Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/491

 this world  is  composed  of  a  twofold  element — of  a body  and  of  a  soul — of  a  body  that  comes  from  the earth through  our  parents  to  us — and  of  a  soul  that comes, not  from  the  earth,  but  comes  directly  from the hand  of  God— of  a  body  that  shall  one  day  go down  again  to  the  dust  from  which  it  sprang — and of a  soul  that  shall  one  day  return  to  the  bosom  of its  Creator. Each of  these  elements  has  its  own wants and  its  own  necessities,  which,  in  obedience  to Nature's  first  law  of  self-preservation,  the  composite man is  bound  to  respect  and  provide  for. The body demands its  bodily  food  and  drink  and  clothing,  and the soul  demands  the  spiritual  food  of  Christ's  flesh, and the  spiritual  drink  of  Christ's  blood,  and  the spiritual clothing  of  God's  divine  grace. But according as  men  are  more  worldly  or  more  spiritual, so are  they  more  solicitous  in  providing  for  the  wants of the  body  or  of  the  soul,  so  that  mankind  is,  and always has  been,  and  ever  will  be,  divided  into  two great classes — worldlings  and  saints — the  votaries of the  body  and  the  votaries  of  the  soul — the  slaves of Mammon  and  the  servants  of  God. Now, since, according to  St.  Paul,  the  law  of  the  flesh  is  directly opposed to  the  law  of  the  spirit;  since  "  whosoever is  not  with  Christ  is  against  Him,"  therefore,  I  say, the worldling  cannot  be  a  saint  and  the  saint  cannot be a  worldling,  for  no  man  can  serve  two  masters;  no man  can  at  the  same  time  serve  God  and  Mammon. But alas,  what  a  choice  does  man  make  I  He  prefers to  serve  the  body  that  he  seeth,  rather  than  the soul that  he  seeth  not. He forgets  that  his  body  is