The Penn's Grove record., 1909-01-08
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
CARDINAL GIBBONS.
Subject. The prerogatives and Re.
sponsibilities of Moral Freedom.

t -
Baltimore, Md.-Sunday morning
Cardinal Gibbons preached his regu.
lar monthly sermon to a large audi.
ence, at the cathedral. His subject
was sThe 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 thee7 And he said: Lord, that /
may receive my sight" The cardinal
said:
Is not he stone blind who is entire
ly 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 1t, 1t
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
tuO CAlSICuCO VI q OlOdIO ID nv ~
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
~-lnt IT. 1o;I ~ tho LIs-I voor. VITh M
is thy will? What wilt thou that /
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. God and the
angels and man are the only beings
hat have free will.
1t 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 of our freedom. If we are to in
cur the vengeance of heaven, 1t shall
be due to the abuse of our liberty.
"Thy destruction is thine own, o Is
rael." In a word, our liberty is a
weapon with which, like Saul, we will
infict a deadly wound upon our
selves, or it is a sword with which,
like Michael the archangel, we can
conquer the Internal enemy and win
our 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
they exclaimed, "and have
never been slaves to any man." But
our Lord replied that though children
OF Abraham, they were in bondage as
long as they were in sin. Amen, /
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 u hearts, we are dashed
as sla yes by the demon of passion; if
we are slaves to a p~etulant temper
slaves to lust, to intemperance, pride
and vainglory; 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 each 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 NV own
will, but the will of Him that sent
Me. My food is to do the will of Him
that sent Me that / may finish His
work"
In exhorting us to make the win of
God the supreme rule of our actions
u Lord is echoing the voice of His
eternal Father. "My son," saws AL
mighty God, give Me thy heart" He
ooes not say: Give Me thy riches,
tiny lands and thy possessions, for
THESE belong to Him already. "The
earth is the Lords and the f~ullness
tnereof, the 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
ana nands on one who has already
gained our affections. But He saws:
Give Me thy heart and the affections
OF thy will, for this is all that Won
can call your own; this is the only
Iree, unmortgaged property you can
You should discern the hand of
Cod in the daily occurrences of life.
You should regard all the ven han.
pen1ng 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. /
say, not as accidents and zeal evils.
puI a visitations controlled and d.
rected by an overruling Proyidence.
iney are links in the chain of your
immortal destiny; they are SO MANY
gems in the diadem of your glory.
ms is the teaching of the APOSTLE.
VINO says that "to them that love God
ali things work together into good y
consider the recognition Of this
truth the highest Christian philos-
ophy and the practice of it the onlv
substantial basis of genuine peace
You will never enjoy solid tranquility
till you accept with composure and
equanimity all the v~isitations which