Saint for the Day

• October 26 – St. Evaristus, Pope and Martyr

  

  ST. EVARISTUS succeeded St. Anacletus in the see of Rome, in the reign of Trajan, governed the Church nine years, and died in 112. The institution of cardinal priests is by some ascribed to him, because he first divided Rome into several titles or parishes, assigning a priest to each; he also appointed seven deacons to attend the bishop. He conferred holy orders thrice in the month of December, when that ceremony was most usually performed, for holy orders were always conferred in seasons appointed for fasting and prayer. St. Evaristus was buried near St. Peter’s tomb on the Vatican.

  Reflection.—The disciples of the apostles, by assiduous meditation on heavenly things, were so swallowed up in the life to come, that they seemed no longer inhabitants of this world. If Christians esteem and set their hearts on earthly goods, and lose sight of eternity in the course of their actions, they are no longer animated by the spirit of the primitive Saints, and are become children of this world, slaves to its vanities, and to their own irregular passions. If we do not correct this disorder of our hearts, and conform our interior to the spirit of Christ, we cannot be entitled to His promises.

Sunday Sermon

• Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost ~ Our Duties to God and the World

  

  “Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” — St. Matt. xxii. 21

  If the Pharisees were a bad set and tried to ensnare our Lord by the question they propounded to Him in to-day’s Gospel we may at least thank them for the answer it brought forth. For it unmistakably shows us that we owe a duty not only to God but to the State as well.

  No Christian worthy of the name would hesitate to admit the claim that God has upon us. He is our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier. All that we have we owe to Him, and our innate sense of gratitude prompts every man to see the justice of the claim that He has upon us. But it is one thing to acknowledge the justice of a claim, it is quite another to make it good.

  It is easy enough to admit that we should honor God’s claims, by serving Him with our whole heart and our whole mind ; but the difficulty arises when God in this or that particular circumstance demands of us that we should render unto Him that which belongs to Him by every right. The natural inclination is to put off the fulfilment of the claim as long as we can. Men in most cases strive to invert the logical order which God has established of seeking first the kingdom of heaven and other things afterward, by striving for everything else first, and then God’s claims at the end.

  Never forget, brethren, that we always are the subjects of God, that we owe Him a service, and that the payment is not to be made the last few days or years of our life.

  Neither must we ever forget that we have to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. That is to say, we must always remember that we owe respect and obedience to the government under which we live.

  This, indeed, should not be a hard task for us who have the great privilege of living under one of the best governments in the world. Here we enjoy peace, freedom, and happiness. Here we can build up our churches, our schools, and our public institutions without any unnecessary interference from the state. Here we can practice our religious observances to our hearts’ content, and no one will interfere. Here we can render unto God the things that are His. Therefore should we all the more willingly render unto the state all that belongs to it. And how? By being worthy citizens of the state, as we wish to be worthy children of God ; by conscientiously fulfilling our duties as become those who have the interest of their country at heart.

  Some men think it is no offence against either God or the government to neglect to fulfil their obligations. Some are too lazy or indifferent to cast an honest vote ; others are so mean and sordid as to sell their votes to the highest bidder ; such men are not worthy the protection they receive from a free country. They ought to be among the serfs of Russia.

  No, brethren, for just as we must never forget our duty to God we must never neglect our duty to the state. We must have a conscience on this matter, and learn to love, cherish, and respect the country that does so much for us, obey its laws, and fulfil with a good conscience all the obligations it imposes upon us.

  Five-minute Sermons for Low Masses on All Sundays of the Year
  
  By the Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul, 1893