The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-01-27
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
CARDINAL GIBBONS.
Subject: The Prerogatives and Re-
sponsibilities of Moral Freedom.

ence, at the CaLneQTdl. HIS suuJSCI
was "The Prerogatives and Response
bilities of Moral Freedom" The text
was from St. Luke ~1S:31-43: Jesus
commanded the blind man to be
brought to Him. and He asked him,
saying: What wilt thou that l do
for thee? And he said: Lord, that l
MAJ receive my sight" The cardinal
said:
Is not he stone blind who is entire
~ engrossed by the desire for earthly
riches and shuts his eyes to the pearl
of great price? Is not he blind who
is wallowing in the mire of sin, who
is leading a life Of sensuality which
leads to melancholy and despair? Is
not he blind who is bending all his
energies to the acquisition of honor
and fame, and when he acquires it, it
fails to satisfy the cravings of his
heart? Is not he blind who looks up
to heaven and contemplates the
works of creation, but discerns not
the existence Of q Creator? Is not he
blind who sees the hands moving on
the clock-work of time, but fails to
recognize the invisible Hand which
keeps these works in motion? Is not
he blind who counts the days of his
years as they flow by, but does not
consider the ocean of eternity that
lies before him? ,
Now, Christ says to each of you
what He said to the blind man: What
is thy will? What wilt thou that l
do for thee? -
How sublime is the faculty of free
will! 1t is a gift which distinguishes
you from the brute creation; for man
Is the only creature on earth that en-
Joys moral freedom. 1t is a preroga-
tive which you possess in common
with the angels and which makes you
like to God Himself. SGod and the
angels and man are the only beings
that have free will.
It is the exercise of the will that
distinguishes the saint from the sim
ner, the martyr from the apoState,
the hero from the coward, the tenn
perate man from the drunkard, the
benevolent ruler from the capricious
tyrant. If we are destined to be of
the number of the elect, we shall owe
our salvation under God to the right
use ofsour freedom. If we are to in
cur the vengeance of heaven, it shall
Uc uuS ". LuS dDuoC vi oul llDS1 ~ .
THY destruction is thine own, o Is
rael." In a word, our liberty is a
weapon with which, like Saul, we will
inhict a deadly wound upon our
selves, or it is a sword with which,
like Michael the a%rchangel, we can
conquer the, Internal enemy and win
way to heaven.
Our Saviour told the Jews that the
knowledge and practice Of His pre-
cepts would secure for them true
freedom. The Jews were indignant
that their freedom should be called
in question:: "We are the seed of
Abraham" they exclaimed, "and have
never been slaves to any man." But
our Lord replied that though children
of Abraham, they we're in bondage as
long as they were in sin. Amen, I
say to you: Whosoever committeth
sin is the slave of sim"
Do not Americans sometimes 'talk
In this way? We are freeborn citi-
zens and yield to no despotic power.
But what will it profit us to enjoy
the blessings of civil freedom, If we
do not enjoy the glorious liberty Of
children of God, by which we are res
cued from ignorance and can trample
on sin? What will it avail us to be
recognized in the public walks Of life
as free and Independent citizens, if in
the circle of our family, and in the
sanctuary Of our hearts, we are dashed
as slaves by the demon of passion; if
We are slaves to a petulant temper,
slaves to lust, TO intemperance, pride
and v%ainglory; slaves to public opin-
ion, the most capricious of all
tyrants?
Jesus Christ is the highest ideal of
Christian perfection. He is "the way
and the truth and the life" He came
to teach US by word and by example.
Now, If there is any one virtue our
Saviour inculcates more forcibly than
another, it is this: That our heart
and will should be in harmony with
Gods will. II came down from
heaven" He says. mot to do My own
will, but the will Of Him that sent
Me: My food is to do the will of Hin
that sent Ne that I may finish His
work"
In exhorting US to make the will of
God the supreme rule of our actions,
our Lord is echoing the voice of His
eternal Father. my son." says AL
mighty God, give Me thy heart" He
does not say: Give Me thy riches,
thy lands and thy possessions, for
these belong to Him already. 1.-THE
earth is the Lords and the fullness
thereof, TIE world and all that dwell
therein" He does not say: My son,
give the service of thy body, for that
also belongs to Him. "Thy hands,"
says the prophet, have made and
fashioned me-" And besides we read
lily bestow the service of our brain
and hands on one who has already
gained our affections. But He says:
Give Me thy heart and the affections
Of thy will, for this is all that you
can call your own; this is the only
free, unmortgaged property you can
offer Him.
You should discern the hand of
God in the daily occurrences of life.
You should regard all the events hap
pening to you, such as poverty and
wealth, sickness and health, life and
death, even the Affections and perse-
cutions arising from the malice of
men; you should regard all these, 1
say, not as accidents and zeal evils,
but as v~isitations controlled and di-
rected by an overruling Providence.
They are links in the chain of your
immortal destiny; they are so many
gems in the diadem Of your glory.
This is the teaching Of the apostle,
who says that ito them that love God
all things work together unto good"
I consider the recognition of this
truth the highest Christian philos-
ophy and the practice of it the only