The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-03-10

| That Re may devote all his time to you, and
| have no in terest to keep him from those duties,
| he excludes himself from the married state
| aud he is not allowed to follow any worldly
| business for his maintenance. "No man." says
st. Panl, "beng o soldier of God, entan gleth
himself with worldly business: that he may
please Him to whom he hath engaged himself"
(2i Tim xi, Al
When a person, then, for the sake OF your
souls, dedicates himself entirely to laboring
for you, renounces all other occupations, how
is he to livei He must eat, he must be
clothed; he must have o home, both for his
needs and for receiving his people when they
come to him. He ought to have the comforts
which will enable him to preserve his health
and keep him in vigor and cheerfuiness TO
labor with q good heart. He ought to be
maintained likewise in that outward deoenoy
which, in the manners Of the country end IN
the eyes of the world, will show the respect ne
ia entitled to will show the esteem you have
for the Church of God and for the sacred func'
,ions OF the Priesthood. If civil magistrates
are entitled, in justice, to be supported by the
people, though they may have other means Of
providing for themselves, how much more the
pastors of your souls, who have no other
maintenance, and who are furnishing to you
the most necessary of all your wants-the
instruction, the Sacramento, and the other
meana of grace on which your salvation and
that of your children are made by Gods Provi-
dence to depends This ia the argument
of the Holy Ghost Himself, given through
| the Apostle st. Paul: "Who serveth as q
soldier at any time, at his own expense
Who planteth q vineyard and eateth not the
! fruit thereof Who feedeth flock, and useth
not the milk of the look" q Cor. ix,70
! And this natural law of right and wrong
God enforced very vigorously in His written
law given to Moses. He set aside the tribe Of
| Levi to be the Priests and Pastors of the peo.
pie; and to have care of the Tabernacle and
the Temple, which were given for the beneat
of the people, plumbers, vii) And He COM
mand cd that the people should give to these
Levites one-tenth part of all the fruits Of their
lands every year, their grain, their stock, etc.,
| and moreover the first fruits and the first born
of all their possessions. Gevit. xvii, 80 ;
Numbers xviii, 8, 21, eto.) He declares that
their neglect of paying these contributions
should be felt and punished as an injury to
God Himself, and that their fdility in doing
it should bring them the blessing of abund-
ance. "You sfl ics me in tithes and first fraits;
and you are cursed with want Bring all the
! tithes into the storehouse (of the Temple) that
there may be meat in my house: and try me in
this, if open not to you the flood gates OF
heaven, and point out to you blessing, even
to abundance" {Aalaohias, iii. 81
To the Hebrew people God commonly gave
reward in this life for their observance of His
law,
-ho Ahn avo nj q AM
the graces of the Cross of Christ, He does moi
promise reward unless in heaven. But even
with % the most of our Affections are punish
ments for sin; and very often the conscientious
observance of His law turns away calsmitiei
and brings temporal prosperity. "For justice
oxalteth nation but sin maketh the people
, miserable" prov. xiv. 34.)
The law of giving exactly one-tenth and th'
first fruits, was binding on the Jews of old.
, They were a material people, needing to hav'
, every duty marked out in definite terms
( Christians enlightened and strengthened b.
), the grace of Christ must use His light to direc
8 their own conscience in this as in many othe
: duties. Our Lord leaves them room to SHOW
g themaelves either liberal or grudging, in Civ
j. ing back to Him q portion of what He ha
:, given to them. And He will be in bis turn
}. | bountiful or scanty in His blessings to them
=; "By whatsoever measure ye shall measure:
s shall be measured to you again" (Matt. vii. 2
It Hence He does not prescribe to Christian
10 the exact amount which they must contribute
" but the law itself, that they must suppol
J. becomingly those who minister to their soul
[e He renews and confirms; and He will iuda
ts each one as to his obedience to it.
ot In the Gospel He says the laborer is worth
70 of his hire And His Apostle, st. Paul, declare
re that Christ ordered "They who preach IL
to Gospel should live by the Gospel" Il. Cor. i:
l3.) And He directs the Bishop Timothy
en- see to it, that the Priests who labor we'll Until
es sacred ministry, should have support in a
I'D cordance with the honor due to their merit
ly LET the Priests that rule well, be esteemt
a worthy of double honor, especially they WI
Tor labor in the word, in teaching: for the labor
Id, is worthy Of his hire" (II Tim. V. IL
CHI If ST. Paul sometimes worked in the night