Readings from Fr. John Furniss

[Patricia]

Definitely getting my little girls to read this....Who talks about the consequences of mortal sin anymore? 

[Shin]

Fr. Furniss has been a great help to me, helping me to properly be scared of sin  , instead of reacting like a dull lump! 

[martin]

Protecting our children from bad company in these days is very difficult. We must pray constantly for their protection while doing what we can ourselves by advice and restrictions. Not to harp on about it, but I think the worst company a child can keep today is television. How subtly it works on their minds (even in adults minds) that one can barely recognise the damage being done.

It's good to be reminded of the value of a good act of contrition.
"A humble and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51: 17)

[Shin]

CHAPTER XIII.

TWO THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED.

1. TELL me, does a child not listen to the word of its father? Does a servant not listen to the word of her mistress? Does a senseless beast not hear the word of its keeper? You, my child, will you not listen to the word which God your Creator speaks to you? What is that word? This is the word which God speaks: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve; Matt. iv. God has written this word on the pages of his holy book, and there you may read it -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. Oftentimes God himself puts into your heart that word -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. The angels whisper in your soul -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. The sound of that word goes down even into the deep places of the conscience of the sinner. The curse of God is upon him who forgets the word -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve; and God's blessing is upon him who remembers it. In the early morning, then, remember -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. When the sun has gone down, and it is night, forget not -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. In the silence of the night let your heart dwell upon those words -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. In all your ways, and in all your works, in school, in the factory, in the street, remember -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. If bad companions come to tempt you to leave the service of God, and serve your passions and the evil, say in your heart -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. In all the various things and changes of this life, its joys and its ills, its ups and its downs, fix your eyes on some bright star which may lead you safely to heaven. That star, what shall it be? It shall be that blessed word -- The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.

2. You know that you were made to serve God. But the other created things -- the sun, moon, stars, flowers, beasts, sickness, pains, works, and actions of all kinds -- what were they made for? They were not made to serve God, as you are, for they have neither sense, nor will, nor memory, nor understanding to serve God. Then, what were they made for? They were made for one thing and that was to help you to serve God. But the creatures and things which are around you do not always help you to serve God. When these things shall help you to serve God, then make use of them. When they shall draw you away from the service of God, then leave them; go away from them. A beautiful flower helps you to think of the power and goodness of God. It is good; make use of the flower. But you are at Mass, and a beautiful flower distracts you from your prayers. The flower draws you from the service of God -- leave it. The food you take helps you to live, and do your duties to God and your neighbor. Then make use of the food. But you eat or drink too much, or what does not belong to you, then the food draws you away from the service of God -- leave it. You dress according to your state of life and condition. It is good, such is the will of God. But there is a girl who dresses herself through vain glory, that others may look at her and admire her -- she spends on dress money which should buy bread for her little brothers and sisters. This fine dressing that draws that girl away from the service of God -- she must give it up. You work in a shop or a factory. It is good. God has said: "In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken;" Gen. iii. But you work in a shop or a factory, where there is a person who has often led you into mortal sin. Many good resolutions you have made not to consent to the temptation any more. You have been often to the Sacraments to strengthen yourself  against the temptation. You have put in practice the advice which your Confessor gave you about it. Still you find that you are so weak that, after all this, you still often consent to the temptation. Then you must leave the shop or factory where that person is who tempts you, and get work elsewhere, because that place turns you from the service of God, and ruins your soul. "If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out." Matt. v. You take up a book to read. It is a good book, which helps you to serve God. It is well -- read it. You meet another book; it is a bad book; it will lead you from the service of God -- cast it away. In fine, if you are rich or poor, or your friend dies, or you lose something, or whatsoever affliction comes upon you, be ready to make use of these things by being patient when they come, because they help you to serve God; and, therefore, remember -- 1st. That you were made to serve God. 2nd. That all other things were made to help you serve God. 3rd. That among the things you meet with, some help you to serve God, but some of them draw you away from God's service. 4th. Be ready always to make use of those things, which help you in God's service; leave -- go away from those things which draw you away from God' s service. "If any man will be my disciple let him deny himself;" Matt. xvi.

Now, you have a rule by which you may know what to do about any thing you meet with in life. You will say to yourself: "I care not about one thing more than another. I wish only -- to serve God. What am I going to do, or make use of, will it help me to serve God, or will it draw me away from his service? If it helps me to serve God, I will make use of it; if it will draw me away from God's service, I will live it." Should it happen that you cannot tell whether something is for the service of God or not, ask your Confessor.

[Shin]

The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve

Fr. Furniss has just done Our Lord, the angels, and the saints a service by helping us to hear and remember these words.

So that we do not forget them, and they come into our mind throughout our lives and throughout our days.

[martin]

What a simple but most effective rule that almost anyone could adopt.
A real practical way of putting God first above every created thing.
Thank be to God for Fr Furniss and the wonderful teachings he has left us. 

[Therese]

I just finished reading Fr. Furniss' last two chapters.  Very powerful writing!  I have heard and read in Marian books that we may adore the Blessed Virgin Mary, though in a very different way than we adore God.  Latria is owed to God and only hyperdulia to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I was told that we may not offer sacrifice to Mary as she is not God, but that we may adore her, though not in the same way we adore the Almighty.  I wonder if it is okay to adore Jesus living in His saintly people as well?  A priest once gave a sermon that repeated something I came across in some pious Marian literature: that we may worship the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints, but not in the same way we worship God (we may not offer sacrifices to Mary and the Saints as we do in our worship of God).  I hope nobody thinks that these Marian books and priests are speaking contrary to what Fr. Furniss, the Scriptures and the First Commandment says.  Should you think this I'm afraid you do not understand what they are trying to say about worship/adoration in relation to latria, hyperdulia and dulia.  Any comments?

[Shin]

I've seen some older works use the term 'worship' more broadly than you see it today commonly, and read about the difference between latria and dulia, and hyper dulia in the past, I shall have to read about them again and try to understand them better.

In practise I adore Jesus where I see Him directly.. I should like to read a work about the different ways Our Lord is present and the different ways we worship or love Him.

[Shin]

CHAPTER XIV.
CONCLUSION.

MY dear child, in the evening, when the sun is going down, if a traveler finds that he has gone astray out of the right road, and got into a wrong path, what does he do? He goes back again as quickly as he can into the right road. Do the same. Look into your past life, and perhaps you will see that not once only, but many times, you have gone astray from the service of God. Perhaps, even at this moment you are not serving God. What must you do? Go back to the service of God, and, with a sorrowful heart, beg his pardon, because you left his service.

PRAYER.

MY God, you are my Creator. You gave me a body and a soul. You commanded me to serve you, and you told me that if I would not serve you, I must burn forever in the fire of hell. My God, I know it, I confess it, that I have not served you. For my sins, I deserve to go to hell. From my early childhood I have broken your commandments in thought, in word, and in work. But, O merciful God, you have pity on little children who confess that they have done wrong, remembering that Jesus died also for the little children. Then, my God, not for any good thing that I have done, but for the sake of the sweet Jesus who died for the love of me, a little child, have pity on me, and forgive my sins. Too late have I known you, my blessed God; too late have I loved you. But now, my God, with your help, I will begin to serve you. I will serve you with my body, with my soul; I will serve you by day and by night, in sickness and in health; yes, I will serve you, my God, with every breath that I breathe, till, for the love of you, my God, I breathe out my last breath. Amen.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.

He who commits a "mortal sin" refuses to serve God, as you will read in the Third Book.

PRAISED BE JESUS AND MARY.

[Shin]

And thus we have come to the end of Fr. Furniss's 'The Great Question'.

The next book in the series of 'Spiritual Readings' is 'The Great Evil', which is about mortal sin. In the compilation volume there is a short tract called 'Hymns for Children' inbetween which we won't treat here, buy you can read on your own.

Thanks be to Our Lord and all His people for these good writings. Thank you Lord for Fr. Furniss. 

[Shin]

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.

[Shin]

THE GREAT EVIL

CHAPTER I.

WHAT IS THE GREAT EVIL?

SOME children were learning their Catechism; the teacher asked them this question: "What is the worst thing in the world?" A little child put up its hand and said, Please, may I answer? Yes, said the teacher. Then, said the child, I think the worst thing in the world is a great pain. The child did not give the right answer. No doubt it is frightful to see any one burnt up with fever, or cramped with cholera, or to see death tearing away the soul from the body. It is a sad thing to say the last "good bye" to those whom we love. These things make tears run down from the eye and draw sighs out of the heart. But there is something which burns more than fever, and cramps more than cholera. There is a last parting more sorrowful than the last parting with father, mother, brother, or sister.

What, then, is the great bad thing? The greatest of all evils -- the evil of evils -- what is it? The greatest of all evils is -- Mortal sin. Mortal sin is so great an evil that no man living will be able to understand how great an evil it is. Ps. xviii. "Who shall understand sins?"

[Shin]

How many people today would answer as the little child did in the first chapter we have here.. and be incorrect.

[odhiambo]

How many people today would answer as the little child did in the first chapter we have here.. and be incorrect.

99.9% of those asked

[Shin]

In the following chapters I think Fr. Furniss is going to do a fine job of convincing us of the reality of the correct answer.

[Shin]

CHAPTER II.

WHY IS MORTAL SIN THE GREAT EVIL?

"To thee only have I sinned." Ps. i.

"Thou hast broken my yoke and burst my bonds, thou hast said, I will not serve." Jer. ii. A child was bid by its father to go on an errand; the child answered, "I shan't go, I won't go." Everybody who heard this answer was shocked. How shocking, then, must it be when any one says to Almighty God, the God who has in his hands thy breath and all thy ways, who can cast a body and soul into hell, "Oh, God! I shall not, I will not do what you bid me!" Mal. iii.: "Shall a man afflict God?" It is Sunday, and you know well that God commands you to hear Mass. You could go to Mass if you liked, there is nothing to hinder you. You refuse to go to Mass; you stop away by your own fault, and commit a mortal sin. It is as if you spoke thus to God: "O Almighty God! I know that you are my Creator, and I am your creature; I know that I ought to obey you and keep your commandments; I know that if I break your commandments, I deserve to go to hell for it. And now I tell you, O God, that I will not keep your commandments. You command me to go to Mass to-day, and I tell you that I will not go to Mass; I will not do your will, but my own will; I know that I deserve to go to hell for it, but I do not care for that." Wicked child! "you know not what you do," when you thus break the commandments of God; Luc. xxiii. 34. God wonders that his own creatures, whose body and soul he can cast into hell, should dare thus to despise him. Thus he speaks, Is. i.: "Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for my people have despised me." He must have a hardened heart who dares thus to despise the majesty of God.

CHAPTER III.

THE HARDNESS OF MORTAL SIN.

A ROCK is hard, but a drop of water always falling upon a rock will wear it away. Iron is hard, but fire will burn it away. One only thing there is which no fire, not even the fire of hell, can burn away -- and that one thing is mortal sin. See first the difference betwist the fire of Earth and the fire of Hell. Take a spark out of the kitchen fire, drop it in a river, and it will go out directly. But the fire of hell is "kindled in God's wrath." Deut. xxxii. Take, then, one very little spark out of the fire of hell, less in size than a pin's head -- cast that spark of hell into the waters of the ocean. Would it go out? No, it would blaze out in the waters, and set them on fire, and in one moment the whole earth would be in a blaze and burnt to ashes. The fire of hell then is strong, but there is something stronger than the fire of hell, and that is mortal sin. Put a mortal sin into the very midst of the raging flames of hell. These flames burn above and below and on every side, and in the midst of mortal sin. Do these fierce flames burn it away? No; when the mortal sin shall have been in the midst of the burning flames for millions and millions of years, it will be just as hard, heavy, and black as it was at the beginning. What does this mean? I will tell you. A man dies, and there is in his dying heart the malice and the wilful intention of not going to Mass on Sunday, or of doing some immodest action. He is dead, and condemned to hell. In hell this evil intention remains in his heart just as on earth, and he would not give it up even to get out of the flames of hell. There is no repentance in hell. O sinner, there is a just and terrible God, who repays sin forthwith, with the blast of the spirit of his wrath; Ps. xvii. 7.