Page:Sermons for all the Sundays in the year.djvu/195

 consist? It consists in the perfect fulfilment of the will of God. All the sins which brings souls to hell proceed from self-will; let us, then, says St. Bernard, cease to do our own will; let us follow the will of God, and for us there shall be no hell. ”Cesset propria voluntas, et infernus non erit." (St. Bern. serm. iii., de Resur.) 2. But some of you will ask: How shall we know what God wills us to do? This is a matter which, ac cording to David, is involved in great doubts and obscurity. “Of the business that walketh about in the dark." (Ps. xc. 6.) Many deceive themselves; for passion often makes them believe that they do the will of God, when, in reality, they do their own will. Let us thank without ceasing the goodness of Jesus Christ, who has taught us the secure means of ascertaining the will of God in our regard, by telling us that, if we obey our confessor, we obey himself. “He that heareth you, heareth me." In the book of the foundations, chapter x., St. Teresa says: "Let a soul take a confessor with a determination to think no more of herself, but to trust in the words of our Lord: “He that heareth you, heareth me." She adds, that this is the secure way of finding the will of God. Hence the saint acknowledged that it was by obedience to the voice of her director that she attained to the knowledge and love of God. Hence, speaking of obedience to one’s confessor, St. Francis de Sales adopts the words of Father M. Avila. How much soever you seek, you shall never find the will of God so securely, as by this way of humble obedience so much recommended and practised by the ancient saints. (Introd., etc., cap. iv.) 3. He that acts according to the advice of his confessor, always pleases God when, through obedience, he either practises or omits prayer, mortifications, or communions. He even merits a reward before God when, to obey his confessor, he takes recreation, when he eats or drinks, because he does the will of God. Hence the Scripture says that ”much better is obedience than the victories of fools." (Eccl. iv. 17.) Obedience is more pleasing to God than all the sacrifices of penitential works, or of alms-deeds, which we can offer to him,