, we could not +pursue and attain our spiritual destiny without special assistance from on +high. + +How well all this was known to our kind and kingly Shepherd! How keenly +did He appreciate our frailty and inability to walk alone the paths which +He had trodden! Not unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to teach and +direct the way which leads to unending life. When going before his flock +and teaching them by force of example, He did not omit to give them that +saving doctrine which, when He had disappeared, would be their guide, and +the guide to their future shepherds in the direction of safety and truth. +Hence He propounded a teaching which should be to its obedient followers a +realization at once of all He had promised them, and of all their heart's +desires. Not that it would make them rich or great in the eyes of the +world and according to human standards, but that it would confer a truer +and a higher greatness by lifting them above their weak and natural level +and preparing them for eternal blessedness. + +Men had the Law before the coming of Christ; they knew the ten +commandments. But the state to which the God-man called them, and the +eminence to which they were raised, were quite beyond anything the world +till then had ever been able to conceive. Human nature, under the New +Covenant, was invited to attain to perfection. Things which before were +thought impossible, were now to be the objects of our daily strivings. It +was no longer an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; now not only was +good to be done to those who were good to us, but to those also who did us +evil; not only were we to love our friends, but to love and assist our +enemies also; not only should evil deeds be avoided, but evil thoughts +were likewise forbidden--yea, we were asked to be, in all our thoughts and +deeds, imitators of the Shepherd who leads us.(13) + +Poor human nature, when raised so high above its natural powers, stood in +perilous need of a shepherd's tender care. The new demands of every day +made indispensible new and special daily helps. While our spirits can see +and know the way, under the light of heavenly teaching, yet how weak and +faltering is our flesh! We have the will to do; but to accomplish, we +alone are not able. Therefore our Saviour said, "Of yourselves, you can do +nothing, but in me all things are possible to you. The branches are +nothing unless they abide in the vine; I am the vine, you the +branches."(14) Thus He is our Leader, our divine Teacher and our source of +strength. Without Him we can do nothing, but in Him we are strong. And +daily and constantly He is near us, though we see Him not. It is He who +sustains our very life and moves us to all that is good. Like an +ever-present friend, He offers us constant assistance: He instructs and +guides and helps us, and this is the strength and food of our souls. God's +grace it is, always ready for our use, which makes possible all the high +demands put upon our nature. Without it we should faint and starve on our +journey, and hence He who has planned our high perfection, has provided +the help to attain it. What are those seven wonderful sacraments which He +has left us, but perennial channels of grace, constant fountains from +which stream the life-giving waters that nourish our weary souls and make +them strong for life eternal! Through these sacred means we are brought +into contact with the life and merits of our Shepherd-Redeemer. They +prolong His life and labors among us, they continue in our midst the +strength of His sacred presence. + +In a manner altogether special is this true of the Holy Sacrament of the +altar. By the Holy Eucharist, Christ still is with us, and will so remain +till the end of time, as really and as truly as He dwelt on earth in the +days of His mortal life. Bound down as we are by the things of sense, we +may, at times, be tempted to complain that Christ in this sacrament is all +invisible to us. We can not see Him directly and immediately. His voice is +silent and we do not hear Him; we do not feel the caress of His hand. But +nevertheless we know He is present, for He has said it, and His word must +remain, though heaven and earth should pass away. Even were we privileged +to see the sacred humanity as it was seen of old in Palestine, we should +not then, more than now in this sacrament, directly see the divinity +concealed by the human frame. Faith then was required as well as now--faith +in His sacred words, made evident by His sacred deeds. This is not +strange; it is not too much to ask. The same demand of faith is daily made +upon us in much of our intercourse with our fellow mortals. Much that we +do not clearly see we must perforce believe, else life would be +impossible. The same, in a measure, is also true in all our human +friendships. That which is most precious in our friends, that which is the +source of life and beauty, of holy words and loving actions, of all we +love and cherish in them, is the soul, the spirit that quickens and moves; +and this we do not see. + +Thus Christ in the Eucharist is truly present, though faith alone can +apprehend Him. He requires of us this faith--this humble subjection of our +sensible faculties to the power and truth of His words. It is all for our +good that now He is hidden from our sight. He is not the less truly +present, not less truly kind, not less loving, not less merciful and +forbearing; but He wishes to exercise our faith, to prove our fidelity and +trust in His teaching and promises, and hence He is hidden from the powers +of our senses. + +In the sacrament of the Eucharist the gracious Shepherd of our souls +performs in particular three offices for us: He is our sacrifice, our +silent patient friend, and in communion He becomes the actual spiritual +food of our souls. As a victim He is daily and constantly, from the rising +to the setting of the sun, lifted up for us in the holy sacrifice of the +mass. The mass is the perpetuation of the sacrifice He offered long ago +for our redemption. All the altars throughout the world, on which He is +ever born and dies again in mystic repetition, are but an extension of the +one great altar of Calvary, where first He gave His life for our +salvation. And in this real and awful sacrifice, forever repeated in our +midst, He pleads again our cause with God, the eternal Father. Again in a +mystic manner He suffers for us, again He bleeds, again He is nailed to +the cross and raised on high, and in that same abandoned, pitiable state, +to which His love for His flock has reduced Him, ever and anon in our +behalf He pleads: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they +do!(15) Holy Father, Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! and save the +souls which Thou hast created for Thyself, and for which till the end of +time I die!" He lifts, as it were, before the great white throne, His +bruised and blood-stained hands, He shows those wounded feet, the scar of +the spear in His sacred side; He points again to the agony in the garden, +to the scourging at the pillar, to the cruel crown of thorns, to the weary +way of the cross, and exclaims to Him who sits upon the throne, "Behold, +my Father, and see the price of my sheep, the tears and sorrow and blood +they have cost me! and spare them and save them for the sake of Thy Son!" + +Through the holy sacrifice of the mass, identical as it is with the +sacrifice of Calvary, all the merits of Christ's life and death are +applied to our souls. By His physical and bloody immolation on Calvary, +Christ purchased for us infinite treasures of grace, and it is His will +that these graces shall be dispensed to us, even till the end of the +world, through the august sacrament of the altar. Moreover, except for the +mass, we should not be blessed with the abiding actual presence of our +divine Shepherd among us--that is, we should not possess Him in that +special, intimate manner in which we now have Him in the Eucharist. For it +is only in the mass that the sacred species are consecrated; and +consequently it is through the mass alone that He takes up His sacramental +presence in our midst and becomes our food in holy communion. He could, +indeed, have ordained it otherwise, but such has been His blessed will, +and such the condition in which we are placed by the direction of His holy +Church. + +Besides being our daily sacrifice, then, under the appearance of bread and +wine, besides ever prolonging in our midst that wondrous act of Calvary by +which at once He liberated our race and reopened to us the gates of +Heaven, the bounteous Shepherd of our souls enters into the tabernacles of +our churches, and there in silent patient waiting He craves the love of +our hearts and longs for our intimate friendship. He is not content alone +to plead for us with God, His Father; He is not content continually to +renew in our presence the tragic mystery by which at the end of His +earthly labors, He procured us every blessing--no, over and above these +sovereign acts of kindest benediction, He wishes to remain among us, and +to converse with us, each and all, as a friend would converse with his +friend. This is what He meant when He said by the mouth of His inspired +writer, "my delights are to be with the children of men."(16) As a +Shepherd, His chiefest pleasure, as well as His supremest care, is to be +with the flock He has purchased and loves. Yet it is a lonely life for our +Shepherd-King, this abode in the silent tabernacle; but it is all for love +of us. He wishes to be there where we can find Him, where we can come to +Him at any hour and speak to Him, to praise and thank Him for all His dear +and endless gifts, to tell Him our needs and our sorrows, to open our +breaking hearts to Him and reveal the secrets of our souls. This it is +that He desires from us--the outpouring of our hearts and souls in His +presence. This it is which renders unto Him that homage of faith and love +and devotion that He came into the world to inspire. It will not do to say +that, being God, He is acquainted with all our thoughts and aware of all +our wants, for it is intimacy and confidence that He desires, the intimacy +and confidence which alone can create a true and noble friendship. "I will +call you no longer servants," He said to His disciples, "but I have called +you friends; the servant knoweth not what his Master doth, but a friend is +admitted to confidence."(17) Christ in the tabernacle is our friend; He +has loved us unto the end, and He yearns for our love in return. Why is +this? Why are we so precious in His eyes? What are we that the great +Creator should at all be mindful of us?(18) We must remember and ever bear +in mind the lofty purpose which the Creator had in view when first He +called us into being--the same purpose it was which prompted our redemption +and all the gracious dispensations that have followed thereupon--namely, +that God, while achieving His own eternal honor and glory, might +communicate to us a portion of His own ineffable blessedness. We were made +for God, and not for the world, or for creatures, or for ourselves. And +precisely because we are the possession and property of God, He wants us, +soul and body, for Himself; and in this blessed sacrament He calls to us +individually, "Son, give Me thy heart;"(19) "come to Me, all you who are +burdened, and I will refresh you."(20) "come to Me and find rest for your +souls, I will lead you beside the waters of quietness." + +But the excesses of our Shepherd's love and care do not stop with the +altar and with the tabernacle. He is not satisfied with being our daily +sacrifice and our abiding friend, not satisfied until He enters into our +very bosom and unites us to Himself. Union with the beloved object and +delight in its presence are characteristic of all true friendship, whether +human or divine. That which we really love we desire to have, to possess, +to be united with; and hence it is that Christ, the lover of our souls, +has not only given His life to purchase us for Himself and Heaven, but has +so extended His loving-kindness as to become Himself our actual food. + +It is incomprehensible, in a human way, that the love of a shepherd for +his flock, the love of God for His creatures, should be so extraordinary +as to provide the wondrous benefits which Christ in the Eucharist has +wrought for us. We simply cannot grasp with our feeble minds the +prodigality of such enduring love. But the Saviour knew His purpose with +us, and He knew the needs of our souls. As guests destined for an eternal +banquet, and as heirs to celestial thrones, it is needful for us, amid the +rough ways and perils of life, to be constantly reminded of our royal +destiny and strengthened against our daily foes. This world of ours is an +arena in which each one must contend for his eternal prize; and it is not +possible, considering our natural frailty and the enemies that oppose our +forward march, that we alone, without an added strength, should ever be +able to win the battle of life. + +Hence, as the body, to maintain its vigor and perform its work, needs its +material and earthly food, so the soul, to live and be strong, must be +nourished with the bread of Heaven. "The bread that I will give," said our +Lord, "is my flesh for the life of the world ... unless you eat of this +bread you cannot have life in you ... and he that eateth my flesh and +drinketh my blood hath life everlasting, and I will raise him up on the +last day."(21) + +In order, then, to sustain our spiritual life on earth and to make us +strong for our daily conflicts, our heavenly Shepherd has left us a food +which is none other than His own body and blood. What a prodigy of love! +What could He do for us that He has not done? But, besides giving us +strength, He had another purpose in becoming our food. Since He has chosen +us for Himself, and has provided, in another world, eternal mansions for +our souls,(22) He wishes to make certain, not only the happy issue of our +lives, but our ever-increasing resemblance to Himself. He is therefore +preparing us, He is fitting us, through communion in the Holy Eucharist, +for our celestial home, and for visible companionship with Himself. +Intercourse, communion, intimate relationship produce likeness, even here +on earth, and it is a singular effect of Holy Communion that, unlike +earthly food, it changes into itself all those who partake of it. +Material, natural food becomes the substance of our flesh and blood, but +frequent participation in the heavenly nourishment of Christ in the +Eucharist transmutes our whole being--our lives and thoughts and +actions--into its own supernatural character. + +Thus by living much with Christ on earth, by intimate converse with Him, +by allowing Him to enter into our lives and thoughts, and shape our +conduct and actions; and above all, by frequent and fervent communion with +Him in the sacrament of His love, we become like unto Him, even here in +our state of exile. And this likeness to Christ, which His faithful +servants assume here below, is a forestate of future blessedness; it is a +preparation for the great reunion and the eternal banquet which await us +in Heaven. Already we are led beside the waters of rest; we are directed +to pastures of sweetest nourishment; and through the calm and vigor that +reign in the soul we experience even now a taste of joys unseen. + + + + + +V. HE RESTORETH MY SOUL. + + +Throughout the pastoral country of the Orient there are numerous places of +great peril for sheep. There are also, here and there, private fields and +vineyards and gardens into which, if a member of a flock should stray and +be caught, it is forfeited to the owner of the land. Strange as it may +seem, the sheep never learn to avoid these dangerous spots and forbidden +places, and it behooves the shepherd to be ever on his guard for them, and +to rescue them when wandering. + +Here we cannot fail to observe the striking resemblance between this +wayward tendency of the shepherd's flock and our own inclination and +propensity to wander from God and things eternal. The world is full of +occasions to evil; at every turn of the road on our journey through life +there are fierce and crouching enemies who are waiting the chance to +capture and bear us away. We know this; we have often been warned of the +danger; too many sad experiences and breathless escapes have convinced us +of the sundry perils to soul and body that lie along the way of life. But +we, like senseless, erring sheep, if bereft of the Shepherd's guiding +care, do not learn, in life's sad school, the way to keep free from harm. +Though wounded repeatedly, and scarred and worn, and left, perhaps, +without human aid, to waste and bleed our life away, we do not see the +lurking evils; we do not discern beneath the mask the enemy whose purpose +is ruin and death. + +The creatures of the world, the things of sense take vicious hold of us, +and often drag us to the very verge of perdition before we are aware. They +come to us unprepared, and seek entrance into our lives and thoughts, and +allure us by deception. They tell us that the world is fair and beautiful +and full of promise; that God, for the moment, is not concerned; that the +soul is secure and safe, and the body and its needs the only object of +present solicitude. The process is gradual. The turning away and the loss +are not at once and from the beginning of seductive influences, but slowly +and unobtrusively in the guise of hope and high expectation. There is +Ambition, with its glittering prospects, with its proffered rewards and +castles of air. To the young man and young woman, just entering the arena +of life, Ambition says, "Come and follow me, and I will crown you with +glory and honor. I will lift you above the common, beaten paths of men and +seat you on a gilded throne. I will introduce you to my sister Pride, and +we two will make you happy. Pride will teach you your true dignity, your +place and position in the universe; she will remind you of your gifts and +faculties, and enable you to battle with the weak and the strong; she will +give you the secret of knowledge and train you to soar above your +fellow-creatures and probe the mysteries of God and Heaven." Then +Pleasure, with dimpled cheeks and laughing eyes, and words that sound like +music to the ears, hurries out to greet the passers-by, and charms them by +her shining gifts. "Make me your object and your end," she says, "and I +will make you blessed. Forget your troubles and your cares, your fears of +present and future ills; rejoice and be glad, eat, drink and be merry; +indulge and drain to dregs the cups of sense, for this is all there is." +Philosophy comes with another hope. "Drink deeply," she counsels, "at the +spring of wisdom, and fear not God nor man; believe and trust in me, and I +will steal away the sting of sorrow and pain; I will restore you to man's +primeval state and land you safe on the shores of rest." + +And when these deceivers--Ambition, Pride, Pleasure, and the like--have +plundered and sacked their victim's goods, when these painted idols of a +passing world have led away their worshippers as slaves, and stripped them +of all they possessed, they give them over to evil habits and to masters +that scourge and tear them. Like other prodigals, these pursuers of +earthly phantoms take leave of their Father's house of comfort and plenty, +they give up virtue, innocence, honesty, purity; they go into a far +country to waste their substance living riotously, only to awake, soon at +latest, to a land of famine, and to find themselves alone and in want. +Instead of the honor and fame and high estate they sought to gain, instead +of the escape from evil and pain and labor they hoped to find, they are +sent into fields to minister to swine--the swine of their own degradation. + +So, to a degree, it is with us, each and all, who listen to other voices +and heed other calls than the voice and the call of God. If we prefer to +stray to other fields and desert the pasture of our Shepherd, if we prefer +a far country to our Father's home, if the world and its fleeting +pleasures are more to us than God and His paternal rewards, then we must +of necessity find ourselves at length in utter want and penury. It is this +possibility of deserting God, of seeking happiness outside of Him, of +overturning the plans which He has made for our salvation, that gives us a +vision of the awful failure of human life. The gifts of this world are by +nature fleeting and fast-flying, and if we allow them to take the place of +Him who made them, no matter how great our present boons, in spite of +wealth and friends and all success, we have missed our chance and our +purpose in the world, and can only have at last a desolate and a ruined +life. + +But how is it, then, one may ask, that man can be so deceived? How is it +that we do not learn from others' disasters to avoid, every one of us, +those deceiving, ruinous masters, those false gods that can lead us away +from the one true Shepherd of our souls? It is, indeed, a curious fact +that our deception is so easy. Surely a rational, intelligent being, who +stops to consider, ought easily to distinguish between the great God of +Heaven and the creatures of His hands. It ought not to be difficult for us +to see the transient vanity of human things when compared with the eternal +mansions. But the truth of the matter is, that we _are_ deceived, we do +not at all times see the objects of our choice as they really are +objectively. Our vision is defective and blurred. If God stood out in our +lives as He really ought to stand, if He occupied that place in our +thoughts and plans which belongs to Him by right, it would not be possible +that we should ever be led astray. And that God does not always hold in +our lives the place which is His due is partly the result of our fallen +nature; partly, therefore, in a way, excusable; but more frequently and +chiefly from our own perversity--from wilful neglect of our highest duties. + +The blindness and perversity of our nature, which have come from the +wounds of original sin, make it easy for us, if we are neglectful and +careless of our higher spiritual obligations, to mistake the false for the +true, evil for good, the creature for the Creator. In the midst of the +world and its allurements, it behooves us to be ever watching, if we are +never to stumble and to fall. Had our nature never been corrupted by +original unfaithfulness, had our first parents never turned away from God +and transgressed His sacred precept, all our present ills would never have +existed. But now it is different. We are born into the world a weakened +people; each one of us has had an implicit part in the first +transgression; we all, like erring sheep, have gone astray. And while this +tendency to evil is part of our natural condition, and therefore less +imputable to us, it nevertheless is true that our actual sins and +evil-doing are the work of our deliberate choice. If, at any time, we +really turn away from God and break His law, it is because we have freely +chosen so to act. The native perversity of nature in a normal man can +never explain and excuse the grievous sins which he deliberately commits. +It is only true that a weak and wounded nature leaves one less able to +choose what is right, and more disposed to wrong. And since we know the +state of things, since we know that the fault is really ours when we dare +to stray to forbidden deeds and places, how constant and unrelenting, if +we are truly wise, should be our efforts to keep our vision unobscured and +our ears attuned to the voice and call of our heavenly Shepherd! We know +that by following Him our way will be certain and clear. Howsoever +enormous the evils of life, and notwithstanding all our weakness, we know +that in Him we are safe and strong. But we must hear Him to follow Him, we +must be guided and directed by His gracious commands. + +This failure to hear and obey the voice of God it is which more explains +the falls and sins of men than all their inherited frailty. So long as His +words are heard and directions heeded, mistake and error are impossible. +We see, therefore, why it is that so many actually do desert Him and are +led by evil voices. The cause chiefly lies in the wilfulness of human +nature and in the abuse of human liberty. We cannot stand unless God +support us, and we shall surely fall if He withdraws His supporting hand. +But the choice of evil, the beginning of unfaithfulness comes from +ourselves; for Almighty God will never forsake us unless we first forsake +Him. + +If, ever, then, we find our lives to be at variance with God, whether in +lesser or in greater matters, if it should ever be our unhappy fortune to +wander from Him, like another prodigal, and waste our lives with the +enemies of our souls, we can be assured that the desertion is all our own. +We forget God, we deliberately wander from His sight and care, and then we +fall. Engrossed in worldly affairs, taken up with present vanities, with +ourselves, our ease, our temporal advancement, we begin to neglect prayer +and communion with God, we begin to rely on ourselves and to forge ahead +of our own accord, only to encounter complete defeat and be shorn of all +our strength. The secret of our power and success is to keep close to Him, +to speak to Him lovingly and often, to seek guidance and protection from +Him, and habitually to live in His comforting presence. + +But such is the boundless kindness of our heavenly Shepherd that, no +matter how often we may have wandered from Him, or how seriously we may +have grieved Him, He is ever ready to pursue our wanderings, and to seek +until He finds us. He does not stop to consider the enormity of our guilt, +or our unreasonableness, or our ingratitude, but He seeks us. He does not +pause to take an account of all He has done for us, of the many graces He +has given us, of the tears and blood He has shed in our behalf; but He +goes after our straying souls, and He will not be appeased until He +restore us. God does not will the death of the sinner, but that he be +converted and live.(23) He knows all our frailties and our diverse +temptations; He knows how alluring are the things of sense to a nature +perverted like ours; He knows how easy it is for us, blind and ignorant as +we are, to forget Him and our dearest interests, and to obey the call of +other voices; all this He understands, and He has pity on us. "He knoweth +our frame, He remembereth that we are dust."(24) + +To bring us back, therefore, when wandering, and to restore us to the +circle of His chosen flock, our Saviour has made ample provision. Through +those divine mediums of grace--the sacraments of His Church--He has arranged +to succor all our wants and to cure our various infirmities. The +sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in particular, were instituted to raise +our souls from death to life, and to heal our spiritual wounds. Baptism +may be aptly compared to the door of the sheepfold. It is the gate through +which men must enter into the fold of Christ, it is the entrance to His +Church. It clears away the guilt and stain of original sin, and restores +the soul from a state of enmity to the friendship and grace of God. None +can really belong to Christ, none can be of His true fold who have not +entered by way of the door, who have not been baptized. Many there are who +pretend to belong to Him and think themselves of the number of His flock; +they speak of Him as their Master and Shepherd; they pretend to be doing +His work; they call Him Lord and preach in His name; but they have not +entered by the door of the sheepfold, and He knows them not. Like thieves +and robbers, they have climbed up some other way, and they neither know +Him, nor does He know them, neither can they understand His voice. Baptism +is the entrance, it is the door, to the fold of Christ. + +And as it is through Baptism that our bountiful Lord first recalls us from +the ways of sin and makes us members of his flock, so in the sacrament of +Penance He has provided a means by which we may at all times be recalled +from our wanderings and restored to His friendship. Penance is an +inexhaustible means of reconciliation between the erring soul and God. It +lasts throughout our lives, it stretches even to the end of time. If only +we are men of goodwill and have at heart our eternal interests, we need +not be disturbed at our frailty, or at repeated lapses into sin. There is +no sin which cannot be forgiven by the sacrament of Penance. Not that +anyone, knowing that he can be forgiven, should presume to abuse God's +gracious sacrament, and yield freely and without restraint to the voice of +sin; nor that we are not to be truly sorry to the end of our days for +having even once offended our benign Maker and Redeemer; but we must be +confident that, whatever may have been our faults and failings, however +prolonged and extraordinary our transgressions, if we approach the +sacrament of Penance with sincere sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment, +God will always lovingly receive us back to Himself, and remember no more +our unfaithfulness. God hates sin, because it is opposed to Himself and is +the only evil in the world, but He loves the wounded sinner who is made in +His own image and likeness. Precious in the sight of God is the penitent +sinner. Does He not tell us Himself that, like a good shepherd, He leaves +ninety-nine just to go in search of one lost sheep? Yea, He assures us +that there is rejoicing among the angels of Heaven over one sinner who +does penance.(25) + +To make worthy use of the sacrament of Penance we must be truly sorry for +having offended God, and be resolved, at the time of confession, to do +what lies in our power never again to turn away from Him. To these +dispositions must also be joined the intention of doing something to +repair the injury which sin has done to God. Given such conditions, and we +need only speak the word to God's duly appointed minister and our sins are +no more. The dark veil which hung around the soul like a cloud is lifted, +and we again rejoice in the smile of our heavenly Father. How simple, yet +how potent are the means provided for our salvation! None but God could +have thought of them, nothing but the love of God could have arranged +them! + +But even before the sinner is brought to penance, even while he is +wandering and reveling afar off in the vile delights of sin, God is +pursuing him, God is seeking after him, calling him by name, whispering to +his heart, disposing him for repentance. We cannot return to God, once we +have deserted Him, without His help. It is our awful power to be able to +leave Him, but to return alone we are not able. Wherefore He comes after +us when we have wandered into the wilds of sin; He pleads as it were, with +our souls, and offers us the grace to repent. Oh privileged are our souls +to be thus appraised by God, and happy those who hear and heed the +appealing voice of His grace! + + + + + +VI. HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF JUSTICE FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE. + + +The shepherd country of the East is full of walks and pathways, some +leading this way, some that. Some lead to dangerous precipices over which +the sheep might fall and be lost, others would expose them to the attack +of wild beasts, while still others would lead them so far astray that they +could not find their way back. It is, therefore, always needful that the +shepherd go ahead of his flock and lead them in the right path. The +Psalmist, in the title of the present chapter, is applying this +carefulness of the shepherd for his sheep to our Lord, in His regard for +our spiritual welfare. The Saviour goes before us with the blessings of +His goodness to help and lead us aright, lest perchance we become lost and +perish in our journey. + +This solicitude of our Redeemer in providing for the various needs of our +souls is characteristic of Him as Saviour. It is implied in the meaning of +his name. Before He was born, before He was conceived in His Mother's +womb, it was foretold of Him that He should be called Jesus, which means +Saviour, for He would save His people from their sins.(26) He exercised, +as we know, this mission of saviour throughout His earthly career. It was +for this that He came into the world, for this that He was born in +Bethlehem with a manger as His cradle, for this that, at the age of +twelve, He was found teaching in the Temple, for this that He retired to +Nazareth and was subject to Mary and Joseph, for this that He labored and +suffered and bled and died. And with His passing from this visible scene +to the bosom of His Father, He did not cease to be that for which He had +been eternally anointed--the great High Priest, the Mediator between God +and man, the Saviour of the world. His work is everlasting; and now that +He has gone up on high, He pleads for us ever more with the Father. We +belong to Him, He has purchased us with His blood, and He must needs care +for our safety to the end. + +Inasmuch as we are heirs, according to divine decree, to thrones beyond +the skies, it was necessary, as we have seen, that He who is our Saviour +and Shepherd should have left behind Him in this world of ours a doctrine, +a code, or system of instructions and laws, which should safely direct and +guide us to our royal destiny. Those who lived with Him on earth, those +who heard His assuring, life-giving words, and felt the inspiration of His +example and visible presence needed not to fear for the direction or +safety of their course. The divine, living voice and sacred presence of +their Lord and Master they enjoyed, and care and anxiety fled from their +souls. But not for these alone had the Redeemer come, but for all mankind, +for all who in future were to breathe the breath of human life. He came to +save all, He died for all; and thus the teaching which He gave to the +world, and which He committed to His chosen followers, was for every human +being, even to the end of the world, that through it all might live and +attain to life everlasting. + +The doctrine which the Saviour left us, and the laws which He prescribed +were vastly different from the teachings of men. Guiding, saving words of +a Shepherd to his flock, they engendered safety, comfort, peace. Free from +error or mistake, sealed with the seal of Heaven, holding out a promise of +future glory, they exhaled the perfumes of the eternal city, they told of +mansions not built with hands. And since this immaculate doctrine, given +for the souls of men, was to last till the end of time, there was need +that it should be shielded against the assaults of the world and protected +from the influence of our changing human teachings. It could not be +corrected, because it contained no mistakes; it could not be changed or +altered, because it came from the changeless God; it could have no +substitute from the part of men or creatures of any kind, because it was +given by Him who alone was the way, the truth, and the life. Consequently +the truths which the Saviour declared to the world as the only means by +which we can be saved, were at once infallible in themselves, and so +provided for that no human agency, no lapse of years or revolutions of +time and place should ever be able to infringe on their eternal, +changeless character. It was to preserve these truths in their integrity +and freshness that He founded His unerring Church and committed to it the +office of custodian and expounder, under the guidance of His Holy Spirit, +of all He had revealed for the salvation of human kind. Hence to hear our +Shepherd's voice, to understand what He says to us, to know what we must +do to obey His laws and save our souls, we need but listen to the voice of +His Church. Before it was established He declared that He should build His +Church upon a rock, and that no enemy, or group of enemies, not even the +gates of hell should ever prevail against it.(27) He established the +Church as His mouthpiece, and He said to the little band that constituted +it in the beginning, "he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that heareth +me, heareth Him that sent me;"(28) and, as if to emphasize this +declaration, He added that any one who would not hear and obey the Church +should be considered as a heathen and a publican--types of all that was +bad.(29) The Church, therefore, is the oracle of God, it is His +mouthpiece; it possesses and guards the only revelation which God has made +to His rational creatures; it alone has the words of eternal life. + +Thus it is that our divine Shepherd goes before us, leading us in the +paths of truth and justice, preserving us from danger and error with +respect to our spiritual destiny. We cannot go astray if we listen to Him +speaking to us through His church. In all our perplexities and +uncertainties, when confronted by any doubt, or confused and distracted by +the wrangling voices and conflicting opinions of men, we can be calm and +at peace, assured in our inmost souls that the voice which guides us +cannot err, that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for +one word of His to fail.(30) + +He leadeth me in ways of justice, in the ways of holiness, in the ways +which the saints have walked. How exceeding great, indeed, is our +privilege, and how certain and individual our election! All that remains +to us is to listen to His words and to follow Him, and present peace will +attend our labors, while future glory waits upon our end. + +But in the midst of abundant blessings and spiritual favors which have +surrounded and sheltered us from infancy, we are apt to be unmindful of +our state of plenty and forgetful of the duty of gratitude. We are apt to +venture out like thoughtless children, trusting in our own strength to +battle with the foe; or else, on the contrary, we sluggishly presume that +a bountiful Providence will provide for us regardless of our own +co-operation. We have never known what it is to want for spiritual food +and spiritual direction, except when indolence, careless indifference, and +our own folly have led us astray. These are evils which continually assail +us, and we often make friends with them, not knowing what we are doing for +the most part, until the blood of life has almost ebbed away. We are not, +indeed, removed from a world where sin abounds and where deceiving voices +may allure us this way and that. Like the pastoral country of the Orient, +the walks of life are fraught with perils: false teachers, false +doctrines, false prophets, pseudo-christs;(31) "perils from our own +nation, and perils from abroad, perils in the city and perils in the +wilderness, perils in the sea and perils from false brethren"(32)--all +trying to attract and lead us away from the paths of justice and deliver +us to the enemy of our souls. + +It is necessary that we should know that wolves are abroad in sheep's +clothing; "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into +the apostles of Christ."(33) They come to us with winning words and easy +teachings, with new creeds, new forms of belief, new ways to the promised +land. + +The doctrine and truths which Christ taught and which He entrusted to His +Church are set aside or explained away by these modern teachers, and the +novel and the strange are made to assume the role of the old, the familiar +and the true. The harm done is incalculable. How many innocent and unwary +sheep have been lost to the fold of Christ by following the call of these +unworthy preachers and false shepherds! What multitudes of precious souls +have been deceived by their polished words and led away into paths of +error, into deadly ways of thinking, believing, and acting, never to +return to the path that leads to life! + +This poisoning of the soul and the heart by erroneous doctrines is +effected in many and diverse ways; the victims of falsehood are variously +captured. There are the wisdom and sagacity of men, there are the +conquests of science and the learning of the philosophers, the discoveries +of our day, the strides of history, the breakdown and overthrow of many +things held sacred by our forefathers--and all these changes and ruptures +in the order of a former generation are now used to beguile the flock of +Christ and sway them from the paths of truth and righteousness. But amid +all this din and uproar of conflicting voices, amid the wrangling tumult +and confusion of converging opinions, those who will may hear and discern +the loving voice of the true Shepherd speaking to the world through His +Church with the same calm, assuring words which He uttered to living +witnesses two thousand years ago. He has not changed, neither has His +teaching; He has not deserted His chosen flock, but is with it all days, +even to the end of the world.(34) His love for us, His watchfulness for +our needs, His enduring care for our interests, in spite of our enemies, +can never fail. + +And while assured of this, it behooves us also, as appealing to our sense +of gratitude, and as inducing to greater love of Him, to reflect that this +abiding faithfulness of our Saviour in caring for our wants is not from +any worthiness of ours, or because of our merits, but only for His Name's +sake, because He is Saviour. It was His love for us that prompted our +creation, His love that provoked His passion and redeemed us, His love +that made Him suffer for us, His love that teaches and shall guide us to +life everlasting, for His love endureth forever. + + + + + +VII. YEA, THOUGH I WALK IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR +NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME. + + +Besides the paths and dangerous walks in the shepherd country that would +lead the sheep to destruction and death, there are other paths all +encompassed with evils through which, nevertheless, they are at times +obliged to make their way. Safety from all harm there cannot be for the +shepherd's flock. They must in their journeys encounter many perils, even +while pursuing the proper paths. There are deep and darksome valleys, +walled round on all sides by towering rocky hills, which at times the +shepherd cannot easily escape. And within these shadowy valleys and somber +ravines there dwell not infrequently wild and ferocious animals that will, +if aroused, attack and kill the tender sheep. The utmost care and caution +of the shepherd are called into service safely to conduct his dependent +flock through these places of deepest peril. But in spite of all his +watchfulness it sometimes happens that a wolf will get into the very midst +of the sheep. The timid, terrified animals become wild with fright, and +are scattered, running this way and that, until the shepherd calls and +bids them collect together. No sooner do they hear his voice, than they +all rush swiftly together in a solid mass, and either drive the enemy from +their midst or cripple and crush him to death. + +Thus in times of greatest peril the shepherd protects his sheep, and +wrests them from the jaws of harm. The sheep know this, and they fear no +evils; they know that their master is with them. Yea, though they walk in +the shadow of perils and dwell in the midst of the valley of death, they +faint not, neither do they fear, for they know that the shepherd is near. + +The case of the sheep in the valley of perils is not unlike our own in the +midst of the evils of the world; and the peace and safety which we enjoy +should be similar also to theirs. We are assured, first of all, by an +unflinching faith in God and our Redeemer that, if we trust our Master and +obey Him, we shall be led aright throughout our lives, even to the kingdom +of Heaven. We shall be led in the paths of justice and love, and crowned +at length with the crown of glory, if we but follow the voice of our +Shepherd-King, and avoid the walks of disaster and ruin. And to hear His +voice and to know it we have but to listen to the teachings of His Church, +which will hush to silence our troubled hearts, and direct our wayward +feet into the paths of heavenly peace. + +But, like the shepherd's flock, we have to avoid in our journey through +life, as perils to our safety and spiritual welfare, not only the false +shepherds and teachers and doctrines that surround us on all sides; but we +must also, to pass to our reward, actually encounter inevitable evils and +fight many necessary battles. Many of the paths of life through which we +must of necessity pass are hard and difficult, and full of deadly perils. +We must remember that sin has ruined the primeval beauty of our earthly +habitation and made our life here below a labor and a toil to the end. + +We not only come into the world with sin on our souls, and are thereby +exiles from the city of God, but even when our sin is forgiven us the +remains of the malady continue as wounds in our nature as long as we live +on earth. The deadly guilt is wiped away, but the effects of the evil +remain. And it is chiefly these wounds of our nature, in ourselves and in +others, that render life's journey, even when pursued in accordance with +the law of God, at times truly difficult and perilous. Fidelity to God and +to His law is not always a safeguard against the wickedness of the world +and of men; at times, in fact, it is just the contrary. Indeed, is it not +a truth that many, perhaps the majority, of those who endeavor sincerely +to please and to serve God must often suffer severely for their very +goodness and faithfulness? Are they not misunderstood, and criticised, and +censured? Are they not frequently accused of all manner of wrong, their +work disparaged, and their motives impugned? Are not persecution, and even +martyrdom, often their portion? Now all this is the result of sin. Those +who call into question the deeds and motives of God's saints; those who +upbraid, and criticise, and impute evil to the sincere, faithful servants +of God, inflicting upon them dire evils, are but showing the effects of +sin in themselves, are but giving exercise to the evil that rules within +them. Their particular acts and words may be without present malice, they +may be inwardly persuaded that in reviling and condemning their neighbor +and doing him harm, they are rendering a service to God Himself; but in so +doing they but manifest the effects of earlier sin, personal, perhaps, and +original, which has darkened their understanding and made perverse their +moral vision, so that, having eyes, they see not, having ears, they hear +not, neither do they understand.(35) Following the corruption of their own +nature, bleeding from the wounds of original sin, they are prone to +blaspheme whatsoever they fail to comprehend;(36) and thus it is that they +often make life and the world for the servant of God a truly perilous +sojourn, a veritable valley of death. + +This failure to be understood, this misjudgment of actions, motives, +deeds, are doubtless common evils from which, in a measure, we all must +suffer. But it is also true that the more elevated the life, the higher +its aims, the loftier the spiritual level on which it proceeds, the +greater the difficulty of its being understood and appreciated by the +majority, who always tread the common paths of mediocrity. A saint is +nearly always a disturbance to his immediate surroundings, he is +frequently an annoyance and an irritation to the little circle in which +his external life is cast, simply because he really lives and moves in a +sphere which the ordinary life cannot grasp. Like a brilliant, dazzling +light that obscures the lesser luminaries, and is therefore odious to +them, the man of God is frequently a disturber to the worldly peace of +common men, his life and works are a living reproach to their life and +works; and hence, without willing it, he becomes a menace to their society +and is not welcome in their company. Worldly, plotting minds cannot +understand the spiritual and the holy; sinful souls are out of harmony +with the virtuous; the children of darkness cannot find peace with the +children of light. And not only is there a lack of sympathy in the +worldly-minded for the men and women who are led of God, but there is +often positive hatred for them--a hatred which spends itself in actual, +persistent persecution. To be devout, to refrain from sinful words and +sinful deeds, to shun the vain and dangerous amusements of worldlings, to +attend much to prayer and recollection, to love the house and worship of +God, to be seen often approaching the sacraments and partaking of the +bread of life at the communion rail--even these holy acts are sufficient +frequently to draw down on the servants of God the curse and persecution +of a world which knows not what it does. + +And that which happens individually to the faithful children of God takes +place on a larger scale with respect to God's Church. The children of this +world, those who have set their heart on temporal things, or who, through +wilful error have deviated from the right path to things eternal, never +cease from pursuing and persecuting the Church of God. They hate the +Church and attack it unceasingly. Like the perverse and blinded Jews of +old who reviled the Saviour and His words and deeds, who pursued Him and +put Him to death, these ever-living and ever-active enemies of light and +truth never abate in their fury against the chosen friends of Christ, and +against His holy Church. But need we be surprised at this? Was it not +foretold? Did not our blessed Shepherd, speaking in the beginning to His +little flock, warn them that men would deliver them up in councils and +scourge them? Did He not say to them plainly, "And you shall be hated by +all men for my name's sake; but he that shall persevere unto the end, he +shall be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into +another.... The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above +his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the +servant as his lord. If they have called the good man of the house +Beelzebub, how much more them of his household."(37) + +It happens, therefore, that fidelity to God, and careful adherence to the +paths of justice and holiness, can frequently be the occasion of perils +and sufferings for us individually, as they also are the excuse for a +vaster persecution of the Church in general. All holy persons and holy +things are signs of contradiction. They are not of the world, they do not +fit in with it; and between them and the world there will be strife and +contention until the renovation comes. + +But the enemies that lie along the ways of life, that beset and threaten +even the most righteous paths of our pilgrimage, are not all from +without--the most numerous and menacing are perhaps from within. "The +enemies of a man," says the inspired writer, "are those of his own +household."(38) That is to say, the most potent evils which we suffer, the +chiefest foes to our present and future welfare are from ourselves--our own +waywardness, our tendencies to evil, our wilfulness, our self-love and +self-seeking, our own sins. It is from these and like causes that we +suffer most. Hard and trying it surely is to bear persecutions and +contradictions from others; severe is the strain to nature when, in the +face of our noblest efforts, proceeding from noblest motives, we meet with +misunderstanding and even condemnation; but to the upright, religious +heart that is sincerely and truly seeking God amid the shadows and +pitfalls of life, the sorest of all trials and the fiercest of all enemies +are one's own temptations and passions and inclinations to evil. Easier it +were to conquer the whole external world of foes, than to reign supreme +over the little world within. Of Alexander the Great it is said, that +while he actually subdued the whole known world of his time, he +nevertheless yielded in defeat before his own passions. He could overcome +his external enemies, but surrendered miserably in the battle with self. + +This, then, is our greatest warfare, the struggle with ourselves; and this +our greatest victory, a triumph over self. "If each year," says the +Imitation, "we could uproot but one evil inclination, how soon we should +be perfect men!"(39) But it is not for us to be free from enemies and +perils, both from without and from within, during our earthly sojourn. +They are a part of our lot here below, they are necessarily bound up with +the darkened regions through which the Shepherd must lead his flock; and +hence, entire safety there shall never be before the journey's end, until +we say farewell to present woes, and hail "the happy fields, where joy +forever dwells." + +In our present state, therefore, it is important for us to realize our +dangers and to be prepared for conflict. There is no way of escape from +crosses, and perils, and dreadful battles for all those who wish to win +the crown of victory. They must follow the Shepherd as he leads the way, +and hence our Lord has said, "if any man will come after me, let him take +up his cross daily and follow me."(40) Yes, it is the following of the +Shepherd, it is his leadership, his constant presence, that give comfort +to the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of perils. And though we pass +through the valley and shadow of death, we need fear no evil, for He is +with us. At times, frequently perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, the +waves roll over and deluge us so completely that we are all but smothered. +The clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast the sky of our souls; the +sorrows of death surround us, and the pains of the pit encompass us;(41) +we are overwhelmed with sadness and plunged in darkness. We think of God, +we remember Him, but He seems afar off. The evil which weighs us down--the +pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness and dejection of heart and +mind, "the madness that worketh in the brain," muffle the voice and all +but still the trembling pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift our +drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes to see the gentle Shepherd standing +faithfully at our side. It is our failure to discern and apprehend Him +that causes extreme agony. If at these times of utter desolation, when the +soul is swept by the winds of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and +thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and child-like trust, the spell would +be broken; and we should see the clouds lift and part and float away on +the wind, only to let in God's cheerful sun to raise the drooping spirit, +and warm and soothe the troubled soul. + +But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow and affliction, to lift the +heart and mind to things above. Nature of itself tends downward, and +unless it has learned to discipline itself and to engage with the enemy in +sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for life. For the world is a +battlefield and life a warfare, even from a natural point of view, and +only they can hope to win in life's hard contest who have learned to brave +the battle, who have prepared themselves for conflict. But who is ready +for the struggle, and how shall we be able to encounter our foes? Left to +ourselves and to our own resources, we shall surely go down in defeat. The +opposing forces are too gigantic, too numerous. They throng from near and +from afar. They swarm from within and from without; from our own nature +and from others, from the world around, and from our own household; from +those at home, and from them that are abroad. Frequently during life we +are, of a certainty, encompassed round with perils; we hardly know where +to turn or what to do, we are breathless with fright; but even then, if we +have proper faith, we shall grow calm, like the shepherd's flock in the +midst of devouring animals and beasts of prey, for our Saviour and +Shepherd is with us, and no evil can befall us. Even when we think Him +farthest, He is often nearest; when we think Him sleeping, His heart is +watching. He loves us, His weak and timid sheep; we are the objects of His +heart's affection and ever active solicitude; He will not let perish, if +we trust Him, the price of His precious Blood. + +And the training we are to receive, and the preparation we are to make, in +order worthily and victoriously to engage in the battle of life are +nothing, therefore, but lessons of love and trust in the constant goodness +and faithfulness of our divine Saviour. Unless we viciously drive Him away +by deliberate, grievous sin, He is really never absent from us, and least +of all when we need Him most. It is our fault, if we do not by faith +discern Him, if we do not feel His ever-gracious presence. We need to +discipline ourselves in acts and deeds of faith and love, and then we +shall realize that He is always near us, even in the darkness of the +shadow of death. + +We must try to know our Shepherd, first of all; we must endeavor +intimately to understand Him. For to have faith in Him, to trust Him, to +believe in His power and goodness, in His overruling care for us and our +interests, presuppose a knowledge of Him, just as faith and confidence in +an earthly friend follow upon an intimate acquaintance with that friend. +But this close knowledge of our Master, so necessary to our present peace +and future happiness, will never be ours unless we make Him our confidant, +unless we accustom ourselves to live in His presence, to look to Him, to +speak to Him often, to listen to His gracious direction. And this intimate +relationship with our Saviour, this habitual communion with Him, will +enkindle in our souls the fire of love. Once we know Him, we will trust +Him, and having faith and confidence in Him, we will link our poor lives +to His divine life by the strong cords of heavenly charity. Fear and +uncertainty will then be impossible, even in the darkest hours. + +It is love, above all, that directs our life--love, indeed, which is born +of knowledge. We do not, it is true, love anything before we have some +knowledge of it; this would be an impossibility; but once the soul has +caught the vision, it is love that drives the life and stimulates and +enriches the knowledge. The objects of our affections are the interpreters +of our life and actions. If we love the world, we are led by the world; if +we love God, it is God that leads and directs us. Where the treasure is, +there will the heart be also;(42) and where the heart is, thither will the +life make its way. But if God is the object of our love, we shall fear no +evil; for "God is charity," says St. John, "and he that abideth in +charity, abideth in God, and God in him ... Fear is not in charity; but +perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain."(43) + +It is only the love of God, therefore, that will steady our lives, and +bear us up in the thick of tribulations. It is the confident assurance +that we, although so unworthy, are the objects of divine complacency that +awakens in our hearts a return of burning charity, and enables us to say, +with the Psalmist, when the day is darkest "The Lord is my light and +salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of +whom shall I be afraid?"(44) We are not to fear men, said our Lord, who, +when they have destroyed the body, can do no more;(45) neither shall we be +in dread of our Master, if armed with the gift of His love, "for fear hath +pain, but love casteth out fear." Rather shall we, like the martyrs of +old, mindful of the gift of God, go bravely forth to the battle of life, +or to the slaughter, calmly, hopefully, cheerfully. While humbly, but +steadfastly trustful of the Shepherd that leads us, we shall not be +disturbed or troubled; the present shall be shorn of its terrors, the +future of its forebodings. This truly is the triumph of life, when love, +not fear, has come to rule us. This is the broader, larger life--the +forerunner of life eternal in which our days are passed in calm +serenity--in which we press on with undaunted tread, alike under frowning +clouds, or under a star-lit sky; alike with the joys of friendship around +us, or alone amidst the graves of the dead. + +We must not infer from this that the love of God which is our strength, +the source of our courage, will blunt our feelings or harden our lives. It +does not seal up the fountain of tears, or make us insensible to the pains +and sorrows of life, which belong to the lot of all. In a certain sense it +is likely true that those suffer most in life who are most united to God; +for they feel most the coldness of the world and its desolation, its want +of love and sympathy, its degradation and its misery. Hence it would be a +mistake to think that the friends of God in this life are either exempted +from pain and sorrow, or made insensible to them, either in themselves or +in others. Of these and other evils they are truly more keenly aware than +worldly men, if for no other reason than because of the superior +refinement of their nature and the spiritual outlook of their vision. It +is sin, after all, that hardens while it weakens. Sin closes the heart to +love, it renders its victims cold, unsympathetic and selfish; whereas the +gifts of grace and holiness are tenderness, mercy, strength. But though +all have to suffer, both the holy and the unholy, the difference between +them is this, that the ungodly are borne down and overcome by their +sorrows and crosses, while the spiritual are always triumphing even in the +midst of apparent defeat. To the foolish they seem to be vanquished, yet +they conquer; often they seem on the verge of surrender, when they emerge +in victory; they seem to die, when behold they live!(46) + +The spiritual man, then, does suffer; he suffers in the cause of God; he +suffers for others and for himself. More than this, it is doubtless true +that he feels his crosses more keenly, he grieves more profoundly, than do +the children of the world; but through it all he remembers his Saviour and +is comforted. He knows that the tribulations of the just are many, and +that from all these the Lord will soon deliver him,(47) and he shall not +be confounded forever. + + + + + +VIII. THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME. + + +It is already plain to us that the sorrows and sufferings of the present +life are, without doubt, the result and consequence of sin. That we should +pass our mortal days so full of pain and tears, that our fellow-man, that +the beasts of the field and the elements, which we need and use as helpers +and servants, and most of all that our own nature, with its passions and +evil tendencies, should rise up against us and oppose us, was assuredly +not a part of the original plan. As a wise and all-powerful Designer and +Creator, God founded the world after a masterful fashion--devoid of evil, +free from defect, perfect according to the plans framed in Heaven. The +hills and mountains He founded and set on their bases; the streams and +rivers and valleys He formed, all rich and lovely, intended for the +comfort and happiness of man; the blue deep He constructed and beautified +with its millions of shining wonders; and in all these stupendous +creations, in all the diverse works of His mighty, omnipotent hands there +was in the beginning no trace of fault, of defect, of error or sin. The +upheaval came when man disobeyed and wrought the commencement of all our +woe. And hence it is to man's first disobedience and the fruit of that +forbidden tree, that we owe all the evils from which our nature suffers +and to which our flesh is heir. + +But although we know the source of our sorrows and feel the guilt of our +sins, this does not make our burden lighter or shorten the path of our +pilgrimage. We are confronted by the problem of labor and suffering as +soon as we enter the world. No one is entirely exempted; and, strange as +it is, we see that it frequently happens, that those are most afflicted +who are farthest removed from the wickedness of the world and purest in +the sight of God. "Many are the tribulations of the just;" and how true is +it that the very fidelity of the servants of God is often an occasion of +their sufferings! It is not wonderful that sorrow and fear should be the +portion of sinners throughout the length of their days, for "contrition +and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not +known;"(48) but that all, even the saints of God, should suffer alike and +be oppressed with miseries is, at first sight, a problem and a baffling +mystery. + +It is something, indeed, to feel in our suffering that we are paying the +debt of our sins, whether personal, or original, or both; it is much to +know that our crosses, severe and inevitable as they are, are a curb to +our wayward nature, and a restraint against further sins; it is assuredly +a great privilege and a high honor that we, unworthy and unfaithful +servants of our Master, should, through our tears and sorrows and +sufferings, be enabled to conform our poor lives to the tearful and +sorrowful life of our Saviour; it is a comfort that words cannot tell to +be assured by our faith that in the midst of pains and perils the Shepherd +of our souls is ever near to shield, to guard, and to save--all this is +surely much--enough to encourage and strengthen us daily to take up our +cross and joyfully follow our Redeemer, even to the hill of Calvary, even +to the death of the cross. But this is not all. A deeper meaning lies +hidden behind the veil of tears, beneath the cloak of pain and sorrow. The +miseries of life are not a mere inheritance, neither is their value of a +purely negative character. We instinctively feel that somehow, somewhere +beyond the scope of mortal ken, there is a higher explanation and a more +valid justification for all the failures and pains and sorrows of life, +than that which appears on the surface of things, or issues in results +that are only negative. Suffering for its own sake was never intended; and +we were not made to suffer. We were not created for misery, but for +happiness; not for failure, but for victory; not for death, but for life; +not for time, but for eternity. And hence there is a deeper meaning, a +higher explanation for all the failures and miseries of the present life +than those that are apparent to the casual observer. + +In the title of this chapter the Psalmist, referring to the shepherd's +care for his sheep, says: "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." The +staff the shepherd uses, as already explained, is to assist the sheep +along their perilous journeys, and the rod to protect them in case of +attack. The rod and the staff are necessary for the welfare of the flock, +necessary to guide and shield them in their wanderings, and to bring them +safely home. So too, it is with us, the children of God. To be properly +protected and guided to our happy end we have need of the rod of +affliction and adversity, and likewise of the staff of mercy. + +Although human miseries--pain, poverty, suffering and death--are, as we +know, the consequences, just and equitable, of original sin, it is a +shortsighted faith and a defective vision that find in these crosses only +chastisement for sin. Truly, they should not have been, had we never +sinned; but as God, in His mercy, draws good out of evil, so has He made +these inevitable results of our transgression serve a higher purpose and +minister to noble ends. The Saviour came that we might have life, that we +might progress and advance to ever fuller and more abundant life.(49) His +aim, and the aim and purpose of His heavenly Father, since the very dawn +of our creation, has been to lead us to happiness--to perfect, abundant, +eternal happiness. It would be of little account to be happy here, unless +we are also to rejoice eternally. It would be a poor exchange and a paltry +satisfaction, to be present at the feasts of men, only to forfeit our +place at the banquet of angels. But our heavenly reward and our celestial +crown are to be merited and won here below; they are to follow upon our +earthly labors. "Only he shall be crowned," says St. Paul, "who has +legitimately engaged in the battle."(50) And did not the Master say +Himself, "Let him who wishes to come after me deny himself and take up his +cross and follow me?"(51) Did He not declare that we must die to live? +that we must surrender our life here, if we would keep it eternally? +"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the +ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much +fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life +in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal."(52) We cannot serve two +masters, we cannot serve God and mammon. If we would seek to avoid all +pain and sorrow, and spend our lives in the pleasures of sense, we must be +prepared to forego the future joys of the soul; if we would pass our days +indulging the flesh and chasing the phantoms of time, we must needs make +ready for the death of the spirit and the forfeit of all that is lasting. + +We have no choice, then; if we would succeed eternally, we must follow the +way of the cross. This is the only way to life--to that abundant, celestial +life which our Creator has wished us to live. And it is the bearing of our +cross, patiently and resignedly to the will of God, together with our +other good works, that enables us to merit, in so far as we can, the joys +of the kingdom of Heaven. But the sufferings and labors, so inevitable and +necessary to our earthly state, which serve as a means to supernal +rewards, have still another, deeper meaning, and serve another purpose. We +cannot evade them, we must encounter them. They are not only unavoidable, +but necessary to our dearest interests, as we see, since they are strewn +as thorns and brambles all along the narrow way that leads to eternal +life. We cannot choose them or lay them aside at will. We may, indeed, if +we be foolish and impious enough, refuse to walk the narrow way of the +just and choose the broad road that leadeth to destruction; but we shall +not even thus escape the pains and perils inseparable from this mortal +life. Or again, we may, in our folly, rebel against the crosses and labors +that confront and pursue us; but whether we go this way or that, whether +we will it or not, we can no more eschew all the evils of life than escape +from the air that we breathe. The pressure, it is true, is not always upon +us; we are not, without ceasing, weighed down by our labors and groaning +to be delivered from the body of this death. There is interruption, there +is passing pleasure, a rift in the clouds and a smile of the sunshine even +for the darkest and poorest life. And yet withal, we know and we are +conscious that we are ever under the sentence of death, that life is a +fleeting shadow, that like + + + "A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, + Man passes from life to his rest in the grave." + + +There is no evading the conclusion, therefore, that the days of man in +this world are few and full of miseries. "The life of man upon earth is a +warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. He cometh forth +like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow."(53) "For all +flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The +grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away."(54) To the +natural man all this is appalling, and how frequently it finds its +solution in unbridled self-indulgence, in mental unbalance, and +self-destruction! But the saints, and all the truly wise, have viewed the +problem of human suffering in a vastly different light. They have +discerned it, first of all, as really distinctive of the road to Heaven, +and as essentially pertaining to the royal way of the cross. They have +understood that it extinguishes the wrath of the heavenly Father, that it +atones for sin and makes the soul conformable to our suffering Saviour, +and therefore have they loved it. And more than this, those who have been +led by the wisdom of God have found, not only that the crosses of life are +essentially connected with the way of salvation, but that by them and +through them alone we are often _positively driven_ to God. We may try to +avoid them, and at times, perhaps, succeed; we may flee from them or +endeavor to still the voice of their pain; or, when unable to escape them, +we may, in our wrath and desperation, rise up against them and rebuke +them: but they persistently remain, they continue to haunt, as if to woo +and to win us to penetrate their deeper meaning, and discover the treasure +that in them lies concealed. The very breakdown of human things, the +severing of human ties and relationships, the loss of health and wealth, +of treasures and friends, and of all that life holds dear, are really +meant, in the deepest sense, to drive us to the divine. This is the +meaning of those tears and sorrows, those pains and sufferings, that +loneliness, that grief, that agony of heart and soul which belong to this +world of tears. All these are intended to teach us that here below, on +this crumbling shore of time, we have no abiding city, or home, or life, +or love; but seek a city, a home, a life, a love that hath foundations, +whose builder and maker is God.(55) + +We need God, we were made for God, and our nature, with all its longings +and powers, cries out for Him. And therefore has God so arranged the +world, in spite of all its evils, and in spite of all our sinfulness, +that, if we do not prevent it, it will lead us out to happiness--lead us +out to Himself. It was our sin that despoiled the face of the world; but +God, in His mercy, has drawn good out of evil, He has made the effects of +sin minister to our advantage, if we will but have it so. We may, +forsooth, refuse, because we are free; we may object, and rebel, and +oppose our lot; we may take our destiny out of the hands of our Creator +and attempt to shape it for ourselves; we may deride and despise the +humble, the lowly of heart, the patient, the mortified and the suffering; +we may upbraid the Providence of God and its workings, and refuse to +submit to the rule of the Creator; we may hold in derision and contempt +the little band that is sweetly marching the way of the cross, preferring +for ourselves the company of the multitude that knows not God--all this can +we do, because we are free; but if such be our choice, and if we persevere +in it, our portion is fixed, and we shall have at last only to say with +the wicked: "Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light +of justice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not +risen upon us. We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and +destruction, and have walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we +have not known. What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the +boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a +shadow, and like a post that runneth on."(56) + +Sufferings, therefore, are common to all, to the good and the bad, to the +wise and the foolish, to the children of light and to the children of +darkness. But only those who are directed by grace and light from above +are able to pierce the deeper meaning of the cross. All have to bear it, +but not all understand it; all feel the weight of it, but all do not know +the power of it. Like fortune, it knocks at every door, into every heart +it endeavors to enter and make known its deeper significance, its hidden +secrets, lest any of us should suffer in vain, and our lives be altogether +a failure. To be able to suffer patiently and gladly for God's sake, is +thus a great wisdom; it is a sign of future blessedness. It is the wisdom +of God, which is foolishness to men. "If thou hadst the science of all the +astronomers," says Eternal Wisdom; "if thou couldst speak and discourse +about God as fully and well as all angels and men; if thou alone were as +learned as the whole body of doctors; all this would not bestow on thee so +much holiness of life as if, in the afflictions that come upon thee, thou +art able to be resigned to Me and to abandon thyself to Me. The former is +common to good and bad, but the latter belongs to My elect alone." + +We know that our Saviour took upon Himself the cross of sorrow and +suffering, not alone that He might satisfy for our transgressions and be +our ransom from bondage, but also that He might be unto us an example and +a leader. And knowing that our unfaithfulness had incurred severest +maladies from which none could escape, He bore our infirmities and carried +our sorrows for us, in order that we, in our time, might bear our +inevitable afflictions for His sake, for love of Him, and thereby attain +to unending glory with Him. "For the spirit himself giveth testimony to +our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs, +indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, +that we may be also glorified with him."(57) "If you partake of the +sufferings of Christ," says St. Peter, "rejoice that when his glory shall +be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."(58) The chains of +sorrow which bind us here below, our Shepherd thus would turn to golden +cords of love, which draw and hold us to Himself. We cannot, as we see, +ascend to Heaven, rise to blessedness, except by the way of the cross. And +our degree of glory in Heaven, the eternal happiness which we shall enjoy, +will be in proportion to the degree of charity or love of God which our +souls possess at death; and this divine charity, which is to measure our +future beatitude, is acquired and augmented by faithfully doing the will +of God--by patiently and lovingly bearing the cross of life. Sacrifice is +the test of love. And hence the more we do and suffer for Christ's sake, +the more we prove our love for Him and the greater shall be our happiness +in the kingdom of His Father. All holy writers, all the masters of the +spiritual life agree in teaching that God particularly chastises those +whom He loves with a special love. He proves the elect to find if they are +worthy of Himself.(59) He does not spare them now, that He may spare them +hereafter; He tries them for a time, that He may reward them forever; He +seems harsh with them here, during the time of probation, only that He may +draw them closer to Himself everlastingly. + +The devoted friends of God and the ardent lovers of things spiritual have +deeply pondered these momentous truths. They have realized that our days +here, though few and fast-flying, are really to determine our lot and +condition throughout the eternal years. They have known that the passing +present is the price of the lasting future; that this is the seeding time, +and hereafter the harvest. And because our future happiness is to be in +accord with our merits here acquired, jealously have they sought and +embraced every present occasion to increase their merits and their +worthiness for the glory that is to come. This is why they have loved the +cross, the symbol of salvation, the emblem of victory; this, too, is why +they have felt disturbed and full of fear when the cross was absent from +them. Unlike the unenlightened sufferer, who sees only punishment in his +pains, the saints of God have ever accepted their crosses as a sign of +special love, a divine visitation, a preparation for the great communion. + +We see now how it is that the rod of chastisement and the staff of mercy +are able to give joy and comfort to God's chosen friends; and thus are +they designed to console and comfort everyone who is truly led by faith +and love. Sufferings are really a blessing, but the eye of faith alone +discerns it. They keep us from present pleasures, from hurtful occasions, +from alluring vanities; they direct us into the way of salvation, they +drive us to God, they increase the glory of our eternal blessedness. What +are the trials of earth when compared with the joys of Heaven? Rather, how +precious are they! since, if we use them aright, they lead us out into a +higher life, to a closer friendship with God. And if, through the mercy of +our heavenly Father, we permit the cross to lead us to His knees and +enrich our lives with His love, who can speak its infinite value? What +treasure can be likened to it? Surely nothing that we know can surpass it +in worth. We might, indeed, enjoy all that life can give; we might possess +all riches, all health, all success; we might have honor, fame, glory, +power; the praise and love of men, the treasures of earthly friendship and +earthly affection--the whole world we might gain and enjoy; but if through +all these, or in spite of all, we should not be led to the love and +friendship of God, we should know only vanity, and life for us would in +its issue be nothing but a dismal failure. + +But if, on the contrary, through the sufferings and losses, the +deficiencies and limitations of life, we have been led to make God our +dearest friend, if we have been taught, by the coldness and harshness of +men, to take refuge in His love, how blessed are we! how cheaply the +purchase has been made, even though it has meant the loss of every passing +good, of all that the world can give, even the pouring out of our own +life's blood! + +Teach me, O my Master, in the day of sorrow and tribulation, to understand +the meaning of the cross, to know the value of my sufferings, to grasp the +power and the secret of Thy rod and Thy staff. Assist me to see Thee +through the darkness that surrounds me; and give me to feel, in the midst +of loneliness and perils, amid pain and desolation, the nearness to my +soul of Thy loving-kindness, and the strength of Thy merciful presence. + + + + + +IX. THOU SPREADEST BEFORE ME A TABLE IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES. + + +In the preceding verses of the Shepherd Psalm the Psalmist has described +the constant care of the shepherd for his sheep--the rest and refreshment, +the protection and comfort he provides for them. And now, in the present +verse, he speaks of a feast he has prepared for them, which is to be +likened to a bountiful banquet--a banquet which they are to enjoy, a feast +which they are to consume, in the sight of their enemies, in the presence +of the evils that afflict them. He refers, at first, to the manner of +preparing or spreading a table in the Orient. Often the custom of olden +times was not much different from that which prevails among the Arabs even +today. To prepare a table means with them simply to spread a skin or a +cloth or a mat on the ground. + +And it is to this kind of table that the Psalmist refers when he sings of +the feast of the sheep. He means nothing more than that he has provided +for his flock in the face of their enemies a rich pasture, a spreading +slope, where they shall feed with contentment and peace, in spite of the +evils that surround them. + +But the quiet and peace which the sheep enjoy, while partaking of their +spread-out banquet, are entirely owing to the protecting presence of the +shepherd. And it frequently happens that here again the utmost skill and +diligence of the shepherd are called into play in thus securing the peace +and safety of his flock. The most abundant pastures are many times +interspersed with noxious weeds and plants, which, if eaten, would sicken +and poison the herd; while around the feeding places and grazing grounds +very often lie hid, in thickets and holes and caves in the hillsides, wild +animals, such as jackals, wolves and panthers, ready to spring out, at the +critical moment, and devour the innocent sheep. The shepherd is aware of +all these evils and enemies of his tender flock; and he goes ahead and +prepares the way, avoiding the poisonous grasses, and driving away, or +slaying, if need be, the beasts that menace the peace and security of the +pasture. The evils are not entirely dispelled, but only sufficiently +removed or held in check so as not to imperil the flock. + +Such is the table prepared for the sheep by their provident and watchful +shepherd; and such is the feast of which they partake with quiet joy in +the sight and presence of their enemies. But, as just said, the tranquil +joy which is theirs comes not from the fact that danger has been all +removed, nor from the fact that they have become hardened and used to its +presence. They know it is always near; and they are conscious, as far as +animals can be, of their own utter helplessness, if left to themselves, to +survive an attack of their powerful enemies. But they do not fear, they +are not disturbed or anxious, solely for the reason that they feel their +shepherd is present, and they know he will guard and protect them. Hence +the Psalmist is speaking for the sheep when he says to the shepherd with a +tone of confident joy, "Thou spreadest before me a table in the presence +of mine enemies." + +The spiritual meaning of this, like the other verses of the Shepherd +Psalm, is peculiarly descriptive of our Lord, the Good Shepherd of human +souls. He, in a manner altogether divine, precedes His elect, and prepares +them the way of salvation. He does not deliver them from enemies and +dangers, which would be unnatural in the present state, but He makes use +of evils, as said before, to increase the perfection of His chosen souls. +Gradually, step by step, from a natural He leads them to a higher +state--from diffidence to trust, from fear to love, from sorrow and anguish +to peace and joy. + +The change in the soul is rarely at once and immediate; it does not come +of a sudden. At first it is difficult and repugnant to nature to find joy +in sorrow and pleasure in pain, to see gladness in tears and rest in +disturbance, to find peace in the midst of our enemies; but God, in His +omnipotent goodness, so disposes and provides for the souls of His elect +that sooner or later they penetrate to the meaning of things, and find +there their hidden treasure. When the fabric of life itself has crumbled +to its native dust, when friends have gone and charms departed, when the +very earth we tread seems trembling beneath our feet, and every dream of +earthly bliss is fled, when enemies sit where loved ones sat, and the +heart has all but ceased to beat, then is the acceptable time and +propitious moment, for the devout and faithful soul, that has washed its +garments in the blood of the Lamb, to look up to Heaven with expectant +joy. The thrilling vision of eternal love so much desired, so long perhaps +delayed, is then, indeed, about to dawn. + +The sweetness of God and the peace of His spirit are not to be found in +the market place, nor in the noise and clamor of the busy street. It is +not at the banquets of earthly kings that we taste of the joys of the +Saviour's feast. It is not amid honors and riches and the pleasures of +sense that the calm dews of Heaven refresh the soul. We were made for a +higher friendship, for a more intimate union, for a sweeter companionship +than any that earth can provide. And it is only when the door has been +shut to the outer world, when the vanities of time have ceased to be +sought, that the soul is ready for the wedding garment, and able to +prepare for the marriage feast. It is in the inner sanctuary and alone, +divested of fleshy trammels and freed from the bondage of earthly +attachments, that the soul is able to meet its God and hold intimate +converse with Him. + +There are few, comparatively, out of the multitude of souls that are +called to the feast which is spread for them, that ever sit down at the +Master's table. Many are invited, and the servant is sent out at the hour +of supper to say to them that were called, that all things are ready, and +that they should come; but they tarry, they are not ready, they begin to +make excuses and wish to be held excused. Some are entangled in perishable +riches and cannot leave their possessions; others are preoccupied with +worldly affairs and must not neglect their business; still others are +pursuing the pleasures of earth, and have no time for the things of +Heaven. But the feast is not for these, after all. The Master invites +them, He calls them, He sends His ministers in search of them, He reproves +and chides them, He thunders against them to make them hear and obey; but +they will not come, they shall never taste of His banquet. He has not +spread a table for the proud, the haughty, the arrogant; He cannot meet in +loving communion the worldly, the sensuous, the lovers of ease and hurtful +pleasures. Such as these are not prepared to meet Him; they would be out +of place and ill at ease in His company, they do not like His society.(60) + +To be able to come to the Master and to sit at His feast there is need of +preparation. The garments of the world must be changed for the garments of +Heaven, the ways of men must be made to yield to the ways of God. For what +is wisdom with men is foolishness with God,(61) the weak things of earth +are the strong things of Heaven, the outcast of the world are the chosen +of the Father Almighty. And hence our Saviour under the figure of the +master in the parable who prepared a great supper, says of all those who +will not hear Him, who neglect His divine inspirations and despise the +call of His ministers, that they shall never taste of His feast. But who, +then, shall sit down at His table? for whom has He prepared the banquet? +He tells us Himself, that those who shall partake of His supper are the +lowly, the humble, the poor, the lame, and the blind; the despised of men +and the outcast of the people; those who have known sorrow and suffering +and penance, who have found the way of the cross and embraced it; who, for +the kingdom of Heaven and the love of Christ crucified, have given up +father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters; yea, +and their own life also, that they might inherit everlasting crowns that +fade not away.(62) + +St. Paul was one of these masterful spirits, who surrendered all that he +had, all that he prized most dearly for love of Christ and His service. +"The things that were gain to me," he says, "the same have I counted loss +for Christ. Furthermore, I count all things to be but loss for the +excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the +loss of all things, and count them but as waste, that I may gain +Christ."(63) What a struggle, too, was that which St. Augustine describes, +speaking of his own conversion! The parting with those sinful delights +which had hitherto held him in chains was like the forfeiture of all he +possessed, and it seemed to him that life thereafter would not be worth +living; yet he generously and vigorously gave them up that Christ might +become his possession. He has also described for us the change. "How +sweet," he says, "did it at once become to me to want the sweetness of +those trifles, which to lose had been my fear, but which to have lost was +now a joy! Thou didst cast them forth from me, oh Thou true and highest +sweetness! Thou didst cast them forth, and in their stead didst enter in +Thyself, sweeter than all pleasure!"(64) + +It is such as these, heroic souls, who for the sake of God and His +kingdom, have made the world their enemy, that compose the company of the +elect. And for these alone it is that the Shepherd of souls has spread a +table of rest and peace, even in this life, of which they partake in the +sight of their enemies, in the presence of those who think evil of them, +who despise and deride them, in the sight of the world which hates them. +These holy souls, the elect of God, whom the Father has chosen for +Himself, have learned, through the trials and losses of life, the lessons +of peace and detachment which crosses are intended to teach. They have +learned, by exclusion and retirement from worldly festivities and +pernicious delights, to draw near to God, out of love for His beauty and +mercy, or if only to ease their breaking hearts and dispel the loneliness +of their forsaken lives. In the words of the Psalmist, they have tasted +and seen that the Lord is sweet, and that there is no one like unto +God.(65) With the image of the Crucified before their eyes and conscious +of the presence of their loving Shepherd, they greet with delight the +sufferings that oppress them, and they feast in peace in the presence of +their enemies. They know that all is arranged or permitted by the hand +that guards them, and by the One that loves them; and, though He slay +them, yet will they trust Him.(66) For what can happen to those that love +God? what evil can befall them? Angels have charge over them to keep them +in all their ways.(67) + +It is confidence, therefore, in their Saviour and God that gives peace and +tranquillity to the souls of the just. To know Him, to love Him, to trust +Him, to dwell in His presence and to please Him, throughout all the +vicissitudes and evils of life, are the objects of their constant actions +and the highest aspirations of their fervid souls. Confident of the favor +and protection of God, and rooted in His love, they despise all pain and +the threats of men; and in the midst of the battle of life they rejoice in +a peace of mind and soul of which the worldling cannot dream. The pasture +in which they feed, the banquet of which they partake are nothing else +than the love and friendship of God which nourishes and refreshes their +spirits when to every mortal eye they seem destitute, abandoned and alone. +And this peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding,(68) develops in +souls truly spiritual a habit of mind and a character of life that even +here below partake of the stability and calm sense of victory which, in +their perfection, belong only to the state of the blessed in Heaven. They +feel that all things are possible to them through Him that strengtheneth +them,(69) and that no temporal affliction, no power of man or any creature +shall wrest from them the feast which they enjoy. And hence they are able +to ask, in the confident words of the Apostle, "Who shall separate us from +the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or +nakedness; or danger, or persecution, or the sword ... In all these things +we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. Therefore we are sure that +neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor +things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor +any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, +which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."(70) + + + + + +X. THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP RUNNETH OVER. + + +In these words the Psalmist alludes to one of the most touching offices +performed by the good shepherd towards his sheep. The day is drawing to a +close, the golden orb of light has sunk to rest, and the shadows are +creeping up the hills. The hush of night is falling round, and the +shepherd must gather his flock into the fold. The labors, the journeys, +the trials, the wanderings of the day are over, and now comes the time for +rest. It is a scene full of peace, and the sheep greet its approach with +feelings of restful anticipation. Many of them are foot-sore and lame; +many have received bruises and scratches during the journeyings of the +day; some have gaping and bleeding wounds from the attacks of wild beasts; +while others are simply tired out and exhausted from the long walks and +steep climbing of hills. The shepherd knows all this, and before leading +them into rest he takes care to see that the wounds of all are dressed and +soothed, so that nothing shall disturb the sweet repose of their sleep. +For this purpose he stands at the door of the fold as the sheep pass in. +He has olive oil and cedar-tar to use as healing ointments for their +wounds, and he has cool, refreshing water for those that are worn and +weary. Lovingly and tenderly he regards each member, as one by one they +enter into rest; and they that are wounded or over-weary he holds back +with his rod, till their scars and sores are duly cared for and made ready +for the night's repose. + +How closely these offices performed for the sheep by the shepherd resemble +the care of our Father and Saviour providing at the end for the souls that +He loves! He has been with them all through life, leading, guiding, +guarding, shepherding them at all times, going before them with the +blessings of goodness. And when at length the end approaches, they feel +the need of His loving-kindness perhaps more than ever before. Like the +shepherd's flock, their needs are many and various. Some souls there are +who, through the special grace of God, are able to pass their lives in +innocence and holiness, living in the world, yet not of it, dwelling in +the midst of men and in the sight of their wickedness and sin, yet +undefiled withal, beautiful witnesses of the power and love of Him that +strengthens and preserves them. + +But the majority are not thus favored. Notwithstanding all their graces, +they have been subject to falls--perhaps to many grievous falls; they have +suffered many wounds and bruises, they have had many tears to shed. +Multitudes there are, in fact, who come down to the verge of life, to the +very gate of death, sin-stained, racked and wounded, their life blood +ebbing out through sores and wounds which they themselves have made by +wilful open friendship with sin and vice, the deadly foes of their souls. +We have many varying examples of these straying souls. There is the type +of Mary Magdalen, of St. Peter, of St. Paul, of St. Augustine, who passed +a portion, brief or prolonged, of their mortal days far from the Father's +home, feeding on the husks of swine; but who, while yet in the vigor of +life, felt the touch of the merciful hand and heard the sound of the +loving voice, leading them, calling them back to God, back to the "beauty +ever ancient and ever new." Such souls as these, it is true, constitute +one class of erring, but repenting sinners; but there is another class +whose plight is far more pitiable. They are those long-delayed, but +finally repentant sinners, men and women who have lived their lives away +from the Church and its sacraments, who have grown old and gray in the +sins of their youth, and now, at the last, when death is coming, are +moved, by a special grace from Heaven, to weep for their sins and wasted +years before they enter their eternal abode. + +For each and all of these how important it is that the Shepherd should +stand at the door of the fold and bind up their wounds with His tender +grace before they pass through the portals of death! Scarred and wayward +children, victims of evil circumstances, creatures of vanity and of folly, +they realize at the end how impotent they are, how helpless in the +presence of the coldness of death to redeem or make sure the years that +are fled, unless He draw near and assist them who has sustained them in +life, and who is at once the author and the master of both life and death! + +But for all, without exception, the need of the Shepherd is imperative at +the end. The victory, the happy issue of life's struggle, "is not of him +that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."(71) +All may run, all may strive, indeed, for the prize of eternal life, but +none can be sure, short of the mercy of God, that he will be saved; none +can merit this crowning glory of life. Whether young or old, whether +favored or neglected, whether innocent or guilty, whether the life has +been dowered with special blessings and never known the stain of grievous +sin, or whether it has been eked out amidst deepest misery and defiled +with hateful crimes, the same uncertainty for all remains as to the manner +in which the end shall come. Men may reason and conjecture, from what they +see and know, that this one or that is in God's favor, and shall so +persevere to the end; that the members of a certain family, or class, or +station in life, are sure to be saved, and shall never fall short; but +that those of another class or condition shall, on the contrary, die as +they have lived, in the filth of their sins, to be forever in torment. But +these are the reasonings of men, which are of no avail in the sight of +God. It is only the Father in Heaven who knows the elect. He alone is able +to tell who shall remain to be crowned, and who is to be condemned. +Perseverance is a gratuitous gift of God, we cannot merit it. All our good +actions and holy deeds, which are performed in the state of grace and out +of a motive of charity, do, it is true, merit a reward in Heaven, they +tend to increase our blessedness hereafter; but just as it is not in our +power to merit the first grace, by which we are raised from a state of +sin, so are we utterly unable to do anything which shall secure for a +certainty the final grace, by which alone we can be saved. Wherefore the +Preacher said: "All these things have I considered in my heart, that I +might carefully understand them: there are just men and wise men, and +their works are in the hand of God; and yet man knoweth not whether he be +worthy of love or hatred. But all things are kept uncertain for the time +to come, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, +to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that +offereth victims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the good is, so +also is the sinner; as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth."(72) + +This uncertainty as to the end of life, and of the gift of final +perseverance, all holy souls have felt. To die in the friendship of God, +and thence to enjoy His presence forever, is a gift of so transcendent a +nature, so far above our natural powers and utmost deserts that no +creature, which can at all conceive it, would dare claim it as a right. It +was this conviction that made the saints tremble to think of it. This it +was that prompted St. Paul to admonish the Philippians to work out their +salvation with fear and trembling,(73) and that also evoked from the same +Apostle those candid words concerning himself: "I chastise my body, and +bring it into subjection; lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I +myself should become a castaway."(74) + +And have we not sometimes witnessed instances which, so far as man can +judge, give ground for this fear as to perseverance, and emphasize the +great truth that to die in God's favor is, indeed, a singular and a +gratuitous gift? How many have we not known who started well, but +terminated ill! How many are innocent and holy in youth and give every +promise of splendid manhood, but fade and drop, like poisoned flowers, ere +the age of maturity has dawned! How many are able to pass through the most +critical period of their lives, unshaken and undefiled, full of faith, +hope, love, purity; but who, when the age of security is thought to have +come, lose the grip which seemed so firm, turn to evil, yield to vicious +habits, and die reprobates of God! Look at King Solomon! Who was ever more +promising than he in his youth? Who ever gave fairer prospects of +continued holiness and of a beautiful end? He was so lovely, so amiable, +so favored of God in the morning of life; graced with such high +perfections, not knowing evil, a stranger to vice, a lover of sanctity, of +wisdom, and of grace. It would seem that he could never fall--he who was +the object of such unwonted favors, who dwelt so supremely in the smile of +Heaven. But lo, and behold the end of him who had received so many graces, +who chose wisdom as his handmaid that he might be guided aright! Behold +that youthful figure, so full of promise and goodly hope, praying to God +that he might never deviate from the ways of grace; and then see the +gray-haired apostate tottering to the grave, borne down by the weight of +his sins and of his years! And how many more there have been, like King +Saul, like Renan and Voltaire, and numerous others that we ourselves +perhaps have known, who were great and good in youth, and for a term of +years, but whose end was a miserable failure! + +Our perseverance, then, or the favor to die in the state of grace, is not +of ourselves, not the reward of our efforts, or of our good works, "but of +God that sheweth mercy." We must do all in our power to merit eternal +life; we must press on to the mark, waging ceaseless battle in behalf of +God and of our souls, even to the last moment; but for the happy end of it +all we must perforce rely on the tender mercy of God. This is why our +Lord, before He departed from earth, prayed to His heavenly Father for His +disciples: "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given me; +... I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world; but that +thou shouldst keep them from evil."(75) This same truth the Psalmist also +had in mind when he prayed: "Perfect thou my goings in thy paths, that my +footsteps be not moved."(76) + +It is this appalling uncertainty about the end and outcome of life, +together with our own inability to make them secure, that makes death so +terrible to the minds and thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians and +well-living persons. They fear to fall into the hands of the living God. +For them the present life may be not so attractive; on the contrary, it is +likely replete with pain and toil; but somehow they wish to linger here, +preferring that which is certain, although so miserable, to that which is +doubtful, perhaps awful and irreparable. So long as they continue in this +present world there is chance for change, there is hope of improvement. +But when death intervenes, and the soul is removed to the other life, all +hopes of change are swept away, and the lot of the soul is fixed for +eternity. There is, of course, a fear of death which is altogether +natural. Many dread death who pretend not to believe in a future life, or +even in the existence of God. And many there are whose lives are holy, and +who have not whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, nevertheless, the +very thought of death is fraught with all manner of terrors. As some are +naturally afraid in the absence of light, and tremble with fear at being +alone in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or place, so there are many +who, without assignable reason, other than a native tendency, are appalled +at the thought of death. + +But when all due allowances have been made for the uncertainty of final +perseverance, and for the anxiety arising from natural temperament, it +seems not too much to say that, for the most part, the fear and dread of +death which haunts so many Christians can be reduced to two causes: a +defect of faith or a love of the world. It is one of these causes, or both +of them together, which alone can explain, in the majority of cases, why +such numbers of Christians and Catholics are unwilling to surrender the +present life, and are disturbed at the very thought of dying. Either they +do not realize by faith the surpassing glories of the life beyond--doubting +its reality, questioning its nature, misunderstanding the goodness and +mercy of God; or else they are so attached to the present existence that +all serious thought and desire for a better life are excluded from their +minds and hearts. Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual life is +indicated by the answers we give to the following questions: "Do I love to +think of God? Am I willing to suffer for God? Does my desire to be with +Him destroy my fear of death?" We do not fear to meet or to be with one +whom we really love, for "love casteth out fear." There is no dread at the +coming of the parent or friend whom we truly love, unless, perchance, we +have offended him, and lack full faith that we have been forgiven and +reinstated in his favor and friendship. + +So it is with God. If we are unwilling to meet Him, or filled with fear at +the approach of His coming, it seems of a certainty that our faith is at +fault. Why should we not wish to meet Him who has made us, who loves us, +who has washed away our sins with His own blood, who alone can comfort our +trembling souls and fill us with every good? Perhaps we have sinned and +betrayed our Maker many times and grievously in our lives, and the voices +of those sins are haunting us, and bidding us beware of the hour of death +and of the judgment that follows. Perhaps there is a lurking suspicion +that we have not been forgiven, a temptation that we are not sincere, a +feeling that our sins are too grave to be pardoned, a conviction that we +do not belong to the company of the elect. We may have notions, moreover, +altogether severe, of the nature of God and of His justice; we feel His +immensity and sanctity, we have heard so much of His ineffable beauty, +that, weighed down with a sense of our nothingness, of our poverty and +misery and sinfulness, we cannot but shudder at the thought of appearing +in His presence. These and similar terrors may take hold of us and fill us +with a dread of death; but is it not clear that, whatever their cause, +these fears are born of a lack of faith? We do not trust, as we ought, the +Shepherd that loves us, we are not convinced of His mercy and kindness, if +we do not believe with child-like confidence that He stands ready ever to +forgive and bless the least of His children that humbly and sincerely seek +Him, asking for the help they need. The severity of God toward sinners +endures only so long as they refuse to acknowledge their guilt. His +harshness with them, like that of Joseph with his brethren, is but love in +disguise; and as soon as they are brought to own their guilt, that which +before was the anger of God is swiftly turned into His love and mercy. +Christ did not come to destroy, but to save. He will not crush the broken +reed, nor extinguish the smoking flax.(77) "As a father hath compassion on +his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him; for he +knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust."(78) + +But there is also the love of the world, which enslaves so many. So +numerous and so bewitching are the attractions of the present life that +they are loath to leave them. It is a beautiful world, this universe of +ours, so deep, so wide, so vast! It is filled with pleasures and +allurements and graced with myriad charms; and he, indeed, seems cold of +heart who can easily turn from its enchanting beauties, and close his ear +to its manifold voices. Ponder for a moment the richness of nature, its +similarity and variety, its sameness and its diversity; consider the +abundance of the harvest--the glowing fruits, the green and golden crops, +the sweet-scented flowers and gift-bearing grasses; see the stars above +and the waters beneath--all the wonders of earth and sky; and then when you +have ranged over fields and waves and mountains, when you have climbed up +the steeps of the sky and gazed on the marvels of the heavens, descend +again to earth and consider the human form--the chiefest work of the +Almighty hand, and the crown of the natural world. What beauties are here +concealed! What a mingling of material and spiritual, of human and almost +divine! What words can express, what lines portray the beauty of the human +countenance? Who can describe or adequately define the loveliness that +streams from human eyes, or echoes from the human voice? And yet these are +but the outer fringes and dimmest glimpses of the beauties of the soul +that dwells within. + +How painful, then, it is for the worldly to forsake the beauties and +pleasures of this present life. Bound down to their beds of clay by the +things of sense, they are grieved to part with a life so full of diverse +attractions. How can they think undismayed of closing forever their eyes +and ears to these charms of color and sound! It is such a difficult thing, +and so hard to nature, to abandon these scenes of enticing pleasure, to +bid farewell to those that are dear and be hurried away alone and forlorn +to the chill and gloom of the grave. + +So reason the children of the world; but are not their reasonings and +feelings a proof of their little faith, and of their poor conceptions of +spiritual and eternal interests? They do not want to leave the world, +because they love it; and they love the world, because their faith is too +weak to raise them to a vision of higher things. The plain on which they +stand is too low clearly to see the things of Heaven. How poor and +trifling at best is the earth and all it contains to Him who beholds with +a vivid faith the world above that is to come! How gladly does he lay down +his life and give up the struggle with ceaseless battles, who sees by +faith, just beyond the portals of death, the great home of the blessed, +spread out like a city on the mountains, bathed in light inaccessible, +full of joy and unending gladness, where "death shall be no more, nor +mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more."(79) + +The man of faith, therefore, is in no wise straightened or disturbed by +the approach of death. He has learned to know and to trust the good Master +whom he serves. Like the Apostle, he is only concerned that Christ should +be glorified in him at all times and in all things, "whether it be by life +or by death;" for to him also, "to live is Christ, and to die is +gain."(80) He lives in the world, but is not of it; he treads the ways of +earth, but he really belongs to the kingdom above. Hence his cup of +interior peace is ever running over. Though surrounded by many evils, he +does not faint; though tempted exceedingly, he does not yield; but is +joyous and peaceful withal; because at all times and in all things he +feels himself to be the faithful servant of God, "in much patience, in +tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in strifes, in prisons, in +seditions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in +knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity +unfeigned; ... as dying, and yet living; as chastised, and not killed; as +sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having +nothing, yet possessing all things."(81) + +"Precious in the sight of God is the death of His Saints." As they have +lived for Christ, they gladly welcome the summons that calls them home to +rest. Calmly and fearlessly they go down to death; joyously and with +feelings of exultation they hail the coming of Him on whom their thoughts +have rested throughout life, of Him whom they have ever seen by faith, +whom they have loved, whom they have trusted, whom they have chosen for +their own. Confident of the power and goodness of their faithful Shepherd, +pain daunts them not, the enemy frets them not. The last hour for them is +not one of darkness, but of light; it is not a time for lamentations, but +for joyous and gladsome strains. The end may be sudden, or it may be +gradual in its approach; it may come early, or late in life; it may be at +home or abroad; it may be in the winter, or it may be in summer; on the +sea or on the land; but to the just and spiritual it can never be a +surprise, it can never be lonely, never sad. It is the time for which they +have always longed--a time of liberation, of emancipation from the trammels +of earth and flesh, the end of continuous dying and the beginning of +lasting life. What a supreme moment, what a joyous event is death for a +just and holy soul! What sweet emotions must thrill the spirit, as the +Saviour stoops over the bed of death to wipe away forever the last of +earthly tears! Mary is there to hush the voice of reproach and to whisper +words of peace; Jesus has come to claim the soul and take it to Himself, +and flights of angels are waiting to sing it to its rest. + + + + + +XI. SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE; AND +I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD UNTO LENGTH OF DAYS. + + +If the tender lambs and timid sheep of the shepherd's flock could speak +the sentiments of their innocent hearts, each one would certainly voice +the words which here the Psalmist has uttered for them all. Throughout the +live-long day, throughout all the days of their lives, they experience the +shepherd's goodness, they are the objects of his constant mercy. He has +been caring for them since their birth; he has led them out each morning, +since first they were able to walk; he has provided them with food, and +led them to water; and he has ever been present to shield them from harm, +and to protect them from their enemies. After such repeated experiences +and trials of his loving-kindness, they have grown accustomed to his +faithfulness and are filled with love of his goodness and mercy. And while +they have not the power of speech, and cannot by words express their +feelings, they do by the louder voice of action--by their quiet trust in +his care, by their habitual mildness and gentleness and quick response to +his every word, by the absence of solicitude and fear in view of his +presence--by these and all the other actions that speak their simple hearts +they show their love for their shepherd. Though often wounded and bleeding +and exhausted from the roughness and length of their journeys, they have +no distrust about the future, no fear for the morrow. In the midst of +distress the shepherd, they know, will provide. The Psalmist, therefore, +in the closing words of the shepherd song, gives utterance to the feelings +of the sheep when he sings: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all +the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord unto +length of days." + +But here, as in the opening verse of the Shepherd Psalm, the words of the +sacred Singer, although truly expressive of the sentiments of the sheep, +are more directly the expression of his own inner feelings, and of the +feelings of all faithful souls towards the Lord who rules and guides them. +All those whose lives have been really and sincerely led by faith, have, +like the shepherd's flock, grown trustfully accustomed, in the course of +years, to the goodness and mercy, to the faithfulness and love of the hand +that provides for them. As they look into their lives, and retrace the +steps they have taken, they cannot fail to see how God has been always +with them, patiently enduring their faults, mercifully binding up their +wounds and hurts, and lovingly leading, drawing them to Himself. They can +see their advancement, slow perhaps as it has been; and they know it is +God who has given the increase. Looking now at their lives through the +perspective of the years that are gone, how many problems they are able to +solve! for how many apparent mysteries they have found an explanation! All +those crosses and trials, all those struggles and battles with the enemy, +all those attacks from within and assaults from without, all, in fact, +that they have ever endured, their sins alone excepted, they now can +trace, through the light of faith, back to the hand of their Father in +Heaven. Not everything, forsooth, has yet been explained, but enough, +indeed, is sufficiently clear to remove every doubt from the faithful soul +as to the goodness and Providence of God. And hence she exclaims with the +Psalmist, out of the abundance of her faith and confidence, "Surely +goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall +dwell in the house of the Lord forever." + +It is doubtless a lack of implicit trust in God and divine Providence +which, more than anything else, accounts for the unhappiness and spiritual +barrenness of so many Christian and religious lives. Poor and scanty is +the fruit they yield, simply because they have no depth of soil, they are +not deeply and firmly rooted in faith and confidence in God. Like reeds +shaken by the wind, like houses built on the sand, they tremble and shake +with every blast, they are all but overturned by every tempest that rises. + +Nor is it wonderful that this should be so. The higher gifts of the spirit +come from God, and hence the good fruit which the spirit yields is also +traceable back to Him. "We do not gather grapes from thorns nor figs from +thistles; and as a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, so neither can +an evil tree bring forth good fruit."(82) And just because the abundance +of the harvest of the spiritual life is dependent upon God as its giver, +is it strange that any distrust of Him and His Providence should be a +great hindrance to the soul's advancement, and to the bestowal of the +constant help it needs? Can God be pleased with those who do not confide +in Him, and who do not trust Him? Our Lord's own chiding words to His +disciples are a proof of His displeasure at any distrust in His power and +goodness. How often did He rebuke them for their want of confidence in +Him! How often did He accuse them reproachfully of their "little +faith,"(83) of being "slow of heart,"(84) of being an "unbelieving and +perverse generation!"(85) He was constantly pointing to their lack of +faith, reminding them that it was the source of their weakness, the cause +of their ignorance in things spiritual, the reason of their powerlessness +in the face of difficulties and against the enemies of their souls. It is +clear that Almighty God, being a generous and loving Father, must be +offended at those of His children who do not trust Him; and their want of +faith in Him is consequently the reason for His denying to them the help +which is the life of their souls, and without which they are powerless to +be useful servants in His vineyard. + +And this failure to confide in the goodness of God betrays itself in other +ways. Besides sealing up the fountains of special graces and closing the +door on divine generosity, besides a general unfruitfulness in the +spiritual life, and the lack of all greater works for God and for souls, +which are its immediate consequences, it also penetrates into the interior +sanctuary of the spirit, and weakens at their source the springs of +spiritual action. The results are manifest. Not only is there no yielding +of fruit, but growth is likewise wanting. And if, under fairer conditions, +there has ever been any progress, it is soon perceived to wither and wane +in a soul devoid of living faith. All the exercises and practices of the +Christian life participate in the baneful effects. Prayer and the use of +the sacraments are either seriously neglected or gradually given up, and +the blighting influences of irreligion rapidly spread and overrun all the +departments of life. The view one takes of God, the faith or lack of faith +and trust one has in Providence, have their effect on the character and +give a direction to all one's ways of thinking, feeling, acting, in regard +to the world we live in, in regard to mankind in general, in regard to the +causes, purposes, and destinies of all things. + +Our conceptions of Providence are vital, therefore. They really determine +what our life is to be, and they are an index to the life that is +finished. It is impossible that we should be quite the same whether we try +to eliminate God from our lives, or allow His blessed influence to cheer +and lead us on; whether we look upon Him as a cold Master, waiting to +exact and to punish, or as a kind Father and Shepherd, seeking to spare +and to save; whether we regard Him as hid far in the heavens, caring +naught for the creatures and the world He has made, or whether we conceive +Him as intimately bound up with all the works of His hands, although +distinct from them, as guiding and regulating everything, as tenderly +loving and providing for all the needs of our souls. + +Another most harmful result of deficient faith and confidence in God is +that it leads us to trust in creatures. It causes us to reverse the proper +order of things. We are dependent beings, and we instinctively feel our +deficiencies and the need of some one, or something on which to lean, at +times, and to which we can look for assistance. We may not be entirely and +always conscious of this tendency in us, we may be too proud or too blind +to admit it, or we may wish we could overcome it and rid our lives of so +constant a need; but whether we see it and acknowledge it or not, whether +we encourage it or try to repress it, the need is always there, deeply +engraved in our nature as creatures, and we cannot but seek to satisfy it. +There is none of us, frail beings that we are, who is entirely sufficient +unto himself. Sometimes, of course, the voice of our needs is silent, and +we feel that we shall never want; "I said in my abundance," observes the +Psalmist, "I shall not be moved forever;"(86) but when the tide begins to +ebb and prosperity subsides, how soon do we remember that we are dust! How +frequently in times of trouble, in times of illness and poverty and +suffering, when face to face with our foes, or when death steps in and +slaughters, are we made aware of our insufficiency, and of our utter +helplessness to live our lives alone and meet single-handed the burdens +and misfortunes of earth! It takes but a little frost to nip the root of +all our greatness, and then when our high-blown pride breaks under us we +quickly realize how fragile and insecure are the personal foundations of +our lives. Naturally and reasonably, therefore, did the pagan philosophers +conclude that friendship and friends were necessary to man. + +Profoundly aware of this fundamental need of help and support which is a +result of our nature, we habitually stretch out our hands to others, not +only during the years of infancy and childhood, but to a greater or less +extent throughout the whole period of our earthly existence. At first, of +course, it is to creatures that we necessarily look--to parents, relatives, +guardians, teachers, and later on, to friends and acquaintances. Our needs +in the beginning and in early years, though many and imperative, are +comparatively simple; they can be satisfied by those around us. But as we +advance to maturity and take in more completely the meaning of our lives, +and consider not so much the needs of the body as the demands of the soul, +we find that the multiple requirements of infancy and youth, which were +able to be supplied by those that were near, have given way to the fewer, +but vast and unlimited, claims of age, which express the wants of the +spirit. It is when we appeal to creatures for the complete and permanent +satisfaction of these latter necessities of our being, that we seriously +err, and open the way to disappointment and sorrow. Not that we are to +have no cherished and chosen friends, or that we should despise the needs +and gifts, the privileges and blessings of friendship, which in truth our +nature requires; nor again that we are to regard with skeptical, +disdainful eyes the world and human nature; but we must not deceive +ourselves by trying to find in any created being that which it does not +possess. We must not endeavor to get from any creature that perfect +satisfaction which we need, and which the Creator alone can give. Neither +must we seek to fill the unlimited capacity of our souls with those gifts +only, poor and defective at best, which frail mortals like ourselves are +able to supply. It is folly in the highest degree to expect from anyone +less than God that which only God can afford. + +The mistake, therefore, is made when creatures of any kind are allowed to +take the place of God; when they are sought and reposed in as an end in +themselves, and as sufficient satisfaction for the needs of the human +spirit. Unwise, indeed, is this mode of action, and bitter are the sorrows +of soul to which it inevitably leads! One man trusts in riches, another in +glory, another in the esteem of men; one leans upon his friends and +companions, another upon his relatives--all forgetful of the frail and +unsubstantial nature of every earthly prop. Frequently they never awaken +to the peril of their state until they find themselves face to face with +their doom and the awful disillusionment. The crash may be delayed, but +the day must come sooner or later for all of us, who have advanced but a +little beyond maturity, when all the natural lights of life go out, when +every human prop is removed, and we find ourselves out alone and in the +dark, so far as depends on the world and creatures. How miserable then +shall we be if we have put our trust in men! if we have tried to make +creatures play the part in our lives which only God can play! When we need +them most they fail us, when we fain would find beneath their protection a +shield against the fiery darts of life, behold they wither like the ivy of +Jonas and leave us alone in our want!(87) How vain, therefore, and +groundless is that confidence which is put in men, and how wretched that +poor man that hangs on princes' favors! "Thou trustest in money," says St. +Augustine, "thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in honor, and in some +eminence of human power, thou holdest to vanity; thou trustest in some +principal friend, thou holdest to vanity. When thou trustest in all these +things, either thou diest and leavest them here, or in thy lifetime they +all perish, and thou failest in thy trust."(88) + +It is no despisal, then, of the needs and helps of earthly friends and of +our fellow-creatures to say that we should not put entire trust in them +for all the wants and demands of our being. They are good, they were made +by God, they are oftentimes able to assist us--nay, we need them to a +certain extent; but they are utterly unable to satisfy us completely, they +cannot if they would, simply because of the extent of our wants. And even +if creatures could give us a partial contentment, as at times they seem to +do, we know that it cannot last, and in the midst of our joy and pleasure +we are haunted by the thought that some day, soon at latest, it all must +pass away. We are seeking for rest, for peace, for happiness, and that +unending; we want something to steady our lives and satisfy the yearnings +of our souls forever: but we must not look for these things in the world, +for the world at best is passing away. There is no stability to human +things; the cloud and the storm swiftly follow the sunshine; we have not +here below a lasting habitation. Today we are sitting at the banquet of +pleasure, tomorrow we are draining the cup of sorrow; today we receive the +applause of men, tomorrow we may be the objects of their scorn; today we +put forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow there comes a killing frost +that ruins all our prospects. + +Such, then, is the lot of man when considered in his relations to +creatures and to the world. It is a lot full of uncertainty, of +instability, of vicissitude; but this should not make us skeptical or +cynical; it affords no justification for pessimism. It is a condition +arising, on the one hand, from the very nature of limited beings, and on +the other, from the vast potentialities of our souls, which, while they +are limited in giving to others, cannot be appeased except by the God who +made them. There is a craving in the heart of man for something which the +world cannot give. He clutches for the things that are passing, he toils, +he labors, he struggles; he strives for money, for power, for place, for +honor, not that any of these things are in themselves what he desires, but +only because he conceives them as means and helps to the satisfaction, to +the stillness of mind, and peace of heart, and rest of soul and body for +which his nature longs. Peace and happiness and contentment of life are +the objects of all our dreams, of our persistent efforts, of our ambitions +and aims; but until we give up the hope of finding these things in the +world, in our fellow-mortals, in anything short of God, we shall never +know the blessedness for which we yearn. If we would ever attain to the +state which we covet, we must learn the lesson, even though it be through +tears and sorrow, that God alone, who made our souls with all their vast +desires, is able to comfort us and steady our lives amid the storms and +distresses of earth. + +It is futile to trust in men, or "in the children of men, in whom there is +no salvation."(89) The peace and blessedness which we seek are "not as the +world giveth;"(90) and unless we turn away from the world and cease to +torture our lives with its vanities, our portion can never be other than +heartaches, secret loathing, consuming thirst. "For many friends cannot +profit," says Thomas a'Kempis, "nor strong helpers assist, nor prudent +counsellors give a profitable answer, nor the books of the learned afford +comfort, nor any precious substance deliver, nor any place, however +retired and lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost assist, help, +strengthen, console, instruct, and guard us."(91) Such has been the +history of the race, and such is the experience of every individual in the +race that has placed his hope and trust in anything created. + +We are confronted, therefore, on the one side by the inherent weakness of +our own nature and the constant needs that arise therefrom; and on the +other side, we are assured by the history of the race, if not by our own +experience, that so long as we strive to satisfy our wants by an appeal to +anything but God we are doomed to disappointment and sorrow. It is +unfortunate that most people must first be crushed by the world and +creatures which they serve before they grasp the fundamental truth that +creatures are not their God. Comparatively few of those who enjoy the +world are ever brought to realize the dignity and divine purpose of their +souls until the world and its allurements, like a false pageant on a false +stage, give way beneath them, and they fall helpless and alone. It is +commonly only after repeated awful experiences, when worn out and +exhausted by years of fruitless quest for peace and happiness and +contentment, that men wake up to the simple fact that the treasures which +they seek are not in the world, nor as the world giveth. + +But it is one thing to turn away from the world disappointed, disgusted +and betrayed; and it is quite another thing to turn to God and to +recognize Him as our good Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to +receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our wants. There are many +people who find the world a disappointment and a deception, and who turn +from it with loathing and hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary eyes +to the proper object of their trust. Like the Israelites of old, they +succeed at length in escaping from the hands of oppression and tyranny, +but only to wander in a desert land throughout the length of their days. +This is the region where dwell the pessimist, the skeptic and the +cynic--miserable mortals that have wasted on creatures the talents they +should have given to their Creator, or that have otherwise failed in their +conception of life, and have left unmultiplied the money of the +Master.(92) There is plainly no middle course for us, if we would not +encounter disaster; we are not negative as to the necessities of our +nature; it is not enough for us to turn from positive harm, from the +objects that deceive and disappoint us; we must further turn to positive +good, and to Him who alone can quiet and appease our yearning spirits. + +One of the most evident and convincing reasons, then, why we should put +our trust in God above all else is that He alone can satisfy and give us +rest. Only God is able adequately to respond to all the needs of our +being. The simplest process of reasoning should assure us of this, when +once we perceive the vastness of our wants and the impossibility of their +satisfaction through the medium of created things. We know our nature, +which has come from the source and essence of truth, cannot be false. +Neither can our unlimited capacities for knowledge, for joy, for happiness +be a deceiving mockery. There is a way to peace for us, and a source of +supreme contentment; there is a fountain of living waters from which, if +we drink, we shall never thirst again. Hence our Saviour said: "Come to me +all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you;"(93) and +again, "he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not +thirst forever: but the water that I will give him shall become in him a +fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting."(94) + +But we shall never be able to come to God, we shall never succeed even in +getting near the secret of interior peace and contentment until we are +able to grasp more or less comprehensively the great basic truths of our +existence: that God loves each one of us with the love of an infinite +Father, and that His Providence is so universal and omnipotent as to +extend to all things, even to the numbering of the hairs of our head. We +talk much about chance and fortune and accident, we speak every day of +things happening, as if by the sheerest contingence, without warning or +previous knowledge; and so it is with reference to ourselves, and to all +the world perhaps: but with reference to divine Providence it is not so; +there is nothing accidental, nothing unforeseen with respect to God. +"Without Thy counsel and Providence, and without cause, nothing cometh to +pass in the earth,"(95) says the Imitation. But what does this mean, "God +provides?" It means that the will of the omnipotent Father directs and +governs everything. "Providence," says St. John Damscene, "is the will of +God, by which all things are fitly and harmoniously governed,"(96) and +such is its power that nothing can elude or deceive it, neither can it be +hindered or baffled in any way. "For God will not except any man's person, +neither will He stand in awe of any man's greatness; for He made the +little and the great, and He hath equally care of all."(97) + +And just as divine Providence disposes and governs all the events of life, +directing each to its proper end, so the divine Will is the cause of +everything that exists. Just as it is impossible that anything should +escape God's knowledge and directing hand, so is it impossible that +anything should exist or come into being without the direct intervention +or permission of His will. There is nothing in the world which God has not +made, and nothing takes place which is not according to His good-pleasure, +except the malice and guilt of sin. Even all the other evils of life, such +as sickness, suffering, disease, poverty, cold, hunger, thirst, and the +like, God actually and positively wills. And precisely because these +things proceed from His will, they cannot be bad. God is the author of all +good, and evil He cannot do. So good, indeed, is He that, if He were not +sufficiently omnipotent to draw good out of evil, He would never have +permitted any evil to exist. "God has judged it better," says St. +Augustine, "to work good out of evil, than to allow no evil."(98) We must +not argue in our foolishness and try to understand all the doings of God, +for His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts.(99) It is +often beyond our power even to understand our fellow-creatures, and how +foolish it is to complain because we cannot comprehend the great Creator! +Enough for us, if we be sincere and right of heart, to know, as we do, +that God is good, that He loves us individually, and that His protecting +hand guides and governs all the events of our lives, even to the smallest +detail. These are truths which we must take hold of and lay close to our +hearts, else we shall go the way of error and issue in ultimate disaster. + +And from these truths, so certain and unquestionable, it further follows +that everything existing in the world, so far as it affects us, everything +that falls to our lot, all that we encounter, all that we suffer, all that +we do, aside from sin, has been purposely arranged by Almighty God for our +greater spiritual good and eternal salvation. This must be so, since God +is the universal cause of all things, and since He sincerely loves us and +desires above all to save us. If it were otherwise, either He would not +have omnipotent control of everything, or He could not be said really to +desire our salvation. How sadly we misunderstand these great truths in our +daily lives, when we murmur and complain at the evils that afflict us! How +narrowly we conceive the all-powerful will of God, and the infinite abyss +of His goodness which would lead us to eternal delights! We would like to +escape all the evils of time, we love our lives, and we wish to save them +from final wreck; but when failing to trust to the will of God we forget +the words of Christ, that "he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he +that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal."(100) We +want to save our souls, and we are, perhaps, much disturbed about doing +many and great things in the cause of God and of Heaven, unmindful the +while of the Master's warning that, "not every one that saith to me, Lord, +Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of +my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of +heaven."(101) It is doubtless our aim to draw ever nearer and nearer to +our Saviour, and to deepen our relationship with Him; but do we remember +that He said, "whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and +my sister, and mother?"(102) + +"Yes," you will say, "This is all true; I know it is so; my faith is at +fault. If I only had that beautiful faith and trust in God which many have +it would be easy for me, and I should be happy! Faith is a gift and +favored are they that possess it." But, dear reader, can you not pray? Can +you not ask from God that heavenly gift which will move mountains and +translate them into the sea?(103) Can you not overcome your indolence and +your repugnance, and patiently and persistently implore from on high that +superior vision which pierces the clouds and sees in everything the hand +of God? Surely you can say, with the devout author of the Imitation of +Christ, "Behold, Oh beloved Father, I am in Thy hands, I bow myself under +the rod of Thy correction. Strike my back and my neck too, that my +crookedness may be conformed to Thy will."(104) Here again, remember the +words of your Saviour, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the +violent bear it away."(105) + +Perhaps the greatest trial to our faith in divine Providence is in bearing +what we call the wrongs of life. That we should have any crosses to suffer +at all; that there should be death and sickness and disease; that there +should be poverty and misery, distress and worry, labor and sorrow; that +there should exist any of these things, is to our infirmity, if we forget +our sins and the sins of our race that have caused these evils, a trial +and a test of fidelity. But still more is it difficult, except to minds +that are deeply religious, to meet with the gentleness and serenity of +faith the positive injuries--the injustice, the scorn, the ridicule, the +pain and persecution which others, needy creatures like ourselves, +actually inflict upon us. It is easier, we say, to bear poverty than +insult; it is easier to suffer the inclemency of the elements than to +endure the unkindness of our brethren; it is easier to put up with the +pain and weariness of bodily sickness than to come under the lash of the +tongues of men. There is here, however, no room for hesitation and +question; the rule is the same for all the crosses that come to us. God +often permits us to be afflicted by the sins of others for our greater +spiritual profit. Since, therefore, all alike proceed from God, either by +positive act or divine permission, and since we know that He is supremely +good and loves us, having given every proof of His desire to save us, even +to the delivering up of His only Son,(106) we can never reasonably or +sincerely doubt that every evil and cross of life, with the sole exception +of our personal sins, has been arranged for our good. My God, do Thou +teach us the wisdom of the cross! "For this is a favor to Thy friend, that +for love of Thee he may suffer and be afflicted in the world, how often +soever and by whom soever Thou permittest such trials to befall him."(107) + +It is helpful that here also, in learning to discern the source and +meaning of our afflictions, we have ever before us the examples of the +holiest souls. We know that in all trials they steadfastly look beyond the +cross that presses them to the hand of Him who has placed it there. Like +the shepherd's sheep, they are convinced of the power and goodness of +their Master, and nothing can shake their trust in Him. Without +distinction or question they accept all as coming from God by special act +or sovereign permission, to purify them, to detach them from the world and +creatures, to increase their nearness and likeness to Himself, to multiply +their merits for Heaven and bring them to everlasting crowns. They +discover the workings of Providence everywhere, in things that are +painful, as well as in things that are pleasant to nature. Thus behind +their pangs of body and mind, behind the whips and scorns of time, behind +the tongue that slanders and calumniates them, behind the oppressor's +wrong, the injustice and tyranny of princes and rulers, behind all the +evils of life they see the hand of Him who directs and governs all. But +here we must not conclude that the Saints and holy persons have never +resisted evil and evil-doers, and that consequently we must not. This +would be a serious mistake, as Church history and hagiography plainly +prove. Who was ever more vigorous and fearless in opposing wrong and the +doers of wrong than St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome? Who was ever +more persistent in his efforts to prevail against the evils of sin in +others than St. Monica, St. Teresa, St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of +Siena? After their example, then, we may and we must struggle against +evils of all kinds, whether physical or spiritual, whether from ourselves +or from others, in so far as it is not certain that it is the will of God +that we should submit to them. But when we have exerted ourselves +reasonably and lawfully to rid our lives of that which afflicts us, and +still it persists, there can be no further doubt that it is the will of +God that we should patiently and submissively accept our condition and our +cross. Since, however, we do not know how long it is the wish of +Providence that we should be burdened and afflicted, we may continue +patiently to use every legitimate means to be delivered, provided it be +done with humble resignation to the will of our heavenly Father. + +The acceptance of injuries, therefore, on the part of holy souls is not a +weak yielding to inevitable circumstances, nor a willing consent to the +wrongs of others. Like St. Paul, they know whom they have believed,(108) +and they are certain that, in due time, divine justice will bring all +evil-doers to an evil end and will deliver the just from their troubles. +And further, when the vengeance of the persecutor is turned upon them, and +they are hunted down without reason by their kind, even by the members of +their own household, they remember the words of their Shepherd, "The +disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is +enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his +lord. If they have called the good man of the house Beelzebub, how much +more them of his household!"(109) + +And again, when the servants of God behold the wicked prospering and the +just oppressed; when they see the ambitious, the covetous, the +unscrupulous preferred and honored, and they themselves plotted against +and rejected, their heart is not disturbed, because they know first of all +that "to them that love God, all things work together unto good,"(110) and +secondly, they are persuaded that the efforts of sinners must finally +fail. "For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the +wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm: and as a smoke +that is scattered abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance of a guest of +one day that passeth by."(111) In a word, then, those who are really the +friends of God have faith and confidence in their heavenly Master; and all +the perils of earth, and all the powers of darkness cannot avail to daunt +them or turn them aside from their purpose. + +This steadfastness of religious trust we, in our turn, must strive to +acquire. It is the only way to peace and victory. If we would ever rise +above the evils of our lives we must learn to look to God for every thing. +And this looking to God must be, not only as to our bountiful benefactor, +but as to a kind master who knows how best to discipline his servants and +preserve them from irreparable harm. + +There is a substantially correct translation of the final verse of the +Shepherd Psalm, which may be rendered as follows: "And Thy goodness and +kindness pursue me all the days of my life, _that I may dwell_ in the +house of the Lord forever." It is the special wording of the second clause +of the stanza that expresses the real purpose of divine Providence in +regard to the elect. Everything in life has been ordained and arranged for +their eternal salvation, and for the increase of their heavenly rewards. +"Therefore," wrote St. Paul to Timothy, "I endure all things for the sake +of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ +Jesus, with heavenly glory."(112) It is this firm conviction that infinite +love is at the bottom of all the workings of Providence, doing everything +for the sake of the elect, that consoles and steadies the souls of the +just throughout all the trials and crosses of life. In the thick of the +battle they never lose sight of the faithful Shepherd that leads them, and +they ever behold by faith the unspeakable delights He has prepared for +them that love Him. + +What joys are there in our faith and hope! If by the mercy and goodness of +God we succeed in saving our souls, how cheap will seem the price we shall +have paid for Heaven, and how benign and ineffably loving will appear the +Providence of God which is leading us there! At times now in our fervor we +can faintly and feebly imagine what it will mean to throw off forever this +veil of faith and see distinctly and continually the Shepherd of our +souls. But our liveliest conceptions here are infinitely inferior to the +vision to come. "To see God face to face, as He is; to gaze undazzled on +the Three Divine Persons, cognizable and distinct in the burning fires of +their inaccessible splendors; to behold that long-coveted sight, the +endless Generation of the All-holy Son, and our hearts to hold the joy, +and not die; to watch with spirits all out-stretched in adoration the +ever-radiant and ineffably beautiful Procession of the Holy Ghost from the +Father and the Son, and to participate ourselves in that jubilee of +jubilees, and drink in with greedy minds the wonders of that Procession, +and the marvelous distinctness of its beauty from the Generation of the +Son; to feel ourselves with ecstatic awe, and yet with seraphic intimacy, +overshadowed by the Person of the Unbegotten Father, the Father to whom +and of whom we have said so much on earth, the Fountain of Godhead, who is +truly our Father, while He is also the Father of the Eternal Son; to +explore, with exulting license and with unutterably glad fear, attribute +after attribute, oceans opening into oceans of divinest beauty; to lie +astonished in unspeakable contentment before the vision of God's +surpassing Unity, so long the joyous mystery of our predilection, while +the Vision through all eternity seems to grow more fresh and bright and +new: O my poor soul! what canst thou know of this, or of these beautiful +necessities, of thy exceeding love, which shall only satisfy itself in +endless alternations, now of silence and now of song?"(113) + +If regret were possible for the blessed hereafter, they would never cease +to mourn over the loss of their opportunities on earth to increase their +eternal beatitude. It is only when the veil shall have been removed that +we shall fully realize how the goodness and mercy of God have always +pursued us in this life, that we might be saved and enjoy the rewards of +His house forever. May God give us all that child-like trust in our +heavenly Master which the sheep display toward their shepherd; may He +grant us that vivid constant faith of the Saints which will enable us to +see in every event of life, in adversity as well as in prosperity, in our +pains as well as in our joys, the designs of a loving Father who is ever +wishing and trying to lead His children to His home of eternal delights. + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 Isa. xl. 11. + + 2 Jer. xxiii. 4, 5. + + 3 Ezech. xxxiv. 11, 12, 23. + + 4 Phil. ii. 6, 7. + + 5 Jno. x. 30, 38; xii. 45. + + 6 Luke xii. 49. + + 7 Gen. iii. 19. + + 8 Lam. i. 12. + + 9 Ps. cxliv. 9. + + 10 Isa. liii. 4. + + 11 Rom. viii. 17. + + 12 2 Cor. iv. 17. + + 13 Matt. v. 48. + + 14 Jno. xv. 5. + + 15 Luke xxiii. 34. + + 16 Prov. viii. 31. + + 17 Jno. xv. 15. + + 18 Ps. viii. 5. + + 19 Prov. xxiii. 26. + + 20 Matt. xi. 28. + + 21 Jno. vi. 52, 55. + + 22 Jno. xvi. 2. + + 23 Ezech. xviii. 23; xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9. + + 24 Ps. 102. 14. + + 25 Luke xv. 4, 7. + + 26 Luke i. 31. + + 27 Matt. xvi. 18. + + 28 Luke x. 17. + + 29 Matt. xviii. 17. + + 30 Matt. xxiv. 35. + + 31 Matt. xxiv. 24. + + 32 2 Cor. xi. 26. + + 33 2 Cor. xi. 13. + + 34 Matt. xxviii. 20. + + 35 Ps. cxiii. 13, 14. + + 36 Jude 10. + + 37 Matt. x. 17, 22-26. + + 38 Mich. vii. 6; Matt. x. 36. + + 39 Bk. i. 11. 5. + + 40 Matt. xvi. 24. + + 41 Ps. xvii. 4, 5. + + 42 Luke xii. 34. + + 43 1 Jno. iv. 16, 18. + + 44 Ps. xxvi. 1, 2. + + 45 Matt. x. 28. + + 46 Wis. iii. 3. + + 47 Ps. xxxiii. 20. + + 48 Ps. xiii. 3. + + 49 Jno. x. 10. + + 50 2 Tim. ii. 5. + + 51 Luke ix. 23. + + 52 Jno. xii. 34. + + 53 Job vii. 1; Job xiv. 2. + + 54 Isa. xl. 6, 7. + + 55 Heb. xi. 10. + + 56 Wis. v. 6-9. + + 57 Rom. viii. 16, 17. + + 58 1 Peter iv. 13. + + 59 Wis. iii. 4, 6. + + 60 Luke xiv. + + 61 1 Cor. i. 25. + + 62 Luke xiv. 26. + + 63 Philip iii. 7, 8. + + 64 Confess. ix. 1. + + 65 Ps. xxxiii. 9; lxxxii. 2. + + 66 Job xiii. 15. + + 67 Ps. xc. 11. + + 68 Philip iv. 7. + + 69 Philip iv. 13. + + 70 Rom. viii. 33-39. + + 71 Rom. ix. 16. + + 72 Eccl. ix. 1, 2. + + 73 Philip, ii. 12. + + 74 1 Cor. ix. 27. + + 75 Jno. xvii. 11-15. + + 76 Ps. xvi. 5. + + 77 Isa. xlii. 3. + + 78 Ps. cii. 13, 14. + + 79 Apoc. xxi., iv. + + 80 Philip i. 20, 21. + + 81 2 Cor. vi. 4-11. + + 82 Matt. vii. 16-19. + + 83 Matt. vi. 30. + + 84 Luke xxiv. 25. + + 85 Matt. xvii. 16. + + 86 Ps. xxix. 7. + + 87 Jonas iv. + + 88 In Ps. xxx. Exp. 2. + + 89 Ps. cxlv. 2, 3. + + 90 Jno. xiv. 27. + + 91 Bk. iii.; ch. lix. 3. + + 92 Matt. xxv. 24-31. + + 93 Matt. xi. 28. + + 94 Jno. iv. 13, 14. + + 95 Bk. iii., ch. 1, 4. + + 96 De Fide orthod. ii. 29. + + 97 Wis. vi. 8. + + 98 Ench. tom. iii., ch. 27 and ii. + + 99 Isa. lv. 8; Rom. xi. 33. + + 100 Jno. xii. 25. + + 101 Matt. vii. 21. + + 102 Mk. iii. 35. + + 103 Mk. xi. 23. + + 104 Bk. III., ch. l. 6. + + 105 Matt. xi. 12. + + 106 Rom. viii. 32. + + 107 Imitation, Bk. III., ch. l. 4. + + 108 2 Tim. i. 12. + + 109 Matt. x. 24, 25. + + 110 Rom. viii. 28. + + 111 Wis. v. 15. + + 112 2 Tim. ii. 10. + + 113 Faber, Creator and Creature, Bk. II., ch. v. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL*** + + + +CREDITS + + +December 2, 2009 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by David Clarke, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. 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