The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-10-16
LOSS OF GOD GREATEST PAIN.
CONTINUED from page u

the true, the good in earthly things, and the more
of the good and the true and the beautiful the soul
experiences the more it Graves for, and on and UP
the soul sours ever, ever to the infinitely beautiful
the infinitely good-God "Thou hast made for
Thyself, o God, and our hearts rest until
they rest in Thee" And the SOUL with its infinite
longings, leaves the body of clay and at it
seeks the origin of its being-God. 1t rushes with
force that nought stay to embrace, to rest
the infinite Good but if that soul is in the state of
mortal sin, between it and its God there is placed
a barrier that never can be broken down. God and
sin incompatible terms. Within its grasp is at
last the infinitely good it struggles tear away all
obstacles between itself and infinite peace and
happiness, but no. the nuptial garment of sancti-
tying grace is wanting; 1t is not clothed with the
light of justice, and out from the True Light it is
cast into exterior darkness. God is lost and lost
forever. Did you ever think dear brethren, what
it is to lose God Earthly losses in a way may be
compensated for. While there is life there is hope
is old adage, and grief and sorrow and loss may
crush man into the very earth, but there is nc
night of loss, however dark but has silver lining
the streak of hope steals through the streak that
bids rise again and look forward to faire1
and brighter morrow. Oh what is man without
hope-hope that springs eternal in the human
breast. The consumptiye patient lies upon her bed
the large, lustrous eyes look to the window pane
where there is light; the fingers play nervously
with the bedclothes the voice, Whisper says to
the watchers at the bedside: "Oh if the summer
would only come again-the summer with the glo
rlous sunshine, the summer of the flowers and the
leaves and the joyous babble of children's voices
down the lane. Oh, if it would only come. again
would get better" Oh, beautiful hope! The Grim
NAL on the eve of his execution PAGES his cell To-
morrow he must die There is step outside in the
corridor the key turns in the dungeon door and the
criminals eyes fasten on the intruder Perhaps he
brings message of life. No, no. it is not mes
of +o11
for the execution And the morrow comes and
that criminal dies, swings there between heaven
and earth, the opprobrium of mankind if you will
but steel or sword or rope, though they take away
life, cannot take away the living hope from that
CRIMINALS heart of the resurrection and the life be-
yond the tomb. No human agency can tear away
from mans heart the living hope of seeing and en-
Joylng God through the eternal years. But OH for
the damned soul, the soul that has lost God there
is no more hope In hell sweet angel will ever
wend his way from the regions of light to the dark
ness there to whisper to the damned, "Hope on
hope ever" The summer is forever past, the sum
mer In which they could have saved their souls and
now it is the winter forever and forever more 81
will exat myself above the stars of God" was the
boast of proud Lucifer, and forthwith for him it
was forever darkness; forever night "I will enjoy
myself; | will deliver myself over to my depraved
passions; will forget the beautiful, the virtuous
the good and the true; [ will echo the warcry of
N-AS AOoSA
rupt lips, feel corrupt hearts, and the end s-loss
of God and darkness forevermore. Today, dear
brethren, you have in your hands eternal life or
eternal death. You have the free will to choose
either Do not deceive yourself with the thought.
God is merciful." Yes, God is merciful to those
who love Him; not to those who despise Him. Do
not lull yourself into the false security which the
world would think you into; the false security that
an infinitely merciful God void not condemn YOU
forever to the exterior darkness He warns YOU
Himself against that false thought We read in
the sixteenth chapter of ST. Luke that certain rich
man was buried in hell, and lifting up his eyes he
craved for drop of water to cool his tongue. for
he was tormented in this flame, and when this boon
denied, he asked God to send messenger to
warn his five brothers lest they might come into
this place of torments and Gods answer was
"They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them; and if they hear not these neither would they
believe if one rise again from the dead" We have
Christs word warning us about this hell of tor
ments; we have His messengers, proclaiming it TO
us IN no uncertain wavering language 1t is for
u.s. dear brethren to har1en to the warning, and do
ing So to lead pure, virtuous honorable lives with
this thought ever, ever before our minds "Whar
doth it avail a to gain the whole world and in
the end suffer the loss of his immortal soul. lose
the end of his eXistence-God