The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-02-14

| into desert near the river Jordan where lie
spent forty days and forty nights successfully
| without any earthly comfort, and macerated
| His virginia. body with continual fast.
1t is to initiate Him in His austerities, that
| the fast of Lent has been instituted from the
earliest days of the Church, and piously OBJ
served ever since, by the faithful in all ages.
| This holy practice in the church Is as ancient
as Christianity, and has been received NY ira
dtion from the twelve Apostles of Jesus CHRIST.
| Far from thinking ourselves freed and dis
| pensed from the necessity of fasting as the
| freethinkers and libertines of our days err
roueousIy pretend; far from hattering our
selves that We are exempted from the general
law of doing penance, or discharged from the
obligation of Furnishing and destroying sin in
ourselves We should aknowle ledge the necessity
of executing upon ourselves something of
punishment which our grievous sins deserve
Hence, our Blessed Lord expressly declares
in the Gospel, that "unless do penance we
shall all perish"
He requires US to contribute the small mite
of our poor endeavors, in conjunction with HIS
infinite satisfaction. We must bear in our
bodice some resemblance of His notifications
We must, in fine, comply on orr side with the
conditions, which He requires, in order to
obtain the remission of our sins, and to be
III AIDE partakers of the infinite merits OF His
, death.
Though You were even assured by an angel
9 from Heaven of having obtained the happy
i remission of your sins by virtue of the Sacra-
= ments, vet this should not encourage You to
lead slothfui, INDECENT life, or neglect the
: duties of fasting abstinence, and such'like
T penititential works, because, though your
j sins should be supposed to be remitted, both
d as to the guilt and the eternal punishment due
to them in hell, there might still remain, and
i usually does remain some debt of temporal
4 punishment to be atoned for, either in this life
Q or in the next, until you shall have paid the
h very last farthing to the Divine Justice.
o King David had the comfort to hear the
sentence of his pardon pronounced by the Pro-
u phet Nathan, sent to him by God, and Mary
c Magdaien was assured by Christ Himself that
Q her sins were RENTED, yet this did not hinder
either the or the other from spending the
= remainder of their days i'll the practice of the
most austere fasts, self dsnials and mortilica
e lions
4 This shows you, beloved Children in Christ.
: how incumbent it is You to fast and ab-
+ stain, especially You are far from having
n the like assurance Of Your past sins being par
!, solemn fast because you have snned-and fast,
. n order to prevent the dam ger of falling again
!. into sin =; fasting being not only powerful
O., means TO obtain pardon of sins already COM
$ mitted, but also an antidote against future
sins and il most ,1tectua Al remedy to overcome
\, temptations, to vanquish the devil and defeat
&c all his malicious designs.
re Fasting brides concupiscence quenches the
IF Inst of no
,e passions and tames the rebelious flesh.
D. To encourage you, beloved Children in
Christ, to embrace with fervor this "accept-
L. able tune" Of working out your salvation,
Of we hold before your eyes our great model Jesus
n. Christ, Who, beginning His pnblclife of laboI
aud suffering, tasted forty days and many
- nights and in tormeuts ended His sacred life
~ A suffering God, He Invites us to initiate
Of Himself to take mp our cross and follow Him;
1r to deny ourselves ; to hate our life in this
1t world that may gain it in life eternal.
J. Obey ing, we initiate the Divine Spouse of our
d souls. The bridegroom is taken from us, and
v We will fast our forty days of Lent.
The Church of God yearly, at this holy sea-
< son, accompanies the Divine command -
ID "Blow yc the trumpet in Sion, sdnctify fdst'
ID [Joti - Aud that trumpet voice of Christ
10 through Ills body. the Church, is head and
ID obeyed from pole to pole. For, there is no is
ID land, continent, no city, no nation, nor
corner of the earth remote, in which
to this fast is not proclaimed. Let ex
ty empt himself from the number that fast. An
al gels draw up the list of those who fast-takt
We care that your angel puts down your name
Id Now, therefore, saith the Lord, be convert
s. ed to me with all yonr hearts in fasting, in
~ weeping, and in mourning, and turn to The
- Lord your God" (Joel2 y.
m The Church of Ged, as Spouse of Christ, ant
le fond Mother of the redeemed, in enforcing
the Divine command of fasting, regulates tn,
to discipline of Gods house according to tn,
u wants and strength of her children hence
Sc she exempts certain persons from its exact Oh
lie servauce hence, also, she tempers the severi
ties of the fast, when tho state of the worlc
,r, requires that Indulgence. But in either case
ed as the same spirit ever prompts the faithful
cd soul to long for participation in the suiferin g