GRACE NOT ONLY COVERS BUT BLOTS OUT SIN.
They shall teach no more There is now no condemna-
every man his neighbour and tion to them that are in Christ
every man his brethren, say- Jesus, who walk not according
ing: Know the Lord; for all to the flesh.
shall know Me, from the least Neither fornicators, nor 1
of them even to the greatest, covetous, nor drunkards shall
saith the Lord; for I will possess the Kingdom of God.
forgive their iniquity, and I-And such some of you
will remember their sin no were; but you are washed,
but you are sanctified, but
I will cleanse them from you are justified in the Name all their iniquity, whereby of our Lord Jesus Christ, they have sinned against Me; and in the Spirit of our and I will forgive all their God.
iniquities, whereby they have I will save you from all Ez 36, 29
sinned against Me and de- your uncleannesses.
spised Me.
Jesus answered him: If I Jn 13, 8
I have blotted out thy wash thee not, thou shalt
iniquities as a cloud, and thy have no part with Me.
sins as a mist. Return to God Himself will come and Is 35, 5-6
Me; for I have redeemed save you. Then shall the
thee.
eyes of the blind be opened,
Wash yourselves, be clean, and the ears of the deaf shall
take away the evil of your be unstopped;-Then shall
devices from My eyes.-If the lame man leap as a hart,
your sins be as scarlet, they and the tongue of the dumb
shall be made as white as shall be free: for waters are
snow; and if they be red as broken out in the desert, and
crimson, they shall be white streams in the wilderness.
as wool.
I am, I am He that blot out Is 43,25 thy iniquities for My Own
He appeared to take away our sins.
He will turn again, and
have mercy on us. He will sake, and I will not remember
put away our iniquities, and thy sins.
He will cast all our sins into
the bottom of the sea.
According to the multitude
of Thy tender mercies, blot
out my iniquity.
I will turn My Hand to thee, and I will clean purge away thy dross.
HEALS AND RESTORES IT, WHEN SICK WITH
SIN, TO PERFECT HEALTH.
I said: O Lord, be Thou Heal me, O Lord, and I Je 17, 14 merciful to me: heal my shall be healed: save me, soul, for I have sinned and I shall be saved: for against Thee. Thou art my praise.
They that are in health Blind the heart of this Is 6, 10 need not a physician, but people, and make their ears they that are ill. Theavy, and shut their eyes: I am not come to call the lest they see with their eyes, just, but sinners. and hear with their ears, and Are you angry at Me be- understand with their heart, cause I have healed the whole and be converted, and I heal man on the Sabbath-day? them.
20. GRACE THE PLEDGE OF GLORY, THE PRINCIPLE
The grace of God [is] Life became to all that obey Him
Everlasting in Christ Jesus the cause of Eternal Salva-
our Lord.
tion.
Now our Lord Jesus All things of His divine 2 Pt 1, 3
Christ Himself, and God and power which appertain to
our Father Who hath loved life and godliness are given
us, and hath. given us Ever-us through the knowledge of
lasting Consolation and good Him Who hath called us by
hope in grace, -Exhort your His own proper glory and
hearts, and confirm you in virtue.
every good work and word. If I should distribute all 1 C13, 3
That as sin hath reigned my goods to feed the poor,
unto death, so also grace and if I should deliver my
might reign by justice unto body to be burned, and have
Life Everlasting, through not charity, it profiteth me
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Being justified by His Abide in Me, and I in you. Jn 15, 4-5 grace, we may be heirs ac- As the branch cannot bear cording to hope of Life Ever- fruit of itself, unless it abide lasting. in the vine, so neither can Ro 8, 16-17 The Spirit Himself giveth you, unless you abide in Me. testimony to our spirit that -I am the Vine; you the we are the sons of God;-branches. He that abideth And if sons, heirs also: heirs in Me, and I in him, the indeed of God, and joint- same beareth much fruit: heirs with Christ. for without Me you can do
Now he is no more a ser-nothing. vant, but a son. And if a The water that I will give Jn 4, 14 son, an heir also through him shall become in him a God. fountain of water, springing Being consummated, He up into Life Everlasting. 21.-INCITEMENT ΤΟ USE AND CAREFULLY TO
We helping do exhort you, let us have peace with God,
that you receive not the through
grace of God in vain.
Being justified by faith,
Stand fast, and be not Ga 5, 1
held again under the yoke eth, and keepeth his gar-
of bondage.
ments, lest he walk naked,
It is best that the heart be and they see his shame.
established with grace, not Blessed are the dead who Ap 14, 13
with meats: which have not die in the Lord. From
profited those that walk in henceforth now, saith the
them.
Spirit, that they may rest
Health of the soul in holi- from their labours: for their
ness of justice is better than works follow them.
all gold and silver: and a Blessed are those servants Lu 12,37sound body than immense whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching. Ap 22, 14 Blessed are they that wash-And if He shall come in their robes: that they may the second watch, or if He have a right to the Tree of shall come in the third Life, and may enter in by watch, and find them so, the gates into the City. blessed are those servants.
Ap 16, 15 Blessed is he that watch
22.-EXHORTATIONS TO INCREASE IN GRACE.
He that is just, let him be charity, may we in all things
justified still; and he that is grow up in Him Who is the
holy, let him be sanctified Head, even Christ.
still.
As new-born babes, desire 1 Pt 2, 2
Be not afraid to be justi- the rational milk without
fied even to death: for the guile, that thereby you may
reward of God continueth grow unto salvation.
for ever.
Grow in grace, and in the 2 Pt 3, 18
The path of the just, as a knowledge of our Lord and
shining light, goeth for- Saviour Jesus Christ.
To
wards, and increaseth even Him be glory, both now and
to perfect day.
unto the day of Eternity.
Blessed is the man whose Amen.
help is from Thee: in his As Christ is risen from the Ro 6, 4
heart he hath disposed to as-dead by the glory of the
cend by steps in the vale of Father, so we also may walk
tears, in the place which he in newness of life.
hath set.
I, a prisoner in the Lord, Ep 4, 1
Brethren, I do not count beseech you that you walk
myself to have apprehended. worthy of the vocation in
But one thing I do: forget- which you are called.
ting the things that are be- Walk in love.
Ep 5, 2
hind, and stretching forth I will be as the dew, Israel Os 14, 6-7
myself to those that are be- shall spring as the lily, and his
fore, I press towards the root shall shoot forth as that
Mark, to the Prize of the of Libanus.-His branches
supernal vocation of God in shall spread, and his glory
Christ Jesus.
shall be as the olive-tree.
23.-EJACULATIONS OF THE SOUL, YEARNING FOR
GOD'S GRACE AND KNOWING ITS NECESSITY
AND FRUIT.
Draw me, we will run in Thee; let me not stray from
the odour of Thy oint- Thy commandments; give
ments.
bountifully to Thy servant;
Convert us, O God, and enliven me, and I shall keep
show us Thy face, and we Thy words.
shall be saved.
Thou hast brought forth, Ps 23, 4
Jn 4, 15-16 Sir, give me this water O Lord, my soul from hell: that I may not thirst [for Thou hast saved me from ever. Give me water which them that go down into the will become in me] a fountain pit.
of water springing up into Incline, O my God, Thy Da 9, 18
Life Everlasting.
ear, and hear: open Thy
Take away the rust from eyes, and see our desolation,
silver, and there shall come and the City upon which Thy
forth a most pure vessel. Name is called: for it is not
Thou turnedst away Thy for our justifications that we
face from me, and I became present our prayers before
troubled.
Thy Face, but for the multi-
O Lord, let Thy ear be at- tude of Thy tender mercies.
tentive to the prayer of Thy O Lord, hear: O Lord, be Da 9, 19
servants who desire to fear appeased: hearken and do
Convert me, and I shall be converted, for Thou art the Lord my God.
delay not, for Thy own sake,
O my God: because Thy
Name is invoked upon Thy
City and upon Thy people.
O Lord, Thy work in the If our iniquities have Je 14, 7 midst of the years bring it to testified against us, O Lord, life: when Thou art angry do Thou it for Thy Name's Thou wilt remember mercy. Convert us, O Lord, to Thee, and we shall be con
sake: for our rebellions are
many, we have sinned against
Thee.
verted: renew our days as We acknowledge, O Lord, Je 14, 20-
from the beginning.
our wickedness, the iniquities
Confirm, O God, what of our fathers, because we
Thou hast wrought in us. have sinned against Thee.-
Let the brightness of the Give us not to be a reproach,
Lord our God be upon us: for Thy Name's sake, and do
and direct Thou the works not disgrace in us the Throne
of our hands over us; yea, of Thy Glory; remember:
the works of our hands do break not Thy Covenant with
Thou direct.
Ps 118, 5, O that my ways may be O Lord, be Thou merciful Ps 40, 5, 10,17 directed to keep Thy justi- to me: heal my soul, for I
fications-With my whole have sinned against Thee;
heart have I sought after-But Thou, O Lord, have
mercy on me, and raise me vant, because I have done
up again.
exceeding foolishly.
I have sinned very much O Lord God, be merciful, Am 7, 2 in what I have done: but II beseech Thee: who shall pray Thee, O Lord, to take raise up Jacob, for he is very
away the iniquity of Thy ser-little ?
VIRTUE, VICE, AND SIN IN GENERAL.
MAN either corresponds with the light and energy
which God offers him, and then his state is a state of
Virtue, or he refuses correspondence, and then his state
is a state of sin. Virtue considered generically may be
defined as
a habit of acting in a manner which is con-
formed to the Divine Law." In the present Part we
will quote passages of Sacred Scripture which refer to
Virtue considered in its generic, absolute, and unre-
stricted sense, as signifying the fulness of Virtue, and
the possession of all the forms of Virtue. In Book III.
we will treat, in detail, of the various forms of
Virtue—that is, of the conformity of the human will
to the various forms of the Divine Law.
Sin considered generically is " a free transgression
of the Divine Law" (S. Alphonsus), or
66 a volun-
tary departure from the Law of God" (S. Thomas),
or "a word, thought, or desire against the Eternal
Law of God" (S. Augustine). Here we consider sin.
like Virtue, in its general aspect.
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