The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-10-16
VIRTUE OF FORGIVENESS.
Thoughtful Sermon by Rev. D. j.
MacGouldrick in st. Peters
Cathedral.

At the high mass at st. Peters Ca
thedral. yesterday morning, an elo-
uuent sermon on "The Virtue of For
givencss," was preached by Rev. ID. ].
MacGouldrick. He took his text from
the eighteenth chapter of Mathew:
Father Forgive Them for They Know
not What They do"
He took as the main idea of the par
able the much-neglected and much
misunderstood virtue of the forgive
ness of injuries. He cautioned his
hearers against the mistake that some
make who fancy that the simple words
and pictures made use of by our Lord
were addressed merely to his hearers
in the days of long ago, applicable
directly to those who heard Him and
only indirectly or perhaps casually to
us. Every word our Lord spoke, every
illustration He made use of during
His mortal career and His converse
ton among men. the reverend speake.
said, must be readily applicable to us
and to every human being who shal!
listen to the story Of our Lords life
in all time to come as it was to the
obdurate hearts in far-off Judea that
would not soften under the floods of
grace our Lord must have poured upon
them at every encounter during His
mortal life.
But it is our special happiness rot
to be obliged to cOnfine our attention
to the shifting figures of a parable,
our Lord does not intend to each us
by parallels. The Jews He taught in
parallels but to us it is given to know
the words of eternal life. And when
our Lord desires to teach His children
how to practice the virtue of the for
giVeness Of injuries, virtue not merely
beyond our human powers, but almost
hey Sond the capacity of human intclIi.
gcnce, He did not recite parable; He
did not merely announce a law for oh
servance, He pointed to his own lif;
and showed us by His own cOndcrt
the lesson He would have us learn.
Here the speaker pointed out the
different methods of our Lords for
giveness. showing how far our divine
model can be initiated by us and whore
our imitation, though possible. is not
required.
our Lord. during His mortal life gave
many proofs of his forgiveness of those
VINO had sought to do Him injury, but
chieillY on the cross when with a loud
voice He cried to His heavenly Father;
Rather, forgive them for they know
not what they do" Another marvellous
instance of our Lords forgiveness of
injuries is the pardon extended to tina
penitent in the confessional where NOT
merely as on the cross, and in the 9TH
er instances of our Lord s life He with
holds the punishment. and accords
immunity, and allows the criminal
depart but with tenderness and af-
fe"tion that can belong only to His
Sacred Heart Immediately that the
words of absolution are pronounced a
Hood of sanCtified grace is poured into
the penitent and contrite soul, the
enemy Of God has again become His
friend. Peace and Joy such as only
can come of union with the Prince Of
Peace again take possession of the
troubled and remorseful heart. and a
foretaste OF heaven, not as a shadow or
suggestion, hut as a living reality,
comes into the human life quickened
by the gift that communicates the mer-
its OF the Redemer to the redeemed.
In this peculiar manner exercised by
our Lord in His sacramental life the
speaker said, we are not called upon
to initiate our Lord for as a Catholic
poet sWeetly said:
Only Heaven says crown'd, rot van
quished,
/ When it says forgiven.
But in all that our Lord gave ex-
ample of in His mortal life when for-
| giving injuries we are expected, as far
as human fraity will allow to initiate
Him.