that in Him there is only one nature, but three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and I know of no better way to strengthen our faith than to reflect what each person of the Trinity has done for us. What has God the Father done for us? " I have loved you," He says, " with an eternal love, and I have drawn you out of nothing." A million, a thousand, a hundred years ago what were we? Who thought of us? Were we not lost or forgotten among the millions and trillions of human possibilities? No; there was One who thought of us. We held a place in the eternal knowledge and love of the great Father of all, and when the time came He chose us and brought us into existence, leaving millions of others in their nothingness forever. With existence He bestowed on us every blessing which could make existence happy. The heavens and the glory thereof, the earth, and the sea and every member of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, all He created for us, for our use and for our enjoyment. Then, when He saw we would destroy ourselves by the abuse of the things He had given for our use, He so loved us as to give up His only-begotten Son to ransom us. And lest we should fall again He has surrounded us on all sides with safeguards — He has placed us in the true Church to imbibe her salutary doctrines, and with her sacraments to nourish our souls unto eternal life. " I have loved you with an eternal love." We are eternal beings, not only because we existed in God's knowledge and love from the beginning; not only be-
Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/352
This page needs to be proofread.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/page352-1024px-SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu.jpg)