Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/222

 else we  might  conclude  that,  though  providing  for  the lilies, birds,  and  beasts,  His  fatherly  solicitude  is  not concerned with  the  helpless  poor. Reason and  nature-study will  convince  the  veriest  Pagan  of  the duties of  superfluous  wealth. And for  Christians,  oh, in the  face  of  Christ's  teaching  and  example,  can there be  a  doubt? Alas! whether it  be  doubt  or  niggardliness, it  often  happens  that  more  shaking  is  required in  a  Christian  than  a  Pagan,  in  a  Catholic  than a Protestant,  land  to  bring  down  the  fruit  from  the tree. . Did  Christ  but  come  to-day  He  could  find  full many a  barren  tree  to  disappoint  Him  and  evoke  His curse. Multi-millionairism and  direst  poverty  are most conspicuous  to-day  in  Christian  countries. Why? Because they  are  correlatives,  and  because our moneyed  men  are  only  nominally  Christian. Were they  sincerely  such  they  would  be  guided  by Christ's  commentaries  on  their  Gospel  prototypes. In the  Gospel  there  figure  three  multi-millionaires. The first,  the  good  young  man,  whom  Jesus  loved, the would-be  Apostle,  who  nevertheless  when  bidden to give  his  millions  to  the  poor,  sadly  turned  away. He represents  to  us  the  spiritual  disadvantages  inseparable from  the  mere  possession  of  wealth, whereby even  the  best  of  men  are  not  only  excluded from the  number  of  Christ's  immediate  followers,  but also, as  Christ  said,  find  it  as  difficult  to  even  enter heaven as  a  camel  does  to  pass  through  the  eye  of a  needle. The second  multi-millionaire  is  he  whose possessions so  increased  that  his  sole  concern  was  to build  larger  storehouses,  that,  having  laid  up  much