THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY;  
OR, THE 
TWENTY-FOURTH AFTER PENTECOST.

From Sermons for Every Sunday in the Year by Rev. B. J. Raycroft, A. M.

Published by Fr. Pustet & Co.

Copyright 1900 by Rev. B. J. Raycroft

Amen, I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. (Math. viii.--io.)

My Dear Friends: Faith is of two kinds: historical or human, and divine faith. Historical faith rests upon the veracity of the historian; divine faith centers in the immutable infinite Being, God. History, in its principal features, must be considered true, although written by fallible man. About articles of divine faith, there can be no question, for these are infallible. The historian may err, but God is truth.

Notwithstanding the fallibility of the historian, you believe the authentic records of time. This is imperative; because should you disbelieve history, you have no way of learning the accounts of events occurring even one century ago. You never saw George Washington, yet you credit history when it tells you such a man flourished in this country. Monuments of marble and bronze, which are, indeed, only history of the past in another form, confirm your belief. A man known to you for his integrity will tell you of a fact coming under his observation; and you accept his testimony—you rely upon his veracity.

If you go back over the great avenue of time, down which the human race has travelled for thousands of years, you question not the notable events seen on your way. You deny not that Albertus Magnus lived and became renowned. In France, you behold Napoleon Bonaparte. More distant, Charlemagne. Soon Cicero and Cesar, with a collection of other notables, appear upon the arena of national contention, and far beyond, enveloped by the mists of remote ages, are discerned distinguished characters as well as important events. To the reality of these you all give assent; why, then, should any one hesitate to accept the Sacred Scriptures approved by the Church of God? Are they not at least deserving of as much fidelity as other historical works? They are, in part, historical; and therefore no sane person ought to refuse them his confidence. There are some, nevertheless, who question not the reliability of Gibbon's Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, but would reject or doubt the revealed word of God.

If the human race clings to the memory of the past, and anxiously labors for its preservation, can it consistently despise the Holy Bible? But whether man despises it, or not, he cannot discard it. On account of its vast interest to mankind, it is that so many doubts and difficulties arise. Besides, the blind often lead the blind. A person may be deeply concerned in perpetuating history; but the human race will never be so solicitous for the perpetuity of profane history as that of the sacred. The importance of the latter is as much greater than the former, as the eternal interests of man are above his temporal. He may say: " What matters 'it to me whether Philip of Macedon ever lived, or Thomas Moore was beheaded. It is of no vital importance to me whether Cesar had never been born, Henry VIII, had never reigned. But the Scriptures contain an account of God's dealings with the human race—of His justice and His mercy, of His beneficence and His love. In these I find the record of man's origin; and from their contents learn man's destiny. I perceive the condition of things as they now exist, and it is not of so great concern to me who brought about these conditions, as the awful thoughts of religion which disturb my heart while they rack my intellect. Is the Bible reliable? is it inspired? is it infallible? These are doubts which torture my soul. Is there nothing upon which I can rest my hope 'for the future?

Nothing which will give tranquility to me now? I am worse off than the sailor wrecked in mid-ocean, with the stormy billows breaking upon him. He fears for his temporal safety I am tossed upon the mad sea of doubt, in dread of the present, and alarmed for the future."

To such a one, a Catholic may reply: “Be composed. Do you not know of the Catholic Church? Arise; the Bible is inspired, and her declarations are infallible. She has authority to teach; consider these teachings together with her claims,--indisputable in their source, in their nature unchangeable, in every age unerring. So great has been the faith placed in her, that St. Augustine said: I would not believe the Scriptures, had not the Church moved me to do so.' “To this the other answers: "What guaranty have I that your Church is the legitimate teacher of the human race on matters of religion? Or what security have I in placing both my temporal and my eternal destiny in her keeping?"

You may say to him: "Friend, the Catholic Church has endured the storms of persecution for nineteen hundred years. Her own members have often been rebellious, causing her grief and dividing themselves into factions. Thrones have decayed, but she still survives. Her doctrines have withstood the corroding influences of time and the opposition of the world. Compare her with everything else, and you cannot fail to see her divine prerogatives. Moreover, in the persons of the apostles, she was present with Jesus Himself. She witnessed His death on the cross. She rejoiced in His resurrection. It was to her He declared: I shall send you the Holy Spirit, who shall teach you all things, and I Myself shall abide with thee forever.' As the Holy Ghost imparts to her all truth, she possesses the doctrine with which she instructs; and since the Son of God cannot be associated with the false, it follows that the Church never teaches error. But Jesus has averred: I Myself shall abide with thee forever.' Is this not evidence enough to convince you of her divine commission? No less should you be persuaded to confide your soul to the care of that Church whose credentials were irrevocably sealed by the Divine Person, Jesus Christ."

"All this is well," remarks the skeptic. “But, ah, the awful thought rushes in upon me, is Jesus Christ God? Are all Christians deceived? Am I only a dupe of blind, relentless fate? Does the faculty called reason, only act according to some law over which I have no control? Is vice and virtue only the result of an inborn wickedness or goodness, predisposing man to evil or good as tyrannical inclinations dictate?

An answer to all these doubts is found in the Gospel of to-day. Everyone must admit that it required superhuman power to purify the human system of leprosy; nor was it any ordinary power which healed the Centurion's servant. In last Sunday's Gospel you learned how Jesus called forth the Ruler's daughter from death. In the performance of this miracle, divine power was necessary. Had our Saviour not this power, He must have received it from heaven. But how could God impart to Him this power, if Jesus was not His Son. Our Lord said: “I and the Father are one," thus maintaining His own divinity. Were He an impostor, could God have favored by His co-operation such infernal imposition? By such an act, He would favor deception and injustice. Easier it is to believe that there is no God, than to admit His existence and at the same time attribute to Him such infamous acts; for God cannot act contrary to His eternal attributes. Such conduct would involve a contradiction, and be equal to a denial of God's existence.

But the skeptic is as deficient in his belief in God, as in his belief of the divinity of Christ; and exclaims: " I know not whether there is a God or not! Every fiber of my being wryest under the influence of this terrible condition of my mind! I have thought, reflected, endeavored to fathom the depths of these hidden mysteries of Nature, of these human phenomena coming often under my observation, until I am engulfed in a whirlpool of doubt." Again, he should find sufficient proof of God's existence in the Gospel to which I have referred. Divine power was manifested in the performance of these stupendous works. The skeptic cannot explain them except upon the admission of the existence of God. He seizes every opportunity to increase his unbelief, while he blindly bars out every convincing fact of the supernatural. Were he as studious in the acquisition of proofs in support of religion as he is assiduous in misconstruing phenomena to oppose divine faith, he would be happy and content in the consciousness of God's friendship.

There are, furthermore, many arguments derived from the nature of things, to demonstrate the existence of God. To consider them to-day would carry us beyond the scope of a sermon. To one argument, however, I invite your attention. It is brief, and as cogent as brief. The skeptic may deny that there is a God. He may deny that the sun is now shining in the heavens. He may deny that you are now present in this church. He may even deny his own existence. But when he comes to deny that he denies, then he admits there is a God; that is when he knows that an operation is going on in his mind by which he denies the existence of everything; lie acknowledges that the knowing faculty exists; and this faculty must be finite or infinite. All things must be of these two classes or divisions. Now, if the faculty is infinite, he admits the existence of an infinite something; but an infinite something is God. If he argues his knowing faculty is finite, he also admits the infinite; for the finite is always dependent upon some other being for its existence; and because there are only two classes of beings: since one is the finite, the other must be the infinite.

My Christian friends, you may be somewhat incredulous in accepting this presentation of the skeptic's mental state, and consider it only fanciful. But if any of you have conversed with an honest unbeliever, you know the views given are no exaggeration^. and you know, too, that to give an accurate description of the workings of his mind in reference to religion. Approaches close to the impossible. Outside of the; Catholic Church, everything in religious matters is confused-. Scarcely does a conversation turn on religion, when doubts are exchanged, and it is easy to judge from the ensuing discussion, how the faith of non-Catholics is disturbed. I have often spoken with the skeptic and agnostic. They were sincere, intelligent men, but had no faith in revealed truths. They desired to penetrate into the unknown and in-explainable. Because they could not comprehend some things, they doubted almost everything. They seemed to be men desirous of acquiring faith; but their method was one of research beyond their power of apprehension; instead of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and a humble confidence in God. They believed they were greater when they soared, than when they stooped; and here it was they made their first mistake.

We should rejoice that we are blessed with the inestimable blessing of faith in God. We ought never to abuse this great gift. You must always remember, and I must never forget, that faith is a gratuitous gift from our Heavenly Father. If you misuse this gift, God will withdraw it from you. You will, then, be like those bad Catholics whose inflamed tongues breath forth wrath, lies, and venom against that Church in whose bosom they once found peace and contentment. Pray to God often, that He may ever preserve in you an ardent faith. Imitate the Centurion; and when the eternal Ruler will say to you: “As you believe, let it be done accordingly to you," may the reward of your faith be heaven!