Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-13
HONOR NAME OF
DISASTER SAINT
FATHER MURTAUGH PREAC HE'S
ON PRIDE
Draws Comparisons Between serlbes
and Pharlsees and the Humble
Publican to Show Virtue
Of Humility

| feast of Saint Emygdius, the patron
saint who is credited with being the
patron saint preventing earthquakes
Father Murtaugh said:
"In the time of our divine Lord, the
scribes and pharisees went about say
ing long prayers and making every
outward demonstration Of piety and
| religion.
dressed in costly garbs, distinctive
of their rank, they stood on the street
corners and offered UP long prayers
that they might be seen by men and
praised in return. And when they gave
an aims they sounded large trumpet
that the world might see and bear wit
ness to their great charity and liberal
ity toward their fellow men.
Apparently the scribes and phari-
sees were an ideal people, strict and
particular in all the exactions of the
law assiduous to a fault in all their
legal observances. Still there was
something defective and deficient
something false and deceptive about
them, since you are not to take them
for models in life. Your lives must be
different from theirs, your virtue must
be of a truer kind. You must be in
wardly what you appear to the world
to be. You must be men and women
according to Gods own heart.
Pharisees Proud
1.-THE scribes and pharisees. alas!
were filled with naughty pride and dis
dain for their fellow creatures. And
in their haughtiness and self-suffi-
cheney they placed themselves on the
summit of perfection; whereas their
lives were a mere show and a sham,
a mere sembls,nce of virtue. And hence
it was thaC they met with rejection
from almighty God.
God rejects the proud and gives
his graces to the humble. The proud
are an abomination in the eyes of
heaven.
God oe his very nature must hate
with a most uncompromising hatred
this sin of seif-suficiency, that worst
of sins.
pride it was that robbed Lucifer
the light bearer of his ravishing beau
ty and changed him into rebel angel
Pride 1t was that caused whole choirs
of angels to fall like stars from high
heaven.
Pride nay be defined as AN in
ordinate love of our own excellence, an
inordnate self esteem 1t is the most
dangerous of all the passions, because
1t branches out into so many other
vices. For this reason it holds the
first place among the capital or deadly
sins.
"All pride is essentially a lie, be-
cause 1t is a taking to ourselves, what
belongs to God. 1t is the root of all
evils.
From pride all perdition took it's be-
ginning. Therefore pride is an evil to
be fought against and overcome.
Pride, If consented to, will rob your
actions of all their merit, and leave
you at the end of your career empty
handed before God. You must humble
your pride and have humble and
consequently a true notion of your
selves. Taken at your best you are
but imperfect creatures, dependent on
God every moment of your existence.
Everything you have comes from
above. God is the giver of every good
and perfect gift.
Compares Two Prayers
And in this Sundays gospel in par
ticular we have an instance of two
men of different dispositions, who en-
tered the temple and began to pray.
"The one was pharisee, the other
a publican. The pharisee was proud
and naughty, full of conceit. He en-
tered far into the temple and at once
began to enumerate his good deeds.
and to declare his pre-eminence above
the rest of men.
"And he prayed after this fashion:
% God, L give thee thanks that 1 am
not like the rest of men; unjust, ex-
tortioners, adulterers, as is also this
publican. I fast twice in the week and
give titheS of all possess
ION the other hand the humble pub
lican stood in a remote part of the
temple, and he did not so much as lift |
his eyes to heaven, but struck his
breast, and said: % Lord, be merciful |
to me, sinner
"The publican came not into the
temple to tell the Lord how good he
Deal not with me as
deserve, but in thy exceeding great
mercy spare me for another day, that |
may redeem the past and rectify the
deeds of a misspent life.
For this short and humble prayer
the publican went down to his house
justified rather than the proud phari-
see who entered the temple with him.
Yesl He that humbleth himself shall
be exalted, and he that exalteth him
self shall be humbled.' When, there
lore. you pray to God it must be in the
of the publican acknowledg
ng your dependence upon almighty
Sod.
Wrong Idea of Virtue
Some people have a mistaken no
ion of pride and its opposite, humility.
does not consist in poverty
IND privation, misery and misfortune.
consists In having a true no
ion of ourselves and a realization that
'ur dependence is on God, from whom
We expect final recompense.
you have received all from God,
md If you have received, why do you
glory as though you did not receive?
( you be successful, If you be instru-
mental in the accomplishment of any
rood, say with the Psalmist: Not to
IS, not to U.S. q Lord! but to thy name
,e glory given
"All honor and glory belong to God.
We are but the creatures of God and
hould acknowledge his dominion over
IS. We should humble ourselves be-
ore him. that he may exalt us for
vermore.
He that humbles himself in this
World and carries his cross i'm a spirit
t Christian resignation shall be eter-
ally exalted In the world to come"