Salesian Literature

3.  Penitence

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, 1620, concerning St. John the Baptist as the voice of Our Lord and his obligation to proclaim His word, the corresponding obligation of hearers to listen to and profit by God's word, procrastination and spiritual avarice as reasons why we fail to profit from God's word, two meanings of Isaiah's words: Because your malice and wickedness have reached their height, your sins shall be forgiven; the very surprising ways of God's mercy, how cooperation with a grace brings subsequent graces, the Incarnation's occurrence at the height of men's wickedness, God's forgiveness of St. Paul and David and others at the height of their malice, the penitence indicated by St. John's exhortations to prepare the way of the Lord: tempering fear with confidence, getting rid of presumption and pride, straightening our intentions, seeking opportunities for penitence, and acquiring an even disposition by mortifying our passions, inclinations and aversions, thus evening out the way for our Saviour's coming.

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"The word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins.'' -Lk. 3:2-3

 

As I pointed out last Sunday, when he was questioned as to whether he was the Christ, or Elijah or the Prophet, the glorious St. John testified abundantly and gave excellent proof of his humility. St. John knew that when Moses spoke of Our Lord's coming he indicated that a great Prophet would first come before Him. [Deut. 18:15, 18]. He also realized that the Jews thought that he was the one who had been promised. Therefore, he openly avowed: Non sum, "I am not He!" Great humility indeed—and no one expressed that humility better man St. John the Evangelist when he wrote: He confessed and did not deny that he was not the Christ [Jn. 1:19-23]. But when they pressed him to say who he was so that they might inform those who had sent them, he replied: I am the voice of Him who cries in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord.

 

It is as if he meant: "Do you wish to know who I am? I am only the voice of Him who cries out in the desert, that is, I am not He who cries, but only His voice." It was not St. John who cried out, but Our Lord through the mouth of St. John. That is what the great Apostle St. Paul said to the Corinthians. "Do you think," he wrote to them, "that it is I who speak to you? Oh no, rather it is God who speaks through my mouth. Do not receive my words as human words, but as divine words, for I tell you in truth that it is not I who teach but God through me." [2 Cor. 5:20; cf. 1 Thess. 2:13]. 

 

Now St. John was by the River Jordan, at the edge of the desert, crying out and preaching penitence.[1] [Lk. 3:3]. People hastened from all sides to hear him and to be baptized by him. It was there that he cried out: "Do penance! Prepare the way, make straight the paths, for the Lord is near." [Matt, 3:1-3, 5-6; Mk. 1:4-5]. But because I cry out and preach in the desert, you want to know who I am. I protest to you that I am only the voice of Him who cries out. It is not I who cry out in the desert: 'Do penance.' It is God who says it to you through me, and I am only the voice, the trumpet He uses so that you will understand how you are to prepare to do penance and dispose yourselves for His coming. That is what I am. And you ought to hear my words, not as mine. but as those of God who speaks to you through my mouth, for I am the voice of Him who cries out in the desert." We will dwell on this point.

 

St. John was the son of Zachary [Lk. 3:2], and the word of God came to him not merely that he might treasure it within himself, but that he might also communicate it to others. The divine word comes into a heart in two ways: first, when Lord speaks to it to instruct and enlighten it concerning His will and good pleasure, making known what is necessary for its guidance and its own individual concerns. The second is when it comes into the heart not for itself alone, but that it may also be carried and communicated to others so that they might know the divine will.

 

Our text, then, "The word of the Lord came to the son of Zachary," must be understood in both these ways. First, St. John was chosen and elected by God to be His voice, His herald. Note here (I say it in passing) that no one can be received to Orders or the episcopate unless the sacred word has come to him, that is, unless he is chosen and elected by God. Now this choice or election is commonplace and normal, and we ought neither to desire nor to seek special and extraordinary callings; actually, such extraordinary callings are dangerous and suspect when they have not been authenticated and confirmed by pastors and masters of the spiritual life.[2] As for St. John, he was chosen and elected by God, who Himself authenticated his calling and manner of proceeding. He sent him before Him [Lk. 1:17, 76], and He came after him, preaching what John had preached. [Matt. 3:2; 4:17].

 

In the second place, this word signified that the Lord had given him a ministry in which he must labour for others, announcing to them the necessity of penitence. From all this we are taught that when God bestows some responsibility upon those whom He has chosen for His service, as upon preachers, they must apply themselves to their duty diligently, and communicate to others what they have received and what God has given them for this purpose. It is in this sense that we ought to understand these words of the Gospel. The word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zachary, who was chosen by Divine Wisdom to be the precursor of our Divine Saviour. He ought to proclaim His word, preach penitence and perform the functions of his office.

 

He was bound to cry out that the people must prepare the way and that they must level the paths and roads of the Lord, The people whom he addressed were likewise bound to listen, to receive the baptism he offered them, and to do what he told them. If the preacher has the duty to preach to you, you also have that of listening to him and of receiving with good dispositions what he announces to you on behalf of God. I come here to preach to you, but if I am bound to bring the divine word to you, you are bound to pay attention to it, and not only that but to learn it well and carry out what you are taught. For this you must indeed masticate well what is heard and garnered, and endeavour to digest it well. For of what good would it have been to the Israelites for God to have sent them manna in the desert for their nourishment if they had not been willing to gather and collect it, if they had not been willing to eat it so that it might become part of their own substance? Surely when Divine Providence let the manna fall from Heaven, it obliged the children of Israel to rise in the morning to collect it before the sun rose on the horizon [Ex. 16:21; Wis. 16:28]; and not only that, but also to eat and swallow it in order to be nourished and strengthened. Likewise, those who hear God's word are duty bound to keep it and profit by it.

 

There are two reasons why people do not profit by the word of God. The first is that, though they may indeed hear it and be interiorly moved by it, they postpone its accomplishment until tomorrow. Alas, we poor creatures do not realize that this procrastination is the cause of our death and destruction and that our good is found in the present moment, which is today. Our life is the today in which we are living; who can promise himself a tomorrow? [Jas. 4:13-15]. Absolutely no one—no matter who he is. Our life consists in today, in this present moment in which we are living, we cannot promise or assure ourselves of any other than that which we now enjoy, however brief that may be. Now if this is so, how dare we put off doing what we have heard to be useful for our conversion, since our whole life really depends on each present moment when we hear what must be done. This is the first reason why we often do not profit from what is said and taught to us.

The second reason is "spiritual avarice,"[3] by which we seek to obtain a great deal of knowledge and to amass a huge stock of devotional exercises. You will find some people who never tire of amassing new writings and instructions, all sorts of spiritual advice and information, and who nevertheless do not put any of it into practice![4] And what is that if not spiritual avarice, a truly serious fault in the devout life? You will find others who must always be hearing and seeing something new. To attract attention they collect innumerable books and create libraries that are wonders to behold. "Poor creatures, what is the purpose in all that?" They will respond: "Oh, we are practising foresight in anticipating our future needs. When older, we can make good use of them." "O God! Do you not realize that Our Lord strongly desired to remove such avarice and anxiety from His disciples' hearts and commanded them to live from hand to mouth and to have no anxiety about tomorrow"? [Matt. 6:34].

 

Indeed, among the ordinances which God imposed on the children of Israel was the command to collect only a certain measure of manna [Ex. 16:16], that is, only what was necessary for each one's daily portion. Furthermore, He commanded that no one should store any for the morrow, that no one should gather more than was specified in an attempt to make provision, for it would breed worms and rot. [Ex. 16:19-20]. Live each day well, eat what is given you, and you will nourish yourself well by putting that into practice. Leave the rest to Divine Providence, which will surely provide sufficiently for your needs. Use well only what is given you, and be free of all other care.

 

It is a fact that meats which are stored breed worms, and I believe that the worms that torment the consciences of the damned [Is. 66:24; Mk. 9:45, 47(48)] are not the least, but the greatest pain they endure. And what are these worms if not the active and biting pangs of remorse of conscience which sting and torment the soul at the vivid remembrance of so many means and opportunities they had of serving God. What remorse of conscience will they feel at death, seeing the numerous writings, advice and instructions they had received for their perfection. These will be the cause of their greatest pain. So spiritual avarice is the second reason why we fail to profit from God's word.

 

Let this be said only by way of introduction to my sermon. Let us return to our Gospel. [Lk. 3:1-6]. I shall explain it to you as simply as possible; but to do so I must briefly relate the account. At the time that Tiberius Caesar was emperor, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, Pontius Pilate was presiding in Jerusalem, and Annas and Caiphas were high priests and sitting in the chair of Moses [Lk. 3:1-2; Matt. 23:2], God sent His prophet who was His voice that cried in the desert: "Make straight the way of the Lord, do penance, for salvation is at hand." We shall take as an explanation of these words those which Isaiah spoke to the Israelites in chapter 40 of his prophecies. [Is. 40:1-4]. These verses are among the most comforting and pleasing that can be heard. It is truly a delight to read the writings of that holy prophet; his words are a river of honey, overflowing with incomparable wisdom. From his very first chapter we find a remarkable style. Surely he is a river and torrent of eloquence.

 

The people of Israel had been led forth into captivity by the Gentiles and sent as prisoners among the Medes and Persians. After their long captivity, the good Cyrus decided to free them from that slavery and lead them back to the Promised Land. Foreseeing this, the prophet Isaiah wrote these beautiful and heavenly poetic words: "Consolamini, consolamini O people of Israel, be consoled and comforted. Again I tell you, be consoled and comforted. Let these words console you: Because your malice and wickedness have reached their height, your sins shall be forgiven. Therefore, make level your ways and straight your roads, so that Cyrus may find no rough ways while leading the people back to the Promised Land.  (There are a great many interpretations of this text: "Because they have reached the height of their malice, their sins shall be forgiven." What does he mean? Why does the Prophet say that God will pardon the people of Israel because they have reached the height of their malice?

 

This is how the ancient Fathers say that these words should be understood: When they had reached the limit of their labours and sufferings and had, in slavery and bondage, come to a greater sense of their iniquities; when they had been punished enough for their wickedness by such tribulation; then I, the Lord, cast My compassionate eyes upon them. At the height of their malice, during the worst of their days, I was satisfied that they had suffered enough for their sins, and therefore I determined that their sins shall be forgiven. Anticipating this period of great suffering, Jacob cried out: My days, though short, are full of affliction. [Gen. 47:9]. By this he meant: "Life is short, only a passing shadow, soon gone. [Job. 8:9; 14:2; Ps. 101(102):12; 143(144):4], yet it is full of affliction, overburdened with the many labours that accompany it. Though short, it is always full of evils." He spoke in this way because of the great labours and tribulations his people were going to endure in exile.

 

Here is another way of understanding these words, "Because their malice has reached its height, their sins shall be forgiven." When they have reached the height, the noontide, the high point of their wickedness and ingratitude, and when all memory of God and His benefits is gone, then their sins shall be forgiven; that is, at that very moment when they deserve to be cast aside. God will pardon them and will no longer remember their wickedness.

 

Certainly whenever Divine Providence revealed the greatness of His mercy in the past it was always in the most surprising ways. When there was nothing to hope for but the fury of His wrath and the terror of His Justice; when there was absolutely no human merit or good on which to hope for the Lord's mercy, it was precisely then that He let His awe-inspiring deeds on their behalf shine forth.

 

Indeed, these are examples of God's great goodness to the human family: to bestow His graces upon His creatures, to pardon continually their daily faults against Him, and to reward their slightest services with the greatest favours. According to the most true teaching of theology, the one who cooperates with God's first grace disposes himself to receive the second, and by cooperating with the second he is prepared to obtain the third, and then the fourth, and so on consecutively. Theologians teach that God's grace is never lacking to us[5] and that if we are faithful in cooperating with the first grace, we are disposed to receive the second, third and fourth, and in this way to come to participate in the highest benefits and obtain most special favours.[6] For this reason, in many places in Holy Scripture God recommends to us fidelity in following good impulses, lights and inspirations. In such the greatness of His mercy surely shines forth.

 

But when, over and above this, His Providence wanted to make an even more glorious revelation of His mercy, it was by a most wonderful deed, one in which He willed that no exterior motive should induce Him to act. Urged solely by His goodness, He communicated Himself in a wholly marvellous way when He came into this world. The Incarnation took place at a time when men were at the height of their wickedness: when the Jews were without king and the laws were in the hands of Annas and Caiphas, wicked men; when Herod reigned and Pontius Pilate was governor; when there were no worthy priests [Cf. Matt. 9:36], when both priests and people constituted an evil generation. In short, when the world had reached the high point of its wickedness, God came to redeem us and deliver us from the tyranny of sin and the servitude of our enemies. Urged to it solely by His immense goodness, He became incarnate for us.

 

Certainly, the Heart of our dear Saviour and Master was only filled with mercy and kindness for the human family. [Lk. 1:78]. In this one act He gave abundant witness to it, as He did on many other occasions in which His clemency shone forth in its beauty and grandeur. When did He pardon St. Paul?  When he was at the height of his malice his sins were forgiven him; for everyone knows that at the time of his conversion this Apostle was in the throes of his greatest hatred and fury against Jesus Christ. Not able to vent his rage against Jesus Himself, he directed his wrath against His Church, but with such fury that he foamed with rage like one insane, a madman totally beside himself. [Acts 8:3; 9:1; Gal. 1:13]. It was precisely at that point that Our Lord countered his malice and ingratitude with His meekness and infinite mercy, touching him and pardoning all his iniquities—at the very moment in which he had completely forfeited such mercy. [Acts 9:3-7; 7 Cor. 15:9]. O God, how vast were the riches of Your goodness toward that Apostle!

 

Nevertheless, we see similar instances of this goodness every day. When sinners are most hardened in their sins, when they have reached the point of living as if there were no God, no Heaven or Hell, it is often then that the Lord allows them to find His Heart full of pity and kind mercy toward them. I never read of David's conversion without trembling in awe at how he committed such grave sins and remained an entire year in sin without acknowledging the fact, as if he were asleep, with no recognition of his terrible crime before God.[7] [2 Kgs.(2 Sam.) 11; 12:1-14]. Perhaps there might have been some excuse for him if he had sinned while still a shepherd tending his sheep. But David grievously offended God after having received very special graces and many inspirations, lights and favours. God had made him a man after His own Heart [2 Kgs.(l Sam.) 13:14] and allowed him to perform many marvels and prodigies. David had always been nourished in the Heart of sweet clemency and divine mercy; and the fact that despite such great favours he should have committed such heinous offences and remained an entire year without acknowledging them—oh, that greatly astounds me.

 

He began with adultery, but that meant little to him. Is it not amazing how unwilling the human spirit is to acknowledge its faults? When guilty of them it tries to conceal them by committing even more grievous ones! David tried to get the good Uriah drunk. There was more malice in this sin than in the adultery. But when his plan was unsuccessful, Uriah being an upright man and a brave soldier who could not be caught by surprise in such a vice, David decided to commit yet a third fault in order to conceal the first two. This was even more grievous than the first two, for he decided to kill him. He ordered his lieutenant to expose Uriah to the enemy and then abandon him. Although the lieutenant was a just man, he believed himself bound to obey the King's orders, and he did what he was ordered. This affair so entangled poor David that he committed countless other sins, piling one on top of the other and committing the next as a cover-up for the preceding. He remained an entire year enmeshed in his iniquity, never calling to mind his God. [Cf. Ps. 41(42):4].

 

There he was, without any inclination whatsoever toward grace. Yet seeing him in this blindness, the Divine Goodness sent him the prophet Nathan, who asked him what he had done and where God was in his life. So blind was David in his own regard that the prophet wisely and subtly brought him round to confess his crime. He spoke to him of some fault that one of his subjects had committed, and David passed this judgement on the crime: "He stole that poor man's sheep. He must die!" This made it clear just how blind and hardened David had become in his own sin; yet for the faults of others he knew well how to impose just and proportionate punishment. Nevertheless, God did not abandon him in that condition, but used the prophet Nathan to make him confess his crime.

 

What greater evidence of divine mercy could one desire, for when David was at the height of his malice, God pardoned his iniquities? But what a transformation this conversion resulted in. Acknowledging his fault, this great king kept lamenting and deploring his blindness. He kept repeating, Peccavi, "I have sinned," and kept crying out for mercy to the Lord, endlessly repeating. Miserere mei, Deus, "Have mercy on me, O God" [Ps. 50(51):3; 55(56):2]. There are hundreds of similar examples in Holy Scripture, examples in which God showed the same kind of mercy.  We should therefore understand Isaiah's words in this way.

 

The following words of Isaiah: "Prepare the way, make straight the paths," had originally been said in reference to the great Cyrus and his delivery of the Israelites from captivity into the Promised Land. Yet the Prophet's principal object in these words was to speak of Our Lord's coming. Accordingly, St. John made use of these very words, preaching penitence and announcing to the people that the Saviour was near. "I am," he said, "the voice of Him who cries out in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord." Since the Lord is near [Phil. 4:5], how are we to prepare for His coming? St. John tells us when he says: Do penance, for the Lord is near. Most certainly penitence is the best disposition for the Saviour's coming; since we are all sinners, we must all take the path of penitence. But we are now speaking too much in generalities. Let us treat of some particulars in this matter.

 

St. John gives some particulars in today's Gospel. Make straight the way of the Lord, fill up the valleys, lower the mountains and hills. They, as well as the ditches and valleys, trouble travelers. Make straight the paths. Those that twist and turn fatigue the pilgrim greatly. Our life too contains many hills, valleys and tortuous ways which can be put right only by penitence. Penitence fills up the valleys, lays low the mountains, makes straight and smoothes the ways. Do penance, says St. John; lower those mountains of pride, fill up those valleys, those ditches of lukewarmness and tepidity.

 

The valleys which the glorious St. John wants us to fill up are none other than fear which, when it is excessive, leads to discouragement at the sight of our sins. Fill up the valleys; that is, fill your heart with confidence and hope because salvation is near at hand. [Lk. 21:28; Rom. 13:11]. The sight of our great faults brings with it a certain horror and shock, a certain fear and terror which unnerves the heart and often leads it to discouragement. These are the ditches and valleys that must be filled up for Our Lord's coming.

 

One day the good St. Thais (I must tell you this because it comes to my mind and is apropos) said this to St. Paphnutius: "Father, what am  to do? The memory of my miserable life terrifies me."  She had been a great sinner, and was now filled with fear because of those past sins. The good saint replied: "Take care not to raise your eyes to Heaven, you who have time and again used them to cast dangerous glances, to flirt, and the like. And do not raise those hands through which you have performed so many evil deeds. Throughout your whole life, exercise yourself in humility and confide yourself to the goodness of God. Fear, but hope at the same time. Fear lest you become haughty and proud, hope lest you fall into discouragement and despair." Fear and hope ought never to be without one another, since fear without hope is despair and hope without fear is presumption. We must, then, fill up these valleys formed by the fear which comes from the knowledge of the great imperfections and sins we have committed. We must fill them with confidence mingled with the fear of God.

 

Lower the mountains and hills. What are these mountains but presumption and pride, which are very great obstacles to Our Lord's coming? He humbles and lowers the haughty [Matt. 23:12; Lk. 1:52; 18:14] and penetrates the depths of the heart to discover the pride that lies hidden there. It is useless to say to Him: "I am a bishop, a priest, a religious."" Well and good; but if you are a bishop, how do you conduct yourself in this ministry? What is your life like; are your morals congruent with your vocation? Are you full of arrogance and presumption like the Pharisee in the Gospel [Lk. 18:10-14], or are you like the humble publican?

 

The Pharisee was a mountain of pride. True, he possessed some outward semblance of virtue, but he boasted and gloried in it. He said boldly: I give You thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men; I pay tithes, I fast so many times a week, and so on. Seeing his pride, God rejected him. And that poor publican, who in the sight of the world was a high and rugged mountain, was lowered and made smooth in the sight of the Divine Majesty when he came to the Temple. Not daring to raise his eyes to Heaven because of his great sins, he remained at the entrance with a contrite and humble heart. As a result he was worthy of finding grace before God. I could still say many more things on this subject, but I shall be content for now with what I have already touched upon.

 

The glorious St. John adds: Make ready the ways, that is, repair those that are tortuous, make them straight and even. Roads that twist and turn too much only weary and mislead travellers. We must make them straight and even for Our Lord's coming. We must correct so many perverse and devious intentions and have only one, that of pleasing God by doing penance. This must be the only goal to which we aspire. We ought to be like the mariner who, in steering his vessel, always keeps his eye on the needle of the compass; and those who sail their little boats always keep their hands on the tiller.

 

We too must always have our eyes open to opportunities for penitence. Some people are unwilling to do penance until they are no longer able to take advantage of it. "Oh," they say, "God is so good and merciful, we can settle affairs with Him later on; let us enjoy ourselves now. At the hour of death we will say a fervent 'I have sinned' [2 Kgs.(2 Sam. 12:13] and God will pardon us." Is it not great presumption on their part to take advantage of the Divine Goodness by continuing to live in their sins? They do not realize that although God is infinitely merciful, He is also infinitely just. When His mercy is thus presumed, it provokes His justice. [Cf. Rom. 2:4-5].

 

Make straight the way of the Lord, that is, acquire an even disposition by the mortification of your passions, inclinations and aversions. An even disposition is the most pleasing virtue in the spiritual life, one for which we must work continually. My God, how utterly delightful it is to reflect upon the life of our dear Saviour and Master. There we find this perfect equanimity of spirit shining brilliantly in the midst of all sorts of changing circumstances. Certainly, no one but He and the sacred and sinless Virgin enjoyed it to such perfection. All the other saints laboured diligently to acquire it and, to a degree, have done so—but none perfectly. In each of them something marred the perfection of their equanimity of spirit. This was true even for St. John the Baptist, for according to some Doctors he had sinned venially.[8]

 

O God, how pleasing it is to find this even disposition in someone. Most of us are far from it, so changing and inconstant. There are some people who, when in a happy mood, maintain a pleasant conversation.  But before we can turn around, they are disturbed and troubled. There are others we can speak to at this moment in a certain way, but within an hour we must use a totally different approach. A certain person will just now have been sweet and light-hearted, but in a little bit he will be harsh and bitter. Indeed, all we find among us are capriciousness and fickleness.

 

These are the ways we should even out for our Saviour's coming. To do this well, we must go to the school of the glorious St. John me Baptist and place ourselves, or rather ask him to receive us, among his disciples. For do you not see that this great saint sent his disciples to the Saviour to be instructed by Him personally; he entrusted them into His hands, and our Saviour kept them. After St. John's death they became His disciples. If this glorious precursor receives us, he will surely place us in the hands of our Saviour, who in turn will place us in the hands of the Eternal Father, whom we shall praise for all eternity together with Him and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

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[1] Throughout this sermon, St. Francis uses the French pénitence and faites pénitence; these have been translated "penitence" and "do penance," respectively. In his Treatise on the Love of God, Book 2, Chapter 18, St. Francis explains what he means when he uses the word penitence—it includes reparation; "To use general terms, penitence is a form of repentance in which a man rejects and detests the sin he has committed, together with a resolution to repair in so far as he can the offense and injury done to him against whom he sinned. In penitence I include the purpose of repairing the offence, since repentance that willingly permits its chief effect, viz., the offence and injury, to remain does not sufficiently detest the evil committed. Moreover, as long as such repentance can repair the injury in some way but does not do so, it permits the injury to exist."

[2] Cf. Controversies, Part I, chap. 1, art. 3; Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8, Chapter 13.

[3] Cf. Sermons for Lent, "Temptation," First Sunday of Lent, February 13, 1622; "Election and Reprobation," Thursday of Second Week, February 24, 1622; Spiritual Conferences, XII, "Simplicity and Religious Prudence,"; XIII, "The Spirit of the Rules,".

[4] Cf. Spiritual Conferences. VII, "Three Spiritual Laws."

[5] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 4, Chapter 5.

[6] St. Francis de Sales is speaking here on one of his favourite topics: God's grace and our free cooperation with it. God's grace is always prior to our cooperation with it, but it comes to us as an enabling and inviting grace, one that brings about our free cooperation with it. See Treatise on the Love of God, Book 4, Chapter 5.

[7] Cf. Sermons for Lent. "Temptation," First Sunday of Lent, February 13, 1622.

[8] Cf. Sermons on Our Lady, "The Assumption," August 15, 1602; "The Visitation," July 2, 1618.

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