Untitled - Saints' Books

Ecclus.
CHAP. viii. i The Sin of Scandal. 151
danger of becoming more hidden. Let a heretic preach
impious doctrines, and he will be expelled; let him have
recourse to violence, and we shall flee from him. But
now how can we reject or expel priests? We need
them, and all are our enemies."
Oh ! how great the punishment which is reserved for
the scandalous priest! If against every secular that
gives scandal vengeance has been threatened, Woe to that
man by whom the scandal coineth? how much more tremend
ous the scourge that shall fall on the scandalous priest
whom God has chosen from among all men for his own
minister! He chose him out of all flesh? Jesus Christ has
chosen him to bring forth fruit by saving souls. / have
chosen you, and have appointedyou, that you should go, and should
bring forth fruit* And by bad example he robs Jesus
Christ of souls redeemed with his blood. St.
Gregory
says that such a priest merits as many deaths as he gives
examples of vice. 5 Speaking especially of priests, our
Lord said to St. Bridget: "Upon them greater maledic
tion will come, because by their conduct they damn not
To them is intrusted
only themselves, but also others."
the care of cultivating the vineyard of the Lord; but he
casts out of his vineyard the scandalous priest, and
places in his stead others that will bring forth good
fruit: He will bring those evil men to an evil end: and will let
1 "
Serpit hodie putida tabes per omne corpus Ecclesiae, et, quo
latius, eo desperatius, eoque periculosius quo interius; narn, si insurgeret
apertus inimicus haereticus, mitteretur foras; si violentus inimicus,
absconderet se ab eo; nunc vero, quern aut ejiciet, aquoabscondet
se ? omnes necessarii, et omnes adversarii." In Cant. s. 33.
Vae homini illi
per quern scandalum venit." Malt, xviii. 7.
Elegit eum ex omni came !" xlv. 4.
4 "
Elegi vos et posui vos, ut eatis et fructum afferatis."
John, xv. 16.
"
5 Si perversa perpetrant, tot mortibus digni sunt, quot ad subditos
suos perditionis exempla transmittunt." Past. p. 3, c. i, adm. 5.
6
"
Ipsis erit amplior maledictio, quia se vita sua perdunt,
Kev. 1. 4, c. 132.
et alios."