Lenten Pastoral of Archbishop Polding 1851 : 1

 

Dearly Beloved : we exhort you not to receive the Grace of God in vain.

That Man, of himself can do nothing that avails of Eternal Life; that the aid of Almighty God is necessary for this end; that this aid has been promised, and will be given; these are truths familiar to your minds. This aid, gratuitous indeed, on the part of God, though it may properly influence, yet touches not the integrity of Man's free will.  Hence the Apostle [Paul] exhorts the faithful not to receive this assistance or Divine Grace in vain, that is, without profit.  And, furthermore, he instructs them that while this Grace is unceasingly offered, still there are times and seasons when it is more abundant and more efficacious. For, in continuation, he quotes these words of the Prophet: “In an accepted time have I heard you and in the day of Salvation, have I helped you.  Behold now” concludes the Apostle, “is the acceptable time, now is the day of Salvation.” 

We commence the holy Season of Lent when all the Children of the Church help each other by their prayers, by their fastings and alms deeds, when, with their spiritual weapons, the kingdom of Heaven is taken by storm.  We do not call upon you to make efforts which will attract notice by their singularity; we merely entreat you to remove every obstacle which might divert from your souls the flow of grace by which the Church is inundated at this Holy time. 

Dearly Beloved, value the gift of God. His Grace was purchased for you by the blood of Jesus.  It is now offered to you; do not refuse to receive it; do not permit yourself to be deluded by those excuses and pretexts which too long, alas! have caused you to defer your conversion to God.   That pressure of business, those worldly engagements, which hitherto have taken off your attention from your spiritual concerns, are they always to have this effect?  And if there be circumstances connected with your present pursuits or employments, which, your conscience tells you, are at variance with the holiness and purity of a Christian life - ought not these at once be renounced? 

You are precisely in the case contemplated by your Saviour, when He says, “If your eye causes you scandal, pluck it out, if your right hand causes you scandal, cut it off”, that is, sacrifice every worldly advantage which endangers your salvation, though it be as pleasant as the light of your eye, or as useful as your hand.  In the supposition, however, that there is no obstacle of this kind, but that you are deferring your conversion to God, assigning as a reason the pressure of business or the distracting nature of your employments, I would exhort you to ask your own hearts if you be sincere? 

You find time for numberless avocations, more distantly connected with your business than the care of your immortal souls - be honest with yourself - you could also, were you so disposed, attend to this, the one thing necessary.   But you “wait for a more favourable opportunity.”  This is not the first time you have offered a similar excuse.  How often have you determined that at such a time, or on the cessation of such and such an engagement, you would return to your duties to God?  The time came and then, one affair finished, another followed it; your resolutions were followed by other resolutions more feeble and vague, and your end state became worse than your former. 

Dearly Beloved, your engagements, your cares, will be never less pressing than they are now.  Never will your conversion be more easy than at present, which is emphatically the Acceptable Time, the Day of Salvation.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.

NOTES

The above is an extract from Archbishop Polding's Pastoral Letter for Lent 1851 and was reproduced from The Eye of Faith, pp 73-78.  This anthology of the Pastoral  Letters of Archbishop Polding was printed by the Lowden Publishing Co., Kilmore Victoria in 1977.  The editors were Gregory Haines, Sister Mary Gregory Foster and Frank Brophy.  Special contribution to the volume were made by Professor Timothy Suttor and James Cardinal Freeman.

The image of Archbishop Polding is based on a photograph taken circa 1860 and has been digitally enhanced by the Saint Bede Studio.

AMDG

To be continued.