Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/580

 ever so  great — infinite  if  you  will — yet  as  long  as  life lasts there  is  room  for  hope. By mortal  sin  we  justly fall under  the  slavery  of  the  devil,  but  not  irredeemably. It is  never  too  late  to  appeal  to  divine  mercy to have  patience;  the  case  is  never  so  hopeless  but what, relying  on  the  infinite  merits  of  Our  Redeemer, we can  confidently  promise  God's  justice  to  pay  Him all. One thing,  and  one  only,  is  necessary;  that,  as we  fell  by  pride  so  we  rise  by  humbly  falling,  supplicants, at  God's  feet,  for:  "He  that  exalteth  himself shall  be  humbled,  and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall be  exalted."

"Forgive us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them that  trespass  against  us." " Mercy,"  says  the  poet, " is  an  attribute  of  God  Himself,"  most  difficult  for man to  imitate,  and  hence  most  often  emphasized in God's  dealings  with  man. Says the  Psalmist:  "  If Thou  wilt  observe  iniquities,  O  Lord,  Lord,  who  will endure  them?" Now do  we,  as  creatures,  properly reflect this  attribute  of  the  Creator? Alas! what a rare  virtue  among  us  is  magnanimity. For lack  of mercy  in  our  hearts,  too  often  the  very  recitation  of the  Lord's  Prayer  becomes  a  curse  on  our  heads. We beg  and  receive  forgiveness  from  our  King,  and going out  we  harden  our  hearts  against  the  prayer of our  fellow-servant  and  refuse  to  forgive. We ask for  pardon  in  proportion  as  we  are  willing  to pardon,  and  were  God  to  take  us  at  our  word,  were He to  interpret  our  prayer  as  it  is  interpreted  in  our daily lives,  forgiveness  of  injuries  were  as  rare  in heaven  as  it  is  on  earth. But if  during  our  lives