Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/259

 to love,  is  to  look  upon  the  object  beloved  as  our  resource  against all our  wants,  the  cure  of  all  our  evils,  and  the  author  of  all  our good. Now, as  it  is  in  God  alone  that  we  can  find  all  these  advantages, it  is  a  disorder,  and  a  debasement  of  the  heart,  to  seek  for them in  a  vile  creature.

And, at  bottom,  we  feel  sensibly  the  injustice  of  that  love:  however passionate  it  be,  we  quickly  discover,  in  the  creatures  which inspire it,  weaknesses  and  defects  which  render  them  unworthy  of it:  we  soon  find  them  out  to  be  unjust,  fanciful,  false,  vain,  and inconstant: the  deeper  we  examine  them,  the  more  we  say  to  ourselves, that  our  heart  has  been  deceived,  and  that  this  is  not  the object which  it  sought. Our reason  inwardly  blushes  at  the  weakness of  our  passion;  we  no  longer  submit  to  our  chains,  but  with pain; our  passion  becomes  our  burden  and  our  punishment. But, punished without  being  undeceived  in  our  error,  we  seek,  in  a change,  a  remedy  for  our  mistake:  we  wander  from  object  to  object, and  if  some  one  at  last  chance  to  fix  us,  it  is  not  that  we  are satisfied with  our  choice,  it  is  that  we  are  tired  of  our  inconstancy.

Our sinner  hath  wandered  in  these  ways:  iniquitous  loves  had been the  cause  of  all  her  misfortunes  and  of  all  her  crimes;  and, born to  love  God  alone,  he  alone  it  was  whom  she  had  never  loved. But scarcely  hath  she  known  him,  says  the  gospel,  when,  blushing at the  meanness  of  her  former  passions,  she  no  longer  acknowledges but  him  alone  to  be  worthy  of  her  heart;  all  in  the  creature appears to  her  empty,  false,  and  disgusting:  far  from  finding  those charms, from  which  her  heart  had  formerly  with  such  difficulty defended itself,  she  no  longer  sees  in  them  but  their  frivolity,  their danger, and  their  vanity. — The Lord  alone,  in  her  sight,  appears good, real,  faithful,  constant  to  his  promises,  magnificent  in  his gifts, true  in  his  affection,  indulgent  even  in  his  anger,  alone  sufficiently great  to  fill  the  whole  immensity  of  our  heart;  alone  sufficiently powerful  to  satisfy  all  its  desires;  alone  sufficiently  generous to  soften  all  its  distresses;  alone  immortal,  and  who  shall  for ever be  loved:  lastly,  to  love  whom  can  be  followed  by  the  sole repentance of  having  loved  him  too  late.

It is  love,  therefore,  my  brethren,  which  makes  true  penitence: for penitence  is  only  a  changing  of  the  heart;  and  the  heart  does  not change but  in  changing  its  love:  penitence  is  only  the  re-establishment of  order  in  man;  and  man  is  only  in  order  when  he  loves  the Lord, for  whom  he  is  made:  penitence  is  only  a  reconciliation  with God; and  your  reconciliation  is  fictitious,  if  you  do  not  restore  to him  your  heart:  in  a  word,  penitence  obtains  the  remission  of  sins, and sins  are  remitted  only  in  proportion  to  our  love.

Tell us  no  more,  then,  my  brethren,  when  we  hold  out  these grand examples  for  your  imitation,  that  you  do  not  feel  yourselves born for  devotion,  and  that  your  heart  is  of  such  a  nature  that every thing  which  is  denominated  piety  is  disagreeable  to  it. What! my dear  hearer,  your  heart  is  not  made  for  loving  its God? Your heart  is  not  made  for  the  Creator  who  hath  given  it to  you? What! you  are  born   then  for  vanity  and  falsehood?