condemn thee, I who came to save sinners? Go in peace, and sin no more! [John 8:10, 11]
Oh no, let us not be afraid of Jesus Christ; but let us be afraid of our own obstinacy, if after offending Him we will not listen to his voice, inviting us to be reconciled. Who is He that shall condemn? says the Apostle: Christ Jesus that died; Who also maketh intercession for us. [Rom. 8:34] If we persist in our obstinacy, Jesus Christ will be constrained to condemn us; but if we repent of the evil we have done, what fear need we have of Jesus Christ? Who has to pronounce on us sentence? Think (says St. Paul) that the self-same Redeemer has to sentence thee who died just that He might not condemn thee; that self-same One Who, that He might pardon thee, hath given Himself no pardon: "In order to redeem the servant, He hath not spared Himself," says St. Bernard.
Go, then, O sinner, go to the stable of Bethlehem, and thank the Infant Jesus, all shivering with cold for thy sake in that cave, moaning and weeping for thee on a bundle of straw; give thanks to this thy Redeemer, Who has come down from Heaven to call thee to Himself and to save thee. If thou art desirous of pardon, He is waiting thee in that manger to pardon thee. Go quickly, then, and obtain thy pardon; and afterwards do not forget the excessive love which Jesus Christ has borne thee: Forget not the kindness of thy surety. [Ecclus. 29:20] Forget not (says the prophet) that high favor He has done thee by making Himself surety for thy debts to God, in taking on Himself the chastisement deserved by thee; do not forget it,
