The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-01
Urges Thoughts on Eternity.

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| My brethren, raise up your eyes,
then, I pray you, and keep them fix
ed on this Polar star of your eternity.
And then you will see all created
things disappear in the shadow Of
nothingness which the Scripture, that
other direct and personal voice of
God, calls a smoke that floats and dis
appears, a cloud that is dissolved, a
shadow, that fees, a flower that falls
to pieces, a wave that flows back into
the ocean.
Eternity!
My brethren, we all lack the cour-
age to face it, even for a moment.
Embrace it as much as you can, hold
it fixed in your imagination for the
space OF. an hour, a half hour, a quar-
ter Of an hour, direct your thoughts
to it. During this quarter of an hour,
see only it and God, your Creator,
your Saviour, your judge in it; have
the will power to forget, during this
brief time, all else but it, and you
will arise, enlightened, imbued with
it's spirit and determined.
told you, my brethren, in opening
this discourse, that God spoke to us
both without and within, without by
the voice Of nature or by history,
within by the breath of the Holy
Ghost.
Do you wish to know why eternity,
which means so much, affects you so
little while present events weigh so
heavily upon you? It is because you
have leisure for everything and you
do not wish to adapt yourself to the
only thing which is worth the trouble.
You do not know how to turn your
T.. I. IL.
mediation. Your soul is made by
baptism and confirmation the dwell
ing place of the Holy Ghost Let it
drink of the oil of saving grace, said
st. John, and it shall learn to dis
tinguish truth from untruth. But,
observed Pope Gregory, grace resem-
bles the breeze at daybreak; it cares
ses and passes, and nothing you can
do will bring 1t back.
You are at the mercy of events
when you should command them
You obey your emotions, though you
have the right and power to be their
masters. Silence them; go down on
your knees in your chamber, with
doors closed, or in the sanctuary
where our Divine Saviour lives for
u.s. opposite the altar of sacred sacri-
flee, facing the tabernacle and the
crucifix, and there, in silence, de-
taching yourself from that which
goes on without and that which agi-
tates you within, request Our Lord
to send you His Holy Ghost, the Holy
Ghost which is the right hand of
God, "digitus paternae dexterae.'' He
will show you the way in which your
conscience may find truth, light, and
peace in all your hours of sorrow and
anguish.
Second Part.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, gives US
by the mystery Of His death and
resurrection, perpetuated in the sa-
cred sacrifice Of the mass, the key to
events Out of death comes life.
Wars should not trouble the peace
of humanity. In the primitive plan
of Providence passions were subject
ed to reason and would never have
been permitted to intrude in the
peace of families or of nations; but
sin has overthrown this generous
plan. In it's train disorder entered
into history and revolt henceforth be-
comes a part of human events. Pride
and cupidity break the worlds bal
ance; repression and armed defense
are necessary for it's establishment.
wars nave become 1neVltaO1e, anu
as long as there shall be on the earth
men guilty of allowing passion to
dominate reason and Divine will, uni
versal peace will be a dream. It is
too little to say, TO want peace for
the mere sake Of peace, because
peace at any price would be an ac-
ceptance with equal Indifference tol
rights and injustice, truth and un-
truth: it would be cowardice and i'm
piety. !