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the Christian life. Thus, if by Baptism a man contracts the obligation of living a Christian life, he receives at the same the infused virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and a right to all those graces which he may hereafter require in order to live in a Christian Thus, Penance furnishes us with special aids to overcome our weakness, and guard against the dangers of relapse; and the Blessed Eucharist perfects and finishes the good work which was begun by the sacrament of penance. And, so of the other sacraments. Is it not evident, once more, that the zealous preacher can never be at a loss for reflections, as fruitful as they will be interesting, and well adapted to inspire his hearers with an intimate appreciation of the excellency of the sacraments in themselves, and the infinite advantages to be found in their worthy reception!

SECTION III.

DISPOSITIONS REQUIRED IN THE WORTHY RECIPIENT
OF THE SACRAMENTS.

After having thoroughly explained the nature, excellency, and advantages of the Sacraments, the preacher will now proceed to enforce the necessity of approaching to their reception with the proper dispositions.

Without entering at any great length into this point, we may remark briefly, that he will naturally dwell, in the first place, upon the great importance of approaching the Sacraments with the proper dispositions; and,

secondly, he will carefully explain in what this necessary preparation consists.

The preacher will establish the first point by showing that he who presumes to draw near to the holy sacraments unworthily, is guilty of a sacrilege, and that he thus poisons the stream of grace at its very fountain-head; that the measure of the graces we receive will be according to the measure of our dispositions; and that he who approaches negligently, or with but little preparation, deprives himself of some portion of the graces of the sacrament.

He will explain, with the greatest diligence and exactness, in what precisely this necessary preparation consists; the remote and the proximate preparation; the dispositions which are absolutely necessary, and those which aid to the more worthy and fruitful reception of the sacraments. He will show in what each particular disposition consists; the means of acquiring it; the defects which place an absolute barrier to the effects of any sacrament; and those which render it less fruitful. The diligent development of these ideas will leave him little to add on this matter of the dispositions required in the recipient.

SECTION IV.

OBLIGATIONS WHICH THE SACRAMENTS IMPOSE UPON THOSE WHO RECEIVE THEM.

Finally, the preacher should spare no pains to impress upon his hearers the great truth, that they, on their part, contract very real and very serious obliga

In these

tions in the reception of the sacraments. matters the obligation is correlative and co-existent. If God bestows His graces upon us, He will demand a rigorous account of them at our hands. If He gives us graces which are, of their nature, fruitful in an infinite measure, it is not that we may leave them to wither and die through our culpable neglect. In the matter of our graces, more than in any other affair, will God require the last farthing of us; and this is a truth which the preacher should lose no opportunity of bringing practically before his people.

Each Sacrament brings along with its reception some peculiar obligation, which the preacher will, tempore opportuno, sedulously explain and enforce. In addition to this special one, there are certain general obligations upon which he will no less perseveringly insist. The first of these is an ardent gratitude for the great grace received. The second is a vigilant watchfulness to conserve it, and so to guard every avenue to our heart, that its effects may not be diminished or swept away by levity or sin. The third is a nevertiring diligence in doing our utmost to cause this blessed grace to fructify in our souls, and to bring forth that precise fruit which God attaches to its reception, and which He expects it to produce. And the fourth is the obligation of labouring to discharge, ever more and more perfectly, the duties of the state in which we are placed by God, and to aid us in discharging which He gives us the graces of His holy sacraments, as the most powerful assistance which even He can bestow upon us.

Such are the leading ideas, and such the substantial order, which the preacher will probably employ in his ordinary instructions on the sacraments. Sometimes, as we have already said, he may be able to exhaust his subject in one discourse; and, in this case, the above is the order which he is pretty sure to follow, more or less exactly. If he wish to deliver several instructions upon the same sacrament, he will have no difficulty in arranging his matter, and the general ideas thrown out above will be scarcely less useful to him when treating his subject from this latter point of view. Thus, to take one of the most ready examples: A preacher may easily deliver a course of six instructions on the sacrament of penance. The first might treat of the divine precept of confession; the advantages of a good and the terrible crime of a bad confession. The second might treat of the examination of conscience; its importance, and the method of making it. The third, contrition; its necessity, conditions, and motives. The fourth, the resolution of amendment; its necessity, characteristics, and marks. The fifth, confession; its qualities, and how it is to be made. And the sixth might speak of sacramental penance; its obligation, and the spirit and manner in which it is to be discharged. In the same way, we might take the sacrament of the Eucharist, with pleasure and profit to our hearers. And, whichever method we may adopt, the Catechism of the Council of Trent will be found equally useful in our preparation, and equally invaluable as the authorized exponent of the Church's teaching on these all-important points.

CHAPTER V.

A COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS ON PRAYER.

SECTION I.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SUCH A COURSE.

RAYER being at once an act of that homage and adoration which every man is bound to render to his Creator, and the most efficacious means of obtaining those graces and aids which are necessary for his spiritual and temporal prosperity, the zealous pastor of souls will use his utmost diligence, not only to convince his people of the necessity of prayer, but also to teach them how to pray, in such a manner, and with such dispositions, as may most effectually conduce to this twofold end.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent warns the pastor that, amongst his obligations, the duty of instructing his flock thoroughly on the nature, motives, and conditions of acceptable prayer, is of primary necessity.

Influenced as well by this admonition, as by his own zeal, and his knowledge of the necessities of his flock in this regard, the pastor will not content himself with giving a disconnected discourse, from time to time, on

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