Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/234

 feet, manacled  by  death,  without  power  to  help  himself or  others. So, too,  a  soul  in  mortal  sin  lies  helpless on  the  way  to  heaven,  a  stumbling-block  and  a scandal  to  those  who  would  fain  pass  on. Hour by hour  it  grows  livid  and  putrefies  and  charges  the  air with deadly  infection. The officers  of  the  law  take the ghastly  body  and  consign  it  to  earth,  and  the ministers of  God's  justice,  the  devils,  take  the  putrid, sinful soul  and  bury  it  in  hell.

Brethren, a  poor  picture  this  of  a  soul  in  sin. It was once  granted  a  great  saint  to  see  such  a  soul as God  sees  it,  and  he  afterwards  declared  that  he would  rather  endure  any  earthly  torment  than  again behold so  horrible  a  sight. " It  were  better/'  says  St. Anselm,  "  to  suffer  hell  innocent  rather  than  enter heaven in  sin,  for  innocence  would  be  a  comfort, even in  hell,  but  guilt  would  be  a  torture,  even  in heaven."  What,  therefore,  shall  we  say  of  an habitual  sinner?  His  soul  has  died  and  is  corrupting within  him.  He  goes  through  life  chained  to  a corpse.  He  lies  down  at  night  and  clasps  in  a  close embrace  that  horrid,  putrid  thing.  Faugh!  it  is  too horrible  to  think  of.  Let  us  pray  God  that  should our  souls  ever  unfortunately  contract  the  hideous leprosy  of  sin  we  may  quickly  turn  to  Him  for a  cure.

The cure  of  sin! Ah, Brethren,  here  again  we  see that sin's  malice  is  infinite,  for  it  requires  an  infinite atonement. If the  whole  court  of  heaven  with  all the living  saints  and  the  holy  souls  in  purgatory were to  unite  in  an  act  of  reparation  for  one  mortal