THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Second Sunday after Easter 22 April 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

We must not only discern the true shepherd of our souls from the wolves and hirelings, but we must also discern the tendencies of our own hearts and minds. Not only does the shepherd recognize his sheep, but the sheep must also recognize the true shepherd. 

Many appear to fail in this endeavor because they do not actually wish to follow the true Shepherd -- Jesus Christ. The passions, the world, and the devils offer them an apparently more interesting life. The life of the good lamb is one that is not very appealing to this sort of soul. It appears boring and uninteresting. 

The tendency of the modern world is one that only thinks of material and worldly pleasures. Without these superficial distractions we are led to believe that our lives are boring and without any pleasure. The life of virtue seems to the world as one of not living at all, while the life of vice and sin is looked upon as living life to the fullest. 

Order is completely turned upside down. The pleasure that comes from disorder and following the suggestions of our passions and lusts is only the illusion of pleasure. We can see this very clearly from the regret and remorse that follows the fruition of these vices. These sins not only cause distaste from hindsight but, as St. Augustine tells us in His Confessions, they produce a pain and suffering even at the very moment we imagine that we are enjoying them. Our intelligence, our memory, and our will reminded us of the disorder and the wrongness of our actions so that even in the “pleasure” of gratification, there is a disgust that not only follows but is comingled with the illicit gratification. 

Rather than renouncing the disorder and vice, too often, we return to the same vice with even greater vivacity trying to find that illicit pleasure that we did not find the last time. Our passions lie to us in suggesting that this time we will find lasting happiness in sin. 

The true Shepherd of our souls tells us to flee from this disorder and the false pleasures of sin and seek the real and true pleasures that come from practicing virtue. While the practice of virtue does not offer the thrill of the illicit, it offers something that is less volatile, but more stable and lasting. The calm peace that comes with the practice of virtue does not appear as exciting as the volatile excitement of “enjoying” something illicit. 

The true Shepherd is calling to us, but it is still within our power to hear Him and follow Him, or to turn away from Him. It is necessary that the sheep hear and follow the true Shepherd if they are to be counted as members of the true flock. 

Let us not only look to the identity of the true Shepherd – discerning the Shepherd from the wolf and the hireling – but, also let us pay close attention to that faculty of our soul called our free will and discern who it is that we are choosing to be led by. 

It has been said that we could never be deceived if we did not at first deceive ourselves. It is easy for us to point the finger at different leaders and suggest that they are to blame for our taking the wrong direction. There are many who tempt and lead us into error or vice, but we are the ones who actually choose to accept them or reject them. We would never fall into their traps if we did not first desire what they are suggesting. With the corruption of our will in forming this illicit desire (whatever it may be) the enemy has already won. 

There is a cost for everything. Nothing is free. If we seek true peace and happiness here and now and an eternal reward in Heaven, we must sacrifice the fleeting, illicit, illusionary pleasures of our passions. If we seek the false enjoyment of our passions instead, we must sacrifice the peace and happiness of a clear conscience in this life and pay with an eternal suffering in Hell.

Let us examine ourselves carefully and put our wills in right order – desiring to follow only the right way; and then with right ordered desires we will very easily hear the voice of the true Shepherd and follow Him in this life as He leads us into the eternal happiness of Heaven.