sermon para el Septimo Domingo despues de Pentecostes

“So by their fruits you will know them”.
The Gospel of today teaches us two different aspects by means of a comparison of that good tree. Two arguments- warned about false teachings-we are told that in order to enter into the kingdom of God good works are required.
Means of baptism last Sunday by which the Christian has been made free by sin and has a share in the merits of Christ. Sin is destroyed . Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
“Without me you can do nothing”, God has given us sufficient grace in order to be saved, every thing that is good comes from Him.
"God does not command the impossible, but by commanding He teaches you both to do what you can and to ask what you cannot not do, and He helps you that you may be able" (St. Augustine, quoted at the Council of Trent, Denz., no. 804).
"Christ is the propitiation for our sins, for some efficaciously, but for all sufficiently, since the price of His blood is sufficient for the salvation of all" (St. Thomas on I Tim. 2:5, and elsewhere).
Man must cooperate with the grace received in the sacrament. The sacrament of faith is called the Baptism because faith is the beginning of human salvation. The foundation and root of all justification.
Having been made friends of God, we are justified gratuitously, presenting our bodies in mortification advancing in virtue from day to day, them as instruments of justice unto sanctification through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, in this justice received through the grace of Christ “faith cooperating with good works”. Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only? wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Man receives with justification that state in which man is born a child of the first Adam to the state of grace the adoption of the sons. He receives the justification, remission of the sins and these gifts infused at the same time: faith, hope and charity. For faith, unless hope and charity be added to it, neither unites one perfectly with Christ, nor makes him a living member of his body. If Matt 19,7 If we want to enter into life you need to keep my commandments, we need to preserve that baptismal garb in all purity and right intention. In baptism, We ask for faith which bestows life eternal, without hope and charity faith cannot bestow.
No one should think that by faith alone he is made an heir and will obtain the inheritance, even though he may not suffer with Christ. “And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him”. Rom 8.17. Trent c.9 etc. Not everyone that says to me Lord, lord shal enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
"The help of grace is twofold: one, indeed, accompanies the power; the other, the act. But God gives the power, infusing the virtue and grace whereby man is made capable and apt for the operation; whereas He confers the operation itself according as He works in us interiorly, moving and urging us to good" (St. Thomas on Ephes. 3:7).
Aug., Serm.in Mont., ii, 25: From this speech the Manichees suppose that neither can a soul that is evil be possibly changed for better, nor one that is good into worse. As though it had been, A good tree cannot become bad, nor a bad tree become good; whereas it is thus said, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit," nor the reverse. The tree is the soul, that is, the man himself; the fruit is the man's works. An evil man therefore cannot work good works, nor a good man evil works. Therefore if an evil man would work good things, let him first become good. But as long as he continues evil, he cannot bring forth good fruits. Like as it is indeed possible that what was once snow, should cease to be so; but it cannot be that snow should be warm; so it is possible that he who has been evil should be so no longer; but it is impossible that an evil man should do good..
The application of the words of Our Lord is describing probably to the Scribes and Pharisees Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
If we consider that we at times have been like these wolves in sheep’s clothing. We can attempt to deceive others by our passions and sins but most of all ourselves by excuses, Saint Catherine of Siena remarks that self-love, is a tree on which grow nothing but fruits of death, putrid flowers, and stained leaves.
The soul who lives virtuously, places the root of her tree in the valley of true humility but those who live thus miserably are planted on the mountain of pride, whence it follows that since the root of the tree is badly planted, the tree can bear no fruits of life but only of death (Mt. 7,17). Here are not two trees but two wills: our good will which produces fruits of light and that of a bad will which is darkness.
Every Christian may consider himself a tree in the Lord’s vineyard; the Divine gardener, Jesus Himself, has planted in it productive ground and our sanctification should be the genuine fruit of our Christian life, let us see how much progress have we made in our resolutions, are we making progress in virtue? How is our response to the calling of God? How are the flowers of the tree of our soul? Stinking thoughts of the heart, and full of hatred and unkindness towards the neighbour? Or a pleasant smell of sanctity?
Ask this grace to Our Lord who said: John: 15:5 “ I am the vine: you the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

El Evangelio del dia de hoy no habla acerca de dos diferentes aspectos por medio de la comparasion del arbol y sus frutos: nos previene acerca de los falsos profetas y de la necesidad de las buenas acciones para alcanzar el reino de los cielos.
· El bautismo y sus efectos borra el pecado oiginal y somos llamados hijos adoptivos por la gracia en Nuestro Senor.
· El bautismo es llamado el sacramento de la fe, por El compartimos en los meritos de Cristo, el pecado es destruido, vemos la necesidad para la salvacion: a menos que un hombre no nazca de nuevo de agua y del espiritu, no entrara en el Reino de Dios.
· “Sin mi no podes hacer nada”, por el precio de su Redencion los meritos de la salvacion son aplicados a todos, El murio por todos por el precio de su sangre I Tim. Su Gracia es suficiente para cumplir con los mandamientos ya que El no manda lo imposible, su gracia es necesaria par alcanzar la salvacion. Dios no manda lo imposible pero mandando te ensena que hagas lo que puedas hacer y que pidas lo que no puedas hacer y El te ayudara para que lo puedas alcanzar.
· Cristo murio para la propiciacion de nuestros pecados, y con su sangre nos alcanza la salvacion de manera suficiente pero no eficiente. Por el sac. Del bautismo es llamado el de la fe ya que en el por la fe es el principio de la salvacion humana la raiz y la fundacion de nuestra salvacion. Resulta de aquí que en la misma justificación, además de la remisión de los pecados, se difunden al mismo tiempo en el hombre por Jesucristo, con quien se une, la fe, la esperanza y la caridad; pues la fe, a no agregársele la esperanza y caridad, ni lo une perfectamente con Cristo, ni lo hace miembro vivo de su cuerpo. Por esta razón se dice con suma verdad: que la fe sin obras es muerta y ociosa; y (TRENTO - CAP. VII. Que sea la justificación del pecador, y cuáles sus causas.)

Por esta razón se dice con suma verdad: que la fe sin obras es muerta y ociosa; y también: que para con Jesucristo nada vale la circuncisión, ni la falta de ella, sino la fe que obra por la caridad. Esta es aquella fe que por tradición de los Apóstoles, piden los Catecúmenos a la Iglesia antes de recibir el sacramento del bautismo, cuando piden la fe que da vida eterna; la cual no puede provenir de la fe sola, sin la esperanza ni la caridad. De aquí es, que inmediatamente se les dan por respuesta las palabras de Jesucristo: Si quieres entrar en el cielo, observa los mandamientos.
Debemos cooperar con la gracia que hemos recibido en e bautismo. ¿Mas oh hombre vano, quieres saber que la fe sin obras es muerta? Santiago 2,20.
Hablar de que no hay dos arboles sino solo uno que puede cambiar con la cooperacion a la gracia recibida.
De aquí deducen los maniqueos que un alma no puede volverse buena, ni una buena en mala, como si se hubiese dicho: "No puede un árbol bueno convertirse en malo, ni un árbol malo volverse bueno". Lo que se ha dicho es: "No puede un árbol bueno producir malos frutos", ni lo contrario. El árbol es el mismo hombre. Los frutos son las acciones del hombre. No puede, por lo tanto, un hombre malo hacer obras buenas, ni uno bueno hacerlas malas. Luego si el malo quiere obrar bien, es preciso que primero se haga bueno. Mientras uno es malo, no puede hacer obras buenas. Puede suceder que lo que fue nieve no lo sea, mas no que la nieve sea caliente. Así puede suceder que el que fue malo no lo sea, pero no se podrá conseguir que el que es malo haga cosas buenas, pues aunque alguna vez es útil, esto no lo hace él, sino que se realiza en él, haciéndolo la divina Providencia.
Por nuestra vida y por los frutos que rindamos se conocera que tal arbol somos pues no esta todo en tener buenas palabras sino en la Sabiduria que descansa en la roca de la fe, guiarse por el Espiritu Santo, no perder la gracia recibida en el bautismo.