The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-06-08
A Five Minute Sermon.

If thy right eye cause thee to offend,
pluck it out and cast it from thee.-S.
Matt. v-29.
Here is a severe remedy to be ap-
piled in order to avoid giving offense;
and yet it was uttered by Him who
had pity for the sinner and who knew
well the difficulties and obstacles in the
way of avoiding sin. But the severity
Of the remedy only emphasizes the i'm
portance and necessity of avoiding the
occasion of sin, and Of cutting loose
from everything that leads to sin.
And yet in the face of such COM
mand, and in spite of such warning,
we find men falling continually into
sins which could have easily been
avoided if only the simplest precaution
had been observed. Many Of us have
no conception Of the 4Dllgation to
avoid the occasion Of sin, and do not
realize the necessity Of removing frola
our path the obstacles that retard and
prevent the life and growth Of the.
soul. We come to the feet Of Christ
full of sorrow for our sins, and with
firm resolution Of SHINING no more but
we seldom think Of examining into the
occasions of our former falls and Of
removing ourselves from them. The
sinner may cry out that he hates sin,
but in his heart does he abhor that
which led him into sin? Does he in.
tend to shun the persons, places and
things that led him into sin? The
child needs to be burnt but once: it
will not touch the fire a second time.
but repeated falling into sin does not
seem to teach the sinner that he must
avoid the occasion Of sin if he wishes
to keep his soul pure and spotless.
We can not trifle with God; we can
not cry out "spare, o Lord, spare Thy
servant" and then rush into places
where, from past experience, sin is
sure to follow. He who loves the dan
ger, shall perish in it. Dear brethren.
we know that in a great city like this
there are many occasions of sin, and
that If we wish to remain sinless we
must steer clear of them. We must be
watchful at all times and guard our
senses lest we fall into sin. But above
all we must keep watch over our eyes
and not look where there is danger
This, of course, is no easy task, but
rather difficult. It means a struggle
the whole day. For our eyes, unless
carefully guarded, are offended at eyery
step we take. Along the streets, in the
shops and in the show windows we
constantly see things that offend Chris
tan purity and decency. To all these
Things we must shut our eyes and not
let the enemy Of souls enter in. We
must never, even for an instant, look
Eon anything that may be dangerous to
our souls welfare. We must get ar.
customed to this Christian custody Of
the eyes. At home we must begin nv
oanishing any picture that may be sin
ful Or suggestive. On the streets we
must not stand before show windows
or signs where sinful pictures are on
exhibition or sale.
Let us keep away from the play or
show that may offend in this regard
Let us Keep out of stores, and refuse
10 buy from men who sell books and
pictures that good Christians know are
harmful. In fact, let us in every wav
str1ve to keep our souls and bodies
pure in Gods sight, and in order to do
so let us always keep watchful Gus
tody over our eyes.
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