Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent
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
Then
Jesus said to him: Be gone Satan, for it is written; The Lord thy God thou
shalt adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. (Math. xvii. -5.)
My
Dear Friends: We have here a striking proof of Satan's boldness, together with
a forcible manifestation of his malice toward mankind. He assailed heaven; he
conquered Paradise; now he tempts the Son of God Himself. Exulting in his
conquest of Eden, he believed his revenge against heaven and against man was
assured. In order that he may accomplish his designs, he has incessantly
striven to withdraw the human race from its allegiance to the Creator. "Like a roaring lion," says
St. Paul, "he goes about seeking
whom he may devour."
The
greater the servant of God, the greater is his malicious efforts. When a person
is in a position to do much good, when by his example or teaching he may
conduct many into the service of God, the devil strains every exertion to
subdue this righteous servant, that by his fall many others may be lost to God
and be enrolled under the banner of hell. In his victory over our first
parents, he had, by his subtle flattery, conquered the first of the human race
and the most perfect types of mankind.
In
the person of Jesus, he saw a most extraordinary character. He had heard at the
baptism of Jesus, "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," but still doubted whether
Jesus was the Son of God. To test Him, Satan awaits for what seems to him a-
favorable opportunity. Our Saviour, after a protracted fast of forty days, is
hungry. Then the devil appears, and invites Him to change the stones at His
feet into bread, thus relieving His hunger by partaking of the bread so
miraculously transformed from stone. “It
is written," says our Saviour to him," man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
The
devil, by no means dismayed, renews his temptation. Jesus is taken by him, and
set upon the pinnacle of the temple. He bids Our Lord to cast Himself down,
flattering Him that angels would protect Him from harm. But Jesus is more than
man; and consequently not a victim of Satan's cunningness, as were Adam and Eve
and millions of others. Satan next holds out a most tempting offer. He will
bestow the world and the glory thereof upon the Creator of them, if falling
down, He would adore him. Jesus now manifests His power and authority over
Satan. He commands the devil: "Be
gone Satan, for it is written: The Lord thy God thou shalt adore, and Him only
shalt thou serve."
The pride and
arrogance of Lucifer were in this instance overthrown. He obeyed the mandate,
and departed from Jesus. By his compliance to the command, "Be gone Satan," he acknowledged his
own inferiority and the supremacy of the Saviour of mankind. The devil, though
damned into hell, adores and serves Almighty God. He adores Him, because he
must revere Him as God, the Supreme Ruler; and he serves Him, because he is in
hell by divine command, and in obedience to the supreme will.
It is our
duty also to adore and serve God; not from compulsion, but from salutary fear
and filial love. He has given us free will; hence we can adore and serve Him,
or refuse Him the homage of our obedience. Yet, if we do not serve Him, the day
will come when we must serve the term of punishment imposed upon us by Eternal
Justice. Indeed, it is not the fear of punishment which ought to compel us to
serve the Creator; but actuated by love, of the truest and most profound type,
we should, with pleasure, obey His will. By obedience toward Him, we perform
the noblest duty which is in the power of man to execute. We become not only
servants of God, but His children by adoption.
To claim to
be a child of the Eternal Father, and have that claim allowed, is the grandest
privilege bestowed upon man. We are His children because He created us, and
there is no power capable of depriving us of such blessed inheritance, except
that within the grasp of our own free will. By our own conduct, we remain,
after baptism, children of God and heirs to heaven; or we become imps of
Lucifer and victims of hell.
God has not been
wanting in His holy care for us. In creating man, observe the majesty which He
vouchsafed to confer upon him. "Let
us make man," says Almighty God, "according
to our own image and likeness." Wonder of wonders that God would, in
such a marvelous way, dignify man! That there would be any comparison between
the Creator of heaven and earth—the eternal, self-existing Being and His poor,
frail creature man! That God, whose immensity is boundless, whose majesty is
beyond description, whose glory is equal to His immensity; that He would deign
to impress upon man His image and His likeness! Should we hesitate to give to
such a Benefactor our allegiance and our homage?
Ought we ever
cease praising and thanking Him for so incomparable a favor? With unfaltering
love we should obey Him, that by our ready obedience we may give some proof of
our high appreciation for this unparalleled beneficence toward the human race.
In order that
we may the better understand the kindness of heaven in our behalf, let us
institute a comparison. You are aware that the servants of a king or other
ruler, considers themselves much honored by being in the special service of
their king. As their promotion goes onward, at each step coming closer to their
ruler, their gratitude and fidelity increase. Were the king to adopt some of
them into his own family, thereby becoming heirs to the kingdom, their joy
would know no bounds. In their allegiance to the throne, they would brave every
danger, and on every occasion demonstrate their love and attachment to their
king.
But when the king has bestowed every favor
within his power, he falls immeasurably short of what the King of kings,
Almighty God, has conferred upon you. Could the temporal ruler give you so much
as a single faculty of your soul or function of your body? Though you already
possess these, he could not so much as put them in healthy operation, were they
to become impaired. Ponder well upon the inestimable; the mysterious powers
which God has given you, and the feebleness of kings and the meagerness of
their grandest gifts; then you will have some conception of God's goodness
toward you.
But, how
often do you find soldiers and statesmen, serving with fidelity, tyrants who
are haughty, unscrupulous, and savage. Soldiers will march bravely to the
cannon's mouth, to be shot down in defense of despots. Generals will vie with
one another in order that a tyrannical emperor will smile upon them, or that
some greater distinction may be conferred upon them.
Even
soldiers, whose native land has been pillaged, robbed of its hereditary rights,
will rush into the jaws of death in obedience to the tyrant who has trampled
upon their rights, impoverished their country, and driven their very parents
into exile.
How often, on
many a bloody field, have not the Irish braved every danger and met death
defiantly in defense of the English crown. You know the history of English
gratitude toward them.
Poland is
another among the many examples which can be cited. In the Crimean War, after
an awful battle, the Czar visited the hospital. There among the wounded and
dying, he addressed a Polander who was suffering intense pain from his many
wounds. The Czar endeavored to console him by praising his courage and the
fortitude, with which he bore his suffering, adding that he proved himself a
great soldier, and fell fighting in the noblest cause in which a man could be
engaged; namely, in defense of his country's honor. Whereupon the soldier,
striving to raise his head upon his hand, replied: "Alas! I have no country. I lie struggling in the grasp of death, for
you who have plundered my country and destroyed its existence. Were I dying in
a struggle for my native land, these wounds would be the highest marks of
honor. Yea, had I a thousand lives, they would all be freely given in defense
of Poland's flag! But I die, and the land of my fathers is no more! "
You remember, or have read, with what bravery the German Catholic soldiers,
in the Franco-Prussian War, fought to overthrow the French. What the reward
was, you remember. For their sacrifices and indomitable service, they were
repaid by persecution. Religious orders were expelled, Catholic Church property
was confiscated, and bishops were imprisoned. Now, does not all this suggest
the words of Cardinal Wolsey: "Had I served my God with half the zeal I
served my king, He would not, in mine old age, have left me naked to my
enemies."
Now, to serve one's country is the duty of every citizen; and while all,
without exception, approve of such devotion to the nation's banner, yet we
insist that everybody is bound by stronger obligations to adore and serve God.
The duty we owe our country does not conflict with the duty we owe to heaven.
In truth, a firm adherence to God makes people better citizens; for our
allegiance to the Creator widens our comprehension of our civic obligations,
adjusts political and religious differences, enlarges our views of just
government, stimulates to honesty and justice and patriotism.
Moreover, a
successful ruler must be a great servant of God. Without God for a guide, there
is nothing to direct him in the administration of justice, nothing to restrain
him from violating the rights and privileges of his people. Compare Charlemagne
with Nero, St. Louis with Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Leo XIII with Bismarck, and
you will be able to form some notion of the ideas I wish to impress upon you.
All
these examples of courage, fidelity, and Christian loyalty serve no other
purpose than to awaken in your bosoms a truer devotion to the Lord of all
creation. You readily concede that you should adore and serve God; but on
account of temptation and lukewarmness, as well as other causes, you sometimes
fail in giving God unalloyed homage and undivided service. In obeying God, you
are performing at once a duty indispensable to happiness and spotless nobility.
In serving God,
an
equilibrium between the reason and the passions is established, the true
dignity of nations and individuals are better understood, and the sacred rights
of all are secured. Peace, good will, prosperity, honesty; in a word,
everything which makes a people contented, unselfish, and happy, is realized.
