The Clergy and the Pulpit in Their Relations to the People. Isidore Mullois
capable of laying hold of the instincts of the multitude, were it only of one of the emotions which stir them, they would soon undeceive those who fancy that the people are under their guidance. We know something by experience on that score.
There is a prevailing conviction among the well-disposed that nothing but religion can save us; that France must either once more become Christian or perish. But in order that religion may exercise a beneficial influence over the masses, it must be brought into contact with them; and that can only be done by the preaching of the Word, agreeably with the inspired declaration:—"Faith cometh by hearing."
It is much more difficult than is imagined to preach to the common people, because they are so little conversant with spiritual things, and so much absorbed in what is material. It is more difficult to address them than the wealthier classes; for, in addressing the latter, one has only to fall in with the current of their ideas; whereas in preaching to the former, we have to bring high and sublime thoughts within the grasp of feeble intelligences. Besides, there exists among the masses a certain amount of knowledge more or less superficial, and none is more difficult to direct than a half-taught man.
The foregoing considerations have led us to indite this little treatise; wherein our object has been not to lay down any specific rules, but simply to set forth the teachings of experience. What we most need nowadays is a popular religious literature to meet the temper and wants of the people. Such a literature does not exist. It should be based entirely on the national character and on the precepts of the Gospel. Invested with those two qualities, it would become an irresistible agency for good, and would act as powerfully on the educated few as on the unlettered many. It might inaugurate the regeneration of our literature by restoring to it vitality, naturalness, and dignity. The time has come for taking up the cause of the people in earnest. The community generally is impressed with that conviction, and manifests a praiseworthy desire to encourage every effort for ameliorating their moral condition. Upward of one hundred thousand volumes specially designed for them are sold every year. Worldly-minded men, too, are anxious to foster the movement; finding that those who show a disposition to benefit the masses are sure to meet with countenance, sympathy, and even veneration. Moreover, we are at present in the enjoyment of profound calm. Heretofore, the apology for delay was:—"Let us wait to see the upshot of passing events; for who knows what may become of us; who knows but that we may be driven from our own homes?" The evil-disposed have had their day; let us see what honest folk may and can do.
Let us mutually co-operate, piously and charitably, to become once more a united people and country—a France with one heart and one soul. 'Twill be the beginning of blessedness.
The Clergy And The Pulpit
In Their Relations To The People.
Chapter I.
To Address Men Well, They Must Be Loved Much.
The Gospel enjoins universal Benevolence.
The Men of the present Age have a special Claim to our Love.
The Success of Preaching depends upon our loving them.
Wherein true Apostolical Eloquence consists.
Many rules of eloquence have been set forth, but, strange to say, the first and most essential of all has been overlooked, namely, Charity. … To address men well, they must be loved much. Whatever they may be, be they ever so guilty, or indifferent, or ungrateful, or however deeply sunk in crime, before all and above all, they must be loved. Love is the sap of the Gospel, the secret of lively and effectual preaching, the magic power of eloquence. … The end of preaching is to reclaim the hearts of men to God, and nothing but love can find out the mysterious avenues which lead to the heart. We are always eloquent when we wish to save one whom we love; we are always listened to when we are loved. But when a hearer is not moved by love, instead of listening to the truth, he ransacks his mind for some thing wherewith to repel it: and in so doing human depravity is seldom at fault.
If, then, you do not feel a fervent love and profound pity for humanity—if in beholding its miseries and errors you do not experience the throbbings, the holy thrillings of Charity—be assured that the gift of Christian eloquence has been denied you. You will not win souls, neither will you ever gain influence over them, and you will never acquire that most excellent of earthly sovereignties—sovereignty over the hearts of men.
I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that the tradition of this great evangelical charity has declined among us. I hasten to add, however, that this is the fault of the age, of its injustices and sarcasms. It has dealt so hardly with Christianity, and has been so ungrateful toward it, that our souls have become embittered, and our words have been sometimes cold and dry: like the mere words of a man and nothing more. But that bitterness is passing away.
Religion in France, at the present day, is in the condition of a mother who meets with indifference and abuse from her son. The first outburst of her heart is one of pain and repugnance; but soon the better part of her nature gains the ascendency, and she says within herself: "After all, it is true that he is wicked; it is also true that he fills me with grief, and is killing me with anguish; nevertheless, he is still my child, and I am still his mother. … I cannot help loving him, so great is his power over me. Let them say what they will, I still love him. … Would to God that he had a desire to return! Would that he might change! How readily would I pardon every thing and forget all! … How, then, can I enjoy a moment's happiness whilst knowing that he is wicked or wretched?" … This is what Religion and those who represent it have felt. We have been wounded; we have been made to suffer cruelly. Yes, men have been unjust and ungrateful: but these same are our brethren still, still our children. And can we be happy while we see them wicked and miserable? Have they not already suffered enough? … The question is not to ascertain what they are worth, but to save them such as they are. Our age is a great prodigal son; let us help it to return to the paternal home. Now is the time to recall the admirable words of Fenelon:—"O ye pastors, put away from you all narrowness of heart. Enlarge, enlarge your compassion. You know nothing if you know merely how to command, to reprove, to correct, to expound the letter of the law. Be fathers, … yet that is not enough; be as mothers."
This large love for men, alike for the good and the evil, is the pervading spirit of the Gospel. It is the true spirit of Christianity. Its power was felt by our fathers in the sacred ministry, and it governed their lives.
Look at Saint Paul, that great missionary of the Catholic Church. A stream of love flows from his apostolic soul. He did not suffer himself to be disconcerted by the failings, the vices, or the crimes of men. His heart uplifts him above such considerations, and he overcomes human prejudices and errors by the power of his charity. Let us hear him:—"O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. … Be ye also enlarged. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you. I seek not yours, but you, … and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." And, again:—"Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and, indeed, bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth." [Footnote 1]
[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. vi. 13. I Cor. iv. 15. 2 Cor. xii. 14, 15; xi. i, 2, 11.]
"I say the truth in Christ that I lie not," saith he to the Romans; "I have great heaviness, and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren." [Footnote 2]
[Footnote 2: Rom. ix. 2, 3.]
And addressing the Galatians, he says:—"Brethren, be as I am; for I am as ye are. Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the