Epistle.
1 St. Peter v. 6-11.
Dearly beloved:
Be you humbled under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation. Casting all your solicitude upon him, for he hath care of you. Be sober and watch; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalleth your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, when you have suffered a little, will himself perfect, and confirm, and establish you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel.
St. Luke xv. 1-10.
At that time:
The publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear him. And the Pharisees and the Scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spoke to them this parable, saying: What man among you that hath a hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, doth he not lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing: and coming home call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.

Sermon LXXXVIII.
Sinful Amusements.

Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil
as a roaring lion goeth about,
seeking whom he may devour.
—Epistle of the Day.

I need not tell you, dear brethren, that there is nothing more contrary to the spirit of our holy religion than melancholy. The church would not have her children long-faced and mopish, eschewing all pleasure as a thing sinful; nor would she have them unhappy by depriving them of what is good and forbidding what is innocent, but like a wise mother she permits, nay, sanctions, harmless amusements, knowing that this, far from being an impediment to us in our efforts after holiness, is rather a help.

But, unfortunately, all pleasures are not innocent. There are some which are sinful—very sinful—and which, instead of aiding us by begetting a holy gladness, fill us with remorse and rob the soul of the grace of God, which is the principle of all our joy. Such pleasures as these the church forbids; such as these she would have us avoid, and she warns us that they come not from God, but from our adversary the devil, who is seeking our ruin. It is with regret that we say it, still we say it with truth, that of late years a very dangerous sort of amusement has taken more or less hold upon numbers of our young people, and, now that we are at the beginning of summer, it may not be amiss to say a word or two about a certain sort of "picnics."

It is hard to conceive how a young man or woman, who wishes to be deemed respectable, or even to preserve self-respect, can attend any of those moonlight gatherings known as picnics, festivals, etc. Call them by what name you please, as a whole they are bad. The places where these meetings are held, the persons whom you cannot avoid coming in contact with, make them dangerous at least, and very frequently a real occasion of sin. How can a young girl know the character of him with whom she is dancing? She has been introduced, to be sure, but what of that? Does she feel quite certain that she may not be subjected to insult or worse? Is she satisfied that her mother would be pleased to see her with her present companions? Is she not engaged in a dance which borders on immodesty? Take care, my good girl, you have taken your first downward step to-night; retrace your way, and never be found at such a "festival" as this again, if you value your good name. Nor can young men attend these "moonlight rural gatherings" without endangering their fair fame and interests. A pure woman will not marry a man who consorts with bad characters. She will not trust herself to the tender mercies of one who reaches home in the early morning in a half or wholly drunken state. She cannot look forward to a happy life with one of this character, and she will not encourage his attentions. Employers are not over-anxious to have in their service those who come to their occupations with evident marks of debauchery. They believe that young men of this sort are not efficient, and they believe so rightly; they think that these are not altogether trustworthy; that they are constantly exposing themselves to danger and theft. It does not pay, young men, to go to "moonlight picnics." It is not to your interest, either temporal or spiritual. Do not be carried away with the idea that you can be dissipated with impunity. "Be sober and watch" yourselves, remembering that a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and certainly to be preferred to the gross pleasures of moonlight orgies.

Sermon LXXXIX.
Divine Providence.

Casting all your solicitude upon him,
for he hath care of you.
—1 St. Peter v. 7.

The doctrine of God's providence is one of those great truths which, though accepted by every Christian, are often not apprehended practically in everyday life. By the providence of God we mean that loving care which he takes of all his creatures, and especially of man, ruling, guiding, and protecting them, "ordering all things sweetly," as holy Scripture has it, that each one of his creatures may attain to the end for which it was given existence.

God's work does not stop with creation. It would be absurd to suppose that he made all things and then left them to take care of themselves. On the contrary, we know that his sustaining power is necessary in order to keep us in existence at all, and that if he were to withdraw his sustaining hand from us we should at once fall back into the nothingness from whence we came. But God's providence over us means something far more than simply keeping us alive. It enters into every circumstance of our life. Whatever befalls us, day by day, is with his permission, is in accordance with his holy will. Whether he blesses us or smites us, it is all the same: everything comes from his loving providence, and is intended for our good.

Our Lord's teaching concerning the providence of God is very clear and plain. He tells us that God cares for the lilies of the field and for the birds of the air, so that not one of them is forgotten before God; and, he adds, "Are not you of much more value than they?" For "even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." "O ye of little faith!" he still says to us, "why are you so slow and dull of heart to understand? Why will you not see the hand of God directing the whole course of your life?" Men go on in their carelessness, unmindful of God, taking the good things that come to them as a matter of course, or as the result of their own labor, forgetting that every good and perfect gift is from above. But God does not forget them. In spite of their indifference, he still watches over them, providing them with all things needful for their souls and bodies, and with his grace ever seeking to lead them to him. How many, too, spend their time in foolishly worrying over their petty trials! It is all owing to a lack of faith; they refuse to recognize God's hand in their daily life. Yet again and again our Lord and his Apostles repeat the exhortation, "Be not solicitous"—that is, do not worry—"casting all your solicitude upon him, for he careth for you."

But it is especially in the great trials of life that the doctrine of God's providence is necessary for us, and full of consolation, and perhaps it is at just such times that it is the most often forgotten. When some heavy trouble comes, how often does the sufferer fail to acknowledge that it is sent by Almighty God—that is, an ordering of his providence, and therefore to be submitted to with patience and humility. "Dearly beloved," says St. Peter in the Epistle of to-day, "be you humbled under the mighty hand of God." To be humble is to acknowledge our true position in God's sight, to confess that we are his creatures altogether in his power, and that he has the right to do with us as he pleases. Our faith assures us that he will not use this right to our disadvantage. Away, then, with all silly murmurings and complaints that God is unjust. Good sense alone will teach that that cannot be. If you understood the full extent of the malice of even venial sin you would see that you receive but a small part of what you really deserve. Follow, then, the counsel of Solomon, and "reject not the correction of the Lord, and faint not when thou art chastised by him; for whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth."

But if the burden seem too hard for you to bear alone, Jesus is ready to help you. "Come to me," he says, "all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Go to him in the Blessed Sacrament, pour out your grief to the Sacred Heart, and you shall find rest for your soul. "Cast thy care upon the Lord," said David in the Psalms, "and he shall sustain thee." Then, having humbled yourself under the mighty hand of God, he will exalt you in the time of his visitation and fill you with his peace. And "the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, when you have suffered a little, will himself perfect, and confirm, and establish you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

Cast thy care upon the Lord
and he shall sustain thee.
—Gradual of the Mass.

Which of us, dear brethren, is without his burden or his care? Whatever our station in life, however high or lowly we may be, to each comes his portion of sorrow, to each come difficulties and temptations. If we escape one trial we are sure to find another, and probably a worse one, awaiting us. It is our lot here upon earth to suffer, and we ought to expect nothing else, for if we hope for perfect happiness in this world we are doomed to bitterest disappointment. The way in which to carry ourselves with regard to our difficulties is not to seek to avoid them, or when they come upon us to run away from them, but to accept them as the portion of our heritage and to make them a source of merit and sanctification. If we would but cast our care upon the Lord, if we would but willingly submit to what his all-wise providence designs for us, these apparent miseries would become for us real blessings and bring upon us the choicest of God's gifts—an increase of his holy grace in our souls. God will help us sustain our burden if we receive it with resignation; if we love it he will make it even sweet to bear.

But, you may say, this doctrine is very pretty in theory. How about the practice of it? It is not so easy to be indifferent to the things of this life, to the wants of the body, so as to be quite as willing to be poor as to be rich, to have a good, substantial meal or a morsel of cold victuals. People cannot be expected to prefer misery to happiness.

We are not asking you to prefer misery to happiness, nor even to be indifferent as to what shall happen you. Although this would be far more perfect and would soon make him who had such disposition very holy, still we do not ask so much. What we would wish you to do is what we think all are bound to do—namely, to have confidence in the providence of God; to recognize his hand guiding the course of events in our behalf. We know that he is good and merciful and ready to help us in our need; we know that even when he punishes it is not so much in anger as in love that he does so; yet we complain and are discontented, and some even go so far as to blaspheme the God who, at the very moment when we are treating him with such indignity, is lovingly working all things together unto good, who is doing for them more than they would ever hope for. Oh! what pride is theirs, who set up their judgment against God's and insist upon the Almighty doing things according to their fancy. They see no reason why they should suffer this or that. Why should they be treated so harshly? Other people have comfort; why should not they? Oh! what folly, what blindness is there in the hearts of men and women who speak thus! What ingratitude is theirs! Perhaps the God they are abusing has forgiven them hundreds of mortal sins; perhaps he is withholding what they are demanding because he sees if he granted them the things they ask their salvation would be endangered; yet all that he is doing in loving kindness is being misunderstood, because men are unwilling to bow down to the holy and adorable will of God.

Dear brethren, let it not be said of us that we are ingrates or that we are so foolish as to think ourselves wiser than God; but let us turn to him with all our hearts and recognize in all he sends us his unspeakable mercy; let us ever see in him the All-wise God, our Father, and never permit ourselves to be deceived by the rebellion of our lower nature. Let us, in a word, "cast all our care upon the Lord."