The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-11-29

mans love is the test OF his worth.
"HOw shall man know what things
he loves? What is Christ but Gods
infinite goodness and mercy. His whole
life was spent in the preaching and
practice of love.
'There is no merit, however, in low
ing what naturally attracts us. We
love the sunshine, we love the beauti-
full colors and fragrances of blowing
flowers, we love the sparkling stream
that flows through the vernal meadows.
When we look upon the young, strong,
fair and noble, when we are thrown
into contact with the wise and cour-
ageous we are drawn to them, and
hence there is no virtue in this kind Of
love.
But our Divine Lord turned our
thoughts to love which is different
a love which involves a ceaseless striv-
ing to overcome mere appetite. Instinct
with divine enthusiasm, He went
about doing beautiful works of mercy
and love for the poor and suffering,
for the outcast and the needy.
"Now, therefore, how are we going
to get at the quality Of mans love?
There is no merit in loving what is
beautiful, what is young and fair, and
powerful. We worship success, and
there is an element of success in all
strength and courage. How shall we
turn our thoughts from this natural
trend of our nature?
Given the Greek, with all his genius
and with all his keen intellectual
vision, lacked the sense of mercy.
"Our Lord was to turn mems uni
verse on it's axis, to create revulsion
from this instructive worship Of what
is beautiful and strong, from material
things back to the service Of God, and
to the teaching and practice of divine
things.
GLOW are we going to know what
we are worth by testing the quality
of our love? We love things which we
are always yearning for, which we
are struggling for. We can know our
selves only by getting an insight into
what we are really aiming at. What
is our purpose? What is the thing that
we seek to attain? What is that we
look upon the ideal, as most desir-
able? What is our predominant
thought?
"What is the sole aim Of all we are
struggling for? Is it something ma
terial? Is it money? Is it the in
Vulnerable things the possession of
which is the equivalent of money? Is
it position, distinction? Is it appear
ing among men as having some acct
dental and circumstantial thing that
will lift us up in their estimation? No
man really respects one whose thoughts
are largely busy with what he eats
and drinks or one who worries over
what he wears. The quality Of such
mans love is material.
"But our Lord has created in man a
new passion Of love. The tendency Of
all educational processes is to recre-
ate, to reform, to make really what is
potential to bring into being the good
that is latent. This is what our Lord
wishes to do, to make us new creatures,
to make us understand that we really
have an infinite and eternal cause far
nearer to us than any human kinship.
Therefore, he is bringing back this doc
trine of love.
'''Thou shalt not commit adultery.
That is sin against love. All things
that wrong neighbor are against love.
But we can sin against love, though
we hurt no man; we can sin against
our self-respect, against our bodies AS
temples of the Holy Ghost.
"Lust kills more than the sword
Lust kills not only the body, but kills
all that makes love honorable, pure
and generous, so that little by little it
brings up into the darkness Of lower
worlds, into a miasma which renders
it impossible for us to think or to act
nobly.
1--WE should love our neighbor and
do him good, not merely the man who
is near to us, but every man whether
he resides at the antipodes or next
door to us, and no matter what the
color of his skin is.
"'Thou shalt not steal Reference is
made in this commandment to part
of mans external nature; the things he
owns All civilized men have respect
for the law Of property. All civiliza-
ton is founded on this respect for
property. The desire for property
causes men to form habits of industry,
of self-denial, Of economy, and stimu-
lates them to perform a thousand
things. The language we speak, the
clothes we wear, everything we have
has come down to us from prehistoric
times for our use, and we must respect
the law of the property.
"'Thou shalt not bear false Witness
In bearing false witness we sin against
love even more radically than by steal
ing. The old couplets say:
"'Who steals my purse, steals trash
"'It was mine, tits his and has been
slaves to thousands.