Page:Sermons for all the Sundays in the year.djvu/254

 and contrite heart. "A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Ps. l. 19.) 11. To show mercy and grant pardon to sinners, God regards as redounding to his own glory. "And therefore shall he be exalted sparing you." (Isa. xxx. 18.) The holy Church says, that God displays his omnipotence in granting pardon and mercy to sinners. ” O God, who manifested thy omnipotence in sparing and showing mercy." Do not imagine, dearly beloved sinners, that God requires of you to labour for a long time before he grants you pardon: as soon as you wish for forgiveness, he is ready to give it. Behold what the Scripture says: ” Weeping, thou shalt not weep, he will surely have pity on thee." (Isa. xxx. 19.) You shall not have to weep for a long time: as soon as you shall have shed the first tear through sorrow for your sins, God will have mercy on you. ” At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee." (Ibid.) The moment he shall hear you say: Forgive me, my God, forgive me, he will instantly answer and grant your pardon. IN this day’s gospel we find that, having gone up into one of the ships, and having heard from St. Peter, that he and his companions had laboured all the night and had taken nothing, Jesus Christ said: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." They obeyed; and having cast out their nets into the sea, they took such a multitude of fishes, that the nets were nearly broken. Brethren, God has placed us in the midst of the sea of this life, and has commanded us to cast out our nets, that we may catch fishes; that is, that we may perform good works, by which we can acquire merits for eternal life. Happy we, if we attain this end and