In all that concerns our happiness, here and hereafter, there is the Holy Ghost, the giver of all happiness, the heavenly Comforter. Whichever way we turn, there is the God of love beforehand with us, waiting with His gifts of peace.
Look at the Holy Church herself. Is she not our pride, our glory, our comfort? Why is she holy? Because the Holy Ghost dwells within her. If we have any comfort from the security and surety of our faith, it is because the Holy Ghost keeps that faith pure and unchangeably true. If we have any comfort in her words of wisdom, her good instructions, her guidance of our souls in a holy life, it is because the Holy Ghost keeps her pure in morals. If we have any comfort in the Sacraments, those blessed means of grace, it is because the Holy Ghost is the life-giving power in them all. If we think a good thought, or speak a good word of prayer, of kindness or advice; if we do a good deed of mercy or of charity, it is because the Holy Ghost is the Inspirer of them all. Through His influence all conversions are made, whether of sinners or of unbelievers. He is the Infinite Goodness, the Source of all holiness, and there is nothing that is good but cometh from Him. Nay, more, my brethren. If God the Father was good to us in creating us, it was because of the love of the Holy Ghost. If God the Son was good to us in redeeming us and bringing us to salvation, it was because of the same Holy Spirit; and now He Himself, God the Holy Ghost, fills up the measure of His mercies, and God Himself can do no more.
O Lux beatissima! exclaims the Church. O most blessed Light! fill the depths of the hearts of Thy faithful. Break forth, Christian soul, into singing, and with rapture praise the Holy Ghost.
Yes, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove! may we never cease to invoke Thee in our needs, and praise Thee for the comfort Thou dost bring us. The words of the Psalmist are upon our lips: "Oh! how Thou hast multiplied Thy mercies, O my God! The children of men shall put their trust under the covert of Thy wings. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure. For with Thee is the fount of life; and in Thy light"—O Lux beatissima!—"we shall see light." [Footnote 37]
[Footnote 37: Ps. xxxv. 8-10.]
Sermon VIII.
The Duty Of Upholding The Pope's
Temporal Sovereignty.
(Preached On The Feast of Pentecost,
1870, When A Collection Was Made
For The Holy Father.)
Zach. vi. 13.
"He shall bear the glory,
and shall sit and rule upon his throne;
and he shall be a Priest upon his throne."
We celebrate on this day the foundation of the Catholic Church. For it was on this day that the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles to bestow those gifts of grace which make the Catholic Church a reality. This descent of the Holy Ghost was the fulfilment of prophecies made by the ancient prophets of the old law, who, under the figures of Sion and Jerusalem, have described the Holy Roman Church, and the universal Church under her obedience, diffused through out the world. In their inspired visions respecting the building of the second temple, among others, they have foretold the foundation, the extension, and the glory of this true and everlasting Church and kingdom of Christ upon the earth. As, for instance, the prophet Zacharias, sent by God to build the walls of Jerusalem and the second temple, has foretold the institution of the sovereign pontificate of the Bishops of the Roman Church, the Vicars of Christ, who unite the priestly and the royal dignity in their persons, in the words of my text. "And thou shalt take gold and silver: and shalt make crowns, and thou shalt set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec the high-priest. And thou shalt speak to him, saying: BEHOLD A MAN, THE ORIENT IS HIS NAME: and under him shall he spring up, and shall build a temple to the Lord. Yea, he shall build a temple to the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; AND HE SHALL BE A PRIEST UPON HIS THRONE." This is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, called by the prophet THE ORIENT, which he exercises through his Vicars, the Roman Pontiffs, and which is a spiritual sovereignty, with a temporal sovereignty annexed, as is shown by the words, "a priest upon his throne," as well as by the emblem of the two crowns, one of gold and one of silver. The prophet also foretold that the new Jerusalem, the city of this priestly monarch, should be built of a size so great that it could not be enclosed by walls. "I will be to it a fire round about: and I will be the glory in the midst thereof. Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude of men." [Footnote 38]