Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/573

 and gladness  of  heart  to  Israel;  let  the  child  be  restored  to  his father and  the  husband  to  the  desolate  wife;  and,  if  our  evils  touch thee not,  O  pay  attention  to  the  miseries  of  thy  church.

Thirdly. The death  of  the  Lord  is  shown  in  this  mystery,  for Jesus Christ  sacrifices  himself  in  it,  by  the  mystical  separation  of his  body  and  of  his  blood. What follows  from  thence? That we must  be  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  as  if  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the  cross: that we  must  enter  into  the  dispositions  of  the  disciples  and  of  the women of  Jerusalem  who  received  the  dying  sigh  of  Jesus,  and were present  at  the  consummation  of  his  sacrifice. Now, what  hatred had  they  not  against  a  world  which  had  crucified  their  Master? What measures  did  they  think  it  necessary  to  keep  with  his  murderers? Were they  afraid  of  declaring  themselves  the  disciples  of him  who  had  so  openly  declared  himself  their  Saviour,  and  that  at the  price  of  his  blood? Did they  not  say  to  the  heavenly  Father, Ah! strike us,  Lord,  who  are  the  guilty,  and  spare  the  innocent. What horror  at  their  past  faults,  which  had  attached  so  good  a Master  to  the  cross! What a  lively  impression  in  their  heart  of his  sufferings! Thus, my  brethren,  still  to  keep  measures  with  the age, to  be  afraid  of  declaring  openly  for  piety,  to  be  ashamed  of the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  calculate  your  works  of  devotion  in such  a  way  that  an  air  and  a  savour  of  the  world  may  still  pervade the whole:  not  boldly  to  confess  Jesus  Christ;  to  be  afraid  of  abstaining from  a  theatre  where  he  is  insulted,  from  an  assembly where he  is  offended,  from  a  proceeding  by  which  innocence  must suffer, from  I  know  not  what  train  of  life  which  the  world  makes a necessity  to  you,  from  certain  maxims  which  wound  the  Gospel, and which  custom  has  established  as  laws;  to  pretend  to  keep  up all  those  conciliatory  measures  with  the  world,  and  yet  to  come  to eat  the  passover  with  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ;  to  preserve  a correspondence  with  his  enemies,  and  yet  to  seat  yourselves  at  his table; to  esteem  the  maxims  which  crucify  him,  and  yet  to  wish  to be  the  spectators  and  the  faithful  companions  of  his  cross; — ah! it is a  contradiction.

He hath  overcome  the  world;  he  hath  fixed  it  to  his  cross: along with  himself  he  hath  given  death  to  its  maxims  and  errors: consequently, to  show  his  death  in  the  communion  is  to  renew  the memory of  his  victory. And, if  the  world  lives  and  still  reigns  in your  heart,  my  brother,  do  you  not  annihilate  the  fruit  of  his  death? Do you  not  contest  with  Jesus  Christ  the  honour  of  his  triumph? And, in  place  of  showing  his  death,  do  you  not  come  to  renew  it with  his  enemies.

Besides, in  the  fourth  place,  his  death  is  shown  in  this  mystery, for it  is  the  consummation  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross,  and  he  applies the  fruit  of  it  to  us. Now, what  gives  us  a  right  to  the  fruit of the  cross,  and,  consequently,  to  the  communion? Sufferance, mortification, and  a  penitent  and  inward  life. For, say,  living  in delights,  shall  you  dare  to  nourish  a  body,  like  yours,  enervated  by pleasures,  flattered,  caressed;  shall  you  dare,  I  say,  to  nourish  it with   a   crucified   body? Shall  you   dare   to   incorporate   Jesus