THIRD LESSON
On Duty Towards God.
"Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and thou shalt serve him only”, Deuteronomy vi. 13.
Faith, Hope, Charity, Adoration—in these few words, my children, we may sum up the whole of our duty towards God. By Faith we believe in him, by Hope we hope in him, by Charity we love him with our whole hearts, by Adoration we give him that worship which is due to him, and we serve him as he desires to be served.
FAITH
To believe in God is to believe that God exists. Well, who can doubt it, my children, when contemplating the beautiful spectacle of the universe, all the marvels contained in the world? Who could suppose that earth and heaven were made by them selves and by chance?
To believe in God is also to place your confidence in him, that is to say, to look up to him as your sovereign good, that infinite good which is to fill our hearts in this world and in the next.
Faith consists also in believing God's word, as written in the holy Scripture, and all the truths taught us by the church. These truths are called articles of faith. In the number there are many you cannot understand, that you will even never understand, because they are above the powers of the human mind: hose are mysteries. We are, nevertheless, commanded to believe in them as firmly as if we understood them; for God, who teaches us these truths, never deceives us; nor can he either ever possibly make a mistake. If it seems to you difficult to believe in what you have not seen, what you cannot understand, I shall make you remark, my children, that you do not doubt the facts reported in history, nevertheless they did not take place under your eyes. You also believe in the changes of the seasons, in the flowers which blossom on the trees, in the fruit which comes after the flowers, in the ear of corn shooting up out of a small seed sown in the earth - you see all that, it is true, but do you understand it? Certainly not. These things are to you as so many mysteries; why then would you hesitate to believe in the mysteries of religion? This doubt, my children, would be a want of faith. You also sin against faith on neglecting to be instructed upon religion, the study of which is necessary to teach us all we ought to believe.
HOPE
To hope in God is to expect that in his infinite goodness he will grant us after death eternal happiness in heaven, and until then his divine grace, by the help of which alone we can obtain it. Our hope is founded, my children, on God's mercy for mankind, on the merits of Jesus Christ, who made himself our Saviour and our intercessor, standing between us and his Father's wrath, and finally on the promise made by God Himself, never to refuse us his help. Here is another proof of the great goodness of God; He orders us to consider hope as a duty, and even without His command it would seem impossible not to entertain so sweet, so consoling, and so natural a feeling. Nevertheless, my dear children, without being aware of it, you have already sinned against this duty. When you say that you cannot get the better of such and such a defect, that you will never be able to control your temper, this disheartening feeling is a want of faith and of hope in the God of the weak and of children. The poor and the afflicted who yield to despair, sin also against the hope they ought to have in Providence, in the God who consoles.
You rightly understand, no doubt, my children, that neither our confidence in God, nor the hope of his divine help, in assisting us to effect our salvation, should prevent us from working at it ourselves with the greatest ardor. Zeal and good will are requisite to obtain God's grace, and if He condescends to assist us, it is on condition that we shall begin by helping ourselves.
ON CHARITY
Charity consists in loving God with all our hearts and above all things. Faith and Hope, my children, are the foundations of Charity. How can we refrain from loving that God whom faith shows to us as so powerful and so good, that God from whom we hope such an abundance of grace? Has he not also been the first to show us his love? And you above all, my children, you, still so young, are you not already loaded with His benefits? Arc you not brought up in the true religion, in the bosom of the true Church, surrounded by such care and such love! In fact, to know how good is the Lord, it would be sufficient to relate the history of your existence, so easy and so happy. Love God then from the depths of your souls, love him above all things, love him more than those who are dearest to you, for it is he who gave them to you, he who made them kind and affectionate towards you. I know you cannot always fed for God, in your heart, a sensible love like that you feel for a father; but in thinking often of God, in remembering his divine benefits, gratitude will make you grow more truly attached to him. Besides, my children, he has told us himself that to love him is especially to keep his word, and to do his will.
ON ADORATION
To adore God is to give Him that worship we owe Him, as our Creator and our Master. To God alone adoration is due. Homage is offered to the blessed Virgin and to Saints, you may pray to them, as powerful protectors, intercessors before God; but you do not adore them.
The worship we owe God is inward and outward. It should be inward, that is to say, it should come from the soul. While saying your prayers, it would be vain to kneel with clasped hands, for even then, if you think not of God, but of something else, you do not adore him. In this case, my dear children, you deserve the reproof our Lord addressed once to the Jews. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
The outward worship, also ordained by God, consists in the prayer and ceremonies made use of by the Church. Prayer is the expression of our feelings towards God. The ceremonies are intended to direct our minds to pious thoughts. In all these exercises of devotion, my dear children, our demeanor ought to be humble, respectful, and devotional; for everything in us, the body as well as the soul, must adore God and worship him.
We are obliged to adore God. "Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him alone shalt thou serve." Being our Creator, He is entitled to receive from us all praise, homage, and adoration. We should adore Him with our whole being. As we are composed of a body and soul, it is our duty to give God homage for both one and the other. Besides, external actions have a great effect upon the soul, and make us love and serve God more fervently.
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