The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-12
NEW JERSEY CHURCHES.
ST. PETERS CHURCH, JERSEY CITY.

Sermon by the Very Rev. Father Beau
devin, s. j., ON ssThc Noblest Of All
Christian Virtues.'
The sermon in st. Peters church, Jersey City, at
half-past ten O'Clock, was preached by the Very
Rev. Father Beaudeviu, s. j., from the Gospel of
the day, In which the following passages occur
master, what shall do to obtain eternal lfeP
And Jesus answered and said :-"ThOu shalt love
the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and thy
whole soul, and with oil thy mind and with all thy
strength This do and thou shalt live" Expert
ence has taught us that We
CANNOT FIND PERFECT HAPPINESS
in this world save In the love OF God Yet we have
prostituted the affections of the heart by bestowng
them on frail and transient things. Divine charity
is the
NoBLEsT ALL CHRISTIAN VIRTUES.
There are many mysteries in heaven which we
must believe on the authority OF the word of God.
Penance reminds US that we are fallen and subject
to the tyranny Of our passions. Our very virtues
and the practise OF those virtues remind Of our
mperfections. Divine charity is that virtue by
which we worship our God with our whole heart
and our whole soul. The Christian in whose heart
the names Of divine charity burn can say with st:
Paul, at Is not l that live. but Christ in me-"
Divine charity Is the virtue Of eternity 1t has sur
vived
THE WRECK OF WORLDS,
and therefore it constitutes the very substance OF
| Christian pety. The man whose heart is not in.
| famed Win CnrlStlan cnarlty, no matter what he
may be in other respects. is dead in the sight OF
God. Give me man who has mastered all human
| knowledge, who has explored the wondrOus fields
OF science, and II he yields to single temptation,
If he consents to the commission of one mortal sin,
he is nothing in the sight OF God. st. Paul declares
that without this charity he is sounding brass and
q tinkling cymbal. He adds that If he had faith to
| move mountains, II he should deliver his body to be
burned and have not ,o charity, It prohteth him
spect for the great mind which conceived
| THE PLAN OF THE GREAT UNIVERSE
,l,i do nnhtu l.tr1,
present themselves to our eyes by day and by
night. Why did God bring all things into exist
in this life 1t was that He might enkindc in our
hearts the iames OF divine charity, That was the
mission, and II we do not perform this work
| WE CAN NEVER ENJOY HIM
in the kingdom OF His glory 1t is for this that He
gives us all our faculties. This was the object our
| Saviour had in view when He performed all the
wonders of His life and died on Mount Calvary
This is the reason why He remains with us In Ills
sacraments and will remain till the end Of time, for
''having loved His own WHO were in the world He
loved them unto the end" Why is it that the sacra
In order to iniuse into our hearts the principle OF
divine grace which had lost by sim 1t IS, in short
| quired to love God in the same manner we love
DIVINE CHARITY is NOT SENTIMENT
God Is q Divine essence. 1t Is impossible for us
ever to feel for His divinity the same as we do for
His poor creatures around US. All that Is beautiful
is nothing compared to the beauty Of the divine
generosity, all wisdom, all love, all perfection He
Cannot deceive us. He wishes our happiness, and
therefore, we should love Him and keep His COM
mandments. The Gospel tells us that
| THE CHARITY OF GOD
consists IN the keeping of the law. Our Lord tells
the man in the Gospel "If you wish to obtain eter-
nal life. keep the commandments 1t IL not neces
sary that man should spend all his time, make
extraordinary eXerti0ns or impose cxtraordnai y
penance upon himself He can keep the command
| ments by doing the will OF God according to the
best OF his ability. A man keeps the command.
ments who is determined at all times and under all
circumstances to
| RESIST EVERY TEMPTATION.
II Is true to say that such q man loves God with
| his whole heart and his whole soul; in word, that
he has divine charity In his heart. II q man avoids
the commission OF mortal sin and Keeps on In the
commission OF numerous venial eiiiS, that man will
never step within the bounds he prescribes FOR him
SELF He will tail into the commission OF mortal sin
| very soon The Holy Ghost tells us that he that
dcspises in little things will fall by little and little.