The unhappy life of sinners

And that which fell among thorns are they who have heard, and, going their way, are choked with the cares and riches of this life, and yield no fruit. (Gospel of Sunday. Luke viii. 4, 16).

In the Parable of today's Gospel, we are told that part of the seed which the sower went out to sow, fell among thorns. The Saviour has declared that the seed represents the Divine word, and the thorns, the attachment of men to earthly riches and pleasures, which prevent the word of God bearing fruit for time or eternity. Oh, the misery of poor sinners! By their sins they not only condemn themselves to eternal torments in the next, but to an unhappy life in this world.

The devil deceives sinners, and makes them imagine that, by indulging their sensual appetites they will lead a life of happiness, and enjoy peace. But there is no peace for those who offend God. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord. (Is. xlviii. 22). God declares that all His enemies lead a life of misery, and that they do not even know the way of peace. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known. (Ps. xiii. 3).

Brute animals, as they have been created for this world, enjoy peace in sensual delights. Give to a dog a bone, and he is perfectly content; give to an ox a bundle of hay, and he desires nothing more. But man, who has been created for God, to love God, and to be united to God, can be made happy only by God, and not by the world, though it should enrich him with all its goods. What are worldly goods? All that is in the world, says St. John, is the concupiscence of the flesh, or sensual delights, and the concupiscence of the eyes, or riches, and the pride of life — that is, earthly honours. (1 Jo. 16). St. Bernard says a man may be glutted with earthly goods, but can never be made content or happy by them: Inflari potest, satiari non potest. And how can earth and wind and filth satisfy the heart of man? In his comment on these words of St. Peter — Behold we have left all things (Matth. xix. 27) — the same Saint says, that he saw in the world several different classes of fools. All had a great desire of happiness. Some, such as the avaricious, were content with riches; others, ambitious of honours and praise, were satisfied with wind; others, seated round a furnace, swallowed the sparks that were thrown from it, — these were the passionate and vindictive; others, in fine, drank fetid water from a stagnant pool, — and these were the voluptuous and unchaste. Oh, fools! adds the Saint, do you not perceive that all these things, from which you seek content, do not satisfy, but, on the contrary, increase the cravings of your heart? Of this we have a striking example in Alexander the Great, who, after having conquered half the world, burst into tears because he was not master of the whole.

Many expect to find peace in accumulating riches, but how can these satisfy their desires? St. Augustine says: "Great wealth does not close, but rather extends the jaws of avarice." That is, the enjoyment of riches excites, rather than satiates, the desire of wealth. Thou wast debased even to hell; thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy ways; yet thou saidst not: I will rest. (Is. lvii. 9). Poor worldlings! They labour and toil to acquire an increase of wealth and property, but never enjoy repose: the more they accumulate riches, the greater their disquietude and vexation.

The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good. (Ps. xxxiii. 11). The rich of this world are, of all men, the most miserable; because the more they possess, the more they desire to possess. They never succeed in attaining all the objects of their wishes, and therefore they are far poorer than men who have but a competency, and seek God alone. These are truly rich, because they are content with their condition, and find in God every good. They that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good. To the Saints, because they possess God, nothing is wanting; to the worldly rich who are deprived of God, all things are wanting, because they want peace. The appellation of fool was, therefore, justly given to the rich man in the Gospel, who, because his lands brought forth plenty of fruits, said to his soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer (Luke xii. 20). But this man was rightly called a fool. Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee; and whose shall those things be which thou host provided? And why was he called a fool? Because he imagined that by these goods — by eating and drinking — he could be content, and could enjoy peace. Rest, he said, eat and drink. Says St. Basil of Seleucia: "Hast thou the soul of a brute, that thou expectest to make it happy by eating and drinking?"

But perhaps sinners who seek after and attain worldly honours are content. All the honours of this earth, are but smoke and wind. Ephraim feedeth on the wind. (Os. xii. 1). And how can these content the heart of a Christian? The pride of them, says David, ascendeth continually. (Ps. lxxiii. 23). The ambitious are not satisfied by the attainment of certain honours: their ambition and pride continually increase; and thus their disquietude, their envy, and their fears are multiplied.

They who live in the habit of sins of impurity feed on filth. How can this content, or give peace to the soul?

Ah! what peace, what peace can sinners at a distance from God enjoy? They may possess the riches, honours, and delights of this world; but they never shall have peace. No; the word of God cannot fail: He has declared that there is no peace for His enemies. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord. (Is. xlviii. 22). Poor sinners! They, as St. John Chrysostom says, always carry about with them their own executioner — that is, a guilty conscience, which continually torments them. St. Isidore asserts that there is no pain more excruciating than that of a guilty conscience.