own sins which alone retard the work of God. But even this sense of our own impotence does not discourage us; it only excites in us new attention to ourselves; it stimulates to new exertions in duty; it rouses us from our lukewarmness and indolence; and we present ourselves to the combat with more fervor, and with weapons suited to destroy every high thing which exalts itself against the know!edge of God.

8. From this characteristic of zeal there arises another the last which I shall mention; it not only is not provoked against sinners, but it does not even think evil of them. Charity-thinketh no evil.”

It is a fault very common with persons who are zealous for the truth to believe the situation of sinners, whom they find insensible to instruction, to advice, and to remonstrance, to be desperate; the more they desire the salvation of such sinners, the more do they despair of it. They think they can plainly discover in them, written in legible characters, that they are forsaken of God; their language conforms to the rashness of their thoughts; they publicly bewail them as already judged; they mourn for their loss; and as if they had entered into the secret counsels of the Lord, or as if his mercies were not more abundant than the sins of men, they weep over those as already lost, whom God is perhaps upon the point of saving. It is rashness thus to anticipate the secret judgments of God; it is distrust of the power of his grace.

While Saul was persecuting the Church of God, and inflicting the greatest sufferings upon the followers of Christ, assembled at Jerusalem, one could not have believed there was any rashness in considering him as a scourge of God, destined to purify his saints, and afterwards to be cast into eternal fire, there to suffer for his cruel persecution of the Christians; however while he was still armed against Christ, a

sudden and unexpected stroke of grace converted this persecutor into an Apostle. Judas, on the contrary, called by Christ himself to be a disciple, the companion of his travels, the witness of his miracles, was doubtless supposed to be appointed to sit one day upon one of the twelve thrones, destined to the Apostles, there to judge the twelve tribes of Israel; however, he himself was judged before that day; he became a "Son of perdition," the first apostate from Christianity, and died a reprobate. The children of the kingdom may be cast out; and God can raise up children to Abraham, even from stones-from hearts the most hard, and the most insensible. It is only for the conversion of Satan and his angels that we are forbidden to hope; but for sinners who still live among us, and for whom Christ died, however their sins may have abounded, the blood of the true Abel still cries to heaven, and demands not their punishment, but their salvation and deliverance.

Now you, who judge your fellow men before God has judged them, how do you know, says St. Paul, that you, who appear so firm in the ways of God, will not fall to rise no more? And that those, whom you believe to have fallen, without hope of remedy, will not rise to fall no more? Who has revealed to you the adorable secrets of the mercy and justice of the Lord, with regard to men? Are not the perseverance of saints and the conversion of sinners, equally the effect of free grace, and the gratuitous gifts of mercy? Why then will you believe it right to hope the first for yourselves, and to despair of the other for your fellow men? Take care, says the Apostle, not to judge before the time; there are in the treasures of divine mercy so many resources unknown to us, and in the terrors of divine justice so many depths into which we are forbidden to search, that we ought always to work out our own salvation with fear, and expect that of others with hope. The highest point of iniquity is often the first moment of grace; when

the prodigal son is at the greatest distance from his father, without hope of returning, and as it were lost in a strange country, it is then that he says, "I will return to my father." He in fact returns; the kiss of peace and reconciliation is given to him; and he is restored to his forfeited privileges. Thus the true zeal of charity never despairs: "Charity-hopeth all things."

Further, it sometimes happens that people are not satisfied with judging and condemning a sinner because of iniquity which really exists, and which is visible, but they think they see sin where there is. none; this is another essential fault of the zeal of some, and opposed to that charity which "thinketh no evil." Yes, my brethren, of the various reproaches which the world, the perpetual calumniator of religion, casts upon the righteous, this is not the most unjust, that they are sometimes too severe-in judging others. Instead of being confirmed in that charity which hopes the best of every one, many give themselves up to that false zeal which believes the worst; and they make a merit of seeing more clearly than others into the faults of their neighbors. True charity covers the failings of others, and scarcely sees the evil which is visible to all the world; but many pretend to see that which is invisible to other men. Charity conceals that which it cannot excuse, but they do not excuse even that which appearances justify, and render at least uncertain. They think they give glory to God, when they judge others to be more sinful and more full of worldly desires than they appear to be; and they applaud themselves for any discovery which happens to confirm their suspi-. cions. Now, nothing resembles charity less than that malignant eye which is open only to discover the faults of others; and the same charity which. should make us desire their salvation, will discover to us in them circumstances which will lead us at least to hope it.

Let us leave to men of the world, my brethren, malignant judgments, and rash suspicions and thoughts. As hatred, envy, and jealousy are the great springs of their judgments, it is not astonishing that they should all bear the marks of these baneful passions. But for us, destined by our calling to labors of love, vicars and ministers of the love of Jesus Christ to men, our thoughts and our judgments ought to bear the stamp of our employments and our ministry. That sharp, cruel, satirical zeal, always more ready to censure than to instruct-always clear sighted in discovering errors which escape the notice of others' eyes—always reluctant to believe good of any one-always ready to assign criminal motives to the actions of men-always indisposed to be indulgent to others, and to interpret their conduct favorably ;that zeal which gives itself full license in speaking of the faults of others--which makes them an occasion of satire, rather than of tears and prayers,,which sees by anticipation the evil not yet committed-which glories in having predicted the most shameful crimes, and honors itself for the prediction -which publicly boasts of never having been the dupe of appearances that have deceived other men ; such zeal is not the charity which "rejoiceth not in iniquity, which beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Let us then, my brethren, be on our guard against ourselves, while performing services in which we appear to seek only the glory of God, and the salvation of our fellow men. It is extremely difficult for man not to mingle something of his own with every thing that passes through his hands; he is like an infected canal, whatever runs through which, though originally pure, contracts some stain. But what ought still more to excite our attention is, that we are charged with the honor and interests of religion; and this is debased and dishonored by every thing merely human in our labors. Men of the world will pardon nothing

in us; they are delighted with an opportunity of recriminating, and of avenging themselves for our reproaching them for their vices, by reproaching us for our errors without any indulgence. Instead of influencing sinners to reform, by false zeal, we only furnish them with new pretexts for impenitence; we cause them to revolt against the truth; we present it to them under a hideous and forbidding form; and we take from it every thing amiable, every thing calculated to touch the conscience and affect the heart.

To conclude, let us remember, my brethren, that the zeal of charity, like charity itself, is long-suffering and kind, not envious, not rash, not vain, not selfish, not easily provoked, not suspicious, and not inIclined to think evil of others. Let us banish these odious traits from our zeal; let us wholly renounce ourselves, and leave the Spirit of God alone to speak and act in us. He vanquished the world by the mouth of the first ministers of the gospel; he will again vanquish it by ours, if it is he alone who inspires us and causes us to speak. If the truth makes little progress among men, the fault is to be ascribed to us, not to the truth. The world was formerly much more opposed to it, when it first began to appear in the preaching of the gospel; but the fury of tyrants, the power of Cesars, the vain wisdom of philosophers, the ancient superstitions of the whole world, the most shameful passions, authorized by a worship which the majesty of laws rendered respectable,-all these obstacles, to appearance so insurmountable, gave way before it; and the most profound darkness yielded to the force and splendor of its light. Let us then enter into the spirit of our holy predecessors, and we may hope our labors will be crowned with similar success; let us imitate their zeal and we may expect to reap the same fruit; for "the arm of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." Amen.