The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

"I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness."

St. John explains who he is, to the priests and Levites that were sent to question him. He says openly that he is not the Christ, nor Elias, nor a prophet. St. John is obviously not Christ, but Christ refers to St. John as Elias. He is obviously not Elias in person but he is Elias in spirit and office. Next, St. John says that he is not a prophet, but Christ says that St. John is a prophet and more than a prophet. In the ordinary acceptation, only they were called prophets who foretold things to come: John then, with truth, as well as humility, could say he was not a prophet; being not sent to foretell the coming of the Messiah, but to point Him out already come, and present with them.

Who then is St. John? He says of himself: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." St. John was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, upbraiding the multitudes that flocked to him, and exhorting them, in forcible words, to do penance and amend their lives. In like manner, a voice cries out in the heart of the sinner, that spiritual wilderness, placing his injustice and ingratitude towards God vividly before his eyes, and exhorting him to return from those evil ways that are leading him to destruction. This voice is our conscience, that mysterious monitor within us, which tells us what is right and what is wrong, which urges us to good and to avoid evil, which rewards and punishes, according as we obey or disobey its admonitions.

Just as St. John truthfully admonishes and points out the way to Christ, so too a properly formed conscience admonishes and points out to the soul the way back to Christ.

For those who truly loved God the voice of St. John was a welcome gift. They could not hear enough about Him of whom St. John spoke. So likewise it is today, those who truly love God find the voice of their consciences very welcome gifts.

St. John and our conscience admonish, rebuke and correct us, so that we may be made worthy to see Christ.

Our conscience is a judicious guide. It holds the place of God and constantly points out the ways of God to us. Conscience knows no fear, has no human respect, cannot be bribed, flatters not, hides nothing, palliates and diminishes nothing, explains nothing away, but tells the plain truth to everyone. If you be about to do something that is good it encourages you, and after you have done it, it praises you, but if you be on the point of doing something wrong, it warns you against it, and as soon as you have accomplished it, it rebukes you and says: You have sinned, you have offended God, and deserve punishment. St. Chrysostom says, "In this office conscience is indefatigable, so that how often soever it may have warned and admonished already, it still warns and admonishes, and will never cease to do so till we draw our last breath."

If we do not obey our conscience it will be our tormentor in life as well as in death. Our conscience gnaws away at us as long as we remain in sin. This is the cause of most of the uneasiness, sadness, and melancholy in the world today. The sinner feels miserable, ashamed, and trembles at the thought of judgment and eternity. In death there will be no forgetting or distracting ourselves from this pain and suffering _ it will be an eternal tormentor.

During our life here on earth we can at times deafen our ears to the voice of our conscience with the cares and amusements of this earth. We can turn away and not listen to it as so many people did to the voice of St. John. There can be moments of intoxication when we temporarily can silence our conscience. We can try to ignore our conscience so that it will be like St. John, "a voice crying in the wilderness." We can try to imprison or even kill our conscience as King Herod did to St. John. But, in death there will be no silencing it.

Our consciences are with us forever. Let us make friends with out consciences rather than enemies. If it is a terrible torment to be married in this life to the wrong mate, it is infinitely worse to be married to a guilty conscience for all of eternity.

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