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 THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
HOMILIES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 
 
 BEING 
 
 A DETAILED HISTORY, 
 
 \ND FAMILIAR EXPLICATION, OF THE VIRTUES 
 
 OF THAT HOLY SERVANT OF GOD. 
 
 fin a JerrUs ot JJnstructums, 
 
 ADAPTED TO THE GENERALITY OF CHRISTIANS LIVING IN 
 THE WORLD. 
 
 By the Rev. FRANCIS MARTYN. 
 
 Permissu Superiorum. 
 
 Printed by Thomas Wilson and Sons, High-Ousegate, 
 
 FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Sold by Longman & Co., Keating & Co., Booker, and 
 
 ANDREWS, London ; Ferral & Co, Birmingham ; Simpson, Wolverhampton ; 
 
 Fitzpatrick & Son, Dublin ; J. & G, Todd, York ; 
 
 and all other Booksellers. 
 
 1817, 
 

 * 
 
 
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approbation* 
 
 Having been appointed by the Rt. Rev. V. A. of the 
 Midland District, to read and examine the following 
 Work, entitled " Homilies on the Book of Tobias," I 
 feel a pleasure in certifying, that so far from finding 
 any thing in the said Work contrary to sound Faith 
 or Morals, I have been edified with the perusal of it ; 
 and doubt not that it will be a means of promoting 
 the interests of religion and virtue, and answer the ends 
 which the Author professes in his Preface. 
 
 (Signed) JOSEPH BOWDON, Ap. Miss, 
 
 Sedgley Park, 
 April 28, 1817. 
 
 A3 
 
TO 
 
 FRANCIS MIDDELTON, Esq. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 In dedicating to you the following Work, 
 which I hope will tend to promote the cause 
 of virtue, my motive is, to express the sin- 
 cere regard I entertain for you, and the 
 value I set upon your friendship. May- 
 Heaven confirm in you the work which it 
 has begun, and enable you to persevere with 
 fidelity in the path of virtue. 
 
 I remain, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 Francis Martyn 
 
 St. Thomas's, May 27, 1817. 
 
preface- 
 
 There is hardly a subject on which the notions 
 of the world are more erroneous, more at variance 
 with the doctrine of the gospel, than the nature 
 of sanctity, and the means of attaining to it. 
 Numbers are deterred from even attempting to 
 attain to it, because the world inculcates to it's 
 deluded followers, that to be a Saint it is neces- 
 sary to retire from all the accustomed walks of 
 life, and bid adieu to every earthly comfort and 
 enjoyment. Hence sanctity is considered by too 
 many, as the portion of those only who by their 
 profession have renounced the world and con- 
 secrated their days to religious retirement. But 
 it is not from the maxims of the world, or the 
 lives of it's followers, that a Christian will form 
 his ideas of that holiness and sanctity of life to 
 which he is called. Happily for us, sanctity is 
 
 A4 
 
VU1 PREFACE. 
 
 not confined to any one state of life, but is attain- 
 able in all states. That divine Being who is 
 the common Father of the great family of man- 
 kind, has allotted different stations to his children, 
 that each one, by fulfilling with fidelity the re- 
 spective duties which his station brings along 
 with it, may merit the favour of his Creator 
 and tender Parent in this life, and deserve to 
 receive from the hand of his bounty, a crown 
 of eternal glory in the life to come. 
 
 It is true that some of our fellow-creatures 
 who are acknowledged Saints, inspired by God 
 with an utter contempt of all earthly things, have 
 actually renounced the world and its enjoyments, 
 have immured themselves in lonesome retirement, 
 and devoting their days to the practice of con- 
 stant and rigorous penance, have presented their 
 bodies a living sacrifice to the Almighty. That 
 this tlieir sacrifice, that these their austerities and 
 self-denials were pleasing before God and ac- 
 ceptable in his sight, is clear from the extra- 
 ordinary graces and miraculous gifts conferred 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 upon them. Yet, this part of the conduct of 
 certain eminent servants of the Most High, who 
 have trampled the world under their feet, and 
 have shewn the sublimity of perfection to which 
 human nature is capable of attaining by the aid 
 of divine grace, is not what we are any where 
 commanded to imitate as necessary to make us 
 Saints. 
 
 How many holy persons at this time adorn 
 and edify the Church of God by their holiness 
 and sanctity of manners, whose lives present 
 nothing extraordinary or uncommon, except the 
 strict regularity with which they perform the 
 exercises of religion, and the duties of their call- 
 ing ? For this, after all, is the most extraordinarv 
 circumstance in the lives of the Saints in general 
 that their example is followed by so few Christians, 
 while all are capable of copying it, having the 
 same graces to assist them, and the same pro-' 
 mised reward to encourage them. Christian 
 holiness and it's attendant blessings, belong not 
 to any one state of life, or anv one class of 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 mankind exclusively, but are open to all, in 
 every station, who sincerely aim at the at- 
 taining of them. This truth is confirmed by 
 the lives of the faithful servants of God, both 
 in the Sacred Writings, and in the history of the 
 Church. 
 
 Nothing, therefore, appears better calculated to 
 remove the prejudices, and correct the false notions 
 of the world respecting sanctity, notions adopted 
 by too many who profess themselves Christians, 
 than to unfold to public view the edifying ex- 
 amples of those who have adorned the common 
 paths of life by their amiable virtues, and sanc- 
 tified themselves by the practice of perfection. 
 With this view I conceived the plan of detailing 
 to the dear flock entrusted to my care, the his- 
 tory of the virtuous Tobias and his son, as re- 
 corded in the sacred volumes. To myself, this 
 portion of holy Scripture has ever appeared one 
 of the most interesting and instructive books 
 of the inspired writings. It presents to us, in 
 the virtues of those holy persons, the most edify- 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 ing models of fidelity in the discharge of the 
 ordinary duties of mankind. The duties at- 
 tached to the condition of married persons, pa- 
 rents, and masters of families, are of all others 
 the most important, and those on which the 
 welfare of the greater part of mankind depends. 
 Vice owes it's universal spread to that ignorance 
 and that neglect of these obligations which 
 reign in the world. How few parents seem 
 sensible of the duties attached to their con- 
 dition ! How few are aware of the importance 
 ^)f them ! How many Christians are seen strictly 
 attentive to certain general duties, but at 
 the same time ignorant and neglectful of the 
 particular obligations belonging to their re- 
 spective states of life! The conviction which 
 I felt in my own mind of the truth of these 
 observations, was another motive which led me 
 to adopt the plan of the following Work. I was 
 desirous of removing from my own flock what 
 appeared to me the cause of so lamentable a 
 deficiency of true piety among Christians, by 
 making them better acquainted with their ordi- 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 nary, though most important duties, and stimula- 
 ting them to a diligent fulfilment of them. To 
 accomplish these desired objects, nothing seemed 
 better adapted than to unfold the history of 
 Tobias, which affords so many excellent lessons 
 of virtue, suited to all ranks of life, enforced by 
 the edifying example of that faithful servant of 
 God, and of the other holy persons mentioned 
 in his story. We behold in Tobias a model of 
 virtue for every period of life ; we see him 
 cautiously shunning in his youth the snares of 
 vice, and the company of the vicious, increasing 
 in virtue as he advances in years; ever steady 
 in the observance of his religious duties ; cherish- 
 ing in his mind a constant recollection of the 
 presence of God; making the divine will the 
 end of all his actions ; bowing with humble re- 
 signation to all the appointments of Providence ; 
 attentive to the religious instruction of his child ; 
 anxious that all his family should serve God in 
 sincerity and truth ; full of charity for every 
 neighbour ; exposing himself to the greatest dan- 
 gers to fulfil the duties of brotherly love ; revered 
 
PKEFACE. Xiii 
 
 and beloved by all who knew him ; reaping, even 
 in this life, the fruits of his piety, in the favour 
 and protection of heaven ; and quitting this earth- 
 ly scene of existence full of merit, hope, and 
 
 W 
 
 The young Tobias, like his father, shews us 
 a constant picture of virtue in it's most amiable 
 and inviting form ; it lets us into some of the 
 rftost adrnirable secrets of God's providence ; and 
 contains the most instructive patterns and lessons 
 for young persons about to enter into, or already 
 engaged in the married state. 
 
 It now remains for me to say a few words on 
 the form in which the following instructions make 
 tji§ir appearance. They are entitled, Homilies* 
 or familiar instructions, having been delivered 
 as a series of familiar discourses to my own flock. 
 This method seemed to me the best adapted to 
 convey the instructions to the minds of my 
 hearers, being in itself the most plain and sin> 
 pte f and at the same time affording me m op. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 portunity of dilating more at length than a 
 regular sermon would have permitted, on those 
 points which I thought would be most useful 
 to my flock. As the spiritual improvement of 
 those entrusted to my care was the object of 
 these Homilies, the style will perhaps be found 
 less adapted to the subjects that are treated, than 
 to the condition of the persons to whom they 
 were addressed. The greater part of my flock, 
 and the greater part of our congregations in 
 general, are persons whose minds have received 
 little or no cultivation, and to whom, therefore, 
 the truths of salvation cannot be delivered in 
 too plain and intelligible a form. Where these 
 instructions have not produced the desired fruit, 
 I am too sensible of my own unworthiness to 
 ascribe the failure to any other cause. In several 
 members of my flock, the good effects of these 
 discourses have been visible in their better ac- 
 quaintance with their most important duties, and 
 more diligent attention to the discharge of them. 
 For this blessing, both they and I are indebted 
 to the unbounded goodness of that heavenly 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 Husbandman, who alone, when his servants have 
 planted and watered, can give the increase, and 
 who lets not the unworthiness of his workmen 
 prevent his giving his blessing where, in the de- 
 crees of his mercy, he designs to bestow it. To 
 him be glory for ever and ever, Amen. 
 
 F. M. 
 
 St. Thomas's, Bbxrvick, 
 Marsh 13, 1817. 
 
HOMILIES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
 FIRST HOMILY. 
 
 JL HE Book of Tobias takes it's name from 
 the holy servant of God whose life and extraor- 
 dinary virtues it records. Though the Jews did 
 not admit the history of Tobias into what is 
 termed the canon, or acknowledged collection, of 
 inspired writings, yet by the Catholic Church, 
 which received the canon of Scriptures, not from 
 the Jews, but from the Apostles of Christ, this 
 Book has always been acknowledged to be one 
 of the canonical Books of Scripture. Indeed we 
 find it frequently referred to as a part of the 
 Bible in the writings of the earliest Fathers of 
 the Church. Whoever reads with any degree of* 
 attention the Book of Tobias, must be convinced 
 that there is no portion of the Old Testament 
 which abounds with more excellent lessons of mo- 
 rality, or which is better calculated to inspire a 
 love of virtue, and train the heart to the practice 
 of religion. To open to you, dear Christians, the 
 
 B 
 
2 HOMILIES ON 
 
 sublime moral precepts which the Book of Tobias 
 inculcates, and at the same time to make you 
 acquainted with the history of that holy man 
 whose virtues it records, and whose example pre- 
 sents a perfect pattern of the true servant of God, 
 is the design of the following familiar discourses. 
 May the God of all mercy grant that the instruc- 
 tions which they convey, may tend to your im- 
 provement both in the knowledge and practice of 
 your Christian duties ! 
 
 Chap I. vcr. 1. Tobias was of the tribe and city of Neplithali 
 
 2. When he- was made captive in the days of Salmanasar, 
 king of the Assyrians, even in his captivity he forsook not 
 
 the way of truth 3. But every day gave all he could 
 
 get to his brethren, his fellow-captives, that were of his 
 
 kindred 4. And when he was younger than any of the 
 
 tribe of Nephthali, yet did he no childish thing in his work. 
 
 5. Moreover when all went to the golden calves, which 
 
 Jeroboam king of Israel had made, he alone fled the company 
 
 of all, 6. and went to Jerusalem to the temple of the 
 
 Lord, and there adored the Lord God of Israel, offering 
 
 faithfully ail his first-fruits, and his tithes, 7. so that 
 
 in the third ye^r he gave all his tithes to the proselytes 
 
 and strangers. 8. These, and such like things, did he 
 
 observe when but a boy, according to the law of God. 
 
 Suck is the short, but highly instructive ac- 
 count, dear Christians, which the Holy Scrip- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 3 
 
 ture gives of the youth of Tobias ; a youth spent 
 in the practice of virtue, hi the faithful discharge 
 of every moral duty, and the diligent observance 
 of the law of God. Piety is in every age accep- 
 table to God, and the source of grace and blessing 
 to him whose heart obeys it's dictates and follows 
 it's maxims. But in the season of youth a vir- 
 tuous conduct is peculiarly pleasing to the Al- 
 mighty, since it consecrates to him the first-fruits 
 of a being received from him, and destined to 
 promote his glory. At the moment in which we 
 arrive at the use of reason, it becomes an indis- 
 pensable obligation to each of us, to dedicate our 
 being, with it's faculties and powers, to the ser- 
 vice of our Creator, by directing all our actions 
 to the glory of God, and performing them with a 
 pure intention of pleasing him, and of promoting 
 the great end of our existence — our union with 
 God in a future state. Happy are they who 
 faithfully comply with this important obligation ! 
 Happy those Christian parents who both by- 
 word and example are careful to instil this grand 
 principle of religion into the tender minds of 
 their children, teaching them to make, at least 
 at their morning devotions, this daily consecra- 
 tion of their actions to the Supreme Being. This 
 pure intention is the essence of Christian piety. 
 Without it the most heroic outward acts of 
 
 B2 
 
4s- HOMILIES ON 
 
 virtue have no claim to a supernatural reward ; 
 with it, the most trifling employments become 
 virtues, are sanctified and rendered meritorious 
 of an eternal crown. 
 
 So pleasing is early piety in the sight of God, 
 that he showers down upon those who make 
 him tliis acceptable offering, such abundant stores 
 of grace as enable them to persevere to the end 
 of their days in the path of virtue. Of this 
 truth the holy Tobias is an admirable and illus- 
 trious example. The Scripture testifies that when 
 but a boy he was faithful in all the duties en- 
 joined by the divine law. His virtue at that 
 early age was put to the severest trial. Nothing 
 could be more dangerous than the situation in 
 which Tobias found himself placed in his youth. 
 Ten out of the twelve tribes of Israel had re- 
 nounced the worship of the true God, and adored 
 the idols that had been erected by the impious 
 king Jeroboam. -After a long forbearance and re- 
 peated admonitions on the part of the Almighty, 
 the ten tribes were, in punishment of their 
 idolatry, delivered into the hands of Salman 
 king of Assyria, who drove them from their 
 country, and carried them captives into his own 
 dominions. Notwithstanding this visible display 
 of God's justice, the idolatrous tribes remained 
 obstinate in their wickedness. Among the cap- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 5 
 
 tives or prisoners was the young Tobias; but 
 the captivity which was to his companions a 
 punishment inflicted by the hand of God's justice, 
 was to him, in the order of Providence, the 
 trial and the perfection of his virtue. How 
 edifying, how encouraging is the example of 
 this holy young man, firm and steady in the 
 practice of every duty, full of affection for the 
 divine law, and faithful in the exercise of his 
 religion, though living in the midst of his 
 idolatrous countrymen, from whom his virtue 
 no doubt met with the severest trials, with 
 frequent scoffs, ridicule, and contempt! Steady 
 in his adherence to the true faith, Tobias avoided 
 the company of the idolaters, and took no part 
 in their worship. He knew nothing of the tem- 
 porising disposition of worldlings who accom- 
 modate their profession of religion to times and 
 circumstances. But, sensible of the necessity 
 of true faith in order to please God, and con- 
 vinced that it is no less an insult to the God of 
 truth to refuse assent to revealed truths, than 
 to disobey his moral precepts, Tobias was care- 
 ful never to give sanction or encouragement to 
 error by being present at the idolatrous worship 
 practised by his countrymen. With the strictest 
 regularity, he, at the times appointed by the 
 Jewish law, went up to adore the true God, 
 
 B3 
 
O HOMILIES ON 
 
 the God of his fathers, in Jerusalem ; in which 
 city alone were to be found the priesthood es- 
 tablished by God, and the temple chosen by 
 himself to be the place of his divine worship. 
 
 In the new law, the holy Catholic Church 
 is our Jerusalem. In whatever part of the 
 world Providence may place us, we are ever 
 to preserve inviolate our communion with this, 
 the only true Church* and in her spirit, and ac- 
 cording to her laws, to pay our homage and 
 adoration to the Supreme Being. Nothing can 
 justify our joining in any other form of religious 
 worship than that which is established and prac- 
 tised in the Catholic Church, " the pillar and the 
 ground of truth." 
 
 The regularity of the good Tobias in his strict 
 observance of the laws of God and his Church, 
 wall, I fear, be a stinging reproach, a severe con- 
 demnation to thousands of slothful Catholics, who, 
 erring their ease, their pleasures, or their 
 worldly business, before their eternal welfare, stay 
 away from the holy sacrifice of the mass on 
 Sundays and days of obligation, profane the 
 holidays of the Church by unnecessary work, 
 or disregard the days of abstinence and fasting, 
 which the Church enjoins as a salutary punish- 
 of our sinful and rebellious flesh. In vain will 
 such Christians at the day of judgment appeal 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 7 
 
 o their profession of faith as their claim to an 
 inheritance in the kingdom of life. The Sovereign 
 Judge, while he reproves them for their base 
 ingratitude, will thunder out against them the 
 dreadful sentence, si Depart from me, I know 
 you not." 
 
 Obedience to the commands of the Church 
 is a duty inculcated in clear and strong terms 
 by our divine Redeemer, when speaking to his 
 Apostles, and in them to the Pastors of his 
 Church, he says, " He that heareth you, heareth 
 me; he that despiseth you, despiseth me." If 
 they who refuse obedience to the lawful orders 
 of their temporal superiors, are declared by the 
 Apostle St. Paul to resist the ordinance of God, 
 and to purchase to themselves damnation, what 
 shall we say of the crime of those, who called 
 by the divine mercy into the true Church, and 
 acknowledging her sacred authority, despise her 
 injunctions, and disregard her precepts ! Let not 
 then, dear Christians, the conduct of others, 
 however great their numbers, however respectable 
 their rank and condition in life, or however 
 edifying their lives may be in other points, in- 
 duce you to transgress the precepts of the Church; 
 But, like the good Tobias, grateful to heaven 
 for the blessing of true faith, and the knowledge 
 of your religious duties, and flying from the 
 
 B4 
 
S HOMILIES ON 
 
 corruption of evil example, preserve in the whole 
 tenor of your lives an undeviating fidelity in 
 the observance of the laws both of God and 
 his Chureh. This strict adherence to the prac- 
 tice of your religion will secure you the esteem 
 of those among whom you live, and who never 
 fail to compare your lives with the faith which 
 you profess ; it will also draw down the blessing* 
 of God upon your lawful temporal concerns; 
 besides affording you a well-grounded title to 
 an everlasting recompense in heaven. 
 
 Tobias looked upon nothing as trivial or un- 
 important which regarded the service of Godw 
 He was careful to practise not only the more 
 important obligations of religion, but fulfilled 
 the injunctions of the law in every point : "he 
 offered faithfully his first-fruits and tithes." — It 
 was enjoined by the law, that the first-fruits of 
 the produce of the earth, and the first-born of 
 animals, should be given for the support of the 
 priests. The tithes appointed by the law were 
 of three kinds ; one tithe or tenth-part of the 
 fruits of the earth, of corn, and of animals, was 
 for the Levites or ministers consecrated to the 
 divine service; another tithe was to be laid up 
 each year, to be eaten at a feast provided for the 
 Levites and for the poor ; the third tithe was to 
 be reserved every three years, to be distributed 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. & 
 
 among strangers and proselytes, that is, such 
 persons as were converted from idolatry to the 
 Jewish faith. In the fulfilment of all these ordi- 
 nances, Tobias, as soon as he was master of his 
 property, was no less exact than in the observ- 
 ance of the feasts commanded by the law. He 
 did not, as is the case with too many Christians, 
 put the calls of worldly interest in competition 
 with those of duty, nor stop to consider whether 
 the compliance with these obligations might not 
 be injurious to his temporal concerns. Tobias 
 was fully persuaded, that without the divine 
 blessing no temporal concerns can prosper ; and 
 that the surest method of securing this blessing, 
 is a ready and exact obedience to the laws of 
 God and his Church. "Who hath first given 
 to God, and recompense shall be made him," 
 cries out the Apostle St. Paul, Rom. ii. 35. This 
 truth was deeply impressed upon the mind of 
 Tobias, and formed an invincible rampart against 
 all the suggestions that flesh and blood might 
 have thrown in the way of a duty, which he 
 performed from a higher motive than any earthly 
 emolument — the love of God, and a desire of 
 an eternal reward 
 
 As in the old law God was pleased to separate 
 from the rest of his people the tribe of Levi 
 to serve hira in the temple; so in the new 
 
10 HOMILIES OK 
 
 law, the holy Church of God requires of those 
 who engage in the sacred functions of her 
 ministry, a renouncing of secular employments, 
 and a detachment from worldly business. She 
 exacts from them the most consummate chastity 
 of soul and body, that with unsullied purity 
 they may perform the high and truly sacred 
 obligations of their calling, and, unfettered by 
 any earthly tie, may be ready day and night to 
 attend to the spiritual necessities of the dear 
 souls entrusted to their care. To these salutary 
 ordinances of the Catholic Church are owing 
 those heroic, edifying, and triumphant examples, 
 so often manifested to the world, of pastors 
 sacrificing their ease, their rest, their health, and 
 even life itself, in promoting the glorious work 
 of the salvation of souls. 
 
 Having thus provided for the sanctity of her 
 ministers, and the spiritual welfare of her children, 
 in order that no pretext of necessity may induce 
 her pastors to sacrifice any portion of their 
 precious time to temporal concerns, the Church 
 by a positive command enjoins, that all the faith* 
 ful shall, each according to his respective ability, 
 contribute to the maintenance and support of 
 their pastors. This law of the Church has it's 
 foundation in reason and justice, and merely 
 enforces and determines an obligation frequently 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1 1 
 
 inculcated in the holy Scripture. In countries 
 where the Catholic religion is not established 
 by law, the manner of fulfilling this duty is left 
 to the conscience of individuals. But each con- 
 gregation should bear in mind, that the spirit 
 of the Church is every where the same, and 
 consequently that it is the duty of all to con- 
 sider the temporal necessities of their pastors, 
 who minister to their own spiritual wants, and, 
 like Tobias, cheerfully and conscientiously con- 
 tribute to the decent support of the ministers 
 of the altar. 
 
 Such, dear Christians, are the admirable lessons 
 of morality of which Tobias, even in youth, 
 was a perfect pattern. This holy man lived 
 under a law in which the means for attaining 
 to sanctity were far inferior to those which 
 Providence has bestowed upon you. You have 
 both the doctrine and the example of a God 
 made man, to direct, to animate, and to en- 
 courage you. This divine legislator has not 
 only delivered to you his precepts, and pointed 
 out the path which will conduct you to hap- 
 piness, but has with the price of his blood pur- 
 chased for you those treasures of grace that 
 will enable you to persevere faithfully in his 
 service until death. These treasures of grace 
 he has left you in the holy sacraments and sa- 
 
12 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 crifice of his Church, the constant and never 
 failing fountains of mercy. Approach to them 
 with humility, with confidence, and with a sin- 
 cere desire of advancing daily towards Christian 
 perfection. Your diligence and fidelity in using 
 these holy means of salvation, will obtain for 
 you the grace to be faithful in every duty to 
 God here, and entitle you to the reward of 
 faithful servants in the kingdom of his glory 
 hereafter. 
 
SECOND HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. I. ver 9. But when he was a man, he took to wife Anna, 
 of his own tribe, and had a son by her, whom he called by 
 
 his own name, 10. and from his infancy he taught him 
 
 to fear God and to abstain from all sin. 
 
 An the portion of holy Scripture which forms 
 the subject of my present instruction, the good 
 Tobias is held out to you, my beloved brethren, 
 a perfect model of virtue in the mature age of 
 manhood. You have seen him in his youth an 
 admirable pattern of the strictest fidelity in the 
 exact discharge of every duty. You are now to 
 enjoy the pleasing prospect of the beauteous blos- 
 soms of that tender age succeeded by an abundant 
 crop of fruit in his riper years. As the married 
 state is that which embraces by far the greater 
 part of mankind, it is true that the happiness 
 or misery of a very considerable proportion of 
 our fellow-creatures depends upon the discharge 
 or neglect of the duties of that state. There is 
 no class of duties then, the knowledge of which 
 is of greater importance. Yet it is a fact no less 
 melancholy than certain, that there is no class of 
 
14 HOMILIES ON 
 
 duties less known, or more neglected, than this. 
 The history of Tobias will afford another oppor- 
 tunity of directing your serious consideration to 
 the duties which married persons reciprocally owe 
 to each other. I shall for the present, therefore, 
 content myself with observing how careful the 
 good Tobias was in following the injunctions of 
 the divine law in making choice of a wife, know- 
 ing, as he did, that his temporal and eternal 
 happiness depended upon his securing the blessing 
 of heaven on that important step. Happy indeed 
 will those Christians be, who, like this holy man, 
 endeavour to make the will of heaven their .only 
 guide in the choice which they make, and the 
 sanctification of their souls their great object in 
 embracing the holy state of matrimony ! Happy, 
 if they carefully observe the regulations of the 
 holy Church of God, by neither contracting 
 marriage with any one who is in the forbidden 
 degrees of kindred, nor celebrating it at the times 
 prohibited by her authority ! 
 
 The happy fruit of the holy marriage of Tobias 
 was a son, the heir to his father's sanctity and 
 extraordinary virtue. But to what was the young 
 man's piety owing ? Under God, dear Christians, 
 he was indebted for his innocence and virtue to 
 the care with which his father performed the 
 great and important duties of a parent. " From 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 15 
 
 his infancy, Tobias taught his son to fear God 
 and abstain from all sin," ver. 10. Whoever reads 
 with attention the lives of the Saints, will be 
 convinced of this truth, that the virtuous lives of 
 those holy and faithful servants of God were the 
 fruits of the tender care with which their parents 
 watched over their infant years, and faithfully ful- 
 filled the trust imposed upon them by Providence, 
 of training their children in the path of virtue. 
 On the other hand, observation and experience, 
 both of present and past ages, clearly shew, that 
 the torrents of vice which overrun the world, and 
 bear down so many thousands of mortals into the 
 gulph of eternal misery, have their source in the 
 neglect of parents to discharge the duties which 
 their state imposes on them. Earnestly then do 
 I conjure you, Christian parents, who now hear 
 me, to give me your most serious attention, while 
 I unfold to you, as briefly as I can, the obligations 
 of your state, and point out to you in what man- 
 ner you may best discharge them. 
 
 Your children are the property of Almighty 
 God, to whom they belong upon a thousand 
 titles. In your hands they are to be considered 
 as so many talents, which you are to improve to 
 the best of your power, that you may one day 
 restore them with interest to their great Lord and 
 Master. He watches your conduct towards them 
 
16 HOMILIES ON 
 
 with a jealous eye, and at the last and terrible 
 day of his judgment will demand a severe ac- 
 count from you of the souls of your children. 
 To impress your minds with a sense of the strict 
 obligation of training your offspring in the path 
 that leads to salvation, and of the judgments 
 which await those who neglect the duty which 
 they owe to their family, God has recorded in 
 holy writ the terrible example of the high-priest 
 Heli. What Christian parent can read the dread- 
 ful chastisement with which the Almighty, even 
 in this life, visited Heli's criminal neglect of the 
 duties of a father, and not tremble, lest he should 
 stand accused at the tribunal of the Sovereign 
 Judge of having been wanting in the discharge 
 of his duty to his family ! Meditate with atten- 
 tion on this example, and be convinced of one 
 important truth, that your own happiness for time 
 and eternity depends principally upon the faith- 
 ful discharge of your duties to your children. 
 
 Heli was old and infirm ; his two sons Ophni 
 and Phinees officiated for him in the temple ; but 
 they were bad men, and did much evil among 
 the people, and gave great scandal. All this 
 came to the ears of their father; lie called his 
 sons to him, and gave them this gentle repri- 
 mand : " Why do you do these kinds of things 
 which I hear, very wicked things from all the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 17 
 
 people ? Do not so, my sons, for it is no good 
 report which I hear." 1 Kings, ii. 23. But the 
 old man went no further; he did not use the 
 authority with which he was invested as their 
 parent, to correct them and put a stop to their 
 disorders. For this reason a prophet was sent 
 to him, who, in the name of God, upbraided 
 Heli with his ingratitude for all the favours 
 God had shewn him, declared that his neg- 
 leet of the correction of his children was ho- 
 nouring them more than God, and denounced 
 the most severe punishments upon him and his 
 family. 
 
 All this, however, did not rouse this too in- 
 dulgent parent to a sense of his duty, and there- 
 fore God appeared some time after to the pro- 
 phet Samuel, and revealed to him, that all the 
 evils which he had before threatened, would 
 speedily fall upon Heli. " In that day, says the 
 Lord, I will raise up against Heli all the things 
 that I have spoken concerning his house. I will 
 begin, and I will make an end. For I have fore- 
 told to him, that I will judge his house for ever, 
 for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did 
 wickedly, and did not chastise them." In fact, 
 all that the Lord thus denounced was soon after 
 accomplished. Heli's two sons both died a violent 
 death in one day, and the old man, on hearing 
 
 C 
 
*8 HOMILIES ON 
 
 the melancholy news of their untimely end, fell 
 backwards from his seat, dislocated his neck, and 
 expired. 
 
 The tender minds of children are capable of 
 receiving any impression, of good or evil, virtue 
 or vice ; and it is of you, parents, that God ex- 
 pects the fulfilment of the great duty of instilling 
 early into them good and virtuous principles of 
 action, and sowing in their hearts the seeds of 
 virtue. By impressing your children with a re- 
 verential love and esteem for you, and placing 
 them during infancy in a total dependence upon 
 you, God has invested you with the power of 
 forming their minds as you please. Regulate 
 then, your natural love and affection for them, 
 by an earnest desire of their eternal salvation. 
 Let every other concern be an object of inferior 
 .importance. Suffer not your affection for them 
 to degenerate into unnatural harshness and se- 
 verity on the one hand, nor a passionate fondness 
 on the other. Carefully preserve that authority 
 which God has given you, by exacting the most 
 prompt and ready obedience to all your orders, 
 encouraging such obedience by little rewards, 
 and always correcting disobedience. " Give not 
 tliy child liberty in his youth, and wink not at 
 his devices. Bow down his neck whilst he is 
 young, le$t he grow stubborn and regard thee 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 19 
 
 not, and so be a sorrow of heart to thee. 5 ' Eccles* 
 xxx. 8. 
 
 In the first place then, there is nothing, Chris- 
 tian parents, upon which the success of your 
 endeavours in training up your children to virtue 
 so much depends, as upon your rendering them 
 thus early tractable and obedient. But in en- 
 forcing this obedience there is one caution which 
 I wish much to impress upon your minds. It 
 is, that when one parent orders a child to do any 
 thing which it seems unwilling to do, the other 
 parent never take the part of the child, but that 
 parents always go hand in hand in supporting 
 their mutual authority. 
 
 Besides the duty of rendering their children 
 obedient, parents are, in the second place, under 
 a strict obligation of instructing their children 
 in principles of religion and piety, and in the 
 law of God, from their earliest years. It is a 
 duty expressly enjoined by God himself to his 
 people : " These words, which I command thee 
 this day, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt 
 tell them to thy children." Deut. vi. 6. The 
 first foundation of all religious instruction, is to 
 instil into the minds of children a fear of God, 
 and a horror of all sin. Let it then be your 
 care, Christian parents, to teach your children 
 early to pronounce with reverence and respect 
 
 C2 
 
20 HOMILIES ON 
 
 the names of God and of Jesus Christ ; and by 
 your own example to discourage all disrespectful 
 and profane use of those sacred names. Acquaint 
 them with the torments of a future state which 
 await the wicked, and the happiness reserved for 
 the faithful servants of God. Instruct them in 
 the knowledge of their Creator, and of their total 
 dependence upon him. Teach them the obliga- 
 tion of morning and evening prayer, for the pur- 
 pose of drawing down the divine blessing, and 
 see that they are regular in the discharge of that 
 sacred duty. As soon as your children are capa- 
 ble of it, consider it as one of your most essential 
 duties to assist them in the learning of the cate- 
 chism at home, and send them regularly to their 
 pastor, on Sundays and at other times appointed 
 by him, for instruction. Join to your lessons of 
 instruction, a proper watchfulness over the con- 
 duct of your children ; and carefully remove from 
 them whatever would endanger their innocence, 
 or might prove the occasion of sin, especially 
 wicked servants and evil company. Too many 
 parents, having taught their children their prayers 
 and their catechism, rest contented, as if they 
 had discharged the obligations which their state 
 imposes upon them. They leave their children 
 during the day almost entirely to themselves, 
 giving themselves no concern what servants are 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 21 
 
 employed about them, or with what companions 
 they associate. In these moments of neglect, the 
 seeds of vice are but too often thickly sown, and 
 take too deep a root to be afterwards eradicated. 
 
 In the third place, parents are under a strict 
 obligation of correcting the faults of their children ; 
 a duty frequently and strongly inculcated in holy 
 writ. To impress this obligation upon you, my 
 beloved brethren, and to convince you how jealous 
 Almighty God is of the strict fulfilment of it, I 
 need but remind you of the example of Heli, 
 and the severe vengeance which he drew upon 
 himself, by his shameful neglect of this duty. In 
 administering correction, let a spirit of mildness 
 and prudence be your guide ; do nothing in a 
 passion, but, influenced by a real desire of your 
 children's eternal welfare, beg, at least in your 
 hearts, the blessing of God upon your endeavours ; 
 and strive to convince your children, that you 
 correct them, not in order to gratify any feelings 
 of your own, but from a motive of duty to God 
 and to them. 
 
 But, Christian parents, to what purpose will it 
 be to correct the faults of your children, if your 
 own lives present them with an evil pattern? 
 This consideration unfolds to you a fourth im- 
 portant duty, that of giving to your children a 
 good and edifying example in the faithful practice 
 
 C3 
 
%% HOMTLIES ON 
 
 of every duty, and the careful abstaining frofn 
 all sin. In vain will you correct your children 
 for their passions, their sinful words, or the ex- 
 cessive indulgence of their appetites, if } r our own 
 lives are stained with the crimes which you re- 
 prove in them. It is to your example that your 
 children look for the principles by which to guide 
 their own conduct ; and if by your example, you 
 have drawn them into sin and entangled them 
 in habits of vice, on your heads will fall with 
 ten-fold vengeance the woes denounced by Jesus 
 Christ against those who scandalize his little 
 ones. 
 
 Lastly, it is a most important obligation of 
 parents, to pray for their children. That faithfid 
 servant of God, holy Job, rising early, offered 
 up sacrifices and burnt-offerings for every one of 
 his children, lest they should have sinned and 
 offended God. The example of this holy man is 
 recorded as a model of imitation for all parents, 
 who should never fail to offer up their children 
 daily to Almighty God, and make it a part of 
 their morning and evening devotions to implore 
 his blessing upon them. What abundant sources 
 of grace will those parents, who are faithful in 
 this duty, open to their children, for their pre- 
 servation from the dangers of sin, and their con- 
 firmation in the way of virtue ! 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 23 
 
 Such, my beloved brethren, is a short view of 
 the important duties and obligations of Christian 
 parents. To sum up these duties in a few words : 
 the Almighty, who has blessed you with children 
 for no other end than that you may train them 
 up for heaven, requires of you, that you make 
 the eternal salvation of your children the prin- 
 cipal object of your concern for them ; secondly, 
 that you be careful to preserve the authority 
 which he has given you, by exacting from them 
 the most ready obedience ; thirdly, that you in- 
 struct your children in the principles and duties 
 of religion, and carefully remove from them every 
 thing dangerous to their innocence; fourthly, 
 that you enforce your instructions by the power- 
 ful influence of good example and a virtuous life ; 
 and lastly, that not confiding on your own exer- 
 tions, you endeavour by daily prayer to draw 
 down the divine blessing upon them. 
 
 Great and truly awful, dear Christians, is the 
 charge entrusted to parents, and severe will be 
 the account which will one day be demanded of 
 them. Their own happiness, as well as that of 
 their children, depends upon their faithful per- 
 formance of the duties attached to their charge. 
 What may be said of the pastor of souls is equally 
 applicable to parents. They can neither stand nor 
 fall alone. If they .neglect the care of the souls 
 
 C4 
 
24 HOMILIES 0$f 
 
 of their children, the eternal ruin of both will 
 be the dreadful consequence. If they are faithful 
 to their duty, the tender souls which have been 
 trained by them in the path of virtue, will both 
 secure their own everlasting bliss, and will each 
 of them be a jewel of inestimable glory in the 
 unfading crowns of their virtuous parents. Sen- 
 sible then of the great and truly important obli- 
 gations which divine Providence has imposed 
 upon you, I conjure you, Christian parents, who 
 now hear me, to imitate the holy and virtuous 
 Tobias in the exact discharge of these duties. 
 Like him, teach your children from their earliest 
 infancy to fear God and to abstain from all sin. 
 Implant in their tender minds feelings of charity 
 and compassion for their distressed fellow-crea- 
 tures ; and give them frequent opportunities of 
 exercising those feelings, by making them occa- 
 sionally the distributors of your alms. By fer- 
 vent prayer, and the devout frequenting of the 
 sacraments, seek the blessing of heaven upon your 
 good endeavours, to train them up in piety and 
 virtue. Oh ! what consolation will the thought 
 of your having faithfully discharged these duties 
 diffuse over the bed of death ! With what con- 
 fidence will you be enabled to stand at the last 
 day before the Sovereign Judge ! With what joy 
 will you receive back from his hand the dear 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 25 
 
 pledges of your mutual affection, ascend with 
 them to the realms of bliss, and enter into the 
 possession of that transcendent glory which is 
 promised as the portion of those who instruct 
 others unto justice 1 Dan. xiii. 3. 
 
THIRD HOMILY, 
 
 CJiap. I. ver. 11. And when by the captivity, he with his wife 
 and his son, and all his tribe, was come to the city of 
 
 Ninive, 12. (when all ate of the meats of the Gentiles) 
 
 he kept his soul, and never was defiled with then* meats 
 
 13. And because he was mindful of the Lord with all his 
 heart, God gave him favour in the sight of Salmanasar the 
 
 king 14. And he gave him leave to go whithersoever 
 
 he would, with liberty to do whatever he had a mind 
 
 15. He therefore went to all that were in captivity, and gave 
 them wholesome admonitions. 
 
 A he trials and persecutions of this life, which 
 in the order of God's providence serve for the 
 punishment of sinners, are to the just man the 
 means of purifying his soul, and bringing his vir- 
 tues to perfection. For, my beloved brethren, the 
 Apostle St. Paul assures us, that " all things work 
 for the good of those who love God, and whom 
 he calls to be saints." Rom. viii. 28. Thus it 
 was with the good Tobias; and the portion of 
 his history which forms the ground- work of my 
 present instruction, exhibits to your view a most 
 edifying pattern of virtue, under some of the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 27 
 
 severest trials that can befal human nature. 
 Tobias, with his wife and sons and several of 
 his countrymen, were, in consequence of their 
 captivity, obliged to take up their residence in 
 the city of Ninive, the capital of the Assyrian 
 empire. The vicious example of the inhabitants 
 of that rich and populous city, added to the 
 weight of the temporal calamities with which 
 God had visited the sins and ingratitude of the 
 Israelites, was too strong for the weak virtue of 
 the greater part of the captives who dwelt there. 
 None but Tobias had the courage to withstand 
 the torrent of corruption, and preserve inviolate 
 his fidelity to the ordinances of the divine law. 
 What grief must have oppressed the heart of this 
 holy man when he beheld his fellow-countrymen, 
 instead of humbling themselves under the divine 
 scourges, and appeasing God's wrath by the 
 amendment of their lives, adding to their past 
 crimes the guilt of fresh provocations, by trans- 
 gressing some of the essential precepts of their 
 religion. 
 
 When the Almighty was pleased to call the 
 descendants of Abraham to be his chosen people, 
 the other nations of the earth were buried in 
 the grossest idolatries and superstitions. To pre- 
 vent his people, therefore, from being infected 
 by the contagion of the evil example universally 
 
28 HOMILIES ON 
 
 spread around them, God ordained for the Jews 
 a great number of rites, ceremonies, and legal 
 observances, some of which were constantly re- 
 curring to call off their attention from too free 
 an intercourse with the rest of the world. Among 
 these legal observances was the distinction of 
 clear! and unclean meats, by which the Almighty 
 would at the same time teach his chosen people 
 the necessity of self-denial, and of restraining 
 their natural appetites ; and moreover remove 
 them further from the danger of being infected 
 with idolatry, by preventing their eating with 
 the heathens, among whom they lived. Tobias 
 in his captivity, though placed in a situation most 
 dangerous to his virtue, rigidly observed all the 
 ordinances of the law relative to the distinction 
 of meats. He yielded neither to the cravings 
 of self-love, nor the solicitations of pretended 
 friends, nor the ridicule of unbelievers. With a 
 steady step ho continued to walk in the path 
 of obedience, faithfully fulfilling whatever was 
 enjoined by the law, from a pure motive of the 
 love of God, and an earnest desire of eternal life. 
 
 The Old Testament furnishes several noble 
 examples, besides that of holy Tobias, of the 
 fidelity with which the servants of God observed 
 the rites of the Jewish law respecting meats. 
 One of the -most illustrious of these examples 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 29 
 
 is the truly heroic Eleazar, a venerable old man, 
 ninety years of age, who, in the persecution 
 under the impious king Antiochus, cheerfully 
 resigned his life rather than transgress the law 
 by eating of forbidden meats. No doubt some 
 of his worldly fiiends, who thought only of his 
 temporal life, would repeatedly suggest to him 
 that there could be no harm in tasting a bit 
 of the flesh of swine any more than of any other 
 animal, and that what goeth into the mouth 
 is not that which defileth a man, and conse- 
 quently advise him to comply with what was 
 demanded of him, and save his life. But, with 
 what indignation did the holy man reject their 
 crafty solicitations to sin ! How did he reproach 
 them for their cruelty, which, under the mask 
 of friendship, advised him to purchase a few 
 moments of a wretched existence that death 
 must shortly terminate, at the expense of losing 
 the favour of the Deity here, and the eternal 
 enjoyment of his glorious presence hereafter ! The 
 venerable Eleazar had formed his notions of duty, 
 not upon the false principles of the children of 
 the world, who study only present ease, and 
 seek for happiness in the gratification of their 
 passions, but upon the solid maxims of true 
 piety, which teaches us to make the will of God 
 the sole ride of all our actions. He was sensible 
 
30 
 
 HOMILIES (XNf 
 
 that in whatever the Creator commands, the 
 duty of the creature is to obey, and that to 
 refuse obedience to the sovereign authority of 
 our Maker is always sinful. Whether* therefore, 
 the Almighty by his own word commands us 
 to abstain from fornication, or to refrain from 
 touching the fruit of some particular tree, or 
 by his Church enjoins at certain times an ab- 
 stinence from flesh meat, the transgression of 
 any one of these commands is an act of dis- 
 obedience, and as such defiles the soul, robs it 
 of the title of a child of God, and deprives 
 it of all claim to an inheritance in his kingdom. 
 Convinced of these truths, the holy Eleazar stood 
 firm in the path of obedience. His pretended 
 friends, seeing his undaunted constancy, attacked 
 his virtue in a more insidious way. They ad- 
 vised him to make an appearance of complying 
 with the orders of his persecutor, offering to 
 substitute meat which it was lawful for him to 
 eat, that by thus seeming to comply, he might 
 satisfy his enemies, and save his life. But " he," 
 says the sacred text, " began to consider the 
 dignity of his age, and the inbred honour of 
 his grey hairs, and his good life and conversation 
 from a child, and he answered without delay, 
 that he would rather be sent into another world. 
 For, it doth not become our age, said he, to 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 31 
 
 dissemble ; whereby many young persons might 
 think that Eleazar at the age of fourscore and 
 ten years* were gone over to the life of heathens : 
 and so they, through my dissimulation, and for 
 a little time of a corruptible life, should be de- 
 ceived, and hereby I should bring a stain and 
 a curse upon my old age. For though, for the 
 present time, I should be delivered from the 
 punishments of men, yet should I not escape 
 the hand of the Almighty alive nor dead. Where- 
 fore, by departing manfully out of this life, I 
 shall shew myself worthy of my old age; and 
 I shall leave an example of fortitude to young 
 men, if with a ready mind and constancy I suffer 
 an honourable death for the most venerable and 
 most holy laws. And having spoken thus, he 
 was forthwith carried to execution. And, when 
 he was now ready to die with the stripes, he 
 groaned and said : O Lord, who hast the holy 
 knowledge, thou knowest manifestly that whereas 
 I might be delivered from death, I suffer grievous 
 pains in my body ; but in soul am well content 
 to suffer these things, because I fear thee. Thus 
 did this man die, leaving, not only to young 
 men, but also to the whole nation, the memory 
 of his death for an example of virtue and forti- 
 tude." 2 Macchabees vi. — Yes, Christians, thus 
 did this venerable servant of God die ; thus did 
 
32 HOMILIES ON 
 
 he exchange this short and transitory life for im- 
 mortal glory ; thus did he crown, by a glorious 
 death, a life spent in the faithful service of his 
 Creator, yielding himself a sacrifice of obedience 
 to the commands of his God. Thus did he leave, 
 not only to his own nation, but to you and to 
 all Christians, a noble example of the fidelity 
 which you owe to the sacred injunctions of God 
 and his Church. 
 
 For, my beloved brethren, the precepts of the 
 Church are, in fact, precepts of Almighty God, 
 since it is God who speaks to us by his Church. 
 Our divine Redeemer, before his ascension into 
 heaven, gave to the pastors of his Church, in the 
 persons of his apostles, a commission to establish 
 his kingdom upon earth, a power to rule and 
 govern those who should become subject to his 
 kingdom, and consequently an authority to ap- 
 point and ordain such regulations as should seem 
 necessary for the welfare of souls entrusted to 
 their care. He had long before pointed out the 
 duty of obedience to their orders, in those words 
 which he addressed to them, "he that heareth 
 you, heareth me ; he that despiseth you, despiseth 
 me :" declaring also, that whoever will not hear, 
 that is, obey, the Church, shall have no more 
 claim to the kingdom of heaven than the heathen 
 who adores false gods, or the publican, that is, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. S3 
 
 the notorious sinner, whose crimes render him 
 deserving of eternal damnation. Whether, then, 
 the Almighty condescends to speak to us by 
 his own mouth, and to write with his own finger 
 the commandments which we are to fulfil, or 
 whether he delivers his precepts to us through 
 the voice of the pastors of his Church, these 
 injunctions are all founded upon the same divine 
 authority, and the same is the obligation on our 
 part of faithfully complying with them. Who- 
 ever, therefore, lives in the wilful violation of any 
 one of the precepts of the Church, whether as 
 to the neglect of hearing mass on Sundays and 
 holydays, or of abstaining from flesh-meat on 
 certain days, lives in disobedience to the spiritual 
 authority which God has appointed to guide him ; 
 and unless he renounces that disobedience, what- 
 ever his life may be in other respects, will not 
 be admitted to a participation of the reward pro- 
 mised only to the humble and obedient. 
 
 But, it may be. asked, why has the Church 
 given any commandments at all in addition to 
 those expressly delivered by God himself? The 
 answer to this question, my beloved brethren, 
 will establish clearly both the end and the utility 
 of the precepts which the Catholic Church en- 
 joins to her children. I answer then, that the 
 design of these precepts is, to enable us to fuLfi! 
 
 D 
 
34? HOMILIES ON 
 
 more easily the ordinances of the law of God, 
 first, by appointing certain exterior acts of piety 
 best adapted to conduct us to that end ; and, 
 secondly, by determining the best time and man- 
 ner of observing the divine commandments. 
 
 To prove the truth of this answer, I shall in- 
 stance only the precept of fasting and abstinence, 
 as being naturally connected with the subject of 
 this day's instruction. We are all sinners, and 
 in this character owe to the divine justice a 
 satisfaction for the sins by which we have trans- 
 gressed the law of God. For, by a fixed rule 
 of God's justice, whatever has been denied by 
 sin, must be purified by the virtue of penance 
 here, or feel hereafter the rigours of an avenging 
 justice no longer tempered with mercy. Hence 
 those frequent invitations to the practice of pen- 
 ance, which the inspired writings both in the 
 Old and New Testament continually hold out to 
 sinners, calling upon them to take the scourge 
 into their own hands, and, by the voluntary chas- 
 tisement of their own rebellious flesh, to avert 
 the more dreadful scourges of the divine anger 
 provoked by their crimes. Jesus Christ positive- 
 ly declares to all his followers, " unless ye do 
 penance ye shall all perish ;" and proclaims, that 
 " whoever would be his disciple must deny him- 
 self, and take up his cross, and then follow him - 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
 His whole life, which is to be the model of ours, 
 was a life of penance ; and in this he has been 
 imitated by all his Saints, who, whatever may 
 have been the peculiar virtues that adorned their 
 character, were all remarkable for the exercise of 
 holy penance. The great Apostle of the Gentiles, 
 St. Paul, though chosen by God himself to be a 
 vessel of election, though unconscious to him- 
 self of any wilful transgression of the divine 
 law, though gifted with the power of working 
 miracles, and for the encouragement of his virtue 
 wrapt up to the third heaven,, yet did not think 
 himself exempt from the general law r of penance, 
 but practised himself the obligation which he 
 inculcated to others. *' I chastise my body and 
 bring it into subjection, lest, Vhen I have preached 
 to others, I myself should become a reprobate." 
 I Cor. 9-— Shall we then, who are sinners, look 
 upon penance and self-denial as unnecessary ? No, 
 my beloved brethren, deceive not yourselves ; pen- 
 ance and the mortification both of the inward 
 and outward man, ever were, and ever will be 
 essential duties of a Christian life, The holy 
 Council of Trent fears not to assert, that the 
 whole life of a Christian ought to be a life of 
 penance. We are under a strict obligation of 
 labouring to appease the wrath of God, to draw 
 down his mercy by works of penance, and by 
 
36 HOMILIES ON 
 
 voluntarily abstaining from the use of things 
 which are at other times lawful, to make atone- 
 ment for our past criminal excesses, and for the 
 unlawful use which we too often have made of 
 what the bounty of God has provided for our 
 support. It is then to teach you these important 
 lessons, and to aid you in the practice of them, 
 that the church, by the authority with which 
 Christ invested her, enjoins certain times for the 
 exercise of those works of penance that God 
 has declared most available in his sight — fasting 
 and abstinence. Great indeed will be your con- 
 solation at the hour of death, if, like the holy 
 Tobias or the venerable Eleazar, you can then 
 look back upon a life faithful in the observance 
 of these holy duties." But miserable will be 
 your condition, and dreadful will then be your 
 anguish of soul, if when you stand before the 
 tribunal of an all-seeing Judge, you shall be 
 charged with having added to your other crimes, 
 a wilful disobedience to the church of God, with 
 having neglected to use the salutary means of 
 atoning for the heavy debt due to the justice of 
 God, and with having brought a scandal upon 
 your religion, and caused the enemies of your 
 faith to blaspheme, by your irreligious lives. 
 Living, as the first Christians did, in the midst 
 of those who, through ignorance or prejudice, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 37 
 
 look upon your religion with an eye of ridicule 
 and contempt, let your conversation be good 
 among them, by the faithful observance of the 
 laws of God and his Church ; that* whereas they 
 speak of you as evil doers, considering your good 
 works and holiness of life, they may be most 
 powerfully convinced of the purity of your faith, 
 and uniting themselves to the one fold of the 
 one Shepherd, may be brought to glorify God 
 in the day of his visitation. The world, though 
 it affects to treat the virtues of the servants of 
 God as folly, yet cannot refuse them the tribute 
 of admiration and respect. It dreads them, be- 
 cause it well knows that nothing so strongly 
 tends to lessen the numbers of it's own deluded 
 followers as the good example of the virtuous ; 
 yet it cannot withhold from the latter it's sincere 
 esteem of their heroic conduct. Tobias, though 
 alone in the path of virtue, drew upon himself 
 the love and veneration of the wicked. King 
 Salmanasar himself admired his virtue, shewed 
 him marks of his favour, and gave him leave to 
 go whithersoever he would. 
 
 In the cup of afflictions, which his providence 
 presents to his chosen servants for their trial, the 
 Almighty usually mingles some drops, at least, 
 of his heavenly consolations, both to reward their 
 fidelity and to encourage them to perseverance. 
 
 D3 
 
3S HOMILIES ON 
 
 Having humbled Tobias, by making him a par- 
 taker of the captivity and afflictions which had 
 befallen his brethren* God now permits him to 
 enjoy a little sunshine of prosperity in the favour 
 of his prince. Tobias, ever steady to his princi- 
 ples of virtue, acknowledges the finger of Provi- 
 dence in his prosperity, no less than in his 
 adversities* He employs this short season of 
 peace and tranquillity in acts of benevolence and 
 mercy towards his persecuted and distressed bre- 
 thren. He shares with them the bounties of his 
 prince, distributing freely among them what he 
 himself had freely received. He accompanies his 
 acts of charity with the more holy and more 
 efficacious exercises of spiritual alms-deeds ; ad- 
 monishing his sinful countrymen-of .their ingrati- 
 tude to God, the source of all their misfortunes ; 
 exhorting them to receive their afflictions in the 
 spirit of sincere repentance, by humbling them- 
 selves under the mighty hand of God ; to acknow- 
 ledge the visitation of his mercy, and by re- 
 nouncing their evil ways, to turn their captivity 
 into a powerful means of atoning for past crimes, 
 And securing to themselves for the future the 
 mercy of their offended God. 
 
 Whatever be your station in life, my beloved 
 brethren, let this example of the good Tobias 
 be the model of your conduct. If God has been 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 3<) 
 
 liberal in bestowing upon you temporal blessings, 
 be you liberal in dispensing a share of them to 
 vour distressed fellow-creatures. If he has given 
 you little, of that little give cheerfully, according 
 to your abilities. Be each of you faithful, like 
 this holy servant of God, in exercising the spiri- 
 tual works of mercy to your fellow-creatures, by 
 contributing, as far as lies in your power, to the 
 salvation of the souls of your neighbours. This 
 is done, first by procuring instruction for such 
 as are ignorant of the principles of religion, 
 especially your children and others entrusted to 
 your care ; secondly, by endeavouring tp promote 
 the conversion of sinners, to withdraw them from 
 the path of vice, and by wholesome admonitions 
 reclaim them from their evil w T ays ; lastly, by 
 good example, and an edifying life, opening the 
 eyes of others to see the way of truth, and 
 powerfully inclining their hearts to embrace it. 
 Your fidelity in these holy duties will prove to 
 your souls an abundant source of grace during 
 life, of joy and consolation in death, and entitle 
 you to an everlasting reward in heaven. 
 
 D 4 
 
FOURTH HOMILY, 
 
 Chap. I. ver 16. And when Tobias was come to Rages, a city of 
 the Medes, and had ten talents of silver of that with which 
 
 he had been honoured by the king: 17. and when 
 
 amongst a great multitude of his kindred, he saw Gabelus 
 in want, who was one of his own tribe, taking a note of his 
 hand, he gave him the aforesaid sum of money. 
 
 ftomiljft* 
 
 Jlhe holy Tobias, as my last instruction in- 
 formed you, by his edifying life and virtuous 
 conversation, by his undaunted constancy in the 
 path of virtue, and his steady adherence to the 
 divine law, gained the esteem and veneration 
 not only of his own countrymen, but of the 
 heathens among whom he lived. The king him- 
 self honoured Tobias with his friendship ; and, 
 knowing his charitable disposition, furnished him 
 with considerable sums of money for the exercise 
 of his benevolence. The holy servant of God, 
 who set no other value upon riches than as they 
 enabled him to imitate the bounteous Giver of 
 all good gifts, by dispensing blessings to his 
 fellow-creatures, faithfully employed the presents 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 41 
 
 of his prince in acts of mercy and charity to his 
 distressed brethren. During the latter part of 
 the reign of Salmanasar, the rigours of the capti- 
 vity of the Jewish people seem to have been 
 softened. The tribe of Nephthali, to which Tobias 
 belonged, was no longer confined to the walls 
 of Ninive. Gabelus, who was of the same tribe, 
 had fixed his residence at Rages, a city of the 
 Medes. Tobias finding himself, in consequence 
 of the king's generosity, blessed with the means 
 of alleviating the distresses of his countrymen, 
 travelled over the whole country in search of 
 those who were iri want. While he excluded 
 none of his fellow-creatures from partaking of 
 his charity, he was careful to exercise this virtue 
 with prudence, and according to the order pre- 
 scribed by tne law of nature and religion. Those 
 who are connected with us by the ties of kindred 
 and the bond of faith, have the first claim upon 
 our benevolence. Hence the severe reproaches 
 which our divine Redeemer made to the Phari- 
 sees, because they taught the people to transfer 
 to other purposes of charity, the relief which by 
 the strictest of obligations they owed to their 
 nearest kindred, their parents. Hence also the 
 advice of the Apostle St. Paul, " whilst ye have 
 time, do good to all men, but especially to those 
 who are of the household of the faith." Gal. vi. 10. 
 
<&% HOMILIES ON 
 
 Acting up to these principles of duty, Tobias 
 sought for the first objects of his charity among 
 his own kindred. At Rages, he found Gabelus, 
 his relation, in want, and he assisted him in a 
 manner, which at the same time that it proved 
 of the greatest service to his kinsman, would not 
 be injurious to himself. To enable Gabelus tq 
 rise from the unfortunate situation to which he 
 had been reduced, and to aid him in making a 
 provision for himself and his family, Tobias kindly 
 lent him ten talents, requiring for his security a 
 note of hand. Ten talents amounted at the lowest 
 calculation to nearly two thousand pounds of our 
 money : with this sum, Gabelus was raised from 
 the brink of destruction, and found himself in a 
 condition to acquire a decent maintenance for 
 himself and family. As the relief which Tobias 
 afforded his kinsman, was a charity undertaken 
 from the purest of motives, and guided by pru- 
 dence and discretion, heaven gave a blessing to 
 this exercise of mercy, both with regard to the 
 giver and the receiver, as the sequel of this history 
 informs us. During the short sunshine of pros- 
 perity which Tobias enjoyed, his whole time w r as 
 employed in acts of charity and benevolence, 
 though the holy scripture selects merely the 
 example just given to you, because it points out 
 a species of brotherly love but seldom practised by 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 43 
 
 mankind, though of all others the most easy ; and 
 frequently, as in the case of Gabelus, attended 
 with the most beneficial effects. Those to whom 
 God has given far more than is necessary for 
 their own wants, forget that they are only stew< 
 ards of the sovereign Lord and Master of all, 
 with whom there is no distinction of persons, 
 and who will one day demand a severe account 
 of the talents entrusted to them. Instead of 
 searching, like the good Tobias, for deserving 
 objects of charity, and tasting the real happiness 
 to be found in doing good to others, in enabling 
 the reduced tradesman to rise superior to the 
 hardships that oppress him, or aiding the indus- 
 trious peasant to provide more decent covering, 
 and a better meal for his half-starved and almost 
 naked family, the rich ones of the world too 
 often close their eyes to the scenes of woe that 
 throw a gloom round their splendid habitations, 
 and shut their ears to the cry of misery. Stran- 
 gers to the truly enviable happiness of resembling 
 the God of mercy, by diffusing blessings to their 
 fellow-creatures, they know no other value of 
 riches than that they enable them to purchase 
 the gratification of their passions, and to riot in 
 voluptuousness and sin. Thus, their riches, which, 
 if faithfully employed, would have rendered them 
 beloved of God in this life, and powerfully ad- 
 
44 HOMILIES ON 
 
 vance them to their crown of immortal glory in 
 the next, become the instruments of destruction 
 to their immortal souls, shut out the grace of 
 God during life, and close against them, in the 
 hour of death, the gate that leads to everlasting 
 bliss. " Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl 
 for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your 
 riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth 
 eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted : and the 
 rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, 
 and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored 
 up to yourselves wrath against the last day." 
 St. James, v. 1. 
 
 Ver. 18. But after a long time, Salmanasar, the king, being, 
 dead, when Sennacherib his son, who reigned in his place, 
 
 had a hatred for the children of Israel: 1 9. Tobias 
 
 daily went among all his kindred, and comforted them, and 
 
 distributed to every one as he was able, out of his goods 
 
 20. He fed the hungry, and gave clothes to the naked, and 
 was careful to bury the dead, and them that were slain. 
 
 While the virtuous Tobias enjoyed the favour 
 of his prince, his charity had free scope to exercise 
 itself in whatever place, and in whatever manner 
 he thought proper. But this liberty lasted not 
 long. King Salmanasar, who had so much be- 
 friended Tobias, died, and was succeeded by his 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 45 
 
 son Sennacherib, a mortal enemy of the Jewish 
 people. Tobias, by his fidelity in the discharge 
 of the duties of piety and charity during his 
 friendship with the late king, had prepared him- 
 self to meet with fortitude the change occasioned 
 by the death of his benefactor, and secured the 
 graces necessary for the hour of trial. Moreover, 
 by his prudent management of his temporal con- 
 cerns, he had, notwithstanding his great charities, 
 laid up sufficient for the wants of his family, and 
 found himself, though deprived of the king's boun- 
 ty, still enabled to administer relief to his afflicted 
 countrymen. His purse was ever open to the 
 call of distress ; and when money failed, he dis- 
 tributed to every one as he was able, out of the 
 goods that were in his possession. Admirable as 
 the charity of Tobias appeared in the season of 
 prosperity, it shone with much greater lustre in 
 adversity. Like a cloud, which for a time ob- 
 scures the brightness of the sun only to render 
 it's light more refulgent and more welcome, afflic- 
 tion puts the virtues of the servants of God to 
 the test, proves them to be real, and manifests 
 them to the world in their full splendour. The 
 difficulties also, to which the practice of virtue in 
 time of persecution exposes the Saints, considera- 
 bly enhance the merit of their edifying conduct, 
 and add to their crowns. Convinced of this truth. 
 
46 HOMILIES ON 
 
 the holy Tobias, bereft of all earthly protection, 
 continued with assiduity his usual acts of mercy, 
 confiding in the care of that all- wise and just 
 Providence, which in the day of the final distri- 
 bution of it's justice will proportion if s rewards 
 to the charities that have been exercised in it's 
 name. If, as our divine Redeemer assures us, 
 not a cup of cold water, given from a motive of 
 charity, shall pass unrewarded, what an immense 
 weight of glory shall grace the crowns of those 
 faithful stewards of the God of mercy, who shall 
 be found, like the good Tobias, to have consoled 
 the afflicted, reclaimed the sinner, fed the hungry, 
 clothed the naked, and cheerfully relieved their 
 distressed fellow-creatures ! To such will the sove- 
 reign Judge declare, " Amen, I say to you, what 
 ye have thus done to one of these, ye have done 
 unto me, enter ye into the joy of your Lord." 
 Is there one among you, my beloved brethren, 
 who, if the Saviour of the world, who poured out 
 the last drop of his blood for our salvation, were 
 in person to solicit a favour from you, would un- 
 gratefully refuse to grant it ? Behold him then in 
 the person of those distressed objects who daily 
 crave your charity. Give relief according to the 
 ability with which God has blessed you, but give 
 from a sincere motive of pleasing God, and of 
 gaining a reward in heaven, Thus will you lav 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 47 
 
 tip to yourselves treasures in that kingdom 
 where neither rust nor moth consumeth, nor 
 thieves break in and steal; but the glorious 
 presence of that God, who is himself the ex- 
 ceedingly great and secure reward of his ser- 
 vants, shall fill your happy souls with everlasting* 
 joy and delight. 
 
 Ver. 21. And when king Sennacherib was come back, flee* 
 ing from Judaea by reason of the slaughter that God had 
 made about him for his blasphemy ; and being angry, slew 
 many of the children of Israel, Tobias buried their 
 
 bodies 22. But when it was told the king, he 
 
 commanded him to be slain, and took away all his sub* 
 
 stance 23. But Tobias, fleeing naked away with his 
 
 son and with his wife, lay concealed, for many loved him. 
 
 I have already informed you, my beloved 
 brethren, that out of the twelve tribes into 
 which the children of Israel were divided, ten 
 had renounced the worship of the true God, and* 
 in punishment of their idolatry, had been de- 
 livered into the hands of Salmanasar, and had 
 been led away prisoners by him to his own 
 dominions. The two tribes which remained in 
 their native country, were the tribes of Judah 
 and Benjamin, and composed what was called 
 the kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem wȣ 
 
4S HOMILIES ON 
 
 the capital city. Sennacherib, flushed with the 
 success which had attended his father's invasion 
 of the kingdom of Israel, and impelled by the 
 hatred which he himself entertained for the 
 Jewish race, led a mighty army into Judasa. 
 Puffed up with pride, he imagined that nothing 
 could resist his power. To his pride and self- 
 conceit he added the most impious blasphemy; 
 a crime of all others the most insulting to the 
 Deity, since it attempts to pull him down from 
 the throne of his majesty, denies his attributes 
 and perfections, and treats him with open con- 
 tempt. At the time in which Sennacherib in- 
 vaded Judaea, the throne of Judah was filled by 
 Ezechias, one of the most virtuous monarchs 
 that ever reigned. To him the haughty Sen- 
 nacherib sent an insulting message, imperiously 
 commanding him to deliver up himself and his 
 people, telling him that it was in vain he trusted 
 in the protection of God, for that God would 
 not be able to prevent their falling into his hands. 
 Ezechias, shocked at this blasphemous denial of 
 God's omnipotence, rent his garments with grief, 
 put on the garb of a penitent, covering himself 
 with sackcloth ; and, as his only consolation, re- 
 paired to the house of the Lord, to pour forth 
 his soul in fervent supplication for mercy. At 
 the same time, he sent the most ancient and 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 49 
 
 virtuous of his priests, clothed also in sackcloth, 
 to the venerable prophet Isaiah, his counsellor 
 and director, to beg of the man of God to put 
 up his prayers also for the remnant of the 
 children of Israel. Pleased with the humble 
 confidence of the virtuous king, the Almighty 
 inspired his prophet instantly to assure Ezechias 
 that the threats of his enemy were vain, and 
 that his blasphemy should meet w th a speedy 
 and severe punishment The holy king was 
 comforted ; but, having received a second in- 
 sulting and blasphemous message from the ge- 
 neral of the Assyrians, redoubled his prayers, 
 expressing his firm hope and confidence that 
 the Almighty would shew forth his power for 
 the protection of his people. God heard his 
 prayer, and bade his prophet declare to him, 
 that the king of the Assyrians should not come 
 into the city of Jerusalem, nor shoot an arrow 
 into it, nor even cast a trench about it. " By 
 the way that he came he shall return, and into 
 this city he shall not come, saith the Lord. And 
 I will protect this city, and will save it for my 
 own sake, and for David my servant's sake. 
 And it came to pass that night, that an angel 
 of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the 
 Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. 
 And when Sennacherib arose early in the morn- 
 
 E 
 
50 HOMILIES ON 
 
 ing, he saw all dead bodies. And departing he 
 went away, and he returned and abode in Mnive." 
 4 Kings, xviii. xix. — Hither the vengeance of 
 that God whom he had blasphemed, followed 
 him; here it overtook and cut him off in the 
 midst of his impious career ; but not until he 
 had added to the weight of his past crimes the 
 guilt of many fresh acts of cruelty, injustice, 
 and murder. Stung with madness at the thoughts 
 of his late defeat, but not at all humbled or 
 changed by the scourge that h^iad drawn upon 
 himself and his people, he returned home, covered 
 with shame, but full of pride, malice, and re- 
 venge. Though he had so lately felt the severe 
 vengeance of that God whom he had blasphemed, 
 he neither thought of atoning for his crimes, nor 
 petitioning for pardon. Still bent upon the 
 gratification of his lawless passions, he resolved 
 to wreak his vengeance upon the unoffending 
 Israelites in his own dominions. He commenced 
 a cruel persecution against them, and put several 
 of them to death, leaving their bodies unburied, 
 as a terror and affliction to their surviving coun- 
 trymen. In this calamitous situation, Tobias, 
 though exposed to certain danger of losing his 
 property, if not his life, continued with un- 
 daunted constancy his usual acts of mercy, and 
 added to them the burial of the dead, and of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 51 
 
 those that were slain. His charity soon reached 
 the ears of the wicked king, who commanded 
 him to be slain, and took away all his substance. 
 But God, in whom he trusted, watched over 
 the life of his servant ; and while, for the trial 
 of his virtue, he permitted him to be deprived 
 of his worldly possessions, suffered not a hair 
 of his head to be hurt. For Tobias, hearing of 
 the king's order for his death, fled away naked 
 with his wife and his son, and lay concealed. 
 The hand of Providence guided him to a place 
 of refuge, and as it had formerly conducted 
 Joseph into the pit and the dungeon, for the 
 perfection of his merit, so now it led Tobias 
 into his solitary and painful retirement, to ma- 
 nifest him to after ages as a model of consummate 
 virtue, and as a pledge of the care which the 
 Almighty takes of those who faithfully serve 
 him. Tobias, in the poverty and distress to 
 which he was reduced, reaped the fruits of his 
 former virtues. The consciousness of his past 
 fidelity filled his soul with sweet tranquillity, a 
 certain foretaste of heaven ; and many who had 
 witnessed and felt the effects of his charities, 
 now shewed their affectionate esteem for him ? 
 and gladly received him at their tables. Tobias 
 in his affliction, though strip t of all his goods, 
 even of his very clothes, and depending for 
 
 E 2 
 
52 HOMILIES ON 
 
 subsistence upon those whom he had formers- 
 relieved in their distress, was far more happy 
 than the cruel Sennacherib on his throne, racked 
 with remorse for his crimes, with disappointed 
 ambition, and with a dread of death, which 
 would level all his pride, deprive him of all 
 that had engaged his affections, and hurry him 
 before the judgment -seat of a God whom he had 
 blasphemed. Short-lived is the prosperity of the 
 wicked. In the height of their pride, they may 
 laugh at the threats of divine justice, and despise 
 the calls of God's mercy ; but the day of retri- 
 bution will most assuredly come, and manifest 
 them to the world a dreadful example of the 
 folly of preferring earth before heaven, and of 
 expecting to find any real happiness in the path 
 of sin, or in the gratification of their passions, 
 which bring along with it nothing but remorse 
 of conscience here, and conducts to an eternity 
 of misery hereafter. 
 
 Ver. 24. After forty-five days, Sennacherib the king was killed 
 
 by Ins own sons 25. And Tobias returned to his own 
 
 housej and all his substance was restored to him. 
 
 Sennacherib, having filled up the measure of 
 his iniquities, was slain by his own sons, while 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 53 
 
 he was in the very act of adoring his false gods, 
 and paying to idols the homage which he owed 
 to the true God, whose vengeance he had already 
 felt but whose judgments he had despised. 
 Such was the punishment which, even in this 
 life, overtook one of the most powerful monarchs 
 that ever reigned upon the earth. But do 
 you, my beloved brethren, meditating on his 
 example, carry your thoughts beyond the grave. 
 Contemplate those everlasting fires prepared for 
 the unrepenting sinner. Tremble, lest, like the 
 impious Sennacherib, you should stand accused 
 at the hour of death of having insulted the 
 God of heaven by murmuring against his Provi- 
 dence, by profaning his holy name, and by 
 calling down damnation upon yourselves or your 
 fellow-creatures, or of having been guilty of 
 a murder infinitely worse than the death of 
 the body, the murder of the souls of others 
 by evil conversation, impure discourse, or bad 
 example. Repair all past scandals by an edify- 
 ing life for the time to come. Break off all 
 evil habits, more especially of swearing or lewd 
 conversation, the sources of ruin to so many 
 unhappy young persons. Consecrate the re- 
 mainder of your lives to fidelity in the divine 
 service. Study the example of the good Tobias, 
 and imitate his constancy in the path of virtue, 
 
 E3 
 
54 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 Thus will every circumstance of your lives, both 
 in adversity and prosperity, prove to you, as it 
 did to him, the means of advancing you in the 
 way that leads to perfection here, and to the 
 crown of glory laid up for you in heaven. 
 Amen* 
 
 
FIFTH HOMILY, 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 1. But after this, when there was a festival of 
 the Lord, and a good dinner was prepared in Tobias's 
 
 house, 2. he said to his son, go, and bring some of 
 
 our tribe that fear God, to feast with us. 
 
 JL o renew in the minds of his people the 
 memory of his past mercies, and of the astonish- 
 ing wonders which he had wrought for their 
 deliverance ; to inspire them with gratitude, and 
 fill their hearts with a love of their almighty 
 Benefactor, God himself was pleased to appoint 
 for the Jews certain festivals, which he com- 
 manded to he celebrated with great solemnity. 
 The principal of these festivals, my beloved 
 brethren, were, the Passover, in w T hich the Jews 
 celebrated their deliverance from the slavery of 
 Egypt, by sacrificing and eating the paschal 
 lamb ; the feast of Pentecost, in memory of 
 their receiving the law from God on mount 
 Sinai; and the feast of Tabernacles or Tents, 
 in memory of their having dwelt in tents during 
 their forty years sojourning in the wilderness. 
 
 E4 
 
56 HOMILIES ON 
 
 To shew the design of these festivals, Moses, 
 when in the name of God he enjoined the re- 
 ligious observance of the paschal solemnity, thus 
 addressed the Israelites: "When your children 
 shall say to you, What is the meaning of this 
 service ? You shall say to them, It is the victim 
 of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over 
 the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, 
 striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. 
 This is the observable night of the Lord, when 
 he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt : 
 this night all the children of Israel must observe 
 in their generations." Exodus xii. 26, 42. — To give 
 glory to God, and instruction and edification to 
 his people, was the intention with which the 
 feasts of the old law were established by God 
 himself. The Saints who lived under the Jewish 
 dispensation, were careful to fulfil the duty thus 
 enjoined them. It was on occasion of one of 
 these festivals appointed by the law, that the 
 holy Tobias made a feast in his own house, and 
 invited some of his friends to partake of it. The 
 piety of Tobias was not of that gloomy cast 
 which forbids every kind of mirth, even such 
 as is innocent, and throws an air of rigidness 
 and despondency over religion, which serves to 
 render it unamiable, if not disgusting. True 
 piety is ever amiable and inviting. Though 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 57 
 
 her seat is in the heart, yet she diffuses a sweet 
 odour around her, and paints a joy upon the 
 countenance, which bespeaks the tranquillity and 
 peace that attend her throne. Tobias well knew 
 that the principal design of the festivals of the 
 law was to honour and praise the God of mercy, 
 and was careful to spend in acts of religion the 
 greater part of the days appointed to be kept 
 holy. But he refused not the body it's proper 
 share in these solemn rejoicings. By the in- 
 nocent entertainment which he provided for his 
 friends, he both testified the inward gratitude 
 of his soul for the divine favours, and expressed 
 his ardent wish that they also might join with 
 him in the same pious dispositions. 
 
 But, my beloved brethren, if the blessings 
 appointed to be celebrated with yearly festivals 
 in the old law, thus called for the praise and 
 gratitude of the faithful servants of God, how 
 infinitely more sublime and holy are the feasts 
 of the Christian Church, and how infinitely 
 more strict is the obligation, incumbent upon us, 
 of manifesting our grateful praise and thanks- 
 giving to that bounteous God, whose astonishing 
 mercies we are on these occasions summoned 
 to commemorate ! The blessings of the Jewish 
 covenant were chiefly temporal blessings ; at the 
 very best but types and shadows of the benefits 
 
58 HOMILIES ON 
 
 poured out upon man under the Christian dis- 
 pensation. We have witnessed God himself de- 
 scending from heaven to become our Lawgiver, 
 our Victim, our Redeemer, our Model, our 
 Teacher, and our Guide. For us he clothed him- 
 self with mortal flesh, led a life of humiliation 
 and suffering ; for our example he practised the 
 precepts which he had delivered, and first trode 
 the path that is to conduct us to our true hap- 
 piness ; for us he bled in the garden and on 
 the cross ; for us he triumphed over death, rising 
 glorious from the grave ; for us he ascended to 
 his throne of everlasting glory, as our Leader 
 and our Head, to prepare for us a mansion in 
 the regions of bliss, that where he is we also 
 may be; for us he poured forth his Holy 
 Spirit on his Apostles, established his Church, 
 the pillar and the ground of truth; for us he 
 enriched her with the treasures of grace pur- 
 chased by his blood; for us he has appointed 
 on earth an emblem and a pledge of the eternal 
 feast of love reserved for the elect, having, by 
 an admirable abridgment of all his other won- 
 ders, transformed himself into our food, that, 
 entering into our breasts, he may transforni us 
 into himself, and becoming one with us, may 
 unite us to himself by an inconceivable union 
 of love, which, beginning here, may continue 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 59 
 
 throughout an eternity of bliss. Shall these his 
 bounties ever be forgotten? Shall we ungrate- 
 fully refuse him the slender return of our praise 
 and thanksgiving? Shall we not raise up our 
 voices to him on the throne of his glory, and 
 sigh for the happy completion of his mercies, 
 when, united to the choirs that incessantly adore 
 him, we shall begin the song of praise that will 
 never end? Oh! let us then begin upon earth 
 this happy employment, which will one day 
 form our only occupation in the kingdom of the 
 blessed. " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may 
 my right hand be forgotten." Psalm cxxxvi. If 
 I forget thee, O my God and my Saviour; if 
 I forget thy mercies, may my tongue cleave to 
 my palate, and never more be loosed to sing 
 thy praises ! — Let us, as becomes faithful children 
 of the Church, religiously observe the days ap- 
 pointed by her for the celebration of past 
 mercies. 
 
 Sensible of the weakness and ingratiude of 
 human nature, and fearful lest you should be found 
 wanting in one of the most important duties 
 of a rational being and a Christian, the adoration, 
 praise, and gratitude due to the Supreme Being, 
 the Church yearly renews before your eyes 
 the mysteries and blessings wrought by that 
 God « who was made flesh and dwelt amongst 
 
60 HOMILIES ON 
 
 us," to become our Instructor and our Redeemer. 
 In the annual circle of her festivals, you behold 
 the son of God born in a stable, submitting to 
 the knife of circumcision, adored by the magi, 
 conversing with men, insulted and condemned 
 by his own creatures, expiring on a cross, rising 
 from his tomb, ascending into heaven, sending 
 down the Holy Ghost, and enabling twelve poor 
 fishermen, in spite of the opposition of the 
 world and the Devil, to establish and propagate 
 his kingdom over the nations of the earth. 
 Other festivals, such as the feasts of the Blessed 
 Virgin, the Apostles, and principal Saints, are 
 appointed by the Church as a yearly tribute of 
 thanksgiving to God, to whose grace those his 
 chosen servants were indebted for their sanctity 
 and it's crown. How truly encouraging is the 
 example afforded us on these festival days, of 
 so many of our fellow-creatures rising superior 
 to the weakness of human nature, trampling the 
 vanities of the world under their feet, and 
 triumphing over Satan, sin, and hell ! How con- 
 soling, at the same time, is the reflection which 
 the recurrence of these festivals awakens in our 
 minds, of the communion we enjoy with these 
 our fellow-members of the Church, who have 
 already attained to the glorious consummation 
 of their labours ! Secure of their own happiness, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 61 
 
 they are now solicitous only for our welfare. 
 Compassionating the frailties of our nature, and 
 knowing the temptations and snares to which 
 we, who are still sorrowing in this vale of tears, 
 are exposed, while prostrate they adore the gra- 
 cious Author of their own happiness, they pour 
 forth their fervent supplications for us, petition- 
 ing the God of mercy, through the merits of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to bestow 
 upon us those graces that may enable us to walk 
 in their footsteps during life, and in death may 
 unite us with them in a participation of im- 
 mortal glory. Such is the doctrine, my be- 
 loved brethren, of the communion of Saints, a 
 doctrine inculcated and practised in every age 
 since the days of the Apostles ; inserted in the 
 creed, or abridgment of Christian faith, which 
 those very Apostles framed. — But I shall not 
 enlarge further upon this point at present. I 
 shall content myself with observing, that whether 
 we consider the festival days of the Church as 
 recalling to our mind the mysteries wrought by 
 the Blessed Trinity for our redemption and sanc- 
 tification, or as placing before our eyes the ex- 
 amples of those of our fellow-members who have 
 already arrived at their crown, nothing will 
 more powerfully aid us in our endeavours to 
 lead a virtuous life,, and in attaining to the end 
 
6& HOMILIES ON 
 
 of our being in the joys of heaven, than to cele- 
 brate with fidelity, and in the real spirit of the 
 Church, the feasts appointed by her. The holy- 
 days of obligation are few in number, yet, through 
 the sloth and insensibility of Christians, strangely 
 neglected. It is a duty of strict obligation on 
 those days to abstain from servile work, and to 
 assist with attention and devotion at the adorable 
 sacrifice of the mass. Sometimes indeed it may 
 happen, that a reasonable plea of necessity may 
 prevent the fulfilment of this duty. But with 
 those who truly desire to serve God here, and to 
 enjoy him hereafter, how very seldom is this the 
 case. Perhaps you will tell me. that you see 
 great numbers of Catholics, who, on these days, 
 without any scruple, follow their usual employ- 
 ment, and absent themselves from mass. I know, 
 dear Christians, and I lament that the number 
 of those who thus transgress their duty on the 
 feasts of the Church, is great. But I know also 
 what will be the sentiments of these unhappy 
 Christians at the moment of death, and when 
 they shall stand trembling at the judgment-seat 
 of their Saviour. I have witnessed the anguish 
 of soul with which the sinner, at the awful hour 
 of his departure, has been overwhelmed, from the 
 recollection of his criminal neglect of these and 
 the like important duties. Melancholy was the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 63 
 
 scene; and may the God of mercy grant that 
 you may never exhibit so sad and mournful a 
 spectacle in your dying moments ! May you, my 
 beloved brethren, be partakers of that joy and 
 consolation, which the memory of their past fide- 
 lity in the practice of their religious duties dif- 
 fuses over the death-bed of the servants of God ! 
 But let it then be your care during life to imi- 
 tate this their fidelity. On the solemn festivals 
 of the Church abstain from work, and assist at 
 the holy sacrifice of the altar. Let nothing but 
 real necessity excuse you from the fulfilment of 
 this obligation ; and when such necessity does 
 occur, obtain the sanction of your pastor for being 
 dispensed from the observance of this duty. Let 
 your care on this point extend to all under your 
 charge, and see that your respective families are 
 punctual in complying with the precept of the 
 Church on these days. Bring them with you to 
 the house of God, watch over their conduct 
 during the time of divine sendee, and dedicate 
 some portion of time on the festivals to their 
 religious instruction. If your distance from cha- 
 pel prevents your attending a second time on 
 these days at the public service of the Church, 
 fail not to sanctify at least one hour of the after- 
 noon, by calling your family to prayer, and the 
 hearing of the word of God. Be not afraid that 
 
64 HOMILIES ON 
 
 your faithfully giving these days to the duties 
 of religion will be any injury to your temporal 
 concerns. Such fear is unworthy of a Christian 
 soul ; it becomes only the breast of an infidel, 
 who either disbelieves the existence of an all-just 
 and good Providence, or knows nothing of the 
 promises which God has made to those who faith- 
 fully serve him. Have you ever beheld the 
 Catholic that neglected his religious duties suc- 
 cessful in his worldly business ? or, if you have, 
 did you not at the same time see his riches prove 
 a curse to himself and his family ? Oh ! believe 
 me, my beloved brethren, the only method to 
 secure that blessing from above which will give 
 success to both your temporal and eternal con- 
 cerns, is to be faithful in the service of your 
 Creator, to give to him that which belongs to 
 him, and to observe religiously the days devoted 
 by the Church, to the praise and adoration of the 
 bounteous Giver of all good gifts. Having then, 
 on these days, given a proper portion of time to 
 the fulfilment of the duties which I have pointed 
 out to you, take your amusement ; but let it be 
 such, that while it proves a relaxation of mind 
 and body, it may not tarnish the innocence of 
 your souls. Like the good Tobias, prepare, if you 
 please, a feast for your friends, and manifest the 
 inward joy of your heart by the outward pleasure 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 65 
 
 with which you entertain your acquaintance, and 
 the innocent mirth that seasons your conversa- 
 tion. But, like the same holy man, select your 
 friends from among those who fear God, whose 
 discourse will be edifying, and whose example 
 will powerfully incite you to the practice of vir- 
 tue. Of the weighty influence of good example; 
 Tobias is a striking proof. At first he stood aicne 
 in the path of virtue ; but his good life, his acts 
 of charity, and his holy conversation, soon made 
 an impression upon the hearts of those who were 
 more intimately acquainted with his merit. They 
 forsook both the company and the manners of 
 the idolaters ; they attached themselves closely to 
 Tobias, and endeavoured faithfully to copy the 
 bright pattern of virtue which he set before them. 
 With these holy persons, therefore, Tobias asso- 
 ciated ; these he made witnesses and partakers of 
 the entertainment which he had provided for the 
 celebration of the Lord's festival, of the inward 
 joy which he derived from the testimony of a 
 good conscience, and of the heartfelt cheerfulness 
 with which he sacrificed every earthly satisfaction 
 to the lasting pleasure arising from acts of charity 
 and virtue. Here then- my beloved brethren, is a 
 model for yourselves in the choice of your com- 
 pany and amusements on the days consecrated to 
 God's service. Be not of the number of those 
 who give one half of these days to God, and the 
 
 F 
 
66 HOMILIES ON 
 
 other half to the devil ; who in the morning are 
 found in the temple of the Deity among his 
 adorers, in the evening are to be met with in 
 the house of Satan, in the company of his votaries, 
 witnesses at least, if not actually partakers, of the 
 scenes of drunkenness, gaming, and lewd and 
 wicked discourse, which too generally reign in 
 the ale-house and the tavern. Perhaps you may 
 flatter yourselves, that, because you do not ac- 
 tually join in the above crimes, there is nothing 
 essentially wrong in your spending now and then 
 a few hours in the places and in the company 
 to which I allude. But do not thus delude your- 
 selves. If, under the influence of this deceitful 
 sentiment, you thus without scruple frequent the 
 resorts and the society of the wicked, the enemy 
 of your souls has you much more securely in his 
 possession than if he were to lead you to the 
 commission of some enormous sin. You stand 
 on the brink of a precipice, and you know it not ; 
 you hold by the hand those who are actually 
 tumbling down the steep, and do you flatter 
 yourselves with safety ? Were the devil to solicit 
 you, or even prevail upon you, to consent to some 
 grievous sin, your situation would not be half 
 so dangerous. Your eyes would then open to 
 the sight of your misery, and you would fly to 
 repentance for refuge and protection. But in 
 leading you into the society of the drunkard, the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 67 
 
 impure, the swearer, and the libertine, Satan 
 treacherously robs you of the fruit of your prayers 
 and religious exercises, makes you his instruments 
 in bringing a scandal upon your faith ; and in thus 
 rendering you the cause of hindering the salva- 
 tion of others, deprives you of the graces of God, 
 and links you in bands of friendship with those 
 % who are enemies of the cross of Christ, who 
 glory in what ought to be a subject of shame 
 and confusion to them, and w r hose end is eternal 
 destruction." Phil. iii. 1 8. — -Oh ! fly then, my be- 
 loved brethren, these pernicious haunts of vice, 
 these houses of sin ; and shun that fatal bane of 
 souls, evil company. Choose for your friends and 
 familiars those who fear God, with whom you may 
 go hand in hand in the practice of virtue, and 
 with whom you may reasonably hope that you 
 shall one day be found at the right-hand of the 
 Sovereign Judge in the day of final retribution. 
 
 Tobias had sent his son to invite his friends to 
 join with him in celebrating the festival of the 
 Lord, 
 
 Vet. 3. And, (continues the sacred text,) when he had gone, 
 returning, he told him that one of the children of Israel lay 
 slain in the street. And he (Tobias) forthwith leaped up 
 from his place at the table, and left his dinner, and came 
 fasting to the body. ...... 4. And taking it up, carried it pri- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 HOMILIES ON 
 
 vately to his house, that after the sun was down, he might 
 
 bury him cautiously 5. And when he had hid the body, 
 
 he ate bread with mourning and fear 6. Remembering 
 
 the word which the Lord spoke by Amos the prophet : Your 
 festival days shall be turned into lamentation and mourning. 
 
 Who can refuse the tribute of praise and admi- 
 ration to the charity of Tobias ? With him every 
 thing gives place to duty. The call of charity 
 finds him ever ready and cheerfully obedient. 
 Neither company nor amusement, neither the 
 call of hunger nor the fear of punishment, can 
 prevent the good Tobias from exercising the works 
 of mercy. One of his countrymen had been mur- 
 dered, and his body lay in the streets unburied. 
 Tobias had already exposed himself to death by 
 undertaking the same charitable office of buiying 
 the dead. Yet, unmoved by fear or any worldly 
 consideration, he leaves his meal and the company 
 of his friends, and going to the dead body, takes 
 it upon his shoulders and brings it to his house, 
 intending to commit it to the earth in the dusk 
 of the evening, that his charity might escape the 
 observation of his enemies. The sight of the dead 
 body of one of his countrymen who had thus 
 on a sudden been deprived of life, rilled the holy 
 man with the deepest affliction. But being ac- 
 customed to regard every thing that happens as 
 appointed by an all-wise Providence, and to turn 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 69 
 
 every circumstance of life into a source of virtue 
 and of merit, Tobias, on this melancholy occa- 
 sion, recalled to mind the words which God had 
 spoken by Amos the prophet, threatening his 
 people, that, in punishment of their crimes, their 
 festivals should be turned into days of lamenta- 
 tion and mourning. He accepted, therefore, of his 
 present affliction in a spirit of resignation and 
 penance, and offered it up an agreeable sacrifice 
 to the Almighty, to draw down mercy upon him- 
 self and his afflicted countrymen. This his con- 
 duct points out other exercises of piety, by which 
 you may sanctify the Sundays and holydays of 
 obligation. It shews that acts of penance and 
 charity, which are at all times highly pleasing 
 to God, are particularly acceptable to him on the 
 days dedicated to his service. 
 
 Having then shewn you the intention of the 
 Church of God in appointing her annual circle of 
 festivals ; that she designs to renew before your 
 eyes the memory of past mercies, to aid you in 
 the important duty of praising, adoring, and 
 thanking the Author of all good, and in im- 
 ploring fresh favours from his bounty ; that for 
 your encouragement and assistance in the path 
 of virtue, she presents you with the example 
 of the Saints who are gone before you, and are 
 now your intercessors in heaven ; I conjure you, 
 my beloved brethren, as you value your eternal 
 
 F 3 
 
TO 
 
 HOMILIES, ke. 
 
 welfare, faithfully to fulfil the precept of the 
 Church in the religious observance of her feasts. 
 Abstain on those days from servile work, assist 
 devoutly at mass, instruct your families, seek the 
 company of the virtuous, exercise the works of 
 mercy, and accompany these holy actions with 
 acts of penance and contrition, mourning over 
 your past sins. This is that mourning of which 
 it is said, " blessed are they that mourn, for they 
 shall be comforted:" comforted with peace of 
 mind here, and the blessings of eternal peace 
 hereafter. 
 
SIXTH HOMILY, 
 
 ap. II. ver.'f. So when tlie sun was down, he went and 
 buried him 8. Now all his neighbours blamed him, say- 
 ing : Once already commandment was given for thee to be 
 slain because of this matter, and thou didst scarce escape the 
 
 sentence of death, and dost thou again bury the dead? 
 
 9. But Tobias, fearing God more than the king, carried off 
 the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, 
 and at midnight buried them. 
 
 MJ or the trial of the virtue of the servants of 
 God, a strange variety of dangers and temptations 
 are permitted, by an all-wise Providence, to assail 
 them during the short time of their mortal pil- 
 grimage. Among these trials, my beloved bre- 
 thren, there is hardly any one which proves a 
 more serious obstacle in their progress towards 
 perfection, or which more frequently induces 
 those who have begun to labour for their salva- 
 tion, to abandon their undertaking, than human 
 respects, or a fear of what the world will say of 
 them. What the enemy of man cannot compass 
 by his own arts and malice, he too often succeeds 
 in accomplishing by some of our unhappy fellow- 
 creatures, who act as his agents in seducing or 
 deterring others from the practice of virtue. 
 
 F4 
 
m 
 
 7% HOMILIES OK 
 
 Wlien his other weapons have failed, the infernal 
 spirit attacks the followers of the Gospel with 
 the ridicule and reproofs of worldlings, and by 
 this means he too often succeeds in undermining 
 their piety. Many who would have nobly braved 
 the severest tortures for their faith ; who had in 
 fact already triumphed over the rudest assaults 
 of that most fierce and dangerous enemy, the 
 flesh ; who had edified the world by their virtue, 
 and laid up a rich store of merit for eternal life ; 
 have shrunk before the taunts and ridicule of 
 pretended friends, and, for fear of being blamed 
 or laughed at by the giddy followers of the world, 
 have abandoned the path of virtue. Like the 
 opening bud of some tender flower, broken from 
 it's stem by the rude wintry storm, their virtue 
 sinks before the chilling blast of worldly ridicule, 
 and dies. Or it may be said to resemble a tree, 
 which, after being clothed with rich blossoms, 
 withers before the worm that gnaws at it's root. 
 Thousands of unhappy mortals, who had begun 
 the career of virtue, and felt within themselves 
 a desire of eternal life, have been suddenly stop- 
 ped in the midst of their progress, because the 
 world has branded their piety with the imputa- 
 tion of folly, and assailed them with it's sneers 
 and it's censures. Some indeed struggle for 
 awhile against the torrent that opposes them ; 
 but tired of the toil, at length cease all opposition, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 73 
 
 •and are carried off by the violence of the stream 
 into the gulph of eternal perdition. IVJelancholy 
 indeed is the reflection excited by a contempla- 
 tion of the dreadful havock of souls, which is thus 
 made by a foolish fear of the ridicule of the world. 
 But how far more melancholy will be the thoughts 
 that will one day rack those very souls that have 
 been thus seduced and cheated of their crown. 
 To think' that they once enjoyed the near pros- 
 pect of eternal bliss, and for the paltry considera- 
 tion of screening themselves from the sneers of 
 deluded worldlings, suffered themselves to be rob 
 bed of the fruit of their past virtues, and con- 
 sented to take up their portion in everlasting 
 misery — Oh ! how cutting will be the reflection ! 
 
 Few, my beloved brethren, few are those, who, 
 like the good Tobias, set the laughter and con- 
 tempt of the w r orld at defiance ; whose virtue 
 rises superior to every human consideration. You 
 have seen, and you have admired the fidelity with 
 which that holy servant of God persevered in the 
 steady practice of virtue, and more particularly 
 in the exercise of the works of mercy. His earth- 
 ly sovereign threatened him with death, if he 
 pursued his usual charity of burying the dead. 
 Of his worldly friends, some reproved him for 
 exposing his life to danger by continuing that 
 holy office, while others laughed at his piety, and 
 ridiculed it under the appellation of folly. But 
 
74 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 neither threats nor allurements, neither contempt 
 nor reproof, could shake his resolution, or weaken 
 his attachment to virtue. He loved God with 
 all his strength and with all his soul. To serve 
 his Creator faithfully in this life, and enjoy him 
 eternally in the next, was the only object of his 
 affections and desires ; and rather than go astray 
 the least step from the path of virtue, or run 
 the danger of losing the favour of his God, and 
 the promised reward of bliss, he was ready at any 
 hour to resign his life. Oh ! undaunted con- 
 stancy ! Oh ! admirable fortitude of soul ! The 
 more admirable, because the graces and helps to 
 heaven were not so plentifully diffused upon man- 
 kind under the Jewish dispensation,, as they are 
 in the law of Christ ; examples of perfection were 
 then more rare, and the path to happiness not 
 so clearly marked out, and trodden but by few. 
 Tobias feared God more than the power of the 
 king, or the reproofs of worldly friends ; and with 
 unshaken fidelity and perseverance, fulfilled his 
 usual exercises of piety and mercy. Let the like 
 unwearied constancy mark your steps in the path 
 of virtue. Frequently recall to your minds, for 
 your encouragement under difficulties and trials, 
 the example of this holy man, and of other ser- 
 vants of God, particularly of the first Christians, 
 who were exposed, on account of the practice of 
 their religion, to those dreadful persecutions which 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 75 
 
 the infernal enemy of man's salvation raised, and 
 continued for more than three centuries against 
 the Church. Your situation in many respects 
 resembles that of the first professors of Christi- 
 anity. The slanders thrown upon the Catholic 
 faith in these our days, are little else but a repeti- 
 tion of the calumnies heaped upon it at that 
 early period; except that the authors of them 
 are no longer heathens, but men who profess to 
 believe in Christianity, and who, it is to be 
 feared, will consequently be less excusable in the 
 divine sight. It is not, however, so much against 
 their slanderous attacks of your faith that I now 
 wish to put you on your guard, as against the 
 less open though more dangerous snare for your 
 virtue, to be met with in the evil example, the 
 sneers, or the ridicule of those who, while they 
 bear the name of Christian, lead unchristian lives ; 
 and acting as instruments of the devil in under- 
 mining your virtue, will seek to laugh you out 
 q{ the practice of religion. But, " be ye not 
 afraid of men, who at most can hurt your bodies 
 only ; fear ye Him, who hath power to cast both 
 body and soul into hell." Matt. x. 28. Impress 
 upon your minds that declaration of your Re- 
 deemer, " if any man be ashamed of me and of 
 my words, of him shall the Son of Man be 
 ashamed, when he shall come in majesty to judge 
 the world." But if ye confess him before mem 
 
?6 HOMILIES ON 
 
 by a steady adherence to his faith and precepts 
 in the practice of your lives, he will confess you 
 before his Father, he will acknowledge you as 
 his true disciples, and confirm your title to the 
 everlasting reward which awaits those who have 
 faithfully followed him. When deluded world- 
 lings attempt to seduce you from the way of 
 virtue, by branding your strict attention to yQiir 
 religious duties with the name of folly, or by 
 ridiculing your piety, arm yourselves against their 
 artful and malicious attacks, by the thought of 
 what will one day be your sentiments at the 
 judgment-seat of Jesus Christ. Oh ! how dread- 
 ful will be the remorse which will then over- 
 whelm your souls, if you shall be found to have 
 deserted the path of virtue, and voluntarily have 
 consented to your own eternal destruction, through 
 a foolish dread of incurring the displeasure of 
 your fellow-creatures. Learn then, with the good 
 Tobias, to despise both the threats and the allure- 
 ments of the world, and to pursue with un- 
 daunted constancy the practice of virtue, under 
 whatever trials and difficulties you may meet 
 with in the faithful discharge of your duty. The 
 servants of God, so far from being exempt from 
 tribulation, are, from the very circumstance of 
 their lives being so directly opposite to those 
 of the generality of men, more certain to be ex- 
 posed to a greater share of it than others. The 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 77 
 
 trials 'which in the hand of an all-wise Provi- 
 dence are a scourge to the wicked, bring - the 
 virtues of his servants to their highest degree of 
 perfection in this life, and exalt them in the 
 next world to their crown of- glory. God no 
 where promises temporal peace and prosperity as 
 the portion of those who engage in his service ; 
 but, on the contrary, has expressly forewarned 
 them, " that all they who would live godlily in 
 Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution." While 
 some of the trials that befall the servants of God 
 arise from the malice of the wicked, who are 
 permitted to live, either that they themselves 
 may repent, or that by them the just may be 
 exercised in the virtues of patience and resigna- 
 tion ; other tribulations are expressly sent them 
 by the hand of the Almighty, for the perfection 
 of their virtue. - Of the latter truth, the history 
 of the holy Tobias is now going to present you 
 with a most edifying example. 
 
 Ver. 10. Now it happened one day, that being wearied with 
 burying, Tobias came to his house, and cast himself down 
 
 by the wall and slept, 11. And as he was sleeping, hot 
 
 dung out of a swallow's nest fell upon his eyes, and he was 
 made blind 12. Now this trial the Lord therefore per- 
 mitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to 
 posterity of his patience, as of holy Job. 
 
 The short view, which I have in the preceding 
 
78 Homilies on 
 
 instructions set before you, of the virtues of 
 Tobias, must have impressed you, my beloved 
 brethren, with a thorough conviction of his being 
 truly a just man, whose life was full of good 
 works. True to his character of a servant of 
 God, he presents, in every circumstance of his 
 history, a model of perfection. You have be- 
 held him from his youth faithful in the obser- 
 vance of the divine laws ; carefully shunning the 
 contagion of evil company ; sanctifying the most 
 ordinary actions and employments of his life by 
 a spirit of piety, and a recollection of the divine 
 word ; bringing up his son in the fear of God ; 
 full of charity for his fellow-sufferers, cheer- 
 fully exercising the works of mercy towards 
 them during their life, and after their death; 
 in fine, you have seen him generously sacrificing 
 every earthly consideration rather than omit the 
 doing of a good action ; and exposing himself 
 to the danger of losing his property, and even 
 life itself, rather than not obey the call of charity. 
 His enemies threatened him with death as the 
 recompense of his mercy ; his friends accused 
 him of rashness and folly ; but Tobias, listening 
 only to the voice of conscience and of duty, and 
 fearing God more than men, continued his ex- 
 ercises of charity, avoiding on the one hand, the 
 neglect of duty from any human respects, and 
 on the other, all wilful and unnecessary exposing 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 79 
 
 of himself to danger, burying the dead in the 
 -silence of the night, to prevent his acts of mercy 
 from being discovered by his enemies. Such is 
 a short sketch of the virtuous life of Tobias. 
 Who would not have expected, in return for 
 a life so holy and edifying, to see his days blessed 
 with an uninterrupted course of temporal pros- 
 perity ? But, my beloved brethren, the reward 
 of the servants of God is not to be looked for 
 in the short duration of their mortal existence. 
 Their recompense is reserved for eternity, where 
 they will reap the fruit of their past fidelity 
 in everlasting and unchangeable bliss. The Saints, 
 placing their whole heart and affections on the 
 good things of a future state, look for humi- 
 liations and afflictions as their portion in this 
 world, knowing that they must first learn to 
 suffer with their Redeemer, if they would reign 
 with him in glory. 
 
 After many years of a life spent in the faithful 
 performance of every good work, Tobias, while 
 resting from the fatigues brought upon him by 
 burying the dead, is struck with blindness. The 
 occasion of this affliction in the eyes of worldlings 
 would be viewed as a mere accident, as a thing 
 happening by chance. Eut the Christian, whose 
 faith teaches him that the same Almighty hand 
 which framed the world, rules and governs it, 
 believes, as a most undoubted truth, that nothing, 
 
80 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 excepting sin, happens in the universe but by 
 the express order and will of God. There is no 
 such thing as chance : God has regulated and 
 appointed all things from eternity. Even the 
 very hairs of our head are all numbered by him, 
 and not one of them falleth to the ground with- 
 out his will and permission. The order of his 
 Providence is not confined to us, it extends to 
 the whole of his creatures. Not a blade of grass 
 springs up in the fields, not a leaf moves, nor a 
 branch decays on the trees, but by his divine 
 permission. In whatever, therefore, befalls us, 
 under the severest afflictions and the most dis- 
 heartening trials, it is not to chance, nor the 
 mere malice of men, that we are to look as the 
 cause of our sufferings ; but in these occurrences, 
 no less than in our greatest prosperities, we are 
 to view the hand of that God who ordains and 
 sweetly disposes all things for the good of his 
 servants. This truth, the knowledge of which 
 is of so much consequence, both for our present 
 and future welfare, is clearly pointed out to us, 
 and exemplified in the blindness that befell Tobias. 
 The holy fcripture expressly tells us, that the 
 Lord permitted this trial to happen to him for 
 the perfection of his virtue, and that he might 
 shine to future ages, like another Job, a bright 
 pattern of patience and resignation to the divine 
 will. With what admirable humility and sub- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 81 
 
 mission did the holy Tobias embrace the appoint- 
 ment of heaven ! For, says the sacred text, 
 
 Ver.-13. Whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, 
 and kept his commandments, he repined not against God, 
 
 because the evil of blindness had befallen him 14. But 
 
 continued immoveable in the fear of God, giving thanks to 
 
 God all the days of his life c 15. For as the kings in? 
 
 suited over holy Job, so his relations and kinsmen mocked 
 
 at his life, saying; 16. Where is thy hope, for which 
 
 thou gavest alms, and buriedst the dead? 17- But 
 
 Tobias rebuked them, saying, speak not so: ...... 18. For 
 
 we are the children of saints, and look for that life which 
 God will give to them that never change their faith from 
 him. 
 
 To what a height of perfection, my beloved 
 brethren, are the knowledge and practice of this 
 truth, that nothing happens but by the order of 
 divine Providence, capable of raising the soul 
 of man ! Tobias in his affliction rises superior to 
 human nature, and manifests a virtue worthy of 
 a higher order of beings, a virtue truly angelical. 
 The blessed spirits above know ho other occupation 
 than to adore and execute the will of God ; and 
 the Saints who are one day to be united with 
 them in bliss, know no other happiness here on 
 earth than to embrace and accomplish the divine 
 will in all its appointments. The consideration 
 of the will of heaven animates them with courage 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 in the hour of trial, covers them with an im- 
 pregnable shield in the day of dinger, lightens 
 their burdens, sooths their afflictions, softens their 
 persecutions, and turns what the world calls 
 misery into a source of merit and of sweet tran- 
 quillity here, and of infinite rewards hereafter. 
 Among the ordinary evils that attend the life 
 of man upon earth, we can scarcely conceive a 
 more heavy affliction than that which befell 
 Tobias. The loss of his sight was to him a 
 double distress ; it not only prevented him from 
 fulfilling the common occupations of life, but 
 debarred him from exercising his usual works 
 of mercy, in seeking for objects of charity, and 
 in burying the dead. To this severe trial was 
 added another equally, or perhaps more, painful, 
 the ungrateful and uncharitable behaviour of 
 those who called themselves his friends. Instead 
 of pouring the balm of consoling words into his 
 afflicted soul, and endeavouring to lighten his 
 sorrows, they insulted him, they reviled him, 
 and ridiculed his past life of virtue. Void of 
 all true sentiments of piety themselves, they 
 would, if possible, have rooted such sentiments 
 from the breast of Tobias, and thus have de- 
 prived him of what was then his only comfort — 
 the testimony of a good conscience as to his 
 past life, and his confidence in the divine friend- 
 ship and protection. A similar aggravation of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS*. S3 
 
 his affliction had happened ages before to holy- 
 Job, who, when insulted by his friends, and 
 tempted by his wife to blaspheme the God of 
 heaven and put an end to his existence, bore 
 ail insults with patience, rejected the solicitations 
 of his wife with horror, and, under the heaviest 
 distress that ever fell to the lot of man, pre- 
 served unshaken his fidelity to God, and even 
 blessed and praised the hand that afflicted him. 
 Like that holy man, Tobias, in his blindness, 
 continued immoveable in the fear of God, and 
 the practice of virtue. Unable any longer to 
 exercise his accustomed outward acts of charity, 
 he redoubled the interior homage of his heart 
 to the Supreme Being, and dedicated his time 
 to the acceptable duty of praise and thanksgiving 
 for past favours, and fervent supplications for a 
 continuance of divine grace. When his worldly- 
 friends, whose hopes extended not beyond the 
 grave, and whose affections were placed solely 
 upon earthly blessings, mocked his past virtues, 
 and insultingly asked him, where was now his hope* 
 and what was the fruit of all the toils and dangers 
 to which he had exposed himself in the path of 
 virtue? the servant of God rebuked them with 
 meekness, saying : " Speak not so ; for we are the 
 children of Saints, and look for that life which 
 God will give to them that never change their 
 faith from him." As if this holy man had said 
 
 G2 
 
B4 HOMILIES ON 
 
 to them: Look at the lives of the ancient pa- 
 triarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom we 
 call our fathers. Those venerable servants of 
 God, considering themselves as only strangers 
 and pilgrims on this earth, fixed their hearts on 
 the blessings promised in a future state. During 
 their mortal life, the will of God was their only 
 guide in all their actions ; in obedience to his 
 will, they cheerfully submitted to the portion 
 of trials annexed to their earthly pilgrimage, 
 looking forward to the recompense of their virtue 
 in that eternal life which God will bestow upon 
 those who never lose their faith in him ; but 
 with a full confidence in his power and mercy, 
 persevere to the end of their lives in his service. 
 
 Such, dear Christians, were the admirable sen- 
 timents of piety which animated and consoled 
 the virtuous Tobias in the heavy trial which 
 had befallen him. He submitted with humble 
 resignation to the appointment of heaven, and 
 this submission rilled him with present comfort 
 and with future hope. As the glory of God 
 had ever been the object of all his actions, so 
 the accomplishment of the divine will was the 
 object of his desires and affections. By his strict 
 fidelity in the divine service from his youth, 
 he had secured to himself those graces which 
 now enabled him to meet his severe trials with 
 patience, and turn them into a source of ever- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 85 
 
 lasting happiness. Oh! cherish then in your 
 souls the spirit of this holy man, and imitate 
 his steady attachment to virtue. Let no human 
 considerations, nor a fear of what the world 
 may say of you, deter you from the practice 
 of virtue. Remember that your business in 
 in this life is to serve God. Let his will then 
 be the rule of all your actions. Seek first the 
 kingdom of God and his justice; sanctifying 
 all the employments of your lives by doing 
 them with a view to please God, and to gain 
 eternal life. Consider whatever befalls you as 
 ordained by an all-wise Providence for your 
 good, and be cheerfully resigned to his holy 
 will, even under the greatest crosses and dis- 
 appointments. Then will you truly love God 
 above all things, when you shall have no other 
 will but his. This conformity to the divine 
 will, is that charity of which the Apostle says, 
 that " it is the bond of perfection." Tongues 
 shall cease ; prophecies shall be made void ; faith 
 shall no longer be necessary, when the soul shall 
 see her God face to face ; hope shall be swal- 
 lowed up in enjoyment; but charity, the love 
 of God and of his will, never faileth, but will con- 
 tinue throughout an eternity of bliss, that happy 
 union of will and affection which even in this life 
 subsists between God and his servants. Amen. 
 
 G3 
 
SEVENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. II. ver. 19. Now Anna his wife went daily to weaving 
 work, and she brought home what she could get for their 
 
 living, by the labour of her hands 20. Whereby it 
 
 came to pass, that she received a young kid, and brought 
 
 it home 21. And when her husband heard it bleating, 
 
 he said : Take heed lest perhaps it be stolen ; restore it to 
 it's owner, for it is not lawful for us either to eat or to touch 
 any thing that cometh by theft. 
 
 $omttg* 
 
 HIT servants of God, in a state of affliction and 
 trial, are compared by the holy Scripture to gold 
 jri the furnace. For as gold by passing through 
 the fire loses nothing of it's own substance, but 
 being by this operation cleansed from every particle 
 of dross that adhered to it, comes forth from the 
 furnace more bright and more valuable than it 
 was before ; so, my beloved brethren, the virtues 
 of the Saints receive a new lustre from the per- 
 secutions of the world, and the afflictions of this 
 life ; are separated from all dross of earthly af- 
 fection, and are crowned with a much higher 
 degree of merit, as to eternal life. The character 
 of the holy Tobias, which in time of prosperity 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 87 
 
 appeared so edifying, shone forth with much 
 greater splendour in the afflicting state of blind- 
 ness and poverty, to which Providence had re- 
 duced him. This severe trial stamped his virtues 
 with the seal of heaven, and made it manifest 
 to the world that his good works were not 
 performed from any human motive, or a view 
 to any earthly advantage, but from a pure love 
 of God, and a desire of eternal life. This holy 
 man, who, by the blessing of Providence, and 
 the favour of his earthly sovereign, had lately 
 enjoyed the truly enviable happiness of being 
 enabled to dispense large alms to his distressed 
 countrymen, was now, by the permission of the 
 same all- wise Providence, reduced to want. The 
 holy Scripture does not inform us by what 
 means Tobias became poor; but his stock of 
 money was exhausted too suddenly to be imme- 
 diately replaced. It is true he had lent a con- 
 siderable sum to his countryman Gabelus ; but 
 as he had no longer the liberty of going whither- 
 soever he pleased, he could not at present re- 
 cover it. In addition, therefore, to the severe 
 affliction of the loss of sight, Tobias found him- 
 self forced to struggle with another hardship, that 
 of poverty. The world looks upon poverty as 
 one of the worst of the evils that can befall man 
 in this life. But the Saints, who view things 
 through a very different medium from that in 
 
 G4 
 
88 HOMILIES OK 
 
 which the followers of the world behold the 
 objects that surround them, withdrawing their 
 heart and affections from all the transitory ad- 
 vantages of this life, fix them upon those eternal 
 blessings which are alone worthy of the soul of 
 man. Casting all their care, as to worldly goods, 
 upon that bountiful God whom they serve, and 
 who ordains all things for the good of his ser- 
 vants, they embrace with equal cheerfulness all 
 the appointments of his holy will, whether as to 
 riches or poverty, prosperity or adversity. If 
 Providence blesses them with abundance, know- 
 ing the danger of riches, a fatal source of per- 
 dition to thousands, and remembering that they 
 are only stewards of the great and Sovereign 
 Lord of all, they distribute them in acts of mercy 
 to their fellow-creatures, and thus turn the cor- 
 ruptible riches of this earth into solid and never- 
 failing treasures for eternity. Careful not to 
 set their affections upon worldly riches, they 
 use their possessions as if they used them not, 
 preserving their hearts totally disengaged from 
 all misplaced attachment to them, and living 
 in the disposition of being willing to part from 
 them, whenever such shall be the will of Provi- 
 dence. Hence, if the Almighty visits them with 
 poverty, being fully assured that all his dispen- 
 sations are designed for their future good, they 
 bow with cheerful submission to the divine will, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 89 
 
 being confident that he who feeds the birds 
 of the air, and clothes the lilies of the field, will 
 provide them with the necessaries of this life, 
 more than which they neither ask nor desire. 
 It is thus that the servants of God, under the 
 severest hardships and trials, enjoy a happiness 
 which the followers of the world in vain attempt 
 to find in the attainment of earthly emoluments. 
 
 Of the above truths, the conduct of Tobias, 
 during his blindness and poverty, is a striking 
 and at the same time an edifying proof. Though 
 deprived of his possessions, and what was still 
 more valuable, his sight, he murmurs not against 
 heaven, nor loses his confidence in the Almighty, 
 but professes himself a child and a follower of 
 the ancient patriarchs, who looked for their 
 happiness and their reward in a future state. — 
 As Tobias, in consequence of his blindness, was 
 unable to work for his bread, his wife every 
 day strove by the labour of her own hands to sup- 
 port herself and her afflicted husband. What 
 she earned by her employment of weaving cloth 
 during the day, she carefully brought home in 
 the evening. It happened on one occasion that 
 she brought with her a young kid, w T hich she 
 had received either as a part of her pay, or as 
 a present over and above what was the price of 
 her labour. Her husband hearing the animal 
 bleating, said to her, "Take heed, lest perhaps 
 
90 HOMILIES. ON 
 
 it be stolen : restore it to it's owner, for it is not 
 lawful for us either to eat or to touch any thing 
 that cometh by theft." — Tobias meant not by these 
 words to accuse his wife of the crime of theft ; 
 but, fearing lest the poverty to which they 
 were now reduced, might have weakened her 
 principles of honesty, or induced her to accept 
 of a present from some one who had not the 
 right authority to give it, he recalled to her mind 
 the maxims of the divine law, which forbids, 
 not only the actual commission of theft, but 
 also all participation in the fruits of injustice. 
 In the divine oracles there is nothing superfluous. 
 The circumstance now under our consideration, 
 is in it's outward appearance trilling and un- 
 important; but within is full of useful instruc- 
 tion. It serves to give us a much clearer insight 
 into the character of Tobias; it shews us the 
 extent of his virtue, and how deeply the prin- 
 ciples of justice and integrity were implanted 
 in his heart. Many of the Jews, indeed the 
 far greater part of them, being what is called 
 carnal-minded, looked no farther than the out- 
 ward letter of the law of God, either as to it's 
 precepts or it's promises. As their hearts were 
 fixed upon earthly objects, they observed the 
 ordinances of the law solely with a view to tem- 
 poral prosperity; and having no better motive 
 to influence .them, it is no wonder that they 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 91 
 
 confined their observance of the law to the mere 
 letter of the precept They carefully abstained 
 from theft, but at the same time indulged with- 
 out scruple in many other crying sins of injustice ; 
 all of them branches of the same crime of theft, 
 and aU equally contrary to the love of their 
 neighbour. Provided that their lives were not 
 stained with any of the grosser sorts of crimes, 
 expressly forbidden by the words of the com- 
 mandments, they were satisfied ; they concluded 
 themselves favourites and friends of God, and 
 in this character looked with confidence for 
 temporal riches, as the reward of what they 
 deemed to be fidelity in the divine service. 
 Thus framing to themselves a false conscience, 
 they passed their lives under the influence of 
 it's delusive guidance, profoundly ignorant of 
 many of their most important obligations, and 
 consequently living in the constant violation of 
 some of their strictest duties. Nor did the 
 delusion end till death opened the eyes of their 
 soul, and they found themselves stationed at that 
 awful tribunal where the actions of mankind 
 are weighed, not in the deceitful scales of human 
 justice, but in the unerring balance of the sanc- 
 tuary. The acts of virtue upon which they 
 built their claim to the favour of heaven, having 
 been undertaken from the sordid motive of gain- 
 ing human esteem or worldly riches, were then 
 
92 HOMILIES OK 
 
 found to have received their reward in the ap- 
 plause of men, or the temporal prosperity that had 
 attended their mortal existence. But their ima- 
 ginary virtues were not admitted as affording any 
 title to eternal happiness, because they wanted 
 that purity of intention, and were not done from 
 that sincere love of God which alone stamps our 
 actions w r ith real excellence, enrolls them in the 
 rank of real virtues, and renders them deserving 
 of eternal life. On the other hand, when the 
 false conscience under which the carnal-minded 
 Jew had acted, was removed, and the divine law 
 appeared to him, not as interpreted according to 
 the suggestions of self-love, but agreeably to the 
 dictates of eternal truth and justice, the violations 
 of duty in which he had lived without scruple 
 would overwhelm him with confusion, and prove 
 his eternal condemnation. Such was the state of 
 the carnal-minded Jew, who looked no farther 
 than the letter of the divine law. 
 
 Before I contrast with his conduct the character 
 of the spiritual Jew, or real child of Abraham 
 and faithful servant of God, I conjure you, my 
 beloved brethren, to give me your most serious 
 attention while I point out to you a certain 
 description of Christians, whose condition in many 
 respects resembles that of the carnal-minded Jews. 
 I mean those whose lives are under the influence 
 of the fatal vice of lukewarmness or tepidity. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 93 
 
 This vice is a rock upon which thousands of un- 
 happy mortals are shipwrecked, whose lives are 
 unstained with any very gross crimes, and con- 
 sequently appear virtuous and edifying in the 
 eyes of the world. Almighty God declares that 
 he will not accept of a divided heart. Our whole 
 being, both soul and body, belongs to him upon 
 the most just of titles, and he therefore requires 
 that our whole being should be faithfully dedi- 
 cated to his service. The lukewarm or tepid 
 Christian, is sensible indeed that he is placed in 
 this world to serve God, and knows that if he 
 does not serve him he must be miserable for 
 eternity. Whatever, therefore, appears to him to 
 be a duty of strict obligation, he carefully per- 
 forms, and as carefully avoids whatever appears 1 
 to him in the shape of a mortal sin. Further 
 than this he goes not ; but flatters himself that 
 he shall thus be enabled to depart this life in a 
 state of grace, and escape the torments of hell. 
 A fear of these torments, and not a sincere love 
 of God or an ardent desire of eternal life, is the 
 motive upon which he acts, both in abstaining 
 from certain grievous crimes, and in discharging 
 certain duties. As to heaven, it is seldom the 
 object of his thoughts, much less of his affections. 
 He endeavours to link together the service of 
 God and of the world ; he indulges self-love in 
 every thing that w r ears not the outward appear- 
 
94 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 ance of a mortal sin ; but in order to pursue this 
 indulgence without disquiet or remorse, too often 
 puts a false interpretation upon the law of God, 
 and frames to himself a false conscience, under 
 cover of which he indulges in practices directly 
 opposite to the divine commandments. As mor- 
 tal sin is the only object which the lukewarm 
 Christian dreads, he looks upon all those faults 
 which he either knows or imagines to be venial, 
 as of little consequence, and as being not at all 
 dangerous. For example, knowing that it is a 
 duty of strict obligation to assist on Sundays at 
 the adorable sacrifice of the mass, he would not 
 for the world absent himself from attending on 
 that important duty. But as to the other duties 
 of the Sunday, such as the being present during 
 the sermon, and instructions at catechism, the 
 attendance at the evening service of the Church, 
 the instruction and spiritual welfare of his chil- 
 dren and family ; these he considers as matters of 
 no great consequence, and as inclination or com- 
 pany suggests to him, omits them either entirely 
 or in part. He makes no scruple of coming late 
 to the house of God, and thinks nothing of the 
 disrespect which by such conduct he shews to 
 the Deity, and the disedifying example which he 
 sets to his neighbour. He suffers any trifling 
 excuse of business, company, or amusement, to 
 put by the important duty of prayer, and the fre- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 95 
 
 quenting of the sacraments at the regular times. 
 In fine, the duties which he does outwardly dis- 
 charge, his acts of virtue, his prayers, his con- 
 fessions and communions, are undertaken from 
 such defective motives, so void of a pure inten- 
 tion, and performed in so cold, so negligent, and 
 so distracted a manner, that the merit of them, 
 if it be not totally destroyed, is at least consi- 
 derably diminished. Divine grace is every day 
 weakened, and the love of God, like a fire that 
 wants a supply of fuel, gradually dies away in 
 his soul. Thus the lukewarm Christian is con- 
 stantly exposed to fall a prey to the snares of his 
 spiritual enemies. Sometimes, indeed, he feels him- 
 self checked by the reproaches of his conscience, 
 and invited by the inspirations of grace, to greater 
 fervour in the service of God. But being un- 
 accustomed to any great labour or exertion in the 
 path of virtue, he frames to himself a thousand 
 difficulties in the way of perfection. At the same 
 time he fondly persuades himself, that such labour 
 and exertion are not of strict obligation, and after 
 a few weak efforts to shake off the slothful lan- 
 guor that oppresses his soul, he sinks still deeper 
 in his habits of coldness and tepidity in the 
 divine service. Add to this, that the lukewarm 
 Christian, being under the guidance of a false con- 
 science, framed according to the suggestions of a 
 mistaken self-love, often imagines those transgres- 
 
96 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 sions of the divine law to be only venial, which 
 are in fact grievous violations of duty ; and thus, 
 like the carnal-minded Jews, lives without re- 
 morse in the habit of mortal sin, and dies in the 
 same dreadful state. Foolishly relying upon cer- 
 tain exterior good works, he fancies himself rich 
 in merit for eternal life; till appearing before the 
 judgment-seat of God, he finds himself poor and 
 blind, and wretched, and miserable, and naked. 
 Such, my beloved brethren, is the state of the 
 lukewarm Christian. Can any situation be more 
 truly deplorable, or more dangerous than his? 
 No, believe me, there is no vice more disgusting 
 in the sight of God, or more dangerous to the 
 soul, than lukewarmness or tepidity. Or, if you 
 will not believe me, believe the declarations of the 
 Almighty himself, who thus addresses the tepid 
 Christian : Apoc. iii. 14, " I would that thou wert 
 either cold or hot; but because thou art luke- 
 warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to 
 vomit thee out of my mouth : because thou say- 
 est, I am rich and made wealthy, and have need 
 of nothing; and thou knowest not that thou 
 art wretched, and poor, and blind, and misera- 
 ble." Miserable indeed is the lukewarm Christian, 
 doubly miserable, because he is insensible of his 
 wretched condition, and the danger that attends 
 it. Most earnestly then,' do I conjure you, my 
 beloved brethren, to shun this fatal snare for your 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 97 
 
 virtue, by animating yourselves to fervour in the 
 divine service, and making the glory of God the 
 end of all your actions. That you may never 
 through ignorance or a false conscience transgress 
 the bounds of duty prescribed by the divine law, 
 do not rest contented with having once learned the 
 obligations of religion from your catechism or the 
 instructions of your pastor. Make the study of 
 religion a daily practice during the whole course 
 of your lives. Seek instruction, by reading each 
 day some pious book, and by diligently attending 
 at the whole of divine service on Sundays and 
 holydays. In each action of your lives, have in 
 view the noble end of your being, and direct 
 every circumstance of your existence to the at- 
 tainment of that great end, carefully practising 
 the advice of St. Paul : " All things whatsover ye 
 do in word or in work, do all in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, by uniting the actions and sufferings 
 of your lives to the merits of his death and pas- 
 sion, and seeking in all things the glory of your 
 heavenly Father." Let the maxims of the divine 
 law be the rule not only of your actions but of 
 your affections, and the desires of your hearts ; for 
 in the due regulation of these, Christian perfection 
 and sanctity principally consist. Lastly, sensible 
 of your weakness and corruption, apply to the 
 throne of grace for strength from above, by a 
 diligent use of the means of salvation, prayer 
 
 H 
 
9$ HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 and the holy sacraments. Let neither sloth n6r 
 business, neither company nor amusement, nor 
 the evil example of tepid and ungrateful Christi- 
 ans, prevail upon you to omit the regular dis- 
 charge of these important duties. By faithfully 
 practising the above directions, you will daily 
 advance towards Christian perfection. Like the 
 spiritual Israelites, of whom the holy Tobias is 
 so illustrious an example, you will walk not only 
 with fidelity, but with delight, in all the command- 
 ments of God, fixing your heart and affections 
 on the happiness of a future state, and embracing 
 with cheerfulness whatever the hand of divine 
 Providence shall appoint for you in your present 
 pilgrimage. Oh ! my beloved brethren, what 
 sweet consolations will this your fidelity during 
 life diffuse around your bed of sickness and of 
 death. Enjoying, in the tranquillity of a good 
 conscience, a foretaste of that happiness which is 
 soon to be your everlasting recompense, the near 
 jrospect of eternity will fill your hearts with joy. 
 fixulting with the Apostle, you will cry out, 
 u I have fought the good fight, I have kept the 
 true faith, I have finished my course ; and now 
 there is laid up for me a crown of glory, which 
 the Lord, the just Judge will render unto me." 
 % Tim. iv. ». 
 
EIGHTH HOMILY. 
 
 €hap. II. ver. 22. At these words, his wife being angry, answer- 
 ed : It is evident thy hope is come to nothing, and thy alms 
 
 now appear 23. And with these, and other such like 
 
 words, she upbraided him. 
 
 X he subject of my last instruction must have 
 convinced you, my beloved brethren, that the 
 virtues of Tobias were of no ordinary cast, but 
 stamped with a very high degree of perfection. 
 Anxious that all under his care should serve God 
 with the same fidelity as himself, he trained his 
 son in the path of virtue, and recalled to the mind 
 of his wife the principles of the divine law, that 
 no temptation, arising either from the poverty of 
 their circumstances, or the persuasion of others 
 less virtuous than himself, might induce her to 
 transgress the bounds of justice. " It is not law- 
 mi," said this holy man, " for us either to eat or 
 to touch any thing that cometh by theft." Anna, 
 whose character was very different from that of 
 her husband, had, by mixing with the world, 
 imbibed a worldly spirit. Instead of receiving 
 with gratitude the well-meant and religious ad- 
 
 H2 
 
100 HOMILIES ON 
 
 monition of her husband, she gave vent to pas- 
 sion in bitter reproaches, which not only wounded 
 the feelings of Tobias, but also struck at the 
 wisdom of divine Providence, and manifested a 
 great want of confidence in the Almighty, as well 
 as a miserable deficiency of those religious prin- 
 ciples that guided and consoled the heart of her 
 husband. To his kind admonition she replied 
 with sneers : " It well becomes you to entertain 
 such scrupulous nicety respecting the property 
 of others, after having foolishly given away your 
 own. By your indiscreet liberality you have 
 dissipated your own fortune, and reduced your 
 family to want. Where is now the fruit of your 
 past charities ? Is it thus that the Providence of 
 which you have spoken with so much confidence, 
 rewards your services ? You will know for the 
 future what reliance to place upon it's care and 
 protection." In such impious terms as these did 
 Anna reproach her husband, not only once but 
 frequently, so little had she profited by his holy 
 advice and example. Her insulting and blasphe- 
 mous language was not the effect of a mere 
 momentary and sudden impulse of anger : it 
 proceeded from a want of divine faith, and from 
 her having adopted the maxims of those carnal- 
 minded Jews among whom she lived ; and like 
 whom she was willing to serve God, so long as 
 his service did not call for the sacrifice of any 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 101 
 
 humour, inclination, or worldly interest. This 
 life seems to have been the only object of her 
 solicitude, and to provide for it's wants the only 
 motive upon which she laboured for the support 
 of her family, and not any thought or desire 
 of obtaining a reward in the life to come. Oh ! 
 how dangerous a thing it is to love the company 
 of worldlings, and to listen to their discourse. 
 Their maxims, always favourable to self-love and 
 the indulgence of corrupt nature, slide imper- 
 ceptibly into the heart, and soon undermine the 
 principles of religion and virtue. Faith becomes 
 weak ; the truths which it delivers, by degrees lose 
 their influence ; and the soul, almost without be- 
 ing sensible of it, adopts the sentiments of the 
 world as the only rule of it's affections, it's desires, 
 and it's actions. Such, unfortunately, was the 
 effect which too free an intercourse with the 
 world had upon the conduct of Anna, the wife 
 of Tobias. The principles of virtue implanted 
 in her breast by the pious discourse and holy ex- 
 ample of her husband, were gradually weakened, 
 and at length almost entirely rooted out. But 
 this will be less a subject of astonishment to us, 
 when we reflect that the wife of Job, many ages 
 before, had furnished a similar example of the 
 danger of communicating with the wicked. The 
 reproaches and insults which holy Job met with 
 fiom his wife and pretended friends, were con* 
 
102 
 
 HOMILIES OS 
 
 veyed in nearly the same impious language with 
 which Tobias under his afflictions was assailed by 
 his wife. 
 
 Is it then necessary for me, my beloved bre- 
 thren, after these examples, to unfold to you the 
 danger of evil company, and how strict an obli- 
 gation you are under of avoiding it ? Would to 
 God that it were not necessary for me to enter 
 upon this subject ! But when I reflect upon the 
 number of young persons, who, notwithstanding 
 their early instruction in piety and religion, have 
 been seduced from the path of virtue, live in a 
 habit of sin, and walk in the road that leads to 
 eternal damnation, and who owe their misfortune 
 to no other cause than mixing with the company 
 of the wicked, I feel it a duty which I owe to 
 you and to my own conscience, to warn you who 
 now hear me of this fatal source of the destruc- 
 tion of souls. It is a most lamentable truth, that 
 the good and edifying example of God's faithful 
 servants, the zealous labours of the Apostles and 
 their successors in the sacred ministry, and the 
 sacraments and sacrifice of the Church, joined to 
 the merits of the death and passion of Christ 
 Jesus, do not procure the salvation of half so 
 many souls as is the number of those who are 
 eternally ruined by the corrupt example of the 
 wicked. The Saviour of the world has indeed 
 pronounced the severest of woes against those 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1QS 
 
 who by their scandalous lives draw others into 
 sin, and lead them in the road to perdition. Yet 
 he has also declared, that it is necessary that scan- 
 dals should come; that there will always be 
 numbers of our unhappy fellow-creatures, who, 
 not content with wilfully consenting to their own 
 damnation, will act as powerful agents of the 
 devil, in corrupting the well-disposed, in with- 
 drawing them from the practice of virtue, and 
 dragging them to everlasting misery. Well does 
 the Apostle St. Paul style all such Christians 
 " enemies of the cross of Christ." The Son of 
 God came down from heaven to save souls ; his 
 labours, his preachings, his miracles, his sufferings, 
 and his death, were all directed to the salvation 
 pf souls. But the scandalous Christian, he, who 
 bearing the name of a follower of Christ, lives in 
 the violation of the precepts of the Gospel, ix\ 
 the neglect of his religious duties, and the habit 
 of any public sin, makes void the death and 
 passion of Jesus Christ, destroys the very end 
 of his coming among men, and, by his evil ex- 
 ample and discourse, proves the eternal damnation 
 of those precious souls for whose salvation the 
 Son of God shed his blood upon a cross. My 
 heart, my beloved brethren, is ready to burst 
 with grief; my blood chills within my veins, 
 when I look at and consider the number of souls 
 that owe their damnation to no other cause, origi- 
 
104 HOMILIES ON 
 
 nally, than the seduction of evil company. You 
 would fly with horror from the wretch whom you 
 knew to have been but once guilty of the crime 
 of taking away the corporal life of a fellow-crea- 
 ture; and can you without fear associate with 
 those far more terrible murderers who are daily 
 and hourly guilty of murdering the souls of 
 others, by leading them, especially young persons, 
 into mortal sin, teaching them habits of vice, and 
 conducting them the first steps in the road to 
 perdition ? 
 
 I do not now ask you what will be the senti- 
 ments of your soul, if, at the day of God's final 
 judgment upon sinners, some unhappy young per- 
 sons who have been seduced by your evil ex- 
 ample from the way of virtue, shall point to you 
 as the authors of their destruction. But, I ask 
 you, where can you in reason expect that your 
 station at that day will be, if during life you 
 have been linked in bonds of friendship with the 
 worst of God's enemies; with those, who by 
 their irreligious lives and wicked example have 
 brought a scandal upon religion, made void the 
 blood of Jesus, and proved the eternal destruction 
 of souls ? Will you not then be classed with the 
 workers of iniquity, and with them receive your 
 portion in everlasting misery ? For, are you not 
 guilty of offering a most heinous insult to the 
 God of heaven, your future Judge, if you asso- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 105 
 
 eiate with those who trample his divine law 
 under their feet ? Do you not thus involve your- 
 selves both in their present enmity to God, and 
 in the danger of sharing in their future and ever- 
 lasting exclusion from his presence ? When Jo- 
 saphat, king of Judah, had, for motives of state 
 policy, contracted an alhance with the impious 
 Achab, king of Israel, he was severely condemned 
 by Almighty God for such a connexion. A 
 prophet was commissioned on the part of the 
 Most High, to admonish and reprove him in these 
 terms : " You assist the wicked, and associate 
 with those who hate God, on which account you 
 deserve to be rebuked." 2 Kings, xix. 
 
 To love God with our whole heart, and at the 
 same time to be fond of the society of those 
 who are hourly insulting him by their crimes, 
 are things totally irreconcileable with each other. 
 However we may flatter ourselves that we are 
 in no danger of becoming corrupted by the com- 
 pany of the wicked, the dreadful experience of 
 thousands that have gone before us ought to 
 convince us, that it is impossible to associate 
 any long time with the wicked without adopting 
 their manners. There is nothing which has so 
 much influence upon the conduct of mankind 
 as example. What powerful effects does the 
 virtuous life of but one faithful servant of God 
 produce upon those who are witnesses of it! 
 
106 HOMILIES QK 
 
 How many sinners are by it reclaimed from vice, 
 how many that waver are confirmed, how many 
 just animated to perseverance! But, if this be 
 the effect of the lives of the good, how much 
 more weighty must be the influence of the conduct 
 ©f the wicked, who by their example invite us 
 to the indulgence of every thing that is agreeable 
 to corrupt nature and a vicious self-love ! There 
 cannot then, most certainly, be a more dangerous 
 snare for our virtue, nor consequently a more 
 eertain sign of it's speedy future destruction, 
 than to frequent evil company. Weak and 
 corrupt of ourselves, we are unable, without the 
 aid of divine grace, to do any thing deserving 
 of eternal life. This grace the Almighty promises 
 to us so long as we walk before him with an 
 humble fear of offending him, and carefully shun 
 all dangerous occasions of sin. But to court 
 danger and temptation, is to forfeit all claim to 
 the divine protection, leave ourselves unarmed 
 in the hour of danger, and wilfully consent to 
 our ruin. Now, among all the dangers and 
 temptations to which we are exposed, there is 
 not any one so great as that which arises from 
 the company of the wicked. As well might 
 you expect to live in the midst of persons in- 
 fected with the plague and not catch their 
 disorder, as to associate with evil company and 
 at the same time not adopt their vices. " Can, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 107 
 
 a man touch pitch without being defiled with 
 it?" says the wise man. No, nor can we fre- 
 quent evil company and escape the contagion 
 of their example. You may, perhaps, persuade 
 yourselves, that you love their persons and not 
 their faults ; that you will take care not to join 
 in their excesses, nor imitate their conduct. Fatal 
 delusion ! By being frequently in the company 
 of the wicked you will become habituated to 
 scenes of vice, and the constant hearing and see- 
 ing of what is contrary to decency and virtue 
 will soon wear off that horror of sin which at 
 present proves your security. Your virtue thus 
 stripped of it's guard, will be left open and de- 
 fenceless ; the poison of evil example will work 
 it's way insensibly into the heart; you will, almost 
 without perceiving it, adopt the sentiments and 
 actions of your associates ; and, at length throw- 
 ing off all restraint, run headlong with them the 
 career of iniquity. So sensible of this danger 
 w r ere the Saints of God, both in the old and the 
 new law, that though they had spent years in 
 the faithful service of God, and were confirmed 
 in long habits of virtue, they carefully shunned 
 the society of the wicked, lest, by criminally run- 
 ning into danger, they should provoke God to 
 withdraw his supporting grace, and leave them 
 a prey to the snares of evil company. If such 
 was the conduct of the Saints, who were in- 
 
108 HOMILIES ON 
 
 finitely stronger than ourselves, shall we dare 
 to court the friendship of sinners, and think our- 
 selves safe ? Are not we, at least, under an equal 
 obligation of flying from this most dangerous 
 of all the occasions of sin? Yes, my beloved 
 brethren, this obligation is so strict and so im- 
 portant, that the word of God delivers it in various 
 passages, and in the strongest terms. " My son," 
 says the wise man, " if sinners shall flatter thee 
 with their caresses, consent not to them : walk 
 not thou with them, refrain thy foot from their 
 paths." Prov. i. 10, 15. "We charge you," cries out 
 the Apostle St. Paul, " in the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from 
 every brother that walketh disorderly." 2 Thess. 
 iii. 6. "If any man that is called a brother be 
 a fornicator or a drunkard, with such a one do 
 not even eat." 1 Cor. 5. " Evil communication 
 corrupts good manners." 1 Cor. 15. Before the 
 Hebrews entered the land of Canaan, Almighty 
 God strictly charged them not to contract any 
 friendship or alliance with the inhabitants of that 
 idolatrous country, lest they should be corrupted 
 by their evil example. But the Jews, forgetful 
 of the divine precept, and following their own 
 evil inclinations, mixed with the idolaters, learned 
 their evil ways, and forsook the worship of the 
 true God. It was, through a similar neglect of 
 this important precept of flying evil company, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 109 
 
 that Solomon, after many years spent in the 
 service of God, lost the grace of heaven, and 
 miserably abandoned himself to shameful lusts 
 and idolatry. If other examples were necessary 
 to impress upon your minds a conviction of the 
 obligation under which you are, of avoiding evil 
 company, and of the fatal consequences attendant 
 upon a neglect of this obligation, I could cite 
 to you that of the Apostle St. Peter, the great 
 St. Augustine, and thousands of others, who owed 
 their misfortunes to this fatal source of sin, evil 
 company. But I would rather invite you to 
 turn your eyes to the numerous living examples 
 of the fatal effects of bad company. If you your- 
 selves have happily escaped it's snares, is there 
 no one among your friends or acquaintance who 
 once walked in the way of virtue, till entering 
 into the company of the wicked, he lost his in- 
 nocence, and became corrupted like them. Look 
 at the numbers of young persons living in the 
 dreadful habits of cursing, drunkenness, and im- 
 purity, and be convinced how fatal an engine 
 of destruction is the company of the wicked, and 
 how strictly every Christian is bound to shun 
 it ! Oh ! that all parents and masters of families 
 who now hear me, sensible of the obligation which 
 their state imposes upon them, would faithfully 
 co-operate with me in warning the tender souls 
 entrusted to them of this fatal snare, and watch 
 
110 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 over them to preserve them from the society 
 of the wicked ! It is too often owing to a criminal 
 neglect of parents and persons in authority, in 
 not watching with sufficient caution over the 
 conduct of their children, apprentices, and ser- 
 vants, that the seeds of vice are sown by evil 
 companions in the minds of young persons, and 
 habits are formed which they never afterwards 
 break off. Be then vigilant in the discharge of 
 your duty ; banish from your houses those whose 
 lives are scandalous, and whose vicious example 
 may infect the tender souls under your care 
 Let all who belong to you be sensible that it 
 is the first wish of your heart to see them faith- 
 fid in the service of God, and to aid them in 
 working out their eternal salvation. Thus will 
 you most effectually contribute to their sancti- 
 fication, and at the same time promote your own 
 and their everlasting welfare. 
 
 In the bowels of the mercy of Christ Jesus 
 I now address you, the younger part of my 
 audience, who are more immediately exposed to 
 the danger against which I have this day warned 
 you. I conjure you ever to remember your own 
 weakness and to tremble, lest by connecting 
 yourselves with the wicked you should forfeit 
 the divine protection, and learn their evil ways. 
 If you have already had the misfortune to listen 
 to their seductions, and leave the path of virtue. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. Ill 
 
 break asunder the bonds which link you to the 
 -wicked, and no more frequent their society, or 
 the places to which they resort. It is hard, per- 
 haps you will tell me, to part from those whom 
 you call your friends. But will it be easier to 
 go with them into everlasting flames ? Is there 
 any thing that ought to be preferred to your 
 eternal happiness ? Has not your Redeemer de- 
 clared, that we must cheerfully renounce whatever 
 would prove an obstacle in our way to heaven, 
 even if it be as dear to us as a hand or an eye. 
 With what joy did the martyrs resign their 
 estates, their friends, and even their blood, for 
 the gaining of heaven ; and how glorious is the 
 crown that now recompenses their sacrifice! 
 Imitate their noble resolution ; trample the world 
 under your feet, renounce the company of sinners, 
 and labour to repair past scandals, setting before 
 your eyes the awful scene of the last judgment, 
 in which your station will depend principally 
 upon the choice that you now make of your 
 friends and companions. Oh ! what sweet tran- 
 quillity will fill your souls when you have once 
 regained the path of virtue! With what con- 
 fidence will you be enabled to stand before your 
 Judge in the hour of death, and in the day 
 of judgment ! The labour is short, the recompense 
 
 eternal. 
 
 If you have hitherto escaped the seductions 
 
112 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 of evil company, be more than ever on your 
 guard against this dangerous snare for your virtue.. 
 Be extremely cautious in the choice of your 
 companions; carefully shunning the society of 
 the drunkard, the impure, the swearer, the de- 
 tracted and the blasphemer. Seek the friend- 
 ship of those who live up to the faith which 
 you profess ; by whose good example you may 
 be aided and encouraged in the path of virtue, 
 and in whose happy company you may be found 
 at the right-hand of your Saviour, when he shall 
 welcome his faithful servants to a participation 
 of his glory. 
 
NINTH HOMILY. 
 
 €hap. HI. ver. 1. Then Tobias sighed, and began to pray with 
 
 tears, 2. Saying, Thou art just, O Lord, and all thy 
 
 judgments are just, and all thy ways are mercy, and truth, 
 
 and judgment 3. And now, O Lord, think of me, 
 
 and take not revenge of my sins, neither remember my 
 
 offences, nor those of my parents 4, For we have not 
 
 obeyed thy commandments, and therefore are delivered to 
 spoil, and to captivity, and death, and are made a fable and 
 a reproach to all nations amongst which thou hast scattered 
 
 us 5. And now, O Lord, great are thy judgments, 
 
 because we have not done according to thy precepts, and 
 
 have not walked sincerely before thee. 6. And now, 
 
 O Lord, do with me according to thy will, and command 
 my spirit to be received in peace : for it is better for me» 
 to die than to live. 
 
 ftomilv. 
 
 o 
 
 F all the trials with whkh the hand of divine 
 Providence visited the good Tobias for the per- 
 fection of his virtue, none seems so deeply to 
 have affected him as the irreligious language 
 and unaffectionate conduct of his wife. Struck 
 with blindness, he submitted without murmuring 
 to this severe affliction ; and when reviled by his 
 relations and pretended friends, he answered their 
 
 I 
 
ll & HOMIIrlES ON 
 
 insulting railleries with meekness, and kindly 
 admonished them of their duty. But when he 
 heard the person whom of all others he most 
 tenderly loved, and from whom he expected 
 consolation under his sufferings, join with the 
 impious followers of the world in ridiculing his 
 piety, and attacking the goodness and justice of 
 God's providence, his heart could no longer with- 
 stand the emotions of grief. He made no reply 
 to the insulting reproaches of his wife, lest he 
 should give occasion to fresh sallies of anger, 
 and be forced to witness another effusion of im- 
 piety from her, who, notwithstanding his edifying 
 example, had imbibed the false maxims of her 
 carnal-minded acquaintance, But, fetching a deep 
 sigh from a breast overwhelmed with grief and 
 affliction, Tobias had recourse to prayer as his 
 only consolation in distress. Oh ! that all mar- 
 ried persons, when in similar circumstances of 
 affliction, when suffering from the reproaches or 
 unbecoming language of the partner of their bed, 
 instead of aggravating their uneasiness by a re- 
 turn of insulting words and unchristian behaviour, 
 would, like the holy Tobias, remain silent till 
 the storm is past, secretly offering their hearts 
 to Almighty God, and imploring light, help, 
 and consolation from above! How many fatal 
 quarrels and dissensions would thus be prevented! 
 How many sources of unhappiness would be dried 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 115 
 
 up ; how seldom would peace and harmony l>e 
 driven from the bosom of families ! Besides, this 
 humble endeavour to preserve that agreement 
 which is so essential to the happiness of married 
 persons, never fails to bring down the blessing 
 of heaven upon it's exertions ; and the prayers, 
 thus offered up in a spirit of meekness and charity, 
 prove an abundant source of grace and consolation 
 to families. 
 
 The prayer which Tobias poured forth in his 
 affliction, is an admirable model of that holy 
 exercise to persons in all states and conditions, 
 but particularly to those who are suffering under 
 persecution or distress. He begins his prayer 
 with the most humble acknowledgment of the 
 wisdom and justice of divine Providence, and 
 the inward humility of his soul manifests itself 
 in the sighs and tears which accompany the 
 expression of his grief. Prayer is an homage 
 due from man to his Creator, as the Supreme and 
 Sovereign Lord of the universe, the beginning 
 and the end of all things. Man, in whatever 
 state we consider him, is strictly bound to humble 
 himself before the majesty of God ; to meditate 
 upon the works of his infinite power, wisdom, 
 and goodness ; to praise and thank him for his 
 blessings ; and to make frequent acts or outward 
 expressions of the love of his Creator. This 
 kind of prayer is what forms the uninterrupted 
 
 12 
 
U6 HOMILIES OK 
 
 and eternal occupation of the blessed in heaven, 
 as St. John informs us in the Revelations. At 
 one time, he tells us, that he saw before the 
 throne of God four and twenty elders, having 
 crowns of gold upon their heads, and with them 
 four living creatures, who rested not day and 
 night, but incessantly cried out, Holy, Holy, 
 Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who 
 is, and who is to come. Then falling down be- 
 fore Him who is seated on the throne, and cast- 
 ing their crowns at his feet, as a confession of 
 his sovereign dominion, and of his being the 
 Author of their happiness, they proclaim him 
 worthy to receive honour and glory and power 
 and wisdom and strength for ever and ever. 
 At another time, the holy Evangelist beholds 
 millions of millions of blessed spirits surrounding 
 the throne of the Lamb that was slain for the 
 sins of men, and singing canticles of joy and 
 thanksgiving to him ; while an innumerable mul- 
 titude, of all nations and tribes and tongues, 
 standing before the throne, clothed in white 
 robes, and holding palms in their hands, cry 
 out with a loud voice, " Glory be to our God, 
 and to the Lamb that redeemed usjby his blood." 
 Apoc. iv. 4., v. 6. — Such, my beloved brethren, 
 is the constant and only occupation of the blessed 
 in heaven. The great work of the creation of 
 the universe, and the still more incomprehensible 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 117 
 
 mystery of the redemption of fallen man, call 
 forth the incessant and eternal praises of the 
 angels and glorified spirits. And shall we. for 
 whom the Almighty thus exerted the wonders of 
 his Omnipotence, remain unmindful of his good* 
 ness, and refuse him the tribute of our adora- 
 tion, praise, and thanksgiving? Happy indeed 
 are we, if, grateful for his blessings, we pay him 
 the daily homage of our praise, and thus begin 
 upon earth that employment which will here- 
 after be our only occupation in the company 
 of the blessed ! 
 
 But, situated as we are in this world, there 
 is another kind of prayer, of still stricter obliga- 
 tion, and still more necessary for us, and more 
 closely connected with our eternal welfare/, I mean 
 the prayer of supplication and petition, by which 
 we apply to the Deity, as the source of all 
 good, for help from above, and for the light 
 and grace that may conduct us safe to our ever- 
 lasting happiness. This kind of prayer was always 
 necessary for man, even in his happy state of 
 innocence in the garden of Paradise ; because 
 prayer alone could secure to him that divine 
 favour and protection which were to preserve 
 him faithful in his allegiance to his Creator, and 
 firm in the path of duty. But since the dis- 
 obedience of our first parents, prayer is become 
 of infinitely greater obligation and necessity 
 
 13 
 
118 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Fallen from our original excellence, a prey to 
 ignorance and concupiscence, and surrounded by 
 the most artful and malicious enemies, who at 
 every step are planting a snare for our destruc- 
 tion, we are of ourselves totally incapable either 
 of providing for our own safety, of vanquishing 
 our spiritual enemies, or of attaining to the great 
 end of our being — the favour of God here, and 
 the eternal enjoyment of him hereafter. It is 
 He who by his grace must work in us both 
 to will and to do that which is good ; on him 
 we depend for light, help, and strength, for 
 present safety and future happiness. There is 
 no truth, indeed, more revolting to our natural 
 pride and self-sufficiency than this great secret 
 of Christianity, viz. our own total inability to 
 do good. But at the same time, there is no 
 truth the knowledge of which is so necessary 
 for us, and of so much importance in a spiritual 
 light. " Without me," says the divine Founder 
 of our religion, ** ye can do nothing." John xv. 5. ; 
 and his inspired Apostle assures us, that with- 
 out grace from above we cannot so much as 
 pronounce the adorable name of Jesus in a man- 
 ner agreeable to God. Thus weak and destitute 
 of ourselves, whither shall we fly for refuge, con- 
 solation, and protection ? To God, on the wings 
 of prayer. He is omnipotent, and therefore can 
 help us; he is all-good, and therefore will not 
 
THE £00£ OF TOBIAS. 119 
 
 i-efiise to Iris children the blessings which they 
 ask of his paternal bounty. For, " if you, being 
 evil, know how to give good gifts to your 
 children, how much more will your Father from 
 heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask 
 him." Luke xi. 13. 
 
 Prayer then is necessary y because of our total 
 dependence upon the divine bounty for every 
 good gift necessary for our present and future 
 welfare. But this is not the only reason why 
 we are bound to pray. God, who alone can 
 satisfy our wants and necessities, has been pleased 
 to appoint prayer as the ordinary channel for 
 communicating his graces to us. Our wants are 
 indeed known to him long before they are per- 
 ceived and felt by ourselves, and he could, with- 
 out our petitioning him, administer the help of 
 which we stand in need. But then we should 
 neither have that thorough conviction of our 
 own entire dependence upon him, nor that sense 
 of his infinite goodness and love towards us, 
 which, during our present state of trial, are ne- 
 cessary to preserve our souls in a proper degree 
 of Christian hope. God, therefore, who is the 
 dispenser of his own mercies, and can fix what 
 conditions he pleases for the distribution of his 
 blessings, has ordained prayer as the means on 
 our part for rendering us deserving of his bounty. 
 "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall 
 
 I 4 
 
im 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 find, knock and it shall be opened unto you."* 
 Luke xi. 9. " Pray and faint not." Luke xviii. 1, 
 Oh ! happy necessity which forces us to a sweet 
 and holy intercourse with our Creator ! Happy 
 obligation which admits us into the secret closet 
 of the great King of Heaven, raises us among 
 the princes of his celestial court near to the throne 
 of his infinite majesty, and opens to us the full 
 hand of his unbounded mercy ! If any earthly 
 sovereign were to invite us to come at any hour 
 into his presence, and lay our temporal necessities 
 before him, with a full assurance of lending a 
 favourable ear to our requests, and corresponding 
 with our petitions, should we slight the invita- 
 tion ? Should we suffer ourselves to be easily 
 prevailed upon to wave our claim to the favour 
 and protection of our prince ? I believe, my be- 
 loved brethren, there is not one of us, who, if 
 honoured with so distinguished a mark of royal 
 favour, would not feel proud of making the world 
 sensible of the high privilege which he enjoyed, 
 and daily embrace with gladness the opportunity 
 which a free access to the person of his prince 
 afforded him, of obtaining relief for himself and 
 his friends. Shall we, then, think less highly of 
 the honour conferred upon us by the King of 
 Heaven, in not only inviting but even command- 
 ing us to lay our wants before him ? Shall we be 
 less solicitous for eternal blessings than for tern- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 121 
 
 poral ones? Shall we slight the gracious con- 
 descension of that tender and omnipotent Father, 
 who waits but to behold us imploring his aid in 
 the disposition of humble suppliants, and is ready 
 instantly to shower down upon us the treasures 
 of his grace and mercy ? Shall we refuse him the 
 acceptable tribute of our morning and evening 
 homage ; a tribute, which, though due to him as 
 our Creator, Preserver, and Sovereign Lord, he 
 never fails to recompense with abundant blessings, 
 temporal and eternal ? Ah ! my beloved brethren, 
 how truly provoking and insulting in the sight 
 of God must be the conduct of those who, not- 
 withstanding his invitations, his commands, and 
 his promises, neglect the daily and important obli- 
 gation of prayer! Yet, how does this criminal 
 neglect now overspread the face of the earth ! 
 How few are the families and the individuals that 
 are faithful in the discharge of this duty ! Thou- 
 sands of those among whom we live, rise in the 
 morning without one thought of the bounty of* 
 that Being who preserved them during the night 
 from the arrows of death that have fallen thick 
 around them, and have surprised so many of their 
 unhappy fellow-creatures. They hasten to their 
 daily task and occupation without a single act 
 of homage and adoration of that God who holds 
 m his hand the thread of their existence. For- 
 getful of their dependence on the bounty of God 
 
122 HOMILIES. Otf 
 
 during the day, they conclude their labours in 
 the same slothful spirit ; they retire to rest like 
 the brutes of the field ; and though their con- 
 sciences groan under a load of iniquity, they offer 
 not a single supplication for mercy to their in- 
 sulted God, whose vengeance they have such just 
 reasons to fear. Even among the better sort of 
 Christians, who are careful to perform some acts 
 of devotion each morning and evening, what 
 slothful indifference is too often observable in 
 the manner of discharging this sacred obligation ! 
 How small a portion of time is devoted to the 
 holy exercise of prayer ; and of that small portion, 
 how very little is really given to God from a 
 want of that sense of our total dependence on 
 God, and that ardent desire of obtaining his grace 
 here and the enjoyment of him hereafter, which 
 are the life and soul of Christian prayer ! Again; 
 how many parents and masters of families, though 
 faithful perhaps in fulfilling the duty of prayer 
 themselves, take no care of those under their 
 charge as to the performance of this obligation, 
 and consequently become responsible in the sight 
 of God for the criminal neglect of prayer, of 
 which their children, servants, and apprentices are 
 guilty, and for the evil consequences that flow 
 from such neglect ! Indeed, my beloved brethren, 
 without entering into any detail of the fatal effects 
 of neglecting the important duty of prayer, it 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 123 
 
 may be said with truth, that to this one neglect 
 alone we may ascribe the ruin of the greater part 
 of the souls that are eternally lost. For, however 
 violent and dangerous may be the temptations to 
 which we find ourselves exposed ; however strong 
 and inveterate the habits of vice in which we may 
 have the misfortune to be engaged ; however ma- 
 licious the efforts of our spiritual enemies ; prayer, 
 fervent prayer, will remove every obstacle to sal- 
 vation, will prove both a sword and a shield in 
 the hour of danger, and will lead us on to the 
 possession of that crown which is promised to the 
 conqueror of sin and death. But to neglect 
 prayer, is to walk naked and unarmed into the 
 midst of foes that are incessantly plotting our 
 destruction ; in short, it is wilfully writing the 
 sentence of our own everlasting condemnation. 
 In prayer the Saints of God found their protec- 
 tion from danger, their safeguard in battle, their 
 refuge in tribulation, their consolation in distress. 
 Thus the holy servant of God, Tobias, struck with 
 blindness, deprived of his possessions, ridiculed 
 by his friends, and reviled by his wife, in fine, 
 abandoned by every earthly consolation, flies to 
 prayer for his solace under the sorrows that over- 
 whelmed him, and in prayer finds that comfort 
 and relief which no human aid could have afforded 
 him. He humbles himself under the hand that 
 strikes him ; adores the divine judgments, always 
 
124 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 just and holy in themselves ; and bows with per- 
 fect submission to the will of heaven. He leaves 
 himself to the disposal of Providence, whose ways 
 he acknowledges are full of mercy, and truth, and 
 justice : full of mercy, because all his chastise- 
 ments are designed to promote the happiness of 
 his children ; full of truth, because in them he 
 fulfils his own declaration, that " he chastises him 
 whom he loves." Prov. iii. 12. ; and full of justice, 
 because no man living is without stain in his 
 divine sight, and, consequently, no one is exempt 
 from feeling the effects of sin in the scourges of 
 divine justice. " Thou art just, O Lord, and all 
 thy judgments are just, and all thy ways are 
 mercy, and truth, and judgment." Having thus 
 confessed the justice of divine Providence, Tobias 
 runs with confidence to shelter himself under the 
 wings of it's mercy. " Now, O Lord, remember 
 me, and take not revenge of my sins, neither 
 remember my offences, nor those of my parents. 
 For we have not obeyed thy commandments, and 
 therefore are delivered to spoil, and captivity, 
 and to death." Full of humility, Tobias ranks 
 himself among sinners ; acknowledges that his 
 unworthiness was such as might have excluded 
 him from a place in the remembrance of God's 
 mercy. But full also of divine faith, he considers 
 his afflictions as a proof of the kind intentions 
 of his Creator towards him, knowing that the 
 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 125 
 
 like afflictions had befallen the Saints who had 
 gone before him in the path of virtue. While 
 he confesses himself a sinner, and acknowledges 
 himself and the whole people of Israel to have 
 deserved the vengeance of God by their ingrati- 
 tude for past favours, he implores heaven to avert 
 it's scourges, to forget his own and his people's 
 sins, and to be mindful only of it's ancient mer- 
 cies. Then turning to the consideration of his 
 own state ; conscious of his past fidelity in the 
 divine service, and being confident that death 
 would bring him to the happy accomplishment 
 of all his labours, his prayers and his tears, he 
 cheerfully recommends his soul into the hands of 
 his Creator. " And now, O Lord, do with me 
 according to thy will, and command my spirit 
 to be received in peace." Not that this holy man 
 was weary of suffering, or sunk under his afflic- 
 tions ; but considering the dangers that threat- 
 ened him, from the evil example of the wicked 
 among whom he lived, he feared lest he should 
 be drawn aside from the path of duty, and for- 
 feit the divine favour. Looking therefore upon 
 death as the best security both for his virtue 
 and it's reward, he prays for the hastening of 
 the moment of his dissolution, yet with perfect 
 submission to that divine Providence which or- 
 dains all things for the good of it's servants. — 
 That holy prayer, my beloved brethren, may be 
 

 IZ§ HOMILIES, &C 
 
 your refuge and consolation in time of distress ; 
 be faithful in the discharge of this holy duty 
 during your health and strength, and see that 
 all under your charge are regular in the perform- 
 ance of this sacred obligation. Abundant bless- 
 ings, both temporal and eternal, will be the happy 
 reward of your fidelity. 
 
TENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. HI. ver. 7. Now it happened on the same day, that Sara, 
 daughter of Raguel in Rages, a city of the Medes, received 
 
 a reproach from one of her father's servant-maids, 
 
 8. Because she had been given to seven husbands, and a devil 
 named Asmodeus had killed them at their first going in unto 
 
 her 9. So when she reproved the maid for her fault, 
 
 she answered her, saying, May we never see son or daughter 
 
 of thee upon the earth, thou murderer of thy husbands ! 
 
 10. Wilt thou kill me also, as thou hast already killed seven 
 husbands ? — At these words she went into an upper chamber 
 of her house, and for three days and three nights did neither 
 
 eat nor drink: 11. But continuing in prayer with tears, 
 
 besought God that he would deliver her from this reproach. 
 
 W e are now, my beloved brethren, arrived at 
 a part of the book of Tobias which unfolds to 
 us many admirable secrets of the conduct of di- 
 vine Providence towards it's chosen servants. At 
 the same time that Tobias in his affliction at 
 Ninive had recourse to prayer as his only con- 
 solation, Sarah, another servant of God at Rages, 
 or, as it is also called, Ecbatana, a city of the 
 Medes, having met with a severe persecution, 
 flew to the same holy exercise for refuge and 
 
128 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 comfort. The prayers of both these holy per- 
 sons were heard by Almighty God, because they 
 were presented to him in the same spirit of a 
 lively faith and solid humility. Their petitions 
 were granted, but in a manner very different from 
 what they themselves expected, as the sequel of 
 the history will inform you. 
 
 Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was a virtuous 
 young woman, whose holy life corresponded with 
 the principles of piety in which she had been 
 educated. In compliance with the will of her 
 parents, she had engaged no less than seven times 
 in the married state, but each of her seven hus- 
 bands had been struck with death on the first 
 night of his marriage. As they had suffered 
 their hearts to fall a prey to the passion of lust, 
 and the gratification of their passion was the prin- 
 cipal motive that induced them to enter into 
 matrimony, Almighty God, to shew the abhor- 
 rence which he has of all impurity, particularly 
 in the married state, delivered them up to the 
 power of an evil spirit, * who slew them at their 
 very first going in unto her." How dreadful an 
 example is this of the rigorous punishment with 
 which God will hereafter visit those who either 
 enter into the married state with unbecoming 
 dispositions, or when engaged in it, profane it's 
 sanctity by any indecent liberties. Though he no 
 longer displays his visible judgments upon such 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 199 
 
 as provoke him by these crimes, Christians are to 
 remember, that their punishment will be so much 
 the more severe in that future state in which 
 justice will no longer be tempered with mercy. 
 By the untimely end of the seven first husbands 
 of Sarah, Almighty God plainly shewed that they 
 were not worthy of her, and at the same time 
 gives an awful lesson to all young persons, of that 
 purity of heart and intention which he requires 
 from those who enter into the holy state of matri- 
 mony. The dispositions necessary to draw down 
 the divine blessing upon a Christian marriage 
 will come under our consideration in the course 
 of a future instruction. 
 
 After the death of her seven husbands, Sarah 
 continued to live with her parents that same life 
 of purity and innocence which had secured her, 
 in so visible a manner*- the protection of heaven. 
 On one occasion it happened that she found her- 
 self obliged in duty to reprove one of her father's 
 maid-servants for a fault which she had commit- 
 ted. The servant, instead of receiving the cor- 
 rection with humility, flew into a passion, and 
 made use of the most reproachful and insulting 
 language, charging her young mistress with being 
 the murderer of her seven husbands, and calling- 
 down the curse of heaven upon her. Sarah, 
 though thus insulted and abused by an inferior, 
 sought no revenge. Like a true servant of God, 
 
 K 
 
130 HOMILIES ON 
 
 • 
 
 she considered the hand of Providence in this, 
 as in every other event, sweetly disposing all 
 things for her good. Banishing all thoughts of 
 malice and revenge from her heart, she submits 
 with admirable patience to the persecution of her 
 servant, and seeks for comfort in holy prayer. 
 To perform this holy exercise with greater re- 
 collection of spirit, and to pour forth her heart 
 with greater freedom, she withdraws from the 
 noise and conversation of the world, and retires 
 into a chamber in the upper part of the house. 
 There she spends three whole days in the most 
 fervent prayer ; and in order to give greater effica- 
 cy to her petitions, observes dtiring the whole 
 time a most rigorous fast, taking neither meat nor 
 drink. With tears she implores her God to de- 
 liver her from the reproach that had been cast 
 upon her, to clear her from the ialse accusation 
 of having been the murderer of her husbands, 
 and to avert the curse of barrenness which her 
 servant had called down upon her. It is thus, 
 my beloved brethren, that the Saints of God leave 
 it to the Almighty to be their avenger and 
 deliverer under the calumnies and persecutions 
 which befall them ; make it their only study to 
 embrace with the most perfect submission all the 
 appointments of Providence ; and to turn their 
 trials and afflictions into so many sources of grace 
 here, and of eternal reward hereafter. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 131 
 
 « 
 
 From the prayer of Tobias I took occasion to 
 point out to you the necessity and obligation of 
 that holy exercise; a necessity founded on our 
 total dependence upon God for every good, and 
 on the positive injiinction of God himself, who 
 has commanded us to pray as the means to render 
 ourselves deserving; of his bounty. The prayer 
 of Sarah, which forms the principal subject of 
 this instruction, presents you with an excellent 
 pattern of the manrier ill which you are to dis- 
 charge this holy duty, in order to render your 
 prayer pleasing in the sight of God, and produc- 
 tive of fruit to your own souls. For it is not 
 every kind of pray er which draws down the bless- 
 ing of heaven. The prayer which is merely the 
 service of the lips and not of the heart ; the prayer 
 which is offered up by the wilful sinner, who re- 
 mains obstinate in his crimes, or* by the worldling 
 whose soul is enslaved to the perishable things 
 of this life, and cares not for the blessings of 
 eternity ; all such prayers as these, are a mockery 
 of God, and instead of securing his blessing, pro- 
 voke his indignation. When you pray therefore, 
 imitate the virtuous Sarah, in carefully banishing 
 the world and its follies from all place in your 
 thoughts ; and let your exterior, i. e. the outward 
 posture of your body, bespeak the inward reve^ 
 rence and humility of your soul. Kneeling down, 
 as a mark of respect due to the sovereign Creator, 
 
1'32 t HOMILIES OK 
 
 Begin not your petition till you have deeply im- 
 pressed upon your mind a sense of the presence 
 of that immense Being who fills the heavens and 
 the earth, before whom you kneel, and whose 
 mercy you are about to implore. It is the advice 
 of the wise man, or rather of the Holy Ghost 
 by his mouth, who says, " Before prayer prepare 
 thy soul, and be not as one who tempteth God." 
 Eccl. xviii. 23. If thoughts of worldly business 
 company, amusement, or the like, present them- 
 selves before you when you go to prayer, say to 
 them as Jesus did to his disciples when he en- 
 tered the garden to pour forth his soul to his 
 heavenly Father, " Stay you here while I go 
 yonder and pray." Shut the door of your mind 
 against all wilful distractions, and bring with you 
 to this holy exercise, a heart truly sensible of the 
 divine presence, and truly desirous to discharge 
 this sacred duty in a becoming manner. There 
 is nothing so necessary in order to pray well, as 
 this recollection of spirit, this thought of the 
 divine presence. But to obtain it and preserve 
 it in your souls, you must not only cultivate this 
 recollection at the times in which you go to 
 prayer: accustom yourselves to a frequent re- 
 membrance of the divine presence during the 
 day ; let the whole tenour of your lives be regu- 
 lar ; and, above all, avoid giving too much time 
 to dissipation and excess of amusement, than 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 133 
 
 which nothing contributes more to root out the 
 spirit of prayer from the soul. Bringing with 
 you this recollection of spirit to your prayers, 
 you will not only prevent distractions from being 
 voluntary in their- origin, but, acquiring a habit of 
 watchfulness over yourselves, you will be power- 
 fully aided in faithfully resisting and removing 
 those involuntary wanderings of the mind, which 
 are inseparable from our present state of frailty 
 and corruption. Having then used your good 
 endeavours to prepare yourselves for the duty of 
 prayer, by recollection in the divine presence, be 
 not disheartened or alarmed at the frequent in- 
 voluntary distractions which you may experience. 
 Make them,a subject of humility, acknowledging 
 in them the weakness of your nature, and faith- 
 fully fight against .them ; then, so far from hin- 
 dering the fruit of your prayer, they will, by 
 filling you with sentiments of humility, add great- 
 ly to the merit of that holy exercise, and draw 
 down an increase of grace. 
 
 For, next to this recollection of spirit and sense 
 of God's presence which I have pointed out to 
 you as the first disposition towards praying well, 
 you must be careful to pray with an humble 
 spirit. God hath regard to the prayer of the 
 humble, and he despiseth not their petitions ; 
 but the proud he rejects far from him. Kneel 
 before God with a full conviction of your own 
 
 JK.3 
 
* 
 
 1S4j homilies ok 
 
 poverty and un worthiness ; sensible that your 
 wants are infinite, arid that God alone can give 
 you relief, throw yourselves at his feet. Cry 
 out to him in the sentiments of humility and 
 earnest supplication with which the beggar at 
 •your gate entreats an alms from you ; for, says 
 jthe great St Augustine, with regard to God, we 
 are all beggars when we pray, prostrate before 
 the door of this great Father of the whole world, 
 with sighs and tears imploring blessings from 
 him. It was in this spirit holy David prayed, 
 Psalm lxix. 6, " I am needy and poor, O God 
 help me :" and the prophet Daniel tells us that 
 his prayers were performed in the same |iumble 
 disposition ; " When I prayed," says he, P I con- 
 fessed my sins and those of my people Israel, 
 and prostrate oil the ground poured forth my 
 prayers in the presence of my God." Dan. ix. 20. 
 In the same humble and contrite spirit, the 
 publican, by a short but fervent expression of 
 humility, supplicated and found mercy in the 
 forgiveness of his sins. 
 
 But this humble sense of your own uiiwor- 
 thiness must always be accompanied with a firm 
 confidence in the goodness of God, which is a 
 third condition requisite for rendering your pray 
 ers acceptable to God. This is what the holy 
 Scripture calls praying with faith ; " Whatsoever 
 you shall ask in prayer, if you ask with faith, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIA& 135 
 
 that is, with confidence in God, you shall obtain 
 it." Matt. xxi. 22. How strong, how lively, how 
 admirable was this faith in those poor distressed 
 objects who are recorded in the Gospel to have 
 drawn near to Jesus Christ for the cure of their 
 temporal infirmities ! The woman w T ho had been 
 afflicted for so many years with an issue of blood, 
 says within herself, " If I shall but touch the 
 hem of his garment I shall be healed." Matt. ix. 21. 
 The centurion, after expressing his own unwor- 
 thiness to entertain his Saviour under his roof, 
 cries out with a full faith and confidence in 
 his divine power and goodness, " Speak but the 
 word, O Lord, and my servant shall be healed." 
 Matt. viii. 8. Shall we then have less confidence 
 when we apply to him for the relief of our 
 spiritual wants ? Are his goodness and his power 
 less than they formerly were; or is the arm 
 of his mercy shortened? Has not he himself 
 commanded us to pray, with a full assurance 
 that whatsoever we ask we shall receive, if we 
 ask it in his name ? Oh ! let us throw ourselves 
 with confidence into the arms of his mercy, let 
 us lay our wants at the feet of our heavenly 
 Father ; filled, indeed, with a sense of our own 
 unworthiness, but placing all our hope in that 
 adorable Saviour, who having once by his death 
 purchased every blessing for us, lives always to 
 make intercession for us, and presents inces- 
 
 K4 
 
136 HOMILIES ON 
 
 santly to his eternal Father his bitter sufferings 
 and death, in union with our humble requests, 
 to the throne of mercy. 
 
 But you have prayed, and you find yourselves 
 no better for your prayers. — Redouble then your 
 fervour, and persevere in prayer. For, either 
 you. have not prayed with those dispositions 
 which I have named to you, recollection in the 
 divine presence, attention, humility, and confi- 
 dence ; or the Almighty, in his merciful designs 
 for your good, defers the grant of your petitions, 
 in order that you may pray with greater earnest- 
 ness and with perseverance, and thus may de- 
 serve a great increase of grace. The offering 
 of our prayer, at first insignificant and contemp- 
 tible in itself, by being many times renewed 
 and repeated, becomes at length valuable, and 
 in some manner proportioned to the blessings 
 which we ask. Hence Almighty God often grants 
 to perseverance in prayer that which he refuses 
 to a first request. Our divine Redeemer, there- 
 fore, exhorts us to pray and faint not ; and for 
 our encouragement gives us the example of a 
 widow who had for a long time solicited an 
 unjust judge to do her justice but without 
 effect, till at length, by her multiplied entreaties, 
 she in a manner forced him to grant her request. 
 But the most admirable pattern of perseverance 
 in prayer, is the Chananasan woman, as related 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 137 
 
 in the 15th chapter of St. Matthew. This 
 poor woman, though brought up amongst idolaters, 
 had heard of Jesus Christ, and conceived a strong 
 faith in him. She applied to him for the cure 
 of her daughter, who was grievously tormented 
 by the devil. At first our divine Redeemer 
 took no notice at all of her request, but remained 
 silent, as if he had no care for her. The woman 
 not at all disheartened, redoubled her cries, till 
 the Apostles, weary of her importunities, begged 
 their divine Master either to dismiss her, or to 
 grant what she asked. The answer of our Sa- 
 viour was still more disheartening than his silence: 
 " I am sent," said he, " only to the lost sheep 
 of the house of Israel/' You, therefore, who 
 belong not to my fold, have no claim upon my 
 mercy. But, instead of sinking into despair and 
 giving up her cause, the woman drew nearer 
 to Jesus, threw herself at his feet, and worshipped 
 him, saying, " Lord, help me." Admirable as 
 was her confidence, and fervent as was her prayer, 
 Jesus seemed not to regard it, but coolly re- 
 plied, " It is not fit to take the bread of children 
 and give it to the dogs." One would have 
 imagined that this answer of our Saviour would 
 have deprived this poor woman of all hope, and 
 induced her to abandon her request; but it 
 ■serves only to animate her confidence, and re- 
 double her fervour. " Yes, O Lord," she cries 
 
158 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 out, " it is true ; but even the dogs eat of the 
 crumbs which fall from their master's table." 
 I confess, O Lord, that brought up in idolatry, 
 1 am, compared to your* people, as that unclean 
 animal, the dog. I am not worthy to partake 
 of the bread with which you feed your children. 
 But deny me not, O Lord, the crumbs which 
 fall from jour table ; give me the blessing which 
 I ask, and which requires not the exertion of 
 that almighty power which you display in fa- 
 vour of your people, but merely a fragment of 
 your omnipotent goodness. " O woman," cried 
 out our Redeemer, in admiration at her per- 
 severance, " great is thy faith ; be it done to thee 
 accordingly as thou hast desired :" and her daugh- 
 ter was cured at that very hour. 
 
 In how admirable a manner, my beloved 
 brethren, has Jesus Christ here unfolded to us 
 the conduct of our heavenly Father. If he grants 
 not our requests when we first present them, 
 it is not because he is either unable or unwilling 
 to relieve us ; but it is to impress us more deeply 
 with a sense of our own nothingness, to animate 
 us with greater faith and confidence in his good- 
 ness, to excite us to fresh fervour, and to induce 
 us to perseverance, by which our offerings are 
 rendered more pleasing in his sight, more pro- 
 portioned to his graces, and more deserving of 
 his bounty. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 139 
 
 Mindful then of the unbounded goodness -of 
 that Being on whom you depend for every 
 blessing, be instant in prayer; pray and faint 
 not. But be careful, my beloved brethren, to 
 bring with you to prayer the dispositions whielj 
 I have pointed out to you, as essentially requisite 
 to a good performance of that duty. When you 
 present yourselves as suppliants before the throne 
 of God, apply your whole soul to that holy 
 exercise, Banish all carnal and worldly thoughts 
 from your minds, and think of God alone, and 
 of what you are asking from his bounty. Im- 
 press your minds with a feeling sense of the 
 divine presence, and raise yourselves in spirit 
 above all earthly objects to the throne of the 
 Deity. There, prostrate in the most profound 
 sentiments of your own nothingness, pour forth 
 your requests with an humble heart, but with 
 a firm confidence in the goodness of God and 
 the merits of your Saviour. Consider prayer as 
 the most important business of each day of your 
 lives ; as that upon which principally your present 
 and future happiness depend. Let no worldly 
 cares, neither business, company, nor amuse- 
 ment, prevent your regular attention to this most 
 important duty, both with regard to yourselves 
 and your families. But in praying, let it be 
 your first concern to seek the kingdom of God 
 and his justice. Your prayers, thus proceeding 
 
140 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 from an earnest desire of eternal life, offered tip 
 with recollection, attention, humility, and perse- 
 verance, and presented in the name and through 
 the merits of Christ Jesus, will ascend as a 
 sweet odour before God, who will open to you, 
 as he did to his servants Tobias and Sarah, the 
 full hand of his mercy, in the liberal grant of all 
 your requests. 
 
ELEVENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. IIL vet. 12. And it came to pass on the third day, when 
 she (Sarah) was making an end of her prayer, blessing the 
 
 the Lord, 13. she said, Blessed is thy name, O God 
 
 of our Fathers : who, when thou hast been angry, wilt shew 
 mercy, and in the time of tribulation forgivest the sins of 
 them that call upon thee. 
 
 A h e holy Scripture has recorded for us the 
 conclusion of the admirable prayer, which Sarah 
 in her distress presented to the Almighty. It 
 is so clear that it stands not in need of any ex- 
 planation ; and, at the same time, is so full of 
 the noblest sentiments of piety, and the most 
 useful instructions, that it is highly deserving 
 of our serious meditation. Sarah, under one of 
 the most severe trials that can befall human 
 nature, that of calumny, being falsely charged 
 with the murder of her husbands, and quite over- 
 whelmed with grief and affliction, blesses God. 
 Confessing him to be the Sovereign Lord of 
 his creatures, and acknowledging that he has a 
 right to do as he pleases with the works of his 
 hands, she finds a source of consolation even in 
 
142 HOMILIES ON 
 
 her affliction itself. Nothing can shake her faith 
 in this truth, that the different events of our 
 lives are ordered by an all-wise Providence for 
 our good, nor lessen her confidence in the divine 
 mercy and protection. She knows that the 
 very chastisements of heaven are all tempered 
 with mercy, and that afflictions borne with 
 humble resignation to his holy will, are one of 
 the most excellent means of atoning for sin, and 
 disarming God's indignation. Banishing every 
 human consideration, and every earthly source 
 of comfort far from her thoughts, she turns to 
 God alone for refuge, and with her whole heart 
 fixed on the contemplation of his infinite wisdom/ 
 power, and goodness, she implores his protection. 
 Penetrated with the most lively sentiments of 
 her own natural weakness, yet full of that con- 
 fidence which a good conscience never fails to 
 inspire, she offers her fervent prayers for relief 
 to the throne of mercy. Like the good Tobias, 
 fearing her trials might overpower her, and the 
 strength of temptation prevail upon her to quit 
 the path of virtue, she begs of the Almighty 
 with prayers, with fasting, and with tears, either 
 to clear her from the false accusation thrown 
 upon her, or, if agreeable to his will, to with- 
 draw her by death from the contagion of rt 
 wicked world, and not suffer her to be even 
 innocently an occasion of sin to others, wht> 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 143 
 
 might be induced to think that she had been 
 guilty of the horrid crimes laid to her charge. 
 
 Ver. 14. To thee, O Lord, (she cries out,) I turn my face, 
 
 to thee I direct my eyes 15. I beg, O Lord, that 
 
 thou loose me from the bond of this reproach, or else take 
 me away from the earth. 
 
 The examples of the Saints in their conduct 
 under afflictions, preach to us much more power- 
 fully than any precepts, of the admirable advan- 
 tages to be derived from the trials and sufferings 
 which are inseparable from our present condition. 
 Even in the old law, what perfect models of 
 resignation and patience were those holy servants 
 of God, Joseph, Job, David, Tobias, &c. But 
 in the new law, we have the much more perfect 
 example of the divine Founder of Christianity, 
 Jesus Christ himself; who, under the most out- 
 rageous calumnies, insults, and cruelties, heaped 
 upon him by his own creatures, even when he 
 was led as a sheep to the slaughter, opened not 
 his mouth ; " who, when he was reviled, did not 
 revile, and when he suffered, threatened not, leav- 
 ing you an example that you may walk in his 
 steps." 1 Pet. ii. 21, 22. He forewarns us not to 
 be surprised if we meet with persecution from 
 a wicked world, since the world persecuted him, 
 our Teacher and our Lord ; but, under the suffer- 
 
144 HOMILIES ON 
 
 ings which befall us, to preserve that spirit of 
 meekness and charity which forms the charac- 
 teristic mark of his true disciples ; to seek no 
 revenge, but to leave our cause in the hands 
 of God, who will vindicate our innocence in 
 due time, and to exercise mercy towards our 
 greatest enemies. Thus shall we heap coals of 
 fire, i. e, confusion, on their heads, and prepare 
 for our own a cr6wn of glory. For, " blessed 
 are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and speak all that is evil against you, un- 
 truly, for my sake ; be glad and rejoice, for your 
 reward is very great in heaven." Matt. v. 11, 12. 
 
 Sarah, having humbly acknowledged her sub- 
 mission to the will of heaven, and expressed her 
 confidence in the divine mercy, lays open the 
 secrets of her heart before the Most High, and 
 finds in her past innocence of life the most con- 
 soling source of hope in the divine power and 
 protection. 
 
 Ver. 16. Thou knowest, O Lord, that I never coveted a hus- 
 band, and have kept my soul clean from all lust 
 
 17. Never have I joined with them that play: neither have 
 I made myself partaker with them that walk in lightness. 
 
 Happy are all those young persons, who, like 
 this virtuous woman, can call with confidence 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 145 
 
 upon the God of truth to witness the purity 
 of their hearts ; can assert, that they have pre- 
 served their souls and bodies free from the defile- 
 ments of lust, and have carefully shunned the 
 company of those whose words or example might 
 have endangered their chastity! For, of all the 
 snares which the enemy of mankind lays for the 
 destruction of mankind, especially in youth, none 
 proves in his hands so successful a weapon for 
 the ruin of souls, as impurity. This is the vice 
 which deluges the world with iniquity, and fills 
 hell with souls. Were we permitted to take a 
 view of the miserable wretches who are already 
 condemned to that place of woe, and to see at 
 the same time the cause of their sufferings, I 
 am convinced that we should find by far the 
 greater part of them suffering for some sin of 
 lust. Even in this life the Almighty has fre- 
 quently executed the severest of his visible judg- 
 ments, as the holy Scriptures abundantly testify. 
 The universal deluge which drowned all man- 
 kind, with the exception of eight persons; the 
 tire and brimstone that consumed Sodom and 
 Gomorrah ; and the husbands of Sarah delivered 
 over to the power of the devil, are lasting proofs, 
 of the abomination in which God holds all im- 
 purity. As none but the clean of heart will 
 be admitted to the presence of his glory ; so 
 npne but the clean of heart, those whose souls 
 
 L 
 
146 HOMILIES ON 
 
 are adorned with chastity, will enjoy in this 
 life the presence of his grace, his favour, and his 
 protection. Every unclean person, whose heart 
 is stained with any of the filthy defilements of 
 lust, is an object of detestation in the divine 
 sight. God withdraws his gifts and graces from 
 such souls, and delivers them, as he did the 
 husbands of Sarah, to the power of Satan, by 
 giving them up to the fury of their passions, 
 and permitting those dreadful effects to ensue, 
 which are the dismal consequences of impurity, 
 viz. a disrelish for prayer and spiritual exercises, 
 a neglect of the sacraments, a hardness of heart, 
 an obstinacy in sin, and that final impenitence 
 w r hich sets the seal to the sinner's eternal re- 
 probation. What numbers of young persons 
 have we ourselves known, my beloved brethren, 
 who once walked in the path of innocence and 
 purity, and promised a life of virtue conduct- 
 ing to an eternity of bliss, but suddenly stopped 
 short in their progress, and were seen gradually 
 ik into the depth of vice and iniquity. To 
 what fatal snare was this their misfortune owing? 
 Was it not to the detestable sin of impurity ; 
 the seeds of which were sown in their yet tei 
 minds, either in those moments when their pa- 
 rents, neglectful of their trust, kept no watch 
 over them in their hours of leisure, sleep, amuse- 
 ment, and company-, or when they themselves, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 147 
 
 thoughtless of danger, ventured into the society 
 of the abandoned and impure? Like the spot- 
 less lily, which is sullied by the breath, chastity 
 will not bear the breath of the unclean sinner, 
 but quickly fades before it, and is lost The 
 only means of preserving the inestimable trea- 
 sure of purity, are, a diligent attention to those 
 exercises of religion which increase and preserve 
 the innocence of the soul — prayer and the sa- 
 craments ; and a vigilant flying from the oc- 
 casions of this sin, more especially from the 
 company of those who by their evil discourse, 
 immodest jests and songs, or indecent beha- 
 viour and improper liberties, are the instruments 
 of the devil in instilling the poison of this vice 
 into the breasts of young persons. The con- 
 duct of Sarah is, on this point, an admirable 
 pattern for youth. The care with which she 
 had shunned the company of the unchaste, 
 proved, under God, the security of her virtue; 
 and the consciousness of her past fidelity gave 
 her consolation in her distress, and afforded 
 her a well-grounded hope of the protection of 
 heaven. She calls God to witness, not only 
 that she had kept her heart free from the de- 
 filements of lust, but that she had carefully 
 avoided the society of all such as by their 
 levity of behaviour or conversation might have 
 proved a snare to her innocence ; and had ab- 
 
 L2 
 
148 HOMILIES ON 
 
 stained from those diversions and amusements 
 which are too often the incentives to vice, such 
 as promiscuous dancing, which is particularly sig- 
 nified by the Latin text of this passage — ludere. 
 What a reproach is the conduct of this virtuous 
 person to those Christian young women, who, 
 careless of danger, and without choice of com- 
 pany, run with so much eagerness to an amuse- 
 ment, which this faithful servant of God avoided 
 as a rock fatal to innocence ! " Never," says she, 
 " did I join with them that play ; neither jhave I 
 made myself partaker with them that walk in 
 lightness." 
 
 Ver, 18. A husband indeed I consented to take, with thy fear, 
 not with my lust. 
 
 When arrived at a proper age, Sarah entered 
 into the married state, not from any worldly or 
 criminal motive, but, having the fear of God be- 
 fore her eyes, with that uprightness of intention, 
 and with that holy preparation, which always se- 
 cure the blessing of heaven. A want of these holy 
 dispositions on the part of' her husbands, was the 
 occasion of their temporal and eternal destruction. 
 But in speaking of them, Sarah pretends not to 
 inquire into, or to fathom the ways of Provi- 
 dence, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 149 
 
 Vtr. 19. And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps 
 were not worthy of me : because perhaps thou hast kept me 
 
 for another man 20. For thy counsel is not in man's 
 
 power. 21. But this every one is sure of that worship^ 
 
 peth thee, that his life, if it be under trial, shall be crowned ; 
 and if it be under tribulation, it shall be delivered ; and if 
 it be under correction, shall be allowed to come to thy 
 mercy. 
 
 Sarah, full of humility, is willing to ascribe the 
 death of her husbands to her own unworthiness, 
 but professes her ignorance of the designs of 
 Providence, whose counsels are placed far above 
 the reach of man's weak understanding. If we 
 are truly animated with the spirit of the servants 
 of God, we shall be content with knowing and 
 acknowledging, as Sarah did, that all the dispen- 
 sations of God towards his servants are designed 
 for their good. If he tries them in this life, he 
 will reward their fidelity in the next ; if he sends 
 them afflictions, it is but for a short season ; at 
 most, for the continuance of their short-lived ex- 
 istence here below, and then death will be to 
 them the entrance into a happiness unchangeable 
 and everlasting. In fine, if he chastises them for 
 their faults, his punishments operate as a salutary 
 medicine, restoring health and vigour to the soul, 
 and drawing down mercy to the humbled peni- 
 tent. For God, as he himself declares by lus 
 
150 HOMtLIES ON 
 
 prophet Ezekiel, wills not the death of sinners, 
 but is desirous of their conversion. He is not 
 an enemy that delights in our pain ; he is a tender 
 parent even when he inflicts his scourges. He 
 disturbs the quiet of our souls by raising in them 
 the most alarming apprehensions of his justice, 
 that, awakened to a sense of our Hanger, we may 
 undertake the work of our repentance, and restore 
 peace to our consciences. He excites in us the 
 terrors and the anguish of a bitter contrition, that, 
 being reconciled to him, we may taste that pure 
 joy which is the fruit of the holy tears that ac- 
 company a sincere repentance. In all his dispen- 
 sations he seeks our good, and in every cir- 
 cumstance of our lives he therefore most justly 
 deserves our heartfelt praise and thanksgiving. 
 Impressed with these sentiments, Sarah concludes 
 her prayer with these words : 
 
 Ver. 22. For thou art not delighted in our being lost, because 
 after a storm thou makest a calm, and after tears and weeping 
 
 thou pourest in joyfulness 23. Be thy name, O God of 
 
 Israel, blessed for ever. 
 
 The holy Scripture assures us, that the prayer 
 of Sarah, like that of Tobias, was accepted of by 
 Almighty God ; 
 
 Ver. 24. At that time the prayers of them both were heard in 
 the sight of the glory of the most high God 25. And 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 151 
 
 the holy Angel of the Lord, Raphael, was sent to heal them 
 both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight 
 of the Lord. 
 
 The petitions which these two holy servants 
 ©f God addressed to him in the same spirit of 
 faith in his power and goodness, and the same 
 humble submission to the orders of his Provi- 
 dence, ascended as a rich perfume to the throne 
 of his mercy, and were presented to liini by the 
 ministry of Angels, those blessed -" spirits who 
 are appointed to minister for them that shall 
 receive the inheritance of salvation/ 5 Heb. i. 14. 
 The Angels are spirits created by Almighty God 
 for the participation of his own glory, are em- 
 ployed by him in promoting his merciful designs 
 towards us, and destined one day to be our fellow- 
 members in bliss. Their number is countless; 
 the prophet Daniel, and St. John in the Revela- 
 tions, represent millions of millions of these holy 
 spirits constantly employed in praising and ador- 
 ing the Author of their happiness, and in ex- 
 ecuting his will. St. Paul, as above quoted, tells 
 us, that the Angels are the ministers of God, 
 sent by him to exercise their holy office for his 
 elect. It was by the ministry of Angels that the 
 law was given to the Jews, Acts vii. ; and an 
 Angel, invested with God's authority, conducted 
 his people through the desert into the land of 
 
 L4 
 
152 HOMILIES ON 
 
 promise. Exod. xxiii. 20. Angels present the 
 prayers of the faithful before the throne of mercy, 
 as the books of Tobias and the Revelations in- 
 form us. These holy spirits are sometimes re- 
 corded to have been the ministers of God's justice 
 in the punishment of his enemies, as in the des- 
 truction of Sodom, the death of the first-born 
 in Egypt, and the slaughter of the army of Sen- 
 nacherib before Jerusalem. Moreover, it is a 
 truth founded on the words of holy Scripture^ 
 and constantly delivered in the writings of the 
 Fathers and the uninterrupted tradition ' of the 
 Church, that we have each of us an Angel ap- 
 pointed by God to be our guardian and protector. 
 Thus, in the 90th Psalm*, holy David says of those 
 who trust in God, " that He has given his Angels 
 charge over them to keep them in all their ways ;" 
 and in the 33rd Psalm, ver. 8, he tells us, "that 
 the Angels of the Lord encamp round about 
 them that fear him.' , Secondly, Jesus Christ him- 
 self, speaking of little children, says, " Their An- 
 gels who are in heaven, always see the face of 
 my Father who is in heaven." Matt, xviii. 10. 
 Lastly, in the 12th chap, of the Acts of the 
 Apostles, it is recorded, that when Peter was re- 
 leased from prison in a miraculous manner, and 
 repaired to a house where the faithful were met 
 to pray, they at first thought it was his Angel; 
 which clearly shews that the first Christian* be 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 153 
 
 lieved in the doctrine that each one of the faithful 
 has an Angel guardian. Thus, while the evil 
 spirits are continually plotting our destruction, 
 the good Angels, by the appointment of divine 
 Providence, lend us their powerful assistance, dis- 
 cover to us the snares of our malicious enemies, 
 protect us in the hour of danger, recall to us pious 
 thoughts and past good resolutions ; aid us in 
 conquering our passions, overcoming temptations, 
 and vanquishing our enemies ; and conduct us safe 
 in oiir journey through the desert of this life to 
 the land of promise, the heavenly Jerusalem. Oh ! 
 adorable goodness of our God, which has provided 
 such admirable means of advancing our happiness ! 
 Oh ! holy presence of our guardian Angel ! how 
 powerfully ought the thoughts of his presence 
 to encourage us in the path of virtue ! In every 
 action, in every place, cries out St. Bernard, be 
 mindful that you are in the company of your 
 guardian Angel, and offend him not. Do not in 
 his presence that which you would be ashamed 
 to do in mine. The constant recollection of the 
 presence of your guardian Angel will prove to you 
 a most powerful protection against the tempta- 
 tions of lust, and preserve you in that spotless 
 purity, which will always ensure to you the di- 
 vine protection, as it did to the virtuous Sarah. 
 God received her prayer in her affliction, and sent 
 €>ne of the Archangels, or chief spirits of his hea- 
 
154 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 venly court, for her deliverance and that of the 
 virtuous Tobias. Raphael, signifies a physician 
 sent from God. We admire the goodness of Pro- 
 vidence in dispatching an Angel for the relief of 
 his servants. Let us not forget that for our relief, 
 and the cure of our spiritual infirmities, he sent 
 down, not an Angel, but his own consubstantial 
 Son, and delivered him up to death for us, " that 
 he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might 
 cleanse us to himself a people acceptable, a pur- 
 suer of good works." Titus ii. 3. 
 
TWELFTH HOMILY. 
 
 Cliap. IF. ver. I. Then Tobias thinking that his prayer was 
 
 heard that he might die^ called to him Tobias his son, 
 
 2. And said to him, Hear, my son, the words of my mouth, 
 and lay them as a foundation in thy heart. 
 
 W e now return to the history of the good 
 Tobias. This holy man, fearing the dangers and 
 temptations of a wicked world, and finding him- 
 self, in consequence of his blindness, no longer 
 able to pursue his accustomed exercises of charity, 
 prayed earnestly that he might die, if it were 
 the will of heaven. The holy Scripture assures 
 us, that his prayer was heard by Almighty God, 
 who always accepts the petitions which are pre- 
 sented to him with a perfect conformity to his 
 will. The effect, however, of his prayer was not 
 that which Tobias expected from it. For as the 
 servants of God pray with an entire submission 
 of their own will to the will of Providence, 
 leaving it to Almighty God to ordain what is 
 most for his glory and their good, so God some- 
 times regards more that humble conformity of 
 their will, than the requests which they actually 
 
156 HOMILIES ON 
 
 present to htm. He knows that his own glory 
 is the great object of the desires of his servants ; 
 if therefore he refuses the immediate subject of 
 their petition, it is only to substitute in it's place 
 the grant of some favour more conducive to his 
 glory, and more agreeable to the designs of his 
 mercy towards them. Such was the order of his 
 Providence towards the virtuous Tobias. This 
 holy man, thinking that his prayer was heard, and 
 humbly confiding that God would soon call him 
 to the reward of his labours, began to dispose 
 himself for his departure out of this world. — To 
 prepare for death ought indeed to be the business 
 of our whole lives, and the Saints of God are 
 careful to make it so, according to the advice of 
 the Spirit of God, " in all thy ways remember 
 thy last things, and thou shalt never sin." But 
 in drawing near to their last moments, the Saints 
 redouble their fervour in the divine service, and 
 are more earnest in setting their house in order 
 to attend the summons of their great Lord, who 
 is about to demand an account o^ their steward- 
 ship. Sensible of the strict account which he 
 should be required to give of the manner in which 
 he had discharged the obligations of a parent, 
 Tobias called to him his only son, whom he had 
 trained in the path of virtue, to complete his 
 instruction, and to impress more deeply on his 
 youthful mind the lessons of piety which were 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 157 
 
 already implanted in his breast. The young 1 
 Tobias was at this time about twenty years of 
 age. His father, much reduced in his circuni- 
 stances, had now little else to bequeath him but 
 his virtue. Happy, however, is the parent who 
 on the bed of death can leave such a Wacv to 
 his children, confirmed and supported by a life 
 full of good example ! And thrice happy are the 
 children, who falling heirs to so rich an inheri- 
 tance of virtue, cultivate and improve it like the 
 young Tobias ! Let us consider the advice which 
 Tobias gave to his son, as addressed to ourselves, 
 and according to the directions of this holy man, 
 treasure it up in our hearts as a solid foundation 
 for a life of virtue. 
 
 When his son drew near him in obedience to 
 his call, Tobias, before he began his last instruc- 
 tion to him, gave him directions respecting his 
 own and his wife's funeral in these words : 
 
 Ver. 3. When God shall take my soul, thou shalt bury my 
 body : and thou shalt honour thy mother all the days of her 
 
 life: 4. For thou must be mindful what and how great 
 
 perils she suffered for thee in her womb 5. And when 
 
 she also shall have ended her time, bury her by me. 
 
 Though the Saints of God are well assured by 
 divine faith, that God by his almighty power 
 will restore them their bodies at the last, and are 
 
158 HOMILIES OX 
 
 therefore little solicitous what becomes of them 
 after death, being willing, if it be for the glory 
 of God, to resign them to the flames, or give their 
 ashes to the winds ; yet they do not condemn, 
 but highly approve of the respect which is paid 
 to departed friends, in the careful and decent 
 interment of their bodies. Tobias, therefore, gives 
 directions for his own burial ; and, as a pattern of 
 that regard to his wife which he recommends 
 to his son, desires that their bodies may rest in 
 the same grave. Then reminding his son of the 
 affection which he owes to his parents, he exhorts 
 him to honour his mother all the days of her life, 
 " For," says he, " thou must be mindful what and 
 bow great things she suffered for thee in her 
 womb." The love and affection which animals 
 bear to those from whom they received their 
 birth, lasts but for a short duration, till the young 
 are able to supply their own wants ; but the 
 love of children towards their parents, is a duty 
 that continues binding until death. Jesus Christ, 
 our teacher and our model, is an admirable pat- 
 tern in his humble subjection to his blessed 
 mother and St. Joseph, of that filial love, respect, 
 and obedience, which God requires from children 
 to their parents. For all these duties are in- 
 cluded in that of ' honour,' which God enjoins 
 by the words of the commandment. Yes, Christ- 
 ian children, as you hope for the blessing of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 159 
 
 heaven in this life, and a share in the kingdom of 
 your Saviour hereafter, you are bound, during the 
 whole course of your lives, to imitate his holy 
 example in your conduct towards your parents. 
 To them, under God, you are indebted for the 
 most valuable of all blessings, life itself. What 
 anguish and pain did it cost your mothers to 
 bring you into the world ! What toils and labour 
 did your parents endure to support you in your 
 helpless infancy ; with what anxiety did they 
 watch over your tender years ! And do you not 
 feel in return the most tender and affectionate 
 love and reverence for them ? Oh ! as you value 
 your own happiness, attend to the words of the 
 Holy Ghost, (in the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 
 ver. 8,) and faithfully practise them in your lives : 
 " He that feareth the Lord, will honour his father 
 and mother, and will serve them as his masters 
 all the days of his life." " Honour thy father in 
 thy actions, thy words, and in all patience, that 
 he may bless thee, and his blessing may remain 
 with thee to the end. — My son, comfort thy 
 father in his old age, and give him no sorrow 
 during his whole life. If his understanding grow 
 weak, bear with him ; and do not despise him 
 because of the advantage which thou hast over 
 him ; for the charity which thou shewest thy 
 parent, shall not be forgotten ;" that is, God will 
 hold it in remembrance, and will amply repay 
 
1 60 HOMILIES ON 
 
 thee for it. — The Almighty looks with a jealous 
 eye upon the behaviour of children to their pa- 
 rents, whom he has substituted in his own place, 
 to watch over them and provide for thenr. The 
 holy Scripture is full of the divine promises of 
 blessings, both temporal and eternal, to those chil- 
 dren that are dutiful to their parents ; and at the 
 same time threatens the severest of judgments for 
 time and eternity upon those who are wanting 
 in the fulfilment of these sacred obligations. Do 
 you then, my dear children who now hear me, 
 in the whole course of your lives, religiously ob- 
 serve the injunctions of that commandment which 
 says, " Honour thy father and thy mother." Shew 
 an inviolable respect to your parents in all your 
 words and actions, carefully abstaining from all 
 harsh unbecoming language towards them. Love 
 them with the most sincere affection, compassion- 
 ating them in their sufferings, relieving them in 
 their distresses, procuring them comfort both spiri- 
 tual and temporal, and, above all, daily praying 
 for them. Obey them in all their orders, where- 
 ever this obedience would not be contrary to any 
 duty which you owe to God ; consult with them 
 in all the principal occurrences and transactions 
 of your lives, «and faithfully comply with their 
 advice and directions. The holy patriarchs, Isaac, 
 Jacob, and others recorded in the holy Scripture, 
 were admirable patterns of these duties, even after 
 
THE BOOK OP TOBIAS, 16f 
 
 they were married and advanced in years. The 
 same fidelity St. Paul recommends to all Christi- 
 ans : " Children, obey your parents in all things, 
 for this is well pleasing to the Lord." But in 
 thus recalling the attention of the children to their 
 obligations, let me remind you, Christian parents, 
 that the fidelity of children in fulfilling their 
 duties depends principally upon your faithfully 
 discharging the important trust reposed in you. 
 Like the good Tobias, train them up in the way 
 of virtue, teach them to abstain from sin, and, 
 above all, give them an edifying example of 
 obedience to the commands of God and his 
 Church. Then, like that holy man, you will be 
 blessed with a family whose virtues will be a 
 pleasing source of enjoyment to you during life, 
 a solace in your declining years, and one of your 
 sweetest consolations in the hour of death. To 
 succeed in this truly important affair, impress 
 upon the tender minds of your children that great 
 truth which Tobias carefully inculcated to his 
 son, as the ground-work of his instructions, viz. 
 a continued sense of the presence of God. 
 
 Ver, 6. All the days of thy life, (said this good man to his 
 son,) have God in thy mind : and take heed thou never 
 consent to sin, nor transgress the commandments of the 
 Lord our God. 
 
 For one of the best preservatives of virtue* 
 
 M 
 
162 HOMILIES ON 
 
 and consequently one of the best means of pre- 
 venting sin, is, to have God always in our mind ; 
 to think of him in all our ways ; to adore him 
 in all the orders of his Providence ; to meditate 
 daily on his holy law; to consult his will, by 
 prayer, in all our undertakings ; and to consider 
 his adorable eye as ever beholding us ; that thus 
 we may be careful never to transgress his holy 
 law, not from the influence of a servile fear of 
 punishment, but moved and guided by a filial 
 love of him, our tender and indulgent Parent, 
 and placing our greatest happiness in fulfilling 
 his holy will. Where is the wretch who would 
 wilfully fly in the face of his Creator, profane 
 his name, call down his curses, defile himself 
 with beastly drunkenness, or those more filthy 
 impurities which he seeks to conceal in the 
 darkness of the night from the eyes of his fellow- 
 creatures, did he at the moment behold the 
 all-seeing eye of that God who searches the 
 reins and the hearts, and to whom nothing is 
 invisible, looking down upon him, and the arm 
 of his justice stretched out against him ? Oh ! 
 that while I am recalling to your minds this 
 salutary truth of the Omnipresence of God, I 
 had a voice that could penetrate into the re- 
 motest corners of the earth, and the most secret 
 haunts of sinners, and impress every one with 
 a feeling sense of the presence of the Deity ! 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 162 
 
 May you, at least, my beloved brethren, be mind- 
 ful of this truth in every circumstance of your 
 lives, and be you careful to instil it from the 
 earliest years into the minds of your children ! 
 
 After inculcating to his son this great founda- 
 tion of the fear and love of God, Tobias imparts 
 to him most excellent advice for the practice 
 of the important duty of giving alms to the poor. 
 He first acquaints him with the obligation of 
 exercising this branch of fraternal charity, and 
 then encourages him to the fulfilment of it, by 
 pointing out the advantages which it produces 
 to the soul. 
 
 Ver. 7. Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away 
 thy face from any poor person: for so it shall come to 
 pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from 
 
 thee 8. According to thy ability be merciful 9. If 
 
 thou have much, give abundantly ; if thou have little, take 
 care even so to bestow willingly a little. 
 
 To relieve the distresses of our fellow-creatures,, 
 and to afford charity to those who stand in need 
 of it, is a duty of strict obligation, pointed out 
 to us both by the law of nature and the gospel, 
 God, who is the common Father of all mankind, 
 has bestowed upon some of his creaturesa greater 
 share of temporal blessings than he has given 
 to others* that those whom he has thus blessed 
 
 M2 
 
164 HOMILIES ON 
 
 may imitate his bounty, and acting as faithful 
 stewards of him the Sovereign Lord, may de- 
 serve from him an eternal recompense in heaven, 
 by faithfully contributing to the support of those 
 whom his Providence has placed in a more de- 
 pendent situation. But, lest man, blinded by 
 avarice and passion, should forget this to be a 
 point of duty and obligation, and should look 
 upon it as a matter of free choice, Almighty 
 God, both in the Old and New Law, has made 
 it a positive precept; declaring to us, that the 
 neglect of it provokes God to inflict his severest 
 judgments in this life, and entails upon the soul 
 eternal damnation in the world to come. Our 
 divine Redeemer, in the parable of the rich 
 glutton, Luke xvi. and still more clearly in the 
 account which he gives us of the last judgment, 
 gives us to understand, that our sentence of end- 
 less happiness or everlasting misery depends 
 chiefly upon our fidelity or neglect in fulfilling 
 the precept of giving alms. Matt. xxv. — Every 
 one, therefore, who has the goods of this world, 
 is strictly bound to employ a part of them in 
 relieving the wants of others. To neglect this, 
 the Holy Ghost declares is a certain proof that 
 the soul loves not God. " If any one," says the 
 beloved disciple, St. John, " has the goods of 
 this world, and, seeing a brother in want, shuts 
 up his bowels against him, how is it possible 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 165 
 
 that the love of God should abide within him ? 
 Let us not love then, in word only and in tongue, 
 but in deed and in truth." Imitate, my beloved 
 brethren, in this point, the conduct of the first 
 Christians, by making, as they did, charity a 
 part of your duty on the Lord's day. In the 
 primitive ages of the Church, on every Sunday, 
 a collection for the relief of the poor was made 
 from all who assisted at divine service. To pre- 
 vent the confusion which often attended such 
 collections, the practice was afterwards adopted 
 of fixing in chapels and churches a box, called 
 the Poors' Box, into which the faithful might* 
 without disturbing one another, put the offer- 
 ings of their charity, to be employed by their 
 pastor in the relief of the distressed, Never, 
 therefore, leave the house of God on Sundays 
 without adding at least one penny to the pro- 
 perty of your poor brethren. Besides this, be 
 in the disposition of mind to administer relief 
 to every one as far as lies in your power, ac- 
 cording to the advice of Tobias, a turn not away 
 thy face from any poor person." Every dis- 
 tressed fellow-creature has a claim upon our 
 charity, and whenever we meet with such a one, 
 if we are able we should give him an alms. 
 If it lies not in our power, through our own 
 poverty, to afford him temporal relief, we must 
 never turn away ovir face from him with any 
 
 M3 
 
166 HOMILIES ON 
 
 contempt or harsh language, but manifest a pity 
 and compassion for his distresses, and signify at 
 least our good will towards him. 
 
 After shewing the obligation of charity to the 
 poor, Tobias lays down the best rule that can 
 be given for the satisfying of it : " Be merciful 
 according to thy ability.' 5 What would be suf- 
 ficient in one person for the fulfilment of this 
 duty, would not suffice in another. " From him 
 to whom more has been given, more will be 
 required." Whatever we possess more than is 
 necessary for our support and that of our families, 
 is to be considered as entrusted to our care for 
 the relief of the necessitous. If then we have 
 much, we must bestow in proportion ; if little, 
 we are still to spare a little with cheerfulness 
 of heart, " for God loveth a cheerful giver." 
 2, Cor. ix. 7- It is the misfortune of the 
 greater part of those who possess worldly riches, 
 that they measure their wants, not by the calls 
 of nature, but the cries of avarice, luxury, am- 
 bition, and worldly pomp ; and hence too often 
 persuade themselves, when invited to the ex- 
 ercise of charity, that th-y have nothing to spare. 
 In this they are unjust stewards ; and however 
 exemplary their lives may have been in other 
 points, this waste and misapplication of their 
 Lord's goods, and their neglect of the poor 
 members of his family, will prove to them, as 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 167 
 
 it did to the rich glutton, their condemnation 
 to everlasting flames. 
 
 *< Be ye then merciful according to your abili- 
 ties." This is the rule of Christian charity, a rule 
 from which no one is exempted however poor. 
 For mercy consists, not only in giving money 
 or meat and drink to such as are in distress, 
 we shew mercy when we contribute in any way 
 to the temporal or spiritual welfare of our neigh- 
 bour, in giving him good advice, in comforting 
 him under his afflictions, in procuring his con- 
 version from the ways of sin, in advancing him 
 in the path to salvation, in praying for him, and 
 in forgiving the injuries which we meet from 
 our fellow-creatures. These are acts of charity 
 of the highest order, which it is in the power 
 of every one to perform, at least in some one 
 or other of the branches which I have here 
 mentioned. 
 
 Mindful then, my beloved brethren, of the 
 account which, at the hour of death, you must 
 give of your stewardship, let it be the daily 
 business of your lives to dispose yourselves for 
 it by a strict fidelity in the fulfilment of all your 
 obligations. Walk always as in the presence of 
 that God who filleth the heavens and the earth, 
 and who holds in his hand the thread of your 
 existence. Embrace with joy the opportunities 
 which heaven affords you of opening to your- 
 
 M 4 
 
16$ HOMILIES, &C, 
 
 selves the treasures of it's grace, by the faithful 
 exercise of the works of mercy ; thus making to 
 yourselves f< friends of the mammon of iniquity, 
 that when you fail, they may receive you into 
 everlasting mansions " Luke xvi 9* 
 
 
THIRTEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 . IV. ver. 10. For thus thou storest up to thyself a good 
 
 reward for the day of necessity. 11. For alms deliver 
 
 from all sin and from death, and will not suffer the soul 
 to go into darkness 12. Alms shall be a great con- 
 fidence before the most high God, to all them that give it. 
 
 Ihe holy Tobias, having inculcated to his son 
 the duty of giving alms to the poor according to 
 his ability, encourages him to be faithful in ful- 
 filling this obligation, by setting before him the 
 great spiritual advantages which are derived from 
 the practice of this branch of charity. Indeed, 
 if God had not made it a precept of his holy 
 law, that we should relieve our distressed fellow- 
 creatures, the advantages alone which flow to 
 us from the exercise of this virtue ought to 
 induce us religiously to practise it. The measure 
 of God's mercy towards us will be proportioned 
 to the mercy which we have shewn to our neigh- 
 bour. " Give, and it shall be given to you ; 
 for with the same measure that you shall mea- 
 sure to others, it shall be measured to you again." 
 
170 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Luke vi. 38. It is then most undoubtedly true, 
 that he who gives an alms, reaps a much greater 
 benefit than he who receives it; so pleasing is 
 charity in the divine sight, so powerful in moving 
 God to bestow his mercies and blessings. 
 
 In exhorting his son to the practice of this 
 virtue, Tobias advises him never to turn his 
 face from any poor person, " for," says he, " so it 
 shall come to pass that God will not turn his 
 face from thee." In the eye of that Almighty 
 Being, we are all poor and indigent; infinitely 
 more so than the poorest object upon earth that 
 solicits relief from us. The wants and neces- 
 sities of our souls are innumerable, and none 
 but God can relieve them. Should he then in 
 his wrath, turn away the countenance of his 
 tender mercy from us, what would become of 
 us ? Deprived of his all necessary aid, destitute of 
 succour from him, and void of the rich treasure 
 of his grace, our souls would have no other 
 prospect before them than misery, temporal and 
 eternal. What more powerful motive then can 
 we desire for the practice of charity to our fellow- 
 creatures, than to be assured by Almighty God 
 himself, that this is the certain means of securing 
 to ourselves the favourable regards and the kind 
 assistance of his mercy? Borne on the wings 
 of charity, our prayers mount without opposition 
 to the throne of the Deity, and open to us the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 171 
 
 treasures of his mercy. " Break thy bread with 
 the hungry, and invite the needy into thy house ; 
 when thou shalt see one that is naked, clothe 
 hiin. Then come and cry to the Lord thy God, 
 and he will hear thee." Isaiah Iviii. 
 
 But, my beloved brethren, the giving of alms 
 according to our ability, not only draws down 
 the mercy of God in this life, and inclines him 
 to lend a favourable ear to our prayers ; Tobias 
 assures us, that the faithful practice of this virtue 
 will store up for us a rich treasure and a great 
 reward for the day of necessity. That day is 
 the day of judgment, the day of the final dis- 
 tribution of God's justice, when he will render 
 to each one according to his works. Then shall 
 the earthly and perishable goods, which we have 
 put into the hands of the poor, be transformed 
 into heavenly and eternal treasures. When the 
 hand of death shall have stripped us of our 
 worldly riches, and nothing shall remain to us 
 but our works, which will accompany us to the 
 tribunal of our Judge, then shall we behold again 
 in the hands of our divine Redeemer, whatever 
 we have given to him in the persons of his 
 poor members. For Jesus Christ, that same all- 
 merciful Saviour, who for our salvation clothed 
 himself with the infirmities of our nature, suf- 
 fered so many indignities, and so cruel a death 
 en. the cross, declares, that whatever we do to the 
 
172 HOMILIES ON 
 
 poor, he considers as done to himself, and as 
 such will recompense it when he shall appear 
 as the Sovereign Judge of Angels and of men. 
 "Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it 
 to one of these my least brethren, you did it 
 to me." 
 
 In the third place : " Alms deliver from all sin, 
 and from death, and will not suffer the soul to 
 go into darkness :" that is, into eternal damnation. 
 When the haughty Nabuchodonosor was threat- 
 ened by God with the severest judgments, in 
 punishment of his pride, the prophet Daniel gave 
 him this advice : " O king, redeem thy sins by 
 alms-deeds, and thy iniquities by relieving the 
 poor." Daniel iv. 24. Not that the giving of 
 charity to the poorxan alone and of itself cleanse 
 away the guilt of sin, and confer the grace of 
 justification. No, my beloved brethren, God is 
 not a corrupt judge that can be bribed by pre- 
 sents. But, if the sinner, however enormous his 
 guilt may have been, entering into sentiments 
 of sincere compunction, and sighing under the 
 load of his iniquities, joins to his prayers and 
 contrition the exercise of frequent acts of mercy 
 to the poor, his alms, thus accompanied with 
 the dispositions of true repentance, will most 
 powerfully plead for mercy, and draw down the 
 grace of a sincere conversion. Thus alms are of 
 the highest advantage to every description of per- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 173 
 
 sons; to the sinner they prepare the way for 
 his conversion, and render his desires of repent- 
 ance efficacious; to the true penitent they are 
 the most excellent means of redeeming his past 
 sins ; and to the just they serve as an expiation 
 of those smaller stains from which none, however 
 holy, are exempt, and as a means of obtaining 
 the grace of perseverance to the end in the path 
 of virtue. 
 
 Lastly, my beloved brethren, " alms shall be 
 a great confidence before the most high God, 
 to all them that give it." The same divine 
 oracles which tell us, that judgment without 
 mercy shall be passed upon such as have not 
 shewn mercy, moreover assure us, that our best 
 security for mercy in that awful moment when 
 we shall be summoned before the Sovereign 
 Judge, will be the acts of charity and mercy 
 which we ourselves have sent before us to his 
 tribunal. This is particularly true of those works 
 which tend to promote the glory of God, the 
 advancement of religion and piety, and the sal- 
 vation of souls. Such works as these, in that 
 day of calamity and misery when the heavens 
 and earth shall be consumed by fire, and the 
 sinner, trembling at the left-hand of the Judge, 
 shall in vain call upon the hills to cover him 
 and hide him from the wrath of God, will 
 inspire confidence and hope, will disarm the 
 
174 HOMILIES ON 
 
 anger of our Judge, and cover a multitude 
 of sins. 
 
 Be ye then merciful, according to the ability 
 with which God has blessed you. But in per- 
 forming the duties of charity, seek not the ap- 
 plause of men ; have always in view, as the end 
 of all these and your other acts of virtue, solely 
 the glory of God, and the gaining of eternal life. 
 For it is only to acts of charity performed with 
 this pure intention, that the spiritual advantages 
 and blessings which I have mentioned, are pro- 
 mised by Almighty God. 
 
 After these admirable lessons of charity, Tobias 
 earnestly exhorts his son to fly from all impurity. 
 
 Ver. 13. Take heed to keep thyself, my son, from all fornica- 
 tion, and beside thy wife never endure to know a crime. 
 
 Oh ! that in directing the same advice to you, 
 my beloved brethren, I could be ensured that 
 it would be as religiously followed by you, and 
 attended with the same happy fruits in each 
 member of that dear flock whom Providence 
 has entrusted to my care ! Sensible of the dreadful 
 havock which the devil makes among Christian 
 souls by the filthy vice of impurity, fortify your- 
 selves against all it's assaults by fervent prayer, 
 by earnest watchfulness, by a constant sense of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 175 
 
 the presence of God, by carefully flying the com- 
 pany and the resorts of the lustful, by frequently 
 meditating on your last end, and, abave all, by 
 cultivating in your souls the most profound humi- 
 lity. For impurity is very often the punishment 
 of pride, as the apostle St. Paul plainly inculcates 
 in his Epistle to the Romans, chap. xi. ver. 22. 
 speaking of the heathens, he says, " professing 
 themselves to be wise, theyjbecame fools; God 
 gave them up to the desire of their heart, to 
 uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among 
 themselves. — For this cause God delivered them 
 up to shameful passions, receiving in themselves 
 the recompense that was due to their error." 
 Knowing that pride opens the door of the heart 
 to the passion of lust, and: that humility is the 
 best guardian of purity, Tobias continues his ad- 
 vice to his son in these words : 
 
 Ver. 14. Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind or in thy words, 
 for from it all perdition took it's beginning. 
 
 Pride is the worst and the deepest of all the 
 wounds caused in the soul of man by the disobedi- 
 ence of Adam. It is so implanted in our cor- 
 rupt nature, that utterly to destroy it is almost 
 impossible. To fight against it's suggestions, to 
 weaken it's power, and to prevent it from ruling 
 
176 HOMILIES OK 
 
 over our thoughts, words, and actions, is the daily 
 employment marked out for us in our mortal 
 existence. To succeed in this task, we must ever 
 cherish in our minds the opposite sentiments of 
 Christian humility ; meditating often on our own 
 nothingness, on our ingratitude to God, and the 
 uncertainty that hangs over our future lot ; be- 
 having with mildness and affability to all ; despi- 
 sing no one, however inferior to ourselves ; and 
 bearing, in a spirit of meekness, the frailties, im- 
 perfections, and even injuries of our fellow-crea- 
 tures. Faithfully attending to these principles 
 as our guide, we shall triumph over this subtle 
 enemy, which is indeed the root of evil. For 
 pride was the occasion of the eternal destruction 
 both of Angels and of men ; pride was the parent 
 of sin and hell. It is at the same time the first 
 and the greatest of all sins, and that which God 
 holds in the greatest abhorrence, because it strikes 
 directly at his sovereign majesty and infinite 
 perfections, claiming to itself the excellence and 
 the glory which belong to him alone. Yet, so 
 inherent is pride in our very nature, since the 
 fall of Adam, that we are at each moment in 
 danger from some one or other of it's mortal 
 wounds, unless by a constant watchfulness, and 
 by cherishing in our breasts a solid humility, we 
 provide ourselves with an antidote against it's 
 deadly poison. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 177 
 
 Ver. 15. If any man hath done any work for thee, immediately 
 pay him his hire, and let not the wages of thy hired servant 
 
 stay with thee at all 16. See thou never do to another 
 
 what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. 
 
 Such are the lessons Tobias gives his son to 
 regulate his conduct towards his neighbour. To 
 do to others as we wish them to do to us, is the 
 abridgment of all the duties of brotherly love 
 enjoined by the gospel. It is a rule extremely 
 simple in itself, but very extensive in it's obliga- 
 tions. With this rule all our thoughts, words, 
 and actions, that regard our conduct towards our 
 fellow-creatures, will one day be compared at the 
 judgment-seat of Christ. Do you then, my be- 
 loved brethren, make this maxim the invariable 
 rule of your behaviour towards others, that you 
 may avoid that dreadful confusion and severe con- 
 demnation which will one day befall those who 
 by their frauds, their injustices, their rash judg- 
 ments, their calumnies, and their detractions, shall 
 stand charged with having violated this grand 
 principle of fraternal charity. As to those per- 
 sons whom you employ to work for you, strictly 
 fulfil the injunction of holy Tobias to his son, 
 by paying them their hire when it is due. To 
 do otherwise, to keep back unjustly the wages 
 of the labourer, is a crime so contrary to justice 
 and charity, that it is declared in holy writ to 
 
 N 
 
178 HOMILIES OK 
 
 be one of those more enormous sins which cry 
 to heaven for vengeance in this life, over and 
 above the eternal • condemnation which is the 
 ordinary punishment of grievous transgressions. 
 " Behold," says St. James, v. 4. " the hire of the 
 labourers, who have reaped down your fields, 
 which by fraud has been kept back by you, 
 crieth : and the cry of them hath entered into the 
 ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Tobias thus pro- 
 ceeds : 
 
 Ver. 17. Eat thy bread with the hungry and the needy, and 
 
 with thy garments cover the naked 18. Lay out thy 
 
 bread and thy wine upon the burial of a just man, and do not 
 eat and drink thereof with the wicked. 
 
 Tobias here alludes to a custom which pre- 
 vailed among the Jewish people, of making an 
 offering at the tombs of their departed friends. 
 The offering consisted of bread and wine, or other 
 meats, which, after being laid upon the tomb 
 of the dead person, were distributed among the 
 poor, to procure their prayers for the departed 
 soul. Tobias, however, takes care to inform his 
 son, that these prayers could be of no service to 
 the wicked, who die enemies of God, in a state 
 of mortal sin, but only to the just, who depart 
 this life in the grace of God, but with some 
 lesser stains upon the soul, which may be ex- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 17$ 
 
 piated by the charities and prayers of the living. 
 Christianity teaches the same doctrine ; and in the 
 records of every country that has received the 
 light of the Christian religion, we find the custom 
 of praying for the dead introduced and established 
 as a part of the faith delivered by Christ and 
 his Apostles. St. Irenaeus expressly mentions this 
 custom in the second century ; and the great St. 
 Augustine tells us, in his confessions, with what 
 earnestness his pious mother on her death-bed 
 besought him to remember her soul in the sacred 
 mysteries, and with what reverential care he ful- 
 filled her devout request. Tobias, in recommend- 
 ing his son to observe this pious practice, common 
 among his countrymen, of bestowing charity in 
 behalf of the dead, charges him to invite to these 
 repasts such only as fear God and lead a life of 
 virtue, lest these feasts of charity should degene- 
 rate into excess and drunkenness. 
 
 Ver. 19. Seek counsel always of a wise man. 
 
 This is another important lesson which Tobias 
 delivers to his son. The Holy Ghost, by the 
 mouth of the wise man, (Eceles. xxxii. 24.) gives 
 the same advice : " My son, do nothing without 
 counsel, and thou shalt not repent after thou 
 hast done." In effect, we cannot entertain too 
 
 ¥2 
 
180 HOMILIES ON 
 
 great a mistrust of our own lights and prudence. 
 This diffidence in ourselves should lead us to 
 embrace with gladness the opportunities of im- 
 proving ourselves by the knowledge and experi- 
 ence of others, by asking advice, particularly of 
 those whom God has appointed our spiritual 
 guides, the pastors of the Church. If we are 
 faithful on our part in thus seeking direction from 
 the prudence of others, God will not fail to put 
 into the minds and the mouths of those whom 
 we consult, the sentiments and the advice neces- 
 sary to promote our welfare. In short, it is he 
 who speaks to us by the mouth of those prudent 
 persons with whom we advise ; upon him there- 
 fore principally we are to rely for guidance and 
 direction. It is what holy Tobias tells his son 
 in the very next verse : 
 
 Ver. 20. Bless God at all times ; and desire of him to direct thy 
 ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him. 
 
 Oh ! how many admirable lessons of piety, how 
 many great and important obligations are in- 
 cluded in these few words! Bless God at all 
 times ; be always mindful of him in your hearts, 
 in the midst of the hurry and employment of 
 the day, during the repose of the night, in afflic- 
 tion and in prosperity, at all times and in all 
 places bless God, by making him the end of all 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 181 
 
 your actions, and performing them all to his 
 glory. In all your ways implore the guidance 
 of his holy Spirit, consult his will in all your 
 undertakings, relying not upon your own lights 
 and prudence, but upon that wisdom and know- 
 ledge which he never fails to infuse from above 
 into the breasts of those who put their whole 
 confidence in him and truly seek his glory. Thus 
 placing yourselves under the guidance of his Pro- 
 vidence, you will, as Tobias assures his son in 
 the conclusion of his advice, have nothing to fear 
 from the malice of your enemies, however low 
 and apparently wretched your condition may be. 
 
 Ver, 23. Fear not, my son, said that holy man ; we lead indeed 
 a poor life, but we shall have many good things, if we fear 
 God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is good. 
 
 The fear of God, innocence of life, and an hum- 
 ble conformity to the will of Providence, are a 
 treasure far surpassing all the contemptible riches 
 of this earth, making the soul a pleasing dwelling- 
 place and abode for the God of heaven during 
 this life, and adorning her with those spiritual 
 riches that will procure her admission into the 
 glorious mansions of never-ending felicity in the 
 life to come. 
 
 N3 
 
FOURTEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. IV. ver. 21. I tell thee also, my son, that I lent ten talents 
 of silver, while thou wast yet a child, to Gabelus, in Rages, 
 a city of the Medes, and I have a note of his hand with 
 
 me: 22. Now therefore inquire how thou mayest go to 
 
 him, and receive of him the aforesaid sum of money, and 
 restore him the note of his hand. 
 
 Xn the three preceding homilies, I have unfolded 
 to you, my beloved brethren, those admirable les- 
 sons of instruction which Tobias, thinking, in 
 consequence of his blindness, that he was about 
 to die, imparted to his son as his last advice. 
 That holy man, having thus fulfilled the most 
 important part of his obligation as a parent, in 
 providing for the spiritual welfare of his child, 
 completes his preparation for death, by giving 
 proper directions for the settlement of his tem- 
 poral concerns. This is a duty which every 
 parent, possessed of any property, owes to his 
 family. Moreover, it is a duty which Christian 
 parents should take care to discharge, as Tobias 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 183 
 
 did, while yet their health and understandings are 
 good, and not neglect it till sickness and the 
 near approach of death scarce leave them the 
 use of their faculties, or till the moments allotted 
 to this task can ill be spared from the more 
 important concern of disposing their souls for 
 judgment. A good Christian who lives in the 
 constant expectation of his last summons, and 
 in a daily preparation for it, will be careful, by 
 making his will during health and strength, so 
 to dispose of his temporal affairs as to satisfy 
 the duties of justice and charity. Tobias, as I 
 have before observed, is in this respect a model 
 for Christians. During his prosperity, he had 
 lent his kinsman Gabelus the sum of ten talents 
 of silver, to assist him in providing a proper 
 maintenance for his family. The sum was con- 
 siderable,, and apparently was all that remained 
 to Tobias of his former affluence. Judging it, 
 therefore, to be a duty which he owed to his 
 family to recall that sum of money, and know- 
 ing that his kinsman, by his success in business, 
 was able to repay it, he desires his son to look 
 out for a guide, under whose care he may safely 
 undertake a journey to Gabelus's house, and at 
 the same time gives him directions how to re- 
 cover the money. The young Tobias, trained up 
 in the path of obedience, cheerfully complies with 
 his father's wishes. 
 
 N4 
 
184? HOMILIES ON 
 
 Ckap. V. ver. 1. Then Tobias answered his father, and said: 
 I will do all things, father, which thou hast commanded me. 
 
 2. But how I shall get this money I cannot tell: he 
 
 knoweth not me, and I know not him : what token shall I 
 give him ? Nor did I ever know the way which leadeth 
 thither. 
 
 The young Tobias meant not, by these questions 
 and observations, to detract from the assurance 
 which he had given his father of his readiness 
 to comply with his injunctions ; but, foreseeing 
 the difficulties which he might have to encounter, 
 with the greatest prudence he respectfully opens 
 his mind to his father, and solicits his advice. 
 
 Ver. 3. Then his father answered him, and said : I have a note 
 of his hand with me, which when thou shalt shew him, he 
 
 will presently pay it 4. But go now, and seek thee out 
 
 some faithful man, to go with thee for his hire ; that thou 
 mayst receive it while I yet live. 
 
 The young Tobias had started two difficulties 
 which presented themselves to his mind ; the one, 
 how he should make himself known to Gabelus, 
 the other, by what means he should discover the 
 road that would conduct him to his kinsman's 
 house. His father removes the first difficulty by 
 telling him, that Gabelus, a man of strict honour 
 and integrity, as soon as he shall see the note, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 185 
 
 will immediately acknowledge his own hand-wri- 
 ting and pay the money; and to obviate the 
 second difficulty, relating to his journey, advises 
 his son to seek for a faithful guide to conduct 
 him. 
 
 Ver. 5. Then Tobias going forth found a beautiful young man, 
 
 standing girded, and as it were ready to walk 6. And 
 
 not knowing that he was an Angel of God, he saluted him 
 
 and said: From whence art thou, good young man? 
 
 7. But he answered, Of the children of Israel. And Tobias 
 said to him: Knowest thou the way that leadeth to the coun- 
 try of the Medes 8. And he answered: I know it; and 
 
 I have often walked through all the ways thereof, and I have 
 abode with Gabelus our brother ; who dwelleth at Rages, a 
 city of the Medes, which is situate in the mount of Ecbatana. 
 
 9. And Tobias said to him : Stay for me, I beseech thee., 
 
 till I tell these same things to my father. 
 
 As soon as the young Tobias had with modesty 
 and prudence proposed the difficulties which he 
 apprehended from the long journey that he was 
 about to undertake, and had received his father's 
 instructions how to proceed, he lost no time in 
 complying with the wishes of his parent. Ready 
 obedience always draws down the blessing of 
 heaven upon itself. The world laughs at the 
 humble simplicity with which the Saints follow 
 the directions of those whom God has placed 
 
186 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 over them, and ridicules this part of their con- 
 duct as the emblem of a weak mind. But the 
 wisdom of this world is folly before God, and 
 while he conceals the wonders of his Providence 
 from the proud and self-conceited, he unfolds 
 them to the humble and the little ones, who, 
 diffident of themselves, seek light and counsel 
 from above. No sooner had the young Tobias, 
 in obedience to his father's advice, set out in 
 search of a guide, than he meets with one, in 
 the outward appearance of a man, but in reality 
 an Angel deputed by divine Providence in re- 
 ward of his obedience, to conduct him on his 
 journey and administer the blessing of heaven 
 to himself and his parents. How admirable is 
 the goodness which God manifests towards his 
 faithful servants ! With what tender care does he 
 watch over them ! Truly, he regards them as the 
 apple of his eye ; as the hen gathereth her chick- 
 ens under her wings, he extends the protecting 
 wings of his Providence over those who trust 
 in him, and gives his Angels charge over them 
 to keep them in all their ways. Ps. xc. His 
 infinite goodness and love for us, not content with 
 rendering the visible creation subservient to our 
 wants and necessities, has appointed the spirits 
 that surround his throne, the inmates of his 
 heavenly court, to attend upon us in our pilgrim- 
 age through this life of temptation and trial, and 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 187 
 
 to exercise their ministry in favour of those who 
 are heirs of salvation. Heb. i. 14L 
 
 It is not necessary, my beloved brethren, to 
 repeat here what I have delivered to you in a 
 former instruction as the doctrine of the Church 
 of Christ, respecting the offices and employments 
 of the holy Angels as far as regards this world 
 in which we live Every book of the inspired 
 writings teaches us, that Angels were employed 
 by Almighty God as the instruments of his mer- 
 ciful designs, both towards his whole people and 
 towards the individuals who are recorded as his 
 more faithful servants. On the occasion at pre- 
 sent under our consideration, the Angel sent by 
 God to watch over the young Tobias, took the 
 appearance of a young man of the people of 
 Israel, an appearance under which Angels are 
 frequently mentioned in Scripture, clad as a tra- 
 veller, and on the point of undertaking a long 
 journey. Tobias meeting him, accosted him in an 
 affable manner, and asked him whence he came ? 
 He replied, that he was of the children of Israel, 
 and was well acquainted with the road to Rages, 
 and knew personally his kinsman Gabelus. In 
 all this reply of the Angel, there is nothing but 
 what is conformable to the strictest truth, since 
 Providence had clothed him with the shape, the 
 countenance, and outward appearance of the per- 
 son whom he represented himself to be, whose 
 
188 HOMILIES ON 
 
 name he assumed, and whom he might with per- 
 fect propriety call himself, till he had fulfilled 
 the part which in that character Almighty God 
 had allotted him. The young Tobias was over- 
 joyed at meeting so opportunely with a fellow- 
 traveller. Yet he did not suffer his joy to get 
 the better of his prudence, or the respect which 
 he owed to his father ; but, resolving to do no- 
 thing without his parent's advice, desired the 
 young man, as he took him to be, to stay while 
 he communicated his good fortune to his father. 
 
 Ver. 10. Then Tobias going in, told all these tilings to his 
 father. Upon which his father, being in admiration, desired 
 
 that he would come in unto him 11. So going in, he 
 
 saluted him, and said, Joy be to thee always. 
 
 Tobias, on being informed by his son that he 
 had met with a proper guide, well acquainted 
 with the road which he was going and the 
 kinsman whom he intended to visit, felt a double 
 emotion of pleasure, arising from his joy at the 
 good news, and his admiration at the kindness 
 of Providence. He immediately invited the 
 young stranger to his house, who, coming in, 
 addressed the good old man in the salutation 
 usual among the Jewish people ; " Joy, or peace, 
 be to you." Inward peace of soul, and the 
 spiritual joy attendant upon it, are the greatest 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 189 
 
 blessings we can look for on this earth, Happy, 
 indeed, is that soul which feels this peace within 
 herself, conscious of her own faithful endeavours 
 to walk in the way of God's commandments, 
 having all her affections and passions in proper 
 subjection, and breathing a spirit of peace and 
 charity towards every fellow-creature ! This three- 
 fold peace Jesus Christ bequeathed as his last 
 and best legacy to his disciples; and when he 
 sent them to convert the world, he appointed 
 them the harbingers of peace, enjoining them, 
 into whatever house they entered to implore for 
 it the same heavenly blessing : " Into whatever 
 house ye shall enter, say first, peace be to this 
 house." Luke x. 5. His Church, guided by the 
 spirit of her divine founder, directs her ministers 
 in visiting the sick, to make use of the same 
 pious salutation, "Peace be to you." — Tobias, when 
 he heard this salutation addressed to him, not 
 knowing as yet who the stranger was, thought 
 that the joy which the young man wished him, 
 might be a mere human joy, such as worldlings 
 seek in the pursuit of earthly pleasures. 
 
 Ver. 12. And he (Tobias) said: What manner of joy shall 
 be to me., who sit in darkness, and see not the light of 
 heaven ? 
 
 This holy man had resigned himself with the 
 
190 HOMILIES ON 
 
 most perfect submission to the will of God under 
 the severe affliction of his blindness. The holy 
 Scripture testifies that he murmured not, but 
 gave thanks to God all the days of his life. In 
 his reply, therefore, to the Angel on this occasion, 
 he signifies, that, as heaven had deprived him 
 of that faculty upon which worldly pleasure so 
 much depends, he had bid adieu to earthly joys, 
 and had fixed his desires of comfort on the solid 
 happiness in a future state, which he trusted 
 would be the reward of his cheerful submission 
 to the appointments of Providence. We can 
 hardly imagine a more severe trial than that 
 which had befallen Tobias in his blindness, and 
 he himself seems, by his reply to the Angel, to 
 have been fully sensible of thtr weight of his 
 affliction : " What manner of joy shall be to 
 me who sit in darkness, and see not the light 
 of heaven." Yet, on the other hand, guided by 
 that solid virtue which chastens and keeps within 
 proper bounds the feelings of nature, he bears his 
 affliction, not only without murmuring, but with 
 interior joy. 
 
 If it be so great a misfortune to be deprived 
 of the sight of our bodily eyes, how much more 
 dreadful an evil is it to be deprived of the light 
 of the soul, which is no other than God himself, 
 the eternal light, without whom all within us 
 is darkness and death itself! Such is the un- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 191 
 
 happy state of every soul that is in a state of 
 wilful sin. Ah ! how many are there thus spiri- 
 tually blind, yet insensible of their unhappy 
 condition ! Pray for all such, my beloved brethren, 
 I conjure you by the bowels of the mercy of 
 Christ Jesus ; pray that God will send some one 
 of his Angels, that is, his ministers, to work 
 their cure, as he sent his Angel for the relief 
 of Tobias. 
 
 Ver. 13c And the young man said to him: Be of good courage, 
 thy cure from God is at hand. 
 
 Tobias having mentioned his affliction, the 
 Angel consoles him with the assurance that God 
 is about to remove the cause of it, by restoring 
 his sight. To this the holy man, as he did not 
 yet know that it was an Angel who addressed 
 him, made no reply, but resolved with perfect 
 resignation to await the dispositions of divine 
 Providence. He proceeds to make the necessary 
 inquiries respecting the guide who had offered 
 to conduct his son. 
 
 Ver. 14. And Tobias said to him: Canst thou conduct my son 
 to Gabelus, at Rages, a city of the Medes : and when thou 
 
 shalt return, I will pay thee thy hire 15. And the Angel 
 
 said to him, I will conduct him thither, and bring him back 
 
192 
 
 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 to thee. And Tobias said to him : I pray thee, tell me, of 
 
 what family, or what tribe art thou? 17. And Raphael 
 
 the Angel answered : Dost thou seek the family of him thou 
 
 hirest, or the hired servant himself to go with thy son? 
 
 18. But lest I should make thee uneasy, I am Azarias the son 
 
 of the great Ananias 19. And Tobias answered : Thou art 
 
 of a great family, but I pray thee, be not angry that I 
 
 desired to know thy family 20. And the Angel said 
 
 to him, I will lead thy son safe, and bring him to thee 
 
 again safe 21. And Tobias answering, said, May you 
 
 have a good journey, and God be with you in your way, 
 
 and his Angel accompany you 22. Then all things 
 
 being ready that were to be carried in their journey, Tobias 
 bid his father and mother farewell, and they set out both 
 together. 
 
 In the questions which Tobias put to the 
 angel Raphael, whom he thought to be in reality 
 that which he was in appearance, a young man 
 of the race of Israel, this holy man was not 
 prompted by an idle curiosity, but an earnest 
 desire of providing for the welfare of his son, 
 by entrusting him in the hands of a person on 
 whose prudence and virtue he could rely. The 
 Angel, to remove his anxiety, tells him his name, 
 that is, the name of the person whom Providence 
 had appointed him to represent, and who ap- 
 pears, by the satisfaction which this name gave 
 to the good Tobias, to have been one of this 
 holy man's acquaintance. Satisfied that the guide 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 1&3 
 
 v/ho had offered his services might safely be en- 
 trusted with the care of his son, Tobias implores 
 the blessing of heaven upon their journey, and 
 prays that his good Angel may accompany them 
 on their road. His prayer had already been heard 
 and anticipated by the bounty of God. The 
 attendance of the angel Raphael on the young 
 Tobias, is an emblem of the invisible assistance 
 afforded us during our mortal pilgrimage by the 
 Angels appointed by Providence to guard us. 
 Hearken then to the words w r hich God addressed 
 to his people in the desert, and consider them 
 as directed to each of you : " Behold I send my 
 Angel before you, to guard you in the way, 
 and to lead you into the promised land. Re- 
 spect his presence, and despise him not, for h^ 
 is invested with my authority," Exod. xxiii. go, 
 

 FIFTEENTH HOMILY, 
 
 Chap. V. ver. 23. And when they were departed, his mother 
 began to weep, and to say : Thou hast taken the staff of our 
 
 old age, and sent him away from us 24. I wish the 
 
 money for which thou hast sent him, had never been 
 
 25. For our poverty was sufficient for us, that we might ac- 
 count it as riches, that we saw our son. 
 
 A he character of Anna, the wife of Tobias, 
 was, as I have before observed to you, my be- 
 loved brethren, very different from that of her 
 husband. Tobias, animated by a true spirit of 
 religion, views the hand of God in every cir^ 
 cumstance that befalls him ; and, anxious only 
 for the fulfilment of the divine will, relies with 
 confidence on the protection of that Almighty 
 Being who never forsakes those who put their 
 trust in him. On the other hand, Anna, guided 
 by a worldly spirit, and acting from the impulse 
 of the feelings of nature, studies the gratification 
 of her own will, is disheartened at the least dif- 
 ficulty, is out of humour at every little trial, 
 and frets at the dispositions of divine Providence, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 195 
 
 because she looks no further than present enjoy- 
 ment, and considers not that the momentary tri- 
 bulations of this life are designed to work for us 
 an eternal weight of glory in the life to come. 
 In this her want of faith and confidence in the 
 goodness of God, Anna has but too many imi- 
 tators among Christians, who by their murmuring 
 and impatience under the trials which Providence 
 in it's mercy ordains for their spiritual good and 
 the exercise of their virtue, lose all the merit 
 of then* afflictions, and make them a source of 
 real misery, both temporal and eternal. Anna, 
 who, on a former occasion, had complained so 
 much of the evil of poverty, now murmurs 
 and is uneasy because she is for a short time 
 deprived of the sight of her son, though divine 
 Providence had given her such plain proofs that 
 her son was under it's holy care and protection, 
 and though his journey was undertaken with a 
 view to remove that very -poverty. Tobias seeing 
 her affliction, endeavours to console her by in- 
 stilling into her breast the same holy sentiments 
 of piety which governed his own heart. 
 
 Ver. 26. And Tobias said to her: Weep not, our son will arrive 
 thither safe, and will return safe to us, and thy eyes shall 
 
 see him 27. For I believe that the good Angel of God 
 
 doth accompany him, and doth order all things well that 
 are done about him, so that he shall return to us with 
 
 02 
 
196 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 joy 29. At these words his mother ceased weeping, 
 
 and held her peace. 
 
 Though the holy Tobias did not yet know that 
 the stranger who had offered to conduct his son 
 was actually an Angel of the Lord, yet, from 
 the circumstances which had transpired, he was 
 satisfied that his son was under the special 
 guidance of Providence, and that God would 
 depute one of his holy Angels to direct his steps. 
 These sentiments of Tobias clearly demonstrate 
 that the faith of the ancient servants of God, 
 who preceded the Christian dispensation, respect- 
 ing guardian Angels, was the same as that of 
 the Catholic Church of Christ. What love and 
 gratitude do we not owe to the infinite goodness 
 of our God who has provided such powerful aids 
 for our weakness, and such admirable helps for 
 us in our journey through the desert of this 
 life ! What profound reverence and respect ought 
 we on every occasion to manifest towards that 
 guardian Spirit who is appointed by divine Provi- 
 dence to conduct us safe through the perils of 
 our mortal pilgrimage, to inspire us with holy 
 thoughts, to warn us of danger, to assist us with 
 good counsel, to remove from us what might 
 injure our virtue, and to point out to us, and 
 lead us in, the path to eternal life ! Let us faith- 
 fully imitate the young Tobias in receiving with 
 gratitude the succours of our invisible guide, in 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 197 
 
 listening with docility to his holy counsels, and 
 in faithfully following his heavenly directions- 
 Let us ever make it a part of our morning, 
 noon, and evening devotions, to implore a con- 
 tinuance of his protection. The assurance which 
 Tobias gave to his wife, that their son was under 
 the protection of God's holy Angel, imparted 
 comfort to her, and dried her tears. The holy 
 Scripture then proceeds to recount for us the 
 journey of Tobias in the following manner. 
 
 Chap. VI. ver. 1. And Tobias went forward, and the dog followed 
 
 him, and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris 
 
 2. And he went out to W3sh his feet, and behold a monstrous 
 
 fish came up to devour him 3. And Tobias being afVaid 
 
 of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying : £ir, he cometh 
 
 upon me 4. And the Angel said to him : Take him by 
 
 the gill and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, 
 he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before 
 
 his feet 5. Then the Angel said to him: Take out the 
 
 entrails of this fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and 
 his liver for thee : for these are necessary for useful medi- 
 cines 6. And when he had done so, lie roasted the 
 
 flesh thereof, and they took it with them in the way : the 
 rest they salted as much as might serve them till they came 
 
 to Rages the city of the Medes 7. then Tobias asked 
 
 the Angel, and said to him : I beseech thee, brother Azarias, 
 tell me what remedies are these things good for, which thou 
 hast bid me keep of the fish 8. And the Angel answer- 
 ing, said to him : If thou put a little piece of it's heart upon 
 eoals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of d«- vils, either 
 
 OS 
 
198 HOMILIES ON 
 
 from man or from woman, so that tliey come no more t© 
 
 them 9. And the gall Is good for anointing the eyes in 
 
 which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured. 
 
 That same Almighty Being who created the 
 universe^ is the Sovereign Kuler of it, and governs 
 it as he pleases To promote the designs of his 
 infinite power, his wisdom, and his mercy, he 
 renders all things subservient to his will. Some- 
 times he makes use of even the meanest and 
 most insignificant of his creatures, for the pur- 
 pose of conferring the greatest of his blessings 
 upon man. Of this truth, the Sacraments of the 
 Christian Church are a clear and astonishing 
 proof. In one of them (Baptism) he gives to simple 
 water, by the power of his word, the efficacy 
 of cleansing the soul from the foul stain of sin, 
 adorning it with the brightest ornaments of 
 grace, and raising it to the dignity of a child of 
 God, heir of heaven, and joint-heir with Christ. 
 In another of these sacred institutions, (the holy 
 Eucharist,) God with a truly admirable love, em- 
 ploys the lowly elements of bread and wine as 
 the instruments of producing in our souls the 
 most excellent of all the operations of his in- 
 finite power and goodness, a union with him 
 our God and Saviour. In the Gospel, Jesus 
 Christ is recorded to have made use of clay 
 mixed with spittle, for effecting the cure of a 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 199 
 
 man who had been born blind. On another oc- 
 casion, he orders Peter to cast his hook into the 
 sea and draw out the first fish which he should 
 take, to open it's mouth and take out of it a, 
 piece of money which he should find there. 
 It is thus that God at the same time displays 
 his own omnipotence and confounds the pride 
 of man, making use of the simplest of his crea- 
 tures for bringing about those ends which man, 
 with the utmost exertion of his talents and 
 abilities, could never accomplish. The portion of 
 Scripture which I have chosen for your present 
 instruction, informs us, that at the very same 
 time when Tobias went to the river Tigris tq 
 wash his feet, a monstrous fish, by the order 
 of Providence, made it's appearance, and 
 towards him. Tobias was at first alarmed, an4 
 called out to his guide for protection. The 
 Angel quieted his fears, bidding him lay hold 
 of the fish without the least alarm, and draw 
 it on shore. He did so, and the fish after beat- 
 ing itself about for sqme time, expired at his 
 feet. The Angel then let him know, that divine 
 Providence had sent this fish, partly as a pro- 
 vision for his journey, and partly as a p 
 from the snares of the devil, and for the cure 
 pf his father's blindness It is not for us to 
 search into the ways of Omnipotence, and ask 
 why God acts in. this or that particular manner- 
 
 04 
 
200 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 or how the gall of this fish could prove a remedy 
 for blindness, or it's heart and liver chase away- 
 evil spirits, and allay the heat of concupiscence. 
 Let us content ourselves with adoring the won- 
 ders of the Almighty, and with knowing that 
 it pleased God on this occasion to make use of 
 these humble instruments of his .power and mercy 
 in confounding the power of the proud infernal 
 spirit, and in promoting the happiness of his own 
 faithful servants. 
 
 Vtr. 10. And Tobias said to him (the Angel) : Where wilt 
 
 tfiou that we lodge? 11. And the Angel, answering, 
 
 said: Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsman 
 ef thy tribe, and he hath a daughter, named Sara, but he 
 
 hath no other son or daughter beside her 12. All his 
 
 substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to 
 
 w if t . 13. Ask her, therefore* of her father, and he will 
 
 give her to thee. 
 
 The young Tobias, learning from his guide 
 that he was now drawing near to the end of his 
 journey, began to inquire where himself and 
 his companion were to lodge. The Angel, in 
 satisfying him upon this question, took occasion 
 to open to him some of the secret dispositions 
 of divine Providence in his favour, telling him 
 that he should lodge at the house of Ins relation 
 Raguel, and that he should marry the daughter 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 201 
 
 of his kinsman, and inherit his property. For, 
 according to the Mosaic law, if a parent had no 
 male issue, his daughters inherited his possessions, 
 but with an obligation of marrying a person of 
 their own tribe and family. Tobias was no 
 stranger to the history of Sara, Raguel's daughter, 
 tis appears from his answer to the Angel, when 
 lie had mentioned the subject of marriage to 
 him. For, 
 
 Ver, 14. Then Tobias answered, and said : I hear that she hath 
 been given to seven husbands, and they all died : moreover 
 
 I nave heard that a devil killed them 15. Now I am 
 
 afraid lest the same thing should happen to me also: and 
 whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring 
 down their old age with sorrow to hell, 
 
 The miserable and untimely death of Sara's 
 seven husbands, who, in punishment of their lust, 
 had been delivered by the justice of God to 
 the power of an evil spirit for destruction, had 
 reached the ears of the young Tobias, and filled 
 him with terror. Not knowing as yet the cause 
 of their unhappy end, lie trembled lest the same 
 fate might befall himself; and Being ever alive 
 to the most tender feelings of filial affection, he 
 feared lest by a similar misfortune he should 
 overwhelm his aged parents with affliction, and 
 bring down their gi-ey >rrow to the 
 
202 HOMILIES OX 
 
 grave. The holy Scripture uses the word hell 
 in three different significations, generally ao mean- 
 ing the place of eternal misery ; hut sometimes, 
 in the sense of the word grave ; or, at other times 
 as the place of rest, in which the souls of the 
 ancient Saints were detained until the accom- 
 plishment pf the redemption wrought by Jesus 
 Christ. In either of the latter significations it 
 may be understood in the present portion of holy 
 writ. 
 
 Ver. 1 6. Then the angel Raphael said to him: Hear me, and 
 I will shew thee who they are over whom the devil can 
 prevail 17- For they who in such manner receive matri- 
 mony, as to shut out God from themselves and their mind, 
 and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and the 
 mule, which luive not understanding, over them the devil 
 hath power. 
 
 Tobias having mentioned his fear of asking 
 Raguel's daughter in marriage, in consequence of 
 the dreadful fate of her former husbands, the 
 Angel gives him to understand that their misera- 
 ble death was the punishment of their lust, and 
 of the criminal dispositions with which they en- 
 tered into the state of matrimony. The sin of 
 lust, which is in all it's branches and in every 
 state of life so abominable in the sight of God, 
 
THE BOOK OF T03IA.S. 203 
 
 is the peculiar object of his hatred and of his 
 vengeance, when committed by married persons 
 in direct violation of the sanctity of their state. 
 God himself is the author and institutor of mar- 
 riage. He was pleased at first to appoint it as 
 the means of continuing to the end of time a 
 race of beings, who, gifted with an immortal 
 soul capable of rising to the knowledge and 
 love of him their Creator, might form a con- 
 stant succession of his true adorers and faithful 
 servants. The glory of God is therefore the end 
 of marriage, and his will is it's rule. Whatever, 
 either in the intention with which persons enter 
 into marriage, or in the use of marriage, is not 
 referred to this end, or is not directed by this 
 rule, is irregular and vicious, and sometimes even 
 highly criminal. In marriage every thing is ho- 
 nourable, every thing is holy, if we consider it 
 according to the design with which God insti- 
 tuted it. Much more is it holy, if we consider 
 it in the dignity to which Jesus Christ has raised 
 it as a sacrament of the New Law, and as a myste- 
 rious sign of the indissoluble union which sub- 
 sists between Jesus Christ and his chaste spouse 
 the Church. Such is the light in which St. Paul 
 represents it (Eph. v. 23.), and the Church makes 
 use of the same terms in conferring the nuptial 
 benediction, in order to impress upon the minds 
 of her children the holiness of disposition with 
 
"U4> HOMILIES ON 
 
 which they should enter the married state. To 
 engage in that sacred state with no other in- 
 tention than that of satisfying a base and carnal 
 passion, is to imitate the horse and the mule, 
 who, being void of understanding, know no other 
 rule than the momentary impulse of nature ; it 
 is prostituting one of the most sacred institutions 
 of the Deity, and voluntarily delivering oneself 
 to the power of the devil, like the seven first 
 husbands of Sara, for eternal destruction. But, 
 alas ! my beloved brethren, how small is the 
 number of young persons, who entering into the 
 state of matrimony, are careful to banish from 
 their souls every unbecoming motive of carnal 
 passion, worldly interest, and the like ! How few, 
 by a pure intention of God's glory, and of having 
 a family whom they may bring up in the fear 
 and love of God; by watchfulness over their 
 conduct, and by frequent and fervent prayer, 
 endeavour to draw down the blessing of heaven 
 upon their marriage ! How few among those, 
 who are already married, live up to the holiness 
 of their state, and sanctify the use of marriage 
 by a holy intention, and by abstaining from all 
 actions contrary to the end for which it was 
 instituted ! Unhappily the greater part of those 
 who engage in matrimony, either by unguarded 
 conduct beforehand, or by having no other ends 
 in view when they enter into matrimony than 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 205 
 
 the gratification of their passions, or by unbe- 
 coming liberties afterwards, shut out God from 
 their hearts, draw down a curse upon themselves 
 and their families, and are too often given over 
 to the power of the devil. But do you, dear 
 Christians, to whom I am now addressing my- 
 self on so important a point of duty, give ear 
 to the lessons which the Angel addressed to the 
 young Tobias respecting his marriage. 
 
 Ver. .18. But thou, when thou shalt take her, go into the cham- 
 ber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and 
 
 give thyself to nothing else but to prayer with her. 
 
 19. And on that night, lay the liver of the fish on the fire, 
 
 and the devil shall be driven away 20. But the second 
 
 night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy 
 
 Patriarchs 21. And the third night thou shalt obtain 
 
 a blessing, that sound children may be born of thee 
 
 22. And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the 
 virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of 
 children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou maye-t 
 obtain a blessing in children. 
 
 Some part indeed of the Angel's advice to 
 Tobias, understood literally, regarded that holy 
 young man in particular, and consequently is not 
 meant to apply to others ; such as the abstaining 
 for three nights from the consummation of mar- 
 riage, the burning of the liver of the fish, and 
 
206 HOMILIES ON 
 
 the like. But what is spiritually meant by this 
 part of the Angel's advice, is applicable to all 
 Christians who engage in marriage j that they 
 should take care to enter that holy state free 
 from the violence of passion, and consecrate to 
 God their first union by a pure intention, an 
 upright desire and holy prayer; that as Tobias 
 by burning the liver of the fish drove away 
 the devil, they should carefully banish all carnal 
 desires, destroy the power of concupiscence, by 
 a pure motive of the love of God, and by fer- 
 vent united prayer implore his blessing upon 
 their union, both for themselves individually, and 
 the fruit of their marriage. The Ansel exhorts 
 Tobias to take the virgin with the fear of the 
 Lord. These few words point out a rule for the 
 use of the marriage-bed. This use is holy and 
 lawful whenever it is accompanied by the fear 
 of the Lord, that holy fear which excludes from 
 the heart and intention every thing that would 
 offend Him who is infinite purity and holiness. 
 Let not married persons deceive themselves by 
 imagining that, because they are married, every 
 thing which passion suggests is lawful. To think 
 thus, is to be ignorant of the very first principles 
 of religion. The end of marriage is, as I have 
 shewn you, the glory of God and the generation 
 of children. Whatever is opposite to this end 
 in the conduct of married persons, is a horrible 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 207 
 
 crime ; a profanation of their holy state. What- 
 ever does not tend to this end, is in itself irregular 
 and displeasing before God. Nor are married per- 
 sons exempt from sin, if they seek for the mere 
 satisfying of carnal pleasure in the use of marriage, 
 rather than the fulfilment of the end for which 
 it was instituted. Would to God, that all mar- 
 ried persons were impressed with a due sense of 
 the holiness of their state, and the duties which 
 it imposes upon them ! But, alas ! how little are 
 these duties known ; how seldom are they thought 
 of; and, consequently, how few are the marriages 
 which are accompanied with the blessing of hea- 
 ven ! How great is the number of those which 
 have an evident curse entailed upon them, both 
 for time and eternity ! — As the state of marriage 
 is that which the greater part of mankind em- 
 brace, it is most undoubtedly true, that the happi- 
 ness or misery of a great proportion of mankind, 
 depends upon the manner in which they engage 
 in it. Sensible of this truth, I earnestly conjure 
 you to whom I now address myself, ever to bear 
 in mind the holiness of that state, and the end 
 for which it was instituted. If you are already 
 engaged in matrimony, endeavour to make your- 
 selves acquainted with every branch of the truly 
 important duties of your state, and carefully ab- 
 stain from whatever is contrary to the holy use 
 of marriage. If you are looking forward to that 
 
268 HOMILIES ON 
 
 state of life, have chiefly in view the glory of 
 God, and the sanctincation of your souls ; be 
 watchful over all your conduct, especially when 
 in company with those for whom you entertain 
 an aifection, and take care that no unbecoming 
 thought, desire, or action, stain the purity of 
 soul, or shut the door of your heart against the 
 grace and love of God. By fervent prayer, by 
 faithfully following the advice of your director, 
 and by frequenting the holy sacraments, secure 
 the benediction of heaven upon your undertaking. 
 Thus will you share in the blessings which the 
 Angel promised to Tobias ; viz. the devil shall 
 be driven far from you ; your name shall be 
 enrolled with the names of the holy patriarchs, 
 as inheritors of the divine blessing, and heirs of 
 eternal life ; and lastly, the blessing of heaven 
 shall extend to the fruit of your marriage, and 
 shall communicate itself to your children, who, 
 blessed with soundness and health of bod}', and 
 with virtuous dispositions of soul, shall prove a 
 source of joy and comfort to you during life, and 
 at the last day shall enter with you into the 
 possession of that eternal bliss which God has 
 promised to those who, like Abraham, faithfully 
 serve and adore him. 
 
SIXTEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap, VII. ver. 1. And they went in to Raguel, and Raguel 
 
 received them with joy 2. And Raguel looking upon 
 
 Tobias, said to Anna his wife : How like is this young man 
 
 to my cousin? 3. And when he had spoken these words, 
 
 he said: Whence are ye, young men our brethren? 
 
 4. But they said : We are of the tribe of Nephthali of the 
 
 captivity of Ninive 5. And Raguel said to them : Do you 
 
 know Tobias my brother ? And they said : We know him. 
 
 6. And when he was speaking many good things of him, 
 
 the Angel said to Raguel : Tobias, concerning whom thou 
 
 inquirest, is this young man's father 7- And Raguel 
 
 went to him, and kissed him with tears, and weeping upon his 
 neck, said : A blessing be upon thee, my son, because thou 
 
 art the son of a good and most virtuous man 8. And 
 
 Anna his wife and Sara their daughter wept. 
 
 JL obias and his heavenly guide on their arrival 
 at the house of his kinsman Raguel, with whom 
 the Angel had told him that they should lodge, 
 is received with that hearty welcome, and those 
 outward marks of joy, that plainly designated the 
 inward satisfaction which Raguel felt in dis- 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 charging the duties of friendship and hospitality. 
 A cheerful countenance adds greatly to the weight 
 of a favour ; while, on the other hand, coldness 
 of behaviour, and a seeming reluctance in exer- 
 cising an act of friendship or benevolence, take 
 away a great part of the merit as well as the 
 value of a kind action. It was the saying of a 
 heathen philosopher, that he who gives readily 
 and cheerfully, confers a double favour : " Bis dot, 
 qui citd dat." — In directing us to fulfil the obli- 
 gations of kindness and benevolence towards 
 our fellow-creatures, the holy Scripture mentions 
 cheerfulness as one of the dispositions that should 
 always accompany such actions. " God," says 
 St. Paul, " loves a cheerful giver." " Use hospita- 
 lity" says St. Peter, " one towards another, with- 
 out murmuring. As every man hath received 
 grace, ministering the same one to another, as 
 good stewards of the manifold grace of God" 
 1 Peter iv. 8, 9. Moreover, in exercising friend- 
 ship and hospitality towards either friends or 
 strangers, we must not only banish all coldness, 
 murmuring, and seeming reluctance, we must be, 
 careful not only to avoid all sordid or worldly 
 motives from such, actions, but sanctify them by 
 a pure intention of pleasing God. In them we 
 perform one of the most common, though at the 
 same time one of the most amiable duties of 
 brotherly love. It was thus that the holy Tobias, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. SH 
 
 his kinsman Raguel, and the great father of 
 these and the other servants of God among his 
 chosen people, Abraham, exercised the duties of 
 benevolence, friendship, and hospitality, towards 
 their fellow-creatures. Raguel, as soon as the 
 Angel and Tobias entered his house, received his 
 visitors with joy ; though he did not yet know 
 who they were, or whence they came. Listen- 
 ing only to the dictates of ,a kind and benevolent 
 heart, he gave them a truly hospitable reception. 
 In the countenance of the young Tobias he dis- 
 covered a resemblance of his own virtuous rela- 
 tion, the elder Tobias ; for whom he appears .to 
 have entertained not only the affection of a friend, 
 but a very high degree of veneration, on account 
 of Ins great virtues. As soon, therefore, as he had 
 welcomed the strangers to his house, he asked 
 them whence they came ; and hearing that they 
 came from Ninive, and belonged to the tribe of 
 Nephthali, he inquired after his old and virtuous 
 friend Tobias, whom he called his brother, that is, 
 in the language of Scripture, a near relation. 
 Being told that his visitors were well acquainted 
 with that holy man, Raguel could no longer re- 
 frain from expressing his sentiments of esteem and 
 veneration for him. He spoke with admiration 
 of his virtues, saying many good things of him, 
 and passed a high encomium on his holy life and 
 edifying conduct. 
 
 P % 
 
212 
 
 HOMILIES OX 
 
 See, dear Christians, the force of good example, 
 how widely it's influence spreads, how great is 
 it's efficacy, and how admirable it's fruits i Though 
 Tobias was, in comparison with many others, an 
 obscure individual, the fame of his virtues had 
 reached his brother captives at a very great dis- 
 tance, and no doubt many were influenced by 
 his holy example to lead a life of piety, to bear 
 their afflictions with resignation, to despise the 
 world, and to consecrate their lives to the prac- 
 tice of virtue. " To every one," says the wise 
 man, " hath God given charge of his neighbour." 
 (Wisdom). And while, on the one hand, we are 
 bound to abstain from whatever in word or action 
 might prove an injury to our neighbour, especi- 
 ally as to his soul ; we are, on the other hand, 
 under a strict obligation of endeavouring to pro- 
 mote his spiritual welfare and salvation, at least 
 by holy example and pious conversation. That 
 there is nothing which has so powerful an influ- 
 ence on the conduct of mankind as example, 
 every one who pays the slightest attention to 
 what daily passes in the world must be fully 
 convinced. Alas! what more successful engine 
 does the devil employ for the destruction of souls, 
 than the evil example of the wicked. Like a 
 torrent unrestrained in it's devastating course, evil 
 example sweeps down every thing before it, and 
 not only hurries along with it into the infernal 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 213 
 
 gulph the vicious, the tepid, and the lukewarm 
 Christian, but too often undermines the founda- 
 tions of solid piety, and proves the eternal des- 
 truction of many who would have been Saints 
 had they possessed the courage to withstand the 
 force of evil example. On the other hand, how 
 efficacious is the edifying example of but one of 
 God's faithful servants ! How many by that ex- 
 ample are reclaimed from the path of vice ; how 
 many are confirmed in virtue, encouraged to fight 
 manfully the battles of their Lord, taught to 
 triumph over the obstacles to salvation, and con- 
 ducted to their crown ! The gift of tongues, and 
 the power of working miracles, which the Al- 
 mighty bestowed upon the first Christians, did 
 not half so much towards effecting the conver- 
 sion of the heathen world, as did their holy lives, 
 their edifying conversation, and the bright light 
 of their incomparable virtues. Their preaching, 
 unaccompanied by the practice of virtue, would 
 have been an empty sound ; their miracles might 
 have excited momentary sensations of wonder and 
 astonishment ; but unsubdued by conviction, the 
 heathens would have entertained no other senti- 
 ments than those of contempt for the preachers, 
 and indifference to their cause. But when they saw 
 those who thus announced themselves as having 
 credentials from heaven to communicate tidings 
 of salvation to the world, exhibiting at the same 
 
 P3 
 
214 HOMILIES ON 
 
 time a bright example of every virtue ; whetr 
 they beheld them pious, meek, disinterested, poor 
 in spirit, despising the world, charitable even to 
 their greatest enemies, and willing to lay down 
 their lives for the glory of God and the salvation 
 of souls; unable to withstand the bright glare 
 of conviction which the torch of truth thus pre- 
 sented to their minds, they renounced their preju- 
 dices, embraced not only the doctrines but the 
 virtues of their Apostles, and animated with the 
 same spirit, ennobled and propagated the faith by 
 a similar edifying and holy example. 
 
 You, my beloved brethren and fellow-members* 
 of the holy Catholic Church, have, by a distin- 
 guishing act of God's mercy, been called to the 
 true faith ; you have succeeded to this rich and 
 glorious inheritance, the pledge of God's love 
 for you, and the foundation of your own best 
 hopes. Like the first Christians, you live in the 
 midst of those who view the faith which you 
 profess through the medium of misrepresentation 
 and prejudice, and look upon yourselves with an 
 eye of ridicule and contempt. Cut off from the 
 unity of the fold of Christ, and strangers to the 
 blessings that are to be found only in the com- 
 munion of the true Church of Christ, they have 
 the strongest of claims upon your charity and 
 compassion. You are bound daily to implore at 
 the throne of mercy, the grace of their conversion ; 
 
THE BOOK OP TOBIAS 215 
 
 and much more are you under the strictest obli- 
 gation of labouring to bring them to the l:now- 
 ledge of the truth by good example. If your 
 souls are warmed with one spark of gratitude 
 for the inestimable spiritual benefits which God 
 has bestowed upon yourselves ; if your breasts 
 feel the least glow of true charity ; if you are 
 animated with any real love for that Saviour 
 who gave himself a victim for man; can yoii 
 behold those souls, for whom he died no less than 
 for you, wandering in the paths of infidelity or 
 error, in danger of eternal destruction, and not 
 feel the obligation of endeavouring* by a holy 
 life and pious conversation, to procure their con- 
 version, and promote their eternal salvation? 
 They hear you continually boasting of the holi- 
 ness of your faith, and of the Church to which 
 you belong ; and sometimes, perhaps, witness the 
 able defence which you make of your religion, 
 when attacked, in the way of argument. But, 
 believe me, they judge of the merits of your 
 cause, not by your words or professions, but by 
 your actions and your lives. If, then, while they 
 hear you loudly proclaiming and defending the 
 truth of your faith by argument, they see your 
 lives pass in a slothful neglect of some of the 
 most essential duties of a Christian, or stained 
 with crimes that would disgrace even a heathen, 
 either proud of their own moral superiority, or 
 
 P4 
 
£16 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 disgusted with your shameful inconsistency of 
 conduct, they become more deeply rooted than 
 ever in their prejudices against your religion, and 
 more ready to believe the foul aspersions thrown 
 out against your faith. My God ! what accu- 
 mulated vengeance will one day fall upon the 
 heads of those unhappy men who shall stand 
 accused of having thus brought a scandal upon 
 religion by their wicked lives, and of having 
 proved an obstacle instead of a help to the con- 
 version and salvation of their neighbour ! When 
 I look at the lives of some among you who now 
 hear me, and reflect at the same time on the 
 terrible account which God will one day demand 
 from you, of the use you have made of the true 
 faith, and the blessings attached to it, I am struck 
 with horror, and could almost wish, with the 
 Apostle, that I might sink into annihilation ra- 
 ther than witness the dreadful scene of your 
 judgment and condemnation. In labouring, as 
 a minister of God, to reclaim the ignorant and 
 the sinner, there is no greater obstacle which I 
 meet with than the evil examples and disedifying 
 lives of those among you who live not up to 
 the holiness of your faith. Oh! that I could 
 prevail upon every one of you, my dear flock 
 in Jesus Christ, by a virtuous conduct, and the 
 steady practice of every duty, to labour with 
 me in propagating the true faith, and promoting 
 
THT BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
 .Ivation 01 iat happy fruits of re- 
 
 pentance would then crown the prayers and tan 
 of our holy mother the Church on earth, and 
 
 j the blessed spirits in heaven ! WJ 
 glorious eonversio adorn the Catholic 
 
 faith, and increase the happy numbe 
 professors, destined to be heirs of eternal lii 
 
 re is nor one among you, my beloved brethren, 
 however obscure may be the station in which 
 Providence has placed him, who has it not in 
 . by a holy example, to aid the labours 
 of his pastor, to co-operate with him in pro- 
 curing the salvation of some one or other of 
 those dear hom Christ died, and thus 
 
 secure to himself a share in that reward which 
 is promised to those who instruct others unto 
 
 tice: "they shall shine like stars for a".'. 
 nity* Impressed with these truths, which I have 
 e deliverer a. and sei : the obli- 
 
 gation under wi u are, of endeavouring, 
 
 at least by good example, to promote your 
 neighbours salva: be the constant prac- 
 
 tice of your lives to manifest in your actions 
 the holiness of the faith which you profess. Like 
 the good Tobias, spread around you the sweet 
 odour of a holy life and virtu satiorL 
 
 Let your light so shine before men, that they 
 may see your good mrks, and glorify your 
 Far:, wko is in heaven? Matt v. 16. * Having 
 
218 HOMILIES ON 
 
 your conversation good among the Gentiles, (the* 
 adversaries of your faith,) that whereas they speak 
 against you as evil doers, considering you by 
 your good works, they may give glory to God in 
 the day of visitation." 1 Peter, ii. 12. But, my 
 beloved brethren, the happy fruits of your good 
 example and virtuous lives will not be confined 
 to the propagation of the true faith, and the con- 
 version and salvation of your neighbours. Great 
 indeed as are these fruits, there are other no 
 less happy effects which will flow from your 
 edifying lives. The heart may conceive, but 
 neither the tongue nor the pen can express, that 
 delicious feast of the soul, that inward delight 
 and satisfaction, that holy and unmixed joy, which 
 enraptures the mind at the consciousness of a 
 life spent in virtue ! The past time full of merit, 
 the present gilded with hope, the future crowned 
 with a glorious reward, all present to the soul 
 of the truly just man and faithful servant of 
 God, an uninterrupted source of consolation and 
 holy joy, and furnish him upon earth with a 
 foretaste of heaven. 
 
 Moreover, the virtuous Christian reaps another 
 most excellent fruit of his holiness of life, and 
 pious example, in the blessing of heaven upon 
 those who are most dear to him, his children and 
 family. He beholds these tender plants, nurtured 
 by his care, and trained by his holy example, 
 
TEtE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 2l# 
 
 growing to maturity, rich in every virtue, prop- 
 ping and consoling his declining years, and throw- 
 ing a shade of comfort and joy even over his 
 grave. This the holy Scripture unfolds to us in 
 the history of Tobias, both in the present portion 
 of it under our consideration, and in other parts 
 of it. Raguel, who had long been an admirer 
 of the virtues of Tobias, was overjoyed when 
 he found that his visitors were acquainted 
 with that holy man. But, when informed by 
 the Angel that the young man who accompanied 
 him was the son of his virtuous friend, he could 
 no longer restrain his tears. Himself, his wife, 
 and daughter, wept for joy ; beholding in the 
 young Tobias the happy fruits of his father's 
 pious care, and an image of his virtue. Raguel, 
 falling upon the young man's neck, embraced 
 him, and exclaimed : " A blessing be upon thee, 
 my child, because thou art the son of a good 
 and most virtuous man." 
 
 Heaven, my beloved brethren, rewards in 
 children the virtues of their parents. As you 
 value then the happiness of your tender offspring, 
 crown all your other endeavours for their good, 
 by a holy and virtuous example. Without this, 
 all the lessons of virtue which you may give 
 them will be fruitless ; accompanied with good 
 example, your lessons will take root in their 
 minds, and bring forth fruit in season. In- 
 
220 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 lieriting from you the rich treasure of virtue, they 
 will inherit together with it, the blessing of 
 heaven. Like the young Tobias, during their 
 journey through this mortal life, they will be 
 under the special guidance of divine Providence ; 
 «ach circumstance of their lives will mark the 
 all-protecting care of the Deity; the Angel of 
 the Most High will guide their steps, direct 
 their ways, counsel them in their doubts, remove 
 their dangers, console their afflictions, receive 
 their expiring breath, and conduct their souls 
 to the mansions of eternal felicity. 
 
SEVENTEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 9. And after they had spoken, Raguel com- 
 manded a sheep to be killed, and a feast to be prepared. 
 
 And when he desired them to sit down to dinner, , 
 
 10. Tobias said : I will not eat or drink here this day, 
 unless thou first grant me my petition, and promise to give 
 me Sara thy daughter. 
 
 ;g?0fltillh 
 
 JL ou have seen, my beloved brethren, the 
 cheerfulness and joy with which Raguel received 
 his visitors, even before he knew who they were, 
 or whence they came. But when he learned that 
 one of these strangers was the son of his revered 
 kinsman Tobias, he wept for joy. As soon as 
 he had given vent to the feelings of nature, and 
 passed a short time in friendly inquiries and 
 social conversation, Raguel ordered a feast to be 
 prepared for the entertainment of his guests; 
 and when it was ready, invited them to dinner. 
 But the young Tobias, who had previously re- 
 ceived instructions from his heavenly guide in 
 what manner he was to act, declared to Raguel, 
 that he would neither eat nor drink in his house 
 unless his kinsman would first consent to give 
 
222 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 him Iris daughter in marriage. This sudden de- 
 claration of Tobias may at first sight appear 
 strange ; but there is no doubt, that, in the 
 conversation which had passed between Raguel 
 and Tobias, the important subject of the mar- 
 riage of his daughter had been touched upon. 
 Indeed the Greek text clears up the difficulty, 
 relating the conversation of these holy men more 
 at length, and mentioning certain circumstances 
 which preceded and naturally led to the appa- 
 rently strange and hasty declaration of the young 
 Tobias. This holy young man, attentive to the 
 Angel's advice and directions, after the first salu- 
 tations of friendship were over, asked Sara in 
 marriage of her father. Raguel, full of af- 
 fection for Tobias, and knowing what had hap- 
 pened to the former husbands of his daughter, 
 at the same time that he expressed the most 
 sincere regard for the young man, advised him 
 to give up all thoughts of the marriage, and 
 rather think of making merry, and enjoying him- 
 self by sitting down to the feast prepared for 
 him. It was then that Tobias, instructed by the 
 Angel, solemnly declared that he would not eat 
 or drink with his kinsman, unless he would first 
 consent to his marriage with Sara. The book 
 of Genesis, xxiv. 35. records an example of a 
 similar behaviour on the part of Abraham's ser- 
 vant, Eliezer ? when he was sent by his master 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 225 
 
 to demand Rebecca in marriage for his son Isaac. 
 Eiiezer being arrived at Jhe house to which he 
 had been sent, was immediately invited to take 
 some refreshment ; but he replied, " I will not 
 cat until I have declared to you the business 
 upon which I am come." In effect, he did not 
 sit down to table until he had received a pro- 
 mise that Rebecca should return with him to 
 espouse his master's son Isaac. 
 
 Another difficulty, arising from the conduct 
 of the young Tobias on this occasion, here pre- 
 sents itself. Is it not astonishing that this holy 
 young man, who 5 in all other circumstances of 
 his life appears to have been influenced by such 
 sentiments of respect and affection for his pa- 
 rents, should have thought of engaging himself 
 in marriage without their consent, nay, without 
 having so much as consulted them ? For, it may 
 be asked, is it not a part of the duty which 
 children owe to their parents, to consult them 
 on this important step, and to follow their di- 
 rections? Yes, dear Christians, it is most un- 
 doubtedly the duty of young persons thus to act, 
 and a duty of strict obligation, from which nothing 
 can excuse them, but either the inability to com- 
 ply with it, or an evident opposition between 
 the will of thek parents and that of Almighty 
 God. It may sometimes happen that vicious 
 or worldly-minded parents, who have nothing 
 
2M HOMILIES ON 
 
 in view but temporal motives, may advise their 
 children to contract marriages which would en- 
 danger their eternal salvation; or, actuated by 
 the same unchristian motives, may oppose their 
 making such an engagement in the married 
 state, as the will of God, learnt by holy prayer 
 and the advice of their director, manifestly points 
 out for them. In such cases, children are cer- 
 tainly to prefer the will of God and their eternal 
 salvation, before the corrupt motives and perverse 
 will of their parents ; but preserving, at the same 
 time, both in their inward sentiment and in their 
 outward behaviour, that respect and affection, 
 from which nothing can dispense them. 
 
 The young Tobias, at the time of his proposal 
 of marriage with Sara, was at the distance of 
 many days' journey from his parents, and it was 
 therefore impossible for him to make known to 
 them his intentions, and ask their consent. Be- 
 sides, he acted on this occasion by the direction 
 of the heavenly guide, whom Providence had 
 deputed to conduct his steps. He did not indeed 
 know as yet that his companion was actually 
 an Angel of the Lord ; but by the piety, pru- 
 dence, and excellent instructions which he had 
 witnessed from his guide, accompanied by the 
 interior motions of grace with which the Holy 
 Ghost at the same time touched his own heart, he 
 was convinced that God spoke by the mouth 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 223 
 
 of his companion and director, and consequently 
 that it was his duty faithfully to put in practice 
 all his counsels and instructions. 
 
 I have before observed to you, my beloved 
 brethren, that the care which the angel Raphael 
 took of the young Tobias^ is an emblem, of tho 
 invisible protection afforded us by the holy Angels 
 whom God has appointed to be our guardians 
 during our mortal pilgrimage. The history of 
 the young Tobias, moreover discovers, to. our 
 view some of those admirable springs by which 
 divine Providence directs the visible creation, and 
 §o disposes both the animate and inanimate part 
 of it as to promote the good of his elect. In 
 the truly important affair of the marriage of 
 Tobias, an affair on which the happiness, of tl\i§ 
 young man for time and eternity so much de- 
 pended, nothing is left that can be ascribed to 
 chance or human prudence ; all is guided and 
 directed by the hand of God in the clearest 
 manner, to shew that a holy and happy marriage 
 is the work of God and not of men. " Father 
 and mother," says the book of Proverbs, " give 
 houses and riches; but it is the Lord himself 
 who gives a wise wife." xix. 14; that is, a wife 
 filled with piety and the. fear of the Lord ; for, 
 in the language of holy Scripture, wisdom and 
 piety are inseparable from each other. The same 
 truth the Church of God inculcates in the prayer* 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 which she offers up at the end of the mass that 
 is celebrated for imploring the blessing of heaven 
 upon a Christian marriage : " O God, who alone 
 art master of the heart of man, who knowest 
 and governest all things by thy Providence, if 
 thou joinest together, no one can separate ; if 
 thou givest a blessing, no one can hinder the 
 salutary effects of thy benediction." 
 
 A holy and happy marriage is therefore the 
 work of God, and at the same time one of his 
 choicest blessings. The Christian who hopes 
 to enjoy this blessing, must dispose himself for 
 it by entering into that holy state with a pure 
 intention of the glory of God, and of answering 
 the end for which matrimony was instituted. 
 But that he may not fail in this truly important 
 step, he must, in the first place, seek instruction, 
 and endeavour to make himself thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the nature of this sacred insti- 
 tution, the dispositions requisite for approaching 
 to it worthily, and the obligations arising from 
 it. For your instruction, my beloved brethren, 
 I intend to give each of these points a full and 
 clear discussion. 
 
 In order to form a just notion of marriage, 
 let us go back to it's first institution by our 
 Creator himself, in the garden of paradise. After 
 the formation of the first man Adam, the book 
 of Genesis, ii. 28, represents Almighty God as 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 2£? 
 
 speaking and acting in the following manner. 
 " The Lord God said : It is not good for man 
 { to be alone. Let us make for him a help like 
 to himself. — Then the Lord God sent a deep sleej> 
 upon Adam ; and while he slept, he took out one 
 of his ribs, and put flesh in the place of it ; and 
 the Lord God formed the woman out of the rib 
 which he had taken from Adam, and brought 
 her to Adam. Then Adam said: this is now 
 bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.— For 
 this reason, man shall leave his father and mother, 
 and shall adhere to his wife, and they two shall 
 be one flesh." These words, which, as the Coun- 
 cil of Trent observes, the first man spoke by the 
 inspiration of the Holy Spirit, teach us that mar- 
 ;iriage, according to it's first institution, is a union 
 of man and woman, formed by God himself, for 
 their mutual comfort during life ; a union more 
 close than that which binds us to those from 
 whom we received our birth ; a union, in fine, 
 which nothing but death can dissolve. " What 
 God hath put together, let no man separate," says 
 our divine Redeemer, speaking of the bond of 
 marriage. Such was the marriage union in it's 
 natural state and primitive institution. But in 
 the New Law, that is, in the Christian dispensa- 
 tion, this natural union is raised to the dignity 
 of a holy union and religious ceremony, blessed 
 with the grace which God, by virtue of the merits 
 
 Q2 
 
228 HOMILIES ON 
 
 and the institution of Jesus Christ, has annexed 
 to the ministry of the Church and the nuptial 
 benediction, in order, says the Council of Trent, 
 to perfect the natural love of man and wife, to 
 confirm their union, and to sanctify married per- 
 sons. 
 
 The apostle St. Paul gives us a still higher 
 idea of the marriage union of Christians, telling 
 us, that it is a sign and mysterious representa- 
 tion of the holy, spiritual, and indissoluble union 
 which subsists between Jesus Christ and his chaste 
 spouse the Church. Explaining this mystery to 
 the Ephesians, he says, " Let women be subject 
 to their husbands in the Lord, for the husband 
 is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of 
 the Church. Therefore, as the Church is subject 
 to Christ, so also let wives be subject to their 
 husbands in all things. And you, husbands, love 
 your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and 
 delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify 
 it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word 
 of life ; that he might present it to himself a x 
 glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor 
 any such thing, but that it should be holy and 
 without bjemish. So also ought men to love 
 their wives as their own bodies. — For this cause 
 shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall 
 cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one 
 flesh. This is a great mystery, or sacrament, I 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 229 
 
 speak in Christ and in the Church." Eph. v. 22. 
 kc. I wish that all Christians who are already 
 engaged, or think of engaging, in the married 
 state, would weigh well these words of St. Paul, 
 and impress upon their minds the holiness of 
 Christian marriage. The Church of God, the 
 faithful interpreter of the divine word, conform- 
 ably to this doctrine of the Apostle, has ever 
 taught that matrimony is dne of the sacraments 
 of the New Law ; that is, one of those excellent 
 institutions which the divine goodness has ap- 
 pointed for conveying to the souls of Christians 
 the grace of God. Matrimony, says the holy 
 Council of Trent, being more excellent in the 
 evangelical law than it was before the coming 
 of Christ, on account of the grace annexed to 
 it by Jesus Christ, it is with reason that the 
 holy Fathers, Councils, and the universal tradi- 
 tion of the Church, have, in every age, taught 
 that it is to be reckoned among the sacraments 
 of the New Law. It is therefore a point of faith, 
 that whoever enters into the married state with 
 proper views and intentions, with purity of con* 
 science, and with an earnest desire of sanctifying 
 his soul and fulfilling the important obligations 
 of matrimony, receives by virtue of this sacred 
 institution, an abundant supply of divine grace 
 to enable him to support the difficulties and to 
 fulfil the duties of that holv state. But this 
 
 Q3 
 
230 HOMILIES ON 
 
 supply of divine grace is given to those only 
 who bring to the sacrament of matrimony the 
 holy dispositions which I have just mentioned. 
 If Christians, therefore, when they engage in ma- 
 trimony, have no other objects in view than the 
 acquirement of a fortune, the possession of beauty, 
 wit or talents, or the gratification of passion, 
 not only are their marriages no better than those 
 of heathens, they are much worse in the sight of 
 God, being so many profanations of one of his 
 most holy and most merciful institutions. 
 
 The apostle St. Paul would have all Christians, 
 as truly followers of Christ, to seek the divine 
 glory in every circumstance of their lives : " Whe- 
 ther you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, 
 do all for the glory of God." 1 Cor. x. 31. Of 
 how much more consequence then, and of how 
 much greater obligation is it, that we should act 
 under the guidance of this truly Christian prin- 
 ciple of seeking the glory of God when we per- 
 form any acts of religion, more especially when 
 we approach to any of the holy sacraments, of 
 which matrimony is one, and one of very great 
 importance, for the happiness of a great pro- 
 portion of Christians is closely connected with it. 
 It is this view to the glory of God, this acting 
 from a spirit of religion, which properly makes 
 a Christian marriage. A good Christian engages 
 in marriage, not from any motive of worldly 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
 231 
 
 Interest, ambition, or passion; he seeks a wife, 
 with whom, in the midst of the employments and 
 occupations of the world, he may dedicate a due 
 proportion of time to the service of God and 
 holy prayer ; who may share with him the pains 
 and pleasures of this life in perfect union of heart 
 and affection, and who may faithfully concur with 
 him in the virtuous education of their common 
 family. These are the objects which Christians 
 should have in view when they think of entering 
 into the married state. 
 
 Having thus explained to you, at length, the 
 nature of matrimony, both in it's primitive in- 
 stitution and in it's new dignity as a sacrament 
 of the Christian Church, together with the views 
 "tytith which Christians are to engage in it, I shall 
 reserve for another discourse the important obliga- 
 tions of married persons. For the present I 
 shall add a few words of advice to young persons 
 on the preparation necessary for those who wish 
 to secure the divine blessing upon their marriage. 
 In the first place, as their engaging in marriage 
 is one of the most important steps of their whole 
 life, and that on which happiness or misery, both 
 for time and eternity, greatly depends, young 
 persons, before they come to any determination 
 on this point, should endeavour, by holy prayer 
 and by fervently approaching from time to time 
 to the holy sacraments of penance and the eu- 
 
 Q4 
 
232 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 charist, to learn the will of God ; whether it is 
 conformable to his will that they should enter 
 into that state, arid more particularly whether 
 the object- of their choice is agreeable to his 
 divine appointment for them. In the second 
 place, after having used their good endeavours 
 to learn the will of God on these two important 
 points, and being satisfied, as far as it is possible 
 to be satisfied in our present state of darkness 
 snd uncertainty, both by their own inward lights 
 and the direction of their pastor, that they are 
 acting in conformity to the divine wall in enter- 
 ing into that holy state, let them continue the 
 same pious means of prayer and the holy sacra- 
 ments, for the purpose of securing a continuance 
 of the divine blessing, and for obtaining the holy 
 dispositions necessary for receiving the graces an- 
 nexed to the sacrament of matrimony. With 
 this view, let them ask the advice of their spiritual 
 director ; and faithfully put in practice the rule 
 of conduct and the pious exercises which he may 
 recommend, for some time before their marriage, 
 as most proper for them. Above all, let them 
 during this time of preparation be more than 
 ordinarily watchful over their actions, more care- 
 ful of flying from sin and the occasions of it. 
 Few, indeed, are the young persons who thus pre- 
 pare themselves for marriage, and few, consequent- 
 ly, are the marriages which are attended with the 
 
tHE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 233 
 
 blessing of heaven upon them. As God is not 
 invited to be present at them, he is not to be 
 found at them. Now, what happiness or what 
 success can be expected from an undertaking 
 which has not his blessing upon it ? How dread- 
 ful must be the effects, both temporal and eternal, 
 of a union, which from it's sinful motives and 
 unworthy dispositions, perhaps too accompanied 
 with a profanation of the sacraments, is an object 
 of horror in the divine sight ! Do you, at least, 
 my dear children in Jesus Christ, sensible of the 
 holiness of the married state, it's difficulties and 
 dangers, it's obligations, and the happiness which 
 attends it when accompanied with the divine 
 blessing, faithfully follow the rules which I have 
 here pointed out for the regulation of your con- 
 duct in preparing for it, "and you will infallibly 
 secure to your souls the graces that will sanctify 
 your marriage, enable you to surmount the diffi- 
 culties of that state, avoid it's dangers, and fulfil 
 all the important obligations of it. 
 
EIGHTEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap, VII . ver. 11. Now when Raguel heard this, he was afraid, 
 knowing what had happened to those seven husbands that 
 went in unto her ; and he began to fear lest it might happen 
 to him (Tobias) also in like manner : and as he was in sus- 
 pense, and gave no answer to his petition, 12. The 
 
 Angel said to him : Be not afraid to give her to this man, 
 for to him who feareth God is thy daughter due to be his 
 wife : therefore another could not have her. 
 
 J. he young Tobias, in obedience to the AngeFs 
 direction, and consequently to the will of heaven, 
 had asked for Sara in marriage; and to shew 
 the steady determination of his mind, had de- 
 clared that he would not eat with Raguel until 
 he had given his consent to the marriage. Raguel, 
 knowing the dreadful misfortune that had befal- 
 len the seven first husbands of his daughter, 
 feared lest a similar untimely end might be the 
 fate of his young kinsman, and therefore made 
 no reply to the urgent request of Tobias. The 
 Angel then interfered, and exhorted Raguel to 
 banish his fears ; assuring him that his virtuous 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 235 
 
 kinsman was the person whom divine Providence 
 had destined for his son-in-law, and that the 
 former husbands of his daughter had not been 
 deserving of her. After this assurance of the 
 Angel, Raguel hesitated not a moment, but ex- 
 pressed his acquiescence to the divine appoint- 
 ment in these words : 
 
 Ver. 13. Then Raguel said: I doubt not God hath regarded my 
 
 prayers and tears in his sight 14. And I believe he hath 
 
 therefore made you come to me, that this maid might be 
 married to one of her own kindred, according to the law of 
 Moses : and now doubt not but I will give her to thee. 
 
 Raguel, faithful to his sacred obligations as a 
 parent, was not content with having given his 
 daughter a virtuous education in her youth, but 
 considered it a part of his duty to pray daily 
 for the blessing of heaven upon his child, that 
 in her riper years she might marry agreeably to 
 the divine will, and conformably to the law of 
 Moses. This law, as I have before observed, re- 
 quired that the different tribes should not inter- 
 mix with each other, but that each one of the 
 children of Israel should select a partner from 
 his or her own tribe. During the captivity and 
 the dispersion of ten of the tribes, the observance 
 of this law was become extremely difficult. Yet 
 Raguel, like the good Tobias, was anxious, not- 
 
?36 HOMILIES ON 
 
 withstanding the difficulty, to see it fulfilled in 
 his family ; and made it the subject of his daily 
 prayers and tears, that heaven would enable his 
 daughter to comply with it. His conduct in this 
 respect is a model, first, for all parents, teaching 
 them that one of their most important duties 
 is daily prayer for their children ; arid, secondly, 
 for every Christian, inculcating to them how 
 much the blessing of heaven depends upon their 
 strictly fulfilling the divine will, and complying 
 with the laws and regulations of the Church 
 respecting marriage. It is the duty of every 
 Christian to be well acquainted with these laws 
 of the Church of God, that they may not draw 
 a curse upon their marriage instead of a blessing, 
 by contracting matrimony within the degrees of 
 relationship forbidden by the Church, or celebra- 
 ting it at the seasons in which the Church pro- 
 hibits the solemnization of marriage. 
 
 Raguel had made it his daily prayer, that his 
 daughter in marrying might fulfil the law and 
 will of God, and his prayer was heard. As soon 
 as the Angel assured him that Tobias was the 
 husband whom God had destined for his daughter, 
 he no longer hesitated a moment to give his con- 
 sent. It is true, that neither Raguel nor Tobias 
 yet knew that the stranger who was with them was 
 an A ngel ; they took him for what he appeared 
 to be, a young man of their tribe. Still, there 
 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 237 
 
 was something in the very mien and behaviour 
 of Raphael, and in his manner of spiking, 
 which appeared more than human, and command- 
 ed the respect and instant assent of those to whom 
 he addressed himself, On all occasions he delivers 
 himself with an air of authority. At his first 
 entrance into the house of the elder Tobias, he 
 tells him with confidence that his cure from God 
 is at hand. He promises, without any hesitation 
 or condition, to conduct his son to Rages, and 
 bring him back in safety. He bids the young 
 Tobias demand Sara in marriage, assuring him 
 of success. In the same authoritative tone, he 
 d" pels the fears and anxieties of Raguel, and 
 speaks as one well acquainted with the designs 
 of Providence ; assuring him that his daughter 
 was destined for the young Tobias, and for that 
 reason no other person had been permitted to 
 have her for a wife. All the holy personages to 
 whom he addresses himself, place in a moment 
 the most implicit confidence in him. The elder 
 Tobias, without the least mistrust or suspicion, 
 confides to this stranger the care of his darling 
 son, for whom he manifests on other occasions 
 .such extreme prudence and caution. The son 
 listens with the utmost docility to the advice of 
 this stranger, and practises it with the greatest 
 .exactness. Raguel, at his bare assurance, changes 
 his sentiments, his fears vanish, a new light breaks 
 
238 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 in upon his mind, and his alarms are succeeded 
 by confidence and hope. He cries out with joy, 
 " Now I doubt not but God hath regarded my 
 prayers and tears in his sight ; and I believe that 
 he hath therefore made you come to me that 
 this maid might be married to one of her own 
 kindred, according to the law of Moses : and now 
 doubt not but I will give her to thee." To what 
 can we ascribe this veneration, confidence, and 
 docility, which these holy men testify for the 
 stranger that addresses them, but to the influence 
 of the Holy Spirit secretly animating them to 
 follow the guidance of him whom it had deputed 
 to be their comfort and protection? Raphael 
 discovers not as yet who he really is; but his 
 words and whole conduct bespeak him something 
 greater than what he appears to be; and the 
 servants of God, with whom he converses, ever 
 ready to testify their obedience to the divine 
 will, hear him with docility, and obey him with- 
 out hesitation. Oh ! that Christians, with a like 
 spirit, would receive and follow the instructions 
 of those whom, with a much greater degree of cer- 
 tainty, God has pointed out to them as the guides 
 whom he has constituted to lead them in the path 
 to salvation, viz. the pastors of the Church ! 
 
 Ver. 1 5. Then taking the right-hand of his daughter, he gave 
 it into the right-hand of Tobias, saying : the God of Abraham, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 239 
 
 and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, be with you, 
 and may he join you together, and fulfil his blessing in 
 you. 
 
 The Catholic Church, in the celebration of ma- 
 trimony, makes use of the same ceremony of 
 joining hands, as an emblem of the holy union 
 of man and wife in marriage. To impress more 
 strongly upon the minds of her children the 
 sanctity of the married state, the Church admi- 
 nisters the sacrament of matrimony with great 
 solemnity. She exhorts those who come to re- 
 ceive this sacrament, to be careful to dispose them- 
 selves for it by prayer and the other means which 
 I pointed out to you in my last instruction ; more 
 especially, by an humble and sincere confession 
 of their sins, and the worthy participation of the 
 body and blood of our Lord. The marriage 
 ceremony is performed publicly, that is, before 
 witnesses; and where the Catholic religion is pro- 
 tected by the civil law, the banns, or public 
 declaration of each intended marriage, is made 
 publicly in the Church on three preceding Sun- 
 days or festival days, in order that the faithful 
 may join together in begging the blessing of 
 heaven upon the married couple, and that if any 
 of the faithful know of any circumstance which 
 would render the marriage either null or criminal, 
 he may lay it open to his pastor, and prevent 
 
240 HOMILIES ON 
 
 the profanation of the sacrament. When nothing 
 is discovered that ought to prevent the intended 
 marriage, the parties present themselves, at the 
 time appointed, before their pastor, who interro^ 
 gates each of them on the subject of their volun- 
 tary consent. After this, the parties testify their 
 acceptance of each other by a union of hands, 
 and the priest confirms that union in the name 
 of the Blessed Trinity. He then blesses the nup- 
 tial ring with a form of prayer adapted to that 
 purpose, and prays God to be present at and give 
 his blessing to the marriage. The holy sacrifice 
 of the mass is then offered up, at which the 
 nuptial benediction is given in the most solemn 
 manner, immediately after the Pater Noster. At 
 the end of the mass, the minister of God turning 
 to the new married couple, says, " May the God 
 of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 
 Jacob, be with you, and may he fulfil his blessing 
 in you ; that you may see your children's children 
 unto the third and fourth generation, and after- 
 wards enjoy everlasting life, through the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns 
 with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ope God, 
 world without end, Amen." This blessing, on 
 the part of the Church, is a prayer that God, 
 who is the source of all benediction, will be with 
 the new married couple^ since he alone can make 
 them happy ; that he will confirm their union with 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 241 
 
 the bond of holy love and affection, and that 
 he will fulfil or complete the blessing by a virtuous 
 offspring, who may inherit the virtues of the 
 ancient patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 and the promises made to them. The solemn 
 ceremony of Christian marriage is concluded by 
 a serious exhortation, which the priest addresses 
 to the married couple, admonishing them of the 
 fidelity which they owe to each other, and ex- 
 horting them to live together in the fear of God, 
 in holy conjugal love and affection, and faith- 
 fully to discharge their respective duties and mu- 
 tual obligations. Now, these duties are of two 
 kinds, both of them of the greatest importance. 
 As I have elsewhere spoken of one branch of 
 these duties, of married persons which regards 
 their children, (see second Homily,) I shall now 
 enter into a detail of the other branch of the 
 duties of married persons, those which they owe 
 reciprocally to each other. These are so clearly 
 marked down in holy Scripture, that little else is 
 necessary but to quote the very words of the in- 
 spired writers. First, St. Paul, in his epistle to 
 the Colossians, iii % 18, says, * Wives, be subject 
 to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord."— * 
 Eph. v. 22. " Let wives be subject to their hus- 
 bands, as to the Lord : because the husband is 
 the head of the wife, as Jesus Christ is the head 
 of the Church, which is his body, and of whicjt* 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 also he is the Saviour." — " Let wives," says $L 
 Peter, 1 Ep. iii. 1, &c. " be subject to their hus- 
 bands, that if any believe not the word, they 
 "may be won (or gained over) without the word, 
 by the conversation of their wives, when they 
 consider the purity of their lives and respectful 
 conversation." He then proposes the examples 
 of the holy women of old, who lived in subjection 
 to their husbands, and especially that of Sarah, 
 who obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord ; " whose 
 daughters," says the Apostle, "you also are, if 
 you do that which is good." In the book of 
 Tobias, Raguel and his wife exhort their daughter 
 to honour her father and mother-in-law, to re- 
 gulate well her household, to govern well her 
 family, and to preserve herself blameless in all 
 things. Tob. x. 13. In several passages, the great 
 apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, admonish Christ- 
 ian wives to love and be faithful to their hus- 
 bands, to watch over their family at home, to 
 take due care of their household, to be chaste, 
 sober, modest in their dress, and humble in their 
 behaviour ; proposing to them as the great end 
 which they are to have in fulfilling these duties, 
 the glory of God, the walking hand in hand with 
 their husbands in the practice of Christian virtues; 
 or, if their husbands are unhappily not in the pale 
 of the true Church, the gaining of them to Christ 
 by a holy life and affectionate conduct. See 
 Titus ii. 1 Tim. ii. 1 Peter iii. 3. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 243 
 
 Secondly, addressing himself to husbands, St. 
 Paul says, Col. iii. 19- " Husbands, love your wives, 
 and be not bitter towards them." — Eph. v. 25. 
 " And you, husbands, love your wives, as Jesus 
 Christ has loved the Church, delivering himself 
 up for it. So ought husbands to love their wives 
 as their own bodies." — St. Peter says, " You, hus- 
 bands, likewise dwell with your wives, according 
 to knowledge, giving honour to the woman as 
 to the weaker vessel, and as your joint-heirs of 
 the grace of life, that your prayers may not be 
 hindered." — In a variety of other passages of holy 
 writ, husbands are exhorted to rule their families 
 with mildness, to behave with all affection and 
 tenderness towards their wives, and to avoid all 
 harshness, and much more all savage fierceness 
 and brutal violence of conduct towards them. 
 God declares, by the prophet Malachy, ii. 13. 
 that he will not hear the prayers of husbands 
 who are guilty of ill-treatment towards their 
 wives. Yet, how often do we witness such 
 brutal conduct in husbands; and how great a 
 proportion of the miseries of married persons 
 owe their origin to a want of this mild and 
 affectionate behaviour ! More especially, when to 
 this defect are joined the mispending of their 
 time in drinking, gaming, &c... and the squander- 
 ing away of the support of their families ! This 
 is. a crime so heinoua in the sight of God, that 
 
2U 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 St. Paul declares, " If any man has not care of 
 his own family, he has denied his faith, and is 
 worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. v. 8. 
 
 Thirdly, married persons, both husband and 
 wife, are strictly charged by the apostle St. Paul, 
 to render faithfully to each other the marriage 
 debt. For either party to refuse this, without 
 mutual consent, is a crime, a heinous violation 
 of duty, and oftentimes the source of the most 
 shocking excesses. 1 Cor. vii. 3. The angel Ra- 
 phael instructed the holy Tobias to discharge 
 this, and the like duties of marriage, in the fear 
 of the Lord, and with purity of intention, that 
 he might not be of the number of those who, 
 following no other rule but their passions, and 
 consequently having banished God from their 
 heart, are delivered over to the devil for eternal 
 destruction. 
 
 Such, my beloved brethren, is an outline, taken 
 from holy Scripture, of the duties which married 
 persons owe to each other. There is no class of 
 duties of greater importance to mankind ; and, 
 unfortunately, none with which the generality 
 of men are less acquainted. To this fatal ig- 
 norance, and the neglect which follows from it, 
 are owing those scenes of misery which so often 
 disgrace the married state, pervert it from it's 
 primitive institution, and render it a kind of 
 hell upon earth. Blinded by passion, or under 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS 245 
 
 the oaiidance of motives that would have shocked 
 a moral heathen ; too often, at least, without one 
 thought of God or their own eternal welfare ; 
 many, who call themselves Christians, rush into 
 matrimony, neither aware of it's sanctity nor 
 acquainted with it's obligations ; perhaps too, in 
 defiance of the laws of the Church. Hence those 
 scenes of domestic strife and contention ; hence 
 too, oftentimes those dreadful profanations of the 
 sacraments, which call down the curse of heaven 
 even in this life ! 
 
 That you, my beloved brethren, may have no 
 share in this unhappiness, I have unfolded to 
 you these important points, the knowledge of 
 which is of so much consequence to you; viz. 
 the sanctity of marriage in it's primitive institu- 
 tion, and much more in it's sacramental dignity ; 
 the pure intention, and the holy dispositions with 
 which you shoidd enter into the married state ; 
 the manner of preparing for it ; the solemn ad- 
 ministration of matrimony, and the sacred obliga- 
 tions and duties which it imposes upon you. 
 Let these important instructions sink deep into 
 your mind, and regulate your conduct by them. 
 Take the young Tobias for your model ; and 
 with the same docility with which he received 
 and fulniled the advice of his guide, treasure up 
 in your souls and follow the lessons which I have 
 given you. If already engaged in the married 
 
 R3 
 
246 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 state, and you are sensible that your conduct in 
 first embracing it, or since you have lived in it, 
 has not been conformable to the line which I 
 have here marked out to you, labour to repair 
 past misconduct by true repentance. If you are 
 looking forward to the married state, let these 
 instructions guide you, and, like Tobias, you will 
 reap the fruits of them in abundance of blessings, 
 both temporal and eternal. Your marriage, being 
 truly Christian, will be a holy union, pleasing 
 before God, fruitful in peace, comfort, and hap- 
 piness during the short course of your mortal 
 pilgrimage, and conducting you to an everlasting 
 union in the mansions of eternal bliss. 
 
 .Before I conclude these important instructions 
 on matrimony, I will add a few words on the 
 manner of keeping a Christian wedding, or the 
 feast which usually follows a marriage. A feast 
 on such occasions, to which the relations and 
 friends of the parties are invited, is by no means 
 improper, being sanctioned by the example ofJesus 
 Christ himself, who attended by invitation at the 
 marriage feast at Cana. But let Christians re- 
 member likewise, to invite Jesus Christ to their 
 wedding-feast, and not give their sanction to any 
 eompany, behaviour, conversation, or diversion, 
 that would profane the presence or forfeit the 
 blessing of this heavenly guest. Let no drunken- 
 ness, debauchery, filthy songs, or loose discourse, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 247 
 
 rob them of the fruit of those divine blessings 
 which their approaching to the sacraments on 
 this solemn occasion was destined to produce in 
 their souls. Let them rejoice, but rejoice in the 
 Lord ; entertaining themselves in the company 
 of the pious, observing sobriety in their feasting, 
 modesty in their conversation, watch fulness over 
 their whole conduct; concluding the day with 
 fervent united prayer, to implore the blessing 
 of heaven upon the consummation of their mar- 
 riage. In these respects, I again propose the 
 marriage of Tobias for your model. When Tobias 
 and .Sara were married, the holy Scripture says, 
 
 Ver. 16. And taking paper, they made a writing of their 
 
 marriage 17. And afterwards they made merry, bless* 
 
 ing God. 
 
 Admire the conduct of these holy persons. Full 
 of simplicity, and guided by a spirit of religion, 
 they wait until after their marriage, without any 
 mistrust or suspicion on either side, for the draw- 
 ing up of the marriage articles. Having thus 
 settled what prudence required as a provision 
 and security for temporal concerns, they sit down 
 to a feast, not with a view to the indulgence of 
 appetite, or from any sensual motive, but chiefly 
 to bless God, to express their joy and thanks- 
 giving for his having, in so truly wonderful a 
 
 R4 
 
24g HOMILIES, kC. 
 
 manner, directed his servants by the finger of 
 his Providence, and brought about this holy 
 marriage union ; a union entered upon with the 
 purest intention, in conformity to his divine will 
 and holy law, and consequently sealed and con- 
 firmed with a promise of his blessings for time 
 and eternity. 
 
NINETEENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. VII. ver. 18. And Raguel called to him Anna his wife, 
 
 and bid her prepare another chamber 19. And she 
 
 brought Sara her daughter in thither, and she wept. 
 
 20. And she said to her : Be of good cheer, my daughter, 
 the Lord of heaven give thee joy for the trouble thou hast 
 undergone. 
 
 J. he two preceding instructions on the im- 
 portant subject of marriage have enabled me to 
 lay before your view, my beloved brethren, the 
 dispositions and intentions with which a Christian 
 should enter into marriage, the graces and bless- 
 ings annexed to the worthy receiving of matri- 
 mony, and the duties and obligations attached 
 to that holy state. I then proposed to you to 
 take the conduct of the holy Tobias for your 
 model on these important points. What follows 
 in the Scripture account of the marriage of this 
 holy young man, is no less worthy of your at- 
 tention, and furnishes no less admirable lessons 
 of instruction. 
 
 According to the custom of the Hebrew nation, 
 
250 HOMILIES ON 
 
 a custom much to be commended for it's strict 
 conformity to decency and purity, Sara was con- 
 ducted to the nuptial bed by her parents, some 
 time before her husband. On entering the cham- 
 ber prepared for her, she wept : her tears, without 
 doubt, flowing from the remembrance of her 
 past afflictions, and the unhappy fate that had 
 befallen her former husbands. Her mother, see- 
 ing her distress, consoled her with the hope that 
 divine Providence would on this occasion recom- 
 pense her past sorrow and trouble with abundance 
 of joy. 
 
 Chap. VIII. vet. 1. And after they had supped, they brought in 
 
 the young man to her 2. And Tobias, remembering 
 
 the Angel's word, took out of his bag part of the liver, and 
 laid it upon burning coals 3. Then the angel Ra- 
 phael took the devil, and bound him in the desert of 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 When supper was over, Tobias was conducted 
 to the chamber of the bride by her parents, and 
 left alone with her. His first care was to fulfil 
 immediately the advice of the angel Raphael in 
 every particular. The Angel had directed him 
 as soon as he should enter the nuptial chamber 
 to lay the heart and liver of the fish upon burn- 
 ing coals, assuring him that God would, by these 
 simple means, prevent the malice of the devil. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 251 
 
 and preserve his servant. Tobias did as the 
 Angel had advised him; and God, who is ever 
 faithful to his promise, by his Angel chased away 
 the evil spirit that had been the instrument of 
 his vengeance against the former wicked husbands 
 of Sara, and permitted not the devil to exercise 
 the power before allowed him, except at a great 
 distance from the spot where Tobias and Sara 
 were. Happy obedience, which proved to this 
 holy man the source of so many and such dis- 
 tinguished blessings from heaven ! — Tobias knew 
 not that his guide was actually an Angel, deputed 
 to guide him ; but feeling persuaded that Provi- 
 dence had provided him with this faithful con- 
 ductor, he was resolved to obey all his injunc- 
 tions, being assured that his obedience would 
 secure the blessing of heaven. Such are the sen- 
 timents which animate the true servants of God. 
 Their spirit is a spirit of docility and obedience ; 
 but how rarely are this spirit and these senti- 
 ments to be met with among Christians ! How 
 few, like Tobias, are scrupulously exact and dili- 
 gent in practising the advice given them for their 
 spiritual improvement by the pastor whom God 
 has appointed to guide their souls ! God has given 
 the assurance of his sacred word, that the pastors 
 of his Church are those whom he himself has 
 commissioned to guide us, that he speaks by 
 their mouth, and that he considers the obedience 
 
252 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 or disobedience shewn to them, as shewn to him- 
 self. Yet, what is the conduct of the generality 
 of Christians ? I speak not here of the little at- 
 tention which is paid by the flock to the public 
 instructions of their pastor in sermons or at 
 catechism ; but, if we may judge from the lives 
 of the greater part of those who at stated times 
 frequent the sacraments, of the little attention 
 which Christians pay to the advice which they 
 receive from their pastor in the sacred tribunal 
 of penance, and the little care which they take 
 to put in practice the lessons there given for the 
 regulation and improvement of their lives. In 
 the sacred tribunal of confession, God lias ap- 
 pointed for every one an Angel, that is, a 
 minister, by whose mouth he delivers those 
 salutary truths which are destined, if faithfully 
 followed, to root out their past spiritual disorders, 
 to infuse into their minds a light that will guide 
 their future steps in the way of virtue, and pre- 
 serve them from the snares laid for them by the 
 malice of the devil. "But the greater part of 
 Christians, contenting themselves with the bare 
 confession of their sins, and the performance of 
 their sacramental penance, think no more of the 
 advice given them in the confessional for the 
 regulation and amendment of their lives, but 
 return with thoughtless unconcern to their usual 
 course of dissipation and intercourse with the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 253 
 
 world. Hence they cany with them the same 
 transgressions again and again to confession, and 
 too often from confession to the grave ; their dis- 
 orders increase and strengthen, and their disobe- 
 dience to the advice of the guide appointed by 
 heaven to conduct them, shuts the door to the 
 divine blessing, and robs them of the fruit which 
 they would otherwise reap to their souls from 
 the sacred institutions of God's mercy, the sacra- 
 ments of his Church. I exhort you, therefore, 
 my beloved brethren, to imitate the conduct of 
 the good Tobias, in making it an invariable rule 
 of your behaviour, when you receive the advice 
 of your spiritual guide, to lay it up carefully in 
 your minds, and with faithful docility practise 
 it in all it's branches. 
 
 The more important part of the Angel's direc- 
 tions to Tobias still remained to be fulfilled ; and 
 notwithstanding the suggestions of flesh and 
 blood, the holy young man diligently complied 
 with it. 
 
 Ver. 4. Then Tobias exhorted the virgin, and said to her : Sara, 
 arise, and let us pray to God to-day, and to-morrow, and 
 the next day : because for these three nights we are joined 
 to God ; and when the third night is over we will be in 
 our own wedlock. ...... 5. For we are the children of Saints, 
 
254. 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 and we must not be joined together like heathens who kno>r 
 not God. 
 
 
 How solid is the piety of this young man I. 
 how holy are his sentiments ! All his thoughts 
 are employed on the securing of the divine bless- 
 ing upon his marriage. At his entrance, there- 
 fore, into the nuptial chamber, he employs the 
 means recommended by the Angel for chasing 
 away the devil ; he banishes every unbecoming 
 thought from his own mind, and calls upon his 
 spouse to unite with him in fervent prayer for 
 the divine favour and protection. It is not time, 
 says he, as yet, to consummate our marriage ; 
 we have a more important task to accomplish — 
 the chaste and holy union of our hearts with 
 God. To promote this holy object, let us put 
 up our united ardent supplications to the throne 
 of grace during the three first nights ; for we 
 are children of those holy patriarchs, who, by the 
 like pious means, sanctified themselves in the 
 married state. We have the happiness to know 
 and to serve the same God as they did : let us 
 then, with a fidelity like their's, give ourselves 
 to him with all our hearts ; let us rise superior 
 to the suggestions of sense and passion ; and let 
 us manifest to the world the difference between 
 the true children of Abraham, and the heathens 
 who know not God. Such were the admirable 
 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 255 
 
 sentiments of this young Israelite ; sentiments 
 which will cover with eternal shame and con- 
 fusion those nominal Christians, whose marriage 
 differs in nothing from that of pagans, except 
 in the mere outward ceremonies of religion which 
 accompany it, but which engage their attention 
 only for a moment, and are presently forgotten ; 
 and their passions are suffered to lead them into 
 those criminal excesses which disgrace the mar- 
 riages of heathens, and are the objects of God's 
 abhorrence. 
 
 Sara obeyed the call of her husband, and united 
 with him in prayer : 
 
 Fer. 6. They both arose, (says the sacred text,) and prayed 
 earnesly both together, that health might be given them. 
 
 The holy Scripture has recorded their prayer 
 as a model for the direction of married persons 
 in the views which they ought to bring with them 
 to their holy union, and the sentiments which 
 should animate their hearts on that solemn oc- 
 casion. 
 
 Fer. 7. And Tobias said : Lord God of our fathers, may the 
 heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains, and 
 the rivers, and all thy creatures that are in them, bless 
 
 thee: 8. Thou madest Adam of the slime of the earth, 
 
 and gavest him Eve for a helper 9. And now, O Lord, 
 
 thou knowest, that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister 
 
256 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 (relation) to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which 
 
 thy name may be blessed for ever and ever 10. Sara 
 
 also said : Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, 
 and let us grow old both together in health. 
 
 Our blessed Redeemer assures us, that from the 
 abundance of the 1 heart the mouth speaketh. This 
 excellent prayer of Tobias unfolds to us the heart 
 of this holy young man. Impressed with a con- 
 stant sense of the divine presence ; full of the most 
 sublime ideas of the divine power, goodness, and 
 mercy ; sensible that all the works of the Al- 
 mighty are designed to promote his own glory 
 and the happiness of his creatures ; Tobias invites 
 the whole creation to unite with him in praising 
 God for his past mercies : then, having always 
 the glory of God in view as the end of all his 
 actions, he declares the purity of intention with 
 which he had entered the married state ; not im- 
 pelled by any criminal passion, but that he might 
 be the father of a virtuous family, faithful ser- 
 vants of the true God ; and he looks with con- 
 fidence for the blessing of God, in reward for 
 his piety and purity of heart. His wife unites 
 hi fervent supplication for the blessing of health 3 
 not merely the health of the body, but the much 
 more important health of the soul, that they may 
 persevere in innocence and virtue to a good old 
 age, blessed with a virtuous race of children-, faith* 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 257 
 
 fully trained in the service of their Creator. Their 
 prayer was heard, as the sequel of their history 
 informs us. How many truly pious and happy 
 marriages should we see among Christians, if they 
 entered the married state under the guidance of 
 the same spirit which animated this holy couple, 
 and followed it's directions in their lives ; if hus- 
 band and wife considered themselves as instru- 
 ments of divine Providence in propagating a 
 succession of faithful servants of God, and follow- 
 ers of Jesus Christ ; and with this view would 
 labour earnestly to fulfil their important obliga- 
 tions as parents, by giving their children a truly 
 virtuous education I 
 
 Ver. II, And it came to pass about the cock-crowing, Raguel 
 ordered his servants to be called for, and they went with him 
 
 together to dig a grave 12. For he said: Lest perhaps it 
 
 may have happened to him in like manner as it did to the 
 
 other seven huslmnds that went in* unto her .. 13. And 
 
 when they had prepared the pit, Raguel went back to his 
 
 wife, and said to her: 14. Send one of thy maids, and 
 
 let her see if he be dead, that I may bury him before it be 
 day. 
 
 How striking a proof is this of the weakness 
 of human nature ! Raguel but a short time be- 
 fore had expressed his confidence that God had 
 
 S 
 
258 
 
 HOMILIES OX 
 
 heard his prayers, and seemed overjoyed at the 
 prospect of his having so virtuous a son-in-law. 
 Now, his confidence is all vanished, and he is 
 entirely overcome by his fears. Full of the me- 
 lancholy thoughts suggested by reflecting upon 
 the fate of the former husbands of his daughter, 
 he passes the night without rest and without 
 sleep. Apprehensive that Tobias has met with 
 the same dreadful misfortune as had befallen 
 Sara's former husbands, he takes the necessary 
 precautions, rises from his bed before the night 
 is over, and calls his servants to assist him in 
 preparing a grave. So fickle, so inconstant is the 
 mind of man, so weak are even the very best 
 of us when left to the motions of our own heart.* 
 Our good resolutions are soon forgotten ; the slight- 
 est breath of temptation shakes them. One mo- 
 ment we are all courage and confidence ; the next, 
 mistrust and terror. Like the chief of the 
 Apostles, we at one time, rely so much upon 
 the strength of our present dispositions that we 
 imagine nothing can alter them ; we feel con- 
 fidant that we can stand any assault, even of 
 death itself, rather than part with our virtue : and 
 presently, a mere passing thought, a slight word 
 from a fellow-creature, or a threat of some tem- 
 poral calamity, overturns all our fancied strength, 
 and manifests us, as we really are, made up of 
 frailty, corruption, and miseiy. Our only security 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 259 
 
 and protection against this fatal weakness of our 
 nature, is that true and solid humility which 
 teaches us to know ourselves as we are, to confess 
 our own nothingness and inability to do good 
 of ourselves, and at the same time to place all 
 our confidence in God, and to seek for help and 
 strength from Him who accepts the prayer of the 
 humble, and never despises their petition. 
 
 Raguel, in the moment of his weakness and 
 diffidence, gives up all his former sources of hope 
 and consolation, considers the death of Tobias 
 as certain, prepares his grave, and desires his wife 
 to send one of her maid-servants to the nuptial 
 chamber to see if he be not already dead. 
 
 Vet. 1 5. So she 9ent one of her maid-servants, who went into 
 the chamber, and found them safe and sound, sleeping both 
 
 together l6. And returning, she brought the good news, 
 
 and Raguel and Anna his wife blessed the Lord, 17. And 
 
 said : We bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because it hath 
 
 not happened as we suspected 18. For thou hast shewn 
 
 thy mercy to us, and hast shut out from us the enemy that 
 
 persecuted us 19. And thou hast taken pity upon two 
 
 only children. Make them, O Lord, bless thee more fully ; 
 and to offer up to thee a sacrifice of thy praise, and of their 
 health, that all nations may know that thou alone art God in 
 all the earth. 
 
 The royal Prophet assures us that the Angels 
 
 -S2 
 
260 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 of the Lord encamp round about those who fear 
 him. Tobias and Sara having engaged in mar- 
 riage in the fear of the Lord, and recommended 
 themselves to his holy protection by fervent 
 prayer, retired to rest with a firm confidence in 
 that divine Providence which watches over the 
 slumbers of it's servants. The maid whom Anna 
 had sent to their chamber, found them in a quiet 
 and profound repose. The joyful news of their 
 safety awakens in Raguel all his former senti- 
 ments of the divine goodness; ashamed of his 
 momentary mistrust in Providence, he loses not 
 an instant to repair his fault, but breaks forth in 
 praise and thanksgiving to his Creator. His wife 
 unites with him in this holy duty of gratitude 
 and prayer. Not content with their own effusions 
 of thanksgiving* springing from a heart truly 
 grateful for the divine blessing, they beg of God 
 to fill the breasts of their children with a grate- 
 ful sense of his mercies, and to excite in them a 
 gratitude proportioned to the wonderful favours 
 which he had shewn them. They pray that the 
 Almighty may be glorified in the virtuous lives 
 of their children, and that by their holy example 
 the nations of the earth may be brought to know 
 and to adore the true God. This prayer of 
 Raguel and Anna inculcates two very important 
 lessons of instruction, the one to Christians in 
 general, the other to parents in particular. Christ- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 261 
 
 ians may learn to receive the blessings of heaven 
 with gratitude, and, as no day passes in which 
 each of us does not experience the bounty of 
 God, not a day should be suffered to pass without 
 bringing it's morning and evening tribute of 
 thanksgiving to the Deity. More especially in 
 the moments in which we experience any par- 
 ticular favour from God, we should immediately 
 raise our hearts and thoughts to him, and offer 
 him a short but fervent return of thanks. Se- 
 condly, the example of Raguel and Anna teaches 
 Christian parents that it is one of their most im- 
 portant obligations to present their fervent sup- 
 plications to God in behalf of their children, and 
 make it their great concern not to provide earthly 
 riches for them, but to render them rich in virtue 
 and goodness, by holy instruction, good example, 
 and fervent prayer for them. — Raguel having thus 
 given the first emotions of his heart, on the new* 
 of Tobias's safety, to the holy office of prayer 
 and thanksgiving, expressed outwardly the joy 
 which he felt, in a feast to which he invited his 
 friends. 
 
 Ver. 20. And immmediately, (says the sacred text,) Raguel com- 
 manded his servants to fill up the pit they had made, before 
 
 it was day 21. And he spoke to his wife to make ready 
 
 a feast, and prepare all kinds of provisions that are necessary 
 
 S3 
 
252 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 for such as go a journey 22. He caused also two fat kine, 
 
 and four wethers to be killed, and a banquet to be prepared 
 
 for all his neighbours and all his friends 23. And Raguel 
 
 adjured Tobias to abide with him two weeks. ...... 24. And 
 
 of all things which Raguel possessed, he gave one half to 
 Tobias, and made a writing, that the half that remained should 
 after their decease, come also to Tobias. 
 
 My Christian brethren, when the feasts of the 
 Church of God call upon you to express your 
 joy at the triumphs of your Redeemer and his 
 Saints, and your gratitude for the blessings of 
 heaven, let the outward mirth which you testify 
 in the entertainment of your friends, be, as it 
 ought to be, a sincere token of the inward re- 
 joicing and thanksgiving of your hearts. " Re- 
 joice," as the Apostle says, " in the Lord ; making 
 it your principal care on these holy festivals, by 
 humble confession, devout communion, and fer- 
 Vent prayer, to sanctify your souls, and merit a 
 Continuance of the divine mercy. 
 
TWENTIETH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. IX. ver. 1. Then Tobias called the Angel to him, whom 
 he took to be a man, and said to him : Brother Azarias, I pray 
 
 thee hearken to my words 2. If I should give my self 
 
 to be thy servant, I should not make a worthy return for thy 
 
 care 3. However, I beseech thee to take with thee beasts 
 
 and servants, and to go to Gabelus to Rages, the city of the 
 Medes : and to return him his note of hand, and receive of him 
 
 the money, and desire him to come to my wedding. 
 
 4. For, thou knowest that my father numbereth the days : and 
 
 if I stay one day more, his soul will be afflicted. 5. And 
 
 indeed thou seest how Raguel hath adjured me, whose ad» 
 juring I cannot despise, 
 
 Comity. 
 
 JL he young Tobias had left home in obedience 
 to the advice of his aged father, in order to re- 
 cover a sum of money which his father had lent 
 to his kinsman Gabelus. This, therefore, was the 
 principal object of his journey, and it appears to 
 have been the principal subject of his thoughts 
 and concern, to acquit himself with fidelity of the 
 trust reposed in him. Hitherto, indeed, he had 
 been occupied with his marriage, because he felt 
 it his duty to obey in this respect the directions 
 
 S4 
 

 
 zu 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 of his guide. Though not as yet sensible that 
 his conductor belonged to a superior order of 
 beings, he was satisfied that his guide was sent 
 him by an all-ruling Proyidence, and consequently 
 that to obey him was to obey the voice of heaven. 
 But having fulfilled this obligation of obedience 
 in what related to his marriage, the thoughts of 
 his aged parents, and the trust they had given 
 him, again occupy all his care and attention. 
 Fearful lest he himself should meet with some 
 unexpected difficulty too strong to be surmounted, 
 or lest he should not succeed to his father's wishes, 
 he applies for assistance to his faithful guide 
 Azarias, from whom he had already received so 
 much comfort, such excellent advice and direc- 
 tion. Were Christians as diligent under their 
 spiritual difficulties, in having recourse for counsel 
 to the guide and director of their souls, like 
 Tobias's, their humility and obedience would se- 
 cure the blessing of heaven, in providing them 
 with the helps necessary for their advancement 
 in the path of virtue, and for removing the 
 obstacles thrown in their way by the malice of 
 the devil. 
 
 Next to the obedience which the young Tobias 
 shews to his guide, we may admire his gratitude, 
 a quality which forms a distinguishing feature 
 in his character. In addressing Azarias, he seems 
 to want words to express how full his heart was 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 265 
 
 of grateful feelings for the kind attention of his 
 guide, and says, that if he were even to become 
 the servant of Azarias, it would be a small return 
 for the favours which he had received. Gratitude 
 is so amiable a quality of the heart, that wherever 
 it is found, it renders k's possessor an object of 
 esteem and veneration to all who know him ; 
 while, on the other hand, ingratitude fixes an 
 indelible mark of odium and disgrace on the 
 wretch whose conduct manifests him capable of 
 so much infamy. I speak now of the transactions 
 of mankind with one another. But, it" we raise 
 our thoughts still higher, how truly amiable and 
 pleasing is gratitude in the sight of the Supreme 
 Being, and how amply does he reward it ! The 
 lives of the Saints of God point out to us, on 
 the one hand, some of our fellow- creatures, sensible 
 of the goodness of their Creator, offering him 
 in return the acceptable tribute of a grateful 
 heart, and proving their gratitude by a far 
 correspondence with the favours received ; on 
 other hand, they are the history of the continued 
 and increasing bounties of a God, pleased with 
 the gratitude of his creatures, and heaping upon 
 them in return new and more abundant mercies. 
 But what a reproach is this grateful conduct of 
 the Saints to the greater part of Christians ! Like 
 the Saints, we profess indeed with our lips that 
 we are indebted to the bounty of our heavenly 
 
266 
 
 HOMILIES OJJ 
 
 
 
 
 Father for the daily blessings we receive; but 
 how little do our lives correspond with this pro- 
 fession ? How seldom are our hearts raised up in 
 gratitude to the Author of all our good ! How 
 small a portion of our time is given to the service 
 of Him, to whose goodness we are indebted for 
 each moment of our existence ! But a few years 
 ago, my beloved brethren, you were void of sense, 
 of life, or even existence, beneath the very meanest 
 object that serves to make up the admirable va- 
 riety of the creation. That same Almighty Be- 
 ing who framed the universe, who is himself 
 unchangeably and eternally happy, whose throne 
 is surrounded by millions that partake of his 
 glory, and incessantly honour, praise, and adore 
 the Author of their bliss, has selected you, to bless 
 you with a being exalted far above that of the 
 visible objects that surround you, and stamped 
 with his own image, the pledge of it's happy 
 destiny to an eternal union with it's Creator, and 
 a share in his immense and never-ending happi- 
 ness. Did this Almighty Being stand in need of 
 you ? Would his glory have been diminished, or 
 his happiness have been less, had he not called 
 you into existence? No. — It was love for you, 
 which directed the voice that called you into 
 being, which guided the omnipotent arm that 
 framed you, and breathed into your souls that 
 breath of life which bespeaks them destined for 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 267 
 
 a union with their Creator in eternal bliss, Oh I 
 infinite goodness of God, how little do men think 
 of thee !— But, my beloved brethren, this blessing 
 of your creation is not confined to the instant 
 in which you were first called into existence. 
 It extends to every moment of your lives; it 
 is renewed each instant, and continued in the 
 preservation of your being by the same almighty 
 power that created it ; a preservation which is 
 justly called a fresh, a continual creation. — Yet, 
 at this moment when I am pressing these truths 
 upon your minds for your consideration, con- 
 science perhaps flies in your face and reproaches 
 you with a strange forgetfulness of your Creator, 
 a surprising ingratitude for his benefits. Few <jf 
 us but may cry out with St. Augustin after 
 his conversion, " Too late have I known thee, 
 O ancient truth ! Too late have I loved thee, O 
 ancient beauty !" Oh ! that like this great Saint, 
 the model of true penitents, you may repair your 
 past neglect and ingratitude by spending the re- 
 mainder of your lives with fidelity in the service 
 cf your Creator ! 
 
 ; Were the motives which call for your gratitude 
 to your bountiful God, confined to your creation, 
 the being which he has given you, and the end 
 for which it was bestowed upon you, a life faith- 
 fully dedicated to that God would be but a small 
 return for his mercies. How infinitely then does 
 
268 HOMILIES Otf 
 
 the obligation of your gratitude increase upon 
 you, when you turn your thoughts to the mystery 
 of your redemption ! He who created you, beheld 
 you, from the throne of his glory, victims of his 
 just indignation, doomed to an eternal exclusion 
 from his kingdom, condemned to an eternity of 
 misery, forlorn and without hope. Impelled by 
 love for you, he clothes himself with the weakness 
 of your flesh ; submits himself to poverty, igno- 
 miny, and contempt ; suffers himself to be treated 
 as the very outcast of mankind; bears in his 
 sacred body the torments due to your sins ; ex- 
 piates your crimes by the effusion of his blood ; 
 and dies in an agony of sufferings, to reconcile 
 you to your offended Creator. This his love for 
 you is the astonishment of the Spirits that sur- 
 round his throne of glory, and calls forth their 
 eternal praise and thanksgiving. But man, for 
 whom was wrought this mystery of love, un* 
 gratefully forgets it. The sufferings of Ins Re- 
 deemer seldom form the subject of his thoughts ; 
 the greater part are of the number of those, of 
 whose ingratitude this Redeemer complains by 
 the prophet : Psalm cxli. " I looked at my right- 
 hand and beheld, and there was no one that would 
 acknowledge me." 
 
 Not content with giving himself once a victim 
 of propitiation for you by his death upon the 
 cross, he continues daily to present you with the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 269 
 
 fruits of his redemption. In heaven he conti- 
 nually makes intercession for you, presenting his 
 sacred wounds to his eternal Father in your he- 
 half. On earth he has established his Church 
 as a light to guide you in the path that leads 
 to the possession of his glory, and has enriched 
 her with those treasures of grace that were pur- 
 chased at the price of his blood, and are appointed 
 by him to be the strength, the comfort, and sup- 
 port of your souls during their mortal pilgrimage. 
 Look around you, my beloved brethren, and view 
 the thousands of your unhappy fellow-creatures, 
 who, brought up in infidelity, ignorance, and error, 
 are strangers to the light of the true faith which 
 God has made to shine upon you, and to the 
 blessings which you enjoy in the communion of 
 the Catholic Church. Could I persuade you, 
 after thus calling your attention to these general 
 blessings, to review your past lives, and bring 
 before your eyes the unnumbered blessings, both 
 for time and eternity, for soul and body, which 
 the boundless goodness of your God has daily 
 poured out upon each of you individually ; the 
 accidents from which he has preserved you ; the 
 graces with which he has helped you ; and all this, 
 perhaps, at the very time when you have been 
 bis enemies by sin, and undeserving of his good- 
 ness ; what an immense debt of gratitude would 
 immediately present itself before you, as due to 
 
270 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 your Creator ! How severe would be the re- 
 proaches of your conscience for your past thought- 
 lessness and neglect to discharge this debt ! But, 
 alas ! how much more enormous will this debt 
 appear, and how infinitely more terrible will be 
 the reproaches of conscience in the awful moment 
 of death, when the goodness of God shall display 
 itself to you in it's full splendour, and your own 
 ungrateful forgetfulness of his mercies shall pre- 
 sent itself in it's blackest deformity ! From this 
 day, then, let the benefits which you have re- 
 ceived from God be the subject of your daily 
 meditation, and meet with a daily tribute of 
 heartfelt thanksgiving to the bounty of your 
 Creator. The royal prophet declares, that he will 
 sing the praises of his God each day of his ex- 
 istence ; and invites the whole universe to unite 
 it's voice in proclaiming the bounty of his Creator. 
 His Psalms, full of every sentiment that piety 
 can suggest, are principally hymns of praise and 
 thanksgiving, abounding with the grateful ex- 
 pressions of a heart whose constant delight and 
 occupation was to contemplate the riches of God's 
 mercy, and raise itself in spirit to the blessed 
 choirs above, who sing without ceasing the praises 
 of the Almighty. Like this holy prophet and 
 faithful servant of God, do you, my beloved 
 brethren, make it your frequent, I would say, 
 your daily occupation, to recite some part of the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 271 
 
 Psalms, or at least to pour forth the pious ef- 
 fusions of your own hearts in gratitude to Him 
 who daily bestows so many of his best blessings 
 upon you. Your fidelity in this practice will be 
 a happy mark of your being destined one day to 
 join the happy company of those who in the 
 heavenly Jerusalem know no other employment 
 or happiness than to sing eternal hymns of praise, 
 adoration, and thanksgiving, to the Deity. 
 
 But to return to the history of Tobias. The 
 holy Scripture informs us, that Tobias, after thank- 
 ing his guide, w T hom he did not yet know to be an 
 Angel, for past favours, requested a fresh proof 
 of his kindness and attention, by soliciting him 
 to undertake a journey to Rages, and recover 
 the sum of money which his father had lent 
 to Gabelus. The angel Raphael, without any 
 hesitation, complied with the request, and im- 
 mediately set out for Rages, as the sacred text 
 thus relates : 
 
 Vet. 6. Then Raphael took four of Raguel's servants, and two 
 camels, and went to Rages, the city of the Medes, and find- 
 ing Gabelus, gave him his note of hand, and received of him 
 
 all the money 7- And he told him concerning Tobias, 
 
 the son of Tobias, all that had been done, and made him 
 come with him to the wedding. 
 
 The holy Scripture now introduces to our 
 
272 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 notice, another servant of God, Gabelus. From 
 what had before been said of him by the elder 
 Tobias, we were enabled to learn that Gabelus 
 was a man of upright character. On the present 
 occasion, the sacred writer says but little of him, 
 but that little is sufficient to discover to us the 
 excellency of his heart and conduct. Honest and 
 just by principle, Gabelus embraces with joy the 
 opportunity now offered him of repaying the 
 money which his friend and kinsman had lent him, 
 and of testifying, at the same time, his esteem 
 for Tobias, and his regard for his kinsman, No 
 less just in giving to God that which belonged 
 to him, Gabelus manifests a great piety and sense 
 of the divine goodness, and ascribes every bless- 
 ing to the divine bounty. Thus does this holy 
 man furnish us with an example of that two- 
 fold justice which combines to form the character 
 of the true Christian, justice towards God, and 
 justice towards our neighbours. To be just 
 towards God, we must faithfully consecrate to 
 him the powers and faculties of the being which 
 he has bestowed upon us, paying to him with 
 fidelity our homage of morning and evening de- 
 votion, making him the end of all our actions, 
 and diligently walking in the path of his holy 
 commandments. To be just to our neighbour, 
 we must carefully regulate our conduct by that 
 golden rule of doing to others as we would have 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 273 
 
 them do to us. By this rule all our thoughts, 
 words, and actions, as far as they regard our 
 fellow-creatures, will one day be examined at the 
 tribunal of our sovereign Judge, and every de- 
 viation from it will be enregistered against us 
 as an injustice, hateful in the sight of God, who, 
 as the Psalmist assures us, Psalm xliv. " loveth 
 justice, and hateth injustice." The maxims and 
 practice of worldlings, under cover of which too 
 many Christians frame to themselves a false con- 
 science, and by which they pretend to justify 
 their frauds, over-reachings, and deceits, will then 
 be of no avail. All will be examined by the 
 plain simple rule of doing as we would be done 
 to. Gabelus was fully sensible of his duty in 
 this respect, and having borrowed a sum of 
 money of his friend, was careful not to squander 
 it in idleness, pride, or excess. This he knew 
 would have been an injustice that would have 
 for ever excluded him from a share in the in- 
 heritance of the just. He employed the money 
 which Tobias had lent him, in some honest, in- 
 dustrious way of business, and carefully laid by 
 what Providence enabled him to save by his la- 
 bour, till an opportunity should offer of returning 
 the whole sum to his friend. His upright and 
 honest intentions drew down a blessing from 
 heaven upon his temporal concerns. But how 
 .severely does his conduct reproach those unjust 
 
 T 
 
274f HOMILIES ON 
 
 Christians, who either unlawfully detain the 
 property of others, or take no pains to restore 
 it ; who, by their idleness or evil habits, involve 
 themselves and their families in debt ; or, when 
 already involved, use no endeavour to extricate 
 themselves. In vain will such persons cry out 
 for mercy at the tribunal of God; the cry of 
 their injustices will ascend before God, and their 
 lot will be among those of whom St. Paul speaks 
 when he says, that no unjust person shall enter 
 into the kingdom of God. Frequently then, my 
 beloved brethren, examine your conduct towards 
 your neighbour by the gospel precept, correct 
 every past deviation from it, and avoid for the 
 future every, even the least wilful transgression 
 of it. 
 
 Gabelus, having taken up his note of hand, 
 accepted of the young Tobias's invitation, and 
 accompanied the Angel to the wedding. 
 
 Ver. 8. And when he was come into Ragnel's house, he found 
 Tobias sitting at the table : and he leaped up and they kissed 
 
 each other : and Gabelus wept and blessed God, J). And 
 
 said : The God of Israel bless thee, because thou art the son 
 of a very good and just man, and that feareth God, and doth 
 
 alms-deeds: 10. And may a blessing come upon thy 
 
 wife, and upon your parents: 11. And may you see 
 
 your children, and your children's children, unto the third 
 and fourth generation : and may ) r our seed be blessed by the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 275 
 
 God of Israel, who reigneth for ever and ever 12. And 
 
 when all had said Amen, they went to the feast, but the 
 niarriage-feast they celebrated also with the fear of the Lord. 
 
 When Gabelus entered the house of RagueL 
 Tobias rose up from table, as a mark of respect 
 for the virtues of his character, and embraced 
 him with affection. Gabelus wept for joy at the 
 sight of his kinsman's son, and the thought of 
 the wonderful goodness of God towards him. 
 As soon as his feelings would permit, he ex- 
 pressed the pious emotions in a hearty thanks- 
 giving to God for past mercies, and a fervent 
 supplication for a continuance of the divine bles- 
 sing to Tobias and his family, even to their 
 latest posterity. How admirable are the sim- 
 plicity and piety of this holy company ! God is 
 ever present to their thoughts ; to bless his holy 
 name seems to be their greatest delight, their 
 constant and favourite occupation. To him they 
 look for every blessing ; him they consider as the 
 author of all the happiness which they enjoy; 
 to him they present their sincere thanksgiving. 
 Their good wishes to each other, are so many 
 prayers addressed to the bountiful Giver of all 
 good gifts. Gabelus expresses these holy sen- 
 timents, and the rest of this pious family confirm 
 them by devoutly answering Amen ; a model 
 for Christians in the great and holy duty of 
 
 T2 
 
276 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 family prayer. After their prayers, these holy 
 Israelites sit down to the marriage-feast with the 
 fear of the Lord. No excess, no drunkenness, no 
 evil conversation, disgraces their mirth ; the pre- 
 sence of God fills their thoughts, to whom their 
 hearts are directed ; all their joy is sanctified by 
 a pure intention, moderation, and holy discourse. 
 Their feast is an emblem of that eternal feast 
 which the elect enjoy in the kingdom of their 
 God, 
 
TWENTY-FIRST HOMILY 
 
 €kq,p. X. ver. 1. But as Tobias made longer stay upon occasion 
 of the marriage, Tobias, his father, was solicitous, saying: 
 Why, thinkest thou, doth my son tarry, or why is he de- 
 tained there? .2. Is Gabelus dead, thinkest thou, and 
 
 no man will pay him the money? 3. And he began 
 
 to be exceeding sad, both he and Anna his wife with him : 
 and they began both to weep together, because" their son did 
 not return to them on the day appointed. 
 
 Vomits* 
 
 JL h e young Tobias, yielding to the pressing 
 solicitations of his father-in-law, consented to 
 spend a fortnight after his marriage at Raguel's 
 house. His parents, not seeing him return at 
 the time appointed, began to be anxious for his 
 safety, and knew not how to account for his 
 stay. His father, notwithstanding his great virtue 
 and confidence in the divine protection, felt his 
 mind quite overpowered with grief, and could 
 hardly support his affliction. His son, whom 
 he looked upon as his only comfort under the 
 trials that had befallen him, seemed now lost to 
 him, and he became exceedingly sad. The 
 
 T 3 
 
278 HOMILIES ON 
 
 anxiety, the grief and tears of this holy servant 
 of God, so full of faith and piety, discover to 
 us that the most holy persons are not exempt 
 from the weaknesses of human nature. Almighty 
 God permits this, that his servants, sensible of 
 their weakness, may never presume upon their 
 own strength and courage, but may remember 
 that all their sufficiency and force come from 
 God. Did we behold the Saints on all oc- 
 casions firm, intrepid, without any sentiments 
 of fear, without anxiety or weakness, we should 
 be inclined to look upon them as a superior 
 order of beings, whose example it would be 
 in vain for us to attempt to imitate. Under 
 the trials which Providence appoints for our 
 mortal pilgrimage, we should want the encourage- 
 ment and help to virtue which we derive from 
 the example of the faithful servants of God who 
 have trod the path of affliction before us. But 
 when we see even the chosen friends of God 
 sometimes sinking under the weakness of nature, 
 and experiencing the same feelings as ourselves, 
 we feel encouraged not to yield to despondency, 
 but to bear up with hope, relying on the same 
 divine arm which strengthened them, and en- 
 abled them to triumph in the end. Virtue does 
 not extinguish, but she regulates and tempers 
 the feelings of nature, teaching us to make, even 
 of our imperfections, so many steps to heaven, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 279 
 
 fey humility, and the confession of our own weak- 
 ness. Thus the grief and anxiety of Tobias were 
 merely passing emotions of his mind. Faith, 
 which was deeply rooted in his heart, soon lifted 
 him above his momentary dejection, and restored 
 the calmness and tranquillity of his mind. After 
 a momentary expression of the feelings which 
 attempted to draw him aside from the path of 
 hope, he turns his thoughts to the goodness of 
 his God, and animates himself with confidence 
 in the divine protection. Fully persuaded that 
 his son had left home under the direction of 
 a guide sent by God himself, he feels assured of 
 his happy and safe return. Gaining strength 
 from his momentary weakness, he suppresses his 
 own grief, and attempts to dry up the tears of 
 his wife. Happy would it have been for her, 
 if she had been blessed with the like strong faith, 
 and the same holy dispositions, as her husband ! 
 
 Ver. 4. But she (his mother) wept, and was quite disconsolate, 
 and said : Woe, woe is me, my son, why did we send thee 
 to go to a strange country, the light of our eyes, the staff 
 of our old age, the comfort of our life, the hope of our pos- 
 terity 5. We, having all things together in thee alone, 
 
 ought not to have let thee go from us 6. And Tobias 
 
 said to her : Hold thy peace, and be not troubled, our son 
 is safe; that man, with whom we sent him, is very tru sty. 
 
 T4 
 
£80 HOMILIES ON 
 
 7. But she could by no means be comforted, but 
 
 xlaily running out, looked round about, and went into 
 all the ways, by which there seemed any hope he might 
 return, that she might, if possible, see him coming afar off. 
 
 In all that the holy Scripture here relates of 
 the grief of Anna, and the manner of her ex- 
 pressing it, we discover an exact picture of human 
 nature in the greatest distress. In what feeling 
 language does she unbosom her anguished heart ! 
 Hoy/ eloquent does affliction render her! Her 
 every word bespeaks the tenderness of a fond 
 mother, overwhelmed with grief at the thought 
 of her having lost her only son! Her past ex- 
 perience of the goodness of God, and the holy 
 example of her husband, ought to have consoled 
 her, and raised her from the dejection into which 
 she had sunk. But, alas ! void of that solid faith 
 and those principles of religion, which formed 
 the character of Tobias, she is the victim of 
 despondency, and appears without consolation, 
 and even without hope. In her, nature alone 
 acts as guide ; and what is human nature in the 
 horn of trial, without the aid of religion? A 
 weak, deceitful, and pernicious guide, which does 
 not even permit us to see the path that would 
 lead us to happiness, which strews with fresh 
 thorns the rugged way of affliction, robs us of 
 comfort, and deprives us of that present merit 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 281 
 
 and future reward which are the happy fruits 
 that religion teaches us to expect from the crosses * 
 and afflictions ordained for our journey through 
 this vale of tears. In vain does Tobias en- 
 deavour to console his wife, and make her a 
 partaker of his own sources of comfort and 
 hope. In vain does he impart to her the in- 
 ward confidence which animates his breast, that 
 his son is under the guidance of Providence. 
 In vain does he assure her, as if inspired by 
 God with the knowledge of it, that his son is 
 safe, and conjure her to banish her uneasiness 
 and alarm. She could not be comforted, because 
 her heart was a stranger to those principles of 
 religion which formed the solid foundation of 
 her husband's virtue. How strikingly does this 
 contrast of disposition and conduct in Tobias 
 and Anna prove to us, that our present comfort 
 and welfare, no less than our future happiness, 
 are closely connected with a steady adherence to 
 the principles of religion ! To pass through this 
 life without trials is not to be expected ; happy, 
 therefore, is that Christian, who, during the time 
 of tranquillity and peace, fortifies his mind against 
 the hour of trial, by imprinting deeply in his 
 soul those principles which will enable him to 
 et his afflictions as the appointments of a 
 fatherly Providence, and to turn them into so 
 many blessings for eternity, by receiving them 
 
282 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 with cheerful submission to the will of heaven. 
 Viewing our afflictions in the light in which 
 religion places them before us, and sanctifying 
 them by the. holy dispositions in which she 
 directs us to embrace them, we shall, like the 
 aged Tobias, find comfort even under the severest 
 of trials ; and not, like Anna, be left destitute of 
 consolation and of hope. 
 
 Ver. 8. But Raguel said to his son-in-law : Stay here, and I 
 will send a messenger to Tobias thy father, that thou art 
 
 in health 9- And Tobias said to him: I know that ray 
 
 father and mother now count the days; and their spirit is 
 
 grievously afflicted within them 10. And when Raguel 
 
 had pressed Tobias with many words, and he by no means 
 would hearken to him, he delivered Sara unto him, and 
 half of all his substance, in men-servants and women* 
 servants, in cattle, in camels, and in kine, and in much 
 
 money, and sent him away safe and joyful from him 
 
 11. Saying: The holy Angel of the Lord be with you in 
 your journey, and bring you through safe, and that you 
 may find all things well about your parents, and my eyes 
 may see your children before I die 12. And the pa- 
 rents taking their daughter, kissed her and let her go : 
 
 13. Admonishing her to honour her father and mother- 
 m-law, to love her husband, to take care of the family, 
 to govern well the house, and to behave herself without 
 blame. 
 
 Raguel, charmed with the virtues of his son- 
 in-law, was anxious to detain him a little longer 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 283 
 
 than the fortnight which he had consented to 
 stay. But Tobias, having fulfilled the business 
 upon which he had been sent by his aged pa- 
 rents, and knowing how uneasy they would 
 feel during his absence from home, was deter- 
 mined not to delay his return any longer with- 
 out necessity. As a proof of his affectionate re- 
 gard and dutiful submission to his father-in-law, 
 he had complied with Raguel's request, and 
 spent a fortnight after his marriage at his house. 
 This was a respect which he considered due to 
 his father-in-law. But he felt the claim which 
 his own aged parents had to his attention, and 
 he was now resolved to lose no time in ad- 
 ministering comfort to them, by his presence at 
 home. When pressed by Raguel to remain a 
 little longer with him, he modestly suggested 
 the affliction which any further delay would oc- 
 casion to his parents, and expressed his fixed 
 determination to set out upon his journey towards 
 home. Raguel, seeing his resolution, consented 
 to his departure, and delivered to him one half 
 of his substance, according to the promise which 
 he had made. On parting with his son-in-law, 
 Raguel prayed that the Angel of the Lord might 
 be with him on his journey, and conduct him 
 home in #afety. The elder Tobias had prayed 
 for the same blessing upon his son, when he was 
 leaving home. The prayers of these holy men 
 
284 HOMILIES ON 
 
 clearly shew, that the faith of the ancient patri- 
 archs respecting the ministry of Angels was re- 
 ligiously preserved among the Israelites ; that this 
 truth was ever present to their minds, and had a 
 powerful and becoming influence upon their ac- 
 tions. From God alone they looked for succour 
 and blessing, both for themselves and their friends ; 
 but they confidently expected that it was by 
 the ministry of Angels this succour and this bles- 
 sing would be bestowed upon them. 
 
 Truly affecting is the tender farewell which 
 Raguel and his wife take of their daughter and 
 her husband. Truly important and instructive 
 is the advice which they give to Sara; they 
 make use of but few words, but those few words 
 contain in substance every counsel that is proper 
 for a young woman just entered into the married 
 state. They " admonish her to honour her father 
 and mother-in-law, to love her husband, to take 
 care of her family, to govern well her house, and 
 to behave herself without blame." ver. 13. They 
 speak not of her duty to God : in this point they 
 are confident that she will not be deficient. They 
 had trained her in the path of virtue from her 
 infancy, and they had witnessed the happy fruits 
 of their labours in her advancing age ; they had 
 seen her constant and fervent in her devotions 
 to God, and affectionately obedient to their own 
 orders during the years which she had passed 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 285 
 
 under her parent's roof; they doubt not, there- 
 fore, that she will continue during her whole life 
 to be guided by the same principles, in these 
 branches of duty. But they now behold their 
 daughter entering into a new state of life, bring- 
 ing with it the most important obligations ; upon 
 the faithful discharge of which they know that 
 her own happiness, and that of her family, will 
 principally depend. It is too true; that few 
 Christian parents think of pointing out these 
 obligations to their children at the proper time ; 
 and few young persons, when they enter into 
 matrimony, seem sensible that such obligations 
 are attached to their state. But it is not so 
 with those who are really servants of God ; who 
 are Christians, not merely in name, but in prac- 
 tice ; and who are really desirous of pleasing 
 God during life, of enjoying him after death, and 
 of meeting their children in the realms of bliss. 
 Like Raguel and Anna, they not only teach 
 ♦their families the general duties of prayer, of 
 charity, and justice, and of abstaining from sin ; 
 they not only fulfil their own obligations, but 
 in settling their children in the world, look prin- 
 cipally to the sanctification and salvation of their 
 souls, and hence are careful to impress upon their 
 minds the obligation of studying and practising 
 the respective duties attached to the state of life 
 which they embrace. For, as an eminent servant 
 
286 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 of God (Bishop Challoner) observes, true sanctity, 
 or holiness of life, does not consist in performing 
 any extraordinary actions, but in performing the 
 ordinary duties of our calling extraordinarily 
 well.; that is, with a pure motive of pleasing 
 God, and in the best possible manner. The 
 wisdom of divine Providence has permitted 
 different stations in life, none of which he ex- 
 cludes from a title to everlasting life, so long 
 as there is nothing in them which is incompatible 
 with the maxims of the gospel. Sanctity then, 
 is not confined to any one state of life, but is 
 attainable in all states. The lives of the Saints 
 who have gone before us in the path of virtue, 
 inform us, that there is not a single station in 
 life, from the throne to the cottage, which has 
 not been adorned by the practice of Christian 
 virtue, and, consequently, which has not produced 
 Saints. But every state of life has certain pe- 
 culiar duties attached to it, which form it's most 
 essential obligations, and on the practice of which 
 depends the eternal happiness of those who are 
 engaged in it. It is possible then, and not un- 
 frequently the case, that Christians may be very 
 regular and exemplary as to the practice of cer- 
 tain general duties, such as morning and evening- 
 prayer, attending at mass, frequenting the sa- 
 craments, &c. and at the same time be very 
 ignorant of, and very deficient in the practice 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 287 
 
 of the very obligations on the discharge of which 
 their claim to eternal life depends. Unacquainted 
 with these obligations, they go on in the same 
 beaten track which they see trodden by others 
 who are reputed good Christians : in approach- 
 ing to the sacraments, they examine their con- 
 sciences only as to general duties; and rinding 
 no reproach on those points, they pursue their 
 usual course under the confidence of a false 
 security, and thus live and die in the neglect 
 of many important obligations. This fatal igno- 
 rance, and this neglect of the duties of their 
 state of life, will prove the exclusion of many 
 from the kingdom of God, who, though wear- 
 ing the appearance of Saints in the eyes of 
 men, in the sight of God will stand condemned 
 of a gross and criminal violation of their most 
 important obligations, as husbands, wives, parents, 
 pastors, masters, servants, &e. 
 
 I cannot then, my beloved brethren, impress 
 too strongly upon your minds, how much it is 
 incumbent upon you to study well what are 
 the obligations of that state of life in which 
 you are placed ; to examine with rigid nicety, 
 when you go to confession, your conduct in 
 fulfilling those obligations ; to attend to the ad- 
 vice of your director on this important point ; 
 and to make it your principal care, after re- 
 ceiving the sacraments, to discharge with greater 
 
288 HOMILIES ON 
 
 
 exactness and fidelity the duties of your calling. 
 Thus you will truly become good Christians, 
 servants of God, and followers of his Saints. 
 In these holy persons, the great principle of 
 their sanctity was their strict attention to the 
 duties of their station. The same principle, as 
 we see in the example before us of Raguel 
 and Anna, they instilled into their children. 
 
 In the advice which these holy persons give 
 to their daughter, they confine themselves to 
 her duties as a wife, the mistress of a family ; 
 and the advice is deserving the attention of young 
 married women. First, they admonish her to ho- 
 nour her father and mother-in-law ; to pay them, 
 even in old age and infirmity, attention, respect, 
 and reverence ; to shew them that kind and af- 
 fectionate deference, with which nature directs 
 children to repay the love and the tenderness 
 of their parents, considering the parents of her 
 husband as her own, being no longer but one 
 in heart and affection with him. Secondly, They 
 admonish her to love her husband with a love 
 of tenderness, respect, and submission. Oh ! how 
 much does the happiness of married persons 
 depend upon their cherishing a mutual affec- 
 tion ; an affection, which can be preserved only 
 by husband and wife studying to learn each 
 other's inclination, to avoid what would dis- 
 please or aggravate, and cheerfully perform that 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 289 
 
 which they know will give pleasure to their 
 partner. Thirdly, they admonish Sara to take 
 care of her family, to remember that the souls 
 of her children and servants would be entrusted 
 to her charge, to see them punctual in the ful- 
 filment of their religious duties, to instruct them 
 in the truths of salvation, to watch over their 
 morals, to give them an edifying example, and 
 not to neglect any thing which might contri- 
 bute to turn them from evil and lead them to 
 good. Lastly, they admonish her to govern 
 well her household, by good management, order, 
 and regularity, in all her domestic concerns ; and 
 to keep herself without blame, by a holy ancj. 
 irreproachable life, in all chastity, mildness, gen- 
 tleness, and a general prudence of conduct, so 
 exemplary as to form the comfort of her hus- 
 band, the happiness of her family, and the edifi- 
 cation of her neighbour. St. Paul, in his Epistle 
 to Titus, chap. ii. ver. 4. gives nearly the same 
 advice to young women, " to love their husbands 
 and families, to be discreet, chaste, sober, having 
 a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their 
 husbands, that the word of God may not be 
 blasphemed." Let all in the married state con- 
 sider this advice as addressed to themselves, and 
 regulate their lives by it. 
 
 U 
 
TWENTY-SECOND HOMILY 
 
 Chap. XL ver. 1. And as they were returning, they came to 
 Charan, which is in the midway to Ninive, the eleventh day, 
 
 2. And the Angel said: Brother Tobias, thou knowest 
 
 how thou didst leave thy father 3. If it please thee, 
 
 therefore, let us go before, and let the family follow softly 
 
 after us, together with thy wife, and thy beasts . 4. And 
 
 as this their going pleased him, Raphael said to Tobias : Take 
 with thee the gall of the fish, for it will be necessary. So 
 Tobias took some of that gall, and departed. 
 
 jL h e young Tobias having taken leave of his 
 father and mother-in-law, lost no time in making 
 the best of his way home. When he had ad- 
 vanced half way on his journey, the angel Ra- 
 phael, knowing the anxiety which his aged parents 
 felt on account of the long absence of their son, 
 proposed to Tobias to hasten forwards with him- 
 self, leaving his wife and the rest of his family 
 to follow after by slower journeys. At the same 
 time, Raphael reminded Tobias to take with him 
 a part of the gall of the fish, which God designed 
 to make the instrument of his mercy towards 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 291 
 
 his aged father. Guided by a spirit of docility, 
 and obedient in all things to the advice of his 
 conductor, Tobias obeyed without hesitation the 
 directions which the Angel gave him, and went 
 forward with him. No earthly tie, not even his 
 strong affection for his virtuous wife, could shake 
 the steady determination of his mind to walk 
 in the path of humble obedience, or induce him 
 to prefer his own will before what he believed 
 to be the will of God. As he was drawing nea4r 
 to his home, 
 
 Ver. 7. Raphael said to Tobias : As soon as thou shalt come 
 into thy house, forthwith adore the Lord thy God: and 
 
 giving thanks to him, go to thy father and kiss him.- 
 
 8. And immediately anoint his eyes with this gall of the fish 
 which thou earnest with thee. For be assured that his eyes 
 shall be presently opened, and thy father shall see the light 
 of heaven, and shall rejoice in the sight of thee, 
 
 The Angel advises Tobias as soon as he enters 
 his father's house, to let the duties of religion 
 be his first concern, to pour forth his heart in 
 fervent adoration to God, and thank him for his 
 gracious protection during his journey. Such is 
 the conduct which true piety points out to those 
 in whose breasts it dwells. The greatest Saints 
 have made it their constant practice to follow 
 this rule through the course of their lives. The 
 
292 HOMILIES ON 
 
 great St. Benedict, in the rule which he gave 
 to his monks, ordained that when they received 
 strangers at their convents they should first con- 
 duct them to the Church to perform a short 
 act of devotion. Indeed, as God is the fust be- 
 ginning and the last end of all our things, to 
 him we should consecrate the beginning and the 
 end of all our actions. This should form a part 
 of our morning devotions each day of our ex- 
 istence ; and lest, through the hurry of worldly 
 business, or the fascinating allurements of earthly 
 pleasures, our minds should lose sight of this 
 obligation of making God the beginning and end 
 of all that we do ; lest any want of a pure in- 
 tention of the divine glory, should vitiate our 
 actions and rob them of their claim to a future 
 reward, we should be careful, like the Saints of 
 God, to renew frequently in our minds a sense 
 of the divine presence, and repeat the offering 
 of our. actions and employments to our Creator. 
 Besides, we are at each moment of our lives 
 in the midst of a host of dangers which threaten 
 us, and from which nothing but the omnipotent 
 power and unbounded goodness of the Deity 
 can deliver us. Placed then each instant under 
 the most weighty obligations to God for past 
 favours, and depending upon him each moment 
 for future mercy, our lives, if possible, should form 
 one continued act of adoration, thanksgiving, and 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 293 
 
 supplication. The Church of God, sensible of 
 this duty, has consecrated the different parts of 
 the day to prayer ; appointing her ministers, at 
 what are termed the canonical hours, to fulfil 
 this sacred duty, and inviting her children fre- 
 quently to unite in the same holy exercise. 
 
 The history of the Church in it's state of pri- 
 mitive fervour informs us how attentive the first 
 Christians were to the duty of frequent prayer. 
 If any business, or a journey, prevented them 
 from assisting on the week-days at public prayer 
 in the house of God, they failed not to pray at 
 the appointed times, which were every three 
 hours. To renew more frequently in their minds 
 a sense of the divine presence, and to fulfil as 
 nearly as they possibly could the advice of Jesus 
 Christ, who exhorts us to pray always, they 
 offered up a short prayer before every action of 
 the day. The precept of St. Paul to the Colossi- 
 ans was constantly in their thoughts, " What- 
 soever ye do in word or in work, do ail in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks 
 to God and the Father through him." Col. iii. 17. 
 Tl^eir daily labours, whether in the field or in 
 the shop, were begun and ended with prayer. 
 Their acts of devotion throughout the day were 
 all accompanied with the sign of the cross, as 
 an expression of their faith, a pledge of their 
 hope, and a token of their love and gratitude. 
 
 U3 
 
29* HOMILIES ON 
 
 Tertullian, one of the earliest Christian writers, 
 tells vis, that the first Christians used this holy 
 sign of their redemption at almost every moment, 
 particularly whenever they went out of their 
 houses or came in, when they dressed or un- 
 dressed, when they sat down to their meals or 
 rose up from them. Let it be remembered too, 
 that the Christians who were thus constant in 
 prayer and in the use of the sign of the cross, 
 lived in the midst of reviling Jews and insulting 
 Pagans, who ridiculed and despised the religion 
 of Christ, and persecuted such as professed it. 
 Yet the first Christians, notwithstanding the con- 
 tempt, the taunts, and the cruelties of their ad- 
 versaries, persevered with unshaken constancy in 
 the profession of their faith, and in a steady adhe- 
 rence to the practices and ceremonies sanctioned 
 by the Catholic Church. Let their piety be your 
 model ; guided by the same spirit, raise up your 
 hearts frequently during the day to Almighty 
 God, and implore his blessing, more especially 
 when undertaking any business of importance, 
 when going a journey or returning from it. 
 These, and the like holy practices, will draw down 
 the divine blessing upon your going out and 
 coming in, (Psalm cxx.) and will merit the pro- 
 tection of heaven at every step which you take. 
 
 The holy Scripture, after detailing to us the 
 directions which Raphael gave the young Tobias 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 295 
 
 on his drawing near to his father's house, relates 
 this affectionate meeting with his parents, in a 
 style of simplicity which is truly affecting, and 
 which far surpasses all the embellishments that 
 the pen of the brightest genius could bestow. 
 
 Fer. 5. But Anna (his mother) sat beside the way daily, on 
 
 the top of a hill, from whence she might see afar off. 
 
 6. And while she watched his coming from that place, she 
 saw him afar off, and presently perceived it was her son 
 coming, and returning she told her husband, saying : Behold, 
 
 thy son cometh 9. Then the dog which had been with 
 
 them in the way, ran before, and coming as if he had brought 
 the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his 
 
 taiL 10. And his father that was blind, rising up, began 
 
 to run, stumbling with his feet : and giving a servant his 
 
 hand, went to meet his son. 11. And receiving him, 
 
 kissed him, as did also his wife, and they began to weep for 
 
 joy- 
 Nothing can exceed the admirable and affecting 
 simplicity of this narrative. The majesty of the 
 sacred writings does not consist in the pomp of 
 human eloquence, but in an inimitable simplicity 
 of style and expression, which at once strikes 
 the imagination and affects the heart. The grief 
 and regret of a fond mother, whose impatient 
 anxiety leads her daily to the top of some hill 
 to look for her darling son ; the haste with which 
 
 U4 
 
2$i 
 
 HOMILIES OK 
 
 she runs, as soon as she perceives her son, to 
 impart the joyful tidings to her husband ; the 
 eagerness with which the old man, notwithstand- 
 ing his blindness, rises from his seat, and runs 
 to meet his son, stumbling at every step he takes ; 
 these are traits of inimitable beauty, and form 
 a truly interesting and affecting tale. That no- 
 thing might be wanting to complete this sketch 
 of nature in it's most agreeable form of unadorned 
 simplicity, the holy Scripture mentions the affec- 
 tion and fidelity of the little dog which had 
 accompanied the young Tobias on his journey. 
 What the sacred text relates of this circumstance 
 may at first sight appear too low and trifling; 
 but we are not to judge of the works of God 
 by what appears little or great in our ideas. All 
 the works of the Deity are admirable in them- 
 selves ; and oftentimes those which seem the most 
 mean and contemptible, are most deserving of 
 our attention and admiration. The beauties of 
 nature, even in it's minutest parts, are frequently 
 noticed by the royal Prophet with a sublimity 
 of expression that fills the soul with the most 
 exalted notions of the power, wisdom, and good- 
 ness of the Creator ; and points out to us, even 
 in the meanest of God's works, subjects of asto- 
 nishment, admiration, praise, and thanksgiving. 
 The dog is one of the most common of our 
 domestic animals ; he diverts us with his fond 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 297 
 
 caresses, guards our house with fidelity, is grate- 
 ful for favours, and immoveable in his attachment 
 to his master. Yet, endowed with these proper- 
 ties, or, if I may so express myself, blessed with 
 these animal virtues, he is not possessed of a soul 
 as we are, nor has in him a principle of immor- 
 tality. But, too often do we find even in this 
 animal, an affection, a gratitude, a fidelity, which 
 we in vain look for in man, though gifted by 
 his divine Master with an immortal soul, bearing 
 in itself the image of it's Creator, and destined for 
 an eternal union with him. 
 
 Ver, 12. And when they had adored God, and given him 
 
 thanks, they sat down together. 13. Then Tobias, taking 
 
 of the gall of the fish, anointed his father's eyes 14. And 
 
 he stayed aboat half an hour: and a white skin began to 
 come out of his eyes, like the skin of an egg. ...... 15. And 
 
 Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes, and im- 
 mediately he recovered his sight 16. And they glori- 
 fied God, both he and his wife, and all that knew him 
 
 17. And Tobias said: I bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, be- 
 cause thou hast chastised me, and thou hast saved me, and 
 behold I see Tobias my son. 
 
 The young Tobias, like his father, is the same 
 in prosperity and adversity; nothing can draw 
 him aside from the path of duty. Though over- 
 joyed at seeing again his aged parents, he does 
 laot forget the directions of his guide. The Angel 
 
298 EFOMILIES ON 
 
 had told him to make his first act on entering 
 his father's house an act of adoration and grati- 
 tude to God for the protection and the blessings 
 which had attended him on his journey. Tobias 
 strictly fulfils this advice, and his parents unite 
 with him in blessing and praising the goodness 
 of God. The Angel had directed Tobias, in the 
 second place, to anoint his father's eyes with the 
 gall of the fish, assuring him that his faith, hu- 
 mility, and obedience, would be rewarded by see- 
 ing his aged parent recover his sight. Tobias, 
 the child of docility and obedience, after paying 
 his homage of thanksgiving to God in fervent 
 prayer, applied the gall of the fish, as the Angel 
 had directed, and in half an hour his father re- 
 covered his sight. This miracle of the divine 
 power and goodness, called forth an immediate 
 return of gratitude and praise from this holy 
 family. Nor was the tribute of grateful thanks- 
 giving confined to those who lived in TBbbias's 
 house ; their kinsmen and acquaintance joined 
 their hearts and voices in proclaiming the won- 
 ders of God's mercy, pouring forth the sentiments 
 of hearts, inflamed with that true charity which 
 both " weeps with those who weep, and rejoices 
 with those who rejoice." The Old Testament, 
 which is the history of the patriarchal and the 
 Jewish Church, is one continued display of the 
 most astonishing miracles. Sometimes we be- 
 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 299 
 
 hold the Deity stretching out his omnipotent 
 arm for the protection or support of his whole 
 people ; at other times, exerting his omnipotence 
 in favour of some more chosen individual, dis- 
 tinguished for his virtue. In every page we 
 discover that particular providence, which, even 
 in this life, marks out the just as the objects of 
 God's tender affection, and designates the wicked 
 as the victims of God's indignation. At one 
 time we behold his whole people passing in safety 
 through the waters of the sea; shaded in the 
 desert from the burning heat of the sun during 
 the day ; illuminated, during the night, with a 
 a pillar of fire; fed with bread from heaven; 
 triumphing over enemies, whose power seemed 
 invincible, and put in possession of a land which 
 the arm ^of 4 *i±re- Almighty had cleared of it's 
 original inhabitants, whose numbers and whose 
 strength had struck his people with terror, and 
 to human views appeared irresistible : at other 
 times, we behold Angels deputed for the pre- 
 servation of some more chosen servant of the 
 most High ; Lot snatched by their ministry 
 from the flames of Sodom ; Abraham receiving 
 by the same means the promise of a son ; Elias 
 caught up in a chariot of fire; Daniel seated 
 unhurt and undaunted amidst hungry lions ; and 
 Tobias miraculously restored to sight. 
 
 In the New Testament, the Son of God is held 
 
300 HOMILIES ON 
 
 out to us during the course of his public life, as 
 constantly exerting his infinite power in miracu- 
 lously conferring benefits upon mankind. He, 
 who was Truth itself, declared that, astonish- 
 ing as these miracles seemed to the crowds who 
 witnessed them, his followers should be enabled 
 to work wonders that should far surpass them. 
 The history of the Catholic Church attests the 
 fulfilment of this declaration of her Founder, not 
 only in the period of her first establishment and 
 primitive fervour, but in every age, even to our 
 times. The adversaries of our holy faith deny 
 this historical truth, but upon grounds so con- 
 tradictory as to destroy their own testimony. 
 Not a single argument can be brought by them 
 against the authentic miracles recorded to have 
 been wrought by the Saints of God in each cen- 
 tury, that would not equally invalidate the 
 miracles related in the gospel. Their own re- 
 ligious systems, the mere inventions of men, can 
 bring no proof of miraculous interpositions of 
 divine Providence in their favour, because He 
 who alone can suspend the laws of nature, being 
 Truth itself, will not exert his omnipotence in 
 contradiction to himself, or in confirmation of 
 error. But in vain do they attempt to strip 
 the true spouse of Christ, the Catholic Church, 
 of the splendid light of miracles, with which her 
 divine Founder has invested her, and which is 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. SOI 
 
 sufficient to discover her to all who sincerely 
 seek her, and who are not afraid of coming to 
 the light The arm of the Deity is not shortened ; 
 but amidst all the storms that assail his Church, 
 and the darkness with which her enemies attempt 
 to hide her, God still miraculously preserves her, 
 enlightens her, and, by the miracles with which 
 he honours some of her illustrious members, de- 
 clares her to be the work of his omnipotence, 
 his favoured spouse, his chosen inheritance. Oh ! 
 that with a heart, like that of the good Tobias, 
 grateful for the divine goodness which has mer- 
 cifully enlightened our spiritual blindness, and 
 made the light of his true faith to shine upon 
 us, we may daily pay him the homage of our 
 thanksgiving, and by holiness of life endeavour 
 to make our neighbours partakers of our light 
 and joy, thatthey -also may glorify God in the 
 day of visitation! — Tobias, full of joy at the 
 recovery of his sight, praised God even for his 
 past blindness, which he considered as sent him 
 for the purification of his soul, and the perfection 
 of his virtue. His joy, for the blessings conferred 
 on himself and his son, received it's accomplish- 
 ment in the safe arrival of his daughter-in-law, 
 and her servants and possessions. 
 
 Ver. 18. And after seven days, Sara his son's wife, and all the 
 family arrived safe, and the cattle and the camels, and an 
 
302 
 
 HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 abundance of money of his wive's; and that money also 
 
 which he had received from Gabelus 19. And he told 
 
 his parents all the benefits of God, which he had done to 
 
 him by the man that conducted him 20. And Achior 
 
 and Nabath, the kinsmen of Tobias, came rejoicing for 
 Tobias, and congratulating with him, for all the good things 
 
 that God had done for him 21. And for seven 
 
 they feasted and rejoiced all with great joy. 
 
 In prosperity as well as in adversity, the Saints 
 of God look to the hand of Providence as the 
 cause of whatever befalls them. Their joy and 
 their afflictions are alike sanctified by the dis- 
 positions of a heart ever sensible of the divine 
 goodness, and ever ready to embrace all the 
 appointments of heaven. Tobias, at the safe ar- 
 rival of his daughter-in-law, renewed his thanks- 
 giving to the Author of all good, and in- 
 vited his kinsmen, with whose piety he was ac- 
 quainted, to unite with him in grateful acknow- 
 ledgment to God. During seven days he out- 
 wardly expressed his joy and gratitude in enter- 
 taining his friends ; but his soul continued her 
 unceasing homage of daily acts of gratitude during 
 his mortal life, faithfully fulfilling on earth that 
 happy occupation which will form it's eternal 
 employment and delight in the mansions of the 
 blessed. 
 
TWENTY THIRD HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. XII. ver. I. Then Tobias called to him his son, and said 
 to him : What can we give this holy man that is come with 
 
 thee? 2. Tobias answering, said to his father: Father, 
 
 what wages shall we give him ? or what can be worthy of 
 
 his benefits ? 3. He conducted me, and brought me safe 
 
 again ; he received the money of Gabelus ; he caused me to 
 have my wife, and he chased from her the evil spirit ; he 
 gave joy to her parents; myself he delivered from being 
 devoured by the fish ; thee also he hath made to see the 
 light of heaven, and we are filled with all good things 
 through him. What can we give him sufficient for these 
 
 things? 4. But I beseech thee, my father, to desire him 
 
 that he would vouchsafe to accept of one half of all things 
 that have been brought. ...... 5. So the father and the son, 
 
 calling him, took him aside ; and began to desire him that 
 he would vouchsafe to accept of half of all things that they 
 had brought. 
 
 JL h e elder Tobias, on the return of his son, 
 and the recovery of his sight, made it the first 
 object of his care to express his grateful sense of 
 the mercy of God, by fervent thanksgiving. He 
 invited his relations and friends to unite with 
 him in the same holy exercise. Having fulfilled 
 
304 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 this obligation, his mind could not rest without 
 making a proper acknowledgment to the faithful 
 guide, to whom, under God, himself and his son 
 were indebted for so many blessings. He there- 
 fore calls his son to open to him his own sen- 
 timents, and, as his son was best acquainted with 
 what would be agreeable to his guide, to consult 
 with him as to the manner in which they should 
 recompense his services. No one can read the 
 conversation which passed between this holy 
 father and son on this occasion, without being 
 struck with admiration at the sublime and amiable 
 sentiments of gratitude that dwelt in their breasts. 
 The young Tobias, in particular, seems to want 
 words to express his feelings, while he recounts 
 the benefits which himself, his father, his wife, 
 and her parents had received from the faithful 
 Azarias. Both these holy men, the elder and 
 the younger Tobias, seem at a loss to find out 
 a proper reward for the services of this trusty, 
 guide. They confess that it is out of their power 
 to make him an acknowledgment proportioned 
 to his kindness. At last they send for Azarias, 
 and with heartfelt pleasure make him an offer 
 of the one-half of their substance, as the best 
 proof of gratitude their circumstances will afford. 
 
 Ver. 6. Then the Angel said to them secretly: Bless ye the 
 God of heaven, give glory to him in the sight of all that 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 305 
 
 live, because he hath shewed his mercy to you 7. For 
 
 it is good to hide the secret of a king ; but honourable to 
 
 reveal and confess the works of God 8. Prayer is good 
 
 with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of 
 
 gold; 9« Fo 1 * alms delivereth from death, and the same 
 
 is that which purgeth from sins, and maketh to find mercy 
 
 and life everlasting 10. But they that commit sin and 
 
 iniquity, are enemies to their own soul. 
 
 The time was now come when the veil with 
 which Providence had concealed it's ways from 
 it's servants was to be drawn aside, and the 
 Angel who had been sent for their comfort and 
 protection was to discover himself to them. To 
 the kind offer which Tobias and his son had 
 made of the one half of their substance, the 
 angel Raphael replies : Bless the God of heaven, 
 and praise himTbefore mankind, for it is to his 
 mercy, and not to me, that you are indebted for 
 the blessings which you have received. The 
 Angel, before he unfolds to them the secret of 
 God's providence towards them, makes them re- 
 mark the difference between the ways of God 
 and those of earthly sovereigns. The success 
 of the counsels of an earthly prince, depends 
 much upon the fidelity of his ministers in keep- 
 ing his plans a profound secret; his enemies, 
 by discovering those plans, might prevent Itheir 
 being put in execution : but no power, either in 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 earth or hell, can frustrate the designs of God, or 
 hinder their effect. For his counsels there is no 
 need of secrecy : but, on the contrary, it is a 
 part of the zeal and gratitude which are due 
 from his servants, to publish to others the wonders 
 of his providence, and proclaim to the world the 
 miracles of his goodness and power, that man- 
 kind may glorify him, may learn to put their 
 trust in him, and, by a faithful observance of 
 his law, may merit his protection. 
 
 The Angel then confirms Tobias and his son 
 in the faith of certain important truths with 
 which they were before well acquainted, and 
 by which they had regulated their lives. Prayer, 
 says he, is good, when accompanied with fasting 
 and alms-deeds. No earthly riches are worthy 
 to be compared to the eternal treasures which 
 the practice of these virtues brings with it to 
 the soul. If each one of these excellent works 
 is attended with blessings from heaven, how pow- 
 erfully must their united efficacy tend to disarm 
 God's indignation, to open the door of his mercy, 
 and obtain admission into the kingdom of heaven ! 
 These are points, however, upon which I have, 
 in my former instructions, detailed to you at 
 length the maxims of the divine word. The 
 Angel adds : " they that commit sin and iniquity 
 are enemies to their own soul." The royal 
 Prophet, in the 10th Psalm, delivers the same 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 307 
 
 sentiment : " he that loveth iniquity, hateth his 
 own soul." As sin brings death to the soul, by 
 robbing it of it's spiritual life, the grace of God ; 
 he who wilfully commits sin, is the enemy and 
 the murderer of his own soul. How frightful 
 is the truth which the holy Scripture delivers 
 in these few words ! Who can think of it with- 
 out horror ! The wilful sinner is guilty of a crime 
 which, in the language of the Holy Spirit, is a 
 murder ; a murder of the worst kind, a murder 
 by which the sinner inflicts upon himself a far 
 more deadly wound than any which could be 
 given him by the hand that should aim a blow 
 for the destruction of the life of his body. Oh ! 
 that these words may ever be deeply impressed 
 upon your minds, my beloved brethren : " those 
 who commit ~Mmiity are enemies to their own 
 soul." 
 
 The angel Raphael then discovers himself in 
 the following terms : 
 
 Vcr. 11. I discover then the truth unto you, and I will not 
 
 hide the secret from you 12. When thou didst pray 
 
 with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy 
 dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury 
 
 them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord 13. And 
 
 because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that 
 temptations should prove thee 14. And now the Lord 
 
 X2 
 
308 HOMILIES ON 
 
 hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son's wife, 
 
 from the devil 15. For I am the angel Raphael, one 
 
 of the seven who stand before the Lord. 
 
 The Catholic Church has, in every age, inculcated 
 to her children the doctrine which is here delivered 
 to the holy Tobias by an Angel from heaven, which 
 was confirmed by the Son of God, and is expressly 
 mentioned in the creed taught by his inspired 
 Apostles, the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. 
 While the Catholic Church teaches us, that the 
 God who created the universe, and who rules and 
 governs the world which he has created, is the 
 only object of adoration ; while she faithfully 
 calls upon her children to pay to the Supreme 
 Being alone, the homage of their faith, hope, 
 charity, and religious worship ; she instructs us 
 to honour and respect the happy Spirits, whom 
 God himself has honoured by making them par- 
 takers of his own glory, and to look to them as 
 our friends at the throne of divine grace, who 
 are continually exerting their kind and power- 
 ful influence for us, by prayer and intercession. 
 This doctrine of the Catholic Church is confirmed 
 both by the Old and New Testament, in a variety 
 of passages. What can be a clearer proof of this 
 holy communion which we enjoy with the citizens 
 of the heavenly Jerusalem, than the assurance 
 of the angel Raphael to Tobias : " When thou 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 
 
 309 
 
 didst pray with tears, I offered thy prayer to 
 the Lord." Yes, these holy Spirits, who behold 
 their God face to face, and taste those joys which 
 flow from the presence of his majesty, compas- 
 sionate our weakness; and knowing the malice 
 of our spiritual enemies, and the dangers which 
 surround us, advocate our cause by their prayers, 
 and supplicate for mercy in our behalf, through 
 the merits of our divine Redeemer. In the New 
 Testament, St. John, in the book of Revelations, 
 tells us, that he saw " an Angel who stood before 
 the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was 
 given to him much incense, that he should offer 
 of the prayers of all the Saints, upon the golden 
 altar which is before the throne of God. And 
 the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the 
 Saints ascended up before God from the hand 
 of the Angel." Rev. viii. 3, 4. It is a truth then, 
 attested by the divine word, both in the Old 
 and New Testament, that the Angels present 
 to God the prayers of the faithful: not that 
 we are to suppose that the Deity stands in need 
 of their ministry to know our wants or petitions ; 
 but we believe that those holy Spirits, united 
 to us by the bonds of charity, ardently desire 
 our salvation, and joining their prayers to ours, 
 aid us in obtaining from God's mercy the suc- 
 cours necessary for securing our eternal happiness. 
 Faithfully adhering then to the doctrine of the 
 
 X3 
 
310 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Church, and guided by her spirit, let us ever 
 look up with confidence to the assistance of those 
 friends of the Most High, who are now reigning 
 with him ; let us cultivate on earth that holy 
 friendship with them, which will subsist hereafter 
 throughout eternity in heaven ; let us imitate 
 their fidelity to God, by a diligent observance 
 of the divine commandments, and we shall both 
 enjoy the benefit of this holy communion upon 
 earth, and reap the fruits of it in their happy 
 society in the world to come. The same holy 
 Scripture, which represents the Angels as so soli- 
 citous for our spiritual welfare, and so powerfully 
 aiding us by their prayers, represents them as 
 frequently employed in performing offices of cha- 
 rity for the temporal benefit of God's servants. 
 Thus the angel Raphael says, that he was sent 
 by God to deliver Sara from the power of the 
 devil, and to cure the blindness with which divine 
 providence had afflicted Tobias. This trial, in 
 the order of God's providence, was necessary for 
 the perfection of Tobias's virtue. " Because thou 
 wast agreeable to God, it was necessary that 
 temptations should prove thee." Without the 
 knowledge of this truth, that afflictions are neces- 
 sary for the just, the conduct of Almighty God 
 towards his servants must be an inexplicable 
 mystery. It is not through a life of ease, of 
 pleasure, and enjoyment, that the Saints are to 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 311 
 
 arrive at eternal bliss. What Jesus Christ, the 
 Saint of Saints has said of himself, is applicable 
 to all his faithful servants : " It was necessary 
 that the Christ should suffer, and so should enter 
 into his glory." Luke xxiv. 26. All those, there- 
 fore, who are mystically united to the body of 
 Christ, as members to their head, must, if they 
 hope to share in his glory, be partakers of his 
 sufferings. This truth is evident from the lives 
 of all the eminent servants of God, both in the 
 Old and the New Law. Abraham, Joseph, David, 
 St. John Baptist, the blessed Virgin, St. Paul, 
 and his fellow Apostles, closely resembled Jesus 
 Christ in his sufferings; and by their sufferings 
 became entitled to a participation of his glory. 
 Afflictions then, so far from dejecting us, ought 
 to fiH us with hope and consolation; they are 
 one of the marks of those who are predestined 
 to eternal life. If we are free from trial and 
 persecution, we have reason to tremble for our 
 eternal lot, because we resemble not Jesus 
 Christ and his Saints. But, if we feel the 'heavy 
 ■scourge of affliction, we have reason ±@ Tejoice 
 and to hope. Let us then make it our daily 
 prayer, not to be dispensed from suffering, but 
 that under our sufferings we may imitate the 
 servants of God in their fidelity, and that the 
 divine will may be ever accomplished in us. 
 The Angel having explained to Tobias the 
 
 X4 
 
312 HOMILIES ON 
 
 designs of God's providence in sending him to 
 the assistance of himself and his family, declares 
 his name and his holy office : " I am the angel 
 Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the 
 Lord." The prophet Daniel represents the ma- 
 jesty of God as seated on a throne of fire, sur- 
 rounded by millions of blessed Spirits, who con- 
 tinually stand in the presence of their God. But 
 St. John, in the Revelations, chap. i. ver. 4. points 
 out among the heavenly host, seven Spirits, who 
 stand before the throne, the leaders of the celes- 
 tial army, the most perfect and the most holy 
 of those blessed Spirits whom God employs for 
 the accomplishment of his greatest and most im- 
 portant designs. One of these seven the angel 
 Raphael declares himself to be; and the very 
 mention of his name and dignity fills Tobias and 
 his family with fear and trembling. 
 
 Ver. 16. And when they had heard these things, they were 
 troubled; and being seized with fear, they fell upon the 
 
 ground on their face 17. And the Angel said to them: 
 
 Peace be to you, fear not 18. For when I was with you, 
 
 I was there by the will of God : bless ye him, and sing 
 
 praises to him ip. I seemed indeed to eat and to drink 
 
 with you ; but I use an invisible meat and drink, which can- 
 not be seen by men 20. It is time, therefore, that I re- 
 turn to him that sent me : but bless ye God, and publish all 
 his wonderful works. 
 
 We are taught by our divine Redeemer in the 
 
^THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 313 
 
 Lord's prayer, to petition that we may imitate 
 the blessed Spirits in the readiness and cheer- 
 fulness with which they execute the will of God. 
 The angel Raphael, in recalling to Tobias's me- 
 mory the wonders which God had wrought for 
 him and his family, gives the glory of all the 
 favours, of which he himself had been the instru- 
 ment, to the sovereign Author of all good. He 
 consoles them ; he bids them banish their fears, 
 and think only of the obligation under which 
 they are, of returning their heartfelt praise and 
 thanksgiving to the divine bounty. 
 
 " I seemed," says the Angel, " to eat and to 
 drink with you; but I use an invisible meat 
 which cannot be seen by men." We are not to 
 understand from these words, that the angel 
 Raphael practised— amy deception, and did not 
 eat and drink in reality. St. Augustin teaches, 
 that the Angels who appeared to the servants of 
 God under a human shape, eat and drank in the 
 same manner as men, but not through any neces- 
 sity. " The bodies of the just," continues this 
 holy father, " after the general resurrection, being 
 no longer susceptible of hunger or thirst, will 
 not stand in need of corporal food. Clothed with 
 a glorious immortality, they will retain the power, 
 but not the necessity of eating or drinking. In 
 like manner, the holy Angels are recorded in 
 Scripture to have eaten and drunk with the ser- 
 
3U 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 vants of God ; not that there was any necessity 
 for their doing so, but they complied with these 
 outward natural functions of men, to humanize 
 themselves, and to resemble more closely those 
 for whose service they were sent. But while 
 they were thus employed upon earth in fulfilling 
 the designs for which God had sent them, they 
 ceased not to enjoy the beatific vision of their 
 God, and the happiness of the heavenly Jerusa- 
 lem. There, satiated with a spiritual and immor- 
 tal food, with which He who is the eternal truth, 
 infinite light, and immortal wisdom, fills and 
 supports their being, they look down with com- 
 passion upon us in this world of misery and sin, 
 they succour us by their powerful aid, and re- 
 joice to be the instruments of divine Providence 
 in furnishing us with those helps that " will enable 
 us to walk faithfully on in the path that will 
 conduct us to a happy and eternal union with 
 them." " I was with you," said Raphael, " by 
 the order of God :" but even then he enjoyed the 
 sight of God, and this was the invisible meat 
 which nourished him. 
 
 Ver. 21. And when he had said these things, he was taken from 
 
 their sight, and they could see him no more 22. Then 
 
 they, lying prostate for three hours upon their face, blessed 
 God, and rising up, they told all his wonderful works. 
 
 Having accomplished the important objects for 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 315 
 
 which he had been deputed by divine Providence, 
 the angel Raphael disappeared from the earth. 
 Tobias and his family, full of admiration and 
 gratitude for the favours conferred by his minis- 
 try, fell prostrate on the ground, and in silent 
 adoration, for three hours, poured forth the fer- 
 vent homage of the heart to that all-bountiful 
 Being who had vouchsafed to send one of the 
 princes of his heavenly court to dispense to them 
 the treasures of his mercy. After this silent and 
 humble thanksgiving, they rose up, not to give 
 their minds to earthly enjoyments, but to publish 
 to their neighbours the wonders of God's good- 
 ness, and to manifest to the world their grateful 
 sense of his mercy. Let the like pious exercise 
 form the delight and occupation of your hearts 
 and voiees^ j3ay__beloyed brethren, when, having 
 approached to the holy communion, you have re- 
 ceived the choicest blessing of heaven, not by the 
 ministry of an Angel, but by the visit of Him 
 who is the joy of Angels — Jesus Christ, your Re- 
 deemer, and your God. 
 
TWENTY-FOURTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 1. And Tobias the elder opening his mouth, 
 blessed the Lord, and said : Thou art great, O Lord, for ever, 
 
 and thy kingdom is unto all ages : 2. For thou scourgest 
 
 and thou savest ; thou leadest down to hell, and bringest up 
 again : and there is none that can escape thy hand. 
 
 Tamils* 
 
 Ihe faithful servant of God, Tobias, during 
 the three hours in which he lay prostrate on the 
 ground in silent adoration, gave up his soul to 
 the emotions of gratitude and love, listening with 
 awe and reverence to the interior language of 
 God's holy Spirit within him. At length, no 
 longer able to restrain the flame that was en- 
 kindled in his breast by the communications of 
 the holy Spirit, and transported with admiration 
 at the goodness of God towards his own family, 
 and the wonders of his mercy reserved for future 
 ages, Tobias breaks forth in that admirable song, 
 or canticle, which the holy Scripture records in 
 the 13th chapter of his history, and which is 
 one of the most sublime and beautiful passages 
 of holy writ. The first part of it is a solemn 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 317 
 
 act of thanksgiving, in which this virtuous ser- 
 vant of God invites all the children of Israel to 
 unite with them ; the second part is a prophecy, 
 in which under the figurative name of Jerusalem, 
 Tobias, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, fore- 
 sees and foretells the glory of the Church of 
 Christ, both on earth and in her future triumph- 
 ant state in heaven. 
 
 " Thou art great for ever, O Lord," cries out 
 the holy Tobias, " and thy kingdom is unto all 
 ages." 
 
 The thought of the infinite majesty of that 
 God, who had shewn him so many and such 
 extraordinary favours, fills his mind. He is over- 
 whelmed with sentiments of humility, when he 
 considers_that the eternal and incomprehensible 
 Deity shouTcTTiave cteigned to stoop down to 
 him from the throne of his mercy, and to send 
 one of his Angels to visit him, and confer blessings 
 upon him. What, my beloved brethren, would 
 be the sentiments of a poor beggar, who should 
 see himself noticed by an earthly prince, treated 
 by him with kindness and attention, relieved in 
 all his wants, and provided with every aid and 
 comfort in time of sickness and distress ! Would 
 he not want words to express his grateful sense 
 of the kindness of his princely benefactor ? Y^t, 
 this benefactor, though a prince, and great in 
 power and in earthly riches, is, like the beggar 
 
318 HOMILIES ON 
 
 whom he so generously relieves, a frail mortal, 
 who must one day resign his possessions, and 
 moulder in the dust. His greatness has it's 
 bounds, and his power is limited to the duration 
 of a few years. But thy greatness, O God, cries 
 out the faithful Tobias, is infinite, thy power is 
 without bounds, thy empire is universal, thy 
 dominion endures for ever. The lapse of ages, 
 and the revolutions of time, can neither lessen 
 thy power nor shorten it's duration. " What 
 then is man, O Lord, that thou shouldst be mind- 
 ful of him, or the son of man, that thou shouldst 
 visit him ?" Psalm viii. Oh ! that such senti- 
 ments as these may have their due influence upon 
 our breasts, when we taste of the bounty of this 
 great and beneficent God, more especially when 
 we partake of the choicest of liis favours, by 
 receiving him in the holy communion ! 
 
 " Thou scourgest and thou savest ; thou leadest 
 down to hell, and bringest up again ; and there 
 is none that can escape thy hand." 
 
 God, the sovereign Lord and ruler of the 
 universe, exercises his power with mercy and with 
 justice ; he is omnipotent, both to save and to 
 punish. In vain shall the sinner fly from his 
 face ; in vain shall he attempt to screen himself 
 from the anger of the Deity ; God's infinite ven- 
 geance will assuredly overtake him and punish 
 him. The all-piercing eye of the Supreme Be- 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 319 
 
 ing penetrates the thickest darkness, and searches 
 the deepest recesses of the heart. " Shall a man 
 be hid in secret places, and I not see him, saith 
 the Lord." " Do I not fill the heavens and the 
 earth, saith the Lord?" "Yes," cries out the 
 royal Prophet, " if I ascend up into heaven, thou 
 art there ; if I descend into hell, thou art there ; 
 if I take wings in the morning, and shall dwell 
 in the uttermost bounds of the sea, even thither 
 thy hand shall lead me, and thy right-hand shall 
 hold me." Psalm cxlix. 
 
 There is no one then that can escape the hand 
 of his justice. As God witnesses the crimes of 
 the wicked, their violations of his law, and the 
 insults which they offer to his adorable majesty, 
 he is present with them by his infinite justice, to 
 take vengeance--«*^theii? mkjuities. Though the 
 sinner may be seated on the highest pinnacle 
 of worldly grandeur, and surrounded by a herd 
 of flatterers who persuade him that he may in- 
 dulge his passions without fear, as there is no 
 one to controul or punish him, he shall feel the 
 severity of God's justice, and neither rank nor 
 power shall save him from the hand of God's 
 indignation. But this God, who is thus present 
 with sinners by his infinite justice, watches over 
 his servants by the presence of his infinite mercy, 
 and the arm of his unbounded goodness is ever 
 held out for their protection. Sometimes he leads 
 
320 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 to the very brink of the grave, which is what 
 is here meant by the word hell, that he may 
 display the magnificence of his power and good- 
 ness in the deliverance of his servants. He per- 
 mits Isaac to be bound and stretched out as a 
 victim for sacrifice, and in an instant diverts the 
 blow that is about to deprive him of life. He 
 suffers the innocent Joseph to be confined in a 
 dungeon with criminals, and on a sudden elevates 
 him to the highest dignity in Egypt. He per- 
 mits the three children, his faithful adorers, to 
 be thrown into a furnace of fire, and preserves 
 them in health and safety. Tobias himself he 
 afflicts with poverty and blindness, and on a 
 sudden restores his sight, and fills him with his 
 best and choicest blessings for time and eternity. 
 Who then can doubt of the divine power or 
 goodness ? Who can want confidence in the di- 
 vine protection, though he be placed in the ex- 
 tremity of danger and distress ? The arm of his 
 mercy is not shortened, but is and ever will be 
 ready to protect those who faithfully serve him. 
 If it is his will to deliver them, no creature can 
 prevent his designs, or retard the effects of his 
 mercy. How consoling is this truth to the ser- 
 vants of God, that they are ever under the eye 
 of that omnipotent and all-merciful God whom 
 they serve ; who loves them as the apple of his 
 eye, and guards them in all their ways. While 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 321 
 
 the wicked, whose conscience reproaches them 
 with criminal violations of the law of their God, 
 tremble and shrink with fear at the thought of 
 the presence of the Deity ; the just rejoice in 
 this truth, and their constant sense of it fills 
 them with consolation and with hope. " Let 
 God arise, and let his enemies be dispersed ; and 
 let them that hate him flee from before his face. 
 As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away ; 
 as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked 
 perish at the presence of God. But let the just 
 feast and rejoice before God, and be delighted 
 with gladness. Rejoice ye (just) before him: 
 but the wicked shall be troubled at the presence 
 of him, who is the father of orphans and the 
 judge of widows." Psalm lxvii. 1. Animated with 
 these holy truths, and impressed with gratitude 
 for the protection which he himself had experi- 
 enced from the divine power and goodness, Tobias 
 invites all the people of God to join him in fer-* 
 vent thanksgiving. 
 
 Ver. S. Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and 
 
 praise him in the sight of the Gentiles: 4. Because he 
 
 hath therefore scattered you among the Gentiles, who know 
 not him, that you may declare his wonderful works, and make 
 them know that there is no other Almighty God besides him. 
 
 5. He hath chastised us for our iniquities; and he will 
 
 save us for Ins own mercy 6. See then what he hath 
 
 Y 
 
322 HOMILIES ON 
 
 done with us, and with fear and trembling give ye glory to 
 him : and extol the eternal King of worlds in your works. 
 
 The children of Israel, to whom Tobias him- 
 self belonged, and whom he here calls upon to 
 unite with him in fervent thanksgiving to the 
 Deity, were the chosen people of God. Selected 
 by him from among the nations of the earth, they 
 had been blessed with the knowledge of him the 
 true God, had received a law from his mouth, 
 had been guided by his hand, and enjoyed his 
 divine favour and protection. But, ungrateful 
 for the blessings by which they were thus dis- 
 tinguished from other nations, the Israelites pro- 
 voked the anger of heaven by repeated crimes 
 and rebellions against God, till, in punishment 
 of their ingratitude, they were conquered by a 
 foreign power, driven from their country, and 
 doomed to a long and severe captivity in a 
 strange land, among infidels who were plunged 
 in the grossest idolatry and superstition. This 
 severe punishment of the ungrateful Israelites, 
 was a part of the designs of God's mercy towards 
 his people. For the scourges of God's justice 
 are the chastisements of a tender father, who 
 studies the welfare of his children, and in visiting 
 them with afflictions, seeks their true happiness. 
 Thus, the dispersion of the Israelites among the 
 ^trous Gentiles, serves, in the order of divine 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 223 
 
 providence, two great and important ends. First, 
 it operated as a seasonable correction on the re- 
 bellious Israelites, made them sensible of their 
 ingratitude, and recalled them to a sense of their 
 duty. Secondly, the captivity of the Jewish 
 people and their repentance, served to spread 
 among the Gentiles the knowledge of the true 
 God, by making known to them the greatness 
 of his power and the severity of his judgments, 
 and thus prepared them for the blessing which 
 was afterwards to be poured out upon them in 
 their vocation to the Christian Church. 
 
 Entering into these views of divine providence, 
 Tobias considers himself, and his brethren in cap- 
 tivity, as so many preachers sent to announce, 
 tp the idolatrous nations among whom they 
 lived, the knowledge of the true God. <f There? 
 fore hath he scattered you among the Gentiles, 
 who know not him, that you may declare his 
 wonderful works, and make them know that 
 there is no other Almighty God besides him." 
 This holy man exhorts his fellow-captives to ac- 
 quit themselves faithfully of this duty, of preach- 
 ing the truth by word and work ; to co-operate 
 with the designs of God's mercy towards the 
 idolatrous nations ; and, by holiness of life, and 
 an edifying conversation, to promote the know- 
 ledge and the worship of the true God. The 
 Apostle, St. Paul, gives the same advice to us 
 
524 HOMILIES OK 
 
 Christians. We live in the midst of a world 
 which calls itself Christian, and professes to know 
 and to serve the true God; while it's maxims 
 are in direct opposition to the principles of Chris- 
 tianity, and the lives of it's deluded followers 
 are marked with the same vices that formerly 
 disgraced the heathen world before the light of 
 Christianity shone upon it. Looking upon our- 
 selves, therefore, as captives and exiles in this 
 world which knows not God, we are bound, in 
 gratitude for the blessing of the true faith and 
 knowledge of our duty, to spread around us the 
 sweet odour of Christ, by innocence of life and 
 sanctity of manners. " Be ye blameless and 
 sincere children of God," says St. Paul to the 
 Philippians, " without reproof in the midst of a 
 crooked and perverse generation: among whom 
 you shine as lights to the world." ii. 15. — St. 
 Peter, admonishing Christians to consider them- 
 selves as strangers and pilgrims in this world, 
 thus exhorts them : " Let your conversation be 
 good among the Gentiles, that whereas they 
 speak against you as evil doers, considering you 
 by your good works, they may give glory to 
 God in the day of visitation." 
 
 But the captivity of the Jews was designed 
 not only for the benefit of the Gentiles, by dif* 
 fusing among them the knowledge of the tru«* 
 God ; it was to operate as a salutary correction 
 
THE BOOK OP TOBIAS. 325 
 
 of the stiff-necked and rebellious Israelites : " He 
 hath chastised us for our iniquities, and he will 
 save us for his own mercy." The same truth 
 is applicable to every individual ; the afflictions 
 with which God visits us, are at the same time 
 the punishment of our past iniquities, and the 
 instruments of God's mercy. The humble con- 
 fession of this truth, under the trials which befall 
 us, the sincere acknowledgment of our own un- 
 worthiness in the divine sight, and of the justice 
 of God's judgments, will disarm the (livine in- 
 dignation, and draw down upon us, even in the 
 severest of God's visitations, his mercy and his 
 blessing. We behold the greatest of God's ser- 
 vants animated by this spirit of humility, and 
 faithfully following it's directions. The prophet 
 Daniel, and the holy Tobias, though uncon- 
 scious of any share in those grievous transgres- 
 sions by which their people had drawn upon 
 themselves God's severe judgments, yet remem- 
 bering that no one is without fault in the sight of 
 God, acknowledged themselves sinners, and in a 
 spirit of penance, cheerfully submitted to the divine 
 appointments. Let us imitate their example ; and 
 under ever affliction, whether spiritual or tem- 
 poral, fearful lest we should have contributed 
 by our sins to draw down the wrath of God, 
 Jet us by our bumble submi^i^n to God's will. 
 
 Y3 
 
 L 
 
326 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 and the sincerity of our repentance, improve the 
 visitations of heaven, and make them instruments 
 of mercy and salvation. " See and consider," said 
 the holy Tobias to his countrymen, " what God 
 hath done with us, and with fear and trembling 
 give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal 
 King of worlds in your works. 
 
 Vet. 7. As for me, I will praise him in the land of my cap- 
 tivity ; because he hath shewed his majesty towards a sinful 
 nation. 
 
 God, my beloved brethren, is no less adorable 
 in his judgments than in his mercies. Whether 
 he strikes us, or heals us, he is deserving of our 
 praise; for all he does is designed to promote 
 our everlasting good. Convinced of his goodness, 
 let us ever, under all his dispensations, pay him 
 the grateful tribute of our praise and thanks- 
 giving. Such was the conduct of Tobias: As 
 for me, says this holy man, I will praise God 
 in the land of my captivity ; I will kiss his 
 adorable hand that strikes me, and I will not 
 cease to bless him for his mercy towards my 
 sinful and ungrateful countrymen. They have 
 abandoned him to serve idols, and hasre trampled 
 W law under their feet; but he has chastised 
 them, and he has scourged them, that he may 
 
 J 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 327 
 
 bring them to repentance, and may make them 
 partakers of his mercy. 
 
 Ver. 8. Be converted, therefore, ye sinners, and do justice before 
 God, believing that he will shew his mercy to you. 
 
 Tobias now addresses those among his fellow- 
 captives who, insensible either of the divine judg- 
 ments or mercies, still remained obstinate in their 
 evil ways, and exhorts thern to repentance. Be 
 converted, ye sinners ; let the judgments which 
 have fallen upon you, awaken you ; renounce 
 your iniquities; redeem your past crimes by 
 works of justice ; take the scourge of repentance 
 into your own hands ; shew the sincerity of your 
 conversion by a change of life and conduct ; and 
 by fervent prayer, accompanied with the cries of 
 a truly contrite and humble heart, seek with con- 
 fidence the mercy of God. Neither the multitude 
 nor the enormity of your sins can exhaust the 
 treasures of his infinite goodness ; but his mercy 
 will receive your sighs of repentance, and your 
 prayers w T ill find favour in his sight. 
 
 Ycr. 9. And I, and my soul, will rejoice in him 10, Bless 
 
 ye the Lord, all his elect ; keep days of joy, and give glory 
 to him. 
 
 After exhorting his sinful countrymen to re- 
 
 Y4 
 
328 HOMILIES, kc. 
 
 pentance, the holy Tobias invites all the true 
 children of Israel to unite with him in praise 
 and thanksgiving. He styles the true Israelites, 
 the elect of God, because they had been in a 
 peculiar manner chosen by God to be his people : 
 * Ye shall be my kingdom, a kingdom of priests, 
 a holy nation." Exod, xix. 5. But he confines 
 not his address to the seed of Abraham ; he ex- 
 horts all sinners, in every age, to tremble at the 
 sight of God's judgments, and avert his wrath by 
 repentance; and he calls upon all the servants 
 of God throughout the Christian Church, in each 
 succeeding generation, to begin with him here 
 upon earth that homage of praise, adoration, and 
 thanksgiving, which will form the unceasing oc- 
 cupation of the elect in the kingdom of the 
 blessed. 
 
TWENTY-FIFTH HOMILY, 
 
 Chap. XIII. ver. 11. Jerusalem, city of God, the Lord hath 
 
 chastised thee for the works of thy hands. 12. Give 
 
 glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God 
 eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in thee, and may 
 call back all the captives to thee, and thou mayest rejoice 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 Tamils* 
 
 JLobias, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in this 
 second part of his canticle, or song of thanks- 
 giving, foretells events which were to happen in 
 after ages. For the destruction of the city and 
 temple of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the 
 Jews, who were transported to Babylon, did not 
 take place until a hundred years after this period 
 of Tobias's history. Yet this holy man speaks 
 of those events as if they had already happened, 
 because the light which the Holy Spirit com- 
 municated to him, rendered them present to his 
 mind and clear to his sight. The same circum- 
 stance is remarkable in all the prophets. Isaias 
 and Jeremy, ages before the birth of the pro- 
 mised Saviour, described the principal circum- 
 stances of his life and death, with the same clear- 
 
330 HOMILIES ON 
 
 ness and precision, as if they had been recording 
 events of past history. This foreknowledge of 
 future events, which God discloses on some oc- 
 casions to his chosen servants, is one of the marks 
 of his divine interposition, and one of the extra- 
 ordinary means by which he makes known his 
 truths, and manifests his chosen delegates to the 
 world. 
 
 Tobias, in the prophetic vision with which 
 he was favoured by the Holy Spirit, foresaw 
 that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which 
 still remained in their native country, would, 
 like their brethren of the other ten tribes, ex- 
 perience the vengeance of God in a long banish- 
 ment from Judaea. Unawed by a fear of those 
 judgments which had fallen upon their brethren, 
 and remaining obstinate in their wickedness, the 
 Jews were delivered by Almighty God into the 
 hands of Nabuchodonosor, who carried them cap- 
 tives to Babylon, in the same manner as Salmanasar 
 had treated the ten tribes that formed the king- 
 dom of Israel. The severe vengeance which the 
 Almighty thus took upon his rebellious people, 
 is but a shadow of that dreadful chastisement 
 which throughout eternity he will inflict upon 
 wilful sinners, in their everlasting banishment 
 from the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the 
 living God, and the joys that flow from the glo- 
 rious presence of Him who reigns within it. 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 331 
 
 Tobias, at the same time that he foresaw the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, and the banishment 
 of it's inhabitants, was consoled with a view 
 of the restoration of the Jewish people, and their 
 return to the divine favour and protection. He, 
 therefore, exhorts his countrymen to be grateful 
 for the divine goodness, and give due praise to 
 the Most High for his wonderful mercy. 
 
 " Jerusalem, the Lord hath chastised thee for 
 the works of thy hands. Give glory to the 
 Lord for thy good things, and bless the God 
 eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in 
 thee, and may call back all his captives to thee, 
 and thou may est rejoice for ever and ever." 
 
 It is not, however, to the mere release of his 
 people from captivity, to the rebuilding of the 
 temple, or tke^temporal prosperity of the Jews, 
 that the prophetic Tobias confines his view. 
 Glorious as these events were, and wonderfully 
 as they mark the interposing hand of divine 
 Providence in favour of his chosen people, yet 
 they sink into comparative insignificance, when 
 contrasted with the blessings poured out upon 
 mankind in the establishment of the Christian 
 Church, and the graces diffused over the earth 
 by her doctrines and her sacraments, to the end 
 of ages. Tobias foresees the day when the 
 knowledge of the true God shall no longer be 
 confined to an ungrateful, proud, and rebellious 
 
S32 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 people; when He, to whom his Father hath 
 given all the nations of the earth for his inheritance 
 the promised Messiah, shall come, to bring back 
 the captive children from the slavery of sin and hell, 
 and establish upon earth a kingdom that shall 
 endure for ever. This kingdom, which is no 
 other than the Church of Christ, was to take 
 it's rise from Jerusalem, and thence was to spread 
 itself over every nation under the sun. Hence 
 Tobias addresses the Church under the figurative 
 name of Jerusalem. The divine Founder of this 
 kingdom likens it to a grain of mustard-seed, 
 small and insignificant in it's first appearance, 
 but afterwards growing up, and becoming a large 
 tree, in which the birds of the air seek refuge 
 and repose. The Church, at it's first establish- 
 ment, was confined to the narrow limits of 
 Jerusalem, but soon spreading it's branches into 
 the most distant parts, enclosed the kingdoms 
 and people of the earth under it's shade. Nothing 
 more clearly bespeaks itself to be the work of 
 God, than the establishment and the propagation 
 of the Church of Christ. The instruments whom 
 it's Founder chose to employ for the accomplish- 
 ment of this great work, in all human views 
 were the most unlikely to succeed. Twelve 
 men, taken from the lowest occupations in life, 
 totally unacquainted with human learning, un- 
 supported by any earthly power or protection, 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. SSS 
 
 with nothing but disgrace, persecution, and death 
 before them as their portion in this world, are 
 commissioned to bring mankind to the belief 
 that one Jesus, who had been rejected by his 
 own people and nailed to a disgraceful cross, was 
 no other than the Saviour of the world, and 
 that all who refused to believe in him, would 
 be eternally excluded from the happiness of £ 
 future state. In vain did the great ones of the 
 world oppose the preaching of these men; in 
 vain did the powers of hell unite with the princes 
 of the earth in resisting the progress of the 
 Christian faith. The Apostles preached every 
 where, the Lord co-operating with them, and 
 shewing by the miracles which he enabled them 
 to work, that they acted by his authority. The 
 prejudices ©£-ages gave way ; and the heathens, 
 renouncing their idolatrous superstitions, ran in 
 crowds to embrace Christianity ; so that in the 
 course of a few years, the spiritual kingdom of 
 Christ was established in most parts of the then 
 known world. " We are but of yesterday," says 
 Tertullian to the Pagans, " and we fill your 
 cities, your towns, your armies, your palaces, 
 and your houses. 5 ' Thus was the church of 
 Christ, the city of God upon earth, miraculously 
 established; thus was the light of truth diffused 
 over the nations that had hitherto sat in darkness 
 and in the shadow of death. The prophetic view, 
 
$34t HOMILIES ON 
 
 with which Tobias was favoured of this glorious 
 event, filled that holy man with raptures of joy, 
 and he thus declares it to his fellow-captives : 
 
 Ver. 13. Thou, (Jerusalem, i. e. the Church) shalt shine with 
 a glorious light, and all the ends of the earth sliall worship 
 
 thee 14. Nations from afar shall come to thee, and 
 
 bring gifts, and adore the Lord in thee, and esteem thy 
 land as holy. ...... 15. For they shall call upon the great 
 
 name in thee. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah, in a noble and sublime 
 strain of prophetic eloquence, announces to the 
 earth the same blessings, of the light of the 
 gospel, and the wonderful propagation of the 
 kingdom of Christ. " Arise, Jerusalem, be en- 
 lightened, for the glory of the Lord is risen 
 upon thee; darkness shall cover the earth, and 
 a thick mist the people thereof: but the Lord 
 himself shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall 
 be seen within thee. And the Gentiles shall 
 walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness 
 of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes and see; all 
 these are gathered together, they are come to 
 thee; thy sons shall come from afar, and thy 
 daughters shall rise up at thy side. The strength 
 of the Gentiles shall come to thee ; all they from 
 Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: 
 and shewing forth praise to the Lord. The 
 islands wait for me, and the ships of the sea, that 
 
THE BOOK OF f O'BIAS %S5 
 
 I may bring thy sons from afar ; their silver and 
 their gold with them, to the name of the Lord 
 thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because 
 he hath glorified thee. And thou shalt suck the 
 milk of the Gentiles, and thou shalt be nursed 
 with the breast of kings, and thou shalt know 
 that I am the Lord, thy Saviour, and thy Re- 
 deemer, the mighty One of Jacob." chap. Ix. 
 
 These magnificent prophecies received their ful- 
 filment in the glorious establishment of the 
 Christian Church. When the Apostles began 
 to announce the doctrines of their Saviour, the 
 nations of the earth were buried in the thickest 
 darkness : but Jesus Christ, the sun of Justice, 
 piercing these obscure clouds with the rays of 
 his divine [light, dispelled the mists that covered 
 the world, lufit^erilightened the earth with the 
 splendour of the New Law, which completely 
 eclipsed the brightness of the Old. As soon as 
 this divine light shone upon mankind, nations 
 ran in crowds to partake of it's splendour ; they 
 entered into the city of God, his holy Church, 
 revered it as a spot truly holy, brought the most 
 magnificent presents to enrich her, offered in her 
 their sacrifices to the Most High, and called with 
 faith upon his holy name. Enriched with the 
 spoils of the Pagan world, the Church, triumph- 
 ing over the persecutors that opposed her progress, 
 and gaining strength and fruitfulness from the 
 
33$ HOMILIES OK 
 
 blood of her martyrs, beheld the most distant 
 nations reposing under her wings, and tasting 
 in her precincts, the rich blessings which her 
 heavenly Founder had commissioned her to im- 
 part to mankind. 
 
 Ver. 16. They shall be cursed that shall despise thee: an^they 
 shall be condemned that shall blaspheme thee : and blessed 
 
 shall they be that shall build thee up 17. But thou 
 
 shalt rejoice in thy children, because they shall all be blessed, 
 
 and shall be gathered together to the Lord 18. Blessed 
 
 are all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy peace. 
 
 In his kingdom, that is, his Church upon 
 earth, our divine Redeemer has assured us, that 
 tares will be found mixed with the good corn, 
 until he, the heavenly husbandman, shall come 
 at the end of the world, and, separating the tares 
 from the wheat, shall gather the good grain into 
 his barn, but shall burn the tares with unquench- 
 able fire. The same awful truths are here de- 
 livered by the prophetic Tobias; the curse 'of 
 God is denounced against those who, either in 
 faith or morals, shew themselves* enemies of the 
 Church of God. Woe be to those who blas- 
 pheme or speak evil against the true Church of 
 Christ, who calumniate her, who misrepresent 
 her doctrines, or seduce men from her into the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 337 
 
 by-paths of heresy and schism. But a much 
 greater woe, or curse from God, will fall upon 
 those ungrateful children of the Church, who, 
 though nursed in her bosom, and fed with her 
 milk of heavenly doctrine and the most holy 
 sacraments, despise her orders, live in the viola- 
 tion of her precepts, disgrace her by a wicked 
 life, and prejudice others against her doctrine by 
 their scandals. The word of God here pro- 
 nounces the condemnation of all such scandalous 
 and rebellious Christians ; and Jesus Christ declares 
 that it shall be more tolerable in the day of judg- 
 ment for heathens, who never knew the true 
 God, than for such as bear the name of children 
 of the Church, but live in disobedience to her 
 sacred injunctions. The Church of God mourns 
 over t!tes^4*eE__iinhappy children ; their ingrati- 
 tude is a subject of deep affliction to her. But 
 she is filled with joy and consolation at the holy 
 lives and edifying conversation of her faithful 
 children, knowing, as Tobias expresses it, that 
 they are truly blessed ; blessed upon earth in the 
 friendship of her spouse, and destined for eternal 
 blessedness, by being gathered together to the 
 Lord. This blessing is first promised to those 
 who build up the Church, to the Apostles and 
 their successors in the sacred ministry, who by 
 their preaching, their labours, and sanctity of 
 manners, propagate the spiritual kingdom <d 
 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Christ throughout the earth. Such as these will 
 receive a double crown ; for, " they who instruct 
 others unto justice shall shine like stars for all 
 eternity." But the blessing is not confined to 
 them ; it extends to all members of the Church, 
 who, by a virtuous life and holy example, con- 
 tribute to the advancement of this holy and 
 spiritual edifice, the Church, and adorn the city 
 of God. It is in these her faithful children that 
 the Church rejoices; she beholds them united 
 in one and the same faith, looking forward with 
 hope to the same promised blessing, animated 
 with a spirit of charity, walking in the footsteps 
 of her divine founder, and directing their lives 
 to the glory of their Creator. These form at 
 once the joy and consolation of this holy mother, 
 the Church ; she loves these her faithful children, 
 and in return is loved by them. " Blessed are 
 all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy 
 peace." All true children of the Church, sen- 
 sible of the blessing which they enjoy in her 
 protection, are interested in her prosperity, and 
 rejoice in promoting her extension, and in con- 
 tributing to her glory. While the children of 
 the world, under the influence of ambition and 
 earthly glory, devote themselves with eagerness 
 to the service of their country, and cheerfully 
 sacrifice their ease, their property, and their life, 
 to advance it's power and rank among nations ; 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 389 
 
 let it be our glory, as children of the Church, 
 to extend her empire among mankind ; let us 
 embrace with cheerfulness every opportunity of 
 contributing to the advancement of religion, of 
 increasing the number of God's servants, and 
 promoting the salvation of our fellow-creatures. 
 
 The Church is the city of peace, and they 
 who truly love her, rejoice in her peace. This 
 peace of the Church will not be perfect until 
 her divine spouse shall unite her to himself in 
 glory. Here on earth, she is exposed to storms, 
 and conflicts, and dangers ; her peace is often 
 disturbed by the vices and evil example of some 
 of her undutiful children. But in the midst of 
 these scenes of danger, she enjoys a foretaste of 
 her future peace, in the divine protection, and 
 in the vii*«es_-afLthose her faithful children, who 
 by their unity of faith, the firmness of their hope, 
 and the bonds of charity which unite them, afford 
 upon earth an image of her future state of eternal 
 peace. Tobias pronounces those blessed, who, by 
 their steady adherence to the faith of the Church, 
 their humble submission to her laws, and their 
 bright virtues, preserve true peace within her 
 bosom, and fly with horror from all those divi- 
 sions in doctrine, or scandals, that might disturb 
 her repose, or violaterher unity. 
 
340 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Ver. 19. My soul, bless thou the Lord, because the Lord our 
 God hath delivered Jerusalem his city from all her troubles. 
 
 20. Happy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed, 
 
 to see the glory of Jerusalem 21. The gates of Jerusalem 
 
 shall be built of sapphire and of emerald, and all the walls 
 
 thereof round about of precious stones 22. All it's 
 
 streets shall be paved with white and clean stones, and Alleluia 
 
 shall be sung in it's streets 23. Blessed be the Lord, who 
 
 hath exalted it, and may he reign over it for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 The holy Tobias, no longer considering the 
 Church in her state of trial upon earth, but fa- 
 voured with a view of her magnificent glory in 
 heaven, is enraptured with joy, and praising God 
 for his unbounded goodness, ardently sighs for 
 that happy day of eternity, when he and his 
 virtuous offspring may be at once witnesses and 
 partakers of it's glory. This glory of the Church 
 in it's triumphant state, is no other than God 
 himself, who is the light, the splendour, and the 
 happiness of the heavenly Jerusalem. Under the 
 figurative appellation of emeralds and precious 
 stones, Tobias designates the elect of God ; who, 
 according to their different degrees of sanctity? 
 like so many inestimable jewels, shall adorn the 
 eternal city of God. Polished upon earth by the 
 chisel and the hammer of afflictions, they shall 
 be translated to this heavenly edifice, and support 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 341 
 
 and adorn this magnificent structure of God's 
 infinite majesty. Into this holy city no unclean 
 thing shall enter; all it's streets shall be paved 
 with white stones, with spotless innocence, and 
 no other song shall be heard, than eternal hymns 
 of praise and thanksgiving to God. 
 
 O God, blessed be thou for this immense glory 
 which thou hast prepared for thy servants, when 
 after their long captivity thou wilt console them 
 with the presence of thy glory. Establish in 
 our souls, in this our exile, the reign of thy 
 grace, that thus we may be prepared to reign 
 with thee for ever in the kingdom of thy glory. 
 Amen. 
 
 Z3 
 
TWENTY-SIXTH HOMILY. 
 
 Chap. XI V. ver. 1. And the words of Tobias were ended. And 
 after Tobias was restored to his sight, he lived two and forty 
 
 years, and saw the children of his grand-children 
 
 2. And after he had lived a hundred and two years, he was 
 
 buried honourably in Ninive 3. For he was six and fifty 
 
 years old when he lost the sight of his eyes, and sixty when 
 he recovered it again. And the rest of his life was in joy, 
 and with ^reat increase of the fear of God he departed in 
 peace. 
 
 3ftmitil£» 
 
 TT e now, my beloved brethren, draw near to 
 the close of the history, which the holy Scriptures 
 have recorded, of the virtues of Tobias. After 
 having for four years endured the severe affliction 
 of blindness with the most admirable patience 
 and resignation to the divine will, at the age 
 of threescore years he was miraculously restored 
 to his sight, in the manner which you have heard 
 related. It pleased Almighty God to prolong the 
 life of this holy man to a very advanced age, 
 that he might present to mankind a pattern of 
 virtue in every stage of human existence. His 
 declining years were an uninterrupted series of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 34S 
 
 peace and domestic happiness ; the happy fruit 
 of his past fidelity to God, and the care which 
 he took of his son in his infancy. The rest of 
 his life, says the sacred text, was in joy ; not 
 that worldly joy which arises merely from earthly 
 considerations, such as riches and temporal pros- 
 perity, but a joy springing from a consciousness 
 of enjoying the divine favour and protection, ac- 
 companied with the sight of a family who made 
 it their constant practice to serve God with fide- 
 lity, and devote their lives to the end for which 
 they had received their being. 
 
 To the end of his life Tobias advanced in the 
 fear of God; in that holy filial fear which is 
 founded on a love of the Supreme Being above 
 every other object, and which carefully abstains 
 from every^ thing~that might in the least be con- 
 trary to his holy will. This gradual and constant 
 advancing towards perfection, is one of the marks 
 of the predestinated, and forms a distinguishing 
 feature in the character of the truly just man. 
 " The path of the just, as a shining light, goeth 
 forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day." 
 Prov. iv. 18. To aim at this perfection is the 
 duty of all ; the very first and the greatest of 
 the commandments is, " that we love the Lord 
 our God with all our hearts, with air our minds, 
 and with all our strength." But the full per- 
 fection of this love of our Creator is not attain- 
 
 Z 4 
 
Hit HOMILIES ON 
 
 able in this life, it is reserved for our future state 
 in eternal happiness, when, being purified from 
 the dross of earthly affection, all the faculties of 
 our soujs will be absorbed in God, and our only 
 and never-ending employment will be the con- 
 templation and the love of him. During our 
 present state of existence, our love is at the best 
 but imperfect ; yet it is our duty to desire it's 
 complete perfection, and constantly to press for- 
 ward towards the attainment of it. This is what 
 our divine Redeemer calls, " to hunger and thirst 
 after justice ;" and he promises his blessing both 
 for time and eternity to those who are faithful 
 in fulfilling this duty. " Blessed are they that 
 hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be 
 filled ; filled with abundance of divine grace in 
 this life, to aid their spiritual advancement, and 
 crowned with an eternity of blessings in the life 
 to come. 
 
 Tobias, at the age of one hundred and two 
 years, perceiving that his last hour was come, 
 that hour after which he had long been sighing, 
 called his family round him, and gave them his 
 last advice, as the holy Scripture relates, in the 
 following manner : 
 
 Ver. 5. And at the hour of his death, he called unto hira his 
 son Tobias, and his children, seven young men, his grandsons, 
 and said to them: 6. The destruction of Ninive is at 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 345 
 
 hand : for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled : and our 
 brethren, that are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, 
 
 shall return to it 7. And all the land that is desert shall 
 
 be filled with people, and the house of God which is burnt 
 in it, shall again be rebuilt : and all that fear God shall re- 
 turn thither 8. And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, 
 
 and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it 
 
 9. And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring 
 the king of Israel 
 
 Tobias, on his death-bed, is favoured by the 
 holy Spirit with" a foresight of certain great events 
 which, in the order of God's providence, and for 
 the execution of the decrees of his infinite justice 
 and mercy, were to happen in future times. The 
 holy old man imparts the knowledge of these 
 important^ eventsjto his family, for their instruc- 
 tion, and to confirm them in their fidelity to 
 God. He foretells the speedy destruction of 
 Ninive, the return of the captive Jews to their 
 native land, the rebuilding of the temple, and 
 the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of 
 the true God. 
 
 " The destruction of Ninive is at hand, for 
 the word of the Lord must be fulfilled." When 
 the Ninivites, by their wicked and licentious lives, 
 had provoked the anger of God to the highest 
 pitch, the prophet Jonas was sent on the part 
 of the Almighty to denounce his vengeance 
 against them. At the preaching of the prophet, 
 
346 
 
 HOMILIES OK 
 
 that sinful people humbled themselves in fast- 
 ing and penance, and by their repentance ob- 
 tained a reversion of the sentence which the 
 divine indignation had denounced against them. 
 But the mercy of God was soon forgotten, and 
 Ninive, in a short time, again sunk into vice and 
 licentiousness. God, whose forbearance is with- 
 out bounds, with a view to the repentance of 
 that sinful people, delayed the execution of his 
 threats for the long period of one hundred and 
 eighty years after the preaching of Jonas. But 
 at length the decree of his justice was executed. 
 Nabopalassar, king of Babylon, and Astyages, 
 king of the Medes, with their united forces, at- 
 tacked Ninive, took it, and levelled it with the 
 ground. This event happened about thirty-seven 
 years after the death of Tobias. The word of 
 God, said that holy man, must be fulfilled. It is 
 true, God is sometimes slow in executing his 
 vengeance upon sinners, because being rich in 
 mercy and patience, he wills not their death, but 
 that they should be converted to him and live : 
 but unless the sinner, listening to the call of 
 divine mercy, averts the indignation of heaven 
 by timely repentance, the vengeance of God will 
 most assuredly overtake him, with a severity 
 proportioned to the mercy that has been abused. 
 
 The second great event which Tobias foretells 
 to his family, is the restoration of the captive 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS, 347 
 
 Jews to their native land, and the rebuilding of 
 the temple of Jerusalem. " Our brethren that 
 are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, shall 
 return to it. And the house of God that is 
 burnt shall be rebuilt, and all that fear God shall 
 return thither." 
 
 This prophecy of Tobias concerning the return 
 of the captive Israelites, is to be understood not 
 only of the ten tribes who were then actually dis- 
 persed over the Assyrian empire; from the cir- 
 cumstance which he mentions respecting the tem- 
 ple of Jerusalem, (which at the period of his death 
 was still standing,) it is clear, that he speaks also 
 of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who still 
 remained in Judea, but were afterwards transport- 
 ed to Babylon, and continued in captivity until 
 Cyrus pubhshea-an^exlrct permitting their return 
 and the rebuilding of the temple. The Greek 
 text expresses this in clear and full terms. The 
 edict of Cyrus served as a signal for all those 
 among the children of Israel who feared God, 
 to reunite in the worship of the true God ac- 
 cording to the Mosaic law, and to renew, in his 
 temple at Jerusalem, the sacrifices which were 
 appointed to be offered to him in that sacred 
 place alone. Accordingly we find, that after the 
 rebuilding of the temple, the Jews who dwelt 
 in the most distant parts of Asia and in Egypt, 
 on the principal feasts assembled at Jerusalem 
 
348 HOMILIES ON 
 
 to assist at the sacrifices of the law. The Acts 
 of the Apostles, in the second chapter, mention, 
 that at the solemn feast of Pentecost, when the 
 Apostles began to announce the doctrines of their 
 divine Master, Jews were assembled from all parts 
 of the then known world, and were witnesses 
 of the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost 
 upon the Apostles and first disciples. 
 
 It was soon after this descent of the Holy 
 Spirit, that the last great event, predicted by 
 Tobias, the calling of the Gentiles or Heathen 
 nations to the true faith and Church of Christ, 
 began to receive it's accomplishment. " The 
 Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come 
 into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it. And all 
 the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring 
 the king of Israel." 
 
 Under the figurative name of Jerusalem, the 
 prophetic Tobias again marks out the Church of 
 Christ, and foretells it's miraculous establishment 
 and propagation. It is evident that the city and 
 temple of which this holy man here speaks, are 
 the same as in the preceding chapter ; this city, 
 into which the nations of the earth were to 
 assemble in crowds after renouncing their super- 
 stitions, and this temple, in which nations and 
 kings were to adore God, could be no other than 
 the Church of Christ, the city and the temple 
 of the living God. For the Jewish city of 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 349 
 
 Jerusalem, in the Old Law, never witnessed any 
 extraordinary assemblage of converted Pagans, 
 nor did the kings of the earth come to her re- 
 joicing, to adore the king of Israel in her. On 
 the contrary, Jerusalem, the city of the Jews, 
 suffered the greatest of evils and persecutions 
 from the heathen kings who surrounded her, 
 and who, after several times profaning her temple 
 and plundering her inhabitants, destroyed her, 
 and burnt the temple to ashes. It was the 
 Christian Church, often prefigured in holy writ 
 under the title of Jerusalem, which beheld the 
 heathen nations bringing to her the spoils of 
 their false gods, taking up their abode in her 
 sanctuary, and adorning her by the most perfect 
 practice of the sublime virtues taught by her 
 Foundei\j53ter~tmW-centuries of persecution, 
 the Church at length had the happiness to see 
 the emperors and kings of the earth enrol them- 
 selves with joy among her children, adore as their 
 God and King, Jesus Christ, whom the Jews 
 had refused to acknowledge as king of Israel ; 
 and esteeming the cross, which had hitherto 
 been a badge of infamy, as an ornament far 
 surpassing the brightest jewels that adorned their 
 crowns. 
 
 The virtuous and aged Tobias, having thus 
 comforted his weeping family, by unfolding to 
 them the wonders of God's mercy reserved for 
 
350 HOMILIES ON 
 
 future ages, gives them his last exhortation to 
 virtue in these words : 
 
 Ver. 10. Hearken, therefore, my children, to your father; serve 
 the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please 
 
 him: 11. And command all your children that they 
 
 do justice and alms-deeds, and that they be mindful of 
 God, and bless him at all times in truth, and with all their 
 
 power 12. And now, children, hear me, and do not 
 
 stay here : but as soon as you shall bury your mother by 
 me in one sepulchre, without delay direct your steps to 
 
 depart hence ; 13. For I see that it's iniquity will bring 
 
 it to destruction. 
 
 In this admirable exhortation of a dying pa- 
 rent to his affectionate family, what truly ex- 
 cellent lessons _£jf__piety are presented to our 
 view! This short discourse is an abridgment 
 of those exhortations and lessons which Tobias 
 delivered to his son on a former occasion, when 
 he apprehended, in consequence of his blindness,, 
 that his end was drawing near. We witness 
 in this dying Saint, no anxiety about temporal 
 affairs ; we hear from his lips nothing about the 
 riches of this earth, or those objects upon which 
 worldlings set their hearts : but we behold 
 a faithful servant of God bequeathing to his 
 children a rich legacy of virtues ; a treasure far 
 surpassing all the empty honours, transitory 
 wealth, and boasted titles, of a vain world. He 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 351 
 
 exhorts his family to direct every action to the 
 glory of their Creator ; to consider him present 
 in all their ways; to pay him faithfully the 
 homage of prayer and sacrifice due to him ; to 
 bless him at all times, both in prosperity and 
 adversity ; to rejoice in the accomplishment of his 
 divine will, ever just, ever holy, ever lovely ; in 
 fine, to serve God in truth, by the diligent obser- 
 vance of all his commandments, and not suffer 
 their fives to give the He to their professions; 
 but, while they profess to know and adore the 
 true God, to manifest to the world the holiness 
 and the truth of their religion, by a virtuous 
 life and edifying conversation. Xext to these 
 duties, which are branches of the love of God, 
 Tobias turns to the obligations of fraternal charity, 
 and exfaorfefr. fog fgiuij^iiaithfully to fulfil them ; 
 to satisfy both justice and charity, and, more 
 especially, to cherish in their hearts a tender 
 compassion for their distressed fellow -creatures, 
 and be ever ready to relieve and assist them in 
 all their wants, both corporal and spiritual. 
 Lastly, he gives directions for his own decent 
 burial ; and, to shew his unalterable and inviolate 
 affection for his wife, requests that she may be 
 buried in the same grave with himself. Then, 
 foreseeing that the death of his wife would be 
 speedily followed by the destruction of the wicked 
 city of Ninive, he exhorts his family to leave that 
 
 
352 
 
 HOMILIES ON 
 
 hardened people, lest they also should be in- 
 volved in the same ruin. Would to God that 
 Christian parents, like this holy man, were ever 
 careful to separate their tender offspring from 
 the corruption of a wicked world ! — So great is 
 this corruption, so pernicious are it's effects, that 
 thousands of young persons owe their eternal 
 destruction to no other cause. The only method 
 of securing the innocence and virtue of children, 
 is, for parents to forewarn their tender offspring 
 against the society of those who may endanger 
 their morals, and never suffer them to form a 
 connection that may taint their minds with the 
 
 infection of vice, 
 u 
 
 __.ie lessons of the virtuous Tobias ; his exhor- 
 tations, and his advice and directions, were faith- 
 fully followed in every point by his son and his 
 grandsons. 
 
 Ver. 14. And it came to pass, that, after the death of his mother, 
 Tobias departed out of Ninive with his wife and children, 
 and children's children, and returned to his father and 
 
 mother-in-law 15. And he found them in health, in 
 
 a good old age : and he took care of them, and he closed 
 their eyes ; and all the inheritance of Raguel's house came 
 to him; and he saw his children's children to the fifth 
 
 o-eneration 16. And after he had lived ninety-nine years 
 
 in the fear of the Lord, with joy, they buried him 
 
 17. And all his kindred, and all his generation, continued 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 253 
 
 in good life, and in holy conversation, so that they were 
 acceptable both to God and to men, and to all that dwelt 
 in the land. 
 
 Retaining in his manhood the humble prin- 
 ciples of docility and obedience which had guided 
 his youth, the young Tobias fulfilled all his 
 father's directions, and leaving Ninive, went with 
 his wife and family to the house of Raguel his 
 father-in-law. There, by his affectionate behaviour 
 and dutiful attention, he consoled the declining 
 years of his wife's parents, and, according to the 
 promise which Raguel had made at their death, 
 received the remainder of their property , -His 
 children, inheriting his virtues, persevered in a 
 good < life and holy conversation, and were so 
 eminent for their holiness of life, that they were 
 universally beloved both by God and man. Thus 
 did the fidelity of the elder Tobias, in discharging 
 the duties of a parent, produce at once it's fruits 
 and it's crown. The piety of this holy family 
 of faithful servants of God was the fruit of the 
 instructions, the prayers, and virtuous example 
 of him who was the head and the chief of this 
 race of Saints. The elder Tobias beheld his 
 son and his grandsons faithfully walking in the 
 path which he had traced for them, and, in their 
 virtues, reaped even upon earth the fruits of 
 his pious labours. In the mansions of the blessed 
 
 Aa 
 
S54* HOMILIES, &C. 
 
 be now enjoys the full recompense of his care, 
 and the souls thus sanctified by his lessons 
 and example are so many jewels added to his 
 crown of glory. Virtue is not an inheritance that 
 descends by blood ; it is a pure gift of God's 
 bounty. Yet God generally rewards the care 
 of virtuous parents, by blessing them with a train 
 of virtuous children; that, by these examples, 
 fathers and mothers may be encouraged to dis- 
 charge with fidelity the obligations of their state, 
 and spare no labours to bring up their tender 
 offspring in the fear of God, to watch over 
 the conduct of their children and servants, and, 
 by word and example, conduct them in the path 
 that will lead them to an inseparable union in 
 the kingdom of heaven. 
 
TWENTY-SEVENTH HOMILY. 
 
 Cliap. XIV. ver. 4. And the rest of his life was in joy; and with 
 great increase of the fear of God, he departed in peace, 
 
 Ihe holy Scripture represents the death of the 
 servants of God under the pleasing image of a 
 sweet repose. " He slept in the Lord," is the 
 phrase in which the Holy Spirit expresses the 
 happy departure of the just man from this vale of 
 tears and misery to the eternal recompense of his 
 labours. Of Tobias, in particular, the word of 
 God testifies, that the last stage of his mortal 
 existence was a continued scene of inward joy 
 and spiritual consolation, the fruits of his past 
 fidelity to God, and the prelude to a happy 
 death. In nearly the same terms does the holy 
 Scripture speak of his son, the faithful imitator 
 of his father's virtues, who, after ninety-nine years 
 spent in the service of God, died the death of 
 the just. Having then, my beloved brethren, 
 laid before you, for your instruction and en- 
 couragement in the path of virtue, the edifying 
 example of these holy men during their lives, 
 I cannot close these Discourses more properly, 
 
 Aa2 
 
356 HOMILIES ON 
 
 than by a few reflections on the happiness anti 
 the consolations which attend the death of the 
 just. In detailing these consolations to you, I 
 wish to impress upon your minds how far su- 
 perior the situation of the servants of God under 
 the New Law is to that of the ancient Saints ; 
 how many sources of consolation religion now 
 holds out to her faithful followers, to which the 
 Patriarchs and Prophets of old were strangers. 
 Besides, however exemplary their lives were, 
 however heroic their virtue miglrt be, the full- 
 recompense of their sanctity was to them placed 
 at a great distance, and death did not open to 
 them an immediate admission into the kingdom 
 of the blessed. But since the Redeemer of man- 
 kind has, by his blood, purchased for us again 
 the inheritance which the disobedience of Adam 
 had forfeited, innocence of life, and sanctity of 
 manners, are no longer debarred from their pro- 
 mised reward of bliss ; but the souls of the just 
 servants of God are, in the moment of their 
 departure from this vale of tears, admitted to the 
 sight and enjoyment of their God, in the kingdom 
 of Ins glory. 
 
 " Precious, in the sight of the Lord, is the 
 death of his Saints." Psalm cxv. 5. — " The Lord 
 helps them on the bed of their sorrow, he turns 
 all their couch for them in their sickness." 
 Psalm xl. 4. To this, we, the ministers of God, 
 
THE BOOK Otf TOBIAS. 357 
 
 can bear testimony. Called by the duties of our 
 holy office to a frequent attendance upon the 
 bed of death, we are but too often forced to be 
 the melancholy spectators of the heart-rending 
 scene which closes the eyes of the dying sinner. 
 But the same holy office sometimes animates 
 our zeal, and consoles our labours, by making 
 us witnesses and partakers of the joy that at- 
 tends the death of the just. Oh! transport your- 
 selves, my beloved brethren, to the bed of the 
 dying Saint, while, for your encouragement in 
 tlie path of virtue, I point out to you those 
 sweet sources of consolation which diffuse them- 
 selves over the soul of the truly just man in the 
 last scene of his mortal life. 
 
 It is the misfortune of the generality of men, 
 that during life and health thev seldom or never 
 make their last hour the subject of their serious 
 reflections. Fixing their hearts upon the riches, 
 the advantages, and the pleasures of this world, 
 they employ all the faculties and powers of their 
 souls and bodies in labouring for the attainment 
 of earthly emoluments. Their whole time is 
 spent in the pursuit of temporal concerns. Eter- 
 nity is seldom or never thought of; it's everlast- 
 ing happiness, and it's endless torments, are alike 
 disregarded. Sometimes, indeed, the thoughts of 
 death and judgment will force themselves upon 
 their minds, and excite sensations of alarm and 
 
 Aa3 
 
35$ HOMILIES ON 
 
 terror ; and happy would it be for them, if, in- 
 stead of endeavouring to divert these alarms and 
 fears, they would inquire into the cause of them, 
 and give them a few moment's serious reflection ! 
 But no; worldlings, having fixed their hearts 
 upon this life and it's enjoyments, cannot bear 
 the thoughts of death ; they startle at the very 
 idea of it, because they know that it will tear 
 them from those scenes, to leave which is a 
 subject of the deepest regret to them ; and be- 
 cause the moment of their death will bring 
 them before the tribunal of that God whose 
 service they have neglected, whose promises they 
 have despised, whose judgments they have dis- 
 regarded, and from whom they can expect 
 nothing but a sentence of condemnation to 
 eternal misery. This it is that renders death 
 terrible to the generality of men ; to the worldling 
 no less than to the notorious sinner. 
 
 But, what hold can these subjects of alarm 
 have upon the soul of the just man? Does 
 jhe either feel regret at the thought of leaving 
 this world, or is he struck with terror at the 
 near prospect of eternity? — No, my beloved 
 brethren, whichsoeTer way the just man turns 
 his thoughts, whether to the past or to the 
 future, he meets with an abundant source of 
 peace, joy, and heavenly consolation. During 
 life, living by faith, and building his hopes and 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 359 
 
 expectations on the promises made by God 
 to his elect, he fixes his heart on the eternal joys 
 of heaven. In death he quits indeed the world : 
 but the world he has ever considered in ifs 
 true light, as an enemy to his eternal happi- 
 ness. It's maxims he has carefully avoided ; it's 
 delusive pleasures he has never suffered to make 
 an undue impression upon his soul: in short, 
 he has kept his heart and affections disengaged 
 from the world, and has learned to die daily to 
 it To be finally separated from it cannot, 
 therefore, give him much regret or uneasiness. 
 
 But in quitting the world, the just man is 
 torn from his possessions and his friends; — is 
 not this at least a subject of sorrow and trouble 
 to his mind? Oh! no. Of his temporal goods 
 the just man, during life, considers God as the 
 sole master, himself as the steward; he uses 
 them, according to the advice of St. Paul, as 
 though he used them not, (1 Cor. vii. 30) ; he 
 employs them in acts of mercy and charity to his 
 fellow- creatures ; he lives in the disposition of 
 being willing to part with them when God shall 
 please to call him from them : hence, at the hour 
 of death, he parts from them with cheerful resigna- 
 tion to the will of heaven.— To leave his friends 
 and relations is, indeed, a more trying sacrifice. 
 The ties of affection which bind him to them, 
 he has neither been able nor willing entirely 
 
 Aa4 
 
560 
 
 HOMILIES OX 
 
 to break; but then he has regulated them by 
 the maxims of the divine law. He has loved 
 his friends in God and for God, with a due 
 regard to his own and their eternal happiness. 
 In death he arms himself against the feelings 
 of nature, by the sentiments of a most perfect 
 submission to the will of God. If he behold 
 his friends, his wife, his children, or acquaintance, 
 weeping round him, he addresses them in terms 
 similar to those in which his divine Redeemer 
 consoled his afflicted Apostles, when he told 
 them that he was going to prepare a place for 
 them, that where he was they also might be. 
 After a few more years, says the just man 
 to his weeping friends, after a few more years 
 spent faithfully by you in the service of your 
 Creator, we shall again meet in unchangeable 
 and never-ending bliss. — Thus does the just man 
 part from all that is most dear to him : thus 
 does he quit this life; a life which he has 
 ever regarded in it's true light, as a passage to 
 eternity. 
 
 Having employed the few short years of his 
 mortal existence in the faithful discharge of his 
 duty, when he finds himself drawing near to 
 the crown of his labours, he welcomes with joy 
 the happy moment of his dissolution, makes a 
 willing sacrifice of his expiring breath, and cries 
 out with his dying Redeemer, " Father, into 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 361 
 
 rhy hands I commend my spirit." Does the 
 devil attempt to disturb the peace of his soul, 
 by bringing to his recollection the faults and 
 imperfections of his past life ? These he has 
 long been labouring to expiate by the exercise 
 of daily penance, by humble prayer, by patience 
 in sickness and affliction, by frequent confession 
 and communion in a spirit of love and repen- 
 tance, by assisting with devotion at the holy 
 sacrifice of the altar, and by charity to the poor. 
 Does the tempter endeavour to seduce him, by 
 instilling into his mind thoughts of pride or 
 vanity ? He fights the enemy with the same 
 weapons with which he has always vanquished 
 him — humility and prayer. Sensible of his own 
 nothingness and unworthiness, he flies for refuge 
 to the wounds of his dying Saviour, to be washed 
 in them from every defilement of sin, and fitted 
 for his admission into the blessed abode of in- 
 nocence and peace. Thus, with regard to the 
 just man, death is truly without a sting : the 
 thoughts of quitting the world and it's enjoy- 
 ments bring no cause for regret or uneasiness 
 to the dying Saint. 
 
 But is not he uneasy or alarmed at the near 
 prospect of that eternity into which he is enter- 
 jug ? My beloved brethren, have you ever be- 
 held the countenance of a prisoner, when after 
 a long confinement in a lonesome dungeon he 
 
36& HOMILIES ON 
 
 is restored to his liberty? Have you seen the 
 sailor, after being tossed for months upon the 
 boisterous ocean, entering the long wished-for har- 
 bour, and landing on his native shore? Have 
 you beheld the soldier, after many years of sepa- 
 ration from his kindred and friends, at length 
 escaping from the fatigues and dangers of war, 
 and returning home to repose in the bosom of 
 his family ? Was fear, or disquiet, or uneasiness, 
 visible in the countenance of any one of these ? 
 Were they not all joy? Did they not seem 
 transported with gladness? — Yet, all their joy 
 was but a faint image of that sweet tranquillity 
 of mind, that triumphant joy and exultation 
 which fill the soul, and often display themselves 
 in the countenance of the just man at the near 
 prospect of eternity. He beholds himself at the 
 term of his labours and his conflicts ; he reflects 
 with pleasure on the storms and perils from which 
 he has escaped, in sailing through the troubled 
 ocean of this life; his soul contemplates with 
 joy the happy moment which is to release it 
 from it's long confinement in the prison of the 
 body, and call it to an eternal repose in the 
 bosom of it's Father and it's God. He hears 
 the beloved of his soul, his divine Redeemer, 
 address him in the language of the heavenly 
 spouse : " the winter is now past, the storm is 
 over and gone, arise, my beloved, and come." 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 363 
 
 Cant. ii. 10. He answers the sweet invitation in 
 the words of the Psalmist : Psalm cxxi. i. " I 
 rejoice at the things that are said to me, we shall 
 go into the house of the Lord." — Psalm Ixxxiii. 
 " Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, O 
 Lord, they shall praise thee for ever and ever. 55 
 
 But, is not God infinite in his justice, no less 
 than in his mercy ? Is not sin the object of his 
 infinite and eternal hatred? Has the just man 
 never during his life incurred the displeasure of 
 his God, or provoked his justice by sin ? Has 
 he no alarm or uneasiness on this account? — 
 No, my beloved brethren, all this serves indeed 
 to keep him from that false security, that fatal 
 presumption, which is the ruin of thousands. It 
 fills him with a proper degree of that humble 
 Christian fear which is ever united with a strong: 
 confidence in God. The just man knows, from 
 divine faith, that during this life no man, how- 
 ever virtuous, can be fully certain that he is 
 just in the sight of God. " Man," says the Holy 
 Ghost, " knoweth not whether he be worthy of 
 love or hatred." Eccles. ix. 1. But the just man 
 feels within himself a strong and lively hope, 
 that as he has daily laboured to walk with fidelity 
 in the path of God's commandments, and to 
 blot out his faults by tears of true repentance, 
 the merits of the passion and death of his Saviour 
 have sealed his pardon, and secured him a place 
 
£ti4 HOMILIES ON 
 
 hi the divine favour. The nearer he approaches 
 to the hour of his death, the more abundant are 
 his tears ; the more heartily does he detest his 
 sins, the more fervent are his supplications for 
 mercy. The priest, the minister of reconciliation 
 and peace, and dispenser of the mysteries of God, 
 enters the chamber of the dying Saint, and pre- 
 sents to him the image of his crucified Saviour. 
 With what ardour does he press it to his lips ! 
 how lovingly does he embrace it! With what 
 humility and compunction does he confess to his 
 spiritual physician the frailties and imperfections 
 of his past life ! And when the minister of God 
 pronounces in his- favour the sacred sentence of 
 absolution, what faith, what hope, what humble 
 contrition is painted in the countenance of the 
 dying Saint ! 
 
 But who can express the raptures of love and 
 joy which fill his soul, when the priest presents 
 to him the victim of his redemption, and the 
 pledge of his salvation — the body and blood of 
 his dearest Saviour? O, my Redeemer, he cries 
 out, now that thou givest me thyself, one thing 
 will I ask of thee, this will I beg of thee, that 
 I may dwell in thy house for ever, and that I 
 may sing thy praises for endless ages ! — Strength- 
 ened with this divine food, how fervently does 
 he unite his prayers with those which the minis- 
 ter of God pours forth, while he administers the 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 365 
 
 sacrament of Extreme Unction, the last anointing, 
 by which his work of repentance is consummated,. 
 his preparation for death is made perfect, and his 
 passage into eternity is rendered safe and secure I 
 Thus armed, what has he to fear ? The infernal 
 spirit can have no power over him; God who 
 has adopted him for his child, is his comforter 
 and protector; Jesus Christ has taken up his 
 abode in him ; the Holy Ghost dwells in him 
 as in his temple, and the Angels of God encamp 
 round about him. 
 
 At length, however, the moment of his final 
 sacrifice arrives, and the agonies of death seize 
 upon him. He summons all his strength to pro- 
 nounce once more with ardent love the sacred 
 name of Jesus, gives one more longing look for 
 immortalityrandr^expifes; Thus does the just 
 man die ; or rather, thus does he triumph over 
 death, thus does he begin to live eternally. His 
 guardian Angel, who had received his expiring 
 breath, conducts his soul to the happy company 
 of the Saints, where he beholds his God face to 
 face, is inebriated with a torrent of delights, is 
 instantly and eternally happy. Oh ! who will 
 not cry out with Balaam, " Let my soul die the 
 death of the just, and my last end be like unto 
 theirs." Num. xxiii. 10. 
 
 My beloved brethren, to die the death of the 
 just, you must first live the life of the just. 
 
366 HOMILIES ON 
 
 Death is terrible to none but the wicked and the 
 lovers of this world. Disengage then your hearts 
 from the world and it's sinful follies, and fix 
 them upon eternity. Let it be your chief and 
 greatest concern to labour in earnest for the sal- 
 vation of your souls. Fly from sin and the 
 company of sinners. Place the hour of your 
 death daily before your eyes, and meditate on 
 the consolations which attend the death of the 
 just. Do penance every day for past faults ; the 
 rich, by acts of charity to the distressed, and 
 by the mortification of yourselves in point of 
 dress, company, and amusement; the poor, by 
 performing your daily labour in a spirit of pe- 
 nance, offering it up to God, and doing it be- 
 cause it is his will Be regular and fervent in 
 the duty of prayer, each morning and evening ; 
 assist often with respect and devotion at the holy 
 sacrifice of the altar, and unite the sacrifice of 
 your life and death with that of your Saviour. 
 By frequent confession, purify your souls from the 
 stains of sin ; and by often approaching to the 
 holy communion, secure to yourselves those trea- 
 sures of grace which Jesus has left you in the 
 sacrament of his body and blood. Whilst you 
 have time, dp good to all men, practising towards 
 all in distress the works of mercy, corporal and 
 spiritual. Be honest and just in all your dealings. 
 Faithfully discharge yotir respective duties, ass 
 
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. 367 
 
 husbands or wives, parents or children, masters 
 or servants. Walk always in the presence of 
 God, and direct all your actions to his glory. 
 Beg daily the intercession of our blessed Lady 
 for the grace of a happy death, addressing to 
 her that humble supplication of the Church of 
 God, " Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us 
 sinners now and in the hour of our death, Amen." 
 Let these, and the like exercises of piety, be the 
 daily practice of your lives; thus, my beloved 
 brethren, you will live the life of the just, thus 
 will you have a well-grounded hope that you will 
 die the death of the just, and with the just 
 reign for ever in the kingdom of your Father. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Ifrtat«d bf Thomas Wilson and Sous, Higa-Ousegate? Yorfc. 
 
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