Sermon for the FEAST OF ALL SAINTS by Rev. James Conway, S.J.

[InHocSignoVinces]

Sermon for the FEAST OF ALL SAINTS by Rev. James Conway, S.J. (1889)

THE REWARD OF SANCTITY.

"Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is very great in heaven." -- Matt, v. 12.


THE chief object of the Church in celebrating this
festival in honor of all the saints is to direct our attention
to the reward which God has promised to, and
actually bestows upon His faithful servants ; and thus
to incite us to follow in their footsteps, that we may
gain the same exceeding great reward. For the same
reward is held out to all of us, if we only imitate the
example of the saints. In accordance with the intention
of the Church, I shall endeavor to show you
the greatness and excellence of the reward of sanctity,
while I contrast it with the reward which the world
gives to its followers. While the recompense of the
world is uncertain, the reward of sanctity is absolutely
certain ; while the recompense of the world is insignifi-
cant and unsatisfactory, the reward of sanctity is great
and all-sufficient ; while the recompense of the world
is fleeting and perishable, the reward of sanctity is
permanent and everlasting. The reward of the saints
has, therefore, three great advantages over the petty
remunerations of this world : (1) absolute certainty,
(2) surpassing greatness, and (3) duration without end.


I. CERTAINTY.

The first quality of the reward of the saints, that is,
of the true followers of Christ, is its infallible certainty.
This attribute, beloved brethren, is one of surpassing
excellence. For there is nothing that so sustains and
consoles one in toils and hardships as the prospect
of certain remuneration, as there is nothing, on the
other hand, that is more likely to discourage one
than the probability of the fruitlessness of one's labors,
the uncertainty of remuneration. When I speak of reward,
I mean a recompense which is strictly merited,
and to which the claimer has a strict right. Now, the
servant of the world, as well as the faithful follower of
Christ, has a right to his due recompense. But, while
the reward which Christ holds out to His followers
is infallibly certain, that which the world promises is
most doubtful. It is an acknowledged fact that many
services rendered in the cause of the world remain
unrequited ; but no merits obtained in the cause of
Christ go without their due reward. There are chiefly
three classes of merits which remain unrewarded
by the world.


To be continued...

[InHocSignoVinces]

I. In the first place, there are numberless services
rendered in the cause of the world which are never acknowledged.
Are not many services, rendered to the
world, utterly overlooked ? How many are there the
remembrance of which is effaced by time ? How many
glide into everlasting forgetfulness ? How many are
misrepresented by hatred and envy ? But the case is
different with those merits which are obtained in the
cause of Christ. None remains unknown ; all are recorded
in the all-comprehending mind of God. He is
omniscient; nothing can escape His notice. He knows
each and every one, even of our least and most hidden
merits -those merits which the world ignores and
despises ; those merits which, perhaps, we ourselves
have never noticed, or have long since forgotten. He
looks into the heart, and acknowledges and rewards
not only our good deeds, but also our good will and
our desire to please Him, according to the words of
the Psalmist : "The Lord hath heard the desire of the
poor ; Thy ear hath heard the preparation of their
heart" (Ps. Heb. ix. 17). He acknowledges and
rewards the least actions done in His service ; not even
a cup of water given in His name (Matt. x. 42), not
even the widow s mite (Mark xii. 43), goes unrewarded.
And, since God is not only all-knowing but also all-just,
His rewards are strictly proportioned to our
merits, while the rewards given by men are often in
no proportion to the services rendered. Moreover,
while men are often forgetful of past services, the
memory of Almighty God is infallible, so that even
our most insignificant meritorious actions are always
before Him, as He assures us in the words of the Psal
mist : "I will not reprove thee, for thy sacrifices ; and
thy burnt-offerings are always in My sight" (Ps. xlix. 8).


To be continued...

[InHocSignoVinces]

2. A second class of merits which are not rewarded
by the world are those that are, indeed, known and
acknowledged, but unfavorably received. And to this
class, as experience shows, belong many of the services
rendered in the cause of this world. How could it be
otherwise, since among the followers of the world
there are so many proud, selfish, and envious men,
who look with jealousy on the merits of others? But
with God the case is different. There is no merit
which is displeasing to Him. For, as God of necessity
hates evil, so of necessity He loves what is good.
Among the numberless merits of the saints there is
none but is pleasing to God ; because merit itself is a
gift of God, who gives us both to will and to perform
what is good.


3. A third class of merits which go unrewarded are
those which, although acknowledged and appreciated,
cannot be sufficiently rewarded. Such merits are of no
rare occurrence in the service of the world -merits
which, on account of their greatness or their character,
exceed all remuneration that man can bestow in
this world. Can any earthly reward sufficiently compensate
the man who for the benefit of his fellow-men
sacrifices his health or even his life? And yet how
often does it not happen that health and life are sacri-
ficed in the cause of the world ? What earthly treasure
can repair such a loss? How, then, can the world
reward such services? But God, whose power and
liberality are infinite, can reward all merits obtained in
His service, however numerous and great they may
be ; He can reward them not only adequately, but also
superabundantly.


While, therefore, the rewards of the world are uncertain,
the reward of God is infallibly certain. How
great, then, is the folly of those who are so engrossed
in the service of this world in the pursuit of riches,
honors, and pleasures that they neglect the service
of God, and seek the uncertain recompense that the
world gives, instead of the certain reward which God
holds out to His servants ! But what makes their
folly still greater is the fact that, while the recompense
which the world promises is paltry and insufficient,
the reward which God gives is exceeding great.


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[InHocSignoVinces]

II. GREATNESS.


A reward is justly called great, says St. Jerome,
when it exceeds, or at least equals, the merits for
which it has been obtained, and St. Augustine calls
that reward great which makes the receiver perfectly happy.
A reward that is truly great must, therefore,
possess these two qualities. But the reward
which God gives to His saints possesses these two
attributes in the highest degree, while the reward
promised by the world is neither equal to the merit
for which it is offered, nor capable of rendering its
recipient truly happy.


I. The reward of the saints exceeds their merits,
while that of the servants of the world is inferior to
their merits. To the recompense of the followers of
this world may be applied the words of the Prophet :
"You have sowed much and brought in little,
you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink ;
you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed,
and he that hath earned wages put them into a bag
with holes" (Agg. i. 6). You have sown much : Oh,
what have you not done in the service of the world
to obtain temporal happiness or success ! What sacri-
fices have you not made -sacrifices of your rest and
comfort, sacrifices of your freedom and independence,
sacrifices of your peace and domestic happiness !
What toils and hardships have you not undergone ! To
what trials and dangers have you not exposed yourselves !
What patience and endurance have you not
practised ! You have sown much. But what have you
reaped ? Where is your reward ? All you can show is
disappointment and discontent. Or, let us suppose you
have gained your object -that you have attained to
wealth, honor, and worldly enjoyments -did you then
feel that you were fully compensated ? Or must you
not, on the contrary, confess that "you have brought
in little" ? With wealth you reaped only greater
cares and anxieties ; with worldly honors only greater
responsibilities, and perhaps criticism, envy, hatred,
and ridicule ; with sensual enjoyments only loathing,
weariness, and remorse. The result was disappointment
and dissatisfaction. You have sown much and
reaped little ; you put your wages in a bag with holes.


How different is the case of the followers of Christ !
They too have sown much. They have labored and
suffered much in the cause of Christ. Their lives
were austere. They crucified their flesh, mortified
their bodies, denied themselves. But they consoled
and strengthened themselves with the prospect of the
reward that awaited them, and said to themselves,
with the Apostle : "I reckon that the sufferings of
this time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory to come, that shall be revealed in us" (Rom. viii. 1 8).
Oh, how great is that reward compared with
the little they have done and suffered in this life !
Hear the assuring words of our blessed Lord Himself :
"Well done, good and faithful servant ; because
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place
thee over many things ; enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord" (Matt. xxv. 21). Little it is, therefore,
that they have done and suffered compared with the
greatness of the reward which is in store for them.
Their reward is, consequently, incomparably greater
than their merits. As, therefore, the rewards offered
by the world are inferior to the merits of its followers,
so the reward of the servants of Christ is infinitely supe-
rior to their merits.


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[InHocSignoVinces]

2. But, however great the rewards of the world
may be, they cannot make their recipients completely
happy -a condition which, I said, was essential to a
truly great reward. That this necessary attribute is
lacking in the reward which the world bestows is
evident from the fact that we find not a single one
among the followers of the world who can say that he
is perfectly happy. Or have you ever met a votary
of the world who was truly happy ? True, we sometimes
meet such as enjoy the fulness of riches, honors,
and enjoyments, who lack nothing that this world
can supply. But is there one amongst them who is
perfectly happy ; who has no afflictions, no cares, no
longings -in short, who has everything his heart desires ?
No ; not even one. And the reason is, as St.
Chrysostom tells us, that it is an unchangeable and
eternal truth that all the treasures of this life, even
taken together, are not able to satisfy the longings of
the human heart.


The reward of the saints, on the other hand, has this
property of conferring on the possessor the fulness of
happiness, and is, therefore, a truly great reward. For
it is the teaching of faith that it satisfies every longing
of the human heart, and produces perfect happiness.
"I shall be satisfied when Thy glory shall appear," says
the Psalmist (Ps. xvi. 15); viz., till then, whatever the
world may afford me, I shall be hungry and thirsty ;
my yearning shall not be appeased ; but as soon as I
shall become partaker of Thy glory, all my longings
shall be satisfied, and my soul shall find rest. Thy
glory shall at once deliver me from all evil, and put
me in the full possession of all good.
Thus thought King David, the man according to the heart of God.
And how could it be otherwise, since the reward of the
elect, this glory of which the Psalmist speaks, is the
full and undivided possession of God, according to the
words of the Lord Himself : "I am thy reward exceeding
great" (Gen. xv. i). And does not the Psalmist,
in another place, say : "They shall be inebriated
with the plenty of Thy house ; and Thou shalt make
them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure" ? (Ps. xxxv. 9.)


Judge, then, beloved brethren, whether the reward
which God gives to His servants is not exceeding great,
compared with the wages which this world offers to
its followers, and whether it is not the greatest
imaginable folly to prefer the service of this world to the
service of God. But this folly must appear utter madness
if we, furthermore, consider that the recompense
of the world is of short duration, while the reward of
God is eternal.


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[InHocSignoVinces]

III. DURATION.


1. The rewards which the world offers us are fleeting
and perishable, because they either sooner or later
escape our grasp, or we, at least, are some time or
other called upon to abandon them for good. There
is nothing easier than to lose those worldly goods of
which we have with great efforts possessed ourselves.
How often does this not actually happen ? Or is it a
thing of so rare occurrence that a man all at once
loses all he possessed ? How often do we meet such
as once lived in affluence again struggling to earn their
bread in the sweat of their brow even at the most humble
occupation ! Or is it a thing unheard of that men
who had been raised to high positions, and were once renowned,
have fallen into oblivion, or even into contempt ?
The reward of the world, therefore, however secure it
may seem, may easily escape our grasp. But though
we should manage to keep our hold of it during the
short span of this life, yet implacable death will one
day wrest it from our hands. When death once knocks
at our door, we must obey his summons ; we must go,
leaving all behind. The world claims again as its own
whatever it has given us. So shortlived, so fleeting, is
the world's reward !


2. The reward of the saints is, on the other hand, an
imperishable, eternal one. It will never be taken from
them, nor will they be called upon to relinquish it. It
will not be taken from them, because it consists in the
possession of God, which can be lost only by sin ; and the
saints, when once admitted into glory, can sin no more.
They will not be called upon to relinquish their reward ;
for "death shall be no more ; nor mourning, nor crying,
nor sorrow shall be any more ; for the former things
are passed away" (Apoc. xxi. 4) ; and "the just shall
live for evermore" (Wis. v. 16), says the Holy Ghost.
Nothing can, therefore, separate them from their exceeding
great reward, from the inexhaustible source of never-ending joy.


The reward of the saints is, therefore, absolutely
certain and exceeding great ; it is imperishable ; it
cannot be lost or wrested from them ; it will last for
ever. As long as God is God, those who have served
Him faithfully to the end will be surrounded by a sea
of unspeakable bliss and delight. It was this prospect
of the eternal reward that, next to their pure love of
God, stimulated the saints to give themselves up wholly
to God's service ; that sustained them in all their
toils and sufferings and struggles ; that filled their
hearts to overflowing with the sweetest consolations
in the midst of their afflictions. Beloved brethren, the
same reward is in store for each one of us. Should
the prospect of this reward not have the same effects
upon us ? Were the saints not men and women like
ourselves ? Had they not the same human nature,
with all its evil inclinations, the same difficulties to
overcome, the same obstacles to surmount ? Let us,
then, today, in view of this infinitely great and eternal
reward, make the firm resolution henceforth, according
to the example of the saints, to devote ourselves
wholly to the service of God, carefully to avoid sin,
and faithfully to fulfil our Christian duties. And this
generous purpose, aided by the grace of God, will secure
for us the final victory over all the enemies of
our salvation, will lead us to the never-ending bliss,
which is the infallible, unfathomable, and eternal
reward of God's saints. Amen.


(Taken from SERMONS FOR The Sundays and Chief
Festivals OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR, BY
REV. JULIUS POTTGEISSER, S.J.
Rendered from the German
BY REV. JAMES CONWAY, S.J.
Benzinger Brothers, New York, 1889)