Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/368

 say they,  "  I  must  needs  go  see  the  farm  I  have bought." Aye, go  see  it,  feast  thine  eyes  upon  it, take mayhap  thy  last  look  at  it,  for  neither  thy riches nor  thy  glory  shall  descend  with  thee  into  the grave. Poor souls;  the  devil  deals  with  them  as  the hunter does  with  his  hounds. When the  game  breaks cover he  shows  it  to  his  dogs  and  cheers  them  on, but no  sooner  have  they  brought  it  down  than  he snatches  it  from  them  and  plies  the  heavy  lash. So is it  with  worldlings  in  their  race  for  riches  and honors; no  sooner  are  they  attained  than  death  steps in and  bids  that  all  be  dropped — then  woe  to  him  who is not  rich  with  God. How differently  God  deals with men,  checking  them  all  through  life  with  warnings such  as:  "Be  not  solicitous,"  and  "Blessed  are the  humble,"  and  at  last  compensating  their  self-denial ten  thousandfold  in  the  words:  "  Enter  ye  into the  joy  of  your  Lord."

Brethren, another  class  of  persons  who  decline  the invitation to  the  Eucharistic  banquet  are  those  who, wise in  their  own  conceits,  reject  as  false  whatever cannot be  explored  with  their  five  senses. The consecrated species  still  appear  mere  bread  and  wine, therefore, say  they,  such  they  are,  and  therefore,  also, we pray  you  hold  us  excused. Their five  senses, each really  a  pair,  are  their  five  yoke  of  oxen  to which  they  are  so  devoted,  which  they  are  so  proud of and  so  anxious  to  exercise,  that  with  them  the Lord's summons  is  of  no  avail. What a  pitiable  conceit to  suppose  that  the  ineffable  nature  and  unsearchable ways  of  God  can  be  comprehended  by  a