Page 16         

                                                                                                                                                                    `                                                                                   

shall come which you feared. Prov. 1:24.
You, says God, have laughed at my words,
my threats, and my chastisements, your last chastisement shall come, and then I will laugh at ye.
And it, (the rod) was turned into a serpent. Exod. 4:3. St. Bruno, in his commentary upon this
passage, says, "the rod is turned into a serpent when they will not amend." The eternal will
succeed the temporal punishment.

Oh how well does not God know how to chastise, and so to order it that from the instruments and
motives of sin should be drawn the chastisement! That they might know that by what things a man
sinneth, by the same also he is tormented. Wisd. 11:17. The Jews put Jesus Christ to death for
fear the Romans should seize on their possessions. If we let Him alone, said they, all will believe
in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and nation. John 11:48. But the same
sin of putting Jesus Christ to death was the cause of their being shortly after despoiled of
everything by the Romans. "They feared they should lose temporal possessons," says St.
Augustine, "and thought not of eternal life, and so lost both." In trying to save their
possessions, they lost their souls; the punishment came, and they lost both. Thus it falls out with
many; they lose their souls for the things of earth; but God often condemns them to beggary in this
world, and reprobation in the next.

My brethren, provoke no longer the anger of your God, know that in proportion to the multitude of
his mercies towards you, in proportion to the length of time he has borne with you, your
punishment will be greater if you do not amend. "The Lord makes up for the slowness of his
chastisement,'' says St. Gregory, "by its grievousness when it does come." Woe to thee, Corozain,
thus does the
Lord speak to a soul that has abused his

favors, Woe to thee Bethsaida, for if in Tyre
and Sidon had been wrought the mighty things which have been wrought in you, they would have done
penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. Luke 10:13. Yes, my brethren, if the graces
which have been given
to you had been given to a Turk or an Indian,
if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the mighty works which have been wrought in you, he would have
 now been a saint, or at least have done great penance for his sins; and have you become a saint?
have you at least done penance for your many mortal sins, for your many evil thoughts, words, and
scandals? see you not how God is angry with you? how he stands with his scourge in his hand? Do
you see not death hanging over you.

And what are we to do? you inquire: are we to despair? No, God does not wish us to despair. Let us
go with confidence to the throne of grace: that is what we are to do, as St. Paul exhorts us, in
order that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid. Heb. 4:16. Let us at once go to
the throne of grace that we may receive the pardon of our sins, and the remission of the
punishment which overhangs us. By seasonable aid the Apostle means to convey that the aid which God
may be willing to lend us today he may deny tomorrow. At once, then, to the throne of grace.

But what is the throne of grace? Jesus Christ, my brethren, is the throne of grace. And He is the
propitiation for our sins. 1 John 2:2. Jesus it is. who by the merit of his blood can obtain
pardon for us, but we must apply immediately The Redeemer, during his preaching in Juda, cured
the sick, and dispensed other favors as he went along; whoever was on the spot to ask a favor of
him, obtained it; but whoever was negligent, and allowed him to pass without a request,
remained as he was. Who went about doing

                                                                                                                                                                    `