QUINQUAGESIMA
SUNDAY
By
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine
The
Introit of this day's Mass is the sigh of an afflicted soul confiding
in God:
INTROIT:
Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place
of refuge, to save me: for thou art my strength and my refuge: and
for thy name's sake thou wilt be my leader, and wilt nourish me. (Fs.
XXX. 3. 4.) In thee , O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be
confounded: deliver me in thy justice, and set me free. (Ps. XXX. 2.)
COLLECT:
O Lord, we beseech Thee, graciously hear our prayers, and unloosing
the bonds of our sins, guard us from all adversity. Through our Lord,
etc.
EPISTLE:
(I. Cor. XIII. 1-13.) Brethren, if I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become
as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have
prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to
feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have
not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity is patient, is kind:
charity envieth not; dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; is not
ambitious; seeketh not her own; is not provoked to anger; thinketh no
evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things. Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made
void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. For we
know in part, and we prophesy in part: but when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a
child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a
child: but when I became a man, I put away the things of a child. We
see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now
I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known. And now
there remain faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of
these is charity.
EXPLANATION:
In this epistle St. Paul speaks of the
necessity, the excellence and the nature of true charity. He says
that all natural and supernatural gifts, all good works, even
martyrdom, cannot save us if we have not charity; because love alone
can render our works pleasing to God. Without charity, therefore,
though ever so many prayers be recited, fasts observed , and good
deeds performed, nothing will be acceptable to God, or merit eternal
life. Strive then, O Christian soul, to lead a pious life in love,
and to remain always in the state of grace.
Can
faith alone, as the so-called Reformers assert, render man just and
save him?
Faith
alone, however strong, though it could move mountains, without love,
that is, without good works performed for love of God and our
neighbor, can never justify or save us. For, when St. Paul says, that
man is justified by faith without works, (Rom. III. 28.; XI: 6.; Eph.
II. 8. 9.) he means to refer to those works which were performed by
command of the law of Moses, and which, as they were external and
without true charity, were of no avail; he did not refer to those
works which are performed in a state of grace with a lively,
love-inspired faith. Therefore the same Apostle writes to the
Galatians: (Gal. V. 6.) Faith only availeth which worketh by charity;
to Titus: (Tit. III. 8.) It is a faithful saying: and these things I
will have thee affirm constantly: that they who believe in God, may
be careful to excel in good works. These things are good and
profitable unto men; and he exhorts the Colossians (Colos. I. 10.) to
be fruitful in every good work. St. James confirms the same by
saying: (James II. 17-24.) So faith if it have not works, is dead in
itself; by works man is justified and not by faith only. That this is
the true doctrine of Christ is evident from His own words, when He
says: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be
cut down and shall be cast into the fire." (Matt. VII. 19.) At
the day of judgment Christ will demand good works from all men,
(Matt. XXV. 35.) and will not judge them only according to their
faith, but by their good works, which true faith must always produce.
(Apoc. XX. 12.) Would Christ and His apostles demand good works, if
faith alone be sufficient? "The devil's also believe and
tremble," (James II. 19.) they believe, but they are not saved,
and their faith but increases their torments. Therefore, the
assertion that faith without good works is sufficient for
justification and salvation, is plainly against the doctrine of
Christ and His Church, and must of necessity lead man to vice and
misery, as shown by the history of the unhappy separation of the
sixteenth century
Are
good works available which are performed in the state of mortal sin ?
Good
works performed while in a state of mortal sin avail nothing in
regard to eternal life, writes St. Lawrence Justinian, but aid in
moderating the punishment imposed for disobedience and the
transgression of God's commandments. They bring temporal goods, such
as honor, long life, health, earthly happiness, etc.; they prevent us
from falling deeper into sin, and prepare the heart for the reception
of grace; so the pious Person writes: "Do as much good as you
can, even though in the state of mortal sin, that God may give light
to your heart."
ASPIRATION:
O God of love, pour the spirit of true charity
into my heart that, according to the spirit of St. Paul, I may
endeavor to be always in a state of grace; that all my works may be
pleasing to Thee, and meritorious for me.
GOSPEL:
(Luke XVIII. 31-43.) At that time, Jesus took unto him the twelve,
and said to them Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall
be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son
of Man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be
mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged
him, they will put him to death; and the third day he shall rise
again. And they understood none of these things, and this word was
hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said. Now
it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind
man sat by the way-side, begging. And when he heard the multitude
passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of
Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me. And they that went before rebuked him, that
he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more: Son of David,
have mercy on me. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought
unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, saying: What wilt
thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. And Jesus
said to him: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole. And
immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the
people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Why
did Christ so often foretell His passion to His disciples?
Because
He wanted to show how great was His desire to suffer for us, for we
speak often of that which we crave; and because He wished His
disciples when they should see Him treated as a criminal and
martyred, not to think evil of Him, or imagine themselves deceived,
but remember that He had foretold all minutely that all happened of
His own will.
Did
not the disciples understand anything of what He predicted in regard
to His future sufferings?
They
may, certainly, have well understood He was to suffer, for which
reason Peter tried to dissuade Him from it; (Matt. XVI. 22.) but they
did not comprehend why or for what He would suffer, or how He would
rise again. All this the Holy Ghost gave them to understand, after it
had come to pass. (John XIV. 26.) The light of the Holy Ghost is of
so much value, that without it even the clearest doctrines of faith
are not understood.
Why
does Christ so often call Himself the Son of Man?
He
wished to show, in the Jewish way of speaking, He was also man, a
descendant of Adam, and that we should be humble, and not seek or
desire high titles.
Why
did the blind man call Christ the Son of David?
Because,
like all the Jews, he believed that the Messiah, according to
humanity, would be of the house of David, as was promised. (Ps.
CXXXI. 11.)
Why
did Christ ask the blind man: What wilt thou that I do to thee?
This
He asked, not because He was unaware of the blind man's wish, but to
enable him the better to prove his faith and hope that through Christ
he would receive his sight; and to teach us how willing He is to help
us, and how it pleases Him if we confidingly place our wants before
Him. We should learn from this blind man, who would not be restrained
by the passing crowd in his ardent and reiterated request, not to pay
attention, in the work we have commenced, to human respect, or human
judgment, but to persevere, and not allow ourselves to be led astray
by the world's mockery or contempt. We should also learn to be
grateful to God, and faithfully cling to Him, if He has once opened
the eyes of our mind, and healed our spiritual blindness, which is
far more deplorable than physical blindness, for nothing can be more
miserable than not to see and understand God, not to know what is
necessary for our salvation, and what is pernicious.
Why
is this gospel read on this Sunday?
The
Church wishes to remind us of the painful passion and death of Jesus,
and to move us by the contemplation of those mysteries to avoid and
despise the wicked, heathenish amusements of carnival, sinful
pleasures which she has always condemned, because they come from dark
paganism, and, to avert the people from them, commands that during
the three days of carnival the Blessed Sacrament shall be exposed for
public adoration, sermons given, and the faithful exhorted to have
recourse at this time to the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed
Sacrament of the Altar, with the reception of which Pope Clement
XIII. (Breve, 23. June 1765) connected a plenary indulgence. A true
Catholic will conform to the desire of his holy Church, considering
the words which St. Augustine spoke, at this time, to the faithful,
"The heathens (as also the wordly people of our days) shout
songs of love and merriment, but you should delight in the preaching
of the word of God; they rush to the dramatic plays, but you should
hasten to Church; they are intoxicated, but you should fast and be
sober."
PRAYER:
O most benign Jesus! who didst so desire to
suffer for us, grant, that we may willingly suffer for love of Thee;
that we may hate and flee from the detestable pleasures of the world
and the flesh, and practice penance and mortification, that by so
doing we may merit to be released from our spiritual blindness to
love Thee more and more ardently, and finally possess Thee forever.
INSTRUCTION
ON LENT
Who
instituted Lent?
According
to the fathers of the Church, Justin and Irenaeus, the fast before
Easter was instituted and sanctified by Christ Himself; according to
the saints Leo and Jerome, the holy apostles ordained it given by
Jesus.
Why
has the Church instituted this fast forty days before Easter?
To
imitate Christ who fasted forty days; to participate in His merits
and sufferings; to subject our flesh by voluntary mortification to
the spirit, and to mortify our evil desires as did St. Paul; (Col. I.
24.) to enable us to lead a pure life, and thus prepare for the holy
festival of Easter, and the reception of the divine Lamb, Jesus: and,
finally, to render God satisfaction for our sins, and do penance, as
Pope Gregory says, for the sins of one whole year by one short fast,
lasting only the tenth part of a year.
Was
the fast of Lent observed in early times as in the present?
Yes,
but more strictly; for the people of the early ages not only
abstained from meat, but also from all that which is connected with
it, such as eggs, butter, cheese, etc., even from wine and fish,
although this was not the general command of the Church; they fasted
all day, and only ate in the evening after vespers, in remembrance of
which, vespers are now said before dinner-time, because the Church,
as a kind mother, now permits the supper to be changed into a dinner,
and also allows something to be taken in the evening, that the body
may not be too much weakened, and become unfit for labor.
How
much does this ancient custom put to shame the Christians of to-day
who think the fast in our times too severe! "But," asks St.
Ambrose, "what sort of Christians are they? Christ, who never
sinned fasted for our sins, and we will not fast for our own great
and numerous offences?"
How
should the holy season of Lent be spent?
As
according to the teaching of St. Leo, the main thing in fasting is
not that the body be deprived of food, but that the mind at the same
time be withdrawn from wickedness, we should endeavor during Lent,
not only to be temperate in eating and drinking, but especially to
lead a modest life, sanctifying the days by persevering prayer and
devoutly attending church.
PRAYER
AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT
Almighty
God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance
with the Church militant, endeavoring to make these days of real
sorrow for my sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus!
in union with Thy fasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in
obedience to the Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the
many favors I have received, in satisfaction for my sins and the sins
of others, and that I may receive the grace to avoid such and such a
sin, N. N. and to practice such and such a virtue, N. N.
