The New York herald., 1872-12-02
ST. FRANCIS XAvIER'S CHURCH.

The Last JudgmcMt-sermon by the
Rev. Father Cazeau, Sd.
The Rev. Father Cazeau yesterday at the high
mass services preached the sermon. He took his
text from the gospel of the day according to ST.
Luke which begins:-"There shall be signs in the
sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon
the earth Distress of nations.n The reverend
Father then went on to say that now was the ac-
ceptable time OF salvation. A man who was in sin
should not put of the day OF his return to God, for
he knew not whether he should live till the NOR.
row. The present alone was ours. The past was
beyond our recall and the future we could not fix
Besides 1t was grievous sin against Almighty God
for any man to presume on His goodness and go on
SHINING without tear Of
THE VENGEANCE OF HEAVEN,
trusting all the while that God was so good that
He would extend His hand out to him II he was in
danger Of death and give him q chance to repent
and save his immortal soul. 1t behooyed every
God, and Just SO sure as God exists and a man was
In the state OF mortal SIM just SO sure would he be
damned to everlasting torment. In the gospel he
THE LAST JUDGMENT
was pictured, and the mere thought OF such a
thing If nothing else could move him, ought to
make the sinner stop in his career OF badness and
think where he was going. man In sin and who
delayed his repentance was sleeping on the very
brink OF hell. God wished to save the sinner. He
did not hate him, but He hated sin. He de-
sired that he should repent and be saved, not
lost He was, 1t is true all powerful, but He had
made us free agents, and, as st. Augustine says,
as He created us without our consent, great as was
His power, lie could not save us without our COOP
Grafton. or course His grace was necessary to our
being successful in overcoming all the temptations
the devil assals US with, but we had 1t In our
power to damn or
by our own actions. 1t was our duty as Christians
50 to act as to not give way to temptations BY
prayer ana Keeping a constant watch over our ac-
tons. words and thoughts. Uath wOud n
straight one to heaven Yet how many OF us, day
after day. went about our affairs as though there
was no God at ALL or at least as though we cared
very little whether He existed or not. We threw our
whole souls into a business transaction and spent
be successful In some matter which we hoped would
bring TO us
PEcUNIARY REWARDS.
But how very seldom, II at all, did we put our
selves out OF the way TO serve God, and vet in
serving Him faithfully we would be only doing that
which would secure for ourselves happiness
1t was as inevitable as that the world was not for
All time For some IL would come soon for others
later, but for all II was certainty. According to
cur lives, then, should we be judged. Faith alone
would not save US without good works, and good
works would not save US without faith Charity
the poor so that God would take compassion upon
u.s.. what an awful thing 1t was to think OF that
last Judgment, when the Saviour would no longer
speak TO us as a brother but as master. Which
did we prefer, then, His curse on that day or HIS
WELCOME TO HEAvENS
~ was ielt 70 ourselves 10 ueclde which. In this
world we might attain to fame; we might
accumulate wealth; but, II we lost our immortal
souls, what avaed all honOrs, all richesY We might
now wear better clothes than the poor, poverty
stricken one who was In rags and suffering for the
bare wants Of life, and yet who was faithful to his
God; but beyond the grave he indeed would be ex-
altcd; and we, II we failed in our duties, would
receive that terrible condemnation from the
Savour's lips: depart from Me, ye cursed, into
EVERLASTING FIRE.
At that supreme moment, at that last day OF judg.
ment, when each and every one OF US would stand
In the presence of his God, with every act OF his
life made plain to all the rest OF the world even to
the most secret action, of what avail IL we died un.
repentant, would be all our worldly fame and
honor and wealth. How would we compare with
the humble, unknown ones who practiscd virtue
and died In the grace of the Lord2