Two Sermons for the Third Sunday after Easter by Father Francis X. Weninger, S.J.

"You shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice."--John 16.

When Lucifer, with his followers, rebelled against his Maker, the kingdom of the angels became divided into two parts the good angels, or those who had remained faithful, forming one; the fallen angels, or those who had rebelled, the other. So, too, from the time of our first parents, the human race has in like manner been divided into two classes the faithful, who were called the children of God; and the followers of Cain, called the children of men. These two classes have ever been directly opposed to each other. The children of men seek the goods of this world; the children of God, those of the world to come. The former work for what is temporal, the latter for that which is eternal. The children of this world, on the one hand, following their own will, gratify every desire; while, on the other, the children of God, wishing in all things to accomplish the designs of God, submit cheerfully to every trial, and of their own accord crucify their flesh and its concupiscences.

And if the life of the good Christian differs so much from that of the bad, what, think you, must the difference be in the future that awaits them? The sadness of the children of God will soon be changed into eternal joy; but the joy of the children of the world into sorrow and weeping.

It is to this contrast, my brethren, that I wish to draw your attention today. Mary, obtain for us the grace so to grieve with thee and thy divine Son upon earth as to rejoice with you forever in heaven. I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

"You shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice." It was for the encouragement of His Apostles that Christ uttered this prophecy. He foresaw the sufferings they would undergo for His name, and it was His wish that trials should not come unexpected, but that they should be well prepared for them. He warned them of tribulations and persecutions, and in their persons He spoke to all Christians who, like them, would have to take up their cross daily and follow their crucified Master.

Yet He wished them to understand that it would be only for a little while, and He said: "A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me. I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you."

"A little while, and you shall see Me." A little while! "What does it mean?" asked the Apostles.

Be courageous and confident, He seems to say to them; the time of trial will soon pass away, and then I shall be your reward for an eternity. "You shall lament and weep, but the wicked shall rejoice;" but do not, on this account, despond, for the triumph of the wicked shall be short-lived, and the day will presently dawn that will secure for you the reward of all your labors. Truly, two small words, yet how full of instruction and of consolation!

"You shall lament," said Christ to His Apostles; and, through them, to us also, who glory in being Christians, and who are desirous of imitating their virtues. And ever since the fall of Adam, has not this world been a land of exile to the children of God? To what persecutions have they not been subjected by the children of this world and the powers of darkness? How sad has been their lot on earth, and in what sorrow have they not passed their days!

Were! we to look no further than the present life, our grief, I grant it, would be inconsolable; but as Christians, followers of Christ, holding from on high the precious gift of faith, we must view the cross in the supernatural light of that faith, which teaches us that these sorrows will soon pass away, and a happy eternity succeed them. Now, what is it that causes us most sorrow? Let us examine it closely, and we shall see clearly that all we suffer is permitted by God for His own greater glory, and our future good.

In the first place, it may be that we are poor, or have become so suddenly by what seems to us a caprice of fortune. Here is one who was once wealthy; today he finds it difficult to earn the bread necessary for the support of himself and family. You are sad and oppressed with anxiety, because you see those near and dear to you obliged to suffer from want, or at least deprived of that contentment they once enjoyed. Or again, your honor may have been assailed. You were once courted and esteemed, respected by all. But a day came when calumny stripped you of your good name, to be prized above all riches; and from that time those who, perhaps, had once greeted you from afar, now shunned your very approach. Or you are in grief, it may be, for the loss of your health; formerly, you were strong and active, but you have been stricken down with paralysis, or your lungs are hopelessly gone. Finally, death may have visited a happy home, and taken a beloved wife, a loving and hopeful son or daughter, and you are now alone. Your friends, perhaps your family, have abandoned you, and there is no one to speak a word of consolation to you in your sorrow. And so for some one of these reasons you weep, and feel life a burden.

But how soon is not this sorrow changed into joy when, enlightened by faith, we consider the words of Christ: "A little while, and you shall see Me!"

Why mourn the loss of temporal goods? A Christian should prize what is eternal. What is the world and all its riches compared with heaven and God? And this is the promise made to the poor in spirit, if during this short life they support, for the love of God, whatever affliction it may please Him to send them. Even were the time of life not so short, but like that of Methusala, prolonged to a thousand years, yet, in comparison with eternity, such a life would not deserve to be called a moment.

You have been robbed by calumny of your honor, and you are now an object of contempt and ridicule. But what is honor? Whatever it may be in itself, if by retaining it we should lose heaven, how unworthy of our aspirations would it not become! Are we to prefer the honor bestowed on us by men to that which God has in store for us? Who, my brethren, are they that honor us, and what do they honor in us? They are themselves miserable; sinners, and, perhaps, more worthy of being despised than we are. But who is to say that we are worthy of honor? One thing is certain, if our faults were known to men as they are to God, far from any one honoring us, on the contrary all would despise us.

But we must rise; above the esteem or contempt of men; what they may say or think of us will one day avail us little, if we be not at the same time pleasing in the eyes of God. Moreover, this honor bestowed by man vanishes, while that which will accrue to us by our humility and faithfulness in the service of God will soon develop itself, notwithstanding the contempt of men, into the infinite glory of the blessed, and will remain with us forever.

You have lost your health, and your days are spent in sorrow on that account; but do not lose courage. Man is soon freed from all suffering; a little patience in adversity will sweeten the bitterness of your cup of sorrow, shorten your purgatory in the next life, and furnish countless opportunities of adding new jewels to that crown of glory which you will one day receive. Soon in a little while you shall receive a glorified body. The sufferings of a mortal body must necessarily be of short duration, the joy of a body glorified is never-ending.

And what is death that it should afflict you so much? In reality you never die, for your soul is immortal. Perhaps it is the separation from others which grieves you? Bear it with patience and resignation; soon you will be united in heaven to Christ, and to His Blessed Mother, to the angels and saints, and to those from whom you were separated here below.

Is it not true, then, my brethren, that we have very little reason to complain, whatever be the sufferings we endure? See how transitory they all are; whereas, the cheerful resignation with which we see the will of God perfectly carried out in our regard, will merit for us the glory of a blissful eternity.

With these thoughts ever present to our minds, our life will never be without some consolation; and, even in this world, we shall begin to send up those hallelujahs and hymns of praise which we shall continue to sing for all eternity! Amen!

Second Sermon

"The world shall rejoice."--John 17.

In the Old Testament David and the Prophets frequently express their surprise at the apparent prosperity of the wicked and the seeming misfortunes of the just. The former, they remark, succeed in all their undertakings, and pass their days amid riches and pleasure, while the latter often lead a life of continual want. They, however, also call attention to the shallowness of the wicked man's good fortune: for they tell us that brief is the gladness of spirit which the children of this world enjoy.

The children of this world, who, in the spirit of the world, live in sin and not in the friendship of God, receive; here the reward of those morally good works which they may have done. Their joy, however, will only too soon be changed into sadness. To understand the folly of those who heed but little, or perhaps not at all, this truth, we have only to consider the words addressed by Christ to His disciples, and to meditate upon the words: "A little while." We shall then not fail to see: How foolish it is for a child of the Church to envy the children of the world their temporal joys.

O Mary, thou who didst stand but a few hours beneath the cross, to gain the happiness of being forever at the side of thy Jesus in heaven, grant that we may not be scandalized and led to destruction, seeing the well-being of the children of the world! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God.

"The world shall rejoice," says Christ. So it is. A craving for enjoyment has ever marked the life of sinners. In the Book of Wisdom this aim of the sinner is distinctly set forth. "Let us," say worldings to one another, "let us crown ourselves with roses; let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments; let us every-where leave tokens of joy, for this is our portion and this is our lot." I need not add that these sentiments and aspirations prevail even today with the world s devotees; for we know this truth Irom experience.

The world invites its followers to gratify their desires and to enjoy life. Though we admit, that, in regard to the children of the Church, unbelief is not the cause of this thirst for enjoyment, still we must grant that the want of a living faith causes these children of the Church to live like worldlings and to seek satisfaction in temporal pleasures.

Alas! we have but too many sad examples. And why? Because these unfortunate people consider not how unhappily ends the path upon which the desire of temporal happiness has led them. This truth becomes clearer than ever, when we reflect upon the words used by our Lord in today's Gospel, touching the joys of this world.

Let us call to mind, one by one, the objects which serve to fill the hearts of the worldly-minded with happiness. They are wealth, honor, health, the gratification of the senses, the society of others, a long life of undisturbed enjoyment. It is for these goods that the worldly live; they consider not the words of Solomon, called forth by the recollection of his temporal happiness: "Joy, why hast thou deceived me?"

To be rich seems to the children of the world happiness unbounded, and a cause of great gladness. What joy to a worldly man, if he suddenly finds himself a millionaire or a possessor of a princely fortune! But how insignificant, how very insignificant, are riches of this kind compared to the wealth that faith promises us! Moreover, how short is the duration of all earthly possessions compared with approaching eternity, and how immeasurably great will be the loss of the children of the world who will one day be compelled to exclaim: Oh, for mere trifles I have lost heaven and its possessions! Truly their joy shall then be changed into sorrow.

To be honored, to be admired by every one, to be in office, to lord it over others, this seems greatness to the children of the world; this fills the hearts of the worldly-minded with joy and exultation. And yet, of what little value is honor: how quickly it passes away! How great, on the other hand, how indescribably great, will be the loss of the princely glory of heaven! how great will be the shame that will cover sinners, who, as Christ says, will be forced to cry out: "Ye mountains fall upon us! ye hills cover us!

Their shame will last forever. To be in good health, and to have everything that can please eye and ear, and can afford all manner of gratification to the body, pleases the mind and delights the heart of worldlings. But in itself, how unseemly, how low; yea, how shameful for man, as man, is not this kind of gratification! Was not St. Paul right when he said to the converted heathen: "What is now left you of all that of which you are ashamed?"

How short, moreover, is the enjoyment? But how enduring will be the pain of the punishment which the sinner, especially by this kind of sinful enjoyment, will draw upon himself for all eternity? In him will be fulfilled the words: "As much as they have rejoiced, so much pain give them now." The sinner, buried in the torments of eternal fire, will be forced to exclaim: "I suffer pain in these flames for evermore!" How great also will be the loss of those joys, which no eye hath seen, nor ear heard, and of which no conception hath entered into the heart of man, which he will have irreparably lost for a mere trifle. This, as Holy Writ tells us, the sinner, filled with despair, shall before long begin to bewail in hell.

A child of the world, a sinner, would fain enjoy, in the society of sinful companions, the pleasures of life. But how often, even in this world, does he not experience faithlessness and cruel deception? But even if he do not, he will soon be separated from his companions by certain death. His reunion with these evil companions in the other world will be only a greater torment for all eternity.

"Bind them into bundles," says Christ, "and cast them into the fire." There he will be in company with the damned; there he will experience, that as in heaven the joy of each saint increases the joy of the others, so in hell the torments of every damned soul will increase the torments of its companions. This will last for all eternity!

What a difference between joy and sorrow; between the present and the future; between time and eternity! Woe, then, to those who, in this world, sinfully rejoice; with the world. Their joy will soon be changed into never-ending sorrow. May such not be our lot! Amen!

Appendix

On the {Commemorated] Feast of Saint Anselm

From the Divine Office 

Anselm was born of noble and Catholic parents, named Gundulph and Hermenberga, at Aosta, in Piedmont, about the year of our Lord 1033. From his tenderest years his diligence in study, and his aspirations to a more perfect state of life, gave no indistinct foreshadowing of the holiness and learning to which he afterwards attained. The heat of youth drew him for a while into the snares of the world, but he soon returned to his first courses, and, forsaking his country and his goods, betook himself in 1060. to the monastery of Bee, under the rule of St. Benedict. There he made his profession as a monk, and under the rigid discipline of Herluin, the Abbot, and the learned instruction of the profound Lanfranc, with great zeal of spirit and eager obedience to the Rule, he made such progress in learning and godliness, that he shone before all others as an example of holiness of life, and power of doctrine.

Certification and purity were his marked characteristics, and by constant fasting all taste for food seemed to have died in him. He spent the day in the monastic work, in teaching, and in answering hard questions upon religion, and he took away from sleep during what remained to him of the night, that he might refresh his soul by thoughts of God, wherein he was alway comforted by an unceasing flow of tears. When he was chosen Prior of the monastery, he so won over, by his charity, lowliness, and wisdom, some brethren who looked ill upon him, that from enviers, as he had found them, he turned them into lovers of God and of himself likewise, with exceeding gain to the strictness of observance in that Abbey. After the death of the Abbot, in 1078, Anselm, though against his own will, was chosen to succeed him. In this high place the light of his learning and holiness so shone all round about, that he was reverenced not only by Kings and Bishops, but was taken up by the holy Pope Gregory VII., who, amid the great persecutions which were then trying him, wrote with words of great love to Anselm to recommend himself and the Catholic Church to his prayers.

After the death of Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1089, Anselm, whose teacher Lanfranc had formerly been, was driven by William II., King of England, supported by the entreaties of the clergy and people, though sorely against his own wishes to take upon him the government of that Church. Raised to that See upon the 4th day of December, in the year 1093, he straightway set himself to reform the corrupt manners of the people, and, first by his word and example, and then by his writings and the Councils which he held, succeeded in restoring the ancient godliness and discipline of the Church. But when the aforesaid King William tried by force and threats to seize on the rights of the Church, Anselm withstood him as beseemed a Priest, and after that he had suffered the plundering of all his goods and been sent into banishment, he betook himself to Rome to Urban II. There he was received with great worship, and won high praise for that in the Council of Bari, in 1098, he maintained by countless proofs from Scripture and the holy Fathers, against the error of the Greeks, that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Son also. When William lived no more, his brother Henry I., King of England, in the year 1100, called back Anselm thither, and there he fell asleep in the Lord, upon the 21st day of April,1109. His is a name illustrious not for miracles only, nor for holiness, and indeed he had a wondrous love for his Lord Who had suffered for him, and for the blessed Maiden Mother of the Same our Lord, but also for the deep learning which he used for the defence of the Christian Religion and the good of souls. That wonderful knowledge of theology which he had, and which is shown in all the books which he wrote, seemeth to have been given him from heaven for the teaching of all writers on the same subject, who have used what is called the Scholastic method. (Matins, The Divine Office, Feast of Saint Anselm.)