Untitled - Saints' Books

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192 Material for Sermons. IPART i.
the priesthood; nor is talent or fitness for the offices of
a priest a sign of vocation, for along with talent a holy
life and a divine call are necessary.
What, then, are the marks of a divine vocation to the
ecclesiastical state? There are three principal marks:
i. PURITY OF INTENTION.
The first is a good intention. It is necessary to enter
the sanctuary by the door, but there is no other door
than Jesus Christ: I am the door of the sheep. If any
. . .
man enter in, he shall be saved. To 1
enter, then, by the
door is to become a priest not to please relatives, nor to
advance the family, nor for the sake of self-interest or
self-esteem, but to serve God, to propagate his glory,
and to save souls. If
any one," says a wise theo
logian, the learned continuator of Tournely, presents
himself for holy Orders without any vicious affection,
and with the sole desire to be employed in the service of
God and in the salvation of his neighbor, he, we may
believe, is called J
by Another God." author asserts
that he who is impelled by ambition, interest, or a motive
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of his own glory, is called not by God, but by the devil.
adds
"But,"
St. Anselm, who enters the "he priesthood
through so unworthy motives shall receive not a blessing
but a malediction from God. 4
Ego sum ostium ovium. . . . Per me si quis introierit, salvabi-
John, x. 7.
Si enim aliquis, liber ab omni vitioso affectu, ad clerum, Deo
tur.
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deserviendi causa et salutis populi gratia solum, se conferat, vocari a
Deo praesumitur." De Ord. q. 4, a. 4.
s
v
"Ambi one duceris, vel avaritia? inhias honori? Non te vocat
Deus, sed diabolus tentat." Hall, p i, s. 3, c. 2, 4.
Qui enim se ingerit et propriam gloriam quaerit, gratioe Dei
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rapinam facit; et ideo non accipit benedictionem, sed maledictionem."
In Heb. 5.