Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/522

 Lord, shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of My  Father."  Rancor  and  hatred  raged  between  the Jews  and  the  Samaritans  as  to  whether  God  was  to be  worshipped  on  Garizim  or  in  Jerusalem,  and Christ  exposed  their  folly  by  saying  simply :  God is  to  be  adored  in  spirit  and  in  truth." With the Pharisees various  articles  of  diet  were  unclean  and forbidden, but  Christ  abolished  their  ordinances  and made all  meats  clean,  saying:  "  The  things  from without  cannot  defile  a  man,  but  from  within,  out  of the  heart,  proceed  all  defilements." When asked  to teach  His  disciples  to  pray,  How  simple  and  brief  was the prayer  He  taught! When the  demand  was made: "  Lord,  what  must  I  do  to  possess  eternal life?  "  did  He  designate  certain  opinions  and  writes and ceremonies  as  essential  to  that  end? No. His answer was :  "  Keep  the  commandments." What commandments? Those two  on  which  depend  the whole law  and  the  prophets:  "  Love  God  above  all things  and  your  neighbor  as  yourself." The keeping of these  produces  within  us  that  new  creature,  in comparison  with  which,  says  St.  Paul,  circumcision  is nothing  and  uncircumcision  is  nothing. For if  we have  prophecy  and  know  all  mysteries,  and  have  faith so as  to  move  mountains,  and  speak  with  the  tongue of angels,  and  fast  and  pray,  and  give  our  substance to the  poor  and  our  bodies  to  be  burned,  and  if withal  we  have  not  interior  righteousness,  it  will profit us  nothing,  for  we  are  before  God  as  a  sounding brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal. This is  the  lesson Christ's action  in  to-day's  Gospel  has  for  the  Phari-