CHRIST, A SHEPHERD SEEKING ONE OF HIS STRAYED SHEEP.

"I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost, seek Thy servant." (Ps. 118:176)

I.

The Shepherd in the Gospel of today, having lost one of His hundred sheep, went to seek it. This Shepherd is Christ. Remark His great anxiety and care for His wandering sheep. He leaves His ninety-nine others, that is, the innumerable Angels in heaven, to go in quest of the one that was lost. He stood not in need of it, in any possible point of view; yet He spares neither pain nor labor in endeavoring to find it. When He has found it, He neither chastises nor reproaches it, but, laying it upon His shoulders, brings it home again to the fold. "What is man," O God, "that Thou shouldst magnify him? Or why dost Thou set Thy heart upon him ?" (Job 7:17)

II.

Your soul is, in a particular manner, this strayed sheep. You have hitherto wandered up and down "through the ways of your own inventions," deviating from the boundaries of that virtue and perfection to which God has called you. You have refused to devote to Him your external and internal actions. You take no longer delight in the rich pastures, in which God wishes you to dwell, but you have sought for satisfaction and pleasure in the things of the world. "All we, like sheep, have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way." (Isa. 53:6)

III.

This loving Shepherd will visit you today, in order to bring you back again to the right way. Beg your heart; and for your frequent neglect of God's holy inspirations. Promise Him that, for the future, you will give Him all your actions, both internal and external, and say with the Psalmist: "I have gone astray, like a sheep that is lost, seek Thy servant, because I have not forgotten Thy commandments." (Ps. 118:176)

PREACHING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. I.

I.

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the desert of Judea." (Matt. 3:1) The preaching of the Baptist preceded that of Jesus Christ, as the dawn of the morning precedes the rising sun. Of him it is said: "Behold I send my Angel before Thy face, who shall prepare the way before Thee." (Mark 1:3; Mal. 3:1) John was, therefore, an Angel both as to his office and the innocence of his life. Such ought to be all Priests, who are frequently in the Scriptures called Angels. Such ought to be the life of every faithful Christian; for, to all Christians, St. Peter writes: "You are a royal priesthood." (1 Pet. 2:9)

II.

Consider more in particular the admirable virtues of this holy precursor. His austerity of life was eminently great, for the Evangelist remarked of him: "John had his garment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey." (Matt. 3:4) His lodging, without doubt, was consistent with his apparel. His bed must have been the bare ground, and a cave must have been his only defense against the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Reflect how far inferior you are to this great preacher; you who are not content with those conveniences which your condition and state of life afford you.

III.

This austerity of life was accompanied with the continued contemplation of heavenly things, in which he spent his life until the thirtieth year of his age. Admire his constancy in so long a warfare; for during the whole of that time he must have had frequent conflicts with the enemy of man's salvation. Ponder his incomparable innocence of life; for he did not commit the least venial sin, as most divines are of opinion. And at the same time that you admire, imitate, as nearly as possible, this excellent model of all virtue.

PREACHING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. II.

I.

Penance was the constant subject of the Baptist's preaching and discourses. "Do penance," he cried out, " for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matt. 3:2.) He exhorts his audience to penance by proposing to them the hopes of the kingdom of heaven, and then the fear of God's severer judgments. He represents Him as coming with the fan in His hand, to separate the chaff from the wheat. Reflect how much you stand in need of this penance, and examine whether you be wheat or chaff. If you find yourself to be the former, take care you do not degenerate, and remember the advice of St. Paul: "Let him that thinketh himself to stand, take heed, lest he fall." (1 Cor. 10:12) If you find yourself to be the latter, endeavor, by the Divine assistance, to reform your conduct, and commence a serious conversion. If you do not, you will be cast into the "unquenchable fire." (Mark 9:42)

II.

"Every tree that yieldeth not good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire." It is not sufficient to produce any kind of fruit; the fruit must be solidly good. Examine your works, whether they be good, solid, and perfect, or not rather counterfeit and fair in appearance only, or at least imperfect and not of full growth and maturity. Tremble at the complaint which God utters by the mouth of Isaiah: "I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it hath brought forth wild grapes." (Isa. 5:4) Tremble, too, at His terrible sentence: "Cut it down; why doth it take up the ground ?" (Luke 8:7)

III.

The Baptist did not commence his preaching until he had arrived at a mature age and prepared himself by prayer and mortification for his holy office. Then, impelled by the Divine Spirit, by whose inspiration he had retired into solitude, He enters upon his office with invincible courage. The Holy Ghost is accustomed to employ those whom He has rendered perfect, in procuring the perfection of others. Let your desert be that private life or station in which God has placed you, and endeavor to sanctify it by prayer, retirement, and mortification. Saints have been found in every station and profession of life, but no one was ever a saint or ever will be, who was not addicted to prayer, retirement, and mortification.

THE JEWS' MESSAGE TO JOHN THE BAPTIST. I.

I.

Moved by the sanctity of the Baptist, a great number of Jews resorted to him, so that not only the common people, but also the chief magistrates began to question whether or not he were the Christ. "Therefore the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him to ask him, Who art thou?" (John 1:19) Reflect what influence innocence of life possesses over the minds of men, and how truly St. Bernard remarks, that "the voice of works is louder than that of words."

II.

Upon this occasion St. John exercised many acts of humility. He was held in such esteem by the Jews as to be taken for the Messiah, but he did not therefore pride himself upon his reputation, as worldly people are accustomed to do in similar circumstances. "He confessed and did not deny and he confessed, I am not the Christ." The first degree of humility consists in disowning what does not belong to a person, and of bestowing it where it is due. Examine whether you do not often act otherwise by raising yourself above your proper level, and by concealing what you are in reality.

III.

The Jews afterwards inquired whether he were not Elias or some one of the Prophets, and he answered: No. He might have suffered himself to be called Elias in spirit, and a Prophet, and more than a Prophet in fact, as he was styled by the Angel, and by Christ Himself. But he who is truly humble not only refuses the praise to which he is not entitled, but, as far as truth will permit, diminishes that which is his most just due. He never commends himself, but rather, as St. Bernard remarks, "as much as he can, prevents his good qualities from being known." Blush at your folly in seeking the applause of men, and in attempting to magnify your own merits and pretensions.

THE JEWS' MESSAGE TO JOHN THE BAPTIST. II.

I.

To the Jews, still urging St. John to give some account of himself, he said: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord." (John 1:23) He makes no boast of his parentage or priesthood,, as worldly men are accustomed to do. He calls himself a voice, expressive of his office of precursor, and acknowledges that whatever he was or whatever he possessed belonged to another, to God, whose instrument he was. This is an exercise of a third degree of humility. It consists in this, that, when we are forced to disclose something good belonging to ourselves, we feel and acknowledge that it is purely a gift of God, and not our own.

II.

"And they asked him and said to him, Why then, dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ?" The Jews accuse him of presumption in assuming, by his private authority, the office of baptizing. St. John, however, did not attempt his own justification, nor make any apology, but, leaving the matter to the providence of God, he continues to speak to his own disadvantage. "I baptize," he said, "in water: but there hath stood One in the midst of you, whom you know not, the lachet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose." It is an exercise of a fourth degree of humility, to be backward in excusing one's self. Would to God that we all practiced this virtue as well as the Baptist did!

III.

The Jews sent their message to the precursor, instead of sending it to Christ, by whom they might have been much better informed. So we often seek comfort from creatures rather than from the Creator. Observe, moreover, the blindness of these Jews, who although they heard that Christ was among them, neglected, notwithstanding, to inquire for Him. For your part, use all diligence in discovering the will of God in your regard; and when you have found it be faithful in putting it into execution.

CHRIST'S BAPTISM. I.

I.

The first act of Christ's public life was to present Himself to be baptized by His precursor, to teach us that those who are employed in the work of God should carry with them a pure and uncorrupted heart. He therefore takes leave of His divine Mother, who, although she grieved at the absence of such a Son, rejoiced that the redemption of Israel was at hand. He takes a long journey to the Baptist. The Lord goes to the servant to be baptized by him as a common sinner, among publicans and soldiers and the lowest order of the vulgar. Admire the humility of the Son of God, and convince yourself that humility is the best preparation for great works. "That which shall be saved of the house of Judah and which is left, shall take root downward, and shall bear fruit upward." (Isa. 37:31)

II.

John, by divine revelation, knew our Lord at His approach, and modestly refused to baptize Him. "I ought to be baptized by Thee," he says, "and comest Thou to me?" (Matt. 3:14) Think what affections of joy, reverence, and submission the holy Baptist experienced in his heart, when he saw the Creator humbling Himself so low as to receive baptism from His creature. Excite the same affections when He visits you in sacrament.

III.

Christ answers: "Suffer it now, for so it becometh us to fulfill all justice." Ponder the import of the words "all justice," and learn to omit nothing in the way of virtue that may be beneficial to yourself or give edification to your neighbor. Examine yourself whether or not you do so, whether you put in practice the lessons and advice which you give to others; for, as St. Ambrose observes, "that pastor fulfills justice who makes good by deeds what he teaches by words."

CHRIST'S BAPTISM. II.

I.

"Jesus being baptized and praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape as a dove upon Him." (Luke 3:21) God always exalts the humble. Christ is therefore honored here (1) by the opening of the heavens, to show mankind that by His means the gates of heaven were to be thrown open to them. (2) By the descent of the Holy Ghost, to express the fullness of grace and heavenly gifts which He possessed, and which were to be imparted to mankind. (3) He is proclaimed the Son of God by nature, and deserving of every homage from His creatures.

II.

The Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove, to show mankind what kind of a life those ought to lead who are baptized. "In order that every one may understand," writes St. Augustine, "that if he be possessed of the simple spirit" of truth and sincerity, "he must be like a dove, must be at peace with his brethren, which is represented by the affectionate endearments of doves, and lastly that he must hurt no one, as doves hurt no living creature."

III.

The divine effects of Baptism are expressed in the Baptism of Christ. Baptism opens the gates of heaven, it reveals the divine mysteries to us, it remits all sin, it gives us the grace of the Holy Ghost, and it renders us the adopted children of God. Frequently renew your baptismal engagements; give God thanks for the benefits received by means of this Sacrament; and since you are now an adopted son of God, raise your thoughts and affections to your heavenly habitation, whose gates are now opened for you, and say with the Psalmist: "Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest." (Ps. 54:7)